Raven: Emerald Fist
Mechyena Saga
Chapter XV - Wagon wheels
"What do you mean you had £5,000 but half of it's gone!" I exclaimed incredulously, having just been told the facts five times over already.
I had woken again a few hours after Jay left me and now, a full day later, I had just sat down on the edge of the bed after changing from a hospital gown into my own clothes when Jay had stumbled in, bruised, bloody and slightly soggy from morning dew."
Some of which has now experienced some minor water damage…" Magenix added guiltily, "And some 'quick, dry it out!' burns too, m'afriad."
"We did have good intentions…" Polienix pleaded, "I didn't know 'fortunes' burnt so easily either, otherwise I'd have told him to do an ember rather than flame wheel…"
I groaned, partially because my headache was returning but mostly because of our Pokémon's incompetence.
"So that leaves us with how much?"
"£2,100."
"And a half!" Magenix chirped hopefully, holding up half a scorched and wrinkled one hundred pound note.
"My will to live weakens," I muttered, dropping back onto the bed melodramatically, "Any more bad news, so I can just go and slit my wrists like a good little suicidal trainer?"
This time the looks they exchanged were less sheepish and more seriously worried. Magenix opened his yellow beak to supply me with his version of the answer, but Jay came straight out with it.
"Mechyena escaped. I lost the money when I tried to defeat the guy who released him in a Pokémon battle."
I froze, that feeling of fear building up as a heavy weight on my chest despite the most recent events involving Emerald's abomination. Mechyena, once again free to roam the streets and tail me like some sort of murderous stalker…
Fortunately I was snapped out of my doom-and-gloom train of thought when something high pitched and squeaky added its contribution to the conversation in the form of a pitiful little mew.
"Okay," I said simply, hopping neatly onto the less serious path, "What the hell was that?"
Sheepishness reigned supreme.
"Well, you see," Polienix started, in unison with Magenix's contribution of, "It all started when…"
I looked at Jay, who simultaneously winced and shrugged.
"Let them tell it," he muttered, pulling something cream, tan and tiny out from under his blue shirt and setting it on his lap, "Although here's your culprit."
Miniscule beyond belief, the tiny kitten's head bobbed with every breath it took as it sniffed nervously at the jean of Jay's trousers. Its coat was mostly cream, with dark brown markings up its back legs and at the tip of its long, curly tail. An elongated coin perched between its ears and thick white whiskers protruded from its face.
As I stared in amazement, Magenix launched into his explanation."Well Ray, when I heard that thing was back on the streets I instantly thought, like the good and loving brother that I am, that I had to inform my sis here so she could stay clear of any dodgy alleyways and stuff. I found her, but when I said what was going on she rudely insisted that-"
"I thought it'd be best if we went to help out," Polienix continued, somehow managing to maintain childish innocence as she blatantly interrupted her sibling, "So we went back but Jay wasn't there so I said that we should see if he'd gone back inside 'cause I thought they might have needed to get the scent if Cerberus was gonna track Mechyena down but they weren't and on the way out we saw her sitting there, looking all unhappy and alone, and then it turned out that they were going to make her go to sleep for a long time because of her foot which is injured but you've been sleeping and that was a waste of time and so boring so I got bro here to melt the cage and we rescued her and took her to Jay when we found him in the alleyway," she blurted without hesitation, nodding wisely.
"Basically," I summarised, "You stole a cat from death row at the pound because you felt like it. Seems fairly minor compared to our normal business…"
Polienix nodded, happy that this made sense, "Her name's Poppy. We've got to take her to the Pokémon centre so her paw can be healed and Jay can have a shower."
"Priorities? What priorities?" I muttered to myself as we filed out of the hospital room, pausing for a final confirmation from a nurse that we were free to go before leaving the building entirely.
As we headed towards the Pokémon centre, Poppy the kitten huddled once again inside Jay's blue shirt, I did my best to keep things light. Although I was internally pining for the money Jay had lost and my balance left much to be desired, I was intent on keeping conversation away from… darker subjects… and rambled on about anything that came into my head, from battling the gym leader to Jay being a softie. Anything but the hard truth.
"Ha! So they decide to return!" a furious yet high pitched voice exclaimed as we stepped into the buzzing chatter of the ever crowded Pokémon centre.
All other noise died away as people abandoned their conversations to turn and stare at our motley crew of bird, cat and battered human. I blinked, feeling all the blood rush to my face as the few people in the way darted to the sidelines to leave a corridor from the doormat to the front desk, upon which an angry pink Pokémon was standing, its stubby arms on what I supposed were its hips.
"Pardon?" Jay said slowly, apparently just as startled as I was at this uncharacteristic display of aggression from one of the centre's Chansey.
"You booked a room for one night over a week ago!" she cried, punching the air for effect, "And then left, leaving the room untidy and full of your human rubbish! Bags, clothing, food… You think the Pokémon centre wants any of this? Well, the answer is NO! No no no n-"
"That's enough, Flora," sighed a weary nurse, pulling the large Pokémon from the desk with extraordinary strength and setting her on the ground.
"But they-"
"Bay three, Flora. Totodile attached to a litter bin by his teeth. If you could possibly sort that out…?"
Although I could no longer see the creature, hidden behind the main desk, the torrent of angry muttering was more than enough to leave me with a strong suspicion of the look on her face.
"A bit highly strung, that one," Magenix commented laughingly, glancing up at the nurse for a humorous agreement but instead finding himself staring into a pair of irate green eyes.
"Actually," she responded firmly, "She is quite right. The Pokémon centre is a hospital for sick Pokémon and a place where trainers can stay while they pass through. It is not," she produced both of our bags from beneath the counter and smacked them down on top, "Your personal dumping ground. So, unless there's a particular reason for your being here," her eyes strayed to the dried blood that encrusted Jay's forehead just below the hairline, "I suggest you leave."
"Well," my companion started, "I have this Meowth…"
Nurse Joy's attitude instantly changed, something I was grateful for, and she beckoned for us to come up to the desk as the noise level rose once again, floor show over. When Jay produced Poppy, watery eyed and exhausted, she quickly placed the kitten Pokémon into a clear plastic tray lined with a sky blue blanket and passed her to a colleague. As the lesser nurse hurried the injured creature to the bays at the back, Joy turned her critical eye back onto us.
"How on earth did that happen?" she demanded, looking from Jay to me, "And why did you leave it for so long?"
"So long-" Polienix started, horrified at the thought of the tiny Meowth left to suffer in her cage.
Jay frowned, "She's not actually mine, we found her in this condition and decided to help her out," he told the nurse, carefully avoiding the fact that she was being held in the pound at the time.
Pol was not so diplomatic, "Yeah, they left her in a cage and didn't help her at all! I'm glad I'll never end up in the pound, although if I did I'd teach 'em a lesson."
"The pound?" Nurse Joy quipped sharply, "This kitten was left there in this state?"
Jay and I swapped looks.
"Well… yeah," I said hesitantly, watching the red haired woman cautiously.
Her expression darkened instantly, the air around her practically sizzling with the energy of a thunderhead.
"BellAH!" she yelled through the door behind her, through which popped the pink head of a Blissey.
"Yes ma'am?" the round creature inquired, moving forward with paws clasped together.
"Take care of the Pokémon Centre," demanded the nurse, her appearance one of a woman on the warpath as she jammed her white cap down further over her scarlet curls, "That pound's acting up again so I'm going to put things straight!"
"Are you sure-" the Blissey started, trailing off with a sigh as her superior stomped out of the building.
"Ahem," she prompted, bringing the attention of our group away from the doors, "How may I help you?"
Jay hesitated, taking one last backward glance before shrugging, "I'd like to use the showering facilities, if that's alright."
"Of course, of course, up the stairs to the right," she chimed, ushering the other trainer away before turning back to me, "If you don't need anything I'll have to ask you to leave. A line is building up behind you and I'm one nurse down."
With that we were out on the streets once again, this time with a bag slung across my back. Despite having been stuck in a hospital bed for days, I found that I had regained my city sense and slipped easily through the writhing hoards, Polienix flying just overhead. She had abandoned her normal perch on my shoulder, and when I asked her why she just shook her head and inquired into our next destination, to which I answered "the gym."
She was distracted and it was contagious; as I walked I concentrated more on why my first Pokémon was suddenly skittish than the battle I was about to face. Of course, the answer was as clear as day: Mechyena. She hadn't shared my fear of him before, however, even after seeing me laid up in the Pokémon centre with a cracked clavicle. I refused to believe that a trip to a proper hospital could affect her so badly.
"I don't think normal type Pokèmon are really that weak," she piped up suddenly as we reached the cream coloured gym, "I think you believed that stranger too easily."
I paused, glancing up at her as she perched on the ledge above the doors.
"Who said I believed him?" I inquired, surprised that she had realised the truth of my opinion.
"You did," she replied simply, just as the beam of light circled from her pale blue Regenball and snapped her up.
I sighed, clipping the ball back to my belt, before entering the gym's reception area, taking a number and sitting down to wait. What the man had said made perfect sense… and why did she care if I had a reservation about a certain type? It wasn't like I would neglect a Pokémon like those people at the pound: even Raijin and Arina were fed, watered and allowed out every day… well, I had no way of knowing if that had been so at the hospital, but that was hardly my fault.
Time passed slowly, some battles taking longer than I would have believed possible, but eventually my number was formed by the glowing red digits on the wall. I got up, stretching the kinks from my back and neck before striding over to the door into the arena. It was warm inside, with the same cream walls that characterised the reception area and a dirt floor with an arena marked out in chalk. A red haired girl with bright green eyes brushed past me, grinning to herself as the small brown bear Pokémon dancing around her feet waved a diamond shaped badge in its tiny claws. It paused as its trainer pushed out into the reception area, giving me the thumbs up before rushing after the girl.
I couldn't help but grin as I approached the girl placing three Pokéballs into some sort of machine, one I assumed was for healing. Dressed in a cream button up t-shirt and shorts, both complete with pink trim, she sniffled a bit as the machine emitted an annoying, bouncy little tune. Her hair, the same pale shade of pink as the simple decoration on her clothing, was pulled into two short pigtails that wobbled as she took her Pokémon back and waved at me half-heartedly. She struck me as extremely tired, something that only increased the intensity of my grin.
"If you can just get onto the challenger's podium…" she instructed, pointing towards the raised area as she forced herself to smile.
I nodded and trotted over to the ladder, hauling myself up the first three rungs. This was going to be a sin- Suddenly the room spun around me and I clung to the ladder for dear life even though I wasn't all that high up. Nausea took a hold of my stomach and I swallowed sickly, flushing hot and cold as the steps dug into the palms of my hands.
"S'nothing," I reassured myself as the symptoms slowly receded, allowing me to climb higher and drag myself onto the platform.
"You ready?" Whitney called as I got to my feet.
"Yeah," I called back, noticing the way she had erased all signs of fatigue from her face in preparation for battle.
I just had to push away the illness, whatever it was, yeah, that was it…
"Alright then! Clefairy, let's do this!"
Deciding that it would be safest to hold onto something at all times, I moved to the front edge of my platform and wrapped my hands around the cold steel bars as a tiny creature materialised on Whitney's side of the field. Its short, round legs carrying it in a little jig, the pink Pokémon wiggled its long, brown tipped ears and emitted a sweet giggle from its small mouth. It was little more than a ball with limbs, a tuft of curly hair adorning the front and a fat, coiled tail waving in the back.
Taking a deep breath to bring myself into battle mentality, I snatched Polienix's Regenball from its clip and released the small-bodied bird into the air. She chirped, glad to be chosen, and fluttered in a quick circle on powder blue wings.
"Alright, start this off with sand attack," I commanded, my voice getting stronger as I spoke.
A savage sparkle in her eye, Pol shoved both wings back and dove, pulling up at the last possible second and hovering over the ground. Flapping hard, she easily freed dirt and sand from the arena floor, the gritty mixture flying towards cheery Clefairy as it danced on the spot.
"Clefairy, block it with defence curl!" Whitney called, sounding remarkably worried for a gym leader.
Her Pokémon obviously didn't have its trainer's inhibitions, however, as it quickly rolled itself up, tail shielding its eyes as the brunt of the sand attack caught in its fur and dropped to the ground, useless.
"Okay, forget that," I yielded as Pol's swift strokes of her wings carried her so high that she brushed the ceiling with each upstroke, "Dart in there with quick attack!"
"Uh-uh!" Whitney shook her head as Polienix dove once again, "Double slap it as soon as it comes into range, Clefairy."
Giving a cry of approval, Clefairy pulled back its three fingered hand as its enemy approached.
"Careful!" I yelled as my Pokémon plummeted.
Shooting through the air, Pol extended her sharp claws as she attempted to snatch Clefairy and use the force of her momentum to hurl it into the base of Whitney's platform. The pink creature was ready, however, and smacked Pol across the head even as her talons latched onto its coat. Thrown off course by the blow, Polienix squeaked in surprise and released Clefairy when it was barely off the ground, smacking it into the dirt for minor damage as her own wing struck the ground and she was sent head over tail across the arena floor.
"Polienix!" I cried out as she slid to a stop, chin to the soil in the same position that had marked the end of our battle against Mel and Omela, "Damn it, are you alright?"
"Unuh…" she moaned, shifting slightly on the ground but falling back when she tried to get up.
"'m okay… really…" she muttered determinedly, "I'll just…"
She trailed off as her feet found purchase on the ground and she hoisted herself up while Clefairy sniffled and rubbed a large lump on its forehead. I breathed a sigh of relief as my Pokémon folded her wings back up and turned around, wobbling slightly but still standing.
"I know it's hard, but you have to get in there and pound it!" Whitney urged her Pokémon, who looked distinctly tearful.
Like its trainer had done earlier, Clefairy wiped its nose and eyes at the command, focusing on Polienix so as to attack her physically while she was grounded.
"That's it!" I cried suddenly, remembering that normal types had no elemental strikes, "You have to get into the air, Pol, then you can win."
With Clefairy running towards her at top speed, Polienix didn't need much harassing. Despite getting back up, however, she was still injured and returning to the air took several hasty flaps of her aching wings
."I'm… up!" she gasped under the strain as she gained enough altitude to yank her tail feathers out of the way before Clefairy could snatch them and pull her back down.
"Great!" I cheered, "Now all you have to do is throw a few powder snow moves at it… if you can, that is," I added, suddenly realising the hole in my plan as Polienix moved close enough for me to see how hard she was breathing.
"I think I can," Polienix responded bravely, loosing a bit of height as she glided in a swooping curve to face her opponent once again.
"Staying in the air…" Whitney murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear, "Well then, take a chance with metronome!"
With those words and the gathering of shining white energy around Clefairy's wagging fingers as it prepared the attack I realised that my plan was not such a good one.
"Quick, Pol, um, use… use…" I grasped for a strategy, for something that could stop whatever resulted from that metronome from knocking out the icy bird.
"Liiiiiii!"
As I squirmed in desperation Polienix shouldered the burden of strategising, her whole frame shaking as she dropped once again, a familiar lilac aura building up around her and swirling over the breaking edges of her wings.
"What are you doing!" I exclaimed as she lost height I knew she wouldn't easily regain.
"Fighting!" she answered psychically, refraining from opening her beak as the ground grew nearer.
Suddenly she threw all the gathered energy forwards in a swirling mass of purples and blues. To my surprise, Clefairy wasn't thrown back by the blast, instead continuing its attack as though unharmed.
"Pol," I screamed, "It didn't work!"
Even as I spoke Clefairy completed its move, a plume of roaring embers soaring up… from right around it.
"'Fairy!" Whitney wailed in horror as the Pokémon struck itself with a powerful fire move, one that would have had a devastating effect on my ice type.
Clefairy looked devastated too, tottering as the flames receded before toppling back onto its back with a weak whimper, its rosy fur charred and blackened.
"Return!" Whitney shouted hysterically, removing her battler from the stage as tears coursed down her face, "You… you meanie! Forget best 'till last, you're going to pay!"
"Oh really?" I sniggered, far from impressed.
"Raven…"
The weak voice of Polienix reminded me that this victory hadn't come without its casualties. Sat in the dirt, her head, wings and tail sagging as she panted uncontrollably, Polienix was obviously not up for another round.
"It's alright," I called down to her soothingly, "You did well."
As Polienix was retracted, banned from further involvement in the battle, Whitney's new creature appeared in all its 'glory'. Large and rotund, it was a brighter pink than Clefairy, with a beige belly and large blue markings present across its back. It mooed in a not-so-challenging way, the udders on its belly jiggling as it stood on two black hooves and stared out from beneath the mask of dark blue that covered its face.
"Hold nothing back, Miltank!" Whitney ordered from between sniffs, "She beat up Clefairy!"
"Alright then," I released a Pokémon of my own, trying not to snort at Whitney and her cow, "Hade, turn that thing into mincemeat, extra fine."
Barking an affirmative, the loyal Houndour crouched down with his dark orange underside pressed to the dirt. He growled threateningly at Miltank, who initially seemed slightly unnerved by the presence of the predator but quieted down after she realised how small the pup was.
'Ha, don't be so quick to dismiss this hound,' I thought superciliously, conveniently forgetting about Hades' string of losses back in Violet.
"Defence curl!" came the opposing order, one I grinned at.
'Who said anything about physical attacks?' I jeered internally, wincing only as my balance wobbled for a second.
"Hades," I gripped the railing for support until the dizzy spell had passed, "Ember!"
He wasted no time, eager to follow up on the victories he had won across routes forty five and six. Flame dribbling from his jaws like liquid, he charged the rolled up shape of Miltank and unleashed a burst of fire that scorched the skin into varying shades of brown.
As I laughed in the background, Miltank cried out but didn't looseher form, still curled up as thoughher life depended on it.
"Rollout!" Whitney commanded, her tears already dried out as her Pokémon started to spin.
I faltered, "Um, Hades… dodge that thing!"
With a frightened yelp the Houndour turned and ran, large paws scrabbling in the dirt before he gained proper grip and surged forwards, Miltank spinning along behind him at a scary velocity.
"Jump! To the left!" I cried, "And fire off another ember as it passes!"
Hades did what he was told, barely avoiding the cow as she shot past him and firing another stream of embers at her revolving body. To my dismay the flame simply flowed over her as she wheeled away, gaining even more speed as she turned at the far end and shot back in Hades' direction.
"Gah!" I exclaimed as another near miss sent both Hades and I shivering, "Use… uh… Blind it with smog!"
It was a good tactic, in my opinion. Miltank wouldn't be able to see through the thick purple gas so Hades could avoid her while we thought up a way to deal some damage of our own. However, I failed to take one major detail into account: Miltank wouldn't be the only one who was blind.
"Hades, no!" I hollered, my throat raw, as he was sent hurtling out of his own poisonous cloud and skipped like a stone across the dry earth.
He struggled to get back up and I opened my mouth to encourage him just as another wave of nausea swept my mind blank and sent me draped over the railing, knees buckled and vision swimming. Although I couldn't see what was going on the audio was horrific enough: bark after strangled bark as Hades was thrown, landed, struggled to get up but failed as Miltank once again collided with him and sent him careering elsewhere. Apparently Whitney wasn't watching me as she made no attempt to hold Miltank back as I struggled to surrender my Pokémon. I was left gasping, swallowing repeatedly as I fought with my stomach's urge to expel my breakfast and completely incapable of removing Hades from the field.
"Hound!"
SMACK!
"Dour!"
SMACK!
"Hound…!"
SMACK!
"Dour…"
SMACK!
I gritted my teeth, swallowed my breakfast and forced my legs to straighten.
"Hades…" I panted, barely able to see him through a veil of black, "Return!"
The last canine cry died out, leaving the steady whir of Miltank as it spun on the spot and my own harsh breathing to fill the silence of the gym.
"You'll get over it," Whitney said smugly, mistaking my doubled up position as a reaction to the battering of my Houndour, "Now hurry up so we can get this over with and I can heal my Clefairy!"
For a second I nearly sent out Arina, wishing through the pain that she could tie up Miltank with some sort of web before it could hurt her, but I had no desire to loose this battle because my Pokémon ran away. And I didn't feel kind. Not kind at all. Merciless was now my style.
"Raijin," I wheezed, my vision clearing enough to make out his huge wings, long tail and hornlike ears as the purple dragon took shape on the arena, "Over to you, dragon man."
"Drahgon mahn," Raijin scoffed, his signature arrogance for once giving me hope, "Cahn't you think of something better thahn thaht, humahn?"
I blinked, colour returning to my sight, and managed a smirk, "Nope."
"Miltank…"
At Whitney's voice Raijin turned his attention to the rolling cow, who had slowed down in the brief interval enough that her basic shape was distinguishable within the curled up ball. He flexed his wings, the golden claws clicking lazily, and snorted.
"Ah cow? You wahnt me to fight ah-"
"RAIJIN!" I screamed, just as Whitney ordered her Pokémon to attack.
"Shut up humahn, you worry ahbout the weahkest of thinGAH!"
I could feel my strength returning as I hauled myself more upright, watching in horror as the Pokémon collided with the arrogant dragon's back and threw him, body writhing in the air, to smack side first into the ground. A sense of déjà vu settled over me as the first collision was followed up with a second, but Raijin wasn't so green a battler as Hades.
Gaining proper control in mid-fall the dragon righted himself and landed on all fours, albeit unsteadily. He had no time to gain full balance, however, barely managing to launch himself out of the way as Miltank thundered towards him. He let out a howl of pain as the tip of his tail was crushed under the creature's bulk, releasing a bolt of electricity that jolted over his scales and zapped into Miltank. She kept spinning but a grunt of pain revealed that electricity wasn't quite as easy to deflect as fire.
His narrow face contorting with anger, Raijin whipped the back end of his body around, pivoting on his front paws, and finally awarded Miltank threat status. As she zoomed back for another hit he leapt, leathery wings extending so that he soared above her, and shot a thunder wave attack down directly into her body. My grip tightened around the cold metal in false hope that Miltank was paralysed but no: she barely even lost speed and was quick on Raijin's tail.
"Stupid cow!" he snarled angrily, forced again to leap aside and attempt to do some damage via a side on blast.
"Look!" I cried, my head at last completely clear, "She stopped! Go for it!"
Miltank had unrolled, crouched over with one front leg holding her up in sure indication of injury. Whitney called out, some unintelligible nonsense that I missed entirely in the face of my elation.
"How the mighty hahve fahllen," Raijin sneered sarcastically, lowering his head so that the sharp ridge that ran down the centre of his forehead was aimed at his enemy.
He leapt into a sprint, the tip of his injured tail dragging slightly but not enough to have any significant effect. As he started to run, however, I realised that Miltank seemed to be… milking herself.
"Bleh!" I exclaimed as white liquid pooled in its free hand, "What's your Pokémon doing?"
It hardly mattered - Miltank only managed to slurp up a handful of milk before Raijin smacked into her with a headbutt attack, sending her tumbling onto her back with a cry of "tank!"
Digging in his claws, the Mydral swung himself around, electricity gathering over his body once again.
"You bi-" he started in horror, only to be slammed into the ground with all of an inexplicably revived Miltank's weight on top of him.
"Jin!" I called helplessly, "Shock her off!"
Even as I spoke Whitney's Pokémon was repositioning herself so that she was sitting on the electric dragon, hooves drumming his skull mercilessly. Red started to seep from between scales and down from the corner of his mouth when suddenly Raijin found himself free.
"Driiiiiiil!" he keened, staggering sideways as his battered head whipped from side to side in search of the enemy.
And then Miltank landed.
"Shit," I whispered as shock took over Raijin's features.
His golden eyes bulged, claws scratching convulsively at the dirt in a last ditch effort.
"Shit!" I repeated, in time with the Mydral's croak of defeat.
He collapsed, Miltank rubbing its bulk down on his limp form before it sprung up and gave its joyful mistress a wide grin.
"We won!" she cried gleefully, jumping from her podium and down into her cow Pokémon's arms, "Haha! You lost, I won, nya nya nya nya nyaaa nya!"
I gaped, thoughts of draconic revenge overpowering all worry about my current health, before returning Raijin from his position sprawled out on the floor.
"Fine!" I yelled at Whitney, who had struck a stupid position in her Pokémon's arms and was waving her fingers in the accursed peace sign, "Be totally unsympathetic! See if I care!"
With that I practically hurled myself from the podium, taking the rungs three at a time before storming out of the gym with fists clenched and face scrunched up in a fearsome scowl. A few bewildered trainers scuttled out of the way, while some who tittered from the benches received a venomous amber glare.
"Crappy Goldenrod!" I muttered furiously to myself as I strode back towards the Pokémon centre, "It's not even a proper city, no canals, no shady downtown… Bah, it shouldn't be allowed to slap a title like that on the end of its name, it's more like a stupidly big town with a fittingly idiotic gym leader…"
I ranted and raved my way onwards, furious temper carrying me almost all the way back before I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye.
"Tense?" a blue poster pasted to a lamp post enquired.
"Yes," I spat in response, ignoring the worried stares of a few other people as I stopped in the middle of the pavement.
"Wound up?"
"Duh."
"Sick of life?"
"What the hell do you think!" I roared, causing a mother to mutter comforting things to her children as she ushered them away, keeping her own body between me and them.
"Well then spend a day on a boat, so you can relaaaaax."
"In the middle of a massive body of water," I said cynically, "Uh-huh."
In truth, however, my fear had always been of water, not boats. Twisted logic, perhaps, but I really did miss those canal barges…
In a moment of spontaneous insanity, I snatched the poster from its place on the lamppost, ripping off the corners where it was stuck down, and stuffed it moodily into my pocket before continuing my stormy walk back to the Centre.
If Jay didn't like boats, that was his problem entirely.
You don't know what lengths I went to to get this chapter out on time. It was crazy, I swear.
Obsidian: ((finishes a can of Red Bull and tosses it into the bin to join its three other siblings))
Mum: ((walks in)) What do you think you're doing up so late, young lady? It's half eleven at night and here you are typing away! Need I remind you that you've got a flight to catch tomorrow?
Obsidian: ((continues to type without looking up)) Yeeeeee-up.
Mum: And...?
Obsidian: I'll sleep on the plane.
Mum: You NEVER sleep on planes.
Obsidian: In the car.
Mum: It sounds like a bloody tank.
Obsidian: So?
Mum: Get. Off. The. Computer.
Obsidian: Sure.
Mum: Oh, good. ((wanders off, happy that her daughter is good and obedient))
Obsidian: ((turns off the monitor, switches off the light and goes upstairs, loudly. Comes back down, quietly, about half a minute later, sneaks into the dining room, eases the door closed behind her and turns the monitor back on, lowering the brightness)) Muwahahahaha.
I still had to wait until this morning to post it though, one can't count on one's senses to do a good job at two in the morning, which is when I finally finished it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a tank to ride in and a plane to catch. I'll sleep when I get there. :B