She hadn’t heard a command, and yet, her beast killer was bowled over by the not-so-stranger. Buzz went from lazily floating behind her to zipping to her side in the blink of an eye, both of his trained on the new threat.
A voice tinged by both surprise and confusion called out her Pokemon’s name, but it had its piercing eyes set on its new opponent. It had barely been thirty seconds since Annie had spoken to it about obedience, and that fact was all that kept a claw coated in blue out of the Manectric’s throat. Still, it was close. Dangerously close. She only needed to say the word.
She wouldn’t, of course. The man was a bully, and insane, and an asshole, and her eyes said as much, but she wasn’t about to risk her friend over that. Not after all they’d been through that night. Still, she was in no rush to respond, channelling a newfound frustration into her fists as she glared at him. In that moment, she couldn’t remember the man, but she decided that it wouldn’t be the last he heard of her.
Intervention stopped her short of having to act on that thought. A stranger – a wealthy stranger, apparently – offered her too much money in exchange for her prize, or maybe just to leave. Either way, he’d earned much more confusion than malice in the look she gave him. Why a single shoe meant so much to people, that still had two on their feet, she’d never know… But being able to buy shoes that actually fit was a much more appealing offer than giving into intimidation.
Before she could accept, the charging roar of a man she did recognise drew her attention. There was a twitch of a smile on her face as his fist greeted her attacker. It was cathartic, but it wasn’t enough to make him pay. It’d be a while before Annie forgot the first person to call him out.
The next face was familiar too, which made it all the more crushing when she heard its words. Scathing mockery for her, and nothing but sympathy for her aggressor. She’d expected better of her, if only because they’d met before, but it was clear she’d chosen her side. If the woman couldn’t see that her eyes had been tear-stained for much longer than she’d been talking to Kyle (or perhaps she’d chosen to ignore that much, if it meant he could be the hero in hers), then she had nothing polite to say to her.
The rest of the talk flew over her head. Portals. Matt-Tio. Some stranger charging in. Her
only favourite masked vigilante jumping in and hadn’t Balder been glowing a few minutes ago? Why was he glowing again? She had too many questions, but she’d much rather get far away from the chaos than try to get answers out of it. Instead, she realised that she’d been standing in shock for too long, her beast stuck in a standoff the whole time. She’d like to have hoped that it wouldn’t lead to blood shed with the crowd around, but then, she also wouldn’t have hoped that a man would threaten her Pokemon’s life over a single shoe.
She turned to Stormy first, her gaze unsure whether to show betrayal or disgust or disappointment. She settled for the latter.
“Your friend wants Frankie dead over a shoe, and I’m the only problem that you see here?” She wouldn’t bother wasting more words on a woman that showed her no love.
“I don’t get why it’s so important to you, but… sure.” Annie was in no position to turn down the cash, and so Thomas earned her treasure.
“Thanks. For, you know, being reasonable. And nice.” Her attacker seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, but Annie only cared that Frankie was set free. She dropped to her knees beside her chimera, making no attempt the concern in her eyes. Her tears had long since stopped falling, but for a brief moment they threatened to show themselves again. A slow blink from it confirmed that it was well (enough), and she whispered an apology before returning it to its ball.
Annie stood back up, knowing that she should have taken her leave. And yet, against her better judgement, she and her now-guarded Yanmega carefully made their way across the field. She tapped Balder from behind; if he turned, he’d see an oddly meek child, worn out by the night’s events, but still drawn to do the right thing.
“I’ve only got one shoe… But that’s better than no shoes, right?” She offered him the money Thomas had just given her. Money that she needed, and she knew that she’d regret giving away, but who was she to stand by and watch somebody that had helped her struggle?
“I think that you might need this more than I do, and that’s really saying something.”
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