An Ice Day at the Beach (Amanda + Annie)

[Amanda Dupomme]

It had been another beautiful day on the island, a cool sea breeze passed through the sparse trees alongside the beachfront, shaking the leaves lightly and refreshing any who may have been near. The sun, now a deep orange in the afternoon: shone through the clear sky, warming the water and sand below it. Although it was certainly no longer a period for vacation, the mood was perfect for any students that may have chosen to swim: and indeed, one could spot the odd beach towel near the waters edge, the young teenagers that owned them busily and playfully splashing in the salty water.

Amanda beamed, hand on a overly large hat as she slowly closed her eyes, allowing the breeze to wash over her. She had long planned to visit the beach today, as the fading summer months would soon give way to autumn, and the experience of a pleasant trip to the beach was something both she and her Pokemon needed, especially as her ever-growing team increasingly called her attention and effort, a bit of R&R would be a welcome change.

What hadn't been planned, and was a surprising change: was the second Water Dormer that accompanied the sundress-clad girl: Annie Prince. Amanda had encountered Annie on her way out of the dorm, and customary greetings had been exchanged, then pleasantries, until Amanda had discovered the other girl had never been to the beach.

''It simply would not do!'' Declared Amanda, as she practically dragged the other girl along for the trip. It was hardly the most ladylike of things to do, but to Amanda, the absurdity of someone not experiencing the wonders of a lovely beach: was a far worse crime than she could imagine.

As she re-opened her eyes, the blonde turned to face the silver haired girl, still smiling. ''So... what do you think, isn't it simply marvelous?'' Amanda questioned. 

[Annie Prince]

Annie had certainly not expected to spend her day like this. It wasn't that she had been avoiding Harmonia Beach, but her journeys around the island had simply not taken her there up to this point. She had been too busy being plenty of other places to stop by here.

Amanda had been horrified (in her usual cultured manner) to discover that Annie had never in her memory visited any beach at all. There had been no opportunity for it, of course; she had spent her entire life since leaving Kalos in a single city which was surrounded by mountains and connected to the beach only by a long, nearly impassable path. But of course, Amanda had no way to know that, and for all she was getting to like her fellow Kalosian very well, Annie didn't quite dare tell her the details yet. So she had explained, a bit more circumspectly, that she had never before chanced to be so near to a beach that visiting would be practical, and Amanda had insisted that they needed to change that.

And that was how Annie had ended up sitting on a broad expanse of sand next to Amanda, gazing out at the sparkling blue-green waves. In some ways, it was very different from anything she was accustomed to: the air was warm and wet, the sand hot and grainy and alarmingly prone to get inside even the most careful shoes. In others, it was comfortingly familiar: the sun reflected off the liquid water just as it did the solid variety.

Amanda was asking Annie what she thought, and the white-haired girl answered slowly, "It's very different... but it's amazing."

[Amanda Dupomme]

Amanda beamed, overjoyed that Annie seemed to be enjoying the sight as much as she was. The beach was an experience everyone needed to enjoy at least once, and to be able to initiate such a thing: that was something Amanda knew she could feel proud about.

In truth, it gave her a bit of an idea: the beach was looking very lovely, and would continue to be as such for, at the very least: a few more days. It might be an interesting idea if she could organize more people, bring Annie back, perhaps Seria and Tanya, have a bit of a picnic on the beach. Amanda could feel herself getting increasingly giddy with plans for the future, and forced herself to take a few deep breaths. That could happen, but for now she needed to stay calm, it was just her and Annie for the time being.

Their Pokemon too, of course. With a swift flourish: Amanda elegantly released all her Pokemon. With an eagerness that had long been building all day, her Munchlax and Marshtomp sped towards the cool water, leaving the Lunatone, Duskull, and Hariyama accompanying their trainer. For all the excitement their comrades showed, the Lunatone and Hariyama seemed content to simply relax.

The Duskull, meanwhile: seemed more interested in the other girl. As the ghost slowly floated towards Annie, his single eye shifted from socket to socket: leering at the pale-haired student. Unfortunately, to the inattention of Amanda. 

''Upupupupu... now there is a new face...'' Alfred chuckled, floating uncomfortably close to Annie. ''Shame about that scar on it... really makes you look quite hideous!'' The ghost spoke in a light wispy voice, it's tone mocking in nature. 

[Annie Prince]

When Amanda released her Pokémon, Annie contemplated whether or not it would be a good idea to follow suit. Her Ice-types generally didn't like the heat very much; she imagined that most of them would be rather upset by the burning sand. It would probably best to leave them in their Poké Balls, at least for the time being.

Annie shortly realized that that might have been a bad call, when Amanda's Duskull moseyed on over to her, getting right into her personal space, and made a comment about her scar being disfiguring.

She knew perfectly well that her face was not exactly the sort that most people would like the look of, these days. It was hardly the first comment she had gotten to that effect, though most certainly was the first such comment she had received from a Pokémon. She was surprised that the Duskull could speak at all, much less offer insults.

Annie's automatic response, whether the insult was meant as such or not, was to stiffen into a defensively haughty manner. She turned pointedly away from the Pokémon and called to Amanda, "Pardon me, Mam'selle Dupomme, but would you restrain your Duskull?"

[Amanda Dupomme]

The Duskull rolled his eye in amusement, rather inordinately proud at having drawn a reaction from the girl. ''Upupupu... oh don't mind her, her face isn't any better either, looks very doooooomed. One of these days, I'm sure she'll lose her head!''

The Ghost broke into a cheerful laughter, his creepy wispy voice drawing the attention of the other Pokemon. Reflexively, almost as if it was practiced: the Hariyama seized the smart-ass ghost, palming him as to restrain all sound or movement. With the Duskull restrained, the large shiny nodded towards Annie.

''Apologies...'' sighed Amanda, moving closer to Annie and taking a seat beside the other girl during all of the commotion. ''He can be a bit of a troubling Pokemon, I'm not quite sure why I ever thought I wanted a challenge, calm Pokemon are so much better... and unfortunately, he is probably still one of the nicer ones...''

A little sorrowfully, Amanda withdrew another pokeball from her bag, staring at it intently. Unlike the five other containers, this one was different. Warning labels marked the sides, a piece of electrical tape sealing whatever was inside. This was clearly not a container that Amanda wanted to open.

[Annie Prince]

It was strange, watching the interactions among Amanda's Pokémon. Especially the part where the Hariyama took charge of keeping the Duskull in check. Annie would never have had her own Pokémon do such a thing; she was their Trainer and felt responsible for keeping them under control herself.

The Duskull's comments were even odder. Annie snuck a measuring look at Amanda, trying to see if she could figure it out...

"I see what he's on about," Annie commented mildly without thinking. "You do have a rather doomed-looking face." She couldn't have said why, but she did get that feeling somewhere so deep in her gut that it didn't even register with her that she had said it aloud.

The Poké Ball that Amanda withdrew next was, mysteriously, sealed shut. Annie frowned; it looked like a perfectly ordinary Poké Ball to her. "What's inside that?" she asked, and then checked herself. "If it's all right to ask, I mean."

[Amanda Dupomme]

Amanda pouted at the statement, feeling somewhat offended. ''What do you mean I have a doomed face? What sort of thing is that to say to someone else?'' Shaking her head, she turned her attention to the ball, nodding sadly at the question she had been posed, holding the ball up for Annie to see. ''N'a pas d'importance, it's all right for you to ask... this is... my sixth Pokemon, I got her not long after we spoke for the first time...''

Cautiously, the blonde gestured towards her Hariyama, the diminished but still visible scar on his side, dull among the glowing shine of his oddly colored body. ''It's what marred Fisto, I only caught it because at the time I thought he was in danger, in a way: I was sort of right...''

Putting the ball down on the sand, next to her, Amanda sighed and looked forward towards the sea, yet seemingly into nothingness. ''You battle Pokemon just as much as I do, I would imagine. Annie: do you feel it's right for us to have them physically attack each other, and injure each other?''

Amanda turned once more to face the other girl, her eyes now lifeless and cold. ''What happens if things go too far? What happens if the very Pokemon we need to care for get injured, protecting us? What if we can't control them, and they hurt others?''

The words seemed to spill out of her, it was bitter, how not but a few moments ago Amanda had been excited at the prospect of visiting the beach, and throwing parties, now she was miserable.

''Oh, I'm sorry...'' she frowned, apologizing as she withdrew a spare ball from her bag: recalling the suppressed ghost into his device. ''C'est le Duskull stupide! Every time I release him, he seems to bring the mood down for everyone around him!''

[Annie Prince]

Did I say that out loud?

Luckily, Annie managed to not say that thought out loud. She certainly hadn't meant to insult her friend! With respect to the comment about Amanda's face, she tried to rescue the situation by saying, "Surely you've heard of the hero Jeanne, who saved all of Kalos but was killed for it?" Then she changed the subject.

Annie found herself nodding along with Amanda's introspective comments about the moral issues related to their Pokémon being injured while fighting for them. The Hariyama's scar reminded Annie a bit of her own, and she certainly understood why the other girl was troubled by carrying the Pokémon that had inflicted it.

The white-haired girl reached for one of her Poké Balls, in order to answer her friend's questions. She pressed the button to release a specific Pokémon from inside. "This is Tomislav," she introduced the Snover as he materialized, "and I had to hurt him rather badly to catch him." Tomislav let out a happy noise and began to investigate this new environment, especially Amanda's hat.

"When I first caught him, he had an injury on his face that was a lot like my scar," Annie continued. "You can see, it didn't leave very much of a scar--but my own Senka put it there, on my orders. That troubled me, so I have thought very hard about these things. But... as you see, he doesn't seem troubled by it at all. Snover don't naturally come more than halfway down the mountain, but Tomislav loves exploring the lowlands with me. So at the least... they forgive us, I think, if they get hurt. And if they run out of control... that's what we have Poké Balls for, isn't it?"

The Duskull was then summarily returned to his Poké Ball, which Annie rather approved of even if she wasn't certain why Amanda had let him out in the first place.

[Amanda Dupomme]

Amanda smiled at the little Snover, noting the curiosity the small Pokemon had with her hat, and gladly offering the overly large headpiece to the Pokemon, instead letting her hair freely flow along the breeze. She listened intently to what Annie had to say, realizing she hadn't quite understood something. Yet, before she could ask: another thought popped into her mind.

''I certainly understand... but even if they forgive us, who is to say we should forgive ourselves? Our Pokemon are like people, they can be caring, or they can be cruel: but in the end, c'est notre responsibilité... But I suppose you are right, perhaps... I need to trust in my ability to control my Pokemon...''

Cautiously, Amanda undid the tape on her Pokeball, releasing the Pokemon within: a rather large seeming female Pinsir. The bug merely studied the trainers intently, drawing a way glance from the Hariyama behind them. The Shiny had been injured by it's claws before, it had little desire to relish it. The Pinsir seemed to stare forever, yet, just as Amanda began to regret her decision, it turned around, casually inspecting the sandy terrain around it.

Amanda let out a sigh of relief, overwhelmed that the Pokemon hadn't gotten out of control. Perhaps, Annie was right.

''If you don't mind me asking...'' she glanced at the scar Annie had. ''How did you get that scar on your face, was it a Pokemon?''

[Annie Prince]

Tomislav's interest in the hat led Amanda to give it to him. Annie couldn't help but giggle to see what her Snover did next: he turned it over a few times and then put it on his head, completely overshadowing his entire body.

Amanda seemed to be pensive, still. Annie wasn't even sure if the comments and questions were meant for her, but she answered anyway.

"I think that when we make friends with Pokémon, we can make their lives better. And if they were going to get hurt in the wild anyway, isn't it better to help them as we can?"

The Poké Ball that Amanda had wrapped up turned out to contain a big Pinsir. Annie watched it curiously. From under Amanda's hat, Tomislav might have been a bit concerned--thought it was hard to tell, because he was still completely hidden by the huge brim.

Amanda seemed very relieved that the Pokémon she had released didn't seem to be that hostile. Annie wasn't exactly surprised by it, since catching Pokémon did usually make them stop behaving violently towards you, but then she had never seen the circumstances in which the Pinsir had been caught.

The other girl then asked a question that Annie hadn't expected, one she didn't want to answer. Was it a Pokémon?

Annie looked away, staring fixedly down the shore, as the memories began to bubble up. She nodded just once, slowly, in acknowledgment that Amanda had guessed right. When she spoke, all she said was, "I don't like to talk about it if I don't have to."

Memories flashed through her mind, and she spoke again, not quite intending to do so: "I didn't really have a lot of people asking me about it before I came here. Everyone I met already knew what happened... some version of it, anyway. Better to deal with people asking, because people who ask questions aren't just making up stories to make people afraid of me."

[Amanda Dupomme]

Amanda nodded slowly, rather unsure on how to respond to what Annie was saying. She could guess how other people might react, Seria would likely offer a hug or just outright do it in an attempt to cheer someone up. But for Amanda, she had never been in the sort of situation in which she was so... philosophical with someone else.

''I understand, you don't have to talk about it if you do not want...'' Amanda spoke softly. She didn't want to infringe on any personal desires the other girl may have had. ''Some scars never quite heal, I think. Even my Hariyama has proof of that!'' she gestured once more to faded scar on the sullen-seeming Shiny, too engrossed in watching the Pinsir wander around the beach to care about the girls talking.

''...And maybe that's not always a bad thing, it's good to have these reminders, to remember the things that have marked us in the past: because our history is what defines us as people.''

Amanda shot a quick glance at the Pinsir herself, feeling odd at how peaceful the Pokemon was, compared to when they first met. ''But maybe, I think: sometimes the way we remember things isn't accurate, bias and emotions cloud our minds, and things might seem worse than they were, time heals wounds, and just maybe... mistakes of our past could prove to be useful advice to our future selves...''

The fourteen year old smiled gently, cautiously placing a hand on the other girls shoulder. ''Although, for all the people that make up strange stories, you could just encourage them and really' mess with their minds?'' She giggled, perhaps her humor was a tad out of place, but to Amanda it felt like a bit of joking might lighten the mood.

[Annie Prince]

To Annie's relief, Amanda didn't push her for more information. However, the other girl did have some things to say, to which Annie was not sure how to respond.

Some scars never quite heal...

Annie certainly couldn't argue with that point, though she had hope that eventually she would be sufficiently healed that troubles would stop coming up around her scars. Maybe she would never look normal again, but most of the time now she already felt normal. The scars that still gave her trouble were mostly on her mind.

It occurred to Annie that Amanda's musings probably applied more to the blonde's situation. Annie's own troubles were of how to proceed now, with things like trying to make new friends and dealing with others' actions towards her. (Besides, there was not much open to interpretation about how she had gotten the scar on her face. She had gotten into a fight because she wanted to protect her brother, and the bully she was fighting had made a dangerous and dishonorable choice. What was there to get mixed up about?)

Amanda's joke about encouraging the scary stories confused Annie a bit. "My friend Michael encouraged me to do that, actually," she commented mildly. "He said I had nothing left to lose by it, and he wanted to see the looks on their faces. But... they were so afraid of me already." The words she did not say dangled in the air. She did not say what she had still had to lose. She wondered if Amanda would pick up on what she was implying.

[Amanda Dupomme]

As she slowly nodded, Amanda slid her hand under her chin, listening thoughtfully to what Annie tried to say. She wasn't entirely surprised that she hadn't been the first to suggest something, yet: the way the silver-haired girl reacted, it seemed like it hadn't been the best of ideas.If anything, it felt like Annie was trying to tell her something. If not outright, certainly by omission. Yet, for all her attempts to understand the other girl, Amanda couldn't quite keep up.

It made Amanda feel guilty, guilty that she couldn't quite understand what the other girl had been through. Certainly, the blonde was there, and she wanted to empathize with Annie, but for all her attempts, it felt forced. Amanda chided herself mentally, feeling horrible about all of it, she was stupid, probably. Unable to understand the troubles of anyone with a life different to her own. Annie clearly had some troubles in her past, Amanda did not. How on earth could she relate, and if she couldn't relate, how could she help?

''I'm sorry... I don't really know exactly what has happened in your past, I most definitely don't know how I could relate... since I never really had something this bad happen to me.''

Amanda looked away, trying to hide her desolate emotions from showing. ''If I may be so bold as to say... you can be a bit cold initially, a bit of an ice queen, mais ce n'est pas mal, je pense...''

The blonde smiled sadly, reminiscing. ''For a good portion of my childhood, I was involved with my towns historical acts, I played the roles, various ones as you know. But my dream was always to be the princess, to know how to comport myself to others. To have that regal flair.''

With a pause, Amanda considered whether or not she ought to continue. It was no use now to hesitate, she realized, cautiously removing her hand. ''I actually... look up to you. When I met you, you seemed so dignified and confident. To me, that was really impressive. I mean, I want to seem like the sort of person that has it all together, I really do. But it's something I need to consciously try to do. But to you it seems to be so easy, and that's just... incredible.''

Amanda sighed, forcing herself to shut up, looking into the other girls eyes and wondering how Annie would respond to that. 

[Annie Prince]

Annie wasn't quite sure why Amanda had adopted that strange, thoughtful pose. She hadn't thought that people ever sat like that in real life, but apparently she had been wrong.

The white-haired girl was thinking about this primarily to distract herself from the memories that she didn't like so much, so when Amanda spoke, the other's words came as a tremendous surprise.

"Why would you ever want to relate? It's better not to know how it feels," Annie replied, remaining quiet on the details of what it meant. Amanda's general guess of "something bad" was accurate enough. And Annie genuinely didn't understand why anyone would want to relate to an unhappy experience in general, much less one so serious.

The idea that she was "an ice queen" was considerably more comprehensible and appealing to Annie. "Ice queen" may not have been the sort of appellation which was universally agreed to be a compliment, but it suited Annie just fine.

Apparently Amanda meant it as a compliment, too; so it became apparent as the blonde continued speaking. Annie was not really used to having anyone looking up to her; even her brother no longer did. It was even more extraordinary that Amanda admired her for being reserved. Annie was aware--all too aware--that her proud attitude was in large part covering up for her fears. It was reflex; it was automatic; what was there to be impressed by?

Amanda seemed to be waiting for a response. The younger girl stared at Annie, in a way that just felt a little too intimate to be comfortable. What did one say about all this?

"I'm not... doing anything," the older admitted. "All I do is what I have to do, to keep going. You aren't me, and that's good."

Uncomfortable with disclosing so much, she turned her attention back to her Snover. Tomislav had been wandering about, looking with curiosity at Amanda's Pokémon, and now he was returning to Annie. She smiled: the little tree-thing still had Amanda's hat on his head.

[Amanda Dupomme]

Amanda felt her mood drop further, sighing, looking away, and hugging herself tightly, shivering from a cold sensation that had just moved upon her. It hadn't felt as if Annie was particularly comfortable at that moment, and the blonde chided herself, furious that she had gone against what she set out to do.

She wanted to be nice, and friendly: to make others comfortable. It didn't seem as if anything remotely similar to that was happening right there and then.

''I think... at times, it might have been better I were. You would probably handle certain situations better than I can, but that's possibly... nous ne devrions pas parler.'' Amanda explained, feeling as if she shouldn't be talking at that very moment.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Amanda turned to Annie again, this time taking care to avoid the eyes of the other girl. ''I'm sorry, I'm being too forward.'' She apologized, looking down at the sand, unsure of how to dislodge the foot presently firmly stuck in her mouth. Noting the small little Pokemon cheerfully wearing her hat, Amanda felt her thoughts drift to her own Pokemon: most of them playfully splashing in the water, or bouncing through the sand. Unlike her, they seemed to be enjoying themselves: something that made the young girl feel at least slightly better.

She furrowed her brow, turning to the Hariyama behind her. Bad attitude aside, it was improper to punish her Duskull too much. ''You can let him go, Fisto...'' the blonde suggested, tiredly. With a nod of understanding: the sparkling Fighting Pokemon released the ghost. Alfred dizzily drifting away from his handy prison. 

''Thank you... Mistress Dupomme...'' The ghost wheezed, his eye glowing wickedly. ''Now if only your social graces were as competent as your skill in ordering us around, perhaps your friend here wouldn't find you so stupidly awkward~''

The crude taunt was met with a heavy punch from the large Shiny: pummeling the rude Pokemon into the ground. With a defeated and decidedly unladylike groan: Amanda recalled the critically injured Duskull. She rolled her eyes, doing her absolute best to ignore the stupidity her Pokemon had been spouting.

Unfortunately, some part of it yet lingered in her mind.