Chapter Seven: Timberfall Town
The sheer excitement of the battle they had just won propelled Salem with enthusiastic energy almost the entire way to the next town. His tail was held high, his pawsteps light and almost worthy of a dance as he wove in and around Rin's legs, occasionally twirling on the spot to chase his own tail or release a few happy barks. The entire show had his trainer laughing with him. She was rather excited herself, but she was rather surprised he had enough energy left over to make it almost the entire way to Timberfall, the way his enthusiasm had him bouncing all over the place. As it was, Salem was panting rather heavily by the time they got to the little town nestled in the space between the mountains.
Timberfall was a rather beautiful little place, those who had founded it working the natural walls of the mountains into flat Multi-tiered surfaces that left most of the natural formations in place. The town was almost perfectly round in shape as a whole, with a wide central atreet cutting across the center in a straight line. Coming in from the south side of the town as they were, Rin and Salem were met with a view of neatly symmetrical buildings to either side of them, lined up and thatched with matching wooden shingles. To the left, all of the roofs had been painted a vibrant red in color, while to the right, the buildings all sported brightly white tops. Directly in the center of town, beautifully manicured and tended to, a circular park dominated the area, a favorite gathering spot for the locals. From her experience with looking at maps of the region, Rin knew that when looking upon the town from an aerial point of view, the entire thing resembled a giant pokéball.
Several stores and a grocery dominated the main street as far as Rin could tell, all connected by long wooden sidewalks. A few people were walking along these, conversing amiably with one another or looking down at tablets or phones in their hands. Several more people were mingling in the park, a few children playing with a frisbee as their parents looked on. An older man noticed Rin and Salem at one point and called out a greeting to them, hurrying over and offering his hand for the young woman to shake. She excepted it politely, noticing that Salem pressed himself to her leg with nervousness as the man approached, taking a small step to hide himself behind her. She felt sorry for him. This was probably more people than he had ever come into contact with in his entire life. Admittedly, she was nervous herself. Strangers were always unpredictable, especially with scars and a history like hers. The man didn't seem to notice, or politely chose not to comment, but welcomed the newcomers warmly to the town and hoped that they would enjoy their stay. Rin thanked him but was more comfortable when he finally walked away. Salem through all caution to the wind and finally whined, pawing urgently at her leg until she picked him up.
"it's OK Salem. He was just saying hello." Rin soothed, gently rubbing at a spot on the Poochyena mix's chest to help calm him down. She could feel his heart pounding behind his ribs. Concerned, she cast her green eyes around at the nearest buildings, relieved by the sight of a familiar looking building with a red roof and the symbol of a pokéball set above the Doublewide automatic doors. With a small sigh of relief, the young woman made a beeline for the Pokémon center, hoping that getting away from the curious onlookers would help both her and Salem collect themselves.
The automatic doors open smoothly with a soft hum at Rin's approach, causing Salem to press back against her stomach a little more tightly, sweet smelling cool air washing over the pair. Continuing to rub small circles into the soft fur beneath her fingertips, Rin cast a quick look around the room she had entered into, her shoulders responding by relaxing to the floral smell that hung in the air. She noticed that the Timberfall Pokémon center was not very large but kept spotless and orderly with precise attention to detail. The majority of the room was dedicated to several overstuffed red couches and armchairs, with a few tables arranged around them with stacks of Pokémon related magazines on top. Several vases of flowers and a few potted plants were decorating the small space, making it feel cozy and inviting. A long desk cut across the entirety of the room close to the back wall, separating the last third of the room from the waiting area.
A woman with a pretty heart shaped face and tightly curled brown hair lifted her head to look towards them almost as soon as the doors had opened, smiling welcomingly at the pair. Rin took notice of her and returned the smile with a timid smile of her own but was quickly distracted by sudden movement at the ground level. Stopping automatically, she watched several little Pokémon begin to dance in her direction, waving minute arms and releasing joyous sounds of welcome. Each of them was very small, with green colored bodies and colorful flower petal skirts. On either side of their heads, a pair of reddish pink flowers completed the image, making them look very tropical and rather adorable. Rin relaxed almost at once as the little flowery Pokémon began to dance around her legs excitedly, smiling more comfortably now. "these are Bellossom Salem "she explained in a quiet voice. "They're very friendly. The professor has one that he let me play with."
Salem gave her a sideways glance for a moment before he sniffed in the Direction of the Bellossom, His tail giving a very tiny tentative wiggle which made his trainer smile. Giving the little mix a more substantial pat on his chest, Rin carefully maneuvered around the still dancing grass types and made her way over to the desk.
"Welcome to the Timberfall Pokémon center! I'm Elizabeth. How can I help you today? "The Pokémon nurse greeted Rin as she made it to the counter, her smile widening in a way that made a dimple pop out in one cheek.
Again, offering another timid smile, Rin responded with a quiet, "Hello. I'd like to get my partner checked out and healed up if that's all right. "and much to said Pokémon's chagrin, he was then placed on top of the counter.
"Of course! Do you have a pokéball that you would like to use? "Elizabeth responded politely, brushing back part of her brown curls that had fallen into her face.
Rin found herself hesitating with her mouth partially open, momentarily confused by the question. Then she was thinking hard and fast, thoughts spiraling backwards to the professor's office. She remembered vaguely receiving a blue and white colored ball from him, a comment made about his assistant using it to transport Salem. But she had simply put it into her backpack without much thought about it beyond that. She wasn't even sure she remembered which pocket she had put it into specifically. "Umm... well, he has a pokéball, but I've never used it before." She explained, blush coloring her cheeks.
The confused expression that had begun to blossom onto Elizabeth's face vanished at once, a look of understanding replacing it. "oh, that's all right. I have a couple of regulars that I treat that don't enjoy going into their designated pokéballs either. I can treat your partner just as well without it." She reassured, holding out her hands in a request for Salem.
Salem was having none of that. He stubbornly planted his feet and attempted to hide using any part of Rin he could gain access to. Rin Felt sorry for him, but she equally felt sorry for the nurse who had to deal with him in his nervous state. "Sorry!" The young woman gasped, catching the little Poochyena mix before he could jump off of the counter. "This is his first time in a Pokémon center and strangers make him really nervous."
Elizabeth looked rather concerned, but clearly understanding, as she watched Rin hug Salem a little tighter to her body. Then an idea lit her expression and she quickly reached under the counter, pulling out a jar filled with multi colored marble sized balls that rattled against the glass. Rin caught a momentary glimpse of a happy looking Cleffa printed on the lid before the nurse had the lid off and had scooped out one of the spheres. "That's quite all right." Elizabeth soothed, holding out the ball towards Salem. "Some Pokémon trust more easily than others. But others need a little encouragement. Young Pokémon, like yours, just need to be shown that it's not just their trainer that cares for them."
Rin wholeheartedly agreed with Elizabeth and she again felt a small sense of wonder that she had been able to connect with Salem so easily. She wondered why that had been. Pulling her thoughts back to the present, she lowered her face to the level of her Pokémon and whispered into his ear soothing words of encouragement, comfort, and love. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Elizabeth was looking at her with something a kin to approval on her face before the nurse once again offered the treat.
Pausing thoughtfully with his head halfway pushed beneath Rin's arm which he had been attempting to hide behind, Salem flared his nostrils as the scent of the treat finally reached his nose, lifting his head slightly to get a better look at the purple ball that was being offered to him. Slowly, his head withdrew from his hiding spot, a tentative wiggle trembling through his tail. Rin smiled encouragingly as the little Poochyena glanced up at her, giving him a little nudge with her arm. Hesitantly, Salem took first one and then another small step away from his trainer, occasionally glancing up at Elizabeth as if to make sure she wasn't planning any sudden movement, stretching out his neck furthest of all, his nose practically vibrated with the amount of sniffing it was doing. Carefully inspecting the woman's fingers, Salem took one last quick glance up at the smiling face haloed by brown curls before hesitantly picking up the treat and quickly retreating again, setting the ball in front of his paws and taking an experimental nibble, much like he had done before with the berries he had been offered. And like that instance with the fruit, the little K9 discovered that he thoroughly enjoyed the food, the rest of the purple treat vanishing with a swipe of his tongue and a few quick crunches. Then he was very intently looking up at the nurse behind the counter, all worry melting away as he stepped towards her in hopes of getting another treat.
"Oh, baby Pokémon are so adorable!" Elizabeth crooned, gently picking up Salem and offering him another crunchy ball from the jar. "I love that moment where you can earn their trust. It makes my job ten Times more enjoyable!"
"They make being a trainer ten Times more enjoyable too." Rin agreed, smiling warmly as Salem temporarily turned his attention away from the jar of treats to give her an admiring look. The glance didn't last long, the crunchy Pokébites, as the label proclaimed, were enticing enough to have the Poochyena mix's attention only a moment later.
But Elizabeth's look lasted a little longer, a joyous expression brightening her face. "Well," she said, pulling a couple of the brightly colored treats from the jar and putting them into a pocket in her white coat. "I'll take him into the back and check him out, feel free to wait here or get yourself a bite to eat at the café next-door. They have excellent sandwiches."
"Thanks, but I think I'll just wait here." Rin admitted, silently adding to herself just how much the idea of being separated from Salem made her uncomfortable. Which was surprising how things had changed in such a short amount of time. She had barely begun her travels, had only met Salem the day before yesterday, and already he had become an inseparable element in her life.
Blinking thoughtfully, the girl didn't quite catch what the Pokémon nurse said to her next, but saw the woman collect one of the Bellossom and head into a back room, crooning softly to both Pokémon. Rin lingered at the counter for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm her sudden nerves, and then carefully traversed the excitable remaining Bellossom to sink into the cushions of one of the plush red sofas pushed up against the wall of the front room. She fidgeted for a moment, tapping her fingers against her other hand, curling and flexing the toes of her right foot, and even tugging on the end of her ponytail, before releasing an explosive sigh and picking up one of the magazines on top of the low black coffee table in front of her.
"Viva Contesta" the title proclaimed, a girl in a beautifully done up dress posing on the cover with her Linoon, a glossy pink ribbon tied in a bow around the Pokémon's neck, her tail swishing happily behind her. Contests weren't what Rin would consider to be her cup of tea, but she flipped open the cover to an article raving about Pokéblocks and the supposed boosts they gave to different attributes that contest judges were looking for. The concept was interesting enough, but Rin really wasn't about to believe that mixing up certain berries would make a Pokémon appear more beautiful, or cute, especially not the angry looking Snubbull the writer had decided to feature in his article. Grimacing slightly at the pink Pokémon, the teenager snorted as she snapped the magazine closed, setting it back on the table. She had just turned her attention to a much more promising looking magazine that had a photograph of a Raichu dodging around the whipping vines of a Bayleaf when the front door to the Pokémon center slid open and a young man stepped through, followed closely by a rather beautiful blue quadrupedic creature with a ribbed crest around her head and a fin shaped tail. On cue, the flowery Bellossom cried in renewed excitement, dancing their way over to the newcomers.
The young man beamed at the greeting he was receiving, crouching down to offer up a round of pats to each Bellossom. Studying him from across the room, Rin had to guess that if she were standing next to him, he wouldn't be much taller than her five and a half feet. He had thick curly dark brown hair and an olive complexion, with a muscular stocky build that made him appear older than he actually was. The well-worn appearance to his shoes and the backpack settled onto his shoulders probably was a good indication that he was also on some sort of journey himself. The Pokémon at his side, a Vaporeon she thought, led her to believe that he was another trainer.
"Hey Bells, Flit, Lily, Dawn." He was saying, revealing that this wasn't the first time he had been inside this particular Pokémon center. "where's Fleur and Elizabeth?" He continued on to ask, glancing behind the counter and then sweeping his gaze around the room, quickly settling on Rin who immediately felt guilty for staring and dropped her eyes to her hands.
"Oh, hey. I didn't see you there, sorry."
Rin glanced up momentarily from beneath her lashes, receiving a warm smile from the young man, the expression crinkling up the corners of his eyes. He stood, circling around the Bellossom and a couple of overstuffed arm chairs that were between them, making his way over to her and offering his hand. She hesitated for a moment, glancing up into eyes the color of dark chocolate, before extending her own hand and placing it in his for a shake. His expression grew slightly confused for a moment, and she saw more than felt him flinch briefly, his eyes quickly flickering down to her hand before he released her fingers and took a step back, looking up into her face once again. The backs of his legs bumped into his Vaporeon, the water Pokémon having followed closely behind her trainer, and he quickly released a short huff of surprise, receiving a musical trill in response that had him looking down quickly. For some reason, his cheeks colored slightly pink. If she had to guess, Rin would wager that his embarrassed response had something to do with his unexpected contact with her metallic hand
'Haven't had that response in a while.' Rin found herself sighing inwardly, unconsciously curling her hand into a fist. It had been years since she had received her robotic limb and she had had to get use to the reactions from the other villagers in Starpointe, especially her aunt, uncle, and cousins that had come to live with her for a time and interacted with on a daily basis. Things had calmed down after a few years, after her scars had healed enough and the site of a robotic prosthetic wasn't quite a novelty anymore. She had gotten used to it, barely thought about it anymore. She had been sheltered, in other words. But she couldn't blame this stranger, not when she put herself in his shoes. She probably would have the same reaction...
"...S-Sorry, I didn't mean to... Uhh. What I meant was... I'm Andrew." The young man then stammered, breaking her out of her inner dialogue.
He turned a slightly darker shade of pink win Rin met his gaze again, making her feel slightly guilty about her initial negative reaction. Giving her head a small shake, she mustered up another smile, lifting her shoulders in a small shrug. "there's nothing to be sorry about. It's different, I get that. There aren't a lot of robotic limbs in the world after all. I'd be just as surprised as you if I were in your place."
Andrew seemed slightly taken aback by her honesty, his mouth dropping open with a faint pop. Then he blinked twice quickly, snapping his mouth shut before self-consciously coughing into his hand and glancing away, sliding into the armchair just behind him. "yeah, you can say that again." He chuckled nervously, finally meeting her gaze once more. "I just wasn't expecting it, you know? Silph prosthetics are really rare to come by, especially so close to the edge of the region. I hear they're really expensive. I've never met anyone with a robotic replacement before, just heard about them on the television..." His voice suddenly trailed off, his chocolate colored eyes widening. "Hang on. Are... Are you Alarin Hall?"
Rin blinked, surprised, and then had to fight to keep a small grimace from blossoming onto her face. "Yes." She admitted. "But I prefer to be called Rin. And you said your name was Andrew, right?"
"Yeah!" Andrew said excitedly, a grin spreading over his face. "Wow, Cool! I can't believe I'm getting the chance to actually meet you. My family and I prayed for you and talked about you for a month straight after we saw the news reports on TV. I was only nine at the time, but I remember them talking about the attack and doing a new surgery procedure talking about using robotics to give people back their limbs and vision and I talked about how cool it would be to become an android to be able to shoot laser beams and have guns for hands" finally pausing in his stream of unbroken words as he noticed that Rin's face had turned a bright red, and his Vaporeon had placed a halting paw onto his leg, Andrew settled back into his chair with a huff of his own embarrassment. "Sorry. I'm talking way too much. I tend to do that when I get excited."
Pressing the palms of her hands against her hot cheeks for several moments, it took Rin a few attempts before she was able to find her voice again. When she did finally manage to speak, her voice was somewhat strangled, almost as if she were fighting off tears. "Thank you. I... I'm glad you told me that." Then she managed a teary laugh, Glancing away is she wiped the tears from her cheek with the sleeve of her shirt. "Did you really want to be able to shoot laser beams from your eyeballs?" The idea sounded ridiculous.
It was Andrew's turn to go a little red in the cheeks, but he covered his embarrassment quickly by releasing a boom of laughter. "Yeah. Pretty silly, right? But I had this character in a comic book that could do it, so I was convinced that it was the coolest superpower."
The idea made her give her head a little shake, but Rin found that her smile stayed in place. She was just starting to relax around Andrew, moving past her natural shyness, and had even begun to consider asking him more about his Vaporeon when the smile was abruptly wiped from her face by his next statement.
"Thinking about it, I bet that having a silver arm and scars makes you self-conscious though." He said thoughtfully, not noticing the sharp look his Pokémon gave him. "Do you ever feel that way?"
"Well, if she didn't before, she does now. I thought mom taught you better manners."
With her cheeks once again burning with embarrassment, Rin glanced quickly over at the speaker, her gaze quickly finding Elizabeth who had stepped out from behind the counter, unnoticed by either trainer, giving Andrew a scolding expression. But Rin's attention quickly went to the Pokémon the nurse was holding, Salem's expression one of concern as he looked between his trainer and the newcomer. After a moment, he whined urgently, squirming until Elizabeth stooped down and set him on the floor. As soon as paws hit tile, the little Poochyena mix was darting across the floor, making a beeline straight for Rin. She was ready for him, holding out her arms and catching him as soon as he leapt, hugging him close to her and using the opportunity to let him sniff and lick at her cheeks to hide her flushed face.
"Wh-what?" Andrew stammered in surprise.
Elizabeth clicked her tongue at him. "Of all the brothers I could've gotten, I had to end up with an insensitive one."
The flowery Bellossom at her feet agreed, emphasizing each sound she made with an emphatic bob of her head. Andrew's aquatic quadruped also chimed in, sighing heavily.
Then the nurse did her another favor, smoothly diverting the conversation away from the painful subject to allow Rin the opportunity to catch her breath, turning her attention back to her brother and once again narrowing her eyes. "So, Andrew. I'm sure you weren't planning on shaming our mother when you decided to come. Why did you pay me a visit?" She asked, relaxing her expression somewhat as she waited for an answer.
Andrew was a little slow on the uptake, looking as if he wanted to apologize once again, and was still looking somewhat mortified as he opened his mouth at first, still focused on Rin. Then his Vaporeon very deliberately leapt into his lap, effectively taking his attention away from the young woman and causing him to blink rapidly, gaze focusing on to his sister. "What? Oh! Yeah, Why I came, right." He finally blurted, catching up to the conversation and reaching for a small sling hanging from his shoulder and across his chest that Rin hadn't noticed before. "After I picked up my team from the day care center, the owner told me that they all had been standing around this when he went outside to get them."
The 'this' he was talking about turned out to be a light-colored egg about the size of a football that Elizabeth pulled out from inside the fabric, the object drawing everyone's attention. Curious as to what exactly it was, Rin glanced between the siblings, managing to speak after clearing her throat. "is that an... egg?"
"Yes, It's an egg." Elizabeth confirmed, glancing briefly towards Rin before once again looking back at the oval object cradled carefully in her hands. "But this isn't just any egg. It's a Pokémon egg." She then looked towards Andrew. "Who's is it?" She asked, almost immediately looking towards the Vaporeon casually curled up in his lap.
But Andrew just shrugged in response. "He didn't know. They were all crowded in close, so he couldn't tell if one of them in particular was protecting it."
"I see. And you're bringing it to me because...?" Elizabeth fished, raising one eyebrow.
"Well," Andrew began, looking as if he were feeling somewhat uncomfortable, "I just had my application to enter the league challenge excepted. I am only allowed six Pokémon to be registered for the entire competition. It's basically against the rules to have seven Pokémon with you. And when that egg hatches, I would end up having seven Pokémon with me. I don't want to risk being disqualified and I really don't have the time to spare for a baby at the moment. I was hoping either you could raise it, or you knew of someone who would be willing to hatch them."
Elizabeth finally sat down in one of the armchairs next to her brother, cradling the egg in her hands and looking thoughtful. "Okay. "she finally sighed, giving her head a shake. "what could I expect it to hatch into?"
Andrew's grin turned into a contemplative expression, his head tilting slightly to one side. "they are either going to be an Eevee, Joltic, Sandile, Skiddo, or Rufflet. I had Emboar with me for some special training." He admitted, giving his shoulders another shrug.
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose delicately. "I'm really hoping it's not a Joltic. I don't do bug Pokémon. But the egg feels heavy enough that I don't think it would be a tiny bug, but you never can tell with Pokémon." She admitted, beginning to slide the egg back into the sling when a thoughtful expression suddenly crossed her face. After a moment, she looked excitedly at Rin. "hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you take the egg!" She said, offering the cloth wrapped egg as she did so.
Rin, in turn, blinked with surprise before abruptly squeaking, "What? Oh, I... I couldn't take something so important from you."
But Elizabeth waved off such a flimsy excuse, laughing. "important? No! I don't have any emotional attachment to this egg. One of Andrew's Pokémon seems to have had a little bit of fun while he was off doing whatever it was that he was doing, so I was going to end up with this egg one way or another. But I wasn't planning on keeping the Pokémon for myself. They are going to be adopted by a trainer someday, so why not have that trainer be you? It would save me the trouble of having to look after it, what with my own Pokémon to take care of and the center to run on my plate. And it will give you the opportunity to experience what Pokémon breeders have to go through, not to mention you'll get a new team member out of the deal."
Everything she was saying made perfect sense, sound logic all the way around, but Rin still found herself hesitating a little. Yes, the idea of taking the Pokémon egg with her on her journey sounded exciting, she was burning with curiosity to know what was inside. But it was a decision that would impact not only her journey, but Salem's as well. She couldn't imagine a future in which she would force the Poochyena mix to travel within the confines of a Pokéball, nor could she imagine him voluntarily making that change. They both enjoyed being with one another too much for that to happen. And any new Pokémon on her team would affect him just as much as it affected her. So, she carefully bit back her acceptance as she looked towards the Pokémon sitting in her lap, catching his gaze as he also looked to her curiously. "What do you think Salem? Should we take the egg along and hatch ourselves a new friend?"
All eyes turned towards the little gray K9 as he seemed to be contemplating the question posed to him, his head tilted slightly as he looked up at his trainer. Then his blue eyes turn towards Elizabeth, studying the object she was holding out. Everyone seemed to be making such a big deal over such a silly thing, at least that was his opinion. Or at least, that was what his expression said as he looked back to Rin with a soft snort, wiggling his tail to get his point across.
As Rin released a giggle to his response, Elizabeth nodded her head. "that settles it! This egg is yours. Take good care of it." The nurse said happily, settling the egg into Rin's hands before any other objections could be raised.
As she cradled the egg protectively in her hands, Rin couldn't help but smile. She was fairly certain that she was going to have quite the interesting message to send to Professor Pine before she went to bed that night.
