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Chapters:
Intro Complete
Penny drop
Chapter 1: complete
untitled
chapter 2: complete
the hospital, a blanket, and a Jane Doe
chapter 3: outline i.p.
nessescities
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
She spoke in a string of near-incomprehensible syllables. It was the note of near tears to her voice that kept him on the line and not hanging up out of spite.
When her voice, warbling on the edge of terror, did not settle, he barked his orders.
“Daisy, Dolcezza, breathe.”
When she managed to draw a few breaths, proving Daisy was not totally insensate, Giovanni guided her through a breathing exercise. Despite the edge to his voice that had snapped her to reality, the pattern was delivered in a soft, soothing tone.
When she didn’t sound on the edge of hysterics, he dared one inquiry. A near-tender “Are you safe?”
Her response, a near monotone, as shock stole all the crack and wobble of her earlier fears, had him up and killing everything in his office. Her whimpered, “Yes, no, I... I don't know what to do?” was a whispered background as he was locking his door.
Checking a low growl, he waved off the Mademan that'd cued up to guard him. He wasn't leaving on Business, and the current Capo di Capo of Kanto had made his stance clear. Family matters in the famiglia were affairs that didn't warrant muscle. Personal affairs weren't to be handled on the clock. And MadeMen were not meant to draw on lower Capos to make a point.
Even if that one incident, where a wildly overprotective Capo had taken three associates with him to scare the ever-loving hell out of a bastard who'd dumped his little girl in public, was, by nearly all the famiglia in Virdian, considered a fair use of Mob resources.
Better he not, so he waved them off, because if he enlisted these men, he'd likely be using their resources to dispose of bodies.
Shoulder braced to better hold his phone against his cheek. Giovanni worked his coat to obscure his Work uniform. As he slipped his arms into the right sleeves, working his team and tools into the appropriate pockets, he offered a stream of irrelevant chatter. Contest scores, and gym statistics, silly irrelevancies, tales of old rivals and their downfalls.
One particular ribald tale managed to summon a croaked laugh. He was taking the stairs from the back exit of an old Sakaki warehouse two at a time.
On a stair landing, with a window large enough for a flyer 'mon to plow through with a rider in tow, he stopped, fussing with buttons and options.
"Daisy, are you alone?"
A whimpered no, made him lower his tone. He couldn't reach for softness. Not with a million anxieties swirling in his gut.
"Do I need to call an ambulance?" And Grace, to make sure she was attached. She'd kill him if he didn't.
"I.. I don't think so."
Deep breathe, thin down this crisis, this sounded infinitely worse than when she'd been dumped, but not on par to when that crazed fan had accosted her in her home. He'd purloined a Rocket psychic type that time, nearly been teleported on the girl's assailant.
She'd gotten a front-seat viewing of what he was capable of that night. And she'd been, understandably, leery of calling him when shaken.
Which made this call go from mildly concerning to flat-out alarming.
"Do you need a first aid kit?"
Because if she was hurt, fuck the Don, he'd take recant that decision on guards and grab the three of them and order them to pack shovels.
"Taking a deep breath, gathering her courage, she spoke.
But in that silence before, he heard it. The soft omnipresent crackle that alluded to phone signal blockers. The whispered crinkle marked her as being on the edge of a property that used the near sci-fi level tech.
Only four facilities in Kanto bothered. Silph, the League, the Kanto Interpol offices, and the Kantoian Starter and Exotic 'mon rehabilitation facility.
The last was known among the lay as Professor Samuel Oak's Pokémon Ranch.
Revelation set his hackles to rise; he considered the window with thinned black eyes, hand clasped over the Pokeball of a particularly noiseome flyer...
"I'm at Oaks." redundant that. "And.. Is... Is Grace there?"
The warble s back, the crack of fraying composure.
Not physical pain.
He turned on his heel, not quite sprinting, but he'd be at his car in a moment. From there, it was a twenty-minute scenic ride between the warehouse and the edge of the Reserve.
He'd likely be at her side in fifteen if he minded the traffic laws.
Stomping through the sliding glass doors, Daisy Oak was cutting a quickest route from the fields of the reserve to the parking lot as quickly as her high dudgeon would take her. It wasn’t as fast as a good run would have been. But she’d taken intervals to kick rocks, and plants, and swear.
Because why the hell not?
It’d been a bad idea. She knew it. Been told it. But Father’s duties during hatchling season tapered off the time her tour seasons had allowed her her vacation. And instead of hooping it up in say… Galar… meeting pretty boys with pretty accents, she was in good old backwards Kant,o trying to mend a bridge he’d let fall apart ages ago.
Again.
Mew above, she was so damn stupid, it was round six of this dance, and did she learn anything… noooo…
Hating everything about her bleeding heart. Double hating that her unmet needs as a kid were rearing up to make her waste a ton of money to come home and poke the good old familial abandonment wound, yet again. Daisy slowed her rampage after water type hatchling lab one.
She didn't want to take a tumble on the slick walkways.
Swiping her eyes, she was embarrassed to find she was running out of similes for stupid. It was feeling downright angry thirteen year old in her head right now.
And to add salt to the wound, she had tapped out her knowledge of the varieties of “bastard” around the time she’d gotten out of the professor’s earshot.
Each step was a clanged splash. Making a mess of her leggings and spooking the 'mon in the tanks along the walls. And her inner fashionista seethed at the loss of good pants.
It didn't stop her from stomping.
This was supposed to be her damned vacation. This happened every vacation. Every time she stopped working, she started hankering for something she’d never have.. And smart thing she was, she sunk a charizard's horde in… in this stupid, stupid, stupid attempt to have a normal father-daughter relationship with a man who didn't give a damn.
She'd half a mind to call the Sakaki's the second she got off the reserve. Gio might be willing to pick her up in something that screamed shady as hell just to give Oak something to stew about... He was her type of petty after all, it's why they got along so well...
But her thoughts of revenge were felled with the cold realization.
It could work. Maybe. But it would likely be a month after she left before Fa-Oa- He bothered to review the non-'mon footage.
If he bothered to do so at all.
That thought stopped her mid-step. She wrestled with herself, throat tight, eyes burning. Beating back a raw, crying jag by sheer force and a deep breathing exercise.
Appearances and all that.
Under her mask of half-assed composure, her brain was anything but.
Why was she like this? Why was she so stupid!? Those twin demons blasted on repeat inher skull. And no amount of maturity, or acting like a "proper lady" was shutting it up.
Swiping her eyes, she exited the water type reserve. All its fish tanks and grill pathways over artificial waterways were behind her with the hiss of the automatic door snapping closed at her back. While the fire type hatchery wasn't hot enough to dry her tears, the arid environment did a lot towards masking the evidence.
She'd managed to stop stomping at least.
Really, with everything, she was just too tired. The dust strewn about to make a facsimile of a desert met the residue of her temper and the water type reserve to make an instant coating of mud on her shoes.
Gah. Fatigue was pushed back by sheer exasperation. Daisy all but danced in place. Trying to shake the clinging goop off... and it was in that wild attempt to reclaim the ghost of cleanliness, that she saw it.
Her first thought was "weird". Baby blue, out here? Her brain caught up in bits and pieces. It was a scrap of fabric, maybe some egg wrapped up in baby cloth by an oversentimental trainer dropping off their first mon's hatchling. But then logic caught up.
Despite his genial-seeming nature, Professor Oak was not a sentimental man. Or even a warm one. Aides might have whisked the egg into the chamber bedecked in the softest cloth and gentle assurances that the kid's egg would be treated like spun glass...
But the wrapping wouldn't have been left on. There was a trash can right by the start of the environmental egg hatcheries for stuff like that. Flowers, mementos, or even gifts from the egg's "Mom and Dad" had been chucked into it indiscriminately.
So what made this egg different?
Getting on her tiptoes, Daisy saw the egg wasn't in the first row of the hatchery, but it wasn't in the front either... Other oddities poked out. The shape wasn't perfectly round. That wasn't right... Her feet carried her over, a cautious, slow shuffle, her hand clasped around Amewse's pokeball.
Then it moved, and it wasn't the gentle rocking of something ready to hatch.
But, rather, a weak sort of flatish squirm.
Eyes wide, boots making the rocky sand crackle under each step, she crossed the distance from the path out to the raised earth that served as this hatchery's nest. Curiosity was an invisible string that was wrapped around her very soul, tugging, tugging, drawing her closer.
If her life were a horror story, she'd be the first to die.
She said it constantly. Been told regularly. Grace Sakaki mentioned it once a month in amused tones over cups of coffee while they compared shenanigans and gossip. Her husband, Giovanni, sighed and scolded her for her latest misadventure. Daisy's manager reminded her that any stupidity fueled scenanigans were coming out of her paycheck. Those three older adults were her triad of common sense, taking the place of Mother, Father, and distant Uncle. Nevermind Grace was part enabler part one-upper, and her manager had manipulated a few of her shenanigans into free PR campaigns.
Poor, somber Gio only listened to her tales with an expression of a man considering how much liquor he'd need to partake to forget, but perversely not be a complete bad example.
She passed the first row of eggs, they were a wild slew of sizes, all spread in a row. Orange and red speckled shells were all around her now; her fingers were ghosting over the brittle shells of unborn fire types. Each touch wasn't quite burning, but at that unpleasant hot tingle that preceded sunburn. Her steps crackled less. The ground was more soft sand than rock now, to spare those delicate shell undersides.
Gio hadn't found the key to his balancing act. The Italian's efforts were probably derailed by the fact that Daisy had joined with him when she turned sixteen, and used his attempt to make the pain stop to do more stupid things. Like to try to drink him under the table. Or get him involved in stunts that made the headlines.
She turned, now not on the edge of the grid pattern, but tippy-toeing among the hatchery's eggs. She made wide sweeping steps, her dance classes paying off in full. Minding balance and shells, each step was more sure than any nerdy sedentary scientist's. It took effort not to toss a few dance moves into the mix.
As if sensing her bravado, the overhead speaker crackled to life, just in time to puncture any gathered pride.
"Please step away from the test subjects. This is your first warning of five; you will be teleported off the premises if you persist."
Seriously? Daisy flicked a glare up to where she thought the camera was. "I'm allergic to psychics, you bastards!"
"Second warning..."
Well crap... The flick of blue was close enough that she could make out the gist. She only needed a few more steps to be able to pick it up. But seeing it clearly froze her in her tracks. Swaddled, loaf-shaped, frizz-topped, it definitely was not an egg.
"Third warning."
It made a noise, a breathy sort of whine. Horror flitted across Daisy's face as she realized that it wasn't a doll. It was a person. A kid.
An infant.
She wiggled past the last row of eggs between her and.. and the kid. She reached down, not believing, but it opened its wide blue eyes and let out a raspy scream. All red, with a scaling of white blisters and sand, and it's trying to scream. Trying and failing.
"Shit, shit, shit..." She'd trying to hold them, so the screaming would stop, and couldn't find a good hold. Gritting her teeth, she tucked the kid close and turned on her heel, picking a quick path out.
"Fourth warning."
"Wait, wait. Stop!" She howled. "It's a kid, there's a kid here. Don't 'port me, get a medic, a first aide kit!"
"Drop the test subject, and lie on the ground. The Reserve is not responsible for any damages you receive during forced transport."
Darkrai and Yveltal grant her mercy. This was going to be worse than hurt. In the last sane moment, before the purple light shimmered and made the very air between her bones rattle, her sight spun. She crunched into a ball, holding the kid to her chest, as her vision lost all colors save an infinite smear of varied viridian hues. As gravity became a lateral force rather than a grounding aspect of existence, she felt Amewse's pokeball split open. The purple light flared, burning past her shut eyes. Swirling with the greens of her world in a nauseating kaleidoscope.
Then, pain.
Her legs were a slew of conflicting sensations, so hot they froze, so weak they locked. She held the mewling thing to her chest and trembled. Trying not to puke, trying to remember if her mouth was open, fighting to remember how to breathe. Hot bitter surged up her throat, and she wasn't sure if she was able to turn her head away, but knew primal deep she'd gotten sick.
And knew shame, hot bitter shame so deep it made her sick up again.
A world away, Amewse, her perfect, precious, Persian swirled into existence. Not that Daisy was aware. The trainer's world had dissolved into remembering how to breathe in a world where the air was toxic, green, miasma.
Amewse treated the day with typical cat aloofness. Shaking off the irritating buzz of her withdrawal, she craned her white neck about. Seconds later, her tail was up but crooked down. Back arching, wiskers quivering on the wrongness of the air, Amewse's ears flicking back at the utter insult of the atmosphere.
This was worse than rain, worse than Raindance mixed with Hail. Whipping on her paws, Amewse looked about, for Madam Mealserver Warmlap. Madam wasn't supposed to ever ever be exposed to such energies. She could have a hairball get caught the wrong way and stop breathing.
Then the can opener would never whirl again.
Madam's state made Amewse pause for one second. Sick and rank fell from her mouth, and there was screaming that wasn't Madam but cuddled close. This was wrongness, within wrongness, and the smell in the air was making Amewse nearly gag.
Despite her disgust, Amewse was a TRAINED 'mon. Thus, she knew exactly what to do. Thin red eyes combed the area for assistance for the Madam. But there were no trainers, or white-clad medics, or Joys. There were no roundtound, yarnball, shaped Chancys to mewl her concerns at.
Ears slicked back, tail lashing, Amewse swatted at Madam's belt. Knocking off pokeballs and a purse, making the thing that was cuddled and screaming scream louder. Still, Amewse kept at it until the square-shaped talkie slab was knocked free. It took a few moments to flip it shiny side up and bat it until it warmed and turned a sky blue.
It had taken Amewse a week to learn what "centering" meant, but Amewse was a smart girl. She had got it right and the lesson stuck. A click and flash told her that her "centering" was perfect, as always. Amewse indulged a self-satisfied purr, and the device changed colors as a result. The blue was now not just a color, but with bars and symbols that meant things a bit beyond the feline. It was this "screen" that Amewse meowed at.
When the screen read "Call going through," Amewse gently scruffed the talkie-box and dropped it at Madam's side. Confident that things would be right again, all she had to do was be pretty, wait, and Bite any wild abra with extreme prejudice Amewse settled in to keep Madam company.
Edited 1/19/2026, applied Tangos suggestions to tidy up some of the text.
Thanks for the reviews Tango!
AN: additional trigger warning! Nausia/puking, forced hospitalization and bodily restraints applied humanely. Inhumane price gouging practices/vulturing, cruelity towards minor
The metronone clicks and beeps of hospital tech had a peculiar effect on Daisy's rattled wits. Though supposedly soothing, the monotonous bweep acquired an edge after a seeming eternity listening to it in perfect darkness.
A saws blade that dug and scraped into her very psyche.
Muzzily Daisy swiped at the source, and when an irritating tug on her hand held her back, she blindly crooked her other hand, ready to tear the tugging bind and...
And a cool hand clasped her wrist, twined thier fingers into hers, and squeezed.
Brains still askew, it took an embarrassingly long moment to realize the pressure was a pattern.
To realize the pressure was words.
But when she did, she choked back a sob.
Safe. Grace. Safe.
Sensations trickled in, slow like molasses, but it wasnt surreal. That was worlds better than the kaleidoscope of sensation and insanity that'd been her world before.
There was pressure on her ears. Sound-canceling headphones that clearly weren't doing thier job. A softness wound around her eyes told further tales.
She'd been blindfolded.
A wiggle of her legs showed them to be bound.
Soft as a pidgy's wing beat those fingers slipped free from hers and fluttered a quick string of taps on Daisy's forearm.
Understanding came faster, now.
Easy. Safe.
Daisy slumped into the bed. The hospital had to put her in total (well, incomplete but attempted) sensoral deprivation and immobility.
It'd been a bad fit then.
Mercifully, there wasn't a tube shoveled in her throat; she double checked that with a questing tongue and got a vile taste as a result.
So maybe on the entubation. She might have slept through its removal. Maybe. Daisy worked her trembling fingers as best she could and tapped out a few letters.
Dai.
It wasn't perfect spelling, but Grace's nails tapped nonsense for a moment as the woman nervously considered something.
Finally, almost cringingly, came the answer.
Five days
And that.. that was revelation enough for now, her brain decided quite independently of her emotions..
Daisy Oak checked out of reality before she could decide what she felt about the fact that she'd been bed-bound for almost a week.
Xxx
The next time Daisy woke, she was significantly less grateful.
Her ability to crack an eye open wasn't impeded by soft fluff, thus letting lancets of light spear in and leave behind a searing headache. Her croaked profanity was part for the pain, and part for the fact that the staff had let something die in her mouth and it'd been left to rot.
For a month.
Do not puke... the mantra came out as a soft wordless whimper, which immediately got the attention of someone. The world was blurry and hurt, so she scrunched her eyes shut and gave up on sight for a while.
So it wasn't like she could see who it was. Only that they were too close and she couldn't kick at them to back the hell up. Thier closness and the crinkle of paper cut through her confusion and tripped every alarm wire in Daisy's head.
She whined, at that sound, a barrage of noise was kicked up. Whoever it was spoke a mile a minute.
And normally that'd be fine...
But right now, spoken words were beyond her. Her hands weren't bound, so she was able to push back at the..
( flat, cool, metal at the tip top, crinkle under that... was it a clipboard?)
The thing plopped into her lap, and took mean satisfaction that it clattered to the floor.
Despite how the sudden racket made her headache worse.
Babble came from that. More words, ung she just... no words! She wanted to beg them to stop. That part of her brain wasn't better yet!
But she couldn't warn. And the subhuman noises she could scrape up summoned a prattle of nails on chalkboard.
Gorge rose in her throat. Forget notpuking. She was going to now, no matter what.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
But that paperwork shoveling ass was going to get a front row viewing on his shoes.
Time was still a fuzzy concept. Boiling down to, now and not now. When the cloying sensations of heat in her throat, near choking, had passed, and her stomach stopped clenching, there came another barrage of sound. A scrape, and slam, and words... ung not words! She wanted to scream, but managed a whimper. Her thoughts devolved into no no don't puke...
And that was her whole world.
Until another cophany. A thud and slam, and after... It wasn't perfectly quiet, but close enough that Daisy could unclench. Another span of hard breathing, mercifully no words, and then cool brushed against her cheek. When she didn't wince back, the wet span was swiped over her face and mouth. It came and went, and the second circuit Daisy leaned into the touch. Luxuriating on a touch that wasn't pain, or prodding. The cloth left, and something long and cool was set against her cheek. Not cold-wet, but cool-smooth. Brow furrowed, she tipped into the odd sensation, then reached up with a shaking hand to twiddle it. Long, smooth, pointed, slik? It brushed the space by her eyes... And understanding made her dare a nod.
Yes, please... calloused hands guided the cloth. Wrapped it around her eyes, and the dark took one pain away. She was eased back until she was lying down, by hands calloused and scarred, each motion slow and careful. Treating her as if she were spun glass.
The hand twining over hers, moving slowly so she could trace the familiar rings and scars over his knuckles and fingers, told her who it was. The tapped Geo, was overkill. But Daisy wasn't going to complain.
She knew who it was, she was safe, and slid into unconsciousness without a protest
XXX
Round three was the lucky one, where she woke up to a world that was sane.
Sound wasn't steel wool over her brain, and time had sorted itself into its proper places. There were no strobing colors that swirled over her sight, eyes open or shut. Gravity didn't wildly pivot in place and leave her behind on a whim.
Gathering her courage, Daisy pulled at the cloth over her eyes, daring to see.
While uncomfortable, light wasn't a searing napalm to her brain.
Twiddling the red fabric, a tie, she looked about the room. It was standard hospital fare, white-walled, boring, with a dry board on the far wall with her name and status scribbled on it. She wasn't sure if it was remnant damage from her teleport, or if the handwriting was so bad, but beyond her name and the words "Mild Psychic Reaction" she couldn't make out a word.
Mild... Daisy closed her eyes, holding back a storm of reactions. Not breathing, losing coherence for... for however long this was, was a mild reaction... Knowing her brain, knowing that moodiness and irritability (and hysterics) were a real possibility, Daisy scruffed her emotions and took slow, deep breaths. She was awake, able to think, and she was becoming cognizant that her ex-blindfold smelled of earth, smoke, and a musky cologne.
And that the smoke was a bit thicker than normal.
It seemed someone had indulged in a cigorette before leaving it behind.
Not that Daisy would rat the man out, Grace could be a nightmare about the silliest things... but still.. It was nice to know he worried and cared.
And speaking of care, there was, also no one around. Slumping and staring at the ceiling, winding and rewinding the tie in her hands, Daisy basked in the imperfect silence of the moment. It was just her, the hum of machinery, and a view outside that consisted of another building's wall. Huh, not Azul' Corp then. Her out-of-network was going to be astronomical.
Lucky her.
The grunginess of the ceiling (old water leaks hurriedly patched looked kinda funny, like a squished pidgy if you squinted just right) told her Daisy wasn't at Viridian Gen... which narrowed down her options to either a back alley Rocket facility (unlikely) or Grace's other haunt, Verdent Saint's.
Which was pretty alarming. Daisy must not have been breathing; Grace might not have known if she'd have enough time to make it to better hospital and picked the lesser evil as a result.
And to that jarring, terrorfying revelation, Daisy dug deep...
And found superficial spite waiting.
Her hands crooked into pseudo claws as she raked them down. First to peel back the scratchy sheets, then to assault the hated the bathrobe made out of offshoot paper towel materials they'd bundled her up in. Because if she was dressed in this, and there was no hide or whismer of her other clothes left out, then it meant her shirt and pants had to have been cut off. And that realization summoned the ghost of angry shopper, fashionista, and prickliness to the very fore of her soul.
She'd paid a fortune for those hyperdurable, designer, Galarian trainers pants. And they were gone. They'd been half of a set, and the shirt, a signed first edition Peony work, was likely ashes in the biohazard incinerator.
She wanted out, her team, and then to be pointed in the direction of Oak's reserve. Her cats knew hyperbeam, hypervoice, and other moves of mass destruction. Plus Mewfasa was big enough she could ride him side saddle. She wouldn't even need to be well enough to walk to be discharged, just well enough to yell and point at a stationary target.
A rap on the door frame sounded, and maturity incarnate, Daisy rolled over to better seeth at the wall.
"Don' wan' visi-s."
Alright, that was far and away not the coherent string of words she wanted to spit out. Maybe she'd have to stay a few hours. Long enough for her to brush her teeth, get a drink, and shuffle outside.
That'd be more than enough time for her tongue to figure out how to work with her vocal cords again.
The door opened, and Daisy tapped her demonic thirteen-year-old inner child with extreme prejudice. It wasn't subtle, or anything like elegant, but she managed to round up a pillow and chuck it at the door.
"Go 'way!"
A thump and grunt told her she'd hit someone, but when steps drew closer Daisy groaned and rolled over. Better face the music now, rather than wait for it to hit PR.
She blinked, kinda confused at the two men in her room. And her sight... wasn't quite right. Thier features were swimming. She could think things; one was tall, the other short. But she couldn't identify the color of their hair, and a blink reset the few descriptors she drummed up. Tall... the first one who entered was tall, right? She looked from stranger one, to two, with panicked deerling eyes, and that stopped the soft grumbles. Tall, the one who came in first... Maybe?
Had they come in? Weren't they always in?
Regardless, Tall shot an arm in front of Short... and there was something funny about the top of Short's head and..
And Daisy blinked, and then kept her eyes closed, all her fight dying with a groan.
Her fucking prosopagnosia was back, with a hellish vengeance. Forget riding Amewse, she wouldn't be able to manage looking down the hall, much less riding to Oak's ranch and razing the whole thing down to the ground with a legion of angry kitty cats.
Tears seeped out of her scrunched eyes, as Daisy tipped her head up and a sob rattled her throat. Still, she scraped something baser than spite, and managed to talk. Her fingers bunching the rough hospital sheets into a lump.
"My name is Daisy Oak, my Medical Proxy is Giovanni Sakaki, I have recently been hit by a psychic attack and am unable to vouch for my own care per suffering an acute episode of psychiumanaphylaxis. My caretaker's phone number is-"
Numbers swam in her brain, she tried to get them back, to get them in order, but... but... She whined, unable to say, much less think... so she went lower than thought. Fell back on route. There was a route for if she was that gone, and she'd held onto it with teeth and nails.
"My wallet, there's a number in my wallet...Call it and..."
And one voice, raspy and old, rumbles a line she should remember. A horrified string of silken words that are cut off with a hissed reprimand. There's silence as she manages to spit out the rest of her lines. Without the numbers, because numbers are too complicated, she can almost feel the concepts of time unwinding in her brain. Simplifying, to now, and not now.
She wants to scream, because she'd been better. She'd been better and...
"Daisy."
She knows that word, and if she keeps her eyes closed, she can remember it's hers. Her name. And the voice is familiar. But that's all she has.
A door closes and opens, and there are steps. Farther, than closer, and very, very slow.
"Cara. Tesoro."
She knows those words, too. Though they're mainly gentle nonsense. Still, it's something, something new. A hand ghosts over hers. gently clasping over hers, she lets go of the sheets, drawn more to the warmth than anything. She maps the prickly rises of callouses, the smooth scars, and the ring. It's cold, hard, unforgiving.
Not forged, it was etched from an ignot, raw steel, polished, and treated with chemicals until it gleamed like silver. Its owner had, by hand and sheer determination, pitted it with geometric patterns, fitted flecks of stones within the flaws.
Her fingers traced the fragments to the large stone on top. A diamond holding flecks of nevermelt ice harvested from Galar's Hammerlock caves.
Its mate had firestones mixed with amber in its flaws... The stone at its heart was a ruby that had spawned around fragments of a firestone.
And Daisy hated the fact that she knew this, and not a name. That she had this worthless piece of trivia, and not the ability to make the sounds she needed to talk right.
She held on tight, a wordless apology.
From a world away she heard the door open, halfway, just enough to creak, not enough to slam. The other hand is smoothing over her head. The light of the world dims as he leaans over, to feather a kiss on her brow. He's close enough that Daisy can feel his pivot in the air currents, and the way his shadow shifts to let some light touch her scrunched-up eyes..
He speaks, softer than a whisper.
"Ottieni una proroga. Con qualsiasi mezzo necessario."
(get an extension by any means necessary)
Another replies:
"Vuoi che contatti la famiglia?"
(do you want me to contact the family?)
More growl than words, he breathes.
"Se resistono, me ne occuperò io. Personalmente"
(if they ressit, I'll deal with them. Personally)
There are four more visits, four more times of "almost better" than her coherence slides back and forth to the quixotic tides of her internal injuries. Daisy's tested ruthlessly, and the results are left with her. She knows (when she can read) that when she slides back it's less extreme. Still she's not well when she's declared "competent".
She's still got a damned blindfold over her eyes, and headphones slung over her neck in case her symptoms spike and she needs to blot out the world to not have another lapse.
It's insanity that they are forcing this meeting. But "they" wouldn't wait. So it's her, Giovanni acting as her proxy, and two representatives (her legal team, and Gios), and one impatient slip of a man whose (supposedly, Daisy can't see anything now) dressed in a judge's robe with a fluffy wig and everything.
The reason for this meeting, emergency custody case. Which had Daisy baffled. She's not a mother, she'd damn well know unless the rumors of Lysandre co' collecting eggs from toilets was true. If that was the case, ew, and oh Mew no, jail the lunitic, and get someone with a science degree to wrangle his genetic insanities right now... Daisy was not qualified to deal with any mon/human hybrid perfection zombies that may have resulted from that madman's activities.
She'd immediately been assured, no Lysandre Co' had not, and would not, be social engineering the biological leavings drawn from Lum' cities toilet systems. No, her eggs hadn't been abducted from the last time she'd been on her period in the city. And a note had been added that Daisy was still suffering some side effects from her psychic exposure.
A mild case of delusional thinking.
She'd been asked after her mother, which again was weird. But Daisy wasn't shy. Years had taken most of the sting out of those chains of events..
After Daisy's emancipation at fourteen, the woman had packed and never looked back. She remembered Mother had gotten her tubes tied to spite Oak after Daisy had been born, so unless Mom had undone things (which was impossible, and also another case of ew) she wasn't a half-sister or anything.
Right?
The silence to that chattered tangent was... alarming. Daisy teased the headset, wanting to slap it on, not hear anything. Because alarming was starting to scale into terrifying. She could feel her heartbeat pick up, and she swiped sweaty hands over her hospital gown front.
"You absolutely can't reverse it, right?" Daisy squeaked. Because dealing with Mom... again... yeah. Never again. Not after how the woman left.
"Considering she had everything caterized, no, you can't." Giovanni finally spoke up when the collected judge and law people were clearly not going to talk.
Well, that was good news, sorta. Maybe..
And that optimism lasted five more minutes, when she'd been passed up a sheaf of papers, and given a quick spiel about custodial responsibilities and..
And Orn, Gio's lawyer, snapped up the pages. "She can't read Braille, you moron." Then there's a rustle, she can imagine the orniary man tipping his head towards Daisy's rep. "Why the fuck am I doing your job for?"
"Because you're the nicest person in the room," Daisy suggested, "who can explain why the judge is trying to make me a janitor?"
Silence... while all the older adults froze, and mentally rewound the last few interactions.
"Daisy." Giovanni's voice was smooth. "Do you need some headphone time or?"
"Just rip the Band-Aid off by talking sense, and I'll let you know after."
"This is unprecedented... " Daisy's rep found his voice, yay, now if only Daisy could remember his name.
"If a life weren't on a line." Orn snapped, "something that could be remedied without dragging a sick ki-adolescence into things. By honoring the emergency reinterpreting inheritance and honor clauses, which was already done in the case of xion vs Indigo Ceria 1968-"
Daisy gripped the headphones tight, deciding she'd block them out, not for psychic damage, but for sanity reasons.
They'd gone on and on about this, making less sense each time, and she was sure that her head was going to explode if they didn't shut up right now.
Giovanni's hand on her shoulder stopped her; his roared, "Shut up, all of you!" stopped everyone else.
Except the judge, who snippily threatened to throw him out for contempt if he dared...
And it was her hospital room, Giovanni had complete access, and she was half a mind to suggest the judge throw himself out...
But that line, about a life being on the line, held back her rebellious streak. By a hair. But still.
"Can someone explain this, in plain Kantoian, please!" Daisy groaned.
Silence, Orn cleared his throat, the older man's voice a delightful rasp of smoker, meeting not gentle with himself, with a dollop of grumpy curdgmudgeon. It really was like listening to rocks smack together, deep baritone rocks. "If I can?"
Forget contempt of the court, Orn's tone in asking permission was contempt of the judge's very immortal soul.
Some rustling, perhaps someone nodded. Scarily, Gio hadn't let go, was keeping his hand on her shoulder, a mute motion of support.
"Alright. Ms Daisy, it's Orn," She'd normally say she wouldn't forget a voice like that... but in all honesty... it was a fair caveat. "What these... less than astute members of legalese have been dancing about is.. well, you got it in one. You are a sister, a half-sister. That kid you found... was Oaks. And per Oak's actions, the merciful courts of Viridian child services have decreed Oak incompetent per temporary insanity."
Silence.
"Alright, I could argue temp, but no argument about insane." Daisy ruled. "But what's that got to do with me?"
A long pause as wordless conversations were had. "Well, the state wants to take over custody."
Alright, that didn't sound too bad, but Gio's squeezing her shoulder kept her tongue behind her teeth.
"As a ward of the state, medical services would naturally be suspended."
Daisy froze, looked to the judge, mouth gaping in complete, unfettered shock.
"What, why?" The kid's skin had been red and puckered, worse than sunburn, not quite burnt through. And since it wasn't a mon attack, specialized burn treatment would be required. This wasn't a spray a burn heal on it, and be done, sort of thing.
The judge cleared his throat and took over the explanation.
"Per the hereditary and value clause, establishedin the legal council between the Red Gyarados famiglia vs Viridian ruling, any unattached child, without a viable Kantoian ancestor, who is released to the kanto state is, per established moral clauses, considered a potential criminal until proven otherwise."
Guilty before innocent, meets old racism, and social inheritance stigmas, mix and hop the result on vindictive steroids.
Welcome back to good old, great Kanto, don't let the injustice slap you on the way out.
Why did Daisy come back again? Switching citizenship to Galar sounded better and better.
Silence reigned as Daisy digested this horrifying horrifying fact and tried not to puke. Because the kid who had to prove he wasn't "criminally inclined" couldn't talk, was redder than a trapinch, and clearly needed more hospital time.
Hell, she needed more hospital time. Daisy slumped into her chair, voice crackling, breath unsteady.
"Fuck, no wonder Team Rocket has so many kids and orphans as grunts."
"Your opinions are being noted." The judge warned.
Next time she got frisked by some baby mobsters, she was packing condolence candies. She'd have to ask Giovanni what Italian kids normally liked candywise, so she didn't accidentally piss them off or something.
Giovanni chuckled, and Daisy groaned, "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Headphones," Giovanni ordered. "We'll pick this up in fifteen minutes, alright?"
"Ung... bossy bossy..."
Still, she did as ordered, letting the world be blocked out for a little while.
XXX
The final decision had been that she'd been granted temporary custody to her baby brother, john doe. It'd hold long enough for the kid to keep getting treatment and the mother to be found. But the state was going to investigate Daisy down to the bedrock. Whiche meant everything in Daisy's life had to be perfect.
That meant the moment Daisy could walk, she was discharged. Not to rampage through Oak's reserve, but through her own home, taking in all the damage and neglect her last renter had left behind.
But she wasn't alone, Giovanni had joined her, and together they made a curious sight. A young trainer and a middle-aged man working side by side like a pair of prickly, mad, gremlins. Doing remodeling and damage control in equal measure.
They spent hours in her garden. She'd been a bit silly in her first journeys. Taking cliplings and seeds from every region she visited. Thus she had a smorasmore of fauna thst she knew nothing about.
For saftey reasons ther garden had to be dug up. Anything with any chance of poisoning was a no-go. Her potted plants, all picked for decorative purposes, were declared death traps and were piled in the trashbins outside. This misadventure in horticulture meant, ironically, all the oran berries she'd planted to pass out to young trainers leaving her father's labs had to go.
Because before they bloomed thier heaking fruit oran leaves and roots were a weak poison that might cause the trots.
Or considering her luck, might cause apoxia per intense allergic reaction.
"Why did the judge consider me suitable again?" Daisy whinned, hauling a bag full of expired cleaning chemicals behind her.
"Blood relation makes you parent of the year material, hypothetically, but only if you're of the first degree," Giovanni grunted, tossing his bag, trash, and a pile of bad food onto the growing pile.
Behind them, 'mon tromped along the bottom floor of Daisy's two-story. Pushing out furniture, she'd decided her old tenant didn't deserve back. There might have been some brick breaks applied to get it through the doors, but as long as she and Gio didn't see it happen... it dixn't haooen.
It wasn't like the police could use a psychic mon on her to find out it wasn't an accident after all.
"You know if you were at all inclined for crumes you'd make a beutuful allibi." Giovani drawled.
"Shut up and lug things about Mr. Moral Citizen."
Daisy's neighbors, were going to have a conniption fit. Between galloping ground types wrecking furniture she had already violated nine noise policies, and who knew how many trainer clauses.
They'd also been at this for twelve freaking hours... and were themselves getting a bit loud and cranky as a result.
A loud bang from the house that wasn't ex-rentor furniture breaking had made her hop. Gio was at her side, first steadying, and when all the lights in the front had started to strobe all but hauking her behind him back to the house...
That had been fun. To tear out of a half-completed trench that was thier reverse gardening efforts, because his lightning rod endowed horn head, and her Manectric had decided to have the mon equivalent of a dick measuring contest.
The lightning lion was of the mistaken opinion that everything around it could be felled with voltage. And was tapping the latent energy in the house to try to fry Rhydon. Not wanting a house fire in her life had added a spring to her step. And at the front door Daisy managed to recall the cat to it's pokeball. The aborted thunderbolt crackled like misplaced fairy lights overhead, to preversely float to Rhydon's head. Making a crackling psuedo angelic halo around the ground types head.
Which did nothing to help his "who me" expression on his slate grey face.
Giovanni hadn't breathed a word, just swept past her and glared. 'Don nearly pissed himself.
A curt gesture had got 'Don heading out, to finish butchering Daisy's yard. The ground type had tried to catch her eye on leaving. Perhaps to apologise with a soft whimper, or gesture, but Gio's glare had hardened.
She was gunna need a rug to hide that gouge in the wood work.
"Your kid is going to get away with nothing." Daisy breathed.
Kinda in awe, a tiny bit in shock.
"Shut up and help me find more trashbags."
At the budding pile, Nidoqueen lounged, waited, and would drag the boodle the rest of the way to the morning trash pick-up spot. But not without tipping her stubby snouted face in an extremely judgmental manner at thier offerings.
"I've been gone for two years, how was I supposed to know the guy I rented this place to would overstuff the fridge and leave it to rot when the lease expired three months ago?"
The ground type squinted at Daisy and judged harder.
"Don't." Giovanni groaned. "Either of you. I do not have the patience for your crap today."
"Alright, old man." Daisy hip-checked him, gently, as she limped past. Ignoring his squawk of outrage, the growled, "Old? I will sic Orn on you so hard you're grandchildren will owe me money!" She made her way back in. She might have slammed the door behind her so as not to not hear his crap. They were at that fun, fun stage of working together where they were at each other's throats, so some pettiness was to be expected.
The door slammed open when he returned a few moments later, proving maturity wasn't all numbers. It also proved that despite his long legs, he wasn't moving much faster than her, so she hadn't had much of a lead.
His black eyes were all but sparking, and that placid too-still expression wasn't a warning. It was a potential death threat.
Daisy dug deep and found her compassion. Sorta.
"Senior discount time." She cheered, though honestly, between havong bwen working sincw bwfore dawn to near noon now, she wanted to cry. But she wouldn't. Worry him or waste the time. "You get a break on leg day. For the low, low price of no comments for ten minutes, you can sit your ass down, and I'll seal up the upper levels, and you get to skip those fun fun stairs."
The snarled string of syllables in Italian might have been a threat. Daisy could kinda talk a little like Gio did, but she wasn't great at it. She knew enough to flirt with boys and order off a menu. She'd been grilled by Giovanni to know how to ask directions, and under Grace's guildence she could ask for medical help, but Daisy wasn't able to do more than that. Despite his prickliness, Giovanni did take advantage of her offer. Spreawling on her dark brown recliner chair with a bonelessness that'd make Amewse have a hairball in jealousy.
Luckily, her Persian was out terrorizing the local ratata population. So no hairballs for now.
The Italian indulged his rest with extreme prejudice. Not taking a nap, but definitely going still and closing his eyes to find his inner peace and mental happy space.
Daisy didn't blame him; she lingered on the stairwell to do a few deep breath exercises herself.
She loved the Sakakis.. both of them. But Grace was infinitely easier to deal with than her husband. Gio was a raging perfectionist. Demanding things to not only be perfect but prompt. Worse? Things had to be done in the exact order that he wanted them. Anything outside his mental checklist, or out of order on it... Wel,l not too long ago it would have had to have been corrected.
He'd never used physical force, but his verbal nudges could have been considered abusive in a certain light. The only thing that'd kept them as close as they were was that Daisy had a rhyhorn's hide towards cutting words and mind games...and Gio had seriously apologized a few years back.
She was glad he'd kinda calmed down. But that didn't mean he was totally better. And her personality to kick at institutions, order, and orders was a bad mix long-term.
Daisy really wished Grace could have been there, but both she and Gio had slammed thier feet down. Eight month preggers, with one scare already, on light duty from her draconic bosses who wouldn't normally cut any slack for anyone because that scare had happened on work property?
No way in hell was Daisy green lighting Grace Sakaki taking the pothole-ridden, rocky road between Viridian and Pallet to "lend a hand". Giovanni had threatened to have his Kanguskaun, Matriarch, thrash the family car to keep her home. Per Gio, Grace had finally ceeded the match when Matriarch had been three steps away from thier beloved Bentley. Three steps! Stubborn had married obstinate; the way they were going, they weren't going to have a kid... Grace'd spawn a rock.
Daisy dragged her feet a bit. Giving the old man a thirty-minute break while she did a quick comb over. Once she was totally sure that everything she'd need was already bundled downstairs, she locked the upper floors. Taking a little time to wrangle the baby gates on the base of the stairwells closed, and test them before hauling herself into the living room.
The sight that greeted her, cutthroat buisnessman and patriarch of the (admittedly earned title of terror, looking up the man's mother in the dark web had been the stuff of nightmares) terrorfying Sakaki line had gone boneless. Sprawled in her plushy recliner like a drunken staryu, and breathing suspiciously loud that it might be considered snoring...
Daisy tipped her head. Tried to see the allure that Grace would natter about. There were a few streaks of grey about his temples. They were courtesy of her and her misadventures, he'd drawl, if she dared point them out when he was awake. His jade green long sleeve had bunched up a bit at the sleeve, letting a glossy glint of raised scars peak out. A misadventure of a different kind, he'd have deflected. Had deflected, when a much younger Daisy had grabbed said wrist and asked him if it hurt...
Really, Daisy couldn't see the intimidation or allure in the man. He just looked a bit cold.
That, at least, was easily remedied
"So, wanna help me break in this one?" Daisy whispered, whipping out a sky blue, fluffy monstrosity with cartoonish swanmays stitched in it. Giovani made a snuffled snort like a nidoran in a berry patch, twitching just a bit.
But he didn't wake up.
But that Nidoran noise? That was as good as a yes for her.
One power nap later, where he threatened arson when he saw what she bundled him in, and... well Daisy wasn't going to admit she'd napped too. When asked, she was resting her eyes. But with such star 'mon like Amewse draped over her shoulders like a white silken shoulder throw, and Meowscre, her pretty purugly going limp over her knees, Daisy might have caught some sray REM. It was all involentary however. Total cat nap mojo kidnaping her coherence.
She wasn't old like Gio who actually needed naps.
"I thought the blue complemented your eyes," Daisy drawled, stretching to get blood flowing. Not to indicate she'd just woke up. "And that's for their first bed. I did the tassels and outline work on the 'mays myself." Caloused hands combed over her work, dark eyes thoughtful, expression approaching appreciative. "You just got to try it first and break it in for your spawn." Wiggling her toes only made Mewscure go limper. "You're welcome."
"Child, not spawn."
Daisy yawned, stuck her tongue out, and tried to get up. Mewscure flicked on eye, and manged to ync a whisker twitch with a facial twitch that gave the impression of a double eyebrow rise, even though the Purugly didn't have eyebrows to actually raise.
Trainer looked up at Trainee, had pupil become the master in the grand game of the bluff? Lip kicking up in one corner, clearly not buying what Daisy was selling, the Italian threw the cloth at her. Letting her try it on for size.
"Where's the coffee, brat?"
Trying not to smother, both cats took her tassels as an invitation to reenact World War IV over her stomach. Gah! Daisy got both cats off, saved her handiwork, and was glaring at the kitchen doorway as Gio was puttering around.
"Makers under the sink," and if he coulnd't see her smirk, well, that's because the coffee maker was way in the back and he had to reach deep for it. "Insta is on top of the fridge, in the K-Cup dispensers."
The thud of him starting in horror was music to her ears. And the yelped profanities were the highlights of her favorite song.
"What the fuck did you mean, instant. I taught you better; you do each step of the brew! Is this the crap they've been teaching you in Galar? Because I swear by Nona's grave if there wasn't a more pressing reason to go back to war with those elitist, suck up, uncivilized..."
Cue world war five kicking in right about now. .. gifgking, Daisy got uo. Boodke tucjed up and away, victory hers.
"Well its what the ass left. My stash is in the secret compartment by the Persian pucure.
Scraping a hand over his bruised skull, expression wafflinf between firat and sexond degrre murder. Gio got her stash of beans out, and preooed.
After cuppa scene move to furniture grinding scene...
Gio uses rhyhorn t9 gnaw the edgesn9ffnof table and furniture. Uses mon file to sanddown edges. The material that isnt viable to be smoothed has daisy stucking sliced pool noodle over. Hot glueing fluff down.
situation. Judge granted immediate emergency custody starts in 24 hrs. Daisy scrambling to baby proof house.
"May i say am glad your damn tame compared to the others i've had to do this for."
"Define untame."
Gio did. And because she was at the ripe old age of seventeen he didnt hold any details back. Rattling off tales of weapon stashes, mon enhancers, contraband mon, and drugs with an amused air of a.man done with others stupidity.
She hat to admit the idiot withnthe sharkpedo in his tub kinda deserved the tongue lashing he'd gotten.
It didnt matter how muxh your kid likes sea week, they were not suitable bath time training buddies.
Giovannis tales manage to get them through the kitchen and half the living room. There isnt an edge left unsanded ornsheathed... until the back corner.
But Daistlys ignoreing that.
"So youve done this often?"
Gio thinks. "On average 2-3 times a month." File scrapes he runs a hand over the wood right and wrong way. " I deal with a large number of disporia. They lose and gain custorldy for getting accused, accuring charges, charges dropping, post rehab. Were a tight knit group seething with drama."
A wave and rhydon nips ans gnaws another corner. Gio steps in to stop a swollow.
"Youre kid-" graces shocked words turned into a yelp of pain. Dropping glue gun shes shaking smarting fingers, swearing and blowing.
"Idiota bambina," sighed, fond, the file scrapes. "The sink. Now." A scrape as she glares down at him. "And check the first aide kit while youre putting disinfrctant on it... and a burn heal ..."
"Locks and invatory. Gotcha. Bossy bossy."
"You want my help or not?"
The files waved around like a threat. But it was jist gio gesturing. She knew not to tempt him. Not because he woukd leave, but because sabatoge wasnt off thw table for his imperial prickliness.
The plan was simple. Beat back all sharp edges, all upoer floors sealed. Updaye and move any medical catches. All cleaning chemicals moved from bottom shekf, to top. And set up a room for the kid next to hers.
She wasnt aiming for mawkish. An emptied storage room, skipping a painjob because fumes were a worry and 12 hours wasnt enough time to d the job and airnitnout. Stripped with fabric they were go8ng to nail to the wall., shed sacrificed a long rug and a bolt of matching fabric to Kings talons.
The mon had a mathmatical accuracy to slashing. Ergonwhy he was nominated to sainthood in daisys mind. Neither shenor gio were masters at scizzors and with his super himan strength King found the labor more play than anything else.
a quick gkance outside found Gios purple people eatter cheerily doinghis job in her driveway, scaly tail thumling along to the radios beat tbat shes left out fornhim to enjoy.
Sensing her eyes on him King looked up, she waved, and the mon wiggled his ears in greetong before getting back to work.
"Have i told you your Kings a saint?"
"Dont flatter the simpleton dear."
'Youre mean and bossy" she flounced to the sink to tend her burn. "Youre like the capi de capo of dickheads."
Daisy was proud of that one. All her weeks watching crime time and studying mob stuff paid off. She didnt even flub the title.
His laugh followed her out.
PRE SHOP
It'd taken them a bit of time to park. Mainly because they'd had an argument as to where to park. Under a light for security, or away from the lights for anonymity. Reminding her it was his car, not a democracy, Giovanni picked the shadiest section closest to the door he could. He then invited Daisy to take all that opinion out to the lot and bring over a cart.
The first, a rattling monstrosity that probably been hit by a car from its warped frame, was firmly rejected, and he sent her out again with a glare and encouragement to work out some of her humor while she was at it.
Once properly armed, they walked side by side to the doors. More to herself than anything, Daisy wondered.
"What are the odds of us getting kicked out?
The gym leader, holding the cart, flicked a firm look down at the gir- young woman, voice carefully tight and inflectionless.
"None, because you're going to behave yourself this time."
"Badly, sure." Daisy chirped up at him with a tight grin.
"I can, and will, cheerfully dump your ass here, without reliable transport back."
Daisy hummed. "I got a full team of 'mon, and I can adlib carry packs."
"And my last act, before ditching you, will be to dose them all with enough catnip to keep them high for three hours."
Daisy thins her lips, considers property damage verses monitizing the insanity that would ensue. She sighs, math definitely pointing that she'd owe money.
"Fiiine..." she kicked a bit of scree on the parking lot to the side. "I'll behave, but only if you do."
"I'm a grown ass man who has been behaving since I was twelve."
He nearly lost the cart doing the actual airquotes at her. Daisy smirked, darting ahead to open the door.
It looked like the auto opener was offline.
Weird. But a glance in showed the place was lit, staffed, and there were a few cars beyond the staff heads shw could count. So the joint was likely open. A quick read of the hours on the glass confirmed and affirmed all was well.
She'd flag a cashier or something when they got in.
"Even when Nona or the Madam couldn't see anything?"
Grace had to vent at someone besides Andre. And while a few of the stories were likely censored... Daisy'd gleaned enough to get the names of Gio's childhood demons. His sour glare told of a mark hit, and his silence promised gossip galore.
"Don't mention them in public." He growled.
"No Shop, at shop, gotcha." The cart rolled over that stupid lump all shops had that marked the line between in and out with a rattly thump that made both wince. "So what's new in Sakaki land?"
Gio rolled his eyes, but while Daisy flipped open an ad (for the store directory, she was not Grace old man, she had no plans to dicker over every coin, calm down), as she read, he brought her up to speed on the latest drama.
The Sakaki's were hip deep in what Grace called The Great Painting War.
Grace, secret Disney Princess at heart, who was unironically living the plot of many a b-rated kiddie story spin off, wanted to inflict a sugary appocolypse on her upcoming progeny. Gio was locked into wanting something realistic. A scene meant for soothing adult and childish palates. They were, after all, gling to be spending sizable spans of time in those spaces with a screaming child. Might as well tend to everyone's needs at once.
They'd argued over childhood characters being on parade... Gio'd won that round. He had no fondness for them, thier exagerated features (anime or just basic cartoon) quite candidly creeped him out. And his description of thier uncanny valley effect had sorta freaked Daisy out. Not that she'd admit to it.
And not that either of them would admit that all the animated fluff in the Sakaki house was solely Grace's.
Not any more.
Not since the man's introduction to Miyazaki. And surprisingly, Danna Terrace's work.
Neither Viridians had wanted a forest theme. Thier chorased "for reasons" had come in near surround sound, and Daisy had been pre-empted. Before a "why" could tumble out, both husband and wife had presented a unified front. A gentle (per Grace) but firm (all Gio) order to respect the couple's privacy, and to stay the hell out of the Forest had been doled out.
And heeded. Daisy was no one's fool, and there'd been, under that command, a glint of fear in both Sakaki's eyes.
Since forests, rainforests, and cartoons were out, the couple had waffled on oceanic and pastoral themes...
And... that was three months old news.
When Daisy called foul, Gio flicked her an amused look and admitted the tie had broken recently. Then a surprising somberness settled over the man's features.
"We went pastoral."
Daisy flicked a look up from the map, route set, and first detour on the horizon. She stilled though in surprise at the morse turn of Gio's tone.
"I thought you hated ocean everything. Ocean 'mon, seafood, swimming..."
"I do. My reasons are: my gym, allergies, and sharkpedo."
"So what gives?"
Black eyes met hers and thinned, a tiny warning of probable ire.
"Do you remember that wooloo you gave Grace two months ago..."
Now, when anyone started with "do you remember" and had a date tagged in, it was wisest to lead with plausible deniability. Be it Rocket racketeer, Officer, or Interpol. You remembered nothing. You weren't anywhere near the scene of whatever was being discussed. And if there was evidence, well, evil twin wasn't plausable but a look-alike would fly if you led up to it just right.
So normally Daisy would chirp, "Remember, officer, I have the worst memory in the Region. My brain damage from psychics... you know..."
Considering Giovanni had had to do the freaking himelic menuvor on her to keep her from dying on her own vomit...
Daisy bit the bullet.
"Kinda?"
Sort of bit the bullet. Maybe nibbled on the edges of it.
"What you did, between regifting fling number nine's stuffie to her, was trigger an obsession."
And while the tone was scolding (the sane would consider it intimidating) Daisy perked up. Story time with Giovanni was always fun. All sweeping gestures and dramatic tones, and if Daisy lucked out... Well, Giovanni could do voices. Seriously, little Silver/Silvana was gunna be a lucky little...
And Daisy lost her train of thought at the realization that half of the Sakaki's king-sized bed was covered in plush button-eyed wooloo stuffies. Daiay gaped while Giovanni painted Grace's obsession in all its unbridled glory.
"You are shitting me!" Daisy squealed. Seriously?!"
There'd been a compramise after two weeks of back and forth. Exactly one stuffie was allowed in thier bed, and it was never left to stare at Gio with its soukess button eyes.
(Daisy was putting caroline on the top of thier jext movie night, nothing woukd stop it from haolening)
And one chair, in thier reading room, was designated as Grace's to "wooloo up".
The result was a hybrid harvested wooloo mareep slip cover that was palest yellow with yellow flowers woven in
Daisy winced at second hand fashion clash vibes. And Gio, scarily aware of weakness, pouncsd on that motion to rant a bit, which also fair.
Sakaki house was earthen tone everything. Yellow had no purpose.
Itd made reading together a nightmare. When everef gio glanced at wofe was met with sunny, virant, fluff button eye abomination.
And bot it did. On top of mound. Plushy spines glinting in the neon kuminescence of the claw machines light system...
"Counter the fluff, with spikey fluff." Daisy crooned.
Result. Gio loses5x before daisy able to wiggle it over. They get banned from mini store ront arcade and go in one nido rucher.
Go to formula scene from here.
Chapter 3, gio and daisy
Acquisition
Chap 3 start
Sjopping scene
Diapers and formula 1, 2 weeks worth!
Gio insists on covering tab. Formula and diapers insanely expensive. This, from him, is alarming.
When she sees the pricws she whole heartedly agreed. They cost as much as a forth of her monthly budget. When she moves to get min gio loads up extras.
"you will spill, babies sick up, better to have more than less"
They hit pallets grocery in wee hours, exhausted and loopy from too much work. Daisy has bandaides on hands, gio manages to singe his head and has a sad mareep bandaide right by hisbhairline.
His own strupid falt for tipping the glue gun over hishead and trying to get the last inch out. Insistent he can see it working.
Only daisy swatting the device out of his hands had kept it from being in his eye.
Grace would not thank her for letting gios stuborness get him in the ER.
again
So, yay, shopping break.
Getting the kids stuff, the bare minimum of the kids stuff wasnt eye kepning
It was second hand tramatic.
"I am paying, and first thing tomorrow you are applyong for gov assistence."
"alrigjt alright..." she aims for flipant. Her trembling voice because, oh mew, kids clothes, bottles, shoes, its all looming in front of her. Her breathing picks up, sharp and tight.
Shes hyperventulating. in the baby formula aisle of Pallet woopermart like a complete waste of space because... two weeks is like as much as she got beating up Surge.
This was not chimcho change here.
A hand clasps her shoulder, grounding her... and she leans into him. Resoltuly not crying. He stays still while she trembles, and bites her lip.
not crying. She wasnt.
And if he passed down his pocket chief... well it was to dab at sweat around her eyes, nothing else.
Eggs
Because gio is being su h a sap (scaily nice). Daisy squeezes her ususal grocery run in. Focusing on meals that req min cooking.
Eggs are her go to for breakfast, boiled, pouched, fried, she's got sause and seasoning galore so she just needs the base.
"Smart" gio compliments. Looks mildly peeved.
Security has been tracing since they entered.
"You piss off the owner?"
Gio tips his head to indicate 'for sale" nationalistic flags. Daisy raises eyebrow, getting the reference, having been abroad helps pick out the icky racist crap Kanto peddles as normal.
Shame Legend was at the pokecenter getting her shots, she was good for a nice controlled fire.
"Ooh boy." She grimaces a quick squeeze in the italians arm, a mute sympatht. "he seriously can't think your gunna steal from here. I mean your shoes, while tactless purponets of child labor,"
He shifted his glare from the guard to her.
"Regardless, they are worth more than his invatory..."
"I know that, and you know that..." is grumbled.
They almoat have a scuffle at the poltry fridge. Its rather one sided considering shes short and he's stupid tall. Still making him put the eggs over his head to stop her from ripping it back should count as a win
Because contrasting morals nothing. It was height differences that were king..
"Put that back, its organic, who can.." he raises an eyebrow and she blushes. "alright you can. I cant. Gotcha. Tuck those in the back corner, we're gunna cut through those two pallets. Ditch the feds."
If only. Still when Daisy went through a taboo area at what was best considered a powerwalk, gio kept pace besides her.
Vegis, avacado, kits, tomatoes misc,
The guard caught up at them poking through vegi bin. Which was a damn shame because Daisy woukd of kept him hopping if shed been allowed to just dump vegis and go.
But nope.
Shed been scruffed and then conscrupted to going through each section so slowly the guard and a manager had caught up.
Shuffling close, daisy makes a show of asking him to get something from the top. Using the motions to hide her face.
"Wanna screw with him?"
Black eyes fkick down at her. Amused.
"I thought thats what we were do8ng alread- put that back its moldy." Daisy did as told, whole Gio took a moment to sniff the produce. Face grimacing he went back to digging.
"Regardless, a jail record would not help your case.,"
Avacadoes are dropped in.
" so we dont get jailed."
The tomatoes make the trip into thier basket. They are treated like glass.
"Dont go over the top."
Eggs rattle alarmingly as daisy mock swoons.
From hwr pose, draped quite inappropriatlynover the cart, she vracks open an eye. "Can we do alfredo?"
temptation flicks over gios face. Grace hadnt bwen able to have creamy anytjung per food sensitovities. He had serious withdralws.
"Get off, youre making a scene, and fine..."
"Says mr drauma major..."
"Minor, internat-"
"No one cares."
The salad kitnis dropped in with more focre than neccesary.
"Youre pushing it." And if he prodded her with said cart before stomping off... it was kinda fair.
Milk/creme butter
Theyre arguing percentiles, brand and textures, hes claiming unassailable cultural expereince, shes championing goole search engine resukts.. thwyre getting to the fun part of haggling when a vkice asks if shes being bothered.
Gio freezes, its weird to see him jist shut doen and slowly slid his hands into his pockets.
Still hes had this talk before.with her.
How you never move suddenly, or let your voice hit certian octives or volumes in kanto heavy pubkic places. Anythign that could be constrewed as hostike was carefully trained away. Hed let th elure of minimal trafic and familiar company cause him to lapse. Seriosuly when trainer swason was over she was slringing for an out of kanto vacation foe thwm both. Because this.. was agrivating.
And also expkained why grace ddi all the sakaki shopping.
"Besides being a tital food snob?" Daisy couldnt resist one tiny dig. "No prpblems"
"Really? Because he was looming over you, following you... i saw the cameras"
"looming?" Daisy chirped. Slipping ckoser and ckoser, the guard prickled but she was about an inch away fr9m him. "Like this? With unblinking stares and stocking?"
She droped the chirp, let her voice go fkat. Gave the man a dose of exactly what he was doing. Little wonder he backed up.
She snapped his wrist. Holding tight.
"Exactly like what yuve been doing?"
No comprehensions, she let go with a huff, flicked gio a quick "play along" look.
"If i'm worried about some little girk being"
"Stocked?" Daisys fkushed, pissed, "not a little girl little man. And i've been there, done that. Antonios the only one to bother keeling an eye on me after, so if you have problems with him keeping me company after that last creep of an ex... so you, can fuck off."
ENDING IDEAS
Daisy gets house prepped. Too tired to drive home gio stats over, they order pizza, discuss parenting. Daisy asks why hes being so candid (notntjat she misses thw kid gloves... but?)
"Youre 17 sweetheart, emancipated since 14, and going to, temperarily, be taking on a responsibility even i am scared to handle. "
"Grace didnt get herself pregnant." (Teasing)
(gio laughs) "dont i know it. And yes, we wanted a kid. Its just... the world seems a lot larger and scarier than before this started. Because its all about them now, not me, my ambitions, even Graces... my lifeswork changed tenor overnight. I dont regret it. Butnits humbling.
Once upon a time it was about the the money, the infkuence, thenpower... now its about holding onto that just enough to ease thier path forward, but not enough to be absent.
"Honestly," darkneyes bore into her, "i'm scared i'll fuck it up. My famiglia are a nightmare. I have scars, literally, from how i was raised. I know how not to act, and a lot of book learning on how i'm suppost to act... but this is a new route, no resources, and it feels... terrorfying."
Ung feels. Still Daisy swollows her snark.
"It is new, but you arent alone. You have me, Grace, all of Graces med squad, and how many years dealing with kids as a gym leader."
"Not quite the same, but thanks."
"Think of all the fun experience youll get sec9nd hand from me doing the worst babysitting job ever. We can compare horror stories after."
gio snorts, almost smiled. Daisy thinks of that as a win.
"Bed bambina, you need at least 6 hours. I'll drop you off at the courthouse on my way to work."
A Roost spin off, huh? I'm pretty interested in what is happening here! Roost has been a great read so far. Seeing some brand-new material is really cool just by itself since I know it's been a long time!
Given the summary, I'm surprised it isn't firmly in M-rated territory! (The fact that it isn't is a relief since there are a LOT of different ways a summary like that could go! )
Stomping through the sliding glass doors, Daisy Oak was cutting a quickest route from the fields of the reserve to the parking lot as quickly as her high dudgeon would take her. It wasn’t as fast as a good run would have been. But she’d taken intervals to kick rocks, and plants, and swear.
It’d been a bad idea. She knew it. Been told it. But Father’s duties during hatchling season tapered off the time her tour seasons had allowed her herto take a vacation.
I realize the way this line is written works, but having the same word next to itself is a bit jarring. Took out a 'had' for good measure too. 'Had' can be cut from almost all lines, I've noticed.
Her father let a bridge fall apart ages ago. Her father is Oak's son or son in law, I take it? I guess her father doesn't get along with Professor Oak, but Daisy just keeps on trying to mend things...
Edit: Came back here after reading ahead more. I think what is happening here is that Oak is her father, not her grandfather!
Mew above, she was so damn stupid, it was round six of this dance, and did she learn anything… noooo…
Hating everything about her bleeding heart. Double hating that her unmet needs as a kid were rearing up to make her waste a ton of money to come home and poke the good old familial abandonment wound, yet again. Daisy slowed her rampage after water type hatchling lab one.
She didn't want to take a tumble on the slick walkways.
Swiping her eyes, she was embarrassed to find she was running out of similes for stupid. It was feeling downright angry thirteen year old in her head right now.
And to add salt to the wound, she had tapped out her knowledge of the varieties of “bastard” around the time she’d gotten out of the professor’s earshot.
Each step was a clanged splash. Making a mess of her leggings and spooking the 'mon in the tanks along the walls. And her inner fashionista seethed at the loss of good pants.
It didn't stop her from stomping.
This was supposed to be her damned vacation. This happened every vacation. Every time she stopped working, she started hankering for something she’d never have.. And smart thing she was, she sunk a charizard's horde in… in this stupid, stupid, stupid attempt to have a normal father-daughter relationship with a man who didn't give a damn.
She'd half a mind to call the Sakaki's the second she got off the reserve. Gio might be willing to pick her up in something that screamed shady as hell just to give Oak something to stew about... He was her type of petty after all, it's why they got along so well...
That thought stopped her mid-step. She wrestled with herself, throat tight, eyes burning. Beating back a raw, crying jag by sheer force and a deep breathing exercise.
Appearances and all that.
Under her mask of half-assed composure, her brain was anything but.
Why was she like this? Why was she so stupid!? Those twin demons blasted on repeat inher skull.
And no amount of maturity, or acting like a "proper lady" was shutting it up.
Swiping her eyes, she exited the water type reserve. All its fish tanks and grill pathways over artificial waterways were behind her with the hiss of the automatic door snapping closed at her back.
While the fire type hatchery wasn't hot enough to dry her tears, the arid environment did a lot towards masking the evidence.
She'd managed to stop stomping at least.
Really, with everything, she was just too tired. The dust strewn about to make a facsimile of a desert met the residue of her temper and the water type reserve to make an instant coating of mud on her shoes.
I have to say that I'm noticing a ton of quality in this so far. The descriptions really pop and everything seems written crisp and clearly. I'm enjoying the way you vary your sentence lengths too and the way you use one line paragraphs for emphasis.
Gah. Fatigue was pushed back by sheer exasperation. Daisy all but danced in place. Trying to shake the clinging goop off... and it was in that wild attempt to reclaim the ghost of cleanliness, that she saw it.
Her first thought was "weird". Baby blue, out here? Her brain caught up in bits and pieces. It was a scrap of fabric, maybe some egg wrapped up in baby cloth by an oversentimental trainer dropping off their first mon's hatchling. But then logic caught up.
Despite his genial-seeming nature, Professor Oak was not a sentimental man. Or even a warm one. Aides might have whisked the egg into the chamber bedecked in the softest cloth and gentle assurances that the kid's egg would be treated like spun glass...
But the wrapping wouldn't have been left on. There was a trash can right by the start of the environmental egg hatcheries for stuff like that. Flowers, mementos, or even gifts from the egg's "Mom and Dad" had been chucked into it indiscriminately.
Wow, so they pretend to care to put on a show and the moment no one is around they drop the act completely. Sounds like what Amazon does with fragile packages.
Currently, it looks like she is seeing just a cloth and she is wondering why it is there.
Getting on her tiptoes, Daisy saw the egg wasn't in the first row of the hatchery, but it wasn't in the front either... Other oddities poked out. The shape wasn't perfectly round. That wasn't right... Her feet carried her over, a cautious, slow shuffle, her hand clasped around Amewse's pokeball.
Then it moved, and it wasn't the gentle rocking of something ready to hatch.
But, rather, a weak sort of flatish squirm.
Eyes wide, boots making the rocky sand crackle under each step, she crossed the distance from the path out to the raised earth that served as this hatchery's nest. Curiosity was an invisible string that was wrapped around her very soul, tugging, tugging, drawing her closer.
Grace Sakaki mentioned it once a month in amused tones over cups of coffee while they compared shenanigans and gossip. Her husband, Giovanni, sighed and scolded her for her latest misadventure. Daisy's manager reminded her that any stupidity fueled scenanigans were coming out of her paycheck. Those three older adults were her triad of common sense, taking the place of Mother, Father, and distant Uncle. Nevermind Grace was part enabler part one-upper, and her manager had manipulated a few of her shenanigans into free PR campaigns.
Poor, somber Gio only listened to her tales with an expression of a man considering how much liquor he'd need to partake to forget, but perversely not be a complete bad example.
Orange and red speckled shells were all around her now; her fingers were ghosting over the brittle shells of unborn fire types. Each touch wasn't quite burning, but at that unpleasant hot tingle that preceded sunburn. Her steps crackled less. The ground was more soft sand than rock now, to spare those delicate shell undersides.
Gio hadn't found the key to his balancing act. The Italian's efforts were probably derailed by the fact that Daisy had joined with him when she turned sixteen, and used his attempt to make the pain stop to do more stupid things. Like to try to drink him under the table. Or get him involved in stunts that made the headlines.
Sounds like she had quite the interesting time! Probably could get a fic made about that just by itself, honestly. (Unless it is referring to canon events for the manga)
tippy-toeing? I'm not sure if that is correct, but it looks wrong to me. I feel strongly that it should be tip-toeing, but my feeling might be wrong on it.
among the hatchery's eggs. She made wide sweeping steps, her dance classes paying off in full. Minding balance and shells, each step was more sure than any nerdy sedentary scientist's. It took effort not to toss a few dance moves into the mix.
What an oddly dynamic way of sneaking. It's written so well and it's so odd that I don't even mind that she was angry and then curious. It kind of sounds like she is having fun at this point.
Seriously? Daisy flicked a glare up to where she thought the camera was. "I'm allergic to psychics, you bastards!"
"Second warning..."
Well crap... The flick of blue was close enough that she could make out the gist. She only needed a few more steps to be able to pick it up. But seeing it clearly froze her in her tracks. Swaddled, loaf-shaped, frizz-topped, it definitely was not an egg.
I guess it's one of the aids operating the system. Odd that they would implement so many warnings considering how close it lets her get to the 'not' egg.
It made a noise, a breathy sort of whine. Horror flitted across Daisy's face as she realized that it wasn't a doll. It was a person. A kid.
An infant.
She wiggled past the last row of eggs between her and.. and the kid. She reached down, not believing, but it opened its wide blue eyes and let out a raspy scream. All red, with a scaling of white blisters and sand, and it's trying to scream. Trying and failing.
"Shit, shit, shit..." She'd trying to hold them, so the screaming would stop, and couldn't find a good hold. Gritting her teeth, she tucked the kid close and turned on her heel, picking a quick path out.
"Fourth warning."
"Wait, wait. Stop!" She howled. "It's a kid, there's a kid here. Don't 'port me, get a medic, a first aide kit!"
Darkrai and Yveltal grant her mercy. This was going to be worse than hurt. In the last sane moment, before the purple light shimmered and made the very air between her bones rattle, her sight spun. She crunched into a ball, holding the kid to her chest, as her vision lost all colors save an infinite smear of varied viridian hues. As gravity became a lateral force rather than a grounding aspect of existence, she felt Amewse's pokeball split open. The purple light flared, burning past her shut eyes. Swirling with the greens of her world in a nauseating kaleidoscope.
Her legs were a slew of conflicting sensations, so hot they froze, so weak they locked. She held the mewling thing to her chest and trembled. Trying not to puke, trying to remember if her mouth was open, fighting to remember how to breathe. Hot bitter surged up her throat, and she wasn't sure if she was able to turn her head away, but knew primal deep she'd gotten sick.
And knew shame, hot bitter shame so deep it made her sick up again.
A world away, Amewse, her perfect, precious, Persian swirled into existence. Not that Daisy was aware. The trainer's world had dissolved into remembering how to breathe in a world where the air was toxic, green, miasma.
Amewse treated the day with typical cat aloofness. Shaking off the irritating buzz of her withdrawal, she craned her white neck about. Seconds later, her tail was up but crooked down. Back arching, wiskers quivering on the wrongness of the air, Amewse's ears flicking back at the utter insult of the atmosphere.
Madam's state made Amewse pause for one second. Sick and rank fell from her mouth, and there was screaming that wasn't Madam but cuddled close. This was wrongness, within wrongness, and the smell in the air was making Amewse nearly gag.
Despite her disgust, Amewse was a TRAINED 'mon. Thus, she knew exactly what to do. Thin red eyes combed the area for assistance for the Madam. But there were no trainers, or white-clad medics, or Joys. There were no roundtound, yarnball, shaped Chancys to mewl her concerns at.
Ears slicked back, tail lashing, Amewse swatted at Madam's belt. Knocking off pokeballs and a purse, making the thing that was cuddled and screaming scream louder. Still, Amewse kept at it until the square-shaped talkie slab was knocked free. It took a few moments to flip it shiny side up and bat it until it warmed and turned a sky blue.
It had taken Amewse a week to learn what "centering" meant, but Amewse was a smart girl. She had got it right and the lesson stuck. A click and flash told her that her "centering" was perfect, as always. Amewse indulged a self-satisfied purr, and the device changed colors as a result. The blue was now not just a color, but with bars and symbols that meant things a bit beyond the feline. It was this "screen" that Amewse meowed at.
When the screen read "Call going through," Amewse gently scruffed the talkie-box and dropped it at Madam's side. Confident that things would be right again, all she had to do was be pretty, wait, and Bite any wild abra with extreme prejudice Amewse settled in to keep Madam company.
So I think what happened here was Amewse just made a call to a Pokemon center for Daisy? Really neat!
Chapter 1 thoughts:
So, even though we don't know what exactly made Daisy so angry, the focus became on what she found, what the teleporter did to her, how cool Amewse is, and what is going to happen next. Presumably she will be calling Giovanni very soon and thus the crazy drive out to her will commence. Great opening chapter! Really cool to see an example of your current writing level. Seems like some of your best work! And now, I'll gladly move to the next chapter.
Not sure what it will entail, though. Seems way too ordinary compared to the insanity that just took place. I'll be curious how the chapter title plays in.
The metronone clicks and beeps of hospital tech had a peticular effect on Daisy's rattled wits. Though supposedly soothing, the monotonous bweep aquired an edge after a seeming eternity listwning to it in perfect darkness.
A saws blade, that dug and scraped into her very psyche.
Muzzily Daisy swiped at the source, and when an irritatong tug on her hnad held her back she blindly crooked her other hand, ready to tear the tugging bind and...
And a cool hand clasped her wrist, twined thier fingers into hers and squeezed.
Brains still askew it took an embaressingly long moment to realize the pressure was a pattern.
Sensations trickled in, slow like molasses, but it wasnt surreal. That was worlds better then the kelidescope of sensation and insanity that'd been her world before.
There was pressure on her ears. Sound canceling headphones that clearly weren't doing thier job. A softness wound around her eyes told further tales.
Daisy slumped into the bed. The hospital had to put her in total (well incomplete but attempted) sensoral deprivation and immobility.
It'd been a bad fit then.
Mercifully there wasnt a tube shoveled in her throat, she double checked that with a questing tongue and got a vile taste as a result.
So maybe on the entubation. She might of slept through its removal. Maybe. Daisy worked her trembling fingers best she could, and tapped out a few letters.
Dai.
It wasn't perfect spelling, but Grace's nails tapped nonsense for a moment as the woman nerviously considered something.
And that.. that was revelation enough for now, her brain decided quite indepenently of her emotions..
Daisy Oak checked out of reality before she could decide what she felt about the fact she'd been bed bound for almost a week.
Xxx
The next time Daisy woke, she was significantly less grateful.
Her ability to crack an eye open wasnt impedded by soft fluff, thus letting lancets of light spear in and leave behind a searing headache. Her croaked profanity was part for the pain, and part for the fact the staff had let something die in her mouth and it'd been left to rot.
At first I thought this meant another month had gone by with her hospitalized, but this is just her thinking her mouth was so nasty that someone must have not cleaned it for a month
Do not puke... the mantra came out as a soft wordless whimper, that immediatly got the attention of someone. The world was blurs and hurt, so she scrunched her eyes shut and gave up on sight for a while.
So it wasn't like she could see who it was. Only that theynwere too close and she couldn't kick at them to back the hell up. Thier closness and the crinkle of paper cut through her confusion and tripped every alarm wire in Daisy's head.
She whined, at that sound, a barrage of noise was kicked up. Whoever it was spoke a mile a minite.
And normally that'd be fine...
But right now, spoken words were beyond her. Her hands weren't bound, so she was able to push back at the..
( flat, cool, metal at tip top, crinkle under that... was it a clipboard?)
The thing plopped into her lap, and took mean satisfaction that it clattered to the floor.
Despite how the sudden racket made her headache worse.
Babble came from that. More words, ung she just... no words! She wanted to beg them to stop. That part of her brain wasn't better yet!
But she couldn't, warn. And the sub human noises she could scrape up summoned a prattle of nails on chalkboard.
Gorge rose in her throat. Forget notpuking. She was going to now, no matter what.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
But that paperwork shoveling ass was going to get a front row viewing on his shoes.
Outl8ne. Gio enters post puke. Daisy recodnizes him by callouses and scars on hands (fluter touch, traves familiar strwats and valleys of old wo7nds ages ago). Calms. gio kicks out fiscal tean person.. gios daisy's medical proxy, all paperwork goes thro his lawyer. Get out.
Daisy drifts back to sleep.
wakes up coherent. Hating bathrobe of paper towel. Furoous to find theyd had to cut her out of her pabts/clothes. Wants out asap. Gio and orn drift in, gio furious orn homding gios leash. Situation explained. Daisy to "inherit" custody of infant until mother can be found. Gio and grace stepped in but paknthrew fit and used legalese to block gios temp aplication. If not state will take over. put half hwaled kid in fostercare under jphn doe, and that will be it.
If daisy takes. Harge kid will be kepy in hosp. Gio will foot the bill. Once kid healed abd mon found daisy can release cust but if not...
State wants to cut off treatment and release to oprphan ward.
Daisy grudgingly signs up to gwt kid healed up only.
State demands home visit to view temp housing.. daisy realizes... crap needs help and asks gio.
I skimmed this a bit but considering how rough it currently is, I'm going to move on to the rest of it. I'm sure it will be much better once you polish it up anyway.
Edit: I came back and re-read this after reading the rest of the chapter. She takes responsibility for the baby and needs housing which Gio agrees to help with. Got it.
They made a curious sight,. A young trainer, and a mid-aged man working side by side like a pair of prickly, mad, gremlings.
Her garden outside had been dug up. Anything with any chance of poisoning was a no go. Her potted plants, all picked for decorative purpose, were decalired death traps, and were piled in the trashbins outside. This misadventure in hortaculture meant, ironically, all the oran berries she'd planted to pass out to youg trainers leaving her father's labs had to go. Because before blooming, the leaves and roots were a weak poison that might cause the trotts.
Or considering her luck, might cause apoxia per intense allergic reaction.
"Why did the judge consider me suitable again?" Daisy whinned, hauling a bag full of expired cleaning chemicals behind her.
"Blood relation makes you parrent of the year material, hypothetically, but only if you're of the first degree." Giovanni grunted, tossing his bag, trash and a pile of bad food onto the growing pile.
Behind them, 'mon tromped along the bottom floor fo Daisy's two story. Pushing out furniture she'd decided her old tennant didn't deserve back. There might of been some brick breaks applied to get it through the doors, but as long as her and Gio didn't see it happen.
Well it wasn't like the police could use a psychic mon on her to find outbit wasn't an accident.
Her neighbors however were going to have a conniption fit. Between galoping ground types, a near power outage when Gio's 'Don and her Mewfasa had gotten into it, she had already violated nine noise policies, and who knew how many trainer clauses.
That been fun. To have to tear out of a half complete degardening because his lightning rod endowed horn head, and her manectric had decided to have the mon equivulant of a dick measuring contest. The lightning lion was of the mistaken the opinion that everything around it can be felled with voltage. Not wanting a house fire in her life had added a spring to her step. And made her recall of the cat the fastest it'd ever been.
Wait... what? I'm so confused what is happening in this paragraph. Tear out a half complete DEgardening? What does that even mean? Just what ARE you removing when you are removing the absence of a garden??
So Manectric was battling Rhydon and was getting too crazy with the attacks? Why were they battling to begin with?
Giovanni hadn't breathe a word, just swept past her and glared. 'Don nearly pissed himself and been sent out with a curt gesture to finish thier digging. The mon had tried to catch her eye on leaving, perhaps to appologise with a soft whimper, but Gio's glare had hardened.
Maybe because of the previous section, this isn't making much sense to me either on what exactly is happening here or perhaps 'why' would be the more pertinent question.
"Your kid is going to get away with nothing." Daisy breathed.
Kinda in awe, a tiny bit in shock.
"Shut up l, and help me find the trashbags."
At the budding pile, Nidoqueen lounged, waited, and would drag the boodle the rest of the way to the morning trash pick up spot. But not wihout tipping her stubby snouted face in an extremly judgmental manner at thier offerings.
"I've been gone for two years, how was I supposed to know the guy I rented this place to would overstuff the fridge and leave it to rot when the lease expired three months ago?"
"Alright old man." Daisy hip checked him, getnly as she limped past. Ignoring his squawk of outrage, the growled "Old? I will sic Orn on you so hard you're grandchildren will owe me money!" she made her way back in. She might of slammed the door behind her, to not hear his crap. They were at that fun fun stage of working together where they were at each other's throats so some pettiness was to be expected.
I had to look up hip check. I'm surprised she was willing to do that to Giovanni, but I guess they are just close enough for that to be something she can get away with!
It also proved that despite his long legs he wasn't moving much faster than her, so she hadn't had much of a lead.
His black eyes were all but sparking, and that placid too still expression wasn't a warning. It was a potential death threat.
Daisy dug deep and found her compassion. Sorta.
"Senior discount time." She cheered, though honestly between havong bwen working sincw bwfore dawn to near noon now, she wanted to cry. But she wluldnt. Worry him or waste the time. "You get a break on leg day. For the low low price of no comments for ten minutes you can sit your ass down, and I'll seal up the upper levels, and you get to skip those fun fun stairs."
The snarled string of sylables in italian might of been a threat. Daisy could kinda talk a little like Gio did, but she wasn't great at it. She knee enough to flirt with boys and order off a menu. She'd been grilled by Giovanni to know how to ask directions, and under Grace's guildence she could ask for medical help, but Daisy wasn't able to do more than that. Despite his prickliness, Giovanni did take advantage of her offer. Spreawling on her dark brown recliner chair with a bonelessness that'd make Amewse have a hairball in jealousy.
Luckily her Persian was out terrorizing the local ratata population. So no hairballs for now.
The Italian indulged his rest with extreme prejudice. Not taking a nap, but definitly going still and closing his eyes to find his inner peace and mental happy space.
Daisy didn't blame him, she lingered on the stairwell to do a few deep breathe exercises herself.
Gio was a raging perfecionist. Demanding things to not only be perfect but promp. Worse? Thing had to be done in the exact order that he wanted them. Anything outside his mental checklist, or out of order on it... Well not too long ago it would have had to of been corrected.
He'd never used physical force, but his verbal nudges could of been consisered abusive in certain light. The only thing that'd kept them as close as they were was Daisy had a rhyhorn's hide towards cutting words and mind games...and Gio had sieriously appologized a few years back.
She was glad he'd kinda calmed down. But that didn't mean he was totally better. And her personality to kick at institutions, order, and orders was a bad mix long term.
Daisy really wished Grace could have been there, but both her and Gio had slammed thier feet down. Eight month preggers,with one scare already, on light duty from her draconic bosses who wouldnt normally cut any slack for anyone because that scare had hapoened on work property?
No way in hell was Daisy green lighting Grace Sakaki taking the pothole ridden, rocky, road between Viridian and Pallet to "lend a hand". Giovanni had threatened to have his Kanguskaun, Matriarch, thrash the famiky car to keep her home.
Per Gio, Grace had finally ceeded the match when Matriarch had been three steps away from thier beloved bently. Three steps! Stuborn had married obstinate, the way they were going they weren't going to have a kid... Grace'd spawn a rock.
Makes it all the more insane that Gio killed Grace later. Granted, I know Gio isn't a paragon of virtue.... Because him going to such extremes was a way of showing he cared... I think.
Daisy dragged her feet a bit. Giving the old man a thirty minute break while she did a quick comb over.. Once she was totally sure that everything she'd need was already bundled downstiars, she locked the upper floors. Taking a little time to wrangle the baby gates on the base of the strairwells closed, and test them before hauling herself into the living room.
The sight that greeted her, cutthroat buisnessman and patriarch of the (adnittedly earned title of terror, looking up the man's mother in the dark web had been the stuff of nightmares) terrorfying Sakaki line had gone boneless. Sprawled in her plushy recliner like a drunken staryu, and breathing suspiciously loud that it might be considered snoring...
Daisy tipped her head. Tried to see the alure that Grace would natter about. There were a few streaks of grey about his temples. They were courtesy of her and her misadventures, he'd drawl, if she dared point them out when he was awake. His jade green long sleeve had bunched up a bit at the sleeve, letting a glossy glint of raised scars peak out. A miss adventure of a different kind, he'd of deflect. Had deflected, when a much younger Daisy had grabbed said wrist and asked him if it hurt...
Really, Daisy couldnt see the intimidating or allure in the man. He just looked a bit chilled.
That, at least, was easily remididd
"So, wanna help me break in this one?" Daisy whispered, whipping out a sky blue, fluffy, monstrocity with cartoonish swanmays stitched in it. Giovani made a snuffled snort like a nidoran in a berry patch, twitching just a bit.
Gio sleeping. A rare sight for people to witness. I guess she brought a comforter out for him or something. Cute.
Chapter 2 thoughts:
Ok, so NOW the chapter title makes sense.
Obviously chapter 2 still has some bits to complete, but there were some confusing bits as well. The stuff with Daisy in the hospital was pretty crazy.
Honestly, I'm surprised what happened to Daisy wasn't addressed in this chapter. Oak just gets away with with aide teleporting her away like that? Even if there is no lawsuit about it, you would think there would be some screaming match between her and Oak or something. I just feel like there is a mountain-sized bit of drama that feels like it should be there and yet is not.
But the scenes with her and Gio cleaning out the house to get it ready was amusing and down-to-earth.
I hope more will be adressed on the fact that she found a neglected kid and her confronting Oak at some point.
At any rate, this was really cool to see something new from you, and I'm sure I'll enjoy checking more of this out later as you complete more of it!
A Roost spin off, huh? I'm pretty interested in what is happening here! Roost has been a great read so far. Seeing some brand-new material is really cool just by itself since I know it's been a long time!
actually it's a pre-quil detailing the Sakaki's and Daisy's relationship, but it does set up the ground work for some canonical events, much later in the tale...
Not sure what could motivate Giovanni to move so fast other than his son Silver being in danger.
Something completely insane is going on, but I doubt it pertains directly to Daisy.
Ok what the heck happened!?
Given the summary, I'm surprised it isn't firmly in M-rated territory! (The fact that it isn't is a relief since there are a LOT of different ways a summary like that could go! )
I realize the way this line is written works, but having the same word next to itself is a bit jarring. Took out a 'had' for good measure too. 'Had' can be cut from almost all lines, I've noticed.
Her father let a bridge fall apart ages ago. Her father is Oak's son or son in law, I take it? I guess her father doesn't get along with Professor Oak, but Daisy just keeps on trying to mend things...
Edit: Came back here after reading ahead more. I think what is happening here is that Oak is her father, not her grandfather!
Yep that's part of both Tranversal and Roosts AU status, Oak's both Daisy and Blue's dad, just decades apart... man really hasn't learned anything between his two kids...
I have to say that I'm noticing a ton of quality in this so far. The descriptions really pop and everything seems written crisp and clearly. I'm enjoying the way you vary your sentence lengths too and the way you use one line paragraphs for emphasis.
Wow, so they pretend to care to put on a show and the moment no one is around they drop the act completely. Sounds like what Amazon does with fragile packages.
Currently, it looks like she is seeing just a cloth and she is wondering why it is there.
honestly I don't have a lot of notes about the manager except they have an almost zero tolerance for B.S which makes them working with Daisy a bit problematic...
Yep! Some more of your clever ways to mix action with place.
Sounds like she had quite the interesting time! Probably could get a fic made about that just by itself, honestly. (Unless it is referring to canon events for the manga)
Nah, this relationship is 100% AU. And I may have them refer to the incident in pieces but no plans to fully write it out. But be warend Grace has mewtube footage to blare at them of their stupidity if they act up too much. It keeps their shenanigans to a minimum.
tippy-toeing? I'm not sure if that is correct, but it looks wrong to me. I feel strongly that it should be tip-toeing, but my feeling might be wrong on it.
What an oddly dynamic way of sneaking. It's written so well and it's so odd that I don't even mind that she was angry and then curious. It kind of sounds like she is having fun at this point.
An automatic system, it seems!
I guess it's one of the aids operating the system. Odd that they would implement so many warnings considering how close it lets her get to the 'not' egg.
Chapter 1 thoughts:
So, even though we don't know what exactly made Daisy so angry, the focus became on what she found, what the teleporter did to her, how cool Amewse is, and what is going to happen next. Presumably she will be calling Giovanni very soon and thus the crazy drive out to her will commence. Great opening chapter! Really cool to see an example of your current writing level. Seems like some of your best work! And now, I'll gladly move to the next chapter.
Not sure what it will entail, though. Seems way too ordinary compared to the insanity that just took place. I'll be curious how the chapter title plays in.
Good to know. I won't point out spelling errors and will refrain from concrit if I read the bold parts.
I have no idea what Daisy is suffering from, but it seems pretty darn intense!
At first I thought this meant another month had gone by with her hospitalized, but this is just her thinking her mouth was so nasty that someone must have not cleaned it for a month
Uh... Ok so it seems like the hospital stopped taking good care of her. I guess Grace left and some idiot is there now instead. Eep.
actually it's a hospital admin, basically trying to shovel paperwork at her for her to sign. Most of it is shady and financially based. It'll be revisited later.
I skimmed this a bit but considering how rough it currently is, I'm going to move on to the rest of it. I'm sure it will be much better once you polish it up anyway.
Edit: I came back and re-read this after reading the rest of the chapter. She takes responsibility for the baby and needs housing which Gio agrees to help with. Got it.
Wait... what? I'm so confused what is happening in this paragraph. Tear out a half complete DEgardening? What does that even mean? Just what ARE you removing when you are removing the absence of a garden??
So Manectric was battling Rhydon and was getting too crazy with the attacks? Why were they battling to begin with?
Sakaki and Daisy are ripping apart Dais'ys garden to get everything vaguely poisonous out, so that Daisy doesn't fail the inspection. All dangers must go.
As for the mon they're having a
I'm better loved/more powerful/prettier contest... hint... rhydon is losing...
Maybe because of the previous section, this isn't making much sense to me either on what exactly is happening here or perhaps 'why' would be the more pertinent question.
Ah ok. So that explains she had a renter in there who left and kept all their stuff there. I wonder what happened to the renter?
I had to look up hip check. I'm surprised she was willing to do that to Giovanni, but I guess they are just close enough for that to be something she can get away with!
They're both pretty rambunctious and a bit rough with each other. Gio less so now that she's an adult. It's shown more in villaintines, but they scrape and tumble when he teaches her to fight and others a pretty physical oneman upmanship to their interactions..
Grace is going to find herself in matriarch's pouch if she doesn't slow down. Persian and Daisy have had to sit on her to keep her down. The ordered bed rest is driving her up the wall and she's not a good patient despite being nurse.
Makes it all the more insane that Gio killed Grace later. Granted, I know Gio isn't a paragon of virtue.... Because him going to such extremes was a way of showing he cared... I think.
He does care for and love Grace deeply. It's just... well the circumstances had him pick between one thing and another, and Grace lost. Which should show just how deeply Gio values that other thing.
Chapter 2 thoughts:
Ok, so NOW the chapter title makes sense.
Obviously chapter 2 still has some bits to complete, but there were some confusing bits as well. The stuff with Daisy in the hospital was pretty crazy.
Honestly, I'm surprised what happened to Daisy wasn't addressed in this chapter. Oak just gets away with with aide teleporting her away like that? Even if there is no lawsuit about it, you would think there would be some screaming match between her and Oak or something. I just feel like there is a mountain-sized bit of drama that feels like it should be there and yet is not.
But the scenes with her and Gio cleaning out the house to get it ready was amusing and down-to-earth.
I hope more will be adressed on the fact that she found a neglected kid and her confronting Oak at some point.
At any rate, this was really cool to see something new from you, and I'm sure I'll enjoy checking more of this out later as you complete more of it!
actually it's a pre-quil detailing the Sakaki's and Daisy's relationship, but it does set up the ground work for some canonical events, much later in the tale...
Yep that's part of both Tranversal and Roosts AU status, Oak's both Daisy and Blue's dad, just decades apart... man really hasn't learned anything between his two kids...
honestly I don't have a lot of notes about the manager except they have an almost zero tolerance for B.S which makes them working with Daisy a bit problematic...
Nah, this relationship is 100% AU. And I may have them refer to the incident in pieces but no plans to fully write it out. But be warend Grace has mewtube footage to blare at them of their stupidity if they act up too much. It keeps their shenanigans to a minimum.
Hmm... How about, 'Incubation' ? Her anger is stewing, she is in a hatchery, the teleportation sends her into a disabled mess. Seems like it might work.
actually it's a hospital admin, basically trying to shovel paperwork at her for her to sign. Most of it is shady and financially based. It'll be revisited later.
Sakaki and Daisy are ripping apart Dais'ys garden to get everything vaguely poisonous out, so that Daisy doesn't fail the inspection. All dangers must go.
Ah, that explains it. But what a jerk... A lease isn't a guarantee of anything beyond the current term. It sounds like she did nothing wrong by not renewing it.
They're both pretty rambunctious and a bit rough with each other. Gio less so now that she's an adult. It's shown more in villaintines, but they scrape and tumble when he teaches her to fight and others a pretty physical oneman upmanship to their interactions..
Grace is going to find herself in matriarch's pouch if she doesn't slow down. Persian and Daisy have had to sit on her to keep her down. The ordered bed rest is driving her up the wall and she's not a good patient despite being nurse.
He does care for and love Grace deeply. It's just... well the circumstances had him pick between one thing and another, and Grace lost. Which should show just how deeply Gio values that other thing.
