Not Too Far From Home

you need to calm down (#6)

...you're being too loud!

A/N: Hey guys! It's been forever since I've posted, so I'm really proud to present this winter holiday gift to y'all! As always, thank you for reading!

Sinnoh Map: https://imgur.com/X91ORzS

#6 - you need to calm down

Writing Key -
+1 = a day in advance

Horizontal Line = scene change

With a jingle of the doorbell, the pair rushed out of the restaurant. Looking frantically around him for signs of the blonde-haired boy, Lucas breathily mentioned to Dawn, "Where- huff ...do you think huff he went?"

The blue-haired girl replied, breathing just as hard "Quite honestly, I don't know where he went!" They were already down the hill and around the corner, heading towards the battlefields.

The steel-haired boy stopped, breathing heavily and bending over in defeat. "I- huff I can't run after him. He's- huff too fast."

"To be completely honest with you..." Dawn's breathing evened out."I can't keep up with him either... and I've been with him for what, since I was born?" she laughs, reminiscing of her times with Barry as a younger kid. "I just walk to wherever he says he's going... Or I call him on his Pokègear if he's not there. Either way, he gets a lecture from me." Dawn explains, helping Lucas recover from running down the section of street.

"That's good to hear!" Lucas laughs. "Does he always run off like this?"

"Yes. Literally all the time."

"Hmm..." Lucas grimaces at the thought of his earlier encounter with Barry.

"So..." In stark contrast to Lucas, who was breathing heavily and quickly, Dawn seemed controlled and normal by now. "...Why are you going on your journey right now? Some people leave at 11, and you're much older than that."

"My parents wanted to keep me as a lab assistant. Trust me when I say I'm very skilled at doing paperwork. People even say I have an exact replica of my dad's handwriting," Lucas shrugged, pacing himself down the hill towards the fenced fields. "But I really always longed to go on an adventure, you know. To see things like they are in real life?"

"I see. That's how I was in Trainer's School. I was great at it; but some part of it really didn't stick with me. You know?"

"Yeah." The steel-haired boy shrugged. Putting his hands in his pockets, he decided to move on to another topic. "So, I'm still getting used to this whole Sinnoh thing..." He scratched his head. "What's it like here? Living here, I mean."

"Well," Dawn sighed. "Despite all the negative things I said, it's a really nice place. There are a lot of really beautiful mountains like Mount Coronet. There's also no evil "Teams" here."

Lucas chuckled a bit. "Ethan- my friend- said one time he encountered Team Rocket in Goldenrod. He said it wasn't fun..."

"I'd bet." the blue-haired girl replied. "Also, Golden-what?"

"Goldenrod. You know, with the radio tower and everything?"

"Oh! I'm dumb..." Dawn softly smiled. "I remember World History now."

"You're not dumb..." Lucas remarked. "You're actually pretty smart, y'know." He scratched his head. "At the very least, smarter than I-Run-From-All-My-Problems," he joked.

Dawn chuckled. "Thanks!"

Approaching the crosswalk, the steel-haired boy looked around. He sighed. He couldn't hate Sinnoh forever. Sinnoh was his home now; he had to leave Johto behind. Looking in front of him now, he saw a sign that indicated for the public battlefields. "Must be where Barry is," he muttered to Dawn.