Time seemed to fly by, and dusk was beginning to settle over the sky by the time Raze and Frost called a halt to the traveling. The small group had stopped earlier in the evening to gather some food and rest, but that had been a short stop lasting no more than an hour.
"Are we there yet?" Leaf whined, as Shadow mouthed the same sentence without any sound, something that Frost noticed, but Leaf thankfully did not. This hadn't been the first time Leaf had asked, and with nighttime approaching, the Leafeon's mood was bound to start spiraling downwards.
"We're very close," Raze reassured the Leafeon. "Frost just recommended that we don't go marching directly into the town, because as small as it is, we...he's not even listening," the Buizel trailed off, noticing that Leaf had stopped listening very early into the explanation, in favor of sniffing a yellow flower nearby. If Shadow didn't know better, he would have thought this was a deliberate choice to annoy the Buizel.
Shadow gazed around with a careful eye. Despite the darkness slowly closing in around them, he had no problem making out the various details. Long grass swayed and ripplied in the breeze, and the path they were on was becoming wider and more worn, as if it was traveled on frequently here, but less frequently the further back they went. Perhaps this was related to what Raze had mentioned earlier about a fork in the road that got more traffic.
Much further ahead, but distinctly in sight, was a cluster of large structures, composed of various materials. At this distance, Shadow was not able to identify any of the materials, but they had different colors and textures. Curiosity seeped into his thoughts, but he bit back these impulses.
"Is that where we're going, up ahead?" he wondered, pointing a paw towards the cluster of buildings. Raze and Frost looked in the indicated direction, squinting slightly, then turned back to him, Raze looking surprised.
"Your night vision is incredible if you can actually see that far ahead in this lighting," the Buizel stated. "Like I said, we're not far away to the town, but it'd be reckless to go marching in like we belong there."
Shadow frowned. This made sense to him, but it felt like something was being left out of the conversation, but he couldn't immediately place what was lacking. Either Raze and Frost weren't sharing that information, or they assumed that it was inherently obvious and didn't need to be said.
The Espeon glanced over at his brother, who was starting to get comfortable on the grass, his eyes starting to droop sleepily. Not that Shadow could really blame him for getting tired. It had been a lot of walking today, already combined with the sparring session Leaf had done yesterday. He wasn't even sure how long Leaf had been awake, since the little guy was up before him.
"So why are we stopping here? Are we done for the night, or what?" Shadow asked finally. That must have been what was missing from the explanation - the next step of the plan they had.
"If so, we wouldn't set up camp literally right here, it's too open," Frost said seriously, giving Leaf a concerned look. "Besides, Raze said his friend lives near the city, not inside it."
"And?" Shadow prompted impatiently.
"I'm debating how rude it'd be to drop in on her home unannounced at this time of day," Raze said, biting his lip. "Not something I tend to do normally. Frost, you have any experience with that?"
The Glaceon scowled. "Why would you think I would?"
"You're doing that rhetorical question response again," Raze noted. "I get the strangest feeling you legit use that in place of pickup lines."
Frost rolled his eyes. "What can I say? Females just get weak at the knees when I imply they're asking me a stupid question."
"Okay, well, it's not working on me," Raze said.
"You're considered female now?" Shadow interrupted irritably. Raze blinked, before he and Frost burst out laughing. Shadow also couldn't completely cover up the trace of his smile, but he gave them both a serious look to keep them from getting further sidetracked.
"Fine. Rude or not to drop by, I doubt she'd appreciate me leading a group of males to her den without warning. So I'll go ahead, and bring her back here if she's fine with it. Frost, I imagine you'll puff your chest out and act as their bodyguard while I'm gone."
"It's why I'm here," Frost deadpanned. Raze chuckled and set off, veering off the path but still heading in the vague direction of the city. Shadow watched him go for a minute before turning back to Leaf, who was now dozing.
"Not surprised he's tired out," Shadow mused aloud, gently stroking the Leafeon's fur. The Leafeon murmured sleepily, his tail twitching at the touch before he relaxed again.
"He was up at dawn," Frost agreed, and Shadow blinked at the Glaceon, but Frost seemed not to notice the surprise. "I'm impressed he lasted this long, though I imagine having the sun out was a crucial factor."
Shadow could only nod in response, and he gazed around the area again. He was beginning to feel a little prickle of apprehension creeping over him, but it wasn't the same kind that he had gotten more and more aware of since evolving. It wasn't like he was detecting anything nearby, although part of his mind was conscious of such things. It was something else, something that he couldn't figure out yet, but the awareness of the prickling sensation made things worse.
"You're starting to tense up," Frost noted, his tone mildly concerned. "Something on your mind?"
"I don't know what it is," Shadow answered seriously. "It's just a...vague feeling. Uneasiness, or something like that."
Frost was silent for a moment, and Shadow could tell he was debating how to word his response. Sure enough, when the Glaceon next spoke, his words were very deliberate and calculated.
"It sounds like minor anxiety. Something having you on-edge, regardless of its actual threat to you. I'd normally guess because you're in an unfamiliar area at night, or you're unsure whether the trip was worth the time."
Shadow furrowed his brow. It didn't sound wrong, he just wasn't convinced that was the reason. However, the feeling had already begun to fade, and he was left with only a hollow uncertainty.
Minutes ticked by, and Shadow felt his own attention beginning to wane in favor of a desire to rest. Frost remained as alert as ever, but he was beginning to pace back and forth on the grass. Now and then, Shadow would gaze around, expecting to see an approaching figure or something, but the night seemed quiet and tranquil.
Shadow was just about to consider laying down beside Leaf and taking a nap of his own when a bright flash of light cut through the night. Frost yelled in surprise, and when the light faded, Shadow could see that the Glaceon had instantly assumed a battle stance, his needle-like icy fur bristling and cold mist blowing from his mouth. However, the stance slowly relaxed as the Glaceon spotted Raze among the two Pokemon that had appeared in their midst.
"Whoops, got in too close," the Buizel commented. "Sorry about that, guys..."
"Yes, a bit more warning would have been appreciated," Frost remarked crisply. Shadow focused instead on the new Pokemon. It was a bipedal Pokemon with a yellow body and thin, lanky arms and legs, yet its tail and torso were thicker and bulkier, especially the tail which seemed almost uncomfortably bulky compared to the rest of its body. Its face had a narrowed snout at the end, and its paws ended in impressively sharp claws, but in one of its paws, it clutched a silvery object that Shadow could not identify.
"Perhaps we could move elsewhere?" Raze suggested. His companion twirled the silver object in its paw idly, and Shadow immediately shut his eyes, correctly anticipating the flash of light. When it faded from his eyelids, he no longer felt grass beneath him, but rather smooth earth.
The Espeon blinked and gazed around the new surroundings. It was a cave-like den, not too different from Cecilia's, but taller and carved out more naturally. The Quilava's cave had looked like a skilled Pokemon had worked on it, but this one seemed like water erosion had done most of the work, although Shadow couldn't imagine how that had happened, since there was no water flow around them.
A number of thick, rectangular block-like objects were scattered around the den, and Frost was already inspecting one of them with great interest, easily separating the layers of the block and flicking through them as if he was selecting a particular one.
"Where did you get books?" the Glaceon wondered.
"I work in the Town," the yellow Pokemon replied. Its voice was distinctly feminine, and had a gentle serene tone that seemed to echo partially inside Shadow's head. Raze had made himself at home already, choosing a spot in the den to recline against the den wall. Leaf was still snoozing obliviously.
"Nice place," Shadow said awkwardly, if only to try to break the extended silence.
"Thank you," the Kadabra stated serenely. On closer inspection, Shadow noticed that its forehead had a red star upon it, and that it had a trio of markings on its lower body and that it carried a number of similar silver objects to the one its it paw on a loop around its waist. He felt further, or even closer, inspection would probably be considered rude, so he again gazed around the den absently, looking for something to say.
"Oh, I imagine introductions would be fitting, assuming Raze didn't bother," Frost said, smirking slightly. The Kadabra nodded and sat down in a cross-legged style, resting its paws on its knees and observing Frost attentively. The Glaceon made quite the show of gesturing to himself. "I'm Frost, a Glaceon if you were wondering, and a friend of Raze's."
"Hello," the Kadabra stated with a tiny smile, then turned her gaze to Shadow, who fidgeted briefly, unused to having such an intense gaze upon him. It was also a different type of gaze to what he had been gradually getting used to. While the Kadabra certainly seemed intrigued by his fur color, she wasn't looking him over or anything similar. Shadow wasn't sure whether this was a relief or more disconcerting than if she had been checking him out.
"I'm Shadow. And the Leafeon sleeping is my younger brother, Leaf," Shadow said, hoping his tone didn't betray his nervousness.
"Nice to meet you," the Kadabra said softly, giving Shadow a smile as well. She glanced around, as if to verify that she hadn't overlooked anyone, and then nodded. "My name is A/C."
"Acey?" Shadow repeated. Raze snickered from the corner, but no one paid this any attention.
"No," the Kadabra corrected gently. Her eyes glowed with a soft violet color, and a small, thin object floated up from where it had been sitting near the side of the den. She took it with her free paw and held it closer to Shadow's face. It was a small piece of shiny material with an image of the Kadabra in one corner, and a label in black writing reading "A/C", followed by some sort of logo in the other corner that Shadow didn't understand the significance of.
"I don't think that...um...I don't really get what I just looked at," the Espeon admitted.
Frost came over and peered closer at the card. "Oh, an ID tag for the Solaceon Pokemon Center, hm? Your name is literally the letters A and C with...a forward slash between them. Really? The slash is part of your name?"
"Yes," A/C replied.
"Why?" Frost asked, ignoring Raze's stifled laughter.
"That's what I was named," the Kadabra said, likewise ignoring Raze. Shadow wasn't sure how to react to this, so he remained silent.
"Does it stand for something?" Frost pressed.
"Yes."
"...yes?" Frost prompted, once he seemed to realize A/C wasn't going to elaborate on her own.
"I rather not get into it," the Kadabra said sternly, and she tossed the card to the side, a telekinetic glow surrounding it in mid-air and guiding it back to its original location.
"It can't be that bad if you're willing to keep using the name," Frost insisted. "And why the slash in the name?"
"My trainer liked puns," A/C answered. This response only served to confuse Frost further. "Shadow, my understanding is you need some psychic tutoring?"
"Yes," the Espeon said, seeing that Frost was on the verge of interrupting. "If it's not too much trouble."
"I don't mind, but I cannot promise it will be easy for you," A/C said. "If you would prefer to rest for the night and start tomorrow, that will be fine."
"Oh...thank you," Shadow said. He nibbled his lip thoughtfully. "I rather at least give it a shot now, if that's okay."
"Perfectly fine. Frost, you may use my books, just take care not to tear the pages when you read. It's a pet peeve of mine," A/C said softly, the Glaceon blinking in surprise, as the Kadabra hadn't even been looking in his direction.
"Okay," the ice Eon said slowly, and he very carefully turned one of the layers of the book. A/C gestured for Shadow to move to the back of the den, where there was the most unoccupied space, and as he did so, he felt a shift in the air around them. When he turned back, he saw that the Kadabra had not broken out of her cross-legged stance, and had instead levitated a small distance above the ground and moved along behind him before resettling on the ground, facing him, but her back now to the others.
"Before we begin, I'd like to ask permission to link our minds at times. It's only polite, as one psychic to another."
"Um..." Shadow hesitated. "Is it...required?"
A/C smiled gently. "It would ease the process. My intention is not to invade your personal thoughts, memories, or other such things, merely to be able to observe your brain functions and guide you. However, it is likely I will pick up on your thoughts when doing so."
Shadow furrowed his brow uncertainly. "And if I'm against you doing this?" he asked tentatively.
"I would accept that decision. I fully can relate to not wanting others to peruse my thoughts and mind at leisure. I can tutor you the old-fashioned way, but it may be trickier. I'd rather you choose the method you're most comfortable with, and not concern yourself with which is easier."
Shadow nodded and reflected on the options. While he didn't really want to give another access to some of the details of his recent past...there was the chance that another psychic would be able to coach him into blocking out the haunting thoughts and feelings so that he could better focus, and become strong enough to protect Leaf. And since Frost's methods of coaching him the 'old-fashioned way' hadn't gotten very good results, it might be better to have a more direct training attempt.
"Hm...okay. You may link...for a little bit, anyway," he said, trying to sound more confident and comfortable than he really was.
A/C gave him a small smile. "If you're sure..."
"Yeah. Just do it," Shadow said. He didn't really want to give himself a chance to change his mind. Better just to plunge in, just like swimming. Just endure the cold in one burst, rather than go in slowly and suffer longer.
A/C nodded seriously and her eyes glowed with a soft, almost alluring pink glow, and the silver object she held took on the same glow. "Okay, Shadow, if you could look not at my eyes, but at my spoon, then we can get started. Just relax, it won't hurt, and you'll still be aware of everything around you."
Shadow hesitated, taking a moment to grasp her instructions, and then turned his gaze to the silver object in her paw. It seemed to give off some sort of vibe, and the longer he looked at it, the more it seemed to give off, until the tension in his head seemed to fade away. As A/C had promised, he didn't lose awareness, and there was no pain. Yet there was something different nevertheless, a vague sort of tickle in his head, like an insect had landed on his ear or something.
"Can you hear me?"
Now there was a voice within his mind. Shadow flinched, and turned his gaze towards the Kadabra's eyes, but found they were now closed in focus. Unsure how to respond, he looked back at the spoon, and just waited.
"Can you hear me, Shadow? Think your answer clearly, and focus on sending it to me."
Shadow twitched, but took a soothing breath. 'Yes', he thought. He wasn't sure what A/C meant by him sending it to her, so he just instead kept repeating the word inside his head.
"Good. I only needed to confirm the link. You will not need to reply with telepathy past this point, but it is the easiest way for me to guide you, so bear with me."
Shadow nodded, before remembering the Kadabra had her eyes closed and couldn't see the gesture. This was getting confusing already. Was she just aware of his actions and thoughts, or did he still need to respond to the things she said?
"Focus, Shadow," the Kadabra's voice echoed in his mind gently. "Try not to get distracted by the things around you. Close your eyes if that will reduce unneeded stimulation. Espeon have two noticeable power points...that is to say, two points where psychic energy gathers. Do you know what they are?"
Shadow closed his eyes. To his surprise, he really did seem to be blocking out the movement and subtle noises in the den more with them shut. Where did his psychic energy gather? Well, the most obvious answer was the gem on his forehead as one. The other...he didn't know.
As this thought crossed his mind, he felt an odd tingling sensation in his tail. More specifically, within the split forks of his tail. Hm...that did make sense, his tail did seem to twitch occasionally for no apparent reason at times, especially...oh, especially when he was sensing something in the area.
The echoing voice in his head made a slight giggle. "Very good, Shadow. Needed a nudge there, but yes. The tail and the forehead gem. With those in mind, the gem is easily more powerful, as its link to your brain is more direct. So, imagine the gemstone is a doorway. It's small, but it does its job. To use your psychic abilities, you want that doorway to be open."
Shadow gave a slight nod. He could follow this explanation so far, although it begged the question of how he was supposed to open a metaphorical doorway that was part of his body.
As if responding to his thoughts, A/C's telepathy continued. "It will be easier to do with more practice, but all it really needs is conscious thought. A willingness to use your power. That's why focus is so key at first. When you're distracted or bogged down with other thoughts, your mind shuts the doorway. Once you're more comfortable with your psychic energy, it will not close as swiftly."
Shadow took another soothing breath. Okay, so he needed to let his mental doorway open...let it open...he wanted it open, he wanted to use the psychic energy within him. As he repeated this mantra within his mind, he felt an odd sense of relief within his skull, as if a lot of pressure had been pent up inside, but now had much more room and therefore wasn't constricted so tightly. Taking this as a positive sign, Shadow continued to focus on his mantra, until he felt a gentle tickle in his head again. This nudge needed no telepathic explanation, and he focused on the image of water flowing down a stream, moving from his head to his forehead. The image was clear, and easy to remember, and before long, he began to genuinely feel a trickle of energy flowing. It didn't literally go from his head to his forehead, but instead was flowing throughout his body, from head to tail. It was a gradual change, but felt like a huge milestone.
"Excellent start," A/C stated, and Shadow opened his eyes, realizing the Kadabra had spoken aloud. "You could not see it, but your gemstone has been glowing for the past few minutes. With time and practice, you will be able to produce more power at once and afterwards, be able to manipulate it as you wish."
"Really? How long might that take?" Shadow wondered, his tail twitching with eagerness. The Kadabra smiled faintly.
"It's different for each person, I'm afraid. Still, this was a large step and it would not do to push yourself too hard. You should get some rest, and we can resume tomorrow."
"Okay. Thank you," Shadow said. He glanced around the den, seeing that Raze had dozed off already, and Leaf hadn't so much as stirred. Frost was still paging through one of the books, but as the Espeon came closer to where Leaf was laying, the Glaceon took that as his cue to close the book and find his own spot of the den to curl up.
"I do have one question for you, Shadow," A/C said quietly. Shadow gave her a puzzled look as he stretched out beside his brother. The Kadabra gestured her free paw towards his brother. "Why is his mind unreadable?"
"What?" Shadow wondered blankly.
"It's curious...I can pick up the mental vibes of everyone else in the room, without even needing to push past mental defenses. I don't get the details, just a vibe from them. Meaningless on its own," A/C explained.
She gestured again towards the sleeping Leafeon.
"But not his. I hoped to get a flicker of his dreams, because he looks so cute and content right now...but it's like shining light through water. It gets refracted and misses entirely."
Shadow gave Leaf a look, then looked back at A/C. "I have no idea. Why did you ask me specifically, out of curiosity?"
A/C smiled again, and she closed her eyes meditatively. "Because it's obvious that you two are very close. It's a bond I would recommend cherishing. Good night, Shadow."
The Espeon paused, and then nodded. "Good night," he replied, and rested his head on his brother's shoulder, using him as a cushion to accelerate his descent into restful unconsciousness.
