Jumpy

Iris pulled her jacket closer around her form as she walked the empty back alleys of the corrupted town. A chill ran her spine, and she wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the eerie atmosphere that caused it. Probably both, if she was honest with herself. Brown eyes glanced around to the buildings that loomed over her, before back to the leaf strewn ground, scanning for anything of interest. Carefully, she ran her shoe through a particularly high pile, but nothing emerged. She’d been asked by Team Ethos to look for objects for study, or if she got lucky, mushrooms of a ‘particular sort.’ Real specific, that… She shook her head in annoyance at how vague the missive had been. And where had Penny gotten off to, anyways?

The woman paused, her shoulders stiffening. No, seriously, where was he? She spun on her heel, scanning the alley for any sign of the fusion Pokemon. 

“Penny?” She hated how tiny and squeaky her voice sounded out loud, but she had no idea where her trouble magnet of a Pokemon was. Nor did she know where Micah was, either, for that matter. How did someone misplace something so purple and brown, especially in a place shrouded in darkness? “Micah?”

“Vee!” Iris whipped around again, her gaze shooting down to the source of the noise, and some of the tension left her shoulders, though she was embarrassed by how her wings flared behind her at the spook. The Eevee/Mareanie’s head stuck out from a pile of rotting leaves, one stuck to her horn. Heart still hammering in her chest, Iris knelt down next to the pile, scooping up the fusion as carefully as she could. Getting poisoned out here would do her any good, and so she tried to not nick herself on those barbs that stuck out from Michah’s tentacles. 

“There you are, sweetheart!” She gave the Pokemon a little squeeze of affection, holding her like she would a baby. “I was so worried!”

“Vee?” The Pokemon tipped her head to the side, confusion in her aquamarine colored eyes obvious. Iris sighed, shifting the Pokemon in her arms as she looked around for her other missing Pokemon. Micah settled in comfortably, ready to be carried, a leaf still stuck to her horn. Iris didn’t want to try getting it off, but it certainly bothered her. 

“Never mind. Do you know where Penny is?” She asked, as if the Pokemon in her arms would answer her or even really understand the question. The Pokemon tilted its head to the other side, answering indirectly. No, Micah didn’t know where Penny was. Iris looked around again, carefully stepping her way down the alley to a main road, where she stopped to assess. Hollow folks milled around, fused Pokemon sticking close to their former owners, paying her no attention. It broke her heart, but unnerved her as well, seeing them all like this. A tap to her shoulder made her yelp and jump, nearly dropping Micah in the process. She whipped around, wings spread wide again as an instinctive defense, and her heart slammed against the back of her ribcage. 

There, floating as if nothing was wrong at all, was Penny, who looked just as startled as she was. In one of his tendril-like arms… was a mushroom. She sighed, shoulders slumping and she reached out for the faintly glowing fungus. “Thank you, Penny… Thank you.”