Hi everyone, SK here.

Verity and Valerie are gonna battle Bonnie and Max.  This is the first battle I've written in a long while, so hopefully I'm not too rusty.  

Let's start!  I hope you enjoy. :)

!!!WARNINGS: Bad language

Verity

Upon hearing Valerie's name being screamed out, both of us turn to see August standing behind us.  

"August, what are you doing interrupting us like that?" I scold.  "We're trying to have a battle here."

My brother seems to calm himself down, letting out a nervous chuckle as he averts his gaze to look at Valerie.  "Sorry.  I was just surprised to see you on the battlefield, Valerie."

I turn to look at Valerie as she tosses him a sheepish smile.  "Verity's going to help me."

August's gaze is warm.  "I don't doubt that," he tells her.  "I've got some news to deliver anyway, so I'll leave you both to it."  The Light fairy proceeds to go into the stands, probably searching for more people to deliver the Council news to.

"Quick, Dedenne, Thunderbolt on that Frosmoth!" Bonnie shouts out.  

Dedenne begins to spark with electricity as Max calls out to Gallade to make its move.  "Night Slash on Curses!"

Gallade nods its head and quickly charges at Curses.  I smirk.  Aiming for a super-effective hit won't earn you a victory.  "Curses, use Phantom Force."

As Curses disappears and dodges the hit, I look toward Valerie and Nombles, the latter about to take the hit from Dedenne.  "Tell Nombles to dodge!" I tell the clearly befuddled girl.

Valerie nods, which hopefully clears her head.  "Dodge!" she tells Nombles, who swiftly glides out of the way.  Val's gonna have to do much more than dodge if we want to win.  "Valerie, what moves does Nombles know?"

"Um, I have to think," she says, tilting her head to the side.  "Quiver Dance, Giga Drain, and Bug Buzz- oh, and Icy Wind!"

Pretty good.  "Good.  I already have a strategy in mind."  Dad taught both August and I how to battle from a young age, though I've always been slightly better than my brother.  

Valerie looks at me, her eyes wide.  "Wow, already?"

"Of course!"

As soon as I say that, Curses comes out and strikes Gallade from behind with Phantom Force.  Max's Pokemon falls, but still stands.  A couple more Phantom Forces will take care of Gallade easy.  It's Dedenne we have to worry about.

"Dedenne, use Play Rough on Curses!" Bonnie calls out.  Dedenne begins charging full force at my Dragapult, and I admit it's pretty amusing seeing the tiny mouse try and attack my dragon.

"Nombles, Icy Wind to blow it back!" Valerie shouts, thrusting her arm forward.  A shimmering gust of snowflakes comes from her Frosmoth that successfully hits Gallade, but Dedenne pushes through it, even if it is a little slower.

"Use Dragon Dance to dodge the attack," I say calmly.  Curses nods and begins to swiftly move through the air, getting faster as it continues.  Dedenne simply can't keep up.

"Let that Dragapult dance all it wants," Max says, pushing up the rim of his glasses.  "Psycho Cut on that Frosmoth, Gallade!"

"Reroute your attack on Frosmoth," Bonnie adds.

"Bug Buzz on Gallade to counter it, and dodge Dedenne!" Valerie shouts.  Nombles flies high in the air and aims a Bug Buzz at Gallade, hitting it successfully.  However, Dedenne still hasn't been taken down, and it uses its partner as leverage to jump high enough to reach the Frosmoth.  It lands its Play Rough spot on, causing Nombles to fall downward.

"Nombles, are you okay?" Valerie questions with a worried look, but that look fades as her Frosmoth appears to be relatively alright.  After a few seconds, the Bug-type flies up into the air again, strong as ever.

"Dragon Dance again," I tell Curses, "then use Sucker Punch on Gallade."

"We need to get stronger," Valerie adds, "so use Quiver Dance, Nombles!"

Both of our Pokemon start to spin around, becoming stronger and faster as they do so.  When he finishes, Curses fires itself at Gallade, it's big arrow shaped-head hitting hard.  Gallade, suffering from its injury, slumps to the ground.

"Quiver Dance again," Valerie says, her lip quivering from the excitement.  I can't exactly blame her, I'm having too much fun myself.  "Keep using Quiver Dance."

As Nombles begins to dance around in the air, both Gallade and Dedenne try to attack it but fail as the Frosmoth simply becomes too fast to hit.

"Night Slash on Dragapult," calls out Max, for once attacking my Dragapult instead of Valerie's Frosmoth.  Shock paralyzes me and I watch as Curses takes the large hit of damage.  Curses falls to the ground, which makes it an easy target.

"Play Rough," calls out Bonnie, and since Curses is still recovering, it has no time to dodge the super effective hit.  I wince.  Come on Verity, don't get off your game, focus!

"Curses, are you alright?" I call out, and I smile in relief as my partner Pokemon begins to slowly float off the ground again, giving an intimidating roar to our opponents.  That's my Curses.  "Use Phantom Force again," I quickly iterate to the Dragon-type, watching it promptly vanish after my statement.  That Gallade is beginning to annoy me.  I should've taken it out eons ago.

"What should Nombles do?" I hear Valerie ask, and I turn to her.  Nombles has stopped dancing and has returned to a normal height.

"How many times has Nombles used Quiver Dance?" I ask her, only to see the human shrug sheepishly.

"I lost track," she admits while averting her gaze, "but I know it must've been around six."

Yeesh, that's one strong Frosmoth right there.  "Do anything.  Nombles is strong enough right now to handle any opponent."

I turn my head toward the battle field, and the next few seconds are a blur to me.  I see Curses appear from the void, or wherever he disappears to when he uses Phantom Force, and hit Gallade hard enough for it to faint.  Max takes Gallade away from the field, then Valerie tells Nombles to use Icy Wind to slow down Dedenne even further.  However, she didn't take into account that Nombles is super powerful, and that Icy Wind has a wide damage output.  I watch wide-eyed as the attack hits Curses, bringing it down in one hit, while Dedenne miraculously survives it.  Curses was on the other side of the battle field... right in the way of Nombles's attack.

I return Curses to me, and I see Valerie gaping at the scene.  She quickly turns her head toward me, her eyes full of panic.  "I'm so sorry!" she apologizes, sounding frantic.  "I didn't know-"

I casually wave her off, much to her shock.  "It's fine," I shrug.  "You're new to battling."

The human hangs her head.  "I feel so dumb."

Laughing, I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  "It's your first battle, not everything's going to go your way," I tell her.  "Besides, the battle hasn't been won just yet."  I gesture to Dedenne still standing on the field.  "You can do it."

Valerie nods back at me, and gives me a golden smile.  "Thanks, Verity.  You're a good friend, you know that?"

I grin.  We've only just met and she wants to be friends.  I find myself wanting to be friends with her as well.  She seems sweet, and Valerie is definitely cute with those purple eyes and golden smile.  Woah, Verity, chill.  I feel an instinctive blush rise to my cheeks, but I push it away.

"Alright, Nombles, use Icy Wind," she tells her Pokemon.  The Frosmoth nods and sends a gust of wind and hail toward Dedenne.

Bonnie smirks.  "Dedenne, jump on the hail pieces to get to that Frosmoth, then use Play Rough."

Valerie and I watch in awe as the little mouse Pokemon jumps nimbly from hail piece to hail piece, trying to reach Nombles.  I've forgotten how agile Dedenne can be.  It's so small and tiny, and it definitely uses that to its advantage.

"Are you gonna stand there and take it!?" I shout at her, needing her to get pumped up.  Luckily, it seems to work.

"Hell no!" she answers, giving that golden smile again.  "Nombles, finish this with Bug Buzz."

Just as Dedenne is about to land its attack, Nombles fires off a power Bug-type attack at the mouse, who is too close to dodge at this point.  It gets flung back, and when the dust clears, it is obvious that it fainted.  Bonnie recalls Dedenne back into her Necklace while Valerie just stands there in utter shock.

"Did I just win a battle?" she asks, sounding so unsure of herself that I almost want to slap the sense into her.

"Duh, of course you did!" I tell her, giving her a pat on the shoulder.  "Congratulations."

"Yes, congratulations!" Bonnie walks up to us with Max in tow.  She smiles as she holds out her hand to shake Valerie's.  I pull Max in for a handshake as Valerie tentatively accepts hers.

"Thank you," the human replies sheepishly.  "You both were amazing opponents."

Eh, Gallade was kind of weak, but it was still a great battle.  "I agree," I say out loud.

The couple smiles at Valerie's comment, sharing a look with each other before Max replies.  "Thank you both for the wonderful battle."

"VALERIE!"

August's voice echos throughout the arena, and the four of us turn to see him sprinting, literally sprinting, down the stands.  Of course, he falls flat on his face, but he stands right back up and continues over to us.

"Are you okay?" Valerie asks him, concern carefully laced into her tone.

He tosses her a thumbs up.  "Never been better," he replies.  "You both battled very well."  He glances at me, then returns his gaze to Valerie.

"Thanks, Auggs," I tell him brightly.

"Yes, thank you," Valerie replies, looking extremely happy to receive a compliment from the Light Fairy, a light blush even showing on her cheeks.  I immediately put two and two together.  Valerie loves him.  I sigh.  Oh well.  Wait, what do you mean "oh well"?  You've got Lin, your best friend, and you don't need anyone else.  Zagan...

"You're welcome," he returns.  To Bonnie and Max, he adds, "I've been looking all over for you both, you're the last people I need to speak to.  Mom and Dad are holding a Council meeting today, at four o'clock sharp, in the Council's Court.  It's about..." he trails off, probably wondering how to explain it with Valerie present.  "It's to determine whether Valerie here," he gestures to her, "will be staying with us or not."

Bonnie nods.  "You can count on both of us to be there, right Max?" she asks, glancing at him.

The fairy boy nods alongside his girlfriend, pushing up his glasses as he talks.  "Of course."

The five of us, well really the four of us because Valerie rarely speaks, chat for a few more minutes before Bonnie and Max need to make their leave to go eat lunch.  August suggests that the three of us do the same, so all five us just head over to Mallow's eatery together.  I don't mind.  There are other restaurants, but Mallow's is by far the most popular and I understand why; her cooking is simply phenominal!

Well, Mom only beats her in one thing, and that's making Pokepuffs.  Her Pokepuffs are the best.

We reach the restaurant, which of course is already crowded at this hour.  Seriously people?  Come on, I don't like waiting in a goddamn line.  Why do we all have to eat at the same place every fucking day?  Despite my thoughts, I try to keep a scowl off of my face.  

"It's very busy here," Valerie inputs, sounding a little shy.  So she's still intimidated by us fairies.  Huh.  I didn't think we were that intimidating.

"Then how about we order take-out?" August suggests, and I turn to see him put an arm around her shoulder.  "We can all go back to my room and eat."

What about mine?  I think immediately, brushing the thought away a few seconds later.

Valerie blinks.  "I didn't know fairies had take-out too."

This prompts a laugh from both me and my brother.  "Duh.  We're not that different from humans, you know."  

The girl rolls her eyes.  "Uh huh.  Sure."

We talk some more as we switch to the thankfully-shorter take-out line.  Within a few minutes we're up ordering our food; I order a delicious-looking beef stir-fry, August gets a Petaya Berry salad because he's boring, and Valerie orders a simple noodle bowl with wontons.

"Noodles?" I question.  I've never really developed a taste for them.

She nods.  "Yeah.  I don't even know why, I've just always loved noodles."

She sounds like Heliux.  That man eats so politely but when there's noodles on the table, he'll slurp them up like nobody's business.  It's a little jarring to watch the normally formal man eat noodles like so messily.

"To each their own," I return as we finish ordering, then go to another small waiting area off to the side.  Our food doesn't take that long, because even if Mallow is by herself cooking, she has magic to help her.  Magic has a handy quirk of making time-consuming tasks take no time at all.

"Here you go," the chef says breathlessly to the three of us as she hands us the packages.  "Enjoy!"

"Thanks," we all echo in unison, then share a small laugh after when we realize we all spoke together.

August begins to lead us in back to our building, and I try to make some conversation with Valerie along the way.  I can tell that this girl is one of my brother's best friends, so of course I'd like to get to know her.  Valerie glances around as we walk back; she must be still taken aback by the Colony.  Well, I can't exactly blame her, can I?

"Want to hear something interesting?" I pipe up, which catches her attention.

"Sure?"

"About five centuries ago, Light fairies and Dark fairies were in a war against each other, but our parents ended it.  The Colony used to look very different back then; fairies lived in flowers.  Fucking flowers.  Can you believe it?"

Valerie looks like she's in a slight shock.  "Flowers?" she giggles.  "That sounds so weird... wait.  Five centuries ago!?"

"Yeah..?" I confirm, wondering what's gotten her so worked up.

"I never realized that your parents were so old; I mean, they look so young!" she exclaims.

I flash her an amused smile.  "Fairies stop aging when they turn twenty, but we can live up to one thousand years."

She gapes at me.  "How old are you two?"

I think to myself for a moment, then call out to August.  "What are we now?  Four hundred and eighty-something years old?"

"Four hundred and eighty one," he specifies.

"Four hundred and eighty... wow.  You guys are old," Valerie says, putting a strong emphasis on the word 'old'.  She elbows me, a grin on her face, but I wave it off.

"Whatever," I say.  "Besides, we're not that old.  We're in the middle of the spectrum."

The human girl flashes me a look.  "Well, I'm about to be eighteen, so you guys are a lot older than me."

We laugh and share some more words as we approach the building.  We're just about to step inside when a warm, pleasant sound fills the air.  

"Is that... a violin...?" Valerie questions, clearly trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.  Is that a piano there too?

"Oh, that's probably just Heliux," August explains.  "He goes out of the Colony to practice sometimes.  The piano playing is probably Layra.  They do awesome duets together!"

Valerie fiddles with a strand of her hair.  "Do you know where they are?  I'd like to go hear it.  It sounds very... soulful."  I look at her, confused.  Is there something I'm missing?  It's just a violin and a piano.  Why would she want to go listen to them that badly?

"I'll go with you," August says instantly, stepping closer toward her.  However, Valerie holds out a hand to stop him.

"I'll go on my own," she tells us, a bright smile on her face.  "I'd like to explore on my own for a little.  Here," she adds, handing her lunch to him.  "I'll come back for this."

"Are you sure?" I ask her.  "You have no idea where you're going."

She shrugs.  "I'd still like to go.  If I'm not back within- I don't know, thirty minutes?  Come get me."

"But how are we supposed to-"

"August, we are freaking fairies with magic.  We can find her.  GO," I tell her, dragging my brother inside.  She gives us a little wave and runs off.

"Okay Verity, you don't have to pull me all the way up the stupid stairs," he fumes.  Grinning, I let him go.

He rubs his neck, then turns to gaze at me.  "Why do you think she wanted to go into the forest?"

I shrug.  "Maybe she just wants to find some peace and quiet?  Or maybe she just wants to hear some nice music.  Or maybe..."

"... she wants something else entirely."

Aaaanndddd cut.

Sorry, I know this chapter was a little boring.  But be sure to stick around, because more interesting things are coming... like who Valerie's parents are. ;)

So thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.  Stay tuned for more!! :D