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Taunie was a lot of things to a lot of people, now.
Some mornings, she almost couldn’t recognize herself in the mirror. Not in a bad way, really, but it showed her someone different than the freshly orphaned girl fending for herself that it used to. It showed her someone who’d grown into her slightly angular face, filling out her mom’s jacket. Some freckles when it was sunny. A couple scars, here and there, no big deal.
Maybe it was less the reflection and more the pictures she had hanging up around the mirror in her room at Hotel Z. Older pictures of her mom, but also of AZ, Floette, Lida, Naveen, Harmony, now even Jett, Ansha, and Korrina… So many people who depended on her, who had some hand in shaping her life. They knew her, and she knew them. She took care to know them. Small details. Lida’s allergies. Naveen’s favorite fabrics. Harmony’s nervous tics. The stories Ansha liked before bed despite claiming she was too old for them. Knowing someone like that—having it proven time and again that they knew her the same—was a feeling she cherished as much as her mom’s jacket.
This, she reflected on while staring a Mega Lopunny in the face, side by side with Harmony like it was their very first rogue mega mission.
Because something was off with Harmony, something Taunie knew she’d seen before, but with her brain focused first on the rogue mega right in front of them, she couldn’t put a finger on what that was.
“Heads up!” Harmony shouted, dodging a few paces away as the Lopunny bounded towards her and Flambé, her now-Mega Emboar. With a physical attacker like Lopunny, Taunie and Harmony quickly figured out that usually the best plan was to keep as much distance as possible and use ranged attacks. Mega Lopunny, though?
Taunie ran along the far side of the training arena, her Mega Manectric matching Lopunny’s pace. Both megas were far faster than Taunie and Harmony were, meaning it was up to Manectric to distract, Flambé to attack, and Taunie and Harmony to stay as out of the way as possible.
Easier said than done.
Harmony called out an attack Taunie couldn’t hear over her own shouts to Manectric. She caught Taunie’s eye, though, stumbling a bit out of a roll and slowing her run by the other side of the training area. Taunie had gotten so used to rogue megas seeking isolation like the rooftops—really, she’d gotten used to them not showing up nearly as often—that the location had thrown her off when they’d arrived. Thankfully, Emma took care of keeping crowds away while they took care of Lopunny.
Everything still seemed relatively normal until she saw Harmony put a hand to her back, backing up against the fencing with a wince that was clear even from her distance.
It clicked right as Lopunny turned to Harmony, the only stationary target on the field.
“Manectric! Protect, then Thunder!” Taunie shouted, already changing course to reach Harmony. A few steps away, Harmony ducked and covered, letting out a small cry of pain. Manectric skidded in front of them, throwing up its forcefield to defend against Lopunny’s attack, then generating its own electric attack. Between that and Flambé’s Flare Blitz, the mega energy dissolved from Lopunny.
Taunie only glanced over quickly as Lopunny hopped off, only a bit dazed and tired, before turning back to Harmony. She was already on her knees in front of Harmony, her hands hovering, waiting to see what she could do. Harmony still held her back, biting her bottom lip. “Harms, why didn’t you say anything? I could’ve gotten Li or Nav to come.”
Harmony shifted, wincing again. Flambé and Manectric, tired, sank down on either side of her. Flambé settled extra close, acting as a sort of support for Harmony to lean against. “It wasn’t bad before that roll just now, just some extra stiffness. Changing weather, you know.”
Taunie frowned, scanning Harmony over for any other signs of injury. Thankfully, she didn’t find any outside of the normal scrapes and bruises that came from any rogue mega fight. The way Harmony moved, though, Taunie could now tell that it had turned into one of her worse pain days, and she silently cursed herself for not noticing sooner like she would’ve with AZ. Then again, AZ had been far better at accepting help than Harmony was.
“Give me a minute?” Harmony requested, her hands now rubbing the spot on her lower back where her pain was usually concentrated. There clearly was more than just that; her breath patterns suggested it extended to her ribs, maybe her shoulders, too. Flambé edged closer, using its natural heat to help in its own way. Harmony’s eyes slid over to Taunie, whose hands felt like they were twitching in her lap. She was so used to being able to do something to help that it was hard to just … sit and do nothing. Still, she bit her tongue until Harmony stretched a bit and sighed. “Can you help me up? We should get back to Hotel Z.”
Taunie held both her hands out for Harmony to take, pulling her up slowly so she wouldn’t accidentally make anything worse. “Should we get a taxi?”
Harmony shook her head, but kept one of her hands hooked on the inside of Taunie’s arm. “I’m fine if we go slow. It’s not that far.”
Even so, Taunie pretended so hard that she wasn’t stealing glances at Harmony. Ever since their first run-in with rogue mega evolution, not to mention using the rooftops to get around a good deal of the time, Harmony had been transparent about her back pain and limitations, lingering from a surgery a while back. It was rare that any of Harmony’s painful days were this bad—but that was just what Taunie had seen. What she’d noticed. Quasartico had been keeping her so busy recently, especially after Hyperspace Lumiose popped into existence. Maybe she’d missed—
“Taunie.” Her eyes snapped back to Harmony, who looked at her with a small, tight smile. “Don’t worry too much, okay? I’ve just been doing a lot. Once I get some rest, I’ll be good as new. This isn’t anything I haven’t dealt with before.”
“I know.” Taunie sighed. “It was good that our pokemon handled everything this time, but if the rogue was a ranged attacker… Just, really, I could’ve handled this on my own, or asked someone else. I don’t want you to put yourself at risk of further harm when you’re already dealing with pain. What if Manectric and I weren’t able to get to you on time?”
Harmony averted her gaze, looking at the ground ahead of them. Her grip on Taunie’s arm tightened just slightly. “You’re right. I know you are. But I’m not just gonna sit out on the chance that I’ll be in pain later, not unless I’m already feeling it.” She cleared her throat, looking up again. “I think … you have a point. And I know I’m not good at taking it easy or accepting help; I’ve come pretty far from how I was before meeting Team MZ, but I’m probably not where I should be. So, if you don’t mind my stubbornness, do you think you could help with that?”
“Of course! It’s you, after all.” Taunie smiled then, reassuring. Besides, as stubborn as Harmony thought she was, Taunie knew she could be just as stubborn. Fate must’ve sent them to each other. “Just, y’know, lemme know when I should back off.”
“Yeah.” Harmony rolled her shoulders back with a small, sharp breath. “Any chance you want to help me get set up with the heating pad and some videos?”
“I’ll do you one better—I’ll get a couple donuts from Ansha, and we’ll watch that new movie you keep talking about.” At Harmony’s smile, Taunie knew she’d said just what was needed. Maybe it’d be a bit tough going forward, making sure she didn’t push too much, but just like always, Taunie was going to do her best for one of her closest friends.