#spriggaens

Rachel  whirled  around  at  the  sound  of  her  name  being  called,  just  to  be  met  with  Gary  Oak.  She  hadn’t  seen  him  since  their  battle  —  He’d  destroyedher.  The  battle  was  intense,  though.  For  awhile  it  looked  like  she  could’ve  won.  But  as  a  former  champ,  of  course  Gary  had  tricks  up  his  sleeve.  He  won,  but  Rachel  was  fascinated.  She  wanted  to  learn  from  him.  He  left  before  she  could  even  begin  to  ask  him  for  advice,  though.  Still,  she  smiled  at  him,  and  waved.  On  her  shoulder,  Posy  perked  up  to  see  what  the  commotion  was.  “  Pichu!  ” 

She  stopped  in  front  of  him  and  looked  up  to  meet  his  eyes.  “  Long  time,  no  see,  Gary!  I  hope  you’ve  been  well!  ”  She  wanted  nothing  than  to  beat  him  in  a  battle,  but  she  also  enjoyed  being  around  him.  

@spriggaens 

 This is the third phone call this week. Samuel isn’t surprised at what he sees when he finally makes it to the school, but having been torn away from work yet again, he’s the farthest from pleased. As the other kid gets ushered away in tears, the professor doesn’t know what to think - he can hardly wrap his mind around what to even do at this point about the frequent disorderly misconduct. He’s tired, evident by the hard lines in his face as he walks over, hand reaching for the handkerchief in his lab coat. Kneeling down, he begins the dab the blood and dirt from Gary’s face. As usual, whatever he’s really feeling is concealed with a scowl. And if it’s like every other time, he expects not to hear the truth ( or the tears ) from him until after they reach the privacy of home. 

Holding him at arms length, he gives him a look-over for more injuries; he presses his hands against either side of the boy’s neck, down his arms and legs—-the overall inspection is quick and methodical. There are no major injuries to be a cause for concern… for now. But what will it look like next time? Something life-threatening? Trips to the hospital? 

( A jump-ahead thought, perhaps, but being pre-emptive and preparing for the worst seems to be all he can do - and that frustrates him. He just wants his grandson to be happy, healthy and safe. Not fighting left and right. Not hurting. )

Samuel sighs as he reaches up to fix the now mangled collar of the boy’s shirt; there’s a tear he’ll have to sew later.

“Young man,” he says, voice rumbling like the warning of an on-coming thunder storm, but he can only hold onto this conflicted fury with such an intensity for a few seconds before it falters, something soft and worried wedging it’s way between the scorn he’s sure will swirl to life again sooner or later before the evening is over with. 

He’s a little surprised at how smoothly Gary transitions into the situation, but it isn’t long before the professor mimics the serious expression staring at him from across the lab. “You’re right, how can we work if the floor is lava?”