AN: Update for the day.
Shoutout to LiveMan and LightningWarrior215 for your reviews. It's greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own content and my balls.
Chapter 5: Changing Fate, Recovery, Empathy.
Looking on at the sleeping and recovering form of Orion, Sabrina was stuck with wanting to both smile and frown.
She wanted to smile because of what she managed to see. Glimpses like images of Orion standing at the edge of a mountain and looking at a breathtaking view.
She wanted to smile at the images of him and his adorable eevee's messing around.
And she wanted to smile at the pure and content smile on his face as slept.
But she also wanted to frown.
She wanted to smack this fool over the back of his head.
'Who just walks up to an Arceus damned berry tree in the wild like that! Is he out of his mind!? Of course he is! Because he did it!'
She felt a severe twitch come on at the images of him climbing down toward a tree which was followed up almost immediately by another image of him climbing back up with hundreds of feral bird Pokemon behind him.
'The fool could have died!'
The vision she got when she tried to divine on him was broken up into images without any idea of the time between them.
It could be a second or hours if not more. Sometimes she gets spoken words and sounds around the images.
She huffed as she mentally held on to the last image of him resting.
'Stupid fool, don't you dare die so easily. Your literally my only hope of anything above a cold and grey future.'
She didn't think too much on his injuries. Wounds like his own would heal given time. People have lived through much worse.
And he had both an Oran and Rawst berry and eaten Pokemon meat, he would heal quick. Faster if he was just natural inclined that way.
'He's most likely going to feel the pain of eating both berries at once, but he should be fine.'
Humans were a hardy race considering they had to handle Pokemon for thousands of years. Their bodies grew to handle so much stress.
Some more than others but still, she wasn't worried about some cuts and burns when he had berries, no matter how bad they were.
Others might have broken from them, given up and accepted death, but she didn't get that impression from him.
He was strong.
If he was weak enough to die from them then he didn't have much of a place beside her.
But there was only so much Sabrina could do to check up on him.
She didn't know where he was, which made her job harder.
But she did know he was far away. On an island somewhere by the images but that really doesn't help her narrow it down much.
There were a lot of islands in the world.
Furthermore, she was still only eight years old.
No matter how mature her mind was, her body could only take so much stress and her current skillset still had much room to improve.
She was assuredly not pouting at that thought.
'Gah, I never needed to hurry my training before.'
Whenever she looked at her future paths, the best option she had, being the one where she was forced to be emotionless and cold to contain her powers and hold her position steady from the hands that wanted to use her, was one she could easily achieve with self-training.
She never saw a point in trying to actually improve her skills faster.
It would just push her faster toward the point she had to become emotionless.
Hell, she saw one future where she somehow ended up carrying around a whip to convey emotions because she couldn't.
The faster her powers grew, the more of a risk she was.
So no, she never tried to push herself to learn more, faster than she could teach herself.
But now a new door opened.
'If I can improve my ability at Remote Viewing and Telepathy, I could watch him closer and try to establish a connection. If…. If it's just those two….I should be fine I think.'
She mentally tried to do the math.
'Maybe, no, I will be. It might shave a few years off my time before my deadline but I'm willing to take that risk.'
Originally, she estimated that even while stalling and self-teaching she would hit her wall at twenty one years old and have to fully close off. Hell, she was sure she wouldn't even be able to verbally speak soon after that and be forced to mentally communicate.
In most of her visions of her own future, which is easier to predict than others, it was around that age where she hit the wall.
Well… it's that or start going insane and become either a tool for criminals or become some incredibly creepy woman who broke her personality in two, used a doll to house her split personality, and left people confused and trapped in their mind into thinking they were a doll.
Yeah, that possible future and the sheer chances of it happening gave her nightmares.
She shook her head to clear those thoughts.
'I might be losing some time in the long run, but it will be worth it to see where this path takes me.'
Out of all the future paths she had seen, this one was by far the strangest.
After the first scene where she witnessed her future self with that genuine and peaceful smile of her face, she wasn't able to see ANYTHING about her future with this other person.
It was like something denied her permission.
She recalled the smiles the two in the vision gave her and bit on her thumb in frustration.
'Did they do something? How the hell is that even possible? Am I even looking at potential futures or am I gazing into other timelines or something?'
Her head went into a spiral of thoughts before she grunted and threw her pillow against the wall.
"Gah! It's only been two days since that damn vision and my mind is a mess! I knew exactly what would happen to me up till now. I saw my own future and lived it later on in the same monotone and depressing style I've had to without any hope.
But now something new comes in. I can't tell what will happen. And I can barely see what IS happening at the current moment.
Grrrr…."
She growled adorably at the purple pillow with hearts she threw at the wall and sighed.
The pillow was picked up by an invisible hand and flew back into her arms as she clutched it to her chest.
The pillow was childish and stupid for her mature mind, but it was still cute and it made her feel happy to hug it for no logical reason.
Her mind went to the image of her future self once more, as it had done endless times since she woke up after it.
Thanks to her abilities, she could easily focus her thoughts and recall something with perfect clarity.
Gazing at her future self-hugging his chest made her hug the pillow harder.
'It will be worth it.'
She went over the images she had of his current self so far and confirmed it.
'He's a fool…but… he could be my fool.'
Her eyes flashed as she saw something and she paused her mental image.
A clear image was portrayed before her mind's eye.
The image of the boy facing death as a Pelliper's claws came for his life.
Through her view, she could see the charging eevee's, but she could tell they would be a second too late.
And yet, he lived.
She looked closer to find what could have happened and paused as her gaze fell on his eyes.
His vermillion eyes with that strangely hypnotic half vertical slit.
But it wasn't the iris or pupil she was looking at, but the incredibly slight pink glow at the edge of his eyes.
A wide and toothy smile grew on her face at what she saw.
'Yes. I think it's time I picked up my training.'
After all, her future partner would need a teacher, and who better to teach a psychic then a once in a millennia genius like her?
She blurred out of her room and to the living room where her parents were speaking.
"Father."
"Sabrina!"
Her father shot up from his chair in surprise while her mother looked on with wide eyes.
Sabrina internally sighed at their reaction.
'Ok, maybe I've been neglecting familial relations recently.'
In her defense, more emotions and people she didn't want hurting around her wasn't fun.
"Father, I need help."
The words felt weird for her to say. She never saw a future where she did this before.
But she was surprised by just how quickly her father moved to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'm here Sabrina, anything you need."
Her eyes widened slightly at his immediate reaction and it warmed her heart a bit to see.
She dipped her head a bit before speaking.
"I found a possible future where I can control my powers without becoming an emotionless shell."
Her father was the best and most experienced psychic she knew of, so when she began to see no hope for her future, she had asked for his advice on what to do but he couldn't find an answer for her among his suggestions.
'Come to think of it, that was the last time I truly spent time with him.'
Her thoughts were pushed away at the sudden action of her father to pull her into a hug.
"Really?! That's wonderful news my daughter!"
Her mother teleported to them quickly as well and silently hugged her.
It was a bit overwhelming for Sabrina.
She didn't expect such an emotional reaction. To be fair, she didn't really interact with them much at all in her future paths.
There was a strange but comfortable silence for a moment but Sabrina's mental energy was creating pressure on the two of them and they had to pull back before her father spoke again.
"What do you need my daughter? If I can help you at all I will. Just say it."
Sabrina nodded and spoke directly.
"I need you to teach me how to train a psychic from the beginning and how to use the advanced Remote Viewing and Telepathy branches."
Her father didn't even hesitate to answer.
"I'll get my notes and we can begin immediately if you're ready."
It again warmed her heart to see him so ready without even asking a question.
She shook her head with a slight smile.
"Let's start tomorrow. I'm tired from using my abilities."
Her father nodded and quickly picked up a book from the table and a pen and began outlaying a plan to help with what she asked.
Her mother didn't move from her side and lifted a hand to brush the hair from Sabrina's bangs.
"You believe it will help?"
"I do."
"How can you be sure?"
She wasn't asking to be picky but more from a worried mothers perspective and Sabrina understood that.
"Because I feel he can help me."
Her father nodded proudly from where he stood and a fire blazed in his eyes as he wrote faster. But her mother caught on to something.
"He?"
Sabrina nodded without realizing the issue.
"Mn, the boy will help me."
*Snap*
The pen in her father's hand snapped in half and sprayed ink over him as her mother smiled warmly and laughed lightly
"Oh? Tell me more~. And dear, I'm confiscating your shotgun."
"Mn."
A vein burst out on her fathers inked face as he picked up his phone but her mother's voice cut off his actions.
"And you can't use anyone else's shotgun either. Also no sending out the disciples on goose chases."
The phone was crushed in his grip beneath a psychic compression.
"…."
A dark brooding look came over his face as her mother guided her away toward the couch.
"Ignore him. Now, why don't you tell me more."
Sabrina nodded and spoke openly.
She would do what she wanted to do; it didn't matter who knew about it.
But the attention from her parents was quite nice for a change, even if she would have to put effort into containing the emotions she was feeling before she went to sleep.
But it was a step in the right direction.
A step on a path untraveled to change her future.
*Line Break*
As Sabrina began to take her first steps along a new future, the target of her attention, early affection, and key to her path cracked open crusty eyelids to reveal the shining gems underneath to the world.
Having woke from a longer slumber than he expected.
'Uuuhhhhhh, that doesn't feel good.'
The one destined for greatness groaned and fell on his side as he tried to come to full awareness.
Orion blinked his eyes a few times and scanned the cave as his mind restarted.
'Ah, right, I was in a cave.'
Looking upward, I saw sunlight coming through the cracks and looking down I saw the cold ashes of our fire.
'I must have slept for over twelve hours.'
I didn't see the eevee's around but I'm sure they were fine.
'Energetic little fluff balls are probably burning off their endless energy.'
It took me a moment to gather myself, just laying there and getting a feel for my body before I groaned and pushed myself up.
Crusty and dried blood covered a lot of my body and made me itch and feel uncomfortable.
I stretched and popped my back as I got to my feet.
'You know, as my second night sleeping on hard rock, I can confirm my body is stronger than humans on earth. I don't even feel much discomfort.'
Flexing my fingers, I cracked my knuckles, then my neck, and did a few stretches.
Contrary to movies where you see people crack something before a fight scene, I do it because it actually feels good and it's healthy if you limit it to once a day.
Beyond that, you're looking at joint issues when your older.
'Ah… that's how you start a day, now, where are my fluff balls? I also have to get back into the sun to see the state of my wounds.'
It was manageable down here with the weak sunlight but it wasn't enough to get a good look.
Passing by my meat experiment from the night before, my eye twitched at the results.
'Good news, the uncooked Pokemon meat did not go bad overnight without refrigeration. I'll leave this one out for a few more days until I find out it's shelf life.
Bad news, leaving cooked Pokemon meat out ends up being breakfast for the fur balls who wake up before me. Test results inconclusive.'
I sighed and let it go.
'It's not a big deal, but they can't do it forever. I'll get those test results one way or another.'
Jokes aside, it was important to know how long my supplies can last.
'I think I recall how to make jerky.'
My marine father in my first life was a big beef jerky fan and knew a lot of recipes to make it himself. But even without any ingredients, you can make jerky with nothing but sunlight and or smoke if you want to add flavor.
Just cut off all the fat, cut it thin to about 1/8th of a slice, and lay it out on a clean surface in the sunlight while keeping a close eye on it.
'Might be a fun activity while I got time.'
I had an abundance of meat at the moment, so it was a good idea for long term planning.
Stepping out of the cave, I winced slightly at the feeling of my skin being pulled but I ignored it for the most part.
I rose an amused brow at the entrance of the crevice, the bird corpses were stacked neatly in a pile to one side.
'I don't think I give those three enough credit sometimes in the intelligence department. On the other hand, this probably means they want more cooked meat.'
I chuckled at the thought and made my way up before pulling myself out of the crevice where I found my three little fluff balls laying on their backs in the sun while a small pile of mango cores were nearby.
"Oh? It seems you three had some fun this morning."
Their ears perked up as their eyes locked onto me before I blinked and was forced to brace myself or risk falling back down.
"EE!"
""EEV!""
"ORION!"
I joked back even as I groaned from the sudden mix of hard and fluff tackling me.
The three of them practically attacked me with licks and no claw paw swipes.
It was adorable but it was also somewhat confusing.
"Guys! Wo! Hey! Would you, just, calm, down for a moment!"
The attack didn't stop for a good five minutes where I was forced to sit down or risk being knocked down.
I finally managed to calm the three down from their rush attack.
"I feel the love you three and I'm happy to see you but can someone explain why you three are going crazy?"
The three looked at each other and spoke between them with their 'Ee's' and 'Eev's' for a moment before Isis looked up at me.
I patiently waited for them to say something and my patience paid off as she looked me dead in the eye and opened her mouth.
"Ee."
I wanted to face palm.
"Right. That doesn't help me much girl."
Isis made an unhappy face before pointing a paw at me.
"Me?"
She nodded and pointed at the sun.
"Sun?"
She nodded again and made a waving motion with her hands.
"Eev."
I felt my brow twitch.
"Maybe a bit more details will help?"
She made another annoyed face and made a call.
"Ee."
Nox jumped back and laid down like he was going to sleep.
Isis pointed at him.
"Nox is sleeping. Sleeping. You're talking about me sleeping?"
Isis nodded proudly.
Then she drew a line in the dirt and pointed back at the sun. Then back to Nox who was still pretend sleeping.
At least I think he was pretending.
Then she drew a second line in the sand, pointed back at the sun, and pointed at Nox.
"Ee."
Nox slowly got up and walked over to Khione where he mimed greeting her.
I put the rest together.
"Your saying…. I slept for more than one day?"
Isis puffed up her chest proudly.
"Ee!"
I responded to that in the order of importance.
Isis got pampered.
"Whose my smart little fluff ball. You are."
I put her in my lap and pet her into a puddle before doing it to the other two who looked on enviously.
Then I thought about what was said. Or explained.
'So I slept for pretty much a day and a half, around thirty six hours huh?'
I went to sleep around sundown and woke up around noon but not the following day but the one after that.
'Wait…did I… hibernate? Do humans hibernate in this world? No, that's too much right?'
I pondered on the mysteries of life for a moment before getting serious.
'Hm… well I was quite injured between the cuts, burns, and loss of blood. I had all that highly nutritious bird meat, an Oran berry to turbo charge my metabolism and give me even more nutrients while helping my body absorb more from them, and… I even ate the Rawst berry? Why did I eat that as well?'
I thought back on when I ate them and I felt like slapping myself.
'I think I was really out of it by that point. The exhaustion was getting to me badly and I just wanted to sleep.
Not to mention the killer headache….'
That rose a big question mark in my mind.
'Why did I have a headache?'
At the moment, my mind felt clear and fresh.
In fact, it felt incredibly clear and fresh. It was like my thoughts were much smoother than normal.
'Did I pass some mental limit or something? Improved my mind? I'll have to think on it more later.
For now, it seems all the heavy nutrients were absorbed by my body and it shut itself down to repair and heal.'
I looked over at my red bandages and wondered.
Maneuvering through the Eevee, I managed to pull back one of the bandages from the cuts on my arm and my eyes widened.
"Holy shit."
Rather than the deep laceration into my arm, what I was looking at was an angry red line.
The wound was already closed.
Checking the other two cuts on my arm, they were all the same.
Experimentally flexing my arm had me wince however.
Both from the skin being pulled and from a sharp pain inside.
'So combining berries with my natural healing and good food will let me practically heal deadly wounds in a few days.
The insides don't seem fully healed yet but for the most part, I have a fully functional arm now.'
I moved it around a few times and got the feel for where the pain started.
"This is incredible."
I spoke out loud with a whisper as I waved it and I just realized I wasn't feeling the pain of my burns.
Quickly turning to my other arm, I was again floored by the results.
Outside of the skin itself being scarred, the actual damages from the burns seemed to have faded entirely.
I gingerly pressed a hand to my neck and the side of my head and to my amazement, there was no pain.
Only the weird rough and smooth mix of scarred flesh.
And even then, it wasn't bumpy or gross but more like a smooth scar like red skin.
'Berries are amazing.'
I had a newfound respect and awe for the power of nature's wonders.
'It's no wonder wild Pokemon are so protective of these berries. Outside of the incredible amount of nutrition and sweet flavor, and even their main effect, they probably have a great boost on a Pokémon's natural growth.'
Shaking my head at the craziness of it all, I decided to put down my earth type 'common sense.'
'Ha, even if I tell myself that, I'm sure I'll still run into more things that make me pause. I just have to learn to accept some crazy bullshittery of this world.'
I didn't even want to go down that topic at the moment and stood up much to my companions annoyance.
"Come on you three, I could really use a good wash. This dried blood isn't fun or sanitary. Not to mention you three could use some as well."
Isis and Khione tried to look away shiftily but Nox accepted it at face value and shrugged.
The three still have bits of blood on their fur from the fight.
I grabbed a female Eevee in each arm as they minorly protested.
""Eeeeee.""
"No, it's for our own good. Plus, it won't be so bad. It will be very relaxing and your fur will feel warm and fluffy when we're done."
Khione looked excited hearing that and cheered while Isis still gave me suspicious eyes and I winked at her.
"Trust me."
I said it truthfully but the response I got almost made me trip.
"Eev."
It wasn't her words but something else.
A feeling.
'Trust.'
It was like that word was conveyed without words.
I rose a brow at Isis and she cutely tiled her head at me.
I shook my own with a chuckle and walked on.
'Maybe something more than I thought is going on here.'
When weird things happen, I just go with the flow, but I'm not dense.
'If strange things happen once or twice, it's your imagination. If it happens more than that, you should try to take a closer look. Even if it was nothing, you didn't lose anything by paying attention.'
I remember those words from somewhere, although I couldn't recall which life it came from.
With an Eevee under each arm and Nox walking by my side, we reached the hot springs in a couple minutes of walking.
The steam was gently coming off the clear water in the pools as the water bubbled ever so slightly.
Putting a hand in, I confirmed again the temperature being the same as the other day. Around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Just perfect."
I quickly got undressed, which wasn't hard seeing as I only had boots, socks, and boxer briefs on, and put my feet into the water.
"Ahh~ that's nice."
The outer rim of the spring had the yellow reddish color showcasing the rich minerals from the volcanic part of the springs and as I stepped further in, my feet stepped into mud on the bottom of the pool.
"Oh, how lucky."
Scooping up some of the mud, I gently spread it over my skin and over the closed wounds and burns.
The surface wounds were gone but I didn't know how deep the internal damage still was.
One benefit of mud baths is their anti-inflammatory properties; soaking in mud and its minerals can help alleviate aches and muscle pains.
Another mud bath advantage is the soothing effect mud and its minerals, including sodium, magnesium and potassium, can have on the skin.
It draw out impurities from the skin, exfoliates dead skin cells, relaxes sore muscles and joints, and overall improves skin conditions.
The richer the mud source, the better the effects. And you really can't get better than mud from volcanic rich hot springs.
'Hell, I'm pretty sure back on earth people were selling mud from volcanoes and places like the dead sea. Heh, I think I recall having a friend who sold that stuff in a shopping mall.'
I enjoyed the fresh broken memories that popped into my head as I lathered myself and submerged into the water slowly.
"Ohhhh~ I really needed this."
I turned back to the edge of the pool where my friends were watching.
"Well, don't just stand there, come on in you three."
Nox didn't hesitate to jump in with a smile and the splashed water hit the girls who had outraged looks on their face and jumped in afterwards to get revenge.
The three realized soon enough that it was actually a pleasant experience and stopped play fighting to just float.
Isis floated closer to me and I let her gently rest on my shoulders while staying just under the surface.
"See? I told you to trust me."
Her eyes looked at mine for a moment before she licked my cheek and rested her head against mine.
And once more, the feeling of a word reached my mind.
'Trust.'
'There it is again!'
The feeling, not the word.
I looked deeply at Isis for a moment before closing my eyes and soaking.
Feeling the hot water tingle on my skin as dried blood, grime, and sweat was washed away and my wounds were soothed.
Meanwhile, my mind was pondering over the newest development.
'No matter how I look at it, it's not normal for a human in this world. What happened with Isis, the bond I can literally feel growing with all three of them, and how naturally in tune I am with them.
Not to mention whatever happened with Pelliper and the splitting headache I suffered from.
It all leads to a single answer.
Something I can't help but admit.'
I paused mentally for dramatic tension.
'I have super powers.'
….
"*Pft*."
"Ee?"
I waved my hand.
"Nothing girl, just a funny thought."
I got a wet tail slap for bothering her before she went back to resting.
I chuckled and wiped the water from my face.
'I definitely have something. What it is I can't say.'
I tried to recall what I knew of this world from both lives, but outside of children tales, I was having trouble recalling anything specific from my second life.
'In the games, I believe there were aura users, guardians right? And Psychics. I can't recall a third type but things were relatively simple in human abilities.'
I paused at that.
'Well, simple in a matter of speaking. You could do crazy things according to games and anime with both either power.'
I recalled the tale of 'Sir Aron' from both lives to confirm the aura side.
As for psychic side, all you had to do was look at Sabrina from the Saffron gym.
'It's not like I actually know much about either power, but if I do have something, it's probably just something minor connected to one or the other.
In relation to what I have been feeling….hm…maybe Empathy?
Empathy is a thing in both powers right? The power to feel the emotions of Pokemon.'
Whichever one it related to, I decided to try and test it.
Moving to lay back against the wall of the pool, I closed my eyes and felt for my connection to Isis on my shoulders.
I wasn't really sure how to go about this, so I decided to literally try and 'feel' for a lack of a better word.
Meditation taught me that.
How to think deeply and logically, and how to let go and feel to lower stress.
I tried the second part now.
I let go of my various thoughts.
I stopped my constant attempts to recall broken memories.
I didn't think of any problems in my life.
I let go of worries, what if's, and any other nonsense in my head.
I was here, right now, and I wanted to feel that.
The heat of the water warmed me.
The minerals in the water and mud tingled and itched against my skin.
My wounds pulsed as blood flowed quickly and damage was repaired.
My heart beat loud and strong.
I could hear the soft breathing of Isis connected to me.
I could hear her soft but steady and strong heartbeat.
I could hear the distant playful voices of Nox and Khione.
I could hear the bubbling of the water, the wind above, and the faint cries of Pokemon over the wind.
I let it all guide me, not thinking, but feeling.
And soon enough, I felt something else.
A feeling, a connection, I felt it. Like words turned to literal feelings.
'Peace' 'Joy' 'Calm' 'Affection'
They radiated strongly and I knew their source without breaking my trance.
The feeling of each word affected me in turn, causing me to feel such emotions and relax even more.
So I tried to return the feelings.
I tried to send the same words back, hoping to give the feeling.
It was rough, uncoordinated, and I wasn't truly sure what I was doing, but I just let myself naturally learn.
And the result was the connection I felt growing stronger.
Stronger.
Tighter.
'Am I breathing?'
My eyes shot open and I found myself being choked by Isis who was circling my neck and hugging me tightly.
I quickly but gently tapped her head a few times as my face was turning red and she looked up confused while easing up.
"*Gasp*, *huff*, girl, *huff*, I love you to, *huff*, but I want to live."
"Ee."
Her ears dropped and she licked my cheek.
'Concern' 'Sadness'
My eyes widened slightly at the feeling and how they actually made me feel slightly sad but I shook it off and pat her head.
"It's ok girl, I know you didn't mean it. It was stimulating right?"
"Ee."
She leaned into my touch and softly responded but I found it adorable and tried sending emotions back again.
'Calm' 'Peace' 'Joy'
I felt her still beneath my hand as a smile grew on her face.
"Eevee."
She butted her head against my own and we both laughed.
It was such a strange feeling.
Empathy, the power to send and feel emotions.
It wasn't easy, and I had to focus a lot, but it was doable.
'Then again, it's also quite dangerous isn't it?'
When Isis felt sad, I felt sad for no reason.
It wasn't just positive emotions that could be sent.
What would happen if anger was sent?
'I should be careful with this. But it's still a boon in my eyes.'
Isis settled down again and I turned my gaze to Nox and Khione playing around.
I tried to test my new ability with them.
I felt the bond, the connection, I seemingly had with them, but nothing happened.
They were only a dozen feet from me and yet I couldn't send or receive anything.
'Am I limited by touch? Hm… makes sense I guess.'
I didn't have a guidebook or anything, so everything I learned would be new for me.
I chose not to make any 'boxes' or 'rules' for the power, and just did what I felt like doing.
I would learn with time.
I went back to relaxing, occasionally sending a playful emotion to Isis and getting them in turn while we rested.
A rest that was eventually disturbed by two very soaked Eevee who jumped us while panting from the exertion of playing.
After messing around with the two trying to lick my face and Isis playfully pawing their heads when they got close, the four of us rested in place.
I held Nox and Khione against me with my arms while Isis remained on my shoulders.
And this time, I sent the feelings of 'Calm' and 'Peace' to all of them.
The sun lazily moved overhead in the clear blue skies and the day wound on.
After around an hour of soaking, the four of us got out.
I washed off the mud and made sure to scrub the trio's fur to get out the dried blood.
And as a result, the four of us were very clean.
I could finally see my body clearly and understand just how well I had been healing.
'Damn, I really underestimated the power of berries. Or perhaps I had underestimated everything? My natural healing, berries, and Pokemon meat. Without all that blood and grime, my wounds look like they had been healing for weeks.'
It was a unique and confidence building feeling.
The feeling of knowing you can trust your body to recover if you do something risky.
'I think I can push myself far with this body.'
Getting dried off in the warm sun and washing my boxer briefs and socks in the water, I sat on a log in the nude and looked at the Eevee around me.
"Ok, I think we need a game plan."
"Ee?"
"No Khione, not a game. A plan."
"Ee."
She looked away in disinterest.
"Eev."
Nox nodded and looked at me seriously.
I felt internally happy to have a male on my team.
"Thanks boy."
Isis meanwhile didn't get up but was at least looking at me so I took it as a plus point.
I thought over a few things before speaking.
"We should get some long term and short term plans.
Long term, I want to explore this island, see new Pokemon, and get both myself and you three much stronger.
Which means we all need training. That and or experience.
Short term, I want to make some jerky from the meat we have, get fully healed, and then maybe go try and salvage supplies from the ship?
I'm not to bothered by being nude here, but clothing is a nice feeling. And whatever else we can salvage is a plus point in my book.
Any thoughts?"
Nox just nodded his head and stayed silent but Khione raised a paw adorably.
"Ee."
I sighed.
"Yeah, I can roast some bird meat before making jerky."
"Ee!"
She smiled and laid back down while I rolled my eyes with a chuckle.
'Why even bother.'
"Alright, that's my plan for things at the moment, if anyone has an opinion, speak up or forever hold your tongue.
Bah, what a weird phrase."
I gathered some fruit from the tree's, made a fire, and roasted some bird meat.
We kept close to the crevice just in case but outside an occasional sighting of a bird flying, we didn't see any sign of Spearow or Wingull.
It seemed they were either licking their wounds or they simply didn't attack unless something got close to their tree.
Considering their feral nature, I believed it was a combination of the two.
Otherwise, there would be more Pokemon up here.
So we made use of the time we had and outside of a dozen birds set aside for roasting, I made jerky out of the rest.
It was simple work between us four.
The blood was already drained out from the wounds, so I just had to dump the innards in a makeshift rock bowl, which would be dumped beneath the tree's or over the mountain side.
These parts of wild animals are often eaten by scavengers and insects, and eventually whats left is decomposed and reclaimed by nature to support the plant life.
Might seem cruel, but it's the natural cycle of life.
I kept all the feathers in a pile in the crevice where we slept.
'If I can get some cloth from salvaging the ship, I can make a pillow.'
I also kept the beaks and talons. Those things were sharp as hell and while I had a good knife now, I didn't know where I might need more sharp things.
The rest was meat or garbage.
We enjoyed a luxurious meal of meat, fruit, and tomatoes and avocado while the jerky was dried out by the sun and covered in smoke from the fire.
It wasn't directly near the flames, since that would cook the meat and make it go bad, but it was on a makeshift wooden stand I made and being bathed in the smoke.
Overall, it took six hours to fully cook and with the sun setting on the horizon, I happily collected the hundreds of pieces of jerky.
Using the remaining upper portion of my pants, washed in the hot water of course, I made a makeshift bag to hold the jerky in.
And then we rested under the stars.
We could have gone back inside the crevice for safety, but without the birds around, it was all peaceful on the mountain top.
The four of us cuddled up beneath a tree and watched the sky turn dark, watched the moon and stars come out, and marveled at the shiny beauty of the incredible celestial body filled sky.
When sleep came over us, we slumbered with peaceful smiles and relaxed spirits.
It was truly a paradise.
Chapter end.
Coming Soon: The Sunken Ship.