A traveling partner
Penny turned out to be a pretty nice traveling partner, all things considered. They seemed to care a lot for their Pokémon which was a really good sign, especially on a treasure hunt. Nemona had met people who called themselves trainers and don’t care about their Pokémon in the slightest. Nemona hoped Florian wasn’t doing that while he was with Arven, she had tried to set a good example for him, but it was out of her control now.
“Hey,” Penny tugged on Nemona’s sleeve to get her attention, “It looks like it’s going to rain soon, do you know if there’s shelter nearby?”
Nemona glanced around, her overly happy exterior not faltering in the slightest, “There, a cave! It’s perfect.”
The cave was fairly small on the inside, but that didn’t matter since it was just the two of them. And if Nemona didn’t send her Pokémon out they might fit two sleeping bags in there.
Penny wordlessly sat down, they were glancing nervously around the tight area.
“Oh Arceus,” Nemona realized the problem Penny must be having, “Are you claustrophobic? I’m so sorry for bringing you in here, is there a better place to wait out the storm where you’d be more comfortable?”
Penny blinked, “I don’t mind getting a little wet, the best town’s up ahead soon right?”
Nemona nodded before grabbing Penny’s hand and pulling them from the cave. They visibly relaxed once they were out in the open, breathing deeper that before. Nemona shot another glance at the angry grey sky, there was no chance of escaping that storm.
“It’ll take a few minutes to walk to Cortondo,” Nemona stated apologetically, “I hope you don’t mind.”
Penny shook their head opting to just follow Nemona. The time passed slowly, Nemona was holding herself back, there were so many moments that she wanted to explain every little thing to Penny. She realized that not only would it seem patronizing, it would also be rude. After all, Nemona had basically forced Penny to travel with her, they weren’t really friends or anything.
Nemona had been thinking more about things like that recently, especially after she first met Florian. She had tried so, so hard to get him to like her, she’d acted like she cared when he was ranting about Arven, she had given it her all. So, why didn’t he like her? Was he faking liking her the whole time? Was Penny doing the same thing?
“Hey…Nemona, we’re here.” Penny stated, pulling Nemona forcefully from her thoughts.
Nemona just blinked at Cortondo, the city looked even drearier that the sky. All washed out colors and bland architecture. Before she could argue, Penny was dragging her through the city towards a fairly nice hotel.
The exterior gave off that five star vibe, so Nemona was a little confuse as to why Penny had picked this one.
“Hey Penny,” Nemona looked at her traveling companion, “Can we afford to stay here?”
Penny flinched, “Don’t worry about it.”
Their voice was a lot more commanding than Nemona was used to, it reminded her a lot of Cassiopeia. In Nemona’s opinion, it was kind of attractive.
Penny carried themselves like a celebrity then, like they deserved all eyes on them (which they so did). The bellhop took one look at the two of them and handed them a key to the Penthouse suite.
Nemona stared at Penny’s backpack as they walked calmly to the elevator and stripped inside.
“What are you waiting for, Nemona?” Penny shot Nemona a confused glance.
“Nothing!” Nemona practically skipped over to Penny, a delighted smile on her face.
None of her other traveling companions had been this nice, most had spent less than ten seconds interacting with her. This was such an improvement, Nemona couldn’t wait to see the killer friend group her, Cassiopeia, and Penny would make.