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Mirror really started to wonder if he should just rip out his hair or ship the girl back to Kukui on a Lapras.
Or maybe to Kanto. After all, they had plenty of experience when it came to handling her. Despite her insistence on not wanting to return there, he felt it would be understandable and approved if he were to send her back.
“You okay there, Mirror?” His eye twitched at the way her voice was pitched too cheerful, mocking almost, causing him to pinch the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. “Why don't you get outta there and stretch your legs? Even old Oak moved around more than you, you know.”
“He moves around the safety of his lab and personal farm area, not the absolute wild with unpredictable feral Pokemon.” he huffed out, turning around in the NEO-one to view her. A strangled cry left his throat though, gripping the frame desperately. “Wait! Don't get so close to them!” Her simple response of a carefree laugh had him planning to get that box real quick to ship her out.
Kukui was notorious of needing to be watched if you worked with him, especially out in the field, but overall was still highly respected in their field. Mirror had been beyond eager to see the man had referenced himself on the application he got from the girl to be his assistant, jumping quicker than he should have to send off a ticket and offer for the job to her before even fully reading her resume correctly. He really should have read it more like any logical employer would; maybe then he would have realized what he was signing up for. Sure, she was an assistant of Kukui, but the danger lied in how long she had been with him.
4 years.
4 very long, very troubling years she had spent as the assistant to the professor of Pokemon's strength and moves.
And that was after she had been the reigning Champion of the Kanto-Johto Indigo Plateau for multiple years straight. In fact, a few calls had confirmed his searches online and horrified realization; she was, in all technicality, still the Champion. She had simply stepped down (well, “ran off again” was more of their exact wording) to pursue a more....”interesting time”, as he remembered her mentioning offhand.
Oh Arceus, he really needs to read things more carefully. She ran off because she was bored of beating everyone that crossed her path into a pulp. And same with Kukui; she got tired of physically brawling Pokemon.
Despite that though, what he saw was so very different than the stories, assumptions, and his constant view of her more chaotic behavior. Here, she was crouched low on the forest floor with her arm outstretched to a hesitant but curious Deerling. Her voice was soft and cooing to it encouragingly, offering a sweet flufffruit to its curious eyes. What scared him most was the mother Sawsbuck not even a few feet away, watching the exchange intently and occasionally huffing in a warning. He read many books on how dangerously protective they were of their young, and his fear heightened as the girl dared to shuffle just a bit closer. She didn't seem to care at all that the mother could trample her small stature, only focused on the Deerling now coming close enough to happily eat the offering. Mirror could hear the soft, quick clicks of the shutter going off, breath hitching as she rolled a fruit towards the Sawsbuck.
“No way....” he breathed out, shock clear in his body as the Sawsbuck not only sniffed the fruit, but ate it with ease. His grip on the frame of the NEO twitched as it started coming closer, nuzzling it's child's head at its chirps when the girl rolled them both another one. He could see from here the grin on her face, pulling the camera to her eyes to snap some more pictures.
“Just take's some patience,” she called to him, voice light and soft so as not to spook the two Pokemon so close to her. “Once they know you're not a threat, that'll allow them to blend you into the background and continue about with themselves naturally again.”
What she said was true. He remembered being a child running around these very woods and foliage, hiding in the bushes and staying absolutely still as statue so as not to spook Pokemon. He'd hold his breath when they'd notice him, relieved when they'd go back to whatever they were doing and let him have the chance to take some pictures of it. Something though, something about the way she voiced his thought process and understanding of the old true concept....
He should really get out more.
A rustling from behind made her look back over her shoulder, curious, until realizing what it was and allowing a grin to bloom across her face. She watched eagerly as Mirror hefted himself out of the machine, careful not to make too sudden of movement and scare the critters around them. She didn't care about careful though, all but hopping up onto her feet and making quick work of closing the distance between them. She could see in his green eyes a strange but welcoming gleam to them, making her steps light enough to step up onto the heavy log between them and look down into his open face. She knew that look, that resolve and excited determination that made him return a small but powerful grin right back at her.
She swore that the thrill could almost rival her thrill on the battlefield.
“Come on,” she breathed out, the breeze catching her excitement as she offered the treasured camera she gave him her first day there back out to him. “We have a lot to go find out there.”
He realized then, looking into her dark eyes that he was a fool to think that the NEO-one could ever contain or keep up to her. Her energy was too wild, too fast for anything but a Pokemon to keep up with.
And maybe, just maybe he could manage to keep up to her too.
** ~~ **
The lab was quiet as the sun had begun to set not long ago, the warm orange glow it cast fading away to a more sleepy, darker tone. The only other light was the brightness of the large monitors before the young assistant, illuminating her face as she reviewed the material they obtained that day. A small assortment of Pokemon were scattered around the area, their soft breaths of slumber mingling with the quick clicking of keyboard keys and the faint hum of shower running further back in the home. Her fingers idly switched between scribbling down notes and findings in her notebooks spread before her and petting the soft fur of the Eevee curled up in her lap, chuckling when it'd twitch and chirp in its sleep. It gave enough warmth to ignore the still cold drip of her wet hair on her neck, the earlier warmth of her shower long gone now and forgotten as she continued her work.
It felt a bit weird to be working so early on her actual job, but she could already feel the dull ache and fatigue trying to settle in her bones. It was familiar, one she learned could never be fought and won against in the battle to sleep or not sleep, so she accepted her fate and settled for trying to get as much done as possible before her deemed time was up. With Mirror having been hands on in the field for once and gotten so many photos, there was a lot to sift through and examine carefully for his research. Looking back at them and remembering their day brought a smile to her face, finding so far that this was probably one of the best ways for her to wind down from a day's work. The usual itch and pull she had from still stored up energy, or physical body aches from testing Pokemon and her own limits didn't always leave her able to wind down completely well at the end of the day. Maybe that was why her work here gave her a better sense of calm and fulfillment, giving her far better sleep through the night than she could remember having in literal years.
She wondered if all her days could end like this if she stayed here for years to come.
So lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the shower stop its running and the faint hiss of steam leaving the bathroom when its door opened. Mirror sighed happily as he stepped out into the cooled space of the living area, fixing his glasses back on and idly drying off his hair. It took his eyes a moment to properly adjust to the strange shift of lighting in the area, but in no time they drifted off to settle on the girl lost to the photos and papers all around the desk he normally (practically) lived in. It made him hold still, almost hold his breath as he watched her work with no awareness to things around her.
Mirror really rarely ever saw his new assistant working besides going out and taking photos for him. He knew she did, for he either had emails shared to him of her reports or new documents and manila files on his desk to review with important notes highlighted. The level of thoroughness and detail she put into her submissions to him made him wonder when she ever got the chance to do all of it, which led him to realizing far too late and a little guiltily that she probably had to wait when he was finally asleep late in the night to get anything worked on properly. The handwritten stuff he figured was done during times she just had to herself, tucked away somewhere on the property most likely so as not to be distracted too bad or risk losing it out in the wild. The thought of days she'd be out in the hot sun for hours on end to take photos and come back, helping with things around the lab and discussing with him only to turn around and take over his computer to work on things when he'd be up until almost midnight before finally crashing made him cringe; how could he not notice and realize that she had to jump at literally any moment she could to use his one computer in the whole place? He knew she brought her own laptop, but considering he always uploaded her finds immediately to his computer so she could have clean films more quickly meant that of course she had to use his. That was going to have all the work and references on, so she would only be able to do so much on her own laptop.
'And here you go always saying she's not aware enough,' he thought a little bitterly to himself. He was still trying to get used to the fact that she never stayed in the NEO for long out on the tracks, opting to hop out almost immediately and venture along on foot for research material. It aggravated him, worried almost sick to his stomach over her safety out there. If something happened he couldn't just take control of the machine and get her out of there quickly, and while he had a few extras, it would still take time that he might not be able to afford. She was a grown woman, he knew, but he still got scared.
Today though, he wasn't scared. When he hopped out of the NEO, he felt excitement rush through him harder than it had in quite a while. He was excited to go traversing through the grass and trees he once bumbled through as a child, seeking out moments of time hidden from the outside world to try and capture on a small screen. The overwhelming feeling of just so much going on separately and altogether around him was mind reeling and adrenaline boosting, making him realize just how much he missed being outside and just feeling things. It didn't mean he hated being in the lab all day, but it was like that nice breath of fresh air when he'd step out onto the porch and catch the Pokemon roaming about in middle of play and life. It was just so freeing, so fast and breathtaking that it gave him renewed purpose and reminder of what he was doing and that this is where he wanted to be. It was almost overwhelming to an extent, making him practically relieved when they finally got home and could just sit for a moment.
Walking carefully around sleeping Audino and Deedee and Stoutland, he quietly came up behind the desk chair to look down at the girl and her work. She still didn't notice, too wrapped up in a particularly interesting photo on the monitor of a Pikipek settled in next to a lounging Leipard on some rocks. It was certainly unusual behavior for the two Pokemon as far as he knew, and from the amount of screens she had opened on other video and photo references of them in the wild around other regions, she definitely thought so too. It made him smile, a warmth settling in his chest at seeing how serious she took his research; to throw herself so fully into it like this, trying to pick out things he would undoubtedly have questions on and want to look into more, it made him feel just....
Happy.
“!!” He could feel her body jolt from the arm he wrapped across her shoulders in a loose hug, the chair creaking from his weight suddenly leaned into it. The faint smell of water blossoms and something just a bit salty drifted up to him from how close his face was to her hair, making him close his eyes a second.
Strange. He thought he had just been imagining it smelling faintly like the sandy beaches lately. Turns out, it certainly came from her showering products.
“That's something you don't see everyday,” he murmured out, strangely enough not wanting to speak too loud with the room getting darker from the night. “I wonder what makes Pikipek feel so comfortable around such a natural predator to them?”
Her skin was cold against his arms, though the sudden warming of it had him sneaking a glance down. It was tricky to tell, but he thought he could see a bit of a flush trickling up her neck and cheeks. She cleared her throat a moment later though, reaching for the mouse to zoom in and redirect his gaze to the screen before them. “I-It might be the crystalblooms nearby that correlate to their behavior. It seems to but the surrounding area at more ease from what I've noticed lately.”
If he noticed the slight stutter in her voice, he didn't acknowledge it. Her theory did prove probable, and even more intriguing into the mysterious flowers all across the Lental region. It made his fingers twitch a little against her shoulders, mind wanting to start running with ideas of other ways it affects the local wildlife and what this meant for the nature of Pokemon themselves. He had to take a deep breath to ground himself, urging his mind to put a halt to hopping the train; it was very late, and they both needed to get some sleep. There was plenty of time to uncover more truths, and it could start again in the morning.
“We'll look into it some more tomorrow,” he declared to them both, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze with a smile. “That is, if we can even wake up tomorrow. Not sure about you, but I'm pretty worn out.”
The quick laugh she gave made him grin, watching her tilt her head back to look up at him with a taunting grin. “Lugia's sake, you need to get out more if that little runaround wore you out that much.”
Mirror huffed jokingly and flicked her in the forehead, pulling away to put his hands on his hips. “I get out plenty, thanks. After all, someone's gotta chase Stoutland down for his bath around here.”
The sudden whiny snore from said Pokemon made them have to stifle their snickers, amused that even in his sleep he feared the dreaded chore dedicated to him. Once seeing him still asleep, Mirror shook his head and motioned to the computer with his head. “Come on, let's shut down and head to bed.”
Her yawn was all the agreement he needed, going over to the doors and large windows to make sure they were all locked up properly. He smiled at the sound of her gentle shoosh to a grumpy sounding Eevee behind him over the sound of the computer shutting off, both going through the ritual motions of getting ready for the night with ease. With a quick pop to his back as the final tick on the list, he grabbed the remote for all the lights and followed her up the ladder to the loft. Only then did he click off all the lights, sending the lab into total darkness save for the moon and starts sparkling through the windows, and the soft glow of the fairy lights strung around her bed.
Soft murmurs passed between them as they readied for bed, making sure their charging cords and glasses were on the right sides of the shared nightstand between their beds before crawling beneath the overs. Recalling moments of the day made them laugh and unwind into their mattresses, voices carrying easily to the other despite the bit of distance between them. It made Mirror smile in the dark, arm lazily thrown over the edge of his bed to just barely scritch at the Meowth curled up diligently beside it in the little blue bed he got for him a long time ago. Peeking an eye open, his smile softened significantly as he saw his assistant curled up around Eevee like a ball practically, yawning and snuggling more into the pillows. He didn't stop her story, even as she was starting to slur a little with sleep pulling at her deeper and deeper as the seconds passed.
“I wanna do the reef tomorrow,” she mumbled aloud, barely able to sound coherent as her breathing slowed. “See th'.....th' wat'r 'agin...”
“Sure,” he whispered out, voice low as not to make her try to awaken. His own eyes were getting heavy, the lull of the night getting to him too. “We will tomorrow.”
The last thing he saw was her soft smile against the pillows, breath evening out as she fell asleep. It put him at ease enough to let his own eyes slip shut, welcoming the comfort of sleep wash over him like the waves they would go out to see tomorrow.
It was nice to fall asleep more peacefully like this.