The conversation Emmet was about to pursue with Sneasler would have been easier in a format where they could both speak freely, but with the subject of debate still stuck in the hospital, neither of them particularly wanted to depart for the Entralink. Not only would it put an unnecessary distance between them, but the discrepancy in the flow of time could easily cause a considerable amount of trouble.

Instead, they met up just outside the city limits to the east. Traffic through Route 16 was decidedly more sparse than that which traveled Routes 4 and 5, largely due to the proximity to the Lostlorn Forest and the fact that there was no major settlement directly opposite Marvelous Bridge. It gave them some semblance of privacy, and all the better for what Emmet was going to be saying.

He studied Sneasler for a moment, and while she still looked the same as ever, there was a nervous energy to the way she held herself-- a tension in her shoulders that would be easy to miss, as if she was ready to square up at the first hint she may be forced to choose between fight or flight. His brother had mentioned that she occasionally visited a settlement and left him with Gligar, but how long did those trips last? If forced to put money on it, Emmet would have bet that her discomfort stemmed from the distance between her and her kit, both in a spatial and temporal sense.

“I do not want to discredit your methods. But you are going to need help if you want to keep him healthy.” He eventually said as a blunt opener. Despite her subtle anxiety, Sneasler still managed to put up an air of being distinctly unimpressed with Emmet. There was, however, a tilt to her eyes that suggested she would hear him out, if only for her charge’s sake. “Your friend will need to stay on a verrrry strict dietary regimen while he recovers. He is unable to intake enough to remain stable and will require human medicines as a result.”

Sneasler looked at him for a long moment and then tilted her head slowly, questioningly, to the forest: was he suggesting that they return to the Entralink?

Emmet shook his head. “I do not know your reasons for leaving, so I am unable to weigh the pros and cons like you might. All I mean to say is that you will need help from someone who is already established in this realm. I am also volunteering to be that person.”

She narrowed her eyes and curled a lip; in conjunction with the angle her head tilted at, he was able to interpret it as suspicion. Why would he offer that, she was asking, what did he want in return?

He took a deep breath and slowly released it. The matter of his and the boy’s relation was one that he’d revisited ad nauseum in the privacy of his own head, but aloud? No, he hadn’t acknowledged it properly. He’d allowed the doctor and nurses to make accurate assumptions based on test results and their resemblance, but he’d never actually said this to another being.

Would it put Sneasler at ease or cause her hackles to raise? He could see either outcome with perfect clarity.

Best to get it out in the open, so she wouldn’t think he was stalling to find the right lie.

“You noted that we are the ‘same kind’ of human. I was curious about that, too. You were correct. It is not just that we have a passing resemblance. We are brothers.” He swallowed thickly, the next word stuck in his throat until forced himself to dislodge it, “Twins. Siblings that are born together. Our parents did something unforgivable and I cannot stand by and watch their negligence spiral any further.”

And that was… something he had yet to face in its entirety. He couldn’t look at h-- their parents the same way after this, but he didn’t know that he could bring himself to hate them, either. They represented a jumble of complicated feelings that he’d yet to unravel, a line of thought he couldn’t quite bring himself to ride.

He’d decided the two of them could wait long enough for their son to be taken care of first.

As he spoke, Sneasler’s ears swiveled, not only listening to what he said, but thinking it over. In a sudden flurry, she jolted to action, lunging into his space. The parted jaws so near his throat were just short of panic-inducing, and while he still didn’t know her well, he did know enough about her that he stayed still, trusting that she wasn’t going to hurt him.

Sure enough, he heard a series of short, rapid inhalations as she presumably studied his scent-- beyond what it must have taken those times she’d tracked him across the city. Once she’d smelled enough, she pulled back, head tilted dramatically to the left, and continued to study him.

Gradually, the tilt shifted from one side to the other. It was remarkably cute coming from such a plainly dangerous Pokemon, which was precisely what made fairy types so effective.

He didn’t know what he was waiting for; how could she respond to his declaration when she had no way to speak but for body language? She seemed to have understood, at least, and in his inexpert opinion, didn’t seem upset with this new information.

After a long break to consider it all, she jerked her head forward in a decisive nod, and, abruptly, Emmet remembered that he hadn’t been confiding in her just to get it off of his chest, but because he’d been arguing his case. For a heartbeat, he was kneeling in the forest, asking for her trust and uncertain whether or not she would allow him that much. Then he was back in the sunlight, standing opposite her on equal terms. Strange that, now, he found himself asking for so much more of her faith-- and that he was relatively certain she’d just granted it.

“You will allow me to help?”

She nodded again-- a touch impatiently this time-- and then her eyes slid over his shoulder, to the city’s boundary. There was only one thing that could have meant at this point.

“He will be allowed to leave the hospital soon.” Not as soon as any of the little unit might have liked, given the spectacular failure that had been the lunch hour, but it had been progress at least. Assuming no other complications arose, it seemed probable that his brother would be discharged before another 24 hours passed. “Tomorrow, most likely.”

Her nose twitched-- meaning unknown-- and she inclined her head, arms folding neatly over her chest.

Not for the first time, Emmet considered the extent to which this would intrude into his life-- but this did mark the first instance that it was anything more than a thought experiment. It wasn’t that he was resistant to the change he himself was pursuing, just that there had been so much happening at once that it was all he could do to keep up, to maintain a pace and figure out how to respond. He had the all clear now, and his plans would move from theory to reality before he knew it if he wasn’t careful. He’d known time became slippery when one dealt with the fae, but hadn’t realized that effect extended past the Entralink.

Making room in his life-- and space-- for a child was one thing, but this particular child also came as a set with two very large, very protective Pokemon. He didn’t know where to begin there; he would need to introduce them to his own Pokemon, and, before that, let his team know that their household would be seeing some substantial changes in the very near future.

Emmet had… a lot of work to do very, very quickly.

---

It had been a long night of preparations.

Emmet hadn’t known what all might need adjustment in the future-- and could only do so much, considering that he’d gotten the all clear at 7:17 and begun a frantic first pass at 7:30 pm-- but he’d done his best on the relatively short notice. There was space that could be put to any number of uses, as much extra bedding as he could scrounge up, and he’d made a dedicated pit stop on his way home to pick up a number of foods that fell within the bounds of a clear liquid diet. The vitamins would come when he knew the specifics, and could look into the product’s quality.

His Pokemon had been… less enthusiastic once brought into the fold, but that could hardly be held against them. With an exception for Durant, none of them had been involved in this matter prior, and they had only heard references to what was going on. Eelektrik in particular had patiently weathered the ranting as, at the end of a very long day, Emmet had tried to vent the feelings built up since he’d visited Lacunosa. He’d been tired and anxious, and in hindsight, he realized that he might not have been clear enough with who, precisely, was the source of his ire.

They would clear the air, Emmet promised himself. It would be alright.

The Pokemon weren’t the only ones critical of his plan. When Desi had gotten in contact the day prior, confirming that his brother would be released into his care, she’d also asked him to reconsider. Emmet had twitched, but resisted the urge to end the conversation there, both morbidly curious if she could possibly dig her hole deeper and interested in hearing her arguments beforehand, so she couldn’t ambush him when, inevitably, they were forced to discuss the matter in person.

Admittedly, she might have had a point. There was no way his twin had endured all this time in the Entralink without being effected, and he’d seen evidence of that firsthand. That was as much as he’d grant her. The rest of it had been more of what he’d grown up on: paranoia that anything could be a fae trick meant to steal him away.

Ridiculous.

First of all, his brother was a stunted seven-year-old with a slightly elevated vocabulary and the inability to consume more than a cup’s worth of liquid in one sitting. He'd met scarier Audino. Second, Emmet had been the one to involve himself after a certain point, and by that second meeting, it had seemed like none of the faelost party had particularly wanted to associate with him; he was the driving force here, not any of them. Thirdly, she wasn’t going to lose Emmet to the fae. She’d already done a perfectly good job of driving him away herself.

He had said none of this. What he had said-- quite amicably, in his opinion-- was: “I see. Your opinion has been noted. Goodbye.”

There was no doubt in his mind that he’d hear from her again before the week was out.

No matter. It was a new day and, theoretically, he could bring his brother home before its end. With three more days’ worth of leave before he had to be back at work, Emmet was hoping they would be able calm any tensions, make sure everyone was relatively settled and, maybe, start getting to know one another. It was asking a lot-- without even getting into the matter of medical requirements-- but, counter to everyone else in his life, he had a good feeling about this.

His brother was a sweet kid, and deserved better than the hand he’d been dealt, fleeing the fae with his wild guardians. There were clearly those who already loved him dearly, and Emmet hoped to understand why.

It occurred to him, as he worked through the release paperwork, waiting for the boy to get dressed, that his brother had no idea why he was doing this. To him, Emmet was still just the arbitrary person Sneasler had picked out of many to help, the only connection between them the fact that they looked alike. He would have to tell him before too long, but wasn’t quite sure how. If at all possible, he wanted to avoid the matter of their parents’ bargain-- for now, at least-- and he needed to figure out how to handle it tactfully.

Gligar’s tail swished over the side of the bed, eyes on the closed bathroom door. He was the first warning before it opened and a small dark shape darted out again. Emmet hummed a warning, looking up out of the corner of his eyes. His brother was well aware that he was supposed to take it easy until he’d regained his strength; the nurses has done nothing but stress that fact since it was determined that he was stable enough to leave.

They would need to get him some new clothes. There wasn’t anything wrong with what he had now-- save for the fact that were rather worn and a little bit dirty-- but they were decidedly divorced from modern Unovan sensibilities, and wouldn’t suit the weather for very long, besides. They could probably get away with giving him one of the t-shirts that was too big even on Emmet for tonight, and maybe stretch it through tomorrow. Taking him out right away would only contradict his orders to play it safe, and while he’d acclimated to his solitary hospital room, a store would be asking a lot.

He gave the paperwork a last once-over, eyes catching on the header. Where there should have been a name, it read only ‘Faelost F7’. That was another subject they would need to cover, and it was bound to be much harder than getting the child to eat. One request had been harmless, a basic function that his brother would need in order to thrive in his own world, and the other was… admittedly a burden. If he was leaving the Entralink on a permanent basis, the threat a true name represented was much less than it could have been, but would never be zero so long as the realms were linked.

Maybe if he could get Sneasler to understand, she might be able to help him argue his case. It seemed unlikely in this particular instance, but she’d been willing to hear him out in regards to everything else so far.

“Are you ready to depart?” He asked instead, tucking the clipboard under his arm and getting to his feet.

His brother nodded and stepped nearer to the bed, winding Gligar around himself the same way they’d been arranged the night Emmet first met them. Clearly used to the process, the bat didn’t so much as twitch as it was guided into position; it simply set its head on its boy’s hat and let him do as he would, clicking to itself.

Was this actually a safety blanket situation? Emmet was hesitant to chalk it up to Gligar in full, because there had been a great many factors in play, but the child had been orders more composed since he had been allowed his scorpion-bat.

To be fair, Emmet often felt more at ease when he had one of his Pokemon with him, too, so that was hardly noteworthy. None of his looked like they could snap a man in half with a pincer, though. Upon second thought, he realized Sneasler boasted a similar feature, and could only hope that it wasn’t a trait his brother would go on to seek in his companions.

Considering the both of them as he stepped around the bed, he risked extending a hand, even though both of the child’s were hidden beneath wing membranes. “Please attach your car to mine and take care not to come uncoupled from me. We do not want you to become citylost as well.”

He held it up in apology just a second later at the wide-eyed look it earned him.

“That was a joke. You can become lost in a city but it will not trap you. I would still prefer if we did not risk it.”

A small hand slithered out from beneath a wing and tentatively reached up. Emmet held his out again, palm up, and allowed him to cross the last of the distance before their hands met.

“Perfect!” He said, and beamed at his sibling, “Then we are cleared for departure. All aboard!”