Author's Corner: Another quick update, and probably the last one until some time very late in the week as my spring break has ended. So, enjoy this one, and I'll try to get as much work done on this as I can. Thanks for the 100+ hits and keep on reading.

The challenger didn't hear Deema's shout of surprise. She tossed her wavy purple hair over her should and giggled. "You'd better be ready for a battle, because I know I certainly am."

Cress smiled and bowed before Melissa. "You'd best be prepared, for this will surely be a battle to delight the senses."

Cress sent out his first Pokémon, a Herdier. It growled at Tepig and scraped its paws against the ground.

Tepig snorted in return, small embers shooting from its nose. Cilan stood up from his spot at the table and called out in a loud voice, "Let the Gym battle begin!"

Melissa took a battle stance and pointed at Herdier. "Tepig, use Tackle now!"

Cress chuckled. "Such an obvious opening move. Herdier, dodge it, then use your own Tackle."

Tepig rushed fourth, aiming to hit Herdier head on, but after Cress' command, the Herdier dodged around the charging Tepig. Tepig couldn't stop itself in time and slammed head first into a rock. Because of its hard head, no damage was done. But when the Herdier swiftly turned around use its own Tackle, the Tepig was blasted through the rock and into another one. The Tepig took a moment to get up.

"Come on Tepig, you can't be done after one hit!"

Chili shook his head. "That was a critical hit. Cress got lucky. From what I can tell, if that Tepig lands a hit, Herdier won't be able to take too many hits. He's going to have to be real careful about getting close enough to hit."

Cress took advantage of the challenger's momentary worry over her Pokémon. "Herdier, use Take Down." Herdier reared its front paws and ran through the whole in the rock that Tepig had made, and slammed its whole body in the Tepig. Tepig squealed in pain, and a second rock was broken. Herdier sustained some damage though, and its breathing took on a heavier tone. The Tepig got back on its foot, albeit a bit wobbly, and glared at the Herdier. "Tepig, use Ember!"

Tepig took a deep breath in and shot flames out at Herdier. Herdier, having been so close, had no time to dodge and took the Ember attack full on. Herdier was pushed back from the shock of the flame, and turned its head to cough out black smoke. "Keep it up Tepig, use Ember again!"

Tepig squealed and shot more fire at the dog Pokémon. Herdier stood its ground, waiting for an order from its trainer. "Herdier, use Take Down again."

Herdier charged through the flames and nailed Tepig's body against a rock. Tepig was on its last leg, but Herdier wasn't doing too much better.

"It's going to be a close battle," Cilan murmured. "And this is just the first round."

"Tepig, use Flame Charge!" "Herdier, use Take Down!"

The two Pokémon met in a clash of bodies, and the flame from Tepig's Flame Charge threw up a cloud of smoke and dust and hid the aftermath of the hyped up attacks. Cilan and Chili stood up and tried to see through the cloud of dust to see which Pokémon was still standing. If either of them were.

Melissa hoped from one foot to the other as she waited to see if her Tepig was okay. Cress looked worried too, and moved his head, hoping to get a better view. The smoke and dust eventually clear, and revealed that neither Pokémon was standing. Both were collapsed in fatigue on the rock floor.

Cilan called from the balcony. "Both Pokémon are unable to continue battle. The first round is a draw."

Melissa gritted her teeth and grabbed Tepig's Pokéball. "Tepig, return."

Cress smiled sadly. "You battled well Herdier, good job. Now return."

Cilan again, "Challanger and Gym leader, please pick your next Pokémon."

Cress held up his hand towards the balcony. "Simipour, your turn to battle."

Simipour swung down from the balcony where it had been hiding on the ledge along with Simisear and Simisage. "All right then, Pidove, show them what you've got!"

Simipour swung down onto the battle field and did some mock punches and smirked at the Pidove that flew out of the Pokéball and ruffled its feathers. "Final round, begin!"

"Pidove, use gust!"

"Simipour, use Water Gun to counter it."

Pidove launched itself into the air and flapped its wings, sending down Gust at Simipour. Simipour aimed its tail at the oncoming wind attack and shot out a powerful stream of water and stopped it in it tracks."Pidove, get closer to Simipour and use Gust on it again."

"Simipour, stand there."

Simipour glanced back at its trainer, who just nodded. Simipour nodded and braced itself for the incoming impact of the gust attack. Pidove was five yards from Simipour when it slowed itself down and sent another Gust whirling at the water monkey. "Simipour, shoot down that bird with Scald!"

The Simipour happily obliged and sent boiling hot water straight towards the still descending Pidove. The hot water cut through the winds and with Pidove still getting closer, it had no time to even try and dodge. It was hit full in the face and was sent plummeting to the ground. Pidove hit the ground and rolled off and hit a rock. The poor Pokémon struggled to get back up. Deema shot up from her seat and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Come on Melissa, you can win this!"

Melissa's head turned to see who had called out her name, but Deema had already ducked down and slapped her hands over her mouth. Melissa shook it off, but was glad for the boost in confidence. "It's gonna be okay Pidove. Just get up."

The Pidove struggled to its feet, but when it was firmly back on the ground, it shot Simipour a defiant glare. "Pidove, use Quick Attack."

Pidove shot forward in an unseen flash and hit Simipour head on. "Great job! Do it again."

Pidove obliged and kept up the onslaught of Quick Attacks, coming at Simipour from all different directions. Cress gritted his teeth and finally shouted out, "Simipour, use furry swipes!"

"Pidove, just make sure you keep hitting Simipour from behind, he won't be able to get you!"

Melissa's Pidove dodged around Simipour's out reaching claws and repeatedly crashed into the blue Pokémon, slowly but surely decreasing its health. When Melissa saw that Pidove was slowly getting too tired to continue with using Quick Attack, she switched moves. "Okay Pidove, we're going in for the big moves now. Use Air Cutter."

Pidove flapped its damaged wings and sent a powerful burst of air at its opponent while sending itself higher into the air. Simipour was forced down to its knees and tried to shield its face from the painful wind. "Another one Pidove!"

"Simipour, use scald again, Pidove can't take too much more of this battle."

Simipour and Pidove both shot their attacks at the opponent at the same time with fierce determination to be the victor. They put everything they had in to one final attack.

Deema watched in awe, wondering who would be the victor. She hoped it wasn't another draw, but whoever did win would have to be proud. It looked to be an intense battle.

The impact from the attacks knocked both Pokémon back. Pidove tried to right itself, but couldn't and fell back down onto a rock; while Simipour was knocked into a boulder had enough to crack it. Cilan looked closely at each Pokémon to see which one would be left standing. Simipour dropped the a knee, then the other, before collapsing to the ground. "Simipour is unable to battle. The challenger and her Pidove are the winners."

Deema heard her sister squeal in delight and cheer. "Alright, way to go Pidove, you did it!"

Deema poked her head over the railing and saw Melissa run onto the battle field and pick up her hobbling Pidove. Deema couldn't help it, she whistled at Melissa and clapped. Melissa snapped her head in time to see Deema just as Deema realized what she was doing and was about to dive to the floor. Melissa however, was unaware of the sitatuion. "Deema! Oh goodie! I didn't know Mama and Papa would let you come out to watch me battle. Though I'm surprised they knew I was already in Striaton City… Oh well, I'm just glad you got to watch me battle little sis!"

Deema just meekly nodded at her sister and tried to come up with something explain why she was here in the first place.

Melissa sat down at a table pet her Pidove absentmindedly as it fed on some special food prepared by Cilan. Deema sat across from her rather stiffly still trying to figure out what to say. "So… um… how'd you get to Striaton City so fast?"

Melissa giggled. "That's easy silly Deema. I didn't sleep at all. When I left the house I just kept going. I'd been stocking up on potions for months now with the extra money I'd get just for this. I want to make sure I beat those silly boys. So now my Pokémon are super strong compared to everything else. Well, except, that Gym leader guy, but he's a Gym leader, he doesn't count. So yeah, nether me or Tepig have gotten a whole lot of sleep, which is kind of why I'm rambling, oh and I caught Pidove. Pidove is a great one. A total cutie, aren't you sweetheart?" Melissa nuzzled the nose of her bird Pokémon affectionately.

Deema laughed. Yeah, Melissa was definitely running on only about an hours' worth of sleep she might have caught while waiting for Cress to get ready for the battle. It was now close to five, and the café was coming to a close. The café was never open for very long, which kept its female customers always alert and eager to step inside. Cilan was cleaning up a table, and Chili was at the door saying goodbye to a group of regular customers. Cress though, had no work he needed to do and made his way around the sea of tables towards where Deema and her sister were sitting.

Melissa's head sank lower and lower towards the table as she started to drift to sleep. A hang on her shoulder jolted her back awake. "Hello ladies. Can I assume you are enjoying your snacks?"

Melissa nodded and Pidove cooed. "Thanks Cress. Melissa really needed some food after pulling her all nighter."

Cress chuckled and pulled a chair from one of the neighboring tables and sat in between the siblings. "I would bet so. It is amazing what you accomplished all in twenty four hours miss Melissa."

Melissa blushed, giggled, and twirled a piece of her long purple bangs around her finger. "You're such the gentleman Cress. It's no wonder all those girls show up at your café every day."

Deema eyed her sister. You're such the flirt Melissa. She chuckled with exasperation then put an elbow on the table and rested her cheek on the palm. Cress took it as a sign that something was wrong. "Oh, miss Deema. You said earlier you didn't want anything but perhaps you've changed your mind?" Deema looked over at Cress. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"I can't imagine why. It's not like anything interesting has happened to you lately." Chili joked as he pulled up a chair next to Deema.

Deema nodded, her expression agreeing with his sarcasm. "Oh, definitely. Just woke up in my own bed and totally didn't have anything dangerous happen to me."

Chili and Deema grinned at each other and burst out laughing. Cress chuckled as well.

Melissa's head began to droop again. "Chili's hot like fire and Cress is cool like water."

Cilan popped up from behind Melissa. "So what does that make me?"

Melissa waved her hand. "Cilan's lively like fresh grass." That was the last thing before her head gently dropped down to the table and she fell asleep.

"She always has been a beauty queen. They must call it beauty sleep for a reason."

The brothers all chuckled at that. Deema took out Lillil's Pokéball and rolled it back and forth on the table. She wasn't quite sure exactly what she was supposed to tell Melissa. She was liking the idea of just leaving when Melissa wasn't looking and heading on to the next town. Now would be the perfect time with Melissa being asleep. But that would just make her sister worry, and after having her parents already worried enough to send the police after her within hours after them knowing she was gone, she just didn't feel up to it. Cress coughed to get Deema's attention. "So what do you think you should tell her."

Deema sighed and let her arm fall and rested her head on it. "I'll probably wind up telling her the truth. She wouldn't be the one to get mad at me and try to send me back."

The brothers expressions took on guilty tints. "That'd be Kane. Probably. I don't know what he'd think."

"Isn't Kane who you thought I was this morning?"

"Yeah. That's my oldest brother. He has red hair just like you. Kane, Trevor, and Melissa are all triplets, Kane being the oldest, and Melissa the youngest." She glanced up at the brothers. "You guys are triplets too right?"

They nodded. "Yeah, thought so. The way Cilan acted when you mentioned he was the youngest Cress told me that. Melissa hates being referred to as the youngest. Insists that because they are triplets, that they are all the same age, regardless of the time they were actually born."

"Sounds like Cilan would come up with."

Chili and Cress laughed while Cilan just eyed his brothers, thinking of some way to get back at them later. Deema smiled without looking up and continued to roll the Pokéball on the table.

"So are you guys really going to turn me back over to my parents?"

All of the brothers went still and glanced among each other. "Well Deema," Cress started. "We haven't actually decided on what exactly we should do. We thought in the end, that the choice, should really be yours."

"Seeing as how you found it necessary in the first place to run away, we may not be doing you any favors by sending you back." Continued Cilan.

"So you decide, do you want to go back, or would you like us to say we have no idea who you are to anyone who asks?"

Deema looked at the table and thought about it. If it was a choice, going back, it was a bit different, but if she did go back, the exact same thing she'd run away from would be waiting for her. She shook her head, well, more rolled it as it was still on her arm. "Not going back. Not to just get sent off to some place I don't know. At least if I stay away like this, it'll be on my terms."

She raised her head and slapped her hands on the table. "On that note, I need to get a few things, such as a map, and probably some food to drag along with me. If I'm going to stay out on the road I'm going to do it right." She got up from the table and picked up her bag. "I'll be back to say goodbye, but I'm leaving tonight. Two police officers came up to me and asked if they had seen Deema Sheevien. While I may have thrown them off, jerks thought I was a boy, sooner or later they're going to come back, and I'm going to hedge my bets. Thanks for the help."

Cress snagged her arm as she walked by. "Don't think you're getting away that easily miss Deema. We have all the things you could possibly need here. Stick around for a while, wait for your sister, eat something. You have time."

She looked down at Cress. His smile was friendly enough, but he had some little trick up his sleeve. Did she want to find out about that magic card or not? "Not really."

"Of course you do. You just need to make it. So sit back down and Chili or Cilan will make you and your sister some dinner. You can both spend the night here if you want, none of us mind."

His brothers nodded, Cilan getting up to go get started on some dinner. Cress looked like he wanted to say more, but the phone on the cashiers' counter ringing stopped him. He held up a finger asking for one minute and went to go answer it. He looked at caller I.D. before answering, becoming wary when he saw who it was. He kept his voice muted and turned around to face the wall. Chili tried to think of who would get that reaction out of Cress, and there were few possibilities, none good. He turned to watch Deema who reluctantly sat back down. "Would you let someone who'd you'd rescued out of a river just wander off without making sure they were completely back to normal?"

Deema thought about it. "No. I'd probably try to keep them in one spot or follow them for a while to make sure nothing else bad would happen to them."

"Well, Cress is super protective to begin with. He'd probably follow you around if he could so you could get farther away, but as a Gym leader, he can't really do that. Besides, one more night won't hurt. You get great food and can spend time with your sister. Is that really so bad?"

Deema shook her head. "No, it's not. It's getting too late to leave anyways. Last night was enough of the whole sneaking out in the middle of the night experience for me."

Chili didn't doubt that. He looked at the door leading upstairs and wondered what was taking Cilan so long. He excused himself from the table and went to go find out.

Deema was left with her sister, who was still passed out on the table, and Pidove. Who had finished its snack and hopped over to observe Deema. It cocked its head as it looked at her. It didn't know what to make of her, but it closed its eyes in ecstasy when she rubbed the side of its face and scratched the back of its head. Her mind was lagging from lack of sleep and she drifted into a sort of unconscious state, her mind blank, just petting Pidove.

It was Cilan's hand on her shoulder that shook her out of her state. "Miss Deema, dinner is ready. Might it be best if we woke up miss Melissa as well?"

Deema breathed in and nodded while stretching. Cilan tapped Melissa on the shoulder, then gently shook her. Melissa woke up with a jolt and her head shot up, but she calmed down when she saw it was just Cilan and smiled as he lead her upstairs. Deema followed behind them, trying to keep herself from falling back into sleeps arms.

The dinner Cilan and Chili had prepared was amazingly delicious and the dessert Cress had wiped up was just as wonderful. After dinner, Melissa was about ready to crash again and so Deema let her have the guest room that had originally been setup for her. Deema took the couch again, despite the offer of one of the boys' beds. She wasn't about to kick them out of their own rooms, and the couch was big enough to serve as a bed anyways.

As Deema laid down on the couch for the second time, she thought of the phone call Cress had answered earlier. He had seemed a bit worried when he came upstairs finally to join the rest of them for dinner, and the entire time during dinner his mind had been somewhere else. Not a good sign. She hoped it wasn't the police. That could be really bad. If they'd finally realized that she wasn't a boy, and instead was the girl they were looking for, Cress and the others could get in a lot of trouble. She hoped it wasn't that, and rolled over and went to sleep.

Something was watching Deema when she woke up. She could feel it. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she knew something was. Possibly multiple somethings. She felt a breath of her face. Deema's eyes snapped open and she was face to face with Simipour hanging over her upside down. It squealed when it saw her wake up, and scurried away with Simisage and Simisear. Deema sat up and watched them scurry down the hall. The midmorning sun was high and bright shining in through the window, partially blocked by a building across the street. She threw off another mysterious blanket and swung her legs off the couch. Her bag was right next the leg of the couch closest to her. She reached in and grabbed Lillil's ball, figuring now would be a great time to feed her. Lillil thought so too when she popped out of her Pokéball, ignoring Deema and rushing immediately to the sweet smell of the tea in the kitchen. Chili was in there brewing a fresh pot, just for Lillil. Pidove, Tepig, and Melissa were already at the table, eating their breakfast. Melissa briefly but excitedly wave to her sister when she saw her, then patted the seat next to her before giving her attention back to her French toast. Deema sat down next to her sister as directed and found a plate of her own French toast in front of her. Drenched in thick blackberry syrup. Her absolute favorite. She looked up at Chili who winked at her and went back to making Lillil's breakfast.

Lillil jumped on the counter and continued to hop while waiting for her tea to be ready. She was a morning Pokémon and she insisted each morning be started right. A bowl of the yummy nectar that wasn't nectar was perfect for that. She happily dipped her bottom half in the bowl when Chili offered it to her and let him carry her to the table to sit on the table in front of Deema. Melissa stopped eating for a second and looked at Lillil. "Well aren't you just a-freaking-dorible. Who's Pokémon are you little cutie?"

Lillil looked at her and huffed. Melissa giggled. "I didn't quite understand that, but oh well."

Lillil huffed again. Melissa looked at her sister. "Not like she can understand me anyways, or me her."

Lillil glared at Deema and huffed in exasperation. Deema chuckled and hid her face behind her tea cup. "Oh, I'm pretty sure she can understand you Melissa."

Melissa gave her sister a look and took a bite of her French toast. After swallowing, she spoke again. "I still don't know who its trainer is though. I wanna know where they got one so I can try to catch one. It's precious to no end."

Deema looked away and caught Chili's eye. He shrugged. Deema sighed and looked back down at the table. "She's my Pokémon."

Melissa snorted then took a sip of her tea. "Cute kid. Because Mama and Papa totally let you have one right? Mmmm, this tea is like the stuff Papa has. Anyways, seriously, who's is it? Probably Cilan's since he likes grass types so much."

Cilan popped out from around the corner, a piece of crumpled up paper in his hand. "Nope, it's not my Pokémon. It really is your sister's."

Melissa looked at her sister confused. "But… we aren't allowed to have Pokémon until we leave."

Deema patted Lillil's head. "Well, as I'm not here because Mom and Daddy let me, it doesn't really matter what they allow and what they don't. If I was here on their terms I would have had to go back last night wouldn't I?"

Melissa's eyes widened. "Just how are you here then."

Deema launched into the tale of her day at the point after all her siblings had left, describing the important things, and watched the expressions dance over her sister's face. When her recount was over, awe was painted on Melissa's face. "OMG, you just get all the fun things happening to you don't you? Gosh, this is like the time when we were little and you went one way to hide, I went the other, you got lost, were found by an old couple that fed you tea and cookies and let you play with their Flygon while I got lost and twisted my ankle. You are lucky person, you notice that Deema?"

Deema looked at her sister oddly. "You call almost drowning in a river good luck?"

"Pft, no. But having Cress there be at just the perfect time to save you was. God, being rescued by three hawt Gym leaders, I am NOT kidding when I tell you you have some serious luck."

Melissa had conveniently forgotten that two of said 'hawt' brothers were in the room. Cilan and Chili blushed. Cilan shook his head and nudged Chili. He un-crumpled the piece of paper in his hand and showed it to Chili.

Melissa went on babbling to Deema about what she had seen on her way here, distracting the girls from the actions of the two brothers. Cress showed up a few minutes later, out of breath, and rested a hand on his knee and his other on the ball on the top of the half wall. His quickly caught everyone's attention. "Deema, you're going to want to get your stuff ready very quickly. Someone tipped off the police about you and they're on their way here."

Deema and Melissa both stood up from the table. Melissa worriedly chewed on her knuckle. "Oh, but I was hoping to travel with you sis."

"Can't it looks like. Shit, how am I going to get out of here?"

The shattering of glass brought an answer. "Am I too late? Did they catch her already?"

An unknown voice came from the living room. Cress turned his head slightly to talk to whoever was in there. "I'd be making you replace my window if you were Iris. But she's here still here."

"Perfect. Where is she?"

There was a thump as someone landed and around the corner came a dark skinned girl was giant dark purple hair. "Well come on then," she motioned with her hand and arm. "You don't have all day."

Deema looked at her sister and briefly hugged her. Melissa hugged her tightly back. "This is just until the cops get off your trail and we can travel together."

Deema nodded then darted after the girl named Iris. A huge dragon Pokémon with red tusks angling against each side of its head and olive colored armor stood on top of a pile of shattered glass and a partially destroyed couch. "This is Haxorus. Just be careful where you put your foot. Oh, and you might want to put your Petilil back in its ball."

Deema eyed the dragon Pokémon but put Lillil safely away as it hopped out of the kitchen. She accepted Iris' help up onto the back of Haxorus and gripped the Pokémon's back as tightly as she could.

"Here we go!" Iris shouted as Haxorus spun around and launched itself out the glass-less window.

It landed with a heavy thud onto the ground in front of the crowd that had begun to form when it had originally jumped in through the window and roared. A few people screamed, most just tried to dodge out of the way as it turned to the left and began running at a break neck pace. A group of Policemen stood in the way right in front of the Pokémon Center, complete with cars and bullhorns. Haxorus snarled and vaulted over the Police force and kept on running. There were shouts of confusion and anger from the police and Deema saw a few cops get in their cars getting ready to pursue them.

The wind snapped and bit at the skin on her arms and stung her eyes. Deema carefully pulled her goggles out of her bag and snapped them on. Iris giggled. "Fun huh?"

Deema laughed breathlessly. Haxorus kept running as fast as it could, over bushes, rocks, people occasionally, and even trees as it sped along the road leading away from Striaton City. "Iris, where are we even going?" Deema called over the voice stealing wind.

"Castelia city. Nacrene city is too small to hide you in. It's going to be a while, even on Haxorus. Hope you're not too uncomfortable."

Deema wondered how long that exactly was. She settled farther down on the dragon's back and tried to make herself more comfortable. The dirt road they had been running on for a while now disappeared and underneath them it turned to a concrete as old storage buildings turned art shops came into view. The people in this town seemed more relaxed, as they just looked at the speeding Haxorus and smiled and waved. A museum was coming up, with a scientist and a tough looking woman were exiting. Iris perked up and waved at them. "Hi Lenora, hi Hawes." She called as they sped on by.

Lenora smiled and wave while Hawes laughed. Haxorus quickly was passed the small town and was running towards a dense looking forest. "That was Lenora. She's a Gym leader too, specializing in normal types."

Deema nodded and filed that information away for later. It might come in handy when and if she came back to do an actual Pokémon journey that featured getting some badges.

Haxorus vaulted over another tree and slid on the dirt as it turned sharply. It rushed through the forest, swinging its head left and right, observing those who stayed hidden in the trees. The forest ended and Iris' Haxorus dashed through a terminal separating the forest from the bridge and continued on past the shocked gate keeper and television blaring the latest news. It kept on going across the large bridge that spanned over the sea and connected the two pieces of land. Haxorus rushed on through the crowds that seemed to gather just to get in Haxorus' way over the under bridge for cars.

When finally in Castelia City, Deema was sore all over from the rough ride. Iris nimbly hopped off her Pokémon and stretched. "Good ol' Castelia City. Well, this is where I stop. I have some things I need to take care of before I take you anywhere else, but my Granddad recommended a café with some icecream on the east side of town. I'll take you to it, but then I gotta go kid. Gym leader business and all." She turned around to look at Deema who still hadn't gotten off of Haxorus. "Well are you coming or not? Not like I have all day you know."

Deema un-gracefully slid of Haxorus' armored back and landed on her right foot. She turned to face Iris. "Well, thanks for the ride. Definitely made for a good get away."

"Well of course it did. Nobody beats my Haxorus in speed. Anyways, later. I'll meet you at the café later on. Come on Haxorus, let's ride!" She shouted the last part as she nimbly jumped on to Haxorus' back again and sped off.

Deema watched as it jumped over a herd of clerks coming out of an office building and heard Iris laughing as most of the clerks screamed. She craned her head to get a look at the immense skyscrapers and shrugged. Iris had said west side of town, and figured she might as well start looking for the café. As huge as this place was, it could be a while.

She chose the closet path between the giant metal giants and headed down it. People teamed up and down the wide open pathway, rushing to and from work, back home, a few just wandering aimlessly. Deema tried her best to avoid bumping into people, but with the masses lurking everywhere, it was a bit difficult and she did hit a few people as she moved down the pathway.

She glanced left and right, looking for some signs of this café Iris had mentioned. She eventually saw a blue and white striped overhang with a huge line leading outside of it. Just a guess, that was it. Deema dodged around a group of giggling girls whose arms were linked and got at the back of the enormous line. She heard people exciting over the apparently phenomenal ice-cream here and how they hoped it didn't run out before they could get any for themselves. Deema hoped so too, wanted to taste this amazing ice-cream. The line crept forward and finally Deema was at the front of the line. "One cone please."

"Sure thing. And lucky you, you got the last one of the day."

Deema smiled and gladly exchanged her money for the ice-cream. She took a seat by the window towards the back and looked side. Still so many people. She turned her attention back to her ice-cream and tasted it. Everyone had been. This thing was heavenly! She licked at it some more, reveling in the delicacy that was this ice-cream. She could see why people would wait in line for so long just to get one. She was so lost in eating her treat she didn't notice when someone sat in the seat in front of her. Her eyes eventually registered the change in coloring and she looked up. A man with short snow-white hair and a black blindfold on sat before her. "Ghetis will be please to know I found you so quickly."