Chapter Ten - Falkner

I waited in the lobby for a while, Cyndauil eating a cookie I bought for him. Cyndaquil must be warming up to me lately, but I don't know why. Maybe because I bribed him with food. Maybe because we haven't lost a battle yet. He even sat beside me today instead of at my feet or ten feet away. He stopped his snack and nudged me, when I looked down at him, he held up the almost-gone cookie to me, offering me his treat. I laughed. "No thanks, I bought that for you, little buddy." He seemed just as happy about that and vigorously consumed it, squeaking sadly when it was gone. "Do you want another one?" I asked, but he shook his head, and, no freaking joke, crawled into my lap and started to play with my face. He patted my cheeks with his little nubby hands, but I was too afraid to touch him or play with him back because I didn't want him to go into a fit.

He stopped and sat down, only to bite my hand.

"Ouch! Hey!" I retracted my hand back, maybe putting on a more angered face than I meant to. But Cyndaquil didn't care; he rolled over on his back, and I could feel the warm fire-holes (That's what I decided to call them, I'm still not sure. I might change it when I think of something cooler.) on my legs. I didn't touch him or push him off, and he barked at me, still on his back. He sat up, poked my belly several times, and lay back down, barking.

Tentatively, I reached my hand to him, and he didn't growl at me yet. I poked his belly, and he barked. I started to pet his tummy, and I think I heard him start to purr. I rubbed his full tummy and he purred happily, getting comfortable. He just wanted a belly rub. "You're a pain-in-my-ass..." I grumbled, but he didn't care. After a few minutes, I heard Cyndaquil snoring in a squeaky voice, meaning he fell asleep.

"Fweet! Fweet fweet!" A familiar bird roosted beside me, and nudged my head. Cyndaquil was still sound asleep, so I put him in his Pokeball. Falkner followed not long after the Pidgey.

"Hey, Lyra!" Everyone in the lobby stopped and stared, just like earlier, and it made me uncomfortable, but I managed to play it off. He wasn't wearing the same blue gym outfit I saw him wearing earlier, but he was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Well, at least now I don't feel weird for wearing jeans.

"Hi Falkner!" I lifted the brim of my huge hat to see him and those intense blue eyes. He had a bright grin, all teeth, and reached a hand down. I placed mine in it, and he led me outside where the sun was setting.

The cool autumn breeze blew by, whipping our hair in our faces, and we giggled as we brushed them out of the way. The sun was nearly gone now, but I could still see the tip of its head peeking at us from the canopy of the trees.

"So," Falkner turned to me with that white grin upon his handsome face. "What would you like to see first?" We had stopped walking at the pond in town as he returned his Pidgey. He nodded across the bridge. "Over there is Sprout Tower. If we head down this direction," He pointed behind us. "We can head to Route 32, and over there is the Ruins of Alph. There's all kinds of places to check out in Violet City."

"Well, why don't you show me the gym?" I suggested. "I kind of want to get to know the place before I end up battling you." His smile got wider.

"Well, of course, Lyra." He took my hand, causing me to blush, and lead me down the main street to the big building trademarked by the gym insignia.

When we got there, he stopped in front of the door, and stared at the insignia, the slanted Pokeball, signaling it was a gym. "I use flying types, more specifically birds. I just want to let you know ahead of time. I want you to do a good job and put up a good fight, but keep in mind, I'm a gym leader, and I won't go easy on you." He squeezed my hand. "Sorry."

"Oh no! It's cool." I looked up at him. "I wouldn't want any less. If you went easy on challengers, then you wouldn't be a gym leader, now would you?"

He smirked. "Yea, I guess I wouldn't. It's nothing personal, I just want to warn you that I won't go easy on you, even though you're cute."

I could feel the heat radiating off of my cheeks, and in my peripheral vision, I saw him look down at me, and I heard him laugh.

"Oh." He laughed even harder at me being nearly speechless. "W-w-well, I won't go any easier on you just because you're attractive either." I countered, and Falkner just laughed.

"Good. Wouldn't want it any other way." He reached into his pocket to pull out some keys, and he unlocked the door. He gestured to the open entrance, inviting me inside. "Ladies first." Tentatively, I stepped inside, and he joined me in the dark room. With the flick of the switch, the lights went on all around the empty space, and some doors pulled back to expose a window above, letting in the sunset. There was a lift, and where that lift lead to was a huge S-shaped wooden walkway, leading to a battle stage. On the outskirts of it was a glass floor, and the look of how narrow those walkways were made me nervous. I started shaking at the thought of having to walk around up there. A few birds were perched above, chirping their bird gossip, and a few even sang at the arrival of the their gym leader.

"Wow," I muttered softly. "So this is where you work. It's pretty cool."

"Come on. We'll go sit up there." I froze up, and he squeezed my suddenly cold and tense hand in his warm ones. His brows creased at my shaking. "You nervous?"

"L-let's just say I'm not a huge fan of gravity." He smirked, holding back a snicker.

"Don't worry about it. I won't drop you." He led me to the lift, and wrapped and arm around my shoulders. "Wouldn't want to let you fall and break your precious little face, now would I?" He laughed, and I stared at him incredulously, not sure whether to laugh or worry about the risk of falling. Not saying I was afraid of heights or anything, but I didn't want to fall and die in a gym. At least let me break my neck over something dignified, like fist-fighting a Charizard or something. Okay, yes, that sounds ridiculous, but it's better than saying, "Oh, I fell down in a gym."

His foot pressed a little button, and nothing happened for a moment. A few more moments went by, and I waited patiently, but still there was nothing. "Um, Falkner..?"

The lift shot upwards like an upturned cannon, and I clung to the gym leader, desperately holding on to him for dear life. I didn't scream for fear that if I opened my mouth while flying upwards, something important would come flying out of me, like my lungs or something. Falkner, however, he didn't even flinch.

With my hand in his, he tried to lead me over the narrow walkways, but I wouldn't budge. "Come on now. I promise I won't let you fall." I still wasn't budging, and it ended up with him slinging me over his shoulder and carrying me to the battle stage.

He set me down, and I was grateful for the solid, wide floor that wasn't moving underneath me. He laughed at my relieved expression and sat down beside me, sitting particularly close. "What is your deal with heights? You afraid?"

"No, no, I'm just scared of getting hurt. I also don't like falling and breaking things. I broke my arm when I was five, and it sucked." I explained, and he just nodded.

"Well, I'm a bird master, practically a flying guy. I'm an expert with gravity and not falling. I've been learning how to not fall from high places since I was a little kid, so as long as you're around me, you have nothing to worry about." He smiled and squeezed my hand. "I promise you that." After patting my hand, he let go. "So how about we get to know each other a little bit, Lyra?" I smiled, thinking it was a good idea. I nodded, and he grinned back. "First, I must ask, what is the deal with the huge hat? I mean, it's cute, but it is still an obnoxiously huge hat..."

"Oh it was a birthday present... Hey!" He took it off of me and placed it on his own head. I desperately reached out for it, and ripped it away from him, hugging it to my chest. He creased his brows, and I felt suddenly awkward.

"Sorry," I sighed, but still tightening my grip on the marshmallow-like hat. "It's just, it was from my dad." He nodded slowly, giving me a slight apologetic smile. I fidgeted, and then continued the question session. "Your turn. Did you grow up here, born and raised?"

"Yes, I did. I even inherited this gym from my dad before he took off down the road. He's just out there trying to find something new for fun." He said, and he leaned back comfortably on his hands. "My dad's just roaming around the world, flying off on his Pidgeot-,"

"Your dad has a Pidgeot?" He nodded, and I grinned. "My dad had a Pidgeot too, but we never considered him as his Pidgeot. I always called him Uncle Pidgeot." Falkner's brows creased, making sure he heard me right. Then he started laughing.

"Wow, his Pidgeot was that close to you?" I nodded, all of my good memories rushing back to me. "That's actually pretty cool."

"My dad was a top ranger, like, the top ranger of Johto. Top Ranger Jacob Soul." I explained, smiling at the thoughts of some of my experiences. "Everyone admired him. I remember one time, we were in Sinnoh for a vacation, and we were playing around at Lake Valor, and mom was at the hotel. Pidgeot was asleep in a tree, and dad and I were playing in the water. And I swear I saw the legendary Pokemon that was supposed to be living there! It was totally cool, and I chased after its shadow. I didn't actually see it, it was more of like a silhouette or a phantom, but I knew it was the legendary of the lake. I would get so close to it, and just before I touched it, it would disappear, only to reappear and have me chase it again. It was almost like it was playing with us. Totally cool." Falkner clung to my every word with a smile, very interested in my stories.

"Fascinating. I didn't really get to play much with my dad and his Pokemon, but he was still a cool dad. After all, he did give me his gym." He said. "I noticed you kept saying 'had' and 'did'. Did something happen to him?"

"Yeah, um," It was strange, because I didn't feel awkward about telling him. But I still wasn't going to go into details or anything, I didn't want him to tiptoe around me from now on like my folks back home. "He passed away three years ago."

Falkner was quiet for a moment. "I'm so sorry to hear that Lyra."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it." I fidgeted, and Falkner just patted my back in a comforting manner.

"I guess that's why you were so protective of the hat." I blushed, embarrassed of my earlier reaction.

"Yea, it's the only thing I have left of him." He nodded understandingly.

"Yea, I know the feeling. I guess if someone tried to trash my gym, I'd get a little panicky too. It's the only thing I have from my dad. I just wish I got to see him more." He half-heartedly smiled. "Hey, how about we lean back, and watch the sunset through that window?" He pointed to the glass wall above us, and we lay down, facing the window. The sun seemed to wink at me as it slowly made it's descent past the trees.

"So, Lyra," Falkner scooted closer, and leaned his head to the side to see me. He reached out for my hair, and twisted one of my pigtails between his thumb and forefinger. "Where are you from?"

"New Bark Town." I responded, watching his fingers. "I was born and raised there. I've only left home a few times, like going to Cherrygrove with my parents for shopping, and running errands for the Professor. Before now, the farthest I've ever been was Cherrygrove, but I've always had to go with my friend Ethan because he was the only one of my friends with a Pokemon."

"Oh, so you're a rookie?" He raised a brow, and I nodded. "Well, what Pokemon do you have? I saw you sitting with a, uh, darn, I forget what it's called..."

"Cyndaquil. He's just taking a nap right now." I patted the ball on my belt, then looked up at Falkner. "He's a little punk sometimes, but I think he's warming up to me. I can't be sure though, since he growled at me and threatened to bite me and attack me when we first met. It wasn't until I told him that I wasn't afraid of him that he started to calm down."

"It's common for a Pokemon and trainer to not get along at first. In some cases they never get along at all." I frowned, and looked down at Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "But, with effort and understanding, I'm sure you two will get along fine. Do you know why he didn't like you at first?"

"Well, when the professor gave him to me, he told me that Cyndaquil had a previous trainer who apparently wasn't very nice to him. Elm told me that when he found Cyndaquil, he was cold and sick and beaten, so he took him in and hoped one of us could take care of him." I started to pet the ball, thinking about the sleeping Pokemon inside. "Apparently, Cyndaquil has a bad history with humans, like how I have a bad history with Pokemon."

Falkner raised a brow. "I thought you said your dad was a Pokemon Ranger. You had an Uncle Pidgeot, right?"

"Pidgeot wasn't my bad encounter." I sighed, a little hesitant to recount it for my sake, but I might as well, just as long as I don't go into detail. "A Gyarados was." Falkner hesitantly raised a brow, curious, but not too pushy to ask what happened. "A Gyarados killed my dad and Uncle Pidgeot."

"Oh." He whispered after a moment, but fell silent again, feeling awkward. "I-I am, so really, very sorry to hear that, Lyra."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It was a long time ago." He hesitantly gave me a half-hearted smile. "Gyarados still give me the creeps though, but that's also why I agreed to explore Johto for Professor Elm; so I could maybe get over my fear of them."

"I'm sure it's natural to be afraid of them, I mean, they are huge and scary."

"Yeah, but still, don't worry about it." I reassured him and tried to change the subject. "Well, this is a nice gym and all, but why don't you show me where everything else is now?"

He smiled, an excited glint in those intense blue eyes.

The moon stood among his fellow stars, like a king among his subjects in the night sky.

Tonight, I had learned that the ruins were better to see during the daytime, so me and my friends would have to wait until morning to go. Falkner and I were checking out the ancient remains of the past, until Falkner's radio was picking up strange signals. It kinda creeped us out, and then we felt like someone was watching us. It wasn't until we heard a faint, ghostly, echoing scream in the woods and saw shadows moving that we thought the place was haunted and ghosts were coming for us, and believe me, we hauled our asses out of there pretty damn quick. After a few minutes of calming down, we laughed our asses off at the previous fright.

We were now exiting the ground floor of Sprout Tower. We didn't go up because they wouldn't let us unless I decided to challenge them. I was going to, but not yet, it would have to a wait a day or so because I still need to train and maybe find a good Pokemon to add to my team if I can.

"Just to let you know, I want you to challenge Sprout Tower before you challenge me. It's like a rite of passage, and I also want you to be completely prepared."

"Right, right, because you ain't going easy on me, even though I'm cute, correct?"

He laughed, and looked at me with an endearing smile. "Yeah, as much as I enjoy your company, and your face I might add, I can't go easy on you."

"It's cool. I won't ease up on you either, so you better prepare too!"

"I'll be sure of it." He smiled. I noticed he walked particularly close to me, and I actually didn't mind. "You know, Lyra," He placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me, and turned me around to face him. "I really like you. You're a pretty cool chick."

"I like you too, Falkner! We really should hang out often!" I hadn't realized that we were already nearing the Pokemon Center. I was a little disappointed to see that red-roof because then that meant my time with him was nearing to an end. "You're a really cool dude." I nudged him with my elbow and he smirked playfully at me.

We stopped by the sliding doors, and he watched my face, fidgeting a little bit. "So..."

"So..?"

"You know, I'm a little sad that you won't stay in Violet long. I mean, I understand you're a traveling trainer, but... Well, you're different from some other girls I've hung out with. You're not just cute, you seem determined to win a battle against me. Most girls automatically surrender to me, and they have boring personalities. You're pretty fun." He looked around at the sky, taking in just how late it was. "Just, um, come visit sometime, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem!" I smiled. "And I can't wait to get my first badge from you." I winked at him, and he laughed, and I laughed too. "Well, I guess I should go inside..."

"Yeah..." He fidgeted but didn't leave yet. "Look, um, I'll see you later I guess. But hey, if you ever need anything while you're in town..."

"You'll be the first one I go to. I guess I'll go now." I was just about to reach out my hand to shake, but he pulled me in for a hug. I could tell my cheeks were warming up, but I comfortably wrapped my arms around his torso as well, and buried my face in his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my own head.

He smelled like woods, but in a good way, like pine trees. And he was very warm as he held me, and I kind of enjoyed the hug. After a moment, he finally, but reluctantly pulled back.

"Goodnight Lyra."

"Goodnight Falkner."

His eyes sayed something I couldn't quite comprehend, and he smiled at me one last time before turning around and walking to the main street and probably home.

I sighed and turned to the Pokemon Center, and braced myself for a particular blue-haired female who was probably dying at the door, anticipating my arrival.

Author's Note:

I know, I know, I've been gone for a long while, and I am so sorry about that! And I know this chapter sucked, but it'll get better. Looking forward to the battle!

Anyway, their little fling will only last maybe two or three chapters, maybe have a reappearance in future chapters or something, because since I'm trying to fit in so many Lyra shippings, I have to keep them short or people will think she's a whore, which she is not! She's just so shippable and I like most of her ships! I'm sorry for making you guys wait for so long for this!

And just in case this wasn't enough for you Keepershippers, don't worry, there will be a few more chapters on it before we move on to the next ship, and those will be better written and have more detail and affection and whatever else, so stay tuned!

And I'll try to update sooner, it's just I am so freaking busy being tossed back and forth between work and school and not having any free time. Not to mention that I am down to my last few sips of coffee right now...

So send reviews, and I'm sorry that this one wasn't quite that good, I got a case of writer's block, and I'm sorry. I might fix this up and replace it just to fix it, but I think this will do for now.

Sorry for the excuses, but please send reviews and let me know of anything I need to work on or add or even if you have a little idea for me to put in a chapter just in case I get writer's block again. If I like your idea, I'll give you credit, don't worry, I just might need a little help since I've been having a hard time writing anything this week. I'll try to stay original, but still, just in case...

Wow, long note, so this is good-bye for now. Thanks for reading, and please review! :)