Dark Flames Ch. 1
Author Notes

Well, inspired by a person I know from The Skytemple, I was intrigued to the point where I have to write something to get the creativity unleashed. This will be continued story which shall be updated every weekend. The character Aurora, however, despite being somewhere in the Pokemon world, is entirely made ny myself, whereas the plot is, too.Don't get me mistaken though, I do not claim ownage to Pokemon itself, or the world.

With this, I hope you enjoy this first chapter of Dark Flames.
Reviews appericated, I guess ;

The dawn. Usually it was the time of hope, where everything started anew. It was the time for renewal, where the birds chirped at the arrival of a new day. It was the time when the sun rose to the sky, and shone down upon the forest residents.

This story takes place on such a day.

The leaves swayed peacefully back and forth in the gentle breeze that came from the south, carrying the promise of a new spring.
Small water droplets slid off the leaves and dripped down to the ground, landing with an almost inaudible, gentle 'splash' on the earth below. Yet other droplets evaporated and spread to the sky, leaving the leaves dry and clean.
The leaves, however, did not miss their departed friends, for they knew that when dusk came, new water droplets would come and coat their touchable, green surface.

Below them, in the undergrowth, smaller creatures padded around, making no noise as they prowled for their breakfast. They were all silent, trying to gain an edge on their prey by being cunning. These predators had gained their instincts over thousands of years.

They now relied upon hearing, sense and smell, and some, like the rulers of the sky, even relied on sight in order to capture their food.

Padding softly on the ground was a ferret-like being. It ventured carelessly through the undergrowth, silently and carefully. It looked as if it did not want to be spotted.

However, in the eyes of this creature you could see faint traces of fear. The being's fur stood on end, and its tail swayed alarmingly back and forth in its wake, wiping out visible traces of its travel. All who would be left of this ferret was its scent, embedded into the very earth itself.

It looked as if it had a message to carry.

And if we now look away from the unusual behaviour of this ferret-like being, and move our attention to the forest edge, we would be able to see a young woman. She was in about her early twenties, and she sat cross-legged in the still dampened grass.

She could be described in rough details; long, flowy chestnut coloured hair flowed loosely down her back, and she had blue green eyes. Clothing-wise, she wasn't too bad either.
A thin, light blue sweater covered her upper body, and she wore a matching pair of blue jeans of a darker colour for the lower half of her body.
Around her neck hung a beautifully crafted necklace with a lizard as the main object, toned in an earthly colour. Beads of crimson surrounded it on either side.

And that was about all there was with this human. She was average-looking, and did not really stand out much. However, something about her was pretty captivating.

If you followed her gaze, you could see that she was staring at a small, sacred item she held safely in her palm. It was round, and painted in a golden colour, with a small ruby on the front.

It shimmered.

Getting up, she started to head to the east, following a pathway that led her to the nearest town. Her steps were fast and secure, and she radiated confidence. Perhaps it was because the morning was hers and hers alone. For if you learnt her name, which was Aurora, you would learn that the meaning of that was "Goddess of the Dawn". Thus she was a sight to behold in her own way.

As her feet hit the ground, the shoes made a tap tap noise upon impact with the pebble laid down there to form that path.

It soon became a steady rhythm, and it was the only sound heard for a long, long time.

However, all silence has to end. After a period of time, she reached a point where another path joined hers. From there emerged many small children, running and jumping from pebble to pebble, kicking up dust as they eagerly scurried from place to place.

Aurora regarded them with a tiny little smile, greeting them with a call of their names.

She and the children wandered to the town together, chattering and laughing about various things. It would seem that the young woman was well liked among the younger audience.

They parted when they reached the small town. The kids went to the kindergarten, while Aurora continued her steadfast walk, heading towards a series of factory-like buildings. From a distance, they looked eerie, standing out like a sore thumb within all the pretty natural scenery. They were tall, and loomed above anyone who happened to pass them by.

There was even a part of the street where the sunrays never touched, since it was completely laid in shade all day.

Aurora regarded the buildings fondly. For despite the industrial looks, they were a set of laboratories, where research and investigation was done. It was also her primary home, and it was here, within these walls that she had worked over time the past year. There was a project she had been working on, along with a team of four researchers.

She hoped that today, it would all be over, and that she could gather the fruit of her hard labour. She desired to see the effects that their justifications had on their test subject.

As she pushed the door to one of the smaller buildings open, thoughts swivelled in her mind. Treading carefully down on the soft, plush carpet that decorated the floor in the main hallway, she quickened her pace, heading towards her small office to fetch her things.

In the hallway, there were none up and about, so she did not have to stop and greet her co-workers, nor did she have to worry about spending her time on momentary chatter.

It was for that reason that Aurora enjoyed the morning solitude.

She had no delays, and could get straight to her work.

Her shoes made a muffed thumping sound upon impact on the carpeted floor, and the woman lifted a hand to slide it down through her hair and for then to brush invisible dust off her clothes.

When she reached her office, she paused to inhale deeply. The thought of finishing her project today was a good one. Though, it still made her heart race, the blood pumping faster through her veins out of pure excitement. It was great to know that the work would pay off in some way. Yet, she knew, that deep within her heart, she would miss this working time. Her co-workers had grown close over the time they spent together.

After standing there for a while, recollecting her thoughts, Aurora bent down over her desk to fetch her note-and sketchbook, a pencil, and a rubber. Then she abruptly turned as she heard footsteps behind her. The building filled with noise which warned of the arrival of the other employed workers in the laboratory building.

Groaning, Aurora cursed at the interruption. She then decided to get to the investigation room, where their test subjects were held.

"Aurora!" someone called as soon as she stepped out from her office walls. "I found out how to alter the genes of flying Pokémon, in order to make them stronger," said the employee who walked up beside her. He seemed excited, and since they were going to the same room, Aurora let herself be intrigued about the subject. "Hm? How can you do that?"

"Well, it requires some skill, and you sort of have to force it on them, since they have to be awake during the eventual operation," he continued. "Or else it fails." He looked at her, and continued willingly when she shot him a curious glance. "Well, either that, or put them under narcosis, but the results will be better if they are awake. So anyway, take the desired genes from another creature, and operate into the apporpate place, and alter at will. After that, they should be put into a slumber for a while, though."

The girl listened with genuine interest as they walked down the hallway together, engrossed in the cinversation at hand.
She knew that information might prove valuable, and she eagerly questioned him further into the subject, and made him elaborate on the things he said.

After a while, though, they reached the room they were headed to, and she carelessly kicked the door open. As her shoe hit the metal door, it made a metallic sound which echoed throughout the room inside, stirring the various creatures which were kept there.

To her surprise, her fellow co-workers were already seated in various chairs around the test subject in question. They all greeted her with a hearty wave, and beckoned her to come and sit with them.

She parted with her follower, and went to sit down. "So, the day has come, then. We are going to unleash the power of the unknown here," she said, looking them over. Their facial expressions were different. One was tweaked in fear, the other was indifferent, and a third was excited, cheeks flushed red.

"Any final words?" she questioned her voice clear and firm. "I would like to get this over with, so you have to say your final statements now."

"Aah... 'Rora, if the creation gets out of hand, what will we do then?" one asked, looking concerned. "We don't know which powers it yields."

"Urm... I don't know. But you know, we took the risk, my dear Mathilda," she murmured, and got up from her chair when it was apparent that there were no other questions.

She hastily went over to the creature container and bent over the control panel. Frowning, she pressed a series of buttons. They felt hard and plastic like, and not soft to the touch at all. They felt cold and uninviting, but succumbed to her touch when she pressed them down firmly enough.

A buzzing noise was soon to be heard, and the walls that held the creature captured were soon drawn out of sight, and started to reveal its contents.

Aurora stepped away, and hastily found her sketchbook and pencil, and scribbled down a few words, all the while keeping an eye on the container. As the mechanic doors parted, her eyes glazed over.

The light emerging from it was blinding, and she looked away from it as to avoid losing her sight.

Inhaling deeply, she felt her heartbeat increase by the second, until it felt as if she was going to burst.

How did their creation look like? How? And how did it act?

All these questions flew through her mind as she glared intently on the machine. The things that were visible were a set of flickering, dark flames, contrasting against the blending light. It was almost a relief to look at.

And then, as the doors parted more, the researchers saw a curled together feather-ball, swept in the same, darkened flames. A smell of burnt plastic soon came to them in whiffs, and they all recoiled, seeing as the flames ate away at the plastic chains which tied the being to its prison.

However, now these bindings were totally useless.

The group of people held their breath; eyes wide open in astonishment at the dark silhouette, still resting in its earlier container.

Its feathers looked touchable and silky, and were smooth, as if newly preened. The wings were folded, the end of them consumed by the dark flames that engulfed the rest of it. The tail was long and flowy, resembling that of an Articuno.

However, it consisted of flames, as well, Aurora noticed when she inspected it more closely.

While the others sat there, taking notes, she stepped forth and placed herself in front of their flying creation, inspecting it closer. The beak was long and pointy, the talons like that of a raptor, and the feathers blazed a crimson colour, with the wingtips burning fiercely.

She was captivated.

Mildly said.

Without a care for the others' rousing whispers of warnings, she laid the sketchbook and pencil down by her side, and reached out a hand to slowly stroke the bird's head, waiting for it to wake from its sleep.

The flames ate at her clothes, but it left her skin untouched, oddly enough. However, the woman took no notice, and instead looked in amazement at the being she now stroked with her hand.

The sheer beauty, and what it might be capable of doing, intrigued her, and as it stirred, she drew her hand back, but remained seated in her place.

The birds' chest heaved, and then - suddenly - its eyes flared open.

As it did so, it caught Auroras gaze, and it locked.

She felt as if it was like she got dragged down into a whirlpool, drawn downwards, until she would drown. It was as if the water swallowed her, as if the ocean and air were merged into one, and that she was drawn into the depth of this bird's eyes.

Yet, the pair of eyes changed expression, and turned fiery, even as it remained the same, intense blue as before. It now radiated passion, a desire to fly, and a desire to see the world.

As they sat like this, the world seemed to vanish in front of Aurora, and all she soon saw, was the vision of this bird.

The moment would be printed in her memory forever, and she knew that a bond had been forged. There was no doubt.

"My... my creation..." she uttered, suddenly drawing back. "Magnificent... A dark Moltres, none the less!"

As she reared back, the bird cawed upon hearing the name it was given. It uncurled, and stood inside the container, glaring at them all with an indifferent look.

Aurora turned to her co-workers, and found herself to be utterly speechless.