Thunderlight

A Break In (the Case)

After the nightmare in Sapphire City, everyone was eager to stay somewhere else. Anywhere else. Thankfully, Ada lives in Roselake City, a coastal settlement near Sapphire City. She offered them all a place to stay in her home for as long as they wish. Everyone happily took her up on that offer—except for Florian, who had to feign disinterest for the sake of his petty ego—so as of now they've spent two days at Ada's small cottage.

The first day they got there, they helped her bury her son in the backyard. They tried to construct a makeshift gravemarker out of sticks and flowers, but Florian insisted it would rot and be useless within a few months. Pretty soon after that, an anonymous benefactor paid to have a beautiful tombstone made and delivered.

Mott kinda expected Ada to sit around morosely and sigh often, like mourning people do in plays. But idle grieving doesn't seem to be her cup of tea. The moment they got home, she went straight back to work at the infirmary and worked all night. It took the three teenagers dragging her back home for her to finally get some rest. The second day, she went straight to work again but came back on her own at a reasonable time, wanting to cook dinner for the teens. The third day, she came home with adoption papers.

Mott's not too surprised on that front. The teens haven't been able to let her go since they met her, and vice versa.

The cottage is small, and not really well suited for eight people, but Mott and Lenny will be heading out soon and he assumes Florian and Torquil won't stay long, either. But until then, he and Lenny sleep in the living room, Florian and Torquil share a room, and Ada sleeps in her room with the teens. Mott's never crashed in someone's living room before. It's a strange experience, but not entirely unpleasant. It does make it hard for him to fall asleep, though, which leaves his mind captive to plaguing thoughts.

What is Zekrom's motive?

Is he crazy for asking such a thing? Everyone knows Zekrom is just a mindless beast. But is it really? Is anyone?

He's on his second straight hour of pondering when Lenny rolls over to face him and asks, "Do you wanna talk? You've been glaring at the ceiling for an awful long while, now."

Mott deliberately smoothes out his features before facing Lenny. Lenny blinks at him, waiting patiently.

"I'm not thinking about anything," he lies.

"Are you thinking about Zekrom again?" Lenny asks, as if he already knows the answer.

Mott doesn't reply.

"Hmm." Lenny strikes a thoughtful pose that honestly just looks more cute than anything. Mott can't help but grin. "Well, whenever I'm stumped on something, it always helps me to have a brainstorming session with some good friends. Why don't we ask your buddies Florian and Torquil what they think!"

Mott is still sputtering over the word 'buddies' while Lenny jumps to his feet. Quickly, Mott says, "Hold on, Len, I don't think that's a good—"

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Lenny insists, hurrying down the hall. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"

Mott grumbles to himself, reluctantly rolling onto his feet. Dragging his feet, he trudges toward Florian and Torquil's room. The last thing he wants is Torquil and Florian's help. Torquil will be earnest but in the end, useless, and Florian will be infuriatingly helpful and oh-so arrogant about it. This song and dance is one he's performed way, way too many times.

Lenny knocks on the door before skipping in. The room is rather cramped for pokémon of Torquil and Florian's size, and the bed even more so. It's a miracle they can sleep like that. Torquil is sprawled out across the mattress, his limbs splayed in every direction, clutching Florian like a teddy bear. Florian looks like he fought against the suffocating embrace with every waking moment before giving up and passing out.