Blown Away (Tanya)

[Andrew]

If there had ever been hope to avoid catching a cold, that ship had sailed a long time ago. The town was completely flooded and the water level rising by the second. The citizens of Azalea seemed to have cleared out about ten minutes earlier but Andrew was still trying to locate the last of his Pokémon. “Ruffle, where are you? We have to go!” he called out, frantically turning his head to see if he could spot her. He was sure that once the massive crowds had disappeared, she’d be easy to locate but he still wasn’t having any luck. Had it been any of his other Pokémon, he would have considered the possibility that someone may have convinced them to go to higher ground. However, he was certain that someone as stubborn as Ruffle would have stayed behind.

“Glint, I think it’s time you got back in your Poké Ball too,” he finally insisted, wiping the water droplets from his face before grabbing the water-type’s Poké Ball.
“<<No way! You know you won’t find her on your own!>>” Glint responded. He quickly ran ahead, dodging empty drink cans and food wrappers that seemed to attack him from every direction.
“Get back here! I can’t lose both of you!” Andrew roared, rushing after him. His sides were killing him and he was struggling to fight a coughing fit but if he didn’t keep moving, they were all doomed.

He became somewhat worried when he saw the Squirtle suddenly came to a halt. “What is it? Glint?” His voice was trembling slightly. Everyone knew that Pokémon could sense things before humans and Glint’s reaction didn’t look too promising. As the Squirtle remained frozen to the spot, Andrew attempted to figure it out on his own.
“<<Move it, dumbass! If you’re just gonna stand there, you’re toast!>>” a familiar voice suddenly shouted out.
“Ruffle?!” Andrew exclaimed, relieved to hear that the Pikachu had survived. He almost began to smile but quickly changed his mind when he noticed that massive waves, coming from a nearby lake, were headed in their direction.

The teenager grabbed at Glint’s arm, forcing the Squirtle to start running. “<<Take it easy or you’ll rip my arm off!>>” the water-type yelled as he snapped out of his trance.
“<<This way!>>” the Pikachu called out from just up ahead. She headed into the closest garden which was sheltered by a large variety of plants and trees. Andrew and Glint followed her to a decent-sized cottage that was on somewhat higher ground than the area they’d just come from.
“Please let there be someone here,” Andrew groaned as he caught up to Ruffle, who was already thumping on the glass door.

[latani]

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Verchiel whined softly as he listened to the rain violently splattering against the windows, his ears twitching as the wind roared. The hurricane had him on edge, his instincts telling him to go seek shelter somewhere safe... like the basement. But Tanya, who was dozing on the couch that he lay next to, would be left unguarded. Sable and Tobias had gone to Goldenrod for a shopping trip and had texted Tanya they'd not be returning due to the weather, leaving her alone in the cottage.

Almost alone. Some of her non-party Pokémon were roaming the cottage, stuck inside but enjoying her company. As the rain lashed the windows again, Verchiel lifted his head and cocked it to one side, as if hearing something through the maelstrom occurring outside. Ever, Tanya's Purrloin, opened one lazy eye and glared at the Mightyena as he began to whine anxiously. "Mongrel. Do shut your yap, some of us are trying to actually sleep... she hissed quietly, tail lashing behind her as Verchiel ignored her entirely.

Instead he stood up and nosed Tanya's arm, backing up as the redhead woke with a faint groan, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What d'you want, Verch?" Tanya mumbled, running a hand through her slightly tousled locks. Verchiel whined once before trotting towards the back door that led to the garden, still appearing anxious. With a sigh Tanya stood up, smoothing down her tank top and following her Mightyena.

"So you woke me up for a bathroom break? Ugh," the girl muttered, not at all enjoying the fact she would be soaked the moment the door opened. But before she could even so much as reach for the knob, several knocks landed on the door, startling her and Verchiel into jumping back. Who in their right mind was out in a hurricane? The doors sported full-length blinds, but rather than tweak them to see who was on the other side, she opened the door; why stand there and gawk?

The first thing the pair saw was a Pikachu that was soaking wet and looking quite harried, and then a teenager and a Squirtle who were out of breath. "Andrew!?" Tanya sputtered. She'd met him at a Christmas party but they hadn't really interacted too much since then. Now wasn't the time to catch up, at least this very second. "Get in here, I'll get you some towels from upstairs," Tanya ordered, ushering him and his Pokémon inside.

Closing the door, she dashed up the stairs and reached the closet in record time, snagging three fluffy white towels from it and hurrying back downstairs. "How'd you wind up outside in this kind of weather?" she asked, trying to keep a chiding tone out of her words. Tanya handed a towel to Andrew and bent down to offer the other two to his partners. Verchiel was watching the three guests curiously, seeming smug that he'd correctly sensed their arrival.

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[Andrew]

The door swung open almost instantly, much to Andrew’s surprise. He shifted backwards as he recognised the face in front of him, almost tripping over Glint in the process. His cheeks began to go red with mortification. He felt incredibly awkward, hammering on her door and begging to go inside. “Uhh...uh...Tanya...” he began, somewhat lost for words.
“<<Dude, stop *****ing around and move it!>>” Glint demanded, attempting to shove his trainer inside. To Andrew’s relief, Tanya invited them in before he was able to ask.
“Oh…alright! Thank you so much!” he responded, making his way inside.

While Tanya went to grab some towels from upstairs, Andrew took a moment to catch his breath. He ran his fingers through his hair in a poor attempt to spike it back up. Ruffle shook herself off, flicking drops of water everywhere. “Stop, we’re getting towels in a second!” Andrew scolded.
“<<I’m saving on laundry!>>” the Pikachu smirked, continuing on regardless.
“<<We’ve already dragged in a load of mud and water anyway so I don’t think it makes a huge difference,>>” Glint added as he stretched his arms out, ready to make himself at home.

Before Andrew could even briefly glance around the room, Tanya had returned with the towels. He blushed again as he responded to her question. He must have seemed out of his mind right now. “Well, we were taking a day off before we challenged the Azalea Gym. The weather was pretty bad but I wasn’t expecting anything like this.” he began as he put down his bag and accepted the towel. “Oh thanks! Uh...yeah, so anyway, the crowds caught me by surprise and some of my Pokémon went missing. I ended up hanging around for way too long. I think I spent about twenty minutes in total searching for Ruffle,” he stated, gesturing at the Pikachu. “After that, we just ran to higher ground and eventually found this place...”

Now that he’d explained, Andrew felt slightly more at ease. He scanned around, spotting a Mightyena staring at back at them. Fortunately, it didn't look as if it wanted to harm them though. “Anyway, thanks again for letting us come inside, Tanya. This is place is pretty cool! How have you been?” As he spoke, he decided to remove his jacket which was completely soaked and sticking to him, uncomfortably. He slung it over one arm, along with the towel which he was now done with, turning back to face Tanya. It had been quite a while since he'd spoken to her, now that he thought about it.

[latani]

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Andrew seemed nervous as she'd ushered him inside, but she didn't press on asking him about it. She'd felt rather awkward the last time she'd been stranded outside in terrible weather and wound up on Sandy's doorstep. It seemed like the weather in Johto changed on a whim and the unfortunate ones always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or rather, in Azalea...

Tanya nodded as Andrew explained why he'd been outdoors, shuddering when he mentioned Pokémon going missing. "Almost sounds like the round-up I had to do here. Some of my Pokémon like to wander around the area and it was quite difficult to spot them in sheeting rain," the red-head said with a sigh. Still, she'd managed to get them all indoors before the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

Verchiel's tail wagged as Andrew glanced over at him, tongue lolling out in a relaxed fashion. He wasn't the sort to throw himself at company, but he liked being around groups of people or Pokémon; pack mentality and whatnot. Ever grumbled as she rose from her napping place and stretched, knowing she'd not be getting any sleep at this point in time. Her green eyes were narrowed as she watched the humans interact, wishing them to leave the room and give her some peace.

"Heh, it's just my parent's cottage. They're letting me use it when I'm around. Beats camping outside and in Centers at times," Tanya admitted with a laugh. "I finished a Gym battle myself recently, in Goldenrod. I came back here for some down time before I get back to my training," she replied to his question. "Course it's not really all that relaxing what with the hurricane and all."

Noticing how soaked they all still were despite the towels, she gestured towards the kitchen and offered a smile. "You want any food or drinks?" Verchiel whined at this, wondering if Tanya would feed him too. It was hard not to roll her eyes at the Mightyena; he was almost constantly hungry and would follow anyone with food until they either dropped it or ate it themselves.

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[Andrew]

The fact that Tanya could relate to his situation made explaining much easier. Clarifying things had never been a strong point of his. Her response didn’t seem completely clueless either which assured him that she’d understood his story. “I can imagine. I actually thought it’d be easier to find them since they can apparently sense what’s coming. I guess it just drives them crazy though.”

Andrew’s Pokémon hadn’t budged since they’d been handed the towels. Ruffle had already decided that she disliked Ever and had been staring at her suspiciously until Glint nudged her. Things were awkward enough for them as it was. “Oh, that’s kinda handy. It must be nice to get away from the noise,” Andrew commented, recalling the conditions that he’d slept in. The cries of injured creatures in the Centers had always bugged him but at least it was safer and more comfortable than camping outside. He was becoming accustomed to blocking it out at this stage anyway.

His jealousy kicked in again when Tanya revealed that she had already obtained the Plain Badge. He really needed to get to work as soon as this hurricane died down. “Really? That’s so cool. What did you think of Whitney?” he asked, excited to hear about their encounter. Getting a photograph with her was still on his list of things to do in Johto. He’d never met her Whitney himself but he’d seen her on posters and in magazines. He couldn’t wait until he finally had the opportunity to meet her himself.

Glint’s eyes lit up as soon as Tanya mentioned food. Their conversation had been boring him to death for the past few minutes. “<<Now we’re talking!>>” the Squirtle exclaimed, rushing after Tanya. Ruffle quickly followed, glancing back at Ever before she left the room.
“I’m grand for food, thanks. Water would be great though!” Andrew replied to her question, scratching his head with an awkward expression. Tanya had been kind enough to let them inside. He didn’t want to take her food too.