pallet town princess

Now clearly more at ease, Fire props his feet up on his desk, which is covered in a stack of books. He was at the library (?) working on some sort of project, but judging from the loud rap blasting through his headphones and the fact that none of the books had even been opened, it was fair to say that he hadn’t been very productive.

"Yo, bored of doing nothing? You kidding me? Whydja think I’m here?" Fire chortles. "I'm so not a scholar. I went to school to kick back and relax. And staying in one place is pretty great. Been here three years, babe.”

At her admission that she hadn’t finished the League, Fire tilts his head to the side, unsure of what to say for a second. It took him four or five tries to beat the champion, and he nearly lost the faith and respect of his team during that whole ordeal. Leaf had always been more strategic about it. She probably didn’t want to challenge them unless she was certain she would win. That was good… and bad, perhaps.

"Three years?!" Leaf feels ashamed. Fire hadn't even been traveling, and she hadn't known. She could have visited, or at least attempted to talk to him, and she hadn't. "What have you been doing here? I can't believe you didn't die of boredom going to school for this long." She glares halfheartedly at the "babe," but doesn't bother correcting him. Childhood friends are allowed to get away with a little more than most people. 

She notices his expression immediately. She knew telling Fire about her failure would be a bad thing. She looks away, embarrassed and angry at herself. Fire had worked tirelessly for ages trying to beat the league, and she hadn't even bothered to try once. After all the time they had competed as children, and she had claimed to be stronger than him... She felt weak. Like she'd broken some sort of promise.

His best friend since childhood, pretty much the most important girl in the universe… at the academy? Fire feels a sudden tinge of embarrassment and holds back the bear hug greeting he’d usually give. So much for best friends. It’d been years since they’d been in contact, and I guess living on the road for most of your teen years can be isolating. He should have checked Facebook more often.

She fights the instinct to grimace. Fire had been her best friend for pretty much her entire life, and she hadn't even bothered to keep in touch with him. He was one of the only people she truly cared about. He'd at least been traveling around different regions, chasing his dreams, so it made sense that he hadn't kept in touch. But all Leaf had done in the last four months was reorganize her closet. She shifts uncomfortably, wondering if she should do something - Fire usually would have tackled hugged her by now. 

New year, new me.

Cue the pop intro music as the titular character walks down the hallway in a brisk, refreshing pace. Pan up from the ground to the dazzling smile.

Ha. What do you think this is, some slice-of-life, high school chickflick?

But, there is a smile, just plastered politely on Kris’ face at least. She nods to fellow students in the hallway as she makes her way to the library. There was a new book on battle strategies just waiting for the ambitious girl to tear it apart (figuratively of course…).

A hop, jump, and a skip away. She’s in the library. Her eyes scan the shelves for the call number. 2730….2731…273—aha! There it is, the blue spine showing off it’s green “New!” sticker right on the top shelf. Kris reaches up, straining a bit on her tip toes, but her fingers tips only barely brush it.

Well, until about 30 minutes ago. Several students had come in to get books or talk, and it didn't look like any of them were planning to leave any time soon. Which meant it was time for Leaf to find a different place to sit.