keychained | 020; [action for Goldenrod/Route 34]

[if one is brave enough to venture outside in the cold and snow and ice and onto Route 34 today, he or she may notice a feral child just outside the entrance to Goldenrod-- Johto's very own Mowgli is sitting cross-legged off to the side, hunched over with his arms wrapped tightly around himself. surprisingly enough, snow is pretty chilly when one lacks a winter coat.]

[it's not out of not owning one, however; Sora's coat is actually laid out on the ground in front of him. no... wait, it's haphazardly draped across about the top third of a Dratini, who is curled up with his head resting on Trainer's lap. the coat isn't much, but it's all Sora's got.]

C'mon... We're maybe ten minutes away from the Center. You can do it! We've made it this far together, right?

[a pitiful whine from the Dratini. Sora's momentarily defeated expression is obscured by his hair, and by the fact that he's staring down at the ground. though it's probably equally pitiful, that defeat hardens into steel determination-- he and Pokémon hadn't trudged around out in who-knows-where for two weeks, and finally back onto the route to wind up freezing to death now.]

All right. [his voice is unsteady, but warm.] I think you've pulled more than your own weight lately... I'll keep going for the both of us. Okay? Hold still; I'll carry you.

[... how Sora intends to pick up and carry what is essentially a 6-foot giant worm is questionable, but dangit, he's going to try-- once he picks himself up and actually gets going, anyway. good thing Dratinis are on the light side for their length.]

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Oh, no. Two others.

[Sora's smile is a relieved one.]

Okay, good! Once you get into town, you're gonna see a big building with a red roof on it. That's the Pokécenter. You can heal up your Pokémon there, and you can stay there and sleep if you don't have enough money to stay at the inn. And there's a little computer thingy there that lets you send Pokémon across Johto-- I can send you Bell through that.

[ She nods at the information, but looks a little unsure at the last idea. ]

Are you sure? I still need to get used to this place... [ Doesn't want to let down the happy Pokemon for not remembering it and not treating it right. ]

It's no problem! I think Bell's always liked you better anyway.

[a chirp from offscreen. well... that may only be slightly true, spiky haired Trainer.]

[ Responds with an uneasy smile. ] If you say so...

[ Soon her mind drifts back to the fact that she's talking with Sora. Sora, whom she promised to go back to and make things right with... She feels she has a lot questions to ask, but doesn't exactly know what, so Xion just... awkwardly stands there. ]

I do say so! [-- and then he's caught up in that awkward, blinking slowly.]

Uh... Something the matter?

[ Snaps back into reality with a start and quickly shakes her head. ]

No, it's nothing.

Are you sure? You kinda zoned out there.

[ Which seems to be a common thing for people coming from you, Sora. It's cool. ]

I was just... You met me before, right? [ Obvious question is obvious, but it's a way for Xion to recover. ]

[all of Sora's heart spawn are well versed in the art of lazy bum and zoning out-- in fact, absolutely everybody must have coma! even Naminé got her coma in a week or so ago.]

Very briefly. I mean... I asked her a few questions, but I never got any answers.

[ Yet we somehow still love you for it. Well, dunno about Roxas, but... daddy. /shot

[ Xion looks to the side. That seems likely. ] Sorry. [ For that and the disappearance. ]

Do you... would you be willing to tell me?

[ There's a long bout of silence on her end as she contemplates this. She's already told Roxas that they were best friends... even though she thinks her better judgment tells her he would have been better off not knowing that, but in her heart- well, a core of some sort... she couldn't keep that from him. It is the truth. At least to her.

So then... ] If I can.

[for some reason, that acknowledgment feels like a weight being lifted off of Sora's shoulders.]

Okay. Would it be something that we'd need to talk about in person, or...?

In person.

I could meet you in Violet.

It might take me a while. [ First Cherrygrove... then a "Dark Cave"? Sounds suspicious. ]

It's no big deal. I need to get the badge in Violet anyway.

From a Gym, right?

Yeah. I've been here since August and I still don't have a badge, so...

Is that a bad thing?

Nah... I'm just miles behind Riku, that's all!

... Again.

Again?

Yeah. He always beats me at everything.

[ Silence. That would... hah, wouldn't that be an ironic echo? She couldn't beat Riku, either. ]

[ Video ]

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