Another chapter! We're sorry if it's a little late, had a bunch of things to deal with here and there. We also got a free upgrade from Windows 9 to 10 last night! The download and installation took hours XD For any Halo fans out there, the upgrade comes with a new digital assistant and her name is-Wait for it….*drumroll*...CORTANA! Still trying the new gizmos out with this upgrade XD And we forgot to ask with last chapter, how was everyone's 4th of July, for those who celebrate it? Good and fun, we hope!

Fanfic of the week spotlight goes to:

"Living in the Moment" by FirebirdXoX. It's an old pokemon fanfic with a really well thought out plot that seems to never let go of your attention. Much angst and comfort as well as action in this one, we'd give it a 10/10. It's rated M "for a lot of cussing" and violence.

Shoutout of the week goes to TristanLeo for his review!

Read, enjoy, and review (if you'd like). P.S. The chapter title means more than one thing XD.

Chapter 4: A Connection

With Hugh…

Hugh doubled over, hands on his knees and sweat dribbling down his face in rivulets. He had half a mind to shave himself bald at that moment, for the blazing sun was merciless and the close quarters combat training was NOT helping him at all. And they were currently only warming. up. "Stretching isn't supposed to be so hard." Hugh exclaimed as he wiped the sweat accumulating on his brow. Next to him, Roxanne was in a similar state and was trying to regain her breath; she voiced her own opinions about the extreme warm-up exercises under her breath and hearing them made Hugh wince. Standing before them, Aurora stood panting though smiling. Next to the Akirari was Alpha and he didn't look winded in the slightest. The only thing that gave away the fact that the stretching was effective to him was his slightly quickened breathing. They had all changed into clothes suitable for the training, all of them were in plain t-shirts and sports pants.

"Stretching is important." Alpha told them. "Without the proper stretches, your bodies will be too tense to pull off the maneuvers and techniques we will be going over. Should you skip your warm ups, you would get extreme cramping in various parts of your bodies. Needless to say, we want to avoid that." He then crossed his arms. "The reason why these set of stretches were so extreme for you is probably because of the fact that we kept your heart-rates up the entire time without going easy on your bodies." Hugh nodded. It had been an hour since they started their warm ups. They had only stopped every twenty minutes for a break, with only thirty seconds to prepare for the next interval. Each exercise they had targeted a specific area or two in their bodies and unfortunately (or fortunately?), Hugh was really feeling the effects. Roxanne as well, most likely.

"I have to admit," Aurora stated as she took a deep breath, "I've never had such an intense workout for a warm up, but it'll benefit us greatly in the long run."

"We'll go for a small run in ten minutes, then we'll start on the basics." They looked at the Fenrir. "It should loosen up your muscles, though not so much for them to slacken. Drink as much water as you need."

Do you think this is a bit much for them? Aurora asked him as she watched Hugh and Roxanne guzzle down their bottles of water. Oculus was still flying laps around the area as Alpha had instructed him to, and Rift was actually trying his best to psychically lift one of his spoons. It would have been trivial, had it not been for the fact that Alpha imbued it with Darkness. The two pokemon wanted to get in on the training somehow, and those two tasks were what they had been given.

Possibly. Alpha answered bluntly. In a month, they would be used to it. Also, we will be slowly build up the intensity of both the warm ups and the training. They will most likely not notice it, but they will only get stronger and soon, they will be able to do the warm ups on their own time and initiate it themselves without a problem. Without as much fatigue by the end of warm ups as well.

Good point. It's only going to benefit them. Aurora took a swig of her bottle. "So, how long will the run be? A mile? Two?"

"There's no specific distance. We'll run for twenty minutes." He looked at Hugh and Roxanne. "I do not want to set a distance and have you two to feel forced to run the entire distance, or possibly strain yourselves. With the run we are going on, you can go at your own pace without having to stop too much."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Roxanne said as she stood up.

"Not too bad at all." Hugh agreed as he, too, stood up. He was actually feeling some reprieve from the knowledge that they were only going for a quick run. "I was a Trainer after all, so I traveled around frequently. Roxanne was with me, so we both should have some built up stamina. Also," Hugh sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "we ran into quite a few incidents involving Spinarak…" At this, he noticed Roxanne giving him a slight glare. Oh, here we go.

"We wouldn't have dealt with those Spinarak if you had just remembered the route, you know? Every single time, you led us straight into a Spinarak nest."

"Hey, that route on the map was smudged away from the water you spilled that one day! And it's easy to get lost there!" Hugh retorted. "Besides, it only happened a few times and a bit of running couldn't hurt."

"Poisonous fangs do, I'd bet." Roxanne shot back. "And it wasn't just a few times, we went back through that route every single time you wanted to go to the shrine in Illex."

"And?" Hugh laughed, he knew that she wasn't really angry. If anything, the Spinarak encounters had given them quite the adrenaline rush. "I swear, I saw the Legendary Celebi there." At this, Aurora raised an eyebrow, and Alpha only cupped his chin in thought.

"Sure you did." Roxanne replied with a smirk.

Those two have no idea..Aurora thought, laughing to herself. Lady Celebi actually spends a lot of her time at that forest.

So I hear. Alpha replied to her. She is the guardian of forests, correct? It is possible then that he may have seen her before. He then looked up at the sun. It's already noon, he told Aurora, it should be cooling down soon.

Several minutes later found them on their run. Alpha and Aurora were behind the two humans, making sure the two didn't fall behind and were going at a steady pace. At one point during the run, Hugh made a joke how running should come naturally with the two Legendaries, seeing as they were wolves, and that the two were getting things easy. Knowing he was only teasing, Aurora decided to tease back, and mentioned how running should be quite easy for humans as well for the fact that they tend to turn tail and run at the sight of danger. Especially since they have no natural form of defense like pokemon do.

He and Aurora ended up making more jabs to each other, war was declared the moment Aurora made that comment.

Twenty minutes already? Hugh thought as they were called to stop. "I'll have a bunch more burns ready for you the next time we run, Aurora." he said with a laugh.

"Bring it on." the Akirari challenged, giving him a friendly nudge. The nudge made Hugh stop and think for a moment. He would never had thought that he would be on such close terms with a Legendary, let alone making jokes or teasing one. The realization made him smile, he and Roxanne had really come far. Farther than becoming a Trainer and earning six badges.

"Drink some more water and take another small break. We'll start the basics in a moment." Alpha told them, taking his own advice and drinking some of his bottled water. "Lady Akirari, would you mind spreading a cooling mist?" Aurora raised an eyebrow, not really understanding. The Fenrir gestured to the sweating humans and she instantly got what he meant. Palms out, a very cooling mist emitted from her being and soon enough, Hugh and Roxanne weren't sweating anymore.

"Good idea." Aurora complimented, though she was frowning. "And you can always call me Aurora, you know?"

He'll probably still call her formally. Hugh thought, seeing Alpha nod. "Quick question." The two Legendaries looked at him. "I know you guys have fur and all, but do you sweat?" To his surprise, because he even doubted his own question, they nodded. Aurora was the one to answer.

"When we're in our true forms, we sweat through the pads in our paws. It's the only area in our bodies that have sweat glands. As we are now, we sweat very lightly from our hair." She gestured to her hair on her head. Alpha nodded to confirm her explanation.

"Hm, interesting." Roxanne thought out loud. "I've only seen canines pant and stick their tongues out. Didn't know canines can actually sweat."

"The more you know." Hugh said with a shrug. "Anyway," he looked at Aurora, then at Alpha. "Should we get started then?"

…

The first thing the two Legendaries had them do was...well, to do their best. Meaning, Alpha attacked Hugh while Aurora went for Roxanne in order to see what they could do. This, of course, resulted in the two humans try their best to evade (which didn't work most of the time given that the two Legendaries were really fast). At one point, the two offered to do the evading while Hugh and Roxanne did the attacking.

They barely got in a few hits.

Standing on the field now, despite being covered in bruising wounds, the two humans were being given their weak points. They were to work on their weaknesses as they trained. One main weaknesses they needed to cover was their lack of agility. Even though they were humans, their agility needed to be above average. And if they were to be Knights, they needed to be exceptionally agile.

So, Hugh was focusing on keeping away from the clawed fists and kicks aimed his way. How am I still up and running? he asked himself as he tripped, falling back as Aurora's kick swepped harmlessly over his head. Got lucky there. he thought as he scrambled back to his feet. In the corner of his eye, he spotted Roxanne barely ducking away from Alpha's punch.

"You'd better focus, Hugh!" Hugh had to refrain from hacking up his breakfast as he felt Aurora's fist connect with his abdomen. "Roxanne can handle herself, and when the two of you are on the field, you'll have to trust that she'll be fine!"

Recovering, Hugh managed to catch Aurora's foot-How the hell did I just do that?-and shove her back. "Uh, right!" He wondered how they did it, the current Knights of Arceus. To be under so much pressure on the field and still keeping calm, while being able to fight back. Weren't they worried that they might just make a fatal mistake that could cost them their lives?

Despite that they were only training, that was what Hugh was focusing on right now. Not making a fatal mistake and end up six feet under. The thought of dying was a good incentive to keep dodging, actually.

He was only trying his best to pull off the counters and such that the two Legendaries had taught them. He had a golden opportunity earlier, when he grabbed Aurora's leg. Had he thought of it, he would have pulled her close and bring down an elbow to her knee though, at the time, he was only focusing on creating some distance between them.

About an hour later found the two humans on the ground, absolutely exhausted. "You two did well for your current dispositions." Alpha remarked as he helped the two of them up. "We will train like this for two hours every day. When we make it to the second quarter and we're satisfied with your capabilities, we will focus on ranged attacks."

"He's right, you two did really well." Aurora supplied. "At this rate, your training will be completed in no time." She then handed them both their water bottles. "Let's get back to the house, you guys."

…

With Aurora…

"So can anyone become a Knight?" Aurora paused in drying her hair. She had just taken a shower. In fact, they all did due to the grueling training. Across from her, standing next to the other couch, was Alpha. He had been reading his book again, though he was looking up at Hugh's question.

"Not just anyone, Hugh." Aurora answered. "Just those picked by Lord and Lady Arceus. But, all humans do have the inherent power to."

"Wait, really?" Aurora nodded. She remembered asking the question herself, and recalled the words Lady Arceus told her.

"Indeed." It was Alpha who answered, and his voice made them jump for he had been silent since they returned from outside. "Superhuman strength and speed as well as dexterity, all humans have the potential to have that power unlocked."

"So why don't we see a lot of Knights around? I mean, if anyone has the potential to unlock that power, wouldn't every other person be a Knight?"

"Like Lady Akirari stated, only specifically chosen people can become Knights. Those who are not Knights either have ill intent or do not have the will to become one should they be given the offer. Although, Knights are not so small in number as you think. Knights have been around as long as pokemon have."

Aurora would have laughed at their expressions had it not been for the somewhat serious atmosphere. "It's true. Remember what we explained to you yesterday? About your affinities to elemental magic? Everyone has a elemental power within them, though it is not unlocked until Lord or Lady Arceus allows it." Aurora leaned forward and rested her arms on her lap. "It's the same with the first pokemon. All pokemon are naturally resistant towards Normal-type attacks because at one point, all of their ancestors were "Normal"-types. Normal animals, though not exactly like the Originals which I'll get to later. When the first Arceus came to be, they unlocked the elemental power within many of the animals and those animals "evolved" to become the pokemon you know today, their bodies changing to suit their element and needs. The rest of the animals either became Normal-types or Originals."

Aurora could see that they were still confused and she looked at Alpha for help. "Put it this way," the Fenrir said, "you humans classify pokemon ranged attacks as Special attacks, yes?" They nodded. "The animals had no "special attacks", not counting natural defenses like poisonous bites and the like, before the first Arceus unlocked their natural elements. The same goes for super-powered attacks like Stone Edge. A normal bear cannot perform such an attack, but a Ursaring may.

"It may be a bit difficult to understand, though humans have the same potential. And that it our point, any human can have their inherent power unlocked, like the first pokemon."

"What about the Originals? What's the difference between them and the first animals?" Roxanne asked.

"An Original has the capacity to learn magic or elemental attacks. They are also naturally more intelligent and powerful than feral animals and pokemon. Animals, like normal fish such as bass or stripers, do not have the capacity to have abilities such mental communication or the like. They only have the barest of defenses, like the fangs of a dog or the stinger of a wasp. They have no supernatural capabilities whatsoever."

"Are you two Originals?" This question came from Hugh.

"I'm not," Aurora answered as she smiled. "Remember, I used to be a Suicune...mostly." They looked at Alpha.

"I suppose I am, mostly." the Fenrir said. "As you know, I am not from here. And my species is of its own origins." At their raised eyebrows, he added, "We were not bestowed or altered since our existence. We came into existence as we are."

"Mostly?" Roxanne asked.

"You would call a pig or dog, wolf or birds, Originals, as long as they have the ability to shift into anthropomorphic forms." He suddenly looked thoughtful, though Aurora couldn't really tell since he always had a poker-face expression. "That is also way to tell the difference between an animal and an Original, the latter can change into an anthropomorphic form. As for me.." His eyes suddenly became cold. "Humans do not have the slightest idea if my kind exists or not. They only have legends or myths, though they do not know for sure. And I plan to keep my existence unknown to the humans."

For some reason, Aurora knew not to question him why. The others did as well.

"Say," Roxanne said, "so you know how to manipulate Darkness and Void, right? It's a package deal?" Alpha looked at her, nodding. "What can you do with it? I mean, I have some ideas about it, but…"

Alpha suddenly shifted his foot. "Try to move." Roxanne, raising an eyebrow, tried to move from her seat only to suddenly fall back as if she was chained by the leg.

"What gives?" she asked, attempting to get up once more only to fail. Alpha pointed to the floor, the rest of them noticed the fact that his foot was on the leg of her shadow which was casted about a little more than halfway across the room. "Wha-?"

"Shadow Snare." Alpha explained, before removing his foot from her shadow. Roxanne found that she could move again and eyed the Fenrir with awe, she hoped that she had a high affinity for Darkness even more. "Darkness has various applications. You can manipulate shadows, make them tangible if you'd like. You can phase through shadowed walls to get through the other side. Anything the deals with Darkness," Alpha stared at her, and Roxanne almost shivered, "you can learn to manipulate and succumb to your will."

"What about illusions? I know Dark-type pokemon can cast them." Hugh asked. Alpha nodded. "Can you demonstrate for us?"

"Is there anything specific you'd like to see?"

Hugh tapped his chin in thought. "Can you make me look like a zombie?" Alpha blinked.

"Oh my-Hugh!" Roxanne exclaimed. Said humans looked at her.

"Is it working?"

"See for yourself, Hugh." Aurora asked, recoiling slightly. Hugh stood up and looked himself over, amazed. His skin had developed a dull gray pallor, flesh torn and hanging in several areas and the occasional bone showed. He was missing a few fingers and every now and then, a bug would make themselves at home within his body. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was stringy and dying. Even his clothes were worse for wear, as they were in tatters and bloody in a few areas. "Cool."

I hope he doesn't want to stay looking like that. Aurora thought.

At the moment, Oculus flew in through the window. He perched himself on Hugh's shoulder, and the others wondered if he didn't notice Hugh's current appearance. "Hey Hugh, when are we practicing the-?" Hugh turned around to look at Oculus and the Noctowl took one moment to registered Hugh's zombified appearance before falling to the ground. Unconscious.

"Uh, he'll be fine." Hugh stated. He then went over to the corner of the room and kneeled in front of Rift. "Hey, Rift." The Alakazam only stared back at him blankly. "Okay-yyy? That's normal for him."

"That's Rift for you." Roxanne smirked. Hugh turned around and grinned, shrugging as he sat back down. He scratched his head, realizing with a start that he didn't look like a walking corpse anymore.

"Thank you, Alpha." Aurora sighed with relief. Because that was plain creepy as hell. The Fenrir nodded. He then looked over at Roxanne, his expression thoughtful. After a moment of gently prodding his mind for permission, the two linked minds once again. What is it?

She has a high affinity towards Darkness, she'll be of the Dark-types.

And you can tell just by her interest in your powers? Aurora asked, skeptical. One could not just simply tell what element another would be able to utilize right off the bat from the latter's interests.

The darkness within her is significantly above average. Alpha answered, surprising her. Mind you, it is not all negative as most would think. She has been through hardship, and yet, she continues to push through her struggles in order to get what she wants. She's a strong-willed one.

If she's as you say...Aurora began.

She is. Alpha replied, calm. As the two conversed, Roxanne and Hugh were going over ideas of the possible applications they could use with whatever element they may inherit.

...then it'll be easier for her to manifest and control Darkness. Aurora finished. But even then, you-, no,Aurora thought better of her words. -she will have to be careful in case it goes unstable. Alpha nodded.

"Anyone have an idea what we can do for tonight?" Aurora asked as she looked out the window. Almost sundown. She didn't want every day to be only revolving around their training, she wanted to have carefree fun as well. As casual friends would. With a glance to her left, she saw Alpha reading his book again. Hugh and Roxanne were settling down from their conversation, Oculus had been returned to his pokeball so he wouldn't remain passed out on the floor, and Rift was actually honing his psychic abilities with his spoons rather than meditating.

"Movie night?" Roxanne suggested. Aurora didn't mind the sound of that. In fact, she was actually leaning towards the idea. "No movies focused on romance and romance only though, I can't stand sappy stuff."

You and me, both. Aurora thought.

"You three can decide on it, I will be going outside soon." Alpha stated. The Akirari rolled her eyes at his words, figuring he would say that by now. "If any of you require my services later, I will be outside and within earshot to call."

"Hugh?" Aurora snapped her attention to Hugh and Roxanne, the former grinning almost madly and the latter looking concerned. "Hey, what's with that smirk? Hugh? Hugh!" As if he had finally heard her, Hugh met Roxanne's eyes before grinning at Aurora and Alpha.

"I have an idea."

…

It was dark in the living room. The lights were off to suit the atmosphere and the windows were partially open, the curtains blowing almost eerily with the breeze. The only source of light in the living room was a small golden orb of Light which was floating above Aurora's open palm. The couches had been pushed to rest against the walls and the table had been placed against the wall underneath the TV.

They found themselves huddled in a circle. Well, excluding Alpha who was reading his book in the dark on the couch. The three of them had been exchanging ghost stories for the past half hour. While Hugh and Roxanne's stories were constructed and delivered well, Aurora's ghost stories were more credible due to the fact that she had been telling them of actual paranormal events that occurred in her travels in her duties as a Legendary. Their hairs were tingling and their goosebumps were raised.

The same went for even Aurora, despite the fact that she was the one currently telling the ghost story.

"-and that's how Lord Hoopa became the Ghost-type he is today. He never saw that specter again, nor did he ever recover the rest of his soul since then." Aurora finished, exhaling deeply. She shivered, the story was even creepier when Hoopa told her what happened. He never did stop smiling for the rest of their exchange that day…

"Okay, Aurora, I think we all know that's it's unfair you know TRUE ghost stories whereas we only know rumors and legends." Hugh commented, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Roxanne was smirking, she rather enjoyed ghost stories despite the chills she'd always receive. Aurora would have been unnerved by that smile had it not been the fact that she knew Roxanne. Otherwise, the Akirari would not trust her as far as she could throw a Wailord.

Wait a min-...Nah.. "Whatever, you're just jealous that I tell better stories."

"Well either way," Roxanne announced, "it's my turn to tell one. Ahem…"

…

"Those words...They will forever haunt him. 'You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?'..." Roxanne then went quiet. "And those two save files? They still read 'Ben drowned' in the end. And even now, no one knows who's this Ben person is." At her silence, they knew she was done. And Aurora had to admit, that story was pretty creepy. Then again, it was meant to be. Roxanne took in their expressions, smirking and nodding her satisfaction.

She then paled, and Aurora thought it was a trick of the light. But upon further expression, she noticed that Roxanne began sweating. Cold sweat. "Roxanne? What's…" She trailed off. Her trainee was pointing past her with a shaking finger.

"Ho-ly crap." Hugh muttered as Aurora turned around. Standing stock still behind her was it. The very thing Roxanne's story revolved around. It stood about four feet tall, wooden in make. At its base was a square podium for it to remain upright. Its legs had tannish leggings donned, tucked into brown boots. It wore a green tunic and a brown belt on its torso, with a matching green cap on its head.

"No way…" Aurora spoke, barely above a whisper. The statue before them was an effigy of a young boy with ears similar to that of an elf, standing rigid with its arms at its side and its legs together. Long blonde hair parted at the middle of the forehead, perfectly symmetrical. The effigy's blank blue eyes were almost squinted, and between them began the long bridge of its bulbous nose. The effigy had an awkward smile, Aurora thought. Wait, is it a smile? It almost seemed as if the effigy was grimacing, though its expression made it hard to tell.

Aurora backed away from the effigy, and the two humans seconded her action. There was no way that thing should be there! It was just a story Roxanne found off the internet for Arceus' sake! The effigy remained still as they backed away, its eyes following them despite the fact that the orbs were still. "What kind of fucked up shit is this?!" Roxanne exclaimed, surprising Aurora with her choice of words. In the corner of the Akirari's eyes, she spotted Hugh shake his head.

"I know she swears in bad situations, but if you're going to swear, then swear. If not, don't swear at all." he muttered quietly. Just as he finished talking, Aurora almost fell back as the effigy teleported to the spot right in front of her. Nothing about it changed, its facial expression remained blank which made the effigy even creepier.

"...Ben?" Aurora hazarded a guess. She thought that maybe the effigy before her contained the trapped spirit of the Ben person in Roxanne's story. What else could she think or do to explain in the situation?

The effigy's expression suddenly shifted, its eyes turning into a bright myriad of reds and oranges. Aurora almost swore she saw strange blue and red lines covering its face in strange swirling patterns. The effigy's grimace turned into a sinister smile, the eyes creasing into a glare. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Th-Those words...Aurora thought. ..It's exactly the same.

In the next moment, they effigy blinked and blood slowly seeped from it's eyes. "Do you want to play with me? OK, let's play good guys and bad guys…" The effigy's smile became even more deranged. "I'll be the good guy, and you be the bad guy, and when you're the bad guy, you just run."

The effigy then let out a laugh, one that bounced off the walls within their minds and sent chills down their spines.

"Okay, Alpha, I think you can stop now. Still though, pretty cool."

...What. Aurora blinked. The effigy before them disappeared in a puff of shadows. What. Behind her, Hugh smiled wryly as he walked up to the Fenrir who was silent during the entire ordeal. He was still reading his book, and that was when Aurora realized that he was the only one who didn't react at all since the effigy had appeared.

"Is it to your satisfaction?" Alpha asked as he set down his book.

"Yeah," Hugh answered with a snicker, "their faces were pretty priceless. Nice job on the timing, by the way, I didn't even see that coming and I was the one who came up with the plan."

"I figured it would be more effective to choose one of your stories at random. Doing so made it easier in the case of you showing your fear or shock matching theirs so they wouldn't suspect."

As the two conversed, Roxanne and Aurora looked at each other, flabbergasted. After a moment of silence, the two shook their heads and left to their rooms. Aurora decided it was a good time to sleep before she did something she'd regret. "Girls?" Hugh asked as he laughed, though his laughter died when he realized they weren't coming back down the stairs. "Girls? It was just a joke, come on!" They still didn't return. "Hey, Alpha, help me out here."

"I already have with the illusion." Alpha replied as he made his way to the front door. "If you need anything aside from trying to placate the two women's ire, I'll be outside securing the perimeter." Leaving the boy there, Alpha left the house and Hugh only sighed as he looked up the stairs. He clutched one of the two pokeballs on his belt.

"...I might need Rift for a quick escape." he said, thinking that the two girls upstairs might be angry enough to start attacking him.

…

A few hours later…

With Roxanne…

Roxanne almost shivered as she stepped outside her room, closing the door behind her before she tightened the cords in her shorts around her waist. Yawning, she went downstairs and into the kitchen. Finding the coffee maker after turning the light on, she poured in some dark roast beans before turning on the coffee maker to begin the process. She also made sure to fill it with water, else, she'd just get concentrated coffee beans.

And that would be bitter.

Ugh, hate nightmares. she thought as she rested a hand on her face, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger. She spied the clock through her hand, finding that it was three in the morning. So in all, she had only gotten about a couple hours of sleep. She spent most of the night drawing in her sketch pad, interpreting her emotions of the day into whatever pictures she'd thought represented them best. Sighing, she leaned on the counter. I'll have to add it to the sketch pad later, I doubt I'll be able to sleep anyway. Roxanne interpreted her nightmares into drawings as well, not just her emotions. "Damn it, Hugh, you just had to ask Alpha to scare us." The boy came to her earlier in the night to apologize, with Rift floating at his side. Of course, she had accepted his apology, though she promised him that if he tried it again, she'd pay him back tenfold.

So! He wouldn't scare her like that again, hehe.

Hugh had also apologized to Aurora. Roxanne shook her head, the Legendary accepted his apology without any threat of payback at all. How else Hugh would learn to not screw with them? Laughing quietly to herself at the thought, Roxanne returned her attention to the coffee maker. She saw that it had already began depositing the coffee into the mug she had placed there. Smiling, Roxanne watched as the mug was filled three-fourths of the way before the stream of coffee stopped. The mug was filled another inch as Roxanne poured some creamer into it, stirring the mixture with a straw before taking a careful sip.

Per-rrrrfect.

Content, she turned off the coffee maker and kitchen light. She began making her way to the stairs, preparing herself for the rest of the night. However, she stopped a couple of steps up the stairs when she caught the sight of the moon through the window above the front door. She remembered that Alpha was out there, probably sleeping. But then again, he was a wolf-Albeit, a horned, winged one..-so he should be up at night, right? She looked down at her coffee, noting how it would take a while before it turned lukewarm enough to drink. Shrugging, Roxanne turned around and went to the front door. Before stepping outside, she took a look at her clothing. She was wearing only shorts and a tank top.

It'll be cold...Eh, Aurora's attacks are colder and I have my coffee. she thought. Opening the door and closing it behind her when she went outside, Roxanne scanned the area. She didn't see much save for the trees a ways out, and Alpha had black fur so he'd be practically invisible in the night. Still though, Roxanne knew that one could still spot something black in the darkest of night due to the fact that it would still give off a silhouette due to the moon's light however dim it was. If one wanted to blend in completely in the dark, they'd have to wear something of a dark gray color, for that would make it harder for someone else to spot their silhouette due to the soft transition of colors. It wouldn't stand out as much in certain settings like black would.

Bringing that knowledge to mind, she continued to scan the area of her Fenrir mentor. After a while, she frowned. It would be difficult, sure, but she should be able to at least spot his silhouette in the low light of the night. Roxanne walked further out into the field, her head on a swivel. She squinted her eyes every now and then whenever she thought she saw the Fenrir.

May I help you?

Roxanne nearly spilled her coffee as the voice startled her. She spun in a circle, spotting Alpha walking towards her from the left. He was in his natural form and was towering over her when he closed the distance between the two. His eyes seemed to see right through her, as if he was reading her like a book. "Geez, Alpha! Don't sneak up on me like that!" The Fenrir bowed his head, the base of his horn almost making contact with the top of her head.

I apologize, I did not mean to do so. I will to alert you of my presence next time. he replied, his tail flickering its flames as did the rest of the flames on his body. Standing next to him, Roxanne could feel the heat, though it wasn't unpleasant. It wasn't too hot, but warm. Soothing, almost. It was a great contrast to his cold eyes, though they seemed to be more relaxed at the moment. Aside from the flickering of his flames, Roxanne could hear nothing from him. Not even his breathing. It didn't even look like he was breathing, actually. Though, if she stared hard enough, she'd see that he was indeed breathing. His chest was barely moving with every breath. Is there something you need?

His question broke her out of her thoughts. Shaking her head, Roxanne sighed. "No, not really. I was just wondering if you were still up so I came out here." She shrugged. "I figured to might as well check since I doubt I can go back to sleep."

I see. Alpha answered as he shifted his stance. He was now on his stomach, his forelegs almost crossing at the paws. Even laying down as he was, he was still about a head or two taller than her. He turned to stare at the moon, his expression unreadable. Roxanne figured he was deep in his thoughts.

"What were you doing out here before I came out?" she asked, sitting down and crossing her legs. She placed the coffee in the space in between her legs, she could feel the radiating heat with her feet.

I was taking a walk. Alpha answered after glancing at her. Before that, I was doing my rounds around the area. Roxanne nodded and brought the coffee to her lips, carefully taking a sip before setting it down. She then shivered as a breeze picked up.

Okay, I should have brought a sweater and some pants. she thought. She was then pleasantly surprised when Alpha curled his tail towards her, its tip resting between the two. She instantly felt warmer, coupling that with the slight warmth emanating from Alpha's prone body. "Thank you." she said with a smile.

Think nothing of it. he replied, still staring at the moon. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to her. Roxanne almost shivered again, though it wasn't due to another breeze. Do you need help sleeping? I can lull you to a deep and dreamless sleep, if you wish. The offer was tempting, Roxanne almost accepted it the moment the last word left his mou-Er, his mind. But then, she thought about it for a moment before shaking her head with another smile.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine. How would you do it though?" The Fenrir nodded and craned his neck at an angle, popping it though it was surprisingly quiet. Roxanne suddenly felt the urge to do the same with her own neck.

I would simply calm your body, or mind, depending on which is restless, with simple mental brushes. Once that it done, you would immediately fall into a deep slumber. Alpha answered. Roxanne raised an eyebrow, was it really that easy? Shrugging, she took another sip of her coffee. She thought about her nightmare and began planning out the sketch she'd have to make later. After a while of contemplating, she frowned. Alpha so happened to be facing her when she did, he was about to offer her sleep again. Is there something wrong?

'My nightmare...:" Roxanne answered. "I don't know what to make of it." She then tapped her knee thoughtfully. "It started out with me and...a really old friend playing together, we were kids again." She smiled. "He and I were playing I Spy, which was good. Actually, getting him to play was more of a good thing. He usually kept to himself so as you can imagine, it was a great success to me every time I got him to play or open up to me." Alpha nodded, curious of where this was headed. "So far, it went all good and normal before things got...dark. There were fires...everywhere, people were running around screaming and dying...My friend was in the middle of all that, crying his heart out and calling out..He was calling out for help, reaching out…"

Alpha was surprised to see a tear escape from Roxanne, she noticed his expression and inwardly cursed. Wiping away at her eyes, she took a sip of her coffee as if nothing had happened just now. There is no need to continue, it is clear that you are uncomfortable. The Fenrir raised an eyeridge when she raised a hand with a shake of her head.

"I'm fine." Roxanne assured. "I just got caught up in my emotions, I can keep going." Well...more to draw later. Alpha stared at her for a moment before nodding, waiting patiently for her to continue. "I remember trying to reach out for him, to try and hold his hand. I wanted to bring him close to me and give him a hug, everything I could do to comfort him. But I was just...so far away. I couldn't reach him." Another tear, but she didn't bother wiping it away. "I remember the day we left home and moved here, I really didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay there with him, I didn't want to leave him alone even though he still had his family there." She blinked and another tear fell. "A while later after I moved here, my dad went back to check up on things...He came back and told us that there was nothing left. Just...nothing. Everything was either burned to the ground or destroyed by something, a lot of people died…"

So this nightmare of yours, Alpha thought, you think it might be connected to the time you left home to come here? That your friend and the destruction of your home happened around that time?

"Or earlier." Roxanne said with a nod. "It was maybe a year or so later when my dad went to check, so I don't know when exactly it happened." She shakily picked up the mug of coffee to her lips, downing a gulp for it wasn't as hot anymore. Roxanne noticed her shaking hand and berated herself inwardly. She was just so..weak! Alpha remained silent as he watched her struggle. "I really miss him, I don't know whether or not he survived." Roxanne added after a sigh. "I heard that most of the surviving villagers moved away to the regions, I plan to look for him when all this is said and done."

He is the reason why you took the offer to train. Roxanne winced, it wasn't a question from him but a statement. He figured her out. You think there is a greater chance of finding him with all this training, you may even be thinking that Lady Arceus might offer her help in the matter herself. She nodded, and Alpha turned his gaze to the moon again. They were silent for a while, Roxanne eventually finished her coffee and no longer had anything to warm her insides. Her core felt cold after some time, and she was thankful that Alpha was providing some heat. I give you my condolences for whatever happened to your friend and your home, it is not easy talking about loss. Roxanne quietly thanked him, to which he nodded. I know for a fact that you are determined and have a strong will. I am sure that given some time, you will find your friend, wherever he may be.

It was small, his attempt to comfort her. It was small, but it was meant huge for her. Roxanne smiled, feeling a lot better for some reason now that she even had the Fenrir's blessings on the matter. "Thanks, Alpha." she said after a moment. "That really means a lot to me, and coming from you, it really makes me rethink what I used to think about you." Alpha gave her a curious look.

May you please explain to me? he asked.

"Well, you're really distanced. Your expression is always either cold or blank and you seem to not really care for whatever is happening around. I thought you were the brash type too, with how strong you are and your harshness towards some things." She paused for a bit. "I guess I can say that I didn't really think you'd care, that you just want to get this training over with so you can go back and do what you want to do." Roxanne smiled at him, an action that she knew he was a little foreign to. "I know now that you're none of those things, that you're really a nicer person on the inside who's constantly on guard." Her smile remained as her eyes became a little sad. "Exactly like him, actually."

Alpha remained staring at her for some time before turning away. Roxanne almost laughed at the situation and focused her attention to his tail which was right next to her leg. She was almost mesmerized by the flickering flames at its tip, she was so close to it. Yet, she didn't feel singed or any sharp pain. She didn't know how long she was staring, but it was long enough for Alpha to catch on. It will only burn you if I will it to.

He basically gave her the permission to touch his tail, if she'd like. Will it really not burn? she thought, actually bringing her hands closer to his tail. Part of her screamed for her hands to stop, that she was crazy for even considering trying to touch the flaming tail. The other part of her wanted to sate her curiosity and eventually, it was the latter of the two sides that won.

Soft. Soft and really warm.

Those words were the first words that came to mind as she stroked the end of his tail. Roxanne felt the flames weaving around her hands and added with the feeling of his fur, it was like feeling a warm blanket that was alive. She watched how the flames danced around her hand, how they parted whenever she tried to make contact with them. It was so amazing to her that she wasn't getting burned. She then figured that it must be the same way for pokemon like Rapidash or Charizards when their flames comes into contact with whatever's in the world.

A yawn escaped her lips, and Roxanne knew that she was way too tired all of a sudden to make her way back to her room. She looked up at Alpha, the Fenrir was still deep in thought. She studied his features for a while before smiling, quietly thanking him again before doing something neither of them would had ever thought she'd do.

She leaned on his side and curled his tail around her, resting it on her lap.

Roxanne almost laughed as she closed her eyes, feeling Alpha's muscles tense at her sudden action. She imagined how his expression might be, all startled or confused at her sudden closeness. She could feel him trying to come up with something to say to her about it, "trying" being the keyword.

"Goodnight, Alpha." she ended up saying as sleep began to take over her senses. The Fenrir she was falling asleep on went still and before long, he nodded and shook his head at her.

Goodnight to you, Roxanne, and gave a good rest. Alpha said with an inward sigh, Roxanne knew that he knew he couldn't get out of this one. Though it is technically morning.

Deciding to ignore his small comment about the time, she leaned deeper into his side. She felt a small breeze, then realizing that it was actually his breathing and that the wind came from his nose. It was slow and steady. She felt him study her for a little bit before he lowered his head to the ground, probably to sleep as well. Roxanne inwardly smiled.

Even though she no longer had coffee, she felt really warm inside. And it was thanks to the fearsome wolf at her side.

"Call me Roxy." she sleepily replied, falling asleep to the sound of his steady breathing shortly after.