Snowy mountain peaks in the distance. Where the Salamence live.
I stand on the top of a hill. The green of the overgrowth seems more in a muted and turquoise tint than the forest. The hills are large and steep enough to form a maze for those who are bound to the ground.
Farther ahead, the snowy mountains loom. There are peaks that pierce through the clouds, like a pathway to another world.
There may be Salamence, but they're a trifle.
The land isn't so barren to make it difficult to find berries. I vaguely sense a few minds of what must be Pokémon hiding in the undergrowth. I leave them alone.
The sour taste isn't very appealing, nor is it very filling. I'd still prefer to sit here rather than go back to where I used to be.
The sun is setting, after all the time it took to fly here. It shades half of the snowy peaks orange, but the other half stays ever so blue from the sky.
I wonder what I should do now. They all know what I can do. What do the Flygon think of me? Certainly not an asset to defeat the Salamence. They'd be stupid to think that.
I'm not allowed to go back anymore. Knowing that a there's a place in this world I'm barred from… it feels strange, given I should be able to fly anywhere I wish. Maybe sometime later, they'll forget about it, and I can go back under a masquerade.
What happened to the innocent goal of reviving my mother? Perhaps I just grew up and dismissed the thought as something ridiculous, like it is. Why are mothers always dead? If I had my mother instead of my father now, I wouldn't even be flying away, and instead finding consolation in her arms.
Everything culminated from me getting angry from Silex's white lies. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't discover that I'm a psychic, and Silex would still be here to advise us on terrible decisions like leaving two unprotected Salamence in the desert.
But at least now, no one is going to lie from me anymore. It's not much practical use for people like that Haxorus who always speak their mind, but now I can really tell if people are lying. But I'm still far too nice. Even Phendrene has grown up, able to take some responsibility, and I'm still here thinking over my actions when all I did was try and keep people alive. I've never even killed anyone.
Right, I have. That Salamence which killed my mother. He doesn't count. In fact, we could have died if that Salamence was particularly intent on killing even Trapinch. But that also tells me that I need to stop caring too much. This is a cruel world, where only the victors survive. If I were born not a dragon, I would have my friends and family being hunted on a constant basis.
Though, I've always been confused at how fast and efficiently my friends are able to hunt. I take a glance at the hills in front of me, and see absolutely nothing. How do they find it in the barren desert? We're not small eaters when we eat meat, and surely the prey isn't infinite. They must be also adapted to fending for themselves. When I take a look at the desert, it's just endless sand. Yet any dedicated Flygon hunter always seems to just pull some prey out of thin air.
There are too many dragons. Now that I think about it, when I see many dragons together, it doesn't seem right. Like there are not supposed to be this many together. In Fen's rooms, it felt somewhat crowded and uncomfortable. But when I'm flying alone in the sky, surveying the natural world beneath my wings? That feels more like what we're supposed to be.
Who knows? It may simply be the powers making me feel like everyone else is mundane.
Is there even another psychic in this land?
The sky is darker as the light fades beyond the mountains. I'm clearly not going to meet anyone just sitting around. But enough has happened today, even if it feels like ages ago. I should rest… but I don't want to go back.
You can stay here for the night.
It could be a problem. I've used what powers I have to try and keep myself warm, to stop the air around me from flowing as fast as the wind. But it's constantly changing, and I'm not used to manipulating wind.
I'll have to find a cave.
Natural ones aren't very common. There's a reason why they are prized locations only the strongest can occupy. As a result, many others dig their own caves and tunnels underground. But I can't dig into solid rock. Maybe the dirt would be more malleable, but I'm out of practice, anyway. Ever since I've evolved into a Vibrava I've forgone all my abilities dealing with earth and instead went into the sky.
But looking for a cave isn't a difficult task for someone like me. I take off boost myself through the hills, looking at the foot of them for any possible opening. And to my luck, I find one quite soon.
It is on a crevice on one of the particularly steep slopes. As I land on the edge of the cave where a rock protrudes from the slope, I take a look around me. Unless they are very skilled at climbing, I doubt anyone could get here without flying.
The shade of the cave is oddly nostalgic. Maybe it's due to memories of the Shallows, maybe it's from when I could still fit in the forest shelter. Regardless, I'm going inside. It's too cold to sleep in the open…
I notice a smell. It feels familiar. I stop in my steps, worrying that my claws make too much sound on the ground. Sniffing again, the familiarity only grows.
I don't use my sense of smell anymore. Although I have smelt some vague scents on the way here, none have been like this. And suddenly, in a flash of realisation, I realise why it's familiar.
It's the scent of a female Flygon.
A curiosity grows within me. What could a Flygon be doing here? I'm the only one that could have gotten here from the desert this quickly. She must have been in the mountains the whole time.
A faint light glows from inside. I hadn't noticed with the outside still being tinted orange from the final bits of sun over the hills. I slowly step towards the light.
There is a fire set up, using chunks of wood and plant to fuel it. Behind it the Flygon lies on the floor, facing towards the fire, which brightly illuminates her soft face with closed eyes behind goggles. Her small wings lie neatly behind her and her tail rests on next to that.
I pause. Since my eyesight had improved, I had never taken the time to scrutinise my own species' body; I was far too used to seeing Vie and Hale's light-coloured bodies, and occasionally Silex's grey. Then in Lyrl, there were suddenly too many of them to care. Only now, standing in front of a lone female Flygon, do I first appreciate one's presence. I can see the little red marks on the wings and the tail, the curvature of the antennae, the patches of different coloured skin on the tail… every detail seems so majestic and beautiful.
"Oh." She startles me with a voice, as she pushes herself up. "Hey."
"Uh… hi," I answer curtly. I hadn't noticed her eyes opening.
"Didn't expect to meet a Flygon here," she says.
"Me neither."
"Do you want to use this cave too?" Her voice sounds different. Not Phendrene's childishness, nor Rue's dominance. Something more pleasant. "To rest for the night?"
"I'd… yeah. Thank you." I walk over, somewhat embarrassed I'd been caught looking at her. "Sorry for waking you up."
"It's fine. I wasn't asleep. And it's lonely here, anyway." She indicates a spot next to her. "Come sit!"
I shift my tail anxiously as I walk over and tentatively sit down next to her. "…Thank you."
"It's better with company. And I haven't seen any Flygon in a while. Do you come from the desert?"
I nod, keeping my attention on her face.
"What's it like over there, then?" she asks.
I don't want to think too much about what had just happened. I don't want her to know. "It's much warmer," I reply simply.
"Oh, do you play with the sand, too?" she asks again, her voice full of energy and excitement. "When I was a Trapinch I could dig deep enough to find rocks!"
Any Trapinch could do it, but I don't say that. It would be rude. "Why are you in the mountains and not the desert, then?" I ask.
"I had to leave." She pauses for a second and gazes at the fire silently, and I remind myself to not mention it ever again. "But it's fine living like this!" She turns her head back to me, that lovely smile back upon her face. "I've been to lots of places, even over the mountains. What about you?" She suddenly asks. "Why are you here if you lived in the desert?"
"I was somewhere else for a while… and…" I just wanted to get away from people, but that would make me sound bad. "I thought flying over to check the mountains would be good idea."
"It is! Hey, do you want to come together? I bet it'd be easier to fend off Salamence if we stick together." She grabs onto my arm. The touch of someone else feels somewhat nice and intrusive at the same time.
"I… can't hunt," I respond meekly.
"I can tell. You have berry juices on the edge of your mouth," she says and chuckles, letting go of me.
"Oh!" I immediately wipe my mouth with my arm. "I-I'm sorry, I just-"
"Don't be so nervous!" She laughs again. "It's much better than having blood on your mouth. You must have been hungry but still didn't choose to eat meat, so I thought you must have not wanted to hunt."
"That's… smart," I comment.
"I'm sure you would notice too if you saw yourself. Anyway, I'll hunt for you, so don't worry about that."
That phrase brings back a flow of memories. Someone else saying that they'd always be there to hunt for me, because we've been through so much together. And here, she has just met me and she's offering that. Why?
"Come on! It'll be fun! Have you seen all the snow? And you can go back to the desert afterwards!" She's tugging on me again, her enthusiasm somewhat infectious now that I warmed up.
My friends. I came here to escape from them, but…
They don't need you for anything. And you can go back anytime you want.
…What 'but'? I need to be more independent. "Sure, I'll go."
"Great! The snow will be so much easier to withstand with someone else!" She sounds so happy I even feel a smile creep up on my own face, even after all that has happened today. With her, it already feels like long ago.
"So, we'll need to get to know each other. I can't believe we haven't told each other our names yet! I'm Aya, you?"
Aya? It's unique. "I'm Nova."
"Okay, Nova. How old are you?"
"About sixteen years. I evolved quite early, because I was out flying a lot."
"I'm only a bit older," she replies. "But I evolved just as early! I trained hard."
"I'd love to see you in action, then," I tell her admiringly.
"Finding battles is tough out here without any friends. I trained only to be able to survive out here, anyway."
She shifts a bit behind me and her tail is now brushing against mine. It gives a strange tingle, but I don't move.
"Well, I think we should go to sleep. Do you mind if we sleep together? I'm worried that I could get burned if I rely too heavily on the fire."
"Oh, um, but…" we've just met each other. But that part of the sentence doesn't come out.
"It's just for warmth anyway. Come on, let's lie down." She pulls me to the corner of the cave. It's a bit less comfortable than grass or sand, though the difference isn't much.
I'm hesitant at getting close, so I leave a small gap between us as, but she still shifts towards me, her arm brushing against my back. Again, I get a funny feeling inside me.
Even though I just met her, I already feel better in her presence. All the others know I'm a psychic, how could they like me? Aya treated me so nicely for a stranger. Maybe she simply hasn't seen one of her own species for a long time, but who would offer to hunt for a stranger and even feel comfortable sleeping next to him?
Maybe I can find out. I felt so normal just now I almost forgot what I'm able to do.
Focusing about what the Flygon behind me is thinking, I close my eyes.
…But there is nothing. I can't even feel a consciousness. It's like my powers never existed.
I stare at one of the leaves in front of me. Flicking my finger at it. It rustles slightly. So my telekinesis is still working. Just not my mind reading.
I shouldn't need to use it, anyway. She doesn't have a motive to pretend to be nice to me. And I'd rather not know why she left the desert, if she doesn't want to say it herself.
She shifts a bit behind me and her tail is now brushing against mine again. The ticklish feeling returns… in a nice way.
I flip my body over to look at her sleeping face.
Finally, after all the turmoil, I feel content.
Sometime during the night, I hear some calls and howls of other Pokémon outside in the hills. I've not heard much of it before, what with living together with copious numbers of dragons. This feels more feral. Like somewhere we dragons belong, rather than clumped up in some area using human toys and leading a human life.
The next thing I know is the smell of fresh blood. I open my eyes to find Aya having a… something placed next to the fire. I can't tell; it's already skinned.
"You're awake," I hear her voice from behind me. "You seemed tired, so I let you sleep."
I turn around to see her sitting against the wall, that smile on her face again. "It was a good sleep." I didn't dream.
"That's great! I said I'd hunt, so go ahead and eat."
"I… Thanks," I say before biting into the prey. The taste of meat is refreshing after the berries yesterday, so I finish it up pretty quickly without conversing between bites like I usually do when eating. I never eat much in the morning, anyway.
She stands up as I take the last bite. "Well, shall we go? Or do you want to warm up a bit?"
"I'm ready! I'm good at flying," I answer.
"As fast as me?" she asks like a challenge, and runs out.
"Hey, wait!" I throw the last bone to the side and chase her. The morning light momentarily blinds me as I step out into the sight of the rocky hills. Aya is already in the air, swerving around a particularly steep cliff – I can't believe she took flight already! But I won't be left behind.
The familiar feeling of weightlessness is there as I leap but then my wings instinctively spread and flap, steadying my body and bringing me higher than her in a matter of seconds. Then I dive down and use the strong mountain winds to glide past her from above. She raises her head as my shadow covers her.
"Oh, you really think you can beat me?" she shouts through the air in a challenging tone. Before I can answer, she has sped up ahead after a few powerful wing flaps.
I grin at the sight of her flying past a plateau, and immediately go ahead to follow. I can overtake her any time; there's no need to rush it. Might as well enjoy the scenery around me.
The area we are at now is particularly flat compared to the surrounding terrain. It seems to be quite lush in its undergrowth, but there is only an occasional tree in sight. Up ahead, where Aya is flying to, is a cliff wall, with a gap in it as a rocky crevice that seems quite deep.
Of course she's heading there. It's only just wide enough to fly through – but where's the fun without some danger?
Seeing that she is approaching the cliff fast, I simply will myself to head forward at an even higher speed. As she slows down to enter the narrow path, I'm already right behind her.
But the ease of it startles me. Normal Flygon can't travel that fast. She has probably been travelling by flight for years, so naturally she would be confident in her abilities. For me to be able to overtake her that easily? It would be far too suspicious. And I don't want to think about how she would react if she learnt about my abilities.
I need to slow down to navigate the crevice anyway. She must be quite a daredevil, making the decision to fly in here. The rocky overhangs leave only a sliver of the blue sky left, leaving less light to help us navigate.
Suddenly, she thrusts herself upwards and escapes into the open air. It must be because the crevice is getting narrower. I follow her ascent, but in the moments I used making the decision she has already gained significant distance, already nearing the foot of one of the larger mountains. She flies very well for someone that uses solely their wings – none of my friends could become this fast without practicing for months.
I shake my head. Don't think about them.
Even though she was so energetic, Aya already looks like she is tiring, having spent all of her energy in the sprint. I use this opportunity to dive below and then swerve upwards in front of her, and then continue to head uphill.
I'll wait for her up ahead, of course. Despite being on the slope of a mountain, finding a flat area is not too difficult. It feels colder; we seem to be nearing the snowy regions of the mountain tips. Yet there are still some plants growing here and there. They must be sturdy.
My balance is upset abruptly as something yanks my tail and I keep myself aloft as a subconscious reaction. Immediately after, I realise who must have yanked my tail and instead settle my wings in a gliding position to make my weightlessness less conspicuous.
"Caught you…" she says between quick breaths, still managing who must be holding onto the end of my tail due to the diamond shaped scales that extend off.
"Let go!" I shout.
"No," she responds, like a child who has lost a game.
I don't bother trying to convince her further as I glide slowly down to the hill. Thankfully, she keeps up with me and my tail survives intact as I land on the dirt slope.
Her heavy breathing is the only thing I hear as the sound of wind fades.
"Now can you let go? Please?"
"Fine." She even chucks the tail towards me, which I easily move to behind me with a twitch of a muscle. She is holding her sides, as if she had overexerted herself. "You're so fast! How…?"
"Exercise. I fly a lot."
"I fly too! In fact, I've been mostly flying these past few days."
Is she getting suspicious? I shouldn't have let myself fly faster than I physically could. "I started as a Vibrava… and, I also carry this Haxorus around. Maybe that's why."
"Yeah. …This place is too sloped to rest. Can we go up ahead?" She points to a place like a natural alcove that provides a little shelter.
"Sure," I respond, and make sure to stay at about the same speed as her as we fly a bit further.
She gets there slightly ahead of me and sprawls onto the floor.
"We'll get more distance covered if you don't sprint like that," I tell her.
"I know, I know, I've been flying for ages!" she exclaims between huffs.
"Sorry for, um, going so fast," I say as I sit down next to her.
"I was the one who suggested it. Should have seen your excellent flying before trying something like that."
"I… thanks."
"Ah, the view is great here! You can see the desert in the distance, look!" She sits up and points toward the place we came from. Sure enough, there is a sliver of something that looks like sand in the horizon. "This is why I love the mountains. You can see everything from up high!"
"Isn't it a little cold, though?" I ask as a small breeze passes by.
"You'll get used to it. I'm used to harsh conditions already. Did you know it snows down south?"
"Isn't snow just the thing on top of the mountain?" I ask.
She turns her head over. "It comes from the sky as well! Kind of like cold rain. We'll go there in winter."
The Haxorus talked about this before, I think, but it was never relevant. It never even rained much, and when it did, I would hide in the shelter, since every time it happened I was a Vibrava, because it was far too cold and would mess up my wings. I've never experienced rain as a Flygon, though, but Vie and Hale seemed to deal with it well.
…Stop thinking about them.
"I don't even know what season it is now," I admit. The temperature in the forest does fluctuate slightly but I've never kept a record of it. Someone else does…
"Oh, it's spring. The snow on top of the mountains will melt soon, so we'd better go there fast. And then for the summer we can to go to coast… have you seen the sea?"
"No…" I answer absentmindedly.
"Then it'll be great!" She shuffles closer to me. "I've only seen it once, too! You won't believe it, the water is salty."
"Hey, Aya… if it's spring right now, doesn't that mean it'll be almost a year until winter?"
"Oh, in the autumn there are places as well, with mountains of yellow and red leaves, or fields of harvestable berries and plants! And there are plenty of other places, too. A year isn't even enough to see the world, so don't worry!"
She doesn't realise what I mean at all. Is she really expecting me to simply go with her for so long? …But after all, I didn't tell her that I was leaving anyone behind when I came here. She must have assumed that I didn't have anyone important to go back to, which is why she's trying to cheer me up.
Although I'm bewildered at the prospect of travelling together with her for so long before we've even met for a day, I don't reject the idea. If I wanted to see any of them, I can simply ask to go back. The journey wouldn't even take that long. On the other hand, they probably don't want to see me after knowing what I am, knowing that their thoughts are an open book to me…
Plus, Aya makes me feel free. Free from all the chaos and conflict that had occurred before. I like being around her. She's so caring and cheerful…
"Hey, Nova, daydreaming?" Her clear voice only consolidates what I was thinking. "Have you already seen those places or something?"
"No, I'm fine. I haven't seen any of those places. I'd love to go, though."
"Great! Well, I think I've caught my breath. Wanna head to the peaks first?" she says and smiles. "We can get there by noon."
I feel myself smile back. "Sure. Let's go." I steady my wings, and firmly remind myself to not overextend my flying capabilities beyond what is natural. I don't want to lose her as well…
"Oh, by the way, get ready to tease some Salamence!" she shouts as she takes off, which startles me, but after comprehending it I just chuckle and follow her.
As we ascend the to the first peak, my notions about what a dragon's life should be like are reaffirmed. The exhilarating and refreshing wind that flows past feels like a cleansing. The bright sun shining down on the plants with morning dew beneath us, and the blue sky dotted with floating clouds, together gives us a view unavailable to any of those creatures bounded to the earth. Looking backwards at the path up the mountains, the desert is no more than a speck.
I've had my fair experience of flying. But most of the time it was swerving in place, trying to remember where I must return to and then swerving back when my time was up. Now, there is no restriction whatsoever, and I'm truly free in sky, soaring in any direction I desire whenever I want.
There are still mountains to ascend further ahead, but too high of an altitude will make physical exercise more strenuous. So we stay at our height, sometimes swerving around taller mountains if necessary. Once or twice the sun goes beneath the clouds and I look upwards, wondering what it would feel like inside them. I've never tried flying that high from low biomes, but with the peaks ahead of us shrouded in these clouds, it seems far more reachable now.
A river appears before us in a canyon, which seems to be flowing to the side. I follow Aya's trail and we head upstream. It's very wide, far wider than the trickling stream at the plains, with the water constantly splashing as it flows. It has quite a forceful current which parts ways for rocks sticking through the surface, and the river bank beside is saturated wet in a darker shade of colour.
Some time after, I start to hear a faint thundering sound. Aya motions me forward and we fly up above the confines of the ravine and in the distance I spot a vast waterfall coming down.
I spring over to it and land at the edge of the deep gorge, which is at the middle of the waterfall's height. Below, it falls down into the canyon and forms the river we've been following. Above is what has to be called a precipice; the top of the waterfall so far away that it's almost out of sight.
Cautiously, I step closer to a protruding ledge. Over here, I can feel some of the water splashing onto me, making my skin a little wet. A hesitant arm is stretched out to see just how strong the flow of water is, but before it gets anywhere near the main flow there it already starts hurting from the peripheral drops.
"Waterfalls are a beauty of nature," Aya's voice sounds from behind me. "Not only do they look awesome, but they feel nice as well."
"Yeah. It's cold, but… fresh. Kind of like the mountain wind. I didn't actually think water could feel so nice." I give my honest feelings.
"Because as a Trapinch, you fell into water before, right?" She chuckles.
"Hey, you wouldn't like it if it happened to you!" I argue.
"You sure? I can swim just fine." She crosses her arms.
"Swimming? Like moving in water?" My curiosity is piqued. "How can you do that?"
"Not as a Trapinch, of course! I can show you when we find a lake! Probably not up here, it's too cold…"
I step away from the waterfall and back to drier ground, wiping my wet paws on my body to dry them. "Why, though? You can always fly over water."
"It's not good to be a picky learner. Who knows if you'll need to save someone drowning, or dive through a flooded tunnel underground? Flygon actually have the benefit of having goggles! Although the water leaks in quite quickly. But it's fun to play with water, anyway!"
"Maybe. I don't think our thin arms are going propel us very fast. And our wings will be draggy, too…"
"I'll show you sometime! But not here, 'cause the water's REALLY cold. Enough about that, though, do you still wanna fiddle with the waterfall? Or should we head up?" She points to the sky. "I bet you haven't practiced vertical ascension."
"It should be a more tiresome task, but I don't see how it would be that difficult." I turn my head up, and I instantly feel something off about my words. The vertical cliff looms over like some insurmountable obstacle, which doesn't really make sense, because for a creature capable of flight, it should be nothing.
"Hey," Aya calls me as she tugs on me, which makes my gaze turn back to her. "Maybe we should eat first? I know it's a bit early, but I don't want to hunt after tiring myself."
"Okay." I let her make the decisions.
"So, just stay around here with the waterfall. As I long as I can see you, it'll be fine. Don't get too wet!" she gives a last shout as she leaps into the air. My gaze lingers on her back for a while until she goes out of sight around a cliff, which is when I turn my attention back to the waterfall.
Surely there'd be more signs of living creatures this close to water? But we've made lots of noise here, so all the smaller Pokémon must have hid themselves already. It makes me wonder just how the others manage to hunt. Isn't a dragon flying through the air very conspicuous?
That's no concern of mine. I'd rather not think about killing, even though it is necessary.
I come out of my thoughts and back to my surroundings. The waterfall. The splashing droplets seem so white, yet the water I've encountered was always transparent. Peering down from the ledge, I can see the foam dissipating as the water settles into the river. So that's what it is. It confused me somewhat, having seen water more connoted with the colour blue in small books.
Ugh, reading books as a Trapinch. Mum or someone else had to flip them for me. I never used to question such things, but in retrospect it just doesn't feel right. We're not humans. Why would we try and mimic them? After all, they never know the joy of flying, so of course they went off to invent some pastimes like books. Then again, they must have some other advantage, to be a dominant species above any of us Pokémon…
It's strange. I've never seen a human in my life and no one I've met has ever either. Yet it's heralded as fact that humans rule over most places. The word 'human' simply feels strange. I remember that there are 'Poké Balls' that we can be carried around in. The Haxorus told me that. No, don't think about…
…
I sit at the edge of the cliff and let the spray of the waterfall shower me in tiny droplets. I wonder what the others would say about this waterfall. Phendrene wouldn't want to go anywhere near it. Spire wouldn't care because he'd be super wary of Salamence the entire time. The others would probably be as excited as I was and try to approach it.
What have we done for the past few weeks? Phendrene wanted to see some Charizard and coincidentally met up with her father. And I met up with mine, as well. Maybe next we'll find a random Haxorus walking around. So, then we had to find a place for the Dratini, but on the way to the Shallows our plan got messed up at Lyrl and then we've settled at the Shallows, just for that Dratini. Why are we even restricted by it? Because they want me to be with my father. Completely ignoring the fact that Phendrene… Right, none of the others know anything about who her father is. So that's why I'm at their focal point of attention.
But if I'm gone, they don't have a reason to be with Blight. I could bring them here! Hah, dream some more. A group of that size wouldn't be safe here, a place vaguely close to Salamence territory. And plus, would they even listen to me? They probably all think I'm someone weird and also probably don't want anything to do with me because I can read their minds.
At least I have Aya with me.
"I said don't get wet," her voice startles me from behind. "Really, I thought you'd be flying."
I turn my head around. "No, I thought the waterfall- you skinned them again? You don't need to, you know-"
She places two carcasses on the ground. "I just thought… if you didn't hunt, you probably didn't like killing other Pokémon. So I didn't want the prey make you sad…"
She seems a bit embarrassed, but that just makes me feel worse. She took that much care into preparing my food and I'm making her feel bad. "Aya! I'm sorry, I- I really appreciate it. Thanks," I say while fidgeting.
"No worries. We have take care of each other! It's hard to find company out here." She grips my arm again to reassure me. "Why don't you eat some?" She picks out a leg from the prey and hands it over to me.
The action is reminiscent of someone else. But I try to forget about her. "Thanks," I respond and take the meat over, sitting down next to the cliff. "You should eat, too."
I'm getting better at controlling my thoughts. Somewhere in the back of my mind I am aware that this used to be a living, breathing being but I ignore it and simply savour the taste.
"You hunt pretty quickly," I tell her as she takes a bite.
"I had lots of practice. It's hard not to get good at it when you have to do it every day. You should try learning to, though; otherwise you'd have to survive on berries by yourself."
I have others who hunted for me… "Yeah, you're right. It's kind of dumb, because if you're hunting for me, then the prey is still dying for me, it's just… I don't think I can actually do it." I pause and stop eating for a second, tasting the lingering blood flavour in my mouth. As a Trapinch, I couldn't really taste much, but now it tastes so right… and makes me feel bad.
"Sorry for mentioning that. Don't worry, I can hunt for you." She smiles. "You can start whenever you feel prepared."
"Aya…" What she said only strengthens my desire to be with her. "Thank you so much." Without all the trouble of dealing with them knowing that I'm psychic, or seeing that Salamence all the time… Everything is better now.
"I see you're pretty adapted to the cold already," she says, in a change of subject.
"Well, I lived in the forest for a while. Whitewind, I think it was called?"
"I've been there! It's pretty nice. Climate's still warmer than here, though," she answers.
"True. But it's not that cold here… maybe the snowy peaks will be colder?"
"Not 'maybe', it's colder for sure! Though it's also loads of fun, too. We'll get there in about two days."
"Are the prey different?" I ask, feeling uncharacteristically inclined about food, now that I'm more comfortable sating my hunger.
"Of course they're different, but I haven't been there often enough to tell the type of prey. Too cold for me to go alone!"
Time passes surprisingly quickly, eating next to the thundering waterfall. She talks more about the different places she's been to, which I listen intently to. I feel thankful that she doesn't ask too much about me, because I don't like lying.
"There's a marsh to the northwest of the desert. Not too pleasant, because it was very humid. If it was a cooler climate, it might have been okay…"
"Shouldn't you be used to the heat?" I ask. "We Flygon are adapted to the desert."
"Yeah, but the desert is dry! We're adapted to that specific type of climate. Still, being able to survive in different places is an important skill, don't you think?"
I nod, idling throwing a bone down the cliff into the flowing water.
"Oh, you're finished? Do you wanna go ahead then? We still have quite a lot of distance to cover." She stands up. "Plus, flying up this waterfall is going to be quite tiring."
"Flying vertically upwards isn't too different from normal flying, is it?"
"We'll see!" She immediately opens her wings and starts ascending with heavy wingbeats, at quite an impressive rate compared to others' I've seen before. Though, I follow immediately, and catch up to her easily.
Should I keep my speed up? I am probably too paranoid. As long as I don't fly overly fast, no one is going to come up with a conjecture that a Flygon, out of all things, is psychic. She doesn't seem disgruntled this time when I overtake her, at least.
The top of the cliff is in sight quickly. This waterfall may be tall but it is nothing to us winged creatures. As I shoot pass it, I steal a glance at the vast river that forms the waterfall and the few plants beside it, only to see two Salamence talking at the bank.
I stare at them for a moment before diving down, almost right into Aya's face.
"What is it?" She already has an inquisitive on her face. "Salamence?"
I nod my head frantically. "There are two. I don't think they saw me. What should we do? Wait down there or find go around them?"
"Are you kidding? Face them, of course!" she shouts and thrusts herself upwards.
"W-what? Wait!" Perplexed, I follow her upwards. If I have to say, I'm not too afraid of them. After all, they'd just be toys for me to fling around. Yet… Aya is here, I can't do that. But if I told her I can't fight and she's still willing to rush towards them, that means she must be confident in her abilities, right?
When I arrive back above the cliff, the two Salamence already seem to be wary of Aya, who is flying over to them. But one of them glances of me and tenses, then whispers something to the other, and they immediately turn away and fly off.
"Hey? What're you scared of?" Aya's still shouting in an oddly exciting tone at their retreating figures, but she lands quickly. "You know, I could've caught up to them, but I'll let them off this time," she says as I land next to her at the place where the Salamence had been.
"I don't want you to fight them," I tell her.
"I thought you said you wanted to see me in action?" she asks.
"Yes, but… you might get hurt," I murmur.
"But that wasn't as good as a fight!" she says, as if ignoring my comment. Or maybe she simply didn't hear it. "They just got scared away. Didn't they think themselves as better as Flygon? Don't worry next time you see 'em, okay?"
No, they didn't run away because of you, Aya. That one saw me and knew something about me. I'm certainly not physically intimidating, so then what was it?
Could it be that the Salamence was one of them that were there on the other side of the mountains? That saw me using telekinesis?
Not only do the Flygon know, the Salamence know as well… Ah, who cares about them. Let them know, it's not as if they were going to offer me hospitality.
"Nova?" Aya waves her arm in front of me. "They aren't THAT scary, really!"
"No, I was just wondering. Is this Salamence territory?" I ask.
"We're getting closer, for sure. They live in a scattered groups compared to our desert settlements, so there isn't really a clear border."
"Okay." Aya may have decent fighting abilities, but she's wrong about my fears. Sure they did take my mother away, but that was when I was a helpless little Trapinch. Plus, I have the confident Aya with me. Those Salamence aren't scary at all.
"You ready to continue flying?" she asks. It is only then that I notice the higher peaks before me, a grandiose display of nature's craft. Snow-tipped peaks look ever so close now, the only thing I have to do is fly past the hills before us. It's so breathtaking.
Forget about everything else. This was the type of life I've always wanted – to explore this earth freely, without a care in the world. With Aya, it just might be a wish come true.
I take a look at her smiling face.
"Let's go!"
"A psychic Flygon? Preposterous. We know those bugs can only cause sandstorms and nothing more." The Salamence general stands in front of the recon scout who had urgent intelligence to report. I stand at his side, listening quietly.
"I just saw him again!" she says. "It was the one near Novaria. Remember when there was-"
"Ah, yes, I do recall," the general replies. "We've been thinking about that. Are you sure it's him?"
"I didn't forget his looks. And this time, he's with a female, who he seemed to be travelling with. They seem to be aggressive and wilfully intruding on our territory."
"So that's a weakness. Kidnapping his partner. But we'd still prefer a more reliable method. Thank you, dismissed."
The scout dips her head and walks out without a word.
"So, it seems we have a way to test it out now," he says to me.
"Yes, sir," I reply, sifting through the notes my friend gave me. "By using the nature of Dark-types-"
"You don't need to bore me with all the details, Lucario. Just tell me when it'll be ready."
I twitch at being called my species name rather my given name, but I say nothing. I should be used to it by now.
"I need to ask him first, sir," I say and close the notebook. "Shall I go to-"
"Wait. When you see that Weavile, I need you to tell him something too. Make sure your device doesn't kill the Flygon. The King wants him alive."
The last sentence piques my curiosity. It's the first time that the King has been mentioned to me in my short time here. "Why does his highness wish to capture the Flygon alive?"
"That is not of your concern."
I bow, suppressing the discontent welling up within my body. "I understand."
"The tactical advantages of him as a hostage is well enough for us to comply with his Majesty's request," he says. "Now, please be on your way."
"Yes, sir," I repeat the phrase droned into my head after having said it countless times.
As I traverse the corridors towards my friend, I think about everything that led to my position here. I gather my sense of resolve back. Humiliation is a small price to pay.
One day, the dragons will fall.