Lesson 5: Memories made
Our most valuable possesion is natural born instinct.
intuition.
Follow it, deceptive and cunning as it may be.
N.
Her knees showed a few scars almost invisible against her pale skin.
The irregular pattern held his attention for a while and N wondered how she had got them. He had quite a few scars too from playing with his friends.
The harsh games he joined in on were often a bit too much for a human child, and what could be seen as a play-fight between Pokémon meant a serious brawl between children. Earning a few bruises and potential scars during a fight meant you did considerably well. It was big fun though and N experienced it as good training for the future. If a Pokémon needed to be saved he and his friends were strong and fast enough to overpower any human.
N solemnly believed that his overall strength and swiftness were thanks to his friends training him.
However he couldn't imagine a girl playing games rough enough to batter her knees like that.
Anthea and Concordia would never be so careless as to scrape their knees, allowing scars to pollute their flawless skin.
They definitely wouldn't wear clothes like that. N thought eyeing the child's weird attire. It was then he noticed that she was barefooted, his sharp intake of breath would've given them away that instant if it wasn't for the girl's sudden and deliberate squeal of joy
"A Herdier can I touch him please? How does he help in your work? Can he locate drugs?"
Ignoring the urge to hit his head against the wall N listened to the officer's response, talk about drugs coming from a possible witness who appeared to be hardly seven years old wasn't what you expected to hear from an average female child her age.
Couldn't she talk about dolls or girly stuff like that? He thought sharing a knowing look with Zero as the situation didn't allow them a meaningful "Girls…"
N we're screwed. The fox signaled, his eyes, large by nature, grew even bigger in alarm.
With a frown N tried to understand the anxious Pokémon's behavior, "We're royally screwed." He cursed as he understood their common problem.
Concealing his presence was an easy thing to do, being unnoticed by his servants a handy trick each time he and Zero tried to sneak out of his room. Even amongst big crowds of people he could just blend in with the scenery, he could become as uninteresting as he needed to be.
Controlling his mind and body was one thing, however the blood running through his veins seemed to be having different ideas. It continued leaking from his arm and started to creep further and further through the sandy soil already sated with his blood. The puddle had grown at a sickening rate and as his heart rate picked up the bleeding seemed to do the very same.
We're talking about millimeters here. The guy is deemed to notice soon. Zero muttered his ears twitching as the Herdier jumped on top of the low, rough wall.
"Yeah well I'll just stop bleeding then shall I?" N snapped inaudible, offended by the lack of tact coming from his friend. The Pokémon flinched as if the words had actually struck him, No need to…-'Shut up!' Both human and Pokémon jumped as the little girl loudly addressed them.
Convinced of the fact that she had just betrayed them Zero's fur preparing for battle stood on end. N who understood the situation soothed the dark type, and listened doubtfully to the conversation, the girl's voice still cheerful. Point taken, he hadn't seen that one coming, not in a million years.
Zero who stirred in his arms gave him a look of wonder, apparently he hadn't expected the human's reaction either.
Is she messing with us? The fox asked inaudible staring at the source of that tender flowerlike fragrance.
Rendered speechless, for what had to be the very first time in his whole existence the boy ignored the question. Neither Pokémon speech nor speaking in human tongue would aid him. The slightest sound could betray them, even moving his leg would be a risk at the moment. Taking his chances N remained silent, eyes fixed on the person in front of him, any traces of betrayal would be visible in her clear eyes, he would know before she did, before she even managed to open her mouth.
Getting caught would be less embarrassing if he managed to punish the one behind it.
"No really, it's true," the officer said, "Milo here is trained to enforce public order, he is used for chasing and holding suspects."
"That's interesting." She went on, "It would be hard to escape a Pokémon like that. You would have to be really fast or hide and keep quiet…"
N blinked, mindful of what the girl had told him, or was trying to tell him and the way she clenched her fists.
He looked at her narrow-eyed, "Maybe that's what the boy you're looking for did too, hide and keep quiet?" she said carefully, "I haven't seen him. I'm sorry I can't be of any help." N looked from the girl's feet to Zero and back again.
His blood had reached her toes, clearly visible to searching eyes. The slightest shudder only visible because he had expected a reaction like that to occur spread through her spine as she readjusted her footing. "We'll get him don't worry." The man assured the girl.
She nodded a faint smile quirking the corners of her lips. It took the police officer two sharp whistles before Milo answered his calls. The terrier had been moving dangerously close, turning his head this way and that way while smelling the air, searching for something. A tense silence hung in the air, in which the girl watched the police officer's retreating figure. The tight knot in N's chest loosened ever so slightly only after Zero informed him that he could no longer hear the sound of footsteps
N heard a sharp intake of breath coming from the human before she started hopping on one leg muttering "Ew, ew, ew,…"
He and Zero sprang forward causing the girl to tumble backwards, it all happened too quickly for her to be frightened and before she even thought about fighting back N had successfully pinned her to the ground a snarling Zero standing next to her.
"We better not have fallen in that puddle of blood or I swear I'll give you a reason to bleed." She growled already putting up a fight against N's grip on her hands.
Careful, she's serious, Zero warned, teeth glittering.
"Tell me something I don't know." N muttered struggling to keep her still.
He could feel her body stiffen underneath his, and sighed in relief, "Do you understand that Pokémon?" she asked, her eyes trailed over his face causing his heart to jump.
As she moved her head to get a good look at Zero, N could feel his hand move of its own accord. Somehow he didn't like to be separated from those eyes, they had a certain purity about them, which was something he hadn't encountered in a human being.
Grabbing her chin between his thumb and index finger he forced her to face him. A surge of emotions flickered just below the surface, N recognized anger amongst them and as that particular mood increased deep blue seemed to freeze into an icy cold aqua that could equal Zero's eyes.
"Ah, such a pretty color." He muttered leaning in closer so that his nose almost touched the tip of hers.
She lay unmoving, her eyes wide open tinged with curiosity and fear, he noticed how those emotions managed to change the shade of blue, deepening it yet again. Not the kind of blue he had been longing to see but it came a tiny bit closer, his head was spinning and his arm started throbbing.
Zero's voice seemed far away, asking him what the hell he was thinking getting so close to a human. He thought about that for a second, concluding that a complete lack of thinking had taken over him while handling the girl.
With this he vaguely realized his close proximity to the girl, and filled with disgust started pushing himself away from her only to slump down against her chest once again as the strength left his trembling arm.
Gritting his teeth in anger he tried to roll on his back, but even with Zero's clumsy help the attempt failed miserably. The child had kept quiet, the only thing betraying her was an uneasy heartbeat, a faint quiver, rapid and irregularly against his chest. Like a bird fluttering about, he thought before closing his eyes surrendering to a strange sense of stillness.
For a few minutes now I had started wondering if maybe the strange boy was some sort of lunatic.
After all rugby tackling the person who just helped you escape from the police was a strange way of showing your gratitude, at least to me it was.
Pushing that person in a puddle of blood definitely wasn't an option either, and I kindly reminded him of this little fact.
I didn't know what came over me, a boy covered in blood obviously on the run isn't the kind of person you'd protect on a whim, like I had done.
But he had that little Pokémon with him, obviously still a pup…
It was this kind of behavior that prompted others into describing me as whimsical, a trait of which I can't say whether it's positive or negative.
Amongst children telling on others was part of their daily routine, to me giving the boy away to the police had felt like kicking a sleeping Druddigon in the butt. Dangerous. Unnecessary. Stupid. And before I realized it I stood there lying through my teeth, protecting the very same person who seemed dead set on testing how much weight it took him in order to squash me.
When he opened his mouth to speak he surprised me by directing his words to the young Zorua. I had never seen a human talk to a Pokémon like that before. I had seen trainers shouting orders to their Pokémon, offering them comforting words, and words of encouragement but never this…
A monologue - Yes. A dialogue - No.
I froze, a sigh of relief coming from the boy as I no longer tried to break his hold on my wrists, "Do you understand that Pokémon?" I asked avoiding his eyes and settling mine on the black fox, a jolt of anger shot through my system upon seeing the long jagged scar diagonally over his eye. It left me with the strange urge to touch the skin around my own eyes and for a split second I wondered if the boy himself had put it there.
I managed to stifle a whimper as he rudely forced me to stare into his eyes. His serious face still had some childlike features. However the hostility he emanated and the sheer force in his scrawny arms warned me not to judge him on his age. His Pokémon's constant growling wasn't very encouraging either.
The kids from school would love this guy. I thought trying to imagine their faces if a boy like him stood in front of the class to introduce himself. He had to be the only person in the world actually worthy of the rumors that circulated about me, and I had to admit to myself that even I would have a hard time not believing them. I amused myself with mental pictures of a whole basketball court of boys suddenly tripping over non excitant obstacles just from him walking by.
"Ah such a pretty color." I blinked. Did he just compliment me?
His sudden closeness left me speechless, I could see my face reflected in his eyes and what I saw saddened me.
The strange grim look in his eyes, made me feel like…something inhuman, it made me remember both the bad things I had done in my life and the bad thing that had happened to me, and somehow under his piercing stare, all of that seemed meaningless.
They weren't the eyes of a child, definitely not the eyes of a child.
At first sight they were grey in color. Cold and calculating, and I caught myself solemnly swearing that I would never ever describe Cheren's eyes as cold and lifeless again, for if that was true it would mean this boy had to be dead on the inside and that saving him was no longer possible. The idea of a world without the boy in front of me could've reduced me to tears.
His Zorua's rumbling growl deepened and the air left my lungs as the boy suddenly collapsed on top of me. His long, wild hair tickled against my neck, a few strands shifted with each rise and fall of my chest.
That arm must hurt like hell, I thought, wheezing after cushioning his fall a second and last time as he remained silent after that.
The Zorua had forgotten his initial fear and nuzzled his trainer ignoring my presence altogether,
"Both of you really don't respect someone's personal space." I shared as he boldly climbed his trainer's back, adding some extra weight.
The fox jumped, arching his back, eyes pinning me to the ground even more then I already was. "I'm not going to hurt you, I could've already done that by now." I said raising my empty hands, the movement a little awkward with the boy's weight on my body.
Following my every movement from the corner of his eyes the fox sat down casually, the look in his eyes made sure to destroy my self esteem, "As if being on the base of this messed up pyramid hadn't made sure of that." I muttered between clenched teeth wriggling my back to avoid a particular jagged rock from poking me in the back and scratching my ticklish neck, flicking a tea green colored lock aside.
Keep your filthy hands to yourself, Zero snarled, face warped with anger and his mouth opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
I gave him a dry look trying my best to look unimpressed and said, "I know you just said something rude, doesn't take a genius to know. But here's the deal so listen up furball. Your friend here? The one bleeding on my clothes, the one you're sitting on, needs help. Now I want you to look around. Do you see that big old fashioned building, the two story one with the big windows?" After waiting for a non existent sign for me to continue I rolled my eyes and pressed on, "We can find a first aid kit there. You know medicine, like you would eat an Oran Berry to feel better? Your friend needs the same thing."
The Pokémon turned his attention back to the boy yipping silently, perking his ears each time he shifted. Using my chest as a pillow the heat radiating from his forehead scourged my skin. I pressed the back of my hand against his cheek, the seriousness of his fever had me sweating and when a piercing pain reached my fingers I was convinced of burning myself on his skin.
Zero biting my hand gave me a look of warning, he growled and shook my hand painfully. It didn't hurt that much and he hadn't bitten hard enough to draw blood yet. "Zorua," I began in a low tone unaware of my foolish mistake.
Don't call me that! Zero growled reinforcing his grip so that a small trickle of blood ran down my wrist. Even though his 'words' were a mystery to me, his teeth that dug through my skin as soon as the word 'Zorua' had left my mouth said enough.
"Okay, okay I get it! Calling you Zorua is like saying Voldemort, you don't have to exaggerate. I won't do it again. But I'm not going to say You-Know-Who."
A series of unintelligible growls came from the Pokémon and I rolled my eyes, "Even if I could understand what you're saying, talking with your mouth full isn't contributing to your articulation. Actually talking while chewing on my hand isn't helping at all!"
With that said I lifted my arm pushing the dangling Pokémon's paws against his trainer's heated skin. "Feel that?" I asked as a look of shock appeared on his furry face, "That's your trainer who's having a fever. That leaves you with two options, or your trainers bleeds to death or he simply dies from his fever." I shared, secretly overstating the severity of a fever and smiling when the Pokémon loosened his grip on my hand, his ears drooped from their once perky and upright position. I felt like a monster by the time a small whimper escaped his mouth.
"None of that." I said sternly, "Weren't you fighting for your friend about two seconds ago? You could help me to move his body so that I can help you in return, I won't hurt you, I promise." Considering my sincerity the Pokémon tilted his head, piercing me with his cold eyes. Trying my best not to blink I answered his stare with pleading eyes winning our staring contest as he sighed and carefully started probing the boy finally allowing me to touch him.
"Careful" I muttered as we rolled him on his back with our united strength.
I brushed his tangled bangs back, they were wet from sweat, and used my clothes to wipe his face. My stomach started to protest as I saw Zorua licking the still bleeding wound. I had to clear my throat a few time before I regained my voice, the sound of it slightly higher than usual "You shouldn't do that." I squeaked getting onto my feet slightly wavering.
Barefoot I walked towards the ancient oak tree craning my neck to face the female Tranquil living there, "I know your busy with your eggs and all." I began as a soft cooing urged me on, "But I…We need some help to get inside my school." I managed careful not to use the words 'breaking in' and stood there waiting.
Zorua joined me and produced a series of barks probably repeating my words and adding his own, as the bird Pokémon fluttered towards the school swooping down on the roof. The black fox turned his back on me striding off in the same direction as the Tranquill with his bushy tail in the air,
"Arrogant pup." I muttered following close behind stopping now and then to collect the biggest rocks that crossed my path.
"Here's the plan." I began as we reached the school building and its sturdy brick walls, "I'm not sure if the building has and alarm against…" I pulled a face, "burglars. It won't be a fancy one but I don't want to find out, so I'll use one of these rocks to smash that window over there." Zorua's head snapped up towards the window several meters above us and settled on the Tranquill who sat listening with her head cocked to the side,
"Yes that's were Tranquill comes in." I replied his silent question, as a soft growl told me he agreed on the matter.
Show 'em what you got Ashe. I thought, huffing at the bangs that surrounded my face, ignoring how they fell back in place almost immediately. Tranquill and Zorua's mutual looks of anticipation started to unnerve me.
Calculating the amount of strength necessary for my throw I shifted my stance bending my knees.
"Err... maybe the two of you should stand back? I can't guarantee that I'll hit the mark." The fox shrugged, but moved aside anyway giving me some space.
You wouldn't hit me even if you tried to. Zero said.
"Don't act so grumpy you're too young for that, Tranquill isn't complaining either." I countered, checking on the grey bird that fluttered through the sky at a safe distance.
I threw the rock as hard as I could sending it skyward. An alarmed cry reached my ears as Tranquill had to produce a mid air summersault to avoid the incoming projectile. I realized that squeezing my eyes shut while throwing rocks hadn't been one of my best ideas ever. Turning towards Zorua who snorted loudly I scratched my neck, "That was a practice throw." I announced my cheeks stinging with heat.
...I hope I'm better with Pokéballs...
With a groan I threw my fifth rock finally shattering the window sending down a rain of glass. Rather pleased with myself I straightened my back to get rid of possible remaining shards, grabbed Zorua and held him up, "Make sure not to step on the glass when you come back. The infirmary is at the end of the corridor. I think it's on your left, I'm not sure. It smells of medicine, you can't miss it, just follow your nose. Inside you'll see this huge glass cabinet in the right corner of the room, that's where you'll find a first aid kit, it's a green plastic box with a white cross " I said almost dropping the squirming Pokémon before handing him over to Tranquill who made her way towards the 'opened' window with several quick strokes of her wings creating a strong gust of wind.
Suddenly I realized that the furball had bitten me yet again, the quick pinch of his canine teeth had sent a stinging pain through my wrist, "You better not have rabies!" I shrilled, the idea of picking up another stone to throw rather tempting.
The one day that I'm not wearing my wristbands has to be the day a hostile fox decides to bite me to shreds. I thought, shaking my head.
I jumped across the shards of glass, making my way towards my small backpack digging up my shoes before hauling it towards the still unconscious boy. He wasn't bleeding that bad anymore and I tried to remember the game my mother and I used to play.
It was called 'I am a victim of.' And it was supposed to teach me what to do in dangerous situations. As an only child I didn't have a big brother or sister to rely on so my mother made quite a big deal of it. I am a victim of a fire, a car accident, a burglary... (which seemed rather ironic as I wasn't the victim but the perpetrator in this case)
'I am the victim of a cut wound,' had been discussed, and for once I thanked my mother for being a worrywarth. After lifting his legs resting them on top off my backpack and pulling the white ribbon from my hair I used it to apply pressure on the wound, crimson blood blossoming through the silk almost immediately. A dragging noise announced Zorua's return, the green first aid kit twice his size seemed rather heavy and I wondered how they had managed to fly from the window while carrying it. Using the water bottle I carried around in my bag to clean the wound and my hands I pried open the plastic box, all the equipment necessary to clean and bandage his wounds waiting inside.
The boy groaned in pain as I used tweezers to pick out the embedded gravel and dirt in the cut, Zorua drew closer, fur on end and nuzzled the boy reassuringly. "It's good pain." I whispered applying antibiotic ointment before bandaging his arm with shaking hands. "All done." I gasped slumping down releasing the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
The Pokémon nodded solemnly, crawling on the boy's lap he rested his two front paws on the human's chest right above his heart. There was a silent admiration in his eyes and above all a great devotion to his friend. I couldn't call the boy his trainer anymore, it felt like an insult both to the boy and the Pokémon. "He won't tell me what happened either will he?" I asked sheepishly, hastily adding, "I won't cause you any trouble, I'm just curious."
With a single flick of his tail the Pokémon settled on ignoring me as much as possible. I blinked and sighed, "He's very lucky to have you."
Without waiting for a response I checked my backpack. Minding the boy's legs I managed to withdraw my leather bound sketchbook and a random pencil.
"Do you mind?" I inquired while turning the pages until I found an empty one, unaware of the fox's drooping eyes.
Biting my lip to stifle a giggle I sketched the scene in front of me, following the curve of the young boy's limbs my eyes flitted away from the paper to his face several times. Covering Cheren during art class meant I had to improve my skills, at least that was the excuse I had to explain my new found hobby. Half of the sturdy book was already filled with portraits of both him and Bianca. After collecting numerous sketches of an annoyed and permanent scowling bespectacled boy and a bubbly blonde who never managed to sit still and pose properly, I decided to sketch Pokémon, the little Zorua being my very first.
A small smile played on my lips. I hadn't been able to exclude the boy from my drawing, it wouldn't do justice to the little Pokémon and without the presence of the child he wouldn't have displayed such a scene of tranquility. As I scanned the boy's face the smile dropped from my face, shattering to pieces just like the window had done. His eyes were open, narrowed upon seeing me,
"I don't recall giving you permission to do that" He hissed, eyes alight with malice boring into mine.