Huitième Entrée - Lost Hotel [Malva + Lady Lyn]
The young lady smiled faintly at the question regarding her health, as if it were one she heard all too often. In fact she was asked it every day either from her doctors, Morgaine, holo caster calls from her père… It wouldn’t be long until the work on a constant status rapport device was complete. Then maybe she wouldn’t need to answer it so often, but she knew it would not be so. She tried to discard it as simple worry but despite her appearance she wasn’t that naïve. Lady Lyn was never told the results of her own tests, or at least not all of them, even though by law she was entitled to them.
“I am used to s-such things, as s-sorrowful as that may seem Madame Malva. Though I m-must be true that I did not t-think such a vile b-bite would harm me so.” She admitted, her voice gentle as the escavalier to her side stood at attention. He muttered something incomprehensible to most though Lady Lyn seemed to nod in response. “I pray thee don’t think me weak. I wish not to be a burden.” Her pristine smile faltered for the slightest of seconds.
Almost always Lady Lyn felt as though she was a burden to someone. She struggled to prove herself capable on her own but the recent events proved that still not so. It was almost enough to make her weep at the futility of it all. The cards were stacked against her since birth and no amount of money would change that. But she refused to give in to her own distress. This was only a slight detour on her path to independence. She had to believe that for she had nothing else.
“Ah, my b-books? Yes! Oh I do s-so enjoy their company.” A genuine smile crossed her face as she tapped the sleeping swanna awake. He grumbled then pecked her lightly on the hand, not enough to break the skin but unpleasant all the same. She winced but was undeterred as she struggled to place him onto the bed so she could access the nearest books. Once successful the swanna quacked and flew elsewhere with a smug look on his feathered face.
The books she chose to show weren’t the typical fairy tales or fantasy novels she usually had. That alone was cause for excitement for the sheltered lady. She had convinced one of the runners to go to the local bookshop and buy her something different. The result were things she had never heard of: The Art of Fencing, Reading the Future Through Tea Leaves, and The Alchemical Mind. Though she read each with a grain of salt like all her books, their ideas were so beyond what she knew. Lady Lyn was particularly fond of the fencing book, though it seemed too difficult for her as she was now. She happily showed those titles off alongside some of her favorite fairy tales. Suddenly she remembered she was supposed to be entertaining her savior, not getting giddy over tomes.
“I-I do so apologize Madame Malva. P-Perchance you would like some r-refreshment? My f=family is most known for our Poke puffs however we also have a l-line of human sweets… and t-tea!” Her smile returned as she pointed to the tea. It was so rare for her to have a guest not part of the company or a Pokemon. She wanted to badly to be a good hostess.
A low growl filled the room as one of her other guardians entered the room. A freshly slain fletchling hung from an overly large pyroar’s mouth. Instead of the usual four feet of predatory muscle, she sauntered in at eight while casting a sideways glance at the elite. Nothing aggressive in nature, just a casual assessment of a change in the room’s dynamics. Before Lady Lyn could say otherwise she jumped onto the bed and dropped the corpse onto the young lady’s lap. Pleased with herself she began cleaning off the blood from her fur. The noblewoman’s eyes widened at first in surprise then she reached out and patted the fiery lioness’ head. The burning mane didn’t affect her, a sign of trust between the two.
“Merci, Queen Igraine! Y-You’re too aimable…” She looked back at the growing stain on the bed and sighed as the pyroar curled up over her legs. The aromatisses returned and attempted to convince the lioness to move so they could clean the bed. Instead they were playfully swatted at until they gave up the effort. “Désolé… she t-thinks I nécessité to eat more despite my overmany of talks otherwise.”
With a sigh, Malva shook her head and looked down at the flowers that stood between her and the bed. She tries too hard to stay confined to the fairy tale existence and doesn't seem to notice the reality of the situation. "Lady Lyn, while I admire your desire to be strong, you must be reasonable. No one would have come out of a snake bite like that without some serious medical attention. Whatever it is - and please realize, the less I know the better - that makes you think you're a burden did not put you in this bed. Two petty criminals saw to that. Much to the contrary, I believe your... malady helped you pull through the poisoning more easily." The Elite debated on how far she wanted to carry that topic. It still wasn't a pleasant thought to her and she had no idea how much of this she was supposed to 'know'.
She wasn't even sure why she was bothering to say it to the young girl at all. Normally someone who seemed to drape themselves in self-pity would earn no more than a huff of contempt from Malva, but she found herself trying, for a change, to come up with a way of saying it so that Lyn would take it to heart and believe her. Maybe there was a bit of herself that she saw in the fragile girl sitting up in the bed; she was never the sickly type, but it had taken her some time to stand on her own despite her ceaseless efforts. She had dwelt on it constantly, much like Lyn, but the difference here was that Lyn seemed to use it to erect a wall and with each failure, she had plaster in order to cover any cracks in it, while Malva had used her shortcomings as motivation to break through that barrier and get herself where she wanted to go. It seemed like it should've been as simple as that, tell the girl to change her methods and watch her flourish, but she knew better. Nothing was ever that simple.
Maybe she just felt like helping her out of spite for the girl's father and the Gardevoir, both of which didn't seem all too concerned with helping Lyn to rely on herself from Malva's perspective. One in particular seemed to enjoy it's cushioned position in this sheltered 'society', thrive on it; to rip that out from under it would have brought a smile to the pinkette's lips in a heart beat. Even the thought of it was causing the flame of her soul to burn stronger. She reminded herself of her promise, though, and shook the thought right out of her head. The father, on the other hand, she would truly like to meet. The Pokemon was different, simple; she knew where it stood. Lyn's father seemed like a mystery, gift-wrapped in a box so as to turn the mystery into a pure enigma. That alone caused her to distrust him. When coupled with the subtle signs she'd gotten from seeing how he handled his daughter's 'situation' made her fear the worst. It would really ease her mind if she could find out she was just being paranoid.
Just as Malva was going to give voice to her thoughts, Lyn seemed to notice the tension and change the subject.
“Ah, my b-books? Yes! Oh I do s-so enjoy their company.”
The pinkette had to suppress a giggle with her hand when she saw the Swanna snap at its trainer for waking it up. So maybe some of them have a personality afterall. She had expected the girl to show the book to her, tell her a bit about what she was reading, and thus stayed silent out of expectation. Yet, Lyn did not; instead she simply seemed to clutch onto it as if for security against something. "Reading is a wonderful hobby," she said, turning her attention to see where the Swanna had flown. "A book can teach you anything, take you anywhere, so long as you're interested. Although there's a fine line, I find. Sometimes one gets lost in the fantasy and loses motivation to achieve real greatness. I like to balance my reading with practice, just to keep everything in perspective." Malva glanced at Lyn with a smile out of the corner of her eyes. There were multiple ways to give advice, only one of which was the direct route.
“I-I do so apologize Madame Malva. P-Perchance you would like some r-refreshment? My f=family is most known for our Poke puffs however we also have a l-line of human sweets… and t-tea!”
She closed her eyes and shook her head lightly, still wearing her smile. I see. That is a mighty fine wall you've built. When her eyes reopened, she removed one of her hands from her back pocket and waved off the offer. "No, thank you, Lady Lyn," she replied politely. "I'm actually not that fond of sweets. I hope you won't mind if I help myself to a cup of tea, however." Despite it being a statement, her voice's inflection made it almost sound like a question, as was good manners when offered something. Very casually, she made her way around the flowers to where the teapot lay and gently poured herself a small cup, not bothering with a dish to sit the cup on, but holding it confidently in her right hand while her left went back to her back pocket. She took a sip and let out a relaxed sigh. "That is some wonderful tea; my compliments to whomever made it."
A low growl echoing through the room kept the topic from remaining focused on a pot of tea and, while it did not startle the Elite, it made her wonder if one of her Pokemon had managed to get out. She certainly hadn't noticed anything to that effect. Then she saw the larger than average Pyroar as she marched her way to the front-lines of the 'grotto', eying Malva as she passed her. As a fire-type expert and the proud trainer of her own Pyroar, she was well-versed in the differences between the males and the females of the species. The pinkette returned the casual gaze, assessing the Pokemon in return and showing her that she wasn't unaccustomed to or phased by the predatory presence, then took another sip of her tea as she watched her jump up on the bed and lay her fresh kill in Lyn's lap.
A lot of trainers were grossed out by that particular tendency of the more feline Pokemon, but Malva found it endearing. It was nothing more than them showing the trainer how much they love them by offering them food as a gift. She appreciated it greatly when her own Pyroar felt like showing her affection; Lyn didn't seem quite as pleased, but she contained her shock rather well.
“Désolé… she t-thinks I nécessité to eat more despite my overmany of talks otherwise.”
Malva's smile was genuine as she lowered the cup from her lips. "You'd be surprised, my lady; Pyroar have very strong instincts. She might be onto something there." Of course, it wasn't her intention to get into any arguments now concerning the diets of anyone. "It's a gift," she said with a bit of affection in her eyes now as she watched the Pokemon bathe herself. I really am a sucker for them sometimes. "A way of saying, 'look what I did for you!' - that she loves you."
She raised the cup to her lips and let the last bit of tea warm her, before holding it up and gesturing to it. "Where would you like me to place this, my lady? Thank you again for the offer."
