"My condolences on the death
of you," she says. But my attention
is turned elsewhere,
or I'm not listening at all.
--Stephen Pettinga
please,
if I should die
let it be before I fall.
Words: 1,721
Mandatory disclaimer, in one breath: deep breath Idon'townpokemonandallconceptsthatareuniquefromitarestillSatoshi-san's. Istillclaimrightstomyfabrications. (IfyouactuallytookthetimetoreadthisI'mimpressed.) Ididn'tusemuchbreathtoreadthisaloudsoit'sdoableatleastforme. Andnotusingspaceisreallyweird;it'sinstictualtohititnowsoIhavetokeepmyselffromdoingit. pant pant
A/n: The truth is, life's like this. For long periods of time, nothing happens. It's waiting. Any adventure story has a whole bunch of boring trivialities beneath its glossy exterior, and I've heard the worst thing about life is the waiting around. It's exciting at moments... and then when it ought to be scary, it's peaceful. Nature doesn't obey our wishes. I apologize about the horrid pacing, but what can I do? It's not letting me progress any faster. We keep thinking that it comes at you fast, but especially outside of the city it's a lot of traveling and wandering around.
I also apologize for the wait: school is evil, and wouldn't load for days. This chapter seems really short, and I'm sorry, but here goes. Next one'll be more interesting.
Words: 2027
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Chapter 6: More of the Same
Therefore,
perhaps, genius is not in creation like all the genius folks say, but
is in time management.
--Stephen
Pettinga
"So? Where'd they go?"
--Yes. They went. I see. I tell. They go past, two Twoleggers.--
--What direction?-- Pohi asked
--Please try and focus,-- Nasa begged, shifting her weight incessantly in an attempt to disperse nervous energy. --Try and remember all that you can; this is important!--
The ratree's tail flicked as he glanced suddenly to the side, his body stiffening. The rodent was on a branch above them, gripping the bark with his sharp little claws to remain stable at an almost vertical angle, and now he looked as if he might flit away at the slightest provocation. Nasa shook her head with a snort, backing up a little so she wouldn't have to crane her neck back so far to even look at the thing.
For their part, neither nidine believed that they could get much out of the ratree, but they had no other idea how they were to figure out where the woman and Annie had gone. At Nasa's snort, Pohi lowered his head with a sound made deep in the back of his throat that Will recognized as one of frustration. --This gets us nowhere.--
--No, Sikkit remembers! He tells all! They come and they go, but not that way. They say river, and that's the way they go.--
"The river...?"
--Yes, yes!-- Sikkit replied happily. --She say river, Sikkit hears. Almost to the river, she says, and then away they go!--
"Why would that matter?" Will wondered, completely bewildered. "What's so special about rivers?"
--They always go to the ocean,-- Pohi pointed out. --If you get lost, you find a river and follow it. Eventually you'll find something.--
Nasa watched the exchange, thinking. --Maybe where she's taking Annie is across it.--
--Did she say anything else?-- Pohi asked the ratree, watching the rodent as he flicked his tail in nervous little spasms.
--No, no, she just said that she was going to the river and to come on,-- Sikkit replied adamantly, glancing this way and that with a near-constant flick of his tail. Nasa was beginning to grow tired of his eternal fidgeting, and her irritation began to show as her patience wore thin.
--I should have known better than to ask a silly ratree for directions,-- she snorted, setting off. --Come on, then... --
Will watched as she set off, heading in what really looked like a random direction, Pohi hastening to keep up with her. He sighed, thanking the rodent before he jogged after the pair. I really hope you know what you're doing...
- - -
"Rosaline?" Annie asked after a blessed moment of utter silence.
"Mm?" 'Rosaline' replied absently, still rowing. She was beginning to grow very tired of her 'hostage', and not for the first time wondered who really was captive here. If it came down to who wanted out of the canoe more, it was likely her.
"What's your friend's name?"
Rosaline did not stop. "Mahe."
"Will she be alright?"
There was no answer for a while; 'Rosaline' did not trust herself to reply. She did not want to admit to this girl her worry for her partner, nor should she. She had no room for meaningless pity. If the cat died, then that was how it would be. If she lived... well... 'Rosaline' would continue as if nothing had happened. That was how she was supposed to be, anyway. It was surprisingly hard to not care about others and just about a single cause.
"Rosaline?"
There was a harsh sigh. "What now?"
Annie pointed. "Um... try not to run into that..."
The woman did not have to look where she was pointing to know what she was talking about; she'd known about the outcropping of rock for a while now. "That's at least five feet from us. We'll be fine. Or would you rather I turn us a little more and run us into the reef?"
"I don't see anything-" Annie paused, feeling Rosaline's glare on the back of her head. She turned halfway in the canoe, feeling her back crack as she did so. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Rosaline said, pulling hard with the oar first on the left side, then the right. "Look." As they passed through, she dipped the right oar in, feeling it connect. "See? We're barely going over as it is. Any further and we'd have to struggle through. I, for one, happen to like being dry, and don't want to rip a hole in my canoe. You satisfied now?"
When the younger female did not reply, Rosaline took it that her point had been made. She glanced up, watching the trees go by on either direction. Once or twice they passed a poliwhirl floating in the water, and a magikarp leapt in a spray of droplets, landing with a splash a few seconds later. It was a healthy, good river, swift and strong but well-populated with flora and fauna alike.
Sitting in the front of the canoe, Annie felt as if she was flying. Ripples from the faint wind gave the river's surface a rough, ever-changing texture, with a patch now and then of perfectly smooth, almost glassy water. A small teiflei doe glanced up to watch them go by, her two dappled fawns also looking up to see what their mother was so interested in. As Annie watched, the trio went back to drinking from the river's edge, and soon was gone from view.
Certainly it was a change of pace from what she was accustomed to, and it wasn't long before Annie was completely and totally bored.
"Are we there yet?"
"No. And please don't start that," Rosaline moaned. "We aren't there yet and we won't be for a little while longer."
"Will you tell me when we are?"
It took all of her patience and self-control not to pitch Annie out of the canoe right then and there. "You'll find out bloody soon enough, won't you!"
"Not if you don't tell me," Annie replied petulantly, eliciting a strangled cry of frustration from the older woman.
- - -
Will, Nasa and Pohi paused at the river's edge. The female nidine paced anxiously, looking out over the river. --They could be anywhere by now…--
With a look, Will sat down, taking out the 'relic'. "All of this... everything happened... is it really all because of me? Because of this?"
Dejectedly, he watched the two nidines confer. He had no idea what to do; he'd been caught up in something far more than he would have liked to participate in. All of this was so weird that it was not to be believed, and yet he felt guilty for wanting nothing more than to toss the bloody thing into the water and walk away from it all. If it weren't for Pohi, he probably would have done just that.
What am I doing here, anyway? he wondered, fingering the impossibly smooth semi-circle. What on Earth possessed me to go treasure hunting? But aren't they usually supposed to issue some sort of ancient curse or something if this is gonna happen? I didn't do anything wrong, did I? So why do I feel like I'm the one to blame?
No, it wasn't his fault, he decided. Some insane person just happened to want it too, and that was that. Enough of this madness.
"Look, she's probably right. I don't think we can do anything now... so let's just go home and forget the whole thing, alright? I'm sorry, really sorry, that this happened, but I don't see where I fit in in all of this. Here. You want this? Take it. I don't."
Nasa looked at the dull object as if it had betrayed her somehow. --How you fit in? Here, I'll tell you how you fit in. You got my best friend kidnapped, my mentor killed, and our mission ruined. That's all that you did. And you're going to put it right. Aren't you?--
"Look," Will asked, spreading his arms wide. "Did I do any of that? No. Miss Psychopath did, thank you very much, so don't freakin' blame me!"
Pohi was silent, watching the two bristle, and turned his attention back to the river. There were footsteps in the mud nearby, but beyond that he really could not find anything. Logic said that they would probably go downstream, but Pohi had absolutely no idea, and asking the locals proved more trouble than it was worth. He didn't like any of this, but he wasn't about to allow Nasa to continue on alone. Nor would he easily leave Will, which placed him in the peacemaker's position yet again if he did not want an even worse situation on his hands.
--Would you both stop it? We're doing no good here at all. And I really don't see how we can find where they went unless we know which way they went.--
--Annie stood up for you,-- Nasa told Will accusingly. --She could have told her about you, but she didn't. She didn't! And now you repay her by leaving her to die!--
--No one's being left to die!-- Pohi cried, feeling the situation spiraling rapidly out of control. --Have you lost your minds?--
Nasa's voice was a shrill whistle as she whirled to face Pohi, her head low and her horn gleaming. --What of Skyva? Mm? What about her?--
"What about her?"
--She's dead! That's what! She's dead, and you've killed her!--
"I didn't kill anyone!" Will protested. "It wasn't my fault!"
--STOP!-- Pohi bellowed, and for once the two combatants fell silent. --Agreed, bad stuff happened. Agreed, your Annie's in danger. But this gets us nowhere!-- He snorted, stamping his forefoot on the ground for emphasis. --You called for my aid, and I have answered. I cannot break that now, nor would I wish to. The problem is, I don't see where we can help. They could be treelengths away by now, or farther. If you're intent to continue on like this, then why don't you suggest what we are to do?--
Nasa paused for a moment before raising her head again. --We find her, that's what we do.--
Will groaned softly.
- - -
By now Annie was sick of the canoe. She was sick of this forest. And she wanted nothing more than to go home.
Rosaline was a horrible conversationalist, on top of being a murderer. As they went along, the facts had slowly sunk in, and Annie had begun to realize that everything had indeed happened. It struck her as odd that so much could happen in so short a time and then so little happen afterwards. Here she was, in the same boat as a killer, and all she could think of was that she was cold and hungry.
Her captor went on rowing, paying Annie no attention at all. It struck the girl that she was being very trusting; Annie was not tied up nor restrained in any way. Then again, Rosaline was behind her in the canoe, likely watching her every move. With a sigh, Annie trailed her hand in the water, looking up at the cloudless sky.
When does this forest end? she wondered to herself, thoroughly bored out of her mind. There was no other scenery she had not seen yet; just trees, trees and more trees on either side, with a side order of water, dirt and branches. Not much grass was in view, actually.
If she had her dex with her still, she could be playing games or surfing on the net provided that this place was enabled for it. No such luck; the thing had been left behind when she and Rosaline made the mad dash for the river, leaving her to entertain herself by trying to see if she could find cloud pictures... but there weren't any clouds, either. There was nothing at all to do, and Rosaline wouldn't talk to her.
Naturally, she took the only option left to her: she began to sing.
