Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

54: Some Wicked This Way Comes

"Oh wow, Wing-chan you're up early!"

Ochaco's voice startled Elise out of her stupor as she snapped her spaced-out staring at her phone. There was no cell service, but once in a while if she was lucky, she would hit a spot that would allow her to send off a text or two to her brother. The latest text was at the end of the first day at camp, a picture of the forest and a message saying she missed him.

Elise turned off the phone and looks at the other brown-haired girl, giving her a weak smile. "O-Oh yeah I didn't really sleep last night."

"Couldn't sleep?" Ochaco asked sympathetically. "Yeah, I usually have the same problem with new places too."

"Will you be okay for today?" Yaoyorozu asked. "If you need anything, I can notify Aizawa-sensei or the other instructors."

Elise gave her a soothing smile and got to her feet. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Eventually, they readied and assembled outside like the day previous, still at an ungodly early hour of the morning. Delegated to separate corners of the training ground to hone their quirks some more, it was looking up to be another long grueling day of work.

Today's task for Elise included two jobs. One would help up her endurance to be able to handle more side effects of her quirk by having multiple Pokémons out and sparring with each other while she continuously pushed Pokéballs out of her palms.

As the last Pokéball she made fell on top of the growing pile and made the entire structure collapse, Elise huffed and switched hands, this time pulling the spheres back into her palm. She flexed her resting hand and winced. Before this, the girl didn't even know it was possible for her palms to cramp this, much. Idly, she wondered if her father, who had most likely given her this factor of her quirk considering his allowed for his palms to take in small objects, went through cramps like these too.

Hearing a decisive cry from where her Pokémons were sparring Elise switched her focus to the pairs currently out now. Out of the three pairs, one of them had finished their spar. Bayleef, a plant-type, had emerged victorious against Pidgeot. Elise praised the pair and thanked them before switching both out for Axew and Flygon. As she headed back to her task of forming and recalling Pokéballs, Aizawa stepped up to face the class from an overhead ledge of rock.

"All of you don't stop moving!" His words were said steadily, solidly as it echoed across the practice area. "No matter what you're doing, you should always be aware of where you came from. Always keep in mind why you're sweating, why you're always getting nagged."

Elise wiped a trail of ruddy blood dripping from her nose. Where I came from...

A young girl with a too-big heart that saved Pokémons. That saw the best in them despite the scorn that came with it. A young girl who learned how to live without her parents' validation, in the shadows of her own family.

If only that young girl could see where she was now

"Alright sensei," she said out loud. "I won't forget."

***

"Everyone! Tonight," Pixie-Bob announced in a small lull of the day, "we'll have a test of courage with the classes pitted against each other! After training hard, you can play hard!"

Elise looked up from her position sparring against Blaziken, brows furrowing in worry. The Absol's meeting weighed heavily on her mind. "Tonight..?"

"We will have teachers at the ready within the course, Wing."

Elise swung her head to an approaching Aizawa, straightening up with a little wobble. "Sensei!"