Faller, Noun: Someone Experiencing Interesting Times - Chapter 18

“On a scale of ‘awkward silences’ to ‘get ready to dodge some cutlery’, how much is this going to suck?” Neil asked as he rocked back and forth on his feet, thumbs hooked on his pockets.

“Somewhere between ‘awkward silences’ and ‘screaming match’, I think.” Raiko admitted softly, withdrawing into herself briefly before she shook her head, slapped her cheeks, and nodded towards Eevee, “But we’re doing this anyway. Ready Eevee?”

“Always.”

With a fortifying sigh, Raiko turned the key she’d been faffing over for the past minute and pushed the door open. Announcing she was home with confidence she didn’t feel, the Trainer slowly made her way into the house. The lack of response was… mildly heartening and also extremely irritating, given her parents were supposed to be finally home for the week. Though given their weird-ass schedules, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if something had come up.

“Make yourself at home for now, Neil. I’m going to see if those two are actually home or not.” She declared, waving her friend in despite his obvious awkwardness, he simply nodded and made a bee line for the couch. Home was… home. Cozy, comfortable. For all that it was a prison in many ways, she did like it here… to some extent, anyway. But she’d been getting antsy for a reason, and the introduction of another responsible adult into her life had pushed that antsyness into overdrive.

There was no way her parents could protest her Journey if she was travelling with someone… Except if they hadn’t gotten over their distaste for Fallers, anyway. Honestly, they knew better than to hold onto a grudge but did it anyway, it baffled the mind.

“Rai. I think I hear 'em coming home.” Eevee’s commentary snapped her out of her thoughts, the fox-cat’s sensitive ears twitching as she looked towards the door, “Yeah. You should probably get ready.”

“I know Eevee. I know.” Sighing, she combed her hands through her hair, getting the desire to do something with them out of the way for now as her thoughts raced and catastrophe after catastrophe ran through her mind, “I just don’t have any more cards to play after this one… and I’d going to resort to just leaving if they still don’t back down.”

“I know.”

Chewing on her lower lip, Raiko began walking towards the unlocked front door to her house as her mom and dad approached, and with yet another fortifying breath, threw it open to greet them. “Mom, dad. Welcome home.”

Their puzzle expressions were, honestly, mildly hurtful. Sure, Raiko had her disagreements with her parents (most notably the Journey), but she did actually try to make it a point to be around for the limited time they were home. Mind, she didn’t generally go out of her way to greet them, so that was probably the source of their confusion, but–

No. She was stalling. Getting stuck in her head instead of actually confronting this issue. She probably could have forced this issue a lot sooner but…

Well she loved her parents and if she forced the issue she’d have ruined things between them.

“Thank you, Raiko dear.” Her mother was the first to rally, a tired smile finally gracing her face as she began to move into the house, “Work was…”

“Trying.” Her father grunted, offering his daughter a smile as well, “We got called in after getting back, only for the incident to resolve itself before we could even get into the ‘office’.”

‘Fantastic. So they’re going to be irritable, at least, more than standard, and I’m going to look like the bad guy for forcing the issue when they’re exhausted.’

The thought that raced through her head without prompting was truly what sealed the deal for the younger girl. She… She’d been waiting long enough. If she waited for a perfect time to talk to her folks she’d be here forever. She was already expecting some shouting, after all. This was never going to be a fun conversation.

Not when her parents kept insisting that she stay by their side.

“I’m not just greeting you for pleasantries.” She admitted as she guided her parents into the house, Eevee trotting along beside her with an unreadable expression, “I wanted to have a talk.”

She caught the flicker of exasperation and bone deep fear that shot through her parents expressions and body language. Well within expectations, though she bitterly noted it likely meant they hadn’t addressed their obvious trauma like they promised they would LAST time they’d had this talk. Oh sure, mom and dad were busy, but they–!

No. Anger wasn’t productive. She could get angry when they started getting unreasonable (she ruthlessly crushed the thoughtline that told her they were already being hilariously so) and claim the moral high ground later. This was already going to end in tears - she was fully expecting to have to storm out of the house and bum it on the road with a man that, bluntly, she was probably trusting way too damned much.

Sure, you could call it paranoida, but she wasn’t unaware of the reason her folks were hilariously traumatized and possessive.

“Raiko could we please-”

“No. We’re having this talk now. I’ve hit my limit.” She cut her father off bluntly, eyes narrowing, “I’ve diligently fulfilled every single reasonable stipulation and roadblock you’ve put before my Journey. I’ve repeatedly asked you to address YOUR trauma surrounding the incident. I have found a traveling partner, and I am going to be leaving at the end of the week.”

There was a small, vicious part of Raiko that revelled in the shocked look on her mother and father’s faces before the flickers of anger forced it away from their expressions.

“You DIED, Raiko.” It always looped back to emotions with them. “You were GONE, DEAD. And then you came back to us.”

“For you, sure.” Her responses were always calm when it came to this. Sure, she’d ‘died’. She’d been informed that her parents had been informed as such. But to her, she’d been collateral damage - one that had been protected by the Legend who’d been one of the two parts of the incident in the first place, “For me, I spent a rather nice time chatting with Death. Then, once she and Life were certain that I would be fine despite both of their touches lingering on me-” Pausing, Raiko gestured to herself, “Besides the obvious side effects, they returned me to you.”

“YOU WERE GONE FOR MONTHS.”

“I understand that.” She didn’t, really, her parents really were too damned illogical about death - it was one of the many reasons she couldn’t really get them. Death was just… the end. The cessation of existence. It was a kindness, in many ways, to die. To not have to worry about anything anymore. “But you’ve also completely and utterly refused to address your obvious trauma over me dying, and have conclusively and repeatedly refused to see things from my perspective despite my best efforts to see things from yours.” Taking a deep breath, Raiko finally allowed herself to get mad, “You have prevented me from going on MY JOURNEY. YOU DO REALIZE THAT BY LAW I COULD HAVE FUCKED OFF FROM YOUR LIVES YEARS AGO, RIGHT? DO YOU KNOW HOW INFURIATING IT IS TO WATCH THE WORLD PASS YOU BY? TO WATCH ALL YOUR FRIENDS ENJOY THEIR COMING OF AGE WHILE YOUR PARENTS REFUSE TO LET YOU OUT OF THEIR SIGHT DESPITE BEING GONE FROM HOME FOR MORE THAN HALF THE TIME PRESENT IN A YEAR?!” Reigning herself in, she spun on her heels, “I’m done. Cut me off. Do whatever. Don’t contact me, I won’t respond. I am leaving, going on my journey, and I swear to Yveltol that if you try and use your connections to baby me on my journey I’ll fuck off to Orre or something.” With a pointed glance towards Eevee, she nodded, “Eevee, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“About damned time.” Her gift and starter muttered, interposing herself between her adoptive parents and sister-trainer-partner thing, “No. You are not following Raiko, nor are you going to bother her friend. She is going to pack what little she has to pack, and we are leaving. I know you don’t understand me, but I’m sure you get the fucking message.”

Despite not understanding a word their second daughter had stated, the intent was clear. When an Eevee looked at you with a determined expression, fur bristling with something not quite fury but close enough to it for government work - you took notice. Especially when you worked with Wild Pokemon and their communities for a living. You got VERY good at noticing the intent and general gist of their language when you worked with Pokemon for long enough, after all.

Any movement from them towards a Pokeball would see Eevee attacking them. The message was abundantly clear.

Throughout all of this, Neil had quietly gotten up, slunk shockingly silently around the social explosion, and kept the front door open for her. He even shot her a wink from behind her parents, a single finger on his lips. No wonder he’d gotten a Mawile as a Mystery Gift.

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“Well, at least I didn’t have to catch you and your luggage through the window.” Neil chuckled ruefully, “So, what’s the plan from here? ‘Cause I know you have one, with that bug out bag of yours.”

They’d all begun power walking towards the Pokemon Center with haste the moment they’d left Raiko’s house, with the little lady cursing under her breath in six different languages and looking like she was going for a round ten. Best to snap her out of that already.

“Go to the Pokemon Center. Check into the Pokemon Center. Sit in one of the common rooms and plot.” Raiko deadpanned, eyes flinty as she looked towards him, “Figure out if my parents are going to cut financial support - not that I’ll need it, but it’d be nice to have confirmation one way or another.”

“Fair ‘nuff. I’ll save the discussion of where we’re heading for once we get a map rolled out in front of us.” Neil grunted with a bob of his head.