[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.

[Kamaitachi]

"I remember Lilycove being a really nice place." Tag nodded, keeping his eyes forward on the road as he continued to walk towards the Pokemon Center. Roxxy had caught up, easily matching his pace. The odd-looking young woman, with her pixie-like hair and outrageously blue eyes made an odd sort of traveling companion. The two walked in relative silence through the busy streets of Port Barley.

All the better for Tag really; sterling conversation wasn't exactly his forte. Thankfully, before either felt the need to strike up conversation once more, they arrived at the Pokemon Center. Roxxy thanked him for showing her the way, which felt a bit awkward. Tag's response, in turn, was equally awkward, as he nodded with a little polite bow.

"I'm Tag." He felt her eyes on the side of his face, and he turned his head slightly to look over at her. At the mention of Lori's 'good looking sister', Tag felt a gulp well up in his throat. How he had missed the two sets of wildly red hair was beyond him. Turning back to Roxxy, he sighed. "As you may have guessed, chatting isn't exactly my strong suit." He removed the pokeball belt from around his waist, moving to the reception area. After a scan of his trainer ID, a Chansey candystriper appeared with a tray, where he neatly deposited the Pokeballs. With a happy trill, the Chansey disappeared around the desk, and Tag gave a curt nod to the Nurse Joy on duty.

As he turned back, Roxxy had been engaged in conversation by the boy she'd battled earlier. Lori and Kino still were still in a heated discussion over something important, he was sure. Everyone seemed occupied, and it seemed just as well. Tag needed a moment to be alone and on guard anyways; without his Pokemon, even in a Pokemon Center, he was terribly vulnerable, especially considering the enemies he'd made. In all honesty, they had, for all intents and purposes, been allies the first time they'd met. The more recent debacle at the Grand Invitational however had solidified their positions on opposites sides.

Relaxing into the seat, he kept himself alert, but nevertheless could not help eavesdropping a little on the various conversations between Marwan and Roxxy, then Kino and Lori. While he couldn't exactly ascertain any solid information, there was something comforting about the fact that none of them were trying to kill him.