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"oh man, you saw it too huh?" a voice calls to aubre.[break][break]

noah breaks through the thicket. a twig is swabbed through his hair and loosed leaves stick to the fabric of his sleeveless hoodie.[break][break]

"whoa." the gym leader's sneakers skid to a halt. the parents of the poor nidoran rise behind it, their hulking forms join together like a serrated mountain range. "uh, you gonna be okay? think you got this under control?"[break][break]

both nidoking and nidoqueen snarl as noah's hand carefully nears a pocket in his shorts.

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"you sure that'll work? they kinda seem set in their ways," noah's eyes do not leave the nidoqueen's scrutinizing stare. [break][break]

he is careful not to let his nails tap against the pokeball in his pocket. the smooth surface of the capsule graces his fingerpads, palm sliding over the curve in hidden preparation.[break][break]

"don't know if translation tech is going to capture the nuance of a nido-mom too." the gym leader breathes out slowly. "h-hey, see that?" he says to the nidoqueen. "look at the doc's bandages!"

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this is already a crowd. adding another body would only sharpen matters into the lethal blade of a kabutops.[break][break]

and so, noah withdraws his hand from his pocket. instead, he falls to one knee. the grasses feel more like pinpricks as he leans forward to grab the tumbled roll.[break][break]

noah is already close to aubre's leg—and as if he had read the doctor's mind, he fumbles into action.[break][break]

"uhhh, so!" the gym leader says, head bowed as if in reverence of the nido-parents—or for execution. "what the doctor wants to do is," he loosely wraps the bandage around the redhead's leg, "this. yeah? yeah? makes sense?"[break][break]

noah flicks his index between aubre's leg and the nidoran before flashing an uncertain smile toward aubre.[break][break]

the nidoking and queen grumble. their voices a growly bass, though some semblance of understanding seems to penetrate their prickly hides.

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and on his toes he was.[break][break]

the nidoqueen bleats, its clawed feet puncturing the soil as it lurches toward the doctor and her heliolisk.[break][break]

however, noah is quick to move in between the nursed nidoran and its parents, arms outstretched as a barrier—or a gesture welcoming punishment.[break][break]

it is a foolish maneuver, perhaps. but the least likely to sabotage aubre's operation.[break][break]

he smiles weakly at the nido'rents. echoes that same smile to aubre as the pokemon parents hesitate.[break][break]

through the corner of his lip, he mutters, "not sure how much time i have yet... my boyish good looks can only charm them for so long."[break][break]

he can feel the furious breaths of the nidoking and queen brushing against his skin.

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The tiny paw’s grip was spectral at best. Each move of the doctor’s hand threatened to send the rabbit squeaking into the underbrush. I need to calm him down. It’s just making things worse. The redhead swallowed. “W-would you like something to eat? To make up for the berries earlier?” With agonizingly slow movements, she reached into her pocket. From it, she withdrew a gelatinous berry bar, similar to a thickened fruit roll-up. [break][break]

This she waved in front of the rabbit’s nose. As he took it, the doctor tilted his injured paw over. A relieved gasp rushed out as she spotted the problem. Nothing seemed to be broken or sprained. A relieved laugh spilled out—the noise drawing growls from the lurking kaiju. Aubre swallowed. From her bag, she fished out a pair of thin-nosed forceps. “This might hurt a little bit, but I’m going to need you to be a big boy, okay? You’re tough like daddy, right?” The fruit bar was pulled out of reach as her Kabutops translated. “Ran.” Her patient nodded. [break][break]


The redhead flushed. “Well, I think the Nidoqueen seems quite...charmed.” Angry. On pins and needles. A few seconds away from tearing them apart. Aubre shuddered. Oh, Arceus, why was she such a bad liar? [break][break]


“I just—” She swallowed as she saw how close the poison types were to breaching the very human, very breakable line in front of her. “--I just need a few more seconds.” Rolling the paw over, she drops the bar into the far side of her lap. The Nidoran moved to follow it as she dropped his paw to her lap, revealing the thick, nasty thorn growing into it. She brings the tool from her side to her hand. Keep your eyes on the prize, McKenna. Head down. Then, she jerks back. Once. [break][break]


It’s so quick he doesn’t even notice. The steady stream of infection quickly dwindles to nothing. The ignorance continues until she slides a bandage in place. At this point, aware of the pain, the Nidoran squeals—a few seconds late to the party. Her heart pounds. Jumps into her throat. “We’re good!” The doctor shouts as she scrambles to the side and tries to rise to her feet. “Clear!”

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"we're good!"[break][break]

noah bleats. he scrambles too, limbs flailing and buckling like a drunk araquanid. the gym leader almost jumps onto aubre as if she were a lifesaver and he was in pacifidlog seas.[break][break]

the nidoran hops toward its parents, but after its second or third leap, recognizes the work the doctor had done. it lifts its foot. wiggles it around.[break][break]

the next cry it makes is one of gratitude.[break][break]

"well would you look at that." noah whispers, his hand anchored onto aubre's shoulder. "you're a miracle worker."[break][break]

for now, the nidoking and queen are assuaged of their worries. as muscles relax, their thorny hides and ferocious stares seem to soften.

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As Aubre fell backward, she cast a panicked glance at Noah. The man’s words seemed premature—like calling a tied race before the finish line. His almost running her over doesn’t help. Can you not jinx it?!. Those green eyes said. But she didn’t have long to focus on that. Her Kabutop’s clanging scythes drew her eyes to the kaiju. [break][break]

The Nidoran chirped, “Ran!” Aubre’s nervous lips curve upward into a smile. As it returned to its parents, she shouted, “You’re welcome!” Then, a pause followed. What if it gets infected?! Don’t just leave it at that! Fieldwork made it really hard to follow up. So, she had to get it all out now. “Try to keep it clean, all right?” The Nidoking grumbled. She hoped it was agreement. It was hard to tell sometimes.[break][break]


Judging by Roman’s relaxation, it certainly wasn’t a threat.[break][break]

“!?” Aubre jumped at the sudden intrusion into her personal space. Part of it was all the thoughts of being eaten. The rest stemmed from the sensitivity of her back. Sure, it always hurt, but drawing attention to it made it hard to ignore. Quit acting like a buffoon. He’s just being kind. Tearing her eyes away from her patient, the doctor turned toward him. “I wouldn’t go that far.” She’d just tried to empathize a little bit. It was of the few things her twitchy, paranoid arse was capable of.
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A hand reached up to tuck an errant curl away. “And, I could not have done it without your help.” Not with all her limbs anyway. “Thank you.”

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"naw, i'm just a distraction."[break][break]

noah laughs. he pulls his hand, having sensed the prickle of aubre's surprise. [break][break]

"you might've been able to do this on your own. me? if i was the only one here? i'd be a goner."[break][break]

he fishes something out of his pocket. the gleam of his badge, its design two interlocking fists.[break][break]

"say, i think you deserve this." noah says. "that was basically like close quarters combat, right? the league needs people like you. front line medics. what do ya say?"

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Aubre shook her head. Sure, she had used him as a distraction, but that wasn’t all he was. Not by a long shot. Gym leaders were vital parts of Pokemon husbandry—ensuring future generations respected their partners. Honestly, she couldn’t believe she’d asked him to do anything. Now that the situation had calmed down, it felt almost mean.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that—” The redhead murmured sheepishly. She doubted these Pokemon posed any real threat to Noah. “You would have just found a different solution.” Her green eyes dropped to his belt before flicking back up. On the way to doing that, his shifting hand caught her attention. It took her a minute to connect the dots.

“I do?” A gym badge? For what? For a moment, she wanted to refuse. To tell him there was nothing special in what she’d done. “I don’t think—” Maybe she should insist she’d just been doing her job. That this stuff came naturally to her. But that sounded conceited. Instead, scarred hands reach for the tiny chunk of metal, almost as if it might disappear. It’d be wrong to refuse. And, well, who am I to question his judgment?. Isn’t it nice to win something without putting a friend on the line?