Alamos Town. His home away from home. It was always beautiful; the red shingled houses of the humans, the cypress trees that dotted the streets, the swaths of forestry that inhabited numerous Pokémon, and finally, the grandiose cathedral that overlooked the town, a testament to humanity's capabilities. Even he had to admit the Space-Time Tower, as it was called, was a sight to behold—but that was not his main attraction. In fact, he had his mind set on only one place, fixated in one moment in time; he was resting quietly in the shade, a shadow below the overarching arbor. A Luxray sat close by, a Kirlia and Roserade too—he couldn't remember why they were there, but everything was peaceful. After all, that human who had healed him, the one he could trust, was beside him playing that same tune that calmed even the titans of Time and Space. It was calm, it was tranquil, it was paradise…it was fading.
Darkrai shifted his head left to right; everything was turning black, as if this had all been an illusion, a…dream. His body rested in the middle of darkness, nothing around him but a solitary figure to his front. Her. The Pitch-Black Pokémon let out a deep sigh, the presence of the other drawing closer.
"I told you not to do that Cresselia" he murmured in his low, gruff voice, "You know it's not fair to give me dreams while others suffer from nightmares. I have to experience my share too, or at the very least nothing."
His voice sounded out with a faint echo, tints of a depressive tone lining his speech. Even him, the King of Nightmares, suffered from the same ailment he inflicted upon others, willingly or not.
Cresselia approached closer, her mouth curving into a half smile as she floated a mere few meters apart from the other.
"I understand Darkrai, but you need to hold some joy too. You looked…happy for a change, peaceful almost" she whispered, her soft, mellow tone complimenting her elegant form. She knew he was going to be persistent in this topic, the same 'Everyone suffers, so should I' aphorism he spouted time and time again, but this was the very least she could do to someone she'd grown close to, especially during this time of the season.
Darkrai's blue-colored eyes opened up, one seemingly always hidden below his white wisp, the other staring straight ahead. Though only partially opened, vision obscured from the natural watering up of his eyes after sleep, he could make out the form of the space-duck in front of him.
"I'm not a space duck" she sighed, floating a distance away at the mouth of the Dark-type's cave, the brightness of the night time sky indicating her phase of the moon.
"I thought I told you not to read my mind" he yawned, slowly floating himself up to an acceptable position.
The Lunar Pokémon let out a nervous smile with a small look of embarrassment. "I'm sorry…lighten up a little Darkrai" she chimed to her other half.
"Easy for you to say, the Moon's on your side today" he replied, moving past the other outside of the cave, staring up at the night sky.
In front of the Mythical Pokémon laid the forest that covered nearly the majority of his island, grass flowing underneath, past the density of arbors, clinging up to the edges of the small cliffs and rocky beaches of his land. It was a far more gracious look than Fullmoon Island presented to Cresselia, a fact with which he often teased the Psychic-type.
"So, why did you come?" his ominous voice questioned, "Did you need some help on that rock of yours?" His taunting did manage to strike a small nerve in the other, the Lunar Pokemon breathing in and out once, slowly, trying to maintain her composure.
"Well, where else are you going to spend Christmas, freezing alone in your den?" she retorted, a rather smug look on her face as she floated up next to him, turning her gaze to the left to see a rather grumpy individual. "Just relax, we'll have fun. It's not a big celebration, it's just us two, alright?"
Darkrai remained silent for a few moments, the stillness of the air slowing time as if Dialga himself were messing with them. Eventually, a quiet exhale wisped out of his form, a begrudging "Fine" being the only voice of response he gave. The corners of Cresselia's mouth grew ever so wider, a look of happiness beaming off her moonlight body. At least it he could appreciate that, her glowing look with that smile on her face, something that brightened even the darkest of Pokémon.
·
It was not long before the pair floated across the rocking waves below them, the sea a vast, deep blue under the lamination of the full moon. Darkrai kept quiet throughout the duration of their small voyage, lost deep in thought over his past dream. As much as he detested saying it to his counterpart, he enjoyed the dreams she gave, reveries more tranquil and appealing than his far darker ones.
He glanced on occasion to his right, eyeing Cresselia carefully; even with her promises, he knew the Psychic-type would be more than nosy enough to listen in on his thoughts, elating in the subtle praise he gave such dreams. But the Lunar Pokemon seemed herself to be occupied in her own ordeals, if not giving an air of partial worry.
'Every year, even when we don't have guests, she gets like this' his mind mulled over as his blue eye traced over her face. Not one to evoke much emotion outwardly, Darkrai indeed cared for Cresselia, deeply at that; even with their moments of quarreling, she was the one individual he could trust, the one who actually liked him.
He ever so slightly moved his form closer towards her, his head shifting partially to the opposite side, as if implying the small movement was not a gesture, but carelessness. Cresselia snapped from her daze, observing the other's minute movements towards her own being, letting out a small giggle in response.
The duo approached the conical island, Fullmoon a formation of a small mountain surrounded by numerous jagged, rocky hills projecting outwards towards the ocean. Compared to the more arbor-laden island of Newmoon, Fullmoon resembled an island born from the eruption of a volcano, colored a drab, darker gray, with only a few coniferous trees sparsely sprinkled upon it.
Passing the few protruding stacks that served as a small sea wall outside the island, the duo hovered towards the isle's main entrance. A gap in the isle allowed for a small inlet of water to flow towards its center, the almost river-like body surrounded on both sides by overarching sea cliffs.
The cliffs gave way to a wall of solid rock at the river's end, an entrance bored into the wall by the inlet creating a cave. Darkrai set on before Cresselia as they made their way inside, holding above the ground. Two long, skinny appendages sank down from his lower form, his legs touching the sediment that lay below him.
"Cold, dusty, rocky as ever" he muttered, though teasingly, towards Cresselia. She huffed, flipping her head to the side as she floated past him.
"You'll be sleeping on the floor tonight if you keep this up" she retorted back to the Dark-type, Darkrai's attitude immediately shifting towards a more shaky, nervous look.
The Lunar Pokemon gave off a faint simper upon her face, guiding herself past Darkrai, towards the staircase of the cave's interior. Rare as it was for many humans or Pokemon to come to her island, the staircase served as a way to connect the travelers from the lower cave to the higher level of the mount, pilgriming to ask Cresselia for aid in their sleepless struggles.
·
As the two walked their way upwards, Cresselia took a sudden shift to her right, moving off the staircase towards a seemingly nonexistent path. Only past jutting rock after jutting rock did the intention of her deviation from the course become apparent; a small wooden door lied remotely hidden behind the natural barriers, the entrance to the Lunar Pokemon's true home. With a slow creak, Cresselia, followed by her counterpart, entered their way into what seemed like a normal, everyday human house, if not a bit smaller in such regards.
"Finally," Darkrai sighed, moving towards the couch-like furnishing that rested within the common area. He sulked his form down upon one edge, Cresselia floating past his being towards another section of the house.
Turning his head around to watch her depart, the Dark-type immediately shifted his attention to one side of the living room; there, as per usual during the season, lied the small evergreen pine the two had selected a few weeks before, ornaments adorning its numerous stubby branches. His eyes shifted back towards the other room, then to the tree.
Darkrai swiftly, though silently, moved himself up from the couch. He floated towards the tree, lowering his body right underneath its bottom-most branches. He shifted his eyes down towards the red, spiky growth that lined his upper body; there, between his head and the growth, resting upon his form, was the small present he had selected for Cresselia. How she had not noticed it during their entire trip still baffled him, Cresselia always managing to pick up when he was hiding something from her. Maybe this year, his secret would be a success. He pulled out the 4 centimeter by 4 centimeter package, resting it under the fragrant arbor, and with haste returned to his previous spot upon the divan.
Cresselia returned to her counterpart with two small pieces of cake, along with a match, the items to her sides, surrounded by the pink-hue of her Psychic. Resting the cakes before Darkrai, she turned towards the little hearth of the room, lighting the fireplace within it, the crackling of wood sounding immediately. Darkrai sank down to the carpeted floor, lifting one plate into his grip. With a fork, he dug a half-portion of cake out and suspended it, awaiting the Lunar Pokemon to return back.
As Cresselia shifted towards her other, resting down upon the carpeted ground a small distance away, the King of Nightmares moved his fork towards her snout, squishing the petite portion against her pointed, yellow nose. She gasped, at once craning her neck towards Darkrai, staring him face to face, her pure face now tainted with the devilishly dark hue of chocolate. With contempt illustrating her appearance, Darkrai attempted a small motion backwards, emitting a nervous chuckle from his mouth. With one fell swoop, Cresselia pressed her face forwards and rubbed the chocolate off her form and against the Dark-type. In near unison, the two let out an amiable exchange of giggles.
·
It did not take long for them to finish their sweet treats, the Lunar Pokemon taking it upon herself to levitate the crumb-ridden dishes towards her kitchen. Darkrai rested down in front of the hearth, allowing the warmth to overtake his being; the temperatures had plummeted to below freezing, and a snowfall was forecasted to begin over the night, a relief to those who were awaiting a white Christmas. With the pleasure of snow, however, came the pain of the bitter temperatures.
Upon her return from the kitchen, Cresselia brought with her a remedy to the situation. A scarf hung in front of her, held between her two small paws, as she approached the Dark-type. Darkrai's eye gave a curious look as to what she had in mind with the article of clothing; no sooner had the thought enter his mind than she began to unravel the scarf with the aid of her abilities.
She sank down to the floor, resting up against the settled other. She weaved the scarf around his head, behind his white tuff and before his face, letting it fall snuggly upon him. From there, she whisked the free part around her own neck, allowing it to drape to her side. She let out a faint sigh and laid her head up against Darkrai's, a tiny flush of red growing below his eyes and upon his cheeks. He shifted his eye first towards the floor, then to his other, Cresselia's own look turning to lock with her counterpart's.
"Th-thanks, for the warmth" he mumbled quietly, the oddball looking over to his side, begging on high she could not make out the subtle blush that burned his cheeks.
The Psychic-type emitted a soft, mellow giggle, lying her head right next to his cheek. "It's the least I could do after you went out of your way to get me something this year" she cooed.
The Dark-type shifted his eye from her gaze over towards the tree to her left, and was nearly taken aback by the sudden appearance of two more presents, as if coming from thin air. He heard another subtle chuckle come from the Lunar Pokemon, Darkrai himself responding with a sigh.
"Well, if you're going to outdo me" he murmured, fixing his look back to the space-duck, "the least I can do is this…"
Darkrai moved his head out ever so slightly, staring at Cresselia. He shifted forwards, and with a light tap, pressed his nose against the nose of the other. The same red hue that gripped him soon crept its way across Cresselia's cheeks, as she tilted her head forwards to press more intimately against his own.
The two remained quiet, the crackling of fire behind them the only source of sound. Darkrai carefully brushed his hand over, resting it against her paw, taking it within his soft hold. Darkrai had to admit, as begrudging as he was when it came to festivities, this moment delivered joy he could never attain even in the finest of dreams.
"Merry Christmas" Darkrai whispered, a warm and gentle, though hidden smile, adorning his face as his eyes closed.
"Merry Christmas" Cresselia answered, the duo resting quietly in harmony.