Chapter 2
Gray sprinted after her sister, Aqua's protesting cries slowly fading as she distanced herself from the whiny Vaporeon.
"Hey! Where do you think you guys are going?! You know I don't like running!"
Gray could just picture Aqua flicking her tail disdainfully as she yelled. Holding back a snicker, she tried vainly to catch up with Storm. Her sister was much faster than her.
She squinted into the darkness in front of her, managing to make out the bright spot of color in front of her that was Storm, a ways ahead of her. Twice, she tripped over the roots of nearby trees. Once, she managed to smack head-first into a tree.
When she finally caught up to the rest of the group, she was exhausted and gasping for breath. Spite, Cedar, and Storm were gathered in the cave she'd known wasn't too far away from the river they'd abandoned Aqua at.
Cedar was in a similar condition, while Spite was relaxing just inside. Storm was waiting for her as far away from Spite as she could get while still staying at the entrance of the cave. Her pelt was still lit up and sparking with electricity, creating a dim light source for the rest of the group.
"About time you showed up!" Storm said as Gray stumbled inside. "We've been waiting here for like, 2 minutes!"
Gray shot her a glare, managing to respond. "You know... I'm not fast."
Storm laughed. "Yes, yes I do."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not much faster than you are." Cedar offered. "And I can't see very well, either. I think I must have tripped at least a dozen times."
"Not to mention all the times you fell into bushes or smacked into trees..." Spite said.
Cedar flushed. "Well, I won't lie, that did happen..."
Gray sat down, leaning against the cave wall as Cedar began to ramble on about his own clumsiness, attempting to catch her breath. She looked around the cave, not that she could see anything, but just for the sake of something to do, and found Spite, watching her. As soon as she met his gaze, he immediately turned away.
"Alright guys." She broke in. "We should get some sleep. Long day tomorrow. Probably longer than today has been."
A few mutters echoed around the cave as the others agrred.
"Spite, I assume you already scouted out the cave?"
"Yes. There is a dip in the ground a little farther in that can serve as a place to sleep. Though, if you go too far, there are a bunch of Zubat and Geodude."
"As with every cave." Storm muttered.
"Lead us to it." Gray ignored Storm, standing up. "It's not like we've got any other options."
"Why not sleep outside? Under a bush or something?" Cedar asked.
"And how much cover is a bush gonna give us?" Storm asked.
Cedar sighed. "Not much, but I'd rather be sorrounded by nice grass Pokemon than Zubats."
"What, like Roselia?"
"Roselia are mean." Cedar said seriously. "One time, I tripped and fell into one, and it poisoned me. Just because I tripped into it."
"I would do the same thing if I was a Roselia." Storm snickered.
Gray tuned out Storm and Cedar as they argued, following Spite.
"It's right here." He said, making her stop. "Directly in front of us."
"Thanks." She attempted to look down, but Storm was far away enough that she couldn't make it out. "I can't see anything, so I would have fell."
"I know." He said, stepping forward into the dent in the ground. Gray followed hesitantly, standing next to Spite as he laid down, his eyes the only things that were visible to her when she looked down.
Storm and Cedar stopped at the edge of the depression, outlined in the electricity crackling through the Jolteon's fur.
"We have to sleep here?" Cedar asked in disbelief.
Gray sighed. "Didn't you two just argue about this?"
"Yes." Storm cut in.
"Well I didn't realize that it was going to be this bad." Cedar sniffed.
"It's not that bad." Gray said. "Now settle down and go to sleep."
"Well, what are you waiting for, Gray?" Storm smirked. "Go on, settle down."
Gray shifted uncomfortably, suddenly realizing that she was standing directly next to Spite.
"Actually, on second thought, let Cedar sleep next to Spite. I don't want to be touching either of them when I fall asleep." Storm curled her lip.
Gray sighed in relief, but couldn't bring herself to look at Spite as she took her place between Cedar and Storm. though she could feel his eyes boring into her back as she fell asleep.
Gray woke early the next morning. She hadn't slept well the previous night, her dreams troubled with images of Cotton, alone, lost, and afraid. Though she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, she still felt exhausted.
Looking around, Cedar and Storm were still asleep. She couldn't see Spite, though she suspected he was awake. She couldn't scoot forward to check, because Cedar was practically on top of her, and any movement would wake him. She rolled her eyes. Cedar, the incredibly light sleeper that liked to sprawl out as far as possible as he slept.
From her squashed position, Gray could see dim light filtering into the cave through the wide entrance. It was a few hours after dawn, and Gray struggled to life her head enough to see how high the sun was in the sky. Her efforts futile, she sighed inwardly, and with some struggling, managed to push Cedar off of herself.
She stood up as Cedar woke up, bursting protests and colliding into Storm, who also woke up and sent a jolt of electricity through her pelt in surprise, shocking Cedar for a split second and instantly making him shut up. Spite was already awake and had distanced himself from the two in preparation for the inevitable chaos of waking up.
"Owww..." Said Cedar when he could speak again. "That hurt."
"It's your fault for touching me." Storm replied angrily. "If you had stayed in your spot, you wouldn't have been shocked."
"Well if you hadn't shocked me then-" Cedar began.
"Than you would have stayed touching me." Storm finished. "Conversation over. Let's get moving."
Gray lead the way out of the cave and into the forest, already feeling better.
"Well?" She asked. "Which direction do we take?"
"Remember that nose-thing I told you about yesterday?" Storm began.
"Go ahead. Lead on." Gray said, resigned.
With a smirk of satisfaction, Storm took the lead, guiding the group into the forest.
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