Disclaimer: I still own nothin'. This is a bit late..so….um. Sorry. My stupid internet went out and my parents are taking FOREVER to pay it. I'm uploadingthis via skool computer. So noone tyell at me if the structure of this chapter is off. I actually finished this chapter quite a while ago. Here's the second part of chapter five, Enjoy!
"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by."-Willy Wonka
The fading sunlight reflected on the water and cast up a glare in my face as I leaned over the deck staring at the sea gloomily. The slowbro's voice was still in my head and I was grateful for the feel of spray on my face to try and clear my head. Why was I thinking of these things now, of all times? It hadn't come to mind for years now, a small memory "stashed in the closet of my mind" as my father would say. The ship bucked and I had to dig my claws into the wood to keep from slipping into the sea and decided to watch the ocean from a safer spot. Like….the roof.
I started off to the back of the boat to see if there was anything I could jump on to get to the top when I bumped my nose into a familiar reddish patch of fur and sneezed. Thakur jumped in mild surprise, and then went back to looking out to where the shore had been with a sad sick look on his face. I lifted an eyebrow "What's the matter with you?" The growlithe turned to me with his face all screwed up and his nose crinkled "You…you didn't tell me the boat would be on the WATER!"
"Oh, is that it?"
"What do you mean just IT? We're surrounded by water! I don't like water…. And not only that- where are you going?" he sniffed.
"The roof."
"Why?"
"To look at the sea."
"Why?"
"Because I feel like it."
"Why?"
I turned and gave him an annoyed look "Why do you want to know anyway?" "Because. And I'm going to the main hall with Jaylen later on, and I want you to come with me?" I sighed "You're just saying that so you won't be alone and near the water anymore" "Well…yes. Besides, Tani's asleep, and Jaylen's talking to people about stuff I don't understand. And I still haven't figured out where we're going. Do you know?" "As a matter of fact, I do." I jumped to a pile of rope and flattened myself on the deck so that my rings and eyes glowed against the setting sun "We're going to a dark horrible swamp with ferocious feraligators, and brutal blastoise, and eeeeeevil dastardly dewgong that are going to GET you! Bwahahahaha!!!" Thakur drew back his ears again "You don't have to be a jerk about it, just because you don't know." "Whatever" I yawned and stretched out on the barrel
As I lay there I listened, listened to the wind blowing dust gently across the deck, the creaking of wood, waves lapping gently aside the ferry, listened to the voices of the humans in the room behind me through the wall, singing.. Wait. Singing? Yes, a new voice carrying a tune was slowly being carried on the wind and getting louder as it came closer.
"…An' I will travel the world, and over the waves
A-searchin' for ye, and the love that ye gave
And I will travel ye, for ye
Only for ye, me love
And for you I sing my song of a sailor
A sailor's song for, me love
A song for you, for you
'Tis this sailor's lonely song just for you…"
The last line was the loudest as two small orange feet landed on my barrel, spreading it's very long wings as it did so. I stood and stared at him. It was a pokemon, at least I guessed so. It was obviously a flying type- it had flown the way here after all. It was bird like and not very big. He was a moonwhite with blue markings on the tips of his very long wings that brightly reflected the setting sun. "Ahoy lass!" He cocked his head and stared closely, poking his long bill in my face "Well, now vat 'ave we 'ere then?" "I was about to ask you the same thing. What..what are you?" "Me? Why me lass I be a wingull!" I blinked at him. He cocked his head to the side again "Eh? Don' be telling' ol' Aft you've never seen one of us, now? We be just about everywhere there's water, we are." "Well not where I lived, we certainly didn't. I lived in a forest" I jerked my head "back that way. "But then again I never lived on the sea either." "Ahh, I see. I see. So, what be you lass?" "She happens to be a very rude umbreon" was the call from bellow. "Shut it Thakur!" Aft flapped his wings and grinned (as much as one with a beak can grin anyway) "Ohhhh! So that be an umbreon eh? Ve don' get yer kind much oot 'ere on dis ferry. Glad to have ye aboard lass. Glad to have ye." Thakur put his front paws on the barrel and sniffed Aft's feathers "Did you know your feathers smell like sardines?" Aft smiled again and his beady eyes sparkled "Why lad, that be the smell of the sea!" He inhaled deeply and spread his long wings again to add to the effect. "Don' ye jus' love it?" "I'm really not a fan of the sea…" "That's an understatement" I scoffed. Thakur growled at me. "Don't you growl at me!" I growled back. Aft blinked in surprise "Don' like the sea? Well, that be a shame laddie, I 'appen to love the sea."
Thakur made a whining sound and went back down on all fours "Well, I don't. I really, really don't. It looks dangerous, and….bad." Aft hopped to the rim of the barrel and stared down at him "Aye. It can be dangerous when 'tis angry or upset, but most of the time it's nice enough. Nice enough for this ol' seabird anyway." He gave a raspy, but warm laugh. "You sound like you have a nice life. Flying out in the open, free without a trainer…." I said to him. "How do you know he doesn't have a trainer?" demanded Thakur "Trainer? Nah, me lass you're right I has no trainer, but I do 'ave me cap 'in!" "Captain?" "Aye, Cap'in Briney, head of the good ship S.S ..the S.S…..heh, fancy that I can't seem to recall the name of the vessel…but you can bet yer boots that she's the safest on the sea! And you were right before, tis a good life. A good life indeed. " "I guess it's an acquired taste… Aft, do you happen know where we're going?" "That I do!" Aft pointed a wing outward "We be goin' back to me home, to Honen." he edged forward and prepared to take off "I suppose I'll be a-seein' ye later on the voyage. I suggest ye be goin' down to the main hall. There be a reception goin' on down thar. Many, many trainers there be. But the real attraction is the snacks."
At mention of the word "snacks" Thakur's jaw let his long pink tongue roll out and he began to pant. "Me capin's down thar too." the wingull chuckled "He be callin' me "Peeko", he does." With that he spread his blue tipped wings and flew off into the night.
Thakur nodded wagging his curled tail "That's some good advice, let's go down to the main hall Ozaki and meet everybody!" I gave him a blank look "And?" "and…that's it." "…..and we would do this because……?" "It'll be fun!" "I doubt it" "Aww c'mon. Aft said there'll be snacks down there. You've been sleeping al day and missed breakfast, you can't tell me you're not hungry." He was right..I hadn't eaten a thing since a plate of salty crackers last afternoon. After a short debate about ethics and what kind of demented company would put enough salt to kill a truckload of slugs on a single cracker, I sighed and eventually jumped off the barrel.
~~~~~~~~~
By suicune, I hate, hate HATE my life…. Why, WHY in the name of all the gods that ever existed did I EVER listen to my stomach instead of my head?! You'd think that getting caught by such circumstances would have made me wise up, but noooooooo, not me.
I'd decided to take shelter under a tablecloth covering the refreshment table nearly as soon as I'd arrived, crouched in the darkest corner I could find, ear flattened in deep, sweltering hatred of what was outside. At least in here the smell of the newly washed tablecloth was held inside and didn't let the outside smells in my shelter. In front of me, a flap of the cloth was lifted up on a chair leg, allowing a bit of the outside in, but it was better than nothing.
The hall, as Aft promised was not only filled with humans, it was packed to the brim. All sorts of two-leggeds filled the small room, their stench filling the air, and loud drawling, yelling, squeaky, horrible voices so that one could hardly hear themselves think and a horrible aura erupted from them that made my fur stand on end. With them were pokemon, and not just a few. Tens, maybe hundreds of them, all sitting on or near their beloved "masters", pokemon that would NEVER be this close to each other in the wild. Pidgey perching on sneasel, houndoom sleeping with sentret on their backs, and a sandshrew with a ridiculously large disgustingly pink bow on it's dry neck grooming a totodile in a red tuxedo. A tuxedo! A ground type would normally NEVER let a water type get anywhere near it, unless it were absolutely necessary, which it probably wouldn't be, since the marshes were at least a good 100 miles away from the deserts. And that wasn't even getting into the stupid outfits they were in. no totodile, or any pokemon for that meter was EVER meant to wear such an idiotic contraption, there's no use for it, it only gets in the way and you certainly couldn't swim with it. For only show and nothing more, to make him look "cute and sweet" as his trainer out it. What's worse, they didn't even seem to mind, not the pikachu in a top hat, not the clefairy practically drowning in bows, and certainly not the sandshew with the stupid bow. In fact, I dared say they ENJOYED being paraded around like dress up dolls. I honestly couldn't believe it, where was their dignity, their sanity?! Had the entire planet gone mad?!
I backed farther into my corner, red eyes in wide disturbed horror, hoping that no one would discover my hiding spot and shut my eyes, making an unhappy face. If I was lucky, all of them, including my own "trainer" would forget I was here and I'd be left alone to find a nice dark, quiet forest that had the smells of the wild in it and pray I would never be bothered with this…this….debauchery ever again. But of course, that was if I was lucky. And lady luck seemed to make me at the very, very bottom of her charity list. A hand gripped the bottom of my protective veil and my expression soured even more. "Lady luck's a bitch"
The tablecloth was lifted up and the horrible sounds and smells slammed into me once again, along with the bright blinding light from the lamps above. Through a cracked eye I could see the silhouette of a familiar head. I gave a long exasperated sigh as Jaylen's arms crept under and pulled me out as my expression began to sour even more than it already was, if that was even possible. Violet gloved hands held me in a tight grip to prevent escaping, and because of his new gloved hands, biting wouldn't get me down either (It probably wouldn't be a god idea to run off in a place with so many kicking feet anyway) so I went limp and let the boy hold me in front of him "So there you are, you slippery seviper you" I blinked at him. What on earth was a "seviper"? It sounded like some kind of odd herb or something. Jaylen turned to face another human, this one a female. She was about an inch taller than him, with very long hazel hair with gold highlights that reached to her knees, and wearing a ragged gray shirt with a black skull with the words "Silent Scream" printed under it in bright red bleeding letters, along with that she also wore long black jeans that flowed over black combat boots with large buckles and a pendent resembling a red teardrop hung from a short silver chain around her neck, and silver bracelets held on tightly to her wrists.
Jaylen scratched the spot behind my shoulder blade "This is Ozaki, the one I told you about" The girl began to reach out to pet me between the eyes, in my center ring and I glared and just missed nipping her bejeweled arm. She gave me an annoyed look, which I gladly returned with a spiteful growl. No one touches my center ring. Jaylen looked up at the girl apologetically "I'm sorry, she must be nervous about all the people. Not used to this sort of thing you know."
"S'ok. Although you may want to consider keeping it inside it's pokeball more often until it learns to behave." AGAIN with the "it"! She tossed her hair back, revealing a cleffa sitting on her shoulder holding a short black staff with a small bronze skull on the top. And was then I noticed a mewoth sitting boredly at her feet. He looked half asleep. The girl patted the cleffa on the head "This here's Vicious." Jaylen lifted his eyebrows "that's a…unique name for a cleffa….." "The name used to be Sid-Vicious, but that takes too long to say." The two of them began laugh as I stared at the little creature on his human's shoulder, looking grumpier that most of his kind. One of the hands holding me shifted to his pocket, (the other still with a hard grip) and took out an odd looking red device with many buttons on it and pointed to the cleffa. A light on the device blinked and monotone voice announced "Cleffa. The starshape pokemon. When numerous meteors illuminate the night sky, sighting of cleffa strangely increase" Jaylen put the machine back into his pocket and pointed a gloved finger at the cleffa.
"You know, I think I've heard that before……I read that they're associated with stars. Some legends say that they make the stars come out, some even say they come from the stars as well." The little pokemon pointed his staff out at us and waved it menacingly "Stars?! Yeah, I'll make YOU see stars punk!! Hey. HEY! What the heck are YOU looking at?! Yeah, girafarig, you just keep walkin', that's right RUN AWAY PUNK! You want some of this?!" He shook his little fist violently the passing girafarig who gave him a worried look and went on his way. The girl ignored this, I suspected that she was used to things like this by now, and kneeled down to pet the mewoth, who gladly accepted the attention. "And this is Namir, he's been with me a really long time, since I was about seven, that's ten years. It's a bit odd he hasn't evolved yet, but I like him the way he is" Namir seemed to agree. "That's great Robin, I like my first pokemon the way he is too." Jaylen whistled and soon the biscuit stuffed face of a growlithe appeared beside him "This is Thakur" Robin grinned and scratched the growlithe behind the ears , and he showed his thanks by letting out his long tongue (still littered with the remains of biscuit) and panting in her face happily. He also seemed to have gotten a bit fatter. "I'm glad he's more friendly than your other pokemon" "Well, that's not all of them, my other one's sleeping in our room right now, still really young." Robin nodded and led him off to the main deck, talking about something or other as I was again pressed against my "keeper's" chest, so he had a free hand.
I suddenly noticed that the salty smell was on the deck before was slowly being replaced by the smell of smoked fish and sand and grass. I guessed we had nearly approached this "Honen" Aft mentioned earlier. I sighed and closed my eyes.
Well, at least it can't possibly be worse than this stupid boat. The waves crashed against the ferry's side and a large splash of water flew up in my face. I hope.