bertall | Iɴʙᴏx ✉ Vɪᴄᴛᴏʀʏ Rᴏᴀᴅ

I|

_{[She's got him there. He does still have feelings for Reiner but there's no point in dwelling on them, is there? There's no guarantee that he'll see him again. Bertolt worries at his lower lip for a few moments and he nearly pouts at the gear, but he shakes his head (and jostles MJ nestled in his hair at the same time) to clear that thought.}

He originally wanted to join the Military Police, remember?

_{[That had changed after Trost, but Bertolt chooses to not dwell on that by shifting it back to the rest of it.]}

But it's not that easy. I've had it broken twice already, once by Reiner and another by a girl I met here and I'm not too keen on going back to Blackthorn yet. It's too quiet up there, and I don't want things to get

weird.

_{[Weirder than hiding in Jean's bed with one of his blankets wrapped around him like it'll protect him? Quite possibly.]}

I'm not even sure what's going on myself. People just assume it's|
Like that.
I don't know what it is.

_{[The woes of being child soldiers - they never had a chance to figure out how feelings and emotions really worked, so now that Bertolt actually has that chance? They've all kicked into overdrive and left him fumbling through it all on his own.]}

I'm aware, Bertolt. That's why the surprise was when he didn't end up choosing them after all.

If he's so good these days, he won't hold something he doesn't feel against you. Probably. You know him better than I do.

Anyway, I already said what it sounds like, and you're already ignoring any advice I have, so just tell me about your contests instead.

It's complicated, Annie.

_{[If he weren't so blind to how feelings like this worked, it'd be something he'd be considering - just going for something always seemed like a good idea rather than dwelling on it, but this was... Different. This was something he wanted to be careful with.

He's read too many romance books from the Pokemart.]}

There's not really a lot to say about them, only it's sort of... I'm not sure, a way to show off your Pokemon and their abilities. It's like a big talent show.

... I take it back. Let's keep taking about your "complicated" love life, that's at least mildly enlightening.

On an unrelated thought... since we took care to never be close during our time training with the 104th, I'll be sure to stay away and not generally complicate other aspects of your life.

Armin wants to talk. I don't want you being involved with any conclusions he may draw. Whatever follows from that, I'll let you know, but you don't need him turning his attention toward you. Not here. Not for this.

[ In her own way, it's protecting him, but especially so now. Which bringing this up is... after everything else, a different reassurance. A shitty one, but a pointed one regardless. ]

How is it enlightening?

But... You also don't have to stay away-stay away. There's no reason why we can't meet up here and there, you know? It's a big world and sometimes we might bump into each other. You're right that we weren't exactly close back on Paradis but we were still 'classmates'.

_{[It was natural for even strangers to talk a few times while they were in the same class, after all. It was part of blending in.]}

As for talking with him, are you sure? I mean... How much do you think he knows? Considering we all seem to be from different points in time and all. I know he doesn't know that I'm the Colossal otherwise I don't think he'd be so amicable towards me in general, but I'm... I'm worried.

Even we can fall into living like we aren't just tools.

I'm not concerned about no contact, just initial contact. I don't know how much Armin knows, but he's a shitty liar, so you really should know if he was aware of anything with you. As it is, I want to have that conversation to make a judgement call on what he's expecting. If Jean and Sasha know nothing, I'll treat them no differently than before. He's the one I won't predict until I know what his priorities are here.

Like I said, after that conversation, I'll get back in touch. We can figure things out from there, but the way I deal with Jean and Sasha should be the way I appear to deal with you, too.

It's easy to do here, honestly. It's not so bad though.

Let me know what happens with it - what he knows and what he doesn't, things like that. I've been keeping my distance since I came back for my own sanity, since I think... It'd be suspicious if I had a breakdown around him out of nowhere. That's part of the reason why I've been staying with Jean too, because I know if something like that did happen I could rely on him.

Plus, well, just between us? I'd really like you to visit so you can try the things Jean and I have been making in the shop. I think you'd like a lot of it.

[ Bertolt... some things she's already said, so she doesn't say them again. Instead: ]

Bribing me with food?

[ Donuts. That's the thing she really would love to get to try again. ]

Edited 2018-09-24 00:58 (UTC)

Maybe. Is it working?

Not as well as if I were Sasha, but yes.

You won't be disappointed, I promise. Jean makes a really good latte with cinnamon and whipped cream and I've got a big book full of recipes I haven't even tried yet.

You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?

I am, yeah. I never thought I'd get the chance to do what normal people get to do.

_{[Birthdays are also a nice touch - he wasn't big on celebrating them back home, but here? No one would judge him if he wanted to sit in and read, or get an entire cake all for himself.

Cake was always a bonus.]}

You wouldn't have without this place.

Ah, right, before I forget. I'm not finding any information on dietary requirements for pokemon with these starting materials, only some of what they may eat, and nothing about what they can't. Is there anything I should watch out for?

[ Like overfeeding with horses leading to increased colic and death. ]

It differs from Pokemon to Pokemon, but I've found that they all seem to be able to eat the same types of food that they sell in stores and even some of what we can normally eat. They all seem to enjoy the berries listed in the guide that you should have, and um... Let me think.

There's some that will eat things you wouldn't expect normal animals to eat - some enjoy electricity over regular food, and I've got a couple that eat rocks and minerals. Jean and I also have a few that eat garbage of all things too, but it makes things a little easier around the shop - mine has to eat outside though because she's a little on the large side and has an... odor. Like anything they can have their own likes and dislikes too. For example I have one that will go out of her way to pick out every single pecan out of a bag of trail mix and only eat those, and one of my Arcanine refuses to go anywhere near lemons while his daughter inhales them.

If you ever have one that eats metal, be
careful
especially if it happens to be an Aron.

_{[And just to... sort of prove his point, he attaches an old video snippet of an overturned dump truck and said teeny tiny Aron tearing through the underside of the chassis and, well, eating it.]}

This happened about a year ago and I still get weird looks when I go to that town. Thankfully he doesn't do this sort of stuff anymore, but his species is known for eating railroad tracks and bridges.

[ Moving pictures are a fascinatingly informative medium. That tiny, oddly bone-white pokemon is absurd as the perpetrator of truck destruction, and she can't help how her eyebrows climb higher when she watches. ]

In one evolution, or all of them? Assuming he evolves.

All of them, usually. He outgrew the truck-eating phase thankfully, but he still enjoys scrap metal when we find it. I let him eat the smaller truck one of my other Pokemon destroyed during the contest.

_{[The next picture takes a little more time to find, but this time it's of the Aron-turned-Aggron in all of his shiny-colored glory. He's big, imposing, and his armor is nearly gold in the sunlight as he sits back on his haunches with part of a jeep's bumper held firmly in his claws]}

I'll let him go around in junkyards with the town's permission, but he's pretty content with eating whatever we've got. Leftovers, special meals, junk, rocks, things like that. He's not too picky these days which works out great for everyone.

The weird thing though is despite how big some of them can get, they don't seem to need to eat a lot.

What do you mean?

Like I said, it's weird. I've noticed it with some of mine at least, but my big Arcanine only eats a bowl or so of actual food before he decides he's done. He used to eat a lot when he was a Growlithe, but he was also a lot smaller back then. Now he's even taller than I am.

With no difference between if they're more active or in whatever state they maintain while in the balls or the PC?

Yeah. The only time I've seen my Arcanine eat a lot is after a long run, but that's usually just over a few days. If he's more active than normal here and there, it doesn't change that much.

That's all strangely convenient. Are they that effective at conserving and storing energy? Or all capable of converting sunlight into energy?

[ No, but this just! Makes! No sense! ]

I'd go with the former. Grass-types on the other hand might actually rely on photosynthesis, but I don't have a lot of experience with them.

_{[Just wait until you start hatching eggs, Annie. Just wait until something like a horse pops out of an egg about the size of a football.]}

Ford would know a lot more about it than I would though.

[ Why would she hatch anything. Why would she want to hatch anything at all!? ]

I've heard that name mentioned before. Who's Ford?

He's a really close friend of mine.

Family, actually. Not... blood, obviously, but he's the sort of person I'd want to be part of it.

_{[There's another bout of silence, and then he quickly adds;]}

He also knows about Marley. Not a lot, but a little. Sometimes weird things happen here and he saw some of my memories.

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