A/N: Hello all and welcome to chapter nine. Last time we left off with a bunch of silly cooking puns that I still am not sorry for. Nor have I learned my lesson about adding too many JRPG elements into a story. I can't resist it; too much potential for world building in my opinion.
Slow Burning Lights
Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality.
*On the Road*
April 21
7:28 AM
Route 3
When Alex woke up, he saw that both Alana and Syaoron were already fully dressed. A fragrant aroma rose from their campsite, meaning that Syaoron had gotten up early to make breakfast. The blond dressed in a hurry, changing into a fresh set of grey jeans and a maroon long-sleeved shirt. When he was done he left his tent, yawning out a greeting. "Morning. How long have you lot been up?"
"Since dawn," Alana answered wearily, taking a spoonful of what appeared to be some sort of stew. She handed a third bowl to him and he accepted graciously.
"I thought you and early mornings don't get along," he said, confused. Normally one couldn't drag her out of bed that early even if they paid her. Why the sudden change?
"He asked for a hand making breakfast and didn't want to disturb you. You need all the rest you can get with your shoulder still like that," she replied, taking another spoonful of their breakfast. "Though he claims he just wanted to have a fireside chat at the crack of dawn."
"Nothing wrong with that." The blond rubbed his shoulder. Damn chilly mornings meant his joints were a little stiff and he had to get them used to moving around as early as he could. They still had to get through Mount Moon before they even reached Cerulean City on the other side, meaning it was going to be one very long day. The sooner they packed up their campsite and hit the road, the better.
Syaoron took a seat next to him and he didn't look like someone who had already been up for two hours cooking. His amber eyes didn't have an ounce of weariness to them and he took a swig of water, lazily poking around at his own food as he looked at their map of Kanto. "You've all stocked up on potions and such, right?"
"Yeah. I take it there's no pokémon center this side of the mountain save for the one in Pewter City?" Alex asked.
"There's one by the base, about three kilometers up the road," the brunet answered softly. "Still, we don't want to have to keep going back to it. Otherwise we'll never make any progress if we are constantly forced out to heal. I picked up about five potions and three antidotes. Couldn't afford to spend any more than that. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to cook as much. Not sure about you two, but empty stomachs is a surefire way to lead to petty arguments that I genuinely cannot be asked to deal with."
"Can't argue with you there, mate." Alex chuckled and took a few bites himself, giving him a thumbs up. "By the way, nice breakfast stew. It's rather nice."
"Don't thank me." Syaoron gave him a sly grin. "Thank Alana. She's the one who made it. I just prepped everything."
"Really?" Alex's eyebrow rose and he turned to face her. "Nice work."
"Always the tone of surprise with you." She rolled her eyes playfully. "I can cook when I try."
"I seem to recall you setting fire to someone's kitchen about a year ago. Was it yours, Syao?" he asked.
"No, no." Syaoron shook his head. "That doesn't seem to be right. My kitchen is perfectly unmarked by any sort of scorch marks. It's yours, isn't it?"
"You're right, it is." Both of them looked at Alana and she let out a huff, folding her arms indignantly.
"That was one time!" she defended. "To be fair, I didn't exactly anticipate for there to be a thin line of oil all over the damn burners when I turned them on. Cut me a little bit of slack. The hell was there oil on them in the first place?"
"Ah, was just craving some eggs and chips," Alex said earnestly. "I was a little peckish after our game of football."
"So it was partially your fault."
"Nope. Should have been more cautious."
Syaoron snorted in laughter and finished before any of them, putting the disposable bowl in the fire to keep it burning for a little longer. They'd appreciate the extra warmth while they cleaned up their campsite. There were tents to be taken down, the grill folded up, and pots to rinse out. It would be a very, very busy morning.
Still, it could be worse. He wasn't sure how, but he knew better than to try and question how life worked. It was like a game of rounders; one could be expecting a fastball and be hit with a curveball instead. Okay, maybe that was a terrible analogy. It sounded a lot better in his head than it did out loud.
"Well, now that we've got breakfast out of the way, we better get to work," Syaoron said softly. "We want to make good progress before it gets too dark."
"You think you'll be able to handle all that weight on your back?" Alex gestured to the portable grill and camping chairs. "It's not exactly a feather. How many kilos does that weigh?"
"No idea." The tall brunet shrugged. "Doesn't matter much; I've carried heavier."
"Yeah, but have you carried it while trekking through a bloody mountain?"
"There's a manmade tunnel system. I'll be fine."
Alex could only sigh. Trust Syaoron to be as stubborn as a mule. "Alright, mate. Have it your way. If it starts giving you some trouble, don't hesitate to ask okay?" The brunet merely grunted in acknowledgement and collapsed the chairs, sliding them into their covers and shouldering them. Good talk.
Truthfully, he doubted Syaoron would have much trouble carrying most of the heavy bits of kit. Even if he did, he would refuse to admit it until Alana pestered him about being too stubborn for his own good. He was hard headed like that. Bloody hell, both of them needed the blonde to smack some sense into them at times. How she was the most reasonable out of them all was a mystery at times.
Alex went back to his tent and rolled up his sleeping bag, stuffing it into a travel bag. Dirty clothes would need to be taken care of, but that was something that could be done at Cerulean City with a sturdier roof over their heads and running water, two novelties that camping didn't exactly have.
He had started to take his tent down when he felt something hit him squarely in the back. "Ow!"
With a yelp, he turned around, half suspecting Syaoron to have tossed something his way to be a funny guy. But no. The culprit was none other than a small light tan monkey-like pokémon with a long tail and a pig's nose on its face, tiny eyes bursting with anger.
Alex's eyes narrowed and he reached for a random pokéball. "Think you're funny or something? Bulbasaur, have at it." His assailant squeaked and ran off into the tall grass with Bulbasaur in hot pursuit, vines snapping angrily at the pokémon who dared to hit her master while his back was turned.
"Oi! Get back here you little sod!"
Alana winced at the dull smack of vines hitting a body and she watched as a mankey soared into the air, chirping in annoyance. She pinched herself to make sure that she was seeing this correctly, for it almost seemed too ridiculous to be true. First it was pikachus stealing food in Viridian Forest, and now a mankey that was incredibly cross at them for sleeping on what she guessed was its territory. What the hell was next on their journey across Kanto? An aerodactyl chasing them around the peak of a mountain?
"Hey, Syao, you're seeing this too right?" the blonde asked when she realised that pinching herself did nothing to wake her up from this dream.
"I am," the tall brunet said.
"…Alex is chasing a mankey around for you too?" Alana asked wearily. "And calling it various insults while doing so?"
"You think you're clever do ya!? Get back here, you pillock!"
"…yes," Syaoron deadpanned, taking a sip of coffee and watching as Bulbasaur bellowed after the wild mankey in hot pursuit, flattening the tall grass in her quest to take down the one who had hit her trainer. A jigglypuff huffed in annoyance and stomped away into taller grass after its hiding spot was revealed, the pink normal type not amused by the fight.
"H-how long do you think this is going to last?" Alana asked after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Shouldn't one of us…you know, help him?"
"Nope. He'll find out soon enough that while Bulbasaur can take hits better, she really falls flat in the speed department. She is not what I'd call a graceful pokémon. If he was smart, he'd let his spearow out to get an advantage." He raised his cup to his lips to take another sip.
"Or he could let Caterpie use String Shot to trap it," the blonde suggested.
"Not a bad idea," Syaoron conceded, stroking his chin. "So, we give him two more minutes before we yell over to him to quit mucking about?"
"I'll take it." Alana laughed and looked at the chairs, grill, and coolers currently slung over his back. "Um…you sure you're not overdoing it?"
"I'm fine. I've had heavier on my back before." Syaoron adjusted himself ever so slightly, a very subtle shift of weight.
"Syao…" Alana crossed her arms, eyeing him skeptically.
The tall brunet rolled his eyes, sighing. "I'm good, trust me. If my back starts to ache, you two will be the first ones to know." Well, that was better than him quietly seething the entire damn way to Cerulean. Still.
Could be worse.
"You bleedin' tosser! You sodding Tic-Tac!" Alex roared, glaring at the mankey who had, thus far, evaded every single irritated lash of Bulbasaur's Vine Whip. "Don't you laugh at me, you cheeky bastard!" Wow, he was actually annoyed. Alex wasn't a fan of swearing, but in the last three minutes he had gone through every single Galarian insult known to man. The blond was livid and didn't really seem to care that he was making himself look like a muppet.
Okay, interference time. As amusing as it was, they did not have all day to run around after a mankey and Alana shared a glance with Syaoron. The broader teen tilted his hat down with a sigh and with a lazy flick of his wrist sent out Squirtle to intercept the fighting-type pokémon.
"Water Gun." He sounded so bored and done with this mess. Even his pokémon felt mutual. The small water-type took one look at his trainer, huffed, and spat out a glob of water directly into the mankey's face.
It tumbled through the grass with a yelp and finally Alex's Bulbasaur was able to wrap it in her vines. The blond was puffing a little, having worked up a sweat chasing the little blighter, and to prove a point he lobbed an empty pokéball at it. The device opened up and a red beam of light absorbed the mankey into the ball, falling on the ground with a satisfying thud. It clicked to show the capture was successful and Alex muttered something irritably under his breath, returning Bulbasaur as well.
"Bloody hell, thanks for that. Cheers." Alex caught his breath and noticed Alana was holding in her snickers. "The ruddy hell is so funny?"
"You. In all the time I've known you, I've never once seen you go through every single Galarian insult in the span of about three minutes." The blonde chortled. "We were wondering when you were going to smarten up and toss out Spearow to handle it. Unless capture was your goal all along?"
The mankey's ball rocked on Alex's belt and they could all see the angry scrunching of its eyes. It was not happy about being caught by a trainer and it folded its arms indignantly, chirping what they assumed were insults. Kind of difficult to tell what a pokémon was saying when they couldn't understand it.
"Oh don't you even start with that rubbish again." Alex glared down. "We've got enough problems as is."
"Yeah…and we just got another one…" Alana looked behind them and they saw a rapidly approaching mass of dark grey clouds. A dull roar of thunder sounded off in the distance and Alex groaned as the wind picked up from the oncoming storm.
"Oh you have got to be fu—"
Syaoron wisely interfered and slapped his hand across Alex's mouth before he could finish swearing black and blue, shifting the weight on his back for more comfort. "Less complaining, more walking. Unless you want to end up like a fish."
Yeah, no thanks.
Alex's tent was taken down within minutes and finally they were on the road again, trying to reach the pokémon center and Mt. Moon itself before they were caught in a downpour. No one was in the mood to be completely drenched when they had a very long hike ahead of them before they reached Cerulean.
They set off in a much quicker pace, the wind picking up as they headed down the dirt road. No other trainers were in sight, meaning they could get to the pokémon center ahead of the crowd and stock up on supplies before heading into the mountain. Plus, at their current pace, they could probably reach the center before the thunderstorm let loose on them.
That was only possible if they were able to maintain it all the way there. It was relatively easy for one to do a three kilometer jog around a track; it was another thing entirely to ask them to do keep that pace while going uphill and carrying twenty two kilos worth of gear on their back. Syaoron would have the most difficulty keeping up since he was shouldering most of the weight like a stubborn mule.
Alana looked back at the brunet teen as he lugged the heavier gear along, his cheeks slowly turning red from the effort. In a mere matter of minutes, Syaoron was sweating furiously yet still refused to ask for help. It was as if he was really trying to push himself to his breaking point. If it kept up, he'd end up suffering more than a sore back; putting too much strain could possibly damage his spine or shoulder significantly, forcing him to spend months recovering.
Alex was definitely lucky when it came to his own shoulder injury. From the height he fell, he could have easily suffered a broken collarbone if he didn't rotate at the last second. A dislocated shoulder was a pain to deal with, but manageable. Herniated disks, not so much.
'This can't go on like this.' Alana grimaced as Syaoron swore upon stumbling over a rock he didn't see. 'Sooner or later, he's going to crack.' At this point, it was damn near inevitable that they'd be forced to stop. Syaoron would hate it, but he'd eventually relent and admit he was in a bit over his head.
And wouldn't she know it, he did.
The tall brunet paused for breath, taking off his hat and wiping away the sweat dripping from his messy brown hair. He let one of the camping chairs slide off his arm and he glared at it for a few seconds, clearly debating whether or not he'd cave into Alana's advice of letting them share the burden. They were all in this journey together and the blonde would be furious if he got himself critically injured in the process.
He met Alana's eyes and sighed in defeat, offering it over to her. "Think you can manage? Hate to admit it but my back is wearing out faster than I thought." There it was.
"Was that so hard?" Alana asked with a sigh, draping it over her back. It added a bit of weight, but nothing she couldn't handle. "Honestly, you're as stubborn as a bloody mule at times."
"Yeah, well, you just said it yourself." He cracked a thin smile and stood up a little straighter, now not lugging nearly twice the amount of weight as everyone else. "I'm nothing if not persistent."
"Yeah, persistent in injuring yourself, you ruddy muppet," Alex muttered, catching up to them. He didn't look too out of breath for someone who spent ten minutes chasing a mankey around a field. Most of the weight he was carrying was on his healthy side so he would be fine. Didn't mean he wouldn't find something to be cross about. The blond wasn't in the best of moods today. "The bloody hell were you thinking?"
"I thought I could manage. I have the frame for it." Syaoron rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but have you once considered that the most you've had on your back is fifteen kilos and that was not while doing a three mile jog uphill?" Alana deadpanned. "Syao…for the love of the Mirages, don't do this to yourself. If Alex and I say we're more than willing to lend a hand, we mean it. Don't tire yourself out like this; you're only going to get hurt and then I'll have to hit you." She meant it too; she'd whack him with a solid jab.
Syaoron opened his mouth to argue, but he was outnumbered bad on this one. He closed his mouth with a sigh and relented. "Fine, fine. I'm better now. Who knew that these damn chairs would be so cumbersome?"
"We did," Alex answered dryly. "Why the ruddy hell do you think we offered to lend you a hand or two? Honestly mate. You've got a thicker head than I do at times."
"Oh don't you start." Syaoron rolled his eyes. "You were the one chasing a mankey for ten minutes."
"Boys…" Alana sighed wearily. "Can we please not argue on the way? We still have a long way to go and I really do not want to hear you two bickering like a married couple all the way to Cerulean City."
Syaoron choked.
So did Alex, albeit with his cheeks a lot more crimson from the insinuation of being married to another male. "W-what!?"
"Eh. I've dated worse." Syaoron shrugged.
"Oi! Don't bloody help her!"
"What, you're telling me you don't like what you see? I'm almost hurt."
Alex was at a loss for words, his blush only growing.
"C-can we move on?" he asked weakly after a few seconds of awkward silence and crickets chirping.
"Alright, we'll let you off the hook." Syaoron flashed him a coy smirk and looked back at Route 3. "For now. You're not escaping that easily." Ah, there it was.
Alex grumbled in frustration and with Syaoron on point duty, they pressed on towards the pokémon centre.
Alana couldn't help but feel worried for Alex and it wasn't because of his shoulder. He really was in a bit of a snappy mood this morning, quite different from his usual optimism. Normally, he was much more cheerful in the morning and Alana seriously doubted that a mankey being annoying was enough to sour his mood to this point.
Alana leaned closer out of Syaoron's earshot and put a hand on the blond teen's back. "Hey, you alright?"
"Bloody marvelous," Alex drawled sarcastically. "Really. Can't you see me jumping for joy?"
"Alex." Alana's stare only grew more intense at the snippy reply.
Alex rolled his eyes and rubbed his wrists and knees. "Just stiff as a rock right now."
"Back?" Alana noticed he was slightly hunched over and looked as though he was in a bit of discomfort.
"Yeah."
"Think you slept on it funny?"
"Most certainly." Alex let out a groan and tried to stretch. He stopped with a grimace and he paused, setting down his pack to rummage through for an ice pack. "Damn and blast. Either of you got our first aid kit?"
"I have it, I think." Alana checked what she was carrying and saw she did indeed have it on her. It was a bit of a struggle to get the kit out from underneath everything else she was carrying but after fiddling around with straps she managed to wring it free.
"Here." She offered it to the blond. "No ice packs, but we did pick up some Freezerburn. Chills the skin and warms up to soothe the pain. Apparently professional athletes have been using it to help with muscle soreness."
"Pickle juice too," Syaoron commented from the front, turning around and walking backwards. "Don't ask me how. I don't know and I'm not too keen on finding out."
Alex let his pack slide off his shoulders and he looked through their first aid kit until he found the previously mentioned Freezerburn. "Right…I can't exactly reach around my back and apply this. One of you mind giving me a hand please?"
"Sure." Syaoron dropped his bags to the ground and took the cream right out of Alex's hands. "Roll up your shirt and tell me where the aches are."
"E-eh?" Alex looked over his shoulder.
"Oh come on, we're both guys here." Syaoron rolled his eyes. "If you don't tell me I'm just going to guess."
"Um…middle of my back and shoulders."
"Right. Hold still. If it does hurt, try not to scream too loudly. My ears are sensitive."
"Oh sod off." Alex wanted to tell him off more but Syaoron was too busy applying the cream to the affected area. The chill was numbing and he groaned in relief as he felt muscles relaxing. The cold was refreshing compared to the sticky humidity and his back immediately began to lose tension.
Once Syaoron was done he handed the tube back to Alana so he could wipe his hands off. "Feel any better?"
"Much. Cheers." Alex gave him a thumbs up and put his pack on. "Sorry for being snappy. Just irritable when I ache."
"We all knew what we were getting into," Syaoron said. "Thinking it would be a cakewalk to walk all over Kanto is just foolish and naïve." As if to punctuate his statement, the dull roar of thunder sounded off not far away. "Thanks, weather."
"How about we stand around and chat once we're safe from being drenched?" Alex suggested.
"Good idea. Let's move."
9:30am
"That was way too close of a call," Alana said, nearly doubled over as she panted for breath. They had made it to the pokémon centre before the rain caught them, but only just barely. "How fast was that storm moving!?"
"Faster than I thought, that's for sure," Syaoron muttered, his hands on his knees. "I honestly didn't think we'd make it once the lightning started. Good thing you made something for us, huh?"
"With your help," Alana corrected.
"All I did was cut up ingredients. You were the one doing all the stirring. Got you stewing, didn't it?"
"Booooooo!" Alex groaned at the pun.
"What, you don't like what I cooked up?" Syaoron kept at it, smirking. "Come on, I'm on a roll here."
"Maybe it would be 'butter' if you never started," Alana suggested helpfully.
Syaoron snorted and shared a fist bump with the blonde. "See, you can appreciate puns a little more after this morning."
Alex sighed and looked outside, watching the rain come down furiously. Lightning flashed and he grimaced as other trainers, much wetter than them, began to come in. Many of those wet were muttering irritably about the weather turning so suddenly and the blond shook his head. He was so not in the mood to walk through that, even if the entrance to Mt. Moon was only about a hundred or so meters away.
"Please tell me we're going to wait for that to pass over for a bit," he said hopefully.
"We are." Syaoron nodded. "I booked us each a room already and from what the forecast says, this isn't going away for about another four hours or so. I say we make a break for it then as there is another storm system right behind it. That'll hit in the late afternoon through the evening, but if we're smart we'll be well inside Mt. Moon. We won't have to worry about getting wet."
"Marvelous, I can make me a cuppa while we wait."
"Your room is 201. Here's the key."
"Thanks." Alex took the key and went upstairs to the second floor, entering the rented room and placing his bags on the floor. His first instinct was to give in to the temptation and take a power nap when he saw the bed.
His back was still sore from lugging all the weight he did and he flexed his stiff shoulders carefully. The blond bit his tongue as he did so, still feeling the effects of the incident outside of Viridian City. 'Bloody hell. I heard anything related to the back or shoulders could take a long time to fully heal, but this is a bit much for a minor injury.'
He ripped his eyes away from the comfortable bed and turned his attention to the functioning stove.
The water wasn't going to boil itself.
A/N: I feel okay ending this one here. I did initially plan on getting into Mt. Moon here, but I think it was best to split it as then I can cover a lot more of the mountain and have a bit of fun doing so. Remember the campsites in Final Fantasy XV? Yeah, I'm totally using them. Sue me.
-Kagerou#0007