Chapter Six
Almost a week had gone past since Dixie had had her first Gym battle with Forrest. Training had been rigorous because of Jaxx's harping and Jakkaru's determination to be getting Dixie's Pokémon experienced in battle. Zalaras hadn't been taking too kindly to what Jaxx had criticized... and as for Dixie's Caterpie, Riese, and her Sentret, Scout... well, those two had taken things said and played much better than the fire-lizard, that was for sure.
Due to the training that had been taking place over the past five and a half days, Riese had also evolved from it's Caterpie form all the way up to her Butterfree form. It had made the colourful trainer happy that the training had paid off enough for the small Pokémon to have evolved all the way to its final stage – despite what Jaxx had said about it, aside from Weedle, to evolve quicker than most Pokémon because it was weak in the first place.
"Do you guys think I'm able to go and battle Forrest again?" Dixie asked after training with Zalaras on the sixth day. Her hopes were riding high, and there was just no way that she could lose this time around... not with how hard her and her team had trained the past few days.
"I think that you'd be good to go..." Jakkaru responded, patting Ember on his head as the Charmeleon made his way back to his trainer. Looking back over to Jaxx, she smiled and then asked, "what do you think, Jaxx? Dixie and her team seem strong enough this time around to be going to battle Forrest?"
"Well..." Jaxx started, glancing over to Dixie as he held his tiny turtle Pokémon close to him. He was hesitant to answer the question as he mulled it over in his mind. There still remained the fact that he didn't really care for her all that much, however... he did have to admit that her strategies and tactics had improved over time and that she just may have a chance at winning against Forrest this time around.
"'Well'? Well what, Jaxx?" Jakkaru pressed, noticing that Dixie seemed to be growing antsy as she awaited his response.
"Well... I think that we should have her and her Pokémon rest up and then go in tomorrow to test out how well the training paid off..." Jaxx said, semi avoiding the question.
"But that's not really answering the original question..." Jakkaru replied, glancing from Jaxx to Dixie.
Flinching a bit at that, Jaxx scoffed somewhat and then set Squirtle down before folding his arms over his chest. Sighing, Jaxx finally made a response, "I think that her Pokémon have gotten stronger, sure... but there still remains the fact that we won't really know how well she'll do against Forrest this time around. Gym Leaders switch their rosters around each battle... so we won't know till we go in."
Clapping her hands together and smiling, Dixie looked to Zalaras and skipped over to him. Kneeling down next to him, the dark-haired girl placed a hand on top of the golden lizard's head and laughed lightly.
"Don't worry, Zal... I'm sure that this time you'll definitely have Forrest and his team beat!"
"Char charmander char char!" Zalaras piped, pumping his small fists into the air and waving his tail in compliance with what his trainer said. Sporting a grin just like his trainer, he found himself to be leaning more into Dixie's hand.
"Heh... let's just hope that you can pull off some of the tactics that you came up with when battling against us..." Jaxx said, running a hand through his messy black hair and making his way over to Dixie with Squirtle happily trotting after him. Kneeling down next to Dixie and bringing a hand up to Zalaras as well, Jaxx gave a faint smile.
"At least she has a better chance this time instead of going in blindly like before." Jakkaru grinned as she said this and then returned Ember to his PokéBall.
"That... and Zal was able to get Flamethrower down!" Dixie beamed and then hugged the small golden lizard, making him scowl slightly. Smiling down to him, Dixie giggled a bit and then had her expression returned with that of happiness from Zalaras.
"Mander char char!" agreed the small fire-type.
"And it seems that both Scout and Riese seem to be learning fast, too!" Dixie added, making the Charmander's expression fall slightly. It seemed that over the time training together with Dixie and the other two humans, he had grown closer with the younger girl as she seemed highly devoted to him and her other team members.
"Yeah... and it seems that your Butterfree knows how to use it's Confusion attack really well, too..." Jaxx replied, looking down to his Squirtle. The blue-skinned reptile smiled back up at Jaxx and then made his way over to where both Dixie and the golden Charmander sat.
"A praise from you? That's new." Jakkaru teased, walking over and lightly slapping a hand against the younger boy's shoulder. Sporting a smirk, Jakkaru gave him a rather smug look at the fact that she had caught onto that while he flushed and then scowled.
Giggling, Dixie stood up, cradling Zalaras in her arms and then turned back towards the Pokémon Center. Looking back to the other two, she smiled and then suggested, "so... should we be getting back to the Pokémon Center to get rest for tomorrow, or what? C'mon! I'll race you all!" And with that, the darker-haired girl set down her Charmander companion and took off down the street with the golden lizard quickly trailing after her.
"Heh..." Jakkaru gave a slight laugh and then looked to Jaxx. "Well... she's definitely going to be beating us back if we don't get going now. Let's go!"
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"Looks like the kids have been trying long and hard to be getting that girl's team ready for a gym battle..." Ruth observed from a distance, being sure to stay relatively concealed with Harold at her side. A smile crept it's way upon her lips as she stood up straight from the bench and turned her gaze to her peer. "If they keep this up, we may just have to keep that Charmander to ourselves once we finally get it."
"Tell me, Ruth..." Harold started, drawing his hands together and looking back up at her. "Why do we have to follow these particular kids around anyways? I'm sure that there are other people out there with other, much more stronger alternately coloured Pokémon that we can get from them easier."
"You're kidding, right?" Ruth sounded a little shocked at the question that he had asked. "If we can get our hands on that Charmander, that means we don't have to go snooping where they're native to. Besides... you know what the chances are of finding a Pokémon like that. We were both lucky with our Gloom and Drowzee, but a Charmander? I'm definitely not going to be passing a chance like that up."
Nodding a bit, Harold looked down and then watched as his Murkrow scratch at the ground with his talons. The green-haired adult arched a brow to his Pokémon's actions and saw the crow-like Pokémon go at whatever caught its attention with its beak. Pulling up a small shiny bauble, the Murkrow hopped around a bit, happy with its find.
"Question for you, Harold..." Ruth said, placing her hand on her hips and looking down at him rather sternly. "Why is it that you're so concerned about things now? You never questioned doing things back when we were first getting started with this type of thing. What's happened with that, huh?"
Giving a shrug of his shoulders, Harold turned his attention back up to Ruth. "It's not like I'm really having any second thoughts about what we do, or anything. I was just curious – I mean, that girl with the Charmander is just a kid. I doubt seriously that that her Pokémon is going to be getting any stronger soon."
"While that's true, you've been keeping an eye on those kids just as long as I have this past week.... That little lizard was finally able to get its Flamethrower attack down. I don't know about you, but I'm actually seeing potential in that Pokémon other than just it's unique appearance."
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Touching her hand to the door's handle of the Pokémon center, Dixie grinned and then looked back to the other two that were running after her. Opening the door and stepping inside with Zalaras following closely after her, it was when the colourfully dressed girl looked up and saw someone there that she immediately froze in her tracks and kept eye contact with who it was that she spotted. The male looked back at her then had a rather smug expression replace his shocked look.
"Well, well... if it isn't little Dixie-Dix..." the boy remarked, making his way over to the girl and placing a hand on his hip with the same smirk still painted on his face. At the nickname, Dixie had instantaneously furrowed her brow and clenched her jaw somewhat. Taking note of that, the dirty blond-haired boy gave a chuckle and then looked past her to the other two that were making their way in.
"Heh, you're trailing behind me like always, aren't ya?" the boy sneered, noting the fact that Dixie seemed to be getting more infuriated with the words that he was saying.
"Hey! Who are you to talk to Dixie like that?" Jakkaru snapped, stepping out before Dixie defensively.
Glancing to the brunette, the boy gave a fake smile and gave his response, "I'm Ivan Allen from Saffron City." He turned his gaze back to Dixie and then gave and amused scoff. "This little girl hasn't been able to keep up with me since we were both attending school. I doubt seriously that she's a step ahead of me now."
"Bet you're just all talk..." Jaxx spoke up, brushing past Ivan and turning to look back at him with a relatively unimpressed look upon his face.
"Ooh, and who are you, huh?" Ivan asked, his voice starting to have that teasing ring to it. "Dixie, you havin' your boyfriend step in to defend you? It's almost as bad as when you had your older sister coming in to defend you back in Saffron.... You haven't changed one bit, have you?"
"He's not..." Dixie started, clenching her fists and feeling her face becoming hot. "He's not my boyfriend!"
"Yeah, yeah... whatever you say, Dixie-Dix..." Ivan stepped a little more past Dixie and then turned his head to look at her. He looked into her angry expression and then noticed the Charmander by her side. Stepping to the side, Ivan crouched down and examined the small fire-type.
Growling to Ivan, Charmander snapped at him somewhat and clung to Dixie's pant leg with his brow furrowed. There was one thing that the small reptilian Pokémon picked up on, and that was the fact that his human definitely didn't seem to like whoever this human was.
"Jeeze... even your Charmander looks weak. I bet I can beat that with the Pokémon I started off with..." Ivan said, standing up straight.
Snapping a bit herself, Dixie restrained herself from reaching out and grabbing Ivan by the collar of his shirt and just yelled at him, "why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Ivan?!" Her green eyes burned with anger mixed with determination with wanting to prove to her rival that she wasn't trailing behind him.
"Suit yourself, Paintbrush. Just don't cry when your Pokémon get hurt because they're under-trained because their trainer is below par."
"She's been training really hard, I'll have you know!" Jakkaru said, getting heated up as well.
"You seem like a good friend to little Dixie here, Brown..." Ivan said, looking to Jakkaru and giving a shrug of his shoulders. He gave her an unamused look and then turned away from her, "but why don't you let Dixie fight her own battles, whether verbal or not."
Dixie's gaze didn't waver as Ivan turned his attention back down to her. Giving a slightly satisfied smirk at that, Ivan continued, "besides... if people keep fighting her battles for her, little Dixie-Dix here is going to keep being the little weakling that she has been ever since growing up in Saffron City. The only ones of merit in that family are her parents and her older sister. Heh, I bet the youngest is even more pathe–"
"Shut UP!" Dixie shouted, stepping right in front of him and glaring at him, despite the fact that Zalaras had still been clinging to her pant leg. "Don't you dare talk about Layla as if you know who or how she is...."
"Ooh... looks like a struck a nerve..." the blond smirked. "And you know... any closer, and I could kiss ya. Not that I'd want to...."
At that, Jaxx found himself to have clenched both jaw and fist. Furrowing his brow a bit, the dark-haired male held his tongue and then looked to the younger girl.
Jerking her hands out in front of her, Dixie shoved Ivan back hard – hoping to at least knock him over. Simply laughing as he staggered backwards, Ivan still sported that mocking look upon his face. Regaining his composition, Ivan straightened out his blue jacket and then made his way for the door of the Pokémon Center, motioning for her to follow after him. "Ya want that battle, Dixie-Dix? Ya hurry up and ya get yourself out here."
"Don't tell me what to do..." Dixie growled, quickly making her way out of the Pokémon Center as well. The little fire-type reptile swiftly trailed after her, his expression just as twisted into that of a look of anger as his trainer's. Zalaras wasn't taking too kindly to this new face just talking down to someone he finally now saw as his friend – besides, it was bad enough that Jaxx seemed to make some sort of quip about or directed towards her when he found the opportunity to be doing so.
Sighing a bit and starting forwards himself, Jaxx lightly grabbed Dixie by the arm and gave her a stern look as she turned her head to meet his gaze. He wasn't intimidated by the look that she gave him. Understanding that she was rather peeved about the things that Ivan had said to her, Jaxx couldn't blame her for wanting to go out there and show the blond a 'good battle' to shut him up. However, he had to think about this rationally. Dixie had been training her Pokémon in preparation for battling Forrest once again, and her team needed rest.
"You really shouldn't go and enter a Pokémon battle just yet, Dixie..." Jaxx simply said to her.
"B-but... you heard him! I can't just ignore that..." Dixie replied, frowning a bit.
"Is it really ignoring if you just put off the battle for a different time?"
Hesitating a bit at that, Dixie looked down and then glanced over to Ivan who was standing at the doors with that smirk still upon his face. She clenched her jaw slightly and then gave a rather submissive response, "I guess not. How does having a battle tomorrow sound, Ivan...?"
"Tomorrow? Yeah right..." Ivan remarked, folding his arms over his chest. "Unlike you, I have badges to be winning from the other Gyms here in the Kanto region. If you're not up to battling right here and right now, it still just says to me how weak your Pokémon truly are."
"Would you just shut your mouth already?" Jakkaru snarled, stepping out towards the Pokémon Center's doors and digging in her bag for her PokéBall capsules. Marching to the glass doors, she motioned and prodded Ivan out. Following after the two, Dixie, Zalaras and Jaxx wanted to see how exactly this would be going down. It wasn't like Jakkaru to be getting that angry... but it seemed that Ivan had just managed to push some of those buttons.
"Since Dixie's Pokémon do need their rest, I'll battle you instead." Jakkaru announced, tossing one of her PokéBalls up and down in her hand. "You sure talk big, but you know what? I bet Jaxx is right... that you are all talk, because since we haven't seen your battle style or how well you and your Pokémon work together, I highly doubt that you're anything worth my time."
"Tch, a girl like you shouldn't be saying anything.... Ya look more like a coordinator than an actual battling-type trainer."
"Oh yeah?"
Taking out a lavender badge case and holding it out in front of her, Jakkaru clicked it open and showed Ivan the three badges that were nestled within. A feeling of satisfaction washed over the brunette as she caught sight of the subtle flinch that Ivan gave off.
"Yeah, well..." Ivan started, trying to shrug off the fact that Jakkaru had three badges. "That does necessarily mean that you'll beat me. Ya probably got those badges because you were just lucky!"
"Hah, I'll let you see for yourself. Go Ember!" Jakkaru said, throwing out the PokéBall that she had in her hand. Bursting out in a flash of white, the Charmeleon stood with a smile upon his face and his tail wagging in a friendly fashion.
Rolling his eyes a bit, Ivan took a PokéBall from his belt and tossed it out. Before them all, a Bulbasaur stood pawing at the ground. It looked as if it was ready to go in and attack at anything. Catching sight of the Charmander, the grass-type looked up with piqued interest and then grinned, waving a vine to its friend that he had been raised with back in Pallet Town.
"Heh... looks like that's the Bulbasaur that was back at Professor Oak's lab when Jaxx and I were just getting Zal and Squirtle." Dixie remarked, folding her arms over her chest. She felt rather satisfied knowing that she was able to be getting her own starter Pokémon before Ivan had.
Giving a slight scoff, Ivan turned his attention back to Jakkaru and then jabbed a finger towards her. "Why don't we stop dilly dallying and hurry up and get to our battle, huh?"
"Impatient little..." Jakkaru started, furrowing her brow. She looked to Ember and then back to the Bulbasaur that was standing before them. Noting how the grass starter immediately changed its focus when she had said something, Jakkaru shouted out her first command, "all right, Ember! Let's start this off with a well aimed Slash attack!"
Rushing forwards, Ember brought his clawed hand back and ducked down, readying himself to strike the grass-type Pokémon.
"Restrain it with your Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!"
Leaping forwards and sending out the vines from its bulb, Bulbasaur wrapped the appendages around Ember, restraining it only slightly. The red-eyed creature was pushed back some as Ember continued to try and have his attack land.
"All right! Ember! Namesake, go!" Jakkaru grinned a bit as she saw how Bulbasaur had wrapped both of its vines around Ember's wrists. That was a mistake big time on Ivan's part – now Ember could easily go in and use a fire attack without worrying about Bulbasaur having enough time to move out of the way. She watched as Ember snapped his tail out in front of him and waved it around, having the flames from his tail lick off and catch onto the Bulbasaur.
Quickly retracting its vine, Bulbasaur staggered backwards and quickly shook its vines in the air to rid it of the burning feeling that coursed through. Bringing the vines to its mouth, the small grass-type quickly blew at them, trying to cool off the area where the Ember attack had gotten him.
"Bulbasaur, don't give in to the heat! Take it in and show that overgrown lizard your Razor Leaf!" Ivan commanded, his brow furrowing in determination.
Pulling its vines back into its bulb, the Bulbasaur leaped back a tad and then released a swirl of razor sharp leaves in Ember's direction. It seemed just as determined as his trainer did.
"Flamethrower! Burn those leaves before letting them get you!"
Ember opened his mouth at his trainer's command, letting loose a strong stream of fire that burned the leaves before even having a chance to hit and eventually making its way to the Bulbasaur. The Charmeleon stopped the attack after a few seconds, figuring that it would be good to do so. The grass-type before him had collapsed to the ground, its body burned and trembling slightly.
"Darn it..." Ivan muttered, holding up Bulbasaur's PokéBall and calling him back. He furrowed his brow and turned his grey gaze to where Jakkaru stood, watching as her Charmeleon ran back over to her and quickly fell into her embrace. Shaking the scene off, he took another PokéBall from his belt and threw it out, watching as the capsule released the next Pokémon.
Trilling as it was released, a Pidgeotto took to the air and then landed on the ground before them. It's expression looked rather fierce and a cocky look found its way back onto Ivan's face as he folded his arms over his chest.
Rolling her eyes at the blond's expression, Jakkaru returned Ember to his PokéBall and then took the other PokéBall that she had chosen from her bag. Releasing the Pokémon within, Jakkaru gave a pleased look. Whisper, her very own Pidgeotto, stood out before the one that Ivan has sent out and puffed out his chest before ruffling his feathers to get ready for whatever it was that his trainer had called him out for.
"Start the battle, Pidgeotto! Whip up a strong Gust attack now!"
Flapping its wings rapidly and trilling all the same, Ivan's Pidgeotto sent powerful gusts in Whisper's direction. The bigger of the two fowl looked a tad disgruntled, though held his ground rather well and made sure to keep his senses focused so that he could hear Jakkaru's commands over the rush of the wind that whipped past his ears.
"Tear through that Gust, Whisper!" Jakkaru started, furrowing her brow slightly. "Use Aerial Ace!"
Taking off from the ground, Whisper silently tore through the air and aimed himself for the opposing Pidgeotto. White streaks forming over his beak and head as he neared, Whisper quickly pivoted himself upwards and struck. Staying airbourne, Whisper looked back as the other fell from the sky and landed on the ground.
Pushing itself back up and glaring up, the Pidgeotto kicked back up and flapped its wings to get back into the air. It's gaze stayed locked on Whisper as it stayed level with its opponent.
"That's it, Pidgeotto!" Ivan cheered, clenching a fist and grinning. "Let's show them your Wing Attack!"
Darting forwards, Pidgeotto obliged to the command, flying towards Whisper at a fast rate.
"Counter it with Quick Attack!"
Nodding to his trainer, Whisper flew forwards to meet with its opponent. Whisper's beak met with the other Pidgeotto's chest, though its wings had clipped Whisper pretty good at the same time. Faltering in the air a bit, Whisper struggled some to keep himself airbourne... though it seemed that his opponent wasn't so fortunate. The other fowl had fallen from the air once again and lay on the ground, panting.
"Whisper, return." Jakkaru said, holding up her Pokémon's PokéBall and calling him back in a beam of red light. Turning her gaze over to Ivan, Jakkaru minimized the ball capsule and then put her hands on her hips as she saw him call his Pidgeotto back to its own capsule.
"... Good... battle..." Ivan hesitantly said, putting his Pokémon's capsule back onto his belt. He had a rather let down expression on his face for a moment before walking back towards the Pokémon Center a little bit before pausing and looking to Jakkaru.
"Yeah... I would say the same if you weren't such a jerk..." Jakkaru replied, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm sure that this little battle can be a lesson to you, yeah? Don't got spouting stuff when you don't have the force to back it up properly. Now apologize to Dixie." Pointing a finger to the younger girl, Jakkaru gave Ivan a stern look and waited.
"You're kidding, right...?" Ivan asked, looking over to his rival. "Listen, just cos you beat me in a battle doesn't mean I have to do as you say. When I feel that Dixie deserves an apology, she'll be getting on. In the meantime..." Ivan started back towards the Center. "I'm going to be getting my Pokémon rested up, and I'm going to be going on my merry way to Cerulean City to earn my next badge."
"Y-you mean... you already got the Boulder Badge from Forrest...?" Dixie asked, sounding a little more than just defeated.
Looking back to Dixie, Ivan smirked and ran his thumb across his nose. "That's right! Bulbasaur and my Mankey helped me win over at the Pewter City Gym. Judging by your surprise, I'm guessing that you haven't even beaten him yet. How long has it been since you've been here, eh? Bet it's been a longer amount of time than myself."
"Well... I..." Dixie started, fidgeting somewhat.
"What's the big deal if she has?" Jaxx asked, stepping towards Ivan a bit. "Bet she still knows more than you ever will if you lost that easily against Jakkaru – and she's not even a Gym Leader."
"So? Forrest is just weak... his brother should have never passed the Gym down to him."
"Your arrogance is irritating..." Jaxx growled, clenching a fist. "Or perhaps you're just too naïve to realize that Gym Leaders all have different teams of different levels and such for different trainers that approach their Gym to challenge them."
"Jaxx, don't fight with him..." Dixie said, furrowing her brow slightly and then turning her attention back to Ivan. "He's still just the same jerk from Saffron who thinks he knows everything. He'll be worth our time when he actually learns something other than just 'Pokémon can fight'."
"Watch it, Dixie." Ivan snapped. He looked back to Jakkaru for a moment before turning his attention back to Jaxx and then finally having it linger on the younger female that was there. "We'll just see who knows more. For now, I'd really like to get more ahead in the game than waste my time with a little girl who's Pokémon aren't up for a little challenge at the moment."
Turning, Ivan made his was back over to the Pokémon Center and then went inside, the other three and Zalaras looking after him. Dixie gave a sigh to calm herself from the anger that bubbled up from that little 'talk' with Ivan and then looked up to Jaxx. His gaze met hers and he just shrugged a bit before she turned her head to look over at Jakkaru.
"Thanks... both of you..." Dixie said, drawing her hands together and tapping her fingers together.
"How the heck do you know such a jerk-face like that?" Jakkaru asked, walking over to where Jaxx and Dixie stood.
"Well..." Dixie started, not really knowing how to start off. Taking in a breath, she motioned for Zalaras that she was going to start walking and then made her way back over to the Center. "I'll tell you both inside."
Nodding to her, the four beings made their way back into the Pokémon Center and kept their distance from Ivan (luckily for them, they were sitting at opposite sides of the building). Dixie and Jakkaru gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy and then found a place to sit, Zalaras being the only Pokémon of Dixie's that had really stayed with the group.
"So... about you and Ivan...?" Jaxx asked, looking to Dixie, sitting in a chair opposite of her.
She stayed silent for a few seconds and then looked down to the tiled floor. Pursing her lips together, Dixie hesitated and then glanced back up to her friends. Deciding to start, she gave another sigh and then kept her voice at a slightly quietly level than normal, "well... you both probably picked up on it... but we're both from Saffron City.... We were both enrolled in the same school program, or whatever you really want to call it."
She paused for a moment and then fiddled with the hem of her shirt before continuing, "I was hoping that I could become friends with him at first, honestly. We were both... six? About that...." Pausing again, Dixie gave a forced laugh and then entwined her fingers together. "I guess he just wasn't into my cheerful way and attitude, because shortly after expressing my want to be his friend and having my personality show through, he rejected it – and soon after that, I became his personal target...."
Shrugging a bit, Dixie leaned back in her chair and then looked to Jaxx and Jakkaru. "But you know... I didn't really care after a while because I made friends with a being that I put a lot of my trust into."
A smile found its way onto Dixie's face and Jaxx arched a brow. He thought back for a moment before Jakkaru could speak up and asked, "do you mean that Smeargul that you talked about back at Professor Oak's?"
"Yup!" Dixie chirped. "Arty and I became fast friends because we both liked painting and making new things.... Hee... I kind of miss him. Trixie never gave me a chance to say goodbye to him when we left Saffron for her to be getting her own starter Pokémon and for me to be living with my Aunt Sicily until I became of age to get my own."
"Heh... you really do just like befriending things, huh?" Jaxx said, a little amused by the thought of a young Dixie just befriending a Smeargul because of the fact that the both of them were colourful beings and liked to paint.
"Why not, it's seemed to have worked for her so far the whole time that we've been with her." Jakkaru replied, smiling a bit. She turned her gaze over to Zalaras, who was curled up against Dixie, and motioned over to him. "I mean... even Zalaras has finally come to listening to Dixie better than he had been when I first met you guys.... I doubt seriously it's because he just wanted to." This was when Jakkaru turned her attention to Jaxx and gave him a rather sly look.
Flinching a bit at that, Jaxx tinged slightly and folded his arms over his chest with a scowl. He knew exactly why it was that she had given that look to him in the first place. Despite the fact that he and Dixie seemed to have a rather rough start to things, he seemed to be in more acceptance to the girl's behaviours and attitude than he had been before.
"A-anyways..." Jaxx coughed, hoping that the blush had cleared from his face when he had spoken up. "Dixie... do you have any tactics that you plan on using against Forrest for tomorrow?"
Nodding, Dixie grinned and then replied, "of course!"
"What are they?"
"You'll just have to wait and see for yourself!" Dixie giggled and then pet Zalaras affectionately, eagerly awaiting for the hours to pass on by from now to the next day.
