CHAPTER THREE

Newleaf Town

The realization was shocking. All his life, Sterling had been hated and despised, punished and treated cruelly – and all because of his odd parentage and silver eyes. Yet this friendly Charmander had come along, helped him and been kind to him, had not even seemed to notice that they were different. It was very suspicious. No – maybe not suspicious, but odd. Definitely odd.

He stopped to stare in confusion at the Charmander, who continued walking, unaware that his companion had paused. Blaize seemed so nice, yet the fact that he didn't mention Sterling's eyes – eyes he was named after – was just strange.

That wasn't the oddest part, though. Blaize hadn't humiliated or taunted him about his eyes. He hadn't sneered or called him a freak.

This new place was evidently stranger than he had thought.

"Uh… Blaize." He stumbled over the unfamiliar name.

The Charmander stopped and glanced back, wearing a smile. "Yes? Are you okay? Or are you wondering how far the town is from here? We're nearly there, I promise. We just have to cross the field and the river, and then we'll be there. You can get help there."

"No… that's not it." Sterling stared at his paws, suddenly unsure if he should speak up or not. His confusion - and longing to know more - won out in the end, though. "Uh… well… you seem nice, but… um… I have silver eyes. Weird… you know? But… you didn't seem to notice them. Or mention them." The words sounded pathetic, and he winced inwardly at how accusatory they sounded.

Blaize's smile faded. "Well… I did notice your eyes, but I didn't talk about them. They are really cool, you know." He seemed sincere. "Where I come from, just about everybody has little differences like those – in their appearance and their abilities. They're very common, really."

"What?" It was unthinkable. Back in the tribe, anyone with differences of those was treated cruelly and generally hated by everyone. But it seemed that, outside of the secluded plains, they were tolerated – even encouraged.

"Well… yeah." Blaize frowned. "Most Pokémon these days choose mates from other species. If we didn't do that, then just about every type of Pokémon would be extinct by now."

"Really?" It was a shocking thought. In his old tribe, having a mate from a different species – in fact, even being different at all – was violating some sacred law or other, and everyone seemed only too happy to deal out the punishments.

Blaize blinked, noticing the surprise in his tone. "Where do you come from, Sterling?"

The inevitable question.

Bad memories assaulted him. Sterling stared determinedly at the ground and chose not to reply.

The question didn't seem to require an answer. Blaize sighed, a solemn sound. "Wherever it is, it must be harsh. Very few places don't allow Pokémon from different species to mate, and those that do are supposed to be… strange." He trailed off.

Sterling understood that completely.

The Charmander paused before continuing. "Pokémon who breed with those from other species can usually have children if they're in the same egg group." Something like a blush colored his cheeks, though it was hard to tell, seeing as his scales were already red. "Their children can have strange appearances and abilities."

So Sterling's parents weren't freaks, and he wasn't a mutant.

The two of them continued walking again, exiting the grove quickly enough and entering a small field. It seemed pleasant enough, and the air smelled fresh and grassy there. Nobody spoke, allowing the rustling of swaying grass to fill the gap in their conversation.

"But," Blaize said suddenly, breaking the silence, "the children's abilities are balanced out. For example, if your mother was a Charizard and your father was a Nidoking, then you would inherit some traits from your father but lose some from your mother. Like tougher scales and the ability to use more ground-type attacks, but you'd lose some speed and fire abilities."

Sterling looked strangely at the Charmander. "That seems like an… odd example to make."

Blaize's blush grew more evident. "W-well… um… it might be true. For me, I mean." He clearly had a tendency to babble when he was nervous.

It felt almost relieving, though, to have met someone who wasn't hated for his odd parentage. In fact, it made thinking of his mother easier. Sterling could almost imagine her with his father without any pain, though her loss still hurt him.

He could almost imagine his father. His mother had always spoken very fondly about him, and loved him still. Had loved him. He hoped that his father still loved her. It certainly seemed so, considering the sacrifice he had made to protect his mate and kitten.

And his father had possibly even passed more traits down to him than his silver eyes. Perhaps that had something to do with how Sterling had escaped from Indigo, which had seemed quite a lot like teleporting.

"Who was your father, Sterling?" asked Blaize suddenly, as if he had read the Shinx's thoughts.

Sterling stared at his paws, suddenly shy again. "An Absol," he muttered. And then he would say no more.

They walked through the rest of the field in silence. A light breeze stirred the long grass, which swayed gently, and ruffled the Shinx's fur. The breeze carried the sweet scent of the Pecha grove, as well as the leafy smell of trees and undergrowth. It was an almost comforting smell.

Soon enough, they reached the edge of the field. There, a river ran, separating the field from the lands beyond. Its water looked swift and strong – nothing that they could cross easily.

However, upon closer inspection, Sterling noticed a bridge a little farther away. And in the distance, he could vaguely make out house-shaped objects. It seemed that the town was as close by as Blaize had promised.

The Charmander spoke up, pointing a claw at the distant collection of houses. "Look, Sterling! That's Newleaf Town. It's where I live, and you can live there too, if you want." He turned and gave the Shinx a bright smile that seemed almost hopeful.

The silent, slightly awkward walk had made Sterling shy again, and he was reluctant to admit any weakness. "Uh… I don't really know where to go from here." He clawed nervously at the mud, which stuck unpleasantly to his fur.

"No worries. I can show you around," Blaize assured him.

"Thanks." That, too, was an unfamiliar word, one he used rarely.

Blaize didn't seem to notice how awkwardly he said it. He held out a claw again – a rather useless gesture, seeing as Sterling couldn't exactly hold or shake it – and began charging for the bridge. "Let's go, then! You'll love Newleaf, I promise!"

Sterling, with one last glance back at the Pecha grove and the field, followed after.

The bridge was old, but it was sturdy enough and barely creaked as they walked over it. Sterling still felt slightly nervous as he crossed, glancing cautiously down at the river, though Blaize acted confident. "The bridge will hold you, I promise. It's stable. I've seen a group of Golems walk across it."

Sterling, though, could tell from both the babbling and from Blaize's tail-flame – which was beginning to increase in size – that being so close to the water made him nervous. He couldn't really blame the poor Charmander. The thought of falling into the river scared him, and he was an electric-type.

The walk across seemed to stretch for eternities, and Sterling was relieved when they finally stepped off it, finding themselves close to the town.

Newleaf seemed nice enough. It was close to the edge of some forest, so the town did appear to have a very natural look to it, though it wasn't just composed of pretty plants and vines. There were plenty of stone buildings and houses – in fact, there were very rarely any wooden ones.

When asked about it, Blaize laughed. "It's built that way so that fire-types like me don't burn it down! Naturally, the grass Pokémon weren't too pleased about having to replace their wooden homes with stone, but it's been helpful in the long run."

"I would think so." Sterling eyed the flickering tail-flame.

As soon as they reached the outskirts of town, Blaize turned to him. "I'll show you around tomorrow, okay? For tonight, I'll just bring you to the inn. They accept all sorts of Pokémon and won't ask many questions."

But only a few questions would be too much. Sterling flinched at imagining being interrogated about his mother's death, and – despite what Blaize had said earlier – the possibility that they would laugh and call him a freak for his silver eyes still seemed very likely.

"Don't worry, Sterling. We're all friendly here." The Charmander gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Sterling couldn't help but squirm a little, though he kept silent.

At first, the streets seemed rather bare, and the houses seemed to be mostly unoccupied. Then the roads became well-kept – made of paved stone instead of dirt, and free of any kind of litter – and the houses had gardens and lush yards, as well as lights on inside and Pokémon playing out front.

Those who noticed the duo gave them friendly nods. Though none of them seemed cruel or mean or tried to humiliate him for having silver eyes and being a freak, Sterling remained on edge.

Luckily, the path to the inn didn't take them to a very busy part of town. It did lead through a slightly crowded area, though.

"This way leads to the shops," Blaize explained, pointing at a well-lit street that separated two rows of houses, then turned out of sight. "It's usually pretty crowded right now. You should see it in the mornings, though. It's really bad then."

Sterling, though he listened as Blaize pointed out a few important streets and landmarks, mostly paid attention to the houses. The sheer variety of them amazed him. Not one was the same, though they were often made of the same building material – some had torches in the front, or trees actually growing into the house, or ivy growing on the walls, and some were shaped like a Pokémon's head.

"And here's the inn." The Charmander pointed at a large building made from red bricks. It had plenty of windows and a well-kept front lawn that was filled to the brim with flowers and shrubs.

Plenty of Pokémon swarmed around the garden and the front steps. Sterling found himself growing uneasy, then frightened as he neared the large crowd, and kept his face downturned so that his eyes were hidden. Blaize patiently steered him through.

Inside, it seemed rather empty, though a fireplace warmed it. A few Pokémon sat around, chatting or reading, but were mostly quiet.

Reading. Sterling had only seen a few books before in his life – enough to teach him the language, but too few to satisfy his hunger for adventure. He had never been satisfied with boring tribe life, and never would have been even if he had been treated decently.

Blaize moved him along, steering him to a counter. Behind it, a Kirlia was reading, evidently unaware that she had guests.

"Um…" Sterling began, unsure of how to start. "Uh… um…"

With a sigh, Blaize interrupted. "My friend here is new to town and doesn't have anywhere to stay. Do you think you can let him stay in a room for awhile?"

The Kirlia stared almost blankly at him, long enough for Sterling to become half-convinced that she was deaf. Then she chirped, "Of course! There's one empty right now. Let me show you to it." She sprang from her seat. "It's got enough room for two Pokémon."

"I won't be staying in it. I already live here," Blaize told her.

For some reason, that seemed to make Sterling feel oddly sad.

The Kirlia nodded, smiling cheerfully. "Okay, then! Let me show you to your room!"

Sterling followed her as she led him from the counter and down a long hallway. She pointed out the room, which was near the very end, and opened the door so that he could check it out. To his relief, Blaize came with him.

The room seemed very simple, with little more than two straw beds, a fireplace, and a table with a bowl of fruit on the top – apples, probably. Sterling found that he preferred it to the mad rush of houses and Pokémon that he had seen earlier that day

"Thanks," he mumbled to the Kirlia. It was the second time he had said it in one day – a record for him.

"Not a problem, not a problem! Always a pleasure to be of service! Make sure to come back to the Newleaf Inn later," she chirped before prancing away, almost twirling as she walked.

Blaize plopped down in one of the beds with a long sigh. "That's Stella. She's nice, but a little odd. When she reads, it usually takes a full minute for her to come back into the real world, and then she's very… cheerful."

Sterling sat in the other one, his exhaustion returning. Though it was still clearly daytime, he felt more tired than ever before. Besides, the straw felt soft and comfortable, as if coaxing him to fall asleep within it. "It's nice here, I guess. Too crowded for my liking."

"You'll get used to it," Blaize promised.

From the way the Charmander talked, Sterling guessed that Blaize was under the impression that he was going to stay in Newleaf for a while. Maybe he was and maybe not. The town didn't really seem all that appealing, though it was interesting to look at.

"Look, I can tell that you're exhausted." Blaize gave Sterling another pat on the shoulder. Those pats were starting to get annoying, though they did feel a bit comforting. "Why don't you take a nap?"

The bed did feel comfortable, and he wanted to go to sleep. But it felt wrong to do so all alone, when he was used to sleeping alongside his mother. And even though the rest of the tribe hadn't slept exactly close to them, they had always been nearby.

"Uh… Blaize?" he asked hesitantly. "Can you… stay here? With me?"

"Of course." The reply was soothing.

And then Sterling curled up into the warmth of his bed, breathing in the soft scent of the golden straw, and let sleep overtake him.

AN:

This was originally meant to be split into two chapters, but I decided to combine them.

There, guys! Sterling's silver eyes are some clichéd attempt at making him look "special." Just about everybody in this fic has some oddity or other. Blaize, for example, has poisonous claws, as you'll see soon.

Speaking of "everybody in this fic…" there will be some… interesting characters next chapter. You'll like them, I promise.