Chapter 2: Bodies in the Clearing
The sun had only just risen over the land when two small creatures had set out from their home in search of the strange objects they saw falling into the woods the night before. "You sure you saw something Sally?" asked a small, deer looking creature with a skeptical look on its face.
"Of course I am Donner," replied a purple monkey-like creature with a large yellow hand on its tail in an exasperated in voice. "Why do you always doubt me? Can't you be even just the little bit spontaneous?"
"Well," huffed the deer-creature, with a small bounce to re-adjust the satchel it was carrying around its neck, "you do have a knack of making these 'spontaneous' adventures take a wrong turn."
"Well," the hand-monkey responded, using the same tone to start her sentence as its companion did, "if you are so worried, you can always go back to the apartment and wait for me."
"Ha, and leave you to fend for yourself when it hits the fan? No can do Sally, someone has to watch your back."
The scenery around the two creatures had been changing as they continued walking. They were now entering a forest in full summer bloom, pollen still thick in the air, causing the two creatures to cough occasionally. "Oh Donner, you are silly," giggled the monkey in an almost flirtatious manner. "If I remember correctly, wasn't it me who ended up saving you from the Beedrill last time? And the time before that I had to come you your aid when those Tranquil came down on you? And then there was the time –"
"Yes, yes, you made your point," the Deer said defensively. "Anyway," it said, diverting the subject from progressing further, "you sure you know where you are going? The woods are getting pretty dense here."
"I'm sure, the objects were definitely falling towards the clearing at the heart of the forest. Luckily we don't have to go through any Dungeons to get there, that would have been a big hassle."
"Yeah, the Federation does a good job of keeping the Dungeons away from the vicinity of the city. There would probably be panic if one appeared so close to civilization."
"But not you, eh Sally?" the deer-creature said with a friendly bump and a laugh. "You would be the first one to go running right into that Dungeon."
The hand-monkey gave a sly and prideful grin. "Of course I would be," it said, its dexterous tail coming around its body and giving it a proud chest pump, its short hands motioning to a heroic pose. "But for now, I can only take a trip when I get a few days off," she said, her voice trailing off.
Sensing his friend's sadness, the deer-creature piped up. "Well anyway," he said, trying to putting on a chipper voice. "We are almost to the clearing. Look, there is the trail marker we left," he said, indicating to an orange flag in front of some trampled shrubs and bushes. "The clearing is just on the other side of those plants!"
The monkey's face suddenly was reinvigorated with life. "Donner you are right! Who knows what lies beyond there! Alright, let's give it a peak. Don't want to get into trouble right away," Sally said, an impish grin on her face as she nudged Donner with her tail. The two quietly crept up to the bushes and began slowly making their way through the brush. A loud crack shot through the air.
Sally snapped her head at Donner, his back hoof having snapped a dry twig in half. He blushed as she grimaced. Using her tail's hand she made a silent shushing motion as they continued their approach. Slowly the made it to the bushes. Leaves and sticks stuck to their face as they wormed their way through the dense undergrowth.
Both creatures gasped and recoiled back through bushes, completely forgetting the stealth they only moments before strove so hard to keep. "Did, did you see that?" stammered Donner, shock on his face.
"Of course I did!" exclaimed Sally, her hand tail motioning even more dynamically than her real arms were. "I counted six! How many did you count?"
"You think I was honestly thinking to count? We stumble upon a bunch of bodies in the woods and you expect me to count them? Honestly I just want to get out of here!"
"We can't just leave them!" Sally snapped. "They clearly need our help!"
"Yeah, or it's a trap to take advantage of kind Pokémon like us! Or even worse, they are a bunch of gang thugs and they lost some kind of turf war… Oh no! And now we are on a gang's territory! They are going to be coming for us now at any time!" Donner panicked, his voice reaching a pitch.
A loud thwack rang through the air, Donner's face knocked sideways, a large palm print red on his cheek. "Get. A. Grip." Sally shot, her big eyes narrow with conviction. "We are here now, and if was a trap I'm sure they would've jumped by now while you were in your tizzy. And honestly, those Pokémon didn't look they were in gang. Something must have happened, and they need our help." Without another word, she whipped around, her palm-tail flicking Donner's snout as she turned.
Sally thrust her way through the shrubbery and burst through to the other side. It was a beautiful clearing. A small stream ran around its furthest edge, its flowing water feeling the air with a soothing sound. In the very heart of the clearing, a mighty trees rose from the ground. Its trunk was massive, at least twenty feet around, and rose from the grass like a pillar to the sky. It was the heart of the forest.
Sally looked around and saw the closest of the bodies. She ran up to it and looked down at its collapsed figure. The creature was small, almost child-like. It had a green head, with two horns in the center of its head pointing in opposite directions. Its body, which seemed disproportionally small to its large head, was white and looked as though it was draped in a shawl that was two sizes too big. Sally, her intense gaze softened with an almost motherly concern, placed her dexterous tail upon the creature's chest. It was still breathing, soft a slow. It didn't appear to be in any sort of harm. In fact, it looked more than anything like it had just fallen asleep right there in the sunbeams that reached through the mighty tree's canopy. She couldn't explain it, but she felt drawn to the small creature.
Donner approached her. "Well they all seem ok. Honestly, they all seem like they are asleep. I couldn't find any bruises or marks. And none of them seem to be having trouble breathing. Though I do believe one of them may be having a nightmare." Donner said, indicating to one of the creatures that was further up the clearing. "So…" he said, his voice falling at the end of the word, "what do you want to do about them?"
"We wait," she said, turning to her friend, her intense gaze returning as she looked away from the child-like creature. "Wait for them to wake up. I don't trust just leaving them here."
"You sure? That could be awhile. And you know what the Federation said. It isn't safe to be out in the wild for long, especially when the sun goes down," he said with a nervous glance upward.
Sally walked back to the small creature and sat down in the grass, her tail wrapped protectively around herself, the motherly look back in her eyes. "We wait," she said again, "until they wake up."