for once, she's actually not busy with her hands in dirt or plants or some type of manure. no, instead she's sitting on her front porch, fingers strumming a guitar that's still slightly out of tune. she mumbles something to herself just as greyson walks up, turning pegs to try and remedy the problem. 

but he waves as he approaches and it makes her look up. a smile breaks out on her face, but it quickly disappears when she realizes something's not right. 

she looks down at the paper and pales, abandoning the guitar to scramble around the side of the garden shop/house. 

their vespiquen and combee are still busy dancing amid the flowers. she counts them and then sighs. all accounted for. 

"no," she says and then looks a little closer at the paper. she frowns. "this is near grace's place. can we - would you come with me to check on her?"

Greyson Connors

☉

his own relief is palpable, but the idea that somewhere near here an independent hive was acting aggressive? his discomfort rises.
[Break][break]
"yeah, of course." hurriedly he releases two rapidash. one a normal stallion of flame and the other the psychic variant with the shiny defect.
[Break][break]
he mounts the mare and leads the stallion to her.
[Break][break]
"lead the way. ill be right behind."

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

the rapidash tosses its head, sensing her apprehension. she's not exactly keen on fire-types, especially so close to her flowers. but grace is more important than her discomforts. so she settles the steed with a hush, shaking fingers reaching for his snout. 

he settles, though probably only because the greyson waits for them. willow gives a whistle and several of her pokemon run out from behind the house. "lus, foxglove, and - " she starts. elisabet pokes her head out the door or the flower shop and then darts back inside, re-emerging with a few pokeballs awkwardly in her arms. 

willow recalls those she'd named and orders the rest to keep an eye on the farm. and asks the bees to keep a low profile until they return. 

she mounts with ease. there's a history here, especially with the way she urges the stallion quickly from a canter to a gallop. bareback is something she hasn't ridden in years, but determination sits just as well on her grimace. 

the scene they come upon is...an awful one. 

grace's berry patch is in shambles. combee and vespiquen are uprooting the plants and flitting about in a frenzy. her stomach drops and she looks at greyson, helpless and at a loss. 

Greyson Connors

☉

no words are necessary with rae as she slows to a trot, hooves guided by psychic energy and will.
[Break][break]
the scene was chaotic. a ravenous hive was nearly unheard of; they were actually often far more docile than most bug-types.
[Break][break]
"we need a put a stop to this. back us up if you can." dismounting the mare he taps her rear twice, sending her in a gallop. from her wake a FAIRY WIND surges forth.

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

willow backs up her rapidash and then slips off its side. she leaves greyson to deal with the bulk of the problem and goes to knock rapidly on the door to grace's estate. no answer. she curses under her breath and grabs her pokeballs, tossing them all out at once. 

elisabet goes rigid as soon as she sees the state of the berry patch. willow isn't the only one with ties to the place. 

"foxglove, help greyson, please," she says and the leafeon lopes over to lend his pokemon a helping hand. 

"grace!" she calls, hands cupped around her mouth. there's a cry further into the throng of vined plants; a hand waves over the greenery, fingers stretching to make themselves visible. a couple of vespiquen circle, irritated as they intermittently get blasted by a water gun from grace's squirtle. 

she can't get up. and between her and her elderly neighbor is a swarm of angry pokemon. 

the fairy wind flattens a path near them and willow doesn't think. she takes off running down it, lus and elisabet at her heels. 

Greyson Connors

☉

greyson and rae tread a path of glittering wind behind them as they gallop through the rampaging hive. he noted, with concern, that the bug-types were larger than the average and far, far more aggressive. what had caused this?
[break][break]
"rae," he says, calling her name with a clipped tone. she knew, by touching his mind, his intention, and she responds. a pulse of PSYCHIC energy emanates from her horn tip, overwhelming the minds of the many bug-types around him. one by one, they begin to fall.
[break][break]
with the threat momentarily neutralized he sends the rapidash to willow atkins, assisting the woman in any regard.
[break][break]
meanwhile, he bends down to inspect a nearby combee. Eva Dumont would probably be better at this, but he lets himself fall into a cursory inspection, confused.

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

the few bug-types that stand in her way buzz menacingly, stingers at the ready. willow grits her teeth, but she's at a loss and doesn't know how to ask her pokemon to help her. she hadn't been thinking when she just started running. but luckily, someone far more capable is there with her. 

the bugs go down quickly, forced into unconsciousness by greyson's rapidash. willow tramples over upturned roots and bends down to reach a hand out to grace. 

the elderly woman grasps her arm and winces. willow pulls her up with ease and drapes her arm around her neck, holding her tight around the waist to navigate her through the rocky ground. 

"i'm so sorry, grace," she says in a hushed tone as she finally takes a moment to survey the wreckage. 

"all that matters is i'm okay. and you're okay. and delilah's okay." at the sound of her name, the squirtle waddles over, concern shining in her reptilian eyes. 

"come on. greyson and i can get you to the hospital. you need that leg looked at."

then, louder, she calls, "greyson?"

Greyson Connors

☉

the shiny mare sticks her head through a window, assessing the damage and injuries to those inside. luckily it all seemed rather minor, given the threat they faced, and she sends out CALMING, PSYCHIC pulses.
[break][break]
greyson on the other hand had his attention fixed on one of the unconscious intruders. combee were by no means a purely passive, safe species to interact with; dozens of reports each year came from aggressive hives alone. but, these were all isolated incidents, and nearly every single time humans were the perpetrator in question.
[break][break]
he wish Eva Morales was here to give him the real numbers behind it all.
[break][break]
it takes a moment for greyson to register the voice that seemed so close, yet so far away. gooseflesh rises on his skin from an unseen force, something like static from the downed combee, but more powerful. still, he turns towards the house.
[break][break]
"we're good out here! everything okay in there?"

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

she's not a detective, but this is her jurisdiction. this is her soil, her home turf, her creatures. and it doesn't take a genius to know something is wrong here. but willow can't think about that right now. first thing's first - she needs to take care of grace. 

and despite the woman's protests that it's not that bad, she refuses to put any weight on her leg and each step makes her wince. she'd a hard, stubborn woman and willow will be damned if she hurts herself further because of it. 

"no," she says, tightening her grip on grace. "i need you to help me get her to a hospital. please, greyson. we can look into this after."

Greyson Connors

☉

at first he wants to argue — a couple of comfey's could ease that woman's pain easily, allowing him to do what he thinks is a priority. but, the more he thinks about it, the less human of a response that felt.
[break][break]
conceding, he nods.
[break][break]
"okay," he says, releasing two pokemon. the first was a comfey and best friend, ellie, while the other was a rather wizened looking alakazam. "ells help her out, seven, i need your help." greyson didn't need to finish, the psychic-type having already read his mind.
[break][break]
he'd need to work on their manners.
[break][break]
"they'll go with you, willow, but i need to stay here and call this in and make sure there's no more lingering threats." rae, his shiny galarian rapidash, gallops up to stand next to him. "i'll join you all when i can."
[break][break]
between the comfey's FLOWER SHIELD, and the TELEPORT, willow and grace would be okay he reasons with himself. this would all be over soon.
[break][break]
the worst was, little did he know, yet to come.

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

he wants to say something and she bristles, prepared to argue for the priority of grace's well-being. the very reason they'd come here in the first place. but he concedes quickly and she relaxes. grace's weight on her has increased since they'd started walking and her breathing is labored, despite the terse smile she's putting on. 

willow can't blame her; she'd probably do the same. 

"no, take care of things here." she hesitates. "i have my cell. call me if you need anything." and, feeling mostly useless, she allows the alakazam to place its hand on her shoulder and take them away. 

the teleportation is nauseating. she's never done it before, so she's spinning when she comes to. she clutches grace tight and the woman also looks a little green in her cheeks. fallarbor's hospital is a small one and they're lucky that it's not busy. 

someone rushes up to help them as grace limps in against willow. and shortly after, willow's sitting down in the reception while grace goes in for her exam. greyson's alakazam stays beside her, a weird presence that she tries to ignore.

nervous, she grabs her phone and gives him a call. 

Greyson Connors

☉

reluctantly, he nods. it made perfect sense, even if he did feel guilty in doing so. watching them off, he turns back to the bees once she's out of sight.
[break][break]
a couple of them stir, or twitch, and a small burst of PSYCHIC keeps them subdued. his lips form into a thin line, regarding the situation with clear frustration. reaching into his pocket, greyson brandishes his cell phone, and makes the call.
[break][break]
within' twenty minutes a dozen league officials are on the scene. rangers arrive to take away the defeated pokemon, while individuals with lab coats measure the scene against some unknown energy, or metric. he half expects to see @illenaa or even Eva Morales here, but is disappointed when he's unable to find them.
[break][break]
another officer interviews him for his statement, but when the phone in his pocket buzzes, a familiar name appearing on his screen, he excuses himself and walks off to the side.
[break][break]
"hey willow. how's grace doing?"

[attr="class","notes"]willow atkins

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

she feels dumb for calling him. she feels vulnerable. her knee is bouncing up and down and she wants to get up and pace, but she's afraid she'll end up walking right out the door. and also the alakazam frightens her and for some reason, she feels standing and leaving it alone might annoy it. 

a breathy sigh comes out when he picks up. she tucks her bangs behind her ear and leans back. 

"yeah. i mean, she's in rough shape. broken leg. it'll take a while to heal." i'll have to help around her farm, get her all set up, make sure she has everything she needs - but that will come later. 

"they," she says, squeezing her eyes shut, "shouldn't have been acting like that. and i mean, obviously, but the way they were flying? it wasn't natural. combee communicate with each other when they fly. it's like they weren't...combee. does that sound crazy?"

Greyson Connors

☉