You know what? I really don't have anything to say this time. (Oh. Except, Shadow Master Mal? Who exactly is Maxie?)
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I wake with a strange feeling building deep inside my chest. Something is different today. I sniff cautiously at the air, but catch no unusual scent. I cock my head and listen, but only the normal sounds of the forest reach my ears. I am only imagining things, I think as I get shakily to my feet. This is what happens when one has been alone for as long as I have been.
I am beginning to grow weak from my constant diet of nuts and berries. I crave meat; hunger for the rich, warm taste of it, for the nutrients it gives. But I fear to hunt; dread the presence of another living being that might bring back the waking dreams. Perhaps I might even see my quarry's death, even as I barreled down upon it. By now, I doubt that I can summon the strength to chase anything.
I stare down at the ground as I once again begin to walk, too weary even to lift my head. Today I pay no attention to which direction I go; too listless with hunger and loneliness to care anymore.
Hearing a sudden noise, I jerk my head up – and find myself staring disbelievingly into the eyes of another Absol.
Immediately, I drop to the ground, clapping my paws over my eyes. "No. Please. Go away," I wail to him. "I do not wish to see you. Leave me." Inwardly, I curse myself. How could I have been so stupid? Now the visions will return, and I will cause the death of this new Absol, who has done nothing to deserve it.
"What's wrong?" a voice says, confusion lacing the words. "Are you all right?"
No. I will not be his death. "Please," I beg the curse. "I do not see him. I do not hear him. There is no one here. Please do not touch him."
"What?" the other Absol asks. "I don't understand."
"I do not hear him," I whimper again, attempting to shut my ears to his voice. "There is no one."
"Are you all right?" he repeats. "Are you hurt? Or ill?"
I do not answer; try not to hear. But I cannot ignore his nose at my side, nudging me, willing me to get up. Instead, I roll weakly onto my side – too feeble even to keep upright beneath his gentle touch – and curl into a tight ball. I hear the Absol take a few steps back – surprised, I think, at my reaction – then nothing.
After a long moment in which all is silent, I open my eyes, thinking that he has gone. But he is not. He sits right beside me, staring curiously down at my prone body. I cry out once more and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.
"If you're in some kind of trouble," he says, "I can go get someone."
"No!" I yelp, unable to ignore this. I open my eyes and stare up at him, knowing that it is already too late. Too late to pretend he isn't there; too late for him to live. "You mustn't bring anyone," I say. "No one. Ever."
He shrugs as I sit up. "Very well," he says. "If that's the way you want it. Here." He picks up an object just beside him and drops it before my feet. I stare, surprised, at the body of a dead Rattata.
"I caught it a little earlier," he tells me. "But you look like you need it more than I do." He stands and begins to walk away, then pauses. "Oh, by the way, my name is Kibo." Then he leaps into the bushes and is gone.
I stare after him for a long moment, then bend to sink my teeth into the lifeless Rattata. Kibo is well named, I think. Despite my misgivings over his appearance, I suddenly and inexplicably feel more hope than I have in a long while.
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For anyone that didn't catch that, "kibo" means "hope" in Japanese. (Or as near as I can come, anyway.) * cuddles Japanese dictionary *