Edit: SufferedEmotionsShipping oneshot for Darkraigirl
Woohoo, this was fun! It ended up different from the original idea I had, but that just means I can save it for another day, heehee.... I hope you like it, DG! ^w^
Edit: I changed the shipping name to its proper and official name. Sorry for any confusion!
As the pink sprite rested in her cavern, there was little she could do but sleep. In a cave so dark and moist it was almost depressing, there was next to nothing that was even interesting to her, and so she let herself fall into that comfortable abyss of darkness and dreams. She didn't expect to actually be disturbed in her slumber, so she let herself go deeper and deeper into sleep, so deep that it was almost as if she wasn't alive. But she was, a dormant superpower isolated in her lake….
Or…was she alone?
As Mesprit floated among the flowers in her everlasting dream-state, she felt an icy chill go down her spine. Whipping around and narrowing her eyes, she spotted a dark cloud sweeping over the sky and sun, and suddenly it grew very, very dark. The plants began to wither, the flowers wilted and the trees rotted and fell right before her very eyes. Metallic creatures savagely tore apart the earth as the fleshy beings she had given emotion to drove them forward, and she gasped and flew away just before a giant scythe split her tails into four pieces.
She had to escape this.
Soaring through the darkening sky, she had to squint so that the ash of the burning vegetation wouldn't blind her as she looked to the stormy horizon. The winds picked up and flung debris at her, and it took all of her willpower (she had some, too) to go on while desperately avoiding flying objects at the same time. She had to find some sort of sanctuary, someplace that she would be safe from all of this sudden destruction.
There! Her eyes spotted a clearing in the dead trees where there was nothing going on, and she dived down like a Pelipper at sea to land there in relief. As soon as she touched down (actually physically touching the ground with her feet), the winds died down and the noises from the machines faded away. She gave a sigh of gratitude and closed her eyes, letting her stomach catch up to her, but was startled when she heard a dark chuckle from behind her.
"Having fun?"
Gulping, she slowly turned around (and she had to, not used to being on her foot) to see who was there – and witnessed a sight that made her shiver.
Head tilted down and arms crossed in amusement, a glowing cyan eye watched her from behind a wall of white hair (fur?) as he chuckled again at her scared face, his mouth hidden behind something that looked like a pair of red jaws. His body flowing down like a ghostly cape and "leaning" against a tree (he was floating like she did), he looked much like some messenger or harbinger of evil sent to destroy her. She had never seen this creature before, but she already had chills from his presence. Who was he? What did he want?
He "stood up straight" and let his arms fall to his side, one eye still visible and glowing and trained on her quivering form, and started to approach her. Unable to move, she only closed her eyes and ducked her head, waiting for him to do something horrible. She was afraid of this creature, someone who looked so terrifying and malicious…she had seen some of the horrible things humans had done, but he made her shake in fear even more than they had ever done.
As the silence lengthened, however, she realized that she was still breathing and fine, she started to grow curious. What was he doing? Wasn't he going to hurt her? She slowly raised her head and cracked an eye open to see him floating not even two feet in front of her, expression hidden behind red and white. He hadn't raised a claw to inflict pain upon her…but, that's what he was here for, right? Now both eyes were wide and open, anxious and waiting for what he would do next. Not a word was said between them.
Finally, after literally minutes of silence, his visible eye closed slightly, and he whispered, "Why are you so afraid?" His voice was raspy with hurt and loneliness, and immediately she felt ashamed and guilty of her actions. She had never met this Pokemon, and already she was cowering! How bad could he be?
"I…." Despite her guilt, she still had a lump of fear in her throat that she couldn't seem to get words past, and eventually she gave up as his eye finally slid closed and he let out a soft sigh.
"I know…I know." He flinched and mumbled, "I look so frightening…." He then turned his back to her. "I was just hoping that, since we've never met…." His sentence was left unfinished, but his meaning was obvious as his shoulders slumped in grief.
She started to reach a paw out to him, to try to tell him she was sorry, but then he was engulfed in tendrils of what seemed to be shadows, sunk into the ground, and disappeared. The sky began to clear up, and her dream-world returned to its normal cheery state as she looked up at the sun, squinting her eyes at the harsh sunlight.
Who…was he?
Still asleep, it was much later (she didn't know exact time, but it was somewhere around three months) when she had her dreams invaded once more. This time, though, a sweet melodious voice began to sing to her, and she followed the sound to find a being floating beside an enormous waterfall. She was sky blue, pink and yellow and shaped like a swan, excluding the feet and having three enormous glittering rose-colored rings instead of wings. Another difference between her and the animal was the two magenta paws she had clasped together politely, as well as her crescent-shaped head.
Mesprit floated before the creature, golden eyes attached to maroon ones, and asked, "Who are you? Was that voice…?"
"Yes," she smiled sweetly, "that was me. My name is Cresselia. I wanted to speak to you, Mesprit."
The sprite's eyes widened in shock. "You know my name?!"
The swan nodded and giggled. "You're one of the great spirits who gave creatures the ability to feel sorrow, pain and joy! Why would I not know your name?"
"Well," she grumbled mostly to herself, "I didn't exactly know I was famous."
Cresselia smiled and nodded. "You're, to be blunt, a legend."
"Alright…." After a moment, she asked quietly, "So, why are you here?"
The smile on her face slowly dropped into a small frown, and she gave a reluctant sigh. "I wanted to talk to you about Darkrai."
"Dark…rai?" She tilted her head to the side in thought. "What's a Darkrai?"
"He's the being that gives nightmares," she explained, "just as I'm the one who gives good dreams. He very rarely does so anymore, but I was shocked to find out that he had entered your dreams, Mesprit."
"…oh." She figured Cresselia was talking about the creature that had entered her dreams a long time ago and left in sadness. "…I think I made him sad."
The swan perked up at the interesting news. "Sad? What makes you think that?"
Mesprit fidgeted where she floated and mumbled, "Well, when he came here, I was sort of scared of him, and he asked me why…and then, he went away." She was a bit nervous about it, hoping that she hadn't angered Cresselia in case she was his sister or something.
"…Hm." She gave a nod of thought, muttering, "That's very interesting…and that's it?" When Mesprit nodded vigorously, she bent her head down to stare at the water that had fallen from the waterfall and settled here to make a sort of pond. After a while of contemplation, she looked back up and asked, "Could you tell me if he enters your dreams again?"
A bit reluctant, she bit her lip and nodded.
Cresselia smiled at her, breathing, "Thank you." She then turned and closed her eyes, glowing a faint pink. "I'll leave you to your dream now."
"But, wait! I want to know –" And then she was gone. Mesprit sighed and dropped the paw she had tried to use to stop the swan, but then stared at it when she remembered how she had raised it to the "Darkrai" creature.
What would she do now?
Much later, she was sitting in the middle of the flowers when the idea hit her. She could visit Darkrai in spirit! Her body may be restricted to the lake in her sleep, but she could let her spirit go and seek him out to apologize. Brimming with energy at the thought of an adventure, she immediately focused her energy onto the task of leaving her body.
Suddenly, she found that she was staring down at herself, and after shivering at the sight of her own body she turned and shot through the walls of the cave and burst out of the lake without a single ripple or splash. Without the senses of touch or smell, it was a surreal experience to be out in the forest, but she ignored the fact as she looked around to figure out where to go.
After days of searching, Mesprit found that she gasped in horror when she finally did find him. "Oh…my…." Her intangible paws flew to her mouth. "D-Darkrai!"
She rushed over to his tattered body, tears brimming in her eyes at the sight of his fallen form. He couldn't be alive, not after Palkia and Dialga's attacks collided into him! But he was surprisingly still breathing as she knelt down beside him, and he actually opened an eye to look at the spirit as he felt tears fall onto his face. He slowly sat up and coughed, "M-Mes…prit…."
"No, lay back d-down." She was trying to help him even though she was only here in spirit, and she told him desperately, "No, just lay down and rest! I-I'll get help!"
His eye closed again in exhaustion. "No…." His claw rose to grab her arm, but it only grabbed air as he whispered, "Don't…leave me…." He sounded so desperate, she had to listen to him, but she needed to get somehow to help him! "I'll…be…fine."
"But…but look at you!" She swallowed the lump in her throat to try to speak calmly, but her voice was still shaky and cracked. "You're all…hurt." She then remembered what she had originally come to do, and she pretended to grasp his still raised arm as she whispered, "I'm sorry…that I made you sad. You…didn't cry…did you?"
He didn't reply, still in horrible shape, and she closed her eyes and wished, Oh, if only I could help him! Please…somebody, save him!
Suddenly, a flash of light engulfed the area, and she had to keep her eyelids shut to avoid being blinded. When it finally dispersed, she peeked out to see Cresselia there before them, and she brightened considerably and begged, "Oh, thank you, thank you! You need to help him, he's –"
"Dying," she interrupted, sending another shiver up Mesprit's spine at the thought of a creature in such a sorry state leaving the living world. As the swan examined the weakened Darkrai, a sudden fear shot through the sprite's mind – what if Cresselia didn't help him because he gave nightmares?
She shivered at the thought of her leaving him to die, and she gave the swan a desperate look. "You'll…help him…right, Cresselia?"
The swan had a look of contemplation, scaring Mesprit for a moment before she was reassured by her saying, "Sitrus berries." She then disappeared for a moment, leaving the two to wait for her as she collected the berries from a nearby Sitrus plant. The sprite sighed in relief before looking down at the phantom who still had his arm stretched out to her, his eye barely open as he stared at the sky above him. Don't worry, she thought to herself, she'll be back. She'll have the berries to give you your strength back.
After a tense wait of mixed anxiety and eagerness, she was calmed by the rustling of the bushes signaling the swan's return and the sight of berries flying in her Psychic hold. The plump yellow berries had red specks on the skin, and she used her beak to cut one open and pour the juices into Darkrai's mouth (which Mesprit was a bit more than surprised he had, considering she hadn't seen it beforehand). After a tense wait, she slowly let him chew on the fruit itself to acquire as much of the healing properties as possible, and he actually looked a bit more complete after doing so a few more times.
The swan, after she had given him the rest of the berries, tentatively said, "…Darkrai?" She seemed to be a bit anxious now that he had his energy back, as if they weren't on good terms.
As the sprite listened curiously for a reply, the phantom slowly looked up and pinned her with a blank stare. When Mesprit flinched, his shoulders sagged once more and he closed his eye, as if taking a deep calming breath to keep from lashing out or sobbing at her response. After a moment of silence, he broke it with a whisper before he disappeared once more in a rush of shadows. Cresselia didn't catch it for she was too focused on defending herself, but the pink sprite had heard it loud and clear since it was directed to her.
He had told her, "Thanks…I forgive you."
She had returned to her body and her sleep after that, content that she had gotten to apologize to him after all. She smiled at the flowers she sat among in her dream-state, reminded of him by the red tulips and white daisies and the dark night sky she was under now. The stars were out in her dream, twinkling so brightly it was as if they were jewels hanging in the sky as she gazed at them. It was such a peaceful night without the moon, darkness washing over everything like a blanket of serenity and slumber. Even though it was a dream, she felt like falling asleep in it.
That all changed, though.
Suddenly, she felt something grab her shoulder, and she screamed before whirling around and shooting a Confusion at whatever was there in self-defense. When she felt it was deflected harmlessly, she squinted her eyes and tried to make out the figure floating in the shadows. It seemed like the stars had dimmed and were trying to make it difficult for her, but after she heard that chuckle she immediately knew who it was.
"Darkrai!"
She surprised him and herself by rushing over to him and wrapping her arms around his thin waist, the only thing that they would be able to get fully around. Safe in the fact that she couldn't steal away his emotions in a dream, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm glad you're okay…."
She could feel his embarrassment and shyness, but he eventually returned the embrace albeit awkwardly as he asked her, "You're really that happy to see me?" When she only nodded, his emotions turned to pleasure and joy at the thought of her enjoying his company. "I'm…thankful."
She let him hold her for a little while longer before letting go and raising herself to be eyelevel with him. "I'm glad you came back." She smiled at him and admitted, "I really wanted to see you again…."
"I did, too!" He seemed amazed that she shared his emotions, and his eyes grew wide in awe at the thought of being missed. He had never had anyone want him to be near them – they were normally either scared or angry whenever he was around. So, this…this was a nice change of pace.
"So," she grabbed his claw and tugged it slightly, "let's go explore!" She wanted to show him around her dream-state, which was a sort of representation of her subconscious. She was sure he'd enjoy it.
"A-alright," he stuttered, letting her drag him around the world she had created in her dreams. He looked around in amazement at the waterfall and rivers and forests and mountains, all intact and beautiful in the velvety darkness of the night. "Wow," he breathed, "this is much better than the island I live on."
"Really?" She turned to him as they rested beneath an oak tree and asked curiously, "Where do you live, exactly?"
And so, they exchanged stories and memories throughout the night, all the while enjoying each other's company and staying close together. Eventually she ended up laying on his lap as he told her legends the humans made of the powerful Pokemon, and when he finally fell quiet she told him, "Humans are so silly and romantic, aren't they?"
He nodded, remaining silent as she stared up at him curiously, but then looked down at her as if he was smiling. She returned the gesture while her face turned red and snuggled into him, and he blushed as well before cradling her in his arms and closing his eyes as well.
"They may be romantic," he mumbled, "but they tell great stories. And one day…we'll make our own story. Together."
Lots of dragon-y love (and cookies!),
~DL ('Dragon Lover')