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Cass smiles contently as her idea of the pixies just thinking they're neat and would make good friends seems to be welcome with the other two. However, she can't help but stop sipping her boba momentarily as she hears Eris' words.

"It'd be pretty amazing if that's the reason they said 'nah' to the League."

They did? She glances as Mesprit first, then Uxie and then Azelf at last who appears dead asleep. Maybe mildly annoyed by the clicking of the lock, but maybe that's also welcome White Noise compared to ... whatever they've become used to from before. Maybe a reason why, even with how she thinks Azelf knows, they still granted her this ability for the moment ...

... but then her eyes land on Hideo, and maybe that's a topic for just Eris and her, if Eris would be willing to ... elaborate.

She nods as the talk shifts to creating a space for Azelf to recover that is not in the deepest darks of a lake, and instead filled with sunlight. She likes the idea, nodding enthusiastically along. "Have you guys been to the lakes? Do you remember what plants have grown there? Or maybe the pixies themselves could also suggest some ... once they're wrapped up there." She wonders why Uxie hasn't tried to pick the lock yet, or just bruteforce it open, or if this would sitll come. "I'd avoid an entirely open area, too, for sure. Can't have any kidnapped again."

Hearing that Eris has a Sygna Suit, she's definitely impressed - those are super rare and all, not? And then Eris says something almost more interesting - her attitude regarding AQUA, this super high-end program by the League. Yeah, maybe a talk would be nice ... Cass nods along Hideo's elaborations on the program, nodding. "Kinda surprised they wouldn't want us to join ... but I don't think we are avatars, if you all also don't feel much different." Frankly, she also is not sure if Azelf even has the strength to do ... whatever they need to do to make someone an avatar right now. (And they better not.)

At Eris' remark about the poison, Cass slightly covers her hands further with her sleeves and a flushed face, but eventually drops it and shakes her head. "I don't think it's having a physical effect still, but I didn't recover completely from turning purple, yeah ... it's more a cosmetic hassle, but I pretend my Smeargle's got his paint on my hands all the time now." It's been a struggle to actually change his diet, but it's slowly matching her purple stains now. ("Poison goes where poison's welcome", she remembers, and pats her Trubbish unconsciously.)

She then nods along Hideo's description of the chain ability, recalling it in part - but frankly, everything's also merged into one big soup a little bit.

And she sits straighter as his hand starts glowing. And a red chain appears-

"What. Huh."

Eris Halla Hideo Kino poison quote from pratchett's "i shall wear midnight" o7

Putting a hand over his face did nothing to diminish the pain of a chained Pokemon hitting his face.

"What the fuck was that?" he asked, gradually moving his hand away - only to feel the wetness dripping down his nose.

His nose was bleeding.

But the screeching Joltik drew his attention first, the boy reaching over to feel what was wrong with it, noticing the chain immediately. "...is that the Red Chain?" he wondered aloud.

Unfortunately for him, the noise drew more attention than he wanted, the door creaking open as a familiar Hatterene looked inside - and immediately threw the door open when she saw Hideo was hurt (leaving a startled Beheeyem to close the door before anyone could spot the Lake Trio).

She pushed her way over to Hideo, immediately grabbed some tissues out of a nearby tissue box to pack his nose with. Hideo didn't even need anyone to tell him which Pokemon was doing this. "Vibes, I'm alright. It's just-"

His Hatterene did not stop, save for a moment she spared to glare at the screeching Joltik - which was enough to reduce its whining to whimpering.

Uxie finally broke its attention away from the box, looking over the scene - and shook its head, a frown on its face. It floated over to the trapped Joltik, who looked to Uxie with pleading eyes.

Uxie merely placed a hand on the Joltik, pushing it out of the chain. The Joltik wiggled its legs in its newfound freedom, before shooting web back up to the ceiling, scurrying back up to its sibling as quickly as possible.

The now-empty chain merely dissipated.

Though now Hideo was the one squirming about, his Hatterene focused on stopping his nosebleed.

"Did...did I shoot that chain there?"

Eris Halla Cassandra Kubrick

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Cass nods at Eris' words, appearing rather excited about the idea of recreating and decorating a lake for the Lake Trio to be home to for the time being. "Oh, that would be really cool! If it's the weeds and all growing around, I might also have some contacts ... ... this sounds worse than it is, I promise." She's quite passionately about the unloved yet persistent plants in any garden and landscape - and she's not the only one, having connected with some people via internet forums.

She smiles faintly then at the following words, remembering the imminent war that keeps everyone breathless. "Admittedly, kinda hard not to do stupid things at any given point in time." It's part of being a teen, she thinks, or simply their personalities ...

Her thoughts are quickly interrupted, however, by a Joltik being red-chained.

"That was a Joltik- Yes-" Cass replies before stopping, alarmed, as she sees the red blood dripping down Hideo's nose. She stands up immediately, fumbling in her pocket for tissues as the door suddenly opens. She flinches slightly at the sight of the Hatterene, remembering the violent outburst of Eris' Hatterene in the simulation, before relaxing a bit seeing that the fairy type immediately tends to Hideo.

Cass takes this moment to take that new information in, having thought she'd never see the red chain again. Or well, maybe if there's a grand moment in which the three of them and the Lake Trio have stumbled, with a recovered Azelf, and the Trio proper would ... ... She glances over at Eris, wondering what her reaction is, before nodding at Hideo's question.

"Yeah. That ... happened." She takes a deep breath. "We're not ... we're not avatars, right?" she asks, her voice seeped in uncertainty and unsaid questions. "We're not, right?" she asks again, looking over at Azelf specifically who's awoken with the whole commotion going on. Tiredly, they blink their eyes open, but still mostly remain still as they frown at the happenings, shaking their head slightly.

You're ... not. Avatars. They look at their siblings, then shake their head again. That's not ... avatarship.

Eris Halla Hideo Kino

Avatars.

He didn't feel any different physically (apart from the nose pain), but it was hard to deny now that he just shot a chain out of his hand again. Not with Cass outright telling him he'd done it. "Wait…so does that mean we're avatars? Is there other stuff we can-"

NO

Uxie's word resounded in his head - and the others' as well, if they needed a conclusive answer - which was hard to argue with. "Oh…well, guess I can shoot chains as a not-avatar…"

The little burst of excitement diminished - but wasn't completely gone.

He could feel his Hatterene take pressure off his nose - seemed his nose-bleed had slowed down enough. He didn't see that his Hatterene was staring straight at Eris, an annoyed expression on the Pokemon's face, but he knew her well enough to know what could happen after hearing Eris's choked words.

"Uh, Vibes, mind getting us something to drink?"

His Hatterene let out a sigh, but complied, making her way out of the room - shooting one more glance at Eris before exiting the room (the Beheeyem standing guard letting out an audible sigh of relief).

Hideo waited until he heard the door shut before speaking again.

"Do…are you guys able to do it too?"

Eris Halla Cassandra Kubrick

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Cass couldn't help the slight relief as the Hatterene left the room - they are indeed a beautiful but also incredibly intimidating species. Not that she thinks that Hideo would allow anything to happen to Eris, especially not from his pokémon, but indeed. Uxie's NO sounds resolutely, leaving Cass with a sense of relief.

There's no excitement for her in being an avatar. In having powers beyond what someone else could do - even if it would help with the nagging unease, the constant shifting towards positivity when she could see the ruin written in bones.

As Hideo asks if they could do it, too, Cass immediately looks over to Azelf who blankly stares back - maybe with a little raised eyebrow, as if asking could you? "I'm ... not sure," she replies to Hideo, taking a loud sip of her boba tea. "It ... probably would make sense if we could. Generally speaking." She looks at her hand, but leaves it unmoving.

"... honestly, I'm not entirely ready to face this ability yet," she fully admits after a moment of silence, her brain already in overdrive mode as she stares at Azelf who simply stares back. Is this a contest of willpower now? I'm very stubborn, she thinks with a frown, but Azelf doesn't respond - it just breaks the smallest smile. "How are you guys feeling with that?"

Eris Halla Hideo Kino

His Hatterene's departure didn't do much to ease the tension. Cass's discomfort was clear to hear, and he didn't need Uxie to tell him Eris was taking it even worse.

Hideo did feel some exhilaration, knowing that this was something he could do now. He never could've imagined receiving a Pokemon's favor like Uxie's, nor could he have dreamt of having it bless him with some amount of power.

But he wouldn't say it. He could read the room.

"It feels…weird." It was the next best way he could describe it. "Don't even know if it's like the Red Chain, or it's just some chain I can shoot out." So many other questions ran through his head: how strong was the chain? How often could he use it? Was there a consequence for overuse?

He was gonna have to test its limits.

Another time. Discreetly.

"I…I won't tell the League I can do that," he said. He knew the League would start watching them like a Talonflame the moment they knew they had some amount of powers - more so than simply having the Lake Trio in their company.

Eris Halla Cassandra Kubrick

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Cass is glad to see Eris' Luxray is by her side as she curls, not sure what to do to feel the younger one feel better. Her emotional state is also settling somewhat as she firmly pushes the thought away to later, as there's also no pressure coming to examine this right now. She looks from Azelf back to Hideo now, and nods very slowly.

"It ... definitely looked similiar to what we've ... conjured before," she says, trying to switch her mind to something methodical. "But I just assume it's not the real deal if we're not ... yeah."

A world in which she is an avatar is a world that she can't imagine right now, even with Azelf being curious about her, for lack of a better description.

She does breathe a very quiet breath of relief that Hideo would keep quiet about the power, that it's still around. "Yeah, I think ... until we can also figure out ... some things, that's definitely ... better." Maybe she'd ask Hideo about it later again - curious, too, but also deep in denial.

She looks at Eris again, then back at Hideo and Azelf, who's now fallen asleep again after the commotion's settled a little bit.

"Do we want to ... start working on Lake Littleroot, maybe?" she suggests with a gentle voice. She also longs for something to do - something to have her mind latch onto.

Eris Halla Hideo Kino