Different From The Rest (Hannah)

[Violet]

Hannah frowned, eyes showing empathy, even if it felt as if she couldn't quite show sympathy. She reached out a trembling hand, gently placing the tips of her fingers on his arm.

Even if she didn't know what he had gone through, she knew what pain was, especially the kind he was showing; as if something dear and important had been ripped right out of his heart and fed to a moat full of crocodiles. She didn't wish that on anyone, even the people she hated. She especially didn't wish it on him-- he seemed like a nice guy.

"I'm sorry." The statement was so simple, so overused... but the way she said it, it carried all the weight in the world.

[Alex]

It took Alex a moment to realize he was crying.

Tears began to spill out of his eyes as he tried in vain to wipe them away. It had been a long time since he had really truly spoken about Alice, and this was the second time in a week that he was. It was just... too much emotion at one time. And Alex had never been good at handling her loss. It had left a wound that was going to be near impossible to heal. Like a missing limb, he felt lost without her presence.

He took a short breath and it caught in his throat. "It's... not your... fault..." Alex gasped. His tears were really flowing now, and it was all he could do to keep himself from completely breaking down.

But the way Violet had said it, it made him know she understood, on some level. And it was making him cry too. Because it had been a long time since someone had understood on a basic level what had happened.

Sobbing openly, Alex hugged Violet for support.

[Violet]

Violet allowed him to hug her, even at Maxine's very audible protests, wrapping her own arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. The woman rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. It was hard for her to not stop crying, herself; not a lot of people really showed this sort of emotion around her.

"I lost my father... my biological father... when I was really little," she murmured, giving him a gentle squeeze. "I was so attached to him... I didn't think I'd speak to anyone again, not even my twin sister. And I was so scared I might get hurt, too... But then my daddy-- that's my adopted father-- he... he gave me Horace and Maxine. And they talked me out of my depression. Now I'm surprised I'm not by my daddy's side all the time."

She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, one arm remaining around him while the other raised so she could place her hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry you had to go through what you did. No one should have to. And I'm not gonna pretend I understand fully, because everyone's different, but... you're not alone. You're far, far from alone."

[Alex]

Alex closed his eyes and rested his head against her, trying to get himself to calm down. And her story... it gave him strength. Knowing that someone else knew exactly where he was coming from. For there was no way anyone could possibly imagine losing someone so close to them; <Only those who've experienced it truly know,> Alex thought silently. "Thank you... I can't even begin to say what that means to me. I've felt like an island in a hurricane that'll never let up," he spoke softly. "But you should know why I am this way..."

Sniffling, Alex began to speak. "She was everything to me..." he choked out. "I don't even remember life without her. I mean... she was only fifty years younger than me... But she was my little sis... and we never, ever, ever thought that... that something would happen. Fifteen hundred years old, and we were that naive..." Alex had to close his eyes for a moment, the pain flashing through his mind again.

"Fourty years ago... we were found out. We had been spotted by one of the Elite gym leaders, and... one of his Pokemon sensed we were different..." Alex quietly recalled. "We were out of that city so fast... But it wasn't enough. They were waiting along the road, and we were caught in an ambush and... and she... told me to... to run..."

Alex put his face in his hands as his breath came in ragged gasps. "I shouldn't have left!" he said angrily. "I'm so stupid... I've looked high and low, but I haven't seen her since. That fucking gym leader split faster than a goddamn banana..."

He looked up from his hands into Violet's eyes. "I don't even know if she's alive..."

[Violet]

Violet pulled him into another hug; a tighter hug.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again, meaning it now just as she had meant it then. Losing a sibling was just as bad as losing a parent, and if she lost her own sister... she wouldn't know what to do. Especially to something such as that.

It was one thing if a Pokemon was bred in captivity. Completely another when you caught it wild.

And all the while, she was noticing a strange feeling bubbling up in her chest, something she'd never experienced before. She didn't know why, but she actually cared for this man, at least on some level, and she wasn't afraid of him any more. Yes, the paranoia still twitched in the back of her mind, but it was in a rather dormant state. For now, she didn't think it was going to bother her.

[Alex]

Alex hugged her back, clinging for hope. He needed support, and he was glad that he had someone who understood helping him now. At least she understood, more than that other woman he had encountered earlier that week, Alexandra.

And for the first time in a long time, he was feeling something else. Something he hadn't felt since Alice had been ripped from him... A connection, deeper than just a superficial acquaintance. Alex sensed that there was a feeling of understanding and mutual caring... Something he'd never felt with a human before. It made him a little uncomfortable, but he pushed that away in favour of the warm feeling it was giving him inside, knowing he had someone to talk to in this twisted and dark world.

"Y'know," Alex smiled through his tear stung eyes as he drew back enough to see into her eyes again. "This is the first time in a long time I've spoken to a truly nice and understanding human... Maybe I've been running into the wrong ones lately, but it's a really nice reminder that not all of your kind are mean and cruel. Thank you for showing me that."

[Violet]

Hannah gave him a soft smile, chuckling under her breath. "Humans are just as varied as Pokemon are, Alex," she murmured. "You can't judge the whole lot based on a few rotten apples.

"Here..." The woman pulled out of the embrace, taking a pad of stickynotes and what used to be a pencil but was now little more then a stub out of her pockets. She wrote something down on a note before ripping it out and handing it to him. "My number. Call me sometime, if you can... but I need to be going now. My daddy'll worry if I'm too late."

[Alex]

Alex let Hannah break from the embrace, chuckling a little at the comment. "I don't think I'm that judgemental about you humans," he smiled. "Then again, it is coming from me, so I would be a little biased about what I think of myself."

Alex took the phone number and scanned it quickly. "Alright. I don't wanna keep your dad waiting," he said. "I'll call you sometime. I'm glad I can talk to someone in this messed up world. I'll see you around, kay?" With that, Alex took a few steps back, and closed his eyes.

One second, his human form was there. The next, he was back in his true form. <Catch ya on the flip side,> he chuckled. With that, he shot up and out of the alleyway, and zoomed across the city skyline, whooping with joy the whole way.