Author's Notes: Introducing our second main character, Sonny Booker! The chapter is a bit brief, but there's lots more to come! As clarification, Balueville and Violetta town are both fictional. They don't exist in the Pokémon universe.
(May 5, 2017) Important notice: To anyone who has previously read my story; I edited the entire thing and am re-posting due to structural changes to the chapters, as well as minor plot changes. My apologies!
Sonny
On the same morning that Luna sat on her windowsill, watching the sunrise, there was someone else awake at that hour. The town on the opposing side of Aquacorde was Balueville; a small, but bustling place, known for its trades and goods. In Balueville, that sleepless young man was Sonny Booker.
His family's home, a gorgeous hand-built, wooden bungalow, had a workshop attached. The Bookers were the town's carpenters and made excellent quality furniture. Twenty-one year old Sonny had been working with his father since he could hold a tool. Together they had built their home and done work for every person in town. The workshop was brightly lit, and there were the faint sounds of scraping in the morning tranquility. The rest of the neighborhood sat patiently in the dark, waiting for the sun to come up.
Sonny held onto the plane tightly, his leans arms tense as he slid it along the plank of wood set up on the worktable. As he pushed, the wood curled into tightly wound shavings. His dark eyes focused intently on his work and sweat dribbled down the sides of his pale neck. An aipom, the long tail pokémon, hopped up onto the table, offering Sonny a clean rag. Sonny placed the tool down to wipe his slick forehead. Like most of his family he had thick, umber-brown hair that looked almost black in appearance. The sides and back were shorter than the top, which, at that moment, was sticking up awkwardly.
"Thanks Nanner," Sonny said. Nanner hopped up and down, grinning. The monkey-like pokémon had purple fur, a white face, and a long tail with a three-fingered appendage on the end. Aipom used their tails more often than their hands and were quick and clever with them. Sonny's aipom, Nanner, wore a yellow bandanna around his neck. Nanner bobbed his head, sweeping away the wood shavings with his tail. He was Sonny's assistant in the shop. He jumped away, darting to the wall of shelves filled with tools, and climbed it. Taking a moment to think, he selected a palm sander. Grabbing it with his tail-hand, he hopped back down and brought it to Sonny.
Sonny brushed wood dust off his black t-shirt. He was tired...so tired. He rubbed his eyes. He'd tried to go to bed last night but it had been pointless. After three hours of lying there, he'd gotten up and decided to finish a job a couple had commissioned last week. An oak table, specially designed and created from start to finish. He'd only just begun the tabletop. He'd worked with his father for almost his whole life, but he wasn't used to doing the jobs alone yet.
The door creaked open, and Sonny's houndour walked in. He was a black canine-like pokémon, with a light brown belly and muzzle. Houndour had an interesting exoskeleton; a helmet like piece on his forehead, ending before his black, pointed ears; two rib bones on his back; and circular, bone-like bands around his ankles. He blinked blearily at Sonny, who chuckled.
"Finally awake?" He walked over and rubbed Houndour's head. Houndour pawed at Sonny's leg, and he crouched down. "What's up?"
Houndour looked at him sternly and placed a paw on Sonny's hand. "Hooouun," he growled. He had a scraggle tooth that stuck out over his lip, which was so cute it made it hard to take him seriously. Sonny knew better than to say that to Houndour.
"I'm not tired," Sonny said, but the bags under his eyes said otherwise. Houndour looked at him doubtfully, and Sonny sighed. "Okay, I'm a little tired. I'm fine though, really."
Houndour huffed, laying his head down on Sonny's lap. Nanner scurried over, climbed Sonny's back, and wrapped his purple arms around the back of his neck. "Hey, guys, really. I'm okay." The two pokémon regarded him with solemn eyes, and he felt his throat tighten. Someone knocked on the door connecting to the house, and Sonny turned in time to see his little sister, Abigail, open the door. She was wearing her favorite pikachu onesie, hood with ears included. Her long hair stuck out of the hood, framing her sleepy face.
"Sonny…" Abigail said softly, yawning as she did. "There's coffee for you."
"Abigail." Sonny stood up, Nanner perched on his shoulder. "Why are you up?"
"To make coffee for you," she replied, yawning into her hand again. She waited for him, watching with her marbled hazel eyes.
"You didn't have to do that," Sonny said, rushing to the door. "Go back to bed silly." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She hugged his side as he walked inside.
"It's okay. I have trouble sleeping too." Abigail had to tilt her head all the way back to look up at Sonny. "I miss Daddy too," she whispered. She blinked away growing tears and a drop clung to her spindly eyelashes. The sight of it nearly made Sonny nearly burst into tears himself, but instead he crouched down to wrap his arms around her. Houndour squeezed in between them, licking Abigail's hands.
"It's gonna be okay," he said, choking on the words. He rubbed her back, and then guided her towards the kitchen. "I'll make you some hot chocolate, okay?"
"Okay." She sniffled, wiping her nose on her pajamas. Houndour walked next to her, bumping the back of her legs with his head. She giggled, and Houndour pounced on her, licking her face until there were no tears left.
The kitchen floor was red tiles, which connected to dark hardwood in the living and dining room. The walls, made of similar dark hardwood, were adorned with wainscoting and intricate trim work. Family pictures scattered throughout the entire house. Sonny did his best not to make direct eye contact with them. He poured the black, steaming coffee into a cup, adding sugar and moo moo milk. He started boiling water for Abigail's hot chocolate and turned to lean against the counter. He took a scalding sip, but didn't really register it.
The gray marble counters shone from his mother's vigilant cleaning. They could afford a maid. She wanted to do it herself, as a way of making it up to Sonny for having to take care of Abigail. He didn't want to think about it. Houndour and his sister played while Nanner scurried around the kitchen getting breakfast ready. The aipom opened the fridge, perched on the top, and used his long tail to grab eggs, bacon, and bread.
"Let me help you," Sonny said, turning on the stove and getting out a pan. Anything to keep him busy. The water boiled, and Sonny mixed hot chocolate mix into it, adding cream to make it thicker. When it was ready, he grabbed whipped cream from the fridge and added a dollop on top. "Here you go kiddo."
"Thanks Sonny," Abigail said sweetly, taking the mug and blowing on it softly. She walked over to the little blue and white table near the living room and sat down. They didn't use the dining room anymore.
Sonny and Nanner made breakfast, and as they did the sun started streaming in from the window. The eggs and bacon crackled, and Nanner carefully turned them. The delicious smells wafted through the kitchen, and Sonny's stomach growled. He stared out the window at the houses across the street from them. The sunlight was bright and golden, and as it washed over Sonny, he wished that it could take away the heaviness in his heart.
He wasn't sure it would ever go away.
After breakfast, Sonny got Abigail ready for school. Their mother was just waking up, and he heard the water turn on in the washroom connected to her room.
"Mom will bring you to school. I've gotta go downtown later, so I can pick you up when you're done." He stuffed her books and pencil case into her bag, and Houndour brought over the paper bag Nanner had packed her lunch into. "Thanks, Houndour."
"Okay," Abigail said, obediently putting on her socks. She wore a pretty pink dress with a white bow on the back and no sleeves. She'd brushed her own hair, which was dark and straight, like Sonny's. He rustled around her messy vanity until he found a pin with a pink bow on it.
"Here you go." He bent down and frowned as he carefully inserted the pink bow in her hair. He could carve delicate designs into wood with ease, but hair pins took real focus. He bopped her nose playfully after he finished.
They gathered at the door in time for Sally, Sonny's mother, to come rushing in. She was fixing her scarf and smiled at the sight of her children. Sonny's heart drooped a little lower when he noticed she'd been crying again.
"Good morning!" She hugged and kissed them both, her green dress swooshing around her ankles. Sally Booker was a bit shorter than Sonny and had a curvy, plump figure. Her cool brown hair was pinned up on either side, framing her beautiful, melancholy face. "I'm so sorry I wasn't up for breakfast. I'll make supper tonight. You said you were picking up Abigail from school later?"
"I am, don't worry about it, just go. Love you mom." He gave her a hug, and she rubbed his cheek with her thumb. Lately she'd been wearing an expression that was a mixture of shock and a numb smile. He couldn't tell what emotion was in her kind, brown eyes.
"Thank you, Sonny. I don't know what I'd do without you."
The door shut behind them, and Sonny stretched his arms. "Work, work, and more work, huh buddy?" He said to Houndour, smiling a bit. Houndour woofed, trotting towards the garage door. Sonny watched his mother and sister pull out of the driveway and drive off down the street. A plate smashed, and he turned. "Nanner, stop! I'll wash the dishes, just go!"
