World Tree MUSH

After an afternoon shopping and adventures at the beach, Mirage would retire with Miwa to a hotel room for the evening. Thankfully, unlike other girls traveling alone, well--these two were not exactly normal. And it's not like Mirage would have let anyone try anything funny with Miwa, either. Honestly, after being down at the beach--Mir was just happy to have gotten a shower and a chance to get off her feet.

"Phew, reminds me I ought to start working out a little bit more--my feet are killing me," Mouse sat on the edge of one of the beds in the smallish room, in what looked like shorts and a T-shirt, leaning back as she held up one of her feet and rubbed at it, cracking the knuckles of her foot before tilting herself back down. She hadn't been this physically active it seems for a bit. Miwa was a fairly good influence on her, so far--at least in that regard. To her credit, besides the fur, ears, tail and other facial features--she was surprisingly humanoid looking, Miwa would notice. Five digited hands, 5-toed feet--well, if you could overlook the bucked teeth ontop of that, anyway...

Miwa had taken to sitting on the bed also, taking a moment to stretch her flippers, even kicking out a bit with her tail before letting it hang loosely over the edge of the bed. "Want to trade? At least your legs and feet are kinda made for walking around, try shuffling along on three flippers." She says with a grin and playfully sticks her tongue out in a teasing manner. "So what did you want to do now? Hang out and order some food, hit the hot tub... I also hear there is a karaoke bar down on the beach that's fun and serves food from all over this world."

Thankfully for the mer-diva, she had shacked up with a (in her own mind) fairly successful thief tonight--and so not only was the room paid for, but room service had already shown up. Bottles of water, salads, seafood platter, complete with scallops and onion rings--as well as a small plate of what seemed to be chicken fingers and macaroni. Mouse nibbled on the latter.

Mirage looked over at the Primarina and pulled her feet under herself as if protectively while with a mouthful of cheese and noodles in her mouth.

"Mmnoo--" she muffled, her long tail pulled alongside herself as she sat there.

"Ahh... that's good stuff, so... Miwa, how long have you been... you know, free? and are most Primarina into the showbiz industry?" Mouse asked.

Miwa for a moment wonders where Mirage was getting all the money for this, but decides asking about that might be rude, so she keeps it to herself as she happily fills up a plate with assorted things from the seafood platter, along with some onion rings and a bottle of water. She begins eating, even using a fork that she manages to hold between two of the digits of her flipper. Though once she goes for a drink, the lack of thumbs makes that a bit beyond her grasp, as she struggles to try and get the cap off for a moment, and instead of resorting to using her teeth, she looks up at Mirage helplessly. "Can you open this for me please?" She asks as she offers the bottle to her. 

 "As for being free, well, I think it's been a couple months now. I'm really enjoying the break from showbiz. Sometimes when people hear me speak they recognize me, but usually they are really nice. I wouldn't say most Primarina are into showbiz, but it's not rare either, and Primarina are far from the only kind of Pokemon who perform in shows. I mean, there are Pokemon Contests as an alternative to competitive battling, which are pretty much competitive performances. Sometimes I wonder if I could enter one of those, but I don't think they'd allow me to do so alone, maybe we could enter together as a team, that might be fun!" She muses as she looks back at Mirage with a smile, gaging her reaction to the idea.

The doorman had just left the whole cart with the tray in their room--and she'd told him they'd likely keep it till the next day when they cleared out. So there was no rush.

"Hmm? oh, sure--" Mirage looked over and the bottle would sail out of Miwa's flippers--easily caught by the mouse and the cap unscrewed with a swift twist--before floating (more slowly) back to the primarina.

"I almost wonder if your kind has any psionic capability--I'd love to teach you, would make things easier for you, at any rate--" she frowned a little, listening to the Mer-Performer speak.

"See, my species is fairly close to human--give or take a few genetic quirks along the way, we're not really sure where humanity blended with animals, I vote magical fuckery--but that's the point, I'm looked at as human in my world, of course there are those who are racist against my kind, but they don't really matter either--it just grinds my gears to think of a sapient life form like yourself being... well, owned, or controlled, it makes my skin crawl," she shivered a little, nibbling a piece of chicken, before setting the container of food aside.

"Contest... huh? you want me to put on a show with you?" she smiled.

"Yeah, it's not to say that a mistreated Pokemon can't potentially run away if they are being mistreated, as I've heard with enough willpower it is possible to break out of a Pokeball. That still doesn't make the whole situation right though, particularly when again, with enough willpower and desire, I feel like most Pokemon could learn to speak just as I did. It's just that most, put their efforts into other things." Miwa adds in agreement with Mirage's statement about being 'owned'. 

 She then tries to switch subjects, being very curious of Mirage's wish to teach her psionics. "You really think I might be able to learn? I mean, it sure would be helpful for things. I mean, I probably could have used my aquakinesis ability to get the cap off, but since it's tied to my voice, I'd be quite a strain to get the water moving fast enough to turn the cap, and I'd likely either make us both deaf, or at least have every canine in the area howling at the hotel." She says with a laugh. "As for the contest idea, sure, but only if you want to. You'd be my human partner."

"It's still a grisly concept for me--sapient creatures shouldn't be treated like that," Mirage sighed. Well, it's not like humans weren't treated horribly by eachother either, she knew--so there was that... but, it didn't make her feel that much better about it, when thinking about Miwa. She was probably getting too attached.

"Depends--does your species have any psychic potential? I heard there were other species of Pokemon that were 'psychic-type', and thus I assume not 'head-blind', like me," she smiled a little, jerking a thumb toward herself. She was proud of the fact she was not, in fact, 'head-blind' like most of the rest of the population. Though of course getting that way had it's own price tag.

"Hmm, well sure--i'd like to think of it more like a chaperone, anyway--than your 'human', but I guess my disguise ability works for that," she smiled, leaning back on the bed.

"What I'm curious about now, though--is have you always been like you are? you seem very insistent on always looking your best, I've noticed," she grinned a little. "You remember I can look inside people's heads," she winked at the primarina.

Miwa nodded, agreeing with Mirage, though feeling it was unlikely that the way humans keep Pokemon would ever change to just letting them all be free, as it's been like this for a very long time. The question about psychic potential gets her to think for a moment. "Hmm, well, most Pokemon, even those who like me are not psychic type, can learn some psychic type moves, though they wont be as strong. Also, I think I am like most in that I don't learn any such moves naturally. There is another way however, which might work. There are these devices called Technical Machines. They're like a little disk that contains the essence of a move, and can be used to teach it to a Pokemon. Not all TMs are compatible with every Pokemon, and I can't remember off the top of my head if I can learn any psychic moves that way, but we could find out. I wonder if this hotel has a computer we could use to look it up?" 

 She wonders before working to finish up the food she had on her plate and wash it down with the rest of the water. The question about if she was always the way she is brought a bit of blush to her white face. "So you've learned my worst kept secret." She says with a chuckle. "But yes, I think I always have wanted to not only look my best, but also be the best performer I could be, even since I was a little Popplio. Also chaperon makes it sound like you're coming with me on a trip to make sure nothing happens. How about, team mate, assistant... maybe just friend?"

"Some kind of augmentation...? Hmm, are there any side effects?" Mirage apparently was keeping up on what might happen to her mer-friend if they tried to do any weird experimentation on her.

"I don't want to try anything that might accidentally scramble your brains, or make you psychotic--though I could always try and fix it... I'd rather not risk it with you," she seemed to be caring here, concerned. Though she seemed to brighten up when she realized she made the Primarina blush. They'd had a pretty fantastic evening together, and she was surprised how well she was getting along with the pokemon lady--she'd taken to her like a fish to water--well, perhaps that was not the most kind comparison to make~

"I'd be happy to be your friend, though I have to wonder if your habits with regards to beauty might be running into narcissism, would you be okay with me taking a look inside your head to see if there is anything... askew in there?" she sat up on the edge of the bed more, peering at Miwa.

"I won't if you don't want me to, course," she nodded.

Miwa's blush deepens to a rosy red as Mirage agrees to be her friend as a happy smile forms. She shakes her head though at the question of side effects. "Not that I've ever heard of, and these TMs are pretty commonly used by people to give Pokemon new moves that they wouldn't normally be able to learn on their own. Maybe that is why certain TMs don't work with certain Pokemon, beyond not being effective, maybe the ones that would cause problems are just disabled for the Pokemon which would have bad side effects from it." She says with a shrug and another small shake of her head. 

 "I don't pretend to be an expert on the science of how they work, but they are safe, of that I can assure you. As for checking to make sure there isn't anything wrong with my mind, um, sure, I wouldn't want to be taking things to an unhealthy level, though I don't think I am, but I guess denial is a thing. Feel free to take a look if it's for the sake of my health. I mean, it's not like you haven't already been in there." She says with a chuckle.

"Well, it's also a bit for my benefit, so I can also see what is inside of there--with any luck it could wind up a beneficial experience for us both," Mirage, nods, scooting over to sit next to Miwa on her knees now, with her boots off, in just her undersuit. She'd be attempting to put her hands up over the seal Pokemon's head, trying to focus on her.

"If you want me out at any time, just try to consciously think of a brick wall, or some other sort of barrier, will give me a pretty good hint you want me to stop," she began to concentrate.

"Relax your breathing, it will help if you calm yourself down," she said, in a quieter voice now, trying to get the Primarina along with her breahing exercise.

"Sounds good. Delve away." Miwa would say with a nod to Mirage as she tucks her tail closer to her body for better balance on the bed, then closes her eyes and relaxes, her breathing beginning match Mirage's as she clears her mind of any distractions. "Is this good?" She asks softly.

"There we go, I think I'm getting something..." Mirage liked Miwa, so this wasn't quite a serious 'Open your mind, Quaid' sort of moment, in fact she was trying to be as gentle as possible. Soon, Mirage was opening her eyes and all around her was... a stage? It definitely had a sort of broadway kind of air to it, likely this was where Miwa was quite comfortable in. She was inside the Primarina's mindscape now, the structure itself made up of her memories and decorated with her personal touches. It was quite like being in a daydream of hers--but lucid, and joined by another person.

"Pretty fancy here, Miwa-girl--are you going to show us your pipes?" she grinned, reaching back and holding her tail up along her side, twirling it like the end of a feather boa.

Soon upon the stage a show would begin, a replayed memory of the first time Miwa sang a song of her own creation in a show. Miwa was center stage, dancing atop a malleable orb or water which she shaped to sync with her own movements, allowing her much more grace and range of movement than if she were just on the stage itself, it was almost as if she was swimming in the air. Her voice came pure, bright, and loud, yet delicate at the same time. 

 She continued to sing her heart out, the song being a bright and happy tune about the joys of swimming the warm oceans of Alola as they teamed with life. Soon she was joined by human performers, backing up her performance, dressed in costumes that made them look like other kinds of Pokemon one would find in the ocean. As the show replayed, other memories would flash through, of her trainer, who was more like a friend to her, of all the places she went with the group, the crowds, young fans who were elated to meet Miwa, now the star of the show. It seemed like quite the life. "This was one of my best performances, I was so excited, though I was also pretty nervous, at least at first."

To be fair, Mouse had never seen Miwa perform--though she could sense this was a cherished memory of hers, something she was being allowed audience to due to her bond with the girl. And not just the psychic link, rather--this was an opening up of a more intimate manner.

Mirage Mouse was floating off the floor in front of the stage, positioned as if she was lying on her stomach with her booted feet kicking up anc back behind her, like a young girl on the carpet in front of the TV with her arms folded beneath her chin. Of course there was nothing beneath her but air, but she also wasn't really in her boots or normal attire in here, either--it was just her mind's projection of herself.

As she watched, however, Mouse saw that there wasn't exactly a great deal of truama or darkness in Miwa as she might have expected--what with Pokemon to her seeming like slaves of a sort. She also found herself feeling oddly jealous, there weren't very memories Mirage had left of her earlier years and those that she did she tried to repress, at times.

she winds up looking sullen and as if she's miles away, even as Miwa proclaims her best performance.

"W-What, dear?" she attempts to clear her throat.

Miwa just assumes that Mirage was too focused on the performance playing inside her head to pay attention to what she was saying about it, not picking up on the jealousy over how her life was so nice. Still, after the performance ended, and Miwa took a bow as the crowd cheered and gave a raucous applause, more memories began to bubble to the surface. It was after this performance that her fame really took off. She traveled even more, and the shows became more frequent as the crowds grew larger. 

 While most of her fans adored her from a safe distance, some wanted to get up close and personal, and sometimes were not afraid to be aggressive about it. Before long she and her trainer had a security escort whenever they were out together in public. It was not long after this peaked that Miwa decided she needed a break from it all. A scene would flash next of a tearful goodbye as she left the theater troupe, leaving her friends to continue on without her while she figured out what she wanted to do with her life. "The fame was nice for a while, but eventually, it almost felt like a prison sometimes." Miwa said softly.

"It was beautiful, dear," Mouse just sorta sounded a bit weary, or distant--she wasn't going to take anything out on Miwa, of all people. There was that, at least. Of course, she also immediately felt guilty about her feelings when she realized that it had hurt Miwa to say goodbye to her fellow performers. Mouse had been correct that this had the potential to be beneficial for the both of them--these were things and emotions Mouse had never experienced before. For Miwa, it might be therapeutic to actually face these things down, at that.

"It's kind of funny, some part of me would have given a lot to be you--though I am not sure I'd want to just perform all day--not that you didn't look /gorgeous/ up there, of course," Mouse regained a grin, her large conical mouse ears twitching a little in excitement. Oh yes, Miwa /had/ looked fabulous up there. Fabulous indeed. It started to really have an impression on Mouse, though she didn't realize it at the time.

Miwa nods just slightly. "It was a lot of fun some days, it just got to be too much after a while. In hindsight, if we hadn't been traveling world wide, I might still be doing it, though I'd be lying if I said seeing the rest of the world wasn't nice too. But when you've toured the various venues once, the travel starts to lose it's appeal. After a while, I knew I just had to retire from it all. I didn't want my whole life to be traveling and performing. I knew there was more out there." If mouse went deeper, she may find some of Miwa's memories of watching the Pokemon League on TV, and see what traditional Pokemon Battles were like. She also watched some of the Pokemon Contest finals as well when they were on TV.

"That's true... you've gotten to see what you wanted to see and go where you want to go, I feel that is more important, plus--I likely wouldn't have run into you if you were still up there on the stage everywhere--being a total diva," Mirage teased the mer-seal, floating up around behind her and putting her arms around the seal's shoulders.

"But did you ever wonder what it was like to be in those sorts of league competitions... or even do battle?" Mirage kept her grin as she leaned in to say that into the Primarina's ear, as if trying to coax the answer out of her. She wasn't being too forceful here, with her probing--really letting the girl tell it on her own.

Miwa smiles happily. "Yes, I'm very glad I met you, not to mention all the others from different worlds. I would never want to give that up and just be a performer, as much as I do miss the way it feels to be up there on the stage with the crowd cheering. As for battling, well, it's a different sort of thing sure. I will admit though that yes, I have wondered what it's like to be in those battles, and if I would have what it takes to battle against the Pokemon that make it to those league tournaments." She would say as she moves to lay down on the bed, gently pressing with her flipper for Mirage to follow along. "Why do you ask by the way?"

Mouse wound up realizing she had shaken herself out of the mindscape with Miwa, now back on the bed with the meraid. Jeez, scandalous--good thing room service or the like hadn't walked in with them like this. That'd be a lengthy explanation, to be sure.

"Sorry--sometimes I see stuff in other people's minds that shakes me up, but I hope you feel better after the... session?" Mouse somehow felt that word was better to use--made it feel more like therapy, or maybe something more medicinal. Using her powers of telepathy and mind reading like that made her feel kind of... nice.

"You uh... don't need to sleep in the tub, or anything, right?" Mouse asked with a little sheepish grin finally, her tail twitching behind her semi-nervously.

Hopefully Miwa wouldn't whap her for that.