[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

Where he's drowning in uncertainty, Stormy is drowning in fear. He leans away from her and she can feel her heart lurch into her throat because she knows what's coming next. She can see it in the way he sets his jaw, in the way his eyes stop watching her. He's leaving.[break][break]

And it comes as a relief and a punch in the stomach when he says that he isn't afraid of her because she can't wrap her head around it. How could he not? She was afraid of her, terrified.[break][break]

But she's more afraid of him leaving, so she struggles with the thin sheets because her hands are moving faster than she can comprehend and she's pressing her bare feet to the cold tile and holding onto her strength like a vice.[break][break]

He's leaving. [break][break]

"Alex, please don't go. Please... please."[break][break]

She latches onto the back of his shirt, pulling herself closer to him if he allowed - burying her face in his back. She's shaking, her skin still cold.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

He is warm and stable and steady where she is not, and she attaches to that feeling of security like a vice. Her hands make fists in the fabric of his clothes and she holds on tight, leaving damp stains against his skin.[break][break]

But she does not weep loudly.[break][break]

The tears make shiny trails down her pale skin and encapsulate how scared she really is. She had been dealing with these changes alone for months, unsure how to control her fears, her anger, her passion.[break][break]

Stormy is relieved to hear him say those magic words and so she allows him to help her back into the bed. But before he might sit back down in the chair she reaches for his hand, fingers cold but searching.[break][break]

There's space, albeit a small amount, should he join her.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

Stormy holds her breath as her fingers curl around his, stopping him from turning away from her. It feels like time stops as he decides what to do, how to react to her puppy-dog eyes.[break][break]

But then he relents and he slides in next to her and his warmth is comforting. She exhales as he snuggles closer, and by the time he whispers for her to get some rest, she's sleeping soundly.[break][break]

Her fingers remain intertwined with his as she holds him closer.[break][break]

The nurses poke their head in once or twice but otherwise don't interrupt as her vitals have stabilized and everything seems to have gone back to normal for now.[break][break]

When they do interrupt it's because Stormy stirs and they've agreed to let her go under the pretense to come back in for regular check-ups as a result of their lack of explanation for her condition. As they leave, Stormy glances at Alex nervously.[break][break]

"I-- I met Moltres. But I don't want to talk about it here."[break][break]

But it's clear that she wants to get it off of her chest.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

Stormy's eyes are squeezed shut as she focuses on breathing the smell of fresh air and ridding herself of the sharp hospital smell. It forces a second wind into her and she holds onto it for as long as she can. She's still tired but unwilling to linger in a space that offers her no real support. They can't help her.[break][break]

Alexander is surprisingly calm considering the words she had chosen and, while thankful for his subtlety it also brings her unease. Perhaps she preferred the genuine worry she had received from Kim rather than the calm acceptance. This was a traumatizing time for her, after all. [break][break]

But in reality, Alex's grounded approach to her fear was probably exactly what she had needed - someone to be her beacon in the storm.[break][break]

And it warms her to hear him say 'home.' [break][break]

"Thank you."

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

Her boots fall heavier the closer she gets to his apartment. Old memories creep up on her, familiar smells dull her senses. They sit in silence in the elevator as it rises, the familiar and uncomfortable lurch of its ascent making her close her eyes.[break][break]

And then he leads her inside and it feels like home and she feels strangely not at home - like this isn't right.[break][break]

Stormy glances at him only when he speaks, too immersed in her reminiscence. [break][break]

"U-uhh, water. Water is fine."[break][break]

He leaves and returns with a cold glass that she takes from him awkwardly. But then he sits on the couch and she's left standing because she hasn't found a spot that she feels comfortable. So she chooses a seat at random, hands trembling a bit until she sets the glass down, she doesn't want to spill.[break][break]

The woman sucks in a deep breath, conscious of his eyes on her, waiting for her to speak. But the words are stuck in her throat because she doesn't know where to begin, doesn't know how. [break][break]

"It happened right before new years. I found a passage in an old textbook about the legendary birds, it suggested I should travel to Mt. Chimney. I did it."[break][break]

Memories of the experience start to trickle back in, resurfacing like evil thoughts. It scared her. She had been trying to push them aside, come to terms with them by not registering what she had done.[break][break]

"Th-there was a man on the mountain, he told me about this ritual. Something old and dangerous that would summon Moltres. I wasn't afraid, I did what needed to be done."[break][break]

She swallows, hard.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

His annoyance acts like a slap in the face and she flinches, averting her gaze and feeling breathless. His reaction isn't what she anticipated, but it should have been. She sits uncomfortably in her chosen seat, her body tense as her fingers tighten around her jacket.[break][break]

At the time she had feigned ignorance, chased after a legendary and powerful being simply because she felt like she had to know it was real. It was a part of her region, a part of Kanto she had thought was lost. [break][break]

But it had turned into more than that - it had manifested into her own desperate attempt to prove herself. She had been willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of some being she had never met, never felt a connection to before until then.[break][break]

It needed her help and she hadn't hesitated.[break][break]

"Moltres needed me. It was in danger and I didn't hesitate. The.. the false Ho-oh was there. It attacked Moltres and probably would have killed it."[break][break]

Stormy can feel a growing pit of frustration build in her, however, as she refocuses on Alex's annoyance with her.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","kheader"]

[attr="class","kthread"][attr="class","league"]

"Hesitated?"[break][break]

Her voice is incredulous as she repeats him. There's a bite to her words, disbelief. He didn't believe in her, didn't trust her, did he? She can see it now. He still sees her as naive and impulsive, not capable of handling herself.[break][break]

While he breathes in and out as if struggling to maintain his composure and nerve, Stormy moves to get up. [break][break]

"I saved it and it saved me. I don't know what you want me to say, Alex. Do you want me to say that I regret the choice I made?"[break][break]

She scoffs, shaking her head in exasperation.[break][break]

"I want to do whatever it takes to protect this region. Hoenn is my home now, and I won't lose it a second time. I can't. Moltres gave me the strength to do that, to protect what I love most. It hurts me that you can't see me, Alex."[break][break]

Stormy stands quickly, knocking the glass of water. It teeters and falls, smashing to the ground. She gasps, shedding her purse to collect the pieces into a pile. Her stress causes her to slip and she hisses as a piece cuts into her palm.

[break][break][break]