Rustboro was a beautiful city. The weight of its history was carried by the stones that built its foundations. She had arrived three days earlier for a medical conference. Was it necessary for Nanette to have gone? No, not really. Was it a boon to her education? Very much so. Did she have more totes than she knew what to do with now after visiting booths? Also yes. All in all, it had been a wonderful experience. There was something almost Kalosian about the way the city looked with its bricks and thoroughfares. On the last night of the conference, there had been a rave of all things: Medics After Midnight. So today, Nanette was perfectly content to relax and listen to the distant boom of thunder and the patter of rain atop her rental.

It was straight out of a noir film or novel…at least visually. Because she was no grizzled detective. She was just a young ranger, and she was watching a romantic comedy film instead of the streets. There were no thoughts of dames or unsolved cases in her mind, only a vague idea of her own schedule and things she would need to take care of once she returned to Slateport.

There was a grand declaration of love playing just as her phone rang. Her tinny ringtone didn’t even finish its first cycle before she picked it up. It was Priya…which usually only meant one thing had happened. There was dread pooling in Nanette’s gut as she answered, heavy as a stone.

“Rustboro, 4th Ave, between Keen Eye Bar and the Lucky Gulpin…I went a little too deep.”

“I’ll be right there. Try and apply pressure to any bleeding in the meantime.”

She was already rising to her feet as she talked, and her words were coming in fast – firm and decisive. She dug through her suitcase for her first-aid kit, then for a pair of actual shoes (not her pretty summer sandals) but came up short. Fine. It was fine. She could take gutter water soaking her feet. Nanette threw on a hoodie over her pajamas – soft, fuzzy shorts, a truly massive t-shirt bearing the words LUIMIOSE UNIVERSITY – and darted out the door. Her sandals slapped against tile and then over laid stone once she was outside. The air smelled of rain, damp earth.

The hood pulled over her head did little to nothing. It was cotton, and it soaked through almost immediately. It was fine. It kept some of the rain from her eyes, at least. Nanette shielded her phone under the curl of her fingers. Priya’s location wasn’t too far. Ten minutes of walking…probably eight, maybe seven or even six if she ran.

So she ran.

The neon signs were bright, two letters flagging. The little gulpin on one sign flickered. When Nanette looked down, she could see deep red clouding the rain water before it was washed down the drain. There was another clap of thunder rumbling beyond the city.

“Priya!? What did you do this time?”

Nanette shoved her phone in her pocket as she rushed forward, leaning over him as if to try and shield him from the rain. It was bad, worse than she’d ever seen him.

“Can you sit up? Lean on me, and let’s get you out of this weather.”

Priya Kosch

☉

He needed something now – minutes ago, hours ago – to staunch some of the bleeding. At this rate, it would take too much time to get back to the rental. Nanette wracked her memory of the rain-slick thoroughfares for a warehouse, an awning, or anything that could keep them from the rain. Nanette was scowling as they went. This was a mess, Priya was badly wounded, and the rain had gone from romantic to grim all in a single phone call.

“Here.”

Nanette had to double-back a few paces for this place. It was a condemned apartment by the looks of it. Some of the windows were shattered, and fewer were boarded up. There was graffiti on the walls and trash strewn in what might have been a nice lawn, once. Was it ideal? Not really. But it would give them cover, at least, and all Nanette had to do was make sure Priya didn’t collapse on a used needle.

The interior was a little better off. There wasn’t as much graffiti on the walls as she had expected. This must have been a lovely place once. Nanette could make out the shape of elegant sconces, and she was sure the creaky floors had once been polished to a high shine. Nanette squinted at a stained, ratty bench critically. No needles, at least; just stuffing falling out of the upholstery in matted tufts. And there was a dusty lantern beside the bench. She made sure Priya was settled before giving it a try – ah. Good. It was working for now. The light was bright and harsh, brighter still once she scrubbed away at the grime with her sleeve.

“You need to be more careful,” she chided, but not unkindly. “Can you show me your wounds?”

The first-aid kit was laid out for her to grab whatever tool she needed, and she had her phone propped up for extra light. Nanette’s expression was grim but determined as she eyed the blood staining Priya’s clothing. First came the stop-gap measures, and then she would need to get him dry. More medication, more bandages, more than what she could stuff into a travel kit. So many factors, so many questions.

But this was now. It was time to focus. Priya needed help, and Nanette would give it.

Priya Kosch

☉