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[center][color=E38AAE][b]MENTIONS:[/b][/color][/center]
[color=FFE6E8]Hestia woke, with a hefty start, to the sound of a screeching alarm. It grated against her ears and made a desperate headache sprout from the back of her skull. Whimpering, she curled up beneath the covers in an attempt to get it to recede. But the alarm wouldn’t stop, not even when she reached towards her night-table as she blindly searched for her phone. It took her the better part of a minute for her fingers to scrape against the corner of her cellphone and send it clattering to the floor, the sound of its impact sending a fresh wave of pain against the side of her head. Cursing, she threw off her dappled russet covers and reached down to grab it. After a few moments of struggle, she finally turned the alarm off– though the flash of the violet numbers on her home screen made her blood run cold. Ten o’clock. 

She was late for the opening ceremony. 

Something left her lips. Whether it was a muddled screech or a groan of terror, she wasn’t able to tell. All she knew was that her head felt like it had a herd of Tauros rampaging through the middle of it, she was half-undressed, and she was [i]late for the opening ceremony[/i]. A string of curses flooded from her cracked lips as she pulled on her pajama top and rushed towards the door in order to open it, but not before she stubbed her toe against it. Another yelp came forth from her mouth in a delayed reaction as she staggered down the hallway and half-stumbled down the stairs to see that Pine was lounging on the couch and watching television like always. Orion slept in a haphazard pile in the corner of the living room, his tail tucked close against his body as the fire at the end of his tail dwindled lazily. Neither of the Pokemon stirred, even when her feet stomped against the grayish wooden floors of the first floor. 

[color=E38AAE][b]”HEY! You two couldn’t wake me up?!”[/b][/color] she cried out, her head hurting even more than before. She clenched her teeth as she pointed at her phone. [color=E38AAE][b]”Pine! You knew I had to be up earlier than this! Why didn’t you–?!”[/b][/color]

Pine gave her a sidelong glance, then turned back to the television. He let out a little chirp as he pointed at the television with a lazy claw. [b]”Scep.”[/b]

In the midst of her desperation, Hestia turned to look at the screen. A newswoman with bright red hair and tired eyes stared tiredly from her desk as her mouth dribbled her report. She didn’t listen to what she said. Instead, Hestia’s gaze rested on the text in bold at the bottom of the screen itself. It read, [b]”GALAR REGION’S OPENING CEREMONY CANCELED.”[/b]

The fire in her chest immediately transformed into ice in her veins as she stared blankly at her television. [color=E38AAE][i]Canceled?[/i][/color]

Hestia turned towards her phone. Her clumsy fingers worked to unlock it and enter her messages, though this took way longer than she would have preferred. The previous night had left her head feeling both light and heavy as a stone, which affected her motor skills and even her vision, which was clouded over by a misty film that she couldn’t get rid of no matter how often she rubbed her eyes. Finally, she was able to focus in on the words that lined the screen. A line of text was in bold at the very top of her list of messages. A new one had come in not even a half-hour before, from Peyton Hyacinth. [b]”Urgent meeting at Hyacinth Tower. All must be here by 10:30. Don’t be late.”[/b]

[color=E38AAE][i]Shit.[/i][/color]

There wasn’t time to shower, eat, or anything else. Hestia had to get on Pokemon-back quickly if she wanted to make it in time. She rushed back up the stairs, threw on sweatpants, shirt, and a pair of sneakers, and tied up her hair into a somewhat crooked ponytail. Both Lazuli and her were in the sky by 10:05. And, while the rush of wind against her face and ears made her head ache even more, she couldn’t help but feel glad when her Salamence’s claws touched down on the street in front of Hyacinth Tower at 10:20. She didn’t even bother to recall Lazuli before she sprinted towards the building. Lazuli was a good boy– he wasn’t going to get in trouble, and Hyacinth would understand why she left him outside the tower if this was truly an urgent meeting. Hell, she wouldn’t even care if he bit her head off later. All she wanted to know was what happened and why they all had to go meet him after he had decided to cancel the opening ceremony.  

It was 10:27 by the time she made it to the meeting room. Her ponytail was nearly blown out of place by the storm of wind she had just flown through, and her cheeks were ruddy with a wild mixture of emotions. Her face was stark white and her eyes were wild, darting towards the people who had made it there before her, towards an empty seat, then back again. Breathing heavily, she sank down into one of the chairs near the front of the room, thankful for the presence of soft cushions. Hestia might have looked like a mess, but she was there [i]on time[/i] and with time left to spare. What others thought of her at that moment mattered little. 

Hyacinth entered the room at ten-thirty on the dot. An older gentleman of about fifty-something-years old, the Chairman’s age looked much more prominent than before right there and then. It was as if he had turned gray overnight; a fresh flourish of pale color hair bloomed out from behind his left ear and arched towards the side of his head. She didn’t remember that being there, and she had only seen him a few days prior. Nevertheless, the dark-haired man’s head was held high as he made his way to his chair at the head of the table and sat down, his bespectacled features betraying no emotion even as his gray eyes turned to look at everyone. He clasped his hands in front of him, neatly folding them upon each other, before his the bristles about his jaws finally twitched and his first words to them spilled forth from dry lips. 

[b]”Thank you all for being here today. I apologize for such short notice, but I couldn’t take any chances,”[/b] the Chairman began. [b]”As some of you have noticed, I’ve chosen to cancel the Opening Ceremony that was supposed to take place at ten this morning.”[/b]

Hestia leaned forward. [color=E38AAE][b]”Why?”[/b][/color] she rasped. When he glanced towards her, she straightened up in her chair and coughed into a fist. [color=E38AAE][b]”I-I mean, why did you cancel the Opening Ceremony? Pretty sure the whole of Galar was waiting for us to make our appearances–”[/b][/color]

[b]”I wish it hadn’t come down to it, but it was a necessary step I had to take in light of information I received from Wyndon’s police department,”[/b] Hyacinth said, gloom hovering over his words. A somber shadow crossed his expression as he rested his chin upon his clasped hands, his eyes whisking over the gym leaders that had gathered before him. [b]”Mr. Sutherland was supposed to be here at nine this morning. When he didn’t arrive, I became worried, so I sent someone to check in with him. When they arrived, they said that his home had been broken into– and in the midst of a struggle, he was abducted. As of now, we don’t know where he is or if he’s alright.”[/b][/color]