noxious

It takes a few minutes before everything is ready. During that time, Bede thinks about what she wants to say. She wants to tell him everything. She’s not sure if she should.

At last she sits across from him, curling her legs up and hugging herself. “So. I was away for a while. What did I miss?”

Leon sits and sips politely at the tea, but his mind is running away from him; though it stops abruptly when Bede speaks. Of all things she could have asked, he’s least prepared for that.

She doesn’t expect him to be so quick, so it’s a bit gratifying how soon he gets there. She opens the door as soon as she hears the knocking. Leon looks awful — but then Bede herself doesn’t look too good either, a bit thinner than she had been, new bangs under her eyes.

“I’m glad you came,” she says. “I… think we could both use some tea, yes? I’ll make some.”

At first sight, Leon wants to hug her -- but realizes that might not be the best idea. He doesn’t know what’s happened to her.

He also nearly wants to ask how tea could possibly be more important than the past few weeks’ events, but it seems to be about her just as much as him. Leon spares a moment to inhale deeply, and exhale his tension away. Bede is home. Now it’s time to be calm and collected for her sake.

The little cottage that Gloria lives in is quaint, homey, the yard full of flowers and plants of all kinds, several bedews scurrying through the yard.

When Leon knocks on the door, there’s a voice- a woman’s voice, muffled from the door. The sound of scratching against the door can be heard, and a short, older woman answers, a Muchlax clinging to her leg, (she looks so much like Gloria- the only exception is this woman’s eyes are soft, warm brown, unlike Gloria’s harsh. steely grey).

“Ah, Leon. Please come in dear, my little Glo is expecting you,”

She opens the door wider for him, welcoming him inside. She doesn’t ask why he’s here- but she does fuss over him, asking him if he’d prefer tea, or coffee, or something to drink, letting him know to ‘make himself at home’, before bustling off to the kitchen, letting him know that- “My little Glo is sitting in the living room dear, Munchy can lead you there.”

The Muchlax that was attached to her leg detaches himself, waddling it’s way over to Leon and tugging on his pant leg to lead him to the living room of the little cottage.

Just to be polite, Leon accepts the offer of tea -- herbal, please -- thanks her, and excuses himself to follow Munchy. The Pokemon gets an appreciative pat once he’s been escorted to the living room without any fuss, and Leon even goes so far as to pull a berry out of an outer pouch of his backpack and offer it as thanks as he sets the bag down. He expects Gloria will need to speak with him a while and get him up to speed before he heads out.

Leon has been on edge all day, having learned of Dee’s kidnapping. Finally getting the okay from Nox is all he needs to grab his backpack and go, after a quick goodbye to family. (He can only hope they understand.)

Soon, he’s in Nox’s Postwick, which is just as surreal as it’s always been, but with casual clothes and tied up hair, he at least should be somewhat inconspicuous in being... himself.

“Elvyra!” She grins. “Mum had a vacation in Alola when I was still really little, and I was so in love with this tiny joltik that she caught it for me! I think I was six?”

She hummed. “I got Jack when I was ten, and that’s when I started getting serious about being a pokemon trainer.”

Leon is beaming right back, the smile turning up his eyes.

“She was tiny? How lovely, to have watched her grow...” Plus, people bonding over a Pokemon? Ugh. Brings a tear to his eye.

Emma smiles, moving to hug Leon.

“You’re so sweet! I had a Vikavolt previously, but .. It didn’t seem happy with me, I guess it wasn’t really personally suited for being with a trainer.. so I released it.

….It still hunts me down in the wilds to steal my curry, though, and it seems happier that way.”

She steps back, giving Leon some space again.

“I’m really excited, though! The only pokemon I’ve raised from being babies have been Jack and Elvyra…”

It is HUG TIME. Leon squeezes Emma gently and chuckles as he does so.

“Aw... It must love you very much, then. I can see why.” He used to have a Pokemon like that, but... hm.

“I’ve never hatched a pokemon before– that seems exciting.

And, yeah, she’s fine! She just seems out of it lately and I think the work of being a gym pokemon is hard on her. She’s been at it for a good few years, so I understand she might not be able to keep up anymore like my other pokemon can.

I’m gonna send her back to my mum so she’s properly taken care of and isn’t left to be too idle. Mum is better with steel types like Baby than I am, too.”

“I’d be glad to give it a go, then! I think you’d really enjoy it. There’s nothing quite like watching your partner hatch, getting to know them and love them their whole life...

After that, he's silent, itching with anticipation for Wynne's entrance. He even catches himself holding his breath when the fireworks go off, and experiences a moment out of his own body, half expecting to blink and find himself down there on the grass when he opens his eyes again.

But he's still in the stands, even when the smoke dies down, and no one joins Raihan on the pitch.

The confusion in the crowd is immediate, as is the formation of a pit in his stomach. Is Wynne okay?

He doesn't have anything to say to Sonia and Claude's bewilderment, either. Even if he did have an explanation, his words stick in his throat.

Part of Leon wants to run down to Raihan, or the locker room to check on Wynne, but he stays. He checks his phone after a moment's thought, hoping to find a message from Hop -- he'd know what's going on. But there's nothing.

Minutes pass, tensions rising. There are people beginning to get irritated -- tickets to the biggest sporting event of the year aren't cheap, after all. The announcer apologizing for the wait and insisting that the match will start soon doesn't reassure many, either.

The longer they wait, the more dread fills Leon. It's clear, soon, that he didn't do enough. Wynne is either too afraid to come out of the locker room, or too afraid to even enter the stadium today.

His phone buzzes, almost 15 minutes after the Champion doesn't show. It's Hop, after all.

He should have seen it. He shouldn't have believed them the other week when they said they were fine, even after tabloids tore them to shreds over their taking some time to breathe. He should have done more to build their confidence, to support them, to keep the media and the League off of their back. He should have --

dinnae be cross wit them, the message reads.

How could he be? Leon has always known the pressure Galar places on its Champion is too much for a child.

He responds that he isn't, and asks after Wynne. Hop says they're okay. Leon doesn't believe it fully, but thanks Hop anyway. He pulls up his chat history with Wynne immediately afterwards, and pauses, sympathy for them welling painfully in his chest. He manages to compose a short text before they have to begin dealing with things at the Stadium.