[center][h2]Mauville City[/h2][/center]
[quote][i][color=forestgreen]Damn. Fucking piece of shit Raichu must have Thunder Waved me. Should have seen it coming. Ah, there's the little fucker. Ha ha! Yeah! Shiftry fucked your shit right up. Little bitch.
	No, don't worry about me. Keep them away from the generator. Shaq'ti can help when she's ready. Im fine. Really. We gotta keep them back until the Rangers can get here. Then I'm out of here.
	Gonna go home. Take a shower. Rest. Fuck. Work out. Train. I need a break after this shit. I'm getting too old to play hero. I should have just ignored it.
	I hope Sturm's okay. I wonder how Plusle and Minun are doing. I can't believe they're channeling all that power. They've gotten strong.
	Shit! Fuck...
	Oo. That was close. Looks like they had some backup. Might have been how they beat up on that Haven. Heh. That bitch. She's got too much spunk and sass for her own good. She could really be something if she wasn't so self-depravating.
	Whoa! Fire-types, too? Wait. Who's this punk? Trying to help, huh? See? I didn't need to intervene. They got other overconfident sons-of-bitches here. Wait. No! Don't bother with me. Fuck, watch out! Aw, shit, kid. Gotcha good. Wow. He's still up after that? Tough bastard. Ugh. Of course he has to give lip to Sturm. Thinks he's hot shit...
	What? Huh? Who's pulling at me? Shit. Wait. Who is that? Ugh. Just let me be. I'll be fine. Wait. Is that Haven? What the fuck, kid? Go home. You should be resting. Heh. They can't even carry me together. Must have gained some weight.
	Hm. Well, I'm not sure how this is supposed to be helpful, Haven. But you really need to go. You, of all people, don't need to be involved in this shit. Why are you trying so hard. Hmm...maybe...
	I gotta focus to get to Shaq'ti.[/color]
	[color=magenta]Yes?[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]Come get us out of here. Rangers are coming and I need to get healed up.[/color]
	[color=magenta]Haven, too?[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]If she will...[/color]
	[color=magenta]Who's that? He needs attention, too. Damselrade's been trying to heal him.[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]Dunno.[/color]
	[color=magenta]I think he knows Haven...
	He's down.[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]All right. Get him, too. Haven coming?[/color]
	[color=magenta]Yes.[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]Sturm okay?[/color]
	[color=magenta]Yes.[/color]
	[color=forestgreen]Get us out of this bitch.[/color][/i][/quote]

[center][h2]Outside Petalburg City[/h2][/center]
[quote]Delicate and swift hands moved across the kitchen gathering wheat crackers and Mareep cheese. A small plate was assembled neatly and a glass of wellspring water poured. "[color=yellow]Wait here,[/color]" she said when she picked the plate and glass off the counter and began to make her way toward the den on the other side of the house. 
	Jeanne was surprisingly calm despite the situation. It was as if it'd happened before or she was simply countering the anxiety caused by the apparent dilemma. Of course,
caring for strangers was new, and the fact Forrest dragged two others down with him irritated her nerves. But, she enjoyed playing host. So this made up for the fact he'd missed dinner this night. She also didn't mind that it was past 1 in the morning. 
	Her feet traveled in silence across the wood floors and over the few area rugs along the way. "[color=yellow]Is your sister up?[/color]" she asked a girl standing on the landing of the staircase who was rubbing her eyes. The girl shook her head. "[color=yellow]Go to the kitchen and wait for me with your brother.[/color]" Her voice was barely a whisper, soft and maternal.
	She placed the glass of water on a side table and knocked on the door. "[color=yellow]May I come in?[/color]" It was sweet and cautious. Considerate. Like the knock on the door. "[color=yellow]Haven, was it?[/color]" she asked as she slipped through the door after grabbing the glass from the side table.
	"[color=yellow]Only if you're hungry,[/color]" she said, implying the offering of crackers and water placed upon an end table pulled next to the daybed. Something as simple as crackers suggested she understood the possible trauma Haven may have experienced.
	Her long brown hair was pulled tight into a bun meant to be slept in. The robe she wore was a kind of soft lime with some floral prints faded in creamy whites. Her hands were slender and lacked impurities, suggesting she took good care of herself. Her blue-green eyes were bright in the dull lamp-light of the room. She stood only a few inches taller than Haven, but her body was much more full, womanly, and held a kind of strength. The kind of strength required to bear four children at a relatively early age. Her face was soft, round. Her nose and chin, however, were pinched into elegant points. Her cheeks were high which provided the illusion of a permanent smile. Her lips were long and full. Without cosmetics, she seemed to have enough natural color to pass as "naturally pretty." Her skin was even and pale with a few freckles dotting her arms and legs.
	She walked over to the small wood stove across the daybed where Haven positioned herself. A few small logs were placed atop kindling which was then lit with a long kitchen match. "[color=yellow]You look cold,[/color]" she said with a sympathetic smile. She was attempting to be as accommodating as possible. She had a knack for anticipating others' needs.
	"[color=yellow]There are extra blankets under the bed. We have a universal charger, here,[/color]" she explained when she reached the large oak desk positioned stately before large triple-pane windows decorated with a simple valance and framed with matching curtains. They were left open, revealing the blue-black hues of the nighted forest just outside their home. It looked calm, serene. But Jeanne suspected Haven might have a different opinion and drew the curtains without a word. She didn't add anything about asking for anything else. Jeanne figured Haven wouldn't, anyway.
	"[color=yellow]The bathroom's on the other side of the house, across the kitchen.[/color]" She'd already told her but had forgotten by this time. "[color=yellow]Have a good night,[/color]" she added with another sympathetic smile, enough to make a broken soul weep.
	In silence, she slipped out of the den as she had when she'd entered. Her feet moved quickly through the living room styled in a modern country as the rest of the house. Despite being a log cabin, the high ceilings and uniform logs made the dark finish look almost industrial. Although, that was the point since Forrest was the one to build the house.
	Family pictures decorated the walls with landscape paintings and cross-stitched, quilted, or appliqued pieces, all made by Jeanne. There were baskets all over the house full of games, toys, yarn, or tools. Most of the furniture was painted light neutrals since Jeanne believed there was such a thing as "too much wood." It was a modest home - adequate size for 6 people but still nothing so large that a fully decorated room would echo.
	"[color=yellow]Get some ice cream,[/color]" she said when she reached the kitchen. Her tone was that of relenting permission from prolonged nagging. In fact, she was showing her exhaustion.
	While the children gathered the items necessary for the midnight snack, she poured herself a glass of wine. "[color=yellow]Don't tell the other two about this,[/color]" she told them, knowing now she'd be too tired tomorrow to deal with the whining.
	"[color=yellow]Thank you, Jerr, for giving up your bed. That was very sweet,[/color]" she praised the boy.
	"[color=firebrick]Who are they, anyway?[/color]" he asked.
	"[color=yellow]I don't know,[/color]" she confessed. "[color=yellow]We'll find out tomorrow.[/color]"
	She took another sip of wine before continuing. "[color=yellow]I'm going to need both of you to keep your brother and sister quiet. Your father and the other man need their rest. Shaq'ti needs to meditate, and Syressa and Damselrade need to continue their healing. They need to concentrate to perform their skills. Understand?[/color]" The two nodded with their mouths full of ice cream.
	"[color=yellow]I'm going to go pick some Cheris tomorrow before breakfast. I want Roh and Shel to help. You two start breakfast and check on our guests. I'll be checking on them tonight. After you're done with your ice cream, both of you need to go to bed. Jerr, please situate yourself quietly on the couch.[/color]"

	Jeanne woke up before even her children. She slipped on her robe and checked on her husband. The Masquerain had been hovering over him the entire night. Jeanne thanked her silently. She then used a static rod to check his nerve activity. They were now over-active rather than non-responsive, which was a good sign but the most difficult phase of working through paralysis. She knew how painful it'd be and didn't look forward to Forrest pushing himself. The Cheris would help alleviate the overactive nerves and hasten the healing process. Still, they'd have to be patient. 
	After checking on the other man in Jerrek's bed, she woke Rowan up without drawing any attention to the other bed where Jerrek should have been. Ushering him up and out quick enough would have kept all else in a fog for the boy. She then woke up Elizabeth and Shelynn, directing the eldest girl to wake Jerrek to start breakfast and then to check on the other guest downstairs in the den. Shelynn just knew to meet her mother and brother in the kitchen.
	Jeanne explained briefly what the situation was. They had "visitors" and their father was injured and needed to rest to heal completely. So they were to pick as many Cheris outside to start preparing a homemade medicine to hasten the healing process. This made them feel important and helpful enough to where they didn't ask question and made sure to keep quiet, themselves.
	The sun was almost rising. A faint orange mixed with the blue and purple of the night. The trees looked a strange blackened aqua color before dusk. The air was cool, fresh, but thick with wood and pollen. She led the two children to their Cheri trees and started to pick the ripest ones and put them into a basket Jeanne had brought with her. It wasn't long before the basket was full and their task complete.
	"[color=yellow]Roh, get these rinsed off. Tell your brother to help you set up the blender. Shel, go help your sister check on the guests and start breakfast.[/color]"
	When she made it inside, her children were focused on the tasks she'd given them. A sense of pride made her fingers tingle and her heart flutter. 
	"[color=yellow]How's Haven, Ellie?[/color]" she asked. 
	"[color=navy]Still sleeping, I think,[/color]" the girl said with most of her focus on mixing batter and keeping an eye on the mess her sister would make. 
	"[color=yellow]How's your father, Jerr? And the other guest...[/color]"
	"[color=firebrick]They're still sleeping. Haven't woken up yet,[/color]" he explained with most of his focus on setting up the blender while Rowan worked to clean off the Cheris.
	"[color=yellow]Well, thank you, boys. I'll take over here and you two start setting the table for six.[/color]" She then started to mix the berries in the blender with some juices, syrups, and herbs that would make the medicine tolerable as well as refreshing to some degree.
	She carried two glasses with straws, one in each hand, up the stairs to the boys' room first. Instead of touching him, she placed a hand on the side of the bed and pressed down so he'd feel the slight movement of the bed against his skin, which would be massively uncomfortable if not painful. "[color=yellow]I'm sorry to wake you, but you need to take this,[/color]" she said in her voice full of sympathy.
	She placed a finger over the top of the straw so the juice would remain in the straw as she lifted it and hovered it over the man's mouth. "[color=yellow]Gentle, now. Your nerves are hyper-active and any slight movement will be very painful,[/color]" she explained though he probably already found that out. "[color=yellow]Please, try to open your mouth,[/color]" she said next.
	The straw lowered close to the man's lips and she lifted her finger so slightly that only a few drops would fall into his mouth. She didn't want him to choke if she dropped it right to the back of his throat, so she made sure to go slow and aim for his tongue. "[color=yellow]I'm sorry, but this is going to take a while,[/color]" she said. "[color=yellow]Just a few more.[/color]" 
        It took almost too long, but she was diligent and careful so as to not make the man any more uncomfortable than he already was. "[color=yellow]Just keep resting. Syressa, here, will continue to soothe your nerves,[/color]" she said and nodded to the giant serpent floating overhead, her body snaking across the entire ceiling almost covering it all.
	After doing the same for her husband, she made her way down to the den and try to have Haven join them for breakfast, at least. Her knuckle gently tapped the wood and called patiently to her. "[color=yellow]Haven,[/color]" she started with a pause. "[color=yellow]Breakfast is ready if you're hungry.[/color]"[/quote]