Yay! Lance and Serena work in the league! I like to think Lance gets scouted into the Elite Four from his own challenge, with dragon types, how can he not? XD


Day one of work, and Serena feels more excited about this than she did going to school two separate times. Dressed in black slacks, and a dark blue blouse, she feels like her mother going to lecture in front of a bunch of students. She had breakfast with Lance, both of them too excited to eat much, or stay in one place. When it was time to go, she grabbed a box her mother helped her pack of her belongings to decorate her desk and feel more welcomed at the League.

It's going to be a good day.

"Serena, I need to speak with you," Elijah greets her as he enters their shared office.

Well, that was short lived, she sighs, setting her things down on her desk.

Day one and she's already in trouble? She runs through a mental checklist of what he wanted for the week, stuff she gave him yesterday. It was a stack of papers for her paperwork to get paid, tax stuff and then some presentations he needs for the meeting with the Elites in a few days.

"What happened?" she follows him to his desk with furrowed brows.

"It's gym leader scores and applications for next year," he takes a seat and pulls out a folder from his suitcase. "Clair wants to be a leader, right?"

"Yeah."

"I got this instead," he tosses an application for Ryder. "I'm assuming this is a mistake."

Blood boiling, Serena picks up the application and resists the urge to toss it aside. "It is. The clan must be doing this. What can I do?"

"Well, I need her application," he grins. "Once I do, I can open up a case with the clan between the two of them. They'll have to battle it out in the league field and then I convene with the elites on who to pick."

"But you've seen her battling, can't you just override it?" she frowns back.

He chuckles. "I wish it could be that easy. Especially with you and Lance on my staff, I have to be as fair as possible. Even though her scores and skills put her way ahead of this Ryder guy."

"Yeah, he's useless," she mutters under her breath with a smile. "I'll email her and tell her to send me the application and I'll print it out."

"Thank you."
Serena returns to her desk with a purpose, her first day and she's able to kick out her old bully from his potential job. If it were anyone else, she'd feel guilty, but he doesn't deserve the position. The Elder's want him in that position simply because he's a guy, and it 'makes the clan look stronger'. It's bullcrap and Clair fights against it each day.

She presses send on the email to Clair, and opens an instant message for Lance. He should be in a meeting, but she knows better than to assume he's actually paying attention. She sends off a quick message and unpacks her box while waiting.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, he sends back a ping and she asks him to meet up with her ASAP.

I have fifteen minutes left in this meeting. I'll meet you outside your office then :D.

She agrees and returns to organizing her desk with a bit of hope fluttering into her chest. Clair emails her application to Serena oblivious to what has happened, which makes it easier on Serena as she doesn't want to give Clair false hope. She opts to keep her in the dark for the moment at least and play dumb for the moment, replying it's for training and leaving it at that.

It prints at Elijah's desk and he thanks her before delving into his own work.

OoO

"What's going on?" Lance asks as Serena dips out of her shared office for a minute. She relays to Lance what happened and what Elijah plans to do. "Sounds simple."

"You're agreeing? Just like that?" she responds with brows raised in surprise. She had prepared a whole speech to get him to agree to it. He and Clair's rivalry has gotten thick with anger and tension since his induction into the Elite Four.

"Look, we may have a rivalry, but Clair deserves the position more than Ryder does," he snickers. "That asshole couldn't run a gym to honor my shoe. We may have disagreements on what it means to be strong, but I would be dumb to not listen to their scores."

Maybe this position is doing him some good, Serena eyes with him with surprise. Being in the Elite Four gives them the chance to understand the hiring process for gym leaders on a more intimate level. Even if they disagree on how to raise their pokemon, it's clear Lance understands what the league expects from their gym leaders, and what the gym means to him in Blackthorn.

"Okay," she says finally, pulling him into a hug. "I haven't told her what's going on yet. She's been working so hard for this, I want her to have it."

"I also want to stick it to the clan," Lance admits with a laugh and a pat on her back. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope, have fun," she waves him off and disappears back into her office.

The rest of the day goes by without a hitch. Serena trains into her position with a couple of assistants in the building on how to work the program used on the computers, where fax machines are and getting her own badge to allow her into any area in the League. Then follows Elijah through his routine to learn all that he does that she will be aiding with.

It's mostly administrative, leaving her eyes burning from staring at a computer screen for too long. He just scratches the surface of it, with information on the Pokemon Association, and the Grand Council. Two parties she will be dealing with the most in the coming months to make changes necessary in both regions.

Her first day, she doesn't get to meet the elites yet. They have their own schedule to show Lance and they'll be having a meeting with Elijah soon.

Elijah sends out his decision to the clan, by email, and promises her to be patient as they wait for a response. The day comes to a close and she heads back to her apartment, her mind swimming with all things training and Clair's application. Lance joins her for dinner and the two talk about their day to pass the time.

"How long do you think it will take?" she twists her fork on her plate. "I need to know now."

"Probably a day," Lance takes a sip of water. "The elders won't be happy they're being questioned and will want to respond as fast as possible."

"How mad do you think they'll be?"

"Hopefully, furious," he laughs. She joins him, but it dies out quickly. He reaches across the table to touch the back of her hand. "Relax, we're doing our best. She'll get the job."

"I hope so," she sighs and turns her hand to give his a squeeze.

This better work.

OoOoOoO

The next morning, Serena heads to the office at a fast pace, hoping for news from the Blackthorn Clan. Before she can step into the office Elijah urges her out of it and towards the front desk. She nearly trips over her feet, but manages to catch herself and rush after him. His grip is gentle on her arm as he pulls her along while speaking a mile a minute. She catches 'Clair' and 'Taro meeting' before jolting them both to a stop at the desk.

"Okay?" he looks to her for affirmation.

"What?" she puffs back.

"Sorry," he chuckles as they head down the hall to the meeting rooms. "The clan sent back their response, Taro is meeting with us in the conference room to discuss options. He'd like you and Lance there as well."

"Oh?" she frowns. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugs. "I told Lance to meet us there, he should already be in the room now."

As they approach the room, Elijah slows down and adjusts his tie, leading Serena to do the same with her own clothing. After a breath, Elijah opens the door with a professional smile and introduces himself to Lance's grandfather. Serena nods at the old man, unsure of how to acknowledge him now that they're in professional roles.

Taro smiles at her, offering his hand and giving hers a gentle squeeze and shake. "Hello, young one."

It makes her smile and feel less uneasy in the room as he gestures for them to join them at the table. Serena does so across from Lance, eyeing the boy and gesturing with her hands what they were talking about before they walked in. He moves his head an inch to deflect, moving his hands in a downward motion as if to say, don't worry about it. The frown stays on her face but she relents as Taro clears his throat.

"I understand you did not agree with our selection for Gym Leader in our city?" he starts out with a raised brow.

"No. I, respectfully, disagree," Elijah puts forth some papers. "Their scores differ and if I were to consult anyone in the league, they would agree with me Clair is better for the position."

Taro grins and gestures to Serena and Lance. "I asked these two to be here because I know they must have had some part in this. Let me tell you, these three have been inseparable since Serena came to Blackthorn. I broke tradition for Serena, who am I to not do it again for my own flesh and blood?"

Serena jolts upright and frowns at him. "Just like that?"

He glances at Lance with a twinkle in his eye before looking at her. "I am beginning to see a change on the horizon. It will take some arguing with the others, but I would be a fool to not try and, what is it you kids say? 'Go with the flow'?"

Lance snorts and pats his grandfather on the shoulder. "Nice one, GG."

There's a bit of shocked silence, but Elijah moves quick to get out the appropriate paperwork for Taro to sign and more to bring to Clair. Serena becomes giddy as everything gets finalized and she can't wait for her best friend to find out. All her work has really paid off, she just needed the extra boost to get herself where she needed to be. Hopefully, Clair will now realize she is worthy of her title and stop seeing Lance as a rival.

As Taro leaves to head back to the city, Serena turns to Lance with a raised brow. "What did you say?"

"The truth," he shrugs as they turn towards her office.

Elijah has run off to file the paperwork so everything is all set for the new year. Serena crosses her arms. "Which is?"

"Clair and I differ when it comes to battle styles, believe it or not," he adds the last part at her snort. "I may not agree with hers, but she is a worthy opponent and has worked her butt off for the position. I told him as much and added that it would honor the clan to have three different families involved with the league in different facets."

"Wow, you appealed his honor," she laughs. "I'm not surprised."

"Gotta do what you gotta do!"

She pauses at her door and turns to him with a smile. "I know you two don't get along, but I hope this is your way of making amends."

"We'll see," he shrugs.

OoO

"Good work today," Elijah states from his desk.

Serena smiles at him from her desk. Five o'clock sharp, he promised to kick her out to rest up and 'be a kid'. Since it's Friday, she'll be heading to Blackthorn for the weekend to be with her parents and, now, celebrate with Clair her new career! Her dream career.

"See you, Monday."

Back at her apartment, she packs up her bag and meets Lance at the entrance of the league. A staff member stands at the ready to send them back with his Abra, a much easier way to travel rather than flying everywhere. She and Lance are hooked on getting places as soon as possible.

The world spins and lands them just outside of Lance's house. Despite it being winter, Serena finds the crisp air a warm welcome to the heated air in the league. The two stand on the wet sidewalk, under a streetlamp, each pulling their scarves tighter as a chilly gust greets them. Buried with snow, Blackthorn looks beautiful in the late afternoon sun. Hoothoot and Murkrow cry from the pine trees as darkness approaches, marking the end of yet another day.

"Hey, Rena?" Lance speaks up at the gate of his house.

He stares at the darkening sky above. "Try not to tell Clair what I did for her today. I made it sound easy, but Taro wasn't about to give up without a fight."

"But why?" she frowns.

"It's complicated, and sexist," Lance shakes his head. "Before you got here, it was a war between Clair and I. Our dreams are similar and bring in a lot of fame, and fortune, to the clan. They pit us against each other to ensure that we would win. But like many adults, they only noticed my strides.

"I may be cocky, but she boasts about her strength. And when she can't back it up, she pouts, like a child."

"That's a little harsh," Serena interrupts with a frown.

He holds up a finger. "Before you got here. You being accepted made them think giving second chances may reap benefits."

Serena flinches remembering the feeling of walking on ice to be the best so the elders wouldn't kick her family out. "Of course. If she's as strong as she says-"

"-and she finally realizes it's about bettering yourself and not being better than others. It'll benefit them sometime in the future."

"Do you think she knows?"

He snorts. "Clair isn't dumb. She's going to realize sooner or later and it can either go well or not."

"So, you don't want me to tell her because...?"

"If she finds out I helped her, it'll make her furious with me," he turns back to the street. "She'd want the job on her own, even though it required outside help, knowing I was the reason she got it? She'd see it as me giving her my pity."

Serena twists her upper body around to occupy herself with his thoughts. Her bag bumps against her side as she mulls over their conversation. With her own problems, she never paid attention to the tension between her two best friends until it was too late and their fights became physical. She's seen their fights up close too many times to want even a hint of another one.

"I'll try not to tell her," she finally speaks.

"I'm not too worried," he shrugs. "I'm sure she'll figure that out too. I just want to start the year off right."

"Who are you and what have you done with Lance?" she demands in shock.

He rolls his eyes. "I'm still here. I'm just looking forward to using my position to its full advantage!"

"You better do your damn job," she glares at him. "Or it's on me!"

"Don't worry about it!" he waves at her. "Go home before it gets darker and colder!"

"Way to walk me home! What a gentleman!" she shouts as he opens the gate and darts towards his house.

"Bye!"

OoO

Serena stares at her clock wondering if Clair is already in bed. She's been home for a few hours and the blue haired girl didn't even join them for dinner. Her mother was worried when the door never opened and her plate remained empty at the table.

During the day, Clair and Ryder work under their current leader as apprentices to see who would be more worthy of the position. The elders oversee their lessons, their exams and their battles to decide who gets to be the gym leader. This can lead the process to be skewed if there's a favorite between the two apprentices.

At the league, they're not huge fans of this process and have offered to have members come by and help with the selection but have been turned down each time. It makes sense that Elijah jumped at any chance to override their decision. Even if it ended up being Lance putting more power into their hands by betting Clair's position on a perfect performance few others would have to perform.

Ty snores from the floor next to the bed and she wonders if she should sneak over to her house and see what's up.

The moon shines through her window, casting a nice glow in her room when a shadow moves up from below. Serena sits up and places a hand on the rousing Ty as the window slides open and Clair falls into her room without grace. Ty starts to growl, but pauses the second Clair coos at him and scratches his neck.

"About time, I was about to head over to your place!" Serena whispers at her.

Clair stands at full height and dusts snow off her clothes. She pops off her sweater and shoes to reveal a loose t-shirt with shorts. "Sorry, busy day. But guess what?"

"Ryder drowned in the pool?" Serena says, biting her cheek to hide her growing excitement.

Clair scoffs. "No! I got the job! I'm a gym leader!"

The two dissolve into quiet squeals and tight embraces. From the floor, Ty grumbles and lets out a puff of hot air from his mouth. Clair dives into details, her mouth moving a mile a minute while Serena tries to follow along.

"I thought something was up when you messaged me for my application this morning," she jabs her side. "Did you really need it for training?"

"Yeah," Serena stumbles. "I was training on hiring new people and Elijah wants to change some people around. So he decided to kill two birds with one stone."

Clair grins. "That's awesome, and you got to practice with me!"

"Ye-yeah," she coughs.

The two pause as the door creaks open and Rowan peeks her head in with some cold water for Clair.

"Hi, Mom," Clair grins. "Thanks for water."

"Of course, hun," Rowan beams. "You two get to bed now. Love you."

"Love you too!"

Clair drinks up her water while Serena arranges the bed to accommodate her. "Moms are the best."

"Yeah, they are," Serena grins. "Yours makes the best pastries."

"She's making some tomorrow, I'll have to swing by again," she sets the glass on the bedside table and slides in beside Serena. "Okay, so I never thought I was going to get it because the elders were spending so much more time with Ryder. He may be good at battling but I guess I'm better."

"Cocky," Serena frowns at her best friend. "Be careful."

"I can't help it," she replies. "He's such a dick and I wanted to beat him so badly for the position. He hasn't changed at all since Lance's birthday."

"I'm not surprised," she rolls her eyes. "Are we having a party for you?"

"My parents are planning it, but I wanted to tell you first before then," she says. "I mean, as fast as I can with you having a hand in the process."

"O-oh?"

"Yeah helping out in the league, you must have said something good, right?" she tilts her head.

"Oh," Serena exhales. She promised Lance she wouldn't tell, but she was so close at that moment, she thought Clair knew. "There's only so much I could do without it being too biased. I have to be professional now. Plus, Elijah took one look at your scores and was impressed."

"Really?"

Serena stares at her best friend's glowing blue eyes and can't help but smile. "Of course, Clair. You are an amazing trainer."

"Better than Lance?" she sneaks in.

"Stop it," Serena huffs. "I hate when you do that."

"We've been rivals for a long time now," she clarifies. "I'm supposed to want to surpass him."

"But not for the sake of being better than him. You should want to better yourself as well."

"I am," she responds, her temper starting to flare. "Rena, I've been working hard since day one to keep up with him. Studying my ass off, training my pokemon to their bones to be stronger and focusing on myself. I wanna be the greatest dragon tamer in the region, and the world!"

"I admire your work ethic, Clair," Serena reaches a hand out to her shoulder. "I'm not trying to undermine it. I just wish you would see things through my eyes. The title of Gym Leader is perfect for you, isn't it enough? When you get to the top what are you hoping to accomplish? Lance isn't doing much for himself but having fun lately and I want you to do the same. We're still young."

"This is my life's dream," she mutters and continues spluttering. "It is fun for me."

"Is it?" she presses further through Clair's words. "I hope so. There's a lot at stake here, what Lance said today-"

"What did he say?" the blue haired girl demands.

Serena pauses and swears at herself. "He was happy you got the position, he thought it was well deserved."

"My ass," Clair narrows her eyes. "He is a good sport, I'll believe that. But 'well deserved'? That's not his style with me."

"Oh come on."

"Tell me."

Serena stares in Clair's eyes and sighs. "He spoke with Taro and convinced him you were the better choice. Your application had been thrown out by the elders and we only received Ryder's."

Hurt darkens Clair's eyes as she takes in Serena's words. The brunette pulls her in and holds her tight as tears spill over. "I'm never going to be good enough for them. I'm so mad, of course he would do that. Taking pity on me and swooping in at the last second to make me look like a begging fool. Everything always lands on him!"

"I'm sorry, Clair."

"You don't have to be, you know exactly what it's like with the elders," she sniffles.

"That's true," Serena pats her back, then tenses. "You know what?"

"Huh?"

"Since they're so old, we might have to find new elders when we're older."

Clair wipes her eyes with a small laugh. "That's dark, Rena."

"But true," she points out with a grin.

"Y-yeah," Clair sighs and takes Serena's hand in hers. "You already know not to tell Lance I cried. But I don't want any pity handouts, whether this was one or not. I don't care if I have to beat up the elders to let them know I'm worthy of their praise. I'll show them what kind of gym leader I am."

"By bettering yourself through self reflection?" Serena perks up.

Clair laughs. "Maybe. Not yet though."

"Right," she sighs and flips onto her back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Rena."