//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: A New World, a New Ribbon // by Scarletmenace //------------------------------// Everyone remained silent as the Charizard held his cold stare to the group, his expressionless face masking his true motives as his eyes scanned over them. Clara had to suppress a shudder as the Charizard's eyes locked onto her, as well as a sigh of relief when they left her. The others were fairing no better, most of them looking just as nervous when those piercing red eyes focused on them. However, despite the intimidation, Sprite and Saul were both able to maintain a calm demeanor, as well as, return the glare. Meeting the black Charizard's gaze, Saul calmly walked forward and stood in front of the group, his face unreadable as he turned to address the two Charizards. "I believe that it's quite rude to declare a battle without introducing yourself." Saul began, catching the attention of the two flame Pokémon. "Also, while I don't mind a good battle, I must ask. Why do you want this keystone?" The black Charizard mentally quirked an eyebrow at the Umbreon's boldness. After all, he was usually the one that would talk to people like that, not the other way around. Either way, it didn't matter to him, because he had to get his hands on that keystone at all costs. There was a long pause of silence as Saul waited for the Charizard's answer, his bright yellow eyes never leaving the pair as he waited for a response. After a few more moments of intense staring, the black Charizard finally let an emotion grace his feature and gave Saul a miniscule smirk. "Short and right to the point huh?... Very well, I'll tell you what you want to know." The black Charizard replied as he lifted his claw and gestured to the two of them. "I'm Alain, and this is my partner Charizard." "Hello." Charizard casually greeted from Alain's side, a small smirk also adorning his face. "And as for the keystone," Alain continued. "I'm going to need it if I'm to continue my task at mastering mega evolution. And believe me. One way or another, I'm not leaving here without that stone." Alain declared as he once again glared at the group, his smirk gone as if it never existed in the first place. Despite Alain's intimidating presence, Saul maintained his ground, glaring just as intensely at the black Charizard. After a few more moments of intense staring, Saul finally let out an agitated sigh as he broke eye contact. "So there really is no other way." Saul grumbled before looking back up at Alain again. "…Very well. I accept your challenge." That seemed to break Clara out of her trance as she leapt forward in-between the two Pokémon. "W-wait just a minute Saul! What do you mean you accept?!" Clara stammered out loud, her anxiety interfering with her telepathy. "Don't you remember the last time you fought such a strong opponent?" Saul visibly winced as his mind was assaulted with the images of blood. however, he quickly pushed those memories aside before steeling his gaze, determination written all over his face as he placed a paw on his mate's shoulders. "Things are different now, Clara. I'm stronger than I was before." Saul reassured her, but seeing as she was not convinced, Saul let out a sigh before leaning forward and licking her across the cheek. "I promise that I got this. Plus, you got Maiden here in case things were to go wrong." Saul added as he continued to soothe Clara by licking her cheeks. After a few more seconds of Saul licking her on the cheeks, Clara finally let out a defeated sigh before returning his gestures with a simple kiss. "I Really don't like it," Clara hesitated. "but I'll trust you on this." Saul smiled. "Thank you, Clara. I promise that I everything will be alright." "It better be." Clara said sternly before turning towards the two Charizards. The two flame Pokémon looked anxiously at the Sylveon, expecting a verbal lashing of some sorts from her. Thankfully, that was not the case as she looked at Alain with a confusing expression that he could only describe as a cross between anxiety, and relief. "While I'm not happy at you for challenging my Saul to a battle, I am relieved to meet another human after being throw into this world. I was beginning to think that I was the only one." Clara chuckled dryly. "Wait…you're human as well?" Alain looked at the Sylveon in surprise. Clara nodded. "Yes, I'm a human…. well, was." She sighed before perking right back up. "Anyway, my name is Clara Devita, and I'm a top coordinator from the Kalos region." Clara gestured to her herself before using her ribbons to gesture to everyone else. "And this here is my mate Saul, as well as, Green Leaf, Melon Stripe, Golden Streak, Maiden, Sprite, and….uhhh." Clara trailed off when she got to the Carbink floating next to Streak. "Bixbite." The Carbink answered, sounding slightly miffed. "And Bixbite!" Clara concluded sheepishly with a nod. Alain looked over at the group with mild interest. To be perfectly honest, he had stopped listening to the pink fairy once he had heard her mention that Saul was her mate. He could understand people calling each other couples, but the word mate was a foreign term that was usually reserved for Pokémon, not humans. Quickly piecing the pieces together, Alain looked down at the Sylveon with wide eyes. "Wait a moment, you said that this Umbreon was your mate… Are you saying that you're… a Pokephile?" Alain prodded, leaning down towards Clara. Clara realized that she had screwed up. She knew that being on a whole new planet meant different laws, especially ones about Pokémon, but she had forgotten that just because she was free from the Earth's old laws, it didn't mean she was free from the brutal criticism of others who frowned upon such actions. Clara leaned back as Alain inched closer, her ears folded back in distress as the large Charizard invaded her personal space. She was about to make a break towards the safety of the group; however, she didn't get the chance as the shiny Charizard was suddenly violently thrown away from her, his body bouncing like a skipping stone as he rag dolled across the dirt road before slamming into the side of a hill, causing a huge explosion of dust and debris. "ALAIN!!!" Charizard exclaimed in shock before reeling around in fury to glare at the one who had dared to attack his trainer. Standing in front of him was Saul, who was glaring darkly at the large hole in the side of hill where Alain had collided. It was also clear to Charizard that Saul was the one who had attacked his trainer because of the steam rolling off the Umbreon's shoulder, indicating the pure power and speed that was put behind that physical impact. "You'll pay for that!" Charizard roared as he charged forward at the Umbreon, energy forming around his claws before extending to hellish lengths as he readied his dragon claw. Saul made no attempt to move as Charizard closed in on him, even when the large dragon was just a few feet away. However, at that point, Charizard was already swinging his claws down, ready to rend into the Umbreon's flesh. "STOP!" Charizard froze mid attack with his claws a mere inch from Saul's face, the sudden halt of the attack sending a strong gust of wind that blew over the everyone. Despite the dragon claws coming so close to hitting him, Saul maintained his cold and calm demeanor, not at all phased by the aggressive display. With a snarl, Charizard let the energy around his claws dissipate as he stood back up to his full height, barley containing his rage. However, that anger was quickly replaced with worry as he looked towards his trainer, who was halfway out the hole. "Alain!" Charizard exclaimed as he dashed towards his trainer to offer is trainer some help. "Are you alright?" "I'm fine." Alain coughed as he accepted Charizard's outstretch claw. "I'm just glad that my new body could take a hit like that." Without even looking up, Alain could still feel the animosity radiating off the Umbreon as his cold yellow eyes bared down on them, the glare sending him an unusual feeling of nostalgia. Those eyes…there's no doubt about it. Alain thought to himself as dusted himself off before making his way back towards the group, his Charizard close behind him. When he got closer, he noticed that Saul had stopped glaring at him, the umbreon being preoccupied at fending off a pretty irritated Sylveon. "Why the hell did you think that was a good idea!?" Clara berated her mate, using her real voice so that the ponies did not have to hear their argument. "H-he was coming so close to you after finding out that we- OUCH!" Saul yelped as Clara chomped on his ear, not hard at all, but enough to get a response from him. "Then give him a warning before you try to turn him into a museum piece." Clara advised cautiously before letting go of his ear and proceeding to lick his "wound". "After all, it's those kinds of misunderstandings that creates enemies." Her anger now faded, concern taking its place. Saul looked like he was about to retort, but never got the chance to state it when Leaf decided to chime in. "UUUGH! I hate it when I can't understand them." Leaf groaned, feeling heavily left out of the conversation that just took place. "don't worry, you aren't missing much. They are just having another one of their sappy moments." Maiden deadpanned as she looked at her trainer, secretly wishing that she wasn't able to understand them either. Leaf pouted. "Not that, I wanted to know what the giant lizard was saying." Maiden sighed. "First off, they are Charizards. Second-" "Uh, guys." Streak interrupted as he looked nervously past the two Eeveelutions in front of them. "They're coming back… and one of them looks really pissed off." Sure enough, the Charizards were indeed walking back over to the group. And true to Streak's words, the orange Charizard looked very pissed as he glared at the group, his eyes practically screaming for a battle. Thankfully, Alain was keeping him in check, tapping Charizard with his claw whenever it looked like he was about to lose control. "That was a nice Giga Impact ya just did there." Alain commented with a wry tone once he got into earshot. "That wasn't a Giga Impact, it was a tackle." Saul scoffed, now using telepathy again. Alain raised in skepticism, clearly not expecting that kind of response. A moment passed before he turned towards his Charizard with a small, yet eager, smile. "Looks like this battle won't be easy." Alain grinned. Normally, Charizard would be one for sharing Alain's sentiments. However, he had more important things on his mind as he glared back at the Umbreon that had tossed around his trainer. Before Charizard got the chance to express his displeasure, Clara stepped forward with a guilty expression on her face. "I'm sooooo sorry about that!" Clara apologized feverishly. "Saul is just very protective of me when he feels like I'm being threatened, especially when it comes to that subject." Alain quirked an eyebrow. "You mean Pokephilia?" Clara visibly winced before quickly composing herself. "Yes… Pokephilia." She said as she scrunched up her face, as if disgusted by that word. "You see, since people aren’t so…supportive, about the idea of a human and a Pokémon being together, you can only imagine how frustrating it was for us to keep our relationship a secret. Especially since I was regarded as a popular star in the Hoenn region." Clara stopped and looked over at the shiny Charizard for any signs of possible assault, worried that he would outright attack her on the spot like some of the more radical believers do. Thankfully, he showed no signs of aggression as he stood there with his arms crossed, looking at the Sylveon as he gave her his full attention. Taking that as a sign to continued, Clara spoke up once again. "I honestly don't know what side you are on regarding Pokémon-human relations. But I just want to tell you that the love that Saul and I share is very real and not one of those fucking abusive relationship scenarios that everyone seems to assume." Clara spat at the last part as her ribbons briefly flared. "However, we're not on Earth anymore, and those rules don't apply here. And for the first time in four years, Saul and I are finally able to express our affection without the fear of being arrested, and or worse, separated. So I'll warn you now," Clara narrowed her eyes, "No one, not even Arceus, is going to take away this happiness from me." Silence once again took a hold as Alain just stood there, staring at the little fairy as she finished venting her frustrations out on him. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see how the former human would react. Everyone except Charizard and Saul, who were both still glaring venomously at each other. However, everyone was caught off guard as Alain let out a deep chuckle seemingly amused by Clara's words. This of course, upset Clara greatly. "Find something amusing about all this, Alain?" Clara growled, keeping her tongue in check. "I'm sorry," Alain smiled as he ceased chuckling. "you just remind me of another pair of lovers that I met along my journey, both as easily aggressive, and passionate, when it came to this topic." Clara stopped her glaring and looked at Alain with large, hopeful eyes. "So you mean?" "Yup," Alain cut in. "I'm perfectly alright with these kinds of relationships… as long as it's actual love, and not the abusive slavery crap that, although rare, does exist" Clara let out a heavy sigh of relief as she flopped down into the dirt. "Thank goodness, I really didn't want my first encounter with another human to end in an all out brawl." "I wouldn't get rid of that thought just yet." Alain grinned. "After all, we're going to have a Pokémon battle either way." Alain turned his attention towards Charizard, who was still locking eyes with the shiny Umbreon. "Isn't that right, Charizard?" "huh?" Charizard blurted out as he broke his visual deadlock with Saul and turned towards his trainer. "Oh, That's right. Can't wait." Charizard mumbled absently, seemingly deep in thought. Alain frowned, it wasn't like Charizard to shy away from a battle like this, even if the opponent couldn't mega evolve. Wondering what was the matter, Alain stepped away from the Sylveon and ventured over to his partner. Charizard looked at his trainer as he felt him place a claw on his shoulder, worry etched on his face. "There something wrong Charizard?" Alain whispered so that only the two of them could hear each other. "It's not like you to act so out of it before a battle." Charizard mentally cursed his trainer's keen eye, wondering if anything ever got past that man. Leaning in closer, Charizard whispered into his ear. "I don't know how to describe what I'm feeling, Alain, but something is not right with that Umbreon." Alain gave Charizard a confused look. "What do you mean 'not right'?" "On the surface, he looks like a regular Pokémon, but the moment he knocked you into that wall… there was something else." Charizard shivered lightly, remembering the Umbreon's eyes as he glared at him in pure rage. "Something else? What was it?" Alain inquired. "Power." Charizard instantly replied. "Pure, unfiltered power. Much more potent than even Steven's Metagross." Alain's opened wide in surprise. "Even more than Steven's Metagross you say?... This is troublesome, especially now that we don't have mega evolution anymore." Alain closed his eyes, deep in thought as he tried to come up with a solution to this. Sure, he had trained hard since his last battle with Steven. But the Hoenn Champion was still a formidable foe, not one to be underestimated. Laying down his options carefully, Alain went over each scenario that he could think of in-order to come up with a solution that would benefit him the most. After carefully choosing, Alain made his way back towards Clara, who was whispering something into Saul's ear. Noticing that they were approaching, Saul gently tapped Clara's side, notifying her that they had finished their little conversation. Alain was the first to speak. "Charizard and I would like to postpone the battle for about three days, if that's alright with you." Clara nodded. "It's alright with me. Plus, I wouldn't like to battle right now anyway, now that it's dark out." "Then we will see you in three days, at the quarry several miles east of town." Alain said as he opened his wings. "Be there around noon." And with that, both Alain and Charizard shot up into the sky, the farm quickly disappearing in the distance as they soared through the clouds. *~* Flying side-by-side, Alain turned towards Charizard. "If he's really as strong as you say he is, we'll need to train hard within these next three days, especially now that you cannot mega evolve. Charizard merely nodded as he continued to fly by his trainer, thinking about the one thing that he didn't tell his trainer about Saul. There wasn't just power behind those eyes…but something… dark. *~* Back down at the farm, the group watched the Charizards disappear into the night sky, the only indicator of their location being the flame on their tails that shined bright in the night sky. "hmm, well things just got interesting." Maiden hummed in thought. However, her thoughts quickly trailed when she saw a colony of Zubats in the distance, an evil plan already forming in her head as of how to get revenge for being subjugated to being a stone encyclopedia for Streak. Melon looked at the two Eeveelutions in concern as they approached the group, worried for their well being. "Are you two alright? It looked pretty heated for a moment. Also, what exactly did they say? Sprite did her best to try to translate everything, but I think it overwhelmed her." Melon said. Sprite shoved her 'nose' in the air before turning around. "I'm a champion's Pokémon! I don't get overwhelmed… It's just… difficult, for non-psychics to use telepathy." "We're alright," Clara said as she leaned up against Saul's side, ignoring Sprite's comment. "As for what they wanted. They sa-" "Hey Clara!" Maiden suddenly interrupted before flinging something at her "CATCH!" Clara didn't have any time to react as something small and purple was flung her way, hitting her directly in the face and sticking their. "Heelloooo." The face hugging Zubat hissed. GYAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! *~* It was the next morning at the Melon farm when everyone gathered around the dinner table to discuss how to deal with the upcoming Pokémon battle. Even Streak had stopped by to help throw around a few ideas as of how to remedy the situation. So far, they weren't making any progress. "I just don't understand why we can't just give him the stone and call it quits." Melon sighed as she rubbed her hoof against her head. "From what I've seen since the guard's failed containment, even a single tiny Pokémon can cause some serious damage without a lot of effort. And believe me, the last thing that this town needs is more repairs." Maiden began to rub her head as well. "It's not as simple as that. Trainers tend to be very prideful when it comes to a Pokémon battle. And just giving him the keystone is an even worse idea because it would be just as insulting as a gym leader handing out badges to losers that say, 'Better luck next time!'." "Then exactly how are we going to deal with this?" Streak chimed in as he munched on a scone. "Alain and Charizard seem like pretty nice guys, albeit a little rough on the edges. And I honestly don't mind giving them the stone since this 'mega-evolution' seems to be really important to them… but if they won't accept the handout, then I can't see how this can possibly end peacefully." He finished with a sigh as he set down the half-eaten scone. "You ponies are thinking too much into it." Sprite hummed as she hovered over the table. "Back on earth, the easiest way to settle a feud was with a Pokémon battle. This situation is no different." "Well, this isn't earth. We aren’t prepared for the excessive damage that you guys cause whenever you decide to duke it out." Melon said as she looked up at the Spiritomb. Saul chuckled from the other side of the table. "That's why Pokémon insurance was practically mandatory. Arceus knows how many walls we've had to replace when Maiden decided to join our little family." Maiden blushed in embarrassment. "Th-that was a long time ago! I haven't broken a wall in months!" Maiden paused before her lips peeled up in an mischievous grin. " At least I wasn't breaking the bed every few weeks when you and Clara decided to have one of your 'special moments'." Saul began to choke on his breakfast at Maiden's lewd comment before quickly washing down the lodged food with some brisk water and taking in a large gasp of air, His face heavily flushed from embarrassment, and lack of oxygen. Melon almost followed Saul's example as she was drinking some coffee at the time, before unloading the hot beverage in a violent spit-take… right into Streak's face. And Streak probably would have been blushing too… if he wasn't rolling around on the floor in a feeble attempt to get the piping hot coffee off his face. "Ya know? I think you're more Spiritomb than I am." Sprite deadpanned at the Gothitelle who was now rolling around the floor in a furious fit of laughter, enjoying the chaos that she caused like it was sweetest nectar comedy had to offer. Maiden looked like she was about to make a retort at Sprite, but she was quickly distracted as Melon ran back into the room with a wet and heavy towel to help wipe the hot coffee off the stallion's face. However, she didn't even make it halfway through the room before she tripped on her own hooves, the momentum sending the heavy, wet towel flying across the room and slamming into Saul's face, knocking him out of his chair with a loud thud. Maiden was at the point wheezing and struggling for breath as tears streamed down her face, a stupid smile threatening to break her face in half and she continued to literally roll around the floor in laugher. At this point, it looked like maiden would literally die of laughter, her face turning a dark shade of purple as she struggled for breath in-between laughs. Thankfully, Saul came to the rescue as he came leaping over the table and slowly made his way over to the down Gothitelle, cross-popping veins practically decorating his skull. *~* Clara groaned in her sleep as she subconsciously tried to grab and hug a certain umbreon that always slept in the same bed as her, however, the only thing she found was an empty spot on the bed, no Umbreon to be seen. Letting out another irritated groan, Clara forced her drowsy eyes open to look around the room before finally coming to the conclusion that Saul must already up. She was about to place her head back down onto the pillow before her eyes caught the time from one of the clocks hanging on the wall. Now, since she was still only half-awake, her brain was processing things a lot slower than it normally did. that said, she placed her head back down on the pillow for a few seconds before the time suddenly registered to her, her eyes quickly shooting open. "Shit!" Clara swore as she fumbled around in the sheets before finally managing to free herself from the beds blissful embrace, part of her mind wanting to just jump back into bed. Unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury today since Streak was suppose to be coming over today with plans as of how to fashion the keystone properly without breaking it. And in order to do that, he had personally asked her on assisting him in the matter, since she already knew a great deal about the stones. Hoping that she wasn't keeping everyone waiting, Clara quickly jumped down in front of the mirror and began to groom several spots of fur that had be ruffled from her peaceful slumber, opting to use her tongue instead of a shower, since the latter took much longer. Satisfied with her slapdash job, Clara made her way out of the room and proceeded towards the kitchen area. "I just hope they didn't start anything while I was asleep." She muttered under her breath. However, that seemed to be exactly the case when she heard an angry shout come from the kitchen. "OH SHUT UP!" The voiced bellowed, before being followed by a loud conk that shook the house. "…..I need to pick my words more carefully next time." *~* Clara was met with a strange site when she entered the kitchen. First off, several chairs had been flipped, along with several plates. How she didn't hear that, she didn't know. On the floor was Streak, his face covered by a wet towel as Melon used it to clean something off his face. And on the other side of the table, was a very irritated Saul standing over a floored Maiden, a large lump protruding from the Gothitelle's skull as her eyes swirled around in a comical spiral. Clara let out a small sigh as she made her way over to the table, all too familiar with Maiden's shenanigans, especially before the Gothitelle's evolution. Suppressing the memories of Maiden as a Gothorita with a small shudder, Clara willed her ribbons over to her two Pokémon before scooping them both up, and depositing them back into their chairs. "Oh, morning, Clara." Saul chuckled sheepishly, realizing that he had been caught. "Did you sleep well last night?" Clara looked at Saul with a blank expression for several seconds, the awkward silence being momentarily broken as Maiden's still unconscious head fell onto the table with a loud thud. Seeing this, Saul looked back at Clara more nervous than ever, expecting the Sylveon to chew him out. However, he wasn't expecting what happened next. "Good job, Saul." Clara said with an expressionless face, using one of her ribbons to imitate a thumbs-up as best as she possibly could. Saul just stared wide-eyed at Clara, his mouth hanging open in shock. Silence took the reigns as Saul had trouble possessing what she had just said, the only sound being made was the muffled cries of Streak as Melon continued to wipe feverously at his face, unaware that she was crushing the poor stallion as she tried to remove the coffee. Realization soon dawned on Saul's face as he continued to look at the unnaturally calm fairy-type in front of him, his expression of shock quickly turning into one of amusement. "You're still mad about what she did to you last night, aren’t you?" Saul chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea." Clara muttered as she looked over at Maiden's unconscious form, remembering all the old nightmares that had resurfaced that night thanks to Maiden's little prank. She also made a silent note to thank Arceus for Saul knowing dream eater. Saul gave her a sympathetic smile as he wrapped a foreleg around her neck, pulling her against his chest. The Sylveon gave no objection as she rested her head on her mate's chest, slowly falling back to sleep as the pitter-patter of his heartbeat played in her ears. Unfortunately, nice things don't last forever. That point being proven as Leaf rushed in through the front door and into the kitchen, a large smile threatening to break her face in two as she skidded to a halt in front of her sister. "She's here!" Leaf exclaimed multiple times in excitement as she hopped around. Melon looked up from the downed stallion. "Exactly who's here?" "The translator from Canterlot! That's who!" "Oh, thank Arceus." Clara grinned eagerly as she sat up from her comfortable position. "Don't get me wrong, I like talking with my mouth full and all, but it feels like I use telepathy more than actual words these days." Leaf gave happy nod as well before she noticed the comatose Gothitelle with her head slumped against the table. "Why's Maiden sleeping on the table?" Leaf asked as she pointed a hoof. Saul chuckled nervously. "She, uh, bumped her head on the shelf when she was getting a tea packet." Leaf stared at nervous Umbreon for a few seconds before looking back at the downed Maiden. "Shouldn't we get ice for that big bump on her head?" "On it." Clara quickly replied, as she promptly dumped a bucket of ice onto Maiden's head, fully engulfing her cranium in the process. "…Uuh, She's still not waking up." "Eh, She'll be fine." Clara shrugged as she got out of her chair and stretched, ignoring the look from Saul that basically read 'You're so cruel.' And she couldn't really blame him, after all, the only way to end one of Maiden's mischievous streaks, was to fight fire with fire. Or in this case, pour ice on the fire. "Anyway, where is this mare?" Clara smiled eagerly. "I can't wait to actually start using my mouth again." "She's over by town hall, at the mayor's office." Leaf paused before adding. "Oh ya. She also said to bring a couple ponies as well. Something about an experiment or something." Melon frowned. "An experiment? I don't know how I feel about that." Melon said as she finally relinquished the towel from Streak's face, the stallion quickly dashing away from the mare's death grip like a cat that had escaped the hold of an abusive toddler. "I think I'm willing to try anything at this point." Clara sighed. "I'm tired of teaching all these ponies the 'do's and don'ts' about Pokémon." Saul chuckled. "Oh, don't over exaggerate, Clara. It's not that bad." "…I caught a couple of colts a few days ago playing kickball with a Voltorb." Clara simply replied without even looking in Saul's direction. Unfortunately, Saul was also taking a sip of his coffee when she said that. The sudden shock causing him to do a comical spit-take, right into Streak's face once again. "T-that is pretty bad." Saul coughed as he tried to clear his windpipe of coffee, oblivious of the full-grown stallion that was, once again, getting his face molested by a towel as Melon rubbed the coffee off him vigorously. Clara nodded. "Exactly, that's why it we need to head over there as soon as possible." She paused to munch on a blueberry muffin. "…Preferably after breakfast." With that, everyone sat down and quietly enjoyed their breakfast. Okay, maybe it would have been quiet if Leaf wasn't inhaling her cereal like some animal, or if Streak wasn't complaining about an excessive loss of fur from his face due to Melon's unrestrained method of drying. And let's not forget about Maiden, who was still unconscious in her chair with her head buried under a small mountain of ice cubes. But other than that, it was just another normal breakfast for this quirky family. "Okay, you guys finally ready to head out?" Clara asked as she dropped her dish into the sink. "Looks like." Said Streak, before pausing to look at the still unconscious Gothitelle. "But what do we do about her?" "I guess I'll watch her." Sprite chimed in from the ceiling, startling the stallion. "No offense, but I forgot you were there." Streak said before adding sarcastically. "And thanks for startling the crud out of me, helped me get my mind off the scalding coffee and my probably broken nose." Sprite chuckled. "Not offended in the slightest. After all, I'm a ghost type… And you're welcome." "Well," Melon began as she put the last of the dishes away. "Let's not keep this translator waiting any longer. Shall we?" And with that, the group disembarked towards town hall, leaving behind a Spiritomb, an a unconscious Gothitelle. The pair were alone in the house for about a minute before Leaf came bolting back into the house before draping a blanket over Maiden tenderly. "Hold that helps warm ya right up." Leaf smiled before placing a small kiss on the mound of ice, and bolting back out the door.