Chapter 24.9

Now

Ravina stared at her as Ito drank, the deliberate way those violet eyes tracked the room each swallow as the silence stretched between them. Ravina's gaze shifted toward the lodging wing, then back to the small figure sitting in the lounge chair.

"How is Ethan after your... reparations?" Ravina's voice was careful, the word weighted with all it implied.

Ito's smile was predatory, her upper eyes crinkling with amusement as she set her glass down with deliberate precision. "Resting."

The single syllable hung in the air between them, offering absolutely nothing while somehow explaining everything.

Ravina's expression tightened. "How much resting?"

Ito's grin widened, exposing teeth that hadn't been there a moment before. Her lower eyes tracked the progression of recognition across Ravina's face with predatory satisfaction.

Ravina closed her eyes, tilting her head back as if communing with some unseen deity of patience. "Never mind."

"You asked." Ito's voice was barely more than a breath, somehow managing to carry mock seriousness while thoroughly enjoying Ravina's discomfort.

"I rescind the question."

Ito placed her drink down again, the sound sharp and final. "Too late."

Ravina sat opposite her, Toni perched in her lap like a small egg-shaped masterpiece of curious determination. The Togepi leaned toward the table with uncoordinated abandon, her tiny hands extending toward the colorful beverage as if drawn by some innate understanding that sugar was wonderful.

Ravina intercepted with practiced ease, her fingers wrapping around the rim of Ito's glass as she angled it just out of reach.

"No."

Ito's upper eyes lit up with amusement as they tracked the Togepi's failed attempt, her lower pair more intently focused on the small creature. Toni tilted her head, eyes reflecting a mild indignation at having her access denied.

"What does she eat?" Ito asked, her voice carrying the casual curiosity of someone who had, at various points, consumed creatures and items that most trainers would find alarming.

"Carefully," Ravina answered, her attention momentarily divided between Toni's renewed efforts and Ito's expression. "That isn't a food!" she corrected as Toni persisted.

"It is currently a lifestyle," Ito corrected with mock seriousness, watching as Toni redirected her attention to Ito's glass directly, bypassing Ravina's protective grasp.

Toni's reach improved with determination, small stubby arms extending across the table distance.

Ito anticipated it with unnerving precision, moving the glass just beyond the newly calculated trajectory.

Toni reached again, this time with a slight pivot that suggested improving coordination.

Ito moved it again, matching the adjustment without seeming to look.

A brief standoff occurred in the courtyard, punctuated only by the ambient sounds of flowing water from nearby fountains and distant rustling of trees. Toni stared with fierce concentration, Ito stared back with predatory amusement that bordered on affection.

Then, deliberately, Ito slid the straw an inch forward—not close enough to reach, but close enough to suggest she might.

Ravina's hand descended to intercept the gesture, slapping Ito's knuckles with maternal swiftness.

"No."

Ito laughed, the sound bright and musical across the courtyard stones. "Mean mother."

"She hatched yesterday!"

"She looked thirsty," Ito defended, her upper eyes widening with calculated innocence.

"For something full of sugar?"

"Fruit is healthy."

Ito's rationalization was met with a blank stare.

"Ito."

"Fine."

Toni looked between them, small head tilting as she processed the denial. WANT. The telepathic impression struck both trainers simultaneously.

"No."

Ravina's response was immediate and firm, leaving no room for interpretation.

Toni's face crumpled with profound betrayal, her body going momentarily rigid before the tremor began. Both Ravina and Ito froze in their tracks. Nikola took one step forward, her fleece crackling with static as she sensed the building of an emotional storm.

Ravina pulled her close immediately, the movement instinctive and protective.

"Oh, no, no, love. You're okay." Her voice had softened, the maternal warmth spreading through the courtyard as Toni pressed against her chest. WANT. The mental impression arrived with desperate insistence.

"I know."

SAD. The thought-image arrived fragmented, colored with all the desolation of a creature abandoned on a barren ice floe.

"I know."

Ito watched, the mischief draining from her expression. Just for a second, something unguarded in all four of her eyes as Ravina rocked Toni gently against her chest.

"You can have your own food."

Toni sniffed again, the sound heartbreaking as Ravina dug through her bag with practiced urgency. She produced one of the soft foods April had approved, a small purple square with medicinal properties.

Toni saw it and the tragedy ended immediately. Her mood shifted with instantaneous whiplash, tears vanishing as she reached eagerly for the offered delicacy.

Ito stared.

"...That was fast."

"She does that."

Toni took the food with both hands, stubby fingers closing around the treat with purposeful determination. GOOD. The radiated pleasure echoed through the courtyard like sunshine.

Ravina sighed, the sound carrying weeks worth of accumulated maternal exhaustion, despite being her second day as a mom.

"Emotional devastation. Fully recovered."

Ito watched the Togepi devour her prize with predatory interest, already calculating ways to acquire her own version of these mood-altering treats. Some games were worth learning.

Ito leaned forward, her movements carrying their usual grace as she reduced the space between them.

"Can I hold her?"

Ravina watched her without blinking, assessing the request. Ito looked unusually serious, all four eyes fixed on the small Togepi with an intensity that bordered on unnerving.

"Carefully."

"I know how babies work."

Ravina raised an eyebrow.

"...I know how small things work." Ito corrected, her upper eyes narrowing at the imprecision of her own statement.

"That is a different sentence."

Still, Ravina handed her over with deliberate slowness, the transfer accomplished with maternal precision.

Ito accepted the offering with surprising care, arranging the tiny creature against her chest as if handling something infinitely precious and equally breakable. Toni sat awkwardly against Ito's torso, her shell catching the light in fractured patterns that confused the eye.

Then the Togepi looked up, small head tilting as she processed the face above her.

Ito stared down, expression unreadable but rapt.

Toni reached toward one of the upper eyes, tiny fingers extending with instinctive curiosity.

Ito caught the tiny hand before contact could be made, her movement supernaturally swift.

"Those are attached."

Toni chirped, the sound bright and unconcerned.

Ito smiled, the expression softening her predatory features into something almost affectionate.

"You are strange."

Ravina snorted, the sound sharp with irony.

"that's rich coming from you."

"I am elegantly unusual.”

“You arrived in Johto inside a box of linens.”

Ito's expression shifted instantly, a door slamming shut in all four eyes.

“Against my will.”

The old bruise surfaced between them, visible in the tightened corners of her mouth, in the violet of her eyes that darkened from amusement to something that had not fully healed.

“I know.”

Ito turned away, her focus drifting toward the sky as if seeing something more interesting than this conversation. But her fingers remained curled around Toni, touching the small shell with unexpected tenderness.

Ravina said nothing, letting the courtyard fountain fill the silence between them. Some words weren't worth reopening. Not today, when Toni was a warm distraction vibrating softly against Ito's ribs.

Then Ito looked down, her upper eyes studying the Togepi's simple, upturned face while the lower pair remained watchful.

“You know, your mother trapped me in a box.”

Ravina shot her a look that would have made weaker creatures wilt.

“I did not.”

Ito sniffed, her movements sharp and offended as she arranged Toni more securely against her chest.

“You neglected to prevent it.”

“I thought you were with Oracle, she was meant to be taking of you while I was here” Ravina threw her hands up in exasperation. “How was I supposed to know you decided to nap among the pressed sheets?”

Toni looked between them, her small head turning back and forth as she tracked the word-storm with innocent fascination. Her shell glinted under the courtyard lighting, patterned with confusion and delight.

FUNNY. The telepathic impression landed in both their minds, bright with curiosity.

Ravina dropped her head into her hands with despair.

“Great. She's siding with you...”

Ito’s smile returned, slow and predatory as her grip on Toni loosened. “As she should.”

- - - - -

Chapter 24.10

Ito transferred the small Togepi back with deliberate care, the brief contact between them noted and processed. Toni settled immediately against Ravina's chest, her tiny body finding the familiar warmth with instinctive precision. The Togepi made a soft, contented sound that vibrated through Ravina's skin.

Ito's expression didn't shift, though all four of her eyes tracked the reunion with calculating interest as Toni rearranged herself into a more comfortable position.

Ravina's gaze slid across the courtyard, catching on details she had missed before—the freshly polished leather of Rocky's harness, Webby's tiny blue carrying pouch secured with impossible threading, the neat bundle of expensive-looking travel provisions tucked beneath Ito's chair, and the half-finished cocktail with its elaborate garnish that even now threatened to drip onto the polished tabletop.

"Ito."

"Yes?" Ito's voice was light, her lower eyes meeting Ravina's as her upper pair remained fixed on Toni with proprietary interest.

"How much money do you have?"

Ito blinked slowly. "Enough."

Ravina's posture tightened. "That's not a number."

"It is the relevant number."

Ravina pointed at the colorful glass. "You ordered from the right side of the menu."

Ito took another deliberate sip through the straw. "Good things are worth it."

"You have new gear."

"I do."

"Rocky has new gear."

"He appreciates it."

"Webby has a new carrying pouch."

The Spinarak puffed up with pride, lifting her treasure at the mention.

Ravina's stare became direct. "You don't have a job."

Ito tilted her head with calculated innocence. "Neither does Webby."

"That's not the point."

"How are you paying for this?" Ravina's gaze swept over Ito's obviously expensive new gear, her voice carrying the same deadpan disbelief it often did when faced with Ito's particular brand of problem-solving.

Ito's smile blossomed slowly across her face, the expression sharp and predatory as she considered her response. "Winnings."

"Winnings from what?" Ravina leaned forward slightly, the movement cautious, as if approaching a potentially explosive device.

"Bets." Ito's response was immediate, simple, and utterly unhelpful.

Ravina's expression flattened into a mask of weary suspicion. "With who?"

Ito paused, her lower eyes drifting toward the ornamental fountain as her upper pair remained fixed on Ravina's face. "Other trainers."

Ravina's shoulders tensed. "Ito."

"It pays." The words were delivered with smug satisfaction as Ito lifted her glass for another sip.

"That is not better."

"It is extremely better." Ito's voice carried the bright confidence of someone thoroughly satisfied with their finances. "I have money."

A muscle in Ravina's jaw twitched. "What exactly are you betting?"

"Things." Ito's smile widened, her upper eyes crinkling with amusement.

"What things?"

"Small things."

Ravina's stare intensified, searching the fae's face for any hint of the truth hiding behind those deliberately vague answers. "What kind of things?"

Ito remained silent, her smile the only answer as she brought her glass to her lips.

Ravina's eyes narrowed, her voice dropping to a whisper of accusation. "And how much of this is stolen?"

Ito looked genuinely offended, her upper eyes widening with indignation as if Ravina had questioned her most sacred principle.

"Not all of it."

Ravina stared as Ito grinned.

"That answer was worse than my first question."

"More honest."

"Barely."

With practiced silence, Ito's fingers slipped into her pocket, emerging with a card held between them. She displayed it like a trophy, her trainer card, smooth edges reflecting dappled sunlight.

"I am legitimate."

Ravina's gaze dropped to the plastic.

One corner was gone, not merely ripped but visibly removed through distinct dental interference. Small indents marked where teeth had clenched, indelible proof of a possessive bite.

"You ate your trainer card."

"No."

"You bit a piece off."

"Decoration."

Ravina reached, fingers stretching toward the card in an instinctual grab.

Ito moved with supernatural speed, the card vanishing from view before contact could be made.

"Let me see."

"No."

"Ito..."

The name hung between them like a challenge.

"No."

Despite the refusal, Ravina had glimpsed it—the imprint of Ito's trainer identity.

ITO SHALES.

The letters struck Ravina with unexpected force, halting her next words. There it was, a family recognition. Acceptance claimed in bite-marks rather than words.

Ito noticed. In that instant, her upper eyes snapped shut, morphing into artistic eyebrow-like markings. The extra gaze gone, reduced to deliberate humanity once again. A mask for when things got too real.

Ravina watched as Ito turned away, the card disappearing into her clothes like a secret swallowed whole. She could have pressed—Ito was nothing if not predictable in certain circumstances—but something about this revelation demanded space.

So instead:

"They'll charge you for replacement."

Ito sniffed, defensive. "I can afford it."

Ravina exhaled, long and slow, the sound carrying weeks worth of accumulated exhaustion at this particular fae.

"Of course you can."