Absolite Arc: Loose Cannon
"If you have such a big heart for Pokémon... why don't you go onto a journey yourself, Jayden?" Mari asked. "You seem to be a free spirit that... means well, at least. So... why don't you go out and see the world instead of lingering around the monastery all day?",
"Hmmmh..." Jayden looked at her. "I don't know, I probably should if Grandpa would let me go... But there's the kicker already...",
"Being on a journey is nice. You're free to roam around and explore, you can have all kinds of wild adventures and see all kinds of new places... You can make lots and lots of new friends and meet all kinds of Pokémon you've never seen before... Being on your own facing the world surely is a challenge, but it allows you to grow. The purpose of life, after all, is to live it. Life itself is a journey that must be travelled, no matter how bad the paths and accomodations are, no matter how hard it is to keep moving forward... You have to see it through to the very end, and believe me, all the things you experience along the way are worth it in the end. A mind that has been stretched with new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions, its the path to growth and change. If you don't live your life to the fullest, then why are you alive at all? For me... it's always been a dream to go out and explore the vast and beautiful world beyond the confines of my comfort zone. Its a path I chose to walk to find a whole new... me." Mari gently stroked Combusken, who leaned against her shoulder tiredly as the first stars appeared in the sky.
"I believe that. Really." Jayden tossed a piece of candy into his mouth. "But... travelling the world also means you have to fight many battles... I've never really held a Pokémon battle until now, and I don't really enjoy it either... I don't think I'm much of a fighter." He shrugged. "I'm a mild pacifist, you know?",
"Huh..." Mari looked at him and their eyes met for a moment before she turned her head away again and looked up at the stars. "Hmph. Well, it's up to you. I surely won't try to convince you of anything.",
"...don't get me wrong, I appreciate your thoughts. I am... fascinated by outside views, it's just... I can't apply many of them to myself.",
"No one asked that of you, stupid. Hmph." It was silent between them for a while. "If you eat that much candy, I'm honestly surprised you don't get fat."
Jayden frowned and blinked. "You're welcome to check if I have fat anywhere," he offered. "No, thanks," Mari replied. His face relaxed again as he looked into the fire. A slight grin twisted his mouth as the flames reflected in his moss green eyes. "The candy thing... it's almost innate in me.",
"Is that so... I mean, okay, I like to eat sweets here and there sometimes too, but that many...? I think that's called an 'addiction'.",
"Well... it might be, but I don't regret anything, honestly."
"So... what's the story with your parents now?" She asked again. "You dodged my question earlier, so it seems like there's something to it.",
"What is this, a cross-examination?!" he dodged her question once again with an annoyed tone.
"Jeez, chill, dude. If you don't want to talk about it, you can say it like a normal person and I won't pry any further. No need to yell right of the bat.",
"You're one to talk!" he scoffed. "You, the girl who is afraid of others getting too close to her!You think I don't notice how much you try to keep your distance?!",
"Do you have a problem with that?!" she snapped back. "You are nothing but a stranger to me, and a weirdo at that! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't be keeping a certain distance here!",
"You wouldn't even be able to get up here without me, cutiepie, so keep it low", he said. "Be a good girl and spare me your questions.",
"Tch..." Mari gave him a glare and than laid down with her back to him. "'Be a good girl', do you even hear yourself talk?! Who the hell do you think you are?!",
"I'm Jayden.",
"Oh, just shut up and leave me alone", she grumbled angrily. It remained quiet for a moment before she heard Jayden draw a shaky breath. "They left me. My parents."
Her eyes widened for a second and she turned around to him. "Really...? Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't know...",
"Keep your pity to yourself, Mari." He turned his face away. "If I wanted it, I would have told you sooner. Whatever, the Skitty's out of the bag now anyway. Are you satisfied now?" He waved it off and exhaled tensely.
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry, I didn't know...",
"Yeah, how could you?" Jayden closed his eyes. "Sometimes, people have reasons why they don't want to say something, you know? So don't force them. I hate talking about my parents." He gritted his teeth. "So please... hold your questions."
Mari nodded and sat up again. "Okay. Got it. Message received and boundary accepted.",
"Good... thank you." His shoulders lowered. "I have to apologize myself, too... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that... I understand why you would be curious about my situation, it doesn't... appear to be very normal. So... I'm sorry, too.",
"We both apologized. Time to move on.",
"Yeah." He held out the bag of candy to her. Mari looked at it before carefully taking one of them out.
"You can chill around me, by the way... You don't have to keep your guard up non-stop. I don't bite. ...Maybe.",
"And even if you did, I'd bite back." She crossed her arms. "Pffft..." Jayden laughed. "Don't panic, cutiepie. I'm a pacifist, I told you." Mari glared at him with an angry face. "How many times do you want me to tell you? Stop. Calling. Me. Cutiepie!",
"Huh? What did you say, cutiepie?" He raised his eyebrows. Mari narrowed her eyes and punched his shoulder.
"Ow!",
"You're really getting on my nerves, you know that? Quit this, or I'll punch your face next time and I promise it will hurt.",
"And you're getting aggressive pretty fast.",
"I'm not aggressive, I'm just... slightly annoyed.",
"Slightly annoyed?" He laughed again. "Riiight, sure. More like a loose cannon if you ask me.",
"That's one way to put it. I don't care what you do now, but I'm going to get some sleep too.",
"Why are you so... prone to keeping your distance?", Jayden held her back. "Is it just because of me or is there a specific reason?"
She looked at him. "I... well... I haven't had many... good experiences with guys", she admitted. "Especially not during my childhood. That's why I started to keep a distance to them, it's somewhat of... a self-defense mechanism, so to speak.",
"So you threaten every guy you meet to punch them in the face?",
"No, it's nothing like that! It's not like I absolutely hate them, but I just... can't stand it when they're trying to become personal with me. It's never been a good sign. It mostly was their way of befriending me and then trying to use me for their own benefit." She blushed slightly, because she was embarrassed by having to admit that. It deeply wounded her pride having to admit a weakness to a stranger.
"When they're trying to become personal with you... or when they make you blush?" he asked coyly. She quickly turned her face away. "Shut your trap, I'm not blushing! You have a vivid imagination, mister!"
Jayden stood up and suppressed his laughter, yet, he couldn't help himself and snickered. "Okay, then I'm just imagining it, it seems. It's weird tho, I was absolutely sure I saw that.",
"You saw nothing! Absolutely nothing!" She hid her face in her hands.
"Oh my lord. Sometimes, one does get to see that girlish side of yours. It's cute, really.",
"Shut. Up."
She desperately tried to think of something else to talk about, and the first thing that came to her mind were TV shows. "Do you watch a lot of TV?",
"Could it be that we haven't introduced ourselves yet? My name is Jayden and I live at the monastery.",
"Um...",
"Do you honestly think it is in the possession of something as mundane as that? I mean, I would really like to educate myself about what's going on outside of these walls and spend my time watching stuff, but I can't because I have to live with nuns and priests! They don't even know how a radio works!" He sighed deeply. "Honestly, I'm starting to feel like I'm the same age as they are. I barely know anything, I don't have an Xtranceiver like you, fancy thing by the way... I don't even have a TV somewhere even close to my vicinity! All I do all day is eat candy, listen to Grandpa's sermons, and hang out in the monastery garden from time to time and enjoy the smell of the flowers! He has no idea that I also want to be like... normal guys my age. At least once! Go outside, meet some people, travel somewhere, whatever. Just get out of these walls, that's all I want most of the time." He ran his hand through his red hair and looked into the fire. "At least I can go out now, even if it's just to drag myself up and down a mountain with two girls.",
"It's a little entertaining when you don't risk being torn apart, isn't it, hillbilly?",
"Ouch, that almost hurt," he grinned. "Nice try, cutiepie. And honestly, the risk is what makes it so exciting.",
"Are you a gambler?",
"Well... no, but there's nothing else happening in my life, so a little challenge makes things a lot more appealing.",
"That must be so damn boring, man!" Mari leaned back. "You should really think about going on an adventure!",
"Nate's heart is softer than caramel, cutiepie..." He shook his head contritely. "He would be so destroyed that it would almost be harmful to him. He's taken care of me his whole life. Ever since I can remember. It's like he would think I don't appreciate what I have... which I do. He gave me a place to live and... pretty much everything a single person would need. If I told him I wanted to leave, he'd... be upset.",
"But you're bored to death in there like you're in a prison cell. You can tell him you'll be back after a while.",
"Hmm..." He sighed again. "I'll think about it...",
"Do that. I'm going to go to sleep now.",
"I'll stay awake a little longer..." He smiled. "A side effect of all this sweet stuff is that I've become quite a night owl.",
"Well, as long as you're not too tired to lift your feet tomorrow." She stretched out. "Alright then, good night!",
"Sleep well, Mari." He grinned softly to himself.