Marble is a Feeling.

[Elision]

It’s not that she hasn’t been here before. Because she has. Numerous times, even. She’s spent time here after class, sometimes during class and even the three days they allowed her to do a mini-internship. Those last days were, arguably, the best of her life so far. And now, as she steps forward into the shining main hall of the lab, she feels- too many things. She’s giddy with excitement, but her palms are sweaty with nerves as she rubs them lightly against the cotton dress. A snort to her right has her look up in surprise, only to see her father walking ahead with barely concealed amusement. Instantly, self-awareness has her attempt to smooth down her hair, as if she’s going on a date- 

‘Please don’t think about that catastrophe right now.’

- rather than meeting a potential new partner-

‘Making it so much worse.’ 

- for life. Yes. This was going so well so far. She heaves a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to hide the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. A tap on her knee has her look down, a smile blooming almost instantly as she regards the Bellsprout at her side. The Pokémon taps her leafy hand against her calf and Asha laughs softly at the gentle nudge. A light wave of her hand had the Bellsprout offer a vine in return, the two appendages meeting in mid-air. 

‘She’s right. I’ve got this.’

And with that, she directs her gaze at her surroundings. Not much has changed since her last visit - The hall is still tiled with evenly coloured white marble, the walls a sterile white with posters of Pokémon and exciting discoveries evenly spaced out. The high ceiling, designed to allow the upper floors balconies that look out over the hall, is marked by its eye-catching wall over the entrance, which is all glass - but she can already spot several new additions. That vending machine, for example, that had a young boy trying to wriggle his arm inside to grab a snack, whilst a bored looking Houndour babysits him. A trio of experienced trainers stands to the right, trying to push against one another to try and get their faces in front of the camera. She halts there, as one of the trainers has a Vulpix curled up in her arms, another an Eevee perched on her shoulders, paws on top of her head as the curious Pokemon eyes the screen. Asha wonders then, about her own journey.

Will she make friends like that? Will she find herself jostling for space as she talks to her dad a month from now, or three? The nerves and excitement return with a vengeance and she actually releases a brief sound that - though she will deny it until the end of time - might have been a weirdly breathy strangled squeal. Either way, the sound is awkward and the girl holding the Vulpix gives her a mildly disturbed look before turning to her friends and shuffling closer to them as if guarding their little circle against the obvious lunatic. 

Her face now even more flushed than before, Asha’s next steps thankfully carry her out of the groups view and into the hall proper. It feels like a Pokemon Center, though there is a clear distinction between the medically styled hubs of their society and the more clinical and quietly murmuring halls of the lab. It doesn’t take them long to move into the line at the reception desk. Thank whoever was watching over her for that small mercy. Emerald eyes stare down at the ticket held tightly between thumb and index finger. The ink is smudged a bit, no doubt due to the dampness of her palm, but it is still readable.

46 - Asha Hawthorne - Pokémon Acquisition

Her heart skips a beat once again as she breathes in deeply. All she has to do is find her center. That ocean of calm she knows is within her. Somewhere. Exhale. And there is another chuckle at her side. 

“You haven’t been this nervous since your first competition.”

Looking up, she finds herself peering into the slightly milky eyes of her father. The scarred tissue around them doesn’t scare her anymore, not like it used to when she was younger. And even with the scarring, she can tell he’s amused at her current lack of poise. A sheepish grin slowly blooms onto her lips as she scratches the back of her neck with her free hand. 

“I feel like this is worse. What if he or she doesn’t like me? What if we’re not compatible? Or if I do a bad job?”

Before he can reply, a vine tangles with the curls on her head. Bellsprout quietly moves around and lifts itself up to perch on her father’s shoulder. She pats his head, then shakes her own before giving Asha an unimpressed look. The girl’s own lips purse a bit as she squints, but then the expected reply from her father comes.

“As I believe Bell is trying to tell you… Don’t fear the unknown, but embrace the opportunities. Bell and I were not always this close-” 

A sentiment that is echoed by the fervent nodding of the yellow head above his own.

“- but we came to understand one another in the time we spent together. I can’t imagine my life without her, now. And I hope she feels the same.” 

He grins, but knows the answer before it comes, as he holds his hand out to receive the high-vine before it meets his face.

“See? A token of affection.” 

Asha muffles a giggle before she clears her throat and shares a wink with Bell. She knows this better than anyone, but that doesn’t make her less nervous. So many things could go wrong. So many paths open up. And she wants to walk them all. 

“Number forty-six, Asha Hawthorne. Desk three, please.” 

Perking up, she quickly stuffs the paper ticket into her pocket and marches over, only to pull it out again and straighten it as the attendant holds out her hand for it. A brief flash of amusement flits across his hazel eyes before he smooths his expression out with years of professional experience. 

“Pokémon Acquisition. Are you in the possession of a Pokédex?”

He’s tapping away at a screen swiftly, filling out forms he’s filled out a thousand times before. At her continued silence, however, he looks up and perks a brow. This time, she can see both the amusement and a hint of annoyance, and she wonders how completely unprepared he must think she is. Not for the journey, maybe, but definitely for bureaucracy. She stammers out a quick ‘no’ and he nods, turning back to his computer.

“Any experience with Pokémon that include training, grooming, feeding and first aid?”

Again she stares, though this time her response is unprompted. 

“Yes to all of the above. I’ve taken all of the Pokémon courses available at Secondary School.” 

Another nod precedes more typing before she is handed back her ticket. A confused glance has the attendant - who, she only now notices, is called Tom according to his name tag, which instantly has her mind spinning as he doesn’t look or sound like a Tom at all and he’s probably more of a Ben or a Mark - elaborate.

“I’ve taken down your general information. One of the Professors will call for you soon. Just take a seat over there, for now.” 

Following his pointed finger with her gaze, she spots a row of chairs to the side of the desks which already has a number of people sitting with various paper tickets of their own. 

“Oh, of course. Thanks. Tom.” 

He blinks at her, then smirks before pressing down a button and leaning forwards slightly. 

“Number forty-seven, Nicky Trestle. Desk three, please.” 

Asha has never been more grateful than now for her darker complexion, as she hurries herself and her father over to the seats.

“Look on the bright side, honey. This went better than your last date, didn’t it?”

A mortified groan has her sinking her head in her hands, even as she hear the surprised bark of laughter behind her. Her next words are not so much spoken out as they are whimpered.

“Just… stop.”

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notes}
- 1404 Word Count

[Elision]

With all the grace a father has, he stopped. The rest of the wait was filled with a companionable silence, with Asha peering around the room in thought. The last time she was there, she’d just finished her internship. Five months ago? Six? Her brow furrowed as she did the mental maths that were required and then smoothed out as she gave a self-satisfied nod. Six months and a few days, then.

Her favourite room was the egg room. It had to be. There was a pleasant warmth radiating from the various incubators, battling the cold air coming in through the vents. The light, unlike the harsh, clinical whites and pale blues that the majority of the building was decked out with, was a soft yellow and a warm amber. 

‘It’s to make the eggs feel like they’re being watched over by their mothers or fathers.’ 

The young researcher stood to her right had explained the process to her as she stood close to the glass, fighting against the urge to squish her face against it in an attempt to get closer. 

‘You see, when a brooding mother sits over her egg, it resides in complete darkness. We use the dimming system to emulate that. But sometimes, when the mother goes off to feed and drink, the egg is exposed to the sun or a cloudy day. And this we try to show by using these soft and warm colours. They are safe colours.’

That was something she could easily understand. Despite her father’s lack of sight, he always insisted on having a say in the decorating of their house. As such, the place was filled with warm, earthy tones and the accent rooms were painted in shades like ‘burnt sienna’ and ‘ochre yellow’ and the occasional hint of ‘umber’. All colours that made her feel safe. At home. So she understood these little Pokemon in their eggs, their eyes unable to perceive anything other than the faintest shifting of light outside the shells of their temporary homes.

A sharp whine made her snap out of her thoughts, gaze shifting to the right where it located the boy from the vending machine. With the Houndoom’s teeth dug firmly into the scruff of his shirt, the boy was toted around the room and delivered promptly to one of the desk attendants. The woman, immediately flustered, bade her current customer a thousand apologies before disappearing briefly with both child and Pokemon. When she came back, there was a red flush on her cheeks, which only seemed to intensify as she offered yet more apologies to the sympathetic yet amused man she’d been assisting. 

‘See, Asha, Pokemon are more than what we think they are. Why do they live the way they do? How intelligent are they really? There are those that suggest that Pokemon do not experience emotions as we do. But watch the Kangaskhan with her young, observe the Growlithe guarding their partner. Watch as the Litten curls up with its sick trainer after pulling the blankets higher. Why are these emotions less than ours? I don’t think they are. If anything, they’re more intense, more alive than we are. These creatures, one with the elements - they see a world we do not.’ 

As she tilts her head back, peering up at the glass ceiling, she smiles softly. 

“Stop seeing the world for what it is, and start seeing what it could be, huh?”

“Thinking about your mother?”

Blinking her emerald eyes rapidly, Asha turns to her father. He seems to be looking at her, but she knows better. His expression, a thoughtful but understanding smile on his lips, surprises her even less. Clearing her throat, she straightens in the uncomfortable plastic chair and taps her toe against the floor. 

“Yeah. Just… it would have been nice if she was here, you know?”

He does know. And she is aware of that. Still, she’s not trying to hurt him and he knows that as well. Her mother is the one who taught her everything about Pokemon and it was her mother who first ignited that passion and desire to understand these creatures they share the world with. And that is not a bond easily broken, even if distance and time have stretched and thinned the threads holding them together.

“I know.”

There’s no need for him to say it. They both know. And the way his hand moves to rest over hers, knowing instinctively where it would be, only serves to remind her of that fact. She opens her mouth to speak, to give voice to the storm of thoughts raging within her mind, when-

“Number forty-six, Asha Hawthorne? The Professor will see you now.”

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notes}Word count: 780 of 2149

[Elision]

Fire sparks of nerves bloom up and down her arms. It blossoms like the growth of an ember into a bonfire as her feet move onwards. One step. Another. Slowly she moves into the hallway, only a final handwave from her father before-

The door closes. And she’s walking alongside a research aide with a bright and sunny smile and she really wishes he’ll just keep smiling and walk onwards. He turns to her. The smile grows and the dreaded words leave his lips.

“Getting your first one here, huh?”

She gives him a small smile in return before nodding and replying in a register that’s just pitched a bit too high to be comfortably her own voice and she cringes down into herself. ‘Stand tall. You have no reason to be nervous. Just be you.’

“Yeah. Exciting! I wonder how it’ll go.”

Emphatic nodding meets her words and she sighs in badly concealed relief as he begins rambling on about the various Pokemon available. His rambling allows her to tune out as the pass various rooms she remembers until- there. The egg room. She finds her lips curling up without her permission, eyes shining just a little bit brighter as their feet carry them past the window with the soft golden light. Without realising it, she’s slowed down just a tad, pace shifting into one of reluctantly moving forwards until the window ends and the moment is gone. The aide looks at her with a small smile and she grins back, a moment of mutual understanding passing unspoken between the two.

“Ah, here we are.”

And just like that it passes and they step up to a wooden door marked with a simple plaque.

Professor Timothy James Morrison

The aide knocks once and opens the door before beckoning Asha to follow him into the room. It’s spacious and elegant, though the only thing Asha has eyes for is the massive man stood in the middle of the office. And the room suddenly seems a lot smaller than it was before. Because why would a professor have the right to be that tall and have shoulders like that and his jawline was outright scandalous. She flushes and stammers out a ‘Hi’ whilst the man looks up with mental damage inducing hazel eyes that she swears are molten gold and then he-

Smiles. She’ll deny the whimper until the end of time but mortification sets in and she clears her throat whilst he-

“Thank you, Jacob!”

Dismisses the aide and motions for her to take a seat as his desk. Gratefully, she takes it. He smiles again, not even bothering to hide how amused he is by her behaviour, though he’s thankfully polite enough not to point it out.

“Professor Timothy Morris, but please, call me Tom. You’ll be taking care of one of my kids, after all!”

The hand she’d been shaking seems to slip from her own before she’s even taken a breath and at her dropped jaw, his mouth opens in a booming laugh that sends vibrations through her ribcage.

“I- uh. Yes. No- I mean what?”

So much not a Tom. Definitely not a Tom. More like a… she didn’t even have a name for this man-monster-creature in front of her but he just winds down from his amusement and takes out some papers.

“Asha Hawthorne, nineteen, graduated- oh, my alma mater. How fortuitus! And you want to go into University?”

“Yes sir- Tom. Yes. Uh.” She can do this. This is her comfort zone. “I want to study metaphysical physiology and the innate connection Pokemon have to nature and the elements by deciphering the different genomes in their DNA.”

His brow perks up before he gives her a nod, expression far more serious now. He almost looks impressed and she shouldn’t be this pleased about it, but there’s a warm feeling in her chest and she is suddenly so pleased that his name is Tom because if there was anything like a warning it was the name Tom.

“Not something I hear everyday, I admit.”

Her lids blink down once and she manages to keep her cool. Is he actually impressed?

“Sir Tom. Has a nice ring to it, though.”

Even the tips of her ears feel hot as, and she will swear it is all the blood in her body, blood rushes to her head and a blush so intense it almost makes her faint rises and settles in her cheeks and forehead and throat and everywhere.

“But let’s move on. Your first Pokemon! We have quite a few here at the moment - did Jacob give you the rundown?”

It takes precious moments to remember the dismissal and the name associated with it before she realises two things. Yes, Jacob had done so. But she hadn’t paid attention, distracted with a myriad of other things. Oh no.

“He- uh. He did. But it was while we passed the Egg Room-” Was it? She doesn’t think it was. “- and I got distracted and- I’m afraid I didn’t quite- catch it. Tom.”

His amusement is back and she wants to slap it off of his face immediately. His perfect face. Perfectly kept beard. Perfect- okay. No.

“That’s alright. I think- would you trust my judgement, Asha? I’m usually quite good at making these pairings and I think I’ve got someone that would match you quite well.”

Curiosity takes over from mortification - finally - and she tilts her head to the side before offering a slow nod. “Alright. Why not.“

The beaming smile that takes over his face is not something she’s prepared for at all, still not, but there’s something bigger now. Something more heavy in the air and she can almost taste that it’s anticipation. There was a difference. A big, glaring difference between the Pokemon she worked with at school, or Bellsprout, or even the ones her friends had, and having her own. This was that moment. And for better or worse, she would do anything within her power to ensure that this went well. That it was right.

Tom - Professor Tom - stepped back for a moment before opening a case. Several Pokeballs rested inside, but he immediately reached for one and closed the metal lid before she could see how many. There was absolutely no hesitation in his movement as he turned and pointed the Pokeball at his desk.

“Alright then. Lets see how you like this little lady.”

The red beam was both familiar and utterly foreign to her as it lanced towards the surprisingly neat surface of his desk. Barely a millisecond passed before it rearranged itself into a more solid form, a familiar shape. And then she’s there. Her hind legs neatly folded underneath, front paws placed daintily on the desk. Her tail flicks, once, as large golden eyes trail around the room curiously. As Asha sucks in a breath, two massive ears twitch and turn towards her, followed a split second later by the ears. The two stare at one another, emerald green meeting a maple honeyed gold.

The fox-Pokemon rises to a stand and steps up to the edge of the desk, taking in every inch of the nineteen year old in front of her. Asha just holds still, a small smile slowly blossoming on her face.

Eventually, the Fennekin turns to the Professor and nods, sitting down again. Asha blinks and Tom laughs. Apparently, that meant-

Her breath catches. Eyes widen.

She said yes.

Fennekin said yes?

She had a Pokemon.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notes}
Word count: 1252 of 3401