"i know exactly what they did, ollie. they told you that you can't leave! and that you certainly can't go back in the field!" her words are more chiding than they are angry because at this point, the threats have been made and ollie has already conceded. she gets up and off the couch so she can go around him, gently pull his arms down so he's not hurting himself, and then presses a light kiss to his forehead. 

"of course, ols. you know i'd do anything for you." she draws back and tugs a hair tie off her wrist with her teeth, drawing blonde strands up in a messy ponytail. rather than join him again on the couch, she crosses over to the kitchen and gets to work on prepping dinner. 

it's only a few minutes after, when she's cut up some veggies, that the door under the stairs opens and roman loudly tromps up and into the room. 

"mooooom, i'm hungry and - oh, shit, what happened to you?" he rushes over to ollie, green eyes bright with curiosity. "did you get your ass beat?"

ollie morales

☉

1.3.23

> maybe he was just making conversation?

1.3.23

> i mean, ols, it's obvious you haven't gotten over her.

1.3.23

> maybe eva asked him to mention her?

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]

"take it easy there, buddy. don't want to get sick," she says softly, gently reaching out to pat the deerling's side. it will help, when eris isn't here, if he associates willow's touch with this gentle interaction. she's still in work mode, half paying attention to eris to analyze the grass-type's demeanor. 

still, she's able to multi-task quite well. 

"sometimes, though it can be a bit jarring for some of them. mm yeah, absolutely. edel's pollen is just extra special. but most grass-types have unique means of healing. take endive for example." she points at a green lump near the back of the greenhouse. 

a closer look and one can make out the yellow antennae that spring up from her curved snout, tucked as it is under her flower-like frills so she can nap. some of the other plant pokemon nearest her have leaned in, almost subconsciously.

"a meganium's very breath has the power to revive dead plants. and her presence helps soothe some of the pain of some of my sicker patients."

with the berry mixture all eaten, willow holds a hand out to take the bowl from eris. "you like to learn, don't you?" she says with a smile, tone void of anything patronizing. 

Eris Halla

☉

1.3.23

> ahh, missed your call. mom's having some difficulty right now.  

1.3.23

> okay i'm free now.

1.3.23

> did you bring her up?

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]

12.17.22

> Absolutely! I'd be honored 

1.3.22

> What about? Do you want to call? Sorry - new year's was crazy

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]

whatever furtive glances they'd been giving each other go entirely over will's head. i'm never doing this again, she thinks, but that's a lie in itself as well. if ollie needed a dd, or bo for that matter, she'd drop most things to make sure they get home safe. next time, though, she might complain a little more. 

"'kay, but if either of you fall and bust your noses, i'm not cleaning you up," she says with a roll of her eyes. 

"first one down to the car gets shotgun. and if i beat both of you, you both have to sit in the back." it'll make for an easier time to drive anyway. 

and besides, she plans on winning, because as soon as ollie and bo traipse off, she heads for the back exit and walks the short distance to the parking lot from there. 

boruta maher ollie morales

☉

it is not easy getting to the bar. for one, most everyone around her has a height advantage on her and she's not the type to just shove drunks aside to get her way. so she slips through the crowd at a painstaking crawl, nose wrinkled at the smell of booze and sweat surrounding her. 

finally, finally, she clutches an island. her hands come away sticky from the bar top and she has to shout MORALES half a dozen times before the bartender hears her. and then, after he finally finds ollie's bill, she makes a snap decision. grabs his hand and yells, only once, MAHER. 

and, miraculously, he finds it. she was only going to give it the one go. one sign. maybe he'd just gotten good at reading her lips.

drinks aren't cheap, it turns out, and she has to empty her pockets of cash to cover the tip. 

she fists her copies of the receipts in her back pocket and then works her way back through the crowd around the bar, which has thankfully thinned at this point. a decent amount had settled their tabs or grabbed their last drinks while she'd been paying.

blue-green eyes rest on the men stooping over the cocktail table. a woman walks out of the bathroom beside her and, in a sudden wave of nervousness, she darts inside (much to the chagrin of the ten other women waiting in line). 

she kicks over a half-full bottle of beer and swears neatly, but is relieved to find none of it spilled. and then she stands before the mirror, stares, splashes some water on her face. after scrubbing and running her fingers through her hair, she drops her hands in exasperation. 

"what am i doing?"

glares bore holes in her back when she exits. she bows her head and, feeling small, slides neatly back into bo and ollie's conversation. 

waits for the right moment to pipe up and say, "i settled your tab. yours too, bo. and i'm driving both of you home." before the latter can protest, she stares intensely up at him and says sternly, "i'm not letting you fly back on your aerodactyl."

boruta maher ollie morales

☉

it's not instant regret. she's so caught up in handling lou, in finding the rhythm of her legs in the saddle, that elisabeth's nigh-whispered words take a long time to piece together. but when she does, her smile falls, and her gait struggles to match lou's canter. she gets smacked by the saddle and knows she's going to be nursing one hell of a bruise the next morning. 

lou tosses his head and she squeezes his reins, pulling him to the side lest he accidentally get too close to lotus and elisabeth under willow's poor riding. now neck and neck, she shoots her friend a worried look. 

but finds a tenderness there, a certain thrill as she slides into the rhythm of lotus' canter. 

so, feeling breathless, and deciding that words can be had later, she kicks her heels and clicks, spurring lou into a gallop. 

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

she feels like she might lose her lunch. is this how greyson feels? probably not. she blinks rapidly when he cusses up at the vespiquen, brows furrowing. well, it got her attention. the effect is immediate, even before the flame sputters out from the tip of the delphox's wand. 

elisabet and foxglove brace themselves, the latter looking just as nervous as willow feels.

but she can't focus on them, or greyson anymore. the hive is suddenly alive with activity; the buzzing is claustrophobic, pressing in on her head. camellia's wings flutter as she tries to pinpoint where they're coming from. 

lus leaps into action, smashing the comb and blocking off potential exits. camellia flutters in a panic, guiding the heracross in the chaos as best as she can. with several walls collapsed, willow thinks they've done it, but a stream of combee burst from their left, racing towards the intruders. 

"elisabet! cover greyson!" she leaps around him, leaven arms swinging. 

Greyson Connors

☉

that peck on her cheek still makes her melt. it's nice, having consistently. being able to expect things. she feels almost spoiled, having something like that, and offers him her same smile she always does in return. green eyes are bright and cheery, if not a little daunted by the hot spring hotel behind him.

"i definitely haven't," she says with a laugh and slips her arm through his. 

"it'll be cute. usually you show me new places. now we can do this for the first time together." she grabs her small pack from lou's saddle and then withdraws the mudsdale into his ball. 

"c'mon. let's get checked in!"

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

her grimace is plain when ollie's call out to her mother is met with another terrified, "who? who? will? willow?" she abandons him for the moment, holding up a hand, and then emerges a few minutes later. 

now that he's situated on the couch, she sits down beside him, feet tucked up because that's the only way she's ever been comfy sitting on a couch. her knee drops, resting on him, and she sighs. 

"very forward of me," she says in an attempt to pick up where they've left off. to distract herself, she pulls out ollie's medical release forms and actually reads them. that grimace turns into a withered scowl. 

she slaps him with the papers. "you ass! did you really think i'd think nothing of it, you walking - no, stumbling, out there like you did?" the heat dies as quickly as it started. she's never been able to stay angry longer that a few moments. 

"you're on house arrest, ollie. officially. and before you argue with me, know that i'm going to be an exceptionally cruel kidnapper. making you dinner and tending your wounds and letting roman kick your ass with his xbox."

ollie morales

☉

12.15.22

> That's great! Aw, Ols, I'm so happy for you! When's the wedding?

> You'll be a handsome best man. :)

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]