Chapter 3 - Recovery

Flare

"Is he going to be okay?" Crystal asked.

"I don't know." I replied, looking at the boy.

I looked at the Vulpix and surmised that couldn't see or hear anything. The explosion had blinded his eyes and left him with ringing ears. His eyes lay half open. I remember thinking that he was really close to getting his wish.

I walked to him and lifted him onto my back. "One problem after another." I said. I looked down to my left as my daughter and I walked back to the den. She was looking at the fainted Vulpix with worry. I remember being frustrated, angry, earlier. But that was gone now. I was just too tired. The Vulpix's last words played in my head. 'You should've just let me die at the river!'

"Is it true?" I asked.

"Huh? Is what true?"

"Did he really attack first?"

"Y-yes. The Vulpix was only helping pull the berries in when he attacked him. I didn't know what to do."

"You did the right thing by calling for help."

"I know. I just wish his life would be easier. He seems really lost and confused. When he left, I heard him leaving and… well, I had to follow him. We ran all the way to the other side of the field and before I could catch up with him, he had entered the forest."

"And then you went after him, instead of telling one of us."

"I'm sorry. I know I should've when I left, but… I wasn't thinking. When I chased him into the forest, we had gone in circles, as if he didn't know where he was going. I finally caught up to him, and I heard him arguing with himself. When I called to him, he launched fire at me. We both know it was an accident, but he seemed really depressed and confused. He told me everything."

I stayed quiet, soaking in the words. And then she continued.

"He told me that he had no memories and that the only person who's been nice to him was Mother. He wants to be happy, and this place didn't satisfy him, with the loneliness and anger going around. He doesn't want to be ignored."

"And what did you tell him?" I asked.

"I told him that I'm willing to be his friend. And that I know how he feels and that he's lost. I've been on that path before. He's new, and he needs to be given a chance to adjust. You can't expect him to be able to fix his life overnight."

I grunted a reply.

"He also said he wasn't told about the outside rules."

We had finally reached the den, and I carefully navigated through the entrance, careful not to rub him against the wall. Ember looked up at us and made a notion towards the children. I nodded, quietly putting the Vulpix down on my bed. Crystal looked at me and curled up in her own bed.

Vulpix

Images flashed in my eyes, yet, I couldn't see. I think my hearing returned sometime around noon, but everything was so faint. But before we get on topic, there's something you may find interesting; my dream.

I was running as fast as possible. I knew this forest well, and I knew exactly where I was, or, at least, I thought I knew. The forest hadn't changed, but I was too focused on getting away. I had to run, my father told me to. Our home was burning and was filled with smoke. I knew it was to allow my escape, noting that I can't be hurt by fire, but it didn't help. And as I fled, I heard their dying screams.

Two Pokémon were chasing me. I looked back often, but rarely saw them. They were blurs to my eyes. A large red blur, quickly followed by a black one. They were fast, and my only advantage was my knowledge of the forest. But that didn't seem to slow them down much. Before I knew it, I reached the river.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no. I'm not supposed to be here!" I shouted as I skidded to a stop. The two hunters, my pursuers, landed behind me and I turned around. The red one was a tall, insect with a crown of dull spikes and two large claws. Those claws had eyes of their own, yet they didn't blink or move. My second pursuer was half the size of his partner, had silver claws and a red feather. I was terrified. I only had one option of escape, but there were problems with that.

Jumping wouldn't guarantee my safety, as all they have to do is follow me downstream. And to make it worse, I couldn't swim.

'Vulpix…'

The Scizor took a step forwards. "You led us on quiet the chase, Aeden, but now your time has come."

"Nobody has ever survived a battle with us, and nobody ever gets away." The Sneasel said.

"No, please. What did we ever do to you?" I asked.

'Vulpix…'

"Hahaha. What did you do to us? Nothing! You want to know why we hunted you? It's not orders, if that's what you were thinking. It's because we let no witnesses survive!" The Sneasel slashed at me, but I jumped away and slipped on a wet rock. I guess I was lucky, in a way. I was safe in the river, at least, from those two. They seemed to specialize in physical attacks; no doubt it had to do with their speed. As long as I was in the river, they couldn't hurt me. But that was the least of my worries. I was stuck in the water, and to make it worse, I was nearing a waterfall. 'There's no way I'm going to live this. No matter what I do, I'm going to die. Why did this have to happen to me?'

'Vulpix…'

And off I went.

'Why me?'

"Vulpix… Vulpix, wake up." A sudden shout brought me from unconsciousness. I thought I heard someone calling my me earlier, but I couldn't place it. I jerked awake, but I was suddenly brought down due to intense pain.

"Whoa, easy there." The voice said.

"What happened to me?" I gasped, holding my head with my paws.

"You need to stay still. You seriously hurt, and you shouldn't be moving."

"What happened? Why can't I see?" I asked, trying to get away from the pain.

"When you ran off, you weren't watching where you were going and hit your head on a tree. If you didn't faint then, you definitely did when the Pineco blew up."

"I… what? No, no. I fell off of a waterfall. I saw it." My eyes began to tear up again, but I didn't notice them.

"No, you hit your head."

"I was being chased, and I slipped on a rock. I went over the waterfall. I know it."

Crystal gasped. "Are you talking about your past?"

I would've nodded, but I couldn't move my body. It was hard enough to breath.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking about this morning. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." I squeaked out. I was beginning to lose my voice. If I could've, I'm sure my eyes would've widened, but as it was, they remained half closed.

'I can't see. Why? I need my eyes.'

"We've got the berries, and your father is fetching the doctor." I could barely hear Ember. The explosion from the Pineco took out my hearing and sight, and I'm pretty sure they were also the cause for the immobile body of mine. I was left there, gasping for air, alone in the darkness behind my eyes.

Crystal

What happened to the Vulpix was just awful. I can imagine running into a tree hurting a lot, but having Pineco explode at least one foot away? I don't even want to think about it. When he said he couldn't see, I couldn't help but shiver. My new friend may never see again, and it hurt looking at those empty, half open eyes.

I had been trying to wake him up since I got back with my basket. I turned to the entrance as Mother walked in. "Mother, he just woke up. Should we give them to him now?"

"We'll wait until the doctor gets here. He'll know what to do."

"What about the pain?"

"From the Pineco? Umm, ask him if he feels anything."

"Hey, Vulpix, do you feel any pain? Anything at all?"

I didn't get a reply. He just lay there, staring with those creepy half open eyes.

His ear twitched when I spoke, and I curled down in front of him, no more than a foot away. I asked again. "Do you feel any pain?"

This time, his mouth moved. At least I was getting progress. My ears perked back and I turned my head. Father came inside and walked in our direction.

"Did you get the doctor?"

"No, but his assistant came in his stead. They don't get many cases like this. I suggest you go outside. Go play with your cousins." He told me.

I nodded and got up. I looked back at the Vulpix and said my goodbye. "I'll be back soon." My tail dragged and I had to wait to the side as the assistant made his way in with the baskets of supplies.

The assistant was a bushy Linoone, and he brushed past me as he began speaking to my father.

"Now what do we have here? You never told me I was treating a Vulpix…"

I can only imagine what the doctor said and did while he was in there. My brother and I had taken our cousins to the river to play. We watched as our cousins had fun running around and splashing each other. My brother walked up and lay down beside me.

"What do you see in him?" He asked.

"Huh?" I had been focusing on my cousins too much, trying to keep my mind from the Vulpix, only for it to be dragged back to me. How ironic.

"What do you see in him?" He asked again.

"I… I don't understand. He's just a friend."

"You only just met him, and already you've spent the better part of the day with him."

"So? What's your point?" I asked.

"What's so special about him?"

"I… I don't know. He's just a friend, okay?"

"Look, I know we aren't on the best of terms, but it feels like you are ignoring me, and most importantly, your family. He's just a straggler we picked up yesterday, and already you're hung over him. If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a crush on him." He was grinning now.

"What?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't get it! It's not like that!" I yelled at him. His ears went back, but his smile never left.

"Then what is it?" He asked.

"I…" I couldn't find words to express what I wanted to say. "Just leave me alone." I finally said, turning away from him. He got up and began to walk away.

"Hey, I think it's great you finally found a guy. Just make sure you don't lose him, okay?" And with that, I was alone to my thoughts. Then I felt a nudge on my shoulder.

"I told you leave me alo-" I stopped suddenly, as I was given a questioning look from my mother. "What are you doing here?"

"When your brother returned without you, I went to fetch you."

I looked at the river and found that my brother and cousins weren't there. "What time is it?"

"Almost dinner time. You looked like you really spaced out there."

"I… I did, didn't I?" I got up and began walking back home alongside my mother.

"Is there something on your mind?" My mother asked.

"Huh? Uh, no, err, I mean… maybe?" There you have it, the world's best answer. I couldn't say anything right.

My mother laughed. "Don't worry. If you're embarrassed, we'll keep it as a mother/daughter secret, okay?" I nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head, but answered anyway. "When we were watching our cousins play in the river, Acura came over to me and… asked me what I saw in the Vulpix."

Mother stopped. "Really? And what did you say?"

"I told him that he was just a friend. Nothing more. And then he started to ask questions and tease me."

"Oh, sweetie, It's okay. He knows you're of age for that sort of stuff, and besides, he's your older brother. They do that sort of thing."

"Gee, thanks." I said flatly. "I still don't like it."

"There's nothing wrong with liking someone." That was putting it mildly, at least, in Acura's eyes. I could see his teasing grin again, and it made me just want to smack him.

"Honey?" Mother's voice brought me back to Earth.

"Huh?"

"We're home. You spaced out again." She said with mild concern.

I grunted a reply and walked into the den.

Inside, I noticed that the assistant was gone, but didn't ask when he'd left. I just went to my bed and curled up, facing the wall.

I skipped dinner all together, and from what I could tell, so did the Vulpix, if he was even awake. My family was in a different part of the den, the eating area, while I laid in bed awake, lost in my thoughts again.

"Cr-Crystal?" A faint voice sounded to my right. I looked in the direction of the Vulpix to find him staring at me.

I got up suddenly and moved over to him. "I'm right here."

"The doctor said my vision should return soon, and that I will be tired for the rest of the day." He said slowly. He was fighting hard to not fall asleep in front of me. "It will take awhile for me to recover, and I will be on medicine all week."

"I can understand that." I smiled at him.

"I can't see, and… I'm scared." He said, still looking at me. His eyes were open more, but still looked empty.

"Please… stay… with me…"

I looked behind me and could hear my family still eating and conversing. I decided it couldn't hurt, and walked to the back of his bed. It was fresher than the others, so I assumed Mother made him one while we were gone.

I laid down against the Vulpix, sharing my heat with him. He then said one last thing before going back to sleep. "I remember… my name… Aeden."

That was the last thing I was expecting to hear, especially from him. I smiled at the back of his head. "Good night… Aeden." I said before going to sleep with him.

That's quite the dream isn't it? And personally, it explains the intro well. Don't worry, we all know what fate does when we meet these sort of charcters, right? We finally get to learn his name. It's Greek for fire, and noting that he's a fire type, it suits him. And besides, the name is just awesome, don't you think so?

Anyways, I found that writing the next chapter was very hard, yet it was fun. Got to focus on other things, right? Stay tuned, it only gets better. XD