PMDU - Team Shard - Concern

Evan and Kate followed the Nuzleaf as she carried her brother to their house.  She knocked on the door and stepped back as it opened to reveal an elderly-looking Shiftry.  “There you two are!  I was getting worried!”  She wrapped her leafy hands around her grandchildren.

The Nuzleaf smiled.  “Gramms, it's not that late.  But we did get held up a bit.”

“Oh?  Why is that?”

“We were cornered by some Pokémon.  I think they wanted to hurt us and make you pay them money or something.”

The Shiftry raised an eyebrow at this.  “Is that so?  I'll have to have a word with them when they show up.”

The Nuzleaf shook her head.  “No need, Gramms!  These guys already took care of them!”

The Shiftry turned to Kate.  “Oh, I recognize you!  You're one of Samuel's helpers.  Kate, was it?”

“Yep, that's me!” the Sneasel replied.  “But I'm not really much of his helper anymore.  I'm with the Explorers Guild now with my partner, Evan!”

The Shiftry glanced at the Zangoose, as though she only just now noticed him.  “Oh, my.....”

Evan felt a chill run through his spine as the Shiftry stared at him.  Her sudden change in disposition was nothing short of unnerving.  He glanced back and forth, taking an involuntary step backward as he did.

The Shiftry, noticing his unease, quickly looked away.  “Oh, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to make you feel so nervous, young man.  I've just had.....bad experiences with Zangoose.”

Her granddaughter looked up at her.  “What do you mean, Gramms?”

“Oh, never mind that.”  She quickly shooed her and her brother inside, then turned back to the Explorers.  “Thank you again for looking after them.”

“Uh, yeah, you're welcome,” Evan replied.  The Shiftry gave him a quick nod, then turned and closed the door behind her.

Evan stood there for a moment in silence.  “Come on, Kate.  It's getting pretty late, the markets should be closing up soon.”  He turned and began heading toward Samuel's workshop.

Kate followed behind him.  “And how would you know when the night markets close?  You've never even been out this late.”

Evan quickened his pace.  “Have you?”

“Well, no but-”

“Then don't act like you know.”

“She said she was sorry, you know!”

“That doesn't mean I can stick around and make her feel more uncomfortable!”

“You looked even more uncomfortable!”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Kate suddenly stepped in front of him.  “It means somethings bothering you, Evan.”

Evan stopped in his tracks, and looked at the ground.  Kate stared at him, intent on getting her concern across to him.  “Evan, what's wrong?”

Evan sighed.  “Come on, Kate.  I'll tell you once we're home.”

-

Jasper winced as he lay on the makeshift cot that was his bed.  “Damn it, Horace.  How did you not here me tell you ta wait?”

The Litleo glared at him.  “It wasn't my fault!  By the time you said that, I couldn't wait.  It's not like we were expecting him to do that, anyway.”

Jasper sighed.  “This sucks.  How're we gonna explain this to the boss?”

“You don't have to, I could here you just fine from up here.”

Jasper and Horace looked to see a Vigoroth descend from the rafters of the shack.  “Problems with the wood carver's daughter?”

Horace gave him a funny look.  “That Sneasel is his daughter?”

The Vigoroth shrugged.  “She may as well be.  And you say she's got a new friend?”

Jasper nodded.  “Yeah, a Zangoose that acts like some tough guy.”  He winced again from the burns covering his body.

The Vigoroth tossed him a small pouch of Rawst berries.  “Well, then I guess we're just gonna have to teach him exactly who he's dealing with here.”

Horace looked at him.  “How, Mason?  He may act tough, but he doesn't look like an idiot.”

Mason chuckled.  “Oh, that will be easy.....”

-

“So, let me get this straight:  You're seeing images of a Seedot trapped in a hole?”

Evan nodded.  “Yeah.”

Kate crossed her arms in front of her.  “Wow, no wonder you wanted to get away from that Shriftry so badly.”

Evan sat down on his bed.  “Yeah, that definitely didn't help.  I mean, you saw how she was looking at me.”

“That doesn't necessarily mean there's a connection, though.  I've heard that sometimes when a Pokémon sees something really bad happen, they remember it for a really long time,” Kate pointed out.

Evan sighed.  “That's what worries me.....”

Kate took his claws in hers.  “No, Evan.  Don't even think like that.  All you know is that you may have, at some point before losing your memory, come across a Seedot stuck in a hole.”

“I know, but.....”

Kate sighed.  “Evan, just relax.  You can't let it bother you, at least not until you know more about it.  And be honest, you have nothing concrete to go on.”

Evan was silent for a moment, then chuckled.  “Yeah, but isn't that always the case?”

Kate smiled.  “You know, maybe we should take a break from guild work for a bit.”

Evan suddenly released her hands and leaned back on his bed.  “Tell me you did not just say that.”

Kate shook her head.  “No, Evan, I'm serious.  Maybe some time off will help relieve some stress.”

Evan sighed.  “How about we see what the next errand is first.  Then we'll decide if it's worth missing out on, alright?”

Kate nodded.  “Alright.”  She let out a yawn.  “Woah, I forgot how late it is.”

Evan settled down on his bed.  “No kidding.  We'd better get some sleep while we still can.”

“Yeah.  Good night, Evan.”

“Good night, Kate.”