Wrong Choice: Kina Edition

Kina had a lot of information dumped on her by the strapping young man next to her, though it’d been like pulling freaking teeth to get that much. She pursed her lips a little before she looked over to her twin brother to check on him, quietly lifting her eyebrows in a way she hoped read as ‘can you believe this guy?’ but immediately, her skepticism washed away when she saw how unnerved he was when he looked back at her. What the hell had the old woman said that had Phoenix reacting like that? Still…

She looked back to the man next to her, wondering if she dared prod the man for more information about what her and her brother were wandering into in Thunderdale. The warning look she got from the man stilled her tongue though and she pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything. Instead, she pulled out her phone and earbuds and popped one in, leaving the other out as a safety measure in case anything happened. Granted, while it was suppressed, most felt unsettled when near her, so it was a safety measure, but also more habit than anything at this point in her life. The Umbreon fused trainer glanced around the train, thankful for her improved senses. The dim lighting was nothing to her, and the train car was bright as day to her. The woman looked down at her phone again, scrolling through what she had.

A true crime podcast she’d downloaded for the trip fit the bill, but even when it started, she found herself unable to focus on the contents. Instead, her mind latched onto the fact Cynic had been trying to keep control of the town she was on her way to visit. Cynic… the ones who had tried to destroy Guardian Groudon when he’d been possessed. That had been a rough month, though it had given her and her brother plenty of material to work on a new game. A combat game still in its infancy. 

Something didn’t sit right about the town being under Cynic’s care, nor did it sit right that it was run by the mob. This meant that the friends they were visiting had been stuck in that situation for four years now. Shit. Kina looked around the car, imaginary scenery passing by the ‘windows’. What waited for them there in Thunderdale though? Could they handle it? Kina and Phoenix had handled themselves well the past few years, but their Pokemon weren’t very strong.

Anxiety knotted in her stomach, tightening it almost painfully. What were Cynic even doing in Thunderdale? She wasn’t fond of either team, not really, but Cynic got the worst of her ire for what the team had wanted to do to the legendary Pokemon when subduing didn’t work. Her throat rumbled in a low growl, and instinctively, she perked her ears up, though the gesture felt weird with her ears suppressed like they were. It took a long moment before she realized the growl had been from her, and she was glad that the flickering light kept her blush of embarrassment from being broadcasted. Best to focus on the podcast. She hit restart on the podcast, ready to relax for forty-five minutes as best she could.