Roots pounded at me as the creature dragged me across the forest floor. Twigs and fallen branches scraped fur off in scattered patches. My claws couldn't get a good grip on anything. We were moving too fast for me to anchor them in anything. The butterflies in my stomach cranked into overdrive as fear coursed through my body. I saw my own arms flicker in and out of the scenery. But invisibility didn't matter much when the scary creature already had its hooks in you.
The creatures dragged me into a small, irregular clearing. The moon above was hardly a sliver. Darkness pushed in at all sides. The creatures surged upwards and dropped me in the middle of the open space. Each direction I turned to bolt, they formed a wall. There was no escaping from them.
I wasn't wrong. I froze in my tracks. It was that same voice from Lyridia's Den. The one that had come from nothing. One of them did manage to slip through.
On the edge of the clearing was a Pokémon I hadn't seen before. It floated along with its tattered black cloak of a body a good meter from the ground. A white plume that billowed from its head and a ring of red teeth-like protrusions surrounded its head. Ice cold eyes pierced the distance between us and I felt my heart run cold.
Dear one, what are you doing so far from home? Do you not miss your family? The voice echoed in my head instead of in the air. It was impossible to block out the noise. Come, let us go home, yes?
Something in their voice made me want to listen. Had my heart not been thundering in my ears, I might have just fallen in step with them. The ice eyes of theirs seemed to glow with the missing moonlight. It was hypnotic.
"Who are you?" I breathed, my voice not wanting to work. The Pokémon drifted closer and looked me up and down.
Oh, you should know me, dear one. Have you already forgotten my name? Come, we'll help you remember on our way home. The Pokémon held out their hand and I felt my own reaching up in response. Everything was getting fuzzy. Like I wasn't in control anymore. The Pokémon's eyes glowed brighter.
"No, this isn't… this isn't…" I couldn't come up for a reason to stay. I wanted to go home, didn't I? Everyone at home must have been missing me. Home sounded much better than this scary forest.
I'll take you home, dear one. Why don't you tell me your name again? You know how terrible I am with names. Their eye closed in a smile. Silly. They were so bad keeping names straight.
"It's Si-"
"Sindri!" Nyne's voice broke into our space. In that moment the haze around my mind and my eyes cleared. I had almost taken their hand. I tore my claws back to myself and turned to run. Nyne burst into the clearing at that second, his eyes wild with worry and leaves in his fur. Without a second thought, Nyne coughed up the blue fireballs and shot them towards the shadow creatures and the one with the glowing eyes.
The shadow creatures hissed and dove back into the shadows between the trees. The Pokémon I had talked to blocked the fireball with their arm. Smoke rose from the spot where it collided, but the Pokémon seemed apathetic about it. In fact, they shot a frustrated glare at Nyne.
"You stay away from Sindri!" Nyne threatened. I retreated to his side and tried to hide my trembling.
Sindri, why do you run? I was only trying to bring you home. Come, knock off this nonsense and return with me. Once more, they held out their hand, but with Nyne by my side, my mind didn't immediately accept their offer.
"N-no. I don't know y-you." Great. Now I sounded just as scared as I felt.
"Leave her alone!" Nyne shouted. He took a deep breath and fire spewed from his mouth to the Pokémon. The Pokémon's eye widened with the sudden attack. But without another word, they flew out of the clearing in the same direction of the shadow creatures.
My legs gave out and I sank to my knees. Nyne whipped around and stuck his nose in my face, sniffing for any injuries. I just put my arms around his neck and hugged him close. If hadn't come when he had… where would I have been now? Far away with that Pokémon? What had he meant about home? And family? I didn't have family here… didn't I? I was human, wasn't I? How could I have family here?
"Sindri?" Nyne's concern almost sent me into tears. My head ached as I tried to uncover memories of any family. "Sindri, can you… um…"
"Shush," I whispered. "Just give me a minute."
"Okay." Nyne's paw patted my back.
Once I'd made sure I wouldn't cry, Nyne led the way back out of the giant orchard. Lucky for us, the shadow creatures didn't drag me very far in. It only took a few minutes to reach our campsite. I winced at the tears in the side of the cloth tarp from my claws. It wouldn't be a lot of help against the rain now. At least, the right side of it wouldn't.
I curled up on the tarp and Nyne pushed himself into my side. I didn't think he knew just how much I needed that small comfort. It was probably the only reason I fell asleep that night.
The morning dawned with dew on our fur and the sun already up in the sky. Nyne was snoring gently and I stretched out my cold limbs. Shaking the dew off, I grabbed my bag and an apple to eat. Nyne stirred, his ears twitching around at my sounds.
He yawned and shook himself awake. Once he'd gotten up, I rolled up the cloth tarp. None of our stuff got stolen in the night. Nor had we had any more trouble from the shadow creatures and the Pokémon from the forest.
"You okay with continuing, Sindri?" I jumped. I had almost forgotten Nyne was standing so close.
"Yeah. I don't want to give up already," I said with a small smile. "I kinda wish Buizel was here, though."
"Pft," Nyne scoffed. "We don't need Mr. Tetchy Toes here to save us. You got me, and I got you."
We set off to walking. We stayed a good distance from the orchard's edge in case of any more attacks.
"What happens when I freeze then? Or if we both get in the same trouble?" Nyne pouted. Logic, his age-old enemy.
"Sirius gave that Escape Orb for just that reason," he finally replied. His smile set my anxieties aside… for now. We ate as we walked and Nyne occasionally started up short conversations.
I'd noticed how Nyne didn't like the silence much. He always wanted something to talk about or someone to talk to. Buizel tended to fill that hole more often than I did. Another reason I secretly wanted him here. But, I might as well try to keep my mind off the previous night.
"What did the green grape say to the purple grape?" I started. Nyne looked at me in confusion.
"What?" he asked cautiously. I smirked a little before I yelled, "BREATHE IDIOT, BREATHE!"
It took a second for the unexpected joke to sink in. But Nyne burst into laughter and sparks rocketed into the air. I think the fact that I told a corny joke was making him laugh more than the actual joke. I laughed a little with him before he calmed down to a chuckle.
"What did one Geodude say to the other Geodude?"
"I dunno."
"Let's rock!" It was so stupid that I had to laugh.
Almost the entire rest of the way to the ruins, Nyne and I exchanged jokes. A few of mine apparently were too unfamiliar to this world for him to get. Honestly, I didn't even know how I knew so many. Especially not the ones that had to do with human events, or items.
When we finally made it to the valley in front of the mountains, it was still late afternoon. We had walked faster than yesterday. I was surprised, but pleasantly. That meant we had more time to explore the ruins. Nyne and I dove through the last remaining trees to the area where the ruins were supposed to be. It took a bit of searching, but eventually we found them.
Pillars of creamy stone led down an overgrown path of dark brown tiles. Some arches from the pillars were intact. Others were scattered on the ground in pieces. Trees of every shape and size wrapped around the light stones. Some grew with the support of the ruins, others seemed to be trying to extinguish the ruins' existence altogether.
A set of stairs led up to a large building. It was made with both the light stones and the dark stones. It looked like our guild castle almost. Except this building was rectangular, without towers and defense walls. This building looked like it had been built to be a community building, except… There was a presence about it that screamed 'do not come in'. Had it been built to be abandoned?
Nyne and I approached the door. It was made of stone and looked far too heavy to just pull open. We still gave it a try, though. But too bad I was right. Nyne gave up pulling to search around the side of the building. I pondered the motif carved into the door. There were swirling lines coming from two figures on the two doors.
On the right was a figure that looked like a graceful Pokémon with a long dress and short hair. It held a small sun in its hands. Next to the graceful figure were two Pokémon; a Cherrim like Miss Lilly and a long, furry Pokémon whose body melted seamlessly into its tail of stripes.
On the door on the left was a Pokémon similar to the other, but this one had a rising crest on its head and blades extending from its elbows. It held a crescent moon in its hands. By its feet were another two Pokémon. The first, a unicorn wreathed in flames with its head held downward. The second, a Pokémon that looked like Cubone, but its skull was smoother and the bone it held was much longer.
I looked to the tiles under my feet. The tiles were shaped in a large circle. A sun and a moon were on opposite sides of the circle, just as they were on the doors. Small triangles lined the left side of the sun and the right side of the moon. Some curious holes were spread across the two celestial bodies, but was that because of wear, or some other reason? Stars were scattered on the open space.
A sudden squawk startled me back to my feet. There was a black bird perched on one of the pillars. Its feathers made it look like it was wearing a hat. The bird Pokémon and I stared at each other until it cleared its throat.
"You look a lot smarter than the other exploration teams sent here," she said.
"What makes you say that?" The bird let out a scratchy laugh and gestured her wing to the ground.
"Not one of the other teams thought to look under their feet. You're already one step ahead of them." Really? No one thought to look down? That just sounded… pathetic, honestly.
"Oh, well, thank you," I said with a smile. The bird cocked her head at me.
"Oho!" she laughed. "I like you, oh I do. You are a very interesting Pokémon. I like you, I like you. Say, would you like to hear me sing?" Nyne crossed my mind for a moment. But he'd be fine. It's not like the ruins were going anywhere.
"Sure. I'd love to, Miss…?"
"I am Kura, the Murkrow," she said with a bow. "Now, my song."
Kura opened her beak, but what came out may not have been a song, exactly. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but it wasn't something that I'd choose to listen to again. It would have been much better had she not filled the chorus with loud caws and scratchy crowing. She finished with another bow.
"What did you think, clever explorer? Was my song beautiful or horrible?" I really didn't want to say her song grated on my sensitive ears to her earnest eyes. But I wasn't going to lie to her either.
"I think it was very good. And with more practice, you could make it even better. The parts where you crowed our heart out were very nice, but sadly my ears are too sensitive for it. I hope you keep singing and improving, Kura." Kura's eyes flashed, but with anger or joy, I couldn't tell. She didn't say anything for a minute, but then burst out in laughter.
"I like you! I like you very much! You are such a clever, clever explorer!" She did a little dance on her pillar. "You are the first to examine the floor and the first to tell me the truth. I like you! You clever girl!"
I blushed under my fur as Kura continued her silly dance and mantra of, 'I like you'. I only told her the truth, plus a little flattery. Was that so important? Kura laughed once more and perched on the edge of the pillar. Her ruby eyes gleamed as she stared me down.
"I'm going to give you a present," she stated. Rustling around in what was probably a nest on the pillar, Kura drew out something shiny in her beak. She fluttered down and perched on my shoulder.
"Thank you," I said, opening my palm for her to drop her present in.
What she had given me was a small marble, maybe an inch in diameter. It shone in aqua greens and deep teals whichever way it was tilted. On the surface there was a small rose carved in simple lines. A hole ran through it, probably so it could be strung on a necklace.
"That's my favorite bauble. It's so shiny, wouldn't you agree?" I closed my claws around the marble and smiled.
"Definitely. Thank you for your very generous gift." Kura laughed again and flitted from my shoulder to my head and back.
"Better and better! Clever girl, clever girl. You will have no problem navigating the tomb. No trouble for you. None at all!" Kura flapped off into the forest that surrounded most of the ruins. Without even so much as a goodbye.
"Well… That was strange." I pocketed the marble and I didn't even turn before I heard Nyne.
"Ey! Sindri! I found something!" Nyne shouted. I pushed aside some small bushes to find him standing next to a tall structure. It was made of the same creamy pale stone and ivy crawled up it like it had been there for ages. Nyne was standing next to a bare patch with little carved markings on them.
"What'd you find?" I asked, picking a leaf out of my fur.
"Here, look," is what he said. I bent down to Nyne's height and looked over the strange collection of letters. I was actually pleased to find them in the English alphabet instead of that crazy footprint language Nyne and everyone else wrote in. "I can't even tell what language it is, let alone what it says."
"Are you serious?" I asked, giving him a weird look. "This is what I read! This is my alphabet!" Nyne looked at me like I was crazy.
"Sindri, I don't think anyone's written in this for centuries." I looked back at the letters. Sure they were a bit weird with round circles in the middle of them, but they looked like simple letters.
"I'm telling you, it's perfectly straightforward. This is what I can read!" I argued. Nyne rolled his eyes and gestured to the ancient writing.
"Fine. Then what does it say?" I smiled and read the text out loud.
Down in this valley,
where the Midnight Birds crow,
lies a treasure hidden deep,
straight down below.
Entrance to this tomb
lies with the strong of heart,
those who face monsters
and do not fall apart.
Join the Lady Sun
with her consort Master Moon,
and the path will show itself
for your whistle's bright tune.
Nyne's jaw dropped with a pop. I grinned victoriously at him and stuck out my tongue.
"Told you I wasn't illiterate," I teased. Nyne dissolved into frustrated grunting while I thought about the poem.
Obviously, the first part was just talking about these ruins and the 'treasure' inside them. The brave of heart part had me a bit concerned. Did that mean there were traps or monsters in the ruins? Or maybe more feral Pokémon like in the mystery dungeons? Or did it just mean that we have to be brave enough to step inside?
"What does it mean about joining the moon and the sun? Like, we can't do that. They're out in the sky, and we're here in the ground…" The ground…
"Come on!" I shouted in my burst of inspiration. I crashed back to the front of the ruins with the starry pattern on the ground. Nyne was right behind me, confused, but still right there. "Push that moon shaped tile this way."
I pointed to the moon opposite of me. Nyne loped around and set his paws on it. He had to push really hard for it to even budge, but at least he could move it. I shoved the sun tile, avoiding the sharp triangles sticking out of it. As soon as I started moving my piece, both slid towards each other smoothly. The pieces joined with a small grating thump. The little holes scattered across both tiles now lined up in escalating and falling lines.
"Well now what?" Nyne huffed, looking at the still sealed doors.
The way the dots all occupied a certain space seemed familiar. What were they supposed to be? Obviously they were important to be on the first puzzle to get inside. Did we have to fill them with something? Was one a keyhole? Possible traps about the holes whirled through my mind. I sighed in frustration and scratched at my head. The sound of wings interrupted my thoughts. Kura had returned. And she had brought a few more of her bird Pokémon friends.
"Hello clever girl!" she sang. "I see you have yet to enter the vault. Have you found any more clues?"
"Yes, we have." I told Kura the poem we found on the structure around the ruin's side. "This is Nyne, by the way. He's my partner."
"A distinct pleasure, ye of many tails," Kura bowed. Nyne smiled uncomfortably, but didn't otherwise say anything stupid like he could have.
"Do you have any idea what the last part of the poem is talking about, Kura?" I asked. What did joining the sun and moon have to do with whistling?
"Whistling a bright tune. But what bright tune could that be?" Kura turned to her bird friends. "Have you lot any ideas?"
That wasn't the greatest question. All the birds erupted in their own version of what exactly a bright tune was. It took us a lot of ear pain and a few minutes to get them back under control. But the singing did jog a memory in my mind. White sheets of paper filled with bars, lines and the same kinds of dots like the ones on the tiles.
The pure elation that filled me after that memory was amazing. I had remembered something. I had remembered some of my past. Music sheets filled my head as I remembered the pieces I loved the most. The knowledge of how to read them filtered in with the music. I rushed back to the tiles on the ground and traced over the rise and fall of the notes. They were simple and easy to do, but I didn't have any instrument with me.
"Kura, which one of your friends is really good at whistling?" Kura jumped at the sudden question, but quickly pointed to a navy blue bird with red feathers on their face and chest.
"Swellow is the best whistler," she answered. Swellow glided down to perch on my head.
"What do you need?" he asked. He could have afforded to lose a couple pounds. My neck felt like it was going to crush back into my shoulders.
"Can you whistle this tune? I'll sample it for you." I sang through the tune three times for Swellow to get it.
Swellow waited until it was quiet and all eyes were on him. What a show off. No wonder he and Kura were friends. As soon as he was ready, Swellow sang the song as loud and proud as he could. The notes bounced off the pillars still standing and resonated in the entrance to the ruins. It was beautiful the way they layered after only one run through.
As soon as the whistling notes died away, a grinding filled the silence. The doors to the ruins were opening. Nyne and I cheered while Kura and the birds congratulated Swellow on his singing. Before she took off with the rest of her friends, Kura gave me a wink and a smile. I waved the birds goodbye and let out a relieved breath.
"Are you ready, Nyne?" I asked.
"Are you kidding?!" he cheered with the widest grin I'd seen yet. "I can't wait to find out what's in there! Let's go!"
I chased Nyne into the dark opening, saving my rising fear for myself. I didn't need to spoil our accomplishment with a stupid feeling in the back of my mind. This ruin had been closed for how long. There was no way there was anything still alive in here to bother us.
I literally couldn't stop writing this chapter! Everything is getting to the point I want it to be at and I can't wait to start the next chapter. What do y'all think is waiting for Nyne and Sindri in the ruins? I bet you won't guess it! Anyways, please review if you like the story! ~Ravinae