[ti]spawn[/ti]not part of your machine

Today, it’s Archie and Flit that accompany her, free to flit and flutter around. Mushu is present too, curved around her shoulders like a strange sort of living scarf. Not that it’s a mild enough day to warrant it – the sun is high in the sky, warming her exposed skin and heating her dark hair enough that she wonders if sunburn is something she should be worried about, in game.

<What are we looking for today?> Mushu breathes into her ear curiously.

“Some more steel types, little dude,” she replies, tossing him a small grin. “The prof is still needs more, so we might as well keep looking, right?"

<That’s right!> The Dratini agreed, preening. <If you find a big one, you’ll need my help with it!> The serpentine Pokemon was quite satisfied with his ego having been stroked, and settled down to rest along the trainer’s shoulders once more. Honestly, it was quite comfortable having him there, Taylor mused silently to herself as she moved. She wondered if there were any scarves out in the real world made to look like a Dratini… She’d have to have a look later – she thought that would probably make Lucas laugh, if she showed him when he was in a good mood. Rare as that might be.

The Rufflet huffed, not seeming impressed about the fact that they wouldn’t be allowed to fight just any old creature in the area. Taylor squinted at him. “What’s with you and the Pokemon here, Archie?” She asked, side-eyeing him suspiciously. “You really do seem to have some sort of beef with them, given how we met.” How do you have an issue with an entire ecosystem?

Archimedes huffed, both at the question, and at the appalling nickname she seemed intent on giving him. <Don’t call me that,> he muttered, giving a shake to fluff out his feather and then planting his head under his wing as though that would mean she couldn’t push for an answer to the question.

<You don’t want us to fight it?> Archimedes queried as he landed on her shoulder for a moment.

“What?” Taylor blurted, blinking at the Rufflet in confusion.

<Don’t you want us to fight it? The Nosepass?> Came the response, the bird sounding a little puzzled by his trainer’s confusion.

She didn’t reply at first, gaze darting from the Nosepass to each of her pokemon in confusion. What was going on..? Eventually, she gave a tiny shake of her head, as though shrugging the oddness of the situation off. “No,” she breathed, before clearing her throat and continuing in a firmer voice. “No, let it be.”

Time passed, each moment feeling like the tick of some invisible clock. But counting down to what, exactly? Taylor wasn’t sure, but she did know that it was making her strangely uncomfortable. The minutes seemed to drag, viscous like treacle and twice as cloying. Claggy, sodden moments stretching on indeterminably.

<Is everything okay?> Flick asked, fluttering down to a spot on the ground beside Taylor, hopping to keep up as the trainer moved. <You’ve gone awfully quiet.>

“Shit!” She hissed, backpedalling abruptly and damn near falling flat on her arse. Frantically, she tapped away at the UI, sending out a desperate call for help from one of her listed contacts. She’d meant to ping Tuesday; she was sure her Orm or Cid would be a blessing right now. Instead, in her frantic tapping, she ended up selecting another “T” name; Tamara. Oh well, the kid would be more help than doing this alone, at least. With that done, she straightened up and nodded to Mushu.

“Alright buddy, you up for this?”

Having been knocked out damn near immediately, Taylor now loaded back into the area. She cringed to see that she hadn’t made it back before the kid after all. “Sorry, sorry!” She rushed to apologise, frantically tapping to send forward a couple of her Pokemon before the Duraludon managed to land yet another blow. “Think you could give me a hand with this grumpy bastard?”

Oh. She probably shouldn’t swear in front of the teenager, huh? “Shit,” she muttered under her breath.