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 Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:20 pm
Lenore vs Shina, Gym Battle III Lenore ran out without a word or so much as a wave, heading for the pokemon center. Tears welled up in her eyes as she rounded a corner. Mef did everything for me, and never complained, and I just looked on, passive as ever. I thought that if it was Mef, that he'd be okay. I believed it so strongly and turned a blind eye to reality. She choked back a sob as she ran. I've been such a fool.She rushed out of the gym, and into the streets. One of her shoes fell off, and she didn't care. She kept running, ignoring her burning lungs, the wind, sweat and tears stinging her eyes. She tripped and fell, crashing hard into the pavement. Ignoring the looks of the bystanders, she got up, continuing her rush to the pokemon center. I'm so sorry.------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rasha started to collapse, and was recalled by Shina before she could hit the ground. Seeing Lenore race out so quickly, Shina bolted for her own exit, chasing after her assistant. Shina was fairly certain that Lenore was headed for the Pokemon center. Her suspicion was confirmed when she spotted one of Lenore's shoe lying abandoned in the street. She scooped it up, and continued her chase. She spotted the younger girl just as she darted into the Pokemon center. Shina followed. "Lenore! Lenore, are you all right?" she asked, concerned at the other girl's distress. She hadn't been at all upset at losing her earlier battles, as far as Shina had seen, but she seemed totally broken up after her win. Shina didn't know what had triggered this, but she was hoping that she could help make it better. Lenore ignored Shina as she slumped down into a seat in the lobby, Mephistopheles and Jin-Gitaxias having been passed off to be healed. She put her head into her hands, her elbows resting on her knees, and just sat there for a moment, collecting herself. Looking up at Shina, the girl gave a small smile. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Everything's..." The smile cracked, and the tears began to flow again. She wiped her sleeves furiously against her face, turning away from the gym leader.
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:38 pm
Shina paused. Coming to a decision, she quickly handed over her own team to be healed then sat next to Lenore. Carefully, Shina rested her hand against the younger girl's back for a moment, then began to rub soothing circles. "Shhh, it's okay. And if it isn't, I'll make it okay. What can I do to help?" she asked.
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:46 pm
Lenore laughed bitterly. "You can make me into a better person, a better friend? Or maybe you can find someone worthy of Mef, because clearly he picked wrong. I'm scum. I let Mef do everything, and I never once thanked him. He fought like that - for me - and only now do I see that he was hurt this entire time. I'm an idiot! I don't deserve a badge, I don't deserve to have pokemon, I sure as hell don't deserve Mef as a friend!" The girl paused, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "But most of all, I don't deserve to be alive. Nothing's changed. I told myself I'd do better once I came here, that I'd start over, but nothing's changed. I'm still that sad, stupid girl reading alone at the playground."
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:33 pm
Shina stood and moved to sit on Lenore's other side. Slipping a hand under Lenore's chin, she made her assistant lift her head. "Stop that right now," Shina said firmly. "Mephistopheles is a powerful, intelligent, and self-directed pokemon. He made the choice to partner with you, and I would hope you respect him enough to refrain from badmouthing the person he gifted his loyalty to."
Shina softened. "Lenore, if he didn't want to stay with you, if he didn't think he had made the right decision, he wouldn't still be with you. Mephistopheles believes in you. Trust him, if you can't trust yourself. And you aren't alone here. You are part of my gym, my family here. You chose to follow me for a time, to gift your strength to me, just like my pokemon, and it is my responsibility to care for you in exchange. I will do my best to give you what you need, but I can't help if I don't know what's wrong. So tell me, what hasn't changed? What do you need to do better?" Shina asked gently.
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Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 11:49 pm
Lenore thought briefly to how she and Mephistopheles had met, and the circumstances behind their friendship. He hadn't made the choice; she had forced it upon him, albeit at his offering. He was required by the pact to be her friend, and that was simultaneously the main reason she felt so awful, yet at the same time, the only reason she could bring herself to trust him. Why did it take a supernatural bond to call someone her friend? Could someone required to be your friend really be called such?
Lenore shook her head. "I don't need anything." She gave a small, sad smile as she recalled something. "Someone once asked me what I wanted, what I wanted more than anything else in the world, and now I find myself wondering if it was the right choice. If maybe I should have picked something else. I'd been without it for so long, maybe it would have been better if I stayed like that." Her eyes began to water again, and she angrily wiped them again. "It didn't hurt as much then, that's for sure."
She shoved away from Shina, moving to a different chair. "I'm sorry, Shina. Even to you.... Even to you, I've been less than good. I'm supposed to be helpful, but all I've been is a burden. Even now." Shaking her right hand free of the long sleeves, she ran it briefly through her hair, allowing the bangs to cascade down in front of her eyes. "But what you said - about not being alone - I hadn't thought about it. No, I think that I already knew, but I didn't want to admit it to myself."
She looked over to the gym leader with a solemn red-eyed gaze. "But I'll try to get better. I owe that much to you. I owe that much to Mef." Looking down, she muttered softly, almost to herself. "Thanks."
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:20 am
Shina allowed Lenore to reclaim her distance. "It's scary, isn't it?" she asked sympathetically. "When you care? When someone else's pain makes you ache too? But that's the price of not being alone, of having connections. But there is a reverse to that as well. When you share pain, you also share joy. I lost today, but I have never been so proud to lose," Shina said sincerely.
"You gathered a team together, and gave them what they needed to grow strong enough to succeed. You might not feel you have done much, but I promise, no random group of three wild pokemon could win a badge from me. Your win today was hardly luck. You are doing something right to have your pokemon grow so strong so swiftly," she pointed out.
"If the hands-off approach works for you and yours, there is no reason to say it is wrong. Pokemon battle even in the wild. With us, we can provide support, medical care, and the chance to grow strong enough that they need not fear that each new encounter will be their last. If you feel your team could be stronger still if you took a more active role beyond merely allowing them a safe environment to test their skills and improve, then go ahead and try it if you wish," Shina encouraged.
"But know this: you have never been a burden to me. I am happy to have you at my gym, and you have nothing to apologize for," she said firmly. "Now, I believe this is yours." Shina pulled a Rainbow Prism Badge from a pocket and held it out to Lenore with a warm, proud expression, approval in her eyes.
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:23 pm
Lenore stared at the badge for a moment before taking it from Shina. She stared at the badge in her hands for a moment longer, tracing the lines of it to get her mind off of everything else.
After a moment, she looked at Shina with her normal blank expression. "This seems like a huge waste of money."
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 9:52 am
Shina laughed. "Oh, that's just the standard pewter and resin badge. Fairly inexpensive, valuable because of its rarity rather than the materials that make it," she told Lenore with a shrug and a smile.The return of the deadpan snark was a relief.
"When we get back to the gym, I'll need to see your badge again to get the back engraved with your trainer number," Shina told Lenore. She'd get the badge engraved, register Lenore, and update the winner's notice when they got back to the gym.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 11:41 am
The blank stare continued. "Wouldn't it have been easier just to do that before you gave it to me? The whole system seems completely illogical." She turned back to the counter, waiting for the nurses to return.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:09 pm
Shina huffed a small laugh. "Yes, it would have. That's why I normally do the engraving first, then hand over the badge. Most challengers don't go rushing out the moment they win," Shina said.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:17 pm
Lenore tilted her head at Shina. "It didn't occur to you that I work at the gym and would have had to come back at some point, giving you plenty of time to do the engraving?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 9:41 pm
"Nope!" Shina said with a bright, teasing grin. "I though 'Wow, look at her go! I should chase!' Hm, maybe I've been around Annabell to long, what do you think?" she asked.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:49 pm
Lenore gave a non-committal shrug. One of the nurses walked up to Lenore, handing her two pokeballs. The girl thanked the nurse, who smiled and walked off. Lenore turned to Shina. "Today... A lot of things happened. A lot of things...." Lenore wrestled over the words to pick. "I have a lot to think about. Would..." Lenore looked to the side. "Would you mind if I left, for a while? I don't know how long I'd be gone. I just... kind of want to be alone for a while. Think about things."
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:17 am
"Of course. Go ahead and take some time if you need it. I do have a few other assistants, we can hold down the fort for a bit," Shina said. "Let me know if you need anything before you leave."
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:30 pm
Lenore stared intently at the pokeballs in her hand, thankful for a focus. "Thanks." She murmured. Stashing the pokeballs in her pocket, she turned and left the pokemon center.
As she walked toward the gym, Elesh Norn appeared before her. "Oh. Sorry about leaving you back there. Some things happened." The darkrai waved her off, smiling. She turned towards a backpack behind her, and motioned Lenore over.
Inside were Lenore's clothes and a supply of food. She gave a curious glance at the darkrai, tilting her head. "So you already know, then?" The darkrai nodded. "Oh. Thanks." Tears briefly welled up in her eyes again, and Elesh Norn floated over to the girl and wrapped her up in a hug. The sudden contact surprised Lenore, and she gave a confused look at Elesh Norn, her vision blurry. The darkrai remained silent, continuing to hold the girl in a firm, but kind, embrace.
Lenore was confused by the darkrai's actions, but felt something both somehow foreign and familiar all at the same time. She placed her hands upon the darkrai's arms, and a kind of warmth spread through her. The tears streamed down Lenore's face as she allowed herself to cry, and Elesh Norn continued her silent embrace.
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