TEEN: Land of the Roses [abandoned]

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 19: A Day To Myself

"So... a day to myself... I haven't had one of these in a long time," Kimberly mused to herself. "Do I even remember how to do things by myself?"

The door of the Pokécenter whooshed closed behind her and she felt a sense of severity come over her. She had merely pondered at the possibility of seriously hunting for an Eevee, but she didn't realize that she would actually do so. As excited as she was, she was a little bit apprehensive about it all. She knew that she wasn't experienced as a trainer; on the off chance that she did find an Eevee, capturing it by herself would be a whole different issue. On top of that, lingering worries about her safety clawed at her from the back of her mind.

"Why am I doing this?" she wondered. "This forest... As beautiful as it might be, that experience a few nights ago... Is it truly safe to wander the roads?"

She buried her doubts with memories from her previous visit to the forest nearly a year ago; She recalled the time that she and her previous travel partner, Nicole, sung old sea shanties from Visalia in the glimmering light of a campfire. Memories of her friend's excessive swearing after tumbling into a muddy riverbank were fresh enough to feel like they had happened the previous week. Lastly, she recalled the encounter she had with an Eevee, the very Pokémon that she was hoping to see yet again, and the frantic attempts she and Nicole made to capture it before the elusive creature escaped. To her, these memories were what truly defined the Spritewood for her, not some creepy monster.

As she walked down the street, she noticed that she was the center of one particular man's attention. He stared at her intensely as she walked towards him, brow furled. In response, she did little more than greet the man with a warm smile and a nod of the head.

"Wha're you so happy for? Nothin' 'round here to be happy about in this miserable place." he barked as she walked past.

The man's brusque and bizarre nature caught her off guard. She turned around and offered, "It's a beautiful day, is it not?"

The man looked skyward and shook his head. "It's cloudy, threa'nin' with rain. You call that beau'iful?"

"Sorry I suggested it," she answered back. Without a further word, she turned around and continued on her way. "That was strange... most country folk are the friendly sort, in my experience..."

Her assumptions appeared to be incorrect when it came to the village of Doranshire. Along the way she met a ruthless pair of children who followed her for some time, weaponizing her short stature against her. When they had finally left her in peace, a middle-aged woman chastised her from a cluttered porch step, commenting on her 'ridiculously tacky' dress. A young man about the same age as her, who appeared to be in a distracted hurry, nearly knocked her over and didn't look back, instead offering a rude rebuke as he ran by.

She wondered why the folk of Doranshire seemed so irritable. She remembered her previous visit to the village very well, specifically for how friendly and hospitable the people were. What had changed in the past eight months, she wondered? She was very out of the loop when it came to the current events of the kingdom, especially regarding the lesser-known villages, and she felt bad about it. Perhaps they had legitimate grievances, she thought, but at the same time, nothing excused such bitter rudeness. She tried to put it out of mind as she continued on her way; the further from the village center she got, the better she felt.

As she rounded a corner, she noticed a little black figure in the corner of her eye. She couldn't immediately identify it, so she stopped in her tracks to get a closer look. Closer inspection revealed it was a Skitty, not unlike her own Telandra, digging through a discarded plastic box. However, this one was covered from head to tail with a thick coat of short, silky, coal-black fur. Its orange eyes peered up at her as it turned to investigate her presence.

She gasped. "Aren't you beautiful?"

The Skitty dropped the fish bones it carried in its mouth and scurried across the street with lightning speed. As she marveled at the Skitty, it dawned on her what had just happened: a black cat had crossed her path, an omen of bad luck.

"Oh flip..." she muttered. "As if I needed bad luck today..."

That simple event caused her to reconsider the day's plans. She was venturing out into the wilderness on her own for the first time in her life, in an area that she was unfamiliar with. That alone would be enough to sway her cautious side, but several other factors were at play as well. Between the strange creature that had attacked her two nights ago, her uncertainty with being alone, the bad mood the villagers had put her in, the reports she'd heard about that had been plaguing the village and now the black Skitty crossing her path, she told herself, "It's not worth it..."

Yet at the same time, she felt like she had to prove herself. During her youth, her parents always looked after her when they could. When they couldn't, their vast wealth bought an army of servants and attendants to fill the void. Everything was done for her so that she never had to lift a finger; homework, tidying up, tending to the gardens, all done for her. She had never been given the opportunity to do things on her own, an opportunity which she always felt she deserved. Now could be a good time to seize that opportunity, she thought, even if there was some risk involved.

With some hesitation and a quick, deep breath for reassurance, she continued along the road that led to the forest. Within the span of just a few dozen feet, she found herself surrounded by a thicket of white birch trees. The welcoming sight of the peaceful village disappeared among the trunks, as well as any confidence she had gathered.

She reached down for the ribbon wrapped around her hips and grabbed her gem studded Master Ball. With a toss into the air, the Master Ball burst into a cascade of bubbles. Juliano's presence brought her comfort, leading her to conclude that the day ahead was going to be a rapidly-changing roller coaster of relief and anxiety.

"What do you think, Juliano? Do you think this is a bad idea?" she asked.

Juliano examined his new surroundings closely. With an audible grunt, he shook his head. He felt that whatever doubts she had, they were unfounded.

"It's just like me. To worry too much, I mean. Nicole always used to point that out."

He nodded.

With her search of the forest afoot, she quickly realized something: she knew absolutely nothing about tracking an Eevee. From her travels in the previous year, she understood the importance of knowing how to properly track a specific species when trying to capture it. She remembered the lengths Nicole went to in order to capture her most prized Pokémon, Hydreigon: they had to find the right habitat, search during the proper weather conditions, wait for the right time of day, and on top of all of that, hope that the nearby roads were sparsely populated by other travellers. The two spent nearly two weeks in the eastern highlands until the conditions were just right for an encounter, the ultimate test of a dedicated Pokémon trainer. Or, in her eyes, the ultimate test of a young coordinator's patience and a complete waste of time.

She wasn't sure what conditions would need to be met to find an Eevee, but she did know that encountering one in the wild was mostly just plain, dumb luck. Eevees were elusive and shy creatures, often running at the first sign of trouble and using their small stature and nimble nature to their advantage. The forest was thick with shrubs, bushes and waist-high grass, giving an Eevee the perfect conditions to hide from a trainer, especially an inexperienced one.

"The more I think about it, the more I realize that this is a waste of our time," she lamented.

Juliano gently rested his massive, clawed hand on her shoulder and gave her a tiny push, as if to urge her forward.

"You're right. We could be working on a new routine... but I shouldn't give up an opportunity like this simply because I'm scared and uncertain of myself."

To ease her fears, she surrounded herself in the mysterious beauty of the forest around her. She took the time to really notice the details; nearly a quarter of the larger trees were choked with thorny vines, themselves covered in delicate red and gold flowers. More flowers, no larger than a fingernail, carpeted the forest floor on either side of the path. The sweet scent of lilac and gooseberries wafted around her with every breeze, and the sound of buzzing insects quietly echoed from the leaves above. She wondered how she missed such details over the previous two days.

As she immersed herself in her surroundings, she found a promising clue; a tuft of matted white fur flittered in the wind, stuck to the trunk of one of the trees. While most Eevees were commonly brown in color, she knew from previous experience that they can also have a wide range of fur colorations, including white. However, she wasn't certain if the fur was indeed from an Eevee. She realized it could have been left by something else, possibly the much sought after Ashenfur Stantler. She grabbed the fur and handed it to Juliano. "What do you think? Has an Eevee been through here recently?"

Juliano took one look at the fur and threw it aside. With a bellowing noise, he shook his head.

"Are you certain?"

Once again, he shook his head.

"If only Nicole had taught me a little bit more about tracking Pokémon... Or maybe I should have taught myself." she said, crestfallen.

Despite her plans of not straying far from the village, she found herself drawn deeper into the forest. The forest seemed peaceful that day, as if the concept of danger were merely a myth. Most alluring was the sound of a nearby stream, hidden somewhere just off the trail. Against her better judgement, she waded through the waist-high grass toward the enchanting sound. Her journey took her down a small, slippery stone embankment, almost sending her tumbling down into a patch of cattail reeds, but Juliano was able to catch her in time.

She knelt down beside the water and studied it as it went by. The water was crystal clear and cool to the touch, and every so often, a fallen flower petal would sail by. "I almost regret doing my daily meditation earlier... This spot would be perfect..."

As she admired the rushing water in front of her, she noticed soft indentations in the mucky clay beside the stream. At first, she was ready to dismiss them, but a closer look revealed that they were mammalian footprints. The pad in the center was about an inch in diameter, and three smaller toes radiated outward from it. What exactly the footprints were made by eluded her knowledge.

"I can't tell what these footprints are... I wish that I didn't leave my Pokédex back at home. This would be so much easier if I had it!"

Juliano put his massive hand to the ground, covering one of the tracks. He lifted it back up and took note of the size difference, then motioned for Kimberly to follow.

"Do you know what made these tracks?"

Without looking back at his master, he shook his head.

"But you think it's worth investigating."

He nodded.

"Very well. Lead the way."

The trail of tracks led for quite some distance along the bank of the stream until it eventually stopped cold with little indication of where the creature that made them could have gone. Just as she was about to turn around, Juliano tapped on her shoulder and pointed across the stream. It took her a moment, but she finally spotted what he pointed out: more white fur stuck to the base of a tree. She thought about crossing the stream, but stopped at the edge; it was too deep, too wide and appeared to have a fairly strong current. Juliano, on the other hand, took the initiative and rushed into the water.

"Hold on a moment!" she called out. "Would you be a dear? Wouldn't want to get this 'tacky' dress wet..."

Juliano returned to the bank of the stream and extended his arms outward. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted herself up into his hands. With astonishing grace, he swirled her around his cannons and placed her on the top of his shell. She grabbed each cannon for support and tapped on his shell with the heel of her shoe. "Ready."

He waded into the stream, nearly sinking entirely at its deepest. She held on tightly as he battled against the deceptively strong current, but he managed to get her across without a drop of water on her. She hopped off of his shell and studied her surroundings carefully; just a few feet from the white fur were more tracks in the soft clay, continuing in the same direction as before. She motioned for Juliano to take the lead once more.

The sound of movement in the forest caught their attention and they took cover behind a pair of trees to investigate. Worry began to creep over both of them, as it was a sound similar to the one that preceded the monster attack two nights ago; rustling leaves, snapping twigs and an odd humming sound. Much to their relief, however, it was merely a small group of Stantlers. Covered from head to hoof in drab, brown hair, she realized that these Stantlers weren't the ones that had been leaving the white fur throughout the forest.

"Wait here," Kimberly whispered before stepping away from her tree. She cautiously approached the herd of peacefully grazing Stantlers and stopped when she was about twenty paces away from them. With her hand outstretched, she called out softly, "Come here, I won't hurt you!"

The eldest Stantler raised its head and looked at her briefly before it returned to its grazing.

"No? None of you?"

One of the younger Stantlers started to approach, but stopped in its tracks. As if they were part of a hive mind, all five of the Stantlers raised their heads at the same time and fixed their attention on a specific bush behind them, a bush that wiggled with movement. They quickly scattered in all directions as the bush began to shake more violently. Juliano rushed to his master's side as a precaution.

Before long, a small, four-legged creature emerged from the bush, covered head to toe in soft, white fur. Two long and floppy ears sprouted from its head, but the left one had a peculiar bite mark taken out of it. Three thick stripes of black fur ran along its back, coming to a point at the base of its puffy, cloud-like tail. Kimberly immediately recognized the creature: Eevee. Despite the run in with the black Skitty earlier, it would appear that luck was on her side after all.

The fur patterns and, more specifically, the bite mmark on its left ear, stood out to her. "Is that..." she quietly whispered to herself. "It is! Juliano! This is the very same Eevee we encountered last year!"

He huffed at the thought.

"Look at the ear... Do you remember when Nicole called on her Herdier to battle it?"

He placed his hand to his chin, but couldn't recall anything specific about their previous encounter with an Eevee.

"We can't let it get away this time. Imagine the look on her face when I bring it back to Visalia..." She reached into her purse and grabbed a white Pokéball that was decorated with blue stars and red stripes. "I need you to distract it. Perhaps trap it with an ice patch so that it can't escape?"

Juliano slowly and quietly stepped towards the Eevee, which was captivated by a dangling bundle of berries on the bush that it had emerged from. The cannons within his shell slowly moved up and down in a spinning motion as they calibrated themselves for an attack. A thin, wispy fog formed at the tip of each of them before a chilling blast of air erupted from them. Thick frost formed on the ground around the Eevee as well as the bush that it was studying, grabbing its attention.

The Eevee's attention quickly snapped away from the ice forming at its feet and towards him as it turned around. With exposed, tiny fangs, the Eevee let out an intimidating growl that he easily disregarded. When the growl didn't work, it attempted to kick up a cloud of obscuring dust with its large, fluffy tail, but the thin coating of ice on the ground prevented it from doing so. Already out of options, the Eevee attempted to scurry away, but it lost its footing on the ice and slipped around.

"Good, good. Now, what next..." Kimberly murmured to herself. "Now that it's trapped, we need to weaken it, correct?"

He nodded.

"Knock it off its feet, give it everything you have!"

As the Eevee fumbled around on the slippery ice, Juliano's cannons recalibrated themselves for a different attack. He lowered to all fours and took aim at the Eevee, and with a monstrous bellowing roar, a torrent of pressurized water surged from his cannons. The attack was effective at knocking the Eevee off of its feet, but it also washed away the ice trap that he had created.

Kimberly tensed up from seeing the mistake. "Uh oh... I need more ice, Juliano!"

In the time it took for Juliano to ready his cannons for another icy assault, the Eevee regained its footing. Now that it wasn't surrounded by a patch of ice, it reapplied its earlier strategy and scattered the loose dirt around it with a whirling swipe of its tail. It attempted to escape using the cloud of dust as cover, but Juliano was ready for it just in time; a well aimed volley of ice swept under the fleeing Eevee's feet, yet again sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Now, uhh... before it gets up again... no, no... that'll take too much time..." she muttered quietly as she thought of her next move. As she debated with herself, she saw the Eevee rise to its feet, only for it to stumble yet again. "Can you lock it down with more ice? Another water attack will take too much time."

Chunks of fog-shrouded ice rained down around the Eevee as it struggled to maintain its footing. It was clearly spooked by the relentless force being directed at it, a fact clearly displayed by the desperation in its movements as it tried to escape. The constant flailing was the opposite of what Kimberly wanted; a small target was hard enough to hit, but one that was bouncing around would only be more difficult.

"This is such a mess... I'm glad that nobody is around to see this..." she lamented. She gripped the Pokéball tightly between her hands and raised it up to her chest. After a brief second of visualizing her target, she charged up a shot and let loose. The ball soared through the air in the direction of the Eevee... but missed its mark by a wide margin, instead skipping off of Juliano's head like a rock on a pond. She raised her hands to her face and gasped in shock. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Juliano!"

Juliano shrugged it off as if it didn't happen and maintained his icy bombardment.

She immediately reached into her purse for another Pokéball to have another try, but by the time she had grabbed one, the Eevee was back on its feet. It wasted no time in making its escape and scurried across the patch of ice with determination, then flopped into the safety of the underbrush. She rushed forward and frantically scanned for any signs of movement, but there were none. "Where did it go?!"

Juliano blitzed across the clearing towards the bushes, nearly losing his footing on the patch of ice in the process. He rummaged through the bushes that the Eevee disappeared into, but found no signs of it. He turned around with a look of disappointment on his face; the Eevee had escaped.

"I can not apologize enough, Juliano..." she whimpered. "I need to work on my aiming somehow, this happens far too often."

He rubbed the top of his head gently, as if to gesture that he agreed.

She sighed and retrieved the missed Pokéball, then shook her head. "I don't think we're going to find it now that we've frightened it... Should we head back to town and see how Andrea is doing?"

After a few seconds of searching some more, he nodded.

As they made their way back to the main trail, she studied the Pokéball in her hand. A reflection of her face glistened on it, a face filled with disappointment. Seeing herself in it only deepened the fresh wound of failure, prompting her to place it back in her purse. "How do professional trainers do it?" she wondered aloud.

He peered over at her with a look of confusion on his face.

"Aiming a Pokéball, I mean. I just don't understand it. Is there something wrong with how I stand? The way I grip the ball? Do I need to focus on something other than my intended target? I have so many questions..."

He shrugged; he was even more clueless about it than her.

"One would think with how often I've been throwing those blasted things over the past year, I might hit something at least once..."

He cleared his throat, then tapped on the top of his head again.

She laughed. "Besides you, of course! I seem to that skill locked down..."

He rested his massive hand on her back in an effort to soothe her.

"Whatever the case, I simply can not continue as a coordinator if I can't catch new Pokémon to work with. Once we return to Visalia, I'll see if Nicole has the time to help me figure it out."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: To those of you with no interest in fashion, I sincerely apologize for this chapter.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 20: She's Got The Look

"Well, here we are..." Andrea said. "Whetstone Lane, under the willow tree."

The two were looking at a crumbled ruin of a house; while the largest part of it was still standing, it looked as if it would collapse with the slightest breeze. A smaller section of the house had already fallen to the ravages of time and nothing but a pile of broken timber, rubble and flecks of green painted stone remained. Nearly every window on the house was shattered or cracked. Vines from the unkempt thicket of tall grass surrounding the house had overtaken half of it. Even under the shade of such a large and monolithic tree, not a single light was on inside the home.

"Mr. Holdt was right, this place is a wreck."

Kimberly tilted her head with disbelief. "Someone lives inside of that disaster?"

"According to Mr. Holdt, that crazy old lady lives here. Unfortunately, I have to talk to her."

"How? How can people live like this? This house looks like it'll fall over any moment now."

"You should see some of the old ruined houses in my hometown... Though I guess nobody is living in those."

The two approached the front door, trying to maintain their footing on the crooked, root infested cobblestone path. The closer they got, the worse the house looked to them and the more uneasy they felt. Something about that house wasn't right, and they could feel it; by extension, something wasn't right with whatever poor soul lived inside. It became too much for Kimberly and she stopped in her tracks to linger behind.

The floorboards of the decaying porch creaked under Andrea's weight as she stepped forward to knock on the door. The sound of soothing piano music snuck through the shattered windows, accompanied by the singing of a woman. She grabbed the knocker on the door to use it, but found that it had rusted solid and wouldn't budge, so she used her hand. "Hello? Mrs. Miggins?" she called out.

"Who's'at?!" a shrill voice called from within.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am! Do you have a moment? I'm here to ask a few questions."

"You the chimneysweep?" the voice shouted.

"What? No, I'm here to ask about an event that took place here a few weeks ago. Something about an attempted break-in."

The piano music stopped and heavy footsteps along a bare, wooden floor could be heard inside the house. A peculiar scratching sound came from the other side of the door, accompanied by the jingling of chains, a sound Andrea quickly identified as a large collection of locking mechanisms on the door. The door swung open and an elderly woman with the face of a raisin glared at her from the darkened interior.

"I take it all those locks are a response to the attempted break-in."

The old woman did little more than grumble.

She pointed to the broken window beside her. "Maybe it's not my business to pry, but... Those locks aren't going to do anything about this broken window. Someone could slip in pretty easily, maybe you should get--"

"Be quiet!" the old woman barked impatiently. "What's with that black lipstick? That... that..." she started, then lowered her head to think for a moment. After the gears had finally twisted in her head, she studied Andrea's clothing more closely. "Wait... that... Oh! Oh gods! Back to finish the deed?!" The woman slammed the door hard enough to buckle the frame, then barricaded herself behind the intricate set of locks. "By the gods! Get away! Witch! Witch! You're not welcome here!"

Andrea could do little more than stare at the door in shock at the woman's reaction. "...W-what?" she whimpered quietly. She knocked on the door once again, speaking louder this time, "What do you mean?"

"I knew those crazy witches were out to get me, Mr. Buttercup!" the woman's voice shouted. It sounded as if the old woman were rapidly rushing though different rooms of the house.

"What are you talking about?" she called out one final time.

The old woman had stopped speaking in coherent sentences; her words had devolved into inarticulate ravings and bridgeless non sequiturs.

She took a few steps back, paused for a moment to think about what to do, then turned around and shook her head. "Wow. Mr. Holdt wasn't lying, she is batshit crazy..."

A terrible cacophony erupted from the house behind her; the sound of heavy furniture scraping across the floor, things crashing to the floor, shattering porcelain and the woman's continued yelling, seasoned with the name 'Mr. Buttercup', blasted through the windows with ease, loud enough to be heard from the street.

Kimberly raised her hands in confusion as Andrea approached. "What happened? She doesn't sound happy."

"Couldn't tell ya."

"Did she say anything?"

"Not really. I tried asking her about the break-in that happened here a few weeks ago, but she interrupted me before I could. She pointed out my lipstick, of all things, then started eyeing me up and down like some sort of pervert. After that, she started screaming about witches and Mr. Buttercup, whoever that is."

"Did she? Curious..." Kimberly put her hand to her chin in thought, then took a few cursory glances at her friend's attire. Starting with a nod, she remarked, "Don't take this the wrong way, but... you probably do look quite... scary? Intimidating? At least to an older person."

She looked down at her clothes, then back up at Kimberly. "What are you suggesting?"

"You might have better luck if you dressed a bit more... bubbly!"

"Bubbly?"

"You know! Bright colors! Thin, airy fabrics! A little bit of skin shown off!"

She shot the suggestion down immediately. "I don't do bright colors. I don't show off skin." She rolled up the sleeve of her dress and displayed her sickly, pallid-looking skin. It glowed in the sunlight and was nearly as bright as freshly fallen snow. "You think anyone wants to see that? Besides, I didn't bring a spare set of clothes with me."

"Perhaps we could go shopping then!"

"Shopping. You want to go... shopping?"

"Well... After we were done here, I did plan on picking up some supplies for the road to Rustlode Bluffs... It wouldn't hurt to look around, would it?"

"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to afford anything. My bank account is stretched pretty thin."

"I can pay for it, I don't mind."

"Is this some sort of roundabout way of saying you don't like the way--"

Kimberly could sense the next few words coming from a mile away and rested her finger on Andrea's lips to stop her. "Of course not. I helped to design that dress, remember, and I think it looks fantastic on you. All I'm saying is that if you want to get some information from this woman, it's worth a try."

"Is it? I don't think so. A woman this crazy probably isn't going to have anything useful to say." she said. She waited for an answer but didn't get one. Instead, she received a devious look from Kimberly. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"As I said, we'll be in the shop anyways."

She grumbled in defeat. "Fiiiine. But it's your money to waste. She's going to recognize me the moment we get back no matter what tacky clothing you put me in."

With a giggle, she wrapped her arm around Andrea's shoulders and led her back towards the center of the village.

- - - - -​

"Can't believe how much of a hard-ass she's being about this..." Andrea grumbled to herself as she halfheartedly browsed through a rack of clothing. "She just has to have everything her way, doesn't she? Guess that's to be expected from a rich, spoiled brat..." Every now and then she would pry apart two articles of clothing on the rack to make it seem like she was looking at something, but the truth of the matter was that she just didn't care. The twenty second loop of new age disco music that blared from the shop's speaker system did little to help hold her interest.

Kimberly returned from the next aisle over with a pastel pink off-the-shoulder layered tanktop that was splashed at random with darker circles and stripes. "Well? What do you think?"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the thought of seeing herself in it. "Absolutely not." she adamantly stated.

Kimberly took another look at it. "Why not? It's adorable! It's chic! It personifies the upcoming summer season perfectly!"

"Way too much pink."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"I don't like it as a color. It doesn't fit me at all."

"What about that... what was it? That R-Kit? That thing was pink."

She shook her head. "What wasn't my choice. My co-worker forced it on me without asking."

Kimberly returned to her original aisle and placed the rejected top back onto the rack. "Whether it was your choice or not, I think it looked quite fetching on you, in my opinion. It contrasted quite nicely with your black attire, but... very well, you're the boss! I can tell you're very passionate about color coordination!"

"I'm passionate about black, nothing else," she sternly answered. She worried about the tone in which she answered and tried to be a little more diplomatic. "Let's see what else they have. Something different, though. That thing showed off way too much. Did you see the neckline on it, I may as well just run around completely topless!"

Kimberly giggled at the thought. "It was worth a try. I'll find something a little more modest."

The search continued, at least for one of them; Andrea continued her vague, uninterested poking about, while Kimberly was absolutely intent on finding something they could both agree on. Her eyes darted up and down the rack as she took style, fabric, color and other design features into consideration. She knew that Andrea would be picky about anything she suggested, so whatever she chose had to be perfect. Dark colors would work for Andrea, but potentially not for Mrs. Miggins, so she settled on something bright and neutral: a simple white polo shirt, decorated with lavender diamonds along the shoulders and lines along the chest.

"How about this?" she called out as she held up the shirt.

Andrea was surprised; Something had actually caught her attention. She joined Kimberly's aisle to get a closer look at it. "Huh... not bad. The sleeves are a little shorter than I'd like... but I probably won't be wearing this thing for long."

"So you like it?"

"Well..." she said, running her eyes up and down both sides of the aisle. "It's the least square thing here, let me put it that way."

"Now to find a matching bottom!"

She groaned. "Right. The search begins again..."

The two moved a few aisles over, this time browsing together. "Pick your poison. Skirt or trousers?"

"I'll go with a skirt, I guess. I haven't worn pants in forever."

Kimberly placed her hand to her mouth in a playful manner. "Oh my! That's a bit of a personal thing to reveal!"

She laughed. "Shut up! Despite the fact that I've lived in this country for most of my life, I'm a dirty foreigner through and through. I say pants!"

The two walked down the skirt aisle and were bombarded with all sorts of colors and designs; Andrea found most of them to be gaudy eyesores, but Kimberly had already been lost in bliss as she looked around. Andrea constantly tugged her away from the rack whenever she strayed too far behind.

"Maybe this will be a bit quicker if you tell me if you have a specific style or color in mind."

She shrugged. "Something knee length or longer, and probably tan in color. Tan goes with white, right?"

"See, you are a fashionista deep down!"

"Pfft." It didn't take long for Andrea to find what she was looking for, or at least something close. They found the color that they were looking for, but the length was just a smidgen too short. "Fuck it, this'll do. I won't be wearing it for long, anyways."

"Language!"

She sighed. "Right. You don't like it when I swear."

"Right, now onto shoes!"

"The boots are non-negotiable," she demanded. "That old lady isn't going to look at my shoews, and I'd rather not lug an extra pair around with me everywhere I go."

"Fair enough, I suppose." As they emerged from the aisle, Kimberly pulled her aside towards the opposite side of the store. "Let's go get those travel supplies I mentioned."

"Finally..."

The two wandered all the way to the far side of the store and found themselves surrounded by all sorts of outdoor and camping supplies. Tents, bedrolls, Wellington boots, various Pokémon callers, backpacks, hiking gear and bags of trail mix took up much of the space, but Kimberly's interest was elsewhere; within the span of a few minutes, she picked out a HyperLiteEX lamp, an old fashioned tinder kit for starting campfires, a collapsible pair of binoculars, a new first aid kit and a field manual for treating a wide spectrum of outdoor injuries. She explained her rather expensive choices as simply erring on the side of caution.

As they waited for their items to be processed by the clerk, Kimberly said, "Don't get mad, but there's something else we have to do before we return to Mrs. Miggins."

"Oh god, now what?"

"Just a few finishing touches I'd like to make, nothing major! Mrs. Miggins won't recognize you at all when I'm done."

"I dread to ask what that means."

"You'll like it, I'm sure of it."

- - - - -​

"I look ridiculous."

Andrea was seated at the vanity in their home away from home, the Holdt residence, staring at herself in the mirror. The past twenty minutes had been spent removing her usual gothic makeup, only to be replaced with something else; coral lipstick, red winged eye shadow, and the slightest tint of rosy blush on her cheeks. The look was alien to her. It was too normal, she thought; too unlike her.

Kimberly took a step back and looked at her friend with a critical eye. "Something is still missing, yes... Do you mind if I did something with your hair?"

"You're clearly not going to take no for an answer, so go ahead."

"Heh. I just want this to work. This lady is going to think you're an entirely new person."

Andrea leaned her head back and allowed Kimberly to work her magic. "Why do you care so much about my work, by the way?"

"I would be terribly bored if I didn't involve myself. In case you haven't noticed, there is absolutely nothing to do in this village."

"Fair point, but you don't have to stay, you know. You could be well on your way to Rustlode by now."

"Truth be told, I'm a little afraid of travelling alone after what we went through."

"You took off into the forest by yourself yesterday. I don't know what happened out there, but you survived."

"I did, but it was nerve wracking. I don't know that I'd do it again."

"You'll have to find someone else when I'm done here, then, because I doubt Dr. Reiland will send me to Rustlode after this."

The thought had crossed her mind, yet she hadn't planned on it. She wasn't certain of what to do; she didn't want to retrace her steps through the Spritewood and return to the safety of Aughrim. She could search the village for someone who'd be willing to accompany her. She also had a few friends she could call who would be willing to escort her to Rustlode Bluffs. Both of the latter options could leave her stranded for at least a week, and all of those options meant tearing up her planned schedule, completely invalidating the need to visit the Rustlode Bluffs in the first place.

"What are you doing, by the way? Feels like you're ripping my hair out."

"Oh! Sorry. It's just... I used to practice my braiding on Nicole all the time, she never complained."

"Maybe your friend enjoys pain. I don't."

"I'll be a bit more gentle. Anyways, I figured a fancy Kalosian braid might set you even further apart from your standard appearance."

"Fancy." Andrea huffed. "I can't believe I'm letting you do this to me."

"I know, I know! You don't do fancy! Now stop your whining and let me do my work!" she playfully responded. "You're going to look gorgeous."

"I don't have to look gorgeous to talk to a crazy old lady."

She paused to think. "A fair point, but I'm almost done. Hold still!" She unclipped the silver flower brooch that rested in her own hair and gently tucked it between the braids atop Andrea's head. She swiveled the chair around, took a step back and examined her work. "Yes... Yes! This will do!"

Andrea gently ran her fingers across the thick braid that snaked its way across her head as she studied herself in the mirror. "Much as I hate to admit it... you're going to have to teach me how to do this someday, I usually never do anything special with my hair..."

"Nothing special? I can tell that you bleach it."

Andrea turned around again and looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Can you?"

"Your roots are starting to show."

"It has been a few weeks, hasn't it..." She stood up and gave herself one last look in the mirror. "Who is that staring back at me?"

"Someone who will have better luck than you did in regards to Mrs. Miggins."

"I don't suppose I need a new name, too? Hmm, how about... Nicole?"

"No, of course not!" she giggled as she gently tugged on Andrea's arm. "Lets see if this works."

- - - - -​

Andrea stared up at the imposing house as she fidgeted with the buttons on her polo shirt. She was cautious about approaching again, but realized that she had already come so far. What would another attempt to speak with Mrs. Miggins really hurt?

"I want you to come with me this time. I'm not sure I have it in me to speak with her alone."

"Okay, I will."

She gently scratched at the braid atop her head as the two approached the ruined house, wondering if the disguise would in fact work. Just as before, soothing piano music could be heard through the broken windows, as well as the youthful voice of an opera singer. When she reached the front door, she took a deep breath, then knocked on it. The soothing piano music stopped and a shrill voice called out from within, "Hello? You the chimneysweep?"

She rested her face in the palm of her hand and shook her head. "No! There are no chimneysweeps, your house doesn't even have a chimney!"

"Then who are you?"

"I'm here to ask about a break-in two weeks ago. I read about it in the paper and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."

"About time someone came to listen to this poor old lady! Nobody takes me seriously!"

The two stared at each other in bewilderment as the locking mechanisms on the door screeched open one by one. Facial expressions alone were enough to convey what they both thought about this woman; between her bizarre fascination with chimneysweeps to already forgetting that someone had just come to discuss the same matter with her, it was agreed between the both of them: she was certifiably insane.

"Hope this is worth it..." she grumbled.

The door creaked open and Mrs. Miggins' leather face appeared from the darkness. "What do you want?" she barked.

"The break-in. I want to ask about it."

"Ah, yes, yes. Come inside, dear." She disappeared back into the darkness and the door creaked open a little more.

She looked at Kimberly with a look of surprise on her face. "Well, it's progress at least."

The two ventured into the house cautiously. The inside was a complete and utter disaster, appearing as if a tornado had blown through it. Shattered porcelain shards littered the floor, broken furniture was strewn about haphazardly and the inside walls were pocked with massive holes and long cracks. A thick layer of dust covered most of everything except for a ragged old chair; even the floor was covered in dust, with a very clear path that Mrs. Miggins appeared to stick to on a daily basis. A horde of small insects was evenly scattered throughout the room.

"Holy shit..." the two muttered in unison.

"Whassat?" Mrs. Miggins asked.

"Nothing! Umm, when you were talking to the police, you said that some demons had tried to break in to your house. Can you show us specifically where?"

"Yes, yes, follow me. Watch out for Mr. Buttercup, though, he has a habit of tripping people!"

The two followed Mrs. Miggins into the kitchen area, a room that was an even worse disaster than the lounge. They kept their attention as far away from the foul smelling sink as possible, instead focusing on just about anything else in the room.

She led the two to a door on the far side of the kitchen. "Here."

Andrea inspected the door closely. The door was well worn with age and neglect and the white paint that once covered it had long fallen off. She took note of the locks on the door; all but one of them looked brand new, but poorly installed as if Mrs. Miggins had done so herself somehow. At a glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the door. "Do you mind if I had a look at the other side?"

Without a word, Mrs. Miggins began the tedious process of jiggling open the locks one by one. When they were all finally undone, she opened the door. The door opened into the back yard, an untamed jungle of tall, thick weeds.

Andrea took a step forward and studied the other side of the door closely. Her attention shifted from the frame to the handle to the cracked glass in the window, but nothing in particular stuck out to her as an indication that anyone or anything had tried to break in recently. "What am I looking at?"

"The door."

"Mrs. Miggins, please, I need to know what to look for. You said these... demons... they tried breaking in through this door, but I don't see any evidence of that."

"Are you blind, girl?" she said as she pointed to a nondescript section of the door.

"I must be. I don't see any damage to the door, any marks... You said they were demons, did these demons have big claws?"

Mrs. Miggins' eyes widened. "No. Human, like us, that's what they looked like. But they had pale grey skin, and, and, and, glowing red eyes! They wore black robes, pointy hats! Big, red fangs, too!"

"Uh huh... You sure it wasn't just a prank by some of the village kids?"

"No. Demons. No doubt about it. Sent by the witches, I'm sure of it."

"Witches?"

"Yes! Women as old as time itself! But they look..." Mrs. Miggins paused and tilted her head, then leaned in uncomfortably close. As quickly as she leaned in, she had retreated back to her normal distance. "Look just like you. Young, beautiful. But hearts full of evil. Minds full of malice."

"Where can I find these witches?"

"NO!" Mrs. Miggins roared. "DON'T! They're dangerous! They're evil! They'll kill you and feast on your flesh! The demons will rape your skulls!" Her breathing became erratic as she looked around in a panic. "They're coming back, I know it!"

She looked at Kimberly and motioned for her to step back. She leaned in closer and spoke quietly. "I think she's about to lose it. Step outside, just in case."

"You sure?"

"I can handle myself if she does, but I don't want you getting hurt." She reached out for Mrs. Miggins in an attempt to sooth her. "Settle down, Mrs. Miggins. There are no--"

Mrs. Miggins swatted her hand away. "Get your hands off of me! I'll get my husband! He'll crumple you like paper!"

She held her hands up cautiously. "Okay, fine! I won't touch you. I have one more question and then I'll leave you alone."

Mrs. Miggins grumbled and motioned for her to ask it.

She debated between asking the question or just leaving it, but figured it would help her form a final opinion about the crazy old woman. "When was the last time that you were visited by one of these witches? Earlier today, maybe?"

"A witch, earlier today?" Mrs. Miggins shook her head and let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, no! I would remember such a thing!"

"That's all I needed to hear, thank you for your time."

Mrs. Miggins reached up with her bony hand and clamped down onto Andrea's arm with surprising force. "Please! Avoid the witches, but find the demons! Track them down, end my torment! They'll come back soon, I know it!"

"I'll do what I can."

"Thank you. It's good to see that the young still care for their elders." Without further discussion, she quickly shooed her out of the house, slammed the door and began to redo the locks. Shortly after, the calming piano music returned.

Kimberly approached with a look of worry on her face. "So... did you get anything useful out of that... odd display?"

"The only important thing I learned is that, yes, Mr. Holdt was right about her. She's lost her marbles. She doesn't even remember me showing up less than an hour earlier, even though it sent her into a blind panic."

"Pardon the joke, but I'd say I did a good job of making you over, then."

"Heh," she chuckled, then sighed. "What a waste... I don't think I'll bother taking any of her ravings into account, they won't be of any use to Dr. Reiland."

"Are you certain?"

"Take a step back and look at it as if you were in the doctor's shoes. Would you take any of that seriously?"

"I suppose not."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 21: Loch Fiodhbòcan

"You're spoiling me, Mr. Holdt!" Andrea said as she eyed the generous second helping of eggs and bacon that was placed onto the table in front of her.

Mr. Holdt smiled and nodded. "Spoiling? Nooooo, only making sure that you're well fed!"

"Well fed? Honey, look at her, she's already quite pudgy. If there's anyone you should be spoiling, it's that skin-and-bones friend of hers." his wife commented.

Mr. Holdt dropped his hand onto the table hard enough for the silverware to rattle. "Nadine!"

The words stung a little, but Andrea laughed regardless. "It's okay. A lot of people point it out to me, I'm used to it."

"Still rude," he said, glaring at his wife.

"I don't take offense to the truth," she said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. When she realized the mood hadn't changed at all, she pivoted to a new topic. "Mr. Holdt, do you happen to know where the village gets its water?"

"I do, why?"

"As part of my investigation into the strange sightings throughout the town, my boss suggested the possibility of something being in the water, something that might make people a little... A little..."

"Crazy?"

She paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"I doubt there's something in the water. Nadine and I have been using the town's water supply extensively for the past few months." He looked over at his wife. "I'm not crazy, am I, Nadine?"

Mrs. Holdt hesitated to answer and looked away before smiling.

"Sixty years together and she's still got that snappy wit that I fell in love with," he said with a laugh. "Back to your suggestion... I don't think it's worth your time. But since you're here to investigate things, leave no stone unturned, eh? Your visit to Mrs. Miggins yesterday shows how dedicated you are."

"I'm so sorry you had to suffer her presence, dear," Mrs. Holdt added.

"You'll find the village water supply to the southwest, deep in the forest. It's a large reservoir, you'll find it pretty easily."

"Deep in the forest... Great..." she sighed.

"If you're worried about getting lost, don't be. It's a well established, fenced off road. It's even paved!"

"No, I'm not particularly worried about getting lost," she said in a cautious manner as she rubbed at the still-sore wound on her leg. "I just hoped I wouldn't have to walk very far. But..." she looked up and locked eyes with Mrs. Holdt. "Maybe I'll be a little less pudgy afterward."

Mrs. Holdt looked to her husband and smiled as she pointed her bony finger across the table at Andrea. "See, I told you! She does have a sense of humor."

"Hmmph," he quipped. "Expect to be on the road for a couple hours, it's several miles away."

"I can live with that. Anything else I should know before I get started?"

He looked towards his wife for any input before shaking his head. "You be careful out there."

"Thanks, I will."

- - - - -​

The scent of fresh mountain air wafted about. A strong but refreshing breeze whipped through the area. Kimberly opened her eyes to see an endless blue sky above her, marked with thin, feather-like clouds. A pink petal gently drifted down from above and entered her field of view.

She stood up and observed her surroundings; she was on an untouched mountain plateau, high above a golden valley of rolling hills. Far below, she saw the wondrous, ancient stone structure known as the Dragonspine Wall, snaking its way through the foothills and into an eternal distance. Just behind her was a solitary cherry tree in full bloom. She knew this place: the western peaks of the far away country of Shinikara.

She took in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air and let it out with a long, happy sigh. As she took in the serenity around her, she felt something strange, as if something was crawling up her leg. She looked down to see that something indeed was: a horde of tiny little insects. With a panicked shake of her leg, everything changed in an instant; she was no longer atop that serene peak, surrounded by the peaceful presence of nature. Instead, she found herself in the back garden of the Holdt residence, laying down in the dewy grass.

She looked down at her leg to see that there was nothing there, but the feeling of a thousand little feet marching their way up her still lingered and it sent a wave of chills throughout her body. After a deep breath to calm herself, she pushed herself off of the grass and returned to her usual meditation posture. She closed her eyes again and once more focused on her heartbeat in an effort to clear her mind.

It wasn't long before her focus was broken again.

"Witch! Get out!" a shrill voice screamed.

She opened her eyes and looked around, but nothing was amiss. No one was around.

"You the chimneysweep?!" the same voice shouted.

"Mrs. Miggins?" she quietly asked without opening her eyes. She was very confused, but tried to regain her focus.

The door leading into the house opened and Andrea stepped outside. There was a moment of hesitation before she cautiously, quietly and slowly approached. She assumed that Kimberly would be deep within a trance, but she evidently wasn't; as soon as she was just a few steps away, Kimberly opened her eyes and looked upward.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" she asked.

Kimberly shook her head.

"Have you reached enlightenment yet?" she jokingly asked.

Kimberly looked off to the side and furled her brow as if she were annoyed. "Enlightenment? You have much to learn about my faith..." she said, followed by a sigh. "No. I'm making progress, but I'm also having a very difficult time focusing on my meditation today."

"What's bothering you?"

"That lady we met yesterday, Mrs. Miggins. She's in pain. She needs help."

"Don't we all?"

"I don't mean it as a joke. It's sad that the people of this village have just... abandoned her like that! Scared, alone, in a crumbling, bug-infested ruin... How could they?"

"Maybe she doesn't want help. It certainly seemed that way to me."

"I get the feeling that there's more to it than that. The people in this village... Have you noticed how rude most of them are? Country folk are supposed to be friendly!"

She laughed. "Country folk? Friendly? You have much to to learn... about us country bumpkins."

"But have you noticed?"

"I have. I don't think much of it, though. That's how people were in Goldwheat as I grew up, I can't imagine it's all that different here, just up the road."

"Maybe I do have a lot to learn... I still feel bad for her, though. Someone should help her."

"You're welcome to do so yourself. The question is, are you willing to set foot in that disgusting trash heap again? Are you willing to spend the time needed to cut through that foggy, angry mind of hers to try to reason with her?"

Kimberly bit her lower lip and looked off to the side.

"That's what I thought. It's easy to say that you care, it's harder to actually show it."

Feeling as if she was backed into a corner and vulnerable to attack, Kimberly tried to change the subject. "So, what is your plan for today? Will you need my help at all?"

"I think I will. I'll be investigating the village water supply, see if anyone might have poisoned it somehow. It's a res--"

"P-poisoned?" The tone of worry in her voice was quite clear. "But we've... been..."

"Yeah... I doubt that's the case though. Most of the people around here look perfectly healthy, and I feel perfectly healthy... but Dr. Reiland has suggested I check anyways." She lowered her voice to a mere mutter before adding, "Not sure how I will, considering my R-Kit is still broken and I don't have a water testing kit on hand..."

"What was that last bit?"

"Nothing, just thinking out loud. Anyways, the reservoir is just a few miles south of town. Since that'll take me out into the forest, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with you around."

"Very well! I'm ready to get started whenever you are!"

"Sure you won't pass out from fear this time?"

Kimberly sighed again. "Don't be difficult, or this will be a very long day."

"You should lighten up a bit. It was just a joke."

"Perhaps you need to work on your comedy, then. Jokes are funny, that was not."

"Sorry, you're right. Let's get started."

- - - - -​

The two had been walking along Reservoir Road for what seemed like hours. Along the way, they passed the time with aimless chatter, bouncing between a wide variety of topics. They talked about fashion, travel, books, movies, life experiences and their goals in life. The discussions were relatively civil, but they pointed out one thing: there was very little crossover when it came to the things they liked.

One subject of interest was Andrea's childhood. Kimberly kept pressing her for details about what it was like to grow up in a rural community, but she could do little more than repeat, ad nauseam, that it was simply boring beyond relief, and how grateful she was that she attended a university in an urban setting. Despite repetitive assurances otherwise, Kimberly was absolutely convinced that there was more to the rural lifestyle than sitting inside all day being bored out of one's skull.

"I'm serious, that's all I did when I grew up. I came home from school, finished my homework, then just... sat." Andrea said.

Kimberly just couldn't believe it. "That's it? You didn't read books? Play games? Visit friends unannounced? Borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbors and never pay it back?"

She shrugged. "Well... I guess I did some of that stuff sometimes. My parents just didn't want me to leave the house all that much, they thought the other kids would be bad influences. And they were right."

"Ooh!" Kimberly's face lit up. "Story time?"

"Heh. One of my best friends at the time, a kid named Larson, kept trying to convince me to explore some of the old ruined neighborhoods that had been abandoned after the Famine. We went to one of the old mansions and had a look around, and then it happened. The stairs gave way underneath him and I couldn't get him out myself."

"Goodness!"

"I had to get our parents involved... they were so mad at us. They probably spent an hour digging him out of the rubble and they made me watch in silence the entire time. After that, I was grounded for three months... Three. Whole. Months! But the kicker is, he didn't get grounded. He got a stern talking to, but not grounded. Lucky punk. After that my parents discouraged me from socializing with the other kids my age, most especially Larson."

"Larson... why does that name feel familiar? What is his surname, if I may ask?"

"Reiserben. Please tell me that you don't know him."

She combed the depths of her memory, but couldn't pin a face to the name. "I don't think I do. Yet it sounds familiar..."

"Maybe you heard his name on TV? He's one of those 'professional' competitive trainers, or at least he thinks he is. Last I heard, he was traveling in Kanto, trying to... do whatever it is those competitive trainers do."

"Oh, yes! That does make sense. I believe he was one of the trainers that made it to the semi-finals of the Indigo Plateau Conference? I can't say for certain, I didn't pay particular attention to the details when I saw it in a newspaper."

"Whatever the case, I honestly don't care what he's doing right now. He is such an asshole."

Kimberly gave her a stern look.

"Don't give me that look. If you ever met him, you'd quickly learn that he's the scum of the earth and just how justified I am in calling him that."

"I'd prefer not to judge a man before meeting him. Of course, maybe you could convince me with some more details..."

She laughed. "Another story for another time. I don't feel like getting lost in rage today."

"Is he that bad?"

She nodded. "Anyways, after that whole business with the mansion, I didn't really do much with my life before leaving to attend university in Aughrim. I just focused on my schoolwork and tried to be a good girl."

"So you resigned yourself to living a boring life?"

"I always had a boring life, regardless of what I did. Honestly, this romanticized image you have about country life? It's severely misplaced. It's not glamorous or enjoyable at all. Trust me."

"Perhaps the grass is greener..."

"Now that is one thing the countryside is better at, having greener grass."

As the two shared a laugh, the gentle rumble of thunder could be heard faintly in the far distance and a light shower of rain started shortly afterward. The sky had been cloudy for the past few days and looked as if it were threatening to rain the entire time, but both were caught off guard that it had actually happened. A frigid wind blew in with the rain.

Kimberly reached into her backpack and unfolded the wide brimmed sun hat that was kept within, then took shelter under it. Unfortunately, it barely provided any protection from the rain. "Ohhh dear... I don't like rain." she said as she huddled her arms together to combat the chilly winds.

Andrea, on the other hand, enjoyed the rainfall for what it was: a refreshing break from the norm and a chance to enjoy one of her favorite smells, the earthy scent of petrichor. Kimberly pointed out that the rain had ruined her carefully applied eyeliner, but she dismissed the notion and offered a rebuttal. To her, the rain hadn't ruined her appearance; if anything, the rain had actually enhanced it. She likened the streaks that ran down her face to tears of joy at the beauty of the rain.

"How very poetic of you!" Kimberly mused.

Another dismissal followed. "If that's poetic to you, you need to broaden your horizons a bit. I was only talking nonsense."

"No, really! You have an artistic gift and it's waiting to be tapped!"

"Nope."

It wasn't much longer before the forest started to thin a bit and the subtle signs of civilization returned. The gentle, ever-present hum of the reservoir's industrial-strength pumping systems began to echo through the forest. Lamps dotted the pathway, which had been kept clear of leaves and other debris, unlike the rest of the road behind them. Eventually, they found a sign that read:

ARDAIGH COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY
PUMPING STATION FOUR
Proudly serving the communities of:
Doranshire, Oak of Ages, Goldwheat Meadows, Rustlode Bluffs and Tradewind
Est. 1907 under a charter granted by Queen Stephanie III
Funded, constructed and maintained by the Eckhardt Steel Corporation
Drawing life-sustaining water from the placid shores of Loch Fiodhbòcan​

A large brick wall topped with decorative cast iron spikes surrounded the entirety of the reservoir, but didn't restrict access entirely; a very wide opening separated the two walls, allowing visitors and the Pokémon of the forest to come and go as they pleased. The metal gates that were originally built into the wall looked as if they hadn't moved in decades. As soon as they passed the wall, the gentle hum of the machinery shifted towards an oppressively loud mechanical droning that completely shattered the otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

Andrea shook her head in disappointment. "I think I'll be driven insane by that noise before I'm done here."

"What is your plan?"

She dropped her backpack to the ground and rummaged around for a pair of empty glass bottles. "Since I don't have my R-Kit with me, I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

"How would that fancy watch of yours help anyways?"

"I guess you haven't seen it in action, have you? How do I explain it... It can determine the physical properties of a range of materials through a digital scanning mechanism. So far I've used it to uncover a dangerous fungal infestation at a farm, potentially discover an undocumented species of Pokémon, and... that's about it, actually. It's been on the fritz practically ever since I met you."

"I don't see how I could be causing such problems, but I sincerely hope that I'm not."

She laughed. "I doubt it. I still don't know what's wrong with it, and I hoped I'd have gotten an answer from Dr. Reiland this morning, but she's still trying to figure out what the problem is. So I'll have to make due without it."

"Will you need my assistance?"

She shook her head. "I think I can handle filling a couple bottles with water by myself."

"Very well. I'll try my meditation again if you don't need me."

"I think it might be a little difficult with all of this rain and noisy machinery around, but if you want to try, knock yourself out."

"I'll find somewhere quieter on the other side of the lake." Kimberly scanned the horizon and pointed towards a small but obvious rocky cove about a mile away. "That place looks good. I'll be over there if you need me."

"Just try to stay where I can see you, okay?"

"Of course!"

With a nod, the girls split from each other and went their separate ways. Andrea headed in the direction of the pumping station while Kimberly followed the meandering, mucky coastline of Loch Fiodhbòcan.

- - - - -​

Nearly twenty minutes had passed since Kimberly arrived at the rocky cove. She was seated atop the largest rock: a smooth, a flat-faced boulder that had been covered in years of hastily written, heavily layered and indecipherable graffiti. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow, regulated and purposeful. She was lost deep within herself, completely shut off from the outside world.

Telandra had been called out to enjoy the scenery as well, but she wasn't really into it. She found the wind to be bothersome and the rain to be annoying, so she spent most of her time perched under an overhanging rock, trying her best to shelter herself from the elements. She, too was in a trance as well; not a meditative trance, but one that involved watching the rippling waters of the reservoir as the rain fell onto the otherwise pristine and glass-like surface.

Telandra's trance was broken by a most curious arrival: in near silence, a large owl draped in golden feathers descended from the sky and perched upon a sunken log that poked out above the water. It watched the two in silent curiosity, its head rapidly tilting between a variety of angles. Telandra stood up and arched her back at the presence of the Noctowl. A hiss and a growl followed.

The noise that Telandra was making was enough to break Kimberly free from her trance and snap her back into reality. As she opened her eyes, the gilded figure of the owl was the first sight she saw and its silent presence shocked her. Her once-slow heartbeat immediately began racing and she stumbled backwards in fright. After a quick moment of study, she figured the Noctowl wasn't a threat, as it hadn't attacked by now. She regained her balance and stood up. "So beautiful..." she mumbled to herself.

The shimmering Noctowl didn't respond. Instead, it continued to stare at her. She took a single step forward, and that was all it took for the Noctowl to extend its radiant wings. She stopped in her tracks.

The surrounding ambience faded almost entirely, drowned out by a faint, angelic humming sound. The narrow pupils of the bird glowed with an intense lavender light, and an ethereal, almost otherworldly voice said, "ᚦᛊᚠᚠᛟᚱᛏᚦᛁᛜ ᚾᚹᚱᛊ ᛈᚹᚱᚨᚠᛏᛜ"

The strange voice echoed in her head; it came from nowhere, but it was everywhere. It overshadowed everything around her. The birds, the bugs, the gentle ebb and flow of the rippling water, all were hushed under the angelic sound, a sound that appeared to her as if it were visible within her mind's eye.

"ᚱᛗᚠ ᚨᚠᚠᛏ ᛗᚹᛟᚲᛉᚱᛏᚦ ᛖᛃᛒᛜ ᛖᛃᛒ ᚹᛊᚠ ᛃᚾ ᚱᛏᛟᚠᛊᚠsᛟᛜ"

Most people would be confused by what was happening, but not Kimberly; she had experienced this strange sensation a few times before in her previous travels and immediately recognized it as telepathy. Yet she couldn't piece together any meaning from the disjointed, nonsensical and brain-tingling sounds that echoed in her mind. She tilted her head to the side and simply uttered, "What?"

"ᚨᛃ ᛖᛃᛒ ᛁᛚᚠᚹᚢ ᛟᛉᚠ ᚠᛇᚨᚠᛊ ᛟᛃᛏᚦᛒᚠᛜ"

Once again, the strange jumble of words and syllables confused her. "I... I don't understand." she said.

The Noctowl's head twisted upside down. "You do not speak the Elder Tongue?"

"The elder tongue..?" she said, thinking about it. 'Elder tongue' meant little to her, yet it also intrigued her. Before she could think about it further, she felt a tingling sensation similar to pins and needles in the depths of her mind, travelling downward from the top of her head towards her neck. She gasped in shock and held her hands to her head in an effort to relieve the pain.

"You do not. That brings confusion. Uncertainty."

The Noctowl was right, confusion had been brought. She had no idea what to make of the situation before her. With the pain fading, she cautiously kept an eye on the Noctowl and patiently waited for its next words or its next move, whichever came first.

"I come with important wisdom." the Noctowl stated.

"Wisdom?" she asked.

"The crimson rose trembles in the moonlight, but not so alone."

She tilted her head inquisitively. "Crimson rose? Moonlight? What do you mean?"

"Beware the wolves which sleep amidst the trees."

"The what? Wolves?"

"Within the walls of moss and dripping stone, the heart of the star sleeps."

The riddle-wrapped words were starting to annoy her. "What are you talking about? Can you explain in a simple to understand manner, please?"

"Knowledge is power. Observe. Reflect. Think. The answers are clear, but the mind is not."

"You're right, the mind is not clear..."

The gentle, angelic humming noise that had rung within her mind ceased in an instant and the Noctowl spread its wings wide. With a powerful leap and a gust of strong wind, it took off into the air and flew straight upward, then disappeared behind the tree line. In the owl's absence, questions lingered.

Behind her, she heard the sound of heavy, quick footsteps. She turned around to see Andrea atop the rocky outcropping, ready to jump down into the cove.

"Kim! You okay?" Andrea called out.

"Yes, I'm fine!" she said with a nod. "Thank you for the concern."

"I was just coming back when I heard something that sounded like a giant bird taking off. I was worried that something might have happened."

"It was a giant bird that you heard, yes. A Noctowl, in fact."

"A Noctowl? Like that one that I saw a few days ago? Was it golden by any chance? Freakishly huge?"

"Yes, actually!"

"Uh oh... It's stalking us..." Andrea mumbled almost silently before she grabbed Kimberly by the wrist and pulled her away. "Okay, I'm done here. We need to go. Now, preferably."

She tried to wrestle herself out of Andrea's vice-like grip, but couldn't break free. "Hold on! What's the rush?"

"I don't trust giant birds that stalk people. With that big bird lurking about out there, I don't feel safe. I want to leave and you're coming with me."

"But my meditation--"

"I'm sorry, it'll have to wait."

She sighed. "Very well."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 22: Heart to Heart
Special guest co-writer: @Caitlin;

"'The crimson rose trembles in the pale moonlight...' What could that possibly mean?" Kimberly pondered as she wrote in her diary. "And those other words... those riddles... What could they--"

"Whatcha writing about?" Andrea asked from behind. She was stood in the doorway, her hair soaking wet from the shower that she just took.

Kimberly closed her diary and placed the pencil on top of it. "Nothing."

"Nothing? You don't seem the type to write about nothing."

"You wouldn't take it seriously."

"Try me."

"May I be perfectly honest? I would rather not 'try' you. In these past few days that we have been together, you have been rudely dismissive of just about everything I do. My meditation, my faith, my larger than life outlook, my attempts to help you... I really do not want to have a conversation over something you clearly care little about, yet again."

The unexpectedly sharp criticism crashed into Andrea like a wave. She knew she'd been a little difficult over the past few days, but she honestly had no idea that her behavior was so bothersome; the words ate at her and made her uneasy. "Have I... have I really been that... bothersome?" she sheepishly asked.

"Is that a serious question?"

Her friend's sudden change in personality left her confused and all she could offer was a clueless look. She tried to think of the right thing to say, but struggled with choosing the proper words. Before she could, however, Kimberly grabbed her diary and her pencil, then stood up.

"I need some time to myself. Enjoy your dinner date with your friend." With that, Kimberly left the room in silence.

"Uhh, w-w... wait..." she whimpered. "I'm sorry!"

She'd hope that those two final words would bring her friend back, but they didn't. Lost at what she should do, she sulked over to the bed, collapsed onto it and replayed the events from earlier that day in her head. Two specific memories jumped out at her as an explanation for Kimberly's bad mood; when she questioned Kimberly's commitment and capabilities at the top of the morning, and how quickly she had dragged her away from Loch Fiodhbòcan. Kim was clearly upset both of those times, but she bulldozed straight ahead without even thinking about her friend's feelings or what she might have wanted. The worst of it came when she realized that this wasn't the first time in her life that she'd acted that way, that it was a pattern of behavior that she was already aware of.

"Shit... I've done it again, haven't I..."

It was especially bothersome that day. In just a short while, she was to meet with an old friend, Eliza McKenna. Eliza was someone that she nearly lost to similar carelessness. She was happy that she had been given a second chance, but there was a bitter feeling to it, the feeling that she somehow didn't deserve that second chance. She recalled the truly disgusting and awful things that she said to damage their friendship and wondered why would anyone would bother with her after that.

The thoughts were tiresome and enough to drive her insane; she rubbed her temples to fight away the stress, something she hadn't done in ages. The emotions were simply too much for her to deal with at the moment, so she once again buried herself in her work. "Maybe it'll sort itself out... Bad moods fade... right?" she thought as she grabbed her journal and her phone, then dialed one of the numbers in it. After a few rings, her call was answered.

"Hello? Is this Mr. McElroy? Headmaster of Wicker Heights Elementary?" she asked.

"That's me! What can I do for you?" a gruff, elderly voice answered.

"My name is Andrea Dennison and I'm a science analyst working with the Reiland Institute."

"Ah, yes! I heard you might be in the area, I was hoping you might reach out."

"This will probably sound crazy, but... I'm investigating some of the strange things that have been happening in this town. I read about an incident that happened at your elementary school a couple weeks ago... Something about... bleeding walls, was it?"

"You read correctly."

"So it did happen... sounds like something I should look at. I was wondering if I could get permission to do so?"

"Of course! How does tomorrow sound? The kids are off on holiday, so you'll be able to do what you need without interrupting anything."

"Sounds good to me. Will 9 AM work?" she asked.

"I think it will. I'll see you there."

"Thank you, sir."

"No, thank you. I had some people come look at the walls, but they said it was just a bunch of rusty pipes. I'm not so convinced... I'm glad that someone is finally taking this seriously."

"To be fair, I don't know if I'm taking it seriously yet. I've had a look around at some other things in town and I really don't know what to think about all of this."

He laughed. "You're not from around here, are you... no, of course not, you don't have the accent... I don't blame you for being a little skeptical. The town's divided about all of this, really. Maybe tomorrow will change your mind and your findings will change their minds."

"We'll see."

"Aye, we will. Tomorrow, 9 AM." With a click, the call ended.

Before she could even put her phone down, a peculiar, heavy mechanical sound bled in through the window. She turned around to have a look and saw a man and a woman pulling up to the house on a dirty motorcycle. With the motorcycle parked, the female driver hopped off and removed her helmet; red, waist-length hair spilled out of the helmet as she took it off. Andrea knew that hair, and who it was attached to: Eliza McKenna.

"I believe your guests have arrived, Ms. Dennison!" Mrs. Holdt's voice called from downstairs. Her voice trailed off as she continued her thought while wandering into another room, "On a motorcycle, even! I don't see those often anymore, I might have a goosey-gander!"

She smiled at Mrs. Holdt's child-like enthusiasm, then swiveled around to look at herself in the mirror. She lamented at the fact that the rain earlier in the day had indeed ruined her eye liner, so she hastily tried to recreate the look, something she felt was her look, once again. Time slipped away from her as she carefully reapplied it, making sure that every detail was exact.

"Ms. Dennison!" Mr. Holdt's voice called out from downstairs. "Did you hear my wife?"

"Yes, I'll be down in a moment!" she called out as she made her final finishing touches. Satisfied with what she saw in the mirror, she grabbed her journal, her pen and her phone, then rushed down the stairs.

Outside, the filthy, dust-covered motorcycle was the center of attention. Mrs. Holdt was like a kid in a candy store, totally gripped with awe by the bulky touring motorcycle. It brought her back to her rebellious youth, when motorcycles were all the rage for young folk to ride. She couldn't help but lick her finger and rub it against the paneling in an attempt to wipe away the thick layer of dirt.

"Nice bike," Andrea said as she stepped out the door.

"She is," Eliza answered. "Much more powerful than your dad's too. Getting that thing through the cave system just outside of town without throwing poor Travis off the back of it was not easy." She laughed. "Speaking of, this is my partner for the Dahl disappearance case, Travis Dobbs."

Travis still had his open helmet and sunglasses on as he offered a reserved nod. "'Sup."

She waited for him to say more, but he didn't. "That's all you're going to say?" She turned back to Andrea. "I couldn't get this guy to shut up while we were on the road!"

"Ehh," he grunted. "New people. I don't do them very well."

"But you and I just -- oh, forget it! Travis, this is my... 'little sister', Andrea Dennison."

He grabbed ahold of Andrea's extended hand and shook it. "Pleasure."

"I'm not really her sister," Andrea said.

"Kinda figured."

"So!" Eliza started. "Ready for dinner? I'm starving!"

"I could eat," Andrea nodded.

"Have any suggestions? I've never been to this village before."

"I have an idea." Travis sheepishly started. "As we were coming in, Boccino's Bistro on Mill Street caught my eye. Saw a brick oven in their window. Brick oven equals good."

She gasped at the thought and agreed eagerly. "Yes! It's been so long since I've had some good Romatti. That fine with you, Andrea?"

Andrea wasn't thrilled with the idea; she was never a fan of Romatti cuisine, often finding it to be too 'high brow' for her liking. However, the suggestion sounded good to her, but it wasn't the food that interested her; "Mill Street, huh... Maybe I can stake out that ghost..."

She tilted her head. "Ghost?"

"Uhh..." Andrea started, then dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "I'll explain over dinner. Boccino's sounds like a good idea."

"Is that friend of yours that you told me so much about coming with us?"

Andrea shook her head silently, but refused to explain further.

"Huh..." She turned to Mrs. Holdt and asked, "You don't mind if I park my bike here, do you ma'am?"

Mrs. Holdt's attention broke away from the bike, her fingers blackened by the dirt she'd been wiping off of it. "I'd mind if you didn't!" She turned back to the house and shrieked, "Len! Come out here and look at this!"

- - - - -​

"Bloody fokkin' 'ell this stuff is hot..." a waiter lamented as he carried three plates of food and a bowl of caesar salad through the lobby of Boccino's Bistro. He turned around and rested his back against the door, then pushed with all of his might to open the heavy, ornately carved oaken door, nearly losing his balance as it swung open. "Leas' it stopped rainin'." he said with a thick, nearly unintelligible heartland accent as he looked up at the gloomy, cloud-filled sky.

"Hey! Dinner's finally here!" Eliza cheered from her patio table.

"Aye, 's served! 's a bit hot, so do be careful." He handed a steaming plate of spaghetti across the table towards Eliza, followed by the bowl of salad. "One mountain o' spaghetti and some salad for our girl in green..."

"Thank you," Eliza said with a nod. "Looks good!"

"And some assor'ed raviolis for our boy in green," he said as he dropped a plate off in front of Travis. "Thank you two for keepin' us safe. Lo'a crims ou' there these days."

"Too many," Travis absent-mindedly commented as he closely inspected the raviolis. They met his strict standards.

The waiter dropped off the last plate in front of Andrea. "Last but not least, garlic pizza for the vampire queen..."

Andrea rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Believe tha's ev'rythin'," The waiter nodded.

"Yes, thank you," Eliza said.

"Enjoy," the waiter said before taking his leave.

Before the waiter could get far, however, Andrea asked, "Excuse me, umm... This is probably a dumb question, but... do you happen to know when the ghost of Mill Street is rumored to appear?"

"Ghost o' Mill Street?" the waiter asked as he rolled up his sleeve to check his watch. "Righ' abou' now, give or take a few minutes. Why? You expe'in' to see 'im?"

She looked out into the road briefly, then returned her attention to the waitress. "Hoping, more than expecting."

The waiter rolled her eyes. "Bloody fokkin' touris's..." he mumbled softly. "The ghost of Mill Street ain't real, ya know. 's a myth. 's made up. 100% pure bollocks."

"You sound so certain," she said.

The waiter leaned on the table and took a moment to peer at each of them individually before saying, "I been workin' this bloody shift for eight long years, ain't seen no bloomin' ghos's yet." He stood upright again and smiled in a disingenuous manner. "Now, you need anything, anything at all, you lemme know. Enjoy." With that said, the waiter excused herself from the table once again.

Eliza swatted at the air around her. The pungent aroma of garlic covered the table like a thick cloud. "Oof... I think they went a little heavy on the garlic there..."

Andrea shook her head. "Are you kidding? I can't get enough of this stuff!"

"Do you really like it, or are you just trying to show everyone that you're not actually a vampire?"

"Shut it!" she playfully shouted.

Eliza began to dig into her salad. "What's all of this ghost business is about, anyways? I understand that you and Ms. Dahl were sent here to... do something... I've forgotten the details already."

She grumbled as she struggled to lift the monstrous, floppy slice of pizza. "Just work related stuff. Apparently this village has been having a bit of a problem with the paranormal and Dr. Reiland wanted me and Tamara to investigate."

"Paranormal?" Eliza said with a laugh. "You don't actually believe that, do you?"

She dropped the slice of pizza back onto the plate and grabbed a knife and fork, then began the delicate process of cutting it into manageable pieces. "Witches, demons, wraiths... What do you make of it?"

Eliza shook her head. "As that waiter so eloquently put it, it's bollocks. There's only one scary thing in this world, and it's not a ghost. It's a crazed criminal with nothing to lose."

"I don't think your friend is so certain, Eliza," Travis observed as he studied the look on Andrea's face.

Eliza turned to look at her partner. "You sound certain. What makes you say that?"

"Don't see the doubt on her face?" he asked. "Considering how many interrogations you've done over the past few years, you of all people should be able to read a person's thoughts just by the expression on their face."

"He's right. I didn't believe it until I came to this village, but now I'm not certain of what's real and what's not anymore."

"Really... what made you change your mind?"

"It's the people of this village... there are too many people with too many different yet plausible stories for it to be just some joke."

"Mass hysteria is a thing, you know. Remember the UFO craze that swept through the northcountry a few years ago?"

"Superstitious folk up there," Travis added.

"I don't believe it's mass hysteria. These people don't seem crazy... except that one certifiably crazy lady I met the other day." She dropped her cutlery to the table and took on a somber, serious tone with her next words, "Besides, it's not just the people and their stories... I saw something that made me question some of my beliefs about how the world works."

"Oh yeah?" Eliza asked. "And what might that be?"

"Just west of here, in the forest... my friend and I encountered... some sort of monster. That's the only way I can describe it. A terrible, horrible monster."

"I'm not surprised! Pokémon roaming the wilds isn't some strange occurrence."

She shook her head. "No. This was a genuine monster. From a fairy tale. A freak of nature that shouldn't exist." she explained with grim determination. "It looked... almost human, but it wasn't. It was moaning and gurgling like it was suffering. Its skin was flaking off of its bones..."

Eliza and Travis looked at each other in confusion as she continued to describe the creature she encountered in full detail.

"In fact--" She reached for her notebook and opened to the page that documented the creature. "I'm not a good artist, but that's what we found."

Eliza took a moment to go over the notes. Of particular interest to her was the hastily drawn image of the creature, as well as a quick list of facts about it. "Bipedal... exposed bones... tendons that glow with a violet light... ranged attack..." She laughed before adding, "You still trying to write your monster novel? This would make a good villain." She handed the journal to Travis. "What do you think? Award winning?"

Travis handed the journal back to Andrea. "I'd rather not--"

She pounded her fist on the table. "It was real, damn it!" She stood up and cautiously looked around before rolling the hem of her dress up enough to expose the bandage that was wrapped around her leg. "That creature did this to me! Unless you're going to tell me that I'm imagining this, too."

Eliza's eyes widened at the bandage. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"

"I am, no thanks to that... that thing!" she loudly said as she pointed down at her journal.

"Careful, you're starting to do it again..." Eliza warned.

She readjusted her dress and sat back down. "Sorry..."

"There's no need to get angry, It's just... a little hard to believe, you know?"

"Tell me about it... I've got photos of it, too, but... Not here at the dinner table."

"I'm not here to question your beliefs, I'll take your word for it."

An aura of awkward silence swept across the table. Andrea could tell that Eliza wasn't taking her seriously, but she really wasn't up for another argument, so she dropped the topic. Eliza, on the other hand, was curious about how Andrea's life had been in the past few months, but she wasn't sure what to ask about first and spent quite a bit of time thinking it over. Travis had even less to talk about because he didn't know either of them very well, so he resigned himself to a quiet night of listening.

"Soooo..." Eliza started. "Why couldn't your friend make it? She busy with something? I was looking forward to meeting her."

"Uhh..." Andrea groaned, then hung her head low over her plate. "She's... having a bad day, and I think it's my fault."

"Uh oh. I've heard that before."

She nodded. "Yeah. Funny, isn't it? So little has changed since you and I last spoke... I still seem to be doing everything in my power to piss off my closest friends."

"Surely you're not doing it on purpose."

"I'm not. That's the scary thing. I passively do it without even thinking about it."

"Maybe you need to figure out why that keeps happening? You've been losing a lot of friends over the years... Tobias, Danielle, Larson--"

"Hey, Larson is an asshole," she interrupted. "He lost me."

"That's not the point! You could have chose to end your friendship with him quietly, but you made it into a public disaster for the world to see. You've done that with everyone, myself included."

She grumbled angrily at the statement, but she knew it was true.

"Hey! I understand why you did it. I don't agree with what you did, but I understand. You were in a dark place and nobody was helping."

She shook her head. "You tried, at least..."

"Of course I did! I care about you. You've been my best friend for years and years, it wouldn't have been right to ignore you in your time of need."

"Well, you kinda did..."

"Don't try to pin this on me. It was you who ignored someone. I tried reaching out to you for weeks, but you never answered."

She grumbled; more painful truth. "I didn't deserve your friendship after what I did."

"Hold on, hold on, I'm confused," Travis interrupted, pointing between the two of them rapidly. "Now, Eliza... On our way here, you told me that there was some sort of bad blood with your 'sister'..."

"I might have, yes."

He rubbed at his neck nervously. "Maybe it's none of my business, but... What exactly happened? I'm confused."

The two girls stared at each other for a brief moment before fixing their attention on him; Eliza chose the menacing glare of death while Andrea gave him a look of befuddlement.

"Whaaaaat," he asked. "I'm just curious, that's all! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"We really shouldn't be having this conversation in front of him," Eliza commented.

Andrea rested her chin on her hand as she looked off to the side. "Who knows, maybe it'd do me some good. I've got demons to face, I can't just hide from them forever."

"You don't have to face them here!"

"It's fine," she said with a deadpan tone, then let out a long, drawn out sigh. "It all started in December... Life was great. I'd just graduated and earned my biology degree, I was looking forward to my fifth year of studies, I had a decent job... I even had a lot of loyal friends! I had a great boyfriend, Tobias, and we were even talking about getting engaged! It was great, every bit of it. I worked so hard to build that all up... and then..." She brought her hands together loudly and abruptly, causing the other two to jump. "Bam! Just like that, it all fell apart. I crashed into a wall of misery."

Travis leaned forward, giving her his complete and undivided attention. "How, if I may ask?"

She kept quiet for a lengthy period of time, with the other two waiting for her response. Travis was genuinely curious. Eliza already knew the details; she was merely interested in whether they'd be revealed or not.

"How? I don't know if I'm ready to confront how it happened. Not yet. But, umm... Since it was late December, most of my friends, including my boyfriend, had gone to visit family to ring in the new year. I had no one to rely on when I needed them the most. It hit me so heavily that I just... kinda rolled over and died. There was only one thing that I thought could comfort me, and I turned to it... Alcohol."

He nodded as he followed her story.

"I spent the next month smashed out of my damn mind, trying to avoid facing what had happened, avoiding the responsibilities that were starting to pile up. What a mistake that was. My boyfriend came back early to try to help me put the pieces back together, but... for some reason, I didn't want his help. I didn't think he could help."

"He tried so hard," Eliza added.

She sighed. "He did. He poured his fucking heart and soul into making me feel better... I'll never forgive myself for chasing him away when all he was concerned about was my happiness. When he walked out on me, it felt like my future followed him. Within a month, I dropped out of college... lost my job... Most of my friends, too. I haven't spoken to him or any of them since. And the worst part? Now I know he's with someone else. Someone who makes him happier than I ever did."

"Don't say that!"

She shook her head. Her eyelids grew heavy as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "But it's true! I stalk him on FriendZone still... all those happy photos of him and his new girl..."

Travis shook his head. "Rough."

"That's putting it lightly..." she said, rubbing away the tears that threatened to roll down her cheek. She took a deep breath to calm herself a bit. "A-anyways, a few days later, Eliza showed up at my university for an unexpected visit. It had been awhile since I spoke to her, so she didn't know that any of this was going on."

"I found her passed out on the floor of her dorm room, surrounded by empty bottles," Eliza recalled. "I got her back on her feet and she completely lost it, ya know? What was it that you said to me?"

"I don't even remember, but I can bet that it was filled with swearing and anger."

"It was. I've heard sailors curse less than you did that day! You were convinced that I'd come to brag about my 'perfect life', and how resentful you were that I was even in your presence. I even remember dodging a few bottles, too."

"Oh my god, that didn't happen!" she protested, then thought about it. She had absolutely no memory of that day, so anything that Eliza said could possibly be true. "...did it?" she squeaked.

Eliza nodded. "Don't you remember sweeping up the broken glass?"

She sighed, shook her head and rubbed at her eyes. "I am so sorry..."

Eliza reached across the table and grabbed ahold of her hand. "You're past all of that now. Look at you! You've made a miraculous recovery since then!"

"No... No! I don't think it's fair to say that I've recovered yet! I still have... s-still have..." Her emotions had finally overwhelmed her. "I-I... I have to... to..." she struggled to say as she pushed her chair out and rushed into the restaurant.

"Uh oh..." Eliza said. "Maybe letting her poke a hornet's nest wasn't such a great idea. I should have changed the subject."

"You don't think she's going to hurt herself, do you?"

"That's what I'm worried about..." She stood up and rushed off as well. "Sit tight, I'm going to go find her!"

He was bewildered that the two had left him so abruptly. "Uhh! I hope you two aren't planning on dining and dashing! I can't pay for all of this!"

- - - - -​

"C-come on Andrea... Keep it together..." she said. She'd taken refuge from the outside world in the only place she felt she could, a stall in the women's restroom. Her breathing was erratic and labored, and her once pristine eyeliner was ruined yet again. She lightly rocked back and forth in an attempt to steady her shakiness. "She's r-right... You've come so far... A-all in the past..."

The door to the restroom swung open and heavy, slow footprints cautiously entered. She held her breath in an attempt to conceal the fact that she was hiding away.

"I know you're in here, Andrea," Eliza's voice called out. "I'm a police officer, don't forget. Hiding from me won't be easy."

She let out her breath, then lifted her leg and tapped the bottom of the stall door to push it open. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Y'ok?"

She shook her head silently and wiped a tear away from her cheek.

Eliza motioned for her to approach. "How about you c'mon out of there."

"No... I can't face the world like this."

"I don't know about you, but..." Eliza started as she looked all around the pristine room. "This bathroom looks pretty filthy to me... Do you really want to remember today this way? Hiding in a filthy bathroom?"

She looked up at Eliza.

Eliza offered her hand forward. "So your emotions got the better of you. It happens to everyone."

She grabbed ahold of Eliza's hand and pulled herself up to her feet.

Eliza led her out of the bathroom and back into the busy reception area of the restaurant. The scene was lively, busy and continuing as if nothing happened; nobody noticed Andrea's red eyes or her shaky breathing. The world was indifferent to her problems, and that's what Eliza was counting on. Andrea didn't have to face the world if the world didn't face her.

"I admit..." Eliza started cautiously. "It was probably a bad idea to let you dredge up all of those old memories. I shouldn't have."

"No... I'm kinda glad that you did. It reminded me of how many friends I've lost over the years. I didn't want to face the truth that I had blinded myself to. Tobias, Danielle, yourself and so many others..."

"Larson included?"

"Don't," she snapped.

Eliza put her hands up defensively as an apology.

"I'm afraid I might be adding Kim to that list soon. She wasn't very happy when I last saw her."

"What did you do to her?"

"I've just been stepping all over her since we got to this place. When we got to town, she wanted to make sure my wound was healing up, but I wouldn't let her have a look. I spent the next day in the Pokécenter with the nurse looking after me, but I kept trying to send her away. She tried to help me with my investigation a few times, but I stonewalled her at nearly every turn. And now she's convinced that I'm disrespecting her spiritual beliefs."

"Are you?" Eliza asked, head tilted.

She nodded. "I tore her away from her meditation earlier today because I wanted to get back to town. She wasn't happy about it."

"Meditation, huh... That other stuff you could easily apologize for. But disrespecting someone's spirituality is something that is very difficult to atone for."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?"

"Yes, I am."

"How'd you make it up to them?"

"I didn't. It was me who was having her beliefs stepped all over."

"Wait. You too? You sure kept that quiet..." she said, looking off to the side in disbelief.

"You wouldn't have known. It was something I picked it up after you left for university. Helped me to get through the stress of my first homicide investigation."

"Huh... always took you for someone more--" she started, then stopped. "I'll shut up before I say something stupid. Well? How'd they make it up to you?"

"It just took some time, that's all. I don't know if that's a luxury you have, but a simple apology isn't where it ends. If she's sensitive about her spirituality, you'll have to show her over the next few weeks that you genuinely respect her decision to believe."

She nodded. "I'll try. I don't know if I'll be seeing her all that much after I'm done here in Doranshire, but I'll try."

"Let me know how it works out. Remember, I'm always a phone call away. If you're having trouble with something, I am here to help you."

She grabbed Eliza and hugged her tightly. "You really haven't given up on me."

"Of course I haven't! Now, let's check in on Travis, he must be feeling pretty nervous out there by himself."

- - - - -​

Kimberly stepped through the rain-soaked grass, followed closely behind by Juliano. "Right here, I think." she said as she pointed to the ground in front of her.

Juliano stood in the position that was pointed out to him and stood firm.

She returned to the other side of the Holdt's garden. "Here I go!" With a running start, she dove forward and sprung off of her hands into the air. Before she landed, she twisted herself 180 degrees in the air; with her feet back on the ground, she pushed with all her might and started a back flip. She spun in the air once... twice... "Woah!" she shrieked as her arms started to flail uncontrollably. She face planted into the dirt as she narrowly missed the double back flip far from her intended location: into Juliano's awaiting arms.

He rushed to her aid and helped her to her feet, then wiped away the mud that stuck to the bottom of her dress.

"I'm fine, Juliano. It was only a little tumble. Perhaps a double back flip is too much for me at the moment."

He huffed in disagreement.

"I understand that you believe in me. I have done it before, but... I'm not in the right mind set to pull off those crazy moves."

He picked her up off of her feet and carried her over to the bench beside the flowers. With an audible thud, he dropped to the floor and sat in front of her, then let out a sequence of deep grumbling sounds.

Despite not speaking intelligible Glastonian, she had an idea of what he was trying to communicate. "Andrea, you mean?"

He nodded.

"The way she's been treating me is part of it... I shouldn't let her get me down. I should be used to being trampled by now, she really is just like Nicole."

He laughed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when she's finished here. Hopefully she doesn't plan on visiting Rustlode..."

He shook his head and growled lowly, the crossed his arms.

"Precisely. She's starting to wear me a little thin, too. I can only hope that she doesn't expect me to follow her everywhere like some sort of personal escort that she can order around."

Juliano looked behind Kimberly's shoulder to see the door open and Andrea step out. He couldn't help but stare at her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. She turned around to look and saw Andrea standing there.

"Hi..." Andrea quietly said. "Mrs. Holdt said I might find you here."

"Oh. Hello." she coldly said. "Did you enjoy dinner?"

Andrea sighed and shook her head. "Not really, no. The food was good, but, umm..." She nervously approached. "Seeing my friend after so long brought up some old demons that I never properly faced. It made me realize that I'm just... I'm a terrible human being."

"Oh, no, Andrea! I'm sure you're a lovely person deep down, but..."

"But?"

"It pains me to say it, but you are... kind of an arsehole. You've got problems that you need to sort out, but you're still a good person."

Andrea's eyes widened. "If you of all people say it like that, it's gotta be true... Look, I'm deeply sorry for what I've done."

"Are you really?"

"I understand that you're mad at me. That anger is perfectly justified. I've been a terrible friend."

"You're right. You have."

"Oh... okay, I uhh... didn't expect to hear that."

She crossed her arms and glared at Andrea. "You didn't expect what? For me to agree with you? Are you here to beg for sympathy, or are you here to actually apologize?"

"You're right. Sympathy is the last thing I deserve." She took a deep breath and nodded. "This has been a constant problem throughout my life. I get along with people, but then I slowly turn on them. I treat them like dirt, treat them like they're replaceable. Eventually it gets to the point where I'm saying dreadful things to them and wishing I'd never met them. I've already started to go down that road with you and I don't want it to go any further. From this point, that's going to change."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I realized how important a true friend really is. I lost a lot of my closest friends over the past year because of how I've acted, and I only got one of them back because she was willing to give me a second chance."

"That's good to hear."

"Which brings me to you. We've only known each other for about a week, but already you've been a better friend to me than just about anyone I've ever met. I don't want to lose that. Even if it turns out that we won't be together after I'm done here in Doranshire, I still want to be able to call you a friend. Someone I can call on a slow day and just chat with."

"That does sound nice..."

"I don't know how, but I'm going to make it up to you. I'll find some way to pay you back for the way I've been acting, I promise."

"You don't have to. Recognizing your behavior and vowing to change it is all I need to hear right now."

"I'll leave you alone now. You still need your time alone, and I... I've had a rough night. I-I need to lie down..."

"Rest easy."

Andrea nodded and went back inside the house.

She turned to Juliano and smiled. "Well! Maybe she isn't just like Nicole. I'm still waiting for her to apologize for her behavior, and it's been over a year. That means it'll never happen."

Juliano huffed and shook his head.

"Yes, I know that it's easy for people to be disingenuous. I just hope that in Andrea's case, she isn't."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 23: Unusual Findings

With a spring in his step, Patrick whistled a merry tune as he navigated the halls of the Reiland Institute. In his left hand was a blue folder labeled 'Loch Fiodhbòcan Water Purity Analysis', while his right hand carried a half empty mug of steaming hot coffee. His journey ended at room 237-B, Dr. Reiland's office. Just as he was about to grab the handle of the door, he heard muffled speech from within.

"Hmm. A little early for visitors." he mumbled. He grabbed the handle and jiggled it, finding it to be locked.

He knocked on the door and the muffled speech stopped. A few seconds later, the door opened and an elderly man with mess grey hair that went in every direction peered out.

"Ah, Dr. Venger! It's been awhile since I've seen you over this way."

"Mr. Adelaide," The man nodded politely. "My work usually keeps me terribly busy, that's why you never see me."

"I dropped by to check in on Dr. Reiland. I usually help her with opening her medication in the morning."

"I've already done that for her, I'm afraid." Dr. Venger said. He stepped aside and motioned for Patrick to enter. "Since you're here, we may as well fill you in on a most peculiar discovery that I made."

He stepped inside the office and greeted his boss. "Morning, Dr. Reiland."

"Good morning, Patrick," Dr. Reiland said with a smile as she gathered the myriad of medication bottles that were scattered about her desk and put them away.

He displayed the folder that he was carrying. "I've got the test results for the water sample that Andrea sent us yesterday."

"Another sample from Ms. Dennison? She's a busy girl!" Dr. Venger commented.

"She is," he said as he sat down. "But before I get to the results, I'll let you two go first."

"Do you remember that bone fragment that Ms. Dennison recovered?" Dr. Venger asked.

"Yeah, I do. What about it?"

Dr. Venger grabbed a paper off of Dr. Reiland's desk and offered it to him. "Here is my report on it."

He grabbed the paper and began to read from it. As his eyes scanned through the text, they began to widen. He looked up at Dr. Venger for clarification, only to receive a nod to continue reading. He could hardly believe the words that he was reading:

Bone Fragment Analysis, Reiland Institute Medical Wing
Report written by Dr. Venger
Lab work completed by Dr. Venger, Dr. Brink, Emily Winehaus, et al
May 20th, 9:07 PM

Two days ago, an unidentified bone fragment was brought to the medical wing for analysis. It was recovered by our newest field analyst, Andrea Dennison, from what she described as an 'undead skeletal creature' that had attacked her approximately 20 miles west of the village of Doranshire. Obviously a claim like this should be treated with utmost skepticism, but the photos she sent of this creature were indeed puzzling. I have never seen such a bizarre anatomical structure, so I was curious of what our field analyst actually found. I authorized a full battery of tests to determine what this creature was.

The first test we performed, a DNA test, led to the most interesting and puzzling result. The intent was to discover the species of Pokémon that this creature was in life, but we found that it wasn't a Pokémon at all. The fragment that Ms. Dennison recovered was in fact... human in origin! Thinking that a mistake had been made or that the initial sample we had taken was somehow contaminated, we extracted more bone marrow and tested again, only to receive the same results. Seven separate tests were performed just to be certain, all resulting in functionally identical genetic profiles.

There is no way for us here in the lab to determine the true identity of who this bone belonged to, but we did make a few determinations: Based on the genetic profile that we extracted, we've determined that the individual in question was a white female of Glastonian ancestry. We are unable to determine anything else about the individual: age, distinguishing features, where she might have lived. I have submitted the profile generated from our tests to the National Crime Lab; perhaps they will have a genetic profile to compare our Jane Doe to. It's likely that this individual has been reported missing at some point, and her family members should be notified of her passing.

Physically, we've determined that the bone fragment is the scapula of our Jane Doe, or at least part of it. A very clear fracture is present, indicating that the rest of it is still where the fragment was recovered from. I've spent considerable time going over the photos that Ms. Dennison sent to us to make sure that I wasn't overlooking something that would make sense of this mess, but alas, no sense was found.

I determined that the fragment that Ms. Dennison recovered was integrated into this creature's skeletal structure, attached via tendons and other connective tissue, as it was present in a photo that was taken before Ms. Dennison recovered the sample. Yet none of the other bones present in the photos appear to be human. Unfortunately, without further samples to work with, we can't determine what those other bones may have belonged to. I'll have a word with Ms. Dennison to determine where the discovery was made and send a team out to recover the remains for further examination.

The implications of these findings are troubling to say the least. None of this makes sense. Why would a human female's bones be present alongside the bones of Pokémon in a creature that logically shouldn't exist? What exactly was this creature that Ms. Dennison encountered? I understand that she was injured by this creature, something that lends credence to her claim that she was attacked. An attack indicates movement, but I can't determine how this creature can even move, since key muscle groups are either badly decomposed or completely absent. Telekinesis from a foreign source is an option, I suppose...

There is one thing that I can say for certain: the staff of the Reiland Institute has a lot of work ahead of it. We​

will determine what this creature was.​

He lowered the paper in silence as he thought about what he had just read.

"That was my reaction too, Patrick," Dr. Reiland said. "I've forwarded this report to Ms. Dahl's employer, Dr. Belmonte. I'll see what he thinks. He seems to know a bit more about this creature than we do, maybe he can make sense of this."

"This feels like some sort of big joke that I'm not a part of," he said.

"This is no joke," Dr. Venger commented.

"Of course not, I would never question your work, Dr. Venger, you are one of our absolute best."

Dr. Venger nodded at the compliment.

He placed the report back onto Dr. Reiland's desk. "There must be a logical explanation for all of this, something that nobody is seeing. The dead don't just rise and attack people willy nilly!"

"Evidently, the dead may be starting to do just that," Dr. Venger said. "If we take a step back and assume that is the case, it would readily explain a large part of what your new employee claims to have seen."

"You're not seriously suggesting--"

Dr. Venger raised his chin ever so slightly and raised his eyebrow as a challenge to Patrick.

He sighed. "Well. You're right. If that is the case, it would explain what she saw. But... It just... I don't... What does... How..." He stammered with his words as he tried to articulate his inner thoughts. None of it lined up with what he knew to be true.

"It's okay, Patrick, we all get stumped at some point in our careers," Dr. Reiland said. "When our beliefs are challenged so soundly, we find it difficult to process what we're examining. It's happened to me several times in the past and it will happen in the future. I'm sure it's already happened to you as well."

A buzzing sound radiated out of Dr. Venger's pocket; he grabbed his phone and took a brief look at it. "You'll have to excuse me, that's my friend at the National Crime Lab. He wants to speak with me. If he has anything interesting to say, I'll let you know. It was nice seeing you again, Rebecca!"

Dr. Reiland nodded. "Take care. And visit more often! It feels like I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"I'll try," Dr. Venger said before closing the door behind him.

"Really... The dead coming to life..." he said as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have an open mind, but... Any more open and my brain might fall onto the floor."

Dr. Reiland let out a chuckle. "I'd hate to say it, Patrick, but you don't understand what it truly means to be open minded."

He looked up into the air in thought. "I'll give you that one."

"But you're right, it does take some leaps of logic, and I actually agree with you. There must be some other explanation. I'm hoping that my correspondence with Dr. Belmonte leads to that explanation."

"Perhaps there's something that Andrea isn't telling us?" he suggested.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. It's also possible that she's just as clueless as we are and I'm willing to bet on that possibility. Time will tell." She pointed out the blue folder in his hands. "So, what do you have for me today?"

He opened the folder and grabbed the front page out of the sleeve within, then placed it onto her desk. "Water test results for the samples that Andrea gathered from Loch Fiodhbòcan. All tests came back negative for toxins, harmful bacteria and chemicals. I even looked for some things a standard test doesn't cover, such as those old Kanetska bio-weapons."

"Goodness! I don't think you needed to go that far."

"Testing for them was actually pretty easy and I just wanted to be certain. You never know when some sick bastard is going to test out his latest black market purchase."

"You've been watching too much television, I think. Well, at least we can rule out water contamination."

He dropped the folder onto the report. "We can. In fact, the water sourced from that reservoir is above average in terms of purity. Particulate counts are astonishingly low. I'm kinda jealous, you know? Our city water is filthy and it smells like sulfur sometimes."

"Thank you for getting this done so quickly. I'll let her know the results, it'll help her to formulate her next avenue of investigation."

"Are you going to tell her about Dr. Venger's report?"

"I am."

He paused for a moment before sheepishly offering, "Let me do that. If you don't mind, that is."

"Oh?"

"I think it would mean something to her if the person who rudely dismissed everything she said admitted that maybe he was wrong. Besides, she's my responsibility, I was the one who encouraged you to send her out there. I was the one who wanted to test her further. I'm not going to wash my hands of her just because I'm having a hard time agreeing with her findings."

She smiled. "That's very mature of you. I made the right choice when promoting you to a senior staff position." She picked up the phone on her desk and handed it over.

Patrick dialed Andrea's number and waited patiently for her to respond. "Gonna put her on speaker, if you want to talk to her, too."

"Hello?" Andrea's voice asked.

"Good morning, Andrea!" Patrick answered.

"Oh, hey Patrick! I figured it was Dr. Reiland calling, not you. What's up?

"I'm here!" Dr. Reiland added.

"Yeah, we've got you on speaker," Patrick explained. "We've got some news for you about your findings..."

"Anything I should be worried about?"

Patrick reached for the blue folder that sat on the doctor's desk and leafed through the papers. "Let's start with the good news first... Got your water analysis results back. Didn't find anything. No chemicals, no toxins, no harmful bacteria."

"That'll take a load off of my friend's mind. When I told her I was analyzing the water for you guys, she started getting all nervous and worried. She thought she'd been drinking poison for the past few days!"

He laughed. "Nope, nothing like that. You let your friend know that you're unlikely to find purer water anywhere in the country."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

He paused momentarily as he looked to Dr. Reiland for approval, which she gave with a nod. "Yes, actually. It's about the bone fragment you recovered from that creature you encountered."

"Oh yeah? What about it?"

"Are you alone?"

"I am."

"Nobody around who might overhear?"

"Yes, yes! Tell me what this is about."

He grabbed Dr. Venger's report next and cautiously thought about how to approach the subject. "First, I should apologize for how I reacted when you came to me with your findings. That was very unprofessional of me."

"But expected," she said. "I understand."

"Now... how do I put this... That bone fragment you found, it was... It was human."

"Excuse me?" she loudly asked.

"Try to be a little quieter, I don't want to cause a panic. Anyways, one of our staff members, Dr. Venger, made that discovery. You haven't met him yet, but I want you to know that Dr. Venger is a very thorough and serious man. When he discovered that the bone fragment you found contained human DNA, he tested it over and over again just to be sure. In the years that I've worked here, I've learned to never question Dr. Venger's findings, because he is always right."

"That doesn't make sense... Why would that... How?"

"I share your confusion, trust me," he said. "We don't know any specifics. All we can determine currently is that the bone belonged to a woman of Glastonian ancestry. We don't know how old she was, where she might have lived, any of that. We don't even know how it got tangled into that monstrosity you discovered."

There was silence on the line.

"You still there, Andrea?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking. Are you telling me that I was attacked by..." Her voice lowered to a near whisper. "Some dead lady?"

"As illogical as that sounds..." Dr. Reiland started. "It would be a simple way of explaining what happened, based on the information we currently have. But I can tell you for certain that whatever did attack you wasn't human. It just... had part of one embedded into it."

There was another long pause. "I don't get it. I-I-I just don't! First a -- Maybe it would help if I knew what you were suggesting, because I'm having a tough time with this."

"I'm curious, too," Patrick added.

"Well! I should preface this by saying that I'm not entirely certain about this theory. But it is the one theory that I currently have that answers the most questions. Not all of them, but the most."

"I'm listening," Andrea said.

"I looked over your notes about this creature and the photos you sent as well. I'm beginning to think that the creature that attacked you may have been constructed from both human and Pokémon remains and... somehow given life again. Like some sort of Frankenstein monster, only much, much worse."

"You lost me again."

"Do you recall how I said that the bone structure of this creature was unusual? Like a jigsaw puzzle, but the pieces were all out of order?"

"So what you're saying now is that this creature was a collection of... 'spare parts'?"

"In essence, yes. The piece you sent back appears to be a fragment of someone's scapula."

"Scapula..." Andrea repeated.

"Unfortunately, missing something like that... it paints a grim picture for the woman it belonged to."

"Oh my god..."

Patrick shrugged. "Can't rule out that she was an amputee."

"Amputees don't get their shoulders cut off!" Andrea answered.

"I'll have to do some more reading before I can start to say for certain what we're dealing with. I've also forwarded your findings to Dr. Belmonte. If he has anything interesting or relevant to say, you will be the first person to know."

Andrea didn't know what to say. "I find this... If I didn't respect you as much as I do, doctor--"

"I understand."

"W-what should I do next?" she asked, her voice shaking somewhat.

"Continue as you were. I'm starting to get the feeling that you will find something worth taking a much closer look at, Ms. Dennison, it's just a matter of time at this point."

"Understood."

"Oh! And when you get the chance, drop by the Pokécenter some time today, I have a gift for you."

"A gift?"

Dr. Reiland grabbed a small wooden box and opened it, pulling out a pink R-Kit as she said, "We got your R-Kit up and running again. Something fried the internal coding of it, it was astonishingly simple to repair."

"Oh! Good! That'll make things so much easier! But it might be awhile, before I make it to the Pokécenter, there's a freak storm battering the village at the moment."

"That's fine, take your time. Your safety is important!"

"As soon the weather clears up, you'll hear from me. Bye!"

Patrick ended the call and put the phone back onto the desk. He took a deep breath and sighed, then said, "Do you get the feeling that she's in over her head? After all, Dr. Belmonte sent an expert in the paranormal to investigate. Andrea's only a biologist, and not a particularly experienced one."

Dr. Reiland leaned back in her chair. "You did say you wanted to test her."

"But I also didn't expect it to turn into this. She was supposed to have someone help her, a real expert, but now she's got nothing except occasional input from us. And we're not experts when it comes to the paranormal, either!"

"I think she's been doing a good job so far."

"Maybe. But I'm just... Even our veteran field analysts would have trouble with the job we assigned her, and I'm starting to feel a little bit bad about throwing her into the deep end so soon. I should have kept her close by in town for a few days, then brought her back to Nettlefield to see what's going on in that swamp. At least that falls under the realm of her expertise, and I could have been there to see how she works."

"I understand what you're saying. If she doesn't pull through, we can always send someone else out there to pick up where she leaves off. But until then, I'll put a little faith in her."

- - - - -​

Spoiler

Updates and edits:

• Updated the beginning of the phone call between Patrick, Dr. Reiland and Andrea to reflect changes necessitated by the next chapter.
• Minor grammatical fixes

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: I've tried to up my descriptive game a bit. Hopefully it's not too distracting, I'm definitely out of my comfort zone. There are also some minor retcons of the previous chapter. It has already been edited to reflect these changes.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 24: Dance of the Orbs

The weather was unusually violent that morning. The clouds were jostled back and forth like a raging sea by high winds as they let loose a heavy downpour on the quiet countryside. Massive forks of lightning arced across the turbulent sky as they danced between the clouds, rarely impacting the earth below. The storm displayed the power of mother nature as it lingered above the Spritewood, drenching the village of Doranshire as it turned its once quaint dirt roads into muddy traps.

Lightning struck fairly close to the Holdt residence, creating a cataclysmic crash of thunder that echoed across the village. The sound of the thunder was loud enough to wake Andrea from her deep sleep. She wasn't even aware that she had been woken by the thunder and tried her best to get back to sleep, but another rumble brought her back into the realm of consciousness. "Uuuugh... izzat... is that thunder?" she mumbled incoherently to herself as she stretched.

She tried to roll out of bed, but felt something holding her in place. A lift of the blanket showed that Kimberly's arm was wrapped snuggly around her. She felt oddly put off by it and was tempted to make a scene about it, but at the same time, she didn't want to push her luck considering the disagreement they had the previous night. Instead, she tried her best to gently lift her friend's arm so that she could get out of bed without waking her. Despite her best efforts at being subtle about it, the attempt failed; Kimberly stirred in her sleep and only tightened her grip.

"C'mon, let me go..." she muttered softly, barely audible, trying again to loosen her friend's grasp. "You're lucky that you're a girl, otherwise I'd rip that arm off..."

Kimberly's eyes cracked open slightly for a brief moment before they shot open widely. She realized where her hand had drifted and retracted her arm quickly. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I-I--"

Free from her friend's grip, she rolled out of bed and stretched. "Well! I haven't been felt up like that since my second year of uni!"

Kimberly giggled nervously. "I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it," she said as she sauntered up to the window and pulled back the curtain. On any other day, bright sunlight would have flooded into the room, but the light level barely changed with the receded curtains. Her vision of the outside world was heavily distorted by the thick layer of rain that drained down the window. "Hope the weather clears up... I don't fancy walking through that rain."

Kimberly wrapped herself in the fluffy blanket and rolled to face away from the window. "Going somewhere?" she mumbled, already half asleep again. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the room and a monstrous rumble of thunder rattled the window and shook the house. The sound jolted her awake again. "Oh! Goodness!"

"I'm surprised the thunder didn't wake you up earlier... Anyways, I was hoping to go somewhere, but I don't think that'll happen if this keeps up."

Kimberly enthusiastically jumped out of bed and rushed to the window to watch the storm. "What did you have planned?"

"I scheduled a tour of a local elementary school which is supposedly haunted. The school's headmaster said that if I were to find any evidence for my investigation into the strange sightings in this village, that's where I'd find it."

"Oh! Sounds interesting!"

"I just need the weather to clear up. The school is clear across town and I'm not--"

Lightning tore through the sky and impacted the tree across the alley from them. Smoke rose and sparking embers rained down from the tree as the hardest hit branch splintered away and dropped to the rain-soaked, muddy path below with a giant splash and an audible thud.

She clutched her chest in an effort to calm her racing heart. "Holy shhhh... Yeah, this isn't safe to walk around in."

"Agreed. Looks like I'll be staying here as well."

"Oh? Sounds like you have your own plans."

Kimberly cautiously looked up at her before returning her attention to the rolling storm outside. "Well... to be honest, I was... thinking about leaving town today..."

Hearing those words caused Andrea's stomach to drop. She knew she had been difficult over the past few days, but she had no idea that her friend had given the thought of abandoning her any serious consideration. She wasn't sure what to say. She offered a few disappointed grunts and groans, but couldn't formulate a proper thought.

Kimberly could sense the distress she caused and tried to remedy it. Rather than state the true reason she planned to leave Andrea behind, she quickly fabricated a believable excuse. "It seems like you'll be here for awhile. If I intend to reach Rustlode in time to stick to my schedule, I need to be getting on soon."

"That's fair enough, I guess..." she said with a tone of disappointment lingering over her words. "I mean... I'd have..." she shook her head as she lost her train of thought. "Nevermind."

"But," Kimberly added. "Like you, if the weather doesn't improve by noon, I'll probably be better off staying here. I hear that the road from here to Rustlode is difficult and seldom traveled, so I might not find lodgings very easily. I'd like to keep my stops in the wilderness to a minimum, considering what happened a few nights ago."

"Meaning?"

"If I haven't left by noon, maybe I could tag along for what you're doing, and then I'll worry about leaving tomorrow morning."

Despite the possibility, she felt uneasy. The roller coaster ride between not knowing if she was going to spend the next few days alone and the cautious hope that she wouldn't sent her head spinning. She thought she had salvaged their friendship with her heartfelt apology, but she worried that maybe she hadn't. The idea that Kimberly didn't believe that she was willing to change haunted her, as there would be no redeeming their friendship in that case. Her thoughts completely clouded her mind from the reality that Kimberly had her own life to live and her own schedule to work with, and she desperately thought of a way to convince her to stay.

"Well?" Kimberly asked.

She snapped away from her thoughts. "Huh? Well what?"

"Could I perhaps tag along if I'm still here?"

"Oh! Of course! I'd be happy to have you come along!"

"Wonderful! I've always been interested in seeing what a countryside school is like."

"Not any different from what you went to, I imagine,"

Kimberly laughed. "Very different. I went to a boarding school full of spoiled little brats."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." She immediately thought about what she had just said and felt compelled to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't mean that in a negative way!"

Kimberly looked up at her and raised her eyebrow. "We need to work on those social skills of yours."

She grumbled. "Tell me about it..."

Kimberly stood up and stretched. "What do you say we grab some breakfast? I'm hungry."

- - - - -​

Downstairs in the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Holdt were buzzing around like worker bees, making sure breakfast for their guests was as perfect as it could be. Garden greens, carrots, tomatoes, berries, peach slices and shredded almonds flew from Mrs. Holdt's cutting board and into a bowl, while Mr. Holdt juggled his attention between three separate pans of tuna, eggs and bacon at the stove. A local news report about the weather was blaring from the TV in the corner of the room.

"Ah, you're up earlier than usual!" Mr. Holdt commented as he saw Andrea and Kimberly walk into the kitchen from the corner of his eye.

"It's very loud out there," Andrea answered. "I couldn't sleep through all that thunder, especially with it shaking the whole house like that."

"Heh. Yes, it's pretty bad out there. It's a bit early in the year for a storm like this, too."

Andrea took a seat at the table. "Do you get weather like this often?"

"Not too often," he said, nodding towards the television set.

The meteorologist on the television was stood in front of a screen that showed the radar image of the storm overhead. It almost appeared as if someone had thrown a bucket of red paint against the screen behind him; the monstrous storm cell that covered much of the Spritewood slowly crawled its way to the south rather than the usual east, with a large trail of green, lighter rain following behind it.

"...sustained gale force winds reaching speeds of nearly sixty kilometers per hour, with gusts measured by our weather station clocking in at around ninety kilometers per hour. Coupled with the rain and lightning, it goes without saying: shelter in place and do not attempt to venture out..."

Mr. Holdt effortlessly flipped the scrambled eggs out of the pan and onto an awaiting plate beside him. "Seems like every few years, we get a big one that comes out of nowhere. But they're usually in the summer, not spring..."

"So you're not worried about this?" Andrea asked as she sat down, her words overpowered by another clash of thunder.

"Nah. Been through enough of them to know this house can take a beating." He removed the slabs of seared fish meat from the pan and placed them on another plate, then brought it over to the table.

Kimberly shivered in disgust and covered her nose as the plate of fish passed by her. "Ugh..."

He snickered as he watched her gag. "Don't like fish, do ya?"

She shook her head.

"Don't blame you, it's an acquired taste that I picked up a long time ago in Can Minh," he said as he grabbed a knife and fork and began to cut the fish into tiny pieces. "Yeah, just stay inside today. You're not going to get anywhere with the wind blowing like that, and god forbid a branch fall on you. That leg injury of yours was bad enough!"

"It really wasn't, according to the nurse... Maybe I should call ahead and let the guy I was supposed to meet know I'm probably not going to make it, then?"

"Wouldn't hurt. I'm sure he'll understand if he's been through one or two of these storms himself."

"I'll go call him now, if you don't mind. See if I can reschedule for later today or even tomorrow. I don't want him to get ready to leave if he doesn't have to."

Mr. Holdt popped a piece of fish into his mouth and nodded. "By all means!"

She pushed herself out of her chair and made her way back upstairs to the tiny bedroom that had been serving as her home for the past four days. With her phone in hand, she opened her notebook and found the phone number for the school's headmaster. She readied herself for his disappointment as she dialed the number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" the headmaster's haggard voice asked.

"Hello, Mr. McElroy! It's Andrea, the scientist who was supposed to visit the school today."

"Yes, of course! I was just about to call you!" he said with enthusiasm in his voice. "I'm afraid we'll have to cancel our meeting today. The weather is a little bit too disagreeable at the moment, I hope you don't mind. Lucky it struck when the kids had the day off!"

"Yeah, I don't feel safe walking around in weather like this," she said as she peeked through the blinds. "Would I be able to come later today if the weather clears up?"

"Unfortunately not. I have other obligations to take care of this afternoon. But tomorrow afternoon works for me, how does that sound?"

With a nod, she began to write down some information in her notepad. "I can make that work."

"Good. By then, most of the students and faculty should be gone. I'll try to see if I can get the first grade teacher to stay awhile so you can talk to her. She'll likely have more information than I do."

"Any specific time?"

"Tomorrow at... around 4 PM, maybe?"

"Four... PM..." she mumbled as she wrote down the time. "I'll be there."

"Good! Tomorrow it is."

"Yes. Thanks for being understanding." With that, she ended the call and put her phone back onto the table. Another flash of lightning illuminated the window and the crash of thunder soon shook the house. "Great... now I'm stuck inside with nothing to do."

She got up to return to the kitchen, but just as she made it to the top of the stairs, her phone began to ring again. Curious of who it could be, she rushed back to the phone and picked it up. Dr. Reiland's name appeared on the caller ID.

"Hello?" she asked.

Rather than get an answer from Dr. Reiland like she expected, Patrick's voice spoke instead. "Good morning, Andrea!"

"Oh, hey Patrick! I figured it was Dr. Reiland calling, not you. What's up?"

"I'm here!" Dr. Reiland's muffled voice called out.

"Yeah, we've got you on speaker. We've got some news for you about your findings..."

- - - - -​

The weather continued its assault on Doranshire for much of the day. Noon had come and gone, but the relentless storm persisted for at least another hour. With both of their plans for the day ruined, Andrea and Kimberly spent the day inside, bored out of their minds. Andrea tried to pass the time by continuing her work, but she had little else to add to her report about her time in the village. Kimberly thought of a few routines she could work into her next coordination appearance, but also had little to work with since she only had two Pokémon. The day was quiet, with relatively little chatter between the two. It was something that both of them found disheartening, but they were both afraid they'd drive a wedge further between them if they tried to speak to one another.

The afternoon came and went and the storm started to let up a bit. By dinner time, only light rain lingered in the area, with the occasional gust that would shake the frame of the old house. Andrea took the opportunity to visit the Pokécenter and pick up her repaired R-Kit. She was happy that it was firmly wrapped around her wrist once more, but disappointed that her old one was returned to her; she still couldn't get over the fact that Patrick had forced a pink one on her, but she wasn't about to complain about it.

When she returned to the Holdt residence, the television broadcast was tuned to the weather again. The local meteorologist, having been blind sided by the sudden emergence of the storm in the first place, could only offer cautious optimism about his forecast of sunny weather the following day. Even then, there was little confidence in his words. There may have been truth to his shaky prediction, however, as the rain had stopped entirely by sunset and twinkling stars appeared in the patchy night sky.

"Yeah... just like that..." Andrea said.

She was looking over Kimberly's shoulder, who was seated at the table with a pencil in her hand and her notebook open in front of her. A very detailed drawing of the skeletal creature they met in the Spritewood a few nights previously took up the center of the page, with several smaller drawings of the creature from various angles and in different poses filling the margins of the page. Beside the journal was Andrea's own hasty attempt at drawing the creature; the difference in skill and style was like night and day.

The two had spent the past hour working on the drawing in an effort to pass the time before bedtime; Kimberly's recollection of the creature was scant and foggy, as she didn't see much of it before she fainted from horror, so she relied on Andrea's memory and guidance to sketch the creature. Despite the lack of color, the detail was exactly as Andrea remembered it.

"This really is... not my usual subject... I'm more into trees and nature, not... this." Kimberly added. "Why does your boss want this, again?"

"She called earlier today and told me a few things about it. One of her staff members is working on a report about it and wants a better drawing than the one I did."

"What did she have to say about this hideous thing?"

Andrea paused for a moment to think over what she learned from Dr. Reiland and Patrick. Nearly every detail she learned about the creature painted a grim picture, especially the fact that a human bone was found within its skeletal structure. She tried to figure out a way of filtering the details somewhat, cautious of the fact that she might upset Kimberly too much with the honest truth. In the end, she couldn't formulate a filtered answer and decided to brush over it completely. "Not much, just... uh... could be a newly discovered species. She's still looking into it."

"Oh! Cool! And we found it!"

Her desire to downplay their 'achievement' rose to the surface. "Well... it might not be previously undiscovered, keep that in mind... Not like it's impressive anyways, new species are discovered more often than you think."

"Well I think it's impressive," Kimberly answered.

She tried to switch the subject entirely. "No. What's really impressive is your artistic skill, I wish I could do that." she said, marveling at the grotesque drawing.

"You really think so?" She paused for a moment to inspect her work, then felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she looked it over. Despite it being just a drawing, she could swear that she saw the lines moving slightly, the paper gurgling at her. She put the paper back down and covered as much of the drawing as she could with her hand. "I'm not as good as some of my friends, I don't think."

"Are you kidding me? People would straight up murder someone for that kind of talent. You could easily make a living by selling commissioned art."

Kimberly giggled at the thought. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have to make a living doing anything. I could probably retire comfortably tomorrow if I really wanted."

"Oh. Right. Forgot you're richer than the royal family."

"Let's not go that far... I think you're mistaken anyways. It's not natural skill, it's practice. You can get to this point if you spend a few years working on it. That's what I did."

"People always tell me that, and it's usually the ones who are born with it that say it."

Kimberly giggled as she got started on refining the details of the creature's mangled arm. "Hmm... I won't lie to you, it's probably fair to say that at least some of my talent was something I was born with."

"Lucky you..." she said as she stood up and wandered around the cramped room.

"Don't feel too bad, you've got your own natural talent! You just have to find it... Now, what did this disgusting monster's arm look like, again? Didn't you say something about sharp blades?"

"Something like that," she said. Just as she was about to return to the table to guide Kimberly again, she noticed a faint light flitter across the curtains along the window. She drew the curtain to an enchanting sight: several glowing orbs of faded, colored light drifted through the village, weaving in and out of the branches as they continued on their path. She figured that they were the same mysterious lights she saw scattered throughout the Spritewood, but having little experience with them, she couldn't be certain. "Hey Kim, come look at this."

"Hmm?" Kimberly asked as she turned to look through the window. Her eyes lit up like a christmas tree as she watched the orbs dance through the trees. "Ooh! They're beautiful!"

"They are, aren't they?"

"I really wonder what they are..."

"Maybe I can find out..." she said as she turned on her R-Kit and activated the Accu-Scan app. She undid the locks on the window and slid it open, then cautiously dangled out as she tried to get a reading with her R-Kit. She felt a pair of hands place themselves on her hips and hold onto her. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?" she called out.

"Making sure you don't fall, silly!" Kimberly's voice said.

She shook her head and initiated the scan with her R-Kit. The beam of light that usually indicated it was scanning something flickered with red as it bolted around in a haphazard motion.

"Nothing detected within sensor range," the R-Kit's robotic voice buzzed.

"Damn..." she whispered. She pulled herself back into the room and shrugged. "I'm going to step outside for a second and see if I can find one that's closer to the ground. I'll be right back."

"Don't stray too far," Kimberly warned.

"And... Hands to yourself next time, please?"

Kimberly put her hands in a defenseive manner. "I'm only interested in your safety, but if that's what you want, that'll how it'll be."

She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, slid it between the band of her stocking and her thigh, then grabbed her notebook and a pencil and started to head down the stairs. She saw that both Mr. and Mrs. Holdt were gathered around the window of the lounge, watching the lights as they drifted by. She explained her plan to them and received a few tips on how to get closer to the lights, then stepped outside into the chilly night.

She followed the path to the main road and raised her R-Kit to the sky, trying her best to aim at the floating orb that hovered nearly a dozen feet above her. To her joy, the blue beam of light on her R-Kit bridged the gap between her and the orb, but before the scan could complete, the orb moved out of range and the beam of light faded into red.

"No, no, no, no! Come back!" she called out. The light, if it was even capable of understanding her, ignored her request and continued to float away.

"Nothing detected within sensor range," the R-Kit once again advised as a string of garbage data appeared on the screen.

"Shut up, I know."

She tried again with the next few orbs that passed by, but none were in range, even as she balanced precariously on the jagged, moss-choked cobblestone wall that separated the Holdt's property from the main road. She abandoned her plan and reached for her notebook. She noted the faded colors of the orbs, the speed at which they travelled, and how they reacted with the environment around them. The fact that they moved around the trees and the roofs of the nearby houses before impacting them indicated at least a basic level of intelligence, leading her down a rabbit hole of potential explanations and theories.

"Non-corporeal life... Great, I barely know anything about those..." she muttered as she struggled against the darkness to see what she was writing. "Energy based, maybe?"

She reached down toward her stocking to grab her phone, then began to write a message intended for her colleague, Patrick:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 10:07 PM

'hey! found a bunch of those glowing lights again, theyre floating around the village. i cant remember, did you ever find anything out about them?'
​

As she waited for a reply, she continued to observe the orbs patiently, hoping that one might stray in her direction. Much to her annoyance, the lights continued their silent journey across the sky, just out of reach of her R-Kit's scanner.

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 10:10 PM

'Sorry, no. Been a little busy with your other findings to look for information about them. See if you can get a closer look?'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 10:11 PM

'ill try. kinda scary out here at night. too quiet'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 10:11 PM

'I can imagine. Stay safe!'
​

She noticed that all of the dancing lights appeared to be moving in the same vague direction, north, before disappearing into the thick canopy of the Spritewood. She couldn't see from her vantage point, but a faint cloud of foggy light amidst the trees told her that it was possible that they had all gathered within a small area, just a short distance from her current location. She wanted to see for certain. Before taking off on her own, however, she returned to the bedroom.

"Any luck?" Kimberly asked.

"Nope, they're just a little too high off the ground for me to reach," she said as she reached for her purse. She grabbed her phone and put it back inside, then rested the purse over her shoulder. She grabbed her backpack next.

Kimberly didn't like what she was seeing. "Hold on, friend, where are you going?"

"Looks like they're heading for the northern end of the village. I figured I might see if they're going any further."

"And what if they are?"

"Then I'm going to follow them."

Kimberly shook her head and put her foot down. "Absolutely not. You're not going anywhere at this time of night. It could be dangerous out there and you have no way of defending yourself."

She was adamant on investigating the lights further. "I would if you and Juliano came along. C'mon, aren't you just a little bit curious to know what they are?"

"I am, but..." Kimberly started. She could see the determination in Andrea just by looking at her. "You're going to go regardless, aren't you?"

She nodded.

Kimberly's arm twitched at her friend's apparent recklessness. She wanted to explain the virtues of knowing when to let go of something, but she realized it'd fall on deaf ears. She sighed in defeat as she shook her head. "That's another thing you need to work on, listening to advice and taking it seriously."

"I've gotta get a look at these things!"

"I understand that... I'm not going to let you go out there alone. But we're only going as far as the village limits, and not a step further! I'll have Juliano drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to. Understood?"

She smiled. "Deal."

- - - - -​

By the time the two were back outside, the dance of the orbs had pretty much ended. Rather than the dozens that wafted through the air, only a few lingered and they seemed as if they were lost; they bounced around in aimless directions, bumping into trees and houses, something that Andrea took a mental note of.

Despite the light of the full moon beaming down on them, Kimberly led the way up the muddy road with a rustic looking yet obnoxiously bright lantern in her hand. Juliano followed closely behind, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble in the night. Andrea had trouble keeping up, stopping every few seconds to make her note taking just a little bit easier.

With her latest batch of notes finished, Andrea caught up with the two. Curiosity got the better of her as she watched Kimberly wave the lantern around. "Where'd you get that thing? It would have been useful when we tried getting close to the Oak of Ages." Andrea asked.

She was hesitant to answer, but eventually did. "I picked it up while you were at the restaurant with your friend."

"Jeeze. Sounds like you made up your mind about leaving me pretty quick."

"The problems that have been brewing between us aren't the only reason I intended to leave. It isn't always just about you, do remember that."

"Right, right... Sorry."

"And you don't need to apologize for everything!" she said in a reassuring manner, with a warm smile on her face. "I understand that you're feeling a little self conscious lately and you don't want to upset me, but you don't have to walk on egg shells either. Let's just... I don't know, be friends? No drama attached? That's all I want!"

"Sounds good. That's what I want, too."

Eventually, they came to the end of the muddy, leaf-covered road. Andrea's earlier guess was correct; far in the distance, congregating among the trees, was a swirling collection of lights, darting back, forth and all around each other. She took out her notebook again and observed the behavior of the lights, wishing she could get closer. Alas, a distant look would have to do.

With her notes finished, she turned to Kimberly, only to find that she was deep in concentration and completely motionless with her hand to her ear.

"The hell are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm listening... Do you hear that?" Kimberly asked.

"Hear what? I hear bugs and wind. That's about it."

"Listen closely... It sounds like... like glitter, you know?"

"Glitter? I don't even know what that would sound like." Andrea answered. She took a moment to listen carefully, but nothing stood out to her. All she could hear was the faint song of a Kricketune, nearly overpowered by the gentle breeze in the trees. "I don't hear it."

Without a word, Kimberly made a hand gesture towards Juliano and started to walk through the dense underbrush into the forest.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked.

"It doesn't look that far, we can definitely get a closer look without getting lost."

"I thought you said we weren't going any further?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it almost feels like those lights are calling out to us, inviting us to join them."

The sudden change of heart struck her as bizarre. "Juliano! She told us she wasn't going any further, aren't you going to step in and stop her?"

Juliano paused for a moment to turn around and glare at her, as if to tell her that he wasn't going to listen to her command, then returned to Kimberly's side.

As Kimberly made her way into the forest, Andrea shrugged and muttered to herself, "Strange girl... First she wants to leave me, then she doesn't. She doesn't want to go into the forest, now she does..." She shook her head and laughed. "Whatever, may as well take advantage of this opportunity."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Minor alterations to word choice, grammar.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: This one's a doozy, about twice as long as the average. I didn't want to split it up as this is the climax of this arc. Enjoy.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 25: Candlefire

Despite what they initially thought, the journey into the forest took them longer than they expected; the welcoming lights and sounds of the village of Doranshire disappeared into the distance as Andrea, Kimberly and Juliano trekked through the rain-soaked forest towards the cloud of glowing light ahead of them. Eventually, they found themselves shrouded in darkness and silence. The silence was periodically interrupted by a yelp of pain; hooked briars were common along the forest floor, and the darkness did little to help when it came to avoiding them, tried as they might.

Andrea's once-pristine striped stockings slowly started to shred as they snagged into the thorns, a fact that she loudly and verbally lamented numerous times. Kimberly wasn't safe from the briars' wrath either, but tried her best to avoid vocalizing her pain. Instead, her pain was visible, with several scratches and cuts marking her usually-smooth legs. Regardless of the personal cost, they pressed on; their interest in finding and studying the orbs was oddly irresistible, like a siren's call.

They fought through the densely packed and overgrown forest until they they eventually came to a rocky clearing, largely devoid of plant life, deep within the woods. Most of the orbs had gathered within the clearing, while a few lingered near the trees and spun around them. The light of the orbs was bright enough to overpower their lantern, and the glittery sound they emitted overpowered the bugs and the wind.

"So... we found them. What now?" Kimberly asked.

"We see if we can get a closer look," Andrea answered, dropping her backpack and her purse on a particularly large boulder. She wandered along the clearing, studying the movements of the orbs yet again. Most were clearly out of reach of her R-Kit, but a few lingered closer to the ground and were possibly in range. She returned to the boulder and hopped on top of it, waiting for one of the low-hanging orbs to pass overhead.

One eventually did. As it drifted closer to her, she held out her R-Kit and tried to scan it, only to be met with the accursed red sweeping beam of failure. In a last ditch effort, she pushed herself to her tip toes, but it wasn't enough. She grumbled with anger and dropped back down to firm footing as it drifted away. "Ugh! Still out of reach!"

"I'm not sure that you'll be able to get one, friend. They seem intent on staying just far enough away."

She ignored the comment and tried to think of ways to get closer to the orbs. She studied the trunk of one of the nearby trees, only to abandon her plan of climbing it when she realized it was too wide and too jagged to climb safely. Another thought came to mind. "C'mere and give me a boost, would you?" she called out.

"A boost?" Kimberly questioned as if it weren't a serious suggestion.

"Yeah, lift me up. I have to be just a few feet too short reach them with my scanner."

"Didn't you just tell me to keep my hands to myself?"

"Now who's being the difficult one?" she joked. "C'mon, before these things decide to run away again."

A grimace of doubt appeared on Kimberly's face as she thought it over, but she eventually nodded in agreement. She wandered over to Andrea and knelt down, waiting to hear some sort of plan, but none came. Instead, Andrea simply stepped into her awaiting hands with her muddy, damp boots. She did what she could to lift Andrea, but she struggled to bring her up even just a few inches off of the ground.

"Friend..." she grunted. "I'm afraid you're a little too... too heavy for me..."

"Easy now," Andrea warned. An unexpected wobble quickly brought her back down to the ground.

"Nothing meant by it, just the honest truth. I'm not very strong." she explained as she looked up at the orb, spinning around the tree like a planet in orbit. To her, it definitely looked as if it were within reach if one of them managed to get off the ground. "Perhaps you could give me a lift?"

"What makes you think I'm any stronger than you?"

"This is just an observation and not meant to be a rude comment, but... I am quite a bit lighter than you."

Andrea laughed as she navigated to the Accu-Scan app. "I'll let that one slide, but only because you explained yourself before you said it."

"I am a trained gymnast, too, don't forget! I'd be better at balance as well."

"Okay, fine! I get it!"

"Is that thing difficult to use?" Kimberly asked as she watched Andrea effortlessly navigate the intricately layered list of options, menus and popup notifications.

"Not really. The hardest part is finding and configuring the sensor system, but I'm doing that for you. I'm setting up a broad spectrum scan, should take about a minute to complete." She unstrapped the R-Kit from her wrist, handed it over and explained further, "Try to keep your arm steady and in line with that orb, then hit the 'scan' button. It'll do the rest."

"Understood... half of that, at least."

"The important part, I hope. Let's get this circus act started..." She knelt down and placed her hands to the ground. "Now, why do I have to do this? Can't Juliano?"

Kimberly unwrapped the bindings that kept her heeled sandals wrapped around her feet, then gently tossed them onto the boulder. "He still needs to keep watch for any potential dangers. All it takes is that minute of distraction for things to turn ugly."

"Right... how difficult should I expect this to be?"

"Not very. I'll worry about balancing, you worry about keeping me up. Ready?"

Andrea counted down from three before lifting with all of her might. She struggled to maintain her balance as she held Kimberly aloft, having to rely on the tree beside her to do most of the work. Meanwhile, Kimberly almost effortlessly maintained her balance in Andrea's shaky hands as she pressed the button to start the scan. With her arm held out and following the gentle motions of the orb above her, the R-Kit gathered information about the mysterious light. After just over a minute, the R-Kit let out a satisfying confirmation beep, indicating a successful scan.

"I think that's done it!" Kimberly said as she took a brief look at the screen. None of the information displayed on it made any sense to her. "I think I'm ready to come down now."

"Good! Glad to hear it!" Andrea struggled to say as her arms quivered from the stress. With little warning, Kimberly's weight shifted dramatically to the right and she felt her grasp on her friend's left foot slip. "Shit shit shit shit!" she shouted in panic. She held out her arms in an attempt to keep her friend from falling, but was only mildly successful at preventing it; she took the brunt of the fall as Kimberly tumbled to the ground, crashing directly on top of her. The impact was enough to knock the wind out of her and her vision flashed white for a brief second.

"Oof! Nice catch!" Kimberly giggled as she pushed herself off of Andrea. She offered her hand out to help Andrea off of the damp, leaf-blanketed ground. "I should have remembered that balance on both accounts, not just mine, is key to doing something like that. My fault for not warning you!"

"Gah... Sorry about that," she wheezed as she was pulled to her feet. She clutched her chest and coughed lightly in an effort to regain her breath. "Least neither of us got hurt, right?"

"Yes, thankfully." Kimberly undid the strap on the R-Kit and handed it back to her. "I'll let you figure out this mess of lines, numbers and words."

She leaned up against the tree and started to pore over the data that the scan gathered. Like it was for Kimberly, much of it was lost on her; graphs full of detailed energy readings, charts detailing the tiny fluctuations in lumens that the orbs were emitting, thermal readings and other over-the-top information littered the screen. With her background being based in biology, she recognized very little, and what she did recognize made little sense. However, with her background knowledge, she knew that some of the readings pointed to the possibility that the orbs were some kind of non-corporeal lifeform, an earlier theory of hers.

She knew very little about non-corporeal life forms, as it was a subject that she was only just starting to touch upon when she decided to drop out of her studies. She tried to recall what little she learned and apply it to the information in front of her, but little stuck. All she could think was that some of the graphs related to energy output vaguely resembled some human brainwave patterns that she saw in a book once, yet distinct in their own way. The thermal readings caught her attention as well; the air around the orb was about two degrees warmer than the ambient temperature, while the core of the orb was significantly lower. An interesting observation, but it told her nothing concrete.

"Hmmm..." she hummed as she continued to scroll through the pages and pages of information presented to her. "I think I'm going to have to take some time tomorrow to look over these readings more carefully, I have no idea what to make of them."

With her heeled sandals safely back on her feet, Kimberly returned to the clearing beside them and stared up at the lingering orbs. "So, no answers for what they are?"

She slumped against the tree and began to copy the most interesting of the scan results down into her notebook, clueless as to whether they were relevant to discovering the nature of the orbs or not. "Not yet."

Kimberly buried her hand into her purse and retrieved her phone, then activated the camera. She wandered around the clearing with her eyes glued to the screen of her phone, in search of the angle needed to capture the perfect selfie of herself in the glowing presence of one of the orbs. Nothing quite satisfied her as she continued her aimless wandering. "Come now..." she whispered to herself.

Andrea watched from afar, confused by Kimberly's bizarre and chaotic movements. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get a picture! An opportunity like this might not come around again."

"Not a bad idea... A picture sounds great." She picked herself up off of the ground and grabbed her own phone.

"I should be able to get us both in frame if we find just the right angle," Kimberly explained as she beckoned Andrea over to join her under the lights.

"Huh? Oh!" she said awkwardly. She intended on taking photos of the orbs themselves rather than getting involved in any selfies, but didn't see the harm in it. "Yeah, sure! Why not?"

The two joined up in the middle of the clearing, arms over each other's shoulders as they tried to find a good angle for their photo. Comments about how difficult it was to find the perfect angle preceded laughter. Eventually, the perfect picture presented itself: a dim purple halo of light surrounded Andrea's head, while a golden orb drifted beside Kimberly as if it were joining in on the moment. The bright flash of light from the camera appeared to startle the orbs and they vacated the area around the two in a haphazard and quick motion.

"Look at that," Kimberly said, looking the photo over again. "You're smiling!"

She huffed at the comment and started to record a video of the orbs' movements with her phone. "I am capable of smiling, yes. I just don't like to if I don't have to."

"Such a dour girl! You have a beautiful smile!"

"Liar," she thought, but refused to say it. "Andrea Dennison, visual report. Spritewood Forest, north of Doranshire, about 10:40 PM..." she began. "I don't know what these lights are, but they're fascinating. I've taken some readings with my R-Kit and I don't know what to make of them. I'll be including them alongside this video and my written notes so that someone more knowledgeable can go over them." She zoomed her camera in on one of the orbs. "Local legends said something about... uhh... what was it again, Kim?"

"An elderly lady told me that they were the spirits of the deceased."

"Right, spirits of the deceased. Not sure I'm ready to believe that, but hey. This is a crazy world, I've learned. The walking dead, rumors of demons prowling the village, who really knows? These lights could very well be ghosts." she said, still filming the increasingly erratic orbs as best as she could. "Anything you want to add, Kim? I'm sure you'll get an honorary mention in the report."

Kimberly thought about it, but she didn't feel it was her place to speculate. "No, I'm good."

"One of the villagers told me that someone who used to live here in Doranshire spent a lot of time studying these things. I can't remember his name specifically... it was something like William... William Selkirk, was it? Anyways, that guy left town a few years ago, so obviously I haven't been able to find him and ask him what he found out. It might be worth looking for him, he could have a lot of useful information. Unfortunately, before he left town, he said he was heading for Verdant Vale... He might not be alive anymore." She tried to think of anything else she wanted to say for her report, but couldn't. She rounded off her thoughts for whoever might view her report, then continued to document the orbs' movement in silence.

- - - - -​

Even though they both told themselves that they wouldn't spend the night in the wilderness, that is exactly what they did. Andrea and Kimberly sat around the campfire they had established in the center of the clearing under the gentle light of the orbs. The fire had a soothing affect on everyone; Kimberly's worries about the dangers of the forest had faded, Andrea's concern about upsetting her friend had subsided and the orbs had nearly stopped moving entirely, hanging from the trees like luminescent fruit. The only one who wasn't relaxed was Juliano, still dedicated to his mission of protecting his master from whatever danger may be lurking in the distant shadows.

The two spent the better part of an hour chitchatting about a whole host of subjects as they watched the starlight dance of the orbs. Andrea told anecdotes from her days at university while Kimberly reminisced about her attempts at starting a career as an artist. Both were engaged and listening intently to each other's stories. They had seemingly rediscovered the magic that they felt when they first met; it dawned on them that there truly could be more to their friendship than arguments and remaining guarded if they simply relaxed and lost themselves in the ambiance.

Despite the mild temperatures of the night and her close proximity to the campfire, a chill overcame Andrea and she began to shiver. "Oof!" she said as she huddled her arms together.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I just suddenly feel a little chilly, that's all..." She raised her wrist to look at her R-Kit; the temperature was a firm 16 degrees celsius, a fairly standard temperature for that time of year. "It's not even that cold... Wind must have hit me just right."

Kimberly could only shrug. "I don't feel it. I actually feel kind of hot, myself..."

"It's because you're practically sitting in that fire!"

Kimberly scooted about a foot backward. "Oh! I suppose I was."

"I don't get you sometimes," she answered with a laugh. "But I'm okay with that." She extended her hands out towards the fire, then pressed them back onto her arms in an attempt to warm up, but it did little to help. No matter the effort she made, her trembling continued.

"I wish I had a jacket for you."

"It's fine. Maybe it's a sign that we should get back to the village."

Kimberly nodded. "Mmm, yes. Mr. and Mrs. Holdt must be worried about us. We did wander off without telling them where we were going, we shouldn't have done that."

Just as they were finished packing up their makeshift camp, the glittery sound effect that had accompanied the orbs all night grew louder and more frantic. Their brightness waxed and waned in a chaotic and unpredictable fashion, their colors shifted at random among the rainbow spectrum and their movements became wild, erratic and frenzied. They cared not if they bumped into each other, into the trees or even the ground.

"Hold it," Andrea said, placing her arm out in front of Juliano as he readied his cannons to snuff out the campfire. "Something's happening. I might want to stay just a little while longer and observe."

Juliano huffed and turned his back to the fire, then resumed his dutiful patrol of the camp site's perimeter.

"Wonder what has them agitated. They've been so peaceful over the past hour..."

Kimberly shook her head. "I couldn't say. Are we even sure they're intelligent enough to understand emotions like happiness and agitation?"

"At this point, I still don't know if they even have the most basic levels of intelligence."

"True..." Kimberly yawned, covering her mouth politely as she did so. Both exhaustion and boredom were starting to set in, so she looked around in an effort to find something to occupy her mind as she waited. As she did so, she noticed something odd about the forest around her and spoke up. "Umm... Have I not been paying attention? Is it darker than it was an hour ago?"

"Darker?" The question seemed silly to Andrea until she too looked around; tree trunks that she could see when they first established camp had slipped into the shadows, while the orbs themselves seemed a touch brighter. "Huh, it is..." The only explanation was that the moon had been obscured by the clouds, so she wandered towards the far end of the camp and looked up in an effort to find it. She pointed toward the sky as she said, "Well! There's your answer!"

Kimberly rushed over and looked up. Once again, her hand met her mouth as she gasped at what she saw; the moon was completely shaded from north to south with a deep tinge of orange-crimson, with small bits hazed over by a thin layer of clouds. Against the bright disc in the sky, she saw the faint silhouettes of Zubats fluttering in the distance above them. "By the goddess... it's beautiful..."

Despite the sight being a marvelous thing to her, Andrea couldn't help but feel discomforted by it. She reckoned that it was only because of the circumstance; this had been the first lunar eclipse that she'd witnessed far away from the safety of her high rise apartment in Aughrim, or the cozy single story hovel in Goldwheat Meadows that she called home for much of her childhood. Once again, she was overtaken by a bout of shivering.

"Are you okay? You're white as a ghost!"

"I'm fine, I always look like this," she said, brushing off her friend's concern.

"No, not quite like that, friend. You look... dreadfully ill!"

She tried to change the subject away from her sickly pale skin. "Can't believe I forgot! I always keep track of when eclipses happen... Webster loves these things."

"Webster?"

"My room mate back in Aughrim. He's a big astronomy nerd." She raised her phone to the sky and began to take pictures again. "Guess I'm lucky I didn't miss it. I didn't even know about this one."

"Perhaps the moon is why these lights look like they're in a panic?"

"You think?"

"Well. The full moon has an effect on human behavior, does it not? Perhaps an eclipse might have the same effect?"

Andrea stifled a giggle. "No. There's no conclusive evidence of that, just a couple biased reports from cops in high crime areas. But... It is possible for something that isn't human to be spooked by an eclipse, I'll give you that. There's definitely evidence of that."

"Hmm... Are you almost ready to head back yet? It's getting very late."

"Just a minute, I'm trying to figure out if there's a pattern to this madness," she said as her attention returned to the whirling orbs, in even more of a frenzy than before.

"I'm not sure that a few more minutes will unlock the mystery, friend."

She grumbled, but realized it was true. They returned to their makeshift camp and began to gather their belongings. Kimberly ordered Juliano to put out the fire, but before he could so, Andrea hurriedly picked up the lantern and turned it on. The light of the campfire went out in an instant with a hiss, sending a giant plume of smoke and steam into the air.

"Okay, let's go," Andrea said, urging the Blastoise and his master forward.

"Not yet!" Kimberly quipped as she began to stir her finger around the ashes and coals of the campfire. "Safety first. I don't want to be responsible for a wildfire, especially one in such a beautiful forest."

She nodded in agreement and waited. While she did so, she noticed the orbs above them start to bunch up like ocean fish in a swirling school. Before she could grab her phone to take another picture, they shot off towards the northwest with considerable speed, some of them carelessly smashing into trees and shattering from existence along the way. "Okay, these stupid things are a complete mystery."

As they made their final preparations for leaving the camp, an odd noise began to sweep through the forest; to the east, the heavy, drifty noise of large, flapping wings was accompanied by a high pitched screech that echoed through the trees.

She turned around in a panic and shined the lantern in the vague direction that the noise came from. "The fuck was that?!"

Kimberly perked up at the sound of it. "It sounded like... like..." she said, trying to think of it. The sound was familiar, but she couldn't recall where she heard it. To her, the exact cause of the noise was unimportant, as she realized what it meant; she stamped down on the wet pile of ashes in an effort to snuff out any remaining embers. "We absolutely need to leave now, I've heard that sound before."

"Good idea..."

"Juliano, keep us safe, understand? Stay extra alert, something could easily pop out of the darkness."

As they made their way away from the clearing, the sound pierced the night sky again. This time it was much clearer, allowing Kimberly to recognize it.

"Crobat..." Her pace doubled unexpectedly, threatening to leave Andrea behind. "Come now! Quickly!"

"I don't want to doubt you, but... what makes you think it's a Crobat? They're not a common sight in the wild."

"It's a sound you never forget. Nicole and I encountered one while we were in Alderney last year... it was terrifying, that noise it makes..."

"Not to mention the whole laundry list of diseases and health problems a single bite causes..."

"All the more reason we should pick up our pace."

Seconds became minutes as they hurried through the forest. The sound of flapping drew closer and closer, the source of it likely attracted by the light of their lantern, until eventually they could hear leaves swaying and branches being struck in the darkness beside them. They grew increasingly worried that they wouldn't make it to the relative safety of the village before the creature in the darkness had reached them.

"Should have listened to you, this was a stupid and careless idea!" Andrea shouted.

In front of them, masked by the darkness, a shadowy figure dropped from the sky with a monstrous thud. Andrea expertly trained the lantern's light on it within a second of it landing; a grey creature about the size of a human with large, tattered wings and piercing red eyes stood in front of them for only a brief split-second before taking off again.

"Run!" she shouted.

Their pace quickened even more as they began sprinting. Juliano, usually slow and methodical in his movements, exhibited surprising agility as he matched their speed and even surpassed them at times. His dedication to the protection of his friends was clearly evident as he stayed focused on the shadow lurking about in the trees above them; his positioning relative to the girls matched that of the creature, ready to shield them in case it tried to attack. Luckily, the creature lacked ample opportunities to do so amongst the dense trees. Eventually, the sound of the creature's wings grew more distant until it was but a faint whisper in the wind.

Eventually, fatigue caught up with Andrea and slowed her down considerably. "I think... Think we lost it..." she wheezed in a desperate attempt to catch her breath.

"I would rather not stick around to find out. We need to keep moving."

"What the hell was that thing? That didn't look like any Crobat I've ever seen, and I've read about almost every subspecies!"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it either."

After a moment's rest, the two were off again, and just in time; once more, the hideous shriek of the monster echoed through the woodland. They narrowly avoided the trees that they could barely see as they sprinted through the forest, ignoring the stinging grasp of the nettle bushes that they had so cautiously evaded just an hour earlier.

Up ahead of them, a dim light flickered amongst the trunks. At first, they thought that it was the welcoming safety of the village, but they soon realized that it was too dim and too low to the ground to be one of the sodium lamps that lit Doranshire's nights. The light was also mobile, swinging back and forth in a haphazard fashion. Regardless of whatever it may be, a source of light was a source of hope.

Before long, they found the source: a hooded figure in ragged leather clothing carried an archaic-looking lantern constructed of glass and dull, grimy brass. A pungent candle that smelled of burning animal fat hissed away within. The hooded figure stopped in its tracks and put its hand out, urging them to stop. "Careful!" a soft, feminine voice said from within the hood.

"There's a Crobat out there, lady!" Andrea shouted. She took a moment to slow down and catch her breath again. "You gotta get out of here!"

"Aye, I've been hearing it. I've been hearing you, too. That is no Crobat, I'm afraid. Come! I can lead you to safety!"

"How far is the village? Where is the village? Kim and I have been running in circles it feels like."

"Your village is in the direction you've been coming from."

"Oh for fuck--"

The woman made a gesture for them to follow. "There is a cabin nearby that we can shelter in."

"Cabin?" she asked. She put two and two together: knowledge of the land, the rugged leather clothing, a forest cabin, it all added up and clicked in her head. "You some sort of hunter?"

The unearthly screech echoed through the forest again.

"You can ask questions later," the figure warned. "If you value your life, you will follow." The figure abruptly turned around and started to rush away.

"I don't like this... What should we do?" Kimberly asked.

"I don't know, but that cabin sounds like our best hope," Andrea said. She cupped her hands together and called out, "Hold up, lady! We should stick together!"

With fear in their minds and having no idea where they were, or even what direction they were traveling in, the three reluctantly agreed to follow the mysterious figure. While Juliano kept a watchful eye on the tree tops, the girls quietly exchanged questions with each other about their newfound acquaintance: who was she? What was she doing in the forest in the middle of the night? What did she mean when she said the creature flying in the darkness wasn't a Crobat?

- - - - -​

"Just over here," the hooded figure said, guiding the three through the thinning grove towards a clearing.

Andrea shined her lantern around. A moderately sized cabin constructed of crudely cut timber and brittle plaster sat in the middle of the small clearing, it's view of the sky largely obscured by the thick canopy around it. The land around the cabin was littered with all sorts of junk; old barrels, wooden boxes, a crumbling well, a rickety tool shed, some benches and a rust-covered anvil. The area looked oddly welcoming despite the circumstances and the rustic nature of it.

As they approached the cabin, both Andrea and Kimberly took note of the various fur pelts scattered around the area; some hung from ropes in the trees, while others were nailed to the trees themselves. Most seemed useless to a fur trader, being stained with blood, heavily tangled or caked in mud. Nearly every pelt was a deep black or grey in color and sported markings and patterns that allowed Andrea to quickly identify them: Mightyena.

"Yeah, this lady's gotta be a hunter..." Andrea commented quietly.

"Those poor things..." Kimberly added.

"Sometimes hunting is in the best interest in the ecosystem."

The hooded figure stopped at the front door of the cabin and struggled with the archaic handle before forcing the door open with her shoulder. The inside of the cabin was just as rustic as the outside, but much more welcoming; a large fire pit sat in the center of the room, with still-active embers sparking under a small cast iron pot filled to the brim with bubbling, heavenly smelling broth. Four hand-crafted wicker chairs surrounded the fire pit, with tables, shelves, crates and barrels hugging the walls. The thick stench of hickory incense hung heavily in the room.

The figure reached for the hood atop her head and pulled it back. The identity of the mysterious figure was a surprise to both of them: she was a young woman, likely no older than either Andrea or Kimberly, with a soft and friendly face that lacked any sort of imperfection or scarring, an oddity considering the rustic lifestyle she appeared to lead. Even in the harsh orange lighting from the fire pit, the blue of her eyes was easily apparent. Angelic-looking blonde hair hung over her eyes, draping over her leather clothing and reaching towards her hips.

"Wow," Kimberly instinctively whispered as she studied the woman's appearance.

"Please, have a seat," the woman said, gesturing towards the chairs beside the fire pit.

"Thanks for taking us in..." Andrea said as she sat down. "What the hell was that thing? You said it wasn't a Crobat... didn't look like a Crobat."

"It sounded like one, though," Kimberly added.

"Demons prowl these woods during the night of the blood moon," the woman said as she placed a roughly cut branch onto the dying fire.

Andrea perked up at the word. "Demons?"

She stirred the broth within the pot. "Monstrous beasts of the night. Winged terrors with horns, rippled grey skin. Unearthly, unholy creatures that prey on the weak and unaware."

Andrea combed the depths of her memories of her biology studies; the description the woman offered didn't match anything that she had read about. She knew of Pokémon with wings, Pokémon with horns and Pokémon with grey skin, but none that had all three. The closest example she could come up with was the long extinct prehistoric monster known as Aerodactyl, but the likelihood of them finding one in modern Lanark was next to none. "Hmm. Won't this... thing come for us here? What makes this cabin so safe? I could probably kick that door in and I'm not very strong."

"A ward of protection is in place."

"A ward?" Andrea asked.

"Like... magic?" Kimberly added.

Andrea shook her head. "Don't be silly."

She sampled a bit of the broth and nodded with approval before answering, "Forgotten methods of protection from centuries ago, developed by the Tracker's Guild. Did you notice the pelts among the trees? The herbs at the bases of the trunks?"

"I did," Andrea answered. "What are you? A hunter, fur trapper?" A look around the room showed an extensive collection of bundled herbs, dried herbs and herbs packaged in jars and boxes. "A botanist, even?"

"Hunter, mainly," she said. "The village council employs me to keep the local predator population in check. Experience and reading have taught me that these pelts serve as an excellent warning to the more... difficult creatures of the forest. The herbs serve a similar purpose for the others."

"Huh... I do remember reading about a 'Tracker's Guild' back when I studied history in school... Said something about how they were hired to take care of problems like Ursarings and Rhydons back in the medieval times. They used all sorts of methods to protect villages, farmsteads and merchant caravans, right?"

She nodded. "Over time, the threats have changed. Trackers aren't as common as they used to be, nor are our services as necessary as they used to be. But if you look closely, you can find us."

"Hmm. Interesting! I didn't know you guys were still around." Andrea said. "Sounds like you know a lot about this this subject. When would it be safe for us to return to the village?"

"Dawn," she answered.

Andrea grumbled at the thought and leaned back in her chair. "Ugh... Mr. and Mrs. Holdt are gonna be maaaaaad..."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Kimberly said.

"Are you two hungry?"

Andrea shook her head and accompanied it with a negative hand gesture, while Kimberly indicated that she was with a nod. "What kind of soup is that?"

"Wolfsbite stew."

"Wolfsbite? I'm not familiar with it."

The woman approached the pot and stirred it some more. She brought the spoon above the surface, bringing with it a cube of firm, crimson meat. "Diced Mightyena flanks, pepper, rosemary and potato in bone stock. No sense in letting my catches go to waste. Mightyena is quite the delicacy after you get used to it."

Kimberly grimaced at the mention of the ingredients. "Oh... that wouldn't work for me. I'm a vegetarian."

Her eyebrow raised with curiosity. "Hmm... Are you... I do have some vegetables lying around, we can make something for you." She turned to Andrea again. "Sure you're not hungry, miss?"

Once again, Andrea declined the offer.

She motioned for Kimberly to follow her. "Join me in the kitchen, we can go through my vegetables and see what you might like."

Kimberly and the woman disappeared into another room just beyond the fire pit, while Andrea took the time to inspect her surroundings some more. A look through the various crates and barrels scattered around the room offered a look into the woman's rustic lifestyle; more herbs, coils of twine, rusted scrap metal, glass vials filled with various colors of sand and powders, swatches of exquisite fur, first aid supplies and bundled leather were all neatly categorized throughout the containers.

A table in the corner of the room caught her attention next. Along the edges of the table was a large collection of melted candle stumps, blackened by soot from extensive use. Papers from a variety of little villages and hamlets from around the country spoke about hunting contracts and licenses, indicating that the Spritewood wasn't the woman's only hunting ground. A peculiar looking book with yellowed pages sat in the center of the table, open to a faded sketch of an owl clasping a key, flanked on both sides by roses. Pictograms that appeared to be from a foreign language were scrawled onto the page in burgundy ink.

She reached for her phone and took a photo of the page. "Such a beautiful drawing..."

Her attention drifted to a wine rack beside the table. Most of the bottle slots were empty with the exception of three. Curious, she pulled one of the bottles from the rack and inspected it. The bottle's label indicated that it was a craft wine by the name of Heart Attack, an apricot wine that Andrea had grown very fond of during her final year at university. The intoxicating aroma quickly overpowered her as she removed the cork from the nearly empty bottle.

"Mmm... Heart Attack! How I miss you..." she mumbled as she placed the bottle back onto the rack. "This girl's got some good taste."

Next to the wine rack was a window that offered a glimpse out into the darkened clearing. Looking outside brought the flying creature that had chased them back to the front of her mind. Even though she didn't see much when she shined her lantern on it, she couldn't shake the image from her head.

"What the hell was that thing... What the hell is anything?" she muttered to herself. "First that skeleton monster, and now... a 'demon'? There is something seriously weird about this forest... Starting to think that maybe Dr. Reiland was right, I really did need Tamara--"

The sound of metal hinges grinding against each other, followed by the loud sound of wood smashing into stone erupted from the other room, shattering the silent ambience of the cabin. A sharp scream and a cry for help came next.

"Ahh! Help! Get off o--" Kimberly's voice cried out before being muffled.

Adrenaline spiked within Andrea. She immediately dropped to the floor and grabbed Juliano's Master Ball, which rested next to the chair that Kimberly had been seated at, then rushed across the room towards the doorway. She stopped just short of entering the other room, taking a brief second to steady her nerves and her breathing. Without wasting too much time, she peaked her head around the door frame.

She was greeted by a horrific sight as she entered the room: rather than the charming young woman that they had spent the past half hour with, a withered old hag was in her place. She appeared to be centuries old, with rippled and ragged skin hanging off of her frail-looking figure. Her eyes were hollow and barely visible under the tangled mess of white, wiry hairs that sprouted from her brow, themselves hidden by the ratty and unkempt yellowish-gray hair that hung off of her spotty, partially bald head. Behind her, a door out into the forest was wide open.

"Don't worry about your friend..." the hideous woman rasped with an ancient-sounding, hoarse voice that echoed around her. "You'll be joining her soon enough!" She raised her decrepit hand and sparks of orange light began to arc between her bony fingers.

The strange sight spurred Andrea to action immediately. Thinking only of Kimberly's safety and with careless disregard for her own, she stood firm for a brief second, then charged as aggressively at the miserable wretch of a woman as she could; she lowered her head and rammed the full force of her shoulder into the woman, sending her flying across the kitchen and into a cabinet filled with herbs, gemstones and wooden dishes. She stepped over the battered old woman and rushed out of the open door.

"Kim!" she called out, her voice echoing through the silent forest. "Where are you?!"

"Get your hands off of me!" Kimberly's voice shouted in the distance. It was obvious that she was struggling against a kidnapper, but Andrea couldn't see anything.

"God damn it!" she angrily shouted. She gripped the Master Ball tightly and tossed it into the air.

With a burst of bubbles and bright flash of light that briefly lit up the forest, Juliano appeared in the sky and dropped to the ground with a graceful thud. He turned his back to her and hunched over a tiny bit, then let out a deep grunt.

"What are you waiting for? Someone took Kim, we've gotta find her!"

He lowered to all fours and grunted again, followed by an angry growl.

It dawned on her that he was trying to give her a ride. She jumped onto the hard and jagged shell of the Blastoise and wrapped her hands around his shoulder-mounted cannons for a bit of stability. Before she was ready for it, Juliano stood up and rushed into the forest as quickly as he could. "Woah!" she shouted as she tried to stay on top of him. "Kim, we're coming!"

"Heeeeelp!" Kimberly's voice called out again.

Juliano's heading changed to match the direction that Kim's voice came from. Nearly every aspect of the ride atop the Blastoise's back threatened to throw her off, from the sudden turns, the collisions with the trees and the jumps over fallen logs. Yet through it all, her white-knuckled grip on his steel cannons kept her on top of him.

"I don't know what to expect... but be ready for a fight." she warned. "That lady... what the hell was she?"

Kimberly's pleas for help grew closer and closer; her captor hadn't gotten very far with her. A source of light appeared in the distance, shrouded by the silhouette of two men struggling to carry a young woman away. Juliano's pace quickened even further as he pushed himself to his highest limits. Within a dozen seconds, he was on top of them.

He skidded to a stop and shook his shell violently, carelessly throwing Andrea off, then blitzed off to the side. He curved around for a flanking position, charging with the full force of his weight into the captor that was guiding the way with a lantern. The man was lifted off of the ground and slammed hard into a tree, a grisly crunching sound echoing through the forest as Juliano dropped the limp body to the ground.

The Blastoise immediately turned around and locked eyes with the remaining two kidnappers, who had dropped Kimberly to the forest floor in a hurry. Blastoise's weren't known for their emotional expressions, but the two could see it in his eyes: he was pissed.

One of the captors reached into his jacket and pulled out a long, curved knife, then fiercely charged at the Blastoise while shouting at the top of his lungs. As Juliano turned around to deflect the incoming attack, the man raised the knife high into the air, then brought it down as hard as he could. To his surprise, the knife simply bounced off of Juliano's shell with a faint burst of sparks.

Juliano used his momentum to his advantage to sweep the man off of his feet with his broad tail, then put his massive foot onto the man's throat. He fixed a cruel gaze onto the last of the captors and let out a monstrous, bellowing roar that shook the air around him. The final captor, having seen how easily the Blastoise had dealt with his comrades, saw the futility in fighting and ran off into the forest without delay.

Juliano reached down and wrapped his clawed fingers around the man's neck, lifting him off of the ground. The man struggled valiantly against Juliano's crushing grip, but he couldn't break free. All he could do was flail his legs wildly, tickling Juliano's chest with weak kicks until he finally got the bright idea to spit into his face. His patience was already thin and that last act shattered it. With a forceful overhead toss, the man was thrown into the darkness, colliding with the ground with an audible thud. Gurgling groans of agony came from the darkness.

Meanwhile, Andrea had managed to pull Kimberly aside to safety during the scuffle. "Kim? Kim! Are you okay?" she asked.

Kimberly couldn't offer a coherent answer; she didn't appear to even be aware that Juliano had intervened and taken care of the kidnappers. Her breathing was erratic, her mind was running wild and she could hardly contain herself from yelling for help.

"Listen to me!" Andrea shouted as she vigorously shook her friend. "We have to get out of here, NOW."

Unfortunately, the energetic shaking did little to bring Kimberly back to reality. She'd calmed down, but only ever so slightly; she still continued to quiver uncontrollably and gibber incoherent words, but at least the screaming had ceased.

"Juliano, come here," Andrea ordered. "This fucking forest, I've had it! We need to get back to town, and fast. Carry her if you have to."

He approached and knelt down in front of his master, gently patting her on the shoulder, but it did little to calm her nerves. He extended her arms outward and picked her up.

"Please, please... let this map work..." Andrea said as she navigated through her R-Kit. Much to her relief, the map showed that they weren't too far from the village. She knelt down and picked up the kidnapper's fallen lantern, then pointed to the southeast and urged Juliano to lead them back to the safety of Doranshire.

- - - - -​

"Set her down here..." Andrea said, guiding Juliano to a bench that sat in the center of the Doranshire's empty and silent commercial street. Not a soul lingered in the streets and the sky was empty of the orbs that had graced it just a few hours earlier. The only sign of life was the flickering, buzzing neon sign that advertised an ATM at the convenience store down the road.

Juliano set his panicked master down on the bench and sat on the ground in front of her. Her breathing finally seemed to steady as her eyes met with his, and she whispered his name repeatedly in an effort to comfort herself.

Andrea sat down next to her. "You okay?"

"Where..." she muttered as she looked around. Panic surged through her veins again. "Where are they!? Are they gone?"

"Yeah. Juliano made sure of that."

She looked around some more. The darkness obscured her vision, with only a single street lamp lighting the area around them in a harsh-yet-dim orange glow. "So we're..."

Andrea nodded. "Yeah, we're back in Doranshire."

The words of comfort were enough to break her already shaky nerves. She reached out and grabbed ahold of Andrea, wrapping her arms tightly around her, then proceeded to wail loudly and uncontrollably. "Oh thank the goddess... Thank you..." were the only words that she had the ability to form.

"Hey, shh shh shhhhh... It's going to be okay! I'm going to keep you safe, I promise..."

Juliano glared at Andrea. He knew those words were a lie.

"I can't thank you enough... I would have--"

Andrea placed her finger on her lips and interrupted her. "Hey! Don't even think of it like that. We got out of there alive and that's what matters."

"Thank you..."

As they embraced each other, Andrea saw some movement out of the corner of her eye; a portly and solid looking man, clad in the characteristic green and white uniform of the Lanark Police Force, was advancing in their direction. His big bushy mustache and round, ruddy cheeks painted the picture of a cheerful protector and put Andrea at ease.

"Evenin'!" his thick, burly voice called out in a friendly manner. "I could year you two wailin' from clear across town. What's the trouble?"

"Good... Let me do the talking, okay?" she quietly whispered.

Kimberly nodded as she tried to regain her composure.

The officer turned his flashlight on and shined it in their faces to get a good look at them. "What are you two doing up so late? Just get out of Black Hog? Need me to walk you home?"

"No, we're... we... we need help," she pleaded. "We were camping in the forest and..."

The officer patiently waited for her to finish her thought, but she never did. "And?"

She thought long and hard about what she was about to say, worried that it wouldn't be taken seriously. "Something attacked us, and I don't know what."

"Try your best. What would this 'thing' be? A Mightyena, maybe?"

"No, it was... I... I don't know how to explain it, but there's a fucking witch out in that forest! And a... a demon! A bat thing!"

The officer put his hands to his hips and shifted his weight onto his other leg, readying himself for yet another of the wild and fantastic stories he'd heard over the past few weeks. "Uh huh. Demons and witches."

"That's the only way I can describe her. We were out camping and... a giant bat thing swooped down, started chasing us. We got away from it and that's when we met her... She was so young and beautiful... She claimed she was a local hunter working for the village."

The officer continued to nod as he listened to her story. "Local hunter? Huh... don't know of any women who hunt on these lands... Tell me more about this lady. What makes you say she's a witch?"

"She offered to bring us to her cabin, to protect us from the bat. When we got there, she... she turned into this hideous monster. She looked like she was hundreds of years old! Almost like a corpse, but she was standing there, threatening me!"

"Right..." he muttered to himself.

"That's when the men barged in and took Kim away!"

The officer's posture straightened and the expression on his face changed from bemused to concerned. "Kim?" he asked.

"Her," she said as she rested her hand on Kimberly's shoulder.

In an instant, the officer's posture relaxed again. Once again, his interest in her wild story faded.

"Me and this Blastoise chased her kidnappers down before they got away. We scared one of them off, and the other two... I don't know, it all happened so fast. They didn't chase after us, but..." She picked up the lantern she had taken from the kidnappers. "This belonged to one of them."

The officer reached out and grabbed the lantern. He noted the cracked glass and the squishy candle within. "Looks pretty old and beat up... Never seen one with a candle in it before... Curious..." he mumbled. He eyed her suspiciously, once again shining the flashlight in her face. "You sure you're not drunk?"

"Absolutely. I've been sober for almost five months. I'll take whatever sobriety test you want."

He shook his head and let out a sigh. "I might regret this, but... Why don't you come down to the station? We'll get this whole thing straightened out, see if there's anything about this wild story of yours that makes sense."

"Do you believe any of it?"

"Well, uhh... Your witch story? No. Been getting a lot of reports about that lately, none of them have checked out. But those kidnappers you talked about... We have had a few girls your age go missing over the past couple of months, this is definitely something we're going to have to look at, even if your credibility is... W-we'll look at it, that's all I'm saying."

She leaned in towards Kimberly and spoke softly. "You hear that? We'll be at a police station, we'll definitely be safe there."

He motioned for the two to stand up and follow him. "Alright, let's go before you wake up the whole village! Station's just up the street. We'll need to get some official statements and some paperwork done." He took one look at Juliano and offered a polite nod. "Oh, and uh... recall this Blastoise, would you? Town ordinance, there's a curfew on Pokémon past 11 PM. I understand if you called him out for your protection, but I'll handle that from here."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 26: Doubt and Fear

"Good morning, Doranshire! Your daily weather report will be coming shortly, but we are beginning this broadcast with a breaking story that has been developing in the early morning hours."

"Police have discovered the remains of two men in the forest north of Doranshire early this morning. The identity of one of the men is unknown at this point, but the other has been positively identified as Stewart McInnis, the prime suspect in a lengthy string of kidnappings and murders throughout Ardaigh and Crown Counties over the past eighteen months. County police have declined to comment about how exactly the two men have died but noted that several knives and rope were found in their possession, as well as evidence of a brutal struggle between the two men and an unknown Pokémon. The Ardaigh County sheriff has announced that the search is on for two persons of interest who are thought to be connected to the deceased individuals. Let's listen."

The broadcast switched to a recording of a tall and lanky man, dressed professionally in a white shirt and a green policeman's cap, addressing only a single news reporter. Despite his enthusiasm for elaborating on the details, it was clear that he hadn't gotten much sleep.

"There are two people that we're searching for," he started. "A witness provided a statement that there were three individuals at the scene where the two deceased men were found, and that third individual is still alive and out there somewhere. We don't have a name and we don't have a description, unfortunately, other than 'a male in dark clothing'."

"And the second individual?" the reporter asked.

"The witness described the second individual very well, to the point where we have been able to make a positive identification. We are looking for a young woman by the name of Carice Weathers, a hunter employed by the village to keep local wildlife populations in check. She has waist-length blonde hair, ocean blue eyes and no discernable markings or blemishes on her skin. If anyone has any information about her whereabouts, or this other unknown gentleman, please contact my office as soon as possible. We have reason to believe that this could be the potential break we need in multiple disappearance cases over the past few months."

"Who is this witness? What did they witness?"

"I can't disclose that information right now. All that I can say is that we may have a credible lead into what I feared was happening all along, a trafficking ring targeting our young girls. We must do everything we can to stop this, so if anyone out there has any information, no matter how small or unbelievable it may sound, come forward."

- - - - -​

It was a long and arduous night for Andrea and Kimberly; neither had slept much by the time sunlight had started to pour in through the narrow windows of the station. Much of the night was spent talking with various members of the police, trying to recall the details of the bizarre night they experienced. Witness testimonies were extracted, official statements were recorded and half-hearted assurances that the people responsible would be found and dealt with were given. Neither of the two particularly believed those assurances, especially Andrea; she had seen what was out there first hand and she was certain that the police weren't ready for it. Alas, her warnings went unbelieved.

Despite the time of night, a team of eight officers was assembled to investigate their claims. Within an hour, they had discovered the remains of the two men who had attacked them, and a short time later, the cabin was located as well. The cabin was eerily silent and empty, the dying embers of the fire pit still glowing when two of the officers entered to search it. Every room of the cabin was examined for possible clues that would corroborate the girls' story about the youthful hunter being an ancient witch, but nothing stood out to them.

Eventually, the two officers who had searched the cabin returned to the station with Andrea and Kimberly's belongings. Their purses, their backpacks, their phones and the precious Pokéball that held Telandra, all of which had been abandoned in a fevered hurry, were returned to their rightful owners. At that point, the two girls were released and told to go home; their presence at the station was no longer needed. Rather than head back to the Holdt residence right away, they both agreed to grab some coffee first.

"So tired..." Kimberly mumbled, taking a whiff of her steaming black coffee in an attempt to jolt herself awake.

"Yeah, I didn't get much opportunity to sleep, myself..." Andrea added. "Every time I'd nod off in that uncomfortable metal chair they had me sitting on, they'd wake me up for more information. I have half a mind to sue for torture."

"Do you think they believed either of our stories?" she asked with a wide yawn that she didn't put any effort into politely covering.

"They must have believed something, otherwise they wouldn't have mobilized the entire village's police force and the deputies to look into things."

"I don't know... It's an unbelievable story to start with... and then we were sleep deprived and stressed when they kept asking us questions? Pardon me if I'm wrong, but..." she said, stumbling over her words. "But..."

"But?"

"I don't bloody know! I can't think straight!"

Andrea wretched as she swallowed a gulp of the bitter beverage. "Don't worry about it. Let's just take it easy today, okay? No stress, no overthinking, just... relax, ya know?"

"I would like nothing more."

Andrea downed the last of her coffee. "Welp. Let's get back to Mr. and Mrs. Holdt and hope they don't ask too many questions. I don't have the patience to explain this story again."

- - - - -​

Andrea was seated at the table of her home away from home, the tiny bedroom of the Holdt residence. All around her were papers covered from top to bottom with her handwriting, small drawings and diagrams. The writing was neatly divided into sections detailing her day to day experiences in Doranshire and the surrounding wilderness, ranging from discussions she had with the locals to the frightful events of the previous night. She was determined to cover every base in her increasingly lengthy report to Dr. Reiland.

Light snoring came from the bed behind her; Kimberly was snuggled up in the bed with her Skitty, Telandra, dozing away peacefully.

"Right... that old crazy lady, Mrs. Miggins..." she quietly mumbled to herself, starting a new section in her report. As she wrote down her introduction, she idly mused about the situation regarding the old woman. The storm that happened the previous morning came to mind, and whether it had finally destroyed the rest of that miserable ruin she lived in, lingered in her mind. "Someone should really go check in on her... Won't be me, though."

As she continued with her report, her phone lit up and started to rumble. The sound of it vibrating against the wooden desk was unexpected and she nearly fell out of her chair from fright. She picked it up and checked the message that she had just received:

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 9:07 AM

'Hey! Just heard on the news that the Ardaigh county sheriff is organizing a massive search operation in the forest outside of Doranshire. Dr. Reiland and I can't get any details, what's going on? Everything okay?'​

​

She sighed. She didn't even think about how her colleagues would react to what happened, but at least they appeared to be open to the idea of listening to her crazy tale. She started to type a response:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 9:08 AM

'i'm okay. gimme a few minutes and i'll call. writing at the mo and wanna finish this last paragraph before I lose my focus'​

​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 9:08 AM

'Okay. Call us when you're ready. Glad you're safe! We were a little worried.'​

​

She finished writing the last few thoughts she had about her encounter with Mrs. Miggins, then picked her phone up. Before she entered Dr. Reiland's number, she leaned back in her chair and thought about how best to explain the story. Based on recent conversations she had with the good doctor, she understood her boss as someone that was ready to accept that something strange may have happened. However, the tale of a demon chasing her right into the lair of a thousand-year-old witch probably pushed it too far, she thought. She would clearly be lying if she went with that story, even if it were true. She wanted to smudge the facts somehow, but realized that doing so would sink not just her investigation, but possibly her career as well. Even worse, it might put lives in danger.

She entered Dr. Reiland's number and readied herself. Nervousness welled within her. Just as she was about to press the call button, movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention; Kimberly turned in her sleep and murmured something incomprehensible. She didn't want to bother Kimberly during her sleep, so she slinked out of the room and found somewhere quiet. It bought her a few extra minutes of preparation.

"Here goes..." she said.

The phone rang just once before it was answered. "Good morning, Miss Dennison!" Dr. Reiland started with.

"Yeah... morning," she answered back.

"Patrick is here as well. We've both been trying to find out what's going on over there but we can't get any information. Do you have any idea?"

Patrick's voice chimed in next. "The only thing I got out of the news is that they think a trafficking ring is preying on women in Doranshire and they might have found a suspect."

Andrea nodded. "That does make sense... but... that's not everything."

"Sounds like you know what's going on," he said.

"I, uhh... might have been in the center of everything," she said in a cautious manner. "But before I explain what that means, I need to say it... Dr. Reiland, there is definitely something strange happening in this village, something paranormal. Something sinister."

"I was beginning to suspect as much, considering your encounter with that skeletal creature a few nights ago... but it sounds like you've found something new." Dr. Reiland commented.

"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean, you were 'in the center of everything'?" Patrick asked.

She held her breath for a moment before she began. "This story is going to sound crazy, and I feel like this is a bad idea to explain, but... I'm just going to tell it. I don't know what else to do."

Dr. Reiland could hear the shaky tone that Andrea was speaking with. "You're always welcome to tell us what is on your mind. Here at my institute, we're a team, a team that you're now a part of. We listen without judgment. Never forget that."

The words were of little reassurance. "Umm... well. Uhh. You know those orbs that Doranshire is known for? It all started when I noticed that they started to show up in large numbers. I wanted to get a closer look, so Kim and I went outside, following them to the edge of the forest."

"At night, I'm assuming," Dr. Reiland surmised.

"She asked for my advice. I encouraged her to get a closer look." Patrick commented.

"Yes, and we did. We followed them to a clearing in the forest and established a small camp so I could study them for awhile. That's when it started to get... really weird."

"How so?" Dr. Reiland asked.

"You know the eclipse that happened last night?"

"...Eclipse? What eclipse?"

She sat there, trying to process what Dr. Reiland had just asked her. "There... there wasn't a lunar eclipse last night?"

There was a pause on the line before both of her colleagues answered in unison: "No?"

"I... I didn't imagine it... did I?" She tried to think rationally. She remembered seeing the moon bathed in a crimson hue, she remembered the forest darkening even further, and she remembered taking photos with her phone. "Wait! I took some photos of it!" she said with excitement.

"Took photos of something that didn't happen?" Patrick asked. "Now this I've gotta see."

"Yeah, hold on," she said, navigating through the photos on her phone. Just as she remembered, nearly a dozen photos of the full moon, splashed with varying shades of red and orange, were found in her photo library. A wave of relief washed over her; she wasn't losing her mind. "Check your e-mail, Patrick. I've sent them over."

"Checking..." he said. There was a moment's pause before he asked, "You took these last night?"

"I did," she answered.

"And you're sure that your phone isn't broken? Color balance on the camera is correct?" he continued to prod.

"Absolutely." In an effort to prove her case, she turned her phone around and snapped a quick selfie in front of the neatly kept garden outside of the Holdt residence, as much as she loathed doing such things. A quick look showed that her phone accurately displayed the spectacular array of colors that was on display in the garden, which helped to prove her point. She sent it to Patrick.

Another pause followed. "Well. Your phone's camera is definitely working... Still find it hard to believe that a lunar eclipse happened, considering I was out stargazing last night and didn't see it myself."

"Ask anyone in this village and they'll tell you that it happened. I'm sure of it."

There was another pause before Patrick spoke up. "What do you think, Rebecca?"

"Well..." Dr. Reiland started before pausing for a moment to examine the photos. "Even though one... wasn't supposed to happen--"

"It didn't happen," Patrick interrupted. "As I said, I was stargazing, I think I'd have noticed that."

"It does look like a lunar eclipse, I can say that much... But, as I was about to say, the next lunar eclipse visible from Lanark is..." Her voice trailed off as if she was retrieving the information she wanted from elsewhere. "Five months from now. Not last night. Is this what you meant by something paranormal, Ms. Dennison?"

"That's not what I originally meant, actually... After Kim and I noticed the moon, something started to chase us through the forest. We thought it was a Crobat, but--"

"A Crobat? In the wild?" Patrick asked.

"It wasn't a Crobat. At least... it didn't look like one I've ever seen. I didn't get a good look at it, but it looked like... like a man with grey skin. Horns on its head, too. Over the past few days, some of the villagers warned me about demons in the woods... I'm starting to wonder..."

"A demon, you say... That's..." Dr. Reiland bumbled. "What happened next?"

"We were chased to a cabin that a local hunter worked out of... Something about her seemed suspicious right from the start, but we really had nowhere to turn with that thing out there, so we stayed with her. She was so hospitable, but she wasn't interested in our safety. She wanted our guards down, and she achieved that." She took a deep breath. "That lady... she wasn't human. I don't know what she was, but she was not human."

"This story is--" Patrick started before quickly being interrupted.

"What makes you say that?"

"When we met her, she was the most beautiful woman imaginable. Perfect skin, gorgeous hair, not a spot or wrinkle on her face... She went into a different room, and then when I saw her again... she was the most hideous thing I had ever seen. She looked centuries old, almost like a walking corpse."

"Hmm," was all that Dr. Reiland offered.

"What are you suggesting she was? A witch?" Patrick asked.

"You joke, but..." she said, shaking her head at the thought. "Whatever she is, whoever she is, she's got people working with her. Three of her goons tried to run off with that girl I'm travelling with. I was lucky to save her before they got away or did something worse."

"Goodness! Is everything okay?" Dr. Reiland asked.

"I think so. We're back in town and neither of us are hurt, thankfully, but Kim's pretty rattled. I'll be honest, I am too."

"I'm not surprised, if everything you say is true."

She figured that Dr. Reiland wouldn't believe her story and had prepared for the eventuality, but it still made her feel ill to hear it. "I know you don't have any reason to believe me yet, but I'm not lying."

"I don't think you're lying... You've been a truthful employee so far, but I think in this instance, you might not have all of the facts correct. Stress can cloud the mind, create fuzzy details. Not to mention, there are some particularly nasty Pokémon out there that like to play tricks on the mind... But, considering what we know from the news reports, there is some semblance of credence to your story."

"I just wish I had compelling evidence... It'd make me feel a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately, I was too terrified to take pictures or R-Kit readings or anything like that."

"Don't worry about it! Even if you don't have any evidence, surely the police will find something."

"If they do find something that proves my story, I don't think they're going to release that to the public... Last thing that's needed in this village is a panic." She sighed. "Anyways, there's something else I need to say. I'm done with this investigation. Done. I haven't looked into every rumor, but I can't do this anymore. Maybe it was my own stupid fault, but I could have gotten killed out there. The risk just doesn't feel worth it anymore, and I'm in over my head as it is. I can't do this."

"That's a bit disappointing, but I understand."

"You do?"

"Yes. I allowed you to carry on with this assignment because I had hoped that it was something simple, something that you could take care of on your own. Now I realize this probably isn't the case. Too many strange things are adding up for this to be something that even a veteran field analyst could handle alone, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"That's relieving to hear... Well, I'm writing up my finalized report right now and I'll submit all of my findings and experiences either later today or tomorrow, I'm not sure which. I've got a lot of data to compile and information to sort through."

"Good! I was just about to suggest you get started if you're sure about this."

"I am," she said, pausing briefly. "Before I get back to work... What'll happen with this village? Who's going to deal with whatever is happening here?"

There was another pause as Dr. Reiland pondered the question. "That is a good question. According to my colleague who arranged this investigation in the first place, Ms. Dahl was intended to deal with any paranormal activity that you two discovered. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that is going to happen. I'll get in touch with her employer again and ask for his advice."

She shook her head. "I dread to think it, but I don't think she's alive anymore... Especially not after what I went through last night."

"Each passing day does make that more and more likely, yes."

"I just find it so suspicious that she went missing just before she got started on this. I don't know a lot about her, but I get the feeling that she was a woman who always got results... I'm an idiot who's out of her depth and even I found evidence that something spooky is going on here. She probably would have cleaned this whole mess up, and that makes me think that whatever is going on out here is directly tied to what happened to her."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The police are investigating both her disappearance and this... matter in the forest, let's trust them to do the job right."

She nodded. "Right... I'd hate to leave this unfinished, but..."

"It happens. On that note, you'll be needing a new assignment! The trouble is... I don't have anything lined up at the moment. How about you, Patrick?"

"I don't have anything for her, either," Patrick's voice answered. "I'll dig around and find something. It'll probably be back here at the lab."

"Oh... darn... I was kinda hoping to do some more travel. I'm loving the outdoors! I never got to experience it much as I was growing up, this is so refreshing."

"Really? Last time we talked about it, you said you weren't a fan of field work. I believe you complained about mold growing on a wall."

"Well... now that I've done it for almost two weeks, I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Having Kim by my side has definitely helped, that's certain. We don't always see eye to eye, but something about her sickeningly sweet personality just gives me so much energy and focus."

"Are you enjoying the actual work, or are you enjoying her?" he questioned.

She raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Remember, she's not an employee of ours and she's got her own life to live. Will you be able to enjoy the work you do out in the field without her at your side?"

A fair question, and one she didn't have an honest answer for. She tried to compare her time in Nettlefield with her journey down the northern stretch of the Rosencoast, through the Spritewood and finally in and around Doranshire. It may have been her disdain for the task at hand in Nettlefield or the brevity of that particular assignment, but she certainly had more positive memories from the past week. She just wasn't sure if it was Kimberly's presence that made the work enjoyable, the work itself, or the freedom to do what she wanted, away from the prying eyes of her superiors.

"I... I don't know. Probably." she answered in a cautious manner.

"It was luck that brought you two together. Luck doesn't last forever." he said. "Ahh, it's not like it matters, anyways. We don't have any field work open at the moment, just lab work. It's that simple."

"Fair enough."

"Dr. Venger's team should be in the Spritewood tomorrow to recover the creature you found. We'll have one of them come pick you up and get you back to Loch Alstan safely." Dr. Reiland said.

"Sure. I'll give them a hand while we're out there. Not gonna lie... I kinda want to get a closer look at that thing again, especially now that it's not the most terrifying thing I've ever seen."

Dr. Reiland let out a hearty chuckle. "I believe that covers everything. You're safe, sound, and working on your report. Is there anything you'd like to add, Patrick?"

"Mm-mmm," he stated nonchalantly. "Oh! Wait! Before I forget, it's your first pay day!"

Andrea's face lit up. "Is it, already? That's some comfort, at least. First thing I'm buying are some new boots, I think, these aren't the best for travel."

"I did wonder about those, I must admit... I miss the days when I wore fashionable clothing..." Dr. Reiland mused. "Ah! Memories! Drop by the bank in that village when you get some time. I think you'll be happy with your earnings."

A grin that stretched from ear to ear appeared on her face. "I will, thanks!"

"Very well. We'll be hearing from you soon, Ms. Dennison! Take care, and extend my thanks to your friend!"

"Thank you, doctor." With that, the call ended. The smile on her face faded as she sighed. "Kim's gonna be so disappointed... I get the feeling she really wanted me along for her trip to Rustlode... And now she's gotta find someone to travel with, too..."

She was about to go back inside to continue working on her report, but the thought of finally having some spending money for the first time in nearly two months was a more alluring call. She wasn't sure if the village had a proper bank, as she hadn't seen one in all of her time spent there. She opened the map and looked around the village, perplexed by its lack of a bank, until she noticed that it was paired up with the post office. She set out the route and began walking.

As she walked through the town, she noticed a stark difference in atmosphere. The quaint life of the country folk had been put on hold, most of the businesses that were usually booming with customer activity were empty or closed and the sound of music that could usually be heard on Main Street was gone. All she could hear was the wind blowing through the trees above her.

She arrived at the post office. Before she entered, a poster taped to the front window caught her attention; she took a moment to examine it:

MISSING
Oakley Hardt
5'4" tall, 122lbs, 22 years old.
Brown hair, brown eyes.

Last seen walking her pet Stoutland on Whetstone Lane, May 20th.
Witnesses reported seeing her in a pink hooded sweatshirt, faded blue jeans and white high top sneakers.

TIPS that lead to her whereabouts should be directed to the Ardaigh County Sheriff's Office.

"Shit... That could have been us, too." She shivered at the thought. "What's going on in this country? So many young women are disappearing..."

- - - - -​

"Come on... where are they?" Kimberly said as she dug through the contents of her backpack, her voice shaking. Her breathing was erratic and tear streaks stained her cheeks. "I couldn't have run out already..."

One by one, the contents of her backpack spilled out onto the bed and the floor as she carelessly tossed them to the side: notebooks, pencils, a first aid kit, a bag of trail mix, the clothes that she bought for Andrea a few days previously, they all meant nothing to her at that moment. At last, she found what she was looking for: a nondescript pill bottle, labeled with the name Tenzepam. Her shaky hands struggled against the cap until she got it open. She feverishly shook two pills out of the bottle and gobbled them down like a starving animal, nearly choking on the acrid capsules in the process.

She returned the top to the bottle, then buried it back at the bottom of her backpack under the rest of her belongings. She attempted to steady her breathing, but it was impossible; every time she closed her eyes, the events of the previous night played in picture perfect clarity. Most haunting were the images of the hunter, her face melting like a candle as she transformed from the most beautiful woman she ever laid eyes on, into a monstrously hideous wretch with hollow, dead eyes.

She tumbled to the bed and grasped at her hair tightly. "Go away..." she pleaded as she held her head between her knees. "You... you can't hurt me... Just go... go away..."

Though it felt like an eternity of torment, eventually a few minutes passed as her nerves slowly started to soothe. It wasn't any conscious effort on her part that brought her relief, but the medication that she had taken. Despite the images of the wicked woman still being fresh in her mind and the feeling of her would-be kidnappers' hands caressing her up and down being oddly palpable, her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Not... real..." she whispered to herself, repeating over and over like a skipping record.

"What's not real?" Andrea's voice asked.

Her eyes shot wide open; Andrea was standing at the door, looking at her. "No... not now..." she thought. "I'm a wreck, you shouldn't see this..."

Andrea was perplexed by the silent, wide-eyed stare that she was receiving. The first thing she thought of was the thousand-yard stare that she'd seen in history and war books. "Dumb question that I probably know the answer to, but... you okay? You don't look so good."

She fought against both the haunting thoughts and the medication she just took in an effort to maintain some sense of normalcy. "I wish I was okay."

"Ah..."

"I woke up screaming... Gave poor old Mrs. Holdt a heart attack. I'm... I think I'm getting over it, though."

"Bad dream?"

She nodded silently. "I... I was reliving it... Last night, I mean."

Andrea grumbled at the thought. "Damn it, I should have been here. I promised I was going to keep an eye on you."

"Don't beat yourself up, friend! I'm sure whatever you were doing was important."

"Uhh... yeah..." Andrea's grip on her purse tightened for a moment before she dropped it onto the table. She took a seat on the bed next to Kimberly and pointed out the streaks under her eyes. "Maybe I'm different than you, but... dreams usually don't make me cry. Is it something else that's bothering you? Something you might want to talk about?"

She looked down and to the side, away from Andrea. The only noise she made was a deep sigh of sadness, a troubling sound.

"Look, I know. I've not been the best person to talk to, or even the best friend. But I'm here to listen now, I owe you that much. Apart from the obvious, what's really bothering you?"

She turned to look at Andrea again, looking deeply into her eyes. "I need an assurance that you won't belittle me over it."

"If this is about your faith, I'm done doing that. That was cruel of me and I am so sorry. Your decision to believe is your own, it wasn't right of me to judge."

A smile graced her face. "I already feel a little bit better..." She took a deep breath to start her explanation. "Usually when I am feeling down, or when I've seen something that truly bothers me deep down, I try to meditate in an effort to clear my mind... but I can't! I try and I try to clear my head, but I keep seeing it..."

"That bad, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I can't even imagine how traumatic it must have been to be dragged out of that cabin."

She nodded. "When I close my eyes, I see her, that wretched woman... Beauty melting away, her eyes hollowing out... and then those men grab me." Her hand slapped down at her thigh, then started to rub away. "I actually feel their hands pulling at me still, it's so unsettling. I don't know what to do. The thoughts and pictures are at their worst when I try my best to escape them."

Andrea tried to think of ways to make her feel safe or at least more comfortable, but none seemed particularly practical. "There has to be some way..." she thought, before a light bulb flashed in her mind. "If I'm wrong about this, do forgive me, but... maybe the fact that you're focusing on escaping those thoughts is what is bringing them to the front of your mind."

"Yes, that's the problem."

"What if you focused on something else?"

"Like what?"

"Well... can't believe I'm going to suggest this, but... What if I joined you in your meditation? So you're not alone."

She tilted her head to the side, not out of skepticism, but surprise. "Join me?"

"Even if this meditation stuff isn't for me, I just want to make you feel more comfortable."

Another smile. "Just knowing that you want to give it a try makes me feel more comfortable. There is a problem, however... I don't know how it will work."

"I was thinking that if you guided me through the process, you'd be focusing on something other than escaping your thoughts."

She shook her head, skeptical that it would work. "It won't hurt to try, I suppose. Follow my lead."

The two hopped off the bed and congregated in the center of the cramped room. Kimberly sat down first; she crossed her legs, rested her hands in her lap and interlocked her fingers. She looked up at Andrea. "It's not a complicated posture, truthfully."

Andrea hestitated to sit down in the same manner. "I'm not worried about it being complicated, it's just... Can I sit some other way?" she inquired.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I, uhh..." Andrea started, pinching the hem of her thigh-length minidress and gently lifting. "What I'm wearing doesn't mix well with sitting like that."

Kimberly giggled at the thought. "Sit however you please, but it wouldn't bother me, anyways. Our eyes will be closed."

"Still," Andrea stated. She dropped to her knees and rested atop her ankles. She placed her hands on her lap in a dignified manner and nodded. It was slightly uncomfortable at first, but she grew accustomed to it fairly quickly.

She meticulously guided Andrea through her usual process of meditation. It wasn't about clearing the mind and focusing on nothing, the key was to focus on the void of everything itself. To imagine oneself in an empty room, bereft of any detail, color or texture: emptiness at its purest. Andrea found the concept puzzling at first, but embraced it in her attempt to clear her mind. She found it difficult, struggling for much of the same reasons as Kimberly; despite her efforts at focusing, images from the previous night played in her mind, but nowhere near as intensely.

The next part was perhaps the most difficult for Andrea: consciously regulating her breathing and heartbeat while maintaining the thoughts of the empty void. The breathing was the easiest of the two, but she lacked the discipline to lower her heart rate. She was cautious of even trying, thinking it to be a dangerous thing to do anyways.

Kimberly opened her eyes and saw that Andrea's breathing had slowed and her posture had improved compared to normal. "You're doing well." she said with a smile.

"But how are you doing?" Andrea asked without opening her eyes or moving at all.

"I've given up, it's too difficult... but watching you try has brought me comfort."

"Good."

"Do you see anything? Or is your mind still blank?"

Under her eyelids, Andrea's eyes darted around rapidly. Vague shapes and shades of orange and brown accompanied by blurs of blue and green, all obscured with a thick, cloudy fog, presented themselves to her mind's eye. Her brows furled as she tried to visualize what her imagination was cooking up, but it only grew more and more distant and blurred until eventually it faded entirely. "There was something... But I couldn't tell what. Maybe my mind wasn't as clear as I thought."

"That's likely," Kimberly said with a nod. "I wouldn't expect much from it, truthfully. Meditation is an art that requires discipline and years of practice in order to experience all that it offers. It can be confusing to determine what is just your chaotic thoughts and what is deliberate."

"Just hearing that is confusing..." she said, opening her eyes again. "How you feeling?"

Kimberly smiled. "Better, thank you. You're a good friend."

It made her happy to see that her well-meant attempt brought comfort and security to Kimberly, but she knew it wouldn't last forever. In fact, she had news that would probably ruin that comfort in an instant; as they sat in silence on the floor, she wrestled with whether it was the right time to tell Kimberly that she was being reassigned and that they might not see each other again. She didn't want to, but felt that it was better to say it then and there, rather than spring it on her the following day.

Her eyes drifted to the floor. "I've... got some bad news."

"Uh oh."

"I'm being pulled off of this assignment and brought back to Loch Alstan. I'm not fit for this investigation, I never was... That means that we might not see each other again... not for awhile, at least."

Kimberly's good mood began to wash away. "I suppose I should have expected it, considering the nature of your job. I should be ready for it, as I intended on leaving today, but... our time in the forest last night really brought us closer together, I feel. Especially now that I owe you my life. It's not making it any easier to accept."

"I was worried you might take it a little rough."

"It's just that... I've found a good friend in you, you know? It took me until now to truly realize it, but there's something special about you, something I rarely find in other people. Someone who understands the true value of friendship, that friendship is a two way street. These past two days haven't just been 'me, me, me' which is so often the case with other people I know."

The praise was starting to get to her, and she didn't like it. "I think you're giving me too much credit. We'll still be friends after we part ways, you can count on that. We've got each other's phone numbers, and we can always take time out of our lives to see each other. Maybe even partner up in the future if the circumstances allow!"

"I like forward to it!"

She laughed. "Right... before I get too emotional, let's save that for tomorrow, okay? I need to get back to work on my report, anyways. I promised my boss I'd have it done by tomorrow and I still have so much more to do."

"By all means, continue! If you need my help with it, let me know! I'll be out in the garden in the meantime."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: Up until now, the chapters have followed a fairly consistent timeline, with each one being in chronological order. These wrap-up chapters break from that, either taking place in the near future or in the distant past. The next proper chapter will resume the timeline as normal.

Land of the Roses
Season 1 Wrap-Up #1: The Stolen Tome​

Silvergarden Royal Archives, November 1872

"Now where is it..."

An elderly man in a hooded robe navigated a dark and musty maze of bookshelves, lit only by a collection of dim candles that were scattered around the room. In his hand was a scrap of paper with the words 'Raeghan Doran: Orb Study' written on it, accompanied by the numbers '11', '92' and '.27'. He frequently compared the numbers to those engraved into the ornate bookshelves until he had finally found what he was looking for.

"Lord Doran's research... at last..."

He looked side to side in a suspicious manner to see if anyone was watching him, then grabbed the decaying, leather-bound book and hid it under his robe. With the book safely within his possession, the elderly man slinked into the shadows, never to be seen in the archives again.

- - - - -​

It was a dreadfully snowy day; visibility could be measured in mere inches and the biting chill of the wind would drive any sane person indoors. Yet through the blizzard, the elderly man made his way into the wilderness, towards his final destination: Alben Tower.

Eventually, he reached the walls that surrounded the tower and passed through the exquisitely designed cast iron gate. Rather than approach the main entrance, he made his way to the rear of the tower, ending his journey at a large metal door. He knocked five times in a specific rhythm.

The small window on the speakeasy door slid open and a gruff man's face appeared on the other side of the door. "Lord Alben expecting you?" he barked.

"No, but his mistress is," the elderly man replied.

The door guard glared at him suspiciously. "Mistress? Lord Alben ain't got no mistress! Bugger off!"

"He does. Lady Candlefire."

The guard's eyes narrowed even further, almost to the point where they shut entirely. "What's your name?"

"Thomas Hollingshead."

The small window on the door closed with a bang before a series of locks could be heard opening on the other side. The door slid open and the man motioned for Thomas to enter. "Right this way, Mr. Hollingshead. Lady Candlefire is in her study."

The study was a cozy and packed room; one wall was dedicated to a small library, with hundreds of books neatly stored in alphabetical order by author and further divided by subject. Another wall housed a collection of curios and artifacts such as crystals, unlabelled burlap satchels and an enormous collection of polished brass trinkets. A roaring fireplace warded the room from the biting chill of the outside world, while a large window on the other side of the room offered a view of the raging blizzard. A globe sat under the window, with several locations across the world marked with red pins.

In the center of the room, behind a heavy oaken desk, sat a young woman; silky blonde hair that dangled to the floor obscured her face. She was clad from head to toe in black clothing, not a common trend at the time, a look that was complimented by intricate and priceless golden jewelry set with purple, black and grey gemstones. Her sharp blue eyes darted back and forth as she studied the manuscript that was in her delicately manicured fingers. Not even a heavy knock on the door to the room broke her concentration. "Come." she said in a flat and disinterested manner.

Thomas entered the room and reached into his hooded robe, retrieving the book that he had taken from the Royal Archives. Without a word, he placed it onto the desk in front of the woman.

The woman's eyes left the pages in front of her and rested on the book. "Is that... It is! Lord Doran's research!"

"A gift for you, Maphesia," Thomas said.

She put down the book that she had been reading and carefully picked up the decaying tome that rested on her desk. She ran her finger across the top of the cover in a loving manner. "How difficult was it to walk away with this book?"

"The decision to was harder than the act, that's for certain. It seems the Greybells do not take security as seriously as they used to. This tome was filed away just like any other."

She nodded. "Yes, I understand that you've risked much to bring this book to me. But that risk will pay off once we unravel the secrets within."

"And what secrets might those be?"

She glared at him. "You ask too many questions. Never you mind the details. Just appreciate the results."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am."

She waved him away in a dismissive manner, her attention fully wrapped in the book in front of her. "Now, leave! I need to get started on this!"

Raeghan Doran: Orb Study

I was very fortunate when the false king Antial II of Clan Greybell appointed me lord of these lands. That fool knows not the gift he has given me, the eternal curse he has bestowed upon his lineage.

These lands hold power unlike anything else in the kingdom. I speak of the orbs, the enchanting lights that linger in our forest. I thought nothing of them at first: curious nuisances at best, as they terrified those miserable wretches that tend to the land. But my advisor in the arcane, Lady Mishel, encouraged me to listen to the plight of those wretches, and that I did. Their stories about the orbs intrigued me. They had all sorts of imaginative stories about the orbs, some that caught both my and Lady Mishel's attention.

The most common claim is that these orbs are the spirits of the dead. I don't know where this belief originated from, but it is a claim that I am confident my advisor and I have proven. We managed to capture one in a containment vessel. Months of study and experimentation followed. I myself led the experimentation, calling upon the rituals of old that my ancestors employed during the civil war many centuries ago. I talk of blood magic, the art of extracting the very essence of life itself and using it for other purposes, be they benign or malevolent. Many of those wretched commonfolk who work my land were sacrificed and drained in our experiments until eventually we came to our conclusion that the orbs are indeed the spirits of the dead, the pure energy of death.

Though the orbs contain great potential, they are useless without the catalyst that unlocks their power: the blood of man. It is a dangerous gambit we make with our continued research. With so many people going missing, suspicion is growing. Thankfully, that wretched lot is gullible and believe our stories about the monsters that lurk in the forest... but we do have to be careful.

My knowledge of the old arts is only partial; many manuscripts which detailed the workings of blood magic were destroyed upon the establishment of the Greybell dynasty. We learn just as much about the art as we do about the orbs... One thing is for certain: just as not every man is the same, nor is the blood that flows through his veins. Some are virtually useless to our ongoing research, while others are unusually bountiful. We do not yet know why this is, but Lady Mishel has taken a liking to sacrificing young women...

Lady Mishel has already mastered the energy within the orbs. She has ensured the bounty of our harvests through her incantations and spells. She has strengthened the men of the Tracker's Guild and guaranteed the security of my lands. She has healed ill and wounded lords around the kingdom, earning us quite a bit of tribute money. Her spells have even given rise to the forges that supply dark iron weaponry to the trackers and knights. We are quickly rising in power, both in men and money; we may soon be able to challenge the Greybells for control of Silvergarden, but I will not start a war with just man and mundane metal. No. I will bide my time, I will work with Lady Mishel to increase our capabilities even further until we may crush them with barely a lifted finger.

Perhaps the most promising of Lady Mishel's experiments is not that which strengthens our armies, encourages the loyalty of our commonfolk or even lines our coffers with the finest gold in the kingdom... I have known her for over fifty years at this point. I have watched her grow from a beautiful young lady into a wizened old woman, frail with age. Yet... I have noticed something odd over the past few months: she grows younger by the minute. I still remember that golden face she had when we were lovers in our youth. That golden face has returned. Through the power extracted from the orbs, she has turned back the ravages of time.

If she has mastered that eternal fate that has plagued mankind since its creation, perhaps she can do more. Perhaps... she can restore the dead to life? No doubt, more research must be done, more sacrifice must be made.

In the following pages, I will detail our research and arcane methods. In time, trusted colleagues can be recruited and this knowledge can be shared. Nothing will stop us from our goal: ending the false monarchy of the Greybells, and restoring our True King.
​

"At last... Lord Doran, your work will continue..."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Season 1 Wrap-Up #2: Spare Parts​

Followup Report: Bone Fragment Analysis II, Reiland Institute Medical Wing
Report written by Dr. Venger
Field Work: Emily Winehaus, Heidi Ashcroft, Red Williamson, Dedrick May, Geoffrey Clarke Jr.
Lab work completed by Dr. Venger, Dr. Brink, Emily Winehaus, Geoffrey Clarke Jr.
May 25th, 1:42 PM

I knew something was fishy when our field analyst, Andrea Dennison, described the creature that attacked her in the Spritewood. She called it an 'undead skeletal creature', a description that does not match anything known to science. True, there are Pokémon out there that integrate exposed bones into their anatomy, such as the Houndoom family, or use bones as part of a spiritual culture, such as the Marowak family... But none like the creature described.

In my previous report, I mentioned assembling a team to locate and recover the remains based on Ms. Dennison's advice. She has a very good memory, as the team was able to locate the creature's remains with little difficulty. The difficult part was transport... loading a few boxes of decomposing remains and bones onto a train was something I hadn't initially accounted for and caused a few delays and even a police inquiry, but we finally got our materials back to the lab for testing.

DNA testing on every small piece of this creature's puzzle-like structure has led to some interesting yet... troubling results. This creature is not natural, that is for certain; the genetic profiles for nearly seven different Pokémon species were generated during our tests. I don't need to explain why this is alarming. It is as if this creature was constructed from 'spare parts', like out of some horror novel. But how? By who? And for what purpose? I can have a guess at the purpose, I suppose, judging by the sharp 'arms' it has and the incredible physical capabilities that Ms. Dennison described it as having.

The arms... they were definitely constructed by someone with considerable crafting skill. Knives and blades made of bone were common among our primitive ancestors, but they were crude and were meant more for hacking and stabbing rather than precision cutting. These arms were as sharp as forged steel blades, carved from the ribs of a Wailord. Our analyst is very lucky that she escaped relatively unharmed (she did suffer minor injuries that she has more or less recovered from at this point); I believe that just one swing of this creature's bladed arms would have been enough to cleave her in two, if her account of its agility is to be believed.

The creature lacked much of anything else. Decomposed flesh was incorporated into its structure, likely as 'padding' in the event that it got into a physical confrontation with something. Our initial guess was that it served as muscle for locomotion, but we found that wasn't the case; it wasn't in the right areas and there wasn't enough of it. It also lacked a coherent circulatory system, which is not surprising. We found absolutely no traces of blood anywhere within the creature's system, as if it had been drained entirely prior to 'assembly'.

There were no major organs present, not even a brain. How this creature did much of anything is beyond me. My colleague, Emily Winehaus, suggested it was possible that the creature was being telekinetically controlled from an outside source. It's a theory that has merit, as there are numerous species of Pokémon that demonstrate such marvelous abilities, and it would also explain how this creature was capable of moving with the absence of the required skeletal, muscular and nervous systems necessary for locomotion.

When Ms. Dennison made her initial report about the creature, she described it as having "glowing purple tendrils" that connected the various pieces together. My field team did describe tendrils that connected the bones together, not unlike the tendons and ligaments which keep us together and allow our movement. However, they were not glowing by the time the field team arrived, nor were they glowing at the time that Ms. Dennison took her photos. Was this perhaps an error on her part, a misremembered detail? She was under much stress when she saw the creature... Alas, we may never know unless another one of these eldritch beasts is discovered.

And now for some more grim news. We also found four more human bones within the creature. Of the genetic profiles that we generated, three matched the same profile we generated in our previous test, indicating that three of the bones belonged to our Jane Doe. The fourth generated a different profile, that of a woman of Kalosian ancestry. Again, I will send this new profile to the National Crime Lab to see if we can determine the identity of this individual.

Regarding our Jane Doe, we did come up with an identity thanks to a friend at the National Crime Lab: Moira Winslow. Based on the bones that we recovered (one of her vertebrae, part of a fibula and a rib), we are confident with the grim reality that she is no longer living. She was an eighteen year old woman who lived in the village of Redfern Crossing, and was reported missing during a visit to the city of Alderney in January. Absolutely no evidence of her whereabouts or ultimate fate have ever been found... until now. I can only offer the deepest condolences for her friends and family.

At this time, I am requesting that Dr. Reiland compile any information she may have received about the beast from her colleagues alongside this report, Ms. Dennison's report, Ms. Dennison's photos and the exquisite drawing provided by her associate, Ms. Kimberly Fairbrooke, and send it to those colleagues. We have not reached any solid conclusions yet, which is quite frustrating... I usually find work like this to be simple and straight forward, but this... this is too surreal and too strange. Everything I know is being thrown out the window.

We are on the verge of discovering something marvelous... or horrific. We must dig deeper and find the truth of this matter.​

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Season 1 Wrap-Up #3: The Spread​

Lanark Ministry of Wildlife
Lady Abigail Plame
Acting Head Minister​

June 2nd

To Dr. Reiland and her esteemed colleagues:

First and foremost, I would like to thank you and your staff for your continued dedication to the preservation of our kingdom's greatest resource, the environment. Through your perseverance and your tireless research, you have shed new light on the delicate ecosystems that are challenged the most by our modern society, and the ways with which we can protect them. You are a shining beacon of hope that this world, or at least our corner of it, will remain pristine and beautiful for generations to come.

Almost three weeks ago, you alerted us to a potential ecological crisis that was emerging in the marshes north of Nettlefield, a crisis we thought we had dealt with over half a century ago. Perhaps we did deal with the Blastcap infestation back then, and it has only just returned. I have spoken with the Head Minister of State, he has promised me that there will be increased scrutiny of goods imported from countries that have known Blastcap infestations to help contain our own.

Regarding the actual infestation site itself, it is much larger than your colleague, Mr. Adelaide, reported and it continues to grow. Our expeditionary team that was dispatched to investigate established a camp about half a mile from the perimeter of the affected area. Within two days, the affected area had grown around the camp and continued a great distance. Based on satellite data and some math, we've determined that this infestation likely started to grow just a week prior to its discovery; it is far more aggressive than the outbreak of the 1960s.

Your report mentioned the possibility that we would encounter a new species of Pokémon, one that is likely related to Blastcap. We did indeed find this new species, and lots of them. The expeditionary team has captured thirteen of these specimens at the time of writing; They are being transported to the Eilean Cailc Research Center off the western coast of Glastonfell to study them in a contained environment.

You are welcome to send a science team to join in the study, and we will give your institute the incredible honor of naming this new species! If you do intend to send a team to study, make sure that they are well trained in dealing with aggressive Pokémon. Several of the Eilean Cailc staff have been injured, some seriously. These creatures do not appear to tolerate the presence of humans.

Containing this outbreak is an ongoing effort. If you have been watching the national news or even looking up in the sky, you will see the billowing smoke from the control fires we have set. At its current rate of expansion, there is no other way to contain it, it must be burnt and destroyed. It pains me to destroy such beautiful wetland, but it is already beyond repair and we must prevent more destruction.

Perhaps this is a consequence of our own policies. Over the past half century, the Ministry has engaged in an aggressive stance of environmental protection. It has been so strict that much of our beautiful countryside is not actually seen by the people that we have been preserving it for, and because of this... we were unaware of the severity of this infestation. Perhaps if more people were encouraged to monitor the countryside, this could have been prevented. A review of this archaic policy is under way.

Thank you.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Christmas Special
Day of Lovers' Remembrance​

Eighteen months ago
Another peaceful winter day in Goldwheat Meadows, Lanark

"Hey... I'm on the train to Goldwheat Meadows, should be arriving soon. It's kinda relaxing here... I expected the train to be full of people travelling for the holidays, but it's practically just me here. It's nice and quiet... It let me do some thinking... it's been awhile since we've seen each other. I know you've been busy getting your career started, and I couldn't be happier for you, but... I miss you! It's going to be so nice to see you again..."

"Things have been good. Got my final grades back from the autumn semester, they're the second highest in my level. They want me to give a speech at the year's end! Something about celebrating another year of successful studies and to congratulate all of the other university students... Think you'll be there for the ceremony? You know me, I'm not good with public speaking, but it'll be easier if I know you're there."

"So, how have things been? Been getting along well with your new friend? Have you stayed in Loch Alstan, or have you been exploring? If you've been out and about, seen any of the sights out there? I know there's that big tower out that way, and the lake itself... Wish I could have tagged along for your little visit, actually, but I've been stuck back in Aughrim finishing up the last of my exams."

The train lurched forward slightly as the breaks were applied. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now nearing our final approach towards Goldwheat Meadows and will arrive within fifteen minutes--"

"Oh! I'll be in town shortly! Let me know where you want to meet and I'll be there! Love you!"

✲´*。.*¨¯`*✲。*。✲。¨¯`*✲​

Screeeeeeeeeee...

With the train fully stopped, the doors slid open and the passengers started to file out in an orderly manner. One by one, they rushed to the warmth of the terminal building until the last passenger stepped off of the train. She stopped in her tracks to take in a deep breath of the bitterly cold yet deliciously fresh country air. A smile appeared on her face.

"Home..." she said with a contented sigh.

As she made her way to the entrance of the terminal building, the door opened and a man in a shiny burgundy puffer jacket and ragged grey cargo jeans walked out. Her heart skipped a beat and started to race the moment she laid eyes on him.

"Larson!" she called out as she rushed across the frosted train platform.

"Andrea!" He waved. "There's my dark angel!"

She nearly knocked him over as she embraced him with a vice-like hug. "Ooooh, I missed you so much!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, but he didn't fight it. "Relax, it's only been a couple weeks!"

"It's been forever!" she enthusiastically groaned. She leaned in and planted a lecherous kiss on his lips as her hands drifted down his back. "Been wanting to do that for awhile..."

"You're insatiable... And that's why I love you."

She let him go and took a few steps towards the edge of the platform to take in the sights around her. Goldwheat Meadows was just as she left it the last time she visited, only much snowier; white fields of fresh snow stretched to the horizon, separated into oddly shaped plots by walls of stacked stone and frosted, towering hedges. Tall, wiry trees that had lost their leaves in the previous month towered over the fields and shaded the farmhouses. Through the fog, the three-towered skyline of Goldwheat's commercial heart loomed in the distance. Over it all, the snow fell slowly and peacefully, a silent constant.

"Good to be home..." she said.

He looked around at the snowfall before studying her closely. Her dark attire was a very clear contrast to the white scenery around her. He felt that it brought out his favorite aspects of her, chiefly her personality and her curves. "You stick out like a sore thumb in this weather!"

"I know, isn't it great?" She stretched her arms out and twirled about with a smile on her face. "I love snow! We really don't get enough of it in Aughrim."

"Yeah, we don't. But you've gotta admit, it is nice not having to dig yourself out every morning."

"True..."

He slung his backpack around, opened it and started to dig around in it. "Brought something for ya."

She took a cautious peek into his backpack, but couldn't see anything. "It's not my Lovers' Remembrance gift, is it? I can wait a few days, I don't mind!"

"Oh, no," he said with a smile and a laugh. "Got something much better saved for that."

"Oooh... bet I know what it is."

His hand emerged from his backpack, wrapped around a black bottle of wine that was decorated with silver stripes. He offered the bottle to her. "Just a little gift for my angel."

The label on the bottle was primarily purple in color and featured an artistic rendition of an exploding heart on one side and a gnarled, barren swamp tree on the other. Between the images, spiked silver lettering spelled out the name of the wine: Heart Attack. The deep red liquid inside shined brightly through the darkened glass as she moved the bottle about in her hands.

"Heart Attack? I like the sound of it already." she said as she inspected the cartoonish design on the label. "I don't drink much, but... Then again, I can only afford the cheap awful stuff."

"Figured you deserved something nice for a change."

She wrapped her arms around him again and embraced him lovingly. "Thanks! The start of next semester is going to be so much easier now..."

"If you still have it by then. You're lucky I didn't drink that, it's reaaaaal good! Made from apricots."

"Apricots, huh... strange choice for wine, if you ask me. Maybe we can share it over dinner tonight?"

He nodded. "You bet."

She crammed the bottle into her purse as far as it would go, but the neck poked out from under the top flap. "So... my place, or yours?"

He wrapped his arm around her and started walking with her down towards the main artery that ran from downtown into the white wilderness. "As much as I'd like otherwise, let's go to your place. I'm sure you're looking forward to visiting your parents, and I know they're eager to see you again."

"Did you get my message, by the way? I sent you a voice mail as I was coming into town."

He nodded. "I did. Figured I'd wait for you."

"That's so thoughtful!"

He chuckled. "Things have been great! Been really enjoying my time out in Loch Alstan, but I'm getting ready to move on. I'm super psyched that I'm finally getting into the world of competitive Pokémon training."

"Your new friend okay with that? What was it you chose again, a Charmander?"

"Yeah." He let go of her to reach into his pocket, then pulled out a traditional red and white Pokéball. It had already seen heavy use in the past two weeks; scratches and scuffs could be found all over and the reflective sheen found on most Pokéballs had already faded. He tossed the Pokéball into the air and it exploded with a flash of warm fire, a welcome treat in the cold weather.

An orange bipedal lizard dropped from the sky and landed in the snow. He looked around at his surroundings, then up at his master. He let out an excited shriek that carried with it a flicker of flame as he bounced through the snow to snuggle against Larson's leg. All along the way, the scorching flame at the tip of his tail melted the snow around him, leaving a dangerous trail of wet ice behind him.

"There's my buddy!" Larson said.

Andrea knelt down to get on the Charmander's level. "Hey there, little guy! I'm Larson's girlfriend, Andrea!"

The Charmander grasped Larson's pant leg even harder and let out a rasping whine at Andrea. More than just a flicker of flame escaped his mouth this time, sending her tumbling backward into the snow as a precaution. It scared her, but he meant no harm; if anything, he enjoyed intimidating her.

"Figures you'd pick this one!" she said as she pushed herself out of the snow. "You were always reckless as a kid, it seems you never outgrew it."

"I was powerful as a kid, there's a difference," he said triumphantly.

She brushed the last of the snow off of herself. "Did you give him a name yet?"

"Yeah, Drake. He may not look like much now, but this guy's gonna be a bad ass dragon when he grows up. He needs a name fit for that form."

"Drake... I like it."

And so they continued out into the cold, heading home to prepare for the upcoming holiday: the Day of Lovers' Remembrance...

✲´*。.*¨¯`*✲。*。✲。¨¯`*✲​

The Day of Lovers' Remembrance... What is it, you ask? Why, it's an old tradition in Lanark, traced back over a thousand years...

Legend has it that two lovers from opposing clans, Greybell and Dornoch, met in secret for a dozen years. Their families, unaware of these clandestine meetings, skirmished against each other for control of the Northcountry. As time passed, their love for each other grew and the hatred between their families widened. Eventually, the Greybell man inherited the throne and became King of Lanark. Their love affair came out of the shadows, much to the shock of everyone. No longer a secret, the two solidified their relationship with marriage, an act that brought peace between Lanark and the Northcountry. Though their reign together was short and met a tragic end, the peace held. The Day of Lovers' Remembrance is celebrated so that none may forget the endless power of love and the harmony it can bring.

The marriage between the king and his new queen spawned many of the traditions observed on this day. He gifted her an albino Rapidash as part of the wedding ceremony, while she gifted him the Dornoch Emerald, which eventually became the crown jewel of Lanark. Back in that time, marriage gifts were certainly not a thing, but the royal couple led by example. Another tradition, taken from Clan Dornoch, was the decoration of the Glastonfir (an evergreen tree that typically reaches heights of 14 feet within one year) with golden coins and roses.

As with any tradition, it changes over time. These days, most people celebrate the holiday and the exchange of gifts is no longer limited to husbands and wives. Family, extended relatives and even friends typically receive gifts on this day. The decoration of the Glastonfir still serves as the centerpiece of the holiday, but the ornaments were changed to suit the common folk who couldn't afford golden coins and roses; instead, we typically see glittery tassels in place of the coins, and shining red baubles to represent the roses of old. An increasingly popular twist on the tradition is to decorate the tree with Pokéballs.

Though its roots are in Lanark, the Day of Lovers' Remembrance is celebrated extensively on every continent. Explorers and settlers brought the tradition with them as they established the growing Empire of Lanark. Over the centuries, other countries embraced the holiday as well, bringing in their own variations. It is a day that most cultures can identify with, a day in which peace typically reigns even in the most hostile and war torn environments.

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December 22nd
The Day of Lovers' Remembrance

It was a lively scene at the Heartland Memorial Community Center in the rural outskirts of Goldwheat Meadows: dozens of people gathered in the main lobby of the establishment, a room lavishly decorated with flashing fairy lights, wreathes of holly, and hanging tassels of gold, silver and green. Drawings and paintings made by the town's children over the past month decorated the walls. The calming fragrance of almond incense wafted through the building.

At the far end of the room was the grand attraction of the holiday, the great Glastonfir tree. Decorated from top to bottom with golden baubles, Pokéballs, other ornaments and topped with a silver bell, it was a sight to behold. Every now and then, a pair of attendees would break from the festivities to approach the Glastonfir tree. Dozens of carefully wrapped boxes waited under the tree, each tagged with a name and decorated with glittering ribbons, bows and bells. One by one, the wrapped gifts would disappear as they went to their recipients.

Goldwheat Meadows was known throughout the Kingdom of Lanark as having one of the most festive displays of the holiday. People from across the kingdom, and in some cases across the world, usually flocked to the little town to soak in the sights and participate in the lead up to the Day of Lovers' Remembrance. That year was no different, people had come from all over to participate in the festivities. From the quaint villages of Lanark to the far away shores of Kanto, Shinikara and Alola, people came.

Andrea was usually prepared for outsiders coming to town for the Day of Lovers' Remembrance; after all, she considered herself one of those outsiders for the past couple of years, even though she'd grown up there. She spent a few extra weeks gathering up her savings to make sure that a few extra people had a gift of some sort, even the strangers she didn't know. Her gifts usually never amounted to much, but it was the thought that counted, she reasoned, and helped to spread the cheer associated with the holiday.

The amount of people who came to the party was a little overwhelming for her, especially considering that most of them were strangers or people she hadn't seen in years. Well out of her comfort zone, she attempted to pass the time near the drinks table until she saw someone she recognized. Even then, she didn't put a lot of effort into scanning the crowds for friends or family. As she poured herself a glass of sweetened apple cider, she jumped in fright and nearly dropped it when she felt someone poke the low of her back from behind.

"Boo!"

The fright quickly faded when she turned around to see an old friend, Caitlin Wintersbite. "Oh my gosh! It's Kate!"

"It's me!" the woman nodded.

She gripped Caitlin in a bear-like hug. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Yeah... Been pretty busy with life, I guess. But I'm back for the holidays!"

"I heard you might be showing up, so I got you something just in case." She led Caitlin across the room to the great Glastonfir tree.

"That's so sweet, you didn't have to!"

She dug through the mountain of gifts that sat under the tree until she found what she was looking for: a small package wrapped in shiny, candy pink paper. "I felt it was the right thing to do. Even if you didn't show up, at least I had something extra for someone else!"

Caitlin grabbed the package and gave it a gentle shake, but it didn't make any noise. "Wonder what it is..." She tore away at the paper and found a collection of three leatherbound notebooks, each engraved with her name in shiny silver lettering. Each was accompanied by a fountain pen.

"I don't know how useful it will be, I'm not sure what to get for a professional author."

Caitlin pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you! That's very thoughtful, I can always use more notebooks for my stories! Speaking of, I got something for you, too. I know how you're more a fan of grim fantasy stuff, but..." She knelt down and grabbed her own gift from under the tree, then handed it over. "I figured that I'd get you a signed copy of my latest novel."

"Oh! Should be, uhh..." she said, trailing off. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't aware of what Caitlin had written most recently, so she feverishly removed the starry night wrapping paper around her gift. "The Mercury Star, huh? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with it."

"It's about the early era of human space exploration. It might be a bit too optimistic for your tastes, everyone gets along."

She playfully covered a fake yawn before flipping through some of the pages. "No, it sounds interesting! I'll give it a read when I get back to university."

"Let me know what you think, okay?"

"Will do."

Caitlin's attention quickly shifted to the crowd over Andrea's shoulder. "Oh! Looks like Eliza's over there, I'm gonna go bug her. It was good seeing you again!"

"Yeah, same. We should hang out later, I miss our adventures together."

"I might be around," Caitlin said with a smile. "We'll see." With that, she set off and disappeared into the crowd.

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The festivities continued as the residents of Goldwheat Meadows merrily mingled with each other and the numerous guests that had come to town. Andrea took the time to catch up with old friends she hadn't seen in years, always a favorite Lovers' Remembrance tradition of hers. Every now and then, she'd distract herself by looking toward the entrance to the community center, hoping that she might see her friend Larson finally arrive. Instead, she saw a young woman enter in from the cold, huddling her arms together in an attempt to warm up.

After a few minutes, she noticed that the young woman appeared to be a loner, as she hadn't socialized with anyone at that point. She was curious and approached in a cautious yet friendly manner. "Haven't seen you around here before."

The young woman looked up at her. "Huh? Oh. Umm. That's because I'm not from around here."

"Oh? Where you from?"

The woman eyed her suspiciously and hesitated to answer for a moment. Her attempts to get rid of Andrea by giving her the cold shoulder appeared to fail after a moment, so she gave in. "Sinnoh. Sandgem specifically."

"Wow, you're a long way from home."

"Yeah... Just doing a little sight seeing before I go back, I guess... Looks like I picked a good place to visit... they don't celebrate Lovers' Remembrance much where I come from, but I do. Nice to see some enthusiasm for it for once."

"We're always happy to have people visit!" she said. She took the opportunity to seat herself across the table from the stranger. "Name's Andrea, by the way."

The woman looked a little nervous and wanted to find a way away from this oddly friendly stranger. However, she realized it probably wouldn't hurt to return the favor. "Annie."

"Cute name!" she smiled. "So, umm. That jacket of yours, doesn't look like it's in great shape. You looked cold when you walked in!"

Annie looked down at her jacket and shrugged. "Ehh. It is a little colder than I expected."

She knelt down and started to dig through the gifts again. "Well, I got this for someone else, but... you look like you could use it more than them."

"What about them, though?

"I'll get her something else later. I think she'd be disappointed with it, anyways, I never know what to give her."

"You really don't have--"

She handed a cylindrical bundle over to Annie with a nod. "No! I want to!"

Annie stared her down for a second, but finally accepted the gift. She unwrapped it to find a thick and warm-looking baby blue trench coat. It was immaculately soft the touch, much softer than what she was wearing at the moment. A smile appeared on her face as she slipped the coat on to try it out; much to her joy, it fit almost perfectly. "Thank you."

"Mhmm!"

"Well, uhh. I'm going to go and... try to mingle, I guess."

"By all means, have fun and happy Lovers' Remembrance!" she called out as Annie slinked away. "Hope I made her day a little brighter..."

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More time passed. Andrea was starting to grow tired from the energetic atmosphere around her, but she was determined to stick around; this had been the most social she had been all year and with her busy student life, it felt like her only opportunity, an opportunity she didn't want to waste. But more important than socializing was seeing Larson that day, and that was something she was ready to wait all day for.

She worried that he might have slipped into the party unannounced and scanned the crowds for him. She didn't find him, but she did notice someone standing in the corner, all alone, observing the festivities from afar. Like her, this person was dressed in dark clothing; it was a tenuous connection, but one she felt. She broke away from her group of friends and decided to visit.

"This spot taken?" she asked as she joined the lonesome individual in the corner of the room.

"Hmm?" they responded.

"I saw you all alone, I figured I might come over and chat. Enjoying Lovers' Remembrance?"

They stared at the crowds around them. "Yeah, I'm here alone. Not sure why I'm even here, this holiday never interested me. People don't celebrate it where I'm from."

She picked up on their accent and identified it quite quickly. "Sinnoh, right?"

"How'd you figure?"

"A little while ago, I was talking to a girl who's visiting all the way from Sinnoh, too. You two have the same accent."

"Curious..." They cautiously waited for a moment before continuing. "My name's Zia, by the way. Zia Carver. I was passing through this town and heard there was some sort of festival going on. Curiosity got the better of me... just here to warm up, too. Colder than I'm used to out there."

"I'm Andrea," she said with a nod. "Since you are here, what do you think about this whole holiday?"

"It's... a strange tradition. But at least the atmosphere is nice. Everyone seems friendly."

She smiled. "I know a lot of these people and they are."

Zia looked around at the hustle and bustle with curiosity. "A lot of people are exchanging gifts with each other... I guess that's something you do for this holiday?"

"It's mostly gift giving rather than exchanging, especially at public gatherings like these."

"Mmm."

"Speaking of, have you gotten anything from anyone?"

"Me? No. Why would anyone give me anything?"

"To make you feel like a part of the community! I can get you something, if you'd like. There's always a couple extra gifts floating around."

Zia thought about it, and appeared to be quite pensive. "It would be rude of me to turn down a gift, right?"

"A little, maybe. Let's go over to the tree and find it for you!"

"I'll stay here, if you don't mind."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll be back in a minute!"

Zia watched as she rushed to the Glastonfir tree and pushed aside some of the larger boxes. She appeared fretful as her search turned up nothing until she eventually found what she was looking for: a small box that fit in the palm of her hand, abandoned under the dark shade of the tree. She returned in a hurry.

"Looks awful small..." Zia commented to themself.

"I was worried someone might have walked off with it!" Andrea said with a nervous laugh as she presented the box to Zia. "From me, to you, as a sign of our friendship."

Zia disagreed with the sentiment, but accepted the gift regardless. Inside was a small chunk of purple glass-like rock, scratched and fractured, expertly wrapped within a silver wire and attached to a chain. Zia immediately recognized it. "A dusk stone, huh? Of all the precious stones, these are probably my favorite."

"Yup! A friend found it in a park and gave it to me as a gift. I have no use for it, so I had it turned into a pendant. I think it'll match you pretty well."

Zia clasped the pendant around their neck and let it hang above their fleece sweater. "It's very beautiful, thank you."

"Of course! Happy Lovers' Remembrance!"

An awkward moment of silence fell over the two before Zia broke it. "You mentioned there was someone from Sinnoh here. Where is she?"

Andrea scanned the crowd in search of Annie until she found her alone, studying the paintings and drawings that hung from the walls. "Right over there, she's the one with the blonde hair."

"I might go try talking to her."

"Have fun!"

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Tick... Tock... 5:00 PM came and went as Andrea awaited her friend's arrival. Impatience was starting to get the better of her, as was the energy of the room around her. She stepped outside for some fresh air and a break from the party, but the bitter chill in the air caused her to reconsider. As she was about to head back inside, she saw a young woman approaching the community center; behind her, an Umbreon followed closely.

Andrea marvelled at the golden rings on the Umbreon's fur as they glowed in the darkness around it. "That's such a beautiful Umbreon!"

"Thank you, ma'am," the woman said. "You hear that, Sombra? Yet another fan!"

The Umbreon yipped with happiness, prompting Andrea to drop to her knees and pat its soft, silky fur. The interaction only furthered its happy mood.

As she ran her fingers through Sombra's fur, she thought about the Umbreon's name and why it sounded so familiar. "Wait... Sombra?" She took a moment to look over the woman's features to confirm her suspicions. "Are you... Are you Sarah Villareal, by any chance?"

The woman nodded. "I am. You know of me?"

"Kinda. When I was studying for my finals a couple weeks ago, I had the Pro League World Cup matches on as background noise. You competed in those, didn't you?"

"Yup! Semi-finals!"

"Wow, look at me, talking to a celebrity..."

Sarah blushed. "Oh, please! I'm no celebrity."

The cold began to overwhelm the both of them, forcing them to retreat into the community center. Sarah was a little bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere inside, completely taken by surprise by the amount of people who were present. At the same time, she was surprised that most people ignored the presence of her and her Umbreon.

"So what brings you here?" Andrea asked.

"I'm in the middle of a world tour as part of my Pro League appearances. I'll be in... Au... Ogg... Ogghim? Next week."

"Aughrim."

Sarah raised her eyebrow at Andrea's correction. "Such a strange name for a city... Anyways, I heard a lot about this little town's festive spirit for the holidays, so I took some time to visit. It was a good idea, I like what I see. I wish people in my homeland celebrated it with the same enthusiasm."

"Do you celebrate it?"

"I do."

"Ah, bummer you're not home for it, then."

"Yes..."

Her heartstrings were tugged upon as she heard the melancholy tone in Sarah's voice. "I usually pick up a few extra gifts for the holiday, why don't I get you something?"

"Are you certain? I don't really--"

"It's fine! Come, follow me!" she said. "You too, Sombra!"

Once again, Andrea dug through the dwindling pile of gifts under the Glastonfir tree; she nearly had to disappear under the tree itself to retrieve the next gift, prompting some confused looks from Sarah and Sombra. Eventually she emerged with an unwrapped gift in her hands: a miniature plush replica of Snorlax.

"Oh! It's cute!" Sarah said excitedly. She held it out in front of her. "What do you think, Sombra?"

Sombra sniffed at the plushie for a moment before bouncing up and down with excitement. She snuggled up against the plush as she brushed her head into her trainer's legs in a loving manner.

"I think she likes it," Andrea said.

"I do, too. Thank you!"

"You're very welcome! Enjoy the party!"

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Bong... Bong... Bong...

The deep and bellowing chime of the Hoot-Hoot clock rang over and over; 8 PM had arrived. Frustration welled in Andrea as she waited patiently for Larson to arrive, but it appeared that he wouldn't, so she decided to spend her time socializing instead. She was firmly planted in the center of the room, surrounded in the company of her friends. As she finished a boring story about her university studies, she broke away from the group to grab another drink.

At the refreshments table, Andrea saw a peculiar sight: seated on the far end of the table was a small golden creature that would barely reach up to her knees had it been on the floor. She instantly recognized the creature as the enigmatic Abra, one of her recent study subjects at university. Its eyes were closed, but it appeared to be visually tracking a young girl nearby.

As Andrea approached the table, the Abra disappeared in an instant; on top of the bookshelf behind the table, the Abra reappeared and instead turned its focus to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you!" she called out.

The young girl that was once the Abra's attention spoke out. "He knows that. He's already read your mind."

"He yours?"

"Mhmm." The girl nodded as she took a sip from her drink. The faint smell of alcohol wafted from the cup.

An alarm bell rang in Andrea's mind. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking that?"

The girl took a moment to study her appearance, then took another sip of her drink. "Pfft. Aren't you a little old to be playing vampire princess?"

"Who said I'm playing?" She raised her hands in a playful, monster-like fashion and made a hissing noise.

It got a giggle out of the girl. "If you say so."

"You, on the other hand... that's a fancy sweater you've got there."

The girl looked down at her knitted sweater dress, awash with vibrant patterns of red and green fabric. Loose white and yellow strands hung from various parts of the dress, while the bottom was decorated with small dangling pine cones. It was a bit gaudy and too noisy for Andrea's tastes, but when she took a step back to analyze it in its entirety, she realized that it was meant to look like a Glastonfir tree.

"Thanks. Made it myself."

"Serious?"

The girl raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Don't tell me you actually like it."

"It's... it's ugly, but I thought that's what you were going for."

The girl laughed and smiled. "I like you. You're a weirdo, just like me." She turned around and looked at the party as it continued around them. "I like all of this, in fact. I don't get to experience stuff like this very often. Life is not very kind to me... This is a nice change of pace."

"I'm glad you feel welcome."

"Name's Vanessa, by the way," the girl said.

"Andrea Dennison." She filled her mug once more with the apple cider, then sighed heavily as she looked at her watch.

"What's the matter, you look a little bummed. Or is that part of the whole vampire act?"

Andrea let out a polite laugh. "No... I've been here since noon, and... like you said, the atmosphere around here is nice, but I'm getting a little sick of it."

"Why stay, then?"

"A friend of mine was supposed to be here, but he hasn't showed up yet. I'm wondering if he'll even come at this point."

"He can't be that important, can he?"

"He's my boyfriend. I'd say he's pretty important."

"Oh."

"It's not just that. I got him a pretty expensive gift for Lovers' Remembrance, I'd be more than a little miffed if he didn't get it today. Oh, speaking of gifts, have you gotten any from anyone here?"

"I haven't."

A light bulb flashed in Andrea's mind as a smile appeared on her face. "Just so happens I picked something up that might be up your alley. Let me go get it. Be right back!" She placed her mug onto the table and rushed over to the Glastonfir tree.

Before she could get there, however, Vanessa appeared in a flash; atop her head was the enigmatic Abra. "So you give gifts to total strangers? You are a weirdo."

"Just something I do." She reemerged from below the tree with a small package wrapped in pink paper. She handed it over. "Enjoy!"

Vanessa snatched the gift and tore it open. Inside were several balls of yarn, a few coils of shiny ribbon and a bolt of woven fabric. "Oh, shut up! Are you magic or something? What are the odds that you'd get a stranger something so... so on point."

Andrea shrugged. "Just luck, I guess. I figured that whoever got that would probably try to make something with it, and it never hurts to encourage someone's creativity. But it'll definitely do well in your hands."

"It will. I don't say it often, but thanks."

"You're welcome!"

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"It's almost 9 PM... Where is this jerk?" Andrea mumbled to herself as she fretted by the refreshments table. Her attention was buried in her phone, patiently awaiting a text message from Larson, but one never came. She covered a yawn as she poured some more sweetened cider into her mug. "Why does he always do this..."

"Always do what?" Larson's voice asked from beside her.

She was happy to see him, but there was a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "Oh, there you are! I was about to get ready to go home, I thought you might not be coming tonight."

"Sorry, got a little side tracked with something, but I made it!"

"Side tracked? What could keep you so busy all day? On Lovers' Remembrance of all days?"

He brushed past her question and studied the atmosphere around them. "Lotta people here... Must be some party, huh?"

"Yeah, it is. It's nice to get away from everything and just hang out with your friends and family."

"Yeah..."

"Anyways, Eliza brought this amazing sweetened cider for the party, want some?" Before even waiting for an answer, she grabbed a mug off of the shelf above the table and began to unscrew the amber bottle of cider that rested on the table.

"Nah," he said as he unzipped his jacket and pulled open the left side, revealing a nondescript flask in his pocket. "I'm good."

"Hey! You promised you weren't going to get drunk tonight!"

As he zipped his jacket back up, he reassured her, "This isn't enough for that to happen. Don't worry."

She felt a tap on her shoulder as she placed the mug back onto the shelf in disappointment. She turned around to see a young woman with pastel pink hair behind her, accompanied by a man about the same age as her. "Hello!" she greeted them warmly.

"I hope this isn't too forward, but I love your outfit," the woman said.

Andrea looked down at her black clothing, then back at the woman. "Oh, do you? Thanks, I don't hear that much."

"It's just so striking! Everyone else here is wearing red, white and green... and then there's you, looking like some sort of dark princess."

"That's the idea!"

"The name's Evelina, by the way, Evelina Joy." She rested her hand on the shoulder of her friend. "And this is Josh, one of my best friends."

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Andrea and this is Larson. I take it from your accent that you're not from around here."

"Correct," Josh answered. "I'm from Kanto, she's from Johto. We decided that a little vacation was in order, and we've heard a lot of good things about Lanark. So, here we are!"

"Huh... Lotta people from that side of the world are visiting today..."

"Evelina Joy... why is that name so familiar?" Larson started, then snapped his fingers as a light bulb lit in his head. "Wait! You're that nurse lady who's the face of all the Pokécenters over in Johto and Kanto!"

Josh giggled as Eve rolled her eyes hard enough for them to nearly pop out of her head. "I am not one of those stupid nurses!"

"You're not? You look just like them!"

"No. Absolutely not. You're probably thinking of Maple or April or Jessica. Or Emily... or Lucinda, or--"

Josh put his hand up to interrupt. "Maybe we should drop this subject. Touchy topic for her."

"My bad, I just thought--"

Andrea jabbed her elbow into his side. "Larson!"

He noticed the glare was receiving from Eve. "Oh. Right."

"So, are you two enjoying the holiday?" Andrea asked.

"We are! I don't think I've ever seen such spirit for Lovers' Remembrance outside of Celebration Square in Goldenrod City." Eve looked around the room and marvelled at the various lights, garlands and wreathes that hung from the walls. "So many decorations... It must have taken forever to put them all up."

Andrea nodded. "It does take a long time, I used to help decorate this place when I was a kid."

"So that's why you disappeared off the face of the earth every December..." Larson added.

"Mhmm. Anyways, I figured I'd pick up a few extra gifts for guests this year, have you guys gotten anything from anyone else?"

Josh raised his eyebrow. "Is that something people do here? We only got each other gifts."

"It's something that I like to do. This holiday means a lot to me and I don't want others to feel left out if I can help it." She knelt down and started to search through the pile of gifts again. She quickly returned with two packages, each wrapped in the same color of decorative paper. "I can't promise you'll like them, but... That's the struggle of buying for strangers, I guess."

"I'm surprised you bought things for anyone at all," Larson said.

"For you," she said as handed the smaller gift to Josh. The larger of the two went to Eve. "And for you. Happy Lovers' Remembrance!"

While Josh was a little hesitant to at first, Eve accepted the gift with grace. "That's very kind of you!" she said. She tore open the wrapping paper and found a small box of ribbons, bows, bands and other assorted hair accessories, all neatly ordered alongside a blue headband that featured rounded, fuzzy ears inspired by Marill. She wasn't the biggest fan, but tried to mask her disappointment. "Oh, umm... Thanks! They're... cute!"

Josh stifled a laugh, earning himself a glare from her. He looked back to his own gift and started to unravel the decorative paper. "Let's see what we've got here, then..." Inside of a small glass case was a fairly simple looking brass compass. The needle inside of it wobbled back and forth in his hand as it pointed towards the north.

There was a hint of disappointment on Eve's face. "Figures he gets the travel aid. This guy is a compass! I can't recall how many times he's navigated himself through the darkness or through a storm without one of those!"

"Hey, if you want it..." he said, offering it to her. "I don't have much use for it."

"We can trade," she said with a nod. She quickly shoved the collection of hair accessories into his arms while snatching the compass. "This'll be much more useful for me."

Josh grabbed the Marill headband and looked it over. "And I suppose you think the same for me?"

"Put it on! I want to see it!"

Andrea and Larson looked at each other in amazement as the two playfully bickered about the headband. "Strange these two aren't a couple, they remind me so much of us..." she whispered to him.

"Oh my god..." Larson said, trying to contain his laughter as Josh placed the headband over his wavy black hair.

"I must look ridiculous," Josh said. He pulled out his phone and turned the camera on himself to get a look. "Uuuuhhh... Right..."

"You look marvelous!" Eve giggled.

"Those ears do look good on you..." Andrea added. "They compliment your eyes."

"See, this girl gets it!" As he reached up to remove the headband, Eve pleaded with him, "Oh! No! Leave it on! You look so adorable!" The cloying tone with which she spoke was almost mocking, but she didn't mean it that way.

"Okay, fine... But it comes off as soon as we leave."

Eve giggled. "Thank you for the gifts! I wish we could return the favor somehow, but--"

Andrea wouldn't hear it. "Don't worry about it! It was nice meeting you! Enjoy the party!"

"We will!"

As Josh and Eve disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the celebrations, Larson commented, "Look at you, you're talking to people! That's a surprise to see, you're not exactly a social butterfly."

She took a sip from her hot cocoa and nodded. "You should have gotten here earlier! I've been talking to lots of people, mostly people who have come in from out of town for the festivities."

"Really... Who are you, and what have you done with my precious Andrea?"

She laughed and playfully shoved him. "Shut up! I dunno, I felt like I knew them somehow, ya know? Got a few of them gifts for Lovers' Remembrance, too."

It didn't make sense to him, and he turned to look at her in confusion. "You know, I wondered about that when we were talking to that couple from Johto. You've never met any of these people before, how could you know what any of them want?"

She tilted her head in thought, looking to the ceiling as she did so, then shook her head. "It's best not to think of these things. What's important is the traditions of this holiday, and making sure everyone's happy."

"Fair enough. I can get behind that."

"Speaking of, I saved the best for last. It's time for your gift!" Under the Glastonfir tree, just three gifts remained, including the one that she had gotten for Larson. It was a small wooden box, carved with Pokéball and rose designs and bordered with intricate Celtic knot patterns. "I put in a lot of extra hours at the restaurant for this. Maybe missed a university assignment or two... but I think it was worth it!" She grabbed the box and handed it over.

"Any gift from you would have been worth it, but thanks for going to the trouble for it. Means even more!" He unlatched the locks and opened the box; inside were six glimmering Pokéballs, topped with a black and copper pattern. A wide grin appeared on his face as he grabbed on of the balls and studied his reflection in it.

"If you're going to take this competitive training thing seriously, I figured I'd give you a head start. Six Pokéballs from the Ultra line. I think they're supposed to be good at catching things?"

"Man! Yeah, these will help a lot!" he said with excitement. "Now I feel bad... these aren't cheap..."

She took in a deep breath upon remembering the price, then nodded. "No. They weren't."

He put the Ultra Ball back into the box and closed it. "Here I was, thinking I was going to blow your gift out of the water, heh." He placed the box onto the floor, then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "Here's my gift to you, sweetheart."

She eagerly accepted the envelope and opened it to find a small slip of plastic, but not just any plastic; it was a front row ticket to an upcoming Union City Angels music concert, her absolute favorite metal band. She flipped the ticket over and smiled upon learning that it also granted back stage access after the show. "Oh man! This is absolutely perfect! I can't believe you got me this, tickets were sold out in minutes!" She aggressively slammed into him and wrapped her arms around him for a hug.

"Anything for my dark angel!"

"You did blow my gift out of the water..." she said with a contented sigh. "But... only one? Are you not joining me?"

"Unfortunately, I have prior obligations that week... we'll talk about that later. For now, let's enjoy the company of our friends! Even your new ones!"

"Sounds like a good idea!"

✲´*。.*¨¯`*✲。*。✲。¨¯`*✲​

As the festivities continued late into the evening, a distinct ringing could be heard over the ruckus of the guests socializing. In the center of the room, an elderly man tapped a spoon against his empty wine glass. "Excuse me, could I have your attention please!"

The roar of the crowd began to die down.

"I would like to thank you all for coming tonight! This has been one of the most successful celebrations that I can remember, and I've been managing these for nearly twenty years! We've drawn in folks from all over to come celebrate with us. And now, with the night drawing to a close, I'd like to hear what this holiday means to you fine folks. Anyone want to volunteer?"

Silence swept through the room, interrupted by quiet murmurs as people discussed with each other about who might go first.

"Nobody? Surely someone has something to say about this day!"

Larson leaned over and tapped Andrea on the shoulder. "Why don't you go up there?"

"Me? Oh, I couldn't... You know I don't do well with public speeches."

He smiled. "You'll do fine. Besides, the mayor's floundering out there. Someone needs to take the spotlight from him, for his sake."

She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, but stepped forward. She was anxious about being the center of attention, but felt that someone had to say something. That anxiety quickly faded, however, when she saw the smiles on everyone's faces and the true sense of community that had been established that day.

"Look at all of these bright faces... Happiness, laughter, even a tear of joy here and there... This is the true meaning of Lovers' Remembrance! The gift exchange is nice, the decorations we put up are enchanting... but it's really the friendship that counts, ya know? That bond that brings us together in peace, even if we argue and fight through the rest of the year... This holiday might be about all of us gathering together and sharing the joy of friendship, but we can't forget what brought us together this day."

She turned to address you.

"We wouldn't be here without you. We may suffer from time to time, but... there's good times, too. Times like these, where all of the problems of our lives melt away, when we can leave our troubles behind... Thanks for everything, and know that we deeply appreciate everything that you do for us."

She raised her mug of cider in your honor and nodded with a smile.

"Here's to you! Happy holidays!"

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Season 1 Recap​

Our story starts with Andrea Dennison, a recent university dropout who spent four years of her life pursuing a PhD in biology. Having earned her bachelor's degree but struggling to keep her studies going, she felt it was time to get out into the real world and solve practical problems; one such place where she felt she would be able to do so was the Reiland Institute, a research facility led by the world renowned scientist, Dr. Rebecca Reiland. She didn't expect it, but much to her joy, she was invited to the town of Loch Alstan by Dr. Reiland herself, a rare opportunity not afforded to most applicants.

When she arrived at the Reiland Institute, she was surprised by how jovial most of the employees were. Dr. Reiland was sweet and understanding. Her new supervisor and mentor, Patrick Adelaide, injected humor and friendly sarcasm into nearly everything he said. Most of her interactions with her fellow coworkers, while brief, made her feel at home. She knew she was going to enjoy her time at the research center.

The First Task​

In an effort to monitor her work ethic, Patrick brought her along as an assistant for a personal project of his: in the nearby countryside village of Nettlefield, a strange sickness had overtaken a herd of Miltank at the Kingdom of Lanark's largest dairy farm, and the two immediately set out to investigate the problem. As they walked the pristine trails between Loch Alstan and Nettlefield, Andrea got her first true taste of the dangers of feral Pokémon, a territorial Donphan. Having no Pokémon of her own, she relied on Patrick and his Flareon for protection. The battle resulted in a stalemate until Andrea pinpointed a weakness in the Donphan's defenses; she was commended for her quick thinking, praise that she downplayed pretty heavily.

The next morning, Andrea and Patrick started their investigation into the Miltank situation. Many leads were followed and all were dead ends. As a last ditch effort, they carried out a postmortem on the most recent victim of the illness and found symptoms that were oddly familiar to Andrea. She recalled her university studies and theorized that it wasn't a plague that was killing the Miltanks, but possibly the toxic spores of an invasive fungal species of Pokémon known as Blastcap. With their only potential lead in mind, the two ventured into the wilderness once more, this time heading into the most likely habitat of the invasive Blastcap, the marshlands north of town.

The trek through the Nettlemarsh was lengthy, exhausting and confusing, but they eventually found indications that Andrea's hypothesis might be correct. The marsh shifted from grey and green to orange and brown, with fungal clusters and lichen colonies latching onto the trees and destroying all of the swampland in their path. After some loud disagreements between the two, Patrick pushed deeper into the swamp, and eventually the two discovered something neither had expected: an entirely undocumented species of Pokémon, a twisted creature of wood and fungal material.

Their attempts to study the new creature were short lived and Patrick called upon his Flareon once again as the creature attacked with primal fury. The environment worked against the Flareon, however, giving the fungal monstrosity a clear advantage; it ignored the floundering Flareon and went straight for Patrick. It wrapped a vine-like tendril around him and pulled him in, threatening to drown him in the process. Only Andrea's bravery freed him from the beast's grasp, and only Patrick's quick thinking allowed him to circumvent the environmental disadvantage his Flareon faced. In the end, the unknown creature was destroyed by Flareon, snuffing out the potential to document a newly discovered species.

The Majesty of Aughrim​

With her work in Nettlefield done, Patrick and Dr. Reiland were impressed by her ability to think outside of the box and her ability to solve problems. Yet they weren't convinced of her abilities quite yet; they wanted to test her further, so Patrick suggested she be assigned to another major project. Her task was to accompany the world famous Pokémon champion and paranormal expert Tamara Dahl to the small village of Doranshire, nestled in Lanark's southwestern heartland. Once they arrived, they were to investigate the mounting reports of paranormal activity in the area to determine if there was any truth to them or if they were just elaborate hoaxes.

It was too much to ask her to travel across the country on foot, so Andrea set out via train towards her former home, the city of Aughrim. While aboard the train, she had a chance meeting with a young woman by the name of Kimberly Fairbrooke. Kimberly was also on her way to Aughrim to participate in one of the country's most popular coordination contests, the Majesty of Aughrim. She was a relatively new name to the coordination scene, so she offered Andrea a ticket to attend the event in an effort to lure in her first true fan.

When they arrived in Aughrim, Andrea searched the station for her colleague, Tamara, but found no sign of her. A call to her boss informed her that Tamara had indeed arrived in the country for their upcoming job, but that nobody had seen her or knew where she was. After a fruitless hour of scanning the endless hordes of travellers within the train station, Andrea was instructed to find somewhere to stay for the night; as much as Dr. Reiland hoped it wasn't the case, she began the process of filing a missing person's report.

With nothing better to do with her time, Andrea decided to attend the Majesty of Aughrim competition out of curiosity. The ticket that Kimberly had given her earlier in the day was an all access pass to the event, and much to her surprise, she spent the evening with her new friend rather than spectating from the crowd. They prepared for the events to come as well as chit-chatted during Kimberly's time off stage.

The Majesty of Aughrim started with introductions for the eight contestants competing that night: Kimberly Fairbrooke, daughter of a world class chef and an international charity leader. Simone Reed, a former naval officer and war veteran. Senna Krostovj, a decorated army officer from the frigid republic of Kanetsk. Jean-Luc De la Rivière, an experienced coordinator with a controversial presence. Chrysanthemum, an enigmatic method actor. Chelsea Griffith, a professional strip club dancer looking to broaden her appeal. Samantha Ashwoode, a stage actress and rising star in the world of theatre. And finally, Hoster Burnett, a refugee and political activist from the war torn region of Durandas.

The night started off with Kimberly and Senna competing against each other. A very clear theme emerged between the two and their performances: music and the chill of winter. The two strived to outdo each other with the help of their trusted Pokémon; Kimberly called upon her Blastoise and her Skitty to captivate the judges, while Senna relied on her Tirtouga, Lapras and Snowbelle. In the end, Kimberly persevered and advanced to the next round.

The next round saw Kimberly face off against Hoster Burnett and his highly trained and efficient team of Sandslash, Arbok and Vampyre. Hoster consistently earned high scores for each of his appeals, while a lack of experience and preparation hamstrung Kimberly's performances. In the end, Hoster advanced to the next round, while Kimberly not only scored poorly, but set a record low in the Majesty of Aughrim's 25 year history. Devastated, defeated and totally embarrassed by her performances, she already considered calling it quits on her fledgling career as a coordinator, but some praise and commentary from Andrea encouraged her to try again at the next big contest.

The Rosencoast​

The next morning, Andrea received some bad news: Tamara Dahl was officially declared missing and her disappearance ruled a kidnapping after her abandoned belongings were discovered in a convenience store near the airport. With her upcoming assignment thrown into turmoil, Andrea searched for a way to continue as planned, with or without Tamara to guide her; as terrible as the circumstances were, she was still looking to prove herself in the eyes of Dr. Reiland and saw it as the perfect opportunity to do so.

She reached out to Kimberly about the possibility of travelling to Doranshire together so that she could get started on the task at hand. Kimberly was happy to, but Dr. Reiland wasn't as enthusiastic about the idea; the assignment in Doranshire was to investigate the paranormal, something that Andrea had absolutely no experience with. However, their shared skepticism of paranormal activity allowed Andrea to convince her boss that whatever was happening in Doranshire was either a hoax, or a mundane problem that she and Kimberly could solve if they worked together.

Andrea and Kimberly set off on the road to Doranshire together. The two had natural chemistry as they walked the Rosencoast together, sharing stories, laughing at each others' jokes and meshing well together. It wasn't perfect, however, as they ran into their first disagreement quite quickly: Kimberly wished to practice a tenet of her faith, the daily ritual of meditation, without properly explaining its importance to her. Andrea viewed it as a pointless waste of time and stormed off into the wilderness alone in an effort to cool the argument between them. While exploring the wilds on her own, she came face to face with a golden Noctowl. Much to her relief, the Noctowl did nothing... nothing but study. She fled from the Noctowl as quickly as possible and the two resumed their travels.

The next day, they stopped in a seaside village known as Oak-of-Ages. The town was home to the towering enigma after which it was named, the Oak of Ages, a 600 meter tall tree which had stood watch over the Westcountry for over a millennia. Andrea saw another opportunity to impress her boss; she intended to investigate the tree, only to learn that the grounds on which it grew were closed to the public. Her self-importance got the better of her and she demanded access to the tree. The guards stationed around the tree were suspicious of her intentions and refused her demands; Kimberly practically had to drag her away.

Disappointed that they couldn't gain access to the Oak of Ages, they continued on their way to Doranshire. They passed into the Spritewood, a section of woodland known for its deep historical heritage and fantastical folklore. The area was especially interesting to Kimberly, as she knew that it was one of the few remaining natural habitats for the elusive and wildly popular Eevee. They spent the day looking out for one, but alas, the stories of Eevee's elusiveness were too true.

As they continued onward, a lesson on the fairy tales associated with the forest soon escaped Kimberly's lips, and, skeptical as always, Andrea rudely shot down her friend's enthusiasm for the enchanting stories. She regretted it, but the damage had been done, and the two found it difficult to speak for the rest of the day. Eventually, the two settled down for the night; the teamwork involved in establishing their campsite helped to smooth the awkward day and put their disagreements behind them.

That night, something terrible happened. Nearly asleep, Andrea heard a strange noise echoing through the forest, the sound of crunching leaves, snapping branches and deep gurgling. Curious, Andrea called out into the darkness, thinking that it was just a harmless prank being perpetrated by mischievous teenagers. Her curiosity nearly cost her her life as a ranged attack from the heavy darkness around them struck her in the leg.

The creature that was stalking their camp finally revealed itself as it closed in for the kill; it was a skeletal beast the likes of which neither had ever seen before, constructed from mismatched bones and held together by rotting flesh. The very sight of the beast caused Kimberly to faint, but her trusted Blastoise leapt to their defense. As fearsome and deadly as the creature appeared to be, it was quite fragile and was dispatched handily by the Blastoise.

The following morning, Andrea got a better look at the creature that had attacked them. Despite the sunlight, she couldn't make sense of it, and it looked nothing like anything she had ever studied during the course of her biology degree. Fighting through the pain of the injury she received the previous night, she took a few photos, wrote down a few notes, made a rough sketch and grabbed a physical sample of the creature, then the two left in a hurry.

Doranshire​

Andrea's injury slowed the pair down significantly and they reached the village of Doranshire just after dusk. They arrived at the doorstep of Mr. and Mrs. Holdt, an elderly couple that ran a bed and breakfast; Mr. and Mrs. Holdt would be valuable partners during the rest of their stay in Doranshire, as they shared all sorts of information crucial to Andrea's investigation including local history, folklore, geography and places to visit.

Increasingly worried about the injury she received two nights previously, Andrea visited the PokéCenter in the morning. Much to her relief, the injury was not as serious as she worried; however, the nurse urged caution and asked her to spend the day resting after cleaning the wound up. The day was spent alone for the most part, planning her investigation and informing her boss of the situation before her.

Meanwhile, Kimberly returned to the Spritewood to search for the Eevee once more. Despite the terror that she had gone through just two nights ago, the forest seemed completely harmless and utterly peaceful. She lost track of both the time and her location; after a few hours of wandering the trails and appreciating the beauty of the forest, she finally found what she was looking for: Eevee. Her attempts to capture it were unsuccessful, her poor aim with a Pokéball to blame. Disappointed with her failure, she returned back to the village.

The next day, Andrea started her investigation by visiting an elderly woman who claimed that demons had attacked her in her home. The old hermit accused Andrea of being a witch, citing her gothic fashion style; a quick trip to a clothing store and a change of wardrobe and hairstyle calmed down the old woman's nerves. Unfortunately, it was all for naught, as Andrea quickly realized that the old woman was mentally insane. Her house was a crumbling ruin and infested with bugs, she spoke in an odd manner and provided absolutely no evidence that demons had indeed attacked her. All in all, she felt it was a waste of a day.

The following day, Andrea decided to try something more down to earth: they visited the local reservoir to see if anything had gotten into the water that might be driving the villagers to hallucination. As Andrea collected samples of the reservoir's water supply, Kimberly slipped away to meditate. Her meditation was interrupted by the very same golden Noctowl that encountered Andrea a few days previously. This time, however, the owl did more than watch from afar; through telepathy, it passed along some cryptic messages to her, speaking as if they were a warning.

Before she could figure out the meaning behind the Noctowl's cryptic words, Andrea pulled her away from her thoughts and dragged her back to town, citing a growing fear about the Noctowl that was stalking them. Kimberly was growing increasingly annoyed by Andrea's behavior and confronted her about it when they returned to the village. Andrea did her best to excuse her poor behavior, but she wasn't interested in hearing it. She stormed off in anger, leaving Andrea alone to her thoughts.

That argument would set the tone for the rest of the evening; Andrea had a dinner date with a family friend, Eliza McKenna, someone she treated just as badly for far longer. What was meant to be a happy reunion between old friends turned into a moment of clarity for her as she faced her demons. Eliza's commentary opened her eyes to a troubling pattern of behavior that she knew had always been there, but she never wanted to admit to it. After a heartfelt and painful introspection, she vowed to correct her mistakes; not just with Kimberly and Eliza, but with most of her old friends that she had wronged over the years.

Meanwhile, Andrea's findings in Doranshire were being analyzed back at the Reiland Institute. Of particular interest was the skeletal creature that had attacked the two girls in the Spritewood. Tests on the physical sample that Andrea gathered told a horrible tale: the creature was something out of a horror novel, being constructed from the dead remains of both Pokémon and humans and somehow given life again. Despite the DNA evidence in front of them, everyone was skeptical of the results, but they did start to hint that there was indeed something afoot in the village of Doranshire, or at the very least, in the forests around the village.

That evening, the two tried to rebuild their friendship by working together on Andrea's report. As they did so, they found themselves distracted by a strange phenomenon that the village of Doranshire was known for: mysterious orbs of light fluttered above the town in large numbers. Every single one of the enchanting lights was headed in the same direction which naturally piqued Andrea's curiosity. With Kimberly close behind, she ventured into the forest to track and study them. That turned out to be quite a mistake.

As they studied the orbs, the world around them started to behave in unusual ways; light didn't illuminate things as well as it usually does. An unscheduled lunar eclipse darkened the forest even further at the stroke of midnight. A terrifying flying blur in the night stalked them relentlessly as it chased them through the forest. The strangest of all was the beautiful woman they ran into in the depths of the forest; the winged creature all but disappeared as they met her, and she offered protection to them at her cabin in the woods.

They soon learned the true nature of the woman of the woods: after separating the two from each other, the woman's unimaginable beauty faded as she morphed into a hideous monstrosity. Energy sparked from the witch's fingers as she prepared to attack Andrea, but quick thinking saved the day yet again; Andrea took advantage of the woman's frail figure and body slammed her into a cabinet. Unfortunately, it did little to save Kimberly, who had been carried off by the witch's colleagues.

Andrea called upon Kimberly's Blastoise in a desperate attempt to rescue her friend. The pair raced through the darkness and caught up with the kidnappers quite easily. The men tried to defend their prize, but they were no match for the Blastoise; in his rage, the Blastoise killed two of the captors as Andrea pulled her friend to safety. They had already been through so much and they didn't want the night to get any worse, so the three fled in a hurry towards the safety of the village.

Nobody believed their story about the eclipse, the demon, the witch or the kidnappers. The facts were scattered here and there, but they just didn't make sense to anyone; the police, Dr. Reiland and Patrick, their friends and family, none could piece together the details of the wild and fantastic tale they spun. Instead, their story raised new fears of an old problem: a trafficking ring had been established and the two were nearly added to a growing list of victims.

As a consequence of that night, Andrea decided that she could no longer complete the task in Doranshire. Dr. Reiland was disappointed that the job wasn't finished, but agreed and reassigned her back to Loch Alstan. Putting a great deal of distance between her and Doranshire was welcome news, but that also meant that her time travelling with Kimberly had come to an end; despite their disagreements, the two became much closer during their ordeal together, and neither wanted to part ways.

And now the story continues with Andrea returning to the place where it all began while Kimberly sets off on her next adventure...

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 27: The Big Goodbye

"O-ow!" Andrea yelped. "Careful!"

"Sorry..." Kimberly said. "I'm still trying to get used to working with other peoples' hair."

"Fair enough, but you don't have to yank so hard!"

It was a bittersweet morning. Bitter in that the two knew that it was the last time they'd see each other for awhile. Sweet in that they decided to make the most of their remaining time together. Andrea was seated at the kitchen table of the Holdt Residence, making a few final adjustments to her Doranshire report. Kimberly was stood behind her, playing with her hair as she braided it into an intricate pattern that resembled a rose in full bloom.

"Not sure why you insist on doing this," she said. "Braids aren't really my style."

"Braids and blonde hair go hand in hand! Besides, I want to do this! Think of it as a going away gift from me."

"Got all the money in the world and this is the 'gift' you get me..." she playfully thought.

Behind them, the kettle started to boil and whistle loudly. "Oh! Just a moment!" Kimberly said as she broke away from her braiding work to tend to the stove. She grabbed the kettle and divided the water inside between four plastic bottles, then reached for some tea bags and hung them inside.

Andrea shook her head at the sight. "That's an awful lotta tea. There's no way you'll be able to finish that before you leave."

"It's not for now, silly! It's for the road!"

"Eww, I can't think of anything worse than room temperature tea."

Kimberly let out a polite laugh. "You're very forgetful, aren't you? Juliano is well capable of working with the cold. Iced tea won't be so difficult."

Andrea put her pen to her lower lip in thought. Though she had seen it many times over the years, it never truly dawned on her that people use Pokémon and their marvelous abilities for such practical and mundane uses on a daily basis. "That... makes an odd amount of sense. Still, seems... positively un-Lanarkan to not sit down and prepare a fresh mug of tea and then burn your mouth with it."

Kimberly secured the top on each bottle and carefully placed them into her backpack. "I thought the same when I first started travelling last year. But sometimes you have to make do with the circumstances." She returned to braiding Andrea's hair. "Speaking of circumstances, do you know when your colleagues are coming to retrieve you? I may not have the time to properly finish these braids."

Andrea shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe as early as this afternoon? They'll be coming from Aughrim, remember how long it took us to get here?"

"Oh! I should have plenty of--" The sound of Andrea's ring tone interrupted her thought. "--time?"

Andrea grabbed her phone to check who was calling, but it was an unlisted number. She cautiously answered, worried it was one of the many robo-callers that constantly harassed her. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Andrea?" a squeaky, feminine voice asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Your ticket back to Aughrim. I'm right outside!"

"Are you?"

"Dr. Venger said that I would find you at the little brick house on the end of Rainy Street, right?"

She abruptly rose from her chair despite the fact that Kimberly's fingers were still buried deep in her hair. After a brief yet wordless apology, she rushed over to the window to check if anyone was outside, and indeed someone was; leaning up against the cobblestone wall at the end of the Holdt's walkway was a young woman in protective riding gear. Next to the woman was a mud-covered dirt bike, stamped with the logo of the Reiland Institute.

She lowered her phone and said, "Oh... I guess they're here. I'll be back in a minute."

As her friend rushed outside, Kimberly couldn't help but fret at the unfinished braiding job. It bugged her more than she felt it should; she was so close to putting the final touches on her friend's hair, and now it looked as if it would go unfinished. She sighed as she placed her comb onto the table, then ambled over to the door to watch Andrea and her co-worker at the end of the walkway.

"Hey there! Didn't hear you pull up!" she called out as she walked towards the road.

"This bike's electric, that might be why. Real quiet." The woman reached her hand out politely. "So, how you been since we last spoke?"

She reached out and shook her colleague's hand, but she couldn't hide her confusion. "Since we last spoke? Have we met?"

"Yeah, we met on your first day. It was kinda brief, though. Emily Winehaus, remember?"

She searched the depths of her memory until something flashed in her mind. "Oooooh... Yeah! The doctor lady, I think!"

"The almost doctor lady," Emily said with a laugh. "Heard you've been getting into quite a bit of trouble over here!"

She dropped to her knees and started to admire the motorcycle in front of her. "Ha! That's putting it lightly... Even though it's disappointing that I didn't figure out what's going on here or solve any of the problems, I'll be very happy to leave this hole behind."

Emily crossed her arms and eyed her suspiciously. "What exactly brought you out here, anyways? Dr. Reiland didn't explain much, Patrick is refusing to talk and Dr. Venger has been pretty quiet about what me and the field team were sent out here for."

"It's... a long story. Probably best saved for the road. Although, maybe Dr. Reiland doesn't want me talking about it much, I'll have to ask her."

"By all means, ask her. I'm curious! So, you ready to go, then? If we're quick, we should be able to catch up with the rest of my field team and help them finish their work. We could really use your insight, since you saw the thing we're looking for."

"I need to pack some things up first. Say some good byes. I wasn't expecting you so soon."

Emily nodded. "Fair enough. Be quick about it!"

- - - - -​

Back inside, Andrea was stuffing the last of her belongings into her bulging backpack. "I can't wait to be out of this stupid village and back to sanity!"

Kimberly stared at the floor in a pensive manner as she leaned against the door to the guest bedroom. She felt the same thing that Andrea did, but it was hard for her to be enthusiastic about it. "Mmm. Yes."

"I'm just looking forward to sleeping peacefully, ya know? I don't feel safe with that... thing out there. Or her goons."

She nodded in agreement. "It will be nice to put some distance between ourselves and here..."

Andrea looked up her in confusion. "Why sound so glum about it? You make it sound like you're conflicted about leaving."

Her eyes left the floor and met Andrea's. She tried to smile. "No! I want to leave, too."

Andrea let out a bemused chuckle. "Alright, alright! I believe you." She looked around the room as she closed the zipper on her backpack; all of her belongings were safely filed away and she was ready to leave. "Well... guess that's everything..." She reached out her hand to shake Kimberly's. "It's been fun!"

She shook Andrea's hand. Her grip was tight and she didn't want to let go, but she eventually did. "It has."

Kimberly tailed closely behind as she left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. She called out to Mr. and Mrs. Holdt to say good bye to them, but she received no response. A quick look around the first floor came up empty, as did a look out the window into the back garden. Not wanting to keep her co-worker busy, she decided that it was finally time to leave.

"So... I guess this is good bye..." Kimberly started as they walked out towards Emily and her dirt bike.

"Guess it is," she answered, taking a moment to readjust the straps on her backpack for the upcoming ride. She looked up to see the sadness on Kimberly's face. "Oh, don't look so grim! It's not like I'm going away forever!"

"I know, it's just... it's difficult. We might not have known each other for very long, but I feel like there's already a deep friendship between us."

She rested a hand on Kimberly's shoulder and looked her deep in the eyes. "Do I really mean that much to you?"

Not a word could escape her mouth; all Kimberly could do was nod quietly.

"You're weird... But a good weird."

"I owe you my life. Is it really so odd to you that this is an emotional moment for me?" she asked.

"Pfft!" Andrea huffed. "I did what any good person would have done." She studied Kimberly's reaction, hoping for a positive one or at least a giggle, but instead she seemed vaguely offended. "Okay, maaaaybe I went above and beyond what's normal. I was high on adrenaline, I don't know."

That earned a polite laugh. She reached out and wrapped her arm around Andrea, then pulled her in for a tight hug. "Whether you think it's a big deal or not, you have my deepest thanks."

"What did I tell you about..." Andrea started, prying herself out of Kimberly's grasp. "Right... Umm... Look, I'll text you when I get to Aughrim, okay? You have my word. That make you feel any better?"

She smiled. "It does."

The smile, however, was fake, and it hid the true depth of her sadness. Though she tried to vocalize it, she couldn't accurately put into words how torn up she was that she was leaving not just a good friend, but the person that she owed her life to. It felt unfair to her that responsibility was taking away the chance for their friendship to flourish even further; memories of her time with her previous travel partner bubbled to the surface, a time where neither had a care in the world. "It would have been nice to relive those moments with someone else..." she thought.

She watched as Andrea hopped onto the motorcycle and made the final adjustments to her helmet. With a furious kick on the starting lever from Emily, the dirt bike hummed to life with electrical energy. The calming tones of the electrical engine rising in power carried softly in the wind as the bike started to move forward. Andrea adjusted herself on the motorcycle so that she could wave good bye, and then disappeared around a bend.

"She's gone..." she said to herself. In just those two short words, she heard her voice crack and her throat began to close up, a physical confirmation that her emotions weren't just a mental trick being played on her. She wasn't even certain why her emotions were being so cruel; Andrea wasn't gone forever, and she knew it, yet... it felt like she was. And why was it so painful that they were splitting up, she wondered? The two were at each others' throats just a few days previously and barely knew each other before that. "Perhaps it's just the stress of the past few days, nothing more..." she thought.

She turned around and walked back into the Holdt residence, likely for the last time. "I guess it's time that I leave, as well..."

She returned to the bedroom and started to gather up her own things. The first task she did was make sure her two Pokéballs were safely latched to the ribbon along her belt. After that, she made sure her phone and coin case were safely stored away in her purse. Her valuable jewelry was taken off and placed inside another pocket of her purse, safely stored away for her upcoming time on the road.

She opened the closet beside the bed to grab her spare dress and noticed something: neatly folded up on the floor were the clothes that she had bought for Andrea the day they went to interview Mrs. Miggins. She knelt down to pick them up, then brought them over to the bed and rested them in her lap. As she felt the fabric brush against her fingers, her throat closed up again and a wave of emotion washed over her. As much as she tried, she couldn't contain the sadness she felt anymore and she started to sob quietly.

Eventually, her crying caught the attention of Mr. Holdt as he walked down the hallway. He didn't want to intrude, so he knocked on the door frame first. "Ms. Fairbrooke? Is everything okay?"

"No..." she weakly offered.

He took that as an invitation and entered the bedroom. "What'sa matter, lassie?"

She took a moment to steady her thoughts and her breathing. "She's gone."

"Who, your friend?"

She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Yeah..."

He perked up and smiled. "Huh. She disappeared quickly and quietly!"

"I didn't... didn't get to say goodbye to her properly..."

His smile continued. "Oh, is that what this is about?" he asked. "She must be something special to you."

"She did save my life..."

"Oh, I didn't mean that, but..." he said with a grin. "I know that it hurts, lassie, but she's not gone forever. Remember that. You'll have the opportunity to see her again someday."

"I will..." she said with a nod.

"That's the spirit! You're still young, you have all the time in the world... There are many people I wish I could have said good bye to, but I never will..."

She looked up at him in silence as she studied the regretful expression on the old man's face. "I suppose if you put it like that, I don't have it so bad..."

"That ya don't. But I don't mean to downplay your grief, lassie. Friendship is a beautiful beast, there's no shame in being sad during moments like this."

She smiled and let out a deep sigh. "You've been a good host, Mr. Holdt."

"I try to be!" he said as he latched his hand onto her knee in a friendly manner and shook lightly. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"No. Thank you."

"Aye. I'll let you get on with it, then." He stood up and walked towards the door. "Just make sure you say good bye to us! Your friend was very rude!" he said in a joking manner.

- - - - -​

"Just a checkup?"

Kimberly nodded and placed her Master Ball and fuzzy Feline Ball onto the counter in front of her. "Yes, ma'am."

The nurse behind the counter grabbed the two unusual Pokéballs and placed them into the empty spherical slots of a machine beside her. With the touch of a button, red, orange and green lights began to blink in a haphazard fashion all across the machine's surface. "The analysis should take more than an hour. Feel free to grab a seat in the meantime! If they need any extra care, I'll let you know!"

"Thank you," she said. She walked over to the waiting room and slumped into one of the soft, comfortable chairs. She ticked another box off of the mental checklist she kept in regards to her departure; say goodbye to Andrea, gather all of her belongings, leave a generous tip for Mr. and Mrs. Holdt for being such lovely hosts and now make sure her Pokémon were in peak physical health. All that remained was finding someone to travel with, as she absolutely refused to leave the reaches of the village by herself.

As she looked around at the empty waiting room, she realized it would be more difficult than she thought. Doranshire was out of the way of most travellers, as it lacked pretty much any interesting landmarks; no gym, no contest hall and no tourist attractions of any kind aside from the mysterious flickering orbs. Unless someone who lived in the village their whole life was leaving for more interesting pastures, she felt it was unlikely that anyone would be available for her to travel with.

She knew a few people who would be able to protect her on her travels, but the unfortunate truth of the matter was that pretty much every one of them led busy lives of their own and wouldn't be able to drop their schedule to pick her up. One name did come to mind, however, and she pulled out her phone to send them a message: her old travel partner, Nicole Spencer.

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:02 AM

'Hello! Do you have a minute?'​

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:04 AM

'eeeey kimzee! yeah i got a minute what's up?'​

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:04 AM

'What does your schedule over the next few days look like?'
'I'm stranded in Doranshire and I don't have anyone to travel with. I was wondering if maybe you had the time to come get me?'​

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:05 AM

'lol just like you to be unable to take care of yourself'​

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:05 AM

'Hey! I can look after myself just fine! But I am not, NOT travelling alone, especially after what happened a couple nights ago.'​

A flurry of text messages flowed between them as she detailed her encounter with her would-be kidnappers and the mysterious woman in the woods. Nicole found the story wild, interesting and even a little bit believable, much to Kimberly's surprise. After all, during their time together, they had their fair share of strange adventures and encounters that only veteran Pokémon trainers could ever claim to have experienced.

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:12 AM

'shit now i feel bad for making fun of you. i had no idea'
'agh but i can't help, i gotta be here in the city tomorrow'
'rose league representatives are coming to sign the paperwork, after that the gym is mine and we're in fuckin' business!'​

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:13 AM

'Oh, right! I forgot that was happening! Good luck! : )'​

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:13 AM

'aye'
'if you can wait a couple days i can swing by after the inspection'​

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:13 AM

'Unfortunately, I'm on a tight schedule. I have an appointment to keep in Rustlode Bluffs. I may miss it, but I may also get lucky if I set off soon.'​

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:13 AM

'youll definitely miss it if you wait on me'
'ask mr toby? he can probably help and im sure hed be happy to see you again'​

Fr: Kimberly Fairbrooke, 9:14 AM

'Ah! Good idea, I'll give him a try!'
'After I'm done in Rustlode, I'm coming home for a bit. Let's hang out sometime! : )'​

Fr: Nicole Spencer, 9:14 AM

'hell yeah bizzatch! hit me up when you get here!'​

She sighed. She was happy that her friend was on the verge of finally achieving her dream of becoming one of Lanark's official gym leaders, but also jokingly lamented that she was being an unreliable friend for the hundredth time. "How dare she not drop everything to come escort me around... So typical of her!" she joked to herself.

She followed Nicole's advice and began to type a message out to an old business associate and family friend, a private security specialist by the name of Mr. Toby. She had known the hulking brute of a man ever since she was a little girl, as he often took care of the security arrangements during her parents' public events. Even more, he was her personal protector and legal guardian during her year abroad in Romatti as part of a student exchange program.

She trusted him and knew that he was reliable, more so than Nicole had ever been. Unfortunately, their conversation was extremely short lived and ended in disappointment; he was once again serving the family for a public event, this time following her mother to Kalos for a summit of major charity and international relief groups. He would be busy for the next two weeks.

One last trusted name came to mind, but it was a long shot: her old coordination mentor, Petyr Milos. She knew that he wasn't the most successful trainer, but what he lacked in skill, he more than made up for in strength and numbers with his unusually large team of nine Pokémon. A message was written and sent to him, but after waiting for ten minutes, she gave up hope of receiving a reply; it was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, as he led a busy life and wasn't the type to drop everything, especially for her.

"Darn it!" she shouted loudly. "I'll never make this appointment at this rate!"

Having run out of reliable names to call upon, a thought came to her: she was in a Pokécenter, the lifeblood of any serious trainer. Though it was a small village, surely at least one trainer must have visited that day, and if that were the case, the nurse could likely point her in their direction or arrange a meeting.

"Excuse me, I have a question," she politely asked as she approached the service desk.

The nurse looked up from her paperwork. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Have you interacted with any other Pokémon trainers today?"

The nurse nodded. "A couple, yes."

"Have they left the village, if you know?"

The nurse crossed her arms and studied her. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm leaving the village myself today, but I don't want to travel alone."

"Oh! Yeah, I don't blame you. Considering what happened to that poor girl in the forest a couple nights ago... Nobody should be travelling alone."

"Yes..."

"Unfortunately they came early in the morning. They said they were leaving for the Oak of Ages, and that was a couple hours ago, so you probably missed them."

"Anyone else?"

"Nope."

She grumbled.

The nurse put her finger to her lips in thought as she tried to come up with a suggestion. "Your best bet would be to stay here and hope someone shows up... Though I don't know if anyone will. This is such a ghost town. There are some weeks where I don't even see anybody!"

"Thank you. I might have a walk around the village, I guess. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Suit yourself! It's a lovely day, enjoy it!"

- - - - -​

It was indeed a lovely day. The sun was shining brightly with barely a cloud in the sky, the temperature lingered around a delightful 20°C, and every now and then, a crisp, refreshing breeze would blow in from the west. The wind carried with it the scent of the flowers that decorated the main roads of the village. The angelic tones of violin music also drifted with the wind, originating from the downtown area. It was an alluring sound, almost like a Siren's call, so she headed in that direction.

It wasn't long before she found the source of the music: a young woman who had parked herself in front of Boccino's Bistro, offering entertainment to all who passed by. An upturned hat in front of the violinist had a single silver coin resting inside of it. The place the violinist chose struck her as an odd choice, as only two people were seated at the tables of the restaurant, an elderly couple who appeared be more interested in each other than the music.

She sat down at a table in front of the violinist and a waitress emerged from inside of the restaurant; before long, she had a glass of refreshing iced mint tea in front of her. Though the scenery of the village helped put her at ease, it didn't solve her problems. The nurse was right, the village was practically a ghost town. Aside from the violinist, she only saw five people during her walk; a uniformed police officer on his daily patrol, a pair of young children that were playing a game of hide and seek and the elderly couple that admired the violinist's music. None were suitable travel partners.

As much as she didn't want to humor the thought, she began to worry that she would have to soldier up and travel the roads alone. She wouldn't be able to rely on another pair of eyes to keep a look out for potential dangers. She wouldn't have anyone to share stories with around a campfire, or have anyone to bounce her coordination ideas off of, or... or... "Wait..."

The realization dawned on her: perhaps it wasn't the fear of being alone, it was the anxiety of being lonely. Juliano could certainly protect her from most harm, as he has countless times in the past, but he made a terrible conversational partner. Andrea was the opposite; though she probably owed her life to Andrea's quick thinking, she would not be a diligent protector in most circumstances. Instead, she would be a person to talk to, to pass the time and break up the tedium of travel; a much needed friend.

The more she thought about it, the more her theory made sense. She thought back to her time as Nicole's travel partner a year ago; there were a few times that the pair found themselves separated as they pursued their individual goals, and she remembered those times always being stressful for her. Not because she felt she was in danger while away from her friend, but because she was out of her element in most cases. She could rely on Nicole to help her through whatever she was doing, or handle mundane situations she was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. And at the end of the day, they talked things over and told stories, stories which went on to be some of the most fond memories of their time together.

"Perhaps that is all I need... just someone to talk to... Being a capable defender would merely be a plus."

As she took a sip from her glass of tea, the chair across from her slid out with a noisy scrape against the floor. "This seat taken?" a voice asked.

She looked up from her phone and saw a young man standing beside the chair. He was sharply dressed, with an ivory-colored blazer and matching trousers. Underneath his blazer was a salmon pink button shirt; the top two buttons were undone and showed a thick carpet of hair growing on his chest. Underneath the collar of his shirt was a golden chain necklace, itself decorated with a vintage brass key. His black hair was slicked back in a tidy fashion and drenched with sweet-smelling gel. A pair of bland rings, one gold and one silver, rested on each of his ring fingers. The entire look was rounded off with a pair of brown loafers, well worn from constant travel. At a glance, he was very clean and professional looking.

She looked around at the numerous empty tables around her, but didn't want to be rude. "It isn't. Would you care to join me?"

"Hey, she's polite. I like that!" the man said as he slid into the chair. "Sure, I'll join ya. It's not often I get to sit next to a pretty lady such as yaself."

"Oh! Heh. Thank you. I try to be. I mean, I... Thank you." she gushed nervously.

He chuckled as she bumbled through her words. "You're not only cute, but ya got a good personality, too."

She raised her eyebrow. "Do I? How would you know?"

"Good ol' intuition."

She giggled. "What about you? Do you have a good personality?"

"How 'bout we get to know each other first, then you can be the judge of that."

Another giggle. "I like the sound of that! I'm afraid I might not have the most time to chit chat, however."

Once again, the waitress reappeared from within the restaurant and approached the table. "Welcome to Boccino's. Can I get you anything, sir?"

"Gimme your blackest coffee. That's it, not hungry for anything." he answered.

The waitress turned to Kimberly. "How about you? Would you like some more tea?"

"No thank you."

The waitress tapped the table with a nod. "I'll be back shortly with your coffee!"

As the waitress left, the man offered his hand across the table for a shake. "Anyways, my name's Lorenzo, but most people call me Loren."

"Lorenzo, huh? That's not a common name around these parts... I wonder, is he Romatti, perhaps?" she thought as she shook his hand. "My name is Kimberly."

He adjusted himself on the the chair and found a comfortable, relaxed position. "So, Kim. Uhh, mind if I call ya that, by the way?"

"I prefer Kimberly, actually."

He smiled. "Kimberly it is. It's a cute name! So, you from around here?"

She shook her head. "No. And I hope to leave soon."

"Hey, I don't blame ya, this is a boring place! There's nothin' to do here!"

Loren's analysis of the village got a smile out of her. While it was true, the village being boring wasn't why she was interested in leaving. "How about you? Judging by your name and accent, I imagine you're not from around here, either. Are you passing through as well?"

"Hey, smart cookie!" He nodded. "Yeah, I'm on my way to a place called Steelport to start takin' on the Rose League challenge. Eight cities, eight gyms, as they say."

"Oh, interesting!" she said. "Will you be passing through Rustlode, by any chance?"

"Rustlode..." he said, pausing for a moment to think. A foggy map of Lanark flashed in his mind, as well as the route of his upcoming journey. "Yeah, I think so. That's the town just south'a here, right?"

"It is."

"That's where I'm goin', then."

A light bulb shined in her head. "Hmm... If I tag along with him, there is a chance I might make my appointment after all..." she thought.

Though her desire to arrive in Rustlode in time for her appointment was strong, she wasn't ready to tag along with him just yet. First impressions painted him in a polite and friendly light, but she was interested in knowing if he actually was. One thing that she was unsure about was how easily his eyes wandered; during her short conversation with him so far, she noticed how often he was looking at her chest rather than maintaining eye contact. He did the same with the waitress who took his order. She felt that she couldn't hate him for it, as it was something she noticed a lot of guys do with her over the years, even if she were hardly the most gifted girl in that regard. A negative, but by no means a deal breaker; most men just loved sneaking peaks, she figured.

The waitress returned with his mug of steaming black coffee. "There you are, sir! Last call for a refill, ma'am."

Loren raised the mug of coffee and nodded politely, while Kimberly shook her head. With that, the waitress returned to her duties.

"I'm on my way to Rustlode Bluffs myself," she answered. "I have a meeting with a coordination trainer, he's going to be teaching me some of the basics so that I can get back into the coordination scene."

"Coordination, huh?" Loren asked. A thought entered his mind. "Wait... Wait a minute! Are you..." His vision narrowed as he studied her closer than he did before, this time focusing on her face instead of her breasts. "You are! You're that girl I saw on TV a couple weeks ago, the one who flubbed the contest in Aughrim!" He snapped his fingers as he remembered her full name. "Kimberly Fairbrooke!"

Her eyes widened upon being reminded of her dreadful performance at the Majesty of Aughrim contest, but she tried to downplay her embarrassment with nervous laughter. "Oh... Umm... Yes, that's me."

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it. That guy who chased you off stage? He's a bum, a nobody. You did okay. Okay?"

"I would not call Mr. Bertucci a bum, considering he is one of the most well known judges in the sport, but... thank you for the vote of confidence."

He smiled. "Hey I mean it. You were very entertaining."

"Thank you. It's nice to... uh... meet a fan?" she cautiously asked.

He put his hands up defensively. "Hey! Let's not move too fast!" he said with a laugh.

She couldn't help but laugh alongside him. His wildly animated body language perfectly complimented his sense of humor and his personality; he really was a treat to talk to. She continued to examine his body language as they made small talk. He was relaxed and loose, an indication that he didn't have much, if anything, to hide; no ulterior motives, no obvious motives, nothing of the sort. There wasn't a moment where his warm and friendly smile left his face. Overall, she was confident in her first impressions of him.

He downed a large portion of his coffee in one go. "So, you said you were leaving soon?"

She looked down at her phone to see the time. "Yes. I'm going to head over to the Pokécenter right now and collect my Pokémon."

"And after that you're outta here?"

"Yes."

He finished the rest of his coffee with a refreshing exhale. "How 'bout we team up, then? I'm headin' to Rustlode, you're headin' to Rustlode... Beats the lonesome road, and there's always strength in numbers."

She nodded. "I was about to suggest the same."

"It's a plan then! Let's go pick up your Pokémon."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Change: Fixed some excessive and confusing pronoun usage.
• Change: Reworked and added some internal monologuing from Kimberly.
• Added: Added a couple minor lines between Andrea and Emily.
• Added: Namedropped a couple characters who will become minor/supporting characters as the story progresses.
• Change: Boosted the medical analysis time to an hour, allowing more time for the upcoming scene changes to take place in a reasonable spread of time.
• Change: Significantly altered the scene in which Kimberly and Loren meet. We get into Kimberly's head more and I gave Loren an actual personality rather than a cartoonish stereotype. But he's still kinda cartoonish, I guess.
• Words and lines: +1204 words, +27 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 28: The Things That Give Me Strength

"Hmm..." Kimberly thought. "He's a lot quieter now that we've left the village..."

They had been walking for about twenty minutes since they left the comforting atmosphere of Boccino's Bistro, and in that time, they barely spoke a word to each other. It worried her, as she was looking for someone to chat with while on the road, not someone to walk beside in silence. She tried to approach with a subject she felt they could both agree on without much disagreement or awkwardness: his Pokémon collection.

"So, Loren. What kind of Pokémon do you have? I imagine you must have at least two if you're interested in challenging any gym leaders."

"I got three," he said as he reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled one of his Pokéballs out.

The design was unlike anything Kimberly had seen before, with a solid navy blue top that was decorated with a crown of three white stars and a red bottom that was divided into five segments by equally spaced white vertical stripes. The central latch was constructed of brass and the button resembled a shield with a key design engraved into it. While she kept her knowledge of unique and obscure Pokéball designs up to date, the origin of this one eluded her; the usual phrase 'Powerful Pokémon, Powerful Pokéball' was useless in this case and she couldn't guess at a glance what loyal Pokémon might hide inside.

"This one's my new favorite, I recently caught him. He's a Rhyhorn, but maybe not one you'd be familiar with. He's all black and smokey."

"Oh? Would it be possible to see him?"

He put the Pokéball back into his pocket. "Ehh... Maybe later. He's got a bit of an attitude and I wouldn't want you gettin' hurt. But you'll be impressed when you see him, I guarantee it."

"I appreciate your concern. Another time then."

"My other two are a bit more chilled out, if you'd like to see 'em! Got a Pangoro and a Braviary."

"A Pangoro, you say?" She didn't know much about Pangoro, but she knew that they couldn't be found in Romatti, at least not naturally. A thought swirled in her mind, could it perhaps have been a black market purchase? In the wild, Pangoro were even more critically endangered than Eevee, and capturing one carried a stiff prison sentence in most 'civilized' countries. "Isn't it illegal to own one of those?"

"Not illegal, just difficult. My dad had to go through a lot of paperwork just to get this bad boy. I had to go through the same when I inherited him. Felt like I was on trial for murder with how much they poked into my personal life." He buried his hand in his pocket once again and pulled one of his odd Pokéballs out, then gave it a forceful toss into the air. The ball exploded with a burst of glittering silver stars and a flash of golden light.

In the Pokéball's place stood a large ursine creature that towered over the both of them. The Pangoro was covered from head to toe with thick reddish-brown fur, with blotches of white along its belly and around its head. Black ears sprouted from its head, shading its sunken dark eyes. A long row of fangs jutted from its mouth and it dangled a stalk of wheat between its furry lips. Jagged black claws tipped both its fingers and toes.

"This is my buddy, Remus. Remus, meet our newest friend, Kimberly."

She cautiously backed off as Remus approached her in a menacing manner. "Oooh! He's not going to hurt me, is he?"

"Nah. He loves messin' with people."

Remus stopped in front of her and leaned in; he was silent as he leered at her, the wheat stalk in its mouth shifting from the left side to the right. His breath was heavy, humid and horrible. His lips curled into a smile, exposing his upper fangs as he stood upright again.

"Lookit that, he likes ya!"

She giggled nervously at the imposing creature. "H-Hello!"

Loren raised his Pokéball and pointed it at his Pangoro. "Alright, Remus, c'mon back. You're makin' her nervous!" The Pangoro glowed red and disappeared back inside.

"Sorry, I... I had a bad experience one time with an Ursaring, it's hard not to be nervous around strangers his size."

"Fair enough." A smirk appeared on his face, no doubt proud of the wit he was about to unleash: "Well, I showed you one of mine, how 'bout you show me one of yours?" He looked down towards her waist and pointed towards the Master Ball and Feline Ball that dangled freely from the ribbon along her hips. "That purple one with the gems is a Master Ball, right? Bet ya've got somethin' good in there!"

"Yes, it is!"

"How the hell'd you get your hands on that thing, anyways?"

"Uhh..." she cautiously started. She wasn't sure about telling him the truth about it; the truth of the matter was that she bought it on a whim one day, a purchase that put a significant dent in her finances, as vast as they were. She barely knew Loren, and while he seemed trustworthy at a glance, she was cautious about giving him any hints as to just how wealthy she was. "It was a gift from a family member. I didn't ask where he got it from."

A devious smile appeared on his face. "Aaaah! Yeah, I get it! Your secret is safe with me, don't worry."

She glared at him. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're suggesting!"

"It's just a little harmless jokin'."

"Hmmph."

"So uhh, what's inside?"

She unhooked the Master Ball from her ribbon and tossed it out in front of her. It exploded with a cloud of chilly mist and swirling bubbles, and in its place stood Juliano. Having never seen Loren before, he quickly stepped between him and his master.

"This is my Blastoise, Juliano!"

"Niiice," Loren said with distinct approval in his voice. "How 'bout the one with the fuzz on it?"

"That's my Skitty, Telandra. I'd prefer to keep her in her Pokéball for now, if you don't mind."

He nodded silently this time.

"Speaking of minding, you don't mind if I keep Juliano out, do you? I've learned that this forest can be quite dangerous and I would feel much safer with him by my side. I really should have had him out before we even left the village."

She received a shrug. "Hey, whatever makes you comfortable. It's a scary world out here."

"Yes it is..."

- - - - -​

As Kimberly and Loren continued their travels through the Spritewood, splashes of green began to crop up among the canopy of red, golden and orange leaves that had been so familiar for the past week. At last, after an hour and a half of footwork, they were nearing the edge of the forest! Kimberly was especially thrilled about it, as it marked clear progress that she was finally leaving the little village of Doranshire and the wretched forest that enveloped it. Loren wasn't quite as happy, as he had never seen a forest that appeared to be eternally locked in autumn.

More time passed until they eventually found the final reaches of the Spritewood: the Abhainn Sgaradh, a river more commonly known as the Split. On their side of the river was the last of the aspen and birches that made up the Spritewood; the other side was awash with tones of green, brown and grey amidst the mighty oaks, tall ashes and shady pines. Another difference between the two forests was the undergrowth: a tangled mess of barbed brambles in the Spritewood, a sea of silky smooth knee-high grass on the other side.

At its widest, the Abhainn Sgaradh appeared to be roughly 60 meters across, and an ancient stone bridge was the only passage to the other side. The bridge had seen better days, having been patched in certain areas with wooden boards and lazily-installed concrete in others. The decorative struts that once adorned the sides of the bridge had crumbled long ago. Regardless of how poorly it looked, it was still safe to cross, at least.

"I wonder how old this bridge is..." Kimberly started.

"I dunno. Don't these things usually got marker stones on 'em that say a year?" Loren replied.

She thought about it as she kicked at the cobblestones under her feet. "That practice might not have started yet when this bridge was constructed, and this does look quite old... Oh, well! I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. It is just a bridge."

"You're a kook, ya know that?"

"People have been telling me that a lot, lately..."

On the other side of the bridge, the two found what appeared to be remnants of an old settlement. Jagged and worn stones were ordered in neat squares and rectangles to form structural foundations, while broken walls of plaster and damaged bricks jutted from them here and there. They found a well that had been boarded up decades ago, though the wood had rotted enough for them to pry it open; the bottom was bone dry. All of it painted a picture in Kimberly's mind that the area may have been some sort of medieval era checkpoint, designed to regulate travel to and from Doranshire, but she couldn't say for certain.

"I wish my previous travel partner was here..." she said as she inspected the ruins around her.

"Oh yeah?" Loren asked.

"She carried a small digital encyclopedia with her... It always had a wealth of knowledge about places such as these."

"Sounds... interestin', I guess," he said. Despite his words, it was clear that he wasn't as interested as she was. As they continued along the road, he asked, "So why ain't she here?"

"She's busy with her job and is heading back home. She had business in Doranshire and that's what brought me there."

"Stuck with boring office work, right?"

"She didn't explain it, but... from the sound of it, yes."

"Whatever she's doin', I don't envy her. I wouldn't, even if she were judging beauty contests. Nothin' beats the open road!"

"Hmm. Sometimes I don't know about that anymore."

- - - - -​

Loren let out a hearty laugh upon hearing the conclusion of one of Kimberly's stories from her previous travels. "Man, this Nicole girl sounds like a hoot! Hope I get to meet her some day!"

"You just might. When I spoke to her this morning, she said she's finalizing the paperwork in the process of becoming one of Lanark's official gym leaders. It's been a stressful few weeks for her, but I have a lot of faith that she has what it takes."

"So, what's she specialize in? Got any insider knowledge I can use?"

"When I last saw her, she was putting together--"

Their conversation was interrupted by a peculiar screeching sound; a few short seconds later, a massive swarm of Zubats rounded the corner of the gorge they were walking through, bouncing off of the walls and tumbling loose stones down to the ground as they passed by. Kimberly dropped to the ground and shouted as the cloud of bats closed in on their location. Juliano readied himself for a fight. Loren, on the other hand, enjoyed it and watched in amazement as the cloud of ten thousand strong zoomed on by.

"Yeah! Don't see that every day!" he shouted with excitement.

Kimberly pushed herself off of the ground and dusted her dress off the best she could. "I'd rather never see that..." Her voice was shaky.

"What'sa matter?" Loren asked.

"I hate bats... I bloody hate them!"

"Hey, they're gone at least. Wonder where they came from?"

It wasn't long before they found out. As they rounded the bend that the Zubats came from, they found themselves face to face with a rocky tunnel entrance nestled deep within the Lonesome Lord of the West, Sonetta Mountain. The tunnel system, known as the Sonetta Underpass, was the gateway between the Westcountry of Ardaigh County, the Heartland of Rose County and the southern coasts of Cladachfadh County; a critical crossroads in both medieval and modern times. The cavern was cloaked in darkness and the path inside was uneven and dangerous looking, but at least it was well marked and clearly defined.

Kimberly's skin went white as her eyes met the entrance of the cave. "Wait... no, no! This can't be right!"

"Now what is it?" he asked again.

"This road goes through a cave!?"

"I... believe so?" he said. He opened his phone and brought his GPS up. No matter how far he zoomed his map in, the only trail that appeared was the one they were on, and it led straight into the cavern in front of them. "Sonetta Underpass... I dunno... I don't see any other roads around here, or any trails, stuff like that. You didn't know about this?"

"No... I-I didn't..."

"Well shit. You gonna be okay?"

She timidly approached the entrance of the cavern. As she drew closer with each step, her knees grew weaker and weaker until she nearly stumbled. What she saw was incredibly daunting and the lightless depths taunted her; she had spent the majority of the morning just getting this far, only to be potentially blocked from progressing any further, all due to one fear: the darkness.

"I... I don't know about this..."

"Don't like caves, do you?"

"Absolutely not!"

"I don't blame ya, they ain't exactly fun, but... Hmm... Hold on, I got an idea!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled another of his strange Pokéballs out. With a toss into the air, it exploded with a gust of wind and a large avian creature fluttered to the ground beside him. The bird was massive, standing half a foot taller than Kimberly. It was covered from head to toe in luxurious violet feathers, with a large splotch of white feathers running under his entire underside. Its tail was accented by shades of yellow, and a crown of silver and gold feathers that resembled a tribal headdress sprouted from its head.

Even through her apprehension, she couldn't help but marvel at the bird before her. "Ooh! I've never seen that one before."

"Yeah, they're not native to your country. This is my Braviary, fiercely loyal, and bad to the bone. A symbol of power." He lifted his arm and pointed to the sky. "Go on, Romulus, go see if you can find us any sort of road. Our darlin' little friend here doesn't like caves."

Romulus the Braviary started to flap his massive wings, and with a forceful leap, he was airborne. His wings kicked up a large cloud of dust as he soared into the air and disappeared over the trees.

"He'll be back in no time." He stepped closer and spoke more softly. "So, what's the deal with these caves, anyways? What about 'em don't ya like?"

His concern was heartwarming, but it would never be a match for her deeply ingrained fears. "Oh... everything, I guess?" She began to list off her relevant fears as she counted on her fingers. "Darkness... confined spaces... cave-ins... no contact with the outside world..."

"Well, we better hope that ol' Rom finds us another path." He looked around the entrance to the cave and found much of the terrain to be completely impassable, with jagged and steep cliffs surrounding the two of them on all sides. Even if they had to backtrack to find another trail, the dangerous-looking terrain would be just as challenging as diving into a dark cave. "Hope ya don't mind a little mountain hike if he does. Those sandals of yours don't seem like the best footwear for climbin' rocks."

She looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes in anticipation. "Anything will be better than cave diving."

After a few minutes, Romulus returned from his scouting and crashed through the branches above them. He dropped to the ground with a massive thud and waddled up to his master, then shook his head from side to side and let out a shrill squawk.

"You're absolutely sure? Nothin'?"

Romulus answered with a forceful nod.

"Damn," he mumbled. "Sorry, looks like you're outta luck. Rom didn't find anything, and I ain't turnin' around."

Kimberly made a pathetic squeal as her eyes met with the dark cave entrance once again.

"Don't worry, I'll keep ya safe. You got my word."

She sighed. "A stranger's word does not mean much, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"You're a fascinatin' lady."

"Hmm," she hummed, unsure of the path ahead of her. "Do you mind if I have a few minutes to myself? I want to try my best to mentally prepare myself for this."

"Yeah. Do whatever you gotta do."

"Thank you." She pointed to a series of fallen boulders that were surrounded and choked by a thicket of tall, windswept grass. "I'll be over here. Come, Juliano, keep a look out for trouble. I'll be quite distracted."

She waded into the tall grass in a cautious manner, then disappeared behind the rock. Juliano took up a position beside her that allowed him to scan the surrounding wilderness for threats as well as keep a watchful eye on her new friend, Loren.

"Oh... sugar!" she quietly whispered to herself. "Had I known that I would be travelling through a cave to reach Rustlode, I might not have come to Doranshire at all... Or I would have at least left earlier so I could take the long way..." A sigh followed.

Breathing exercises were next. Though the darkness was one of her greatest fears, further deepened by her experiences in the Spritewood, her meditation had helped her through it somewhat in the past and she figured it could do the same again; she didn't have the time to dedicate to a full meditation session, nor was she in the right mindset for it, so steadying her mind and breathing would have to do. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"Come now, it's just a little darkness..." she whispered. "Darkness that surrounds me on all sides... Darkness that hides... terrible..."

She shook her head at her thoughts, leaned up against the boulder and closed her eyes. She pictured the dark interior of the cave and imagined herself taking her first steps into it, lantern in hand. She was a shining light in that darkness, a constant in a foggy void of stale air. Her breathing was steady and purposeful as she continued to picture the events in her head: Left foot, right foot... Left foot, right foot. That's all it took, just the steady march as she pressed forward, guided by Loren and Juliano. It would only be a few hours, she hoped, something that she was confident she could power through if she worked hard to maintain her composure.

As she continued to steady herself, she felt a strange sensation brushing up against her hip. It felt like pointed claws raking against her flesh; in an instant, the darkness was gone, and all she could see was the mangled, droopy face of the huntress in the woods from a few nights ago. That twisted grin of rotted teeth, the hollow, black eyes, the cracked and broken skin... Her breath escaped her violently as she gasped for air and opened her eyes; Juliano was stood above her with a look of concern on his face and she found herself clutching at his chest with her jittery hand. It took a few seconds for her to snap out of it.

Juliano grumbled as he helped her to her feet. She could tell this grumble was one of care rather than annoyance.

"It was that damned woman again..." she whispered, her voice shaking. Without even a thought, her hand left her Blastoise's chest, buried itself in her purse and scrabbled around until it found what it was looking for: her bottle of Tenzepam pills. Tried as she might, her shaky hand just couldn't pry the bottle open. She offered it to Juliano. "I-I need you to open these."

Juliano eyed her cautiously and refused to accept the bottle.

"Just do it!" she barked.

He grumbled once again as he accepted the bottle. He wrapped his clawed hand around the bottle and twisted it open with ease. Momentary hestitation before he gave it back to her; he could tell that she was suffering from another panic attack and that the medicine inside would be the quickest form of relief, but he still worried about her reliance on it.

She grabbed the bottle and shook out two of the pills into her hand, then dropped them into her mouth and swallowed. She sighed as she slumped against the rock behind her and dropped to the ground again. "Sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that... Thank you."

As she placed the cap back onto the bottle, Loren's voice called out, "Y'okay? Heard some shouting, figured I'd come check it out." He appeared beside the rock and looked down at her. "Whoa! What are you doin' on the ground?"

She ignored his question as she tried to sneakily return the bottle of pills to her purse.

"What's that?"

She paused for a moment as she slipped the bottle back inside. "It's my anti-anxiety medication."

He offered his hand out to help her up, an offer she took. "Oh! I'm not makin' you nervous, am I?"

"No, it's... It's not you! It's where we're going that's making me nervous. These... they just help."

"Huh. Never thought about it, but I guess it makes sense that anxiety meds help with stuff like that."

She nodded. "These ones certainly seem to... They worked well when I needed them yesterday."

"Hey, you be careful not to get hooked on those, ya hear? It's always better to face your fears than drown them out. One day you might not have those to carry you when you need them."

She sighed. "One day I'll face my fears, but today is not that day."

"Let me know when you're ready."

"Let's get started... It won't be long before these pills take effect."

The two returned to the trail and started towards the cave entrance. Kimberly was extremely dismayed by Loren's plan; he took his phone out and activated the spotlight on it, intending to use it as a flashlight. She chastised him for a brief moment before reaching for the bottom of her backpack and unlatching her HyperLiteEX lantern. With the click of a button, blinding light surrounded them, illuminating the cavern brightly.

Even then, the light brought her little comfort, as it showed a massive network of cobwebs that hung from the brittle looking stalactites above them. Spiders were not on her list of fears, but something about the size of the webs gave her the shivers. The light did little about the smell, as well. As soon as they crossed through the rocky entrance, the thick stench of mildew and sulfur surrounded them, and it only grew stronger and stronger the further in they went. Even the sounds of the cave were unnerving; distant dripping of water that echoed from the darkness, accompanied every few minutes by an eerie, howling wind.

"This is too much... I wish those damned pills would kick in already... Enough time has passed..." she thought.

It didn't take long before the environment started to wear her down. She started to feel dizzy and it showed in her movement. She stumbled against the jagged basalt wall beside her, bumping into it hard enough to drop her lantern to the ground.

Both Loren and Juliano rushed to her side and nearly bumped into each other. "Hey! You okay?"

Her breathing was heavy, but it was steady. "I don't know if I can do this..."

"Sure ya can, c'mon." He knelt down and grabbed the lantern. "We've been in this cave, what, twenty minutes? That's pretty damned impressive for someone who has a crippling fear of 'em."

She wrapped her arm around him and used him as an anchor to pull herself back to her feet. "I don't..."

"Think about it this way: how important is this meeting with this coordination guy?" he asked. "Sounded pretty important to me when you were talkin' about it earlier."

"It doesn't matter... I'm not going to make it on time..."

He shook her shoulder and rubbed up and down her arm in an effort to comfort her, but it had little effect. "Not with that attitude ya won't. C'mon, let's try a few more steps, okay? You can do this."

She nodded as he led the way.

- - - - -​

It was a slow process, but it was constant progress as they marched through the cave. They made their way through mazes of stone spires, passed through cramped and narrow tunnels, navigated slippery slopes and climbed up and down roughly hewn sets of volcanic stone stairs. Through it all, Kimberly was practically glued to Loren's arm, hugging it tightly as they cut their way through the darkness. She found him to be a source of strength where she had none; her will to continue wasn't about arriving in Rustlode Bluffs on time for her meeting anymore, it was carried by his bravery and leadership.

Eventually, they came to what appeared to be a dead end and her heart sank. "Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?"

Loren flashed the lantern around. Just a few steps behind them was one of the reflective markers that indicated the main trail, which told them they had been going the right direction. "Don't think so." He shined the lantern against the wall in front of them and angled it upwards. A frayed rope ladder dangled from a pair of metal hooks on the ceiling above them and appeared to be the intended method of progressing forward, but it had frayed and fallen apart. "Oh, ho ho ho... you gotta be kiddin' me."

"That doesn't sound good..."

"It's not..." He grabbed the broken rope and swayed it back and forth. "This ladder looks like our only way up, but it's outta order."

"This is... fuuu-reaking intolerable..." she started.

He gave the rope a forceful tug and found it to properly secured to the hook it dangled from. "Don't worry, ol' Loren's got a plan. He always does." He motioned towards Juliano and beckoned him. "I'm gonna need your help with this one, big guy."

Juliano stood their like a statue. He rarely listened to orders from someone else, even if they were as simple as taking a few steps forward.

"Go on, Juliano. Listen to his plan, it may get us through this." Kimberly said.

He huffed and nodded, then approached the rope and listened closely.

"Here's what we're gonna do. We've gotta get up there, so I need to climb on your back. From there, I'm gonna climb the rope, then we're gonna do the same for Kimberly here. I'll help her up. Sound good?"

Juliano took a step back and inspected his surroundings. He found the plan a little bit strange, but he agreed to try it. He stepped back into position and dropped to all fours, allowed Loren to climb onto his shell, then stood back up.

"This sounds like a bad idea..." Kimberly said.

"I said it before, I ain't turnin' around. We've come this far." With his feet firmly planted on Juliano's shell, he grabbed ahold of the rope and pulled himself up. "Be ready... to catch me... case I fall, big guy!" he grunted as he began to inch his way up the rope.

With Loren's ascent, the light from the lantern dimmed until it disappeared entirely as he passed over the platform above. A sense of dread overcame her as she pressed up against the wall beside her and peered out into the darkness; she was absolutely sure that she would see something, but the simple fact was that she couldn't. The fact that she couldn't was even worse.

Loren's head popped out from above the rise and he extended his arm down. "Alright, Kimberly, your turn!"

"I... I..." she squeaked, her knuckles turning white as she gripped onto the loose stones of the wall behind her.

"Come on! You can do it! It's not that hard!"

She took a deep breath and left the safety of the stone wall, then climbed atop Juliano. After being boosted into the air, she reached up and grabbed Loren's extended arm.

"Be ready to kick against the wall if you've gotta, I don't have a lot to grab onto up here," he warned. With that, he started to lift.

She was surprised by how strong he was. He barely let out a grunt and his strength never wavered as he lifted her with all of his might. As she neared the top of the cliff edge, he adjusted his position without losing his grip on her and slowly pulled her over the rise, back into the comforting embrace of the lantern. "There, that wasn't so bad!"

"Umm..." she started.

"What is it?"

She pried her fingers between her chest and his hands and forced her way out of his grip. "I appreciate the help, but touch me there again and you will regret it."

He threw up his hands defensively. "Hey, hey, nothin' meant by it! That's just where my hands ended up, that's all."

She grumbled, then reached for her Master Ball. She leaned over the edge and clicked the button on it; a red beam of light shot out and impacted against Juliano, sucking him back inside. Another press of the button summoned him once again atop the cliff. Afterward, she leaned against another wall and took a seat. She sighed. "I need a minute. This is a lot more difficult for me than you might imagine."

Loren nodded. "Yeah, you've definitely earned a break." He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone, then turned the spotlight on again and started to wander off. "I'll have a quick look around, see what we're up against next."

"Where are you going?!" she shouted.

"I won't be far. Just gonna do a little scouting."

As he disappeared down the trail ahead of them, she grumbled again. "Don't get angry, Kimberly..." she told herself. "It's just the stress of this whole situation getting to you, nothing else..."

Juliano took a seat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

She smiled. "How do you think I'm doing, Juliano? You know, for someone who is deathly afraid of caves..."

He patted her on the back and let out a bellowing noise.

"Okay, maybe I'm not deathly afraid... And at least my worst fears aren't proving to be real... Those hands reaching from the dark, pulling me away from you and Loren... I really do need to realize that what happened back in the Spritewood was just... out of the norm, wasn't it?"

He nodded while maintaining his protective grip on her.

"A year of travel with Nicole and nothing like that ever happened..."

Out of the darkness, Loren's voice echoed. "Holy shit! This is awesome!"

"What is he up to now?" she asked.

"Hey, Kim! Come up here!"

She sighed again and grabbed the lantern. "I suppose break time is over. Lead the way, please."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Content Warnings
This chapter contains:
[ sexually suggestive content ]​

Land of the Roses
Chapter 29: Liquid Starlight

Click... Clack... Click... Clack...

The sound of her wedged sandals impacting the stone floor underneath her was slowly driving Kimberly insane. The fact that she had been left to navigate the darkness alone as she made her way towards Loren's position didn't help, either. Dragging her fingers across the wall beside her, only to run into the silky strands of a spider web, compounded her anxiety. In fact, just about everything about the situation was sending her into the deep end of madness.

"Loren! Come back here!" she pleaded as she continued to progress at a slow pace. Though the path ahead of her was simple and in just a single direction, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she would somehow get lost.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on," his voice echoed. It was close. Very close.

Much to her relief, Loren appeared from around a corner just in front of her. She was ready to bite his head for leaving her behind, but instead she was just thankful to be in his presence again. She rushed up to him and latched onto his arm in a parasitic manner. "There you are! Don't ever leave me again!"

He chuckled, then grabbed the lantern from Juliano. "My bad. Still, you gotta see this. It'll blow your mind!"

Their journey took them down a winding trail of manmade stairs and gentle slopes, and as they made their descent, a distinct roaring sound began to fill the tunnel. Kimberly kept pressing him for details of what he found, but he remained tight-lipped about it. It captivated her curiosity enough to distract her from the stress of the journey. Based on her prior travel experience, cave diving was always a miserable experience, and one that rarely paid off; what, in the depths of this mountain, could possibly be so interesting?

At the bottom of the spiraling tunnel, a soft glow of light bathed the stone walls with a frosted white coloration and the sound of the roaring grew much louder. He led her towards the end, then stopped her at a roped off cliff edge. Amidst the darkness around them was a peculiar sight: a three-tiered waterfall that sparkled with an eerie icy blue light. Bright specks of light cascaded over the cliffs, shattering into a fine mist of glitter as they collided with the rocks on their way down. The cavern was bathed in enough ambient light from the waterfall that they no longer needed the lantern to guide their way.

"Wow..." Kimberly said, completely captivated by the sight of the cascading, luminescent water. "It's beautiful..."

"It definitely is. Wonder why it's glowin' like that?"

"I couldn't say... I wonder, this must be Sonetta Falls! I've heard so much about them, but I've never actually seen what they look like..."

"Well now ya have!"

She cautiously followed the rope that marked the cliff edge until she found her way down to a stable platform below. All she could do was gawk at the sight. "Are you interested in a local folk tale, Mr. Parmali?"

"Sure, why not?" he enthusiastically asked.

She took a seat on the ground and beckoned for both him and Juliano to join her. "I don't know if I remember all of the details entirely... I heard it when I was in Doranshire last year. This isn't something that I personally believe in, but supposedly the Wild God of Fire used to reside in this mountain."

"Wild God of Fire, you say?"

"Mhmm! I believe his name was... Cuthach Lasrach? It's an old name from a different language... I may have pronounced it wrong, forgive me."

"I just heard it and I can't even pronounce that," he commented.

She giggled. "Anyways, this mountain was his home. The legends say that every century or so, he would emerge from the mountain and bring with him destructive wildfires that swept across the heartland from here to Caelshire. The ancient tribes of Lanark rebuilt every time, but eventually they grew tired of the Wild God's wrath. One of the tribes was led by a fearless warrior princess by the name of Brindace the Bold. She struck fear into heart of every man she met... I could spend an hour detailing the specific legend about her, but..."

"This chick sounds like a bad ass, but what's she gotta do with this Cuth... Curth... Wild God of Fire?"

"The lands that Brindace's tribe oversaw were usually the first to suffer the effects of the Wild God's return. Upon his return, Brindace climbed to the summit of the mountain, and with her gleaming sword in hand, she jumped from the top and slayed the Wild God in one strike!"

"Dayum!"

"Unfortunately, she was only human... the fall mortally injured her. They say that the blood she spilled in her act of courage is the source of these falls."

Loren nodded. "Interesting story, but it sounds pretty bogus. Sounds like she jumped into a volcano and it went dormant afterward."

"It does. But it is a fun story, and Brindace has been--"

"Shh, shh!" Loren said as he held a finger to his lips. "Do you hear that? It sounds like... singin'?"

"Singing?" Kimberly asked.

She listened closely, trying her best to block out the roar of the falls behind her. It was difficult to hear at first, but eventually it became clearer and clearer as her focus improved; angelic singing, almost like the all-girls choir she was a part of during her high school years. Something about the singing didn't sit right with her: the rhythm was odd and unlike anything she'd heard before, sounding completely disjointed and random without care for any form of structure.

"I hear it... it's odd, but it's beautiful," she continued.

"We're in the middle of a damn cave, what could it be?"

"I couldn't say."

"Ya wanna check it out? Sounds like it's comin' from over this cliff above us."

She took a step back and studied the cliff beside them. "I don't know... Can you see a way up?"

He turned the lantern back on and shined it around the dark spots that the light of the falls didn't reach. About a hundred feet ahead of them was a set of staggered, jagged plateaus that appeared to offer the only way up to the top of the cliff beside them; he pointed them out. "Right there. Doesn't look too bad, huh? C'mon!"

Though the enchanting sound that they were listening to tugged on her, she stood her ground and refused. "Why do I have the feeling that this is a bad idea?"

"It's simple, this cave's got ya paranoid. Now follow me, or I'mma leave ya right here until I get back."

She sighed and figured that maybe he was right, at least about the paranoia. She wasn't a fan of how determined he was, nor a fan of his plan to just abandon her to explore the darkness alone. She latched onto Juliano and the two followed Loren down the path, up the steppes, and across a narrow walkway; within just a few easy minutes, they had circled around the cavern and ended up about a dozen feet above where they started.

"See, that wasn't so bad," he gloated. "You should listen to ol' Loren more often! I got ya through this cave without a problem so far haven't I?"

She shook her head. "You may be right, but please don't say things like that. Frustration is the last thing I need."

"Frustration?" he asked. "What's there to be frustrated about? That some sorta personality problem you got?"

She nodded.

"Okay, fair enough. I'll, uhh... you just let me know when I'm buggin' you, okay?"

"I plan to."

"Now let's go find the source of this singin', eh?"

From where they stood, the singing was much clearer and louder, telling them that the source of the music was close by. It appeared to originate from a darkened passageway that had been carved into the bedrock of the cave; it took some effort, but Loren finally convinced Kimberly that it was worth investigating. They were both curious about what it could be and they tried their hand at guessing; Loren jokingly suggested it was the ghost of Brindace the Bold, but Kimberly didn't find it funny. Her own suggestion of it being a Junior Scout field expedition fell flat when she realized how silly it sounded, as the Junior Scouts rarely ventured far from cities.

The singing grew louder and clearer as they navigated towards the opposite end of the dark passageway, but they still had no idea what it could be. Eventually, they found themselves in another large and cavernous chamber similar to the Sonetta Falls, but this one lacked any sort of ambient lighting or water features. With the three taking just a few steps forward, the singing stopped abruptly and the sound of feet shuffling along the rocky floor could be heard from the darkness.

Kimberly's heart began to race as she cowered behind Juliano for protection. "What did I say about this being a bad idea?!"

"'ey, you agreed to it..." Loren shined the light around; the room appeared to be completely empty. "This is weird... Nothin' here."

But there was. As the light of the lantern swept across the room, it illuminated a large pile of rubble. Behind that rubble was a peculiar sight: pointed, pink ears, similar to a rabbit's. The ears were completely motionless, but eventually they twitched.

"I see you, there!" Loren called out. "What are you?"

The pointed-eared creature slowly stood up, and more and more of its rotund, pink balloon-like body became visible. Just about the only feature on the creature's smooth skin were its stubby, pointed arms and the curled tuft of fur that rested on its forehead. Its giant saucer-like eyes caught the light of the lantern just right and glowed an eerie golden green.

His hand instinctively burrowed into his pocket and retrieved one of his Pokéballs. "Ugh! What the hell is that thing?!"

Kimberly gasped. "Wigglytuff!"

"Wigglyfluff? The hell's a Wigglyfluff?"

"It's Wigglytuff. You've never seen one?"

"No." He took a cautious step back as the Wigglytuff abandoned its pile of rubble and approached gingerly. "This thing gonna hurt me?"

"That's unlikely. Wigglytuff is a peaceful Pokémon." She grabbed the lantern out of his hand and cautiously approached the Wigglytuff. "Hello there, friend!"

As she approached, she heard the same shuffling as before and shined the lantern around. All around her, different creatures with a somewhat similar appearance were descending from holes that had been carved into the stone walls; the only difference between these new creatures and the Wigglytuff were their shorter stature and smaller ears. Her first instinct upon seeing the large number of them was to back off, and she bumped into Juliano while doing so.

"H-Hello!" she squeaked.

One by one, the Jigglypuffs began to bellow deeply with individual notes until they became a full chorus. The noise they made sounded like a troupe of angels, helped further by the echoes of the cave. Once again, the disjoined and structureless music they heard earlier started; they had found the source!

"Their range and tone are incredible..." she marvelled. "Don't you agree?"

Loren shrugged. "I'm not one for singin', but I guess they sound pretty good."

"I wonder... One of them would make a marvellous addition to my coordination routines..."

"'ey, there's an idea! Let's beat one of these things up and capture it, then!"

"Hold on, I don't--"

He tossed one of his oddly-designed Pokéballs into the air and it exploded with a burst of light. Remus the Pangoro appeared, landing on the ground with a monstrous thud; the congregating Jigglypuffs and the lone Wigglytuff were startled by the sudden turn of events and started to swarm around him.

"Oh... uh oh..." he said as he watched Remus circle around, swatting at the Jigglypuffs as they drew closer. "How tough are these things?"

"Not very, I don't believe..." She motioned towards Juliano. "Our friend may need your help. Try your best not to hurt them, understood?"

Juliano stepped forward and roared. The horde of Jigglypuffs and their Wigglytuff companion were once again startled and scattered at the thought of fighting not just one large powerhouse of a Pokémon, but two. The sound of feet skittering against the stone floor echoed throughout the darkness; only one Jigglypuff remained within the light of the lantern and it didn't look happy. It took a few steps towards the two lumbering creatures, stood up on the tips of its rounded feet and started to screech loudly at them while flailing its arms angrily.

Kimberly reached down towards her dangling ribbon and pulled Telandra's Feline Ball off of it. "Do you mind? This could be excellent battle practice for my Skitty."

"Go ahead," Loren said. "I'll be honest, nothin' I own is on that thing's level. I'd feel a little bit bad... Remus!"

The Pangoro perked up and looked over towards his master.

"Work together with Juliano and keep an eye on the rest of these Jigglepuff things. Our lady friend here wants to prove herself."

"That's not what I want to do, but..." she started before unleashing Telandra with a bright flash of cartoonish stars and sparkles. She knelt down, rested her hand atop Telandra's head and pointed towards the Jigglypuff that was engaged in a shouting match with Juliano. "I haven't battled with you much, yet... but I think you're ready to try this one on your own. Do you think you can handle it?"

Telandra arched her back and her fur bristled in anticipation.

She gave Telandra a gentle push forward. "Go for it! It's distracted, use that to your advantage with, uhh... A takedown!"

Telandra lowered to the ground, then bolted forward as fast as she could. With a leaping start, she soared through the air and landed on top of the Jigglypuff, catching it completely off guard. The two tumbled into the darkness and the sound of a brief scuffle echoed across the cavern, prompting Kimberly to retrieve the lantern and follow the action. Before she could grab it, however, the Jigglypuff tumbled back into the embrace of the light with several scratch marks on its skin. Telandra reappeared within the light quickly afterward.

"Good work so far, Telandra!" Kimberly cheered. "Next I want you to try one of your special electrical attacks!"

"Electrical attacks? Outta that thing?" Loren asked.

"Yes."

"Huh. Lotta cool Pokémon in this part of the world!"

Telandra's fur flickered with electrical energy as sparks rained down around her. At the same time, the Jigglypuff had found its way to its feet; it started to suck in air like a greedy vacuum and substantially grew in size in preparation for a counter attack.

"Hit it with whatever you have, Telandra!" Kimberly advised. "I don't like the look of what that Jigglypuff is doing!"

Telandra followed the order and let loose a bolt of charged energy. With a flash of light and a loud crash, the Jigglypuff toppled over and quickly shrunk back down to normal size with the sound of a deflating balloon. It twitched violently as a consequence of the electrical attack and was unable to regain its footing.

"Oooh... That might have been too much..." Kimberly said with a look of concern on her face. She reached into her purse and dug around until she found a standard red Pokéball. With it in hand, she charged up her throw and let loose... only to watch it fly off to the side and into the darkness. A loud click echoed in the darkness as the Pokéball slammed into the stone wall, followed by what sounded like several pieces of plastic raining down onto the floor. "Oops..."

Loren tried his best to contain his laughter.

Another Pokéball was retrieved from her purse. She took a quick look at it and found that it was one of her designer models, the Princess Ball; the design featured a standard white bottom half, while the top was a swirl of glittering gold and shining pink. She remembered it was the only one she had and felt cautious of throwing it.

She turned to Loren and offered the Princess Ball to him. "Can you throw these things well?" she asked.

He took the ball and studied it closely. "Yeah, I'm pretty good at it, I think."

"As I'm sure you saw... I'm not very good at it. Can you capture this for me?"

He tossed the ball up and down as he thought about it. "You sure you wanna capture this thing? It's got an attitude but that thing barely put up a fight."

"I'm not looking to pick fights with it..."

"Still, it got its ass kicked by a kitten! Seems pretty useless to me."

She glared at him.

"Alright, alright! It's your call." He wrapped his fingers around the Princess Ball and turned to the side. With a windup, he lifted his leg before bringing it down and rocketing the ball across the cavern.

The Princess Ball collided with the twitching Jigglypuff and pinged off of it like a pinball, then opened and sucked the creature inside. As the two halves rejoined, the central button lit up like a spotlight and it dropped to the ground with a soft bounce. It wobbled... wobbled... and then finally let out a hum as the button dimmed and faded entirely. Capture successful!

"And that's how ya do it!" he triumphantly said.

Kimberly rushed over to pick up the Princess Ball and grabbed it. On her way back, she knelt down and congratulated her Skitty with a gentle pat and a few gibberish words of encouragement, then asked her to return to Loren's side with her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said as she crashed into him with a vice-like hug. "You won't believe how many times I've missed with a Pokéball like that... I can't throw one to save my life."

"Hey, no problem. I'll teach ya how to do it sometime if ya want."

"That'd be great..." she said, latching the Princess Ball onto the ribbon at her waist. "I can't thank you enough for encouraging me to pass through this cave as well... I was ready to turn around, but you told me that I had the courage to make it through."

"Ehh, weren't nothin'. I believed in you from the start."

"No! It does mean something! Not only does it look like I'll make my appointment in time, but I got to see these beautiful falls and make another addition to my team, too! I owe you one."

"Oh do you now? I'll keep that in mind!"

- - - - -​

In... Out... In... Out...

Kimberly's breath escaped and entered her in a steady rhythm as she sat in the pallid glow of the Sonetta Falls. Though the noise of the rushing water had been enough to overpower many of her earlier conversations, she could barely hear it now; she was completely absorbed in her meditation, almost cut off from the world around her. She had escaped the stresses of the day, and a picturesque scene had formed in her head.

It was a clear summer day and not a single cloud hung in the sky. She was knelt down in a garden, tending to a vine of succulent ruby red grapes. Rather than the brisk, misty winds of the cavern around her, she felt the warmth of the sun's rays instead.

The leaves in her hands. The smell of the grapes that had fallen, fermenting in the sweltering summer heat. The sound of the wind chimes that hung at the end of the garden. It all felt so real to her.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see who was approaching: a woman in black, her features covered by her loose, long clothing, and her face obscured by windswept locks of wavy black hair. She wasn't sure who the woman was, but she felt that they were a close friend, the closest friend she had. She waved to the figure and called out, "Hello!"

"Mind if I sit here?" Loren's voice echoed.

"Hmm?" Her concentration broke and the scene quickly broke apart. She was disappointed, but she tried to remain positive. "Oh! Umm... By all means!"

He dropped to the floor and sat cross legged beside her. He barely gave her any elbow room. "You've been sittin' here like a stone, what's up?"

"I'm meditating."

"Oh? Interesting. You didn't strike me as that kinda girl. Alright, I'll try not to bug ya too much then."

"That would be much appreciated," she happily replied. "I don't know if meditation is your cup of tea, but you're welcome to try. If not, just sit by the falls and take in the beauty."

He shrugged. "Nah, I ain't into it that much. It's good for dealin' with stress, but I'm good on that for now."

She opened her eyes, let out a deep breath, readjusted her posture and closed them once again. "Hmm, yes. Destressing has certainly helped calm me down a lot. I may even get some sleep tonight!"

Minute after minute passed by as Loren gazed into the welcoming light of the Sonetta Falls. To a city man like himself who rarely got to experience the splendor of nature, staring at the cascading water as it splashed against the rocks and cliffs filled him with a level of comfort he seldom experienced. Feelings of warmth and fuzziness. Cloud-like comfort came next, and at times, he felt almost euphoric; though he was no stranger to this sensation, he felt that it was strange that it had overcome in in the middle of a dark cavern.

His eyes began to drift from the falls and soon found themselves glued to Kimberly, sat in serene silence next to him. In that moment, he found himself captivated by her appearance. "God damn, she's a bombshell..." he thought. For once, his attention was focused on the features of her face, rather than the rest of her body. Her smooth skin glowed like starlight in the embrace of the falls. Her perfectly manicured eyebrows twitched every now and then as her eyes darted back and forth underneath her painted eyelids. Her cute, button-like nose was ripe for poking, and her glittering, gloss-covered fairy pink lips begged for the embrace of his own.

"What I wouldn't give..."

It didn't take long for his eyes to drift further down. His focus hovered on her chest much longer than it did on her face; the position in which he sat next to her had been carefully calculated, allowing him to see down the neckline of her dress. He lamented the fact that her breasts were smaller than most girls, but he didn't allow that fact to prevent him from enjoying the view. He almost made a game of it: how long could he get away with staring before she opened her eyes and noticed? The game lost its appeal as she continued her meditation uninterrupted.

He hummed nonchalantly as he placed his weight on his arms and leaned backward. He was disappointed to see that her dress had been bunched up in a way that prevented him from seeing the contours of her rear end, but he wasn't too surprised; it was hardly the first time a dress ruined his perfectly good view. He sat upright again and eyed her up and down repeatedly, undressing her one article of clothing at a time as he made each pass. The feelings of warmth brought on by gazing at the falls increased until she was completely nude in his mind's eye.

"I been so good to her... Time to work the magic..."

He broke the silence. "Look at you... So beautiful..."

She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. Though it hadn't been the first time she made eye contact with him, it certainly felt like it. She tried to downplay the comment with an innocent giggle. "Umm. Thank you."

"It's a wonder I didn't drop dead when I first met you..."

She raised her eyebrow and leaned back a bit. "Are you feeling okay?"

He nodded. "Bein' next to you, I've never felt better... What do you say we have some no-strings-attached fun tonight, huh?"

She was aghast at the suggestion. "I beg your pardon?!"

"I get it, you're all proper like... but nobody's around to see us get freaky... The secret will be safe with me..."

He leaned in for a kiss; she raised her hand to slap him, but he moved in too quickly for her to counter and got away with his prize. A kiss wasn't the only thing he got away with, as his own hand planted itself on her chest while she was distracted.

"C'mooon! You said you owe me!"

"Get off of me!" she shouted, finally managing to position herself properly to lay down the hardest slap of her life across his face. Her hand glowed red and stung with intense pain as he tumbled to the floor in agony.

The scuffle caught Juliano's attention and he rose to his feet. He charged in the direction of the cliff face that overlooked the falls, then skidded to a stop before picking Loren up off of the floor by the collar of his shirt. Loren's legs flailed hopelessly as he struggled against the Blastoise's iron grip, but no amount of resisting could free him.

Kimberly found her way back to her feet as well and put some distance between herself and the two. She shook her head. All of that trust and friendship that had been built up during their time in the cave had been shattered in an instant. She'd warned him already, but he clearly didn't take her words seriously. She needed a better way to reinforce her point, and luckily, she could rely on Juliano's brute strength and staunch loyalty for assistance.

"Vas-y, effraie-le," she ordered in fluent Kalosian. "Mais reste gentil."

Juliano's relentless grip tightened even further, damaging the fabric of his salmon pink shirt and popping the top button off. He took a few steps towards the edge of the cliff; a fall from it would plummet into the endless depths below: certain death. Juliano's eyes narrowed as he awaited his next order.

"Hey! E-easy there... big guy!" he rasped as he tried to pry Juliano's hand from his chest. "She said... said no, I get it. I ain't... ain't gonna touch her!" He took one look down into the darkness below and shivers radiated throughout his body. "C'mon, Kim! This isn't funny! Let me go!"

"Let you go? You should choose your words more carefully when dangling over a cliff." she chided. She continued to glare at him for a moment as he struggled in an effort to show that she meant business, then shook her head again. "That's enough. Set him down, Juliano."

Juliano did just that, but he was anything but gentle; he retreated to solid ground, then opened his massive hand and sent Loren crashing to the cold, hard stone floor. Loren gasped for air as he coughed and rolled away.

She glared down at him. "Don't act so surprised," she said sternly. "I already warned you about touching my breasts, but if you so much as touch me anywhere from now on, you will absolutely regret it. You can count on that."

After regaining his breath, he sputtered, "N-no need to threaten me, I--"

"Don't consider that a threat. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I must. Do I make myself clear?"

He sat upright and threw his hands in the air. "Alright, alright... jeeze... Loud and clear! You're not interested, I get it."

"Certainly not with you, but that's not the point," she scolded harshly. "Do you pull that stunt on every woman you meet?"

"Not all of them."

"Just the attractive ones?" His silence was telling; she could feel that he was uncomfortable with what she assumed to be the truth. "I misjudged you."

"Likewise."

"That's right, you're the victim. I'm the heartless bitch. I've heard this story several times before." she thought to herself. She groaned. "Get out of my sight. You're not sharing my camp tonight."

He grumbled, but he wasn't about to fight it; he felt it was an argument that he had a chance of winning by appealing to her sense of empathy, but he didn't want to push his luck.

- - - - -​

Nearly an hour had passed since the scuffle. Kimberly was curled up in her sleeping bag, bathed in the bright glow of her makeshift campfire, her trusty HyperLiteEX lamp. In her hands was her notebook, the page she was turned to filled to the brim with notes or her upcoming coordination workshop in Rustlode Bluffs. Juliano was sat beside her, staring across the stone platform she had made her camp on; his eyes were locked on Loren, who had spent the previous hour sulking at the border of the darkness. The Blastoise trusted him even less than she did.

Kimberly took a quick glance at her phone to check the time: 7:28 PM. "Ugh... This cave wasn't as bad as I expected, but it's taken a toll on me... I'm starting to get a little sleepy..." She closed her notebook and returned it to her backpack, then positioned it under her head as she laid down. "I'd hate to ask this of you again, Juliano... it's been a stressful week for you, with many late nights... but I don't trust that man over there. Will you keep watch tonight?"

He enthusiastically nodded, keeping his vision locked on Loren.

"You're a good friend. I'll go easy on you tomorrow during the coordination workshop... though your performances lately tell me that you don't need much practice, anyways."

Once again, he confidently nodded.

"Telandra and my new Jigglypuff, on the other hand..." she added before politely covering a yawn. She dimmed the lantern a bit, then closed her eyes. "I'll need to find a name for her soon..."

Several minutes went by in relative silence as she tried to drift off to sleep, but that silence was interrupted by rustling coming from Loren's direction. She opened her eyes and peered over at him, only to see him adjusting himself on the cold, hard floor. Though she wasn't happy with him, she couldn't help but feel a little a little sorry over the situation he put himself in.

"Juliano, do you think I was too hard on him?"

He shook his head, grumbled and clenched his fist.

"That does make me feel a little bit better, I hate having to be stern like that... I can only hope he learned his lesson." Another yawn followed. "He has his charms, but he's certainly worse than Andrea ever behaved... Speaking of, I wonder what she's up to right now..."

- - - - -​

Author's note: The Kalosian phrase that Kimberly speaks, "Vas-y, effraie-le. Mais reste gentil," can be translated from French as "Go on. Scare him, but be gentle."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: This chapter focuses on a character that readers who started reading this story back in 2016 might not be familiar with, as he was only added and referenced in chapter re-writes (primarily Interlude 2). Wondering who the hell Webster is? He's Andrea's longtime friend and room mate; though they've only known each other for a few years, he's probably one of the most important figures in her life. He will be returning from time to time as a supporting character.

Land of the Roses
Interlude 3: My Shining Light

"Ugh... Bad news, everyone..." A young blonde woman said. "Apparently trying to ship our materials back to the lab on the train raised a few alarm bells... We're going to be delayed for a bit."

In the lobby of the city of Aughrim's Camden Station stood six bright-eyed faces: the Reiland Institute field team that had been assigned to collect the remains of the skeletal creature spotted in the Spritewood. There was a collective groan from each of them; it threw a wrench into their plans, as they were eager to both get started on analyzing the creature as well as return home after a few days out in the field.

"Yeah... Who knew that packing up rotting remains and stuffing them on a train would cause problems, right?!" Emily joked in an effort to lower the disappointment of her fellow team members. "Anyways, we might not be home in time for dinner tonight... if we even get home tonight."

"How does this even happen?" one of the team members asked. "Didn't Dr. Reiland or Dr. Venger take care of this? Let Silverline know we'd be transporting this material?"

"Dr. Reiland said she would..." Emily answered. "Look, she's going through a lot with her health problems. Stuff like this slips her mind sometimes, it's just a fact of life that all of us should be used to by now. Anyways, it could be awhile before this mess is sorted... Anyone visited this city before and know a good hotel?"

The group quietly discussed the matter amongst themselves; outside of their initial visit on their way to the Spritewood, not a single one had visited the city of Aughrim before. Eventually, another voice spoke up and asked, "Hey, what about that girl in the black over there?"

Andrea, who had been loitering a few feet separate from the group with her attention buried in her phone, perked up. "Hmm? What about me?"

"Didn't you used to live here?" the man asked. "Surely you must know--"

"Geoff, she lived here! Why would she know which hotels are good and which are bad?" Emily interrupted. She started to laugh at the silliness of the question. "Geoff, I love you to death, but sometimes I wonder how you even get dressed in the morning!"

Geoff was a good sport about it. "With great difficulty and lots of trial and error."

Another round of laughter.

Andrea tried to answer the question anyways. "Umm... Well, there's the Bennett Hotel down by Harbor Town... I hear good things all the time about it, but I don't know if they're true. There's also the Vogel Resort and Hotel... but I don't think 60 golden roses for each of us is on the budget."

Emily giggled and shook her head. "It's not. I'll look into the Bennett, though. Now! Everyone! Since this could take awhile to sort out, I won't ask you guys to stay here at the train station. You're free to explore the city a bit, if you'd like! Just stay reasonably close in case this gets sorted quicker than I expect."

"Well this is annoying..." Andrea thought as she watched the field team disperse. "At the same time... It gives me an excuse to visit Webster at the apartment..."

- - - - -​

Andrea reached into her purse and grabbed a small plastic card, then slid it into the slot on the door in front of her. After a few seconds, the red light flashed green and a small digital message inched its way across the LCD screen above the lock.

WELCOME HOME!!!

"Well... the key still works at least," she said, placing it back into her purse. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The apartment was dark and silent. Usually, her room mate was visible from the door, seated at his computer adding yet another match of Defense of the Legends to his countless record. Usually, soft jazz music could be heard throughout the apartment. Usually, the living room was kept clean, but instead it was filled with clutter, computer equipment and spare parts. Most importantly, usually the lights were on.

"Hello? Webster?" she cautiously asked. "You home?"

A muffled voice came from one of the bedrooms. "Andrea? Is that you?"

"You are home! Yeah, it's me!"

The door to Webster's bedroom opened up and he poked his head outside. A dopey smile appeared on his face as his eyes met hers. "Woah! Long time no see!"

"It's only been, what, ten days? But I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd drop by. Figured I'd make a surprise out of it, too!"

He stepped out of his room and wandered into the living room, nearly tripping on a computer case in the process. "You certainly did catch me by surprise... Pardon the mess."

She looked around at the clutter and laughed. "Just like the day I first moved in! I guess your computer repair business has picked up in recent weeks?"

"It has... And I haven't had you around to nag me into keeping it organized like usual."

"Oh, please! I didn't nag!" she objected in a playful manner. "I did it for my own sanity, and you can't say it didn't help you, either."

"Mmm."

She dropped her purse onto the coffee table and started walking towards her bedroom. "I might not be here long, I've got a train to catch today. Let me take care of some stuff first, and then we can chat, okay?"

"Oh. Okay."

- - - - -​

"Let's see... I don't know if it's a good idea to bring any of this with me yet..." she said as she lifted the lid of a delicately crafted cherry jewelry box. Inside was an extensive collection of steel and silver rings, necklaces and earrings, each decorated with designs of bats, ghosts and stars and set with lavender or black stones.

There was a knock at the door.

"Since when do you knock?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting changed or something."

She laughed quietly and shook her head. "Come on, get in here!"

The door opened and Webster stepped into the room. His face carried a sadness with it that she had rarely seen before.

"Oh!" she said with a smile. "You don't look too happy. What's up?"

In silence, he walked over to her bed and sat down on it. He started with a sigh, then asked, "So... what's the deal with us?"

"Uhh... What do you mean by that?"

"I see you packing up some of your stuff... Does this mean you have a place in Loch Alstan?"

She paused for a moment as she searched for an answer that wouldn't upset him, but nothing appropriate came to mind. "Not quite. But I'm looking."

His eyes sunk to the floor. "Oh. So you're definitely moving out, then..."

"Uhh..?" she mumbled, unsure. She continued to sort through her favorite jewelry and place some of it into a spare plastic bag. "Well, umm... It looks like I haven't disappointed Dr. Reiland enough for her to fire me, yet... In fact, she seems kinda happy to have me! So, yes, I'll eventually have to move out once I get settled over there."

He sighed. "Should have figured."

She closed her jewelry box and sat down on the bed next to him, then started to rub his back. "Hey, c'mon, big guy. Try to be happy! This means I'm finally getting back on my feet! You've been waiting for that for months."

"Not like this..." he said as he shook his head. "It's good that you're finally putting yourself back together, but... I'm gonna miss ya, ya know? The evenings weren't all that fun without you these past couple of weeks, but now that I know you're going for good... They're gonna feel even worse. They're going to be empty."

"Aww... Look at it this way, I won't be a burden on you anymore."

"You were never a burden on me! There were -- difficult points, yes... times when I questioned whether you actually wanted my help, but I patiently worked through them because I care about you, and I still do."

Her cheeks flushed with a rosy color. "Heh, that's... I didn't know you -- I mean, I did, but... Hmm, maybe you could think about moving out there with me, then?"

He hesitated for a bit before he shook his head. "I've got too much going on here in Aughrim to just uproot like that."

She tilted her head down and stared at him; she wasn't looking to display anger, but concern. She always worried that he sold himself too short and settled for mediocrity, and that worry returned yet again. "Is that so? You've got your volunteer work at the naval history museum and your part time job fixing up computers. I'm not trying to be a petulant bitch here, but that doesn't sound like much to me."

"Maybe to someone ambitious it doesn't..."

"If you're comfortable here, that's cool. I won't push it any further. But one last thing I'll say about that is... try applying to the Reiland Institute. There's no guarantee that you'll get it, but if you do, you'd finally put that computer sciences degree of yours to better use. I actually got to see their IT department briefly, it's pretty fucking impressive! You'd be doing something important rather than spending your time cleaning viruses off of elderly folk's computers."

"I do do a lot of that..." he chuckled. "I'll think about it. It would be nice to challenge myself... and stay by your side at the same time."

"It would, wouldn't it?" she asked. She leaned up against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm not going to lie, I'm going to miss you, too. I owe you a lot. You pulled me out of the darkness when no one else could. When everyone gave up on me."

"Ehh..." he mumbled, trying to downplay her appreciation. "I just did what good people should."

Silence overtook them as they wallowed in the emotion of the moment. She didn't want to admit it and put on a strong face for him, but the idea of leaving Aughrim and one of her only friends behind hung more heavily on her heart than she expected. Her words carried truth; she did owe him a lot, more than he likely realized, and he meant more to her than she was ready to admit to him.

She wanted to voice her gratitude for all he'd done for her: he brought her in when she dropped out of university and had nowhere else to turn. He helped her to manage her depression and get her confidence back, even if it was shaky. He saw her through her destructive breakup with her fiancé. He clamped down hard on her alcohol dependence and put her on the road to recovery. He practically rebuilt her from the thousands of pieces she had shattered into just six months ago, all on his own. She had so much to thank him for, but the words couldn't pass her lips. Even if they did, she was certain she wasn't going to say it right. Instead, the best she felt she could do was rest her hand on his and grip tightly.

As much as she hated it for ruining the moment, she felt a tiny bit of relief when her phone began to rumble against her leg. She reached into her stocking and grabbed it.

Fr: Emily Winehaus, 2:31 PM

'Hey, good news! Dr. Reiland and I got us cleared for the train ride back to the lab. The next train leaves in 20 minutes, so get back to the station as soon as you can!'​

"Oh. That's my train, I've gotta go." She grumbled and sighed. "Sorry."

He grumbled as well. "Figures."

She slung her backpack over her shoulders, grabbed her bag of spare belongings and stood up. "It was nice seeing you again."

He rubbed the hand that she gripped just a moment earlier. "Yeah... Thanks for the visit. I might be sad we're parting ways, but I mean it."

She smiled. "Promise me you'll reconsider moving out to Loch Alstan, okay? Even if we don't end up living together anymore... it'll be nice for me to have a friend out there. And you already do."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Interlude 4: Rain Clouds

"More rain... Does the sun ever shine in this country? Sometimes I forget..."

Andrea was seated in the back corner of the train carriage. Outside of the window beside her was a picturesque view of the rain-soaked moors of the Northcountry, obscured by a heavy fog. Without even referring to a map, she knew roughly where she was: just outside of Redfern Crossing, likely in the Bramblemurk Marsh. She had slept through both of her previous train rides through it so she had never seen it before, but she was delighted to see that the marsh lived up to its reputation: dull, dreary, dark and depressing, even during the brightest hours of mid day. Despite the visual appeal of the marsh, she hoped that she would never have to set foot in it.

Her appreciation of the view was interrupted by a burst of laughter a few seats ahead of her; it came from the other employees of the Reiland Institute that she was riding with, seated around one of the carriage's tables as they enjoyed a round of Cards Against Humanity. She tried her best to not let it get to her, but it did. Not only did she consider herself a master of the game that would mop the floor with them, she was also sad that she wasn't invited to join them.

She never invited herself over, but figured it would have been pointless anyways; she made an honest effort to socialize with the other members of the field team when she met them earlier that morning, but they were distant with her. Aloof. Cold. Even critical. Though she knew it wasn't the case, she couldn't help but feel that the outburst of laughter had been manufactured in an effort to further exclude her from the group. The events of when she met them played over in her head again and again.

Upon catching up with the field team, she first introduced herself to Geoffrey, the lovable joker of the group. He was careless with his words and seemed uninterested in her safety on the night she encountered the skeletal creature that attacked her: "It's impressive that you didn't get yourself killed, look at the arms on this thing!" She resented the fact that he didn't at least express how thankful he was that she even made it out alive.

"Common decency must be a foreign concept to him," she reasoned quietly.

At least Geoffrey wasn't as rude as the other man of the team, Dedrick. From the moment she introduced herself, he was rude and jagged, and she couldn't understand why. "Aren't you a little old to be playing princess of darkness?" A brief smile appeared on her face as those words repeated themselves in her mind, but it wasn't a happy smile. It faded as she remembered another criticism of his, about how she had let Dr. Reiland down by not finishing her work in Doranshire. Perhaps that was a fair criticism of her performance, but he had no way of knowing what she was up against in that forest. What would have otherwise been an astute observation turned into a cruel and cutting attack on her character.

She recalled her interactions with Heidi Ashcroft next. She saw a bit of herself in Heidi; just like when she was asked to assist with the dead Miltank in Nettlefield, Heidi was absolutely uninterested in the work that she was assigned. She spent the entire time complaining about how gross the assignment was, gawking at how deadly the skeletal creature looked, or completely zoned out on her phone. When Andrea dared to call her out on it, she received a sharp glare and even sharper words, "I may not like this assignment, but at least I can actually do what I'm assigned."

It seemed that being pulled off of her assignment in Doranshire had painted her in a bad light with just about everyone, and she wondered if any of them knew the details of why. She recalled that Emily herself, the team leader, didn't know the details; her woes could have been fixed if someone had just communicated to the team about what happened, but she wasn't going to tell them herself. Not only would she be branded a failure, but a crackpot looking to cover those failures as well.

The last of the research team was a girl named Red. While the aptly named redhead wasn't rude, she was for the most part unresponsive. She was so focused on the job ahead of them that only one of Andrea's attempts to talk to her made it through, and her reply was a blathering, stuttering mess. The strangest part about Red's quiet personality is that she seemed to be the loudest one of the group as they continued with the card game.

"I hope they don't already hate me... I was the one that saw this creature, it's likely I'm going to be working with these people a lot..."

The door to the next carriage opened up with a blustery gust of wind and a splash of misty rainwater; Emily stepped in from outside, shook her damp hair back and forth like a dog and shivered violently. "Oof! Cold out there!"

"Emily is nice, at least..." she thought. "She's such an--"

As Emily passed through the aisle, she noticed Andrea seated alone, glaring out the window. "Hey! What are you doing all alone over here? Don't you want to join in on the card game the other guys are playing?"

She looked up and tried her best not to look miserable. "I'd like to, but... it didn't feel right. I've been trying to chat with them all day, but it hasn't been working."

Emily took a seat across from her. "How so? Is it just awkward, or have they been being mean?"

"Oh, no. Nobody was being mean. It's just awkward..." She paused for a moment. "...well Dedrick might have been a bit mean."

Emily laughed. "Don't take it personally. Dedrick is pure piss and vinegar, a classic boy of the north. I don't think he knows how to be nice. The rest of them just haven't warmed up to you, yet."

She shook her head. "I don't know about that. It seems they're disappointed in me for not finishing my work in Doranshire, which I find frustratingly unfair. They don't know what I had to deal with out there."

Emily raised her eyebrow and leaned forward a bit. "What did you deal with out there? As I noted earlier, Dr. Reiland didn't tell me much..."

"How about Patrick? And your medical guy... Dr. Venger, was it? They didn't say anything, either?"

Emily shook her head. "They've been tight lipped, too. All I know, and by extension all the rest of our field team knows, is that we've got a strange and unidentified creature packed up in these boxes, ready for analysis."

"I'm sure they had a reason for not explaining it, so maybe it's best I don't spill any beans..." She took a moment to think about her experiences in Doranshire and the surrounding Spritewood, then looked down at the ground. "But whatever's out there... it's bad. Really bad. And I worry that nobody is equipped to deal with what I saw out there."

"Oh come on! I get the feeling you're not lying, but maybe stretching the truth a bit. It can't be that bad, can it?"

She thought about it, but all she could do was shrug.

"Hmm. Well, if there is something truly horrible out there that Dr. Reiland knows about, I sincerely hope she doesn't sit on it for long. Inaction has led to tragedy too many times in this country's history. In any case, I'll try to smooth things over with the gang for you, okay? If they got a bad first impression of you, that's probably my fault and I'll fix that. You can count on that."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to go join them for their game now, you're welcome to come along!"

She smiled. "I think I'll pass. I need to look the part and brood in sadness some more, anyways."

Emily bellowed with laughter. "Pat warned me about sense of humor! You're going to fit in well at the Reiland Institute, it's just going to take a little bit of time."

- - - - -​

Another hour had passed and the Silverline train roared eastward through the jagged foothills of the Northcountry. Andrea was far less focused on the scenery this time, as the rainstorm above had obscured all but the nearest of visuals, which popped out of the fog like ghostly apparitions. Instead, she was taking the opportunity to clear our her e-mails and her text messages.

"Oh, shit..." she thought. "I promised Kim I'd get in touch with her when I got to the city, but I never did..." Her fingers went to work as she tried to think of what to say:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 4:37 PM

'hey there! sorry im a little late with this message a lot of stuff lined up and kept me busy when i got to aughrim'
'im probably a couple hours away from loch alstan at this point so if you wanna chat youve got my attention! lol'
'hope you had luck finding someone you can trust to take you to your destination. it sounded pretty imp--'​

Her typing was interrupted by an incoming phone call; a quick check of the caller ID told her that it was from her father. "Hmm... Must be important, he's actually calling this time..." she quietly mused.

Through a lengthy series of texts, she'd been chatting back and forth with her father over the evenings about her experiences in Doranshire, specifically those about the attempted kidnapping and the strange woman who appeared to be in the center of it all. Her father found the story fascinating but understandably unbelievable; his focus was on the hard facts about the kidnappers, and he tried his best to keep her updated about the investigation. Unfortunately, despite his high rank within the Lanark Police Force, he hadn't learned much about what had happened, as if someone had been keeping a lid on the story; neither knew much about the aftermath of the kidnapping attempt, and outside of some lingering suspicions, she was unaware that two of the attackers had died that night.

The fact that he was actually calling her instead of resuming their text conversations told her that perhaps he had learned something substantial and was about to drop a bomb shell. Hungry for knowledge about the people who tried to hurt her, she eagerly answered the call. "Hey, dad! What's up?"

"Hey there, dear! Just wondering how my little princess of darkness has been handling herself these past couple of days."

"Sleeping has been difficult, as you can imagine... But now that I'm out of that town, away from those horrible people... I think I'll have an easier time of it. I just wish you got assigned to the investigation..."

"I wish I did, too. Whoever tried hurting my little girl is going to bloody pay... But Commissioner Shelby didn't want me anywhere near the case since you were nearly one of the victims. He said it would be a conflict of interest."

"Conflict of interest!?" she roared. "Th-th-that -- bullshit! If anything, you'd be extra motivated to get to the bottom of it all!"

"Too motivated, maybe. I can see where Commissioner Shelby is coming from... Don't forget what happened to Mr. Reiserben after his wife died."

Almost instinctively, her brow furrowed upon hearing the name. "I'd rather I did forget. I don't need a reminder that anyone in that family exists."

"Still bitter about Larson, huh? Now, this is me being a concerned father, nothing more... But I do think you need to let go of what happened between you two, he--"

She shook her head violently. "That asshole cheated on me! I'll never have sympathy for him again, even on his deathbed! I try not to hold his actions against his father, but Mr. Reiserben has his own issues... Hard to be sympathetic for him, too, after all that's happened."

"That's fair, I guess... I'm just saying, don't let your feelings poison you, okay? You have a very bad habit of doing that. Now that you're out and into the adult world on your own, you're going to need to learn to let that habit go."

She sighed. She knew he was right, but didn't want to admit it. Not after the things Larson had done to her, even if the worst of those things were almost two years old. "I'd rather just forget him, you know? That way I don't have to worry about it poisoning me."

"Alright, alright... I'll stop pokin' the hornet's nest... Anyways, I've got some news that'll turn this call around!"

She was surprised, and a smile crossed her face; whenever he said that, it was usually good news, but she playfully joked, "Uh oh, I don't like the sound of that!"

"Your mother has tied up all of the loose ends associated with her botany studies over in the jungles of Sakala. She's finally coming home!"

"Oh my god, really? I thought we'd never see her again!"

"Yeah, I worried about that, too... Hard to believe she left eight years ago and has barely been in our lives ever since... But she's back! And she's proud of you, too! I told her about the job you got working with Dr. Reiland, she said she's actually a little bit jealous."

Her face lit up with joy at the thought. "Ha, jealous of me? I never thought I'd hear that. I've always been living in her shadow and that hasn't changed just because I got a job."

"Don't worry about living in her shadow! She does have 18 years of time and experience on you, don't forget that. But give it enough time and you'll be casting a shadow right beside her."

"Someday, but that won't be for a long time."

"You're way too humble. But anyways, her flight is landing tomorrow... I'm heading to Aughrim to greet her!"

A pit dropped in her stomach at the timing of it all. "Tomorrow? Damn it! I just left Aughrim... Too bad I couldn't have stayed an extra day to be there beside you."

"Don't worry, there's always going to be time to visit, especially now that she's back for good. Besides, we wouldn't be staying long, we're hopping on a train to Redfern almost as soon as her flight lands."

"Redfern?" she asked, puzzled. "Why on earth would you ever go there? I hear it's pretty, but I also hear that there's not much to do..."

There was a pause on the line before he sighed. "Well, as part of her return, she'll be judging a horticultural show. She somehow roped me into being a judge, too. Apparently my caveman knowledge of flowers would be a useful asset as a judge. A different way of thinking."

"A horticultural show," she stated incredulously.

"Yes."

"You hate flowers," she followed up, matter-of-factly.

"I do. But I love your mother more than I hate her flowers, so I'm going to be there to support her."

She laughed. "You need to learn to say no to her for once in your life!"

"Ha! You've got that right... But saying yes to her got me one good thing, at least... you! In fact, I think I still remember that night, she was wear--"

"Eww, dad! Come on!"

He returned the laughter.

"Sooooo..." She tried to pivot the subject. "Have you learned anything new about these kidnapper guys? I know they're trying to keep a lid on the details..."

"They're doing an impressive job of keeping it quiet. Especially considering how often investigation details leak to the media... Whoever is keeping things quiet is very high up in the LPF... I'm going to poke around and see who's pulling that string, because I want to know what's going on just as much as you do."

She grumbled. "Look, be careful, okay? Your extensive career isn't worth my curiosity. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter if I never learn anything just as long as those fuckers are put away for life."

"Mmm." There was a short pause on the line. "Ah, well... that's my break over, time to get back out there. It was lovely chatting with you again!"

"It was!"

"You're probably sick to death of hearing this by now, but I'm so proud of you! It's amazing how quickly you've put yourself back together in these past few months."

She smiled. "Well... I do have someone to thank... Webster put in more effort than I did."

"I'm gonna buy that kid a beer when I get to Aughrim. He's earned one."

"He doesn't drink, dad."

He laughed. "I know, it was just a joke. I'll figure something out. Alright, sweetie, I gotta go. I love you."

"You too..." With that, the call ended. She turned her phone off and slipped it back into her purse, then paused for a moment as the conversation she just had sank into her. "...a horticultural show..." she laughed and shook her head. "He's lost control of his life..."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 30: Loch Alstan Blues Part I

"Alright! We're finally home! Good work today, everyone!" Emily announced.

A round of cheers erupted from the field team.

Geoffrey spoke up, "Anyone up for the pub? If we hurry, we can catch the beginning of the Glengary vs. Rustlode match!"

More raucous cheering followed.

"Football! Guinness! Fish and chips! Let's get fucked up!" Dedrick's voice called out with alarming enthusiasm.

Emily laughed. "Count me out, but you guys have fun!"

The field team broke apart; Emily lingered behind on the platform, Red wandered off on her own and the remaining trio of Geoffrey, Dedrick and Heidi departed together, belting out a football chant completely out of sync with each other. Andrea was tempted to follow them to be a part of something, but already knew it would be a waste of time; beer and football topped the list of her least favorite things. Instead, she approached Emily, who had started to gather up the research materials that they had brought with them.

"Hey there," she said.

"Oh! Hey Andrea, what's up? You didn't go off to join the guys at the pub?"

She shook her head. "Getting hammered isn't really my thing... I've had some bad experiences with it in the past."

"Fair enough. I don't know if you'll break into that little circle of friends if you don't at least try to hang out with them, but if you're uncomfortable around alcohol, it's best not to go."

"Yeah... Say, do you need any help with that stuff?" she asked.

Emily stacked the last box up and looked them over. "Mmm, I'll be fine, I'm only bringing these down to the lab. Shouldn't take me more than ten minutes. The real work begins tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay."

Emily could feel the disappointment in her words. "I get it, you want to be involved and helpful... But I'm just dropping these materials off and then I'm heading home. It'd be a waste of your time, and you'll get your chances to mingle with your co-workers tomorrow."

"Yeah, I understand. I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Sorry, I'm just tired and want to get home, that's all. Maybe we can do something together sometime."

"I'd like that... Well, I'd better get 'home', too, then..."

- - - - -​

"You're an idiot, Andrea. A god damn idiot." she berated herself. "You spent all that time out in Doranshire without even trying to find a place to live back here... And now you're stuck at a cheap motel again. Good going."

She opened the door to the reception office of the Stargazer Motel. Her decision to call it cheap was the correct one; the walls were filthy and looked as if they hadn't been scrubbed in decades, the wooden furniture was faded and covered in nicks and dents, and the main counter itself was so worn down that its smooth surface had long disappeared and been replaced with a rough texture covered in pen markings and scratches. As cheap as the rooms were advertised at the Stargazer, the condition of the office caught her by surprise.

"Not only is it cheap, it's run down... you're going to die here, idiot."

A man behind the counter perked up. "Oh! Hello!"

"Hi, I uhh... need a room tonight?"

"Just you?"

She sighed. "Unfortunately..."

"Goin' rate on a single night for a single lady is 30 silver roses."

She dropped her purse onto the counter and started to dig through it for some silver coins. "Not bad, I suppose... I can keep this up for a few weeks, at least..."

"Thaaaaank you!" the receptionist said. He handed over the guest list and a pen and motioned for her to sign it, then buried his attention in an archaic-looking computer and began typing away. "Alright, let's see... We've got a few rooms open..."

As she signed her name in the guest registry, she asked, "Do you happen to have today's newspaper, by any chance?"

"Sure, I'm done with it," the receptionist said. He grabbed the newspaper off of the desk behind him and started to gather all of the loose articles up. "What are you looking for? Sports, politics?"

"Classifieds," she stated.

"Ah! Looking for a job?" He grabbed the section she wanted and handed it over the counter. "You know, if you don't find anything, I could always use an assistant around here. You have no idea how often the septic system around here backs up."

A repulsive thought, but it didn't matter. "No, actually, I'm looking for a place to live. I'm... kinda between homes at the moment. I ended up taking a job here in town without really planning ahead. Don't have an apartment yet or any friends to live with."

"Oooh, that's scary."

"Tell me about it. Scary and stupid."

He turned around and started to walk down the row of room keys that hung from hooks on the back wall. "Don't beat yourself up over it. When I was your age, my father always told me, 'you're young, enjoy being an idiot while you can.'"

"I've learned it doesn't quite work that way..." she said, shaking her head. "My dumb choices have brought me nothing but sorrow and heartbreak, being homeless is not going to be any different."

The receptionist didn't know how to respond, so he did all he could and offered a key to her. "Well, here you are. Room 6. Checkout's at noon."

She accepted the key with a nod. "Thanks."

The receptionist nodded in agreement. "Enjoy your night and good luck with the search!"

A polite chuckle escaped her. "You do know that if I find a place, you're not getting any more of my money, right?"

"Hey, your money might be good, but being homeless isn't. I'm a businessman, not heartless. You take care."

She nodded, turned around and walked for the exit. As she put her hand on the door knob, she looked back and said, "Uhh, by the way, some advice... next time you talk to someone about needing a helping hand... don't tell them the shit pipes are broken until they show up for their first day. You might have better luck finding someone."

The receptionist smiled. "I'll have to remember that."

- - - - -​

As she sat on the bed in the surprisingly well-kept motel room, Andrea unfolded the newspaper and went through the listing of all of the rental properties within the town. Some were very obviously out of her league, such as the mini-mansions of the town's affluent Wine Row district. That page was instantly crumpled up and thrown aside. On the next page, lines of ink slashed through some of the more modest housing, until all that was left were the run-down, slum-like dwellings that Patrick had both suggested to her and warned her about over a week ago. Still, more ink flowed from the tip of her pen as she went through each apartment, looked at the price and compared it with her income and expected expenses.

She flipped the last page over and came to the realization that, just like before, she had crossed out every available option yet again.

"Come on... There's gotta be something..."

She double checked to make sure that she didn't miss anything, but every single apartment in the listing had a giant slash drawn through it. She tried to visualize her expenditures to see if there was any wiggle room in her finances, but there was precious little to cut on her already-thrifty budget, and even then, it wouldn't help her to afford the least expensive option. Frustration welled within her as she crumpled the newspaper up and threw it to the side. She rubbed at her temples in an effort to relieve the stress of knowing that she'd likely be homeless for the near future, spending her much needed finances on cheap motels.

"I'm not going to be able to keep this job if I can't afford to live out here... How is this fucking fair?" she growled. "I really fucking hope Webster reconsiders moving out here with me..."

She remembered running into similar problems with getting her apartment in Aughrim. Alone, she wasn't able to afford anything, and just when it looked like she was going to have to move back in with her parents, Webster swooped in and saved the day by offering to split the rent for his place. Even then, the two sometimes struggled to make ends meet. A shared apartment was the only thing that made sense to her, but the problem presented itself: outside of Patrick, Dr. Reiland and Emily, she didn't know anyone in town, and none of them were likely to drop their current living arrangements for her benefit. A headache started to develop in the back of her mind. The day had defeated her and she was ready for bed despite the sun still being up.

She undid the buckles on her boots and slid them off; she couldn't help but groan at the wave of physical relief that followed. Next to come off were her striped stockings, shredded during her encounter with the skeletal beast of the Spritewood, stained from her time in the Nettlemarsh and practically tattered from constantly walking in them. Those stockings had been with her for years, but she was afraid they'd finally been worn out. Though it was small, it was one more bitter drop in the chalice of despair.

She sighed as she snuggled herself under the bedcovers and grabbed the TV remote. She turned the TV on and started to flip through the channels, but nothing particularly interested her; only a few basic channels were available, so she eventually settled on the twenty four hour opinion channel, Crown News Network. At the very least, she had some mindless background noise to fall asleep to.

As she rested with her eyes closed, her focus naturally drifted to the voices on the television, and one sounded very familiar to her; it was a voice that she knew very well, and it brought back a rush of memories from her time at university. She initially discounted it as another bout of stress getting to her, but as she listened further, the voice continued to speak. She opened her eyes and sat up, and as she did so, her heart dropped: the news anchor was covering a story about an upcoming regulation change related to pesticide use in the agricultural industry, and the guest was none other than her former fiancé, Tobias Kedzierski. She paid much closer attention to the broadcast.

"...become an energetic leader in these matters, how do you plan to protest these new regulations?" the news anchor asked.

"Well, Charles," Tobias started. "We can't let Lady Plame off of the hook on this one. Working together with our partners and allies, we will blockade the Ministry in Aughrim, protest outside of Lady Plame's residence in Harbor Haven and disrupt the supply lines of these new harmful pesticides."

"Disrupting those supply lines will be a criminal act, you may wish to reconsider--"

"What is criminal is what the Ministry of Wildlife plans to do to our environment. I will not allow--"

"Come on, don't be an idiot, Toby..." Andrea commented quietly.

"--we see such enthusiasm. Regardless, this will be an uphill battle for your organization. Historically, protests of this nature have not been very successful at curbing changes in law and regulation."

"That's an unfortunate truth, and a challenge to us. Luckily, the newly elected MP for the city of Aughrim, Diana King, has issued a statement expressing her interest--"

Andrea's eyes narrowed at the name: Diana King.

The name repeated itself in her mind and her blood began to boil. Though she did not know Diana personally, she held a burning hatred for the woman, and it was all linked to the disastrous breakup between her and her former fiancé. Diana was the woman that Tobias had drifted to, and Diana was the one who made sure that their romance was at the front and center of everything that the two did together. She didn't know whether Diana did this all out of spite for her, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the fact that Tobias considered her the love of his life now, and to her that meant that Diana was the worst thing in existence.

"Ugh, that bitch!" she roared. "Stole my man away from me... and now she's doing everything for him that I couldn't..." She rushed to turn the TV off and then rocketed the remote across the room as her breathing grew erratic. "That's it... I'm never getting him back, am I... Can't catch a fucking break for once in my fucking life..."

Her hands trembled with the surge of emotions and her breathing continued to destabilize. The thing she resented most about Diana was the anger that bubbled to the surface at the mere mention of the name; she was disappointed in herself for allowing a woman she didn't know and had never met to have such power over her. Among all of her problems, that was the one that made the least amount of sense, and she desperately wanted to escape from it. If anything, she was determined to get her breathing back under control so that she could better focus on bottling her rage back up.

"Kim's breathing exercises... They must work for her... right?" she wondered. "What did she say... 'Empty your mind, but don't clear it'... Whatever the hell that means."

She laid back down in the bed and took in a deep breath. It was difficult, but she held onto it for a few seconds. She let it loose, but her breathing was still chaotic. She counted to four and took in another breath. After another four second wait, she let it go. As silly as it was to her, it was starting to work; her focus was no longer rooted in her fiery contempt for Diana, but the simple act of counting to four. As her thoughts faded and her breathing continued to steady, she kept at it.

"Well, her breathing exercises work... I wonder if there's anything to that goofy spirituality of hers..." she jokingly mused.

Though her breathing had returned to normal and she was no longer haunted by her thoughts, the counting continued. She counted all the way to 372 until he brain flicked off and she fell asleep.

- - - - -​

A cloud of steam billowed out of the shower as the glass door slid open. A soaked arm stretched out from behind the foggy glass, searching haphazardly until it found the towel rack. The towel disappeared into the shower, and a moment later, a fully covered Andrea stepped out. Her wavy blonde hair, with her natural brown roots growing longer by the day, was pulled away from her face, a look she rarely sported. She took a look in the mirror, but wasn't happy with what she saw.

"Come on, smile, you big lunk. It's your first proper day in the office." she demanded of her reflection. The reflection didn't listen and continued to maintain its dour visage; the emotional torment she went through the previous night had taken its toll on her.

She emerged from the bathroom with a new set of clothes; another black mini dress, but this one featured white and lavender rose designs starting at the waist, as well as lavender stripes of varying size along the long bell sleeves. Her hands were wrapped in revealing lace gloves, speckled with shining silver rhinestones. It was at times like this that she was grateful there was no formal dress code at the Reiland Institute, because nothing she owned would likely be acceptable.

She wandered over to the window and drew the curtains back to let some light in, only to be met with a peculiar sight that she wasn't expecting: heavy fog and snow falling from the sky. It wasn't cold enough for the snow to accumulate on the ground, but the fact that it was cold enough at all shocked her. "Snow? Are you kidding me?! June starts next week!" she shouted. She shook her head as she delicately folded her old clothes and stuck them into the smaller section of her backpack.

"Hope I don't freeze on my way to work... didn't bring a jacket again... so stupid." she muttered fretfully. She gathered her belongings up, took one last look at the room to make sure she had everything, then headed out the door.

It wasn't cold enough to freeze her, but it was certainly cold enough to make her quietly miserable. The weather was downright terrible, yet seasonably appropriate for Loch Alstan. Winter typically lingered into early May in the Northcountry, and some years, summer never truly arrived. Loch Alstan's proximity to the lake it takes its name from further extends the cold weather; cold mountain air blows across the lake from the neighboring nation of Glastonfell, causing the Northcountry's mid-May freezes. Of course, this was all lost on Andrea, who assumed that May meant warm temperatures and sleeveless spring days, as it typically did in Aughrim.

Her boots splashed along the soaked pavement as she made her way down Windyreed Road towards the imposing brick structure in the distance, the Reiland Institute. Snow accumulated on her as her still-wet hair began to frost over in the cold; another mistake she didn't account for, a simple error that made her question her own intelligence. Luckily, the journey between the hotel and the Reiland Institute was a short one and she arrived at the luxuriously heated building within a few minutes.

- - - - -​

Andrea took a deep breath, bringing in the aroma of the freshly brewed tea that sat in front of her.

"Mmm... come to mama..." As she lifted the mug to her mouth, she noticed Patrick out of the corner of her eye; she took a quick sip and lowered it again. "Morning!" she called out.

"There you are! You've really only been in the lounge twice and I see you already have your favorite spot picked out... saves me the trouble of tracking you down!" He sat down across the table from her.

"Hmm," she replied. "Quiet and out of the way. Where I belong."

"I don't know about that." He politely laughed. He studied her up and down before adding, "I've gotta say, I like your sense of fashion. Even if it is a little bizarre sometimes."

She looked up at him and smiled, then returned her gaze to the comforting warmth of her tea. "Thanks. Kinda regret it, though."

"Why's that?"

She pointed through the large window over his shoulder. "This weather. Why is it snowing when summer is just a couple weeks away?"

He looked over his shoulder, then back at her. "Oh! Welcome to Loch Alstan!"

"That's normal?"

"Ee-yup."

"...god damn mistake coming here..." she mumbled quietly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just... I had a bad night, ignore me. So, umm! What project am I working on today?"

He reached into his black leather courier bag and grabbed a blue folder, then handed it across the table. He watched in silence as she opened the folder, grabbed one of the papers inside and began to read from it. He was certain that she wasn't going to be too enthused about the assignment given to her, but held his tongue in anticipation of her response.

"Chemical analysis on microbial subjects..." Her eyebrow raised as she continued to read from the paper. "So... I'll be playing around with germs in petri dishes."

"In a way. Specifically, we're looking at a batch of potential new synthetic anti-venoms that'll hopefully be cheaper than current natural options. Should help lower the bar for new Pokémon trainers. Poison can be quite a tricky and stressful situation to deal with."

She nodded. "That's true... But isn't venom a toxin? Not a microbe? I don't get it."

"Smart! Yes, that's correct. But this new anti-venom we're testing is designed not only to attack and destroy the venom in the bloodstream, but also to rescue cells that are already under attack by the venom. Natural ones don't do that. We're starting with something simple for the tests, Weedle, Wurmple and Ekans venom. Your experiments will help to determine the effectiveness of the samples."

"Huh, expanded to the right species, such as Ariados, that could be a game changer..." She continued to read over the information on the page before cautiously starting, "Ehh... Don't take this as complaining, because it's not, but... wouldn't it make sense for me to assist Dr. Venger's team instead? If there's anyone who would know anything about that creature from the Spritewood, it would be me."

"It would, but Dr. Venger is very picky about who he works with. He does like you, but he's worried about bringing you onboard because you're so new. Don't get me wrong, your qualifications are pretty impressive for someone your age, but... his team is mostly doing high-level medical and DNA analysis right now."

"So I'd just be getting in the way."

"To put it bluntly, probably."

She sighed. "Right. Fair enough. This might be a little bit different than what I'm used to, but at least I have a bit of experience with microbiology."

"That's a plus, I did see that on your application when Dr. Reiland and I went over it." The disappointment was extremely clear on her face and he felt a little bit bad about it. "Andrea, I get it. It's not glamorous work. But it's the only ongoing project we have that you're experienced with, and the current team really could use another team member."

"It's not a problem, I understand. I probably just look more miserable than I am, that happens a lot. Last night took a lot out of me."

"That's the second time you mentioned it. You want to talk about it? We've got some time before we need to get started with our work."

She sighed as she thought it over. "No. I don't like talking about my problems, I just want to move on from them, you know? This day won't be fun if I keep thinking about them."

"That's the spirit!" He smiled. "I hope I don't sound too pushy, but... talking about problems can help. If you're up for a little chat, drop by my office at the end of the day. I may not look it, but I'm a good listener."

"I'll remember that." She finished off the last of her tea. "Right! Off too... where am I going, exactly?" She opened her folder and started to look through it again.

"Room 417-B, up in the biology wing. You'll be working with Xander Kurtzman and his team. I should warn you, he's a little bit of a prickle pear in the early mornings. Just follow his instructions and you'll be fine."

"Got it, thanks."

- - - - -​

Andrea was stood outside of Room 417-B, digging through the folder that Patrick had given her. She felt a bit lost, unsure if there was some sort of procedure she had to take care of first before getting started, but none of the documentation in the folder indicated it. Instead, she grabbed the keycard that rested in the folder and slid it into the door. With a loud click, the door unlocked.

"Right... Show time..."

She stepped inside and found a nondescript room with eight people inside, all seated around a central table. At the far end of the room were several shelves, each filled to capacity with small glass discs. On the opposite side of the room was a large and bulky incubation unit, to be used to encourage the growth of the bacteria samples she would be examining. As she made her entrance, one of the scientists inside looked up from his work and beckoned her over.

"Can I help you?"

She enthusiastically offered her hand out for a shake, which he declined. It took a moment to register in her head that he wasn't being a 'prickle pear', he was simply following protocol in a sterile environment. "I'm Andrea, the newest member of your chemical analysis team."

"Ah, yes. Dennison, I presume?" he asked.

"Mhmm!"

"Xander Kurtzman. I'm in charge of the ongoing tests for the medical lab's synthetic anti-venom test samples. Welcome."

On the other side of the table, a voice quietly said, "Oh look. It's Dr. Reiland's precious pet." The comment earned a laugh out of a couple of the other analysts.

She pushed it aside and asked, "So, how can I help?"

Xander finished applying the last of his toxin sample to the petri dish in front of him, then looked around. "Hmm, let's see... Well, we've more or less got things under control. We've got our samples lined up, we've got our dishes divided up... Now it's just a matter of finishing the application process and... waiting! Everyone's favorite part. I don't think there's really anything for you to do, honestly."

"Can I help with the application at all?"

"I think we're pretty much done with that... Looks like Stacey over there might have a few more to go through, but she can take care of it."

"Really? Patrick said you guys needed a hand."

He slipped his latex gloves off, then grabbed the folder out of her hands and started to look through it. "That sounds just like Patrick, he doesn't communicate with us very well sometimes. I tried telling him the other night that we didn't need anyone else, maybe he didn't read the e-mail in time." He handed the folder back to her. "Have a poke around, see if you can find something to do. Just don't touch anything without any gloves on, I'm not rushing you down to the infirmary. And try not to cause any trouble."

She took his advice and wandered through the room. As she did so, she wondered, "Not cause any trouble? Is my reputation around here already that bad? I haven't even been here!"

She took a seat at the desk in the corner of the room, slipped a pair of gloves on as a precaution, and had a look through the disorganized mess of papers on top of it. She started to sort through them in an effort to help the team somehow, and as she did so, she studied the contents of each sheet. Most were long lists of technical data related to the previous few days of tests, and she started to look through them more closely. Though her own knowledge and experience were for different applications of microbial analysis, she could tell that much of the data looked correct at a glance. However, several entries seemed to be obviously incorrect and each of them were listed to be the work of a man named David. She grabbed the papers in question and approached Xander.

"I didn't get introduced to anyone, which one of these is David?"

Without looking up, Xander quickly answered: "Red hair, frosted tips."

After a quick study of the people in the room, she found David and approached him.

"Yes?" he asked. The sound of his voice indicated that he was already annoyed by her presence as he concentrated on his work. His voice also told her that he was the source of the mean comment earlier.

"Uhh..." she stammered. She placed the paper on the table next to him and pointed out some of his data entries. "Are you sure this is correct? Some of these measurements don't look right..."

He nodded. "They're correct."

"You didn't even look at them."

He dropped his cotton swab and looked at her. "I don't need to. I know my measurements, and I know they're correct."

"Can you check them again?" She pointed towards one of the suspicious measurements. "Look at this one, it's way out of range compared to the other ones! This could be--"

He furrowed his brow. "And just what the hell would you know about this process? You've only been here twenty minutes, I don't need some newbie second guessing my work."

Xander looked up from his venom samples in an attempt to defuse the situation. "Dave, chill. Let's give her a chance."

"She needs to learn that she's not in charge before I'll do that."

"I'm not saying that I'm in charge," she said. "I'm just wondering why these ones are way out of the norm compared to the others, it doesn't make sense. Maybe the method he used was wrong? Or--"

"Look, lady, can you get off his back? Dave knows his stuff, and you're making it difficult for him to actually do his work effectively."

"Excuse me? I'm trying to make sure he--"

Xander grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside. "Before you get any big ideas, listen closely. You may have been Dr. Reiland's little angel for the past week, but doesn't mean you're some sorta big shot. Don't go thinking that you're better than us at this because you got a few lucky breaks in life and made that big discovery out in Nettlefield. Some of us have been doing this chemical analysis work for over two decades and we know what we're doing. Harass anyone else and I'll report your behavior to management. Do you understand?"

Despite Patrick's warnings, his aggressive demeanor took her by surprise; she crumpled like paper and spoke softly and woefully, "I just wanted to help, that's all..."

"You can help without being a pain. In fact..." He paused for a moment to think. "We could use some more sample dishes from the supply room downstairs. How about you go fetch them?"

"I can do that..."

"Take your time. They're fragile."

- - - - -​

"Okay... sample dishes... sample dishes..." she murmured while she scanned shelf upon shelf for any sign of them. "Where are they..."

She spent nearly 15 minutes systematically going through each shelf of glassware, but her search came up empty. Convinced that she must have missed them, she returned to the entrance of the storage room and consulted the list of supplies that hung from the door. A detailed breakdown of available materials, how many of each item were in stock, numbers withdrawn by personnel and times of withdrawal could be found on the list, including the sample dishes that she was looking for. However, none remained in the store room, and a hefty withdrawal listed earlier that morning had already been made by none other than Xander Kurtzman.

That's when it dawned on her: He had sent her to the supply room not to pick up more materials, but to get her out of the way.

She pressed up against the wall and let out a deep breath. "Is that it... Is that it!" she shouted. "I get that I... I might have been annoying, but..." Her voice began to crack and she started to slide down until she dropped to the floor. The strong face that she had put on over the past few days finally faded and her eyes began to glisten with moisture. As she rested her forehead in her hand, she closed her eyes; a solitary tear slid down her left cheek. She had finally reached her limit.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 31: Loch Alstan Blues Part II

Patrick was carrying a large box down the hallways of the Reiland Institute; the box was so large and unwieldy that he couldn't see where he was going, but the halls were so familiar to him that he didn't need to see to know what was in front of him. Every now and then, without missing a step, he would spin around to see if anyone else was in the hallway so that he could avoid them, and as he did so, he quietly sung some metal lyrics to himself:

"♫ In my hands, a dripping knife.
With it I ended another life.
The gods have forsaken me!
This is my sworn duty! ♫"

Balancing the bulky box on one arm, he chicken pecked away at the keypad on the storage room without even looking at it, then kicked the door open when he heard it unlock. He continued his tune.

"♫ Cities drowning in blood!
The world set aflame!
This isn't just -- ♫"

His singing stopped as he heard a peculiar sound: soft crying. "Eh?" Without a care in the world for the detailed categorization employed in the storage room, he tossed the box into a random spot and navigated through the winding rows of shelves and racks. Eventually, he found the source of the sound, crumpled up in the farthest corner: Andrea.

"Andrea? What's wrong?"

She was unresponsive. She knew that he was there, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to go away so that she could wallow in misery alone.

He grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. "Andrea. Andrea! C'mon, what's up?"

She looked up and wiped her tears away, taking a large chunk of her smudged eyeliner with them. She took a deep breath and struggled to push out, "I... I... don't wanna... wan..." Her briefly held composure crumbled and she fell apart again.

"Don't want to what?"

"Don't want... want to talk..."

He shook his head. "I saw you just half an hour ago. You seemed a little shaky, but now look at ya... You might not want to, but I think talking is in your best interest."

She buried her head in her folded up forearms that rested on her knees. She waited patiently for him to disappear, but he didn't; instead, he knelt down beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. She pushed his hand away with her shoulder, but refused to acknowledge his presence further. "Just go away, you asshole..." she thought.

"Look, whether you want to talk now or later is up to you, but... Do you still need some time to put yourself back together?"

She looked up for a brief moment and nodded, hoping it would send him away.

"C'mon, soldier, on your feet!" he said as he hooked his arms below hers and gently lifted her up. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started to lead her away. "Let's find you somewhere quiet. You won't have to worry about anyone coming in and seeing you like this. Sound good?"

She fought her way out of his grip and leaned up against the shelf beside her. "No... I just... need a few minutes. Gotta get back..."

"Okay. I don't know what's wrong, but--"

She glared at him with her irritated eyes. "A lot, but I can't let that get in the way."

"That's a good mentality to have, but you look like you're in worse shape than you're ready to admit. You can't keep carrying on like this."

She gave him the silent treatment again.

"I know I already offered it, but... Please. Drop by my office at the end of the day, I want to figure out what's going on and to see if I can help you somehow."

"That's really not--"

"That's an order," he said. "Part of my responsibility as senior staff and as a supervisor -- your supervisor -- is to make sure our employees are happy and productive. I don't know if you like to talk about your problems with people, but for your benefit, I want to at least try. If there's things we can fix, we'll fix them."

She didn't want to argue it and grumbled. "Maybe talking would help..." she conceded. She recalled the day in Doranshire that she spoke with her longtime friend, Eliza: It was a painful day, and talking about her problems like that was something she typically didn't do, but that conversation was for the best. Another one with Patrick would likely be to her benefit, too, she thought.

He smiled. "Good to hear. You fine to get back to work?"

She took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, then let it out. "I think so."

He winked. "Good. Chin up, hold your head high. Go get 'em, tiger."

- - - - -​

The rest of her day was a struggle. Much of her day was spent in passive silence in the corner of the microbiology lab, seated at the desk and sorting through the paperwork that was already there or coming in from her fellow team members. When she wasn't sifting through countless papers, she was stood by the incubation chambers meticulously noting down the time and date that each sample was placed inside. She tried to engage in innocent small talk with her fellow team members; while she made some moderate success, she couldn't escape the crushing feeling that what she talked about was inconsequential at best and downright bothersome at worst. But she made it through, and she was happy that she managed to go the rest of the day without breaking down again.

That happiness didn't last long as she reclaimed her belongings from her locker in the employee lounge. She knew that her afternoon was filled with uncertainty: nowhere to go, nothing to do and nobody to spend her time with, a feeling she hadn't experienced in nearly six months. She wasn't ready for it, and she hoped an intervention from a co-worker who would just give her a chance was in her immediate future.

As she made her way to the main entrance of the Reiland Institute, she passed by Patrick's office and remembered the order he had given her; at the end of a mentally exhausting day that made her question why she was even still alive, the last thing on her mind was talking about her problems, yet she felt an odd pull towards the door. She pushed the door open, peeked her head inside and knocked on the door frame to grab Patrick's attention.

His focus broke away from the filing cabinet that he was looking through as he turned around. A smile appeared on his face. "Andrea! You did come!"

"Surprised?" she asked. "You did tell me I had to..."

"I actually am."

"Me too... I usually find a way to wiggle out of stuff like this..."

"Lucky for you, Patrick is good at handling wiggling worms." The expression on his face shifted from friendly joy to awkward nervousness as he gauged her reaction. "Umm. That came out wrong." He motioned for the cushioned bench beside the door. "Have a seat, I'll be with you in a minute."

She sat on the bench and waited for him to finish sorting through his files. The uncomfortable sensation of painful butterflies fluttered through her stomach and chest as she prepared herself for what was likely to be a lengthy, emotional discussion about where her life currently stood and where it was heading, a discussion she truthfully didn't want to have. She felt her throat close up, her eyelids grew heavy once again and her mind wandered to dark places, but she fought against all of it. Life was about these setbacks, she told herself, and that's all they were: setbacks, not the norm.

"So," Patrick started as he closed his filing cabinet. He approached the bench and sat down beside her, then looked into her eyes. "I don't know what's bugging you, so I don't know where to start. You mind?"

She tried to answer, but couldn't; most of her effort was being spent on keeping herself together. She took a few moments to compose herself in silence, then finally spoke. "I just want to apologize."

He perked up upon hearing her voice. "Apologize? For what?"

"For being such a disappointment."

"You're not a disappointment."

"I crumpled on my first lab assignment. Not even an hour in."

He paused and awkwardly looked towards the ceiling. "Okay, I'll give you that. As a relatively new employee, that's definitely a little worrying. But..." He reached his hand over and rested it on her knee in an effort to comfort her, but before he spoke further, he took a moment to gauge her reaction.

As she felt his hand brush against her knee, a lot came to mind. Right after she was hired, Dr. Reiland warned her that Patrick was perhaps a bit too physically friendly and that he had a habit of making his female co-workers uncomfortable; while physical contact alone wasn't enough to make her uncomfortable, she also remembered a brief and awkward exchange the two had over text messages when she was on her way through the Spritewood. She remembered at the time that he thought she was flirting with him, perhaps even hinting that she was looking to start a casual sexual relationship with him. Now she wondered if he was only interested in listening to her problems so that he could be the gallant hero who then makes his advance to take advantage of that possibility.

With it in mind, she grabbed his hand and pushed it away. One voice in her head told her that his attempt to get her to talk was a trap and to stand up and walk out, while another told her that he was an honest man who was genuinely interested in her welfare and to give him a chance to continue his thought. "But?" she asked.

He offered his heartfelt assessment of her. "Andrea... I understand if working here is scary or overwhelming to you. It was overwhelming to me when I first started, too. The Reiland Institute carries with it a certain degree of prestige. Reputation. Not just anyone gets the opportunity to be here, working in this building. You understand that, right?"

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I do. I'm lucky. That's all this is, luck."

"I wouldn't go that far! A place like this can be daunting to work for, it's only natural that you'll stress yourself out thinking about it when you're the new employee. People break down when that happens, especially someone as young and as accomplished as you. There's a lot of pressure on you, weight on your shoulders. I understand."

"I don't think you do understand," she quipped. "All that is just -- I'm still a disappointment."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

She took a moment to steady her thoughts before letting out another deep breath. "It's about my time in Doranshire. I somehow convinced Dr. Reiland that I could figure out what was going on out there... but I didn't. I failed her. I failed those people. Something is seriously wrong out there, but I couldn't figure out what, and I couldn't fix it. People are in danger and I left with my tail between my legs, I let everyone down."

A friendly smile appeared on his face again. "Is that what this is about?"

"Partly..."

"Well, I can't speak entirely for Dr. Reiland, but when we were going over your performance out there yesterday, she generally had positive things to say. You went down there with the goal of finding something... 'normal' being wrong in town. You didn't find any of that, but according to your reports, you found something paranormal instead."

"Unbelievable, you mean."

"I'll reserve judgement. The point is, you stepped out of your comfort zone and documented this alleged paranormal activity. You came back with some interesting theories, mountains of data and physical samples that actually helped prove your claims, as bizarre as they sounded at first. You shaped our understanding of what's going on down there. Dr. Reiland is both surprised and impressed by what you achieved considering your lack of experience."

Though it was good news, she couldn't help but grumble at the idea that she actually did something useful. "I guess that's good to hear."

"Furthermore, you didn't fail anyone. Even if you didn't figure out what the hell is going on down there, a lot of eyes are on Doranshire right now. Police, news reporters, private investigators, thrill seekers, ghost hunters... Hell, there's even rumors that the royal family sent someone out to poke around. One of them is bound to figure it out. The police say there's a trafficking ring that's preying on people down there, but with so many people flocking to the village to figure out what's going on, the villagers should be safe."

Images of the witch in the woods flashed in her mind; the drooping face, her sparking fingers and the ghoulish, ethereal voice. She couldn't help but feel that her surprise rush attack against the strange woman was a lucky break, and that anyone else who found themselves in the same situation might not be as fortunate as she was. "I don't know about that, but... You're probably right."

"Now, speaking personally, I don't see a disappointment in front of me. I see someone who isn't confident in herself or in her work. I was by your side in Nettlefield, and while you were a little rough around the edges, you did a great job there. I gave you the reins and you handled them well. I was planning on being out there for a few days, but you brought that down to just a single day, and when push came to shove, you saved my sorry ass from my own stupid decisions. Now ask yourself, how could I be disappointed in that?"

Patrick's praise was good to hear, but it didn't solve her problems. "I probably wouldn't be disappointed if I were in your shoes..."

"And, leaving with your tail between your legs? Nonsense. You were nearly kidnapped, Andrea. God knows what those monsters would have done to you if they were successful. It's okay to call it quits after something like that."

"I guess... Still feel a little bit bad, though..."

He smiled. "On the bright side, your breathing has steadied. Does that mean you're feeling any better?"

"Barely. It's a breathing exercise I picked up a few days ago that's doing that... Anyways, it's good to know that you and Dr. Reiland aren't disappointed with me, I guess, but..."

"But?"

She hesitated to explain further as it would involve throwing her new co-workers under the bus, but she wanted a second opinion on the situation regardless. "Let me start by saying that I'm not complaining about my assignment--"

He laughed. "You already said that this morning, I didn't forget."

"It's Xander and his team that got to me. I went in there and they had nothing for me to do... so I started going through their notes and test results from the past few days. I saw what I thought was a mistake, so I brought it up... and they bit my fucking head off! Told me that I needed to learn my place, and that I wasn't anything special, just Dr. Reiland's prized pet."

Patrick was taken by surprise with what she said and he leaned backward with a raised eyebrow. "Xander? That doesn't sound like him... I mean, he's a little prickly, but he's not an asshole."

"He was good, honestly... kinda... maybe -- fuck it, I don't know. He tried giving me a chance when I first got there, but I blew it pretty quick. So he sent me to get some more materials from the store room... but then I realized that he just wanted me out of his hair."

"Huh... I'm going to have a word with him."

"No, don't, please. You'll just make things worse."

"Worse?"

"I'm having a hard time fitting in as it is, it's not going to get any easier if I get them in trouble over it."

He shrugged. "I disagree, but if you want some time to sort it out on your own, that's fine. If they're still giving you trouble after a few days, let me know. I will sort it out. That kind of behavior doesn't fly around here. Anyways, when you got back to work, how'd the rest of your day go?"

She sighed. "Slowly. Quietly, miserably. I didn't speak unless spoken to. I took orders, even ones that felt like bullshit. I wanted to mend bridges, but... I couldn't. I was just so worn down from being around people who already hate me."

"Oh come on, they don't hate--"

"They do! Everyone here hates me... Everyone but you and Dr. Reiland, I mean... and that Winehaus girl, I guess... That's another thing, I had the same problems yesterday with Dr. Venger's field team after I joined them."

"What, with not fitting in?"

"Yeah... After I showed them where to find the monster that attacked me, it was like I wasn't there anymore. I was no longer useful to them, so they kinda just tuned me out. They didn't want to hang out with me when we got back to Aughrim, they pushed me out of the group when we caught the train back to Loch Alstan and then they took off last night without even asking if I wanted to join them..."

"Is that what you meant when you said 'last night took a lot out of you'?"

She shook her head. "No, that was something else..." She couldn't help but laugh. "I sure do have a lot of issues, don't I..."

Her laughter encouraged him to try breaking the tension with a joke. "Enough to fill a news stand..."

She wanted to be angry about it, but his joke legitimately tickled her and she laughed again. "Ugh, shut up..." she said playfully.

"Want to talk about that, too?"

"It's a personal thing," she quietly said. She paused for a moment as she thought it over. She was cautious about discussing the situation about her ex-fiancé with him, as she was still concerned about the rumors regarding Patrick's reputation. If he really was a skirt-chaser, as she had been warned about, he could view her as an easy target if he knew that she was single and lonely, especially since it appeared as if he assumed that she was flirting with and coming onto him over the past week. Though she felt as if the situation about her ex-fiancé was the likely root of all her melancholy, she felt that talking about it with him was too risky. "And... I don't feel comfortable talking about it. I hope you understand."

"That's fine. Maybe someday!"

"Uhh... doubtful..."

"Now, this is just an observation, not a criticism--"

"Yeah, that's a nice way of dressing it up." she thought.

"-- but I think I'm starting to see why you are the way you are. Believe the things you believe. I can already tell, friendship and what others think about you is the most important thing in your life, and that need isn't being met."

She paused. The fact had crossed her mind numerous times in the past, especially recently, but she never wanted to admit the simple fact that she had always been a starving affection seeker. From childhood to her days at the University of Aughrim, the opinions of those around her were one of the most important things to her, and she felt that outside of a few specific people, she was rarely ever held in high regard by anyone. To hear someone else finally say it was the key that made it much easier to accept. "I guess I should just try to be happy with the friends I have, right?"

"You don't have to settle for just that, but don't forget the people who are important to you now. If I may ask, how many people would you consider a friend right now?"

She thought about it. Kimberly instantly came to mind, as did Webster. Eliza also came to mind, and as much as she hesitated to admit it at that point, she added Patrick himself to that list as well. "Not counting family, who have to put up with my shit?"

"If you'd like."

"Four."

"Is that close friends? Or just friends in general?"

"Friends in general. Two of them I'd consider close friends."

"Tell me a little bit about them," he said with a smile.

She hesitated for a moment, but his smile was indeed encouraging. "Uhh... Well, there's Webster, the guy I lived with for the past five and a half months. I'm not sure where things are going with him, him and I just -- well, we talked the other day about me taking this job, and how it would require me to move out here... I'm happy to, but... I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again, you know? It's hard to just lose a friend like that."

"You didn't lose him. You can still keep in touch with him, ya know. Phone calls, e-mails, video chats, you name it."

"Yeah, but it doesn't really compare to being able to see him in person. Especially since I owe him so much. After I lost my--" She stopped herself, almost spilling the beans about her situation with her ex-fiancé. "After I dropped out of university, he sacrificed so much to put me back together. His time, his energy, his savings, his sanity... He managed to sober me up, get my confidence back and show me that life is still worth living even after you lost everything... He's such a sweet guy and I really can't thank him enough for everything he's done. I tried yesterday when I said my good byes to him, but I blew it."

"Lost everything?" he asked.

"That's a long story. One I don't really want to talk about, if I'm honest."

"Is this that personal thing?"

She nodded.

"You don't have to, then." He smiled. "Anyways, sounds like a guy like your friend isn't going to just fade out of your life. This might be a strange way of thinking about it, but you're an investment to him."

It was indeed a strange way of thinking and she couldn't figure out the meaning of his words. "I don't understand?"

"You said that he put you back together and showed you that life is worth living. That tells me that you were at rock bottom at one point, and he was the one who picked you up off of the ground. It sounds like a lot of effort went into turning you around. Do you think he'll just let that effort slip away?"

"I do, honestly. I don't think he's interested in me in that way, so--"

"No, no, I don't mean it like that. I'm being presumptuous here since I don't know him or the circumstances, but... Maybe you're not an investment to him as a woman, but an investment to him as another human being. Someone he doesn't have to worry about scaring away by making a mistaken advance. No pressure, no lofty expectations, no bitterness that things didn't work out that way. If that makes any sense."

She nodded.

"Just keep in touch with him. You won't get to see him much, but you'll be able to count on his friendship when you need it. Likewise, he'll be able to count on yours, too."

She continued nodding. "Right. I guess that's really all I can do."

"What about your other close friend?"

"Hmm..." she mumbled. "The other friend I've got is that girl I met while on my way to Doranshire, Kimberly. I kinda didn't like her at first, but holy shit, she turned out to be one of the best friends I could ever hope to have!"

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"She's just... the best, you know? She's friendly. Happy. Full of life and wonder. She appreciates everything around her: people, places, the daily routine of life... It was kind of sickening at first, but the more I hung out with her, the more I realized how down and defeated everyone else is."

He agreed. "Yeah... in general, people are rude assholes, aren't they?"

"They are. They're so absorbed in their own lives and their own problems that they don't even think about a friendly hello or anything like that. I was surrounded by those people when I lived in Aughrim, and I guess it really set the tone for how I live... But she did a good job of changing that in me. I started to enjoy things alongside her. I was happy for the first time in months because her own bubbly nature rubbed off on me. I need someone like her in my life to keep pushing me along so that I'm looking at the future and the present, not stuck focusing on my past. I just feel so bad..."

"Why is that?"

"I treated her like shit! I was rude, I was dismissive, I tried to exclude her from my work where I could... the same problems I'm dealing with now. But she stuck with me. She fought back and told me what was wrong, but... she god damn stuck by my side. A friend like that is invaluable... But like Webster, I don't know if I'll get to see her again. I guess, just like him, the best I can do is keep in touch with her."

He smiled. "Now you're getting it!"

"Like I said, it just won't beat physical contact. And now that I think about how those two treated me like a princess... it sucks that I don't have anyone like that anymore when I need it the most."

"You will, with time!"

"Yeah..."

"Is there anything else on your mind?" he asked.

She rolled her lace bracer back and glanced at the time on her R-Kit. The two had been talking for nearly an hour, and she felt bad for taking his time up with her petty problems. "A couple things, I guess, but I understand if you've got things to do."

He shook his head. "Nope! My afternoon is all free!"

"No, that's okay. I'm starting to feel a little bit better and if I bring those up, I'm just going to kill my mood again."

"That's good to hear!"

She pushed herself off of the comforting embrace of the bench and stretched. "Thanks for listening."

"Any time, that's what friends are for. I may not be a therapist and I don't have the answers for you, but sometimes someone who just listens is the first step towards solving your problems."

"For once I'll agree with you." She approached the door and rested her hand on the door knob. "Well... I'm gonna go figure out what to do with my evening."

"Take care."