2024-04-16: Old Wounds and Difficulties

• Log: Old Wounds and Difficulties
• Cast: Damian Tamaoka, Shige Kiwako
• Where: Viridian City - Viridian Gym
• Date: April 16, 2024
• Summary: Shige and Damian meet the next day after running into each other in the park, and discuss the nature of Ghost-type pokemon, the responsibilities of a medium, the nature of Damian's difficulties, and the dangers of Team Rocket participation. Plus, Damian accidentally prods an old wound of Shige's while attempting to share something positive.

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=======================<* Viridian City - Viridian Gym *>=======================

The mysterious Viridian Gym is a large wooden building nestled in the north side of Viridian City. Despite its proximity to the Pokemon League, it seems to always be closed, its doors locked. Even the locals either don't seem to know much about it, or are uncharacteristically cagey about its occupants, telling prospective challengers that they'll understand what they need to when the time comes. But undoubtedly, one has to visit this gym on the Victory Road to the Indigo Plateau, so what challenges await within...?

BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Pokemon Gym - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSzslOIJJXs

=======================<* Viridian City - Emerald Way *>========================

Viridian City is a city of many importances; it is the major commerce and logistics hub within the Emerald Cape province, providing primary access to the western reaches of the Kanto region. It's of no surprise, then, that it sports an expansive and well-developed commercial district, with Market Way providing a wide variety of shops and goods for all walks of life. Lush and adorned with nature, Viridian's residents enjoy a spacious and relaxed environment, with most living in medium-density apartment blocks three to four stories high. The market is most recently memorably featured in the hit single by sensational Nedean-pop band 2BA, "I'm on the Road to Viridian City."

BGM: Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee & Pikachu! - Pewter City - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGrGjO5F6ZM

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Yesterday had been... rough, to say the least. A relatively good day spent with Anne working on his physical conditioning had led to a chance encounter with Shige, who had apparently fallen asleep outdoors after going on something of a binge. (Damian still wasn't entirely clear what had happened there, except for Anne commenting that someone--presumably Shige--liked to party. What kind of party was held outdoors?)

Shige had been pleasant enough to talk to, but the talk of ghosts and shamans had finally prompted Damian to ask a question that had burning at his core for ages: How did Shige deal the extreme physical discomfort that came with working with ghosts and spirits? It got worse for him the more ghosts were around, so he assumed, naturally, that it was the same for everybody else who had similar powers to him. It just had to be, right?

The shaman had misinterpreted his question at first, but then asked for clarification... and that was when Damian finally spoke the thoughts out loud that he had been reluctant to, describing, with great difficulty, how it felt like an immense pressure in his head at times. And then he had received the worst answer possible:

She didn't have that problem.

Damian hadn't been able, in the moment, to really cope with that realization, and when Anne suggested they leave, he didn't argue. They had directed Shige to a place where she could get a shower and rest up, and had agreed to meet the next day.

At the Pokemon Center in Viridian. It was really hard to miss, with a giant Pokeball on the building.

Damian is at a cafe in the center, seated in a far corner. He's back in his regular clothes, a purple hoodie, brown shorts, and black sneakers. Purri is by his side in the booth, curled up and purring softly while Damian pets her. There's a bottle of fruit juice in front of him but it hardly looks touched.

Mostly he looks tired. He's got his phone on the table in front of him, scrolling through it with his free hand but... he's not stopping to read anything. His attention is elsewhere. Or nowhere. It's hard to say.

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

The feline beastfolk is looking a bit cleaner. And wearing something a bit more modern in that it's just a simple t-shirt and shorts. That she's taken a knife to to make room for her tails. Because she may or may not have had issues washing them out this way.
 
 She's also brushes her hair, any fuzzy bits presentable and generally cleaned herself up. She's also gone through a lot of water and looks considerably less hung over. These are all good things.
 
 She still looks like she's about ready to go to sleep though.
 
 She stretches out as she leaves the pokecenter. Then she sort of does a few more stretches. Seeming to touch on every major muscle group. Feels weird having slept on anything resembling a bed.
 
 She does find the cafe though. Wandering along, she didn't even get lost. She offers the boy a wave. Mimicked by the Froslass slowly drifted behind her, also waving. She looks pleased to be out though. Finding a seat across from Damian.
 
 She takes a seat and looks back behind her, then to the others around her and pauses. "This.. might be a problem. I can't clear the hauntings around me." And she looks kind of guilty trying to put her froslass away..

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Shige does look a lot more presentable like this, which goes a long way to helping him relax when he sees her again. That's good, that Nede is willing to accomodate the Visitors. He lifts the hand that was scrolling through his phone to lethargically wave back, but he tenses up a little when he sees Frosslass. He closes his eyes a moment and takes a deep breath, and Purri lifts her head to nuzzle gently around Damian's side for moral support.

Damian opens his eyes again. Quietly, he says, "H-hi, Shige. H-hi... F-Frosslass..." It's a little bit of an effort but he's trying.

He's a little tense, but... he knows Shige is a medium, and that other spirits hang around her. he can at least prepare himself for that, now (and has indeed spent his time waiting for her to arrive doing just that.) "I-it's... okay," he says quietly. "I th-think I can m-m-manage..."

"D-did you sleep w-well...?"

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige rubs the back of her head. She knows that look and on some level, without alcohol hazing it, it's almost embarrassing.
 
 She does hesitate for a moment before fishing out her little coin.. satchel. It works. Setting some local money down (Even here she can bartend!) and seems to be thinking on what to order, tea-wise.
 
 "Her name's Kazahana." She gestures back, trying to be polite. Then she turns back and says softly, "Go ahead and explore, give him some space."
 
 She then leans forward as the Froslass nods cheerily and floats off to look at neat things nearby.
 
 "I'm awake enough at least! Your air circulation here feels weird too. It's cold, but not normal cold."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Shige's Frosslass has a name now! "O-oh! Th-then, it's n-nice to m-meet you, K-Kaz..." Deep breath, then he tries to say the name with much more deliberate effort. "Kazahana." He tries to give Kazahana a genuine smile and mostly succeeds. "H-how do you like y-your name?" Not, 'How does she like the name?', as if she were asking Shige, he's just asking Kazahana directly. But he does look to Shige and ask, curiously, "D-does it have a-any p-particular meaning?"

Naming pokemon isn't required, of course... but Damian likes doing it, and is happy to see Visitors doing so, too.

But Shige has a comment on the air conditioning. "O-oh? I g-guess I'm just u-used to it... F-Filgaia feels a l-little weird, s-sometimes, without it..."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako smiles and says, "Syllable by syllable's right." Then she rests her arms on the table and shakes herself out just a bit before settling in. There's at least some shared discomfort even if it's not for the same reasons!
 
 She has a new pet. Or friend. Charge? It needed a name!
 
 She laughs and says, "I think we'd have chased someone out trying to get the cold air things back home. It was.. frozen most of the year. We were along the northern coast and-" she sort of trails off and changes the subject. "So headache?" Sudden as it is, might be a reason she wanted to change subjects so quickly.

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian nods as Shige says to do it syllable by syllable. He still has to fall back on that sometimes, or other coping strategies.

It's not so lonely being uncomfortable, if someone else is, too.

Pokemon can be pets, companions, helpers... Purri, as Shige saw the previous day, supports Damian in... a lot of ways.

"N-northern c-coast... I d-don't think I've b-been there, y-yet... M-mostly A-Adlehyde..." He blinks at the sudden change of topic and looks down. There is a very small nod. "A l-little bit... I-I'm... c-coping..." He must be doing relatively okay. He's not hugging Purri in his arms, yet.

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige's happy to explain a little bit on the name. It's always fun throwing new things at people and you know, not horrible memories of things long past.
 
 The cat ruffles briefly. Smooths out, then mutters and finally holds a finger up to order herself some plain black tea. Also some iced tea for the Froslass. Complete with some confused sounds about her needing regular food and drink. Not because it's too much, but because it's strange!
 
 She rests her chin on her hand and admits in a fairly flat tone, "I'm from along the Arctican coast." Leaving it there for now. If he knows, he knows.
 
 She tilts her head, then asks in a more neutral tone, "Was it always that way or was it something that happened later?"

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian has a particular naming scheme for his pokemon... and he tends to choose shorter names.

"Sh-she's a g-ghost-type p-pokemon, s-so... she's s-still a p-pokemon..." Damian shrugs a little. "A-at home, we h-had a pet Houndstone, w-who really liked snacks..." Damian picks up his phone nd pulls up a picture to show Shige. It's a ghost dog with what looks like a tombstone growing out of its head.

"A-Arctican..." Damian nods and switches apps to make a note of that name.

Damian tenses a little and looks down. "A-always... it d-didn't used to b-be this b-bad, b-but..." He looks up to Shige, pale silver eyes open wide and just begging for a different answer than the one he knows he's about to get. "D-does it r-really n-not... f-for you...?"

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako looks at the houndstone. Then scratches the back of her head. "I've seen some haunts like that." And the mention that she's still a pokemon gets met with, "But she's a ghost. Usually they only eat or drink like that when they're residual or.. really bad. It's strange!" Not that she's made still of course!
 
 Damian doens't seem to know and she doesn't fill him in at the moment.
 
 She scratches her cheek at the fact that it didn't used to be so bad. Then slowly tilts her head, "Does it feel like you're using magic or is it something else?" She drums a claw on the table, thinking. She's going a bit abstract. The witch is in attendance today rather than Doc. Might have been a tag out since she's got a little bit more in magic? Or Doc's babysitting Kaza. Either or.

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

"B-but she's not l-like... a-a ghost ghost, sh-she's a ghost type p-pokemon, s-so..." How to explain 40,000+ years of an ingraned cultural concept like 'Pokemon typing'? "She, um... h-has some ghost l-like qualities...?" Damian knows the difference between people ghosts and pokemon ghosts, though his ability works equally well on either.

Does it feel like using magic? Damian considers that... and gives a little shake of his head. "N-no... o-or... kinda...?" He takes a moment more to consider. "I-it's n-not like..." He holds a hand up, and a gentle green glow starts to surround it. It's a Symbological healing spell (which, in and of itself, might be quite odd for those not from Energy Nede.) It's not extremely poten, and after a moment it fades. "I c-can do Symbology, b-but the Spiritsight... i-it's always active." He looks down. "I c-can't really turn it off... b-but, I c-can choose to d-do things w-with it, b-but that can make it a l=lot worse..."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako gives Damian the look anyone that thinks she's having her tail pulled would. She's not going to try and explain Schrodinger's ghost as a ghost affiliated cat.
 
 She points to the witch behind her, "The Lady here is a ghost ghost. We.. don't do types." Said witch nods in agreement. Probably just.. chilling. Maybe literally.
 
 She does glance back at the witch who shrugs slightly. Pointing to cards. Then crossing her hand before her throat in a 'Nope' gesture. Is she not as talky?
 
 There's an idle thought. Then a frown. "Do you know what ether is?" She's been around enough. She doesn't know what it is persay, but..
 
 "Maybe it's like that? And you've uh" She considers. Then just goes for blunt, "You've jammed up the pipes or something?" Scientic theorycrafting isn't necessarily her strong suite. There's a non-zero chance this is related to bar maintenance.

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian is being completely earnest in trying to explain pokemon types! (He's pretty earnest in general, really.)

He looks to the Lady and nods. "I-I know... w-we have r-regular ghosts, t-too... The gh-ghosts of p-people don't r-really have types..."

There's a curious look to the cards the witch doctor is pointing at. But then he looks to Shige. "E-ether...? Um... I-isn't that a t-type of gas...?" After a beat he goes, "O-oh! But n-not like, a Type t-type, j-just... a k-kind of gas."

He's heard about Crest Sorcery, Filgaia and Lunar's version of Symbology, and Lunar's Blessing. Nobody's filled him in yet on Ether.

"J-jammed up the p-pipes...?" Damian looks to Purri, who just says 'Purr?', which Damian takes io mean she's not sure either. "W-what do you mean...?"

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako is actually trying to learn it, but Shige's already got a head full of vaguely relevant information to her career. Get her wound up on alcohol some day!
 
 She does have an errant, passing thought at that. Then a scowl. "How old are you?" She asks, looking at the trainer curiously. It's probably not a good idea, but she's not always full of said good ideas.
 
 "Type of magic. Don't ask me the details, not my thing. Just the only other base I can think of to cover." She gestures back, "And those would be crest graphs. Old ones." Ones that meant enough to follow a ghost in a sense.
 
 She does point to her head and wriggles a finger like she's swirling something, "Like you're.." She about said traumatized. That usually comes with other issues though. "Jammed up. Like someone's plugged a pipe up and it's about to burst. Maybe you just need accupuncture or something."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian blinks. "Fourteen. Wh-why...?" Nedians age kind of like elves do, so he might not read as being that old, by human standards. He's also awfully short, at 5'1", so it looks like puberty has skipped him by or is just taking its sweet time.

"I h-haven't heard of E-ether... I d-did hear about C-Crest Sorcery though..." But 'Ether' also goes in his notes to follow up on later.

Shige explains jammed up by describing it like being jammed up. Damian blinks. "I d-don't g-get it..." There might be some trauma in there, too, or at least some severe anxiety induced by a few different things. But accupuncture... "M-maybe...? I, u-um..." He glances aside. "D-don't really like d-doing anything wh-where..." He blushes a little to admit it but goes ahead anyway, in a much tinier voice. "... where I have to t-take my shirt off..."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

There's a scowl from the feline. "Hard to guess." She mutters. Which is vaguely true as she's pretty bad at guessing elf ages in general, same with apparently Nedians. She shrugs it off. "Nevermind on that idea. Pretty sure a few people wouldn't be thrilled with that."
 
 She doesn't specify.
 
 "You overstuffed the sausage." That's not quite the right one. She frowns. "Well, overpacked a barrel and the lid won't go on? I dunno." She's trying at least. She takes a sip of tea. "Is that why you're working out then?" Her observations are.. elsewhere. Clearly. "It's not that bad is it?" She checks her arms and looks over her back briefly, "Not that I've done the accupuncture thing. I think it's dubious, but some people swore by it and.."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian just looks confused by whatever this mystery idea Shige had that she won't elaborate on. That has something to do with his age? Purri doesn't get it either. "O-okay..."

And two more analogies that he isn't quite following. "W-we weren't talking about s-sausages or barrels...?" He looks lost, and not at all following what Shige is trying to put down.

But the working out, that's something Damian can speak to. "Oh, k-kinda... Um... it's n-not a bad idea, t-to be in shape on a J-journey, a-and... th-there's all kinds of health b-benefits, u-um... including n-neuro..." He sighs and takes a moment. "Neurological ones." There. And that's an excellent example. "A-and maybe i-it'll work on this...?"

He hasn't really stopped petting Purri this entire time, the feline pokemon still curled up next to his side and emitting a constant stream of purrs.

Is it that bad? "D-dunno... n-never done it, b-because..." Well, because of the shirt thing he just mentioned.

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako facepalms and tries to think on the idea. "Have you really never seen a pipe about to burst? I know you have better pipework and.." She just shakes her head, looking actually surprised. Maybe she's better traveled than she thinks she is? "Sinus headache. Other people complain about them. Stuff jammed up in your head sort of?" She points to her nose with her claw.
 
 If that doesn't work she'll just drop it.
 
 She doesn't really have anything to add to the idea of working out to better oneself though! She just nods. "Who knows. One way to find out though, and it's as good an angle as any to try."
 
 Finally, she shrugs, "Was worth a shot."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

"W-well I know a pipe c-could burst, sure..." Even if that is, naturally, rare on Nede. But sinus headaches. "O-oh! S-sure, I know about th-these, too... Um..." He looks down at his lap. "C-can you describe it m-more directly, p-please, wh-what you think is wrong...?"

Damian nods. "I-I'm really trying, a-and Purri is h-helping me lots." He gives Purri extra firm ear scritches. "A-and I really appreciate D-Doctor Aomori taking the t-time to h-help me..."

"Um..." There is a long moment of silence, but Damian perks up when he remembers something. "U-um, I d-did try to use m-my Spiritsight recently..." There's a hopeful note, hoping that Shige will approve of the effort, even if nothing ultimately came from it.

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako drums her fingers against her chin again and at least got something of a hit there. "You've got no outlet so it builds up. It's the only reason I thought about the little needle poke-y bits." Another sip of tea. "I dunno, just between you clamping down on it and describing it as a headache, it was what came to mind."
 
 She does nod at the mention of Aomori helping. "You should tell her you want to go legit and get a proper job in the lab. Stuff you're into's going to get you hurt some day. You don't need scars like mine."
 
 Then there's a comment on spirit sight. "Yeah? What'd you find out there? And.. that warning about being careful back home's still in place. That can get you hurt really bad."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

No outlet, so 'it' builds up... whatever it is. Damian still looks lost, and a bit distraught as Shige isn't as clear as he needs her to be... until she brings it back to the 'headache.' "O-oh! You m-meant... oh. Um..." He looks down to Purri for a moment. "I d-dunno if I... clamp down on it? I-it's just... there. I c-can choose not to actively use it, b-but... I d-dunno what w-would be building up..."

But then Shige has to go and say that... Damian looks down, and Purri flicks an ear and immediately climbs into Damian's lap for a bit more comfort. He looks tormented for a moment, and honestly he's not quite sure how to respond.

There are definitely a lot of things he can't say to that, though.

"C-c-can..." He's struggling, and it takes him a moment to get through the rest. "... p-please not t-t-talk ab-ab-about that...?" Safter to just avoid the topic entirely.

He's at least being honest in that he really doesn't want to talk about it.

"I kn-know, I know..." says Damian of the warning. "I-it was safe, M-Miss Everstead-Rey a-and Miss Xantia were there, a-and some f-friends--or..." He looks crestfallen for a moment. "S-some other k-kids I know... Um... W-we went to teh T-Temple of Memory together, a-and found..." Deep breath, take a moment to recompose...

"A f-fossil, of a Metal Beast--N-no, wait. Hyadean. Miss Everstead-Rey s-said it might have b-been a trophy, o-or a museum p=piece, um... " He looks up to Shige then. "I ch-checked, t-to see if the s-spirit was s-still there. It w-wasn't, but... I h-hope I can return th-them, to their people, s-sometime..."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako watches Damian's face and fiddles idly with a claw, trying to work her thoughts out until it clicks. "Dunno. It's your magic. You said the medium hurt and the lantern's light doesn't act as some kind of conduit right? So maybe you need an outlet. Or something else."
 
 She watches that reaction, eyebrow slowly going up. "It's actually important though. I've made enough mistakes in life to try and help others from uh." She stops. Mutters and then shrugs it off. "I don't need you as a passenger." Blunt. She drops it after that though.
 
 There's a few neat little gouges in the table though when he brings up the metal demons. She keeps a surprising poker face, except for her eyes. There's a myriad of thoughts swirling there. Rotating between scared kid and predator.
 
 "I can point you to people that deserve that kind of respect even if those you found probably didn't." She says through an almost clamped shut jaw.

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

"S-sometimes it hurts, s-sometimes it j-just... f-feels weird... Um... y-your medium f-feels really w-weird... I-I've never... s-seen anything l-like it, o-or your lantern... I j-just..." He lets out a sigh, edged with a whine. "I kn-know I should b-be better w-with this..." He takes a few moments to pet Purri. "I t-tried to explain, b-but... m-my parents j-just... " Damian glances away. "Th-they don't l-listen to m-me..."

"I kn-know..." That it's important. But he falls silent, as he's not sure what to say without giving things away. He rally should leave Team Rocket, but... he can't bear to be without his friends, and... the thought of losing Anne's support, too, is a hard thought to bear.f

And, well... he's never really fit in at home, who knows if he'll fit in somewhere else, and if Team Rocket will take those who don't fit in anywhere else... That's hard to give up, too.

"P-Purri, a-and m-my other Pokemon a-are looking out for me..."

But he flinches, and a whimper half dies in his thraot as he sees that expression on Shige's face, particularly the eyes. This is enough to make Purri sit up, peering over the edge of the table from Damian's lap to watch Shige carefully.

Those that deserve that respect, even if the Hyadean they found didn't. Damian shrinks back. "Wh-why would y-you say that...? D-did... d-did I say s-something wrong...?"

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako works her hand a few times. Easing her claws away. Looking ruefully at the gouges. "I should probably offer to work that off." She mutters. Working her fingers a few more times like she's riled up and not having the best of times. "What do you see that others don't? No one here has a hard time seeing the ghost pokemon as you've noted. Maybe that's an angle to look at." She's working one set of claws with the others, like she's getting some splinters out.
 
 "No one ever listens until the hit the ground at the end. I'm not going to drag you out by your wrist, but I'm not going to pretend I don't think it's stupid. And I've got a long history of stupid actions.'
 
 She finally sets her hand down, palm down on the tbale.
 
 She's giving Purri a look at this point, clearly unamused. Might be an instinct thing.
 
 "Why would I say what? I'd do my job and escort them to the hell they've earned without losing a single bit of sleep and that's still more than so many deserve." She pulls her fingers in against her palm. "I can show you the graves if you want."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian shakes his head a little. "G-ghost p-pokemon can hide, o-or disguise their p-presence... a-and then you need a S-Silph scope, b-but... I d-don't. I c-can detect them, wh-when they hide, o-or try to m-mask themselves... Um... a-also I c-can see g-ghosts of p-people, t-too... M-most people can't s-see those..."

"... I can t-talk to b-both of them, t-too..."

The talk of escorting them off to hell doesn't do much to ease Damian's concerns. Quite the opposite. Damian shifts to hugging Purri into his chest, but... Purri doesn't respond with more affection in kind. She's still watching Shige. "I know, th-that there w-was a war, b-but... i-it's o-over now, r-right...?"

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako glances back to her Froslass and says, "I haven't seen her do that." Though if she sees through it, she might not be able to do that.
 
 There's a brief nod though. "So the latter part's not that common at least. How common are those kinds of spirits?" As an aside she also adds, "And have you used one of those sylph scopes to see what happens?"
 
 She does nod at the mention of being able to talk to them. Adding, "That makes enough sense too.
 
 Still, there's no mistaking that she's in a drastically different mood. "It never goes away." That's her answer to his question on whether it goes away or not. She's working some thoughts through her head clearly. Those claws keep popping up, then disappearing. "I'm going to regret this, but if you really want to know. I can tell you."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

"Th-they d-don't always d-do it... m-mostly when... wh-when they've been upset... Um... Th-there's a pokemon called G-Gengar th-that can hide in sh-shadows, a-and I can s-sense it then, t-too..."

How common are they? "D-dunno... um... th-they're a lot more c-common in... in L-Lavender Town, b-because of Pokemon T-Tower." Though he's heard some people talking about replacing it with a radio tower, but he's not sure how long that would take, if it ever happens.

After a moment though, he adds. "I'm f-from Lavender Town... A-and Pokemon Tower i-is... a g-graveyard, for p-pokemon. My f-family h-helps take care of it... A-and I haven't t-tried one, um... Th-theyre not v-very common..."

He blinks, for a moment, as if remembering something else. "O-oh, a-and... apparently I'm... R-Resonant? I th-think that means m-more on Lunar th-than it normally d-does here..."

It never goes away. There's something sad about that, even if Damian doesn't quite have the right type of experience with real large scale conflict to quite grasp the full meaning. "S-sorry..." But Shige offers to explain, and Damian seems to be considering it. "I-it's bothering y-you, a-and I w-want to listen, b-but... I d-don't know if I-I'm ready... S-sorry."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige Kiwako listens quietly. Arms crossed as she leans back in the chair, legs crossed. She's probably doing something to get her mind back in order. She doesn't particularly enjoy having such a kneejerk reaction to even the mention of their names. Somewhere in her mind she's at least thankful there's enough of a shift that she's willing to give the remnants a chance.
 
 "You're going to stop them from making it a radio tower right?" She's clearly not a fan of the idea. "I might have to.." That's muttered mor to herself. She thinks that sort of thing's too important.
 
 "That means you can see Seraphs like Mr. Poltergeist. I don't know if it carries anything else with it, but that doesn't seem too surprising really."
 
 "You're better off not knowing." She says flatly. "It's probably why I have no problems with what I do these days. It has to be done." Which is probably fills in some blanks in a roundabout way. "Bothering me is the wrong word. You do what you need to do and don't worry about what my malfunctions are."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian, sadly, doesn't have a lot of cultural context for this kind of trauma... even if all of Nede is living in a trauma of sorts owing to their past actions. But he would be encouraged to know that Shige is working on it.

"I, u-um... I-I'm sure my f-family will. Th-they're i-invested in it s-staying the way it is... a-and I think it sh-should stay that way, t-too..."

"I d-dunno who that is, b-but the Seraphim I m-met w-was named Lanval... I d-didn't even know I h-had it until I s-suddenly m-met him one day, in the w-woods... D-dunno if that c-caused issues, w-with Spiritsight..."

But Shige says to just do what he needs to do, to not worry about her malfunctions. Damian is still hugging Purri, but he sits up a little straighter at that. "I f-feel like... s-sometimes I'm... m-malfunctioning, t-too..." He's deathly quiet as he says that, as if he's afraid to admit it out loud. They aren't the same malfunctions, but... Shige admitting hers made it easier for Damian to admit to his.

He takes a moment to cuddle Purri, sharing nuzzles and cheek rubs with her. Finally he says, "U-um, Shige...? Th-thanks for listening, e-even if we d-didn't figure anything out..."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

The feline doesn't have the historic context for Nede, why it's strange, what weirdness they got up to or why it feels like it's.. wrong. The cat's been dealing with her own demons for a long while. Something she's not proud of, but also knows she can't change in one day.
 
 "Good." She replies simply enough. Pointing. "It should stay. Too much history. Too many memories."
 
 She does reach out and take the tea, taking a moment to roll it in her palms (Claws are out again) and finally taking a sip. It's not the same as bourbon and a smoke, but it'll do for now.
 
 "That's him. Call him Mr. Poltergeist. It'll be funny." She will never not refer to him as that and has no intention of explaining why she finds it amusing.
 
 Does Damian even know what a poltergeist is?
 
 "Everyone is damaged in some way or another. Just don't get stuck in a loop of blaming yourself and making excuses to do anything, but just asking for a hand" There's a point with a free finger, "And don't be afraid to burn bridges sometimes." Not that she's done that persay. Except in some parts of Lunar..
 
 She doesn't follow her own advice.
 
 "It's fine. I still think it might help pulling you along to see what I do for what it's worth. Since you mentioned trying to use it on a demon's-" she says more, but bites it down quickly enough to hide it. "So maybe it's easier over there."

<Pose Tracker> Damian Tamaoka has posed.

Damian's juice is still mostly untouched. He'll drink it... eventually.

Damian blinks as Shige makes a suggestion. "... Th-that's not mean, i-is it...?" He looks down at Purri, thoughtfully. "I h-haven't seen him, i-in a while..."

Damian probably has some good analogues, given some the way some of Nede's ghost-type pokemon behave.

But he looks up again when Shige offers that advice, and slowly nods. "O-okay..." Even just coming here was a way of asking for help, even if it didn't bring any immediate results. He looks a bit dubious about burning bridges though.

Going along with Shige. "M-maybe... it c-could be interesting... U-um... " He winces a little. "F-for now, I-I think I n-need to take a break..." He lets Purri go and then stands up. Bottle goes in the backpack, backpack on his pack, and finally Purri hops up to his shoulder to nuzzle his cheek.

"Th-thank you, f-for the talk... Um... b-bye, Shige, b-bye, Dorotea, a-and, bye, Kazahana."