A/N: Wow, I'm sorry for the insanely long wait! Real life was kind of being a total bummer, but don't worry anymore folks. I GUARANTEE that the next chapter will be up before you can say Zapdos. *sweatdrops* Or something to that effect. Ahem. Without further ado, I bring you…Chapter 37. The title's right there. *points down* Err…Yeah I think I'll shut up and let Ash take over now. That's what you're here for right? *^_^*;;

Chapter 37
"Welcome To Saffron"

I leaned into Pidgeot's soft feathered back. The ground below was dizzying to look at, so I didn't want to. I was still scared…I knew I was safe with Pidgeot, but…

"Pidge, pidge, pidgeot?" Pidgeot asked.
'So why are you going to Saffron?'

"…To see Sabrina…"

"Pidgeot?"
'The scary psychic lady?'

"She's not that scary…"

"Pidgeoo…Pidgeot, pidgeo? Pipidgeot?"
'If you say so…So why are you going?'

"I……She's gonna help me with…I…um…"

"Pidgeoo…"
'It's not like you're psychic or anything…'

"Uh, actually…I…kinda…eheh…"

"……Pidgeot?"
'What?'

"Chu chyuu pikachu."
'He's part Mew.'

"Pidgeot!? Geoo?"
'What!? You mean that's real?'

"Uh, well…"

"Kachu."
'Sure is.'

"…Geoo…"
'…Wow…'

"…It's…not that big of a…"

"Pika??" Pikachu exclaimed in amusement and surprise.
'What?'

"Uh, well…I mean……"

"Pikapika pikachu, pikachu!?"
'You've been going crazy over this and now you say it isn't a big deal!?'

"Erm…Well, no…I mean…I…Okay fine. Yes…It's a really big deal…but…I don't know…"

"Pika…chu?"
'It's not a bad thing?'

"What?"

"Pikapika, chu, pikachu. Pikaah?"
'It's still big, but it isn't as bad anymore. Isn't that what you're  trying to say?'

It's not as…bad? Is that true…?

I stared at my little yellow mouse, and he gave me a cheeky little grin over his shoulder. How could he sound so wise and so simple at the same time…?

"Uh…I……Maybe……"

I don't know if it could ever really stop being a bad thing, but maybe it can be…less of one? Is that possible…

"Geoot…" Pidgeot cooed softly.
'We're here.'

I glanced over her wing and immediately regretted it. We were still a lot higher than was comfortably safe…

"Pidgeot pidgeo?"
'You want to go to the gym right?'

"Yeah…"

She circled around for a little longer before asking, "……Pidgeott…?"
'Which one is it?'

I looked over again to point it out, but that just wasn't a good idea.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said for me.
'There it is.'

"Geot."
'Got it.'

She started circling around to land, but slowly.

"Piii…dgeot?
'I don't see why being a Mew could be a bad thing…'

"I don't want to be."

"Geo?"
'Why not?'

"…I just don't……" I sighed.

She stopped asking and drifted down to land in the grass in front of the gym. As we got close, I could feel a strong…presence…no, many presences. Their cumulative power sounded together like a deep humming that could only be felt. It set off a dull ache in the corner of my brain.

When we landed, Pikachu jumped to the ground, but I was slower. That power…it was…

"Welcome."

"Haauunter!"
'What she said!'

We started and looked to our right. Sabrina stood there smiling at us, and Haunter was floating there with his huge grin. But…they weren't there just a second ago…

"S…Sabrina?"

"Mmhm," she nodded, "I'm glad you made it here safely."

"Ha-haunta-er!" Haunter grinned.
'Yes, but now you're in trouble because you're here!'

"…Huh…?" What Haunter said didn't make much sense to me…

"Haunter, stop it! You're scaring him!"

"Haunter, haun!"
'Well this place is haunted!'

"By a clown…" she sighed.

"Haun haunter," Haunter corrected, holding up all three fingers of one hand.
'Three clowns.'

"Three…?" I echoed.

Two purple shadows materialized around Haunter and Sabrina, with ghostly cries of "Gaaasstly!" and "Gengaar!" They spun around with Haunter and laughed.

I blinked. "Are those…?"

"Familiar to you? Yes. When they tore down the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, Haunter invited these two to come and stay here. So now the whole comic trio is together under one roof again. I even built them a little theater so they can perform for everyone here!"

The three ghosts erupted in laughter at that, and Sabrina giggled too. I didn't get it.

I felt Pikachu jump onto my back then climb up to my shoulder. At my other side, Pidgeot nuzzled my cheek.

"Pid, pidgeo…?" she murmured.
'Am I done here?'

I turned to her, her soft brown eyes met mine. I rubbed the side of her neck and she closed them in pleasure.

"You're not tired?" I asked.

She opened one eye and I could tell she was smiling. "Pidg pidgeot? Pidgeot."
'Are you kidding? That was nothing.'

After a moment, I nodded. She was right. "Alright…Give my regards to everyone back home."

"Pidgeoot…"
'Of course.'

I stepped back. "Goodbye…Take care of yourself."

"Geeot."
'You too.'

"Uh-…I will."

Satisfied, she spread her wings and looked to the sky. I braced myself against the strong downdraft she created when she took off. When I could look up again, I saw her circle once above me. I waved and she dipped a wing response before flying away, disappearing quickly over the horizon. I kept watching anyway. Maybe I wasn't sure that I really wanted to turn around. After all, with Pidgeot cond, I…had no choice.

I hope this is for the best…

"Ash?"

I turned. She was alone now. The ghosts had…left apparently. Sabrina didn't seem to mind. In face she seemed…well…perky. I guess. It was very strange to see.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Why don't we get you settled?" she suggested, "You brought your stuff, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"It's good then!" she declared.

It's good? Get settled…? But I thought…

"Don't you need a place to stay?"

I blinked. "Well, yeah, but…"

"Then we should take care of that first! Come on."

She beckoned me to follow her, so I stepped forward, even though she herself wasn't going anywhere. When I was a few feet away, her eyes flashed white bue and something heavily light set over me. My senses went white, spinning away from me and leaving me lost. When they returned, we were no longer in front of the gym. That teleport left me more than a little disoriented, but at least I could tell that much. Instead, we were in some house. Sabrina still stood the same distance in front of me, and Pikachu was still clinging to my shoulder.

"Welcome to my home," Sabrina grinned.

What?

"Your…house…?"

"Yep."

It was a big house, I could tell that much. The predominant colors seemed to be forest green and white. It had a very homely atmosphere, but it couldn't feel like home. Maybe because it wasn't mine.

Sabrina called over her shoulder. "Father! Mother! Ash is here!"

A white energy appeared by her side and as it did that ache grew back, then faded as the formed into her parents.

I stepped back, unsure what to make of their entrance. "Uh…"

"Ah, so you're finally here," her father said.

"Sabrina's been excited since you said you were coming," her mother smiled. Her arm was linked with her husband's, maybe so she wouldn't end up falling after that teleport…

"Um, yes well. Ash, these are my parents. You met them before, I believe," Sabrina said hurriedly.

"Uh, yeah…"

"Okay. You can all catch up later. Ash, why don't you come with me?"

Before I had a chance to reply or even ask her not to do what she did, she'd teleported us to…my room, I guess. It tilted a little but then went back to normal.

"You can stay here," she said, "I thought you might prefer it over staying at the gym or a hotel."

Green was again the dominant color, maybe darker than before, or maybe because the light wasn't on. The sun shone in through a dully shaded pale curtain covering the window over the bed, but didn't light the whole room. The furniture was mostly dark stained mahogany. The bedsheets were a soft pale mauve, an unusual color in the green room.

"So what do you think?" Sabrina asked.

"Uh…It's nice…Thank you. You didn't have to-"

She giggled to interrupt me and quickly waved it off by saying, "Don't worry about it. I'm glad to have you. Now please make yourself at home. I'll be downstairs when you're ready." With that, she was gone.

"…Why does she keep doing that…?" I wondered out loud. It was already starting to annoy me.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu hopped off my shoulder and started sniffing around and exploring the room.
'Beats me…'

I stared at the bed and the bright block of light shimmering and falling on it, while my mind wandered off on its own. A passing cloud dimmed it away and I blinked.

"Hey Pikachu, can you hit the lights?" I asked without looking back.

I walked to the bed and set my backpack on it while Pikachu got the light on. After he did, he scampered back over the plush carpet and leapt onto the bed. He landed on his belly and sank into the airy cushioning. It reshaped at little after the initial shock, but I could tell Pikachu was enjoying its fitting. He let out a happy sigh to prove it.

It didn't take me long to unpack. Years of travel had made me an expert on traveling light, and I didn't really know how to do otherwise. When all of my clothes just barely filled one drawer of the big old dresser in the room, I began to realize that I might have underpacked. The fact that I didn't have anything to put in the closet besides my backpack, which Mom had bought rather hastily when she found out my old one had been kind of…destroyed, really clued me in.

Pikachu was excited about the bathroom. I think he was eager to pretend the bathtub was a hot tup or a swimming pool like he did this one time at a Center…and got me in some trouble because he didn't think to turn the water back off…

When we were done exploring, I sat back down on the bed, sinking into it. It was a really nice room. It looked better with the light on. Warmer. It was a lot bigger than my room back home or any Pokémon Center room I'd stayed in.

Aside from the bed, there was a nice, tall, gray-white lamp, another little gray-white lamp on a little table by the bed, a desk, and a full length mirror in the corner. The mirror bothered me. I hadn't actually looked in it, but I did see that it was a little dusty, unlike everything else in the room. I dismissed the dust as a good thing, but I still didn't like the mirror there.

"I guess we should go downstairs," I told Pikachu. A second glance and I realized I didn't know where he was. "Pikachu?"

"Pika," he said.
'Right here.'

His voice came from below me and when I looked down I saw his head and paws sticking out from under the bed. He smiled and climbed all the way out, then jumped up to sit next to me.

"Don't do that," I sighed.

"Kachu…"
'Sorry.'

"It's alright…Come on, let's go."

I stood up and he followed me out the door.

It was a lot brighter out in the hallway. The walls were white instead of green, the light fixtures glimmered like gold in the sunlight only slitted by blinds.

We wandered in search of the way down while I grumbled to myself about the overuse of Teleport I'd seen in the first five minutes of my visit here. After a couple minutes of walking, I realized I'd come to this same brown unlit hallway before. Hallway was an overstatement. It was just a little passage with one door at the end and no lights or windows. Pikachu sighed and sat down, bored with this whole deal. I was too, but…that door…I wondered what could be behind it…

I lifted my hand to turn the knob…

"Ash."

I yelped and spun around. A tall black silhouette stood behind me, shadowed by the light from the adjacent hallway. I backed away, even when I started to realize who it was, I didn't feel any better.

"S…Sabrina?" I quavered, just to make sure more than anything. I didn't really have anywhere to run except through that door, but I didn't know what was in there.

She made a sound that sounded halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "Did you get lost?" she asked, the coldness fading.

"Uh…Y-yeah…"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I forgot you…can't teleport yet."

Yet…?

"I should have shown you how to get around here first."

"Uh…That's okay…"

I still had my back to the door, and the ensuing silence made me uneasy.

"There's nothing in there," Sabrina said. It seemed sudden, but the sharp coldness in her voice reminded me of the first time we'd met…

"Uh…What…?"

"Behind you," she said plainly, "There is nothing in that room."

"…Oh…"

I could almost make out a smile on her darkened face. Her voice lost its edge and was replaced by that same warmth she'd greeted me with earlier. "Follow me if you want to get out of here."

She turned around and walked away. The light gradually fell over her long green hair as she did. When she turned the corner and disappeared, I realized I was losing my guide, so I hurried after her.

I tried to pay attention to where we went to go downstairs, but I had the feeling it wouldn't help much in the long run because we never passed my room…I think…

Once I was following her, she started talking to me, but she never looked back once to make sure I was still there or even listening. I guess she didn't need to…

She spoke calmly and confidently, but somehow managed to maintain a friendly bounce in her voice. It didn't help me too much in getting over her intimidating presence at that dark door though…

"I know you're going to find it hard at first, but you'll get used to it. If you ever need anything, you just have to ask me. The house is kind of big, and we've got those three ghosts coming and going as they please. If they give you any trouble, let me know and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. They mean well and I've heard they're quite fond of you, so I wouldn't worry too much. They just sometimes forget that the rest of us are flesh and blood beings and pranks that are fun for ghosts aren't as fun for anyone else.

"Oh and if for any reason you can't get a hold of me, Mother and Father should be able to help you. You're our guest after all.

"Well, I'm probably worrying over nothing." She glanced back and smiled at me. "I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay here, Ash."

I blinked, surprised that she'd actually addressed me directly. "Um…I hope so."

She seemed satisfied with that and continued to lead me. Around the next corner was a staircase that we took down to the first floor and soon ended up back at the front door.

Sabrina stopped there and turned to me with a small grin. "You know your way to the gym, right?"

I blinked. "Um…Maybe…It's been a while…"

"Hm…Well. Do you want to walk then?"

"…Walk?"

"Yes."

"Uhhh…"

I didn't know if I was ready for that yet. My interview hadn't been aired yet, wouldn't be for almost a week. I didn't want to know how well that would go over…not anytime sooner than I had to…

Sabrina…She hasn't even mentioned it yet. I'm sure she noticed it, but…Why hasn't she said anything yet…?

"Is something wrong?"

I jerked my head up. "Huh?"

She smiled and gently asked, "Would you rather we teleport there?"

Instead of walk…? Yes…

"Um…Sure…"

She placed her hand on my shoulder. I flinched a little. There was something about…

After the teleport, that same feeling from when I first arrived came back, only stronger, and it didn't really fade away. My head…

"Do you want to look around first?"

I could hear her voice and I understood her, but I was having trouble focusing…

This is just like…

"Are you alright?"

"…I don't…"

"It's kind of like a mini jet lag," she said, "It's from the teleport. You'll get used to it."

I don't know if that's…

"Let's go."

She started down the hallway so I followed after her, even though that feeling wasn't going away. Pikachu kept pace with me. The gym hadn't changed very much since I last saw it. Maybe it was a little brighter. It was hard to tell.

Sabrina showed me a lot of places. I tried to pay attention, but that presence just seemed to be getting stronger…

She stopped after a while and turned to me. "That's about it for now. If you want I could test you right now."

So now it comes…I was starting to wonder…

"But we can wait until later if you want. You look tired to me."

"I do?" I asked in surprise. I knew I kind of felt that way, but… "But I thought you…I…we were gonna…uh…"

"Do you want to do it now?" she asked, that cold hinting in her voice again.

"Um…I don't…know…"

"Well, if you're not sure, it might be best to wait. I don't think you're ready yet."

"…Then why did we come here?"

"…Why wouldn't we?" she questioned, looking me straight in the eyes. "What if you were ready but we didn't come?"

I scratched my head. That seemed like a trick question… "We'd be doing it tomorrow?" I guessed.

"Yes…" she nodded, "But Nurse Joy asked me to at least test you as soon as possible."

"Then why wouldn't we do it now…?" I asked, getting a little exasperated.

"You don't seem ready to me," she said simply, "Do you think you're ready?"

…No, I don't think I'll ever be…

After I didn't answer, she asked, "How do you feel right now, Ash?"

"…Huh?"

"Do you feel okay?"

No. My head still hurts…

"…I…That…'jet lag' hasn't gone away yet…" I mumbled.

"It hasn't?"

"No…Actually, I…I don't think that's what it is. I felt this before…when…in the hospital…before I…"

I'm scared.

I wasn't looking up, so I didn't see her approach. I flinched when she put her hand on my forehead, but relaxed after the pain started to numb. It didn't go away. I could still feel it hiding there, but it stayed numb. She took her hand off.

"How about now?"

"…I…I feel better…Thank you…"

She nodded, smiling. "What do you think now?"

"Huh…?"

"Do you think you're ready?"

"…Maybe…But, um…Sabrina?"

"Yeah?"

"…What was that? That…feeling…?"

"…The power?" she asked softly.

"…If that's what it was…"

"…You seem to be highly sensitive towards it. Too much of that is dangerous…That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"…I guess so…"

"Do you want to start now?"

…start…

"……Okay…"

"You don't have to," she reminded me.

"…Yeah, I know…I…I want to."

…get it over with…

"Alright," she straightened up and gave me that strange smile of hers, "Let's go." She glanced at Pikachu. "Oh, could you wait outside please? We can't have any disturbances while testing."

"Piika?" Pikachu repeated distastefully.
'Disturbances?'

"I don't she meant it personally…" I reassured Pikachu.

Meanwhile, Sabrina turned around entered the room behind her. I could tell she wasn't going to wait for me still, so I followed quickly, but nervously. The door shut loudly behind me.

The room wasn't big at all. The walls were painted a pale, sick-looking yellow. There was just a little more than enough room for the small table, two chairs in the middle, and what looked like a toybox in the corner. Sabrina sat down in one of the chairs, and the one across from her pulled out for me. I sat down stiffly and held onto the edges of the seat while staring at the table. The furniture was all wood, old and worn. The table surface almost looked battle-scarred…

Sabrina folded her hands over each other and set her arms on the desk, a very business-like gesture if I didn't know better. She was smiling still, but it was no longer comforting.

"Just so that you have an idea about what's to come, let me go over this briefly. We're going to try a series of tests just to try to see where your greatest potentials lie. They're different from person to person, and don't worry if it seems like nothing's happening in any of them. I'll probably see things that you aren't."

I'm more worried that something will happen.

I blinked. "…Huh?"

"Uh…Nevermind." She lowered her left hand and the toybox opened up on its own. A small deck of cards floated out and landed in her hand. "We'll start off simple," she told me. She slid the cards out of the well-worn box. "All you have to do is guess the cards." She started shuffling them, but then they shuffled themselves. She looked at me. "Do you have to look at them?" she asked in that monotone voice.

"Uh…I-I don't know."

She nodded. "We'll find out." The cards settled into a single stack she laid out five face down on the table. "What are they?"

I stared at the cards, unable to get over a sickening sense of déjà vu, but I decided to try anyway.

This would be easier if I knew what kind of cards they are…

"They're just simple shapes. You shouldn't have a problem."

I glanced at her. The way she almost seemed to be replying to my thoughts…It was almost as if she was reading my mind.

"Oh no," she grinned, "I'm not trying to invade your privacy, Ash. You just think so loudly, I'd have trouble not hearing you."

"What?!"

"Don't worry about it," she tried to assure me, waving off my astonishment with a little laugh, "Now come on, tell me what cards these are."

I didn't find that very assuring at all, but it didn't look like there was much I could do about it. Instead, I looked at the cards.

They were all facing down. I really couldn't see how she expected me to know what they were. Still, it couldn't hurt to guess.

"That one's blank," I said, pointing to the fourth one, "The others are…um…"

Aw, what the heck?

"Star, circle, square," I skipped over the fouth one, "and…uh, that one's blank too."

"Let's see."

She flipped them all over to reveal the shapes on the other side. In order, they were square, star, circle, blank, and another star.

"Hmm…" Sabrina looked over all of them thoughtfully, "You got this one right off the bat," she pointed to the blank one, then she pointed to the first three, "These were right, but in the wrong order. And this," she said, pointing to the last star, "you knew was a double of some sort."

I blinked. If I was supposed to know what that all meant…Well, I didn't.

"That's not bad. Not bad at all. You have good instincts, Ash."

"…Oh."

"Ready to try something else now?"

"I…guess so."

"Good, alright." She put the cards back in their box and they floated back into the toybox. Nothing else flew out. Sabrina folded her hands in front of her again. "This one's pretty easy too. All you have to do is tell me what number I'm thinking of."

"Ugh…"

Not this again…

"What's wrong?"

"…Nothing…" I sighed, "Alright, let's see……um…"

This is even worse than the cards!

She giggled, but stopped after I glared at her.

"This isn't funny…Ah hell…Fifty?"

"Two."

"…Oh."

"Do you want to try again?"

"Not really…"

"Let's try anyway," she smiled, "Okay go."

I frowned at her all too pleasant face. She might have been enjoying herself, but I wasn't.

Okay, fine, fine…A number, right…?

"Twenty five?"

"Fifty."

"What!?"

She just giggled softly. "One more time."

This really isn't going anywhere…

I locked eyes with her. She was just sitting there waiting…

She'll probably pull something tricky on me again, like using one of those numbers again…Maybe twenty five, or two…or maybe fifty again…but which one? How am I supposed to……No, wait…

She raised an eyebrow expectantly. I could see a smile curving at her lips.

That's crazy, but…well, okay…

"Sixty four."

"Bingo."

"What…? Really!?"

"Mm-hm," she nodded then looked over at the toybox as the lid started to open, "Now…what should we try next…?"

"Eh…"

I didn't really want to try anything else. My head was starting to feel weird again, and I didn't even want to think about what kind of mischief Pikachu could get into waiting out there by himself.

Meanwhile, Sabrina was muttering to herself, "No, that's not a good idea yet, saving that for last…Ah! This should be worth a try!"

I watched as a spoon floated out of the box and hovered in front of my face.

"A sp-?……Oh…man…"

Yeah, I remembered. Really, I'd much rather use my "secret method" than whatever Sabrina wanted me to do.

"I take it you've seen this before?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda."

"Why don't you give it a try?"

"Uhhh……Why not…?" I sighed.

I hesitantly raised my hand up to take the spoon, but stopped just a few inches away. There was something…something…in the air…It…I could see it! It was invisible, but…I could see it…the psychic energy Sabrina was using to hold it up…There wasn't a lot there, but…if I focused on it, I could see a disturbance in the air…I could feel it well enough too…Finally, I just shut my eyes and grabbed it. I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. I opened my eyes and stared at it. The energy was gone. The only thing holding up the perfectly normal spoon was my own hand.

"You do know what you're supposed to do, right?" Sabrina asked.

"Uh, kinda…Maybe you better remind me…"

She smiled gently. "This is one of the more advanced techniques, so you may not be able to perform it, but…well, wee if you can bend it with your mind."

Oh is that it…

I focused on the spoon again. Actually, I might know how to do this…I had before…in my dreams…but……

I glanced at Sabrina. Her smile was gone, replaced by a look of concentration, as if she was suddenly expecting something…If she read my mind again…well maybe she had reason to be…

I can…I think I can at least…Maybe not…I don't know…I…I don't really want to find out…

Does that change the circumstances?

…No…I guess not…Maybe it would be safer to kn- Hey!

I glared at Sabrina. "You know, it's bad enough reading other peoples' minds, let alone messing with them," I grumbled.

"You seemed to be having an inner conflict," she said calmly, "I was just trying to help." She gestured at the spoon I was still holding. "Now why don't you see what you can do?"

I sighed. "Fine…"

Alright…All I have to do is…bend it, right?

I concentrated on the spoon, at the same time considering myself crazy for doing what I was trying to do. It seemed like it should be easy enough if I really tried…but it was the first time I'd really tried, in this reality. I knew I had to focus psychic energy on it, and then…

"Agh!"

A sharp pain bit into my hand. I dropped the spoon and it clattered loudly on the table. I clenched my fist, waiting for the pain to subside. As it gradually faded, but not entirely, I uncurled my hand to see what had happened to it. There was a whitish stripe across my palm…a burn?

"Well…I don't think that's ever happened before," Sabrina commented.

I tentatively touched the streak and winced. Yeah, it hurt to touch…

"What do you mean?" I asked, "What happened?"

"It looks like you superheated it somehow…" she mumbled. She spread her hand above it, cooling it with her mind, before picking it up herself and examining it more closely. I looked too. That spoon didn't look bent in the least. "That's not exactly what we were going for, Ash…"

"I kinda figured that…"

She tossed the spoon over her shoulder and the lid of the box opened so it could land safely within it. She looked at me again. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…Yeah, it's just a little burn."

"Let me see." She took my hand so she could see my palm. "Hmm…Maybe……Nurse Joy told me you have incredible healing powers…Why don't you try using them now?"

"Wh-what? You want me to…heal myself?"

"She said you're very good at it."

"Well…maybe, but…I, I don't even remember how I did that! I was…kinda……out of control…"

I looked down, what little I understood of that all too fresh and very real memory came back to me. The pain, but most importantly, the danger I put everyone in…

"I can't……" I couldn't even hear myself, but I could feel my voice quiver. My hand too…shaking just so slightly…

"Ash," Sabrina spoke sternly, "Don't tell me you forgot already. You came here for that exact reason, to learn how to control your powers. You have them, but you must realize that suppressing them needlessly is every bit as dangerous as using them recklessly. You have to find the middle ground or you will destroy yourself or those around you. Do you understand?"

I'd rather destroy myself…

I made sure I thought that quietly. She didn't need to care about that. Too many did already.

"I guess so."

"Do you want to try healing now?"

"…Not really."

"Um…Weren't you listening to a thing I said?"

"Oh yeah…"

"You getting tired?"

"Um…I guess so, yeah. I-I dunno, I'd probably just make it worse anyway, if I tried…"

"I don't know about that…but if you want to stop, you're perfectly welcome to. I don't think you're ready for advanced techniques quite yet, so we can finish up later."

"Uh…Okay."

Sabrina stood up, so I did too. "Ash, make sure to tell me if that headache comes back, or anything else out of the ordinary. As for right now…Hm…What do you say? Are you hungry?"

I blinked. That wasn't exactly the question I was expecting to hear after all this, but…

"Uh…yeah, actually…I am."

She smiled. "Well, let's go."