Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

2: Two Strangers

It was the perfect day for a graduation. The sky was clear, the sun was high, and the peak of Hoenn's northern mountains was void of life… save for two.

A young woman of 24 years and a feral salamence stared into each other's eyes under the tension of power. Both were equal in heart and determination, but only one had a stronger willpower.

The young woman exerted this power outwards, forcing the great dragon to succumb to its influence – to her will. Her posture was strong: upright, chin up and hands at her side – ready to react. Her eyes had a glare inside them akin to a fire, but as calm as stagnant lake. Her purpose was clear, and it was the only thought roaming inside her head.

Dragons were known to sense power in visual and audial form. They often acknowledged power in place of dominating in a fight to the death – their most common reaction to humans.

However, this dragon looked upon the female human's confidence. It stared and waited for the slightest sign of hesitation, duress, or even anxiety. None were recognized among the woman's form. In his last test, he roared proudly to stagger this woman, only to find that the only thing that was moved in her was the hair on her head.

She didn't budge, and she wouldn't dare give in on her day of ascension.

Accepting his defeat, the dragon grumbled humbly and lowered his head in a bow. To his awkward surprise, this was the only action to break the girl's concentration.

"I did it! YES!" she screamed in glee as she hopped up and down clapping her hands. She ran up to the mighty dragon of Hoenn and hugged his neck, giving him kisses here and there.

Seeing as he had already accepted defeat, the prideful being could not attack in a vicious rampage. Instead, he cursed himself in his head as he unexpectedly took to flight – leaving the woman to fall to her ass. She didn't care, she had just passed her graduation.

"I believe congratulations are in order for you, Zinnia," an elderly man spoke behind the woman. Zinnia tilted her head upwards, still on the ground, to see Esbern, the Draconid village's chieftain. She picked herself up immediately and kneeled in respect for his authority. "Please, rise," he ordered.

Zinnia obeyed immediately and stood with her hands crossed in front of her over her waist.

"I will now administer to you the creed of us Draconids and bestow upon you your keystone," he informed formally, but with a knowing smile that was copied by Zinnia. "Salute, Zinnia." Zinnia raised her right fist horizontally in front of her while placing her left hand over her bicep.

"Do you, Zinnia Drakenspire, swear to uphold the honor, integrity, will, and responsibilities of the Draconids?"

"I will hold my honor high, for it is my life. I will be honest with myself, and the beasts I lead to battle. My will is strong; stronger than the scaly hide of the dragons I tame. And I will hold myself responsible, as if my sins were as equal as my triumphs."

"Do you swear to treat dragons and beasts as they are man's equal?"

"I will judge all of Arceus's creations not by their appearance and lineage, but by their actions I witness."

"Do you swear to use your power for these promises?!" Esbern asked more forcefully.

"I am ready to end my life before I abuse the power given to me!"

Esbern slapped Zinnia as per Draconid code, but the girl remained unfazed.

"DO YOU SWEAR YOUR UNDYING LOYALTY TO THE DRACONIDS?! FOR THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO RAISED YOU?!"

"I WILL RIP OUT MY OWN HEART BEFORE I BETRAY MY HOME!"

Esbern took out a knife and a cloth drenched in dragon's blood from the bag by his feet.

"Then by my right, honor, and authority as chieftain, by the dragons of space, time, distortion, and sky," he said while opening Zinnia's fist and cutting her palm, "I graduate you to Lore-keeper!" He took the cloth and squeezed it over the fresh wound, allowing human and dragon blood to intermingle and bond. He pulled an object from his bag and placed it in Zinnia's hands.

It was blue, almost turquoise, and spiraled resembling a snake climbing an invisible pillar. A small, rainbow-colored stone was fitted onto the large tip of the object.

"I present to you your keystone; may you walk the earth strong, and let your legs carry you to greatness. Fight strong…"

"…Die free," Zinnia finished. Her smile had widened greatly by the end and so had Esbern's. The old man opened his arms wide, inviting the young woman to a hug which she greatly accepted.

"Thank you, Dad," she said.

"I'm proud of you, Zin. I always have been." He looked up to the skies and watched as a Salamence soared around his home. A pit in his stomach dropped as he remembered what he had promised himself years ago, the promise he made to Zinnia for when this day arrived.

"Listen Zinnia," he said as he separated from their embrace, "For twenty-four years now, I've kept a secret from you. It's not my proudest action, but I wanted to wait until this day to tell you-"

"Dear Arceus; I'm adopted, aren't I?" she interrupted.

"No, you're not ad- Wait… you knew?" he questioned confusingly.

"I am?" She asked again. She paused for a second and began to laugh. "I'm just kidding… I'm psychic, remember?"

"Right… not exactly a trait in northern Hoenn," he commented, "So when did you find out?"

"Just now," she said with a laugh.

"Like I've been saying since you took your first steps: you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days," he laughed with another hug.

"So, did you at least know who my parents were?" Zinnia asked.

Esbern hesitated his response, but responded truthfully, "I don't know if there was a father involved, but your mother was definitely there. Part of the reason I didn't tell you was because she was the one who requested it. She told me to keep it a secret until we believed you have come of age; which you've definitely proved today."

"Dad… I could sense that you're feeling a little uneased. Believe me, I understand completely," Zinnia assured with a smile.

"That's just like you – always the optimistic one," he said with pride as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"How can I be disappointed about an absent father when I have the perfect one in front of me?"

Esbern chuckled. He had always loved her outlook on life. No matter what troubles laid ahead or behind her, she always remained cheerful.

"It might be a longshot," Zinnia started while holding his hand with both of hers, "but do you know where she is now? My birth-mother?"

"When she came to me, she said she was going to live in Johto; however, since the war, I kept a tab on her for this occasion. Last I heard, she was residing in Hearthome City, Sinnoh."

"Sinnoh…" she trailed off. "That's… the complete opposite end of Indigo," she deadpanned.

"True… but I think you'll be just fine on the back of your 'brother,'" Esbern said.

"I know you said I was optimistic, but Salamence could barely make it to Kanto without rest, and a stranger coming from the west is probably gonna raise some flags."

"I believe I forgot to give you your birthday present this year," Esbern said as he pulled an object out of his robes. It was a large sphere of indigo and crimson color resembling the inner pattern of a marble. "And I'm fairly certain your brother would make it to neutral ground without breaking a sweat."

Zinnia was in shock. Even with her power, she hadn't foreseen her father giving her a mega stone, and one for Salamence to boot.

"What… where did you find this? Aren't salamencite utterly rare?" she asked in complete awe.

"Zinnia, we're draconids; any dragon stone is easy to obtain if you know where to look."

Zinnia reached out towards the stone, feeling the raw power emanating from within. She had almost brushed her fingers on it when her father pulled it back into his robes.

"Later. Right now, we have a graduation to celebrate. Besides," he trailed as he picked up his bag and began his descent down the mountain, "Your brother is waiting for you down there."

Zinnia smiled and looked down at the anklet given to her. A new life was ahead of her as lore-keeper.

Peter Sencrad brought his hands to his mouth and breathed. The cold air of a Sinnoh night nipped away at his fingertips – leaving them numb, but not as numb as his mind. He stood hunched in front of a building, wishing that his hoodie was more effective at preventing the cold.

He looked left and right checking his surroundings for any witnesses before he reached into his jacket and pulled out his sidearm. With closed eyes, he inhaled and exhaled deeply as he gained the final bits of his confidence.

"Arceus, if you're there, and you don't want me to do this: please send a sign," he whispered to himself. He breathed a few more times before he opened his eyes, full of determination, and moved his hand towards the door knob.

An earth-shattering cry broke the quiet atmosphere, making Peter drop his sidearm from the spook. He looked up to see a dark crescent-shape entity flying over his head and landing not too far east.

His breathing and heart-rate picked up from the event and he looked back toward the door, then to the pistol. He chuckled at himself before bending over to pick up the weapon and returning it to his jacket.

"I guess some things really are fate," he said as he turned into the direction of the mysterious entity. With another deep breath, he was off to investigate.

[…]

"Easy boy, we'll rest here for now," Zinnia said to her salamence. The two had landed in the woods of Eterna Forest to rest from the long day spent flying. Along the way, the two made a couple of stops to sight-see, gather supplies, and make short rest-stops. Luckily for them, no government official had stopped them in their journey.

Zinnia went to the pack attached to Salamence's saddle and pulled out a chair and sleeping bag. She set the two down and, with her hatchet, went off to gather some firewood.

Meanwhile, Salamence took this opportunity to nap while Zinnia prepared dinner. He closed his eyes and drifted off into slumber.

At least, that would have happened if he hadn't heard a twig snapping not too far from him. The direction of the sound came opposite of where Zinnia had left which put him on guard.

The bushes in that direction began to rattle with life and he hunched his neck back in preparation of an attack. When a human popped out from the bushes, he roared powerfully, alerting Zinnia of danger. Immediately, she dropped the wood and ran back to the site with her hatchet clutched in hand. When she reached the area and saw another human, she visibly relaxed.

Zinnia's gift of telekinesis was special in that she could easily detect danger, which was nowhere to be found with this human's presence.

"Easy, Salamence," she said calmly before directing her attention to the stranger. "Sorry about that, my brother has a bit of a reluctance toward strangers. But don't worry; he won't bite. Right, Sal?"

The dragon snorted and went back to its nap leaving a cheery girl and a scared-shitless boy.

"I'm Zinnia; what's your name?" she asked politely while holding a hand out.

"P-Peter… Peter Sencrad," the boy uttered while shaking Zinnia's hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Pete!" she welcomed before going back to where she dropped her wood. When she returned, Peter was examining the large dragon in detail, albeit remaining a certain distance away.

"Is this a Salamence?" He asked in awe.

"Of course, it is! I told you, didn't I?" Zinnia reminded him.

"I know, but… I've never seen one before… especially this close."

Zinnia folded her arms in thought. "Yeah. I guess you wouldn't; they live in specific places, mostly mountains and deep caverns," she said.

"Where did you find him?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," Zinnia told as Salamence sparked the fire. "My brother and I have always just known each other." Salamence nuzzled his head on Zinnia's side, making her laugh and pet him in return.

"You grow up alone?" Peter asked while taking a seat by the fire.

"Oh, goodness no. I had a family… Well," Zinnia paused in thought, "I guess an adopted family. I recently just found out that my mother lives here in Sinnoh. Let me tell you, it was a PAIN to take such a long trip from Hoenn."

Peter's eyes had widened at this revelation. "Hoenn? You crossed the border all the way from Hoenn? And no one stopped you?"

"Of course not," Zinnia replied casually, "They're too busy fighting each other and searching for guardians to look up every once in a while."

"I guess that makes sense," Peter replied warily. His mind drifted onto the reference of aura guardians. For some reason, they had always sparked an interest in Peter's mind. He wished to meet a guardian one day in hopes of receiving the smallest of gifts or wisdom.

"So what brings you to Sinnoh?" Zinnia asked.

"I was born and raised here. My parents died while I was young so I was brought up in an orphanage. From there I went to school, met the love of my life, watched her burial, and now I'm just a wanderer trying to make ends meet… what's so funny?" As Peter was talking, Zinnia fell into a fit of laughter that knocked her off of her chair.

"I'm sorry, but I asked why you were here, not a life story," she replied. Peter shook his head and looked at the ground beneath his feet. "Well, you showed me yours," Zinnia continued, "It's only fair I show you mine." With that, she took off her jacket – an action that made Peter anxious.

"Umm… we just met," he said.

"Huh? Oh no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that thought to your head," Zinnia tried assuring him. Only for Peter to become disappointed. "Besides, I like girls."

"Could've gone without you saying that," he said with a struggle.

"Why?"

"It's just a joke. So what did you mean?" Peter asked.

"My life story. I guess with recent events withstanding, my mother, after giving birth to me, took me to a Draconid village in northern Hoenn. I was raised by the village's chieftain, who is the BEST dad ever, and became a lorekeeper a couple of days ago," Zinnia explained. "Lorekeeper is a position in the village that knows everything about dragons, history, myths – both human, beast, and guardian-related – and the world in general."

Zinnia made sure to keep her true job secret as per her father's, and village's, orders.

"So pretty much a historian?" Peter compared.

"That's definitely a better name than 'lorekeeper,'" Zinnia admitted with a laugh that was joined by Peter. Things were calm and quiet for a while as both stared into the fire.

"So, do you need any help in finding your mother?" Peter asked.

"Nope," the lorekeeper responded immediately – stunning the boy.

"Why not?"

"Because I can handle it on my own."

"Well… may I accompany you?" Peter asked, more delicately this time.

"If you want to. Do you have a ride?" Zinnia asked as she stirred the fire. The boy in question pondered on her words.

"By ride, you mean…"

"A pokemon. Dragon, bird, or anything that can fly?"

"Oh, I don't… have a pokemon. You see, I've always been sort of… jumpy with them around," he confessed. Zinnia looked at him with suspicious eyes.

"You sure don't seem jumpy around Sal," she pointed out.

"Well, he's already got an owner-"

"Trainer," Zinnia corrected, "More like a brother."

"Trainer… that can… keep an eye on him."

Salamence picked his head up and snarled lightly towards the unfamiliar man.

"No offense. It's just I have no experience with owning a chi… a pokemon. My foster parents were never really accepting of them."

"Well that can explain it. Most of the older generations still feel that resentment. Except the Draconids," Zinnia said while petting Salamence's head.

"Do you know if your mother is one of those people?" Peter asked. Zinnia remained silent for a moment as she thought about the possibility.

"I don't think she is. If she was, she would probably leave me with a different community than one that raises chimeras." Salamence gave a low grumble at Zinnia's choice of words. "Sorry, I was just making a point. You know I don't think off you like that. But going back to my question, if you don't have a ride, you probably aren't going to keep up with us."

"What if I ride on-"

Salamence roared once again knowing what Peter was about to say.

"Does that answer your question?" Zinnia said with a giggle.

"I guess…" Peter said with downcast eyes. It was this expression that gave Zinnia a thought.

"Wait a second…" she said. Peter looked up to find Zinnia peering at him closely.

"W-what?"

"You don't have any friends, do you?" Zinnia assumed. It was this assumption that made Peter's face glow with a shade of red hidden by the fire's light.

"What? Of course I have friends!"

"Lying won't get you any. Besides, no one asks to come along on a trip for no reason if they aren't looking for a friend."

"That's a lie!" Peter said defensively. Zinnia rose from her seat and neared Peter. She bent forward to look more closely at his face. The face that seemed to get farther and farther away until his entire body was against the ground.

"If you wanted a friend," Zinnia said sweetly as she straddled the boy and crept her face closer to his. Her mouth was already next to his ear, allowing her face to feel the heat emanating off of Peter's. She took a deep, relaxed breath, "You could have just asked."

The sultry tone coming from her lips was enough to make Peter wanting to bite her neck, but knowing the kind of person she is, he was stuck with his eyes rolled back, biting his lip, and puling the grass out underneath his hands.

"You know," Zinnia spoke while retreating her head and sitting down on Peter's stomach, "I've never done it with an outsider before." The way she said it was so casual that Peter was legitimately confused on her sexuality. He could only remain silent and hope that this torture could either end quickly or move on to something better.

Unfortunately, the torture continued as Zinnia placed her hands gently on Peter's chest and pushed her hips backwards ever so slightly that it could be mere millimeters away from his ever-growing length.

"So tell me, Peter," she spoke softly while moving her face closer to Peter's, "Do you want a friend?"

Unable to take the temptation anymore, Peter grabbed Zinnia by the waist and switched positions so that he was on top. Without any more hesitation, he bent his head down and began to kiss the woman passionately. Her lips were soft like dough, and tasted like berries. He moved his lips down to her neck as his hands wandered her body.

One of his hands found its way to her belt and began to untuck her shirt. From there, he slowly moved his hands upwards, savoring the smooth texture of her skin. He heard a moan as his hand moved closer and closer to her breast.

Without warning, he found himself back on bottom with Zinnia straddling him; a sight that made Peter go wild. He watched as Zinnia grabbed the bottom of her shirt and slowly brought it upwards. She paused when the bottom of her chest was visible.

She stayed there as Peter waited anxiously. This was almost worse than the teasing she was doing before, but the man had to stay patient.

However, something was off about the woman on top: she wasn't moving. It was as if she had frozen in time. Peter began to worry that something outside his control was happening. He moved an arm upwards toward her chest and extended his forefinger.

The moment, he touched Zinnia's breast, she had vanished into thin air. It wasn't smoky like some sort of apparition, nor was it glitching like a hologram. One moment she was there, weight and all, and the next she was gone in the blink of an eye.

Peter was thoroughly confused until he heard Zinnia laughing hysterically. He looked up from his position and found her, still dressed, sitting in her chair clutching her side.

"Oh my… Rayquaza preserve me. I'm sorry," she apologized. While it was an honest apology in effort, Peter felt something akin to betrayal for what he had just gone through.

"Really?!" he exclaimed while taking his seat next to the fire. "What in the name of Giratina was that?!"

"It was… an illusion," Zinnia said between laughs. However, the explanation had no value to it yet.

"How in distortion did you do that?!" Peter asked with curiosity and rage. Zinnia held up a finger to ask for some time. Peter obliged reluctantly and twiddled his fingers while she calmed down.

"Oh wow. I really am sorry. I probably should have told you this before, but I'm psychic. I just made you see and feel something that wasn't there." Though this explanation was enough for Peter, he wasn't planning on forgiving her. Her disappearing on him was one thing, but to make a fool out of him and witnessing it was something uncalled for.

"Talk about a case of the blue balls," he muttered while pulling on the hair in the back of his head.

"Well, I already told you: I like girls. You should have seen past it."

"Really? It seemed kinda convincing!" Peter exclaimed.

Zinnia looked up in thought. "Well… I guess I could swing both ways. I never really tried it before." Zinnia looked back at the embarrassed man with provocative eyes, "You wanna help me try?"

"Yeah, right after you fall into Distortion," Peter barked back, making Zinnia laugh some more.

"Ha ha, I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, Sal wanted me to do it."

"And WHY would he ask that?!"

"Because… he said if I humiliate you, he would let you come along. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was be a bully, but it was the only way if you wanted to join me." Peter was stunned. In a matter of seconds, Zinnia had turned his anger into confusion.

"Wait… You're letting me come along?" he asked.

"Yep."

"And the only way I could was to make me look like a fool?"

"Yep."

"And you truly feel a bit of remorse for doing so?"

"Yep, sorry."

"So, in other words: since you humiliated me, but it was the only way for me to come along, you did me a questionable favor?"

"Yep, Yep."

"Wow… I never expected that," Peter said with a small headache forming.

"I guess we're friends now, then," Zinnia said with a hand outstretched over the fire. Peter looked at it and laughed. Zinnia was sure an interesting character, but it appeared she had a good heart. With pleasure, he stuck his hand out over the fire and shook Zinnia's hand.

"Just one thing," Peter said.

"What?"

"Never do that again," he threatened, his demeanor taking a slightly dark turn. It was waved off by Zinnia's glee, but she agreed nonetheless.

The next morning, the two strangers-turned-friends made their way to Hearthome – to Zinnia's second home.