Of Bloom And Thorns

The venom flew right over his head, missing him by less than an inch. As the Poison Stings came his way he knew he wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time. At least half a dozen needles managed to get stuck on his left arm. Not before long he began to feel the poison taking effect as he began to feel weaker.

How was he supposed to overpower an Arbok when he was clearly weaker? Then again, how was he supposed to know they roamed the area?

The snake drew closer, apparently taking its time to let the poison do its part, or perhaps the fear? Either case it was working.

The Charmander curled up and shut close his eyes, trembling in both cold and horror as he realized it would all be over as soon as the fangs closed on him.

***

The morning had started up normally, or so it would have seemed if it had still been morning by the time he woke up. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky he could only guess he had overslept, more than usual.

Groaning at the thought the Charmander stretched up his arms and smacked his lips. It was only until then that he noticed the familiar pair of eyes of a Snivy fixed on him, apparently not too amused.

"Oh, morning Ivy," The Charmander yawned, still more asleep than awake.

The Snivy just kept a stern expression, "Charmin, you do realize it's a bit late to say "Morning," right?"

The Charmander just fidgeted his fingers nervously, but said nothing. She didn't have to say it, he knew he had a bad habit of sleeping too much, even for an ordinary Charmander, but he couldn't help it, it happened without him being able to control it, "I guess I was more tired than usual?"

The Snivy kept a serious expression on him, causing the Charmander to look down in shame. However, after a moment she just sighed it out and grinned at him, "You didn't seem that tired last night though."

Charmin humored up at once, "It was a long night! It's just so much what you have to do when you're out there on your own."

"Oh really? I'm a bit confused, when you say "Out there on your own" you mean camping right in front of the Gym, where there's a fenced area, clear shelter, light and the food is only a few steps away?" Ivy raised her eyebrow sarcastically.

The Charmander just looked down in defeat, "Hey! At least I got us a campfire, didn't I? That was a lot of work." It was then that he looked around and saw only a circle of stones he didn't remember having brought and a bunch of ashes, "Huh?! Where did the campfire go? I could have sworn it was right here last night."

Ivy couldn't help but to actually laugh out this time and just limited herself to pull Charmin's head into a headlock. The Charmander complained and struggled playfully, trying to pull out of it.

It couldn't be more obvious that the young Charmander was completely clueless about camping. This wasn't completely his fault though, in the few days they had been traveling their master, Erin, hadn't found the need to do so. She had been lucky enough to get a ride to the next town. The next thing they found out was that the town's Gym Leader turned out to be an old family's friend, and allowed her to stay in one of many empty dorms until reparations were finished and she could take on the gym's challenge.

However, all of this time Charmin had been really looking forward to camping, and so by the third day at the town their master finally agreed (Though not too gladly) to let them sleep outside. To see the usually lazy Charmander so pumped up had been quite the surprise for Ivy. In the end she had ended up doing everything, but the Charmander had done a small share of the work, which on itself was a step forward.

Yes, she wasn't really fond of the Charmander's laziness, but for some reason she couldn't remain mad at him. Maybe it was his short age or the fact that he was incredibly gullible, but for some reason she couldn't help but think of him as some sort of little brother and felt it was her responsibility to keep him on the right track.

This, however, she kept to herself. The Charmander was already attached enough to her, a little more and he would probably refuse to attack her at all during their training.

"Oh Charmin, you wouldn't last a day out there," Ivy chuckled as she rubbed her knuckle to the Charmander's head.

Charmin stopped struggling and broke free at once, apparently offended. "I could last more than you think I would," he snapped as he looked away.

It was then that Ivy realized her mistake. Knowing him, trying to talk him out of the idea now would only make it worse. She remained calm, there was only one thing she could do now, "Oh really? Let's see... I remember I was about your age when I got lost. I was out there by myself in the woods for a few hours until Master found me," she lied as casually as she could, that time had been but for a few minutes.

"I can take care of my own for a while! Just watch," the Charmander yelled angrily as he walked away.

"Just so you know, the woods are the other way," Ivy yawned with little apparent interest. "Also, how am I supposed to tell if you've been actually out there and not just fooling around in town where I don't see you? Just wondering."

Charmin stopped at once, looking down bitterly. He sighed, "What do you have in mind?"

The Snivy had trouble hiding the look of victory on her face, luckily Charmin wasn't paying attention. Not before long she had taken him to the town's entrance.

She then held out a small, blue round berry, "Do you know what this is?"

Charmin took it from her and looked at it for a moment, "Um... An Oran Berry?"

Ivy nodded as she took the berry back from him, "Exactly. I've been all over town and haven't seen any of these, but I saw a few trees with these growing on our way here. It was quite the way from here so if you can bring me one of these I'll know you've actually been out there. Sounds good to you?"

The Charmander took in a deep breath before nodding, "I'll do it, and I will bring a whole bunch of them just for me while I'm at it," he said confidently before turning tail on her and walking away.

The Snivy had kept a straight face all of this time, but as he saw him go she couldn't help but feel the worry begin to build in her chest, "Be careful!" she hollered at him, her voice nearly breaking.

"I will!" she heard him holler back before he was lost from sight.

It was only until then that Ivy allowed herself to panic, "(Calm down! Calm down Ivy! It isn't too far, he's gonna be OK)," she thought as she took in deep breaths.

Of course he should be OK, she had tricked the Charmander to go get a few very common berries that grew practically on the side of the road, a mile from town at much. Charmin, though, would feel like he had accomplished a great feat and would come back boasting on how he had survived in the wilderness. Perhaps he would have to deal with a few wild Pokemon on his own but he was relatively safe, dangerous Pokemon never got that close to where humans lived.

He needed to do this, it was all for his own good. If that was the case why couldn't she help but feel like something would go terribly wrong?

She turned around and hurried back to the Gym.

***

Charmin had been walking for quite a while, even the sight of the tallest building of the town had been long since lost behind him. So far he had come across a wild Ratatta and a Pidgey, but they had both only looked at him confused before keeping their way, not giving him too much importance.

He was unsure about what should he feel like. One hand, he had been to the woods to train a few times, but that had been with his master and teammates. Now that he was on his own he couldn't help but feel exposed, vulnerable; like if something could jump out at him any moment. This was without mentioning a bit lonely.

On the other hand, a cool spring breeze was blowing, the grass at his feet felt smooth to the touch and the essence of the woods was somehow inviting, invigorating. The different shades of green on the trees and the grass, the way the branches intertwined, the different kind of footprints on the dirt; there were so many details so often overlooked that he appreciated now. There was also a bit of pride and excitement in him, he was venturing into the unknown, taking the wilderness on his own.

As soon as he heard the nearest bush rattle, however, all that he felt was fear and danger. "Who's there?!" he might have been young, but he knew by instinct to raise his guard at the presence of a possible foe.

The leaves rattled a few more times before he could spot the tip of a pale, purple limb stretching out of the brush. Charmin's tail's fire burned more violent the more the foe showed itself. Not before long an Espeon stood in front of him, looking at him confidently.

Charmin stared at it defiantly for a moment before the Espeon began to chuckle, "Not half-bad kid, but you should watch that right side."

"What's wrong with my right side?" the Charmander asked confused as he checked on it. He realized his mistake at once: In that instant he was distracted the Espeon lunged right at him, his eyes shining with a deep purple glow.

The Espeon, however, came to a stop inches away from him, "Nothing really," he chuckled as his eyes returned to normal, "but that always seems to work."

Charmin gulped nervously, the foe clearly had the upper hand and obviously know about battles much more than he did. However, after a few moments it became obvious the Espeon had no intention to attack him. He just backed up slowly, making sure to keep his guard up.

The Espeon once again just grinned widely, "I like your style kid, met folks older than you who would just run away like cowards for less than that. You at least keep giving me that creepy look of yours... Believe it or not it's quite inspiring."

Charmin didn't calm down just yet, "You're not gonna fight me?"

"You could be on the floor right now but you aren't, are you?" the Espeon just stretched out and yawned care freely, "Look, you can come and get it if you want, but seriously, what would be the point?"

The Charmander hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to lower his guard.

This didn't went unnoticed by the Espeon, who only stared at him in silence for a while, "So, what's a kid like you doing out here anyway? Are you lost or something?"

"What do you mean "out here"?" Charmin feigned innocence.

"Don't give me that, anyone with half a brain could tell you're a human's Pokemon, probably seeing these places for the first time after quite a while," the Espeon scoffed. "No shame in that buddy. It may not seem like so but I didn't roam the cities my whole life, I used to have a master. Passed away a long time ago, set me free and was never caught again."

As distant as he tried to keep himself from him, Charmin couldn't help but feel a bit taken back by his story, "Sorry to hear that."

The Espeon shrugged it off indifferently, "Big deal. But seriously kid, what are you doing out here?"

It wasn't every day that Charmin trusted a stranger, or a homeless; however, there was a strange vibe to this Espeon that told him it was OK to speak to him, "I just decided that I wanted to know what was out there. I'm also proving someone that I can handle on my own."

The Espeon raised an eyebrow in amusement, "And that someone would happen to be a... Friend of yours, right?"

"Um, yeah. Ivy is always underestimating me, but after this she will-"

"Oh, a she, that explains a lot of things," the Espeon said sarcastically as he tried to restrain a chuckle. "Basically, you're doing this to impress a girl, right?"

Charmin's face went beet red at once, "What?! No! I'm not doing this to impress her! I just-!"

The Espeon lifted a paw to the Charmander's mouth, silencing him, "Look, you can try telling yourself that but you can't fool me kid. I'm a Psychic type, remember? I can feel your intentions, I just wanted to know if you would tell me. And even if I hadn't, it's written all over your face, I've seen that weird shine that appeared in your eyes when you mentioned her so many times before."

The Charmander was stuck with the bewilderment and the shame for a moment, "... OK, so I do like her, but I'm not doing it just to impress her. I really want to know what is out there, and learning where to get Oran berries is just a the first step to do so."

"Well, if it helps on anything, help yourself," the Espeon chuckled as his eyes began to glow and the branches of the bush behind him moved apart, revealing several dwarf trees brimming with small, blue, round fruits.

Charmin was left stumped by this finding. He knew what the Oran Berries he was looking for looked like, but he hadn't really given much thought of where exactly he was going to find them. Being honest, part of him was just thinking he would find them "on the woods", probably just lying around in the floor or something. Without a word he drew closer to the trees and examined them curiously for a moment.

The Espeon was grinning madly, holding back the laughter. This boy was obviously too young and still completely clueless about many things, "So, why exactly do you need those again?"

"I need a few of these for Ivy," he grunted as he reached out a claw for a low-hanging berry, one that was clearly out of his reach. Seeing that this wasn't working he reached for a low branch and began to climb, "This way I'll prove her I was actually out here."

The Espeon just watched amused how the Charmander struggled to lift himself up. Then how, when finally managed to do so, he reached for another branch and hanged to it, one that gave in to his weight at the moment. Along with the branch fell the Charmander, face-full, to the floor. Luckily, the branch had four ripe (If anything a bit green) Oran Berries hanging from it.

"Just how many did you need?" the Psychic type chuckled loudly.

Charmin slowly got back to his feet. "Uh, I think those will do. Not doing that again," he grunted in pain.

"Well what can I say? I like your style, but you do know all you had to do was to shake the stump a bit to get those, right?" the Espeon pointed out casually.

"Really?!"

The Espeon shrunk shoulders, "What's the big deal? Now you can tell her about your heroic antics of how you valiantly climbed to get those berries just for her. She might laugh at you, but trust me when I say this, she's gonna be flattered."

The Charmander just turned away, trying to hide his blushing face, "... Really? I don't really think it will count, that was the deal. Also, I kinda yelled at her this morning."

"Well, you will at least get on her right side with this, right? But just in case, and for some bonus points, try fetching her some flowers. Might sound stupid and repetitive, but trust me, girls really love that kind of stuff, never fails," the Espeon added, a bit more seriously this time.

Charmin fidgeted with his tail nervously, "But wouldn't that be too obvious?"

The Espeon sighed in frustration, ""But wouldn't that be too obvious?"? You want her or not?"

"I do!" the Charmander answered at once.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" the Espeon asked. He then placed a paw to Charmin's shoulder and looked at him in the eyes, "Look kid, believe it or not I have been where you are. You like her, but feel unsure, hesitant; like either she's so good you're not even gonna get a chance with her or, if you do, you're gonna end up screwing everything up sooner or later. As strange as this may sound, that is a good signal: it means that you truly worry about her."

Charmin was taken back, was he reading his mind? He had never really given it much thought but the same ideas had crossed his mind quite a few times.

"I can assure you your heart is in the right spot, and I don't need my abilities to tell that about you. However, that isn't always enough. In truth, whether you get her heart or not depends on a lot of things, but the most important one is how you play out your cards," the Espeon resumed after a while. "Now I won't tell you how to do that; that works different for everyone. Don't worry though, you've got some attitude, you'll do fine."

Charmin couldn't help but grin confidently at this last remark, "I will try," he nodded at him. True or not he had to admit the Espeon's words had really lifted his spirit. He knew something for certain now: Ivy needed to know what he felt like. "I'll be on my way now. But just wondering, do you know where can I get some flowers?"

"Those things grow pretty much anywhere around here. Just keep going straight and you will eventually find a patch. Oh, and they grow straight on the ground, not on trees in case you were wondering," the Psychic type chuckled as he turned around with obvious signs of leaving.

"OK, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you sir."

"You're gonna go far kid," the Espeon said before keeping his way. He took one last look behind him, the Charmander was already on his own way as well. "Heh, young love," he scoffed before dashing off.

***

The way back to the gym had turned increasingly challenging for Ivy. Almost as if being on the edge of a mental breakdown wasn't bad enough, a huge crowd had gathered in town, by much bigger than usual.

It took her at least twice as much time to reach half of the way, and it was only until then that she realized the reason for this crowd: a circus had arrived in town, people were lining up to get a glimpse of the car cages full of what she recognized as several Sinnoh and Unova Pokemon; a sight uncommon at Kanto. Part of her even wondered what was the point of those cages when it was by far easier to keep them in Pokeballs.

To the Snivy's bad luck, the cages were on her way to the Gym, and the crowds were increasingly wilder the closer to the cages they were, "(Those are the ones who should be in cages)," Ivy thought as she rolled her eyes.

She mentally prepared herself and squeezed through the sea of persons. After what felt like hours despite having been only minutes she was finally at a cage with an angry-looking Luxray on it to which people were keeping their distance from. She scurried under the cart and felt infinitely thankful when she spotted the Gym at the distance, along with a few parked RVs she could only guess were from the circus workers.

Ivy sighed in relief now that the crowd part was over. However, she didn't relax just yet, there was still Charmin's situation to take care of. She pressed on.

As she walked by, she couldn't help but overhear the voice of an old man, "My Arbok! Have you seen my Arbok?! I can't find her anywhere!"

"I think your Arbok was on that cart that fell over right before we arrived here," another man spoke. "Didn't they tell you? Some of the cages were busted in the accident, and a few Pokemon broke free. They already sent some people to go after them, they should be back any time soon. Let's hope they do, otherwise the whole show without the Garchomps is gonna be a total bust."

If Ivy wasn't panicking before this had been the final straw. She felt the air leave her lungs completely. Not only Charmin was out there alone: there were Garchomps, Arboks and who knows what else roaming freely around him.

She pressed on, faster than she knew she could.

***

Charmin found himself wondering how was he even supposed to carry everything he had now. When it was just the berries he could hold them if he put his claws together, but now with the flowers it was hard to do so without everything falling apart.

The Espeon had been right, in less than a few minutes he had come across a patch of white flowers. He wasn't exactly sure of what kind they were, but flowers were flowers after all. He just picked a handful of them, took in a deep breath and felt the essence take over him.

For some reason it made him think of Ivy, wish that she was there to appreciate all of this with him. A warm feeling, though very different from the one of the fire he was so used to, came to him as she came to his mind. Come to think of it, he hadn't really given much thought about the way he felt about her until today.

He could sort those thoughts later, and maybe have her come with him to this place as well too; right now he had to go back.

Or did he? Was there any hurry? Without giving it much thought he popped an Oran Berry to his mouth. It was then that he realized he had just fixed the problem: without that berry his arms could now hold everything as long as he kept the flowers in one hand alone. He made his way back.

The more he walked the way back the more a different kind of joy came to him: He was going to see her.

Suddenly, he heard a loud hiss. The next thing he knew was that he was on the floor, the berries smashed onto the floor, the flowers scattered all around and a huge Arbok right in front of him.

Furious by having been sneaked on, the Charmander's tail began to burn brighter as he fired an Ember at the Arbok's head. The Arbok hissed in pain before whipping its tail violently against him, making him lose his ground again.

Charmin stood back up, glaring at his enemy furiously once again. He fired another Ember at it, but the Arbok was prepared this time and dodged it with relative ease. Noticing this he drew closer to it, held out its claws for a Scratch.

However, the Arbok's tail reached for his arm before he could do anything, "Please, can't we do this the easy way?" she spoke with a female voice.

"And what exactly is the easy way?!" Charmin snapped at her as he broke free from her tail.

The Arbok sighed out, "Look, I don't like this much by much more than you do, but it's the way things work around here. I'm starving and to put it simply is either me or you, and I'd honestly prefer it to be you if you ask me," she said with a voice that somehow didn't reflect the regret of her words before wrapping her tail around him.

Charmin felt the tail's grip becoming tighter and tighter around his neck, gradually making it more difficult to breath. As this happened anger was slowly replaced by frustration, then fear, then all the way to complete despair. He tried calling for help, but not a single whisper came out of his mouth. All that he could was to watch as his world blurred and the pair of fangs drew closer and closer to him.

Suddenly, the Arbok hissed in pain: the Charmander, on his dying breath, had sunk his teeth on her tail. Her grip on him loosened at the moment, just long enough for Charmin to squeeze out and slowly drag himself through the ground.

The Arbok finally recovered herself, "Fine, if that's how you wanna play, so be it," she hissed before firing a Toxic point-blank at him.

The venom flew right over his head, missing him by less than an inch. As the Poison Stings came his way he knew he wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time. At least half a dozen needles managed to get stuck on his left arm. Not before long he began to feel the poison taking effect as he began to feel weaker.

How was he supposed to overpower an Arbok when he was clearly weaker? Then again, how was he supposed to know they roamed the area?

The snake drew closer, apparently taking its time to let the poison do its part, or perhaps the fear? Either case it was working.

The Charmander curled up and shut close his eyes, trembling in both cold and horror as he realized it would all be over as soon as the fangs closed on him.

Only they never came. Instead, he heard the Arbok hiss and trash in pain. He looked up and saw a very familiar Snivy had sneak behind the Arbok and was hitting hard at her, not giving the Arbok a chance to strike back.

However, it was only a matter of time until the Arbok twisted around and hurled herself at her. The Snivy barely dodged the fangs in time and used her Vine Whip at her. To her bad luck the Arbok, in one swift motion, moved out of the way and reached her tail for her, wrapping the Snivy tightly in her rings.

Ivy tried to break free, but the grip on her was too strong. Charmin then saw her turn over to him, "What... Are you... doing? Help me... You fool," she wheezed out weakly as the grip around her became tighter.

Charmin stood up at once, still half-numb by the poison, and fired an Ember at the Arbok. The Poison type couldn't move in time and the flames flew straight to her head. For a moment she lost her grip on Ivy, which proved out to be long enough for her to cast a Leaf Storm, making her squirm in pain as the leaves cut her skin and completely let go of the Snivy.

The snake hissed at them furiously as both Pokemon stepped closer to each other and stood up to her. She was clearly outnumbered, but not outmatched. In a stealthy move she filled her mouth with venom and spat it at them in a wide angle. The Toxic goo-like poison splashed the already-poisoned Charmander and covered the Snivy from head to toes, burning her skin as it seeped in through it, which became noticeable in her cries of pain.

"Ivy!" Charmin reached out to her, but in that split second he did the Arbok whipped her tail at him, knocking him against a nearby tree.

The Arbok then slithered closer to her, "My, my, just what are you? I don't think I have ever seen your kind. Well, judging by the way the poison is acting on you I can tell you're a grass type."

Ivy looked up and stared at her defiantly, but soon realized her mistake. The Arbok's eyes were glowing a mysterious color she couldn't exactly tell, since as soon as she did her body stopped responding to her.

"Don't move, I'll come back to you after I'm done with your friend here," the Arbok said calmly as she slowly dragged herself to the Charmander.

"C-Charmin... R-Run," Ivy managed to word out as she saw the Arbok getting closer to him.

Charmin, however, couldn't do so. Unlike his friend, the Arbok hadn't use Glare to paralyze him. Yet, his body didn't respond to him. He just lay there, trembling in fear beyond control as the Arbok slowly coiled around him and the fangs came closer.

Suddenly, the Arbok's head jerked violently. Charmin then caught the glimpse of a fade purple glow on her. The grip on him released at once as the Arbok hissed furiously and lunged it's head at him, only to clasp her jaws at the air, missing him by a few inches over and over again.

Charmin looked around, confused, until he noticed what looked like a Hypno on top of a branch of a tree, deep in concentration. Before he could tell several Machop came from the same direction, shortly followed by a few trainers. Out of them, he recognized one at the moment.

Erin's eyes were nearly tearful, but as soon as they met with his he saw the relief come to her face.

Charmin, on the other hand, trembled as he realized it was indeed her. This Arbok was dangerous, it had almost taken Ivy from him. It couldn't take Erin too, it simply couldn't be. He stood up as he could and prepared to get rid of this Arbok once and for all. Only he was a bit too late.

Four Machop surrounded the confused Arbok and pinned her down to the ground. Then, the Hypno came down and stood face-to-face with her, his eyes glowing. The Arbok stopped squirming at once and fell to a deep slumber before one of the men brought a cage.

He sighed out in relief, but didn't relax just yet. He was fine, Erin was fine. Ivy, however, was still in danger.

Before Erin could do anything she saw her Charmander run over (Limp actually) to her Snivy. "Char! Char!!!" Charmin cried desperately as he shook her repeatedly, causing the liquid Toxic remains on her to fall off, splashing  some on him in the process.

Erin gasped as she noticed Ivy wasn't moving at all. Fearing the worst she ran up to her and knelt down to her level. The moment she noticed her eyes slowly look up to her she felt a wave of relief come to her chest: she was alive, even if barely.

"Char..." the Charmander wept and looked at her, his eyes begging her to do something.

Erin placed a hand to his head, "Don't worry, she's going to be fine," she said as calm as she could, reaching over her bag. She nervously rummaged through its contents until she reached for a small, rectangular spray bottle at the bottom.

Full Restore was luxury medicine not too many beginning trainers could afford. When her grandmother had given her one when her journey started she had thought it excessive. She was planning on getting it into Item Storage as soon as she reached the next town, but forgot to do so. Right now she was thankful she hadn't.

The medicine acted even faster than she could have expected it. Ivy was completely back to life in just a few seconds, much to Ivy's shock.

The Charmander, on the other hand, allowed himself to collapse as soon as he realized Ivy was alright and Erin had found him.

"Charmin!" Erin cried, frightened, as she reached out a hand for him, pulling him close before he hit the floor. It was then that she noticed the stingers on his left arm. "No..." she gasped on the verge of tears. Not only the poison could have affected him more than Ivy given his younger age, he had been fighting that Arbok for longer than she had, giving the poison more time to act.

As soon as she heard him moan, however, she sighed out in relief. The Charmander was just asleep, probably passed out, overwhelmed by everything that had happened that day.

She reached for her backpack and took out some tweezers as well as a medicine bottle. She pulled out the stingers before spraying Charmin with the Antidote, just to be on the safe side. She then pulled out a Pokeball and returned him.

"Well done Ivy. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't gone ahead," Erin patted the Snivy's head.

Knowing her master wouldn't understand her she limited to smile back at her. Deep down she didn't want to think about it either.

As they saw the Machop crew carry away the Arbok's cage (Making both Ivy and Erin wonder why didn't they just use a Pokeball) they realized they should probably get going as well.

As they walked, Ivy felt something on her feet, not as goo-like as the Toxic, but still slimy. Grossed out, she looked down and noticed she had stepped on something blue. On a second look, she noticed there were blue Berries all around. "(Would you look at that? Charmin actually made it)," thought Ivy, amused.

It was then that she noticed something else: scattered around, along with the Oran Berries, were several white daisies.

As she realized what was happening she felt an unfamiliar, warm sensation on her chest; yet at the same time a bit of guilt. She had honestly suspected it from the Charmander, but she never thought he would actually go out of his way to do something for her.

She was touched by the gesture, but it also made her feel horrible. Sooner or later Charmin would come and say it straight to her. To his bad luck, as nice as he was she couldn't say the feeling was mutual.

A tear almost escaped her eye, she was eventually going to hurt the one she had so much wanted to protect.