PW! - The Night Fantastic

The Night Fantastic



Cheers and applause finished the show as the curtain was closed,
Nicholas rising from his bow and glad that the end of his
performance had been met with approval. He quickly made his way
backstage as the theater manager approached. “Well done, my boy!
You’re a natural showman! We’ll be honored to have you here again!”

“Thanks.” He shook hands with the older man and, with the promise of
his payment by the next morning, he left and made his way outside of
the theater, slowly walking out of the main building for Realgam
Tower. As happy as he was at having given a good performance, he
wasn’t in the mood to celebrate; he wanted to get back to his motor
home and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep.

It wasn’t exhaustion that drove the young man to seclusion, nor
dissatisfaction. It was something else. He counted his blessings that
he was still seeing excellent profits from admission, despite his lack
of a lovely human assistant, but unfortunately, the vacancy had
appeared elsewhere. It hadn’t been that long, but it felt like ages
since he and Alex had parted company in Gateon Port, and he missed
her. Not so much the adventure and the excitement that came about when
the two were together, but most definitely her.

A few minutes’ time, and he was out of the tower and approaching
his home, the RV sitting a small distance away with a picnic table and
place settings laid out. He could already smell Igraine’s cooking on
the wind, and was glad that she’d implemented some of Alex’s
suggestions. Her meals weren’t bad, but the use of the newer recipes
had helped to fill the void.

#You know, there’s nothing wrong with admitting that you miss her.#

Nicholas laughed. “Here I thought it was obvious.” He slipped off
his cloak and hat and carried them inside, putting them away before
slipping off his gloves. “I try not to think about her, but…”

#But you have a hard time not thinking about the ones you love.#

“Exactly.” He quickly washed his hands, finally emerging from the
RV ready to eat. “I just hope this isn’t all one-sided. I hate to
think she’s forgotten about me, or that she’s got a man in every
region.”

#From what I was able to tell of her, she isn’t the sort to forget
anyone, or be quite that social.# The Gardevoir gently laid a hand
upon her trainer’s shoulder. #You and she will meet up again one day.#

“I hope you’re right. Right now though, I’d settle…” A buzz sounded
from his pocket, and Nicholas shook his head and answered his cell
phone. “Nicholas Pendrake speaking.”

:“I’d hope so. I’d hate to think your phone got stolen.”:

His mood brightened considerably. “Alex! I was just thinking about
you! How’ve you been?”

:“Good, all things considered. You still selling out the box
offices?”:

“Close enough to it, though I’ve pretty much toured everywhere that
I can here in Orre. I’m thinking of moving on elsewhere. What about
you? I bet you’re about ready to move on to another region.”

:“Spiritually, yes, but as far as my badge case is concerned, I’ve
still got a ways to go. Besides, I’ve still got an obligation to
fulfill.”:

“Well, you keep in touch. Maybe we’ll get lucky and cross paths
again soon.”

:“Sure thing. All my best to your family.”:

“And yours. Take care.” The call ended, and Nicholas shut off his
phone, a smile lingering on his face. “Igraine, where do you think we
should go next? Hoenn? Johto? Maybe we should get adventurous and go
to Unova.”

An arched eyebrow was the first indicator of the Gardevoir’s
thoughts on that idea. #We’d need to ship everything by plane to get
to Unova, Nicholas. Do you have any idea how expensive air transport
is for an operation as weighty as this?#

“What about Sinnoh then? We can still take a boat to Sinnoh.”

#That’s more agreeable, but if you want to get back in touch with
your sweetheart, then you’d best wait until she decides where she’s
going before you do the same.# A smirk crossed her face as she added,
#And pray that it isn’t Unova.#

Nicholas laughed. Regardless of where they ended up, he knew he’d
see her again. It was only a matter of time.


TBC?

[NS: My apologies if everyone's busy around this time of year, but I
felt like I needed to get something down that wasn't part of the
revival. Times when I think I'm the only one taking part in it...]