Destiny [Pokémon]

❥ intermission

The little golden bell above the door of the café tinkled as the door swung open, and in barged a man with windswept, but still spiky, blonde hair. Ignoring the startled and reproachful looks he got from the café's customers, he frantically looked around the warm, cosy room until his gaze fell upon two persons sitting at one of the tables in the back and drinking coffee, their colour-themed attire standing out.

The man hurried over to them, slipping past tables, customers, waiters, and waitresses on his way there. He pulled over an empty chair from a nearby table and plunked down into it unceremoniously, exhaling a big, exhausted sigh.

"You're late," one of the persons remarked flatly, lifting her silver-grey eyes from the steaming cup in her hands to give him a disapproving look the blonde man knew all too well, having seen this display of reproof from his white-haired friend many times already—so many times that he had lost count long ago.

"Sorry, I got distr—" Spark began to apologize, but quickly shut his mouth again as soon as he realized that he had almost let the real reason for his (not exactly unusual) tardiness slip. Clearing his throat, he said with utter conviction in a last-ditch attempt to win his friends over, "I got held up, is all. Now that I'm here, it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?"

Blanche's annoyed sigh was muffled by the cup of coffee she had been about to take a sip from, and she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "And by what did you get 'held up,' if I may ask?"

"I bet five bucks that it was a Pokémon," the third person piped up after she had taken a swig of her coffee. The dark-skinned woman flashed her pearly-white teeth at Spark in a roguish grin. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Well, yeah! I came across a Pachirisu that couldn't find its trainer, so of course, I had to help! That's what everyone would do!" He pursed his lips in a pout, his arms crossed over his chest. "I had difficulties finding my way around at first, and then I got lost ..." He trailed off, scratching his neck bashfully, but then spoke up again, "But in the end, I managed to bring it back, and that's all that counts!"

Just then, a waitress stepped up to the table the three friends were sitting at, holding a menu in her hands. "Would you like to order, sir?" she asked, her radiant smile directed at Spark only.

His sulky mood vanished in the blink of an eye. He smiled up at the young woman just as brightly, making her believe that he was reciprocating her flirt—which he wasn't in the least, and both Candela and Blanche knew that. It was far more likely that he hadn't even realized her intent. "Sure thing! I'll have a cup of coffee—"

"He'll take a simple glass of water," Blanche cut him off brusquely, without even looking at him, instead looking at the waitress with a polite smile on her lips, "thank you."

Cue Spark going back to sulking.

With a brief nod of her head, Blanche signalled the woman to leave, and then, she turned to her blonde friend who had now puffed his cheeks out into an even sillier pout. "You don't need caffeine; you are hyperactive as it is. That would be equal to adding fuel to the flames."

Spark sank deeper into the chair in childish defiance. "You're so mean," he muttered. "I wanted coffee, not a stupid glass of water. I'm not a child anymore!"

"But you sure are behaving like one. Don't talk back now. We are not here to argue. There is a far more important matter at hand we must take care of immediately. Let's concentrate on that, shall we?"

"Right." In an instant, Candela's previously smiling face was set in a grim expression. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hand. "You called us because of them, didn't you?"