Chapter 2: Enigmatic

Previously:

She wants to take me there? I follow her gaze. …Even if she doesn't realize it, she has a point. Jurassic wouldn't want me to just sit around and cry. I nod determinedly to myself. He would want me to accept the truth and move on. "Thank you," I tell the fish while I turn onto my front, "let's go."

"Muuualll…" She seems to understand my words and begins to swim towards land using her tail and exposed pectoral fin.

Jurassic… I'm learning to be independent! If- no- when we meet again, I will make you proud! I cry in promise to the horizon, "hear that Jurassic?! We will meet again!"

҉

Water droplets fly off my leather-like skin as I shake like a wet dog.

Tail still waving, I nod to the pink fish. "Your help was appreciated."

"Muuualll…" she calls echoingly before swimming into deeper ocean. Within a moment she disappears under the water.

Just as I begin to feel increasingly alone while I watch her go, a cheery birdcall of "putt-putt!" cries down from above. I look up to see the brave seabird from before riding thermals overhead.

"Putt-putt!"

Curious, I extend my right arm.

The seabird spins down and perches, folding his long wings and suddenly appearing a lot smaller. He tilts cutely and gazes at me with questioning black eyes.

I smile, confused. "Will you stay with me?" I inquire, unbeknownst of the note of desperation in my voice.

"Win-win!" he cries happily and flaps his wings. He sidesteps up my arm and perches on my shoulder like a parrot.

"Valll…!" I purr in amusement as the seabird merrily nuzzles against my ear with his soft white feathers. "I guess we're friends then! But I need something to call you…"

The seabird waits giddily as I appraise him.

I laugh. "I never was good at nicknaming. How does 'Aero' sound?" I suggest, my own winged Aero-Custom in mind.

"Putt-putt!" the seabird cries happily.

I smile and glance at the sun.

Assuming this planet is or is similar to Earth, it took a couple hours to swim to shore even with the help of the giant pink fish, as the sun is perched approximately a quarter way through the sky.

"I would like to begin my search for my friend as soon as possible," I tell my new companion as I begin to climb the ledge off the beach.

The sand yields to grass, which in turn gives way to extremely dense forest.

"Wing-win!" Aero cries hurriedly while I gaze analytically through the trees, throwing a long wing in front of my face and rapidly gesturing left to a much clearer path.

I sense something through here… it's not Jurassic, but still. "I see it," I confirm, "but do you think we could get through these trees?"

"Putt-putt…" he says uncertainly, not wanting to attempt it. Aero flies off my shoulder and hovers above the treeline for a moment before dropping and alighting once more. The seabird shakes his head.

I begin to frown, disappointed, when he points right.

Concealed by a large rock partly buried in sand, a thin sandy beach follows next to the ledge and continues around the forest.

"Good job, Aero!" I praise and follow the path.

҉

The beach continued a short ways before I began to walk through shallow water. The sand ended all together after Aero and I approached a marble railing-ed ocean viewing deck.

Balancing on one foot in vain attempt to see around the pillars, I suddenly lose my balance and have to flail my arms rapidly to stay up. I sigh, "well, Aero, pillars imply people, and I cannot be seen by humans. The last time I tried that ended badly. They thought I was an alien… which I am." I smirk at the memory. "So just give me a second…"

Aero flutters off my shoulder and alights on the railing. "Putt-putt?"

My transformation begins at my mere thought. My light grey skin pales or darkens, depending on the spot, becoming loose and fabric-like before a layer detaches completely to form a long-sleeved black shirt and dark blue denim pants. White and grey tennis shoes form over ankle socks on my feet. My helm splits into countless dark brown hairs that migrate into a relatively short ponytail. Widening before dilating, my slit pupils dilate into circular ones while my irises turns from silver to dark brown. I throw out my arms and a red jacket materializes.

Aero's expression is priceless once I finish the transformation. He does not look scared, or even surprised, just… blank.

I laugh until I realize the seawater is turning my shoes into slosh. Ah… why do humans wear these pointless things? Frowning, I clamber over the ledge.

Aero reclaims his perch on my shoulder as I scan the little town behind the viewing deck.

There is one house facing the ocean on either side of the main dirt path. A third house farther back and in the middle is being built by a team of humans and three different types of muscular humanoids with bulging veins. The fourth building is cornered by the trees and looks more business oriented.

"Ah! Aero!" I exclaim quietly when the seabird flies off my shoulder without warning.

Aero spins playfully around a human leaning on the marble railing. "Putt-putt!" he exclaims happily, "putt-putt!"

The human seems as pleased to see the seabird as vice versa. He holds out one hand and Aero lands on it. "It's you," he speaks quickly, a smile on his face, "how are you?"

"Wing-win!" Aero cries gleefully as the human strokes his face with a single finger. The seabird flits back to me and perches on my shoulder, drawing the human's attention to me.

I feel nervous as the human appraises me, his guarded grey eyes momentarily angry.

Suddenly the human appears surprised. "You… you're different," he muses, still speaking rapidly and showing no sign of slowing down, "who are you?"

"Di-Dinoval," I stutter, accidently using my real name in apprehension.

The human bows his head. "My name is N." N looks up at Aero. "This wingull tells me you befriended him. Do you intend to imprisonment him in a pokéball?"

So Aero's a 'wingull', huh? I tilt my head in innocent confusion. "I'm sorry, I came from a place very far away; I don't know what you mean." But 'imprisonment' sounds pretty evil…

N is astonished. "You must have come from a very faraway place if you've never heard of capturing a pokémon!" He seems to get lost in thought for a moment with a frown. "Perhaps that is for the best…" The human returns his gaze to me and reaches under his black shirt. N withdraws an eyeball-sized sphere with a click.

The sphere, what I suppose is one of these 'pokéballs' he was talking about, is red on the top and white on the bottom, separated in half by a circumcising black line and a white button.

N presses the button and the sphere expands to a comfortable palm-size with a "woohateeteet" sound. "This is a pokéball," N explains, "people use them to contain pokémon. Those people are called 'trainers' and they pit pokémon against each other in battles." He narrows his eyes and continues gravely, "I hate trainers forcing pokémon to fight. I have the ability to hear the voices of pokémon and I hear their suffering…" Closing his eyes completely, N presses the button again to shrink the pokéball before reattaching it to his waist.

N's right… I look at Aero, my past experiences in forced combat coming to mind. Forcing anyone to fight is wrong, especially animals- or 'pokémon' in the dimension- that cannot retort. I am about to agree when the longhaired greenette continues in a low voice, "yet I sense you are different. I cannot pinpoint how…"

He opens his eyes and turns to leave. "… but I am sure we will meet again, Dinoval." N walks down the main road towards a route leading through a clearing in the dense trees. "There isn't a Pokémon Center in Nuvema Town," N comments before gesturing to the large building, "but there is a pokémon laboratory here if you need more help."

I watch him go. N… such a strange human. He particularly mentioned his ability to hear the voices of pokémon so that must be abnormal. … I wonder… if he spoke with Aero, does he know I'm not human…? I shake my head and start walking towards the building he indicated. No, he wouldn't have been as puzzled as to why I seem different. On that note, I wonder what he was sensing unique about me… Questions that will be answered in time, I suppose.

Have an OC and a pokémon team? PM me or leave a review and I'll write you in! No legendary pokémon, please; I do not want Dinoval to be pwned to badly... :P

R&R!