Author's Note: Kind of a transitional chapter here, but there's still a bit of important setup here nonetheless. Referencing Cofagrigus is always fun, too.

Chapter Five: Discussions and Ideas

Well, Cofagrigus had been…interesting, Hannah thought as she balanced the small pile of coins he'd given her.

They'd managed to get back to Post Town in a decent amount of time, so she'd been able to trade her gold bar for money that evening. Cofagrigus was rather…loud and over-eager, and he'd gotten up in her face when she'd given him the gold. But, still, now she had her own money, and that was…something, right?

"Eh, took me a while to get used to him, too," Heath commented as they wove through the crowd. "Of course, I'd rather keep gold for myself, anyway, but the money's nice every now and then. You're not the only one who freaks out over him."

Hannah blinked. "I…was freaking out?"

"Well, you did look nervous, at least." Mia laughed. "But, anyway, let's get you set up with Kecleon now."

The plaza was a bit crowded, but Hannah supposed that made sense. If all of these Pokémon were travelers and explorers too, of course they'd have things to take care of at the end of the day. Between the shops and the hotel, Post Town had to attract lots of attention.

Still, it did mean the line at Kecleon's shop was long. Hannah had to be careful not to drop any stray coins as they waited. Eventually, she managed to get up to the counter, and she sighed as she set her money down.

"Ah, Pansage! You're Bagon's new friend, yes?" Kecleon greeted. "What can I get for you?"

"Well, um…" Hannah paused as she tried to think over what she'd need. "Do you have anything like, uh…treasure bags? And a couple berries would be good, too…"

Oran Berries, she realized belatedly. She should've specifically mentioned those… Kecleon was already going through his wares, though. If Hannah spoke up again now, would she just distract him?

"Ah, here! I do have a secondhand bag someone brought in earlier," he replied. "And I have two Oran Berries and one Pecha Berry left in stock. Will that do?"

"I think so. How much will that be?"

"Five hundred Poké, please!"

Hannah winced. That was almost the entire amount she'd gotten from Cofagrigus earlier… Well, she'd still have some left over, and that was all the stuff she really needed. She nodded as she pushed the appropriate amount of money towards Kecleon.

"All right, here you go!"

Kecleon grinned as he double-checked the amount of money. "Thank you, Pansage! Please come again!"

She nodded and collected her new things. Hannah had to admit, it felt kind of nice to have her own supplies… Now she wouldn't have to worry if they went out to another dungeon. Carefully, Hannah tucked the berries into her bag and adjusted the strap over her shoulder.

…She paused as she rejoined Mia and Heath (the two of them had shuffled off to the side earlier). Was Hannah looking forward to exploring now? Of course, she wanted to help the two Pokémon, since they were the only two she really knew right now. Still, Hannah hoped she didn't get too attached, either. Would that make it harder to want to go home?

"All set?" Mia asked, shaking Hannah out of her thoughts. "We should have enough time to get dinner before we turn in for the night."

"Yeah, I think so. I am pretty hungry, too."

Heath nodded. "All right—let's hurry up, then!"

They pushed around the crowd and headed over to Swanna's place. Mia stifled a yawn as they entered, and Heath idly glanced over at her.

"You still tired? You've been sleeping so late in the morning, I'm surprised you can be," he commented.

Mia managed to stifle her next yawn. "You would be, too, if you'd been getting these weird dreams so often."

"Yeah, sure." Heath laughed. "Fine, I'll get your food for you if you wanna go sit down, or something."

"That'd be nice, yeah. I'll be over here!"

Hannah watched as Mia snagged a table near the door. Then, she looked over at Heath as they headed over to the counter.

"She's been getting weird dreams?"

Heath shrugged. "Yeah, she says she's been hearing voices or something like that. If you wanna know more, you should ask her later."

Huh; Hannah blinked as she mulled it over. She couldn't help wondering if Mia's dreams were anything like hers… Well, Hannah supposed she would have to ask directly if she wanted to know for sure.

Either way, they'd arrived at the counter, and Hannah was interrupted by her stomach grumbling. Swanna smiled as she looked over the pair. Her eyes flickered over to Mia's table before she started talking.

"Is Gothorita feeling well today?" she asked. "I may be able to spare her a second helping if she needs it."

"Eh, she's fine," Heath assured her. "I don't think she's sick, at least. She does need some food, though, so what've you got tonight?"

"It's a Pecha and Oran soup today—so go on and eat up!"

Heath counted out some money as Swanna dished up a few bowls. After paying, he grabbed both his and Mia's servings, and Hannah followed him back to their table. It smelled sweet, and she was eager to start eating. Mia perked up as well when they sat down, eagerly looking over the food.

"Ooh, is that the Pecha soup? That's one of my favorite things Swanna makes," she commented.

Mia picked up her bowl and gulped down nearly half of it at once. Hannah giggled before taking a sip of her own meal. It was good, and she had a sweet tooth herself. Before Hannah realized it, she'd eaten nearly half her dinner as well, and Heath shook his head before he took a few sips.

"Ugh, you two are eating so fast, it's kinda gross," he teased.

"Come on, Heath," Mia huffed. "You're just as bad when it comes to that Cheri stew!"

"Fine, I guess that's fair," Heath groaned.

Hannah took another few sips of her soup. She did need to pace herself, but she couldn't help it. Maybe she could make something similar to this when she got home, though… Hannah would have to try and remember what this tasted like later.

…If she got home, anyway. Hannah paused, setting her bowl down. It hadn't been too long yet, but what if she didn't get home? What then? Was everyone worried about her back at home? What would her friends and family do if she didn't make it back?

"…Hannah? Are you okay?"

She blinked when she heard Mia's voice; both she and Heath were staring at her. Maybe Hannah had spaced out a little there… She quickly shook her head and grinned.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm just a little tired, too, I guess." Hannah shrugged. "I better go to bed pretty soon after this."

"That sounds like a good idea," Mia agreed. "I'd like to get some sleep, too."

"All right, then—I'll get your bowls for you, and you can go on upstairs if you want."

Hannah nodded as she took the last few sips of her soup. She and Mia handed their bowls to Heath before heading towards the stairs. As they went up to the bedding area, Hannah glanced over at Mia. What had Heath said about her dreams earlier?

"So, uh…you said you'd been having some dreams lately?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, yeah…" Mia nodded idly. "They're pretty weird. I keep hearing this voice, and it sounds like they're asking for help, but…it's never been perfectly clear."

They'd arrived upstairs by now, and Mia walked over to the same bed she'd used the previous night. She paused, glancing up at the ceiling and tapping her chin in thought.

"But…it's been happening off and on for a couple weeks now," she continued. "About as long as I've been with Heath. And they've gotten a little better lately…"

Hannah frowned. "That is really strange, yeah. And Heath hasn't been getting them?"

Mia laughed. "No; why would he? They're my dreams, after all. I would like to know what they mean, but…no point in worrying, I guess."

"Yeah…you don't want to stress out or anything, right?"

Hmm…Hannah's frown deepened. That did sound similar to her own dreams, and she wondered if they were connected at all. Of course, she'd only had them twice now, so maybe she'd need to have more of them to know for sure.

Would Mia think she was weird for speaking up? Then again, maybe it'd make her feel better, too. Mia had already talked about her own dreams, so Hannah's couldn't be too much worse, right?

Hannah shook her head. Mia was right—she shouldn't worry too much. The Psychic-Type in question yawned and stretched, glancing over at the stairs when footsteps became audible. Heath had just arrived on the second floor, and he came over to them and laid down on one of the beds.

"Guess we may as well turn in for the night," he commented. "If we go out tomorrow, we better be ready for it!"

"Yeah, you're right. Good night, everyone!" Mia said before yawning again and rolling over.

Hannah mumbled out a "Good night…" of her own as she lay down. Still…her tail flicked idly as she tried to make sense of things. Maybe there was a connection after all…

If there was, though, what did it mean? Was it just a coincidence, or was it something more? And…if their dreams were the same…then why were both of them getting these visions? What was so special about them specifically? And why wasn't Heath hearing things, too?

Hannah squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Sleep, she told herself. If she worried too much, she'd stay up all night.

She couldn't keep the thoughts out of her mind altogether, but Hannah finally managed to drift off, hoping she'd get more answers in the morning.