Molly and Li 5

She broke off, skipping ahead a few steps increasing her pace and proceeding in silence towards the Fuchsia city limits. Li would smile, and open his mouth to speak, but always thought better of it until the chainlink fence at the very edge of the park came into view.

“It sure is great to see you, ma’am,” he offered in a low voice that barely carried across the length of chilled air between them. “I mean, a fella gets awful lonely wand’rin’ around all by him self, and–” he buried his face in his large, battered hands, and shook his head frantically at the sight of her expression. “That... that didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean anythin’ less than proper, miss Cedar, honest. It’s mighty nice to have somebody to talk to, and it’s awful kind of you to show me the way out of there. I’m gonna make it up to you, promise–”

“Look, don’t worry about it. It’s no trouble, really. I had to head back anyway, and I’m staying just over there.” She gestured to a light in the distance, mounted on the porch of the run-down building attached to the check-in kiosk where visitors had to register. “There,” she said, as they came to a stop beside the entrance to the park, chilled fingers tangling into the chainlink fence as she pointed out a particular building in the city sprawling out before them. “That’s the most affordable hotel I can think of. Lots of passing trainers stay there, you should definitely be able to find a place for the night. Pokemon center’s right over there.” She pushed herself away from the fence started abruptly for the check in station, though, something compelled her to walk far more slowly than usual– the cold, or exhaustion from a day of crouching and walking, she couldn’t be sure– and strolled lazily back towards her room, with the occasional, inexplicable glance over her shoulder. She paused, and half-turned.

Liam hadn’t moved, and stood, rooted to the spot before the park exit, shuffling his weight anxiously from one bare foot to the other. “I...uh...” he began, with the faltering grin she was beginning to grow very familiar with. “Thanks, Miss Cedar!” he called, before taking a false start towards the city, and halted, blinking at her.

She resisted the smile threatening to spread across her face and forced herself to start off again at a quicker pace. “No problem.”

She sighed, shaking her head as she trudged up the gently sloping hill towards the cabin, clutching her lab coat tightly closed around her, the air still and silent save the far off groan of bellowing Tauros; however, just as she neared the circle of light the cabin’s lamps threw over the grass, another sound caught her ears. It was an out of place, mechanical sound, and, she realized, with a raised red eyebrow, that it was most reminiscent of a slamming car door, somewhere in the distance.

Molly furrowed her brows, and drew the single pokeball from her belt. “Come on,” she said, a well practiced hop planting her solidly on the Doduo’s back. “Let’s check it out.”

***

Fuchsia city was, thankfully, smaller than Vermilion had been, and the ex...well, hiatus-ed black belt felt more at ease, oblivious to the odd looks he received as he passed people in the street, dusty, barefoot, and shivering as he made his way towards the hotel.

He dragged his feet, lingering as the building approached. It was late, and the few stars bright enough to overpower the city lights were shining overhead, but he had no desire to sleep. The air was icy, biting and nipping at his damp, exposed skin, but he had no desire to be indoors, and so he took unnecessary turns, and veered off towards shop windows and vendor’s carts as he dallied, accidentally-on-purpose prolonging the short journey to the hotel.

His thoughts trailed back to the park, and he found himself smiling wistfully at the thought of the previous hour’s events, though something about the encounter did not quite sit right with the young man, something in his chest constricting uneasily. He had ruined her research, he concluded with a heavy sigh, as guilt constricted his stomach. He didn’t know anything about Kangaskhan, or studies in general, and couldn’t dream of ever helping her reestablish her proximity to the herd. It felt wrong, though, leaving things the way they were, and he shook his head as he turned trinkets from booths lining the streets over in his hand, in search of anything the wronged scientist might like. It was stupid– he didn’t know the first thing about the young woman, let alone her tastes, and so he broke off the search with a groan and a grimace.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. Something akin to hope flickered inside his chest as a sign across the street caught his eye, and a smile split his face as he skipped towards the sign, emblazoned with large garish letters advertising the newly opened building behind. He did know something about her, and his heart leapt as he pushed the still-open poffin house’s door open, and stepped inside. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

In a moment, he found himself dumping a handful of pecha berries into a pot of batter, stirring haphazardly. He wasn’t sure if Doduo liked sweets, but these were the nicest of the berries rattling around in the outside pocket of his duffel bag.

***

The breeze carried over a scent all too familiar to the Celadon-raised girl, and she recognized the acrid, organic smell of biological sedative dispersed in the air as Doduo pattered to a halt at the edge of the tree line, all too close to a all too familiar clearing.

The sound had indeed been the slamming of a vehicle– a dark van–door, and the offending machinery was parked in the middle of the flat expanse of land, amidst the hulking, dark shapes she knew would easily tear it to shreds under normal circumstances. A venonat hovered over the clearing, and while a common sight in the Safari zone, this one was both far from it’s normal habitat and hovering unnaturally in one place, above the sedated Kangaskhan. Molly crouched low in the underbrush, gasping when she caught sight of two shapes, moving between the pokemon and van, dragging something behind them. Her heart caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of the cargo: slumbering joey-kangaskhan.

“Poachers,” Molly hissed under her breath, turning her attention to the doduo hiding beside her. “Go back and get the warden,” she instructed, frowning as the birds honked in protest. “You run faster than I can.”

One of the uniformed poachers leapt to her feet and spun on her heel at the rustling, but sighed, and returned to her seat atop a rock set into the grassland. “Nevermind. ‘S just a Doduo. False alarm, Ed, carry on.” Her male counterpart groaned as he lifted the baby from it’s mothers pouch. “Lift with your legs, come on.”

“You know, Kelly,” the gaunt blond man grunted, “These things are really, really heavy. If you could... you know... maybe actually help me out, here?”

The petite woman frowned, crossing her arms across her chest and sniffing indignantly. “Oh come on. I’m supervising.” He glared and opened his mouth to protest, but his short haired partner shushed him with a wag of a condescending finger. “It’s my venonat. I supply the sleepy, you handle the heavy lifting. You’ve got to do your share too.”

Ed rolled his eyes, but said nothing as he dragged what she recognized as M-13 towards the van’s gaping trunk. Molly bit her lip, tracing the tree-line as it curved along the clearing. There was no sight of a ranger anywhere in the distance, and though she continued to watch anxiously, it became very clear that Doduo would take a while to return. Slowly, carefully, holding her breath for fear of drawing their attention, the researcher crept closer, on her hands and knees.

They’d begun to bicker between themselves, and the shrill complaints grew clearer as she drew closer, and closer to the van. The driver’s side door was wide open and facing her across several open metes of grass, and she moved as quietly as she could, in silence towards the keys hanging in the ignition.

It was just as her fingers closed around the dangling bits of metal that she heard the hissing, and a bolt of purple coiled in the backseat launched itself towards her.