The office of the Celadon Gym was a study in space conservation. Clay shelves of dirt, peppered with tiny green shoots, lined the walls; several lamps, mounted haphazardly on the ceiling or on other shelves, kept watch over them. Two small vines were draped over the angular neck of one of the lamps, swaying lazily without wind, their other ends entwined somewhere out of sight. The curtains had been removed from the windows and repurposed for covers in the corner; in their original place were more than enough flowers to diffuse the glare of the setting sun. The desk in the middle of the room seemed a recent addition, its glossy mahogany finish almost alien to the tiny knotted branches and leaves that hung above and behind it.
Leader Sabrina, who seemed more at home near this piece of familiar furniture than in the patchwork of green that was the rest of the room, was perched on its edge, ankles crossed smartly and thorns as perceptible as those of the succulents sat next to her.
"Do you understand what you could lose?" Sabrina was saying, her tone as soft as it was intense.
Erika blinked and refocused her gaze on the other leader. Sabrina did not miss the distraction; though her expression didn't otherwise change, her eyes seemed to darken. Erika felt cold.
"Oak's research is a direct threat to your business. Once he plants the seed of suspicion, vitamin production will fall to pieces—and you don't need me to tell you how that will affect your livelihood. In six months, the only customers your herb shop will see are criminals looking to manufacture their own vitamins."
It didn't completely add up, but Erika knew better than to linger on her doubts for too long in Sabrina's presence. She nodded, her eyes wide and serious. "So you want me to…?"
"Write him a letter, yes. I've done the same, of course, but my income isn't at stake—just my reputation." She smiled briefly, and Erika once again compressed her thoughts into muted affirmation.
Erika nodded. Dear Professor Oak, she began to compose in her head as she rummaged through a drawer for paper, I am writing you, against my better judgment, regarding your research on the effects of pokévitamins…
"What was that?" Sabrina murmured, suddenly much closer than when Erika had bent down to look in the drawer. Erika inhaled sharply as their noses nearly bumped.
"I—" Erika smiled, failing to hide her rising anxiety at her mistake in thought. She angled herself away from Sabrina's piercing gaze and began to write, perhaps too hurriedly, to correct herself in a more concrete medium.
Dear Professor Oak,
I am writing you regarding your recent research on the effects of pokévitamins on pokémon and humans. Out of concern for my considerable investment in the business of horticulture, I ask that you postpone the publication of your findings until sufficient follow-up studies can be conducted on the beneficial properties of the natural ingredients within pokévitamins.
Sincerely,
Leader Erika of Celadon
She watched the psychic's eyes scan the page, though she had doubtless already read it during its inception in Erika's mind, and gathered nothing from her observations; Sabrina was by nature impassive, and there was no reason here for her to display any emotion but her final acknowledgment or disapproval.
Sabrina folded the paper, and Erika followed every careful move her slender fingers made. She handed it back—a tacit approval—and kept her hands up to steady Erika, whose entire body had seemed to weaken the moment their eyes had made contact.
Send this tonight, Sabrina said, her voice clearer than life. Erika shivered, unable to look away from her unmoving lips.
a/n: not sure how i feel about this. continuation is probably necessary but we'll see if that ever happens