[FIN] Reviewing the Fragments

[Wylde Roses]

"Eee vee vee!" Yes, that was Aunt Miette, and she was very nice and Iris had been glad to meet her once she finally hatched - she read her bedtime stories while she was still in her egg! She read the best bedtime stories and Treestar should ask her to tell him one sometime. She would if he asked nicely! But who was Neph? And who was Pygi and Ella and Palu? They sounded really nice and interesting, could she meet them sometime? Well.... maybe after a nap, this living thing was kind of being tiring.

"Pika! Chu pi pika!" Miette thought that Lasi would be very good at inviting people and at getting snacks; she could handle music, definitely - and maybe there were some other guests who would have beeter access to music than she did because Kratos' taste in sound was pretty horrible really. In the meantime did he want to get a snack so they could plan some more? They could share a candy bar or two again, that would be nice!

Kratos nodded thoughtfully, listening closely to Tambrey as she spoke her thoughts out loud - then lifted his head to gaze at her when she stopped, because clearly her mind had just jumped to some idea that had derailed her train of thought. "You have a theory?"" He asked quietly, curious about what had crossed her mind in such a manner. Everyone's theories and ideas would be useful in this situation, even grunts like himself and Tambrey. They needed to be able to work things like this out if they ever wanted to be promoted to agent.  

[Gwennythe]

Well, Treestar frowned a little, 'interesting' was a pretty... understated... way to describe Neph. A more apt description, in his opinion, was 'kinda scary and mean'.
He pointed toward Tambrey, or more precisely, the pokéballs on her belt.
Palu, Pygi and Ella.
Neph, too, but, well... scary.
They /were/ nice and Treestar thought that Iris and they would very much enjoy meeting each other.
They'd never read him a bed time story, that sounded really, really nice; he'd enjoy that a lot and thought 'Aunt Miette' sounded wonderful for that.
He grinned sheepishly and tilted his head as she mentioned napping; living /was/ tiring and he kind of wanted a nap too; maybe 'Aunt Miette' could read them a story for it now?

Lasi gave a little salute (well- it was probably supposed to be one) and hit himself in the face as he grinned. He could so do that! He knew pokemon that he thought would /love/ to party! And she knew how he was about snacks!
He thought he had good taste in music, too, but, apparently, had been informed that actually, no, he didn't.
As she mentioned sharing a snack, though, he bounced up and down.
He could get some snacks out! Like last time!
He turned and looked for the vending machine.

Tambrey was frowning at the chest pieces for a good few seconds before she looked back up at Kratos.
She wasn't entirely clear on whether she could share or not, but ventured forth with a question anyway.
"I have a /something/." She stressed it 'not' being a theory as her voice dropped toward a much quieter tone. "How much d'ya know about, uh, the..." What was she supposed to call it? It was still pretty hard to think about... "... The Galactic, uh, Incident?"
So there were a few encounters now, but she thought it likely he'd know what she was referring to.  

[Wylde Roses]

Iris gasped - she didn't know anyone who was mean, what was 'mean' like? What was scary? But never mind that, storytimes and naps sounded really, really good right now - maybe they should go ask Aunt Miette right now! Oh, but she was busy talking to her friend... should they bother her? "Veeee..."

Miette giggled and kissed Lasi's cheek again, informing him that his taste in music was probably just as brilliant as he was. Snacks sounded wonderful right about now, she would help him get them out of the machine if he would knock them loose! This was going to be the best - what was the word? Oh, right , date! Ever!

Kratos stayed quiet for a long moment, allowing Tambrey the time she needed to think about whatever was on her mind. When she brought up the 'Galactic Incident', however, he almost held back a wince. It wasn't what he had expected her thought process to jump to, that much was certain. Still, he knew she has a reason for it, and while he wasn't directly involved in what had happened, he knew enough. You didn't forget the subject of a public address, regardless of your rank.

"I know enough," he said simply, frowning slightly in concern. "Do you believe that the Galactics had something to do with the cards?"  

[Gwennythe]

Tambrey looked cautiously grim.
"Y'know. Being... part of that. It could, y'know, mess up my perspective; make me paranoid, maybe." She paused, choosing her words carefully, before replying.
"I think it's possible. There was... I have a /small/ reason for thinking it. I'm smart enough t' realise I /might/ be jumping t' conclusions though; that sort of thing... Y' start seeing Them everywhere."
She hadn't made her next move on the chessboard.

Treestar was aware enough to notice the atmosphere and look on his trainer's face, but without much he could do for such things, and not wishing to bring Iris's attention to the shift in mood, he hesitated only a moment to watch.
He was soon smiling back at the Eevee.
"Chee ka" Yes, never mind 'mean' and 'scary'; the only important thing to remember about those were that they were 'not nice'.
He glanced to the other two pokemon in time to see the Pikachu kiss the Golbat's cheek. They could ask; they might not get a response, but they could ask!

Lasi /was not/ aware enough to notice any change in the mood or atmosphere of the room.
Arceus itself could have suddenly graced the room with a bucket of fried chicken /just for him/ and he'd not have noticed it.
He was getting another kiss from Miette.
And she'd complimented him and told him his music choice was probably good... Well it could /never/ be as good as hers, he was sure, but that was the kindest sort of comment he'd had since... Well, he wasn't really sure.
The bat wobbled and seemed, almost, likely to swoon.
He wished he could kiss her like she could him, but with his giant mouth, he was half-afraid of something silly like accidentally eating her.
Still, this was nice.
Oh! Snacks!
Yes! "Guh buh!" He would not let his sweetheart down!
Instantly he was taking off with the intention of slamming himself into the machine.  

[Wylde Roses]

"I find paranoia to be preferable to being caught unawares," Kratos said, gentling his voice. He could tell that this was a topic that was difficult for Tambrey, likely because she had been one of the Rockets involved in that... mess. Either that, or because she wasn't entirely certain of what she was considering. "If you have reason to think that they're involved with this, then it's worth pursuing."

Iris didn't notice anything amiss, being far too young to understand what was being discussed. Instead, her young mind was focused on the prospect of a story and a nap! The tiny green eevee yawned once and sat down on the spot. "Eevee veeeeee!" Treestar wouldn't mind if she napped right here and now, would he? She was oh so very tired. Living was tiring. She needed some sleep.

Miette noticed the change, but decided to deliberately ignore it in favor of cheering Lasi on. He was a great flyer, he was really strong and handsome and just the greatest golbat ever! "Pi pika pi chu!" He would get lots of snacks, lots of amazing and tasty snacks to share between then, and he was wonderful and fantastic for this talent and for just being him!  

[Gwennythe]

Paranoia probably /was/ preferable to being caught unaware but the mixed feelings in her head were arguing over what was logical and it wasn't a comfortable feeling.
On the one hand, the abducted group had encountered an impossibly small sensor (something even Lore- who seemed to have experience in the area- had missed) and that had been what had alerted (had to be) Galactic to their presence in the museum. On the other, she had suffered, with the others, physically and mentally at the hands of the Galactics and, logically, she knew that that would make her more prone to paranoia; more prone to 'seeing them everywhere'.
She drummed her fingers on the table, then scooted back and drew her knees up defensively.
".. 'm not sure." She half-mumbled; if Galactic had anything to do with it, they'd been tracking them. Someone had had a signal broadcast to them showing them where she was and now, with such an idea, the concept was even more haunting.

Lasi was utterly oblivious.
To the pink bat, everything was bright and happy... Rose-flavoured and sweet-tinted! Or was that the other way around? Either way, he was super-psyched and super happy with a side of super determined as Miette rattled off compliment after compliment.
He was doing his best to return the favour and call them back, but they were getting mumbled into nonsensical sweet things
(She was 'like a really nice pear that had been squashed into a donut and coated with icing'? Yes, that was a great compliment- he was sure he hadn't meant it to get all mixed up like that, besides, she was even better than that!)
He bounced once, twice and then shot toward the vending machine with a battlecry.
"Guuuuhbuuuh!"

Treestar was, of course, glad for that. He had spent time getting used to what people and pokémon called 'moods'.
This mood looked like one he hadn't seen much of, but hopefully the other human would know what to do because it didn't seem like a 'happy' at all.
He was feeling kind of sleepy too, though. Artificial light wasn't nearly as energizing as sunlight...
He looked at Iris and tilted his head. Maybe they could sleep near the humans? The suggestion, of course, borne out of something he'd noticed; humans sometimes seemed happier when cute things- like Iris- went to sleep nearby. Especially fuzzy ones.
And then a pink, bat-shaped, missile shot by, noisily, overhead.
So much for his nap, at least.  

[Wylde Roses]

Watching Tambrey curl up into a defensive position, Kratos' stoic expression softened and he knelt next to her, not-quite touching her. "Tambrey," he said quietly, attempting to get her attention. "Listen to me. You'll be fine - even if this is a plan of theirs, we will work out what it is and stop them before any harm can come to you." He paused for a moment, for just a moment recalling Anna and his failed promise to her, and... he had to swallow before continuing. "We'll be ready for them." And since Tambrey was beginning to grow from associate to friend, he intended on making sure she was protected, at the very least.

Iris looked around and yawned again, then got to her paws because this wasn't a good napping spot at all. She nodded at Treestar, thinking that napping near the humans sounded very good indeed, and waddled over to Tambrey. The tiny eevee headbutted the woman gently, making insistent "Vee, vee!" sounds. She wanted naptime cuddles, please - and now.

Miette shot out excited sparks, cheering Lasi on as he shot toward the vending machine. his compliments were quite sweet, if food-related, and absolutely endearing. He really was quite endearing. "Pika! Pikaaaaa!" She looked towards Kratos hopefully - could she keep Lasi, please? Could she keep him with her forever and ever and always? She'd like that so very much!  

[Gwennythe]

Lasi was perhaps a little too egged-on by Miette's compliments and encouragement.
The pink bat shot across the room with rather more thrust than he'd use before and caused quite a load thud as he crashed into the vending machine.
This left a small crack, barely noticeable among the scratches and small cracks already present, on the much abused machine and left Lasi rather dizzy as he flopped to the ground and promptly fell over backward.
All that effort yielded a pop from the machine as a single chocolate bar dropped into the vending drawer.

Treestar followed Iris along, committing himself to taking her out of the way of the noisy older pokémon, or perhaps to protecting her from whatever chaos the bat was about to cause.
He was smiling, delighted, as Iris waddled over to his trainer and... acted like an adorable baby Eevee; she was doing things a pokémon could do make humans moods change without even knowing it, probably, he thought.
The loud thud (and smaller thud) of an impact between Golbat and vending machine drew a wince as he turned his head to see what had happened.
There was a moment of concern as his 'brother' fell over backward and Treestar trotted toward the bat a few steps.
"Chee cheeka?!" Was he okay?! Oh. Wait, he was moving and smiling.
Indeed, the Golbat was grinning and starting to try and get up; a little difficult for a pokémon with wings instead of arms.

Tambrey turned to watch Kratos' face as he knelt down close to her, and considered his words.
She forced up a smile, feeling it to be the 'right' thing to do and nodded, though it was slightly a grim expression and gesture.
"We... need to be but," She paused and licked her lips, considering her own words carefully "we got those cards at a League event. Either I'm paranoid and seeing Galactic everywhere," She explained softly "which means I'm... 'not well' or Galactic have ties to the League. Can you imagine if, somehow, some way, they were... working together? In any capacity that's..."
THUD!
Tambrey found herself jolting slightly, startled, by Lasi's antics, who was given a concerned glance. That seemed like it had been hard...
He was getting up though and it wasn't like he hadn't done this before.
She'd have to keep a close eye on him.
"... I told y' not to break that." She scolded, gently, while watching to make sure the bat was nothing more than startled.
And then she became aware of the adorable mewling Eevee demanding her attention.
She reached to see if she'd be permitted (by both Iris and Kratos) to pick her up and place her on her lap.
"Hey Iris." She looked to Kratos for permission though. "D'y' mind?"
Knocked by Tambrey's startling, the Queen on the board toppled over and took out a few pieces on its way down. The two Kings remained standing, facing each other across the board.  

[Wylde Roses]

Oh no! Lasi had crashed! Miette squealed in terror and took off across the room, jumping straight on top of him to check and make sure that he was still breathing. "Pika?!? Pi Pika pi pi chu!" The pink electric type was honestly terrified for her new sweetheart, despite the fact that he seemed to be trying to get up. No no no, he should stay down and let her check him over to make sure he wasn't hurt too badly, please!

Iris paid no attention to Treestar for the moment, though she believed him to be her new best friend. The tiny ball of fluff was focused on her new napping spot, and tried to jump into Tambrey's lap of her own accord - whether or not her trainer permitted it, she was going to take a very nice, long nap in this pretty lady's lap. She wanted to sleep, and sleep she would. "Vee,vee vee eee!" She declared, trying to get what she wanted while at the same time inviting Treestar over for snuggled because now that she thought about it a nap buddy sounded pretty good and would he come please?

Kratos nodded his permission for Tambrey to hold Iris, then reached up and dragged a hand through his hair as he thought about the situation. "No, I can see your point... and considering that we're likely the biggest threat that either the League or Galatic has face..." He trailed off for a moment and frowned, expression and voice equally grim. "I don't believe it's that you're unwell," the redhead said, gaze serious. "I've dealt with similar situations before. You're coping well enough, considering."  

[Gwennythe]

Lasi suddenly found himself with a Pikachu on top of him, preventing him from getting up any further.
He gave a sheepish smile, lopsided as apparently he was still a little dazed, at Miette.
"Guhbuh buh!" He was fine, he thought, though that vending machine must have gained a trick or two since he last fought it; it had hit back a lot harder than he'd been expecting!
Still, did she see, did she see? He'd heard something drop and now they could share a snack together and have another 'date'!
He was very pleased about that; she'd suggested getting it to have another date and he'd managed to achieve it but he really hoped she was proud and pleased with him.
He wasn't trying to get up now, though, seeming perfectly content to stay on the floor with the pink Pikachu standing on him.
He was very sorry for worrying her, of course, but this outcome certainly wasn't a bad one...

Treestar stopped and wandered back as he saw 'Aunt Miette' was dealing with it.... and Lasi /did/ seem fine, if a little odd on his back like that.
He was /smiling/ and everything! He'd have to ask what was so great about ramming into a vending machine and having a Pikachu climb on you...
He turned to see Iris being picked up/climbing into Tambrey's lap and inviting him along too.
Well a nap buddy was an important part of a nap, Iris was all fuzzy so that was probably nice and snuggly, and he was still feeling like a little sleep too.
He trotted over and started to climb on up to, receiving a small amount of help from Tambrey's hand scooping his behind up in support of the climb.

After the Golbat paid no attention to the scolding, which was normal, and seemed to be perfectly fine if under a Pikachu (which certainly didn't seem to be bothering him), Tam' turned her attention to the little Eevee, petting Iris while she set in her lap, pausing only to help Treestar up too when he arrived.
She smiled at them, softly, bemused that she'd suddenly become a pokémon bed, but retaining, despite it, the rather haunted look that spoke of the thoughts in her head.
"That's... good to hear, I guess." Tambrey nodded. "Thanks. 'S just. I'm not sure what my... 'M not sure how... good my judgement is right now. About this sort 'f thing. I know why, logically, 'm jumping t' this sort of conclusion," She still wasn't sure, beyond the hints there already, how much she could share about the 'whys' "but I also know 't might be... clouded." The dark-haired grunt paused in her petting as she looked at him, again, curiously. "Similar situations?"  

[Wylde Roses]

Miette, satisfied now that Lasi was going to be okay, decided that she didn't really want to get off of him after all. They could get their snack in a minute, she thought, and instead she was going to sit right here and pepper him with pikachu-kisses. "Pi! Pikapi!" She was just so glad that he was alright, and yes that vending machine was mean and had played such a nasty trick on him, but here her kisses would make him all better! Kisses were magical, after all, and always made everything better. That's what her trainers used to say to the little human and it worked so it would help here too!

Iris made a little chirping sound of pleasure and licked her new nap buddy as he climbed up to keep her company. Treestar seemed like a very nice nap buddy, comfy and smelling of leaves like mama and just amazing. This was going to be a very, very good nap. She could tell already/ "Eeeeeee!" Who cared what the silly big pokémon and people were doing, anyway? It was boring and confusing and just not anywhere near as nice as a good nap with a nap buddy.

"Understandable," Kratos said simply, glancing over at Miette and the golbat to ensure there wasn't any permanent damage done. They both seemed fine enough, so he returned his attention to Tambrey and nodded. "Perhaps if you wrote your theories down," he suggested. Then, upon realizing that he was being asked a rather pointed question... he nodded again and decided to answer it in s vague a manner as was possible. "I used to work as a bodyguard. You see many things in that career."  

[Gwennythe]

It was super-effective.
If Lasi had any intention of getting up after Miette had climbed on him, he certainly didn't now.
In fact, the bat was left rather dumbstruck, practically useless, flopped there on the floor as he was peppered with kisses.
He couldn't even remember why an Earth he'd want to get up; why would he when this was happening?
He had no idea what she was talking about with 'little humans' and such nor did he even remember the vending machine 'attack' or the fact there was a candy bar still in the drawer.
The pink bat was pretty content to be 'unable to battle'; felled by kisses.

Treestar giggled as he was licked, then flopped his leaf over the little eevee.
He'd never considered what he smelled like, to be honest... It was good to think he smelled nice though.
He was rather proud that he 'came with a blanket attached'; it gave him food, too! Though not through eating. He /could/ do that, but in the sun, his 'blanket' made him feel fed.
The Chikorita snuggled down. She was right about the confusing stuff, though he'd yet to find very much boring.

"A bodyguard?" The natural instinct seemed to be to ask 'guard anyone important?' but that seemed a little bit... impolite somehow and, as he was clearly no longer that, but here instead, perhaps he (like others) might not want to dig up his past. She pre-emptively chose to respect that and pushed on to answer his suggestion.
"I could... I mean. 'M just sat here wonder'n' if I should, y'know, edit my report or something... Again, though, what 'f I'm reading too much int' things that aren't there? What if I spout a load 'f nonsense and then 'm wasting somebody's time..." Of course, the flipside, as she knew, was being right and not saying anything... But on what evidence beyond the circumstances of 'small technology' could she really base any such theory upon.
It did /sound/, to her now, like paranoia.  

[Wylde Roses]

Miette was a very happy pikachu since Lasi seemed okay and happy - and he was letting her kiss him! It was a good day to be her. However, it seemed as though her patient didn't need any more kiss-therapy, so she hopped off of him and tried to nudge him back into an upright position. They had a candy bar to share, after all! He couldn't eat it while he stayed down on the floor like that, silly Lasi! He needed to get up so they could have their date.

Iris thought that sounded very, very interesting to be able to make food. She'd had her first food ever a few hours ago and she couldn't wait to try some more. But for now, it was time to sleep.The tiny, fluffy baby yawned and nuzzled her nap buddy, before she let her eyes fall closed. Within moments she was snoring; tiny baby snores that sounded more like squeaks than anything else.

"Yes," Kratos answered, gaze still focused and serious. He was, however, inwardly quite relieved that she didn't try to push him about his past, even though his career was no secret in and of itself. He thought for a moment, watching as Tambrey's confidence in her theory wavered ever more, and finally spoke up rather than let her be swallowed in her own self-doubt. "It's possible that they may not be working together, but rather that their technologies alone are connected. If so, you wouldn't be incorrect."  

[Gwennythe]

Lasi had zoned out to some world of his own; blissful and happy.
Honestly, it wasn't at all often that he looked anything else but happy, though 'blissful' was new.
He was almost reluctant to be brought out of his pleasant stupor, but the magic combination of the Pika-spoken words 'share a candy bar' and the memory of what had been happening before brought him out to help him upright.
"Guh buh!" That was right! They had a date to continue!
He was very glad she was keeping track of everything.

Treestar supposed it might be. He'd been doing it all his little life.
Sure, he /loved/ his special leaf, but he didn't find what it actually /did/ to be extraordinary, just that he had it.
It was just a good indication of who and what he was and was special to him for that; it certainly helped matters that he was /literally/ attached to it.
Anyway, it would make a nice blanket, he thought, keeping it positioned over the baby Eevee.
He'd never really met, as far as he knew, anything this young (nor younger than himself, in fact) and felt a weird kind of pride in just being there as he started to let himself 'drift off'.

Well.
He 'Bruced' that query, so she was going to let it be.
Tambrey blinked twice behind her glasses as the new prospect was brought up. That was... a pretty good solution.
"I could write that down." She conceded immediately. "I mean, that's exactly what... prompted this, uh, theory thing; the similarity in tech', I mean. So," She twitched her lip and nodded slowly "I could do that. What.. What do you think though?" She raised her eyes to, again, watch for his reaction. "I've shared what I think might be goin' on... Have you puzzled out anything new?" She half expected a 'bat-grunt'.  

[Wylde Roses]

The pink pikachu giggled and nodded. They had a candy bar to share! Patting Lasi's head gently, she darted over to the vending machine and fetched the candy bar. It was a different kind than they'd shared the last time, but it looked pretty good, she though! What did Lasi think - was this a suitable date food?

"Pi pika!" She wanted to have a good date with him, after all, and having good food was very much a part of that! If this wasn't good enough then they would simply have to try again to get a better one!

"Other than that I believe we should look more carefully into Weidman? No," Kratos said. The redhead would have shrugged had he been a more expressive person, but as it was he just blinked. He did, in fact, have a few more complex theories developing, but they were far from being ready to share with anyone, even with someone who shared the experience of the 'party' with him. "Things will become clear eventually," he said instead.