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Eclipse rolled and sat up after he hit the ground. His ears flicked slightly as she replied to him, then he reached down for the potions, holding one up to the light and examining it. "Ha! I haven't seen one with a straw before. It's like a juice box." He slipped the straw back in his mouth and sucked the liquid down. When he was down he set them down on the ground, feeling better still.

"I don't get it. Why let me go?" He crawled back to her side as she started to get up. It made sense to give him potion and antidote if she was going to let him go. Otherwise let him wake up tied up in a cell or the back of a police car. I know what I did. I'd do it again, too, so why? "You always let me get away, Mitja," he added with a confused, slightly petulant mutter.

Switch nodded, surveying the area with keen eyes. "I agree. If we divvy them up we'll get more people helped. Can you split up the bandages too, Theo?"

The human girl nodded. "Ointment too." She was already ahead of Switch, splitting everything three ways. Then, passing them out to Switch and their new friend Rostek. "Be careful not to get them dirty."

As the farfetch'd girl moved through the growing crowd looking for people to help, she kept her eye on Theo as much as possible. She was fragile, no matter how strong she tried to be. She also tried to find other familiar faces. Their fellow campers that had been abducted. They had to be here somewhere.

- - -

Amit's touch was surprisingly soft, it's nature alien and strange. Kindness, real or not, was not something she could readily recognize. Still, when he pulled the vial away and she her hand, she held it close and rubbed lightly at it, as if the sensation would not go away.

His treatment of the delibird was not lost on Frank. He was not a kind master. His voice was without passion. Perhaps this man's blows and harsh words came in the form of traps and lies.

His suggestion, no, demand, was a good one. "Yes, you can sit on my tail and I could carry us out." At least she believed she could do it. Thus, she could arc her tail up over them in a spiral and keep the largest debris from hitting the duo.

- - -

The exeggcute, Ufuoma, were stunned after their landing. They moved to help the reuniclus should she need it, and followed her to Havard and Koujen. They watched the scene, one studying the two teen pokeboys, one Bürschli Maazel, one Dorian who hovered nearby, and the rest their surroundings. For now they seemed to be as safe as they could be.

At first crouching, Havard watched Koujen closely. Gradually, the munna's Nightmare began to fade, the cloud to recede, and his dream to apparently improve. I think so, he replied to the reuniclus, before turning his head to look at her. "Thank you for keeping him safe through all that. I know how difficult it must have been."

He settled into the grass next to Koujen, careful to keep his tail hidden in his heavy cloak. He could ignore their surroundings, Koujen's sweaty and dirty face and hair, and feel as if they were having a picnic. When Koujen whispered his name, Havard leaned close to his ear and replied. "I'm here."

Mitja seemed to do all she could to avoid eye contact. When she did look at him, he was caught mid reach, aiming for her wrist, while looking up at her. But that eye contact broke his concentration and he froze. And when she turned away, he set his jaw in frustration and stood up. He pulled the shirt with the big red "R" on it over his head and got up in her face. "Play? You're still a teenager and I'm almost as tall as you!" He stuffed the wadded-up shirt at her gut (or somewhere, but he was pretty sure he missed her chest) and stalked off toward the forest.

(Watch him pout all the way home, then get dragged off by Nigel to his aunt's house for a month. Dx )

Switch tried to clean up someone's arm then wrap it as best she could with feather-fingers. She glanced up at Rostek then grinned sheepishly while she worked. "Yeah... Before all this, Theo and I were out on a retreat with some local kids to bond with their pokemon while we were roughing it and getting stronger in battling and stuff. Some Rockets found out about it and grabbed a bunch of them. We all tried to stop them but we weren't strong enough yet. I was hoping we'd find them without having to fight. Either way, we'll get 'em back though."

- - -

Frank nodded. It would be harder to protect them, but she'd still try. "Reward?" she asked dubiously, though whether she misunderstood the word or simply did not believe him could be anyone's guess. With an effort, she broke their stare and glanced at the delibird, attempting a smile in return. "It's all right. Everyone wants out."

"Lead the way." She nodded to Amit, then raised up her tail and warily kept an eye out, swatting at anything that came near them, especially the other two.

- - -

Don't worry, some of us were already cracked, one of the solid seeds replied, while one of the cracked ones smirked. Another added woefully, albeit a little on the melodramatic side: If you count chronic migraines as 'okay.'

Nearby, Dorian was careful to float near the ground. He snorted in derision, clearly meant for Ufuoma. 'Always complaining.'

Only when there isn't a job to be done, the "whiner," replied. As a group, Ufuoma recognized the reuniclus' interest in Havard and Koujen, but remained silent on the matter.

Havard had already blocked out the mental intonations of the exeggcute, but heard Dorian's complaint, which was enough to get a gist of it without giving them anymore thought.

He studied Koujen. The shiny munna teen had been sedated, but it was difficult to tell if it was beginning to wear off or if he was merely fighting it. "I am sorry too. But we will talk about that later. How do you feel?"

Mitja must know the reason why he did this. Wasn't that adult enough? He didn't care how he got a job done, but he always managed to have fun. So why was there such a bitter taste in his mouth over it? Money was money. It was like a gun, it was just an object that was used different ways by different people. This money would feed and clothe three people, just like a gun could feed and clothe people. That was just the same as hunting out in the wilderness. His jobs in town were great because he didn't have to kill any pokemon to do it. Wasn't that good?

He knew that her bluntness could be razor-sharp and usually it rolled off of him. In fact, he often made a game out of raising the ire in her. Nevertheless, her words stung him deeply. Why didn't she just leave him covered in venom? The burn would have hurt less.

These thoughts that boiled within him were visible in two ways: his tail puffed up to ridiculous proportions when she spat out those words. Maybe she saw that while she threw the shirt to the ground. But when his tail and ears drooped she had already turned away, and he was well on his way home.

So, the game she wanted him to play was to show her how grown-up he could be? What would make her realize he was a man, and not just some punk? He'd figure out a plan later when he could think straight. As it was he couldn't make it through the trees without making a horrible racket.

(Haha, too bad he's already heading off, he probably would have come to the split-second conclusion to spin around and kiss her. XDD )

Switch smiled at the gigalith child. "Thank you, Rostek. Who could have expected to meet a friend like you at a time like this?" She finished patching up that arm with a reassuring grin and looked around. There were cuts and bruises everywhere. She wasn't sure what she'd do if she came across a severe case.

There were so many people milling about, she wasn't sure she would recognize her neighbors' pokemon. What if Team Rocket had taken their friends with them when they escaped? How would they follow the trail? What if they were still trapped inside? How would they ever know?

She just...

...moved on to the next person. That was what she could do right now.

- - -

Frank was completely consumed by her task. Listening more than seeing helped her locate and swat away falling debris. Her concentration became so complete that it took her a moment to realize when had made it safely out.

Her concentration had been broken, leaving her feeling slightly dizzy. She wandered off a bit, looking up at the sky and taking in the fresh air. She could not help feeling a little disoriented whenever she made a transition like this, be it a darkened and collapsing building or a mountain tunnel. "Ah..."

She turned back to the strange pair she had nearly literally run into, and later helped escape. She found Amit rifling through Risketi's feathers. She had never met another delibird and was unfamiliar with their extremely convenient tail pouch. Risketi did not appear to be enjoying herself, but she also did not complain about his invasive hand. "It would have been all right. I think I could get us out if it had collapsed," she replied to the delibird uncertainly. "What is he doing...?"

- - -

Ufuoma's coping mechanism seemed to have helped Bürschli relax a little, allowing her to focus on other matters. However, the subject of an exeggcute's migraines was a surprising turn for the "whiner," as she reached out for him. I, I don't know... He glanced at the others, who, after some consideration agreed. If she could help Koujen, perhaps she could help him as well. It is common for exeggcute seeds to crack, but anyone would be in pain after that, would they not? Do you think you can help with that? They all watched the reuniclus in awe at her seeming selfless action, realizing for the first time that Koujen may be a stranger to her as well.

Koujen was in distress, but Havard could not understand why. Perhaps there was some internal injury that they did not know about. Or, as Koujen admitted that he was dizzy, perhaps he was fighting the medication in trying to speak. That seemed the most likely situation. "I will not leave you again, Koujen." Havard, not realizing that it was the same hand, reached out and rested his own upon Koujen's, giving it a little squeeze. It was a little gesture meant to comfort, even someone like Havard knew that, but with it came similar resistance to Koujen's.

When Koujen seemed to have drifted asleep, Havard turned and watched the others. It appeared that they were doing well out of their pokeballs, so he released the last pokemon in their party, a lunatone named Tuncay. Hopefully the others would be out and safe. If they were not safe, what then? He decided he would ask Ufuoma to try to call for them once they seemed more stabilized. He watched the reuniclus pick up one of the seeds. Was she going to try to heal it like she had tried to do with Koujen? He nodded when Ufuoma confirmed this.

He sighed and leaned back in the grass, weight on one arm. He was in a bit of a quandary. Though he had seen other legendaries parade around as if their presence were a common event, he was one whose privacy was more than important. He wanted to do many things using his abilities as a mewtwo, but out in the open like this, he felt powerless. That was where pokemon teams came in handy, but deep down his worry still festered. For this reason, he could almost say he hated groups, and friends. They were distracting and worrisome. He hated to worry: it was counterproductive. He could handle one or two, but groups were overwhelming, even if outwardly every effort proved otherwise.

Though his research had gained little by this adventure, his promise to the pokemon in his party would finally be fulfilled. And Koujen was safe. He was surprised to learn that Koujen meant more to him than the research. He must have been confused by the circumstances surrounding his excursion, such as the explosions, and perhaps even that puberty thing that had not affected him outwardly like it had Koujen.

Havard allowed his mind to wander further. In the meantime he listened to those around him and began to doze.