Author's Note: Chapter 1 fixed.
For the purpose of this story, I made up my own layout for Snowpoint. Pokécenter and pokémart are still on opposite sides of town, gym at the centre, but I need you to imagine a normal town. Mildly concurred streets, little shops and cafés. Work with me, please~
Oh, no Dialga, Palkia or Giratina. No red chain trio either (Or not yet, at least.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. If you can call it that.
Warmth
"…So, if you decided for us to go ahead, all we'd have to do would be talk to Candice so she'd take us to the temple to find the Pokémon." Cynthia sipped her coffee and gave Dawn an expectant look over the cup. The little coffee shop they had taken refuge in was warm and cosy, with not many people occupying the soft little sofas. The relative silence and nice décor made for a very relaxing atmosphere.
"Wait, let me get my thoughts in order." The overwhelmed teenager couldn't help but say. It was quite a bit to process, after all. "Apparently, there's a humongous legendary Pokémon, supposedly asleep, inside Snowpoint temple?" She asked with a frown.
"Yes, that's right." Frantic little nods. How cute... Dawn nodded along as she sipped her own coffee. Her face then showed uncertainty, with an eyebrow raised and looking sideways at Cynthia.
"And you want me to help waking it up?"
More nodding and an open and sincere face. Dawn brought her cup to her lips again just so she'd have something to do. A warm and comfortable silence befell between them.
"Why?"
The sudden word wasn't spoken with incredulity, just soft and genuine curiosity, but it still caught the older woman by surprise, it seemed. She faltered a little. "What do you mean?" A slight frown appeared on her face.
"Why me, I mean. You could have asked anyone in the region, probably in the others as well. I'm a trainer-slash-coordinator in the making, why not ask actual, experienced trainers? Why not a champion from another region?" Dawn wasn't insecure, it wasn't that she felt unworthy, she was just extremely curious. The girl knew for a fact that the woman was at least on friendly terms with Hoenn's Champion, Steven.
Cynthia cocked her head to the side and seemed to mull it over for a little while. She couldn't be cuter if she tried. Dawn hid a smile behind her cup once again.
"I... Well, I don't really know how to put it without appearing strange or overbearing but, you see," As she looked down with a frown, she seemed to be searching for lost words. "I met you quite some time ago. You were just starting your journey to become a trainer, with your little Piplup trailing after you." She paused to lift her eyes and smile at Dawn.
The girl in question just stared with wide and curious eyes at her friend. Are we friends, though? I think we are. Or at least I hope so.
"But look at you now." The blonde continued her little impromptu speech. "You're on your way to beat the Elite Four, your Piplup is now an Empoleon and your whole team is so strong and seem to be so happy with you..." She paused, her gray eyes focusing softly on Dawn's. "I feel very proud to have been of help to you and I, well, I really admire you, Dawn." She finished quietly with an earnest look on her face.
Dawn felt like a thousand Beautiflys were making their home inside of her, the cold forgotten a long while ago. What was it about Cynthia that could throw her for a loop so easily?
"I, uh, um... Th-thank you." She replied breathlessly. The woman's sincere and warm tone had left her speechless.
Suddenly, Cynthia's sweet smile turned into a playful and mischievous grin. "...You beat Volkner."
Huh? Talking about sudden loops... Dawn's whole face screwed up in confusion at the sudden declaration. She didn't understand where that came from, so she spoke up. "Huh?" Brilliant, Dawn.
"I said you were on your way to the League, you didn't correct me. You beat him already." The Champion's smile had gotten wider and she looked very pleased with herself and her detectivesque manoeuvre.
The girl's eyes widened in realisation. Her face broke into a smile and she let out a little chuckle as she shook her head. Her cover had been blown. Oh well, she was never very good at keeping secrets.
"Yup! You'll be seeing me around in no time!" Her own smile bright and sunny.
"I surely hope so; I'm looking forward to your challenge." Cue a charming wink.
Swoon.
"Heh, alright then. Back to the original topic, um," Clearing her throat, the blushing girl wanted to go back before all of her blood travelled to her face. She tried to get serious again. "What's the story behind the pokémon in the temple?"
"Well, it's supposedly a protector of peace, and strong enough to move continents by itself. Powerful and capable, he made three other golems after its own image from ice, rocks and magma." Cynthia seemed to be far away as she gave a very short description of the ancient pokémon.
That made the younger girl pause.
"A-and we're supposed to wake it up?! That might be very dangerous!" Dawn panicked a little, she sat up straight, with her eyes wide and her voice an octave higher. "I don't think it'd very happy if we woke it up after so much time!"
The older woman seemed just a bit sheepish at that. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem, it is a guardian of peace and people."
"Shouldn't?" If her voice had gone any higher, only Zubats would have been able to hear her.
"Yes, well, this might be dangerous." The champion conceded with a grimace. It wasn't like she had planned to hide it from the girl, and she trusted her to figure it out for herself too.
Dawn looked down with a frown, this did change things a bit. If she decided to go ahead, it would put Cynthia's and her own life at a risk, at the very least. The whole region, even the world, at worst... She flinched.
There was suddenly an expectant silence between them. The moderate hustle of the coffee shop and the street acting as background music for them.
"Can I... Can I have some time to think this over?" The teenager lifted her eyes to the blonde woman's, her voice, calmer now, bringing them back from their thoughts.
"Of course, Dawn. I didn't expect you to give me an answer immediately." A sweet smile came with the soft reply. "Since we're done with this, do you want to go to Lake Acuity with me for a little while?"
Dawn was caught off guard by the invitation, but she smiled brightly nonetheless. "Sure!"
"Great! Let me just pay for our drinks, and we can be on our way." The champion's smile seemed to get brighter, if that was possible, while she looked around for their waiter.
"You don't have to, you know? I can pay for myself." The girl said matter-of-factly, but made no move to do so as Cynthia paid for both their beverages. She'd been taught to graciously accept invitations and compliments since she was very young.
"I know, but I was the one to drag you here, after all. It's the least I can do."
"Thank you" Dawn smiled.
"Come on, let's go."
"Cynthiiaaaaa~!" Dawn wailed loudly for what could have been the hundredth time. "I keep getting more and more buried in the snow!"
They were on their way to the lake, and the permanent snow was getting heavier and taller the closer they got. The teenager was having the most trouble out of the two, as the snow swallowed most of her leg.
The champion just rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, well, snow does that. My legs are getting stuck too."
"Yeah, but the snow is almost up to my hips" She pouted. Thank Arceus I'm wearing thermal tights or I'd have lost my legs long ago.
"You just need to accept the fact that you're tiny, Dawn" The champion's words were mixed with light giggles. Cynthia was a few inches taller, so her legs were faring a bit better. The girl in question completely stopped walking and turned (as much as she could) to look at the woman with an indignant look on her face.
"I am not tiny!"
"Yes, you kind of are."
"No."
"Okay, whatever you say."Cynthia shook her head with a chuckle. By this point she had stopped walking as well.
Dawn puffed up her cheeks and then released her breath. Suddenly, she put her hands together and smiled."I have an idea!" She reached into her bag and started searching around.
"Aha!" Came a victorious exclamation. "Come on out, Rapidash!"
With a light red flash reminiscent of a flamethrower attack and an ember show, Rapidash came out of its pokéball. It landed gracefully, the snow around it melting instantly, and turned to look at its trainer with a little neigh.
Dawn reached out to lightly rub her snout. "Hello sweetie. Were you bored?"
As the girl continued to talk to her pokémon, Cynthia watched with a curious smile. Surely Dawn didn't expect Rapidash to be able to melt all the snow around them with its attacks?
"Okay, what I need you to do is very simple." Dawn kept on talking to Rapidash, the pokémon hanging onto every word. "Can you please walk in front of me? We're going to Lake Acuity, do you remember how to get there?" Another neigh and a nod. "Could you do that for me, please?" The pokémon bumped its snout against Dawn's cheek. She let out a little giggle. "Okay then. Let's go!"
As the pokémon walked, the snow around it would instantly melt, making it easier for Cynthia and Dawn to follow through the trees. They followed Rapidash in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until a neigh and a little ember alerted them that they had arrived. The pokémon had stopped before an expansive open space, and they could see the lake ahead.
Around the lake, there was a huge grassy space, with a few patches of thin snow, filled with wild pokémon running around. Since the sunlight wasn't filtered by trees, it was warmer there than at the foot of the small mountain. There were a few lodges at one side of the lake; Dawn could see a sign on the front of the biggest one. In the middle of the lake stood a cave.
"Here we are! Thank you so much!" Dawn came forward to rub her pokémon's snout and coat once again. She reached into her bag and took out a small blue-sprinkled yellow poffin, which she gave to the fire pokémon. Rapidash ate it happily and bumped her again. "Okay, in you go." With another giggle, the teenager called her friend back into its pokéball.
"Good thinking."
"Thank you, I try." Praise feels so nice. Dawn was feeling giddy for some reason. As she smiled the biggest grin she could at Cynthia, she could feel happy laughter bubbled in her chest. I feel weird. Was there something on the coffee? Maybe it's just the caffeine...? Yeah, that must be it.
"Why did we come here?" Dawn asked curiously.
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to be here for a while, it's a very nice place to be." The blonde answered with fondness. The coordinator stared at her, wondering. There was something in the champion's eyes as she took the scenery in.
"Come on, follow me!" Cynthia seemed very excited all of a sudden. She started walking towards the lake. Dawn nodded and followed.
After a while, the sun started warming them up as they walked, so Cynthia gave up her heavy black coat, while Dawn just opened hers up and took off her scarf. They walked along the side of the lake for a while, enjoying the peace and the sun.
Dawn was pleasantly surprised with how Cynthia was acting. She had become playful and energetic as she joked around and sometimes even skipped along. The younger girl had no problem sharing her happiness. She hopped along with the champion.
At one point, they slowed down and decided to sit and let their pokémon out for a while. Flash after flash, each of their friends got out and started enjoying the weather, too.
Dawn's Staraptor and Cynthia's Togekiss took off to stretch their wings out, while Empoleon and Milotic went straight for the lake. While Spiritomb opted to stay in the shade of the trees behind them, the champion's Garchomp and Roserade were quietly enjoying the sun along with the coordinator's Luxray. Rapidash went for a short gallop before settling down, while Cynthia's Lucario and Dawn's Gardevoir were face to face and seemed to be having a silent conversation. The younger girl's Togepi just stayed in her arms for the rest of their little break.
As they spent the rest of their afternoon like this, sharing the food they had between them and their pokémon, and talking about anything they could think of, Dawn couldn't fathom a better way to spend a day. She couldn't have been happier as Cynthia laughed so hard that a tear ran down her face as she told her a funny story. As she laughed along with her, she thought about how nice it was to be able to see her like this, without that mysterious and unapproachable air she always kept herself wrapped in when she was in what Dawn had started to affectionately (and secretly) refer to as her "champion mode". It was nice to see that, after all, Cynthia was just a normal twenty-one year old girl. She looks so happy. She probably doesn't do this too often, it must be tiring for her...
The sun had gone down, but they hadn't really noticed, with the calm Rapidash's bright flames lighting their surroundings up, so they were both startled when a shiver ran through Cynthia, finally alerting them of the time that had passed. They looked with surprised expressions at each other after the champion had put her coat back on and Dawn had buttoned hers up.
As they looked around to see most of their pokémon asleep, with the exception of Luxray, Lucario and Gardevoir (the latter two were still absorbed in what they assumed was conversation, while the former was laying, purring, next to its trainer, who was subconsciously petting it, the static sparks having turned into white noise.), they realised that they had spent the whole day sitting there.
"Wow" Cynthia's voice made the younger girl turn around. The blonde seemed to be just as shocked as she felt. "I didn't even notice the time go by."
"Yeah, me neither..." Dawn trailed off as she looked at her pokétch. She groaned as she noticed the time. "Oh no... I have to go home soon, I promised Mom I'd sleep there today." She sighed sadly. She really wanted to stay where she was, she was the most comfortable she had ever been. Whether that was because of the location or the company, she didn't want to think about.
Cynthia sighed in quite the same manner as she looked at her own watch. "I have to go, too. Lucian won't be very happy with me..." She stood up and offered her hand to the girl. "We should do these things more often, this has been the most relaxing day I've had in quite a while." Her voice barely above a whisper, so as not to wake their slumbering pokémon.
Dawn accepted her hand and stood. As she dusted herself off, she looked around."Yeah, we definitely should." She turned to face the young woman, her face unreadable while soft. They both called all their pokémon but Staraptor and Togekiss back into their pokéballs.
"So, um, you should call me, when, uh, when you decide about what we should do." Cynthia, for the first time that Dawn had seen, seemed unsure of how to proceed. She frowned and looked down, on what seemed to be frustration as she delivered the stunted sentence. It seemed to be very hard for her to break their comfortable bubble.
"Is that the only thing I'm your friend for? I'm hurt." As the small girl crossed her arms in mock annoyance, the champion's head rose and her lips formed a beautiful smile. Dawn couldn't keep her front up and a playful grin took over.
"Of course not. I'll let you know that you can call or message me whenever you want, and as long as I'm not in the middle of a battle or meeting, I will answer."
"I'm glad." Dropping her arms and her voice softening. "The offer goes both ways, just so you know. Difference is that my life is probably a lot less eventful than yours, miss Champion." She couldn't help but tease.
Cynthia let out a laugh at that. "You'd be surprised! Not many people get past the Elite Four, you know? So I mostly spend my days sitting and looking interested in whatever battle I'm watching. So, those calls? Please make them, you could probably save me from drying up and disappearing." Dawn couldn't help laughing at the girl's dramatics and distressed face.
"Okay, I will, then!" She came closer to the champion and hugged her briefly. The taller girl hugged back before she took a step back. "Thanks for today, I had fun." Cynthia smiled at her and said nothing before going over to (and awaking) Togekiss. She got on her pokémon's back and waved at Dawn before disappearing into the sky as they took off.
"Such dramatics. A simple 'bye' would have sufficed, don't you think?" Dawn turned her attention to her now awake Staraptor. Her friend gave a low coo as answer. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, Mom's waiting." As the flying pokémon stood, Dawn sighed happily. It had been such a great day. She got onto its back.
As they took off, Dawn faintly thought that she should pay for their coffees next time.