(This story will be 100% SFW on here, but will have a few NSFW chapters and will differ in base storyline and dialogue on Archive of Our Own. You can actively follow the whereabouts of the main characters throughout the story with a layout of Sinnoh's map.)
The ongoing sunset had quickly begun to replace the sunlight that shone above Sinnoh; a trainer and his pokémon were searching a home within Hearthome city for whatever was left inside that they could possibly benefit from.
"Crystal!" Ray shouted his Espeon's name from one of the rooms of the house that they were currently in. He usually sent her off on her own to look for supplies, weapons, and anything that was edible while they were looting buildings. "Anything?" Ray asked as he saw Crystal walk up to him.
She shook her head, Hearthome was a big city, Crystal had expected for it to be completely cleaned out.
"Same here, we should get going then, it's dangerous to stay in such a central city… especially overnight." There were plenty of dangerous pokémon and their trainers roaming about that purposefully looked for trouble. Ray wasn't like them at all, but he always kept a pistol on him as a precaution.
It had been only three months since the virus killed off everyone he knew, both his entire family and all of his friends. He extraordinarily never caught it, and there was only a single time where he or his Espeon definitely could have, but his mother forced both him and Crystal to leave her behind as soon as she started showing symptoms of having it herself. It wasn't yet clear to Ray how exactly the illness was spread, he just knew that it seemed to kill whomever it victimized rather quickly. All Ray had left was his young Espeon of four years, and he was now nineteen. She was the only thing he cared about anymore, and the only thing that kept him going everyday.
"Come on." Ray slung his heavy gray backpack over his shoulder and exited through the front door of the house with Crystal walking right beside him. "Let me know if you see anything odd, as usual sweetheart."
Crystal was no umbreon, but she saw well enough in near darkness to spot simple movement. As they strolled through the deathly silent environment of Hearthome, she was constantly looking in every direction, even keeping her ears perked to pick up any strange noises in the area.
"We'll rest as soon as we get to Solaceon Crys', wouldn't want your paws getting too tired." Ray grinned down at her and pushed his short, black hair back, along with wiping some sweat from under his eyes. It was hot outside all day; they'd been searching the buildings in Hearthome for hours, and he couldn't wait to get to the small town and get some proper sleep with his Espeon. They never stayed in a single place for more than a day or two though, that would be far too risky.
In just under thirty minutes, Ray somewhat saw Solaceon up ahead from the route that they'd taken to get there, and it brought him a lot of relief that the journey had gone so smoothly under nightfall. As they entered the town, Ray diligently scoped out his surroundings. There were a few houses that looked to be empty, but he could never tell for sure until he went inside. He knew Crystal could usually sense presence with her psychic abilities when anything alive was nearby. "There…" Ray spotted a house that had a good amount of trees that somewhat hid it from being out in the open.
Crystal followed after her trainer; the gem on her forehead began to dimly glow as she mentally scanned for any nearby entity. Fortunately, it all seemed to be clear.
Ray slowly pushed open the creaky door to the house and entered with his loaded pistol in hand; he made sure to thoroughly check the house and in each individual room with Crystal quietly padding behind him to make sure it was unoccupied. "We're good… for tonight anyway." Ray walked into the bedroom and sat on its blanketed bed, he set his backpack onto the floor and his pistol on the nightstand next to him. "Hungry at all?" He patted a spot on the bed next to him, and Crystal hopped up without hesitation.
She was hungry, but wanted to sleep more, so she shook her head. It was sometimes hard to have an appetite during such depressing times.
"Rest your paws then, I'll be right by your side." Ray reached his right hand over and ran it down her sleek back, then twirled his fingers around her slim tail once he got there. Afterward, he pulled his hand away and laid down on his back. Ray wouldn't bother getting undressed, for a few reasons, but mostly so that he wouldn't get too comfortable. He suddenly felt some light pressure press into his lower stomach, and looked down to see Crystal cutely staring right at him, her right paw placed on his stomach with her tail slowly swaying from side to side. "Come here girl." He gladly gave her the permission that she respectfully asked for.
Crystal slowly climbed onto her trainer's stomach and gently laid down on it, curling up and tucking her tail under herself a bit.
"Night Crystal…" Ray rested his left hand on her thigh, and traced the fingers on his right hand around her ears and thin fur on her adorable face. She was a delicate creature, and deserved to be treated as such. He continued petting her until she fell asleep, and as soon as those beautiful purple eyes of hers closed, it didn't take long for Ray to fall asleep right along with her.
