The FALLARBOR Team (PLOT)

It was strange to part from Lance's pokemon after so much time in their presence. Actually, it was almost anxiety-inducing. But, Sara-Anne reminded herself, it was only temporary. They'd be meeting up again later.

Later... She wondered if, after returning to Indigo Plataeu, if she would continue to see her new friends. They were friends, right? They'd spent a happy evening together playing games and telling stories. It wasn't weird to consider them friends...?

Ugh, social interaction was bullshit.

"Hi? Um, it's been some time, so we wanted to check up on you guys. Did you two need anything?" Chris called, as quietly as he could, through the door.

"I think we are alright. Kaeli is still sleeping though." That was... Alistair, right? It definitely wasn't the lady. And she was the injured one, she was fairly sure.

"I think...I think I could use a softer surface." Speak of the devil. Poor lady; she must be in pain. Sara-Anne winced.

"Is there anything you could bring?" Her mate's voice came through the door again. "If she's in enough pain to ask it is worse than I thought."

"Uhhhhhhhh..." Her friend glanced over at Chris, brows furrowed with worry.

"We can help you get it, if you have something," she offered to Chris. If he did, it was probably a mattress. She could totally help someone carry that, and carrying one by himself would probably be hard and annoying, not so much because of its weight than because of how bulky it would be.

To his relief, Chris gets a response from one of them, Alistair if he's remembering the name right. It would have been humiliating if both were asleep and hadn't heard, or even worse, if he'd woken them up from a peaceful rest.

"I think we are alright. Kaeli is still sleeping though."

Chris feels like he can breathe a little easier upon hearing that. It's probably way better for her to keep sleeping, better that than being conscious and in pain. But not long after Alistair says that, his mate speaks up-and simply by how her voice sounds, it's morbidly easy to tell she's not okay.

"I think...I think I could use a softer surface."

"Is there anything you could bring? If she's in enough pain to ask it is worse than I thought."

His heart goes out to the injured of the pair. Luckily, though, while Fallarbor was by no means a large town even before it had to be rebuilt, there's only a handful of people living there (and of them, only one human); Chris knows for a fact he has extra bedding lying around. He'll give them things from the house he uses as 'home' if he has to.

"We can help you get it, if you have something," Sara-Anne offers, and Chris nods. He's not as much of a weak noodle when it comes to carrying heavier and/or sizable objects anymore (farm work will do that for you), but extra help is always appreciated. Chris would rather get something for the injured feline to rest on back to this house as soon as possible.

"I have extra mattresses and blankets back in town," he confirms, saying it as an answer for Sara-Anne and Alistair's questions alike.

"We can help you get it, if you have something," Alistair heard the female human reply, only just now realizing she was outside the door too. Should have used his vision anyway when he heard Chris before but had decided against it. Stupid Alistair. That's how ambushes happen and he couldn't let Kaeli get hurt again.

"I have extra mattresses and blankets back in town," was the second response and Alistair let out a small huff of agreement causing Kaeli to once again thwack him with her tails. "Ow, hey! Okay, okay, I'll use my words. Sheesh. I'm not scared of you, you know." Kaeli stared at him causing Alistair to shrink a bit. "That would be fine, thank you. Your hospitality has been a godsend. Thank you for helping take care of my mate." There, that was worth the smile on the Rahneko's face. She was always so pretty when she smiled.

"I have extra mattresses and blankets back in town." Sara-Anne's face lit up. Yes, good! And he used the plural forms, which should mean that there might be some left over that no one was using for Sara-Anne herself and her pokemon.

"Fuck, yes," she heard her chimp say quietly from his place on her shoulder with a little fist pump.

It would be nice to let them spend the night outside their pokeballs. She never did like confining any of them to the little spheres when there wasn't a need to.

Sometimes for travel purposes it was neccesary. And sometimes also for the sake of having less people around for the more unsavory kind of survivors to spot. That night in the cabin, she realized, was the first time in quite awhile that they had all been out and about for several hours at a time.

It looked like that would get to happen more often.

"Ow, hey! Okay, okay, I'll use my words." The voice of the Luxray drew her attention back; sounded like the Luxray's mate disapproved of something. "Sheesh. I'm not scared of you, you know..."

There was a moment's pause. If looks could kill, Sara-Anne assumed that Alaister would be vaporized. She didn't need to be able to see her face to guess that. If it wasn't a death-stare, it was a look so sardonic it could curdle milk.

Cats were experts at such looks.

"That would be fine, thank you. Your hospitality has been a godsend. Thank you for helping take care of my mate."

"I second that, about the godsend part. Where to?" the girl asked their host with a smile.

From Sara-Anne's expression and the words of her Chimchar friend, Chris can sense their approval-and it brings a smile to his face in turn. If he can keep this up, if he can keep proving that he's useful, maybe things around here will continue to run smoothly. The last thing Chris wants is another repeat of what happened when he neglected to tell the cats that there were more humans around.

"Ow, hey! Okay, okay, I'll use my words." Speaking of the cats...what the heck is going on with them?
"Sheesh. I'm not scared of you, you know..."

There's a moment where nobody says anything, which gives time for Chris to wonder: is he actually afraid of her, or is it only a joke? Right now, he's leaning more towards the latter. He can remember how Kaeli had scolded her mate, but it was nothing approaching cruelty. Definitely nothing to be afraid of, right? Chris decides to settle on Alistair joking around.

"That would be fine, thank you. Your hospitality has been a godsend. Thank you for helping take care of my mate."

Again, he finds himself feeling sheepish-praise, no matter who it's from, always gets to him. At least this time around, Chris manages to keep himself from messing with his hair as a distraction from his anxiety. He's well aware of just how obvious the movement is, how it brought unwanted attention to him.

"It's no problem at all. I'm just happy to help," he says, "We'll be back soon with what she needs, I promise."

"I second that, about the godsend part. Where to?"

Maybe it's because he has a clear goal, or because he knows exactly where to go (maybe both), but Chris finds that ugly tangle of apprehension lurking within him ebbing away, even if only temporarily. This is, after all, why he helped rebuild Fallarbor-it was always meant to help people. Now he has his chance to fulfill his promise to Azelf. With a surge of confidence, he's able to respond to Sara-Anne's question.

"The contest hall in town should have everything we need-that's the large building in the center of town. We'll have to go through some boxes for the blankets, but they'll be there for sure."

It really is a boon that Fallarbor and its outskirts aren't that large of an area; they could go to the Hall and be back in a reasonable stretch of time. He hates to think that Kaeli will be on an uncomfortable floor the whole time, but that unfortunately can't be helped.


(ooc: Okay, for some reason my laptop absolutely refuses to space out divided sentences properly, so I'm sorry if this post looks choppy. I can't seem to fix it no matter what I do. I also had no idea whether to skip ahead to town or not in my own post so I played it safe and left it open.)

"It's no problem at all. I'm just happy to help," Alistair couldn't help but smile as the human once again offered aid to him and his mate. Their luck with humans since the fall hadn't been this friendly in so long Alistair almost forgot how not to be bitter. Honestly it was like how he acted before he met Kaeli, nothing but sarcasm and a haircut. "We'll be back soon with what she needs, I promise."

"I second that, about the godsend part. Where to?"

"The contest hall in town should have everything we need-that's the large building in the center of town. We'll have to go through some boxes for the blankets, but they'll be there for sure." Contest Hall? This town had a Contest Hall? Well hot damn, Kaeli would have liked to see that. Perhaps when she was better the human wouldn't mind them moving further into town; she always was better at negotiations than him.

"If you need an extra body to carry my mate would be happy to assist," Kaeli purred, looking up at the lion with an arched eye ridge as if daring him to contest her. "He's very capable when he puts his mind to something. Plus it might do him some good to feel useful, otherwise he will be fussing over me all the while and personally I'd rather sleep."

"Hey-"

"Don't act like you wouldn't. You are a giant mother hen who honestly needs to get out of the henhouse."

"Fine. Bossy."

"Mmhmm, and you like me that way so shush."

"Fair enough." Alistair let out a little sigh and stretched, standing up to shake himself loose before padding over to the door. "No sense arguing with the lady," he offered with a chuckle as he emerged. "Woman has a tongue sharper than any Razor Claw. Warden Alistair, at your service."

"The contest hall in town should have everything we need," Chris answered, Sara-Anne's eyes widening in surprise. Contest Hall, here? But this place seemed like a simple little farming place! Why would there be a Contest Hall here of all places? Maybe trying to bring in visitors? Must get lonely here, nestled in the middle of nowhere like it is.

"That's the large building in the center of town. We'll have to go through some boxes for the blankets, but they'll be there for sure."

"If you need an extra body to carry my mate would be happy to assist," the pretty Persian evo added from inside. A smile twitched onto the corner of her mouth. Oh, yeah, and she'll bet the lion had totally volunteered, too. "He's very capable when he puts his mind to something. Plus it might do him some good to feel useful, otherwise he will be fussing over me all the while and personally I'd rather sleep."

"Hey-"

"Don't act like you wouldn't. You are a giant mother hen who honestly needs to get out of the henhouse."

"Fine. Bossy."

"Mmhmm, and you like me that way so shush."

"Fair enough." came the little, good natured sigh as he shifted and moved around inside. "No sense arguing with the lady," he added to them as he came out, the mirth wiped from Sara-Anne's face. She turned her head to avoid looking at him, biting her lip. Flame's little hand patted the side of her head. "Woman has a tongue sharper than any Razor Claw. Warden Alistair, at your service."

"I'm Flame," the chimp answered, smoothly as though he weren't having his heart slowly ripped from his chest. He moved from her shoulder with both of his feet braced against her back, to both of her shoulders,

"Sara-Anne," she said, forcing herself to at least glance at him and try to smile. It was a lot more strained than she would have liked, and she had to look away a few moments later. Unsure of where to put her hands and trying not to make it super obvious that she was upset, she settled for folding her arms across her chest. It didn't help much. She sure didn't feel it did; it probably just made her look smaller and more nervous. "S'nice to meet you, sir."

"So!" Flame said, bringing his hands together quickly (and producing a clapping sound in the process) and rubbing them. "Lead the way, Chris! I look forward to seeing those blankets!"

"If you need an extra body to carry my mate would be happy to assist," Kaeli offers from her resting spot inside the fossil house. Chris didn't hear anything from her companion about helping, though, which means the other feline is probably looking at her right now with an expression that practically shouts: what? At least, that's what he would do.

"He's very capable when he puts his mind to something. Plus it might do him some good to feel useful, otherwise he will be fussing over me all the while and personally I'd rather sleep."

"Hey-"

"Don't act like you wouldn't. You are a giant mother hen who honestly needs to get out of the henhouse."

"Fine. Bossy."

"Mmhmm, and you like me that way so shush."

The felines' cute banter ends with Alistair joining them outside of the house, and Chris is glad to see he looks more amused than annoyed. The Luxray's pretty much his height, after all, and definitely more powerful than him-not a Pokemon Chris would want to upset. He's been nice so far, minus that one "misunderstanding", but still...

"No sense arguing with the lady," Alistair says, and Chris inwardly agrees. "Woman has a tongue sharper than any Razor Claw. Warden Alistair, at your service."

Warden? More than anything else the feline's said, that title certainly grabs Chris' attention; it's not one he's used to humans having, let alone Pokemon. He's of a mind to ask where Alistair got it from, but once the other two begin to introduce themselves, instinct kicks in and he keeps quiet. Better that than to start apologizing profusely for interrupting one of them.

He glances over at Sara-Anne, remembering her earlier interaction with Alistair. It hadn't been...well, it'd been a tense introduction, to say the least. Seeing her looking away from the feline with her arms across her chest isn't really a good sign; is she still thinking about what happened before? Chris bites down on his lip, unsure of what to do or say. He could be misreading things, body language can be a real pain to understand. Maybe all that's needed is time, but if not, then-

"So!" The Chimchar isn't especially loud, but somehow Chris still manages to flinch. Figures he would. "Lead the way, Chris! I look forward to seeing those blankets!"

"Of-of course." He's mentally cursing himself even as the words leave his mouth. Did he really have to trip over a one-syllable word?

Chris tries not to keep kicking himself over it. After all, there's no way he can mess up leading them to his own town.


The path to Fallarbor is more or less a straight line, so getting there doesn't take an obscene amount of time. Atlas had stayed behind, in order to go back to his post at the west gate; meanwhile, Chris leads the others to the contest hall. It's pretty difficult to miss, being the biggest building in town, and its space made it a prime location for storage. No doubt Din is still in there somewhere among the boxes, the little Larvesta making sure nothing is out of place. She's pretty good at remembering where things are, especially for someone who can't read the labels on the boxes.

Every time he sees the hall, he can't help but grimace a little. A lot of these buildings weren't in great shape before he first arrived in Fallarbor, and the contest hall definitely took some of the worst damage. Its glass door, similar to the Pokecenter, is long gone, broken by whatever happened in earlier days. Seeing the damage-the thought that other people can see what he couldn't fully fix-is nerve-wracking, made all the worse by his earlier anxiety of how long the town can continue. If even he thinks this place may not be permanent, what would other people think? They don't have years' worth of attachment to this place.

"We should probably find the blankets first, if that's okay with you guys? That way we don't have to go through boxes while carrying the mattresses," he says, making an attempt at cheer. Or, at least, something other than self-consciousness. "Oh, and if you see a Larvesta in here, don't worry about her. She's harmless."

(note: I was given permission to skip ahead to town. please let me know if anything needs to be changed)

"I'm Flame."

"Sara-Anne."

Alistair looked over the pair with a tilt of his head, gauging their reactions as tension in the female seemed to keep building. She was scared of him. Oops. Guess he hadn't made a great first impression by threatening them while guarding Kaeli. Should he apologize? Was it too late to apologize? If he didn't though would it keep being awkward? Or was it already so awkward because he waited too long? HOW DID KAELI MAKE THIS LOOK SO EASY?!

The Rahneko, as if sensing his frustration, let out a soft mewl of affection to her mate and he looked back through the door with a smile. Kaeli returned the happy expression with a sleepy smile of her own and nodded towards the girl and her chimp, indicating that he should say something nice before her nerves shook her apart. Swallowing his pride the Luxray turned back to do just that when everything sort of moved on without him.

"S'nice to meet you, sir."

"So!" the small monkey, Flame quickly intervened and clapped his hands together loud enough to make the Luxray flinch. "Lead the way, Chris! I look forward to seeing those blankets!" Yep. Definitely too late. Now it was extra awkward. "Um...yes. Please do. The sooner we find them the sooner Kaeli can heal comfortably."

"Of-of course." Alistair smiled sheepishly at the human as he stumbled over his words and his tail swished lazily behind him. At least he wasn't the only one feeling weird.

---

The path to town was incredibly linear and quite nearby the small shack the wardens had taken as a temporary residence. Perhaps when she was feeling better Kaeli would like to come closer to explore, it had been a long time since they had been in a proper civilization. Even if there were only two humans.

Chris led them towards the center of town to a run down, damaged building and for a brief moment the Luxray was reminded exactly what was likely to have caused that damage. The people here, this town...there was a reason there were only two humans here and a handful of Pokemon. All the more reason Alistair and his mate had taken a vow to protect those who needed them for as long as they drew breath.


"We should probably find the blankets first, if that's okay with you guys? That way we don't have to go through boxes while carrying the mattresses," Chris offers, Alistair nodding along. It wasn't a terrible plan since only the humans had hands. "Oh, and if you see a Larvesta in here, don't worry about her. She's harmless."

Alistair perked up at the mention of a Pokemon he hadn't meet and the flash of friendly Volcarona passed through his mind. "Larvesta? I haven't seen one in ages. Good little fighters, though I guess they have to be to survive with as long as it takes them to evolve." He looked over to Sara-Anne sheepishly. "Promise I'll be nice this time."

"We should probably find the blankets first, if that's okay with you guys? That way we don't have to go through boxes while carrying the mattresses," Both human and pokemon nodded, the girl throwing in a verbal "good idea" for good measure. "Oh, and if you see a Larvesta in here, don't worry about her. She's harmless."

Sara-Anne perked up just a bit, Flame smiling to see the change in her mood, even if it wasn't by a whole lot. She always did love the little firebugs; despite not being particilarly big on bug-types (though not really frightened by them, either) there were two bugs that held a lot of interest for her. Volcarona was a creature that demanded respect, and its diminuative form did too, just by virtue of what it evolved into.

And also, they were... kind of cute. Even Flame had to admit that, and he wasn't given to calling things 'cute' often. Maybe it was the sheer amount of floof.

It was soon clear that Sara-Anne wasn't the only one intrigued by the mention of a Larvesta, Aliaster speaking up. "Larvesta? I haven't seen one in ages. Good little fighters, though I guess they have to be to survive with as long as it takes them to evolve." The lion paused for a moment before giving Sara-Anne a sheepish look. Flame felt her fragile little body tense beneath him as she smiled. It was a strained one. "Promise I'll be nice this time."

"O-oh- I'm- I'm sure you will, yeah," she said gracelessly, immediately moving to start looking through boxes. Anything to give her something else to look at. If he wanted to keep talking, at least hearing his voice wouldn't be so bad compared to looking at him; being a boy, it was much different from...

Yeah. It was much different.

Flame's little hand gently patted the shoulder opposite of the one he'd made his perch before bailing all together, landing on a stack of boxes to open one in front of him.

"Hey, uh, is there a particular section we should be starting in?" he asked, and Sara-Anne repressed a groan. Yeah, maybe it wasn't smart to just start looking in boxes instead of waiting for the possibility of further instruction; she might have just made herself look really stupid.

The mention of Din seems to cheer up both of his guests, at least a little. He's not surprised-who can resist such cute, fluffy firebugs? They practically have "hug me" written all over them. Not that Din would appreciate the gesture from complete strangers, but... Sara-Anne doesn't seem the type to bypass boundaries like that, and it would be kind of difficult for a Luxray to hug anyone.

"Larvesta? I haven't seen one in ages. Good little fighters, though I guess they have to be to survive with as long as it takes them to evolve."

Oh boy, did he know about the evolution thing; Chris grew up hearing countless stories about how long it took his mother's Volcarona to evolve, told by both the Pokemon and her trainer alike. Thinking of Obsidian-and how much he misses her-distracts him long enough for the conversation to turn elsewhere, down a path he isn't particularly good at dealing with.

"Promise I'll be nice this time," Alistair adds, looking at Sara-Anne as he says it. That's, uh...awkward. Chris looks everywhere except at them, his face flushing a little. Secondhand embarrassment? It's probably secondhand embarrassment, there's really no other way to explain this "butterflies in your stomach" feeling. If Din chose right now to suddenly show up, Chris wouldn't mind. In fact, she would be a godsend.

"O-oh- I'm- I'm sure you will, yeah." Chris almost winces. This entire situation is going...swimmingly. Yeah, swimmingly. Very swimmingly. Sara-Anne and her Chimchar begin to search through some of the boxes, and Chris is still flustered enough to not completely register, "hey, this isn't where I stored the blankets" or "none of these labels are correct".

Thank god for Flame, though. "Hey, uh, is there a particular section we should be starting in?"

"Oh! Right, I should've mentioned that. The section we need should be somewhere over here." Mentally thanking the Fire-type for a way to navigate out of this uncomfortable situation, Chris leads them further away from the Hall's entrance and towards another cluster of loosely organized boxes. His organization skills might not be perfect, but at least the handwriting on the labels look nice. Nice enough for him not to feel embarrassed, anyways.

"Let's see here..." Chris says to himself, picking up and setting aside boxes whose labels have nothing to do with bedding. He can put them all back in their places sometime later; it's not a big deal. After what can't be any longer than a minute (at least not to his perception), Chris finds the labels he's looking for. "Here we are!

He starts setting aside the correct boxes too, though separate from the irrelevant ones; that would make their searching a lot easier than having to deal with stacks. The boxes aren't heavy, but they're still annoyingly bulky-it'd be rude not to deal with that himself, considering everyone else is a guest. Plus, sorting them like this means the Pokemon won't have to take a guess at where to look, considering they can't read the labels.

"Sorry this place is kind of messy. I really need to sort out everything again," he says, setting down what should be the last of the boxes labelled "Blankets" and "Sheets" (though some have both). Chris doesn't see any others, so he'll assume it's the final one. "That should be all of what we need, minus the mattresses. But we keep them separate from all these boxes."

Kaeli found the break from her mate almost welcome after his constant fussing. She loved the male with all her heart but sometimes he seemed to forget she was stronger than him despite her size and wouldn't be taken down so easily. But it was in his nature to dote on her, and it was how he showed affection, so generally she welcomed it though it didn't take away her joy at quiet moments alone. Injured, however, her quiet moment was less relaxing than usual because she kept an ear out for any sign that someone other than her mate or the humans was lurking outside her little shack. "Come back soon," she whispered softly to the empty space.

---

"O-oh- I'm- I'm sure you will, yeah."

Alistair's ears drooped at her nervous tone and the large lion let out a disappointed huff. So it was too late to apologize. Nothing to be done about it now, he supposed. She and her Chimchar began their search while Alistair lazily gazed around the room with his unique sight to see if there was anything useful within the containers as he had no hands to open them without destroying them, and possibly whatever was inside if he tried. "Hey, uh, is there a particular section we should be starting in?"

Looking over to Chris the Luxray was happy to see the human had an answer despite it coming in the form of action rather than words. "Oh! Right, I should've mentioned that. The section we need should be somewhere over here." He led them further into the building towards another section of loosely stacked boxes and began picking up and sorting them while he looked around. "Let's see here..."

"Here we are!

Alistair made his way over to where Chris was reading and peered over the young man's shoulder as though he had any idea what they said. He absolutely did not but he was profoundly curious by nature and wanted to help if needed. "Sorry this place is kind of messy. I really need to sort out everything again." He set down a few boxes with similar looking human scribbles and left them off to the side and stopped digging through the stacks. Those must be what they were here for then. "That should be all of what we need, minus the mattresses. But we keep them separate from all these boxes."

"Alright. This isn't much so if we have something to tie with I can carry any mattresses on my back to spare those with hands for boxes. Where are they kept?"

"Oh! Right, I should've mentioned that," Chris said, Flame smiling in relief. Good, so there was in fact a system and they wouldn't be here for an eternity. "The section we need should be somewhere over here."

Flame leaped back onto his human's back and she followed Chris deeper into the building, turning her head around as she took in her surrounding. It was so big! Probably the biggest building she'd been in in a long time. As Chris spoke, she turned her attention back to him.

"Let's see here..." the young man said as he began to paw through the boxes he had led them too. Unsure if she should help and deciding it would be best if she didn't and potentially mess up whatever system they had set up, Sara-Anne hung back and rocked on her heels as she waited. "Here we are!

Finding the correct kind of boxes, he began setting them apart from the others. I should help, probably... But if she tried she would just get in his way, right? What was the polite thing to do...?

"Sorry this place is kind of messy. I really need to sort out everything again," he apologized. Sara-Anne shook her head. "That should be all of what we need, minus the mattresses. But we keep them separate from all these boxes."

"No worries, man; you sorted them well enough to find them that fast, right?"

"Eeeeeee we're gonna get sheets and blankets," Flame squealed into her ear in a whisper, except, Flame didn't know how to whisper, so everyone could hear his terrible attempt at keeping his voice down. She patted his head with a grin. Dweeb.

"Alright. This isn't much so if we have something to tie with I can carry any mattresses on my back to spare those with hands for boxes. Where are they kept?"

Good idea. She gave the Luxray an appreciative nod (still avoiding looking directly at him) and bent to pick up a box. "I've got pokemon who can help move everything if we have to leave boxes behind," she said to Chris. "We can only carry so many at a time before they'd stack too high for us to see over."

"No worries, man; you sorted them well enough to find them that fast, right?"

The praise is unexpected, and Chris finds the right response slipping from him each time he tries to think of one. He decides to leave it at a small smile, both as a way to show his appreciation and a reaction to how adorable her Chimchar buddy is with his stage whispering. Chris might have fawned over him more if they hadn't just met.

"Alright. This isn't much so if we have something to tie with I can carry any mattresses on my back to spare those with hands for boxes. Where are they kept?"

The question unfortunately takes his mind away from cute Pokemon, but at least it's a familiar situation he's facing. Chris has often had to rely on Stannis to carry heavier things for him in a manner identical to what Alistair is suggesting, so it's not like they don't have rope. That means everything should be accounted for-and thank god things are turning out smoothly. Kaeli can't be comfortable being alone on that house's floor, and with how kind she'd been to him, Chris really does want to get these supplies back as quickly as possible.

"I've got pokemon who can help move everything if we have to leave boxes behind," Sara-Anne adds (and for a second, Chris wonders if maybe the tension between her and Alistair is easing a tiny bit), "We can only carry so many at a time before they'd stack too high for us to see over."

That's a really good point, one Chris admittedly didn't think much about even though it should have been obvious. Her suggestion should work perfectly, though. Didn't Sara-Anne have a Psychic-type... right, a Gardevoir, that's what they were. While thinking of the other psychic, he wishes his Reuniclus was here to help too-after all, back when they'd originally converted this place to storage, Ninten had done most of the heavy lifting. Chris didn't mind carrying things himself, but something about guests doing so didn't feel right.

"Their help would be really appreciated," he affirms, "As for the mattresses-they're over there at the far wall by the other set of stairs. Originally they were over here but I, um, kind of tripped over one and ended up almost twisting my ankle. Fell on a few boxes, too. So we moved them."

If that incident happens again, Chris might just lock himself inside his house. Forever. "We've got plenty of rope around here too, so tying down the mattresses shouldn't be difficult."

"I've got pokemon who can help move everything if we have to leave boxes behind," Once again the female spoke directly to the human while only giving him a slight nod. Alistair knew he had acted aggressively before but now he just felt bad, even though all he had wanted was to protect his mate. Humans hadn't been kind to them since the fall so he had no reason to think they would be. This sucked. "We can only carry so many at a time before they'd stack too high for us to see over."

"Their help would be really appreciated. As for the mattresses-they're over there at the far wall by the other set of stairs. Originally they were over here but I, um, kind of tripped over one and ended up almost twisting my ankle. Fell on a few boxes, too. So we moved them. We've got plenty of rope around here too, so tying down the mattresses shouldn't be difficult." Alistair nodded and made his way slowly over to the direction indicated but without a human or properly appendaged pokemon he was forced to wait until someone had need of him. Unless they wanted him biting holes into the mattresses and dragging them through the dirt, that was a plan too.

---

Kaeli was bored. In pain, sure, but bored and when she was bored her mind tended to wander to darker feelings she did her best to keep beneath the surface. The largest and most worrisome rising up quickly to the forefront of her mind while she lay in the dirt miserable. Her brother.

The Rahneko hadn't seen her older sibling in years, not since before the wold turned on itself, and the guilt and worry had nearly eaten her alive in the beginning. Fergus was her best friend growing up and her sparring partner when she was little, before he went off to fight in a proper team. He had taken control of their estate's pokemon when their parents were killed and when she went off with Alistair they had very little free time between them for visits. A regret she always carried with her that she wasn't there to ensure her last family member's survival during this apocalypse.

Regret... What else was there to do now but regret?


((I refuse to separate their post counts so close to a badge lol. Kaeli is going to bullshit for five more rounds if I have to))

"Their help would be really appreciated," Chris answered. "As for the mattresses-they're over there at the far wall by the other set of stairs. Originally they were over here but I, um, kind of tripped over one and ended up almost twisting my ankle. Fell on a few boxes, too. So we moved them."

Sara-Anne winced. Fucking ouch. Yeah, she would have ended up with a similar fate, for sure. Maybe not tripped, but she knew there was no end to the ways she could fuck something up.

"We've got plenty of rope around here too, so tying down the mattresses shouldn't be difficult."

"I'll go find Joy; why don't you guys prep everything else so when we get back we can head out?"

"Sounds good," Sara-Anne agreed, giving her chimp a pat on the head. "Thank you."

"Eyyyyyy, anything for you." He winked at her as he bailed from her shoulder.

"I'll remind you of that the next time we both want the same thing, you little brat!" she called after him as he left. He laughed and made a face at her before darting out of sight.

It took maybe ten minutes for Flame to return with Joy (and Mattimeo too, because why not) the fairy feeling waves of anxiety and grief from her girl as she stepped in to where the others were waiting for her. She knew why this was, given that Flame had briefed her on the way back, but even so, the near-ghost of one of their oldest friends was a hard thing to see, and she did her best not to wince. As Flame went back to Sara-Anne's shoulder, Joy avoided looking Alistair in the eyes as she smiled at everyone in general. Mattimeo, she knew, was immediately studying the auras of everyone present, so she would give him a moment to do that and address the others in the meantime. "So, what needs to be moved?"

"Brought an extra pal along just in case," Flame explained, busying himself by picking at a speck of lint he found in Sara-Anne's hair.

(If any edits need to be made just let me know!)

Man, Chris is glad nobody makes fun of him for tripping, because he might have been a little too open with sharing that embarrassing detail. Alistair walks away towards where the mattresses are without saying anything, which only makes him wonder if maybe the Luxray is silently judging him for... something. Incompetence? Fucking up in the past? Either way, he does feel bad the Pokemon doesn't have much to do until Chris fetches the rope, which he seriously ought to do as quickly as possible.

"I'll go find Joy; why don't you guys prep everything else so when we get back we can head out?"

"Sounds good. Thank you."

"Eyyyyyy, anything for you."

"I'll remind you of that the next time we both want the same thing, you little brat!"

Chris muffles his laughter with his hand as the little Chimchar leaves; their interactions are like two siblings fighting, and it's amazing. He's about to comment on that, but what if Sara-Anne thinks the description is weird? She mentioned having family before, and while he can't remember hearing about siblings, Chris doesn't want to remind her of any she might have. It might be better to keep the thought to himself so she doesn't think he's some sort of freak, or insensitive, or maybe both.

Besides, Chris still needs to get that rope for holding the mattresses in place, and the right kind too. He excuses himself for that exact reason, not seeing any reason to involve Sara-Anne in something that shouldn't take very long. She's a guest, after all, and good hosts take initiative instead of making other people do things. Luckily, his earlier statement about them having plenty of rope still holds true, and it doesn't take him long to get what he needs.

It's also not long before Sara-Anne's other Pokemon arrive, and while Chris expected the Gardevoir, the Lucario is a bit of a shock. They're actually both a bit of a shock. Sure, he saw both of these Pokemon earlier, but that'd been when the fact people actually showed up here was still overwhelming all other thought processes. Now that Chris is calmer, he realizes just how much the two remind him of his own brother's Pokemon. He hasn't seen any of them-not Athena, not Fen'Harel, not Matt-in so long that the pain of thinking about them feels like a Rapidash has slammed its hooves onto his chest. Maybe Chris would feel better if he just... looked away. Away from the new Pokemon and towards literally anything else.

"So, what needs to be moved?" Joy sounds nice, and she's smiling, but Chris can't bring himself to smile back even when he knows he should, because otherwise everyone else will think he's a dick.

"Brought an extra pal along just in case," Flame explains from his spot on his trainer's shoulder, which is still really cute and the only positive thing in Chris' mind at this moment. It's a struggle to find the right words when his mind keeps going back to endless painful reminders, but he gets there, if only to avoid everyone thinking negative things about him.

"These boxes have blankets and sheets inside them, that's what we need," he explains, gesturing towards the pile of objects in question. It also registers to Chris that he's holding the rope he intended to use to help Alistair carry the mattresses, which is probably something he should bring up. God, he hates when his thought processes get messed up like this. These Pokemon are complete strangers to him, why is he getting so worked up over it? "We also have to move a couple mattresses too, which are over there where Alistair is."

((I'm sorry. I have tried the last couple days to come up with a post and my brain just won't for these two this round. I am going to go ahead and skip since Alistair can't really do anything until the mattresses are set anyway. My permission is given to manipulate him as you need to get him loaded up Balth or Star ^_^))

"These boxes have blankets and sheets inside them, that's what we need," Chris explained, pointing. The lot of them nodded. "We also have to move a couple mattresses too, which are over there where Alistair is."

"Matti and I can get the boxes," Joy said with no hesitation. Sara-Anne thanked the gods (maybe) above she had such strong pokemon.

"Oh yeah, that's easy." The canine grinned and hefted a few in one hand. Joy rolled her eyes as she waved a hand at the rest, the boxes floating over.

"Show off."

"What? All I did was pick them up!"

"You're the one with floaty glowing boxes," Flame pointed out. "That's more showy."

"That is how she has to carry stuff, though," their human pointed out lightly, grateful for the opportunity to focus on her friends being ridiculous rather than the creeping realization that she would have to help Chris secure the mattresses to Alistair.

"She could carry them in her arms!" Flame huffed.

"Then I wouldn't be able to see over the top," was the prim reply.

"You're just jealous you can't do either." She was grinning now. Unabashedly.

"Neither can you!"

"Guilty as charged; I'm a goddamn wimp."

"Hey how about we get a move on before our host decides we're super not worth this," Mattimeo joked, setting the boxes he'd had down. "I'll help Chris with the rope; Sara, why don't you hold the door open for Joy so she doesn't ram any of her fancy floating fluffery into the wall trying to open the door and not drop anything?"

Oh thank god, thank god, for fucking Matti. Again. The clever canine. Joy was making a face at him and she laughed, glad for a socially acceptable reason to relieve some nervous tension as she started back from the direction they came. "You got it," she called over her shoulder as Mattimeo helped Chris secure the mattresses onto Alistair.

It wasn't until she was out of sight and nearly at the door that her smile dropped.

Oh yeah.

Helping Chris with the Luxray would be just as painful for him as it would have been for her, wouldn't it be? Guilt welled up and almost overflowed. At least Mattimeo was good at containing his emotions. He shouldn't display anything that would get him asked awkward questions about his body language...

"Matti and I can get the boxes," Joy answers pretty quickly, giving him momentary respite from his growing apprehension; his answer must have been adequate, then. That's one thing he doesn't have to worry over. He still can't stop the lump in his throat from forming the more he looks at the Gardevoir and her Lucario companion, though. God, if he starts crying in front of them, Chris is going to hand over ownership of this entire town to them so he can go dig his own grave. They're complete strangers and I'm about to cry over them like an idiot. Goddamn, why do I have to be oversensitive all the time? They're not Athena and Fen'Harel, yet his stupid, useless mind refuses to accept such a simple fact. It's enough to make him want to smack his forehead against one of the walls.

"Oh yeah, that's easy." Matti really does make carrying things look simple, but then, he is a Fighting-type. Chris just wishes the help could have come from literally any other kind of Fighting-type. Well... almost any other Fighting-type. A Medicham, maybe, or Poliwrath, anything he doesn't have some sort of tie to. Does thinking like that make him a terrible person? God, Chris can't deal with guilt on top of the rest of these emotions churning within him.

"Show off," Joy says, starting a chain of banter between her and her friends that Chris keeps silent throughout, waiting for the opportunity to mention they still need to help Alistair. He doesn't want to interrupt the positive chatter... but he feels so out of place standing here while the others talk and joke among themselves, like he's some sort of stranger eavesdropping. Not that Chris minds them talking, but... as pathetic as it feels to admit it, he kind of wishes his own Pokemon were here, too. It's a surprise Din hasn't been drawn out by the cacophony of voices. Hadn't she returned here after they saw the newcomers arrive? It's possible Chris is mistaken, but still. Having her here would really help his jittery thoughts settle down.

"Hey how about we get a move on before our host decides we're super not worth this," Matti says, and the sudden shift of attention back to him somehow makes Chris feel even more painfully uncomfortable. How he's able to reach even further depths of awkwardness than he's already at is a mystery, but Chris does his best not to look too much like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'll help Chris with the rope; Sara, why don't you hold the door open for Joy so she doesn't ram any of her fancy floating fluffery into the wall trying to open the door and not drop anything?"

Soon enough, Sara and her other Pokemon-minus Matti-leave, taking the boxes with them. Chris didn't really know how to interact with the Lucario yet; he'd been able to spend time with Sara-Anne and Flame over at the river, but none of her other Pokemon had been included. There's still a "I know literally nothing about you" distance between them, but fortunately, Chris has a task to distract himself with; there's no need to think too hard about social conventions. With Matti's help, he's able to get the mattresses secured onto Alistair much easier and quicker than he would've been able to do by himself; it is a little weird translating his usual way of doing this from a Sawsbuck to a Luxray, but not impossible.

"Is that comfortable for you? The rope's not too tight, is it?" Chris asks Alistair; he'd been kind enough to offer his help, so Chris would hate for the Luxray to feel any sort of pain because of it. "We can adjust it if you need us to."

(I really hope this is okay orz, I felt really bad that Alistair wasn't able to do much. Let me know if I should edit anything ^^;)

Alistair sat and waited patiently for someone to find use for him, quietly watching the display before him between Sara-Anne and her pokemon. She was laughing, grinning, even playful as the small group teased one another. Each moment of happiness while the Luxray sat off alone proved ever more that the problem was him and not that she was simply a quiet girl. Kaeli was going to seriously scold him for it too. Again.

It seemed even her Pokemon knew she didn't want to be near him as her Lucario opted to assist Chris in mounting the large mattresses onto his back leaving the small female to flee with her friends.  Alistair couldn't help the heavy sigh that escaped him as Chris and the hound approached, moving where and when told to until everything was secure.

"Is that comfortable for you? The rope's not too tight, is it?" Chris asked politely. "We can adjust it if you need us to." Alistair shifted and tested the balance of the weight upon him, even giving a few small hops in place to make sure everything was tucked tightly against him. "Seems fine. We aren't going very far so I doubt there will be any issue. Just point the way and I'll follow."

---

Kaeli's fretting over her brother's safety followed her even into her sleep as her aching body eventually fell back into a recovering slumber. Nightmares of the night her family was betrayed, the year she spent traveling across the region trying to stay alive to bring her family justice, every moment she spent fearing for her brother and worrying if he was okay. Even after all of that...she hadn't spared enough time to spend with him after taking Alistair as her mate.

What did Fergus think of her? Had he blamed her for not being there? Her mind seemed to think so as his face twisted and sneered at her through fire and red smoke, his words nothing but spite and judgement as his body slowly melted away into a horrifying shell she was forced to outrun as it aimed to slaughter her too. Was Fergus one of them now? An undead killer? Would she ever find him to even discover the truth?

Oh how she wished she would...

He looked so much like their old friend. Mattimeo had avoided looking at Alistair head on before now, but since he had to help Chris with the rope, it was finally time to rip the bandaid off and...

He really, really did look so much like her. Mattimeo had expected as much but even so, something in him faltered. He did not want to approach this lion.

But Chris moved forward to take care of it and his mind slid into survival mode. When something had to be done, you did it. That was all there was to it. And this had to be done, regardless how sick it made him to realize that he was going to be touching what was something of a ghost of one of his oldest friends.

But he'd pretended he was fine often enough when he wasn't to know how to make it work, so he knelt and did what he had to. Thankfully, Chris knew what he was doing, or at least, well enough. With the human's help the task was over soon enough, and Chris turned his attention to the person they just saddled with the ungainly burden of the mattress.

"Is that comfortable for you? The rope's not too tight, is it?" he asked. "We can adjust it if you need us to."

Alistair moved about a bit, Mattimeo failing to contain a smile as he hopped a little to ensure the thing wouldn't just fall off. "Seems fine. We aren't going very far so I doubt there will be any issue. Just point the way and I'll follow."

"Awesome. Let's get going?" Relief flooded him. Sure, leaving the presence of the lion wasn't going to happen anytime soon, but it was much easier to stand around other people. And the walk back to where the others were waiting was mercifully short.

"Oh, there you are," Joy said as they came out, Mattimeo holding the door open for Alister and Chris.

"Here we are," Mattimeo chuckled.

"Onwards to the pretty kitty then!" Oh yeah, Mattimeo noticed as he studied her aura. She was not doing any better at all. At least she was doing well enough to force a smile. He bet it probably wasn't fooling the cat though. Cats were... usually pretty good at figuring out how you actually felt.

Really, the only one they were probably fooling was the young human. But at least that was just a little less awkwardness added to the situation.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Flame nudge her face against Sara-Anne's from his perch on her shoulder. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, we've kept her waiting long enough. Any longer and she'll give her hubbie the scolding of his life," the chimp snickered, coaxing a little giggle from his human.

"Well, you guys head there; I'll drop these off where they need to be?" Joy exchanged a look with Mattimeo, who understood instantly what she meant.

And with that decided, the group split off. With Mattimeo and Flame sticking around Sara-Anne to help her regulate her mood and emotions, Joy was free to not only do the other deliveries that needed to be done, but take some time to work off the grief she felt from her best friends where nobody could see. Mattimeo was grateful for the opportunity. That had to have been so hard on Joy...

It didn't take long to get back to the cabin where Kaeli was waiting. Normally, Mattimeo would let her mate knock on the door or do something else to signal his presence, since he was who Mattimeo bet she really wanted to see, but with him stuck under the mattress, he decided to give the lion a little help and tapped his knuckles against the door to wake her if she was asleep and waiting to let Alister be the one to actually speak.