down route one-one-nine he walks, whistling a tune from some song he just can't quite seem to remember the name of. his backpack's worn to the front, and in it sits a little cacnea who bobs up and down with each step cian takes.

the grass-type points up ahead.

"hm?"

why is a leavanny pointing at them?

narrowing his eyes slightly, he approaches, watching it and its trainer closely.

"hello there."

willow atkins

☉

it takes until he's approached and spoken to her for her to place him. her stomach does a bit of a flip - she'd let bo back into her life two years ago, has heard about his brothers through roman, and yet she's been a coward all this time. she should have met them, especially cian, especially after what roman's not told her. 

but secrets and lies and fear, all of it's easy to ignore when it's swept under the rug.

"pointing is rude, elisabet," she says as he approaches. the leavanny's antennae twitch annoyedly; elisabet turns away, but she doesn't leave. of course not. her trainer needs her support right now. 

a smile dimples willow's features. she puts down her pencil and looks up at the man. "cute cacnea."

CIAN MAHER

☉

recognition comes a little too slowly to cian. she looks familiar, though he can't place her quite yet. after all, it's been years since he's last seen her.

he looks down at his cacnea, then her.

"oh, thanks. his name's spikey boy. he's actually going to defend me against my newphew and his weedle."

blinking, he focuses, though comes up short.

"do i know you from somewhere?"

willow atkins

☉

nephew and his weedle. is that what's been chewing holes in all her plants? even gideon's had a couple of nips in his leaves and the turtwig is usually the bully, not the victim. she laughs and then folds her sketchbook, puts it in her bag before standing up and sticking a hand out to cian. 

"willow," she says and her eyes soften as she adds, "mother of said nephew. it's...good? to see you again, cian."

she doesn't fault him for not recognizing her. roman looks more like bo than he ever has her and cian never really minded willow anyway. she was just 'bo's girlfriend' and most of their time together was spent on their own, away from that house. 

CIAN MAHER

☉

it's been years, far too long, so it definitely isn't on him for not recognizing her even if he should've. it's only when she introduces herself that he breaks into a smile.

"oh shit, willow! my bad, i didn't recognize you for a bit there."

a moment is spent to properly look at her, to take in her features and just how much she's changed. he realizes he hasn't changed much either apart from his hair — now dyed blond and perhaps messier than usual.

"and yeah, if you could tell ro not to poke my eye out, i'd appreciate it."

willow atkins

☉

"water under the bridge," she says. "'sides, we've both changed. i barely recognize you." she gives him a once-over as well, not really minding his own gaze. again, she'd never really been around cian much, but now that roman's going to have a relationship with the maher family, maybe she should. 

she reaches out tentatively, fingers half curled, towards the cacnea. she's slow in her movements, keeps her eyes within sight of the creature, and it's still wary when she touches its forehead, but slow circles on its green skin have it relaxing almost instantly. 

"i'm sure we can find some lemon balm around here. weedle hate it. should be enough to keep it away from your face." she grins. "because gods know i can't control that kid."

CIAN MAHER

☉

"must be the hair."

in truth, it's likely a few things: the way he dresses, his demeanor, and the way he presents himself. he used to carry himself with much more arrogance as one would expect from a seasoned athlete, but now? a little less arrogant, and possibly more low-key.

the cacnea puffs out its chest in an attempt to look tough only to succumb to the slow circles drawn on its forehead. it giggles, looking up at willow with wide eyes.

"oh i wouldn't worry too much. i don't think he's tall enough to reach my eye anyway."

willow atkins

☉

"might be," she says, but it's more than that. she recalls the athlete, the 'no one's worth my time but me' attitude. again, most days she spent with bo were with him, not his kin. young and dumb and in love - how long ago it feels. 

"mm, dunno if that'll stop him. kid's got an army and weedle are pretty light." she smiles and draws her hand back from the cacnea. its arms pinwheel as it begrudgingly settles back down after the stimulating pets. 

elisabet bends to pick some flowers and holds them out to the pokemon and its trainer. 

"i came out to do some sketching, but your boy and my elisabet seem like they want a bit of a workout. and i've needed some more helpers around the greenhouse. what do you say, cian? care to partner with me for a bit and hunt down some wild pokemon?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

weedle are pretty light, and Roman Maher's pretty determined. he sighs, nodding as he dreads the day that'll eventually come.

until then, he reaches down to accept the flowers from the leavanny, smiling as he nods in gratitude.

"thanks."

he hands them to cacnea, who holds them close to his chest.

"looks like wild pokemon found us."

seedot and a turtwig: two choices that don't particularly suit his style. besides, he already has both of them, so he doesn't bother battling this round.

"i'll let you pick first, willow."

willow atkins // skipping

☉

elisabet is a formidable foe, though only when she wants to be. the nurturing pokemon is often content with her duties on the atkins property, but even she comes to crave the call of battle every once in a while. willow can tell this is how she's feeling now. 

her dainty feet splay, antennae twitching as she senses the movements of the oncoming pokemon. the seedot rolls away from them in fright as soon as it sees them, but the turtwig holds her ground. vines creep out from under her shell, but they look stunted, unable to create a vine whip. 

elisabet skitters forward like a praying mantis, arms outstretched to deliver a swift x-scissor to the pokemon. its shell takes the brunt of the hit and it buckles. green light gathers around elisabet as the turtwig attempts to absorb some of her life force, but she strikes again, felling the turtle with her second blow. 

willow approaches, withdrawing a nest ball to tap against the turtwig. 

"she'll need some work. we'll have to see why her vines won't grow," she says to the leavanny. louder, and over her shoulder, she says to cian, "let's find something to work that cacnea. he's gonna need it against my son."

CIAN MAHER
catching turtwig!

☉

is the cacnea even battle-ready? he can't help but wonder as the grass-type doesn't even bother to look at the battle that happens before them, too distracted by a butterfly that floats past them.

"yeah, probably. your son's pretty ruthless."

never one to mince words, this time is no different.

"you ever think of visiting rustboro? you can bring roman along, too."

willow atkins // skipping

☉