| abstract | - "Time to get up!" "Ahhhh!" Thump. "Ow..." Alexei Saffron glared at the offender who'd jumped on his bed, knocking him out of it and onto the hard, wooden floor. "Come on, sleepy head!" Ana, aka Anastasia, Alexei's twin, had a wide, happy grin on her face as she looked down at her brother, bouncing on his bed like it was a trampoline and towering over him. If it wasn't for her messy blond hair and PJs, you'd have no clue that she'd just gotten out of bed from her energetic bouncing and excited light-blue eyes. Alexei groaned. "Was that necessary?" he asked, running a hand through his blond hair. "Alex!" his sister said with annoyance, using his nickname. With one final creak of protest from the bed, Ana jumped off, landing with a thump that Alexei was sure even the neighbors could hear. "Today's our tenth birthday!" "Yeah... Ah!" Alex yelped as the realization hit him. I can finally become Alexandra's assistant! When he had asked his aunt before, she said he had to wait till he was old enough to start his Pokémon journey - why, he never learned. Another thing to ask... he thought. Ana, on the other hand, was excited for a different reason. "I can't wait! Pokémon world, here I come!" she yelled gleefully. Oh yeah, her Pokémon journey starts today, Alex remembered. "Come on, let's go!" Anastasia raced toward the door. Before Alexei could even remind her that they should get dressed first, she was gone. Alex sighed, before hearing a series of noises that made him get up and rush out of the room: "Whoa, whoa - ah!" Thump - "Ow," - thunk - "Ow," - thump - "Ow," - thump - "Ow," - thunk - "Ow..." Seeing the spectacle below, Alexei sighed for the second time in under twenty seconds. Anastasia, in her rush to start her Pokémon journey, had lost her balance on the stairs, and was now laying upside-down, with her upper-body on the floor and legs sprawled on the stairs. "Ow..." Ana moaned again. "Serves you right for not being careful," Alex scolded. "Besides, you shouldn't leave the house without getting dressed first." His twin glared at him from her position on the first floor, leaning on her elbows. "You sound like Mom," she grumbled. A chuckle startled both twins as a voice said, "He does, doesn't he? But he is right." Rina Saffron, the twins' mother, had come into the room, and now stood near her daughter. She had the same blond hair the twins did, but her eyes were a darker blue than their's would ever be. "You could have broken your neck, Ana," Rina went on, her expression turning concerned and worried. "You need to be more careful." "Sorry..." Anastasia mumbled as she got up from the floor. Then, she brightened up again. "Come on, Alex! Let's hurry! I don't want to be late!" she yelled, charging up the stairs. Only by flattening himself against the wall did Alexei manage to avoid being knocked over by the bundle of energy that was his sister. "Can we try to not knock me down the stairs?" he yelped. Ana skidded to stop right outside the door, and looked back, puzzled. "Huh?" Clearly, she hadn't understood what he'd said over the thundering of her feet pounding on the floor. Alexei sighed for the third time that morning. "Nevermind." He knew his sister was unlikely to change. Downstairs, unnoticed by the twins, Rina covered her mouth to hide her smile. She knew better than to berate either of them - just like Alexei, she knew the twins were unlikely to change anytime soon. Instead, she said, "Make sure Ana remembers to pack all the necessities, will you, Alex?" "I will, Mom," Alex promised. He'd actually taken it upon himself a long time ago to make sure his twin didn't forget anything whenever they went on a trip - which, more often than not, had saved Ana from leaving an important thing behind. His mother, however, always worried anyway. Then, he turned around and walked back to his and Ana's room to make good on his promise. "Will you be coming with us?" Anastasia asked her mother hopefully. The twins were now ready to go, backpacks over their shoulders, and stood by the door to leave. Rina shook her head. "Nope." Then, seeing her daughter's expression of disappointment, she added, "But I'll be waiting when you come out." That set a smile on Ana's face as she hugged her mom. Then, Ana was out the door, letting it bang against the planking of the house, and rushing down the stairs of the porch. "Pokémon world, here I come!" she shouted for the second time that morning, this time loud enough for anyone within half a mile to hear. "Anastasia!" Rina called in despair from the doorway, as her free-spirited daughter dashed pell-mell down the road towards Professor Yew's home, paying the call no heed. Shaking his head, Alexei turned to give his mother a hug of his own. "I'll be Aunt Alexandra's assistant when I come out," he declared, now knowing that she'd be waiting for them when they left Alexandra's home. Then he was off as well, stepping quickly down the steps and onto the sidewalk. After that, Alex couldn't contain himself any longer, and whooped before dashing after the fast-disappearing form of his sister. Their mother watched them from the porch, a smile on her face, but her eyes holding a mixture of sadness, knowing, and a mischievous glint. Rina had spoken to her sister several days before, and knew something her children did not - the twins were in for a surprise. Rina then realized she should get moving herself, or her children wouldn't find her there when they left. Bang! Anastasia burst into her aunt's house, letting the door bang against the wall. "I'm here!" the excited 10-year-old announced, looking around for Alexa, as the twins called their aunt. Ana had barged into the living room, where a couch sat in front of a TV, and the bottom of a staircase could be seen through the archway to her left. (More TBA)
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