A Life Renewed

Chapter 1: Introduction
By: Nevermore Raven

For an inconceivable amount of time my master has been in this realm, patiently awaiting my arrival. Yet during that entire time, I was left brokenhearted as I believed he abandoned me, his student, when I had trusted him with my very life. In fact, I trusted him more than any other person, as he had taken me under his wing as a young pup and taught me the fundamentals of aura manipulation.

It was by chance, or possibly fate, that I was released from my crystalline prison and returned to the world. Now that I think of it, if that boy hadn't shown up and held the staff in which I was trapped, I wouldn't be here this very moment.

I remember how he impacted my life quite well, as he had the characteristics of my former master, and he trusted his Pokemon companions sincerely. I at first felt bitter towards him, for my heart was wounded by losing the very thing he possessed -trust- and I had grieved over my loss. In so many words, I was simply jealous. I treated him with doubt and scrutiny, and it set off his explosive temper, at one point sending us both tumbling down a slope to plunge into a chilling river... Recalling that memory now brings a smile to my face.

In spite of our strained start getting to know him proved invaluable, as thanks to his insight now my purpose has been fulfilled and I have moved on. The wounds in my heart have healed, and once again I am at Sir Aaron's side, his pupil, his companion, ...and his friend.

For a year we have been in this strange afterlife, reuniting from our separation that has endured for an entire millennium. Needless to say, the cherished bar of milk chocolate I had brought to my master had been completely exhausted months ago despite our rationing, and now I feel as if I am in limbo; I feel like nothing has happened, and I have grown tired of the monotonous repetition. I have the impression that Aaron feels the same way; he has grown quieter in the past few days.

Although at first I felt everything was perfect upon finding my friend, I now feel as if something else is missing, and that feeling has been bothering my thoughts more and more this past week. This world we have become residents in seems more or less like home, back when we were alive. But this afterlife had one difference that as far as I could tell will not change anytime soon.

My master and I have seen nothing of another person, no contact with a society or another group of lost travelers; we have been completely alone. Even the examining of auras hasn't revealed anyone else to us on the range of a dozen miles, which is the limit of our senses.

It is a change from our former lives. Sir Aaron and I served the queen before, and we resided in a magnificent castle that sheltered us from wind, rain, and cold. ...Less so from cold and wind, now that I think about it. With nothing but stone hallways throughout much of the castle, there was nothing to stop gusts of bitter wind from weaving through the stonework.

At least the living quarters were better protected, with shutters over the glass windows and a fireplace, but now and then cold would seep through the door to the outside.

Now we are no longer in a castle, and the elements have not changed in the slightest. Last winter was difficult to endure. My master and I managed to find a cave in a wooded glen, and wood needed for fire was at hand with the fallen trees and branches in the forest.

Winter's worst has passed, and hints of warmth and longer days had resumed. Birds in the treetops have started singing to announce the change in weather, and flowers in meadows have bloomed, as if impatient and fed up with hiding underground, seeking the warm sunlight.

There is wildlife present here, without a doubt. After all, the meal Sir Aaron was boiling didn't fall out of the sky and into his lap. But the man had several tools at his disposal for hunting, including a crude club, a sling for flinging stones at prey, and bow and arrows for larger, more dangerous targets or greater range. He even managed to make a dagger of bronze, which was always at his side. The voice of my master interrupted my contemplation.

"Lucario? What's the matter?" From the grassy hillside on which we had rested, I was overlooking a green, blooming meadow and a small blue lake below us. I glanced away from the scenery and to my master, who had a copper pot boiling bones and meat over a fire. He added several leaves from plants he had found in the field as seasoning, and the seasoning certainly made the stew taste better. Steam from the broth drifted into the air and reached my nostrils in a blend of cooking meat and smoke from the fire, causing my mouth to water from hunger.

I turned to my master and locked my scarlet eyes with his blue ones. "It is difficult to describe, master..." I paused in my thoughts with hesitance. Through the past year, I had learned to speak with my mouth, instead of transferring my thoughts with my mind. Learning how to speak gave me something to work towards, a goal and a purpose. Now that I have more or less mastered it, I once again have a vacant list of objectives.

"Something is bothering you, and you have been quieter these past few days," Aaron noted as he looked me over. He once commented on my manner of speech, stating that it was refined and cultured, or in his words, "Your speech is proper, like the queen's." Little surprise since I was educated by the queen's personal scholars on polite manners and the like. That's one thing about me that hasn't changed.

I couldn't think of what exactly to tell him, so I tried to make it simple and to the point. "Master, when I was released from the staff you had trapped me inside, I had a profound feeling of being lost, in addition to the burden of solitude. But now, we are together again, and although it has greatly lifted my spirits, I am starting to once again feel..." I tried to find a word that fit the meaning I was meaning to express, but I couldn't exactly. "Feel lost..."

My friend considered my comment with a moment of silence, and then shrugged. "Now that I think of it, I've been wondering about that, too. At least you and I are on the same page. Lucario, you and I had a purpose, to serve the queen and protect the kingdom, but now that purpose and the queen, and the kingdom are gone..."

My thoughts exactly. What will happen to us? Are we to eternally stay here, by ourselves? That is what has been bothering me, and before I couldn't quite place it. I was startled from a tremor caused by my body, and the audible noise caused Aaron to laugh.

"I thought you'd be hungry, Lucario! Let's eat." I nodded and walked towards the fire to join him...

A.N. No honest idea how much this story will be liked. It was an idea in my head, and a side story to Jackal Chronicles. As always, reviews are an effective way to share your thoughts about this new story. Hint, hint...