The salve had a scent like old Sitrus Berries, sharp and sour, filling Fay's small bathroom. Dana scooped up a glob of the stuff with two fingers. It had a pale orange-yellow color that made her wonder briefly if it was actually made from Sitrus, or just made to smell that way by the manufacturer. It was cool against her skin as she applied it, dabbing it over her cuts and then rubbing it in like lotion. The spots where she touched tingled and stung as the salve went to work healing her wounds.
Dana did her face last. The cuts on her cheeks and chin were already faded, little more than faint pink lines now, but the scar across her nose and cheekbone was undiminished. It was simply too large, too much of her flesh gouged away to heal smoothly. She dragged her fingers through the scar, lining it with salve, and then held her hand there.
With her hand up, she couldn't see it.
After a moment, she sighed and turned away, leaning her back against the sink. It was too much to hope for. After everything yesterday, when things had looked so bad but had turned out almost too good to believe, she'd thought it might have faded, might have miraculously repaired itself back to perfection.
The understanding was beginning to soak in. Her face was marked, permanently and eternally. She'd wear the scar every day for the rest of her life.
Dana sniffed at the thought, her eyes beginning to prickle.
"Dana, can you hear me?" Fay called, her voice muffled by the bathroom door. "I laid out a couple of old outfits that I think will fit you, okay?"
"Oh. Okay, Fay. Thanks."
A pause. "You alright?"
Did she really sound that bad?
"Do you want me to come in?" Fay asked.
Dana blanched and had to fumble for an excuse. "Ah- I can't- I'm not wearing anything, and I'm all gross and oily!"
"Can you put on a towel or something so I can use the shower?"
Dana gave the affirmative and wrapped herself in one of the bath towels. She tugged the door open to admit Fay. The older woman looked at her, and Dana felt a surge of frustration at the pity she saw in Fay's eyes.
"How are you feeling?"
Scarred. Disfigured. Ugly. Fucked up. Guilty for still being in Fay's apartment. But Fay was still looking at her, still frowning slightly, still pitying.
Dana shrugged. "I'm healing."
XXX
Fay started her shower, and Dana went out to have breakfast. Kellis was sitting on the couch, drinking coffee while she watched the news. The Kirlia waved at her as she passed, and Dana waved back.
Fay's Vulpix, whom Dana didn't know the name of yet, was hunkered down under the kitchen table with a bowl of food. She yipped at Dana in greeting.
"Morning."
Fay had left out a number of breakfast items; milk, cereal, bread, jelly, butter, Oran juice. Dana selected what she wanted and then leaned against the kitchen counter while she ate. The salve was slowly drying into her skin, and she didn't want to stain Fay's chairs with it or something.
Chewing pulled the skin on her face just enough to make it sting, and every bite carried a faint undertone of Sitrus. The combination meant that Dana finished her breakfast as fast as she could, tasting very little of it. The food sat uneasily in her stomach, thick and heavy enough to make her feel thicker and heavier than she already did from the healing.
Dana stood for a moment, wishing she hadn't eaten anything, and finally just moved to the sink.
Her stomach twinged, but she ignored it. Healing ate up a lot of the body's reserves, and she'd have to eat big meals over the next couple days to make up the difference. That was going to be on her time though. Eating Fay out of house and home would be a crappy way to repay her.
Moving with careful, methodical motions to protect Fay's things, she cleared the counter and started cleaning the soiled dishes in the sink. She'd just started in on a greasy skillet when Purrloin leapt up onto the counter beside her.
"Hey."
It glanced up at her before beginning to lick one of the dirty plates. Dana stopped cleaning to watch. Purrloin was… different. She kept looking at it and expecting to see Rose, only for a small part of her to sink every time because Rose was long gone.
She returned to cleaning, only to find her eyes continually drifting over to the cat as she worked. It was weird and embarrassing to think about it, but she'd had crushes before on boys at school, and this felt a little like that. She liked staring at Purrloin though, taking in all its little movements and details, happy just to be in its presence. If one part of her remembered Rose and ached, another part of her saw Purrloin and warmed, thawing like ice under the spring sun.
Purrloin was… Dana shook her head. She barely knew the Pokemon and she was already getting way too attached. She didn't even know whether it was male or female.
"Hey, Purrloin." Dana relayed her question to it, holding up her left hand for 'male,' and her right hand for 'female.'
It stopped eating just long enough meow at her left hand. Dana beamed at it- at him.
"Great. So uh… what else? Maybe… do you want a name?"
"Pur purr," he said.
"Uh…" Dana hesitated. "Is that a yes?" She tried to repeat the yes/no signal with her hands, but Purrloin was engrossed in licking up the last dregs of cereal.
"Boy's name or pet name?"
Purrloin rubbed his whiskers to get an errant cornflake out.
Dana raised an eyebrow at him. "If you don't answer, I'm calling you 'Captain Cuddlekins' for the rest of our partnership."
It was an outright lie, one that she regretted the instant she said it. What if he left?
He was looking at her now though.
"Boy's name." Left hand. "Pet name." Right hand.
"Purl." Left hand.
Dana exhaled through her teeth. It was a start. As Purrloin returned to devouring Fay's leftovers, she started cleaning the dishes again. She ran names past him while she scrubbed, raising her voice to be heard over the running water.
"Leon, Liam, Lenard, Luke, Liam- wait, said that already. Uh- Gatsby. …Catsby?"
He gave her a flat stare.
"Yeah, it's stupid, I know …Tony, Bruce, Clint, Sim-" she choked mid-word. "S-Salman!" Not Simon. Never Simon.
By the time Fay returned, Dana had finished the dishes. She had also run out of names for Purrloin. He'd refused every option, and it was only because she earned a gold-eyed glare for the worst ones that she knew he'd even listened.
Fay wore her bodysuit now, though it was still unzipped, the strap of a tanktop poking out from beneath. Fay adjusted it, zipped up, and then pulled on her surcoat.
"Can you get dressed now?" she asked Dana.
Dana nodded. "Purrloin and I were just trying to pick a name." She headed back into the living room, and started going through the clothes Fay had laid out for her.
Fay turned, leaning against the doorway. "I think I've got a book of baby names in the back, if you want it. That's how I named Alexa." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the Vulpix determinedly licking every molecule of food from her dish in a way that put even Purrloin to shame.
"My mother named me," a girl's voice said.
Dana nearly tore the skirt she was putting on in half. It tangled around her knees all the same, and she wobbled, windmilling her arms to stay up. It was only years of athletics and a well-honed sense of balance that kept her standing.
"Who?!"
The words had come from behind her eyes, like there was suddenly another speaker in the inner monologue of her thoughts.
"Over here."
Dana turned. There was no one there but Kellis, still sitting on the couch.
"I am sorry, Dana. I did not mean to startle you." Kellis bowed her head in apology.
Dana's jaw dropped. She'd never been around Psychics much, and she'd never had one speak to her like this. It was fascinating. Not just talking to someone, but talking to a Pokemon with her mind!
"Uh… hi, Kellis?"
Kellis blinked at her, the motion accompanied by a sudden wave of happiness like a warm breeze.
"You were distressed last night, and it was too tiring to speak with you. Are you alright now? Your feelings are still very turbulent."
"I'm fine," Dana said shortly. There wasn't much point in lying to a mind-reading empath, but it wasn't really something she wanted to get into, so she changed the subject. "You said your mother named you?"
"My starter, Kiva," Fay said. "Kellis is her daughter. It doesn't actually mean anything; Kiva just liked the sound of it."
Dana frowned thoughtfully. "Oh. So I should make up Purrloin's name?"
The cat in question finally made his appearance from the kitchen, wending around Fay's ankles to join Dana by the armchair.
"Purl, purr-pur purrr," he said.
"He says 'don't over-think it. Stop listening to the fat Kirlia and get me some more food, molly.' …HEY!" Kellis' eye flashed red, and Purrloin meowed snidely at her.
"Kids, no fighting," Fay said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly."
Dana tugged on a t-shirt over her borrowed tanktop. "Purrloin, don't taunt Kellis, please. We're guests." She paused to pull her hair back into place. "And… what's a 'molly?'"
Purrloin closed one eye with a lazy motion. She stared. Did he just wink at her? Did Pokemon wink?
"Pur." Purrloin started toying with the laces on her shoes, batting them back and forth. He looked up again. "Purl-loin."
"He objects to me speaking to you. Typical Dark-type." Kellis' telepathic voice was thick with derision. "As if I'd eat your brain or something. But a molly is a female cat. Don't worry too much about that, he means it in the sense of you being his partner."
"Is that so?" Dana murmured. "Kellis isn't going to do anything, you know." She raised
Purrloin's Pokeball to return him, but stopped.
Partners. Not trainer and Pokemon. Partners. Equals.
"Do you want to go back in?" she asked.
Purrloin nodded, blinking slowly at her. She smiled back, and then returned him.
Molly, huh? Her smile grew teeth. She liked the sound of that.
XXX
"Watch the house, okay, Alexa?" Fay said.
Vulpix yipped what Dana thought was an okay, and scurried off into the apartment.
"She sleeps on my bed most of the day," Fay said, following Dana's gaze. "We usually run drills or go for a walk when I get home."
Kellis came drifting in a moment later, a small satchel over her shoulder.
"Kir," she said, radiating a sense of gentle calm. She reached up and patted Dana's hand reassuringly before taking it. Fay took Kellis' other hand, and Kellis closed her eye. There was silence, and then the air vibrated and-
blurred
Dana was ready for the jolt this time, and didn't stumble when her shoes thudded down on concrete. She straightened up, looking at the familiar façade of the Striaton Pokemon Center.
They entered, and Dana explained her circumstances to the Nurse Joy at the desk. Her wallet and room key were in her backpack, which Harlan apparently still had. She recited her Trainer ID number, and the Joy pulled up a slightly dated photo of her on the computer. Dana dropped her eyes when she saw her younger, unmarred face on the screen.
She led Fey and Kellis up to her rented room, and they waited outside while she traded Fay's clothes for her own jeans and a gray t-shirt. She'd wash Fay's clothes before returning them. It was easier to move around now that her clothes fit her, and she felt just a bit lighter, more at ease.
One problem solved.
"Off to work?" she asked Fay as she exited the room.
Fay nodded. "Sage Bronius is waiting for us."
A second teleport took them to just outside the Striaton Branch of Team Plasma.
The HQ building was a sprawling affair, its walls and roof made of corrugated metal sheeting that made Dana think it might be a repurposed warehouse. The only indicator that this was somewhere special was the large, neon blue Plasma insignia mounted on the front wall where a normal business might have put their sign. A few other Plasma members were already present, walking in from the adjacent parking lot, or lingering on the benches in front.
"Morning, Donnelly." Fay greeted one of the Squires on the bench.
The man rose to his feet and smiled. "Fay, good morning."
Dana kept her head down and trailed behind Fay as she walked to the front door. Fay unlocked it and they entered, the other team members straggling along in their wake. None of them paid her much attention, but Dana still walked quickly, feeling like she was under a spotlight.
They turned right as soon as they went in, heading into a hallway lined with offices. Had they gone straight, they'd have walked onto the large, open warehouse floor. There was a clear space on the floor for group meetings, but the walls were packed tight with boxes of supplies and gear. Dana's visit there had been embarrassingly brief- just long enough to try on a uniform in the locker room and find out that none of them fit a 13-year old. There were other rooms; she thought there might be bathrooms and a kitchen in the back, but she hadn't had a chance to explore yet.
Fay's office was at the end of the row of other offices, unobtrusive and smaller than Dana thought Fay deserved. It felt like it had been weeks since she'd been here last, not just a day. They stopped in just long enough for the Plasma Captain to rifle through a stack of papers in her in-tray.
"Status reports," Fay remarked, grimacing and tossing the papers back. She motioned for Dana to follow and they left the office. They moved down a side hallway she hadn't been in before until they reached an exit door. Dana watched carefully as Fay opened it; curious to the new surroundings.
The summer heat was a palpable pressure as they stepped out of the air-conditioned HQ. There was a green area behind the building, a grassy rectangle ringed with tall, ivy-covered brick walls. A small metal table and matching benches sat in the center, an umbrella creating a pocket of shade in the sunny space. Besides the two of them, the space was empty of people.
Fay stopped, pursing her lips. "Sage Bronius was supposed to be here."
"Should we look?" Dana asked.
"I'll call him, and you can stay here in case he comes back."
Dana nodded, and Fay scurried back into the building, muttering to herself about 'tardy sages.' Dana stood awkwardly for a moment before moving over to the benches and sitting down. It was a relief to get out of the sun; she was already sweating, and the heat made her feel a little light-headed. The only thing on the table was a grubby ashtray with a couple crumpled cigarette butts in it.
She started swinging her legs back and forth under the bench, dragging the toes of her shoes through the grass. Although… Bronius wouldn't like that, would he? Dana forced herself to stop fidgeting. She needed to look professional for the Sage. She'd somehow impressed him yesterday, but that had been a fluke, a total accident.
What did he even want to talk about? He'd said it himself- it was unusual for him to visit a Squire. So why did he still want to meet with her?
The whole thing made her stomach churn, and any joy she'd taken in yesterday's meeting was long gone. She hadn't earned his adulation. It was one thing to be happy he cared, but for him to praise her, to salute her like an equal… No. It wasn't right.
Her fingers started drumming, jittering her nails against the tabletop. She made them stop, only to begin tapping again as soon as her thoughts wandered.
Dana slapped her hands flat against the table. "Cut it out!"
It was beyond frustrating. She needed to pace, needed to move and burn off her energy, but the thought of Bronius walking in on her having a minor freakout kept her sitting. She was going to be a mess when he showed up, all sweat and nerves, unless she found a way to calm down.
Her foot started jiggling, and she let it. Her fingers started up a moment later.
It was agonizing minutes of silence before an answer came to her. Practice. She dealt with problems by practicing, working until she had the skills down to a science. She needed to practice talking to Bronius and get all her stupid answers out before he showed up.
That would work. Probably. Hopefully.
"Purrloin, come out!" She tossed the ball onto the grass, and her Pokemon appeared. He meowed at her, his head cocked in question for why she'd brought him out.
"Can you get up on the table? I need to rehearse."
He tilted his head in the opposite direction. Why?
"Look, I- I need to impress Bronius today. Let me practice talking to you and pretend you're him."
Purrloin rolled his eyes at her.
"Don't give me that. It's not that crazy, and this is really important and-" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't know what I'm doing!"
He sighed visibly before jumping onto the table and facing her.
"Thanks." She took a deep breath. "So, uh- sir, why did you want to see me today, sir?"
Purrloin gathered himself, puffed his chest out, and with the air of the King of the World addressing his subjects, declared, "Purl, purr purl pa-PUR!"
Dana snorted, covering her mouth to stop from laughing. "You're not helping!"
He squinted at her, feigning confusion. "Purrrl?" Why are you laughing, subject?
It was too much. The tension broke like glass. Dana threw her head back and laughed, the sound filling the small space. She laughed until her eyes watered, and it was only a sudden, shooting pain in the scar on her chest that got her to stop. She pressed a hand to it, still chuckling softly.
"I missed this," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "Thanks."
He was watching her, but he stayed quiet. They were alone in the garden, and it was that that let her continue. She slumped forward and rested her elbows on the table, all her nervous energy burnt away by the moment of laughter.
"I… I had a partner before you. Rose. She was my starter. I had two other Pokemon, but she was… your starter is special, you know? She used to make me laugh like that all the time."
Purrloin closed his golden eyes slowly, opened them. An acknowledgement that he was listening.
Dana swallowed heavily before speaking again. "I joined Plasma because of Rose, because of what happened. And… I didn't think I'd get another Pokemon for a long time. …I'm glad it was you."
She wiped her eyes again. Arceus, she was going to be a wreck when Bronius arrived, but she couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. Talking to Purrloin, telling him something she'd never told anyone was like squeezing poison out of a wound. It was easing something inside her.
The pain of Rose's loss faded ever so slightly.
She sniffled, then smiled at Purrloin. "I think that's enough practice for the day," she said. "You want a… I don't know… Ear rub?"
Purrloin came within arm's reach, but she'd barely laid hand on him before he butted his chin against her palm to mark his scent and then walked away. He hopped off the table and headed for the wall.
The walls were about ten feet high and checkered with deliberate empty spaces that the ivy hung over like curtains. Purrloin disappeared into one of the gaps with a rustle of leaves, but Dana could still see the tip of his tail poking through the ivy.
"You're a dork," she said, giggling. What was he even doing? Where was he going? She didn't think he was leaving. Not like that.
The tail went still for a second, and then slid out of sight. She could just barely make out his silhouette, a shadow crossing the sun-drenched leaves as he stalked around the wall. Dana tracked his progress around the wall for a few minutes before she lost sight of him.
Something soft brushed her neck, and she jolted forward. He'd snuck up on her.
"Purrloin!" She turned, grinning at his behavior, and then froze. A Pokemon hovered in the air behind her, just touching the bottom of the umbrella.
"Hon."
Dana slid off the bench and backed away from it. It was a Honedge, one of the sword-shaped Pokemon native to Kalos.
"Hon hon hon." Honedge blinked the eyes on its sheath at her, sounding almost like it was laughing at her reaction.
"Ah…" Dana glanced about for her partner. "Purrloin, where are you?" Her voice came out embarrassingly reedy. "Purrloin!?"
There was no answering meow from across the wall, and the cat was nowhere in sight. She bit her lip. What to do? Honedge were infamous for being able to suck the life out of unsuspecting victims with their tassels, though they weren't typically as malevolent as some other Kalosian Ghosts.
There was something about it that tickled her thoughts… Kalosian. She took a few steps backward, running the word over in her mind while she tried to think of a plan.
Kalosian.
From Kalos.
What did that mean though? What was she trying to-
Honedge floated forward, closing the gap between them to barely three feet. Panic streaked through Dana, and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Bonjour!"
The Ghost-type stopped, the face on its sheath suddenly frowning. "Hon?" Its tone was questioning.
Dana hesitated, looking around to make sure no one else was present before saying very quietly, "Bonjour, Honedge. Comment vas-tu?"
Honedge's face lit up. It bounced up and down in the air, waving its hand-like tassel at her in greeting. "Hon hon!"
She waved back, keeping well away from the Honedge's tassel. "Je m'appelle Dana Marion. Uhm…" She wasn't really sure what to say to someone who couldn't talk back, but it was a relief that Honedge seemed to be friendly. Though… that raised other questions. What was a Honedge doing in Unova?
"Maybe… Etes-vous sauvage?"
Honedge shook back and forth, indicating a 'no.'
Dana nodded. She'd expected that. "Ou est votre partenaire?"
Honedge's reply was lost in an angry shriek from the other side of the wall.
"Hey! You- get back here!" a woman shouted.
Purrloin shot back through the wall in a shower of torn ivy. He threw himself across the grass and into Dana's arms like a cannonball.
"Where were you?" she hissed. "I needed you."
Honedge hadn't exactly done anything, but she had still worried. She'd have been in real trouble without Purrloin.
Purrloin gave a muffled yowl in response, and then spat something out of his mouth. The object thudded into her hand, and Dana winced as she touched spit-slicked metal.
And then she her jaw fell open when she saw what it was.
A pin. It was silver inlaid with sapphire, molded in the shape of the Plasma icon, and beautiful enough that she felt queasy just holding it.
"…where did you find this?" she whispered.
It had only a second to sink in before the iron gate at the edge of the wall crashed open, hinges squealing, and a woman charged in.
"That's mine!"
The woman was whip-thin, sleek in a black suit and matching gloves. Her orange hair was braided and coiled around the back of her head like a wreath, but little wisps were coming loose and sticking up around her flushed, furious face.
The woman's pale eyes swept over them, taking in Dana, Purrloin, the pin, but went wide when she saw the Honedge.
"Durandal, what are you- no!" The woman shook her head. "Forget it- use Pursuit, stop her! Stop the thief!"
The Honedge quivered in midair, its eyes on the woman. And then it caught its sheath with its tassel and pulled. It unsheathed with a noise like metal on stone, its black blade eating up the light.
Dana opened her mouth to say something, but what came out was a scream as the Honedge lanced towards them. She dove to the side, holding Purrloin one-handed and using her free hand to push herself into a roll.
She tried at least. Her arm, still weakened from the healing, folded under her, and she went down hard, belly-flopping into the grass.
"Shadow Sneak!"
Dana tossed Purrloin to one side and then rolled in the other direction just as a viscous black shadow blurred across the grass between them. Honedge cleaved out of the shadow, narrowly missing her, its blade making an awful keening noise as it sliced the air.
Dana barely managed to get her feet under her. "Purrloin, use- do something!" she cried.
Her cat lunged at Honedge, claws out, but passed cleanly through the sword-Pokemon without harming it.
"It's a Ghost!" Dana shouted. She racked her brain for something to do. What did Purrloin know? What was he capable of? "What attacks do you have that could- yah!"
The woman had come forward without Dana seeing her. Her fist struck Dana in the face like a sledgehammer, and Dana fell back, her ears ringing. She kicked out from the ground and tried to trip the woman. She felt her foot connect, and the woman cried out as Dana knocked her down.
Her attacker was down for barely a second. She got her feet under her and barreled into Dana like a wild Tauros. Dana's back struck the ground and she twisted, trying to throw the woman off her. Her arms failed her for a second time, too weak to push the woman away.
And then the woman hit her in the face again. Her lip mashed against her teeth, and she felt it split. Hot copper joined the scent of crushed grass. For an instant, she blinked back tears, the sun stabbing her eyes, not at Plasma HQ, but back in the Dreamyard again, bleeding out in the grass and-
You almost died, Dana.
The next blow snapped her back to reality. Dana shrieked as the woman back-handed her across the face. She shoved feebly, trying to get away, but her attacker had her pinned under her body; an adult's weight holding her down with ease.
Nearly bled out before Harlan got to you.
It was that easy. It could happen, just like that.
Terror filled her. Her struggles intensified, her hands flailing and beating against the woman's chest.
She didn't want to die.
She screamed. Her voice was raw and animal, too afraid to form words.
Purrloin answered her.
He came in like a tornado, a furious snarl ripping its way out of his chest. He caught the woman in the throat, and she was the one screaming now, hoarse with pain as he drew bloody lines across her skin.
The woman seized him, digging her fingers into his fur, and hurled him away. Purrloin hit the ground hard, but got up, his legs shaking. Honedge streaked toward him, but Dana didn't see what happened, because the woman grabbed her by the collar.
"Lousy little thief!" the woman yelled.
Purrloin.
There was no thought beyond that. It was a simple, burning fact.
She hurt Purrloin.
Dana lashed out, blind with fear and rage. Her forehead smashed into the woman's nose and they both howled with pain. Dana blinked away stars and then struck again, driving her head into the woman's face.
"You bitch!" The woman's voice was thick now, her nose pouring blood. Dana tried to headbutt her again, but the woman jerked her head to the side and Dana missed. The woman's counterpunch rocked the back of Dana's skull into the hard earth.
The world swam around her, and her vision flickered and rolled like a bad movie reel. Dana fought back with dreamlike slowness, her limbs suddenly, terrifyingly far off, far too weak and slow to deal out the hits she needed. Her fist slugged the woman in the shoulder, and the woman hit her back. Dana didn't feel it. She was too afraid, too angry for pain. She locked her fingers into the woman's hair and pulled with all her might, tearing the neat braid apart.
The woman screamed again, not a protest this time, but a furious command. "Durandal, to me!"
Honedge shot through the air into the woman's waiting hand. The woman caught it and stabbed downward.
"Protect!"
Honedge's blade swerved to the side, sparks grinding from the edge, and embedded itself in the ground beside Dana's throat.
Dana gasped. A glowing blue barrier had appeared around her, blocking the woman's strike.
"Split them up!"
A wave of force surrounded her, like pressure over every inch of her body. A second later, the two of them were jerked apart and sent skidding across the lawn in opposite directions. Dana made it to her knees, ready in case the woman attacked again, but the force resumed, holding her in place. Ten feet away, she could see a faint glow around her attacker, restraining her as well.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" someone shrieked.
Dana blinked, her tunnel vision fading, and turned to see who had spoken.
Fay had returned. The Captain moved to stand between them, her face red nearly as red as her hair. Kellis and Sage Bronius stood at the back door to the building. Kellis' eyes were glowing, holding them in place with her telekinesis.
"Gracia, what's going on here?" Bronius said to the woman. There was no kind, grandfatherly expression on his face now, only grim anger.
Fay motioned to Kellis, and the force surrounding them faded.
The woman- Gracia, stood slowly, smoothing dirt off her suit. "The girl stole my pin," she said, pointing at Dana with Honedge.
Dana staggered up a moment later. She swayed on her feet, and Fay moved to steady her, putting an arm around her.
"Arceus," Fay said. "You're bleeding everywhere."
Dana wiped her face, staring at the red on her hands. Would it scar?
Fay rummaged in her purse before pulling out a small packet of tissues. She started blotting at Dana's cuts. "Dana, talk to me. What happened?"
She swallowed, tasting blood in her mouth, and then spoke. "Purrloin. He brought back a pin." She looked around and found the item in the grass beside the table. Purrloin crouched beside it, nursing a cut on his leg. Anger blossomed and renewed. All that for a stupid little pin. She'd almost gotten killed, and Purrloin was injured. For a trinket.
She jabbed a finger at Gracia. "I didn't steal anything, but that psycho attacked me!"
Gracia's lip curled. "Liar! You-" Honedge tugged at her sleeve and she stopped.
"Hon hon, honedge-hone!" it said.
"We'll get to the bottom of this," Fay said coolly. "Kellis, your help please?"
Kellis' voice echoed in Dana's head. "Durandal says that he was speaking with Dana and that she had nothing to do with the robbery."
"That's nonsense," Gracia said, giving Honedge a contemptuous look. "She obviously sent her Purrloin to do the deed while she stayed out of the way!"
Dana clenched her fists, glaring at Gracia. Her face ached terribly, radiating waves of pain through her whole head. "I had nothing to do with it! What gives you the right to just attack me, huh?"
"I have the right to protect my property-"
"By coming at me with a sword like a-"
"I will not be stolen from-"
"-crazy bitch! You-"
"-by some little girl with-"
"Enough!" Bronius' voice cut through their argument like a thunderclap. He turned a stern gaze on each of them in turn. "Gracia, I think it would be obvious what happened here. Miss Marion owns a Purrloin, well-known for their kleptomaniacal tendencies. Do you truly believe this is some elaborate heist to steal…" Bronius moved to pick up Gracia's pin and examined it. "Your lapel pin?"
Gracia's face went hard. "That pin was given to me at my promotion by the King himself. It's the one of the most precious things I own, and I'll not stand by and let some little brat steal it!"
"Even so," Fay cut in. "That does not give you the right to attack her like that."
"I do not take orders from you, Captain," Gracia snarled.
"It's my business when it's a 13-year old girl in my care who just got out of the hospital!" Fay shot back. "She's a child, and you're a grown woman, Knight or not."
The words took a moment to sink in. Knight. As if by accident, Dana's eyes settled on Gracia's pin. The facts clicked together. Bronius and Fay both knew Gracia. Gracia, who had a Plasma pin.
Gracia who was…
"You're a Knight?" Dana growled.
Gracia ignored her.
Dana's anger flared up. Her whole body hurt, her lip stung, and one of her eyes felt swollen. She was riding the adrenaline rush, too angry to care, too furious to pick her words.
"You hired this psycho as a Knight!?" Knights were supposed to be good, defenders of the cause- not- not crazy, sword-wielding lunatics who tried to cut your throat for a pin and-
Dana spoke to Gracia through gritted teeth. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't call the cops on you."
The three adults all went very still. Gracia and Fay both turned to look at Bronius, who shook his head. "Miss Marion, I think we should keep this between us. It is… not the Plasma way to involve outsiders in our dealings."
"But-"
"No." Bronius' voice was implacable as old oak. "Both of you be quiet." He rubbed his mustache, his agitation clear, before speaking again.
"Gracia, you were wronged here, but we expect a certain level of conduct from our Knights. I've told you to control your temper before, and yet I find you brawling in the dirt like a common Mankey." Gracia made to speak, but the Sage fixed her with a glare. "I said be quiet, Gracia. Fay may take orders from you, but you answer to me, and I am telling you to shut up. And as for you, Miss Marion…"
Dana snapped her attention to him. "Sir?"
"I expect a similar conduct from you. That includes controlling your Pokemon. Their actions are your actions. Stealing from other operatives will not be tolerated again, understand?"
Her face burned from more than just the beating. She was being given a second chance, but she shouldn't have needed it in the first place. It was Gracia's fault. The crazy Knight had embarrassed her in front of Bronius and made her look irresponsible.
"Yes sir," she murmured.
Bronius turned to Gracia, who nodded grudgingly. "As you wish, sir."
"Good. Gracia, you are dismissed. We'll discuss this further inside."
The lady Knight saluted Bronius and backed away, Durandal hovering at her side. Dana watched the duo go. Gracia turned back only once, just as she entered the back door. Dana grimaced at her, but Gracia was impassive. It was only her stare, hard and cold, that gave her away. The look in her eyes said very clearly, this isn't over.
"Now then…" Bronius waved them toward the benches. "We'll make this quick."
Fay sat down beside Dana and withdrew more tissues from her purse. Dana took them and started daubing up the congealing blood on her cheeks.
"One day out of the hospital and she attacks you. The nerve," Fay said grimly, her jaw set. "Kellis, a little help?"
Dana paused in her ministrations, and then bent to pick up Purrloin from beneath the bench. The cat yowled piteously as she moved him, and Dana whispered soothing words as she settled him into her lap. He'd gotten a cut on his leg that she'd already seen, but there was another damp patch in his fur along his spine where the Honedge had cut him. She blotted it with a tissue.
Kellis drifted up onto the bench beside Dana. "I will begin healing you now, with your permission."
Dana nodded, and Kellis let out a low hum, the air around her glowing pink. At once, Dana felt her skin prickle, the cut on her lip tingling as the Healing Pulse closed it. Other aches and pains disappeared, fading away into nothing. Within a few moments, she felt better than she had all day.
"I cannot do anything for your face. I'm sorry," Kellis said, closing her eye sadly. Dana winced and touched her cheek, feeling the scar still firmly in place. A gentle wave of feelings filled her suddenly, blunting some of the shame and anger and disappointment, though not wiping them away entirely.
"Please do not be too angry. It is unhealthy."
"It's okay, Kellis," Dana said, forcing herself to put her hand down. "You still healed what that psycho did."
She said that, but… now that she was out of the fight, her mind kept replaying moments. Gracia's face, twisted with fury. Honedge lunging at her. Gracia stabbing at her neck, fully intent on killing her.
The adrenaline rush was fading, and even with Kellis' calming aura, Dana felt her hands begin to shake.
Twice. That's twice in two days.
She sat quietly while Kellis healed Purrloin, and then she wrapped her arms around him and hunched over. His warmth against her chest helped, just a little.
"Dana?"
"S-sorry, j-just a little…" Dana trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence. She couldn't stop trembling.
He could have died. I could have died.
Fay reached out and set a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay."
Dana nodded, but didn't answer. She started rubbing Purrloin's ears. The cat purred and began licking his claws. It gave Dana a little thrill of dark satisfaction when she realized that it was Gracia's blood staining his paws.
She hoped Gracia would get a scar or two out of it.
"Goodness…" Bronius said, and Dana jumped. She'd forgotten he was there. The old Sage sighed heavily; he seemed exhausted by the whole affair. "Please do not think too poorly of Gracia. She is truly dedicated to our cause, and well… you'll be seeing a lot of her."
"Oh. How come?" Dana asked.
Bronius pulled a long-stemmed wooden pipe from his pocket and began filling it with purple powder from a small paper bag. Dana watched the Sage's hands as they carried out the task, moving with a deftness that she found oddly fascinating. He lit the pipe and inhaled deeply, taking a long draw on it.
"I'm getting too old for all this commotion," he said, more to himself than to them. He puffed on the pipe, blowing a cloud of spicy purple smoke around him before he spoke again.
"Gracia is the Knight who manages this region. As long as you're a member of this branch, you'll answer to her in some respects."
Dana nodded, but had no reply. She was going to stay as far away from Gracia as she could, for as long as she could. Even if it was bad for the Team, she wasn't going to buddy up to someone like that.
"Very well. Now… on to business." Bronius withdrew a manila folder from within his robes. He pushed it across the table to Dana, who opened it. A handful of papers lay within, capped by a blurry picture of… Dana narrowed her eyes, examining the photo.
A teenage boy with a blue hooded sweatshirt faced away from the camera, laughing and smiling as he talked to someone out of frame.
She looked up at Bronius. "That's the boy from the Dreamyard." Fay leaned forward to look also, and Dana showed the picture to her.
"I suspected," Bronius said. "That trainer is named Hugh. He was already known to us before he encountered you. He is… I think you would call him a person of interest. What can you tell me about him?"
Dana went through her meeting with Hugh in the Dreamyard in as much detail as she could; his Pokemon, his behavior, motives for being there. Bronius pressed her gently, leading her questions down certain avenues and making notes the whole time. She finished by describing the girl who had been with Hugh, Bianca, in the same way.
Bronius nodded as she finished. "She's an associate of his. Miss Marion, Miss Bartlett, I'm issuing standing orders on these two trainers: Keep watch for them and report any sightings."
Fay spoke for the first time in a while. "Full alert for two rookie trainers? What in the world did they do to merit that?"
Bronius was silent for a moment, his expression grim once more. "The King is interested in them."
He drew the meeting to a close after that, and they parted, with Gracia rejoining Bronius as he entered the building. The old Sage gave Fay a nod and smiled at Dana. "I hope you feel better, Miss Marion."
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," Dana replied. She saluted him, and they left.
XXX
Fay led Dana back to her office, Purrloin and Kellis at their sides. A man was waiting for them, slumped over in one of the chairs. He rose as they came in, and Dana realized who it was.
"Harlan!"
"Kid, you…" She could tell the moment he saw the scars, because his mouth fell open and he stopped talking. The last of the nice feelings Kellis had inspired curdled and died.
Dana closed her eyes, swallowed, and then said, "H-hi, Harlan."
"Hey…" Harlan said slowly. "How… how're you feeling, kid?"
"I'm… okay-ish." Dana hesitated, trying to find the right words. She'd planned this last night, but the fight with Gracia had wiped away every last detail what she'd wanted to say.
"She's going to be okay?" Harlan asked Fay.
Fay gave him a sour look and sank into her office chair. "Gracia Phillips just beat the shit out of her and nearly cut her throat with a Honedge. I'm taking her home after you give her her bag."
Harlan started. "Gracia did what?" He glanced between the two of them. When no one spoke to explain, he rubbed his head sheepishly. "Uh… anyway." He pulled a blue backpack off his shoulder that Dana recognized as hers. She took it with quivering hands.
There were spots of blood on it. Not many, but spattered here and there, little dots of red-brown staining the fabric. There was a small slit along one side where one of the Razor Leaves must have nicked it. Dana fingered the hole, wincing at the clean edge in the cloth.
"I uh- I took it with when Fay teleported you to the hospital," Harlan said. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "And uh- I might have used some of the stuff inside."
She looked at him questioningly.
"You were ah- you know, bleeding, and uh- I was… I used all your… your pads to cover the cuts."
It took a moment to sink in. Harlan's embarrassment, and what he'd done for her.
"Oh."
Dana hemmed over what to say. Thanks didn't seem like enough. He'd saved her life. Maybe… No… What did you say to someone who held you in his arms and stopped you from bleeding to death?
"A hug works well," Kellis said quietly.
Dana blinked. Oh. Duh.
She threw aside what she'd been trying to say and wrapped her arms around Harlan's waist. It was the highest part of him that she could reach. The gesture wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough to express how grateful she was, but it was a start. Harlan hesitated for a moment, and then patted her on the head, looking horribly uncomfortable.
"You saved my life," Dana said. She hugged him a little tighter, pressing her head against him. Part of what she'd wanted to say came back to her. "I owe you, Harlan. Okay?" She pulled away before addressing Fay. "And you. I- I owe you guys more than I could ever repay."
Fay grimaced at her over a mug of coffee. "Stop getting yourself into life-threatening situations and I'll call us even."
Purrloin made a grumpy noise from around Dana's ankles. She thought he was disagreeing with Fay.
Dana crouched down to rub his ears. "I think we can work on that for her," she said.
It was only as she scratched under his chin that she saw her fingers. There were dark crescents under each nail. It was dried blood. Gracia's dried blood from where she'd dug her fingers into the woman's scalp.
Purrloin's eyes flicked to her hand, and she knew he was looking.
He began purring.
XXX
Things kicked into motion after that. Harlan departed, indicating his outfit- street clothes that she hadn't noticed, and saying that it was his off-day.
Fay and Kellis gathered their things, and Dana prepared to return to the Pokemon Center.
It was only when Fay was throwing out a quick order to a Squire for things to do while Fay was gone, that Dana dug into her backpack, taking inventory.
Her hand sought out the little inside pocket first. It was thankfully undamaged, too deep in the bag to be harmed by the attack.
The cell phone inside blinked on at her touch.
'Low Battery. Four Missed Calls. One message waiting. Six text messages.'
She opened the texts first.
Her hand rose, tracing the gouged, scabbed length of her scar.
'want to hear from you. call me ASAP, Mom.'
XXX
Things are getting started...
This chapter took me a while, mostly because of the holidays, but I'm glad with how it turned out. A good knock-down fight is just what the doctor ordered.
A couple points I'll address:
Dana is a first-generation Kalosian immigrant. That's how she knows Fren- KALOSIAN.
Her lines seemed fairly self-explanatory, but she was asking Honedge if he was wild, and then where his partner was.
Any French came out of Google translate, so let me know if it's egregiously wrong or something.
-Gracia is a Knight, why did she have such a low level Honedge?
Gracia is like Fay, she's been a trainer long enough to accumulate second-generation Pokemon. Her Honedge was one she bred from her Aegislash, and its unusual (Black) coloration was a result of that. If she'd brought out her Bisharp, for example, the fight would have been over in seconds. It was only because she was so utterly agitated over getting robbed that she reacted the way she did.
-Why DIDN'T Dana call the Police?
Bronius put his foot down on that for a reason. For the same reason that they didn't call the police when Dana got Razor Leafed, actually. Plasma handles things in-house. Why get the police involved when they're just going to ask unpleasant questions?