"Hey! It's time to eat!" Rue shouts from the ground, and I shift my wings to help me glide down to where the others are gathered.
The grass has already become longer now, and I don't need to worry about kicking up dust. The distance covered this day still feels unsatisfactory, especially since I had to slow myself down to wait for Hale. But I can't really blame him for tiring out so quickly, what with a Charmeleon to carry.
Speaking of Phendrene, she already has a piece of meat prepared for me. "Thanks," I say as I take it over and sit down on the grass.
"So, any idea of a lake that I could use?" Blight asks. "I heard the forest only has a creek as well, so we can't stay there long."
"I haven't been to many places," Rue responds. "Shouldn't you know of some lake if you're experienced enough to take down the Hydreigon?"
"Well, the Dragonite's one has a disease running around, and… the ones in Salamence territory are probably too cold. You other dragons can't go there, anyway."
"Why does where we go matter?" Rue asks. "You don't care about this Salamence King stuff, right? So you don't have to come with us."
"Yeah, but…" He glances at me and everyone understands that he wants to stay near me. By now I know to not react. "Though, what about the Shallows' lake? You Flygon probably are familiar with that place."
"How do you know about the Shallows' lake?" Hale asks, confused.
"He was with Nova's-" Vie cuts in, but stops to look at me.
Is he okay?
…
Of course I'm okay! Why is she thinking this?
"I'm fine. Stop worrying about me," I tell them and get back to the matter at hand. "I think the Shallows sound good. If the climate is acceptable for those of you who aren't Flygon."
Blight turns his head from me to the others. "It's not very deep in the desert, as its name suggests. I was fine when I stayed there."
"Alright, so that's sorted," Rue says. "Wait, what if we meet some other Flygon? They aren't going to leave these Salamence alone."
"I don't think there are any left at the Shallows," Hale says. "Unless someone is still living there…"
"Just scare them off," Spire continues, which gets him a few looks. "What?"
Vie tilts her head. "We could just explain to them that they're not going to be attacked. And if they don't listen… well, they're not gonna defeat all of us."
"That sounds good," Hale responds.
"But not really?" Rue questions. "What if the Flygon we 'scare off' go bring an army of Flygon to find us or something? Come on, there must be more lakes in Evitern."
"Let's just see how it fares first," Blight says. "Almost half of us are Flygon here, I think we would appreciate living in the desert."
I actually agree with that statement. I miss living in the desert somewhat, even if the scenery is worse.
The Haxorus relents. "Fine. But we're leaving at the first sign of danger."
"We need to go to Lyrl, anyway," Vie says. "It'll be more convenient this way."
I'm tired of the disconnected discussion. "Why don't the people who want to go to the Shallows go to the Shallows, and the people who want to go to Lyrl go to Lyrl. Then we all meet up at the Shallows or something. You guys are wasting time on this."
"But what if they bump into Flygon in this Shallows place?" Rue asks back. "Then we're split up and in danger."
Nova thinks everything is so simple.
"Fine, you know what to do. I'm done," I tell them as I throw a bone onto the floor.
"Already? Are you sure you had enough?" Vie asks, concerned. "Carrying Rue must be-"
"She's easy to carry. You guys figure everything out because you have this legendary Haxorus."
As I leap into the air, I realise it's more to get away from people than I'm disinterested in the conversation. Whenever I think about someone – or rather, think about what they think – their thoughts become apparent. I'm not entirely convinced it's helpful.
When I was flying, I've already thought about it. I'd still like to practice, but I'm not sure if they would appreciate that. Now I really can't tell them I'm a psychic.
But what else is there I can do with this? Try finding some other Pokémon to read their minds? I can't even find them. And I feel like now I've mostly forgotten the turmoil about eating meat, even if I'm still not willing to learn how to hunt. Learning their thoughts would remind me about how they are sentient again.
So, should I leave it alone? It might prove to be an asset in the future. In fact, it definitely will. No more "suddenly discovering your father" type things happening, I'll know everything from the start. Or would I? I only know things in the forefront of other people's minds. At least, no one can lie to me. Even if the lies are well-intentioned…
I wonder how Silex is doing.
Did she really have to lie to me? I might have still been upset, but it wouldn't be as bad if I had the foresight. Still, some of it was because of other things… like knowing he had another child with someone else when my mother died.
Ah, I'm starting to hate him again. Let's think about something else.
Spire. And that secret of his that Sylar knows. He's not very good at hiding secrets. Then again, Blight appearing out of the blue was unexpected. Well, at least we know he has a secret. Though I have the feeling he has many more… like why his parents were killed by the Salamence King, for instance. He never gave a proper explanation.
Wait.
Why am I so worried about this? I can read Spire's mind!
Glancing towards the group on the floor, I see they are still eating. Probably arguing what to do when they head to the desert.
I'll have to bring the issue to the forefront of his thoughts. That's fairly simple. Just ask him what his secret his, and no doubt he'll think about it. Then, I just have to focus my own mind…
I swoop down back towards the ground, and rejoin the circle they have formed around the prey.
"That was quick," Rue comments. "I was expecting you to stay in the air for a few more hours."
"I just… wanted to come down." I'm suddenly a little reluctant. What if Spire suspects something?
How would he? At most he'd get annoyed. There's no way he'd guess there's a psychic.
"So, if we don't stay in Lyrl for long," Hale continues their previous conversation, "you guys can wait outside. Then we can head to the Shallows together."
Will it be enough time to gather information, though? Should be, asking things doesn't take long.
Those were Vie's thoughts. So it's working. All right.
"I need to interrupt you for a second." I feel a little nervous. "Spire, I'm interested in that 'Salamence business' of yours."
He suddenly tenses as the attention is drawn to him. No one questions me, as they are all probably curious about the thing as well. "It's called 'Salamence business' for a reason," Spire responds.
"How are we supposed to trust you when you won't tell us what you know about the Salamence?"
"It's not about the Salamence as a species! It's just a personal issue between us. Now will you shut up?"
I stare at his face and try and decipher what he's thinking. If that idiot didn't forget to change his…
Suddenly the train of thought snaps. "You're not getting it!" he shouts, loudly.
"Nova, just give up," Rue says. "He's clearly not-"
"No. I'm not talking about him," Spire says, his voice even more strained. "…There's a psychic watching us. Be careful."
Huh?
"What?" Rue stands up and walks over to him. "Are you sure-"
"Someone just tried to read my mind," Spire says in a serious tone.
How does he know? What if they guess that it's me?
"Nova?" Phendrene's voice brings me back to reality. I was shaking. I realise I can't freak out. It will only make myself more suspicious.
"A psychic?" I manage to say. "You must be way too tense. There're no psychics in Evitern anymore. You're just scared your secret will be exposed."
Spire grunts. "It's none of your business."
"Calm down, both of you," Vie says. "We'll be fine. There are six of us."
"Seven," I say, feeling the Charmeleon beside me.
"You know what I mean," Vie says as she throws a finished bone onto the ground. "Psychics aren't gonna bother us. And Nova, just… forget about Spire's thing. We've tried asking at Fen's place. Sylar told us it was a personal thing."
"Fine." I turn around and leap back into the air quickly before my composure can fall apart.
He knows when people read his mind.
What else can I do to uncover this secret? The only other one that may have an inkling of knowledge is Blight, and attempting to read his mind may very well yield the same result. Sylar also knows, but… we just left Fen's place.
This is so inconvenient.
Be patient, Nova. You'll find out sooner or later. Why is it a big deal, anyway? As if it would actually doom us all. I can fend off Salamence.
That reminds me, I should continue practicing. But I need to get far away from the others.
I'm not at peace until the other dragons are only a tiny speck in the distance. Even though it may be considered disadvantageous to be practicing in open ground, I can spot anyone approaching as easily as they can spot me.
The precaution is for naught, however, as no one bothers coming to me. My worry stops nagging on my mind and I'm able to try more than simply guiding some small pieces of grass or dirt through the air. Like simultaneously holding many large masses still, I still haven't perfected that.
Only when it's dark, do I head back into the skies and survey the lands. The million blades of grass become a mass of muted green, extending to the horizons. With the stars in the sky, it feels like an image of paradise.
But my logical mind shushes my poetic mind and tells me that I would get bored of it if I were to live here for more than a few days. I'm not living here for more than a few days, so all is well.
Without Silex here to supervise, no one is willing to start a fire in the midst of the grass. Phendrene has learnt to minimise her tail flame so she doesn't need to be careful all the time, and as a result she's not nearly as energetic as before. She seems to be just lying in the grass, while the others are off in groups talking.
We haven't talked much since I discovered Fen was her father, actually. Because after that Blight came and…
"Phendrene?" I call to her.
She turns her head. "You're back?"
I sit down next to her. "Are you sleeping?"
"Bored. They went off together." She sits up and rubs her eyes. "I don't feel that well."
"Are you cold? Or is it just your fire being out?"
"Not that. I'm more disappointed that we didn't do much. Father was there, and he taught me, but… I still want to go to the Charizard's place. How about we fly off now! I can hunt for you!"
It's nice seeing her excited, but I still have to turn down her request. "Let's not make rash decisions."
"Aw, but I want to!" She sits up and grabs on to my arm, pleading. "Pleeeease?"
"We can't just run off! And why can't you just act like this all the time?" I comment. If you were more open, I bet you could have got along with Talon."
"Probably… But at that point I was still pretty angry with my father. And Talon was actually annoying. I wasn't afraid of him or anything," she crosses her arm.
"You're quite talkative today."
She places a paw on my chest. "I was hoping you'd talk more too. About your feelings."
I stare at the paw on my body. "I… I'm nice enough to him, okay? But I'm not cuddle with him anytime soon. Like you, right?"
"Wrong." She stands up. "When you were off flying… I spent my time with Father."
"Oh. …And?"
"Nova." The Charmeleon looks me straight in the eye. It's supposed to be somewhat serious because she's standing and I'm sitting but we're about level height. "He is your father."
"I know but… is there a problem? I don't ignore him anymore."
"I just want you to be happy." She gives me a hug.
"I'm pretty happy with the current state of affairs, thank you." I pat her on the back and get out of the hug. "But if you're gonna keep talking about him I'm going to find the others."
"But Novaaa." She slithers down to my waist and nudges against it. "Come on."
"Come on what?" I ask back, a little unsettled. "I don't get you."
She mumbles something incoherent but ends up just squishing her face against my side.
I sigh and push her away. "…Just go to sleep."
Falling asleep doesn't take a long time, as I'm relatively tired from flying. Carrying a Haxorus may not be that easy, even if I can accelerate myself in ways other than flapping my wings. Hale must have a lot more trouble, because it takes him forever to wake up. Someone of his calibre can't take on Phendrene's weight. Also, Phendrene isn't comfortable spending an entire day on top of someone else. But there isn't a solution; I can't offer to take on both of them.
Tiring me is not the actual problem. They would get suspicious. I'm the most newly evolved Flygon (even if it feels like ages ago) and even though the reputation of an excellent flying capability is there, carrying a Charmeleon on top of a Haxorus is too overwhelming to believe.
It turns out my worries are true. During the afternoon flight, Hale is too tired to continue flying and dives down to land. Vie and I notice and follow her, but it takes a while for the two Salamence to realise that we're missing and come back for us. Vie offers to carry Phendrene and takes her slightly less well than Hale, but still manages. Hale is exempt from hunting that evening and talks a lot less than usual.
The rest of the journey, the twins alternate carrying the Charmeleon. It's only for one day, so they manage nicely without any other issues. I'm glad that Phendrene is able to cope with being around at least Hale. Though when you think about it, it's a bit unreasonable on Phendrene's side, since she's spent more than five years of her life with him, even if they weren't the closest.
Spire doesn't mention the psychic thing again. I seem to have controlled my abilities fairly well and I don't accidentally peek into anyone else's mind. Sometimes I test it for a moment just to see it's still working. With that worry out of my mind, my thoughts turn back to the imminent arrival at Lyrl. It hasn't been that long since I visited, but with all that happened down south, it really feels long. I wonder if I'll feel comfortable telling Zeta about everything that had happened. He is one of the people I might admit to having psychic powers.
The forest feels like home after all these years, which is strange because I belong in the desert. Regardless, seeing the clearings, stream, and even the little shelter that Rue built (which we can't fit in anymore) is quite nostalgic.
While the others have spread out, to relax, to hunt, or to settle the Dratini down in the water, Rue alone seems fidgety. She was like this since the trees had become denser with the view from above, so I don't let her leave my sight.
As she approaches the small chasm, she looks around and spots me easily.
"Why are you following me?" she demands, with (to my surprise) anger.
"You just looked worried. It's not like I'm doing any hunting."
"I'm finding Lin."
"I want to meet her too."
The Haxorus doesn't question it and turns away, letting me follow her. But as she places her foot on the log over the chasm, it shakes.
She hesitates for a bit. "Uh, Nova, can you carry me over this?"
I comply. As I glide over the pit, I realise I can see the bottom easily. It hadn't been much of an obstacle ever since I was a Vibrava, but after seeing the cliff my old feelings about it as a Trapinch seem rather comical.
The somewhat familiar scene of Sceptile and their children populating the trees appears before us. Rue looks straight ahead, ignoring any curious Treecko staring. I tail behind her, still not having memorised the route towards Lin's home.
"Lin?" she calls up the tree, in a quieter voice than I would expect. Not a second later, I hear scuffling and the Grovyle climbs down the tree, bringing a few leaves with her.
She doesn't even spare a glance at me, staring up at the Haxorus who is now taller than her. "You… evolved?"
"It was… in a fight. I had to." Why does Rue needs to justify her evolution? Maybe it's something between them. So this is what she was worried about.
Lin sighs. "Okay, then. …How long are you staying?
"Not very long. Maybe just one night," Rue says.
"Can you stay, then?" Lin asks.
"I need to hunt for the others. Someone left, and we're a bit short on hunters. I'm sure you could come with me, though."
"…I'll go later this evening. I have to hunt with Mum now."
"Okay. See you."
Lin only gives a curt nod at her, then at me, before nimbly grabbing onto the bark and vanishing into the canopy.
Rue cuts her sigh short with words. "Let's go now."
"Are you okay?" I ask her as she walks away from the tree, her tail unusually still.
"She still has a mother. I don't blame her for treasuring that."
I was going to ask her about the evolution thing but Rue's tone is soft enough to stop me from talking. She's right, anyway. None of us have mothers… Maybe the adults still do, though? I doubt it. In Fen's dream which I dreamt in his place he had to work alone to get food for him and his sister, and I'm almost sure that Silex's parents are dead. Blight, though? Probably, otherwise why would he be running around screwing Dragonite? Or maybe he does and cares about screwing Dragonite more than his mother. Which will make me really hate him, if it's true. Sylar has his mother back home, but he's not going there anytime soon, and Era-
Era is a mother. Wow. I almost forgot about that, because she only mentioned it to me right after she tried to kill me. She doesn't seem that much older than us and she already has a child? Salamence society must be really… open.
Though, maybe I am being unfair. My mother… as much as I dislike thinking about it, she's mated before. And if I had to answer truthfully, I'd say most of my friends would go on to have children as well.
Why does that matter? What I do doesn't have to be what everyone does. I bet they can't fling Salamence around with their mind.
"You'll have to carry me across again," Rue interrupts my thoughts at the chasm.
I oblige once more, and head back towards the clearing, a bit stressed. I shouldn't be thinking about things like that, I should be relaxing! So I just laze on the floor and wait for the hunting to be done.
"So did you guys figure out a plan?" I ask during the meal.
"Yep," Vie says, seemingly revitalised. "So we head towards Lyrl, and leave the two Salamence outside. We stay in there for a short while, try and gather information about whether the Shallows is occupied. So no visiting Zeta or anyone. And then, if no one is at the Shallows, we just head there. But if someone is there, um…"
"We still go," Rue helps Vie fill in. "But we'll be more prepared. If they end up being a threat, we'll just relocate to another lake which we'll have to find. Which won't be that hard, because we can leave the Salamence here in the forest while gathering more information at Lyrl."
"Right," Hale adds in. "And no matter what happens, in the end we'll get time to spend in Lyrl, so don't worry about it."
It's more complicated than I thought so I don't think too hard about it. I trust that they have it covered. And if worst comes to worst, I'll just have to toss some enemies around. …
After eating, they disperse out to their own activities, but I stay laid down in the clearing. Phendrene asks to fly with me but I decline, telling her that I'm not flying today.
I liked to think that I was the master of flying. No matter how long I have spent in the skies, I'd always have energy to climb higher.
Not today. Being back in the forest after so much makes me wonder if my life will ever die down to the peaceful years that we had together.
And although I don't want to agree with it, the answer is probably no. Who knows what will come about in the desert. With all that has happened…
I'm tired.
Rest well, my dear.