training!

After a rigorous training session, Excalibur hovered over the bench with an exhausted huff as she soaked in her well-earned break. Those Mienfoo seemed near boundless in their energy!

"Greetings. A fruitful session, I hope?" A silky-smooth voice chimed in. Excalibur glanced up towards Mienshao, giving a slight nod to the Pokemon.

"Mhm. Your Monster House drills sure did a number on me—but I appreciate the help." Excalibur flashed a smirk, letting her wings slump against the base of the bench. As she gazed towards the overhang, she could see Dolly tirelessly practicing on a punching bag, delivering blow after blow with her tail. She could see the heavy breaths she took in and out, but never once did she stop her rhythmically-timed hits to the bag.

"She's done well under my teachings—Quite strong for such a young one, it seems the human's gotten the grasp of her new form." Mienshao comments with a thoughtful hum and a dip of their head, before their gaze turned subtly intense. "But it's you I have my worries about, Excalibur."

Huh? Excalibur's face grew to a slight scowl, hissing in a quiet tone. "Eh? I've been around this world for waay longer than she's ever been born! I've got more experience in explorin' and fightin' than she'll ever have!"

Mienshao simply blinked, their eyes glinting with a deep magenta. "Your strength is not what I worry about—that you can rely on. What I raise concern about is your lack of focus. You seem very... Conflicted." Excalibur offered no reply.

"So, I will offer you this advice: Live in the present, Excalibur. Wish as you may for a different outcome to past regressions, but fate itself is something not even Celebi themselves will tamper with." Mienshao put their hands to their lap, looking back towards the overhang.

"..." Excalibur averted her gaze from the fighting-type, returning to Dolly, who'd now stopped her flurry to look over wearily at the Rotom and give a wave of her tail. 

"Cali! Didja see me? Sensei Mienshao helped me a ton with my Double Slaps!" She mrrowed with pride, her tail fuzzy and unkempt from how many impacts it took. Likewise, the punching bag seemed equally battered with scuff marks, giving the impression of a successful training session for the little Skitty.

...Excalibur couldn't help but give a chuckle as she was brought out of her temporary silence. "...Yeah, yeah, ya did great! It's gettin late, though—we 'oughta head back."

"Heehee! I wanna come back again sometime! It was really fun!" Dolly bounded up to the Rotom, giving her signature dollfaced smile. Excalibur can't help but feel her heart lighten just a little bit more.

"That'll be fine, won't it?" Excalibur glanced to the Mienshao, who gave a nod. "We'll make another trip here sometime—who knows? Maybe next week."

As Mienshao and their Mienfoo squad waved the two off, Excalibur looked to the sky. Her team would just have to wait a little bit longer—that wouldn't hurt, right? Until they can find a cure to that insanity, she believed she'd be just fine right where she is, with her little sister in tow.