Sometimes – just, sometimes – Aynsley could not, for the life of her, figure out why she had decided that travelling with Alison was ever a good idea.
Her Pipulp, Icy, was toddling along next to her as she walked behind Alison, who was mumbling to herself about how much she hated walking through the woods sometimes (but really it was always her idea to do that). Her Persian was stalking along beside her, occasionally pouncing forward onto a fluttering leaf passing on the ground, or a stray beam of light filtering down from the trees.
"Alison, can't we take a break?"
"When we get out of this god forsaken place," was her answer, and Aynsley huffed, looking down at Icy, who seemed perfectly content to keep walking as long as he was next to her. She smiled at him, and he looked up at her, giving his curious little chirp.
She'd had Icy for a long time now, and he was probably her best friend. She had prevented him from evolving because she didn't want him to turn into anything that wasn't as cute as his current form, but also because he was small and compact this way and pretty great for cuddling when she needed it.
Alison had had her Persian for a long time too, almost as long as she had had Icy. Alison, however, wasn't happy with just one companion. She always wanted more, and she currently had a full team of six strapped to her belt (minus the Persian of course, who was named simply Dazzler, because of his bright, show-off-y nature (just like Alison herself, Aynsley thought fondly)).
"How are your other Pokemon doing?" Aynsley asked her, and Alison stopped in her tracks for a second before continuing on.
"I dunno, should I let them out a bit for some fresh air?"
"Well that does sound like a pretty good idea," Aynsley agreed, and Alison nodded.
"OK, you let yours out too. The other two. They might need to stretch their legs a bit."
Aynsley wordlessly agreed, taking out her other two balls and opening them in a flash, letting out a Vanillite and a Horsea, who swirled around her in the air. She grinned at them, reaching her hand out to pet them both, and almost missed the spectacle that was Alison letting her faithful friends free.
A Marill, a Gardevoir, a Skitty, a Girafarig and a Castform filled the air with their chatter as they nestled around Alison, who was petting them all and whispering things to them. The Castform, after a small stroke on its swirled top, floated over to Aynsley's Vanillite, and the two of them spun in the air around each other, having some sort of conversation Aynsley couldn't catch.
"They're gonna end up producing an egg or something one day," Aynsley said to the air, and she heard Alison laugh.
"Yeah, probably. Those two would make a cute baby."
Aynsley nodded and looked over at Alison again, who was stroking the muzzle her Girafarig had pushed into her palm, and she grinned at her.
"Race you to the edge of the forest."
Never one to back down from a challenge, Alison spun on her heel and started running without a second thought, Aynsley tumbling behind her as the trees started to clear and she felt the rush of travel start to overcome her again.
Sometimes, she loved traveling with her best friend, if only for moments like this.