(OOC: Nyeh, fail post :P)
Julianne wandered toward a small house just outside of the Docklands, which had a carefully tended berry garden surrounded by a quaint picket fence. Smiling, Julianne knelt down in the grass, picking a few flowers that she hoped would aid her cause. She tucked them into her basket and began running toward the house, knocking firmly on the door and attempting to look as cute as possible. An elderly woman opened the door, staring at Julianne as if unimpressed by her act. Her gray hair was swept up in a tight bun and her emerald eyes were lined with wrinkles gained from years of working in the sun.
"And just what do you want?" the woman snapped.
"I... gathered the things you asked me to, Ms. Tanner," Julianne said, holding out the basket to her.
"You found all the berries I asked for?" she asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow.
Julianne nodded.
"Well, then by all means come in," Ms. Tanner said, throwing the door open all the way and turning around to disappear back inside.
Julianne hurried after her, carefully closing the door behind her. The two eventually ended up in a small room with a plain wooden table and chair facing a window that overlooked the ocean. Drying berries and herbs hung from the ceiling, tainting the air with a strange mixture of flavors. The woman sat down at the table, looking up at Julianne with a frown.
"Well don't just stand there! Let me see what you have," she ordered.
Julianne nodded and placed every item from her basket onto the table gingerly, sorting them into groups in accordance to their types. Ms. Tanner furrowed her eyebrows and picked them up one by one, looking them over carefully.
"Not bad, not bad," Ms. Tanner muttered, then looked back up at Julianne. "Where did you find all of these?"
"I, uh, have all the locations written down in here," Julianne said, swinging off her backpack and pulling out a dark purple notebook. "I also wrote down where I found certain Pokemon and whatever else I saw at the time."
"Hmm... Well I suppose that it doesn't really matter where they came from now that I have the berries themselves," Ms. Tanner said. "Thank you, Miss Ashwood."
"Well... You're welcome," Julianne muttered, putting her book back into her backpack. "But do you think it would be at all possible for me to get some more supplies?"
"Oh? Do you have any money?"
"Well, no. But I thought that these berries might count for a little bit... Or is there any other work that you'd like me to do? Work in the garden?"
"I just tended it."
"Well... I guess I'll just have to find a job, then," Julianne muttered. Or go back to Sinnoh...
"Just come with me, Julianne," Ms. Tanner said with a laugh.
Julianne frowned but didn't say anything, obediently following the woman as she exited her home, locking the door behind her. They walked toward the Docklands in silence until they arrived at a little shop near the docks. Ms. Tanner took out her keys and unlocked the door, stepping into the semidarkness. She flicked on the light switch as Julianne stepped inside. Items of all sorts lined the shelves, ranging from PokeBalls to flour, but Ms. Tanner was already standing by Julianne's side with an envelope.
"Your mother sent this with an arrival for you just after you left to get those berries," Ms. Tanner said with a smile, holding the envelope out to her. "It's the rest of the earnings from your battles."
"Oh really?" Julianne asked, her eyes lighting up as she reached out and took it. "Did mother send a letter as well?"
Ms. Tanner nodded. Julianne carefully opened the envelope and slid out the piece of paper with her mother's neat penmanship on it and held out the rest for her to take back.
"Here," Julianne said. "Just take out whatever the supplies I need cost.
"No, you should take a little bit of this as well," Ms. Tanner said with a laugh, reaching in and taking out a few bills. "You never know what might happen out there. And speaking of which, we should probably get you some supplies again, though the berries you collected do count for some of it."
The two went around the store and picked several items off the shelves, placing them in Julianne's backpack.
"Thank you," Julianne said with a smile. "You have no idea how much I needed this."
"Speaking of which, how are you planning on traversing the region if you are in such constant need of supplies? Should you have some ability to survive on your own?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping to be able to have toothpaste for as long as possible..."
"Ah, I understand that one."
"But I do know the basics of survival. The... very basics."
"Here," Ms. Tanner said, going behind the front desk and kneeling down behind it, reappearing with a small box in her hands. "This is a survival kit. It has everything that you need to, obviously, survive, besides shelter of course. Now I suggest that you get going if you were planning on still heading out today, otherwise you won't have a whole lot of traveling time."
Julianne took the box and thanked her, pausing before she exited the store.
"What is that other settlement that's near the docklands?" Julianne asked, turing back to face Ms. Tanner with a frown. "It doesn't really look like a town, and it's kind of strange to have two settlements so close together when there aren't any anywhere else."
"You didn't go near it, did you?" Ms. Tanner asked, suddenly white.
"No I was flying over on Staraptor and I saw it. I don't think I was that close..."
"Good," the woman snapped. "Don't go near that place. Never ever. Now go so that I can get back to work."
Slightly stunned, Julianne simply nodded mutely and slid out of the store. She thought about the other settlement as she walked toward the docks, but she soon became absorbed with other thoughts as she sat down in the grass near the docks. She had heard that there was a boat with new arrivals on them coming, and Julianne was admittedly curious about who those people would be. Julianne took out her mother's letter and read it as she waited.
