Pathos「Pokemon Fanfiction」

Prelude ∞ A

"If I remember to." A soft murmur of acknowledgement was the last sound in the room, and the both of them never took their gaze off the ground as they left.

§

"Hey, Yan." Avis nodded to the shorter girl behind the counter, watching as her furious hands moved at an impressive rate to pack bottles of liquid into boxes. "What work is there for me today?"

A stray yelp of wait a minute was his answer, the teenager pushing the finished order to the side before turning to face him with a tired grin. "There's been a ton of pre-orders," she huffed, tying her rose-grey tresses back as she spoke. "It's mostly packing—could you handle that and the counter duties while I go to the garden?"

He nodded, and the teenager responded with a relieved word of thanks before disappearing through the back door to deal with her own work.

One glance at the messy list taped to the wall sent his lips curving downwards, and he set about collecting items for the first order stated, his hands automatically moving to the correct shelves and retrieving the glass jars as needed.

Pre-orders...that means that they chose to use mail. Avis' frown deepened as he lost himself in his thoughts. And that would mean the situation between Kalos and Hoenn is getting worse. People are too scared to even come to the shop to get something.

"Are you worried about your brother?" A sweet voice snapped him out of his half-daydream, and he looked behind him to see Yan loading another carton of burn medicine onto one of the lower shelves. "The war is only going to get worse. Hoenn's not going to stop until the mystery attacks do."

"I'm not worried about Ai—" There was something unrelenting in the girl's grey eyes that made him pause, however, and he bit his lip before rephrasing his sentence. "Fine, I am. But it's just because he's far too soft. His kindness will end up killing him."

A knowing smile played on his coworker's lips as she scribbled a name on yet another cardboard box. "You know, you should let him know that you care for him. I almost feel sorry for the guy sometimes—he's forced into a lot of things."

"Whatever," he grunted back, taking the large container from her and carrying it over to the pile of cartons in the corner.

He was just answered with a quiet laugh, and the two of them worked in silence for the next few hours with only the occasional interruption for a murmured request or command.

Yan was the first to speak again, and he jumped from his position in the corner—kneeling down and out of sight behind the counter—but he then realised that she was just talking to a customer. He caught a glimpse of the stern-looking man, quite definitely Hoenn from his broad features and slight tan, and decided to stay where he was until he left.

"That was one of the guys who head Hoenn's military force." He got to his feet to see a rare scowl flash across the teenager's face. "He's threatened my fath—I mean, the shop manager before, so we pretty much have to supply him with herbs and medicine."

"I see," Avis mumbled, and avoided the sharp glint in his friend's gaze—he knew that she wasn't very close to her father, and seeing such an expression on such an easygoing person would unsettle anyone. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

She closed the box in her hands, focusing her unhappiness on the loud thud produced by the carton and turning to glance at her partner. "I think that's the last one," she stated with relief. "I guess you're dismissed now. Unless you want to help with the actual gathering of herbs, that is, and—"

"Thanks." The blue-haired boy cut her off before she could go on a spiel, pushing the door open and cocking his head at her. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow at the same time, then. Bye."