Damsel in distress

"Slow and steady. We'll be alright, Camellia's made the trip dozens of times." Tracy assures you, reaching out to pat you on the head. "Did you get some practicing in? You must have gotten a lot from last night, right?"

Sleeping with two girls at once? Yeah. You definitely did.

"I've been working on Absorb." You admit, holding out your hand and calling up that strange green energy. It feels different from when you use Psychic moves, fresh and clean and... It feels kind of like Tracy. A calming, comforting presence. "I don't have a lot of range yet, and it's fairly slow, but I can manage about five feet so far?"

"That's so cool!" Tracy praises, pulling you into a hug. "I didn't know you could do Grass moves! We should train together sometime, I'll teach you what I can!"

"Absolutely." You blush, squirming a bit under her praise. You were always intended to grow strong, so this is nothing, is it?

"I can even 'recharge' you, if you run out of power." Tracy giggles. "But come on, let's get going. Before Camellia leaves without us."

---------------

"Ah, the lovers grace us with their presence." Camellia calls as you approach, offering only the bare minimum of smiles. "Come along, you have everything you need, correct?"

"We're good to go." Tracy nods, squeezing your hand. "This'll be my first time going somewhere other than the village in a long while. I'm kind of excited."

"What kind of place is Croceo Town like?" You wonder, following them both into the circle, into the mist. "You said it was through a canyon?"

"That's right. The surrounding area is very dry, very sandy. There's some ground types, some flying types, and quite a few electric types." Camellia explains patiently. "The electric types thrive on the static electricity there, and there's an abundance of certain minerals in the surrounding mist that they make use of."

"I've been there once, to get a thunder stone for the house. Something to run the lights." Tracy explains. "You mostly bring food to them, right?"

"Berries and vegetables that can be dry preserved." Camellia smiles. "It's not so dry that they need water stones to survive, though if you travel far enough, you start finding desert settlements in that direction."

"This is all so cool..." You admit, trying to imagine it. "What's it look like? What sort of Pokémon live there?"

"You'll see when we get there." Tracy laughs, giving your hand a squeeze.

"Haaaah~!" You take deep breaths, leaning on your staff as the last of your attackers fall. Four hours in, and things are getting fairly tough. "Is... Is that it?"

"That's it." Tracy agrees, putting her knuckles back on her belt. "Things get tougher the farther you go in, but it should let up once we switch over to the canyon."

"We should rest at the border." Camellia explains, still somehow looking fresh and pristine. Meanwhile, you've been using Absorb with every opportunity to keep your stamina up, as well as eating a small portion of the berries you've come across.

Just how much stronger is Camellia than you? You feel like maybe you're catching up with Tracy, but... You suppose the ghost type has spent more time travelling the Mist, after all. "I can keep going, if it's going to get easier. If there's ground types there, I can use absorb more often."

"No need to really push ourselves, right?" Tracy shrugs. "We're not on a deadline. Croceo will still be there when we arrive."

"I suppose..." You sigh, straightening upright and resting your staff over your shoulder.

--------------------

It's actually not much further to the junction point, a clearing at the edge of the forest with a path leading down into a wide fissure in the earth. The air blowing out of it feels warm and dry when you draw close. "So it's safe to rest here?" Your legs are burning, your feet sore, but you feel fairly satisfied with how far you've come in a few short days.

A few more days, and you may be able to handle a trip like this on your own, like Camellia can. "How are you holding up- Huh?" You turn to follow Tracy's gaze, towards the canyon, and spy what she does, a girl climbing out towards the forest. "Oh my..."

She doesn't really look like she's in good shape, the way she's stumbling, leaning on the stone wall. From a distance, you can make out blonde hair, with blue ribbons tied into her pigtails. You can also tell the rather sporty get-up she's wearing is heavily torn in places. "Should... Should we-" Tracy seems nervous, her usual shy demeanor coming back with a vengeance in the face of a stranger.

"Come on!" You grab Tracy's hand and pull, ignoring the protests of your legs as you all but drag her forwards. "Come on, come on!"

"W-wait! Hey!" Tracy protests, stumbling a bit but eventually racing alongside you. "Hey, um... You!"

The girl by the canyon stumbles, turning to look at you as she slumps down against the wall, her legs giving out. "Hey!" You call, waving your hand. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I... I..." The girl's voice is barely audible, but as you get closer, you notice some things. Things like how her outfit reminds you very much of a cheerleader's outfit, the skirt high enough to show off spandex shorts underneath, and the tight tube top torn on one side, showing off a bare breast. "N-no! I'm not alright-!"

Ah, your heart skips a beat at her cry, and you redouble your pace, rushing to her side and sliding to your knees beside her. She's probably not any 'younger' than Tracy, since apparently people just walk out of the mist fully formed, but she's certainly a lot smaller. "Hey, hey, it's alright now. Are you hurt? Can you stand?"

"I'm... My sister. We have to go back for my sister!" She gives a soft hiccup, looking at you with teary eyes. "I've never been away from her. Ever! I shouldn't have left her, but she said to run, and-"

"Whoa, hold on there, take a deep breath." Tracy instructs her, kneeling down beside her and pulling out a bottle of fruit juice. "What's your name?"

"M-Mindy." The smaller girl sniffs, accepting the bottle with trembling hands. "I'm Mindy. My sister is Prue. She's back there, a whole floor back."

"You've been running for a whole hour? By yourself?" You blinked in surprise. "That's..."

"I had to! I had to get help!" Mindy explains. "We usually avoid the ground types, but there were too many, and-"

"We should take her to camp." Camellia's voice shocks you out of your focus, and you turn to look at her in surprise. "She needs to rest. If her sister is over an hour away, we won't make it to her in time."

"We can't just leave her-" You protest.

"She's been captured for over an hour now, and it'll be an hour before we reach her." Camellia shakes her head. "She's not in any real danger, the Mirages will rough her up, have their fun, and she'll reappear outside Croceo town."

"That's..." You look back towards Mindy... Still distraught. How are you going to explain this...

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