Chapter 21: Separate Paths

The morning found Granny's Daycare alive with activity as Terry and the others prepared to leave for the final time. A month has passed since they returned from the holidays, and with the weather finally starting to warm up Terry and May agreed that it was time to continue their journey.

"Are you sure you want to leave now?" Edna asked Terry and May as they finished getting packed. "It's not spring just yet and the weather will still be cold."

"We'll be okay." Terry answered, "Besides we don't want to trouble you two any longer than necessary."

"It was no trouble at all," Harold dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand and added as a good humored jest, "Anyway it was fun having some young live-ins to order around for a while. But are you sure you want to leave now I still have a lot to teach you about the Kujaku techniques."

"It's okay, I only wanted to learn enough to properly take care of Calisto, and after three months or so I think that I know enough."

"All packed." Soot said curtly as she walked over and dropped May's pack next to her with a loud thud.

"Soot careful with that." May scolded her alpha. The fire type was still pouting over the fact that she had to wake up a whole three hours earlier than usual. Turning to the daycare couple May said politely, "Thank you for everything."

After their short good byes the whole group left the daycare behind and headed into Mauville. Stopping on one of the main roads Terry turned to the rest of the group and asked, "So where to next?"

"I was thinking we should head north." May said pulling out a travel brochure she had picked up somewhere along the way and flipped to a certain page. "Check it out, it says here that the hot springs in Lavaridge are 'one of the top ten must see places before you die.' Sounds exciting right?"

"That doesn't sound too bad, but Emy and I thought that we could head over to Fortree. There was an announcement that they had finally cleared out route 120. We also wanted to get Lei some more training before facing Flannery, since we'll have to rely on her." Terry bit his thumb nail thinking about it.

"But… but… hot springs, and they even have thermal sand massages." May looked like a child about to be denied a sugary treat.

"Well, we can just do both." Emy compromised. "You and others can head up north ahead of us, while Terry and the rest of us finish our business in Fortree. Sound fair?"

"Well I guess." May resigned to accepting Emy's proposal. "I kind of wanted to go in the hot springs with all of you as soon as possible but, I suppose it can wait."

"Alright see you guys later," Terry waved goodbye and after a brief good bye hug May watched as his group headed east out of Mauville before May and the others headed north towards Lavaridge.

The land became dryer and more arid as May traveled north. May, Soot, Dart and Mara traveled through the dry land quickly traveling toward their destination.

"It has gotten pretty hot lately." May commented after taking a drink from her canteen. Turning toward Soot she offered the canteen.

"That's probably because of the active volcano we're walking towards." Soot responded in her usual clipped tone while accepting the canteen from her tamer and after taking a large drink from it handed the canteen to Mara who drained the rest of it.

"Hey Dart!" May called up toward the flying type as she soared high above their heads. "We were thinking about stopping for lunch soon do you want to come back down now?"

May couldn't hear Dart's answer as the flying type pirouetted through the sky and gracefully landed beside her three earth bound companions. Hopping over to them, Dart happily chirped, "Okay. All that flying made me hungry, so can we fix a lot?"

"Sure." May started to unpack the cooking gear and set up a makeshift camp off to the side of the road. May volunteered to be the first one to cook. Before long the smell of cooking meat filled their camp site along with the sound of clinking silverware. Through the meal Dart showed a dissatisfied face.

"Is something wrong?" May asked concerned.

"It's not that good." Dart said while slowly chewing her food. "I miss Mr. Idiot's cooking already."

"What?!" May was shocked by her Pokegirl's overly honest opinion. May turned to Soot and asked "Is it really that bad?"

"Eh," Soot shrugged her shoulders indifferently, "I never really cared about the taste as long as it was spicy enough."

Soot's indifferent comment only drove the emotional spike from Dart deeper in May's heart. May whimpered, "You two are so cruel."

"Don't worry May, I like your cooking." Mara placed a comforting hand on her tamer's shoulder. "It may not be as good as Mr. Idiot's cooking, but it's still good."

"You didn't need to add that last part." May complained as she sulked. While May huddled down with a personal storm cloud over her head, a pair of cheerful voices caught the group's attention. Turning around, the four of them spotted a tamer and a mareen walking by their campsite.

As she walked up the trail it was immediately clear that the other tamer's favorite color was green. Along with her hat both her canvas over shirt and shorts were the same shade of hunter's green. She stood nearly as tall as May with shoulder length black hair flowing from her hat. Walking by her side was a mareen.

Only slightly shorter than her tamer; the mareen had little fur mostly forming light blue triangular patches on her cheeks and coverings on her forearms. After making eye contact with them the other tamer gave them a friendly wave and approached the group.

"Hey everybody, nice day huh," May got up and shook the new comers hand as the other tamer introduced herself and the Pokegirl, "I'm Irene and this is Nadia."

"Nice to meet you," May took a moment to introduce herself and the others. "Are you two traveling as well?"

"No, we were just getting back from a two camping trip we're on our way back to Lavaridge."

"Really we were also heading that way." May cleared away some empty plates, and motioned for the newcomer to sit down. "We were planning on challenging the gym leader, after a quick visit to the hot springs of course."

"So all of you are on a journey?" Irene asked after sitting down in the seat May made for her. "We were thinking of doing that eventually, so what kind of battler are you."

"I prefer combat, what about you?"

"Same here." Irene agreed, she shared a smile with her Pokegirl and asked, "Do you guys want to have a quick match before you take on Flannery?"

"Sure!" Dart eagerly jumped up from her seat.

"Ah hold on," May quickly said.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Irene asked looking over at May.

"Ah, no never mind… We'll get started. I'm choosing Dart." She turned and addressed her harem, "everyone good with that choice?"

"Fine by me, I don't want to fight a water type." Soot gave an indifferent shrug.

"Alright it's decided, my Nadia versus your Dart." Irene got up from her seat, "A single elimination match, we keep going unlit someone taps out. Agreed?"

"Okay! Let's get started." Dart happily answered for her tamer.

Taking off into the air in a flurry of feathers Dart circled around her opponent, looking for an opening. The water type sent out a single stream of water at the airborne Dart, testing her opponent's reflexes. The flying type smoothly dodged the water, by tilting her whole body. Using the movement Dart swiftly turned it into a dive at the water type, adding an extra flap of her wings she sped up into a quick attack. Moving quickly Nadia jumped left and with a quick spin she sent a tail slap directly into the delicate flying type's chest.

The sight of Dart taking a direct hit caused May's heart to leap into her throat. She instantly called out to Dart just as the flying type crashed into the ground, "Dart are you okay?!"

"Just fine." After a short cough Dart answered her tamer with a smile that did nothing to relieve the panic nestled in May's chest. Jumping back into the fray Dart took off again, this time keeping low to the ground.

"Dart don't get too close, try using your ranged attacks." May quickly called out to the flying type stopping her from charging in again. Changing directions and dashing around her opponent into a blind spot Dart released a flurry of sharp feathers at her opponent.

"Nadia use bubble! And jump out of the way." Listening to her tamer the water type pivoted towards Dart's direction and let out a screen of bubbles that deflected and hindered the dangerous feathers coming at her. Jumping out of the way the water type dodged the few that got through the improvised shield. Following her target Dart dashed forward in a burst of speed intending to use scratch. Flying past Dart left six red marks along Nadia's arms as the water type curled into a defensive stance at the last moment. Finishing up her combo of attacks Dart flapped her wings with as much strength as she could muster buffeting Nadia with powerful winds. The wide smile on Dart's face was clear evidence of how much she was enjoying the match.

I know Dart has the advantage right now thanks to her speed and agility, so why can't I get rid of this anxiety. May silently worried as she watched the match.

"Use rain." Irene ordered her Pokegirl. Jumping back the water type took a deep breath and shot a single cloudy bubble straight into the air. When it burst a gray storm cloud spread out from it, gathering more moisture in the air and condensing it into a soothing drizzle. Dart pouted up at the annoying rain as it started to soak into her feathers, ruffling her feathers she prepared for the next round. Dart had some difficulty taking off because of the water slowing her down. Flapping her wings again she blasted her opponent with strong winds that scattered the rain drops making her attack clearly visible.

Moving quickly at her opponent Nadia slid across the slick increasing her speed and managed to dodge the worst of Dart's attack. Closing the distance between the two in a blink of an eye the water type struck out with her tail, clipping the flying type as Dart retreated. After increasing the distance some Dart brought her wings before her and in a powerful motion she shot forward straight at her opponent. Dart slammed into Nadia just as the water type finished her slide across the muddy ground knocking her flat onto her back with her eyes spinning. With Nadia no longer moving Irene called the match.

"Wow you guys are tough." Offering May her hand Irene complimented them in a show of good sportsmanship after returning Nadia to her ball.

"Thank you, you two were a good combination also." Deciding to hide the unpleasant feelings she felt during the match May accepted the hand shake along with the compliment. "Right, Dart?"

When they turned their attention to the flying type they were rather surprised when she started to emit a low glow. Within the light they could see her body stretch giving her a couple inches to her height, a little extra to the swell of her breast. Her feet changed shape slightly by becoming thinner and more dexterous with the addition of a long thumb like back toe. When the light disappeared her new features were revealed. She lost some of her down, her brown feathers accentuating her face as they traced her jaw line and going over her shoulders forming a v that lead in-between her breasts, separating the exposed skin and the rest of her downy white feathers.

"Look, look May I evolved!" Dart chirped excitedly smiling broadly as she stretched her new stronger wings. Jumping for joy the newly evolved flying type hugged May from behind.

"You definitely seem happy about it." May commented while placing a hand over Dart's soft feathered wings where they wrapped around her.

"I think you guys have a good chance of beating Flannery with those skills you just showed." Irene complimented them further.

"Thank you." May said truly grateful for the praise and resulting small confidence boost. "Are you two heading back to Lavaridge now?"

"No we aren't expected back until later tomorrow, besides the Pokecenter in Mauville city is closer right now." Irene turned to all of them and waved good bye, "I've got to head off now, good luck on your next fight."

The group watched the other tamer leave for a moment before turning north and heading out as well. Traveling along the road leading into Lavaridge the group arrived at the foot of Mt. Chimney and hurried through the entrance to the Fiery Path trying to make it to town before night fall. The tunnel that connected Lavaridge and Route 112 together was roughly hewn path with numerous steam vents emitting their boiling vapor all throughout the tunnel turning the tunnel into a natural sauna.

"It's hoooooooooot." Dart whined as May and Mara trudged alongside her suffering alongside the flying type, only Soot was the exception the fire type was perfectly fine in oppressive heat.

"Don't be such a wimp." Soot said her usual clipped tone seeming to lack something and became milder by a fraction. "It's not that hot, you guys just have no tolerance. It's just way too humid that's all making it hard to breathe in here."

May tugged on her collar hoping to get some air flowing and cool herself off. She was half tempted just take it off but since that would leave her with only a bra up top she decided to tough it out. The tamer didn't quite have the same taste for exhibition as her alpha. Each of her steps filled with silent complaints May set her sight forward watching for the exit of the path. Soot walked in front grumbling about the steam when there was a tremble below her. Looking down Soot tried to exclaim something but a spurt of steam enveloped her, when the vapor cleared the drenched fire type was revealed.

"Damn it…" an upset look was mixed into her usual scowl softening her expression but otherwise she appeared to be fine. May stopped in her tracks at the sight of her drenched alpha. The water clinging to her body glittered in the low light like glass beads, droplets coalesced on the under curve of her breasts before running down her sides. Creating a sight so alluring it caused May's heart to skip a beat. The devil on her shoulder screamed 'go for it' completely drowning out the angle on her right. Walking up to the shivering Soot as the fire type tried to brush off as much water as she could May pulled out a towel from the pack and dropped the heavy burden behind her.

"Huh?" Soot started a little when May wrapped her arms around her from behind. "What are you doing?"

"Just helping you dry off." May's hands started from the tips of Soot's fingers and passed the towel back and forth along the fire type's wet skin drying her off thoroughly.

"Do you really need to be naked to help with that?" Soot asked pointedly when she felt bare skin brush against her back.

"Well I didn't want get my clothes wet besides; I'm still wearing my pants so I'm not completely naked." May responded never breaking her concentration on the task before her. Slowly but surely May's hand made its way up Soot's arm to her shoulder and tantalizingly close to her breast before dropping away and starting on her other hand. Taking the opportunity, May pressed her body closer to her alpha enjoying the feel of Soot's warm body. Running the towel up the fire type's arm May's path lead to Soot's chest. As May dried Soot's collar and shoulders the edges of the towel brushed against the sensitive buds at the peaks of breast causing her to shiver.

"Hey watch it…" Soot halfheartedly complained, with her face coloring red from arousal. Not that she believed what May said from the beginning but she felt the need to complain further, "I thought you were just drying me off."

"I am," May responded never breaking concentration on her task, as her hands pressed the towel onto the underside of her alpha's breasts lifting them up slightly and indirectly stimulating her nipples as she continued. "I'm just trying to get all of the water so you don't get cold."

Soot's grumble was cut off by a sigh that was almost a moan. May's hand moved from caressing the underside Soot's breast to tracing lazy circles along her flat stomach that dipped lower with each pass. The tamer once again used the edge of the towel to tease the fire type by lightly touching her thighs with it, in a sort of purposeful accident.

Off to the side Mara squeezed and pressed her thighs together, wriggling her hips while watching this arousing spectacle. One hand lightly brushing her thigh as she was watched Soot's every reaction, not wanting to miss a moment of her alpha's changing expression. The temptation to touch her soon became too great and Mara found herself walking forward leaving Dart behind as the last voyeur of this scene. Even though she walked towards her from the front Soot didn't notice the water type because of her preoccupation with her devious tamer. The fire type jolted when she felt the cold water from Mara's hands touch, the water type massaged her way up Soot's leg starting at the fire type's foot. Somewhere along the way the towel had disappeared and only May's bare hands were crawling up Soot's sides producing a pleasurable and ticklish sensation. Soot opened her legs further allowing Mara easier accesses as the water type gently massaged her alpha's inner thigh, slowly creeping upward. Just as her hands were about to reach their final destination Mara backed off and started on the other thigh, causing Soot to groan in frustration.

"You are so cute." May said accenting each word with a peck to the fire type's neck and shoulders, sending electricity through her body with each kiss. Just as Soot started to relax into May's gentle caress she jolted again from the surprise stimulation of Mara flicking her tongue against Soot's clit. Whether it was because Mara felt jealous of the lack of attention or she felt mischievous her licking had the intended effect of drawing Soot's attention. Soot's mind was in turmoil from the contrasting sensation of May's gentle caressing hands, and Mara's intense and hungry tongue. The two could easily sense that Soot's excitement was reaching its peak from how much the fire type was squirming, but just before she could achieve release all of the pleasurable stimulation stopped.

"H-hey…" The fire type complained looking up at her tamer with needy eyes. Only to see a wicked smile stretch across May's face.

"If you want more," May whispered in her alpha's ear with her seductive voice tickling her ear, "Then you need to make Mara cum."

"Fine…"Soot turned away looking down shyly, the usual fire of her temperament almost entirely gone. Mara leaned back presenting herself to her alpha in an inviting posture; Soot licked her lips hesitating slightly before lightly placing a hand on Mara's inner thigh. Running her hand upwards the fire type took care not let her talons scratch Mara's soft skin. With her hands quickly reaching their ultimate goal Soot traced Mara's lower lips again and again, as the water type sighed her pleasure a talon ran along outer edge of her lips causing the water type to gasp sharply.

Soot tried to pull her hand back but Mara caught it and pulled the fire type in closer to herself. Sealing their mouths together Mara's tongue sought out her partner's as she guided Soot's free hand back between her thighs. Taking care once again Soot's fingers found Mara's sensitive button eliciting a moan that disappeared into Soot's kiss. Mara leaned back pulling the fire type further into her embrace, as the water type unfurled her tail from around her waist and used it to press Soot's warm body closer to her. No longer able to watch any longer May leaned in planted a kiss on her alpha's lower petals hungrily lapping at her causing the fire type to squirm while her own fingers satisfied herself. Unable to escape from their grasp Soot continued to shift rubbing her sensitive nipples against Mara's as May continued her relentless pleasure.

"I can't take it any longer," Soot begged the two of them for release, a request they were more than happy to accommodate. Soot shivered in their grasp as lightning raced through her nerves shortly after she collapsed weakly into Mara's embrace and could only lay there panting. The other two coming down from their own highs released the fire type as they lay besides her enjoying the afterglow. Dart their voyeur collapse along with them from her own ministrations and pressed herself up against the group sharing in the sensation.

It took some time but Soot was the first to recover. Looking around she noticed that the ambient light from outside had started to dim signaling the coming night fall.

"Hey you Idiot get up!" Soot said shaking her tamer.

"Can't we stay like this a little while longer?" May complained clinging to the fire type.

"Hell no! We can't stay like this I don't want someone seeing us… cuddling…" She added the last part in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Ah! I forgot we were still on the main path!" May exclaimed genuinely forgetting that the tunnel was practically the only path into Lavaridge.

Grabbing May's head with a burning hot hand Soot shouted, "HOW DO YOU FORGET SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"Ow Soot! That's hot that's hot that's HOT!"

Spurred on by an enraged Soot the group made it to town in a matter of minutes.

End of chapter 21

Author note

Hey readers it's been a very long time since my last update and I must apologize once again. Recently I have been taking some creative writing classes and found out a better way to structure the story so I decided to put this series on hiatus for the time being while I rework the plot, I might even rerelease some chapters. It also seems that Numbershooter has disappeared so I'm forced to continue without a beta reader so I am once again looking for one, or more preferably I'm looking for someone to be an assistant to me. As always let me know what you liked and what you didn't.