foolishwren | 90. [Video/Action for Olivine Inn] Dated to whenever Team Silent + Crow gets to Olivine.

_{[It's quiet.]

[In more ways than one.]

[Actually, 'quiet' is a pretty good word to describe everything over the past few days, from Heather's perspective.]

[She's been quiet. After making an angry spectacle of herself in front of everyone, she hadn't been in much of a talkative mood. The trip down Route 38 had been spent largely in solemn silence, even after Crow had joined them mid-journey-- something that practically didn't seem possible.]

[The network's been quiet. Relatively, anyway. So many previously-prolific voices had vanished. Those who were left had understandably been left to pick up the pieces of everything that had come undone and, well, it's hard to blame them for being quiet-- those ones who had lost people, anyway. God knows Heather couldn't muster the fire to keep getting angrier as word of new disappearances had continued to flow in. The moment when she had seriously considered destroying a harmless Pokemon egg and its contents had been the moment she'd burnt herself out.]

[And, perhaps the only one that's sort of comforting right now, the city is quiet. The hustle and bustle of summer is both long ago and far in the future and as such, Olivine City in February is a great deal calmer than it had been the last time Heather had been here. That's sort of good, really. They've all needed to do a lot of thinking lately.]

[It's morning-- hardly even dawn yet.]

[At first, the camera isn't even SHOWING Heather. More a very close view of the floor, and the railing at the top of the staircase leading up from the lobby of the Olivine Inn. The cameraman is probably a Pokemon, but who knows which one it is... Godzilla has long since retired from his 'Gear-stealing shenanigans and so has Butch, now that he can WOOOOOO and QUAAAAAAG at his beloved Flapper in person.]

[But whichever one it is, it carries the camera with an air of quiet determination, and once it situates itself within view of its trainer, who seems to be sitting silently by a window in the deserted lobby, it sits itself down with a rustle and zooms in.]}

_{[Eyes shut, she almost looks asleep, except for the fact that she's absent-mindedly stroking something with one finger-- something bristly-looking and pale yellow that seems to be in the process of contentedly nuzzling its way under her chin. ... Something with four bright blue eyes not dissimilar to the odd markings on that little egg she had been threatening to crush last week.]

[The video doesn't last long. It lingers on Heather and the new Pokemon for fifteen or twenty seconds, and then shuts off. Whoever had been filming, it seemed, had no agenda outside of showing the network that, no, Heather had not gone through with her impulsive plan. Fortunately.]

[The whole time, Heather just carries on obliviously.]

[Remembering hurts... but there's nothing anybody can do to change that.]

[Half to herself and half to the creature, who doesn't seem to be aware of how close it had come to maybe NOT EVER GETTING TO HATCH, she mumbles after a few seconds.]}

... Stage five. I think.

That's acceptance, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You'd think they'd stop at electric mice though. I mean, Sparky was pretty small when he was a pichu.

I guess there's just all sorts.

_{[She actually sort of likes the bug better. Heather had never been much of a rodent person, although she was fond of the Pichu she'd given to her father.]}

Anyway... s'sorta nice that it's travel-sized.]

Yeah. I like that to, although I'm a bit worried he and Sparky are gonna fight.

[He points to his head]

It's Sparky's favorite spot to.

I dunno.

I'd say you've got enough hair to fit two Pokemon in.

Providing Sparky doesn't gain any weight.

Heh. Yeah, whatever you do, don't evolve him.

Then your spine would collapse if he tried to ride up there.

I wasn't planning on it. It would be like trying to carry Aggron when he was just Aron.

Yeah.

I'm lucky, even evolved, most of my Pokemon are still carryable. ... Or... well, at least for small periods of time.

_{[She'd tried wearing Arty as a fur scarf once. Not practical for more than maybe two minutes at a time.]}