[color=yellow][h2][center]♪♫♪ Cecilia "Cici" Taylor ♪♫♪[/center][/h2][/color]
[color=yellow][h3][center]Location: Central City[/center][/h3][/color]
[@Zarkun]

[color=yellow]"You two hungry?"[/color] Cici mumbled at her Pokemon, handing them snacks she'd bought. Apart from the coffee, a morning necessity, she hadn't ordered anything for herself yet. She would once Tommy arrived. Looking with bleary eyes at Dulcet, she let out a sound somewhere in between a chuckle and a groan. [color=yellow]"I guess that's a silly question to ask you..."[/color]

She took another glance around. The place was filling up, but she still couldn't spot the fellow musician. Taking another sip of her coffee, she turned back towards her Pokemon - or rather, one of her Pokemon. Dulcet had disappeared, leaving her food half-eaten.

[color=yellow]"Dulcet?"[/color] Turning her head this way and that, Cici gasped. [color=yellow]"Dulcet, no!"[/color] The Swablu landed on a table right in front of a customer, earning a cry of shock, and started pecking at a breakfast muffin. Cici jumped up, spilling her coffee all over the table, and ran towards her Swablu, Forte waddling behind her. [color=yellow]"I said no! You've got your own food!"[/color] Dulcet backed away from the muffin and looked up at her trainer with wide eyes, giving a sweet chirrup.

[color=orange]"For Arceus' sake!"[/color] the woman at the table snapped. [color=orange]"Can't people control their damn Pokemon?"[/color] She looked up at Cici, and realisation hit both of them.

The woman had changed. Her hair had faded from brilliant red to its natural strawberry blonde, and she now wore a plain, no-nonsense green dress, but it was unmistakeably her.

[color=yellow]"Sarah?"[/color] Cici gave her former friend a forced smile. [color=yellow]"Uh, hi! It's, um... been a while..."[/color]

Sarah glared, wrinkling her nose as she took in Cici's dishevelled appearance. [color=orange]"Yeah, and you really haven't changed,"[/color] she replied. [color=orange]"Of course you can't control that scrap of cotton. Never put much work into anything, did you? Except kicking up that racket."[/color]

The words stung, especially coming from Sarah. Cici remembered when they used to sing nursery songs together as children. They'd been like sisters for years, and now... Well, Cici couldn't really fault her once closest friend and former bandmate. It had been Sarah's family, after all, who had made her give up music to pursue what they saw as higher ambitions. Cici knew they'd always seen her as a bad influence.

[color=yellow]"Um, sorry,"[/color] Cici muttered. [color=yellow]"I'll buy you something else right away."[/color] Returning Dulcet to her Pokeball, she headed inside, and emerged a few minutes later with another muffin. Sarah accepted it wordlessly. Biting her lip, Cici returned to her table and slouched, wiping up the coffee with a napkin, keeping her gaze away from the other girl.

Was it even a good idea to travel with Tommy? Would he turn out like Ryan, a bandmate who'd seemed kind and friendly at first, but had slowly grown to view his taste in music as superior, his jokes turning into harsh put-downs, before deciding he was meant for greater things and leaving? Or would he be like Sarah and do a complete 180? Would she be better off making her excuses and travelling solely with Pokemon for company?

She decided she'd take her chances. She just wouldn't let her friendships with humans become too strong.