[Fin] Digging up the Past

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Twelve..." She vaguely - very, very vaguely - remembered a couple more faces and oddly colored hair... Sera frowned thoughtfully and squinted a bit, following Dith around the corner he'd indicated. "...did she have green hair?" The other one had blue hair and seemed at least marginally more familiar - not that that said much at all, really - and hair was all she could remember. "That's probably because you can get a trainer license starting at age ten, and in other regions kids that young go on pokemon journeys all the time, I guess. And that's pretty much what it was, anyway - nothing bad happened to us there." Not like here, that was for sure. But then again, Team Rocket wasn't in Hoenn, so it stood to reason that it would be a great deal safer there. "I forgot all about her, honestly - her and the other girl, whatever her name is. I haven't seen either of them again." Sera didn't sound too upset about this.  

[TawnyAngel]

"That's right," Dith nodded, "and the one with pale blue hair and the robotic arm was Izumi. Humm, and that's true. It always seems strange to me that that's a thing but I suppose it's just a cultural thing." Natural selection- No! That was a terrible thought.... But kind of funny in a dark way. Heh.

Dith smiled a bit and shrugged. "I hadn't seen either since either or thought about them really until I happened to run into Citrine out on the plains. Ah! Here we are, La Dolce Vita." Dith stepped inside the restaurant and held the door open for Sera and Anastasia to enter behind him. The decor of the place was tasteful, the music light, and it smelled amazing. Dith gave a contented sigh and rolled his neck and shoulders, the pleasant atmosphere honestly made him want to have a huge stretch but he was huge enough as it was without doing that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh yeah, that's right." She had a weird name too - one she'd probably forget again before too long. "Wasn't she at the Halloween party that one year? I remember we helped her with her costume or something... Yeah, I don't know either, I wouldn't have been interested in that kind of thing at all." Now, though... No, actually, she still wasn't interested in that sort of thing. Maybe a bit of traveling if it helped strengthen her pokemon, or if they went to nice places, but unfortunately her main concern was strengthening her team in case any Rockets tried to mess with her - or her friends - again.

Foregoing further comment on Citrine for now, Sera followed Dith inside the restaurant and immediately inhaled deeply. It smelled heavenly. A light sigh escaped her as well, but unlike Dith she had no desire to stretch or anything, but instead she felt a strong desire to slip into a chair and eat some delicious Italian food.

Anastasia trotted in eagerly and began sniffing the air as well, ears perked and blue eyes wide as she took in the sights and smells.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah, you're back again are you trouble?" asked a dark-eyed, blue haired young woman as she approached them; she smiled as she spoke and her voice carried a distinct Italian twang.

Dith grinned and shrugged. "So it seems Julietta! you are well? Ah! And this is my friend Seraphine, do you have a table for us by any chance?"

Julietta chuckled softly. "Yes I'm well! I'm sure I can find a place for you Seraphine, and you can bring him along if you like. Would you prefer a booth, a table by the window, or near the kitchen?"

"Tch!" Dith made a face. "You are always so unkind Julietta, you hurt my feelings you know." Much as he tried to keep up the frown he couldn't help smiling again by the time he finished speaking.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Oh yes, this smelled wonderful, and the decor was lovely, she couldn't wait to-- Oh? Who was this? Sera's eyebrows lifted briefly before they just as quickly descended, and her bemused expression morphed into an amused smirk. Oh yes, she definitely liked her. "Hmmm... Well, I suppose I can bring him along," Sera replied airily and shrugged excessively, "so long as he promises to behave himself. Now! I do believe we," here she gestured to her Umbreon, "would like a table by the window."  

[TawnyAngel]

The waitress chuckled and nodded. "Well then ladies?" the question mark was aimed at the Umbreon, "And guest, this way please." Julietta showed the trio over to a choice table by the window and provided them with menus. "Now before I go and let you look at the food do you know what you'd like to drink?"

"Red wine for mine please, the Montepulciano?" Dith nodded to Julietta and then turned to Sera with a questioning raise of his eyebrows. Honestly he didn't really know what she liked to drink so he was making no assumptions on her part.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Pleased with this, Sera nodded and readily followed after the woman while Anastasia dutifully trotted after her trainer's heels. The table that the woman led them to had a wonderful view from the window, and Anya immediately hopped up into the chair directly beside said window with an excited "breon!" - such a reaction may or may not have been why Sera had opted for a window-side table to begin with - and Seraphine seated herself in the chair next to her Umbreon, accepting the menu before setting it on the table. Oh, what to drink, what to drink... While alcohol was preferable, she usually preferred tasty beers or mixed drinks, neither of which would be appropriate in this setting... Did she want wine? Yes, yes she did, so for her beverage she opted for a nice rose wine.  

[TawnyAngel]

Orders taken Julietta hurried away and Dith relaxed back in his chair, which creaked slightly but fortunately showed no sign of actually collapsing. "But yes, like we were saying; people we haven't seen in a long time." He nodded as he recalled the thread that they'd dropped when they came in. "I suppose it happens but it's more galling when it's people you knew better. Like Dove for example," Dith shrugged expressively, his brows knitting slightly, "whatever happened to her? One day just sort of- 'poof!' gone. Did she go back and do... whatever it was her family wanted, do you know?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Once the woman had departed, Sera similarly relaxed in her chair while her gaze roamed over the menus, across the table, and around the various decorations placed strategically around the restaurant. "Yeah, it can be," she agreed with a frown. Like Nate and Akira; she hadn't really seen either very often at all, though for rather different reasons, like the...

For a long moment, Sera could only stare at Dith with an expression that one would make if someone waved a decomposing, festering corpse of some unfortunate pokemon under their nose. Why in the world was he bringing her up? "Ugh," she said, then again, "ugh." Her expression morphed into one of disgust and displeasure, and it was all she could do not to glare at him for it - even though she was angry at the topic, and not him. "You obviously didn't know s**t about her if you're actually concerned about her. I don't know what she's doing and I honestly couldn't care any less," the brunette said with a huff as she aggressively picked up her menu and began looking it over as a way of distracting herself rather than actually reading it to decide what she wanted.

Even Anastasia seemed affected by Dith mentioning the other human, as the Umbreon's ears flicked back and she made a soft, displeased noise - though whether it was because she had her own opinion of the woman or because she knew Sera's wholly negative opinion was a different matter entirely.  

[TawnyAngel]

Waaaaaaht?

Dith looked up from his own menu with a deep frown of confusion. "Uh... okay I've obviously seriously missed something here." It wasn't like Sera was super lovely about everyone she ever met but that was a really strong reaction, really strong. "I always got on well with her," he continued, still looking deeply puzzled as he tried to work out exactly what it was that Sera could have taken against so very much. Jealous of Dove's money? No, this didn't seem like jealousy this was loathing. "I mean I know she could be a little... ehhh... self-centred but that's not what you mean, is it?" Was it possible that there was some reasonable explanation, that the two just happened to clash a whole lot? He disliked the idea that he hadn't known Dove at all, he really had quite liked her and had hoped to get to know her better before she vanished. She'd seemed like a kind sort to him if, as he'd said, sometimes a bit focused on herself.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"A little? A little? You don't even-- She was-- Just-- Ugh." All of the memories of Dove, all the conversations she'd had and the things she'd heard from her friends, all of it flooded back to her in an instant and left her mind reeling with all the anger and disbelief at Dove's behavior and ignorance, so for a few moments all Sera could do was quietly fume - or rather not so quietly, given the angry grumbling noise she made - as she recalled various memories from what seemed like so long ago while glaring somewhat viciously at her poor, innocent menu.

Anya's ears slicked back against her head as she turned and rested her chin on the windowsill, as if focusing on what was outside would distract her from what was happening inside.

After fuming to herself for a few moments and calming down at least marginally, Sera asked, "How often did you see her, and how much did you really know about her? And I don't mean whatever she told you - I know she always talked about herself a lot whether or not you even asked or wanted to know - I mean how she acted and what she was really like. I'm sure she always wanted people to think she was some nice, selfless, helpful person that got on well with everyone, but once you actually got to know her -- well." The brunette treated her menu to another glare. "It wasn't that hard to see who or what she really cared about."  

[TawnyAngel]

Okaaaaaaay. Okay. He had definitely stumbled on something here. "I-" Dith began but then he paused, frowning and thinking. How well had he really known her? She'd told him a lot of things, a lot of very personal information considering how long they'd known one another but he was a naturally nosy person so it wasn't like he'd minded and he'd thought that maybe he could help her. He'd tried to help her, to make her feel better about her family problems and her modelling career, but he hadn't ever really understood what the issue was; say no, and photoshopping is a thing.

"We hung out quite a lot for a little while but now I think about it never when anyone else was there," Dith said eventually, his brows knitting deeper as he turned this thought over in his mind and their conversations too. "I suppose she never seemed that interested in me but I wasn't really surprised by that, she was a kid and I am distinctly not. It seemed like she came for advice and reassurance.... So what was she like with you, with Luke and Rosie? She mentioned once a... falling out I think? It was in the hospital after the desert so my memories are a little... fuzzy I suppose with all the drugs that were in my system at the time but I remember something like that. She didn't bring it up again though so I sort of assumed it had blown over. I was wrong?" It certainly seemed like it.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, similar - she never cared about anyone but herself. Sure, sometimes she'd ask about someone else to make it seem like she cared. If she asked any other time, it was only as an afterthought, because she only ever cared about three people: 'Me, myself, and I.'" It was a manner of thinking she had had years ago, but she'd never acted like she cared like Dove had. She always made her opinions known, whether good or bad, and never pretended to like or care about someone to make herself look better. The brunette scowled down at her menu as if it had done something absolutely disgusting to offend her. "And was that what she called it? A falling out?" Sera snorted, assuming he'd meant what happened between Luke, Rosie and Dove, and either passing over or not quite remembering that particular event had happened long after the events in the desert and Dith's subsequent hospitalization. "It was... Well. You know Luke and Rosie well, right? They're both nice and kind and do whatever they can for literally everyone they can, because they're both legitimately nice and kind people. Right?" Sera asked, then continued after assuming Dith would agree - because how could he not - and said in cool tones, "They got to know her pretty well. Luke called her a manipulative b***h and I'm pretty sure Rosie didn't want to see her ever again. She wasn't invited to their wedding. If a total stranger came up and asked to be invited to the wedding, Dith, they probably would've said yes because that's how they are! But Dove? Not invited. Didn't even consider inviting her because of how disgusting a person she was," Sera finished with her scowl still in place.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmh, yea!" Dith nodded emphatic agreement with Sera's assessment of Luke and Rosie. He then frowned and nodded again. "That... says a lot." He'd thought it odd that he hadn't seen her there - so far as he'd been able to tell Dove was the sort of person who always showed up at every party - but he hadn't thought more about it after that. Maybe he ought to have.

Had she ever asked him anything at all about himself? Had she ever mentioned anything that wasn't about her in the end in one way or another? He wasn't sure that she had except, as Sera said; "An afterthought.... I see what you mean. Can-" he paused for a moment, frowning and weighing his words. "Can I ask what happened? Before the desert that caused the 'falling out' she mentioned. I wasn't in Kodo, you might remember? The first time I met her was waiting for the jeep." She'd had that Mew with her.... "She... like to flaunt things a bit, didn't she?" He felt kind of bad talking about her behind he back like this but it was true, she had been a lot about appearances. He'd just put that down to being stuck in the culture of modelling but perhaps there was more to it than that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Seraphine nodded her head once: It said a lot, of course it did, she knew it did. Luke and Rosie liked practically everyone, were nice to everyone, so the fact that they disliked someone that much said quite a lot indeed. Dith's request earned another nod and she opened her mouth to answer, frowned, closed it, and gave the matter more thought. What happened between Rosie, Luke, and Dove - when Luke had called her out for what she truly was - that had happened after the desert, hadn't it? Quite a bit after. She'd lost her arm by then, but losing her arm had happened before the mess in the desert. The 'falling out' she'd taken to mean the thing between her and her own best friends, but if that was after, and Dith wanted to know before... "What 'falling out' was it, then? Luke calling her a b***h happened a lot later, more..." She frowned, trying to place the event, "I think really early last year - sometime after New Years, I know that much. So maybe January or February sometime? And please, flaunting was pretty much her hobby," Sera added with a dismissive gesture and a roll of her eyes - because she certainly never flaunted things before, of course not. Never.