"Mm..." Lyra awoke from a dream of being at home with her mother's sweetest dessert, to the stale taste of dust in her mouth. She covered her mouth and coughed loudly, sitting upright, reaching for a bottle of fresh water from her purse and gulping it down. It had been a mistake to sleep in the tower that night, her back was sore and in knots from the hard ground.
"Wow, it's totally exposed..." Lyra gawked, just now noticing how open the tower was as she shielded her eyes from the sunlight. The walls had many holes; Some worn, some seeming as if they were clawed through.
She shuddered. It was such an eerie place, even in broad daylight. Had she not been exhausted and famished, there was no way she could have gotten to sleep that night.
Rising slowly, rubbing her sore back, she looked around her for which hole of many was the entrance. Gathering her empty bottle, and the still sleeping Togepi, she walked groggily towards the doorway.
As she approached, though, she yelped in shock before covering her mouth. A crowd of people stood at the stairway, only a yard or so from where she stood. Ducking behind a nearby pillar, Lyra begged that no one had seen her as she was. She was covered in ash and soot; she felt absolutely pathetic. What if someone were to recognize her as the girl that had saved all the Slowpoke? That faced Team Rocket, even if only for something silly like taking back... A well? She was still a local hero for it. Someone would be bound to notice. Lyra would be mortified.
Pondering her options, she sighed. There wasn't anywhere to run even despite all the holes; someone would see her.
"I guess I could, uhm... Kill some time for a while..." Lyra bit her lip nervously, eyeing the staircase to the lower level of the tower. "It... Wouldn't hurt for just a little bit, would it?" She laughed, very quietly, her small noise bringing ash down from the ceiling.
Forcing herself to hold a cough, she hurriedly ran towards the staircase, afraid of the tower but even more so of the townsfolk outside. She was a train wreck. A homeless, idiot girl who brought her fate upon herself. She could at least hide it. In a destroyed, just as pitiful tower.
CRACK! Just as suddenly as she heard it, she was falling.
"DAMMIT!" She screamed, falling through the floor for seconds that seemed like hours. She "at last" hit the floor with a loud THUD! and prayed nobody had heard. Her body ached, and she winced when she tried to stand. She had pretty much fallen on her face, and it stung, the surrounding ash only irritating it further.
Blinking, she suddenly remembered her bag. Her Togepi. Where was she? Disregarding any pain, her free arm felt around her, scrambling to lift the fallen planks and save her beloved.
"Togepi!" Lyra yelled frantically, dust gathering in her throat. As soon as she had, she felt the strap of her bag on the floor. Sighing in relief, she pulled it to her, cradling it in her arms.
And then, dropped it to the floor when she realized it was empty.
Her throat dry, she curled up in a ball, and cried. Cried into her bag for several minutes, thinking the worst must have happened.
"Oh Togepi... I'm so sorry... I love you..." She sobbed, gasping from the sharp pains she still felt throb in her face and chest from the fall.
For several minutes she remained on the ground, feeling so guilty, so helpless. No one had seen her, and yet, she never wanted to resurface anyway.
Thoughts of Silver crossed her mind for brief moments, bringing another sob to her throat. What would he think of her when he found out she murdered her Togepi by being reckless and dumb? She'd be an embarrassment. He'd never say yes. She could grow her hair out for a decade, adorn it with the sweetest Pecha blossoms, find the most expensive and feminine dress. She could become the Champion, hahaha. By no means would he ever even look at her again.
Not even a passing glance.
She wanted to remain in this place forever.
"Oh my god! What on earth..." She heard footsteps heavy on the tile, quickly approaching.
She wanted to die.
Shriveling up inside, she hoped he would only glance at the debris, leaving her to wallow in defeat as she had last night.
But luck couldn't be on her side even once. Without hesitating, the man who had run to her began dragging the boards off of her, far stronger than she, freeing her from underneath.
Her eyes, closed from exhaustion and embarrassment, cracked open to look up at the man. Her vision clouded over too soon, and all she could see was a blur of wispy blonde, deep purple amidst pale white. He contrasted so profoundly against the dark, gloomy interior of the tower, she kept her eyes on him to keep her from being afraid. It was so dark...
"You look... like... An angel?" Lyra coughed, and all at once changed from afraid, to humored, giggling as best she could as she began to drift off, her eyes drooping, throat heavy with dust.