It's Nothing, Really
I followed close behind Jayron as we quickly fled from the Beedrill horde. I was more concerned for him than myself, as most humans weren't as fast as agile Absols.
"Occupational hazard. Occupational hazard," Jayron kept repeating to himself as he ran, clenching his Dowsing Machine tightly in his left hand.
"This has happened to you before?" I asked incredulously.
"Just keep running," he said, already sounding slightly out of breath.
I could have easily left him and those Beedrill in the dust a long time ago, but I'd sooner drop dead than leave my best friend behind. I kept my stride on the short side, hanging back and close to Jayron in case I needed to spin around on my paws and fight off our pursuers. I was also listening to hear how far behind the Beedrill were. Luckily, the buzzing slowly got fainter and fainter. It seemed the Beedrill were satisfied with just scaring us away.
I looked ahead of us and said, "We should be in the clear after that big bush up ahead."
"Good, good, good," Jayron said as he maintained his speed. Which wasn't too bad for a human. He then put on an extra burst of speed and tore through the bush.
I decided to opt for a more acrobatic approach, and pushed off from my paws right when I was a foot away from the bush. My jump cleared the bush excellently, and I landed solidly, forepaws first, then hind paws. I also slid forward a few inches, my claws digging into the grassy ground. That's when a sharp twinge struck me, causing me to twitch and make a face. It had come from my hind right paw, so I turned my head and lifted the paw, and immediately saw what the problem was. A burr was stuck deep in the white fur, wedged tightly in between two of my toes.
"Sol… (Drat…)," I said under my breath, and I turned to look at Jayron, who was bent over double with his hands on his knees, and just beginning to catch his breath. I saw no reason to concern him with my minor inconvenience, so I quickly put my paw down, which made me wince as the spiky ball poked into me some more.
Jayron stood back up and breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, we're in the clear now. Now, how about we head into the nearest town and get something good to eat," he said, looking at me with a smile.
The mention of food made me forget about the ball of annoyance in my paw, and I perked up and smiled, replying, "Oh yes. I'm hungry!"
Jayron nodded, and took out his map and said, "Okay, so, we need to go. . . that way. Come on."
Putting his map away, Jayron started walking, and I followed a foot or two behind him. Normally, I'd step lively right beside him, but that wasn't an option at the time. For one thing, I still had that annoying burr in my hind right paw, which slowed me down a bit. For another thing, I was trying to get rid of it as we walked, and I didn't want Jayron to notice. It wasn't a big deal, so I saw no reason to bother him with it.
So, after every three or so steps, I'd suddenly kick my right hind leg out and shake it, hoping that the burr would fall out, but my attempts were all in vain. It was wedged right between my toes, and quite frankly, it was just awful.
"I once wrote an article about Trainers who seek out hordes of wild Pokemon on purpose," Jayron said.
"Were they maniacs?" I replied mentally, although if I had to use a physical voice, it would come out in a pained snarl due to the scratches the sides of two of my toes were getting.
"The Trainer class or a type of mental illness?"
"I don't know," I said flatly, hoping that Jayron didn't pick anything up through the tome of my response.
Luckily, Jayron just chuckled and continued, "Well, actually, some of them had Pokemon with moves that could affect a wide area at a time, and they just like being able to take down five Pokemon at once. Others do it because they have a better chance of finding a Shiny Pokemon. I think maybe wild Shinys attract crowds, like they're wild Pokemon celebrities or something."
I was only half listening to what was probably a very interesting topic. More often than not, the things Jayron writes about are very fascinating, to me at least. Also, he just loves my commentary on his work. However, right now all I could to quietly whimper a bit as I dug my right hind paw into the ground, dragging it into the dirt in an attempt to scour out the burr. All it did was make me feel even more uncomfortable, not to mention push the spiky ball into my paw even more.
I was watching Jayron carefully all the while, preparing myself for if he turned around. Of course, he eventually did, and I had a calm, neutral facial expression ready for him.
"Come on up beside me, Krystal," he said invitingly, "I like it better when I can see who I'm talking to."
I gave a smile and a nod, and proceeded to walk over to him. However, I knew that him seeing me limping would be an obvious giveaway, so I attempted to hide my minor inconvenience by lifting my legs a little bit higher as I walked, which would also ease my discomfort. However, the look of concern on my best friend's face was proof that my attempts at hiding my problem had failed.
"Why are you walking so strangely?" he asked in confusion.
I was too embarrassed to answer, so I just averted my eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked me.
". . . It's nothing, really," I replied.
"Okay then. Tell me," he said while motioning with one hand.
"But it's nothing," I stressed, finally looking at him.
"Then why are you afraid to tell me?" he asked gently, still looking concerned for me.
"It's not that I'm afraid. It's just . . . you don't have to worry about me," I said, feeling more and more embarrassed about how this whole thing was turning out.
Jayron reached out pet me and said with a bit of a chuckle, "We're best friends. We're kinda supposed to worry about each other."
I thought about this, and I found that I couldn't argue with it. I also realized that I had been caught, and I'd have to be a maniac to build up a lie around something so silly. So, as Jayron stroked my bang, I sighed and said, "I have a burr stuck in my right hind paw."
Jayron winced and gave me a sympathetic look. "Ooh, that sound uncomfortable. You think if we stopped somewhere, you could get it out?"
I frowned, thinking of how nothing I had tried so far had worked. "I'm. . . I'm not sure. I don't-."
"Oh, what am I saying? I'll just get it out for you," Jayron said as he laughed at himself. He then quickly walked around me and knelt down right behind me.
"What are you doing!?" I asked a bit forcefully as I turned my whole body around to face him.
"Turn back around, Krystal," Jayron said gently, "Hold still, and I'll just pull the burr out of your paw."
I felt a strange uneasiness in my stomach when I heard this, and I knew exactly why I was having it.
"Krystal?" Jayron asked, made nervous again by my suddenly heavy breathing.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, and, knowing once again that I couldn't lie about this, said carefully, "Jayron . . . please don't laugh at me."
Jayron shook his head and said, "I won't, I won't. But please, tell me, what's the matter."
This whole thing was going on for too long in my opinion, so I quickly just spat it out telepathically, "I don't like my paws being touched."
". . . Oh," Jayron said simply, but then he asked, "Wait, what about that time when I tried to tickle you?"
"I'm really comfortable around you, and I knew you wouldn't lift them up or touch the pads of them or pull- ugh, this is awkward!" I said as I felt my face go red from the whole situation.
"It's okay, Krystal," he said calmly, "It's okay if you feel that way about your paws, and I respect it." Then he frowned a bit and said, "But, we both want to get that burr out of there, right?"
I nodded, "I know, but . . . I really don't think I'd be able to just stand there while you. . ." I hung my head in shame and continued, "Jayron, I really do trust you, really. But, still, it's just. . . I won't be able to see what you're doing, and-"
"Oh, that's easy to fix," Jayron said rather optimistically.
I looked up at him in confusion.
"Lie down on your back," he said.
"What? Why?"
"Trust me."
So, I laid down on my back with all four legs up.
"Good," he said as he leaned over me, "Now you can see me while I take the burr out."
"Okay," I said rather unenthusiastically as he gently held my forelegs and moved them in closer to my belly.
"Aha, there it is," Jayron said, and he let go off my forelegs and reached over towards my right hind paw.
"Wait!" I cried out, my heart pounding as that horrible anxious feeling moved through me.
Jayron sighed, but he didn't lose his kind smile. He pointed at the burr and said, "Alright. Just look right at that burr. That annoying, nasty burr that's causing you discomfort. Glare at it like you're using Mean Look."
I obeyed, focusing on the offending object lodged between my digits.
"Good," Jayron said, "Now, here comes my hand. I'm gonna grab that burr and pull it out, that's it."
I actually whined a bit as Jayron's hand got closer to my paw. "Jayron, stop! Maybe-."
"The Beedrill!" he suddenly shouted, wide eyed and pointing to my left.
I turned to look, but only saw nothing. Then I let out a squeal as I felt the burr being pulled right out from my paw. I crawled backwards and kicked my hind legs out in reflex.
"Got it," Jayron said, and I looked back up to see him holding the burr. He then tossed it over his left shoulder and said with a smile, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
I stared at him, breathing in and out heavily due to the burst of illogical panic my silly brain put myself through. Then I took a deep breath and replied telepathically, "Yes and no."
I then rolled back over and stood up on all fours, pausing a moment to enjoy the relief of not having that burr in my paw anymore, then I looked up at my human friend and said, "Jayron?"
"Yes?"
"Can we never mention this again?"
"Sure. But you don't have to feel ashamed of it. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, then that's your right, and I'll respect it."
I finally managed a smile, "Thank you, Jayron."
