[Bonfire] To new friends

The bonfire was still on going and would not stop for a few hours. At some point he had parted ways with Xīyuàn after which he had found a place to sit down far away from the fire. In the distance he could still see the yellow-is color as the flames danced around. Their presence made him want to run inside and lock himself up in his room for the remainder of the night. But he forced himself to stay here. Just a little longer.

A sudden voice sounded form his right and it startled him, making his heart skip a beat. Míngzé tore his eye off the bonfire and directed them towards the girl. While he did not immediately recognize her, she seemed to know who he was. “Eh— not really, if I’m completely fair,” Míngzé confessed with a sigh and a forced smile. They tasted good, that was not the problem, but he had made another grief mistake. It was not because he could not see their shape, that others could not and that was the problem. “If you break them in a few pieces, you won;t even notice it,” he continued while he already grabbed one of them and broke them in a few pieces. “See?” Míngzé held out a few of the pieces.

Míngzé was embarrassed by these brownies that he made. The thought of throwing them away had crossed his mind multiple times today. He would probably do it if even more people came by to say the same thing. Perhaps it was good that he was not able to see the looks people gave his creation.

He sat there with the pieces in his hand, expecting her to take one, but that never happened. The mental image she already had was probably too much. “I fear people have already made up their minds and are no longer able to see anything else.” A sigh escaped and he let the pieces fall from his hand back into the plastic box he’d brought. “Besides, if I want to put them on a plate, I would’ve to go back inside.” If he went to his apartment now, he was not sure if he would return. He brushed off the crumbles left on his hand.

“Do you live here?” Míngzé then decided to ask as he wanted to know who exactly he was talking to.

Míngzé raised an eyebrow when she told him how people would eat his brownies because they were getting tipsy. It sounded like it needed to comfort him, but it did not exactly work. Yet, he chuckled softly before shaking his head. “At this point?” he shook his head. “The mental image has made its home in people’s heads, I don’t think alcohol will help.” Maybe if they all got high, that would work.

Alright, she was not someone who lived here, so that meant he might have met her somewhere else. Not that it helped him in any way. “That does not sound bad,” he said. “Okay, this might sound stupid but I have to ask. Do we know each other?” The way she spoke to him made it sound like they did, but he really had no idea who she might be.

It felt almost rude to ask her who she was. He shook his head when she apologized to let her know it was fine. “Djodie,” Míngzé repeated, tasting the name on his lips. It did not immediately ring a bell. She carried on and when she mentioned her Rockruff who wanted to play with his cane, he remembered. They met accidentally on the streets, which was why he could not immediately recognize her. “Right, I remember. A rockruff, right? Glad to see you could come.” Only this time it seemed like she did not have her pokémon with her.

For a moment his eyes drifted off towards the large fire, but it was still the same, completely under control. Míngzé was still glad they were far away and could not even feel the heat radiating off it. “I take you did not bring him with you? Since my cane is still intact.” The thing was folded and placed on his lap anyway. It was too large and would draw too much attention otherwise.

Her explanation made him humm softly. It made perfect sense. Míngzé’s eyes moved towards the large fire once more and upon meeting the bright spot he heaved a breath. Everything was alright. The fire was under control and there probably was some safety precaution for if anything were to happen.

“That’s probably smart, with the fire and all.” Not only that but it was also very busy, not the ideal place for a pokémon that was slightly unruly. “Thought it would be better if I left mine inside too.” Not that Dai had agreed to his choice, but it was for the better.

When she asked if he was here with someone he looked around, trying to hear if he could hear Xīyuàn somewhere, but came up empty handed. “My cousin is here somewhere, no idea where she wandered off too.” Perhaps she found someone she knew too and was talking to them. Hopefully for them, she did not threaten to kill them for bringing food. “You?” He knew he invited her, but perhaps she brought someone with her anyway.

A part of him wondered how his pokémon were doing right now. Dai did not like staying alone and would prefer to stay close to him, but he also knew the pokémon might run off if it smelled something delicious. “A Houndour and a—” the words got stuck in his throat. “An Inteleon but he— nevermind." Míngzé shook his head, dismissing what he was about to say.

Xīyuàn had run off somewhere. Knowing her she was drunk right now, getting even drunker and doing Arceus know what. It was fine. There was so much going on that Míngzé was glad to have a small break. All his senses were always overstimulated after events like this, which he always anticipated. Already he craved for his bed but he would wait until midnight, that’s why everyone was here after all.

Djodie started talking again, how she was here by herself but halfway through her explanation he could feel it again. It was the same as earlier that night. Like a shiver slithering down his spine and the feeling of eyes burning his skin. Míngzé straightened his back a bit and looked around himself. Djodie’s words became a faint whisper in the distance. Then, suddenly, it was all gone again.

Míngzé blinked himself back to the present, his eyes back on Djodie who had stopped talking by now. “I’m sorry— I— what did you say?” he asked, his voice a little shaken. Just what the fuck was this? Míngzé couldn't help but look around once more.

Míngzé did not understand what this was and he could also not name the feeling he had either. It was stranger to say the least. That his skin color was already a shade of white helped him, but even still he could feel the color drain away from his face. The feeling lingered for a while, or more like the thought of it. He had no idea what Djodie had just said and had almost forgotten what they were talking about. She had said something about being here alone. Right.

Desperately he hoped that she would continue that conversation. Then he could ignore whatever had happened. “Yeah, of course, just lost in thought is all,” Míngzé sighed with a forced smile displayed on his lips. Everything was back to normal, and yet he could not keep himself from looking around once more. The only thing visible to him was the bonfire and nothing more. He could blame his imagination, but who was he kidding, he knew better than that.

“With all these people, the fire and noises, it sometimes becomes a bit much and then everything gets overstimulated.” Mingze gestured at his head while he talked. While it was not a blatant lie, it was also not the honest truth. “It’s not anything special,” Míngzé says. Hopefully it sounded believable.

It was not anything abnormal for him. A simple shopping trip could end up being a lot if it was busy. Not that it had ever caused this, especially given the fact that it had happened earlier too. Míngzé frowned deeply when Djodie started talking again. “That’s not exactly how it works but—” he started but stopped when he could feel how she grabbed one of the brownies.

Míngzé blinked a few times in confusion. Just like that she left, almost as if she could not get away soon enough. “Eh— yeah thanks.” That same confusion had slipped into his voice. He could hear her footsteps as she turned away and Míngzé jumped to his feet. “Did I say something wrong?” No one answered anymore, as Djodie had already walked off. With a silent sigh he sat down again and grabbed one of his brownies for himself.