[VE] Making memories

A stone and a gear. Míngzé raised an eyebrow when he heard it. Those were some very odd prices. He expected some kind of goodie bag, filled with some kind of candy and maybe a small figurine, not whatever this was. “A gear? Are you sure?” It was probably stupid to question her, but maybe she was wrong. “These prices are weird.” He wondered what prices other people had received. Perhaps there was a mistake with theirs. It was a pokémon that gifted them after all.

Before they left Míngzé wanted to make sure that Lucina had done everything she wanted to do. After that they could go. Although part of him soon wished he never asked. In her case however, he understood why she wanted to visit them. “Maybe, but don’t get your hopes up. These people are often fake and mostly tell you how you will find that one special person, how you will be successful in whatever way, all the basic stuff.” It was often even worse if they asked money for their services. Then you knew they were absolutely fake.

Míngzé simply shrugged and shook his head as he did. These odd rewards were really that— odd. For now he would keep the stone in his pocket and probably forget all of it. “Maybe it is just some collectible.” People these days were very into collecting all kinds of objects. Not that it mattered. Now they would continue and after that end their day. It was about time for him to leave, he could feel the exhaustion settle down upon him.

For their last activity it seemed they were going to visit the fortune teller. Míngzé could not hold back a soft sigh. “Alright, because you want it,” he agreed with a nob. There probably was no harm in it. At least he hoped. He simply followed her as she walked through the festival on her way to the fortune teller. “What do you hope she can tell you?” Míngzé was genuinely curious. With her backstory, it did make sense that she wanted to give it a shot.

It made sense why Lucina wanted to give the fortune teller a try. Míngzé hummed softly after she explained what she was after. It was true, this was easier and safer than going through all kinds of labs, trying to figure out if any of them had something to do with her. Who knew what might happen to her were she to find that place.

Míngzé let out a sigh while he continued following her. “I can’t imagine what it must be like for you,” he said thoughtfully as he was trying his best to envision it, but it was impossible. “Not knowing anything about yourself or the world you wake up in. It must drive you mad.” It sounded like some kind of fairytale, especially given her looks. He often forgot about them, simply because he was never confronted by them. The one time he knew she was different, was when he had actually touched her ears. To him she was just like anyone else.

Míngzé hummed in silent agreement. While difficult to imagine, it was only logical that something like this would be more than frustrating. Memories shaped a person, just like events in one’s life did. Without those, who would you be? A smile broke through at the mention that he’d helped in some way. “Don’t mention it, all I’ve done is be there for you.” He did not think his role in all this was that big of a deal. What he did was help a friend.

They soon reached the place where the fortune teller had set up base. The smile form earlier was no more as Míngzé stared towards it. It could not be real. That was something he refused to believe. He let go of Lucina’s arm and nodded briefly. “Sure, I’ll wait here.” This gave him time to figure out if he wanted to go through with this or not. Míngzé found a place he could sit and waited there for Lucina’s return. Hopefully this fortune teller would not disappoint her too much.

Patiently Míngzé waited. It would probably not take too long for Lucina to return. However, it felt like seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. It made him wonder if perhaps there was more to the Fortune Teller after all. The thought of entering himself made him nervous. Stupid, he told himself, but there was nothing to be done about it.

The moment Lucina’s voice sounded, Míngzé got up from his seat. “And? Did she tell you what you wanted to know?” No matter what he thought about Fortune Tellers’ he was still curious. Even if she was a fraud, it would help him ease his mind. Then he could get in there too without having to worry about what she might say.

The mountains were a strange place to tell someone to go to. While it may be pretty, Míngzé failed to see how it could bring her answers. “That’s odd. Just be careful, the mountains are nothing like the big city.” There were probably worse places they could’ve sent her to. Shadowfell for example.

Softly he hummed as she asked him if he wanted to give it a try. Míngzé rather not go inside, but a part of him was curious. “Sure, if you could show me the entrance,” he said with a deep sigh. With Lucina’s help he went inside and he couldn’t help but feel nervous.


Once Míngzé left the place, he knew they were there. No matter that he could not see them, that they spoke no words, he felt them. In a way they spoke to him. For whatever reason they were displeased, angry even. It got worse the farther he went from the Fortune Teller’s tent. Míngzé had hoped that Lucina’s presence would’ve been enough of a distraction, but it was not.

“That was— a lot.” No words could really describe what he felt after those revelations. He wanted to believe them false, but how could he when they hit the mark so well. “I’m not sure what to make of all that she told me,” he continued shaking his head. Now it truly was time to leave, he wanted nothing more than to crash on the couch and take a nap.

They were angry. That much he knew. Normally it was challenging to understand what the spirits around him said, but not this time. Míngzé gritted his teeth, attempting to block them out, or at the very least, ignore them. Unfortunately, it wasn't working.

It did not come as a surprise that Lucina wanted to know what he’d learned form this little adventure, yet he shook his head. “Perhaps some other time,” he told her while shaking his head. “When things are quieter.” The people around them he could deal with, everything else he felt since leaving the tent was different. They were extremely present. The words from earlier haunted him. The spirits will whisper warnings. An unsettling thought attempted to surface, but he pushed it back. It was stupid to believe that to be true.

Míngzé forced a small smile to his lips. “Let’s go, it has been enough for one day.” It was no lie that he was tired.