pride swells within her as her plan works. camellia hovers above, looking just as satisfactory (or as much as a moth pokemon can). greyson recalls his glaceon and willow nods, but looks apprehensively down at the tunnel. it's not uncommon for some species of combee to burrow, but as far as she was aware, hoenn wasn't home to any of those regional variants.

camellia flutters when greyson brings out his marowak. the moth's compound eyes glimmer and she circles the marowak enough that willow decides to recall her. willow would laugh sheepishly, but her apprehension leaves her serious. 

elisabet takes the venomoth's place instead.

"and if there are too many?" she asks, looking nervously at the opening.  

Greyson Connors

☉

do i want to know the answers? she thinks as she takes the stairs, trusting jayden to close the door behind him. blue eyes fixate on the stairs, on putting one foot in front of the other, as she rises. when she reaches the top, eleanor turns and smiles sweetly at her. 

"oh, willow. have you seen samuel?" willow sighs and stoops over her mother, kisses her cheek sweetly and squeezes her shoulder, promising lowly that he'll be home soon.

her leavanny tilts her head curiously at the stranger, antennae rattling lowly at the stress pheromones coming from willow. she steps neatly out of her pot and shakes out the dirt, eyeing jayden warily. 

"now," she starts and takes a seat at the kitchen table, pointing at the spot across from her, "tell me how you know my son. how you met. why he was with you. why he -" stabbed someone.

jayden cross

☉

bo isn't saying or doing anything either and something about that makes willow start to laugh. unfortunately, that laugh is cut short when she realizes bo being distracted is a lot more detrimental to her side of the field. emboldened and frustrated, the thwackey lashes out with full force and poor lus gets knocked several feet back before slamming painfully into the ground. 

"lus!" willow abandons her spot and rushes to the fallen heracross. he blinks up at her and makes some angry chittering noises as he hauls himself up into a sitting position. willow pats his folded wings and draws him back into his ball, whispering promises of rest and extra treats tonight when they get home. 

the rest of her pokemon, having watched from the sidelines, eye the thwackey nervously. 

"bo, i think maybe we...ease into it." she pats down her shorts, getting some of the clamminess off of her hands (she was nervous, okay?) and looks sheepishly at him. 

"i didn't realize just how tired i'd feel? is that weird?"

boruta maher

☉

she snorts in response to elisa's question. gideon is usually the least of her worries, but with how busy willow's been lately, he hasn't gotten the attention he feels he's deserved. (maybe he takes after roman...) and yet, despite the annoyances the gloom now have to deal with on the daily, her remark is still true. 

she keeps the kerchief pressed to her nose while she lifts their petals and inspects the bulbs atop their heads. most of them react positively to her touch, leaning into her and reaching up to pat her arms. 

"ha," she says, another snort, and still crouching, settles back and points to the bee boxes on the other side of the farm. greyson's combee have multiplied already and they're busy flitting across the flower fields. 

"between the tauros and the other livestock and now the honey i've started, i don't think i could do much else." she stands up and tugs her bandana back down, smiling wryly. "but you know i already have all their nectar bottled up for you. remind me to get it for you before you head back."

she skirts around the plots and opens the door to the greenhouse for elisa. it's explosive inside with the amount of flora and fauna within it, but at its epicenter is a neat little bistro table and chairs - a common spot for the florists to share an afternoon chat.

"so what's new with elisa?" she says as she slips into a chair. 

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

willow follows as quietly as she can behind greyson, but eventually breaks off away from him. she's several yards away when his glaceon unleashes a blast of flurries at the combee drones. camellia notices the ineffectiveness of the move before willow does and she flutters above the icy gale, shaking thick powder from her wings. 

the drone's buzzing intensifies before it lessens, and the telltale sound of roused combee resonates from deeper in the hive. willow curses under her breath, but then waves for camellia. 

after a few frantic whispers, the venomoth thrums her antennae and releases a buzz of her own. its tempo is calmer than the now-sleeping combee and willow waits, muscles tense, to see if their play at mimicry has bought them any time. 

Greyson Connors

☉

awkward teen years. something willow doesn't miss. granted, she'd always been a little outgoing. her parents had thrown her in front of the customer service window pretty quickly and once she got talking about flowers, well... but furtive glances, holding filler conversation - she understands the nervousness. 

a few people passing by give them a couple looks. and willow thinks oh, she could probably be making more money right now. 

so she gets to her point. "well, would you think it fun to help out around a farm? a flower farm." she finally glances to the side at her. "err, bee farm too. and i guess i do have a decent bit of livestock now. anyway, come whenever you can and i'll teach you to play?

"i have a little studio. all the tools you'll need to keep your guitar in shape. plenty of extra strings." and then, realizing she's rambling, exhales and chuckles. "sorry if that's weird? i just, dunno, i come from a place where people help each other out and...well, is that something you might be interested in?"

@roxie

☉

go somewhere more private. her home is as private as it gets. and as much as she knows better than to invite strangers inside, he has answers. and besides, elisabet is inside. willow's been a slow learner with bo's trainings, but the leavanny is a natural. 

and besides, her mother's in no condition to be left to her own devices. even for an hour. willow steps to the side and gestures up the stairs. 

"come in," she says and then realizes just how harshly she's said it, adds, "please."

jayden cross

☉

leila looks forlornly after ollie, back groaning as she turns. the herbs and bushes on her back rustle, but then she settles back down on her haunches and sighs, soaking up the still-wet soil from samuel's earlier spray. willow, despite her complaints, looks fondly after her. 

she laughs when ollie mentions a snack. she leans back against the workbench and reaches for scissors, cutting the neat little tie around the herb bundle. the extra twine, she throws in the junk drawer (whole family of hoarders, this one). 

she rubs one of the leaves and tickles under ollie's nose. 

"silly, we just had a snack. but fine, fine. i made another pie. should be cooled by now." she checks her watch. "ro's probably only got another twenty minutes or so too."

ollie morales

☉

his preface makes her raise a brow and she has to swallow her chuckle. he may not be materialistic enough to give a damn about her title, but something like pride shines in his eyes when he talks about her. and when he brings up the picture, only then does it click for her. she's always been better with faces than names. 

"oh, yeah i've seen her." she looks up from the phone screen and smiles sweetly, if not a tad envious. "you look...really happy, cian. i'm glad."

then she clicks her tongue, tapping her fork against the fluffy crust on the pie. "so, we'll have to base it around hollyhock then, for her ambition. white jasmine. mmm..." she pieces the stems together in her head and then nods. some myrtle, too, tucked in there for the two of them.

CIAN MAHER

☉

bo is cheering her on and it's enough to distract her from the battle that she looks past the brawl, watches that dumb smile on bo's bright face. his praise should not mean the world to her, but it does, and it's evident by the rosy blush on her cheeks and the furrow of her brows. 

it's also, unfortunately, what leads lus to his demise. the heracross stops, breathing hard. he's not a seasoned fighter. and when he half-turns, expecting directions from willow, there are none. 

leaving him open to a perfect strike.

boruta maher

☉

this man is so impassive, so stoic, while her own anxiety is rising in her throat. willow steels herself, despite the fact that his words are falling in ways she wish they wouldn't. but maybe there's something to come of this. maybe she can finally get the answers roman refused to give her. 

the soiree. 

when he turns to go, she jerks, catching his wrist and holding firmly. 

"you have answers. you know what he refuses to tell me." her eyes pinch. angry tears threaten to flood over. "you can't leave." i won't let you. 

jayden cross

☉

adelaide hadn't needed much pressing to stay inside with eleanor while willow went away. it's hot as all hell and up near fallarbor, so close to mt. chimney, the heat gets pretty unbearable. she's had to put up tents for her outdoor plots and managing her flower fields has been two jobs in of itself. 

grace's squirtle has helped immensely with ensuring the fields stay watered, but she's starting to realize she might need to field more help. her water bill is getting dangerously high, threatening to creep up on her profit margins for the flowers. 

but none of that now. when bo mentioned he had the day to spend at splashfest, she'd jumped at the idea. roman was going stir-crazy in the house and she'd been watching him like a hawk, scared if he went off on his own he'd get heat stroke somewhere. 

her hair is up in a ponytail, but that hasn't done much to stop the sweat from trickling down her neck. it's not often she dons her farming clothes, but she'd managed to dig an old yellow sundress out from the back of her closet. her swimsuit straps are visible aside the spaghetti strap shoulders, tanned skin still glistening with sunscreen protecting her from a burn. 

"ro, c'mon. and put po back in his ball. you don't want his paws to burn, do you?" roman goes to argue, but the pup whines. he begrudgingly recalls the dog and makes his way up to the counter. 

"blue raspberry and raikou blood." he snickers and looks at bo. "rookie mistake. they're the best together."

willow gets a pina colada flavor for herself and wipes some sweat from her brow while they wait. 

"so, we thinking games or the beach?"

boruta maher

☉