IC: @victory_road Pokégear inbox

[bestswordmaster]

Sylvain said I needed to record something to tell you to leave a message, even though if you're bothering to message me in the first place you already know what you're supposed to do, so this is pointless. So...leave a message, I guess. Maybe I'll get back to you. Maybe I won't.

[beep]

Comments

[crumbs_and_yums]

[Annette buries her face in her hands, her hair doing a terrible job of hiding her similarly colored ears.]

I wasn't paying attention and didn't notice the kettle was really greasy...and you'd probably need a lot of grease or oil on moving waters, because of the temperature differential and fluid surface interactions...

...probably better to just send me over to make them tea...

[Goddess why are we even talking about this it was long before school this is so embarrassing.]

[bestswordmaster]

Hm. That's not a bad idea, if you could get safely behind enemy lines and back out again. Set fire to their provision stores and fresh water, under the guise of cooking.

[The words come out idly, as though only part of his mind is on the words coming out of his mouth.]

[crumbs_and_yums]

[She makes a spluttering sound like an unfortunate lovechild of laughter and righteous indignation.]

Felix! Are you seriously considering weaponizing my greatest shame?

...I ought to make you tea...

[bestswordmaster]

Hm? It's not shameful, it's impressive.

[His eyes drift back to the ceiling.]

You don't have to make me tea. I'm fine.

[In the meantime, Fantine has been quietly humming the nursemaid song to herself to memorize the melody, and Inda has made her way back over to Felix's bag to push the buttons on a few of the pokeballs inside, releasing a blue Meowstic and a little baby Ralts. Then she toddles over to Sylvain's bag and releases another baby Ralts, whose hand she takes to lead them over to where Annette sits. The Meowstic does the same with the other baby, until Annette has a little chorus made up of two cats and two tiny Ralts, while Inda returns to the bed.

Felix glances over and blinks. --oh.]

...that's Fellstar. The Ralts don't have names yet.

[crumbs_and_yums]

[Annette gawps a little at Felix, after his eyes drift upwards again. Why can't she ever tell when he's kidding? He is kidding, right? She shakes her head. That man... She returns her attention to Inda's efforts. She raises an eyebrow at the name Felix gives, but quickly raises the other and smiles to make it look like pleasant surprise. Quite a weighty name, that.]

Oh! Hello Fellstar. Hello little ones. My name is Annette.

[She smiles over at Fantine still humming, then at Inda on the bed.]

Thank you for introducing me to everyone, I'm very glad to have met you all.

[bestswordmaster]

[Inda gives a little coo in response before she lies back down on top of Felix's chest like a cat. (She probably learned this from the cats.)]

...I think they want you to teach them another song. They--

[He pauses, face flushing slightly.]

They already know some of your older ones. The library song and Creepity Creep and the box song. But not the others.

[He silently thanks Inda for the excuse to ask Annette to sing through the Pokemon instead of outright.]

[crumbs_and_yums]

[Her face flushes slightly too. It's a good thing neither of them are looking at each other's faces right now.]

Well then, I suppose I shouldn't disappoint. Let's see...none of you would know this one, I think, and we kindof were just on the topic...

♪Deep beneath dark waters,
Deep, deep, deep!
Misty clouds and boiling waves,
Steep, steep, steep!
Hot and dark the air's alive,
Where smoke and steam and dreams collide,
Then nectar divine to make it
Sweet, sweet, sweet!♫

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix closes his eyes. Goddess, he's missed this. As he told Dimitri once, listening to Annette sing is soothing. It makes him feel calm and settled; one of the few things that lets him just exist without feeling like he should be doing something.

In retrospect, this was exactly what he needed right now, because there is nothing he can do about Sylvain, and up until just now he had no idea how he was going to just accept that. Right now, Annette's sweet, gentle voice singing about something as small and mundane as tea eases the panic a little.

The Pokemon listen, too, and once the song is finished they start humming it to themselves and each other.]

...Fantine wanted to learn some songs and yours were the only ones that came to mind, that's all.

[Sure, Felix. Sure.]

But...thank you. --uh, for...for teaching them.

[crumbs_and_yums]

[Annette doesn't respond immediately, busying herself with properly appreciating the Pokemon's delightful singing with soft murmurs and pleased sounds. She wasn't sure when she walked in here that she'd be able to do anything for Felix, but...she couldn't just sit around and NOT do something. She had to help somehow.

And now, it appeared that she did. At least a little, at least for now. She's thankful for that.]

You're very welcome, and so are they. It's my pleasure. They're very good, I should invite them to sing with Tritz and Lavender some time.

[She didn't bring them mostly because she wasn't sure Felix would appreciate a bouncy Igglybuff just now.

Should she stay? Should she leave before she outsays her welcome? Probably best to just ask.]

Would you like me to come back later to teach them some more? Or would you rather I do so now, while I'm here?

[She shows no sign of needing to be anywhere else, stroking Fantine gently between the ears.]

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix doesn't open his eyes.]

Now. ...please.

[Maybe he'll fall asleep like this, he thinks. If he can sleep through at least a few more hours of the day, then maybe when he wakes up he'll have a better idea of what to do with himself.

Later, he'll ask Annette if she'll let him record her singing. Then he can fall asleep to it at night when he's alone again, too.]

[crumbs_and_yums]

[There's a long pause. Not an awkward pause, more a comfortable, contemplative pause. As if drawing a mental breath. Then, the singing begins. It never gets to full volume, but even sung softly, the energy behind each song is the same as Felix has ever heard them before. And Felix has heard nearly all of them before, with the exception of a few short, unfinished ones that she probably hadn't thought to show him yet, one that seems to be about a misunderstood fox and his antics, and one strangely melancholy melody about sneezing in a room full of dust.

When her mostly familiar repertoire is exhausted, she finally looks up from the pokemon to Felix.]

[bestswordmaster]

[By the time Annette's finished, both Felix and Inda seem to have dozed off. Fellstar gives her a look that could easily have come directly from Byleth--somehow blank and knowing at the same time. He pats her arm in thanks before he takes both Ralts by the hand and leads them back to their balls. The Delcatty chooses instead to climb into Annette's lap and unceremoniously plop down to nap. Apparently, this cat has decided that Annette's supposed to just sit here indefinitely.]

[crumbs_and_yums]

[Annette has no choice but to accept her lot in life as a pokepillow, and settles in for at least a short while. Unlike the last time she was trapped beneath a sleeping pokemon, she is prepared and has a small book on fairy types tucked into a skirt pocket. Her bookmark indicates she's already halfway through it, but the remaining hundred pages or so should see her through for a little bit, at least. She reads quietly, pausing every few pages to pet Fantine gently, or keep an eye on the bed's occupants.]