Author's Note: This is Part Two in the Arcues/Volkner trilogy of sorts, so if you haven't read the first part, I recommend you do so now. Unless you don't like legend/human, in which case skip this chapter as well. Part One is titled Vacation.

Theme: Creation

Pairing: Arceus/Volkner (Continued from Chapter Thirty-Three: Vacation)

Disclaimer: I do not claim any of the Pokemon characters used in this chapter, because they are all property of Satoshi Tajiri and I haven't stolen the rights from him yet. I bet he has people try that all the time, actually; probably has to have bodyguards and stuff.

"What is this strange, sticky thing?"

Volkner grinned and pointed at the treat in Arceus' psychic hold, explaining, "That is a caramel apple. You see, they simply place an apple on a stick and then dip it into the caramel. It's a messy but rewarding treat." It was entertaining to see her examine the apple closely before giving in to her urge to envelop the whole thing in her mouth, excluding the stick. The stick came out with a slight pop rather lacking of an apple, and he watched as her green-red eyes widened in delight before she swallowed the apple whole. "Ah, you're supposed to chew . . . but I guess that works, too."

"That was delicious!" Her heart soared on air for a moment as she smacked her lips eagerly, gaze already searching the grocery bag for her next victim. "What other treats do you enjoy on special occasions?" He had explained to her that it was his birthday in slight embarrassment after his pokemon started to shout in excitement, and she had prodded him into showing her the traditions one had for such a day. After a shopping trip where she had looked on from inside the safety of a poke ball, to avoid the gazes of trainers and criminals alike, they were now sitting in his kitchen with his other pokemon as they sifted through the treats he had bought specifically for her enjoyment. He brought out a slice of cheesecake and watched in amusement as her eyes danced with excitement. "What is this called?"

"Cheesecake," he said simply, offering the plastic plate on his upturned palm with a grin. "It tastes much better than the name implies." He wasn't surprised when she skipped taking separate bites to instead snap it up in one gulp and lick the filling off of her lips. Waiting until she gave a sign to continue with this tour of deserts, he took another plastic container and divided the cake inside into enough pieces for everyone to enjoy. He confessed as he handed her a slice, "This is one of my favorites: Glazed lemon cake."

"You have good taste," she told him after devouring her portion, eyeing the crumbs left on the plate. When he offered the plate with a smile, she was glad to wipe it completely clean with her tongue, much to his amusement. If he didn't have the image of her awe-inspiring power constantly in his mind, he would've compared her contentedness to a growlithe that had gotten hold of a steak carelessly left unsupervised on a counter. "What else?"

Much of the afternoon passed in this manner, although they eventually moved to the patio to enjoy the soft and salty breezes coming from the ocean. As the others enjoyed the refreshing air, Volkner and Arceus stood and watched the sun nearing the horizon where the sky dared to touch the mainland of Sinnoh, the human hooking his thumbs into his pockets and the legendary leaning unconsciously to one side. They let the day wind down on its own, ignoring the noise of the busy city around them to instead soak in the rays of sunlight slowly slipping away from them and to the other side of the world. When the climax of the sunset was just about to leave them–the lingering sunlight casting the clouds in a fiery orange below while a royal purple settled on their tops–Volkner turned to her and asked, "Do you want to know the only thing I like more than sunsets?"

She seemed to enjoy his random inquiry, nodding her head to humor him in silent pleasure. "If you are so inclined to tell me."

He grinned and leaned closer to her as if to disclose confidential information, and she found herself bending her neck until she was eye-level with him to hear him better. He whispered conspiratorially, "Sunrises."

.

The blond blinked at the sudden box that was abruptly placed on his lap before giving Arceus an inquiring gaze. When he sought an explanation, she told him, with a hint of exasperation in her voice, "You didn't inform me of the tradition of gift-giving on one's birthday."

"Ah . . . so I didn't." To be honest, he hadn't planned on telling her that, because he didn't want her to feel obligated to give him one simply because "it was tradition." Finding that he was still staring at a present in either case, he couldn't evade his curiosity. "Who told you, then?"

"Dawn." The sour tone she held revealed that she hadn't been pleased to not have known this important detail, and even less thrilled that she had to learn it from her trainer. The conversation he had heard snippets of last night while they talked over the telephone was suddenly suspect. "I mentioned your birthday, and she . . . told me." Her lacking finish obviously bothered her, for she gestured impatiently with a hoof for him to open it.

His fingers rested on the plain brown box, and although he was curious what she could possibly think was an appropriate gift, he was still a bit guilty about accepting one. "Look, you didn't have to . . ."

"Please." It was that simple request that finally shattered his resolve, and he sighed before bending to her wishes and folding the flaps backwards to let him gaze at the box's contents. When his eyes grew wide in surprise, her smug voice implored, "Take it out and examine it closely."

His fingers danced across the smooth surface of the plate, admiring the rich shade of yellow and the polish that made it shine in the artificial lighting. After a moment of thought, he realized the meaning behind the gift and snapped his gaze to her satisfied expression. "B-but, isn't this your . . . ?"

"It can be replaced whenever I truly need it," she enlightened cheerfully, "and it certainly isn't useful to me in my current situation." Letting the displeasure of being a trainer's pokemon take over her for a heartbeat, she quickly batted it away to give him a smile. "Besides . . . I know of your affinity to electricity."

"No kidding," he mumbled, admiring her sacrifice even after she made light of it. This is a source of her power, and to give it to me . . . she must trust I can handle it with care. "I won't accidentally activate it or anything, will I?"

"No." Then, she hesitated, something he did not like to see. "Not without extreme mental prowess on your part."

He snorted. Interesting choice of words. "Are you calling me mentally challenged?"

"I'm calling you indefinitely mortal." She gave his previous question some serious thought, and then conceded, "Unless you purposefully will it, it will not do damage."

"If I do, will it be in my favor?"

". . . That remains to be seen."

.

"Do you have a birthday, Arceus?"

The question came as a surprise to her, and she had to honestly consider his question for a long while. "No . . . I suppose I don't. I was born before the concepts of Space and Time were even contemplated." It wasn't something she thought about often, and it wasn't something she put too much thought into now. That was why his sympathetic look disturbed her and coaxed her into action. "Don't feel sorry for me. My date of creation may be unknown, but my influence stretches across the universe in such ways that my birth is celebrated every moment of every day." She was disappointed to see that he wasn't satisfied with her answer.

"It is still an important day, though, whether you know the exact date or not. Without you . . ." He grinned, waving a hand broadly. "Quite obviously, nothing would exist without you."

"And I enjoy the sight of my creations, so I don't need a commemoration."

"But don't you think there should be a special day just for you? A day where everyone acknowledges your accomplishment?" He let the words sink in before continuing. "And most people don't even know you created them, while others refuse to believe it."

"But I know, and that's all that matters." Pausing to think about her words carefully, she had to pick and choose through several trains of thought and spoke slowly. "And in either case, sometimes it's better to be ignorant."

". . . ah, I see your point," he reluctantly conceded, leaning back in his chair to place his feet on the table before him. "But I still think the people who do know should do something."

She smiled at his insistence, finding it an admirable trait in him alongside his nearly contradictory politeness. "Don't worry. Even one person's kindness . . . is enough for me." She turned her head away to admire the horizon, and to avoid his curious gaze towards the meaning he felt was hidden behind that confession. The sea breeze caressed the fur on her face, and she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she absorbed the rising sun's warmth. "Ah . . . you were right. Sunrises are much more enjoyable than sunsets. It's like . . . the birth of a new day."

His eyes didn't leave her content face, and he asked softly, "You really love all of your creations, don't you? Even the faulty ones?"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and gave a mischievous grin. "Especially the faulty ones."

.

"Arceus? Oh, Arceuuuuus! I'm back!"

The white-furred pokemon froze in place before groaning, closing her eyes and wishing once more for hands to massage her temples with as her trainer came racing into the house. Dawn latched herself onto her pokemon's leg with a squeal, jumping up and down excitedly before turning to an amused Volkner in slight embarrassment when she realized how immature she looked. "Oh, uh, sorry, Volkner. How're you? It's been ages!"

"You mean "a month?" " The blond was clearly teasing her, and when she walked over to give him a tight hug he ruffled the white cap on her head to mess up the hair underneath. She squeaked at the action and hurried to fix it, making him laugh before curiosity took over. "Are you here for . . . ?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I'm here to get Arceus back. I had almost forgotten she was here, actually . . . but there's a break in the challenges now, so I figured I'd bring her over to meet the rest of the Elite Four. Y'know?" At his encouraging nod, Dawn smiled cheerfully and turned to the legendary standing calmly in place beside them, asking, "Are ya ready, Arceus?"

"I . . . suppose." Her hesitation didn't go unnoticed by Volkner, but the younger trainer was oblivious to it as she accepted the poke ball once more and held it out to suck Arceus inside in a beam of red light. From within her container, she looked on at them with strangely sad eyes, and the blond felt a pang of sympathy for her as well as his own regret. I'll miss having her around. Almost as if she could hardly bear it, the legendary asked carefully through telepathy, "How long is this break?"

"Only about two weeks, so you really won't be there for long." Giving a half-shrug to emphasize the small amount of time they'd have together, Dawn turned to Volkner once more and bowed gratefully. "Thank you for keeping her with you. Uh, when the break's over, can I . . . ?"

"Ah, yes, of course!" He winced when he sounded too eager and added calmly, "She's welcome at any time." The trainer gave him a joyful wave, pocketed the poke ball to make sure not to lose it, and took off on her Staraptor to return to the Elite Four's massive castle, and then Volkner found himself all by himself in front of his house. Strangely enough, even with his pokemon on his belt, he felt his house was empty when he stepped into the bedroom and didn't see anything levitating with Arceus' psychic powers. She'd always do that when bored, he remembered with a sigh, and he sat down and carefully patted the bed where Arceus had laid her head to take a short nap in the afternoons. Now every room has a memory of her. While it was refreshing to have new stories to add to the stack he already had in his house, it was slightly depressing that one of the participants of the memories wasn't there. It hasn't even been an hour, and I'm wishing for her to come back. He sighed, ran his hand through his hair restlessly, and stood up to walk onto the back porch, sitting backwards in one of the chairs to rest his chin on the back and sigh once more.

Arceus had left, and in her absence, something new was created: Loneliness. And with that, inevitably, came boredom. Two weeks is going to feel like two months, at this rate.

For the time being, all poetry is being put on hold, until I get these prompts out of the way. I apologize, poetry-fans, but this is so I can clean out my Love is Infinite folder (what this 100-prompt challenge was originally called). Please bear with me.