"Come out and eat!"
The sound registers faintly in the back of my head, but still I stare at the unconscious Charmeleon. Her father has long since finished whatever he was doing with her injury.
"Nova," Rue calls my name as she steps into the room. "If you're not eating I'm gonna give the food to the Salamence."
"It's okay. I'll wait for her." I know she's not in danger anymore. But she'll be afraid if she wakes up in front of this Charizard.
"Wait for her what?" she steps beside me and waves her paw in front of my face. "You can't stuff food down a throat of someone unconscious." She tilts her face in front of mine. "So are you eating or not? We have way too many people this time. If you're not eating it I'm finishing all of it."
"You should eat more, you just evolved."
"Gah! You know what, I'll just let you go hungry and have you plead for food in the evening," she concludes and walks out of the room and slams the door.
I wonder if she noticed that he was her father? If she did, wouldn't she have told me? How ironic. She was going to Novaria, where she probably was trying to find someone who knew her. And after it was declared that we couldn't go, she found him.
Does she have a right to know? I would sure want to know if someone around me was my father all along. Then again, she seems so peaceful right now. Maybe ignorance is bliss. To find her father here after her mother had died? She'd sure have some questions as to where he was for them… Just like I would.
Phendrene shifts in her bed, lifting my spirits. It means that she is going to be fine. But after all, they were right about this place being dangerous. It's just like when we were travelling in the desert, to be honest. Being cooped up in the forest has lulled us into a false sense of security.
The door opens with sounds of chatter from outside, and then closes immediately. "Nova, we need to talk," Fen says.
"If you don't want me to tell her, I won't," I state simply.
"You're smart," he huffs and takes his own seat. "But I still have something in mind other than that."
"What?" I turn my head. "You're not going to force her to stay here, are you?"
"Of course not," he shakes his head. "What I mean is, I don't want you to be together with her."
"Together?" I frown. "What do you mean?"
He sighs and faces me directly. "I don't want you to become her mate."
I frown. "I thought you didn't have problems with half-bloods?" I retort.
"No. But others do. And I know all the complications a relationship like that comes with, far better than you do." His expression seems solemn.
"Fine." He doesn't seem to be pointing towards me specifically. "I wasn't planning to, anyway. Why did you bring it up? She's still just a child."
"But she will evolve one day. And judging from the way she acts now, she'll definitely latch onto you as her only-"
"Why would you assume that?" I interrupt. What type of assumption is that? "She's like a younger sister! She's just been with me the whole time and she was there when I lost my mother and it's not some romance thing like everyone makes it out to be!"
I'm left out of breath for the outburst. "You can say whatever you want," Fen tells me, his voice becoming somewhat threatening. "The only thing is, if you ever leave or betray her, I will make sure-"
"Hah, like you did?" I interrupt and scoff. "You have no right to say any of this."
The Charizard's eyes widen. "You – what do you know?"
I don't usually speak back like this, but he deserves it. "You weren't there to protect them when her mother got killed, or when she almost starved to death before my mother found her. And you're here preaching to me about how I'm supposed be responsible for her?" I stand up and look down at him, and seeing the doubt in his eyes give me a strange sort of satisfaction. I stomp out of the room and slam the door behind me.
Rue's trying to make banter with Hale and Spire but they don't seem in the mood. Vie, who seems to have woken up, stands up the instant she sees me.
"Here, Nova, I saved a bit for you," she says and hands me a big chunk of meat.
"Thanks," I respond halfheartedly and slump against the wall. I take little bites into the meat but I'm not really in the mood of tasting blood.
"You okay?" Vie sits closely beside me and puts her arm on me. It's somewhat reassuring.
"Yeah… it's just Phendrene." And her irresponsible father somehow thinking I'm a danger to her.
"But Fen said she'd be alright," Vie says. "Why are you worrying about her?"
"Still," I answer curtly, realising I can't give her the full explanation. "Thanks, Vie, but I'm not really in the mood for eating," I say as I hand the meat back.
"But aren't you hungry?" she asks as she tentatively takes it back.
"It's just the smell of blood. I don't feel very well."
"I see." She stuffs it all into her mouth, certainly hungry from all the exertion. "So you see what we need to do about the Salamence now?"
"Yeah."
"And it's perfect! We've got two of them here. We can ask them questions and find a way solve everything!"
"Good."
"Aren't you excited? We so much closer to avenging our parents now!"
"Mhm."
"Liven up." She tugs on my arm with a smile. "I'll go flying with you."
"With all those bodies outside?" I laugh.
"We can just ignore them and fly away for a bit," she suggests. "Come on!"
"Okay, fine." I hear her take in delightful breath and I push myself up and walk outside. I leap up immediately and fly up above the cliff before I let the smell get to me, and open my eyes to a much nicer view, one of the hills and the sky.
"Hey!" Vie shouts at me. "Race you to over that hill!" she says before speeding off.
I smirk and ascend casually as her wings beat rapidly. As she nears our destination, I take a deep breath with a dive and keep the momentum to glide forward at a high speed. I reach it in no time, sitting on the top of the hill as Vie flies over, panting.
"I should practice more, huh?" she asks as she lands next to me. "I'm not very fast," she admits.
"But you're better than me at battling," I tell her. "Who knows what would've happened if one of you got knocked out early."
"Let's not talk about that," she says. "Teach me how to fly better!"
She is trying very hard to cheer me up, isn't she? I shouldn't be so difficult. "It's just trying to make your body into a linear shape to minimise air resistance. And learning how to flap your wings in a way that doesn't interrupt your momentum. Small things like these. I'm not really good at explaining," I finish, feeling awkward.
"How about you watch me fly around and tell me what I should improve on?" she suggests and motions to the sky.
I nod, and in an instant, she leaps off the hill with her wings open wide.
For a moment I'm frozen in time as I see this image. Of her, the light skinned Flygon I've known for so many years, now flying in a completely different world. But despite the differences, it still reminds me of when we were younger, playing in the desert. How she said she would stay with me forever. …What a stupid game pebble dodge was.
I blink back into reality. She's now at a somewhat higher speed but I can tell that by streamlining her body she's losing control of her direction because after a few turns she suddenly goes at a steep downward angle and almost crashes into the floor.
"Try and get your direction right first before you speed up!" I yell to her. She glances at me and gives a brief nod before flying back up and diving again, this time coming towards me smoothly.
"How was it?" she asks, sounding eager for my opinion.
"That was great. I think gliding with your wings still is really important if you want to cover a short distance fast. But because of gravity, you have to be diving downwards."
"Okay."
She ends up spending a while learning what I say. I don't feel we make significant progress, because I can't explain something that comes to me so naturally, but it's good fun. As time passes, the climbing sun warms us up in spite of the cold weather.
But she gets tired much sooner than I would have liked. "Didn't you manage to fly the whole day during our journey here?" I ask.
"That's not as intense as this. Do you think I'm doing better?"
"Yeah. But… I think the main component is practice. That's why I'm used to different conditions, like if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, or there's rain and it's really cold."
"So still not good enough? Well, why don't we see if I can catch you!" She immediately leaps towards me but a quick reaction saves me from her claws as I take to the air.
"Nope," I tell her as I feel a smile creep onto me. "You can always try, though," I taunt and speed off towards the cliff.
"Hey, wait!" she yells from behind.
"I thought you were trying to catch me?"
"Fine!" I turn around to see her doing a steep dive towards me and I steer myself out of the way. But as I do, I spot something in the sky, coming from the east. For a moment I'm scared, but soon it's pretty clear it's a single dragon.
"Gotcha!" Vie yells and latches onto my tail, startling me and making me fall.
"Hey, watch it!" I say as I right myself before we hit the floor so that I land on my feet. I try and block out the sunlight and squint at the approaching figure. It looks like a Charizard.
"What is it?" Vie calls from above.
"There's someone over there," I tell her, trying to discern details of the approaching dragon. He seems to be carrying something… and there's a Charmeleon on the back. For a moment I feel like they are Phendrene and her father but then I remember she's still unconscious. Or maybe she has woken up! I should go back and check. But first, who is this?
"It's just a Charizard." Vie doesn't sound interested.
As the dragon comes closer, he seems to glance us for a moment, but he doesn't seem interested, either, and dives down. "Wait," I tell Vie. "He's heading toward Fen's place!"
"Oh?"
If the Charizard saw the bodies, what would his reaction be? Would he become aggressive? "Come on, let's head back," I tell Vie.
"Yeah." She seems to agree with me, and follows behind me as I rush toward the cliff. Immediately I regret my decision as the bodies come back into view. The Charizard seems to be standing there, frowning. The Charmeleon, on the other hand, seems to be excited as he jumps off and gasps in awe.
"Come on, Talon," a female voice surprises me. "Let's go inside first." It comes from the Charizard. I assumed the Charizard was male for some reason.
"Fine!" the Charmeleon, Talon, responds. He's carrying a bag over his shoulder. "But Uncle better tell me what happened here."
"I'm sure he will," says the Charizard again before they enter.
"Nova?" Vie calls as she catches up to me. "Let's head inside."
"Why haven't we gotten rid of them?" I complain as I walk inside. "Like, drag them off to somewhere else at least."
"We should. Just haven't gotten around to it, I suppose."
The female Charizard has walked straight through, ignoring all the others who give her peculiar glances. The Charmeleon, on the other hand, is booming with curiosity.
"You're a… Haxorus! Am I right?"
"Yep. And you're a Magikarp," Rue replies.
"No! I'm a Charmeleon!"
"Never could've guessed. What are you doing here?" she asks and bends over.
"What are you doing here?" He retorts back.
"I've been waiting here for three days to assassinate you." Hale gives her a shove at that remark. "Fine, fine. We're just hanging around, got a problem?"
"Talerin!" the female Charizard shouts from Fen's door. "Stop that. We're here to find Uncle."
"Okay…" he says, defeated, and runs over. Is his full name Talerin? That is stranger than Phendrene.
She doesn't knock on the door and simply enters. I follow closely behind her and squeeze with the Charmeleon before she shuts the door behind her.
"Excuse me?" she says and glares as she notices me, instantly making me uncomfortable.
"Let him, Cel." Fen says disinterestedly from his desk. "He's not here for you, anyway," he says as I run over to Phendrene, who has her tail tucked in beneath the blankets somewhere, but more importantly, is awake.
"You feeling better?" I ask hastily.
She latches on to my arm. "It still hurts, but yeah…"
"Who's that?" Talon scampers over. Phendrene stiffens immediately.
"Oh hell, you had another kid?" the female Charizard exclaims. "Don't tell me it's with a Flygon again."
"Shut it!" Fen stands up. "Talk somewhere else," he says and opens the door. 'Cel' shakes her head and leaves. I stand up to close the door behind them.
"What's your name?" Talon says to Phendrene, almost already climbing onto the bed.
She shuffles inwards and glances at me, a silent signal.
"Talon, don't do that," I tell him and pick him up by the arms.
"What? I'm just saying hello," he tries to explain as I put him back onto the floor.
"She's recovering from an injury. Why don't you go find Uncle or that Haxorus?"
"Who's she with? Is she Uncle's daughter who left with the Flygon-"
"No, she's with me! Can you leave her alone?" I shout at him, frustrated.
"Oh. Sorry…" he says, embarrassed, and scampers out of the room. I sigh as I stand up to close the door again.
"Uncle...?" Phendrene asks as the sound of chatter from outside is blocked.
"I don't know either," I say as I move back to the next to the bed. "Where's your tail?"
"It's just here." She shifts a part of her tail and I see the blankets move. "Fen taught me how to… turn the fire off."
"What? Don't your species, uh, die or something if that happens?"
"Apparently not. Look." She turns over and flicks it out. The tip is smouldering slightly but it's clearly not burning. "It's not completely out… just very dim."
"But… what is the fire on the tail even for?" I ask, confused.
"I don't know," she says as she tries to sit up.
"Lie down!"
"It's not that bad," she lifts the blanket out of the way. I can see some lines stitching together her wound. "But… don't leave me alone with that Charizard again, okay?" she asks as she moves herself off the bed.
"Okay. Are you sure you feel all right?"
"I just don't want to be in this room," she tells me.
"Why?" She doesn't respond and takes small steps to the door. "Fen's really-" nice, but I stutter as I realise what has to be the cause of this irrational fear.
"Phendrene, you know, don't you?"
She stops and turns around. "Yes," she said softly. "And you…?"
"I figured it out with your mother's name," I explain briefly, but I want to cheer her up. "But… shouldn't you be happy? At least you've found your father."
Her face contorts and I regret what I said. "I shouldn't have come here. He… I've almost forgotten about him. But now…" she looks up in a hopeless gaze. "I remember so vividly, him hitting my mother. It was so scary."
"He… hit your mother?" I ask, frozen in disbelief.
"They were having some kind of fight about whether I should go to the Charizard's place to learn battling, or something. I don't know what happened… but he ended up hitting her. So she brought me and left to the desert…"
She's seems to be shaking. "I knew I should've told you earlier. But I didn't want to remember…"
Fen hit his mate? Phendrene's mother? That doesn't seem to make much sense… He doesn't seem like the type of person…
She curls up closer in my arms. "I'm just… sorry, Nova. Just don't leave me here. Please?"
I snap back from an imagined scenario of Fen hitting a Flygon and back to what is at hand. "So you want to go outside? Or inside one of those rooms?"
"Inside."
"Okay." I stand up with her latching onto my neck from the front. She feels somewhat heavier than when she's on my back, but that's because I never use my arms to do anything. Pulling the door open, I step back into the main room. Spire and Silex are the only ones there to watch over the two injured Salamence. Silex especially seems to give a pointed glance at Phendrene being taken out but doesn't comment.
"Where are the others?" I ask Spire.
"Vie called them to drag the bodies away. The Charmeleon – other one – went to help them as well."
"Why aren't you there?"
"You expect me to use my mouth to drag dead bodies away?" he asks, somewhat disgusted. Upon reflection, he probably doesn't want to see more dead Salamence.
I walk into the corridors and open the first door. The two Charizard stop whatever they were talking about and look at me.
"Oh. Sorry," I say quickly and move along to the next room.
"Wait!" I hear Fen call and run out. "Why did you bring her out?"
She lays her head closely against my chest. Because she doesn't like you. "…Because she thought the room was too bright," I make up a stupid excuse.
"You can turn the lights off. She shouldn't be moving around." He rushes to us and glances at Phendrene, who looks away. "If you want her to heal properly, don't act stupid."
"She said she wanted to go somewhere else by herself," I answer, becoming impatient. "Shouldn't you at least try and respect your child's decision?"
His eyes widen and I realise I've said something wrong. I just blurted it out in the heat of the moment, because I thought everyone here knew it… but I forgot that I was supposed to hide that Phendrene knew.
Her father is confused for a few seconds before he realises it. "You… you fucking told her? You little-"
My heart skips a beat as he swipes his claw to my face. Something I had just seen operate a precise device this morning used for violence. Phendrene suddenly leaps upward and the claw stops just short of her.
"I see your anger management issues haven't gotten any better," the female one walks forward from behind him and shakes her head.
"I… I…" Fen stares at his claw.
"Phendrene!" I yell and pull her back down, before turning back to Fahrenheit. "So she was right. You did hit her mother. You are the worst father I have ever known." Except maybe mine, but… he did go off to kill the Hydreigon. I push his arm out of the way and enter through the second door and slam it shut behind me.
I lay Phendrene onto the bed here. There's no blanket here, but we've never slept with them before anyway. She doesn't let go of my arm, though, so I lie down with her, even though I'm not tired.
"Did he hurt you?" she whispers.
"No. Everything's fine."
The door is suddenly opened. I stand up in reaction and see Fen walking in as he slams the door behind him.
"What is it?" I say nonchalantly.
"Tell me why you told her," he says in a forced controlled voice.
"I didn't."
"Really?" He steps forward. "Did you think that it would benefit her if-"
"Stop it!" Phendrene has moved in front of me, standing up against her father "Go away!"
His gaze softens immediately as it moves down. "Phendrene… you don't understand."
"I do! I knew it was you the instant I saw you," she says, her breathing heavy. "How could I forget the person that left a scar on my mother's face, and was never there for her in her dying moments?" Her voice becomes angrier, angrier than I had ever heard her be in her entire life. "Nova loves me and has done more for me than you ever did. If you want me to still consider myself as related to you, then leave."
Fen's left staring at her small, shuddering body. "But… you should-"
"Leave!"
To my surprise, he obeys, with his wings drooping as if to protect himself from Phendrene's accusations. I try not to feel sympathy for him.
But as the door closes I notice Phendrene clutch her wound and kneel onto a leg. "Careful!" I tug onto her arm. "Here, lie down."
She squints in more pain while squirming a bit as she shuffles back to lying on the bed. "You shouldn't have done that," I scold her.
"I felt like it," she answers, defiant but weak.
"That's a terrible reason."
"Just lie down with me," she murmurs. I decide to lecture her later and comply with her request so that she can feel better. Knowing that she is at ease, I am able to relax as well, and close my eyes.
…
My hunger from an empty stomach at midday catches up to me soon as my stomach grumbles. Phendrene's warm presence soothes it somewhat but the only thing that solves hunger is food.
I try and remove my arms carefully to not wake her up but she reacts immediately and pulls them back to her.
"Phendrene?" I say softly.
"Mm?" she responds, not yet opening her eyes.
"I'm hungry. Can I go eat something?"
"I am too. Let's go together."
"Are you sure your wound is okay?"
"It's fine. It just hurts a bit." She rolls over and stands up. "Let's go."
I push myself up behind her. "What time is it?"
"It should be quite late. You fell asleep for a long time…"
"Oh. Why didn't you wake me up?" I ask, confused.
"I'm supposed to rest as well, so it didn't matter," she explains. "Come on, let's go eat," she says and motions me toward the door.
There is quite a bit of noise in the room. It appears that they have already hunted and eaten.
"Finally," Vie says. "I was saving some for you."
"Thanks," I accept the food she offers and hand it over to Phendrene. "She needs it more, though."
Phendrene doesn't say anything and bites into the meat.
"Oh. I'll get another piece then."
Vie starts to walk to the game pile, but I stop her. "It's fine, I can get it by myself."
"I just wanted to help…"
"Thanks for the effort, but let me do it." I walk over to the pile and carefully rip a piece of meat off. The good parts seem to have been picked off already.
"Finally awoke your sleeping beauty, eh?" Spire comes over and nudges me.
"Actually, I was the one sleeping."
"Really? But-"
"Hey evil Salamence," Rue calls over, interrupting him. "Can we do something with them now?" She points at the two captured ones. "I don't want to feed them for nothing."
I'm unused to people calling Spire. Before we went on this trip, no one ever bothered with Spire at all. But now, since they just happen to always be each other's vicinities, the lone Salamence has been getting some attention.
"So it's my fault they're not saying anything?" Spire retorts.
"Well, no," Vie cuts in, "but shouldn't you know like… Salamence's secret weakness or something?"
"This is so cool!" Talon the Charmeleon cuts in as he pokes at Spire. "It's like a real Salamence!"
"That's because it is a real Salamence," Spire says, annoyed. "He did that like five times already. Why is he still here?"
"Ma hasn't came out yet. She's still talking with Uncle. Do you know what they're talking about?"
Phendrene shuffles over to me as I start eating. Unfortunately, that catches Talon's attention.
"Oh, it's you again! I'm Talon! Where's your tail flame? Why are you with a bunch of Flygon and a weird Haxorus?"
Phendrene scowls at her cousin. I nudge her to remind her to act more normal, but she doesn't seem to response.
"I'm just saying hi!" Talon exclaims. "Why aren't you talking?"
"That's enough," Vie says and picks him up. "They're still eating."
"Aww, but-"
"No buts. Go bother the evil Salamence if you're bored."
"Hey! That's unfair!" Spire complains, but Talon laughs and pokes at him again. "A real Salamence! How did you guys get hold of him? Did you guys kidnap and convert him like you're gonna do with those two?"
"We're not going to 'convert' them," Hale says. "We can't do that. He joined us by himself."
"So you don't all hate Flygon and Charizard?"
"They don't," Rue answers. "Can you be quiet now? We need to figure out what to do with them," Rue says and looks pointedly towards the two Salamence. "Unless we're gonna stay here forever and hunt for them."
"Okay. But let me listen."
"Sure, sure," Rue says and drags Vie over. "Now, go ahead and ask them whatever you want."
"It's not like I didn't try already. That one's too stubborn to say anything. Let's wait for the other one to wake up first."
"Fine, I'll do it." Rue sighs and kneels down next to the wake one. He's still staring at Spire, but Spire seems to have stopped caring.
"Okay, so remember the part where you begged to live? I listened, and now you're still alive. So tell me your name."
The Salamence's eyes' clearly follow here, but he doesn't respond.
"Telling me your name isn't betraying your King, you know."
"The Salamence King! Right?" Talon chimes in.
"You be quiet or I'm kicking you out," Rue tells him off in her most serious voice yet. "Not a single word out of you if you want to listen."
"…Sorry." He retreats back to the corner and sits down obediently.
"So, Salamence? Unless you want us to just call you that, which probably won't work as we have two more in this room."
"You're still going to kill me," the Salamence begins, full of bitterness.
"Oh?" Rue stands back upright, towering above this Salamence. "So you want me to kill you?"
He looks away. "Stop pretending. You killed my friends so ruthlessly. It's not as if you're going to spare me."
"Then why are you even eating the food we give you?" Rue asks, frowning.
"Better stay comfortable for my last meals," he snorts.
"I thought you said you didn't want to die?"
"Yes, and I'm ashamed of it. I will never-"
"Oh really." Rue moves his head, forcing him to face her. "So you really do want to die, huh? But what will your mother think? That her precious child died in a fruitless attempt to preserve what he thinks is dignity?"
"She will be honoured to have her child fulfil his duty," he says, gritting his teeth.
"But what if I told you, that not a single one of us here has a mother to go back to? And most of them were killed by you. The Salamence. Do you still feel honoured? That your King has ordered you to take so many lives?"
He closes his eyes. "You're lying. Why would you have a Salamence with you then?"
"Want to know? Because his mother was also killed by the Salamence."
"Under the King's direct orders," Spire suddenly booms. "And I will personally make sure he dies the most painful death possible."
"Traitor!" the injured Salamence snarls and almost tries to bite at Spire, but Rue holds him back easily. "How dare you-"
"Don't you think that the King who has killed his mother is in fact the traitor?" Vie joins the fray, somehow defending Spire.
"And to accuse us of lying," Hale mumbles. "I saw a Salamence rip my brother's throat out with my own eyes."
The Salamence glances around, seemingly shaken. "You still killed my friends, and-"
Rue raises her arms in disbelief. "Well, your friends ripped that Charmeleon's stomach open! What would you expect us to do?" Actually, it was a Garchomp, but I'm not correcting them.
"Just tell us your name. So we can call you something," Hale suggests.
"…Sylar."
"Okay, Sylar. Can you tell us why you came here?" Hale asks in a polite tone.
"Are you leading me on?" Sylar snarls.
"I just want to know why you fight. Fighting means my friends dying and your friends dying. Why would you want that?"
"To defend our territory from the Garchomp. I wasn't even interested in any of you before one of you hit me."
Hale sits down now, level with the prone Salamence. "Unfortunately for you, one of the Salamence hit us first. So why do you need this territory?"
"…None of your business."
Rue seems to have picked up on the momentum that Hale had started. "So claiming this useless piece of land was worth all your friends' lives? Smart move."
"The commander ordered us to!" Sylar snarls. "And we don't disobey orders."
"Even if he ordered you to die?" Rue asks a piercing question.
He stays silent for a moment as she stares at him. "I'm dead now anyway. So it-"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not killing you. I'd actually love to at this moment because I don't really care and you're being annoying except everyone else would throw a hissy fit with all the blood." The Haxorus crosses her arms.
"And how is trying ask you something betraying your honour code something? We're trying to prevent these kinds of fights from happening," Vie adds in, much calmer than I thought she would be.
"You won't understand," the Salamence says after a long pause. "In our society do what you're told, unlike you wild animals."
"But we stay alive, so I'm not really sure I'd like to live in your society." Rue says. "Unless you want people to die?"
Sylar doesn't respond and looks down. He seems troubled. His submission to order reminds me of the times in Lyrl somewhat. I had never been a troublemaker but I remember every time something happened, like Hale's mishap with the local Trapinch, there was an authority looming over that would take charge. But from the forest onwards, there was no more of that.
"Nova?" Rue calls my name, bringing my attention back to the conversation. "What was it like when your mother was attacked?"
"Huh?" I have no idea what they were talking about.
"Just tell us this," rue states simply. "Did the Salamence attack you out of nowhere or did something happen?"
I swallow the piece of meat I'm chewing and look at Vie. She looks away.
I'm not going to lie. "He was going to ask us something. And… Vie bit on his leg and made him mad. Then Mum started fighting with him and…" then I flung a rock into the Salamence's neck. I killed the Salamence. I'm not telling them that. It doesn't help the situation.
"I told you!" Sylar shouts. "Why would we wanna kill Flygon randomly? You're not worth enough to die for. You attacked first."
"You bit on his leg? How did you sneak up?" Spire asks, confused.
"Trapinch," I answer for her.
"Oh. Well, it isn't that surprising, considering she's-"
"Okay, okay." Rue interrupts again, which was probably a good idea, since Vie is looking uncomfortable. "So we don't really need to do anything to stop the Salamence from attacking us. That makes things simpler."
"No!" Vie shouts, her reservations gone. "You're just lucky that no one we knew died today. Every time we've met the Salamence before someone ended up dead."
"Two times. Not a large enough sample size," Rue says. "You have to consider their side if you want to actually find a solution. Unless what you want is revenge and not to save our hides?"
Vie grits her teeth. "How do you know that they're not dangerous just from a few words this Salamence said? Then how do you explain her?" She points over to the Charmeleon next to me. "She's just lucky they got her stomach and not her throat. Even I would have died or at least got captured if you and Hale didn't clean up after I fainted."
"Hmm, good point. What can you say about that, Sylar?" Rue says as she turns to the Salamence.
"I don't know. I told you. I wanted to ignore you guys, but someone hit me first." He sighs. "I don't know about the other Salamence. I don't want to think about it. Seriously, though, why do you even need me? You have that traitor!"
"Traitor?" Spire responds indignantly. "As if-"
"Okay okay," Rue says as she gestures them to calm down. "He did tell us about the honour thing which appears to be true from what you're saying. Apparently there's not much else?" She looks to Spire.
"Of course there are other stuff, it's just not relevant. Like how Salamence don't often raise their own children."
"No wonder you're all so evil," Vie huffs.
"Hey! I was raised normally!" Sylar shouts.
"Wait," Rue pacifies them again. "That sounds relevant. Can you elaborate on that point?"
"There's not much to it," Spire says, "and most definitely not useful for defeating the Salamence. Many of us have busy duties… like researching the human technology, going out hunting in such a barren terrain, scouting potential caves to live in, and so on. So the raising of the hatchling is often relegated to other Salamence."
That doesn't make much sense. Someone else hunting for me instead of my own mother? Then again, isn't that what everyone who doesn't hunt do, like Zeta? He still lives with his parents, at the very least. It sounds as if the Salamence don't even have that.
"So the Salamence all divide their jobs very clearly?" Rue asks, clearly driven more out of curiosity.
"Not completely. Most hunt somewhat, but the ones who hunt less often have other focuses, leaving more food to be obtained by the ones who hunt more. But anyway, how is this going to help you? I don't see it being relevant," Spire concludes and stops his description.
Vie says something about everything being helpful but I zone out. It's a wonder, really, that I can still remember it. Way back, before Spire, before Rue, before even Phendrene; it was when we were in the Shallows. A crudely organised society of Hunters and Transporters and few others. I just accepted it and moved on, but it never made too much sense. It sounds like the Salamence are far more efficient and clear-cut, if they even leave care of their young to others.
…It was so long ago. I remember priding myself on things that I learned, instead of any battling or hunting. Maybe because we've been in the wild so long those mental things matter. No one cares if we're going to starve or die to rogue Salamence.
But if I stayed cooped up in Lyrl I doubt I'd fly as well as I do. I'd be like Zeta and stay a Trapinch and dig around for a long, long time… I evolved early, really, even though it was after Vie and Hale. It's just what living in the wild does to you.
Our physiology is so weird. How does evolution happen? A burst of hormones can transform your skeletal structure and grow you extra limbs? No way. Maybe all of us have innate psychic powers, or at least some form of special energy, to make that happen. But only for that purpose. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if I flew through psychic powers. Although I'd love to have them. I could just use telekinesis, like those legendary Pokémon, to throw all the Salamence away from my friends. Not only efficient, but sounds fun.
I shouldn't really complain, though. I'm one of the stronger species (even if not amongst dragons) and I can fly.
"Wait!" Vie's shout draws my attention. "So you're saying it's not the King who orders attacks and patrols?"
"It was under the General's command, of course! The King couldn't care less about what we do if he continues to have his affairs with all those concubines," Sylar snorts.
"Concubines?" Hale asks, confused.
"Multiple mates," Spire explains. "Yeah, I know, what a privilege. But still, that's nonsense. He is still held accountable for letting-"
"Hold on, multiple mates?" Rue questions. "How in the world does he not have a successor then?"
"I don't know. Rumour has it they're infertile," Spire says.
"They? The females? Don't you mean the King?" Vie asks back.
"No," Sylar answers in place of the other Salamence. "He does have a successor. The King has recently had a hatchling with one of his mates. The Bagon is a few years old. How do you even know these rumours, anyway?" he asks Spire pointedly.
"…I was in a family which had relations. So I know about these things. That's why I can't hunt properly. I've always had food given to me."
"That does explain why you're so useless," Vie says. "But anyway, this means we need to change our plan! Kill the King and he still has a successor!"
"Your plan is to kill the King?" Sylar asks, mortified. "Oh God. What have I done? Forgive me." He closes his eyes.
"You really think that Arceus exists?" Rue cuts in. "That we're just playthings of this omnipotent figure? Hey, I'm talking to you!"
The Salamence keeps his eyes closed and doesn't respond.
Rue kicks him in the face. "Shutting up on us now? That's not how things work."
Sylar opens his eyes with a face full of anger. "You tricked me. You… I should have never listened to any of you. From that time you hacked into my back after I surrendered… I knew you were evil."
"Yeah, and I bet it hurt. Want it again?" Rue feels her blades. "You know how sharp these are. After all, they're new!"
I thought I've seen scary Salamence before. But what's on his face now isn't any menacing aggrestion, it's just hatred. At least he's not going to do anything anytime soon with that back wound. It does look like it hurts a lot. Of course Rue's not doing it again. She's just saying that to make him speak.
"You… abomination. There's a reason why there weren't any of your species in Evitern. You're-"
"Trying to insult me? That seems like a very good idea," Rue says in a highly sarcastic tone, flicking her tusks with her claws, making an audible sound that even makes me feel uneasy.
Sylar stares at her for a few seconds before looking down in silence.
Vie taps Rue on the shoulder. "What are we gonna do now? We can't just kill the King anymore. We have to find something else!"
The Haxorus shrugs. "You figure out the decisions. This was your idea in the first place. I'm just helping you ask questions."
"But surely you know what our objective is?"
"Not really." Rue answers like it's the most obvious thing. "You could do better in explaining that."
"What is there to explain?" Vie shouts, exasperated. "You know the Salamence killed our parents. You're the only one out of us who doesn't have parents killed by the Salamence. We need to stop them."
"Yeah, and how are you going to do that? Kill all of 'em?" Rue scoffs.
"Aren't you supposed to be helping me?" Vie frowns. "Don't you care?"
"Of course I do, dummy! Who do you think evolved to save your hide?" She rolls her eyes. "It's just I'm not sure what you're doing is feasible. As I've said time and time again, I really don't think a few dragons like us, no matter how strong our individual strength is, are going to get anything done."
"But we've got to try! And we'll definitely find a way." Vie walks forward, extremely passionate. I even feel a bit guilty for being detached, considering I'm supposed to feel the same way as her.
"Well, you find the way then. I'm too dumb to find a way. Clearly you're smarter than me." She yawns and sits back against the wall opposite of Sylar, who is intently listening. "I'm way too tired for this. You know I just evolved."
"Funny how everyone listens to the younger one," Sylar comments snidely.
"She's actually the oldest out of us," Hale explains. "Well, other than Spire."
"Wait, what? Didn't she just evolve?"
"What do you think? I put off evolution," Rue says. "I thought we're evil? Why do you care about us?"
Sylar has no response turns his head away.
"Hey, that's what you claimed."
I glance over to Spire. He's actually the oldest, but he doesn't seem to care about being ignored. Then again, we have Silex, who is ignored even more.
Vie approaches Sylar surprisingly calmly considering her disposition regarding Salamence. I don't hear what they say though because Rue walks over and blocks my vision. I don't think she did it on purpose; she's just not used to being so tall.
"Can you come with me?" she asks in a quiet voice.
I nod, and follow her into the rooms.
"What is it?"
"Just wanted to talk." She opens a door. "Ah, the torches' light is just right. Way too bright out there to sleep. Sucks for Sylar. Anyhow, what were you doing the whole afternoon inside with Phendrene? Must have been really stuffy."
"I wanted to make sure she was all right, but then I fell asleep," I answer.
"Really? I guess you do need all the sleep after your intense flights." She lies down on the bed. "My turn now."
She is right; I am always the one to sleep the earliest and wake up the latest. "If you're just going to sleep early, why did you call me?" I sit against the wall next to the bed.
"…I just wanted to ask you some favours. If I ever become interested in any male, you've got to stop me, okay? Now that I'm evolved I have the feeling I might do something stupid."
"You're overthinking it," I try to reassure her. "Look at me, I'm fine after evolving. Everyone else, too, in fact."
"That's because you guys are really young. And they don't have any available suitors. You think I evolved late? Not really; you evolved early. How old are you, sixteen?"
"Yeah?" I don't really think about it much, but I do count the season cycles as I grow. My birthday was sometime in the winter, which was much more noticeable in the forest than in the desert.
She waves her hand. "Forget that, it doesn't matter. Just please make sure I don't become obsessed with anyone," she says. "I don't want to settle down or have kids."
I look over to her, surprised that she would be so insecure, but she's facing away. "How am I supposed to do that? If you can't stop yourself, how would I?"
"Just remind me that I told you. Hopefully that'll work. Enough of that for now." She flips around to face me. "How am I going to get back to the forest?"
"I'll just carry-" Oh. She's evolved. And she looks pretty heavy. "Right. I'm good at flying, right? It might still work?"
"Hopefully. We can try that tomorrow." She sighs. "I feel like evolving has made me act weird. I was so mean to Sylar out there. I even kicked him in the face."
"Of course not!" I place a hand on hers. "It probably hurt him somewhat, but he tried to kill us. I'd say you did a pretty good job of getting him on our side."
"I guess… but I did threaten to torture him. Which is supposed to be what the evil guys do, right?" She gives a bitter laugh.
"That's only in stories. If we're going by stories, we're going to have a legendary Pokémon save the day. But in the end, what happened today was that you did. So you're the hero!" I smile.
"Nah. You motivated me to evolve, remember? And plus, Hale and Vie are decent at fighting. They held their own against what could be considered trained soldiers without any major injuries."
"That's because you trained them! How else could they be so good at fighting?"
She blinks and turns away. "We're going off topic. I'm talking about Sylar. Do you think maybe threatening him was too far? Come on, you too nice to hurt even a Zigzagoon, wouldn't you think that it was kind of bad?"
"I knew you weren't going to follow through, anyway," I tell her my honest thoughts at the time. "So it doesn't matter."
"Okay, then." She turns to her side on the bed to face me. "One more thing… what are we going to do now? Continuing to go along with Vie's vendetta or what?"
"None of us are purposefully following that, except for maybe Spire. Who knew they would have that in common. But as for us, I thought you wanted to find your father first?"
"Doesn't seem like it's going to happen." She sighs again. "I mean, you haven't found yours, Phendrene hasn't found hers, why should I find mine?"
I almost correct her before I remember I'm not supposed to. I feel like I should be telling her, since she confided so much in me, but she has the biggest mouth out of all of us. "I guess. So, immortality?" I suggest tentatively, knowing that she cares about it a lot.
"Easier said than done. Just like Vie's idea." She yawns. "I'm tired and bored at the same time. Dealing with that Salamence is not that fun."
"I'll leave you to sleep, then," I say as I stand up. "Good night."
"Night. Thanks for listening, Nova."
I'm not sure how to respond to that, so I don't. When I re-enter the main room, I try and approach the conversing Hale and Sylar but Talon comes over to me first and whispers, "Hey, I'm allowed to talk now, right?"
"Umm… yes?"
"Yay!" he shouts, immediately distracting Vie from talking with Sylar. "Oh, sorry. I mean… sorry that your parents died. I'm supposed to say that to everyone, right?"
"No, no, it's fine. Thank you. Have you seen Phendrene?"
"Oh, she got called into Uncle's room."
What? I thought he would leave her alone from now on? I rush over to the door and open it without knocking. Phendrene's on the bed again, sleeping, and Fen sitting next to her.
"Why did you take her again?" I demand.
"She's still not fully healed and I need to get the stitches out soon," Fen replies flatly. "Give me some time."
"No, she's-"
"Flygon, stop it. Get out." The female Charizard who must be Celsius stands up and confronts me.
"That's a lie. She was fine-"
A red fist comes towards my face and there's no Charmeleon to block it for me this time. The hot, stinging sensation in my face lingers as I step backward and watch as the door closes.
I feel sick. I'll get Rue to help me tomorrow. See who's stronger. I grit my teeth.
"Nova? You okay?" Vie comes over. So she didn't see me get punched. "It's just Fen. You don't have to worry about her."
What do you know? "Yeah, I was just checking."
Vie nods and goes back towards their conversation. I have an intense urge to go flying again, so I rush out into the shadow of the cliff. Since the cliff faces east, the evening sun creates a large of shade at its foot. I ignore the patches of blood still on the floor and leap into the air easily.
My worry feels so stupid. Phendrene is fast asleep, which means she's fine. But when they brought her back in, she must have felt terrible, because after all she was the one who told me she didn't want to stay in that room. Well, I can't do anything about it now. Might as well try and confront Fen when his sister isn't there to hit me. Didn't she say that he had anger management issues? Then why did she hit me? Her actions really put me off, making me less likely to be as friendly towards strangers as I was with the Dragonite.
Yet still I feel like we should be helpful. Assume people we meet are good. It's only this way that there will be any good in this world. It's like what Silex said. She helps us hunt, teaches us things, and never expects anything in return, and we don't even acknowledge her existence much. But why would she do this? Because she had been saved by someone else in her youth, and decided to repay the world this way.
Vie seems to react to Salamence better now. Maybe it's simply knowing Spire for so long, even if she never really talked with him. And I guess seeing their deaths and listening to Sylar only made her come to the realisation that they're not just evil soulless machines but also real, living things.
I do feel bad for Sylar, even if he was on the side that tried to kill us. He never got any reassurance or apology that all his comrades got slaughtered. I wouldn't feel any better if… a bunch of powerful Lucario and other non-dragons came out and slaughtered everyone I knew when they were hunting and took me as prisoner.
It's strikingly similar, actually. All of the others would call me an idiot for thinking of this, but it's true. The Growlithe… she had a brother. A mother. Dreams, hopes, fears… I can still remember her saying that her 'mama' could beat me up. Yet any of the others upon seeing her would just snap her neck without hesitation. I'm actually glad that now we're in the grasslands I can't identify the species of what I'm eating anymore. It makes me think less about these reservations.
I have thought about this topic countless times before, especially during flying, as I'd be surveying the land home to many others. Then why is it that today I am suddenly feeling really sick of it? It seems so redundant. I always assume I'm morally superior because I don't hunt, but then I just take the food given to me. I'm still contributing towards unknown deaths. It's not as if I'm going to stop eating just because I feel sorry for them. They are rightfully afraid of me.
It's nighttime now. I rush into a dive and land in front of the door, suddenly craving company. Just someone to talk to so I can keep my mind off things. It's silly, really, that it is affecting me so much. I wasn't even in the fight. I wasn't even near it. Sylar, Rue, Vie, they all have reasons to be acting like this. They'd been in the fight. But not me.
Walking pass the unconscious female Salamence, I stop at Fen's door. Should I knock on it? Maybe I'll get punched again. But I still want to find out why they kept Phendrene here, whether actually for health reasons or Fen just wants to keep her nearby.
I nudge the door open and peek inside. There's a dim light and Fen is on the bed, reading a book. Looking more carefully I see Phendrene on the wall side.
"Can you let her out now?" I ask him rudely.
"Huh? Nova! I-" He puts the book aside and stands up immediately. "I'm so sorry," he says and walks over, grasping my hand. "I should have never tried to hurt you. And I'm really sorry for Celsius punching you. I know you must hate me, and that you don't trust me with Phendrene. But she has settled down, and staying put for this night would really help her injury." He looks back to his child. "I can understand you not trusting me with her. You can go in the bed if you want. I'll go sleep in the other rooms."
I don't know how to respond. This wasn't how I was expecting him to act at all. All my hate for him seems to dissipate.
"It's… fine, thanks," I tell him quietly and close the door behind me. Just… don't hurt her again."
"I would never," he says resolutely and walks back to the bed and sits on it. "She was right. I've let her mother die, and tried to hurt the one she loves. I can never make up for it." He puts his hands on his eyes.
"…Is 'the one she loves' referring to me? I told you I'm not-"
"It's not about you. It's about her," she explains. "She was always quiet when she was young… today, defending you, was the first time I ever saw her demand anything. She must feel very strongly for you."
"We were together for a lot of the things that have happened," I explain. "I'd do the same for her.
"I'll leave now," Fen says in a resigned voice and stands up.
"No, it's okay, I trust you with her." He displays a hint of surprise. "I don't think… I should take your bed. You're providing this shelter for all of us," I console him.
"…Thank you, Nova."
"…Good night," I say and leave the room, feeling somewhat embarrassed. This whole situation is a mess. I'm still a bit upset at being hit but, after all, Fen is the one that lets us all stay here.
Back in the corridor, I suddenly find it difficult which room to choose to sleep in. I know Rue is in the first room. I inch open the second and see Talon sprawled next to Celsius before shutting the door quickly. The next is Vie and Hale. They seem to be talking about something when I enter.
"Nova?" Vie reacts. "It's a bit stuffy in here. Why don't you join Spire at the end?"
"How about I go and leave you two here?" Hale says.
"No, you might get into a fight, sleeping with a Salamence. Nova's the safer choice."
"You sure?" Hale asks in a somewhat exaggerated tone.
"…Of course!" Vie responds, slightly flustered.
"Okay then." He winks at me as I shut the door.
I sigh. It's not as if I would do anything with Vie if we slept in the same room. We've all be sleeping next to each other for a long time.
I walk past another door to the one at the end. I almost open it before I remember who must be in the penultimate door through the process of elimination.
So I choose to go through that one instead. The Salamence with a tusk injury on his back glances at me as I walk in.
"Hey, Sylar," I call to him in the dim light.
"What is it?" he asks. "Is there something you want?"
"No," I lie. "It's just all the other rooms are taken. So I'm here."
"I see." He exhales quite carefully, as if every movement is painful. I can hear it now as the surroundings are quieter.
"Are you okay?" I ask him as I lie down on my back next to him.
"Yeah. It's just that Haxorus hits really hard."
"I'm sorry."
He pauses for a moment. "What?"
"I'm sorry about the injury," I repeat.
"Isn't it my fault?" he says with heavy sarcasm.
I look over to his perplexed face. "It seems like it hurts a lot."
"Thanks," he says and closes his eyes, back in his relaxed position. "I guess."
"I'm… also sorry," I mange to say, "that your… friends died. I'm really, really sorry."
"Why?" he suddenly says in a much clearer voice, staring at me. "Why are you so nice? This… isn't some elaborate ruse to get me to do something, right?"
"No, I just…"
He closes his eyes again. "Forget about it. Go to sleep."
"Are you sure you're okay? After all, you saw everyone you knew…"
"Why do you care?" he asks in a bitter tone.
"I saw my mother die. And I can't imagine seeing everyone else die. It must have been tough for you."
"…Yeah. It was," he admits and turns his head in the opposite direction now. "We… just had a meal that morning. Luna caught a Stantler and shared it with all of us. Then Kael was boasting about how he'd defeated three Garchomp by himself before. Eredar wasn't paying attention, and when I asked him he told me he was thinking about proposing to… I thought we were going to be back by evening… But…"
"I'm sorry." I don't know what else I can say, so I try move closer to under his wing. He's a lot bigger than Phendrene, but I can still feel him shaking. "I should have told the others to leave you alone."
"Why me?" he says through irregular breaths. "If I went to attack the Haxorus instead of Luna… I'd be the dead one… not her… And now only Era is left with me…" He must mean the female Salamence, who as I recall, claimed to have a son.
"But it's not the Haxorus' fault. I know. …Why does the General have to order us to do these things? You're right about this. I don't want territory… at the cost of so many lives."
He stops speaking after that.
It feels weird. Ask me when I was younger and I'd never think I'd be hugging a Salamence to comfort him.
"Are you an angel?" He suddenly asks as he turns his head toward me.
"What?"
"You must have been sent by Arceus to help me," he murmurs.
He makes me think. Why am I doing this? Because I knew that he must have been devastated after he saw all his friends get slaughtered. I care too much.
Is it a strength or weakness? I don't know. By understanding what other people feel… doesn't it make everything hurt more? Just like all these qualms I've had about hunting.
"Yeah, I'm an angel," I say to soothe him. What is that, anyway?
"Well then, Angel," he says with another bitter laugh, "why do you still care about the evil Salamence even after they killed your parents?"
"…That doesn't mean the Salamence wanted to. I remember. He wanted to ask my mother a question… but someone made a mistake and they just broke into a fight."
"But he still killed your mother. Shouldn't your mother matter to you and your siblings?" he asks.
I look away. "It's not like I can change anything about that. And I don't have any siblings."
"Oh. So you're not from the same family as the other two. I thought so."
"Yeah. Anyways, I hope you feel better. We should go to sleep."
I shift slightly after lying in the same position. Maybe the others will think I'm weird for being nice to this Salamence that was just our enemy… but he deserves something like this.
"One more thing, Angel," he says quietly. "…What's your name?"
I smile. "My name is Nova."