115. [Text/Action for Mahogany]

[foolishwren]

[TEXT-- PUBLIC]

General announcement here


I don't really know what kinds of contacts Dad kept here but for anyone who knew him, Harry Mason is gone. His stuff was mostly left to me and one other person so I guess that's really all there is to say about it.

Later.

-Heather


[ACTION-- MAHOGANY TOWN]



<sub>[Heather's always mostly let her Pokemon run free-- or at least the more reliable ones-- when the gang is bunkered down at a hotel somewhere. After all, not everybody gets to come along when they're between cities, so time spent outside of the box by default takes place mostly within walking distance of a Pokemon Center.]

[Today there can be a small cluster of Pokemon seen by the entrance of the Mahogany Inn. A Manectric, unusually subdued for anyone who knows her, gently licking the head of a Pikachu. The electric mouse has a slightly crumpled sheet of paper in her paws, and behind her, a Noctowl shelters a small, rotund Hoothoot with one wing while peering over the Pikachu's shoulder.]

[While it's little more than coos and soft canine whuffles to most ears, any Pokemon or person with a sensitive ear can probably pick up the quiet muttering coming from the group.]</sub>

It's okay, Hazel. My trainer went away too but New Trainer always takes good care of me. She even shares her lunches.

I-I know...

Just think though, now we can play all the time. I know we're sad, but that will be fun, right?

Now is not the time to be talking about playing, Tricia. Have some tact.


Okay, okay...


W-... where is Mr. Trainer's daughter, a-anyway? She just left after seeing the letter...

Up on the roof. Sunny is with her, so she will be fine... Probably. Come, we should go collect the others. She... will come down when she's ready.






[Tricia the Manectric, Hazel the Pikachu, Claudy the Noctowl]

Comments

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry is still a little weirded out by the mental image of Harry peeking under the lining of his shoes at night while he's asleep.]

[Heather's movement pulls him out of his daydream though. He purses his lips in concern and carefully scoots over her way, quietly urging Sunny to move as he does so.]</sub>

Hey...

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Sunny obligingly shuffles backwards. She's there for moral support, not to crowd them. She settles on the shingles, fluffing her feathers up once before they settle again.]

[Heather doesn't say anything at first. But she doesn't edge away.]

[Which is good, because when she does speak, it's barely audible, even with Henry sitting closer.]</sub>

... I've lost him three times now.

You'd think that after awhile... it wouldn't be so hard.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry shakes his head. Even the people he'd seen die in horrible ways--people he hadn't even known--that had hurt. Again and again and again.]}

No...it's never going to be easy. Not that.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[All the losses she's experienced over the years run through her head. Most all had a big thing in common: anger. She almost always felt angry. Whether it was a hot fiery rage or a dull, sticky bitterness that left her feeling like her ribcage was clogged with tar, it was always there. Hatred. Hating Johto for taking them away. Hating the people who were gone for leaving. Hating herself for not taking advantage of the time more.]

[But Johto had taken Harry Mason away once and then given him back, in the best way possible, for years. And Harry had wanted nothing LESS than to leave, harbored no secret homesickness or longing for what they'd left behind. And Heather... well, she'd made mistakes and had regrets, of course, but... she knew she had done all she could with the time she had. It had been everything she could have ever asked for.]

[There's no one left to be angry at.]

[So instead she just feels empty.]





[Her face crumples as the first tears start to well up in her eyes.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry watches in the quiet horrified silence of those watching another person break down. His rabbitness wanted to bolt. Wanted somebody else to take up the helm and be the comforting one--the one that was good at people. But there was nobody else. Harry had told him specifically in clear crisp writing to keep an eye on her.]

[Look after each other and everything will be alright.]

[He was the Receiver.]</sub>

[Henry leans over to put his arms around her and pull Heather to his chest. He doesn't say anything because he doesn't need to.]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[To her credit, she holds it in fairly well. Heather has never been the sort to just burst into tears, even when she's alone.]

[But they're coming whether she wants them to or not and she can't bite them back entirely-- so she leans forward to let her forehead replace her chin in the groove between her knees-- only to feel herself being tugged into a hug.]

[Heather's made a big show over the past couple of years of being bigger than her frame, with all that black leather and tough talk.]

[But when Henry pulls her over to him, it's more obvious than ever how small she actually is.]


[Abandoning her knees as a crying platform, she twists in place a little to lean into the Receiver's chest, tears flowing in earnest as her shoulders finally start to quake with unrestrained sobbing.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry lowers his chin against the top of her head and squeezes his eyes shut. He's already cried his tears but it doesn't stop a few sobs from jogging his chest. Sobs for the empty chair in their hotel room and sobs for the aching sister in his arms and sobs for himself and his uncertain future.]

[It was a very sad say.]</sub>

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Behind them, a shadow looms.]

[The time has come.]

[As the pair of newly-orphaned (or newly re-orphaned, in Heather's case) helltown-survivors hold each other and cry, a set of downy wings gently folds around them.]

[SH BABIES IT'S OKAY OWL MOM IS HERE]</sub>

Later That Night

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[It had been dark for some hours when Henry and Heather arrived on their floor of the hotel, take-out bags and cups in hand. Henry has been spending as little time in doors as possible today so he's doing that awkward 'I'm in a stranger's hose so I'm going to hold my elbows really close to my body' thing.]

[It feels alien. It didn't feel like their door. It felt like the hotel he and Heather had to stay in when Heather picked him up from Goldenrod. Not home-base.]

[Still, he's the one who opens the door.]</sub>

I could see if Vulpixflix has anything...

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Heather trails in after him, carrying more of the bags.]

[She had been in enough hotels by herself before Harry had arrived that the weird alien feeling isn't quite as weird or alien.]

[But it is one that she hasn't felt in a long time.]</sub>

Yeah, sure.

<sub>[Her voice had picked up the same emptiness it had earlier. She hasn't cried so hard in a long time and she'd forgotten how draining it was, even on top of the new ache of loss she was now carrying around with her.]

[There's a small skittering stampede as several of the Pokemon who'd been left out of their balls come scrabbling up, attracted by both the savory food smells and the sight of their trainers.]

[Harry's Pokemon, however, hang back. They're all nestled on his empty bed.]

[Looking at them makes Heather's throat clench, so she busies herself preventing Cujo from shoving his entire face into one of the bags.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry places the bags down on the little hotel counter and ignores the yowling of his needy Glameow winding in and out between his feet.]}

Ugh, Burger, get lost...I've fed you four times today and you ate Alien Baby's food too.

_{[PIERCED by his trainer's words, the purple cat wanders back over to the pokemon herd hoping to blend in and make Heather think that he is a brand new Pokemon she has never seen before and thus needs to be fed.]}

Let's see...there's your soup...and my box. Do you have my soup over there with the other stuff?

[foolishwren]

Probably.

_{[She fumbles out the big take-home carton of soup they'd bought to ensure that they didn't have to give any of their own up to the Pokemon and places it out of reach until they can divide it up. They don't need it, really-- they have plenty of kibble and PokeChow. But it helps stave off the horror of 20+ Pokemon all attempting to beg at the same time whenever the human members of the party try to eat something.]}

... Yeah, I think it's in here.

... Thanks. By the way.

For buying.

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Her thanks catches him by surprise--not that he's surprised at her being grateful. He just didn't even think about it when he'd offered. It felt natural. The right thing to do.]}

Don't mention it.

_{[He sets things out before wandering over to the television and trying to get the stubborn Vulpixflix service to connect. The hotel came with a small card of the season's features and all of them looked sort of awful but any of them would be welcome background noise.]</sub. I made a little money taking tourist photos a while back thanks to that technique Snake taught me.}

[foolishwren]

_{[Nudging the clamoring Pokemon away with her foot, Heather pulls out some styrofoam cups and heads over to the bed.]}

Here y'go, guys... you first.

<sub>[Normally she'd pour the soup over the counter but... well. Nobody's gonna be sleeping in that bed but the Pokemon anyway.]

[A smile tugs on her mouth at what Henry says next though.]</sub>

Snake's got some good advice sometimes.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Once he's found his own dinner he takes it up and follows her. He has to scoot Burger out of the way one more time because Burger has tried to come and convince him that he is a Brand New Pokemon.]

[Henry eases down on the foot of the bed near his sleeping bag. Harry may be gone but Henry isn't going to give up his Thought Cocoon.]</sub>

They're good when they don't get you taken out with the trash.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Henry will forever be known as that weirdo who always sleeps on the floor, no matter what he does.]

[Heather laughs slightly, handing out the little mini-cups of soup.]</sub>

Hehe, yea-- .... wait, what.

_{[HENRY YOU DID NOT MENTION THAT PART BEFORE.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry doesn't answer her. This is because his mouth is full of noodles and that is much more important than explaining himself!]}

[foolishwren]

_{[... No, you know what, Harry would have wanted her to pursue the topic. So she sets the rest of the large jug of soup down on the floor (ignoring the small stampede-- it's flared at the bottom to prevent hungry Pokemon from knocking it over) and heads over.]}

No. Henry.

You got picked up with the trash because you were hiding in a box?

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[The photographer tries to turn a shoulder toward her. It's really hard to look innocent while cramming noodles into your face.]}

Nn-mm!

[foolishwren]

Henry.

_{[She grabs his shoulder and scoots around so that she can get a little in his noodle-stuffed face.]}

An actual garbage truck came and loaded you up and you didn't think to-- I don't know, get out of the box and run?

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[He swallows.]}

I tried! By the time I got untangled from all the garbage bags the doors had closed.

[foolishwren]

_{[Releasing his shoulder, she drags her hands down her face and lets out a long groan.]}

Henry...

_{[NOTE TO SELF: have a word with Snake about including COMMON SENSE CLAUSES when giving advice to impressionable photographers.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry gives a noncommittal shrug and takes another bite of his dinner.]}

I got a new pokemon out of it. Flower is a valuable part of my team.

[foolishwren]

Flower's also a bag of trash.

If you were really aching to have a bag of trash on your team, you probably could have gotten one out of an alleyway of your choice.

_{[She'd never seen a Trubbish around before, but now that she's seen one, she started noticing them everywhere.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

I wasn't looking for one, we just bonded. We bonded in that horrible dark suffocating truck.

_{[He scoots Burger away from him with a foot.]}