Autumn's never trained a pokémon for battle in her life, and she's not going to start now. Can she still make a comfortable life in Hoenn? And what's up with this goth chick who keeps insisting on helping her?
Slowburn yuri. Chapters weekly on wednesday evenings. Complete.
Autumn sits on the side of her bed in her room, hugging her Ziggy close. The zigzagoon's brown-and-white striped fur presses coarsely against her hands as she looks over at the lavender backpack sitting on the tiny desk next to her window.
She's twenty-one today. Three years of trying to put off the inevitable, trying to scrape by at her job at Oldale Town's single Pokémart. Her mother's been pushing for years for her to get out and see the world. "Most people do this when they're sixteen", she'd said last week. "When are you going to go bring me back some gym badges? If a sixteen-year-old can do it, so can you!"
The pressure's only been getting worse. The Pokémart barely needs her anymore, there are so few travelers these days. She's a burden to her mother like this, staying at home, eating her food...
And so, reluctantly, she's let her mother put together a pack with a half-dozen pokéballs, some camping supplies and clothes, and a small travelling allowance for her to get by on for the next year or so. Her mother had insisted that she bring her festival yukata for some reason - some grand image of her celebrating with her Pokémon in a faraway place seemed to tinge the corners of her eyes. "You never know what you could have to celebrate," she'd said. "Maybe even someone you'd like to look pretty for?"
Autumn had scowled and looked down at her plateful of greens, picking at her blouse's sleeve with her other hand. "You know I don't have anyone like that. I'm not... There's nobody to date in Oldale, anyway." Nobody who'd be interested in me is someone I'd want to date.
"Hope springs eternal," her mother had said. "I think you'll find someone if you get out there."
Autumn had sighed. "The wilds are dangerous, Mom, and I - I've never had a battle, I'm not a trainer -"
"Ziggy will keep you safe."
Autumn looked down at the zigzagoon by the leg of her chair. "Ziggy's not for battling."
"We've discussed this, Autumn."
"Ziggy's not for battling and that's final," Autumn had said.
So why is she sitting on the side of her bed and getting ready to leave?
She sighs, drawing her hand through Ziggy's coarse fur one last time.
"Return," she says, and he vanishes in a flash of red light.
She pats the pokéball on her belt.
"We're not welcome here anymore, Ziggy." Autumn stands up and goes over to her desk. Picking up the pack, she pulls it on, fiddling awkwardly with the straps. Settling it against her back, she cinches the straps down and looks at herself in the full-length mirror that hangs against her door.
She's not much to look at. Plain brown hair beneath a wide-brimmed sunhat, practical jeans, the slightly-oversize blouse her mother got her and always goes easier on her when she wears. She smiles uncertainly at the mirror. It's hard to be confident when she's leaving everything she knows behind.
She opens her room's door, and goes down the stairs to the ground floor.
Her mother's waiting for her, grey eyes sharp, a wide smile on her face. "Finally ready?", she asks.
"Yeah," Autumn says, looking away. "North, across the river while it's low, then east and north to Mauville City. There's a reservation at a hotel there for the next week, and from there I'm on my own."
Autumn's mother nods. "Good luck, and goodbye. I'll miss you!"
Autumn just nods back, and walks across the room to the front door.
"Won't you give me a hug before you go?", her mother asks.
"I -" Autumn sighs, and turns to give her mother a hug. "See you in a year or so."
"See you, Autumn." She smiles. "My little girl is all grown up. Going on her journey. Makes me remember when I was young..."
Autumn ducks her head. "I'll... do my best to make you proud, mom."
Autumn's mother releases her hug and gestures towards the door.
Autumn pulls on her boots, opens the door, and steps out into the green outdoors. The familiar forest surrounding her looks quiet, but she knows it's teeming with all kinds of Pokémon.
Right. North.
She waves over her shoulder one last time, and turns to set one foot in front of the other.
~*~
The ford across the river is quite apparent - a narrowing of shallow, placid water. Most times of the year the river's too high to cross safely, but her mother is a local and knows when it's safe to pass. Not that she's ever been the best at staying safe...
Autumn rubs her hand against her forearm looking at the ford. This kind of crossing can be treacherous, especially if wild Pokémon decide to make an appearance at the worst time. Looking around at the foliage, she sees nothing around more dangerous than a Taillow up a tree well away from the river.
Her boots are going to be soaking after this, but oh well. It's not far to Mauville.
She steps into the river, bracing her boot against a rock on the bottom, and carefully shimmies her way through the ford, hands out to either side of her for balance.
Autumn makes it to the other side safely, though her boots are soaking wet. At least it's a hot day. They'll dry.
The Trick House comes up to her left - but she's not stopping there right now. She doesn't feel like being tricked today; she's already anxious enough.
She looks warily at the long grass beneath the Seaside Cycling Road. Her mother had said that nothing of any consequence lived here - just a few weak Electric-types and the usual Zigzagoons.
She's never stepped into long grass before in her life.
Tapping the ball at her waist, she releases Ziggy and scoops him up to settle him on her shoulder. "Together," she says.
"Zig!", chirps Ziggy, and a little smile comes to Autumn's face.
"Knew I could count on you," she says. And warily, she steps into the tall grass.
It's a long walk north beneath the edifice of Cycling Road, a zig-zagging path by the sea that crosses beneath the bridge supports several times. The fear of encountering wild Pokémon is bad enough, but Autumn's boots are full of water and every step squishes distractingly. If she runs into an electric-type while she's like this -
Something rustles in the bushes.
"Ziggy?", she says, looking over at the source of the sound.
"Zig!", he confirms.
The rustle is right in the middle of the way they need to go. Hesitantly, Autumn steps over to the edge of the path by the sea, and edges sideways towards the sound -
A black-furred shadow bursts from the grass with a loud "Chy!", and Ziggy leaps off her shoulder -
Scrambling backwards into a clearer area in the grass, Autumn watches helplessly as the poochyena darts in at Ziggy and sinks its fangs into his shoulder.
"No! Ziggy! I, uh - tackle?"
Ziggy whimpers in pain, but does his best to obey the command, lurching forwards at the poochyena. It ducks to the side and bites again at his side, and Ziggy whimpers again, blood staining his fur. He falls over, and the poochyena advances towards Autumn with a low growl in its throat -
Autumn's just made it to her feet, and the sight of Ziggy crumpled up in a ball amid the tall grass makes something in her break. She lets out a sob, and dashes forwards, heedless of the danger -
The poochyena darts backwards as Autumn runs at it, growling lowly, but Autumn scoops up her fallen Ziggy and stares it down with tears in her eyes. "I'm going," she says, "You - you hurt my Ziggy - You -"
She's stuck in the middle of a bunch of tall grass with an angry Pokémon, and her only Pokémon's fainted. There are no good options.
She runs at the Poochyena, cradling her Ziggy close, and one long stride catches the poochyena in the side and kicks it off the narrow path into the sea -
Autumn doesn't stop to see if the Poochyena gets back out of the water, she just runs headlong through the tall grass, half-blind with tears, cradling her fallen Zigzagoon close to her body. The cries of disturbed Pokémon rise all around her as she charges headlong down the path.
Please please please please please Ziggy be okay -
She bursts from the tall grass with a dozen angry barks and chirps following her, and runs headlong onto the clear space of the northern road to Cycling Road. She trips and falls, just in time for a bolt of lightning to crack out over her head from an irritated Plusle. She shields her Ziggy with her arms, refusing to let go of him even as she goes down in a sprawling pile on the road -
She coughs hard, the wind knocked out of her, but no second bolt finds her. She scrambles to her feet, long gashes on her arms and knees, and half-turns towards the long grass - but the wild Pokémon haven't pursued her beyond the edge of their territory.
Autumn stands shakily, and stumbles onwards towards Mauville City, still carrying her injured Ziggy.
~*~
"What happened to you?", asks the nurse at the counter of the Pokémon Center once she's handed Ziggy over for treatment.
"Ziggy - I - " She looks down. "There was a poochyena, and - Ziggy's not trained for battles - and I tried to fight it off, but -"
The nurse gives her a pitying look. "You shouldn't be out on your own without a battle-trained pokémon to protect you. Put in some training next time before leaving home, alright? Should I call a Ranger to escort you back home? A junior one would do, Cycling Road's not that dangerous -"
Autumn touches the messy scrape on her arm and hisses softly. "No. I'm - I have a hotel in the city. I'm - I'm okay. I'll figure something out. Just please make sure Ziggy is okay."
"Ziggy will be fine," the nurse says. "Pokémon are far more resilient than humans. I'm more worried about you. Shall we see to those scrapes?"
Autumn sighs, and nods. "I suppose so."
~*~
Ziggy is returned to her within a few hours, apparently no worse for the wear. Autumn pulls him from the nurse's arms and presses her face into his fur and hugs hard.
"So glad you're okay," she says muffledly.
"Zig." Ziggy presses up against her softly.
She laughs slightly. "Yeah, I - I'm a pathetic excuse for a trainer. I can't even fight off a single poochyena. What was I thinking, going off on my own like this -"
"Zig!" There's a note of indignance in Ziggy's voice.
Autumn settles Ziggy back on her lap, and sighs and shakes her head. "Not your fault at all, Ziggy. I'm the one who never... trained you at all."
"Zig..." Ziggy sighs.
"Let's go to that hotel, okay?"
"Zig..." Ziggy shakes his head.
Autumn lifts Ziggy back up to her shoulder, where he perches carefully, and she stands to go. "Thank you," she says to the nurse.
The nurse nods in reply. "Take care of yourself and don't take so many risks, okay?"
"I won't. It's... my fault that Ziggy got hurt in the first place."
"Zig!"
"I know. I'm sorry."
The Zigzagoon buffets Autumn's face with his big bushy tail, and she blinks. "H-hey!"
"Zig zig!"
"... It was both of our faults for going along with this," Autumn says. "Let's... go rest, and plan our next move."
"Zig." Ziggy sounds a little self-satisfied.
~*~
The soft hotel bed envelops Autumn gently and cradles her in quiet safety. Her whole body still aches, but at least she can take her boots off and get her feet dry.
Curling up with her Ziggy on the bed, she strokes him slowly.
"... How am I ever going to face mom like this? Beaten by a poochyena on my first trip out. She'd... I can't go back. I have to do better... But..."
The image of Ziggy fallen in the grass, blood matting his fur, comes unbidden back to Autumn's mind.
"... I can't let you get hurt. Once is enough. I'm never, not ever, going to let you get hurt again, Ziggy. No battling for us."
"Zig?" Ziggy's voice is quiet and a little shaky.
Autumn's face falls. "... There is money to consider, yes. Most travelling trainers support themselves on their winnings in tournaments or with show battles... But we can't do that. We're worse than hopeless at that."
"Zig." Ziggy doesn't seem to question it.
"I suppose I could get a job at a pokémart or something... I do have a little experience... But then what do I do in a year? Just go back to my mother with not a single badge? I... might as well have never left home. She'd be furious."
"Zigzag!" Ziggy's tail shoots straight up.
Autumn shakes her head. "No, I don't have any better ideas. Maybe if we ask around town a bit something will come to us..."
She picks up her pack from the floor, carefully laying it down on the bed, and opens its outer pocket. Taking out one of Ziggy's berry bars, she pulls off the foil and offers the end of it to him.
"You deserve a treat after everything you've been through. Trying to defend me like that... Was incredibly brave of you, Ziggy." Autumn strokes a hand through his fur.
"Zig!" Ziggy pops up on his hind legs and takes a bite of the bar, then looks up at Autumn with happy eyes. "Zig zig."
"You really like these, huh? It's the Roseli Berries in this new blend, isn't it." Autumn smiles sadly. "You're gonna get even rounder at this rate."
"Ziiiiiiiiiiigzag." Ziggy seems pretty satisfied. He takes another big bite of the bar and chews.
"If only I could relax into the simple things like you can, Ziggy. But life's more complicated than that for people." Autumn sighs and drags her fingers through his hair. "At least you're happy."
"Zig zag." Ziggy rubs up against her side and nuzzles her softly, then takes another bite of the berry bar. Most of it is gone now.
"These things aren't cheap, you know..." Autumn says mournfully. "What am I going to do with you, Ziggy?"
Ziggy flicks his tail to one side, then the other.
Autumn gives him the last bite of the berry bar and sighs out heavily. "You deserve a second one after that mess..." She reaches into her pack, but the pocket is empty. "- Wait, that was my last berry bar? I could've sworn that I'd brought more than that..."
She looks down at Ziggy, and sighs. "I guess I'll have to find a pokétreat shop. Mauville's large enough, there ought to be something somewhere..."
"Zig zag!"
"Yes, yes, I promised." Autumn stands shakily, her banged-up legs a little unsteady beneath her. She taps her shoulder, and Ziggy bounces up from the bed and perches in his usual place.
She slips on her pack again, and then it's out into the city.
~*~
Autumn stops in front of a large pink sign with a ribbon draped over it. "Patricia's Pokétreats", it announces. "Pokéblocks, Poffins, Curry, and Aprijuice sold here!" There's a small seating area outside the shop with metal tables topped with pink umbrellas, but nobody's there at the moment.
She feels awful. Even though her pokétch was able to direct her to a local treat shop, the short walk over has left her feeling dead tired. It's been such a long day.
She shoves open the door of the shop and steps inside, half-glaring at the woman behind the service desk despite herself. There's no line this late in the day.
"Hey," she says. "Do you sell Solidad's Sweet Berry Bars here?"
The woman behind the counter runs a hand through her deep-green hair, and shakes her head. "We don't sell mass-produced treats here. Everything is made fresh daily."
"Oh." Autumn leans her head against Ziggy on her shoulder. "Um, what do you have that's sweet, then?"
"Watmel and Magost berry poffins, for 500 pokedollars each, and Pecha, Persim and Mago berry Pokéblocks for 20 pokedollars each." The clerk gestures to the display case, indicating each item in turn with her tongs.
Autumn looks at the display case. The Pokéblocks look like they're the closest equivalent to Ziggy's sweet berry bars, but she really does want to get Ziggy something special today...
"Do you have anything with Roseli berry in it?" Autumn tilts her head slightly.
"I'm afraid not." The clerk shrugs.
Autumn sighs. "Alright. What's the sweetest one?"
"The Watamel, Mago and Pecha berry blend poffins. They're three hundred pokédollars each." The clerk indicates them with her tongs.
Autumn looks down at the expensive little treat, then nods to herself and gets out her wallet. "I'll have one of those for my Ziggy, then. He's earned it." With a tap of her debit card against the reader, she pays for the poffin, and the clerk behind the counter slips it into a paper bag and hands it over. She puts away her wallet, accepts the bun, and then it's out into the evening air again.
Carrying Ziggy on her shoulder as well as her bag when she's all banged up like this... isn't going so well. Her whole body aches. With a sigh of relief, Autumn sits down on the hard metal seat that extends from the table outside the pokétreat shop, unslings her pack, and puts her leg through the strap beneath the table. Ziggy hops off her shoulder and down onto the tabletop, and Autumn smiles at him. "Hey."
"Zigzag!" Ziggy hops in along the table and nuzzles up against Autumn's chest, his fur brushing slowly along her skin. "Zig?" He looks hopefully at the poffin that's still in her hand.
Autumn slips the poffin out of its bag, and breaks off a piece of the soft, flaky pastry, extending it towards Ziggy. He takes it eagerly, and his whole body stiffens.
"Ziggy?" Autumn frowns.
"Zig zig!" Ziggy's tail stands up and wags as he swallows down the bite of poffin and takes another nibble at the piece in Autumn's hand. "Zigzagoon!"
"It's good, huh?" Autumn smiles.
Ziggy nods quickly, the gesture obvious even on the raccoon-like pokémon.
"I'm glad. If it hadn't been good I could hardly return it." Autumn breaks off another piece and sets it on top of the paper bag on the table. "Go on, eat up."
Ziggy settles down and starts nibbling away, and Autumn strokes him slowly. "Good boy." She pulls a piece of grass out of his fur, and tsks. "You need brushing. Might as well do it now..." She reaches into her pack and pulls out her special Ziggy brush, digging the stiff bristles into his fur. Working slowly down his body as he nibbles at his poffin, she occupies herself with the familiar task, brushing out the dust and grass.
"Hey," says a quiet voice over her shoulder. "That's a pretty cute Zigzagoon."
Autumn turns and looks. It's a short but lithe woman wearing a strappy black top, black slacks, and a matching leather purse. An elaborate pendant in the shape of a rose hangs from her neck, loops of thorns making flourishes out to each side of the central blossom. A Houndoom stands by her side, looking over attentively with a serious expression, the curled horns on its canine head pointed directly at Ziggy.
"I, uh..." Autumn stiffens. "What do you care?"
The woman comes over and leans against the table. "I'm thinking of getting one of my own, that's all. I've heard they're a real handful, though. How often do you feed him?"
Autumn bites the inside of her cheek. "Uh, I try to keep it down to five small meals a day. Mostly chicken."
The stranger nods, and extends her hand to Autumn. "Cool. I'm Nix, by the way. Do you mind if I ask you a couple more questions?"
Autumn reaches out and awkwardly shakes Nix's hand. Nix's nails are painted deep violet, the same color as her lips. Autumn meets her gaze for a moment, then looks away with a little wince.
Nix looks down at Autumn's arm. "- Are you okay?"
Autumn blinks, and looks down at herself. There's a fresh deep-red stain on her blouse's sleeve, which is dripping slowly onto the table.
"- oh." Her arm still aches, but she'd kind of lost track of it in the mess of miscellaneous pains. She undoes her sleeve's cuff, and pulls it back; sure enough, the thin dressing on her forearm has soaked through in a ragged patch. Moving around so much must have reopened her scrape.
No wonder she feels so tired...
Nix winces, and lets go Autumn's hand. "Looks like that dressing needs changing. What happened to you?" She digs in her voluminous purse, and pulls out a small first-aid kit.
"I, it's nothing, just - a fall -" Autumn winces. "I'm going to be okay -"
Ziggy shakes his head. "Zigzaaaaaaaag..."
"You look dead on your feet." Nix gives Autumn a flat look, and sits down across from her, her Houndoom coming to heel and sitting on the ground next to her. Setting the first aid kit on the table, she clicks it open and pulls out a thick pad of gauze and some medical tape. "Let me change that, and then we should get some fluids into you." Unwinding the gauze in her hands, she sets a length of it of about the right size on the table, and looks at Autumn's dressing speculatively. " - you should probably take off the dressing yourself, you know what part hurts the most."
Autumn looks at the fresh gauze, then at Nix. "I, uh..."
Ziggy carefully nudges Autumn's arm a little more towards Nix.
Autumn sighs. "Fine, Ziggy gets his way. As always." Carefully, she pulls at the medical tape that binds the stained pad over her scrape, and peels away the gauze with a little hiss of pain.
The scrape underneath is a mass of half-congealed blood and the beginnings of scabs, oozing slowly from a small area by Autumn's elbow. It must have been slowly soaking through the pad the whole time Autumn was making Ziggy's dinner and walking to the pokétreat store.
Nix winces. "That's nasty. Must have been one heck of a fall."
Autumn nods. "I was trying to shield Ziggy, so I couldn't catch myself with my hands -"
"Save the explanations for later." Nix swaps sides of the table so she's sitting next to Autumn. "Give me your arm."
Autumn pulls back a little, cradling her arm close. "I - um -"
She looks down at Ziggy, and he gives her a pleading look.
"Okay." Carefully, she extends her arm to Nix.
Nix takes a firm grip of her arm next to the gash, violet nails digging into Autumn's skin, and carefully lays the already-prepared gauze along the scrape. "There. Can you hold that for just a moment while I get the tape?"
Autumn nods, and gently presses the pad to her own arm. Nix pulls a long pieces of medical tape off her small roll, and secures one edge of the dressing. "There," she says. "You can let go now."
Autumn relaxes marginally, and Nix secures the other three sides of the dressing with her tape as well. "That should hold it. If it soaks through again I'd check with a real doctor."
Autumn retrieves her arm from Nix's grasp. "I... Thank you."
Nix shakes her head. "It's nothing. Now let me go in and get you something to drink, okay? Just stay right here." She stands and presses firmly down on Autumn's shoulder.
Autumn opens her mouth to protest, then shakes her head. "- go ahead."
Nix smiles. "Alright. Be back in just a moment." She snaps her fingers, and her Houndoom nods to her. He stays at the side of the table, his eyes boring into Autumn as Nix heads off into the shop.
Autumn looks down at the black, bone-covered hound, and decides to stay right where she is.
"Zag!" Ziggy grabs the Poffin and takes a big bite out of it.
"Ziggy!" Autumn grabs him with both hands and pulls him away from the Poffin. "Bad Zigzagoon."
Ziggy makes a smug noise through a mouthful of poffin, and swallows.
Autumn sighs. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you. Alright, that's it, enough treats for now if you can't behave yourself." She picks up the remaining half of the poffin and puts it back into its bag, then stuffs that into her pack.
When she looks up again, Ziggy is sitting on the edge of the table, looking at the Houndoom. "Zig, zig zag," he says.
"Doom," replies the Houndoom gruffly with a casual glance over. "Houn."
Ziggy nods, takes a step back from the table's edge, and hops down into Autumn's lap, careful to aim close in to her body so as not to land on her scraped-up knees. "Zag," he says reassuringly.
Autumn buries her hands in Ziggy's coarse fur, and breathes. The Houndoom is still watching, ears pricked up and alert, but it's a little less scary with Ziggy in her lap.
Before Autumn can get up the courage to stand up with the Houndoom watching her, Nix comes back out of the poketreat shop with a big bottle of lemonade. Autumn winces as the bottle comes into view; it's the expensive trainer's choice brand that's made with real berry juice.
Nix sits down across from the table and passes the lemonade to her. "I'm not leaving until I see you drink all of that," she says. Then she looks down at the Houndoom. "Good work, Noir."
The Houndoom stands up, and paces back to his trainer. Nix reaches down and scratches him behind the base of one of his horns; he leans into her touch a little, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he gives a big doggy smile to Nix.
Nix looks back over at Autumn. "So..."
Autumn cracks the overpriced lemonade and takes a drink of it, her hands a little unsteady. "I... um... thank you."
Nix shakes her head. "It's nothing. What happened to you? The real story, not 'I fell.'" She looks down at her Houndoom. "If there's someone you need protecting from..."
Autumn shakes her head hastily. "I - no, I really did fall - I, um..." She sighs. "It's embarrassing."
Nix tilts her head. "Hit me."
Autumn looks over at the Houndoom at Nix's side, and squares her shoulders a little. "I, uh... I was supposed to be, you know... doing the pokémon journey thing..."
Nix's eyebrows rise. "Go on?"
"It was my first time in tall grass, and - Ziggy was there to protect me, but he's not battle trained at all... So when a poochyena came after us, well..."
"Ziggy lost the battle." Nix's voice is flat. "... And you didn't have any other pokémon to protect you, then."
"Yeah." Autumn looks down at her lap. "So I just grabbed Ziggy and ran for it. I, uh, might have kicked the Poochyena out of the way."
Nix nods. "... You were lucky. And brave. Going out into the wilds without any battle trained pokémon is... not really something you can get away with unless you live in a really quiet area." Her eyes narrow. "Why were you there? You're old to be this early in a pokémon journey, and you ought to have known better. Something doesn't add up." She taps her fingers on the table. "What were you running from?"
"I..." Autumn doesn't look up from Ziggy.
"Zag," Ziggy says quietly.
"... My mother forced me to go," Autumn says. "Because, well, I'm twenty-one, and... up until now I'd never left Oldale Town. I was... being a drain on her resources. So I've been sent off to... make my own way in the world, I guess. I'm supposed to be back in a year, but... I know that's a polite fiction. I won't be welcome back in my old room after this..." She sighs. "I have some money, I'm not - I'm okay. Please don't -" She sighs. "My mother cares about me, and - she's just trying to do what's best for me..."
Nix crosses her arms. "Drink your lemonade." She looks over at Noir. "What do you think?"
The Houndoom growls lowly. "Doom."
"Yeah." Nix sighs. "You could have literally died. You came from Oldale, you said? There's Electric-types along that route. If you'd been electrocuted, well..." She taps her violet nails against her arm. "Your mother should've at least lent you a battle-capable pokémon."
Autumn shakes her head. "It's not her fault that Ziggy's not battle-trained -"
"It is her fault that you're out here travelling without any pokémon to protect you." Nix frowns. "You wouldn't have gone out into the wilds without her insisting, would you?"
Autumn takes a drink of her lemonade, then sets it back down. "I don't see how it's any of your business."
Nix opens her mouth, then closes it again. "... If you really don't want me to help, I'll butt out, but - " She digs in her purse and pulls out a black notebook and a matching silver pen. Setting it on the table, she prints a pokétch number and her name on it, then slides it across the table to Autumn. "I - look, I've known a lot of people in bad situations before, and - If I can help, I want to. Alright?"
Autumn sighs, picks up the note, and puts it into her pocket. "You've already done more than enough. I don't want to go over my whole life with a stranger. Just - will you get out of my hair?"
Nix looks seriously at Autumn. "You don't mean that."
"I mean it." Autumn's voice steadies a little. "Buzz off."
Nix sighs, and nods. "Alright." She stands up from the table, and clicks her tongue. Noir falls in beside her, and she takes a step away, then half-turns. "You can call me anytime, for anything. I'm in the area for the next week or so, so..." She shrugs.
Autumn looks down at Ziggy in her lap, and stands herself, picking up the lemonade as she goes. "Yeah. Thank you for the lemonade, I guess."
"Don't mention it." And with a small nod, Nix turns and walks away.
Stiffly, Autumn picks up her pack, and turns and walks the other direction.
~*~
About thirty minutes later, Autumn swipes her pokétch on the door of the hotel, discards her pack, sets her half-full bottle of lemonade onto the nightstand, and then finally flops into bed.
Her everything hurts. Where did Nix get off, momming her like that? It's bad enough that she's a loser who's terrible at battling, but getting a stranger to help her like that.
She takes a long and heavy breath, and rolls over onto her side. The gashes on her leg and arm twinge, but she breathes through it, and does her best to settle herself comfortably.
At least Ziggy had fun. And... at least she doesn't have to listen to her mother in the morning.
She closes her eyes, and drifts off to sleep.
Inspired by Borne of Caution, with seasonings of Pokemon: The Origin of Species and Boldores and Boomsticks.
With lesbians, because I'm congenitally incapable of writing things without lesbians.
I've got several chapters in the tank but will be slow-rolling on a weekly schedule so as to maintain a buffer.
Comments very much appreciated!
Autumn wakes the next morning and sits up slowly, looking around her at the unfamiliar room. Her lemonade's still sitting on the bedside table. Her arm still aches, but her knees seem to be a little less painful. She reaches down and prods her injury through the sheets and her jeans, drawing a little hiss from her lips.
Right, pokémon journey. Ziggy defended her, but... She barely defended Ziggy. And then what'shername with the lemonade.
She reaches into her pocket, and pulls out the scrap of paper the woman gave her last night. Nix's number and name stares back at her from the scrap of paper.
"Ugh." Autumn dumps the paper onto her bedside table, and awkwardly scoots to the edge of the bed, trying not to touch her knee any more. As she pushes the sheets aside, she looks down at her scuffed-up knees -
... Ugh, the knee of her jeans is out and she can see the dressing beneath. She'd forgotten about that. It kind of got lost in the shuffle.
She reaches over to her pack and digs through it for her spare jeans, but... she's only packed skirts. Which is no good. She needs another pair of jeans without a hole in the knee, or at least for this pair to get mended.
Autumn sighs. Things just keep seeming to get worse. She touches the pokéball on her belt, and Ziggy pops out into her lap in a flash of light. He nuzzles into her belly and curls up on her lap, careful of her knees; then he closes his eyes and lies down atop her.
"Someone's sleepy this morning, huh?" Autumn traces a hand through Ziggy's coarse fur.
"Ziiiiiiiiiig." Ziggy looks over at her pack hopefully. "Zig?"
Autumn rolls her eyes, and digs into her pack for the poffin. "You're lucky I'm a soft touch." Breaking off another small piece from the remaining half, she offers it to Ziggy. "Here you go."
Ziggy takes the piece of poffin right out of her hand and swallows it down; Autumn smiles, and strokes his back again. "Alright, time for breakfast for both of us. I think today's an egg day for you, you deserve it after trying to defend me like that."
"Zig ziiiiig!" Ziggy wags his tail happily, hops down out of Autumn's lap, and pads over to the hotel room's kitchen nook.
Autumn walks over to the nook and looks at the facilities. There's a sink, microwave and a mini fridge, but nothing to actually cook with.
She sighs. "Looks like we're using reheated supplies today. Mom didn't book us a proper trainer dorm. I knew I should've decided myself..." She looks over at the suite's bathroom to her other side. "Well, at least this was probably cheap." She fishes in her backpack and pulls out her single Container Ball, a plain steel sphere with the characteristic pokéball clasp. Tapping the button, a small assortment of sealed plastic bags appear on the counter, all nestled together inside a pair of plastic food and water bowls.
Sorting through the food, Autumn puts two chicken breasts and a hard-boiled egg in the plastic food bowl, then pops it in the microwave to heat. While it nukes, she fills the water bowl from the sink and lowers it to the floor where Ziggy is waiting.
He laps at it, and wags his tail.
"You can smell it, can't you?" Autumn smiles slightly.
Ziggy's tail wags faster. "Zig!"
Autumn pops the warmed-up chicken breasts and egg out of the microwave, and adds a half-dozen apple slices from another bag and a small handful of nuts. Then she pats the countertop. "Up you get."
Ziggy hops up onto the counter, turns to the bowl, and chomps down the egg in two big bites. A moment later he's on the apple slices, standing up and using his forepaws to hold them while he bites. It's a bit more of a human stance for the usually-quadrupedal pokémon, but Autumn knows just how dexterous Ziggy can be when he's motivated.
She smiles. "Good boy. Don't forget your chicken breasts."
Ziggy picks up a chicken breast next, and in three big bites it's gone.
Autumn looks over at the hard-boiled eggs, and her stomach rumbles - but they're Ziggy's food, not hers, even if she can eat them, and she's not going to compromise his diet for her own sake. They'll just have to go out to a fast food place, that'll be cheap and tasty.
Ziggy's still eating, so she gets out her double-sided brush from her pack and starts giving him a more thorough grooming, first with the stiff-bristled side and then with the denser, soft-bristled side. Ziggy finishes his meal before she's done, but he waits patiently for her to brush out all his fur and make his coat gleam.
Nix was at least right about her Ziggy being cute.
Autumn sits back onto her bed with a sigh, and leaves Ziggy lapping at his water bowl. She... should really shower and change her dressings, but right now she's just really hungry. She looks awful, she knows she does, but honestly right now she doesn't really care.
She reseals the food back in her container ball, puts it and the brush back into her pack, and steps up to Ziggy as she puts the pack back on. "Alright," she says to him. "Let's get moving. I need to eat something too, you know."
Ziggy nods quickly, and hops up from the counter to her shoulder. "Zig!"
"Knew I could count on you." Autumn gets the door, and heads out into the city.
~*~
There's a food court close to Autumn's hotel, but when she finally gets there after another few blocks of hiking, the sign is... not encouraging.
BATTLE FOOD COURT
Battle a trainer gauntlet for your order! Valuable prizes!
Village Sub (Single Battles) 1k entry fee
Magnemite Croquette (Double Battles) 5k entry fee
Mauville Ramen Bowl (Triple Battles) 10k entry fee
Autumn looks at the sign, then at Ziggy on her shoulder. She sighs heavily. "Looks like we're going to have to go somewhere else. I can't even afford the entry fee, much less fight a whole gauntlet of trainers..."
"Zigzaaaaag," Ziggy agrees.
Reluctantly, Autumn raises her pokétch to her face again and starts tapping through the list of local fast-food places, only to find that the next closest fast food place is five blocks away. It seems like the battle food court has all the local business.
"I don't suppose we could go in and ask if we could get food without a battle?" Autumn looks at Ziggy skeptically.
Ziggy nods. "Zig." It seems he feels like it's worth trying.
Autumn pushes open the doors and steps into the food court. There's seats on the left with a gaggle of school kids and adults, including a handful of tough-looking men with tattoos. A wide area is cleared for battling, and three counters have been set up across from the tables. Each counter is labelled with the battle format and dish served.
There's a big sign next to the sub place that says "No orders filled without battling."
Autumn rubs her forehead. The sad reality is that any one of the school kids chatting away at the tables to her left could probably wipe the floor with her Ziggy - he's not battle trained, and all of them... well, they come to this food court to battle every day.
She turns back towards the doors, and nearly bumps into a woman with blue, bob-cut hair. She's tall, broad-shouldered and wearing a flared white coat with black tailored slacks. Five Ultra Balls and a Luxury Ball sit on on her hip.
"Hey," she says. "Watch where you're going, okay?"
"Yeah, uh, sorry -" Autumn steps back, and watches as the blue-haired woman approaches the Triple Battle counter.
"Uh," Autumn says, her brain finally kicking back into high gear. "Excuse me?"
The stranger looks back over her shoulder. "Yes, what is it?"
"Do you care about the food, or are you just... here for the prizes? I - well, I'm starving and no good at battles, and you look tough, so... " Autumn hunches in a little on herself.
The woman tilts her head to the side, then nods as if to herself. She offers her hand to shake. "Hey. I'm December."
"Autumn," Autumn replies, shaking December's hand. Something about this woman is... She feels like she has an aura of pressure around her, it's hard to meet her eyes. "So, um... what do you say?"
"Well," December says. She taps her fingers against the Luxury Ball on her hip. "I've been trying to practice a more aggressive style with the timed triple battles here, and it's kept winning me food I don't need, so..." She looks from Autumn to her Ziggy, and smiles. "Sure, I'll help you out. But you have to stay and watch what I go through for it. Alright?"
Autumn nods. "It's a deal."
"I hope you like ramen," December adds. "Because I'm going for the Triple Battles."
"Ramen's okay," Autumn says. "I'm honestly glad to get any food at all."
"Go take a seat by the arena, then," December says. "I'll join you in a minute."
Autumn walks across the food court to the ringside seating, and takes a seat near the center of the arena. Looking down across the gym, she takes an unsteady breath.
Across the food court, December steps up to the ramen counter and flashes her phone - of course she owns a phone, goes to show how rich she is - then walks back over to a table near the gang of toughs. Almost immediately, the whole gang gets up as one and walks over in her direction.
Autumn clenches her fingers against her scraped knees, then winces as a lance of pain goes through her. Though December and the toughs are talking, it's not clear what they're saying through the hubbub of the cafeteria. Ziggy hops down from her shoulder to her lap, and she hugs him softly to steady herself.
After a few minutes, one of the toughs walks over to the arena and tosses out three pokéballs. A pair of big pink pokémon that look like a Lickitung but even doofier appear - Lickilickis - and between them, a Lilligant, all slender and green, with the flower on its head cloying with nectar.
Autumn hugs Ziggy close. Fully-evolved pokémon? Doesn't Lilligant require a Sun Stone to evolve? Those aren't cheap!
December squares up across the field, and tosses forwards her Luxury Ball and two of her Ultra Balls. Appearing in front of her is a Ninetales - but with wispy, drifty hair and a feeling of deep cold radiating from it - a half-fish, half-bird or maybe dragon - something that Autumn doesn't even recognize - and a Mamoswine buried under deep, shaggy brown fur, massive tusks protruding.
One of the school kids from the group steps across the cafeteria and raises a hand, his glasses gleaming in the cafeteria light. He nods to the Alakazam next to the field, and a translucent psychic barrier rises around the edges of the arena. "The battle will begin in three... two... one... now!"
December's already brought one hand to her mouth, two curved fingers pressing back her tongue, and on the mark she lets out a shrieking whistle that makes Autumn cover her ears and wince.
The strange half-fish pokémon leaps forwards on a burst of freezing-cold wind that emanates from the Ninetales, a hail of glittering ice shards spat ahead of it by the heavy-looking Mamoswine. The enemy Lilligant tries to dodge, but the freezing wind slows its movements just enough for the ice shards to crash into it with tearing force, scattering blood onto the arena floor. The awkward-looking fishdrake pokémon leaps off its fallen foe and straight at one of the opposing Lickilickis, its beak arcing with electricity; the Lickilicki braces itself for the hit, raising its arms, but December's pokémon ducks under its guard and slams its beak home right into its gut. The Lickilicki lets out a pained cry, and collapses.
December's whole team pivots as one to the remaining Lickilicki. It curls up into a ball and tries to roll at the Ninetales - is that Rollout? - but the freezing wind emanating from the Ninetales' mouth arrests its progress, and within moments the Mamoswine's spat shards have found their mark. The Lickilicki slumps to the floor bloodied and unconscious.
Autumn winces. The battle had barely begun, and it's already over. It's obvious who's the better battler here - the tough's pokémon didn't have a hope of standing up to December's team.
The school kid acting as referee raises his hand. "The battle goes to December! She retains her seat. The order will be ready for pickup in fifteen minutes. Next challenger!"
December pinches the bridge of her nose, and shakes her head. Autumn frowns. Didn't she... win?
The tough who brought out his pokémon first shakes his head and returns his fallen Lilligant and Lickilickies to their balls. He casts a scowl over his shoulder at December, but retreats from the arena, clapping one of his fellow toughs on the shoulder as he goes.
The second tough steps forwards, and tosses three pokéballs of his own out - revealing a trio of Swoobats.
"Second battle!", calls the kid referee. "December versus Tsukero!"
Autumn watches closely. Swoobat is supposed to be one of the fastest pokémon, right? Maybe this team will stand a chance against December's overwhelming speed.
"Three! Two! One! Go!"
There's another piercing whistle, a little lower in pitch this time, and December's Mamoswine and Ninetales leap back sharply as the Swoobats dart forwards in wide formation, staying apart from each other so they can't all be picked off by the same burst of Mamoswine's ice shards.
Before they can close, though, a massive blast of electricity lashes out from December's fish-dino pokémon. There's nowhere to dodge - all three of them are caught by the blast, and lose control of their wings to crash onto the ground. Autumn winces - the Flying-type pokémon must have taken some serious damage from the super-effective lightning burst.
None of the three Swoobats get up again.
The glasses-wearing kid referee raises his hand again. "The match goes to December! Thirteen minutes till the order is ready! Next challenger!"
Tsukero calls back his downed Swoobats with a wince, and steps back into the group of toughs. A third tough, his arms wreathed in black flame tattoos, stands up from the group and walks over to the arena. Tossing out his own trio of pokéballs, he stands with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face.
In a burst of light, three pokémon appear - an Arcanine, a Scrafty, and a Krookodile. All three of them are as heavily tattooed as the tough who sent them out, and they leer together with an intense gaze. Even from the side of the arena, Autumn can't help but hide her face in her Ziggy. These pokémon - they have that aura of pressure that December gives off, something that was missing from the earlier two teams.
"December versus Sojiro! Three! Two! One! Begin!"
December whistles again. Her pokémon split this time, each targeting an individual opponent. Her drake-thing goes after the Scrafty, while her Ninetales powers up a beam of freezing ice and sweeps it at the Krookodile, and her Mamoswine fires a massive ball of mud at the Arcanine.
Rather than dodge, the Krookodile puts its arms out in an X to block the beam - but within moments, the water in the chilled air has clung to its skin and frozen it solid. The berry it has on a cord around its neck freezes solid as well, and December smiles slightly around the fingers in her mouth.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, the Arcanine dodges away from Mamoswine's mud balls and spits a stream of fire at December's Ninetales. December's whistle rings out again, and her Ninetales raises a shimmering veil of shifting colors that deflects the fire effortlessly - and a moment later, one of Mamoswine's mud balls crashes into the Arcanine's side and bears it to the ground. The Arcanine doesn't get back up.
That leaves December's drake-thing versus the Scrafty. As the Scrafty darts in to throw a heavy punch, December's pokémon feints with its beak, then comes in with a low kick and bears the Scrafty to the ground. It rolls out of the way - but that's when that electricity-charged beak finds its mark, followed by rakes of the drake pokémon's talons from on top. Autumn looks away; it's obvious who's won.
"Sojiro's pokémon are unable to continue! December is the winner! Ten minutes until the order is ready! Next challenger!" The kid refereeing grins gleefully like some kind of sadist.
Autumn pulls Ziggy in close to her and tries her best to focus on her rumbling stomach. It's good that December's winning, right? It means she'll probably get to eat.
She sighs, and doesn't look up as the next match starts. It's obvious what the outcome is going to be. Instead she looks at her pokétch and searches for "electric bird fish pokémon." The search engine spits back "Cramorant", but the picture of a dorky-looking bird with huge long beak doesn't match whatever December's pokémon is - the top of the body should be electric, and the bottom of it should be almost completely separate from the rest of it, and chunkier...
Another ear-splitting whistle makes her wince. Ziggy winces a little too and cuddles in closer to his Trainer.
Autumn nods. "Yeah, it's... a lot." She hugs him a little closer, and then looks up at the battle, just in time to see December's three pokémon all gang up together on a Clefable - but it produces a wide shield of green light that she recognizes as Protect as the team closes in. December lets out another whistle, and her electric thing leaps into the air as Mamoswine slams its forefeet into the ground. The Clefable's shield doesn't block the vibrations coming from below, and it stumbles - only for the falling pokémon to strike it directly in the forehead with its electrified beak.
The other two Clefable in the arena finish charging moments later, though, and sacrificing their own companion fire a huge burst of Fairy energy at the center of the arena. December's bird-fish-drake, still recovering from its landing, darts sideways, but is clipped by one of the beams and spins off in an uncontrolled tumble. As the beam sweeps to follow it, December's Ninetales leaps in and shields it and Mamoswine with a wide veil of multicolored light. Some of the Fairy energy leaks through, singeing December's team - but a moment later, another heavy slam of vibrations rocks the arena from Mamoswine. The Clefables stagger, and one of them loses its beam - and a moment later out comes the birdfish with its electrified beak, slamming hard into the stunned Clefable and bearing it to the ground. The remaining Clefable unleashes a second heavy beam of pink energy - but Ninetales responds with its own Ice Beam. Having committed to the beam clash, the remaining Clefable is helpless when December's unique pokémon darts in and slams its beak home.
The kid refereeing grins. "December wins again! Five minutes till the order is ready! Next challenger!"
The tattooed thug facing off against December calls back his downed Clefables with a grunt, and steps back into his group of friends. There's three of them left that haven't been battled; they look between each other as if drawing straws, then the least-tattooed of them steps out of the group to take on December.
The combatants square off again, and Autumn goes back to her pokétch. It's not a Zapdos (obviously) or Wattrel, and all the various electric fish pokemon - Elektross, Lanturn, and so on - are obviously wrong because they can't stand on land. What on earth is this thing that December's battling with...?
Another whistle and a blast of cold from the arena make Autumn look up again. Ninetales is out in front of December's group, throwing a massive amount of freezing wind down the arena at an Aerodactyl, Tropius and Altaria. Neither the Altaria nor the Tropius cope well with the intense cold, and go down quickly; The Aerodactyl stays up for a moment, but the wind slows it enough that Mamoswine's spat ice shards hit their mark.
"Next!", calls the referee. "Three minutes till the meal is ready! December versus Pitaha!"
The two remaining thugs look at each other as their gangmate returns to the group, his pokémon back in their pokéballs. December makes a "hurry it up" gesture with two fingers, rolling them in the air lazily. One of them steps away and squares up against December.
Pitaha tosses out a trio of Whimsicotts, the cotton-veiled pokemon looking extremely soft and fluffy. Autumn winces internally - these cute things don't deserve to face up to December at all, they're way too adorable! What's a thug like that doing with such cute pokémon, anyway?
December's team squares up, a little singed and tired, but still very much in fighting form. Autumn hugs Ziggy close, but her gaze stays on those cute little Whimsicotts. It feels like a trainwreck about to happen.
The referee's hand falls, and December whistles - but this time, it's her pokémon that are slower. The Whimsicotts dart forwards as one, sparkling gold mist trailing from their puffy soft bodies. December's team falls backwards under the protection of Ninetales' shield of shimmering colors, but the golden spores fall right through the defenses and alight on December's team. There's just nowhere to dodge.
Ninetales, Mamoswine and the weird fish-bird all take breaths of the shimmering powder, and their movements slow and their coordination weakens. Ninetales loses the veil of colors, shudders and half-falls to the ground as its muscles lock up. The Whimsicotts turn towards it, sensing weakness, but despite the wracking shudders that cover its body, Mamoswine manages to spit ice shards at one of them and force it to dodge.
"Moonblast!", orders the opposing thug, and the remaining two Whimsicotts spit balls of intense blue energy at Ninetales. Ninetales staggers and lurches awkwardly to the side, and December's drakebird steps in and shields it with a shimmering dome of energy - but it can't shield both directions, and Ninetales takes the brunt of one of the two energy balls. There's a sickening hiss of Fairy energy against Ninetales' skin, leaving behind a wide swath of silver-stained fur. Ninetales doesn't let out a sound, though - too hard to breathe with the paralysis? -
Autumn bites her lip. She'd wanted the Whimsicotts to not get hurt, but - not like this. It's turning into Ninetales' turn to suffer, and she's (?) beauty and grace personified. She doesn't deserve this any more than all the thugs' earlier pokémon did.
C'mon, Ninetales, you can get up, you can do it -
And, amazingly, Ninetales stands, battered and singed. The temperature around the arena drops again, and Ninetales lets out an almost human-sounding scream as a huge burst of Ice energy blasts out from around her, completely indiscriminate of even her own teammates. Mamoswine and the drakefish dig their feet into the ground and hold on, their bodies chilled and shaken despite their own Ice-type lineages.
The Whimsicotts, though, aren't so lucky. Their bodies, made mostly of fragile, Grass-aspected cotton, shrivel in the cold, blackening with frost - and Mamoswine, though shaky and slow, still has the accuracy with its spat ice shards to settle the matter for good.
"And TIME!", calls the referee. "December, your meal is ready. You've won the gauntlet again."
December looks at her battered pokémon, and raises their three pokéballs in a loose grip between her fingers on one hand. She smiles wryly. "Return. We'll get them next time."
Ninetales ducks her head in what seems like a low bow to her trainer, and disappears into her luxury ball. Mamoswine and the fishbird thing disappear moments later.
December shrugs, and steps away from the arena, walking over to the ramen shop. Autumn trails at a respectful distance, too over-awed by the elite trainer to dare speak to her.
At the counter, the chef hands over a bowl of steaming hot ramen, a pair of disposable chopsticks... And two lumps of what looks like pure gold as big as December's thumb.
"Holy shit," Autumn breathes.
December tucks away the gold in the pocket of her flared coat, then turns to Autumn. "Never seen an elite trainer lose before?" She smiles wanly and gives Autumn the bowl of ramen with both hands.
"Lose?" Autumn frowns. "That - you beat I don't even know how many of those - people - and didn't even stop or slow down until the Whimsicotts!"
December shakes her head. "I don't give a shit about the street gangers. It's the referee that I want to battle." She guides Autumn over to a high swivel stool by the ramen shop and gestures for her to sit. "That kid with the glasses is a battle prodigy. They call him the Fare Prince of the food court."
Autumn sits hesitantly, setting down the bowl of ramen carefully. "That kid is an elite battler...? Really?"
December nods seriously. "Yeah. Pokémon are the great equalizer; even a kid can be an elite with the right mindset and training. But..." December sighs. "He won't battle me unless I can wipe that entire street gang, every last one of them, before my meal is ready."
Autumn thinks back to the matches. "... But there was still one left."
"Yeah. I did better this round than last time - it's my first time I've seen those Whimsicotts, otherwise I would've given my team some Cheri Berries to protect them against Stun Spore... But it's still too slow. Even if Ninetales had been able to throw a Blizzard to take down those Whimsicotts in the first minute, that leaves me only two minutes left for the last of those street gangers. And do you really expect the last one, the head honcho of the whole gang, to give me an easy battle after my team's gone through that whole gauntlet?" December spreads her hands.
Autumn shakes her head. "No."
"Just so." December says. "Now go on and eat. It's my seat, so I've got to stand here awkwardly the whole time you're eating, or else you'll have to battle to keep your place. Against those guys."
Autumn shivers and pets her Ziggy. "I don't think so."
Ziggy nods into her body. "Zaaaaaag..."
"So pick up your chopsticks and get to it, okay?" December smiles. "And if you have any more questions for me, go ahead and ask them."
Autumn stills her trembling hands and breaks apart her chopsticks, then reaches into the bowl with her chopsticks and takes a pinch of noodles. Setting them into her mouth, she blinks, then slurps them up.
"This is..." She bites the inside of her cheek. "... It's savory, smooth, and very, very rich... I've never had a bowl of ramen this good before."
"I mean, it'd better be good if people are willing to battle at the elite level for it," December says. She smiles slightly.
Autumn nods, and takes another hasty bite. There's silence for a little while as she eats, but after a few more bites December just kind of watching her gets awkward.
"Uh," Autumn says, resting her chopsticks against her bowl. "Do you win prizes like that regularly?"
December nods slightly. "The gauntlet payouts here are pretty good, part of the reason I've been coming back. Sponsorship by the locals to try and suppress the gang by bringing a better class of battlers to the food court. They make something off the other entrants, naturally." She leans back against the food court counter and smiles at something Autumn can't see behind her. Shifting her coat to the side slightly, she brings the other three pokéballs beneath her jacket into view. "These gangers are persistent, but they know me well enough to respect me by now."
Autumn suppresses the urge to turn and look, and takes another mouthful of her noodles. After chewing and swallowing, she looks over at December. "What was that thing you had fighting for you, - not the weird ice-type Ninetales or the Mamoswine, I know both their species - that half-lizard, half-drake thing?"
"I call it Arctozolt," December replies. "It's a result of my research into recombining and reviving fossil remains of pokémon. The source fossils are from Galar."
Autumn's eyebrows rise. "You've been to Galar?"
December nods. "And Alola, too. You have to go where the action is as an elite trainer, or else you'll get left behind by the latest developments. I was too late for the first Manalo Conference, but I completed the Island Trials while I was there." December fishes in the pocket of her coat and pulls out an oddly-shaped amulet with four triangles of varying colors on it. "I keep this on me as a reminder of everything I've learnt from it."
"Wow." Autumn stares down into her bowl of ramen. "That's... really something." She takes another pinch of her noodles.
December inclines her head slightly. "Yeah. I take it you're not a fan?"
Autumn bites her cheek. "It's just... You heard that noise that Ninetales made. How can you..." She sets the pinch of noodles back down. "... make her do things that hurt her, like that?"
December smiles slightly. "I don't make her. She enjoys it. Sure, it hurts in the moment, but - Pokémon are meant to battle, it's what their instincts want. There's something in every one of them that craves competition and combat. At least, that's true for all my pokémon."
Autumn shakes her head, and strokes Ziggy softly with her free hand. "I don't believe that," she says quietly. "There's got to be a better way to - get along with pokémon - than battling them all the time."
December spreads her hands. "I think you're talking to the wrong person for that. Battling is my life. It's my passion, my vocation." Her hand falls to atop the Luxury Ball at her waist. "And Ninetales and the rest of my team are entirely behind me on that."
Autumn lets go of her chopsticks, and sighs. "Yeah. I believe you. But it just doesn't work that way for me. It never has, and it never will."
December nods. "That's your choice. Are you done your noodles?"
Autumn looks down at the half-filled bowl, and sighs. "Yeah. I think I'm just not hungry enough to finish this whole thing." She turns the chair, and Ziggy hops down onto the floor of the cafeteria on the opposite side from December. Autumn steps down after him, leaving the bowl of ramen behind.
December stays leaning against the high table, and nods to Autumn. "I'd clear out quickly, then. That street gang might make trouble for you if you hang around. They have a bit of a complex about this place."
Autumn swallows, and nods. "Thanks for the advice. I'm going to - get gone, then."
December raises two fingers in a lazy salute. "Safe travels. Glad I could help out."
Ziggy scurries towards the door, and Autumn hefts her pack with a sigh and follows.
~*~
A few stops later, Autumn's carrying a bag with a fresh pair of jeans out of a shop at the mall when she spots one of the street gangers from earlier - the heavily-tattooed one, Sojiro - sitting on the bench outside the store.
He looks at her levelly, meeting her gaze, the flame tattoos wreathing his arms stark below his short t-shirt. People hurry past in twos and threes, glancing sidelong at him.
Ziggy hops up onto Autumn's shoulder from where he's walking beside her and bristles at Sojiro. Autumn squares her shoulders, half-turns -
Sojiro stands up and takes a step forwards. His voice is low and quiet.
"Whatever your name is. December's pet. Get out of Mauville by tomorrow. You didn't earn that ramen bowl, and if you stay we'll make sure you pay for it properly. This is your only warning."
Autumn takes a step back instinctively, then ducks her head and nods. "I - understood."
"Good." Sojiro smiles, and turns on his heel. As he walks away, he calls over his shoulder: "We'll keep in touch!"
Autumn clenches her hand against her skirt where Sojiro can't see, but keeps walking the opposite direction.
Who can she go to? December would protect her, but she's just one woman, she can't protect her against a whole gang 24/7. She could go to the police, but these thugs are clearly too strong for the local officers to handle, especially together -
Well, if she just gets out of town, they'll let her go, right? But she checked the Rangers' schedules this morning - there's no guided tours to Slateport, since Cycling Road is supposed to be safe, but she doesn't own a bike, and the caravans north to Lavaridge only run monthly, she'd have to wait two weeks -
Nix. She has that Houndoom. She might not be able to protect Autumn from the gangers themselves, but - she'd at least be able to fight wild pokémon.
- She left her pokétch number back at the hotel. Fuck.
Ignoring her aching legs, Autumn speeds her pace. She's got to get back there as fast as possible.
State of the buffer: Chapters 3-8 drafted for a total written length of roughly 45k.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 2-6.
Buffer has grown by 1 chapter.
Lack of an obvious queuing feature is mildly annoying. In its absence, I've set a weekly alarm on my phone.
Comments and likes are much appreciated as always.
Autumn swipes her key card and steps into her room at the hotel, Ziggy bouncing ahead of her and up onto the nightstand, where he grabs the slip of paper with Nix's pokétch number in one forepaw. As Autumn firmly shuts the door behind herself, Ziggy scampers over to her feet and holds up the slip of paper.
Autumn crouches, and picks up the slip. She stands, taps the number into her pokétch, and places the call.
"Hey, who's this?", comes Nix's voice from the other end of the line.
"It's me, Autumn," Autumn says, her voice cracking a little. "I - I'm sorry, but I've gotten into some trouble here, and I - think I need your help."
"Okay," Nix's voice is firm and steady. "What kind of trouble?"
"The gang down at the food court, do you know them?" Autumn steadies the watch on her wrist and bites her lip.
Nix pauses for a moment. "Did you piss them off somehow?"
"I, uh - it's a long story, but they want me gone from Mauville by tomorrow. But there's no caravans anywhere for two weeks, and Ziggy can't even protect me from the pokémon on the route south to Slateport -"
"You don't have to say anything else. I'll help you get south to Slateport. It's not a long route, and Noir can handle anything in that long grass. Meet you at the south gate in an hour?" Nix's voice is soft and warm.
"Alright." Autumn takes a long breath. "I'll head right over. Sorry to trouble you like this -"
"Don't mention it." Nix's voice is firm. "Just get moving, okay? I'll be there."
"Alright." Autumn sits down heavily on the hotel bed, her breathing ragged and her body aching all over. It's really, really tempting to just lie down and sleep.
Ziggy hops up onto the bed, and noses her in the side. "Zig!", he says. "Zig Zig!"
"Yeah," Autumn says. "I know. Just... five minutes, okay?"
Ziggy chuffs lowly, and shakes his head. He hops down from the bed and goes over to the small kitchen, where he shoves his water bowl into the sink, dumping out the contents with a loud clatter. Then he shoves his food bowl onto the floor, hops down next to it, and scoops it up into his forepaws and mouth. Awkwardly, he carries it back over to the side of the bed, where he gives Autumn a plaintive look.
Autumn sighs, and reaches down to take the food bowl from Ziggy. "... Alright," she says. "We'll get going." Unslinging her pack from her back, she gets out her container ball and looks over at the sink.
Fuck. She has to get up, doesn't she.
She lurches up from the bed, wavers on unsteady knees, and manages to cross the room and grab the kitchen counter. Holding herself up against it with one hand, she reaches into the sink with the other and tosses Ziggy's water bowl across the room onto the bed.
Ziggy picks it up from where it lands, and by the time Autumn's crossed the room again he has the two bowls neatly stacked.
Autumn gives him a small smile. "... thanks, Ziggy."
"Zig zag," Ziggy replies. He noses the container ball towards Autumn.
Autumn picks it up, unseals the stasised food into the bowls, then reseals the whole package. She stuffs the ball into her pack, zips it up, and stands again, bracing herself against the bed's headboard.
Ziggy hops down onto the floor, and scurries back over the door. Autumn picks up her room keycard from her bedside table, and limps across the room to the door.
"Alright, let's go," Autumn says.
~*~
Autumn arrives at Mauville's south gate thirty minutes later, her whole body aching and crying out in protest.
Another one of the gangers from earlier had been waiting outside her hotel when she came out, one of the more lightly-tattooed ones. And he's still there, about ten strides back, not even bothering to be subtle.
Nix is nowhere to be seen. Damn it, she must be too early -
Autumn redials Nix's number from her Pokétch.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I'm at the south gate," Autumn says quietly, "And one of those guys is following me. Please tell me you're close."
Nix's voice is firm. "Like five minutes out. Stall if you gotta." There's a rattle, as if of movement, then a call of "Noir, go -"
Autumn stops at the gate and throws a glance over her shoulder at the ganger stalking her. "Nix?"
"I'll be there as fast as I can," Nix says, her voice all rushed together. "Get to the entrance to Cycling Road, there's a security guard posted there that they won't try anything in front of. You can hang out in the entrance for a little while while I get there."
"Zag!", says Ziggy, looking over Autumn's shoulder. Autumn looks again - the thug's getting closer -
She turns her back again and keeps walking steadily, following Nix's advice. The thug keeps following, falling back to the same ten-strides spacing as before.
The tall grass looms in front of Autumn, but she turns to the side of it and walks diagonally towards the Cycling Road building. Pushing open the door, she steps inside and looks around at the small guard station. There's nowhere to sit, just a counter to one side of the room with a bored-looking junior Ranger sitting at the desk.
"Can I rest here for a few minutes?", Autumn gasps out.
The guard looks over at Autumn and raises an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
She nods quickly. "Just waiting for a friend, is all. We're going down to Slateport, but it's been a long walk through the city and I had an accident yesterday -"
The guard nods understandingly. "You can hang around for a little while, sure."
"Thanks," Autumn manages. She looks down at Ziggy by her feet and gives him a little smile.
"Zig zag," Ziggy says satisfiedly.
Autumn looks out the window of the guard station, and sees the thug outside, leaning casually against the railing by the city entrance. She tenses a little.
"Ziggy..." She crouches, scoops the Zigzagoon up in her arms, and holds him close, hugging him hard against her body.
"Ziiiiiiig..." Ziggy presses in close, brushing his coarse fur against Autumn's chest.
Autumn watches out the window. The cycling road seems a little quiet at the moment - not many people passing through - so it's just her, the security guard, and the ganger lurking by the city entrance.
But after what feels like forever, a sleek black Houndoom darts down the path and interposes itself between the ganger and the entrance to Cycling Road, growling loudly enough that Autumn can hear it through the glass. It's Noir!
And here comes Nix at a flat-out run, her purse bouncing as she goes, two more pokéballs held in her other hand. Her gaze takes in the thug and Noir in a moment, and she slows her pace, keeping herself turned towards the thug as she paces to Noir's side.
The thug says something, but Nix just smiles and lays a hand on Noir's back. She stares him down levelly.
"Autumn?", she calls, not looking behind her.
Autumn nods to the guard, and steps outside.
"I'm here, Nix!", she calls back.
"Good," Nix says, not turning around. "As I was just telling this gentleman, we're leaving."
The thug looks at Nix and her Houndoom for a long moment. "Start walking," he says.
Nix tosses out another pokéball, and a floating grey pokémon with what looks like a necklace of rubies around its throat appears in a surge of purple fog. It opens its eyes, showing deep red irises with yellow "whites".
"Lethia," Nix commands. "Watch this gentleman for me and don't let him make any sudden moves. I'll be going south. Come back to me in ten minutes."
"Dreavus," says the Misdreavus seriously. She focusses her eyes on the ganger, and he stiffens, as if held in place by the sheer power of her gaze.
Nix gestures to Noir, and the Houndoom half-turns and stalks towards the long grass. Nix herself stays facing the thug. "Get going," she says. "Noir will protect you."
Autumn nods shakily and reluctantly turns her back to the ganger, following Noir into the long grass along the seashore. Ziggy scurries along behind her, stopping every few of Autumn's strides to look behind him.
After a few strides in, Ziggy reluctantly hops up onto Autumn's shoulder again. Noir's body half-hides in the grass, only his horned head poking up to guide the way forwards. Rustles of motion pass in the grass around them as the native pokémon call back and forth.
"Zag," Ziggy says comfortingly. Autumn keeps walking, determined not to be left behind by Noir's steady lope. She doesn't dare turn to look over her shoulder - she could lose sight of Noir and then she'd just be fucked. Hopefully Nix is alright. She hasn't heard any battle cries...
Eventually, Noir emerges into a small clearing in the tall grass beneath the cycling overpass, and looks back over his shoulder. "Houn," he says seriously to Autumn.
Autumn steps out of the grass with a relieved sigh, and exhales -
"YENA!"
A black-furred form bursts from the grass on the other side of the clearing, and half-skids to a stop in front of Noir. It's a poochyena with hate in its eyes, its stance lopsided as it favours its left paw.
Autumn freezes in place, and Ziggy tenses on her shoulder. Noir takes a firm stance and growls lowly.
The poochyena growls back, hackles raised. Its gaze flicks from Noir to Autumn, and it takes a step forwards.
Noir opens his mouth wide, and a guttural roar tears its way out of his throat, echoing off the surrounding water and the struts of Cycling Road overhead. He paws the ground and snarls lowly, advancing on the Poochyena as flames flicker off his teeth.
The poochyena flinches, its attention snapping back to the bone-covered hound, and as Noir advances on it, it half- turns and darts back into the long grass on the other side of the clearing.
Noir steps into the center of the clearing, and lets out a long howl, the eerie sound sending shivers down Autumn's back even in the middle of the day. Then he looks back at Autumn and beckons with his head.
Autumn takes a few more cautious steps into the clearing, her legs trembling. "Is it safe for me to stop here?", she manages.
Ziggy looks at Noir. "Zig?", he asks.
Noir nods sharply, not looking over his shoulder. "Houn."
Autumn slumps gratefully to the grass next to Noir, and before she knows what she's doing she's hugged him, leaning heavily against his side. His black fur is soft against her cheek and surprisingly warm - he's a fire-type, she doesn't know why she didn't expect that -
"Doom!" Noir pulls away sharply, and Autumn has to catch herself with one arm. Ziggy jumps off her shoulder and presses into her in the shorter grass. Even the grass is looking cozy right about now.
"Zag!", Ziggy says, and jumps up and down.
Autumn forces herself to turn to look in the direction Ziggy's looking -
It's Nix, coming through the tall grass riding a huge red spider with yellow antennae on its back. She waves with a bright smile as she sees Autumn turn, her rose pendant's chain glinting in the harsh summer light.
Autumn slumps back down to the grass with a sigh of relief. It's okay. Everything is going to be fine.
Ziggy hops up next to her side, and she just lets him cuddle in against her, too tired to even hug him.
A few minutes later, a pair of foot-long mandibles obscure Autumn's view of the grass.
"Hey," Nix says. "Are you okay? Autumn?"
Autumn just reaches up and rubs her face. "I, uh..." She presses two fingers to her forehead, then finally sits up with a groan, Ziggy hopping down onto the grass beside her. "That... is not a workout I'd like to repeat anytime soon."
Nix looks down at her with a slight frown, then offers her a hand. "It'll take some time to get to Slateport, and we shouldn't stay out overnight. You can ride on Crimson if you need to, but we need to keep moving. Okay?"
Autumn reaches up, and takes Nix's hand. Heaving herself to her feet, she looks over at the giant spider. "By Crimson, you mean..."
"My Ariados, yes." Nix reaches over and pats his thorax. "Isn't he cool?"
Autumn looks seriously at Crimson, taking in the full bulk of the spider. He's a good two thirds her height, and twice as long again, all in intimidating red and black. There's a spike jutting out from his forehead as long as her forearm, and each of his mandibles is easily as big as her hand.
"'He's... big." Autumn takes a careful step towards him. "H-hi, big bug?"
"Dos." Crimson gently taps his forehead horn against her shin.
Autumn winces as the horn digs into her knee, and pulls away. "Ow!"
Crimson scuttles back a few feet and lowers his head.
"- I'm sorry, I don't think he saw your dressing - " Nix quickly steps over to Crimson. "She's hurt, please be gentle."
Crimson bobs his head up and down, and looks over at Noir.
"Doom." Noir sounds entirely unapologetic. He's still staring out into the grass on the other side of the clearing, ears perked up.
Nix looks at Autumn. "Should I help you get on him, or do you want to walk, or...?"
Autumn walks over to Crimson's side. "I think I can get on him myself, thanks." She looks down at Crimson. "If it's okay with you, I mean."
Crimson nods, and clicks his mandibles together.
Autumn steps in between Crimson's two left legs and throws her leg over his back, then skootches up until she finds a position where she can rest her pack against his thorax and hold on. Planting her hands firmly on his back, she looks over at Nix and forces a smile. "I - think this should be good." She looks over at Ziggy. "What about Ziggy, though? He's so short he could get lost in the long grass..."
Nix looks at the Zigzagoon. "I'm assuming you're too tired to have him ride on your shoulder?"
Autumn nods. "I feel like I'm going to fall over already, I can't really carry him anymore."
Nix returns Autumn's nod. "In that case, he can ride on my shoulder if he wants to." She crouches and offers her arm to Ziggy. "Is it okay if I carry you?"
Ziggy looks up at Nix, then bounds up onto her shoulder, where he perches firmly. Nix stands up and smiles. "Looks like he's fine with it."
Autumn sighs, but nods. "Yeah, I guess that works."
Nix half-turns to look over her shoulder. "Lethia should catch up with us soon. For now, let's get moving." She pats Crimson's side and nods to Noir.
The Ariados and Houndoom start walking forwards into the tall grass, keeping a slow, cautious pace. Autumn sways atop Crimson, steadying herself against his back, her hands bracing against the hard chitin. It's not the most comfortable ride with her scuffed-up knees, but...
Nix falls in alongside Autumn, following Noir at a moderate walk, her shoes rustling through the tall grass. She watches where Noir is looking, her gaze going back and forth between his snout's direction and the grass beyond.
After a few minutes of swaying atop Crimson, Autumn settles into a rhythm with his gait. It takes some effort to stay atop him, but with her hands to brace her she's able to keep her pack steady. The sea breeze blows across her, chilling her exposed knee through the hole in her jeans. The seaside path smells of salt and wildflowers.
A while passes. Nix doesn't talk, too focused on the grass ahead, and Autumn's too tired to strike up a conversation. They pass back and forth under Cycling road a few times as the seaside path zigzags along the shoreline, the sun high in the sky and starting its descent.
I wish I had something to eat, Autumn thinks, but I've got nothing on me but Ziggy's feed...
After what feels like an eternity of jostling atop Crimson, the group emerges from the tall grass before the Trick House, about halfway down the route. Nix stops outside and offers a hand to help Autumn off of Crimson. "You look exhausted," she says. "The Trick House's got four solid walls - if we have to stay overnight, it'll be alright. You should rest for now; I've got camping supplies in Container Balls in my purse."
Autumn takes Nix's hand, and almost falls off of Crimson in her haste to get down to solid ground. Nix steadies her and settles her firmly down onto her feet. "There we go," she says, and steps away. Raising a pokéball, she points it at Crimson. "Crimson, return." Red light flashes out from the ball, and Crimson disappears. Then she looks over at Noir. "Doing okay, Noir?"
Noir nods firmly, then turns and looks back the way they came. "Doom," he pronounces gravely.
"Such a cynic," Nix says. "Lethia will be here any minute, I'm sure. For now let's look after Autumn, okay?"
"Houn," Noir says. He looks at the Trick House. "Houndoom." He walks towards the building.
Nix gestures to Autumn.
Autumn follows Noir on shaky legs, her breath fast and unsteady. Noir stops at the door, and she grabs the door handle and pushes it open for him, stepping into the Trick House.
The room beyond is a small antechamber with a low table surrounded by cushions in the middle of the room, two cabinets to either side, and a pair of potted plants. Autumn stumbles over to the cushions and flops down on her side -
Only to be confronted with a fifty-something balding man hiding under the table. "Oh, you found me!" he exclaims. "How did you know I was hiding here? You're sharp!"
Nix has just come in from the entrance, and groans heavily. "Trick Master, can't you fucking see that she's exhausted? None of your games right now."
The Trick Master emerges from under the desk and stands, stretching his arms above his head. "Oh, you two aren't challengers? You should've said." He looks down at Autumn, who's shoved her face into one of the pillows. "... I must say, your travelling companion seems a bit under the weather."
"We are really, really not in the mood," Nix says.
"Doom," adds Noir, and Ziggy backs him up with a firm "Zag."
The Trick Master sighs. "Oh, fine, you can rest here for a little while. But not longer than a few hours, alright? I can't turn this place into a rest stop for every trainer without a bike."
"Thank you," says Nix flatly. She sits at the other side of the table from Autumn and fishes in her purse, digging out a Container Ball. Unsealing it onto the tabletop, two one-liter water bottles appear, packed into a small plastic tub filled with raisins, peanuts and candy-coated chocolates. A few granola bars fit into the gaps between the water bottles.
Nix tosses one of the granola bars onto Autumn's back. "Eat something," she says. "It's almost noon. You clearly need energy. And drink some water." She picks up one of the water bottles and sets it on Autumn's side of the table. Then she looks over at the Trick Master. "Can we get a little privacy?"
The Trick Master sighs, but pushes aside a scroll at the back of the room and walks through the hidden door behind it.
"Good," Nix says. Ziggy hops off her shoulder and onto the table, staring down at Autumn. "Zag," he says seriously.
Autumn just groans, her face still in the pillow, but pushes herself up, her injured knees zinging her as she gets up on her hands and knees. Picking up the granola bar that's fallen onto the floor, she tears off the wrapper with her fingernails and takes a big bite.
"Mmmm," she manages through a mouthful of raisins and granola. Then she picks up the water bottle, pops the top open, and takes a big slug from it.
"Did that help any?", Nix asks.
Autumn nods. She doesn't feel like talking.
"Good," Nix says. "Now I'm going to go outside and see if Lethia's turned up. Watch this for me okay?" She sets her purse down on the table.
Autumn nods, and takes another bite of her granola bar. With her free hand she digs her fingers into Ziggy's coarse fur. It helps.
Nix stands up and goes to the door, then glances back at Autumn from the doorframe before she steps outside. "There's a container ball of fruit in my purse, it's the green one. Feel free to unseal it and have something."
Autumn rubs her forehead, and nods a third time. "Yeah, got it." Like she'd go rooting through Nix's purse.
Nix nods back, and steps outside, Noir trailing behind her.
Autumn sighs, and grabs a second granola bar from the tub.
~*~
The sun is high and the sea breeze is cool on Nix's skin. It's honestly kind of depressing. She's never really been much of a day person, but...
Nix sighs, and looks around. "Lethia!", she calls. "Hey, I'm over here! At the Trick House!"
The only answer is the sigh of the sea against the shore below.
"Doom," Noir says.
"We'll wait a few more minutes. I did say for her to wait ten minutes, and we made a pretty good pace with Crimson carrying Autumn. She'll turn up. I know she will." Nix rests her right elbow in her left palm and plays with the rose necklace at her throat.
"Doom," Noir repeats.
"Gangers," Nix replies, "are by and large a superstitious lot, and Lethia is a ghost type. If something did happen to her, well... I bet she'd've cursed him good. Would you take that risk?"
Noir shakes his canine head. "Houn." He looks down the path, his ears pricking up. "Houn?"
"Do you hear something?", Nix asks.
Noir nods, and takes a step forwards. With a deep breath inwards, he lets out a long, high howl.
"Letting her know where we are," Nix says. "Smart." Her gaze follows Noir's. "You can hear her?"
A few moments later, a little dot appears above the grass. Nix narrows her eyes. It could be anything... but it seems to be hovering... And there are no native flying types this close to the sea...
She's taken three long steps forwards into the tall grass before her brain's registered the red glint from the dot entirely. "Lethia!", she calls.
"Misdreeeeeavus!", comes the answering cry - and the dot speeds up, racing towards her over the grass, ghostly wisp-hair trailing out behind it.
Noir barks from behind her, and Nix abruptly realizes she's standing in the tall grass with no pokémon by her side. Reluctantly, she turns around and walks back to the outside of the Trick House - but there's a huge smile on her face. Lethia is coming home.
After another long minute of Lethia hovering closer, the Misdreavus finally comes out of the tall grass and floats to Nix's side. "Dreavus," she says smugly, and winks. "Dreavus!"
"I never doubted you for a second," Nix says, and reaches out to hug her - but her arms pass right through Lethia's ethereal form. Lethia giggles, and does a somersault in the air. Then she flies in and smushes against Nix's chest, suddenly very solid, though cold to the touch.
Nix grabs her in a tight hug, and holds her close. "Gremlin," she accuses.
"Misd," Lethia says quietly, her ghostly hair wrapping around Nix's arm in a firm grip. "Misd."
"Yeah," says Nix. "I missed you too."
~*~
When Nix steps back into the Trick House, Autumn's sitting with her face on the low table, three granola wrappers lying next to her, an empty water-bottle clutched against her body. Ziggy is sitting on the table next to her; his eyes flick from Autumn to Noir to Lethia, but he says nothing.
Nix sits back down across the table from Autumn, and raps the table sharply with two knuckles.
Autumn starts, and looks up with bleary eyes. "... mmmmmhhhhh..." She blinks slowly a couple times, then her eyes focus on Nix and she sits up quickly. " - I - I didn't mean to fall asleep -"
Nix rubs her forehead. "It's okay, you were exhausted. I take it you haven't had any fruit?"
Autumn blinks. "Fruit?"
"From the container ball in my purse," Nix says. "The one I told you about."
"Oh." Autumn shakes her head. "No, I wasn't going to go digging through your purse -"
Nix rubs her forehead, and reaches into her purse. Within five seconds, she has a green Container Ball in her hand. "This one. It's right on top. You didn't even look, did you?"
Autumn looks away, a flush coming to her cheeks. "I - didn't want to -" She looks down at Ziggy. "I've already had so much from you..."
Nix unseals the ball, and a small basket full of apples, bananas, grapes and even a peach appears on the table, all of the fruit perfectly ripe and fresh. She picks up a bright red apple and extends it to Autumn, her violet nails making a sharp contrast to the scarlet fruit. "You're going to have to learn to take what you're offered if you're going to make it anywhere in this world," Nix says matter-of-factly. "Have an apple."
Autumn hesitantly reaches out, and accepts the apple from Nix. It feels like it's the first time she's actually looked at her - her stiff black hair, her violet lipstick, the rose that dangles just above that strappy top of hers... Even in her choice of pokémon, she's far more together than Autumn's ever been.
Autumn looks down at the apple in her hand. For some reason it feels hard to take a bite with Nix watching. She's accepted enough already, hasn't she...?
She looks over at Nix.
Nix smiles reassuringly. "It's not poisoned or anything." She winks.
Autumn cracks a smile, and takes a big bite. It's sweet and juicy without even a hint of tartness; she doesn't know the variety, but it must be sweeter than the normal kind she gets.
She chews thoughtfully, and finally swallows. The second bite is a little easier, and then her stomach remembers that she's starving. The rest of the flesh of the apple follows quickly as Autumn rotates it to take bite after bite. Finally, she sets the core back down onto the table with a blush on her face.
"I..." Autumn looks away. "I guess I really did need that."
Nix smiles. "Feeling a little better? Want another one?" She offers the peach.
Autumn shakes her head. "I do feel a little better, but no thank you."
"Suit yourself," says Nix, and sets the peach back into the basket. Raising her pair of container balls again, she reseals the basket and the plastic tub of water bottles and trail mix. Then she looks over at Noir and Lethia.
"Lethia, I think you've done enough for one day," she says to the Misdreavus, and raises one of her pokéballs. Lethia coos and nods, and Nix taps the button and reseals her back into her ball. Then she looks over at Noir. "Still up for guarding us the rest of the way to Slateport?"
Noir chuffs, and nods.
"Glad to hear it," Nix says. Then she looks back at Autumn. "So... How on earth did you get into this mess in the first place?"
Autumn sighs. "I was just hungry! There was a food court near my hotel, but it was some kind of battle food court. I knew I couldn't win, but there was an elite trainer there who offered to win food for me. I took her up on it, and she did... But apparently the food court was home to this gang and they have something against people eating food they didn't 'earn'." Autumn makes air quotes. "They said that I had to get out of town within a day, or else they'd make me pay for it. I'd seen them battle, the police couldn't take them on, so... I called you."
Nix frowns. "Ugh. I'm glad Lethia didn't get into a battle, then. It sounds like things could have turned out badly. People like that..." She shakes her head. "They give a bad name to Trainers everywhere."
Autumn nods, and picks up the apple core and the granola wrappers. "Where should I put these?"
Nix shrugs. "You can just toss the apple core into the grass outside, some pokémon will love what you've left on it. As for the wrappers, pass them over here and I'll just stuff 'em in my purse."
Autumn passes over the granola wrappers, and sighs softly. "Still another most of that distance again to Slateport, huh?"
Nix nods and stuffs the wrappers in her purse, putting her Container Balls in atop them. "It's a fair distance still. It used to be a bit better cleared when more people visited the Trick House, but since Trick events have started being yearly and Cycling Road's been taking away the foot traffic..." She shrugs. "It's gotten a bit overgrown again. So it goes."
Autumn forces herself up to her feet again. "Alright, then let's get going. I want to sleep in a real bed tonight."
"A worthy goal," Nix says. "Let's get on that." She stands as well, and closes her purse, latching down the top fold of the leather. She goes over to the door, and Noir and Ziggy bound out; Autumn and Nix follow into the early afternoon sunlight, blinking and shading their eyes.
"Do you want to keep riding on Crimson, or?" Nix tilts her head.
Autumn shakes her head. "I can walk."
"But do you want to?"
Autumn sighs. "I don't want to tire out Crimson. He's been really helpful already and I don't want to stress him."
Nix eyeballs Autumn. "You're barely standing. Do you want me to insist?"
Autumn shakes her head. "No, I - Fine. I'll ride Crimson. Are you happy?"
Nix winces. "That's not how I meant it at all. You can walk if you want to."
Autumn exhales. "Then I will. And I'll carry Ziggy." She crouches next to Ziggy and offers a hand.
Ziggy looks up at her skeptically, then bounds up onto her shoulder and settles there. "Zagoon," he says.
Nix opens her mouth, closes it, and nods firmly. "Alright. Let's go." And with a smile over her shoulder, she strides onwards into the long grass that separates the pair from Slateport, Noir bounding ahead of her.
Grim and determined, Autumn limps onwards behind her.
State of the buffer: Chapters 4-10 drafted for a total written length of roughly 60k.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 3-8.
Buffer has grown by 1 chapter.
Comments and likes continue to be much appreciated.
Halfway down the path to Slateport, still amid the long grass, Autumn pants to a halt, puffing and wheezing. "I - I'm sorry -" She rests her hands on her scraped-up knees and takes long shaky breaths, her whole body trembling. "I need a minute!"
Nix stops short in the grass. "We're stopping, Noir!" Pulling a pokéball from her purse, she tosses it in the air, and Lethia appears in a swirl of purple fog. "Watch the rear," Nix orders her Misdreavus.
Lethia giggles, but turns to face north, covering the group's rear on the narrow path. Noir pulls up short as well with a chuff, and scans the path ahead, eyes watchful.
Nix goes over to Autumn's side and gives her her hand. "Told you you should've ridden on Crimson."
Autumn straightens and sighs. "Yeah, you got me." She runs a hand through her sweat-slicked hair and tries her best to ignore the zing her elbow gives her with the motion.
Nix takes out Crimson's ball, and with a burst of black smoke the Ariados appears on the path. He clicks his pincers together and turns towards Autumn. "Dos," he says.
Autumn takes a few steps over and leans heavily against Crimson's thorax. "I'm going to have to ride you again," she says. "I'm sorry."
Crimson clicks his mandibles together and presses slightly in against Autumn. He doesn't say anything.
Nix shakes her head. "You shouldn't be apologizing, but that can wait until we're out of this grass." She offers Autumn her hand. "Need a hand up?"
Autumn sighs, and turns towards Crimson. Ziggy hops from her shoulder down onto Crimson's back, and looks back over at Autumn. "Zag," he says disapprovingly.
"Yeah, I know, I suck." Autumn looks away. "Just scootch over, okay?"
Ziggy shakes his head. "Zaaaaaaaaaag..."
Autumn just throws her leg over Crimson, and awkwardly lurches into position atop his thorax. Ziggy hops up onto her pack. "Zag," he says.
Autumn looks down at Crimson's back. "It's fine."
Nix puts her pokéballs back into her bag. "You and I need to have a talk," she says.
Autumn doesn't say anything.
Nix shakes her head, and taps Crimson's side. "Let's get moving," she says. "Sooner started sooner finished."
Crimson scuttles forwards a little, and Noir steps out in front of the group again, Lethia bringing up the rear. Nix looks back at her Misdreavus, and nods to herself; raising her ball again, she wordlessly recalls Lethia.
The group moves on through the long grass. Autumn slouches atop Crimson, barely staying atop him as his long legs skitter through the grass. Nix shoots worried glances at her every few minutes, doing her best to gauge her exhaustion. Noir has to call her attention back to the long grass ahead with a sharp bark after a particularly long look over. The sun descends through the sky as the group moves forwards, the salt smell of the sea and its quiet lapping lulling Autumn slowly.
Autumn exhales heavily. At least this will all be over soon.
Eventually, the long grass gives way to scrubland again as the path curves along a small, rocky cove. The overpass is quite some distance away here, and there's no sign of anyone else. Autumn closes her eyes and listens to the surf on the pebble beach, her breathing slowing. The steady gait of Crimson beneath her is very gentle and soft...
"We're stopping here," Nix announces.
Autumn blinks her eyes open. "- Wha?"
Nix looks at her flatly. "We're stopping here. You're half-asleep. If we were attacked by a wild pokémon now and Noir couldn't chase it off, we'd have to battle, and I'm just not confident that I'd be able to keep you safe when you're barely even conscious. I have a tent and a bedroll in my purse, and this area is too rocky and scrubland-y for anything native and territorial to have set up shop. We'll stop, eat a proper supper, get a good night's sleep, and set off again in the morning." She pulls out a bright pink container ball from her purse, and it discharges a collapsible tent and a bedroll; a second container ball follows, disgorging a small camp stove with a matching pot and gas bottle. "If you don't have a tent in that pack then I guess we can share mine. It'll be a tight squeeze but better than lying out in the cold sea breeze all night."
Autumn flushes. "I have my own tent! It's a perfectly good tent! I was going to buy food in town, but..." She sighs. "I got ambushed by those gangers in the middle of my shopping."
"Did you bring any water?" Nix tilts her head.
"Yes, of course, I'm not an idiot -" Autumn slips down off of Crimson and unslings her pack, opening it and pulling out a hard plastic water bottle full to the brim. "And I've got a map of Hoenn and the local route guides and a compass and water purification tablets and a fleece in case it gets cold and a windbreaker in case it rains - " She pulls out each item in turn and lays them out on the grass to prove her point, then finally dumps out her tentpoles on the ground. "But I don't see why we have to stop now."
"You totally should've brought something to eat while on the trail," Nix says, "But I guess you weren't expecting to hike quite so far. And to be blunt, I'm the honorary Ranger here, what I say goes. It's my job to keep you safe out here, so I'm going to. And if that means being a little extra cautious..." She shrugs. "So. Let's get a proper camp set up, and get some food going, alright?"
Autumn nods. "Alright." She pulls her bedroll off her pack and pulls the strings holding it together off each end of it, letting the air mattress decompress. As it inflates, she starts unpacking her sleeping bag from its stuffsack.
Nix unpacks her tent; it's mostly nylon on a brace of curving aluminum poles. She spreads out the baseplate on the ground and slots together the pair of aluminum poles that form the domed curve of the tent body, locking them together at the joiner in the center. Then she fits the tent poles into the eyelets in the base tarp at one end, and bends the whole assembly so that the whole thing settles together nicely. Autumn watches and follows suit with her own similarly-constructed tent; she clearly has less experience than Nix, but with her providing an example things go relatively smoothly. She does have a little trouble getting the final peg into its eyelet in the base.
"Uh, Nix -" Autumn looks over at her. "Can you just hold the base here for a second?"
Nix stands up, stretches, and comes over next to Autumn. Kneeling next to her, she grabs the baseplate firmly with both hands, her arm pressing against Autumn's. "Okay, you should be able to get the frame in place now."
Autumn extracts her arm, shifts over a little to kneel next to Nix, and attacks it from the opposite side of the eyelet. With both hands on the frame she's able to bend it enough to lock it into place.
"There!", Nix says with a satisfied smile. "That's it in place. Do you need any help staking it down?"
Autumn shakes her head. "No, I've got it from here, thanks."
"Alright." Nix gets up and goes back to her own tent, sitting down by its side and taking out her own bag of stakes. The pair work in silence for a little while, each attending to their own tent, staking them down and putting the nylon covers over the frames.
Once her tent's set up, Nix ducks back into the low tent with her own bedroll and sleeping bag, then emerges again into the late afternoon light with a stretch and a smile. Turning to her cooking gear, she starts setting up her gas burner and stove on a bare patch of ground. Autumn comes out of her own tent a few minutes later, after packing up most of her gear again and stowing it inside; she keeps a wary distance from the camp stove.
"Have you ever used a camp stove before?", Nix asks.
Autumn shakes her head.
"Well, watch and learn." Nix smiles slightly. The stove's already set up, grill in place and the gas bottle attached. Nix looks over at Noir. "Care to give me a light?"
Noir pads over and breathes a small, steady flame from his mouth over the grill; Nix turns the valve on the gas bottle, and the stove flares to light. Pouring some of her water into a small camp pot, she puts it on to heat. Digging in her purse again, she pulls out another Container Ball, which disgorges a folding camp chair. Nix plonks the low chair down next to the stove, and sits watching the water.
Autumn pulls a small cushion from her bedroll and puts it down a respectful distance from the camp stove, then sits as well. She looks out along the small cove, across the water. A Wingull wheels peacefully in the distance; Autumn scowls at it slightly.
Ziggy, who's been keeping out of the way of all the setup, finally bounds back in and settles into Autumn's lap. "Zag," he says.
Autumn smiles. "Yeah, it's time I fed you." She digs in her pack and pulls out the remaining half of the poffin, as well as the container ball she uses to store Ziggy's food. Setting the food bowls to the side of the camp stove, she opens the ziplock bag full of chicken breasts and lays two down in Ziggy's bowl; then she takes out another bag full of apple slices and puts half of them in as well. Breaking the poffin in half again, she lays a quarter of it in the bowl for Ziggy. "There you go," she says.
Nix looks over at Autumn, a brick of dried ramen in her hands. "You've got food for Ziggy, but not for yourself?"
Autumn flushes slightly. "I..." She sighs. "He matters, you know. I figured that I'd get some food for myself somewhere, but..." She shakes her head. "Ziggy's too hungry and too important to leave these kinds of things to chance."
Nix nods. "I see..." She shakes her head. "You really need to learn to take better care of yourself."
Autumn looks away. "It's not like this whole thing was my idea in the first place..."
"Yeah. Do you want to talk about it?" Nix gives Autumn a wry smile.
"Not really." Autumn looks down at the pot.
"Well, fortunately for you I have plenty of ramen." Nix takes the lid off the pot; it's small enough that the water inside is simmering lowly. She puts in the brick of ramen, breaking it in half so that it all fits inside; then she fishes a good pair of chopsticks and a pair of disposable ones out of her purse. "The good ones are mine, but you can have these." She hands over the paper-sleeved chopsticks.
Autumn takes them, slips them out of their paper sleeve, and snaps them apart, slipping the split ends against each other to get rid of any splinters. "Thanks," she says. "For... Well, for everything. You put yourself and all your pokémon in danger for me, and that's... More than I ever expected."
Nix shakes her head. "I'd have done this for anyone, much less, well..." She shrugs. "Someone with a cute zigzagoon they obviously care for very well. People who care deeply for their pokémon... stand out to me, I guess."
Autumn looks down at Ziggy. "I mean, I didn't train Ziggy to fight, so he got hurt... That's on me. It's not so easy to just say that I'm good for him."
Nix shakes her head. "Pokémon aren't just for battling, Autumn." She looks over at Noir. "I prefer not to have to fight, that's why I practiced with Noir so that he could roar like that. I heard it from all the way up the path, you know? He must have scared something off for you."
"Yeah," Autumn says. "The same Poochyena from before, the one I kicked. It was... not exactly happy with me."
Nix nods. "Yeah. It's only natural that it would hold something of a grudge over that - you invaded its territory, kicked it, and ran for it." She looks over at Noir, who's paced out to the edge of the camp. "Do you sense anything hostile out there, Noir?"
Noir shakes his head, and walks over to Nix's side with a low chuff.
Nix runs a hand along one of his curled horns. "That's good. I think we might have more trouble from that Poochyena in the night if we're not careful. I'll make sure Lethia is around to stand guard - she's nocturnal, and scary enough that she should be able to keep things from escalating."
Autumn sighs and nods. "Alright."
Nix stirs the pot with her chopsticks, pulls out a single noodle and tests it. "I think that's done. Would you like to eat first or shall I?"
Autumn shakes her head. "You go ahead, I had those granola bars not too long ago."
"Alright," says Nix. "But I'm not letting you go to sleep until you have some proper food in you."
Autumn nods. "Alright."
Nix turns off the gas burner and starts scooping ramen into her mouth, while Autumn lies back on the ground and stares up at the sky. Ziggy curls up atop her chest, seemingly relieved. "Zag," he says softly.
"Houn," replies Noir. "Houn." He crosses his paws and settles down by the camp stove as well.
A few minutes later, Nix has finished her ramen, and puts the pot back on to heat again. She takes another brick of ramen from the stack and puts it into the pot. "You know," Nix says to Autumn. "There are less combat-focused things you could do with your Ziggy, if you wanted to."
Autumn stares at the sky. "Like what."
"You could be a pokémon stylist, or a Coordinator. That's the really big one."
"Coordinators fight in battles," Autumn says dully. "And I'm no good at sewing or social situations."
Nix frowns. "Actually, Contest Battles are only at the very highest ranks of the Contest circuit. There's plenty of lower-ranked competitions that I think a cute and well-cared-for Zigzagoon could do well at. And you wouldn't even have to dress him up too much."
Autumn props herself up on one elbow and looks at Nix. "... Really?" She frowns. "It can't be that simple."
"The lower ranked contests are more casual and tend to involve agility competitions, dancing, dress-up... I've seen Ziggy beg you for treats, he knows how to turn on the charm." Nix rubs one of her violet-painted nails against her lip. "I could get you started, if you were interested. I know the circuit." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a pink plastic case, about the side of an eyeglasses case. She opens it and extends it out towards Autumn; a trio of red bows attached to a small bronze token sit inside, each marked with a blue pokéball. "This is my Great Rank contest case, Cool category competitions."
Autumn looks at the ribbons. "Huh, there's ribbons at the lower ranks too?"
"Yeah, you have to make five Normal Class ribbons to join Great Rank contests, five Great Rank ribbons to join an Ultra Rank contest, and five Ultra Rank ribbons to join Master Rank contests. Then if you make five Master Rank ribbons you can compete in the Ribbon Cup for the honor of becoming a Top Coordinator for life." Nix smiles slightly. "It's a long way up, but even at lower ranks you can win berries and valuable items. Normal Rank contests aren't really taken seriously by most people, so if you aimed to win seriously with my help, it's pretty reasonable you could take it even with a fairly untrained Zigzagoon."
Autumn frowns. "Really?"
Nix nods. "Really really. You'd have an advantage against most participants at that rank; your Zigzagoon has visible sheen."
"Sheen?" Autumn blinks.
"It's something that every contest judge watches for - the result of a pokémon being fed a high-quality diet that features berries prominently. Your Ziggy has it, Noir has it, Lethia has it. It's that soft gloss to Ziggy's fur. It's kind of subtle, but it's noticeable to those in the know, and it's one of the best markers of a pokémon being taken good care of by its owner. Naturally the judges also pay close attention to the bond between the trainer and their pokémon - the connection, the cooperation - but you and Ziggy already have that in spades as well. I really think that with some basic preparation you could sweep a few Normals and make it to the Great Rank." Nix swirls the noodles in the pot gently. "And I'd have a secret weapon for you."
Autumn sits up and looks at Nix seriously. "I don't - I'm not really a show person, but... Ribbons are the next best thing to badges, right? And Ziggy wouldn't have to fight, he could just put on a good show and be - cute, right, that's a contest category -"
Nix grins. "Yeah."
"So what's this secret weapon you have for me?" Autumn tilts her head.
"Did you notice anything strange when I called out Lethia earlier?"
Autumn frowns. "She appeared in... a puff of dark, enshrouding smoke. You know, that is a little unusual. I thought it was something she was doing?"
Nix shakes her head. "No, that's a ball capsule. It fits onto your pokéball and makes it produce special effects when it opens; contest judges love them. I got a variety pack of them imported from Shinnoh when I started taking the contest circuit seriously, and I haven't used the cutesy ones at all, given, uh..." She gestures at her black-clad body. "It's not really my style."
Autumn bites her lip. "I mean, if you're not using them..."
Nix smiles. "I'm sure."
Autumn looks down at the camp stove. "Is the ramen done?"
Nix smiles. "Hungry, huh? Alright, this does look like it's done." She turns off the gas and nudges the handle of the pot over towards Autumn. "There we go."
Autumn takes the pot with her free hand, and dips in with her chopsticks, taking a pinch of ramen for the second time today. She sighs softly. "I had ramen for breakfast, but, well..." She shrugs. "Beggars can't be choosers."
Nix holds up the container ball full of fruit. "Do you want something to go with it?"
Autumn shakes her head. "I'm already imposing far too much. You're helping me in so many ways, Nix, I don't know how to thank you enough."
Nix looks over at Noir. "I... There was someone who helped me a lot, a long time ago, so... You could say I'm paying it forwards."
Autumn puts another pinch of noodles in her mouth, and looks away over the water as she chews.
Nix leans back into her camp chair and lets the silence be. A Wingull passes over the water to the east, passing north along the coast. Ziggy curls up at the base of his licked-clean bowl, tail over his eyes to block out the descending sun, and Noir has his eyes closed, though his ears are still pricked up. The grass near the side of the camp rustles in the wind.
"... You know, you should probably get some sleep," says Nix.
Autumn puts the last of the ramen into her mouth and swallows guiltily. "I, um..."
"You needed Crimson to carry you, you shouldn't pretend you're not exhausted." Nix raises an eyebrow.
"... Yeah." Autumn looks back towards her tent. "... You'll wake me if anything important happens, right?"
Nix nods. "I will."
Autumn looks over at Ziggy. "Ziggy?"
His tail twitches away from his face, and he reluctantly gets up and trundles over into Autumn's tent.
Autumn reseals the food bowls, and follows Ziggy into the tent, stooping in and zipping it closed behind her.
Nix looks over at Noir, and smiles softly; Noir opens his eyes and shares a look with his trainer.
"Looks like we're minding the camp." Nix reaches out and strokes Noir's back lightly.
Noir chuffs. "Houn." But he gives a slight smirk, the expression surprisingly human despite his canine muzzle.
Nix just nods.
~*~
A few hours later, Autumn emerges from her tent, shielding her eyes from the setting sun. Ziggy's still sleeping in the tent, and Nix's not in her chair...
Autumn looks over at the other tent. "Nix?"
"Dreavus!", comes the reply as Lethia floats in from the side of the camp. "Miss." She points with her long, flowing hair at the coastline.
Autumn turns to follow Lethia's pointing hair - and there's Nix, running along the coastline with a frisbee in her hand, her long black hair streaming out behind her in the setting sun. Noir bounds along the shallows ahead of her, leaping from rock to rock in long arcs. She snaps out the frisbee, and Noir bounds up and catches it effortlessly, landing with paws spread just above a shallow pool.
Autumn smiles, despite herself, and walks down the shoreline towards Nix. She hasn't noticed her yet, too busy with her game.
As Autumn approaches, pebbles scattering as she walks, Noir takes a few long steps away from where he's landed, and looks past Nix right at her. Nix turns to look at Autumn, her normally-straight black hair matted with sweat and all messed up by the wind. She brushes her hair out of her face and smiles; she looks exhausted, but happy.
Autumn pauses a stride away from Nix and gropes for something to say. "I, um..." For some reason she wants to tell Nix that she's pretty. She already knows that, it doesn't make any sense to say that right now -
"Hey," Nix says, a little out of breath. "You slept?"
Autumn nods, not sure of her voice.
A loud clatter at the pair's feet startles both the girls - Noir's just dropped the frisbee to the pebbled beach at his owner's feet.
Nix laughs, and Autumn rubs a hand through her hair. Autumn clears her throat. "I, um, yes. It's kind of lonely out here. Not many people. I... It's good that you didn't abandon me or something."
Nix smiles slightly. "Would I do that to you?"
Autumn shakes her head. "No, I don't think you really would. It's just a bit... I've never been out in the wilds before. And I know this is hardly the real wilds, but it's still... scary for me. Spending time out away from civilization... I could get attacked by that Poochyena again any time, if not for you here protecting me." She looks out over the water towards the setting sun. "I guess that... I want to say thank you, again."
Nix shakes her head and bends to pick up the frisbee. "That's like the fifth or sixth time you've thanked me now. You don't have to keep saying it, you know. I know already."
Autumn sighs. "I - it's important to say it, you know? I don't want you to think that I'm... not grateful."
"It's not a problem, seriously." Nix stands again. "We should head back to the camp, though. Even short distances can be kind of treacherous at night."
Autumn nods. "Yeah, I - you know best."
"You pick things up, living the wandering trainer life. And you lose things, too." Nix looks down at Noir. "I don't really - I don't want to dump this on you."
"No," Autumn says. "I want to hear it. If it means you'll - feel better - I want to help you. To... pay you back a little." She brushes her hand against her upper arm.
Nix sighs. "I just... I haven't had a home in years. Home, if I ever had one really, is back in Johto, but - It's been years since I was last there, and my family... Wasn't so good either. Not all of them are bad, but - It's complicated." Nix steps past Autumn and starts walking towards the camp.
Autumn follows, a half-pace behind Nix on her left. "I... I'm sorry."
"It's not like it really matters," Nix says softly. "I'm happy enough out here with Noir. I'm successful on the contest circuit, and I'm living authentically and being the person I want to be... Sure, there are hard parts, but I don't think I'm really missing anything in my life."
Autumn opens her mouth, then closes it again. "I - it doesn't sound like you're happy. I can see that you and your pokémon are - good to each other - but it can't be easy to have no real human company. Don't you travel with anyone else usually?"
Nix smiles sadly. "I don't have anyone like that. The person who helped me a while back, well, they're busy with their own affairs, and I follow the contest circuit instead of the gym circuit, so most people are on a different travel schedule than me. There are one or two people on the contest circuit I kind of half know, friendly rivals I guess, but I don't really... spend time with other people much. I have my Lethia, my Noir, and my Crimson, and they take care of me. Just like you have your Ziggy."
Autumn looks away. "I..." She swallows. "... Ziggy was never really enough, for me. Fuck, yes, he's so important, he's made my life bearable, but -" She kicks a rock on the path. "I don't want to live with nobody but a Zigzagoon for the rest of my life. There was nobody I liked back in Oldale town, everyone knew everyone and I was - well, I couldn't battle, I couldn't do anything that mattered to anyone -"
Nix winces a little. "I -" She looks off in the other direction. "I don't think that - I would be more gentle with myself than that. You're not useless, you care for Ziggy well, you thought smart and stayed brave when you got threatened by those thugs..." She sighs. "I'm sure someone would like to be your friend."
"But not you."
"I -" Nix looks down at Noir. "I hardly know you. I - I like you, from what I've seen, I think you could stand to be more gentle with yourself but it's all painfully relatable to me, I know what it's like to feel like that -" She sighs. "I guess you remind me a little of myself from the past, and that makes it hard to... I don't know. Talk to you like another person."
Autumn sighs as well. "I thought you might say something like that."
Nix stops in her tracks just short of camp, and looks back over at Autumn. "You know what, fuck it." She turns towards Autumn and crosses her arms. "I - I'm helping you this much, and we're probably going to have to work together to try and do the contest stuff, and I can't - keep pretending this is just one favor." She extends a hand towards Autumn. "Friends?"
Autumn stops as well, and considers the hand extended to her. "I - I mean, if you're offering -" for some reason she's blushing, why is that happening, stop that - "Then yeah, friends." She grabs Nix's hand, a little harder than she intended, and squeezes firmly.
Nix shakes with a serious expression on her face, then smiles a little. "Friends, huh." She lets go and rubs her hands together softly. "What do you think, Noir?" She looks down at her Houndoom.
"Houn," he says smugly.
"Sounds like you approve." Nix smiles slightly.
Autumn laughs. "Ziggy's like that too. Sometimes I'm not sure who's in charge of us, me or him."
Nix laughs and smiles. "It's easy to underestimate them just because they don't look like humans, but pokémon are really smart." She steps into camp and looks over at Lethia. "Any disturbances?"
Lethia shakes her head. "Dreavus."
"Good to hear. You're okay to keep watching through the night?" Nix tilts her head.
Lethia nods, her whole grey-pink body bobbing in the air. "Dreav!"
"That's my girl," she says. "Autumn, do you want anything before bed? Fruit, a granola bar, a lantern?"
Autumn shakes her head. "I've got a flashlight in my pack, I'll fish it out before bed. I think I'll stay in with Ziggy for now. If you have, like, a book or anything, that would be nice..."
Nix shakes her head. "Nothing to read on me, sorry. Try not to get freaked out by the night sounds, it's entirely normal. Lethia will warn us if anything serious happens."
Autumn nods softly. "I guess it's goodnight, then?"
"Yeah," Nix says. "Goodnight, Autumn. It's been a real interesting day."
"You can say that again," Autumn says.
Nix smiles. "I think it's good overall, though. It's been good to meet you, and good to help you, and - we'll see how everything works out eventually."
"Yeah," says Autumn. "I guess we will. Goodnight, Nix."
Nix ducks into her tent and zips it closed. Autumn looks at the closed tentflap for a long moment, then ducks into her own tent and closes it up as well.
Ziggy's still lying curled up by her bedroll; Autumn lays her head down next to him, slips into her sleeping bag, and tries to sleep.
State of the buffer: Chapters 5-13 drafted for a total written length of roughly 80k.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 4-10.
Buffer has grown by 2 chapters.
It's pitch dark in Autumn's tent, but she can't sleep. Ziggy's curled up by her head, napping contentedly, but the world outside is haunted by the distant hooting of Noctowls and the sound of the surf against the pebble beach below. She's not tired, the ground is hard beneath her bedroll, and she's far away from home or safety.
Sighing to herself, Autumn pulls out her flashlight and pulls the end out to put it into lantern mode. Setting it up next to her bed, she turns it on, and the tent walls appear again. Ziggy stirs in his sleep, letting out a low groan.
Unzipping the tent flap, Autumn steps out into the camp, lantern held by her side. There's only a sliver of moon overhead, and the world outside is full of shadows beyond a few yards out from the camp. The scrubland grass rustles in the wind, and the surf sighs against the beach below.
"Dreavus!"
Autumn jerks sharply and almost drops her lantern as Lethia pops out of the shadows.
"L-Lethia!" Autumn whispers. "You scared me half to death!"
Lethia just giggles mutely as she floats in the air in front of Autumn, then she does a loop in the air and winks. "Miss~"
Autumn sighs. "So you're a prankster, huh."
Lethia bobs in the air, the little motion perhaps her equivalent of a shrug. Then she turns to look back out over the grass. "Dreavus," she says.
Autumn looks out across the scrubland with Lethia. Patches of tawny grass shroud the path, hiding everything and anything.
Lethia turns slightly, and pauses, starting out across the scrubland. "Miss?", she says softly.
Autumn follows Lethia's gaze, but it's too dark for her to make anything out other than shadows. Raising the lantern a little higher, she leans forwards a little and stares intently. Did one of those shadows move...?
- there's a pair of eyes looking at her from that stand of grass, reflecting back the light of the lantern.
"Lethia -" Autumn's voice rises.
"Miss," Lethia says loudly, pitching it to carry out to the half-shrouded watcher.
The grass rustles with movement, and a canine shadow darts away across the ground to another stand of grass. Lethia sighs. "Miss."
Autumn bites her lip hard. "That poochyena?"
Lethia nods. "Missdreavus." She sighs, then holds up four locks of her hair.
"This is the fourth time that's happened?" Autumn blinks.
Lethia bobs in that hover-shrug, and nods.
"Thank you, Lethia," Autumn says. "It's - really good to have you looking after me."
Lethia smiles. "Dreavus." The two syllables are warm and happy.
Autumn sits down in Nix's chair next to the camp stove, and sets the lantern down next to her. "I'm not going to get any sleep knowing that poochyena's out there stalking us," she says. "Could you... keep me company?"
Lethia nods and smiles. "Dreav."
Autumn settles into the chair, and looks up at the sky. The stars are hidden by the light of her lantern, but the sliver of moon is still bright and clear. The cold sea wind brushes past her and makes her shiver. She takes a cold breath, and rubs her hands together to warm them a little.
Lethia looks down at her disapprovingly. "Dreavus," she says, and points at Autumn's tent. "Misd."
"Yeah, I really should put on a coat." Autumn gets up from her chair and goes back over to the tent, her fingers stiff in the cold as she works the zipper. Ducking into the tent, she digs through her pack and comes back out with her fleece coat and her windbreaker. She shrugs on the fleece first, then adds the windbreaker on top, pushing her arms through the sleeves and catching the windblown front of the coats to zip them up. Tucking her hands into the pockets, she sits down next to the camp stove again and sighs softly as the wind catches at her hair. The camp seems very small and cramped with only the light of the lantern, and the blasted scrubland with its hidden watcher offers no comfort.
Autumn sits again anyway, and does her best to suppress the hammering of her heart. Lethia is looking after her.
Lethia does a slow half-circle of the camp, looking out into the scrublands with her yellow eyes. She sighs, the noise almost human but a little higher and more whistling. Autumn hunches in a little at the noise, and looks at the lantern to keep herself from staring out into the night where the poochyena waits.
The stars are beautiful, and the sigh of the sea is lulling enough. The light of the lantern feels warm and cheery, and despite everything there's a rugged beauty to the landscape. She might not be one for nature, but even this barren scrubland by the sea has some beauty to it. Off in the distance, a light passes on Cycling Road. Some cyclist on a midnight ride, probably a priority courier if they're out this late at night.
Autumn closes her eyes, and listens to the sea.
"Dreavus," comes the quiet call to her left, and Autumn's eyes snap open. She looks over at where Lethia is, and just catches the motion of the shadow in the grass.
Autumn watches as the shadow darts away again, hugging herself close beneath her coat. "Persistent, isn't it?", she says to Lethia softly.
Lethia nods. "Dreav..."
"You must be tired watching this whole time..." Autumn sighs.
Lethia shakes her head. "Miss." She does the bobbing shrug again. "Miss, dreav."
"You're used to it?" Autumn tilts her head.
Lethia nods. "Misdreavus." Then she holds out her hair, and a shimmer of purple Ghost energy covers it. "Dreav," she says, an edge of malice in her voice.
Autumn chuckles. "Yeah, I bet you could show it what for if it really tried anything. I'm just... scared that you might slip out and it might get in close, or..." She sighs. "But you'd catch it, I know you would with those eyes of yours. Should I go back into my tent?"
Lethia bobs from one side to the other, and says nothing.
"Up to me, huh." Autumn sighs. "I... Part of me wants to apologize to the poochyena. It's stupid and silly, but - I did walk into its territory, and I did kick it... I mean, it's justly annoyed..."
"Dreavus." Lethia's tone is flat and unamused.
"Yeah, that's probably wrong. Still..." She sighs again. "I guess I'll try to sleep again, Lethia. I trust you to keep the camp safe." Autumn gets up from the chair and stretches, looking out over the darkened sea; then she picks up her lantern again, and steps back towards her tent.
"Yena!", comes the harsh bark from behind her, and Autumn half-turns - just in time for the angry Poochyena to catch her in her side, knocking her back into her tent as the breath's driven out of her. The poochyena brings its forepaws in and rakes at her -
"DREAVUS!" Lethia screeches, and the Poochyena's covered in a black aura for a moment that singes and burns it. It darts away from the ghostly pokémon's gaze and harsh voice, fleeing for the grass at the side of the road - but as it passes into the clear space away from the tents, a lance of purple energy - a Psybeam - lashes out and catches it from behind, driving it into the earth.
Moments later Nix is out of her tent and on her feet, a lantern in one hand, Crimson and Noir appearing next to her as she tosses out pokéballs with the other. Nix's pokemon flank the fallen Poochyena, Lethia floating over it as Crimson and Noir box it in from each side. The fallen Poochyena doesn't stir.
"Watch it, Lethia," Nix snaps out. "Crimson, watch the grass." Then she's across the clearing to where Autumn's lying on the ground, kneeling next to her with the lantern by her side. "Are you okay," she says in a rush, her voice tense and high.
Autumn rolls off the tent with a groan, holding her side. There are rents in the tough material of her windbreaker, showing through the fleece beneath. "Ow," she says, and sits up slowly.
Nix presses her hand lightly to the cuts in the windbreaker, and finds the fleece underneath untorn and clean of blood. She exhales hard. "Lucky," she says. "It looks like your coat got the worst of it."
Autumn winces as Nix's hand presses against her side. "I don't feel lucky. Ow."
"You're probably going to have quite the bruise, but it could've been much worse." Nix stands and offers a hand to Autumn, the lantern in her other hand throwing shifting shadows.
Autumn accepts Nix's hand up, and pushes herself to her feet. Then she turns to survey the fallen dome of her tent.
"Yeah," Nix says, "That's a problem. But first..."
She sets down her lantern, ducks back into her tent, and returns carrying a pokéball. She tosses it at the downed poochyena, and it vanishes into the capsule.
"This one will have to go to the Rangers," she says.
Autumn blinks. "And they'll...?"
Nix sighs. "Try to rehabilitate it so it doesn't attack humans anymore. If it doesn't cooperate they'll probably put it in storage on a server somewhere. If it's recalcitrant for long enough, well..." Nix shrugs. "Pokémon who hunt humans can't be allowed to roam free."
"Oh." Autumn looks at the pokéball in Nix's hand.
"Yeah." Nix steps back into her tent, then returns without the pokéball. "But we've got more immediate problems. Is Ziggy okay?"
Autumn blinks. "- Ziggy!" She looks at the fallen remains of her tent. "He must still be in there."
The fallen tent wriggles a little, a lump in it shifting.
"I really hope I didn't fall on him -" Autumn grabs at one of the fallen poles and tries to lift the fallen mass of the tent off Ziggy. One of the legs pops free of the baseplate, and with a couple more pulls the mass of the tent comes off of Ziggy.
Ziggy rolls over from his side, and gets up on all fours, shaking out his fur with a swishing motion. "Zag!", he says. "Zigzag." He gives Autumn a big toothy smile.
Autumn falls to her knees again and scoops Ziggy up into her arms, holding him firmly against her bruised and scraped body. "So glad you're okay," she says.
"Zaaaaaag." Ziggy presses in softly and rubs his head against Autumn's chest.
"Alright," Nix says, looking out at the darkness beyond the tents. "I think we should get that tent set back up, and then we can go to sleep again. Crimson, is there anything else out there we should know about?"
The Ariados clicks its mandibles together and shakes its head. "Dos."
"Good." Nix exhales. "Alright, this will be awkward in the dark, but it looks like the tent poles are still okay. Crimson, just - keep watching, just in case. You too, Lethia. The more eyes the better." She walks over to the fallen tent and fishes through it for Autumn's still-glowing lantern. Setting it aside on the low grass, she sets her own lantern up at the opposite corner of the tent.
Lethia and Crimson both nod, and keep watching the scrubland around the camp.
Autumn lets Ziggy back down onto the grass, and starts trying to sort out the tangled mess of tentpoles. Nix crouches down as well and does her best to help, and between the two of them they manage to extract the still-locked-together tent poles from the dome of the tent. Settling them into the holes of the base, they lock together the frame again; then Nix picks up the fallen nylon cover, and with some help from Autumn wraps it back around the frame.
As the nylon settles back into place, it becomes apparent that the poochyena managed to catch some of the tent material as well with its wild swiping; there's a neat trio of rents through one of the side walls.
Nix pinches the bridge of her nose. "Fuck."
Autumn winces. "Yeah..."
Nix looks over at her still-set-up tent. "Looks like we're sharing. It's probably safer anyway. At least it's summer and not raining."
Autumn bites her tongue, but nods. "Alright," she says. "What you say goes." She picks up her pack, which's been put aside from her tent, and puts it into Nix's tent next to her purse. Then she grabs her bedroll and sleeping bag and looks into Nix's tent again. The space inside is... not large, especially with both Nix's purse and her pack taking up space. There isn't enough room for her bedroll as well.
Nix ducks into the tent, and sits at the end with the packs, setting down her lantern at the top of the space. Autumn comes in as well and sits at the other end. Between them and the packs, all the space in the tent is full.
Nix rubs her forehead and sighs. "Looks like we're going to have to get a little cozy." She slips into her sleeping back, which is lying along one side of her bedroll. "If you overlay the two bedrolls, you can have one side and I can have the other and we can put the pack and my purse in the middle."
"I, uh, yeah," Autumn says. She pulls on her sleeping bag halfway, then lays down her bedroll half-overlapping Nix's, and lies down across from her, her back against the wall of the tent. Their faces are maybe a hand's breadth apart.
Nix smiles slightly. "And now we stick the pack and the purse in the middle -" She pulls down the pack and flops it down between herself and Autumn, then sets her purse between her pillow and Autumn's, separating them. "A little uncomfortable, but better than getting all up in each other's business."
Autumn bites the inside of her cheek. "Yeah," she says quietly. Ziggy walks up her body and curls up in the small space next to the lantern at the top of the tent. "Zag," he says.
Autumn works her tongue in her mouth. "Um... Goodnight."
"Yeah," Nix says, and turns off her lantern. "Can you get your lantern?" She points at Autumn's flashlight at the base of the bed.
Autumn sits up awkwardly, grabs the lantern, and lies back down with it in her hand. Setting it down next to her head, she thumbs the button, and the tent falls into darkness.
She lays down slowly, and settles her head onto the pillow of her bedroll. It's cramped and narrow, but - it's a huge relief to know the poochyena's not hunting her anymore. And Nix's presence is... somehow comforting.
She closes her eyes, and sleep takes her.
~*~
Eventually, the soft light of morning shines through the sides of the tent, and Autumn stirs. Her face is pressed into Nix's purse, the stitching on the leather leaving tracks along her forehead. She can feel Nix's shins through her sleeping bag.
She takes an unsteady breath, and sits up carefully. Her ribs ache. Her arms ache. Her everything aches. It's been... A really profoundly bad couple of days, hasn't it. All because of that gang and the damn poochyena...
Nix's eyes blink open, and she stretches a little in the small space. "Mmmmnnnnnnhhhhh... Morning?" She works her jaw and sighs. "Yeah, morning. Can you get out of the tent?"
Autumn untangles herself from her sleeping bag, and gets up onto her knees. Reaching back over her head, she fumbles with the zipper for the tent flap, then finally steps out into the early-morning sunlight.
The camp is a mess in the morning sun; Nix's camp stove was apparently kicked in the scuffle, and Autumn's damaged tent hangs in streamers, half-skeletal in the sunlight. Crimson is lying on his thorax by the side of the camp, his eyes closed; Lethia hovers over him, and waves with her hair when Autumn steps outside. "Dreavus," she calls out.
"Yeah," Autumn says. "Good morning to you too." Looking over her shoulder at Nix in the tent, she sighs softly. "I guess it's time to pack up again, huh?"
Nix sits up in the tent and stretches. "Yeah. It's not far to town from here, so it should work out alright. We have time for breakfast if you want."
Autumn rights Nix's fallen camp chair and looks around for her camp cushion. Walking over to a nearby patch of scrub grass, she picks her cushion out from where it's fetched up against a bush. "Yeah," she says. "Breakfast would be good. I..." She touches her side softly where the poochyena tackled her. "I don't feel so great."
Nix crawls out of the tent and stands up, dusting off the knees of her jeans. "Yeah," she says, "it's no surprise between all those scratches and your fall last night. Let's get a better look at you in the light."
Autumn pulls off her coat and her fleece, and lifts the side of her blouse a little. Sure enough, there's a wide, purpling bruise just above her right hip.
"Ow." She winces a little.
Nix leans in and takes a close look. "No scratches, good. You don't want to know what could be on a wild pokémon's claws." She sighs softly. "That poochyena... Really took it personally, huh." She shakes her head. "We should still get you checked out by a doctor just in case. How's breathing?"
Autumn takes a deep breath. "It doesn't hurt too badly. Just a big dull ache."
"Your ribs are probably fine then," Nix says. "But let's take it easy." She grabs her purse from the tent and pulls out the green container ball full of fruit. Unsealing the basket, she sets it down in the middle of the camp, then looks over at her camp stove.
She picks up the stove and inspects it closely. The gas bottle is intact and undented, and the hose looks fine too. "This looks okay," she says, "But we probably shouldn't use it just in case." She fishes out her container ball for the camp stove and reseals it. "There, now it's guaranteed not to explode before I get it to a professional." She puts away the container ball and unseals her box of trail mix, granola bars and water again.
Autumn sighs, and nods. "Sorry about all this trouble..."
Nix rolls her eyes. "You're the one who's got the worst of it so far. Just look at you, covered in scrapes and bruises..." She gestures at the bandages on Autumn's forearms. "You've had a real rough few days."
Autumn's lips twitch. "Yeah. It's almost funny how badly my pokémon adventure's gone so far."
"Trainer life is full of harsh realities," Nix says. "But it's very rewarding as well, when done right." She leans over to her resting Ariados and strokes his chitinous side. "Crimson, Noir and Lethia bring so much joy to my life. I think you know that already, with your Ziggy..."
Autumn nods. "Yeah, it's... I wouldn't trade him for anything."
Nix smiles. "Yeah. There are some people who treat pokémon more like tools, but - I've never been one of them." She pulls Crimson's pokeball out of her purse. "Crimson did a good job guarding us, but he needs to rest now. Return."
Red light flashes out of Nix's pokéball, and Autumn watches as Crimson disappears back into stasis. "You know," she says, "I've never really liked to keep Ziggy in a pokéball. It feels more right to... spend all my time with him by my side."
Nix smiles. "Yeah. A lot of trainers get attached to their first pokémon like that. I used to be that attached to Noir, too, but - letting him sleep in his pokéball is just really convenient, now that he's bigger, and the realities of looking out for wild pokémon and managing safety and feeding schedules and all the rest of it..." She shakes her head. "I want him to have real off-time now and again, you know, and I'm always on the move as a trainer, so the whole thing is difficult."
Autumn looks back into Nix's tent. "Ziggy!", she calls.
There's a low rustle from the tent, and then a few moments later Ziggy bounces out of the tent, all fluffed up and energetic. He scampers along to the basket of fruit and looks at it with a pleading expression.
Autumn laughs. "You never change, do you." She picks a peach off the pile of fruit and extends it to Ziggy. "Here you go, then. A present for cheering me up a little."
Ziggy takes the peach in his forepaws, the large fruit almost as big as his head, and starts munching on it greedily, juice going everywhere over his face.
Nix smiles as well. "Gluttonous little Zigzagoon, isn't he? I've heard a lot of them are like that. Cute, in a shameless kind of way."
Autumn nods and sits down on her cushion, a little bonelessly. "Yeah. I... can really use it right now." She picks up an apple from the fruit basket and stares at it morosely, then finally takes a bite. "Mm. I guess it's whatever."
Nix grabs an apple as well, and looks over at Autumn's damaged tent. "We'll have to get that packed up as best we can, have breakfast... I've got to feed Noir at least too, and then it's off to Slateport."
Autumn looks over at Lethia, who's still hovering over the camp. "Does Lethia sleep or eat at all?"
Nix tilts her head. "Well, yes and no. She has... kind of a special diet. Did she spook you last night at all?"
Autumn blushes. "I, uh. Yeah."
"Yeah, she actually feeds on fear." Nix tosses the apple in her hand up in the air and catches it. "She doesn't need much, so generally she gets enough from being creepy in Contests or playing little harmless pranks. Battle is good for her too. Without enough ambient fear around her she starts to, mmm, fade a little, get - her equivalent of sleepy, I guess. If that happens I dig into creepy things on the internet for a little while until she feels better."
"So you're a horror fan?" Autumn tilts her head.
"Not really, but for my Lethia..." She smiles slightly. "It's worth it to see the smile on her face and her energy afterwards."
"Aw. That's kind of weirdly cute." Autumn smiles back, and takes another bite of her apple. She pets Ziggy lightly as he keeps working on his peach. "So you were going to feed Noir?"
Nix nods. "Yeah." She digs in her purse and unseals another container ball, this one holding a similar amount of food to Autumn's, with chicken breasts, carrots, and apple slices all in separate bowls, along with some whole Cheri berries. There's also a Tupperware container holding charcoal along with the rest of the food. "Noir's a fire type," Nix says, "So he needs some fuel to keep his metabolism running. This is ash and rowan charcoal, a special blend just for him - Noir deserves the best, after all."
"Yeah," Autumn says, "They really do deserve the best." She strokes Ziggy softly. "Doesn't it get expensive keeping your pokemon in food?"
Nix nods. "Which is why I've got to keep winning contests and doing my best to earn that prize money. Most Great Rank contests hand out a prize pool of berries to the winners, along with valuable items - traditionally it's Stardust for Great Rank contests, which sells for around a K and a half each. But that money goes fast when you're taking care of a full team..."
Autumn bites her lip. "I was barely even able to care for Ziggy on the kind of wages that I had back at the Pokemart in Oldale Town. But... Yeah, it's different for Trainers."
Nix smiles slightly. "Yeah. And soon I'm going to get to the Ultra Rank, and they hand out Star Pieces there, which are worth even more, and rarer berries, and - yeah. Just got to keep improving, and then we'll be able to do more. I've been thinking a little about a fourth pokémon, but - right now the budget isn't really there, you know..."
Autumn halfsmiles. "You can afford this many container balls and you're still short of resources, huh...?"
Nix sighs. "Yeah. I guess I'll never really be satisfied."
"Do you want to be a Top Coordinator?", Autumn asks.
Nix shakes her head. "Not really, but - the challenge is there, and helping people see the appeal of "creepy" pokemon like Crimson, Noir and Lethia really makes me feel happy. I think I want to become, like, a consistent Ultra or Master Rank competitor with a team of six, that would be a satisfying life."
Autumn nods. "Yeah, I don't think anyone would look down on you if you made it that high."
Nix smiles and takes another bite of her apple. "S'not bout that," she says through her mouthful, then swallows. "It's more just about... feeling like I'm doing my best."
Autumn tilts her head. "Yeah, I can sympathize with that. I... Well..." She looks down at Ziggy. "The dead-end pokémart job wasn't exactly... good for me. I got by, but..."
"Yeah." Nix nods, and tosses out Noir's pokéball. He appears in a burst of flames, and looks over at the bowls full of charcoal and chicken breasts. His spade-tipped tail starts to wag.
"Doom," says Noir gravely. But he lowers his head and begins to eat.
Nix sighs and leans back in her chair. "This would almost be relaxing, if not for the... everything. Sea, sun, Noir by my side, a new friend..." She smiles a little at Autumn. "It seems like there's adventure ahead for both of us."
Autumn smiles back. "Yeah," she says. "There really does seem to be." She finishes off her apple, sets down the core next to the basket, and walks over to her damaged tent. "I guess it's time I took this down," she says.
Nix stands. "Please don't stress yourself, I can get it. Your bruises have got bruises. Rest for now. You can even have my camp chair for the moment."
Autumn looks over her shoulder. "Finish your breakfast," she says, "this isn't too complicated."
Nix sighs. "We've had this conversation I don't know how many times now. Please, don't injure yourself further."
Autumn looks down at her aching body, and sighs. "- Yeah, fine, alright." She walks back over to the center of camp and flops down on her cushion again. "I - thank you."
"It's fine," Nix says. She puts down her apple core as well, and goes over to the remains of Autumn's tent. Pulling off the cut-up nylon, she folds it together as best she can. "Where's the bag this came from?", she asks.
Autumn points at her pack in Nix's tent. "On top of my backpack," she says.
"Alright. Do you mind if I go through your pack for it?"
"Not at all." Autumn shakes her head.
"Alright. Then let's get this all squared away." She ducks into the tent and comes back with the bag the tent came in. Over the next few minutes, she disassembles the frame and slips the poles back into place, along with the torn nylon and base tarp. Autumn watches, petting Ziggy occasionally, her eyes half-closed against the morning's light reflecting off the sea.
There's not much more to say after that; each Trainer sees to their own pokémon's breakfasts, snatching bites of granola bars and fruit as they go. Nix takes down her tent and reseals it in a container ball, and picks up Autumn's pack (over her protests) and slings it onto her back. Ziggy hops up onto Autumn's shoulder as usual, and after a small pause to make sure everything's been packed up, the pair set off to the south again, Noir in the lead, Lethia floating along behind them.
There isn't much trail left between the pair and Slateport, and all the local pokémon seem to be terrified of Lethia and Noir. After an hour or so's walk, the pair make it to the other end of Seaside Cycling Road.
Nix points at the gateway. "Slateport ahoy!", she calls with a big grin, her rose pendant jangling against her black top.
Noir lets out a low woof that might be a chuckle, and Autumn rolls her eyes. Ziggy hops down from Autumn's shoulder as they emerge from the tall grass, scurrying along beside her. "Zigzagoooooon!", he says.
Autumn smiles, and picks up her weary pace a little. Before long her and Nix arrive amid the buildings.
"Alright, let's drop by the pokémon center quickly and get that side of yours checked out," says Nix. "And then I'll give you your pack back and we can get rooms at the trainer's dorms."
Autumn just nods. "Alright."
The Pokécenter is just to the west of the city's gates, not far from the route itself; after a short wait, Autumn is shown into a back room and an X-ray is taken of her chest bruise, then Nix and Autumn are ushered back to the front to wait some more.
When the nurse finally brings back the X-ray, the news is good; Autumn's ribs are intact, not even cracked.
"You can take over-the-counter pain meds, and you probably should," says the nurse, tucking a strand of his black hair behind his glasses. "But the bruising's pretty much the extent of it. You're young, you'll heal up; just take it easy for a couple weeks and you should be right as rain soon enough."
Autumn exhales, and nods. "I'm glad."
"Make sure you hand that Poochyena over to the ranger station, now, you hear?" The nurse gives Nix a serious look. "This kind of incident isn't to be taken lightly."
"Yes, I know the regulations," says Nix. "We came here first just to make sure that Autumn wasn't seriously injured. We're heading to the ranger station next."
"Alright," the nurse says, and lets the topic drop.
A few minutes later the pair emerge into the sunlight again, this time with Autumn carrying her own pack. Noir and Ziggy follow their owners to either side, Noir loping along easily as Ziggy scurries along with his head on a swivel.
"It seems cruel to hand over the poochyena to the Rangers..." Autumn says quietly.
"It's regulations," Nix says. "If I don't do this I could lose my Trainer's License. And I mean... It's not like it didn't know the potential consequences. Pokémon are smart, and this one attacked you deliberately... If it was human it'd be put on trial for assault with a deadly weapon, you know?"
"I guess," says Autumn. "But in a sense I started it..."
"That doesn't mean its response was proportional," says Nix. "There's a tense peace between humans and pokémon - we stay out of their natural habitats and treat the ones we choose to adopt well, and in exchange they don't cause trouble for us - and people or pokémon who disturb that balance have to face the consequences of that."
Autumn sighs, looking over at the pokéball cradled in Nix's hands. "Alright," she says.
~*~
The ranger station is manned by an older man, grey touching his hair, his eyes steely and his hands callused. He accepts the pokéball and Nix's explanation with a wordless grunt, then places the ball into a machine by his desk, where it disappears.
"Here's your replacement pokéball," he says, handing one over. "Do you have a pokétch number we can contact you at?"
Nix rattles off her number, and with a little prompting Autumn produces hers as well.
"Have a nice day, you two," says the Ranger, and turns away.
Nix looks at Autumn, shrugs, and steps away from the window. "I guess it's off to the trainer dorms now, then." She reslings her purse over her shoulder and sets off at a steady pace. "I know where they are - it's over by the shipyard, most people come in by boat..."
They pass a large open-air market and a museum on the way down to the trainer dorms; a stylized pokéball over the door announces them from a fair distance away. Nix steps inside, followed by Autumn, and the pair of them step up to the front desk, where a tall man and his Machop wait.
Nix looks back over her shoulder. "Two rooms or a double room for the two of us?", she asks. "A double room is cheaper."
Autumn tilts her head. "A double room, I think."
Nix fishes out her wallet from her purse and produces a payment card and her trainer's license; Autumn produces the same items from her own purse, and after a cursory check the pair are given keycards and directions to room 307. "Meals separately, internet is another ten pokédollars, no battling outside designated areas," drones the clerk. Nix just takes her keycard and heads down the hall, Autumn trailing behind her.
The room behind the door has two single beds, a TV, a nice large kitchenette with an oven, stove and microwave, and an ensuite bathroom. Nix sits down on one of the beds and sets her purse aside.
"So," she says. "What do you want to do in Slateport?"
Autumn flops onto the other bed. "Lie the fuck down. My bruises have bruises."
Nix smiles slightly. "Alright. You get some rest." She fishes out her first aid kit and passes over a small vial of pills. "Take two of these if you want help with the pain for sleeping."
"Gee, thanks," says Autumn. "Where were those an hour ago?"
Nix flushes. "I, uh, forgot. I'm sorry."
Autumn smiles slightly. "It's alright, I'll live. Thank you anyway. For everything."
"Yeah," says Nix. "You're welcome. I'm going to go check out the contest hall and the open-air market, alright? Catch you in a few hours."
Autumn opens the vial and pulls out two pills. She swallows them dry, then coughs a little, the acrid taste of them burning her throat. Then she lies back into the bed and closes her eyes.
"See you, Nix."
"See you, Autumn."
Slowly, the room drifts away.
State of the buffer: Chapters 6-17 drafted for a total written length of roughly 100k.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 5-13.
Buffer has grown by 3 chapters.
"Hey, rise and shine!", calls Nix, letting herself in by the dorm room door. "I got a bunch of food for Ziggy and Noir and Crimson, and some supplements, and they're having a contest today down at the contest hall!"
Autumn rubs her face and sits up groggily, clutching her side. "You're what? Slow down..."
Nix flops down onto her bed, facing Autumn on the other side of the room. She's changed into a black halter top sometime when Autumn wasn't looking, and her black rose pendant jangles as she drops a bunch of plastic shopping bags onto the bed. "I even got you a Container Ball. As a present."
Autumn pushes her legs over to the side of the bed and turns to face Nix, looking at her with a doubtful expression on her face. "What, seriously?"
"They were on sale," Nix says, "And I thought you'd want something to cheer you up."
"Why do I get the feeling I can't say no to this," Autumn says.
Nix grins. "That's because you don't get to."
Autumn sighs and stands, wincing as the motion pulls at all her scrapes and bruises. "Alright, alright. What's this about a contest today? There's no way I'm competing all banged up like this..."
Nix shakes her head. "I don't want you to compete, I want you to watch. Get familiar with a Normal Contest up close, get an idea of things from the audience side. I can enter and you can cheer me on, yeah? I'll cover your ticket to the place out of my winnings."
Nix brushes her hair back out of her face. "Yeah. I mean, I am a Great Rank competitor. Most of the people at the Normal Rank won't even stand a chance against me."
Autumn picks up her pack from beside her bed and digs through it for her lone Container Ball. "If you say so. How far is it to the contest hall, anyway?"
"Like five minutes' walk, it's right nearby." Nix smiles and fishes through the shopping bag next to her. "Here, catch." She casually tosses a newly-bought container ball at Autumn.
Autumn fumbles the catch, and the ball bounces off her hand, off the bed, and onto the floor. "Hey," she says, "Watch where you're tossing those things, they're expensive!"
Nix runs a hand through her hair. "Sorry." She gets up from her bedside and goes to retrieve the ball. It's a sleek black on top, with an interlocking square pattern.
Autumn walks over to the kitchen as Nix goes and fetches, and unseals Ziggy's food onto the kitchen counter next to the sink. "Ziggy," she calls softly. "Wakey wakey."
Ziggy stirs from where he was sleeping by Autumn's pillow, and hops up down from the bed, scurries across the room, and leaps back up onto the counter by Autumn. Autumn smiles. "Eager as ever." She puts the last remaining quarter of the Poffin she bought yesterday into Ziggy's food bowl, then sways on her feet, lightheaded for a moment.
"I - don't think I'm really in any condition to go anywhere," she says to Nix, and sits down hard on Nix's bed because it's the closest thing to hand.
Nix comes back across the room and firmly places the Container Ball into Autumn's hand. "It's alright," she says. "Take it easy. See if you feel any better once you have some breakfast in you, okay?"
Autumn sighs. "Yeah, I guess. Did you get cereal or anything?"
In reply, Nix reaches back across the bed to her shopping, and pulls out a two liter carton of milk and an eight-pack of mini cereal boxes. "Berry Bites, Toasted Squares, or Ice Flakes? The Cocoa Bombs are mine."
Autumn takes the package and pulls off the clingwrap, busying her unsteady hands with the familiar task. As the boxes separate, she grabs a Berry Bites box off the end mostly at random. "This'll do," she says. "Did you get bowls?"
Nix shakes her head. "Dormitory comes with the basics. Generally the stuff is kept in good repair by the staff." She stands, turns, and starts going through the cupboards. Sure enough, there's mugs, dishes, and a few sturdy earthenware bowls.
Nix gets down a bowl, and reaches out for the packet of Berry Bites. Autumn rolls her eyes, but hands it over, quickly followed by the milk. Nix pours and mixes, and hands back the resulting bowl of cereal to Autumn on the bed.
"Uh, are there any spoons?" Autumn asks.
Nix pulls open a couple kitchen drawers before producing a heavily-ornamented old-style spoon, which she hands back to Autumn. Autumn balances the bowl on her knees and takes small spoonfuls.
"Shall I feed Ziggy?", Nix asks.
Autumn shakes her head and awkwardly makes to stand. "I'll get it - "
Nix sighs. "You can just say no, you don't have to leap up. It's alright, I'll attend to Noir." She fishes out Noir's pokéball from her purse and unseals him out in a flash of fire.
Noir sits obediently at Nix's feet, spade-tipped tail curled up around his haunches. "Doom," he observes.
Nix half-crouches to skritch him behind his horns, then straightens again and pulls out the container ball full of his food. Autumn's attention slips back to her cereal as Nix goes through the everyday motions of feeding her Houndoom.
Eventually, the cereal disappears, and Autumn tries her feet again. Nix is just pouring herself her own bowl of cereal; she half-turns and offers a hand, but Autumn waves it away. Her legs feel a little steadier under her with some food in her.
Ziggy is sitting on the kitchen counter, eyeing Noir's food bowl below speculatively. Autumn smiles slightly and strokes his coarse, stripey fur back along his rotund body. "I'll get to you now, don't fret," she says softly.
The routine motions of feeding Ziggy steady her a little more, and by the time everyone's fed Autumn feels almost human again. She tests her side cautiously, and hisses lowly when her gentle prods produce the expected twinges.
Nix puts her bowl away in the sink, and coughs. "So, that contest is in like an hour. Are you coming or not? I've got to register at least half an hour before the presentations..."
Autumn considers for a long moment, and then nods. "Sure, why not. It'll be fun."
"Alright," Nix says with a smile, adjusting the strap of her purse against her black halter top. "Let's get going."
~*~
"So that's the Contest Hall?", Autumn asks, pointing at a domed amphitheater with a stylized ribbon over the door. A billboard outside is plastered with handbills for HITMONCHAN BOXING and COORDINATOR SARA'S POKEMON PAGEANT and SAMBA WITH THE LUDICROUS LUDICOLO, along with an LCD screen showing events with times next to them. "Normal Rank Contests: 10:00 AM-12:00 AM Tuesday" is at the top of the list.
"Yeah, that's it," Nix says, "And we're just in time. Come on, let's hurry and get you a contest pass."
"Contest pass?" Autumn tilts her head.
"It's like a trainer's license but for participating in contests. There's a nominal fee that goes to the Pokémon Activities Committee, which does the hosting, and then you can attend and participate. At Normal Rank the fee's pretty cheap, just ten pokédollars. It gets a bit pricier at the higher ranks." Nix steps up to the sliding glass doors of the arena and walks on through.
Autumn follows into a room that looks a bit like a theatre lobby, with several desks set up. The room has a few strangers standing around - a broad-shouldered man with a Taillow on his wrist, a slender woman in a green dress feeding sugar water to a Beautifly.
Nix comes up to the main desk, which there's no line for at the moment, and waves slightly to get the clerk's attention. "Hey, I'm here to participate in the Normal Contests today, Cool and Clever divisions. And my friend here needs a Contest Pass." She pulls her trainer license from her purse, along with her payment card and a card with a stylized ribbon on it, and places all three on the desk.
The blonde clerk nods, scans the pass, and taps the payment card against her terminal. "You should be good to go, the preparation area is just in the left back there." She turns to look at Autumn with a customer-service smile. "Your trainer license, please?"
Autumn passes over her license and her payment card, and the clerk scans both and hands them back, along with a Contest Pass. "Here you go."
Autumn puts the cards back into her wallet, and follows Nix as she goes off into the preparation area through a red curtain.
The preparatory area looks like a cross between a lecture hall and a gymnasium; there's a small obstacle course set up at the back of the room, then rows of folding chairs in front of it and a lectern. A Drowzee sits by the obstacle course, its eyes half-closed, and a woman in a pink business suit stands by the lectern. She waves to Nix casually as she comes in. Coordinators and their friends stand around in close groups; a Shroomish with a green bow on its head is pirouetting slowly on two toes for a crowd of three women, a Wurmple is rolling and swinging through the obstacle course using String Shot as a tweenage boy in shorts and a t-shirt follows along and gives commands, and another kid with a ballcap is trying to get his Slakoth to wake up. Nix's gaze flickers through the room and settles on a thirtysomething woman in a purple sweatshirt and her Delcatty, which she's grooming with a broad palm brush.
"Purple sweater's probably the real competition here," Nix stage-whispers, looking over at Autumn. "She's the only one here with an evolved pokémon. Not only that, Delcatty requires a Moon Stone to evolve. The rest of the people here are just kids, you know? But she's got some money and experience. A dedicated Coordinator doing practice, probably. So I'm going to go say hi and ask what divisions she's in. Always good to size up the competition."
Autumn nods, and trails Nix along to the other side of the room, Noir and Ziggy flanking the pair on either side.
The woman in purple looks up as the pair approach; her eyes go to Nix, then to Autumn, then to Noir and Ziggy. Her eyebrows rise. "Hey there," she says, standing and offering a hand. "I'm Mina. And you two are...?"
"Nix and Autumn," Nix says, pointing to each in turn. "And this is my Noir -" she pats Noir's curled horn "- and the Zigzagoon is Ziggy, he's Autumn's."
Mina turns and looks at Autumn, fiddling with an silver and amethyst earring that dangles next to her soft chin. "Nice to meet you, Autumn. Do you mind if I ask what happened?" She gestures at the bandages.
Autumn rubs the back of her neck. "A couple run-ins with a Poochyena with a bad attitude. It's in the care of the Rangers now, thanks to Nix here. She thought that - well, I'm not that good at battles, so maybe Contests would be better for me..." She bites her cheek. "I'm rambling."
"It sounds like you've got quite the story to tell," Mina says, but then her eyes snap back to Nix. "So, what divisions are you going for, Nix?"
Nix smiles slightly. "Cool and Clever. You?"
"Cute and Beautiful." Mina shrugs and bends to continue brushing her Delcatty's amber fur. "Lucky for both of us, huh? Plenty of prizes to go around."
Nix nods. "A shame we won't get to face each other down, but at least there's that." She smiles slightly. "You do Cute though, huh? Autumn was thinking of entering Ziggy here in a Normal Rank contest, just to try it. Cute is probably his best category, don't you think?"
Mina looks over at Ziggy again, then blinks and takes a second look. " - He's got better Sheen than I expected. Can I take a closer look at him?"
Nix looks at Autumn.
Autumn nods. "Go ahead and say hi to the nice lady, Ziggy." She nudges him forwards with her foot.
Ziggy bounces forwards and sneaks in beside the Delcatty, standing up on his hind paws in a begging posture. "Zag," he entreats. "Zigzag!"
Mina smiles a little, and reaches down to stroke Ziggy's fur. "Soft. You keep him brushed?"
Autumn nods. "Every morning and evening. And I get him Solidad's Sweet Berry Bars along with a custom diet."
Mina prods Ziggy's midsection. "He's a little rotund. You might be feeding him a little too well. That's always hard with Zigzagoons, though."
Autumn flushes. "What can I say, he's good at begging and I spoil him a little. I just... He's my only - He's my first and foremost friend. And that matters to me a lot. You know?"
Mina smiles. "Yeah. I know how it is." She strokes her Delcatty's neck ruff with one hand. "Starlight and me have been together forever as well."
"What do you think?", asks Nix. "Could Ziggy win?"
"Well," Mina says quietly, "He's certainly got the Sheen that so many lower rank competitors are lacking, and he has a certain amount of raw charisma in the way he moves. You'd want to put him on a fitness program if you were to bring him to a Great or higher rank contest, but with a little training and a little flair... Yeah, I think he'd have a chance in the Normal Rank." She skritches Ziggy under the chin. "What do you think, little Ziggy? How do you feel about competing?"
"Zig Zag!", chirps Ziggy with a toothy smile.
"Yeah, I thought so," says Mina. "Good luck to you, then." She withdraws her hand and looks over at Autumn. "You're a good friend coming to watch Nix here compete when you're so beat up."
Autumn flushes a little. "I, ah... Well, I wanted to know how the whole thing worked, and - There's no better way than sort of, you know, shadowing her, yeah?"
Mina nods slightly. "That makes sense. Good luck, you two." She turns back to her Delcatty and returns to brushing it.
Nix smiles. "Good luck to you too, Mina." She leads Noir off towards the pink-suited woman at the front of the room, and Autumn and Ziggy trail along behind her.
"Nice to meet you," Nix calls out. "You're this morning's judge?"
The woman adjusts her pink glasses and smiles. "Yes; I'm Alina." She offers a hand to shake, and Nix takes it with a firm grip.
"Nice to meet you," Nix says. "Surprisingly large crowd for a tuesday morning."
"Slateport's pretty large, we get a lot of junior coordinators doing rehearsals." Alina taps a notebook on her lectern and extracts a bedazzled silver pen from its coiled binding. "What categories shall I put you down for?"
"Clever and Cool," Nix replies. "With Noir here for Cool -" she gestures to her Houndoom "- and my Misdreavus Lethia for Clever."
Alina's pen moves against her notebook. "Alright. Do you want to rent any accessories for the presentation phase?"
Nix shakes her head. "I've got my own, thank you." She reaches into her purse and pulls out yet another Container Ball.
"Alright," Alina says, "You know your business. Give the crowd a good show, alright?"
Nix smiles. "Of course." Then she walks over to one of the chairs in the front row of the auditorium and takes a seat; then she pats the chair next to her. "Come sit down, Autumn, it'll be a good while before the contest proper starts."
Autumn comes over and sits next to Nix, the hard metal of the folding chair digging into her back. "There's a lot of people getting ready, huh?"
"Less of a crowd than most times," Nix says. "And a lot of kids, as you can see. I don't expect this'll be much of a challenge, but then overconfidence is an easy way to lose. Not that I'd miss the entry fee that much, but, you know. Got to stay on guard." She smiles slightly.
Autumn looks around at the gathered Coordinators. The crowd seems to be mostly teenagers, with a few scattered adults, some of whom seem to be the parents of the competitors. Nix, her and Mina seem a little bit out of place.
"Is the crowd always this young?", Autumn asks.
Nix smiles slightly. "For Normal Contests, yeah. Most people start their pokémon journeys pretty early, and Normal Contests are the first hurdle for a junior Coordinator. A lot of boys and girls with big dreams. Most of them don't make it, at least not until they grow up a little."
Autumn nods seriously. "But there are some people who excel anyway, right?"
"Yeah, there are prodigies out there," Nix allows, "But most serious coordinators are older. It takes experience and skill to succeed in Contests, and that doesn't happen overnight."
Autumn looks down at her lap. "I see..."
Nix offers her a reassuring smile. "The best time to plant a tree is fifty years ago, the second best time is now."
Autumn sighs and nods. "Yeah. I just... Feel like I'll be catching up forever."
"You have some aptitude for this, I think," Nix says, "You've already been doing the fundamentals just instinctually. I think you'll manage."
Autumn sighs and lies back in her chair. Her gaze slips to Nix's shoulder, then she bites the inside of her cheek and looks away. "Alright."
Nix unseals a pokéball from her purse, and Lethia appears above her in that same puff of purple fog. "Hey," Nix says.
Lethia darts in and licks Nix's cheek, and Nix laughs. "Always the jokester. Do you want to do some drills to kill time, or?"
Lethia shakes her head, and floats down to alight on Nix's lap. Nix runs a hand through her red-tipped hair and smiles slightly. "Nice to see you're doing okay, darling."
Autumn fights down a sudden stab of jealousy, and beckons to Ziggy. "Here, Ziggy," she calls.
Ziggy hops up onto her lap and curls up against her, careful of her bruised side and scraped knees; and for a while, Autumn and Nix sit together, each fussing over their own Pokémon. The backstage area slowly fills up even further, more and more competitors coming in with their own pokémon. Nix watches with sharp eyes as each group comes in, noting and discarding their pokémon.
Eventually, the woman in the pink suit raises her hands over her head and claps three times. "Cool division contest will be held in five minutes! All contestants please gather on the right side of the auditorium and get in line. Friends and family should take their seats in the audience now."
Nix gets up from her seat. "That's my cue," she says. "I've got a contest to win. The door to the main stage's seating is on the right hand side, go get yourself a comfortable seat." She smiles slightly.
"Break a leg," Autumn says softly. Then she shoos Ziggy down from her lap and stands, heading off towards the right-hand door along with a gaggle of anxious parents and well-wishers.
The main auditorium is large compared to the size of the crowd; Autumn gets a seat near the front and sits uneasily on the velvet cushioning. Ziggy hops up onto her shoulder so he can see over the crowd, and settles firmly along the seat back.
There's plenty of room for everyone; though a few people have trickled in for the contest, most of the attendees are from the stage in back, well-wishers and friends of the contestants themselves. The stage is a circular arena not dissimilar from a battle stadium, with a painted line down the middle and a raised dais in the center. Off to one side of the room is a long podium that could seat three people, with LCD screens in front of all the chairs.
Autumn settles in, and tries her best not to worry too much about Nix. The seat is comfortable at least, but the low chatter of the crowd sets her nerves on edge.
After a minute or two, the woman in the pink suit comes out and takes a seat behind the center judging podium. Another staff member emerges from the doorway out to the stage, and beckons.
The tweenage boy with the Wurmple from earlier emerges, forcing a smile to his freckled face as he looks out at the small crowd. The Wurmple is riding on his shoulder wearing a pair of tiny sunglasses; the trainer raises his arm out in front of him, and it spits a string of silk to his hand and swings down into center stage, alighting on its tiny feet with a triumphant bounce and a flounce of its horned pink head.
The audience applauds lightly, and Autumn can't help but smile and clap along. Alina extends a hand from behind her judging table, and the Wurmple shoots another string shot to it, swinging up from the stage and into Alina's hands.
Alina takes a moment, holding the Wurmple in her hands, and then presses a button on her podium. An eight flashes up on the LCD screen.
The tweenage boy pumps his fist and lets out a whoop, grinning widely, and then takes a sweeping bow and walks across the stage. Accepting his Wurmple back from Alina, he passes back into the other wing of the stage and out of the spotlight.
Next up is a teenage girl in black athletic shorts and a T-shirt, her arms wrapped in boxer's tape. A Makuhita in a karate gi stands by her side; he plods out onto the stage with a long, loping stride and stamps his foot heavily, his boxing-gloved hands spread in a power stance. A staff member comes in to the Makuhita's side, and hands over a half-inch thick block of wood to its trainer; she squares up a pace to her Makuhita's right, and holds the block out at arm's length, a little lower so her Makuhita can reach it.
The Makuhita turns, and with one fierce blow smashes the board in half. Then he returns to his steady stance and lets out a fierce "MAK!" that resonates through the hall.
The crowd claps again, and Autumn smiles a little more as she applauds. It's a pretty standard feat for a Fighting-Type, but this girl's got some style.
Alina beckons the Makuhita over, and both he and his trainer approach the stage, the trainer passing off the broken board on the way. After a few minutes of close inspection of the Makuhita and his trainer, she flashes up a nine on her screen.
The trainer hoists her Makuhita's hand in a classic boxer's salute, and the pair of them walk off the stage in the same direction that the boy and his Wurmple went.
Autumn leans forwards a little, Ziggy forgotten for the moment. This feels... more like her speed. And the feats are simple, but - they've got some style to them, and the trainers seem to be having fun...
The next trainer comes out, a twentysomething woman with blue-dyed hair in a long navy dress. She tosses out a pokéball and a Marill appears, its round blue body cute and pudgy. She flashes a thumbs-up at it, and it strikes a fighting stance and sprays a mist of water up from its mouth and into the air, droplets scattering into the front rows. Autumn puts her arm up to shield her face and laughs despite herself. Ziggy shakes his coat out and gives a mournful "Zaaaaag!" from behind her.
The blue-haired woman holds out her arm, and the Marill shoots a jet of water downwards at the stage as it jumps, propelling itself up onto its trainer's arm and landing neatly on her extended hand. The trainer is left more than a little wet, but she smiles hugely. She carries her Marill over to Alina and does a small bow as it hops off her hand to the judging table.
Alina rubs her chin, and finally flashes up a seven on the LCD screen. Autumn nods along - the whole display wasn't really cool so much as it was cute - but she can't help feeling a little disappointed.
The crowd applauds as the woman scoops up her Marill and heads off-stage, and Autumn makes sure to clap especially loudly.
The next up onto the stage is the kid with the ballcap. He licks his lips nervously and tosses out a pokéball, and his Slakoth appears on stage...
"Slakoth, like we practiced!", he calls, but... It looks a lot like his pokémon is sound asleep.
He steps in closer to his pokémon and prods it with his toe. "Slakoth, c'mon, please?"
The pokemon just yawns hugely, and curls up into a ball.
With a sigh, the trainer scoops up his Slakoth into his arms, and carries it over to the judging table. After a cursory inspection, Alina flashes up a five as the boy's score. Autumn winces at the expression in his eyes; she makes sure to applaud loudly as he slinks offstage.
The next competitor comes out, and - it's Nix! Her black hair streaming out behind her, her rose necklace gleaming under the stage lights. She holds a pokeball in her hand, and tosses it out ahead of her with a practiced spin. Noir appears on stage in a burst of flame, his body criss-crossed with a harness covered in spikes; he tosses his head back and howls, and the bone-chilling sound fills the whole auditorium.
Nix half-turns to a staff member and accepts a small pile of skeet discs; she tosses three out in a wide pattern, and Noir spits balls of flame that hit dead center in two out of three - and then the third one he leaps to catch, graceful and lithe, and crushes it between his fangs in mid-leap. All three disks hit the ground within moments of each other, and Noir lands on all fours a moment later. Even before he's hit the ground, Nix is throwing more skeet disks: Noir picks them off one by one with precise Embers, and catches the last one in his mouth delicately in another long leap. Stalking across the stage with an aura of menace and dignity, he offers up the final skeet disc to Nix, who accepts it with a smile. She gestures to Noir to back up; he lopes back across the full length of the arena, and stops at the far side.
Nix holds the disk out at her arm's length, and beckons with her other hand. Noir takes a deep breath, and spits one last time - and the Ember burns a precise hole through the center of the last skeet, scant inches from Nix's fingers. She holds the disc up above her head, showing off the hole in the center, then takes a sweeping bow. Together with Noir, she walks over to the judging table and waits for the verdict.
After a long moment, Alina returns her answer: A nine point five!
Autumn grins. "Go Nix!" She calls, with a wide smile on her face. "You were great!"
Nix meets Autumn's gaze for a moment with a matching smile, then beckons Noir off into the wings.
There are a couple more entrants afterwards, a Lotad and Electrike, but neither of them beat Nix's nine point five.
"The winner is - Nix and her Houndoom, Noir!" Alina calls out. "Come forwards and receive your prize for the Cool Category, Nix!"
Nix steps forwards from the wings again, and accepts a small red ribbon and what looks like a lunchbox. "Compliments of the Slateport Pokemon Activities Committee," says Alina. "Enjoy your winnings! There will be a fifteen-minute break and then we'll go on to the Cute round."
Autumn waves from her seat in front, and Nix comes down from the stage, Noir padding after her.
"So," Nix says. "What do you think about the Contest format?"
Autumn leans out of her seat with a big smile. "I think that - It's actually really nice? You get to see people show off, and it really seems like everyone's having a good time, and the crowd applauds everyone even the people who don't succeed..." She sighs. "The kid with the Slakoth I feel a little bad for, but I guess they can't all be winners."
"Reminds you a little of yourself?" Nix raises an eyebrow.
Autumn winces. "Yeah, a little."
"In that case, why don't we go see him and try and cheer him up a little between rounds?"
Autumn shakes her head. "You - really are like this with everyone, aren't you?"
Nix smiles slightly. "Kindness is free, and I can't help but want to help people. I just... want to pass it on, you know? People have been good to me, so I want to be good to people."
"Kind of an odd quality for a goth," Autumn observes.
"You maybe haven't met that many goths," Nix replies. "But yeah. So do you want to talk to the kid or not?"
Autumn shakes her head. "I don't want to get out of this chair, to be honest with you."
"Totally understandable," Nix says. "Alright, I'll go see what I can do on my own. Have a nice time, alright? Next up is the Cute round, so maybe keep an eye on Mina and see what she does."
Autumn leans back in her chair. "Yeah. I'm... Maybe thinking a little about what I might do if I tried." She looks down at the box in Nix's hands. "So what's that you have there? Your prizes?"
Nix nods. "A sampler of berries and an expensive premium bottled water. There's, like, a sponsorship with the Activities Committee for the water. It's all just woo and branding, but a lot of trainers eat that up, especially when they're trying to do their best for their pokémon..." She shrugs. "It's water, how high quality can it be?"
Autumn laughs. "Yeah, I get what you're saying."
Nix smiles as well, and reaches out to pet Ziggy on the back of Autumn's chair. "So are you having fun?"
"Yeah," says Autumn. "This was a good idea. Thank you."
"It's nothing," Nix replies. "Just keep in mind that you can do this too, you know?"
Autumn nods a little, and lies back in her chair. "Alright. You'd better go catch that trainer before they vanish into the hills."
"Yeah," says Nix. "See you in the Clever round, alright?"
Autumn nods. "See you."
State of the buffer:
Book 1 of Zigzagging Through Hoenn has been completed in 18 chapters, with a total wordcount of 99,395 words.
Book 2 is now underway, with one chapter completed; Book 2 wordcount is around 10k. So the buffer is chapters 7-19.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 6-17.
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After a few minutes of waiting with Ziggy, Alina comes back out in her pink business suit and sits at the judging table once again.
"We'll be starting the Cute competition in a few moments," she says. "Thank you all for your patience waiting!"
She gestures towards the back curtain, and the staff member beckons forwards the next trainer. It's a young woman in a lavender dress with a Swablu perched on her shoulder, its blue ear tufts tied together with a pink ribbon. She gestures forwards and the Swablu darts out into the middle of the stage, making a little loop-de-loop and alighting on its feet at the middle of the stage. It opens its mouth and trills softly, a simple birdsong melody that bounces and lilts. Its tiny body sways from side to side as it serenades the room. After perhaps a minute of song, it hops back up onto its trainer's arm and takes a tiny bow.
Autumn claps along with the rest of the audience, and looks over at Alina at the judges' station. She considers for a moment, and then an eight flashes up on her screen.
The trainer curtseys, the curls of her long brown hair half-falling over her eyes, and walks off-stage.
The next trainer up is a boy in a t-shirt with a stylized lightning bolt on it. He throws a pokéball out onto stage, and an extremely fluffy Mareep appears, its yellow wool enshrouding its body and almost covering its eyes.
The Trainer comes across the stage, flops to his knees, and just hugs his extremely fluffy pokémon, burying his face in its soft curls. The Mareep coos and snuggles in against him, and the audience lets out a collective "Awwwwwwwwww."
The trainer stands up and looks over at the judge, and Alina flashes up a seven on her screen. The boy rubs the back of his head with a wry smile, and escorts his Mareep off to the side of the stage.
The next contestant up is Mina in her squashy purple sweater, her Delcatty loping along gracefully at her side. She waves to the crowd with one hand, a wide smile on her face, and turns to the staff member in the back and says something softly.
The staff member nods, and adjusts a small panel at the back of the room. The stage lights dim a little, and a spotlight hits Mina's Delcatty, picking out her neck ruff and her long ear tufts. Starlight comes up to center stage with an exaggerated swagger of her hips, her whole body and neck moving together in a stylish lope; then she sits down in the center, and a translucent bell appears in the air next to her, chiming out in a simple melody. A backing drumbeat and soft guitar comes over the speakers, and Starlight opens her mouth and begins to croon along. The bell's bright tones and her mellow, soft voice fill the auditorium, echoing over the seats and filling the air with soft music.
Autumn sways a little in her seat, lulled by the song. The soft silences between notes feel hushed and expectant.
As Starlight continues, stars form around her body and fall gently to the stage floor, disappearing as they touch it with little flares of light. She ends the song on a drawn-out aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh, all her stars winking out at once, and makes a little bow to the audience from her haunches. Then she stands up, the stage lights coming up again, and walks back to Mina's side.
A roar of applause thunders through the hall and fills the entire space, and Autumn finds her voice raised in a cheer. "Yeah, Mina! Mina and Starlight!"
Ziggy raises his voice as well. "Zigzagooon!"
All eyes turn to the judge - and Alina flashes up the score. A perfect ten. Mina waves to the crowd with a huge smile, and leads Starlight off to the side of the stage.
Needless to say, none of the other competitors come close to touching Mina's score. She accepts her box of winnings at the end of the competition with good grace, smiling to the crowd and taking a sweeping bow. Autumn sits back in her chair and waits for the next competition with a smile on her face, reaching up to the headrest of her chair to pet her Ziggy. There's no sign of Nix - probably she's getting ready for the next competition? It's Clever next, so she'll get to see Lethia on stage soon. She can't wait to see what tricks the competitors have in store for this one.
The break passes quickly, and the first competitor comes out with a smile on his face. It's a man in a getup that looks like wizard robes, his greying hair slicked back, a pokéball in one hand. He floats the pokéball out onto the stage, and clicks the button telekinetically.
Autumn blinks and leans in. She's never seen a psychic trainer in person before.
A Kadabra appears on stage, its yellow body and large tail almost as big as its trainer's. It accepts a skeet disc from its trainer, and tosses it out across the arena - only to vanish in an instant, and catch it on the other side of the arena. With a flicker of psychic energy, it keeps tossing the disc back and forth - playing catch with itself. After a half-dozen tosses and catches, the Kadabra catches the disk an inch away from its hand, flips it up onto one bony finger, and spins it telekinetically on its edge until it shatters down the middle with a sharp pop. The kadabra takes a bow as shards of disk rain down around it, and its Trainer bows with it. Then they turn to look at the judge's table.
Alina flashes up a score - nine point five!
Autumn claps wholeheartedly as the trainer and his Kadabra step off stage, smiling despite herself. That's going to be a hard act for Nix and Lethia to beat!
Next up is Nix. She throws out her pokéball, and Lethia fades into existence in a puff of purple fog. The stage lights dim again, and a heavy, thudding drumbeat comes over the sound system. A ring of purple flames flickers into existence around Lethia, each kindling a few moments after the next, shrouding the hall in an ominous glow. Lethia moans lowly, the sound sending shivers down Autumn's neck, and begins to dance with the fire, disappearing and reappearing into the shadows, Ghost energy shrouding her then pulling back to reveal her. A series of low moans and shrieks echo through the hall in time with the drums as Lethia performs her eldritch dance, her shadowy body often coming within inches of the spluttering flames.
Ziggy hops down into Autumn's lap, and she hugs him close.
Lethia slows, the drumbeat building with high violin screeches, and lets out an unearthly wail as the flames flick in and alight amid her hair, crowning her with fire to match the ruby necklace at her throat. Then, all at once, the flames go out, and Lethia disappears.
Autumn takes a shaky breath as the stage lights come up, her heart in her throat, and lets out a little laugh - then puts her hands together for Nix and Lethia's spectacularly creepy performance. Her gaze goes to Alina -
Who flashes up a ten for Nix!
"Yeah, Nix!" Autumn whoops. Nix looks over at her and gives her a salute as she walks off stage.
The rest of the contestants don't match up to Nix, or even the older man with his Kadabra. And so, for the second time, Nix accepts her winnings and comes down to talk to Autumn in the break.
"Hey," she says softly. "How'd you like Lethia?"
Autumn smiles. "She was awful! I, uh, mean that in a nice way. It was really creepy. You've clearly practiced a lot. I didn't know Misdreavus could conjure fire like that."
Nix smiles. "It's a recent investment for Great Rank competitions; I had to get a use of a Technical Machine and everything."
Autumn whistles. "Aren't they supposed to be really expensive?"
"Yeah," says Nix. "It's what I put most of my Great Rank winnings towards. Fortunately Will-O-Wisp is one of the cheaper TMs."
Autumn nods seriously. "That makes sense."
"So do you want to stick around for the Tough and Beauty contests, or do you want to head out now?", asks Nix. "I think you've gotten a good idea of what the competition is like."
Autumn smiles. "It seems really fun! I would have to - come up with an actual act, you know - but I kind of want to enter anyway. Maybe in a few weeks when I'm healed up and Ziggy's had a chance to practice a bit. Did you talk to that kid?"
Nix shakes her head. "He'd already left by the time I got backstage again. It's a shame. Maybe we'll see him around some other time."
"Oh well," says Autumn. "You can't help everyone."
Nix sighs slightly. "Can't help trying anyway. So are we staying or going?"
Autumn levers herself up from her seat. "I think I want to head back to the hotel, actually. I want to get started working on a routine for Ziggy!"
Nix laughs. "Well aren't you enthusiastic."
Autumn looks at Nix seriously. "This - could genuinely be my chance, you know? A chance to be - more than just a useless battler."
Nix nods back, equally solemn. "Alright. In that case, let's go get to work." She offers a hand to Autumn.
Autumn takes it, and Ziggy hops back up onto her shoulder as she gets up. "There should be a practice area back at the trainers' dorms, right? We can go use that."
Nix nods. "Yeah, I'll show you the way."
And off they go together.
~*~
The practice area at the trainers' dorms is a large courtyard with an oak tree in one corner. The left-hand side is a small battle arena with the regulation pokéball lines; the right-hand side is an asphalt pad with a jungle gym and a small obstacle course. A pair of trainers are squared up in the arena, two boys with spiky hair and rumpled clothes; A Seviper and a Zangoose are going at it as they shout encouragement and commands. A Nuzleaf hangs from the jungle gym, doing pull-ups that touch its pointed nose to the top bar as a muscled woman counts off the reps. A teenage boy is running his Plusle through the obstacle course, the yellow pokemon darting and turning with Quick Attack-powered leaps.
"Looks like the place is full up," says Nix. "I expected it to be busy, but it's only Tuesday, and I thought people would be at lunch..." She sighs. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see if it clears up. Want to go back to our room and eat while we wait? I think there's a reservation list we can put our names on." She cranes her neck and points out a blackboard at the back of the courtyard. "Over there," she says.
Autumn and Nix walk around the edges of the courtyard to the blackboard, and check the schedule. It looks like today is full up until four P.M.
"Should I put our names down?", asks Nix.
Autumn nods. "For the obstacle course, I think."
"That makes sense as a starting place," says Nix. "And I think there's a couple things we could practice in our rooms too. Have you got something to throw for Ziggy to catch?"
Autumn shakes her head. "There was no room in my pack for a frisbee, though I do play catch with Ziggy now and then."
"I guess you can use mine," says Nix. "I'll put our names down." She writes in her name and Autumn's with the chalk. "For now, food?"
Autumn nods. "We can talk about what we're planning to do with Ziggy's routine over lunch."
The unfamiliar hallways of the dorm pass quickly, and then Nix produces her card key and Autumn gets the dorm room door. She sits down heavily on her bed inside, her breath a little ragged, and sets her pack down on the floor. "Ow," she says.
"I know you're excited," says Nix, "But it's okay, you can take your time."
"You know, I really wish I hadn't left that lemonade back at the other hotel right now," says Autumn. "I was in such a rush to get out before the gangers did something..."
Nix laughs. "The oddest things stick, huh? Well, it's not too late for me to get you another one."
"Please don't," says Autumn. "I don't want you to spend any more on me than you already have."
"We're splitting the bill for the groceries, right?", asks Nix. "I can do this week and you can do next week, assuming we're still hanging around here then."
"I think we will be," says Autumn. "I... Need some time to rest and heal, you said so yourself."
"Finally realizing you've got some limits?", teases Nix.
"I guess." Autumn lies back onto the bed and closes her eyes. "I could just go to sleep right about now, honestly. Everything aches."
"I'm glad I at least got you out of the dorm for the contest," says Nix, tapping her violet nails against the counter. "But I think a nap now could be sensible. You need to recover, and we'll be doing Ziggy's routine in a couple hours... But first you should get some food into you. What do you want? I got bread, cold cuts, cheese, and a bell pepper, plus some pizza pockets and some replacement fruit. There's more ramen in my bag too."
"Please, no," groans Autumn.
Nix's mouth curves up. "For some reason I didn't think you'd be too into the ramen option. Okay, so, pizza pocket, sandwich, what?"
"Pizza pocket," Autumn says. "It's something at least."
Nix nods, and pulls the pizza pockets out of the dorm room freezer. Opening the box, she pulls one out of its shrink wrapping, drops it onto a plate from the cupboard, and sticks the whole thing in the microwave.
"I think Ziggy probably needs to eat something too," Nix says. "Didn't you say you try to feed him five times a day?"
Autumn rubs her face. "Yeah. And I try to actually prepare food for him and not just do stasised meals, usually, but..." She sits up with a wince, and digs in her pack for the Container Ball with Ziggy's stasised food bowl. "For today, I think we're going to work with the premade stuff again. If you wanted to give him another one of your fruits..."
Nix nods. "Yeah, I'll handle it."
Autumn sighs. "I guess I can trust you." She extends the container ball just as the microwave beeps.
"Here, I'll trade you." Nix passes over the newly-nuked pizza pocket in return for the container ball. "Eat. Get some rest."
Ziggy hops up onto the counter next to Nix, his eyes shining with anticipation.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to you," says Nix, stroking Ziggy's back softly. "First I've got to feed myself, alright?"
Autumn smiles slightly and takes a bite out of her pizza pocket... Then another, and another. The whole thing vanishes in only a few moments, despite the hot cheese filling.
Nix doesn't notice; she's preparing a sandwich with the cheese and cold cuts from the fridge. Autumn sets her cheese-stained plate down on her bedside table, and pulls the covers over herself.
"Night," she says quietly to Nix.
"Have a good rest," Nix replies with a glance over her shoulder. "See you at four."
Autumn closes her eyes, and sleep takes her.
~*~
"Zig! Zigzag!"
Autumn opens her eyes blearily to Ziggy sitting on her chest. "Ugh, yes, what is it...?"
She sits up blearily, rubbing her eyes.
"Welcome back to the land of the waking," says Nix from the bed next to her. She looks like she's touched up her lipstick and eyeshadow since the last time Autumn saw her, her lips re-dyed in their usual violet.
Autumn takes an unsteady breath. "It's four already?", she asks.
"Ten to," says Nix. "Weren't we going to work on that routine for Ziggy?"
Autumn sighs. "That... Ugh."
"Come on, there's a nice bench over at the courtyard, you won't even have to stand," Nix wheedles. "Come on, you know this would be good for you."
Autumn sighs. "You're not my mom, Nix."
"I know, but you have a habit of treating yourself poorly. Come on, get up, get moving." She claps her hands together three times. "Up and at them."
Autumn groggily kicks her legs off the bed and stands, Ziggy hopping down at her feet. "Fine," she says. "But under protest."
Nix smiles encouragingly. "You were all for this a few hours ago. Come on, you'll warm up to it, I know you will." She picks up her purse from on the counter and goes over to the dorm room door. "I'm waiting."
Autumn rolls her eyes and follows, Ziggy bouncing along beside her. "You don't need to say it a half-dozen times, I'm coming."
The pair walk through the halls together and out to the courtyard, passing the staff Machop coming the other way with an armful of towels. The battle arena isn't in use at the moment, but there's a Wingull and a Taillow darting around the jungle gym playing tag as their trainer watches from the nearby bench.
Autumn gives Nix a Look, but steps over to the obstacle course and crouches down to stroke Ziggy's back. "Alright," she says. "We were going to practice a routine of some kind."
"Yeah," says Nix. "The obvious thing to start with is agility training, yeah? You've played fetch with Ziggy before, right?" She unseals her frisbee from her purse and passes it over to Autumn. "Just start with the basics. Toss, catch. Practice with the obstacle course in the way, it'll look more impressive if Ziggy does some flying leaps off things."
Autumn takes the frisbee reluctantly. "Alright," she says. "Ziggy?"
Ziggy hops up onto one of the lower obstacles. "Zig zag!", he calls.
Autumn smiles slightly, and tosses the frisbee in a low arc. Ziggy leaps and grabs it with his mouth, then drops down onto the ground in a power stance. "Zag!" he calls, dropping the frisbee.
Nix beckons; Ziggy picks the frisbee up in his front paws and walks it over.
"There," she says. "That wasn't too hard, now, was it?"
Autumn sighs, and looks over at the occupied bench. "I guess not," she days. She crouches with a wince and accepts the frisbee back. "Again?"
Ziggy hops back up onto the obstacle and yips. "Zig zig!"
Autumn half-smiles, and tosses the frisbee again. Ziggy does another long leap off the obstacle he's atop, and catches the frisbee - only to find himself headed straight for an upright wall further down the course.
Ziggy twists in the air, and hits the wall paws-first, frisbee still in his mouth - but his attempted leap off the wall is uncontrolled, and sends him tumbling end over end into the ground.
"Ziggy!" Autumn's voice catches, and she runs over to where he landed.
Ziggy pops up onto all fours and wags his tail, the frisbee still in his mouth.
Autumn exhales. "You're okay?"
Ziggy nods quickly and takes the frisbee out of his mouth. "Zig zag!", he proclaims.
"Alright," Autumn says, accepting the frisbee back. "Look before you leap next time, alright?"
Ziggy nods, and scurries back across the obstacle course to hop up onto the low block again. "Zig!" He raises his paws in the air as if to catch the frisbee.
"Alright, alright," says Autumn. And she tosses the disc again.
Nix smiles from the side of the asphalt pad as Ziggy makes another long leap. "You're doing well," she says softly. "Just keep trying! We've got a whole hour and this will hardly be the only practice session, so you can take your time."
Autumn nods, and smiles a little to herself as she accepts the disc back from Ziggy. "Alright. I'll try to stick with it."
Despite everything, Autumn finds her pain falling away a little as she gets into the meditative rhythm of throwing and retrieving. Her side still hitches every time she tosses, and her scraped up knees are starting to burn from crouching to retrieve the disc from Ziggy, but somehow it seems faraway.
Ziggy has a couple more minor accidents, bumping into obstacles or landing in ungainly ways, but every time he pops up again good as new. It gets a little easier to see him fall after the third or fourth time in a row.
"Are you okay?", she asks for the sixth time, as Ziggy picks himself up from running almost headfirst into the same wall.
Ziggy gives her an eyeroll, and hops up to the top of the wall with the frisbee in his mouth. Autumn accepts it back with a small sigh and a stroke of his head. He doesn't seem to mind at all.
"Pokemon are made of tougher stuff than humans," says Nix from where she's sitting perched atop another low wall. "It's just less of a problem for them to roughouse a bit. They can still get hurt, sure, but - in a lot of ways they're built for a tough existence. You don't have to worry so much."
Autumn sighs, her mind flicking back to the image of Ziggy fallen at the Poochyena's feet, his blood staining the ground. "I... Still don't think that I could ever have Ziggy battle... But it's enough for right now to see that he's okay, that the practice isn't hurting him, that... he's alright."
"I mean," Nix says. "He probably does have a bruise or two, but look at yourself!" She smiles slightly. "You're here pushing yourself despite your arms, your knees and your side. So maybe let Ziggy push himself a little too, huh? Or else take the same care of yourself that you take of Ziggy."
Autumn ducks her head. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It's just... easier to care about Ziggy."
"People you care about are always easier than yourself," says Nix. She inspects her violet nails. "You could say I'm still learning that lesson."
"Miss 'A couple weeks in Slateport don't mean too much to me.'" Autumn rolls her eyes at Nix. "Come off it."
"No, really, they don't!" Nix blushes slightly. "It genuinely doesn't matter much to me where I go so long as they host contests there. You're interesting, and... Helping others is its own reward, to me." She recrosses her legs at the knee, bouncing her right foot in midair while the left stays flat on the ground. "And I like you, you've got guts. You punted that Poochyena when it hurt your Ziggy, you thought fast and called me when those gangers threatened you, you care so much about being kind to your pokémon..." She looks away. "I just think someone like you deserves a chance in the world. A real chance."
Autumn smiles slightly, a little bit of a blush tingeing her cheeks as well. "Flatterer. You're the one who actually kept me safe and sound through everything, and you're still here meddling. I just..." She looks down at Ziggy. "For some reason I don't want you to stop. I guess I just... had to admit I needed help."
"It must have been hard when everyone who tried to 'help' you wanted you to train Ziggy to fight," says Nix. "It's a natural mistake to make, I think... But you and Ziggy can do so much more than that."
Autumn nods, not sure of what to say. "I..." She sighs. "I've thanked you so many times already."
"It's alright," says Nix softly. "I forgive you."
"Forgive me?" Autumn raises an eyebrow.
"For apologizing too much." Nix's lips quirk up. "Now throw the damn frisbee, Ziggy's been staring at you for five minutes now."
Autumn laughs, half-turns, and flicks the frisbee out again. Ziggy leaps off his block, grabs the frisbee in midair and heads right for another small obstacle further down the path -
Autumn closes her eyes, bracing for the crash -
"Oh, you wonderful thing, you!" comes Nix's voice from beside Autumn. She looks back -
Ziggy's landed atop of the other obstacle, the frisbee still in his mouth. His tail wags behind him and he looks over at Autumn with a smug expression.
Autumn exhales. "Good boy," she says. "Good Ziggy."
~*~
A few minutes later, Autumn flops back into her bed at the dorm room, exhausted and sore but triumphant.
"I can't believe Ziggy made that jump," she says to herself.
Nix sits on the other bed and smiles. "Just goes to show that pokémon can surprise you. And I think it's largely down to... a lot of little things. Ziggy wanting to do well for you. The diet you have him on. Most of all, all the catch practice you did growing up with him. I think that you could put together a real routine with him without too much trouble, one that would impress the judges at least for a Normal contest. You've seen the quality of most of the presentations at the low levels. I know you can beat that if you try."
Autumn lays her head back onto the pillow. "Yeah," she says. "I think we really could."
"Something to think about," says Nix. "So what do you want to do with your evening?"
Autumn sighs. "Probably sleep, to be honest with you. Just tossing the frisbee was more than enough of a workout for me."
"Alright," says Nix. "Probably for the best not to stress yourself too much. Any plans for tomorrow?"
Autumn rubs her face blearily. "Uh, more practice, maybe some sightseeing... I don't know what there is in Slateport at all."
"Well," says Nix. "There's the open-air market and the Oceanic Museum, either of those would be good for sightseeing. I've been meaning to go visit the market proper, I've heard they sell some rare things there, but, well... I kind of wanted to do that with you."
Autumn nods. "Maybe we can talk about that tomorrow, then. Figure something out. I don't know if my knees will be up to it, but... I can give it a try, at least."
Nix nods. "We can figure it out in the morning. For now, you'd better get some rest."
"Yeah," says Autumn. "And... ugh, I need to shower and change my dressings, I should've done that earlier this morning but there's really no excuse to not do it now."
Nix ducks into the bathroom and pulls out a towel, which she tosses into Autumn's lap. "Go," she says. "Get yourself cleaned up. Do you need my first aid kit for more gauze?"
Autumn shakes her head. "No, it's okay, I've got some in my pack." She levers herself up off the bed with a groan and drags her pack into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Nix goes over to the kitchen, and makes herself a coffee.
~*~
A few minutes later, a mostly-dry Autumn reappears from the bathroom, wearing a deep blue t-shirt and a matching thigh-length skirt patterned with white leaves. Her messy brown hair's been gathered behind her face and put in a scrunchie, and thick gauze pads cover her elbows and forearms.
Nix looks over from the kitchen and smiles. "You look a lot better," she says. "Much less beat up, and that blouse you had on earlier wasn't exactly flattering. I think it was too big for you. Want me to take those jeans of yours for mending?"
Autumn sighs and sits down on the bed. "I already bought a replacement pair, thanks. Are you going to be up for much longer?"
Nix smiles slightly. "I didn't get a very good sleep last night either, so I don't think so. I'll want the washroom for a couple minutes to take off my makeup before bed, but after that I think I'll turn in."
"Alright," says Autumn, laying back into bed again and putting her head on the pillow. "Goodnight, Nix."
"Goodnight, Autumn."
Autumn pulls up the covers and closes her eyes. A little time passes, and then the lights flick out.
Sleep comes not long after.
One of my housemates caught covid, so I've been isolating this week and progress has been slow.
I managed to grind out a chapter, but it was definitely not an easy week.
I'm still in isolation as of writing this A/N; this next week like like it'll be difficult as well.
Hopefully we'll get back to full pace soon and keep adding to the buffer.
That said: State of the buffer:
Book 2 wordcount is around 15k; The buffer is chapters 8-20.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 7-19.
Buffer has held steady.
Autumn wakes to the twingeing of her knee and side, and sits up in the darkened room. The blinds are drawn, but a little light comes though anyway; it must be after sunrise.
Nix is lying asleep in bed, her top and jeans neatly folded on the bedside table next to her, her boots lying on the floor below.
Quietly, Autumn gets up and paces over to the kitchen. She opens the fridge, blinks as the light comes on in her face, and gets out the carton of milk. Looking around, she finds the remains of the eight pack of cereal on the counter, and pulls one of the Berry Bites boxes off the end. It's this cupboard over here that has the bowls, right? And the spoons are... over here.
She pours herself cereal, then leans against the counter and crunches away contentedly as she waits for Nix to wake up.
It doesn't take too long; between the lightening of the room and her quiet movements, Nix stirs and eventually sits up in bed, blinking away sleep. The covers shift and expose her black lacy bra to the sunlight, and Autumn looks down at her cereal, biting her inner lip.
Nix stretches, and then looks over at Autumn. "Oh," she says muzzily. "You're up already." She reaches over to the side table and picks up her halter top. "Give me just a second here."
Autumn turns around and focuses on her cereal as the sounds of rustling blankets and shifting cloth come from behind her, a flush on her face for some damn stupid reason. She's just a girl like you it's nothing you haven't seen before -
"Autumn?" Nix's voice is quiet.
She half-turns guiltily. "Uh, yeah?"
Nix looks at Autumn for a moment with a searching expression, then shakes her head. "- could you pour me a bowl of cereal?"
"Yeah," Autumn says. "You want the other choco bombs?"
"Mhm," says Nix. "Thanks."
Autumn turns away and busies herself with the cereal.
"So," says Nix a few moments later. "What do you want to do today? There's a lot to see in Slateport, but I would hardly blame you if you wanted to spend the day in bed."
Autumn blushes a little more for some damn reason and sets the bowl aside. Looking in the fridge, she looks at the cuts of meat that Nix's bought. Sure enough, she's bought a few chicken breasts, and her cases of berries are in here as well.
"I don't know," says Autumn. "I don't know Slateport. What is there to see?"
"Well," says Nix, "There's the Oceanic Museum, but that's more of a touristy thing. The Pokémon Fan Club's headquarters is here too, and there's a Battle Tent, though I doubt you'd be interested in that... I think the real primary attraction is the open-air market."
Autumn pulls the chicken breasts out of the fridge along with one of the bell peppers, and takes the biggest knife she can get from the knife block in the dorm. Setting them all on the counter, she takes a moment to search for a cutting board. "Oh?"
"Yeah, Slateport's got the largest open-air market in Hoenn. They sell fresh seaweed and all sorts of odd items. There's a pokémon pharmacy and a lot of specialty shops. Some of it's junk, some of it's useful. I think it'd be a nice thing to spend the day on." Nix steps up to the counter next to Autumn, now fully-clothed save for her socks, and picks up her bowl of cereal. "Of course, that depends on you being willing to walk around a bunch in a crowded market. The oceanic museum might be more your speed, it's supposed to be small."
Autumn puts the bell pepper on the cutting board. "What's the oceanic museum supposed to be like?"
Nix takes a bite of her cereal and thinks for a moment. "It's supposed to be about the sea and the history of Slateport. Lots of models of ships, samples of water from across several regions, this kind of thing. I heard it had an expansion a while ago to put in an aquarium wing with a mix of sea animals and pokémon."
Autumn shakes her head. "I think I'm more interested in the market. Maybe they'll have someone who can repair my tent."
"I wouldn't hold your breath," says Nix. "That's more of a camping-store thing. But we can certainly go look and see."
Autumn juliennes the bell pepper, her knife moving easily on the cutting board as she cuts it into long strips, then cuts the strips in half. "When does the market open?"
Nix scoops another spoonful of choco bombs into her face, then sets down the bowl and fiddles with her pokétch. She swallows and sighs. "I wish I could afford something with a bigger screen. That TM was more important than a proper phone, but... I still regret that every now and then still. Give me a second." She prods and taps at the tiny screen, squinting to try to read the text on the face of the watch. "- looks like it opens at nine, we've got an hour or so before we should walk over. You sure you're up for a day of walking?"
Autumn looks over at Nix and smiles slightly. "It's better than sitting around all day feeling useless while I recover. I might regret it, but -" she shrugs "- I don't think that's a reason not to try."
"Alright," says Nix. "Then let's get through breakfast, and maybe we'll see if we can snag some time on the obstacle course this morning as well if we have spare time." She returns to her cereal, crunching away contentedly.
Autumn takes out one of the chicken breasts out of its packaging, and puts a pan on the stove. Working with practiced motions, she cuts down the chicken breast into thin strips as well. "Did you get any oil or cooking spray?", she asks Nix.
"There's canola oil in the pantry," Nix replies, setting down her empty bowl of cereal. "And if you want some spices on that I have a bottle of Castelia chicken rub in my purse."
Autumn shakes her head. "I've got my own spice tin in my pack, thank you. Ziggy?" She looks back across the room to where Ziggy is still lying on the bed.
The Zigzagoon raises his head and lets out a little yawn. "Zag?" He looks around at the dorm room, then hops down off the bed, disappearing from view behind Nix's bed. "Zig zag!" There's a rustle, then the sound of a zipper being pulled and more rustling; a few minutes later, Ziggy pops up triumphantly onto Nix's bed, a small tin labelled "Calivera's Paldean Seasoning" in his mouth. He stops at the edge of the bed and holds up the can.
Autumn steps over, takes the can and gives Ziggy a skritch behind his ear tufts. "Good boy," she says with a smile. Then she turns back to her work. Getting out a small bowl, she puts a small measure of the spices in and tosses the chicken and some of the julienned pepper together in the bowl; then the dips into the pantry for the oil, and greases the pan with it. Turning on the gas, she listens to the tick-tick-tick of the sparker, followed by the familiar whumph of the gas igniting.
Tossing the pepper and the chicken into the pan, she starts sautéing them together, moving the pan with little motions of her wrist and using a turner from the kitchen drawer to make sure the chicken strips brown on all sides.
"You're pretty good at this," says Nix. "You must have quite a bit of practice."
"Yeah," says Autumn. "I've been cooking for Ziggy for - basically ever since I got him. I'm not exactly a chef or anything but I have the basics down."
Ziggy stays on the bed, listening to the crackle of his meal in the pan. "Zag," he says approvingly. "Zigzagoon."
Nix goes and grabs her purse, and takes out Crimson and Noir's pokéballs. "I should feed my team too," she says. "There's not enough room in here for Crimson, though. I'll have to take him outside to the courtyard. You okay to manage alone for a bit?", she asks Autumn.
"Yeah," says Autumn. "I'm alright. I've got my Ziggy."
"Alright, then I'll see you in like thirty minutes." Nix sits down on the bed again and starts putting on her socks.
Autumn nods. "See you." She turns back to her breakfast preparations, and doesn't look back when the sound of the room's door closing comes from behind her.
~*~
A couple hours later, Nix and Autumn arrive at the edge of the open-air market, Ziggy scampering along at Autumn's feet, Nix following with her purse slung over her shoulder. The market square is a large fenced-in area filled with stalls, with colorful awnings over each one. They back onto a row of more permanent shops, in particular a large pharmacy with rows of drugs and supplements visible through the window. Trainers and Pokémon crowd the area, going from stall to stall in small groups.
Just from the entrance, Autumn can see stalls selling fresh seaweed, berries and preserves, handmade jewelry, and scarves and harnesses for pokémon. There's a stall with a Medicham and their trainer offering pokémon translation services and partnership counseling, a stall with a life-size Snorlax plushie against the back wall amid many hundreds of smaller plushies, and a stall with a Snorunt selling berry smoothies, onion rings and hot dogs. There's a wide variety of people as well. Tweenage trainers crowd the plushie store and the smoothie stall, mostly with local pokémon like Oddishes and Electrikes by their sides. A thirty-something couple are haggling with the woman who runs the jewelery store, a Plusle on the man's shoulder and a Minun on the woman's; a Machoke's just brought a new pallet of seaweed to the seaweed stall, and is handing it over to the Lombre handling the register. A tall woman in a purple blouse passes, arm in arm with her Gardevoir as the two of them carry on a quiet conversation.
Autumn has to pause for a moment to take it all in - there's a lot to process. "Uh, Nix?" She looks over at her.
"Yeah?" Nix asks.
"I've never actually been in a crowd this big before." She rubs the back of her head. "Can you stick close? I feel a lot safer with you here with me."
"Yeah, that was always the plan." Nix smiles slightly. She takes a few steps off to the side so she's not obstructing traffic. "I guess this is your first time in the big city, huh? Well, stick by me. Where do you want to go? General exploring?"
Autumn takes the hint, and walks over next to Nix. "I kind of want to check out the plushie store, and if we're going to do contests some accessories for Ziggy wouldn't go amiss. Have you been here before?"
Nix nods. "Yeah, this is where I got that Will-O-Wisp TM for Lethia. I had to order it specially, but there's a TM shop here in the stores at the back. That's worth checking out just for general ideas. The pharmacy's worth checking out, they have a specialist on site who can make medicines from berries you provide. There's also a camping shop that might be able to repair that tent of yours, though it's not their main line - they mostly deal with furniture and decorations for longer term camps. And there's one shop I want to point out if they're still in business just because I think it's an amusing thing to sell."
Autumn smiles slightly. "Sounds like you know the place well."
Nix shrugs. "Well, all of this is several months out of date. A lot of the stalls come and go, it's a living market. I just expect that these places will have stuck around - they're higher-end, kind of anchor shops, you know?"
Autumn nods. "Alright. So where to first?"
"The plushie shop's only going to get more crowded over the next few hours, so if you want anything from there I'd say hit there first."
"Well, I'd like to check it out at least." Autumn looks off into the crowd after the woman and her Gardevoir. "I could've sworn I saw a woman with a Gardevoir who - " She bites her cheek. "It looked like they were a couple?"
Nix raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, that does happen sometimes. Never seen it in your little town, huh?"
Autumn shakes her head. "No, not at all."
"It's most common with psychic-types, for obvious reasons," says Nix, "and Gardevoirs in particular have something of a reputation. Similar bodyplan, plus the species' instincts are strongly inclined to protectiveness of those they work with..." She smiles slightly. "- what do you know about the Pokémon equality act?"
"The what?" Autumn blinks.
"- okay, so, obviously most pokémon are pretty smart, yeah?" Nix tilts her head. "But they have language difficulties, and instincts, and half of them aren't even bipedal or on the same scale as humans. So in practice, working pokémon have a trainer that interfaces with human society and makes sure their needs are taken care of. Pokémon don't have to handle money, manage their own shelter, or generally manage their own lives; trainers do all that for them."
"Yeah, I'm with you on that." Autumn tilts her head.
"But properly-trained psychics and psychic-types can communicate with both humans and pokémon. It takes some skill at psychic contact and some training, but it's possible." Nix crosses her arms.
"Huh. Okay. And...?"
"And you know a lot of pokémon work together with their trainers to do mundane tasks - that it is possible to explain to a pokémon with the proper body-plan how to haul loads, man a cash register, or otherwise do a job. A lot of pokémon are actually employed like that by their trainers, particularly in the mining and nursing industries."
"- so you're saying that some of those pokémon would, what, rather work for themselves?" Autumn raises an eyebrow.
"Some of them, yes." Nix's lips curve up slightly. "Turns out that there's a significant minority among pokémon who are willing to work with humans but don't want to be owned and controlled by someone. Some of them are pokémon who had poor previous trainers, some of them are just independently-inclined. But a few specific species - among them Gardevoirs - are actively lobbying for the sake of their fellow pokémon to be able to determine the courses of their own lives. And so you get the pokémon equality act. It's really recent - hasn't been signed into law yet - but it's looking like it might be. It recognizes some pokémon - mostly humanoid-shaped Psychic-types - as having the ability to pass a life-competence test that would give them the rights of a human citizen. If it passes, the next thing will probably be extending it to the Chansey and Machop evolutionary lines, because they're prominent in nursing and the workforce specifically and they're both humanoid enough that they're broadly able to function in human society with translators."
"Huh." Autumn crosses her arms. "So where does that leave that woman and her Gardevoir?"
"Well, if the law passes then the Gardevoir will be able to take a competency test and then she's treated as if she's a human." Nix smiles slightly. "But until then... it's legally murky. Pokémon aren't generally considered capable of consenting to romantic relationships, and the body plan differences squick a lot of people, so there's stigma too. I think people want there to be one obvious blanket rule that covers all pokémon, but pokémon are so diverse that in practice any simple rule doesn't serve them well. So while it's technically illegal to be in a relationship with a Gardevoir, in practice the law's not enforced for that species unless the cops have a beef with you for other reasons."
Autumn frowns. "Kind of a weird system."
"You know humans, they do the right thing after trying everything else." Nix rolls her eyes. "Anyway, I wasn't here to give you a breakdown on civil rights advances. Shopping?"
Autumn nods. "Shopping."
"Plushies first, then?"
"Yeah," says Autumn. She looks down at Ziggy. "You know, probably for the best if you ride on my shoulder, Ziggy. I wouldn't want someone to step on you."
Ziggy nods, and hops up onto Autumn's shoulder with a practiced bound. "Zag!" he says, looking over at the plushie shop.
"We're going, we're going." Autumn looks over at Nix and smiles slightly. "After you."
Nix nods, and starts off into the crowd, leading the way towards the plushies. Autumn follows a few strides behind.
The crowd around the plushie shop has a few spaces in it still; Nix and Autumn find a small section of the display where they can stand in close and peruse the display. There's dozens of hand-size plushies, a few larger ones that are more the size of two or three hands together, and then safe behind the counter there are the truly giant ones, ranging from Eevee and Pikachu plushies bigger than Autumn's head to the actual-size Snorlax. Almost all of them are pokémon, but a few mundane animals are sorted in as well, and the traditional plushie made to imitate the Substitute move is available in all three sizes.
The hand-sized plushies seem a little small, so Autumn looks at the medium ones - there's Eevee and Vulpix and Pikachu, of course, sitting neatly in the front row, and then behind them there's Marill and Jigglypuff and Wynaut, and behind them there's even more pokémon and a single plushie of a mundane eagle.
Autumn picks up the plush Vulpix. The tails are really soft and fluffy, and the ears are cute, and the tuft on the head is soft too... She turns it over in her hands, squeezing it gently to get a sense of its firmness. It seems pretty soft and nice...
Ziggy chirrups from her shoulder. "Zag!"
"A little envious?" Autumn asks.
Ziggy pauses, then gives an affirmative "zag", sounding crestfallen.
"You're better than any plushie, Ziggy, you know that. But it would be nice to have something to snuggle at night." Autumn sets the plushie back in its place in the stall, and picks up the Marill plushie. It's satisfyingly round, a real chonker of a plushie. The ball tail on its long thin zigzag seems a little delicate, though...
Autumn looks over at Nix. "Any of these you like?", she asks.
Nix shakes her head. "None of these are really my style. Maybe if they had a Gastly or Gengar in the medium size, but these are all too cute for me." She looks back over at Autumn, stepping in close to the stall to let a teenage boy pass. "Are you finding anything?"
Autumn looks back at the Vulpix plushie, and picks it up again. "I kind of like this one, it's cute. I like its little ears." She smiles slightly. Her fingers trace along its back, feeling for the tag. When she finds it, it's heart-shaped; inside, it says "Ember, the Vulpix."
"Ember, huh?" Autumn looks the Vulpix in its little plushie eyes. "Cute name for a cute little lady." She looks down and frowns at the price tag. "Not sure I can afford you, expensive little lady. You're a plushie, why are you fifty pokédollars?"
Nix sighs, and takes the Vulpix plushie from Autumn. "I'll buy her if you want her. It's not a major expense to me, one of those berries I got from the contest resells for that much."
Autumn looks away. It feels surprisingly hard to admit she wants it. "I - Yeah, I'd like her. If you're... okay with that." She sighs. "I just keep owing you more, don't I?"
Nix smiles slightly. "You can pay me back when you win your contest, alright? I'll take a berry in exchange. Deal?"
Autumn smiles uncertainly. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." She reaches up and takes Ziggy off her shoulder. "You okay with that?"
Ziggy considers for a moment, then nods to Autumn. "Zag."
Autumn smiles, and puts him back up on her shoulder. "Alright then." She nods to Nix.
Nix produces her payment card from her purse, and flags down the vendor, who's a twentysomething guy in glasses and a pokéball-insignia bandana. "I'd like to buy this for Autumn here," she says, holding up the vulpix plushie.
The vendor smiles broadly and produces the payment terminal. "Thanks for the purchase! Ember's a cute one, isn't she? I hope she brings you two comfort and happiness in the future. Do you want a bag for her?"
Nix taps her card, and looks over at Autumn. "Do you want a bag or do you want to just carry her?"
Autumn takes a moment to answer. "I - I'll hug her, I think. I can always get a bag from another store if I need to."
Nix nods. "Alright. No bag, then." She puts her card back in her purse, and passes the plushie over to Autumn. "Do you want to keep calling her Ember, or give her a new name?"
"Are we even sure she's a girl?" Autumn smiles slightly.
"Good question," says Nix. "What do you think?"
Autumn considers for a moment. "... No, I think she's a girl. It just feels right. Ember is a little on the nose, though... Any suggestions for another name?"
"Lightfoot? Sparky? Cuddlefox?" Nix shrugs. "If all else fails you can just call her Vulpix, enough trainers do that with actual pokémon that it wouldn't be that weird." She steps away from the stall. "We shouldn't stand around and take up space - walk and talk."
Autumn nods and follows. "I like Lightfoot, but it feels a little too much like a human name. Sparky doesn't feel like it has dignity. Cuddlefox is... descriptive, I guess, but not really a name." She considers. "Maybe something like Dancer or Whisper."
"I mean, it being kind of human isn't necessarily a downside." Nix walks over to a bench in the thoroughfare and gestures for Autumn to sit. "You should stay off your feet if you can, it's going to be a lot of walking to cover the whole market."
Autumn rolls her eyes, but sits. She hugs the plushie close to her body, the motion familiar from many hugs of Ziggy. "She's cute." She skritches behind one of the plushie's ears softly. "Maybe... Flicker?"
Nix smiles. "Flicker sounds good to me."
Autumn nods and strokes the plushie's ear tuft. "Flicker, then." She runs a hand through the soft plush tails and smiles. "Thank you for Flicker, Nix."
Nix blushes slightly. "I - It's nothing. I already got you that container ball, and I barely even thought about that. A plushie's not so much more, you know?"
"Still," says Autumn. "I appreciate her." She tucks Flicker in under her arm and stands again with a creak of her scraped up knees. "Alright, where to next?"
"There's the accessories store here, and then the pharmacy and the other anchor shops - the camping place and the TM dealer, and the secret special surprise." Nix waggles her eyebrows. "Accessories first?"
Autumn nods. "Yeah, accessories first." She looks around, getting her bearings again in the crowd, and points. "Over there."
Nix nods, and the pair head off through the crowd. There's more space here - fewer people are stopping to check out the accessories, and it's still pretty early in the morning. "Hey there," hails the vendor, a thirtysomething woman in a sunhat and a long green dress. "What are you two looking to buy?"
Nix looks back at Autumn. "Do you have anything that'd fit her Zigzagoon?" she asks.
"Let me see," says the vendor, peering at Ziggy. "I've got sunglasses in that size, and a few scarves that are one size fits all and very in fashion right now, and some custom corsages that you could clip to one of her ear tufts."
Autumn frowns slightly. "Ziggy's a boy," she says. "But show me these corsages."
"Oh, my apologies," says the dealer. "One moment." She spins a small rotating display behind her, and pulls off a cluster of three small poppies. "Try this on, it's a simple clip." She hands it over to Autumn.
Autumn takes the corsage, and Ziggy hops down onto the counter between her and the vendor. She clips the corsage to Ziggy's ear tuft, and snugs it into place.
Taking a step back, Autumn clicks her tongue, and Ziggy turns to face her. The little cluster of flowers sits right above his face, a little above and to the left. It looks...
"That's actually really cute," says Nix. "As if Ziggy could get any more adorable."
Autumn smiles. "Yeah. It's a nice little splash of color. How much for the corsage?"
The vendor looks at her seriously. "Fifteen pokédollars."
Autumn pauses for a moment, then nods. "Yeah, that's reasonable. I'll take it." She fishes her payment card out of her wallet, awkwardly shifting the plushie she's holding below her other arm. "Here you go."
The vendor produces the terminal, and Autumn taps her card. "Anything else?", the vendor asks.
Autumn looks at the shop. "Do you want anything, Nix? I'm satisfied with this."
Nix shakes her head. "Nah, I've already got a full wardrobe for my team. It's really easy to just keep buying more accessories, but that's a dangerous road to go down."
Autumn nods. "Alright, that makes sense." She skritches Ziggy behind his corsaged ear. "Let's get going."
"Pharmacy, TM shop, camping store...?" Nix asks.
Autumn taps her chin. "Probably the camping store is our best bet. Even if they were selling a TM we wanted, would we be able to buy it? And I don't need any medicine for Ziggy right now, I'm stocked."
Nix nods. "Alright, let's head there next then." She turns on her heel and starts off into the crowd, and Autumn follows through the stalls.
More stores pass to either side of them. A dealer in rare mushrooms, a clothing store with Pikachu onesies, a store tucked away in a corner that sells incense...
"Do you see that 'incense' shop over there?" asks Nix. "I wanted to point it out to you."
Autumn follows along. "Yeah, I see it. What about it?"
"Well, go have a look at the price tags on some of those incense sticks." Nix halfsmiles.
Autumn raises an eyebrow, and goes and looks at the display case. The tags are -
"Holy shit," Autumn says out of the side of her mouth. "These incenses cost more than a TM use! You can't tell me people actually buy those?"
Nix laughs. "Yeah, they really do. I'll tell you the secret on the way to the camping store."
Autumn steps away from the display. "Alright, hit me."
"Those 'incenses' -" Nix makes air quotes "- are actually made of concentrated pokémon pheromones from a variety of species. They get pokémon of the right species all het up."
"You mean, like -" Autumn cuts herself off.
"Precisely. Fortunately none of the species that produce pheromones like that are humanoid - things are complicated enough as it is - but for some specific species incense like that's considered invaluable to breeders for - producing live births, let's put it that way. Which matters because they have a pre-evolved form that only live-birthed pokemon express. That's where Munchlaxes come from."
Autumn gives Nix a pained look. "Did you really have to explain all that to me?"
"I mean," says Nix, "It's the way of the world, you know? You said you've never been to the big city before, so it's my job to educate you about the kinds of things 'everybody knows.'" She smiles slightly.
"I'm not sure I can take this many facts about the intimate lives of pokémon," grumbles Autumn. "Can't you at least pick a better topic?"
Nix laughs. "Sure. Did you know there's a trend among teenage trainers on their Journeys to set up semi-permanent camps out in the wilds? That's what the camping store we're going to serves, primarily. People excavate small caves with their pokémon, build tree houses, all kinds of wacky stuff. Naturally the kids call them 'secret bases.'" Nix rolls her eyes. "Most of them are just a collection of whatever the trainer thinks is cool and can afford in some random out of the way corner, but some of them get used by clubs or friend groups, and some of those have gone on to become bona-fide Ranger stations after being inspected for safety by the Ranger Authority. The shoddier kinds of camps are sometimes shut down by the Rangers for impinging on pokémon territories and so on, but if the camp's kept clean, maintained well, and well-placed, it usually passes inspection or even goes genuinely unfound."
"Huh," says Autumn. "That's news to me."
"I mean, where do you even come from again?" Nix tilts her head.
"Oldale Town."
"Yeah, that explains it. That's not exactly the most thriving community, even if it is near the Regional Lab." Nix points out the camping store. "That's where we're going, do you see it? The place with the big mat with a music note on it hanging from a clothesline."
"Yeah, I see it," says Autumn. "What's up with that?"
"It's a mat that plays a musical note when you step on it. Kids love 'em, they like to set up narrow corridors into their bases that play a tune as you walk." Nix shrugs. "No accounting for taste, I guess."
Autumn smiles slightly. "Sounds like fun."
"I think you'd get tired of it after a while," says Nix. "But come on, let's have a look around."
The shop takes up a full block of the stores, the space that usually four or five shops would fit into. Instead there's a wide array of folding camp chairs, collapsible tables, and assorted foam blocks, posters, and floor mats. Autumn steps over to the pile of posters and goes through them slowly - there are scrolls depicting Groudon and Kogyre, various prints of individual pokémon, and some natural landscapes and calligraphy scrolls. None of them really catch her eye, so she moves along and goes over to where Nix is inspecting a locked wire dispenser of Container Balls.
"Keep it up and you'll need a container ball to keep all your container balls in," Autumn says to Nix. "How do you even keep track of all those things, anyway? Do they just rattle around loose in your purse next to your wallet and first aid kit?"
Nix smiles slightly. "Not at all." She extends her purse to Autumn. "Want to have a look?"
Autumn tucks her plushie in underneath her shoulder, and accepts Nix's purse for a moment. Flipping back the flap, she looks inside. Along the outer side near the top there's four rows of six small pouches; the first row holds Nix's pokéballs for Noir, Crimson and Lethia, shrunk to ping-pong ball size, and the remaining three rows hold similarly minimized Container Balls. Nix's wallet and little first aid kit sit in the bottom of the purse, atop a folded-up map, a travel compass, and a small package of water purification tablets.
"It's a trainer's purse," says Nix. "Cheap next to the container balls themselves. Do you want one? I bet you'll be able to fill up those slots just fine when you win a couple contests." She gestures to the packs hanging up on the rack at the other side of the store, which range the gamut from simple brown hiker's packs to small kids' backpacks stylized as Marills and Smoochums. There's a small section at one end with smaller leather bags and satchels that are more the size of Nix's purse.
Autumn looks at the dorky Smoochum pack with its kissmark pattern, and then glances down at Nix's fingernails, which are almost the same color. "Maybe you should get that Smoochum pack," she says. "It'd really complete your look."
Nix laughs. "I think my current purse is a little more my style. Seriously though, want to have a look at the trainer's bags? You really shouldn't have to lug around that giant pack everywhere." She extends a hand for her purse; Autumn hands it back, and Nix slings it back over her shoulder.
"My pack has a little pouch near the top that'll fit a couple container balls, and... I don't really think I'm going to be able to get everything into Containers anytime soon."
"Consider it aspirational," Nix says. "It's something to look forwards to."
Autumn shakes her head. "What am I going to do, haul around both my pack and a purse for months while I'm winning a bunch of contests? It's just not practical right now."
"I don't think it'll take that long," says Nix.
"Wanna bet?" Autumn looks at Nix with an air of challenge.
Nix looks over at Autumn. "Hm. Yeah, I think I do want to bet. If you win a Great Rank contest - the prize money for which would cover most of the Containers you'd need to fill a purse - by the end of the month, I'll buy you the purse to put it all in myself."
"No bet," says Autumn. "I can barely imagine winning a Normal Rank contest right now. I'm not going to bet you the price of a purse against that."
Nix sighs. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I really do want to get you one though."
Autumn shakes her head. "I can accept the plushie, but getting me high quality trainer gear is just - Please, don't."
Nix nods. "If it makes you uncomfortable it's alright, I won't press. I guess we'll just have to focus on getting you up and winning contests." She smiles slightly.
"Yeah, I guess." Autumn looks away, crossing her arms. "What do you think, Ziggy?"
Ziggy nods a little. "Zig zag." He hops off Autumn's shoulder and makes a four-point landing with his head raised, as if catching an invisible frisbee. "Zag!"
"Yeah, I have every confidence in Ziggy," says Nix. "Bring a real routine with him and I think you'll win easily."
Autumn crouches down and picks Ziggy back up. "Please don't make a scene in the shop," she says.
"Zag..." Ziggy shakes his head, the little corsage over his ear trembling. "Zigzagoon." He settles back in onto Autumn's shoulder.
Nix looks over at Autumn. "How are your legs doing, by the way?"
Autumn rubs the back of her head. "You don't have to fuss over me like that, I'm fine."
Nix gives Autumn a serious look. "Really?"
"Yeah. My scrapes ache and all, but the worst bit is my side, and I'm not lugging that heavy pack around anymore so it's doing okay." Autumn passes her plushie across her body, hugging Flicker in against her. "I'm okay for a few more shops at least."
Nix checks her pokétch. "It's already been almost an hour. Want to get lunch before the rush happens? There's the smoothie stand, and I know there's a place that sells sushi rolls and onigiri down at the other end of the market."
Autumn smiles slightly. "I think I'd like to absorb the atmosphere a little more, and it's a little early for lunch anyway. Let's go down to the sushi stand, and if we see anything else interesting on the way over we can see about that."
"Weren't you going to ask about your ripped tent and your foul weather gear too?" asks Nix. "It'd be silly to leave here without even asking about what we came here for in the first place."
"Oh! Yeah, thank you," says Autumn. "I got so caught up in all the sights and sounds I almost forgot. Let me go flag down the clerk." She goes over to the counter and raises a hand timidly, looking over at the burly, bearded man who seems to run the store. "Um, excuse me?"
The man turns and smiles at her. "Hello there, missus. What do you need help with today?"
"I have a tent and some foul weather gear that got torn up by a Poochyena with a bad attitude," Autumn says. "Do you do repairs at all here?"
The bearded man shakes his head. "We only sell new gear, but I know someone who does that kind of repair work for a decent price. I can give you a pokétch number to call, if that would be helpful?"
Autumn sets Flicker down on the counter and readies her smartwatch. "That would be really helpful, thank you."
The clerk rattles off a number, and Autumn punches it into her pokétch. "Tell them Sojiro from Secret Base sent you," he says.
"I'll try to remember," says Autumn. "Thank you for your help."
"It's no trouble," says Sojiro. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Autumn looks over at Nix. "Are you buying anything?"
Nix shakes her head. "No, I think I'm good for now. Thanks for your help, Sojiro."
Sojiro nods. "You're welcome," he says gruffly, and he turns away to attend to another customer.
Autumn picks Flicker back up off the counter, and steps out of the camping shop, looking around the concourse between the stalls. "So which way to this sushi stand?" she asks.
"This way," Nix says, stepping out ahead of her, and the pair of them walk onwards into the market together. They pass stalls selling caricatures and sketch commissions, small sculptures, and yukatas. At one stall, a man in a leather smock and his Numel are bending silver wire into people's names, each length of wire bent with pliers by the man and then the end heated and drawn out into a long pin with the help of the Numel's blowtorch-like breath. Across the way there's a small café selling fresh cookies, strudel and coffee. Nix walks on, focused on where she's going as Autumn rubbernecks behind her.
Eventually, the sushi stand comes into view, and Autumn and Nix pause a few feet away. "What do you want?" Nix asks Autumn.
"Uh, salmon onigiri and a Castelia roll. Is there anywhere to sit?" Autumn cranes her neck a little.
Nix points at a small bench and trash can off to one side. "Over there. It's a good thing we're in good time, I don't think you'd be able to juggle Flicker and eat at the same time."
Autumn nods, and pulls a small bill out of her wallet and passes it over to Nix. "Here."
Nix looks down at the bill, then nods as if to herself and looks over at the stand. "I'll go order, you go get us a seat."
"Alright," says Autumn, and she heads over to the bench and sits, setting Flicker down on the bench beside her. Ziggy hops off her shoulder and onto Autumn's lap with a little "Zag!", and Autumn leans back and exhales a little.
It's already been another big day. She's never seen this many shops before, and there's obviously a lot to explore... It's a far cry from the little pokémart that she's spent the last three years stocking and managing the till at.
She skritches Ziggy softly behind his corsage, and smiles down at him softly. "I wasn't expecting this to be much fun, but..." She draws her hand down Ziggy's back. "It's actually really great."
"Zag," Ziggy says softly, and nestles in against Autumn's side.
Nix comes over a moment later with boxes of sushi stacked up in her arms, and sits next to Autumn. She settles the boxes carefully in her lap and passes two over to Autumn - one contains a pair of onigiri, each of the triangular rice balls almost as big as Autumn's palm. Beneath them is a smaller box containing a Castelia roll, artificial crab stuffed into the rice next to a green wedge of avocado. Autumn shoos Ziggy off her lap and settles the boxes down carefully.
Nix reaches into her purse and pulls out the chopsticks the vendor gave her. "Here," she says, passing over one of the disposable pairs. Then she slips out one of her container balls from her purse, resizes it to its full tennis-ball size, and pauses. There's no space on the small bench for her to unseal anything.
With a little sigh, Nix sizes the container ball down again. "I guess I'll just have to use disposable chopsticks," she says, and tucks it back into her purse. Shifting the boxes of sushi in her lap, she opens one of the onigiri boxes and picks up the rice ball by the tab of seaweed holding it together.
"What kind of onigiri?", Autumn asks.
"Tuna," says Nix, and takes a big bite.
Autumn smiles, and opens her own onigiri - only to find Ziggy looking up at her with a pleading expression. She sighs. "You know rice is no good for you, Ziggy. We'll get something for you when we're finished, there's no space for all of us at once."
Ziggy lowers his head with a crestfallen expression, and sits down atop Autumn's foot, laying his head against her leg. Autumn smiles slightly, and takes a bite.
Autumn and Nix eat together in silence for a few minutes, watching the people go back and forth around them. Autumn finishes her onigiri, and breaks out her chopsticks to work on her Castelia roll, while Nix crunches away softly at the tempura shrimp inside her Dynamax roll. And all around them, the market hustles and bustles, trainers coming and going.
"So," says Nix, finally setting down her chopsticks. "What do you want to do now? I don't have any more specific shops I want to get to, but we could wander around a little more, see what there is to see. Maybe get a caricature or something." She shrugs, and reaches over to the garbage can and tosses out her plastic sushi boxes.
Autumn shakes her head, and passes over her sushi boxes as well. "I think that if we wander around randomly, we're going to blow my budget. And I really don't want you to buy more things for me. I still feel alright, I'm not sore from walking around... Probably best to quit while we're ahead. And I don't trust any of these fairground vendors to prepare something for my Ziggy that'll be healthy for him." She picks up her Vulpix plushie again, bringing it over into her lap.
Ziggy looks up at her with an affronted expression. "Zag zag!", he says. He gets up on his back paws, and then very deliberately stomps his foot. "Zaaaaag!"
Autumn looks at Nix. "- I think Ziggy wants to get tasty food too."
"I mean, it's only fair if we've had sushi," says Nix. "Once won't kill him."
Autumn rolls her eyes. "Yeah, that's how he's gotten this round. But I guess you're right, once won't kill him." She slips Flicker in under her right arm and beckons Ziggy up into her lap again.
Ziggy bounces up into Autumn's lap, then onto her shoulder. "Zig zag," he says smugly.
"Don't let it go to your head," says Autumn. "I could always change my mind."
"Zag." Ziggy's tone is flat.
"Alright, alright." Autumn stands, and looks around. There are a few other food stands in view - one selling mini donuts and poffins, another that Autumn can't see the sign for. "Nix, do you know any places that do good pokémon food around here?"
Nix nods, and stands herself. "There's a stand halfway down the main walk that does pretty good stuff - fruit salads, charcuterie, that kind of thing. We'd better hurry over though, it's going to be really busy."
Autumn turns and orients herself. "- this way?" She points back the way they came.
"Yeah, right direction. I'll point it out when we get closer." Nix slips her purse back onto her shoulder, tucking away her chopsticks inside it, and follows Autumn onwards.
The pokéfood stand is pretty obvious - it's got a huge foam pokéball on a skewer for a sign, and a whole cluster of small tables next to it. The line's already a dozen people deep.
Nix looks at Autumn. "Do you want to order, or? I don't want to force you to stand in line."
Autumn sighs. "Standing and walking around is alright, it's bending that's the problem." She pats Ziggy on her shoulder. "What do you want?"
Ziggy points at the second item on the large menu board - a mixed platter with a fruit bowl and cheese and sausage slices.
Autumn bites her lip. "Cheese isn't that great for you either, but I guess it'll be alright this once." She pulls her wallet out and gets in line, and Nix steps up beside her.
"So, how's the market been?", Nix asks.
Autumn squeezes her plushie under her arm. "Better than I expected, honestly. The crowds are still a little scary, but - they've got a kind of energy to them too, a hustle and bustle. It feels like things are going on, you know? I hardly even feel tired, despite everything."
"Yeah, crowds can have an energy all their own," Nix replies. "They're a real part of contest life, so I'm glad you get the appeal. I was worried you'd find them tiring."
Autumn shakes her head. "I mean, I don't know what it'd be like seeing all this energy directed at me, but it's definitely getting... easier." She smiles a little. "And Ziggy got a really nice corsage, and I got Flicker and a lead on my tent... It feels like the visit's been pretty productive, as well as pretty fun."
Nix reaches out and skritches Flicker's fluffy foxlike head, stroking her ear tufts where she nestles in Autumn's arms. "Have you ever thought of actually getting a Vulpix?"
Autumn shakes her head. "They only live way off to the east, near Mt. Pyre. I've never had the chance to get out that far, and besides, I've heard they're pretty strong. And I don't have the money to buy a young one off a breeder." She strokes behind Flicker's ears as well. "And besides, I've heard they take a lot of looking after. I don't want to take on a pokémon I can't take good care of."
Nix nods. "Makes sense if you're having trouble just looking after Ziggy right now. Maybe when you have some contest wins, hm?"
Autumn shakes her head. "I'd have to pass through Mauville to get there, or else go cross-country. It's just not really feasible." She hugs Flicker close. "A plushie is fine for now."
"Alright," says Nix, and looks up at the line. They're getting fairly close to the window now. "I like the corsage you got for Ziggy."
Autumn smiles. "It really suits him, don't you think? A secret contest weapon." She gets out her wallet from her jeans pocket and steps up to the window, looking in at the man inside, who's wearing a tight cap to keep his long hair out of the food. "Hey there, I'd like a combo two for my Ziggy? And two lime sodas."
The man smiles, and accepts her card. A moment later, he hands over a clamshell container and two codd-necked bottles. "Here you go."
Autumn accepts the bottles and the clamshell, and takes her card back. "Thank you!" She looks over at where Nix was a moment ago - but she's already gone and grabbed a table. Autumn hurries after her, and Ziggy hops off her shoulder and onto the table, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Autumn smiles slightly, and sets down the container and opens it. As Ziggy digs in messily, she turns to Nix and hands her her soda. "So, you really think Ziggy can win?"
Nix nods. "Mina knows the category, and she thinks you can win. And she won't be competing in every contest - that's an easy way to tire the crowd and stop winning. You've got a look for Ziggy, you've got the beginnings of a routine... I think he'll do fine. You certainly won't embarrass yourself." She pushes the marble into her bottle's pinched neck with the attached plastic tab, and takes a swig. Then she looks over at Ziggy, who's emerged from the clamshell with fruit juice all over his face. "Well that was fast," she says with a little smile. "Finished already?"
Ziggy licks his lips and grins. "Zag!" His tail thumps against the table firmly.
"Alright, let's head home," says Autumn. "I want to see if I can reserve another slot for more catch practice this evening."
"You're probably too late already," says Nix, "But it's certainly a good idea to try. Let's get going." She stands again, and lifts her soda towards Autumn. "Cheers."
Autumn clinks her bottle against Nix's. "Cheers."
~*~
An hour or so later, Autumn sits heavily on her bed in the dorm room, breathing heavily. She sighs, and sets Flicker down next to her. "Yeah," she says, "I totally forgot about the walk back. I want to lie down for several centuries."
Nix sits on the bed opposite her with a slight smile. "Not so eager to do catch practice tonight anymore, are you?"
"Yeah. I'm glad I didn't stay out any longer." Autumn reaches down and rubs her scraped shin, and winces slightly. "I think I'm done for today."
"Totally fine," says Nix. "I think we can call that a success. I've got routines to practice - shall I give you the room till after supper?"
"Yeah, that would be really great," Autumn says. "I'm going to take a fucking nap." She flops back onto the bed, then groans, sits up and starts undoing the laces on her boots. "Don't wait up for me."
Nix nods and smiles slightly. "See you in a few hours," she says.
Still was in covid lockdown for part of this week, but progress has managed to pick up a little again. Hopefully next week we'll be back to expanding the buffer. State of the buffer:
Book 2 wordcount is around 25k; The buffer is chapters 9-21.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 8-20.
Buffer has held steady.
A few hours later, Autumn is awoken by Nix coming back into the dorm room.
"Sorry!", says Nix quickly when she sees that Autumn's eyes have slipped open again. "Did I - you were sleeping."
Autumn sits up again, holding her Vulpix plushie close. "It's okay," she says. "What time is it, even?"
Nix checks her pokétch. "Just before supper."
Autumn gets up from her bed, leaving Flicker and Ziggy behind, and goes over to the fridge. Grabbing some of the cold cuts, she gets out the bread as well and starts making herself a sandwich. "Did your training with your team go well?"
Nix frowns. "This dorm doesn't really have the space for Noir to practice his routine properly. It's a bit of a mess. Normally I'd get better accommodations, but..." She looks over at Autumn. "Well, it can't be helped."
Autumn bites the inside of her cheek. "I... Yeah."
"You're not about to thank me again, are you?" Nix's tone is sharp.
Autumn shakes her head. "No, I don't - I - yeah I totally was." She rubs the back of her head. "Anyway. Were there any slots open for the obstacle course?"
"Not today," says Nix, "but I was able to reserve a slot tomorrow afternoon. I hope you don't mind that I snagged it."
Autumn shakes her head. "Not at all. Do you want to talk about Ziggy's routine a little more? I think we have the basics down now - doing catch as the routine, using the corsage as an accessory and making sure to groom him well to preserve the sheen of his coat..."
Nix nods. "Yeah, I think we have the fundamentals down. There's still a couple little points, though..." She looks over at Autumn. "Those bangs and scrapes of yours are a little unsightly. You might get pity points from the crowd for being visibly banged up, but for a proper routine you want to have a - stage persona. For me it's the black everything and the violet nail polish; for you it should be something that goes with Ziggy's corsage and feels - pretty, cute, elegant - you know."
Autumn bites her lip. "I don't really have any nice clothes on me... Well, except the festival yukata my mother made me pack for some damn reason. It doesn't even fit me anymore, but she insisted and it wasn't a good idea to argue."
Nix nods. "I understand completely. It's still - maybe something possible to alter, if we put in some effort. I would offer to buy you something, but... It's better if we can get by with what we already have."
Autumn turns around from the counter and goes across the room to her pack, where she digs through a mess of coats and supplies to finally extract the festival yukata from the bottom of her pack and lay it out on the bed. It's a beautiful garment, thin cotton embroidered with a pattern of wisteria blossoms that goes from shoulder to calf. Autumn holds it up against herself; sure enough, the sleeves and hem are a little short.
"Let me see that a little closer," says Nix, reaching out for the yukata. Autumn hands it over, and Nix gathers the material in her hands and looks down at the hem. "There's plenty of material here in the hem," she says. "I could let this out for you, I know enough about sewing to not botch it."
Autumn tilts her head. "Do you think I'd really look good in it?"
Nix smiles. "I think you'd be beautiful in it, with a few alterations." She lays it down on the bed. "That's the matter of costume probably settled. We still need to go through my ball capsule collection and pick out some effects, though."
Autumn nods, and takes a bite out of her newly-made sandwich. "Mmm," she says through a mouthful of bread, then swallows. "Show me?"
Nix slips out a container ball from her purse, and unseals it onto the kitchen counter. A small bin of translucent blue capsules appears, nestled into Noir's contest harness and a larger bin of accessories.
She picks up the bin of capsules, and resizes one out to its full tennis-ball width. "Behold," she says. "A ball capsule. I'm not sure what effect this one is, they're kind of all jumbled together in the bin..." She shrugs. "One way to find out." She picks up the Container Ball that held the bin of accessories, and clasps the ball capsule around it firmly, locking it in place. Then she reseals the bin of accessories - and when she unseals it again, it appears in a puff of white smoke.
"There, see?" Nix asks. "That works. We can go through and test everything pretty easily from here. You still have that Container Ball I got you, right?"
"Yeah," says Autumn. "It's in my pack." She picks up her sandwich and her plate and goes back across the room to her bag. With a little fishing around inside, she produces the container ball from the morning, and passes it back to Nix.
"Have you thought about what you'd like to use this container ball for?" asks Nix.
"Well," says Autumn. "... Do they have change rooms at the contest hall?"
"They do," says Nix. "Why?"
"Well," Autumn says. "I wouldn't want the yukata to get dirty on the way over, and... Honestly I'm just shy. I don't want to wander around in public in costume."
Nix nods thoughtfully. "I guess you could use it to store a change of clothes. We could even get you some proper geta then, which would help with the look. And maybe a hair accessory, something that would go thematically with Ziggy's corsage? I know we could pick that up at the market."
Autumn nods nervously. "That... I don't want you to buy anything expensive for me, but I should be able to cover a hair ornament and a pair of shoes..." She looks at the Container Ball in Nix's hands, biting her inner lip. "- yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Assuming you can alter the yukata so it fits me, I mean."
Nix nods. "Alright. I'll work on letting down the yukata tomorrow, and we can see how things go. In the meantime, let's test out these ball capsules."
Autumn nods. "Alright."
Together the two girls start going through the stack, unsealing and resealing accessories from the bin with their container balls, changing the ball capsule each time. With a few minutes' work, they find a ball capsule that makes a scatter of pink petals, and another one that makes swirls of pink ribbon - along with a large variety of flashing lights, smoke, and star winks.
"I think I like the petals one best," says Autumn. "It matches Ziggy's corsage, and would go with the whole - flower theme we're starting to work with, here."
Nix nods. "I agree. The ribbons are cute as well, but they fit Ziggy a bit less."
"So we have our theme now," says Autumn with a smile. "That feels - it's nice. It feels a bit more like I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah," says Nix. "Let me get out my sewing kit and we can see about the yukata."
Somehow it feels like it's going to be alright.
~*~
A few days later, Autumn steps into the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. The wisteria-pattern yukata forms to her body nicely, cloaking her in lavender. The sleeves are the right length now, and the hem reaches almost to her feet.
It looks... good. Autumn unlocks the bathroom door, leaving behind her jeans and t-shirt on the counter, and steps out into the dorm room where Nix waits.
When Nix sees her, her eyes light up. "I -" She pauses for a moment, seemingly lost for words. "It - it really suits you," she says. "I'm trying not to oversell it, but - I think with a couple accessories to complete the look, you'll blow the crowd away." Her gaze flicks away from Autumn, then slips back. "You look wonderful."
Autumn runs a hand through her hair. "Do you really think so?" She gives Nix a searching look. Why won't she meet her eyes...?
Nix coughs into her hand, then seems to focus. She meets Autumn's eyes with a genuine smile. "Yeah," she says. "You look lovely. Please don't - I wasn't expecting this kind of effect, is all." Nix smiles. "I think people might have a little trouble looking at Ziggy and not at you."
Autumn blushes. "I - really?"
"Yeah," says Nix, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Really really."
"And the sizing's okay?"
Nix nods. "I don't see any problems."
Autumn looks over at Ziggy, who's come over to the edge of Autumn's bed. "Does it really look good?"
Ziggy tilts his head, then firmly nods. "Zag!"
Autumn smiles. "Alright. Let's go get those accessories."
~*~
The merchant at the market stall bows formally to Autumn over the counter, presenting her geta and tabi back to her with both hands. "Here you are," she says, her kimono rustling. "And thank you for visiting Hana Traditional Clothing."
Autumn bows back, matching the shopkeeper. She accepts the heavy wooden sandals and woolen socks with both hands, then pulls out the container ball Nix gave her and seals them inside.
Nix gives her a smile. "Between that and the pin you got from the jewelry shop, I think we're done here. Want to stop for sushi on the way back?"
Autumn laughs. "If I stop for sushi, then Ziggy will want to go back to that charcuterie place." She reaches up and pets him on her shoulder. "We'll eat back at the dorm if it's all the same to you."
"Alright," says Nix. "Let's get going then."
~*~
Over the next few days, Autumn's bruised side starts to heal and her scrapes start to scab over and flake off. The process is unpleasantly itchy, but it's good to see that she's healing.
Autumn and Nix reserve a time slot on the obstacle course each evening, and practice with Ziggy for an hour every day. Gradually, the routine settles into place. Autumn gets used to running back and forth to retrieve the frisbee after each flying catch, and Ziggy stops hitting obstacles and starts landing tricks.
Autumn anxiously watches her bank account; between the geta, the pin, feeding Ziggy and keeping room and board, she's already feeling uncomfortably squeezed. Nix would help her, of course, but - she can't rely on Nix forever. And Nix has stopped offering to pay for things, and has started buying cheaper groceries and turning down trips to the market. It seems even her resources are limited, despite the bright smile she puts on. It's already been almost a week off her scheduled itinerary.
Autumn holds her Vulpix plushie close at night, thinking of the contest to come, the proof that she can stand on her own. Thinking of Nix being proud of her, applauding for her show, smiling, laughing - gives her heart butterflies. She's just so nice, and she wants to make her proud. That's what this feeling is. And if it's tinged with a little sadness that Nix will probably leave once she proves that she can stand on her own, well... That's life. People come and go.
In the morning, she and Nix plan their final attack on the contest hall. There's a Monday morning matinee Normal Contest. Nix has asked around at the contest hall, and Mina doesn't come in on Mondays. The category is genuinely up for the taking. Autumn tries on her whole costume, and Nix pronounces it "breathtaking." Ziggy nods along.
Eventually, the morning of the contest comes.
~*~
"Alright," says Nix. "It's almost time to head over. You've got your wallet, Ziggy's pokéball with the rose petal ball capsule, and the container ball with your costume?"
Autumn pats her jeans pocket. "Yeah, I've got everything." She rubs at her scabbed-up elbow, the dressing on it finally gone after many days of healing. "Feels... tense." She smiles slightly. "First time on stage."
"I'm sorry that we couldn't practice in front of a crowd," says Nix. "But I believe in you. You'll do fine. Just do your best and remember that everyone's there to have fun. People are rooting for you, not against you."
Autumn nods. "Alright." She brushes her hair back from her face and smiles uncertainly. "We've got this. Right, Ziggy?"
Ziggy hops up onto Autumn's bed and nods vigorously, his corsage bright against his stripy fur. "Zigzagoon!"
Autumn smiles, and scoops him up. "Alright," she says to Nix. "Let's go."
~*~
Autumn and Nix arrive at the Contest Hall with time to spare. The woman at the front desk scans their contest passes and collects their entry fee, then ushers them back into the contest preparation room. "Change rooms are on the left," she replies to Nix's quiet question.
Nobody is in the prep room except Alina, who's standing at her podium with her trademark pink business suit on, apparently texting someone on her pokétch. She looks up when Autumn and Nix come in.
"Ah, welcome," she says with a genuine smile. "Nix, was it? You're the one who did those fascinating performances a few days ago. I thought you'd moved on."
Nix shakes her head. "Actually, I'm just here for moral support today. It's Autumn here who's entering." She nudges Autumn forwards.
Autumn steps forwards towards Alina and nods hesitantly. "Yeah, I'm going to be entering my Zigzagoon in the Cute category today, if it's not too much trouble?"
Alina leans onto her podium and picks up her pen. She writes down Autumn and Ziggy's name and category, then looks back up at her.
"Alright, you're all recorded. You look a bit nervous - have you ever competed before?"
Autumn shakes her head. "Not at all. This'll be my first time on-stage."
"Break a leg, then," says Alina. "I can't wait to see what you have to show me."
"Thank you," says Autumn. "I'll try my best not to let you down."
"Let's go get you into costume," Nix says, laying a gentle hand on Autumn's shoulder. "It's something to do with the wait, and I think it might help settle your nerves."
Autumn nods, and heads over towards the change rooms.
~*~
A few minutes later, Autumn emerges, wearing almost her full costume - her wisteria-print yukata, with the matching tabi and geta. She's holding the amethyst pin she got from the market in her fingertips. Ziggy's been put away in his pokéball for now.
Walking over to Nix by the edge of the auditorium, she looks around. The preparatory room has a few more people in it now, but it's still quiet. She sits next to Nix and sighs softly.
"Can you help me with my hair?" she asks. "I've tried to settle this pin a half-dozen times and I don't know what's wrong, my hands just won't do what they're supposed to -"
"It's alright," says Nix. She gently takes the pin from Autumn, fingers tracing lightly over the small amethyst at one end. "I'll get it for you. Just try and relax a little, alright?"
Autumn nods shakily, and turns her chair so the back of her head faces Nix. "I was trying for a bun, but..."
Nix nods. "I'll get it." Her hands reach in and take soft hold of Autumn's hair, gathering it gently. "The nerves will pass. Just remember what it felt like at the market, that energy. It'll be alright."
Autumn flushes at Nix's soft words and touch, some nameless emotion flooding her - gratitude?
Her breath catches, and she just nods weakly.
Nix bites the inside of her cheek. "Please don't move, I'm trying to get this pin in..." She shifts slightly, then slips the jeweled pin firmly into place. "There. All done." Her hands fall from Autumn's hair.
Autumn half-turns, a smile on her face. "Thank you," she says. "What should we do while we wait?"
"We should check with the staff and give them my frisbee so they can hand it to you during your act." Nix smiles slightly. "It's a small thing, but it'll make it one less thing to manage... Oh, and - are you keeping Ziggy's pokéball and the container ball with your clothes in the same pocket?"
Autumn blinks. "Yes, why?"
"The last thing you want on-stage is for you to toss out a pokéball and instead of Ziggy coming out, it's your change of clothes." Nix smiles slightly. "Ask me how I know."
Autumn laughs, fishes in her inner yukata pocket, and hands over the container ball with her change of clothes. "Yeah, you should hang onto this while I'm on stage. Just in case."
Nix smiles, and puts Autumn's container ball into her purse. "There we go. Now let's go track down a staff member. Alina would know who to talk to."
Autumn nods. "Let's go."
~*~
A little over an hour later, it's time for the contest. The small preparatory hall is half-filled with contestants, most of them new - but Autumn does manage to pick out the boy with the Slakoth from the first contest she attended. Mina doesn't seem to have shown up at all, which comes as a relief. There's a few competitors that Nix watches with a practiced eye - a girl in a pink dress with a Jigglypuff, a tweenage boy with a Plusle wearing a red scarf around its neck - but she doesn't ask to be introduced to anyone, perhaps reading the hitches in Autumn's breath.
Alina calls the competitors for the Cool contest first, and they line up along the side of the hall next to the stage door. Autumn and Nix sit aside and wait together, watching the lineup from their seat in the back. Autumn can't seem to stop watching the queue as people step out onto stage one at a time.
"I'm going to fuck up," says Autumn. "I just know it."
Nix shrugs. "Maybe. All you can do is your best. It's your first time in front of a crowd - nerves are definitely going to be a factor. But even if you lose this contest, that's hardly a verdict on your entire career as a Coordinator. I think you have a real shot to win, but anything could happen out there. You can't control what the other Coordinators do, only what you do. So just try to do your best, okay?" She offers her hand to Autumn.
Autumn nods, and takes Nix's hand. It steadies her a little. She takes a long breath. "Okay." She pulls Ziggy's pokéball from the pocket of her yukata and just holds it in her hand, feeling his comforting weight. It's strange to not have him here, but she does need to help him make a proper entrance...
The line moves, and eventually the break before the Cute contest is called. "That's our cue," says Nix. "I think it's probably for the best if you get a presentation slot that's - not the first, but in the first half. The staffers will be making up the order according to everyone's requests. Let's head over and go talk to them, alright?"
"Alright," Autumn says, and stands, a little unsteady on her feet. She walks over in the direction of the stage door, where a tall man wearing a clip on his pink shirt marking him as a stagehand is standing. "Excuse me," she asks. "Are you in charge of ordering the acts for the Cute contest?"
He nods. "I can't guarantee any particular slot, but if there's something in particular you'd like, we can try to fit it in. What would you prefer?"
"Can I get a slot in the first half, but not right at the start?" Autumn rubs the back of her head, making the jeweled hairpin jangle softly. "It's - I've never been on stage before."
The staffer looks down at his clipboard. "We have a few slots open in that range. How do you feel about being the third act?"
Autumn looks over at Nix. "What do you think?"
"Third is fine," says Nix. "Do you have her frisbee out with the stage staffer?"
"Yeah," says the man. "All that's been sorted out already, don't fret. We'll get it to you when you need it." He smiles slightly. "Your name?"
"Autumn." Autumn looks back at Nix. "Thank you so much."
"Carl. I do what I can," says the staffer. "I've marked you down. Break a leg out there, alright?"
"Alright," says Autumn. "I guess I should wait for the line to form?"
"Yeah, I'll give you instructions in a couple minutes." He gestures to the side of the room next to the stage door. "Just go stand over there for now and we'll sort out the order from there."
Autumn nods, and goes over to the indicated side of the room. She takes a deep breath, and leans against the wall, her fingers tapping uneasily against Ziggy's pokéball.
"It's really happening," she says to Nix. "I'm going to be on stage in a few minutes."
"Yeah," says Nix. "Go you. It takes a lot of courage to get out in front of a crowd like this. I still remember my first time on stage as well. I just had Noir back then, and -" She smiles slightly. "He wasn't as good with his aim, then. He almost lit my hair on fire, I had to duck pretty hastily. Just a dumb kid doing a dumb stunt. But we grow, you know? So whatever happens, I'm proud of you." She leans against the wall as well. "And who knows, you might actually win. Wouldn't that be great?"
"Yeah," says Autumn, a small smile coming to her face. "It would be."
Nix nods. "Now, I won't lie to you, there are a couple serious competitors out here today. Not anybody with an evolved pokémon, but that girl with the Jigglypuff worries me a little because she's color-coordinating with her pokémon and seems like she has a sense of what's happening. That kid with the Plusle and its bandana could also give you a run for your money, I think." She smiles slightly. "Normally I'd go say hi, but with you this shaky I think it'd just psych you out totally to meet the competition, especially when they're younger than you."
Autumn nods. "Probably a good call."
"Everyone please line up!", calls Carl from the head of the line. "Valerie, you're on first. Next is Max, then Autumn, then Debra..." He lists off about a dozen names. "Please get into your place in line. Valerie, Max, Autumn, Debra..."
Autumn shifts up along the wall, and waits for the line to form. Valerie is apparently the woman in pink with her Jigglypuff. She's followed by the kid with the Slakoth, and then Autumn herself.
Max comes across the room and leans against the close wall, a determined expression on his face. He's wearing the same ballcap as last time, with shorts and a t-shirt both in blue. He looks back at Autumn with a raised eyebrow. "Huh. Someone's dressed up."
Autumn rubs the back of her head. "It's my first time, actually. I might've gone overboard."
"Heh." Max grins. "Well, have fun losing."
"Weren't you the one with that Slakoth that didn't do anything last time?" Autumn tilts her head slightly.
Max shakes his head. "That was then! This is now! I've done a big training routine and I know it's going to work out great."
"Weren't you in the Cool category last time?" Nix asks.
"Yeah," Max says. "Cool's maybe not Slakoth's strong suit. But we'll get there! I taught him how to yawn, and he's going to knock the audience's socks off!"
"Well," says Nix, "Break a leg."
"Yeah, whatever," says Max. And he turns his back to Autumn, looking out onto the stage.
"Valerie!" Calls the staffer. "The contest is starting. Are you ready?"
The woman in the pink dress flashes two thumbs up and a big smile at Carl. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this!" And with a wave of her hand over her head, she steps out onto the stage.
There's a wave of applause from out on the stage, and then the sound of a drifting, ethereal voice as Valerie's Jigglypuff begins to sing. It's hard to make out everything that's going on from behind the stage, but it sounds good?
Autumn takes a deep breath, and steadies herself. The line moves up, Max taking his place at the wings of the stage. He looks back at Autumn with a cocky smile and adjusts his cap.
A few minutes of distant song pass. Nix taps her foot against the backstage floor, her arms crossed. She says nothing, her eyes closed in concentration. Autumn resizes Ziggy's pokéball in her hands, growing it, then shrinking it.
There's a wave of applause from onstage, and the staffer at the front raises a hand. "Next on in a minute," he says softly. Max steps up to the stage door with a swell of his chest, and tugs the collar of his T-shirt. "Alright," he says. "Let's do this."
The applause dies down, and Max goes out onto the stage, pulling a pokéball off his belt and throwing it ahead of him. His Slakoth appears in a burst of light, and Max holds his arms up above his head, waving at the crowd. "Slakoth, yawn!" he commands.
A long, loud yawn drifts in from onstage as Autumn steps up to the wings. From here she can see the entire crowd, rows of unfamiliar faces in the seats and the glare of the stage lighting. It's hard to make out any features in the low house lights; the auditorium is a faceless, many-bodied presence that watches and sees all.
Autumn swallows hard, her grip on the pokéball on her hands suddenly much tighter.
Nix lays a hand on her shoulder, and Autumn nearly jumps out of her skin. "N-Nix!" she whispers.
"Shh." Nix raises a finger to her lips, and just gives Autumn a thumbs-up and a big smile.
Autumn looks over at the stage manager, and then out at the crowd again. Max has finished up his act and gotten a seven for his trouble; he's moving off the stage to the right, descending past Alina's judging podium. The stage manager holds up three fingers as Max steps off the stage, then lowers them one by one. Three. Two. One. Then he jerks his head at the stage, where a small obstacle course like the one Autumn practiced on is rising out of the floor.
Autumn looks back at Nix one last time, then takes a deep breath and walks out onto the stage, head held high as she tries to keep her gaze above the sea of eyes in the darkness. Her hand curls around the pokéball in her grip, and as she reaches the center rear of the stage she throws it out into center stage with a low, underhand toss. It wouldn't do to bean someone in the audience.
Ziggy appears in a burst of pink petals, corsage bright against his forehead, his tongue hanging out in a doggy grin. He stands up on his hind legs and waves his paws, tail flickering out behind him - then he turns and hits Autumn with that adorable smile.
Autumn's heart hammers as the wave of applause hits her - but Ziggy's smile steadies her, makes it feel like everything is going to be alright. She half-turns towards the back of the stage, looking for the stagehand who's supposed to be handing her her frisbee.
The stagehand is right where he's supposed to be, Nix's frisbee in hand, and Autumn accepts it from him with a thankful smile. Half-turning with a clack of her geta against the polished stage floor, she snaps out the frisbee in a practiced throw, aiming for the top of the highest obstacle. Ziggy leaps after it, darting across the stage as a striped blur. He leaps up the tall obstacle, a half-wall made of simulated brick, and makes a flying leap to intercept the frisbee at the highest point of its arc, snapping it out of the air in his jaws.
Autumn moves even as Ziggy's coming down, rushing across the stage to retrieve the frisbee for another throw - but her foot catches on the hem of her yukata, and she goes down. The crowd lets out a shocked "oh!" as her scabbed-over arms slam into the stage.
Autumn shakes her head to clear it, and painfully gets up to one knee, tears standing out in her eyes.
The first thing she sees is Ziggy, right by her side, frisbee still in his mouth, looking at her with deep concern -
She grabs the frisbee from Ziggy's mouth and snaps it out towards the crowd.
"Zag!" Ziggy hesitates for only the barest instant before bounding off in pursuit, bounding up a fake tree to leap off one of its lower branches and snag the frisbee.
Autumn stands painfully, and instead of running across the stage again follows at a brisk walk, her geta clacking against the stage floor. Ziggy comes back towards her with the frisbee in his mouth, and bounds up onto one of the lower obstacles between him and Autumn, a broken stone pillar.
Autumn accepts the frisbee back with a skritch of her fingers behind Ziggy's corsage, and snaps out the frisbee across the obstacle course again. Then she sits down on the pillar heavily, her battered knees finally giving out.
Ziggy bounds across the course, leaps from one low wall to another, catches the frisbee in midair, and lands heavily on another low wall. He turns towards Autumn, and with a wink he retraces his steps across the low walls, leaping from one wall to another with the frisbee still in his mouth until he alights next to Autumn again.
She takes the frisbee one last time, holds it up above her head, and stands despite the protests of her bruised and bloodied knees. Sweeping it down across her body, she makes a low bow - and Ziggy follows suit, turning to face the audience and dipping one paw before him like a perfect little gentleman as the crowd applauds.
As the stage lights die, Autumn limps off the stage to the right-hand side, sits heavily on the right edge behind the judges' table, and takes off the damn stupid geta.
Nix runs quickly across the back of the stage, and crouches next to Autumn. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head?" She reaches up and touches Autumn just above her brow. "That looked like a really nasty fall, I can't believe you got back up afterwards and did the whole routine -"
Autumn takes a shaky breath, and waves away Nix's hand. "I'm fine, I - " She takes a shuddering breath. "I guess that's what I get for trying so hard, huh?" She smiles a little despite the tears standing out in her eyes. "Fuck, I really did go and fuck up the whole thing, so much for our entrance fee -"
Nix lays a soft hand on Autumn's shoulder. "Autumn."
Autumn flinches away. "- Don't touch me -"
Nix lowers her hand slowly. "Autumn, you scored a nine."
Autumn blinks at Nix. "W-what?"
"You scored a nine." Nix looks at Autumn seriously. "Ziggy was spectacular, you adapted the routine well, and you knocked 'the show must go on' out of the park. Didn't you hear the crowd applauding?"
Autumn shakes her head. "I - thought they were being sympathetic - " She takes a shaky breath. "A nine, really?"
"Yeah," says Nix. "A nine."
Autumn exhales. "- a-alright." She looks down at Ziggy, who's looking at her worriedly. "Okay, I shouldn't be sitting here - "
Nix offers Autumn a hand, and with a tug she rises to her feet again.
"There's space in the back room," says Nix. "Let's see if you've opened up any of your scrapes. The show will run for a while yet."
"Yeah," says Autumn.
Nix steps off into the wings, trailing Autumn by the hand, and finds her a chair within a minute. Another woman in the pink staff shirt comes over almost immediately. "Do you two need anything?", she asks, her face all concern.
Nix pulls her first aid kit out of her purse. "I think we're okay, she didn't hit her head."
She nods. "At least let me get you some water."
"Yeah, that would probably be good," says Nix. "Thanks."
The staffer ducks away, and leaves Autumn and Nix alone.
"You did good," says Nix with a massive smile. "It takes - something special - to get up and try again after you've been kicked like that. You wiped out in front of a crowd and didn't let it faze you at all, you just kept on with the routine and made it work."
Autumn runs a hand through her hair, looking away from Nix. "It's not that - I -" She blushes. "I just got so focused on not letting Ziggy down, when he smiled at me like that with the frisbee in his mouth, I -"
"Shhhh." Nix lays a hand on Autumn's. "You don't have to explain it. I've been there. Now let's see to your scrapes, alright?"
Autumn nods, and finally smiles back at Nix.
The staffer comes back after a few minutes with a bottle of water, which she sets down next to Nix. "Didn't practice in costume?", she asks quietly.
Autumn nods slightly, her face flushed. "Yeah, uh..." She rubs the back of her head as Nix bends over her scuffed-up knees, applying gauze. "This would've been pretty obvious if I hadn't wanted to not get the yukata dirty..."
"Yeah, that's why you do rehearsals," says the staff member. "Something to remember for next time."
"Yeah," says Autumn.
"Sorry about that," says Nix from Autumn's feet. "I really should've caught that, but - I wear my costume every single day just as casual wear, so..." She looks away.
"It's not your fault," says Autumn. "Who's apologizing too much now?"
Nix ducks her head and blushes. "Yeah. I... Was watching from the wings, you were really something else. I think that - with some more practice, and some more training - you could really go all the way. Make it in the Ultras, or even the Masters. That's - a long way off, obviously, but - I'll buy Ziggy a poffin if you don't win this thing." She smiles.
"I guess we just have to wait and see," says Autumn, listening to the buzz of the crowd just offstage.
The staffer looks down at Autumn and Nix, and nods to herself. "Alright. It seems like you two are okay, but please call me if you need anything, alright?"
Nix nods to her with a small smile. "Thank you for the water." She picks it up and passes it to Autumn. "Take a drink, take a deep breath. You might have to go back out there to accept your prizes. In fact, I bet you will have to. Got to give the crowd a smile, yeah?"
Autumn smiles at Nix. "Yeah." She takes the water bottle, unscrews the cap, and takes a deep drink.
With a few more minutes of poking and prodding, Nix determines that Autumn's split the scabs on her right knee and elbow, but otherwise seems relatively fine. "It looks like you managed to mostly catch yourself," she says. "You've really got to stop collecting injuries like this."
Autumn winces a little as Nix cinches a gauze pad down over her elbow. "Yeah. Well, there'll be time to rest after this." She exhales softly.
Eventually, the staffer who gave them water comes back. "It looks like you've won," she says softly to Autumn. "Are you okay enough to go out on stage to get your prize?"
Autumn looks down at the geta next to her, and carefully slips them back onto her feet. "Yeah," she says. "I think I can do that."
Nix braces her again as she stands, and Ziggy brushes up against her leg softly, pressing in close. She picks him up into her arms, and walks out onto stage.
The house lights are up now, and Autumn can see the rows of the crowd stretching out before her. There must be twenty or thirty people out in the house - it's hardly full, but it's still a lot of eyes watching her.
She steps out into center stage, moving slowly so as not to betray the tremble in her legs. When she reaches the middle, she lets Ziggy down from her arms and takes another bow with him together.
Alina comes over from the judges' table, a case of berries held in her arms. "For you," she says. "And congratulations on a wonderful first performance, if not an unblemished one." She hands over the case with both hands, and Autumn takes it and puts it under her shoulder.
"Thank you," Autumn says.
"You earned it," Alina says. "And since this is the first time you've won in Slateport..." She steps back to her judging podium, and returns with a small pink ribbon with a bright brass medal on it. "Your Normal Class Ribbon!"
Autumn takes the bright brass pin and holds it up over her head, and the whole crowd puts their hands together for her.
State of the buffer:
Book 2 wordcount is around 30k; The buffer is chapters 10-22.
Last week's buffer was Chapters 9-21.
Buffer has held steady.
