the first few days after leaving prison were the ones bryony spent stumbling through lumiose’s shadows with feet & tongue heavy with wine. her gift for ‘good’ behavior was an early release. her parents in coumarine had wired her some money, begged her to come home and figure things out. even sent purrloin and bisharp to her, but their pokeballs stayed at the bottom of her bag. it was all too much.
she’s staying at a cheap hotel in the south district when the letter reaches her. signed in malva’s neat hand, the paper looks too clean for bryony’s living quarters. on pretty stationary she reads an all-too-pleasant invitation to meet up with her old friend in couriway town in a week’s time. she doesn’t include how she knew where bryony was staying, but a train ticket is carefully folded in the envelope.
bisharp comes out of its pokeball for the first time in four days. both the letter and bus fare get shredded, but bisharp’s pokeball remains uninhabited.
liepard is let out two days later, the first time bryony has been sober since hopping off the prison bus. she’s showered now, trimmed her wild-grown black hair into something more recognizable, more her. the two creatures accompany her on her sprint to the corner store for bleach and hair dye.
three days later she’s let her worrisome parents know that she’ll be coming back to coumarine city, soon, that there are just a few things she needs to take care of. a week from receiving the letter, she’s stepping off the train in couriway town in shorts and a tank top, green hair shining in the summer sun and brown eyes hiding safely behind dark sunglasses.
the cafe isn’t hard to find–couriway isn’t that big. it’s nestled between other storefronts, cozy and quaint and not at all bryony’s style. she didn’t think it was malva’s, either. the bell on the door dings as she steps in and the whoosh of conditioned air breezes past her. her eyes are still adjusted from bright to dark, and the tint of the glasses, but she doesn’t see malva yet and steps up to order un citron pressé, s'il vous plait. merci. and turns to find a table.
that’s when her blood goes cold, seeing him.
couriway is the only place he feels any sense of security in anymore. it’s small, it’s not too densely populated. not many people pass through unless visiting family or trainers bound for snowbelle. it’s quiet, save for the occasional train running through, and it’s beautiful. with shimmering waterfalls and sparkling pools, grassy hills dotted with flowers. it’s somewhere peaceful. somewhere barely tainted by the hands of humanity.
he sighs into his coffee cup, keeping his gaze to the book held carefully in his other hand. thumb is pressed between the pages, and while he reads he doesn’t really process the text completely. no, he’s too focused on the sounds around him, waiting for the inevitable arrival of a woman that once put her all into working with him towards his goal for a better, more beautiful world. malva had arranged this meeting, offered cordiality and a chance to catch up. like old friends. lysandre could scoff at the thought. the news reporter, elite four member, and flare admin was rarely on friendly terms with anyone. they were all business partners to her, nothing more.
even the sound of the bell doesn’t make him look up. however, a familiar voice causes his gaze to lift just so. the cup is set back down delicately. lysandre does well to feign interest in his novel, but he continues to watch that familiar head of green hair from his periphery. he doesn’t have to see her eyes to know she’s noticed him---though, who wouldn’t? with his appearance and the overall presence he gives off...
the book is closed quietly, the rest of his coffee is finished off. the front of his vest is smoothed down before he adjusts the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. the scars that litter the skin of his arms are clearly visible, from burns and broken flesh. he tucks the book into his satchel; made of sleek brown leather. expensive. as his belongings usually are.
it’s only then that he meets her gaze. the slate blue of his eyes seems brighter than usual, piercing right through the dark lenses of her sunglasses. no smile is offered. he just stares. a brow lofts, his eyes going from piercing to fiery. a familiar fire. an angry fire. even if team flare is no more, even if he’s dropped his goals from two years ago, according to malva, bryony still thought to betray the remaining members. just to save her own skin.
that won’t be forgiven so easily.