[X] My Assistant

[Living Arrow]

Travelling back to Port Barley after the events at the Petropolis Grand Invitational had been a long and gruelling affair for Lori. Well, it had involved public transport which inevitably meant sharing elbow room with all manner of undesirable and social reprobates. If she was not worrying about her bag being stolen from off of her shoulder, the young Trainer was replaying the events of the tournament again and again to find the moment that had made her act so foolishly.

*Who really thinks they can play the hero and go down some stupid hole to save random people they’ve never even met before!?* She demanded of herself for the fiftieth time as the stench of body odour from her latest ravel companion drifted her way. Holding back a gag, she politely turned her head the other way and cried inwardly. *At least Cesc smelled good!*

*Hey! Stop thinking about him, dammit!* Lori blushed in spite of herself, heat rising in her cheeks to decorate her skin with blotches of ruby embarrassment.

The coach pulled up to a stop at the edge of the town in the later hours of the sunny morning, a couple of miles from her final destination, and freedom announced itself as the coach doors clunked open.

*Close enough!* Lori told herself, springing up from her seat without a backward glance for the stinking hobo next to the window. Cuddling her bag close to her chest with one hand while squeezing the length of her intensely red hair in the other, she hurried to the front of the vehicle.

“Thanks!” She smiled and bowed her head politely to the driver (a sweet old man who she doubted spoke any English) and skipped down the steps to the sidewalk. The coach pulled away with the hiss of its brakes releasing to leave her drinking in the fresh air of the coast. It had been a while since she had been in Barley, and the town hadn’t changed a bit, but she felt like a different person to the rookie that had picked fights with bullies on her first day in the town.

*Never again, Lor.* She reminded herself of the boys that had threatened to cut off her hair when she’d defended another beginner trainer at the bus station. She shuddered at the memory, pushing those thoughts down to her toes where they couldn’t plague her thoughts anymore.

“Pipster,” Lori clicked open the green-capped Pokeball of her Piplup and grinned as he materialised in front of her, “we’re back in Barley.”

“Lup, Piplup!” His cheery reply was a welcome change to the dismal mutterings of the ‘people’ on the coach.

“And you know what that means, right?” She prompted him. A blank expression was her response. She rolled her eyes and pumped her fists energetically, the infectious enthusiasm of her naturally bold demeanour finding its way back to the front of her otherwise woolly teenage brain. “It means we get back on a ferry and go to Fidona! That Gym badge won’t win itself, y’know?!”

“Lup!”

“So, let’s go!” Lori cheered, breaking into a run down the final slope into the town with her Penguin Pokemon close on her heels.

[A Kitty Cat]

“Sorry. It's just...” Marwan stumbled over himself a bit “Been a while since I’ve had to really interact with strangers. Sorry. I'll stop apologizing now. Sorry.”

He could feel the warmth of embarrassment slowly start to bubble up in his cheeks and try as he might wasn't quite able to calm it down. Marwan did feel a little at ease with the rather loud trainer who had the map as it was rare to find other people, especially female trainers, who were close to his height though she seemed to be quite older than him by his judgment.

”I should probably ask if I could go over to Fidona with them, well if they're going but I think that redhead is going at least but is it weird if I ask if I can ride over with her I mean I don't really know where to go to get a ticket and if they know this area maybe they can help?” Marwan's brain was working at a thousand words per minute as it tried to sort out the right thing to say.

“E-excuse me miss.” Marwan was now directing his speech towards the young redheaded trainer who had been taking to the taller, louder trainer. She seemed to be around Marwan's age though she was nearly a foot shorter than Marwan. He didn't want to sound too disrespectful or want to make her feel uncomfortable by towering over her but he had to try to talk to her someway. “If it-”

“Oh Lori had already taken off to challenge a trainer. Not just any trainer, the one who Marwan had watched previously with the powerful looking Pokemon. Marwan had a tendency to think his way out of an opportunity.

Turning back to the taller trainer he figured he should at least answer her question about why he was looking to go to Fidona.

“I actually just got here from Unova, I’ve been traveling the world on my own the past couple of years and heard there were some cool areas here in Furoh hoping to explore a bit, maybe do a little research on the culture and history of the continent, and maybe find a Pokemon or two. I didn't really have a plan on where I could go or where I should stop to get supplies so I didn't really want to just set off on foot to the middle of nowhere and strand myself on the top of some mountain so instead I just decided to explore a bit of the port here until I found a group to travel with or maybe get an idea of somewhere to go and it just so happens that Fidona had come up on a store window and sounded like as good of a place to start as any and then I just happened to bump into you.”

Marwan knew he had said far more than he really had to, his cheeks started to glow with embarrassment again.

“Sorry. I didn't mean to tell you my life story. Sorry”

Marwan stood silently for a couple of seconds, his brain trying to crank out something to say.

“W-would you like to battle to pass the time? My Pokemon aren't exactly strong or used to battling but I think it would be good....I mean if you'd like to...I don't think I got your name. I'm Marwan McGuinness. Not that you have to battle me. or give me your name. or. anything.”

”Just stop talking so much”