They left that next day, Vega back in her regular clothes, disguised as a man, and Joy, with a bag full of things that her great grandmother had given her, and three crystals in her belt. She had changed into some more suitable clothes, clothes that barely identified her as a healer. She had traveling pants and a shirt, and they were light blue and white in color. The light colors were the only things that revealed her healing abilities, otherwise, she just looked ready for an adventure.
Healers were destined to make a trip to The Garden, to visit Celebi, and from her receive the blessing of her Heal Bell, to induct them into some... secret society or something. Give them special powers. Whatever. Vega had no idea, past the point of getting her to see the legendary pokemon deep within the forest.
It was hard for her to understand, seeing as how Joy knew very little about it herself. She only knew what her grandmother had told her, and she trusted her grandma completely. The two had left that morning, with Vega returning the tyranitar when the healer gave her the clear. She said that his wounds should heal up nicely, but he needed to keep eating, the more meat the better, to make him strong again.
Vega was worried about how she was going to train him, but she had later to think about that.
"And we just... I don't know, get further insight into what helping pokemon really is all about," Joy concluded, sighing at her visions in her head of meeting Celebi and receiving full knowledge about healing. Vega was purchasing a nice hunk of beef, with her discount coupon she had won at the fair the day before.
"Oh yeah?" she responded, halfway listening, picking up the hunk of meat and thanking the vendor. The two headed south again, back to the woods where Vega had stayed just a few nights ago. She walked, with people nodding in her direction respectfully. It had her worried at first, but she realized that they must think she is Joy's father, buying them dinner from the market. She smiled to herself.
"What's so funny?" asked Joy curiously. Vega shook her head.
"Nothing."
They finally reached the woods, Vega's arms burning from carrying the large chunk of meat all the way across Aero. They headed into the forest, going slightly deeper than she had the time before. They walked until the trees blocked their view of the city, and stopped, knowing they were out of sight.
She didn't know the land at all. Normally in the woods of Flaming, she knew where every cave and outcrop and fallen log was. But here, she was lost, only knowing how to get out of the woods.
She used what knowledge she had of how to find shelter, and kept walking, parallel to the city, so as not to lose her way. The best she found was a rock, with a small tree seeming to grow right out of it. The tree grew out of the rock starting at Vega's shoulders, and only climbed a few more feet before branching out, forming a natural shelter from rain. She reminded herself to get some kind of material to cover the natural umbrella with, making it completely waterproof.
The rock it grew out of stood tall, but under the rock-tree it also lay flat, making a nice space without grass or dirt. It was indented and raised in some places, making little sections for sitting or eating. In all it was pretty nice.
The only thing that bothered Vega was that it seemed pretty open. The rock on one side provided a wall, but that was it. Three sides around they were exposed, and she knew that once the tyranitar was stronger, they would need it to help them move some more rocks or branches.
The forest was loud and humid, a rain forest more than a wood. They walked under the tree-rock, getting some shade from the hot sun. Even in the forest, when the sun is directly overhead, the leaves only provide limited shade from its rays. Their tree-rock added to that shade, and the bare rock beneath them was cool to the touch. It was refreshing.
They sat for a while, taking a break from talking, just listening to the forest and resting. To the left Vega saw a bird pokemon called chatot pecking at the trunk of one of the trees. On the ground was a treeko, hitting a stick against the tree, practicing a few moves. The life in the forest was impossible to overlook.
Joy opened her bag, taking out two canteens, and handing one to Vega. They were made of some kind of leather, and had a twist cap. When the cap was untwisted, and the bag squeezed, cold, fresh water came out. Vega drank sparingly, saving it. They would have to find a well somewhere in Aero, or a fresh water source in the forest when they had time. Finding something in the forest seemed most practical, for it was impossible for so many things to grow without a decent water source.
After a few minutes, she stood, and released all of her pokemon, leaving her egg sitting on the rock beside her. Lucky and Sue immediately went over to greet Joy, introducing themselves in their new language.
The tyranitar laid on the ground, tired, but awake. Its eyes were open, suspicious and watching. It didn't move or make noise, but didn't do anything violent either. It seemed exhausted and... strangely submissive to Vega.
Vega watched it, maintaining eye contact with the fearsome pokemon. She reached down behind her back, and drug the giant hunk of meat out in front of her. At the sound, the tyranitar lifted its head slightly, but groaned and laid back down, eyes shut.
Heart softening, Vega moved over closer to its mouth, where she sat to help. Using one of her black daggers, she cut strips of meat from the beef, feeding it to the rock type one at a time. Between bites, she would sometimes squeeze her canteen into his mouth, to wet his throat. The look in his eyes turned from suspicion, to gratitude and trust.
It wasn't long before the meat was completely gone. He had eaten it all, with Vega leaving only a few scraps for herself and Joy. Carefully, she extended her hand over his head, and when he made no sudden movements, she lowered it until she was touching him on one of his spikes.
It was firmer than it had been the night before, but still dull and flaking. The cuts and bruises on his back had healed nearly all the way shut. It was amazing how quickly pokemon could heal, especially with the help of other pokemon. Vega stayed, patting the head of her new team member, and watching Joy.
The young healer had released her pokemon as well; a skitty, a happiny, and a natu. The three were wrestling around with Vega's two, mostly piling on top of poor, immobile Lucky.
"Pod," she grumbled, as the four others tackled her once more. She gave Vega a mischievous look.
"Do not string shot them," she warned, knowing what she was thinking. She huffed and obeyed. she reached over, patting the tyranitar as she thought, trying to build some level of trust.
Somehow, she had wound up with a very large, very scary pokemon. But one that needed nurturing and guidance. Vega knew full well that she didn't have near the experience needed to control a pokemon of that size without some deeper connection. She would never be able to control it if it became rowdy, deciding to disobey orders. It frightened her.
"What is your name..." she mumbled to herself. She doubted that the trainers had given it a name at all. Him, she thought to herself. This wasn't just a wild beast anymore. He was her pokemon, and he needed a name. She rubbed his head, thinking.
What did she know about rock types? Hardly anything, she realized as she thought. She knew that the majority of them ate rocks and meat, providing them with the necessary nutrients to form their strong hides and large bodies. But, she had no idea about tyranitar. Were they dual type? Did they need some other kind of sustenance? Hopefully not. She glanced down at her pokemon again, whose eyes were shut. The sunlight hit his scaly hide, but did not reflect, making Vega worry more. His scales were extremely dull, and were peeling off as she touched him.
She stood. "Joy?" she called. The healer had been playing around with her pokemon, but stopped to look up at Vega.
Her mouth was stretched into a wide grin. "Yes?"
"Did your grandmother say anything about how else to help... the tyranitar?" she asked, looking him over again. He didn't look like he was in pain, just extremely unhealthy.
"Well," said Joy, back in healer mode. Turning to her bag, she untied a string, pulling out an old, rolled up parchment. "She gave me this, but I can only read some of the words. I think it is about tyranitar." She handed it to Vega proudly and shrugged. "Somewhere in that building, she has scrolls talking about all different types of pokemon. She got them from Wave, when she had gone to get extra training."
Vega nodded, remembering the Wave's proficiency with healing. The parchment was dry in her hands, and delicately, began to unroll it. At the top was a hand drawn picture of a tyranitar, standing at its full height. She unrolled it further.
"Tyranitar," it read. "Rock and dark typing." Vega's eyes opened wide, shocked. "Lives in Stone Mountains. Tyranitar are solitary creatures, with the females being the most territorial. Often males roam the lands, mating with females as they pass through. Males live in caves deep within the mountains, whilst females will often have large territories at the base of mountains in open air, near a source of food and water to feed their young."
Vega continued to unroll, looking for anything that could help them. She found out that tyranitar eat rocks like she thought, as well as large pokemon such as tauros and numel. They also ate other rock types if they were really desperate. Nothing was mentioned about their dual dark typing effecting their eating habits at all.
"Tyranitar have very tough hides and often heal well on their own," she read aloud. "Once initial lacerations are cured, they will sleep for hours upon hours, their body healing itself. All a healer must do is keep their hide clean, to avoid infection." She nodded, rolling up the parchment once again, and handing it back to Vega.
"Your grandmother is a life saver..." she said again, thinking. She knew they would need water, to clean off his scales. An infection could lead to death. She sat, brainstorming for a long while, but couldn't think while just sitting there. She whistled to Sue, and took a walk.
She didn't want to go far, for fear of losing her way. But she did want to look for water. She knew that she could go to the city if worst came to worst, but she wanted that to be her last choice. She didn't want to have to pay for it. There had to be water in the forest, she just knew it.
She breathed deeply, as she walked. Moisture hung in the air, thick, trapped by the leafy trees and foliage. It smelled earthy, and strong. There just has to be water here somewhere, she thought.
She walked to the west, putting a few miles between her and her campsite, until she thought she heard it. Water. Faster she moved, becoming excited, the noise becoming louder and louder. She ran, Sue taking off from her shoulder to look ahead. It sounded like a waterfall. And boy was she right.
Sue came flying back, fast as lightning, and smacking Vega right in the nose. "Ow, Sue! Why did you... oh." She stopped in her tracks, eyes widening.
In front of her, abruptly arriving, was a crevice. Not just a tiny, walk around it crevice, but a slice in the earth. Across from her, on the other side, was Ebony Creek, but it had become Ebony River. It reached its ends here, it seemed, plummeting down into the earth. The drop was so deep, Vega could not see the bottom, only the water breaking up into a mist. She heard the roar of the river as it cascaded over the edge, but nothing but what sounded like rain from the depths.
The crevice was not wide, only about twenty feet from where she stood was the other edge, but to Vega it might as well have been another world. There was no way for her to collect the water and bring it back to her campsite. She sighed, accepting that she would have to use the well. Sue took off above the trees, leading her back to their tree-rock.
The trunks of the trees were smooth, and she used them to help her on her hike back. They helped her balance as she leapt over roots, and slipped on mossy rocks. It didn't make sense to her, how the water could simply stop back there, yet everywhere beyond the crack in the earth was still fresh and green. The water had to be coming from somewhere, and she pondered this as she hiked.
Suddenly, she slipped. "Agh!" she gasped, grabbing onto a branch for support. But the branch snapped, and she fell right on her face. "Shit!" she hollered, holding her knee. It didn't hurt too bad, but it was scraped up good.
"Thank goodness I have a healer," she mumbled, standing up once again. Sue fluttered down from the dimming sky, landing on the broken branch.
"Blu! Blu!" she tweeted excitedly.
"Not now, let's just get home," Vega grumbled, tired and disappointed.
Sue pecked her head, then lighted back on the branch. "Swablu!" she screeched angrily.
"You little!" Vega reached her hands out towards Sue, but stopped. "Oh..."
There was water dripping from the branch, and the inside of it was hollow. At her feet was a small puddle, where the water had flowed out onto the ground. Vega looked up at the tree, amazed.
It made sense, of course, the more she thought about it on her walk back. The river flowed underground, so the trees had adapted to retrieve the water from whatever underground cave it resided in. All of the trees had branches that angled towards the sky, so if a branch was broken, the water wouldn't pour out of the entire tree. The pokemon had figured it out of course, how hadn't she seen it before? The chatot and the treeko... they were getting a drink, not just attacking the tree for practice.
"I figured it out!" she announced, arriving back with Joy. She was sitting on the rock, painting it with some brushes she had brought with her. "The water... what are you doing?" Vega asked curiously.
Joy had used her water and some berries to create a few different colored pastes. She was painting symbols on the ground, and coloring them in with her other colors. She had surrounded the tyranitar with them.
"They're runes," she explained, continuing to paint. "We have them hidden in the artwork all around the pokemon center. They're supposed to help with healing." She shrugged. "I just thought they might help."
Vega looked over at the pokemon. They were watching intently, completely silent. Some of them had markings painted on their faces, like Joy had spent her time face-painting. She was good at it, in Vega's opinion.
"Well, anyway," she said, becoming excited again. "The water, it's in the trees." She walked over to one of the trunks, and using her dagger, cut a hole in the side. Water began spurting from the side.
Joy nodded, smiling. "Well good, that helps!" She walked over and began to fill her water canteen.
Vega headed straight over to the tyranitar, and began emptying her container along its scales, washing the dirt from them. As she washed, dead scales broke away, leaving new scales underneath. She washed the wounds, and the sores around his arms, standing and refilling her container whenever she needed to. Joy followed her, tending to her scraped up knee whenever she was still.
The water pouring out of the tree would peter out occasionally, and Vega would have to reopen the hole. This was the tree's natural adaptation, to prevent it from completely losing all of its water. Sticky sap would cover the hole, and Vega would continue breaking it until she was finished. She poured water on his skin, and massaged it in, gently rinsing his scales clean.
The tyranitar looked and felt better. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about this human yet, for his dealings with humans had been less than perfect before. But she washed the grime and sweat from his scales, and he felt better than he had in years. His skin, no longer covered in slime, breathed in the air, and he felt refreshed and strong. Maybe she meant well after all...
Once she was done rinsing him, she returned him into his crystal. It was getting dark outside, and she was still worried about control. A caught pokemon was normally more obedient to whoever was closest to the crystal they belonged too, but she wanted to be safe, making sure he didn't kill and eat her in her sleep. She shuddered.
Her tinder came in handy that night, as she made a small fire beside the rock. It cast dancing shadows along the wall, wispy smoke twisting up into the leaves of the tree growing from the rock. The are was completely still in the forest that night, the fire in no danger of blowing out.
She did leave her other two pokemon out for the night, huddling with her egg to keep it warm. The sun had set by the time she had finished building the fire. She took out her cloak, that by some miracle had still avoided getting any dirt on it whatsoever. It was strange.
It seemed to be made of a material that nothing would stick to, yet when she felt it it felt just like any other cowl would. It was still just as black as the day she had found it. Joy watched as she looked it over, mesmerized by the silky fabric. It absorbed all light around them, almost fueling the darkness.
"That cloak is strange..." she murmured, watching Vega.
She looked over. "What do you mean?" she asked, feeling the material. It seemed normal in most ways, but she had to agree with Joy. It seemed very well made... and very much unique.
"It has energy," she said simply. Vega looked at her, confused. She shrugged. "Healers can sense energy in things... because we have to know how to work with it in order to heal, of course. Mostly living things have energy... but so do things that have some kind of magic... It is hard to describe." She stared intently at the cloak. "But something is definitely different about that cloak."
Vega, of course, couldn't tell any different. To her, it felt just like any other item of clothing. But she believed her friend, and nodded.
"Well, tonight it is my pillow," she said, yawning. Joy took out a blanket from her bag as well, laying it on the rock next to Vega. She took out a small hunk of bread, and then another, and handed one to Vega who accepted gladly. They ate quietly, listening to the noises of the forest and the crackle of the small fire.
As far as food, Vega had enough to last them through the week, and that coupled with what Joy had she assumed might put them to at least two weeks. But eventually, she knew, she would have to challenge other trainers to make money, or dip into her mother's gift. She preferred to save the few gold pieces and jewels she had left for an absolute emergency, something she really needed. She decided that she would only spend from there what silver pieces she had left after the first gold coin had been broken. That left her with 67 silver, and a few copper here and there. Plenty of money to last them a while, but she didn't want to wait until they were in need to start making her own earnings. She needed to get a jump start on that.
As far as the tournament was concerned, she decided to wait until the second day to challenge, giving her the chance to scout out the competition, and watch a few of the trials. She had heard rumors that each challenge consisted of both a battle and something else, the mystery event left to the discretion of each Sect.
Therefore, all she knew was that she needed to train, and train hard, these next three days. At the least she knew she would be battling, so she wanted to be prepared for what she knew. That night in the forest her head was filled to the brim with these thoughts, and she tapped her fingers on the ground at a rhythm to try and slow her mentality so she could sleep.
Joy lay still, but was having trouble sleeping as well. She had spend every night in the pokemon center with her grandmother since her parents had died. This was her first time sleeping outside, and she had to admit she was scared. Her pokemon weren't very fierce, being trained as healers, not fighters. She put her trust in Vega, though she wasn't sure why. Her grandmother trusted her, so she guessed that was good enough for her. But she wondered why her grandmother trusted her, even though she had lied about who she was...
She heard Vega's fingers lightly tapping the stone next to her, and the noise soon encompassed her thoughts. It was calming, helping her relax. Joy realized it was in her best interest to trust Vega unless she proved untrustworthy otherwise. She seemed like a good person.
Neither girl slept very well that night in the woods, though both pretended like they had.