Lazuli: Wow, to think we're at chapter 7 already. Don't you need a break or something.
Evo: nah,im good. This is the chapter I wanted to do for 4 but things got in the way, and something better came to for the build up. Plus tieing some loose ends.
Hope: Well, don't over do it. Evonight doesn't own Pokemon.
Chapter 7 Journey
Leon's PoV
It's the dawn of a new day, the day that Lily, Lazuli and myself will leave their home to the nearest town to begin our new life. We will always come back here at any time during our trip. In a way, I'm kinda sad about leaving this place. It feels like home, even though I was only here for 3days. Before we can even start, we need supplies. I'm making baskets to carry our food, Lazuli and Lily are working on the garden for it to regrow while we're gone. We asked Ava if she would be alright to live at the den for as long as she likes, She was very grateful for the offer. At the moment, She's with Lily learning how to take care of the garden so she wouldn't be too bored here. It's sad to hear her original home was burned down by an Arcanine, Pokemon are vicious. Speaking of Ava, I haven't seen Hope all day. Wonder where the little guy is? I actually enjoy his company, probably because he's the only other male in this group of Females. I heard from Lazuli, if he gets too embarrassed about something, his yellow fur turns red and then he faints. I couldn't stop laughing for a good 20mins. I actually almost died from lack of air.
The baskets are done, God that was annoying, how do people make it look so easy. Cause these fingers! I made 2 small backpack-like ones for the vixens, and a big one for me. I called Lazuli over for a second for her to try this on. It fits, but the problem is it doesn't stay on the back. "Hmm, I'm gonna have to add something that will tighten it somewhere on the belly or strip it to the hind legs." "Probably a safe bet. It does feel comfortable though, Pretty light. Maybe lower the top part down?" We shared ideas on how to improve it a bit. Little by little, adjust this and that till everything was comfortable and working. Lily shortly joined us, so I had the normal-type try her new bag. She must really love it, because she came up to my neck to nuzzle it. I returned her affection with a head rub. I think Lazuli is a bit jealous, can't understand why though, but she had an annoyed face and paws crossed. I rubbed her ears to make up for that. Preparations are all set, the Sun is still high in the sky. Pulling out my phone to check the time, 10:27am. Putting the phone back in my pocket, I turned to Ava. "Hey, Ava. Have you seen Hope? I haven't seen him all morning" I asked her, wondering if she knew. She simply shook her head no. "Oh that's a shame, I wanted to say goodbye to him. Do you by chance know the nearest human town?" "If I remember correctly, the nearest town is southeast from here" she said to us, pointing in the direction of said destination. We heard a noise from the cave, we looked over to see Hope coming out. "Perfect timing Hope, come here. Everyone else too, I wanna take a picture of all of us." I say to everyone, tilting their heads. I group them all together and to say cheese with a big smile. *click* it came out nicely, showing them the picture in awe. "Well, you girls ready to go?" "Yes, let's do our best on our journey." Lily said, Beaming with Light from her smile. "Ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully nothing bad happens to us. By the way, do you even have a plan when we get there?" Lazuli replied. It's true I don't have any plan. First thing to do is find out what region I'm currently in. If I'm in Alola, we'll have to do trials to earn Z crystals. Galar region has those Dynamaxing, which has Pokemon grow extremely huge. Eevee has a G-max form. Kalos has mega evolution if I remember correctly, the remaining regions have nothing special compared to the 3. (I guess my memories of playing the games are still with me.) I asked the group if they knew what region we're currently in, they all gave a no nod.
"Well this is goodbye, Ave, Hope, it was very nice to meet both of you. Please take good care of our home." I say to them, petting both. Helping both Eevees with their bags, filled with berries and seeds, onto their bodies. I grab my bag and swing it over my shoulder, turning around one last time to wave. As we started to walk, we were stopped by someone behind us, yelling to get our attention. "WAIT! LEON!" It was Hope running as fast as he can. "Please take me with you too. I-I-I wanna get stronger, strong like you. Traveling with you might help me become a better Pokemon for my mother to be proud of. Please, I beg you!" Im speechless, Hope was filled with determination and resolve. I look back to his mother, to see her crying with a smile. She knows that her son wants to go and become stronger. I find Hope's new found courage to speak up, with a goal like his, I couldn't say no. I look over to the females for they're approval. They simply smiled and nodded yes. "Alright, buddy, your welcome to join us. But I'll warn you, if you want to get stronger, there's gonna be a lot of hard work. You up for it?" "Yes! I'm ready for anything!" I laughed a bit, petting his head. Telling him and the girls, let's go. (Hmm, I just remembered I'm very bad at directions. I hope I can remember how to get back here.) I thought to myself, my phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated. I pulled it out to see a map opened itself. A marker is placed right on top of the den and a name relieved to be called 'The Sister's Den'. Alright now I have a map to show how to get back, but how and why did my phone do this on its own. So weird. Well in any case, This is it, starting our journey to the unknown.
Hope's PoV
I did it, I finally asked him and he said yes. I'm so happy, I've never been this happy for anything. I'm gonna prove to everyone I'm not Timid anymore, then maybe I'll finally be noticed by everyone. I wonder what will come on this trip. I've never been anywhere before now. I was always in the den we had back home, before it was destroyed by those dogs, with Mother. It's mostly my fault all that happened, if I didn't try to talk to that female, none of this would have happened. I gotta get stronger, that way mother would be proud of me instead of disappointing. We used to have a female Luxray named D.va, That used to be owned by a human. She once held the title of strongest in the pack, but she grew ill and died several days later. If a human trained her to be that powerful, maybe Leon can do it for me too. "Hey Leon, what kind of training will I go through to get stronger?" I asked him curious about what he would do. He crossed his arms and held a hand to his chin, thinking of an answer. "Honestly…..I have no idea." He answered with a big smile. I fell to the ground from that anticlimactic reply. "What!? Aren't humans able to make any Pokemon stronger?"
"I'm not too sure. I mean I only got reborn in this world 3days ago." Reborn? What is that? Seeing me questioning what he means, he explained what happened to him from ending his life to talking with Arceus that gave him a new life. I honestly feel bad for him. The pain of loneliness I can relate to. I walked beside Lazuli to ask her something. "Ehh umm Lazuli?" I'm still not used to talking with females, if I can't even talk to these sisters, I have zero chance in finding a mate. "What is it? You're not going faint again are you?" She said with a smirk. "Wh-what? No no, I wanted to ask you something about Leon. What do you honestly think of him?" She looked back at Leon. A noticed a very faint red appears, but it's hard to tell. "He's nice. In fact he's the only nice human. I actually hate all humans. Yea we butt heads at times, but I wouldn't say I hate him like other humans." I didn't know she hated humans, and to think she's ok with him. "He saved my sister from drowning, and from being killed by a dark persain. But I honestly think he doesn't like me much though…" she added. "Why would you say that? Did something happen?" She nodded in response to my questions. She told me she tried to kill him when they first met because of her hatred for humans. "I don't think he hates you. I've seen him be kind to you. Not only that, Mother tried to kill him too but he doesn't seem to hate her at all." I saw her smile a little to my response. Maybe her mood changed. Lily caught up to us and the three of us started to talk about what we will encounter on our way.
Leon's PoV
We have been walking through this Forest for a while now. I'll occasionally spot a Pokemon or two. None which are the predator type thankful, just a few Caterpies, Pikipek, and I think I saw Fomantis. The dense forest seemed to be getting lighter as we go on. Come to think of it, how are we gonna be able to defend ourselves. It's not like I was originally from this world where you know how to battle on instincts. I pull out my phone to see if I can search up any type of info regarding this. Pokemon School was the first to be on the list, but I'm not interested in falling asleep during class. I get bored so easily by doing paperwork and sitting around. Sure I played video games, but that was for fun. It's the reason why I got a job working for a warehouse, Kept me pretty fit too. I'm surprised I still have my strength from my old life. (Hmm….my old life,huh. Wonder what happened after I left.)
[Would you like to know?] I snapped out of my train of thought to look around. Someone said something. My 3 companions looked at me with questionable faces. "Did any of you say something just now?" They all shook their heads no. This is the 2nd time this happened. This can't be normal by all means. We continued our walk til we found a clearing to rest at. The meadow was filled with yellow flowers and dancing...birds? Wait, that can't be right. Yellow birds that look like cheerleaders, huh odd. I felt my phone go off in my pocket, like I was getting a message or a notification. Pulling it out to see what set it off, was a text from someone I don't know or remember.
Heyyy~ how's it going,Zack. Oh wait, I forgot you lost that name and now you go by Leon, how adorable. I hope you're not being too naughty to the two nice little girls with you, ooor do you prefer the cute little shinx.
My eyes became blank. (What in God's name is this text…)
Anyway, Hon, I'm sending you this text along with a video clip of your old world. I figured you wanted to see what happened after your death. Text me whenever you are stuck, unsure of anything, oooor you get lonely~ TTFN! 3
Sender, Arc.
"Leon, Is everything ok? You don't look too well" Lily asked me concerning, because of how my reaction to this creepy text. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" "You better not throw up in front of us, if I lose my lunch because of you, I'll kick you in your own mess!" Coming from the threating fox, Lazuli. Trying my best to keep my own lunch in, I found the said video that this Arc guy sent. How in the world does he know me and my past? (Nah it can't be him, but then again he's the only one.) I pulled up the video to see what it's all about. The two Vixens and the kitten cuddle around to see the tiny screen. Pondering what's going on.
Camera's PoV? (I honestly didn't know what to put, it's fine! ...I think.)
The video starts off with a young man, walking through the woods, with a bag. He was 5"10" shinny, dark hair and green eyes. "Who's that? He almost looks like a older version of you,Leon." Lily asked the human she's sitting on. He only sat there in silence, not even trying to speak. The little fox turned back to the screen. The man got to a clearing with a single tall tree. Reaching into his bag to pull out rope, tieing it into a not. Tieing the other end to the tree before climbing it. Sitting on a study Branch, looking off in the distance. Pulling out a phone and played a song. The Pokemon sat there, puzzled by what the unknown human was doing. Seeing him taking out a phone to play a song, singing some of the lyrics. They all immediately recognized the voice, Leon's, but it was deeper and… sad. Looking back to the human in question, they can see he's getting upset by watching. The human took the tied up rope and put it around his neck, standing up on the branch looking down, singing those final words Leon knows all too well, before jumping. "NOO!" All three of them shouted at the person on the screen, camera turns to the swinging man, lifeless, not moving an inch. The sad human killed himself and they witnessed it. Leon, who remained quite this whole time, finally spoke "it's...me. back when I was alive…" looking at the footage of himself hanging. Sitting there in shock and sadness. Lily and Lazuli knew about this but it still hit them hard like a Rayquaza's Hyper Beam. Hope drooped his ears and tail, whimpering over what he just saw. The video cuts to a News station, with a breaking news feed.
:1year later:
: July 16th, 2019, The body of a young man, Zack Solomon, age 26 was found on a tree hanging, at the base of Mount Baker. Autopsy shows that the man died about a year ago. Reasons and evidence show, it was suicide. In related news, Sally Higgens, white female age 28, was arrested for forgery and Thief. Officers stated that she was an Ex lover to the late man, Zack, forging his name for months, to open up credit cards and taking money from his family. It's unclear to whether or not she'll be changed with homicide for Zack's death. More victims are speaking up.:
Leon was shocked she was finally arrested. Truly wretched human being she was. Getting what she deserved. The video continues to play, now turning to a funeral, a giant picture of him on a stand, surrounded by flowers. His old body, decade and rotten away from the elementals of what mother nature did. Around the casket, where his dear friends and family, crying and moaning over the dead body. The woman stands up to the crowd, which everyone believes, it was his Mother.
Zack's Mom: "Till this day, I thought of my son, Zachary, was still alive. But I should of know something was wrong when he hasn't called or checked up with his family. I knew that woman was just using him, I should of done something to help him or stopped her. How could a human being do that to someone without guilt. We are not here to talk about any that, today is the day we send my Son's soul to the high heavens, honoring what's left that he was. *Walking over to the closed coffin* I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I hope you can forgive me in the next life. Please stay safe, you will always live on within all our hearts." The coffin was then lowered into the ground, throwing dirt over it to seal it in the ground. Candles were lit as they stayed in silence, praying for a safe journey to heaven.
The video ends from there. The ground sat quietly. Tears flowing from Leon, dripping over Hope and Lily. Leon wrapping his arms around all three, holding tight. They returned his embrace back, comforting him that it's ok, we're here for you now.
Lily's PoV
I knew what happened to Leon, but to see it with my own eyes. It's heartbreaking, how could someone just end it so. That Sally female, he told us what she did to him, but to continue to ruin his name after he died, is sickening. I thought Beedrills were mean and evil, but she's more like a Vespiquen. I've never seen Leon so sad and hurt. I latch myself on his arm. Not wanting to let go until he was better. I felt his hand on my head, scratching behind my ear, making me purr in delight. Things were awkward for a while, so we decided to continue our journey to find a town of some sort. "Arceus, we've been walking for hours, the sun looks like it's about to start setting." Big sis whined as she collapsed on the ground. Leon walked back to her and picked her up, she tried to worm her way out, but as a famous quote once said "It's no use". She gave up and let the human carry her. I admit I got jealous of her. (I wished he would pick me out too. Ohh to be carried by him would be a dre-ahhhh) my train of thought was stopped by the caring human picking me up to put me on his head. A bright red blush came across my face to the sudden action. "You looked just as tired as Lazuli, so I thought you could use a rest." That was very nice of him. I'm starting to care about him each day. I noticed Hope pawing Leon to pick him up too, and no surprise, he did. Hope and big sis are in his arms and I'm on his head. "Umm a Leon? You don't have to carry all of us. I can still walk." He just chuckled, telling us he's fine with it. If I didn't know better, I think he's stubborn. The sun is setting, as I sat up here, I decided to look around for a spot to sleep for the night. I saw a cave or too but they looked taken. What I could find was part of a cliff sticking out like a roof, seeing that's better than nothing, especially if it were to rain, we'll be dry. Leon sat us all down and the bags full of berries. "Alrighty, let's get to work" the human said, getting all our attention. "Lily and Lazuli, you two are gonna make the beds while me and Hope gather firewood. That sound good to all of you?" We all nodded in agreement, I've seen how Hope makes a bed, pretty badly. Gathering the necessary materials needed to build them, Big sis and I started talking about how the journey is going so far. Needless to say it's going smoothly. I hope Leon and well, 'Hope', are alright getting firewood for the fire.
:Meanwhile with Hope and Leon:
Hope's PoV
Me and Leon are in charge of getting wood and anything else that can be burned for a fire tonight. Whenever I find a stick,il pick it up with my month and carry it to him. For some unknown reason, he would toss one randomly and I'll chase it down, bring it back. "You know what I'm doing,right? I'm playing fetch with you like a dog." I dropped the stick and my month just hanged there with a shocked expression. "Why would you do that to me!?" I tell him with a high pitch tone. He just chuckled before saying "Relax, I'm just teasing you. So, since it's just us two, why don't we have a 'guy' talk?" I sat there trying to understand what he meant. Guy talk? Wonder what that is. Probably something that Dad might have taught me, if he was ever in my life. My dad got my mother pregnant with me, and took off. A one night stand she said. He was a Zoroark, the only thing I ever got from him, was his egg move, Night slash, a powerful dark type move. Although I was never good at fighting. I can't even keep the move from failing on me. (I'm such a failure..) I say to myself, unsure how Leon would react to something like this. "Hey Hope, you feeling alright there? Is it about girls you're interested in?" My face lit up completely red. "Wh-wh-what!? No it's not, I mean there is one but that's not it!" I say to him shuddering in-between every other word. He put his hand on my head and started rubbing it. "Hey, calm down, it was a joke. So there is 'someone' on your mind. Who is it, you can tell me, we're both boys and no females in sight." He's right, we are both males and the Females are still at camp. I do feel comfortable around him, much different than Mother. Something like this I couldn't talk about before she fired away with concerns. "I umm yea, there is 'someone' I find umm….cute." I muttered that last part because I immediately thought of 'her'. Leon is nudging my side,trying to get me to talk. "Let me guess, it's one of the Eevee sisters, isn't it." I jumped when he said that, and he knew he was right.my yellow fur started to turn red of embarrassment "yea...it's umm Lily" Leon couldn't hear that last part, so he asked again. "I said it's Lily!" I shouted at him with my eyes closed, I slowly opened one eye to see him smirking at me. Great, he's gonna tease me too, just like the others. I a waited for him to say something smart. "She's a great catch. Who knows, you might have a shoot with her." My ears perked up and my eyes wide opened. "She has a good personality, cute and super friendly. She would make a great girlfriend for any male that's equally nice. I know you have a good heart too,Hope. I'd say go for it."
"You really mean it!? You believe in me that much." I replied back to him, he just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. No one has ever encouraged me like this. I'm gonna do it, once I build up the courage to do so, I'll ask her out. "Hey wait, since we're talking about females and mates, what about you? Isn't there someone you're interested in?" I asked him to see if he has a crush on anyone. But all I got was seeing his once big smile, disappeared in the blink of an eye. "I….can't feel emotions like Love or joy anymore. After what happened to me, I just lost it all. But I will say, I rather root for you and the girls for their happiness. Just being with friends is good enough for me. Oh just to be sure, it's ok if someone can't return their feelings to you. Don't feel bad, it happens to everyone, just gotta keep your head up."
….It hurts, it hurts to see someone suffer like this. He can't feel Love or Joy? Does that mean he can never be truly happy in life? Would he….die again? So many questions kept racing in my head. I wanted to comfort him so I walked up to him and rubbed my head against his chest. "Maybe the feelings will come back to you one day. Don't give up just yet. This your 2nd chance to be happy, isn't it?" I tell him. He placed his hand on my back and started scratching it. It felt so good u started to purr unconsciously. He soon got up to pick up the remaining sticks needed for the fire and started to head back. We got back to camp to see the Sisters in their bed and two other beds, one huge one for Leon and a small one for me. They greeted us with smiles, "Welcome back, Boys, did you find enough wood?" Lazuli asked us as we walked over to the ring of rocks, dropping the sticks into it. "It went well. I see the beds are made nicely." I replied back. Leon asked me to use Thundershock on the wood to see if any sparks from the attack might light a small flame to start up the fire. After several attempts, we finally got it going. Each of us took 2 berries each, to save rations. My first night without being with Mother, I wonder how she's doing? I knew once I left home to join Leon, I would be back for a long time but I already miss her dearly. As I try to get comfortable enough to sleep, it's just isn't working. Maybe because I'm not with Mother for the first time, I don't feel safe enough to sleep. I look over to the fluffy brown foxes cuddling with each other sleeping peacefully, then turn to Leon. He's tossing and turning, trying to sleep as well. Looks like he gave up as he just lay there flat on his back. He turns his head towards me, seeing I'm also struggling to sleep. "Can't sleep either,huh. Sucks to be us."
"I suppose so, this is actually the first time I'm sleeping somewhere without Mother. I guess I'm just home sick." I whisper to him, not disturbing the females.
"I hear ya. After seeing my family on the video, made me miss them. I still regret doing that to them. I should've found a better solution." He holds out his hand out to me. Like he's inviting me to join him. "If you want, you can snuggle up to me if it makes you feel safer." I took his offer, walking over to lay against his side. I did feel safer, like I was with Mother. Saying goodnight to him as I finally drifted off into a deep slumber.
Leon's PoV
(Looks like the little guy is fast asleep.) I thought to myself, laughing quietly. Night one on our journey, I believe we made a lot of progress. Haven't run into any trouble, so far. Since I'm up still, I might as well stay on guard in case of nocturnal predators. I pulled out my phone too see if anything else is different with it. As I look at the first page tab, the apps that are on it are the typical apps a phone usually will have. Call, Text, Google etc. Then I look over the downloaded apps, YouTube (must have), a random puzzle game I play from time to time, that Translation app that appeared and a gift box? (That wasn't there before. Must be another app like the translator. Wish I knew what or who is installing these) as I was talking to myself, a text from 'Arc' was sent to me.
Helloooo~ I see my little friend can't seem to fall asleep. Poor baby. Maybe this will give you something to do. If you have noticed on your phone, there is a present bubble, clicking it will give you a special tool to help you learn stuff about your cute and adorable little sweethearts with you. You might find it very useful when you need it most. Good luck, Hon, and safe travels. Bye-bye~ Sender Arc
Chills run down my spine. This guy gives me the creeps. But he did mention he sent a new app to help me and my friends out. Could he be the same person who sent the last app? Not only that, it seems too much of a coincidence to be texting me. Who is he really? Guess I'll just have to text him the next time he texts me. Flipping back to the home screen to find the present. (Alright, time to see what this is.) *Click* The app reveals itself to be an Eevee with a team hat, like you would wear in baseball. Clicking on this app took me to the instructions, telling me to aim this at any Pokemon, friend or foe. Info differs depending on the target's connection to the user, meaning me. Out of curiosity, I pointed the camera at Lily and reveal her information.
Lily(17), Female Eevee, Type: Normal, Level 16, Nature: Gentle,
Ability: Anticipation. Moves: Tackle, Baby-doll eyes, Dig, Wish. Health: perfect.
(Oh wow, so this is what Arc sent. A stat checker. This will be useful if we get into a battle.) Looking around to see anything else, just normal strengths and weaknesses. I'm actually wondering how Lazuli and Hope are. Pointing the camera to Lazuli, then Hope.
Lazuli(17), Female Eevee, Type: Normal, Level 22, Nature: Sassy,
Ability: Adaptability. Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Shadow Ball, Double Kick. Health: perfect.
Hope(16), Male Shinx, Shiny. Type: Electric, Level 14, Nature: Timid,
Ability: Guts Moves: Tackle, Night Slash, Thundershock, Charge. Health: perfect
Wow, I knew Hope was special, but even more special for his Guts ability, that's the hidden ability that Luxray's can have. Incredibly rare, especially on a shiny. All three of them were registered into the system, probably to keep track of my friends. Scrolling through more on their information, I took notice of a heart icon next to each of them. Clicking on Hope showed a meter with 'Friendship Bond' over it. Seems to show how close me and Hope are as friends. "Evolution not possible through Friendship Detected" it stated. Hmm, alright so that's what this is for. Some Pokemon can only evolve through a bond shared between two beings. Pokemon that evolve this way don't really need a Human partner to evolve, just need a strong bond with anyone. My connection with Hope is 24/100. Sounds right to me. *Yawns* (ok me, that's enough. I'll deal with the rest tomorrow or something.) I thought to myself as I lazily fell asleep.
Lazuli's PoV
"Yay, snow! Cold, soft, pillowie snow" I jump around faceplanting myself in the thing I love most. I love the feeling of coldness ever since my Aunt Crystal came to visit. She's a place on, so pretty and cold. As I flop around in the snow, it started to get warmer, and warmer. "Oh no! Don't melt!" I shouted, all the snow started to melt away from the strong sunlight. My fun was taken away from the harsh heat, the light got brighter, til I couldn't see anymore. "Ahhhhh"
"Sis, are you ok?" I was woken up by the sunlight beating down on me. Dam you, sunlight, you ruined another great dream. "Huh, yea I'm alright. Where's the Males?" I asked Lily and she pointed to the boy and the cat sleeping together. Why am I somewhat irritated by this? Lily handed me a Chesto Berry to help shake off the grogginess. Soon after, Hope fell off of Leon and bummed his head, causing him to wake up immediately and giving out a small shock around him, in turn shocking the unsuspected human. "AHHH THE HELL!?" The human shouted. "Ouch, my head." Hope said as he rubs it. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene unfold. "HAHAHA"
Leon:"What's so funny!?"
"Your hair!" I shouted at still laughing my ass off too the ridiculous Human's hair standing up in all directions like a spiky nut. He goes to the nearby ponder to see his hair. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" a shout that could be heard from miles, came from the depressed human. Lily couldn't hold in her giggles anymore and started laughing. Hope on the other paw, "What just happened?" He asked us both we couldn't answer. Geez what a great morning.
Evo: Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Honestly I was stuck on this for a while. I tried to make it long as possible. I wanna give a shout out to R reyes (hopefully I got that right) for the suggestion of seeing what happened after Zack/Leon's Death. Hopefully it was good enough. Also, I upped the age of Lily and Lazuli by one, so the Sisters are 17 instead of 16. I hope no one would mind if I do, I kinda messed up the ages, it was originally supposed to be 17, but my friend pointed it out after I showed this to them. So by the time you read this, the change will happen in chapter 2 to fix that. Sorry for the confusion.
It's gonna be a while for the next chapter. But don't worry, I'm not gonna abandoned the story. I've seen so many great stories end without a ending, just left there, well till next time. *bows*