it's about that time of year when combee and vespiquen honey production should be slowing down. the bees have made more than enough to hibernate throughout the winter, but hoenn's climate is warmer than most, and so even throughout october and november, they're still hard at work gathering pollen and nectar. 

the bee boxes outside the newest addition to the farm are no exception. the bees themselves are...different than the others. they seem to have boundless energy and she's found herself waking up to their buzzing in the morning as they flit over the gardens. 

her flowers have loved them.

"the livestock don't seem to like them," she comments. her deer pokemon normally grazed along the entire perimeter of the land, but they've kept to the southern side since the construction. at first, she'd thought it was just because of the noise and the traffic over there while the boxes were being worked on, but now that things have been moving on their own, they still haven't returned. 

she tugs anxiously on the hem of her flannel. "we should be able to harvest some at this point. think we'll have any issues taking from the hive?"

Greyson Connors

☉

all this talk has her feeling apprehensive. it makes her wish bo were here to accompany them, but he'd taken roman out for the day. and anyway, she'd told him she would be fine. greyson is plenty capable. 

still, as they walk across the property, she coos to a sleepy foxglove basking in the morning sun. the leafeon stretches to her feet, shakes out her leaves, and trots at her heel, soft brown eyes heavy from her nap. 

when they come upon the outlier hives, she's taken aback by the buzzing activity. combee zip and dart about. the spigot outside the box drips with viscous golden liquid and willow balks. 

"it's - they made enough to make it overflow."

Greyson Connors

☉

she's squatting down to stick her finger in the honey to catch some of the slowly pooling stream. it's warm to the touch and that itself is a surprise. it shouldn't be flowing like this, what with the shiver in the air right now. foxglove doesn't seem to mind it though, and sniffs at it curiously. 

the buzzing of combee gets louder and willow's stomach lurches, reminded of their time in that horrible vespiquen's gigantic hive. 

foxglove leaps in front of her right before the wood can groan, though they're too far away for any of the splintered pieces to come near them. willow gapes at the shadow of a vespiquen that emerges, splattered with comb, dripping with honey. brackish fluid flows from the holes under its dress and willow startles at the realization that some of the wooden pieces have the same tint. 

"greyson?" she says warily, frozen to the spot. 

Greyson Connors

☉

a shadow pokemon? a mutation? 

"how'd it get on the farm?" she says, lower lip trembling, but then she shakes her head. nevermind that. they need to deal with the problem at hand. foxglove even reacts to viv's scent, cowering down with bowed front paws, and the rest of the combee scatter. 

save for a couple behind the aptly named shadow pokemon. those spin in tight circles, looking dazed.

willow moves a careful inch to the side in order to inspect the nearest hive, but the shadow vespiquen reacts violently to the sudden movement. 

Greyson Connors

☉

at this point, she's thankful boruta maher took roman into town today for a boy's day. the sudden swarming of the combee have the rest of the farm animals in an uproar. she flinches back, despite ellie's shield, quivering like a leaf, and tries her damnedest to steel herself so she can check on the overflowing hive. 

she pops open the slats and looks furiously through the comb. it lacks that same brackish tint seen on the other one. 

"if it's an infection, i don't see it in this hive," she shouts. foxglove gives an approving sniff and twines anxiously around willow's legs.

Greyson Connors

☉

he looks out for her. this is what a member of the elite four does. this is what the league does. she feels a low pang of guilt for what bo's lost - he helped people, he helped so many people like greyson - but that too fades away in the face of terror. 

the sky darkens.

willow's face pales and she nods tersely to greyson - what else can she do? he takes off after the battling vespiquen and willow sticks her fingers in her mouth to whistle. foxglove joins her with a squirrelly cry and nacho lopes from the side of the barn, mermaid tail fluttering behind him. 

"nacho, no, not play time," she says, exasperated and runs her tongue along the roof of her mouth. her cheeks tingle. a pleasant shiver goes down her spine and her nose crinkles, brows furrowing with worry immediately after when she realizes she must still have had honey on her hands from before. 

"i need you to wash down that area with the wood. but be careful."

Greyson Connors

☉

with quite a bit of coaxing, nacho does what willow needs him to do. she's teasingly argued with boruta maher before that he listens to her way more, but this definitely seals the deal. foxglove does her best to quiet down the rest of the denizens; some of the deer had been spooked off, but she lends a soothing tie of energy with helping hand to draw them back.

above the treeline that sky still lingers, an oppressive force against the backdrop of the otherwise sleepy flower farm. and then it dissipates. the mid-afternoon sun shines back through. relief floods through her. 

with more light, she picks through the flooded patch of field to admire nacho's handiwork. 

'hazelnut, what did you find there?" she squats down next to the greedent. he clicks his tongue and holds out a battered piece of comb. it's stained black through and through. 

willow shakes off her flannel and wraps the piece in it and pats the squirrel on the head. 

"come on, all of you. we'll have the greyson and the league deal with the rest of this."

Greyson Connors

☉