A/N - Last Edited/Revised by UnusualThoughts and iPBJSammich on May 22, 2016.
Second touch [10/07/16]
The night was cloudy, yet the stars still gleamed brightly, little white speckles contrasting the darkness surrounding them. Still, sufficient lighting would be lacking, had it not been for the hastily-made fire, both providing illumination and heat for the four, exhausted Pokémon. They finally found, after a full day of running and hiding, that they could relax a small bit.
The small glade in the middle of the forest seemed safe enough to let the foursome sleep without worrying about wild pokemons or the Beedrills, the thick vegetation and the fire were enough to fend both off… and maybe something else.
After fueling some more the campfire and looking around for possible pursuers, understood that there was nothing to worry about, a teal-maned feline alongside a blue-furred canine started laying down by the fire.
In the meanwhile, another pokemon lurked in the shadows behind them, finishing quietly the scoping his friends left unfinished.
Electivire wasn't as tired as his new companions, and instead of immediately lying down to rest next to them, he tried starting a conversation with his saviors.
"Y'all know pretty much all you need to know about me, but I want to hear you talking a bit… Where'd you guys come from? I've never seen Pokémon like you around here."
One of his saviors, a Shinx, looked up at the other electric-type groggily before rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a paw. "I guess we could tell you a few things... Riolu, mind helping me out?" He bent down and shook the already-asleep Riolu awake. "Hey, are you listening to me?" The fatigue accumulated throughout the day fully toned down his naturally fiery temper, transforming what would have been a slap to a soft nudge.
The jackal, upon being woken, yawned widely and looked around him, glaze over his eyes. After a few blinks, though, and a tired gaze towards his waker, he mumbled a half-agitated, "What?"
"Electivire wanted to know a bit more about us, I don't wanna have to tell him alone."
"I mean, you don't have to if you don't wanna," Electivire interjected after Riolu shot him a sideways glance.
"Meh, I don't mind, just would've appreciated if this could wait 'till morning, but too late for that now," the jackal replied with a sigh before beginning his story. "Well, all of us; we lived in a mountain, circled by a thick forest, life was simple and our parents made it even better."
He paused, making a movement towards his face with his forearm as if to rub more sleep from his eyes, but… Was that a tear? Riolu, soon after, continued, bringing Electivire's attention from the abnormality.
"In the morning I used to play with my best friends, in the afternoon we all trained together with our parents and in the evening we all went and spent time at home. It was a nice, quiet life." The fight-type continued describing their old standard of life, looking skywards, like if he wanted to taste each single good memory his own words brought back with them. His melodramatic voice, as for Shinx, was attenuated by his weariness and matched his facial expression.
Electivire replied when Riolu seemed finished, "A mountain? I would love to visit one, it seems pretty cool… Living from birth in a generator isn't exactly… stimulating." He paused, looking for some sort of reaction. When he got none, he continued, "Go on."
"Right, but the forest wasn't my perfect choice, either," Shinx interrupted before Riolu could continue speaking. "I was just born there and learned to live in it. If I had the possibility to chose where I wanted to live, though, it would be a huge plain." He gave a little smile when finished, musing over the prospect.
"I was blessed, I think, to have lived in a mountain plenty of rocks to break and challenging runs," Riolu picked up, "However, like I said, life was beautiful. We had anything we would've needed; water from the glaciers and an endless supply of apples and berries... And… And then..."
He trailed off, a dark look flashing across his face before he looked at the ground in troubled reminiscence.
Shinx padded over to his friend and sat down beside him, giving the jackal a worried look before turning towards Electivire, a pleading look in his eyes. The larger Pokémon either didn't notice it or brushed past it, considering the very next thing he said was, "And? But?" in an attempt to get the fighting type to continue.
"Well," Riolu lifted his head to give a sharp glare at Electivire, causing Shinx to back off, "that's none of your business right now." Before Electivire could respond to the harsh message, however, the fighting type gave a hasty, "Good night," as he turned on his side to go back to sleep, facing away from the rest of the group.
Shinx looked at him disappointedly, as if to say, 'you shouldn't have said that.'
"Well, err... We still haven't presented ourselves officially…" Electivire said, trying to rekindle the semi-happy mood. "I'm Electivire, n-nice to meet you all." He looked expectantly towards his companions, hoping for some semblance of friendly conversation.
"Riolu," the jackal presented himself briefly, not bothering to turn back around.
"I'm Shinx," the other Pokémon replied. "Don't worry, Riolu is like this when he's tired," he comforted, earning an indifferent grunt from the aforementioned jackal.
"And I'm Zorua," another, male voice said from off to the side, causing Electivire to jump.
"AAAAH!" he exclaimed, "When did you get there!? I didn't even notice you throughout the entire conversation!" Electivire concluded, calming himself down enough to chuckle, which, when fueled by the others (sans Riolu), turned into a hearty laugh.
"I was just making sure that we were alone, nothing more!" The dark-type fox explained with a smile. Unlike his other three friends, he still looked filled to the brim with energy, taking his time and walking around before lying down by his friends.
They all, ignoring the touchy subject previously brought up, took a few seconds to laugh their worries away, followed by their lying down to sleep in the warmth of the still-blazing fire.
