For a beat, Levy just…stared. Wren could feel his anxiety flare, the itchy feeling crawling up his throat to start making explanations, or finding ways to alleviate the inevitable upset that he was sure was about to come his way. Of course, Levy being Levy, did not lose his cool on Wren.[break][break]

Wren’s brows knitted together. “Yeah? What else would it possibly be?” Wren never once considered doing something like parting ways from Levy on a permanent basis. It was a notion that had never crossed his mind, so the response he was given confused him. Because he genuinely didn’t know what Levy could be insinuating. Though Levy’s response had been delayed, and Wren still felt guilty, the slowly positive response began to make him perk up again.[break][break]

“R-really? You are? Good! I’m so relieved,” he said as he heaved a sigh, and then his smile was returning. Bright and excited as it ever was, though maybe a bit softer. Just because it was Levy. Only Levy.[break][break]

“I’ll still come home for holidays and things, and I’m gonna take some classes online—my advisor already told me that would be okay. Oh, but you gotta come visit once I get settled in an apartment there. It wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t.” Wren babbled on, unconsciously reaching for Levy’s hands across the table again, obviously pleased that Levy wasn’t upset or mad with him for waiting to tell him as he sorted everything out.[break][break]

He sighed again, head tilting a bit as a more somber through lifted back to the surface. All bittersweet and achy. “I’m gonna miss you, though.” His bottom lip poked out, but it was no less genuine. Ever since they were kids they’d been attached at the hip. And now Wren didn’t really know how to grapple with the idea of living so far apart, especially when Levy had always been right there.



[break][break]

+ Levy Alinsky | cuties :c

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Wren nodded in understanding, eyes brightening. “That’s right! I’d forgotten they’d made that change. It makes sense— especially if you want to cater your gym to your interests and strengths.” Admittedly, Wren hadn’t paid close attention to the gym challenge circuit—always too busy with school and now with his new ranger duties. That was okay, though. Despite rangering requiring at least a proficiency in combat, Wren wasn’t much of a battler or fighter. But that had always been the way of it for him. He liked using his team’s skill for assistance more than sparring. Even if just for fun.[break][break]

He couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the suggestion. “A raichu would look a bit funny in a saddle, don’t you think?”[break][break]

As the conversation drifted toward Josh’s dragonair, Wren found himself growing more enthusiastic. A broad smile slipped over his face and if he hadn’t had his hands on a set of reins, he probably would’ve clapped them together. “Oh, yeah! That would be great! I’d enjoy the chance a lot, if there’s something that makes it convenient.” Plus, even if it was for work, it sounded fun![break][break]

As much fun as he was having with the sylveon, a switch seemed like a good idea—both to give the eeveelution a short break, and also to see the differences in running styles. Clyde’s strides were definitely shorter, given his size, but sturdy and powerful. Even if he had to take more strides, he had no issues keeping up as the Slateport skyline appeared in the near distance. Even so, Josh still outpaced him, but in Wren’s mind, that was definitely to be expected.

[break][break]

+ Josh Devlin | m: bond bridge

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Awkwardly, he manages to better hoist himself over Basil’s back as he steadily climbs out and away from the sliding earth. Wren’s own name rings in his ears. There was no way…he couldn’t have heard it. He tells himself again and again as he continues to retreat. Until a cold, sinking realization settles itself in the pit of his stomach.

What is he thinking?

Dread washes through him at the thought that it could very well be that he did hear his name called, in the exact, familiar voice he would know anywhere. And what would happen next, if he continues to ignore that cry? What sort of friend would he be? Did it matter if it was Levy Alinsky out here, on an opposing side? No, Wren decides it swiftly, and tugs on his gogoat’s ruff to wheel him back around toward the sinkhole that’s become of the Littleroot Theatre once again.

No, what matters is that he doesn’t turn away from Levy, or whoever it was that yelled for him. Not when he’s needed; he doesn’t want to live with the regret that he could have done something.

He spots that same, owl-masked figure on the further edge of the falling debris. The one that gave him the weird, gut feeling. “Levy?” he yells back in his direction, urging Basil to pick up the pace. But something knocks in the masked figure, an explosion of detritus and dirt, compounding altogether. It blows the mask away, and he’s falling further down inside.

“Levy!” That time his call sounds more like a wail, and as he reaches the edge where his best friend was standing moments before, Wren can’t see anything at all. No sign of the other boy, nothing left behind. Only the deep dark of the hole going who knew how far down.

But he’s not about to just abandon him now. Steering the nimble gogoat, they edge their way back down out of the hole they’ve just escaped, and Wren continues to call his friend’s name, looking for any sign of him through the gloom. His stomach twists itself into dozens of knots. What if he can’t find him? What if he’s—

He can’t finish the thought.

The earth gives again, and the bottom seems to open up beneath them, though Basil continues to attempt navigating along the edges of the hole without tumbling down. Wren ignores the nauseating pain in his foot everytime his ankle nudges something it shouldn’t, but his focus is soon lost as a whole world seems to open up further below. At least, that’s what it feels like. Everything beneath twists and breaks down and rebuilds, and he doesn’t know what any of this means, but it’s also a little impossible to look away. At least until he remembers why he’s down there again.

Wren commits the sight to hazy memory, and then resumes his hunt for Levy Alinsky. He’ll make sense of what he’s just seen later.

GRpVDBWj

---

tldr; wren second guesses the choice to ignore hearing his name, turns around and sees Levy Alinsky falling into the sinkhole near a small explosion. goes after him, but can’t see him from the edge so goes back down even though he just escaped (never said he was smart…) doesn’t know that Zev Harcourt grabbed levy, and has cloaked them with HAZE. Keeps looking, but is temporarily distracted by the underground ruins and dimensional rift. sos?

Levy Alinsky

☉

Wren honestly can't do much more than sit haplessly in the dust after the overwhelming pressure pressed upon him by Felix Gallagher . Though the man is long gone, his words echo in the ranger's ears. Warning. Be scarce. But he can't very well do that now that the stranger's broken his ankle. Or, well, he's fairly sure that's what happened. The sickening crunch that made his head spin and stomach roll was pretty definitive -- as is his inability to stand easily. Juno is reluctant to go back into his back when he instructs her to, but he can't think with her crowding him with frantic attention as his vaporeon halos him with AQUA RING, droplets cascading around him and patching some of the lesser hurts. At least by the end, he can think a little clearer.

He quickly sends out Basil with a revive and subjects him to Jupiter's healing as well, before recalling the vaporeon for a well earned rest. And not a moment too soon. Chaos erupts around him, and honestly he doesn't know what to make of the bulk of it--he's too pre-occupied with the emergence of a massive dialga, and then (more immediately) the ground he's sitting on begins to tilt. Quickly caving and crumbling underneath him, pulling him along with the descent. He grabs at the earth now angled above him, but his fingers slip through it without finding purchase. "Basil!" At the summons, his gogoat dips and nudges him up over the front half of his back. And Wren tries to ignore the stabbing pain in his ankle each time it bumps something. With their weight doubled together, they slide faster.

'Wren!'

He thinks that he hears it through the din of the commotion erupting around him. falling earth and rock, and conflict roaring back to life as the world caves in on itself. but he's still way too out of it, right? There's no way he's hearing the frantic voice of Levy Alinsky sounding above the rest, like his ears are tuned to the exact pitch and decibel of his friend's(?) voice.

Just as he did earlier, he refuses to believe the punch in his gut, and decides it's only what he wants to hear. Fingers dig tighter into the leafy ruff around Basil's neck as he focuses on steering the gogoat upward and out, despite the rubble slipping under his hooves. "Rollout!"][ he pitches frantically, and the gogoat digs in harder, earth flowing up to the sides around them like parting waves of pebble and silt. All to increase that momentum out of the rapidly growing pitch under the theater.

MaFW7Rf0

---

tldr; wren sustained heavy damage after his conflict with Felix Gallagher , leaving him with a broken ankle and numerous other injuries. while his vaporeon uses AQUA RING to improve some of the more superficial wounds, he's still left prone. revives his GOGOAT. when the ROAR OF TIME, he begins to slip inward and down as the earth collapses around little root theater. tries to climb onto his gogoat, who digs in and uses rollout in an attempt to push dirt away to clear an upward path for retreat. thinks he hears a familiar voice.

Levy Alinsky

☉

“Thanks! It just seemed to fit her so perfectly, I couldn’t resist!”[break][break]

This was a good sign, right? It was easy to talk to Kieran. Like, soooo super easy. Usually, he wondered if others were really able to keep up with him all that much. But it would be nice to have a friend among the rangers that wasn’t just his captain. As much as Ollie didn’t seem to mind his presence, Wren didn’t really want to annoy the older man, either. “Siv is very polite,” he remarked, grinning as her tongue poked out at him.[break][break]

“Oh, wow! I always wondered what it was like to have a twin. Does she do that a lot? Nitpick you, I mean.” Wren was sort of used to it too. His eldest sibling was always fretting over him, clumsy as he was. Luckily, though, they had a third, younger sibling to serve as distraction too. “I get that.” he shrugged, unbothered. Usually it was Levy who kept him on track–the thought immediately made his shoulders want to slump, but he shook it off. He spent all of his downtime missing him, but these were work hours! Plus, he didn't want Kieran to think he’d done or said something to upset him, because that totally wasn’t the case, no way.[break][break]

Wren’s head nodded eagerly, “Yep! You ever ridden in a boat like this before?” Once the water was clear of corsola and his own pokemon, Wren pulled the ripcord on the motor until the little boat sputtered to life. “I agree,” he said with a laugh, “looks like they’ll be fast friends.” Juno’s snout wrinkled at the flick of the serpent’s tongue, then sneezed as if the touch tickled.[break][break]

“Oh, well. I’m pretty new at this too! I guess I’ve just done more with water since this is…well, an island. And also because I’ve mostly got water-types.” His eyes brightened with sudden thought. “Hey! Maybe we could go collect some for you sometime! It’d be good practice.” His own nose wrinkled, and he flexed an arm as his other hand came to rest on it. “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

[break][break]

+ Kieran Roth     | m: corsola conservation

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“I know you will!” The smile that settled on his face was short-lived given his anxieties, but still a bright one. “I think Minnie is perfect. And I’m pretty sure she’ll respond to it. Maybe more than she responds to me.” He spoke light and fast, rapidly realizing he was running out of leg room to continue putting off his other news.[break][break]

Wren fidgeted in his seat, staring down at his half-finished piece of cake. “Um..yeah, okay. If you say so.” He didn’t sound all that confident in it, and really, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he was probably making it all out to be way bigger than it actually was. But it still felt like the worst sort of thing to do. Maybe because the thought of being apart from Levy intimidated Wren just as much.[break][break]

You’re kinda scaring me here.[break][break]

That seemed to snap Wren out of his concentrated silence, wide eyes snapping back up to Levy, though there was still a crease between his brows. “I’m sorry! I’m not trying to be scary. I just–” His toes scuffed at the floor under the table as he tried and failed to get a hold of his antsiness. “Well, I thought that when I signed up for the ranger cadet program, they’d pick my placement based on where I already was. So, Slateport…orrr, or like, Mauville, right? Somewhere commutable.”[break][break]

He sucked in a big breath, and then let it all fall out in an equally as big exhale. “But they based it on interest and predicted compatibility, and so I’m being sent…to Ever Grande. For my training.” He drooped then, shoulders sagging and head lowering like a sad puppy. Eyes falling away because he wasn’t too sure he wanted to see Levy’s initial reaction.


[break][break]

+ Levy Alinsky | cuties :c

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Pinky was definitely much easier to ride than Braver had been. She seemed to adjust to his movements and directives with ease. “What changed your mind?” he asked curiously, though he had to agree ground-types were, indeed, a struggle. They definitely weren’t his forte either, not by a long shot![break][break]

Wren looked back over at Josh, perking up. “I haven’t, but they are awfully strong. And pretty! I’d like that– I remember seeing her at that last job we worked, but obviously she was pretty busy!” He was unaware of that particular detail on EXTREME SPEED, but for the moment, ignorance was bliss considering his last experience with that ability.[break][break]

At the request, Wren pulled up and slowed on his pace with Pinky. As Josh swapped over to Kamuy, he took the opportunity to look down at Pinky. “You want a bit of a break?” he asked politely, then hopped down from her back. But not without giving her a few more scratches behind the ear in thanks. He was still a bit wary of the speed that the other’s jolteon seemed capable of, so he instead moved toward his bulkier flareon. Curious to see what the difference in style would be like.[break][break]

He waited patiently until the flareon was in place before climbing into the new saddle and getting settled. Juno, meanwhile, darted in and around the bigger evolutions, clearly excited to get going again. “Ready when you are, actually!” He was pretty sure they’d already covered a decent bit of ground from where they’d started.


[break][break]

+ Josh Devlin | m: bond bridge

[attr="class","pokeclass"]