She had found his engagement ring by accident. She knew he wanted marriage, a family, to be with her. She was patient, waiting for the day he'd propose. But that was weeks ago. Sherri first thought maybe it was because of his lack of focus, or maybe he wasn't completely sure if he wanted to, if was ready for this. But then she found out that he knew he was going off to war, to some great battle against a fire lord. He wasn't asking her because he wasn't going to give her hope and then dash it.
"Where are you?" Sherri whispered to herself. She went to her mirror for the thirtieth time and fixed her hair. She was a Gardevoir, floating on the ground with bouncy green hair and piercing eyes. She knew there was no good reason to mess with her hair; she was lucky enough for it to always sit perfectly. She still messed with it.
A bolt of lightning struck outside. The rain intensified. Sherri sighed and went over to the fireplace. Focusing on the wood, it shot into flames. Roland will need it when he gets back.
Stupid frickin' rain. I'd of been home by now if I could fly, Roland thought to himself. Sure I was quick on my feet, but i was planning on flying back in time. He was a scyther, and relied on his flight. He was quite strong for one, and was known for his speed.
Which, of course, was his problem. His superiors were going to rely on that very speed. Roland knew he was going on a suicide run. No way a small bug like me is gonna stand up well in a volcano. But he was doing this for the psychics. This is his land, and he'll do his best to protect it.
He also wanted Sherri to live. He was putting his life on the line for her. With this land at peace, she wouldn't have to see any more hardships. She could have her family. Even if it wasn't with Roland.
"No," he thought to himself. "I'll come back alive. There's no way some fat lizard's gonna catch me." He chuckled to himself. So he was also testing himself. He wanted to know he was the fastest. Flames can't touch him. He's dodged lightning. He'll beat them so hard, they'll run back to their mud-holes and he'll prove you don't mess with a scyther.
Am I on the right path? The smells were off. He could blame it on the rain. Why can't the rain make his life worse, right? He saw a figure sitting in the path. Eying the figure he stopped, pausing. Something isn't right about this. He got a truly bad feeling about this pokemon. He continued cautiously, but confidently. He neither approached nor avoided. If they wanted to sit in the rain, he had no qualms about it.
It turned out to be an absol. He was staring at the sky, seemingly unaffected by the rain. It was like he was watching the stars, as though they'd do something other than sit in the sky. He was sitting on his haunches. As Roland came up, the absol slowly lowered his head, then looked straight at him, almost daring him to do something.
Roland turned away slightly, only to show he had no problem, that he just wanted to continue on. He did wonder to himself why this dark pokemon was here. The psychics would have set up some alarm. Someone would have been here by now. They also spoke a different language. Roland heard a ghost speak once. It sounded like some incantation.
"This is my territory, stranger, and I will give you one chance to tell me why you invade it." the absol said. His voice was frightening, shaking Roland's very bones. The absol must be doing this, Roland thought. This fright wasn't natural. But why did he speak our language?
"I must've gone the wrong way. I'm just heading home, but I'm having trouble finding my way in the rain. Are we still in psychic territory?"
The absol rotated his head slightly. "Tell me your name."
"What?" Roland looked confused. "Look, if I can just continue-"
Eyes flared in anger. "I don't recall asking a question." He felt the rage in his voice. If he's gonna be like this over a name...
"Roland. Look, I'm already late and Sherri's gotta be worried..." Sherri's definitely worried. She's been stressed out recently, and probably over me. He knows she tries to hide it, but she's too open with her emotions. One of the things he loved about her, he thought to himself, smiling inwardly.
The absol looked to Roland's left. "Go. That's the path you seek. Leave me be." He then lied down, closing his eyes.
Roland went the direction the absol had looked. There's a chance he's right, Roland thought, and if he's not, I'll go slice him open for being a douche. I better warn the lord. An absol, so close? He's gotta be a spy. He quickened his pace. None of that mattered now. He just wanted to see Sherri smile.
Sherri sighed, looking out the window. The dinner was getting cold. But her mind was barely on that. Roland was always uncomfortable in the rain. His wings didn't like to cooperate, especially when it rained this much. She had to keep herself put. She knew the moment she left, he'd show up. She had to stay put and just keep hope.
A flash of lightning. She thought she saw a figure in the distance. Jumping up, she looked again. It was too dark out. She kept her eyes there. Just maybe... Another flash. There he was, almost swimming to the house. She didn't realize it was raining so hard. She ran to the door and threw it open.
"Roland! Quick, come inside!" she yelled. She saw him run over after looking at her.
"Sherri, I'm sorry I'm late." he said once inside. "The storm came out of-"
"Doesn't matter. You're home now. Let's get you dry." She pulled him over to the fire, throwing a moss blanket over him, then went and closed the door. She came back and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Roland smiled. "Did you worry about me? It was just a bit of rain."
"Of course I worried about you! Do you know how many times you come home and I clean up your wounds?" She said looking at him.
He looked over to her. "Do you know how many times I come home? Every time. Every day, I find a way to come home. Have I once let you down?" He just smiled.
"You're right. I don't have anything to worry about. You're my invincible hero. I always feel safe when your around." She smiled back, then rested her head on his shoulder.
After a couple moments, he was warm. He was already getting bothered by the fire. He looked over to the table. Sherri made food, and it's cold. Again. He just smiled. "The food looks great."
"I'm sorry. It must be cold by now."
"It's fine, Sherri. Your food's always amazing. Even when I come home after you've fallen asleep, and it's been cold for hours, I still enjoy every bite."
"I'm not that great." She said, rolling her eyes. "You're just hungry and don't care."
"Even if I am, I have yet to be disappointed by your food. Come on, let's eat." He slowly got up, putting up a helping hand and brought her up with him. She smiled, and brought them over to the table.
They ate most of the food in silence, not really looking at each other. Near the end, Roland broke the silence. "So, I'm heading out tomorrow." He said looking up.
"I know." Sherri said stiffly, avoiding his gaze.
"If everything goes well, I'll be back day after tomorrow. Even if it takes longer than they expected, I won't be gone longer than a week."
"I know."
"Don't worry, I'll be safe."
"I know." Her eyes were staring to tear up.
"Look, maybe I can have a friend come over, look out for you while I'm gone." He looked more intently at her. A moment passed. "Sherri?" Still no response. "Sherri, please look at me." He said pleadingly. "Please say something..."
"What do you want me to say?" She said, tears falling down her face, slamming her hands down. "I'm not worried about my own safety. I'm not the one risking my life! I'm not the one who's going out to, to..."
"Sherri, I have to do this. You know-"
She stood up, hands on the table. "No you don't! You could stay. You could be safe. You could just stay here and protect me."
He went over to her, putting his arms around her, careful not to cut her. "I'm doing this to protect you. When I win this battle-"
"Don't you get it? Nothing scares you, Roland. Nothing's scared you, ever. Not until you found out about this war. Not until you knew what you had to fight."
"I'm not scared of this." He said smiling.
She looked up to him. "Of course you are! Have you seen yourself? You've lost focus, what focus you did have. I'd be scared too, if I had to fight that fire tyrant!"
"How did you know?" His arms dropped.
She stepped away. "I didn't try to find out. You were acting... off, and I heard pokemon talking about the war that we've been in. Apparently, they didn't think highly of the idea of sending a bug into a fire! Do you really think you of all pokemon should try this suicidal act?"
"Sherri! It's not..." He paused for a moment. "I know it looks that way, but I know what I'm doing."
"Do you?" she said, her eyes red. "What bothers me most is that you know you might die. You always go into every situation, thinking, 'It's just another day,' never even thinking you could get hurt. This time you're worried. If you think you might die, do you have any idea what I'm going through?"
"Sherri... please. I promise I'll come back. I'll come right back, and you can wail on my bruises because I made you worry."
He wrapped his arms around her again. She cried into his shoulder. He just held her like that, kissing her head. He hummed softly to calm her down. Eventually the tears stopped flowing, and he was just holding her like that. I promise, he thought, I promise I'll get through this. For you, Sherri. I'll come back, and you'll never have to worry again.
He eventually brought her to their bed and lied her down. She wouldn't let go.
"Please, at least for tonight, just hold me. I want to at least pretend I don't have to worry." Sherri whispered.
Roland smiled. "Even if you can't see me, I always have my arms around you, Sherri. It's what keeps me going."
She smiled back as he got into bed with her. She held him close. Just come back safely, she thought to herself. It's all I want.