Harry followed the nurse into a back area of the pokémon center. It was actually outside the building, but there was a large deck and overhang, and several smaller pens on the inside of the hallway leading out. An audino was prancing back and forth, replacing water bottles for the smaller pokémon in their inside pens. There were so many! Not that she was set on choosing one; she was just there to look. Maybe she could volunteer there for a little while and see if that helped ease her mind.
At thirteen, she knew she was in the minority of kids her age without a pokémon. It wasn't as if she was avoiding training. Harry just wasn't sure where to get her first pokémon. She knew there were options, and advantages to each, but she wasn't sure. Catch one? Go to Nuvema and ask the professor? There was an adoption center in town, but she still wasn't sure. And there were so many types of pokémon, too. It certainly didn't make the decision any easier.
"Do you have anything in mind?" the nurse asked kindly, making her jump. She quickly shook her head.
"I'm just—um, looking." The outside area was larger and had a little pond, with a couple different types of pokémon. A munna toddled past, pausing to smile blandly up at the two humans, and then continued on its way. A tranquill and a woobat bickered overhead, squeaking and squawking. There was a sandile sunning itself near the corner of the enclosure. This would have a larger selection of pokémon, and potentially ones she wouldn't be able to easily find elsewhere. And she'd be giving a pokémon a home! She just didn't know.
Then she saw a small blitzle with its side pressed up against the fence, looking nervously at the two humans in its space. It had big, worried eyes, hooves scuffling the grass. And Harry was sold.
-.-.-
Chapter Thirteen: Ree Majors' Wonderful Journey Of Sweetness
-.-.-
Ree had had to turn off her phone during the night. Maya had to have tattled on her. She'd gotten half a dozen calls from her and Scott alone in the time it took her to brush her teeth and dig through her shopping bags to get out her new pajamas. The next morning, she only had three voice messages—two from an irate Maya and one from a confused Scott. They must have given up after trying so often.
If only they'd just get the message.
"I suppose a normal breakfast is out of the question..." Kev said and sighed. Ree nodded, mouth a firm line, and stuffed her things back into her backpack. "Ree, this isn't very practical."
"Don't you have an interview today?"
"Not for a couple hours. I have time to bother you until then."
"Guys, not so early, please," Harry yawned from the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.
"I know Maya's down there camping again. You two will be safe—just don't you dare tell on me—but I'm headed out the window again."
"You'll get us kicked out of here yet. I thought the point of your excursion yesterday was to create a disguise? Why not test it in the center, where she knows you are anyway, and where there's a crowd around to make sure you both behave?" Kev suggested. Harry leaned back out to look at Ree hopefully.
She had to give in. "Fiiine. Breakfast down in the mess hall, but I'm bringing Sophia." She grabbed her bat and stood up, peering over the edge of the top bunk, where Lala was still sleeping. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead. Breakfast time."
"Scott," she hissed and curled up tighter.
"Breakfast. Food. Come on, get up," Ree repeated and poked her with the bat. Lala rolled over and grabbed it, but Ree had enough muscle to thankfully prevent her from taking Sophia altogether. "Food! We're earlier than usual, so they'll probably have plenty of those spicy little sausages you like so much."
Lala eyed her, clearly torn between more sleeping and delicious food.
Ree decided to sweeten the deal. "More training today, too. Don't you want to show off your groomed fluff and beat up more little kids' pokémon?"
The whimsicott was up almost at once. Ree grinned and returned her, slipping her into the pocket with the other pokeballs. It was so much easier to control them when she figured out how she could bribe them. Maybe that's what being a trainer was all about.
So Whippy likes sweet things and Lala's spicy... I need to figure out a treat scheme for the other two, too, she thought and knelt back down to pull on her shoes. Or maybe she could use Whippy to help corral Mitzi. But Harper and Mitzi were hardly the problem. "We're going down in disguise. Maya's an early riser, so she's probably already eaten. Fuck, I hope so. That means she'll probably be in the lobby, which means if we can get past her, we get to eat. This'll be a test, so don't think you've won," she said and pointed at Kev with Sophia.
"All great theories require testing, don't they? Think of it as a stealth level. Don't get noticed." Oh, that's right—he was a gamer too. With all of the training and injuries and drama, she'd forgotten that that was how he'd gotten dragged in with them.
Ree managed to hook the end of her bat into her belt loop. It banged against her thigh when she walked too fast, but it didn't hurt. It just wouldn't do for long distances. She put on her large sunglasses, ran a hand through her short hair, and marched valiantly out into the hall. And nearly ran into a young blonde girl.
After sorting out who stepped on whose foot and whether or not all parties were okay, Ree really set out for the cafeteria. She didn't want to spend too much time in there, just in case Maya did go looking, but she was doing pretty good with remembering what her pokémon liked. She could get food for them, then release them, and let them eat while she grabbed her stuff. Then they'd be done about the same time, and they could book it out of there. Foolproof plan.
Except the lobby. Ree walked about half a step behind Kev, eyes scouring the area for her sister. It was just beginning to get busy, but there was still plenty of open space and not hard to pick out someone if you were searching. She didn't see Maya right away, which made her worry about whether or not she was eating in the mess hall. That would be even worse!
As it turned out, the proverbial rug pulled out from her yet again as she had forgotten about the other threat. They were halfway across the lobby when the glass doors slid open to reveal a tired-looking boy with long, blond hair, aviator sunglasses, and a panting gigalith following him in.
Ree literally leapt for the hallway again, except Sophia banged into her leg and she took a tumble, taking Kev with her. Dignity gone and panic taking its place, she didn't even care about that and practically crawled to the safety of the hallway once more. Scott walked in and returned Vince before reaching the counter; it looked as if he hadn't noticed or recognized them. Massaging her bruised leg, she glared out at her boyfriend. Of course.
"Fuck this, I'm going out into the city to battle," she hissed and bolted as silently as she could for the stairs, careful to hold Sophia away from herself. By the time her companions caught back up with her in the room, reasons why it was okay and why she should probably talk to him at the ready, she had already changed clothes, packed all of her day things, and was tying the rope to a bedpost in order to repel out the window.
"Ree, you shouldn't avoid him! We can just go talk to him about all of this, and it'll turn out okay!" Harry said at once, turning between packing her things and dragging Ree back in. "Oh, gosh, Ree, I just wish this could still end happily..."
"For god's sake, at least don't go leaving out the window like a thief in a black hoodie!" Kev added severely as Ree pulled the hood up over her hair.
"Why?" she asked, temporarily halted by the out-of-the-blue remark.
"I guess the day is supposed to get rather warm," Harry pointed out, looking sideways at him as he buried his face in his hands. Ree, feet still dangling out the window, tore the jacket off and threw it at him. "Ree, please! Think about this for a moment!"
"I am! He'll find Maya eventually, and that'll keep them both busy, and I imagine they'll continue to camp out here. So I'm going out to take down every small child with a pokeball until Whippy evolves, I'm gonna trounce Burgh, and then I'm getting the fuck out of here!" Ree announced and wiggled out the window again. She paused, halfway out, and looked up at Kev. "You better get that job today because either tonight or tomorrow, I'm out of here."
"Kicked to the curb. Ouch," he said dryly and crossed his arms.
"You were only along for the ride, and you said you wanted to settle back down and get a job. Aren't you?"
"Yes, but..."
"Don't fight!" Harry broke in shrilly, stepping in between them. "Um, Ree's right—for now! Kev, you do need to look nice for your interview, and you want to concentrate on that. And it's okay if Ree trains more today, though she shouldn't be skipping breakfast."
"Should I give the baby doctor a call?" Kev asked and took out his phone, eyebrows raised. Ree hissed at him. "I know, I'm sorry I'm overstaying my welcome. Feel free to go out and do Unovan things without me, I'll be fine in the room with my dark thoughts as company."
"Cry about it! Just get out the fucking window or stay inside, I don't care! I don't want my ass hanging out here all day!" Ree shouted and finally clambered down out the window. She was pleased when she saw him following Harry down, though he looked out of place in his dressy outfit. At least next to the two dressed as actual trainers.
"Kev, you can stay with us as long as you'd like. Ree is just stressed with her silly hiding and secrets," Harry said, loudly enough to be overheard. As was intended, Ree was sure. She ignored them and marched onward, eyes peeled for someone to battle.
"I just wish she wouldn't act so rashly. I do plan on leaving you two once I secure a job here, but I hadn't been aware she'd been waiting with bated breath," he replied, just as loudly.
"That seems to be her thing. I'm going to miss you when you leave, though. You've been nice to have along."
"It looks as if all parties wouldn't agree with that."
"...Aside from when you two needle each other."
"I can't hear you!" Ree burst out and clamped her hands over her ears. Harry did say something else, but it was muffled enough that she really couldn't make her out. She hadn't meant to be mean to Kev, and she wasn't sure she actually wanted their fragile little group to be broken up so soon. But he was supposed to have other priorities, and he was ignoring his to pick on hers.
Ree did manage to pick a couple battles while waiting in line for some ice cream, and Lala seemed grateful for the exercise. But she had to divide the battling between her team. Mitzi needed it to catch up and help Whippy evolve, and Harper was going to be the biggest help with the next gym battle, so she was going to need some polishing, too. Kev awkwardly excused himself just before lunch for his interview, leaving the two girls alone.
And the first thing Harry did was whirl around on her and declare, "You will miss him! I can tell you're going to."
"Never said I wouldn't, but we've only known each other for so long."
"You trusted him with your secret."
"The situation was a little pressing. I think I would've been fine if only you had known," Ree replied dryly.
"You two like to bicker with each other, and you'll miss having someone to argue with," Harry shot back, eyes on her shoes. "You like him, don't you?"
Ree snorted into her fast food lunch. "I have a boyfriend."
"One that you're actively avoiding, Ree."
"I'm having his baby, aren't I?"
"Ree, I was just—I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have pried," Harry mumbled and poked at her salad.
"No, I'm not mad at you," she replied, guilty. "It's just... I left behind my family, my sister, my boyfriend, all my friends I'd known for years and years to start this journey. I've known him all of a week. Even with the trauma of bonding—or bonding by trauma, whatever—I'm not going to shed tears at saying goodbye."
"Oh."
"And he's a fucker who acts cryptic for his own amusement," she added.
"No, he just comes from a rough past," Harry said sympathetically. "Most trainers, and the people who quit training, have things they'd rather not talk about. Like you and your... p-pregnancy issue."
"Wait, Kev was a trainer? What have you two been talking about behind my back?" Ree asked suddenly, realizing that they may not have been discussing her as often as she'd thought. And he had been a trainer! That liar.
"H-He was—years ago. Visoka hasn't been a trained pokémon, it wasn't like he was lying! We just... Well, we can hold a civilized conversation without it falling into an argument or debate," Harry said, tone prim, and she stuffed a forkful of greens into her mouth to prevent Ree from demanding more information. Ree replied by waiting her out, leaned in, eyes wide, innocent smile in place. "Ree, shouldn't you be talking to him about himself?"
"I don't think you get the point of this gossip shit, Harry dear."
"I'm not one to gossip." And that was the end of the discussion about their other companion, though Ree caught Harry giving her strange sidelong glances for quite awhile after that. Which was even weirder because it wasn't like Ree was the one keeping secrets. ...Not from her, at any rate.
Ree checked her silenced phone. Another call, another one from Scott. Maya had probably found him by then, but at least it'd only be one generalized threat to avoid... Hopefully. She wasn't sure when she'd go back to texting them again; she didn't like completely ignoring them both. Maybe when she was halfway across the country. Which unfortunately meant getting her snoozing snivy to evolve and then take on the bug master of the region.
She plopped herself on the nearest bench and set her chin in her hands. Battles got repetitive, and not all of them were the pulse-pounding, nail-biting, adrenaline-rushing ones she'd become accustomed to in movies. This was the first time she'd actively had to train for hours on end, especially in an area like Castelia. There were plenty of trainers about, sure, but it was a big enough city that it had plenty of kids, too, which meant little snots with one weak pokémon that Mitzi could easily stomp into the pavement. It was hardly worth it, but with so many trainers in the same rough age group, it was hard to distinguish them all, and it wasn't worth it to ignore them all.
Even Mitzi's divine tickling ability was starting to get old. It still surprised opponents, true. But it wasn't the same. Harry was having more luck; she wasn't as keen on battling so often, anyway, but Jackster's skittishness lowered him to closer to the average levels around there. Ree knew she could always try heading north, or even back towards the forest and camp there for a few days, but she liked having indoor plumbing and already-cooked food. And it wasn't like wild pokémon were a better source of growth...
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Ree checked. A text from Maya. She didn't bother opening or reading it, knowing what it'd most likely contain. Ignore them both until she was out of the city... But would that be too much of a giveaway? Ignore them for longer? Or start talking to them now, try to assuage some worries and fears, calm them down and talk them off her trail? Those sorts of things weren't her forte.
Ree groaned and stood up, picking Whippy, who'd been napping in her lap, up in her arms. She noticed with disdain that she was cradling him like a baby—but she didn't want to shift him. He could wake up. Mitzi looked up at her with shining eyes, all pride and eagerness. "No! No!" she cried, scampering in circles around her boots.
"Good job, missy," Ree said idly as the young trainer came over and paid her her winnings. She looked around for Harry, and spotted her just down the street, trying to push Jackster into another battle. At least he was getting a workout, too. They may be losing Kev, but Ree could shape Harry into a proper trainer yet.
She didn't notice the glowing or the sudden wake-up of her snivy. Ree didn't notice a single thing until he squirmed and changed, suddenly much heavier, and she fell over. She rolled over onto her side, blinking at the green thing standing next to her. He looked down at his claws, longer (but arms shorter), and then twisted his spine at an impossible angle. He coiled around until she was sure he'd turn into a slinky or re-injure himself, but Whippy uncurled and then looked at her with slightly narrower red eyes.
"...Did you just evolve and fuck did I just miss it." Ree sat up, peering down at him. He was definitely larger. He had a growth on his head! Kinda like a horn, she decided, and poked it. The yellow crest on his chest had grown, and he had several leaf-like ridges down his back now, too. That was definitely not a snivy anymore. "...No." She could not have just missed her starter's first evolution. Hell, her first evolution! "No. Go back and do it again!"
Whippy stared up at her. His fangs were more prominent now, but it looked like he couldn't (as easily) pull off the kicked lillipup look he'd been so fond of. Taught him right, evolving without notifying her first.
"Do. It. Again. Go back and do it again." Ree took out her phone and hit the camcorder button, pointing it at him. It wasn't as if she really expected him to do something, but damn it all, she was really kicking herself for missing that. Mitzi sidled up into view of the shot, looking up at the now-larger servine. At once, Whippy grinned suavely—well, at least some things hadn't changed—and took her into his paws, giving her a twirl before picking her up and hauling her off.
And Ree was sitting on the dirty sidewalk in Castelia City, phone recording, and unable to believe she had just missed the first hallmark of her stupid journey.
And she had a feeling she was sitting in gum, too.
-.-.-
"So, how did your interview go?" Harry asked over an early dinner that night.
Ree immediately interrupted and thrust a pokeball in Kev's face. "Fuck that, look what I got." She released Whippy onto the table near her elbow, and true to form, he twisted and stretched and showed off his shiny new scales. Kev had the decency to look mildly impressed.
"I'm glad to see he's healed up nicely." He watched as the new servine hopped off the table and went looking for the pokémon food. He sighed heavily and then looked back up at the girls. "To answer your question, Harry, not well. I'm not hopeful for this particular job."
"Aw, I'm sorry. That's too bad," Harry said sympathetically. Ree grunted in something like agreement. If he didn't have a job, then he wouldn't be leaving... yet. It wasn't like she was waiting for their little group to break up. But he needed a job if he wanted to stay in the country.
"The gym here is open well into the night, so are you still going to challenge Burgh today?" Kev asked Ree, head tilted to one side as he continued to look at the servine.
"I'd like to. I mean, the sun's not even set yet, and he's been super feisty since he evolved. Harper and Mitzi have been doing well, too, so I think they'll be able to pull their weight." While grass wasn't very good against bug pokémon, they were the two evolved ones, so she wasn't worried about their odds. And Harper had pulled through with Lenora's match, so she could obviously work under pressure.
"The gym!" Harry said suddenly, both of her companions jumping at her volume. It wasn't often she was very loud. "Kev, you could apply to work at the gym! You already have the experience!"
"I've... thought about it, but I haven't formally applied yet."
"You can do it tonight! In person, with Ree! Don't employers like it when you show initiative?" He nodded and Harry clasped her hands together in excitement. "We can help you get a job yet!"
"Is that allowed? I mean... You kinda got kicked out of one gym already," Ree asked practically, gesturing to him with her fork. He glared at her, clearly wondering whose fault that was.
"Lenora and I didn't part on sour terms, it was just... A shortcut she didn't approve of. She places a lot of value on research and learning, and I already knew the answers to the questions I asked."
"Aren't you supposed to?"
"We're supposed to come up with questions we're interested in, but don't know much about. Then we learn as we find out the answers," Kev replied. "It's like homework on rotation. I wasn't the first to cut corners, and I doubt I'll be the last, but it was sloppy and my own fault. I doubt she would prevent me from getting a job in another city because of it."
"It's worth a shot!" Harry declared. She shoveled her mashed potatoes into a large pile and scooped up a large chunk. "You two, eat! You need to go to Burgh tonight, and you'll need your energy for him!" And then she chowed down. Ree and Kev couldn't help but watch. Until she looked up at them with a firm, serious look, cheeks full of food, and they hurriedly set about to finish their own meals. Ree nudged Whippy's tail with her foot to encourage them, too.
Harry had clearly taken to this idea of two pidove with one stone. She even went with Ree's neurosis and played spy for her: Ree wouldn't go into the pokémon center lobby until she was positive Maya and Scott were nowhere in sight. Harry volunteered for the scouting mission, and spotted the two in the cafeteria with their teams. Ree was pretty sure the nurse had never been urged to heal her pokémon so quickly. Pokémon in tow, Ree and Harry sprinted back out of the lobby to where Kev was waiting outside, laughing nervously, and the trio trekked out into the early nightlife of Castelia City.
Ree wanted to take on a couple challengers before the gym, just to polish, but Kev and Harry both talked her down. "You barely squeaked by Lenora," he pointed out.
"And Burgh can be tough if you're not prepared for him."
"But I have a strong team! He only has three pokémon, right?"
"But one is fully evolved," Harry retorted cryptically. "Just save it for him. You wouldn't want an accident and have someone else break something, would you?"
"No..." But Ree didn't feel right. Even with Whippy evolving, there wasn't that take-on-the-world excitement that she felt when storming Lenora's gym. This felt like another whim, and not a particularly exhilarating one. She hoped the gym turned out to be fun in itself, though with the last gimmick... She didn't have high hopes. Then again, she'd always have some gym trainers to stomp into the ground with her brand new servine to get the blood pumping.
The gym was lit up with neon and bright lights, standing out even amongst the other lights in the city night. There were plenty of signs and a couple trainers filing in and out, though the ones coming out didn't seem to be particularly happy. Maybe Burgh was tougher than she'd been thinking. Wait... was that girl's hair dripping?
"Oh... I had almost forgotten about that..." Kev murmured with a grimace.
"Huh? What?"
"Kev, you go in with Ree. She'll get to Burgh, no problem, and you can talk to him after her battle. Ree, I'm going to do you a huge favor, okay?" Harry said as they approached the open doors. There was a shriek from inside. The double doors were wide open, but the hallway turned sharply right not far in, keeping the gym's secrets safe from view.
Ree suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
"I got past Burgh on my second try, but I think you'll be able to beat him if you just keep focused and he doesn't get lucky. Harper will help a lot," Harry continued as she led them in. Kev seemed very reluctant for some reason. Ree was beginning to get skittish herself.
"I'm not a trainer, is there another—" Harry whirled around on Kev before he could finish his statement.
"You are going to go in there with her as a show of faith, and you will keep her on track!" she said, almost scarily.
Ree was definitely having second thoughts.
Then they turned the corner and came up to a wall of... something. No, it wasn't a wall. It was another hallway, but something yellowish was oozing down in a sheet between the actual walls. Some sort of... gate? Ree wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. She had heard old friends talk about Burgh's gym with varying levels of disapproval, but it had never been anything concrete. The walls on either side were made to look like a dark, rich wood, with little bits of leaves and fake branches here and there along the ceiling as decoration. The walls themselves were smooth; no evidence of a latch, or button, or anything to get past the dripping wall of gold.
"Ree, the first one is the worst. I'll help you, okay?" Harry said and grabbed her upper arms, bracing and warm and so helpful. Ree turned to her, expectant and glad to have a comparative veteran with her.
And then Harry tossed her through the oozing mass of not-wall.
Ree stumbled through, staying on her feet, and her first impression was sticky. Slightly wet, but not quite liquid. Sticky and thick and smelling cloyingly sweet. The stuff dripped thickly off of her short hair, her chin, her arms, down her legs. Her backpack was stuck to her back. It was running down inside the tops of her boots. It dribbled off her fingertips onto the floor below, which was also covered with the stuff and several sets of equally yellow footprints leading away.
Kev was thrown through behind her, landing against the wall and half-slipping down to one knee. He wiped his wrist across his eyes and glared daggers back, where Harry was already obscured from view by more drips of the not-wall.
"The first one is the hardest, I promise! You're already dirty and gross, so just go through to the end! You'll do fine, and I'll wait out here!" Harry called encouragingly from the other side. "Knock 'em dead, Ree! And Kev, you get that job!"
Kev shook his hands, splattering the floor with more. The smell was getting to be unbearable, and the thinner parts of the coating was starting to dry a little, sticking to her face and arms like it was comfortable and lounging and hey, we're just going to be here for awhile.
Ree finally placed the sickly smell. She was covered in honey.
She screamed.
-.-.-
The gym turned out to be quite novel in several ways. The first gate of golden horror was not the only one. Far from it. After the second one, Ree realized that the first coat had hardened and dried just enough that this was a whole other coat, adding to the weight all over and she realized that this was not a good thing. The pair sprinted to the next gate, blatantly ignoring the gym trainer.
The other way that the gym counted as a slightly entertaining new experience was that they had an escort.
Ree had screamed so loudly, and it was followed by such an obscene barrage of swearing and cursing, that she had been told to quiet down. She told them where they could shove their honey. And what they could do with their mother, father, starter pokémon, and, for good measure, grandmother. She was told to be quiet again, and she wasn't, and soon enough, they had a gym trainer following them around, occasionally shushing her and making sure she didn't swear too much in front of the younger challengers.
Which meant that the poor sap had to follow them through the honey gates.
In a way, Ree was spitefully pleased. She could take not only Kev, but another down with her into honeyed, sticky hell! But it wasn't helping her case. She was still feeling bogged down, it was drying again uncomfortably on her skin and was going to stay there for awhile, her outfit and backpack had to be totaled, and by god, she would kill someone the next time a pokeball stuck to her hand due to the honey.
"Burgh, I am going to fucking murder you!" she screamed after the third gate.
"I can hear you, and quit your bitching, girl! There are other challengers in here, too!" came the shouted reply. He actually didn't sound all that far away. Their escort blushed beneath the honey on her cheeks and ducked down in embarrassment. Kev gave a quiet chuckle, the first sound he'd made it through the second gate.
She nearly lost her footing right past the fourth honey not-wall, her boot slipping on a patch as her hand stuck to the wall. She didn't know how this had gotten clear of... whatever laws ran the gym system. Unless they didn't have any? It would explain how he had gotten away with making his challengers coat themselves with honey. What if it was some sort of sick fetish? Ree slipped again, landing against the wall with a grunt.
This was the most nightmarish building in all of Unova, she realized.
They half-ran, half-dragged themselves past the next gym trainer. Their escort made a little sound like what Jackster occasionally made to voice displeasure. Through the honey, Kev paused and looked back. "They're not following us."
"If you work here, do you want to chase kids through this shit?" Ree replied, a little breathless from the running and weight on her. Hopefully she could sit down for the battle, though maybe that'd result in her drying and sticking to the floor.
"They're like video game enemies. Don't follow you into any new areas, can't go through doorways," he said with a weak, sad little laugh. Ree couldn't help but laugh as well. One of her favorite pastimes was annoying enemies and taunting them from just outside their zone, and while it meant they couldn't point and laugh at anyone working in the gym save their poor escort, it was something.
"I just hope the boss fight is soon, then," she mumbled and tried to shake off as much as the honey as she could. Thank god her hair was shorter; she couldn't imagine having long hair, bogged down by all of it. She wondered how Maya had gotten through this, or even Scott. Or Harry, or anyone, because the Castelia gym had to be the most disgusting place ever.
Ree was thankful to everything ever when they went through the last sheet of dripping honey into a large enclosure with a very irate man in the middle. He was fashionable and clearly annoyed, and so enviably honey-free. She lunged at him with a screech of, "I'll fucking kill you, asshat!" Kev grabbed her around the middle and hauled her back against the wall, sticking them both there.
"So you're the one making that dreadful noise," Burgh noted with disdain. He sighed, uncrossed his arms, and stepped off of the battling platform. "I have half a mind to make you battle like that, girlie, so start showing some manners."
"Sir, I'm sorry, I tried to get her to quiet down," their poor escort piped up, dripping pathetically.
"It's fine. I'm used to some interesting reactions, but damn girl, you have some lungs." Burgh paused, seemingly noticing the young man restraining her for the first time. "Two challengers?"
"I'm here as her leash and to ask for a job," Kev said thickly as the pair tried to detach themselves. Ree wasn't going to tear Burgh limb from limb; she would stomp him into the ground, grab the badge, and get the hell out of there. She'd never have to return or think about this nightmare again. She was already tired of it.
"A job?"
"I've worked at Lenora's gym before, for several years, so I have experience!" Kev added and gave Ree a look as she tried to wipe herself off on the wall. "Stop that," he hissed.
"Bite me."
"I can always use more help. I don't know why, but it seems like the turnover rate for trainers in this gym is high," Burgh said thoughtfully. The escort behind them sighed heavily. Yes, it was very difficult to see why someone wouldn't want to work there for long periods of time.
"I-I'm not a trainer. I was a receptionist for Lenora, but I have many skills outside of training."
"You're conducting an interview covered in sticky shit," Ree pointed out in annoyance. "I want to get this goddamn battle over with, and I can leave you here afterward. Burgh, come on and battle me!" She dug a pokeball out of her pocket and tried to pry it off of her hand. It stuck with admirable loyalty. She growled and fought with it, but there was just so much honey covering her, no matter how she tried to pry it off, it'd just stick to somewhere else. She ended up a tangle of yellow and sweet smell and snarling and swearing.
"Girl, calm your tits already. I offer showers here," Burgh cut in. Ree looked up at him in surprise, still laying on the floor. Or possibly stuck to it.
Wait. He was going to offer them cleanliness the entire time and had waited until now to mention it? "My tits are calm, but you show me the showers right this fucking minute or I swear I'll—"
"Thank you," Kev interrupted and hauled her to her feet. Burgh waved to a door on the back wall and their escort led them to it. It made some degree of sense that they wouldn't be expected to battle a gym leader while heavily coated in his own goddamn honey, but Ree felt relieved all the same.
"Why the fuck does he even do that?" she growled as the escort showed Kev the men's room. She then led Ree towards the locker room for girls—and she realized that her clothes were going to be wet, too. Supposing she could even get the honey out. Was it water soluble?
"He gets his models that way. He's an artist—very good, too. He has paintings and drawings in museums all over the world."
"Models?" Ree asked. The escort had to actually help her peel her clothes off—and vice versa—but her poor, new clothes...
"Oh, don't worry. We'll clean your clothes for you, and we have a special wardrobe for challengers to wear while we do so. It usually doesn't take longer than the battle, since he's very tough," she replied and scraped one of her socks off. "We have a specialized cleaning formula that's extra-strong against honey and the sugar in it."
"No, you said something about models," Ree pressed and looked at her backpack. What about the stuff inside? A lot of it was okay since she hadn't opened it except to get her pokeballs out after the first honey tragedy, but still.
"Who better to draw than the trainers of Unova? It's completely optional and can burn up time if the battle doesn't take as long as anticipated. And as much as he and Elesa love each other, he hates that all the models these days are so thin. That's why he's decided to draw non-professionals and all body types until she can start to do something about it."
"This guy has a freaky fetish. And I thought Elesa was single?" The tabloids would be all over it if the famous gym leader was dating again. Not to mention the vibe she'd gotten from Burgh.
Her escort sighed. "I'm not here to give you his biography. I don't know all that much about him myself, actually. I haven't been working here very long."
Ree squeaked as she tore her pants trying to get them off.
"We can mend your clothes, too. Or replace them," the girl said quickly.
"This is the stupidest fucking gym ever!"
"It's entertaining," she replied and they had finally managed to drag themselves to the showers. Ree was beyond caring about nudity or shame. It was an open, communal shower, but it had hot water and a specialized shampoo to get it all out of her hair. It came out much easier than she'd expected.
As Ree rinsed off, delighting in the sensation of feeling clean again, she wondered idly when her stomach would start to show the baby inside. She couldn't tell if she had gained any weight yet, but living as a trainer probably hadn't done any favors for her diet. Once she did start showing, she'd get all kinds of weird questions, and if she ever ran into anyone she knew...
"Our clothes are being washed now, and you can choose any clothes you'd like in the wardrobe. It's the darker wood door on the other side of the lockers," the other girl said and Ree grabbed her towel. It even had a yellowish color with a sewaddle design along one end. She felt slightly disgusted touching it.
She had to give them props for the slick operation, though. The honey was weird and gross and horrible, but he got drawing models from it, and at least they took care of their own mess. Then again, if they hadn't, she was fairly certain she would have attempted to burn down the building with everyone still inside.
Her backpack had been emptied and everything that was still clean was laying on one of the benches. She rinsed off the pokeballs with the sink and noted happily that not much had suffered inside her backpack. A shirt, a bra, and the cover of one of her books, and the clothes had been sent with the others to get cleaned (along with Sophia). She wiped off the book as best she could, but she had a feeling it'd always be a little discolored and sticky.
"Honey is a kinky fetish to have in the gym," Ree mumbled as the escort came out, towel wrapped firmly around herself.
"Just go get dressed and stop being so sour."
Ree had been okay with that plan up until the point where she actually saw what she was supposed to be wearing. Most of the clothes didn't qualify as 'normal'. She understood the model thing, she really did. She understood borrowing clothes and she understood having variety. "What the fuck am I supposed to be wearing in here?"
"Whatever you'd like and whatever will fit!"
Ree glared at the racks of clothes. Decent selection, but she didn't feel too keen on much of it. There were several articles that could only be described as costumes, and many more from different historical periods and cultures. There were two full ballroom gowns, a fur-lined robe, a pair of overalls with a red shirt that reminded her suspiciously of a famous video game character, a tunic that seemed to have come right out of the Middle Ages, three kimonos from Johto, and a literal rainbow of scarves on a rack in the corner. There were shirts, skirts, dresses, and pants in every color and fabric she could think of, except what she'd been hoping for—jeans and a t-shirt.
"It's only for a battle. You could have fun with it. A lot of kids do. It's dress-up and a challenge, so..." The escort followed her in and immediately picked a flapper-era dress off of the wall. And for good measure, plucked a headband off of the rack next to it, too. "Most people pay to dress up like this."
"Yeah, well..." Ree spluttered for a moment. It wasn't as if she disliked clothes. It wasn't as if she didn't occasionally like dressing up as something different. But that was for Halloween and painfully formal occasions. She didn't see very many casual clothes, and even less that seemed like they'd be comfortable.
Actually, looking at the far wall, she was sure some of those actually were Halloween costumes.
"Are the boys in the same position?" she asked pathetically, looking around for the lesser of the evils. Wait, what if she came out naked or just in the towel?
"Yes, the guys have to wear similar sorts of clothes."
So she wouldn't be in this alone. Thinking of Kev in the same boat gave her some confidence back. She could do this. After all—Harry, Maya, Scott, they all would've had to have done this at some point. It was just a dress-up game, complete with violence.
"Go big or go home," she mumbled to herself and approached the nearest rack of clothes.
-.-.-
Next Chapter: Gym battle at last! Will she win, will she lose? Will it mean she can finally leave Castelia? Even if it means leaving Maya and Scott, what about Kev? Ree's team has changed again with Whippy's evolution, but how much will it actually change? So many questions to be answered!