Chapter 10: Taking a different path

MIRA'S POV

"So… what camp are you from?" Ruby asked, trying to make this less awkward.

It took me a moment to actually hear what she said. "Hm? Oh, camp? I'm from 0.3. You?"

"I'm from 0.1. Apparently if I make it outa here alive I'm going to be living in one of the nicer homes making dresses and gowns and stuff for fancy occasions. My caretaker said that in the kingdom there's a lot of fancy occasions, we only had one back in camp." Ruby chirped.

"Lucky." I muttered, "well, I'm supposed to be a farmer, but I'm not living in the kingdoms. I'm running away as soon as I get out of this, I'm not going to meet my parents or anything."

Ruby's eyes widened. "But why?"

"Because I may as well go back to my camp if I live in the kingdoms, the farmers get mud huts too, the only difference is that with the houses in the kingdom, there's actually some worn wood pillars to support the stupid thing." I grumbled, my eyes trained on the ground in front of me.

"But you? I'm not surprised that you're staying in the kingdoms. Sewists and artisans always get the nice houses with air conditioning and heating with nice cobble foundations and new wood and a good roof right near the markets and the castle itself." I said.

"You want to know where I'd be if I was staying? I'd be right on the edge on the forests, at least a mile away from the rest of you. They purposely put the lower income Pokémon on the forest edges so wild Pokémon and attackers kill them while they prepare themselves to attack." I spat bitterly.

"We're treated like trash, even though we're as good as the upper classed Pokémon. We made it through the course too." I said weakly, despair flooding my gaze.

Ruby flinched at my reasoning. We walked in silence.

Ciar's POV

"Can we open it?" I asked, my gaze fixed on the crystallized flower. Dazzle wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Well I'm not walking in that." She grumbled, looking at the glistening pools of red.

"I'll get it." Jett snapped, walking unflinchingly through the scorched and bloody clearing, carefully gripping the flower in his jaws and trotting back to the group. Jett set it gently on the ground. Dazzle and I watched wordlessly as my brother's eyes glowed a white light, forcing the flower to open and spill its contents. The flower temporarily colored the blood bathed clearing in black in white, hiding the blood and burnt grass with the illusion.

We all gasped when the nearly transparent black and white Mira appeared in the middle of us, beginning to store her solar energy.

"What's she doing?" Dazzle asked. "I don't know… it seems like she's storing it for no reason-" Jett's voice trailed off when a terrified Flareon dashed in front of Mira.

I expected Mira to unleash her energy, but she didn't. It seemed like she was waiting for something else. I felt Dazzle stiffen beside me as another figure came into sight. The color was unclear because of the black and white scheme, but we all quickly recognized it to be the murderous Jolteon.

"That's him…" Dazzle whispered. "That's who hurt me." We all hushed ourselves when Mira began to murmur to herself.

"Three… Two… One…" She said, releasing her solar beam in a fraction of a second. The Jolteon was hit square in the shoulder and knocked away from the tiring Flareon. "What?" He moaned, struggling to his paws.

I felt anger pulse through my veins. I wished this wasn't just a vision of the past. Then I could finally get revenge on him for killing Derek. Mira's eyes were full of blood lust as she lunged at the temporarily dazed Pokémon.

"Murderer!" She shrieked, sinking her fangs into his throat.

"You!" He growled, instantly recognizing the grass type, beginning to fight back.

The battle was brief, but a lot of blood was drawn. Most of the blood was Mira's because of the electrical burns that burnt off patches of her skin and melted her flesh to the bone. Jett probably had about three heart attacks throughout the replay of history, especially when the Jolteon almost actually killed her.

"I can't believe that she-"

"Just gave up?" I finished Jett's sentence.

"I… just didn't realize how miserable she really was…" Jett said sadly, looking at the puddles of blood on the charcoaled landscape.

"Well just sitting here isn't going to help us, let's get going." Dazzle insisted, following the bloody paw-prints that led back into the woods.

XXXX

Mira's POV

"You feeling better yet?" Ruby asked, watching as I used my third synthesis.

I nodded, "yeah… Just give me two more seconds then we can keep going." I murmured as I continued to bathe in the sunlight, my minor wounds closing right before my eyes, small scars taking their place. Flesh began to cover my bones again, skin following. My leaves however, remained tattered and ripped and burnt. I knew that in about a week they should be spick and span once more. If I make it that far anyway… I got to my paws and stretched before glancing at the Flareon.

"So you're sure you want to hang around me?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

Ruby nodded, "of course! My old traveling partner, Whitney, was killed three days ago, and I just don't feel safe without someone with me."

My eyes turned softer and sympathetic, "I'm so sorry."

Ruby shrugged. "What are you gonna do? She was an Espeon who loved sewing even more than I do. That Jolteon that calls himself Koroshiya ambushed us, and we got separated. I heard a blood-curtailing scream, so I just assume that he got her." Ruby explained, looking at her paws.

"I used to travel with a Glaceon, but he was killed by Koroshiya too. I thought I killed that monster after he got Tyler but I guess I didn't. He's stronger than I thought." I admitted, my brown eyes looking at the sunlight that drizzled through the thick forest's top.

Ruby cleared her throat. "Anyhow, I was thinking… maybe we should leave the forest. Maybe take the canyon route instead, sure, it's more open, but there's plenty of ways through it. And, there's not a lot of water and ice types that can hurt us over there." Ruby explained, awaiting my response.

"Yeah, but there's gonna be some fire types that could easily kill me." I contradicted, not wanting to leave the safety of the forest.

Ruby thought for a second before suggesting something else. "We could take the plains," she suggested.

"Well… I guess that could be better… there's just one problem. Koroshiya could easily follow us through that, and there's not very much water or food for us."

"Come on! Please let's just leave the forest! I can protect you from the Flareon traveling through the canyon!" Ruby pleaded, desperation growing in her gaze.

I bit my lip, knowing that I was going to cave.

"Fine!" I snapped.

Ruby's eyes brightened. "Thank you!" She squealed, hugging me.

I hadn't ever been hugged until now, and I didn't like it. "Ok… you can let go now." I grumbled, waiting for my new official traveling companion to let go of me.

"Sorry." She mumbled, hastily letting go of me. "Now come on! The canyon's this way!" She smiled, bounding vivaciously through the trees.

I sighed and followed her grudgingly.