So yeah, dont have much to say. So uhmmmm... Read till the end...?
Chrip, chirp chrip.
The sounds of the morning birds rang out through the forest as I slowly woke up. I opened my eyes slowly, staring up at the brightening sky as the sun rose up. I started to feel a tickle in my nose, so I moved my head away. Looking down, I saw Dawn was still passed out on my chest, her hair splayed everywhere, but... wait, when did she put her hands in my jacket? Her hands must've been cold. Speaking of which, mine are freezing. I brought my hands out from under the blaket & up to my face, moving my fingers individually. Guess they still work.
I reached down slowly, picking up Dawn's head & slowly moving it off of me, making sure not to wake her. I then moved her hands out of my jacket before zipping it closed again. I got up slowly, standing & stretching as I looked at my watch. 7:02. It's still pretty early. I should get a fire going for when Dawn wakes up.
I started off into the forest area around the camp, looking for dry limbs. I made sure to stay within eyesite of Dawn, incase she woke up. It took me a little bit to find dry wood & tinder, but I eventually found enough to start a fire. I carried it all back over to where I had left Dawn, finding her still asleep, but now using my backpack as a pillow. I chuckled at the sight as I set the wood down. I set the wood up in a upside down cone style with the ends leaned against each other.
Now, what do I start the fire with?.. I could make a bow saw firestarter if I had some string. Maybe I could find something in my bag but Dawn claimed it as her pillow and I don't want to disturb her sleep. Ugh.
I slipped my hands into my jacket pockets, trying to warm them up some. I then felt a lose tread in my jacket. Okay, this has to work or I'm without a fire. I pulled on the tread, getting it as long as possible before it wouldn't pull anymore. I snapped it at the base & pulled it out. I then grabbed a curved stick, tying the tread on one end, making a loop around a straight stick, and then tying the other end.
I started to move the bow back & forth, spinning the stick on top of some of the tinder I had gotten, trying to get an ember. I moved the bow faster & faster, and after a while, I finally got an ember. Just as I got an ember, the tread snapped on the bow. No, no no no. I leaned down, gently blowing on the ember, trying to get the tinder to catch fire and then, foosh, it finally caught. I let out a sigh of relief, moving the tinder under the sticks & letting it all start to burn.
It all caught relatively quickly, creating a decent enough fire. I put a few more sticks into it, then holding my hands close to warm them back up. I sat there for a while, staying warm by the fire, getting lost in my thoughts. I wonder if Canalave is anything like I remember. Last time I was there, I remember it being sparsely populated with few buildings. Heh, I remember begging my grandparents if we could bring Dawn, but she was grounded at the time for not doing her chores & then back talking her mom. I chuckled at the memories. Those were good times.
"Hey Ash?" I heard fron behind me.
I was quickly ripped out of my memories & brought back to the present by the voice. I looked back, seeing Dawn had woken up, holding the blanket around herself tightly.
"Hey Dawn, how did you sleep?" I smiled back at her.
"I slept alright," she said, rubbing her eye, but then started to pout. "Would've slept even better if I woke up still in someone's arms."
"Yeah, sorry," I said scratching my neck sheepishly. "We have a fire at least."
"At least you didnt just sit there not holding me & doing nothing," she replied as she got up, walking over & sitting beside me with the blanket. It was then that I heard her stomach growl.
"Sounds like someone is hungry. What did you grab from Kenny's?" I asked, feeling her lean against me.
"Just basic canned stuff like Raviolis, Spaghettios, chicken noodle soup, and stuff like that."
"Huh, not much in the way of breakfast foods huh?" I said, getting up & walking to our bags.
I got to our bags & reached down, picking up mine & shouldering it. I then grabbed Dawn's, carrying it back over to the fire. I sat down beside Dawn, taking my bag off & setting it beside me as I handed Dawn her's. I don't want to go through her bag & take a chance on finding something embarrassing. I watched as Dawn opened her bag, reached in & pulled out a big can of beef raviolis, luckily it had an opening tab. She reached over, handing it to me. I smiled as I took it, pulling the lid open & setting close to the fire to warm it up some.
"Hey Dawn, did you get forks or anything?" I asked, causing Dawn to freeze for a second before letting out a sigh.
"Sorry Ash, I didn't think about it."
"Its alright Dawn, luckily, raviolis are big enough we can eat them with our hands," I said with a smile.
I reached down, grabbing the edge of the blanket & pulling it away from Dawn, leaving her with half. I smiled as I scooted next to her, wrapping the blanket around us both. I saw her blush a little bit as she smiled, leaing against me. I slipped my arm around her, holding her tight as we watched the fire burn & the food heat up slowly. Eventually, I picked up the can, feeling it had gotten pretty warm. I looked over, smiling as I handed Dawn the can, letting her eat first.
"Thank you Ash," she said, smiling back.
"Not a problem Dawn, you seem hungrier than I am anyways."
I smiled as Dawn started to eat. I was hungry, but my stomach wasn't growling like her's. I looked back at the crackling fire, watching it burn. After a while, Dawn handed me the can, with maybe a little less than half. I looked over, seeing her wipe her hands on the ground. I smiled as I started to eat the rest of it. Its a good thing that these are filling. I continue to eat it, quickly finishing the can. I tried to crush it the best I could in my hand before putting it in an unused zipper on my bag. We may be running for our lives, but I still don't want to litter.
We sat there at the fire for a little while longer, not putting more fuel in & slowly letting it go out. I lifted my arm up checking my watch. 9:32.
"Hey, we should hit the road soon. It's half past 9." I said, putting my arm back down.
"Alright, but can you give me a few minutes? I wanna go put some clean clothes on."
"Yeah, I should do the same," I said, standing up, leaving Dawn with the blanket. "I'll go behind that tree. You can stay by the fire if you want. I promise not to peak," I told her, smiling gently.
"Okay," she replied, smiling with a small blush.
I reached down, grabbing my bag & walking over to a nearby tree. I stepped behind it, unzipping my jacket & taking it off, setting it on a branch, doing the same with my shirt. I looked down, feeling the cold air on my skin. I eyed my bandages, thinking before reaching down, pulling them off. The wound had basically fully closed up & was healing well, would leave a nasty scar but what can you do. I then quickly changed my clothes, putting on an ice white long-sleeve & some dark jeans & some clean socks & underwear. I chuckled as I slipped my jacket back on. I remember when Mom used to constantly remind me over the phone about it when I was with my grandparents. I picked my bag up, putting it on one shoulder for the time being. I started to take a step out from behind the tree but froze.
"Hey Dawn, are you decent?" I called out to her.
"No! Give me like 30 seconds!" She called back.
I stopped, waiting behind the tree. I gave her an extra minute just incase, respecting her privacy. I then stepped out from behind the tree, heading back towards her. I saw her slipping on her jacket over a red, elbow length shirt. I watched as she looked over, smiling at me as she stood up, putting her bag on her back & holding onto the blanket. As I got closer, I saw she was wearing some extremely faded, nearly white jeans. I then noticed that her hair was brushed straight again.
"Did you need those 30 seconds to brush your hair?" I asked with a chuckle.
"U-Uhm... maybe..." she said, blushing slightly.
"Well, you look nice, especially for someone on the run," I chuckled, reaching forward & putting my hand on her warm cheek.
"H-Hey, stop! Your hand is cold!" she said, pouting but not trying to move away from my hand.
I just chuckled, leaning forward & giving her forehead a kiss. I took my hand off her cheek, reaching down & grabbing the blanket from her hand. I took my bag off my shoulder, stuffing the blanket back inside before zipping it up. I put my bag back on my shoulders, tightening the straps a little before looking back at Dawn.
"Ready to go?"
"Mhm," she hummed.
"Alright," I smiled. I looked over at the dying fire, thinking then kicking some snow on top of it to put it out.
"Any idea how far we are from Canalave?" she asked, taking my hand & starting to pull me forward to get me to start walking.
"Uhm, I really have no clue," I said, starting to walk with her.
"Oh," she said, pausing. "So the plan is to just walk until we reach the city?"
"Yeah, basically," I said, reaching up & scratching my cheek. Not every one of my plans can be good.
"Alright. I hope we can make it there before it gets dark!" she said cheerfully, making me smile at her.
"Me too Dawn," I said, smiling as we walked through the forest, paralleling the road to Canalave.
I didn't want to walk on the main road. There's always a chance of a cop rolling by & spotting us before we could hide. We walked for a while, idly chatting about whatever crossed our minds. Eventually, we started discussing the regions.
"I dunno Ash, I really think Kanto would be a good choice. There are people you there that would help!" Dawn said cheerfully.
"Thats the exact reason I don't want to go to Kanto. People know me. What about Kalos? I hear its a great vacation destination, even during this time of the year."
"I dunno, they have some pretty crazy religions over there worshipping 'Mega Evo' whatever that is, but they do have beautiful stone buildings. Hoenn?"
"Hmm, maybe. But you do remember that a branch of that Kalos religion as started over there, right? It was on the news back in Kanto like over a month back."
"Oh yeah, you're right, hmmm..." she said, humming slightly as she started to think.
"And who says we even have a choice, there may only be one ship, we'd just have to hop on & go," I stated, letting go of Dawn's hand. I moved mine up, locking my fingers together behind my head, with my elbows poking out above my head, as I looked up at the light blue sky. "But I'd be fine with either Hoenn or Kalos. They seem like the best options."
"Yeah, if we can avoid the cults," she said.
I smiled as we kept walking. I looked over, seeing Dawn stop walking suddenly. I stopped, looking back.
"Something wrong Dawn?" I asked, taking my hands out from behind my head & letting them fall to my sides.
"Nah, rock in my shoe," she said, smiling & crouching down, pulling her shoe off & shaking it.
"Alright," I said, thinking for a few seconds before smiling. "Hey, you won't get rocks in your shoes if I carry you."
"Yeah, wait," Dawn said, processing what I had just said. She started to blush gently & smile. "If you want, I wouldn't mind."
"Hop on," I said with a chuckle, earning a giggle from her.
I smiled back, feeling my face ever so slightly heat up. I turned my back to her, crouching down as I heard her walk up. As she got to me, I had expected her to climb onto my back, but instead I felt her put her legs over my shoulders instead. I chuckled to myself, reaching up & holding on to her.
"Ready?" I asked, chuckling.
"Yup," she said, giggling. "Onward to Canalave!"
I chuckled, standing up, making sure she was steady as I did. I started back down the road towards Canalave, holding onto Dawn's legs. I offer her a piggyback ride jokingly & now she's riding my shoulders. I chuckled to myself. At least she's light. I walked with her on my shoulders through the not so dense woods, chatting some.
Eventually we quieted ourselves down, walking & enjoying each others presence. We, well I walked for about an hour or two, just walking & occasionally chatting. I started to feel Dawn run her hands through my disheveled hair a few times before stopping. I then felt her start to shuffle slightly.
"What are you doing up there Dawn?" I said, slowing down just incase.
"Getting something out of my bag, don't worry," she said, moving a bit more. I then felt her settle before I felt her start running a brush through my hair.
"Dawn, why are you brushing my hair?" I asked, sighing & starting to walk at normal speed again.
"Cause you always leave your hair extremely messy & I'm gonna fix that! No need to worry about a thing Ash!" She said cheerfully, brushing my hair.
"Alright, if you say so. Though if the girls at the hair salon couldn't get it to stay brushed, I doubt you could."
"Still gonna try," I heard her giggle. "Hard to believe that was over 3 weeks ago."
"Honestly it is. It kinda hard to explain how it feels, like I either got here yesterday, or over a year ago."
"Hmm, maybe you left but your heart never did," she said, giggling.
"Well, you were here so that makes sense," I said, smiling & feeling my cheeks heat up slightly. Dawn didn't say anything for a second, guessing she was embarrassed.
"Hey, stop for a second," I heard her suddenly say.
I stopped walking, confused on why. I then felt her lean forward, bending over & looking at my face, upside down. I could see her blushing as she leaned towards my face, kissing my cheek.
"I love you Ash," she said, sitting back up on my shoulders.
"I love you too Dawn," I said back, blushing gently as I held onto her legs tighter.
I started walking again, feeling her going back to brushing my hair. At this point, I was barely noticing the cold as I continued to walk. I let go of one of Dawns legs as I brought my arm up. 3:58. We missed lunch. The thought of eating made me a little hungrier, but I'll survive if I skip lunch. We'll stop if she gets hungry. I held onto her leg again as I kept walking. After a long while, an hour or so I'd say, I felt Dawn finally stop brushing my hair.
"All done," she said cheerfully, shuffling a bit.
"Really? You've got it to stay brushed for more than 30 seconds?" I asked in disbelief. Honestly I had forgotten she was even brushing my hair.
"Mhm!" I heard her hum. I then saw her hold a mirror down infront of my face. My hair was nearly as long as Dawn's in the back, jeez. My hair on my sides came down & covered my ears while my bangs framed my face well.
"Alright, you did it. And I really need a hair cut, jeez! I look like a girl!" I said, staring in the mirror.
"What do I win for doing the impossible?" she asked cheerfully.
"What do you want to win?" I asked her, still shocked that my hair is staying down. "And how did you get it to stay down?"
"A girl never tells her secrets," she said, winking at me in the mirror. "And, hmmm, I dunno. I'll let you decide. Suprise me," she winked again.
"I'll think of something," I chuckled, looking at my hair again. I should really style it.
"Hey Ash, do you want me to get down? I've been on your shoulders for a while now," she asked, shuffling, presumably putting the mirror & brush up.
"Nah, I'm fine. You're pretty light so it's fine. Do you want to get down?"
"Nope, I wanna stay up here. I can see alot up here!" she said.
"Ah, so you like being up there cause you're short?" I teased, grinning a little.
I could imagine her pouting face as she sat on my shoulders. I then felt her move her leg, then kicking back into my chest. It didn't really hurt, and I still had a good grip.
"Ouch, don't make me drop you," I said, stopping suddenly & making her nearly lose her balance.
"Then don't be a meanie," she said, sitting up straight again.
I chuckled to myself, as I kept walking. I looked over for a little bit, staring at the road for a bit. I haven't noticed a single car pass. Is everyone scared of going to Jubilife right now? We only defended ourselves.
"Hey Ash?" Dawn said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"What's up?"
"Uhm, it's weird to explain, but doesn't this just, I dunno, feel right? Like its what we're meant to be doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, us traveling together. Walking the roads to a new city. I dunno, it just feels like its what we're meant to be doing."
"Yeah," I said, starting to think about it, "It honestly does now that you mention it." This did feel right, walking around with Dawn.
"Once we get new identities, why don't we start traveling? I'd love to see all the other countries with you," I said with a smile.
"Yeah, it would be great fun!"
I smiled, as we continued to walk, chatting constantly. After a while, we started to reach a few hills. I looked up at the top. Wait, I think Canalave had a bunch of foothills around it. I picked up the pace a little, quickly climbing the hill, making sure not to fall, or drop Dawn. The hill wasn't too steep or too tall, so it was easy to climb. After I finally reached the top, off in the distance I could see the outline of a city. I smiled to myself. Almost there! I looked up at Dawn, even only seeing the underside of her face, I could tell she was smiling.
I stepped forward, starting down the other side of the hill, only to realize how steep it is a second too late. I slipped backwards, falling on my back, Dawn squealing as she fell off my shoulders. I tried to stand up again, only to slip again, sliding, well more like tumbling, down to the bottom of the hill. I ended up on my stomach, my face covered in snow.
"Ouch, that hurt," I said, standing up slowly, making sure I had my footing. "You alright Dawn?" I asked loudly, looking around, but not finding her.
"Ahhh!"
I turned around, seeing Dawn basically flying down the hill. I quickly moved infront of her, holding my arms out to catch her. She came down the hill, landing in my arms & knocked me back onto the ground, snow flying everywhere as my head bounced off the ground.
"Owww..." I said, rubbing my head. I opened my eyes, looking down on my chest, seeing Dawn laid there. "Are you alright Dawn?"
"Yeah," I heard her say, followed by a giggle. "Cause I had you here to catch me," she said, causing me to smile.
"Want to just set up camp for the night? Go into Canalave tomorrow?"
"Sure," she said, lifting her head off my chest. She stared down at me, smiling. "My hero," she said. I could hear the love in her voice.
"Always Dawn," I smiled, reaching up & putting a hand on her cheek, stroking it with my thumb.
I held her cheek in my hand, smiling as I leaned up, gently pressing my lips to hers, I felt her kiss back. After a few seconds, I started to pull away, smiling at her. She smiled back, but her smile turned into a grin as my vision suddenly went white & my face got cold. I reached up, wiping the snow off my face.
"Oh you're gonna get it!" I said playfully.
I reached up, grabbing her shoulders. I rolled, flipping us & pinning her beneath me. I grabbed a handful of snow, shoving it in her face. I heard her start to happily giggle & laugh. One thing I remember from our childhood, is how ticklish she is. I reached down, pushing her jacket & shirt up slightly, starting to poke & tickle her stomach, making her laugh.
"Ahaha, Aaaasshhhh stooop," she said as she laughed. "I'm sooorrrreeeyyyy!"
"I don't believe it!" I said, continuing to tickle her relentlessly. I grabbed a handful of snow, rubbing it against her ticklish spots.
"Aaassshhhh! Coooollllddd!" she basically screamed, squirming underneath me.
I grinned, tickling her a bit more. I eventually stopped, looking down at her panting & pouting a bit. She opened her mouth to say something but I quickly cut her off by leaning down & kissing her gently. I felt her freeze before returning the kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. I moved my hand up, running my fingers through her hair. We kept kissing until we were both out of breath, pulling away, we were both panting slightly. I smiled down at her. Neither of us said anything, we just stared into each others eyes, but eventually, Dawn broke the silence.
"Hey Ash," she said quietly.
"Yeah Dawn?"
"Can you get off of me?" she asked, blushing gently.
I blushed heavily, realizing the position we were in. I quickly moved off of her, sitting down next to her.
"Sorry about that Dawn," I said, blushing as I looked away.
"It's alright," I heard her say. "We should probably get camp set up soon, its getting dark," she said, making me look up at the sky.
"Yeah, it is," I said as I looked at my watch. 6:39. Man, you really lose track of time when you're having fun. "Wanna set up here?"
"Sure," she said as she took off her bag.
I looked around. In our goofing off, we actually cleared a decent area of snow. I slipped my bag off my shoulders, opening it & getting the blanket out. I looked around for a second. Not very many trees or sticks for a fire.
"Hey Dawn," I said, looking over at her.
"Whats up?"
"We don't have much here that we can use in the way of fire."
"Oh, you're right," she said looking around. "Do we really need a fire though?"
"Do you want to eat cold food?" I simply asked.
"No."
"Then we need a fire," I said, turning & walking to the nearest tree.
"Hurry back!"
"No need to worry Dawn, I'll be back in a jiff."
"Hey, thats my line!" I heard her say just as I got out of ear shot.
I walked to the tree, moving around it & picking up whatever sticks & limbs I found on the ground, which wasn't much. I glanced back, seeing Dawn wrap herself in the blanket. I then looked back forward, seeing a few more trees & walking to them. Once I got to them, I did the same thing, collecting the fallen & dead sticks, then moving to the next tree, & the next tree. By the time I realized how dark it was getting, I looked back, Dawn was out of sight. I looked down at the collection of wood in my arms, having gathered a good amount, I turned around& headed back the way I came. It was nearly pitch black, only the moonlight illuminated anything. I only made it back by following my footprints. By the time I got back to Dawn, I could barely see 2 feet infront of me.
"Dawn, I'm back," I said, barely making out her figure.
"Jeez, I thought I told you to hurry back!" I heard her pouting.
"Sorry, but I got enough to last us til morning," I said, stepping next to her & setting the wood down. I started to set it up to burn some.
"Alright, so want chilli or spaghettios?" she asked with a smile.
"Chilli," I said, finishing setting up the firepit. "Do you have a way we can start this?"
"Yeah, I have matches I got from Kenny's. Isn't that how you started the fire from this morning?"
"No. I did it the hard way cause I didn't want to invade your privacy & go through your bag."
"Ash, I don't mind you going through my bag," she said, grabbing her bag & opening it. She pulled out a small box of matches, handing it to me.
"I mind. It feels wrong to go through a girl's things," I said, taking the matches & lighting one. "Thank you for the matches," I said, putting the match in the fireplace, letting it light & start to burn.
"I don't mind Ash. Just don't do anything weird," she said, opening both of the cans & setting then on the edge of the fire.
"Alright."
I sat down, sitting next to Dawn. I felt her lean against me, starting to hug my arm. I smiled at her, silently watching the fire burn & crackle. I kept adding wood, fueling it. Eventually, I reached down, grabbing the can of chilli. I brought it up, pouring it into my mouth as I ate it. Honestly, I love chilli, though I prefer home made. I quickly ate the entire can, basically drinking the chilli. I set the can down, looking over to see Dawn just now picking up hers, eating it the same, but slower.
We didn't talk while we ate, just sat there next to each other. Dawn eventually finished her food, setting the can down, & cuddling up to me.
"Wanna sleep now?" I asked, my eyes seemingly to get heavier.
"Mhmm," she hummed, wrapping the blanket tight around us.
I smiled, wrapping my arms around her. I pulled her tight, as I slowly laid us down. As we laid down, I felt Dawn lay her head on my chest, hugging me tightly as she did. I smiled, leaning my head down & kissing her forehead.
"Goodnight Dawn. Sleep well," I whispered to her, feeling her nuzzle my chest.
"Goodnight Ashy," she said quietly. "I love you."
"I love you too Dawn."
I stared up at the sky for a few seconds, looking at the stars. Honestly, it's been a good day, even if we we're just walking together to the next city. Tomorrow, Canalave. And hopefully a new beginning.
So, yeah. That was a long one. Well I have 2 announcements. 1, I'm now 20 years old as of today, October 30th. 2, and this is a big one.
"Jubilife High: A Loner's Secret" will be getting reworked & remade once this story is finished. There will be some MAJOR changes and hopefully it'll be alot better. Well thats it for this time. I hope you guys have a great Halloween!