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The Wish helps with the sting. Blood dries and some swelling goes down, but it's not enough to cure. Chu-e doesn't seem particularly bothered, at least, more so just annoyed at the situation they've found themselves in.[break][break]

"Thanksh. I got punched in the fay-sh."[break][break]

Sniffling through his broken nose, Chu-e stepped forward and more into the light.[break][break]

"Do you know how to get out of here?"
[break][break]

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Chu-e tilts their head and squints at priam conrad.[break][break]

"I think we both have shit tastes. You're not mine, either."[break][break]

Sadly for howard slayte, nerdy little archeologists with really bad hat hair was currently Chu-e's type. Sighing, he stood up and went to flick off the machine. Someone else could come and take this over. Reaching out, they tried to pull the younger man against them and hook arm in arm.[break][break]

"This is boring. Let's go do something more fun."

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Chu-e looks dubious at priam conrad's sudden enthusiasm. A click of the tongue as they mull over how to reply.[break][break]

"Necrozma like, made me eat weird shit. So now I want to eat weird shit outside that? You know?" Another pause, as Chu-e tried to understand what the hell was happening in their life. Was this it? Was it like, the time that they had their big mental breakdown over this? On Priam of all people?[break][break]

Their lower lip wobbled a bit and they looked like they might start to tear up.[break][break]

Then it was gone and Chu-e just sighed deeply.[break][break]

"Where do you think this puts me on the crazy-hot scale?"

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Chu-e looks deep into priam conrad's face, opening his mouth to explain.[break][break]

Then seems to deflate in on himself, sighing heavily.[break][break]

"Actually, I don't wanna. I think I'd rather you pick up a big rock and kill me with it."[break][break]

For good measure, Chu-e leaned over and handed Priam the spit-covered crystal as he waited for his demise. Priam probably didn't know what Pica was and wouldn't understand the complex and lasting mental effects that Necrozma had caused. Hell, the Rocket Therapist barely understood it and that was his job.

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When someone comes in, the picture matches what they briefly glanced over. Blue hair, younger- cool! This was the right person, then the two of them could go and get this RKS stuff done. Bingo bongo, go home and curl up under a pile of cats. Sounded like a great plan to Chu-e.[break][break]

Their greeting goes unanswered... verbally.[break][break]

When Fenelle Miller would see is Chu-e going kind of slack jawed for a moment as they visually buffered. Then an understanding flash in their eyes as they clapped their hands together.[break][break]

There was another pause, Chu-e cocking their head to side in thought, before lifting their hands and quickly bumping the two sides together, their right raising to spread wide in a wave.[break][break]

Hello![break][break]

They pointed at themselves, then did a rolling motion towards their own chest with pointers extended.[break][break]

I sign![break][break]

There is another pause, Chu-e's face scrunching up some. Another point at themselves, then their right hand steppled upward as they 'crawl' up it with their left. That one they don't look so sure about as they do it.

I'm rusty

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Chu-e frowns before remembering there is, indeed, someone else here. Looking over, he see that he is now the prime entertainment for priam conrad.[break][break]

Chu-e just stares blankly at the other for a few moments, internally flustered.[break][break]

Then slowly opens their mouth and plucks the fleck of crystal from their tongue. The shard glistens between fingertips, now spit-shined clean.[break][break]

"I can explain."

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The terrible and horrible scourge of Kanto....[break][break]

Sits on a rock and stares at the drill bit. They're just as bored as priam conrad is, lost in their own world as they daydream about being home surrounded by their cats. Maybe they would order from that one place tonight- or, no, maybe that other one.[break][break]

Actually, Chu-e was kind of hungry.[break][break]

A very small chip of crystal ruts up from the dirt, being flicked onto Chu-e's show. Absently, they pick it up and wipe it off. Then, in plain very of Priam, put it in their mouth.[break][break]

There is a long, long pause before Chu-e's brows knit and they sit up, seeming to realize what they've just done.

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The sticky note from Walsh had really annoyed them this morning.[break][break]

Had they really fallen so low? To play around in the make-believe machine when they had things to do? But there it had been, plain as day. Requested by Science to muck about.[break][break]

Chu-e flicked open their phone to check the time, a Skitty staring back from the lock screen. A Grunt was supposed to be here soon; Fennel? Fenelle Miller? Fiddle? They'd only had time to give the file a cursory glance before rushing over. They'd barely given them a chance to arrive ten minutes early! The fuckers![break][break]

The sound of the door sliding open caught their attention, causing them to plaster a friendly smile on their face and put their phone away.[break][break]

"Hi, Chu-e! Nice to meet you."

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He was lost.[break][break]

After having wandered away from howard slayte during an episode and running into Michael Navidson, Chu-e had no idea where in the fuck they were. So far, their sense of direction had ended up with them wandering aimlessly through crystal caverns. While pretty, they only filled Chu-e with a sense of revulsion when he caught his own warped reflection inside them.[break][break]

Maybe it was the broken and bloody nose or swelled shut eye from Navy's punch or maybe they were just losing their touch. When mila alexopoulos called them out like they were some stalker, it did make Chu-e flinch away from the crystal and whip around to meet her eyes.[break][break]

"I washn't hiding." Was protested, bland. Swollen lips and aching teeth made the list come out. No pokemon roamed at Chu-e's sides; it was just him.
[break][break]

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Where lam logan's Fuji was made for growing, Simba the Litleo was made for staring. A more and more plump, ripe berries fell from the trees, more and more of the pokemon on the island came forward to share in the bounty.[break][break]

Only, some pokemon were a little less willing to 'share' than others. A few wanted more than could be sustained or were more than happy to bully other pokemon for the harvest. But, you see, that is where Simba came in.[break][break]

His Unnerving stare put them in their place. When a Patrat snatched a Persim from a waiting Happiny's paws, Simba sat his fat ass right down next to the Patrat and leeeeeaned in real close... and stared.... with his wide, round eyes... unblinking... casting shadows over the smaller pokemon.... a vile aura coming from him.....[break][break]

And the Patrat swallowed hard. Then slowly placed the Persim back in the sniffling Happiny's paws.[break][break]

So, Simba leaned back and turned, still blank faced, to find some other offender.

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It is not Chu-e that answers Cillian Quinn's call.[break][break]

It takes a few long moments for any movement to be heard from inside. While the lights are on, it stretches just long enough that Cillian would perhaps think that Chu-e isn't home. It still cracks open, though, and the face that peers back out at Cillian would be familiar. Prince, the Gardevoir, and one of Chu-e's longest companions since his tenuous return to Hoenn.[break][break]

The pokemon blinks, seeming like it perhaps was expecting someone else or no one at all. Then he seems to remember himself and step back, opening the door wider for Cillian to enter.[break][break]

The lights are indeed on. The TV playing, but muted, on some cooking show. The jovial looking woman on the screen is soundlessly separating egg yolks and whites while a Hoothoot watches on from a perch. The place is.... not in the usual top shape that Cillian would be accustomed to Chu-e's home being.[break][break]

Always pin neat, always fresh despite the copious amount of cats. The coffee table was piled up with mostly uneaten takeout and empty bottles and cups. A small pile of wrappers next to the couch, which is where Chu-e was apparently nesting. Blankets and pillows are stacked up in one corner of it, but have been pushed aside and Chu-e absent. It smells faintly of old fried food and dust, with a whiff of astringent high powered cat litter from somewhere else in the house.[break][break]

Sparklefur, loafing on the side of the couch that Chu-e had not claimed, turns her massive head and cracks open her eyes to openly stare at Cillian. The Shadow Delcatty does not view the man with hunger as she does so many others, only the blankness of a predator viewing another of it's own kind.[break][break]

From down the hall, the sound of a toilet flushing and water running in a sink. Prince would slowly close the door behind Cillian when he was fully inside.[break][break]

A squeak of hinges, the door cracking open as Chu-e makes his appearance in the flesh. He is loose and relaxed for a few moments, eyes dull and steps slow, but when he sees Cillian he pauses. In a blink, he straightens his shoulders and smooths over his expression; it is a transformation that Cillian would recognize from most in Kanto. The transformation from a person into a soldier at a moment's notice.[break][break]

"Hi, Cil. Is there something I can do for you...?" The question, the confusion, hangs in the air.[break][break]

For the state his house is in, Chu-e himself doesn't look terrible. He's clean, in fresh clothes, but there is a certain tiredness hanging in his features and on his face. Being forced to leave and do duties for Rocket had no doubt kept some form of appearances upkept.[break][break]

And Chu-e, himself, is so still and so careful in his movements. An obscurification. It doesn't seem to be malicious, just wary. Like a dog who didn't know if it would be struck or pet from the hand reaching for it.