New Wings

Chapter I

A dark shape cut through the skies of Janera, its leathery wings billowing in the updrafts that spiralled up from the seaside metropolis below. The bat-like wings, originally intended to be made out of tough but malleable Frostphant hide, consisted of a black man-made material stretched between long aluminium shafts that vibrated slightly under the strain of supporting the weight of a thirteen year old girl. Her mouth twisted into a confident grin as Sid Waverly rode the winds, dark blond hair whipping around her head as her hazel eyes took in the bird's eye view of her hometown, Hydrin City.

The spires and spikes of skyscrapers, museums and office blocks that characterised the busy city's skyline looked much less fierce from up here, where the reflection of the sunlight across the water made the scene even more picturesque. The chaotic sounds of city life were little more than a moaning whisper that floated up to her, a constant lull that helped her to think things over.

'Zubat gliding', as the participants had fondly nicknamed it, was Sid's favourite thing to do. That was why she was up here now; enjoying the height and the feeling of peace for what would be the last time for months, maybe even years.

She was leaving tomorrow.

Sid was, of course, looking forward to her journey. She adored the idea of training Pokémon; hell, surrounded by League advertisements on billboards, battles on television and articles in newspapers and magazines how could she not? But there was still that one part of her that was going to miss what had been ordinary life for the last thirteen years. School, gliding, snorkelling, those long, meaningful talks with her parents, long lie-ins on Sunday mornings… those things had featured throughout her life and now she was about to leave them all behind. For something that would, in all likelihood, be fantastic, of course, but who could avoid the odd regret? Not her.

Pulling on her left wing harder than the right, Sid felt the shudder of descent run through the gliding structures and across the belts and ties that held her tightly in place as she dipped into the wide, counter clockwise spiral that would eventually land her on the large stretch of turf that lay just outside of the central business district. She had already been up for more than an hour, and the straps that encircled the tops of her thighs were beginning to chafe the skin under the black jean of her lopsided shorts. The rumble of automobiles and bleeps of pedestrian crossings increased in volume as she lost altitude and found herself surrounded by towering buildings and huge signs, their lights turned off for the daytime. She couldn't help but peer into the windows of office infrastructures, watching the businesspeople pour over computer monitors and scribble notes onto sheets of lined paper mere meters from the tips of her outstretched wings. Occasionally one would look up and catch sigh of her, expressions of recognition passing over the faces of quite a few - Sid was a regular flier near these buildings. Not for much longer, though.

Landing seemed to happen in a flash - sometimes decent could take for what seemed like hours - and Sid found her instructor helping her to undo buckles and loosen straps before she was really aware that her final flight was over. Sam was muttering words of praise to her as he worked, the thinning fringe of light brown hair that he painstakingly brushed over his receding hairline flopping back into its natural position as he bent down to remove his student's wings.

"That was a good flight," he told her finally, the light gliding structure held in his brown gloved hands as he gave the girl a congratulating smile, "A grand finale, hmm?"

Offering him a regretful smile Sid shrugged, "I guess."

As they began the short walk over to the squat building that housed administration and storage he continued, "Took a bit longer than you meant to though, eh? Your plane leaves at 17.00 sharp and it's quarter to already!" he shook his head, "I told you to take a radio up, but did you listen…?"

The overall clad man trailed off and rolled his eyes as his student gave a horrified yelp and sped away without even saying goodbye, barely even remembering to give one final wave before she disappeared out the gate at full speed.

"Kids these days," he chuckled, glancing at the hands of his watch which were currently pointing out that it was, in fact, four o'clock in the afternoon, "Believe anything ya tell 'em…"

Sid sighed as she collapsed into her seat, having left an amused stewardess to place her luggage into the overhead compartment after the battle with space, weight and height had defeated the thirteen year old. She tried not to glower too much, turning her attention to the terminal window through which her parents were waving frantically. Her father, a tall, frail man with clipped black hair and a tendency to worry a lot, had his video camera clamped to one eye and was filming what would probably turn out to be a very wobbly reel of the side of a grubby city hopper, considering the fact that the zoom on the camera had long since been broken and the way its holder lurched with every over-enthusiastic wave of his hand and arm. Beside him Sid's mother, a dumpy woman with straw blond hair pulled in pigtails over her shoulders, seemed to be trying to yell something to her only daughter through the twin layers of glass, although it was nothing the embarrassed girl could decipher.

'Parents,' she thought, pulling the black material of her tank top down far enough to cover her belly button before offering a sheepish wave in return.

Her hands looked different, shoved into a new pair of fingerless gloves that weren't ripped, frayed or torn, and reminded her once again of all the things she was leaving behind. To her chagrin, she felt a soppy lump build up in her throat.

'No way! I'm so not going to cry!' she ordered herself, crossed her arms determinedly over her chest as the plane started to move away from the terminal and trundle towards the runway.

Quite used to being totally sure of herself, this sudden burst of emotional poppycock made Sid's innards twist in mortification. Especially considering that the grey-haired man sitting beside her was giving her a look of sympathy. Producing a white silk handkerchief from the pocket of his pressed black Armani suit, the man offered it to her kindly.

"There now," he comforted, reading her emotions as though she scrawled them across her forehead in bright red felt tip, "We all have to leave sometime, so you might as well get it out of your system."

Sid eyed the material sideways, suddenly feeling shy in the face of this rich man's sympathy. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she shook her head and murmured, "I'm alright, thanks" before pulling out a magazine from the seat pocket in front of her and making a great show of being spell bound by an article on foreign cheeses. People of her own age she could deal with. Posh men in business suits? Not likely.

The rest of the flight dragged on for what felt like days but turned out to be only two hours. Sid almost jumped for joy when the wheels of the big jet bumped down the scarily short runway of Quickwater Town's so-called airport. Waiting for everyone to get off so she could flag down a flight attendant to help her get her bag back was humiliating but thankfully brief, and the small trip through customs and baggage claim took no time at all thanks to the size of the place. Shunted onto a coach and squished into a window seat, all thoughts of home were momentarily forgotten as she pressed her face to the window and watched the scenery flash by.

Janera was a flat region for the most part, so long as the Carthan Mountains to the west were ignored, and was known for its system of canals. She'd caught a glimpse of the western branch as they were landing, but now they were driving south away from the man made rivers and towards Beechgrove Forest and the lower end of the mountains. She could just make out the dim shadows of their upper peaks on the horizon if she squinted, but for now her eyes searched hungrily for a glimpse of the local Pokémon that were occasionally visible in vegetation they passed. Rattata, small creatures with rounded eyes, large incisors, a long, curled tail and a purple and tan coat, and Omela, small mammals with coats dappled in different shades of brown, large dark eyes and swivelling ears, were the most common, although different sorts of birds wheeled in the sky just out of identification range. Sid had to concentrate to stop herself drooling at the sight: soon she would be out here, catching some of these Pokémon to come with her, training them to help her win the League…

Her Pokémon watching was disturbed as they rushed past Brawbell, an old mining settlement surrounded by a huge natural wall of brambles and other sharp plants. Twisting and turning, their gnarled stems matted together to create an almost impregnable fortress that Sid knew she would have to get through if she wanted to get the first badge in the Janera League - the swarm badge. She frowned as the coach stopped outside the wall; apparently there really was no other way of getting through than on your own two legs. She had heard that no vehicle could get in, but she had hoped…

They did not stop for any real length of time, just long enough to let about twenty people off the coach, leaving it almost entirely empty, and to let on a nervous boy who looked a little younger than Sid. His dusty brown hair hung down into his pale grey eyes as clumpy spikes that he brushed at self-consciously with a long fingered hand, peering around the empty seats for a good spot as he shifted his bag on his shoulder. Dressed in plain jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt with bands of black around the cuffs and stripes up the front, he sat down quickly when he realised Sid was watching him and lowered his backpack onto the seat beside him before producing a thin book from one of the pockets and starting to read.

The girl continued to watch the back of his head for a few seconds, wondering if he was another new trainer, before shrugging and going back to Pokéwatching out the window. Darkness was beginning to set in, however, and the lights inside the coach meant that all she could make out was her own reflection; her side swept fringe and short blond hair framing a moderately tanned face that was beginning to show the effects of a few hours' travelling. Sighing, she sat back and turned her attention to studying the carpeted ceiling as the bus driver began to slow down to night speed.

The ceiling was not interesting. Neither were the seats, the curtains, the cup holders in the drop-down tables nor the taped up ashtrays. Sid yawned, playing with the piece of black hemp that encircled her neck snugly three times and the small circular charm of obsidian that hung from it. How she despised sitting about like this…

"Hey," she finally called to the boy who had got on at Brawbell, "Are you one of the new trainers?"
He jolted, head snapping around to see if someone was talking to him before he caught sight of the slightly crazy looking blond girl who was sitting five rows back. She seemed to be trying to strangle herself with that necklace of hers, although why he had no idea…

"Well?" she prompted, seeing that she had caught his attention, "Are you?"
"Um, what? A trainer? Oh, er, yeah," he muttered stupidly in response, wishing he had better social skills.

Sid grinned, glad that she had found something in common with this kid.

"Fab, me too," she said, "'M Sid, from way up in Hydrin city. You from Brawbell or something?"

He blinked, "Uh, y-yeah," he stuttered, aware that Sid was definitely not a girl's name but not entirely sure of how to raise the subject politely, "My name's Jacob…"

"Cool, cool," she interrupted, "I knew someone called Jacob once; he was a bit of a jerk but the name rocks. How old are you, by the way? I'm thirteen, but you look kinda younger."

Feeling even more uncomfortable at the speed at which Sid was talking, Jacob licked his lips nervously before replying, "I'm eleven."

"Woman's intuition never lies," came the instant response, followed by a momentary pause and then, "So, what type d'ya want? I think fire types are so cool, but Seedane and Drater are neat-o!"

"Well…" the boy glanced down at the page of his book he had opened it to, "Grass types have the disadvantage of being weak to flying type, poison type and fire type, the first two of which are quite common and the latter being a favourite among many trainers. Water are weak to grass and electric which are also both common among trainers, but, like the grass type, are good against rock types that inhabit most caves. Fire types are weak against the incredibly common water type, but are strong against grass, bug and steel types."

Sid stared, incredulous, "You know all that?"

"Er," he chuckled nervously, "No, I just read it from this book… my mum really wants me to do well so she gave me lots of, um, books and stuff to read out of. She says I have to study from my Pokédex every night, too," he added with a nod.

The older child was about to respond, not exactly in the nicest of ways, either, when she found herself cut off by the lurching of the coach to a stop. Whipping around to look out her window, she found herself staring at the yellow squares of light that marked out windows through the night. Before she could even yell out that they were finally here, the doors at the front of the vehicle slid open with a hiss and rush of cold air.

"Oh yeah!" Sid whooped, snatching up her bag and dashing down the aisle and off the coach before anyone else could even stand up.

Once outside she did one quick spin, ecstatic about finally being able to stretch her legs, before coming to a stop and squinting through the darkness. Being a city girl, she wasn't used to this sort of darkness and the atmosphere only added to her excitement. As Sid looked about inquisitively, Jacob stepped off the coach with a little more dignity. He looked about warily, shivering slightly at the temperature difference between out here and in the heated coach, before hiking his bag higher on his back and shuffling over to the other trainer to be.

"Um… Where do you think we're meant to go?" he inquired quietly, afraid that they might have left the bus at the wrong stop and wincing as said transport closed its doors with a swish and started away.

"There's probably a lab around here somewhere," Sid replied, still squinting, "I guess we should try 'n find tha-"

"Ah," a voice interrupted smoothly from nearby, "You must be the last two trainers, hmm?"

Twisting her head in the direction of the voice, Sid discovered that a tall, thin man wearing a knee-length laboratory coat and carrying some sort of clipboard had appeared from somewhere to the left.

"Uh, yeah, that's us," Jacob said hesitantly.

"Good, good, Jacob and Melissa," he said, not noticing the way Sid grimaced at her real name as he ticked something off on his board, "This way, please."

He started past them, long legs carrying him along with a floating sort of grace, and the two newcomers hurried in his wake.

"My name is Professor Dutch," he told them, his voice clipped and businesslike, "And I shall be supplying you with your supplies and Pokémon tomorrow. I expect you at my lab at eight o'clock sharp; I shall not wait if you are late. You will be staying the night with my aunt, Doctor Kalliflar, for the night - she will give you your dinner and breakfast as well as the directions to my lab tomorrow morning."

He stopped outside a plain wooden door, the only visible part of a building hidden by the darkness, and rapped upon it with his knuckles. Only half a second later it swung open, revealing a lean old woman with the same pinched look about her face and wiry black hair threaded with steel grey pulled back into a severe bun.

"The last two, Doctor Kalliflar," the professor told her professionally, before nodding to Sid and Jacob and wheeling off back the way they had come.

Peering over her half-moon glasses, the woman regarded the two dumbstruck children carefully before saying in a way that contradicted her appearance entirely, "Ah, so you're the last two little loves! Well then, come on in, we don't want you catching a cold now do we?"

Raising her eyebrows at Jacob, who looked away submissively, Sid did her best to smile at this strange person as they stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

"Everyone else is here already, so I cooked earlier, I'm afraid," Kalliflar continued, ushering them down the warmly decorated corridor with its dark wooden floors and reddish brown wallpaper.

The blond looked about in amazement as she was hurried past tables covered in various assorted pottery Pokémon, framed photos of different famous professors tacked to the walls and over a number of brightly coloured rugs towards the strong smell of some sort of pastry.

Before they knew it they were in a large kitchen, complete with old fashioned but squeaky clean hob and hood; terracotta tiled floors and a heavily built wooden table sitting squat in the middle of the room. She had been right about the pastry, Sid soon found as the odd doctor reheated the food in the oven before whipping it up onto plates and gesturing that they sit down and eat. It was steak and theakston ale pie, complete with mashed potatoes, assorted vegetables and simmering gravy that steamed on the plate. Just the sight of it reminded the girl - and her suddenly noisy stomach - that she was ravenously hungry so she tucked in straight away.

"Th-thank you," Jacob said gratefully as Kalliflar poured herself a glass of cranberry juice and sat down opposite.

Considering the way his 'companion' was wolfing down her food Jacob wasn't sure if the move was the best the doctor could have made; she was wearing an expensive looking Victorian-style lilac dress with black feathered trim and Jacob seriously doubted that gravy stains would benefit it much. The woman looked perfectly at ease, however, and Sid wasn't splashing that much so he turned his attention back to more important matters such as eating and making polite conversation.

"So, um, how many others are there?" he inquired, picking up his knife in his right hand and the fork in his left before slicing a delicate piece off his pie and carefully inserting it into his mouth.

"Thirteen," she replied, taking a sip of her drink, "Quite a mixed bunch, too. I think you'll make some good friends with them."

The conversation continued along those lines until Sid finally slowed down and came to a stop, full.

"That was really nice," she complimented, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, "Thanks."

Doctor Kalliflar nodded genially, "Here, I'll show you to your room."

Leaving Jacob to finish his dinner, they made their way up two flights of stairs decorated similarly to the main hallway. At the top they hit carpet: this top corridor had cream carpeting and wallpaper, its walls lined with identical white wooden doors. Turning to the left, Kalliflar opened the third door they came to and gestured for Sid to go inside.

Decorated as plainly as the corridor as it came off of, the girl was pleased to find that the room still managed to contain an efficient little heater in the corner and a comfortable looking bed up against the wall.

"This is your room for the night, I'll come and wake you up at half past seven so I suggest you get a good night's sleep, okay?"

Sid nodded as the older woman left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay," she muttered, "sleep it is."

Tomorrow would be a long day, she could just tell.

OMFG! Obsidian still remembers how to write in third person! Though it was kinda hard to do, I tell ya...

((gets pelted with fruit))

Ow, argh! Yes, I know, starting another fic when I can't even update the others regularly might not be the best of ideas, but I can't ignore inspiration. And REFMS isn't going to be this sort of fic forever, so I needed backup and... stuff. O.o;

This isn't my best work, obviously, but it's fun to write. The others still get prioty, of course. Oh, and if you want to see some info on Janera have a look at the third link down on my author's page. That'll eventually feed you through to the site.

Finally, the title isn't permanent 'cause I dislike it intensly. I just happen to suck at titles, is all, so if anyone has a suggestion please do speak up...

Now, before I can say anything else completely stupid,

Obsidian Blade, signing out

Editted 27-2-05: thanks to Keleri for the corrections with the town names etc.