Disclaimer: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.


"Should I be worried that I'm sad I can't get my tea today?"

The pounding of rain against the walls of the base seemed to underline her words as the crash of thunder trailed dutifully after the lightning strikes around the area. The storm had hit without warning or mercy and was showing the full extent of nature's fury as it forced pokemon to stay inside lest they get battered by the fierce winds and torrential rain. Kitty sat staring at the water that managed to creep into the glass-less window and splattered the floor with puddles that slowly drained back outside (no doubt flooding the "yard") and heaved a heavy sigh. Days like these were always boring and uneventful, since they couldn't even leave to do a mission in this weather, and Sakura understood her friend's boredom as she turned to look at the umbreon's crestfallen expression.

"Nah," the venusaur replied, waving a vine dismissively at her worries. "I'd welcome a cup of tea myself, if it meant I'd get to do something other than sit here with nothing to do. Games are only fun for so long, after all."

Kitty turned with a grin and teased, "What, am I really that boring?" As the grass-type laughed, she pretended to be offended as she raised a paw to her chest. "I can't believe you've never said anything before! I'm hurt!"

"You're as over-the-top as Gengar," Sakura commented, enjoying the soft huff she received in return as a sign of her friend's displeasure. Reminded of the ghost, she then carefully asked, "Were you really planning to meet up with him today? I saw the newsletter in the mail saying it would be bad today."

The umbreon sighed dejectedly, admitting quietly, "I saw it, too, but I was hoping it would blow just over us overnight. I guess Castform is never wrong after all." She scoffed as she remembered the faulty meteorology of humans before she came to this world, and then she shook her head and turned to her partner curiously. "You mean you didn't have any plans to cancel today? I thought you hung out with Team A.C.T. every once in a while." She was interested in the way the venusaur's face reddened and began to wonder what it was exactly that brought her friend to the Gold Rank rescue team so often, but she politely refrained from asking as she took her friend's silence as a definite "yes." "I just wish this storm had a bit more tact. Couldn't it have waited until we had nothing really to do?"

A sympathetic sigh was her answer. "Being a rescue team, you know that was never going to happen. And since it's summer, we can only expect more of these to ruin our schedules," she added quietly, eyes drifting to the window to watch the wind whip branches relentlessly outside. It was getting more vicious as they watched, and the storm that ate up the entire day was a testament to the omnipresent danger of natural risks and surprises that rescuers everywhere had to handle.


Theme: Nature's Fury

Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),
~DL ("Dragon Lover")