[h3][hr][color=#FDEEC5]Aedre Charbonnet[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Mesalon City: Gym[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent]
[color=#FDEEC5]“Yeah,”[/color] Aedre said, eyes roaming over the floor of the gym below. Though she had no intention of challenging gyms, there was something to be said about battling other trainers. Pokemon thrived best when challenged—that was always abundantly clear no matter the species or personality of the Pokemon. The hard part was figuring out how best to challenge them. 

But maybe Aedre needed to challenge herself in order to have the right to challenge her Pokemon. After all, she had no right to ask that her Pokemon be brave in battles if she couldn’t even muster up the bravery to attempt a gym battle. She’d let it slide, had been letting it slide for a while now as things happened around her, and to her credit she’d had enough to be distracted by. Still, somewhere down the line, the best challenge would be a gym battle, and Aedre knew she’d have to come to terms with that, for the Fletchling on her shoulder and for herself. Just not right now.

An outburst jerked her out of her daze, and she watched with wide eyes as Sophia continued her tirade,  launching into a grandiose monologue before dashing out. “Pompous bigmouth”—who could that be?

[color=#FDEEC5]“Do you have any clue what she was talking about?”[/color] Aedre asked, looking to Amber. [color=#FDEEC5]“She didn’t sound very… happy about whatever ‘he’ did.”[/color]

At Amber’s suggestion of going with Sophia, Aedre was slightly surprised, then backpedaled. Of course they should go with her! She wasn’t in the right state of mind, hot off her emotions and likely prone to error. What if she found the guy and yelled something she didn’t mean in the heat of the moment?

[color=#FDEEC5]“Yeah that sounds like a good idea,”[/color] she said, rising from her seat. Taking the cue, Little hopped onto her shoulder, giving his feathers a ruffle, and Aedre raised a hand to gently scratch at the back of his neck. [color=#FDEEC5]“We should probably hurry. She seems like she walks pretty fast.”[/color]

Telling Lan was an option Aedre would’ve never thought of alone, but thankfully she wasn’t. Though the thought of detailing her mistake to a gym leader wasn’t fun, it was the sensible thing to do, especially if she ever wanted to find the package. 

She nodded, resolving herself to the action. [color=#FDEEC5]“Okay, let’s do it.”[/color]

Leading the way down the stairs, Aedre waved a brief hello to Ty before looking back to where Lan stood in the middle of the gym, looking both patient and not at once. Or maybe he was just patient. Either way, Aedre floundered for another second or so, glancing between the gym leader and Amber, before exhaling and steeling her nerves. Out onto the gym floor she walked, making a beeline for the gym leader. 

[color=#FDEEC5]“Um, Lan? Could I, um, talk to you about, um, something?”[/color] The spotlights were getting to her, and her words came out more hesitantly than she would’ve liked, but she was too caught up in the fact that she was now standing in the center of the gym, a spectacle for gymgoers to look at. Was this what being a trainer meant?
[indent]  [/indent][hr][hider=Notes][u][b][color=#FDEEC5]     Team:          [/color][/b][/u][indent] [/indent]
[list][*] Pasithea “Thea” ♀ — Togepi (13) 
[list][*][b]Attacks:[/b] [i]Growl, Charm, Metronome, Sweet Kiss, Yawn[/i]
[*][b]Ability:[/b] [i]Serene Grace[/i][/list]
[*] Alitis “Little” ♂ — Fletchling (13) 
[list][*][b]Attacks:[/b] [i]Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack, Peck, Agility[/i]
[*][b]Ability:[/b] [i]Gale Wings[/i][/list]
[*] Decus “Dee” ♂ — Honedge (7) 
[list][*][b]Attacks:[/b] [i]Tackle, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter[/i]
[*][b]Ability:[/b] [i]No Guard[/i][/list]
[/list]
[hider=Bag][u][b][color=#FDEEC5]     Bag Items:          [/color][/b][/u]
[list][*]5 Pokeballs
[*]Dusk Stone
[*]Water Stone
[/list][indent]   [/indent][/hider][/hider]
[@luckyblackcat] [@Zanavy]