"Leave then!" Green shouted.
Abby watched her leave with a dumbfounded look, then she scowled, grabbed her bag and stormed away in the opposite direction. If Green wanted her to leave then fine, she would. Anger fuelled each and every stomping step. The feeling of the soles of her feet smashing down into the dirt sent satisfying flares coursing through her body that filled her with a roaring heat, empowering her to the very core. She didn't so much as look back as she exited the village and began down the thin path that squiggled through Route 15's tall grass. Heavy, plodding footsteps accompanied by desperate, gasping panting followed her.
"Lass!" Willis gasped. "Wait!"
"Go away!" Abby picked up her pace.
"Hold on!"
"No!"
"Lass!" Willis's plodding picked up.
Abby prepared to start running herself but she was stopped by a hand grasping her shoulder. At once, she spun around and flung Willis's hand off her.
"Don't touch me!" She screamed.
Willis recoiled and stared at her, eyes open stupidly wide like that of a Caterpie.
"Just listen, okay?" He said slowly, his voice low and soft.
Abby took a step back. Willis stepped forward.
"Don't leave." He rushed to speak.
"Fuck off." Abby turned away and continued down the path.
Willis's plodding didn't resume.
"Ye're a trainer, right? Shouldn't ye train your Pokémon? Ye don't want to head out there and have them unprepared when ye need them!" Willis cried.
Abby stopped, looked down at her belt and clicked her tongue.
"I'm a tamer, not a trainer," she said.
"A tamer then. Why don't ye stay? Just for a few hours, so ye can prepare for Route 15," Willis said.
Abby sighed and faced him. She was greeted with a smile somewhere between relief and astonishment.
"I need water to train. Route 15 doesn't have any water."
"Aye, no natural water. But, there's a man-made lake a short hike from here. I can show ye, if ye like."
"Fine," Abby muttered.
"Great." Willis grinned. "Follow me then."
Willis led Abby back down the path. A few leagues from the village another path broke off into the vast expanse of tall grass. At first, the grass was merely waist high but the further they went, the higher it climbed until the tips of grass blades were a good distance above Abby's head. Even if the path did widen some the grass still closed them in, like the walls of a deep ravine. A line of Oddish burst from the grass, shot across the path and disappeared through the other side, all screeching. A moment later, a pack of Rattata did the same, fangs bared and glowing white. They scurried between Abby's legs like Stantlers dashing through thickened woods. Apart from that, the walk was blissfully silent at the very least. That was until the oaf insisted on talking.
"I bet ye're wondering why we've got a man-made lake, ain't ye?" He asked.
"Not really."
"Well, it's cause all the rainwater washes off down the sides of the route back to the ocean. No water sticks around to form lakes or rivers, so long ago people dug out a massive holes so they could water their crops. She's a real beaut! Just wait till ye see her! The old girl's been around longer than I have. And I'm old as time!"
"Okay," Abby said.
He seemed to take the hint and the rest of the walk was spent in blissful silence.
Eventually, the walls of grass opened up and revealed the huge, flat expanse of the lake. An enormous circle of calm water, surrounded by a thick ring of green moss and shrubs, which itself was surrounded by tall grass. Around the perimeter of the ring of green, workers hacked away with scythes at the tall grass and collected it in large woven baskets. A Farfetch'd aided them. The stubby little bipedal bird hacked away with a leek rather than a scythe. Miraculously, it worked just as well as the leek took on a white glow with each swing. Even more strange, was the lake's lack of shores. The green ground just seemed to end all of sudden and be replaced by water. The water lapped at the ground's lip but never enough to splash further than a few inches. Willis let out a long, sharp whistle.
"Just look at that, eh? Breathtaking!"
Abby didn't say anything. She slung off her backpack, unclipped the first pouch of her belt and approached the water.
"You can go now, I know the way back," Abby said as she took out Horsea's pokéball.
"Bah, nonsense. I'm gonna help ye! I know a thing or two about pokémon training you know!"
"I don't need your help."
"Okay, okay." Willis raised his hands. "Can I at least watch? That Gyarados of yers is something to behold."
Abby sighed.
"Fine. Just be quiet."
"Can do!"
Willis plopped down and sat a few feet away. He watched like a child watching the opening of their favourite show. Abby released Horsea into the water. He floated to the surface lazily, eyes drooped. However, when he saw Abby his eyes brightened.
"Sea!" He trumpeted.
"Hey Horsea." Abby allowed herself a small smile.
She crouched down and pet the top of his head, making his curled tail waggle.
"He's a chipper little fella ain't he?" Willis chuckled.
Abby's smile dropped. She gazed back at him.
"Right, being quiet now," Willis said.
Abby shook her head and turned back to Horsea.
"Dive down to get in tune with the energy of the lake," she said.
"Horsea." He nodded and dove down.
Horsea disappeared beneath the surface of the murky water, leaving behind only Abby's reflection. She stared up at herself, her face wobbling in the brown and green water. Abby looked away and sat by the water's edge cross-legged. After a moment Horsea resurfaced. His scales were glimmering dark blue. The light began to mix with the water dripping from him, causing glowing water droplets to fall down through the lake and disappear into the murky depths.
"Good?" Abby asked.
"Sea!" Horsea trumpeted.
"Alright, aqua sphere."
Horsea closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. Blue sparks shot from his scales, popping and whizzing through the air like fireworks. Quickly, the murky water shot up, wrapped around him and formed a ball. The dirt oozed away and the water became crystal clear. It shimmered as Horsea kept his brow furrowed.
"Infuse the energy of the lake, it won't hold like that," Abby said.
Horsea sucked in air through his snout. His shimmering scales flared and a dark blue glow snapped across the sphere of water. The orb flooded and Horsea opened his eyes. The ball held and Horsea spun around with a trumpeting cry.
"Hoooorsea!"
"Nice work, now lift off and get a feel for moving it about," Abby said.
"Sea." Horsea nodded.
The sphere pulsed, shimmering dark blue. It lifted off the water's surface, hovering just a few inches above. Horsea narrowed his eyes, leaned forward and sped away across the surface of the water. The sphere kicked up a murky spray as it zipped about. Abby smiled to herself and leaned forward. Her eyes tracked Horsea's blistering movements, darting back and forth.
"Yer heading to Fuschia, ain't ye? What's in Fuchsia for ye?" Willis interrupted.
Abby winced.
"You're not being quiet," she huffed.
"Ah, come now. Nothin' wrong with a bit of idle chit chat."
"I'm not interes-"
"Cause if ye're not travelling with Green no more, there's no real point in going to Fuchsia is there? Not like ye need to challenge Koga, is it?"
Abby stared at him, dumbfounded. She clicked her tongue and shuffled her crossed legs.
"It's Janine now, not Koga," she muttered.
"Aye, that it is!" Willis laughed. "This bugger of a mind of mine gets stuck in the past sometimes."
Regretfully, a smile cracked across Abby's lips. She tried to hide it at once but Willis's eyes had already honed in on it. However, Horsea came back just in time to give Abby an escape from the mistake.
"Ready to do more?" Abby asked.
"Sea!"
"Alright, draw in some water, empower it then blast it out in a stream."
Horsea sucked in some of the water from the sphere through his snout. His snout sparked, then took on a constant dark blue glow. He drew back his snout, compressing the long tube down into a wide snub. Then all at once, he extended it with a bubbling, trumpeting cry. A pitiful, thin stream of glowing water shot out no more than a foot before falling back to the lake. Horsea's snout drooped.
"Sea…" he mumbled.
"It's alright, just keep practising it. You've got the technique down, you just gotta get it stronger," Abby said.
Horsea gave a small nod and drew in some more water.
"Ye've got good patience, lass. I reckon ye'll make a fine water tamer."
"I'm not a water tamer, I'm a dragon tamer," Abby said at once. Halfway through speaking, she realised what she was doing, but it was too late to back out now.
"A dragon tamer?" Willis marvelled. "How on earth did you get involved with that?"
"I… I've- It's just always been my dream," Abby said.
"Aye, it's good to have a dream, keeps yer spirit active."
Horsea fired another stream of glowing water, but yet again it came out as little more than a thin spurt.
"Horsea, try using your whole body when you fire. Move your head, body and tail in time with the shot." Abby thrust her head and shoulders forward, then gestured to herself.
"Sea," Horsea murmured with a nod.
Horsea drew in another spoutful of water. As she watched Horsea prepare his next attempt, Abby's mind echoed Willis's words. A question formed and the urge to bring it into words itched away at her.
"Did you have a dream?"
"Did I? I've still got one. To see the view of every mountain peak in the world."
"And you like, always wanted that?"
"Well… no. When I was a lad I had dreams of being a rock master trainer, like Flint."
Abby's eyes widened.
"Flint?" She asked.
"Oh, sorry. I guess ye'd be more familiar with Brock. Flint was his father and Pewter's gym leader before he passed. I forget he's gone sometimes."
"Oh… that Flint," Abby said.
"Who'd you think I meant?" Willis asked.
"It doesn't matter."
Abby snapped her attention back to Horsea. She honed in on him, warping the world around her so he was all there is. Willis's voice tried to intrude but his words were muffled and distant. Horsea, with a glowing snout, whipped his head, lurched forward and fired a thick blast of dark blue water. Like a fire hose, it shot a powerful stream of water halfway across the lake, churning the surface of the water into a muggy foam where it landed.
"Yes!" Abby jumped to her feet.
"Sea! Horsea!" Horsea spun around in his sphere, waggling his curled tail.
"Don't stop there, let's try using dragon energy!"
"Sea?"
"Just give it a try, you have it in you. Feel deep inside, feel the energy flowing within you. Let it flow all through your body. Guide it up across your scales and out through your eyes," Abby said grinning.
Horsea shut his eyes. The aqua sphere fell apart and splashed down around him. He furrowed his brow and wrinkled his snout. His tail stopped waggling and constricted, shivering slightly.
"Seaaaa…" He muttered.
Horsea held like that for a few moments before relaxing all at once and sighing. His tail drooped, along with his snout.
"Horsea," he shuddered.
"It's alright." Abby got out his pokéball. "You're too tired, we'll try again later."
She returned Horsea with a flash of red light and slipped his ball back into her belt.
"Who else have ye got there?" Willis asked.
Abby sat down, took out Charmander's ball from her belt and released him beside her. He materialised sitting on the ground, eyes half-open. His tail swung above his head lazily, flickering the flame side to side. Willis's face lit up and he scooted closer.
"Well, ye're just precious ain't ye little guy?" He practically squeaked with elation.
He leaned down, moving his face right before Charmander. Charmander lifted his tiny hands and rubbed his eyes. He moved them away and immediately widened his eyes.
"Char!" He squeaked, his tail flame flared and he scurried behind Abby.
He sunk his tiny claws into Abby's shirt as he peeked out from behind her. Willis guffawed and sat up straight.
"A far cry from the likes of Red's or Lance's huh?"
"Yeah," Abby chuckled.
"Bah, doesn't matter. No one starts off strong."
"He isn't weak either," Abby smirked. "Show him Charmander, use ember."
"Char?"
Charmander stepped out from behind Abby still clinging to her shirt. He took one look at Willis before burying his face into Abby's side. Carefully, Abby placed a hand on his back.
"Go on, it's okay," she whispered.
Charmander looked up at Abby, then to Willis, then back to Abby. Abby nodded and Charmander smiled. He let go of Abby's shirt and took a few, waddling steps away from her.
"Char…" He puffed his cheeks, they glowed red and his tail flame flared. "Mander!" He whipped his head back and shot a shower of smouldering red embers up above him.
Both Abby and Willis jumped back onto their feet, avoiding being singed. Willis laughed and Abby couldn't help but join him. The embers singed the carpet of moss and shrubs, but no flames were able to spring to life.
"Great work, Charmander!" Abby giggled.
"Aye, excellent!"
Charmander beamed at them both, the flame on his tail doubled in size. Willis grinned at Abby and slapped his belly with a laugh.
"I suppose ye were right! He's got some spirit in him, eh?!"
Willis stood tall over her, his face bright and his eyes ablaze with excitement. Abby wound down to a controlled smile. She crouched down and scratched the back of Charmander's head. He made a gleeful sound and leaned into her hand.
"Yeah… he does," Abby said.
"What've ye got planned for him?"
"More basics," Abby said to Willis. "Can you scratch, Charmander?" She asked.
"Char!"
Charmander scratched her arm as if he were scratching an itch.
"No," Abby laughed. "Like this."
She pressed her fingers together, clawed them and scratched at the air. Charmander cocked his head and then nodded. He copied her, scratching at the air with a wide downward swing. White sparks shot from his hand.
"That's it, you feel that? That's normal energy. Try using it like you use energy to make your fire."
"Char…" Charmander looked down at his hand.
He swung it again, making more sparks. Again, he studied his hand. Three, tiny claws jutted out from his stubby fingers. He swung again. This time the sparks shot directly from the claws. Charmander grinned. He raised his hand above his head and shut his eyes.
"Concentrate, that's it," Abby said.
Sparks shot from his claws, small ones that fizzled out instantly. Then, as Charmander's brow wrinkled the sparks became fat and bright. They spiralled to the ground, popping like balloons as they made contact. Charmander opened his eyes and swung his arm. Three white trails sliced through the air, travelling down to three glowing white claws.
"Well done, lad!" Willis clapped loudly.
Abby patted his head.
"Good job."
Charmander looked back and forth between them, panting but grinning all the same. Eagerly, he raised his other arm and did the same thing.
"Charmander!" He cried.
"Alright, calm it down. You still need your strength," Abby said, placing a hand on his chest.
Charmander stopped at once and nodded.
"Mander." he plopped down onto his bottom, beads of sweat trickled down his face but his tail flame raged all the same.
Abby had to take a small step back as it flicked at her waist. Over the top of Charmander's head, Willis smiled at her. Oddly, Abby found herself smiling back.
"Where are you from, by the way?" He asked.
"Oh, uh. I'm from Cerulean." The truth would be acceptable with him, Abby decided.
"Huh funny that I've just come from there. Is that where you got him?" Willis nodded to Charmander.
"No, he wasn't my starter."
"Oh, what was then?"
Abby moved her hand over the first pouch of her belt and dodged Willis's eye contact. Only for a moment though. For whatever reason, she felt compelled to look back. When she did, she found a gentle gaze.
"I suppose, it's not important then," Willis said softly. "Did ye, meet Green in Cerulean? I met her just before she would have arrived."
Whatever smile Abby had managed to keep a hold of vanished.
"I did."
Abby looked down at Charmander.
"Charmander, time to learn a new move," she said abruptly.
"Char!" He cheered and hopped up.
"Do another scratch, but this time focus dragon energy through your claws instead of normal."
Charmander nodded. He raised his claw and shut his eyes. Then, he opened them again.
"Char?"
"It's deep inside you. Right here." Abby prodded his chest. "Try and feel it, but don't force it. Stay calm and let your energy flow through your body, across your scales and out of your eyes."
Charmander shut his eyes and raised his hand again.
"Char…" he whispered before taking a long deep breath. "Mander," he sighed.
Something, in the blink of an eye scattered across his orange scales. His face twitched and his brow furrowed.
"Char." His stubby hand clenched. "Mander." His tail swept back and forth.
A tiny purple bolt dashed up his arm clear as day. Abby held her breath. That old excitement, the kind she'd felt when picking up Dratini for the first time. It was back.
"Char!" Charmander's tail flame flared above his head. "Mander!"
A purple spark spat from Charmander's claw. But then, Charmander dropped his arm. He looked at Abby with a pained look, panting.
"It's… okay," Abby said through a clenched jaw.
"Char…" Charmander looked down at his feet.
"Try again later, yeah?"
Abby pointed his pokéball at him and returned Charmander.
"He tried his best, lass."
"I know that!" Abby snapped.
At once, Abby caught her anger. She looked away, staring at the murky lake with an empty gaze.
"You wanted to see Gyarados, right?" She got out Gyarados's ball. "Then here."
Abby pointed Gyarados's ball above the lake and pressed the button with her thumb. The ball popped open and an inferno of light exploded out, engulfing the entire lake in a blinding red light. Willis cried out, along with the surrounding workers.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd cried.
Gyarados's body snaked out above the lake, covered in a shimmering veil of blue light. His fanned tail fin flapped, sending large gusts of wind skittering across the water's surface that kicked up waves of white spray. A roar bellowed from his large jaws, thundering the air and rumbling the ground. Willis walked as close to the edge of the lake as he could, eyes wide with wonder. Gyarados paid him no mind. Instead, he wriggled through the air as if he were exploring the comfort of a fresh bed.
"Bloody fantastic," Willis marvelled. He turned back to Abby. "And yeh raised him? From a Magikarp?"
"Yeah, I did." Abby smiled.
Willis gave an exasperated sigh.
"How old are yeh? Yeh must have had him since you were little then, eh?"
"I'm 18 and no, I only caught him…" Abby paused to think. "Uh, 10 days ago."
"10 days!?"
Abby was grinning now. She clutched the back of her head.
"Yeah, he evolved a week ago."
"Bloody hell!" Willis laughed. "Yeh're gonna be one hell of a dragon tamer, lass!"
Abby's grin twitched. It faltered for a second, giving way to a frown. For some odd reason, she felt compelled to hide this one.
"Thanks," she muttered and approached the water's edge.
She glimpsed the odd look Willis was giving her. Although, he didn't speak on it. Abby cupped her mouth.
"Gyarados!" She yelled.
The large, fanned fins on the sides of Gyarados's head twitched. He turned, snaking his body around to look at her. His sharp eyes narrowed in on her and his jaws opened wide.
"DOOOOOS!" he bellowed.
The water below him rippled.
"Get in the water and come here!" Abby yelled.
"DOS!" Gyarados nodded.
The veil of light-blue light covering his body flickered out. Like a dropped log, Gyarados crashed down into the water. Waves erupted in every direction and attacked the shore, spraying water high into the air above Abby's head. Around the lake, the workers and Farfetch'd watched Gyarados cut through the water. Their tools and baskets were all on the ground, put aside while they watched the spectacle. Even Farfetch'd had put down his leek, although it was but an inch from his webbed foot. Gyarados moved like a torpedo through the water, arriving before Abby in mere moments. He lifted his head from the water and loomed over her.
"Gyara?" He asked.
"I'm gonna teach you to use water energy, okay?" Abby said.
"Gyara!" He protested.
His jaw clenched and dark blue sparks spat all down the length of his body. They shone in the water, cutting through the murky browns of the lake as they rose like bubbles on the surface.
"Yeah, I know you can use water energy. I'm gonna teach you to do more with it."
"Dos?"
Gyarados rested his head on the shore before Abby. His head fins drooped but his eyes remained wide and alert.
"Start by getting in tune with the water, swim around and feel its energy passing over you," Abby said.
Gyarados lifted his head and slipped back down beneath the water. Slowly, he meandered away from the shore and out into the centre of the lake. A trail of dark blue, glowing water began to form behind him. Beside Abby, Willis joined her at the water's edge.
"He's a real beauty," he said.
"Yeah, you keep saying," Abby chuckled.
"Aye, well it's the truth."
Willis slapped her on the back lightly. Abby flinched and immediately he pulled away.
"Right, no touching. Sorry, lass."
"It's, uh, it's okay."
For a moment they both stood still, watching Gyarados weave up and down through the surface of the lake. In that moment of stillness, a question burned in the back of Abby's throat. She tried to send it away but it stubbornly remained.
"Hey… Willis?" Abby asked.
"Yeah?"
"Before you said you dreamed of being a rock-type master." Abby shuffled her feet. "What changed?
"Oh, I did say that didn't I?" Willis laughed. "I guess I just got older."
"But, it was your dream right?"
"It was A dream. Sometimes dreams change. You're not stuck with just one."
"You're not?"
Willis gave Abby a curious look. Then, his face softened and he looked up at the clouds.
"Life is like a mountain, lass. Everyone wants to climb it and make it to the top, especially young people. When yeh're young, yeh dream of seeing the view from the peak, feeling the snow between yeh fingers and tasting that sweet air. But, as yeh climb, yeh'll eventually fall. It happens to everyone, can't be helped. Usually, the advice you get is to pick yehrself up, look at that peak and keep on climbing." Willis paused and grinned. "But sometimes when yeh fall, yeh end up landing somewhere new. Somewhere better. A new path opens up to yeh and yeh stop climbing to walk down it."
"So, dreams aren't set in stone?" Abby asked.
"No, lass. They're not. Still, that doesn't mean you should give up on them easily," Willis said.
Her heart practically jumped up to her throat as Willis's words cut right through her, like a mortar through a castle wall. Before she could even begin to muster a reply, Gyarados's booming roar ripped through the air, drowning out everything. Gyarados erupted from the centre of the lake, roaring and covered in a veil of glowing, dark blue water that streaked behind him. Abby grinned and waved both her arms above her head.
"That's it Gyarados! Keep it up!"
"DOOOOOS!"
"Focus your energy into the water around your tail and swing it down!"
"GYARADOS!"
The glow of Gyarados's veil lost some of its light, dimming and dulling. However, as it did the water around Gyarados's tail gleamed and no part more than the fanned fin of his tail. It slammed down into the water with a loud, rippling explosion that seemed to rip and tear the very air. Abby covered her ears but couldn't pull her eyes away from the thick column of water shooting up from the lake as tall as the tallest tree in the southern Cerulean woods. It kissed the clouds before dissipating and raining back down, sprinkling the water with countless ripples. Abby jumped and pumped her fist.
"Yes!"
Gyarados stared her down with a wild, fearsome look. A look that seemed to challenge her.
"You think you can do more?!" Abby grinned, clenching both her fists.
"DOS!"
"Alright then! Forget water energy, give me a dragon rage!"
Gyarados grinned and his eyes gleamed. He splashed back down into the water, dropped his veil of dark blue water and opened his mouth, aiming up at a slight angle.
"Let it flow from deep inside you, through your body, across your scales and out your eyes!"
A glow began to pulse between the gaps of Gyarados's huge plates of blue. A purple glow that spat purple sparks. Gyarados roared and the glow flared. He roared again and the whites of his eyes briefly flashed purple. Another roar and a thin shower of purple sparks spat from his mouth.
"Come on," Abby muttered to herself, "you can do it."
Gyarados roared again. And again. But no matter how violently he shook the sky and water, nothing more was happening.
"You can do it!" Abby yelled.
"DOS!" Gyarados yelled back.
He closed his eyes and scrunched his face. The glow flared again but nothing more. However, the flare did not peter out again. It remained bright and powerful.
"DOOOOOS!" Gyarados bellow. He sounded desperate.
Abby didn't want to accept it but she couldn't deny what she'd just heard. Not a roar of power, but one of frustration.
"Please…" she whispered.
Gyarados roared again. It went long but eventually began to weaken until the roar became nothing but a whimper. The purple light beneath his scales snapped away and Gyarados collapsed with a giant splash. Abby could only stare for a few moments as a pit of despair drowned her stomach. Then, she stomped on the ground.
"God fucking dammit!" She snatched Gyarados's ball from her belt and returned him.
The flash of light gave her a brief respite from reality. But it soon came back, only making her blood boil further.
"Maybe, if yeh had a dragon type they could guide the others? Do yeh have one?"
A wild rage overtook Abby. A rage she did little to resist.
"I don't need him!"
"I think yeh might, y-"
"What do you know?!"
Abby stormed away, marching and stomping across the mossy ground. She heard Willis start to follow.
"Lass I'm only trying-"
"Fuck off! I don't need your help! Leave me alone!"
This time Willis did as she said. He stopped and only watched as she ran back onto the thin path between the grass. For good measure, when she was a few paces down the path and out of sight Abby ducked off the path into the grass. She ran blindly through it. The tall blades slapped her into her face. It took but a moment to adjust to the unfamiliar terrain, and then she was off at a full sprint. Where exactly Abby was planning on going, she wasn't sure but it wasn't a concern just as long as wherever she ended up was away. The grass closed off the world, only leaving the cloudy sky above. The occasional Pokémon ran into her but each one quickly got out of her way. Even a group of Pikachu, who were known to rarely back down from a fight, scampered out of her way as she barrelled past them. She could have run forever if it weren't for the sudden end to the grass as Abby was spat out into a secluded meadow.
A moss carpet covered the ground, flanking the thin base of a young tree from all sides. The tree sat in the middle, perched on a small mound. Boulders as big as beach balls formed a mound beneath the shade of the young tree's wide canopy. All the energy drained from Abby and she stumbled across the moss. She slumped back against the tree, brought her knees to her chest and pressed her forehead against them.
"Why did I do that? I'm such an idiot…" she whimpered.
Abby had found herself asking that a lot lately. About how the way she spoke and acted, to Green. And to Dragonair. She unclipped the first pouch of her belt and held out the ball. It was shrunk down, no bigger than a ping pong ball. Staring at it was easy, it took no effort. But what Abby wanted to do, to press down that button, was not. Her thumb hovered over the button, so close that the hard plastic brushed her skin. Tears welled in Abby's eyes. Her thumb lifted. She froze and her face hardened. Abruptly, she jammed her thumb into the button. The ball enlarged, filling her hand. She looked away and tossed it into the air. The ball clicked, snapped open and a flash of light erupted. Dragonair emerged, hovering in the air. At once, Abby's eyes were back on him, snapped to attention as if against her own will.
"Dragonair!" Dragonair shouted.
His eyes were aglow with purple light. That same purple crackled and popped across his body as small bolts of energy. His fury bore down on her. That all too familiar, angry gaze. It looked through her and into her. It saw all; nothing could escape it.
"Dragonair!" He yelled again.
"I know!" Abby yelled back.
"Air!"
"I know what you want, but I can't. It's too hard." Abby's voice began to tremble.
Dragonair showed no sympathy. Instead, the purple in his eyes only flared. He opened his mouth and a purple bolt erupted from it, striking her forearm. Abby yelped and drew her arm to her chest, cradling the singed flesh. It stung worse than anything Abby had ever felt, a deep hot sensation that burn right down to the bone. The tears that had only welled were now streaming but Abby wasn't crying. Instead, she got to her feet and yelled.
"Fine! You wanna know what's wrong?!"
"Air!"
Dragonair landed on the ground and loomed over her, two or three feet.
"You! You're acting fucking crazy! We almost died, we almost killed someone and you went and att-" Abby's words caught on a blubbering cry. Whether it was from the pain or not she didn't know but regardless, she pushed through it. "You went and attacked someone when I needed you the most!"
The anger seemed to vanish from Dragonair's face at once. He moved back and lowered slightly as his eyes darted back and forth, scanning Abby's face frantically.
"Then I went and did something… stupid. Can you blame me? She was the only one there, so I went to her. It felt right in the moment, even good. But when I woke up like that… there… feeling that way. I knew it was a mistake." Abby broke down.
She fell back, and slumped back against the tree, sobbing.
"D-Dragonair?" Dragonair lowered his head to her level.
The glow vanished from his wide, bewildered eyes. He nudged her shin with his snout. Abby just hugged her knees tighter. He watched, staring without purpose until suddenly his eyes grew larger and wet. He coiled around Abby and the tree, resting his head by her side and stroking the top of her head with the orbs of his tail. Abby didn't swat him away. Instead, she lay her head on top of his and held on to him as if he were going to drift away.