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At the sound of the knock, there may have been the odd grunt or groan from inside. "Just a minute! Spook, can you- Thanks." There was the click of the lock being undone. "It's open!" Alba called, carefully sitting up on the edge of his bed.

His black eye had faded to an unpleasant, yellowish green, and he kept his right arm with the bruised wrist positioned loosely around his ribs. Since he wasn't going anywhere that day, and hadn't expected a visitor, he wore a simple pair of baggy, gray sweatpants, and a white sleeveless top. Some patches of different yellow and green tints decorated his bare arms. At Spook's excited reaction to looking through the door's peephole and quickly unlocking the bolt, he quickly glanced around for a hair tie before giving up. He wouldn't be able to tie up his usual ponytail, anyway, so he left his hair down and settled with putting on his glasses.

"Claire, hey," Alba greeted as she entered. Spook, of course, immediately locked her eyes on the treats. "Spook. Down," her human commanded in an amused but warning tone. The bell Pokemon pouted, but obeyed and returned to sit at his side. At the question about his health, he nodded with a tired smile. "Sore but recovering, thanks. They said I have to rest at least another couple days. Let the ribs heal and all that."

He eyed the lavender appendage to Claire's shoulder, and tilted his head to get a slightly better look. With a wry smile, he added, "You, on the other hand, seem to have something growing out of the back of your shoulder."

Alba let out a breath that sounded like a faint chuckle, since he still couldn't do the real thing. Chest muscles were annoying in that way. "Don't tell her that. She'll swipe the whole tray from you, if given half a chance. Thanks. You didn't have to that. Oh um, should be room up there, if you want to set them down." He motioned with his head toward his tall dresser. Aside from some empty coffee cans, pens, and a small bottle of basic painkillers that was almost empty, the surface was about as barren as the rest of his side of the shared room. The other side didn't have much more personality, but at least they left signs that someone did indeed live there.

When he heard the small voice, Alba stared, absolutely speechless. "Did that... did it just..." He hadn't taken too many pills without realizing, had he?

A few words stood out to Alba as he gaped like a fish, including the words "psychic" and "legendary." Arceus, he really was illiterate when it came to Pokemon.

"Umm, yeah. Limiting it may work." At least he knew he wasn't hallucinating, now. "Azdeif, huh?" he said, turning his attention to "her." Something about the Jirachi came across to him as being very... child-like. It was something that wanted to bring back several memories. He gave a fond smile. "That's a very nice name you have, Miss Azdeif."

Alba watched the entire exchange in amused silence. He had to really fight to not laugh aloud at her curiosity about Spook. "This is Spook," he supplied, motioning to the bell that stood just a little shorter than Azdeif did. "Spook is my friend. She helps look after me." He kept his words simple, remembering how easily small children could be confused.

"Ching!" Spook chimed in greeting. In the blink of an eye, she went from standing almost stock still in observation, to hoping forward and leaning to reach for Azdeif's hand with her tassels.

Alba paused briefly. A memory was nagging at the back of his mind. "It's... uh..." He decided to go with a reassuring smile and, "A friend is someone you like. Someone you can get along with, and can trust." Yes, Spook definitely covered that criteria for him. She may not be much of a fighter, and he may baby her more than he should, but when everything was said and done, he could count on her to be there to cheer him on and help patch him back together. It was more than could be said for most of the humans he knew.