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Description
Winnie wasn't quite having a great morning already. First she wakes up to the smell of smoky pillow, remembers she's a ghost, scares the daylights out of half her Pokemon when she accidentally lights the curtains on fire, and only harvested two berries between her bushes. Now Remmy had appeared, promptly gaped cat-like at her, and now she was following the cat to Raoul’s home. This would be a long day…

“Prrr-row. Rooow, Pur-ug-leee!” Remmy was in absolute panic, pacing ahead of Winnie before deciding to pull back. He constantly butt his head against her leg, trying to get her to move faster.

“I’m going, I’m going!” she groaned, walking faster towards her neighbor’s house. It looked normal from a distance. But as she got closer, she noticed a mess on the porch, the broken windows. Had someone broken in?! She broke out into a sprint, worry giving way to panic.

Sliding through the front door, the sight in the living room was...certainly something else. At some point, most of the furniture had been pushed to the side, allowing space for a somewhat-longer looking Raoul. His arms were wrapped in cellophane, a blue sticky paste oozing out underneath, while he seemed dead-asleep on a pile of couch cushions. A Happiny sat on top of his chest--his egg must have finally hatched--and Alstro immediately perked up, getting up from his spot next to Raoul as he hobbled over to Winnie. “Ly-rooo, ra-roo!”

Winnie gawked at the sudden giant Raoul sprawled on the floor. When did he get so freaking tall?! She slowly approached and crouched down, looking at his face. He’s definitely asleep, looks to be uninjured. Well...uninjured head-wise, his arms were...why? She slowly lifted the edge of one of the sticky wrappings, cringing at the sight of scratches. Okay, he’s really hurt. She went to the bathroom to get the medical kits, then went to wake him up. Okay...okay. “Raoul, wake up.”

Something akin to a grumble slipped out of Raoul as his body twitched. The Happiny on top of his chest suddenly turned towards her, eyes piercing through hers through a bushel of thick eyebrows. “Peeny.”

“Raoul, I’ll draw mustaches on all of your Kalos Vogue magazines.” Winnie then tried in a sing-song voice.

Suddenly, the Happiny was in her face, tiny nubs grabbing the cuff of her sleeve. “Peeny.” She sounded far more threatening now, eyes blazing as she stared into Winnie’s.

Winnie blinked at the bushy-browed Happiny. “I was just kidding, goddess…” she muttered, frowning at the giant Gardevoir. Maybe she should try using her current totem? Her hair began to glow and float into the air, and her eyes glowed bright. “Boo!!”

The Happiny staggered back, eyes wide, as if she’d been struck in the face. She rolled down Raoul’s stomach, only to be caught by a very-worried Alstro. “Peeny...” She gasped, nub arms gripping the Lycanroc’s fur.

Winnie sighed, rubbing her forehead where her horns would be if she still had them. This was getting old...she started poking Raoul’s face, chanting his name. “Raoul. Raoul. Raoul. Raoul.”

“Mmmph…” Raoul’s eyelids fluttered, the effects of Hypnosis finally wearing off (no thanks to Winnie’s persistence). They opened completely after a moment or two, trying to take in the shape of the face leering over him. “Wha...a-aAAH!” He flew up into a sitting position, blanket wrapped around his (upper) body as he peeked out from the top. “Wh-wh-who are you? H-how’d you get in here?”

“Raoul, come on. I break into your house all the time! And it was easier this time with the broken windows!” Winnie reminded him, confused by his sudden panic. And then she remembered. “Oh...right. It’s me, Winnie. Apparently the Gourgeist thought turning me into a Litwick would be funny.” she told him, rolling her glowing yellow eyes.

Raoul stared her down through partially-crooked glasses. Then, after a moment, he fixed said glasses in place, eyes wide. “O-oh, gracious. Winnie?” The blanket dropped as he scooted towards his friend. “Th-The Gourgeist did this? I, um, d-didn’t even think it could…” He shook his head furiously. “A-are you okay? I mean, d-do you feel alright?”

“It’s been weird. My pillow and my curtains are burned. Apart from the fire, I don’t feel hungry and I sleep more out of habit than any real need. I’ll have to call Noah and see if that’s normal. But look who’s talking, why are you even taller now? The height delta was wide enough before, wasn’t it?” she asked, gesturing how small the blanket he was wearing was on him.

Raoul’s face lit up. “O-oh. Um, w-well...th-the Gourgeist prefered t-to have ‘taller’ friends. So...I d-did the measurements; I’m a-almost eleven feet.”

Winnie’s face was most blank. “You tried to befriend a giant ghost pumpkin?”

“Everyone n-needs friends…” Raoul mumbled under his breath. “I c-couldn’t cook, or kn-knit, or anything a-artistic like that. So, um, I offered wh-what I could.”

“I guess that’s fair. I’m still miffed at it for making me a fiery ghost though. I thought giving gifts would prevent tricks or my farm getting torched, and now I’m a candle.” she sighed. “So, what’s with the plastic wrap?”

“H-huh?” Raoul looked at his arms, face scrunching up at the sight of tiny cuts. “Oh. When did I...oh.” His expression fell. “M-my hanging plants--I must’ve gotten h-hurt by the, uh, ceramic p-pieces.”
“Shoo?” Essie suddenly appeared from the kitchen, mouth still running with blue juice.
Raoul blinked, the gears visibly turning in his face. “I th-think, um, Essie m-might have tried, ah, h-healing me.”

“What knocked them down?” she asked, carefully pulling the wrap off so she could start properly bandaging him. Her hair’s still glowing and feels weirdly warm to be near, never mind that her hands feel cold and all. “No offense, but if Kali’s antics didn’t knock them down before, why’d they fall now?”

Raoul’s face was as red as a beet. “Um...th-that was me, W-Winnie. I r-remember hitting m-my head on the doorframe, and, and I g-got so angry…”

“You had a Primeapeman moment?” she jokes, wiping the berry juice off to apply disinfectant. “I accidentally lit my curtains on fire when I woke up annoyed at the whole Litwick thing myself, so I get where you’re coming from. It’s kind of reassuring to know you can get angry too, in a weird way.”

Raoul grinned sheepishly. “I t-try not to, um, g-get that far.” He winced, the disinfectant burning at the touch. The pair were quiet for a moment, the sound of swirling wind outside filling up the space. Then, he asked, “W-Winnie? Do you ever f-feel like you’re, ah, drowning?”

“When I was little, my parents and I went with my Nana to a lake by her house. I fell in the water without my water wings. My hair absorbed a ton of water, and started to drag me down. Dad saw‘n heard me fall and shriek, and he yanked me back out before I inhaled too much water. So, literally yes. Figuratively...yeah, that too. Shortly before I left my parent’s home. I felt like I was just falling into some dark void with a rock tied to my ankles that was too heavy for me to swim up against.” she reminisced, starting to wind gauze around his arms, mindful of the deeper cuts.

“And, um, h-how did you s-stay afloat?” He asked, carefully flexing his arms to make sure the wrapping wouldn’t break.

“Well, I got away from what was dragging me down. I traded the stresses of my home life for adult life. It was hard, harder than it’d been when I was living there, but I could still swim up with that weight.” she mused, looking out one of the broken windows. “I lived with Nana, worked to help her out and do lawn repair whenever she had a trench digging episode, took online courses...it was a lot more work than I’d had to do when I was living in the city, but it was still liberating.” she turns to look at him, a frown on her pale face. “But I’m starting to realize I can’t keep running away. Eventually I’ll have to confront what made my life feel so toxic. Swimming away from the first rock; lengthening the rope, so to speak, didn’t make it disappear.”

Raoul looked up from his hands, noting how...adult, his friend suddenly seemed. The wear around her face, the way she held herself; she was far more level-headed, her stubborn nature suddenly taking on a far different light. “I...y-yeah. I think you’re, ah, r-right.” He took in a deep breath, looking to Winnie with a new sense of determination. “Um, you w-wouldn’t mind if I, ah, k-keep one of your g-gaming CDs, d-do you?”

“Legend of Zygarde, Greninja’s Creed, Darumaka Kart, Dusknoir Souls, or another one?” she offered, lightening up a little both figuratively and literally. She had plenty of game soundtrack CDs for him to pick from, and her hair almost looked like embers could start floating off of it.

“Z-Zygarde.” Raoul said. “Um...it h-has a lot of s-soothing music, and, I th-think I want to t-try and, ah, g-get back into m-meditating. It’s b-been so crazy the l-last few months…”

“Alright, it’s yours until I want it again. I feel like if the last few months are anything to go by we’re gonna have to start getting used to stuff like this. From what I’ve gathered from some others that have lived here a while, this isn’t unusual.” she chuckled slightly, trying to get her hair to cool down again.

“R-Really?” Raoul laughed, obviously uncomfortable but still feeling better for doing so. “Then I, ah, r-really need to g-get back into, um, m-meditating.” He hesitated, then carefully pulled Winnie into a hug. “Th-thank you, Winnie. I, ah, r-really wouldn’t survive here w-without you.”

“Likewise, my highly sensitive giant friend. How would I get by without being able to call you over to help me get stuff off the high shelf?” she jokes, grinning playfully as she hugged him back. “Hey, so...how does meditation work? Is it really just sitting still for a long time? How do you stay awake?”

Raoul shot her a look, but was still chuckling. “It’s, ah, allowing your m-mind to relax. You should d-do it with me s-sometime.” He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I d-do have a space, um, o-out in the back...maybe I’ll m-make it a z-zen garden…?”

“Ooh, I like making little gardens! I used to have one at Nana’s. As for meditation...sounds like something I could stand trying.” she agreed, nodding slowly. Relaxing sounded like something her whole farm could stand working on…

Description
Winnie wasn't quite having a great morning already. First she wakes up to the smell of smoky pillow, remembers she's a ghost, scares the daylights out of half her Pokemon when she accidentally lights the curtains on fire, and only harvested two berries between her bushes. Now Remmy had appeared, promptly gaped cat-like at her, and now she was following the cat to Raoul’s home. This would be a long day…

“Prrr-row. Rooow, Pur-ug-leee!” Remmy was in absolute panic, pacing ahead of Winnie before deciding to pull back. He constantly butt his head against her leg, trying to get her to move faster.

“I’m going, I’m going!” she groaned, walking faster towards her neighbor’s house. It looked normal from a distance. But as she got closer, she noticed a mess on the porch, the broken windows. Had someone broken in?! She broke out into a sprint, worry giving way to panic.

Sliding through the front door, the sight in the living room was...certainly something else. At some point, most of the furniture had been pushed to the side, allowing space for a somewhat-longer looking Raoul. His arms were wrapped in cellophane, a blue sticky paste oozing out underneath, while he seemed dead-asleep on a pile of couch cushions. A Happiny sat on top of his chest--his egg must have finally hatched--and Alstro immediately perked up, getting up from his spot next to Raoul as he hobbled over to Winnie. “Ly-rooo, ra-roo!”

Winnie gawked at the sudden giant Raoul sprawled on the floor. When did he get so freaking tall?! She slowly approached and crouched down, looking at his face. He’s definitely asleep, looks to be uninjured. Well...uninjured head-wise, his arms were...why? She slowly lifted the edge of one of the sticky wrappings, cringing at the sight of scratches. Okay, he’s really hurt. She went to the bathroom to get the medical kits, then went to wake him up. Okay...okay. “Raoul, wake up.”

Something akin to a grumble slipped out of Raoul as his body twitched. The Happiny on top of his chest suddenly turned towards her, eyes piercing through hers through a bushel of thick eyebrows. “Peeny.”

“Raoul, I’ll draw mustaches on all of your Kalos Vogue magazines.” Winnie then tried in a sing-song voice.

Suddenly, the Happiny was in her face, tiny nubs grabbing the cuff of her sleeve. “Peeny.” She sounded far more threatening now, eyes blazing as she stared into Winnie’s.

Winnie blinked at the bushy-browed Happiny. “I was just kidding, goddess…” she muttered, frowning at the giant Gardevoir. Maybe she should try using her current totem? Her hair began to glow and float into the air, and her eyes glowed bright. “Boo!!”

The Happiny staggered back, eyes wide, as if she’d been struck in the face. She rolled down Raoul’s stomach, only to be caught by a very-worried Alstro. “Peeny...” She gasped, nub arms gripping the Lycanroc’s fur.

Winnie sighed, rubbing her forehead where her horns would be if she still had them. This was getting old...she started poking Raoul’s face, chanting his name. “Raoul. Raoul. Raoul. Raoul.”

“Mmmph…” Raoul’s eyelids fluttered, the effects of Hypnosis finally wearing off (no thanks to Winnie’s persistence). They opened completely after a moment or two, trying to take in the shape of the face leering over him. “Wha...a-aAAH!” He flew up into a sitting position, blanket wrapped around his (upper) body as he peeked out from the top. “Wh-wh-who are you? H-how’d you get in here?”

“Raoul, come on. I break into your house all the time! And it was easier this time with the broken windows!” Winnie reminded him, confused by his sudden panic. And then she remembered. “Oh...right. It’s me, Winnie. Apparently the Gourgeist thought turning me into a Litwick would be funny.” she told him, rolling her glowing yellow eyes.

Raoul stared her down through partially-crooked glasses. Then, after a moment, he fixed said glasses in place, eyes wide. “O-oh, gracious. Winnie?” The blanket dropped as he scooted towards his friend. “Th-The Gourgeist did this? I, um, d-didn’t even think it could…” He shook his head furiously. “A-are you okay? I mean, d-do you feel alright?”

“It’s been weird. My pillow and my curtains are burned. Apart from the fire, I don’t feel hungry and I sleep more out of habit than any real need. I’ll have to call Noah and see if that’s normal. But look who’s talking, why are you even taller now? The height delta was wide enough before, wasn’t it?” she asked, gesturing how small the blanket he was wearing was on him.

Raoul’s face lit up. “O-oh. Um, w-well...th-the Gourgeist prefered t-to have ‘taller’ friends. So...I d-did the measurements; I’m a-almost eleven feet.”

Winnie’s face was most blank. “You tried to befriend a giant ghost pumpkin?”

“Everyone n-needs friends…” Raoul mumbled under his breath. “I c-couldn’t cook, or kn-knit, or anything a-artistic like that. So, um, I offered wh-what I could.”

“I guess that’s fair. I’m still miffed at it for making me a fiery ghost though. I thought giving gifts would prevent tricks or my farm getting torched, and now I’m a candle.” she sighed. “So, what’s with the plastic wrap?”

“H-huh?” Raoul looked at his arms, face scrunching up at the sight of tiny cuts. “Oh. When did I...oh.” His expression fell. “M-my hanging plants--I must’ve gotten h-hurt by the, uh, ceramic p-pieces.”
“Shoo?” Essie suddenly appeared from the kitchen, mouth still running with blue juice.
Raoul blinked, the gears visibly turning in his face. “I th-think, um, Essie m-might have tried, ah, h-healing me.”

“What knocked them down?” she asked, carefully pulling the wrap off so she could start properly bandaging him. Her hair’s still glowing and feels weirdly warm to be near, never mind that her hands feel cold and all. “No offense, but if Kali’s antics didn’t knock them down before, why’d they fall now?”

Raoul’s face was as red as a beet. “Um...th-that was me, W-Winnie. I r-remember hitting m-my head on the doorframe, and, and I g-got so angry…”

“You had a Primeapeman moment?” she jokes, wiping the berry juice off to apply disinfectant. “I accidentally lit my curtains on fire when I woke up annoyed at the whole Litwick thing myself, so I get where you’re coming from. It’s kind of reassuring to know you can get angry too, in a weird way.”

Raoul grinned sheepishly. “I t-try not to, um, g-get that far.” He winced, the disinfectant burning at the touch. The pair were quiet for a moment, the sound of swirling wind outside filling up the space. Then, he asked, “W-Winnie? Do you ever f-feel like you’re, ah, drowning?”

“When I was little, my parents and I went with my Nana to a lake by her house. I fell in the water without my water wings. My hair absorbed a ton of water, and started to drag me down. Dad saw‘n heard me fall and shriek, and he yanked me back out before I inhaled too much water. So, literally yes. Figuratively...yeah, that too. Shortly before I left my parent’s home. I felt like I was just falling into some dark void with a rock tied to my ankles that was too heavy for me to swim up against.” she reminisced, starting to wind gauze around his arms, mindful of the deeper cuts.

“And, um, h-how did you s-stay afloat?” He asked, carefully flexing his arms to make sure the wrapping wouldn’t break.

“Well, I got away from what was dragging me down. I traded the stresses of my home life for adult life. It was hard, harder than it’d been when I was living there, but I could still swim up with that weight.” she mused, looking out one of the broken windows. “I lived with Nana, worked to help her out and do lawn repair whenever she had a trench digging episode, took online courses...it was a lot more work than I’d had to do when I was living in the city, but it was still liberating.” she turns to look at him, a frown on her pale face. “But I’m starting to realize I can’t keep running away. Eventually I’ll have to confront what made my life feel so toxic. Swimming away from the first rock; lengthening the rope, so to speak, didn’t make it disappear.”

Raoul looked up from his hands, noting how...adult, his friend suddenly seemed. The wear around her face, the way she held herself; she was far more level-headed, her stubborn nature suddenly taking on a far different light. “I...y-yeah. I think you’re, ah, r-right.” He took in a deep breath, looking to Winnie with a new sense of determination. “Um, you w-wouldn’t mind if I, ah, k-keep one of your g-gaming CDs, d-do you?”

“Legend of Zygarde, Greninja’s Creed, Darumaka Kart, Dusknoir Souls, or another one?” she offered, lightening up a little both figuratively and literally. She had plenty of game soundtrack CDs for him to pick from, and her hair almost looked like embers could start floating off of it.

“Z-Zygarde.” Raoul said. “Um...it h-has a lot of s-soothing music, and, I th-think I want to t-try and, ah, g-get back into m-meditating. It’s b-been so crazy the l-last few months…”

“Alright, it’s yours until I want it again. I feel like if the last few months are anything to go by we’re gonna have to start getting used to stuff like this. From what I’ve gathered from some others that have lived here a while, this isn’t unusual.” she chuckled slightly, trying to get her hair to cool down again.

“R-Really?” Raoul laughed, obviously uncomfortable but still feeling better for doing so. “Then I, ah, r-really need to g-get back into, um, m-meditating.” He hesitated, then carefully pulled Winnie into a hug. “Th-thank you, Winnie. I, ah, r-really wouldn’t survive here w-without you.”

“Likewise, my highly sensitive giant friend. How would I get by without being able to call you over to help me get stuff off the high shelf?” she jokes, grinning playfully as she hugged him back. “Hey, so...how does meditation work? Is it really just sitting still for a long time? How do you stay awake?”

Raoul shot her a look, but was still chuckling. “It’s, ah, allowing your m-mind to relax. You should d-do it with me s-sometime.” He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I d-do have a space, um, o-out in the back...maybe I’ll m-make it a z-zen garden…?”

“Ooh, I like making little gardens! I used to have one at Nana’s. As for meditation...sounds like something I could stand trying.” she agreed, nodding slowly. Relaxing sounded like something her whole farm could stand working on…