Fawn had been at Maple Crossing for two whole days before she was finally able to help out. She had wanted to start right away, but Ji-Min and Andie had insisted she get her bearings first.

The first full day at Maple Crossing was spent exploring the fields, learning where everything was (though the maternity barn was only pointed out to her, she wasn't allowed inside), and most importantly, getting good meals. Andie had said she would need lots of strength in order to keep up, and Fawn ate plates piled high with steamed vegetables, waffles, and Torchic eggs. She drank fresh juice and Miltank milk. She wore clean clothes and had a proper bed and pillow.

She hadn't had such luxuries since she'd run from home.

It was a shame such carefree days had to end, but if she didn't want to be kicked out, she'd have to pull her weight.

And she could start, she'd thought, with feeding the Torchic.

Fawn stood on the wraparound porch of the house for a few moments, staring over the misty landscape. The sun was still burning away the fog of dawn, and dew sparkled like glass among the fields. It almost looked fake, like something out of a movie. Fawn pinched herself to be sure; no, she wasn't having a vivid dream, Maple Crossing really did look like this in the early morning.

"It's been a long time since I've been able to enjoy the way mornings look," she muttered to herself, combing her fingers over her scalp.

"Vulp!" came a sudden chirp at Fawn's side.

The girl looked down to see the Vulpix that was always lying around the house or porch. "Oh, hey, uh... Ginger, right?" She knelt down, giving her a scratch behind the ear. "There's a lot of Pokemon here, lotta names to remember..." she muttered to herself.

Ginger trilled and tilted her head.

Fawn just smiled. "You know, I had a Pokemon once but..." She stopped, freezing like someone had hit 'pause' on the world. Her fingers trembled for a moment, then she forcibly stood up. "Well, the Torchic are probably hungry."

Ginger watched quizzically as Fawn hopped down the creaky wooden steps and walked over to the bag of feed that sat against the side of the Torchic coop. She hefted it onto her shoulder and, with a low grunt, pressed her back against the door and went in.

The Torchic were all in their beds when Fawn came in, but the light spilling in quickly woke them up. They all looked at her, racing over and peeping expectantly.

Fawn carefully picked her way through the crowd of Torchic. There weren't very many, she noted, probably around ten or so, but they kept clustering together and trying to jump onto her legs. So it felt like she was walking through far more Pokemon than she really was.

The heavy sack of Pokemon feed didn't help matters.

"Okay- Okay, ok-ay! Everyone back off! Go on!" Fawn grit her teeth and swung her foot out a little. She didn't want to outright kick any of them, just shoo them away.

It seemed to work, as the Torchich all scattered back to their beds, chirping and squeaking in a way reminiscent of laughter.

Fawn blew a strand of hair out of her face and adjusted the bag. Very carefully, she tilted the bag and began to pour the food into the first in the row of bowls. "Okay..."

Suddenly, one of the Torchic ran forward and practically threw herself into the bowl.

"Hey!" Fawn yelped, staggering backwards in her haste to right the bag. "Hey, what is your problem?"

The Torchic continued eating noisily, as if she hadn't heard.

"Geez- you must be Teriyaki. Andie warned about you," Fawn grumbled irritably. She briefly considered shooing Teriyaki away and filling the bowl entirely, but decided against it. No, no, it'd be best to just finish filling up the other bowls. Let Teriyaki eat now if she wanted, Fawn told herself with a grunt as she moved to the next bowl. If the bowl was empty when she finished, she'd just add a little more food, that was all.

However, no sooner did she start filling the next bowl than Teriyaki popped back up, then leaped into that one.

"Hey! That's not even yours!" Fawn stomped her foot in Teriyaki's direction, startling the chick Pokemon.

Teriyaki glared, puffing up her feathers before skittering away.

"Goofball..." Fawn muttered. She tilted the bag again to try again...

...and then saw Teriyaki running back up to the bowls.

"Hey! No! No! You bad Pokemon! That's not for you!" Fawn snapped, stomping her foot again. Teriyaki ran back a few feet, stayed in place for a second, then ran back and lunged at her foot.

Fawn drew back sharply. "Dude, what is your problem!?" she screeched, nearly dropping the bag. "Get outta here!"

"Everything okay in here?" A shadow filled the doorframe to the coop, drawing Fawn's attention.

The girl nearly dropped the bag in relief when she saw who it was. "Ji-Min!"

Ji-Min slowly entered the barn, a paper bag in one hand and a styrofoam cup holder in the other. Unlike Fawn, they expertly made their way through the Torchic that flocked towards them. "I thought I heard you in here."

"Y-Yeah, I was trying to feed the Torchic and I-" Fawn's eyes landed on the things in Ji-Min's hands. She nearly dropped the bag in dismay. "I haven't been in here that long, have I?"

Ji-Min just laughed. "No, I just went out early today." They lowered the cupholder in front of Fawn, showing three cups were inside. Two were thick paper, one was transparent plastic; they turned the cupholder so the plastic one was towards Fawn. "I know you don't drink coffee, so I picked you up some cold tea - it's pecha-flavored."

"Oh, thank you…" Fawn murmured, slowly lowering the bag of feed and taking the cup. The outside was cool and slippery with condensation, which felt good against her already-sore palms. She brought the straw to her mouth and took a sip; the pecha tea soothed her throat and made her feel refreshed almost instantly. "Wow, this tastes great… Where did you get this?"

Ji-Min smiled. "Check the cup logo," they said. Fawn bristled, tasting fire in her mouth, but Ji-Min continued with "There's a coffee shop in Verdanturf called The Bean. We've been getting breakfast there for years."

"The Bean?" Tamping down the rush of anger she'd felt, Fawn tilted the cup slightly to see the logo. There was a dark bean bean stamped onto the plastic, with a Cleffa sitting atop it and holding a tiny cup. THE BEAN was written underneath in big, bold letters. Fawn felt a bit silly to have not noticed it before. "I've never heard of this company."

"That's because they're local. The only place you can find it is in Verdanturf Town. Oh, yeah, they've had some bigger companies come in offering to buy them and make them a chain, but the owner keeps refusing - and personally, I'm glad about that. Once a small, local place becomes a big chain shop you lose all the charm that-"

Fawn suddenly screeched and jerked her leg up. She looked down and saw Teriyaki tumble back down to the ground; she quickly realized Teriyaki had bitten her sock.

"Okay, what is your problem?!" Fawn snapped, rounding on the little chick.

Teriyaki jumped back a step, glared at her, and then spat a little ember at her feet.

"Hey!" Fawn began stomping the flame out, glaring daggers at the Pokemon. "God, coming in here was a mistake," she grumbled.

Teriyaki growled under her breath, ruffled her feathers, then stalked out of the coop.

Ji-Min shook their head. "Hey, do you wanna try something else, maybe? I think starting with Teriyaki might've been a bit too much."

Fawn felt another rush of heat in her chest, but forced herself to stay calm. She nodded jerkily, throwing the bag of feed down against the wall. "Yeah, fine by me. Dunno what that dumb chick's problem is," she grumbled, following Ji-Min out.

Teriyaki gave her a dirty look as they passed. Fawn did her best to ignore it.

"How ya doin', Gracie? Still holdin' tough?" Andie knelt down in front of the cow Pokemon, rubbing her firm belly.

"Moooo!" Gracie responded, stretching her limbs as best she could in her lateral position.

Andie laughed boisterously. "Well, a'ight, then! Now, I just need ta lis'en for-"

"Andiiieee, knock knock!" Ji-Min called out as they entered the barn. "I got your breakfast, and brought your apprentice over."

"Apprentice?" Fawn asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Andie laughed, slapping her knee with a heavy 'thunk.' "Yeah, thought I'd hafta show her Gracie soon anyway. Fawn, get over here a sec."

"Okay?" Fawn sidled around Ji-Min and crouched down at Andie's side to observe the huge Miltank. Her nose wrinkled slightly. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Mooo!" Gracie sounded almost offended, lifting her head and staring at Fawn.

Andie tossed her head back and cackled, her laughter echoing off the wooden walls. "Nah, nah! You're in the maternity barn - 'member, we didn't wanna show you this during the tour? Gracie here's pregnant."

"Pregnant?!" Fawn squawked, looking at the Pokemon again. Gracie met her eyes, looking almost smug as she let her head fall again and began to snooze. Fawn couldn't do anything but stare. She'd never seen a Pokemon pregnancy before... Most people with Pokemon kept them inside during such times, and she knew that wild Pokemon would stay far away from people if they were expecting. "She's huge..."

"We're expectin' the egg to pass in a few weeks." Andie was watching Fawn now, a softness in her eyes and lips. The teenager was just staring in wide-eyed amazement, her mouth slightly open. A far cry from the suspicious and edgy girl they'd first met a few days ago. "That's why she felt so warm ta ya when ya crashed here."

Fawn jumped, then blushed crimson. "Y-Yeah - I - I mean, I did think her belly felt pretty hot but. But I thought she was just naturally warm or somethin'. I've never seen a Miltank before, let alone touched one."

"Nope. That was her egg belly you felt! Ya wanna feel again?" Andie asked in a lower voice.

Fawn looked at her in shock. "Seriously?!" she squeaked.

"Go on, feel."

Fawn looked at Gracie's swollen belly, then her sleeping face, then her own palm. She gulped audibly as she stared at her hand, then slowly, slooowly, moved it towards the Miltank's stomach.

Gracie's stomach felt firm, much firmer than Fawn had expected. She knew she'd been pressing against the Pokemon when she took shelter in this barn, but she'd been so tired and eager to sleep she hadn't noticed much of anything. "It's like touching a hot beach ball," she muttered, earning more laughter from Andie and Ji-Min. "And- whoa, wait a second." She closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling beneath her hand. Sure enough, there was a rapid fluttering underneath her palm.

She opened her eyes and swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "Whoa..." she rasped. "That's... that's something... What is that?"

"The baby Pokemon's heart. You're feeling it through the egg and Gracie," said Ji-Min, taking a sip of their coffee at last.

"And that huge egg is just gonna come out of her?"

"Yep, sure is! But she might need help, and that's what I'm here for," Andie explained. With a grunt, she pushed herself to her feet, then offered her hand to Fawn. "Welp, I think Gracie's just gonna sleep for a few hours. Let's finish up and take a break, yeah?"

Fawn could hardly believe the change. When she'd first stepped out of the house, the fields were quiet, misty and glowed a dull, cool gold. Now the sun was high in the azure sky, and both the fields and the air was abuzz with activity and noise.

The three humans sat on the wraparound porch, sharing lemonade and a plate of finger sandwiches. Fawn took a nibble of one, finding there were leppa-butter.

She hadn't had leppa-butter since-

She was leaving the convenience store. She'd bought a sandwich. Leppa-butter oozed out of it when she bit down; those pre-packaged ones always had too much filling.

She was walking home. Another convenience store bag in her hand. Full of more sandwiches.

She walked past her mother, gardening out front. Approached the side gate...

Fawn glared and bit down harder than she had to. I hate leppa-butter, she thought grimly.

"Hm? Hey, look over there," Ji-Min said, standing up and pointing.

Fawn looked over and saw two trainers walking past. From a distance, she could see one had dark skin, blonde hair, and was wearing a pink and white dress. The other had lighter brown skin, short brown hair, and was wearing various shades of purple and blue. Fawn could see a Skitty atop the blonde's shoulders.

"Heyyyy!" Ji-Min called out, waving their hand over their head. "You kids need a place to rest?"

The trainers stopped and called back. "No, thank you!" the brunette shouted. "We're fine!"

"We're just going back to Verdanturf! But thank you!"

"Okaaaaay!" Ji-Min sat back down, fiddling with the radio. "Back to Verdanturf, hm. I wonder if they're exploring or need to go back and grab something?"

Fawn watched the two trainers walk further past the house until they disappeared into the green. She blinked, looking up at Andie and Ji-Min. "Hey, what was that about?"

"What?"

"That, just now." Ginger began pawing at Fawn's shorts for her sandwich, so Fawn tossed it into the Vulpix's waiting mouth. "Inviting them here. Is that a thing you guys do?"

"Sure is, sugar," Andie said with a grin. "Maple Crossing isn't just a Pokemon Sanctuary, yanno. It's a people one, too."

Fawn just frowned. "Huh?"

"Did you wonder why we happened to have another room free? And those clothes you're wearing?" Ji-Min asked, gesturing to Fawn's new attire.

"Well... I guess I did, yeah."

"Well, Maple Crossing is a place where trainers can stop and rest for the night. If they don't want to travel at night or be out in the elements, or in case of bad weather, or if they just plain want to, they can come here. Free of charge," Ji-Min said.

"Do they have to help with the Pokemon?"

"Nah," said Andie above her crocheting.

"Hey, then what gives?! Why do I gotta do it?!"

"Trainers are stayin' for a night or two. You're stayin'," was Andie's smart reply.

Fawn groaned and rested her chin in her palm. "I mean, I'm fine with Pokemon and helping out with them, but..." She frowned into the distance.

Ji-Min watched Fawn for a few moments, then cleared their throat.

"Were you a trainer, Fawn? Or ever think about it?" Ji-Min asked.

"Me?" Fawn blinked, lowering her glass of lemonade.

"No one else here," Andie chuckled.

Fawn shook off the twinge of annoyance at Andie's remark. "Well..."

It was a chilly autumn evening in Oldale Town. Fawn didn't know it yet, but it would be two weeks before she'd take a pink, glittery bank card from her father's wallet and run away.

"I just don't know what to do with that girl." Rose Lamar's voice drifted out from the open window in the kitchen, and out to the backyard.

Fawn sat with her back against the house, holding a bruised, trembling Cubone in her arms. She'd stormed out of the house in a rage twenty minutes ago, and was now seriously regretting not putting on a coat. But she refused to go back inside. Then she'd get intercepted by Rose, and that was not something Fawn wanted.

She was right below the window, so she heard every word.

Fawn glared up at the darkening twilight sky as she listened to her mother's voice, only easing up when the Cubone mutely patted her shoulder.

"I just don't understand it, Caroline!" Rose continued, taking to her friend. "She keeps going on and on about becoming a Pokemon Trainer, but you know what she's like! I just don't think I can trust her around Pokemon!" She sighed heavily, and her voice grew louder. She must have come closer. "I've been talking to Alan about it, and he agrees, we shouldn't- hm?" She paused for a few moments as her friend spoke. "No. No, we couldn't send her off when she turned eleven, she just wasn't ready. And then there was that incident recently..."

Fawn started glaring again. She held Cubone tightly to her chest, gritting her teeth so hard her jaw hurt.

"Well, she just started attacking that poor Mawile with a stick! Shouting and beating it, I couldn't believe it! In broad daylight! I was lucky nobody called the police!"

Fawn muttered a word under her breath that would have surely got her a spanking if her mom actually heard her calling her that.

"A few neighbors tried to convince me otherwise, but oh, no. My mind was made up, she's not going on a Pokemon journey. Hm? No, I don't know why they tried to tell me not to, honestly, I don't think they know how difficult it really is to raise a teenager, especially one so angry as-"

"Ugh, dumb b-" Fawn muttered a few more dark words under her breath and rose to her feet. She held the Cubone in one arm and dusted blades of grass off her jeans with her other hand. "Let's get outta here, huh, King?"

"Cubone?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too." She could smell the enticing aroma of Rose's cooking from the open window - it was spaghetti night, and Fawn could smell fresh garlic bread, too. Her stomach growled pleadingly, but Fawn shook her head. Like hell she was going in there to eat that woman's food.

"C'mon, I'll take you to AmazeBurger," she said, sneaking over the low fence and keeping out of the light from the windows.

"Cubone-bone!" King cried, waving his arms.

Fawn walked quickly, partly to get away from her mom's voice and partly so she wouldn't still be close when her father, Alan, got home from work. She wasn't in any mood to talk to either of them.

No mood to hear their complaints about her.

In the present, Fawn frowned and shook her head. "No. No Pokemon training for me."

But her voice was hollow and far-away. Andie and Ji-Min looked at each other, but didn't press the issue.

Fawn entered the coop the next morning, dragging the bag of feed behind her. The Torchic perked up in their beds, eyeing her curiously. Andie and Ji-Min never dragged in the bag, they always carried it in. What was going on?

Fawn ignored them, though, and picked up Teriyaki's bowl. Wordlessly, she shoved the bowl in and scooped up a generous amount of food. "There," she said, setting it down.

Teriyaki leaped out of her bed and raced over to the bowl, squawking and chirping excitedly. She skidded to a halt, however, when Fawn literally put her foot down.

"Okay, you," Fawn said sternly. "I wanna make a deal with you."

"Chic?"

"I fill these bowls for your brothers and sister. You eat your food. And you leave me alone. Okay? In return, I'll sneak you a berry or something later."

"Chic!" Teriyaki chirped.

"O-kay." Fawn pulled her foot away, allowing Teriyaki to run over and start eating. She couldn't pick up the bag onto her shoulder without potentially spilling the feed this time, so instead she dragged it down the row and poured that way. The rest of the Torchic huddled together behind her, watching curiously. None of them made a move to run in and eat - they seemed to be waiting for something.

And that something, as it turned out, was not Fawn finishing distributing their breakfast.

Fawn was halfway down the line when she felt a sudden draft against her ankle. "Hey!" she cried, turning her head and seeing Teriyaki tugging on her sock. She thrust her hand down, wiggling her sock free from the Torchic's beak. "What's your problem, I thought we had a deal!"

"Torchic! Torchic-tor!" Teriyaki squawked as she turned and ran.

Fawn grumbled under her breath. "Weird bird..." She turned back to the bowls, preparing to pour again...

...and then stopped, recognizing a little orange in her peripheral. "Hey!" she cried, whipping her head around. Teriyaki had been slowly stalking towards her, but froze when Fawn shouted. "Back off, I said!"

"Tor!" Teriyaki turned and ran. And then stood there, watching Fawn. Waiting.

Fawn narrowed her eyes again, but the wheels were turning. Something wasn't quite right here.

Suspiciously, she went back to the line of bowls and resumed pouring. But she kept her guard up. Her eyes were sidelong, watching from the corners. And sure enough, Teriyaki was inching closer, low to the ground.

"Hey!" Fawn turned around, and Teriyaki ran back, chattering and flapping her wings. Once she was back in the corner of the coop, she turned around and watched Fawn innocently, as if she hadn't left her spot.

Wait...

Fawn looked back down at the bowls, then jerked her head back up. Teriyaki had taken one step out of her place and had frozen when Fawn caught her.

"Wait..." Fawn said in a normal voice. "Are you... Are you playing a game with me?"

Teriyaki ruffled her feathers. "Chic chic."

Once more, Fawn looked back to the bowls and began pouring. But this time, when she saw the orange shape in the corner of her eyes, she didn't respond. She forced herself to keep focused on her task, pretend Teriyaki wasn't approaching. She held her breath, held herself tensely as the shape drew closer... closer... closer...

"Aha!" Fawn suddenly shouted, looking up just as Teriyaki was reaching for her sock.

Teriyaki made a noise that sounded almost like laughter as she ran away.

Fawn laughed, dropping the bag and straightening. "You are playing a game!" she declared.

"Chic!" Teriyaki skittered forward, right into Fawn's arms. She began fluffing her feathers up, nipping and biting at Fawn's hands while the girl roughly smooshed her face.

"You're such a little weirdo," Fawn snickered. "You're supposed to be the terror of the sanctuary, and you're just trying to play with me? Such a weird freaking chick!" she couldn't help laughing.

Teriyaki made a series of high-pitched noises as if she was laughing as well.

"Okay, okay... maybe the two of us can get along after all, huh?"

"Hey. Hey, Andie."

"What's up?"

"Look." Ji-Min pointed as the two of them left the maternity barn.

The Torchic were coming out of the coop and heading down the path towards the fields to play, as usual. Meanwhile, Fawn was branching off in a different direction, heading to the house to grab the enrichment toys.

And behind her was Teriyaki, trotting energetically and occasionally running up to nip at Fawn's socks. The teenager would lightly pull her leg away each time, but didn't slow down or send the Pokemon away.

It was almost as if they were watching a trainer and their delightfully naughty starter Pokemon.

"Never seen Teriyaki take to someone like that," Andie muttered approvingly, hooking her thumbs into her pockets.

"Neither have I," said Ji-Min with a smile.