foolishwren | 79. [Video/Action] Backdated to the morning of October 1st!

_{[So what's the best thing for someone who's been spending their time alternately fretting and pretending not to be fretting over circumstances well beyond their control?]

[A) More fretting
B) Meditation
C) A DISTRACTION]

[If anyone answered anything other than C, they're either very silly, or Cooper.]

[Heather is neither (.... okay, maybe she's the former quite often), so needless to say... when the posters for the Johto-wide fighting tournament going on in Goldenrod City hit the streets, they were the first thing to catch her eye. In fact, anyone spending any amount of time with her in person has probably noticed the way she's been stopping in the middle of whatever she was doing every single time she passes one of the damn things to look at it contemplatively, with a cocked head and a sort of half-wistful, half-devilish look in her eye.]

[As such, nobody whatsoever should be surprised when she pops up on the network on the day of signups ending with one of the flyers in hand. She'd been waffling on account of the fact that her father was sure do disapprove, but... man, she's been spoiling for something like this for months, and she's got... more than a little steam to blow off. Steam that isn't always so easy to blow off in a world where society expects you to resolve all your conflicts by letting animals do your fighting for you.]}

YO Johto, what's the happs?

_{[She grins broadly and then flourishes the poster at the screen.]}

Guys. Guys. Look.

Look at this.

Best thing ever, or BEST thing ever?

Who else's gonna sign up?

I'M gonna. ... Assuming the puppy-eyes work on Dad, I guess. They're a little rusty but I was once the puppy-eyes champion so I should be okay. And for anybody weirded out by the surreal idea of ME doing puppy-eyes, ask yourselves this: how ELSE could I have gotten away with all the crazy crap you totally know I got up to as a kid?

_{[A sly, knowing nod.]}

Yeah, makes more sense now, doesn't it.

ANYWAY.

_{[Another flourish of the poster.]}

So if any of you are planning on being in this thing, gimme a shout! I wanna size up the competition and stuff. ... And also, transportation? I'm in Ecruteak, so... if anyone's in the area, I guess we could carpool, or something? _{[She's not opposed to the idea of leaping on a strange Pidgeot if she HAS TO, buuuuut...]} I mean, the Tournament isn't supposed to LAST too long, so I'm guessin' we'd all only be gone for like... what, a week or two at most? Then I'd be headed back to Ecruteak because seriously, nice place.

Anyway... _{[She trails off, eyes flicking off to the side of the screen.]} I'd better go convince Dad that I won't die if I do this. _{[Eyes back to the screen, she gives a somber, soldier-like nod and salutes solemnly.]} Wish me luck, my people.

_{[BOOP. End feed.]

[TIME TO GO FIND DAD.]}

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_{[W-whoa. She holds up her hands a little, sensing she might've treaded a little close to a nerve. ... Or... a wire, or something. ... A-and unaware that she's unknowingly stepping on another one.]}

Hey, I didn't mean it like that.

I just meant... you're ALIVE, aren't you? You won for millions of years.

That means you're stronger than all the stuff you've fought, ever.

And-- ... and so am I, and I fought things that could've killed me in a heartbeat if I hadn't been just a little quicker, and a little smarter. That means something!

... At least I think it does.

[Ironhide... doesn't answer her.]

[He doesn't even acknowledge the first part of her statement, dropping his eyes instead.]

[Because there's... one thing he wasn't stronger than. Just one. And that was all it took. When he does finally speak, it's subdued.]

... Not discounting what you have done. Only saying you need to be more prepared.

_{[She doesn't know, Ironhide. ;-;]

[When he suddenly grows solemn, she frowns, tipping her head a little, brows furrowing in concern. That was... not the reaction she'd expected. He didn't even look mad. Just... she's not sure WHAT to describe that as. Just that she didn't expect it.]}

Well... I mean-- ... yeah, that's... of course.

... But that's why I'm asking you to show me some stuff!

Even if it's not much, every little bit helps, right?

_{[YOUTHFUL OPTIMISM]}

[He knows she has no idea. Honestly, he wouldn't even know how to begin telling her, if he had to.]

[Still, he doesn't look at the 'gear.]

I will help.

... Thanks, Ironhide.

It does mean a lot to me.

... I never had anybody to show me stuff like this when I needed it back home.

_{[Harry had taught her all he could, but... even he hadn't been able to fully prepare her for what was ahead.]}

... It was my duty, back home.

Helped keep the others safe. If they knew how to protect themselves.

[He just has to hope it sticks with them.]

... I wish there were more people who'd do that.

Would've ... made things turn out a lot differently where I come from.

And sometimes... you can make all the preparations. All the training... only... to have it make no difference, in the end.

_{[... Heather goes quiet at that.]}

... I guess that's kind of what happened.

_{[She'd never known why her father had done half of what he did, until it was already too late... only then had she figured out just how much he'd sacrificed to try and keep her safe.]}

... But I don't want that to happen again.

[That makes him look up.]

...

What happened?

_{[Oh man. How is it possible to even BEGIN to explain what had happened to them?]

[She makes a face, briefly. Not an 'oh god how do I get out of talking about this' face, but an 'oh god how do I TALK about this' face.]}

... Dad literally sacrificed everything to protect me.

Everything.

... And bad stuff still happened.

A lot of bad stuff.

_{[His efforts, his preparations, had let her save the world. ... But that couldn't erase everything that both of them had gone through just to crawl out the other end alive. ... And Harry hadn't even gotten THAT the second time around. Johto is literally the last chance he has to be with his daughter now.]}

All his plans, all those years of dodging the bullet... it's not that they didn't matter, 'cause they did, but...

[He gets what she means, more or less. How could he not understand? It was how he'd always thought things would end.]

[So, once again, there's silence.]

[He nods.]

But it feels as if they do not. Because of what happened.

... Yeah.

Pretty much.

_{[There's a pause. ... And then, in a quiet voice.]}

... You know what that's like, don't you.

[Ironhide... doesn't answer. Again. He doesn't know how to. What does he even say to that?]

[He opts for a version that's easiest to say. Which is... just an agreement.]

Yeah. How did you guess?

... Well, I figure, live for millions of years... it's bound to happen eventually.

_{[... That and she can just sorta... y'know. Tell. From the way he talked and looked right now.]}

You would figure right.

[Not that he has any intention of delving into this discussion any deeper than that.]

_{[And she's not going to, either. She doesn't want to push her luck... at least not right now.]}

Yeah...

So, um...

If you're there when I get to Goldenrod, you wanna like... do some practice sparring and stuff? _{[... Not that it'd do IRONHIDE much good, there isn't a hell of a lot he can learn from Heather when it comes to fighting.]}

[Smart girl, this Heather Mason.]

... yeah. Sure. Cliffjumper wanted to head over there anyway. Might as well plan on it.

_{[Hey, she does have a pretty good head on her shoulders. ...She just doesn't always act like it.]}

All right. I'll count on it, then.

79. [Video/Action] Backdated to the morning of October 1st!

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