Night of Fire

-chapter 2-

blegh something short became more than one chapter. …I hate you so much Andrew for being right. TwT

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The morning came swiftly. Darkrai opened his eyes to the brightening sky, the dark hues mingling with the lighter ones as the sun slowly rose. Stifling a yawn, he sat up, stretching a little and earning a few pops from his tired joints. As usual, his sleep hadn't been pleasant, nor had it been unpleasant for he does not dream. He'd heard of people, of pokemon, discussing the beauties and mysteries of various dreams they had, of how they may be predictions of the future. It piqued his curiosity and he had wondered if he had any of those. If he could see a glimpse of his own future as he slept. It was only after years of traveling that he had come back to this particular question, and it was only then that he found his answer. His future was as dark as the vast emptiness he faced every time he closed his eyes to rest.

He sat motionless under the tree for a moment, sighing as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced sideways at the field where Cresselia stood the night before. It was empty.

'Hn. Smart girl. She actually listened to me,' he mused, sitting up straighter. That was when he froze. There was something clinging onto the material of his coat. He glanced down, noticing a pale, feminine hand gripping the dark cloth of his attire. Attached to that was a slender arm, adorned with a silky purple cloth, much like how a gypsy would wear it and at the end of that, was a face he had seen only hours ago.

Cresselia was fast asleep under the very same tree as he was, laying on her side and holding onto him as if bidding him to not leave.

For once, for as long as he could remember, Darkrai panicked.

He pried her hand off of his coat, kneeling down beside her and pulled her against him slightly, trying to shake her awake, 'I take back what I said about her being smart…!!' "Cresselia, wake up…! Why didn't you listen to me…!? Cresselia!" he growled, shaking her shoulders. His heart pounded in his chest with worry, to which he could have stopped to question why he was worried but he didn't.

A small groan of discomfort reached his ears as Cresselia rubbed her eyes, squinting up at him and yawning, "Oh... Good morning, Darkrai," she said sweetly, smiling up at him.

Darkrai had to stop and stare for a moment. He'd seen countless pokemon and people fall asleep as a result of his powers or just falling asleep near him, and every time, they'd toss and turn as they dreamed of things that they'd rather die than watch. They did not wake up easily, nor did they wake up smiling.

Was she just... pretending to not be scared?

Cresselia raised an eyebrow at Darkrai, who just stared at her in disbelief. She waved a hand in front of his face and still, he didn't move away. The lunar pokemon's cheeks flushed pink when she realized the position she was in and this time, it was her turn to shake Darkrai's broad shoulders, "Uhm... Darkrai, you can let me go now..."

It was then that he snapped out of his trance and released her, letting her sit up. He'd turned away and if she didn't know any better, his cheeks had gone pink with embarrassment. She giggled then, watching the previously cold traveler suddenly acting like any normal male pokemon.

Her thoughts drifted back to when she found herself waking up to the sight of Darkrai's worried face, "...Was something the matter, Darkrai? You looked quite pale just now," she asked, brushing her hair back with her fingers.

He didn't turn to look at her when he returned her question with another question, "...Did you have a nightmare...?"

"Funny you should say that, I never have any nightmares," she replied curtly, patting the grass off of her one-piece and hair, "Why?"

Darkrai frowned at that, "That's impossible… You can't have not had a nightmare after sleeping next to me."

She tilted her head at that, looking at the black-clad pokemon, "Why not?"

"Because... my presence itself will bring nightmares to those who sleep near me."

Cresselia looked at Darkrai's back, thinking of what he's said. To live, knowing that his presence brings sadness to those around him without even meaning to must have been rather frustrating. And judging by how he acted when they first met, Darkrai must have been lonely and well-hated to have instinctively attempted to attack her as opposed to just turning to see who she was.

She sighed and inched closer to him. It couldn't be helped, his appearance did little to explain the fact that he meant no harm. Perhaps he'd closed his heart to people and pokemon around him to protect him from further harm. Perhaps... All he ever needed was a bit of company. She was reluctant at first, but it didn't take much out of her to wrap her arms around Darkrai's waist from behind, hugging him.

This effectively made Darkrai's heart leap to his throat, "Cresselia, what-"

"It's alright, Darkrai... I'm not affected by your powers. Don't worry, alright?" she said calmly, leaning slightly so she could look at him.

He looked down at her, his blue-green eyes meeting her purple ones. The look on his face was unreadable, he himself probably didn't know what to feel then. All he could do was reach down with one clawed hand, resting it over her small hands and utter a simple "Thank you."

Later in the morning, Cresselia had gone to gather berries to eat for breakfast. She came back to find that Darkrai wasn't where she left him. Her cheerful smile faltered. She thought she'd somehow had built a connection, an understanding between herself and him. Was she too naïve and that what she did merely startled him?

Gloomily, Cresselia sat in the field alone, sighing as she picked at the berries she gathered, munching lazily at them. She was looking forwards to having him try the berries she had grown herself...

Until a splash made itself heard to her. She sat up straight with a start before abruptly following the source of the sound. As she rounded a tree, she was greeted by the sight of Darkrai sitting in the shallow waters, an annoyed look on his face as several fishes flopped about near him. He was clearly grumbling as he swatted one off of his head.

Cresselia fell silent for a moment. Her lips curled up into a smile and soon, she was laughing. Darkrai glared at her, annoyed, "Stop laughing! It's not funny! Get over here and help me already!" he cried, grabbing the small fish before they swam away.

"I… I'm sorry…! Haha!" she laughed, walking over to the shore near where he was and wiped a tear from her eyes. She was relieved to know that Darkrai hadn't left. He even spoke to her! As she approached him however, a small blur of pink pushed her back and she blinked, regained her footing and looked at the small, pink-haired pokemon before her.

"Cresselia, what're you doing!?" the pokemon cried shrilly, darting towards her and inching the both of them away from Darkrai, "Don't you know he's a danger to everyone!?"

"Mesprit…?" Cresselia looked down at the little pokemon, who started talking very quickly. Cresselia couldn't catch a word though, her gaze merely moved to Darkrai. He had a stupefied look on his face, as if reality was slapped in his face, "No, wait...! Darkrai, I can explain..." she pleaded over Mesprit's shrill voice, but deep down, she knew she couldn't win this round.

The dejected look on his face said it all. Gathering up whatever food he caught, he placed the fish on the shore, still sopping wet from head to toe, "...There's nothing else to be said. ...I'm going."

"But, Darkrai!" she held her hand out, wanting so much to grab the sleeve of his coat, his arm, his hand maybe. She didn't want him to leave. The look in his eyes was one of pain, one that clearly showed understanding that he wasn't wanted.

"...Thank you for letting me spend the night here," He whispered, slowly sinking into the shadows beneath the water. The lunar pokemon could only watch helplessly as her new friend disappeared and left before her eyes.

Cresselia couldn't believe this. She'd just managed to have him open up to her and this had to happen. She then looked down at Mesprit, who was shaking all over –presumably out of fear of Darkrai- and picked her up so they were eye-to-eye.

"Alright Mesprit, you'd better have a perfectly good explanation for driving him away," it was rare for Cresselia to get angry but at the moment, she was ready to spank the pink-haired pokemon of emotion silly should she not give a valid reason for driving Darkrai away.

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To be continued in chapter 3