“You know, I don’t think they have the capacity for what we need, you know?” she spoke absentmindedly out loud as she casually walked down the quaint streets of Oldale. She walked at a slow pace, her mind up in the clouds while her feet were firmly planted on the ground. The Jynx that swayed beside her seemed less than intrigued at her trainer’s random thoughts. In all honesty, the pokemon didn’t really know what they were doing here in the first place. This town was far too small and lacked the lustrous wonders of the larger cities like Ever Grande and Lilycove. The Jynx would much rather be caught up in the bustle of the city than the quiet nothingness of places like Oldale. Eva seemed to enjoy it though.

Despite the dullness of their surroundings, something did catch the Jynx’s eye. The psychic-type stopped in the middle of the road, staring blankly over at the small ice rink. Eva, caught up in other distractions, didn’t notice the pokemon stop suddenly. She ran right into the ice-type’s back, “Umph! Juliet, what are you-” she followed her gaze over towards the focus of the pokemon’s attention.

A flash of red hair gracefully moved across the rink with what Eva could only describe as familiarity. The doctor cocked her head, slowly gathering the necessary data from the archives of her mind. She recognized Aubre. She also recognized the distance in her gaze, the rosy cheeks shining with drying tears, and the glossy grief that sparkled in her eyes.

That too, was all too familiar.

“Do you want to try?” she motioned to the rink. Not wanting to seem too eager, the Jynx simply shrugged her slender shoulders before following Eva towards the rink.

Eva rented a pair of skates for the both of them from the small booth and helped the Jynx get situated. By now, Juliet had lost her ability to hide her excitement. She rushed out to the ice, using COPYCAT to mirror Aubre’s movements. Eva followed soon after, keeping close to the rink’s sturdy wall. She was obviously not very good at this, mostly trying to walk in the skates rather than push, “You’re very good at this, Aubre,” she smiled in greeting, giving the younger doctor a friendly wave hello.

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Aubre McKenna-Settentrione

Being able to recover from such a spill was that much more impressive, as much as Aubre may not have thought of it that way. Eva kept her same smile through the flush of the woman’s cheeks. Eva looked a bit more clumsy on the thin blade. She walked more so than skated across the ice. At least it was smooth. If it was untamed ice on a lake she would have likely fallen immediately.

“Certainly doesn’t look like it!” her gaze shifted over to the Jynx copying the woman. She seemed to be a natural which spoke well of Aubre’s abilities. The ice-type merely narrowed her eyes in response to Alistair’s banter. She did not seem amused. Juliet was a haughty little thing that was more of a mean-girl than anything. She tilted her head up and blatantly ignored the lizard which made Eva frown, “Sorry, Juliet’s not very nice,” she apologized to Aubre on behalf of the Jynx, “We’re . . . working on it.”

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Aubre McKenna-Settentrione