A Journey's Link

Chapter 7- Performing

"Serena get up! It's time to train!"

Serena, who had been fast asleep in the bed, groaned out of annoyance. She had been having an intense dream about her next contest, which was very soon. The results were about to be announced before she was rudely awoken by the shrill voice; she wasn't someone to easily wake up from her slumber.

Eventually, she reluctantly got up, yawning on her way out of bed. Sometimes I wish May would stop for one second and take a break, Serena thought. I'm glad she works hard, but sometimes it can be too much. She then shook her head, knowing that even though her contest-oriented friend could be a handful, she still was super encouraging and helpful.

Serena looked at her surroundings, taking it all in after waking up from such a deep sleep. To her left was a poster of the current Kalos Queen, Aria, who she admired for her beauty and talent. Below the poster was a desk; her signature pink-red hat and pink backpack were placed on top. She managed to get out of the bed, touching the ground and standing right before a mirror.

She looked through her cerulean eyes at her honey-blonde hair which nearly reached to her shoulders. Over her light pink dress was a red vest that had expansive pockets. She sat down to put on her brown boots over her long black stockings and walked over to retrieve her hat and bag. As she placed the hat atop her head and adjusted it, she looked and realized that she had left something on the desk.

A blue ribbon. It was a part of her outfit and had been ever since she changed her style. Tying it to her dress, she remembered how she came to acquire it; it was a gift from someone she had long admired and aspired to be. She and he had traveled together in the Kalos region alongside other friends.

Looking in the mirror once more and smiling, she took a deep breath and finished wrapping the ribbon around her collar. "Looks good," she whispered to herself, once again thoroughly adjusting her hat. With her backpack strapped around her shoulders, she made her way to the door to begin another day of training with her friend, May.

May had been traveling in the Johto region to do the new contests there, but came back to her hometown region, Hoenn, to continue her contest performances. She and Serena had met at the Verdanturf Town Contest Hall, the location of Serena's first Hoenn contest and May's first since returning; suffice to say, they were both nervous.

Serena softly smiled as she remembered the circumstances through which they had met. She and Braixen were changing into their outfit for the first round and were almost done preparing. Unfortunately, Serena's dress had gotten caught on Braixen's stick and ripped trying to get it uncaught.

Braixen was apologetic and felt horrible, but Serena told her not to worry. She had been in a situation very similar to this and knew she could probably figure something out on her own. Luckily for Serena, a certain brown-haired girl had seen the whole incident, so before she could try to come up with a solution, she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry! I'll fix it!" The girl had said reassuringly as Serena looked up. "I've got a lot of experience fixing outfits, so I can fix your ripped one before you go on!" Serena was caught off guard by the girl's sudden kindness, but smiled and thanked her. She watched the mysterious girl patch the dress and asked for her name.

"Me? Oh, my name is May!" May answered as she continued working, engrossed in her work. "That over there is my contest partner, Blaziken!" May said, pointing over to a chair that had a fiery chicken Pokemon on top; it was dressed up in a black-and-red ninja outfit with what seemed like quick sketches of Pyroars throughout the fabric.

"Oh wow! It's beautiful!" Serena exclaimed, admiring the detail put into the ninja mask and suit. She turned back to May, who had her tongue out as he steadily sewed together the broken dress. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself," Serena said apologetically. "I'm Serena from the Kalos region, and this is Braixen!" Braixen smiled and raised her stick in a friendly manner.