The next morning, I woke up to the smell of something frying.
I groaned as I opened my eyes and looked over, watching Lavier hold a frying pan over his tail as whatever he was cooking sizzled inside, though it smelled a lot like bacon. I was confused for a brief moment, as I had almost forgotten that he had evolved last night, but I quickly got over it and smiled. Lavier nodded and murmured a greeting at me as he continued his cooking, and I reached into my bag to pull out a couple of plates.
"I hope you made enough for both of us, I'm starving." I said. Lavier growled, and his eye turned to me, broadcasting how annoyed he was. I grinned at him as I brought the plates over. He rolled his eyes and said nothing as he turned to his food, and I peered over his shoulder to see that he was making a large omelette. I relaxed on my heels, giving him more room as he shook the pan, flipping the omelette skillfully. After a couple more minutes, Lavier was satisfied with his work and he turned to me, gesturing for the plates. I held them both out as he tossed the omelette into the air again, brandishing his claws to slice through it, cutting it in half as I stretched my arms out to catch both halves. He gratefully took a plate from me and we both sat down to eat, enjoying a comfortable silence as the sun steadily climbed the sky.
Shortly after breakfast, we decided it was time to get to Shalour City and meet up with Korrina and Celeste. We climbed up the mountain that housed the Glittering Cave, looking out over a cliff edge. I sighed as I breathed in the crisp, mountain air, but I heard Lavier grumble beside me. I looked at him and saw him looking down.
"Zard?" He said, sounding uncertain. I smiled and patted him on the shoulder, looking back at his wings.
"You'll be fine. Your wings are large and they look strong." I told him, trying to reassure him. Lavier didn't look like he believed me, and he sat down, letting his legs hang down over the edge. I sighed and sat down beside him, looking out at the landscape before us. We stayed quiet as we watched the world below us, but I could tell Lavier was still scared and nervous. I leaned against him, humming when he draped a wing over me, but did not move beyond that.
"I could probably make the walk if you're uncomfortable." I suggested. Lavier snorted and crossed his arms, and I laughed.
"No seriously. They worked us half to death in Team Plasma. Why do you think I'm so skinny?" I asked. Lavier turned his head and looked at me, his face impassive, and he sighed, gently pushing me aside and standing up. I blinked in confusion as he reached down, picking me up in his claws.
"Uh, Lavier?" I asked. He gulped as he stared at the cliff, and before I could say anything else, he leaped.
I didn't even have a chance to scream as we descended, but I didn't want to anyway. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly as he rumbled under my touch. I closed my eyes tightly and braced myself in case we hit something, yet I wasn't too surprised when I felt us climbing up instead. I opened my eyes and saw Lavier focusing hard, and the sound of his wings pumping furiously told me he was giving it his all to keep us in the air. I took a deep breath, and I broke his grip on me, momentarily panicking the Charizard as I flipped myself onto his back. I gripped him with my knees as I hugged his neck again.
"Don't make it harder than it needs to be, relax Lavier. You won't drop me, and you won't fall." I yelled. Lavier rumbled under me as he clenched his fists, continuing to pump his wings hard but each wing beat got slower, and we leveled out. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I let it out slowly, and I sat up slowly on Lavier's back. I looked around and watched the world below us, smiling at the trees passing below us while the mountain slowly climbed up to us. I gently stroked my Charizard's neck, and he slowly turned his head to look at me.
"Char." He said with a smile. I grinned at him and leaned down, clutching his neck.
"Good, now let's get to Shalour City. Give it everything you've got!" I commanded. With a roar, Lavier roughly beat his wings again, and I felt us pick up speed. It was hard to keep my eyes open as we rushed above the mountain. At the top, I had to close my eyes as Lavier dove. I felt my hair whip wildly from the wind as we descended, and Lavier rumbled under me again.
"Charizard!" He screamed, the sound echoing around. I grinned and squeezed his shoulders tighter.
"Yeah! Let's go Lavier wooo!" I cried after, his joy feeding into my own. I felt a hint of amusement within my mind, and I knew my guide was enjoying our enthusiasm for Lavier's first taste of flight. We slowed down slightly, and I was able to open my eyes to see we were close to some trees. Lavier grunted as we brushed over some of them, and I sat up, lightly tugging on Lavier's shoulders. With a nod, Lavier pulled up, and I yelped as we sharply turned left. Looking over, I smiled as we made our way to the ocean, and I leaned down on Lavier, stretching out to him.
"Think we'll find it easier from the ocean, or you just wanna fly over the water?" I asked. Lavier rumbled under me as we descended towards the water. Lavier looked back at me and smirked, and I tightened my grip as Lavier twisted in the air, the tip of his left wing dipping into the water and leaving a small trail behind us. I wrapped my arms tightly around Lavier's neck as he twisted again, lifting a small stream behind us.
With the initial excitement of Lavier's first flight wearing off, we slowed down to get our bearings and try to find our way. It was one thing for Korrina to say that Shalour City was just over the mountain, but we had yet to find it. I was starting to get annoyed when Lavier abruptly turned, and I was confused until I saw something in the distance. It looked like a short, misshapen lighthouse with pillars reaching up over one side, reminding me what what Dialga's claws are said to look like. As we got closer, the lower part made me think of a cathedral, and it had many smaller towers surrounding it. I hummed at it and leaned down as Lavier pumped his wings hard.
As we came closer, I saw Celeste moving back and forth while Korrina and a Lucario watched. The Lucario looked up and saw us flying in, and it pointed, getting the girls attention. Celeste started yelling excitedly as we got closer, though it was mostly just nonsense upon being able to actually hear her up close. I yelped as Lavier turned and awkwardly tried to land.
"Oop, okay easy there buddy. Try all fours." Celeste said. Figuring that it might be easier for him to land if he wasn't carrying me, I jumped off Lavier and landed in front of the group, my legs shaking for a moment. Lavier slammed onto the ground next to me, his claws gripping the dirt tightly as he panted. I carefully stood up and looked at Celeste and Korrina, who were looking at me with wonder and pride respectively.
"So, what's next, Korrina?"
TBC
Surprise!
So, I may have listened to the HTTYD soundtrack during this chapter. Specifically "Test Drive" on a loop.
I know it's been a long time again. I'm not even gonna pretend that I can keep a consistent schedule. I will try to update when I can but I've got a lot of stuff on my plate, so it's def gonna be slow going.
But hey, at least I got to write some fun first time flying scenes. I'd like to think that this is how it would go for a Charizard. A little bit of experience and practice both. Now we get to look at Celeste's first taste of Mega Evolution, and how well Aldith will be able to handle it.
See you guys in 44!
