Welcome back to Throwing Stones! My sincerest apologies for not getting a chapter out yesterday, I've been ill with the flu and struggling to take care of all my little brother's needs while my mom is out of the country.
Something new today! Beneath the chapter title you'll see something that says 'Listening:'. This is just a little suggestion, usually it'll be 1-3 songs that I was listening to when I was writing this chapter. It's totally optional, but if you wanna listen to 'em while you're reading the chapter, I think that'd be rad!
Chapter Two: Old Friends
Listening: Blank - MELVV (feat. Kennedi)
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Steven awoke to a white hot headache and a sharp pain in his left leg. He let out a long groan and tried to rub his eyes open. They protested. He cringed against the accosting sunlight peeking between his fingers.
"Sir."
Irritated and slightly embarrassed, Steven said, "Good morning, Martinov," his hands still over his eyes. He felt rather silly, but couldn't bring himself to take them off.
"Good morning to you, Mr. Stone. I was instructed to awaken you thirty minutes before your meeting with Doctor Paisley."
Oh, fuck. "Ah, thank you Martinov. Say, will you do me a favor?" he groaned and stretched his back.
"Why, yes, sir. That's what I'm here for," he said matter-of-factly.
"Will you close all of my curtains, please?" He was still getting used to having servants again. It had been about a week since he'd been forced to return to the Stone Mansion in Rustboro Hills. After the recent... incident, his father had torn him away from solitary life and insisted he return to Rustboro Hills Finishing School to re-learn how to act "like the heir to an honorable corporate empire".
"Yes, sir. Will that be all?" The room began to darken with each swoosh of curtains falling.
"Can you also ask Marion to pour me an extra tall glass of Moomoo milk? And that's all."
"I can, sir."
Steven took his hands off his eyes slowly and began the process of getting used to the little light left in the room. He had them open just enough to watch Martinov's flawless, shiny, black leather shoes leave the room. "Thank you," he called after him.
"My pleasure, sir," he responded.
It took a few moments, but Steven finally got to the point to where he could look around the room without too much trouble. The clock on the wall told him he had less than twenty-five minutes left to make himself look presentable.
"Thirty minutes..." he mumbled to himself. "Who gives a person only thirty minutes? Who even set the alarm in the first place?" He yawned wide and tried to get up, but found his father's new Aaron keeping him from budging. He was both annoyed and... somewhat delighted. There had always been a soft spot in his heart for Aarons. The pokemon were about the size of a large bag of chips, somewhat canine in features, and covered in a thick (and extremely heavy) exoskeleton.
"Amelie," he said softly. The pokemon immediately opened her bright blue eyes and hopped over to him, wagging her behind and hopping around. Steven smiled and patted her on her head.
It was clear to Steven after trying once more to leave the bed that he had lost all feeling to his left leg below the knee. He grimaced. There was no time to wait for it to come back.
And so, ever so (un)gracefully, Steven hopped with his dead leg over to the full length mirror at the other end of the room. His hair was a mess, which was not unusual, and he was still in his meeting suit, which would be fine to wear out if not for the wrinkles and the god-awful smell. It had a few splotches from last night's not-so-friendly visit with Mr. Vomit Bucket, which he at that moment realized was no longer in the room. Martinov must have taken it out, he thought.
Steven stripped himself of his clothes with a little more hassle than usual and hobbled to the armoire to pick out a new suit. It seemed his brain and his body were still having a bit of trouble staying in sync, and the just-awakening-but-still-mostly-dead leg didn't help anything.
"Good morning, ladies," he said to the mermaids as he opened the large doors and took the first thing he found, which was quite out of the ordinary, as he always took a long time deciding what to wear. When he was a child he liked to pretend the mermaids watched over him while he slept to make sure no harm would come over him. The Empoleon mermaid was secretly his favorite, but he gave them all equal attention.
He looked in the mirror once he was done. He actually looked quite dashing, he thought, save for the sunken eyes. It was a cuffless deep violet suit, one he hadn't worn in years, but he didn't much care about the slightly musty smell at that moment. He looked damn good, and paired with a black tie and black dress shirt he might as well have been going to a corporate gala.
It felt as though the clock was staring him down. Twelve minutes to go. Steven rushed to the bathroom and poured himself some mouthwash. He swished it around while quickly combing his over long silver-blue hair; a rare occasion, but he looked too good to pass it up.
He spat, washed his face with a soft white towel with the letter 'S' on it, and just barely sprayed a bit of cologne on. A bit of stubble was forming on his chin, but it would have to slide this time. Overall, he actually felt quite optimistic about the day.
He just cracked the door open to leave when a blinding light knocked him back into reality. He needed something for that. He needed...
Aha! With a swift movement Steven was to his armoire, digging through the bottom drawer until he found them.
Amelie danced around his feet. His words from last night echoed in his mind: I'll take father's pets for a walk. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Two birds... two birds... Would it work? He could feel the gears turning, but it was a long shot.
Steven donned his aviator sunglasses and called the Aaron to him, taking off down the long corridor. It was now seven minutes until he needed to be at the lab. Drastic measures had to be taken.
When Steven reached the staircase he slid down the beam like he was seven years old again, but this time his father wasn't around to scold him when he got to the bottom.
The double doors slammed open as Steven burst through them. Four minutes. He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. This was the same suit he was wearing when he first journeyed with... well, that was a long time ago.
As luck would have it, the Eon Flute was still in his pocket. Now he remembered why he hadn't worn this suit in such a long time. It reminded him of her.
He shook it off. Now was not the time. He brought the metal to his lips and played. He was a bit rusty. When the song was finished, he closed his eyes and waited with bated breath. A minute went by. Another, and the deep sound of wing beats filled his ears.
How Latias had a knack for always hearing him play no matter where she was was a mystery to Steven. He opened his eyes. She was just as he remembered; almost reptilian in facial features, white scales of what looked like opal, sloping down into enormous red feathered wings.
The magnificent creature landed beside him. He hadn't realized that tears were welling up in his eyes. The creature cawed and the sound struck his heartstrings. He let the tears fall. He took the Beast's head in his hands and pushed his forehead up to hers. He could almost laugh. He was almost... relieved? It wasn't the right word, but he felt a sense of belonging, like a part of his soul that was seemingly lost to time had been returned to him.
Focus, he thought. "Latias," he started, breathed, and said, "I need your help." The creature kneeled. It wasn't the time to get emotional, but having her here, now, after all these years and still willing to help him was moving on a whole other level. He leaned down to pick up Amelie, struggling to heave her onto Latias's mighty back. Once he secured her, he told her, "We need to go to Devon Labs," and with only a few beats of her angelic wings she soared high into the clouds, away from the mansion.
A shortie, I know. Thanks to SunMoon6798 and Blades of Chance for your reviews on the last chapter! Anyway, hope you liked this, and as always don't forget to favorite, follow, and review! I love hearing your opinions of the story so far. Follow me on Twitter throwingstevens :D
As always, much love everyone! Have a good night (or day)!