Author's note: Bold text is meant to indicate a flashback.
The vibrations of the road stop and Iris hears the slight screech of the brakes. She cracks an eye open, faking a yawn. In the end, she had decided to pretend to sleep, the perfect medium between staying fully awake and aware and actually sleeping. Real sleep had been tempting though, a nice escape from reality. Colress was exhausting to be around. And creepy.
"If I may ask, for what purpose are you visiting the Village of Dragons? Is it related to your training of Dragon-type mastery?"
"It's nothing like that. I haven't visited in a while, so I'm staying and catching up with some old friends." The cover story slides easily off her tongue. It does contain a kernel of truth after all. Iris really is looking forward to seeing Shannon and Mizuta.
"Sentimental reasons...I see. How long will you be staying?"
"Two weeks."
"Ah, what a shame. My time with you is limited. I have but a mere week to research before I must go elsewhere." A sigh leaves his mouth as if he's truly disappointed, but his expression remains unruffled. Iris isn't sure that she likes the implication of his words either.
"I thought you were researching legends, not me." She scowls, adding a bit more bite to the statement.
"Please don't misunderstand." He smiles pleasantly, unaffected by her attempt at intimidation. "I am simply hoping to battle you in order to learn more about how the bonds between trainer and pokemon bring out a pokemon's power. And if I may be so forward…" He leans in close, much too close. "I would like to know more about training Dragon-type pokemon. It's not my area of expertise, I'm afraid. Tips from someone as experienced as yourself would be quite the boon."
Iris flinches, but holds her ground. "Da-I mean Drayden is more experienced than me, and he likes passing on his teachings." He also likes proper behavior and etiquette. She feels a bit better as she imagines Drayden scolding Colress for his lack of personal space awareness. "You should go to him."
"Why should I do that when you're right here?" His tone remains innocuous, as it has throughout the entire conversation. But his eyes...For just that moment they had been rapacious. It reminds her of fluorescent lights, painfully shining, wanting to expose and leave nothing hidden. She needs to shut this down.
"Because I don't want to. I'm here to see my friends. Not you." Iris punctuates her statement with a shove. The look of surprise on Colress's face as he hits the back of his seat is gratifying. Putting on an aloof air, she keeps her gaze forward as she takes out her lunchbox. Eating is a reason not to talk, though she wasn't planning on talking to him anymore after that weirdness.
Colress watches her, eyes drifting towards the now open lunchbox. She's so focused on ignoring him, that she doesn't notice as he pulls out a laptop and begins to type.
Iris gets off the bus without issue, which is a nice surprise. She had half-expected Colress to retrieve his luggage at the same glacial pace he had when putting them away just to spite her. He bids her a normal farewell, and she relaxes. Carefully, she heads to Shannon's house.
It hasn't changed much, maybe a few more flowers. Taking one last deep breath, Iris knocks on the door. It opens immediately.
"Iris! You're finally here!"
There's barely time to brace herself as Shannon wraps her in tight hug.
"Yup, I'm here. Ready to hole up for two whole weeks." Her voice comes out strained, no doubt caused by her constricted ribcage.
"Well, make yourself at home." The older woman finally lets go, stepping back with a smirk.
Iris gives her a weak thumbs up, bent over gasping for breath. Shannon walks behind her, picking up the luggage with a mere thumb and finger. Whistling, she strolls into her house, dragging the winded girl behind her. Once they're inside, she lets go, leaving Iris sputtering.
"Is this my punishment for not writing? Or are you just showing off again?" Even before housing Kyurem, Shannon's strength was well known. Village harvests were a snap. It makes her wonder if she'll stay that strong into her old age too.
"Oh, a little of both." She chuckles and starts walking again, gesturing with a flick of the wrist for Iris to follow. Soon they're in front of a set of stairs leading to what must be the basement. It's remarkably dark, pitch black past the first four steps.
"But more importantly, are you ready? Any last questions? You know, I'm surprised you never asked about the awkward stuff that comes with sharing a body. I was quite concerned when I became the new vessel. Of course, now actually having lived through it and being what some would charitably refer to as a hag, I don't care anymore. And neither does Kyurem actually. It's seen it all, being in so many different people."
Iris stares at her, grateful, but not knowing quite how to express it. Shannon has managed to answer all of the embarrassing questions in her mind with just a few words, even sparing her from having to ask. Not wanting to leave her without a reply yet again, she says the first thing that comes to mind.
"Thank you."
Shannon's eyes soften for a moment. "Heh. No thanks necessary. Just had to make sure, you know?"
Feeling on the side of the wall, she flicks a light switch. A string of lights illuminate the way with a soft white light. As they reach the bottom of the stairs, Shannon flips another. Any trace of darkness disappears completely, and what remains is a decently furnished living space. Iris can even see a bathroom past the doorway in the corner.
""Now, it's not like you have to stay down here all the time, but until you gain some control over Kyurem's powers, I'll have to limit your time upstairs. We don't usually have folks peeping in windows, but you never know."
"I understand."
"Good." Shannon nods, finally setting Iris's luggage down at the bedside. She gestures to the bathroom.
"It should be fully stocked with toiletries and the like. A little extra of everything just in case. Give me a holler if I forgot anything or if you need anything else."
She walks to the center of the room and closes her eyes. Shannon stands there for a good minute or two. Iris's first instinct is to reach out in worry, Shannon is old after all. Old enough that the health risk of housing Kyurem has become too great. But then she recognizes the action for what it is. Shannon is talking to Kyurem, saying goodbye.
Iris politely looks away just as Shannon sniffles and wipes away the tears gathering in her eyes. With one last deep breath, she composes herself and faces Iris fully.
"You might want to sit on the bed. The sudden influx of power is...disorienting. I definitely stayed in bed for a while myself."
She sits dutifully, hands in lap and answers back confidently.
"I'm ready."
All at once, shimmering light fills the air, icy blue light outshining those of the room. Iris's skin prickles as her hair stands on end, rising into goosebumps. She gasps in surprise and finds that she can even see her breath. Immediately she wraps her arms around herself, rubbing up and down for warmth. Her eyes blink rapidly. Even her tears are freezing into fine crystals. Brycen's caves might as well have been a chill compared to this absolute cold.
One of the particles touches her face. It burns, all the way down to the bone, down to the inner nerves. Iris rubs at her cheek desperately. The searing cold fades to stinging before settling into a throbbing numbness. She looks up. An innumerable amount of energy remains. Steeling herself, Iris reaches out for the next. But it turns out that she doesn't have to.
All at once, they converge upon her. Iris screams. It's too much! Needles of ice stab until she can't even move, can't even talk, can't even thin-
She blacks out.
Cold. The woman shivers. It's a little pitiful.
Hungry. She needs to eat, for both their sakes.
-Wake up.-
Iris opens her eyes. Her hands clutch something thick and soft. Looking down she sees the comforter. Shannon must have tucked her in. Slowly(her limbs are strangely sluggish), she peels back the comforter and hops out of bed. Something smells delicious. Meat, potatoes, onion, garlic, fresh bread. Staggering, she drags herself forward.
-Do not rush your movements. You might fall.- Iris stops. This voice…
"Kyurem?"
-That is correct. It is nice to meet you Iris.-
"Same here, Kyurem. Um..." Her stomach growls. She looks up the stairs to the closed door. Kitchen. She needs to get to the kitchen.
-That is unnecessary. Shannon will be down soon. For now, you should focus on regaining your coordination. Also, become used to speaking to me with your thoughts. It is less conspicuous that way.-
[Like this?]
-Yes.-
[Got it.]
Iris follows Kyurem's advice as if it were one of her instructors. It's easier to focus on something physical than face her new reality head on. Slowly one step, then another. She works her arms too, testing their full range of motion.
[You know, the tale of you and Calyx really skimmed over the whole adapting to the fusion thing. That was painful! I thought learning to control all this new energy would be more fun. Controlling ice and all that. Not having to relearn moving your body because everything feels off!]
-As stories are passed down, they do tend to skip over the more undesirable parts. Worry not. With your level of fitness and coordination, it won't take long to regain your physical abilities.-
[Good to know.]
She groans as she stretches. Everything feels tight. More discouraging is the fact that it takes a minute before she can extend past her toes. Iris doesn't even want to think about what it will be like when it's time to stretch her sartorius. She's halfway through warming up when Shannon comes down.
"I see you're awake. I hope you two are getting along." What she sets down is a heaping portion of beef stew with roast vegetables and buttered dinner rolls. The bowl of stew itself is more like a casserole dish, while vegetables and rolls are piled on a full size plate. On the corner of the tray rests a glass and a pitcher full of water.
"I knew my calorie intake would have to increase, but wow! Thank you!" Iris turns toward the food eagerly. It feels like she hasn't eaten for an entire day. It's then, she notices that she can see her breath. When she looks around the room, the walls, carpet, and even her luggage have a thin layer of frost. Just by picking up the spoon, swirls of ice travel down the handle.
"Well, Kyurem's icy nature makes your body have to work harder. There's also the matter of all the ice you've been producing too. Once you can reign in Kyurem's power more, your meals won't have to be quite this big." Shannon reaches into her apron and pulls out a pair of gloves.
"For now, wear this. These are thermal gloves made from volcarona silk. They'll keep the ice from spreading from your hands. Unless you're really into frozen dinners."
She eyes Iris's clothes. There is some frost at the edges, but since she has been moving around, they aren't as bad as the rest of the room. Frozen clothes are not comfortable, and Shannon shudders remembering her first attempt at showering. She had unintentionally frozen the water in the pipes. That was not a fun time for the one hosting her. "After dinner, work on the ice powers before you do anything else. I don't want to deal with unfreezing my plumbing, and I'm sure you don't want to have to constantly defrost your belongings."
"Thanks. I will." Sighing, Iris dons the gloves. The warmth emanating from them reminds her of spring sunshine. As she picks up the spoon again, the ice melts away. Satisfied, Shannon retreats upstairs. Sullenly, Iris begins to eat.
-Please do not be discouraged. The first few days are usually the hardest.-
[I know. It's just a bit more than I expected. I really should have wrote to Shannon more.]
-While that is a true statement, it would be best to focus on the present. I will teach you how to keep the ice hidden and how to vent it properly. We can do a lesson now.-
[As I'm eating?]
-Indeed. Look at the water that Shannon brought down.-
Looking closely, she can see a bit of steam rising from the pitcher.
[It's hot water. I'm guessing you want me to cool it to a drinkable temperature?]
-Correct.-
Taking off her left glove, Iris reaches for the pitcher.
-Generating more ice is unnecessary. You have made enough to use. Kyurem directs her to the frost around the room. Grasp the handle. Then call the ice to you, with the pitcher as the focus point.-
Upon feeling the warm handle, she pictures it. Ice coating the outside of the pitcher, like powdered sugar.
-I can tell that you're hungry.-
[Well, I also don't want the frost to form an icicle or something as it shoots towards it. Shannon wouldn't be happy about a pierced pitcher.]
She startles as frost detaches from the walls and converges. True to her visualization, they coat the pitcher evenly. A few seconds of contact makes them melt. Carefully Iris puts it down and sticks an ungloved finger in.
[It's lukewarm.]
-Magnificent. Now eat. Your next lesson will be further tuning your ice manipulation.-
Gratefully, Iris digs in.
