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The thrill of the battle had worn off by now, leaving Devi feeling a bit a worn and battered, but they'd decided to continue travelling while still on a buzz and the wisps of mist announcing the Ruins were already coiling through the landscape around them as stray waysigns. She was still happy and she could make the trek, as could Batsen, no doubt, but the desire had morphed into wanting to have a nice sit down and a cup of tea rather than prolonged travel.
Mid-stride, Devi pauses, uttering a soft curse without losing her overall content composure, and a moment later sees her tug at one boot, grumbling quietly. “I swear, I have never understood how stones get into shoes,” she explains the brief interlude, shaking the boot until the offending nodule escapes it, only to tug it back onto the foot and straighten herself back out.
They haven't spoken about their battles yet - it seemed awkward at first for the sheer exhilaration it had brought them to have won and then it had become awkward because of the time that had passed, but now that she'd broken the silence…? “For that matter, I don't think I understand why Cecile was so irritated at you, either,” Devi comments, evidently staying on the 'things I don't understand' train of thought. “If she's willing to pull a REVERSAL on your Houndoom, it's a bit hypocritical of her to get up in arms about a FLAMETHROWER.”
Batsen cringes as he's reminded of that particular part of his battle with Cecile. “Can we not talk about that, please?” he asks. Evidently it's still something of a sore spot. Of course, now that the topic's been broached, there's not much for him to do but think about it - and a few moments later, he shakes his head and adds: “It makes sense. I nearly killed her pokémon, because… I don't even know why. Maybe I was just underestimating my chances of winning, so I used one of Jakuth's stronger moves to better my odds?”
“Did you honestly think the dragonfly would be anything but a thoroughly cooked crisp after a FLAMETHROWER?” Devi asks, evidently darkly bemused by the notion, but not to the point of holding it against him as Cecile seems to have done, shaking her head lightly. “But you've got the right idea - it's a competition, after all, and there's only one of two ways that can go: Either you win or you lose. And I see no reason to artificially increase your chance of losing by holding back. It's not like you told either of your pokémon to go back and kick the thing while it was down - that would be malicious. That I could understand getting her knickers in a twist about. But a single move?” She shakes her head. “Besides, she could have withdrawn the Yanma before the flames hit.” …that was undoubtedly true. The move had been wholly transparent, lest Cecile would not have instructed the Yanma to ENDURE the attack - and withdrawing was practically instantaneous. So… she'd been upset at him on a principle? Was that the subtext there?
Lips tug back in a light grimace at Devi's explanation - evidently there's something to it that doesn't quite sit right with him, though it's hard to find exactly what it is. Her final comment makes sense, though - he'd loudly broadcast what Jakuth was doing, and there'd been plenty of time for her to recall her Yanma. She'd had time to instruct it to ENDURE it, after all. “…yeah, maybe you're right,” he concedes, shrugging lightly. “Either way, though, it doesn't much matter now, does it? Jakuth's okay, her Yanma's okay, no harm done.”
✘ IN PROGRESS