Chapter 1

The wind feels nice here. Calm...and cool. A welcome break from the stuffy air of the city.

Autumn lay in the grass, just breathing in the crisp wind. Fitzjerald had suggested that they relocate to avoid capture, and separation, as much as possible. She didn't mind, this place was wonderful. Before, they had been near Fallarbor; her fur still reeked of ash. Autumn wasn't sure where exactly Fitzjerald had lead her this time, maybe Fortree or Verdanturf. She hoped it was near Fortree. It rained often there, in the out skirting grassy fields. She loved to dance in the rain, Fitz would just find shelter as soon as possible and wait for her to come home, sopping wet but happy.
"I hear something...I can't tell what. A trainer maybe?" Fitzjerald, her flygon traveling companion, interrupts her thoughts.
"I hope not, not right now anyway."
Fitzjerald stiffened as he strained to hear what was coming and gauge whether or not it was a threat...

It's definitely a trainer; I can hear their voice and extra poke balls bouncing in their pack. Hmm.. I think we should move, Autumn. We don't want them to try and catch one of us." Fitzjerald suggests.
Autumn rolls over in the grass, "I think you're right, Fitz. We can always come back later. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a trainer; to tour the world, build up my skills, become stronger. Let's go somewhere rainy this time though, k?"
Fitzjerald nodded reluctantly, he knew full well how she liked the rain. She smiles and gets up to follow him. They are over the next hill before the trainer comes into view. Autumn stops to look.
It's a female trainer, with long dark hair tied back with a red ribbon; a small houndour walks beside her, seemingly bored with their journey. "Come on, Autumn." Fitzjerald had noticed her stall and is impatiently waiting for her. Autumn gives one final glance to the trainer before following Fitzjerald to the next location.

Why is he so worried about being caught? Has he had a trainer before? Autumn ponders Fitzjerald's strange reaction to the trainer the whole way. The way he seemed desperate to avoid trainers versus battle with them. She knew asking him about it would go nowhere, so she simply settled for pondering and wondering about it.
"We'll stay here for a while." Fitzjerald announces.
Autumn can feel the wind blowing cold, a storm would be in short order. She smiles, thinking about the storm, as she follows Fitzjerald into the cave.
Waiting for the storm to hit grew boring rather quickly. Autumn clicks her claws on the rock floor and then starts to scratch writing into the wall.

I wait for you eternally
and yet you never come.
I want to know your cold embrace
but...

She screws up her face trying to think of the next line, I never was good at poetry, o well. Thunder rolls in the distance and Fitzjerald snores beside her. She rolls her eyes and skirts around him to get outside. The wind feels wonderful after the stuffy heat of the cave. She begins to spin and dance out of happiness, faster and faster circles and then elaborate patterns. She starts to hum a melody she remembers from long ago and soon, it's just her and the storm. Rain swirls around her, lightning dances in the sky, the thunder drums a base beat to her song and then...something hits her head; round with red and white. Her vision blurs then she's somewhere else, looking at the mechanical surroundings. She panics, rushing around and banging against the sides of this...thing. A bright flash of white light and she's in the storm again, facing a frustrated-looking trainer. Autumn lowers her head and growls, How dare they interrupt me. Her horn begins to glow, That trainer's pokemon doesn't look that tough. I'll make them pay for stopping my dance. She makes a sideways slashing movement, sending the attack toward the trainer's pokemon and hitting it squarely. It stumbles but recovers easily. It's a houndour, and its trainer wants to catch me. she realizes as it sends a flamethrower towards her. She tries dodging but it's too fast, she's badly burned. Crying and in pain, she doesn't even flinch when the poke ball flies at her again. She doesn't struggle this time, moving hurts too much.

This place isn't that bad, I guess. It's...different, though. She glances around the inside of her new poke ball; wincing occasionally at the pain from her burns. She hears a voice calling her. Well, she thought it was calling her, "Absol! Join us!" She leaps through the light and lands on the grass in the storm, What now? Am I supposed to battle in this condition? She looks around but the landscape is empty. She looks back at the trainer, confused. The trainer motions for Autumn to come over to him; she complies, her legs starting to shake from weakness. He sprays something in her face. She winces, but merely from surprise, the pain in her burns had began to ebb and fade.

Meanwhile...

Fitzjerald rolls over and yawns. He looks over to see a partial poem scratched into the wall and Autumn's empty sleeping rock. He jumps to attention, She should've been back by now, the storm's over. He looks outside, the water drips off the stalactites at the entrance as a rainbow fought with the sun in the sky. He runs outside and calls Autumn...no response. He flies over the area and saw a space of grass that was churned up, filled with absol tracks. He lands and as he stands surveying the area, he manages to piece together what he had hoped to never happen.

Autumn blinks several times, "What was that stuff, medicine?" She shakes out her fur. The houndour smirks at her discomfort, she glares at it furiously, it was the reason she had needed whatever-it-was in the first place; it was also the reason for her capture. "I have a feeling we're not going to be very good friends, pup." Autumn intensifies her glare still more.
It falters slightly under her gaze but manages a reply, "I don't understand why you're angry with me. I merely did what was asked of me. It's in my nature to be obedient."
"Yeah, and it's is my nature to be free." She growls, anger welling up inside her, she wants to fight. Yet, another feeling, one of calm and tranquility, overtakes the urge to fight. Autumn finds it harder and harder to stay mad at the houndour, eventually giving up on it. She trots over to her new trainer and sits down at his side, she feels compelled to do so. The trainer's hand pets the top of her head absently; it felt wonderful. Is this what it feels like to want to purr? Can an absol purr? Autumn leans into the gentle hand, enjoying every second of the houndour's envious stare.

...

"Absol! Use Slash!!" Autumn races toward the other trainer's poochyena and rakes her razor-sharp claws across its body. The poochyena howls in pain, staggers and eventually collapses. One hit and it's down, that poochyena's pathetic... she thinks as she watches it go down. A smile creeps across her face as the feeling of power from defeating the poochyena flows through her.
"Great job Absol!" Her trainer runs to her, petting her for winning the match.
Autumn nuzzles the trainer's face; she loves having a trainer. Yet, in the back of her mind, a thought of Fitzjerald awakens. I wonder how Fitzjerald is taking my disappearance? She ponders this for only a moment then pushes it from her mind, immersing herself in the moment of victory once more.

Autumn...where are you? Fitzjerald searches endlessly for his traveling companion. His search, however, is in vain; Autumn and the trainer who caught her are gone. He feels the sadness welling up inside him as the search stretches from minutes to hours, his throat grows tense, and his vision blurring with tears. She's gone..."She's GONE!!" he roars into the evening twilight. An entire day had passed, and she was still gone. Defeated and his spirit as low as it could possibly be, he leaves the valley...alone.