The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[Hazuki]

Maggie gives a shrug of her teeny shoulders, then holds her arms out to Alyssa.

Saura, meanwhile, has nestled on the floor by Leah.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa moves over to Maggie and picks her up. "All right, I'm here now." She holds her between her arms and sits down on the bed. "Did you have a good day so far at least?"

[Hazuki]

Maggie glances up at Alyssa, then points to herself with a questioning tilt of her head. Then she answers anyway, with a quick bob of her head as she settles into Alyssa's lap and points at the pillow fort. She then wraps her arms around herself and points in an apparently random direction.

Spoiler: Alyssa

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Alyssa rolled well on empathy, so! She understands that Maggie is trying to get across that she felt comfortable in the tight space, because it's the kind of thing she used to do before she joined up with her and Leah.

[Comissar]

As the conversation comes to an end, Leah returns Alyssa's final squeeze and instead wraps her arms around Saura, shuffling so that her Bulbasaur was lying more directly in front of her. She watches her pokémon quietly as she listens to Alyssa talking with Maggie. Scritching at her neck, she asks quietly, "Was, uh, was there anything you were wanting to do while we're in one place..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa watches Maggie's motions, then nods. "I think I get what you mean. D'you wanna be in more spaces like that, or d'you like being in the more open spaces we tend to go to?" She looks down and smiles at Maggie. "I don't mind either way, but I wanna help you feel more comfortable."

Looking over at Leah, she says, "You wanna get some food? I don't think I've eaten much today, and we've kinda done a lot."

[Hazuki]

Maggie puffs her cheeks out at Alyssa's question and immediately hugs her.

Saura, in response to Leah's cuddle, wraps her vines loosely around the girl's arms.

[Comissar]

Leah nods at Alyssa's suggestion, "That, uh, that sounds good." She gives Saura a small smile as her hug is returned, "Did, uh, did you have anything in mind? U-umm, I, uh, I wouldn't mind going back to the Kanto place..? It was nice to, uh, to have something familiar."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles and laughs as Maggie hugs her. "Well just let me know if you're uncomfortable, okay?"

She nods at Leah's suggestion. "Something familiar sounds good to me. It's not my home food but it's food I've had before so that'll work." Shifting a bit, she picks Maggie up in her arms. "Ready?"

[Hazuki]

Maggie wraps her arms around Alyssa's neck as she's picked up and nods vigorously.

[Comissar]

Leah disentangles herself from Saura's vines and pushes herself up onto her feet, picking her bag back up as she does so. "Y-yup, let's go."

She holds the door for Alyssa as they leave, locking the room behind them, then heads out to go to the vendor.

[Hazuki]

The girls depart their humble room, Maggie clutched tight in Alyssa's arms and a refreshed Saura padding alongside Leah as they walk through the market of Diwyneb town. With as much time as they've spent here, they've started to get a feel for maneuvering through the crowds, which little paths will let them get to their destinations more quickly.The market district makes way for the foreigner district, with its prefabricated buildings and all the foreigners drifting between them.

They find themselves standing outside of Authentic Kanto Food, one of the places that offers authentic Kanto food, and soon they're inside. They spot a familiar pair of pink pigtails, a colorful jacket, and a big smile on her face as she dances energetically in front of the other two customers; a pair of teenage Londo girls who are clapping along to the tune of the song which consists of the lyrics "Nya nya nya nya nya," and only those lyrics.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles once the song comes into view, though she doesn't join in herself. Instead she waits patiently for their turn to get food, sticking close to Leah. "D'you remember what I liked last time?"

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself feeling faintly embarrassed as she hears the song being sung, the style of music had always struck her as being the kind used for viral videos, or maybe as an earworm for adverts. Hearing it sung just felt weird, even more so when she saw that there were locals clapping along to it. Possibly the novelty of it..?

Alyssa takes her attention away from the stall with her question. Rubbing behind her neck, Leah "Well, uh, it would've been either the, uh, the Tantanmen or the Okonomiyaki. Umm, the, uh, the Tantanmen was the, uh, the spicy noodles and, uh, and the Okonomiyaki was the, uh, the savoury pancakes."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "I think I liked both of those? Maybe we should just get those again." She looks over at Leah and tilts her head. "Does the song bother you?"

[Hazuki]

The song only ends when a little bell rings behind Nya-cha and she strikes a pose that just so happens to end with a single digit on the device playing the song.

"Thank nya, thank nya!" she says as the girls give her a little round of applause. "Remeowmber, repeat customers can get a personalized selfie!" she reminds them, as she opens the hatch behind her and retrieves a couple of bags of food that does smell particularly delicious, then hands them over to the girls.

"Thank you, Nya-chan! You're so pretty!" one of the girls tells her.

"Is it true that all Kanto girls are as cute as you?" asks the girl next to her, stars in her eyes as she takes one of the bags.

Nya-chan giggles behind her hand. "Oh, definitely! You should go! I'll go with you, and introduce you to all of the cutiest cuties!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah! You've got the money for it, don't nya?" Nya-chan asks, stars in her eyes.

"We're saving all our work money! My mom says if we save up for two years, we'll be able to afford tickets!"

"Two...years..." Nya-chan eyes drift to the ground, then snap back up with a fixed smile. "That's great! I hope you get there!"

"Thank you! Goodbye, Nya-chan!" The girls wave to her as they slowly make their way out.

"Ja ne!" Nya-chan waves back, her hand high over her head.

"Bye bye!"

"Bye bye!" Nya-chan says back.

"We love you!"

Nya-chan giggles and brings her fingers into a heart shape. Finally, it seems like the girls are done with their farewell and start making some actual progress to the exit.

Their backs turned, Nya-chan rests her forehead on the counter.

[Comissar]

Leah gives Alyssa an embarrassed look, "It's, uh, I wouldn't call it, uh, very, uh, very... Representative... Of, uh, of Kanto."

Watching the performance being given, as well as 'Nya-chan's' commitment to her act, she found herself almost wanting to wince. Her second hand embarrassment switches to sympathy as the vendor collapses after the exit of the pair preceding them. She shoots Alyssa a concerned look, then heads over to the stall. "H-hey, are, uh, are you ok..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods at Leah's explanation of the song. "Yeah, I think I understand. It's something that people think is a big part of where you're from but it's not so they get the wrong idea." She doesn't pay much attention to the girls' conversation in front of her, focusing instead on Leah's reaction.

She is quick to follow when Leah goes to comfort Nya-chan, standing behind with a concerned look. She tries to keep things quiet to maintain the illusion long enough for the girls to leave.

[Hazuki]

There's a squeak from Nya-chan as she's addressed, as she straightens herself up. "Gomenasorry! Konnichiwa!" She is halfway to striking a pose when she spots who woke her up. "Oh." Her cheeks turn bright red. "Hiiii. Do you want food? I can get you the same stuff as..."" She pauses. "I forgot what you ordered last time, so, um! What would you like?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa gives Nya-chan a concerned look, but turns to Leah when asked about food. "Um, I think it was Tantanmen and, um, Okonomiyaki?" She looks at Leah for confirmation briefly, then starts digging in her bag for the requisite money.

[Hazuki]

"Okay, okay, okay," Nya-chan says as she writes the order down, then slips it through the hatch. "Done! So, um, you can get a personalized selfie on your second visit! Do you want a personalized selfie?" she asks, flashing a smile.

[Comissar]

Leah nods her confirmation to Alyssa's question over what they ordered last time. She waits for Nya-chan to pass the order to the back, then gives a small shake of her head as she asks about selfies, "I'm, uh, I-I'm good thanks. U-umm, you seemed kinda, uh, kinda down when the, uh, the last people left..? Are, uh, are you ok..?"

[Hazuki]

"Oh, um, oh no! I'm very happy! I could never be tired with so many adoring customers! I would never, ever say that I'm tired and I wanna go home right now!" Nya-chan answers with a nod of her head. "Hey, you aren't going back to Kanto any time soon, are you?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks over at Leah at this question, then realizes she is staring and turns away.

[Comissar]

Leah feels her heart sink a bit at the vendor's question as she shakes her head, "Umm, sorry, I'm, uh, I'm not planning to any time soon. Even if, uh, even if I had the means to, I want to explore Londo some more first..." She glances briefly to Alyssa at that comment before turning back to Nya-chan. "If, uh..." She hesitates. The other girl, despite suggesting it with her phrasing, hadn't actually complained about not being able to go home. Deciding to comment anyway, Leah forced herself to continue, "I-if, uh, y-you're really eager to, uh, to go home, why, uh, why can't you..? Do you have anyone you could, uh, could ask for help from..? U-umm, maybe your parents..?"

[Hazuki]

"Well...because things cost money, and I don't- Some people don't have money, so they need money, so they do things to get money so they can go home. And maaaybe they might have gone places against their parents' judgment." Nya-chan tugs at her collar. "So maybe they get stuck when certain Ladies don't recognize how cute they are like they were expecting..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles at Leah's response, but tries to keep her reaction hidden. After listening to Nya-chan's story, Alyssa puts a hand up to her face and gasps. "I'm so sorry! That must be awful, to be stuck so far from home." She gives a consoling look to Nya-chan. "Can we help?"

[Hazuki]

"Hey, don't take pity on me! I'm meant to be adored, you know?" Nya-chan leans over the counter to take a peek at the door. "Do you happen to have lots of money you don't want?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head. "Sorry, no, I don't really." She looks down, sagging a bit. "If I do have any I'll let you know, though."

[Comissar]

Leah, rubs behind her neck, "... Your, uh, your parents should still want to help, right..?" She gives a hopefully reassuring smile, "U-umm, or, uh, or if you, uh, you need a lot of money, umm... Have, uh, have you tried looking for someone to, uh, to sponsor you as, uh, as a cook..? Kanto, uh, Kantoan food's got to, uh, to be popular with more than, uh, more than just us..?"

[Hazuki]

Maggie reaches up from where she'd held and pats the sagging Alyssa's head.

"Whaaaat? You think I can cook?" Nya-chan stares at Leah with wide eyes, then shakes her head. "No way! There's a reason I'm dancing and not wearing an apron. And nobody wants to sponsor me for that..."