reese follows along with the moves as closely as possible. he's never been much of a dancer, admittedly, usually letting his pokemon lead the way... so this dance with saya isn't that different from his usual performances. he's able to follow her movements easily enough, comfortable letting her take the lead. he doesn't even notice they're being watched at first.

but then the murmuring seeps in, and reese has to fight to pay attention. their ears prick with every little sound, and they try not to show the embarrassment on their face as the dance continues. when saya mentions that her kirlia would have used dazzling gleam, reess turns their head slightly to the side. "try petal blizzard," they mumble to carnation. it's no dazzling gleam, but when the petals are flung high into the air, they all twirl down around the two dancing coordinators, settling in their hair and on their shoulders. a couple of the onlookers clap politely for them, and reese's face burns red.

the play is cute enough that reese smiles throughout the introduction. he can hear the excited murmur of some little kids nearby, who seem to be getting really into the narrative. the totodile makees a perfect pirate despite its small stature, and the primarina play their own roles perfectly. maybe... too perfectly? reese hears remiel murmur beside him, and realizes this isn't part of the play, as remiel's totodile is frozen in place.

they think quickly. "can you sneak in there and use aromatic mist to diffuse the tension?" they whisper to their cutiefly. the little bug buzzes off their shoulder and, quick as a whip, darts towards the stage. it's small enough that the vast majority of the crowd won't even notice it-- they'll only see the faint pink-ish haze that swirls around the totodile before the cutiefly returns to its seat on reese's shoulder.

there. he hopes that was enough to remind the poor thing that this is just a show, and it's not in any real danger.

the stitches don't take much longer to finish it. the marill will still need time to heal, and will probably always have a bit of a ghastly scar on its belly, but it will likely survive. reese holds onto the little pokemon's paw until aubre is completely done with sanitizing the wound, and only lets go once the marill itself seems to have relaxed. reese breathes a sigh of relief, seeing that the hard part is done.

once given the treat, reese pinches it curiously between their fingers. since it smells like berries, they can only assume it's something to help speed along the healing process. actually, it smells pretty good... they bring it closer to the marill's face, and the blue mouse sniffs the air. "here... you did such a good job, you can have a present from us," reese says. it's kind of like giving a kid a lollipop at the doctor's office, they think as the marill takes the treat from their fingers and chews it slowly.

with the treat gone and the marill on his way to recovery, reese straightens up. "thank you," he says to aubre. "when will he be well enough to go back? i can take him to where i found him, once he's ready."

[ Aubre McKenna-Settentrione ]

reese notices her shifting and gets to his feet as well, about to offer her a hand up when he sees she handles it well enough on her own. he blinks, stunned, still a little star-struck. if you'd told him a few months ago he'd get an opportunity like this, to meet and work with one of the people who inspired him to pursue a career as a coordinator, he'd have laughed and told you to stop teasing him. but he's here, now, so he might as well take the chance and hope he doesn't screw this up.

hesitantly, they take the offered hand. "are you sure?" they ask, ignoring the beating of their heart in their chest. "you shouldn't push yourself too hard..." their lurantis stands by, not used to being in the audience. she actually seems a little excited, though it might just be that she's resonating with reese's own feelings.

carnation comes over to reese's side and sits down as well, kneeling delicately in the grass. he rubs the bug-like grass pokemon's head affectionately, and she leans into his shoulder. she doesn't really understand what's happening here, but she needs to rest herself after putting so much effort into her first attempt at an appeal in over a year.

they remain sitting, though they look at saya as she speaks. "of course i miss it," they say plainly. they wouldn't have started if they didn't love it. even when they failed, when they tripped up or screwed up, they still loved it back then. and they'd had friends to love it with, people they'd have done just about anything for. it was just too bad the feeling wasn't mutual. "but there's things i don't miss, too," reese sighs. "i love coming up with new combinations, and seeing everyone's smiling faces when i perform, but..." he taps his fingers on his knee, looking away now. "...not everyone was smiling."

was it his fault, for not noticing when the winds changed? maybe. maybe he should have been more careful, less vibrant, less himself. maybe then things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

reese blushes at the praise. he's thankful that his lurantis isn't as out of practice as he'd feared, so neither of them ended up embarrassing themselves. the gratitude is short lived, turning to anxiety as saya's legs buckle underneath her. gasping, reese hurries over, his lurantis following at a distance. "are you alright?" he asks, kneeling down. the other performers are looking at the two of them, concern written on their faces.

he does the first thing that comes to mind, and sits down right next to saya, trying to make it look as natural as possible. this way, they're just two people chilling on the grass, rather than one person who's collapsed to the ground. reese waves cheerfully at the others around them, and they seem to breathe a sigh of relief and go back to their own training.

"can i help?" they ask anxiously. "or do you just need to rest a moment?"

reese shakes their head. "i-- i'm fine," they say. the blood isn't the thing that's bothering them... granted, they're not exactly a fan of it, either, but their desire to help far outweighs any squeamishness they might have. after all, if they'd been so freaked out by blood, they wouldn't be here in the first place. they'd waded out into the water to get the poor, helpless marill, and carried it all this way wrapped in their own clothes, which are stained with blood.

the marill reaches out for reese. his eyes widen, but he doesn't refuse the offered paw, knowing the fairy type just wants some extra comfort as aubre finishes up her work. reese squeezes its paw, holding into it tightly. "almost there," he says with a smile. "then you can rest up, and go home soon enough." he wishes he knew who had done this; he still doubts it was another wild pokemon. if it was, the job likely would have been finished...

[ Aubre McKenna-Settentrione ]

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X type 1 evolution (50 PD)
(cutiefly --> ribombee)

TOTAL

do come again!

50 PD

like they'd have anything better to do than show one of their old idols their moves... there's a buzz of excitement under their skin, something familiar to them from the many times they've taken the stage. for once they don't think about drawing attention to themself and how many eyes will be on them as they head to the grass by the contest hall, where others are currently training for their next performance. once there, reese releases their lurantis, who looks at them quizzically.

he pats carnation on the head and then stands back. "we're just gonna do one maneuver," he explains to her. "how about the sunny day combo? you think you can still do it?"

the lurantis perks up. she hasn't been asked to do this in such a long time... she raises a claw dramatically as she uses sunny day, the light shining down upon her. from there, she twirls and twirls as a sea of flower petals start to scatter around her, twirling along with her, as if they're dancing. once she's gotten enough momentum, she launches herself directly upwards in the air with all her strength, still spinning... spinning more as she falls, until she's aiming herself at the ground. her arms glow and then release a blade of light, scattering the fallen petals, making them glow as well. her landing is a little awkward-- she hasn't done this in a while-- but she straightens herself up and then does a bow.

okay, so he's not being creepy. he's had his share of fans approach him, and most of them were normal, but he always gets nervous that he might be fanboying a little too hard when he's on the other side of the fence. being a contest star is-- was-- his dream, so of course he admires people who have proven themselves worthy of that title. especially someone so young when she did it!

there's a small smile on their face that quickly goes away when saya asks her question. "i, ah..." the usual excuse is ready. "just kinda needed a break from the spotlight." it's a lie, but an easy one. they can keep pretending they'll come back one day, but they know that day may very well never come.

he hesitates. "...i could show you a little bit of my partners' work," he says, pushing the offer past his lips before he can chicken out. "i still have them with me."

they stare for a moment. she seems... different from how they'd have thought her, but now that she's introduced herself they can see it rather plainly. their brain short-circuits, mouth hanging open stupidly as they try to figure out what to say. their tongue trips over itself, and all that comes out is gibberish. their face turns red. "i-- i was a huge fan as a kid!" they blurt out, finally figuring out how to speak again. "i mean, you're part of the reason i got into contests myself--!"

his face heats up even more. here he is trying to keep a low profile, and he's already blabbed his secret to her. reese shoves his hands into his pockets and steps back, looking down. "uh-- not that i've... done any lately."

reese is almost a little jealous to see how happy his pokemon are right now. it's understandable, though. he'd probably react the same way to seeing an old friend. as the lights dim, he sits at attention as well. there's a tickling on his shoulder as his cutiefly lands on it, watching the stage attentively. he reaches over and scratches its tiny head with a single finger.

then the totodile appears. the effect is instant, as the appletun in remiel's lap perks up and cries out in excitement. reese leans down and whispers "shh" with a finger to his lips, and the appletun once more settles down, feeling chastised. "looks like they do," he says quietly. he can hear peach start to buzz again, though thankfully the cutiefly is quieter than the dragon type on remiel's lap.

they keep their eyes peeled on the stage, waiting to see what happens next.

reese gazes at the posters for various upcoming contests and sighs. at one point, they'd have been excited to see all the opportunities to compete and meet new people. now looking at contest halls fills them with a deep sense of self-loathing. even if they could work up the nerve to get on that stage again for real... what would it matter? things would turn out exactly the same way. they're not meant to be a star. they're just not strong enough to withstand the scrutiny.

as he turns to go, his foot catches on something. or someone, really, as he rights himself and realizes there's somebody else here. "s-sorry," he apologizes. then he actually gets a look at them and pauses.

he squints. "do i know you...?" come on, reese, think...