#Offscreen post

[elite-amarys]

Kai moreso lumbers over to Amarys than walks, head and back pulling along before her legs. She looks around, cheery, friendly as ever, and with a Metagross hot in pursuit.

"Hello! Amarys! Kernel is being quite aggressive today!"

@bee-bee-kyuu

Amarys freezes, watching in horror as her friend shambles over. It is really no different than her normal stance, which is just as still and blank-faced as this one, but still.

'They are deteriorating faster than anticipated.' She thinks.

"Yes, they are incredibly eager to banish the evil which has commandeered your body." She responds bluntly. And indeed, the small Metagross is practically on top of Kai's feet, audibly humming with barely contained murderous intent. Amarys concluded that she would not be having any luck convincing Kernel to return to their pokeball at this point.

She straightens her back (unnecessarily) and steals herself to continue onward. She had no better leads, and something had to be done now.

"If Flecks wants their treat, they must leave your body in its entirety." She informs Kai, hands steady on the container of biscuits she had received from Snacksworth.

[not-gonna-lose]

( @juliandpon Championship match time! BBA characters are all absolutely free to do commentary here, if you want!)

Kieran takes a deep breath, walking to his position on the battlefield. He idly bounces one of his PokeBalls, watching Juliana move to hers, feeling his heart race. He absolutely couldn't afford to make mistakes here. He had everything on the line, after all.

"Kept me waiting." He starts, his voice cold, not making eye contact with her, tightening his hold on the PokeBall in his hand.

"I worked so hard for a chance to show you what I can really do, Juliana. I put everything into studying and making my Pokemon stronger... I crushed the Elite Four and became Champion..."

It closes its eyes for a moment, turning its eyes to the ball, adjusting its grip on it as he holds it out to her, trying not to pay any mind to the crowd beginning to gather.

"All of that hard work... All of it..." He finally looks up, his stare intense and determined as he points at Juliana.

"All of it was just so that I could beat you—right here, right now!"

It grits its teeth, hands shaking from how hard it's gripping its Pokeballs, and it can't help but scream before tossing them, letting out its first two Pokemon: Grimmsnarl and Incineroar.

[espers-n-espurrs]

OFFSCREEN POST

Olive Branch

TWs // CWs : Hospitals, Discussions of Child Death, Discussions of Kidnapping / Child Abduction, Panic Attacks, Violence, Injury, Gore, Blood

Connected to Connecting Roots and Uprooted.

No one liked being in the hospital. 

It was mind-numbing and draining, having to stay in one little room for days on end all the while doctors and nurses poked and prodded at you. It wasn’t just the medical staff that had been bothering Esper though. Police and other official looking people came and went, asking her questions that made her uncomfortable and forced her to reevaluate so much about what she knew. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like being told she was “safe now”, she didn’t like being told she was “in good hands”, she didn’t like how they talked about her da and mum, she didn’t like any of it. 

Esper stared up at the ceiling with an unfocused gaze, listening to the ticking of the clock. Her face almost seemed ghostly pale if not for her reddened cheeks and nose from hours of crying accompanied by the deep bags beneath her eyes from lack of sleep. Her hair was out of its braid, white threads spooled around her in messy strands like the roots of a tree, branching off into different paths. She looked like a mess.

Everything was out of her hands. She didn’t get a choice in any of this. Her entire life had changed in a matter of days and she wasn’t sure how she was meant to feel. Her da and mum had lied to her. They had been lying to her for so long. And yet she couldn’t even begin to understand how she felt about it all. Was she angry? Sad? Happy?

A small knock on the door cut through her thoughts.

Esper’s head slowly turned toward the door, her brows furrowing slightly in aggravation. It was probably more pushy cops coming to ask her about her da. Fucking wonderful.

With a roll of her eyes she called out to them, “Come in.”

The door creaked open slightly to reveal an exhausted-looking Victoria. Despite her attempts to appear composed, the stress lines and dark circles beneath her eyes betrayed any semblance of imperturbability. Clearly, the recent revelations had been taking as much of an emotional toll on her as they had on Esper.

Esper gasped as she snapped into a sitting position, “Tor–!” She was swiftly cut off as a sharp pain shot through her chest, causing her to double over in the bed, her arms wrapping tightly around her torso as she let out a hiss of pain. “I… I shouldn’t have done that…”

Victoria instinctively lunged forwards and reached a hand out to her, but slowed herself the moment she realized Esper was not immediately dying in front of her. “Are…” She began to ask something, but trailed off with a pause before saying, “I was going to ask if you were alright, but I suppose that would be a bit redundant of me, now would it?”

The white haired girl slowly sat back up, wincing as she let out a small laugh, “Just– Just a bit, I think.” Esper looked at Victoria with a small smile, “Though I’m not the most happy about people seeing me in such a state… with my hair being down and all.”

“Oh. I can leave if you—”

“I’m joking, Tori.”

To Esper’s surprise, Victoria chuckled with a slight smile. “I thought you were—” She instantly shut her mouth right before the punchline, her face falling into a frown. She looked at her friend with an unsure tilt of her head.

“Esper.” The girl stated without hesitation, “I want to be called Esper. Or, as you have been calling me, Esp.”

“Right.” The young heiress drew in a quiet breath and nodded. “Then… Esp it shall be.”

Esper smiled in turn. She wasn’t ready to be Estelle, she didn’t know if she ever could be. It was strange really, finding out that your name isn’t your name, at least not in the way you thought it was. But she could understand why her da did it, at least from his point of view, it would’ve made everything easier for him if she didn’t have her legal name. 

Though that did make her wonder…

“Why the hells didn’t my da change my brother's first name?” Esper suddenly asked aloud, tilting her head to the ceiling in thought, “Why’d he keep his first name?”

Victoria shifted uncomfortably on her feet, uncertain of how to respond. 

Esper continued, “And it’s not like I can fuckin’ ask him since he fuckin’ vanished after the second Darkest Day…”

“Vanished…?”

Esper blinked in response, turning her attention back to Victoria before glancing away with an awkward chuckle as if it was funny, “Ah– Yeah. I was the last one to see him that day, he found me during the chaos and promised to go get help. He… uh… never did. No one’s found him so we don’t know what happened to him.”

The other girl’s brows furrowed. “Forgive me for asking, but how are you so certain that he never sought help?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean like he didn’t try–” Esper vaguely gestured with her hand, “It’s just that my da and authorities were the ones to find me and Juno. And they hadn’t been told by Flynn that we were there, so they tried to interview anyone they could and no one stepped forward about having been spoken to by Flynn during the disaster. So, he may have tried, though he never actually managed to get help.”

She tilted her head. “Juno?”

“I– I should just give the rundown.” Esper responded, shifting in her bed to get more comfortable before continuing on, “So. Juno was my closest friend in Spikemuth and we spent a lot of time together. On the day of the big championship match, he was over at my old flat. It was just him, me, his Nickit named Polaris, and my da’s Obstagoon named Maverick. We were having a good time until, well, the second Darkest Day started in which Maverick… was one of the Pokemon to dynamax.”

Victoria winced slightly. “In… the house?”

“In the flat building… yeah.” The girl nodded as she began to fidget with her gown, “With both me, Juno, and his Nickit in the flat with him. And so many others in their neighboring flats…” 

She thought back to that day. Roars and calls of Pokemon shook the earth around her, echoing throughout Spikemuth and the surrounding area. The weight of concrete and brick crushed her body so tightly that she could barely fill her lungs with the dust-filled air. Metal debris pricked at her skin, jabbing at her sides and mudding her hair with crimson. She couldn’t move, she could barely cry out as all her energy was dedicated to keeping her alive and awake.

If only Juno could’ve been as lucky. 

He was alive for a while, whispering promises of life and safety to Esper in the darkness of their prison, though his body laid frighteningly still as crimson slowly pooled around him. His mind and body grew weaker by the second. He had been impaled when the building collapsed on top of them— a large, jagged piece of rusted metal had been lodged straight through his shoulder and into the debris below. Polaris was curled up to his side, beaten and battered as much as the two children, chirping and crying to his trainer. 

She remembered the way Juno’s eyes grew duller by the hour. Until they were cloudy and lifeless.

Victoria looked past the girl before her with a thousand-yard stare. The ticking second hand on the clock came to a stop, filling the room with a discomforting silence.

“We were trapped for nearly the whole day– But Flynn found us early on. He promised to go get help and… well… he never came back.” Esper let out a shaky breath, her face feeling hot, “And by the time help did arrive… Juno had been dead for several hours.”

The other girl shut her eyes and turned her head away, reaching a trembling hand to her chest. “Excuse me for a moment, Esper.” She took several deep breaths until her hands stopped shaking and the stress lifted from her face. The clock resumed its ticking, returning the familiar ambiance to the once silent room. 

After a moment, Victoria cleared her throat with a wince and gestured to her head. “Um— Mind-reading.”

Esper blinked before flushing red, waving her hands frantically, “Ah– I’m sorry– I forgot– I’m sorry I’ll just stop now I’m sorry–” The girl promptly tried to fill her mind with other things such as memories of Fauna and Deerling.

“No, no, it is through no fault of your own,” Victoria tried to reason with her. “It simply caught me off-guard is all.”

“Are you sure…?” Esper looked up at her with big eyes.

“Positive. You needn’t apologize, Esp.”

“Okay…” The girl nodded in return, “I was done anyways though. That’s about everything… Well not… everything… but all the really important things.”

“I see,” she said, finally turning to look back at her friend. “If I may be so bold to ask, do you… think Flynn is…?”

“Alive? Dead?” Esper hesitantly shrugged, “I don’t know. I don’t know which I would rather, which would hurt less… If Flynn is dead then… he’s gone. But if he’s alive… then he left me to die.”

Before Victoria had time to respond, there was a knock at the door.

The girl raised an eyebrow, then looked to Esper. “Are you expecting company?”

Esper huffed in response, grimacing at the door, “No. It’s probably another officer or doctor or something. Let me just–” She raised her chin to the door and called out, “Come in!”

The door slowly opened to reveal a lanky man in a black and green jacket, his hood pulled tightly over his head and casting his face in shadow. His attire was worn and dirty and his demeanor seemed akin to a kicked dog with how he hunched in on himself and how his hands trembled at his sides. He hesitantly stepped into the room, closing the door behind him before turning in the direction of the two girls in an awkward fashion. 

Esper and Victoria exchanged glances for a moment, then eyed the man wearily.

The man stood there silently for a minute, staring at Esper specifically for an agonizingly long before clearing his throat, “So– Um–”

At that moment, a flash of recognition and utter hatred crossed Victoria’s face. An invisible force suddenly yanked the man towards the girl while she winded up her fist and connected it directly into the center of his face. The force of her punch snapped his glasses in half and knocked the hood off of his head.

Flynn Wyrmwood was knocked to the ground, clutching his nose in pain.

With a snarl, Victoria looked down at the man and hissed, “Hablando del rey de Roma, por la puerta asoma.” She raised her leg to stomp—

“VICTORIA–” Esper shouted. “DO NOT… stomp… on….” Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the older boy. A boy with darker skin than hers and yet had the same pure white hair and lavender eyes with white pupils shining brightly. Esper repeated, her heart leaping into her throat as she took in the sight of the boy, “Victoria. Stop.”

The young heiress looked back towards her friend, then to the coward at her feet. She narrowed her eyes at him, but gently lowered her foot to the floor and stepped away. “Get up,” she spat at him. A sudden force lifted him off the ground and flipped him onto his feet— not too kindly, however. The momentum from the flip threw him forwards and he bashed his face into the side of the hospital bed. 

Flynn grunted in pain, barely managing to catch his footing before slowly dragging himself into a standing position, blood dripping from his nose. “Yeah– Yeah no– I deserved that–”

“Indeed you do,” Victoria cut him off.

“Victoria. Stop harming him.” Esper scolded before turning her attention to the bloodied boy infront of her, her eyes scanning his face. It was him. It was actually him. He was alive. He… he was alive. 

That hurt.

“Esper…” Flynn stared back at her, seemingly also studying her. A ragged breath left him as he spoke, “You’re alive.”

“You left me.”

“I know. I’m sorry–”

Esper cut him off, her chest tightening, “You left me to die. You left Juno and I to die.”

“I’m sor–”

“Juno is dead!” Esper spat. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes, “And you’re alive.”

Victoria glared silent daggers at Flynn. If looks could kill, he’d have perished where he stood.

He paused, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again and looking down in shame, “I’m sorry…”

The white-haired girl stared at her brother in silence for a while. The ticking of the clock was the only indication that time hadn’t stopped. 

“Why now?”

Her brother looked up at her, blinking.

“You had plenty of chances to come back. And yet you didn’t.” Esper asked, her body aching as emotions welled up inside her.

Flynn glanced away, “I… I was scared. I am scared. Father scared me, I was scared if I came back or told anyone then…”

“You knew.”

“I…” He winced, “I did. Yes.”

“You knew the entire time.” Esper’s gaze was hundreds of miles away, “That’s why he didn’t change your name.”

Flynn only nodded in response.

The white-haired girl gripped her blanket between her hands. Her thoughts became foggy with all the questions she wanted to ask him, but one stayed at the forefront of her mind.

“Why are you here?” She asked. “Da is gone now, you could no longer be a missing person.”

Flynn took a deep breath and looked his sister in the eye, “I… I wanted to give you the choice on if I did or not…”

“What?”

“I hurt you, Esper,” her older brother swallowed, “I hurt you a lot. I didn’t want to suddenly come stomping all over it again. So I wanted to give you that choice.” He wiped the blood from his nose as he knelt down by her bedside, “Do I come back home or do I go back to whatever hole I crawled out of?”

Victoria furrowed her brows and wrinkled her nose at him.

“I…” Esper trailed off, staring down at her brother with teary eyes. Why was she being asked to choose? Why did she have to make that choice? Why was this the only choice she’s been allowed during this whole fiasco? Why this of all things? She hadn’t seen her brother in nearly two years, she had thought he was dead somewhere, possibly eaten by some Pokemon or the like. But… here he was. Asking her to make a life-altering choice for him.

She felt sick.

“I…” The girl blinked, tears running down her face before she sharply turned away from her brother. As she spoke her voice seemed almost devoid of emotion. Almost. “Stop being missing... Come out of hiding… You…” She glared at him from the corner of her eye, “You don’t get to run from this.”

Her brother gave a small smile. Tears began to run down his face, dripping onto his now bloodstained jacket. “I won’t. I promise.”

Scene End.

---------------

Victoria belongs to @victoria-vd

[hoodmancol]

Keir walked up to the coffee shop he had sent Colress the address too, having parked a little ways away so he could walk there himself.

Waiting for a little bit, he walks over to Colress once he finally spotted him. Moving to be infront of him, he smiles at both the pokemon and him.

"Hello darling."

Colress definitely had a different look going on． His hair was down､ and it seemed like the blue forelock pinned away under the blonde． His outfit was also changed from the normal tailored look he had､ and it was a black t-shirt, a brown jacket, and some regular jeans． Intentionally trying to look like someone else．

He flinched lightly as he heard Keir‵s voice､ looking to him． ″Oh､ hello dear． I didn‵t want you to get any strange looks､ so… I tried looking different､″ Colress gave a soft smile､ pulling out a Pokéball from the pocket of the jacket and withdrawing Klinklang．

[victoria-vd]

OFFSCREEN POST

Laid to Rest

// tw injury, violence, death, Pokémon death, hospital

Part 1: The Calm

Part 2: The Storm

The hospital room was brightly lit, fluorescent lights shining down on the girl in the bed. Bright red swollen bruises covered the half of Esper’s face that had been struck by Barcelona, and it can only be assumed that her torso below the hospital gown was in much of the same state. She let out a quiet sigh as liquid pumped through her IV, glancing off towards the only other sound in the room: the ticking of the clock. How long had Esper been here already? Could only be but a few hours and yet she was still exhausted from the constant poking and prodding of the doctors and nurses.

But now the doctors and nurses were gone and she had been left alone. Waiting.

There was a quiet knock at the door.

Esper startled a bit at the sound, whirling her head around to look towards the sound. The girl stared at the door for a moment before answering, unsure as to who could be knocking, "Oh! Uh– Come in!"

The doorknob turned and the door was pushed open.

Victoria was the first to step forwards through the doorway. She gave Esper a once-over and nodded to her in greeting.

“Hey Esper,” Jaime waved from behind her. “How’s everything…?”

"Oh! Tori, Jaime!" Esper visibly perked up at the sight of Victoria and her brother, giving the two a small wave before shrugging, "I'm... doing okay? Could be worse, y'know?"

Maple poked her head in. "Yay! You're not dying!"

Aspen joined Maple, poking his head in right above her’s, "Yooo, you're alive, let's fuckin' go!"

"Uh. Yeah. Yay." The girl in the bed gave an awkward thumbs up.

“Geez— Y’all’re too tall for this shit. Move over, Paperboy.”

Jaime looked down and shuffled to the side to allow the voice to pass through.

A short girl with red hexagonal glasses and a gray face mask pushed her way to the front. Hands in her pockets, she stepped forwards and looked Esper up and down. “That Hat did a number on ya, huh?”

Esper blinked, tilting her head at the girl before her in slight confusion before simply nodding, "Uh... Yeah. I guess so."

The girl blinked for a moment, sharing Esper’s confusion, before saying. “Oh. Right. It’s Z.” There was an awkward pause as she shifted uncomfortably on her heels. “In the flesh.”

"Oh!" Esper gasped slightly, "Well, nice to meet you in person, Z. Probably would've been preferable under–" she gestured around her, "better circumstances."

Z clicked her tongue. “Yeaaahh… not the most ideal way to meet someone…” She shrugged. “It’s whatever though. Nice to meet— nice to see— fuck.”

"Nice to meet her in person?" Maple offered

“Yeah. That.” She flipped her glasses down, obscuring her face.

"...Epic!" Aspen said, albeit awkwardly as he stepped further into the room, "Um- Nice to meet you in person too, now that I think about it!" He gave her an awkward grin.

"Same with me!” Maple joined in, “Wish our first meeting didn't involve you getting hit with a chair like WWE, but hey, shit happens."

Esper gave a rather awkward smile, "Same..." A moment of silence lingered in the air as she stared at the others before she very quickly turned her attention to Victoria, tilting her head as she asked, "Are you okay though, Tori? Last I saw you had your own fair share of cuts and bruises."

Victoria glanced aside and rubbed the side of her arm. “Ah, well… It is nothing that I am not used to, Esp.”

The other girl just silently frowned at Victoria, opening her mouth to say something before closing as her attention was stolen by something happening outside her room.

Voices could be heard down the hall, calling out for someone to stop. The clacking of heels on the tile floor grew louder with each quick step.

Zoriah’s head whipped to the door. “Wh—“

Suddenly the door was flung wide open.

A tall woman, dressed to the nines in expensive furs and priceless jewelry, burst into the room with outstretched arms. “VICTORIAAAAAAAA,” she sobbed.

The girl in question flinched as the woman rushed to her and smothered her in her arms.

“¡Ay, mi pobrecita de mi corazoncito!” she wailed dotingly. “I came as soon as I heard!”

Victoria’s voice was muffled behind the woman’s embrace, but her embarrassment was clear in her voice nonetheless. “…Hello, Mother.”

Esper watched the scene before her unfold, her mouth slightly agape in surprise.

She let go of her daughter and put her hands on her hips as she tsk’d at Victoria, albeit affectionately, “Arceus mio, mija, at least pretend like you’re happy to see me.”

She turned to the others in the room, sizing them all up one by one. Though the pearly-white grin never left her face, there was something cold and calculating that seeped into her gaze as she eyed them all up and down.

And then her eyes landed on Esper, lingering there for a second longer than the rest.

“Oh,” Victoria’s mother smiled warmly at the girl. “You must be Victoria’s little friend.” The woman approached Esper, highlighting her massive height with every step. “Este— Esper Hargrove, yes?”

The girl in question had to crane her neck upwards as she attempted to keep her eyes on the taller woman's face as she was spoken too. "Uh, yes ma'am." Esper gave a small nod in response, "That'd be me."

The woman’s perfect grin widened. She bent down to be eye level with the girl and seized her hands into her own. “Oh, I’ve heard so much about you, Esper! I hope my little Victoria has been teaching you well!” Her strikingly bright lavender eyes bore into Esper’s. “Tell me Hargrove, what is my name?”

"Uh..." Esper briefly blinked in confusion before furrowing her brows as if she were attempting to concentrate on something. After a moment or so, she answered, "Reina Velasco-Delgado, correct?"

Reina Velasco-Delgado nodded, eyes lit up with pride. She clasped her hands together and hummed with satisfaction. “Victoria’s a wonderful teacher, isn’t she? She learned from the best, after all!”

Maple fiddles with her fingers awkwardly. "You know, there's other people in the room. We are here, by the way. Just in case you forgot."

Aspen opened his mouth to say something, but closed it, before opening it again. "Yeah, no, um-" He promptly closed his mouth again, deciding he'd be better off if he didn't say anything just then.

“Oh, no dear,” Victoria’s mother stood back to full height, towering over everyone else in the room once again. Her massive hat seemed to blot out the fluorescent light of the hospital room, casting a shadow over the others. Curiously, though her smile stayed wide as ever, the corners of her lips no longer reached her eyes as they once had before. “I haven’t forgotten you, Maple.” With a tilt of her head, she added, “How is your mother, by the way? I’m sure you miss her dearly.”

Maple looked away and didn't answer.

Reina pursed her lip into a sad frown. “Oh, pobrecita. I’ll be happy to tell her I saw you. When was the last time you spoke with your fathers? I heard Venus was stationed in Area Zero. He must be a busy man.”

"He is busy, yeah. I got to hang out with him a few weeks ago though"

“That’s good to hear,” she hummed. Bending down to meet Maple face-to-face, she asked. “Is there anything you’d like me to relay to Ivelyne for you, Maple?”

Maple turned to look Reina in the eyes wearily. "She prefers to be called Ivy."

“Duly noted.” She stood back to full height and looked down at Maple. “Then you have nothing to say to your mother?”

"You already know everything I want to say."

“Pick one.”

Aspen paused, looking between Maple and Reina, beginning to feel like he'd rather not be here anymore, but at the same time, he felt as though he needed to change the subject. He stepped to the side, closer to Jaime.

"Um- well, anyway, um-" He paused, wanting to distract her from Maple, "You haven't met me yet, my name is-"

“Aspen Sharma,” she cut him off without turning to face him. “I know who you are. You went Cyclizar riding with my son on the day of his birthday party.”

She glanced down at him out of the corner of her eye, giving him a once-over. “I take it the two of you had fun? He lost track of time and showed up late to his own birthday, you know.”

Jaime bit his cheek and didn’t say a word.

Aspen chewed on his lip slightly, suddenly feeling the weight of Reina's side eye. "Um- yeah, we did have fun, we didn't mean to lose track of time like that," he said quietly.

“Hm…” The woman studied him, stalking over to circle the boy like a hungry vulture. “Well, I’m glad the two of you enjoyed yourselves.” Eyeing him like a hawk, she hummed and said, “He quite likes you, you know. Though I’m sure you’re aware of that by now.”

He swallowed, looking away from her gaze; he felt as though he was some type of prey Pokémon, about to be ambushed. "I- I am, yeah," he said, forcing himself to look up at her, if only for a moment.

She stopped in front of Aspen and locked eyes with him. Her towering figure and wide hat cast a shadow over him and shrouded her entire face in darkness, and yet the white of her pupils glowed nonetheless.

It had become increasingly clear where Victoria picked up her intimidating mannerisms from.

Aspen took in a sharp breath, glancing up at her, before looking up properly. His gaze was unsure, hesitant, even, but he looked up at her nonetheless. He'd faced down worse, he thought.

Reina silently stared him down for a few more seconds, glowing eyes boring into his own as she raised an eyebrow at him.

After an eternity, she suddenly turned away and simply said, “Don’t disappoint me, Sharma.”

For the first time since she walked in, Jaime looked up at his mother.

Aspen brows furrowed slightly, but he nodded towards Reina. Despite being unsure of what exactly it was he was agreeing to, he had a feeling he already knew what she meant. "I... I won't.

“We’ll see.” She stepped away to the boy next to him.

Reina stared down at her son. “Mijo.”

Jaime stared back. “Madre.”

The two silently stared one another down.

And then Reina’s gaze turned to the proverbial fly on the wall. Her eyes shone with interest. “Oh. It’s you.”

Zoriah’s heart sank as a shadow was cast over her. She didn’t dare to look up.

“I’ve heard much about you.” She grinned down at the girl. “Eh— Z, correct?”

She flinched at the sound of her name falling from Reina’s tongue.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked,” she chuckled. “You knew long before we met, after all.”

Z’s fists clenched at her sides, resisting the urge to look the Devil in the eyes.

Reina bent down, resting her hands on her knees to meet Z in the eye. “Let me ask you a personal question.”

She felt trapped under her gaze. There was nowhere to look but back at her.

“Why the Truman Show?” Reina smiled with a tilt of her head. “You seem like more of a kaiju movie fan to me.”

“I— I’m— I don’t—“

“Madre.” Jaime warned, narrowing his eyes at his mother.

His mother stood up straight and narrowed her eyes right back. “Watch your tone, mijo.”

Esper quietly fiddled with her blanket, rubbing the fabric between her fingers in a soothing motion as she watched the interactions before her.

The sound caught Reina’s attention. She turned to Esper with a warm smile. “Oh! In all the excitement, I’d completely forgotten to ask how you were feeling.”

The young girl seemingly startled at suddenly being addressed. “Oh— Uh— I’m fine!” She answered with a small wave of her hand, “Could be better but could definitely be worse. Just going to be a bit sore and hurting for the next while, nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

The woman frowned at her and clicked her tongue. "Esper, you do not have to downplay your injuries. My Hatterene hit you full force with a steel chair, love."

Esper simply shrugged, a seemingly apologetic smile on her face, "I'll heal."

She chuckled. "That you will, my dear." Placing a hand on her shoulder, Reina sighed and added, "But you very well could have died because of Barcelona's recklessness, and for that, I must deeply apologize on her behalf."

Victoria squinted and tilted her head at her mother. Apologize...? What was…

"Ah–" Esper glanced at the hand on her shoulder with a look of disdain before she quickly corrected herself and shot Reina an awkward smile, "Really, there's no need to apologize. Things happen."

"Things do indeed happen," Reina nodded with a smile. "What's done is done, Esper. All that matters now is that we move forward and take steps to ensure this does not happen again. And I can assure you that I will not allow this to happen again."

The girl raised a brow in response, "Well, yeah, I assumed you wouldn't want it to happen again after all."

Reina smiled sweetly at her. “You assume correctly." She brought a Luxury Ball out from inside her fur coat. Barcelona's Pokeball.

Jaime drew in a sharp breath. What was she—

Maintaining eye contact with Esper, she patted her on the shoulder and said, "Watch."

She then drew in a slow breath….

…and crushed the Luxury Ball into pieces in her fist…

She clenched tightly onto the shattered shards of the ball in her hands, grinding them into dust. When she was finished, she opened her palm to reveal that Barcelona’s ball was nothing more than a fine sparkly powder. With a smile, she let out a puff of air into her palm, blowing the dust into the air until there was no hint of Barcelona or the ball that housed her.

Maple stared, slack jawed. That seemed... a bit excessive.

Esper clasped her hands over her mouth with a gasp, her eyes wide like a Deerling in the headlights about to be struck by an oncoming vehicle.

Jaime felt a shudder down his spine. Barcelona was her own Pokemon…

Victoria remained stone-faced as what remained of Barcelona was scattered to the winds, shimmering in the fluorescent hospital lights. Her jaw tightened when a few bits of the powder landed on her blazer.

Aspen swallowed hard, his lips pursed and his eyes locked on the glittery dust on the ground. He could feel his hands shake at the sight of it, and he clenched them into fists to get them to stop.

Hidden behind the oversized glasses and face mask, it was difficult to visually tell what Zoriah was feeling. But the fear in her wavering breath betrayed her attempt to remain apathetic and calm.

The towering Velasco woman dusted her hands off with a smile. “There. Now Barcelona will never hurt anyone ever again!"

Esper was too stunned to respond, her hands staying firmly over her mouth as she glanced from Reina to Victoria to Jaime and then back to Reina.

Reina then drew in a sharp breath and lifted her chin, not bothering to turn to Jaime as she said, “Mijo, make yourself useful: escort your friends out of the room and fetch your father for me, por favor. I’d like to speak to Victoria and Esper in private for a moment.”

“But—“

She glared at him from over her shoulder. “Mijo.”

The boy wordlessly clenched his jaw for a moment and drew his lips into a line. He turned his head to look away from his mother, furrowing his brows as he led Aspen, Maple, and Z out of the room.

The door shut behind him, leaving only Esper, Victoria, and her mother in the hospital room, with only the sound of the heart monitor to break the tense silence that hung over them.

———

[Jaime and Z belong to @jaimemes, Esper belongs to @espers-n-espurrs, Aspen belongs to @aspens-dragons, Maple belongs to @yveltalreal]

[piers-official]

Private text correspondence:

Bede: Hello, Gym Leader Marnie,

There's a matter of some importance that I'd like to discuss with you. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience.

All the best, Gym Leader Bede.

@ballonleastadiumofficial

Marnie: Hello, gym leader Bede :) Sure, I'd love to talk~ What's going on? Hope everything is alright.

[oranberryorion]

No knock at your door or anything. Ninten just enters the room…that door was defiantly locked before.

“Hi ori, let’s get a look at the damages!”

@bb-baker

Orion perks up immediately､ turning over to the door． It just burst open､ he didn‵t even hear a knob jiggle． Oh well！

″Hi､ Ninten！″ The cyborg puts on a smile almost instantly､ standing up from where he sat on his bed． His other hand was being held in the connected hand． He glanced down､ a little awkward．

″Uh– Colress never really told me how to fix it､ he always just had me go to him．″ Orion giggled lightly､ biting his cheek． ″So､ whatever you can do will probably be better than anything I know．″

[juliandpon]

(just gonna tag @elite-amarys here. This is the Amarys fight btw!) Juli sighed as she looked around the court. This is where she was supposed to fight Amarys. She looked down to the pokeball which had Ogerpon in it. She was going to be the last resort.

‘I.. I caused all this…’ She thought, a gloomy look on her face.

She snapped out of it as soon as her name was called. She looked up, and saw Amarys approaching her.

[blueflare7pkmn]

[Sidon jumps down from... wherever he was, you cant actually tell]

Hello there, Icky Vicky!

-@water-pokemon-appreciator

[Not only does Victoria whirl around, haxorus blades in hand, Sidon can hear Konnie hiss from the shadows "What the fuck are you doing???" Victoria's face immediately goes from shock to....... fear?]

S-s-sidon please you.... you h-have to help me.... she's...she's in m-m-m-my head...

[bee-bee-kyuu]

A hand grabs Kai's wrist as she walks down the hall, away from the chaos still happening at the entrance. The hand is still wet, and the grip is strong.

"Kai, stop. Talk to me." Amarys is still soaked from diving underwater with Sierra to search for Kai. She looks furious, and to anyone who knows her well enough, panicked. There is a Heavy Ball in her free hand. "What happened back there?"

@elite-amarys

Kai lets her hand be taken quite easily, but between you and me, the touch barely registers. The pressure does, however, and that's why she stops and turns.

"Hello, Amarys!" Her voice is full of joy, as normal, but the cadence is off. Slightly off-beat, perhaps, and an observant eye would notice that her lips don't quite match the rhythm of her words, like a poor lipsync.

"You look soggy. Haha! Sog-gy. Sog-y? Drenched."

[vulgrados-best]

OFFSCREEN POST

I'll Show You the Stars

Place: Zapapico

Date: September 3rd, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

The sun had just begun to set, leaving the evening sky tinted with an edge of lilac. Miguel had insisted on heading back home before their little expedition because they had a "surprise" they wanted to grab.

Aspen had just started to watch the few clouds in the sky when Miguel threw open the door. "Okay! All set! I got us a couple of flashlights, some potions, aaannnddd some pokeballs!" They flashed a winning smile before seeming to remember something. "Oh! And also some snacks and water if we get lost but I think we'll be okay!"

Aspen takes in a deep breath and blows it out through his mouth, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them and smiling slightly. Miguel thinks he must be preparing himself.

"Sounds good," Aspen says, flexing his fingers slightly, if only to have something to do with his hands, "Do you have like, a favorite cave or something for us to explore or are we just picking one, or-?" he asked, sounding almost nervous from Miguel's point of view.

Best to reassure him. "I've been slowly mapping out and getting a feel for the mining caves around here! Some of them aren't even carved by humans they're carved by the Orthworm if you'd believe it!" Their excitement seeps into their fun fact. They continue to gesticulate with their hands as they speak. "There's a cave that I've found has some remnants of terra shards left by I think some pokemon in parts of its walls, so it might be easier for you to traverse overall because there will be at least a bit of light!"

Aspen's interest seems to piqued at the mention of tera crystals, "Oh, for real? That's so cool actually, holy shit-!"

"Yeah it is," Miguel nods and then holds out a flashlight to Aspen. "But either way… I'm here. And I'm gonna show you something special."

Aspen takes the flashlight with a gracious smile, "Thank you," he says, "Seriously, you didn't have to like, go out of your way for me."

Miguel elbows Aspen. "I promise it's fine. Honestly I want people to share these things with. You seem like a perfect person to do so," ze gives Aspen a warm smile, emphasizing hir point.

Aspen blinks, just looking at Miguel for a moment, but smiles back. "I'm looking forward to sharing it to you," he says, elbowing them back, "Tera shards, though, huh? Ever find any wild Teras in there?"

"I've gotten close but…"

--++--

The two had made their way to a set of caves about 20 minutes by Cyclizar out from Town, they hadn't exactly been in a rush, but they had ridden their cyclizar to make the trip more effecient.

Place: East Province (Area Three)

Date: September 3rd, 2024

Time: 7:55 PM

The two pause in front of one, and Miguel hops off Celcity. They decide to keep their helmet on (sometimes bits of grit fall down due to pokemon), and turn to Aspen. "You feeling ready?"

Aspen takes a moment, glancing up at the sky, then at his watch; he peers into the cave, then into Miguel's eyes. He hops off of Spitfire, rubbing her head, more for his own sake than hers. "I'm ready," he says, grinning.

Miguel gives a signal for Celcity to wait for them outside the cave, and the two (plus Spitfire) step into the gaping maw. The sunset light stretches only so far into the deep suffocating dark… yet… far into the distance of the tunnel… they can see faint lights.

Miguel clicks on their flashlight. "Okay so what pokemon do you guess there is around these parts? Because let me tell you there's at least one very strange one I've seen." Best to make small talk to ease nerves.

Aspen pauses, clicking his own flashlight on, "Hm, well, if I had to guess-"

He looks up in thought, trying to remember what Pokemon he'd seen before, "I remember a lotta Rolycoly and the like when I came here for that work thing… And obviously the Orthworm, and then there's also theeee… The fuckinnnnn'…" He snapped his fingers a few times before he gets it, "I think there are some Dreepy here too, but the population's smaller."

Miguel watches the way Aspen's eyes are drawn to the faint lights. Ze intertwines the fingers of hir freehand with his. "Yep. There's been Larvitar too, and Deino, and Gabite. Lots of guys that can bite you… There's Cufant too so maybe Spitfire will feel at home!" Miguel barks out a laugh and it echoes down the length of the abandoned mine shaft.

Aspen laughs as well, readily taking Miguel's hand in his own.

Directly behind the two Spitfire perks up at the sound of her name, trilling happily despite not having been paying attention to the conversation, or really understanding it either. She is just happy to be here.

Miguel then considers Spitfire. "I think Spitfire could make the distance… Seems like quite the sturdy girl."

"Lotsa guys that could bite you, but I bite back," he grinned, canines sparkling in the (flash)light.

"OOohhh! Scary!" Miguel pipes up.

Aspen rolls his eyes fondly and continues, "But yeah, maybe! I actually caught her on the other side of Levincia, but who knows, maybe she just ran all the way there. That's kinda your whole thing, huh, girl?" He reaches back with the hand holding the flashlight and uses his fingers to rub under Spitfire's head, chuckling to himself.

Aspen glances at Miguel, his smile growing, "Oh, but yeah, she's pretty damn tough. She's not quiiite as fast as a racing-bred Cyclie, but she makes up for it with stamina. She could totally manage that distance."

Miguel lets out a chuckle and then a rather contented noise. Hanging out in a cave and talking about Cyclizar. What's better than this?

But they should be returning to the topic, "The real pokemon to watch out for are the Glimmet that have taken up residence here." Miguel shrugs.

Aspen nodded, "Oh, for sure- Had a nasty run-in with a Glimmet back in freshman year, worst week of my life, honestly. Didn't realize there were Glimmet down here though," he mumbled, "Neat!"

He paused for a moment, before asking Miguel, "Hey, how'd you find this cave anyway? You just pick one to explore when you feel like it?"

"Preetttyyyy much! There's tons of tunnels and Terrainity helps me find my way out. He actually used to be super bad at directions but we trained our way into him being really good at it" Miguel smiles, then something catches their eye. "Oh! Look! Tera shards on the wall!!"

Aspen follows Miguel's gaze, lighting up at the sight of the Tera shards; he maneuvers the flashlight in his hand, nearly touching the crystal and barely ghosting over it's surface as the light it gives off baths his face in its glow.

"They really are prettier in the dark," he says, glancing back at Miguel.

"I know right!? Those crystals outside have nothing on these bad boys! My theory is the Orthworms are responsible for the shards and the shards are responsible for the Glimmet." Miguel likes seeing Aspen so thrilled despite the cramped space.

"Ohh, I see where you're coming from," he nods, "That makes a lot of sense; so I guess the Glimmet are deeper inside then, where there're more crystals?"

"I'd assume so… Or they're clustered by the Tera Umbreon that lives around here!" Miguel grins mischievously. "Okay c'mon we just gotta get a bit further in then I can show you what I wanna show you!"

Aspen holds on tighter to Miguel's hand, taking in another breath like he had earlier, brimming with anticipation.

Aspen raises a brow at the mention of a Tera Umbreon, but grins back, "And I'm only hearing of this Tera Umbreon now?" Then Aspen shakes his head realizing that Miguel has no intention of elaborating. "Alright, alright, lead the way, Miguel."

"You'll get to see it later I promise!!" Miguel giggles and pulls Aspen along.

--++--

The two banter and riff off eachother until they get to a larger space than the cramped tunnel. It's an opening in the cave system with a ceiling that isn't terribly high but still has a comfortable enough room for them both to stand under.

"We're here!!" Miguel exclaims. They seem really excited now and let go of Aspen's hand. "Okay okay give me a minute." They start fishing through their backpack.

Miguel fishes out something that looks like a toy Torkoal without steam coming out of it.

Aspen looks back for a moment, barely having noticed just how cramped the tunnel was until now; he looks around, trying to figure out what's in the opening before looking back at Miguel.

He tilts his head with a tentative smile, asking, "Whatcha lookin' for?"

They look up at Aspen. "This! You said you were nervous in here without the stars… so I wanted to show you they can be everywhere… even down here." Miguel places the toy Torkoal on the ground and flicks a button.

It lights up a brilliant red and suddenly there are stars splayed across the ceiling in a show of dim light. Miguel starts playing with the colors. Green. Purple. Yellow. Then Miguel settles on that color. They smile expectantly at Aspen, hoping that their gesture is welcomed.

Aspen gazes up at the ceiling of the cave, mouth slightly open in a shocked smile, before his expression melts into a softer one.

He sighs quietly, his face bathed in that soft yellow glow as he turns back to Miguel. He doesn't know what to say, so he shows it instead, grabbing Miguel in a short, but tight hug.

"You didn't have to do all this," he whispers, "But you did."

He adds on, "This has been really nice, Miguel."

Maybe these dark, cramped caves weren't as bad as he thought; Miguel had made it amazing, after all. More than amazing, actually.

Breathtaking.

Scene End

[Aspen Sharma belongs to @aspens-dragons ]

[autumn-in-the-academy]

[offscreen post]

[tag: @bb-drayster ]

Maple sighed straightening her hair. Why did she care it was Drayton, he wouldn’t care, and it wasn’t a real date anyways, just hanging out. Shaking her head Maple knocked on the door before she could loose her nerve.

“Drayton, open up, it’s maple!”

[espers-n-espurrs]

OFFSCREEN POST

Connecting Roots

Continues from Laid to Rest

TWs // CWs : Hospitals, Child Injury Mention, Discussions of Pokemon Death, Discussions of Kidnapping / Child Abduction, Panic Attacks, Dissociation, Complete upheaval of life, Police

The hospital was unnerving, with its pristine white walls and floors and its blinding fluorescent lights. The scent of disinfectant perpetrated the air, causing the room to feel artificial and dead. Esper shifted uncomfortably in her bed, forcing herself to not fidget or touch the IV stuck in her arm. Beside her, Victoria sat in the recliner with furrowed brows and a distant stare, her arms crossed and her leg bouncing anxiously. The ticking of the clock pounded its way into Esper’s skull as she waited.

It had been nearly an hour since Reina had excused herself from the hospital room to go make a phone call, ordering Victoria to stay with Esper. At first, the two attempted to make small talk to stave off the silence. But the lingering tension from earlier events hung over them, suffocating any conversation until it died down to nothing more than crossed arms and far-off gazes from Victoria.

And yet despite the passage of time, Reina had yet to return. Esper didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing. She couldn’t see the dust. She couldn’t see the scattered remains of the Hatterene in her room. She couldn’t tell if any had landed on her, if Barcelona’s last remnants were all over her or in the far corners of the room. She couldn’t tell and she didn’t want to know.

Her body ached, the pain medication only doing so much to dull the throbbing in her face and torso.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs and hoped she wasn’t breathing in the dust of Barcelona, and opened her eyes to refocus on the blue-haired girl in the room.

“How are your Pokemon doing?” Esper asked, desperate to focus on anything but what had just happened. “I know Maria had to leave the dorm with Esperanza.”

Victoria’s eyes flickered upwards to look at Esper, slipping back into the present. She blinked for a moment before quietly responding with, “Physically, they will be fine. They are Pokemon, they heal fast.” She cast a glance at the blazer pocket that stored her Pokeballs. “Esperanza, as far as I am aware, sustained no injuries. Maria escaped with a few scratches. And Matador…” She trailed off. “Matador doesn’t know Barcelona is dead…”

“Oh…” Esper paused, looking down at her hands as she rubbed the blanket fabric between her fingers, “You're right. He doesn’t.”

With the grim reminder of what had occurred only an hour prior, the girls once again slipped back into uncomfortable silence, with only the ticking clock and the quiet hum of the fluorescent lights to fill the void.

Minutes later, however, Victoria suddenly lifted her head and whirled around to face the entrance to the hospital room. Unfurling her arms, she squinted and furrowed her brows at the door, extreme confusion and disbelief riddled her face. “Wait—” The girl whipped her head to look at Esper, eyes darting around every detail of her face. “Wait wait—”

The girl in the hospital bed blinked, “What–” She quickly brought a hand up to touch her bruised cheek, “What– Is the bruise getting worse?”

“No– I—” Victoria looked back and forth between Esper and the door, her chest rising and falling increasingly erratically. “I don’t– Wait– no—” Her gaze became unfocused as she stared off into the distance behind Esper, shaking her head slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that fell from her lips were unrefined stammers. “You– No– Nono– You can’t—”

“I– What–” Esper furrowed her brows as worry etched itself across her face. She watched her friend’s actions carefully, attempting to understand why her friend was acting so uncharacteristically emotional. Esper moved to the side of the bed, throwing her legs over the edge to sit up as she questioned the other girl. “Tori– Tori, what’s wrong?”

“Est— Esp—”

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. And before either of them could respond, Reina Velasco-Delgado had let herself into the room.

Two officers filed in behind her, along with a sharply dressed man— Victoria’s father.

The white-haired girl paused, her face paling as she eyed the police officers like a wary Pokemon, “Wha…”

Reina raised a hand to cut her off, “You are not in any trouble, love.” With her hands clasped in front of her, her smile warm, and her eyes soft, she appeared a lot less intimidating than she had been an hour ago. She had forgone the thick fur coat and wide brim hat for a much more humble white blazer. If not for her light complexion, she would appear a lot more like Victoria.

Speaking of Victoria, at the sight of her mother and father, the girl had quickly sobered up and sat straighter in her chair. She raised her chin in acknowledgement. The only hint of her prior state was the occasional glance she would throw in Esper’s direction.

Esper looked Reina up and down, doubt and confusion riddling her mind with all sorts of worse case scenarios as she asked, “Then– Then what–”

The girl was swiftly cut off by the clacking of heels as another figure entered the room, stealing away her attention and causing her to freeze in her seat as her eyes met those of an older woman. The older woman froze in turn, letting out a gasp at the sight of Esper and clasping her hand over her mouth where Esper could’ve sworn she had briefly caught a glimpse of the shining whites of fangs. But that wasn’t the only thing of note about the woman. No. Her hair that fell down to just below her shoulders was a brilliant snowy white and her eyes– her eyes were soft lavender with white pupils so bright that they almost seemed to glow.

But that couldn't be. These traits combined with the aged face of the woman resulted in what could only be described as the spitting image of Esper’s father.

If it were not for the fact that this woman was so clearly not her father she would’ve called out to them in excitement, but no. No. This was not her father, she did not know who this woman was.

Esper sat quietly, her guard raised as she stared at the woman through furrowed brows as she waited for her to make some kind of move.

And that was when the woman spoke. “Salut, do you remember me…? Do you know who I am…?” Her voice was soft and warm and she spoke with a strong Kalosian accent.

“...Am I meant to?” The younger girl responded rather bluntly.

The older woman's shoulders slumped slightly as she let her hands fall from her face but nonetheless she smiled at Esper as she answered “I had wished you did but that cannot be helped my dear…” She then leaned down to be face to face with the younger girl and this was when Esper took notice that the woman’s eyes were red and puffy as if she had just been crying. “Which means I should introduce myself, my name is Cécilia Wyrmwood. Does the last name Wyrmwood ring any bells?”

Esper shook her head with a growing sense of dread building in her gut as she glanced off to the side to see the two officers watching them intently.

Cécilia hummed in response, a seemingly sad look in her eyes before she shook her head in turn. “I… I understand. Let’s try this then.” She reached into her purse, pulling a series of photos. Thumbing through them for a moment the older woman selected one and bent down to show it to Esper. “Does this man look familiar to you?”

The white-haired girl looked down at the photo being presented to her and felt her stomach drop as she saw the ever so familiar face of her father staring up at her. It was undoubtedly him, the only difference being a bright toothy grin and a lack of wrinkles, but it was so clearly him.

Esper’s eyes snapped up to meet Cécilia’s, her face paling as she quietly asked, “Why do you have a photo of my da…?”

“Because I’m his twin sister, dear.” The older woman spoke with such confection that Esper didn’t have it in her to argue. To say that, no, no, you’re lying to me, my da has no siblings. Because how could Esper know for sure? Her father always shooed away any conversation about his family, always scolding and telling her to stop asking him such questions. But here she was, in front of one of her father’s family members, in front of one of her family members. But why? Why now? Why here? Why at all?

Esper wanted to ask every question running through her mind, every single one, but the only one that came out was, “Then… then why didn’t he tell me about you..? Why– What–”

Her mouth went dry as Cécilia answered with, “Because he took you.”

“You’re lying.” Esper spat out before thinking. She had to be lying. Her da didn’t take her. He couldn’t have.

Cécilia frowned at this, “I’m not. I promise you, I’m not. He took you and your brother and, as we’ve found out, fled to Spik–” 

She was quickly cut off by Esper snapping back, “You are! You must be! My– My da never took me! I’ve lived in Spikemuth my whole life! He never took me if I’ve always been there!”  

Victoria visibly flinched at Esper’s sudden outburst. Yet she remained silent as always. Reina stepped to her daughter’s side and rested a hand on the back of the chair, shooting Cécilia a sympathetic frown.

Cécilia sighed in return, “I know. I know this is hard, trust me when I say this.”

“And why should I?” The girl snarled back.

Esper’s aunt took a deep breath and pulled out another photo from the collection she had in her hands, staring at it for a long moment before turning it around for Esper to see. In the photo stood a young girl, no more than six, with white hair and lavender eyes smiling brightly at the camera as she held an older boy’s hand, his complexion darker than her own with curly white hair and his own eyes a darker shade of purple. The two stood in front of a large and extravagant iron gate with Esper’s father off to the side, watching the two with sharp eyes and a soft smile.

“Do you recognize these two?” Cécilia asked in a tone that indicated that she already knew the answer.

Esper felt her hands begin to shake, her eyes scouring the photo for what felt like minutes. No. No. She doesn’t– Those can’t– No– “That’s my brother and I…” She quietly responded, her voice much more meek than what it had been before during her outburst. “But… That can’t– I don’t remember that– Where–”

“That was taken for one of many Christmas photos when you were six...” Cécilia pointed at the building in the far distance of the photo, “That is the Wyrmwood estate in Kalos. Where you grew up until you were taken.”

“But I wasn’t–”

“Your father has been lying to you, my dear.” Cécilia softly responded, reaching to place a hand on the girl’s shoulder only to have her instantly be shrugged off. The older woman held back a sigh as she continued, “He’s been lying to you about so much. That man is not named Cedric Hargrove but rather Lucien Wyrmwood… Much like how your name isn’t Esper Hargove–”

Esper’s chest began to rapidly rise and fall. No. No. No no nononono– This wasn’t real– This can’t be real–

“–but rather Estelle Lucille Wyrmwood… Lucien took both you and Flynn on November thirtieth twenty-seventeen and we’ve been looking for you ever since…”

“No. No– No no no–” Esper repeated in a frenzy. Her eyes began to tear up as she felt the pit in her stomach begin to twist and churn, a shooting pain firing through her as she felt her heart begin to strain and hurt. That was all she felt. Hurt. “Wh– Why would he– He wouldn’t do that—”

“Because he cheated on his wife, your brother’s mother, and had you with another woman–” Cécilia continued despite Esper’s protests, her brows furrowing as she tried to find the words, “We… We hadn’t known that was the case and it’s an incredibly long and upsetting story that I feel as though should be shared with you at another time–”

“You’re lying–” Esper interrupted the older woman, her voice strained, “You have to be lying– Pl– Please be lying–”

She can’t trust this woman. She doesn’t know this woman. Who can she trust? Was there anyone here she could trust? Was there anyone here who wouldn’t lie to her for some unforeseen gain?

Victoria.

Esper whipped her head around to look at the girl, tuning out Cécilia's voice with relative ease as she stared at her friend with pleading eyes. Victoria would tell her. Victoria would tell her the truth.

And as if Victoria could hear her thoughts, she lifted her gaze to look Esper in the eye. With trembling hands, she slowly reached to pull off her gloves, exposing the eye-shaped tattoo on the back of her hand. Setting the glove aside, she wordlessly extended her exposed hand to Esper with a small nod.

An invitation to discover the truth for herself.

She knew Esper would believe every word she said. And yet she was giving her the option anyway.

Esper stared at the open hand for a moment, fear of what she may learn causing her to hesitate and second guess if she really wanted to know. But she did. She so desperately did. Because if this was all a lie then she would need to worry about why she was being lied to. And if it wasn’t…

The room became dead silent as Esper slowly took her friend’s hand into her own.

The memory of two young girls flashed into her mind: one with dark blue hair and small freckles on her cheeks, and the other… the girl from the picture. The two girls were playing with dolls in a beautiful garden, burying a Ken doll that had clearly been set on fire in recent history. On the other side of the makeshift grave stood a towering Pangoro and Matador, Victoria’s Armarouge, lowering their heads solemnly as if attending a funeral service. The Pangoro pretended to wipe a tear from his eye as he held his cabbie hat to his chest. The girls put the Ken doll in a casket and lowered it into the grave. Normal little girl stuff.

But that was clearly a younger Victoria. And that was clearly a younger Esper. Estelle? A younger her.

The memory melted away as the girl’s hand slipped from her friend’s, falling limply at her side as she slowly turned back to Cécilia. She could hear that Cécilia was attempting to speak to her but no matter how much she strained, no matter how much she tried, she could not hear her. She could barely even see her face. 

Something wet hit her arm, pulling her gaze downwards to see dark spotting along her hospital gown. Tear stains. When did she start crying? How long had she been crying?

Esper could feel her throat squeezing tightly shut, narrowing her airways and making it harder to fill her lungs with air but when she could she could her chest heaving and shaking. Her heart was being strangled from within, sharp pains shooting through like salt to tender wounds. Her hands were unsteady as she wrapped them around herself in a tight embrace, squirming away as she felt someone else's hands try to reach for her. She didn’t know who it was. She didn’t care. She didn’t want to be touched.

She felt cold, clammy, as if all worth had been sucked from her in an instant. Thousands of thoughts ran through her head as tears stained her cheeks and mucus filled her nose. Everything hurt. Her muscles, her heart, her mind. Everything. Hurt. 

It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurtsithurtsithurtsithurts–

She felt sick. 

Esper could barely feel her own mind as she tried to look at the faces around her, finding that her vision was startlingly becoming more and more fuzzy as seconds passed to such a point she wasn’t even convinced that she could see. “I don’t–” She choked out, her voice nearly inaudible, “I don’t feel well….”

She couldn’t see. She couldn’t hear. She could not think as her vision faded into nothingness and Esper, the now no longer missing Wyrmwood girl, collapsed onto her hospital bed.

Scene End.

===============

[ Victoria, Reina, and Alamar all belong to @victoria-vd / @jaimemes ]

[yveltalreal]

[Offscreen Post: Return to Sender]

The dorm was quiet, the only sounds being the steady ticking of the clock hung on the wall. Even the hall was quiet, with most of the students for the upcoming semester not having arrived yet.

In this quiet moment, Pickle idly groomed herself. The feline pokemon ought to look her best, especially if her trainer was deciding to keep that evil distortionspawn wearing the flesh of a glameow. She refused to be replaced by that... thing. Maybe it would convince Maple that he didn't NEED another catmon, especially not that one.

The meowscarada carefully adjusted her mask when out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tami the absol's head suddenly shoot up. It didn't take long for the source of the absol's sudden panic to be located though as suddenly a strange light filled the room and the ever present sound of the clock ceased.

Pickle took a few wary steps back, fur standing on end as Tami stood up to join herm The absol was wary but not alarmed. Pickle thought that was stupid because clearly the world was about to end and the absol should have been freaking out about that.

As the source of the light shifted, becoming more humanoid in appearance, Princess Creature trotted out from her hiding spot to join the other two felines with a curious mrrp.

Of course! This was obviously Creature's fault! Creature had summoned the end times! There was but one way Pickle could fix this.

She picked up the Glameow and threw it at the light.

Creature sailed through the air before hitting the figure in the light squate in the chest and bring caught in its arms. In an instant, the light dissipated and the figure was revealed to be a woman with dark skin, a gaunt face, and long blue hair.

The woman looked stared a bewildered Tami and Pickle, before looking down at the evil, horrible glameow in her arms. The second she registered Creature, she happily lifted the catmon above her head with a wide smile, cooing and babbling at the thing as if it was a mere kitty and not some foul beast.

"THERE YOU ARE!" The woman exclaimed happily before bringing creature down towards her face and nuzzling it excitedly. "My sweet little baby girl! My wonderful little daughter! Mommy missed you so much she had no idea where you went! Don't ever run off without me again! My sweet little baby!!"

Pickle stared on. She was one of THOSE trainers. And to that monster no less. Disgusting.

The meowscarada began to growl lowly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, expecting her trainer only to be dissapointed when she realized it was the other one

"Rona," The One That Was Not Her Trainer started, getting the strange woman's attention. "It's been years. You cannot keep calling that thing your daughter to cope with me killing the real one."

The woman said something about not knowing for sure but Pickle didn't pay full attention, just staring at The Other One, The One That Was Not Her Trainer, in shock. She really did just say that, huh? Out of fucking pocket.

She was snapped out of her shock when The Other One spoke again.

"Right. Whatever. You have your glameow, so leave."

The woman made an exaggerated pout and began to whine dramatically.

"Awwww, I can't stay and hang out with an old friend? Catch up? Discuss what we've been up to? Talk about you chose this one to be your little toy for the next couple thousand years?" As she asked the question, she tucked Creature under her arm like a sportsball and gestured towards Maple's body, the body The Other One was currently posessing.

The One That Was Not Her Trainer was not amused.

"No," it said simply. "Leave. I have no wish to discuss anything with you."

The woman was clearly disappointed but relented anyways. Good choice. Pickle wouldn't have pushed The Other One anymore either.

She quickly said her goodbyes and thanked them for keeping the glameow (who's name was Fortune, actually. Not Princess creature. It should have been named Vile Evil Thing in Pickle's opinion) before dissappearing into the same light she had appeared in. As soon as she was gone, the clock began to tick again.

Pickle just stared until the other one spoke.

"Let's not let Maple know about this one either."

[victoria-vd]

OFFSCREEN POST

The Storm

// tw violence, injury, eye gore (kiiinda? almost)

Part 1: The Calm

The hallways of Naranja-Uva Academy were uncharacteristically quiet. Not many students roamed the school on the weekend, preferring to either stay cooped up inside their dorm or return home, leading to eerily silent corridors and barren dormitory halls.

The silence only made the sounds of destruction coming from Victoria’s dorm that much more pressing.

A girl with long white hair stood before her neighbor’s door with her phone in hand and a Maschiff by her side. Esper stared down at the screen before turning her gaze upward to the door before her, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. She’d already texted Jaime about the situation and had been instructed to wait, but frankly she was almost tempted to knock on the door right then and th—

Quick as lightning, an object suddenly whizzed past her ear, snapping her out of her thoughts. The girl glanced over her shoulder, looking to see what the object was.

To her horror, lodged deep into the brick wall behind her was a plastic straw.

Esper swallowed down the lump in her throat as she whipped back around to find where it came from, taking notice of a small hole in Victoria’s wall. Sure enough, it was about the width of a plastic straw.

Her grip on her cane tightened as she looked down at the Maschiff by her side with a grimace. It'd be best to wait…

It wasn’t long before frantic footsteps approached Esper. A tall boy skidded to a halt beside her, holding his hat to prevent it from flying off. Out of breath, Jaime’s eyes glanced over to the straw lodged firmly into the wall. With a wince, he turned to the girl and asked, “What… What’s going on?”

Esper gave an unsure shrug as she gestured aimlessly at Victoria’s door, "I don't– I don't know... Something’s going on in there. I hear crashing, things breaking, it sounds like– like a fight or something. I don't... I don't know what's happening. But it doesn't sound good…"

Jaime drew his lips into a line, clear worry seeping into his expression. “And she didn’t answer your texts?”

The girl shook her head with a frown, "She didn't, which is incredibly unusual because she typically answers damn near instantly after I've sent them."

The boy silently looked between Esper and the door, a mix of emotions clear on his face. Shutting his eyes for a moment, he drew in a breath and made his way towards the door, raising a hand to knock.

But something sparked in Esper's eyes— a sharp pang shot through her neck. Jaime should not touch that door. Before she even knew what she was doing, she forcibly grabbed Jaime by the forearm and yanked him away from the door. "Wait–”

“Wh—“

BANG!

The wooden door suddenly burst outwards with explosive force, snapping it in half and sending it careening into the wall at breakneck speed. The wood shattered into splinters on impact.

The pair loudly yelped in unison. Jaime recoiled back in shock, holding Esper by the shoulder and pulling her back slightly as Esper’s Maschiff scrambled back with the pair, her tail between her legs. The girl stared at the remains of the door, her breath quick in her chest, before looking off towards the now open doorway. "What– What… the fuck…?"

A door down the hall slammed open followed by a rather upset looking Maple sticking her head out of the doorway, “CAN YOU PEOPLE KEEP THIS SHIT DOWN!? SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO FUCKING STUD–” Maple cut himself off, eyeing the scene down the hall with a confused expression, “Oh what the fuck?" She ducked back into her dorm for a moment before hurrying out into the hall as she struggled to fix her belt. "I thought someone was battling in the dorms! What the fuck happened?"

"Uhhh–" Esper looked to Jaime for help.

He was about to respond when another door in the opposite direction opened as well, which Aspen carefully poked his head out of. The boy opened his mouth to say something, before closing it as his eyes fell on the debris of the destroyed door. He stepped out into the hall to join the others, a tentative expression on his face as he came closer. “Um,” he paused for a moment, looking between Esper, Jaime, and Maple, “What’s going on?”

It was at that moment that Victoria’s Indeedee burst out of the doorway with a shaken-up Espurr cradled in her arms. Upon seeing Jaime, she visibly relaxed and rushed to him.

The boy in question bent down and grasped the goat by the shoulders. “¡María, ¿qué pasa?!”

The Indeedee cast a glance at the open doorway behind her. Her eyes fell to the Espurr in her arms, which she then held even closer to her chest, before looking back up to meet Jaime’s gaze. She reached a single hoofed hand to Jaime’s own hand on her shoulder and pressed down on it.

His eyes darted back and forth between the hoof on his hand and the open doorway, brows wrinkling upwards with each passing moment. He swallowed nervously and stood back up, reaching for a Pokeball at his side and releasing the Pokémon inside. Another Indeedee— a male this time— appeared before him, arms to his back and his posture stiff as a board. He glanced at his surroundings, taking note of the shattered door and Maria’s shaken state, and immediately looked up to his trainer with a nod.

Jaime nodded back and turned to Maria. "Quédate con la Espurr". He looked down at Jorge, and then from Esper to Aspen to Maple. “Psychic outburst.”

"Oh!" Maple’s eyes wandered the group, only to fill with fear when they landed on the Maschiff. "Well in that case..." She looked away from the group and backed up slowly, shooting Jaime an awkward smile and thumbs up. "Bye! Have fun!"

Esper raised a brow at Maple's reaction but decided not to dwell on it, it was their choice to not get involved after all. And Esper was about to make her own. The girl took a deep breath, attempting to steel her nerves, and promptly turned away from the group and began to walk toward the doorway of Victoria’s dorm.

“"Wait–! What the fuck are you doing!?” Maple stopped in her tracks and whirled around to stare in horror at Esper. “I know you don't know exactly what we're dealing with here but you SHOULD NOT WALK INTO THAT FUCKING DORM!?"

“Woahwoahwoahwoah—” Jaime leapt in front of Esper and pulled her aside. “Look, I love the enthusiasm, but you can’t just walk in without warning. You need some sort of protection,” he said as he gestured to Jorge. “There will be shit flying at speeds that will kill you on impact and, psychic or not, we will not be able to catch them.”

Aspen took a breath, "Okay, okay. Can we get more words other than like– just 'psychic outburst'?"

“I’d love to give you an in-depth explanation but we don’t have time to—”

"Autism." Maple interrupted.

“I—“ Jaime pointed a finger in the air, “Yeah, pretty much. Just imagine autism but with superpowers.”

"Okay, great," Esper replied as she balled her Maschiff, figuring it’d be safer for her Pokemon to be put away, before gesturing towards the doorway, "Can we go check on Tori now or...? Because if you lot aren't coming I'm just going to walk on in."

Jaime swallowed, “Yes but—“

From where the group was standing at the doorway, they could see the figure of a Hatterene being thrown against the counter of the mini-kitchen of the dorm, sliding over the top and hiding behind it just in time to avoid being hit by a flying microwave that crumpled against the wall. The Hatterene briefly glanced at the metal heap on the floor before leaping back over the counter and out of the line of sight of the doorway.

“…You are absolutely staying behind me, Esper.” Jorge stepped forwards to stand by Esper’s side.

The girl nodded, staring wide-eyed at the crumpled microwave, "No argument there..."

Maple fumbled with the Pokeballs on his belt. "Oh. Yay...." Aspen's hand went toward an older Net Ball on his own belt, his lips pursed. Neither of them wanted to fight a Hatterene.

Jaime visibly swallowed and took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. He stepped forwards into the room.

The bizarre effects of Trick Room became immediately apparent. The walls of the dorm were lined with translucent square tiles that glowed an iridescent blue, and every step felt prolonged and sluggish. Potted plants and kitchen utensils floated alongside the group as they crept through the entryway corridor. The door to the bathroom had been busted halfway off its hinges, allowing them to glimpse inside and see the light bulbs shattered, the mirror cracked, and the sink faucet burst, spewing water everywhere.

Jaime stopped right at the corner of the corridor, holding his hand up to signal for the rest to stop as well. Leaning flush against the wall, he slowly peeked his head around the edge of the wall to get a look around the corner—

A red hand suddenly caught a spoon that almost flew straight into Jaime’s eye socket.

Victoria’s Armarouge, Matador, rounded the corner with surprising speed, pulling Jaime back around the bend into safety. He glanced over his shoulder at the chaos for a moment before facing the tall boy once again, crossing his arms with a stern look on his face.

"Guys, I think we might be, like, fucked." Maple ran her thumb over the button of Pickle's pokeball, but didn't press hard enough for the Meowscarada to be released. Trick Room shut down just about every single one of Maple's strategies.

Aspen nodded towards the Armarouge, but frowned as well, glancing around the dorm warily. "Yeah, no," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pushing the dyed section back, only for it to fall back into his face, "Between the Hatterene and Trick Room..." He trailed off, tapping his finger against the Net Ball in his hand.

Jaime cast a glance back at Maple and Aspen, then back to Matador.

The Armarouge gave Jaime a sympathetic look. He raised his chin in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers in revelation. Addressing the group, he made two fists and bumped them against each other, and then formed an X with his arms and shook his head. Then, he clasped his hands together and then drew them apart.

“So we don’t need to beat her,” Jaime tilted his head in thought, “We just need to separate them and hold her back.”

The white-haired girl nodded, "That makes sense, yeah... Though I don't think my Pokemon are well suited for that task. They aren't the strongest yet."

"There is still a Hatterene and Trick Room.” Maple interjected. “And between Aspen and I, we have a grand total of one Pokémon that isn't weak to Fairy."

Aspen mumbled, "We could try for Thunder Wave, but..."

Maple started to count on her fingers, muttering under her breath.

Esper squinted at Maple, "Now is not the time to be doing your bloody maths homework."

Aspen’s eyes widened slightly, "Wait, no, he's onto something–!"

"I'M NOT DOING MATHS HOMEWORK! I'VE FIGURED OUT HOW TO WIN!" Maple gripped Esper by the shoulders.

“Unhand me." Esper deadpanned.

Maple removed her hands and continued. "Listen, if we set things up right then my Meowscarada can be made SO SLOW that she outspeeds Barcelona under Trick Room!" She beamed with a smile only someone who has just cooked up the most insane battle strategy could have. "If Pickle gets paralyzed and has her speed lowered by at least one stage, something that Chip can do as Raichu has access to both Thunder Wave AND Electroweb, then all I would need to do is somehow procure an Iron Ball and–"

Jaime cut her off, “Maple, we outnumber her at least 3 to 1, we have the numbers over her– And where are you even going to get an Iron Ball from, out of your ass???”

"Well..." Aspen shook his head, "No, nevermind."

Maple visually deflated. "You all hate me."

Jaime rubbed the bridge of his nose. “No Maple, we don’t hate you, we just have more pressing matters than an Iron Ball. Can we please help my sister now?”

Aspen exhaled slightly, and nodded. "I still think we need some kind of plan though–we can all agree on that, yeah?"

"Well I MADE a plan and no one liked it, so I guess we're going to help Jaime's sister now!" Maple rolled up her sleeves as she walked out into the open dorm space. The second she was in the open space, Maple pulled a worn down Pokeball from her belt and launched it at the Hatterene. It flipped open as it soared through the air, sending the Meowscarada inside flying directly into Barcelona, Pickles claws digging into her hair.

Barcelona, who had been trying to get closer to Victoria when Pickle seemingly suddenly came out of nowhere, whirled around with a frustrated sound, swinging her hand-like tendril around to swat Pickle off.

“That works,” Jaime shrugged. He turned to Matador and shouted, “Cover me!” before dashing out into the open with the Armarouge close behind.

"Oh, we're just doing this now, okay–" Aspen mumbled, tossing the Net Ball into the air and letting his Alolan Raichu out as he followed after Jaime into the open space. The boy nodded to Chip, trusting that despite the increasingly sinister grin forming on his face, Chip would know what to do.

Out in the open space of the dorm, everyone had a much clearer view of the hell that had broken loose.

Floating in the center of the room, Victoria hung limp in the air with her arms draped at her sides. Swathes of debris wrapped around her like rings of an ophanim. Her blank white gaze, fully devoid of their piercing lavender pupils, lacked focus or direction. And yet it seemed as if she could see everything and everyone all at once.

Esper glanced around the corner, her eyes falling on Victoria with an expression of worry clear as day across her face. There wasn’t much the girl could do in this situation. She wasn’t a battler, she wouldn’t be able to take on Barcelona with the others.

The girl opted to stay hidden with Jorge for now.

Suddenly, Barcelona managed to grasp Pickle by the scruff of her neck and immediately swung around to throw her at Chip.

Chip attempted to surf out of Pickle's way; panic evident on his face when he realized he couldn’t move out of Pickle's trajectory fast enough before the two Pokemon collided with a screech; both taking the brunt of an Electro Ball attack the Alolan Raichu was preparing and sent the two in flying.

Aspen winced as he watched, "Shit– Chip?"

Chip growled as he floated up, starting to get irritated as he watched the Hatterene through narrowed eyes.

The Meowscarada landed on all fours with a hiss before standing back on her hind legs with a pleased mew.

Maple gave his cat a thumbs up–

– right as a Flower Trick bomb exploded from within Barcelona's hair.

The Hatterene let out a screech as she recoiled from the sudden Flower Trick. She whirled to the two Pokemon with a growl, looking back between them and Victoria at the center of the room. There was a moment of hesitation as she weighed her options. Dazzling Gleam would make this situation worse, Mystical Fire was too big of a risk to Victoria, and Psychic would not be of much help against a Meowscarada and an Alolan Raichu.

“Barcelona!” Jaime called out to her, slowly inching closer to Victoria. “You need to stop! You are making this worse!”

The Hatterene turned to Jaime with a look of contempt. She was trying to fix this. The boy was going to get himself killed.

Narrowing her eyes, she reached for the nearest floating object— a steel chair— and threw it at the two Pokémon as she tried to approach Victoria once again.

Pickle swiftly dodged the chair with Maple close behind, the two keeping their distance from the Hatterene.

Chip, on the other hand, growled at the enemy Pokemon, timing his reaction just so the chair narrowly missed him. He made a noise akin to a laugh, seeming to be taunting the Hatterene.

"Chip," Aspen warned, his eyes still trained on the Hatterene.

Unseen by the others, Esper began to creep out from the entrance way of the dorm, joining them all in the main room with Jaime’s Indeedee following close behind.

Aspen continued to eye the scene carefully, before glancing at Chip, barely nodding.

Now!

The chair began to rise from the ground, surrounded by a bright blue psychic energy. There was a dangerous spark in Chip's eyes as he snickered to himself, before launching the chair straight at Barcelona, the expression on his face one of pure glee at the thought of getting to throw a chair at the Hatterene.

The chair spun toward her at dangerous speeds, headed straight for the back of her hair-covered head until the handlike tendril suddenly shot outwards and snatched it out of the air and, in one swift motion, Barcelona spun around with the chair in her hands and swung it full-force into the figure directly behind her.

The figure went flying— swept off their feet by the sheer force of the chair against their upper body— and was sent straight into the brick wall behind them with a sickening crack. The figure didn’t stay against the wall for long though, instantly falling to the ground with a hard thud followed by the clattering of a cane beside them.

The figure– Esper Hargrove– did not get up. Instead she laid worryingly still on the floor of the dorm, the only sign of movement being the strained rise and fall of her chest.

The Hatterene froze, eyes wide and mouth agape. The steel chair clattered to the ground.

Jorge immediately rushed to Esper’s side with a bleat of extreme concern. Matador placed a hand over his mouth, staring at Barcelona in shock. Everyone in the room fell silent as all eyes fell to the Hatterene.

All at once, the flying debris in the room came to a sudden halt in mid-air, as if time itself had stopped. Victoria’s head snapped to look directly at Barcelona.

"Shit!" Maple scrambled over, sliding to the floor beside Esper and began to try and gently shake her awake. Once that didn’t work, he carefully moved her onto her side as he had determined she was out cold. "I think she's okay for now? Absolutely will need medical attention but I don't think she's at risk of dying immediately."

Barcelona slowly turned to look over at Victoria.

The silence in the room was suffocating; you could cut the tension with a knife. Nobody dared to move a muscle under Victoria’s terrifying blank stare.

Suddenly, every object in the room turned to point directly towards the Hatterene, poised and ready and waiting to pierce her into oblivion.

Jaime frantically threw his hands out at Victoria, “Victoria stop—!”

Victoria’s head snapped to look at her brother instead, and every potential projectile in the room followed.

His face paled and breath caught in his throat. But nevertheless, he swallowed and said, “Victoria… you need to calm down. I— I know that’s not exactly helpful but we— we need to get Esper medical attention, okay?”

"She's still breathing but she did get hit pretty hard so maybe we should... not violently maim everyone in the room?" Maple suggested.

Aspen paused. He looked at Esper, then the Hatterene, then Victoria, Jaime, Maple, and back to Victoria, before finally looking at Esper again. "Jaime's right– We shouldn't waste time, she needs medical care, now. I'm–" He paused, taking a deep breath, "I'm gonna call 112, yeah?"

Jaime nodded, running a stressed hand through his hair, “Yeah… yeah yeah.” He examined Esper on the ground, then surveyed the damage done to the room and the cuts and bruises that littered Victoria’s floating body. He winced. She was definitely going to need medical attention herself…

He tentatively addressed his sister, “Okay. We’re going to— We’re going to call an ambulance, alright? And we’re going to be here with Esper, but we’ll be quiet and give you space, okay? And whenever you’re ready, we can go to the hospital.”

Victoria simply stared at him.

"I will not be an annoyance for once in my life.” Maple stated. “I mean mostly because I'm trying to make sure Esper isn't dying but..." She looked away, continuing to make sure everything that's supposed to be inside, stays inside.

Aspen nodded tentatively, taking his phone out to call emergency services, glancing at Jaime with an attempt at a reassuring look as he stepped out into the corridor.

"Um– hello? Okay, um, I'm a Naranja-Uva student, we need an ambulance...."

———

[Jaime belongs to @jaimemes, Esper belongs to @espers-n-espurrs, Aspen belongs to @aspens-dragons, Maple belongs to @yveltalreal]

[kitakami-zorua-kin]

//Private message from Ange to Russet!

So... I can give you a definitive answer to that question you asked yesterday...

[@lovestrucksweet]

//Private message from Russet to Ange

Oh? Oh right! The call with your sister! How'd that go?