Posie was mimicking the motions of a pianist and gently rocking her foot as the small ghost only to be pulled back to reality with both the zigzagoon and this stranger approaching her. As if the keys of her imaginary piano were slammed down on, she stiffened up and a crack in her voice wrung out an off key note. The phantump at her feet rose from its sleep to then curl into the safety of Posie's lap, staring intently at the zigzagoon below.

"Ah! No, they were alright. I'm sorry! This little one likes it when I sing her a lullaby..."

It didn't take long for Posie to freeze up and struggle to maintain eye contact, her forcing herself to maintain it only making her become rigid by the second. She ran every possible scenario in her mind until the phantump in her lap gently pulled at the fabric of the lab coat. It sang back the melody as it rocked the stump head back and forth like a child repeating a nursery rhyme. Posie took a breath, and lowered the raised shoulders she kept stiff for several seconds.

"I'm sorry, I don't really talk much and plants aren't very good at conversation..."

She looked like she was shaking when she paused for a brief moment. Posie started tilting her head as her expression relaxed and her eyes started to wander. She stood up straight in a snap when the words in her mind fell into place.

"Your little one was also probably attracted to the singing, my grandmother would use it to put troublesome pokemon and children to sleep on our farm."

"Yes! Though I must say they are a bit eerie. My research is partly on their link to the Gladegloom woods, when i'm not focused on my botany research. I've yet to gather substantial data on phantump, I was actually about to view one of its leaves under a microscope but then it insisted that I brew tea with them instead!"

The spirit carefully lept down from its trainer's lap, circling the zigzagoon and quizzically petting its fur before eventually breaking into happy songs. The phantump was like a child playing with a new friend, singing to the tune of ring around the rosie. Posie smiled and drank more of her coffee as she hummed in tune. The phantump then floated over to the offered cup with a smile. It dipped one of its branches into the water happily drinking, and as it did the leaves on its head turned a vibrant green. With a warm hug, the phantump kept its happy tune.

"She really likes that one in particular. Whenever she wants to play, she always starts singing even when shes all by herself in the rooftop garden. Its actually thanks to her that there is a rooftop garden to begin with, my family seems to have a certain charm with grass types and well, nature always seems to follow us..though my drowsiness is an issue when it comes to gardening."

With that she yawned and slumped over in her seat, softly rocking her head to the melody being sang by the phantump only to spring herself up after a moment of dozing off.

"Right! I'm, Posie. Posie Labranth...the uh, plant scientist. Though not much work gets done on account of me being so sleepy all the time. Would you believe me if night is troublesome for the psyche? I keep imagining ghosts, though I suppose my involvement with researching the paranormal in Gladegloom just makes me have an active imagination."

"Yes! When my grandparents worked the farm they'd be in such perfect harmony with nature that the grass pokemon would happily lend themselves to them. If you treat nature with respect, then it will reward you in the most surprising ways. The leaves from phantump are said to have a healing properties! Though the validity of that claim has yet to be tested, its like a refreshing herbal tea."

Posie gently scooped up the little phantump mischievously tickling the zigzaoon on the floor and cradled it as if it were a child, her body relaxing and uncoiling. She felt more at ease with this person and her reservations started to melt away. A warm smile shone through once the defenses lowered and , despite the dark circles under her eyes, she beamed with a sense of pure joy. A kind and patient woman emerged from the stoic front Posie tended to put up to ward off unnecessary interactions.

"With the pokemon's return the rooftop garden has gotten better as well! Lots of scrappy ones are learning they don't need to fight for food anymore with me taking care of the garden, though that doesnt stop some rowdy types from purposely causing trouble up there. They seem at ease with me up there too, when I go up there at night there's always someone there to greet me. The drifloon even try to lift me up into the air if you can believe that!"

Posie tilted her head in thought as the phantump wiggled free from her cradle in her trainer's arms to inspect Farrah themselves. The pokemon tugged at their pants and mimicked Posie's head tilt, looking up at the musician.

"I haven't come up with a name for her either, its a new experience for me having a pokemon and I want to be sure they have a name that they can both understand and accept. I know what it's like being called the wrong thing, but that name i had pre-transition is lost to time! If you are so fascinated by the Gladegloom then perhaps join me on an expedition? N-not now of course! I've only just moved here and my apartment is still in boxes! Not to force it upon you either!"

Posie's hands moved erratically trying to supplement the words that tumbled out of her mouth.

"It is definitely, not the farm."

Posie sighed and swirled around her coffee, thinking of the words to say while her mind wandered looking into the cup. It took her a few seconds to formulate a reply, and she took a hefty swig of the coffee with a smile

"So much more lively here, instead of hearing the old trees groan now I'm hearing sirens and cars. That's also why I came here, my research will help the region integrate with nature in a non obstructive manner. My studies on the family farm has shown an exponential increase in harvest per season when using sustainable methods, not as much as it was in the almost 9 decades pokemon had vanished from the region but still a significant increa-"

Her mind was on a one-way track as she recited data from her memory. She put so much energy and vigor into her words that she was starting to wilt into her seat, her eyes got heavy, and her words started to lose its punch. The phantump hopped off of Farrah's lap and went to her trainer, gently shaking her shoulder with a look of genuine concern in its haunting eyes.

"Ah! Oh I'm sorry, this little one seems to have grown concerned for me whenever I overexert myself. In fact it was because of her that I was pulled out of the apartment and take a walk in the fog. Ahem, right. You're welcome to stop by the garden, just be wary of any delinquent pokemon up there but I'm sure you will have no trouble with them. I've seem to have become a mother of sorts to the rooftop, a good scolding from me usually gets them in line. Not always though, I don't have the assertiveness of my sister to make everybody listen."

Posie curled up slightly and looked down, letting the words echo in her mind again and slipping into a deeper and deeper introspection the more she let the words echo all the way out her mouth. Like a spring she jumped back up and pressed a knuckle to her mouth.

"Sorry! Echolalia, I tend to repeat things even when its not something I say. I like it here."

She started to look down to the floor with her mouth in her hands as if to catch anything she might say, carefully choosing her words.

Posie gently brushed the zigzagoon's fur with a warm smile. Her body loosened and her mind felt at ease being surrounded by an aura of pure happiness, recharging after a tumultuous past couple hours. Her responsibilities felt much smaller, something she felt in this moment of bliss that she really can handle. She enjoyed this, a genuine interaction with fine folk that she would normally hide away from in her room on the farmhouse. Posie livened back up with a spring in her back and downed the rest of her coffee with incredible vigor.

"Right! I'm going to do well here, the bonds we forge grow into something very special. Grandmother was always pretty superstitious and believed that if you showed good will, then nature would reward you. Though I'm not sure how much validity in in that, her trusting me with this little one was something I'm sure she knew would grow into something special. This too!"

Posie held up the amulet and tilted the opalescent petrified wood in the light to show its glimmer.

"She gave me this too, its as ancient as the Gladegloom for it to have gotten fossilized like this. I still don't understand why she entrusted this family heirloom to me of all people, but as long as I have this then the forest is never too far. Phantump seems to like it too, she'll sometimes swipe it off of me if I set it down."

She gave the phantump a pat on its spectral head as the pokemon happily cheered for joy at the attention. The echoes of a child's laughter reverberated across the cafe and sent a spear of chills down Posie's spine for a moment

"You know, I also have a pretty far fetched idea these last couple of days Could someone like me become a gym leader? On top of my research? I wanted to start a laboratory here but, my ambitions tend to catch me with way too much to carry. Could I really even do something like that while also tending to the flora of the city? I thought scientists were supposed to be doing labwork all day and at first that sounded nice, but phantump challenged my beliefs when she started gardening."

Warmth bubbled up inside of Posie's heart as she felt reassurance from Farrah and the energetic little zigzagoon below her. Her joy radiated back and as she stood up she took Farrah's hands immediately to shake it vigorously.

"Right! Perhaps we can become gym leaders some day together and make our pokemon the best they can be, our hard work inspiring confidence in the region again! I don't even know what type of gym leader I'd be or what i'd do with reigns over my own gym or what it'd even look like."

She stood up with stars in her eyes and an infectious aura that reached her phantump, it twirling around and singing praise. Posie's labcoat twirled around as she stumbled towards the fog outside.

"Grass type gym leader...or perhaps fairy, the fairy types are just as fascinating and their resurgence has been significantly linked to the health of nature and there are many more fairies to be found inside the Gladegloom- Right! We both must explore Gladegloom as soon as possible."

She spun around with a giggle and carefully plucked a few leaves off of phantum's branches, only to then eagerly hand them to Farrah with an electric drive in her step

"You simply must try some of phantump's tea and tell me what you feel, I still need more data on the properties of these leaves and how they have their healing properties. They feel very soothing and goes well with honey, and I wonder if I should start growing my own tea ingredients. Here is my number and feel free to come over to my apartment's rooftop whenever you like to harvest some fresh crops, though mind the drifloon up there lest they carry your little one away. I am inspired!"

With that she took off, only to trip the moment she left the door. The phantump gave Farrah a hug and for a brief moment, the image of a small girl wrapping her arms around them entered theri vision before the apparition turned back into a pokemon. It pushed the door open with its stubby hands and disappeared into the fog alongside of its trainer with its merry tune echoing from the fog.