Something about the way the morning sun struck the trees' leaves in the dawn of the third day, slipping its oozing light through the branches to the forest floor and leaving little room untouched, felt near-familiar. In the brewing departure of fallen darkness, a shining radiance would come to wake once again, returning justice and peace on golden paws.

"Solgaleo- the beast of the sun, the king of virtue, the loyal hope that resides in those who live in the day and falter in the night- he who fears no person, no object, no thing that exists, no creation, no creator. Whose noble roars were once said to cast light into the world, so that pokémon may live peacefully, safe under his guard and protection. The one who lives in the heart of every morning, keeping every living mon safe from Lunala, the winged goddess who fights to spoil the world with darkness. It is said that the two still to this day carry on in spirit, balancing the rise and fall of every night and morn."

Tori had heard Ruby's aunt, Jemma, repeat the lines a few times when she had occasionally visited their house early. A beautiful Lilligant pressed against the edge of a kitchen window, singing hymns and psalms, mostly about mythical and legendary pokémon she worshipped. Although her singing was a bit muddy coming from the other room, Tori learned to eventually take leisure in it, cotton fluff pressed against the wall while chatting or playing games with Ruby.

Up until the disaster, everything was good. Life was just about everything she ever needed back then, filled with playing with friends after school and coming home to her parents shuffling around the house, worrying about nonsense. Dad was a bit of a nutcase; Mom was always a little eccentric. Tori could remember them stressing about her constantly being on her own, even though she was more than capable by herself.

So she ended up hanging out with Ruby more than she liked, but after a proper few weeks, the two became inseparable. Many other friends came and went before and after moving, but the two remained together. Even when Tori's parents had a different area in mind that was a long while away from Ruby's… she still managed to be able to go to the same high school, albeit at the cost a thousand or so more steps.

When Tori and Gabi managed to rent a house together, squeezed in between a quiet neighborhood in the outskirts of Blubluk, she still found a way to be connected. Despite a disappointing band group that ruined her enjoyment of music, and a lousy first half of the summer altogether, they found themselves anything but distant.

At one point Tori wished they could just stay friends forever, but she knew it was only going to be some point before one of them got married and things would crumble apart- like a vase with its cracks glued together by Wurmple mucus, pressed hard by careless hands, bound to snap. Fate would forcefully separate them, whether it be their own decisions or someone else's.

So when some weirdo Weavile guy offers a funky exploration trip to Mt. This Decision Is Probably Going to End Up as A Suicide Mission, why not take the shot? Ruby was growing more distant already, and Tori decided it was about time for them to bond more, now that they're dumping jobs and the rest of basic, normal life. Ruby couldn't be taken from her if she couldn't be taken away at all. There was also something in the contract about beating up strong pokémon and breaking laws for "the greater good", but whether there was or not didn't matter to Tori, not now.

Gabi would be with them as company, and the other strangers they had met at the first meeting hadn't seemed too bad. Of course, they were merely distractions from the real purpose at hand, as the trip was actually meant to revitalize her friendship with Ruby- even if that meant she had to pressure her a little more to realize that.

But… then things felt apart. A mistake. Something she missed.

Why wasn't Ruby as happy to have more time to hang out with her?

Was their childhood for nothing?

All a waste?

Wandering off towards other pokémon instead, when they arrived that night? Not looking for her when the ship was burning? Ruby had looked for Gabi, but not Tori… the one who was loyal to her since childhood and brought her into this in the first place?

It had all just… happened, only taking one fallen chip to send the rest down with it.

If the friendship had turned into anything, it was like pleasant sunlight morphing into harsh rays, all in the blink of an eye. The rays were biting at her physically, more than just emotionally- stepping from underneath the cover of the forest and down to the beach, where the sand under her stubs burned of sudden heat.

Her sinuses pricked but were otherwise fine, in an ever-closer autumn. Tori wished it didn't have to come so early, especially since her species wasn't great for the cold, but she knew it was going to happen someday.

It was early enough to call it morning but late enough that it was strange for no one else to be awake. Tori's guess had been on the nose last night; rain had come. Forced to make sleeping quarters out of the undercover of trees, her chances of relishing in Mallku's shame soured down with the dissatisfaction of being there too. She wasn't about to mess up her cotton fluff, so she was forced to comply with hard labor.

If Ruby or Gabi were there, she would have at least had someone to talk to.

Tori grunted, kicking a small pebble towards the water.

But of course not…

Forgotten in the dust for hell knows what. It seemed fine with Gabi, so why was she doing this? And why had Proteus of all people disappeared with them? He seemed like the kind of guy to find Tori and start bothering her instead.

Nothing made sense.

Maybe she could go searching on her own for Gabi and Ru… no, she had zero clue where to look. Even if she bothered to steal all the supplies from Mallku, Tori would still be wandering through the forest anyways. She needed to dump these mons without fully getting rid of them. She may have been stuck with weirdos and idiots, but at least there was some brain in the shared idiocy swirling around the rest of the group's heads.

Tori paced farther down the beach, feeling a light breeze catch by and tickle her skin, prompting a small scowl. Loneliness seemed to find a liking to her today, caught dryly in the wind and brooding about.

And yet…

"Hey!"

She could never be alone for too long. How ironic.

Tori decided not to walk away this time (as much as she had the urge to), rolling her eyes as Mallku raced towards her. Of course, the Weavile could have done the normal thing in his approach, like being casual and not running so goofy, but today must've been the wrong day for that sort of sense- arms crossed, sharp eyes, and energy surprisingly high for this hour.

Someone would have to take over Proteus's job, apparently.

"How'd you sleep?"

"You serious?" Tori muttered under her breath.

Mallku winced, picking at his scarf. "Re…peat that again?"

"Sorry." Tori met his eyes, not even bothering to hide her apathy, or her ticking impatience. "Tired."

"Oh, I get it. Yesterday was a mess, I didn't mean for you guys to have to deal with that."

"It's…" Fine? Not a big deal? In the past now? All your fault and you owe me for it? "Whatever."

"Alright."

Tori went back to sparing eye contact- her mind was in other places anyways. The ocean was much more interesting than any of this nonsense. I mean, look at those waves? The way they lap back and forth so smoothly, bringing white mush with each cycle, the way they circuit without ceasing, like a beautiful Primarina spending hours practicing a gentle melody. The waves were setting its own course in its own little circle, free of distraction.

"H-hey, can I ask you a question, while we're here?"

But pokémon aren't the ocean, and they can't ignore problems.

"Only if you let me ask one back." Not that Tori was expecting him to, anyways.

"Oh alright" Mallku replied. "So uhm… have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately?"

Tori rose a brow, swerving her head. "What?"

"Anything." The Weavile started fidgeting with his scarf again. "Last night, I was thinking about the day I introduced you guys to Jirachi, with the diner and all. I think I remember Ruby passing out that day after seeing something, probably from shock or distress, but I don't remember what she said she saw. Gabi said she was found lying on the ground unconscious, and when she woke up, she just kept mumbling."

"Why are you asking me this?"

Mallku's expression began to show signs of concern- maybe he wasn't expecting that answer. "I dunno, you were the only other pokémon there. Thought I'd ask before I forget."

Tori sighed. "I don't know, man. Ruby probably has more info than I do on whatever wackshit she found; you're better bothering her about it."

"And I assume you haven't seen or heard anything else strange, right?"

Tori scoffed. "Don't get me started."

"Huh?"

"Real answer is no."

"Oh! Gotcha. You said you wanted to ask a question too?"

"Yeah uh…" Oh, right, duh. "Speaking of the diner."

"Hm?"

"Was that death threat true? Or were you bluffing?"

Mallku nearly choked, clearing his throat. "It was an empty threat, don't worry." He put an arm behind his head, scratching anxiously. "Y-you guys didn't think I was serious, did you?"

"Son of a bitch liar" Tori muttered.

"My bad, I know. I figured you all would've been smart enough to understand my intention."

"So you're saying we're dumb?"

Mallku groaned, giving Tori the moment to smirk. Another win for the Whim.

"That's not- whatever." He sank to the ground, choosing to sit in the sand. Someone seemed upset, but at least it was somewhat deserved (in Tori's eyes anyways). "How did Ruby react?"

"How she should have" Tori hissed.

Mallku started sketching in the sand with his claws, causing Tori to lean down and inspect. A bunch of stray dots scattered in several groups, separated by lines with just about no pattern. As to why he started doing this, his expression was unreadable.

"Is this some weird hieroglyphics I'm not getting at here? Or are you just being a dork?"

Mallku groaned. "You can't be a little nicer at this hour?"

"Like it's not warranted" Tori shot back.

"Regardless-" The Weavile circled a group of dots located to the far left, counting eight. "This is us." He dragged his claw further right, pointing to a more-scattered group not bounded by lines. Two dots were in their own pair, while the rest were dispersed by themselves. "This is everyone else."

He drew a question mark in the middle of them, resting his chin in his other hand.

"Who are those other two?"

"Lucy and Heatran… if I'm correct. I told her to watch after him, but I'm not sure how they got off the boat if they did. Your friends probably found each other hopefully, but I can't be certain."

Oh, right. They did.

Without her…

"So what's your plan now?" Tori queried.

Mallku turned his head, glancing back to see if Liz or The Joes were up yet. Unfortunately, neither were- causing him to return to sketching in the sand.

"If you want, you can join Rose and 'links to go searching this morning. Unless you want to stay here. I'm not doing much for a long while, mostly just preplanning and taking care of the mythicals. Not that I'd think it would bore you, but the help would mean a lot in making things go faster."

Tori did a double take. "Are we just… wandering around? That's all it is?"

"Yup."

"Fine" the Whimsicott muttered. "They don't bother me that much; I figure I'll go."

Tori began turning tail towards the small camp area they had set up, brimming with hesitance- but also hope. "I'll go wake them up!" she shouted back.

She would get something out of this… surely.

The one thing that never fully sinks into your brain when living around strangers is how odd sleeping habits tend to get. Especially with different species, where body shapes and behaviors vary greatly.

And that was just about how it was, having to mull over different ways the day might go as Tori pushed past Ari. Sleeping in the dirt so feralistically, so unkemptly, so rudely with no sense for pokémon moving by. Until yesterday, common sense was common- but nope... not today, not anymore.

At least the others were somewhat civil in comparison. Tori found Liz huddled against the bark of a tree, snoozing lightly as she rested with her bag by her side. Tori wasn't quite sure how to wake her, as she was almost always the one to wake up late, and she never had to bother Gabi or her own parents about that sort of thing. Maybe the Roserade would get up on her own, but the likelihood was slim.

Tori leaned down and lightly tapped Liz's arm, frowning. "Hey.. are you uh, willing to go searching with me?"

Liz snorted, catching Tori off guard. With the sudden response, she slowly backed up as Liz began to wake, mustering the energy to open her eyes and stretch.

Safe to say, she didn't expect a sudden response either. Liz was a little disturbed to be caught defenseless and alone (especially since she wasn't quite used to the feeling), but recognition of a familiar face eased her anxieties. She shuddered for a second, taking the opportunity to compose herself.

"Uh… hey" the Roserade said in subdued breaths.

"Hi" Tori replied.

Liz glanced around her awkwardly, albeit nervously. After a few seconds of doing so, she slowly got up, stretching and dusting herself off. She turned once again to Tori. "What was it you said you wanted to do?"

The Whimsicott crossed her arms. "Go looking for a bit, preferably with the little yellow guys. Preferably also soon."

Liz nodded. "Oh, I see. Leaving early shouldn't be a problem; I'd just like to eat first before heading out."

"Alright" Tori muttered. She began moving southeastward towards The Joes, who were collectively standing on the stony side of the beach, kicking and stabbing rocks while flinging them into the air. "Meet me by the shore in a minute."

"Got it" the Roserade answered back, but Tori was out of earshot by then.

The fairy was frothing in vigor as she paced down the beach, feeling the weight of the morning slowly lift off and flutter away, potentially to bother someone else and leave her alone.

Liz and The Joes weren't hard to get along with, she mused, a reason and an excuse as to why she was doing this in the first place. Justifications aside, that wasn't the only good thing they were good for- they were fresh pages despite earlier interactions the days before, and more people she could lean on if her world turned to shreds.

Liz was polite enough that becoming friends would be less of an issue as would getting on her good side. Just the way she looked so nervous after waking up- something was off, but Tori wasn't quite going to push it. The Joes meanwhile were dumb enough that speaking to them was like making friends with rocks, limiting the chance of any hindsighted error.

When she actually came close to them however, she was starting to have doubts. Not that she was doubtful of them accepting good terms with her, but doubtful that she would have much meaningful interaction in the first place.

"Smack 'em harder!" The leader Joe shouted from the top of the pile. "Evaporate those rocks with your horns!"

The other five pointlessly kicked and jabbed pebbles without much weight, sending some flying and others towards each other. The troops were rarely fazed whenever they were hit, however, shaking it off and continuing their "training".

It looked less like training and more like failed coaching, in the end.

Tori walked up the brass, signaling his attention. "Hey Joes, we're going searching this morning. Up to join?"

The brass stood for a moment before stomping his feet, furrowing his brow. "But we already did that last night!"

"Are you going to join?"

"Well I-" The mon tried to think of an excuse, but stammered. "We could use a walk anyways. Fine. I'll go. But that's because I- we were already planning to!"

Tori sighed. "Just follow me."

"Got it!" The brass roared, stomping his feet again. "Positions, on order!"

He bounced down onto the sandy beach, and the troops began to line up behind him. They collectively followed Tori as she traveled down the shore, passing Mallku, who was standing with his feet half-dipped in cold saltwater.

They stopped when Tori met up with Liz, waiting under a tree at the center of the camp. Liz was carrying her bag over her shoulders, smiling as she reunited with the others.

"I'm ready" the Roserade affirmed, doing her best to look sharp and organized.

"Yeah, yeah…" Tori mumbled. "Where are we headed now?"

Liz turned her gaze west, opposite direction of the grounds where The Joes were kicking rocks, and likely direction of where the rest of the convoy would have ended up. Hope was hard to come by, but she was positive that they would be able to find someone if they kept on the lookout, proving that yesterday's failures weren't for nothing.

"We were going through the forest last night, that's why we never found anyone" Liz huffed. "So we're trying the beach instead. Keep going in the same direction, that way we can turn around at any moment without getting lost."

"That works" Tori replied.

The Joes absentmindedly grunted in confirmation, swinging their horns like swords as they danced in their spot. Two Falinks troopers smacked into each other, and everyone else fell like dominoes as a result. Liz sighed, watching them distantly from the corner of her eye.

"C'mon" Tori ushered, signaling with a wave as she began moving down the beach. Liz quietly followed, and The Joes eventually picked themselves up, trailing the others. The group took to the side, walking at an adequate pace. The beach trailed for miles, so they'd cover what they could today- even if there were no explicit desires to be done by today. Everyone knew they wanted to- there was just no impulse to vocalize or think about the matter, especially when they all knew what would come with it.

They walked for about an hour or so, quiet pacing with each mon to themselves.

Although Tori wasn't the most enthusiastic about walking in silence, she wasn't exactly against it per se. After doing it nearly all day on Sunday- a bit absurd now that it was Tuesday, having done so much in so little time- one would think she'd be exhausted of it. But now that it was just with two other pokémon, no stress over the future or what was to come, it felt much, much more leisurely and enjoyable.

Again, fresh pages, right?

Today will be fine. Her worries would be saved for tomorrow.

Despite all that, though…

Tori feared the worst, knowing she was well deserved of the worst. She pictured Gabi and Ruby looking at her so distantly, their rereuniting destined to cut their friendship apart, diverging like cracks in a forgotten rift. She pictured herself on the other end of a wide fissure, looking over a vast void that collapsed to her own mistakes.

She was desperate to keep things together- if they didn't, she might just fall apart herself.

Mallku, the mythicals, Proteus- they were all just temporary distractions from the bigger problems, the bigger picture, the friendship she swore to heal since the beginning.

And yet now it seemed like fate was intervening, too.

Tori looked to her left. Liz was calm and incisive, walking with confidence at such leisure despite knowing what she was yet to face. It seemed a little fake at first- the reality of this mon acting so normal in such an imaginary time, combined with the idea that the rest of her life could be just as real, just as real as anyone else's… but then Tori looked down at her own body, how her own movements were straightforward yet awkward, how she could barely pull off a poised smile like she used to, how she could barely stay sane for longer than a minute without boiling in regressive thoughts.

Everything was imaginary at this point.

What was she thinking?

Tori turned to the right. The stark contrast showed itself immediately, blooming in an intrinsic way that unnerved her, shining between two widely different pokémon. The Joes were disheveled, jumbled, and reckless, but their energy and aura were front and center- no hiding. They showed their power proudly and adamantly, even if their flaws showed up too.

…And Tori was stuck between both sides, having neither the elegance nor adamance in each.

She sighed, carrying on in being stuck in her headspace. They still had a long while to go, and they had barely gone much at all so far.

Ruby had ended up somewhere this way, right?

Tori remembered Mallku saying something along those lines.

She imagined herself having an awkward conversation with Ruby the moment they found each other again, followed by many different possibilities and outcomes: Ruby running away, Ruby being heartbroken, Ruby attacking out of anger, Ruby being quiet and slowly avoiding her more and more until eternity-

What was she thinking!?

Tori tensed, eyes locked to the ground as she walked. She was growing insane by the minute- if things didn't go right today things never would. She had to drill it in her head so many times by now that she didn't recognize it when someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Liz asked, offering a concerned sideways glance.

Tori suppressed those thoughts, returning eye contact. "Oh, uh…"

"Nervous?"

The Whimsicott smiled awkwardly, keeping her stubby arms to her side. "Just feeling erratic."

"Anxiety, I get that" Liz whispered. She sighed, trying to contain her own emotions. "Yeah, that's what happens when bad things get out of our control. I could deal with it any other day, but… no, not like this, not where I am now."

Maybe there was a valid reason to interact with these pokémon after all, if knowledge and alliances were anything short to come by.

"What do you mean by that?"

Liz closed her eyes, holding her roses to her chest. "Mai… I've been with her for so long. She means everything to me, and yet I struggle to survive without her. I've grown so attached, so connected… I wonder if I've grown so close, too close that the sole lack of her is enough to break me."

Tori nodded. It sounded a little familiar, but not enough to completely understand. "Fair enough. Love's not really my jam."

Liz seemed a little surprised but kept quiet. She kept to her pace, to her lane, looking up to the route ahead. "I could see that. I'm sure romance is different for everyone- you don't have to like it if you don't like it. The Joes seem completely fine doing by themselves."

The Falinks leader swerved their head, shouting a "What!?"

"We weren't talking about you" Tori hissed.

"Well, we were actually-"

"Whatever." The fighting type brushed the mention aside.

Tori glanced back to Liz, grimacing. "So uhm, what were you saying?"

The Roserade shook her head. "It doesn't matter now."

Doesn't matter now…?

"If it didn't matter, then why did you talk about it?"

Liz opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. "Maybe I'm just spilling mindless grievances. I don't know." Her speech became quiet, her eyes turning detached and remorseful. She looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears to bear.

"No, we're all grieving" Tori griped. "Everyone has problems. Thanks for sharing your own, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about yours?" the Roserade offered.

Crap. The conversation immediately propelled into reverse, sending Tori into a deep sigh. "Uh… I don't know if you can handle it. My burdens might be too heavy."

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think I could carry it." Liz rested a rose on the Whimsicott's shoulder, smiling like a mother to her firsthatch. "Please, I've carried the burdens of many others before. You can trust me."

Tori glanced over to The Joes. At least there would be someone else who could help if things turned to worse.

At this point, she seemed trustworthy enough, and there was no point in holding back for what could probably end up as a positive outcome.

Hesitantly, Tori gave in.

"It's kind of a long story" the fairy started. "You know Gabi and Ruby, right?"

"I know Ruby, yes."

The irony hurt, but just by a little.

"Well, they've been acting weird all of a sudden" Tori grumbled. She crossed her arms, cursing under her breath. "Ignoring me for no reason."

After a moment of silence, Liz replied with "Do you think you did something to hurt them?"

Tori thought through all of the previous days, counting her interactions. Leaving home with the girls and witnessing Ruby betray her to go with Alice instead. Waking up in a messy state with chaotic emotions and having to walk away from an interaction with Ruby, only to get into a heated argument later with Gabi.

…Being the only one left behind, stuck with Mallku and a bunch of other weirdos she barely knew.

Tori stopped walking altogether, sitting down and wrapping her stubs around her knees. Pausing, she faced the ocean, closing her eyes and trying not to reveal tears.

"…H-hey, why did she stop?"

Arceus, what was the point anymore!?

Liz and The Joes halted briefly, watching her with concern.

"Sorry" Tori muttered. "I just need a moment."

"Do you want us to wait, or should we keep going?"

If she told them to keep going, she wouldn't be forced to deal with anyone anymore.

Getting lost didn't sound that bad now that she was thinking about it.

But then again, what was the point?

Tori wiped her tears through shaky breaths- for once, the loneliness was starting to really sting, piercing her fragile, unprotected skin in ways it never had before. Regardless she forced herself to get up, turning around to face Liz.

"I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yes" Tori hissed. She continued the trek down the beach, silently grunting through steps. Her movement was somewhat shaky, but she paid no attention to it, pushing on.

The other two glanced amid each other once more, before following in silence.

And that was how it was for a while. Tori was done tearing over bitter regressions; if Ruby or Gabi wanted to talk, they would talk. If not, she was fine with a simple diverge. She was so tired of having to deal with… people, obnoxious pokémon that she would never be able to harmonize with, meaninglessly forced to interact with.

Was she the problem?

Tori shook the thoughts aside. Nothing was in her control anymore.

Nope, not today. Not anymore.

Minutes of restrained silence continued. Liz feared it would be that way for the rest of the journey, until the silence proved helpful in ways no one would have expected.

It started with a simple glance.

"Guys?"

Tori stopped to turn around. She traced the Falinks leader's gaze, and nearly choked.

Smoke.

Rising into the air, farther north, emerging from a spot deep in the forest. While The Joes were only short enough to see the smoke itself, Liz was tall enough that she could spot hints of flames too, spreading rapidly. The heat seemed to be rising from a single point, its core most likely, and taking down anything flammable around it- which unironically happened to be the entirety of the forest.

Abruptly, their previous mission was dropped, and they now had something serious to worry about.

"Lucy" Liz muttered under her breath. Her expression was filled with bubbling panic, emotion that Tori could feel herself pick up on also.

"But we're grass types" the Whimsicott argued back. "No shot I'm running into a fire and burning my skin off. Not even the little guys should consider running in there."

"It would help to get closer and scout, in the least."

The Joes stabbed their horns in agreement. This was the adventure they wanted.

Tori groaned, throwing up her hands. "Both of you, seriously?"

"Well…" Liz held her roses to her chest, musing. "There's a high likelihood that others may have seen it too, and if not, we may still find Lucy and Heatran."

"No wild fire type is capable of stuff like that!" the Falinks leader shouted. "It's most definitely them."

"If things get bad, we can always run, after all" Liz suggested.

"And fight if we need to!"

Tori facepalmed. She could already picture them regretting this.

"I'll… trail behind" the Whimsicott muttered.

"Good! Onward- to the rising smoke!"

The other Falinks troopers anxiously waddled behind as their leader rushed ahead, into the thick of the forest. Liz waited to make sure Tori was following, before dusting herself off.

"We'll be alright" she assured, smiling.

"You lie."

Liz frowned, shaking her head and trailing The Joes. Tori tentatively walked behind.

She made sure to keep her distance this time, reciting previous statements that these friends were only temporary. They'd start seeing the fire when they were within range of it, but the beach was far on the outskirts of where the flames were first seen, and there wasn't much other ground that they could cover the distance with. Tori stepped over fallen branches, roots, and logs as she made her way through the route that The Joes had muscled through, zigzagging randomly and having to push past leaves and plants. Going directly through the overgrowth with only a single direction and no predetermined path in mind was less than ideal, especially since the terrain under the shade was so complicated and challenging.

At one point, she stopped hearing The Joes' shouting. At first, she figured it was because he was too busy running through the forest like an idiot, but then she looked up ahead and noticed Liz was out of sight too.

Huh.

Tori turned all directions, scratching her horns. All forest, no familiar faces. She reached for her bag, only to immediately remember it was left behind at camp.

Great. Now she was lost.

The Whimsicott proposed to just continue forward and carry on, as the others would likely find her naturally, but then she hesitated- fire spreads quickly, and it would likely outpace her even if she tried to run. She had heard stories about these kinds of incidents. There was no denying what she was up against.

It was probably just better to head back to the beach, anyways.

Tori crossed her arms and sighed. Guess she'd wait it out after all.

She wearily paced the direction she came, just about done with the morning. Done with all the idiots she'd been forced to interact with, done with having to clean up the messes of others, done with pokémon dumping her like a pile of shit!

And yet…

Tori stopped moving.

She still didn't know if she was willing to give up on everything. A small part of her hoped it was all misunderstanding, that things were only like this because of complex emotions, that the mistakes of yesterday meant nothing to dull the promises of now, for what few there was left.

She stopped to sit down in the dirt, no real reason other than instinct, comforting herself by pulling together nearby leaves and making something close to a little spot she could sit on- reminiscent of earlier days but washed in with the pointlessness of the present. In coarse times, one could cope. And so that's what she figured she'd do, left with not much else…

…now that life felt more despair than life after the flood, back when she was only a Cottonee, young enough to not quite process it all. Even though it happened so long ago, Tori still had trouble processing it now- it had blurred so much over the years that it was hard to keep up. Hard to keep tracks of the lines, carved into the sand with no answers to their angles.

Everything was so… different back then.

Not exactly better by any means, but-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a distant shriek, sending Tori's nerves into alert. It didn't sound familiar at all, but not quite unfamiliar either. Not like The Joes, not like Liz. Something was up, but Tori just couldn't put her stub on it.

Right as she went back to staring remorsefully however, she heard another sound- the sound of a large crack, piercing through the treetops. She turned right, wondering where it came from, only to be tackled from the left- random, intensely and without warning.

She groaned, muttering curses, slowly processing the sudden attack. Dirt bled into her mouth and stained the cotton surrounding her body, mildly infuriating but better than being injured. Tori was about to shout back, but quickly paused when she saw who had bumped into her.

"I'm so sorry, I w-wasn't looking where I was-"

Ruby.

Combining the most beautiful part of a golden sunset and the most awkward part of a family reunion, Tori had found the most rosy-but-miserable way for things to be, right then and there. All her emotions exploded; all her sensibilities left remaining in the dirt that she had previously collided into, exhausted of anything remotely sane. She wanted to run, she wanted to spring forward, she wanted to get knocked unconscious- she wanted to be anywhere but here, she wanted to loose herself in an embrace, she wanted to realize today was all a dream, that nothing in all of distortion could hurt her like the hurt she was feeling now.

But most importantly, she wanted to know why.

Why of all things… this?

This sickening turn of events?

Why couldn't she just-

Tori immediately became self-conscious of what she was doing. How long was she staring? She awkwardly backpedaled in the dirt, fearful that her stupidity had spoiled another of few chances.

Ruby seemed mostly unperturbed, though, the Whimsicott soon noticed.

Things were different.

Tori opened her mouth to say something, but immediately withdrawn. Maybe she was worried she'd say the wrong thing, maybe she was worried that Ruby would take it the wrong way.

She glanced both directions, spotting an encroaching fire to her left, just across the span of the forest. So soon, so quick already?

"Oh my god, T-Tori, are you okay?"

She didn't have much time, did she?

"R-Ruby I-"

"Tori it's…"

Pause. Silence.

Neither of them made any sudden movements.

Both knew what they wanted. Sitting here with labored breaths, staring at each other, too afraid to be the one to do or say something first. After the past few days, after the constant struggles and miscommunications, they both wanted the same thing, they both know they wanted to…

"H..have you seen Alice?"

Oh.

Alice.

Seriously!?

Alice wasn't even here and she was more of a concern than someone she's known close to her entire life!? A single question if she's okay and nothing else!?

Tori stood up, looming over Ruby. On instinct, she felt an extreme anger enter her veins, slowly built up from everything to this point, every bit and piece lingering in the air.

"Am I… nothing to you anymore?"

"Wh-huh?"

Tori backed up slowly. She wasn't going to fight, but she needed to do something, something to express her frustrations. "You run into me and don't even ask if I got hurt!?" The Whimsicott balled her stubs, filled with tears. "I-I… I thought you cared about me…"

Uh oh.

"B…but I do?"

"SERIOUSLY!?" Tori shouted. After all they'd been through, after everything…

Ruby was more interested in other things now.

Nothing mattered anymore.

"Just leave me alone!" Tori hissed, running in the other direction.

The Whimsicott zipped through the forest into the foliage, leaving Ruby's sight within seconds. She had barely much time to say anything and Tori had run off right away- no hesitations, no explanations.

Like that. A single question, and she bolted.

Did Ruby do something wrong…?

The Cherrim got up, assuring her bag. With the random burst of anger, Ruby was unsure whether it was the best decision to provoke things further. Maybe later they could talk it out when they both weren't emotionally charged, but, for now…

She'd have to prioritize Alice. Between both decisions, it was the only one that she couldn't be sure of.

With that, Ruby began pacing the direction she came in, albeit hesitantly.