Knock knock knock.
"Evan? Sweetheart? Can I come in?" Nancy's hand withdraws from the door, but stays hanging in a loose fist at her side. The woman patiently waits for the fleeting quiet to be interrupted.
"Sure mom. Me and Jewel are just studying," comes from beyond the threshold. The mother mouths 'studying?' silently to herself and shakes a skeptical head before entering.
Inside, the sixteen year old sits cross legged on a worn duvet, the Omastar particularly faded. Around him are a few notebooks and textbooks, bookmarked with stickies. Stationed nearby is a stack of flashcards.
Just outside the scholastic ring, blankets camouflage a pair of heavily swaddled peepers.
"Ooooh-kaaay? Fishball, aren't you a bit too hot in there?" In answer the pile of fluff wiggles and a fin pops out from the hole that once held eyes. It is waved in a dismissive gesture before the lump re-situates. The cloth falls a bit at the movement and voluptuous lips poke out, revealing a satisfied smile. Then a frown. More shimmies, a few blowing breaths, and a little pop-up motion sets the blanket to rights, uncovering a full visage.
Satisfied she can once more see the Trainer in front, the carp settles.
Raising an eyebrow, the bemused female asks in a teasing voice, "So is Jewel studying, too, or just you?"
What is meant as rhetorical is answered anyway with Evan's Cheshire grin and a small picture depicting a blue fruit.
"Yache," the cocky kid supplies, still looking his mother straight in the eyes. Two pops resound, and the card is put down.
Nancy looks on with piqued curiosity as Evan shuffles the berry-related cards. Making sure the pictures are all displayed in a line, he quizzes, "Oran."
The orange-scaled cuddle monster worms out of the cocoon, and her best friend hefts her into the air for a clear vantage. Two more lip pops, and the cyprinidae is gently lowered to the mattress. Jewel 'swims' across the covers, a faux-wake developing behind her. The whiskered fish then bumps a cardstock option from the array.
"Well, would you look at that!" the motherly bystander exclaims, truly impressed with Jewel's intelligence.
"Yache." The seafarer is off again, twisting up some of the cards in the fabric while passing. Reaching the end of the row she boops the new answer with her snoot.
"Right again! Wow! That's amazing. I thought for sure she wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two; they look almost the same. They're even such a close shade of blue!" Nancy gushes, laying it on thick for Jewel's rapidly inflating ego.
"Moooom! Stop, or I'm gonna end up with a Qwilfish." Evan fakes a grumpy expression, right up until a small stream of water spritzes his face, causing him to splutter. As expected of family, Nancy revels at the boy's peril, laughing deep. Unable to hold on to any anger while watching his partner's pouty face, the teen joins in.
As the final laugh peters out, the mom sombers.
"Speaking of ending up with a Pokémon you didn't bargain for..." The room seems a bit too small suddenly, the air oppressive rather than jolly. "Did you have a chance to think about what we discussed before? Put any more thought into it?"
Maternal instincts flare as Evan cringes in anxiety, and the strawberry-blonde glides across the space. Balancing on the edge of the bed, she continues in a soft tone, "I'm honestly surprised she hasn't already. I half expected her to after the first Water Gun." The mother takes her son's closest hand, holding it loosely. Her left palm stays semi-cupped, not quite pressing flat into Evan's while her right cradles gently from underneath.
"I have, Mom; I just don't know what I'll do if she does. Things just wouldn't be the same." Evan sags, weighted by the thought. "If you had asked me a few years ago I would have said 'I can't wait', but now thinking it could happen just kinda makes me sick, ya know?"
A soft upturn of the lips.
Then, fingers unfurl, dropping a warm pressure into an unsuspecting palm.
"I know."
A speckled grey pebble encased in a metallic framework is revealed as Nancy draws back, resettling herself more securely on the bed.
Chapter Notes:
-The two lip pops mean yes, got it or affirmative, like a fish nod.
-Yache and Oran are very similar looking berries.
-Qwilfish is based on a puffer fish. Implying that she's puffing up a ton, ego inflating.
-The water is an itty bitty Water Gun.
-The speckled grey pebble is an Everstone in a wire setting. I was trying to think of a good way to attach it, since she obviously can't have it on a necklace. But then I decided I'll leave it up to interpretation. The only practical way I could think of was as a piercing on one of her top fins. *shrugs*
-Evermore is a ode to The Raven, with the idea that the thought of Jewel evolving has been haunting Evan. And, should she do so, she won't be the same Jewel for evermore. It also is because the fix is an Everstone.