[Post 007] Text/Video/Action From Violet City Pokemon Center

[of_france]

I had... a very strange dream...

The calendar says that three days have gone by. My left leg buckled when I tried to get up today, and my head feels like I've been hit with a sledgehammer.

Have I been ill?

When I woke, I... I thought...

I thought I could smell lilies...

[The 'Gear comes on to show Marianne's fuzzy red face. She looks

Comments

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[usedklutzattack]

[Ahiru tosses and turns, whimpering a little before she wakes up. Blearily, she sees France laying in bed. He didn't look like he'd been having very good dreams either. Tentatively, she crawls out of bed and pads over to her roommate's bedside, pillow clutched against her chest.] W...were you having bad dreams too, France?

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[of_france]

[France looks over at her with only his eyes, not really there, mostly meandering around in memory and half-dreams.]

Perhaps.

[He sits up slowly, gritting his teeth against the nausea his headache is causing him.]

You were having an nightmare?

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[usedklutzattack]

[She nods quietly, clutching her pillow closer. She still felt scared, and she is trembling a little, but that could be attributed to morning chill as well.Her voice is smaller and she looks at her feet as she confesses.] I...I was in the water. But I couldn't swim for a moment, and I thought I was going to drown, but then when I got out of the water, something chased me and my friend...

[Her eyes glaze over a little and her tone gets just a bit watery, but she's not crying...yet.]

....then my friend just disappeared and it was just chasing me, a-and it wouldn't stop. I...I think it wanted to eat me. [And though she'd experienced that as a duck, to also have experienced that as a girl was unsettling to Ahiru, to say the least. But in spite of recently being terrified out of her mind, France's headache doesn't get past her either, and she looks at him with concern.]

Are you feeling sick? I-I can get you water o-or coffee or something to eat, would that help?

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[of_france]

[France gives her a wholly sympathetic look. He's drowned before and the sensation is horrible.]

I find that the best thing that helps with nightmares is chocolate. There is a bar in my bag's fourth pocket; please help yourself.

[He smiles slightly at the offer for a drink.]

A bit of coffee would be lovely. Thank you.

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[usedklutzattack]

[Ahiru blushes and nods, her face brightening a little at the offer. ]

Thank you...um, I'll have some when I get back. I think there's a coffee pot in the kitchen, so I can make some. Um, how much cream and sugar do you like?

[Helpful Ahiru is helpful! She rocks on her heels and awaits his instructions. As for her, she'll most likely just have something that consists almost entirely of milk/cream and sugar.

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[of_france]

[France thinks about this for a moment.]

Just one sugar cube or a teaspoon of sugar with the coffee. I'm not sure that my stomach would be very happy with cream at the moment. Thank you so much.

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[usedklutzattack]

[Ahiru nods and pops down to the kitchen. Luckily, she's seen Fakir make coffee enough times that she had some vague idea of how to make a decent pot. It isn't very long that she peeks back into the room with a tray that she managed not to drop. She hands him his cup and then bends down to take a piece of chocolate after setting her own cup down.] Here you go! Um, thank you for the chocolate.

[After settling down near the foot of his bed, she takes a tentative nibble, almost like she was pecking at it, and drinks her own drink.]

Do...do your dreams feel like they were real too, France? I just...if it's really been three days, I don't think that we all would have slept that long...

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[of_france]

[He accepts the cup, breathing in the steam and smiling contentedly.]

Thank you.

[France settles back against his pillow, which is propped up against the bed's headboard. He takes a deep sip before answering.]

I think that it wasn't really a dream... Jeanne... I never just dream about her. I think I got to go to Heaven for a little bit, if she was there. She wouldn't come here.

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[She looks up at him in concern and with a bit of curiousity.]

Oh...was Jeanne, um...someone you loved?

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[of_france]

She...

[He pauses, trying to find the right words.]

She was more light and love than I could ever hope to be. She was... pure... It is only natural that I loved her.

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[Ahiru nods in understanding, smiling back at France.] I knew someone like that. He was good and kind to everyone, and always protected anything weaker than him. Everyone loved him and he loved everyone in return.

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[of_france]

[France smiles, although it's still rather sad.]

Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve her. I certainly didn't, in the end, and she didn't even hate me after all of that.

People like that... They're too good for this world.

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[usedklutzattack]

[Ahiru looks at France sympathetically. She's not really sure how similar their situations are, but they sound enough alike that she can relate more. ]

Sometimes, fate allows us to meet someone who loves and accepts what we are, even if we've got a lot of flaws. Since she truly loved you, then of course she wouldn't hate you for making mistakes. Mytho...he had to go back to the story he came from after we saved Goldkrone, and he decided to make Rue his princess. I don't know if I'll see him or Rue again, but....I know he's where he's supposed to be now, and so if Rue.

[She pauses and gets a wistful expression for a moment, but it passes and she smiles again.] I'm sure we'll both meet other people that will accept and care for us. You've already made lots of friends here, right?

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[of_france]

[France tilts his head slightly, listening. He's not entirely sure if he follows everything that Ahiru is talking about, but he understands the sentiments expressed. France nods, slowly, offering a small but sincere smile.]

There are many people who pass and cross our lives here and in other places. At least that is one thing to look forward to even after death: meeting new people. It keeps me going, at least.

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[usedklutzattack]

Do...do you really think this is the afterlife? [She looks a little troubled.] Ms Puzzlette said that we would go back to the moment we came from but if we're dead...then my friend, he's all alone now.

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[of_france]

[France ponders this for a moment before sighing, shoulders slumping.]

I'm pretty sure that I'm dead. I don't really know about everyone else, since no one seems to remember why they're here. But... there is very little explanation for why I don't have awareness of my people and land anymore...