As she leaned against the wall, Cassie crossed her arms under her chest. She’d decided to repay an old favor she’d owed to the Benoit family when she’d been an up-and-coming Ranger. And she’d done this by mending their Audino ranch’s fence, a task she’d just finished. That being said, she did want to avoid the owner of this ranch – a former member of the Elite Four named Thomas Benoit – whenever possible. And for those that knew him and what he’d done, it wasn’t hard to see why.

She hadn’t the patience to view it herself, but Cassie had heard…reports about a livestream where he’d made such a long-winded, scathing critique of the League that it had ruined his reputation and cost him his spot on the Elite Four afterwards. Being around such a guy made her anxious, even if he did say that he was trying to make amends - she knew how hard the League worked. They’d only interacted briefly prior to this, and only when necessary. Mostly, it had been things like asking about the fence’s condition and other necessary details to her job.

Yet as she’d worked on the fence, she’d seen a man who had been wholly different than the rumors had said he was. She’d seen a kind-hearted, remorseful man who loved Pokémon and who genuinely seemed to be trying to be a better person. Still, she didn’t feel under any obligation to lower her guard around him in light of that information.

Struck by Thomas’s complexities, Cassie sighed, then looked away – and what she saw made her eyes go wide. Thomas was walking toward her? Cass gulped – this had better be about something important, and she’d better keep things brief with him. She’d mended his fence out of gratitude, and nothing more than that.

She didn’t want to get too involved in the inner workings of this man. He could fix himself on his own time.



Thomas Benoit