Author's note: How long have I spent on this chapter! YES, chapter 4 is finally finished! And just for the record, there has been a lot going on in relation to the plot of this story, and it's no longer just a trainer fic, it's a bloody EPIC. Yes, an epic. You'll find out in later chapters. So don't be surprised if the title of the story changes, and the summary... once I think ofthose details. I'm too braindead at the moment, so it'll happen later. Yep. And yes, this chapter is very long. I hope it was worth the wait. Um... enjoy!
Anywhere but home
Chapter 4
It was before the dawning of the third day of Ayana's stay at the pokemon centre that she was awoken in the early hours of the morning in the dark. The day before the egg had increased in occasional shaking, Ayana's excitement had built a little more, but it surprised her out of her wits when the egg in her arms within her sleeping bag along with herself suddenly began to move. She had slept curled up around it the night before, but it had not made any movement during the night. The reason hit her instantly. It was hatching.
Or at least so she thought. She sat up in bed and hugged the egg to her, listening carefully. She caught a faint grunt. Her heart leapt frighteningly and she found herself up and stumbling to where she knew Macario slept. She almost fell on him in the near pitch blackness when she kicked his mattress, a warning something was in front of her, and she instantly knelt on the floor right there. "Macario!" She hissed, shaking the edge of his sleeping bag to wake him up. He answered her with a grunt. "Macario!" He grunted again. "Wake up!" Ayana snapped, giving him a good whack. "Egg's hatching!" He sat up to those words.
"Ayana?"
"Egg!" Macario groaned again, there was a bit of movement, then a blue penlight flashed in Ayana's eyes.
"Turn it off!" She hissed shrilly, squinting her eyes and furthermore holding her free hand in front of her face. The light passed away from her and she opened her eyes a crack.
"Into the kitchen." He said, getting up. She followed him listlessly between the tables and chairs and he switched on the kitchen lights before going to get the nurse. Ayana stood and listened to the grunts coming from within the egg. It made little tremors in her arms. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes, teary from the brightness. The kitchen looked so empty and almost foreboding in the night, and so deserted.
Ayana heard the clacking of heels on the floorboards outside the kitchen and turned just in time to witness Josie sweep through the swinging double doors clad in blue pajama pants, a singlet and stilettos with a couple of towels flung over one forearm, Macario following closely behind. Ayana would have asked what on earth she was wearing were her attention not so encompassed by the trembling thing she held. "It'll need to go in the sink." Josie said tersely, authority clear in her voice. She clacked over to the large sink and tucked the pink towel down into the contours of the chrome compartment before indicating that Ayana place the egg down into it. Ayana complied quickly but reluctantly, the tips of her fingers lingering upon the rough surface out of habit.
"The towel's for the mess, right?" Ayana asked dumbly.
"Of course!" Josie replied, fiddling with the other towel she held.
Macario was looking a little uncomfortable next to the two young women leaning in about the sink to inspect the baby Ramtor's progress. The egg was rocking more urgently now, the grunts becoming a little more exerted. He scratched the back of his neck. "Why hasn't it broken through yet? Can't we help get it out?"
Josie and Ayana stared at him in incredulity and horror respectively, Ayana hardly believing his stupidity. "Are you mad?" She gasped.
"Breaking out of the egg is the first crucial part of a pokemon's life! To help it break the shell, it would simply die!" Josie said, eyes flashing at him dangerously. Macario was cowed.
"Sorry…"
"I hope you remember that." The blue-haired nurse said darkly, and they turned back to the egg. The movement continued to slowly build in frequency until there was a gentle cracking sound, Ayana and Josie stepping closer and Macario using his height advantage to observe the goings-on over the top of their heads. There were no visible cracks but the grunts were now intermixed with shriller cries of excitement or disparity, Josie coaxing it to keep up the good work as she might a small child. Ayana soon joined in, her heartbeat ringing in her head Macario was standing nearby, leaning on a bench when two of the other trainers entered the kitchen to find out what was happening. One went back to get another, and then there was a small group crowding around the sink.
It was at least an hour later that cracks began to appear on the outermost layer of the egg, then not long after a tiny piece of brown-purple shell fell from the topmost point of the shell, pushed off by a tiny hump of brown. There were a few cheers by the spectators and Ayana would have felt a surge of jealousy, but she was so caught up in the moment that she gave a little cheer herself. Then all of a sudden the movement ceased, and she could hear the heavy breathing of the creature within. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Here it comes." Josie whispered and, with perfect cue in the blink of an eye, the egg seemed to convulse from the inside out and the outer shell quite literally shattered into a multitude of tiny fissures. Ayana jumped as the cracking reached her ears, and every one of them fell silent for a moment. As they watched, every attention single-mindedly focused, bits of shell flaked off easily to reveal patches of the violet creature within. She itched to peel the remaining pieces off, but she restrained herself, her nails biting into he palms in an effort to repress the adrenaline. As she stared, unable to take her eyes off her egg turned pokemon, the little purple creature bundled in the fetal position seemed to moan as it stretched out its whole body onto its side. It was over a ruler length in length from snout to tail, the latter being short and waggling, the nose moving up and down in an effort to smell. All four legs were a little longer than the tail, lacking claws and sprawling out into the towel. The ears were even bigger than the face and it was crowned with a short little horn. That and its underbelly were brown. It was virtually a short, pudgy version of the Ramtor she had seen in Andrew's flip-dex. She fell in love with it instantly.
There were cheers, exclamations about how cute it was from the girls while the guys murmured things to each other amongst grins. Josie was right onto the newly hatched pokemon, using the spare towel to reach down and rub the Ramtor dry from the embryonic sac and various other egg fluids. The unexpected movement sent it into a flurry of little cries that jerked Ayana's heartstrings. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore it until it was over less than a minute later, then the little bundle was placed gently into her hesitant arms. Its body was covered with damp down, half dry now, and it managed to find her hair and bury its face in it.
"It's a he." Josie smiled, her eyes shining. She gave him a little pat on the back and stepped back for all those who were in the kitchen to fawn over the little Ramtor and a couple to offer their congratulations to Ayana, who allowed them to do the former reluctantly. Andrew was one of them. She hadn't noticed him enter the kitchen, but he spoke to her for the first time since the day before last and she managed to miss half of what he said.
After the well wishers minus Andrew and Macario dispersed back to bed, Ayana's first pokemon began to whimper and cry. Josie inspected him and looked thoughtful. "He must be hungry." She concluded, leading them to the fridge.
"What will he eat?" Andrew asked, asking what Macario would have inevitably although he was looking hesitant considering the last time he had asked a question.
Josie picked through the contents of the fridge on the shelves and withdrew with a little bottle of milk. "Milk of course." She replied matter-of-factly, placing the bottle on a bench and gripping the bottle top. "I did a little research on Ramtor last night. Turns out they're hatched without any teeth and minute claws, but their muscles are incredibly well developed. That's how they break out of their eggs – they're curled up so tight that they can barely move in there, and to break the shell they have to tense their muscles and stretch until they crack out from sheer strength." Ayana raised her eyebrows and looked down at the little purple pokemon with respect.
"That's really something." Macario commented.
"It is." Josie agreed while pouring the milk into a squeeze bottle, "And so if he has no teeth, he must eat milk, no?"
"Yeah." Andrew confirmed. Josie clacked over to Ayana and bid her bare his violet face. Unopened eyes tried to hide themselves but Josie let a little milk drip on her fingers and let him sniff it. He gave a timid little lick, then refused to have any, continuing to complain even louder.
"Come on Ramtor, what's wrong?" Josie chided, waving the milk around his snout. He continued to turn away, refusing to drink.
"What sort of milk is that?" Ayana asked, worry for this replacing her slight nervousness about how Andrew and Macario would get along.
"Miltank." Josie replied, frowning. "We only have one other type of milk… Valcinne milk."
"Valcinne? They're the pink goat things aren't they?" Macario asked in an amused tone of voice.
"Yes." He laughed shortly, paused, then laughed again. "What sort of weird inside joke's going through your head?" Josie calmly demanded as she withdrew a large milk bottle from the fridge.
"Nothing." He chuckled to himself, and Ayana and Andrew looked at each other. Josie replaced the Miltank milk with that of the Valcinne, squirted a bit onto her finger and positioned it before an unwilling mouth. He sniffed, gave a little lick, paused, then searched for the nozzle of the bottle hungrily. Josie grinned to herself and Ayana sighed in absolute relief. The nurse gave her the bottle.
"He can drink one of those every meal until he grows his teeth…but I'm afraid I may have to ask you for repayments for the milk. It's expensive." Ayana nodded, not really taking her words in.
"Here you go little one." She murmured, guiding his snout to the nozzle, "my little Keon."
"Keon? That his name?" Macario asked. She looked at him as if he were stupid. "Oh. Yes, of course…" He trailed off and grinned, ruffled her already messy hair and walked off. She stared after him as he left the kitchen, and ignored the look Andrew sent her. Instead she asked Josie how long Keon's teeth would take to develop.
"I honestly don't know." The nurse shook her blue head. "That wasn't something I found out, but I'd give it a week or two maybe."
"Okay." Ayana replied, holding the toothless infant close to her as he sucked from the bottle with obvious strong enthusiasm. With so many of his muscles so tense he was a lot heavier than he was as an immobile egg. Constantly thrusting his upper body upward in the air to get at the milk, she had to hold the bottle directly above him so that he wouldn't simply overbalance in her arms and fall to the floor, as she wouldn't be able to hold him that way. She had to grip him hard through his down in an effort to keep him somewhat still. She laughed, and Josie grinned placidly.
"I'm going back to bed if you don't mind… Just come find me in anything happens." She smiled, fingers brushed the Ramtor's coat lightly, and she gathered up the towels and clacked away. Ayana was left in the kitchen with Andrew and Keon, the latter of which now absorbed the majority of her attention. He had drunk all the milk. He yearned after the bottle after she took it away, and she couldn't help but give him a little extra; by her judgement there was a little more than two bottles worth of milk in the original glass bottle. When she was done she reluctantly handed Keon to Andrew to hold while she washed the bottle in the sink, dried it with a fresh tea towel and stowed the milk back into the fridge to prevent him wiggling out of her arms.
Ayana closed the fridge door and turned around to find Andrew trying to hold onto Keon while he bucked and writhed in his hands; he seemed somewhat unsure about what to do. She laughed and took Keon back, holding the warm body close and tightly to her, hugging him. His movement restrained, he gradually quieted down, then relaxed slightly. She smiled at Andrew. "Isn't he just the most adorable thing?" She said quietly, conscious of the people sleeping in the room next door.
"Yep." He replied, grinning in response. They just smiled at each other for a few moments; then, "We'd better get back to bed."
"Yeah." Ayana grinned, and they turned off the lights and made their way back to their own sleeping bags. Ayana kept a hold on Keon as she slipped in again just in case he tried to run off, but he didn't, even willingly crawling into her sleeping bag with her and curling up tightly, face buried in her side. That moment she felt such a surge of emotion blossoming inside her – the feeling that she owned something very precious, and she loved him and that feeling so much. She kissed him goodnight on his crown and slept deeply.
The next day was the busiest Ayana had encountered since she had arrived at the poke centre. She had managed to sleep through everything until 11 in the morning she knew because her mobile was in front of her when she opened her eyes, only to be thrown into a mad panic because the first thing she noticed was that Keon was not there. She had become aware first of the voices, the laughs, and then of the empty space where she would have been curled around him. Then she sat up instantly, looking around in horror before relief poured into her when she saw a purple thing rolling around on the carpet not far away, surrounded by Macario, Andrew, and five other of the trainers. Laughter drifted from over there to her, and she got the feeling she was missing out. Crawling out of bed and feeling very lethargic, she walked stiffly over to where the trainers all knelt or sat in a circle on the floor and found the source of their entertainment.
Within the circle Keon was a purple living sphere, legs and tail tucked up into a ball and ears pressed flat against his skull. He rolled from one side of the circle to the other, changing course everytime he hit a human wall, and everytime he neared someone they would put out the palms of their hands and give him a little push to keep him going. Several of them looked up at her approach; the din ceased once every eye was upon her. Some looked worried, as if she would bear down on them for playing with her pokemon without her permission, for not waking her up. They were right for thinking so, for that was how she felt. Left out. Her gaze fell on Andrew, then Macario. Macario had the decency to look guilty, though he hid a smile. Betrayed.
She forced herself to relax, the creases in her forehead ordered to smooth away. They were only having a bit of fun, and Keon was enjoying it. He had stopped rolling and now lay on his stomach in the circle, back to her, completely oblivious, his fat tail wagging from side to side in absolute glee. Ayana forced herself to say something rather than to just stand there looking cross. "Who fed him?" It was the first question to come to her mind amongst the muddled accusations and condemnations in her head.
"I did." The voice came from a girl about her age sitting in the circle, with blue eyes and light pink hair that Ayana found she couldn't stop staring at. She had come to the pokemon centre the day before. She had a bright smile and held out a hand cheerfully. "I'm Elaine, I don't believe we've met." Ayana accepted the handshake with a raised eyebrow and a glance shot at Andrew full of questioning about the similarity between him and Elaine.
"I hope he wasn't too much trouble." She said, trying to cover the dryness in her voice.
"Oh no, not at all!" Elaine said warmly, stroking an Eevee in her lap. The soft brown creature flicked her ears and wagged her tail delightedly. "He was very good." At this, Keon turned his whole body around and he spotted Ayana. Loping to the side of the circle she stood on, he looked up at her almost expectantly with large blue eyes. She gasped. When had his eyes opened? This morning? She dropped onto all fours next to Andrew, was let into the circle and Keon jumped into her lap with a high-pitched grunt. She slipped her hands beneath his forelegs and lifted the top half of him up to look at his eyes before putting him down with a hug.
"Oh Keon, you're so beautiful!" She exclaimed amongst 'aww's from the other girls, and she found herself joining in the playful games.
The rest of the day was a combination of feeding Keon, berating him over where to and where not to go to the toilet, and carrying him around sleeping on her shoulder. Ayana found that if she left him anywhere, with anyone she became paranoid about his safety. She wanted him to be with her all the time. She was often unwillingly drawn into conversation with other people, the subject starting off on Keon but then taking off to other places. Whenever the other touched on her life or anything that may lead them to the idea that she had run away she found some excuse to leave. Nevertheless, aside from the peril of revealing herself, she actually enjoyed speaking to other people she didn't know, and she made an effort to learn everyone's names. It was like Keon had brought a new light into the world for her, had opened her up. She received a lot more smiles and had never had so many laughs in one day for a long time.
But bad news came that afternoon with a call from her younger sister. "Ayana where are you?" Her voice was soft, as if she were afraid of someone overhearing her words.
"The Sundae Forest pokemon centre, why?" Ayana replied, apprehension looming on the edge of her mind. There was a pause before she spoke again.
"There's good news and there's bad news."
"Give me the good news first."
"No, it'll only work if I tell you the bad news first."
"What'll work?"
"Just listen. Mum and dad've gone to the police, of course, and they've actually contacted all the centres in Sherwood, just in case you've decided to go pose as a pokemon trainer." Ayana coughed as Latty paused, instantly knowing she was in trouble. "…Oh, you have haven't you?"
"Yep. Isn't it obvious?"
"Um… yeah."
"…Well, what's the rest of the news?" Ayana was beginning to feel impatient. If she was currently found out she needed to get away fast and her sister was wasting her time.
"The rest is that that centre you're at can't be reached… a couple of telephone poles in the forest were taken out during the storm and fell across the road… They're removing them tomorrow, but early in the morning they're sending a runner to your centre."
"Great."
"Are you gonna get out of there?"
"Of course. Thanks for the info Latty. So I'd better go and work out how I'm gonna do this."
"Okay. Be careful, Yana."
"I will."
Ayana cut off the call, slipped the mobile into her pocket, gave Keon a pat on the back as he nuzzled her shoulder and swore under her breath. The lovely afternoon was ruined by her suddenly darker mood. She had to get away, tonight. But how could she do that without sounding suspicious? Or she could just sneak away somehow. Everything rested on the choice she made. Crouching down on the verandah outside the centre, she held Keon and pressed her palm into her forehead. She didn't know what to do. This morning her life had changed, everything had changed for the better, and she was having the best time. She didn't want to leave this behind, but she had to… to keep it.
She had started a new life, and there was no way she was going back to her old one, not now, not when so much had happened. The very thought of seeing the looks on her parents' faces made her feel sick.
"You all right?" She jumped where she crouched, head whipping around to glance over her shoulder, a sigh of slight frustration working its way from her lips.
"Andrew, you have got to stop doing that."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not, you're just saying that."
"Yeah, I am just saying that actually." Andrew scratched the back of his neck with a grin. Keon turned his head to Andrew's voice and let out a little sound without opening his sleepy eyes, and he received a scratch on the top of the head. "So what's wrong?" Andrew reverted the subject back to the original matter.
"Nothing, just tired I think… I've got a bit of a headache." She replied, not lying, just withholding part of the truth. She was indeed tired from the day's events and was building up a bit of an achy head. Andrew seemed to buy it however without much more than a sympathetic look and a kind smile. His mood had certainly picked up from the day before. It made her feel a little better, but not very.
"I'm not surprised, what with your new bundle of joy." He grinned, looking at Keon again. Ayana gave a "hmm" and they sat in silence for a few moments.
"So… where's Jo these days?" She attempted to make conversation.
Andrew laughed. "Jo? She's been off with this Cubtuwo some guy owns, I think she's taken quite a liking to him." Ayana found herself laughing.
"You serious? It's so odd how those two fire and water pokemon get along eh?" She was referring to the odd bond that existed between the two creatures Burnnie and Cubtuwo. Apparently wild Burnnie hung out near the lakes occupied by Cubtuwo just in case things got out of hand… but how they could help settle things down, Ayana didn't know.
"It is." Andrew chuckled again and grinned at her. In the instant of happiness in having a laugh with Andrew an idea had hit her.
"Hey, I reckon I might hang my sleeping bag out on the line for a while, to air it out. The stuffiness might get to me tonight." She laughed lightly, an attempt at making her audible thought seem unimportant.
"That's an idea. Here, I'll go get it for you."
"Please don't." She tried to hide her gratification at his kindness.
"No, I will." He got up and disappeared into the centre before she could protest any more. She decided against offering his jumper back… she was going to need it most likely. She grinned slightly. He had no idea he was aiding her in her escape.
Andrew even seemed to easily accept her wishes to sit around outside by herself for the rest of the afternoon on a patch of grass underneath a tree – she didn't want to be disturbed. She lay back on her bag full of clothes and went to sleep, being woken up in the evening by Elaine, telling her that it was time for tea. She went and had her food before returning to her patch, sleeping some more in her sleeping bag where she was with faith that Andrew would tell people to let her be. She enjoyed sleeping outside really, it gave her a feeling of going camping, like the happy times when she was little, back when her parents still loved each other. Every now and then she would get up to Keon's nuzzling and little grunts and make her way to the kitchen the back way to get him milk. She had been making her trips so regularly that by 9 pm she was absolutely sure that she could pass in and out of the kitchen without a second glance. At this time a peak into the hall told her that most trainers were up in the loft of the centre, socializing, playing games, whatever. Half the trainers had left off that day in a big group to move on, but Macario was still around, though she hadn't spoken to him much that day.
One quiet boy was sitting at a table reading, the only person in sight. She assumed that Josie was in the infirmary – there had been a few friendly battles that afternoon.
Ayana was undecided. Now could be the best time to leave while there was no one around, but later could be a good time as well, while they were all asleep. Either way she still had a job to do.
Going into the storage room, she carefully shut the door behind her and opened the large fridge. Bottles and bottles of Valcinne milk, just sitting there. Josie would probably later regret showing her where the Centre supplies were. Ayana worried over how long Keon would be on milk; he drank the equivalent of one bottle a day she decided. She tried not to worry. It didn't matter how long before he grew his teeth, there was only a certain amount of bottles she could fit in her bag. And her abundance of clothes didn't help except to wrap the bottles in to prevent them chinking against one another. She emptied her bag and carefully packed the milk, weaving thin articles of clothing between the separate bottles, as many as she could fit, then took out one, filling the remaining space with cans of spaghetti she found in the pantry. Spaghetti she didn't mind at the moment, but she was sure she would soon be absolutely sick of it and never want to see a can again in her life, but it was the best on-the-go food she could think of that was close at hand. She filled the spaces with muesli bars and slipped her water bottle, refilled, in a side pocket, the small milk bottle in the other. Baffled that all her clothes were in there without too much hassle aside from a few chosen pieces, Ayana zipped up her bag, tied her sleeping bag on top and hefted it up, aiming to swing it onto her shoulder. It didn't quite go to plan and she ended up pulling the muscle in her right shoulder with an exclamation of "Shit!" and promptly dropped the weight. She clutched her shoulder as a stream of angry, hushed mutters shot out from under her breath and Keon romped over and nosed her legs, little cries of distress and curiosity coming from down on the floor. Ayana dropped to her knees and comforted him, whispering for silence, and he conceded when he knew she was all right. She held her breath for a few long tense moments, listening for the slightest sound of someone approaching, but she heard nothing. Slowly letting the air out of her lungs, she gave Keon another little hug and decided on a different approach. First she started with the sling she had constructed from a skirt, two shirts and her belt, slipping it around her body and glad for the padding she had made to soften the belt out of tissues and tape, and lifted Keon into it. He settled in comfortably, she having already tested it out on him earlier. She stood up with him and, readying herself sufficiently, used both arms to lift the bag onto a stool. Facing away from it, she bent her knees, slipped her arms into the straps, and straightened herself. Her back made a few little cracks and she winced. They didn't hurt but it made her paranoid she would somehow injure herself. Nevertheless, the bag wasn't so heavy on both shoulders, but she knew it would take a toll on her strength. She was glad she had had extra sleep beforehand. She went to walk out the door, then remembered. She produced her wallet and, after a moment's hesitation, took out her $200 and left it on the stool. It was the least she could do.
She left the storage room with a peak into the corridor and the kitchen and crept out, holding Keon's weight in front of her. A sneak glance out the back door, a jog across the grass, and she was at the fringe of the forest. She glanced back at the pokemon centre of Sundae Forest, up to the loft where Macario and Andrew were. She quickly left before she lingered any longer.
Ayana travelled deep into the night, following the well-used trainer path at a distance. She walked at quickly as she could without jolting Keon to the best of her ability considering the weight of the bag on her back, and she pushed herself to her limits, in the beginning stopping every hour, but then finding that she had to rest more frequently as she wore on into early morning. At 12:30 am, after three hours of walking, she sat down on a large gnarled tree root, slipped the bag off her back and leant back on the trunk itself, holding Keon and calmed her breath. Her pokemon was lucky; he slept.
Her feet hurt, her calves felt like string pulled taut and her back ached abominably. She had the thought that if she survived she would be close to incapable of walking the next day. She almost laughed inside.
She continued on into the morning, her body falling deep into the rhythm of treading carefully on the damp ground, the smell of wet forest ever present around her. She lost track of feeling and thoughts, everything in her head jumbled up into one, but always there was the overshadowing fear in the background of her mind that she would be caught. She still kept close to the path that led to Fizzton and planned to then travel to Colacity, intent on then losing herself in the masses of the largest city in Sherwood.
The thought inspired her, and she felt the urge to move faster as the sun began to rise in a clear sky, the rainclouds gone and exhausted. The cold had not bothered Ayana too much, though she had started out being so numb that she couldn't feel it anyway before becoming hot and sweaty. She had taken off Andrew's jumper and cuddled it around Keon just incase he was getting cold, but after a couple of hours she began dropping it every now and then from deadened fingers, paralysed from clutching it around her Ramtor. So now she was constantly flexing her fingers, and developed a habit of cracking them everytime she stopped.
Keon slept through most of the night, but now he stirred as it began to get warmer. Ayana paused to tie the red jumper onto the top of her bag to get it out of the way but had to support Keon more than ever because he had become a dead weight over her abdomen.
East of the trainer route it had begun to get a bit more rugged, small rocky outcrops jutting out of the ground every now and then. It was on one of these lower ones that Ayana decided to rest on to watch the sunrise, and also because Keon was beginning to nose and snuggle her for milk.
The sky slowly turned blue during that break, Keon sucking away at the little bottle, then demanded more when that much was gone. Though tired and weary, Ayana fed with a slightly renewed vigor, glad to be getting rid of some weight, though it was only being transferred from her back to her front. A moment of realisation filled her with a sudden dread. Keon didn't as of yet have control of his bladder. She tried to remember the times she had calculated the day before as to the amount of time that it took for him to go to the toilet after drinking. Between one and two hours.
So one and a half hours later Ayana stopped and let Keon out of his sling, for he had begun to squirm a bit, and after a few minutes of padding around seemingly aimlessely he 'went to the bathroom'. A minute later Ayana had cleaned him up and was about to move on when Keon suddenly looked up from the ground littered with leaves and twigs, paused a moment, then attempted to romp off into the forest.
"Keon!" Ayana gasped and quickly scooped him up before he could get anywhere. He squirmed and made a little grunt before she held him close and listened. She heard voices. She produced her mobile from her pocket and glanced at the time. 7am. Someone would probably be noticing about now that she was gone, if not already. She considered sneaking away in the opposite direction, but she was curious.
Careful to be silent as she could, she picked her way between large trees toward the voices, Keon clutched against her. She breathed shallowly and willed him to be perfectly silent, and peaked out from behind an expanse of thick shrubbery. She froze where she was.
Three young men stood in a small clearing as they pulled large black packs onto their shoulders. One kicked dirt over the remains of a campfire; there was a Graveler with them. The pokemon was huge, as tall as Ayana and just as round. It, a he she assumed automatically, looked formidable enough to frighten her astoundingly. She knew that she wouldn't stand a chance next to the men if she were caught, much less any pokemon. Not only that but Keon would be stolen immediately – he was rare enough.
Ayana stroked Keon's head gently, hoping desperately that he would not make a sound. He nuzzled her, sensing her tenseness, but she couldn't take her eyes off the Magma agents. She didn't dare. "So when'll we see these Aphralili things?" The youngest-looking of the three, maybe a few years older than Ayana asked, rolling a pokeball around in his palm idly. The eldest, his skin sun-wrinkled and tanned in contrast, looked at the young man sharply while pulling on a brimmed hat.
"You don't see Aphralili with that attitude, boy." He looked at the other like he were above him, while he loaded a long rifle. "A hunter is patient, he barely complains, he knows what he's doing. He doesn't get bored when there is so much to do."
The middle-aged man who seemed quieter than the other two spoke with a weary glance at the older man. "Chris, that Aurae chick… she always seemed bored when she returned from missions. She used to bitch to me about her superiors, y'know?"
Chris rounded on the younger with a fierce scowl that caused Ayana to flinch from her hiding place in the bushes. Rage burned behind his eyes, and his fists were clenched dangerously. "Don't speak to me about that girl, Garten. Just don't."
"Why not? She's worth talking about. Pretty hot if you ask me. Pity she's a deserter," The young man absentmindedly mused, but a sharp expression silenced him. He climbed onto the Graveler, obviously belonging to him by the way he was helped easily up. "Okay, I'll shut up. Let's get on with it."
"That's the first time I've heard an ounce of sense coming from you, boy." Chris said darkly. "Try and keep it that way." The three Magma agents set off to Ayana's left before her, and she didn't move again until they were well out of sight. When they were she let out a stream of stale air as a result of breathing shallowly in her silence and hugged Keon in relief, so grateful she had not been discovered. Rising on shaky legs, she decided she needed somewhere to rest, to recuperate. Some distance from where she had eavesdropped she found a few large rocks with a gap between them hiding a little cleft of stone that fitted her. Relieving herself of her bag and curling up with Keon, she ignored the hard surface and was just thankful for the rest. She fell asleep thinking about the magma agents. Guns, talk of some rare pokemon she had never heard of… the two pieces of information slid together in a shock of realisation. They were poachers.
She awoke to Keon's nuzzling, looking for more milk. She carefully slid out of the cleft and stood up in the rocky crevasse, stretching her cramped muscles. She instantly regretted it. Her little sleep had allowed her body to become very, very sore. Keon continued to nuzzle and began to cry for milk. She quickly fed him to hush his little noises and spent a few minuets stretching, trying to ignore all the cracking of joints and pain in her legs and feet and checked the time. It was almost 9 am.
She sat and ate for a while after her stomach decided to rumble rather loudly, downing a muesli bar in three bites. While she dug into another one she watched Keon pick his away over the little bushes growing on the ground between the rock faces. He found a bit of grass and romped in it, large blue eyes looking widely around at everything, eager to stretch his legs. He was so cheerful and full of energy Ayana felt saddened and left behind because she was so exhausted. She comforted herself with the thought that she was giving him a better life… although the thought passed into her head almost instantly after that he would probably be better off in someone else's hands. Someone who had the money to give him the best possible upbringing, someone who hadn't run away from home and could be in danger of being hunted down. He should have gone to someone else, not her. She hadn't any experience in raising a pokemon; she would probably do it all wrong.
She almost cried at that moment, the overwhelming rush of hopelessness was so strong. Her limbs went weak and she rubbed her face with her hands, trying desperately not to let it happen. Then Keon bumped into her legs and she jumped from where she sat. He looked up at her, his little face so oblivious to her problems, and it was enough to make the tears real. She was so scared she wept out all the feelings within her, clenched her body so tightly it numbed the throbbing of her muscles and stuffed her mouth with a corner of Keon's sling so no one could hear her screaming.
She didn't stop until Keon started ramming her legs in distress, crying out in a tone akin to fear. It took her a few moments before reality set in and panic filled her as she tried to quiet Keon. It took longer than usual, and no matter her she rocked him and spoke to him he continued to cry. Ayana grew so fearful of someone hearing she almost hit him, but a piece of information about parents hitting their crying babies to shut them up stopped her just in time. She quickly poured a bottle of milk the best she could with her trembling hands and near forced it into Keon's mouth before he bit down and sucked the teat almost violently. Ayana hugged him in relief, so thankful that he was quiet.
She ate for a few minutes while Keon drank, and lost in her clamored thoughts of despair she jolted in shock when she heard voices. Instantly she thought it was the magma agents, but then she heard a feminine voice, and laughing. They were loud, and Ayana guessed there were four of them. She caught the sounds of various pokemon, rumbling, squealing, all sorts. Four trainers would have quite a vast array of pokemon, she mused. From their topics of conversation and the way they reacted to what each other said, they struck Ayana as younger than her, maybe fourteen or so. A pang of sadness resounded in her gut. These people were younger than her, yet so much more accomplished, so much happier, with so much more adventure in their lives. It brought fresh tears to her eyes, and she hated herself for it. She hated that she felt so sad, so left out. She desperately wanted to just move on and not mope, but it seemed impossible in her state. She hugged her legs and buried her face in her knees, keeping a single eye on Keon as he stood, ears pricked up at the new sounds. She caught his eyes and mouthed to him to stay quiet, willing him to not make a sound. He stayed silent, but she didn't trust him enough to not pick him up and cuddle him and whisper reassurances. She listened as the trainer group gradually made their way past her rock – they seemed to be walking rather slowly.
"…So what did you and that guy do after wandering off together, Jenny?" The male voice was laughing and suggestive and followed by a loud outcry.
"Ian! It's nothing of what you're thinking, and if you keep interrogating me I'm gonna bash you!" The girl snapped, and the scenario was so common and familiar to Ayana she almost laughed in bitterness for when she was young and innocent and stupid, everything from so long ago lost.
Suddenly her heart leapt hugely up her chest and landing in her throat, cold and hard. She could hear the pounding of hooves heading their way. She slipped into her cleft of rock, pulling her bag and took up Keon into the curve of her body to hide all evidence of her being there. Moments later, there was the snort of a rapidash and the pounding skidded to a stop. All conversation ceased, and there was a resounding neigh, powerful and challenging.
"Hello…?" The girl, Jenny Ayana presumed, said hesitantly, her companions saying nothing. Macario's voice struck Ayana inside with such a force that she clutched at her stomach, butterfrees whirling and striking her innards.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a girl around my age, about average height, really frizzy hair…" He proceeded to give a reasonably accurate description of her, and the whole time her heart continued to pound harder and harder with fear. The dark rock, formerly a safe place to hide, now seemed tight and enclosed. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her erratic breathing. When he was done the trainers told him that they had not seen her and he thanked them shortly before taking off again. The trainers talked about possibilities as to why Macario was so desperate to find her, then continued on their way.
When all noises of their presence were completely gone, Ayana slipped out of the cleft and shouldered her bag. Keon looked up at her and she picked him up and climbed out from the fissure of black stone. Keon wriggled out of her arms and insisted on walking himself, and she slowed her pace a little to allow him to keep up. She felt it a burden as she hurried close to the trainer path, but she was thankful for the lessened weight as well. She kept wary – the group of trainers was heading in the same direction as her, so she couldn't rush too much or she'd catch up with them, considering their slow pace.
She shouldn't have worried about it however, as less than an hour later she stumbled across the crossroad between Fizzton and Colacity. It didn't take long for her to make the decision – she was going straight on to Colacity.
Keon was making his way pretty well by the afternoon, though he had begun to slow down. The constant clambering over bracken and hills was tiring his little legs out. Eventually he just stopped and refused to walk any more, whining like a dog when Ayana kept going a few metres before realising he was spent. "You've had enough have you?" She smiled, reaching down her arms to lift him up, and he leaped right into her sweaty hands. She put him in his sling and went on.
A few minutes later he was asleep, and she was feeling rather good about herself, having come this far. She had been on the move for almost sixteen hours now, but it felt like forever since she had left the pokemon centre. Then a sound entered her ears that shocked her, yet there was something deep down that told her she had been expecting it any minute. The cry of a rapidash.
It was the sounds of a battle, and Ayana knew Springdance's wild shrieks when she heard them. She quickened the pace, hoping that she wasn't headed that way. The noise seemed to be getting louder, which worried her. Then she heard Macario barking out commands, but not the voice of another trainer. Ayana inferred that this was a nasty wild battle of sorts and took the opportunity to take off at a run. Her heart was ringing in her ears as she approached the scene of the battle, intending on passing by unseen. It struck her how ridiculous the situation was, but she was confident that she would not be heard. Springdance was in a rage by the sounds of her neighs, and whatever she was fighting was angry as well by the hisses and snaps. Then it roared.
Ayana jumped, it was so near and so loud that she clapped her hands over her ears with a scream that didn't make a sound over the massive roar that sounded almost metallic in its strength and ferocity. It ceased after a few moments, but the damage was done. It took all Ayana's limited strength not to fall over all out, but she sank to the ground and to her knees, somehow managing to stay sitting up to prevent landing on Keon or her bag of precious cargo. The Ramtor was crying, she could see him but not hear. Her ears rang deafeningly, and her head spun dangerously as she pulled herself out of the bag straps and, leaving it where it sat and stumbled toward the battle. Staggering through a copse of trees, she beheld the scene.
Macario was the first she saw, lying on the ground before her next to a black boulder, blood seeping from a wound on his temple. She could see a trail left from where he had fallen and rolled down a slight decline in the landscape. Beyond there, Springdance was rearing and jumping into the air simultaneously, flailing her limbs and shaking her head from side to side all the while, as if every moment she touched the ground she received a jolt of electricity. Her ears flicked uncontrollably, her red eyes whirling in her head, and Ayana knew she faired much worse than she did. Springdance was obviously off-balance, proven by one moment when she hit the ground and promptly staggered on drunken legs and fell over, rolling almost onto her back, all four hooves ripping at the air as she writhed. Ayana knew that Springdance screamed in her suffering, but then a bigger, much greater creature seized her attention.
Huge and intimidating, Ayana had never seen anything like it. It had the body of a snake, almost completely black and had to be at least seven metres in length and the thickest part of the great trunk was almost a metre in diameter. Great rocks of hind legs were thick and dragon-like in appearance, with claws as thick as Ayana's fist, and bat-like wings sprouted from just beneath the head and when spread in the air reached a length of about three metres, although they were charred and half ripped off, from Springdance's efforts or something else she didn't know. The sinew was ruby-red, as was the stomach that ran the whole length of the serpentine body. The head was reptilian mostly, but sported a large, dangerously powerful beak that was covered in the same black scales as the rest of the body. All up the back including the backing of the wings, the massive pokemon had the texture and no doubt the strength and hardness of the black rock that lay all over the forest, rigid and bumpy. Just below the chin a smooth flap of skin, the only soft thing on its body, inflated and deflated somewhat with its breathing pattern, a low whistle like a teapot shimmering it seemed in hot steam from its beak with every expelled breath of air. Its eyes were sharp and black, blacker than its scales, and only visible by the way they spun with rage.
Ayana had read about this creature once in a book, long ago, when she was small. She had always been interested in reading about pokemon, their lives, what they did in the wild, and this one had been stored away deep in the chambers of her memories for many years.
"Obsidicide are like living fossils, few in numbers and exclusive to Sherwood. They gorge themselves with food before pressing themselves into the ground to sleep for years unless disturbed. In its hibernation, an Obsidicide will use up the fat reserves of its body to grow bigger and bigger, and when those reserves are spent, they will awaken to find more food. Every ten years every the populations of Obsidicide awaken to breed in the mountains, regardless of how much longer they can sleep." Ayana stared at the flip-dex lying fallen on the ground, repeating the information over and over again in a loop. It took her a few moments to realise she could hear again, though the ringing was still in the forefront of her senses. But that didn't seem to matter anymore. All that mattered was she was in the presence of an immensely powerful pokemon – she could hardly believe it. But then when she looked up again, the great creature was advancing on Springdance, snapping its deadly beak and hissing. The Rapidash had somewhat recovered, staggering up and jumping away a few metres, trying to regain her clever footing. The Obsidicide was arching its neck, wings attempting at a useless flap, the long bony frame like sharp projectiles plunging through the weightless air. Springdance, her coat shimmering with endless beads of sweat, breathed a few balls of flame at her assailant, weariness causing her to tremble although her eyes were still fierce and strong.
Ayana suddenly realised the usual weight on her front was gone. She patted the empty sling, panic entering her, and she looked around desperately for her Ramtor. She caught sight of a flash of purple, and called to him. He looked up but did not come to her. She looked at Macario, unconscious by the boulder and glanced around for somewhere out of the way to hide him. She barely thought as she laid eyes on a large hollow tree and proceeded to slip her arms under his shoulders and used up the remainder of her strength to drag him ten metres to the tree. She ducked into the small wooden cave and pulled him in accompanied with a groan that turned into a cry of exertion from between her gritted teeth, but she got him in and leaning against the inside. She bent his legs so he was completely in there and slipped out, shaking with exhaustion. She looked at the battle. Springdance had earned a few nasty gashes, and the Obsidicide seemed to be almost toying with her. She still had a few minutes she guessed.
She half stumbled to where she had left her back and, unable to pull it onto her back, dragged it with both arms painfully to the tree, threw it in and went back and got Macario's things. She found Keon in the tree pawing Macario. "No baby, just stay here." She said tiredly, and found an empty pokeball clipped to Macario's belt. She unclipped it, aware that it was empty from the lack of the light glowing red. It was the only one he had on him so she assumed it was Springdance's. She hid behind a tree, went to a closer tree and peaked around it. Springdance's movements were slowing and her breath was so labored Ayana could hear it from where she was. Foam flecked her majestic body, her mane and tail burning low. Then Ayana was suddenly forced to throw the pokeball in an instant without thought when the Obsidicide reared up and shot its neck forward, quicker than a snake and twice as deadly. The pokeball swallowed Springdance into its depths just as the black bird-dragon seized her flank with the tip of its sharp beak and its jaws snapped shut with a loud snap, like a whip-crack. It snapped at the pokeball as it floated back into Ayana's hands, anger and bewilderment both evident on its reptilian features. It stood for a moment, air filling its gullet as Ayana stared at it from behind the tree, fear freezing her burning muscles. A red glow burned from within its air sac and its eyes pierced into her, cold and virulent. Ayana forced herself to pocket the pokeball deep into her jeans, just in time for the Obsidicide to expel every ounce of air in its sac and lungs, a deafening roar that would be heard throughout Sundae forest.
Ayana was immobile for a few seconds as she screamed, then her legs were moving unbelievably, and then she was climbing, the aching nothing in comparison to the incredible pain that bloomed in her ears. Her vision was fuzzy and spinning, her head hurt so terribly, her ears felt they were imploding with the tremendous noise.
Finally it stopped, and she almost let go on the branches clenched in her hands. She suddenly realised she was climbing, climbing higher and higher in a tree. She was higher than the Obsidicide was long, or so she thought from her precarious view and spinning vision. She was so dizzy. She threw her arms around the tree and didn't let go, waiting for the ringing to stop, the dizziness to pass. Her face was so smeared with tears it felt like grot, and the Obsidicide's shrieks of rage at her stealing of its meal were enough to make her feel she was having a heart attack, she was so scared. The tree began to shake.
She screamed and screamed for about a minute before it suddenly stopped, and she heard the high-pitched cries made by Keon. She looked down immediately in recognition to behold her little Ramtor running circles around his huge adversary, nipping at its tail whenever he got the chance. "Keon, no!" She shrieked, and started to climb down, only to have everything spin underneath her waveringly. She clutched at the tree again, waiting for the bout to pass. The pain in her right ear was so strong it sent a heavy throbbing throughout her body. A few seconds of recovery later and she forced herself to look down. The Obsidicide was insane with rage, chasing after the tiny purple pokemon and lashing out its wings and beak at him constantly, but somehow his reflexes kept him on his toes and in two places at once, he was so quick. Subtly he was leading the snake away from the base of the tree where it had been attempting to loose Ayana from her perch.
Forcing her eyes to look only at the tree in front of her face, he let her legs feel the way down, testing branch after endless branch before putting her weight on it, the routine perpetual. Finally she reached the ground and collapsed under her wobbling, screaming legs. Gasping with her exertions, she looked up at the deadly dance of Ramtor and Obsidicide, a little ball of purple whirling around the great lumbering black beast. Then the latter caught sight of her. It quickly dismissed Keon and came toward her before Keon grappled onto its face over its eyes. It screeched in rage and snapped its neck back to send Keon flying upwards, but not before Ayana had herself hidden behind a thick tree. She crouched and shook with terror, just begging no one in particular for her to live; she just wanted to live, it was all she wanted. She pushed away the ringing to concentrate on the shrieking. It was loud, then a crackling of undergrowth indicated it had swung around to face Keon. She took the opportunity and ran to the next tree. The crackling happened again, and in her mind's eye she saw the Obsidicide swinging around in an attempt to catch the lithe purple pokemon. Its back to her, she ran again, and from its continuous pattern of turning, she guessed that its hearing wasn't good enough to hear her trudging. Not only that but if it had acute hearing she assumed it would deafen itself with its roaring. Its strength must be in its sight, she concluded. She kept that in mind as she threw herself into the hollow of the tree and, trusting that she was right, cried "Keon!" The familiar sounds didn't change for a moment, but then suddenly she heard a small cry and then the shrieking ceased for a second. Then the great creature took off into the bushes, in her opposite direction. She sighed with relief. Keon was leading it away, but she was still dead scared for him. However, she wouldn't risk leaving the hollow tree cave, so instead she pushed herself to forage through Macario's bag to find a stash of tissues and wipe the dry blood from his temple. He moaned, and she wondered how much pain he felt compared to her. She would have felt angry that he had been unconscious through all that if she weren't so tired.
His eyes flickered open and he groaned, raising a hand up to rub his face. He brought it down again and caught sight of her suddenly, shock in his face. "Aya… Ayana…" He groaned again, and rubbed his face with both hands. She envied him for his energy. "Ugh, my head…" To her he seemed to mope, and she resented that. She was utterly spent and he had only been riding around all day, though he had bags under his eyes. That still meant she had less chance to escape again. If he had been looking for her, obviously he wanted to do her in. She had to do something.
Putting on a motherly tone of voice, she pushed him back gently, etching concern into her words. "Go back to sleep Macario, or you'll get sick."
"That thing…" He began, and she quickly but surreptitiously cut him off.
"It's gone Macario. You're safe now."
"Springdance…"
"Right here." She pressed the pokeball into his hand and put a hand on his forehead, suddenly realised that she was concerned about him. He was hot. "Macario, I want you to go to sleep, it's the best thing for you right now. I'll look after you, I'm here." She said, close to his face.
"My ears… they're burning…"
"So are min-" She cut herself off and changed her mind. If he worried about her he might not go to sleep. "-if you go to sleep you won't feel a thing. I'll make the pain go away if you promise me you'll go to sleep." She could barely believe she was making such ludicrous promises. Then she triumphed. He sighed and leant back again, relaxing. He seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. She stared at him, unable to help but want to sleep and relax as well. She turned and looked at her backpack knowing she should leave, but she just didn't have the energy nor the will to lift a finger. She looked at Macario again. It had been so long. She would have cried if she had the energy, and her tears were spent anyway.
She gave in to what she felt and laid herself over Macario and let his body heat give her strength, if just a little. The extra warmth didn't matter; she was gone – she let herself go. It had been too long.
Keon returned to her hours later, and it was dark when she left with a heavy bag, a heavy baby and a heavy heart.