Verdanturf was a further drive than either Levy or Christophe thought and Levy found himself watching the streetlamps flicker past through half-lidded eyes. They weren't the same lights as in Laverre, as similar as the harsh florescent bulbs were. They weren't the same roads. He wasn't in the same car.
The museum had helped somewhat. Ancient fossils and futuristic experimental devices were different everywhere, making it easy to think he was somewhere else, somewhere closer to home, where it was easier and a little bit safer to be, sheltered from the reality of the situation by four familiar walls surrounded by trees he'd known since birth. Reality was extremely difficult to escape, Levy was realizing, when there was nothing familiar. He had to take in everything. He had to look at the buildings rising above him. He had to watch the empty road in front of the car. He had to understand that his leg was gone and even though the purpose of leaving everything he'd known was supposed to help it was never going to change.
Christophe pulled over a few blocks away from the hospital and unfolded the wheelchair crammed in the truck. Levy had been given a set of crutches, but after the ferry and car ride in the same day, even the thought of attempting to stand made him dizzy. The wheelchair was one of the few sources of familiarity now, he had to accept, as much as he hated it. His father promised to return once he turned the car in, and Leverette busied himself with finding the bottle of painkillers in his bag. A series of pokeballs were pulled out soon after.
Khoshekh was his first priority. She'd never been in a pokeball before and he'd been anxious to let her as soon as possible. Petalla came second, his hand hovering between hers and his Sylveon's. He closed his fingers around Aelferic's pokeball, but didn't release her. He didn't need her. Not yet, at least. Khoshekh prowled the area lit up by the closest lamp, tail flashing back and forth, jaws parted in a silent snarl. The unfamiliarity was getting to her too, and Levy found some relief in that. The fact that she was there at all was a large weight off his shoulders, but he found the worry building back up as she tensed, hackles rising.
