Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or these characters.
OoOoO
Carolina Shirona was a wise woman. She knew that with time, wounds and scars healed or faded, and that you would learn from the experiences that had led to said injuries. But she would never have expected Cynthia to earn such a large, gaping wound from the loss of a friend she had known for barely a day. She had no clue how long that wound would take to heal.
Carolina sighed at she gently pushed open the door of Cynthia's room, revealing the girl sitting there, head in her hands, as she stared out the window towards Mt. Coronet. Empty bowls of food lay scattered on her desk, ignored by the gloomy girl.
"Cynthia, you need to get out of the house." Carolina said softly. "It's been a week, and you haven't moved from this room the entire time. Get some exercise."
Cynthia continued to stare out the window, only displaying her acknowledgement of her grandmother's words through a meagre thumbs up.
"You could check up on him today. See if he wants to become a functioning member of society again." Carolina said. This earned her a frustrated glare from Cynthia, before she turned back to the window.
"He never changes! He's stuck drowning in misery and self pity, and he seems intent on bringing as many people as possible to his level!" Cynthia said, a tone of disgust in her voice. Her outburst was placated by her grandmother's hands coming to rest on her shoulders.
"But you still love him, don't you?" Carolina said softly.
"Of course I do, it's just difficult."
"Good. Then go check up on him."
Cynthia breathed in and out, keeping her feelings in check, before looking through her window to examine a house at the edge of the village.
"Fine. I'll go see dad."
OoOoO
Cynthia knocked lightly on the rotting wooden door, huddling further into her coat for warmth as a light snow fell upon the village. The house she stood outside of looked like it had been abandoned. Paint was peeling off the walls, and cobwebs and dust had gathered along the support beams of the veranda. The door creaked open, and Cynthia focused her attention on the person who stood inside the house.
Dirty, uncut blond hair was strewn around him, giving the appearance that a weirdly coloured Tangela was sitting on his head. His silver eyes stared apathetically into Cynthia's own silver eyes. A mouldy singlet sat on his hairy chest and stomach, not fitting him due to the large beer gut that jutted out from his body. He grimly smiled at the sight of Cynthia, his large yellow teeth illuminating his face.
"Cynthia Cynthia Cynthia. Finally came to say hi your old man?" He leered, before opening another beer can.
"Yes, I have. Can we go inside to get away from the coldness outside?" She asked, attempting to establish some etiquette.
"Yeah, yeah, scamper on in you little runt." He growled, dashing Cynthia's hopes of a potentially pleasant encounter.
The living room was just as unkept as the man that lived in it. Beer cans and bottle's laid strewn across the floor, empty of anything except the filthy scent that seemed to happen to anything the man touched. A broken lightbulb sat in the ceiling light, looking like it hadn't been fixed in years. The only light that illuminated the room was the fluorescent glow of the TV, another standard gameshow playing on it's screen.
"So, what brought you here kid." He said, slumping back into the worn chair.
"I just came to check up on you." Cynthia responded,
"Heh. How considerate of you."
Cynthia rolled her eyes and tossed away a shrivelled candy wrapper lying on her chair.
"I don't have time for your antics. Do you want me to go?" She got up and started to head towards the door, already fed up of the person lounging in the tattered armchair.
"Sure, leave. Ignore me and the help of getting that weight off your back." Cynthia stopped in her tracks, and turned wide eyes to stare at her.
"You can't help me. You never will." She firmly stated.
"Oh, but I can dear, I can." He said, a large grin beginning to spread on his face as he rose from his chair.
"Tell me, what's the problem Cynthia?"
Her eyes turned to the ground, as her father began to circle her. He was a like a Mandibuzz circling a carcass, looking for an opportunity to take it.
"I had to say goodbye to a friend." She said, continuing to look downwards, "It's just that, despite having known her for such a short time, I felt a connection I haven't felt with anyone before. I don't think I was ready to say farewell."
When she looked back up, her father was looming in front of her, his face pulled in a grin similar to that of a Gengar that sees an opportunity.
"You may have not been ready to say bye, but it sure sounds like she was." He said with glee. His smile continued to stretch as he watched her eyes widen.
"It was definitely your fault she left Cynthia, think about it. Because there wasn't a connection between you two, oh no. You just wanted a friend."
"T-That's not true!" Cynthia cried, the waver in her voice betraying her. "She left because she had to!"
"Bullshit!" He exclaimed, slamming the now empty beer can onto the floor, "She left because you were being selfish. Who would want to be friends with you, Cynthia? You spend all your time in those ruins, examining those stupid carvings day after day. I see you enter and leave those ruin nearly daily, so imagine my surprise when I don't see you even approach it for a week!" Now, he was towering over Cynthia, his large body silhouetted by the light shining from the television.
"I thought: 'Maybe she's finally made a friend! Maybe I can finally get this annoying little Rattata out of my life!' But of course, I'm disappointed in you. You lose your chance at making a friend, and you come crawling back to me." At this, Cynthia collapsed to the floor, her body shaking as she miserably looked up at her father.
"See, you know that I speak the truth!" He exclaimed, using the curled-up Cynthia as a point for his argument, "You know that it's your own fault you couldn't keep a friend. It's your own fault she's gone!" Finally, Cynthia leapt to her feet and scrambled for the front door, exiting the house and scrambling towards the forest. Inside, the man's grin subsided as he slumped back into his chair. Good riddance, you nuisance, good riddance.
Cynthia stopped running as she approached the edge of the forest, where she promptly collapsed in the snow. Her tears quickly began freezing as they hit the soft snow. She knew he was exaggerating the situation, and making it seem like it was her fault Gible left, when she knew she left to find her parents. So why did he make her feel so worthless?
She quietly sobbed into the ground, not caring to check her surroundings. Her moans of despair were matched by the moans of the wind. Together they cried into the world, sharing their sadness with the landscape that didn't care to answer. Another cry suddenly joined the mix, pulling Cynthia out of her thoughts and looking in the direction of the sound.
She rose to her feet and began walking towards the noise. The crying she heard came from the forest, more specifically from behind a bush Cynthia could see. Approaching it, Cynthia pulled back the branches and her heart leapt and she laid her eyes on Gible.
All greetings and emotions of the moment disappeared as Cynthia realised the state Gible was in. She was covered in scratches and bruises, and blood could be seen leaking from her mouth. She was violently shivering, with her eyes scrunched tight in pain. She was screaming in agony, whether physical or emotional Cynthia didn't know.
Instantly she picked Gible up and wrapped her in the soft mareep wool scarf her grandmother had knitted her. She began sprinting back to the village, aiming to get the small dragon to the Pokémon centre as quickly as possible. Her eyes were focused on her destination, while her arms wrapped around Gible as she shared her body heat.
Gible had stopped crying, and was faintly aware of a familiar warmth pressed against her. She opened an eye to see Cynthia carrying her, her eyes looking somewhere else as she ran. Gible couldn't think much of the situation she was in, and she started to drift off to unconsciousness.
Feeling Gible's head, Cynthia picked up her pace as she continued to run to the Pokémon centre. A few curious villagers gasped as they caught a glimpse of what laid in her arms as she ran past. She paid them no mind, and soon reached the Pokémon centre and burst inside.
"Cynthia?" Said Nurse Joy reproachfully, "Why are you bursting-" She stopped her sentence and immediately sprang into action when she saw the weak Pokémon. Cynthia quickly gave Gible to Nurse Joy's Chansey.
"A Gible, never thought I'd see the day..." Muttered Nurse Joy, approaching Cynthia with a clipboard.
"So, Cynthia. Where did you find the Pokémon?" Nurse Joy asked, her pen already scribbling down information.
"I found her on the outskirts of town. She was hiding behind a bush, most likely trying to keep warm." Cynthia replied, nervously glancing at the doors Chansey had walked through earlier.
Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow.
"You seem familiar with the Pokémon, as you already know her sex. When was the last time you saw her?"
Cynthia stared into the wooden planks that made up the Pokémon centre's lobby.
"It was a week ago. I left her near Mount Coronet to go looking for her parents." Her eyes widened as she realised what it meant. "So that means she hasn't found her parents!" She looked worryingly at the doors again.
Nurse Joy assuredly put her arm on Cynthia's shoulder, looking at her with a small smile.
"Gible will be fine, the injuries will be near non-existent in a day or two." Cynthia didn't move her gaze from the doors.
"I'm more worried about how she'll be emotionally after this." Cynthia said quietly.
A shrill ring from a bell on the wall caught Jenny's attention and she hurried off through the doors. Cynthia sighed and collapsed into a couch in the lobby. She was happy to see Gible, but seeing her hurt that badly had really shook her. A red light blinked on the wall, indicating treatment had begun.
Her head buried in the couch, she finally took in the sounds around her as she realised other people in the Pokécentre were quietly talking about her and Gible. Great. Soon the whole village would know she had befriended the small dragon. It was already interesting enough when Cynthia ran into the Pokécentre with a wounded Pokémon, but said Pokémon being a Gible really peaked people's interest.
A poking at Cynthia's leg made her sit up, and she saw a Happiny tugging onto her, clearly wanting her to follow. She slid her legs of the couch and followed Happiny as she led her through some doors and hallways, before arriving at her destination, which was a large glass viewing window.
Peering through she saw Gible lying on a surgery table. Large fluorescent lights had been brought in to heat the dragon, and the light was so bright that Nurse Joy and Chansey had to wear large sunglasses. Cynthia would have laughed at the sight If she wasn't so concerned.
They weren't conducting surgery, which seemed to be a good sign. She had only watched herbs and potions being used in the recovery of Gible. Her condition seemed stable, so she let out a sigh of relief. She sat into a chair that faced the opposite side of the hallway and drifted away into her thoughts and feelings.
OoOoO
Gible slowly opened her eyes, to find herself lying on some blankets and sheets. A Chansey was looking down at her, a kind smile on her face. Gible slowly sat up but lied back down as her body ached all over.
"You're awake." Came a voice. A person with pink hair had entered the room, and Gible eyed her warily.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." She said, "I just came to tell you what happened, as you were brought here unconscious." She gestured to a girl sitting on the other side of the glass, her head facing the opposite wall.
Gible's eyes widened as she realised it was Cynthia. She had terribly missed her in the week she had left, which confused her. She had only known her for a day, but she missed her so badly you would think she had known her for years.
She realised Cynthia had fallen asleep, indicated by her head dropping downwards to her side. A small smile crossed her face as she reminisced of the short yet fond time when she and Cynthia had spent in that cave surviving the snowstorm. So far, this girl had saved her life twice and she's not sure if she can pay her back.
"Anyways, that's how you ended up here! Got all that?" Came the nurse's voice. Gible absentmindedly nodded, still focused on the girl on the other side of the glass screen.
"Great, I'll wake her up so she knows you're okay and will rest here for tonight." Nurse Joy then walked out of the room and gently shook Cynthia awake.
As soon as she had awoken, she swivelled her body towards Gible. A large smile grew on her face, and she quickly asked Nurse Joy a question. She nodded, and Cynthia quickly rushed into the room.
"Gible! I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried, I missed you so much!" Gushed Cynthia, as she gently wrapped Gible in a hug.
Cynthia pulled away, and her smile quickly vanished when she saw fresh tears beginning to fall down Gible's face. She continued to stare into Gible's dark eyes, with Gible staring into her own.
"You couldn't find them, could you?" She quietly asked, more of a statement than a question. Gible's heart panged as recalled each night she had spent searching getting more and more desperate.
She hadn't expected to find them immediately, of course not. But after the fourth day she had gotten worried. She had even climbed close to the peak of Mt. Coronet before backing down due to the intense cold. She realised on her last day that she wasn't going to find them, and in blind agony, stumbled down the mountain and back into Celestic town.
She began to let out quiet roars of sorrow, and tears began streaming out of her eyes in earnest. Cynthia was instantly there, scooping her up and allowing her to borrow into her arms of compassion. She too began to tear up, eventually sobbing in harmony with Gible. Nurse Joy and Chansey watched quietly, occasionally glancing at the heart rate monitor.
Gible's and Cynthia's cries eventually quieted down, and Cynthia withdrew from the hug. She had a melancholy smile on her face, and looked at Gible with her gleaming Silver eyes, glistering from the tears that stung their cheecks.
"I'll be your family." She said. "I'll be there for you, whenever you need me." Gible's heart pounded at her words.
She may not be able to find her real mother and father, and most likely will never meet them. But when she thought of family, Cynthia, her grandmother and Clefable filled her mind. They all treated her like she was worth all the love and attention in the world, whereas her parents weren't careful enough to care for an unhatched egg.
Looking back at Cynthia, her eyes were distant, and she was fidgeting with her hands. Her eyes refocused and she noticed Gible looking at her confusedly. She might as well clarify, even if she was sharing something that might make Gible view her parents differently.
"Sorry Gible's it's just, I was thinking of my own parents." She said, "My parents were great people apparently, really kind and caring. But one day, my mother perished in an archaeology disaster. My dad was never the same. Since that day, both of my parents died."
Cynthia took a deep breath in, before continuing with her story. "I had just been born, and dad had been caring for me at home. Knowing he couldn't handle his grief and me simultaneously, he passed legal ownership of me to grandma. Ever since then, he spends the rest of his time in his house, never leaving unless it's to buy alcohol."
"Sorry, I don't won't to-" She was silenced by Gible, who had wriggled her way over to her and had laid a claw on her hand, looking at her intently.
"Gib. Gible gi Gible." Cynthia perked up slightly, smiling faintly at Gible's words.
"You'll be a part of my family?" She said, Gible responding with a vigorous nod before groaning at her aching body.
Cynthia leaned down and wrapped Gible in another hug, grinning from ear to ear.
"Guess you're my sister now." Gible muttered back at her, and she laughed.
"And I'm yours too."
