Not much to say here, except. . .
Disclaimer; Do y'all really think this is necessary?
"You'll never stop me; nothing you say today is going to bring me down!"
–Shut Up!, Simple Plan
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Tooouuuukkkooooo!" I roll over, squinting at the blurry figure in front of me... And for the second day in a row, fall out of bed.
The air leaves my lungs in gasp, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear the fuzzy dots floating in my vision. "Hey, Touko, are you awake now?" I groan, focusing on a pair of yellow shoes in front of my face. "Bee? What are you doing he- oh." Oh, right. I'm not at home anymore, in sleepy little Nuvema Town. I'm in Accumula Town, population thirty people, home to odd goings on involving cute guys and creepy old men.
"Oh, good!" Bianca exclaims, adjusting her ever-present green beret. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up!" "Bianca, what time is it?" I moan, pulling myself upright with the help of a table and a small wooden dresser.
"It's already six am, Touko! C'mon, up and at 'em! We need to see Accumula Town completely." Six. Am. I will murder that girl someday. When I have more energy.
"No," I say firmly, burying my head under the crisp, sweet-smelling sheets. "Cheren's already gone ahead to Striaton City," Bianca says slyly. "He's going to get his first Gym Badge."
"He's going to get his WHAT?" I yell, fully awake. I start furiously rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as Bianca repeats herself, somewhat unnecessarily. "His first Gym Badge. The Trio Badge."
"Aw, Arceus, no!" I say, hastily running around grabbing at articles of clothing. Poké Ball cap, tank top, vest, shorts, Snivy... Snivy? "Sakura!" The grass snake looks up at me innocently. "...Ahh...!"
"What's wrong?" asks Bianca. "And why do you wake up when I say Cheren?" A hint of jealousy is detectable in her voice, and I try to amend things while re-packing my gear.
"I don't wake up when you say Cheren, I wake up when you say Gym Badge, because Cheren and I were having a little competition to see who could get all the badges first and now he's ahead of me!"
"Here are your potions, by the way." "Thanks," I say, stuffing them into my medicine pocket. Organization. A lovely thing, that. Too bad I don't have any organizational skills whatsoever.
"Bee, I'm going to grab a shower, okay?" I say while pulling back the Panpour shower curtain, already running the hot water and trying not to scald myself. "Okay," she calls back. A pause. "So, why are you and Cheren doing this little contest?"
Trying to spit soap bubbles out of my mouth, I yell back my answer. "Remember when Cheren said that girls can't battle?" "Yeah," Bianca says. "That was the thing that got you really pissed off at him, right? When you wouldn't talk to him for a week?"
Yeah. When Cheren, Bianca and I were in eighth grade, Cheren decided to be completely sexist and say that girls couldn't battle properly or be Trainers because they were too soft. So I, being the tomboy that I was and still am, told him that girls could so fight, and watch me, I'd be better than him someday. And from then on, it was on. Anything that he did, I had to do better. Marks, Pokémon, athletics... Everything was a competition.
Especially Pokémon. And I had to beat him in everything. Everyone knew it was a friendly rivalry, but on the topic of Pokémon battling, it's still touchy.
"Yeah, that one," I say, rinsing peach-scented shampoo out of my long brown hair. "And then the whole battling thing..." Bianca trails off, knowing that I don't like to talk about it.
"I still have something to prove, you know," I tell her, dead serious. The running water of my shower punctuates the loaded silence, until Bianca tentatively breaks it.
"You're actually a better battler than him, you know." Since when has Bianca seen me battle? Oh, right, with the extremely hot, but insane, guy yesterday, outside the Pokémon Centre. "Nah. Cheren's been studying this stuff since he was three or something, Bee. I'm a newbie at this." I can hear Bianca's annoyed huff clear across our little suite.
"But that's the thing! He thinks things over too much. You just act on instinct. There's a reason your name means The Fighter, Touko." The Fighter. No one's called me that in a long time.
I run my slender fingers through my peachy conditioner-slick hair, before rinsing the lotion out. Bianca takes my silence as anger, and quickly backpedals.
"Sorry, sorry! I won't bring that up again if you don't want me to, I just..." "It's fine, Bee," I mumble, though I'm not sure if she hears me as I creak the faucet off.
Stepping out over the lip of the bathtub, I grab a fluffy white towel and wrap it around myself, ignoring my hair dripping cold water down my back. "S'okay," I repeat, louder this time. I turn around, drying my hair with another towel, and evaluate myself in the fogged-up mirror hanging on the wall of the bathroom. Huh.
Touko White, the Fighter. Slightly wavy chocolate brown hair down to my waist. Large, sea blue eyes and long eyelashes. Plump strawberry lips and straight white teeth.
I think I got all the good genes in the looks department, but that's not really what I'm looking for. I don't want to be the damsel in distress. I want to be the knight, or, hell, even the dragon. I want to be DOING something.
"Hey, Touko?" Bianca calls. "You ever gonna be out of that washroom?" I sigh, grab my hairbrush, and open the door, letting the steamy air flood into the main room. Bianca gratefully flashes me a smile and shuts the door. Seconds later, vanilla-scented steam wafts into the suite.
Five minutes later, I'm fully clothed, with my hair in its signature tight ponytail, and my baseball cap on my head. And I need to train. Feeling slightly guilty about what I'm going to do, I pull a piece of stationary from the Pokémon Centre's notepad (We restore your tired Pokémon to full health!) and start writing.
Bee; I'm going on ahead. Sorry for ditching you, I owe you a day when we get to Nimbasa, okay? But I need to do this: I need to prove myself. I also need to kick Cheren's ass. I'll see you in Striaton.
I don't bother signing the note, as there's only one person who could have left it, and that would be me. Slipping my feet into my hiking boots, I drop the pass card on Bianca's rumpled bed, and then quietly slip out the door.
Running down the steps two at a time, I burst out into the seven o'clock sunlight and breathe in the delicate scent of flower pollen. An overwhelming sense of freedom fills me, and I remember my Pokémon, cooped up in their tiny Poké Balls.
"Come on out, girls," I say, kissing the release button on both capsules before tossing them into the air. Two sharp pops ensue, followed by a flash of dazzling emerald and a flash of smoky grey.
Sakura and Swift emerge, looking pleased to be outside, and certainly wide awake. "Sniii! Snivy!" Sakura whines, and Swift bobs her head in agreement.
I reach into a small section of my bag, struggling with the zipper, and pull out two berries and a Lava Cookie mom sent from home. "Share," I say, giving my two Pokémon the food, and pulling out a roll spread with cheese for myself.
With determination, we stride through the drowsy town, stopping quickly to thank the two musicians playing the town's anthem. I learn from our visit that their names are Lynn and Erik, and I make a note to drop by again.
We also visit the young girl teaching everyone the essential move type matchups. "Play Pokémon rock-paper-scissors with me?" she pleads, huge eyes begging.
I had sat there for hours with her, reviewing type matchups until my hands couldn't form rock, paper, scissors anymore. It was fun until I chose Grass-type and she yelled, "Ice!" and her Cubchoo blasted me. No one said anything about Ice.
"Not now," I say gently, stroking her light brown hair. "When I come back, okay?" "Okay!" she agrees cheerfully, and bounds off again, no doubt to wake up her father and ask him to play instead. Bidding goodbye to concrete tiles and tall brown apartments, Sakura, Swift and I make our way to the gate on the west side of the town. Hello, Route 2.
We've barely passed through the gate, with its upbeat drum soundtrack, when my Xtransceiver rings. A little tune rings out through the route, loud in the early morning, and Patrat dive for cover in the tall grass.
I flip open the gadget on my wrist to reveal crackling static and black and white fuzzy lines, which Sakura hisses at. The picture and sound quickly solidify to reveal my mother. My mother. Great.
"Hi, sweetie!" she beams through the phone. "How's life treating you?" "Good, mom," I say, in a hurry to get to Striaton City. "That's good," she says cheerfully, ignoring or not noticing my impatience.
"Well, I was just calling to check up on you. I'll be going now, okay? Turn around." And then she hangs up. Thanks, mom, for the waste of time. I grudgingly turn around, only to see her still beaming away. "Hey, mom," I say dejectedly. She comes forward, crushing me in a hug, and I sputter indignantly. "Mom, I'm kind of on a schedule here..." She pulls back, and I arrange my grimace into what I hope is a convincing smile.
"I know, sweetie," she says. "Which is why I brought you these!" She holds up a blue Pokémart bag with a flourish, and I groan. Another one of her bargains. "And this is NOT another one of my bargains!" she announces. Oh.
"What are they?" I say suspiciously. Anything my mom buys usually ends up hurting me. "Running shoes!" A black shoe box comes out of the bag, and she thrusts it towards me. "Try them on!"
The shoes aren't actually that bad. They're white hightops with pink laces and black soles, with a Poké Ball design on the side. And they actually fit. "Thanks, mom," I say, more enthusiastically this time.
"No problem!" she chirps. "Now, I have to be going. I have a cake baking, you know." She embraces me again, and holds me for a long time. "Touko, sweetie, even if everyone seems to be rooting against you, you can do it!"
Then she lets me go, and starts walking down the road again, talking to her Liepard as she goes. My mom is an odd one.
Now that I have proper shoes, I realize that I can make up for lost time by running to Striaton instead of walking in my clumsy hiking boots. Untying the pink laces on my boots, I pull them off with Sakura's help and shove them in my bag.
Pulling the runners out of the black shoebox, I quickly undo the laces and jam them onto my feet, almost falling backwards as my heel finally slides in. Then I realize what an idiot I must look like, hopping around outside the gate, and I hastily stow everything back in my bag.
Flushing red, I bend down on one knee to tie my new shoes, and after struggling with a rushed knot, I turn to my right shoe... To discover the Swift is attempting to pull the lace out with her beak.
"Swift!" I say, picking up the little bird and placing her on my other side. "You just had breakfast. And that's a shoelace, not a Sewaddle or whatever you thought it was, okay?" The Pidove looks down at her black-clawed feet, ashamed.
"Sorry for snapping, yeah? But these are new, and they have to last all the way around Unova." To console her, I pull a container of Berry Juice out of my bag and toss it in the general direction of my Pokémon.
"You're gonna have to share again," I say apologetically, and my Pokémon give me blank looks. I throw my hands in the air. "I'll buy more when we get to Striaton! Just... Use grass as straws or something. " We sit on the (slightly damp) grass for a while, enjoying the fact that we could run and catch up with Cheren and his Pokémon at any point. After all, how far away could he be?
Sakura and Swift finish their juice, and we set off again, strolling leisurely through the tall grass. On occasion a Patrat jumps out at us, but Sakura quickly dispels it with a slash of her razor-sharp vines. Things get interesting when we start running. I'm streaking down the trail, dirt and gravel flying beneath my feet, Sakura slithering along beside me and Swift flapping her little wings to keep up when we see him.
Our first Trainer battle. The noise of my feet slamming against the ground has made a Youngster look up from his textbook, and when he sees us, his eyes light up. "You!" he says, pointing directly at me. "I challenge you to a battle!" The kid is probably about eleven years old. Easy win? Maybe.
He pulls a Poké Ball from a pocket in his baggy brown pants and throws it up into the air, as high as he can. A burst of grey light flashes out, and a Lillipup emerges, barking a battle cry. I look down at Sakura beside me, and she's smirking.
"You can take him, right?" I say to her. She gives me a look, and I yell, "Go, Sakura!" She calmly struts out onto the battlefield, cleaning her whips as she goes. "Um, Lillipup... Use Tackle!" the kid shouts, and I laugh. "Dodge it," I say, and Sakura steps sideways.
The Lillipup trips over her outstretched foot, as planned, but that's where things go sideways. "Lily, use Bite!" The Lillipup rolls over, flipping onto its side, and sinks short, sharp teeth into Sakura's tail. She shrieks and flails, swatting at him, but she can't reach him with her frond-like arms. Seeing how much pain she's in makes me wince, and I yell, "Vine Whip, Sakura!" My snake pulls out two vines and slashes them backwards over her shoulders, leaving angry pink welts rising on her own back, but worse damage on the Lillipup.
The puppy Pokémon howls in agony, pawing at its sensitive ears as they swell up red, splinters and shreds of leaves embedded in the skin. Barking, it runs back to its Trainer, and it whimpers behind his legs.
"Aw, Lily, come on!" The Lillipup, Lily, barks and shakes its head, tail trembling in nervousness. I point the Pokédex at it, and it pings. "Lillipup, level eight. It faces strong opponents with great courage."
I look doubtfully at the Pokémon cowering behind the Youngster. "But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees." Ah, that explains it. The Youngster sighs, and withdraws the dog, who obviously isn't going to fight.
"Go, Purrloin!" He has two Pokémon? Well, then, this'll be fun. "Can you keep going?" I ask Sakura. She snootily turns up her nose and keeps her body oriented towards the battlefield. "Okay, then, Sakura! Use Leer!"
Sakura attempts to give the kitten an intimidating look, but the cat Pokémon springs at her face, hissing and spitting. The blur of purple attaches itself to Sakura, and the combination of attacks is enough for me to withdraw her.
"You've done really well," I say, pulling out her Poké Ball. "Return." Sakura's outline flashes brilliant green and shrinks, recoiling back into her Poké Ball. It closes with an audible click, and I pull out another.
"Swift! Let's do this. Use Gust." Swift flaps her little wings and a whirlwind of air picks up, gathering leaves and flowers and dust into a mini tornado. She builds the wind until it's almost as tall as I am, and then seems to throw it towards the Purrloin.
The cat meows and stumbles backwards, caught off guard from the sudden buffeting wind. Small stones hit it, whirling around and around until the wind dies down again, and the Purrloin is left with a ragged, dusty purple pelt.
Swift watches in curiosity as the Purrloin staggers around in circles, dizzy, and then finally passes out, the combination of confusion and physical beating too much for it to handle.
The Youngster stares at his Pokémon in disbelief, and a flashback from last night leaves an image imprinted in my mind. N, kneeling over his Purrloin, a look of intense sadness written across his features.
Is this what I want to be doing? Do I want to fight until only one Pokémon is left standing, and the other is fainted, passed out... Even dead? The boy shakes me out of my thoughts by sticking a grubby hand in front of my face. "Jimmy," he says.
I blink, and N and Accumula Town disappear. The lush grasses and forests of Route 2 appear again, and the boy in front of me wavers into existence. "Touko," I say, shaking the hand more out of force of habit than manners.
"Are your Pokémon alright?" I ask, not wanting them to be hurt because of me... "Oh, they're fine." Seeing my face, he presses on. "Any time they fight, even if they lose, it makes them stronger. And there's a Pokémon Centre right around the corner in Accumula."
I look doubtfully at his Poké Balls, now being shoved back into the pocket from whence they came. "How are YOUR Pokémon?" he says, pulling out a container of spray-on purple liquid. "What's that?" I say, pointing at the container. Jimmy gives me a weird look, which quickly changes into understanding. "Newbie Trainer?" he asks, and I nod bashfully. "Yeah. Started yesterday."
A quick purple movement shows that Jimmy has thrown the container at me, no, TO me. I catch it and look at the contents dubiously as they slosh back and forth. "It's a Potion," Jimmy explains. "You spray it on your Pokémon to heal them, and different colours heal different amounts of damage." Aha. "Thank you," I say, a genuine smile lighting up my face. "I'll use it on Sakura, my Snivy." "There should be more lying about," he says nonchalantly. "People drop stuff here all the time."
I open the cap of the Potion and sniff it, wincing at the medicinal smell. "You spray it on," Jimmy says. "Like this." A burst of violet mist comes squirting out of the nozzle, and I watch in amazement as Sakura's damaged skin knits together again. "Sniii..."
I thank Jimmy again and set off at a sprint again, afraid that our conversation has set us back. The only time I stop is to battle a Lass named Mali and her Purrloin. We win, of course.
Eventually, though, I can't run any longer. "Pidove?" Swift asks, fluttering her wings and preening her glossy feathers. "How do you guys not break a sweat while I'm dying here?"
My Pokémon don't respond, and for a second, I think they're mad at me for some unknown reason, but then I realize that they're intently watching a patch of rustling grass.
I look over to where they're staring and see blades of grass swishing violently, my Pokémons' eyes following its every twitch. "Let's take it by surprise," I murmur, taking careful steps towards the mystery Pokémon.
"Sakura..." I start. She already knows what to do, and shoots out long vines, cutting away the grass and revealing... A little pink Pokémon eating a berry?
Swift immediately swoops down, a blur of grey and black, and gulps the berry straight out of the Pokémon's paw. "Audinooooo!" it cries, and I assume that's what its name is; Audino. "Sakura, use Vine Whip!" I cry, covering my face with my arms as grass shavings fly everywhere. The Audino cries out angrily and slams a heavy fist into Sakura with what I can only assume is Pound. "Again!" I yell, sensing that the Audino is weakening.
Another rope of grass slams around into the Audino's side, knocking it backwards and onto its fluffy white tail. Quickly, I throw a ready Poké Ball, and watch as it rocks three times. Crossing my fingers, I hope for a "click." Three stars float slowly skywards, signifying that I now own three Pokémon. "We did it, girls!" I yell, raising a hand for high-fives. Sakura sniffs and looks away, while Swift tilts her head to one side and gives me a scrutinizing yellow look. "You hit it," I say, nodding my head towards my hand.
A bunch of crinkling green leaves hits my hand, leaving small cuts leaking crimson liquid. I look at my bleeding hand in astonishment as Sakura lowers her tail, looking stunned. "On second thought," I say, "no high fives."
I decide to release the newest member of our party so that everyone can become acquainted with each other. Pressing the capsule to my lips in my customary fashion, I throw it into the air. "Audinoooo!" The little pink and white creature's large ears perk up, and it hugs me. Surprisingly, it looks healthy. I point the Pokédex at it. Another loud ping echoes through the undergrowth, sending Lillipup scuttling away. I need to adjust the volume on this thing.
"Audino, level seven. Hearing Pokémon. It touches others with its feelers on its ears, using the sound of their heartbeats to tell how they are feeling." "Hi, Audino," I say, cautiously unwrapping its arms from around me.
"I'm Touko, and this is Sakura and Swift. Do you mind if I give you a name?" The Audino's fluffy tail starts to wag, as a Herdier's might. "Ok, how about... Ella?" The Audino breaks into a wide smile, and her blue eyes sparkle happily. "Right. Ella, meet the team!"
We wind towards Striaton City, Ella, Sakura, and Swift making introductions on the way. We quickly beat Youngster Roland and his abundance of Patrat, and he gives us a whispered tip as we pass; "Up the hill behind me is a Potion and a Poké Ball." Sure enough, we bound up the rough steps to find the two promised items as well as an amazing view.
Standing on the rise, the mid-afternoon sun seems brighter, and I have to squint to make out anything. The peaks of three building stand out especially, one of which is orange. That one I know is a Pokémon Centre, but what are the other two?
One of them has to be the Gym, but all I see is what looks like a school and a restaurant... And off to the right is what looks like an abandoned construction site. What a weird city. That makes me even more excited to reach it before Cheren.
"Come on, girls. We have a city to reach!" "Auuudino!" cries Ella, then she, Sakura, and Swift start to race down the stairs. I tighten my ponytail under my cap, glance towards the awaiting city, and stumble down the steps after them.
Sprinting through the forest doesn't seem so tiring when there's an adventure ahead, and before we know it, we're standing at the entrance of Striaton City. The ornately tiled streets gleam in the sun, and beckon for me to step on them...
Just as I'm about to enter my first city, I hear a shout behind me. "Touko! (Pant, pant) Wait... (pant) for me! (pant, pant)" Bianca, of course.
Staggering in her yellow flats, trying to run quickly in her tight white skirt, Bianca stumbles into my vision, clutching her green fringed bag. "Touko, I want to battle you and your Pokémon, to see if we've gotten any better!"
I suppose battling Bianca would be good practice for taking on the Gym in Striaton. "Sure, Bee. Why not?" I say, pulling out Ella's Poké Ball. "Great!" she beams. "I've gotten way stronger, I promise! " With that, Bianca reaches into her purse and tries to pull out what I assume is a Poké Ball. However, her hand gets stuck with the zipper, and after three hard tugs, she finally pulls it free, staggering sideways as she does.
"Graceful, Bee," I say sarcastically, and she shrugs it off. "You won't be laughing when I beat you!" she exclaims, sending out a level six Lillipup. Level six. My Pokémon are all level eight or above, thanks to the level-grinding we've been doing on this route.
"Let's go, Ella!" I shout, and she walks out from behind me, smiling peacefully. "THAT'S your Pokémon?" Bianca says. "It looks like it couldn't hurt a fly!" In response, I simply say, "Pound," and Ella slams a white-furred paw into the Lillipup's side.
It flies backwards, Ella being much bigger than it is, with a yelp, but then rushes back around to hit Ella in the foot with Bianca's command of, "Tackle, Poochy!" Poochy, Bianca? Really?
Ella seems unfazed by the attack, and looks at me for directions. "Pound it again, Ella," I say, and she sits down on the Lillipup, squishing it into submission.
"Aw, Touko! You can't sit on your enemy to win," Bianca pouts, red lips quivering. "You didn't specify," I shoot back, and she giggles. "Was I supposed to? Okay then, in future battles, no more sitting on Pokémon!"
"Who said anything about future battles?" I say. "I'm going to decimate you now so completely you'll be scared to beat me!" Bianca snorts. "In your dreams," she says, withdrawing her Lillipup and sending out Rayne, the Oshawott.
"Oh, back to basics, are we?" I say, and I withdraw Ella, slipping her a Sitrus Berry to nibble on. "Well, in that case..." The girl in Accumula Town taught me a few very important things about type matchups. One of them is that water is weak to grass. And Oshawott is water. And Snivy is grass. "Go, Sakura!" I shout, flicking her capsule lightly into the air. The red and white halves flip seamlessly end over end, a hypnotizing display of colour...
Until a flash of emerald lights up the sky, and a small grass snake Pokémon arcs down towards the earth again. I suddenly have a crazy, insane, genius idea.
"Sakura!" I yell, knowing that at the moment that she has a higher level of speed than Rayne. "Use Vine Whip as you're coming down to pin Rayne to the ground!"
She instantly obeys, not spending time to debate whether I'm insane or not, a fact that I'm eternally grateful for. Long ribbons of green whip out and around Rayne, wrapping around him and pinning him flat to the ground.
"W-water Gun!" Bianca cries to her Oshawott, biting her lower lip in concentration. A jet of water spurts out of the otter's mouth and hits Sakura mid-descent, knocking her from the sky.
She slams into the ground and moans in pain, but gets back up quickly despite the dark brown bruises forming on her leafy body. "Tackle it while it's down!" I yell, and Sakura slams into the Oshawott, knocking it almost unconscious.
"Tackle it," Bianca says quietly, but Rayne is still pinned down by the vines now snaking into the ground. "Vine Whip, Sakura," I say softly, knowing that one of us has to lose this fight, and it's not going to be me.
I want to look away, to hide myself from the damage I've ordered to be inflicted on the small blue creature in front of me, but I can't. My eyes are riveted in place, watching the attack of my Pokémon, watching the light leave Rayne's black eyes like it left N's Purrloin's.
When I come back into focus, Sakura is wearing a smug little smile as she tends to her injuries, gently prodding bruises and cuts. "Can you hold on until we get to the Pokémon Centre, or do you want to be healed now?" I ask.
She gives me that proud, haughty look again, and I sigh. "Waiting then. Okay." I look back to Bianca, and she's returned her Pokémon to their Poké Balls and is looking at me with an expression akin to awe. "What?" I say. "Wow..." she says, still staring at me with wide jade-green eyes. "You're really strong, Touko." A small ember of pride ignites inside of me, and for once, I feel like I can beat Cheren.
"Thanks, Bee," I say, giving her a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "You did awesome too. And I was kind of at an advantage, because I have three Pokémon, and you had two..." "Touko, shut up." "What did you just say to me?" "Shut up," Bianca repeats. Mild, sweet, kind Bianca...! "You're a better battler than I am, I've known that since day one, which was yesterday. So don't make excuses for your wins. Be proud of them."
I gape at her, my mouth flapping open and closed like a Basculin. "That was possibly the most profound thing that has ever come out of your mouth," I say bluntly.
She giggles, back to ditzy blond again. "Aww, thanks, Touko! Well, I'll see you around. I'm going to go train some more on Route 2. Next time we meet, I'm going to beat you!" she calls, waving frantically over her shoulder, blond hair bouncing cheerily.
I chuckle. "You wish, Bee!" I yell back, waving back in a slightly more controlled fashion. I scoop Sakura into my arms and slip Ella and Swifts' Poké Balls into my bag.
Breathing in deeply, I hold my chin up high and walk confidently into Striaton City, Sakura loudly announcing our arrival as we come.
Thanks to all of my loyal readers thus far! It would be lovely if they dropped me a review to let me know how I was doing!