"Five minutes late is early," Jess protested as she jogged up, shading her eyes to see what the man was looking at. She craned her neck, squinting at the little bird high above. "That's him up there, huh? Can't get a bead on him with your...Pokeball?"

She steered a little carefully around the subject. Catching Pokemon felt foreign to her after so many years abroad-- almost taboo.

Maybe it was better to do things the old-fashioned way. Hell, she'd jump at a chance to show how easy it could be. "Guess you remembered I've got experience with this kinda thing, hm? Well! Good news. You called the right gal," she said with a confident smirk, rummaging in one of her oversized jacket pockets.

Any normal person would have pulled out a Pokeball with a relevant and useful Pokemon, but Jess produced a handful of loose trail mix instead, offering half to Cian. "This'll get 'im. Hey, birdie. Cheep cheep cheep!"

She tossed a peanut up towards the Taillow.

^{CIAN MAHER}

Jess hadn't necessarily been counting on success, but she was always happy to see it. "Hey, see, he went for it!" The young woman seemed to brighten as the Taillow took flight, scooping the second peanut out of the air with marvelous dexterity before alighting again on the power line above. 

She rubbed her chin, thoughtful. "Could mean anything-- might be hungry, sure, but might just like a challenge too." You had to think like Pokemon to get them to do what you wanted. Rangers were experts at divining a wild Pokemon's true desires and finding common ground to gain their aid. It felt good to... well, stretch her wings again, so to speak.

"Let's throw a couple at once-- the second ought to drop it a little closer to the ground. We keep him in the air, we might tire him out enough for him to come home and stop acting up." She winked at Cian. "He got a name?"  

^{CIAN MAHER}

“Aw, the classic!” Jess drawled, pleased by Cian’s level-headed choice of names. “Nothin’ pretentious. I like that.” No further questions were asked as she returned to tossing handfuls of trail mix towards the sky. 

Eager to stretch its wings and gain a meal while doing so, the Taillow zipped under the wire, scooping falling pieces of cranberries and sunflower seeds into its mouth with fantastic maneuverability. It wove deftly through the air, letting out high-pitched chirps. 

“They’re sure somethin’, aren’t they? Look at the way he moves,” Jess commented as the little swallow landed on the pavement to hungrily peck up the pieces that had fallen to the ground. “Oh, look!” She seized Cian’s arm, pointing. “Shoot, he’s got an admirer!”

Another Taillow had been attracted by the display of acrobatics and alighted on the ground next to “Birdy,” darting forward to peck up a few choice crumbs. She studied “Birdy” with one eye and then the other, hopping closer with clear interest.

^{CIAN MAHER}

Jess was quiet. She stilled, one hand still inside her pocket, mid-reach for more trail mix.

Inside, a deep conflict waged.

"Do you... gotta?"

It was a strange, wistful question. They'd both known where this was heading. She'd thought she'd be happy to help, but when it came down to it...

Slowly, her hand resumed its progress, bringing out the last crumbs from her pocket. She kept her head down as she sorted through them, letting go of Cian's arm. 

Ahead of them, the Taillow pecked at the ground together. The sun shone deep, iridescent blue off their feathers. Jess's fingers curled around the crumbs, tightly, feeling them dig into her skin.

"Cian. Hear me out. What'd it take to talk you into... hell, into leaving little Birdy out here? Give him a chance at freedom, I mean. A life outside of the ball."

^{CIAN MAHER}

She gave a hollow laugh, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah... I know." A trainer giving up one of their hard-earned Pokemon in a region that practically ran on the damn things? It wasn't a fair thing to ask.

But someone had to.

How much would it mean to me?

She didn't know how to answer that question. She just knew it felt wrong.

"You know," she said after a moment, "Anyone can tell you when to catch a Pokemon. Bait 'em, battle 'em, ball 'em when the moment's right." Her eyes were fixed on the two Taillow-- they were almost finished with the seeds on the ground. Soon they'd fly away, and Cian would have lost his chance to reclaim his runaway bird. 

"But not everyone'll tell you when to let one go."

^{CIAN MAHER}

 "I'll be damned."

Her heart hammered, disbelief mingling with jubilation as she watched the two birds flit away. Their streamlined shapes disappeared into the maze of streetlamps and power lines. "Bye bye, Birdy..."

Who knew if the city would be kind to them? Taillow might be native to Hoenn, but if Birdy had lived in a ball all his life, things wouldn't be easy out there for the pair. Not every human would throw handfuls of food to the birds on the power lines. Hell, not every human would think twice before throwing a Pokeball. Chances were, the little Taillow would back in a trainer's hands before the month was up. The likelihood of a Pokemon finding any kind of true freedom outside of the Safari Zone was little to none.

Maybe it wasn't right. But it didn't feel wrong.

Jess let out her breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it.

"Hey, y'know, I... don't expect people to see the world the way I do." Not anymore. Like she'd told him the night before, it was just too damn hard to keep trying. "I-- hell, I don't know what it means to me. But it means something."

It was just a bird, and it was just a gesture. But it made all the difference.

"Thanks. I owe you one." She paused, forcing a laugh. "Two, I guess."

^{CIAN MAHER}

 "You're shitting me..." Jess visibly grimaced, looking at the innocent Cian out of the corner of her eye. "I said that? I'm out of shape, you're gonna kill me out there."

But maybe some exercise would be a more positive direction to take her life. She couldn't spend all her free time gathering firewood or laying in her campsite, trying to embrace the 'sedentary outdoors' lifestyle. Maybe a good run with a local would help her get to know the area.

She sighed, mopping her bangs out of her eyes. "All right, all right, I owe you that much. You got yourself company." 

^{CIAN MAHER}