ToT Chap2 - Something New Pt1

Yang, now rinsed off and clean, waves to Nodoka after checking in with Cornelius about them finishing up their section of planting. She already check in with Sonya about leaving as she heads to the transport building to catch the next wagon to Mosswood.

Once she walks up to the building, she goes to wait in the section where they're transporting folks to Mosswood. She looks around to the ones who will be also taking the transport nervously. Not used to being away from Sonya like this that she worries on how she'll do on her own.

As she looks around, she doesn't see any familiar faces as it seems some are waiting for other transports than the one to Mosswood like she is. Then again she hardly talks to anyone without Sonya by her side. She looks a bit concerned when she remembers Sonya usually speaks first since she gets too nervous in the beginning.

She looks forward as a wagon pulls up in front of her, being pulled by a Rapidash. She walks forward to it, and carefully climbs in. Scooting to the far back corner as she sits and looks down nervously.

"Ya wanna get up or not young Eevee?"

"Ah, err, sorry about that."

She glances over when she hears the Rapidash talk to someone else that will be coming. She then blinks in surprise as a very familiar shiny Eevee who she saw back in the fields with the Excadrill starts to climb up in to the wagon next.

Crossing her legs together nervously she realizes Nox is going to get on the same transport as her.

Oh no! He's going to Mosswood too?! Sonya's not going to like this when she find out.

Yang fidgets nervously in her place, glancing to him as she sees he doesn't seem to notice her. Part of her hoping that he won't notice her or that maybe Sonya ended up deciding to go with her and come here soon.

Suddenly she barely managed to hear him say something about another Eevee. Looking up and out quickly hoping it's Sonya and her hopes were answered.

The Rapidash suddenl yells out,"We're heading out. Next stop Mosswood." It then marches forward and the wagon takes off.


Yang lightly yelps as the wagon moving suddenly catches her off guard while she was trying to spot who she thought was her teammate. She falls to the side and accidently bumps Nox.


Yang winces a bit trying to get her bearings together. Then she gasps in realization that she just bumped in to Nox and quickly scurries back to her seat. Noticing that Nox winced a bit when she bumped him and suddenly grows scared and nervous.

"I-I'm s-sorry! P-Please excuse me!" She says quickly, her voice squeaks in a high pitch as she brings her legs up to her chest and hugging them while burying her face in her arms. Force of habit she does due to her past since she expected him to get mad or yell at her.

She tries to sink and disappear in her seat almost wishing she hadn't of listened to Sonya or at least had Nodoka come with her so she wasn't alone with him.

It's not like she's scared of the male shiny, just the fact Sonya still doesn't trust him has her worried about if she shouldn't as well. Especially during the spar on how his aura made her feel. And the fact her teammate isn't with her to help calm her nervousness down only makes her anxiety worsen.

Yang braces herself for Nox to either yell at her for bumping him or tell her to watch herself next time.

"A-ah... it's okay... r-really..."

Yang peaks out from her arms when instead of hostility or annoyance from the male Eevee, she hears him speak in a gentle and reserved manner. Glancing to him to see he doesn't even look upset as more surprised to see her.  

"I-I uhh...  thought you and your partner would go to Mosswood tomorrow... a-at least that's what she said to me..." He looks unsure as he speaks. And a little awkward. "A-and uuhh... err.... whatever I did... I'm sorry about it."

She raises her head slightly in surprise that he's apologizing. Wondering why he's apologizing when she was the one who bumped in to him. Yet realization hits her that he's talking about the way she's curled up around herself right now. Thinking he caused her to be like this now.

She feels upset that she still has some of these habits drilled in to her from her past as a prisoner. This being her only way at the time to console herself when she was alone.

Ashamed at her forced habit, but not yet able to speak or move from her position, she just watches Nox silently. Her green eyes though weary of him shows he has her attention.

She looks down reluctantly, unsure of what to do. Yet, she recalls all the things Sonya told her about being more open and the fact he's not yelling or upset at her makes her less weary.

"N-No...." She says softly but still loud to catch. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself.

She looks up to show him her face and though she looks nervous she says as clear as she can. "I-I bumped in to you. I-It was my fault."

She pauses for a minute, glancing outside to the moving scenery as their wagon goes. She looks concerned as she speaks up again.

"S-Sonya asked I go ahead. S-So I can help with the epidemic." She looks pained and worried. "W-While she handles the bandits."

Nox listened to the soft voice of Yang once she responded to him, making him realize that Sonya let her go first so she wouldn't be in danger. A soft smile formed onto his face in understanding and he looks for a moment to the side to see the scenery before looking back towards the young shiny Mienfoo "I understand, and like I said before, you don't have to apologize to me."

His voice was calm and surprisingly soothing too as he tries to reassure her. "I'm sure that she'll be alright tonight. Your partner is a capable fighter after all."

Yang looks to Nox, pained at having to leave her friend alone due to her weakness. Yang knows she's still not strong enough yet to handle confrontations and that frustrates her deep down.

Though as Nox reassures her that he didn't mind her bumping him and not to worry for Sonya, she starts to relax a little.

She slowly lowers her legs from her seat, setting one foot down then the other softly. She still looks nervous as she keeps her paws in her lap with tense shoulders, but she at least appears more relaxed now.

"Y-Your right." She says again in agreement for Sonya being capable. "I-I just worry. I-I don't want her to go overboard." She makes a troubled face. "I-I can't fight like she can. S-She's always protecting me."

She looks surprised then timid. Realizing she's talking to someone other than Sonya about her concerns and thoughts. Just the feeling and aura he gives her makes her feel like she can talk to him and not worry that he would judge her or tell others what she said.

"Hey it's okay. We all have our strengths and weaknesses..." He says reassuring her again then gets a troubled look on his face glancing down to his scarf. Lightly clenching his worn out blue scarf around his neck with his paw.

Yang looks up to Nox. Taken back by what he said as in a way, it reminds her of how Sonya talks. Especially since it sounds similar to what she said to her the day she had that duel with Xavier.

Yang using this chance to better observe the male Eevee. Just like her he too has different colored fur than most Eevees have but also different features than her teammate. His fur is shorter than Sonya's and he doesn't have the different colored tip tail. Instead having his paws with a different color.

She even observes just how old and worn out his scarf appears now that she's closer and paying attention better.

The scarf showing wear and tear that tells Yang he probably never takes it off.

For some reason seeing Nox like this, relaxed and maybe even a little nervous around her, makes her less weary of him. The fur different yet his presence now is as calming as Sonya when she's in a good mood.

She quickly looks away when he looks back to her and says, "You both seem to care a lot about each other... err.... Yang was it, right?"

She blinks when he speaks again about her and Sonya.

She nods softly to him about her name. Then lightly runs her wrapped legs together nervously out of instinct.

"Y-Yes, we are. W-We didn't know each other before. B-But she's always there for me. S-She and I, haven't had easy lives."

Yang looks down sadly. Not knowing why she's speaking so much to a stranger and the first she's ever said anything personal about her or Sonya to one either. Yet she can't help the words that just come out as she grows more relaxed.

"B-But maybe that's what brought us together as friends. P-Pokemon with troubled upbringings, usually need one other to help them pull through. T-They can't do it alone. At least I can't."

She looks down to her lower legs wrapped. A small flash of pain coming to her face.


She then looks up quickly then embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry. I-I started rambling." She takes a deep breath to calm down.

"I-It's okay. Speaking about what's bothering you to someone you can trust is a good thing to do..." Looking back to him, she notices his ears are now lowered and he continues, "Even I can sorta relate to that because my past wasn't a great one either..."

Yang keeps in mind what Nox said about also having a troubled past. Part of her curious yet she knows more than anyone that talking or bringing up unwanted memories isn't a good thing.

Pokemon with troubled pasts are drawn to each other. Was Nox drawn to us because of that? Is that why Sonya is so weary of him? Because she feels connected somehow? she thinks to herself.

"I-It's easy to talk to you. Y-Your very nice." She says with a small timid smile. "I-I recall your name was Nox. S-Sonya wouldn't stop talking about your match the whole ride to Rivercross."

He looks to her surprised, his ears raising up. "Yes, my name is Nox. And... did Sonya really talked about the sparring the whole ride to Rivercross? I hope that I don't caused any troubles to her... she did reacted strange around me after all."

Yang now looks taken back by his statement. Not knowing he realized something was up with Sonya during their match. Kinda impressed that he could tell yet a flash of concern comes to her face.

Looking troubled as she isn't sure what to say to Nox. Not wanting to be rude and just not give him an explanation or answer since he's been really nice to her.

Yet she knows she can't answer his question because its a personal reason for Sonya. Only she could say why, it wasn't Yang's place to say or explain.

She takes a deep breath then looks up to him concerned. "I-It's not anything you did that caused it." She looks down to the wagon floor. "S-Sonya doesn't trust most anyone in the beginning. E-Especially her own kind. F-Force of habit she has due to her past. D-Don't take it too personal."

A soft blink and twitching ears met Yangs concerned face. "I-I see... s-so she also have trust issues around others, especially our own kind..." A small frown formed onto his face because of that, but he also has a look of understanding. "I-I'm fine with it, not taking it personal at all"

She smiles apologetically. "S-Sonya is a kind friend. A-Always putting others before herself. S-She just needs to learn to rely on others for a change."

She lightly narrows her eyes, showing for once a hint of determination. "And I need to become strong again so the responsibility doesn't fall on her all the time."

Hearing her talk about how Sonya actually is made him somehow smile because of that before he picked up the determination in Yang's green eyes. "I can see that you're determined to become stronger again for her. I admire that thought a lot, but I recommend that you don't force yourself to do too much in one go."

Yang looks to Nox curious. A bit taken back that he says he find her admirable in wanting to get stronger. Sonya has told her before that some of her actions she's done had been admirable. It's just strange hearing that from someone else she just met.


She looks down unsure as he tries to give her some advice. A bit impatient due to concern for future tasks and the fact Sonya might take them all on herself while covering for Yang makes her uneasy.

"I-It's frustrating. I-I don't want Sonya to take on the fighting alone." She says with a pained and worried face. "W-What if she gets hurt and I freeze again. I-I'm her teammate. I-I need to protect her too."

She closes her eyes tightly, trying not to cry in worry. She takes a shaky breath and lets it out slowly.

She's amazed at how easily she is talking to Nox. Usually she doesn't talk about her concerns to anyone. Sonya knowing her so well already she always figures out what's bothering Yang and calls her out on it.

The fact she's easily speaking her concerns to the male Eevee other than her friend shocks her. Yet, it also makes her feel better.

"I understand your frustration Yang... but there many ways to be strong, not only pure stength... kindness is one for example." He says trying to reassure her, a small smile coming to his face.

Yang looks a bit surprised at hearing the familiarity of her teammate in the male before her. Sonya always reassuring her. The fact this stranger doesn't know a lot about them yet is being very kind in hearing her out and even offering some advice is calming and nice.

She can't help but smile a bit. Feeling like she's actually talking to her Eevee teammate even though she's not here.

Yang's not certain she completely trusts Nox yet, but at least for now she feels at ease around him.

"T-Thank you for hearing me out. Y-You really care kind." She says to him happily.

His ears twitched when he heard her mentioning that he's kind. Making him actually blush a little bit in embarrassment and looks away shyly because of that. He scratches his cheek a bit. "T-thanks..."

Yang smiles softly to Nox and his expression. Once more reminded of her Eevee friend who said similar reassuring things like Sonya did after their fight with Xavier.
Those words never leaving her head now that she's heard it from two Pokemon who have amazing strength themselves.

Though she isn't sure she trusts him completely, she can see in someway he is like Sonya. He is kind to those who are kind back and though reserved, he seems to put others concerns before his own.
Such as how she freaked out because she bumped in to him yet he apologized first. And how nervous yet patient he's being with her even while she talks softly and timidly.

He does blush a lot more easier than Sonya does when they're embarrassed. Sonya thinking she's usually good at hiding when she's embarrassed yet Yang always sees it.

They're both the same species yet different. And not by appearances only. Nox gets nervous while Sonya remains calm most of the time. He too probably has a troubled past yet like us he's trying to move on.

I hope Sonya can learn to trust him. I really think he'd be a great comrade. she thinks with a soft smile. Sonya trusting someone completely is hard, but that tells Yang they truly found a loyal friend.

Nox looks to Yang and a small smile of his own comes to his face. A look coming to him like he's secretly rooting for her and her determination to get stronger. He looks up to the autumn sky as they continue to travel. "Let's do our best in Mosswood, Yang."

She sees him look up and does so herself. Once he spoke, she can't help but giggle softly in happiness and nods. "I wish us both luck.”