Chapter Thirty-Two:
Run

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3

Note: I am Fallout trash, y'all. That's where I've been the last few weeks. I apologize…for mostly nothing. That, and work has been exhausting and kicking my ass, as well as sucking up the mental capacity and inspiration to actually write things. Anyway, without further ado, my lovelies, please enjoy this next installment. And remember, a review isn't always necessary, but it's always appreciated and tends to make me warm and fuzzy and of course, also makes me feel like my time is being well spent if I hear feedback from you, the readers. :)

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"You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far."
-James Baskett

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"You let them what?"

Lupin, to her credit, didn't flinch at the sharp tone or the incredulous glare that was trying to burn holes into the side of her head. She calmly sipped from her cup of coffee, ignoring the credulous glare and the open-mouth gaping from Riptide and Bullet. They stared between her and the short-haired brunette young woman sitting across from her, looking nervously between Lupin herself and her pokémon.

"Well, it was either do that or risk getting my ass blasted to kingdom come."

There was a quiet little café across the canal from the hotel Lupin was staying at, tucked away just from sight of the main walkways. Most tourists passed right by it without noticing, but locals were more often enough seen inside. It was open twenty-four hours and manned by a skeleton crew late at night under normal circumstances, but it was bustling with a few more personnel due to the festival.

Or so Evie had told her. There were several other trainers chatting away at their own tables, rendered distant in their own personal bubbles. Lupin could hear them talking about the recent League challengers and how badly they'd done. Only one managed to make it halfway before being blow away by Bruno, the fighting-type master of the League. The werewolf turned back to the disguised Latias, who smiled, anxious and bubbling with jittery energy just beneath the surface, if her eyes flicking to and fro everywhere was any indication. Riptide hissed long and low, drawing Lupin's attention briefly. His crimson eyes were narrowed with reptilian suspicion.

"Calm down. I'm all right, aren't I?"

"Are you?" He rebuked poignantly, clacking his jaws noisily. Bullet whined low in his throat, inching closer toward Lupin.

"She isn't gonna attack, is she? I mean…she's a Legendary! With a capitol L! Even I know better than to tangle with those!"

"I won't bite," Evie said in a promising, strong voice. She smiled again, trying for the 'look I'm nice, please don't hate me!' look, and while it eased Bullet, Riptide remained unmoved by the display. "Or…or blast anyone. I won't. I'm just here for a little and then I'll be gone. I promise."

Riptide continued to say and do nothing, except glare. He turned that gaze onto his trainer after a time. And, even though he couldn't scrunch up his bony snout, or wrinkle his brows, his point came across in the light of his ensuing silence. Crocodilians just looked intimidating, and that was the whole point. They weren't meant to pander themselves off as cute and adorable. Except for maybe when they began as Totodile…that would certainly explain the unusual rate of Totodile adoptions just as much as the trading, selling, or abandoning of Croconaw as soon as they evolved.

But nonetheless, his trainer was slowly starting to learn how to read his face, his silence—something that inexperienced trainers failed to do. Good. It meant she was doing something right. Lupin sighed, setting her coffee down, although she didn't release her grasp upon the cup. Instead, she tapped it with her index finger several times before speaking.

"I know that look and I don't like that look. Don't look at me like that, Rip. Seriously. You're either going to give me or give yourself a hernia."

"What's a hernia?" Bullet mumbled distractedly. Riptide hissed, ignoring the Growlithe.

"Just…trust me. We have to leave in the morning. Evie only wanted to say goodbye."

"And why do we have to leave days earlier than planned? We still have places to inspect."

His gaze was acidic in its silent accusation and he wasn't subtle in letting it slip over toward Evie. The disguised Latias shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"My brother thinks your trainer is dangerous." Evie said this with great hesitance and caution, carefully enunciating each word with care. There was a brief stretch of silence that lasted longer than intended before Riptide began croaking softly. It evolved into his usual rattle-laugh and then after that, it became an explosive noise, like he was choking on a bone.

"Her? She's an idiot!"

"I'm right here, you know."

"She does dangerous things. She gets herself into dangerous situations. But her being an actual and viable threat or even dangerous? Maybe, but it's a stretch. And it's also entirely preposterous enough to dismiss. I needed that laugh, I think."

"Still right here."

Evie, to her credit, didn't take the baiting of his barbed words. She focused instead on the small cup of coffee Lupin had gotten her; it was sweetened with chocolate syrup, something Evie enjoyed immensely but was rarely able to get without swiping it from someone.

"I don't believe she's a threat, either, but Duke saw something in her mind, when he was trying to dig things up. He was afraid of whatever that red-furred beast was. It looked like it was hunting you. You might not turn out to be dangerous, but whatever that thing was, it was threatening enough for him to believe that sending you away is what's best for this city and its people. He doesn't want to see them hurt, in case that thing might find you."

Lupin saw Bullet and Riptide turn their gazes on her and she resisted the urge to squirm the longer they stared. Instead, she managed to tuck away her discomfort and ignore the sour taste building up in the back of her throat as she focused on her coffee. She hoped her silence conveyed a good enough message to the two of them: now wasn't the time. Thankfully, Bullet caught up quicker and nudged Riptide. The Croconaw hissed softly, but stopped abruptly enough when the puppy pokémon shook his head, further accenting Lupin's quiet point. The werewolf returned her attention back on the disguised Latias.

"I really did have things to finish in Alto Mare, but I'd like to safely assume I've never visited or lived here. I'm just not feeling any kind of nostalgia or spark from being here."

The moment the words left her mouth, they left a strange taste in her mouth and her tongue felt like cotton. While she felt no connection to Alto Mare, she had felt a connection elsewhere beforehand, and the nostalgia of it hit her like a ton of bricks. When she flew on the backside of a pokémon, there was a sensation of belonging and of longing, a need to keep going, to keep flying. She had wanted nothing more than to continue the flight, but each time it was always cut short and it was always before she could fully immerse herself to enjoy it.

After a time, they finished their drinks and it felt all too soon that they were leaving. Lupin could sense Riptide and Bullet's relief, however quiet it was. But Evie was filled with disappointment, it was practically its own frequency that only Lupin could sense. The younger Eon Twin tried to hide it of course, but it was difficult not to see her want to continue in her eyes.

It was quieter on the block of the café they had exited. Most of the festivities were further away, perhaps a block or two down. It was partly why Evie had chosen the venue—it was just removed enough from the mainstays of the festival's activities to give them a semblance of peace. Evie hesitated but she turned to say her goodbyes all the same, just as she promised, reaching for Lupin's hands and gripping them gently.

The illusion Evie was projecting felt so real, Lupin was almost sure she was being held by human hands and not the avian claws that were so cleverly disguised. The human face that stared back at her was just as well done—but a glimmer of Evie's golden eyes flickered beneath the brown-eyed façade, reminding the werewolf of what was really behind the guise.

"When you leave in the morning, be sure to take the Mudkipper on the north end of the island, in the Mantine Dockyard—her captain is usually some of the first to ferry people from Alto Mare to the mainland around dawn. But before you go, I have something for you. Okay? So don't go without saying goodbye."

Even when the illusion of the woman's lips moved, Lupin could hear Evie's voice being projected into her very head and not into the air. No one else would have heard Evie, not unless she wanted them to. The Latias gave a sad smile, squeezed Lupin's fingers gently and then she was gone. She disappeared, quite literally from sight, as if she melted away like she'd never been there in the first place. The very air rippled where the Latias had been, almost like a heat shimmer, and then everything returned to normal. The werewolf didn't doubt that the Latias was still lingering somewhere, but invisibly. It was a strange feeling, being watched by an unseen entity. It gave her a strange chill down her spine at the continued thought.

Bullet bristled, blue eyes darting about warily. Riptide hissed low and deep in his throat, caught off guard and not liking it, his shoulders hiking up higher. The red scutes along his backside spiked up in a prickly, unwelcoming fashion.

"Should we trust what she said?" Bullet ventured cautiously after a few belated, tense moments. The world continued on around them, with nary a care to their troubles. It felt too surreal.

"Her brother wants us off the island and she's not going to defy him. I don't doubt he's going to make sure we leave or else, either. I'd rather not test his patience."

Lupin sighed and it was a heavy, burdensome noise that distilled her disappointment at this whole trip. They had barely gotten the chance to enjoy themselves fully, but it seemed to be their luck so far. Every time something decent seemed to be going for them, something else came up that ruined everything prematurely—or set them back quite a bit.

She felt a paw on her leg and looked down to see Riptide and Bullet watching her expectantly, worry shining behind their eyes. She sighed again, but it exuded more patience this time around as she squatted to put a hand on their heads. "Hey. I promise I'm okay. I didn't expect to keep you both in your pokéballs as long as I had and I'm sorry I worried you. Things degraded for a bit, but I handled them. Okay?"

Bullet seemed more ready to accept her testimony, but Riptide continued watching her with that shrewd, scrutinizing red gaze of his. She gave them both scratches, Bullet behind his ears and Riptide just behind his eyes.

"C'mon…let's head back to the hotel. We should at least enjoy our last night here."

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She couldn't sleep that night. Her team wouldn't sleep for the longest time either, but it came for them, slowly and eventually. When she was left alone with her thoughts, she turned to her Book. In it, she scoured for shreds of information that alluded to her personal life, but there was very little go to off of. She thought there was perhaps an angle to some passages, like a hidden message written between the lines, or a code of some sort, but nothing ever seemed cryptic. Everything was straight forward, to the point, succinct in its details of cases, monsters, but nothing personal-related. She knew it too, but she tried all the same. She knew the Book by heart, had it practically memorized, but she looked regardless, hoping to find something she had missed the last times she's read it.

When she found nothing useful, she turned to studying her bangle. The intricate and loving details always captivated her. They were on an infinite loop, circumnavigating the entire span endlessly, seamlessly. After a time, she had to peel herself away from the thoughts of where she might have gotten it or quite possibly who had given it to her—her mother or another family member? A friend? A lover, even?—and hopped in the shower to freshen herself up. It had been a long day and she wanted to get one in before hitting the road, as it were.

By the time she finished up, the other two were waking up. It was almost five in the morning, she noted as she checked her pokégear's clock.

"You stayed up again, didn't you?" Bullet grumbled unhappily, pouting at his trainer. Lupin shrugged, rubbing the towel over her hair and ears.

"Couldn't sleep. Didn't want to disturb you from yours," was all she said in regards to the matter. Bullet exchanged a look with Riptide. She didn't like that, knowing that if they were agreeing to something, it was against her. Or about her. Or both. A little bit of column A, a little bit of column B.

She waited, almost impatiently, for them to say something, anything. Instead they continued saying nothing. Riptide slithered off the bed, long tail thumping noisily behind him as he went.

"If we're going to be leaving, we might as well do it now."

"You're actually wanting to leave?" She asked cautiously. "That's a sudden change of heart to last night's tune."

"The fact that we've attracted the attention of actual Legendaries has put me on edge." She heard the underlining restraint in his tone and raised a brow at him.

"I thought you believed Legendaries were nothing but superstitious figures of hoo-ha lore that didn't really exist."

"That was before we were confronted with a Latias, and if your accounts are correct, there is a Latios roaming about this city as well. And if they're both to be believed, there are even more of them lurking around. I'd rather not start a fight with any of them if I can help it. There's a difference between wanting to better myself as a fighter and committing a suicidal campaign against beings that are many times stronger than myself. Any other time, I would have loved to go head-to-head with them to test myself, but I'm not that strong. Not yet."

"Despite presenting yourself as an egghead, you are, without a doubt, a jock by heart," Lupin muttered, combing through her wet hair with her fingers. Riptide cast her a sour look.

"Ha-ha, she called you an egghead. 'Cuz you come out of an egg," Bullet snickered from the other side of the room. He trotted over toward the double doors that led to the balcony. The curtains were drawn back to showcase the beauty of Alto Mare in all its early morning glory. There were still plenty of lights on, but most had turned off as the festivities died down several hours ago. The sky itself was still plenty dark even as the eastern horizon was turning grey with the oncoming dawn, although the stars could still be seen.

"We all come out of eggs, you dunderhead." Riptide hissed back. Bullet ignored him. Lupin cast the irate Croconaw a reproachful look, who promptly ignored her stare. Instead, he said, "Speaking of eggs…how is the Togepi? Any signs of movement?"

Lupin paused as she pulled her towel off her shoulders and folded it, tossing it into the bathroom.

"No. It's been relatively still. Warm and alive, I guess, but nothing is moving inside to suggest hatching time." She crossed the room, collecting various objects of hers that had scattered from her bag to around the room. "Okay, with that aside…start getting ready to go. We're gonna miss a proper breakfast so we can catch our ride."

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The sky was already alight with feeble sunlight that was growing stronger as the minutes ticked by. By the time they made it to the Mantine Dockyard, there was more blue than there was pink and gold in the sky, and all the stars were hidden from view. The Mantine Dockyard wasn't as busy as the one she had arrived in but that was just fine. The less crowded, the better. In fact, if Lupin hadn't known better, that was probably exactly why Evie suggested this place. It was smaller with less foot traffic and despite being the closer end toward the mainland, it was obviously less used. The more commercialized uses these ships were involved in was fishing, it looked like.

The boats were of varying yet modest sizes and finding the Mudkipper was an easier task than Lupin had expected. Her captain was a middle-aged yet robust man by the name of Lee and he readily accepted Lupin on as a passenger. When he asked how she had heard of his ferrying services, she vaguely alluded to a friend suggesting him. He didn't press and she didn't elaborate. It was a perfect match.

"I'll be casting off in about an hour, so try not to wander too far. And if you aren't here by the time I'm ready to leave, I won't wait. There aren't any refunds either," he warned her. Lupin acknowledged his advice with a nod. There were a few shops near the dockyard that were open already, sleepy tellers at their counters selling mostly foodstuffs for trainers and pokémon alike. Lupin procured a quick meal for all of them, and a coffee for herself. She kept close to the dockyard, occasionally scanning the canals, the walkways, and the docks for a sign of Latias—disguised most likely—but she didn't see her anywhere.

The minutes crawled. Ten, then twenty, dragging into thirty and still no sign of the Eon Twin. Bullet frolicked on the docks, chasing after Wingulls until he was scared off by a large Pelipper threatening him with a water gun attack. He hightailed it back to hide behind Lupin. Riptide stayed close to his trainer, eying every passerby with growing suspicion and his hackles rose up defensively for every passerby. He was simply waiting for yet another disaster to strike, and he didn't want to be out of sight of Lupin when it happened. She kept checking her pokégear's clock every few minutes, growing antsier the closer it ticked to the Mudkipper's departure. When it grew too close for comfort, Lupin sighed and motioned to her two teammates.

"I dunno if she's gonna show. We should start heading—"

The hairs on the back of her neck rose suddenly and she whirled, boots scuffing along the worn wooden planks. Instinct had told her to look and there she was. Evie stood at the edge of the dockyard, like a bolt out of the blue, disguised with the same human face she had worn every time Lupin's seen her. In her arms, she carried a small parcel, carefully wrapped and tied off with a bow. The masked Latias smiled when she saw Lupin had noticed her and she trotted forward, carefully avoiding a Machoke as it carried a huge wooden crate atop its shoulder with fluid ease.

She just about flung the parcel she carried into Lupin's chest before pulling her into a crushing hug. And it really was crushing—there was a brief lapse of the humanoid figure embracing her, and instead Lupin felt the Latias's true form, clawed digits and feathery arms, and the faint whiff of feather dust that permeated Evie. It reminded her of Syd.

"Oh, I'm so glad I caught you before you left. Duke didn't want me to come, once he found out where I was going. I convinced him to let me, though!" Evie pulled away, a sheepish expression colouring her face. "Under some conditions, of course."

The Latias glanced over her shoulder, toward the end of the dockyard. Two identical looking women stood on the fringes of the docks. One was taller and older-looking, and the other looked exactly like Evie did at the moment. It was almost like looking at twins. Or triplets, if Lupin included Evie as well. The older woman possessed a completely different outfit than the younger-looking counterparts, a pair of tan slacks and a white-button up blouse. She wore no hat, but she had a satchel hanging off one shoulder, and a belt with at least three pokéballs attached to it. Her lips pressed into a thin and neutral line, although her eyes were sharp and focused on Lupin.

"That's Bianca," Evie said quietly, giving the older woman a little wave. Bianca nodded to Evie. The younger-looking Bianca watched with as equal attention as the older counterpart did. "And that's Fiona. Bianca and her grandfather, Lorenzo—they were looking out for Fiona and her brother Jet. But Jet, he…passed away years ago, protecting the city. We arrived the day after. If we'd been here sooner, maybe he'd still be alive. Fiona's still recovering from his loss."

Lupin shifted her gaze between Evie and the two in the background. Bianca looked tired. Fiona, in her illusory visage mimicking Bianca's appearance, was carefully neutral but attentive nonetheless.

"I'm sorry for her loss. And for Alto Mare's. Her brother saved a beautiful city," Lupin offered, although she felt her words meant little and fell short in terms of condolences. Evie, however, didn't seem to linger on them. Instead she patted the parcel, halfway in Lupin's arms, partially still in Evie's.

"I thought you could use these. They're a few years old, but they're brand new in terms of usage! I sometimes pick up things that are littered throughout the city; baubles and packages people lose or forget and don't come back for. It just feels wrong to just leave them lost and forgotten. I hope they fit!" Evie sounded like she wanted to distract herself from the event; her voice was coloured with faint melancholy. Clearly, even though Fiona had been closer to the late Jet, it affected Evie just as well. Perhaps they were a family unit?

Lupin opened her mouth, a question on her lips—several, actually—but stopped short of herself. Her ears twitched under her hat when she heard the captain from the Mudkipper bellowing out that he was casting off in five minutes from somewhere behind her. Clearly, he could see her, just as she knew she could see the ship if she were to turn right around and stare down the docks.

"My ship," she said in way of apology. Lupin clutched the package closer to her chest, ignoring Riptide's impatient "Hurry up," at her side. Evie offered an understanding smile, hesitated, then leaned forward. Lupin believed she was coming in for another hug and was prepared to give one back this time around.

What she wasn't expecting was a full kiss on the lips. And she wasn't even sure if she was feeling beak or lips or both, but either way it was still a shock. She stood stock still, frozen to the spot, her tail bristling under her coat. She faintly heard Bullet gasp and there was nothing from Riptide, but she could feel his gaze locked on her regardless.

Evie pulled away just as quickly as she swooped in, retreating from the docks at a backwards walk. She waved, looking both cheerful and rosy-cheeked. Fiona and Bianca stared between Evie and Lupin, mixtures of wide-eyed surprise and amusement. Evie twirled to face the other two, trotting toward them. Once she regrouped, the three offered a last wave or nod goodbye, then left. Lupin stared after where Evie had been standing moments ago, not moving and barely blinking.

When she finally stirred, it was only because Riptide nipped at her fingers. Even then, she barely flinched.

"What the hell just happened?" She said quietly, a faint squeak in her voice present.

Bullet snorted and it sounded halfway like a laugh. When he spoke, it was in a cautious yet amused disbelief.

"I think…" he paused with a cough that sounded almost polite. "I think a Legendary has a crush on you."

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The journey back to Azalea took longer than planned. Lupin and her team weren't the only trainers leaving Alto Mare early on and many had ended their seaward journey due to several trainers offloading in Mako village. The overflow of giddy energy building up over the excitement of reaching the mainland reached an all-time high when one trainer challenged another. A series of domino effects set it off after that, and before she knew it, Lupin had won against three consecutive trainers in a row before managing to slip away.

By the time they reached Azalea, it was well after dark and the sight of the glowing city in the clutches of the dark Ilex Forest and surrounding mountainous terrain was a relief. Unfortunately, she had to do some shopping around for a hotel, as they were promptly turned away from the Center. It was completely full up. At the very least, she got Riptide and Bullet taken care of before being turned away. Thankfully, there was a hotel almost a block away from the Center.

After checking in, settling in the room, and winding down, Lupin spread open a paper map across her bed, leaning over it to study. Riptide hopped up onto the beside her, eying the map with faint distaste.

"You still have a physical map," he stated dully with narrowing eyes. "You have a digital map on your pokégear, you know."

"I like having something in my hands, thank you. So sorry my preferences inconvenience you. Now hush, and help me plan this out." She motioned to the west of Azalea. Bullet followed Riptide's example and hopped up onto the bed, leaning in closer to the map. His black nose wiggled as he sniffed softly and turned to look at Lupin.

"That doesn't look like a lot of forest."

"Well, according to the nurse at the Pokémon Center, for the average trainer, it takes nearly a whole month to get through," Lupin remarked. "We'll have to get supplies tomorrow before we head out."

"But…you're not the average trainer," Bullet said carefully, holding her gaze. "What if you put me and Riptide away? And you ran the entire way? You could make it in a few days or a week, couldn't you? You say you're really fast because you're a werewolf, right?"

The painfully earnest way he had offered the suggestion, coupled with his hopeful and expectant gaze nearly made Lupin melt. She actually almost considered the idea.

"That wouldn't be fair to either of you," she finally answered with a shake of the head. "I wouldn't be able to train you while we were in the Ilex Forest. If we want to get through any of the next couple of towns, it'd be next to suicide for you both if I skimped on any of that. The further we get, the more powerful the trainers and their pokémon, especially when it'll come down to the gym leaders. I want you both prepared. So we'll just have to take the long way like everyone else."

Bullet considered this for a moment. "I guess. And hey, maybe we can get someone else on the team!"

Riptide made an ugly sort of throat-snort. The Growlithe side-eyed the Croconaw with a small but noticeable look of disdain.

"What? We can't always carry the weight of the team by ourselves. Look at what happened to us in the Charicific Valley. You know we need someone else."

"We don't need anyone else, it would simply be convenient to have someone else. If we were stronger, we probably wouldn't have had that much difficulty."

"You couldn't hit the broadside of that Aerodactyl, even if you wanted, and you know it." Bullet snapped back. Riptide's jaws clacked shut in genuine surprise, his crimson eyes widening. The puppy pokémon huffed, swelling a little at his chance to one-up the Croconaw. "Lupin is right; if we don't train, then we won't get strong enough for the challenges ahead. And if we can't do it, then it falls on Lupin to pick up the slack…and that isn't fair to her. We're supposed to be the ones helping her find out who she is, and if we keep getting knocked out or worse, then she'll have no one. But we need help just like we need to help her. So stop being so high and mighty and let us have a new damned teammate! You're not as strong as you want to be yet, but you can be if you just swallow your pride. It won't kill you!"

Bullet was panting by the end of his tirade, his body tense and ready to spring up at the slightest provocation. It was as though he was simply waiting for an excuse to let loose even more. Gently, after Lupin had gotten over her impressed surprise, she patted his back. The Growlithe jumped, surprised, but settled almost immediately and flopped against her, burying his face into her side.

"I just want to help you the way I couldn't help Benjamin. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Easy there, shhh. It's okay," she quietly soothed, rubbing him behind his ears and along his scruff. "I know. I know, it's okay."

When she looked back up at Riptide, he wouldn't meet her eyes. He looked almost…ashamed. Without a word, he quietly slipped off the bed and toddled off into the bathroom. Bullet fell asleep not long after that and after carefully extracting herself from the puppy pokémon's snoozing grip, Lupin headed after Riptide.

She found him loafing in the empty bathtub. She paused with her finger just shy of clicking the lights on.

"Don't," the Croconaw said softly. "I don't want the lights. Please."

She dropped her hand, closed the toilet seat and sat on top of it, waiting. It wasn't long before he spoke again.

"I don't trust other pokémon to keep their mouths shut. About you, I mean," he said after some time of him stewing in silence. "Gossip could spread. Wild pokémon might seek you out more actively. Trainers' pokémon won't understand. Humans even less so. And I trust the idea of a new teammate even less to stay alive. Some pokémon aren't sturdy enough. Bullet's proven his mettle…but he nearly died in that match against Bugsy's Scyther."

"Everything eventually dies. That's life. You'll die someday. I just hope it's much, much later rather than sooner. Like from old age or something."

Riptide let out another ugly throat-snort noise that was sounding suspiciously like a scoff to her now.

"I have a tougher hide than most mammals. Although I don't heal as quickly as you," he added quickly with a narrowing of his visible eye. When he turned his head, a faint gleam passed over it as the faint light from the bedroom outside bounced off of it. He blinked and it disappeared for a moment. "I don't want you bogged down by dead, useless weight...or by those who'd want to hurt you. Bullet is…earnest and trustworthy. And I'm fond. Of you, I mean. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Why, Riptide, I think that's the nicest thing you've said about me and Bullet. And at once, my you've grown," Lupin chortled a little, flashing a grin at him. The Croconaw huffed another loud snort, followed up with a small raspy growl building in his throat.

"Don't read too much into it. You're still a pain in my tail." He snorted again, but it was softer this time around. "Perhaps we do need another team member, but…don't choose some common weakling. We need someone dependable."

"Well, it's not like I have pokémon flocking to me with resumes to get on our team. And you're entirely too picky on what kind of teammates we should have. We've caught a Rattata and Ekans, a Zubat and Sandshrew and a Geodude all along Route Thirty-Two and Union cave before the Hoppip and Spearow down on Route Thirty-Three. That's not including the ones I've caught between Violet City, Cherrygrove and New Bark Town."

For a time, Riptide didn't answer. He had none at first and the longer he let time pass, the more likely it seemed he wouldn't respond. But, at last, he finally did and it was a quiet admission at that.

"They aren't strong enough. Aside from that murderous rock snake, they wouldn't be strong enough to keep up with us. We'd waste more time grinding to get them up to par, and even then, it's not a guarantee they'd survive against the more challenging battles ahead," Riptide tilted his head, his eye flashed, and then it was dark again as he turned to look at her more fully. She could see him just fine, however, lights or no. "But there might be hope the further north we go. The pokémon are stronger there."

Lupin repaid Riptide's earlier silence with her own. The hush that fell over them both crushed down, more so on the Croconaw's head than her own. He resisted the urge to squirm under a gaze that he could feel on him rather than see—the lighting was too low, even for his eyes. He only had a vague sense of where she was.

"Riptide…as much as I appreciate your input, you have to remember, it's up to me to choose new teammates. Not you. I've only withheld this long, mostly because I thought you'd come around sooner." She stood, slowly and he could feel her looming over him. She stooped long enough to turn on the bathwater and let it warm up before filling the tub for him. She said nothing as it did, and over the course of her newfound silence, he felt an inkling of guilt building up in his chest and it was like a vice slowly squeezing his chest. The crushing hush came crashing back down once the roar of the faucet water stopped.

"We'll head out to get our supplies in the morning. After that, we'll try to get some miles put behind us in the Ilex Forest itself before tomorrow evening. I'd like to get started as soon as we're able."

She left him with that said, quiet as can be.

The water in the tub felt like it had turned to ice in the wake of her silence.

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Note: Again, I must apologize for the long period between chapters. Work truly has been nuts lately—I took over a job as Supply Chief ever since my boss recently retired, which is normally held by someone several ranks higher than I am. So, I'm essentially the boss of my shop which includes and extends over to our warehousing details as well as my office work. It's kind of drained my creativity to the point of the only things I'm capable of at the end of the day is being a zombie that can only summon enough brain power to mindlessly play video games (and barely at that), eat meals, take care of my daughter, and go to sleep. I'm slowly getting back into the game, though, so hopefully I'll have next chapter completed sooner! Thank you, my lovelies, for sticking around!