His mouth curled up into a smile as he watched the young Magikarps play. He wasn't a parent himself, but he liked the way the children played without abandon. He brushed his hair back and tsked as the smallest Magikarp was left behind. "Aki, you'll never get to be a big Gyarados if you can't keep up. I am your uncle and the biggest Gyarados in the whole lake."
His nephew pouted at him. "I'm sorry, Uncle Aria. I'll never be the Master of the Lake." His long red hair swirled around his face as he swam off, trying to hide his emotions. He was so stupid, hoping that he could be a big Gyrados like his uncle.
Aria grabbed his arm. "Hey, you have plenty of time to grow. I was small when I was young and now look at me." He smiled at his little nephew. "So chin up." His delicate nose caught a scent suddenly. "Aki, go home now. Someone's sneaking around. Go now."
Aki took off as fast as his little legs would allow him to. He swam into a little cove as his uncle headed toward the surface. He poked his head out and decided to follow the older male quietly. What could he say? He was very curious.
Aria broke the surface and scanned the water. He spotted a man with long hair and a collar around his neck. He noticed there was a metallic smell in the air, a smell that he knew... Blood. The man was hurt and dipping the leg in the cool water.
He watched as the man winced and pulled at the collar. His sigh reached Aria's ears, and Aria shuddered at the sound. It was so sad, and he swam over to look at him. The sight nearly took his breath away.
A Houndoom, that's what he was looking at. A beautiful Houndoom with flowing red hair and black eyes. There were hints of muscle under the filthy shirt the man wore. A ring of scar tissue wrapped around both wrists, showing where chains had been. The leg he had rested in the water was covered in blood and yet another chain. It bleed around the tourniquet the Houndoom had no doubt decided to cover it with. The cloth was soaked completely though.
Cool, dark eyes looked the Gyarados over a bit of panic hidden under a collected facade. He made to move away and managed to fall off the rock he sat on. His eyes widened as the other pokemon climbed out of the lake, legs and arms covered in blue, shiny scales.
Aria smiled warmly and knelt next to the badly wounded Houndoom. "Need help? I'm Aria."
"I-I'm Caydan." He stiffened as the man looked him over. "I'm fine. Really. Just a scratch." His eyes watered as a soft hand touched his sore leg. "D-don't touch that. It's...tender." He reached down and grabbed Aria's hand. He felt those clear grey eyes on him. "I guess you can help me."
Aria laughed and walked a little ways off to gather a strange blue plant. He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed quickly. He spit it into his hand and walked back over. His hands gently untried the tourniquet and placed the blue paste on the bad wounds. Ripping a long strip off of his own regal dark blue shirt, he placed the piece of cloth over the wound gently.
"You could've used my old, nasty shirt. It's rags anyway. Your shirt is too nice to do that to." Caydan blushed as he looked down at his dirty skin. He hadn't had a bath in nearly a month and felt horrible.
Aria smiled lightly and took the shirt off revealing his beautifully defined chest. He handed the shirt to the man. "Put this on after you wash. It gets cold up here at night." He dove back into the water, then resurfaced and smiled. "I'll check on you tomorrow."
Caydan sat back against his rock and sighed. So maybe life wasn't so bad. He was free of his horrible master and had met a nice guy. He closed his eyes and sighed again softly. "Damn, Aria is a nice guy."
"Oh. You met my Uncle Aria?" Aki smiled as he sat next to him. "Hi, I'm Aki and Aria is my uncle." He smiled more up at the Houndoom.
"Yeah I got that, Aki. I'm Caydan." He leaned his head back onto the rock. "It's nice here, I guess... Quiet and peaceful." He looked up as he heard an intake of breath. "Hayden? What are you doing here?"
The young Houndour smiled and hugged him. "Uncle Caydan! I finally found you!" He pulled back to look at him. "Wow, you look like shit, Uncle Cay." He hugged the man again and smiled at Aki."Oh hi, my name is H-Hayden." He sat next to his uncle as a woman ran up.
"Hayden! Why did you run off? I was so worried!" She was so busy scolding the young Houndour, that she completely missed the man. "I thought a Gyarados got you or something! I would be lost without you! What would your uncle say? I am the Mistress of the pack and your mother!"
The rant lasted a good two minutes before she heard Caydan's soft voice and spun. "C-Caydan? Oh my goodness, you look terrible!"
"Yeah, Hay's already informed me about that." He shifted his sore leg and sighed. "Ouch... that hurts like a motherfuc-!" He yelped as the woman hit him. "OW! Charlotta! That hurt!"
Charlotta glared and pushed her blue hair out of her way. "Do not swear in front of Haydan! I forbid you to!" She spotted Aki. "Hi there sweetie. My name is Charlotta, you are?"
The little Magikarp looked terrified. "I um, m-my name is Aki. I am the n-nephew of the Master of the lake." He smiled suddenly at Hayden. "Hi!" He stood to go talk to the young teen.
Caydan watched with a smile playing on his lips. It would do his shy nephew good to speak to someone other than family. "Heh, seems my little Hay is growing up. So," he turned his head to his sister, "how is everyone? Like Ezzie and my darling Riley?"
"Oh Ezzie's absolutely fine. She's actually seeing someone." Charlotta smiled sweetly. "She thinks this will be her mate... Finally. I'm so proud of my baby girl." Her red eyes swept over her sleeping child and his new best friend. "I can only hope that Hay can do the same one day. So really how are you feeling, little bro?"
"Eh, not bad. The Master here helped me. Even gave me his shirt to keep warm. He seems really nice. I haven't seen him much though." Caydan sighed and shook as the wind blew by them. "His shirt is wet... Smells good though." He sniffed it discreetly.
Charlotta smiled, as she pretended not to notice her brother sniff the shirt. "Well, that's good to hear. I'd love to meet him in the morning." She laid a blanket out on the hard ground and then put one over the boys and another over Caydan. "Goodnight, bro. Good to have you back." She curled up on the blanket and slept.
The next morning, beautiful red eyes blinked open to find an elegant woman over Caydan. "Ack! Who the hell are you?" He sat up panicking.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't swear at my sister, who was nice enough to redress your wounds neatly." A cool voice said softly in his ear, Aria's cool voice. "Morning, Caydan. I've met your sister and nephew and they are welcome here as long as you need to recover, or longer." He smiled and glanced at the man's face. "You seem a lot better, Caydan. It's good to see."
Caydan blushed a bit and looked away. "Thank you. You're too kind, Aria." He sat up and tried to move his leg a bit. "Ow... Damn that smarts..." He grinned at his nephew. "Hey there, Hay. You've met Aria."
Aria smiled at the pretty teen who blushed. "He tells me you have a son." His eyes swam with curiosity and warmth. "Tell me about him."
"Riley. He's fifteen this year. I haven't seen him in nearly four years. The last I saw him, he was crying as my 'trainer' dragged me off to be his pokemon. I belong to nobody, unless I so chose. Anyway, Riley is my only child and he's sort of wimpy." He sighed. "But he's sweet and naive. It's been far too long since I've seen him."
Aria smiled softly. "That's sweet. I'd like to meet him one day. I mean if he's anything like you he must be a sweet child." He spotted the blush and matched it with one of his own. "I mean... I have work to do. I will check on you later, Caydan." He leaned close and pecked his cheek then left.
His sister followed. "Aria, he's a Houndoom, a beautiful Houndoom, but one nonetheless. You need a pretty Gyarados or something you can breed with." She stopped him with a simple touch. "Don't hurt yourself like this."
Aria turned to look at her. "Back off, Ren. I know that! Don't you think I know that! I am the Master, but I want to be nice to him! He's been hurt and he's a guest! I have to be polite! Gods, I hate when you do that! Stop being mother!"
The redhead pouted softly and sighed. "I can understand your loneliness and sadness. Finding a mate is difficult." She pecked her twin's cheek and swam off.
Aria found that he had a lot to think on. His mind wandered all day and he barely finished his work. He fell into a light sleep that night filled with a cute, blushing Houndoom. It was a sweet dream cycle that night.