The waves crashing against the sides of the ship were audible even while lying on top. As the boy folded his hands behind his head he gazed up at the stars, admiring and tracing out pictures in his mind of what they could be. There was one cluster that looked a bit like a seadra, one long trail that might have been a dragonair, even a little mareep beneath the moon. The ship rocked slightly beneath him, enough to throw his eyes down toward the horizon. Still nothing but water. It had been that way for a full day now, but it shouldn't have been too much longer until Johto came into sight. And then another day before they arrived at Kanto. Not too long, then.
He sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched the slow roll of the water. It was almost as absorbing as star gazing, because no two waves were ever the same. Every now and then he would imagine he saw a pokemon poking its head into the night air, but he could never be sure he had actually seen them, or just mistook the playful water for one. It was hard to tell sometimes.
Glancing along the ship he was atop, he noticed people walking along the upper deck. It looked like a little girl and her father, holding hands as they walked what he deemed was a safe distance from the railings. He could hear her little squeals of excitement as she danced around, playing with a pokemon he had just noticed was there. Walking in between them was a minun, tiny by even minun standards. It scurried around their feet, occasionally jumping and climbing to the girl's shoulder to look around, only to get bored and jump down again, running around. The girl laughed as she tried to pet it, only for it to dash away again. The boy smiled, looking down at his own waist where a sole pokeball sat, hooked onto his belt. He tapped the small button while looking back up at the little family, who were almost out of sight. The minun had settled on top of the man's head, spinning around frantically as it took in the view from the hair of a giant. As they rounded the corner on the front of the ship, a familiar cry resounded out from his right.
He smiled as his snorunt nuzzled up against his leg, its short arms just barely able to reach outside of its self-made cloak. He brought a hand to its back, rubbing it happily. "How are you doing Berri?" the boy asked, folding his legs and propping the pokemon up on his knee.
"Sno-Snorunt!" it said happily, bouncing on the boy's lap.
"You wanna star-gaze with me?" he asked, gesturing above him.
"Sno-Sno-Snorunt!" Berri exclaimed, tilting backwards to look up at the sky. Almost immediately it started to tip over, off of the boy's lap and down what would very likely a painful tumble down to the upper deck.
The boy simply grinned and snatched Berri up before it could hit the ship, setting him back gently on his knee. "Now, what happened the last time you did that?"
"Sno…runt?" the pokemon guessed, shaking back and forth relatively quickly.
"No, you didn't just look up at the stars." The boy smirked, propping his elbow up on his free knee and resting his chin on it. "And you didn't stop your fall either."
"Sno…" the pokemon muttered, looking rather annoyed that the boy brought up the incident again.
He laughed. "Right. So allow me," he said, picking Berri up and turning him, laying him back down in his lap. He rubbed his knuckles against the cloak affectionately, amused that Berri was grumbling to himself. "Oh, come off it. It was funny!"
Berri didn't agree. Moments later he felt his pelvic area growing very, very cold. He shrugged, used to it by now, lying back down and smiling all the while. It was always better to imagine with company. "Don't you think that one looks like Rayquaza?"
After several minutes of bickering over which star patterns look like which pokemon, the two fell silent, enjoying the view even more so with the presence of their closest friend.
The boy's eyes shot downward. "What was that?"
"Snorunt?" Berri asked innocently, still looking at the sky.
"Was that your stomach?" the boy asked, getting no response from the pokemon. He picked him up gently and set him on his feet beside him. "Why didn't you just say so?"
"Sno-snorunt…" Berri said, looking rather cross with himself for letting his stomach growl.
The boy grinned, stretching as he prepared to get up. "You know I don't mind. Now, do you want some ice or not?"
Berri bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before nodding. "Snorunt…"
"Well said," the boy assured him, teasingly patting the top of the pokemon's cloak. He snatched his pokeball off of his belt, tossing it into the air. "Alright, I'll only be ten minutes or so."
Berri sighed resignedly and nodded, letting the pokeball turn him into energy as it opened, sucking him inside. The boy strapped the ball back onto his belt, turning left and right before standing up.
The top of the ship wasn't much to look at itself. Probably because no one was supposed to be up here. In front of him was a slight incline leading to a drop off just above the upper deck where he had seen the small family. Behind him was a relatively flat surface with a slightly rectangular indentation in the middle for whatever reason. He still hadn't figured out why it was there, but it provided a nice reassurance that he wouldn't roll off the ship while he was sleeping.
He started treading down the incline, careful to let his feet fall lightly in case someone underneath began investigating. He reached the drop off rather quickly, looking around to make sure no one was around. Guessing from the position of the moon, it was late enough that he shouldn't have to deal with many people wandering around. But there was always a chance.
He grabbed onto the ledge, jumping sideways off of the ledge and swinging down. Even hanging from the ledge, the ground was still several feet below him. He dropped, landing with a little more noise than he would have liked, which meant more than nothing. He shrugged, peering into the circular window to make sure no one was in the room he had just appeared in front of. As usual, there was no one. He had guessed it was just an unused suite, but again, he could never be sure. He just took it as a stroke of luck and stopped thinking about it.
To his left was the pathway that led around the bow of the ship, where the father and child had gone. To his right was the pathway back under the roof, where a miniature resort-like area had been made. A pool, hot tub, game tables, reclining chairs, the works. He had seen it a few times, but not only did it not hold too much appeal for him, it usually had some people in it. Even this late at night. So he just took the usual route. He headed toward the railing of the ship and peered over its edge.
There was one window swung open, but nowhere near where he needed to go. He could hear faint music coming from it, and maybe a voice or two. He listened for a moment before remembering why he had climbed down there in the first place. He hopped over the railing, using his torn shoes to an advantage as his toes gripped the edges of the windows. His hands found slight juts along with the edges of the windows, and he began making his way down the side of the ship. He edged around the open windows, going faster than what was safe due to wanting to get back on the roof. The stars seemed especially appealing tonight.
Six windows down, four to the right. He thought as he scaled the seemingly flat surface. Anything was climbable with enough effort and practice. He peered through another window and, satisfied that no one would see him, climbed further down. As he started to move horizontally, he felt a snag. He hesitated, knowing that a person couldn't have been that silent, looking behind him to see what had caused the jerk.
He rolled his eyes as he saw his bag caught on a small pipe, as it did every single time he made this trip. Honestly, you'd think I'd be used to that by now. He let go of the ship with his left hand for a moment, flicking at the bag to unhook it. It fell down to his back, the strap hanging comfortably around his shoulder once more. So comfortably, in fact, that he had once again forgotten he had a bag by the time he reached the right window.
He peered against the glass, looking into the hallway he had arrived at. Looking left and right, he saw no one. Thankful he didn't have to hang in waiting, he let go with his right hand, digging into the metal rim and pulling lightly. As always, it gave to the pressure, opening up and greeting him to a blast of cool air; cool only relative to the somewhat tropical weather outside. Poking his head in, he looked left and right once more, listening for any carpet-muffled footsteps of some night owl wanting some ice. When he didn't hear any, he placed both hands on the inside of the window, pulling himself through so easily he didn't even touch the sides of the window.
He landed satisfactorily on the inside, standing up. Turning around, he saw what he had come for; the ice machine. As he reached into his back, he thought of for what must have been the seventh time how strange it was that an ice machine would line the halls. With as fancy of a ship as the S.S. Tidal, one would think that they'd have ice makers in every room, along with a mini-fridge and widescreen TV. His stomach cringed at the bubbled thought of a mini-fridge, but he cheerfully ignored it as always, much to its dismay.
He pulled out a ragged wallet, what once had been nice-looking leather. He opened it up, finding nothing but a few crinkled pokedollars. Not expecting anything else, he plucked one of the bills out of the wallet, smoothing it out and inserting it into the machine. He tossed his wallet back into his bag, smiling as he heard the lock on the glass door come undone. He opened it up, plucking one of the many bags of ice from its contents. He wondered about taking two, but he figured he wouldn't have enough money for that. He still needed it for another day and a half, and he didn't want to spoil Berri either. He could never finish an entire bag anyways.
Closing the machine's door, the lock slid back into place as he opened his bag, setting down the ice in its second pouch. Having only two pouches, this made the bag very full. He slung it around his shoulder again, only just noticing it now. Looking around, he nodded with satisfaction before his eyes landed on the mirror at the end of the hall.
Another strange choice of furniture, but he wasn't one to complain. It let him make sure his clothes hadn't completely fallen apart yet. His shirt was actually holding together quite nicely, a light blue tee with a design of a skeletal tree on the front, shaded by white lines. It only looked a little less for wear. His darker blue jeans looked more like the kind they sold in stores, with various tears and worn spots covering them. They fit him well though, and had been worn in enough to manage almost full maneuverability. His belt was probably the nicest piece of clothing he wore, black leather with the classic addition of pokeballs on the right side.
His shoes and gloves, however, were pretty miserable looking. Likely due to his habit (and necessity) of climbing, the fingers of his white gloves and ends of his grey shoes had been reduced to shreds. Not that he minded, his toes were much better suited for climbing than the ends of his shoes. Though he supposed he would need to get some new clothes later. His hair, if anything, was a compliment to said gloves and shoes. Matted and greasy-looking, even from this distance, made him wish more than anything he could take a shower. All in due time.
Footsteps resounded in his sensitive ears. He whirled toward the window, not bothering to check where the sounds were coming from. He leapt toward it, crouching into it and turning around, his hands and feet naturally finding ledges to latch onto as he closed the window as quietly as he could, wincing at every creak it made. Closing it, he quickly moved out of sight, holding his breath as if it would make him invisible.
When no sounds of alarm or panic met his ears, he let go of the air trapped inside his lungs. Peering through the window, he smiled as he saw the same man and child as before, the minun curled up in the girl's arms, fast asleep. He left quickly, knowing he could always see them again as the ship disembarked. Or not.
He made his way back up the ship, slightly slower than before due to the weight in his pack. He took a little more care not to be seen through the windows, having been reminded what he currently looked like thanks to the mirror. He wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of being seen so low, even if it didn't bother him personally.
In what seemed like no time at all, he was back at the railing. He wondered briefly if it was a bad thing he often didn't remember how he climbed or which path he took. He shrugged, figuring it'd only come back to bite him if he tried to teach someone. Which wasn't likely.
He quickly scanned the upper deck and, seeing no one, pulled himself up and over the edge. His bag nearly flung itself off of him thanks to its extra weight, but he adjusted to it, barely noticing. He glanced at the window he had marked in his mental map, seeing no one in it still. Not very remarkable, only a few minutes later, but still. He took a running start, dashing a step or two on the wall to grab the edge of the roof. He swung his other hand up, feeling his fingers slip a bit. He pulled himself up, panting only slightly as he stood.
He walked slowly back to his self-proclaimed viewing spot, once again making sure not to let his feet land too heavily. Setting himself back down, he pulled his bag to the side, pulling the ice out of it. He took his hands and placed them on either side of it, pounding it several times to break the cubes into more workable pieces. Once he was satisfied with the crunched ice, he poked his pokeball again, setting the ice down as Berri popped out. "How long was it?"
"Sno-snorunt, sno!" Berri said, entire body shaking as snorunts are prone to do.
The boy shrugged. "Well, it doesn't pay to rush. Eat up!" He tore open a hole in the top of the bag, pushing it towards Berri. The pokemon smiled as he dove toward the ice, munching on it happily.
The boy looked back toward the sky, noting the moon. "Eh, it only took about twenty minutes."
"SNmpph," Berri said through a mouthful of snow.
"You know better than that…" the boy scolded, lightly flicking the snorunt on the head. Berri grumbled as he continued eating, not deeming talking worth the time.
The boy looked up once more. He sighed, leaning back and supporting himself on his arms. "You know, I still think the one looks like a sudowoodo…"