#fireflygraves

Was it normal to feel like you wanted to throw up when you were getting ready to go on a hike? That's kinda what Shauna wanted to know right now. Like, this couldn't possibly be natural; having her stomach in knots while she brushed her hair into her signature ponytails, or being afraid she was going to dispense her insides onto the shirt she was pulling over her head. Of course she knew this was sort of a special case. She was going hiking with Coconette and his mom, which was weird, but totally not gummy-tummy worthy, right?

"Um... okay." Shauna looked herself over in the mirror. She'd put more thought into this outfit than usual because well... they were going on a hike, so she didn't wanna look fancy... but at the same time, she was meeting Coconette's mom, so she didn't wanna look sloppy, either. But for the most part, she looked like her usual self. Usual shirt, usual shorts, usual belt... boots? Weird. And a backpack and a pink bow in her hair for good measure. That should work, right...?

Shauna sighed. This would've been a good time to have a mom or a sister, or at least a friend her age. But she wasn't about to get all down and depressed when she had a date in a couple of minutes. So for now, she picked out the three team members she thought would be most useful for a hike--Xena, Chester, and Ophelia--and clipped them onto her belt in place of her usual pack of needles. As much as she liked them... it probably wouldn't be the best impression to have sharp, dangerous, fragile things dangling from her hips on a hike with Bugsy's mom.

"Well...would you like to be my first friend here?"

"Sure, I'd love to!"

"Thank you very much! I...I haven't really had that many friends before to tell the truth so making a new one is really exciting!"

Truth be told, Shauna was always up for new friends. And, unlike Bugsy, she was pretty used to calling people her friend just after meeting them. Lots of people would have probably called her naive for that, and maybe she was. But so far, it hadn't done her too much harm. Shauna had no regrets about the friends she had made in Kalos, and, actually, she had made quite a few of them in the same way here in Team Rocket.

But there was something a little bit special about Bugsy. Unlike all of the other people she'd met, not only did he look younger than her, but he actually didn't seem to have any other friends to lean on here. So while Shauna hadn't yet made a point to spend any special time with Shiro, Silver, Diane, or even Morgan, Bugsy she wanted to make sure understood she was serious about the friend thing. "So let's hang out," she'd offered. She had a great idea that she thought the both of them could agree on.

They were going on a field trip, of sorts. Shauna had heard of Viridian forest before she ever left Kalos: there were rumors going around that Santalune Forest was almost exactly like it in layout, so she'd been very curious about it for years. That's not exactly why she was going though... The population, as she'd heard, was also similar: bugs, birds, and elusive Pikachu. Maybe if she was lucky she'd see the latter, but she was really going because of the bugs! Bugsy liked bugs, and Shauna figured she could find some berries and herbs in the forest and maybe they could have a picnic or something while they were there. It would be fun!