"In… Out….. In…. Out…" Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, Bea carefully timed her breathing in order to relax both her mind and body after a long day of school, followed by her duties as a gym leader. Quiet, cautious footsteps made their way closer to her and just barely cracked her eyes open to see her masked brother slowly approaching her. It had been a few weeks since she had told Allister she would be a better older sister, but not much had come from that promise yet. Allister had been terrified and would crawl to a hiding spot every time Bea approached him, and usually Bea couldn't understand what Allister needed or wanted when he was feeling bold enough to come up to her, which led to both of them get frustrated.

Allister's path ended up leading to a spot right next to her, where he sat down and awkwardly tried to copy what Bea was doing. Every few seconds he would try to readjust to a more comfortable position, but couldn't find one and instead curled up on top of Bea's bed.

"Hello Allister." The greeting caused Allister to flinch and retreat underneath Bea's bed.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to frighten you. Did you just want to see what I was doing or did you come in here because you need my help with something?" Allister slowly poked his head out from under the bed and shakily walked over to Bea. He lightly tugged on the sleeve of her shirt while pointing to the scenery outside of the bedroom window.

"Are you wanting to go outside?" A hesitant nod.

"Okay. I've had a really long day, so I want to get back here within an hour. If you want to stay out longer, you'll have to go with one of my parents." Allister quickly shook his head and gripped the fabric of Bea's sleeve more tightly.

"Sorry, I knew that was a stupid question. Go get some shoes on and I'll meet you downstairs." Allister nodded and dashed off to his room while Bea waited for him at the bottom of the steps. He appeared with his shoes untied and on the wrong feet, and Bea sighed before quickly correcting the mistake.

"Lead the way. I don't know where you have in mind. I'll be right behind you." Allister nodded and timidly stepped out of the front door, freezing when he saw several people look his way. Shrinking back, he retreated to the safety of hiding behind his older sister. Bea resisted the urge to take back her hand after Allister took it, still not used to any physical contact that wasn't meant for martial arts. With the reassurance that he wouldn't be alone in a large crowd, Allister nervously stepped out of the door and onto the path.

Bea had a gut feeling that Allister would be leading her to the cemetery, and the feeling proved to be correct. Allister took a seat in front of the double headstone where both of his parents had been laid to rest and leaned his forehead against the cool stone while tracing the etchings with his fingers. A cold feeling came over the area even though it had been blistering hot only moments before, and Bea swore she could see two spectral beings hovering above him before she blinked and they were gone. She allowed herself to shiver a bit as a multitude of ghost pokemon surrounded Allister. The sight was very eerie and Bea was terrified at the thought of these creatures following her back.

It had already happened several times, where some ghost pokemon would phase through the walls of their house in order to find her younger brother. Much to Allister's dismay, Bea's parents would always shoo the pokemon away and had recently put spell tags over all the doors and windows to prevent another ghastly incident, such as the gengar who enjoyed a good prank or the sinistea that liked to steal the kitchenware.

Bea was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a drifloon take Allister by the arm and start lifting him into the air. Although she didn't believe the rumors that they would take children to the afterlife, she wasn't going to risk it with Allister. She held Allister in her arms and shooed the pokemon away, and decided to hold onto Allister now that his head was laying on her shoulder like he was tired.

"Well we better start home. Actually, I'm getting a bit hungry and dinner wasn't enough to fill me up. I'm going to stop by the café in the Pokemon Center and grab myself something sweet. Just let me know if you want anything." The sliding doors opened and Bea went straight to the left, knowing the person behind the counter probably prepped her order when he saw her walking towards the pokemon center.

"Hello gym leader! The usual today?"

"Yes please, along with a small carton of chocolate milk and… Allister, did you ever decide on anything?" A shake of the head came from him. "Alright, I'll get a pecha berry muffin for him." Bea set Allister down, which he strongly opposed to, as Bea got her wallet out to pay the employee.

"Thank you. Come on Allister, there's a few tables outside where we can eat before we go home." Bea walked awkwardly as Allister had wrapped himself completely around her leg, and managed to pry him off and sit him down on an outdoor chair.

"Alright Allister, do you want to try a few bites of what I got for you?" Allister nodded and picked at the pastry, trying to decide if it was something that he actually wanted to stick in his mouth. He decided on taking a small bite, chewing for a few seconds before stopping.

"Good job for trying it, but you don't have to eat it if you don't like it. I'll finish the rest if you don't want it." Allister nodded and grabbed a napkin to dispose of the offending food. Bea watched with concern as Allister took it over to the trash. Getting Allister to eat more than a few bites of dinner was always a struggle, and it usually ended with Allister screaming and crying as Bea's parents forced him to eat. Even with that, he didn't have much of a reserve and that usually led to him getting sick fairly often.

A tap on Bea's arm interrupted her thoughts as Allister pointed to the chocolate croissant that Bea was thoroughly enjoying.

"Do you want to try a bite? Please say no. These are my absolute favorite and I really don't want to share-"

"P-please…" Bea tore off a small piece and allowed her brother to try a taste. Allister hesistantly took a bite before scarfing down the rest of his portion.

"Here, it won't kill me to trade with you this one time. Next time I'll know to get us both one since you actually found something you enjoy eating." Allister shook his head and tore off another small portion for himself before handing Bea the rest and climbing back in his own chair. The two finished eating in silence before Allister looked over at Bea.

"Let's get home now. I'm tired and you seem like it too." Bea picked up Allister per his request and toted him home. Allister quickly retreated to his room as soon as his feet touched the floor, and he came out clad in pajamas while holding a book and a blanket up to Bea.

"Let me get ready first. I need about ten minutes okay?" Allister nodded and followed Bea back upstairs, taking a seat just inside of his bedroom door while looking at the pictures in his book. By the time Bea had finished showering and getting dressed, Allister had nodded off and Bea gently shook him awake.

"Do you still want me to read to you?" Allister yawned and rubbed his eyes while handing Bea the book. He forced himself to stay awake and listen, which was difficult to do after Bea had tucked him in under a cozy blanket.

"Still awake under there?" Allister nodded and reached out for Bea's hand.

"L-love you B-b-bea." Bea was a bit startled since that was a phrase that never flew around her household but eventually responded.

"I love you too Allister. Try and get some rest tonight."