Leaf was absentmindedly trekking the worn dirt path one of the base members had directed her on when she asked for the way to Red's.
"It's that way. Just keep following the trail until you see a bunch of tents. He's got the bright red one," the middle-aged man had said with a muffled chortle at the last bit of information. Leaf had nodded in response and thanked him before turning to follow the path.
Some ten minutes later, she was still following that path but now, she was left wondering why on Earth one of so many paths through the base was so winding and and twisty and complicated. She was positive that at quite a few points, the path had done "U"s when it could've just gone straight. Really, who was the exterior designer here?
As she pondered that question, the section of tents she had seen some few minutes ago were rapidly growing closer with each step she took. Most of the tents weren't very large, and many were neutral colors—brown, black, even navy. Of course, that helped the lone red one (and a few neon greens) to stick out like a sore thumb, which made Leaf's venture a lot easier.
A minute or so later, Leaf was at the door flap of the red tent which was actually quite large up close and taller than she was. For a moment, she stood still, listening for sounds inside the tent that would suggest the presence of its owner.
An entire minute ticked by, and Leaf wondered what the passersby thought of a lone teenage brunette outside of the base's young, capable, idolized council member's tent.
A groupie, maybe.
There was still nothing but silence emanating from the tent and frankly, there was something preventing her from having the guts to call out his name. (Maybe something about how chances were that he wasn't there anyways and calling out to empty air was slightly embarrassing and, though she didn't dare admit it, she had pride rivaling that of even Gary.)
With a sigh, she exasperatedly ran a hand through her hair. She pivoted a hundred degrees on her heel and was about to leave when a small chuckle ricocheted inside the tent.
"You can come in, Leaf," a voice said amusedly, unmistakably that of Red's.
A light blush crept up her neck (something about her pride still getting slightly dented) as she pushed aside the tent flap and held it to the side for a moment. "How did you know I was here?"
"I can see your shadow against the tent," he answered.
"And you just let me stand there for forever?"
He smiled slightly crookedly, which Leaf assumed to be his version of a smirk. The jerk, thought Leaf as she gingerly stepped into said jerk's abode.
For one of the most important people in the base, the interior of Red's tent certainly didn't reflect his status. It was smaller than it looked from the outside, and the only things it held were a makeshift bed, clothes, a few weapons, a candle holder, and Red himself who seemed to be carving arrows.
"You know, for a prince, you sure do live like a hobo," commented Leaf.
"A charming compliment, I'm sure."
"Of course, dear brother," she said with a wide grin, though the title rolling around in her mouth was still a foreign feeling. She stepped over to the bed which, upon closer inspection, was really a large stuffed sack draped with blankets and a pillow. "But really, this is..."
"Simple? Yeah, well. We're not exactly royalty anymore, might as well accept that and move on."
"But you're the big guy around here," protested Leaf as she plopped down on his bed. "You really don't get any special privileges?"
"I'd rather live without them," he said in an unreadable tone, causing Leaf to wonder if there was a deeper reason. "Besides, I don't think you came today to talk about my living arrangements. What's up?"
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that thanks to your advice about that psychic girl, we're going to leave for Stonecrest tomorrow morning, bright and early."
"Are you sure?" said Red worriedly. "That's pretty sudden. You don't have to go so soon."
The corner of Leaf's lips pulled down, her expression growing pained. "No, we can't linger. Vesuvius has Drew and with every passing second, who knows what they're doing to him..."
"I understand," said Red quietly. He shook his head. "It's just a shame that we're separating so soon after so long. Anything I can help with before you leave?"
"Well, I do have a few questions."
"Let's hear 'em."
"What exactly is the deal with..." She lifted her hand and spread her fingers apart to emphasize the golden band around her finger, the white gem glinting with her movements. "This?"
"Ah, yeah, that. I was wondering when you were going to ask about it," he said, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "It's not the greatest story in the world, but about a year ago, I was on a mission to scope out Corona, the capital. The objectives were to get information about the inner workings of Vesuvius's system and talk to the citizens who aren't in the resistance without raising suspicions. See their point of view.
"You know how Vesuvius built a new castle after he took over? Because of that, the old palace is completely abandoned now. The night before I was going to come back, I went back to our palace. I guess I'm not really sure why—nostalgia, I guess? Obligated feelings? Anyways, there wasn't much security around the place, and there weren't even many townspeople around.
"I went in and kind of just walked around. There's not much left in it; I think most of the furniture and miscellaneous things were either taken by Vesuvius's guys or independent robbers." He grinned. "Luckily, none of them lived there as part of the royal family. There's a crypt underneath the palace—well, actually, there's two crypts. The first one is right below the first floor and it has the coffins of the previous kings and queens.
"The second one is underneath that one and even less people know about it. I guess not a lot of people expect two secret crypts, so the first one was kind of looted but the second one wasn't even touched. To be fair, it's also a lot harder to get into—you know, I'll show you sometime if we're ever in Corona someday. And the security is good, because that's where we happened to put all the valuable stuff. The very best of the Adair line's weapons, books, jewelry...so, I decided to take a few mementoes, and save the others for a rainy day.
"A few months ago, your headmaster sent me a message saying that one of Vesuvius's messengers had arrived and threatened the academy. So...the day of the attack, he sent you, Gary, May, and Drew out here to Silverhaven. He knew the trip would take a while, and hopefully, it would make you guys miss the entire battle, saving you. Getting the package was just an excuse, but he knows about you and I was fine with passing along the ring to you."
Leaf was in shock. The new information about Dippet having purposefully sent them away that fateful day was groundbreaking and she couldn't wrap her mind around it.
"What...? What was the point of that?" she whispered brokenly, thinking back to the battle and the fighting and the dying and feeling herself on the verge of tears. "Why would he save us? What about all the little kids, or the ones who weren't as good in fighting, or—"
"Hear me out, Leaf," said Red softly. "He knew about the attack, but he didn't know when it was going to be and telling the student body would've just raised panic. It would've been impossible to evacuate the entire school all at once because so many dragons and students would've just been too conspicuous. There would've been nowhere for them to go, anyways. The closest other bases would've been too overcrowded and so many extra people would've raised suspicions.
"But, before you go calling the guy out about his morals, he did evacuate most of the younger students. The ones you saw left at the battlefield that day were the ones who chose to stay behind and fight, the ones who had nothing left to lose even at such a young age. He didn't evacuate any of the older students because Vesuvius would've taken them. The most capable fighters in the entire school...how could he refuse? And he doesn't. Dippet knew that Vesuvius wouldn't kill them, and he believed that they'll all be rescued at some point, before or after this is all over. He tried to save you and the others because you're the princess, Leaf. Because you and Gary are two of the best fighters in the entire school, and May and Drew are your closest friends. He understands that, and he believes that you guys will do great things over the course of this war. Maybe even end it."
Leaf looked down at the ring on her finger again, examining the plain golden body that whispered of simple innocence. Her mind still wasn't comprehending this new situation, and to attempt to move on because the topic hurt to much to dwell on, she whispered, "So then...this ring is just a ring? It was just supposed to be a decoy for us?"
"Well, I guess not," said Red with a humorless chuckle. "Do you see the words engraved on it?"
"'La Reine anneau'?"
"Do you know what it means?"
"No."
"Literally, it means 'The Queen ring'. It's a pair along with another one, Le Roi anneau—The King ring. They were passed down every generation all the way from the very first Adair rulers, all the way to us. The crowns every king and queen wore were really just for the public; the real artifacts that the royal family actually treasured were the rings. Every king and queen only ever had one kid, male or female. That way, once that prince or princess rose to the throne and married, they'd only need two rings and there would be nobody to leave out. But, well...you were kind of an accident." He laughed and Leaf stared blankly at him. "So in a really insignificant way, our family being dethroned was actually kind of a good thing."
"Then where's the other ring?" asked Leaf, choosing to ignore his last two statements because quite honestly, she had nothing to say to that.
Red smiled and reached inside his shirt to pull out a silver chain with a gold ring identical to Leaf's looped on it. The white gem shimmered playfully as it was brought out, as if it was purposefully trying to catch and reflect as much light as it could since it rarely ever saw the light of day. Leaf leaned in for a closer look, and sure enough, she saw the words "Le Roi anneau" emblazoned on it.
"So...mom wore this ring," said Leaf slowly, trying to wrap her head around it. Frankly, she had difficulty wrapping her head around the fact that she even had a mother and father with names let alone such a status, and that she hasn't just dropped out of the sky into Savoir Faire one day. The fact that her finger was touching something her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on and so forth was incredibly meaningful and dreamlike in its own way.
"And dad wore this one," said Red, watching her carefully. Then he split into another grin. "But, you know, it's not all about looking pretty and touching what our great-great-grandmother touched."
Leaf furrowed her brow. "How do you mean?"
"They're magical. Quite frankly, nobody in our family's been able to figure these rings out completely, because the gem is a solidified form of a really, really rare essence. Plus it's connected to strands of dragon heartstring in the bands, which makes the magic completely unpredictable. All Father told me was that they're kind of like those mood rings they sell at bazaars. It seems like the magic depends on your 'element', and the power on both what emotion you're feeling and how strongly you're feeling it. I have a theory that the element is the same as what your dragon turns after you bond with it, since dragons do get their elements from their riders."
"So...what kind of magic is it?" asked Leaf dumbly, still slightly mystified. "What happens if you use it?"
"It turns up as fire magic for me," said Red, taking the ring necklace off. "Is it a coincidence since Cep is a fire type dragon? Beats me. The truth is that Father and I are the only ones who have ever been able to use these rings for their magical powers, but others have tried. That leads me to think that maybe these rings can only be work if there's magic it can reflect or draw from us, since they never responded to our ancestors who never bonded to any dragons and therefore lacked...a presence of magic, you know?"
The entire time Red had been talking, he had also been staring at the ring which he had cushioned between his thumb and index finger. Now, he slipped the ring onto his middle finger.
"I'm not really feeling anything special right now," he said thoughtfully. "Content, sure. Happy and still slightly surprised that my little sister is sitting right in front of me, but not as overjoyed as I was when I saw you the first time on Dippet's mission. I think, at a moment like this..."
Leaf watched as he narrowed his eyes and clearly began concentrating. Red's fist was held out in front of him, and it was clenched so hard that his knuckles were pale in comparison to the rest of his hand. Several moments passed before something finally happened—Red flipped his hand so that the side with his palm with facing upwards. His facial expression relaxed as, slowly, he unfurled his fist to release a slow flicker of yellow and crimson flames; Leaf couldn't tell if they were from his palm or the ring. As the small bout of fire continually licked at the air, it also grew smaller and smaller before disappearing altogether.
"Wow," breathed Leaf, staring doe-eyed at where the fire had disappeared into nothing, exhilaration and childlike curiosity coursing through her. "A human...using magic."
"Not really," chuckled Red. "It's like any other magical weapon, I guess, only it's completely unpredictable and we don't know much about it, despite it being the pride of the entire Adair line. Go figure, huh?"
"What does it do if you're feeling a stronger emotion? Like, anger or grief or something?"
'I don't know," said Red truthfully. "I haven't used it while feeling like that—or, I guess, I haven't been angry or grieving. Yesterday was the most riled up I've gotten in a while, thanks to Gary."
Leaf immediately cringed at the mention of her idiotic partner and yesterday's events. "I'm sosorry about that, Red, I really am—"
"Don't sweat it, you already apologized yesterday and it wasn't even your fault," said Red with a dismissive wave of his hand. As he pulled the ring off of his finger and put the chain back around his neck, he said with a wide grin, "Besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Fact is that was just a thing between men that was going to happen one way or another."
"'A thing between men'?" repeated Leaf in disbelief and following it up with a snort of derision. "More like you're you and he's a prepubescent b—"
"Leaf," cut in a third voice curtly from the tent entrance, and both siblings immediately swiveled their heads to look at the source.
Leaf's mouth fell open slightly upon recognition of the newcomer, who was holding up a tent flap to the side. His body was completely tense and he looked so expressionless that, quite frankly, Leaf would've felt less intimidated if his eyes were narrowed into slits and his nose was flared and he was cursing her in shouts.
"We're going to town to stock up," he continued flatly.
Terrifying.
"G-Gary," stammered Leaf, hurriedly rising and bearing no doubt in her mind that he heard the last few lines of their conversation. "Um...with May?"
"She's been waiting for me to find you."
On second thought, why was she stuttering and tip-toeing around him right now? Sure, he had caught her in the middle of insulting him and now he was doing something worse than getting mad at her for it and sure, anything involving Red apparently needed careful treading but they'd done so much worse to each other in the past. What was the difference now?
Suddenly feeling ten times bolder, Leaf turned to Red. "Do you want to come with us? You know, if you're not busy or anything, which you might be, I mean, but it'd be nice if you could just..."
With a quick glance between Leaf and the brunet at the entrance, Red nodded slowly. "Yeah, my day's pretty open today and I've been meaning to pick some things up."
"That's great!" gushed Leaf, ignoring Gary's brisk turn and leave which involved the tent flap unfurling with a smacking sound against the other one.
"Right," said Red with a chuckle that slightly confused Leaf, but she didn't think much of it. "Let's go."
Arceus, it was pretty and it was definitely debatable as to whether or not it was the single prettiest thing she had ever seen in her entire life. Leaf was pretty sure she fell in love right then and there because really, which girl in her right mind could resist the intricate contours, the flawless emerald finishes, the way it would no doubt fit perfectly on her finger like it was made for her and the voices of a cappella angels were emanating from it, calling out to her—
"You know, if you really want it, I can buy it for you," said Red bemusedly but with a tinge of exasperation, snapping her out of her reverie.
"No," said Leaf automatically, her eyes widened as she snapped her head to look at Red so fast she almost got whiplash. "No, no, no, no, no. It'll cost more than my arm and leg is worth! Plus, I...already have something pretty and probably just as valuable..." she trailed off, looking up at Red to see whether or not he caught her gist.
He simply chuckled and held up his arms in surrender. "Alright, alright, so maybe I'm not allowed to spoil you. Hey, then again, for all I know, you've already got someone like that to buy expensive things for you."
"No, no, no," protested Leaf, carefully setting the ring back down into its silk and velvet exhibition, much to the apparent disappointment of the merchant. With one more forlorn look at the jewelry, she wrenched her gaze away and pointedly avoided looking back at it as she began walking again, Red trailing slightly behind her. "There's definitely no one."
"I don't know, Leaf," mused May teasingly as she walked beside her. "You might want to ask Fire that before making any quick assumptions," she continued, resulting in a playful shove from Leaf and a carefree laugh from Red, effectively rendering all three unaware of a certain brunet who lingered behind, his hands in his pockets and his eyes caught by something.
Some twenty minutes later, the group had water pouches and clothes crossed off their list. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, though Leaf swore several times that she'd seen a small gray or silver thing dart around occasionally, and always in somewhat close proximity to them. As they wandered aimlessly searching for the next item—dehydrated food—Leaf was suddenly aware of a low mumble in her mind that, she realized with a start, was actually words.
"Polishing oil...ger and bow..."
"Hey, um," began Leaf tentatively, all three of her companions within hearing range but directing her words to no particular person, "Let's say that, hypothetically, a random, ordinary girl starts hearing things in her head one day, and it's all English and words and ideas, but the sentences are kind of broken and they're kind of hard to hear and it only happens sometimes and it kind of just sounds like a voice but it's not theirs..."
"Eh...she's going insane?" suggested May, prompting a barely noticeable frown from Leaf. "Is this a trick question?"
"It's her time of the month?" said Gary sardonically, to which Leaf outright scowled.
"Red?" said Leaf hopefully, praying that seeing as the guy seemed to know just about everything there was to know about, well, her, that he'd know just one more tidbit.
"Well..." said Red slowly, and maybe it was just her imagination, but Leaf swore he was trying not to smile. "I can think of a few reasons. One, she's gone insane. Two—less likely but then again, I'm not a girl so I don't know the full ins and outs—it's that time of the lunar cycle. Three...they've become bonded with someone."
"Elaborate," said Leaf, hoping it didn't come out as more of a plea instead.
"Well, there's a certain type of bond you can create with someone that you get really close to before or after you bond. If it's before, then you can hear their thoughts and they can hear yours from the moment you're bonded. If it's after, well, then in the same way, the moment your relationship deepens enough, the bond just solidifies automatically and you're carried to a new level of understanding one another."
With each word, Leaf felt herself go a fraction of a shade paler. That could all be applied to her relationship and bond with Gary, couldn't it? Arceus, no...
"But since the hypothetical girl is only hearing bits and pieces, then that suggests that she doesn't know who she's bonded to."
Leaf's brain shut down. Wait, what?
"If every single bit of information about the bond and the other person was absolutely crystal to her and their relationship is close enough, then absolutely, they'd be able to hear each others' thoughts. If there's a missing piece, though—and there's a surprising number of situations that could explain that—the link would be broken. The telepathy would be in pieces."
"It's me," said Leaf quickly and desperately, abruptly turning to Red with terrified eyes. She could practically feel the stares from May and Gary drilling shocked holes into her shoulder and backside, but she continued babbling, "I'm the hypothetical girl, Red. I am. I..."
"I know," said Red swiftly, his face the epitome of ease. "I'm the one you're bonded to."
Suddenly, they were a scene frozen in time amidst the rest of the bustling street and nearby shops. Red paused his easygoing demeanor to peer down at Leaf, waiting for a response to gauge. Leaf, on the other hand, stared up blankly at him with a slack mouth and providing no evidence that she would give him a response to gauge anytime soon. May wore an expression of shock and confusion as she stared at Red, her boot frozen in mid-air. Gary, after Red's last sentence, flickered his eyes back to Leaf, watching her with his jaw clenched, his eyes hard, and his hands balled inside his pants pockets. Most passersby walked around them with only a small curious glance; others (oftentimes elderly) muttered loudly with a blatant scowl about the incompetence of roadblocking youngsters nowadays.
Suddenly, it clicked for Leaf. How the voice in her head had been playing battle commands during Red and Gary's fight. How she only ever heard it when she was around Red. How, as siblings, they must have been close enough before they separated for the bond to take on telepathy...
You're right, rang a voice smoothly and clearly in her head, but it wasn't Lithium even though the presence felt similar to hers. The voice was lower and unmistakably that of Red's. The mute shock rippling through her must have transferred to Red either through the bond or the wideness of her eyes because he explained, Now that you're fully aware about the bond and me, you can hear me without a problem.
How...? When? was all Leaf was able to get out, even mentally. She was vaguely aware of how suspicious and/or ridiculous they must have seemed, staring unblinkingly at each other.
When rumors about Vesuvius got too loud to ignore, our parents became worried and had us go through a ritual to create a bond. The main purpose was so we could know if the other was alive, where they were, how they felt. The telepathy gets weaker the further we are from each other, but we can always feel each others' presence. He paused. The night the palace was attacked during our escape, we decided that we would erase your memory for your own good, right? Your knowledge of my existence disappeared, but the magic of the bond wasn't erased. It got pushed to a corner of your brain and it would reactivate if you knew about it and me again.
Leaf was speechless, although with the number of mind boggling revelations she'd had lately, she vaguely wondered if she was supposed to be used to this kind of thing already. Red continued to stare expectantly at her, waiting for a response.
"I bet they're talking through their bond," she vaguely heard May whisper, presumably to Gary. "That's incredible."
Leaf hadn't thought she needed to dote on Gary's lack of a response to that (especially since she couldn't formulate many responses herself at this point) but in retrospect, perhaps she should've because it was then that she suddenly felt a tight grip on her arm. Then, her view was being wrenched away from Red and she was forced to somehow follow along Gary's hasty pace while being dragged more or less like a rag doll to Arceus knows where.
Meanwhile, May and Red had stared for several seconds before May finally gathered herself and moved to chase after them, but just like the time Leaf was about to fall, Red held her back with his arm. Mystified, May looked up at the man, who only responded like he had last time with a small smile and a quick wink.
The brunette glanced after her two friends one more time before looking back at Red confusedly. "Who are you?"
He chuckled and looked in the direction in which Leaf and Gary had disappeared. "I'm sure you'll find out soon."
Considering that she hadn't hardly recovered from the first shock when the second one was thrown at her, it took Leaf a while to regain bearing of her surroundings. Thus, before she knew it, they were in what seemed to be a deserted, narrow alley behind the stores of the main street. Gary tugged her all the way to the middle of the alleyway, ignoring her struggling and squirming. It was there that he finally released her, though the brief moment of freedom didn't help Leaf's cause much as she was imprisoned again a second later, this time with her back against a building and both of his arms pressed against the wall beside her ear.
Gary Oak was livid right now, and quite frankly, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. His eyes were narrowed and boring into hers, his jaw was tight, his face was slightly red, his hair was a mess, a few small patches of skin on his face shimmered from sweat, and his chest was heaving just as much as hers. Above all that, there was something different about him though he was definitely too close for comfort for her to look any closer. Also, Leaf was pretty sure her personal bubble extended farther than six inches...didn't it?
"What the hell is your problem, Oak?" she shouted, imagining that her eyes were quite narrowed and glaring and that her jaw was rather tight and her face was red and her hair was a nest and she had patches of sweat on her face too.
Ignoring her, he asked in a low growl, "Do you know why my eyes change colors?" which Leaf personally thought was a question completely unrelated to anything. Still, it prompted her to look at his eyes closer, if only for a brief moment. It came as a surprise when she realized that his eyes were a dark gray at the moment, and she faltered for a moment because, to her recollection, they had almost always been green.
Still, she recovered with, "And how am I supposed to know everything about you, you arrogant, douchey—"
"There's only two reasons my eyes would change color," he interrupted her, though still in the same low, dangerous tone as before. He leaned into her before he continued, and he was suddenly so close that when he spoke again, his breath was more than close enough to brush her ear. "One...I'm turned on."
Leaf flinched. The implications of that line with this situation were already more than enough, but saying that so close to her was nothing more than overkill. She suddenly wanted to make a bolt for it, but something—maybe intimidation—rooted her to the spot.
"Two...I'm really pissed off."
"And why would you be either of those two right now?" she breathed, finding her voice again but not daring to meet his gaze.
She couldn't see him, but knowing Gary, he definitely sneered. "Take a wild guess, genius."
So, logically, Leaf thought back to the moments before she was unceremoniously dragged away. Something must have happened that triggered Gary's switch, right?
"Red?" she asked hesitantly. Sure, there was some kind of bad blood between the two but she'd thought that maybe they'd vented out all their frustrations during their fight.
"And?"
"Um..." said Leaf, unsure of where to go now that she was clearly treading on dangerous waters. "He's turning you on and you're ticked about that?"
A quiet, frustrated growl ripped from Gary's throat. He pulled back so that he was eye level with her again and glared at her. "Try again."
Leaf swallowed, the intensity of his gaze incredible. In fact, she would've shied away if it was anyone other than him. "You...you're mad that I'm bonded to Red?"
"And?"
"I...keep ditching you and May to try to talk to him?" she attempted feebly. Ugh, what was wrong with her? Why was his intimidation plan actually working? For Arceus's sake, it was just Gary, and just because there was something powerful and mildly breathtaking about him when he was as enraged as he was right now didn't mean—
"Damn straight," he hissed.
"Gary, come on, you don't get it—" she tried to say, but she abruptly cut herself off when a silver blur leapt off her shoulder and darted in front of her line of vision, effectively causing Gary to back off a few steps in shock. The silver blur flicked to the ground and hissed menacingly at Gary, and it was suddenly quite obvious what or who it was. A wave of surprise rode over Leaf, but then she vaguely wondered if he had jumped between them so quickly because he had thought her to be in danger.
"Tch, what's with this thing?" grumbled Gary, lifting his calf backwards as if he were about to kick something.
"Don't you darehurt Lazare!" screamed Leaf. Her words seemed to have an effect on the brunet as he slowly replaced his foot onto the ground, but his expression was, if possible, even more irritated than before.
"Why are you, of all people, protective of that thing?" he bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger at the small dragon to emphasize his point. "It's that Red guy's dragon!"
"No, you idiot, he's only been with Red because Red's taking care of him!" retorted Leaf before she had a chance to properly think. "He was supposed to be my dragon!"
For the first time during the entire encounter, a chink appeared in Gary's steadfast armor of fury. His expression morphed into blankness and the Gary Oak Train of Indignation seemed to screech to a sudden halt.
"Wait...what?"
"Lazare was supposed to be my dragon, and he's been in Red's care all this time because Red is my brother!" she plowed on, still in a rage from the brunet's behavior and with some part of her mind apparently having decided that it was "Get All of Your Secrets Out Now Before the Minute's Over" time. "And he's been telling me things about myself in the little free time that he has so excuse me for trying to find out who I am!"
"Your...brother...?" muttered Gary dazedly, holding his head as if this new bit of information was a headache that would go away if he treated it as such. "But if he didn't go to Savoir Faire...and if that thing—"
"Lazare," corrected Leaf cattily.
"—Was supposed to be your dragon before even Lithium...and it was almost impossible for a kid to have a dragon before the rebellion..."
Leaf said nothing, only stood in silence as the full weight of her words finally came crashing down on her. Gary was figuring out every secret that Red had told her not to tell anyone (if she hadn't already exploded it to him) and with every passing second, the full messy, horrifying potential disaster took more and more shape in her mind. Her throat turned dry; her hands became clammy; her heartbeat took off.
She could practically see the cogs turning in Gary's mind. She could practically see every loophole becoming larger in his mind until each was big enough to serve as her metaphorical noose. All the while, he stared at her. It wasn't like before when his eyes were filled with wrath and enmity. Now, it was just...bewilderment and traces of boyish curiosity. And then out of his lips came the dreaded question.
"Leaf, what...who are you?"
She paused. Was there any way to get out of this now? It was clear by the way he was looking at her that he already had her cornered in his mind, and maybe trying to wriggle out of this by now was simply a fool's dream anyways. Besides, she and the boy were partners. Red couldn't have expected her to keep all this from Gary forever...she hoped.
"The first day we got here, Red told me..." This was it, the point of no return. "...that my real name is Leanne Etienne Adair."
"Hold...hold on..."
"And that his full name is Ravlen Greaux Adair."
Gary's brow furrowed. "But that's...impossible. Those are the names of the late prince and princess."
"It was never officially confirmed that they were dead, Gary. Just missing," said Leaf flatly.
"Everyone either thought they died at the palace massacre or escaped and were hidden away..." said Gary, his voice beginning to quicken.
It's clear that he's in denial, thought Leaf as she pressed her lips together into a thin line. After all, it wasn't exactly as if she had embraced the information with open arms as well. "...At rebel bases and the academy," she said to help coax him along.
Gary's eyes widened to the point that it would've been comical had they just grown a little more, though even then, Leaf doubted she would've laughed. His body froze as his mouth fell slack, allowing him to get out a tiny, simple, "You..."
With a short, humorless chuckle, Leaf shook her head. "It's okay. I couldn't believe it either. You don't have to believe me, it's just...I wouldn't have wanted to lie to you, that's all."
And with that, she ducked her head and began to head back to where they came from, though the journey happened to involve passing by Gary as well. She heard the soft pit-pat of Lazare's footsteps, and she smiled to see the small dragon trailing after her dutifully, especially since she had almost forgotten about it during the rest of her and Gary's exchange. A few steps later, she was almost past Gary, but there was an unexpected pressure on her shirt that caused her to stop. They were still facing opposite directions, but it wasn't hard to realize that Gary was the one grabbing ahold of her shirt. He was pointedly avoiding looking at her with face still contorted in consternation while Leaf, on the other hand, was watching him attentively. Several long moments passed, resulting in Lazare looking up at the two inquisitively.
Then, without ever lifting his gaze from the ground, four words trickled out of his mouth that made Leaf's heart swell more than she ever thought it could from something Gary Oak said.
"I believe you..." he said softly, slowly, enunciating each syllable as if this was the first, last, and only chance he would ever have to tell her this. "...Princess."
"Thank you again, White," said Harmonius softly, a small smile straining at his thin lips.
"For what?" laughed the girl buoyantly, though she had a pretty good idea what.
"For giving me one of the best battles I've had in a long time," he said as if it was one of the most obvious things in the entire world.
"You're too modest. You knew you were going to beat me three seconds in."
"I believe the only modest one here is you," returned Harmonius swiftly.
"A lie," said White with a light snort. "But seriously, Harmonius, your dragon really is something. I can't believe you've only been together for, what, a year?"
"Give or take," said Harmonius quietly.
"I've been with Titaia longer than that and all we did was try to put up a fight," she said dejectedly, shaking her head. "Oh well, I guess some people are just natural battlers."
"Well, I'm not the first Rider my dragon has had," confessed Harmonius. "I took over when his previous Rider became...unable to ride."
"I see," said White, her tone taking on a bit of sadness. "What happened to them?"
"He was hurt in a fight," he said slowly, carefully, "and sustained brain damage afterwards. Their bond was destroyed as well."
"That's terrible," mumbled White genuinely. I wouldn't know what to do if that happened to us, Titaia.
It won't, soothed her dragon. White felt the satisfaction of her dragon as she stretched out lazily. Although...her dragon began at the same time Harmonius said, "Well, I should be going."
"Oh, of course," said White hastily, choosing to focus on her conversation with Hatmonius first and letting Titaia know that. Her dragon quickly fell silent. "Thank you for the battle."
"It was my pleasure," he said, his relaxed and easygoing demeanor returning. Then, before White had a chance to react, he was leaning in, in, in and there was suddenly a touch like feathers on the middle of her forehead and then he was straightened up again with the sweetest, kindest smile on his face and then his back was facing her and then he was walking away, leaving her there stewing in a mixture of Arceus-knew-what-she-was-feeling as she watched him go.
As I was saying, said Titaia authoritatively, though once White jerked herself back from her daze, she wondered about the traces of amusement in her dragon's tone. It was interesting to find that the color of that man's dragon was very...
Similar to Tarit, finished White sadly, remembering the black dragon that belonged—belongs, she corrected herself firmly—to Touya. You're right. She sighed. Arceus, I miss them...
And his eyes, continued Titaia woefully. They reminded me of Tarit's, though different.
You two weren't fully grown yet when we were attacked. I wonder if Tarit looks different now...
I want to find them, said the white dragon morosely.
I do, too, which is why there's something I've been thinking about. The only way we're going to find them is to leave this base. We can't stay here forever if we want to find our yin, yeah?
What are you suggesting?
White smiled, hoping the gesture reached Titaia through their bond. Let's go find the Tac to your Tic with some people who are just as ridiculous as your nicknames.
let it be known that Leaf was going to call Gary a prepubescent boy, not a prepubescent female dog (unless you'd prefer the latter, in which case by all means feel free to assume that)
as always, thanks for reading!
-Apheleia