AN: Second chapter :,D I like to think that this one is a bit better. Anyways, thanks so much just for reading this ;u; Hope you enjoy!
Cold, cold, cold, cold, cooold. Sniff, sniff. Can't use fire, no, no, made Penny-girl angry before. Must find Penny-girl again. Cold, cold, cold. Sniff, sniff, sniff.
Penny curses as a branch hits her against the face for the millionth time that day. She swats angrily at mosquitoes, sweaty and uncomfortable. It's high noon on the first day of Being Alone, as she calls it. Her glasses are slipping down her nose like a little kid on a water slide, and she took her scarf and hoodie off a long time ago. Her T-shirt is completely ruined from the many thorns and branches, and she wishes she had thought to bring her knapsack. Oh, who is she kidding? Any knapsacks she might ever have owned are burned-up charcoal in the smoldering wreck of her house.
Her parents will be at the house by now, she's sure of it. The uncomfortable thought curls itself around her brain like a cobra and squeezes, making her mentally squirm with guilt. I'm sorry, Mom, Dad. You shouldn't have trusted me with a Pokémon, huh? She imagines her dad taking off his spectacles, blinking at the scene in bemusement, then looking at her mom, who will most likely have dropped anything she's carrying by then in shock.
She spots an Aipom high in a tree, staring down at her. Slightly unnerved, she tries not to look up as she moves on. Suddenly, she doesn't feel alone anymore. She's starting to get sick of being alone, anyways, she has to admit. Anything is better than being back at home and having to 'fess up to her parents, though. She doesn't want to admit to Prof. Rowan that she lost his Fire type Starter, either.
Her feet feel like they're on fire. As soon as she reaches the next clearing, she sits down on a handy stump and takes off her sweaty sneakers. One of her blisters has popped and is bleeding, making a small red blotch on her white sock. She winces as she touches it. She sets her hoodie and scarf down on the ground and stares into the undergrowth. The soft chirping of Kricketot echoes through the forest, but nothing appears. Not exactly reassured, she looks around restlessly. She feels kind of like something might be watching her, staring through the verdant-AH MY GOSH IT'S A LUXIO!
The Luxio pounces straight at her, teeth bared. Shocked, Penny topples backwards off of the stump and hits her head-hard-against the ground. Scrambling backwards, breathing hard, she stares at it- her- with quick, fearful eyes. Dang it, she had been careless.
The Luxio pads around the clearing watchfully, keeping one golden eye trained steadily on Penny. She gulps, and wishes she had some kind of protection. This is why you take a Pokémon with you when you go out into the forest. But the only Pokémon she'd ever had access to was Cyndaquil, and Cyndaquil-
A small rustling interrupts Penny's thoughts, and she looks around fearfully- but it's only a Shinx puppy, and then another. Chubby and adorable, they scramble towards who Penny now realizes is their mother. Finally dropping her gaze from Penny, the mother Luxio bends her head down to snuffle and examine her babies from head to toe.
Penny exhales, a long, deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding. All three of the heads snap up, staring at her. Broken-down thoughts run through her head of how mother Pokémon use live prey as training for their pups, and she gulps. But her fears are in vain. The mother Luxio and her pups turn, silently, and disappear into the brush as if they had never been there.
Penny stays there, on the ground, frozen in place, for a long time. She doesn't think she's ever felt so insecure before. Wild Pokémon could come at her at any time, and she doesn't know how to defend herself. It's already been proven that she's in Luxio territory, as well.
For a split second, she almost wishes she had Cyndaquil back. The thought is quickly crushed, squished back into the furthest corner of her mind, but it is still there, traitorous, commonsensical. She tries not to pay attention to it.
Finally, she gets up. She gathers her clothing very, very carefully. Shuddering at the deep Luxio pawprints left in the loamy ground, she begins to make her way forwards again.
She has been walking for a while now, when suddenly she bursts out onto a sandy road. She wasn't expecting this. Cautiously, she looks in both directions. A ways away, a large sign proclaims that this is "Route 201". She is a lot closer to Twin Leaf then she expected, she is alarmed to learn. But still, being on the firm, solid, Pokémon-free road feels good. She wonders how she is going to skirt Sandgem Town. With a bittersweet pang, she realizes that if she had stuck with being a Trainer, she would be traversing this road to battle the first Gym Leader. For a second, she feels the same excitement and sense of adventure that she had before, but she tries to squish it quickly.
As she walks quickly down the path, trying not to feel conspicuous, she hears shouts going on. Turning her head quickly, she notices two Trainers. It's too far away to see their individual faces, but there is something familiar about the figure of the girl. Penny stops and watches for a moment. Two bright white flashes- Pokéball flashes- light up the nearby tall grass for a moment. Her eyes widening in shock, Penny recognizes a blue crocodile Pokémon and a green leaf Pokémon- Totodile and Chikorita, the other two Sinnoh starters! Which means... these two are from Penny's town!
She turns, trying to leave quickly, before the girl notices her.
"Hey! Penny!" she yells, the surprised tone of her voice carrying over the shout. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home, helping your paren..." Penny cringes. Drat her red hair, it's much too visible. She shouldn't have lingered. Oh, crap. Now the girl is coming towards her, the boy following while trying not to appear too curious. "Weren't you the one whose Cyndaquil burned down your house? Yeah, Penny, it is you! What are you doing here?" she repeats, getting closer and closer. "Are you... don't tell me you're running away?"
So... yes... bit of a situation for Penny x,D That is my pathetic attempt at a cliffhanger. -bows, holding microphone as music begins to play- Staaaayyy tuned for the next installment! c,x
