Spring 8
H. Goddess' Birthday
Let the Rain Fall
We're here.
I blinked, looking around in startled confusion. Lapras turned back toward me, smiling softly.
Did you doze off?
I suppose… I cleared my throat. Looking down, I was more than a bit disappointed to discover that I had spilled blood on her shell again. Forgive me for-
It washes off; don't worry.
Right. And I suppose the rain may take care of it as well. I added, leaping off her back onto dry land. Thanks again for the ride.
Of course. She paused a moment, looking rather troubled. Do you have enough Oran berries? I worry about you, you know…
I have plenty. I assured her, crossing my arms with annoyance. I'm not so idiotic as to forget that I need to eat, you know.
I meant for your wounds. She frowned. You would do well to take care of yourself…
Yes... I acknowledged impatiently; she was always worrying, far more than was ever necessary. I'll be fine. Don't bother worrying about me. In fact, Chelsea has already shown me a more effective way to treat wounds.
She has? Lapras smiled again. You should bring her along next time. I would love to meet her.
Yeah… We'll see… I looked away, shuffling some fallen leaves with my foot. Well… I should probably get a move on now…
Take care. That warm smile reappeared. Thank you… for everything that you do. You've helped a lot of Pokémon, and I know they are all very grateful to you.
It's… the least I can do. Now I really should go.
Of course. Until next time… she nodded and retreated back to the sea.
With one final nod to her, I turned and ran through the forest, my pendant thumping lightly against my chest. I would take care of that next.
Upon reaching the Goddess pond, I focused on the ground a few feet to its left, where the soil looked recently disturbed. That was my hiding place.
I dug frantically but took care not to send any mud flying into the Harvest Goddess' sacred waters. After having made a wide yet fairly shallow hole, I dropped my pendant into the deepest portion and quickly refilled the hole, making certain that the entire area looked disturbed, not just where I placed the item.
As soon as that task was complete, I headed for the nearest tree and climbed its trunk, trying to gather as many leaves as I could. What I couldn't hold, I threw down to the forest floor. Once I had gathered plenty, I headed back down and threw the last of the leaves everywhere.
Finally satisfied, I took a step back to gaze upon my work. No one had managed to find my treasure yet, and I was ready to do whatever it took for it to remain that way. I started to head back for home but halted in my tracks at the sight of a flower.
Carefully uprooting it, I dropped it into the pond and waited for her to appear. Within moments, a green light enveloped the area, and there she was. The Harvest Goddess.
"Thanks for the offering, Lucario! And on my birthday, too!" she beamed.
It was her birthday today? Somehow, the thought of a Goddess being born sounded… strange to me. Did she just appear out of thin air one day or did she have parents somewhere? It was one of those subjects that made me feel a little dizzy when I thought about it too much…
"It's so nice to see you again so soon!" she continued, still beaming.
Yes… Well… I kicked at the ground, suddenly quite unsure of what I wanted to say. You… wanted me to visit you more often, so… here I am…?
She giggled. "Do you have any idea how cuteyou are?"
No… I answered flatly. What kind of a strange question was that?
She frowned slightly, but before she could respond, I suddenly remembered what I needed to ask of her.
Ah! You'll look after my pendant for me?
"Of course! I always do!" she grinned again, but this time, her smile quickly faded. "But why do you still feel the need to hide it? Wouldn't it be safer if you kept it at your home? Or… are you afraid Chelsea might see it?"
No. I said quickly. That's not it. I just… don't want it anywhere near any of the humans. There's no telling what they might do with it if one of them finds it.
"And if Chelsea found it?"
She won't!
She frowned, clearly displeased with my outburst.
I mean… I faltered, trying to find a way to appease her, of course she wouldn't find it…! Not with you guarding it…!
The Harvest Goddess shook her head. "Oh my… You've been talking with the Witch Princess for far too long, haven't you…? That would explain your recent trend towards bad manners!"
I shuffled my feet and looked away, trying my hardest not to look too guilty. Of course I don't spend any time with her… She's terrible company. Yes! Awful!
She frowned. Obviously, she knew me far too well… "Well then, if there's anything else…?"
I felt my previous anxiousness dissolve as I looked at her earnestly. Is there?
"You tell me."
I stared at her, but her cryptic expression remained. So then… my plea has been answered…
"If you no longer feel the need for ask for it, then yes, I would say that it has."
But it can't be! She wasn't-she wasn't supposed to… She's so much like… I looked at her, feeling desperate. It just can't be true!
"And why not…?"
It's true… I'm no longer alone, but… every time I'm with her, I just feel… like I'm reopening all of those old wounds…
Her face softened. "Lucario…"
This is my destiny, isn't it? I looked up at her, uncertain. To prevent what I couldn't prevent… back then…
"Your destiny is what you make it to be…"
And with that, she disappeared, her form dissolving into a sparkling, green mist.
I knew she couldn't maintain her form for too long in this world, but… why must she always disappear at the most inopportune times?
I fell to my knees, feeling both grateful and at a loss at the same time. Whatever my destiny was, I would not fail anyone ever again. I couldn't stand for anything less.
oOoOoOo
"Hi Lucario!"
The moment I stepped into the house, she was there, grinning at me. Honesty… it was… nauseating. Why on earth would she become so happy over the simple sight of me heading through the door…? You would think I had been away for six years… It just didn't make much sense.
Yes, hello. Chelsea. I tried to smile back, but it probably turned out looking more like a grimace than anything else. Forced smiling never had worked out well for me…
She smiled once again before seemingly disappearing. I paused a moment. The entire house smelled quite strange… Apparently, Chelsea had been busy while I was away... It looked like she had straightened and cleaned everything in sight. I was a bit stunned to see the place like this; throughout the entire time she had stayed here, Chelsea had mostly kept to herself, hardly moving or touching a thing. And now here she was, moving everything around and putting it all in different places, just to clean up what wasn't all that dirty in the first place. And that smell… did she just throw around a bunch of flowers in here?
"Here you go!"
My thoughts were abruptly cut off by her thrusting some kind of wool into my face.
"You're sopping wet! Use this to dry off before you get water all over the clean floor, huh?"
Where did you get Mareep wool? I sputtered, pulling the fabric away and inspecting it. And why is it in this square format? What did you do to what would have been a perfectly decent piece of fluff? What's the point in altering it in such a manner?
"It's called a towel, Crazy." Chelsea giggled in that irritating fashion of hers. "Here. Let me show you how to use it!" And with that, she shoved the 'towel' back into my face and scrubbed as if I were some kind of filthy Muk.
Enough! I managed to get away and seized the towel from her grasp. I'll scrub myself; thank you!
She left me alone to rid myself of the water at my own pace, in an obviously more calm and civilized fashion. While I was scrubbing, Azurill scampered over to me.
"Greetings, Sensei!" she called out, while saluting to me in an upright posture. "I have finished my duties and am ready to continue my training whenever you are, sir!"
I stopped scrubbing to stare at her; she was being absolutely ridiculous again. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that…!"
Her determined look quickly melted into a teary-eyed, pitiful one. She sniffed loudly, drawing Chelsea's attention.
"Are you fighting again?" she frowned at me.
No. I sneered at her before turning back to the water type. "In any case, I'm not going to train you today; it's raining too much."
"Oh, but I love the rain!" the little mouse Pokémon grinned at me, her tears so easily forgotten.
"Yeah, well, I don't." I answered shortly and headed for the bathroom to attend to my wounds. "And besides, my bandages start to fall off in this kind of weather."
"Why do you wear so many bandages?" Azurill asked curiously, following me. "Do you get in lots of fights? Oh! I bet you do! That's why you're so strong, isn't it, Sensei?"
"Yeah…" I replied, barely listening to her. "So, you get the day off. Be sure to go play and have lots of fun. And most important of all, stay out of my sight."
"Yes, Sensei!" she sang, running off somewhere else.
As I worked, I became aware of the fact that Chelsea was standing there, leaning against the doorframe and chewing on her lip thoughtfully. No doubt she wanted to ask me some sort of question. I probed her mind briefly to see that she was struggling to find a suitable way to do just that. And how am I not surprised…?
What is it? I asked irritably. If she was taking this long to say something, then there was no doubt that I was not going to like what she had to say.
She jumped, looking startled. "Oh, I—uh… I was just… I was wondering…"
About?
"Well, I…" she was looking around, as if the question she wanted to ask was located somewhere on the ceiling or walls. But then, she stopped suddenly, finally making eye contact with me. "Okay, listen. It's just… It's not normal for you to come home every day with injuries!"
I grunted in annoyance and resumed my work. She really didn't know how to give it a rest.
"I mean it, Lucario! I'm really worried about you, you know!"
Well, you can forget about it. I retorted, trying to rip the last bit of bandage away from the rest of the roll with my teeth. I know how to take care of myself.
She moved forward and placed a hand on my uninjured arm. "Look… I have to know… Are you… deliberately hurting yourself?"
Don't be ridiculous. I frowned at her. Of course I do not! What on earth would something like that possibly accomplish?
"Then I why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me when you tell me you've only been training?"
I pawed the roll of bandage nervously. Of course I'm not lying. What would give you that ridiculous idea?
"I don't know… I just feel… like you're not being entirely honest with me…"
I stole a glance at her. She couldn't possibly know. She was human; there was no way she would be able to detect anything like that. Or were humans more capable than I had ever realized?
She looked back at me and smiled. "You know what? You're right. I'm sorry I doubted you. I guess I was just worried, is all."
I winced when her hand suddenly came for me, but she merely ruffled the fur atop my head and walked away.
I paused, standing there alone with the roll of bandages. For some reason, I felt a small amount of guilt rising up in my stomach. However, I certainly couldn't explain to her what was truly happening; she would never be able understand it. But yet, it seemed as though she believed me, trusted me even. Would it be possible to, one day, extend this trust she held for me and send some of it back to her? While I felt somewhat certain that she would not be malicious enough to give away my secret to anyone else, at the same time, I was not so certain what she herself would make of it. Would she approve of my conduct? Or would she ultimately side with the humans?
While I did feel as though Chelsea was quite different from the majority of them, the fact still remained: not a single human to date had approved of my conduct thus far; some whom I had never even seen before had openly attacked me, even though they had no connections whatsoever to those whom I was truly after. There was no doubt in my mind that both information and hatred spread quickly throughout their ranks. So would Chelsea be liable to succumb to it as well? And when it came right down to it, who would she align herself with? Me or her own kind?
While she had told me before that she disapproved of her own people, I had reason to believe she was beginning to change her mind in that regard. She had been spending an awful lot of time with the others living on the island lately. I had to admit, they treated Pokémon far better than most others, but yet, that one truly bothered me. The Pokémon dealer.
I had just set the roll of bandage back into its place when a new thought popped into my mind. The Pokémon dealer, of course! I could use him as the ultimate test. If Chelsea was able to see through to his true colors, then I would trust her with my secret. Only then could I be certain that she truly was on my side…
Contented that that had finally been resolved, I headed out to see that Chelsea was wiping down the kitchen counter with another square of Mareep wool.
What are you doing? I moved closer to find that the Mareep cloth was emitting a strong and strange smell.
"Cleaning up." she answered nonchalantly.
Really? I thought you would be finished with that by now…
She looked up at me and frowned.
What? The place already looks spotless to me…
"Yeah… it's close. I've only got a little more to do before I'm finished."
Oh. Should I do something?
"Yeah!" She smiled brightly before disappearing and reappearing with a strange object in her hand. "You could dust for me."
Sure, I can do that. I started to walk away, but then she pressed the object into my paws.
"Great! Use this!"
What is it? I stared. The top half looked to be covered in a vast array of colorful feathers, while the bottom half was nothing but an ordinary stick.
"It's a feather duster…"
Humans use… I waved the 'feather duster' slightly. this… device… to rid their homes of dust?
"Yeah… so what?"
What a waste! How many feathers did you have to steal to make this! You must have plucked a Chatot clean!
"Uh…" Chelsea looked at me like I had lost my mind. "Those are man-made feathers… No bird or Pokémon was harmed in the making of it; I'm pretty sure."
Man-made? I stared at the feathers and prodded them lightly. How could humans make feathers? It's impossible! They have no wings!
Chelsea shrugged. "Look, I don't know; okay? I only bought it at the store. It was probably made in a factory; all right?"
A factory? I looked at her suspiciously. What sort of place is that?
"Never mind… Just try not to think about it; okay? Now could you just go over there and dust off the bookshelf, maybe?"
I reluctantly obeyed, grumbling under my breath. This 'feather duster' device still felt beyond useless to me. Whenever I wanted to get rid of dust, I just ran a paw over the object in question. That's all it took to take care of the problem.
However, I decided to try using the silly device Chelsea gave me. The only good that came out of it was that it allowed me to finally reach the top of the bookshelf. There was quite a lot of dust up there, since I had never bothered to clean something I couldn't see nor reach. Once all of the dust was on the floor, I decided to use the feather duster again in order to sweep it all into the trash bin.
From there, I went on to dust other surfaces, ultimately deciding to dust Chelsea's area last. I had just finished cleaning off her little electronic box when I noticed another, rather flat object lying next to it. I dusted that next, but I couldn't help but feel curious as to what it was. After cleaning it, I lifted it up to inspect it. It looked to be a rather thin box of sorts; when I opened it, I was surprised to find thin sheets that were white in color. The sheets were quite a bit filthy though; they looked like a Torchic had walked all over them with its dirty feet. I tried to coax the dirt off with the feather duster, but it did not work.
I looked over the object once more, trying to decide its worth. I had never seen it before, and since it was so filthy, I doubted it meant much to Chelsea. Deeming it worthless, I tossed it into the garbage can before heading back over to Chelsea.
"Oh, you're finished? Thanks!"
No problem. Anything else?
"Nope, I just need to empty the bathroom wastebasket into the main one here…"
But once she reached the main bin, she yelped, pulling out the same object I had thrown away earlier. "Who put-? What's my diary doing in here?"
What? I frowned, heading over to her. That thing? It was filthy, so I threw it away.
"What are you-what are you talking about?"
Look. I moved closer, opened up that thin box, and gestured towards the Torchic scratches. See? Filthy.
She quickly moved away, trying to press the box closed and keep it out of my sight. "You were looking at it! How much of it did you see?" she demanded to know.
I shrugged. Enough to know it was filthy. I tried dusting those marks off, but it wouldn't work.
She sputtered, as if torn between confusion and anger. I really didn't know why she was so upset.
Should I have tried harder to clean it before throwing it out? I wondered.
"No… it's just…" she sighed, turning back to her box and leafing through it. She held it open in front of me. "What does this say?"
I stared at the markings, rather puzzled. It doesn't say anything. It's just a box, so it cannot talk, of course.
"A book, you mean. A notebook, to be more precise." She said, gesturing at the markings again. "So you can't read this?"
Read? What is that?
She continued to stare at me, but eventually, her apparent suspicion seemed to wear off. "So, you can't read…"
What is this, Chelsea? What are you talking about?
"Well… besides speaking, humans have another way of communication…" she explained softly, folding up her 'notebook' once again. "And that is through written form. We mark little symbols down on paper in order to communicate ideas…"
So those Torchic scratches…? I began to put the pieces together, stunned at this new and potentially frightening discovery. Those are words… marked down in notebooks instead of through speaking?
"Yep, that's pretty much how it goes…"
I was appalled. No wonder humans could communicate so quickly and effectively… They didn't even need to see each other in order to pass along information! So then… just who exactly was Chelsea speaking to using this notebook?
So why are you using this form of communication? I asked her, feeling more than suspicious. Just who are you speaking to through this manner?
"Which brings me to my next point," Chelsea smiled slightly, "just because I'm writing something down, doesn't mean I'm going to share it with anyone. What I write in this notebook… I guess you could call it a one-way conversation with myself."
What? But why? So that you can remember certain events when you go back to review it at later points in time?
"I guess… though I mainly just use it to express myself… It's intensely personal, though, so… that's why I was a bit freaked out earlier… I thought you had read it."
Ah, so you keep your secrets in there, do you?
She laughed awkwardly, her face turning a strange shade of red. "No way! I don't have secrets, really!"
Of course you don't. I watched as she placed the notebook beneath her head cushion.
"So… uh… you were going to train with Azurill?" she asked, scratching her head and looking at me with that still-red face.
No. I'm not so eager to spend the rest of the day out in the rain. I pointed out as I watched her empty the bathroom waste bin into the main one. What were you going to do?
She straightened up, holding the smaller waste basket. "I was thinking of checking out the attic… I haven't been up there yet, and I figured a rainy day would be the perfect time to explore it!"
There's nothing up there. Don't waste your time. I told her as she disappeared into the bathroom. Not even Rattata bother with it.
She re-emerged. "Oh, come on! I'm sure there's got to be something up there!"
Suit yourself. I shrugged. She grabbed a chair from the kitchen table and dragged it into the little closet, where the entrance to the attic was located.
While she was busy with that, I walked over to the bookshelf. Only a scarce few amount of books were placed on the bottommost shelf. I had never bothered with them much before, but I did remember perusing them once, only to find that there were some pictures and strange symbols in them. Back then, I had only concerned myself with the pictures… Most of them had to do with farm tools and Pokémon… I used to wonder why my master would bother to keep something like this and ultimately leave it behind. But now that Chelsea had informed me of the written language, I became quite certain that these books were filled with words, messages. But about what?
I frowned, taking up a book and opening it. While looking it over, I was not surprised to see a picture of Mareep, along with several markings, similar to the ones in Chelsea's notebook, surrounding the picture. Did this book provide information about farming?
It bothered me that I could not know for certain.
I paused, hearing Chelsea rumbling around up in the attic. She had read these books before. She would take them with her to bed in the evenings, and when I awoke in the morning, I was always surprised to see that she would keep them beside her bed. At the time, I had merely assumed that she liked the pictures and had kept them with her so that she could have something to do before falling asleep. But now, I knew the truth. What sort of message had these books given to her?
The sounds from the attic became a bit louder, and they drew closer toward the closet. I quickly returned the book just before Chelsea came back, holding an odd object. She grinned, setting it onto the kitchen table. Both she and the object were covered in dust. "Look what I found!"
What is it? I stared at the new device suspiciously. It was fairly old; I remembered it used to sit on the shelf back when I was still fairly young. Though I had seen it before, I had never learned its purpose. What does it do?
Chelsea giggled. "Yeah, it's pretty much ancient technology, so I'm not surprised you wouldn't know about it… It's a music player. A really old one. A little record player!" She pulled out a flat, circular object from beneath the 'record player' and blew the dust off it.
… What's music?
"Oh man! You really don't know! Wow, then you're in for a treat! Just wait 'til I get this thing up and running!" She looked over the flat thing again and frowned. "Never heard of this band before, but it must be old, so I'm pretty sure it sucks… Oh well. At least you'll get to hear something though! I can't believe you haven't heard music before!"
Chelsea… I took a step backward. I don't think… we should…
She looked at me and then glanced down at herself. "Oh. Yeah… I guess I'm totally covered in dust. Yeah, I could use a shower first, huh? Just a minute! It shouldn't take me too long!"
She ran back to the closet, seizing some cloths before running off to the bathroom. I wanted to stop her, but I found my telepathy a bit strained.
Left alone with the 'music' player, I watched it apprehensively. Just what was it used for?
I didn't trust that record player. Chelsea had shown me some strange man-made objects before, but… this was something that belonged to my former master. Of all the things he had left behind, there were only a few things that I had trusted enough to keep. Everything else, I had destroyed. Some things, even though I felt quite certain that they were harmless, I destroyed anyway since they reminded me too much of him. That was why there was no more full-sized bed.
But this record player… I did not want it around. Just looking at it reminded me of things that I would rather forget, even though this object had never hurt me personally. But that didn't mean it still couldn't… I could still remember that time I had inadvertently stumbled upon a Pokémon trap. Even with my increased intake of Sitrus berries, it still took about a week for my leg to heal properly. I certainly did not want to re-live the experience.
"Hey Lucario!" Chelsea called out from within the bathroom. "Could you dust off that record player for me while I'm in the shower, please?"
I jumped. For a moment, I thought the record player was speaking to me.
I tried to answer her, but it seemed my telepathy was not working. Was I truly this afraid of an object so much smaller than myself? So much so that my telepathic powers were falling out of line? But that couldn't be… could it?
Careful not to get too close to the record player, I moved to retrieve the feather duster. Once it was in my hand, I turned back to look at that strange object. It hadn't moved.
I took a step closer towards it. It remained as it was. Still closer… it did not move.
I stretched my arm as far as I could, lightly knocking the dirt off with the duster. It seemed to work, and the record player did nothing to stop me. Feeling braver, I moved closer to finish the job. Once the task was complete, I moved back against the wall to wait for Chelsea to return. All the while, I made certain not to let the record player out of my sight.
Eventually, Chelsea returned, but she looked… very different.
I wanted to exclaim, to shout at her, ask her what on earth had happened to her, but no words came. I struggled… Fear must have been blocking me out. But why was I so afraid? This never happens!
Assuming nothing was wrong, Chelsea casually walked up to the record player. "Sorry for taking so long! But hey, now we can finally get this thing working!"
No!
I was still unable to speak with her, but I had to find some way to get her away from that thing. What if that device was indeed a trap? If it took me that long to heal, she wouldn't stand a chance against it…!
"Chelsea! Don't touch it!" Still unable to use telepathy, I tried Pokéspeak instead. Anything to capture her attention.
She looked over at me, utterly confused. I took her forearm and pulled, begging for her to move away from the record player all the while.
"Uh, what are you doing? What's going on?"
I shook my head and continued to plead with her, doing everything I could to lead her farther from the record player.
"And what are you growling at me for?" she started to pull away from my grasp, but I would not let her go.
"Stop it!" she pulled and squirmed, but I refused to release my hold on her arm. "Let go of me already!"
Suddenly sensing a surge of fear emanating from her, I abruptly let go.
She rubbed her arm, looking at me with confusion and irritation. "What's your problem?"
I shook my head again, trying my best to explain to her with meager hand gestures that the record player had the potential of being dangerous.
She huffed, turning away. "Fine! Don't answer me!"
I sighed, feeling rather defeated. How could I convince her of anything if I couldn't speak to her?
Chelsea looked back at me for a moment before sighing and walking back over to the record player. I ran, only stopping right before the music player to block her from touching it. In my haste, I had moved closer to it than I had realized; the frigid metal was pressed against my back.
"What are you doing now?" Chelsea took a step backward, bewildered. "Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"
I shook my head once more, but didn't bother to try using Pokéspeak again. After a moment, I suddenly realized that I was breathing quite heavily. Too heavily to be natural.
"Are you alright?" her eyes widened in concern. "Why are you breathing so funny?"
I bent down, resting my paws upon my knees. I felt as if I were gasping for air; my breathing felt so far off from any natural or sufficient rhythm, as though even the deepest of inhales wouldn't do much of anything for me.
"Lucario!" I could feel her guiding me away from the table, and thankfully, she herself did not move very close to me. "Slow down! Take deep, slow breaths, okay? Calm down!"
I did what I could to follow her instructions; with every deep, shuddering breath I took, I could begin to feel my heart rate calm as well. At long last, I felt my breathing normalize… A soft grip on my right paw squeezed slightly.
"Are you okay now?" Chelsea bent down so that she could look me in the eye.
I nodded slowly.
She pulled out a chair and directed me toward it. "Just rest for a second, okay?"
I sat, staring at the record player. She watched me for several minutes before her gaze turned to the record player as well. She stared at it a moment before turning back to me. "Now what happened?"
I… I rested my head upon my arms, relieved that I could speak again. I don't know.
"I think you were having a panic attack…" she looked concerned. "Why?"
Panic attack? Is that what humans call it?
"Yes. Has it ever happened to you before?"
Yes… But it was always in the presence of true danger or after it… But this time… nothing had even happened yet…
"Yet?" she repeated, puzzled. "What is that supposed to mean?"
I think that record player is dangerous. I didn't want it to hurt you…
Chelsea's head jerked forward, her facial expression now looking even more confused. "The record player? You thought the record player was going to hurt me?"
You don't understand… I've found Pokémon traps in this house before… I didn't want you to get hurt…
"Oh, don't worry. I assure you: that record player can't hurt anybody. It's just a music player. It can't really do much else… It's sweet that you would care so much about me though…" she reached out to pet my head. "But you don't have to worry. It's only an ordinary household object. Is… that all you were worried about?"
I looked down at the table. I remember that record player… It was… reminding me of things I'd rather forget… I shook my head wildly. But still! It makes no sense! Why would I become so panicked over such a simple object?
"I guess repressed memories have a way of rearing their ugly heads somehow…"
It disgusts me. To be rendered so useless…
"… Oh! That's right! Your telepathy wasn't working, wasn't it? That's why you weren't saying anything to me!"
Yes… I never knew that could happen. I suppose I've never tried to use telepathy before in such a situation…
"Oh… poor Lucario… No wonder you were acting like that… I'm sorry I wasn't able to figure that out until now…" she stroked my arm with her hand. "But at least now, I'll know to look out for that from now on."
I shifted in my seat, moving away from her touch. Now I wonder what happened to you.
"Me?"
You look… different.
"In what way?" she looked down at herself, confused. "Oh, are you talking about my pajamas? Yeah… my clothes were filthy, and I figured I wouldn't be going out anymore today anyway, so I changed into them a bit early. Is that… a problem?"
What is… a pajama?
"Clothes you wear while you're sleeping…"
Clothes? I looked at her in disbelief. But I thought that stuff was a part of your body…!
"No…! Just because I wear similar clothes every day, doesn't mean they're part of my body!"
Hm. Well, why have you never worn these 'pajamas' before?
"Well, I didn't the first night I stayed here… since I would have felt a bit awkward using your bathroom right away, I guess… And after that, I never wore them so that I could look halfway decent when Taro came to the door every morning. Now that he doesn't do that anymore, I figure I'm free to wear them now."
While she was busy explaining away, I left my chair to examine her true feet. I had always assumed human feet were white in color, and relatively similar to my own feet. But upon closer inspection, Chelsea's feet were not pure white at all; the skin had the same tone as her hands and face, and I noticed each foot had tiny little digits with fingernails on them.
Wow… Human feet sure are ugly…
Chelsea jumped away. "What are you doing, staring at my feet like that? Get away from me!"
I chuckled. They look like a short and flat version of your hands!
"Hey! My feet are small and cute! How dare you make fun of me! Some people's are really gross, you know!"
I don't doubt that. I turned away from her and faced the record player. So then…
She paused. "You want to hear it?"
I nodded.
She walked up to the contraption and began to wind a crank.
I winced slightly, uncertain. So it makes noise? That's all it does?
"That's all." She said softly. She placed the flat circular piece onto the top of the record player, just below the winding, metallic tubing. From there, she directed a strange stick to rest atop that circular disc.
After a few odd scratching sounds, a melody soon began to shoot from the tubes. I jumped back in surprise.
"Don't worry! It's nothing!" Chelsea exclaimed.
I nodded, listening carefully. This sound was familiar to me… I would often hear it at night or in the evening… but it was always so distant back then… It was odd to hear it so easily now.
After a moment, comprehension began to dawn on me. Those are… Is that… Humans are making this noise?
Chelsea grinned. "Yup. It's opera. It's Italian, so you probably wouldn't be able to understand it. I know I can't, at least."
There are other sounds too.
"Yep. Violins… cellos… It's an orchestra. A string orchestra, to be more precise."
What are those? The music, surprisingly enough, was soothing me. I was washed with a familiar warmth, just like during those pleasantly warm summer nights when I used to hear the music drifting out from my master's house. I could almost feel the summer breeze blowing against me, bringing that earthy, soft scent back into my memory. I remembered it so well now… I had been transported back to one of those rare times when I felt truly free.
"They're musical instruments." Chelsea explained. "People play them in order to make those sorts of sounds."
So then, I turned to her, humans are the ones producing those sounds as well?
She nodded.
I never realized… how talented they could be.
She giggled. "You like it? Then, I can't wait to show you some of my own music! They're in English, so I'm sure you'll relate to them more!"
I looked at her, astounded. You know how to make music?
"Not really." She giggled again. "But I do have some more recordings of other people's music, kind of like this one here."
Why didn't you show me before?
She shrugged. "I didn't think you'd be into it. I guess I thought playing music out loud would bother you… I mean, you're pretty big on meditating, you know? I always pegged you as more of a 'peace and quiet' type of guy."
I suppose that might make sense… if I were a 'guy' that is….
oOoOoOo
Notes: Heheh, so this turned out to be much longer than I expected. I didn't want to break it up into two chapters, though.
So what did you think? Do you like reading from Lucario's perspective? About when did you realize it was Lucario who was narrating?
I normally don't like perspective changes, but I do think it can be fun, so long as it doesn't change within a single chapter. And yes, from now on, you'll be able to tell whose perspective it is based on the title of the chapter. :D
And as much as I like writing from Lucario's perspective, the fanfic will still primarily be in Chelsea's point of view, seeing as the story's title ends in a question mark. XD
Thanks for reading!