Richard
Okay, okay, Merc will be fine- he's a respectable gentleman in his own right, and he's... Strong. Nothing bad will happen to him. *Pacing through the gardens and barely glancing over the flowers, Grim trailed a flowering path. Orchids, roses... Hm. Not bad. Of course, this is a* Lacking *Arrangement, most certainly- but he didn't need a* Proper *Garden right now. Just... Somewhere to clear his head.*

*... Well, actually, someone left a dirty rag on the ground. Litter. That ticked him off. Maybe he* Did *Need a proper garden. He scraped a bit of dirt over the rag with his foot...*
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


꧁~ Napori was here on her on time. The elegantly put together chimecho having gracefully drifted up and down the garden paths for a time that stretched way beyond a normal walk. Napori was aimlessly drifted as she always did. 

꧁~ She went along awkwardly with the flow of the path, even though for someone like her who could levitate it wasn't necessary. Instead of stopping to smell the flowers like Grim, Napori ogled at the shrines for long moments before moving along. She must've looped the whole place multiple times before finally coming upon Grim. . .

◈ **"Uhm..."** Napori half-hazardly mumbled. **"E-excuse me..."** Napori said, trying to pass by, but her attention was snagged by what Grim was burying that. **"What are you doing?"** She asked, inoffensively.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim snapped his eyes over to Napori's direction, although like owls can't move their eyes, so not really? Like he did it by tilting his head like an owl does, and turning it a good 150 degrees from forward- taking the top of his cape along with it- so it was a rather awkward position indeed.*

"Hm? Oh." *He rolled his eyes and smirked, gesturing to the rag on the ground.* "Mmmyyess, it looks as if some of the commonfolk had tossed their rubbish down. Gah." *He scowled and kicked more dirt over it.* "How... Filthy. And in a place that is supposed to be relaxing, in a place that is supposed to be... Clear." *His head tilted up slightly.* 

"Oh, do forgive me, I'm quite a bit not myself at the moment. You see, I've recently let my adopted... Not my son, per-se, but a child I care for- I've set him free for the first time, and yet, I can't keep them off my mind. I know very well that they can handle themselves, but..." *He trailed off...*
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


꧁~ Napori was a bit uneased when Grim stared straight at her. His eyes were like spotlights blaring at Napori. She felt singled out and exposed, which wasn't helped by the already open and airy garden around them. Napori's gaze followed Grim's as it settled on the rag. Napori disliked rags(jab at jeff), especially littered ones...

◈ **"Don't forget a vaguely religious place... O-or is sentimental a better word? I really can't tell with all of the shrines around."** Napori made a passive glance over her ~~non-existent~~ shoulder. **"Ah well, no use crying over it."** Napori said to herself.

◈ **"You have a ch-child? Well... I'm n-not good with behavioral stuff b-but I have read something similar before..."** She teetered a bit, nervous about sharing information that could be offensive to some. **"Mayhaps your feeling r-regret for letting him go-?"** The unsure bell offered up a half baked answer, hoping for some sort of affirmation.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
"Regret!? Why, of course not!" *Grim was the sort of Pokémon to sound offended at things, even if he wasn't. Case in point...* "Why, you think I'm- of course I can compose myself and handle this professionally! I may have emotions, but they are certainly not... Mushy, feeble... The weak sorts! No, no, of course not. I have done excellently training him.

"It's just..." *His head turned straight forwards as his body faced her instead, his hand circling as he waited for the right words.* "... He's... So young and impressionable. And no one can prepare for anything. It's a hopeless endeavor, that's what it is. I just... I don't know. It doesn't matter. That's why I'm here. To forget these silly and pointless feelings."

*He focused on the shrines, taking a step away before turning his head 180 to face Napori.* "Come. Join me on a walk. Let's talk about religion instead." *He stepped forth without looking where he was going... Doomed to walk right into a rose bush in a roleplay turn or so.* "I find it abhorrent. Pokémon will quite zealously organize to throw themselves at another Pokémon's feet. Quaint, isn't it? How innate the urge to serve others is?"
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"Oh r-right, sorry dear..."** Napori tried to make an excuse but was cut off when Grim chatted away.

꧁~ It was hard to take the bird's words seriously when he clearly wasn't handling this professionally. Maybe it was just because she was so familiar with the feelings; and the want to forget about them. Was that what she was here for? She wondered to herself quietly.

◈ **"Ah? Oh its n-not exactly a walk for me but sure-"** Napori tried to make a joke, but it fell flat awkwardly.

◈ **"Well... U-uhm... Its different, i-in the way that I see it at least... I-it gave me a sort of p-purpose! I'm from Luminair s-so I grew up with Volcorona as a symbol... I don't know if I'd call it quaint so much as I'd say its... N-natural?"** Napori looked for the words. **"I-I don't serve Volcorona like a servant... I j-just find purpose... Sorry uhm,** ***Found*** **Purpose in Volcorona's words."**

꧁~ Napori failed to make any eye contact, dissimilar to Grim. Napori failed miraculously when talking with new people! Which, honestly, was *All* People.

◈ **"It wasn't abhorrent for me, it was comfortable! B-but I guess I c-can't talk about it now... If y-you're up with the times y-you must certainly kn-know what happened, yes?"**


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim was far too focused on appearing pompous and flashy to genuinely berate Auclair for her awkwardness.* "But it's *Not*, natural. Well, it wouldn't be, if you were destined for something greater than... Whatever you are," *He stated with a twirl of his wing.* "There are Pokemon who believe in things like 'true love' and 'a higher purpose'. Trust me, I've seen it first-hand, from both sides. I've attended a congression before- it was horrid.

"The truth is this- They give you promise of a better afterlife. Of better means, ideas of karma and true love and a judgement that does not take into account how wealthy you were or how circumstance ruined your life.

"But the truth is this." *He raised a single feather-digit up.* "A 'god' died. And Pokemon still struggle to cope with it, with the religion they set up. You don't need a religion to have a higher purpose- religion is just a solution that benefits someone else, like me. When I was still royalty, of course. It lets the upper class control the peasants by promising them a mirage.

"And you know what? I embrace that. Let the foolish and desperate throw their lives away. It helps separate the scum from society and makes the lives of important Pokemon easier."
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"H-how do yo-... Y-you don't know anything about my circumstances..."** Napori's face was purple with shame, she could feel Grim's lingering stare as she tried to look away.

꧁~ Having every little aspect of her like pecked and ripped away at was awful. A nipping vulture tearing away layers of insecurity like some Napori shaped onion. She slowed her movements, fiddling around and gripping the lace wrist cuffs with nervousness. The squeamish bell tried to stammer something out but failed to... 

◈ **"R-right uhm... So-something stupid like that su-sure..."** The bell backed down, but a resistance slowly bubbled in her mouth like a candle in the dark! Determination spreading up through Napori and bursting out of her mouth. **"Er-... Actually no-"**

◈ **"I don't app-appriciate you talking about... I-I was never looki-looking for something to t-to do with 'higher purpose', just a purpose, a-any purpose-!!!"** Napori's argument was unsound and had a shaky foundation, a sorry excuse. Napori could gleefully argue any impersonal point, but something like this was just too involved, too difficult for her to grasp with her three(yes chimecho have 3) tiny nub hands. **"I-I'm wasn't throwing my life away, I-I was looking for a way t-to restart my life... Fix ev-everything..."**

◈ **"You are-ren't even considering the other side! You're ju-just factoring your thoughts l-like its gosple, thats what you're doing, aren't you?"** Napori tried desperately for a sound rebutle, but she was grasping at straws for ways to argue her case and not look like subservient cattle.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Unfortunately, Grim was oblivious to the internal plight of others. To him, this was an earnest debate, and one he was well versed in- he* Enjoyed *This line of questioning, this line of rebuttal- and his firm, steady steps and forward tone indicated he didn't take this personally,* At all- *In fact, he seemed rather pleased, and assumed Napori felt the same.*

"Well yes, that is how many Pokemon feel. They are directionless, selfish by nature, and need to be taught to feel righteousness-" *He clenched a fist dramatically.* "-They are... Flawed. Pokemon are flawed, on a social and spiritual level. Giratina bless, they are simply agents of chaos. They need strong leaders, strong forces- in some cases, a god- to unite behind.

"But, well, look at where that leads them." *He gave himself a lone snicker as he turned his beak up.* "The issue with Luminerian religion is that they forgot that a god cannot exist in flesh. There are no true gods- unless you think about the likes of Giratina. Pokemon exist without purpose, and sadly, and so flock to such pitiable religions.

"That is what separates leaders from the followers, the servants from the masters. Some Pokemon are born visionaries, such as myself, and some are hapless Mareep looking for something to follow, even if it is a particularly dead moth. I know because these are the secrets passed down from kings to queens, from oligarchs to monarchs.

"And now, I pass it to you." *He seemed all too full of himself.* "Almost revolutionary in how incredibly right I am, right?"
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"..."** The bell was very quiet, eyes staring at the ground like it had answers.

꧁~ Napori wanted to curl up and die right now. Volcorona, someone who practically defined the previous two years of her life had died. The first person besides her parents she could ever really talk to, have a pokemon connection with. And yet, here Grim was, smearing those memories... A-and for what? Napori wanted to ask, but the words were wedged in her ~~also non-existent~~ throat. Frozen there and unwilling to escape.

꧁~ Was she some spineless wooloo? She had looked desperately for a meaning for so long, Napori just ended up following the first person who could truly help her. Did that truly mark her down as just some 'hapless mareep'? That thought made the bell grimace internally.

◈ **"Y-you're wrong... You c-can't even imagine what its like, needing a purpose, needing** ***Something.*** **E-even if it was all fake, its nice t-to pretend, to believe in something whole heartedly a-and have at least a little hope..."** This answer strode the line, one foot in the area of its all malarky and the other trenched firmly in the Volcorona was really a religious figure. **"Religion i-is just in the eye of the beholder... Wh-whats Giratina to you co-could be Volcorona for me! Yeah!"** Napori made her argument with fractions of confidence!


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
"Hoh!" *Grim scoffed at Napori, smug as shit.* "Of course I can't. I was born a prince. My purpose was given to me at birth, and it was drilled into me every day of my life. And now that it's taken away and I have the chance to become whatever I want? I still want a royal title." *He raised his beak.* 

Ah, memories. *From standing in a hallway, books stacked on his head; to parrying and dancing blades with a foreign swordsman, his royal lessons were bitter moments floating by...* Ah, memories...

"It sounds awfully pathetic when you put it like that. This isn't about you, lady. This is about fool-hearty religious schmucks as a whole. It's not even my opinion, it's simply the way it is. You do know that the rich, the kings and the queens, they don't throw themselves at any god's foot like you do, right? You know why that is?

"Because they aren't servants. They are the highest level of Pokémon. And because they know better." *He shrugged in an awfully sassy manner.* "Maybe you'd do best to marry into a higher ranking family instead. Then you could see above this religious dribble, yes?"
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"It must be so easy knowing what you want to do, huh."**

꧁~ Napori didn't say this offensively. The chimecho yearned for something like that... A purpose; a way to help herself or help others! Nothing came to mind though. Nothing like 'being royalty'. Before both of Napori's parents became burnt ashes, she was fairly upper class! Not princess upper class, but cushy living style. She could barley even picture that previous life, et alone strive for it. 

꧁~ Her child hood wasn't filled with sword dances or book balancing; just intense studying that seemed to last days. No friends, or outside interaction apart from her parents or the odd tutor and visitor. Ah... *Memories*.

◈ **"Y-you sound hypocritical."** Napori cleared her voice, shaking those smoggy memories away. **"You say you're unlike t-the common folk, yet you still turn to worship... Placing a figurehead above y-yourself. Correct me if I'm wrong, b-but if anything, th-that just shortens the gap between the poor and the rich."**

◈ Being put on the spot like that about marriage caused Napori to double take. **"Wh-what? Marry int-"** She shook her head no, but the thought was now settled in the back of her mind, etched there like a charcoal drawing.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
"Hoh! Being a prince? Easy? Not in the slightest. No one understands how hard I have it." *He made a broad gesture towards himself with a spread wing. Of all the things he could have taken as offensive, this was the one remark.* 

"Oh, and trust me, the praise I give towards Giratina? Purely cordial. Giratina *Knows* That anyone from the," *He shutters,* "*Church* Would have me flayed if I weren't to kneel before something imaginary.

"But that's just how things are~"*, he chirps in cynical euphoria.* "The poor and the rich are entirely seperate species. Or they might as well be! Our lives are not full of the sufferings of hunger or thirst- they are lives of political intrigue and vast decisions. To the commoner, murder is unforgivable. But, to a king? Who commands armies and nations? Why, mass murder is simply a part of the job. A king unwilling to deal even the slightest bit of death is unfit for their job. 

"And that's merely the start. Of. The differences between us." *He smirked and gave Auclair a rather uncomfortable pat on the, uh, shoulder?* "But I don't expect you to understand."
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"Understood, l-loud and clear."** The bell retorted.

꧁~ She was taking too much guff from this pretentious bird. The bell shuddered when she was touched by his regal wing, sending a ripple of discomfort throughout the chimecho's body. She ended up making a metallic rattling sound as she did so.

◈ **"L-look, if you're just going to end up ba-bashing my life I'd prefer you to move on."** She was deeply concerned by this uptight owl, seeing how he seemingly celebrated tearing down each of Napori's arguments with iron clad 'fact'. **"Besides, what proof do you have that Giratina e-even existed, it isn't like you can pull out some type of evidence. A-and if you can't, it just makes you look foolish... Afterall, better to believe in something tangible than something that never existed at all."** Napori was giving a bit more pushback each and each time. Now that she had comfortably warmed up she was much more resistant.

◈ **"You have a path set out for you at least, you aren't like everyone else, scrambling t-to get by and having to figure out wh-what the hell you're doing wrong-"** Napori's speech rapidly sped up while she was talking, pouring in more and more of her own insecurities until it overflowed out of her mouth as panicked drivel.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim only gained self awareness just about now, and an awareness that Napori may have, in fact, been taking this personally.* "Oh. I see." *He shuttered at the rattling, irking his hand away.*

"Hm. I see you're getting all... Caught up in this. As a true gentleman I can remove my feelings from such an argument- *Clearly*, I'm not intending to make this about you. But I understand why.

"I know! Holding a conversation with someone such as I? There's no need to impress me, dear! I am-" *He paused, then turned away.* Wait, that can't be right.

*He reconsidered the situation again.* I am *Not* This dense, I can figure this out! "... Oh, I see. You think I'm discussing... You. And you're worried I'm making fun of you?

"Well, you shouldn't, because I wasn't." *He held firm, seeing how she'd react- uncertain if this was the right thing to diffuse the situation.* "My apologies. How unbecoming of me." *He's learned to swallow his ego a bit by now.*
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"I-I'm not trying to impress y-you-!"** Napori panicked, but shook herself. **"J-just... Everything happened s-so recently... Gah I'm just making excuses-"**

꧁~ Napori's confused mind slowly began to settle. Flustered shame rolled over her face as she realized she had become too emotionally engrained in the argument... Arguing something so close to her heart right after the fact only exemplified that element of herself. Napori stowed her emotion and tried to return to a calm, regal attitude. 

◈ **"Something like that, dear... Apologies for making that so emotionally ch-charged..."** Napori selected her words meticulously. **"It really i-isn't your fault though, the fault lays on me... H-happens from time to time, I get lost in the moment a-and get a bit lost in my words, eheh..."**

꧁~ Napori's glance turned away as to not confront her shame. As she let a bit of silence settle, something dawned on her.

◈ **"O-oh! Sorry I never t-told you my name... Did I..."** Her voice trailed off before she found it again. **"I'm Napori Auclair, I'm ch-chimed to meet you."**


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim seemed lost in thought.* Look at how incredibly red she is. Of course she loved you! That's what this was all about! ... And yet, there's simply no way. She's definitely saying you were on the mark there... Or... Or was she just so nervous and embarassed about actually loving me that she pretended that she WAS just emotionally charged? Clearly she wants to kiss the owl.

"... Yes." But chimes aren't really my type. "... The name is Grim Goldshire, prince of the former Goldshirian Empire. A pleasure." *He extended a hand out to her; although, after a moment, he realized he'd only be awkwardly holding it out there. Not that he was apt enough to pull his hand back...* "I'm just here to take my mind off of Merc. ... That's my adoptive son, of course. Or, well, a child that I just so happen to take care of." *He tilted his head away.* "He's exploring the world on his lonesome for the first time. It's nervewracking."
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


꧁~ Now that the conversation flowed more peacefully, Napori's constant nervous rattle had quieted down. Misophoniacs may now sleep easy.

◈ **"Most parents would w-worry about their kid. I-I'm sure he can take care of himself all th-things considered-"** She tried to offer some semblance of comfort but, oh boy, Napori was not good at that. This conversation had pinwheeled in a lot of directions, Napori was having trouble keeping track- **"H-hey! Look at me, if a dainty little chimecho can make it on her own... I'm sure he can! Certainly."**

꧁~ Napori tried to send some cheerful support, but again, that wasn't her strong suit... It was easy to tell she was trying, at the very least. 

◈ **"Well s-sir Grim...** ***Wait that's how I address royalty, correct?"*** Napori asked herself, losing focus for a fleeting second. **"I think you came to a n-nice place to rest your worries. Fey is fairly quiet, helps clear th-the mind... Especially the gardens here."** The bell said with a nod and a flourish.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim, of course, was letting his mind wander and wander about Merc as she did her best to comfort him.* "No no, I am *Not* His parent. Why, he's hardly my flesh and blood, and he wouldn't inherit anything I have, as per current legal standing. *I should really put him into my will...*

"No, it's more that I... Look after him! You see, I've found him on his lonesome and decided he needed a little care. That ended up evolving and evolving into more and more care, until now, and... Why, I haven't even had the chance to properly coddle up to a woman! It's horrid! Lonesome child rearing! 

"It's just that women don't see me through my flaws. That's what it is." *Tangent tangent tangent tangent* "To think, I've to bear the burden of taking care of someone, and yet, I've never had a love to my name! Oh, the horrors!" *A dramatic wing to the forehead.* "It's insufferable. Not that I particularly believe in the notions of romance, mind you." *He shook his head.* "And yet... Never even to hold hands!"
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"You two seemed close, a-at least from what you've said... I'm sorry for assuming, haha-"**

꧁~ Napori deprecated herself internally. Augh, you've done it again Auclair. She had an anxious tired look in her eyes; a tea addict who had gone days without a cup, or someone who had just seen a ghost... Figuratively speaking, there are actual ghosts after all! She was beating herself up for every small mistake, letting her brain get tangled with all her social hiccups.

◈ **"Uhm... I haven't had much luck with them either... I-I guess? I don't have much time to think about it-"** Napori was a bit surprised by just how expressive Grim was. Bombastic, full of theatrical energy near bursting through the seams. **"Y-you do come off a bit strong-! Maybe that could be it..? Plus uhm, n-not to be that bell but you don't really have hands to hold-"** She laughed softly, but it was more of an anxious tick than a show of joy.

◈ **"I guess I just st-struggle to socialize... Thats my problem. I-it definitely is my fault... We ju-just have to find the right people for us I guess-!"** Napori's direction and tone of voice ping-ponged all over the place, unsure of what she should say, but in the end it sounded like Napori found her voice! Settling on words that satisfied her.


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim, staring at Napori rather neutrally, held his feathery-hands up.* "Of course I have hands. Look at these." *... Yep, those were feathers, alright.* "It's just as prehensile as any flesh appendage, thank you. *Not that you'd know anything about hands...*" *Grim had the look of someone who had the energy to complain day after day, night after night...*

"... Oh, I see. You're a leezzzz-bee-annn. A fe-male ho-mo-se-xu-al. Mm. Yes." *That's when his tone dropped, just a bit. Now, Napori wasn't his type, but to think that she'd not actually been interested in him at all when he was so certain she was- it was a fatal strike to his ego.* 

"But no, that's not quite it. That's not why Pokemon don't see me like that." *He looked away, eyes lowered, speaking more hushed.* 

" ...It's because I'm horribly flawed as a person. 

"... But it's hard to confront those things, and harder to change them. But that's simply the condition all Pokemon embody, isn't it? I wasn't so self aware when I was younger, but these revelations came to me with experience." *He shook his head.* "Do forgive me. I have a moping-quota, if you will... I don't actually quite feel like addressing 'it' nowadays," *He stated, skirting the topic.* "It's uncomfortable. You can understand that."
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"U-uhm... Yes! I am a uhm, lesbain..."** She nodded with Grim when the owl said his part. 

꧁~ It wouldn't escape her attention that a bit of Grim's enthusiasm died there. It made an awkward squirm appear in her expression, and a unique kind of awkwardness settled in the air! The kind of feeling one got from locking eyes with a stranger in the hallway. Not something that feels nice to let sit and linger...

◈ **"There are l-lots of things I don't like talking a-about. I understand full a-and well."** Wow! Mutually bonding over skeletons in their closet! How wholesome!

◈ **"I-I can't judge for the moaning and groaning, dear... I'm at fault of that too,** ***You didn't already f-forget how the first half of this went, did you..?"*** Napori sank about a foot, tail barley lifted above the dirt and gravel path. The rhetorical question was asked so Napori could comfort Grim in whatever oddball way she could!

◈ **"Dwelling on personal issues do-doesn't help. Th-the only person I got too be honest to is kind of... Uhm... Dead."** Her voice shriveled midway through the sentence. **"S-so maybe thats a bad omen that I shouldn't blabber about myself, h-haha-"**


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim, as insufferable as he was and as horrible as he may be, shot Napori a sort of mixed expression. On one hand, something about her was so driveling and pathetic that he couldn't respect her at all. Look at how she slouches, look at how she just lets everything run her over. And yet, was he any better? He was just a prick. Bad things happen to him and they happen because he's a* Stupid stupid stupid *Prick.*

"Hm." *His stare finally decided to reside on the look of judgement.* "You're kind of pathetic. But I'm not here to whip some lady into military shape, no.

"I don't have a fight in myself sometimes." *He looks away.* "Sometimes it feels better to just let things happen. To throw a fight when you know you're going to lose, to stop trying and stop chasing women or men or whatever it is I want. I mean, after all, what's the point, right?

"And yet... Eugh. I'm tired of giving up." *He looks away.* "I thought I could resign myself to being a failure forever. But, it just doesn't feel that good. If only it were easy to give up on giving up..."
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"Path-Pathetic? I-!** She began to protest, more than a bit shocked from how blatant Grim said that-. Though that firey determination dwindled away very slowly; ashes and embers flickering out in the wind...

꧁~ Grim was utterly correct, and yet, wrong in some ways. Napori wasn't a fighter. She was terrified of talking to pretty kuch anyone. She disappeared from her home town as soon as something dicey and worrying came up, she ignored the scary reality of her whole life burning down in that childhood fire, and yet... She hadn't let it completely steam roll over her. Part of Napori was still looking, longing for a purpose. It was just heavily diluted by how utterly sad the wilting Napori was.

◈ **"Sometimes a good 'mon just runs out of fight in them... That wh-white surrender flag always looks so tantalizing, e-eh?"** The wet sock of a chimecho shakily stated, eye contact finally being re-established. Napori fonally felt like her and Grim were back on a similar level.

◈ **"How..? H-how are you supposed get over h-how utterly te-terrifying it is..? Y-you aren't scared of everything j-just going to waste? Burning d-down in flames for Volcorona knows how long?"** 


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
*Grim scoffed, albeit with a more humor than judgement.* "Flames? Burning down? Scary, how you worded that. But no, I've already watched it burn down. Torn from me, torn apart and reduced into nothing- my KINGDOM! The one I was meant to inherit, and the one with a great many foes."

*He looked away, feigning disinterest, before spacing out.* "Ugh, how I've repeated this a great many times before, but... My kingdom is gone already. I've already lost it all. Unimaginable wealth, a righteous and wonderful kingdom... All to nothing, for naught, for someone else's greed. Poh! And unimaginably gone, too- there's no way a man like I could, in my current state, marry into another.

"Yes... Wouldn't that be nice? To just... Hold hands with someone, to marry into a position of power- to have my problems, just... Gone. Like that?" *His hand-feathers extended out like a plank.* "No, I don't just give up because I don't want to see it taken away- I give up because it's already *Gone.* It's horrible, horrible... But what am I to do?

"That's right, I give up." *He frowned.* "But, whatever it is you have, you still have it. That's something." *That statement was meant to be more accusatory than anything else...*
Patrice
❥───────────────────── 🎐 Napori 🎐 


◈ **"What do you mean I still h-have whatever I... Dear for lack of a better word, have..? Everything I have has either been reduced to ash or been assassinated for Volcorona's sake-"**

꧁~ Napori didn't take accusations well. It made her feel exposed, in a spotlight of shame and ridicule that she couldn't get behind. Sickening, anxiety driving, and worst of all, the fear that whoever accused her was right.

◈ **"L-look"** She tried to calm herself for the billionth time. **"Maybe... All there is isn't getting your kingdom back, or getting rich or whatever you may think... Did you ever consider if there was something e-else than that?"** Napori looked at Grim, a level of caution in her voice at the anxiety of upsetting him. **"And if there isn't, you're at the bottom with me... Surely there's only one way to go now, right Dear?"**


❥───────────────────── 🎐 Auclair 🎐
Richard
"Well, this garden still seems standing. No one's been beheaded here, and you are still a citizen of your nation, I'm presuming. By the looks of things, you just don't recognize how good you have it, your god be damned."

*He adjusted the feathers around his neck, tidying them into a more refined orientation.* "Oh, but the hole goes deeper, Napori. The abyss in which I'm trapped creaks and opens beneath me. Quite unpleasant. They say the depths of the ocean are the greatest known to Pokémon, but the pickle I'm in stretches farther." *He waved his hand dismissively.* "Oh, yes, Pokemon love to say 'Wait, it gets better!', then don't even bother to act surprised when it doesn't. 

"But you.

"You don't even try from the start, do you? 

"You strike me as the kind of Pokémon to not *Really* Try. Like the sorts that tells herself that she really does. Someone who puts in enough effort to say they're not doing the bare minimum, but not enough to overcome any sort of real opposition- even *If* You really could... A pushover, if you will."