Valeria immediately took the opportunity to wander off through the marketplace, trailed by Umbre. Stopping at one of the stalls, she took a quick glance over at Adrian to see if he was out of earshot before looking back at her sister. "I'm not wearing a collar, Umbre," she said.<br/><br/>"Valeria..." Umbre replied.<br/><br/>"I refuse-"<br/><br/>Umbre reached out, quickly grabbing Valeria's shoulders. "Listen to me, Valeria," she interrupted, raising her voice a bit. "You have to understand how this works. I know you want to leave, but that isn't an option! If you keep this up he's going to retaliate and you're going to get hurt!"<br/><br/>Valeria rolled her eyes. "I'm not afraid of humans, especially not this one," she derisively replied. "He's just a spoiled-"<br/><br/>"Please, Valeria! Just trust me... you have to at least play along. I'm not asking you to like him, just... just deal with him, okay? For me?" And then it hit her, the perfect way to get Valeria on her side. "If he trusts us, it'll be easier to escape, right? Because he'll let his guard down. If you're constantly antagonizing him he's just going to lock you in your Pokeball all the time, and then what will you do?"<br/><br/>Valeria grimaced, clearly thinking it over, and Umbre knew she had pulled it off even before the Leafeon finally replied "I suppose you're right, Umbre. I'll... play along, for now, but I'm warning you, if he tries to force me to do anything more objectionable, I'm going to refuse. I hope if that happens you'll support me." Her last line was stern, definitely a command. Umbre bristled at it, but kept it to herself. Valeria had certainly grown up since they last saw each other, but did she really have to be so... so dense about this? Had she lived so long in the woods that she completely forgot how the human world worked?<br/><br/>"That's all I can ask of you," Umbre replied. "Thank you. I just don't want to see you get hurt, Vale. Now come on, we have collars to find."<br/><br/>Valeria ended up falling behind, distracted by every stall selling useless (but pretty) collars. Umbre decided to leave her; Adrian was a trainer, so she figured he would be expecting them to pick something more useful for combat. As she meandered through the market, her thoughts were still on her sister. She enjoyed freedom as much as Valeria did, she just had a more realistic outlook on her situation. There was nothing wrong with that! She was making the best of what she had... and Valeria had the gall to essentially accuse her of being some sort of traitor? "I hope if that happens you'll support me," as if she wasn't supporting her this entire time!<br/><br/>She had stopped paying attention to where she was going, and found herself down a side alley. There were still stalls here, though it was clear they were selling far less mundane items than the shops down the main causeway. Out of interest, and to clear her mind, she stopped at one selling collars... and other restraints, she noted. Her eye was drawn to one in particular, a thick black one, made of leather, with a D-ring hanging from the front and a small lock on the back. "You like this one?" the vendor asked, watching her. "Very high quality, and it boosts your endurance, too, so it's helpful in battle and in more private affairs. Helps you last a bit longer if you're in a tight spot!" He laughed to himself as Umbre thought about it. It would be useful... and she had a feeling she was going to need to make up for whatever silly choice Valeria made.<br/><br/>"I'll take it," she finally said, snatching up the collar. "My trainer is right over here, I'll bring him right over." Blushing beneath her fur, she hid the collar behind her back as she walked back to Adrian.<br/><br/>She met Valeria halfway there, and the Leafeon wasted no time in showing off her acquisition as they continued their walk. A brown and tan and green collar, thin and ornate, with tree and leaf designs carefully tooled into the leather. "I think it's very pretty!" Valeria said. "Something like this shows beauty, not submission. So what did you get?"<br/><br/>Oh, she would find out soon enough, Umbre mused. Stopping in front of Adrian, she smiled slightly and said "We're finished! Here are our selections..."<br/><br/>"Umbre!" Valeria gasped, as she saw the intimidating black collar her sister had chosen. "You have to be kidding..."