Crystal couldn't say for certain if she'd be getting any sleep tonight. Her mind plagued with a plethora of restless excitement for the unknown and her untapped potential. Unless there was no untapped potential, then it'd turn into uneasy and fear. Nothing positive there but an unending sea of mediocrity. Or, at least, the shredding fear of mediocrity.

She groaned, digging her paws into her head and sinking deep into the pillow by Emizella's slumbering head. Why does my stupid brain have to work like this?!

"Crystal?" a groggy voice rose up beside her, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Emizella asked, rubbing at her eyes and blinking through the darkness.

"I was asleep…" Crystal murmured deep in her throat. She thought about it a little more before turning under the sheets, "Sorry, I'll try being quieter."

She felt a shift sliding her body closer to Emizella's side, the sudden change in posture pulling Crystal's eyes up to see the moonlight brilliantly reflecting off of the riolu's crimson irises.

"Don't apologize." she said, her brows knitting together, "Look, if you're going to keep me company, then the least I can do is stay up and listen to your worries."

Crystal watched her a little longer, studying the invitation glimmering in her eyes. It tempted her to unclog that well of irrational feelings and emotions and let them all flow back into some semblance of calming logic. It could be worth a shot. If anything, it'd lighten the load weighing heavily in her head and pressing down into her shoulders. Her shoulders were much too small to be holding all this by herself.

A sigh blew past her lips, "I'm… worried that there's nothing there."

"Nothing where?"

"Here," Crystal pressed a paw to her chest, "in me. I want to be strong, but what if I'm not cut out for it? I want to catch up, but what if it's a gap I can't clear?" She groaned, feeling her body sink further into the bed so deeply ingrained with Emizella's scent. "I know, it's stupid, right? To be worried about something like this now."

She heard a hum purr through Emizella's throat, a soft contemplative rumble that rubbed against Crystal's shoulders. She turned an ear up to her, the longer it went the curiouser her hearing got until she was grasping for the words to come.

"Honestly, I kind of get it…in a 'been there, done that' kind of deal." she admitted.

Crystal looked up quickly. Not the reaction she was expecting.

Emizella glanced at her before continuing on, "I know it's hard to believe with how much confidence radiates off me naturally, but I had to start from somewhere too." Her knees went up to her chest, hugging them close while the glimmer of a nostalgic smile began to take shape. "I always looked up to my big bro, so when it was my time to start training to be strong like him I got… really scared. He was always so cool and amazing; how could I ever live up to that." Her eyes lifted up to meet Crystal's, a hand pressing between her ears in a tender pat, "But when I got started and saw what I could do, it wasn't really all that scary anymore. I've seen what you can do when backed into a corner. Try imagining what you're capable of when you've mastered that power."

Crystal held her breath. She didn't want to get too emotional but Emizella was making it really hard. It had to be her feelers, those appendages hanging on her head, that always outed Crystal's heart and told Emizella the exact words she needed to hear. "You… really believe in me, don't you?" she asked in an airless whisper.

She doubted she heard her, she could hardly hear herself, but she just continued to smile. It grew brighter and brighter until her face rivaled the moon and the stars shining into the medical center.

"Of course! You're my one and only partner, after all."

And there went her tears, quietly draining her anxieties and letting them soak her pillow. She pressed her face into the soft, cushiony material until she could barely breathe. Then, she just pressed harder.

The bed creaked and the body next to her shifted until Emizella was back to laying down next to her sobbing body. The blankets were pulled over her shoulders and hand rested on top, rubbing gentle circles into her back.

"Get some sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

Her sniffling died down into faint whispers, her pressure against the pillow dialing back to allow for proper ventilation for her nostrils. The air felt cool with each inhale, a strangely soothing sensation that gave her lungs a fresh refill of life. Inside and out, her body felt nice and comfortable and more relaxed than she could have been alone.

Yeah… I'll feel better in the morning…

~uwu~

Crystal, with her shorter legs, had to keep at a brisk trot to keep up with Scarlet's strides. It was a good warm up, gave her heart another reason to race than the nervousness bubbling in her stomach. It gave her body the excuse it needed to shake out the jitters running through her veins and humming in her ears. It mixed up everything inside just enough to keep her mind focused and clear.

"Hm…" Scarlet's tails felt around a bit more, running their fur along the tree barks and feeling out the grooves along the surface, "Yes, this is it."

Crystal peeked past her body, looking inward at the training grounds beaten into the earth. The grass didn't reach the area, stripped away and replaced with a dark substrate she could only assume was better suited to contain whatever practice went on in here. Dummies stood at their post, some scorched, some ripped apart, and some the merciful replacements of another.

Scarlet stepped further in, walking into the center before turning and taking a seat. "This is where we'll hold your lessons from here on out. Remember the path since I'll expect you to practice on your own as well." Her tail reached out past her legs, tapping the space immediately in front of her body. "Here." she beckoned with another tap.

Crystal's head tilted at the gesture but got closer, nonetheless. She started at a short hop, a light jog to clear the distance and a slowed walk until she stood right in front of the ninetales.

She didn't have to alert her to anything, a paw already lifting up and landing on her head. It traced around the round shape, following her jaw and falling down her neck to her chest. She didn't question it, certain that an answer was sure to come on its own.

"Could you take a few deep breaths for me?"

And there it was… well, kind of. Crystal still didn't quite get what Scarlet was trying to do. She felt like she was just being tossed puzzle piece after puzzle piece. She hoped at the very least she'd get a full picture by the end of it. For now, she did as she was told, counting out the seconds of each inhale and exhale that flowed through her body. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

"That'll do." the paw left from her chest, retreating back to the ground, "Since everything is in order, we'll go ahead and get started. For today, I'll be getting acquainted with where your skill levels are at. Nothing too exciting, I know, but I have to feel for myself what I'm working with."

Wait, "feel?"

She placed some distance between the two of them, joining the dummy front lines with her tall stature and grounded frame. "Alright, Crystal, hit me with your best shot."

She blinked, "I'm sorry… could you repeat that?"

"Of course. I want you to hit me with your best fire attack. Don't hold anything back, just attack me like you would any opponent."

That's what I thought you said… "But… I don't want to hurt you."

Scarlet laughed, the mirthful sound escaping her before her manners could think better of it. "My apologies but you won't hurt me. An attack from you as you are would be a mere tickle. Definitely nothing for you to worry yourself over."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now then," her tails fanned out behind her, her body tensing and bracing herself for her student's strike in whatever shape it took, "whenever you're ready."

Crystal couldn't help her hesitation despite the reassurance. But she supposed this must be Scarlet's way of understanding the flames dwelling in her students. A suitable substitute for those eyes that could not study the blow's form or vitality. But was seeing and judging with her body really… safe? Well, with the way her fur still glistened under the sun, silky and unblemished, she must know what she's doing.

Right, she's a teacher. She knows what she's doing.

She took another deep breath, calming those fluttering worries flying around in her head and making room for her senses to feel out her motions. The heating furnace in her stomach rose hotter and hotter until she could taste its fire at the back of her throat. It gathered in her mouth, swirling over her tongue before launching toward the ninetales. The snaking flame gathered around her body, towering up into a spinning, flaming vortex that trapped her inside for however many seconds it lasted.

Scarlet's head turned within her confinement, a paw lifting up and touching the circling flames. It poked at several points, both high and low. Some of her proddings looked shallow and others a bit deeper, each more curious than the last. She thought she saw her mouth move, saying something within the vortex, but she couldn't make out the sound beneath the rising flame.

The vortex died into embers, dispelling as it rose up towards the sky. It left nothing behind but a scorched mark in the ground and light red tips at the edge of Scarlet's fur.

Her teacher hummed, shaking off the tingle and killing the flame's remnants. "Crystal, you didn't hold back, right?" she asked, pressing a paw against the darkened, burnt earth.

"No? I mean, I don't think I did." Crystal answered. She really didn't feel anything?

"Good, good." she nodded.

She walked back to her side, her tail's running over her muzzle and head to lead her behind Crystal's body. Crystal couldn't say she minded the intrusive, stroking touch, but it did tickle her nose and enticed a sneeze to follow immediately after.

"Pardon me," Scarlet apologized, moving the long appendages out of the way and settling them behind her body. "Next, I want you to attack the dummies."

Crystal glanced back at her for a moment before locking her eyes onto one of the staked training dolls. "Right," she responded, her voice more solid and less uneasy with an unfeeling subject becoming the target of her attacks.

She decided to go for one of the newer dummies. Although, "newer" was a relative term. It was still pretty beaten up and dented in, but she'd rather burn up a fresher face than completely break one of the already scorched men.

She pressed another fire spin out of her body, letting the flames circle and engulf the standing dummy. The vortex rose as high as the trees' canopy, its hot air brushing against the leaves and making them billow and dance on their branches. Little pieces broke away at its top, breaking away bit by bit until the vortex extinguished itself.

"Again," Scarlet instructed as soon as it was gone.

So soon? Crystal wondered but the question kept itself sheltered away at the back of her mind.

She did it again, firing at the same dummy once more, now marked with a spiraling scorched scar seared into its fabric. And when that vortex vanished, she was asked to do so again immediately after. The tower of her flames came and went and came and went, getting shorter with each eruption. The effort to keep going began to scratch at her throat, leaving it raw and her voice hoarse. Consequence, no doubt, for continuing the same motions over and over again without a single break in between.

When she asked her to do it again, she tried to push another out but only embers and little pieces of the attack fell from her mouth. She looked back to Scarlet, her eyes worn and tired. "I can't do anymore…" she said with her scratchy voice. Even just the air passing through her esophagus irritated her.

"Oh, that's all that was in you?" she asked, her body coming back into full attention with the end of this phase. "Let's see… including the first that was… nine times you could do that same attack. Those were all fire spins, right?"

"Yes, every one of them." Crystal answered, her hips falling to the ground while her head craned up to look at her.

"I see… Yes! I think I understand now."

"Understand what?"

"Your most pressing issue. We'll need to resolve it before you can start getting better."

Crystal's ears perked up, pushing past the exhaustion to fully absorb Scarlet's words of wisdom.

"You were able to push out nine fire spins, but the average is fifteen. Do you have any idea why you're so far below that average?"

"I don't." she answered, not having a single clue what was wrong with her but she didn't let that muffle her mind. This was a learning moment, after all.

"Each one is much too sloppy. Sometimes you push out too much, others are too little. You're all over the place. And then there's your control." Scarlet moved a paw to Crystal's chest, "When you get fired up, you have a habit of building up too much for one attack and then barfing it all out. Tell me, how do your insides feel?"

Her ears lowered slightly, a soft grimace twisting her face, "Like I tore something…"

"Exactly. Improper control like that will hurt you more in the long run. You're overexerting your body and your body doesn't need to be overexerted to get results. But I understand where it comes from. You only started using your fire because your life depended on it. Without proper training beforehand, your body adjusts to thinking every attack is a desperate fight for survival."

Crystal had a feeling that she might have developed bad habits from basically self-teaching herself in moments of stress and trauma, but it was a heavier feeling to hear it out loud from someone trained enough to pick it out. She just hoped only Scarlet has been able to see it.

A paw pressed to her head, pulling her up from the sinking feeling in her chest. "I'm sorry you've had a rough start, but now, let's focus on how we can fix this." she said in a solemn yet optimistic tone.

Scarlet was right. Absolutely, one hundred percent right. And Crystal kept repeating that to herself until to perked up her body and opened her mind up for her correction instructions.

She made sure Scarlet could feel her readiness under her paw, raising her head up just an inch higher and her fur standing with the excited zeal for learning. "What do I need to do?"

Scarlet's smile came back to her face, happy to continue forward and even happier that Crystal was still ready and willing to do the same. The paw fell back to the ground, leaving a lingering tingle on Crystal's head.

"We'll focus on calming your body first. Throughout the day, I want you to take a few minutes to calm down and empty your mind. Focus on taking deep, even breaths. Your breathing also plays a huge part in the quality of your fire so try keeping that in mind as well. We'll start with meeting up every other day first so I can correct anything amiss. Any questions?"

"Just one." Crystal started, "How will I know if I'm doing it right?"

Scarlet breathed out a chuckle, "You'll know it when you feel it. Each little quiet space is different from pokemon to pokemon so I can't really give you a solid answer. You'll have to give it a shot yourself, but feel free to let me know how your first try went."

It wasn't really the answer she was expecting, but she supposed some of the joys of learning came from exploring the unknown. Who knows, maybe taking a few minutes out of her day to breathe and flush away her thoughts could do more for her than improve the quality of her fire.

~uwu~

Crystal came back to the medical center with a bit more of a skip to her step than when she first left out. Of course, Emizella noticed this, looking towards the doorway and listening in on the fennekin's request to visit her friend once again.

"Thanks, Blaire." she said with a nod, trotting closer with her bag tapping against her side. She hopped up to the seat by the riolu's bed, shifting the bag in front.

"So," Emizella drawled, "how'd it go?"

A sheepish smile played on her lips, a hand rubbing down the fur at the back of her head. "I have a few things to work on, but it looks like I'm not completely hopeless." she confessed.

Emizella laughed, "Well, I always knew you weren't hopeless at all." she said, smug in her subtle boast.

"Yeah, you did." Crystal said in a soft tone, her voice half there while the other bathed itself in sweet bliss.

She felt her face begin to get warmer but she knew it wasn't the work of the fire that lived in her stomach. No, these were the embers of affection and gratitude that kissed her cheeks into a rosy pink. For a moment, she wondered if she was feeling too happy about this, if this kind of reaction was too much for what must seem trivial to her friend. Well, even if she was getting a bit too emotional, she was positive Emizella would never say so.

"Oh yeah!" Crystal fiddled with the clasp of her bag, flipping the flap open and digging around inside, "I stopped by Rhyme & Reason on my way over. It looks like Janice finished setting those stones we picked up. I think they came out pretty great!"

From inside her pouch, she pulled out a small, silver clip-on earring with her violet stone in one paw and a set of three golden bands melded together with Emizella's orange stone mounted into the center band in the other.

"Here, this one's yours." she said, handing the gold bands off to her.

Emizella took it, looking over the craftsmanship of the accessory with glittering eyes. "You weren't kidding!" she exclaimed, snapping the melded bands open and pressing them to the base of her feelers, just where they connected to her head. She clasped them shut, securing their hold to the appendage. It added a taste of brightness against the dark fur, popping out against the surface and twinkling with each catch of the light. "What do you think? Be honest, does it suit me or what?"

Crystal watched her turn her head, showing off the dazzling accent that made her look like royalty. She couldn't help giggling, "It's definitely you." she said, hiding her smiling lips behind a paw.

Emizella laughed with her, "I'm not too big on jewelry, but I don't ever want to take this off."

"But you'll have to eventually. If you keep getting stronger, you'll be a lucario in no time."

"Strength isn't all it takes to be a lucario…"

Her voice was so soft Crystal wondered if she was meant to hear her at all. But that look in her eyes, warm crimson mixed with a sultry undertone, made her think Emizella wanted her to hear that whispered secret.

"Let me help put yours on." Emizella moved closer to the edge of the bed, reaching a hand out to take the clip-on.

The words distracted Crystal from that suggestive look, pulling her back from her daze and imploring her to act now. "Oh, sure. Thanks." she stumbled slightly, dropping the small accessory onto her open palm.

Emizella pinched it between two digits, making sure it was secure in her grip before attempting to move forward. "Which side you want it?"

Crystal raised a paw to her left ear, "This one."

"Got it."

It took all of Crystal's willpower and self-restraint to keep her ear from flickering under her ticklish touch. So feather-soft and gentle with the slightest brush of warmth rubbing against the rim of her ear… She didn't realize she had such a weakness.

How did she do it? Those same hands that were capable of smashing strong stones into helpless rubble could also be as sweet as a butterfree's kiss.

She winced only once when she felt the clip-on snap shut, her shoulders tensing just to keep herself still.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" Emizella asked, taking her hand away quickly.

Crystal tested the weight of the accessory hanging to her ear, moving and flicking it a few times. It felt like there was a subtle tug pulling at the end of her nerves but nothing she couldn't see herself getting used to.

"Not really. The sound just startled me a bit." she answered, showing she meant it with a beaming smile. "How do I look?"

Emizella stared for a bit, "Looks like those ears of yours were made for jewels."

Crystal giggled, "You really think so?"

"Of course! It looks really good on you."

With how emphatically Emizella gave her response, Crystal couldn't keep the bashful look from creeping onto her face. She couldn't relax the muscles yanking at her cheeks and keeping a glowing smile on her lips. She couldn't ease her thumping heart pumping warm blood all throughout her body and making her feel like she was boiling. And she definitely couldn't keep her tail from tapping away excitedly against the seat of her chair. At least the sheer fluffiness of it muffled some of the sound.

Emizella could see all of it. Crystal just knew she could see it all from her head down to the tip of her paws. The smile on her lips just gave away how she enjoyed these internal declarations of uncontrollable delight. But maybe this was good too, letting her know just how much she loved to be complimented and praised. It might not be such a bad thing at all.

"Thanks…" she muttered. Don't think I'll be taking mine off anytime soon either.