[color=chocolate][center][h1]Amber Pine[/h1]
[h3]Mesalon Gym -> Outside the Pokecentre[/h3][/center][/color]
[@Dusksong]

[color=chocolate]"It's no problem,"[/color] Amber reassured Aedre. [color=chocolate]"I'll be right with you in a moment."[/color] After heading back to the main hall to tell Rachel and Vivianne she'd be out for a while, she returned, the two watchful Pokemon in tow. [color=chocolate]"Alright, let's go take a look."[/color]

She turned at the sound of laboured footsteps. [color=orchid]"I'll help out too!"[/color] Sophia called, in that groggy tone of someone who had just woken up. The brunette clung to her Bronzor, still barely able to stand despite her recent nap. [color=orchid]"I mean this calls for a skillset like mine."[/color]

Amber took a few seconds to think over her response. It would have to be worded carefully, very carefully, so that it wouldn't be taken the wrong way. [color=chocolate]"Sophia... It's great that you want to help, but you don't have to overtax yourself,"[/color] she decided on. [color=chocolate]"Your abilities would be at their best if you let them recover now and again."[/color]

Just as Amber had expected, Sophia rolled her eyes. [color=orchid]"Oh geez! First Rheese, then Oscar, now you! How many times do I have to tell people I'm fine?"[/color]

There was no talking her out of it. [color=chocolate]"Just let us know if you want to head back,"[/color] the researcher said as she made her way to the exit. [color=chocolate]"Nobody will fault you for it."[/color] Nobody except Sophia herself, anyway. If only there was some way to convince her she didn't have to.

The air outside was steadily cooling, pink tinges to the clouds. Evening settling over the quiet little town would make for a picturesque scene, Amber thought, if not for the multitude of thoughts rushing through her mind, competing for the forefront. She turned to Aedre, keeping up the pretense that she had nothing else to focus on for now. [color=chocolate]"So, whereabouts did you last have it?"[/color]

In the corner of her eye, she saw Sophia sag, her grip nearly loosening from Clarus. [color=chocolate]"Please..."[/color] Amber rushed to her side. [color=chocolate]"Don't keep doing this to yourself. Maybe we should stop by the Pokemon centre, then if you feel better later and we still haven't found the package, you can help out."[/color]

[hider=Notes]
[b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Kabuto "Chalcedony" lv11, Yanma "Aeshna" lv9, Rockruff "Kyra" lv13, Rowlet "Tacita" lv10, Anorith "Larimar" lv12, Sableye "Almandine" lv11
[b]Pokemon in PC:[/b]
[b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x1, Potion x2, Dusk Ball x1[/hider]
[hr]
[color=orchid][center][h1]Sophia Danvers[/h1]
[h3]Mesalon Gym -> Pokecentre[/h3][/center][/color]
[@Dusksong] [@OtomostheCrazy] [@fer1323]

Amber's words sounded distant through the fog of dizziness that filled Sophia's mind. She held on to Clarus with all the strength she could manage, her weakening state proof of something she didn't want to accept. Amber was right. She wouldn't be of any use right now.

[color=orchid]"But..."[/color] she started. All she'd done was try to sense anything out of the ordinary, yet in her current state, even that had proven too much. Before she could say anything more, or resume her particular way of searching, Lacey backed Amber up with an insistent squeak of "Gothi-gothi!"

Sophia hung her head. [color=orchid]"Maybe just for a while then, but I'll be fine before long,"[/color] she mumbled, trudging along after the others. [color=orchid]"If there's anything I can do to help, though..."[/color] Surely she of all people should be able to assist her friends.

... Her friends. That bitterness welling through her wasn't just from humiliation, Sophia acknowledged. Aedre may have shown a grating amount of pity after the disastrous gym battle yesterday, and Amber was almost as bad a know-it-all as Oscar, but... She really did want to help these people. Aedre had seemed so nervous, and Sophia knew exactly what the feeling of having messed up was like.

It was when they neared the Pokemon centre that Lacey piped up again. "Gothi! Ita!" she called, pointing a stubby hand at the other two trainers.

[color=orchid]"Hm?"[/color] As her starter Pokemon stared intently at her, Sophia felt a gentle push at her mind. [color=orchid]"You want to tell me something?"[/color] Lacey nodded, and a brief image flashed through Sophia's head. An image of the Gothita trotting after the group of flying Pokemon. [color=orchid]"You'd like to help them search?"[/color] Another nod.

Despite her sulky mood, Sophia gave a little smile. [color=orchid]"I'll wait inside for you, and please, let me know if there's any trouble."[/color] She turned her attention to Amber and Aedre. [color=orchid]"Make sure you treat her well, ok?"[/color] These two seemed like people she could trust, but still, she had to make it clear she would NOT be happy if any avoidable problems came up.

Staggering to the doors, she glanced over her shoulder. [color=orchid]"See you Lacey... And try not to worry about me."[/color] With that, she headed inside. She still couldn't shake the guilt at her own inability to contribute, but even if she couldn't be helpful, at least Lacey could. Now to sit and wait for the group and her starter to return.

She shuffled towards a chair, stopping as she spotted who else was in the lobby. Two people she wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with. Turning away, she slunk towards one of the further ends of the room, for once hoping to avoid being noticed.

[hider=Notes]
[b]Pokemon Party:[/b] Gothita "Lacey" lv14, Purrloin "Grimalkin" lv13, Staryu "Arcturus" lv13, Darumaka "Lumas" lv11, Shuppet "Fantoccino" lv11, Bronzor "Clarus" lv11
[b]Pokemon in PC:[/b]
[b]Inventory:[/b] Pokeball x1, TM33 (Reflect), Oran Berry x3[/hider]