Modest living left lots of packing space.

All the must haves she could think of didn't even take up half the combined packing space she'd ended up with. Plenty of room for one or two bulkier items as needed. Castelia might have been one of the warmest places in Unova, but snow wasn't absolutely unheard of in there either, worth grabbing a thicker jacket just in case. Anne had no idea how much that explanation actually made sense, whether the tradeoff made sense on a logical level- but it felt like it did, and that's what mattered the most.

Illusory control over something that wouldn't ultimately matter, a mental placebo for a tired mind.

With the first bout of packing done Anne could take a moment to stretch and gather her bearings. 9:21 AM. She had barely had any breakfast today, her toast pile barely touched. Not hungry at all, the opposite of hungry. Mind playing known tricks on her, stress dulling her senses. Trivial knowledge, facts she'd crammed in many times over during her studies for the entrance exam.

If only knowing of these tricks ever made them any less effective.

No easy way through but to force herself to eat. Sit beside Pippi, keep stuffing her mouth until the plate was empty, try to soothe her racing mind. Fingers crossed it works. The fairy looked up from her book as her human walked over, putting it down and immediately going for a hug the moment Anne's butt touched the mattress. Moment of flailing, a surprised gasp, the embrace immediately returned. Being unable to chat like this was the only genuine downside of signing as far as Anne was concerned, but it didn't matter all that much in the moment.

Warmth. Softness. Steady, slow heartbeat. Comfort which a litany of a thousand reassurances couldn't even come close to.

Pip was here for her, just like she'd been here for her. It really didn't feel like an entire decade had gone by at times. Like she'd only brought this tiny, scared Cleffa that wouldn't let go of her home just a few days ago. Goodness she used to be so teeny. Used to just lay her whole body down on one of the pillows, had to drink from a shot glass, could barely lift said shot glass. Kept trying to chat as well, all the time- pi pi pi pi pi, pi pi pi. Pips might have turned to silence, but Cleffa turned to Pippi.

To think they only ever met because she used to be a dumb, stubborn kid.

School trip to the nearby mountains, recent Clefairy sightings! To see an actual Clefairy in person, the epitome of coolness to her and most of her class of eight year olds. So pretty, so cute, half her class wanted to have one, to own one, and she was no better. How could she have been any better- Father was the epitome of determination after all. He wanted something, he got that thing. She wanted a Clefairy, of course she'd get a Clefairy.

The trip itself was predictably boring- until it wasn't.

Nearby hill, its very top, what was that shape? Small, spiked, could it have been? She was a dumb kid that knew just enough to be dangerous, including how to exploit their overworked teachers. There was a Clefairy there, she wanted a Clefairy, they wouldn't stop her. Turned out to be a Cleffa in the end. Tiny, squeaking, scared, cute all the same. Her shoes really weren't made for this, neither was the rest of her body with its fear of heights. Could never catch up.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Trip, fall, pain, confusion, horror.

Her glasses broken, her face scratched, her trance of an excitable chase broken. Where was she? How far away from her class had she walked? Was there anyone else here? Terror, immediate and all consuming. Are there other mons here? How many? Have to hide, hide, hide, where to hide? Blind stumbling, one step, another, eventually felt up a cranny to hide in. Cold, scared, so scared- they'd find her, right? They had to find her! Manic thoughts swirling in a circle, forever and forever, distilling the fear in her system with every spin.

And then, suddenly, she felt something touch her shoe-clad foot, and the rest was history.

Rescue team chewed her out, her teachers chewed her out, her parents chewed her out- none mattered, she was safe, safe, safe, and took someone with herself. One little fairy that wouldn't let go, smuggled in along with her. Hidden as well as an eight year old could feasibly manage. Incredible it managed to last the two days it did. More anger, more chewing out, more annoyance- something wrong with the Cleffa. Doesn't react to anything they say. Car ride, fairy specialist, profound and complete deafness. She remembered the doctor saying how that sort of stuff is much more common than most people thought, confusing her a lot- she never heard of anything like that before.

Not many disabled hatchlings survive being cast out by their own family, after all.

One slap on her arm, another- talky time. Pensiveness got shook off, focus readjusted, attention wholly redirected onto the Clefable Anne was honored to be able to call her best friend.

> "Feeling alright?"

>

> "For the most part, yeah."

>

> "About as well as possible with all that on your mind?"

Anne simply nodded, exhaling as she tried to forcibly relax her shoulders, to no avail.

> "Looks like good progress so far!"

>

> "Done with vital things I think."

>

> "Wrote that list you asked about over there~"

Brief smile, sprawled stretch just to reach the desk, laborious scan of each line. Each item got matched with the current progress, most of them favorably. Had to grab hygiene, had to grab first aid, had to grab-

Mouthed out 'ball' had the fairy nod along, the topic applying a baseball bat to her human's already frayed mind. Pippi knew that all too well, immediately going for a brief reprise of her hug, for as long as it took and then some. Anne hated these things, more than even the Clefable herself hid. Understandable of course, Pippi's dislike of balls as a whole was heavily dulled by never having had to interact with hers, never up to now at least.

Fucking airlines and their mon policies.

Regardless of how much the teen hated them, she had to take Pippi's, grumbling briefly before prying her rear off of the mattress. Body has its ways of reminding the person inside the skull about how little rest they've had last night, and Anne didn't like the current reminder one bit. Yawn, stretch, haphazard shake, drowsiness still clinging to her face.

Out of the room, into the breach.

Part of her worried she'd eventually forget where Pippi's ball was one of these days, growing up. Such a needlessly cruel, unimportant item most of the time, squandered far, far out of sight. She never forgot, never could forget. Father coming in, talking about her like she was meat, like she was numbers on a spreadsheet, like she was a fighter, like she could have only ever been a fighter. Worthless for that purpose, deaf and feeble. Rare mon all the same, might as well keep it, toss it in a ball, show off their benevolence for letting it live when appropriate.

The moment Father was out of sight, she let Pippi right back out, and hid the ball far, far away from sight. He grumbled once, twice, didn't care enough. Dylan messed up, lost hard, yet again, bloody again. More practice, more tutoring, better specimens, whatever it takes. Dylan was to win, Marie was to study,

Anne simply was.

One flight of stairs, another, door to attic coming into sight. Old fitness equipment, for man and mon alike. Antique furniture, spares of Father's official outfit. Styled after military, all black, skull and crossbones on his arm. Telling. Box inside a box underneath a box. Nested again and again- did Mom move it somewhere? No, thank god, there it was- open, open, open, here it is. Teal and black with a crescent moon on top. Handmade luxury.

Oppression manifest.

The alarm goes off at six.

Back to packing now.