Despite all the (relative) comforts of an actual bed, sleep did not come easy. The regular aches and pains of Hailey’s life were only exacerbated by the trials of the last few days.
Her arms sure, they burned and ached like never before, but Gem pushing had given them a bit of time to rest. No, it was her legs that were really making themselves known.
These days she told people she couldn't feel anything from them because it was the simplest way to tell the story. Most of the time it was true. You could drop a hammer on her knee (and not merely one of those tester ones) and she'd feel nothing. But sometimes, at random, a feeling that other people apparently called pins and needles would run up and down them. It wasn't great, something to do with her nerves apparently. That's what they told her for most of her symptoms.
Can't feel or move your legs? Something with your nerves. Lung and diaphragm spasms? Nervous system misfiring. Irregular heartbeat, inability to put on weight, random inexplicable stabbing pains? Nerves, nerves, nerves. Why was her nervous system so messed up? Dunno, no one could tell her. Just like no one could tell her why she was basically invisible to Pokémon (except recently for some reason). No one can answer so just stop asking.
So Hailey wasn't asleep, exactly, and that was fine. Laying there in the warm summer night air, listening to echos through the wall, it was still a kind of rest. When you've spent most of your life in one bed or another you came to realize that there was only so much sleeping one person could do.
She lay there, in pain yes, but also comfortable, you could be both, just enjoying the peace. Sleeping in a bunkhouse on the boarder of two routes, another common experience she thought she'd never get. The logs that made up the walls gave off a pleasant scent, so different from the antiseptic stained hospital corridors. They also did a pretty good job of muffling the party outside.
What time was it even? Again, a watch would have been such a nice thing to have. 10 PM? 11:27? Past Midnight? Who knew when they'd even arrived. Things still seemed to be going strong outside though. The clink of bottles, wax and wane of conversation, and the occasional shill HOO, perhaps in response to someone getting to handsy. Delvey seemed quite insistent about her rules.
Still, good natured conversation? That to was novel for her, so she just lay back and let it wash over her.
"Hey now, not where the old bird can see…"
"…at Cherry one was pretty good, got anymo…"
"…ou doing here? Are you stal…"
"…ybe you should put the Dex away Tilly, not really the…"
"…you'd just give me a chance I cou…"
"…We should turn in, the moods kinda…"
"…eady had a whole vote pipsqueak, what part of…"
The logs really did muffle things a lot. Eventually, the noise died down and people started filtering in to the bunk room. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of conversation, just people (and Mon) saying their good nights and choosing a bed. There were more than a few worrying creaks but no sounds of splintering wood or crashing bodies, so eventually all went quiet. Only the sound of the breeze ruffling the trees outside and snoring of some probably very large ladies.
A prelude to a dreamless sleep.
The whole tenor of the room changed in daylight. Revealed by the sun streaming in from several large windows she could now see that the walls were decorated with hanging, patterned textiles of reds and blues, along some old (and probably only decorative) gas fixtures.
Hailey was probably the first person awake in the whole room, but she was in no hurry. Getting up early would deprive her of this soft bed and attract attention. Still, someone wasn't making it easy. The faintest sound of clinking cookware echoed from somewhere deeper in the lodge, followed by the tantalizing smell of… something.
She wasn't the only one to smell it either. All across the room, rising like in a cartoon, snouts, muzzles, noses and stranger olfactory organs were pulled up by the intoxicating aroma. They rolled out of bed, sometimes literally, and started the arduous process of waking their partners.
Pokémon were always the first to know when there was good cooking on the wind.
Some prismatic wings stretched out, catching the light and sending dazzling colours throughout the room, that had to be a Beautily. Opposite, some helmet-like green hair came up off a pillow followed by the biggest chest Hailey had ever seen, even she couldn't mistake a Gardevoir but that one looked half Mega. All while some sharp looking blue woman with a trident on her face literally threw a sleeping lady over her shoulder, Empoleon perhaps? That was all she could recognize at least. Some fairly serious customers it seemed, maybe there was a tournament nearby.
Eventually, the room emptied, and the sounds of vigorous dining started to fill the air.
There was another reason Hailey had wanted to wait though. While the bed was quite comfortable, the pain was less so. Every muscle in her body felt like it was locked up, even her breaths were shallow with the tightness. It had taken a fair bit of effort to not groan and moan the second she'd come back to herself. Her mortal shell had some complaints to lodge, but she'd stopped taking those ages ago.
It was just a matter of going slowly, all there was to it. Of course, the tremble started as soon as she tried it, even pulling the blanket back took a moment. Just plan your next move was all she could tell herself. Roll onto a side, then prop up.
It took five attempts to actually get upright, and now there was a massive stitch in her left side. Breath, in and out, measured, no hyperventilating.
Tucking the chair between the head of the bed and the wall had been a good way to keep it out of sight, but now there was the matter of getting it out, and unfolding it.
The crash, bang, muffled cursing and bitten back moans of pain that echoed outside of the bunk room spoke to her success, and also drew in her fear.
"Miss… Wendy was it? Are you still in here or are you coming to breakfa… Oh Arceus, are you ok?!
It really wasn't as bad as it looked. Yes she was upside down with one foot caught in a blanket knot. Yes, she was in an incredible amount of pain as blood rushed to her head, giving it some actual colour for once. Yes, she was basically blind as her shirt had fallen down across her face. But it it could be worse.
It could always be worse.
Breakfast was… nice, kind of awkward as all eyes in the room turned to face her as she was rolled in the room, but mercifully they didn't say a thing, slowly returning to their food and their conversations.
Chloris, that was the name of lady who had found and pulled her up. She’d rolled her right to one end of the table, then disappeared into a side room through a swinging door. Apparently Delvey had specifically mentioned their strange guest to her when they traded shifts, so presumably the two were partners. Seemed like a odd relationship but who was she to judge? Especially not when they brought food.
The door swung again, bouncing off a well worn divot in the wall as the frizzy haired woman came back with a loaded plate. Eggs, bacon, toast with butter. Buffet quality but what did that matter when someone was bringing right to you, and it was free? Well, Hailey guessed this was technically more fraud, but the ketchup she squirted onto the eggs helped ease that sting.
It was more food than she could eat, but she was at least going to give it the old League try. Most others looked almost finished, but no one was moving yet to stand. They were chatting, planning their day based on the group closest to her.
They looked to be an eclectic group. On one side of a girl was a orange… rodenty looking Mon. Short but stout and with a strange splash of green inside her mid sized ears. On the other size, a bird lady with intimidating looking eyes, all black and yellow, looking confident enough to swallow a girl whole. So it really said something that the Mon sitting across from the trio was the scariest looking of them all. Black fur with jagged white stripes (or was that white with black stripes?) lead up into zigzag horns, while intense blue eyes watched as she speared a bit of toast on a fork and proffered it to the girl directly across from her. There was no refusing.
Yeah, there was a vibe, an energy here. An Ace? That was all without getting into the human herself.
She was tall, even sitting, and clearly trim, slender. Her eyes were blue but it was no natural hue, it was to… well, electric. Golden brown skin was packed into something that looked like a cross between a jumpsuit and a racing suit, while white hair with black stripes (or was it black hair with white stripes?) stuck out at odd, gravity defying angles. Inheritance had clearly taken it's bat to her and she looked like she'd asked for seconds.
"C'mon JJ, how much longer are we gonna stick around here? It's clearly a dead end!" The small orange Mon punctuated her words by thumping the table with a oversized paw, causing nearby cutlery to jump. The bird reach over, laying a single feather finger on top of the paw, the look she gave the shorty probably did more to hold it down than it did.
"Now now Beans, there's no need to be so impatient, do we need to work off some of that nervous energy so you can focus better?" The sardonic nature was obvious even to an outsider.
"Funny, you are so focused on others yet you're always the one suggesting a distraction Sheet, makes a girl wonder if you have ulterior motives." The stripped equine didn't raise her eyes as she dabbed her muzzle with a napkin, but she didn't need to, the air of authority was all to obvious.
"Dynamo's, you included Sufya. But Bean's does have a point, doesn't seem like we're having any luck around here. I'd thought since the Windworks was nearby… well, maybe we should get moving, especially if our little problem decides to try for round three, not sure I could handle that level of… awkward."
JJ, JJ, where had she heard that before? It had been rolling around in her head since Beans, apparently, had said it. Oh! Right, hadn't Gem said she was meeting a JJ?
Four heads suddenly snapped to stare her down like she'd just said Acreus had small tits. Oh, had she said that out loud? The uncomfortable stares she was getting said yes.
"You know the little brat?" "You are familiar with the Minun?" "Beans dear, I don't think you have the right to call anyone short." A trio of Mon talking over each other was more than a bit disorienting, not to mention intimidating. The trainer, notably didn't join in, though that may have because she was currently choking and coughing around a swig of OJ. Beans 'helped' by giving her a thump on the back.
"Gr-akkh, girls, girls, easy up on her, you know the only person you're allowed to jump down the throat of is me, whew." Even gasping for air in a way Hailey could really sympathize with, she talked fast, words hurdling over each other.
A hand, somewhat still shaky, extended down to the end of the table, though she had to lean to reach, Hailey didn't have very long arms. "Vijaya Zavala, friends just call me JJ though. Proud Paldien and electric aficionado. Didn't see you at the fire last night, you get in late?"
"Ah, uh, W-wendy, traveller, I guess? And yeah, late, was super tired, went right to bed." She'd thought about it before, but the amount of social interaction on her supposedly solo adventure was not something she'd prepared for. Well, what was another person lied to?
"Oh? Not a trainer? I'd hoped… well, so you know, what was her name, Gem?" JJ was now angling herself around her partners as they went back to eating, brief flit of recognition already fading.
"No, no, not, could never be, a trainer. And I don't… really know Gem? I mean, I only met her yesterday? Sh-she yelled at me then spent the afternoon pushing me here. Only reason really I made it before early morning, turned out the path was a bit longer than I thought."
"Hahaha, yeah, electric types are good for that, never out of energy. Well, almost never. You need to get yourself a gal like Sufya, could march up and down that big mountain you got here and be ready for more." JJ chuckled while motioning to the large stripped lady with her fork. There was something a bit forced about it though.
"I'm not carrying you all day JJ, you'll get lazy."
"On second thought, maybe don't bond with a Zebstrika, they're shiftless." The rest of the group laughed at that, clearly a well worn joke, though still back in their own little worlds.
"Heh, well, no worry of that here. Kinda surprised I don't see Gem here though, she spent most of yesterday talking about how she was meeting up with a JJ, was it a case of mistaken identity?"
"Hah" The laugh was mirth less, which was quite a feat coming from someone apparently named Beans, "Fat fucking chance, punks been stalking us almost since we got off the boat from Paldea. I'm telling you JJ, she's going to be waiting in the forest next and it's going to be even more pathetic, let's just go somewhere else."
Things broke down from there as JJ looked embarrassed, while the bird and Zebstrika moved to admonish Beans. Arceus, she couldn't handle her own drama, there was no cause for getting caught up in someone else's.
Back outside, back on the road. What else was there to do really? None of this had been in the plan. Still, the food had been good, she'd gone from a junk food starvation diet to actual nutrients completely by accident. Lucky coincidence.
The rest had done her good, but she could still feel the strain in her arms. The chair was even more uncomfortable than usual, there was only so far you could push things, once she got her camera back, that would probably be it. Might take her a season or more to fully recover from this little escapade.
Still, rolling away from the Lodge, having waited for the others to trickle out first, Hailey felt good in a way. Not physically obviously, but still, Eterna Forest was about twice as far as her original destination. Towering trees blocked out almost all light from the forest floor, scattered beams drifted down to the mossy floor, fractured. A titan of nature, and she was sitting in front of it. It was enough to make her smile despite the aches.
The sight of a figure stepping around from behind the Welcome to Eterna Forest sign to stand in her way somewhat snuffed that though, until she got a good look, then she was just confused.
"Heeeeeeeey, Wendy, wasn't it?" Was it? Right, her fake name, but why was JJ striding toward her, seeming like she was doing her best to act natural?
The other girl was even taller standing up, the term bean pole had been coined to describe folks like her. Still, there was a visible muscle to her, especially in the calves, maybe she was a runner? Hailey certainly wished she could run away from this impending social interaction.
"Ah, yeah, Wendy, that's me. What… are you doing here JJ? Thought you would be blitzing off right after breakfast. Don't see your partners either?"
JJ was shifting her weight from one foot to another, scratching the back of her head. "Ah well, I just, thought, we've been driving pretty hard lately, maybe we should take a break, linger around a bit. Also, I balled them, so we could, uh, talk." If Hailey were to call herself a social expect she might as well claim she could run a marathon to, but something didn't ring right to her. Wasn't all that the… opposite of an Electric Ace?
A golden brown hand came down to lay on one of her hand rests, it was tense. "Sooooooooo, Wendy. You , uh, spent all day with Gem right? What do you… think of her?"
That threw a wrench right in her Klinklang, and for some reason all she could say was "It was really more like half a day."
"Well, it was still some time, point is." Her tone said that JJ didn't want to have this conversation either, so why was she? Another deep breath, and she started again. "Ok, sorry, should probably start this from the beginning, probably being really weird right now."
She was, but Hailey was in no position to throw stones about that. Plus, the other girl kinda intimidated her. She really was tall.
For a moment, her face was inscrutable, but then it settled into a big, if a little forced, smile. A hand shot out, clearly for a shake. Hailey took it loosely.
"So, once again, I'm Vijaya, or just JJ. From Paldea, been here a few weeks. I'm a trainer and a electric ace, but you could probably tell that just from my partners. Came to Sinnoh for… a few reasons really, one of them was to find a fourth. It's a lovely place, don't get me wrong, but there's been some trouble with that, and other things. What I'm saying is that Gem is kinda at the centre of a lot of it, and you're the only other person I know of who's been able to spend more than a few minutes around her. So… I'd really appreciate your help with something."
This really was going to turn into a whole thing.