Ch 35: There’s a little black spot on the sun today
“…and how is her breathing? If it sounds obstructed then a series of rapid, but light impacts on her back can help loosen things up, Gem would probably be the best to do so, tiny hands and all.”
Gem moved to respond, but Hailey slapped a hand over her mouth, so she just flipped off the camera instead.
The Dex was propped up against the wall of the tent, the small screen showing an image of Carita, back at the hospital in her office. It actually wasn’t a place Hailey was familiar with, the doctors always came to her, not the other way around.
She’d had another attack that morning. Not a large one, but noticeable. Perhaps caused by sleeping on the hard ground, perhaps by her ‘partners’ little surprise yesterday. Her first instinct had been to hide it, but no, her ‘lovable’ boneheads had practically bragged about dropping a no-touch orgasm on her head. It was all enough to make her face burn and drop into her hands. Carita’s voice didn’t seem to change though, so apparently she could breeze right by it.
“Well, I’d recommend you take it easy today. Are you still by the Celestic Town pass? I heard on the news that they expect it to be closed for at least a week, possibly more. I’d recommend turning back. Sprocket made that chair rugged but Arceus help you if you try to climb a mountain.”
“Gee, thanks Mom, never would have guessed that trying to roll over the biggest speedbump in the entire region might be a bad idea.”
Carita snorted, coughing into her hand. “No need to be snippy, I don’t know what those two could talk you into.”
“Oh you don’t? Well all you need to do is ask, if you want to know how we’re corrupting yo-ahgbl.” And hand back over the mouth, that was enough of that Gem.
Carita’s face was hidden behind papers she was working on but her tone remained steady. “Only if it affects her health. Well, like I said, take it easy Hailey, especially after this morning, and I’ll talk to you again tomorrow.”
The Dex finally blinked off and Hailey could remove her hand. It was wet now, gross.
The morning was nothing spectacular, a fine mist had risen up from the canyon and was taking its sweet time to go down.
Still, at least the noise from the river down below had provided some cover for their activities last night, and probably other peoples to. As they left their tent and saw others do the same, stretching and chatting, Hailey got the feeling that she was in no way the loudest one last night.
“Well, what’s the plan?” Gem said.
“I mean, no point in hanging around here for a week or more.” Hailey couldn’t really help with actually taking the tent down, but she could at least collect the pegs, make sure none of them got lost. “This might be the faster path but why bore ourselves?”
“So then, back to Eterna then?” Pomona said. “If our goal remains Sunyshore there the only other clear path is to the south, through Hearthome, and you had expressed some reticence to…”
“No, no, it’s fine, it’s… it’s fine. We just need to pass by, don’t even need to go in, right?”
“But I’ve heard there’s so much cool stuff in there! Like the parks and the contest hall and… the… ok.” Gem trailed off. Hailey wasn’t scowling at her, she wasn’t looking at any of them, but Pomona quietly shook her head.
“Regardless, before we get there we’ll be passing through Eterna, and down the bike path. We’ll be near Oreburg as well…”
“Oh, the bike path!” Gem tried to change the subject, “Hey Hailey, how fast you think we can get that chair going? Bet I could ride the back like a shopping cart!”
Hailey had to laugh. “Probably faster than Carita would like, the real trick will be stopping at the end. Why, are you offering to throw your body into the spokes?”
Gem shook her head no, but that didn’t matter, she was small enough to pickup and throw if the need arose.
Other’s seemed to be getting the idea, but there was still a field of tents around the canyon.
Still, they joined an informal procession, peeling off in twos and threes, heading back. Before they could get far though, a voice called out.
“Hey, hey, uhhh, Hailey, right?” It wasn’t hard to tell just by the voice, but the orange suited figure running down the path would be hard to mistake for anyone else. Her partner was jogging beside her and it looked like they’d both just pulled themselves out of bed, or off the ground as the case may be. Bed head and full bed body, the perils of having fur.
“Hey Ann” Hailey still had trouble looking her in the eye, “Guess you’re heading back to do your gym… thingy, right?”
“Yeah, yeah” The other girl barely seemed winded even after running, hardly seemed fair. “Hopefully Gardenia won’t continue to keep me waiting! You, uh, plan to take the challenge to?”
Hailey had to laugh at that, though there wasn’t much mirth in it. “Me? In a gym? Spooked by ghosts or no, any gym leader would roll me up and eat me for breakfast! I mean, you saw me last night. This little brat may have some tricks up her non-existant sleeve, but I’m not exactly a tactician.” Despite the sarcasm Gem seemed to preen at the praise while sitting in her lap. She genuinely had been surprised at how confident the little Minun had been.
“Yeah, I was… kinda surprised a last night too. Figured you would have sent out your big lady, would have been a hell of a fight before the challenge.” She wasn’t very good at it, but Ann did sound a bit bashful.
“Oh, Carita isn’t my partner, jeez, could you imagine? No, she’s just my doctor. Hell, I’m sorta new to the whole having partners, thing, last night was the first time we even did a fight… thing. I don’t think I’ll be making it a regular occurrence.”
“Not… your… oh, oh! Well, ah, it was nice to meet you, maybe we’ll meet again on the road!” And with that, she was off, jogging down the trail. Weiv gave a halfhearted, almost apologetic wave, before following after.
“Odd girl.” Was all Pomona had to say.
They rolled back under the late morning sun, Hailey was letting Gem push, even though the Minun could barely see over her partners shoulders.
“I really didn’t think, when I started this thing, that there would be quite so much backtracking.” She said, while flipping through the pictures on her Dex. She hadn’t gotten any of Gem’s ‘fight’, but the shots of the crowd before, with the fading summer light, had a certain energy to them.
“That would imply you thought about it at all.”
“Hey!” Hailey had to resist the urge to twist around in her seat. “I thought about it plenty! I made plans! I plotted routes! You have any idea how long it takes to set up multiple false trails while also researching your actual plan on a hospital computer older than you are?!”
“Yeah, and then you threw all that out, mumbling something about going to the ocean the second you actually got off your leash.” Gem laughed.
Hailey could only sputter. “Oh yeah, well what does that say about you then, huh?”
“I’m a Pokémon, and a bitch, it’s charming when I leap without looking.” Was her only reply in that infuriatingly smug tone of voice.
If she wasn’t so certain that they’d just fuck off on their own eventually, Hailey thought she might just toss one of them off a bridge sooner than later.
The trip back to Eterna was nothing special.
They were sticking to the centre of the path so there was little chance of disruptions by randy Mon, and most others on the trail were grumpy from the delay, just trying to get back so they could start their detour as soon as possible.
It made for a fairly swift, if not the most pleasant, walk.
There was a brief discussion on if they should try to do anything else in Eterna, or perhaps stay the night at the Centre again. Hailey was adamant though that they keep moving, so over some fairly minor suggestions to the contrary, they eventually made their way to the south end of the city.
The difference to the east side was quite stark. Where there the city had simply gradually tapered off, here it came to an abrupt stop. A large building proclaimed itself the entrance to the Route 206 Bike Highway in huge block letters, and everywhere around it people were riding, or walking, their contraptions. There were even a few Pokémon riding as well, though most seemed to prefer walking, or letting their partner carry them tandem.
“Pretty happening spot.” Gem quipped
“Yeah, surprises me, do all these people just want to see the route or something?” Not all the people seemed to be serious riders as Hailey scanned the crowd. Some were just walking and chatting, a few groups were pulling tricks on some planks they had set up, and there were food carts and sales tents aplenty lining the street.
“Perhaps, some people might simply enjoy ride though.” Pomona said.
“I will never understand Gym Nuts.” Was all Hailey could respond, “Why would you want to do more of that excruciating stuff if you didn’t have to?”
“Did you not hop from a lifetime of bed rest straight into trying to self-propel yourself across the region?”
“Yeah, because I had to, trust me.”
“Oh, well then don’t you worry your little heart dollface!” Gem snickered, “I’ll get on my nurses outfit and we’ll just push you everywhere you need to go. Would you like us to chew your food as well?”
Hailey answered with a hand to the face, Gem’s face that was. Her mitts might have been boney, but they were still big enough to cover a brats mouth.
“I’m not dead yet you clown, I just don’t get why anyone would do it for fun. My physical therapy was always the most painful, yet boring part of my schedule.”
“But what about the nurse outfit?” Came the predictable, if muffled reply.
“Give it a raincheck, can’t have anyone mistaking you for an actual professional. Now, how do we even get on this thing?” Sure, there was a big marked building, but was that just a tourist trap? Did you need a pass or something to get on the path?
In the end, they decided to fan out and find someone to ask, rather than force their way through the crowd.
-----------------------
“Hot dogs! Hot dogs!” Called a rather motherly looking Arcanine. ‘Sauerkraut! Sausage!”
“Ice cold berry blend! Made with only the freshest water and ingredients!” Cried out from a stall worked by a trio of ‘Eon sisters.
“T-Shirts! Shorts! 50% off bikinis if you try em on here!” The calls were coming from all around, a smorgasbord of vendors hawking all manner of wares, and a good chunk of them seemed to be Pokémon.
“You know, a Zigzagoon once told me that Mon like her used to make up almost all the travelling trader population, back before humans invented trains and stuff that is. Was apparently a good way to meet girls back in the day if you weren’t powerful enough to just grab and run. Right Pomona? Pompom?”
They’d wandered off together, but now the Ghost was nowhere to be seen! Which kinda pissed Gem off, she’d thought that fact was interesting!
No, it was only beanpoles to her left, beefcakes to her right. Life was ever hard for the humble shortstack, left to navigate the world of the biggies, it was enough to make her want to start climbing folks.
“New retreats taking place monthly! Get back to nature and discover the original way to bond! First retreat free to newcomers!” This call was closer, or perhaps just louder, as it sounded like the lady was speaking through a megaphone. Rounding a stall selling artisanal water bottles they came into view.
Their tent was noticeably larger than the others, a pure white pavilion, with walls billowing in the light breeze. A voluptuous woman in a white robe and wooden sandals stood out front, speaking into her megaphone. Some of the other merchants were shooting her dirty looks, though she was also getting some curious looks from passerbys.
Perhaps they were more interested in the Mon flanking the crier than the sales pitch itself.
They were both tall, towering not just over Gem, but the crier herself as well. A Gyarados and Luxray. Their robes were also white, but cut to show more of their physical form, standing like statues. Muscular arms, legs, bountiful chests, and a long strip that reach almost the ground, the only part that covered the crotch. There was no hint at anything, but the implication…
“So what, you lot just stand around all day?” There were other people she could have asked, but Gem had always been drawn to the most… dramatic option available.
The Luxray actually had the nerve to look around, before glancing down at her. She just laughed, arms crossed under her ample chest. “Maybe if someone gets rowdy we might have to step in but otherwise? We do more to draw people in than Hope there with her megaphone!” She chuckled, “Nothing humans like more than power. They all crave a powerful Mon coming to take them away… but I’m sure you do fine too, lil’ blue.”
Oh Arceus, Gem could appreciate some preformative dick swinging, but there was being confident and then there was eating your own ass. You should always let someone else do that for you.
“Better than you could imagine kitty, doubt you could handle Hailey, she needs a light, precise touch.”
“That’s what they all say.” The Luxray tossed her hair in a way that didn’t look casual at all. “Always claiming to be a dainty flower, it’s up to us to show them how much they can really take.”
“I’m sure you’ve got a lot to give, probably pretty quickly if I had to guess, but you wouldn’t even know what to do with a girl in a wheelchair, probably break her the first time you tried to even give her a hug!” Gem didn’t feel… good, about wielding Hailey like a cudgel, but that had always been a problem with her, as JJ could well attest. Something about jumping before… whatever it was.
You got used to people looking down on you, literally, and sometimes it was even hot! The metaphorical part was always the bit that stung.
“What? Those don’t exist anym…” The Luxray started, only to be interrupted by a squeal coming from her side.
“Oh! Your partner is disabled?” It was the woman in the robe, though thankfully the megaphone was now slack at her side. “That’s SO romantic! Why, she must depend on you for everything!”
It wasn’t just the words, the very tone of this ladies voice was making Gem’s fur stand on end. Sure, she’d just used Hailey as a… bit of a bludgeon against the Luxray, but that was already sitting like a stone in her gut. This lady seemed like she was fetishizing her, and not in a way Gem was finding fun.
“Aha-ah, no, no not really. We’re, uh, trying to get her to, well to let her know she can rely on us for some stuff now. But Hailey is… pretty driven, when she wants to be.” Crap, she’d said Hailey’s name again, why did she have to keep dragging her into this?
“A wilful one eh? Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll… resolve that soon enough. In fact, if you’d like to bring her here we have all sorts of seminars and ‘classes’ to help her acc-”
“Speaking of accepting” The Luxray had grabbed the woman by the collar of her robe, “I think you’ve been out in the sun to long Hope. Time we gave you a ‘break’ I think.”
The woman was practically dragged back into the tent, but she didn’t look to bothered by it. Gem decided it was about time to go, before the Gyarados started making eyes at her.
Walking away, she could only shake her head. Wasn’t she supposed to be getting information or something? What a waste of time, and where was Pomona anyway?
So distracted was she that Gem didn’t even notice the almost speck in the sky, facing southward.