It hadn’t gone as badly as she feared it would, thank goodness. Chisel was very understanding of the whole situation and assured her that he would arrive the next day and stay until the memorial was completed. They further discussed details that would need to be double-checked upon Chisel’s arrival in the village. She told him of the list of deceased who lost their lives during the rampage, and he was confident in his ability to perfectly fit every name in an aesthetically pleasing manner inside the roof of the thing. Now that they finally had gotten a chance to meet face to face, he seemed equally as into the idea as his original letter reply had let on. She was glad for that. It was never any good to commission an artist who did not take to your idea right away; the end result was usually about on par with how much they cared about the project. It also helped that she actually had a good idea for the village monument. Nevermeltice was perfect, he had said, to symbolize the tragedy itself, but to also immortalize those lost. To put that ice in the shape of Kyurem’s tail was a great way to never forget, he had said. She didn’t mention how she got the idea from the altar that she had used to awaken Sorbet.

But, that was that. It was settled and things would go well now that she had both cleared the misunderstanding with Twigs and spoken to Chisel.

…she found this a reasonable assumption until they had arrived back in Tao, at least.

Before then, however, Twigs had taken her out to dinner yet again. PK found herself feeling more and more uncomfortable with every extra Poke that he showered on her. It seemed almost like nonsense; why should a Merchant be unhappy about free meals and free money? It was a dream that most of the villagers would never experience themselves, and here it was for her enjoyment and taking! Take she did, enjoy she did not and could not. She was trying. She was really trying to just enjoy the evening and accept that he continually offered to pay for about any expense there had been to be covered. She barely had to even touch her own cache of funds! She would have been utterly broke and unable to pay for the memorial if he hadn’t stepped in when he did, so she should have been grateful and happy!

And yet...

Perhaps what really held her back was that Every Single Thing she did not pay for felt much like a debt she now owed. It felt like there would be a delayed payment that she would have to make on her own behalf later, when she wasn’t at all expecting it. And what if she didn’t have enough? What if she couldn’t...?

But that was ridiculous... it wasn’t as if Twigs was really pouring his money into the mix just to make her cough up her own money later. He had enough funds to run his little villa in extreme comfort for the rest of his life . And past experience dictated that he was never interested in any lost goods. So, she should have been comforted. Should have, but was not.

She had this nagging feeling that her imaginary debt to him wasn’t accruing interest in the form of Poke, and that she would eventually have to pay up in one instant.

This feeling passed.

Twigs was waiting in the carriage for her. She had lagged behind a little in leaving the restaurant of choice (another meat-serving place that she wouldn’t ever mention to Malt), and cool rain came crashing down to the warm sand as she made her way to their shared ride. It didn’t rain often in Alomomola, but when it did, it was quick and hard. She climbed her way inside, dripping all over Twigs’s plush pillow. Not only that, but the wet sand stuck to her feet only to rub onto that same pillow (getting dirtier by the second, something Twigs no doubt hated). The carriage took off when she was securely within.

Instead of moaning or complaining at the unfortunate sullying of his expensive seat, he simply adjusted himself to be right next to her. Nearly brushing up against her, in fact. This was... this was way too close for comfort, and for a brief instant she started to panic that he was going to take her, taking all of his interest, collecting on that imaginary debt that grew with every additional gift he bestowed upon her... And she was not prepared to pay that. She knew her compatibilities, and she wanted absolutely no permanent ties with any other Pokemon, least of all a gods forsaken egg. Nope, no way, nuh uh.

It was to her surprise that he did not make a move, didn’t so much as speak interest on the topic. Instead, he placed a paw on her arm and started to... lick the side of her head. She was confused for just a moment before realizing that he was grooming her, licking the rainwater away.

To her further surprise, she found it quite all right. No... it was really pleasant. No, that still wasn’t right. She really, really enjoyed it. His tongue’s barbs itched and scratched her scales in one swift motion, over and over, sweeping along her frills. He made sure to thoroughly lick all of the funny angles along her head, missing none of the droplets in the process. Slowly working his way down her back, he moved his paw to push her down. It was hardly a gesture to be wary of or feared; it seemed mechanical, simply part of a procedure to change her position to make it easier on straining his neck. She allowed herself to be pressed to her side on the pillow, and he continued grooming along his course.

Suddenly she became aware that he might try to pull something now, or in the near future, after making her whole body so relaxed... and so she put her guard up. Boys could be funny like that, couldn’t they? They tried lots of bad and mean tricks if you didn’t keep a watchful eye on them. There would be no more breaking and entering; not now, not ever again if she could help it.

But as she waited, his insistence or forcefulness never came. She drifted in and out of sleep and he simply continued, even when they had been long out of the rain and her scales were bone dry. She didn’t mind this at all, of course, but if he did try anything, she’d definitely be ready and sock him one right good--

Except they were now in Tao. How long had it been? Had the journey really gone by so quickly...? Apparently so! The sky was dimming and the mostly rebuilt Merchants’ hut loomed over them. It was definitely later, and they were definitely in Tao.

Feeling a bit of greed wash over her, she invited Twigs in for a bit, hoping he might continue his tongue brushing and she might get a good night of sleep.

But then he said he couldn’t.

Then he said that Malt had made it clear that he didn’t want Twigs in the village, and so Twigs would respect her assistant’s wishes. He smiled sadly at her as he said this.

She was in disbelief, but then it turned to annoyance. A seed of resentment for Malt had planted itself somewhere inside her head. It wasn’t enough to actually confront him or to get angry over anything, but it was there, waiting for something (or someone) to help it gestate, grow, and blossom.

Purely the act of communicating with Malt would have displaced that little seed and stomped it out of existence, but she was finding it harder and harder these days to communicate with him or, really, with anyone. She hadn’t spoken to Rhodes much since the day her team got broken up. She gave him menial tasks sometimes, but he mostly kept himself busy. That was good. She felt a little bad for not approaching him a whole lot, but she didn’t want to burden his kid mind with adult problems. Same for Sandy.

And as far as Malt went.. she had no good excuse for not disclosing everything. She discovered, sadly, that it’s both easy and immediately gratifying to shut out those who genuinely care (despite how devastating it almost always would be for relationships in the long term). And so she had done just that. Then she would definitely be right and justified in thinking she was replaceable, forgettable, and alone.

So, she told Twigs she understood why Malt would ordain that, asked that he not take offense, and let him know that she would be delighted to meet him again next week for a day out.

====

Part 25 of "The Dates"
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