#also HELLO MEGA CRAMPS

[katriniac]

Woke up horny af for Comte. Then discovered my cycle had started.

🙄😒

Me: *sleeping*

Uterus: *Mariah Carey screech* It's tiiiiii-iiiiime!!!! *cackles*

Brain: *dreaming of sexy times with a vampire*

Me, waking up: Ooh, I finally remembered a dream AND it was hot? Nice!

Me: *gets out of bed, realizes it's my period* Fuck. Is it too much to ask to have horny moments without them being engineered by my menstrual cycle hormone wackiness?

I feel so tricked by my body. Truly duped by hormones. Ugh.

[mushroom-for-art]

Height tracking lore stuff

Axel - 9'6"~ - due to his unstable genetics from having human genes forcefully spliced into his mew genes a lot of his genetic formation information got screwed resulting in his current mewtwo appearance for one taller humanoid-ish and such unfortunately in the mess of his genes trying to stabilise from the new information and damages the gene for growth in all areas height bone growth muscle growth ect got left on, and by the time Axel even remembered/figured out how to manipulate his own genetic coding to turn those genes off and stabilise himself he was already massively tall and he absolutely hates it. He wishes he was 6 foot odd, the tall hurts both in memory of his past self and also oh god being this tall is suffering, especially when you've got metal armor screwed into your bones causing probably bone fractures and splintering as you grow and the metal fixings don't. Having a horrible time, he's gonna maim me just stupid big mewtwo who wishes he wasn't stupid big

Prototype - 8'8" - it's just a nice number to me fam lmao and also with the slight damages to his dna from being a clone of axel he loses some height and his genes were probably fixed during development to cap his height before he entered the suffering giant height range

Scribe - 7' - due to the Smeargle genes his height got cut otherwise he would've been a similar height to his brother, he is very embarrassed and angry that he's shorter than some of the later generation mewtwo

Dusty - 8' - as an adult he's only a few inches of his papa! Prototype would be so proud of him, not many clever thoughts here just liked him being the same height as Imp

May - 5'4" - #sorry, no height for u it's too iconic your short ass is too iconic May and canonically you are literally stunted because of the tainted with synergy mega stone implanted in development you're physically and power wise stunted I'm afraid assigned runt of genetic litter

Darkness - 7'6" - height restored, this girl has been hassling me for AGES for extra height when she realised 6'9" is probably not actually that big for a mewtwo, like way back since March I think? She realised she was not the big mean bitch she thought she was and she wasn't having it XD so she finally successfully bullied me into giving her extra height and she's quite happy knowing even with Mays souped up Mega evo that adds 2 foot she's still taller than her sister normally

Matt: 6'2" - he came into my office and also bullied me into giving him height, pointing out rightfully that Mays stunted height isn't genetic but was purely environmental soooo he still has the potential to be tol and also lore wise he wasn't immediately terminated for his missing limbs as he was going to be spare parts but if he was only 5'9" his organs would probably be smaller than a normal twos and this kinda shitty spares so he gets height and it also provided him with gender euphoria but in exchange he is losing a kidney reduced to one slightly bigger than average one and losing some eyesight benefits because nope you need more issues from genetic degregation and hes losing his implanted mega stone he's getting a mega stone accessory later in exchange. He tries to get pushed to 6'4" but after being told I'd make him only 6' he shut up

Imp: 8' - big girl!!!! When she first comes out she's fully developed mentally and her body is fully developed organs reproductive system ect but she was intentionally kept in a more cramped tube and kept on strict nutrition which means when she first emerged she was only about 6'3 still rather big but kept smaller easy to handle than say Prototype or Scribe, after she escaping and getting to eat as much as she wanted and not being hungry and having actual space to exist her more prominent fossil mew genes went 'hello!!' and her growing hormones reactivated to let her become her full potential in height and body so she's probably a bit stockier as well that her first image having gained them muscles too

AI: 7'5" - unlike her parents AI is intentionally given access to foods to grow big and strong as an adult (as a teen she's likely about 6'7") with the intent of having her body incubate larger stronger mewtwo offspring that could be transferred to growing tanks or raised, the theory being bigger body bigger womb and growing space and while technically true with Imp having the size and capability to potentially produce a large egg (due to having more other pokemon genes) and MIA likely able to produce a large baby if she desired one AI will obviously be removed from there before they can use her

MIA: 7'9" - being out on the battle fields a lot MIA had room to keep growing and would scavenge food whenever she could devouring down berries and even other pokemon meaning she grew much like her mother had despite the facility trying to restrict her. Also MIA may have been made using Axels dna as well as Imps explaining the coloration change from creams to more purples and the persistence of tall genetics despite them being restricted, this also potentially explains the then jump from purples and pinks to Blue with AI as Axel is a holder of blue gene tho this is usually as a stripe something in Imp/MIAs genes likely had blue stripe gene turned on all the way making it blue fill, this makes MIA Axels daughter as well as Imps.

Important note: Imp and Axel share no genetic relation from their mew donors or human gene donors, though later they may refer to each other as Cousins which will then become siblings as Imp longs for familial connection with anyone like her and Axel can see she needs that and isn't gonna be a "well actually," jerk to her about it. He sees no harm in saying they're family even if by all means they're not. When they find out about MIAs existence and shared genetic relation to them both neither of them see it as weird cause they know there's no relation, despite the hatred of his kin Axel is probably a bit more open to acting as father with MIA (until he realises she doesn't want that in which cause he quickly steps off). So don't be weird about it alright

[oddestoddish]

Hello, I'm new to the blog and I just had my first two Pokémons, a Cinderace and a Lucario, any tips to take care of them? And one question, can I teach them to speak like a person? I mean if Pokémon are smart enough to understand what humans are saying they should learn how to speak the human language right?

Hello there! Let's see if I can give some advice, yeah?

Let's start with Cinderace. My friend Hop has one, so I've plenty of experience there!

Cinderace are very energetic, and hate feeling cramped. Giving them plenty of time outside of the pokeball is a must, as well as providing them with plenty of space to run and play. Speaking of playing, while providing Cinderace with a ball they can kick around outside of battle is a great start, it's also important to provide toys for your 'mon to chew on. Cinderace's teeth never stop growing! As such, it's important to give them a way to keep them healthy and from getting overgrown. Providing them with toys they can chew on is also much more preferable-- and much much safer! --than risking them gnawing on furniture, or even electrical cords.

It's important to maintain your Cinderace's coat of fur-- daily brushing is a must to prevent matting. Lastly, Cinderace are a line of 'mon that is crepuscular! This means that they are most active at dawn and dusk. This doesn't mean that they can't be awake during the day of course-- what this means is that they will take regular naps both during the day and in the middle of the night. While it's not possible to train them to be dinural, you can set up toys and such in case they wake up in the middle of the night.

Moving on to Lucario, this 'mon can be a bit trickier.

Lucario have the ability to see and control aura, on a much larger scale than other 'mons. I have only recently learned about aura, but I'll share what I've been told: This ability allows them to read another creature's thoughts and emotions, however if they don't have good control over this, it can lead to high amounts of stress-- be it from overstimulation, or from learning something they never wanted to know. Training with aura is essential, and there are specialists that can provide aid with this.

Aside from this, Lucario are pack Pokémon. They can get lonely easily, so attention is important for this 'mon. Even if they may pretend to be aloof to the need, heh. Some Lucario can have long fur, which should be brushed daily to prevent matting. Lucario are carnivores, which is important to keep in mind in terms of diet.

I've heard that Lucario can mega-evolve, but... I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the concept of mega-evolution.

Now in terms of teaching a 'mon to speak, I. Am afraid I have no experience in this. I have heard tales of Pokémon that learn to speak human languages, most commonly through telepathic abilities, but otherwise the only 'cases' I've personally experienced are 'mons that have been trained to communicate with their trainer through audio buttons.

All I can really say is that Pokémon really seem to have their own language-- and it appears to vary from species to species. It takes much time and patience to understand one another truly.

-- Odd

[banzaitaka]

hello thank you so much for writing for male readers! could you perhaps write about hcs for Chongyun comforting trans! male! s/o that's dealing with y'know that time of the month? s/o is feeling mega dysphoria because periods are seen as a woman thing.

p.s: periods suck and i hate it

---

Heyho fellow trans man

I hope this is what you wanted & you enjoy reading!

Chongyun x male! trans! reader

Genshin Impact Masterlist

HC: Caring for his trans bf who is on his period

He is very nervous the first few times

After a while he knows what to do, but is still a bit unsure

He kinda wishes he'd know what you are going through so he could understand better

Probably thought you were possed by some ghost the first time or sth lol

"(Y/N), hold still! I will free you from this spirit's grasp!"

"I wonder why it isn't scared of my yang energy..."

Will give you a popsticle to cool you down

Has a checklist with all the things you need during those times

Doesn't like it when you want to stand up when you have cramps

When you do stand up, he walks beside you, ready to help in case something happens

You still wonder what exactly could happen while you walk to the bathroom

When you request him to do something that has to do with physical contact, (such as: hold you, rub your back, give you kisses) he'll do it. He is a bit shy & scared to accidentally bring you more discomfort tho

But when you request him to do something without physical contact, (such as: bring you sth to eat/drink, get some kind of heat pad) he'll do it without much hesitation. Might ask why you need it/what use it has when it isn't self-explanatory

"And...,if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is this for?"

Now we come to the real pain

Dysphoria

Chongyun has been around a few times when you experienced dysphoria and he absolutely hated seeing you like this

He might make the situation a bit awkward sometimes, depends on how you react

Might say sth like:

"Hey, they say you are a manly warrior when you don't scream when you got blood on your hands, right?"

Is relieved when you laugh/smile, wants to sink into the earth when you don't respnd/stare at him

He tried

Doesn't know what it means to be trans, but he really tries to imagine what it would be like so he can understand you better and figure out what he could do to make you feel more comfortable

Chongyun isn't really good at comforting ppl in general

Probably asks around for advice

If his attempts of comforting don't help, he ends up trying to distract you with memories you two share, stories about spirit hunting or rumors he heard (mostly from Xingqiu)

A thing he also does is calling you by a lot of different nicknames:

Love, lovely, sweets, handsome, prince, honey, hun, ...

He tries calling you dear, sunshine, baby, babe and a few other things too, but it felt kinda awkward to him

Chongyun gets a 10/10 for helping you out with the thing

A 6.5/10 for makin that dysporia go away

And a 100/10 for effort

So overall:

I recommend him

[goblincas]

Entry Level Angel | Ch 3

On AO3

Saturday, October 10th:

Charlie tapped Cas's shoulder, urging him forward as another breeze stroked past his skin— his still very desensitized skin. He swallowed, unmoving, eyes drilling into the scene ahead. After waiting another moment, Charlie flicked Cas in the bicep. He flinched out of sheer habit.

“Y’know, this is super important,” Charlie reminded him, using her fingertips to soothe the site of assault. “Like, for your own well-being. Hell, for your life, even. Not to be melodramatic or anything, but it’s not like we have any clue of the severity we’re facing, here.”

She was right, of course— Cas needed help, and he needed it more and more desperately, each passing day. He had almost certainly been cursed. Although, that was right about where the reasonable conclusions slipped off into the abyss, never to be heard from again.

However, if Charlie’s plan was to succeed, Cas was going to have to take some initiative, first. There was nothing productive about standing in place, waiting for the asphalt to swallow both his body and his oh-so stubborn will to live.

Christ, how did Charlie convince herself that she was the “melodramatic” one?

The brick wall ahead was tinged by an earthy green plaster, offsetting the tubular neon lights spelling out “Magical Books ‘n’ Goods” across an otherwise cramped windowpane. Damp autumn leaves clung to the chipping windowsill and the base of an oval-capped doorway. Cas could hardly see inside the low-lit shop, aside from the unassuming profile of a retail bookshelf.

Sure, it wasn’t an especially threatening setup, but he wasn’t exactly coming at the situation from the calmest headspace. Thus, there was an almost menacing ambiance filtering through the shop’s walls, clamoring in Cas’s direction. It wasn’t his fault that he’d been rendered motionless by fear, much like a toddler off to their first day of preschool. Nope, no need for personal responsibility or self-initiative, here. Not today.

Again, Charlie nudged him, although with more pressure than earlier. “Dude, I’m serious. I just know that if anyone’s gonna be able to give us a clue, here, it’s gonna be her. Listen; I get the nerves, okay? And, like, I don’t even expect them to go away when you guys meet. She’s great, but she’s still an acquired taste… if it’s not totally insensitive to say that about another person. But this is important, Cas. I care about you too much to be lax, right now. Got it?”

Cas huffed, blinking slowly. Processing. “What a beautiful speech,” he quipped, continuing to gather his thoughts. Charlie flicked him again, this time on his shoulder. “Fine, okay, I understand. I do. I’m going in.”

Eyes lighting up against the muted autumn backdrop, Charlie thrust a celebratory fist into the air. “Great! Let’s get going, then.”

⁂

The inside of the witches’ specialty shop wasn’t too much unlike a run-of-the-mill small town bookstore, down to the effortless quirks of its layout. Mismatched shelves lined much of the back wall, creating a rich smattering of varying hues and grain around the secondhand spines. The air smelt faintly of chemical cinnamon, hardly able to overcome the musk of the place. Still, the witchy touches were anything but hidden; a line of tables ran down the center of the shop, covered in plastic-wrapped bundles of herbs, jars of unidentifiable glowing substances, and trendy rose gold altars. Wait, was that… an eyeball?

For his own sanity, Cas decided not to overthink it.

Before Cas had the opportunity to turn to Charlie for guidance, a voice jetted through the air, originating from god-knows-where. “Ah, hello there, dearie! Charlie, welcome back! And who is this you’ve brought along with you?” The thick, unmistakably Scottish sing-song seemed to reverberate out of the air, itself. Although hazy at the start, the sound was quick to crispen up.

Shifty eyed, Cas began to peer around the shop, only slightly disturbed by the disembodied words. Truly, it wasn’t as if he’d been expecting a day-to-day, streamlined retail experience. This was about in line with his expectations, so, whatever.

Charlie, bless her, managed to respond with near perfect nonchalance; this calmed Cas, yet somehow, also put him just a bit more on-edge. Well, then. “Hey, Ro! Where are you at? The back? I kinda, really need your help with something. Or, at least, my friend here sure does. Oh, Cas, introduce yourself!”

Cas side-eyed his friend, chewing his lip before replying slowly, seemingly to no one in particular, “Hi, I’m Cas. Um. Nice to meet… you? Yeah, sorry, who am I speaking to?” He was a human, for heaven’s sake; he wasn’t used to this, as expected as it might have been. Witches were certainly avant-garde, Cas could give them that.

Seconds later, a door was pushed open toward the back of the shop; it was encased on both sides by thinner, darker shelves, lined with stones and miscellaneous shiny and slimy tchotchkes. Cas swallowed, taking in the emerging figure.

The woman was surprisingly petite, yet carried herself as if she could crush Cas beneath her pinkie finger, alone. Red hair styled in fat curls poured over the shoulders of her simple black gown. Her eyes seemed to be faintly glowing, and Cas wasn’t certain he was comfortable with that fact, all things considered.

Nonetheless, Charlie was beaming in an instant, giving a short yet enthused wave of her hand. “Hey again, Ro. I know you’re probably busy, and I seriously don’t wanna waste any more of your time than I have to, so I’ll get right down to it. Oh, first— Cas, this is Rowena MacLeod, the spell-casting and lore dictionary, herself.”

Rowena let out a low giggle, the gleam in her emerald eyes only intensifying. Honestly, Cas was convinced that that “gleam” was more than simply a trick of the light.

“Yes, of course! Well, it’s very good to meet you, Cas, dearie,” Rowena said, her voice flowing over Cas like compound butter.

Cas gave a curt nod, unsure if he was meant to lead the conversation from there, but praying that he wasn’t.

To his luck, Charlie continued, “Like I said, I’ll get right down to… it. ‘Cause it’s kinda a lot. Unfortunately,” she said, planting her hands on her hips and entering an inadvertent power pose. “Cas here, just like the unlucky bastard that he is, managed to go and get himself mega cursed. And we have, like, no clue what’s goin’ on. So, first off, we’re gonna need a diagnosis, if you can give us one.”

Pursing her red-painted lips, Rowena hummed, squinting in Cas's direction. Cas fidgeted as the witch glided across the room, the floor creaking and whining beneath her leather heels. Moving in Cas's direction, she continued to scope the young man out.

“Hm? Ach, so… Cas, darling. Mind to expand in place of your friend? This is your tragic curse, after all. I’m sure your first-hand assessment will be more useful to me, here.”

Strangely enough, Cas wanted to contend. While Charlie hadn’t been the one experiencing the bizarro symptoms that past week, she was the witch. This was her specialty, her very domain as their backdrop.

Still, with trepidation, he replied. “It’s not anything bad, necessarily. At least, not painful. Just… very strange.” He sighed. Rowena leaned forward, tipping the weight of her body in Cas's direction. “I spilled hot coffee on myself and wasn’t burnt. No pain, either. I can’t sleep. I haven’t tasted food in a week. Oh, I haven’t slept in a week, either, so I definitely should mention that. Also, once, not too long after this all started, my entire abdomen glowed blue, before I was knocked unconscious for… a few hours, I believe?”

Cas held his breath, anticipating the sharp-eyed witch’s professional assessment. She continued to squint upward, claw-like hands finding their way to her hips.

“Well,” she hummed, after a moment of thought. “That’s certainly… concerning, to put things all too simply. Ah, and— you’re a human, correct?”

“Yeah, I am.” Although, frankly, Cas wasn’t so sure anymore. He certainly didn’t feel like a human, at that point. Surely, a “human” would have dropped dead of exhaustion by then, right?

(Although, it was more likely that Dean was going to be the one to kill him for neglecting his health and safety, if he ever found out. Assuming the curse didn’t get creative and take care of that first, of course.)

Rowena gave a delicate nod, loose curls bobbing with the movement. She straightened herself, leaning just slightly away, and Cas felt the concrete seeping from his own limbs. Wait, when had he gotten so tense?

“I see, I see. Hm…” She clucked her tongue, momentarily turning her gaze toward the tiled ceiling. “You are certainly correct, Charlie, dear. This isn’t a common ailment… how fascinating. That is certainly an unusual combination of, what sounds like, quite powerful and life-altering symptoms. Ach, well…” She trailed off, before reaching out a slender hand and attaching it to Cas's forearm. He lurched, but made sure not to pull away. As much as he loathed people touching him without a lick of permission, he reasoned that it was a sacrifice he’d apparently have to make.

God, he felt like a fucking lab rat, though. A genetic freak of a rodent, caged off from the rest of its whiskered brethren.

“I… have a bit of an inkling, certainly,” Rowena said, nails digging deeper into the flesh of Cas’s arm. She gazed directly into his eyes. “Infernal magic of some sort or another seems likely. Demonic in nature, maybe? Of course, draconic spellwork is still very much a consideration.”

Charlie drew in a breath between her teeth, reaching out from beside Cas and laying a hand on his shoulder. “Woah… not good. Why do you think that?”

To Cas's hardly containable irritation, Rowena let out another giggle, sleek as ever. “Well, you see, dearie, it’s really just a simple process of elimination. The more uncommon the spell or the curse, the more likely it’s outsourced from fringe magic. It’s as simple as that, really.” She drew back her hand, joining her palms together atop her heart. “Of course, we’ll have to do some further investigation to understand what, exactly, is the matter. Now, think of it like a fun little puzzle— in that light, your predicament will feel far less harrowing. Hm?”

As Rowena spoke and Charlie shifted her hand to clutch at the meat of Cas’s bicep, the front door to the shop was nudged open. Cas peaked over his shoulder, watching a golden-haired stranger hop on in— and promptly drift toward the corner shelves. There was no hesitation to his movements, his gait full of pep and bordering on enthusiastic. Still, he didn’t reach out to fiddle with any of the items; he simply stood in place, arms crossed over his chest, facing away from Rowena and company.

“Follow me to the back, now,” Rowena sung, re-seizing Cas's attention. “I’ll dash back out if I’m needed, but for now, privacy would be best.”

Charlie nodded. “Totally, I agree. Cas, you okay with heading back? Do you want me to come with? I can, if you want. Or not. Whatever you need, man.”

Throwing a final glance toward the apparent non-customer, Cas turned to Charlie, eyes pleading. Please. Please don’t leave me alone with her.

Thankfully, his friend got the message. Blessed be

[grandtheftstarship]

Painted Roses (Barista!Jim Kirk x Artist!Fem!Reader) [Request!]

“So, Jim is a barista in a coffe shop /he could be the owner too, but it's not that important / and the reader always goes there but she never drinks coffee just hot chocolate or sometimes tea. She's an artist and she always goes there and sits there for hours just drawing people in her sketchbook. Sometimes she's all covered in paint. /continuing/... And she somehow caught Jims attention and one time she forgets about time and sits there all day, Jim brings her refills time to time maybe some desserts to eat because she kinda forgots... Until Jim tells them that it's closing time, but they start a conversation an they sit there for a litte while longer... ||Sorry for the long ask, if you don't want to do it, it's fine, still love ya! 💕 Have a nice day ❤️” - @rh-girlonfire

I love this request SOOOOOOOOOO much!!! Mainly because I like to think of myself of an artist :) I can never get enough of coffee shop AUs! Please enjoy :) Love you too ❤︎

Also THANK YOU ALL FOR FOLLOWING ME!!! I just reached 100 and even though it’s a small milestone it still means a lot to me :) Thank you all for supporting me and what I love to do! Love you all ❤︎

P.S- I just wanted to let you all know that I see it when you guys comment and reblog! I just can’t respond because this is a secondary blog, so it won’t come up as me :( Just know that I see you, and I appreciate you!!! Every time someone comments or reblogs it makes me so happy :) Did I mention that I love y’all?

Word Count: 2157 Warnings: mega fluff, I’m pretty sure this is my favorite thing I’ve ever written ever, swearing, keep a lookout for the Office reference ;)

Take a shot every time I use the word sometimes lol

You didn’t know when you first started coming to the quaint little coffee shop on the corner of your block, and you didn’t know when you started making a habit out of it. Once or twice a month turned into several times a week, and then suddenly you were there for several hours a day to work on your projects. You found the atmosphere warm and inviting, as opposed to your cramped apartment down the street that you could barely afford.

 Yes, you were a starving artist. But that didn’t make your art any less meaningful. Ever since the first day you had been coming, you had your table. It was the smaller booth in the corner by one of the large windows overlooking the park and the busy street. It was also dotted with paint marks, but the owner didn’t seem to mind. 

It was the barista, though, that caught your eye. Every single day, he was there ready with one of your usuals. You never drank coffee, it was usually tea or hot chocolate. He usually chose for you, but you didn’t mind. Whatever he made tasted delicious. You always ordered ‘for here’, enjoying the cute, white mugs with the pretty art he made with the cream in your hot chocolate or with the honey in your tea. It was different every day, sometimes a flower, or a cute face, and one time he made an elaborate heart with swirls and sprinkles which made you blush as you thanked him. 

On days you were really working hard, you were there from opening to closing now and again, he would bring you refills and sometimes small deserts. You would pull your headphones back and thank him, smiling as he would rub the back of his neck, bashful. You thought it was cute.

In fact, you thought he was cute all the time. On days you weren’t really working on big pieces you would just pull out your sketchbook and draw the people around you, but mainly it was him, dressed in his black apron and a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. You would draw him from various angles; walking with the serving platters filling both his hands, smiling at a customer, washing things in the sink: rough sketches of him filled many pages in your book. 

Other days, you would decide to paint outside in the park in the morning to get practice with realistic nature, get covered in paint, and then head over to the coffee shop for your afternoon drink. It was on these days that you felt the most insecure since you were in your painting overalls and your old vintage Queen T-shirt underneath and you were covered in various colors and stages of dried paint. There was even paint in your hair or on your face sometimes, and the barista (who, after you finally took notice of his nametag, was named Jim) would kindly point it out to you. You would get red in the face and frantically try to wipe it off, getting more paint on your already paint-splattered hands; it was all just a mess. 

Today was not one of those days, though; today you were working in your sketchbook, doodling and working on drawing people. You came in early, some twenty minutes after they had opened. Jim was there as you walked in, beaming as you walked up to the counter. 

“Hey,” he greeted, pushing a mug full of steaming cocoa up to you. 

You peeled your headphones back to rest on your neck as you pulled out some wrinkled dollar bills. You frowned. You didn’t realize how low you had been getting on money and you knew exactly where it had all been going. Nevertheless, you put a smile on your face and slid the money across the counter to him. 

“Hey,” you returned the hello, lifting the mug from the counter. “What’s my drink of the day today?”

“Well, we just got some new teas in so I thought I fix one up for you,” he replied. “This one is Chamomile Citrus, with three swirls of honey just how you like it.”

You smiled, pink dusting your cheeks. “Thanks, Jim.”

Your blush deepened as his face reddened up at the sound of his name coming from your lips. It was the first time you had ever called him by name, and you felt like he liked it. He did. 

You moved away before he could say anything else, heading over to your table and settling in. You pulled your headphones on and unpacked your backpack, flipping your sketchbook open to the next blank page and getting started. 

                                                    _______________

Jim didn’t know when he first started noticing her. Maybe it was when she first started coming in with paint splattered all over her overalls, maybe it was when he first saw her set out her paints. He didn’t really care, all that mattered was that he noticed her now. 

He had never been so captivated by someone like he was by her, his typical pulled-together demeanor was thrown out the window when she entered the shop and when she smiled all of his insides turned to mush. He didn’t even know her name. 

So, in order to capture her attention, he started writing down her orders for future reference, such as how much whipped cream she liked on her hot cocoa, or how much honey she preferred in her tea. There was one thing he knew for sure; no coffee. 

He figured out that she was pretty lenient when it came to her orders, so he started making them ahead of time. He knew that she would be in almost every day, so he made them when he had a free minute. He even started practicing latte art on other customers’ orders to try and impress her. He felt like she enjoyed it. She did.  

He would never forget the time the flower he meant to do on her hot chocolate one time morphed into a heart that actually looked pretty good so he decided to just go for it. Her face was exactly what he wanted, her cute cheeks turning a soft pink and her thank you coming out a bit quieter. 

He couldn’t deny the fact that he was attracted to her. He had been with plenty of girls, but it was different this time. His palms would get sweaty when he saw her come in and butterflies would spring up in his stomach when she thanked him for whatever thing he had brought her. 

He caught himself staring at her sometimes when hours were slow, noting how her bottom lip got caught in her teeth as she concentrated, and how that one strand of [h/c] hair fell into her eyes every so often and how she would blow it out of her face and keep working. He was mesmerized by it all. The only problem was that he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with those feelings. 

There wasn’t exactly an outlet for him to let them out through and he didn’t want to sleep with other girls, so he kept them in a little jar in the back of his mind. When he lied alone at night in the small apartment above the shop (that the owner, Leonard, had graciously let him stay in), he would let them out and let himself feel in full throttle. Sometimes it was a lot to handle.

He didn’t realize how much he felt for her until she came in only a few minutes after he opened with a large canvas. She didn’t go to the counter right away since her hands were full, so Jim came to her. He set her iced tea on the table out of the way, humming as she thanked him. 

He wiped his sweaty hands on his apron as he walked away, only then understanding what he had gotten himself into.

            ��                                _______________

You had never been there this long. You barely noticed the time passing as you painted, concentrating hard on the details. You hadn’t even realized that you had started painting the cafe storefront until you started mixing the paint. You decided to just go with it. 

Jim brought you little pastries and refills from time to time, making sure you wouldn’t be disturbed. Even he didn’t disturb you, letting you enjoy your time listening to [your favorite band] and just paint to your little heart’s content.

That was, until closing time rolled around. 

You didn’t know that you had been there for that long until Jim tapped your shoulder and you jumped, like, three feet in the air. 

You yanked back your headphones and smacked him in the arm. 

“You scared me!” you gasped. He chuckled, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you, but...” He waved his arm at the empty floor. 

“Oh...” you sighed in disappointment. You had really wanted to finish your project before the day was over. 

“I mean... if you want to stay I could close up shop and we can talk or something while you finish...?” he asked it like a question and a smile spread across your face at his flustered expression. 

“Sure,” You replied. “You got an aux cord?”

He nodded, leading you behind the counter and letting you plug your phone in and shuffle your playlist. 

“Wanna help me?” he asked, beckoning you over to the counter.

“With what?” you wondered, walking over.

“With the drinks,” he picked up the box of your favorite tea. “Tea sound good?”

You nodded, grinning. He showed you how to mix the two teas together and how he made honey flowers to float on top of the steaming mug before they dissolved into the hot drink. He fixed himself one before shutting off all the lights besides the one above your table and sat in the booth across from you that had gone unused for so long.

Your music played softly in the background as you resumed painting, Jim watching your brush intently. 

You looked up sharply, catching him off guard. “Wanna play A Question Game?”

“A question game?” Jim repeated, bemused.

“Yeah, like where we ask each other random questions to get to know each other better.”

“Is this what you do on all of your first dates?” he smirked. 

“What’s a first date without the basics?” you mirrored his expression. “You go first.”

“What’s your name?” he questioned.

“[y/n],” you replied, not looking up. “[y/n] [l/n].”

He let your name roll around his mind, liking the feel of it. “Your turn.”

“What’s your last name?” you glanced at him, a smile playing on your lips.

“Kirk,” he responded. “James T. Kirk.”

You looked up quickly. “Your real name is James?”

“What did you think it was?” he chuckled. “Jimothy?”

You laughed, enjoying the reference. Jim’s eyes bore into yours. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before,” he said, a little quieter. “You should do it more often.”

You sent him a knowing smile. “Next question, Kirk.”

The game went on like that for at least another hour or so, basic questions like favorite colors, birthdays, favorite shows, hometowns, etcetera etcetera. You learned that Jim’s favorite color was purple, his birthday was on March 22, and he was from Rivertown Iowa.

“I think I’m finished,” you said suddenly, wiping your paintbrush off on a paper towel and putting it in the water.

“Oh yeah?” Jim stood. “Let’s see it.”

You propped it up and turned to look at it, pride flooding your senses. 

“Wow,” he breathed. “This is amazing.”

“Thank you,” you said shyly, cleaning up your things and putting them back into your backpack. “Well, I really should be going.”

You started to open your wallet to pay for the food, but Jim stopped you by putting his hand over yours. Heat blew up in your cheeks, as you met his gaze. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, eyes flicking down to the painting. “If you want, you can pay by letting me hang that on the wall.”

You eyes blew open wide. “Seriously? You want my art on your wall?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I really do.”

You stared back into his blue eyes and let him close the distance between you, liking the feeling of his smooth lips against yours. He pulled away first, stomach flipping at the sight of your eyes still closed. They opened slowly and you smiled up at him. 

“Second date?” he asked, leaning his forehead against yours.

You giggled, raising your hand up to boop his nose.

“Mhm,” you hummed, pecking his lips before pulling out of his embrace. You picked up your backpack and slung it over your shoulder, holding your headphones. “See you tomorrow?”

“Same time same place,” he grinned as you smiled and waved as you left, pulling your headphones over your ears and putting your hands in your pockets as you started walking down the street to your apartment. 

Both of you thinking about what a wonderful day you had.

[mysidewriting]

Through the Storm

Note: This is it, this is the chapter where the plot finally picks up. Small gore warning...? Also the story becomes multi-perspective from here on out. It'll be obvious, I hope haha.

From the Start --> Previous chapter

Chapter Seven

The train for Johto left at ten. I'd arrive about an hour later, likely exhausted as I normally was asleep by that time. I hated the idea of putting myself into a new, unknown region so late... but I didn't choose the tickets and I wanted as much time in Kanto as I could get before I left.

Lillie was bummed to see me leaving. She'd grown so accustomed to having me around every day that she feared going back to normal days again. I apologized for messing up her schedule but she blew it off, claiming she was thankful I'd stayed. Her mother was sad too, she muttered something about the food being better and more experimental while I was around and I struggled not to laugh when I heard it.

Green and Red had invited Lillie and me to dinner in Fuschia to celebrate the first month of my trip coming to a close. I struggled deciding what to wear as Green had specifically said it was a nicer restaurant. I could tell by the fancy name and high priced menu items that casual wear would make me feel like a sore thumb.

I saw what Lillie had picked for the night, an elegant yet professional looking white dress with one of those cross hatched backs. I panicked momentarily before realizing we were in a relatively large town and I could probably go buy a nice dress in time.

So that's what I did. I ran to town and quickly picked up a dress similar to Lillie's but in black. It didn't cost too much which I was thankful for, not that money was an issue, but it was highly probable that this piece of tight unforgiving fabric would be tossed to the back of my closet back home. Still may be nice to have just in case though.

As I was walking back, debating what else I needed to do to look like a professional, presentable twenty year old, I got a phone call. I didn't bother looking at the caller ID. Figuring it was either Lillie or one of the guys with questions or elaboration... I jumped as I heard Gladion's seemingly signature 'oy' in place of a hello.

"Oh hey?" I laughed, pausing in my path towards the house. "What's up?"

"I finished with work at a half decent time today." I checked my own time to quickly deduce that it was around nine pm in Alola. "Just wondering if you want to finish with what you had to say."

I laughed, "You’re persistent with this!"

"Well I did say we'd talk today as well." He chuckled. I continued on my way back to Lillie's house, hoping that moving would work out the sudden nervous cramp that had built up in my stomach.

"Consistency? This is nice." I smirked at myself. "I actually have some dinner plans soon that I need to get ready for. I have to be formal." I said the last word with a sound of disgust.

"Damn. What are you doing for dinner that requires formal wear?" He questioned.

I hesitated but the fact that Lillie would be with us would hopefully pacify any chance of his strange jealousy flaring up. "Lillie and I are going to some fancy place called 'The Clear Tree' with Green and Red. To like... celebrate and stuff..." I rounded the corner of Lillie's street and slowed down, not really wanting to walk into the house on the phone.

"Oh." He said flatly and I cringed. "Celebrating what?"

"Me leaving." A short laugh left my mouth, "I mean they didn't phrase it like that. It's supposed to celebrate finishing my first month of the trip?"

"Strange... you’re done in Kanto already?"

"Yeah it's been a month." I twirled the plastic bag around my finger, not wanting to cut the call so short on him but I was basically on the doorstep now.

He swore under his breath, "that went... fast."

"It did! But hey, I have to go. We should talk afterwards... if your still up that is" I paused. "You shouldn't be up, you need sleep."

"Yeah... we'll see." He muttered. "Have fun, Moon. Bye."

I sighed as the call ended, he'd sounded irritated anyway. I walked into the house and saw Lillie standing in the kitchen and checking herself against a long mirror. When she saw me a huge grin fell across her already makeup-ed face. "I'm so excited for this!"

She checked the bag I brought in and looked way to excited to see the dress. I expressed my disdain with formal ware and she dragged me into her room where she decided to doll me up for the night. While she was running a flat iron through my hair I brought up the fact that her brother had called me while walking back.

"Really? You guys just talked last night." She laughed, "like for a while, at least long enough that I fell asleep... and I was waiting for you too."

"Yeah, we've really been talking a lot." I reflected back on most of my phone use recently and realized that the only two people I really used the device for was my mother and Gladion.

"Really." Her words came out much more matter of factly this time. I watched her expression through the mirror and wished I could read her mind. "Hmm."

I focused on the feeling of the heat and steady movement of the flat iron at the back of my head. Strangely relaxing for some odd reason. I let my eyes shut. My mind is so stuck on this guy. Why?

Lillie finished with all my makeup, hair dressing, and outfit choices just in time for us to fly to Fushcia and meet up with the guys. Lillie had mega evolved her pidgeot to carry both of us and I was amazed to see how easy it was for her to balance on the back of the bird while in a dress. I struggled to not feel like a total fool in the outfit and on the back of Pokémon. Not that it mattered after we had landed. I was just so focused on how restraining this dress was to my mobility.

Red and Green had also dressed very pleasantly and for good reason. The restaurant was horrendously fancy, I didn't want to question their selection... But I kept glancing to Lillie every time we saw something even remotely posh. I couldn't imagine any reason why we had to go somewhere so over the top nice.

Both the guys planned on covering the cost of everything and I actually let my confusion burst out then, asking why they would do that. The menu was scary to look at in regards to price. That was when Red admitted that his family owned the restaurant and the price wouldn't be bad at all - if it even cost anything. I shot a glare to Green who was sneering at both of us and silently laughing.

After hearing that though, Lillie and I went crazy. Ordering anything that was far beyond the range of our social class’s cuisine. Eager to taste the food of the very rich and wealthy, a chance we'd likely never get again.

The four of us chatted about random things after finishing with the chocolate cake. Discussing future plans and the three of them begging me to come back to Kanto after I'd finished with everything so we could go look around places more. Lillie remarked about how the only one of the bird's I hadn't seen was zapdos and that we should really go see it.

I brought up my want to find mewtwo as well and Red's face paled. "No you don't." I was shocked to hear his voice, so steady... and saying much more than he normally did. "It's horrifically powerful."

I cocked my head to the side, Lillie was so shocked to hear his voice that she just sat there staring at him. "How do you know? Have you seen it before?" I inquired.

Red nodded, "Briefly, on mount silver."

I gaped, the excitement that gripped me made my skin break out in goosebumps. I would be passing through tunnels in Mt.Silver on my way to Johto. Not that I could pop off the train and look around, it was a one stop trip to Goldenrod. But I felt a sudden need to explore the area, maybe just double back through the Johto side... "What was it like?"

Red looked a little sick, "it took out my whole team."

Green sputtered out the wine he had been sipping on, "What?!" He shouted, drawing the attention of the people at the next table over. "You didn't tell me it did that!"

He nodded in response, his eyes sorrowful. "I had to get down mount silver alone."

"I need to see it." I said and Lillie's gaze landed on me, eyes wide. She shook her head back and forth quickly.

"I don't think you should. It sounds scary."

"It can speak." Red muttered, looking off out the large window we were seated by.

"Telekinesis, right?" Green prodded.

Red agreed, clearly unsettled to remember the encounter. I felt bad for him, he'd basically been scarred by it from what I could tell... but at the same time I was jealous. Out of all the legendaries I'd read about, I wanted to see mewtwo most. But the Pokémon had disappeared, basically no information existed about it. My curiosity was so extreme I was practically bouncing in my seat.

"I saw mew yesterday!" I said, recalling the little pink Pokémon that I'd found in the tower.

All three of them were startled, "okay, you know that's a bigger deal right? People weren't even totally sure it existed!" Green said, his voice rising again but Red slapped his shoulder to get him to quiet down.

"No it obviously existed, mewtwo is a clone of something." Lillie said, "But it hasn't been seen since before mewtwo was supposedly created.

She knew a lot more about the legendaries then I'd realized. It wasn't surprising, she'd been researching after I told her about all the legends. That book I'd borrowed from Oak had been resting on her bedside table every night, very thoroughly looked through by both of us.

"Where did you see it?" Green asked.

I paused before diving into the little story about Lavender Town. I'd forgotten about it after talking with Gladion last night, thankfully. I wasn't so happy to be thinking about it again though, especially considering the fact that I would for sure be alone tonight - possibly even sleeping outside somewhere. All three of them were unsettled by the story, Red saying he'd experienced something similar before becoming the champion. Just not the mew part.

Lillie hugged me, "so that's why you looked so scared yesterday! I'm sorry that happened!" She cooed.

I told her it was fine, that I was over it... even though my stomach was churning with nerves as I remembered the sensation of looming over my own grave. I shook myself of the thought and tried to focus my mind on what was currently happening.

"Why do the champions see all the cool stuff?" Green huffed, looking annoyed.

I was about to rebuttal, explain my own reasoning as to why powerful Pokémon came to powerful trainers... but before I could open my mouth there was a loud scream from the room over. The startled moment of silence following was sliced through with a loud crash that shook the room, the lights above flickering with the impact.

More screams erupted, shouts and groans of pain and fear. Both Red and I hoped to our feet and rushed into the room in question. I skidded to a halt as I saw the mess, slapping a hand over my mouth before my own scream could escape.

The window had exploded inwards, huge chunks of glass flying into the building that was bustling with people... everything is red. I struggled to stay in the room, my shaking hands quickly grasped my phone and dialed the police, reporting the situation.

Red shouted at me and I swallowed the rising bile as I turned around once again, trying to not look at the casualties of the accident. A startlingly large charizard lay in the center of the shattered glass. Its wings beating furiously hard and spewing flames angrily towards anyone who attempted to approach it. A black, metal device hung around its neck - a small red light flashing.

Red's pikachu and lapras popped out of their balls. He ordered the pikachu to paralyze the furious beast then lapras blasted it with a water jet. I let Kai out after digging in my small bag for her ball, I had her carefully approach the charizard and rip off the metal device on its neck and bring it to us. A feat that was a lot harder to accomplish than I had thought it would be... I refused to look at the large needle that had previously been dug deep into the charizard's neck. Moments later the police showed up and I handed them the collar before they even saw the room. I explained what I could before management came in and filled in what I couldn't. Red rushed Lillie and Green out of the building before they could be exposed to the mess.

I was thankful to get outside and I sat on the curb for a long while, breathing in the fresh air and digesting the sights I had been exposed to. Lillie sat next to me, eagerly waiting my answer to what had happened. Green was pacing the sidewalk anxiously, waiting for Red to come back outside once again - the champion had said he needed to help the rest of the customers out.

What... just... happened.

My mind was reeling with images of the bloodied room, the people who had been sliced by the glass and burnt by the flames. There were maybe ten survivors - people that had only been injured and not killed. I wrapped my arms tight around myself and dropped my head to my knees. It came out of nowhere! For no reason! No warning!

That device... clearly someone had sent that charizard. Someone had planned this attack and I was mildly worried it had been directed towards Red and me. And if so... many people had been killed in order to get moderately close to us.

No, who would be going after the champions? Who would try to kill us?!

"Moon?" Lillie's hands dropped to my back and she rubbed hesitantly, "what happened?"

Green paused his pacing and looked between both of us. Expectant. I rubbed at my face and sighed.

"A charizard busted in through a window and... And..." I dropped my face to my knees again. "A lot of people died."

Lillie gasped and Green's face became pale. I felt my eyes well up with tears and I collapsed against Lillie. Trying to hold back sobs as my eyes leaked like faulty water sockets. She held my shoulders and cried with me, easily affected by such traumatic news. Green even took a seat next to us and provided his own comfort and way of coping with such a close encounter with death.

Something shattered behind me and I quickly span, swearing as I saw silvally staring at its feet where a shattered vase lay on the ground. Its lupine head snapped up to look at me, worried. A whimper rumbling from its chest.

"Damnit, buddy. Stop following me around." I muttered with a sigh. Patting its head to relieve any anxiety the sound has caused.

Silvally had been oddly anxious the past month, I kept telling myself it was due to memories of Aether all those years ago... but the past two years before this month it had been fine. I just couldn't understand why the Pokémon was so stressed... It'd taken to following me around during work which wouldn't be an issue if it didn't intimidate the injured and rehabilitating Pokémon... or if it weren't so large.

Silvally turned as I walked away, following after me with its head low in embarrassment. I lead it back to the conservation deck where Wicke had helped me set up an area for it to relax while I was working. Silvally reluctantly laid down in the pile of pillows and blankets that had become horribly beat up after months of use. It huffed at me and a frown creased my face.

"I'm sorry, Silv." I apologized, "I'll come back when I'm finished with research." It huffed in response once again and looked away from me. I shoved off the handrails and wandered back towards the house, mind lost in memories of our adventures. When it was always happy.

One of the employees had already tasked themselves with cleaning the shattered vase and I thanked them, apologizing for leaving them with the responsibility. They waved me off with a cheerful grin, "Don't worry about it president, you have more important tasks to attend too." My jaw clenched and I nodded, hastening my walk towards the office.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the computer screen - open to pages and pages of research findings on word. Crushed cans of energy drinks filled the trash can, a notebook full of procrastination drawings sat on the desktop. I hovered in the doorway just staring at the workspace that had sucked away my sleep schedule and hours of free time, my entire body revolted by the idea of sitting there again.

I had been planning on taking the night off from this part of work, getting actual sleep and doing anything else with the time. I guess what I'd really hoped was that I could spend that free time talking with Moon again. So after hearing that she was busy... I just gave in to work.

My phone was resting on the tabletop as well and I snagged it, avoiding that desk the best I could. I sat in the corner of the room and stared at the empty screen of the cell. Stupidly hoping she'd suddenly text and say she was finished with the Kanto champion and his snarky friend. I rubbed at my face, letting the back of my head hit the wall.

I should have texted her a week earlier, should have worked up the nerve. Things could had been different by now. If I had just been less of a shellder...

Eventually I forced myself to sit at the desk and finish up with some of the sections of the reports. All the information the foundation had dug up about the dwindling mareanie populations and the causation for it. I signed off on the report and sent it off to the specific department in charge of formatting and other things. The rest of the work was crunching numbers and test results into actual information that could be easily interpreted. I scrolled through what felt like hundreds of spread sheets until I landed on one about the tapus. Something that had been mildly looked into a few months ago. The most recent information about tapu fini credited to the girl I was still subconsciously waiting on.

Arceus I wish she hadn't left.

Heavy pounding at my door startled me and I quickly span around in the computer chair to face the entrance as the door swung open slowly. Wicke's head poked in, a sympathetic smile on her face. She'd been working just as hard and late as I had been, equally trying to keep up with my work and get ahead on her own.

"Yes, Wicke?" I questioned her, I hadn't intended my voice to sound annoyed but it came off that way anyway.

"A report came in from the Kanto region that I thought you may be interested in, sir." I waved her off, not wanting the formalities considering how late it was and the fact that most employees had went home by now. "I would like to assure Madam Lillie is well, if you could contact her." She handed me a recent police report, something that had come in only an hour ago. I tensed as I took the paper and glanced over the words.

"There were similar reports in the Kalos and Sinnoh regions the past few days." She elaborated. "I'm beginning to worry."

My feet hit the floor quick, I swallowed down the rising bile in my throat as I saw the death toll, the words describing the incident making my stomach flip inside out. "Wh-what?!" I scrambled for my phone as I read the name of the restaurant that had been attacked, I left the room dialing Lillie's number - hoping she may be faster to pick up than Moon would.

Wicke followed after me, the sound of her heels clicking on the tiled floors making my nerves tighten even more. I tapped my shaking hand against my leg as the dial tone rang out far too long.

"Gladion?" Lillie answered, clearly confused to get a call from me.

"Lillie!" I shouted, stopping in my tracks and spinning to face the concerned assistant. "What the hell happened?!"

She stumbled over her words, struggling to respond for what felt like an eternity to my shocked and frazzled mind. "Y-y-you heard already?" She finally got out.

"Wicke pulled up a police report of fifteen people dead at the restaurant you and Moon went to!" Wicke gasped, her eyes going wide as she heard my words. She hadn't know they were there... "What happened?!"

"Apparently a charizard broke through a window and killed a ton of people." She explained with a shaky voice, "I didn't see any of it, we were in a different room. Uh, Red and Moon saw it though. They stopped the charizard."

My heart hit my stomach, no no no. "Is she okay?" I snapped, grabbing a handful of my hair with my free hand. I honestly thought my chest would explode.

"I-I mean she's not hurt." Lillie said. "None of us are hurt." Her voice was so uncertain. "I really don't know anything about it. Neither Red or Moon will tell us anything else."

My jaw clenched, "where is she?"

"I think she's at the police station right now, they wanted to talk to her and Red more. Either that or she's on the train to Johto already."

I swore, "why don't you know?!"

"Relax, Gladion! We're all okay, isn't that the important part?" She defended. "Tell Wicke I said hi, please."

I pressed a fist to my forehead and sighed. "Fine. Bye, Lillie."

"Bye, Bub." She sounded annoyed but I didn't have the time or patience to worry over her petty frustrations. I pulled up Moon's contact information, hesitating over hitting the call button.

"So the champion of Alola was at the restaurant?" Wicke asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

I nodded, "yes, she was.... so was Lillie and the Kanto champion."

She gasped, "The reports from Sinnoh and Kalos... the attacks happened on their respective champions as well." She covered her mouth with a hand and shook her head, "this cannot mean anything good."

I stared blankly at her, nauseous from the news. Moon...don't tell me she's actually in danger. I dialed her number. "Get me all the information you can about these attacks, Wicke. As soon as possible." I said, heading back towards the computer room with my phone pressed to my ear and my heart racing faster than a rapidash.

"Will do, sir." She said, rushing in the opposite direction towards the labs.

Moon didn't answer, I called her probably three times - each twenty minutes apart. I paced the computer room, trying to make sense of the reports Wicke had found. All the attacks had been caused by Pokémon with strange devices around their necks. The only champion that had been directly affected by the attack was the Sinnoh one, a woman named Cynthia who had been struck by charizard's fire breath. She'd fought back as well and made it out without too dire of an injury... no one knew why this was happening.

It couldn't had been a fluke if it had happened in three regions now.

I couldn't focus on work whatsoever so I went up to the conservation deck and sat with silvally who was still a bit pissy with me. It wouldn't look at me and kept walking away each time I got close. "Hey, bud. I'm sorry okay?" I said. "I'm busy these days."

It huffed at me, eyes narrowing to a glare and shaking its head.

"I'll try to be better about going out, okay?" I fell into a pile near a tree and pulled out my phone. Still nothing from Moon. I felt sick. What was she doing? It'd been over an hour since I'd talked to Lillie... was there any chance she could still be talking with the police? She had to be so freaked out...

Something must have made silvally change its mind because the beast settled down next to me, shoving its muzzle against my cheek and grumbling. I placed a hand on its neck and confided in the beastly friend. "I'm worried about her, Silv. I'm so worried."

It cooed and nipped at my cell, I sighed and dialed her once again. Silvally's large head dropped to my lap and I stroked its back, finding comfort in the texture of its black fur.

The call picked up and I tensed, shocked to hear her answer. "Hey." Her voice was barely audible over the line.

I gasped, "Moon, are you okay?"

She hesitated. "I mean... I'm not physically hurt." She laughed but the sound was so obviously fake. "You heard about it already?"

"Yeah. I saw the police report." Do I tell her about the other champions? The other attacks? It'd be good for her to know, to be careful and watchful of something like this happening again. But she had just dealt with something so brutal, I didn't want to stress her out more. But the reason I'm calling is to tell her about the other attacks...

"Oh, I didn't know it got out already. Yeah, tonight was... insane." She faked a laugh again, "I don't think I'm going to sleep."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked hesitantly.

"Aren't you going to yell at me for getting in danger?" She questioned back, sidestepping my own inquiry.

I sighed. "You didn't put yourself in this situation, it came to you. I'm not going to yell at you for something you didn't purposefully do."

"This is the second time though." Her laughter was making me uneasy... second time...?!

"What do you mean second time?" I snapped, silvally sat up and punched me with a balled up claw when it heard the venom in my voice and I swore.

"Second time I inadvertently got into trouble." She muttered. "Yesterday I went into Pokémon Tower and ended up like possessed or something! For some reason Null ran in there so I had to get her out."

"Moon, what?!" Silvally roared at me and I shoved its muzzle out of my face, telling it to stop. She laughed over the line and said her hello to the beast that got way to excited to get attention from her as well. I couldn't help but grin at the interaction despite the darkness that hung over the night. "What do you mean possessed?"

She sighed, "I hate to keep shoving this off but I'm alone in a motel and it's my first night in Johto so I don't really want to talk about creepy stuff like this. I can actually tell you everything soon..."

So she's in Johto now. "Okay, I understand."

"Thanks, Gladion." She mumbled, "I really just need time to relax now."

I chewed on my lip, "I know you do, Moon... but Wicke found something relating to the charizard incident and I need to warn you about it." My voice was firm. "There are other reports of the exact same situation happening in Sinnoh and Kalos, charizard specifically attacking champions."

She said nothing, the only thing I could hear over the line was her hitched breaths of nervousness.

"Was there a metal collar on the charizard?" I asked.

"There was." Her words were breathy. "So... so there's someone sending these charizards out to get champions?"

"I'm about 85% sure there is." Silvally's head cocked to the side, watching me carefully. I held a hand out to the Pokémon and it bit at my fingers playfully.

"Shit." Her swearing caught me of guard but it was relieving to see her acknowledging the severity of the situation.

Note cont.: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Expect to see a lot more of Gladion's perspective and alot more intense stuff in the future! Thanks! c: