And we're back. This time around, there won't be any inter-dimensional travel, those days are over. We're going for the less dramatic act of scattering the family is places with heavily surveillance while the parents scatter about. Layla won't be here long, though it is a big hiccup in her life for her, but she does meet some interesting people. Enjoy!

Juniper was in a rut. She didn't know what to do, and that was a first for her. For the first time in her life, she was scared. Getting caught in vicious wildfires, sucked into deadly whirlpools, or even facing a rampaging Nidoking had nothing on this.

Someone was following her and her family around.

She didn't know who he was or what he wanted, but he was good. Just like her, a manipulator of illusions, and that made him dangerous. She didn't have the ability to see past illusions, she could only create them and limited ones at that. Layla's abilities had yet to surface so the girl couldn't possibly know what he truly looked like either.

Her ranger instincts told her to lead him on a false trail and relocate her family. They told her to leave them and investigate his life to find a weakness to strike. But how long could that take? Layla was only a little girl, she couldn't handle her mother leaving for a few years, could she?

Juniper had many connections. She could stay in contact with her family while she was gone without this dangerous man knowing. She was a mother, and right now her baby could be in grave danger. If she was the cause, then she would do whatever it took to make sure that her daughter and husband were safe.

It was a simple game of cat and mouse, she could lead him on it for months. Years even.

She knew a few trustworthy people, and by a few she meant two. These days it was hard to find someone who wasn't working for the wrong person or controlled by their greed.

But it was still too early to just up and run off under the radar. She needed to ensure her daughter's safety and innocence for this mission. Layla was far too young to start worrying about a stalker coming after her for her abilities. It could set off a chain reaction, and the girl could be terrified of what she could do and block off that part of her family history, the complete opposite of what Juniper wanted for her daughter.

They'd have to send her to a protected location where she would be monitored inconspicuously throughout the day and have no idea of the true turmoil happening in their lives.

"You want to send our daughter where?" Preston turned to his wife, his bright green eyes narrowed in confusion at her.

"There's a boarding school in Celadon. It's top notch, and she'd be safe. We need to fall under the radar for a while," she reasoned with her husband after Layla went off to sleep. "This man is skilled, and I'm terrified he's going to get us."

Preston's eyes widened at her confession. Neither of them were the type of people to get scared, and there was no hint of Juniper lying as she faced him. He took a step back to lean against the counter, his brows furrowed in concentration. He'd have to take off from work. He could travel all over again and stop by to see Layla, but it'd have to be carefully. The strange man has no interest in him, after all, so he'd be safe to go around doing whatever. But when it came to his wife...

"What will you do?" he asked, glancing up from the ground to study her soft features.

"I'm going to head off for a while, lay low, and set up some short term false trails. Maybe that will deter him," she answered in a calculating tone. Her ranger days had kicked in.

"For how long?" Preston pressed, sounding pained at the situation.

"For at least a year."

He swallowed thickly, he never imagined something like this happening to them. Things had finally been going right and then this guy came out of nowhere to ruin it all. Worst of all, he was powerless in this fight. This was something only his wife could do. As much as he wanted to get down and dirty to help her, he'd only get in the way. They both knew it, and he resigned himself to only being support for her and their daughter.

"I'll send in an application first thing in the morning. We'll have to lay low until she gets accepted and we can move her in," Juniper reached up to grasp her husband's face, her lips pressed against his for a quick instant. "It's going to be okay."
Preston relaxed in her grip. She'd never been wrong before, and he doubted she'd start then. He just knows that it would be a long time before this would blow over and everything would truly be okay.

XxXxXxX

"Why am I going here again?" Layla glanced up at her parents, her green eyes muddled with confusion and hurt.

It was tough telling their daughter that they were shipping her off to boarding school for a year. She didn't take it well up front, but Layla had always been the persevering type. She adapted to the change and tried to look on the brighter side of it for the sake of her parents. It didn't help that she could feel their fear and their pain of leaving her.

Preston and Juniper shared a look for the umpteenth time that day. They had teleported early in the morning to Celadon City and had spent part of their morning spending time with their daughter. When they arrived at the school, the realization that they'd be leaving her there punched them both in the stomach. It was for her own good, they told themselves multiple times. But it doesn't mean you'll like it, a small voice whispered at the back of their minds.

They didn't like it, but it was for her safety. They'd stop by to visit every holiday and anytime it was safe. That barely pacified either of their needs to see their daughter everyday.

Preston was the first to lean over and pull his daughter in for a tight hug. "I've got important cases to see, and since they'd be your age, I don't want you to get sick. This is only for the year, we promise."

"We love you, baby," Juniper swallowed her tears and kissed her daughter's head multiple times. "I've got some old ranger duties to finish up, and they're too dangerous for you too."

"You'll come visit, right?" Layla turned to them, tears in her eyes.

"Of course," her father squeezed her tight and kissed her temple. "Be good, and no illusions unless it's a dire situation."

Layla giggled, not realizing that her parents weren't joking about that last bit. "I promise."

"Good. You'll make lots of friends and learn tons of new things," Juniper gave her one last squeeze. "We'll write when we can, call when we can, and visit when we can. Remember: we love you."

"I love you, too," their daughter wiped her tears and put on a brave face for what was ahead. "Bye."

The two waved her off, watching her jog into the crowd of kids heading into the front entrance. She turned back once more at the building's doors to wave on last time before she disappeared inside without turning back. Juniper and Preston's smiles evaporated from their faces as their daughter left. Their hands dropped and wordlessly they headed to the end of the street where they faced each other for the last time for a while.

"Keep this phone on you, it can't be traced. Call me on this when you want, you can use it to call Layla too. Lay low, and I will send updates as much as I can," Juniper handed him a black phone from her pocket and waved her own matching one before stashing it away. She turned back to him and reached up for a kiss, he returned it fervently. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Stay safe," he murmured, their foreheads pressed together.

"I've got no other choice," she half smiled, before leaning back. "See you soon."

"Yeah, soon."

OoO

Layla stepped through the buildings elegant front entrance. Celadon's boarding school was a stretch of large brick buildings on the outer edge of the city. The ceilings were impossibly high and painted with rich colors depicting strange scenes Layla had never seen before. The floors were shining marble reflecting light from the hanging fixtures above.

The flow of students nudged her in the direction of the dormitories where she was handed a paper and directed to her room. One side of the building was for girls while the opposite side housed the boys. She followed a group of girls up some stairs where they were sectioned off into their appropriate rooms.

A thick wooden door with her room number carved into it sat open as she approached. The room was larger than she expected, and inside were two other girls putting their clothes and things away already. She entered and wordlessly did the same, all the while worrying about what her parents were doing at that very second.

Once her things were put away, all the girls received uniforms and were directed to put them on. The school colors were green and gray, leaving their skirts to be light green with matching socks and a gray blazer. In their room was a singular bathroom with just a toilet and a sink. They had public showers to share. The girls took turns getting dressed and started to warm up to each other.

Feeling a bit out of place, Layla slipped on the pristine white under shirt, the blazer, and the rest of her outfit. She left their bathroom feeling worse than when the day started. She wanted to go home where she could wear whatever she wanted to school, where she could return home for the night and see her parents and their pokemon.

Now she was all alone.

Outside their room, a few teachers started to gather students from each class. Going into second grade had gotten Layla excited, but now she was dreading it.

When her number was called, she exited the room trailed by the other two girls as they babbled and babbled about their families. Not once did Layla pay special attention to their orientation, she understood how to get around school and where to go at what time. She didn't care about getting to know her roommates or classmates, nor did she care about the school's motto. She wanted nothing more than this year to fly by.

"Are you going to eat with us?" the girl from her room nudged Layla after their two hour orientation.

They had been paraded around the school, shown every classroom that they would possibly have to go to, told every rule they would have to follow, and told that they should be proud to attend such a prestigious school. Layla admitted that she would enjoy seeing what she would learn, but was still bitter about living there.

She glanced at the girl, was her name Maddie? She couldn't remember and shook her head. "I brought my own lunch... Thanks."

Maddie shrugged and bounced off to join a group of giggling girls, leaving Layla to march all the way back to their room to get the lunch her mother had packed for her. Eating alone didn't make Layla feel any worse. She preferred eating alone over having bad company. But it did leave an empty pang in her stomach as she grabbed her bag and headed to the front lawn.

The school was filled with kids that would be living there and would just be attending during the day. Many of them greeted each other with excitement about their summer while the rest introduced themselves to prospective friends.

Despite the school's 'shining' record, Layla knew that this school wasn't as expensive and extravagant as it liked to pretend to be. It was no better than a public school, though rich families sent their kids here and paid the heavy price for the full ride. She would only be here a year.

Layla plopped down under a tree and opened her paper bag to pull out a sandwich. Her favorite, peanut butter and pecha berry jam. She watched her mother make it for her this morning before they left.

She stared at the sandwich before taking a hesitant bite.

"Hello!" a voice suddenly rang out behind her. Layla yelped, twisting around to find a blue eyed boy staring at her with wide eyes. There went the prospect of a quiet lunch.

"H-hi," she swallowed her food and scooted away from him as he sat by her, eyeing her lunch bag hungrily.

"Do you want to see a magic trick?" he glanced up at her, a sly look in his eye.

Layla became interested immediately, her mother had once told her that sometimes a person was just like them if they said they knew magic. Misinformation is what she said it was. Had Layla found someone that could make illusions on her first day? What were the odds?

"Sure," she beamed and crossed her legs, sandwich at her lips and eyes focussed.

"I bet I can make..." the boy peeked into her bag and pulled out a small bag of chips with a grin, "this disappear!"

She raised a brow and nodded for him to continue. It was clear he did this often as he grabbed his backpack and pulled out a long white cloth. He stood up and moved to be seen in the light just a few feet away from her. His light brown hair glowed in the sunlight, and she saw a few streaks of dirt on his face that she hadn't noticed before. His clothes were clean and pressed and his shoes newly shined.

He cleared his throat and casted the cloth over his hand holding the chips. Layla watched as he waved the fingers of his free hand above the towel and watched as he ripped the cloth away. She saw the 'illusion' just as it happened. The cloth was long enough to almost touch the ground and held out far enough to hide his body behind it. She knew what he was going to do before he did it. He wasn't like her, but he understood illusions pretty well.

For someone not like her, she was impressed. He pulled the cloth away with a loud ta-da sound and revealed an empty hand. He showed her the cloth, shook it out and even kicked at his backpack.

"Where did it go?" he smirked at her as if he bested her.

With a smile, Layla pointed at him. "It's in the back of your shirt." The smile faded from his face and he looked prepared to bolt. "That was a great trick though. Do you want to share my lunch?"

His defenses relaxed at her words, taken off guard by her kindness as he stepped closer to her. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course," she held up the other half of the sandwich for him with a smile. "No one ever shows me magic tricks."

"But that one was terrible!" he flushed at the attention, dropping the bag of chips from its hiding spot in front of her.

"So? You still tried," she shrugged and put the sandwich in his hand, motioning for him to sit down. "I'm Layla."

The boy stared at her for a long moment, his eyes gauging her as if to see if she was serious about inviting him to sit. Who was this girl? That was his best trick. He had gotten countless lunches that way, and she saw through it like it was nothing!

Finally, his stomach growled and he lowered himself to the ground. His body moved slowly as if she were going to attack him or he was thinking about changing his mind. But he sat down and watched her with narrowed eyes.

Layla wasn't sure why he wasn't speaking, but she popped open the bag of chips and laid it out between them to share. She pulled out her thermos full of juice and poured him some in the cup on top. Her father always said it's best to help others before helping yourself, and that's exactly what she did.

She may not enjoy attending this school for the most part, but she was stuck there, and by the looks of it, he may be too. Instead of creating enemies and making it worse, she'd like to make one friend, even if he tried to steal from her. There's just something about him that she was drawn to and wanted to get to know more.

She lifted the cup up for him to take, her green eyes meeting his blue ones. Finally, he smiled and accepted the cup and took a long sip from it. He set it down and clapped his hands together before beaming at her.

"My name's Eusine!"