Arc 3 - Finding Purpose
Under most circumstances, the embers of light sparking over the horizon was a good sign. Time would stoke the little flames, nurturing the light and heat the rays gave off, until it expanded over the sky and bathe the earth in its gentle touch. Orange and pink light would caress the canvas of the clouds, creating a soothing, yet energizing tapestry of color.
This morning, however, Cecilia regarded the rising sun with a sense of dread and restlessness. Her blue eyes observed the slow growth of light gracing the earth, still too early to reach the area where she had camped for the night. The gentle trickling of a nearby stream was the only sound that reached her ears, but it wouldn't be long before the world would resume its usual motions. Her night had remained relatively undisturbed, given plenty of berth by the nocturnal Pokemon that had taken notice of her presence.
'Relatively' was the key word in the equation. There had been one or two Pokemon that had noticed her restlessness and had offered their assistance as a sleep aid. Cecilia suspected the proximity of the nearby town was partially to blame for their boldness. Pokemon that lived in the wild next to human towns were usually not as skittish around unfamiliar Pokemon or humans, and usually had enough strength to back up their confidence. The first had simply shrugged and left her alone when she had declined his company. The second discovered that harassing a moody Fire-type rarely ended the way it might have had they actually been AT the Solaceon Daycare, and Cecilia discovered that Zangoose were not immune to fire, only poison.
And yet, Cecilia still considered that he got off easier than if he tried hitting on Lin. The Weavile was not known for being tolerant towards flirts. Cecilia admittedly found that approach to be baffling, and even when Lin had explained her viewpoint in more detail, Cecilia found it difficult to swallow. Then again, she was almost the exact opposite of Lin, and the only reason she was so dismissive of attention right now was because she had a lot on her mind and she didn't want to be disturbed while she mentally shifted through it all. This likely contributed to Lin and Force deciding that they did not wish to linger in the area for the night, although they informed her they intended to head back towards the Chateau to await Kaito and Iris' return from Johto, and she was encouraged to catch up with them later.
Cecilia was grateful for this decision, as it gave her more space to think and work out how she was going to approach the various topics and issues that Shadow and she would need to discuss.
The conversation with Shadow after leaving the Ruins had been disastrous, to put it mildly. There was too much information that Cecilia hadn't known, and Shadow wanted answers, but she likewise had no indication of what information he DID have, so she was wary of saying something that'd be interpreted poorly or completely confuse the Espeon, and he was oddly reluctant to initiate the conversation, so he probably didn't know enough to be able to pinpoint what he needed clarification on. As soon as he had left, she had demanded that Force and Lin spill their side of the events.
All of this contributed greatly to her restlessness and nerves. As she had feared back in the Ruins, Shadow had come across Force and Lin. What she hadn't counted on was the possibility that Diablos himself would appear before Shadow. It was her own fault in that regard, too. She had stormed out of the Chateau the last time they were there, so she didn't even know how the rest of the meeting with Diablos had gone, and hadn't thought much of it when Force and Lin had explained that they were going to the Solaceon Ruins.
It would certainly have explained some of Shadow's hostility, but she still didn't know what he knew and didn't know about the situation, or what she would be permitted to tell him. Kaito had never explicitly said not to tell anyone what they were doing, but it was one of those things that seemed to go without saying - they only discussed their plans and developments with one another. Lin seemed to be the only one who found it practical to randomly speak in code, but based on her reaction when asked, this wasn't something Kaito enforced - Lin just chose to do so of her own accord. Cecilia had pressed the Weavile for some sort of guidelines of what was open to discuss for her conversation with Shadow, to which Lin had given a simple rule - Cecilia could use her own discretion on all subjects, but she was not to reveal the Chateau as their base of operations.
Cecilia blinked at the sky, getting a quick mental estimate of what time it was. Even at this distance, she could start to hear sounds from the human town, so it had to be late enough in the morning to consider getting ready. With a small sigh, the Quilava rose to her feet and stretched, testing the flexibility of her body a few times before stretching again. Once satisfied that she was warmed up, she went over to the bubbling river and began to tidy up her fur by dabbing herself with water. It was still too early to ignite her flames, and with so much grass around, it probably would be unwise to risk a fire, especially considering how moody and anxious she still was.
The Quilava's blue eyes inspected her reflection for a few moments, then just shook her head and busied herself getting some basic food together. She had offered to talk to Shadow over breakfast, and somehow she doubted that he'd be particularly interested in whether or not she looked good. Okay, not technically true, he WAS still a maturing male that recently evolved and was extremely susceptible to her charms already, so it'd be more accurate to say that SHE shouldn't be interested in whether she looked good.
It wasn't difficult for her to accumulate a decent range of different berry flavors, but she took a moment to debate the merits of catching a fish or two. In truth, she had no idea when the Espeon might arrive, or whether he even would be awake at this time. They hadn't really arranged a time or place to meet, and it probably hadn't even occurred to him to ask, considering how irritable he had been yesterday. She certainly didn't want to go through the trouble of catching a fish, only to have to discard it or eat it herself should he run late.
Cecilia was spared the struggle of coming to a decision at the sound of footsteps moving across the grass. She could catch hints of chatter accompanying the sound of paws on grass, suggesting that either someone was talking to themselves with different voices (not an impossibility), or that two or more Pokemon were coming towards her, although the pattern of steps meant it was probably just two.
The Quilava maneuvered out from the cover of trees where she had been camping to try to catch a glimpse of the approaching Pokemon. Even at this distance, it was a cinch to spot Shadow. His jet black fur stood out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of grass and dirt pathways, and sure enough, he was accompanied by another Pokemon, a vaguely familiar bipedal Pokemon with orange fur and some sort of flotation ring around its neck.
Cecilia simply cocked her head slightly, her stomach churning nervously. She was about to call out to the Espeon, but his silver eyes flicked in her direction, and he wordlessly adjusted his pathing to head towards her. His companion seemed briefly perplexed by the sudden shift in direction before adjusting his own path.
"Looks like it found it okay, gorgeous," Cecilia said, forcing a chipper note into her voice and she supplied a smile as well, doing her best to conceal her nervousness. "Good morning," she added, almost as an afterthought. Shadow seemed much calmer this morning, which was a plus, but it probably wouldn't last long.
"Morning," Shadow answered. He stood there awkwardly for a moment or two, undecided whether he should say or do anything further.
"Oh boy, did this get awkward suddenly," the weasel Pokemon muttered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Cecilia gave him a curious look. "So...you're Cecilia, right?" he asked.
"Yep!" the Quilava replied. Then she blinked, peering closer at him. "Wait, aren't you the Buizel who hit on me last night?"
"Heh..." the Buizel chuckled sheepishly. "Um...yeah, about that...I didn't know you were taken, to be fair," he said, giving Shadow an apologetic look. The Espeon just raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Anyway, I'm Raze," the water Pokemon said quickly, offering Cecilia his paw.
"Hi Raze!" Cecilia said, shaking his paw briefly, now more curious than ever. "You two know each other?"
"I'm more surprised YOU two know each other," Shadow said blankly. If Cecilia didn't know better, she would have thought that Shadow was getting a teensy bit possessive.
"Just barely," Raze said with a chuckle. "I bumped into her, tossed a few mild compliments, got told to hit the road, and did just that. We didn't even exchange names."
"I see," Shadow said stiffly. "Feel free to hit the road again."
"Ahh, private date, huh?" Raze asked, smirking. "Is that how you two linked minds last- hey!" the Buizel jerked and whirled around to look behind him, then peered over his shoulder at his twin tails, then fixed Shadow with an annoyed look. "You're so mature."
"My tutoring's going well, thanks for asking. Now go away," Shadow said, smirking. Raze blinked, then grinned.
"Fine, fine. Got to catch up with Frost anyway," the Buizel said idly, glancing back at his tails briefly, then walking back the way he and Shadow had come, all while Cecilia watched him blankly.
"What did you do?" she asked the black-furred Espeon curiously. She had spotted the silver gemstone glowing briefly, but couldn't tell what had happened.
"Psychically tugged one of his tails," Shadow answered with a shrug. "Didn't think it'd actually work, though."
Cecilia giggled quietly, but sobered quickly. Raze had mentioned something about Shadow and her linking minds previously, and the thought of that alone reminded her of why they were there. That had been the moment that she realized what had happened to the Espeon, and it was far from a reassuring thought.
"Well, I got some berries for breakfast if you want," she said, gesturing behind her towards the pile she had gathered from the nearest bushes. Shadow gave a serious nod, and allowed her to lead the way into the shade of the trees. It wasn't a dark area by any means, but it wasn't immediately visible from the road area, which was the entire point when it came to a camping area.
They ate for a few moments in silence, and Shadow gazed around with a critical eye. Just when it was beginning to feel awkward, the Espeon broke the silence.
"Think we're going to be able to have that talk today?" he asked bluntly. Cecilia winced, and Shadow seemed to realize he had spoken too harshly. "Sorry," he muttered, but he kept his eyes on her. "Where are the other two?" he wondered finally.
"Oh, they didn't want to stick around this long. We were traveling to explore the Ruins, so it's not like we live around here," Cecilia explained, managing a weak smile. "I'll probably catch up with them later on, anyway."
Shadow gave a slow nod, but continued to gaze at her expectantly. Cecilia fidgeted and her stomach squirmed anxiously.
"Okay, um...I first just want to explain the communication problem yesterday," she said quickly. "See...I didn't know what had happened after A/C, your brother, and I left the Ruins, so I didn't really know what you knew or wanted to know when you asked for an explanation...you know? So I had wanted you to start things off because you knew stuff I needed to know for context of what you needed to know...but I'm guessing you didn't know enough to know-"
"My head hurts now," Shadow muttered dully.
Cecilia winced, but she giggled. "Sorry...but point is, I got Lin and Force to tell me what they knew, so I'm a little more on the ball."
Shadow studied her for a moment. When he spoke again, his tone was deadly serious, but not aggressive. "You arranged for us to talk before you left the Ruins for the Center or whatever. Why then?"
Cecilia winced again, but she did have an answer, "I was worried you'd meet Force and Lin when I was gone, and they'd...have heard your name before."
The Espeon twitched. "And?"
"I don't think this is the best starting point for the explanation," Cecilia said, shaking her head. "It's a very complicated thing. I really don't want you to be mad at me over this, but...maybe I need to start at the beginning?"
Shadow didn't answer, but the look he gave her was more than answer enough. It was the type of look one would give someone who was trying their patience by ducking around the real matter of the conversation. Cecilia heaved a sigh, but sat down, making herself as comfortable as possible, and she gestured for him to do the same, which he did, after some hesitation.
"I suppose I could start at when our minds linked briefly, because that'd get to a point without you needing to hear my life story," she said, biting her lip nervously. Shadow tensed slightly, but nodded. Cecilia took a deep breath. "That was...a very problematic moment for me. I'm so sorry that-"
"That wasn't your fault at all," Shadow insisted. "I didn't have control over-"
"Not the link itself!" Cecilia insisted and her eyes began to glisten. "I didn't tell you then...I couldn't tell you then...but I understood more from those flashes than you did."
Shadow looked at her blankly, and the Quilava fidgeted. It hurt so much just to reflect on the situation, but Shadow deserved to know what she knew, no matter how much it caused her pain.
"I was a good friend of your mother's," she murmured quietly. Shadow blinked in surprise. Whatever he had expected her to say, it wasn't that. "I met her a couple years ago, when I first came to Sinnoh," Cecilia explained sadly. "She was lonely back then, before she met uh...sorry, I never can remember her mate's name..."
"Echo," Shadow said tonelessly. Cecilia could tell that he was trying to keep his composure, and she couldn't bear the notion of looking him in the eyes right now. She didn't want to see her own pain mirrored in his eyes, nor be drawn into his own despair when she felt terrible enough as it was.
"Yeah...she was from one of the Sinnoh Eevee clans, if memory serves, that's...where the naming convention for kits originated from," Cecilia continued quietly. "But she had gone on her own path from there. That's how we originally bonded, over mutual loneliness, the fear that everyone entered our lives only for a moment...but then she met Echo. It was...a very touching romance, I'll admit."
"I don't want to hear this, Cece, not right now," Shadow pleaded. Even those words seemed to be straining his voice terribly, and another spasm of guilt and sadness wracked the Quilava's gut.
"I'm sorry," Cecilia whispered, wiping her eyes with one paw and staring at the grass beneath her paws. "I'm guessing you don't really remember meeting me before."
Shadow blinked at her. "Only in the vaguest sense, I'm afraid. A feeling, but nothing concrete."
Cecilia smiled weakly. "Probably for the best, really. I didn't recognize you until you told me your name, and didn't have it confirmed until I saw your brother. Um...I kind of did some uh, kit sitting for about a week last September. That's when we first met officially," she said.
Shadow looked puzzled. "Kit sitting? For who?"
Cecilia gave him a meaningful look. "Your brother was born in October, so it wasn't him," she said.
"Why don't I remember that clearly?" Shadow asked, frowning. "Mom and Dad had a kit sitter for me?"
Cecilia giggled. "Well...they actually were really good at coordinating it. You're probably picturing being cared for by someone constantly for a week. It really was more...me distracting you for an hour or so at a time. Your parents were still around plenty, but needed you distracted now and then."
"Why?" Shadow asked blankly.
Cecilia choked slightly on her snort of laughter, but hastily composed herself before answering, all the while giving Shadow a meaningful look, "Um...I'm sure it has nothing whatsoever to do with your brother existing."
Understanding slowly dawned on the Espeon's face and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ah. I see. Er...is there a reason you brought up the fact you...kit-sat for me once? Aside from making this awkward?"
Cecilia paused, realizing she had forgotten her original point, then it clicked. "Right, so I was close enough to Rio that she entrusted me with that task. So when our minds linked that day...I recognized your parents. And I recognized Force..." the Quilava's voice broke slightly. "And I recognized the yellow eyes. Diablos' eyes."
Shadow tensed, and his silver eyes widened. "What? You...what? How?"
Cecilia cringed. Even though Shadow hadn't said or done anything to implicate her, it was this next truth that she dreaded above all the others. It was the one part she played that she truly condemned herself for. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes in spite of her attempts to fight them.
"Because...we're the ones who unsealed him."
