-1Ancient Society: Ascension
Chapter 10:exoneration
A/N: Here's the next chapter. I have to say I am quite surprised by the reactions I got about the last chapter. Ryoko and Felix just kissed for the first time…
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, Nintendo does. I also do not own the Ancient society created by TurtlesandMonkeys, they belong to her and I am writing this with permission. Felix the Eevee trainer owns Felix and Ebony. MEE-YAA!
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Ryoko opened her eyes and saw Felix sleeping with Ebony on his chest. She stretched and saw that it was daylight. She looked at Felix and blushed when she remembered when they were kissing. It happened so suddenly, and…and I just gave in…
She looked and saw that Demetrie wasn't there. Her eyes widened. What if he saw…? She got up and walked to the doorway. She saw some young ones playing with a Biloof, a Rattata, and a Pidgey. They were laughing as they played tag. She walked up to them.
"Um, good morning. Did you happen to see the Elder walk through here?"
They shook their heads. Ryoko looked worried.
"He told me he went for his morning meditation." A voice sounded behind her. She gasped and turned around.
"Lady Kia!" She said in surprised. The old woman leaned on her cane. "He told me he would be by the stream to meditate and that he would return shortly. Once he does return, he will initiate some young ones before leaving for his home village."
Ryoko sighed. "Thank you for telling me, my lady. Um, can you point me in his general direction?" Ryoko asked. The lady closed her eyes. "He said he shall not be disturbed."
Ryoko nodded. "Thank you again, my lady." She bowed to her and walked off towards the hut. Does he know? Did it anger him? All these thought floated into Ryoko's head. All that she knew was that she was confused about all this.
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Felix woke up and saw Ebony on his chest. "…Morning ebony. Time to get up." he said sleepily, half dazed himself. The black Espeon did not get off and curled up tighter. Felix sighed and looked to the ceiling. "Ugh, fine, five more minutes." Ebony whipped her tail against him. "Ok, fifteen minutes, but I gotta get up soon…"
He looked up again. Last night…He remembered Ryoko staring into his eyes and the next thing he knew was that they were kissing each other. After Ryoko left, Ebony gave him a tongue lashing over it, he'd be embarrassed to try and reiterate half the conversation to the others. Boy was she pissed. Felix sighed. What am I gonna do now? He never felt so confused in his life before. He sure wasn't gonna ask Ebony on advice in this thing. She was already taking this as hard as it was now.
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Ryoko was coming back from the forest gathering flowers for the initiation ceremony. She always loved picking flowers, they always took her away from things when they bothered her. Today was different. Today she thought mostly about what occurred last night. She recalled the tingly sensation she got when they were locked for a moment. Is this the bond that Lady Kia was referring to? She thought again about Demetrie. How would he feel in all this? Maybe he doesn't know. If he had know, he would have shown it last night. He was never to slow to let his feelings known. If he does know, it probably crushed his heart…
Then again, when had he shown his affection to her? When he rescued me….all those odd occurrences when he smiled at me…last night when he referred to me as Ryoko instead of youngling…
Ryoko brought a hand to her stomach. She felt a knot there. Is this another bond that lady Kia was talking about?
"Oh Hiroko, if only you were here to help me know…" She murmured.
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Felix was sitting on the grass, watching the kids play and looked to Ebony, pouting away from him. "Ebony, you're not still mad, are you? Look, in all respects I should be dead by now. I did offend one of the most beautiful Espeons in the world…."
Ebony looked away from him. Damn it, it usually works…
"Look, would you understand if I told you that I had no idea what was going on?"
"Esp Esp Espy Esp." She muttered. (Of course you didn't)
Felix tried to rub her head but she put a barrier and he couldn't touch her. He smiled. "Look, if you were really mad, you would've left by now. " He grinned with his eyes closed. "But I know you couldn't do that, huh? We're inseparable, we're a team." He sighed and looked away from her. Ebony suddenly rushed at him in a tackle.
"Espeon!" She said happily. Felix was rolling with her in the grass, laughing as he struggled with her. "Ok Ebony, you win! You win!" She sat in his lap and gave him a sadistic smile with her eyes. "Of course I do, I always do." Felix rubbed in between her ears and she twitched her tail.
Ryoko walked in and saw the two like this and smiled to herself. If there was any love going on in this village, it was between a friend and his pokemon. That is the way of Yasuo, the harmonious union of pokemon and humans…so why do I not understand those ways?
She looked to her skin, a lighter tone than those of the others in the society. She looked to Felix and saw that he was like her. We're outsiders…maybe that is why we're drawn to each other…
"Here comes the Elder!" A little kid said. Ryoko turned in the direction and saw Demetrie walking from the forest. She smiled and walked up to him. He passed her without giving her a second glance. He went to a stone by the lakefront. Ryoko turned in his direction, scathed by his coldness. What was that about? She thought, trying to hide her hurt expression. Felix walked by her and put a hand on her shoulder. He felt warm.
Lady Kia walked next to Demetrie and cleared her throat. "Young ones come hither!" Several young children came up to her. "Today is a special day. Today the elder will select you to return to the village in the forest with him where you will learn to live with mother nature and our ancestors. It is there that you will engage in the sacred rite of initiation. This will be the last time you will be a part of this village, and become a part of the greater nation under Yasuo." She bowed her head and then opened her eyes sharply and spread her arms out. "Bring forth the sacred dyes!" She cried out.
A woman with a neutral face and a round stomach carried two jars with colored paint. Several more jars were placed before lady Kia. The women looked down and walked away. "They're all yours, elder." Lady Kia told Demetrie. He walked towards the crowd of younglings, observing each of them. He would reach into a jar and give them a blotch or a splat, then several women with markings came and painted the splotches into designs and shapes. Ryoko guessed that these women were ones who already gave birth and were seeing their own children off. Ryoko noticed that they were dressed in the same markings and garb of one about to undergo the sacred rite.
Demetrie marked the last one himself and drew a design of a heart snapped in two on a girl. The 13 young ones who were chosen lined up and stood behind him in a row. He threw his arm in the air and made a victorious cry that the newly initiated ones joined in on. Lady Kia nodded. "May Yasuo's grace rain down upon you." She turned her attention to the women with markings. "You have fulfilled your duties well and have earned Yasuo's grace once again. You have proven your selves despite shaming yourselves and can receive what was denied of you long ago."
The women smiled. Lady Kia summoned a Lunatone and it sent a psychic wave through the forest. Several pokemon showed up, and the woman began to walk among them. One picked up a Pikachu, another hovered near a Butterfree, and one was next to a Roserade.
Ryoko wondered what was going to happen when one woman put her hand to the Pikachu's mouth and it chomped into it. The one with the Butterfree did the same and the one with the Roserade was going to do the same when one of the pregnant women stood up. ""Carrie, no! Don't do it." Lady Kia scolded her. "Silence, you have not finished your duty but your sister has, it is time for her to join our ancestors."
The woman, Carrie, looked to her sister and smiled. "It's all right Karen, I'm going to do it. I'm finally going to join our ancestors in the promised land. You will to someday."
She offered her hand to the Roserade and it took it and bit it. Lady Kia nodded.
'It is finished. Upon midnight tonight, your sentence will be finished and you will join our ancestors in paradise." She turned to the younglings. "In the mean time, you will begin your own journey to the promised lands with Demetrie as your leader. Follow him well." All the children bowed. "Yes, Lady Kia." They all said.
Demetrie got down from his perch and began to walk towards the lake. While the others began to go into celebration, he sat by himself, watching the pokemon in the lake swim by.
During the Celebration that night, Felix and Ebony were playing tag with the newly inducted young ones, Felix getting caught by Ebony most of the time. He saw one of the women who was bitten earlier today and was wondering what was their deal. Lady Kia was walking around. Felix went up to her. "um excuse me, lady Kia?" He asked. She looked to him. "Oh yeah…" he bowed. "Yes young one?" "Can you explain what is the story with the women who were bitten today?"
Lady Kia closed her eyes. "They were ones who shamed themselves by becoming impure before the sacred rite. They went beyond the limits and fell into…the traps of the outside world. The only good thing to come out of it is that new young ones are born from it. Until they are born, those who shamed themselves must bear the burden for nine moons and even then they are sentenced to wait until either their children redeem them or their tribal elder, in that case myself, sees fit for them to receive the sacred rite as they should have along time ago."
Felix looked to the pregnant women sitting down. "Did they all, what did you call it….shame themselves?"
Kia shook her head. "No, some went willingly, in order to ensure our tribes continuation. They must be sanctioned by me and a tribe of elders to determine if they could be bearers of children for the sake of the tribe. Their intents must be pure and not based on cowardice to receive the gift." She sighed. "This village, being the oldest, has seen few of those with pure intents. Thankfully, we have seen few of those who dishonor the tribe as well." Felix scratched is head. "Did you ever do this?"
Lady Kia shot him a glare and Felix shrunk back. "I'll take that as a no?"
Kia closed her eyes. "I have given seven children on seven occasions to the tribe. Five of them have passed the sacred rite. Two are still on the path."
"Have you ever wanted something else?" Felix asked. Kia shook her head at this. "You are lost, but you'll see that there is nothing else for us. It is our destiny."
Felix shrugged. "if you say so…"
Felix saw Ryoko walk to the lake where Demetrie was. "It was nice talking to you Lady Kia." He bowed quickly and began to run over. Ebony followed.
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"Demetrie?"
"Yes…young one?" He asked without taking his eyes off of the night sky.
"Is, is there something troubling you?" Ryoko asked. Demetrie sunk his head.
"…no, there is nothing to bother me." He looked to his Pokeball. "I have my arbiter, my blessing from Lady Kia and I am going to return with more younglings to lead to the promised day. What is there to trouble me?"
"Demetrie, did you ever….when we…" She gulped and began to blush. He turned and looked to her. "Did you ever…care…about me?" She stuttered.
He closed his eyes. "Of course I did. I was the one who save your life when you were in danger along time ago."
"Yes, I am grateful for that. But I mean, did you ever feel anything deeper than that about me, about us?"
"Ryoko, what has brought this on upon you?" he asked.
"It's just….never mind elder." She looked down and began to walk away.
"I…sense your feelings toward me and I will promise to protect you." He said, staring at the moon. She turned with wide eyes. "Protect me?"
Demetrie nodded. "Yes, protect you, just like I always have."
"…thank you, Demetrie."
He smiled. "Go and enjoy the celebration."
"But what about-"
"I need to do some thinking, if you don't mind." he said. She looked into his eyes and understood that she needed to leave. She turned and didn't see his eyes begin to burn with tears that she could not hear.
Why?
His look turned to one of determination. He kept his inner flame to himself and his fist trembled.
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It was late into the night and the three who were bitten gathered near the flames near the lake. The younger ones were put to bed by their mothers but the newly initiated ones gathered to watch. Lady Kia was present and so was Demetrie. Ryoko and Felix were next to each other. "So, what is going to happen to them?" He asked. Ryoko looked to the sky. "When it strikes midnight, Yasuo's gift will work upon them and they will become the pokemon that bit them." She said.
Felix looked nervous. "So…this is gonna happen for real, right?" Ryoko nodded. "I've seen my share of them before."
"How did you act during your first one?" He asked. She looked down. "I-I can't remember…"
How could I forget, I was confused and terrorized…
"well, I better get used to this." Felix said.
Lady Kia raised her arms. "Hear, oh exonerated ones! Today your curse is lifted, today you will be blessed. Today you will be changed by Yasuo's gift and join our ancestors in everlasting peace!" The women bowed and the young ones cheered. Ryoko noticed that the young woman, Karen, wasn't among those watching.
Demetrie looked to the stars. As it was when the moon soars…
The women closed their eyes. …and wails become roars…
…the heavens bestow their blessed gifts,
And we will be with he who lifts,
Our mortal forms into everlasting life
And live with no further strife…
Blessed be, Yasuo our lord.
A bell chimed and the woman began to keel over and clutch themselves. One of them even released an ear-splitting scream. It was starting. Ryoko noticed their expressions as pained but they knew it was worth it.
One woman began to turn yellow as a lightning bolt shaped tail tore through her back side. Her ears began to stretch longer and longer, their tips turning black. She began to get small, her robes starting to drape around her. Her cheeks became red circles and her nose poked out and became black. Her hair began to turn yellow and fuse with her head, becoming about of her yellow fur. On her back, two brown stripes formed. Her legs began to shrink and her feet grew longer, her toes blending until she had three. She finished shrinking and the change was complete; she was now a Pikachu.
The other one turned a purple color and two wings tore form her back, ripping her cloak. Her body already began to change so when her robe fell of her body was already all purple and indistinguishable. Her fingers began to blend together and left little clawed blue hands. Her hands and legs became alight blue color and began to shrink into her body, becoming smaller. Her wings flapped and soon she was hovering off the ground when her legs started to shrink into her body. It shrank until it met where her ankles were, by this time her feet became round knobs and her body began to shrink smaller and became a little rounder. Her blue hair began to drop out in clumps and her mouth and nose blended together, two teeth poking out to become the mandibles. Her ears went into her head and two antennae popped out. Her eyes became big and red and bulged out to become the eyes a Butterfree had and she was complete.
Ryoko looked to Felix and saw the expression of disbelief in his eyes. He was sweating, his eyes very wide and his mouth agape in disbelief. Even Ebony stared, not knowing what to make of this. Everyone else just cheered.
The last one, Carrie, closed her eyes in pain as her fingers begin to spread out and become wavy and her whole hand became a flower, one red, one blue. Her body began to shrink and her whole skin turned dark and light green. Her long hair began to grow back, turning white as it did, until it was real short and bushy, just like a Roserade's. Near her hips, her skin began to grow out and become the leaf-like skirt they had. Her feet shrank back into her legs and disappeared and she finished shrinking. Her nose sank back and dark green areas grew near her eyes and she was complete.
All three pokemon shook off their tattered remains of clothing and took off for the forest, the young ones cheering. Ryoko looked to Felix and saw him walk away and bend over on his knees. She heard a retching noise and went to help him. Ebony just looked at the clothing the pokemon left behind and wondered where the humans who were in them go, trying to understand if they really became pokemon or not.
Demetrie watched Ryoko help Felix and looked to the clothing and then to the moonlight.
Yasuo be praised…
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A/N: And that's the end of that. I wanted to try something new and I decided to introduce a group of women who were punished by not receiving the gift at the sacred age and waiting for it. Mind you this is just a theory for this village and doesn't necessarily pertain to the others. ( maybe I should have asked Tam first before writing. XO) But its only an idea and theory for this one village. I also wanted to write a transformation scene again since I haven't done it in awhile. Also, Ryoko is trying to sort out her feelings for Felix and Demetrie. Well, please review MEE-YAAA!