98. [Action for Saffron City, backdated to Friday]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[It's funny, because these sorts of weekends have come to be ones that Heather dreads, clear memories or no. She doesn't remember much of them when they roll around, but she remembers enough, and usually what she remembers is bad.]

[So yeah, she's sort of been walking on eggshells, waiting for this to happen.]

[BUT... between all the craziness going down throughout November... bundling over to Kanto with the rest of her family to cheer Crow on during the Tournament, spending Thanksgiving in the packed-to-bursting household of a grumpy FBI agent and the enormously large family unit he seems to have somehow gathered (despite... being himself) ...]

[It drives weird dreamy weekends filled with amnesia and horror and the Koolaid Man bursting through the wall out of the mind, a little!]

[.... Which is why, yeah, uh, she's out taking Cooj for a nighttime walk on Friday night, and doesn't quite notice anything's up yet.]

[Or the pink bunny following her around.]</sub>





[OOC: Tags may be horrendously slow due to NaNo, but I had to hiatus-break at least a LITTLE for 4th Wall! Robbie the Rabbit will be lingering in the background of any given thread, but feel free to throw anything at Heather and not bother with the spooky pink bunny chillin over there.]

Comments

[adoptivemother]

[Trying not to fall over with that.]

He's certainly friendly.

[She would like her face back though.]

Down boy.

[foolishwren]

_{[Fortunately for her, a pair of skinny arms promptly locks around the shaggy behemoth and wrestles him backwards. When Heather speaks, her voice is muffled behind the fuzzy mass of dog currently hiding most of her from view as Cujo wobbles backwards with her, still on his hind legs.]}

Yeah, he-- he doesn't have a mean bone in his body!

S'just that he doesn't have any MANNERS in there, either--!

_{[Which is... HER FAULT, REALLY. She never bothered to TRAIN him much, which is why he's always so out of control. But at least he's not dangerous.]}

[adoptivemother]

[Well at least there is not a dog on her anymore. She laughs and wipes some drool off her face.]

Well I suppose manners and dogs don't mix that well.

[Trying to get a better look at the person behind the dog though.]

[foolishwren]

I-I guess not... Cooj, settle!

_{[The person behind the dog promptly topples over, sending both herself and said dog sprawling onto the sidewalk. Cujo squirms free and wobbles upright, shaking vigorously while Heather recoils, bringing one arm up to shield the side of her face from the inevitable flying specks of slobber.]}

Ackplth!

[adoptivemother]

Oh dear, are you alright?

[Dog why are you tormenting your owner? She'll try and offer you a hand up.]

[foolishwren]

_{[BECAUSE CUJO.]}

I'm-- I'm fine, it's--

<sub>[She's all set to avoid that offered hand-- nothing personal, it's just on principal-- but then as she's lowering her arm away from her face and starting to get up on her own, she actually gets a good look at the woman she's talking to for the first time.]

[It's a face she knows strongly from photographs and less strongly from the first Cheryl's faded memories (and, to a much lesser extent, that one forgotten meeting they'd had last winter during a similar weekend).]

[.... Mom?]






[Feel free to wonder why this random punky-looking teenager is gaping at you, Jodie.]</sub>

[adoptivemother]

[She is wondering. As she doesn't remember much about this place other then it seemed familiar in a dream like way.]

What's wrong? Are you hurt?

[foolishwren]

--Uh.

_{[The belated response comes after a second or two of prolonged silence, but then she starts to climb to her feet again, making it upright.]}

Yeah, I'm uh... fine, totally fine.

Um-- you from around here?

[adoptivemother]

No, I just arrived here. I wasn't really sure how.

But apparently my family is here as well. So I suppose it can't be all bad.

My name's Jodie Mason, what's yours?

[foolishwren]

I-- ... uh...

Heather.

<sub>[... DAMMIT. Like a split second after she offers her second name it occurs to her that she had the perfect opportunity to straight up say her REAL one. Jodie said her family was here. SHE KNOWS. Somehow. Not sure how. But she does.]

[So now Heather is mentally punching herself in the face.]</sub>

... Mason.

_{[THERE. NOW THE WHOLE SITUATION IS EVEN MORE CONFUSING. Good job, kiddo.]}

[adoptivemother]

[You take after your father so much dear. Jodie meanwhile, has been travelling around a while and had actually gotten in touch with Harry before this.

Which is one reason she's looking at you closely now. Because yeah there could be another teenage girl with the last name Mason here but at the same time...]

Cheryl?

[foolishwren]

<sub>[FORTUNATELY FOR HEATHER, because dear god, could she fudge up this introduction any worse?]

[At least it's not as bad as the time she 'met' Harry, long before the one from HER time period ever arrived in Johto.]

[She'd been hungover. And cursing loudly on the public network.]

[It hadn't gone well.]</sub>

... Mom.

[adoptivemother]

[Being told that your daughter is suddenly years older then you thought she should be is one thing. Actually coming face to face with said older daughter is another thing.]

[Her look of confusion however turns into a teary smile and you are getting a large hug now.]

It is you. Cheryl...I can't believe you're all grown up now. My little baby girl.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Hugs banish all awkwardness.]

[A little bit stunned, Heather brings her arms up to return it. There's literal tears springing to her eyes, but she doesn't quite know what to do with them.]</sub>

... Mom, I...

Did... did you already see dad?

[adoptivemother]

I did. Before randomly appearing in a few other places, but he said he was in this town.

[Just happy tears, you get a very long hug before she figures your probably want to breath.]

Oh look at you. You're a beautiful young woman.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[She steps back a little automatically when she's released, although she leaves her own arms around the woman who she last saw more than twenty years ago.]

[Hell, she had never even seen Jodie with these eyes.]

[It's weird as hell to think about... and sad.]

[When Jodie speaks on, Heather finds herself blinking a lot. It's not entirely what she'd have expected to hear from someone who last saw her as a cute little toddler in overalls and a puffy sweater.]

[Nobody expects their doe-eyed little daughter to grow up into a shaggy, short-haired scarecrow of a young woman in tank tops and jeans with busted knees. And most people probably wouldn't be HAPPY about it, either.]

[She doesn't respond to that directly (she's not sure she CAN), but her voice is slightly croaky when she speaks.]</sub>

... We missed you a lot. I mean--

... we never forgot.

_{[About you.]}

[adoptivemother]

[Nope, but you're still her little girl. You'd be beautiful no matter how you turned out.]

Sweetie....

I wish I could have been there.

[foolishwren]

_{[;-; MOM...]}

... Well, you're... you're here now! Right?

_{[... But for how long? ... Heather's not sure she wants to think about that.]}

[adoptivemother]

I can't believe it...

[Just smiles more.]

We should go find your father.

[foolishwren]

We should?

... We should!

He's-- uh, he's probably back at uh, the place we're staying!

It's not far, it's-- ... actually it's all the way on the outskirts of the city, but--!

_{[She starts to walk. Now that the initial ... emotional reunion is past, excitement is starting to fill her from head to toe.]}

[adoptivemother]

[Walks with her.]

Have you two been here long?

[foolishwren]

I, uh...

Dad's been here about a year and a half.

... I've been here almost three.

[adoptivemother]

Three years? And you've been by yourself for most of it?

Oh sweetie, I'm sorry.

[foolishwren]

No! No, it was...

_{[She bites her lip. It may not be best to mention that she'd been alone before she'd come here... and that here had been an improvement.]}

... It wasn't so bad.

... I had... I had Cujo.

_{[And others. Who Jodie would meet! ... But later, once they got back.]}

[adoptivemother]

I suppose....

[Well that's better then nothing, but still...]

[Also yeah. The whole Harry is also dead now, isn't something she knows about. Or the town, or anything about that stuff really.]

Well we're all together now at least.