Chapter One
Arrival in Whirl Islands
Stood on the ferry deck, leaning out over the white fencelike guard, she inhaled the salty air as the great white ship sailed easily through the small whirlpools. Feeling at ease, she let the warm summer air encase her, looking out across the choppy white foamy waters, wind whipping the long brunette locks across her face, somewhat held back by a green bandanna.
"May?"
The blue eyed girl looked across the wooden polished deck, and smiled softly at the younger, approaching boy. His black hair shone lightly in the sunlight, as it glinted off his glasses brightly.
"We're nearly at shore. Are you nervous about the festival next week?" he asked the older girl, and she bit her lip in content thought, before nodding a little.
"I get nervous before every contest Max. It's been harder without my favourite little brother there to cheer me on, but I feel much better knowing you'll be there to support me." Her smile was white and toothy, and the boy, Max, couldn't help but return it.
"I'm your only little brother." He pouted playfully, and she laughed, gesturing for him to join her.
"That's why you're my favourite. There's no one to compare you to..."
"Are you saying other little brothers would be better than me?" His face contorted in frustration and annoyance, but May could tell he was only playing along.
"Now, did I say that?" She chimed in a singsong voice, and the slightly taller than he used to be boy smiled incredulously.
"Same old May."
The coordinator giggled.
A foghorn sounded, merely to alert them that they had five minutes before docking, so the Mable siblings returned to the lockers to collect their belongings. Having recently visited home, and also returning home after the grand festival, May felt happier to travel a little heavier than usual, carrying multiple formal outfits for different stages in the grand festival. It made her feel a little more prepared – along with the fact her different dresses matched the pokemon she planned to use.
She felt ready.
Max dryly commented something about her needing all the dresses and such that was stuffed into her suitcase, and she playfully glared at him, in too good a mood to make a comment back.
As they made their way from the boat to the sandy white beaches of Whirl Islands, they, and the other passengers, were greeted by a calm, warm breeze, and May instantly relaxed.
Yes, she definitely felt ready.
"Hey May!" A familiar voice greeted her, and she turned to face a girl with pink tinted hair and an orange jacket, smiling serenely, who had gotten off a boat parallel to her own.
"Soledad!" The brunette was happily surprised she had found an old friend so quickly, and warmly embraced the girl.
"Feeling confident this year?" The girl laughed, lightly embracing the younger girl.
"Mmm, I'm not confident. More..."
"Prepared?"
"That's it!"
The two conversed and laughed, Max tagging along behind, on their way towards a larger version of a Pokemon centre.
"That's huge!" the smaller boy exclaimed at the hotel like centre.
"Well, it's part hotel like most centres, but Whirl Islands are an amazing tourist attraction, so they'd need more room!" Soledad explained, leading the way with the siblings close behind. They murmured softly in response, entering, and freezing in place.
"S-S-Soledad!" Brock's materialization hit them. "You look as beautiful and radiant and lovely as ever!"
"Brock?" The elder of the siblings could barely contain her excitement. It snapped the Pewter City gym leader momentarily out of his trance.
"May!"
As Brock broke into realisation and an embrace with the young coordinator, he sighed happily, as if greeting a family member he had not seen in a long, long time.
"Brock, what are you doing here?" exclaimed May, gripping his shoulders warmly.
"Supporting you!" He flashed a toothy grin, and she beamed in response.
"Are Ash and Pikachu here too?"
"And Dawn!"
"Oh-this-is-such-a-good-day-WHERE?" Her disbelief and excitement was palpable. Brock chuckled warmly, pointing towards a video phone Ash was being very sceptical into, and Dawn was attempting to listen above Ash's constant mutters and shakes of heads. Max began to converse with Brock about Sinnoh as ... "Yay!" May tore across the lobby, jumping and flying through the air, tackling Ash to the ground.
"I missed you!" She squealed, choking him with a hug. He choked slightly, and Pikachu separated them forcefully. She blushed in embarrassment, but he grinned at her, and ruffled her hair fondly.
"Hello there May!"
"May! It's so great to see you again!" Dawn helped her fellow coordinator rise, and gave her a warm hug. Said brunette was flushed from excitement and joy, and happily returned the embrace.
"Who the bloody hell is that?" A purple haired, steely eyed male stared May down menacingly, and she cringed slightly.
"This is my old travelling partner, May." Ash introduced, putting an arm around the blue eyed girl happily. "She's just got into the Jhoto Grand Festival, and she's going to be amazing!" May looked him over for a second, and then eyed Dawn.
"H-Hi!" She grinned anxiously, putting her hand to the back of her head and scratching at her scalp in somewhat fear.
"Yeah, I don't care who Ash has been shagging."
"Wha!"
"Paul! May isn't my girlfriend!"
"N-No chance! Me and Ash?"
The two looked at each other and cringed.
"That's like... incest, for me." May shuddered slightly.
"Exactly! ... What's incest?"
"Idiot." Paul's sigh cut them off. "Regardless, back to what I was saying."
"Paul thinks something's going on round here." Dawn explained to the newly arrived May, as Brock ambled over, pulling Soledad in his wake.
"Really? Like what?" May cocked her head to the side, looking oddly at the purple haired boy.
"So, I hear you're Sinnoh champion!" May giggled, nudging Ash in the side. "Congratulations!" They sat in the Pokemon centre lobby, comfortable and familiar conversation drifting between the five of them as Soledad had left to book rooms in the centre for herself, May and Max.
"Ahh, next month I have a match against Cynthia. Only if I beat her am I the real champion. But it feels good to have finally won!" Ash smiled to himself calmly, showing a maturity most thought impossible of him, and Brock ruffled his hair patronizingly.
"I remember..." he cooed "...when I gave you your first badge!"
Ash flushed.
"And Misty was following you, trying to persuade you to borrow her pokemon, because Pikachu VS Onix is a bad idea." Brock's grin widened. "She had such a big crush on you."
"Don't be stupid Brock!" He snapped, maturity forgotten as he scolded his elder like one would scold a parent for embarrassing him.
"I remember when we got split up on the way to Cerulean, and I was with Misty and you guys were together..." Max mused. Ash's ears burned. "She didn't talk about you much."
Ash looked depressed.
"Do you remember when she let her Togetic go to protect the others?" May sighed dramatically. "You looked heartbroken at her pain. So sad..." She faked a sniff.
"Stop it May!" He pouted, a half angry half blushing redness was covering his cheeks.
"How about your possessiveness over the Misty lure fishing charm?" Dawn winked. "He refused to let me look at it unless he was holding it. Talk about crushing or what?"
"Seriously guys! Stop it!"
Ash had succumbed to a pile on the floor.
And it was hilarious.
The four of them laughed at their travelling partner, and May stood.
"Haha... I'm going to check on the Soledad with the rooms... I'll be right back."
She slipped past them, a bright smile plastered on her face, and they watched her leave, still chuckling.
As she approached the desk, she saw Soledad take two keys, thanking the Nurse Joy behind the desk, and turning to face her.
"May! I got you and Max a twin room, is that alright?" She smiled prettily at the girl.
"Perfect! Thanks Soledad!" May grinned in gratitude, running forward and taking the key. Dawn had her head lolling back, watching her curiously.
"Maaaayy!" A cacturn costumed man seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and began running towards the pair. May braced for impact.
It never came.
Looking cautiously, she got an eyeful of a purple jacket and green hair.
"Drew!"
He stood with her back to her, facing Harley with a victorious smirk on his face.
"Remember the last time you tackled May to the floor, Harley? She knocked her head on the floor, was hospitalized and got a concussion. If you were to do a repeat of that while conscious of that fact, a week before the festival, it would be considered purposeful and a deliberate attempt to sabotage." His eyes flashed in amusement at purple hair man's expression. "I'd think again, ass wipe."
Oh yes, it was definitely Drew.
"... Your logic may prevail this time..." Harley's effeminate voice was laced with a subtle undertone of menace. "... But I'll be the one taking home the Ribbon Cup!"
"Actually, Harley, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but odds are against you." Soledad smiled awkwardly.
"Hmm? How so darling?"
"Well, the mathematical odds are against you. They've done full background checks on all the competitors this year, and the odds have been calculated." She continued. "I'm the only previous grand festival champion, so I'm pretty high up. Drew, you've scored in the top ten of the list..."
"Naturally." He flipped his hair.
"And Harley, you're near the bottom..."
"B-b-b-but...!"
"Soledad, did you see where I come?" May asked, stepping around Drew so she was stood within the circle of people.
"Yes..." She paused hesitantly.
"I came last, didn't I?" May's pessimistic wail was pathetic. Harley snorted with laughter.
"Let me explain something to you May. You've competed in two Grand Festivals. In the first one, you lost to Drew, correct?"
"If you'll allow me to answer that for her, yes, a spectacular loss." Drew smirked.
May elbowed him.
"Continue."
"Then, the second, you beat Drew..."
"HAH!" May chanted pointedly.
"And lost to me... and I won, correct?"
"Yes."
Something clicked in their minds.
"May, you've been predicted to beat me this time round, as a continued mathematical pattern." She explained. "You're... favourite to win."
Harley died a little inside.
"Wow, really?" May's eyes lit up in wonder and optimism, and she figuratively glowed for a moment.
"Don't get too comfortable May." Soledad warned. "That's why you lost last time around."
May came tumbling back down to earth.
"You're right! I'm going to get a good night sleep tonight, and train harder than ever tomorrow!" She said decisively, clapping her hands together determinedly.
"That's the spirit!" Soledad smiled proudly. "I'm going to my room, I'm exhausted." She bid her goodnights and departed with a short wave.
"I will not let you live up to this Mable!" Harley spat, frustrated and upset. "I'll see you later – Count on it!" And he stalked away grumpily.
Drew snickered.
"He's such a tool."
May giggled at him, and their eyes met in a familiar amusement. Dawn's ever watchful eyes picked up on it, and signalled to Brock to come and look. The two watched in fascination.
"Was the trip over alright?" Drew asked, raising an eyebrow. May nodded.
"Yeah... Max and I got a boat from Slateport to Olivine, and then from there here." She explained, stretching subconsciously. "Exhausting, but we're here now." He nodded.
"Well, you'll need to rest up tonight if you're going to train really hard tomorrow." The male coordinator said pointedly, and she nodded in agreement.
"I will..." May smiled at him. "I... I'm sorry about the Blackthorn contest. I didn't know anyone would find me there, a-and I was just feeling a little lonely."
"A little?" He scoffed, but looked uncomfortable. "Look, May, you had just gotten your last ribbon. Every other time you did that you had someone to congratulate you without feeling like they should have gotten it instead of you. I don't blame you for feeling lonely." He looked away, feeling awkward. "So dry up."
She smiled at him again, knowing she was one of the few people he would drop his guard with.
"Thank you." She mumbled, trying to catch his eye a little. Over the time she had been travelling in Jhoto, she had spent a lot more time with Drew. They still argued and bickered, but there was a stronger friendship there than before, and she liked that.
A lot.
And so when no one else was around (they had to keep things up for appearances sake), they had a tendency to become a lot kinder to one another. She liked that too.
A lot more.
"I haven't had a hug yet!" She beamed, smiling playfully. Drew rolled his eyes at her immaturity, and allowed her to embrace him, carefully wrapping his own arms around her, as if scared to break her.
Truth be told, he was worried for her.
She was a very fragile person, and she needed people to rely on. She craved reassurance, and he knew travelling alone had been the hardest thing she'd done. He'd become incredibly protective over her, like he had Soledad, and he wouldn't let anyone, or anything, near her unless he gave consent.
She was his closest friend.
That worried him even more.
The embrace broke, and she continued to smile that brilliant smile, and for some reason, they could vaguely hear snickering.
"... Maay and Dreww, sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."
"BROCK!"
"Hey, should we swap the rooms around?" Dawn suddenly asked, the six of them sat on the sofas in the lobby now that Drew had joined them.
"What do you mean?" Max asked, who was currently sat snuggled up to his sister, yawning, as he was now used to going to sleep when told. It was getting quite late.
"Well, Max, you could sleep in the three person room with Ash and Brock, and I could share with May." Dawn threw her a look. "I need to talk to a fellow girl about something anyway."
May raised an eyebrow.
"Paul?"
"Damn you."
"Wha?" Ash's face was priceless.
Max was slowly falling asleep on his sister.
"I'm..." he yawned. "Okay with it." He mumbled, and then began to breathe much softer and his eyes drooped shut. May smiled at him softly.
"I'm cool with it too. Give me your key a second Ash, I'll take small one upstairs." She smoothed the sleeping boy's hair, and carefully stood, lifting him over her shoulder. "Heh... he's heavier than he was a year ago." Ash passed her the key, which she carefully took between her teeth.
"You won't be able to carry him up by yourself." Drew smirked. "Face it May – you're a wimp..."
She rolled her eyes.
"Shuu i' Mmishr Wose. If you're so touff, hellph me."
He stood, and took the key from between her teeth.
"You can carry the kid. I'll just open the doors." He began to saunter away, a winning smirk plastered on his face.
"Such a gentleman, holding a door open for a lady." She sarcastically commented, following after.
"Wait," he froze for a moment, staring at her. May glanced at him, worried for him slightly, a look of pure horror and shock was frozen on his face. "You're a girl?"
"Jerk!"
As they watched the three leave, the remaining three chuckled.
"Aw, they're cute together." Dawn simpered. "Should I tell May that Drew told us to come?"
Brock shook his head.
"Nah, it would only embarrass them both. It looks like they've gotten really close... I'm not too surprised. But it's quite adorable..." He grinned. "It's about time they realized."
"Realized what?" Ash looked at him, puzzled, having forgotten the phone conversation already.
Brock's grin widened.
Pokemon ©Satoshi Tajiri
Vardoger © -Little-Miss-Lia
Permission to translate or create a story
based on or following on from 'Vardoger' needed.