awesmazings | Voicemail

_{[There's a nod, but she still says right where she is for another few moments before she moves and takes his hand, makes sure he's right there with her, all but tugging him onto the bed with her when she curls up again. There's some pencils littering the blanket.]

[Aria comes up with a quiet, worried little chirp, and Molly pets her idly with her other hand. But yeah, it's exactly that - numb, kind of, after the initial panic. She's still scared. Feels shaken in so many ways. But suddenly it's hard to even consider it real.]}

Thanks.

_{[Quietly. She's not quite looking at him and keeps rubbing at her eyes, but she means that. That he was there, and that he just came over like that, and that he cares about her.]}

[Jimmy is quiet as she leads him over to the bed, sitting down carefully so as not to sit down on the scattered pencils. Leader follows only after nudging the door shut with his nose, walking over to the edge of the bed. He doesn't attempt to get on it like he might have in Jimmy's room, but instead lies down on the floor near their feet.

He shakes his head with his frown easing up somewhat, smoothing the wrinkles on his jeans with his free hand.]

Don't worry about it.

[He almost says "I'm just glad you're okay" but eventually decides against it. Even he can see that she isn't, at least right now. All he can do is be here for her. And for a long while he's just quiet, letting the sound of the rain outside cover the silence.]

We can talk about something, if you want...or we don't have to. Whatever you feel like doing is okay.

_{[She hesitates, and it's pretty visible, the way she does it. Because there's both an urge to say something ... anything actually, about her home and about her fear and about her power cause she knows he'd listen, she trusts that he would, but at the same time it's too scary for her to really touch on. Like if she says something about that maybe she won't stop thinking about it ever.]

[So she bites her lip and then asks carefully,]}

Did ... did someone you know disappear from here too?

[Jimmy blinks, a little surprised by the question at first. It takes him a moment, but he does answer.]

Yeah. Two people, actually.

I'm sorry.

_{[She's quiet, head bowed; hair shielding her a bit. But she keeps a light hold on him because she honestly doesn't trust him to still be there if she lets him go right now.]}

Did they ever come back?

No, not yet. I miss them, but...I'm not too sad about it. They came from the same world, so I think wherever they went back to, they're together right now.

[He lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck, smiling slightly.]

I'm taking care of some of their Pokemon, too, so there's no way I could forget about them. Guava was a gift from one of them, actually. So was this jacket.

[Jimmy chuckles, gesturing to the still-damp green jacket he's wearing.]

_{[She gives him a pale, momentary smile. It's a good thing that he's, but she doesn't feel like she can be yet. She's too scared. It really hurts. People just disappear all the time and she can't even find them. So when she looks down the smile is gone and she's fighting another sob that makes her voice tight.]}

Blaze is here. And ... and I can ... I can take care of him but I wish he'd come back cause Blaze is gonna miss him too ...

He might, Molly. ...and he might not.

[Jimmy gives a small shrug at that, looking down at his hands.]

But I think he would be really glad to know you're taking care of his Pokemon for him in the meantime. Usually they just...go away when other people do, but sometimes they end up with friends.

[He has yet to realize that he's got quite a few new additions of his own.]

I don't think he will.

_{[She says that in a way that might have been dark, but she's upset enough that it comes out more like a choked, strained voice that makes it sound like a whine.]

[Lifting her free hand to rub at her eyes again, she sniffles and drops her voice,]}

I'm scared. I can't even see him.

[Jimmy has noticed that Molly keeps saying that. "She can't see him". Well, that much is obvious...and he almost wants to ask what she means, but he refrains for the moment.]

Is there anything else I can do for you...?

Can I ... if you're here, can I come over for a while? I don't want to be here.

_{[She asks in an almost apologetic way, but she does ask. There's almost a sense of claustrophobia right then about the prospect of staying in that hotel room when it's too empty. And too full. The pokémon are still keeping quiet, but their eyes are on her, and she doesn't want to look at how many there are.]}

Of course you can. When I'm in town here, I usually stay at the circus tent. We've got a place for performers in the back, and there are some cots back there. It's not quite like a hotel room, but it's got a lot more space and you can stay for as long as you'd like without worrying about paying or anything.

[He brings an arm gently around Molly as he talks, pulling her closer to his side.]

I wanna stay in town for a little while anyway. I missed the gym badge, here. So...you can stay with me while I'm here.

_{[She feels relieved in a way he might very well notice, from how she relaxes before she leans into him, hugs him tightly around his stomach, almost hiding her face in his side.]}

Thanks.

_{[Muted, but grateful.]}

I hope you never disappear.

...I hope I don't too, Molly.

[He hugs her back, resting his cheek against the top of her head.]

I'm gonna try real hard not to.

_{[She hugs him tightly for another few moments before she pulls away and looks around the room. Again, she quickly wipes at her eyes, and tucks her hair back from her face.]}

Can we go now?

I just ... need to recall everyone and pack but it won't take long. Can you stay here until we go?

We can! I won't go anywhere. It's raining right now anyway, so maybe it'll have stopped by the time you're all packed.

Oh.

_{[She looks out the window - hadn't really noticed. Aria chirps next to her and Molly picks her up and gives her a kiss, but afer that, she moves away from the bed to start picking things up.]

[She's quiet, and she keeps glancing at Jimmy to make sure he hasn't vanished, but she makes quick work if it. She picks up Shaun's sketchbook when she finds it and hangs onto that, and a few other of his smaller items, and recalls the pokémon and all. She has a moment where she can't find her maps and is a little stressed about that, but once they're found and tucked securely into her backpack, she pulls on her own jacket and stands in front of Jimmy with an almost nervous expression.]}

Can we go now?

_{[Just asked again. To be sure.]}

[Jimmy nods, looking out the window himself. It's still drizzling, but a few raindrops wouldn't kill them or anything. He gives Leader a quick rub behind the ears before offering Molly his hand as he stands up.]

Sure we can. C'mon, let's go.

_{[She gratefully latches onto his hand and holds it tightly as they go. She let Aria stay out, and she's nestled in close to Molly's cheek, claws gently dug into her jacket.]

[For the most part, again, Molly stays silent. But just keeps hold of Jimmy and her backpack once she's deposited some of the pokémon in the computer and they're out in the rain.]}

[It isn't usual that Jimmy will just walk in silence when he's with someone, but he knows that Molly probably isn't up for much idle chatter at the moment. Not that he minds too much. Right now she needs him, and he's just glad it so happened that he was back home to be there for her.

He doesn't speak up again until they've almost made it back to the tent, in which he looks down at her with a light squeeze of her hand.]

Yaknow, if you want...you can come watch when I challenge Whitney to a battle in a couple days.

_{[It isn't usual for Molly either, and Jimmy likely knows this better than anyone else; she's happy to talk and laugh and tease and is swift to bring up topics and questions to keep the conversation going.]

[But she's upset. She's trying to process the loss, and her fear, and her homesickness and the vulnerability she feels without her ability and without any way of knowing what might happen to the people she cares about.]

[He's right that he needs her, and the company is more important than the words right now, but she still looks up at him in an almost grateful way that he found a way to break the silence. Cause anything she's thinking about at the moment is pretty bad.]}

Okay.

_{[Her eyes are a little shiny, but she still takes on a familiar interest.]}

She's ... the one with the normal types, right?

That's right. She has a Pokemon called Miltank, which is basically a cow...and it's apparently the strongest Pokemon she's got. Miltank is the reason most people have a hard time getting past Whitney. Isn't that funny to think about?

Yeah, a little.

_{[She honestly doesn't see the joke that much, but she still tries, cause Jimmy's trying to cheer her up, and she appreciates that.]}

I think that's pretty cool though. That there are so many pokémon and they're all good at things.

Oh, it really is! There are a lot of Pokemon out there that you wouldn't think would be as strong as others...but they all got their own strengths and weaknesses. No one is better than the other.

Yeah. Cause they all use their powers differently, too.

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]