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The blonde had never been good with children. The idea of maternal instinct seemed foreign to her. She had also never been infected by ‘baby fever’. But she understood the urge to protect things smaller and weaker than you. It was what drove her to spray acid across her arm to save a toddler from an Arbok’s stomach. Though it was not an instinct she got to experience often. To her chagrin, Lydia was quite petite.
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It was one reason her career had been cut short.

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A local daycare had a surplus of eggs and was offering payments to lighten the load. Still affected by the poison, Lydia agreed to take the job. It would provide some supplement to her pension. The one she’d been given was tan with darker spots. While aware that it did not require constant attention, she decided to take it with her to lunch.

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Normally aloof, the Lycanroc at her side looked haggard. Its bright blue eyes were rimmed with evidence of their mysterious, toxic foe.
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As she left the smoothie stand, the soldier’s brows knitted closer together. She stopped dead. The bit of protein shake she sucked up fell back into the glass.. Is that—? Never known for her subtlety—a problem in Kalosian court—Lydia did not shy away from the white-haired woman opposite. Instead, she jogged toward her. Did her mere and pere not report her missing?
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The egg bounced in its carrier like a puppy in a car seat. She lifted a gloved hand in greeting. “Bonjour!” The accent, typically absent, reappeared without a thought. “Mademoiselle Valois!”

NOTES

✦ The enthusiasm makes her sigh[break]