Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Spinne Biss]

Coumarine Gym - Outside

Helena was stiff when she said "yes, of course, an interview." She nodded to Salieri and then turned to her friends. "I'll be a minute." Then she'd follow Salieri away.

If the Kalosian girl was listening she'd hear Azucena say "That's Salieri Soledad, she's one of like three dark skinned girls still in the running - she's basically my hero."  

[Jump Einatz]

Despite herself, Sal grinned a little at Azucena's fangirling. She decided it would be cooler if she said nothing, and didn't turn around to look as she marched away.

When they were in earshot, Sal would spin to face Helena and fold her arms. "What'd they say to you? What'd they do to make you say yes?"

She was heated, but not at Helena. Possibly. Not yet, anyway.  

[Spinne Biss]

Salieri brought her back down to reality. A reality was hoping it was easy to walk away from. If the nobility sponsored her then Jean-Pierre wasn't after her. Ratio wouldn't touch her. Nobody would be hunting her down to kill her for being good at Pokemon battling.

But Salieri didn't believe in walking away from a fight like this. Helena looked into the other girls eyes with a sense of bewilderment. "They offered me money to keep my mouth shut," that was the simplest way that Helena understood it. "Some cop, Agent Looker, was asking questions and we told a friend of ours who I guess told this Balibar guy and then he sent the offer. I get money and all I have to do is not badmouth the nobles or Kalos."  

[Jump Einatz]

This was why Salieri didn't like cops. When they showed up, they ruined everything. She rubbed her temple and groaned.

Helena had come here for money more than to win the league. To her, and so many other foreigners before her, it was that simple. They had no idea what kind of competition they had entered. "It's not that simple, Helena. He's not going to let you win. They want you close so they can snuff you out themselves."  

[Spinne Biss]

Helena frowned at Salieri. After a pause she sighed. The glamour was gone, but she had already struggled with this. "And then what? I can't run away from it. But I can make a lot of money, and I can get stronger and when they do come for me I can be ready for them." Her voice was quiet now, there was a sadness to it like she had accepted this fate already.

"Maybe I get out of this with enough money to help my mom see again, and to go to college. Maybe they kill me. All I can do is try my hardest. Besides," she paused this time, as if acknowledging that it likely hurt as much to hear as to say, "it's not like any of you are my friends or want me around anyways. I'm not gonna tell them your secrets."  

[Jump Einatz]

"Damn straight you're not gonna tell them about what I do. Ever." Sal was getting worked up again. "It's not just House Balibar, ok? I'm talking about the people who hunt the darkhorses. They won't stop just because you're sponsored, and they're all nobles. You're entering their den."

She slowed down, shifting her tone to something softer. "Look, last week your brother and I had a very intense bonding experience. We were like, really unified. And when he was inside me, I could feel how much you mean to him. Neither of us want you in danger-"

Hard pause. Backpedal. "Listen, it's not weird, I was inside him too. Ok? It's not that weird!"  

[Spinne Biss]

Helena felt like she was being scolded again. It was a sobering truth that Salieri was always going to look down on her. Then, the other girl crossed a line. Helena's face lit up bright red and she gagged. "No! No! I don't want to hear about this" She'd make to walk away from Salieri, immediately over this line of questioning.

"I have a dinner tomorrow at the Balibar estate, I need to find a date and I cannot have that picture in my head." She wanted to bleach her brain. And ears. And Salieri's entire mouth.  

[Jump Einatz]

Now Salieri was blushing too. "I didn't mean-it was hardly physical! It was just hand stuff! Wait, Helena!"

What could she offer to get Helena to walk away from the sponsorship? The Unovan was locked in, and judging by the way she said it, she knew it too. And the money...Salieri had almost asked how much she made. She needed that too. The jealousy pang disgusted her. The reality was that right now, there was nothing Salieri thought she could do about this either.

"Just be careful, ok? If you're in too deep and something happens to you, I don't know what we can do about it." She sounded more annoyed at the general situation than mad. Definitely flustered.

"Did they let you keep the dress, at least?"  

[Spinne Biss]

I don't know what I can do about it either.

Helena calmed down from her retreat as she looked back to Salieri. "I'm not allowed to wear the same outfit twice but," she took out the card of the dressmaker, "if you wanna get one."  

[Jump Einatz]

Salieri sighed. "That sucks."

She took the card, looked it over, and immediately handed it back. "Probably out of my price range."  

[Spinne Biss]

"Yeah," Helena said as she looked at the card, and then she looked over at her friends. Strong, carefree, but not exactly ready for this type of situation. She needed someone with some mental fortitude, which to Helena disqualified Salieri as well.

"Know anyone I can take to the dinner?"  

[Jump Einatz]

"What? No. What?" Salieri's inner circle, outer circle, and ecosystem contained maybe three our four people that would be good suggestions. And she didn't want to suggest them.

"I don't have any friends who'd wanna do that. You're gonna have to hit up my enemies."  

[Spinne Biss]

Without missing a beat Helena would say "alright, who are your enemies?"  

[Jump Einatz]

"Probably everyone you're having dinner with, dude. At least," Sal said flatly. She nodded to Helena's posse. "Why don't you ask one of them?"  

[Spinne Biss]

"Henrietta will cry if you speak too loudly at her, Bridgette is way too hyperactive, and I'm not sitting a person of color in a room full of old white racist people I've seen Get Out." (Disclosure, I haven't seen Get Out yet)

Helena listed her friends on her fingers. She trusted them in a fight, but not in a setting where politics took the front seat.