Disclaimer: I don't own the either the Pokémon or Total Drama franchise.
Courtney's POV:
Wind whistles through my fur as I run. Blades of grass gently prick the pads on my paws. With a cry of joy, I begin to roll and tumble through the meadow, breathing in the sweet scent of the rich soil. Panting for breath, I lie on my back and gaze at the sky. There are no clouds, only blue, and the sun. I stare up at it. It doesn't hurt. It's warmth wraps around me protectively and its light slowly grows brighter. And brighter. And brighter still. Until all I can see is a blinding white light. The comfortable warmth becomes a painful burning that clutches at every nerve and muscle. I grit my teeth and swallow the scream fast building in my throat. And all the while the light is growing brighter. And brighter…
My eyes fly open and I leap to my feet, gasping and panting. I stay like that for a while. Eventually, my breathing slows down and I'm finally able to accept that it was nothing more than a dream. I frown. It's never taken me that long to shake of a dream. It's worrying. Dreams are impractical, if I spent all my days thinking about silly, meaningless dreams then I would never get anything done. No, it's far better to let them slip away completely.
I give myself a brisk shake to let go of any residue dream-thoughts and trot over to the mirror hanging on my bedroom wall. I look at myself for a bit before throwing my head back in a groan. My brown fur is damp with sweat, and the fluffy creamruff around my neck has hairs sticking out at odd angles. In short, I look a mess.
Growling with annoyance, I set to work licking the offending fur down so it's nice and smooth. It's hard going, especially with those hard to reach places on my big, fluffy tail, but I eventually succeed. I'm contemplating how many more hours of sleep I'll be able to squeeze in when my mother pushes the door open. "Good morning Courtney!" Zero, turns out.
I notice my mother has an odd spring in her step as she walks and keeps glancing hopeful looks my way as she pulls poképuffs out of the pantry for breakfast. Maybe she found a new university that will accept students my age?
The temperature of the room subtly rises. I look to the doorway and, sure enough, there's dad. "Good morning family!" My mother waves one of her ribbon-like feelers at him in reply as she sets down a plate of poképuffs for me. I frown at them. Pink? But she knows I don't like pink.
Dad walks over and ruffles the fur on my head fondly. "Here's my little champion!" He then pulls me into a one-armed hug. My eyes widen. It's nice that my dad's being affectionate and all, but he's so fluffy, a mere hug can lead to death by suffocation. "Aw, just think. Any day now, my little girl will be all grown up! I don't envy the choice you have to make. Though…" he leans forward and whispers in my ear conspiratorially, "I know you'll definitely choose the right one." Somehow, through my struggle for air, I make some sense of what he's saying and frown. Choice? What choice? How can I make the right choice if I don't know what the choice is? Will I have to research the choice? I can't ask my parents; they'll be so disappointed to know that I don't know what the choice is! Maybe my classmates will know what the choice is. But what if they don't? Then how will I make the right choice?
Dad winks at me before grabbing a poképuff from the counter and heading out the door, calling a quick goodbye over his shoulder as he went. Mother shoots me another hopeful smile. I pretend not to notice and start stuffing poképuffs into my mouth to avoid any more conversation about the mysterious "choice".
AN: So…any thoughts? The first few chapters will be mostly Courtney centric, but the other characters will definitely have some spotlight! Please review!