This Is Fine

Authors Note - Chapter One.


This will usually be at the end of the chapters, but I wanted to ensure that I put this in first.


Grounded Pokémon story. Survival-focused, not a power fantasy.


The protagonist starts broke, barely supported, and behind. No chosen one, no hidden destiny, no master plan. Progress is incremental, and Pokémon are companions, not solutions to structural problems.


Let's get at it.


CHAPTER ONE START



The sky was overcast, and I swear the clouds were threatening me. I was just waiting for it to rain. Because the world would kick me when I was down.


I wasn't about to hand the world a straight line like 'could be worse.'


I knew it would take it as a goddamned challenge.


The slight caw overhead brought my attention up to the flock of Pidove and Tranquill that were turning south back towards Mistralton City. I didn't blame them. I was already regretting my decision to go north instead of east or south. At the time, it hadn't seemed to matter.


Oh, everyone has the thought.


Pokémon's wonderful! I'd love to be there!


Ever heard the old joke?


Would you like to live in your favourite fictional universe?


Star Trek, yes.


Pokémon, yes.


Dungeons and Dragons, yes.


Warhammer 40k, fuck no.


Well, jokes on me now.


Because I'd take Warhammer 40k over this.


At least the Tyranids had the common damned courtesy to make it quick. I swear, if it got me out of here, I'd fist fight a lictor buck ass naked.


Six months.


I'd been here six months, and it had all been downhill.


Couldn't hide my arrival; it flashed into existence right in front of a Pokémon Centre. In nothing but my jammies, a tub of ice cream, and a spoon firmly in hand from my midnight fridge raid. The police officer who'd just stepped out looked very freaked out seeing me; that may have been one of the few bright spots so far.


Then, of course, came my panic attack at realising that 'oh shit, oh shit that's a Growlithe.' Then my brain went into overdrive, cataloguing all the different, supposedly imaginary, creatures around me. I thought I must be having a mental breakdown or a psychotic break.


Stress from work. Dad dead. Died a couple of years back, didn't ever really deal with my feelings on that. Just jammed them down. The current economic crisis. Then, apparently, I used up all my brains bandwidth because I passed out.


I woke up two days later and was shuffled almost immediately into a meeting with local law enforcement. Which quickly became a meeting with the Unovan Bureau of Investigation. Then I got handballed again and made to wait four days under, admittedly quite polite, house arrest.


After that came the meeting with the Department of Unovan Security. Which had been more like twelve meetings, including a full brain scan by an actual Psychic with the help of their partner Pokémon called Reuniclus.


Which freaked me right the hell out.


But I was not given the chance to refuse.


According to the DUS and the lawyer I had been assigned, I was currently a 'threat to the continued safety of Unova.' As such, they waived the normal protocols forbidding psychic interrogation for cases less than murder. They'd only done it once. Apparently, doing so was extremely dangerous to the person doing the brain scan thing.


I was assured I was in no danger.


Still not sure, I believed that.


The actual Psychic was a nice enough guy. We talked, waiting for the medical professional to come in before he could start. Apparently, the other reason this wasn't used more often was that someone with a disciplined enough mind could actually create false memories for them to find. Which is why psychic testimony on anything could only be used as circumstantial evidence at best, legally speaking.


Because, of course, that was a thing.


Also terrifying.


They were mildly disturbed by what they pulled out of my mind and even more frustrated. I didn't blame them. I barely touched Pokémon as a game series in the last ten years, minus a small shot at Sun and Moon through an emulator, and even then, I wasn't really paying attention. Just something for my hands to do while I listened to an audiobook. I hadn't even seen an episode of the anime since what I was fairly certain was pre-2005.


I took some malicious joy in their suffering.


Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, would have been useful information if it hadn't been found out almost fifteen years ago and halfway around the world.


My meta-knowledge from the games was even more frustrating for them. Given that I had no concept of the timeline and who the bad guys were, in most cases.


Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza would fight at some point due to some crazy people and environmentalist reasons. There may or may not be a meteor and an alien involved.


Some guy would summon Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina at some point for reasons I didn't remember at a place I didn't know. I was also uncertain if he had any actual control over the situation or not.


Everything else they got out of me was stuff I learned from cultural osmosis or because a friend of mine played every Pokémon game religiously.


Someone somewhere was an arsehole and a bad father. While his adoptive child N, his real name started with Natural, not sure what the rest was, but I knew it was stupid, was probably an actual moron. N was, possibly, the Hero of Ideals or maybe Truth.


Some weird guy with red hair who was very obviously unstable was going to kill a whole bunch of people using an 'ultimate weapon' of some kind. Also, there was an actual immortal running around.


That one made people sit up and take notice.


Finally, some stick lady that people were relentlessly thirsty for was obsessed with Ultra Beasts and also possibly a contestant for worst parent in the world.


I was left alone for a few days after that.


Then my case officer with the DUS thanked me for my time. Like I was given a choice in that matter. Then handballed off to the Unovan Department of Immigration to sort out. My state-appointed lawyer was moved out, and a new one moved in. It was, mostly, a smooth process overall.


Apparently, now that they were sure I was not a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, I had access to more information. I was what they called a Faller, apparently, people randomly turning up while rare was not unheard of. Though it was certainly more common in other parts of the world. They also usually moved across time, not dimensions.


Still, there was an actual form I had to fill out for it; the guy handing it to me was almost unnervingly giddy. Like he'd been waiting for his whole life since finding out this form existed to hand it to someone.


Glad to help.


I think.


Weirdo.


It took three weeks on top to get my paperwork sorted out. Thankfully, while cross-dimensional asylum was apparently a nightmare of paperwork, most of the information they needed was already on file. I was granted a limited Asylum-Visa to Unova, valid for the next three years, after which I would need to apply for permanent residency or citizenship.


Travel to other regions needed specific paperwork, and if my request for travel was denied by the Unovan government. Should I choose to go anyway, I would be liable for fines and possible dissolution of my Asylum-Visa.


It was all very dry and clinical.


I also got a small thank you card from the Pokémon League for my 'contributions to the study and understanding of the proposed Fairy Type'. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that I was cited in a study somewhere. I asked the Pokémon League representative who delivered it if, instead of thanks, I could be given money instead.


I got a polite laugh and a firm no.


I tossed the card as soon as she left the room.


After it was all over, they gave me the bureaucratic equivalent of a smack on the bum and punted me out into Castelia City. With three weeks in the local hostel prepaid and their 'best wishes.'


I had no job.


Little understanding of the Unovan Economy.


And no idea what to do next.


Worse still, Unova was right at the start of a recession. So most of the blue-collar work, not taken by Pokemon anyway, that I usually would have used to survive, were downsizing. Which meant getting a job was damn near impossible.


Three weeks had passed, and the hostel wanted more money. The meagre amount I was managing to scrape together from the little gig work I could pick up. Even when combined with my Job-Seeker and Immigration Integration payment I received bi-weekly, valid for one year, didn't let me stay.


Instead, I drifted from shelter to shelter. Luckily, it was summer when I arrived, being technically homeless really didn't do it for me, but I didn't have a lot of choices.


I'm sure that most people, hell, myself included, would assume that if they were in Pokémon, they would be a trainer, collect a team, and become Champion.


Great dream.


Probably not going to happen.


The economics alone put that dream in the ground for me. One baseline Pokeball, one, cost between twenty-five and thirty thousand dollars. To put that in perspective, a full week in a hostel would be about sixty-five thousand, and the equivalent of a large McDonald's meal was twenty three hundred.


I got fifty-five thousand biweekly from my welfare payments and could usually pull in another few thousand from random gigs around the city. It only took me a few days to fully appreciate the problem. Even assuming I could afford a pokeball and find a Pokémon willing to work with me, I would have just doubled, maybe even tripled, my food costs.


I had a brief, glorious dream of making money off battling. Unfortunately, that was a game mechanic. While some people did bet on the outcomes of matches, the payout was astonishingly small. Maybe enough to buy a small meal at one of the local fast food chains, nowhere near enough to offset all the other costs.


The only people making money off of Pokémon battles were the Ace Trainers, Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the Champion. Even then, it was mostly through sponsorships. The Pokémon League was a weird mix of UFC and NGO. Sure, the Champion may have no official power to set policy, but they were also likely your region's biggest military asset and, as such, had a hell of a say in a lot.


Thankfully there hadn't been a war in this part of the world for over a hundred years.


Maybe if I'd chosen a different path when I was younger, I'd be better off. But I'd been a blue-collar worker for twelve years, and there was no changing that now. Two years unemployed and a failed degree. Seven years in kitchens and five as a truck driver. In the middle of a recession, it's hard to find any work, let alone work like that.


Eventually, more people needed to head to the shelters. The recession lost people's homes, jobs, and made life harder. Food got more expensive even as luxuries I couldn't afford came down. Soon enough, it was hard enough to get more than a night a week in a shelter. I couldn't find a single Hostel with a bed, and Hotels were right out on price alone.


So I went and grabbed a tent, sleeping bag, and small camp stove. Nothing fancy, the tent and bag weren't rated for sub-zero temperatures or the like. But it was warm and kept the wind out for the most part. So I called it a win.


Eventually, I got sick of Castelia and did the only thing that made sense: I picked up and left. I mean, I was homeless and had a tent. I could go wherever, so long as I made a weekly call in the Unovan Job-Seeker Agency.


So far, I'd made my way through Nimbasa City, Driftveil, and Mistralton City. I liked all of them about as much as I liked Castelia.


Which was to say not at all.


So here I was six months later.


The world was no longer strange, mysterious, and majestic.


It was just there.


With all of its disappointment completely intact.


I was north west of Mistralton City. Carrying what I'd managed to cobble together of a life stuffed into a secondhand hiking backpack. Aching legs, small bank account, a constant simmering undertone of deeply wanting someone to give me a reason to pick a fight.


I'd yelled at the sky, insulted God, Arceus, Mew, and everything else I could think of, trying to get them to send me home or strike me down.


Nothing.


So here I was trudging ever forward. Roughly thirty kilometres a day. Now, with the sun going down, I was looking for a place to sleep. Thankfully, I probably had two, maybe three hours' worth of daylight left. I did not want to be trying to set up in the dark.


I found a place almost an hour and a half later. Only about two hundred meters off the trail I'd been following. The sign called it Wawaka Lake, so at least the name was somewhat funny.


No one else was at the lake. I didn't see any camping prohibited signs. I probably would have ignored them if I did. Still, I'd take no neighbours. The people of Unova were friendly, but they could talk, and I hadn't been good company for months, if ever.


Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, it was the first week of Autumn after all. And it got damned cold at night. The Pokémon League was starting to wrap up; anyone who hadn't defeated whoever was the Icirrus City gym leader yet would be on the main routes.


Thankfully, my tent didn't take long to set up. It was my single most expensive purchase to date at twenty thousand. But it was lightweight, barely eight hundred grams. I changed out of my increasingly abused sneakers, I was not looking forward to replacing those, another upcoming big expense, and into a pair of sandals.


It was practically dark by the time I finished my setup, and I got my small stove going.


Ideally, I would have liked to have set a fire.


Propane and propane accessories were not free.


However, that was getting harder and harder to do as the weather got colder. I threw a water purification tablet into each canteen; they were one of the few things I could call cheap. A packet of one hundred for only twenty-three hundred?


Yes please!


The freeze-dried meal I pulled out was something I was less than looking forward to. I was, mostly due to personal squick factor, a partial vegetarian in this new world. I don't care that it was acceptable for humans and Pokémon to eat other Pokémon.


It weirded me out.


Thankfully, there were still some animals in this world that were not of the pocket monster variety, mostly bugs, some fish. The fish prices were usually a hell of a lot more than I could afford.


So I bit the bullet and made freeze-dried chickpea curry. While that was busy re-hydrating, I made myself one of my few luxuries I could afford.


Cheri and Mago berry tea.


I wasn't a tea person before I can here, still wasn't really, but I for just over the price of two medium sized sodas, I could buy eighty tea bags. They were also a hell of a lot lighter to carry. It would take a few minutes, but the end was a spicy-sweet tea.


A good way to end the day, I may be homeless, angry, aching, and cold. But.....I'm sure there's supposed to be a bright side ending to that, but for the life of me, I can't think of it.


I took a deep sip of the tea after a few minutes, a little early. Then grabbed the curry and wolfed it down like a starving man. Which I only technically wasn't. I also wasn't rich enough to afford three freeze-dried meals a day. So mostly relied on a filling breakfast, powdered milk, granola, and raisins. Then some snacks, which was just a few handfuls of granola with raisins.


I took a long sip of the tea, spicy-sweet, and let out a long sigh.


"Kip."


My spine went ramrod straight immediately.


Pokémon were usually, not inherently, dangerous unless you went out of your way to annoy them. Even a Ursaring would usually give you a chance to turn around and walk away before it took you off the census.


Of course, you met a mama Ursaring, or most big mama Pokémon for that matter, and all bets were off.


But for the most part, Pokémon didn't just tear humans in half. Not without a good reason anyway. Of course, that didn't mean that one wouldn't decide they just didn't like your face and obliterate you.


The cry came from near the water's edge, and small plodding steps came closer. I tensed as the figure entered the radius of my propane fire. It was blue, mostly, with small orange fins next to its mouth, which was drawn back in a small, guileless smile, a blue fin proudly on its head.


My brain timed out for a moment. I had researched what Pokémon lived around here and their usual behaviour patterns at the Pokémon Center back in Mistralton.


I had been expecting all kinds of things.


Several dozen types of flyers. Even Cubchoo, that article had a warning attached next to it. Cubchoo down here were likely only just exploring away from their family groups. There was every likelihood that if you saw one, there was a Beartic nearby you didn't.


As such, treat a Cubchoo like seeing a Teddiursa; do not approach. If the Cubchoo approaches you, be nice. If you want to catch the Cubchoo, do not do so by battle; talk to it. And if at any moment you hear what sounds like a deep reverberating growl from nearby, leave. If that growl comes from behind you, put your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye.


Which is why I was utterly confused by what I was seeing. We spoke at the same time, with what I could only call an inquisitive greeting, and me in complete stupification.


"Mudkip!?" I looked down at what I knew was a native of Hoenn. They looked back up at me guilelessly and continued to plod forward.


"Mudkip." They said again.


"Nice to meet you?" I replied, my voice lilting up at the end. I examined the small Pokémon. It looked almost a little too small. Barely bigger than my forearm. Waddling up to my leg, Mudkip stopped. Pokémon were smart, smarter than the animals on Earth. This one, though, was far too comfortable around me. Either it was a trainer Pokémon, or it didn't think it had a reason to be afraid.


"Mudkip." They said again, looking at the cup in my hand.


"You...you want my tea?"


"Mudkip!" I blinked twice and placed the cup down. The small Pokémon nodded at me with a smile and began slurping.


"You're welcome," I said, slowly processing. I looked out into the night.


"Anyone there!?" I raised my voice to carry without yelling. No one answered. The Mudkip looked up, then went straight back to finishing off what was left of my tea. No one came forward, not so much as a peep.


"Kip, Mudkip." I looked back down as they slapped the cup around, a little tea now drained completely. They looked up at me with wide eyes and a smile. I sighed; they reminded me of a puppy for some reason.


"Would you like some more?"


"Mudkip!" I took that as a yes. It took a few minutes to make the tea and let it cool enough that the small mudfish wouldn't burn itself. I had to explain 'fire hot ouch' to a small creature that could actually understand me.


What the hell was my life?


"Anyone? There is a small Mudkip here if you're looking!" I called again, not really expecting an answer. I sighed as Mudkip finished off the tea and gave a wide yawn, plodding up to my leg and settling in close, closing its eyes.


"Mudkip." They let out quietly. I blinked several times brain catching up to events. I rubbed my forehead to stave off an upcoming headache. Mudkip twitched a little as its breath began to settle into sleep. I reacted like I would if the small Pokémon had been a puppy. Placing a hand on the Pokémon's head and gently petting. The twitches subsided, and Mudkip let out a contented sigh as it fully slipped into sleep.


I couldn't help the smile on my face. I liked Mudkip. Easily my favourite starter and not just because Swampert was a damned juggernaut. I let the tightness in my shoulders relax and sighed. Eyes closing, I really did need to jump into the tent and get some sleep. I'd move, but much like if a cat was on my chest, I was afraid I would wake Mudkip up if I moved.


Something shifted to my left.


Something big.


A deep rumble came out of its chest. I opened my eyes slowly. No sudden moves. Head turning to come face-to-face with a very unimpressed-looking visitor. Yellow eyes regarded me dispassionately.


"Perrt." Now I knew why the Mudkip had looked so small. Because it was a newborn or at least only a few months old at best. Big Mama Swampert looked at me, and I drew in a very deep, very slow breath. I had no desire to be completely obliterated by an angry Mama that could manipulate water and shatter boulders on a whim.


I slowly raised my left hand and pointed over to my side. Swampert moved slowly, eyes roving around my small campsite. Until she saw Mudkip, her dispassionate eyes relaxed slightly as she looked around a bit more.


"No pokeballs." I kept my voice low. Both because Mudkip was asleep and, more importantly, because being loud could be construed as being a threat. Big Mama regarded me and snagged my backpack on a single large finger, placing it on the other side of Mudkip, and pointed at the ground.


"Swampert," She rumbled lowly.


I did not relish the idea of repacking my gear.


I liked the idea of being turned into chunky salsa even less.


Slowly but surely, I cleared every pocket, placing all items on the ground and repacking them. Once I was finished, Big Mama, never taking her eyes off me, went to investigate my tent. Giving a small chuff, she turned to fully face me again.


With extremely tender care, she picked up the sleeping Mudkip and cradled them in one arm. Looking at me, she blinked slowly and then nodded.


"How long can I stay?" That didn't feel like a get out and don't come back, but I was not going to push my luck if I could avoid it. Swampert blinked slowly again, and her eyes narrowed as if considering. Before holding up two fingers.


"Two days."


"Perrt." Big Mama nodded.


"I'll be gone by the afternoon of day three." At the latest, frankly, once my heart had stopped trying to shatter my ribs, I may just pack up and run. If I could convince my aching legs to do so. She nodded again and wandered off into the night, barely making a sound, slipping into the water. I looked at the sky and felt a strong need to piss myself.


"What a fucking day."


Chapter One End.


Thanks for reading.


Hi guys, I'm porting this story over from Spacebattles. I don't have infinite time, so expect updates 3 times a week until it's caught up. If you have to get more of it now, I'd go read it over there.


Hope you're having a great week.

In the end, I stuck around for the whole two days.

My damned legs hurt after all the hiking. Besides, it finally decided to rain in the morning of the second day. I already hated walking in the rain. I was not doing it if I didn't have to.

Mudkip kept turning up. The little guy, I asked Big Mama about that, was completely fearless. Like most kids, he didn't know enough to be afraid. I was happy enough to have Mudkip around. He was cute, inquisitive, and gave me someone to talk to that wasn't myself.

Unless I did something very obviously threatening. It was pretty unlikely that Big Mama would explode my shoulder grapefruit. While she absolutely terrified me on the first night, the Swampert was actually pretty easy to get along with.

Mind her space, mind her kid, don't fish in her lake, and give her the occasional Cheri and Mago berry tea. Oh, and leave on time. She had made that part abundantly clear. Coming right up to me after her evening tea on night two and folding down two of her three fingers. Then, pointing to the horizon, raising three fingers, and pointing back towards the road.

What was a lot more interesting was Big Mama's backstory. I had weaned it out of her over the last two days through the use of a lot of tea. Even then, it took more charades than I was completely comfortable with.

Best as I could tell, someone had grabbed her back when she was a Marshtomp; she'd had a trainer at some point. I think. Whoever it was, they had brought her here, not the lake, Unova. But she'd managed to get away and settle around here. Best as I could tell, the lake was her Autumn and Winter home. During Spring and Summer, she retreated deeper into the forest to avoid most people.

I was probably missing a lot of context, but charades can really only get one so far.

"Mudkip!" I was unsurprised by my guest. The little one had made it a habit to turn up in the camp at dawn and eat some of my breakfast. I would be more annoyed, but he was a cute little bugger. Besides, he didn't eat so much I worried about my supply.

It was a bit of a novelty that someone enjoyed my breakfast.

Lord knew I didn't.

Whoever had the gall to call it powdered milk deserved to be murdered, slowly.

I grabbed the hollowed-out wooden bowl his mother had left me after the first morning, put a bit of breakfast in there, and placed it back down.

"Kip!" Well, he was happy at least. I grabbed the second wooden bowl and began boiling some water.

"Swampert." Big Mama greeted me with a waved hand and a small froggy smile when she saw the tea. Looking down at Mudkip, making sure the little guy was busy, she looked back up at me, held up three fingers, and pointed towards the road.

"By noon." I agreed, she nodded and began drinking the tea slowly, savouring every drop. Unlike her son, who usually hammered it down as fast as possible. Speaking of which, Mudkip licked the last of the bowl and proceeded to plod his way over to me and bit the cuff of my pants.

I spent my morning under the watchful eye of Big Mama, being dragged around by the young Mudkip, who was still absolutely entranced by the world around him. A few hours short of noon, the Swampert ambled over, scooped up Mudkip, and began plodding away. Giving me a chance to pack up my things without being interrupted.

It didn't take too long. I had to leave at noon, but I knew the outside of the tent wouldn't be completely dry by then. So I left it standing awhile longer, the later the better. I made the choice to splurge a little.

I should reach the town of Geddes in three, maybe four, days.

I had supplies for seven.

I heated up a pack of spicy mushroom curry and placed a hydro-enhance orange tablet into my canteen. Then began wolfing the curry down as fast as I could. Experience had taught me that while Big Mama and Mudkip may like my Cheri and Mago berry tea. They vastly preferred spicy to sweet. Big Mama had the control not to come and beg me for the curry; Mudkip did not.

Learned that the hard way.

Also learned that I fold like Superman on laundry day when he turns up the cuteness.

"Mudkip!" The indigent squeak echoed as he charged over the ground toward me. Right as I finished up the last of the curry.

"Sorry, little guy, all finished." I put the packet into the sealed bag I kept. Couldn't just dispose of it out here. There was a rainwater tank, and the toilet nearby was kept clean with some kind of chemical mix at the bottom that helped dissolve waste until the Rangers, or whatever contractor was hired, got out here to change it.

But there were no handy trash cans around. I was not about to litter in Big Mama's winter home if I could help it.

"Swampert." Speaking of which, she ambled up behind her son and raised a single eyebrow like ridge while looking at my tent.

It wasn't quite disapproval.

But it was close.

"Wanted to let it dry as much as I could before putting it away." I clarified, "Now I've had an early lunch, I'll pack it up and get going." She nodded.

"Mudkip!" Her son, meanwhile, didn't like that. Coming over and bit the cuff of my trousers to pull me around again.

"Swampert." Big Mama spoke and picked up her son in one deceptively gentle hand. I got a front row seat to Mudkip pouting, it was just as adorable as you'd think. I was not a tall man, and Big Mama was smaller than me.

But when she straightened up on two legs and rose up to her full height of four seven, my heart jumped into my throat. A three-fingered hand, unoccupied by an adorable pouting Mudkip. Rested on my head and ruffled my hair a little.

"Swampert." She said and gave me a warm, if mischievous, froggy grin.

Then, she walked away.

"Mind if I come back again?" I couldn't help it; the words just slipped out. She stopped, cocked her head to one side for a moment, then turned around and nodded just once.

"Pert."

"But not for a while." I understood her meaning quickly.

"Swampert." With a final nod, she and her son disappeared into the lake.

I didn't see them again before I left.

Time blurred a little after I left. Passing ever onward with cold wind, sore legs, and the occasional hole I needed to dig for when there just wasn't a toilet around. The, quite possibly fourth-hand, jacket I had picked up back in Driftveil was nearing its last legs.

The road was taking me North West. Up and away from Mistralton and into the rural areas. I was hours away from the nearest city, even if I'd had a car. Part of me had played with the idea of going even further north.

Out past Anville town and into the Fiore region.

It died stillborn.

The paperwork would be murder and take weeks. Then, if they even allowed me to leave, I'd still face all the same problems I did in Unova, only now I'd be somewhere else and not have the welfare payments to fall back on.

I doubted that Fiore was recession-free.

The banks of Unova caused theirs by giving out a whole heap of subprime mortgages to people who could barely afford them. Then, when the housing market started to crash, the entire economy shit the bed. I'd seen something similar back in two thousand eight.

In more immediately pressing news. The clouds weren't looking good. I was probably going to be rained on before I made it to Geddes. I didn't have a watch. But the sun told me it was a little past noon.

I'd arrive a few hours after sundown. Maybe I should camp instead. I wasn't planning to rent a room after all.

I took my lunch near the edge of the small river I'd been following, and by lunch I meant a few handfuls of granola with water. Along with the excuse to sit down for an hour. I caught a few glimpses of some Azurill.

One jumped out and started walking towards me fearlessly. The Azumarill it was traveling with practically flew out of the water to grab the wayward child.

"Bit of a troublemaker?" I asked, trying to control my chuckles. The Pokémon parent gave me a look of long suffering and a nod before it jumped back into the water with its charge, heading downstream.

I set off again.

Heading upstream following the twisting river, the track I was on paralleled the nearby road. It was almost an hour later when I smelled grease on the wind; someone had an accident or was servicing a car.

I could hear whines, cracks, and pops.

Not a good sound.

I picked up the pace.

Rounding the next corner showed me the remains of what could only be a wild Pokémon attack. The truck was on its side, the bonnet almost completely ruined. The driver's side had been turned into so much torn metal.

The lack of blood was the only thing that made this whole thing a bit better. The tray had been cleanly sheared through the back half of it, thrown several meters away near the riverbank. The wheels on the driver's side had been punctured by stones.

Ripped-up trees heading away from the site were the only indication of where the Pokémon that did this had gone. I didn't hear anything, so this probably happened hours ago. Time to get the hell out of here.

I wasn't sure what would cause a Pokémon to want to rip a truck apart.

But I wasn't in a rush to meet the one who did it.

I liked not dying a painful death.

Thanks.

I took off at a light jog, intent on putting all this behind me. Reporting it at the Pokémon Center in Geddes and letting the Rangers take care of this one. I was just some guy with a bunch of secondhand hiking equipment and a chip on his shoulder.

I stopped after a half dozen steps.

I heard something.

Nothing big.

If it had been a tree crashing I'd have been sprinting not stopping. I waited for a minute, nothing, not a whisper. I turned to go, my foot hitting a small rock and causing it to skip away.

The sound came again, muffled but there, a high-pitched squawk. Too deep to be a bird. Caution warred with curiosity and lost. I picked up a rock and threw it at the wreck of the truck, hard. It bounced off with a harsh 'ping', and the squawk came again near the river. I advanced slowly and looked over the bank.

Nothing.

I picked up another rock and threw it in. The loud plop caused another squawk to erupt, this one a little weaker than the others. It also helped me pinpoint what I had been searching for, whatever Pokémon was making that sound, and I was reasonably sure it was a Pokémon. Was trapped under the torn half of the truck's bed.

Probably young or hurt. Otherwise, it would have lifted the bed or dug out from underneath it. Assuming it could move and wasn't pinned to the ground by the metal.

"Alright, I'm going to get you out of there," I said loudly, letting whatever it was know that I'd found it. This time, there was no reply. I didn't know if that was because it was too weak to make one or had a natural fear of humans.

I took a moment to get a good look at the truck's bed. Whatever had torn it off must have thrown it high into the air. Because a good three-quarters of the rim was buried three inches into the ground.

The only part I could get a good grip on was the jagged metal end where it had been torn off. Three heaves later, and all I had achieved was cutting up parts of my hands and moving the edge, very slightly, upward. I licked at my wounds and looked back down at the slab of metal.

"You okay?" I asked and got a weak, almost hesitant, call back.

Okay, new plan.

Better plan.

I looked around for a moment, seeing a large branch from one of the downed trees.

That could work.

It took a few minutes of digging to fit it under the tray, but at least this way wasn't cutting my hands up.

I heaved on the branch. Half a truck bed began to move up slowly. It took five minutes of pushing, pulling, swearing, and several calls to whatever was stuck to make sure it was okay, and moving the bed wasn't harming it. Before I got the tray wedged up far enough that it refused to move.

It had taken a few minutes, but I got a clear look at what I was trying to help.

It was emaciated, and I could see some bad bruising where the tray had pinned it to the ground. Several deep scratches certainly wouldn't have helped the case. Being side on and unable to lift the tray due to malnutrition was probably the only reason it hadn't been able to free itself.

"Gible." I breathed. Its scale colour was off, and some were missing. Revealing inflamed skin beneath. The small shark Pokémon kept its single open eye on me. It knew it was at my mercy as much as I did.

It gave a weak squawk when I said its name. Maybe too weak to even 'speak.' I reached forward, and it tried to flinch back but didn't have the strength to do so.

"I'm going to have to pull you out; it's going to hurt." I kept my voice low to try to keep the small Pokémon calm. But I wasn't going to lie. The small shark let out a wheeze and closed its open eye.

I grabbed onto its stubby arms.

Its skin was rough like sandpaper.

I pulled slowly but surely, increasing strength until they were drawn towards me. The shark whimpered several times before I could get it to the edge of the tray. I rolled free, bringing Gible with me.

Its breathing was ragged, eyes closed.

I had little that could help; my backpack had a few bandages, but I had no idea what a Gible was supposed to eat, and it definitely hadn't for a while. I stood, carefully laying the shark down and slinging on my backpack.

My mind snapped some things together.

Swampert was a Hoenn native. Gible belonged to Sinnoh. Big Mama had been pretty clear that she'd been taken against her will from wherever she was before. The Swampert and Garchomp lines weren't what you'd call common.

In the games at least.

I was willing to bet it wasn't that different in 'reality', whatever that word was worth anymore.

Between that and the wrecked truck, I did not like the picture that was being painted.

I grimaced and tightened the backpack's straps. I'd been decently overweight when I'd been forcefully relocated. After a few months of eating little and hiking often. I was merely chunky. A few years back, when I'd been trying to get into shape, I was able to jog six kilometres in forty minutes after a few months of preparation. Hopefully, my body was in good enough condition to do a bit more than that.

There were sixteen kilometres left before Geddes.

I was carrying a backpack full of all my worldly possessions, about twenty kilos. An emaciated land shark, in addition to my sore legs.

I took off jogging.

It didn't take long before my breath began to come out in ragged gasps. I forced my breathing into a rhythm. If I let that fall off, it was going to get even harder. It already wasn't going to be easy. Stay on the balls of your feet. Try not to fall over.

Thankfully, the road didn't fork.

Because I wouldn't be able to start jogging again if I had to stop for any reason.

As my heart sped up and my breathing became increasingly heavy.

I kept jogging, my lower back was starting to cramp, and I was pretty sure that if my lungs were independent entities, they'd crawl out of my mouth and murder me. My legs would probably help if given half a chance. My arms were aching. I could only wish my mouth were bone dry. Instead, my spit had become goopy, thick, and almost clogging.

Breathing got harder.

Maybe I should have left my backpack?

Carrying twenty kilos less would have been welcome.

No stopping now.

Because if I stopped moving, I wouldn't start again.

Gible wasn't doing well either. They were shuddering. Clearly in pain. Sometimes their eyes opened for a few seconds, and they fought to get out of my arms. If they had looked somewhat healthy, I wouldn't have even tried to hold on.

Instead, I tightened my grip and kept jogging onward. The land sharks' breathing was even more ragged than mine. Worse, I was pretty sure it was getting slower.

That wasn't good.

I could feel blisters forming, then bursting, in my shoes.

I kept jogging.

I began crying in pain. My nose is dripping. Snot inside my mouth. I spit it back out.

My back screamed out, my backpack wore skin away slowly but surely, blisters forming and tearing.

I kept jogging.

I threw up. Barely turning my head in time to only soak my right arm instead of my chest and Gible. The smell and acid pushing up my throat made me throw up again.

I kept jogging.

I barely noticed the houses increasing around me.

Until I saw it.

A light shaped like a pokeball. I moved towards it more in a staggering trot than a jog by now.

The door opened my ragged breathing drowned out any sound.

The man behind the counter looked up at me, and his face twisted.

I lumbered to the counter and placed Gible down as gently as I could.

I let my legs give out, sliding down into a heap at the foot of the counter.

I looked up into the worried face of the man.

I couldn't even feel embarrassed.

"Medic." I slurred the word out and let my head rest against the counter.

I should probably be a lot more concerned with the number of police interviews I needed to do since arriving in Unova. I mean, before I got dropped here, I'd only needed to do three, one of which was a formality.

Thankfully, Ben, the nurse on shift, had been nice enough to let me get cleaned up using the showers; he'd even taken my clothes for laundry. Which I was only too happy to agree to.

It did mean I was wearing some of the random clothes left in the Pokémon Center's lost and found. None of which fit quite right. But they were free, and I was going to concoct a reason to keep them. Free anything was always welcome. Especially since I was reasonably sure my sneakers now firmly had their best days behind them.

"Mr. Johnstone?" I refocused, my mind was drifting, and I needed some sleep. Brown hair, green eyes, wearing a Unova police uniform, light blue button-up, red shoulders, dark blue pants. Her hat had already been left on the table between us.

"Sorry. Having a little trouble focusing." I held my hands up in surrender.

"I understand it's been a long day, Mr. Johnstone. But I promise you'll be out as soon as possible. I just need to go over this one more time." I nodded. Deputy Yates was just doing her job. Don't snap at her.

"Your full legal name is Nigel Ross Johnstone, though you usually go by Nash."

"Yes."

The questions she asked were simple and direct. The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of my little escapade. I picked up a little extra information. The wrecked truck had apparently been a Statesman. We circled my testimony one more time. I wasn't one hundred percent on the truck.

"Ah, right, you're a Faller." Deputy Yates said like it answered everything. I felt a muscle in my jaw jump as it involuntarily tightened.

"Yeah." Thankfully, she was professional enough not to ask.

"Moving on, you found the vehicle, assumed to be a Statesman J45, had its front, or engine block, as you put it, destroyed, and half of the tray torn off and, you believe, thrown."

"Yes, that's right. Actually, if you don't mind me asking, why do you seem confused by me calling it an engine block?" She blinked and shrugged.

"I just haven't heard it called that before. Depending on the make, it's usually a storage area or battery compartment."

I shook my head, right. They'd only ever developed Electric vehicles. Hell of a lot easier to make it work with an electric-type Pokémon. They'd probably never needed engine blocks. Something else to get used to.

"Right, sorry for getting off topic."

"It's fine. Now, your original intent was to leave the area. Your stated reason is that with what you believed to be a wild Pokémon attacking a vehicle, you felt unsafe. Is this correct?"

We went back to my statement. Hearing a noise. Finding Gible. Levering up the bed. If we kept going round and round like this, I was going to start doubting my own memories.

"When you arrived local Pokémon Center, you handed Gible over for treatment. After which Deputy Collins conducted an initial interview. Does this series of events match your recollection?"

It did, I told her as much. Though her version left out me hooked up to a saline drip. Being healed by medical technology that was basically magic as far as I could tell.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Johnstone." She turned off the recorder.

"No problem." I lied. I may not have better things to be doing right now. But I absolutely would not be here if I had a real choice in the matter. My legs were still aching. They'd barely be in working order for another few days. Apparently, pain and stiffness were common side effects of healing.

"Would you mind indulging a personal question?" My jaw jumped again. Something pounded in my skull. 'Faller' didn't mean I was a fucking zoo exhibit.

I grunted in what could generously be called agreement.

I didn't do what I wanted.

Telling Deputy Yates to go deep throat a cactus.

"Why did you run here with the Gible instead of leaving it and coming back with help?" I blinked twice. The question completely wrong-footed me.

"I...I uh...don't really know."

"You don't know?" She sounded incredulous.

"Yeah, I didn't even think of leaving it. I knew it was hurt, and I didn't know how long it had so I just picked it up and started jogging."

I couldn't say running.

"I didn't even start thinking about other options until I was already in the Pokémon Center." My admittance was sheepish. Officer Yates looked genuinely shocked for a moment before she let out a quick hyena, or Poochyena, I guess, laugh. I would be lying if I said it didn't annoy me a bit. Some people had infectious laughs, Deputy Yates' sounded like it mugged people on their way home.

"Thank you for indulging me. Would you like a lift back to the Pokémon Center?"

"I would love one, thank you." That was a deal I could jump on. The Cruiser she led me to outside the station was a make I'd seen before. I had no idea of the manufacturer. It just looked like a sedan.

But the seats were comfy, and that's what mattered most.

"Sooo, what's with all the out-of-region Pokémon around?" I was bored and couldn't help but poke at it.

"Noticed that, did you?"

"I'm walking from place to place, I make it a point to know what I could run into and how dangerous it may be."

"Not really sure." I snorted.

"No, really. Not sure. We haven't got a solid answer yet. Only theories. Could be a migration. Could be smuggling. Could be something completely different."

Smuggling added up with what I knew.

I hadn't mentioned Big Mama to the police. I didn't think she'd take to nicely to a bunch of humans turning up all at once, looking to have a word, or worse, catch and relocate her and Mudkip. She'd done me a solid letting me stay and not turning me inside out. I'd do her one in turn.

"Tell me anything about that smuggler theory?" I kept my voice light.

"Sorry, Mr. Johnstone. Just a theory, and if it were more than that, I couldn't speak on any sort of ongoing investigation." How annoyingly professional.

It was not a long drive back to the Pokémon Center.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Johnstone. We've paid for you to stay in the Pokémon Center's trainer lodgings for the next two weeks. Just in case we need to speak to you regarding this case. In the event that the investigation goes longer or the Department of Unovan Security wishes for you to stay in town so they can interview you, that stay may be extended." I nodded.

"If you wish to leave Warren County, you will need to give us a location you are traveling to, the expected time of arrival, and the route you are travelling by. This is just to make sure we know where you are if you are needed further for the investigation. Do you understand these instructions as I have given them to you?"

"I do." I looked straight into her body cam and fought the urge to pull a stupid face.

"Thank you, Mr. Johnstone. Have a great evening, and thank you for helping that Gible."

"Have a good evening, too, Deputy Yates." I grit my teeth as I exited the truck and hissed air between my teeth, legs screaming protests. I swore under my breath in a way that would have my mother rolling her eyes or applauding. I waddled my way inside the Pokémon Center.

"Nash! How did it go!?" Ben, the Pokémon Nurse, called from behind the main desk. In a small town like Geddes off the main routes, he didn't have a lot to distract him. I was probably the most interesting thing to happen in months.

"Fine. I'm in your trainer accommodation for two weeks."

"Yeah, the Sheriff's Department called about that."

"Sooooo." I elongated the word for lack of anything real to say.

"Anything to do around here for someone with no money that doesn't include hiking?"

"No, not really."

"Shit."

"Sorry. If you do find yourself with a bit of extra cash. We've got a jail museum up on the hill, a few miniature trains around, the Cowen Brewery is open on the weekend for tours, and the Geddes Tavern has a pretty good Taco Tuesday."

"Thanks." I gave him a smile and ambled Center PC. I hadn't had much luck with these in the past. Most jobs were at least trainer adjacent. Like chase the Patrat out of my garden, speaking of which, it looked like the Cowen Brewery was having that exact problem.

I filtered out all the jobs that required transport or a Pokémon. The list went from twenty pages to one. But this was for the whole Warren County area. Only one fit my needs of being close enough to walk to. Even if it was going to hurt.

Park Recycling Services.

The job looked fairly intensive and carried a three-month contract. With the possibility of extension if the extra work persisted. It paid twenty-one hundred an hour for the month I'd spend untrained, increasing to twenty-three hundred an hour once that month was up.

Even if it was only a three-month contract.

To me?

That was practically the Holy Grail.

There were, however, some downsides.

Six-hour shifts. Six days a week. Plus a one-hour lunch. Start was five in the morning. I brought up a map and traced it with my finger. Probably an hour's walk there and back. Maybe two with my legs the way they were.

For seventy-five thousand a week?

I'd deal with it.

My pay was a reliable fifty-five thousand biweekly, and I was barely keeping my head above water. This could actually give me a buffer, maybe even start some savings. Especially if whoever was in charge was willing to pay me cash in hand. My welfare payments went down with declared earnings.

Which is why I preferred not declaring them.

I sent off an email to the address asking for an interview.

"How's Gible?" I asked Ben, only half expecting an answer.

"Still asleep, should wake up tomorrow or the day after, Mary reckons." The Audio Nurse waved when she heard her name. I gave her a nod in return as she went back to doing...whatever it was she did.

"We also found out the Gible is a girl." I resisted asking how they knew. It was a shark. I had vague memories about fins, nothing I cared enough to inquire about.

"Any plans about what to do about i-her?"

"Not really, we shouldn't release her into the local population. She's non-native. We do have a small population of Aggron to the west the Haxorus in the mountains North. So it's very possible she'll reproduce, and while one Gible won't upset the local ecosystem...."

"A few generations of them could." I finished as he trailed off.

"Yeah, we're probably going to have to place her up for adoption. But that has its own problems."

"Worried you'll get too many trainers?"

"More worried she'd maul them." I raised an eyebrow.

"Dragons are... temperamental at the best of times. Most Pokemon who don't want to work with a trainer will just break out of the Poké Ball, maybe break the ball, and leave. A Dragon may do that, but it's also just as likely to give you some scars to remember it on the way out. Assuming you live through it." Ben waved his hands.

"Don't get me wrong. We'll still try for adoption. We've got a guy here who knows his dragons; he'll be handling most of that side of things. But it will need to be very controlled. Plus, I'm also worried about smugglers." I looked at him sharply.

"I'm a nurse, not an idiot." Ben's voice was almost acidic.

"I was one of the first people to notice the increase in non-native Pokémon. With that and your story about the truck, it didn't take a lot to put two and two together. I'm afraid that if we put Gible up for adoption, they'll try to get her back. All in all, we'll probably have to give her up to the Rangers."

"What would the Rangers do?"

"Well, since we don't know where she came from. They'd probably send her to a release program in Alola."

Alola was nice.

Well, if the half memories I had were any indication. She could do a hell of a lot worse. I checked my email, I already had a return from Park.

My interview would be a working interview tomorrow, starting at five. I'd be paid for the day even if I didn't get the full contract. I fired off my acceptance and checked the time. A little after seven pm. I needed to get to bed and rest. Tomorrow wasn't going to be fun.

"I see, I'm going to bed Ben. Gotta be up early tomorrow."

"Alright, if you're up early, you'll probably catch Mindy on night shift when you leave."

"Got it."

Sleep was good.

Waking up before dawn still sucked all kinds of balls, though.

I met Mindy for the first time, leaving the Pokémon Center. As well as Hayden, the night Nurse Chancy. Interesting pair. Apparently, they'd taken the night shift because it paid an extra fifteen hundred an hour for a twelve-hour shift that was pretty good money.

I'd been right about my legs slowing me down.

It took almost two hours to reach Park Recycling Services.

The Recycling Centre itself was outside of Geddes. I'd had to walk down several back roads to get there. If it weren't for the large signs, I would have gotten lost.

I knocked on the gate and wiped the sweat off my face.

"I'm comin'." The voice was feminine, but harsh. The door swung open, and I was faced with a woman who's face reminded me of tanned leather with steel grey hair and brown eyes.

"You Nash?" I had to hold back my comment of 'expecting someone else?' No point blowing the interview before it started.

"Yes, ma'am." Sometimes it paid to be polite. Quite hopefully, literally in this case.

"Names Willow Park, come in, and we'll get down to it." She turned around and marched inside. I waddled after her. "What's wrong with your legs? You're gonna be on your feet for the whole shift if you've got problems, this ain't the job for you." Her voice wasn't unkind, but it was no nonsense.

I gave her a compressed version of my last forty eight hours, she nodded.

"Good thing you did. Won't guarantee you the job. But I do like a man with gumption." She nodded and showed me around the large lot we were on. It looked like a wreckers yard.

"Alright, so here's the job." She pointed to one of the cars.

"When we buy these things, we need to break them down. Separate out the electric motors, take out the batteries, and the like. Now the main battery has already been removed. But there are a few sub-batteries I'll teach you to take out. You'll place the batteries here," She pointed to a large container. "Aggron will take them over to the Grimer to dispose of." I blinked slowly.

"Aggron?"

"Heh, partner, he didn't notice ya. Your boulder impersonation is getting better." What I had assumed to be a large rock next to the cars stood up to its full height of over two meters. I was not a tall man, but I was fairly broad. A foot wider at the chest than most, and this Godzilla reject made me both look and feel small.

It gave a grumble in its chest after staring through my soul with bright blue eyes and marched off towards the other end of the yard.

"Holy hell." I didn't realise I'd been holding my breath.

"Heh, you're gonna need to get used to him, his wife, and their kids if you're gonna stick around. They're a very important part of the business."

"Got it," I muttered, still half out of it.

She kept going, giving me the process of stripping the car down. What items went to which bins when to call Aggon, or his wife. Who I mentally dubbed Mrs. Aggron. Once Willow was finished, she brushed her hands off and rolled her shoulders.

"Alright, let's see how you do. We'll do two cars at the same time, I'll show you what to do, and you copy. We'll break for lunch at eight a.m., then get back to it after. You'll get outta here about twelve. By that time, we'll both know if you're the right fit."

"Alright, let's do it," I said with more enthusiasm than I really felt. She gave me a smile that would have felt more at home on a shark.

The day will be hard.

A man said that back on Earth, before he was dismembered.

I could understand the sentiment.

This was not an easy job; it was hard on the body, and I could barely keep up with Willow. When we broke for lunch, my whole body was covered in sweat. On the bright side, I had gotten used to Aggron, his wife Aggron. Their small legion of children, the Grimer and Trubbish.

"Any questions?" Willow asked, munching on a sandwich.

"A few, how does this whole recycling thing work?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific."

"I mean, I get breaking down the cars, but how do you recycle the rest of them by feeding them to Pokémon?" She looked at me like I was an idiot.

"You simple boy?" I knew a euphemism for retarded when I heard it. Hell, I'd used that one. But considering this was probably common knowledge even to children, I could see why she asked. I pulled my ID and flicked it to her. Willow scanned it up and down, eyes widened for a moment. "Faller?"

"Yeah." She nodded slowly.

"Can see you don't wanna talk about it, so I won't ask." For which I was thankful.

"Recycling, now the Grimer getting the batteries is the easy part. They'll break down all the nasty stuff inside, making it safe to handle. Then we ship them to another facility for a small commission, where they extract all the valuable materials from it. The textiles are shipped to a different facility where they're broken down and re-woven by humans and Leavanny."

"It's the metals and plastics where I make most of my money. The Trubbish, once they eat the plastic, will eventually pass it back out in small chips, perfect for being melted down and reformed. So long as I keep track of what kind of plastic is fed to them and when, I can be almost certain of the makeup of each piece. We lose about ten percent of the material to the Trubbish, but unlike other methods, the Trubbish's diet means that the plastic won't degrade to the point of uselessness after two or three passes round."

"As for the metal, it's much the same with the Aron. They eat the metal, and we lose about ten to fifteen percent of it, but so long as they're on a good diet that's all we'll lose, and their leavings can easily be melted back into usable bars."

"Why don't we strip the plastic coverings off wires?"

"Would take too long for too little return. While eating too much plastic isn't good for Aron, just like eating too much ice cream ain't good for a person. A small amount is just fine. Besides, they like the taste."

"So how am I doing so far?"

"You're slower than I'd like. But you got heart, and that counts for a lot. Ask me again at the end of the day."

We went back to the cars. Every now and then, I needed to nudge an Aron away from my workspace. They were pretty cute, all things considered. But I was extra careful with them, because both Aggron were watching and I was under no illusions that they wouldn't pull me in half if I was too rough.

There was an image I didn't need.

By the time twelve pm rolled around, I was breathing hard and covered in more sweat than at any time except when I ran Gible to the Pokémon Center. But I thought I'd done pretty well, hopefully well enough.

"Alright. I'll admit I'd been hoping for someone with more experience and who could work faster. But you kept up well enough, and I think in a week or two, while you still won't be able to keep up with me, I'll be able to trust you to take a car apart without me watching your every move. Jobs yours. If you still want it." I had a big, sweaty smile on my face. The first one I'd had from human interaction in a long time.

"I would love the job." Willow laughed at my words and gave a shark-like grin.

"Any objections to cash in hand? Save me some paperwork." The grin I gave her should have been criminal; in fact, it probably was.

"None at all."

"Alrighty then, be back here at five tomorrow. You and I only get Sundays off from now on."

"Yes, ma'am!" She laughed, closing the doors to the Recycling Yard. I turned about and began walking through the back roads towards Geddes, and didn't pass a single car the whole time. This place really was out of the way.

"Ben?" I called walking through the front doors. I was pretty sure he was on day shift. My answer was a crash and bang, accompanied by a yell of 'Audino!' at what was probably the top of Mary's lungs.

"Out here, help!" Ben sounded more than a little frazzled. I forced my legs into the closest thing to a run they were capable of. It was not pretty. I turned into the back room, skidding a little on the lino. Ben and Mary were at the far end of the room. Backed into a corner.

Ben was holding a chair out in front of him like it was a shield.

Half of it had been cleanly bitten away.

Standing on her stubby legs, Gible stared at the two growling. She noticed me out of the corner of her eye, and half tuned before realising who I was. The growl settled, and she blinked slowly. I, being the dumbass I was, said the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey, you, finally awake."

Thanks, brain.