I opened my eyes, and saw the waking sun on the horizon radiate yellow and orange.
I yawned, hearing some bird Pokemon off in the woods tweet, some taking off into the sky and some still stretching in their nests. As I raised my gaze, I saw a flock of Starly and Staravia pierce through the cold morning air. I lifted my head, and I could see the sun rise over the horizon clearly. I breathed in the chilly air, rising up and levitating over the short grass. I could see all around me easily, the land bathed in soft, rich, liquid gold. Nobody's coming in any direction. We had the land all to ourselves; besides the birds, that is. I saw another flock of birds invade the sky, and I felt an irresistible urge to join them.
"Avalon?"
I gasped, quickly looking to the left and seeing the Latias from yesterday. Indigo.
I took a deep breath. "You scared me for a moment, there." She laughed.
"Is it really true? You, losing your memory?" I hesitated, but I slowly nodded. I sensed that she believed me somehow. Perhaps I really can trust them.
I placed my gaze back to the clear, blue sky.
A few moments passed. "D'you want to fly? As in, really fly?" That took my attention. I didn't know how to fly without any guidance. Yesterday, I was only following Indigo, but alone in the sky? If my feelings about this were written on a sheet of paper, the whole page would be filled with nope, back to back, in very tiny paw-writing. My stomach churned at the thought, but I felt eager to learn. As much as I felt that nope feeling, I really did want to fly, to get off of this ground and take to the skies, faster than any plane or Pokemon.
My eyes shone like gems. "Yeah."
Indigo looked behind her, seeing that Leo and Jade were still fast asleep. She nodded, grinning.
She floated up to the same height as I was hovering over the grass. She backed up slightly, placing a bit of space between us.
"Soo," she started, "I'll just teach you the way I was taught, okay?" I nodded, tucking in my paws. It felt really weird, being treated this way by someone you just met, but I didn't mind. In fact, I felt very… at ease with her.
"You don't know how to transform into a human form, don't you?" I tilted my head. Transform into a human? It seemed like a crazy thing to me. She smirked. "Something tells me you don't." I rolled my eyes, trying to hold on to a grin.
"So, we're Psychic-based Dragons. We have the mental strength of Psychic types, while still having the stable body of Dragon types. That's what makes Latios and Latias special. Most Psychic types are very frail, while Dragons don't have the mental powers of Psychic types. We have the best of both types," she explained. I nodded, making sense to me. A piece of pride made itself known inside me, knowing that I was part of this particular species. I mean, seriously, Psychic and Dragon? Who wouldn't want to be like us?
"Being a very strong Psychic type with a steady body lets us be able to alter our forms to a human's. But only humans, because they apparently let us fit in with others the most," she explained. "To change your form, imagine forcing all your draconic and psychic energy into a small sphere inside your chest. The loss of energy shifts us into a human form. In our human form, we are effectively still Pokemon, so we can't talk in the Human language—we still speak like Pokemon. Soo... yeah." I stifled a laugh with her explanation's ending.
She nodded encouragingly, smiling, gesturing for me to try. I blinked a few times, then slowly replied with a nod. I closed my eyes and imagined all my energy into the sphere she described. I thought of forgoing everything that made me a Pokemon (something I didn't want to do, of course.) I opened my eyes, seeing nothing as a bright light enveloped my vision. I noticed that the light came from my own body, as my whole frame felt numb. When the light receded, I toppled over and landed over a soft pillow.
...
Pillow?
I saw nothing but red feathers. My eyes widened.
"I thought you'd fall," said Indigo, snickering.
I rolled my eyes, blushing lightly. I tried to get a footing with my feet, but kept failing miserably as I fully relied on Indigo to help me. "Ha-ha," I said jokingly. "Now, uh, please, help me up."
She pushed my chest with her head, and I did my best to balance on my two legs, with both of my arms hugging Indigo's head, afraid to let go and fall. This felt like a really compromising situation.
"Is this a wrong time?" I flinched, slipping on the grass and falling to the ground, still holding on Indigo's neck for dear life. She, too, lost levitation and dropped right on me on the grass. She raised her head slightly and looked at me in the eyes. I returned it for a few seconds. Our bodies were in full contact, the only things separating us were my clothes and her down. I felt my human blood rush to my cheeks and burn. I could see Indigo flush too, a massive red spreading over her cheek's white feathers. I retracted my hands, while Indigo levitated and backed off. She turned around, staring daggers into Leo. Jade was sitting next to him, keeping silent but looking amused.
The wind swept by my hair, partially blocking my vision. I didn't mind it much, though.
"Leo!" shrieked Indigo, "I'm just teaching Avalon—"
"So that's his Human form. How to what, hm?" he questioned, eyebrow raised.
"How to be a Latios!" she yelled.
"But—"
"But what?!" Indigo screeched, teeth grinding. Her voice went up an octave. Why's she so defensive, though?
Leo faltered for a few moments, but stood his ground. He appeared to swallow. "How do you know you can trust him?" I glared.
"Well—he is—" she said, her voice quieting. "I just know he's trustworthy. Eons are always good to each other. It's in our nature," she said, looking at me brightly. My gaze softened.
They were silent for an instant. Just as Leo was opening his mouth, ready to counter, I reacted, sighing. "You wouldn't understand."
"Wouldn't understand what?" Leo shot back.
"Not knowing," I said, eyes a veil, clouding my peaking rage.
"Not knowing what?!" he bellowed, stamping his paw on the ground.
The little sphere in my chest burst, turning me back into my Latios form. I knew he would take me more seriously if I was in my normal form—it was intentional anyways. I levitated up, placing my gaze at him and looking as vicious as possible. I couldn't hold it in. I lost my temper.
"Not knowing everything. My life is a lie. An absolute lie. If you took my place, and you're the one who's missing his memory, what'd you feel if your new companions don't believe you and you're telling the truth? What'd you feel if I tell you that you're an absolute lunatic?" I stared at him with my red eyes, shouting everything I was saying. I was close to tears. "If the family you've come to accept and rely on— even if it has only been an overnight stay— does this to you, what would you feel? You don't understand."
"..."
My eyes locked at Leo fiercely, filled with fury and tearing up, while he hung his head. A clump appeared in my throat, and I found myself unable to speak. I sobbed painfully, falling back to the ground and almost losing consciousness. My head softly hit the grass, tears streaming down my face. I closed my eyes, feeling like I was freefalling from the sky. My mind raced, but I couldn't think of anything clearly.
"Yeah, now, if you'll excuse us," Indigo said, venom dripping from her words, directed at Leo. She turned to me, eyes lax and filled with pity.
I heard Leo spin around, his footsteps echoing off across the sand. I could hear the soft pit-pattering of teardrops on the shore. Jade went off after him. I cried silently for a few moments more.
"It's okay to cry," she whispered. There was so much care and sympathy in her voice, I couldn't help but be entranced.
She lowered her face next to me and pushed her forehead onto mine, and my tears stopped flowing. The grass waved in front of my face. I gasped. I could feel her feelings. How? I felt her heart hang at my sadness, as she shared my emotions. This moment, our minds overlapped, and I could feel our thoughts mixing with each other. I could feel a tinge of blooming friendship in her regarding me. Our minds came to a blank as we just kept our position, not wanting to leave.
'You'll be fine, Avalon,' she thought to me.
'I know I will,' I thought back.
We separated, Indigo lifting her head, revealing half-lidded eyes and a dreamy smile.
"My mother does this to me whenever I used to cry," she said. "Better?"
"Better," I gasped. "Thanks, Indigo."
"For what?"
"For trusting me."
I looked at her, seeing the pity in her face. She smiled, and I smiled back as best as I could.
"Don't be angry at Leo. Just give him some time, and he'll trust you." I nodded, then gulped. My face took a bath in tears, but it was alright now. Thanks to Indigo. She trusted me; now it's my turn to trust her.
"Okay, let's try this again." I floated back up. Indigo wiped off the remaining tears off my face with her claws. I sniffled.
"It's okay to cry," she murmured again, embracing me in a warm, small hug. I slowly enveloped her body with my paws. Our cheeks were so near to each other. She separated from me a few seconds later.
"Why do you do this?" I asked her. She thought for a few seconds.
"Because you're my friend," she replied. "You're missing something you value. Everyone's missing something. We have to help each other find it."
"Friend." I contemplated. "That—that sounds nice. Thank you, Indigo."
"You're welcome," she said cheerfully.
I floated back up and transformed into my human form.
"So, let's continue." I was rejuvenated by Indigo's words.
I placed my left arm over Indigo's neck as I took my first steps. She was directing me to the shore line, as I placed most of my weight on her. As we came upon the sandy banks, I let go of Indigo and kneeled on the sand. I looked at my reflection in the clear water. I had black, dark and rather untidy hair. I had a light skin complexion; my eyes were blood red, like a normal Latios'. I had a faded blue shirt, with a red Eon Crest—the triangles that we have— in the center of my chest. On top of it, I wore a blue hoodie, exactly the same hue of blue as my feathers. I looked down, and I wore blue jogging pants, with neon-green rubber shoes on my feet. I actually looked like a human, but I know, inside, that I'm not.
I placed my hand in the cool, clean water, and splashed some of it in my face. I felt refreshed, the drops of water slowly making their way down my face. I stood up on my own this time. I steadied myself alone, and faced Indigo.
"You're ready," she said, nodding and smiling. "Climb over me."
"Uh, w—what?" I stuttered.
"Your first 'flight' will be on me. This is just so you could get the feel of flying, and so that you can adjust to the really fast paced way we fly," she explained. I raised an eyebrow, then simply nodded.
Indigo dropped to the ground, and I took seat on her, just ahead of her wings. "Well, what're you waiting for? Hold onto my neck."
"Um..." I felt uncomfortable with lying down on Indigo, chest down, and holding onto her neck, the act of it.
"Well, you're going to want to hold on!" she said, giggling loudly, as we took off. Oh, and when I meant took off, I meant like a sound wave.
The very moment she flew off, a sonic-boom exploded just behind us, and I held onto her neck out of fear of falling off. The wind roared loudly in my ears and bombarded my eyes with gusts. I clasped her neck, with my face pushing into her feathers, yelping and whining for Indigo to stop. I closed my eyes, but I could still feel the cold wind prick my skin. Indigo slowed down in speed, turning around. We were rather far away from the campsite now, in the middle of the large lake.
"You're crazy!" I said, taking deep breaths.
"Well, that's not a very polite thing to say," said Indigo, pouting.
As my heart rate slowed down, I got the chance to speak properly. "Sorry, Indigo. But still, you could've at least slowed down a bit. Like, seriously, that was awfully fast."
"You're going to have to get used to speed. We're Eons, after all."
"Okay, then, let me try flying."
She dropped in altitude over the campsite, and I un-saddled her. I switched to my Latios form, my body burning light as I did so. I took my place beside Indigo.
"So, you told I'd have to get used to speed, huh? Race you to the other end of the lake." I stretched my wings and tucked in my paws.
"No, the lake is too small for us," she said. "Just out-speed me. Follow me and out-speed me until I'll have to follow you. I'll tell you through telepathy when you win. It shouldn't be too hard because Latios are naturally faster than Latias. Ready?" Her body bobbed up and down in anticipation, her wings seemingly folding themselves.
"Wait, wait. Telepathy?"
"Right... you know when we had a mental link earlier? Yeah, kinda like that. I'll teach you that later. So, ready?" I nodded. We faced to the lake.
"Three, two, one, go!" She shouted, and we both flew like arrows through the air.
Indigo easily out-sped me, but I wasn't one to lose.
For a first flight on my own, I felt like I was doing well, considering I had barely any training about myself. I tucked in my wings and claws, and adjusted my fins. I flew at an incredibly fast speed, that I heard a sonic boom just echo. I had broken the sound barrier. I could barely focus on a ripple of water as they whizzed past. My eyes weren't even tearing up from the wind! Dragon eyes, I suppose.
I pulled up, yelling in delight and laughing as I cut through the clouds. I made a wide loop, shooting through the sky like a bolt. I sped up even faster as I performed a dive, preparing to pierce back into the world. I was not Avalon that moment. I was a Latios, and I was proud of it.
The feeling of flying is amazing. Just feeling my heart pump quickly as I paid no attention to the howling wind was enough to make me love it.
At that moment, I could see Indigo looking up at me from the water-surface, a smirk on her face. She sped up in an attempt to out-speed my dive, but she couldn't do so as I sped past her like light, electricity crackling on my feathers.
'Alright, you win,' she said to me through telepathy, her voice merry. I slowed to a stop as she did the same near me. I controlled the electricity to the tips of my claws, and thrust my claws upwards. A bolt of lightning cracked off to the sky.
"Not bad, for someone's first time to fly." She said, grinning.
"Flying–it's amazing," I exclaimed.
Indigo laughed. "Who wouldn't love to fly?"
"By the way, Thunderbolt? How did you know how to do that?"
"I—I don't know. I just sort-of did it."
"Hmm... static, I suppose." She looked deep in thought. That was until we heard a distressed yell for help come from our left. The left side of the lake.
Who could that be? I thought. Earlier, Leo and Jade went off on the banks...!
I looked at Indigo, her face reflecting my own of worry.
"Jade! And Leo!" we said in unison.
We flew towards the source of the scream simultaneously, not knowing of the danger. We hoped we weren't too late.
So, that's that! What happens next? The earliest time next chapter will come is this Friday, but it will not take too long.
Okaaay, "Velocity Wings" is a kind of reference to this epic music piece by Waterflame on Youtube, which rather fits Indigo and my little race. Not mine!
Alright, drop a review if anything's wrong or if you want to say something, and see you guys next time! Avalon out.
