~Morty~
Now, just to clear things up, I am no worrywart. I've never flinched away from death, I've never even thought twice about it. Why? Well because death made no difference to me. Dead or alive it didn't matter what you were, I could still talk to you, I could feel and understand you, so it thoroughly surprised me when I was actually worried about Falkner dying.
That damn bird of his hurdled towards earth at lightning speed, having just broken free of the wire between its foot and Pride's, and slashing madly at its taped beak until it clawed it open. It made one hell of a noise, and to my astonishment, turned tail and started racing at the ground. Falkner held tight, his legs pierced around the body of the bird and his hands gripping the shoulders. I couldn't believe my eyes as the thing dropped, flipped upside down into a barrel role, and sent Falkner into a limp state of unconsciousness.
I yelped in surprise, abandoning where I sat in the tall grass with Zephyr and my new annoying little marshmallow to see if he was alive or not. Of course, had I thought twice about him being dead I would have realized that was perfectly ok, because I could then keep him all to myself and not work about Jasmine taking his time. Falkner would only be able to communicate with me, and I loved that idea.
However, the relief was strong when I found that he was very much so alive, just knocked out and looking very helpless. I wondered briefly what he was thinking in trying to ride such an animal, and then decided that it was past the point of no return anyways. He couldn't "break" it, not now at least. And so I waited until Pride had pinned the thing to the ground to throw a ball at it. Technically that meant it was mine, but I didn't want it so I stuffed the ball in Falkner's back pocket for him to find later.
Falkner showed no sign of waking up as I poked and shook him lightly, so after a few moments or so I had gripped his lean sides and thrown him over my shoulder like the hunted. He hung like a ragdoll, and I couldn't help but find enjoyment in that as I carried him to my gym, which was a couple blocks and many curious pedestrians away.
Once inside I took him to my room, telling my elderly assistances that nothing was the matter and that they could go back to reading their witchcraft. We went straight to the back half of the gym, where my house—complete with modern kitchen and living space—was. I slumped him over on the couch and went to find a pokeball for Litwick, who wouldn't stop dancing to whatever fucking song it was singing in its head.
Zephyr didn't leave its masters side as I unworriedly washed my hands and face and pulled the headband from my head and the scarf from my neck. I put a kettle of tea over the stove, started the fireplace, and then finally decided I mid as well wake Falkner up, though I liked the idea of him sleeping on my couch very much.
A faithful Gastly wafted over to me while I went through the motions of getting comfortable, sitting on the arm of the leather couch and sipping on a glass of water.
"Guess we should wake him up…" I commented again with a sigh. Zephyr looked up at me curiously; unaware of the pokemon I was talking to. Of course a normal type like him couldn't see the ghost.
Gastly whispered emotions in my ear and then disappeared to jolt Falkner out of his sleeping state. I waited a moment, thinking about the way he looked when he slept, with his soft mop of navy hair splayed out all over the place and his narrow lips perched slightly.
Zephyr chirped nervously, pecking at his master's chin while Gastly turned the body cold for a moment. I waited, solemn faced and taking another drink of my water.
Suddenly he gasped, jolted upright and out of some horrible state of mind with his aqua eyes wide and his hands shaking. He reached for his chest, coughing madly while my Gastly abandoned the body with an evil laugh. I glared after the spirit.
"Arceus… Oh… dear Arceus, what the hell… was…" Falkner looked around in confusion at the modern home in which he lay in. Leather couch, granite countertops, wooden shelving, it was all so normal for someone like me to live in right? The only odd thing about it actually was that I didn't have more than a single lamp of unnatural light. I had candles though; sitting on every shelf and around every corner, lighting the space dimly with an eerie orange glow.
"What did he show you?" I wondered. "That pokemon has an act for giving nightmares. Gastly you know… almost as bad as Haunter."
"I—I was falling." Falkner swallowed. "Really quickly too… like I was being pulled to the ground. And then I—I woke up when I landed."
I snickered. "That really happened, Falkner."
"But… but I…"
"Your Bravairy…" I prompted. "Let's just say it broke you, rather than you breaking it."
His face fell and he cursed under his breath. Mechanically sadness came over him, and Zephyr was surprisingly nice about it. The bird pressed its stubby beak into the crook of his elbow and chirped. Perhaps he was apologizing for his own kind being so ruthless.
"It got away… Didn't it?" Falkner ran a hand through his hair, only to flinch and curse again with pain.
"Oh yeah." That reminded me. "How's your head?"
"Not good… obviously. I—I was bleeding?" He applied pressure to the crusty knob that was centered just behind his ear.
"I didn't notice that." I moved instantly, heading for the kitchen to retrieve a bag of frozen peas and the kettle of tea. I pulled a clean mug from the cabinet as Falkner went on.
"My bird. Morty, did it fly away? Did you see where it went?"
I tossed the bag at him on my way back, making Zephyr flutter in the air for a moment before landing on the back of my couch. He glared at me with his beady black eyes.
"Check your back pocket." I suggested. "Tea?"
"Uhh… no, no thanks." He sat upright dizzily and reached for his pocket. I had taken my sweet time stuffing that pokeball into the lowest area of his ass, and I didn't appreciate how quickly he yanked it out. I ignored his decline tea and poured it anyways, expecting him to drink it and like it.
"I—I caught it?" He looked at the red and white ball in despair, while pressing the peas to his head gently. It was obvious he couldn't remember what had happened.
"No, you were too busy passing out." I filled my glass with tea and took a sip. The leaves may have been a little bitter in this batch, but I didn't mind. "I caught it so that it wouldn't fly away… Hell it almost did, but your— whatever its name is, pinned it down."
"Pride?" Falkner assumed, reaching for his belt. As if he could call a pokemon back in a state of unconsciousness.. "Well… where is he?" he asked when it didn't make sense.
"He on the other hand flew away." I shrugged.
"What?" Falkner shifted upright. "He flew away? Why? What direction did he go?"
"Calm down." I curled my lip at him. "Would he really run away? He seemed pretty loyal up until that moment. Maybe I scared him or something."
Falkner's face fell. "I—I need to get home. He probably flew back there…"
I glared at him halfheartedly. "How do you suppose you will get there?"
"Shit…" He dropped the bag of frozen peas and covered his face with his hands. "I have no ride! I'm going to have to walk through the night…"
Dusk had fallen upon my quiet little town quickly and it seemed Falkner was not so jostled as to notice that the sun was pretty much gone now. We both glanced out the large window above my kitchen sink and sighed. Though his was of annoyance and mine was of happiness.
"Why do that?" I commented softly. "I have a spare room… and I think you should use it."
"No. No, I can't." He shook his head instantly. "I've been gone all day and the birds are still out… if I'm not there they will freak a—
"Falkner. You were drilled into the ground, cut your head open and—I leaned over to look closely. He flinched, but no doubt his eyes were dialated.—you have a concussion." I finished with a short. His poor pretty blue eyes looked all googly and awkward.
"Then I can't sleep anyways." He insisted, pushing away from me to stand. "I might go into a coma."
"You can't walk all that way alone." I nearly reached out to pull him back onto the couch, but stopped myself mid-lunge with a grit of my teeth. Why did I want to… touch him so badly?
"I've got Zephyr." He crossed his arms and the bird chirped in agreement, fluttering up to his shoulder and rubbing his head against Falkner's neck.
"A mere stuffed toy." I scoffed. "You want to get killed don't you? You're a suicidal. That's why you ride birds like that Bravairy in the first place huh?"
"No. Morty. Stop, I have to leave." Falkner stepped forward, rubbing his face carefully and gritting his teeth.
My eyes narrowed at him. Tough ass little boy. Thinking he could embrace the night like that. He didn't know what was out there, and yet I knew I couldn't restrain him unless I wanted to go to jail for pedophilia.
Wait—no, Falkner was eighteen now. I could salvage him here and no one could judge me fo—oh fuck who was I kidding.
"I'll walk you home then." I suggested. "And if you pass out again on the way I'm taking you straight back here."
Falkner sighed. Didn't this just feel so repetitive? Falkner had told me I could call an ambulance if he got hurt riding that damn bird, and I hadn't done so when I probably should have. And now it was me itching for a deal.
"I'll be fine." Falkner insisted. "Really, it's not that far anyways."
I set my glass down with a huff and went towards the door of my house, which actually lead to the back of my gym. Hanging on a hook was my scarf and headband. I grabbed them both and put them on before reaching up to grab another hanging item. It was a dark grey sweatshirt I used only when working out or during vigorous training. With a grunt I turned and tossed it at the navy haired boy.
Falkner let it fall to the floor before picking it up and staring in confusion.
"It's cold." I said simply.
"Yeah…" He stared down at the material carefully for a long moment. "Hey… Morty?"
"What?" I looked back at his solemn face.
"How come—
"What?" I repeated, stunned by his change of tone. He no longer looked stubborn and determined. He looked… actually somewhat sad and appreciative at the same time. His bright blue eyes dulled.
"Never mind… thanks" He set Zephyr on the edge of the couch before pulling on the jacket swiftly. He wouldn't let it touch the back of his head as he did so, but cringed anyways.
"No. Tell me." I insisted, wrapping the scarf tighter around my neck.
Falkner sighed. "Did you want to go to that beach party this weekend?"
We both knew very well that wasn't what he was going to say, and it only irritated me even more. I had to hide my scowl, while I reached for my keys on the hook I buried my mouth in the scarf and tried to let my brow loosen. Besides, I really hadn't thought much about that beach party this weekend, and I couldn't be sure if it was worth it to see Jasmine swooning over Falkner in a bikini the whole time or not. I grimaced. Today was Thursday and if I didn't give him a decision he would assume I didn't want to.
"Sure…" I mumbled. There was always the fact that Falkner would be shirtless as well…
But that was beside the point. Dammit I didn't even care. I just wanted to know what he was going to say originally!
"Alright… I'll let Jasmine know." Falkner said, now covered by my slightly too large sweatshirt and looking cute with his pink flushed cheeks and his hands in his pockets. I tried not to glare at him for being so delectable.
"Come on." I hissed into my scarf. "Let's get you home."