Clair can’t help but smile as Roxanne enthusiastically outlines her future endeavors, again reminded of the ambitious sparkle glittering in the Rustboro Gym Leader’s eyes when they first met many moons ago. It’s clear to see that Roxanne’s scholarly flame hasn’t dipped since then, her passionate drive still burning brighter than ever. Clair can’t keep herself from being drawn towards that passion, like a Mothim fluttering before a candle. Despite her current condition, it’s good–maybe even a relief–to see Roxanne again. And yet, when her sharp Hoenn colleague offers an opportunity to reconnect, Clair hesitates on instinct. She can’t stop herself.
“Hm…” the tamer waffles, mind momentarily wandering back towards her training, her absolute need to become stronger, to never come close to losing again. When she was younger, such a ferocious need regularly consumed her, burning her up until she couldn’t move anymore, sprawled out on the Den’s stony floor. However, Clair is older now. The dragon’s flame still roars within her, that temper still raring its ugly head from time to time, but she’s learning–learning when her muscles scream in protest, learning when her Pokemon finally need to rest…learning when enough is enough, for now.
“I suppose I could spare some time for a meal with a long lost friend…” Clair finally answers with a faux-dramatic sigh towards Roxanne, rare playfulness marking her tone. “If you’re willing to do a little hiking, I even have a special place in mind today. Did you pack your own lunch?”
“…If you’re not up for this, be honest with me and we can eat down at the city’s stuffy tea house instead.” she warns, azure eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m not going to carry you up the trail or anything. Even though I could.”
To see the tamer display a slight hesitance isn’t uncharacteristic—it’s expected, considering how dedicated Clair is to her own vigorous routine and ambitious levels of standard. Roxanne’s admiration for the other’s drive, an unwavering respect that defies the women’s differences, cannot allow her to see this as something of a fault.
However, as is a concept the Hoennite would do well to internalize also, everyone needs a rest from the wheel every now and again—whether or not that means prying their hands from it.
Which makes Clair’s acceptance all the more gratifying!
“On a day like this? Hiking sounds like an utter treat. No carrying necessary.”
The two’s mirrored expressions and a tip of Clair’s head begin the woman’s trek. Roxanne has always found Blackthorn incredibly pleasant, tucked here in the mountains with its peoples’ secluded, though gorgeously distinct, way of life as endlessly intriguing as the city itself’s storied histories. Though it’d taken an awful lot of convincing to the Elders (and several acts of community service, without a doubt), being allowed entry to the city once more feels full circle in many ways.
Despite them coming up fruitless in their spelunking the Dragon’s Den, in search of that ancestral enigma of legend and hypothetical ‘missing link’, the experience built a lifelong friendship that neither can deny.
“I don’t have... the widest variety of provisions with me at the moment—only sandwiches.” Her favorite, when out and about, and the easiest to consume while simultaneously notating her personal work. “Do tell, what is so ‘special’ about where it is we are heading? You’ve piqued my interest quite a bit by using such choice words.”
origamiaround
stormborns
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