In spite of her wounded pride, Kiara relaxed in her former opponent’s embrace as he carried her, as he reminded her of how her father used to carry her around when she was a little girl, with her stubby tail hanging over his one of his arms, her own little arms clasped around his neck, and her fat little cheek pressed against the Houndoom’s beard. The human’s touch was cool and comforting, and she wanted so much to wrap her arms around his neck and embrace him like she did with her father. Her hot and passionate fire-type nature made the urge even stronger. Only the Aron’s presence kept her from doing so. With her dark-type nature, she had learned to read people’s emotions (not empathically like a psychic-type, but through subtle hints like body language, tone of voice, and even even specific word choices when they spoke). More importantly, she had learned to exploit those emotions, and she could pick up on the Aron’s attitude towards her. In different circumstances, she might have done it just to piss her off, but the Aron had just knocked her out with a single hit, and she had enough sense to not provoke her any further.<br/><br/>When they reached the inn and she heard some of the words exchanged, she finally understood the situation. The man was described as a ‘commoner among the nobles’. That explained why he didn’t have much money as well as why he and the Aron were so different from other festival trainer and guardian pairs she had so easily defeated in past years. Clearly he was the real deal and not some pretentious rich snob. She had to assume the Aron sensed that as well and chose him as her trainer for that reason. She wasn’t surprised when the Aron spoke up to defend him. That was also the first time she heard the man’s name.<br/><br/>What did surprise her was that Thomas didn’t hand her over to the police. Instead, he requested she be healed. He even pretended she was his guardian so the healing wouldn't cost anything. She was glad to know he was at least capable of guile. She didn’t want Thomas to leave her, but she didn’t protest when he passed her over to the Chansey who took her to the healing station. The first thing she noticed was that it was more modern than the ones Nightfire had, not to mention cleaner, or more like uncomfortably cold and sterile. But she couldn’t complain as it quickly restored her strength and energy, straightened out her twisted ankles, and relieved some of the soreness in her feet and legs. She would be able to walk again when the treatment was finished.<br/><br/>It was then that she noticed that her phone was completely smashed, most likely from the earthquake. That was probably a good thing as it was provided by Nightfire, and she had no doubt that they had been using it to track her. If she had thought of it, she would have dropped it at the scene, but it was too late for that. Still, if she left it somewhere for Nightfire to find it, she might be able to throw them off of her trail. She returned it to her pocket and made a mental note to run her thoughts by Thomas when her treatment was finished, as she assumed she was staying with him since he didn’t turn her in to the cops. Of course, that meant she would have to make peace with the Aron, and she suspected winning her over would be difficult. And if Dendra stayed with him as well? She would have to cross that bridge when she got there.