dear god, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far away from here

Lyra stopped believing in asking for permission. The answer was always a sharp no; it was as if it was the only word they knew. Her parents were just as quick with that all-purposes two letter word when she had first asked to leave on a journey all those months ago. They'd not shown signs of changing their minds since; they expected her to be practical and understanding.

How could she be understanding towards their position when they were the furthest thing from understanding towards hers? They didn't want to lose their baby girl, she knew that much, but Lyra's dream of setting off on a journey was no secret. They'd even encouraged her when she was younger! Why give their daughter that false hope?

But how could they understand her position? They'd obviously never had dreams of their own before; if they had then they wouldn't have denied her the one thing she had wanted from the moment she could process information.

At sixteen, most teens left home for a few months to pursue any interests they might have in the field of pokemon. They'd join junior contests, attempt to breed species, intern at pokemon labs or centers, or take the gym challenge in the hopes of becoming a professional trainer.

The gym challenge was dangerous, and very few teens ever left for that sort of journey.

Lyra's parents weren't about to let her wander off into that dangerous environment. But she had wanted so badly to go on that journey; to see Johto without her parents.

During the weeks leading up to her sixteenth birthday, Lyra tried one last time to convince her parents to let her go. Already tired of her incessant asking, her father staunchly put a firm foot down.

"No, and that's the last we'll hear of it!" her father had barked, clearly annoyed.

"You've got so much school work to focus on, especially since you've only one more year before university." was her mother's way of saying, "But dear, it's so dangerous out there and you're oh so very small and fragile."

Lyra was not small and fragile, but she stopped pestering them after that, her hopes shattered. It didn't help that her closest friends Ethan and Kris had been allowed to go. Ethan was understanding about Lyra's situation, as his own parents had been very reluctant, but Kris had adopted a sort of haughty attitude around Lyra. It was as if she was suddenly more important than her best friend just because her parents were more accommodating to her dreams. Kris' attitude only got worse as she gained more and more badges and she had quickly gotten caught up in journey, forgetting to contact her friend to say hi now and then. Ethan, however, had remained the same friendly boy and tried hard to stay in touch, an effort Lyra appreciated greatly.

Lyra had finished her second to last year of schooling off quietly and did her work obediently while Ethan and Kris made their way around Johto. Her parents were in other regions most of the time (her mother in Sinnoh, working as a lead scientist at the Windworks; her father in Unova, a tradesman centered in Castellian), and with her friends away she was often left to her own devices.

It was the first week of a long break now, just a little over two months after Lyra had turned sixteen. Her parents were away once again for business, so she was at home, forced to find ways to occupy her time.

As New Bark was tiny and had little to do most days of the year, Lyra left her house in the early hours that morning with the intention of walking to Cherrygrove. It would only be a half hour walk, one she had made most mornings during the school year, but she still made sure to pack a great deal of money and her phone in the ratty canvas sack she'd thrown over her shoulder.

If it weren't for her rash nature, Lyra would have gone to Cherrygrove for a day of shopping and would have been home before dark, but that wasn't going to happen.

It was a spur of the moment decision; the window was open and there was nobody in sight. Lyra knew all about Professor Elm's ownership of rare pokemon (how could she not when they lived in the same tiny town?) so when she had peeked her head in the window of his lab home to say hello (like a friendly neighbor might) and seen those three pokeballs just sitting on the desk by the window, she'd known immediately that they weren't ordinary.

The result of the often spacey man's carelessness gave her achance to leave (she would have left earlier if she hadn't needed a trainer card to purchase a pokeball, but with no card she had no pokeballs and more importantly, no pokemon). Her parents weren't even in the region, and wouldn't realize she'd gone until she was at least a few towns away. Elm wasn't an organized man; he wouldn't notice the missing pokeball until much later in the day. Hell, he wouldn't even notice her absence from the town.

The girl's pigtailed head had suddenly swiveled, surveying the area for any possible witnesses, her big brown eyes wide with surprise and a sense of excitement.

Lyra stopped believing in asking for permission; she was making her own decisions now.

All it had taken was her quick hand darting in and out of the window frame. Lyra hadn't even bothered to check which one she picked, only that it contained a pokemon, before running off into the wooded area between New Bark and Cherrygrove (traveling along the road wouldn't have been a great idea and the young teen had enough sense to know that).

Lyra ran as thoughts and questions raced around in her mind in a garbled mess. The gravity of the crime she had just committed hit her head on and she was overcome with anxiety.

She was a thief! What would her parents think? Her friends?

But despite these worries, not once did she consider turning around to return the pokeball before its rightful owner could notice. She was headstrong and committed to a goal and wasn't about to chicken out.

Her heart was set.

Lyra's reliable wiry legs carried her away from her little town and through the overgrow, not stopping when twigs cut and whipped them. The worry slowly melted away and was replaced by excitement and the enjoyment of the adrenaline that pumped through her system.

Suddenly she was laughing as she ran along, only feeling an overwhelming happiness.

Running to and past Cherrygrove, she only stopped on Route 30 after ramming straight into the back of some poor stranger.

She was so caught up in her joy she'd failed to see the boy in the purple hoodie walking only a few feet in front of her. Her legs were unable to stop the inevitable collision that brought them both to the ground.

Her hat was knocked straight off her head and she fell to the ground, landing hard on her ass. Her tight grip kept her from letting the pokeball go though, and she cradled it to her chest in one hand.

Standing slowly, pokeball in the one hand, Lyra grimaced as she rubbed her poor butt with the other. Smiling sheepishly, Lyra looked up at the guy she had run into and opened her mouth to apologize, but it was quickly shut when they made eye contact and the smile fell away. She gulped, suddenly clutching the pokeball even tighter as her warm brown eyes met his angry gray ones, shadowed by a pair of furrowed red brows.

Great.

So I've definitely always wanted to write a fic revolving around the HGSS series. Hopefully it'll be serious even with the ridiculousness. This chapter is really short, so I'm so sorry about that! Hopefully everything will improve as it moves along.

You've probably noticed that Lyra has a father. I thought it was a bit ridiculous that only the R/S/E characters had a father, so I went ahead and gave her one. (because I can just hand out parental figures like that) Her mother is a working woman, so she won't have any time to call about berries or money, which is super convenient.

soulsilvershipping anyone? (I'm a fan too!)

If you review I will eat it up andloveyouforever. Let me know how it is and what I can improve on, yeah?