<sub>[CLOUDS ABOVE. WATER BELOW. That's what Heather is seeing when she briefly flicks on the audio feed.]

[After spending a whole lot of time trying to ensure through various means that she wouldn't meet an uncertain death trying to fly, enough time had passed and Heather couldn't hold back that classic Mason mother-hen desire to have all the eggs in one place at the same time anymore.]

[In hindsight, though, informing the two she'd gotten on the bird to actually GO SEE that she'd left... AFTER she left, was a bit of a bad decision. Turns out the roaring wind is pretty damn loud when you're that high. She has to raise her voice to be heard.]</sub>

Angela. Lisa!

Sorry for the wait. M'finally on my way.

_{[A pause, punctuated by the whistling wind.]}

... Aaaand it'd be good if you could both tell me where you are, too. Prooobably should've asked that before I left.

_{[But THAT ASIDE... the video feed flicks on then, showing off a vast expanse of blue water below and fluffy clouds above, with Sunny's downy ear-tufts fluttering down towards the bottom of the screen.]}

I take back any misgivings I might've had about flying before.

This... is pretty awesome.

<sub>[This is the last place Heather wants to be. And when the feed blinks on, it shows.]

[There's the usual busy murmur characteristic of a Pokemon Center lobby on a Monday morning. It's been awhile since Heather's been under these fluorescent lobby lights, and she looks a little washed-out and pale. Sleepy, too-- and blinking in irritation at the bright lights. She must have rolled out of bed not that long ago, and her cheeks are still flushed from the cold walk between the hotel and the Center.]

[Judging from the pink plush cushion she's leaning on and the colorful Poke-care posters splashed all over the wall behind her, she's sitting in the lobby. There's a small (say, less-than-a-football-sized) dusk-colored egg in her lap-- but weirdly, none of her Pokemon can be seen. Normally at least one or two of them are present in her transmissions, either chillaxin' in the background or (in Cujo's case) doing something derpy, but none of them are there.]</sub>

Hey, guys... uh...

I just thought I should letcha know, Phoenix is... um, he's in the Pokemon Center here in Violet. He went yesterday to get somethin' for his cold and didn't come back, and apparently he uh... collapsed.

But they said it doesn't look like it has anything to do with him being sick, it's like...

_{[She rubs at one of her eyes with the heel of her palm, grimacing.]}

... Those faints that people've been going into lately.

So, he's... um... he's doing okay.

_{[Around this point, a familiar (to some) shiny blue head pops into the frame-- Phoenix's Quagsire partner, Butch, is clambering up onto the seat next to Heather. ... And onto Heather.]}

Ooff-- Butch, jeez, hang on-- _{[She hastily grabs her bag (the smaller, owlless one) and slips the egg she was holding inside before it gets crushed under the giant amphibian's weight.]} Anyway, uh-- I'll-- ... I'll be taking care of his Pokemon till he wakes up, I guess. But yeah, I just thought I'd give people the heads-up, in case anybody was... I dunno, worried.

_{[Weirdly, Butch looks as stupidly happy as ever (as he curls into a ball that's like twice as big as the lap he's trying to sit on), so Phoenix can't be in that bad a state. But for some reason, Heather still looks very uncomfortable-- and she's not the sort to worry unnecessarily about somebody when she knows they're more or less fine.]}

... Anyway. So, uh-- hey, Kaito? _{[She addresses the camera.]} You guys gotten to Violet yet? I thought maybe if you were here, we could all-- I dunno, meet up for lunch or somethi-- hey! <sub>[The camera jostles wildly-- looks like Butch is batting at it playfully. It shakes around a bit before the view steadies again-- upside-down and facing in the opposite direction, towards the front desk.]

[Two Nurse Joys are standing behind the counter and looking in Heather's direction very conspicuously. One of them has an expression darkened by consternation-- the other looks a little confused. The first says something quietly to her under her breath, and upon hearing it, the second one's eyes widen and she claps a hand over her mouth.]

[The camera jerks again as Heather grabs it back from Butch and turns it back to herself, but her attention is on the nurses now-- her expression briefly unreadable. But hey-- it's no secret to anybody who's been in Johto since the summer that Heather's relationship with the nurses of Violet City was an antagonistic one. Hell, she turned that Center upside-down on more than one occasion-- and laughed in the face of their authority, with no regrets (or shame)! Oh, the youthful shenanigans! Any second now she's gonna direct her gaze back at the camera and do a classic Heather "THEY MAD?" smirk or something, right?]

[.... Right?]

[Heather swallows hard, hunching her shoulders a little, as though trying to look a little more inconspicuous-- and then hastily shuts the camera off. Her last expression before the feed cuts out is one of... jeez, it kinda looks like ... guilt.]





[ooc: For those in the Pokemon Center, Heather can either be found milling uncomfortably around the edges of the Center lobby, looking like she just saw a Wanted poster for herself, or (most likely), hiding out in whatever room Phoenix's in to avoid contact with the Nurse Joys as much as she can.
ALSO, for those who weren't around back when this happened, this is why Heather's not feeling too hot about having to see these particular Nurses again.]</sub>

<sub>[There's a whole lot of jostling noises before the 'Gear, turned on in the hubbub, tumbles out of a small pile of clothes and lands on the bed, showing a jumble of items and ... general junk that Heather's allowed to accumulate in the hotel room.]

[There's a few crumpled paychecks, unfolded clothing, spare Potions and Pokeballs, and more than a few of the Christmas gifts that she'd gotten from her friends (all the candies and sweets, however, are long gone. Because if Heather didn't eat them, Honey the Butterfree was more than happy to pick up the slack.)]

[Is she... doing some early spring cleaning or what?]</sub>

Where-- ... is it? Dammit...

_{[Her voice, though slightly muffled on account of a small Girafarig plush pressed against the 'Gear's speakers, is clearly audible from somewhere off-camera. There's some sounds of stuff being shuffled or thrown about.]}

I swore I just put it d-- NO, Cujo, don't touch that! I said NO. Leave it alo-- good boy.

Okay, now where is that-- AHA.

_{[The 'Gear is plucked up out of the pile of odds and ends and the camera shows Heather's face briefly. She frowns a little bit at the sight of the red 'recording' light, but shrugs a little bit and lets her arm fall slack, giving everyone a nice, motion-blurred view of her jean leg. She seems a little harried-- too busy to care enough to turn it off.]}

Okay, I think that's just about everything-- Zilla, take that out of your mouth or I'll drop-kick you and you'll choke on it. Just gotta-- _{[Rummaging sounds.]}-- find a way to fit everything in... _{[Wait a moment, is she... packing? Since when was Heather leaving Goldenrod??]}

I think with the new bag, I should be able to-- ....


... CLAUDY. Get OUT of-- ....Claudy, NO-- aw, hell. Claudy...

<sub>[... There's a brief, resigned pause, and then Heather brings up the 'Gear to eye-level to show the network just what it is she's looking at.]

[Anybody remember Claudy's oh-so-endearing choice of habitat back when she was a cute little Hoothoot who could fit into small spaces? Anybody remember how that adorable (and very inconvenient) habit had disappeared once she had evolved into something as tall as Heather's torso? Juudai, remember how you gave her that great big RK9 sports bag for Christmas?]</sub>

<sub>[True to her word to several by this point, Heather's almost back to Violet. Her end of the line has been oddly silent for the past few days except for a few snarky remarks or other brief conversations, and that's largely due to her... well... unexpected traveling situation. But she's dealing! It's okay. She's got this. Really.]

[.... Or not? When the camera comes on, it's Cloverfield-level shaky, with the view swiveling around drastically and showing flashes of bare ground and campfire-- and something green off to the edge that was probably James and a sort of interested-looking Harry Mason standing up by the fire and peering over in the direction of whatever was shaking the camera around. Somewhere behind the log he'd been sitting on, if the viewer was paying very close attention in the BRIEF INSTANT that particular spot was visible, they could see a very vengeful set of Furret eyes glaring over the log at Harry. But that context is a tale for another time.]

[For now, the camera finally turns to focus on Heather's face, and she looks wide-eyed and excited. The past few days've been hard on her, but the situation at hand is temporarily drowning out any and all weird emotional problems she might or might not be having.]</sub>

RISE! RISE IF YOU'RE THERE, THE EGG'S HATCHING!

<sub>[No punctuation and all.]

[The camera turns down to the large cream-speckled egg that Heather's last transmission had asked about-- its surface is shinier than before and reflects the light of the campfire. But more importantly, it's starting to wiggle around and crack. Heather wasn't NEARLY this excited about her other eggs, but this one is a ~*~mystery~*~ and it's BIG so she's sort of kind of wiggin' out.]</sub>

<sub>[Of course Heather would leave her packing until a few minutes before she was going to leave]

[The gear's camera is turned on by accident as it's bumped around by her hurried shoving-of-random-crap into her bag, and the viewer is treated to a sideways view of the Pokemon Center. It's daybreak-- the lobby is quiet and just now starting to be lit by the windows rather than the fluorescent ceiling lights. Looks like after spending a week or so off by herself in the woods or something for reasons unknown, she came back to get ooooone last night's sleep in the comfort of a building before she set off again.]

[Finally, she lifts the tightpacked bag over her shoulder and adjusts her collar before picking up the 'Gear. Noting the camera's on, she offers the screen a tired grin and a little salute.]</sub>

Headin' back in the direction of Cherrygrove. I'll be back in a week or so, I guess. Unless there's another Beedrill swarm're somethin'. That'd suck.

If anyone needs me... gimme a call.

... Or I guess you could just clutch at your hair and start screaming until I come back. That works too.

_{[And with that, she's off out the automatic door and into the increasingly-warm morning air. Heather was never much for backtracking, but this was a special case.]}