A/N: You guys (and gals) deserve one hell of a big thanks. Last I checked, Emerald Shades is now my most viewed story. Seriously, with 9 chapters, this story surpassed my original Naruto yuri lemon. That is astounding. Never thought this would take off so well. I know I said thanks last time but good god damn, this is incredible. As a reward, I'll be posting a poll to let the fans, if they so choose, to pick whom Brendan will bone next. Consider it a small thanks from me to you all. It'll take effect on Chapter 11. Anyway, on with the show.
Waves are nice to sleep on. A small cot on a boat? Not so much. I woke up early this morning to that sea-stench that I had grown semi-accustomed to. However, that doesn't mean it was any more pleasant. I stood, groggy and tired, and stretched as much as I could in the limited space of the boat. I grabbed my head band and slid it on, enjoying the feeling of it. Sure it wasn't very practical, but it kept the hair out of my eyes and looked awesome. The moment was cut short when the boat jerked to the side.
"Arceus!" I grabbed one of the bulkheads for support as the boat balanced out. I grabbed my bag and I stepped out onto the deck. We were marooned at a harbour, several boats adjacent to us both large and small. I looked up to see the sky was still grey, the wind still blowing hard, shifting the dark waters to and fro. The storm had yet to pass. However, it wasn't raining. Yet. I looked around and saw where we had rested at. The beach was vacant, expected with this hell-storm, with several palm trees dotting the area, which bent in submission to the winds. Several houses were around, I suspect vacation houses, which had paths leading to a small town beyond. I was willing to bet Roxanne's panties, which sat snugly in one of my bag's secret pockets, that they had a Pokemon Centre.
I made my way over to the ladder on the side of the boat, climbed down, landed on the pier, and started walking. Only when I reached the first house did I remember Mr. Briney. Was he all right? I thought about going back, but I needed to get to a Pokemon Centre. I took a look at the village, noticing it looked dead. There were several buildings, some tall hotel-like ones out front on the beach head while smaller ones, houses, businesses, were sheltered within. The buildings seemed empty and lifeless, no one was around. Then again they'd be inside. But no lights adorned the sides of the buildings signaling life within.
I bolted down a sidewalk, where the winds made sand drift across it, making dunes surrounding the cement walkway as if making a canyon in miniature. I had to cover my eyes so I didn't go blind from feral sand gusts. I managed to make it to the village, where I spotted the obvious colours of the Pokemon Centre. I made my way to it, entering the automatic sliding doors, and was greeted with…. Holy shit.
People were everywhere, meandering around, at the desk, talking on phones, the works. This must be a safe haven for people who got caught in the storm. My arrival drew a bit of attention, but not much. I gripped my bag, slowly wading through the crowd to get to the nurse. More than a few of the bikini-clad women gave me dirty looks as I tried not to touch them. It was hard, but I managed to avoid slaps and made it to the very stressed looking nurse, wearing a pair of maroon scrubs, whose red hair was loose and frazzled, her eyes having dark circles under them.
"Hey, listen, I know the phones are tied up but-" I stopped her.
"I'm just a trainer who needs his Pokemon to be healed. Nothing else, really." The nurse looked incredibly relieved that I was just a trainer.
"Oh, Arceus, thank you!" she exclaimed as I handed her my Pokeballs. "I'll have them ready in a few hours, there are a few on the waiting list."
"That's fine. I'll just find a place to…." I was gonna say sit, but there looked out of the question. "Never mind." Then I remembered. "Hey, did you happen to see an old guy come in here? He pilots a boat that's harboured." The nurse, whose name tag read "Angeline" thought a moment.
"Actually, yeah. He came in here looking for a place to sleep. He left this morning, hasn't come back as far as I know." Damn.
"All right, thanks." I nodded and Angeline looked a bit comforted until
"AYE! You wanna fuck, go outside!" she barked at a couple, who were getting pretty hot and heavy. The two looked incredibly embarrassed as the crowd went silent for a moment, before returning to being noisy as fuck. I sighed, before walking out into the gale-force winds. At least, that's what they seemed like, the wind had really increased in the past few minutes. Jeez, what the hell was happening? Sand was blowing everywhere, making small sand twisters and looking like a general menace. I pulled my headband down over part of my eyes, wishing I had a pair of goggles. Nevertheless, I continued forward. I passed several empty storefronts, stands that were struggling not to break and blow away in the blustering winds.
"What in the hell could cause this?" I yelled to myself, unable to hear anything below that due to the noise. Why the hell didn't Briney stay in the Centre? Probably too crowded. That I could understand. However… the girls were hot. Angeline wasn't too shabby herself. Perhaps if she straightened her hair out a bit, I dunno. All I know is Briney is somewhere in this little village, and I'm gonna-
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" I turned to the shouting to see a window of a building open… or what I could see with a headband covering my eyes. I saw what looked like an apron or something hanging out of a window. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE!?" a woman shouted at me.
"I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEONE!" I shouted back.
"GET INSIDE, IT'S NOT SAFE OUT THERE!" she yelled. I sighed and I walked in, or else she wouldn't stop shouting. The door was quickly opened and shut just as quickly. I moved my head band up to see…..
"Damn it Mr. Briney." The old man turned and smiled at me, that sheepish as fuck grin on his face.
"Ah, Brendan, sleep good?" he said, raising his tea cup. He was sitting at a plain wooden table in a plain wooden chair. Looking around, the walls had cream coloured paint on the top half with wood, like in a log cabin, at the bottom half. It was a small breakfast nook, several small tables about with four chairs to a table. It was… cozy. That's really the only word I thought of to describe it. I could imagine Mr. Briney living here, eating each morning. Not a bad situation.
"Yeah, I did. My Pokemon are at the centre so I'll pick them up in a couple hours or so. It's clogged in there." Mr. Briney nodded and I heard a voice behind me
"Yeah, with these storms raging on, people are staying there more instead of hotels." I turned to see a woman taking a hood off and flattening out her apron. She was young, only a couple years older than I. She wore an evergreen dress that was very conservative, a long skirt down to her ankles and a high collar that was kept shut. She had dirty blonde hair that was kept in braided twin tails that hung parallel down her back. She wore a small pair of glasses with oval lenses that made her seem quite cute.
"I, um, I see." The woman smiled and turned to her right to place the jacket she wore on a rack. When she did turn, I saw that her dress covered quite the bounty at her chest. I licked my lips, this could get interesting. When she got her coat hung up she stopped and giggled.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Katherine." She smiled. It was a very nice smile, one that you couldn't help but catch.
"I'm Brendan. I was looking for this man." We both turned to Mr. Briney, who was munching away happily, without a care in the world. "Seems like luck is in my favour today." Katherine giggled.
"Why is, it seems so." She seemed quite proper.
"So are you running this place alone? Seems like quite the upkeep." Katherine smiled again.
"I do own and operate this hotel, but I have a staff. I help out where it's needed so I have several skills in regards to housekeeping. Including cooking and cleaning." Katherine then pulled a pocket watch attached to a small, golden chain, pressed the button, flipping the cover down. "Well, the staff have the day off due to the severity of this storm." Katherine sighed.
"What's up with these storms anyway? Are they recent?" I had to ask.
"Unfortunately, yes. However, I've been doing some reading and this does share similarities with an old legend or two." Legend? Wait….
We're going to reduce the seas and expand our precious land so that we can thrive! That is the goal of Team Magma! Once we capture the Legendary Pokémon, we can achieve our goal! What Thalia said came to mind. There's a reason they'd be called Legendary Pokemon.
"How do you know about these legends?" I asked, spurring the blonde's interest.
"Oh, I have several books. Why, do you want one?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't mind glancing." I said, scratching my neck. Katherine nodded kindly and went to fetch them.
"What's on your mind boy?" Mr. Briney asked, looking up from that stupid breakfast of his.
"Something one of those Team Magma members mentioned back on the boat. About Legendary Pokemon. I'm just wondering if it's possible they might have something to do with this. After, if a Legendary could expand land, wouldn't there be one that could do something like that with the seas?" I adjusted my bag, the strap digging into my shoulder.
"It could be very true." The old man agreed.
"Yeah." I muttered as I heard footsteps. I looked back to see Katherine coming down wooden steps, her skirt lifted slightly to show she was wearing gloss black high heels. Odd choice personally, but I was a bit more interested in the old, dusty book she held.
"Here you go. It's quite old so be gentle with it." She smiled, which made me smile in turn. I swear, it was the most infections smile ever. I gingerly grabbed the book and sat at Mr. Briney's table, lightly moving one page from right to left. It was all old, the pages a yellowish brown colour, signifying immense age. The cover itself was worn leather. I flipped until I came across a curious drawing. It was a massive sea creature with huge fins diving in an arc out of stormy waves, it's oddly forked tail completing the arc. On its body were several lines, as if it were some sort of symbol. Its mouth was agape, showing several sharp teeth.
"Interesting…" Katherine whispered over my shoulder in wonder. I hadn't realised she was there. I turned to the adjacent page.
"It's pretty illegible…" I muttered, squinting my eyes and closing in on the writing. It was faded but there was a name present… sort of. "Kyo-" and that's all I could get. "This must be it." I kept glancing until I hit a part of a phrase
Creating everlasting storms- and it cut off due to the age of the writing.
"So this 'Kyo' whatever is probably what's making these storms." I said, flipping a few more pages over until I saw another drawing. This one of a behemoth on a mountain that spewed fire and lava. It looked gargantuan. It had large, but short arms with massive claws. It had short legs and flat feet, and ridges on its head as it roared defiantly, its flat tail in an upward curve behind it, tipped with spikes. There were lines also present on its body just like the previous monster, as if it were a sort of symbol.
-don shrinks the sea… expands... continents- was all I could make out. –don something.
"So these two can expand the land and seas." Katherine seemed quite interested. "That would mean they'd be constantly fighting." I grunted my approval, flipping forward more until I saw a third creature. It was snake-like, but flying through the air with no troubles, despite a lack of wings. It had four spines on its head, two long ones on top and two short on the bottom. It had short arms not long down its body while the rest was segmented with four fins of sorts, until it ended with four triangular fins.
Ray-za- interfered… prolonged sleep-
"And it cuts off there." Though my brain was already working. "So this third one stopped them from fighting it seems." Katherine nodded her head in agreement. I looked to Mr. Briney. "Would you know anything about this?" the old man finished his food and thought a moment.
"Well, I do know of an old pair that's perched up at the top of Mt. Pyre. They'd know all about this stuff." Mt. Pyre?
"Where's that?" I had to ask.
"Oh it's a bit south west of Lillycove city. Big thing too, you'd have to spend a good chunk of time to get to the top." Mr. Briney sounded quite honest about that. I sighed and gently closed the book, handing it back to Katherine.
"Thanks, now I have a bit of a lead." Katherine smiled.
"Oh no problem. Anything to help out a person in need." I had to smile too. Then my bladder suddenly hit me with that urge.
"Say, you gotta bathroom here I could use?" I chuckled.
"Oh yes. You can use mine. Just head up the stairs to the top floor. When you reach the hall, head down to the end, and my room is on the right. The bathroom should be straight ahead when you enter."
"Thanks." I stood and Katherine lightly gasped.
"I almost forgot, I have to make sure the windows downstairs are secured, in case something happens and we need to head down there." She walked to a set of stairs leading down at a brisk pace. When she reached them, she lifted her skirt, revealing those gloss black heels, except this time I saw that they went up past her ankle. They must be boots. But why would she wear black, high heeled boots and that dress? Must be a personal thing.
"All right. Mr. Briney, do me a favour and stay put, okay?" I pleaded, my bladder doing the same.
"Sure thing boy." He chuckled and I headed up the stairs. It was two flights, so nothing big. I reached the hall of the third floor and I headed straight down, aiming for the door on the right. As I walked, I noticed the paintings that hung on the walls, but I couldn't pay more attention than that. Bladder was being loud. I opened her door, thankful it was unlocked, and made my way straight to the door opposite. In there I found a small bathroom, a clean, white sink and a pearly white toilet. I did my business, washed my hands, and dried them like a good boy. I walked out and was about to leave the room when I looked around. There was a couch against the wall to the left, a very large television in front of it, a glass-top coffee table between them. To my right was a kitchenette, suitable for one, maybe two people, a small pantry, and past that, a short hall to a door that was only open a smidge.
"Well, I haven't been in a girl's room in a while so I might as well explore. Might find something interesting." I said to myself, the realisation that I hadn't been in a girl's room since May's about a week ago, when I started this whole journey. I sighed and made my way to it. It'd be interesting to see if Katherine's bedroom was like the rest of the place. I imagined so, a night table to the side of a large, fluffy bed, a small end table at the foot, maybe a small TV, who knew? I chuckled quietly, maybe getting to see what she wore under that conservative dress of hers. I opened the door and turned on the light to reveal….. holy Arceus.
This is foreboding. Was my first thought. Inside the room was not as cozy as the rest. There was a wide bed in the middle, to the right. But that was the only thing I got right. On the opposite end of the room was a flat, rectangular table that was padded and had thick, leather straps where wrists and ankles would be. Along the walls were assortments of sex toys, dildoes, ropes, gags of all sorts, and even, I gulped, a whip. She-she must be a masochist. Makes sense, have a guy come up, get him to strap her down, do shit. Yeah. I stepped into the room a bit more, noting that there was a chair, also with straps to my right. On the seat, was a small book. I picked up the tiny tome and opened it to see a sight that frightened me a bit.
It was several photos of guys, naked or down to their skivvies, strapped and gagged, fresh red marks all over their bodies. Some skinny, some bigger. Some young, about my age, and some middle aged. One photo was of a guy strapped to the chair. He looked a couple years older than I, a look of pure ecstasy on his face. His eyes were rolled back, a big, open mouthed smile on his face, some saliva coming out. I dropped the book violently into the chair and backed out, turning out the light.
For Arceus's sake, she's a damned dominatrix. I thought. I won't judge her, Katherine can do what she wants. But I don't wanna get whipped. Or have something shoved up my ass. I quietly tiptoed back out of the room, hitting the light on the way out, hoping against hope that she didn't come up to check on me. I turned and thankfully, she wasn't there. I walked briskly out, closing the door quietly so that she wouldn't hear. Katherine was three stories down, but I wasn't taking chances. I stopped in the middle of the hallway and sighed, before noticing the paintings for the first time.
"Wow." I whispered as I looked at the one to my immediate right. It was of a Zigzagoon running in a field with another, slimmer Pokemon. I pulled my PokeDex and scanned it, but nothing came up. It must only be able to scan live Pokemon. I slipped the device back into my pocket before heading back downstairs. There'd be time to appreciate paintings later. Right now I had to head down and hope Katherine wasn't getting curious. Or agitated. My footsteps were somewhat loud on the wooden steps, but that couldn't be helped. The trip was uneventful, ending with me in the lounge area where Mr. Briney was now sipping a drink of something. He looked up at my approach.
"Well now boy, that took a while." He said, smiling.
"Yeah. Guess I had some stuff bottled up there." I chuckled nervously, scanning the room. "Is Katherine back yet? What's she doing?"
"Oh, I just finished securing windows downstairs." I heard the clack, clack of her heels on the wood as the blonde rose up from below. I gulped. "Can't have flooding down there, or else the whole building could fall." She smiled, that friggin smile. I couldn't help but join.
"So this building could fall from a little water down below?" I asked, to which Katherine seemed to realise her folly.
"Oh, figure of speech there. I'm not too great at those." She giggled and I couldn't help but feel comfortable again. Perhaps she shouldn't be someone to fear. I shouldn't be so quick to judge.
"It's fine." Then it hit me, I never got the name of this place. "What's the name of this island?" Katherine blinked, thinking a second.
"Kamine Island, and this town is simply Coral Village. We would be having our yearly festival, but…" she glanced outside. I looked as well and saw rain was pouring down. You could barely see outside. A bright flash of lighting shone through the water covered windows, followed by the loud clap of thunder which shook the building as if it had hit right beside us. Katherine yelped and held onto my arm as I tried not to fall.
"Well, I guess I can get my Pokemon later." I commented, feeling Katherine sigh and let go of my arm.
"These rain bouts don't last long, it's the winds that most people are scared of. The winds have knocked a couple houses over already, so the townsfolk are worried about their own safety." Katherine smiled in a reassured way. "However, this building was built with great care, so it won't topple so easily." She looked at me. "You should be able to go get your Pokemon soon."
"Excellent. While I'm here I might as well sit down and have a drink." Katherine perked right up.
"I'll go make a fresh pot of tea. I'm not busy so I'll join you." And with that, she retreated to a backroom that must've been the kitchen. I sat down beside Mr. Briney.
"So how did you wind up here in the first place?" I had to ask, the old man scared me. He took a sip of tea before addressing me.
"Well I managed to steer the old bucket to this port here after a couple hours in heavy rains. It was nasty out there. But, by the time I got here, it had died down quite a bit. I was going to check into the Pokemon Centre, but it was plum full. So I wandered around until young Katherine found me. It was great, a cheap room in such a nice place, it couldn't get any better." He smiled, chuckling. I scratched my neck again.
"And you didn't think to wake me up through all of that?" I has to ask, but Mr. Briney just chuckled.
"I didn't think it would be good to wake you. So I let you sleep. Peeko was quite active though, she was enough company." Oh yeah, Peeko. Hadn't seen her in a-
"Wait, where is she?" now I was curious. Mr. Briney waved a hand in dismissal, another flash of lightning blinding me for a second before a clap of thunder joined shortly after
"Oh she'll be in the ship. She knows that when I'm somewhere she can stay in the ship and be safe. When you've had a Pokemon as long as I have, you tend to know things without saying them." Hm. I suddenly looked at Mr. Briney, really looked at him. He really came off as someone with knowledge and experience. If he trusted his Peeko, she would be safe.
"Okay, here it is." We both turned to see Katherine coming back, holding a tray with two teacups and a teapot with steady hands. She set it down, pouring the steaming hot liquid into her cup and mine, and refilling Mr. Briney's. "Sugar? Milk?" she asked me.
"That I can do myself." I grabbed the tiny sugar bowl, spooning in several small mounds of sugar, tasting every few until the tea was sweet enough to my liking. I then poured in a small helping of cream, stirring it until I had a cup full of tanned, sweet tea. Katherine sat down beside me, lightly sipping her tea so she didn't scald her mouth. I wanted to, but I could take a scalding. I took a large sip, jerking my head forward at the temperature. I sat my cup down as I swallowed, enjoying the taste, but regretting my haste. Katherine giggled.
"Feeling a little regret?" she smiled. I took several deep breaths to cool my mouth off before I responded.
"Not even a single letter." I grinned, despite the pain. I could feel it in my teeth. Ow. "So, you mentioned something about a festival earlier?" I inquired. I liked history. The hotel owner nodded.
"Yes. The Coral Village Summer Festival is a yearly event that gets us a lot of tourism. It's around this time that the water is clear so people come to visit the reefs, perhaps even catch a few Corsola. It brings in a lot of tourism, as I said, but it's also a great way for money. But…" she stared outside as the rain had not let up, pounding the windows as if it wanted in desperately.
"These storms must not be of much help." I commented, taking a gentler sip of tea. I set the small cup down before Katherine answered.
"We've had storms during the festival, but nothing so deadly or as long as this." I could understand. Nature's a bitch. Katherine sighed. "The festival lasts a couple weeks, and it's probably my biggest money maker since people like my hotel."
Why do I get the feeling a lot of her patrons are masochists? I thought, before taking a sip, the tea cooled off enough for me to drink more. I enjoyed the sugar-sweetened tea as I drank. I hadn't had tea in a while. I forced the thoughts from my head as I answered.
"Well, I'd pay to stay here. Beats a small cot on a boat." I turned to Mr. Briney quickly. "No offence." But the old man shook it off and laughed.
"Believe me boy, you spend enough time on a boat and anything outside of it is heaven to sleep on." Katherine laughed and I couldn't help but join.
"I'm sure. But let me tell you, sleeping on boxes in the back of a moving van is the way to go." Katherine laughed some more before calming down and asking
"Where did you move to Brendan?"
"Littleroot Town. I came here from Johto. It was a very long trip." I took another drink of my tea, finishing it off with a gasp of breath.
"Did you have friends?" she was a curious little thing. Katherine had a very wide-eyed look when she asked. It was cute.
"Yeah. Ethan was my best friend, my main man. He still is. Then there was Krys. Of course those two are now dating. Well they've been dating, just now they're travelling over Johto together with some new girl. Name's Lyra, she seemed nice." I grabbed the tea pot and poured some more tea into my cup, before spooning more sugar into it and giving it a dollop of cream before continuing. "We talk on the phone now so it's not all bad." Katherine nodded.
"What's Ethan like?" I had to smirk.
"He's timid. Well, sort of. He's gotten better over the years. But let me tell you, when Krys started asking about sex and stuff when we hit about age 12, he stuttered a lot. Of course, that's around the time I started pushing him into Krys when I could. I knew she was into him, and Ethan needed a push, both figuratively and literally." Katherine laughed some more, trying to cover her mouth with her hand. She didn't really succeed.
"This Krys sounds like quit a character." She remarked.
"Oh yeah. Didn't really have much in the way of shame." I chuckled at the memory. "It was about a month before I left, Ethan and I visited her place and we walked in on her waking up, in only her underwear. Poor Ethan damn near fell face-first, he was in such a shock." I laughed openly, remembering his face as the colour drained from it so quickly.
"Oh my!" Katherine gasped as she laughed.
"Yeah. He went so pale. I had to take him downstairs and get something in him. Krys wouldn't stop teasing him. She wore a low cut shirt that day, purposefully leaning over and teasing him with her cleavage." I sighed, out of breath. "That was a fun day." Katherine was making sure to breathe before she spoke.
"Your friends sound like quite the group." She gasped.
"We are. Of course now my current friend is a girl named May. She's…. I dunno, something. That I can confirm. Though I'm not entirely sure where she is right now." I sighed. "But right now my goal is to just make it to the Pokemon League and face the Champion." Katherine, finally calmed from her fit of laughter, nodded.
"That's admirable. I've had a few trainers with high goals come through here. They were quite sweet. Though there were a few I had to discipline." Katherine sipped the remnants of her tea as that book climbed into the back of my thoughts and decided that it was just best to hole up there because why not, you know? Katherine was nice, I don't want to think of the people she's had to… discipline.
"I'm sure you cracked the whip, so to speak." I joked, taking a sip of tea as Katherine's eyes looked up at me. I tried acting nonchalant but I could tell: she knew I saw it. I was sweating bullets on the inside. But Katherine smirked and set her cup down.
"Yes. So to speak. But they're better people for it. A little tough love goes a long way is what I say, and it was my mother's motto as well."
I'm sure it was. I thought. Snide, internal remarks aside, it was a nice chat we had. I noticed once we finished, that the rain had stopped entirely, replaced by a surprising calm.
"Calm before the next storm." Katherine said, before smiling at me. "You should probably go get your Pokemon now. It's been a few hours, hasn't it?" I checked my watch. Holy shit
"It's been three hours." I said, a bit surprised. I didn't know this had taken so long. "Yeah I better go." I stood, grabbing my bag and sliding it over my shoulder. "I'll be back. Might as well spend a night here. That okay Mr. Briney?" the old man chuckled.
"Oh it's fine by me. Best to wait til the weather has calmed a bit." I nodded my agreement and bid temporary farewells to Katherine and the old man. I stepped outside, expecting more winds, but it had lessened immensely, to merely an average wind, the kind you'd wear a long coat or cape for just to have it flow. I turned and walked past the various shop fronts, which looked quite stable, despite the storms that had been hammering them. They showed signs of stress, broken wood pieces, empty stands upturned, and windows shattered.
"Thank Arceus I have good shoes." I commented absent mindedly, stepping on tiny shards, turning them into chips and powder. It was a short trek, one that only took a few minutes, before I walked up to the crowded Pokemon Centre, its orange colours visible among the various browns and tans of the village. I stepped up to the sliding doors, letting them open when I stepped into a lessened version of the previous chaos. People were still there, but about half had left, possibly flocking somewhere else that the rain and wind wouldn't let them be. Thank Arceus for it, since Angeline, who was still posted at the desk, looked as rattled as ever. I sidled up to her and she gave a dry smile.
"The prodigal son returns." She smirked.
"Well, if there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my ability to return unscathed. Relatively." Angeline smiled at my quip.
"Well, at least your Pokemon are healed." She reached down under the desk and pulled a tray containing my four Pokeballs.
"Thanks." I said, grabbing them and sliding them in my bag. I noticed Angeline grabbed a bottle of water and drank greedily, as if her throat were dry. Or… "Sore throat?" the nurse finished drinking before answering.
"Yeah. Yelling at horny kids, stupid people, and rowdy people all days takes it out of ya." Angeline made a mirthless smirk. "Honestly, I'm gonna call another nurse, this shit's getting to me. I haven't slept much in the past three days. Few hours at most."
"Do you live at the Pokemon Centre?" I asked. Angeline gave me a look that made me regret asking, when she chuckled.
"Kind of. If you're on duty, expect to be here a while. A lot of nurses just live here simply because they're the only ones stationed. I have a backup, but she's lazy as all hell" Angeline snorted her discontent. "Dumb broad couldn't do work to save her life."
"She sounds lovely." Was my response. Angeline's was a smirk and a short chuckle.
"Kid, you've got no idea. This girl has no motivation what so ever. Why the hell she's at a Pokemon Centre is anyone's guess." Angeline took another greedy drink from the bottle she held, leaving it almost empty before continuing. "She mentioned something about paying off school debts, I think. But if that's the case, she should be more motivated to get rid of such a burden." Angeline leaned in towards me. "Between you and me, I think her daddy dearest paid it off and is making the girl do work for shits and giggles."
"Uwaaaaaaaah!" I turned to see the doors of the Pokemon Centre sliding open as a girl, her eyes closed in a yawn, her first held over her mouth to stifle it a bit. Her hair was also red (No surprise) and kept in a cute little bun. She finished her yawn and showed that she had eyes like chipped, green glass, almost gem-like. Her face was small, kind of round, but cute. She was quite slim, her legs slender, her fingers thin but knowledgeable. Her bust was smaller, but visible. She also wore a pair of maroon scrubs and sighed as she walked in.
"You're a bit late there, Jaqueline." Angeline emphasized the leen in Jaqueline's name, with obvious relish, to gain her attention.
"But Angy….." she moaned, sounding as if she just woke up. Jaqueline stifled another yawn as Angeline growled
"Listen, I need you to cover for me, all right? I'm going off for a bit, surely you can handle things." She was being too quick for Jaqueline to respond…. Or to complain. "Heal any Pokemon that're given, make sure people aren't fucking like monkeys, and for the love of Arceus" Angeline slammed her hands down on the counter "Don't. Screw. The. Patrons." Jaqueline waved her hand dismissively at the tried nurse's instructions.
"I know Angy. I'm not a complete ditz." Was her tired response. She stared at Angeline before her gaze shifted on me and she stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. "Hey! That's no fair! How come you get to leave with the cute guys!" wait a tick.
"All the cute guys?" I asked, but Angeline growled. Whether at me or Jaqueline, I didn't know.
"Little Jacky here thinks I sleep with a guy on a regular basis. I mean for Arceus's sake, the last guy I went to see was my damn brother." Jaqueline pouted.
"He was still cute." I looked between the two women. Angeline looked like she was going to go full Pokemon Planet and pounce on the girl. However Angeline grabbed a glass bottle filled with clear liquid from under the desk and stomped out from behind it.
"You staying somewhere Brendan?" Angeline growled at me as she stopped by me.
"Um, a hotel on town but-" Angeline grabbed my arm.
"Then let's go, I'm tired." She dragged me out, but I managed to sheepishly wave goodbye to Jaqueline on the way out. She smiled and returned it just as the doors closed.
"Well she's nice." I commented. But Angeline popped the cap off the bottle and chugged down about a quarter in one go.
"Gah! That hits the spot!" Angeline grinned. "A little booze never hurt anyone."
"I see." I looked around, it was starting to get a bit dark out due to the cloud cover. The wind had calmed even more, which made me nervous for whatever storm was on its way. I started down the road, the streetlights coming on, those that could illuminating the way. We walked the short trip, Angeline sucking on the bottle bit by bit, grumbling about Jaqueline.
"This is gonna be a long night." Angeline grumbled, hiccupping once she finished speaking. She was getting drunk already, but she seemed coherent enough to walk. I looked around, the buildings seeming deader than before. No lights still. The small dunes of sand were present along the sidewalk, but lessened, being in the middle of several buildings. However, the wind was picking up so I grabbed Angeline's arm, pulling her. We reached the hotel and I opened the door to see… WHAT!?
"Thanks a bunch." A girl was bowing to Katherine, who sat at the table from before. When she straightened, I could see she was wearing a red t shirt with black pants, and had navy blue hair.. She turned when she heard the door open and she stopped. "You!" she yelled.
"Damn it." I grumbled, pulling a Pokeball. Thalia stared at me from across the room. The tension in the room suddenly jumped way the fuck up. However, Angeline started laughing.
"Holy fuck. Your hair is blue!" she started laughing again, doubling over. Thalia's face turned red from embarrassment.
"What are you doing here?" she asked curtly.
"I'm here because I paid. Are you holding the place hostage?" I glared at her.
"No. Someone sent our boat flying off course. So we got here with little gas to spare. And during these storms, we figured we'd stay here the night." Thalia stared at me, and I her. Then Katherine giggled.
"Oh my, we can't have fighting here." She said, standing. "Brendan, put the Pokeball away. We've gotten a few more guests since you left. It was a bit sudden." Hold on
"A few more…"
"Hey there, lover boy." I stiffened, turning to see..
"Jennifer? How'd you get here?" the swimmer girl laughed heartily, her bust bouncing at the force.
"Well did some favours, shall we say, and I got here pretty fast. Storms are brutal, Dewford was hit hard. Figured I didn't want to hang around, you know?" her eyes were on me before they turned to Angeline. "My, oh my, is that what I think it is?"
"You bet it is." Angeline laughed, her personality doing a complete 180. "You want some. There should be *hic* a bit left." There was, in fact, half the bottle. Which Jennifer grabbed and drank from greedily.
"Ah, now that hits the spot." She proclaimed once she finished. She and Angeline laughed heartily and started talking as I turned, I also saw
"May, why are you here?" my friend from Littleroot smiled.
"Well I figured I'd stop by this place. Lo and behold, you're here." She leaned in. "By the way, my room is on the third floor, right by yours." She whispered. I felt my face turn hot before she back away, laughing. "You're so easy to embarrass."
"Actually" Thalia interjected "All our rooms are on the third floor. Though Davis is already asleep. Good thing, or else he'd tear you apart." She sneered. I don't like that.
"At least I didn't piss myself at the sight of a Gyarados." Thalia's face went through a few emotions in that next minute. From Shock, to embarrassment, to anger, to a combination of the previous two.
"That was only a reaction!" she yelled. Thalia seemed to gear up for more, but Katherine clapped her hands loudly, getting everyone's attention.
"Well" she started "I see we have a lot of people who know each other. However, I request that you all keep your personal squabbles under wraps as I won't like violence or fighting here. Is that understood?" we all nodded, though Angeline laughed at something Jennifer said. "Good. Now that we're in agreement." The blonde hotel owner pointed to a teapot. "I have fresh tea if you're all interested." Thalia huffed and walked over to get some tea. May winked at me before heading over while Angeline and Jennifer were looking more inebriated by the second. But they headed over too. I looked for Mr. Briney, who was nowhere in sight.
"Where is-" but Katherine stopped me.
"He's asleep. Okay? Have some tea." She walked to the table to pour, her heels clicking and clacking along the wood.
This is gonna be a long night.
A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL RIGHT! With this, the voting can and will begin! In the poll will be each of the girls who are at the hotel now or at the Pokemon Centre. Katherine, Jennifer, May, Thalia, Angeline, and Jaqueline. 6 girls, your choice. Who will Brendan make whoopi with next? That's for you all to decide. Once again, thank you all for reading Emerald Shades, and please accept this thanks from me to you. Read, review, follow, and favourite.