Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri stopped walking. "He's fine for now." Then she pivoted and faced Helena. A salty breeze blew at her ponytail, and waves lapped up on the sides of the sandbar as she looked down the distance between the two of them.

If that was supposed to be her apology, it was underwhelming. And vague. Sal wasn't sure if that was supposed to be on the behalf of her untamed friend with the whale. She told herself she wasn't going to fish, but she did want some clarification. As much as Salieri wanted to keep on walking, she took the drama bait.

"Is this about your friend...or yesterday?" Salieri asked, weary and wary.  

[Spinne Biss]

"Both," Helena said, feeling her anxiety grow. The thought that the door was closed completely scared her.

But Helena couldn't bring herself to say it. To speak about Jean, or Ratio, or Moze. She couldn't bring herself to say anything.

because you're not in control, even if you can move.

For Salieri, it looked like one long pause before she blurted out "I met someone worse. Worse than Ratio." and suddenly Helena looked terrified.  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri's steeled demeanor softened a little. Helena was quite obviously scared about something. Then again, Salieri didn't trust Helena. The girl had flip flopped too many times for her liking, in a nearly volatile way. Sal couldn't deny that she could be volatile herself, but when that happened it for the same set of reasons as always.

More importantly, Ratio wanted to recruit her. Anyone brought into that man's fold was a mystery to her.

Sal sighed. "...what happened to you, Helena?"  

[Marsuru]

The Town of Mastery - In Front of the Tower

'Hey,' Zack said when Benedict approached. 'Yeah, I have a Teleporter so... How are, uh...'

He looked around. Salieri wasn't here yet.

'...things?'  

[Spinne Biss]

Tell her.

"Um," Helena hesitated as the memory of it caught her up again. Looking at Salieri now, all she saw was a girl who hated her, who didn't want anything to do with her.

"Nevermind. It's not important. Don't let Zack die, please."

She'd gesture to Loki, and unless Salieri made a move to stop her, the two would teleport away  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri folded her arms. What was it with Redgraves and being unable to shoot straight when it mattered? "Your brother is after the same people you keep running into. If you don't want him dead then cut the crap and tell me what's going on."

She detested cryptic warnings. Whenever the real danger came, they always left her unprepared. If she could get Helena talking, maybe Zack could keep her stable and safe. If they couldn't send her home to Unova, they could at least use her to find Ratio.

"Who did you meet?"  

[Spinne Biss]

Tell her!

Helena was caught off guard by Salieri's response. She had expected the other girl to let her go and chastise her for wasting time.

"His name is Jean-Pierre." The name caused the knot in her stomach to tighten. "He took it away, Salieri. He took away my control." Helena would explain it, but not about Ratio or the nobility, or Mode. Just Jean, and how he controlled her, how he could make her feel pleasure or pain on a whim, how she couldn't speak unless he allowed it. How it all started with him cutting her neck. A scar was all that remained now.

When she was done the Redgrave girl was shaken up enough to be crying. Her voice had cracked a few times, but she'd laid it all out.  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri started to frown as Helena explained herself. Even if she still had a bad taste in her mouth over their arguments, Helena's story was just sad. She looked away and rubbed the back of her head. "Arceus," she groaned. This was a reminder that no matter what horrible things she had been through in her life, there were always other kinds of horrible experiences to have. "Kalos really made you her chew toy, didn't she?"

She nodded to herself, staying silent as Helena began to sob. Sal looked to Banksy for some advice on what to do in this situation, but the Torkoal had put her gaze back on the Tower. As tragic as this was to hear, the old girl's priorities still laid on getting her family to come home.

"That...really sucks," Salieri said, turning her back on Helena again. It was certainly an understatement, but Salieri still didn't know what to say. She wanted Helena to stop crying, at the very least. It was hard to walk away from someone in tears while retaining a healthy conscience. And it was harder to ignore that the more she became embroiled in the affairs of these trainers she had just met, the more their problems became hers. In a way, part of this was her responsibility. At least, that was how she felt. She couldn't ignore a nagging feeling like that.

"I'm meeting your brother at the Tower. You need to tell him, so. Let's go figure this out." Salieri beckoned for Helena to follow her, ready to walk. "C'mon. This path won't last much longer."

As much as it sounded like she meant the opportunity to come along was temporary and had to be seized while it lasted, she was referring to the sandbar.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Ben shrugged uncertainly. "I have a flyer, so I guess that's why I beat her here." He paused a moment and rubbed the back of his neck. It was almost like the two of them had never actually talked alone.

Had they?

"Things are, uh, good." Manny glanced at him allike he was doing it wrong. "And you? Stuff is... Good?"  

[Marsuru]

'Well, my arm's still broken,' Zack said, thinking he should have been late after all. 'But other than that, yeah.'

He glanced upward. 'Nice weather, huh?'  

[Klarp Glornharm]

"Oh. I didn't know it was... Uh... Broken." Manny was resting his face against his palm in disappointment. "But yeah. Last time we talked. Right."

Ben probably should have taken his time. Thinking about it, he probably would have had time to have trained and visited the center first.

"I, uh, heard reports it might have a flash storm. Unexpected clouds and rain..." Ben replied."Seriously, where even is she?"  

[Spinne Biss]

Nodding and wiping her eyes, Helena followed Salieri and for the first time that day, she felt a sense of relief separate from when she thought about Ratio.  

[Marsuru]

Zack looked down at the black sling that his arm had been in since yesterday, then back to Benedict.

'No idea. Wanna battle?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Tower of Mastery

"Show off another time," Salieri interjected, stepping into earshot with Banksy, Helena and Loki. Zack and Ben looked like they'd been waiting for her. She wondered for how long. Hopefully they became fast friends in that time, since their only social connecting factor was her.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" Sal stepped aside so they could all see Helena. "Look who I found."  

[Spinne Biss]

Loki's looked like he had fought a fire type, but wasnt seriously injured, as he was covered in black marks, but no actual burns.

Helena looked to Zack and couldn't help a meek little smile. He looked ridiculous with a broken arm.

"You look ridiculous."