Chapter 11: Sick Day


C.W: This chapter deals with depictions of one of the more serious medical conditions in this story. Take care of yourself.


"Man does not show his true self when he leaps for joy. The zoroark's illusion is only dispelled when it is beaten, his concentration broken, and left in extremis."

~ Unovan Proverb, attributed to Sage Gorm ~


Moon's eyes opened to the popcorn-plastered ceiling above her, except everything swirled like a puddle after kicking a rock into it and she was forced to close her eyes once more as the nausea overtook her. She felt sick, not quite the level where vomit was pushing her organs aside for a star appearance, but she could feel it on the horizon. If she just closed her eyes and kept very, very still, she'd be fine. Of course, she'd have to ignore the discomfort under her right shoulder, but she knew all the positions to avoid any pressure there by this point.

She squinted as a beam of sunlight slipped in between the incredibly tiny gap of her curtains, managing to align perfectly with her eyes. With a grunt, she reached up and tried to close them a little tighter, but no matter what they simply fell back into place and allowed the sun to continue its heretical rampage across her precious eyelids. Didn't that stupid ball in the sky know she wasn't feeling good? She groaned and grabbed one of her pillows, holding it over her face as she blocked out the rest of the world, and embraced the cooling tranquility of darkness.

Damn sun, rising in the east every day like it was somebody.

She clenched her eyes shut and took deep breaths, in and out, and waited for the nausea to pass. The coolness of the pillow-blockade she'd formed brought relief from the Alolan heat that was already warming up bits of her house, and she wiggled a little to kick her feet out from under the covers as she let herself go back to relaxing and decompressing. If she didn't think too hard, and kept herself very still, she figured she had a good chance of going to sleep. Once the funky dream-like thoughts started kicking in, she'd be golden. The best thing to do for that to happen, was to let her thoughts wander of their own will.

It had been roughly three days since her trial at Verdant Cavern, and three days since she had rushed through Route 2 at top speed atop Old Amoka to deliver Lillie back to the professor's lab in Hau'oli, as per his instruction.

"Take her to the Professor's lab, not the hospital."

Two hours, and ten minutes. That's how long it had taken to ride from the trial site, through thickets, dirt roads, and under overpasses, to get back to the outskirts of Hau'oli. Two hours had been a long time to be alone with just her thoughts, as Lillie had only woken up sporadically and never seemed quite ready to speak about what had happened, or why. Once she had asked Moon where they were headed, and that had been a surprisingly hard question for her to answer. She had finally decided on, "Home." in the hopes that would relax her friend.

Instead, Lillie had only held on tighter, gripping the back of Moon's shirt with her fingers before muttering something that both confused and broke Moon's heart before passing out again.

"Please don't make me…"

Yes, she'd taken a lot of time to think during that two-hour period. She'd thought about Ilimia's negligent behavior as the trial captain, as well as his admission that he knew Lillie was wanted by the police. Ilima had said he was only following orders, but whose orders? Were they to help, or to hinder? She thought about Professor Kukui, who had insisted Lillie go with Moon in the first place, and then made her promise to protect the girl. Was that merely a general, "Look out for her, she's defenseless." request, or had he truly expected her to defend Lillie from being scooped up by Hau'oli's boys in blue as well?

And if that was the case, why had he reported that the rotom-dex had been stolen? Especially if, according to her mother, it had location tracking installed within it to prevent exactly that.

The one who preoccupied most of her thoughts though, was Lillie. From the moment she had met the girl, something had been… off. Washing up on the beach, and no memories to call her own, but according to what she overheard on her mother's phone calls with Kukui, nobody had come to claim her in the months since. A strange pokemon that nobody was allowed to see or know about, and detectives that implied Nebby had been stolen by Lillie herself. A girl with secrets that might've even rivaled Moon's own, hidden underneath a naive and innocent facade?

But no matter how many times Moon considered it, she just couldn't believe it. Moon had seen Lillie scared out of her wits, had seen her content and softly smiling in the quiet moments of their journey so far, and they all felt so real. Or maybe that was just her wanting them to be genuine. The fact was that Lillie was hiding something. But what part of her story was fake, if any? That was the part that stumped Moon, all the way back to Hau'oli. The only thing she was sure of was that she was being played for a fool.

She just wasn't sure by who yet.

By the time she had crossed into Hau'oli, she had decided she'd had enough riddles and mysteries. She would confront Professor Kukui outright, and ask him just what the heck was going on, and why nobody seemed willing to be upfront about this entire thing. She liked the professor, she had known him her entire life as a family friend akin to an uncle. In her heart, she wanted to think the best of him and that this was all a misunderstanding and that he meant well. She wanted to believe that, but she had grown out of comforting lies a long time ago. A comforting lie was nothing short of a spit in the face to her.

If he didn't tell her what she wanted, she figured she could always sic her mother on him.

So it was that as Old Amoka, who had gracefully not thrown her or Lillie off along the way, slowed to a stop outside the ramshackle laboratory along the beachfront. He lowered his head, letting out a snort as Moon gingerly hopped out of the saddle, helping Lillie down onto the sand with care as the two backed away from the tauros. Even in her exhausted and physically unwell state, Lillie seemed to remember the damage the old pokemon was capable of when provoked just as much as Moon. After messing with the pager for a second, Moon managed to return Old Amoka into the transparent ball on the tip, and without a word the two of them cautiously approached the lab's porch.

Before Moon could knock, Lillie asked her a question. It was the first coherent thing she had said since they departed.

"Do I have to?" Her voice croaked slightly from a lack of use, and Moon wagered it was probably as dry as the sand they walked across. Moon pulled out a bottle of water, placing it in Lillie's hand.

"No," she said simply. "But I think it's your best chance of feeling better. Your ear needs to be mended, and…" She wasn't sure how to describe Lillie's sudden collapse. She wasn't even sure if she could. Thankfully Lillie nodded in what looked like understanding, and Moon slowly raised to give four sharp musical knocks across the door. She waited, readying her first question. She didn't care if she bombarded him; she'd earned some kind of answer. The door opened, and Moon's question fell dead on her lips as she stared at the pokemon professor looking back at her.

"Mahina? And Lillie too! What a surprise, I wasn't expecting guests or I would've cleaned up a bit!" Professor Burnet smiled warmly back at the both of them, her frizzy white hair pulled back into a loose tail as the air conditioning from inside blew past her dangling side-bangs. She wore a gray tank-top with a rubbery scuba-suit tied around waist like a flannel, as though she had been interrupted mid-undress, and her eyes shone at Moon with a copper hue that complimented the tan of her skin rather well.

Her eyes sharpened the moment she took in their filthy state. Moon was covered in dirt and band-aids, while Lillie's hair and dress had splatters of red from her ears which was topped by a wad of gauze feebly wrapped over the injury. She moved with surprising swiftness, gently pulling a whimpering Lillie towards her as she began to unwrap the gauze wad while her eyes darted between both girls.

"What happened?" she asked in a firm tone that reminded Moon of her mother. Alolan women secretly dark types, there was no doubt about it.

"Uh, rattata opened up the gash on her ear, I think. She also got um, dizzy… while we were at the trial, I don't know if it was blood loss or…" She wasn't sure if it was her place to tell Burnet about Lillie's collapse. Surely Lillie would have the sense to mention it? She blinked a few times, still somewhat surprised to see Professor Burnet and stood on her tip-toes to peek into the lab behind her. "Is Kukui not here?"

"He'll be on Ula'ula for probably another couple of days. League business." Burnet mumbled, tilting Lillie's head. She clicked her tongue and ushered Lillie inside, while Moon quickly handed her her duffel before she disappeared deeper into the lab with only a small smile of farewell. Burnet turned back to Moon, and gave her a quick look over as well. "You alright, dear? Arceus, you look like you've been mugged, the both of you. Any injuries? Need me to call your mother? I'm home for another few days before I go back to Heahea." But Moon slowly shook her head.

If her mother was at work, she didn't want to risk her leaving early just because she had some cuts and bruises. She was a big girl. "I'll be alright, I just… um… do you know what…" Her voice trailed off as she realized she didn't know what to ask. What if she didn't know anything? What if she outed Lillie somehow and made the situation worse, depriving her of what was probably the safest place for her right now? Professor Burnet stared at her, and Moon could see the eyes of a scientist slowly start to pick her apart, word by word, band-aid by band-aid.

No, it was probably best if she said nothing for right now. For Lillie's sake.

"I just… need to talk to Kukui when he gets back," Moon said. She was certain Burnet didn't entirely buy it, but there was also nothing to inherently disprove it, especially since it wasn't a complete lie. "I've been riding a tauros for the past two hours, and I think I've discovered what a saddle sore is, so I'm gonna… go. Um, could you…" She glanced past her into the lab once more, where she heard the sound of running water and pokemon shuffling about. "Just… take care of Lillie? I think she's unwell, and… yeah."

Burnet smiled warmly at her, ruffling her hair and nodding. "You're a good kid, cousin. Don't worry, I've been watching over her like she was my own daughter for the past three months, and I'm not about to change that now, for any reason." She glanced into the lab for a moment before turning back to Moon, the familiar concern of a doting mother staring back at her. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? You look dead on your feet, and I'd really like to hear more about why you're all banged up." But Moon shook her head.

"No, no I really should be going… thanks, Professor-"

"Really, Mahina, I've known you since you were in diapers. Just Burnet is fine, or 'cousin' or 'auntie' if you want to get local with it. But, if you're sure… e mālama pono, cousin." She gave Moon one last worried look as she closed the door, peeking her head through the crack. "Call or come knocking if you need anything, okay?" Moon gave her a nod, smiling in the affirmative as the door closed and she was left standing alone on the porch. She sighed, shouldering her purse as she began the walk back to her house where she'd surely have to eventually tell her mother what Burnet could not pry out of her.

Through it all, she hoped that Lillie would be okay.

The walk home had been minutes, passing in the blink of an eye compared to the ride to Hau'oli, and she was caught off guard when her mother had opened the door in the middle of her key-fiddling, throwing her arms around Moon and somehow managing to squeeze every scratch hidden by a band-aid.. Of course today had been her mother's day off. She had expected a lecture about not calling ahead, about getting hurt, about not calling her for a pick up instead of riding on a wild pokemon, but she received none of that. Moon figured Burnet had called her mother as a heads up; it was a motherly thing, she supposed.

Her mother had started her a hot shower and brought her a fresh pair of clothes, microwaved a bowl of leftover miso soup, and sat across the table before asking why she was home early. Moon causally relayed a run-down of her journey to the first trial, from her and Lillie stopping one another from running into traffic, to finding her rockruffs, to the days spent practicing for the trial, all the way to Captain Ilima's lack of intervening. Of course, she had to explain her numerous cuts and bruises as well. She didn't tell her about the near-mugging or the interaction with the police, nor her concerns about Lillie.

It was obvious she wasn't giving the full story, but Moon found herself grateful that their relationship had grown to the point where her mother knew that with somethings, Moon would speak when she was ready. If she was ready. Even in her naive youth, Moon knew that wasn't the kind of bond many parents and children had with one another, but that the cost to forge that level of understanding had come at a heavy, and relatively obnoxious cost.

"When you're ready," her mother had gently reminded her as she trudged off for a nap.

"When I'm ready," Moon had yawned back.

Three days later, and Moon still could not find a way to voice her concerns. The first day had been one of relaxation and recovery, the second had been wholly consumed by her doctor's appointment. Considering she had woken up still feeling nauseous and exhausted after her appointment (Going to the hospital and getting sick afterwards; wasn't that just ass-backwards?) something told her that she would unintentionally find a way to sneasel out of talking with her mother again. Maybe she could gaslight herself into thinking she was blowing it out of proportion now that some time had passed.

Her thoughts began to leap from rational to the whimsical as the sleepy blackness of her pillow slowly took her, and she imagined how funny it would have been for her to be a sneasel while riding a tauros. Lillie wouldn't arm wrestle the raticate if she did though, so she'd have to insist that the detectives face her one on one, detective to sneasel, in a wrestling match. Little did they know she had her mother as a trainer, who was twenty-feet tall and bathed in a golden aura, just as she always had been, and Lillie was kissing her furry head for winning-

"Mahina?" The gentle rapping of knuckles on her door thrice over, followed by a creak as it was opened an inch shook Moon from her hypnagogia. "You awake, keiki?"

Moon blinked as the world of the living pulled her back from slumber, and she raised her head from the pillow she had covered herself with to be greeted by her mother's head peeking in through her door, giving her a tender look. Or at least it looked tender; her vision was blurred and her entire room was nothing but muted colors and fuzzy shapes. The sun had been covered, leaving her room peacefully dark as she blindly reached around with one hand for something to hold onto, while the other tried to rub the crust from the corners of her eyes.

"Mm, I'm awake…" she murmured, pulling a still sleeping Chlorine into her grasp as she wrapped her arms around her pokemon like a stuffed animal. "What'cha need? If I try to move around I'm gonna frow up…" Her mother smiled at her sympathetically, taking another step inside.

"Still feeling nauseous?" her mother asked, and Moon gave a groggy nod. "Hmm, Doctor Okumura said ginger or peppermint tea works best; I can make you a cup if you want. I have to run down to the supermarket right quick for some groceries though, so if you want something to eat, you'll need to let me know now." Moon thought it over for a second, and decided that eating was probably a bad idea. But she was hungry… maybe a snack?

"Um… yeah, just some saltines if we have any. Peppermint tea, please, with honey and sugar." Moon said with a yawn. "Oh, and a cough drop thrown in there too, please."

"Are you coughing?" her mother asked, looking a little concerned.

"Nah, but the meth gives it that extra zing, you know?"

"Menthol, Moon. Not meth for Tapu's sake." Her mother shook her head and looked away, but there was no denying the smile that had creeped onto her face as she did so. Moon met it, and there was a pleasant moment of silence between them while the nausea wasn't so strong. Normally she hated when anyone started acting like she wasn't capable, or needed caring for, but there was something about just feeling sick and having her mother check in on her that felt good. No tiptoeing, no worrying, just tender love and care.

Her mother gave her a look then, almost as though she was studying her, before taking a step back from the door and looking back towards the living room where Moon could not see. "So, think you're feeling up for company, then? Because you've got a visitor." Moon had to blink away the leftover sleep that still clouded her eyes as a figure in white, pure as the driven snow, stepped into her doorway with a friendly wave and a shy smile. She looked at Moon, and Moon gawked back.

"Hello, Moon," Lillie greeted. "I heard you weren't feeling well." The dress she wore was the same that Moon had only ever seen her in, white silk with baby blue trim that decorated the edges and frills that were dotted with lace designs. It was completely spotless; not a stain or tear to be seen, and Moon suspected it was one of the many copies Lillie kept as a backup. Her hat was under her arm while her duffel bag remained strapped over her shoulder, but she had an addition in the form of a tan patch that covered her entire ear, just barely visible beneath the braided strand that fell to her shoulder.

Moon was positive she said something smart, like, "I feel tubular." in response right before her nausea kicked up and she puked a little in her mouth and gagged. She was smoothness incarnate.

Her mother patted Lillie, who looked mildly concerned, on the shoulder. "Burnet has to go back to Heahea for work, and since Ku won't be back until tomorrow, I offered to let Lillie stay with us for the night so she's not at the lab alone. Plus, I can go into work without worrying you're dying of a fever because you left your heating pad on." She turned to Lillie and offered an apologetic smile as she departed towards the kitchen. "Sorry, Lillie. Frankly, the less I leave Moon to her own devices, the safer she usually is."

Moon groaned while Lillie curtsied rather gracefully, her smile and voice the brightest thing in the room without question. "It's of no trouble, Mrs. Kanoa, I'm happy to repay your kindness in any way possible. This isn't too different from our relationship whilst traveling, so I've had good practice."

"Don't need a babysitter." Moon grumbled.

"Yes you do," her mother and Lillie said in unison without missing a beat before smiling at one another. She couldn't pretend that she wasn't happy to see Lillie though, even in her exhausted and queasy state she knew a dopamine boost when she saw one. As her mother left, Lillie stepped further into the room until she stood at the side of Moon's bed and stared down at her, while Moon sniffed and met her gaze. They were silent for a moment as the awkwardness of the situation began to creep in, but Moon broke it with a nod.

"You don't have to stand, you know. I'm not contagious."

Lillie glanced around, surprised. "Oh, are you sure? Where would you like me to sit?" Moon felt her eyes roll, something she would decidedly not do again while suffering from any sort of dizziness, and scooted her legs up to offer the latter half of the bed. Lillie sat on the edge, stepping over a sleeping Kickback and Calliope, and occupying a whopping four inches of space as though she feared her presence might upset the tangle of blankets and sheets that made up Moon's bed. The heavy silence followed once more for a minute, only to be broken by Moon's mother from the kitchen.

"Lillie, would you like a cup of tea too while I'm in here?" she called. Lillie jumped, and her eyes darted back and forth while the corner of her mouth twitched, like she wasn't quite sure what she was hearing. She quickly glanced at Moon as though asking to phone a friend, and Moon could only give a shrug. Lillie shook her head and called back in the affirmative.

"Oh, yes please! Thank you very much!"

Her head lowered for a moment and she took a deep breath, and all the while Moon watched her. Admittedly one part of it was that she just liked doing it, but she felt her mind's gears sluggishly grind together as she tried to imagine what prompted Lillie to be the way that she was. When Lillie raised her head she noticed Moon's stare and met it with her own, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Hey," she mumbled softly. It was a voice. Just a voice. Why did it have to be so comforting, so warm and inviting?

"... Hey," Moon responded, damning the croak in her throat and butterfree in her chest. At that moment, her mother returned with two saucers. Lillie stood at attention like she expected reprimanding for messing up Moon's already perfectly screwed up bed, but Moon's mother motioned for her to sit down and handed the both of them their saucers. She reached over and pried open a foldable tv-dinner tray, placing it beside the bed as Moon and Lillie both drank deep from their cups.

"Alright, I'm out. Better hurry before the rain kicks in. Moon, don't fall through your table again, please. Also, I want you resting. Don't go snooping in the cabinets for snacks either, got it? You definitely don't need sugar." Her mother hurried back and forth, grabbing her purse and pulling her keys from their rack. She peeked her head into the room last time, looking between both girls."I'll be back soon, give a ring if you need anything."

"Pack of cigs please."

"Hilarious, Moon."

Moon smirked and waved her fingers, while Lillie curtsied once more as her mother left and the telltale sounds of jingly keys and a closing door indicated that they were alone once more. Moon stretched and did a quick check of her phone to look for any new messages or notifications, and when nothing came up she let out a retching noise and plopped back against the pillows melodramatically. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to avoid directly staring at Lillie, then her hands, and then the one weird spot on her wall where the color was off. After a moment of reminding herself she technically had a friend over, she allowed her gaze to fall on Lillie.

Lillie stood beside the bed, staring around Moon's room in wonder and with a studious eye as though it was her first time in someone else's room. Given what Moon knew about her, it wasn't that far out of the question. Her eyes followed Lillie's around the room, from the desk holding her laptop, to her closet, and the curious look her friend gave her gaming system sitting at the base of her television, but long did her eyes linger on the numerous posters that dotted Moon's room like the spots on a liepard.

"How are you holding up?" Moon asked, and Lillie turned to stare at her next. Oh god, damn heck why no stop. "You uh, you had me worried… when you collapsed. I got scared, maybe you'd lost too much blood, or that something was wrong and you were sick, which is dumb, but I just…" She swallowed, taking another sip of her tea to fill the silence. The morning was cold. She grumbled and reached for a cloth connected to a white wire, shoving it beneath her and clicking a button on the side as warmth slowly spread through the cloth. Ah yes, the heating pad. A coat of armor for menstrual cramps and cold teenagers alike.

Finally she asked, "How's your ear?"

Lillie blinked, and her eyebrows raised only slightly, as though she had forgotten about the injury altogether. She gently raised a finger to the patch and rubbed it, only taking a small breath instead of any sort of wince or recoil.

"It's… healing, I believe. The bandage is a bit ugly considering its size, but I'm somewhat practiced with makeup, and have managed to mix the blush and illuminating powder to hide it, see?" She lifted the sides of her braids, showing off the practically camouflaged bandage. "Professor Burnet helped stitch my ear – she said the stitch had been torn out and the tear increased from just my helix, to the antihelix of it as well." Lillie recited. Moon just nodded, and assumed that she had a pretty gnarly scar underneath the patch. How Lillie had cooler battle scars than she did, Moon did not know.

"Glad you still got it attached," Moon said, nodding. "And uh, you're feeling okay, like, everywhere else? Because, you know-"

"I am quite fine and well, thank you for asking," Lillie said, a little stiffly. "I apologize for any concern I caused, I'm not used to such high amounts of physical activity, and I likely suffered from fatigue or a heat stroke of some kind." She bowed her head for a moment, but before Moon could ask more she returned to scanning around Moon's room, this time with a determined and analytical gaze.

Moon knew better than to pry deeper.

Finally her eyes fell on the poster hung over Moon's closet featuring the Unovan gym leader, Roxie, who was facing the viewer with the traditional 'akanbe' taunt of sticking her tongue out with one finger pulling down her lower eyelid. Lillie mouthed the words that had been signed on the poster, 'Keep fighting the good fight' and turned to Moon with a small smile, and a lingering look of curiosity.

"You have quite a lot of posters of that girl. Is she the 'Roxie' you spoke of while we were traversing Route 2?" she asked. Moon nodded. She was honestly impressed Lillie had memorized something that had been brought about in casual conversation, but before she could comment on it Lillie's gaze wandered again. "Your room is so… cluttered. There are clothes thrown over your chair, and you have decals and accessories plastered across the wall, it's all…" She shook her head as though the concepts of decoration and messiness overwhelmed her. Despite her words, she didn't sound put-off. Just curious.

"I mean, yeah. It's a room." Moon shrugged. "My mom says that it's very 'hamajang'. I don't know what it means, but there's a sort of tone she uses whenever she says it that makes me scared to ask." She pointed to several spots around the room where notecards had been plastered bearing the word, such as her closet, her desk, and her clothes basket. "It's gotta be an adjective though, it's the only one that there's multiple of."

She suddenly felt embarrassed, having her room displayed to Lillie of all people who was clearly scrutinizing it, intentionally or not. She'd never had someone else in her room before. She nodded towards the hanging pot of daffodils by her window, and leaned up from her bed. "Ugh, I need to water my plant. I don't know if mom has while I've been gone, and if it dies I'm gonna lose it." Lillie saw this and jumped up immediately, taking Moon's wrists and gently setting her back on her bed with a shake of the head.

"Moon, if you're sick, then I really must insist that you stay resting," Lille told her in a gentle voice, and it was adorable. "I'll grab a cup of water, if that is alright." It was warm, and kind, and all those things made Moon feel giddy like a kid being told they could pick out a toy. But like that kid, there was a surge of frustration that welled up within her at the prospect of being talked down to. Of being thought of as useless, or weak. Incapable. Fragile. She was not fragile, and it irked her that Lillie clearly assumed she was, and that it was her of all people-

Stop.

She took a breath.

You're being irrational and making yourself panicked. It was true, her breathing had picked up and she was positive she had a nasty look on her face. She needed to relax; this was not weakness. This was just a bump, or something. A pretty lame bump that had spikes and napalm spread over the top, but a bump nonetheless. Lillie was being considerate, not insensitive. She'd been through this before, she knew how the game went, and this time she knew how to play.

It was just a passing thing.

Lillie had left to grab a cup of water, thankfully missing Moon's flash of irrational irritation, and she returned gently holding the cup aloft with careful pacing. Moon got a good look at her as she inspected the daffodils, gently pouring in a little bit of water at a time, and she could see the various scratches and bruises that she had picked up during their time in the cavern. Now they were band-aid free and faded, except for two on Lillie's hand. Those sat on the callused knuckles of her index and ring finger, red and visible against a hand otherwise clean and unblemished.

Moon blinked. Hadn't she seen those exact same scrapes the night before the trial? Her brow furrowed as Lilie finished watering the daffodils with a satisfied smile, but she averted her eyes in time for Lillie to begin walking back towards the doorway. Moon kicked her legs over the bed, setting the still sleeping Chlorine to the side, and pushed herself to her feet.

"Hang on, I'm comin' with." Her mother had forgotten her saltines, and as if to spite the very fact, her hunger had become downright ruthless at that moment. She closed her eyes and winced as the dizziness returned, but she took a tentative step forward regardless. Lillie moved back towards her and raised a hand to steady Moon, but she gently waved it off.

"Moon, if you are sick-" Lillie repeated with a look that was one-half exasperation, one-half concern..

"Then you can come with me and make sure I don't stumble through a window, or anything," Moon finished for her, forcing a smirk. "I'm not even really sick, I'm just tired and dizzy. You know how it is, doctor visits and whatnot." But the look that Lillie gave her suggested she didn't know what she meant at all. Moon walked into the living room and made her way to the kitchen, but halfway there the sudden urge to hurl all across the hardwood floor took hold of her and she paused. Her hand went up and Lillie stopped too. One breath. Then two. She swallowed and shook her head, glancing over.

"Hey… uh, can you get my lavo… levomep… lava-pro magazine? Whatever the heck it's called? It's sitting on the bathroom sink, helps with the nausea." She pointed to the bathroom door that sat ajar, and Lillie strode off. Moon took one last deep breath, pounding her fist to her chest in the hopes of kickstarting her body back into working order, and walked to the kitchen. She stepped over Meowth, who had decided his daily inconvenience would be to sleep right in front of the refrigerator door. That was okay, Moon could adapt. She didn't feel like preparing anything anyhow.

She let out a grunt as she propped herself up onto the counter, reaching up towards the cabinets above. Years of failed expeditions to the kitchen at night had taught Moon precaution, and she leaned slightly past the cabinets to ensure there were no red trucks pulling back into the driveway out of the blue. It wouldn't be the first time her mother had forgotten something halfway. Satisfied, she turned back to the cabinet door only for a sudden gasp to nearly send her toppling off of the counter's edge. She quickly turned to see Lillie standing behind her, clasping a small bottle in her hands.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Lillie hissed, glancing fearfully between Moon and the front door. Moon held her arms out to steady herself and reached for the cabinet once more.

"Evidently, you've never had your mom come home early while you're making a six-slice-of-bread-sandwhich," Moon muttered, moving aside the cornstarch and gravy mix. She was sure Lillie was going to have a heart attack because she was at risk of falling all of five feet, or because her butt had touched the counter (There was a certain thrill in sitting somewhere she was absolutely not allowed to.) and while she appreciated the concern from her friend, the pampering was getting to be a bit much. "Look, it's not my fault my mom's got genes like the exeggutor around here."

Lillie, however, did not look merely concerned. When Moon glanced back at her to toss her the saltines, she saw the rapid rise and fall of her friend's chest, her knees bent inwards, and the way her fingers twisted the hem of her dress, it was evident she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Lillie practically threw the box containing her nausea medicine on the counter and reached for Moon, trying to pull her back from the counter.

"Please get down, please get down, please get down!" Lillie whispered from behind her. Moon grabbed the inside of the cupboard to avoid being toppled, and grimaced as she tried to shoo Lillie off of her.

"Dude, could you not?! If you're trying to stop me from falling, you are doing a horrendous job!" Moon hissed, but Lillie did not relent. "I'm just getting us some crackers, they're right there! Stop!"

"Your mother said 'no'! If we're not allowed to eat, then we're not allowed to eat!" Lillie pleaded, and with a final tug Moon felt her grip fade as the two of them toppled backwards together onto the tiled kitchen floor in a painful pile. Meowth let out a hiss and scrambled out of the way as the girls collided into him, while Moon rolled over Lillie's arm and felt bile rise in her throat as her nausea returned in full force. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the urge to throw up all over her mother's floor. And Meowth, but she considered him collateral damage.

She reached around blindly for the pack of saltines, smacking Lillie's back on accident before finally clutching the crackers and ripping them open. She muttered an apology as she scarfed several crackers down at once. The dizziness was getting worse, second by second. She opened her eyes long enough to see three Lillie getting on their knees and checking Moon over, their faces of concern lapsing over into one another.

"Oh no, oh no oh no, I'm s-so sorry, I was only- I- are you okay-"

"I'm fine." Moon interjected quickly. "You're good, you're fine. I need one tablet and a glass of water, or I'm gonna barf… now." Lillie nodded, wincing as she got to her feet and grabbed the medicine from the counter as well as the cup she had used to water Moon's daffodils. After a tense couple of seconds of hurriedly swapping between the crackers, the water, and the box of what was apparently called 'levomepromazine', Moon let out a sigh of relief and let her head hit the cabinet below the kitchen sink.

She had not missed this.

After triple checking to make sure Moon was okay, Lillie assisted in helping her back up and returning to her room. Their little kitchen adventure had left her absolutely exhausted, as though she had run to the beach and back several times over. She let out a yawn as her head hit the pillow, and lazily stuck another cracker in her mouth before handing Lillie one. She remained standing this time, wringing her hands before slowly taking the cracker and biting into it.

Moon watched Lillie, who was very clearly purposefully avoiding her eyesight, and took a swig of her tea. "You gonna sit down, or are we going to have to go through this every time you leave and enter my room?" She asked, failing to keep the snark from her voice. She was only slightly miffed about being pulled off the counter. Lillie sighed, glancing up as though she expected to be kicked.

"Are you not mad?" She asked. "I could have injured you, and you and your mother are graciously-"

"Oh my God, you're gonna drive me crowbatty." Moon reached up and took Lillie by the wrists, tugging the girl onto the bed as Lillie let out a yelp and was forced to plant her knees between Moon's so as to not roll over her. She let go of Lillie, setting her in between herself and the wall as Chlorine slowly awoke and looked around with a yawn. Lillie sat beside Moon, utterly bemused even as Chlorine let out a "Bwark!" of joy and crawled into her lap, licking her face. Moon smirked as Lillie chuckled and tried to push the little pokemon away, and Moon snapped her fingers.

"Hey! No good morning kisses for your trainer?" Moon quipped, only for Chlorine to hop on top of her and begin issuing out the same treatment. Moon groaned and gently set her pokemon onto the floor beside the other two, glancing at Lillie for a second. Her smile had faded as fast as it had appeared, and the expression she wore was troubled. Expectant. Guilty, even. Moon's face fell too, and for a few moments they sat there in an awkward silence.

Physically, it was the closest Moon had even been with Lillie. So why did it feel like they were miles away, like she was looking at Lillie through a video call with a bad connection that they both knew was forced? Why was connection so hard? Why did the one person that she finally feel a connection to have to have so many secrets? Why couldn't Lillie be honest with her?

Why couldn't Moon?

She took a breath, calm and quiet, and held back a yawn as she gently nudged Lillie with her knuckles. "You wanna talk about it?" Lillie looked at her for a moment, her eyebrow arched.

"Talk about… what?" she asked. The conviction was all but dead in her voice; she knew something was wrong, that Moon knew something was wrong, but still denied it. Because that was normal. Because acting like she was fine was probably habitual to the point that denial was reactionary. Or maybe it was literal, and she was referring to the numerous questions Moon had about the strange girl sitting beside her in her own bed. Some people sprouted new questions once they were given answers; Moon had them without.

Who are you? Where did you come from? Did you really forget? Who's after you? Who are we running from? Why are you so pretty? Why am I letting myself get close to you when I promised myself I wouldn't?

Their eyes wouldn't leave each other, neither one was willing to back down but it was painful to continue staring just as much. Not physically, that just made Moon blink a lot. Moon knew they both stared because a part of them wanted to come clean, to spill their guts to the world, even if the world was just one another. For someone to understand, finally, the things that nobody else could. That kind of thing was tempting, so very tempting, but reality made sure to remind them that neither was sure quite yet. If the other didn't understand, then things would fall apart inevitably.

Moon thought of the night on the hill, overlooking the lights of Pinyap Plantation. She was sure Lillie thought of it too.

"I don't think I am ready to. I do not know if I ever will be," she said slowly, her eyes breaking away. Risk averted, back to safety, where the pain was dull compared to the pain of misjudgement. "I'm sorry. What happened in the kitchen was… it's important that I be a good guest, and to infringe upon the trust and expectations you and your mother have shown me is inexcusable. It won't happen again, please, don't worry," she insisted, but it was her insistence to not worry that made Moon worry all the more.

Moon nodded all the same though, because that seemed like the kind of thing a good friend would do. Part of her knew prying rarely did well, especially with sensitive issues. Maybe she wasn't a good host, and maybe Lillie wasn't a good guest, but she could be a good friend at least. She could try. She took another cracker, and shoved it in Lillie's mouth as the girl let out a "Mmph!" and plopped the pack of crackers into her friend's lap.

"That's fine. It's just me dude, you don't have to impress anyone here. Hold those for me, and help yourself. House rules," Moon said, pushing them back when Lillie tried to hand her the crackers. With a smug little grin she added, "Wanna see something cool I taught Chlorine to do so I don't have to get up?" Without waiting for an answer she gave a quick two-note whistle, a high and a low, and pointed at the base of her television where her gaming system sat.

Chlorine flopped over to the television and pressed her nose up to the red and blue device, encasing it in a bubble and pushing it gently across the room to where Moon lay. Moon jabbed the bubble with her finger, and with a small pop her game fell onto her lap without so much as a hitch. Chlorine bowed, and Moon tossed her pokemon a saltine as a reward as she snuggled deeper into the pillows with her console in hand. Lillie gave a polite clap with her fingers, staring at the device curiously.

"Yeah, took two hours to get her to do that properly." Moon explained as she wiped a few drops off of the screen. "Tried to get the twins to do it, had them bring me a soda from the fridge as practice, but Meowth scared Calliope off and Kickback got the can, but he punctured it with his teeth."

"Your house is very lively," Lillie murmured as she folded her hands over her lap and looked at the screen. Moon glanced at her and frowned, noting the stiffness in her posture and the way she sat straight as opposed to against the pillows. She shook her head and reached down towards the end of the bed where Lillie's duffel bag lay, and sat it in her friend's lap. Lillie was well versed in manners and decorum, and she also liked to learn. Which made this the perfect opportunity.

"Not lively enough, I reckon. Alright, I'm gonna teach you how to be a good guest in my household. Cool?" Lillie looked a little surprised by this, but at the prospect of learning the 'proper' way to be respectful and polite, she nodded enthusiastically. Moon returned her nod, and blinked her sleepiness away.

"First thing's first, bring Nebby out, let the little guy have some air." Moon barely finished speaking before Lillie raised a finger, a retort clearly on her lips, and Moon instead put her finger against Lillie's shoulder. "Eh-bep-bep! Nope, not gonna hear it. You want to repay my mom for letting you stay over? You want to be a good guest? You can start by relaxing. That means actually chilling on my bed – no, I don't care if you mess it up, that's the point. Get comfortable." She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, trying to bring out that look that both her mother and Lillie were so good at giving.

Lillie huffed, but she slowly and awkwardly slipped herself deeper into the bed in a position Moon would almost call comfortable looking. Satisfied, she nodded with a smile while Lillie managed to replicate the look she had so utterly failed at.

"I am now suitably comfortable… I believe. What now?" Lillie asked, looking over at her host. Moon motioned to the duffel bag with a flourish.

"You can let Nebs out, like I said, provided he doesn't turn my room into a nuclear detonation site," Moon said. "Uranium is very hard to get out of carpets, and mom'll put me in an early grave. She'll straight up bury me next to Tapsy the rockruff, man."

"But-"

"Dude, the only other person who has a chance of seeing Nebby is my mom. And she already knows about him according to Kukui," Moon countered as she crossed her arms. "All my curtains are closed, so the only way someone is seeing him is if they're peeping through my bedroom window. At that point, I'm pretty sure people are gonna care more about that then they are some mysterious secret pokemon in my bed." Lillie's mouth opened and closed several times, each with a different expression. Finally, she sighed.

She pulled back the zipper to her duffel bag, reaching inside and pulling out the familiar fluffball that was Nebby. Her hands were slow and gentle, careful not to scrape his cosmic fluff against the chain of the zipper. His golden eyes twinkled and widened at the sight of Lillie, a smile spreading as he nestled gently into her arms and let out a chime that tugged at Moon's heart. It really did look like a child leaning into the soothing embrace of their mother. Lillie's smile was softer than the dress she wore, but brighter than the Alolan sands when the afternoon sun was at its zenith.

"Hello, little one," Lillie whispered, pressing her lips to Nebby's forehead. "Would you like to come out for a while? You're certainly due." Nebby's response was a chime, floating up around both of them and swirling around Moon's head. She let out a giggle as he rested on top of her shoulder, peering curiously over onto the screen of her handheld.

He looks like he's about to ask me if I have any games on here.

Moon caught the glint of Lillie's eyes staring, and she looked past Nebby to meet them with a smile. She truly looked like a mother now, not because of her tenderness with Nebby, but because of the tired smile that she was allowing to slip out at her pokemon. It was such a heavy look, burdened with knowledge that Moon recognized all too well, much to her sorrow. She didn't know what had happened to Lillie, but she didn't have to; it was enough to put age on someone far too young to stare the way she did. The way Moon did when nobody was around.

Her smile faded.

"I just want you to relax," Moon said, her voice quiet as though she feared alerting Nebby. Or maybe her exhaustion was catching up. "Literally, just… forget about whatever has been bugging you up there, and chill with me. Drop whatever presumptions about how you have to act, and just… exist with me. Please." She wanted to reach for her hand, and squeeze it. She just didn't know who it would be for. "I need someone to exist with."

Lillie said nothing for a moment, but slowly nodded. The tired look did not go away.

"Can… Can I read?" she asked, her voice low. Moon nodded.

"Of course dude, absolutely." She watched as Lillie reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a hardback book that she recognized as having seen Lillie immersed in it during their nights outside of the trial site. She did not look happy, but that wasn't the worst thing in the world. When she took out her bookmark and her eyes began to focus on the page, Moon thought she looked at ease, and Moon would take that over any sort of forced smile or cordiality anyday. Moon nestled into the covers a bit more as a wave of fatigue began to wash over her. Stupid body. She wanted to hang out! She had things to do, dang it!

Maybe, if she was lucky, she could get in just a good half hour of play-time. Then she'd take a small power nap. Where had she been last time? She had gotten to the 'Shaikos Ruins', that was right, and gained a new party member. She felt a sleepy smirk spread across her face as she watched her party members banter, talking about the magical cores and the dungeon. The healer reminded her of Lillie, in a way, which (At this point she couldn't hold back the yawn if she tried.) was rather fitting given Lillie's lack of love for battles. She even tended to her and her pokemon. She really was Moon's carer, despite their jokes.

It wasn't until her phone vibrated beside her that her eyes jolted awake, looking around the dimness of the room in a hazy half-awake panic. At first she thought she'd only been asleep for a few minutes, as the lighting that peeked through the curtains was still just as cloudy and diluted as it had been before. What tipped her off that she had been asleep far longer than she had intended was Lillie. Her eyes were closed, lips parted ever so slightly as she held Nebby in her arms, not unlike Moon did with Chlorine. Her duffel bag sat behind her like a body pillow. Her breath was gentle, slowed, wonderfully at peace, and that was something in of itself for Moon.

She had never seen Lillie look so beautiful. It wasn't the beauty of a pristine face and sleek hair, as her cheeks were slumped against the pillow and her hair was stuck up in several places from where she had rolled around. But her face was smooth from furrowed brows and wary looks. Free from worry, free from stress, free from uncertainty in the ways that one couldn't help but be when they were awake and their mind was whirling. Here, unburdened, she could see Lillie as she was meant to be seen. A regular girl, just like her, enjoying a nap in a place that she felt safe enough to do so in.

It made her heart thump, and it scared her.

Remembering why she had woken up in the first place, she reached under her and pulled her phone from where she had been laying on it, opening up the text notification that lit up the screen. The clock read she had been asleep for a few hours, at least. Bleugh.

Mom: Gonna be pulling up soon with groceries. If you think you're up for it please come out. If not that is okay.

Tapu above, she had the opportunity to do something really funny. She glanced at Lillie, and decided that if she wasn't sure about it now, she probably would never be. Hurriedly, her fingers tapped back a reply.

You: You know what? I am feeling up for it. Mom, I'm gay.

Moon grinned so hard her cheeks hurt, throwing her phone down the minute she had hit "Send" and kicking her legs as gently as she could, so as to not wake Lillie. Really, the worst part about it was that nobody was around to witness how funny this was. She wrung her hands somewhat nervously as she began to rethink her course of action. What would her mother say? Would she think it was a joke? That wasn't out of character for Moon, but she had never really joked on this level before either. Maybe she shouldn't have texted it. What if her mother made Lillie go back to the lab, or –

The phone buzzed again, and Moon practically slapped it off the bed in an attempt to grab it.

Mom: No shit. I meant come out and help me bring in groceries, it's about to rain.

Moon stared at the screen. She read the message again. Then once more. She looked at Lillie, and then her phone.

"WHAT?" Moon hissed as she threw back the covers and tossed the phone onto the bed, leaving Lillie still asleep cuddling Nebby. She stepped over a lounging Chlorine who looked up at her sudden movement, opened the door for Kickback and Calliope to skitter out, and slipped on her sandals. Did her mother know? Surely it had been a joke and nothing more; she didn't socialize with other people often enough these days to warrant any kind of suspicions like that. No, she blended in well with the crowd of regular teenagers and shot as straight as a decidueye's arrow, provided the arrow was snapped in twain and aimed at someone cute.

Someone like Lillie.

Just as she hopped down the steps of her front porch, the familiar sound of her father's old pick-up grumbled around the corner and pulled up into the driveway. Moon marched out, meeting her mother by the driver's side just as the vehicle came to a stop.

Her mother raised an eyebrow as she opened the door, and Moon stepped back with her arms crossed as she glared at her mother impatiently.

"What do you mean, 'No shit'?!" Moon asked, throwing her arms out in a manner far more animatedly than she intended. Her mother smiled smugly, closing the door behind her and reaching into the bed of the truck where bags of groceries lay. Moon felt her cheeks warm up despite the fact that she was trying very hard not to overreact to this. She was the one who had decided to say it, after all.

"Mahina, sweetie, I'm your mom." Her mother said as though that explained everything, picking two bags up in each hand. "I literally bought you all of your Roxie memorabilia, and your entire wardrobe. You own at least twenty plaid skirts-"

"I'm punk! Tomboys exist, you know! Besides, it's only seven."

"- probably half a dozen floral shirts and polos-"

"That's me being traditional! Alolan-style, you know?"

"- and that's without mentioning the way you played with other kids when you were little, your babysitter even noticed. Now when you got to meet Roxie in person and she gave you a hug? Oh, you were about as subtle as a fake I.D."

Moon reached in and grabbed a couple of bags, laying her head against the side of the bed. This was torture. Actual torture; illegal by most moral standards. She'd take more nausea and fatigue, please and thank you.

"Of course, when I gave you 'the talk' and you responded afterwards with, 'No thanks, that sounds lame.' I was all but convinced-"

"Aaaah, eh-bep-bep-bep-bah!" Moon waved her arms around frantically, a difficult task considering she was attempting to carry four bags. She couldn't even cover her face, because this was without a doubt the most embarrassing moment of the past three years. She sent a silent prayer as thanks while she followed her mother back towards the stairs, that Lillie had not woken up and followed her out to hear this conversation. When she looked up, she saw the door being held open for both her, and her mother.

Lillie looked at the two of them, eyes glazed over and her hair tousled with sleep. "Welcome back, Mrs. Kanoa! I'm terribly sorry for not helping - I didn't know you were back, or I would've-" But Moon's mother waved her aside as she stepped through the doorway, with Moon cursing the Tapu silently and her mother slightly less silently right behind her. Her teeth clenched as they set the groceries on the kitchen floor, and she tried to put as many emotions as she could into her silent pleas as she stared pointedly at her mother.

Her mother smirked innocently, but didn't meet her stare. "Lillie dear, you're fine. You're a guest, I wouldn't expect you to help with groceries. Moon's doing it even though she's sick because she likes to show off."

Shut up shut up shut up shut up stop calling me out shut up.

Moon felt her hands clench and unclench, looking between her mother and Lillie. This has suddenly become a warzone, and she was standing in the middle of a minefield. Her mother had begun putting away the groceries, leaving the ones she had bought for dinner out while Lillie stood beside Moon, awkwardly glancing between the two of them while her hands fiddled with the trim of her dress. Moon wasn't sure what she was worried about; she hadn't outed herself to her own mother for a joke after all.

When her mother turned back and saw the both of them standing there apprehensively, she smiled and jerked her head towards the stove.

"You two hungry? Dinner will only be an hour, I'm probably not going to start it for another hour or two if you guys want a snack or anything," she said as she pulled out a plastic wrapped tray of chicken. "Did you eat lunch?"

"Snagged a bag of crackers." Moon shrugged as she leaned against the counter, pulling out a bottle of vegetable oil from a bag and rolling it under her finger. Lillie looked at her in horror. "You forgot to bring me some, so I had to improvise. So, we're down a bag of saltines. Also, didja get me anything?" Her mother rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she packed away cans and turned to grab the vegetable oil.

"Shoot, sorry Moon. I completely forgot, was going through my list in my head. And no," her mother countered, taking the bag from Moon's hands as the two stuck their tongues out at one another, "I didn't get you anything, because you don't need anything. No soda and nothing sweet; you probably wouldn't be able to keep them down, anyway." She shook her head and returned to the kitchen counter, turning back with a glance towards Lillie. "What about you, Lillie? Did you eat anything?"

"No, Ma'am! I promise, I haven't eaten anything!" Lillie exclaimed, her voice high and cracking with strain. It was the loudest Moon had ever heard Lillie, and both her and her mother turned to face her with varying looks of surprise. Lillie stood straight with her arms planted at her side, and her eyes bore forward with a glassiness to them that did not reach anyone else's.

The kitchen was silent for a moment, punctuated only by the sound of Calliope scratching her ear beneath the table.

After a tense few seconds of unwavering silence, Moon's mother slowly raised a hand. Lillie's breath hitched, something Moon wasn't sure if her mother noticed her not. Gently, she pointed to the bowl of fruit lying on the table, and nodded her head.

"Lillie, please help yourself to whatever you'd like," Moon's mother said. Her voice was slow and soothing, somehow calm despite the sudden erraticness Lillie had displayed. It was the voice she used whenever Moon had been home sick from school. "There's plenty of food here, healthy and unhealthy, and you are welcome to all of it. Okay?" she asked. Lillie looked over at the fruit behind her, and then back to Moon's mother, who nodded. "Just don't let Moon trick you into sneaking her anything sweet, okay? She's gotta cut back the next few days."

Lillie nodded hurriedly, her hands returning to the trim of her dress. Moon could see the embarrassment and shame on her face even as she looked away, the awkward tension building atop their shoulders until finally Lillie spoke, though her eyes would not leave the floor.

"M-may I use your restroom, please? I apologize for um, for raising my… my voice." Now her voice was but a whisper, compensating for her volume beforehand. Moon's mother nodded, pointing down the open doorway to the right, while Lillie returned to Moon's room. After a second she stepped out, holding a case of makeup that she clenched as she strode to the hallway, and the bathroom door shut. Moon let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, feeling out of place as she looked back to her mother who had returned to her work of depositing groceries as though nothing had happened.

Moon stared at her for a moment, turning back towards the hall leading to the bathroom as she scratched her head. Returning to her room didn't feel right, but talking about what had happened felt uncomfortable too. Finally, she leaned across the counter beside her mother, staring into the empty sink below.

"I'm sorry about that, I don't… know what that was about," Moon admitted, rubbing the back of her head. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel somewhat embarrassed, for herself and for Lillie. She felt like she had to apologize for some reason, like she was responsible for her friend. "I've genuinely never seen her like that, she's… normally really calm and stuff." Her mother shook her head, however, reaching across Moon for a bag of alfredo noodles.

"She's embarrassed," she said simply. "She just did something strange in front of you, her friend, and her friend's mother, and was probably trying to make a good impression since she's a guest. Don't ask her about it," Here her mother pointed at her accusingly, "Because whatever it was is clearly personal. That'll only make it worse."

"I wasn't going to-"

"Yeah, you were," her mother interjected, not unkindly. "Think of when you started your period at school – when they had those white checkered skirts as the uniform for some ungodly reason." She leaned up and set the rice away as Moon grimaced, secondhand embarrassment from her own memories resurfacing. "Thought we'd have some pineapple fried rice tonight for a side, does that sound good?"

Moon hurriedly grabbed the bag her mother had stashed, looking at its contents in a state of faux frenzy. "Wait… you're telling me a pineapple is going to fry this rice?!" Her mother snatched the bag of rice back and tossed it into the cabinet with a flump as it landed against the cabinet's contents. She gave Moon an unamused look, continuing her unpacking.

"Is that the first time she's done something like that?"

Moon thought back to the panic Lillie had displayed when she'd tried to get the crackers out of the cupboard. Did Lillie purposefully not eat often? Was that why she had collapsed at the trial? But no, she had sat around the campfire and ate beside Lillie, had watched her eat snack cakes and hotdogs before. So what could it be?

"Kinda. I… I know something's not quite right with her, like something's eating her. But she gets testy whenever I ask." Moon sighed, crossing her arms over the counter. "I wish she would let me help her, even if it's just to listen, you know?" She knew that her mother probably knew she liked Lillie, so hiding it would just be pointless. "I want to figure her out, and… just get her to open up to me.."

"And if she asked you to open up, would you?" her mother asked casually. Moon glared at her, and her mother met it with her own eyes. They softened after a moment, and a realization left her lips. "Ah, so does this recent confession you texted me have anything to do with our guest who is currently in the bathroom? I take it she doesn't know, unless you've gotten better at hiding it since that Roxie concert-" But Moon threw her hands over her head

Alolan women are dark-types..

"Oh my God, can we please not do this right now?" she groaned into the sink. "I don't- I don't know, it's probably just a stupid crush, but I- why are you so unconcerned with this?! You're like, really calm about this considering everything that's happened in the past ten minutes! Shouldn't you be like, asking if it's just a phase, or saying that Arceus can fix me, or something?" She glanced up at her mother, only to find her leaning beside her with her arms crossed along the counter top and staring directly at her. Her tone had been one of surprise and lightheartedness, but now her face was serious.

"Mahina, after how your father died, I realized a lot of things that I don't think I would have ever realized otherwise," she breathed. "One of those things is that love, no matter how misguided, or brief, is wasted. My mother gave me such shit for marrying a Kantoan man, but you know what? Her marriage lasted forty-eight years and she hated every minute 'til she died; mine was barely a decade and I'm satisfied with what I got." She shook her head, placing her own hand over Moon's as it hung in the sink. "Life is too short. Love whoever you want, even if they don't love you back, my little Moonbeam."

Moon nodded, though she wasn't sure how to respond to that. She wasn't sure if there was anything to say. Not every kid got accepted so easily by their parents like that, and she knew she was lucky for it. Of course, that brought up the endless amount of questions that were starting to build up like the world's worst drink combination, and she was getting sickeningly full. Did she like Lillie? Was it a crush? Did she just think she was pretty? Was she just rushing into feelings because it was the first girl her age she had interacted with in ages?

"I don't think someone like me should love at all," she eventually muttered, because it was true. Because it was logical. Because a part of her wasn't sure if Lillie was someone she should love, in a way that didn't have anything to do with gender. Now it was her mother's turn to be silent. They stood at the sink for another minute, until eventually her mother shrugged.

"I don't regret loving your father," she said simply, and Moon knew that was true too. Her mother walked away from the sink then, grabbing more groceries and stuffing them away, analyzing and strategizing as she considered the remaining space in the fridge, until Moon's thoughts simply would not contain themselves any longer, and she hopped onto the kitchen counter. She glanced to make sure Lillie wasn't coming out, and gently kicked her feet.

"Hey mom?"

"Hm?"

"I think, uh… I'm ready."

Her mother blinked, but if she was surprised at all by this sudden declaration then she didn't show it. Instead she stood straight and looked at Moon, who was now at equal height, nodding that she in turn was ready to listen. Moon took in a breath.

"Kukui said… that you knew about Lillie and Nebby, right? Before we left. Does that mean you know, like… more about them?" She didn't want to frame it in a way that she was doubting Lillie and Professor Kukui, but at the same time the question was starting to eat away at her. "About her?" Her mother snorted.

"Hon, I have no idea if that girl flies the same way you do. That's something I don't have experience in, but if it's anything like figuring out if a boy likes you-" But Moon quickly waved her arms.

"No, no no! I mean, that's disappointing, but I meant more of like… herself personally, like who she is, rather than… that." She heard her mother let out another steep breath, as though she was steadying herself for something she hadn't planned on, or simply didn't want to talk about. Oh boy, did Moon recognize that kind of inhale.

"Moon, sweetie… I think… I think I know more about her and her pokemon than you do," her mother said, and her words were both delicate and carefully chosen. "But, I don't think I know everything that you want to ask me."She was tiptoeing. She was tiptoeing around things for Moon's sake, and she hated that. Her mother knew by now that she hated beating around the bush, and that made her cheeks flush and her teeth grind one another down into her gums.

Her breathing was getting faster again. Why was everyone keeping secrets about this? Did her mother know Lillie was wanted by the police? She didn't think Moon could handle it, maybe? That she wasn't strong enough? Mature enough? Old enough? Important enough? Her mother had done the same thing when her father had been dying, everyone had. Doctors, family, friends, everyone wanted to downplay the damage and cushion her fall, but who were they to decide? Who were they to decide what she knew, what she was allowed to know about her dying father, about her own life, about-

Stop.

She took a breath.

You're being irrational and making yourself panicked. Again. Idiot.

Her mother was looking at her in such a pained way; she hated that look. It was pity. Pity for something Moon didn't know about, and that she wasn't going to know about. She already knew.

Just, chill the hell out, girl. It's not you doing this. It's not you doing this. Just a side effect. Deep breaths, or mom is gonna start freaking out. She might not even know herself. Breathe that air, moron.

She could do that, she'd gotten pretty good at doing that again. Breathe in, breathe out. Close her eyes. Open them. Stop being a total spaz.

"Hon?"

"So-" Moon paused and cleared her throat; miniature panic attacks and constricted airways went together like peanut butter and jelly. "So, what do you know?" She waited a few moments as her mother seemed to gather her own words together and heard the light, familiar chuckle that dripped with her mother's sarcasm.

"More than you'd think, less than I'd like,"she admitted, peering over Moon's shoulder."Kukui was shutting himself away in the lab all last week, acting as skittish as a skitty. And, yes, we've talked about Lillie." The sigh that came from her lips was equal parts frustration and exhaustion. "Swear we've had more back and forth arguments since you've been gone than he and Burnet have had their entire marriage. I'll spare you the details, but something is eating him… and he won't tell me. He's been talking to the kahuna a lot too."

Moon breathed out and nodded. More of the same, but it was something. So, was the kahuna in on this too? Who wasn't at this point?

"And your thoughts are that Lillie has something to do with it?" Moon prompted, hoping for something a little more concrete.

"Oh no doubt. Trust me, you be a mother for fourteen, nearly fifteen years now, and you'll recognize another worried parent when you see one," her mother assured her, motioning for her to hop off the counter which she did begrudgingly. "I hope that he's just having to come to the same conclusion I did; at some point your kid is going to want to – or in some cases have to – do something you don't want them to do, or that you want to do for them. And, well… you remember the saying you heard on the TV a lot growing up, about kids and the pokemon techniques they learn?"

This brought out a chuckle from Moon as she stared at the bathroom door. "Heh, yeah. 'Humans, like pokemon, pass on their abilities and techniques to their children. The two most important ones are 'ingrain' and 'fly', because all children leave home someday, but they'll always remember their roots.' You hated that commercial." Moon grinned, thinking of the age old technicolor advert that had been on since her mother was her age.

"Yeah, it's a stupid saying." Her mother sighed, but it was the kind Moon could hear the smile through. "But it's true, unfortunately, and Kukui is learning that firsthand, I suppose. As for Lillie herself? I don't know what she's been through, but that?" Her mother's voice lost what little lightness it had gathered, and became heavy once more as she pointed towards the bathroom. "That was not the sign of a child who has been raised healthily."

Moon's fears immediately came to light. "You don't think Kukui-" But her mother quickly bit that thought in the bud.

"Tapu, no. He cares for his pokemon like they're his children, and I'm sure he's no different with his assistant. Even if I thought he played a part in whatever that was, I know Burnet would be all over it." She sighed, casting Moon a tired smile as the sound of clinking kitchenware filled the room. Moon stepped out from the kitchen for her own safety. "I think that she's a girl who probably feels very alone in the world, with nobody out there who understands exactly what she's going through the way she does. I think you're very similar in that regard, and could both use a friend like each other. Or, more, you know," she added, raising her hands innocently.

"That's different though," Moon grumbled, planting her chin in her hand. "I'm pretty sure we're nowhere near each other in terms of what our problems are." The sound of the bathroom shuffling alerted the both of them; the time for private conversation was over, assuming Lillie wasn't like Moon and hadn't pressed her ear to the door for the last ten minutes.

"As the Wishiwashi school shows, unity brings strength," her mother recited with a warm, smug smile, just as Lillie opened the bathroom door. "Even if you're carrying a mountain, and she's carrying a smaller mountain, you can still talk about how bad your shoulders hurt, right?" She turned and said nothing more, shuffling about the kitchen absently while Moon turned to Lillie, who was returning to the bedroom with makeup kit in hand. Moon went to follow her, but the words her mother had said rang in her head, and she grabbed a handful of lychees from the living room table before stepping into her room as well.

Lillie was there, slipping her case of makeup into the duffel while Chlorine and Nebby played tag around her. Both girls watched as Nebby floated loftily up above the television atop one of Chlorine's bubbles, chimeing happily while the latter whined and whimpered below as she stared upwards. Lillie stood and gently reached her arms out towards Nebby, taking him into her own and setting him down beside Chlorine.

"Now now, play nice, won't you?" she murmured, smiling. She always seemed to smile when she spoke to Nebby. He chimed what might've been an apology, floating onto Chlorine's nose as she broke into excited barks and attempted to balance him, much to Lillie's amusement. She noticed Moon then, and their eyes met for a moment as Moon stepped over, wincing slightly as a wave of nausea rocked her for a moment. She'd probably need another half of a tablet before dinner.

She didn't notice until she had approached, but the subtle corrections Lillie had added to her makeup truly stood out to Moon, despite the subdued nature of her work. All of her colors and shades were neutral, from her champagne eyeshadow to the nude lip color she had used to give her lips an understated, yet undoubtedly polished gleam. Her complexion was nothing short of a natural glow now, and like the light of the sun reflected off of the moon to light the night, so too did Lillie's light reflect off of Moon, leaving her dazzled in the dimness of her room.

Damn.

Moon held the lychee out for Lillie, who stared at it almost skeptically. God, this girl was going to make her nervous, and then she'd start sweating, and that would make the lychees really gross and she'd know Moon was sweating, and it would be more awkward then it already was, and why wasn't Lillie taking them? Did she know they were sweaty? Did she hate lychees? Holy shit she hated lychees it was so obvious now, what was Moon thinking-

"Thank you." Lillie's voice broke through the static of thoughts in her head, and suddenly she found herself smiling, even though Lillie's was faint. They sat on the bed together, neither one quite willing to speak as it was clear that the day's events still weighed on their minds. They watched the pokemon play, they kicked their feet gently and peeled their fruit with their fingers, but spoke not a word. Maybe they weren't ready to talk about the mountains and buses on their backs yet. Maybe they could pretend to enjoy the view from the mountain for just a little longer.

"Hey, do you want to play a game? With me?" Moon asked suddenly, and she reached across Lillie to grab the red and blue controllers to her console as she held one out to Lillie. Lillie blinked in surprise, reluctance tinged with curiosity spread on her face as she wiped her fingers with a tissue. She glanced at it before handing it back to Moon, shaking her head.

"That is very considerate, but…" She paused, clearly weighing her words. "It's been years since I've done something like play games. I believe I have quite outgrown them," she said, and Moon could tell she was trying to not sound insulting, though it wasn't quite working. She snorted, and pushed the controller back towards Lillie.

"Dude, we're fourteen. We'rekids. Shaddup and race me, I'm tired of playing the computer – swear it cheats," she argued, and turned the screen on as she propped it up on her fold-out table. "If you don't want to play because you don't want to play, then that's fine, but don't sit here and tell me you don't want to because someone told you you're too old to." Lillie stared at her, looking periodically between the controller and Moon, until she added, "I'll let you do my makeup if you play at least one race."

Lillie's eyes widened. "... I agree to your terms." And just like that, all thoughts of discomfort or shame were thrown out the window as they soon found themselves cozied up on Moon's bed, sitting against the wall with pillows abundant as Moon taught Lillie how to play. It turned out whatever games Lillie had played growing up were nothing like Moon's, as she seemed completely fascinated with the tiny controller and every button on it, as well as the fact that Moon had a device on-par with a scientific tool such as the rotom-dex as a video game.

They picked their characters (Moon suggested Lillie pick the formal space princess, because frankly they were too alike for her not to) and raced against one another, head to head. Much of the first race was spent teaching Lillie how not to go in reverse, or fall off the road, or both, but as time went on and the two had more matches under their belt, Moon felt Lillie begin to loosen up beside her. Her distant and distracted smile was soon replaced with one of genuine laughter and joy as she gleefully clapped her hands, shaking Moon as she pointed out that she had come in fourth, or successfully bounced a shell into another kart.

Moon knew she was hopelessly crushing on the girl when she chose not to use a red-shell as Lillie passed her and took first place. The smile that came afterwards was worth more than any digital trophy or victory reel. By the time Lillie won her first race, more than an hour had passed and the call for dinner reached up from the kitchen as both girls paused and playfully raced to the door, the excitement of a mid-match tie making their steps brisk and smiles contagious until they exited Moon's room. The moment they stepped out, Lillie's smile dimmed. Her gait slowed to a relaxed but purposeful walk, and she crossed her hands over her front as she slowly followed behind.

Moon looked back, but the faraway smile had returned and the glassy dimness of Lillie's eyes could not be hidden by makeup alone, and though it perked it slightly when she and Moon's line of sight met, it remained. The curtain was rising; their intermission was over and now the show was back on track, and the leading role was ready for her class act. Moon couldn't match her smile, even as they approached the table and the audience turned to face them with a bowl in each hand, the only one out of the three who smiled with sincerity.

Moon sat and let the comforting smell of one of her favorite childhood meals warm her from the inside out, barely containing her desire to rip into the bowl of rich, creamy pasta. The gentle clatter of her mother setting two smaller bowls of pineapple fried rice on the table made her look up, and she noticed Lillie had not sat down beside her yet. She stood behind her chair, staring down at the bowl of pasta in front of her with her lips slightly parted, a look of confusion slowly spreading across her face as the performance was interrupted by a change in the script.

As her eyes glanced from the bowl filled to the brim with pasta, to the fried rice, to the little plate holding a buttered dinner roll, she blinked. Each time she blinked, she slowly looked at a different plate. Moon's mother stood leaned against the sink, the faintest glimpse of a smile visible through the green glass of the bottle she took a sip from. Moon had just stuffed a forkful of noodles into her mouth when she heard the softest of sounds as something wet hit the polished hardwood chair beside her.

She looked up, confused, and saw Lillie still standing behind her chair. The glassiness of her eyes were no longer from light or makeup, but from the tears that had formed in them as she stared down at the table without a word. She blinked, and two more drops fell onto the chair, and as if she herself had only just realized what was happening, her face began to scrunch up while her cheeks grew red. Clenched teeth bared themselves as a low raspy whine left her lips, and her hands reached up to clumsily fend the tears away, smudging her makeup as it dribbled down soon after.

Moon watched, confusion giving way to familiarity, familiarity giving way to grief as she lowered her fork and silently placed her hand on Lillie's shoulder, her friend's body shuddering from hitched breaths and small sobs that steadily grew louder. Her mother quietly walked over, and she too set a hand on Lillie's other shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze while Lillie sat down, and cried. She made no words, and neither Moon nor her mother made any attempts to speak. They remained there, and though Moon was entangled in her commiseration for her friend, her crush, she was not too distracted to notice the smile of warm sympathy and love that her mother wore.

The audience had shut the show down.


Night came all too fast, and though Moon was never one to shy away from a late-night standoff between herself and the responsibility of a healthy sleeping schedule, her exhaustion from doing a whole lot of nothing slowly won her over as she yawned her way back to her room. She had just finished brushing her teeth, changed into a pair of shorts and a tank-top to avoid those nightly Alolan hot-flashes, and was heading back to her room where Lillie stood, awkwardly hugging a stuffed clefairy doll and looking around uncertainly in a teal nightgown she had brought.

Strictly speaking, Moon didn't have a couch as she and her mother mostly watched television from the table while eating, and most lounging was done on the springy sun chairs on the veranda. Both girls had offered to take a pallet while the other took Moon's bed, each insisting that the other one needed it more than the other. Moon argued that Lillie was a guest, while Lillie insisted that the host who was sick should sleep in her own bed. Eventually, they agreed that they would both share the bed, much to Moon's absolute terror.

"You look like you should be carrying a candle down a stairwell, looking for ghosts," Moon stated as she pulled the covers back. Lillie frowned and harrumphed, crossing her arms tighter around the clefairy doll as she pouted at Moon.

"Well, you look as though you… um, might get cold in the night, dressed as immodestly as you are," Lillie countered. Moon looked down at herself, nodded, and proceeded to slide into the bed.

"Yep, that's it, I'm hogging the covers."

"What? No, you cannot take them all!"

"Sure I can, it's my bed. It's practically a tradition for sleepover guests to get stuck using whatever they can scavenge when they go to sleep, after all," Moon insisted as she tucked Chlorine into the spot made for Lillie. "Jackets, backpacks, heck you can probably use Meowth if he's willing."

"She's bluffing, Lillie," Moon's mother insisted as she stepped in and set two cups of warm tea on the fold-out table; a mixed blend of passionflower, valerian root, and chamomile to help the both of them rest easy into the night. "She's just power hungry because she never had a sleepover before – usually she was the one getting invited instead of inviting." Moon stuck her tongue out at her mother, who returned it as Lillie crawled across the bed and carefully slid into her place against the wall. Chlorine was sat atop Moon's head, where she belonged.

Her mother walked back to the door, one finger over the lightswitch as she looked back at them. "You guys need me to get a nightlight or something? In case you have to get up to pee?" But Moon shook her head as she took a sip of the tea.

"Mom? I'm fourteen," she responded, snuggling under the covers..

"Right, right…" Her mother looked between her and Lillie, and her eyes narrowed as she pointed a finger directly at Moon. "In that case, behave." Moon felt the heat from the covers and the tea suddenly rise up through her cheeks and to the tips of her ears, turning them all a beet red.

"Mom! Still fourteen!" Moon groaned, but her mother just gave her a pointed look before turning to leave.

"Yeah well, I was fourteen too once…" her mother mumbled with a shake of the head. "Goodnight, girls. Get some rest." She flipped the light off and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack (Much to Moon's further embarrassment.) and quietly strode down the hall. The telltale sounds of shuffling feet and a closing door indicated that her mother had also gone to bed.

Moon's ears remained a bright red even after the house had become still, and she dedicated herself to drinking her tea. Delicious, wonderfully distracting tea. Mmm. You had to love that menthol. What a beverage.

Lillie gazed curiously at the cracked door of Moon's room and said in an even voice, "Does she not think we will get along?"

"I think she's worried about the opposite," Moon grumbled, not meeting Lillie's wonderfully unassuming eyes. They sat and drank their tea for a moment before setting their mugs aside and snuggling deeper into the blankets. Moon kicked the edge of hers off to keep her feet cool, while Lillie caressed the sleeping Nebby who was nestled between the two of them. Moon sighed and blinked as sleep began to grip at her, and she gave Lillie a final look. Beside her, her friend was staring up at the wall, one hand draped over her clefairy plush. She glanced at Moon, the thin light from the hallway just enough to make out the other.

"Goodnight, Lils."

"Goodnight, Moon."

Moon wanted to say more, she wanted to stay up late and talk about everything and nothing, but her eyes were far too heavy. Too heavy for jokes, or serious discussions. They drooped even as Lillie's turned back to the ceiling, showing no such desire to immediately succumb to the comfort of the bed, and Moon was certainly going to tell her everything come morning, because she deserved to know all the secrets that she was keeping. It was like the key to a great puzzle: she just had to tell Lillie how she felt, and what she hid, and surely everything would make sense after that, for some unknown reason…

Moon awoke to a soft chime beside her dragging her from the sweet comfort of sleep, and bleary eyes blinked back at the dark and fuzzy shape clouding her vision. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and for a few seconds thought she might still be dreaming in the world of surreal colors and shadows, until she realized she was still in bed, only now she wasn't alone. Which was odd, because the faster her brain caught up to speed, the more she realized she shouldn't have been alone, except the one who was now beside her in her bed wasn't the same as the one who should have been there.

Nebby let out another soft chime, and Moon groggily raised her head as she tapped her phone's screen. Barely past midnight; she hadn't been asleep for even an hour. She set Chlorine aside and slowly rose from the bed, glancing around for Lillie. The light of the hallway revealed that it truly was just her and the pokemon, and when she looked down at Nebby she realized how bizarre that was. She had only been alone with Nebby once before, and Lillie had sworn to never allow such a thing to happen again, in a manner of speaking. A yawn forced itself out of her as Nebby nudged her once more, and the little fluff ball looked up to her with his usual smile absent.

"What's wrong, Nebs? Where'd your Mom go, huh?" Moon asked softly, rubbing in between his poofy antenna. He chimed in a low tone once more, and Moon quietly set him back on the bed beside Chlorine as she pushed herself up and slowly made her way towards the door. Nebby went almost everywhere with Lillie, so unless she was in the bathroom or making a midnight snack run (Something Moon was quite fond of, though she suspected Lillie was not), then… Well, it was Lillie. That was reason enough for curiosity – and concern.

Her bedroom door opened to a dimmed living room, bathed in the light of the kitchen only, and completely empty. The house was all quiet, a surreal and strange quiet that only wanderings along in the wee hours brought about; the doors were locked, the curtains billowed only from the air conditioning, and she felt utterly and completely alone. She crept to the door down by the kitchen, seeing that it was open to the hallway leading to the garage and her mother's room on the left, and the bathroom at the far end on the right.

A glow slipped out from beneath the bathroom's door.

With the skill of someone who had spent years sneaking around the house after hours, Moon slipped up to the bathroom door and raised a hand to knock. Just to see if she was okay. Just to ask, to be sure, because she felt like she had to, when a noise interrupted her. It was harsh, and coarse, and rough with the sloppy tone of wet gagging as soft gasps followed a sputtering cough from the inside. Moon froze up, not sure if she should knock or not now. Lillie was sick. Had she gotten food poisoning? Moon didn't feel sick.

Another cough and the sound of puckered spitting. If she knocked, Lillie would probably just tell her to go away, and would not want to be seen in such a sickly manner. Moon sympathized with that, but she also was determined to make sure her friend was okay. Besides, if there was one thing her mother's stories from when she had been young had taught Moon, it was that someone with long hair like Lillie absolutely needed someone to hold back their hair when they were hurling.

She gave a quick knock, making sure to do so in between hurls and opening the door before Lillie could answer. She cracked open the door to her bathroom, slipping halfway inside only to stop dead in her tracks as she looked at the sight in front of her. She saw Lillie on her knees, as she expected, bent over with a hand on the toilet seat and watery eyes blinking rapidly at her as she stepped in. There was something about the sight that she hadn't expected, however.

Blood dribbled down the top of Lillie's palm from her knuckles, the two marks on her knuckles now freshly open, and now Moon knew why. Her forefinger and middle finger were buried down her throat, and when she saw Moon her eyes widened with utter horror, as she quickly yanked her fingers out, blood smearing down onto them ever so slightly as they clipped her teeth, and Lillie scooted backwards against the edge of the shower.

"N-no, s-stop… get out…" Lillie muttered, spitting once more into the toilet bowl as she recoiled from her own body's pained reaction. Her voice was hoarse. She reached and hit the lever on the top, the smell of bile and alfredo swirling away down deeper into the toilet as Lillie buried her face into her hands. "Stop, stop stop! Go away, please God, go… I- I don't want you to- s-see this… go away!"

You tell me buzz off, while your eyes scream 'stay'.

I know a cry for help starts with a "Go away".

Your screams are like your heart, muffled and hidden away. With

totodile bandages to clog the blood and keep it at bay.

Moon stepped forward, slowly. Her mind was a blank, a canvas of nothingness that's only function was to step forward. Canvas was a fitting description, since the lyrics sprouted into her head as though it was some inspiring vista before her instead of the saddest and most soul-crushing scene she had seen within her own home. The lyrics always came when bad things happened though; it was why she had started playing the ukulele back then, because that was when the lyrics had appeared. At the worst time.

Lillie wouldn't even look at her through the cracks of her fingers, her only responses to Moon's advances were hiccups, sobs, and a small belch that made her shudder. Moon stepped past her toilet, past her sink, and sat down beside Lillie as slowly and as gently as she could. She had no idea what the hell she was doing. She was terrified, utterly and completely terrified, but this still felt like the right thing to do. Maybe not noble, maybe not selfless, but right in some way. Her back slid against the wall of the tub, taking Lillie's bloodied hand and slowly pulling it towards her.

"-sorry. I'm sorry, it was delicious, it was so delicious, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lillie hissed through clenched teeth. "I'm wasteful and gross and disgusting and vile, I d-don't deserve you or your mother's kindness, I-I'm sorry, I have to, I h-have to…" Her voice broke down into sobs once more as Moon reached over and gently grabbed her shoulder, and she pulled her into a hug.

"It's fine…" Moon whispered, even though it was not fine. "It's okay… you don't have to cry alone any more." She managed, and she felt the tears welling up in her own eyes as she spoke. "It's okay, see? It's okay." Lillie's arms wrapped around her, and they sat there against the tub in silence for an unspeakable amount of time, as they both quietly cried and held one another from beneath their mountains, Lillie apologized again, and again, for wasting the food. For wasting their kindness, for wasting their time, and for wasting the food again, and again, and again.

Moon apologized for not noticing sooner.

We say, "It's fine, I'm still alive

we'll deal with it another day."