It was like staring into the sun. Annalise was effervescent and incandescent all at once. Nanette nearly jumped out of her skin when Annalise first approached. The lilt of her voice had been startling in the quiet of Route 120, but not unwelcome. Her voice was pretty. Nanette nodded, adjusting the brim of her cap. The area around Fortree was blessedly cooler than, say, Lavaridge. The air still smelled of rain, and Nanette didn’t feel as if she were boiling underneath her flak jacket.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Annalise. I hope I won’t drag us down.”

Etiquette lessons had been drilled into Nanette growing up, and they were showing now. The proper pitch, the practiced and polite smile. It seemed almost at ends with the ranger uniform, but she liked to think she could be formidable. She favored Annalise’s meowstic with a warm smile before reaching for her own belt. The pokéball was a familiar weight in her hand. A little flick and it was in the air – bursting open to reveal her gallade.

D'Artagan glanced from the oranguru to Nanette than back, looking incredulous and a little amused all at once. The oranguru thumped its chest with a massive hand and that was enough for d’Artagnan was refocus, his gaze intent.

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The nidorino hadn’t been much cause for alarm. But then the ursaring was bellowing beside it, and Nanette knew this might be something to be concerned about. Nanette nodded bracingly at Annalise’s confidence. It was like a veritable tale of David and Goliath. Featuring an extra nidorino charging back and forth. While the meowstic (apparently named Tuna, which was utterly adorable) focused on the nidorino, d’Artagnan circled the ursaring slowly.

“D’Artagnan, use psycho cut!”

Her gallade broke into a run, ducking beneath the ursaring’s pinioning arms. There was a glow along d’Artagnan’s arm and the heavy blow of his attack against the ursaring. Whether by its thick hide, sheer rage, or both, the ursaring took the attack manfully.

“About six months,” Nanette said. “I know I’ve seen your name floating around. I just get a bit nervous about approaching others.”

Especially outside of work or school. Proper social interaction? It was a daunting task. Nanette looked sheepish, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Annalise was bubbly and charming – someone Nanette definitely wanted as a friend…but Nanette? Actually approaching someone first? Touch luck on that.

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“It’s been an illuminating experience,” Nanette said.

And while it was one of the more banal responses she could give, she felt that it was accurate. The job was hard work, often thankless, but it was one of the best learning experiences she had gotten by far. Some lessons had been harder than others, wrought with bandaged fingers and bruises that turned eggplant purple, and others had been harder on the heart than on the body. Still, Nanette was glad for it all. Every hurt was a lesson, and she ought to be thankful for all of them. Nanette felt more at ease in her uniform now. Some of the threads were beginning to fray, and her boots – which Nanette had endeavored to keep pristine so early on – were muddied and scuffed. It was the mark of a ranger in the making, surely.

“This is a very beautiful region,” Nanette went on, and her voice had softened a little as she said it because she meant it.

For all the chaos in Hoenn, she loved it in its own way. It certainly wasn’t Kalos, but that was the beauty of it all, wasn’t it? Hoenn persevered through fire and flame and goodness only knew what else. Even the Pokémon here had their quirks: they were battling against an oranguru, after all.

D’Artagnan glanced her way and Nanette only had to mouth swords dance for him to understand. It was the best part about working with her longest companion: her gallade knew her, and she knew him, so they knew each other’s discrepancies and where to compensate. The ground rumbled as the ursaring dug its claws into the earth, roaring. D’Artagnan vaulted out of way, swinging his blades with deadly precision.

As the ursaring faltered, Nanette’s decorum stuttered to a halt.

“Really?” Nanette almost winced. She could hear how hopeful her own tone was. How pathetic. “I’d like that very much, Annalise, thank you. I’ve been here six months, so it’s about time I started meeting others.”

Networking was important, after all. And Nanette was sure it wouldn’t go beyond networking. She wasn’t exactly a fascinating person to befriend. If Annalise was the sun, then Nanette was…what? The moon? No, that was silly. Even the moon had a mysterious charm. If Annalise was like sunshine, then Nanette felt like…well, nothing much. Perfectly ordinary.

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