Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Meganium here with Chapter Two! ^ ^ The writing of this actually went pretty quickly; I knew from the start what I wanted to happen by the end of Night Two. Anyway, enough about my creative process. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I own so much Pokémon stuff that it seems like I do sometimes.

Seven Nights

Night Two: The Sky and the Stars

Celebi blinked at the newcomer, her mouth hanging open blankly. Its voice was sweet and childish, but masculine and wise. She flapped her jaw a bit, still startled by his sudden appearance.

Jirachi lifted a brow at her in concern. "Are you well?" he asked gently.

"I—I'm Celebi!" she blurted at last.

"Celebi?" he repeated, letting the name roll off his tongue as his brow furrowed. "I have heard tell of you. You are the Voice of the Forests."

"That's right," Celebi confirmed, surprised that he had heard of her. "I'm sorry I don't know you."

"That is understandable," he said, waving a small hand as he lighted on the ground. "I only awaken for seven days every thousand years." He smiled at her, and Celebi got the impression that this was far from the first time he had had to introduce himself to a Pokémon that had not heard of him.

"Every thousand years?" she echoed, her sky-blue eyes widening. "That's unreal!"

"No, it is quite real," he assured her, not understanding the expression. He looked around himself curiously. "Oh my," he said lightly. "When I went to sleep, there were many more trees than this."

She frowned at him. "There are a lot of trees here," she said defensively.

He smiled at her again. "Oh, I meant no disrespect. I only meant that it looked very different from the way it looks now."

"Well, you've been gone a while," she joked, mollified at his apology.

A silence passed between them. Celebi didn't know quite what to say, and Jirachi searched the ground with his eyes, occasionally glancing at Celebi. She was small and green, with a large, round head that came to a point at the top, two antennae tipped with blue on her forehead, long, slender arms, and a small body of a deeper green. Two translucent wings adorned her back. Her eyes were a beautiful sky blue, rimmed with black.

Celebi glanced at him in much the same manner he was glancing at her, and they both darted their eyes away when they caught the other looking.

"I, er... liked your song," Jirachi said awkwardly.

Celebi blushed. "Oh, um...thanks," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head with one small hand. "I... I like to sing."

"I suppose that is why you are the Voice of the Forests," Jirachi said brightly. Celebi smiled at him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jirachi. Would you like some berries?" she asked timidly, squinting her eyes a little in bashfulness.

"I would love some berries," he agreed. "I've gotten quite hungry over a thousand years."

(-o-)

"Tell me more about humans," Jirachi said eagerly, happily eating a Pecha berry.

"There isn't much more to tell," Celebi told him, sitting next to him in the boughs of the Pecha tree and swinging her feet back and forth. "They catch Pokémon in PokéBalls and–"

"PokéBalls?" Jirachi interrupted, mystified. A bit of Pecha juice leaked down his chin, and Celebi struggled not to laugh.

"Yes...they're small red-and-white balls that can hold a Pokémon inside. Humans use them to hold us and transport us more easily," she explained, helping herself to another Pecha.

Jirachi's tongue flitted out to catch the drop of Pecha juice dribbling down his chin. "Why would they need to do that?" he asked.

"Well..." Celebi began, popping the berry in her mouth thoughtfully. "They train Pokémon to be stronger," she continued, her mouth slightly full. She swallowed. "They help us grow. Some of them are bad, and some of them are good." She felt as if she wasn't explaining it very well.

"Have you ever met one?" Jirachi asked, his eyes wide with fascination.

"Of course," she said dismissively. "I've met lots of them. But I would never let myself be seen in front of Trainers who would try to catch me." She licked some Pecha juice from her fingers.

"How can you tell if they want to catch you?" he pressed, clearly interested.

Celebi paused, one finger still in her mouth. "I'm not sure," she said at last. "Somehow, I just know."

He nodded, his blue tags swaying slightly. "Like how I know when it's time to wake up," he added.

"I guess," she responded. She looked up through the tree branches. It was dark outside now, and bits of the star-dotted sky could be seen through the gaps in the trees. With no artificial light to pollute this area, the stars stood out in stark contrast with the deep midnight blue sky.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" he said, smiling and gazing at them alongside her. "They are the only things that have changed little in this world while I slept, it seems."

Celebi nodded silently. The whole world must have changed a lot while Jirachi was asleep. It struck her as slightly unfair for the poor Pokémon, to get to see so little of the world.

"Jirachi," she began, facing him.

"Hm?" he asked, turning his face to her and smiling serenely.

"Won't you have to go to sleep soon?" she asked nervously, looking up at the moon.

He laughed. "Don't worry, I won't go into my hibernation until 7 nights from now. I'll just sleep like you do tonight." He lifted his face to the stars again.

Celebi's brow remained furrowed. "Still," she continued, "It doesn't seem fair. You only get seven days to enjoy the world, and you have to use up some of the time sleeping anyway?"

He glanced at her, as if she was odd for bringing such a thing up. "I guess I never really thought of it that way," he said with a shrug. "I never know what I miss, so when I wake up it's like it's a brand new world every time." He smiled at her again.

She felt so sorry for him. "But you have missed things," she insisted. "You've missed the development of new regions, many different customs, wars and events, new species being discovered...I can't even fathom missing a hundred years, let alone a thousand!" She shook her head incredulously.

"Well," he said, popping a final berry into his mouth, "You'll just have to show me this world tomorrow, Celebi." He munched his berry and sighed in contentment, snuggling into his seat and resting his head back against the tree trunk.

She blinked at him, surprised that he had fallen asleep so fast. But then again, she supposed he had become an expert at it.

(-o-)

Celebi yawned, the chirping of Pidgey and the dappled sunlight greeting her as she blinked open her eyes. Her blurred vision came into focus slowly as she blinked. There was a strange shape in front of her. She rubbed her eyes sleepily... And suddenly a Pokémon's face came into focus right before her.

"Good morning, Celebi!" Jirachi greeted cheerfully.

"Ahh!" she yelled, falling out of her branch and just managing to save herself by fluttering her wings. "Dear Dialga! Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry," Jirachi apologized. "I was just so excited to see your world."

She alighted on the branch again. "Yeah, I know," she said, smiling at him. "It's okay. C'mon, I'm going to show you the forest first." Smiling at him, she took his hand and pulled him through the air, turning her head just in time to miss the rosy blush that covered Jirachi's cheeks.

(-o-)

"As you can see, there sure are a lot of different kinds of trees here," she said, gesturing down at the trees below with the hand that wasn't holding Jirachi's.

"Yes," Jirachi agreed. "There were more trees when I went to sleep, but not as many different kinds!" he said excitedly.

"That's because Trainers come and plant trees not native to this forest," Celebi explained. "It really helps to diversify the plant life here!" Jirachi nodded, his eyes lighting up at this new knowledge. "Now I'm going to show you where humans live, but we have to be quick," she said, her voice taking on a conspiratorial whisper.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Jirachi exclaimed. Celebi got the impression that humans fascinated him. She couldn't help but feel a little stab of worry, but pushed it away as she pulled him closer to the outside of the woods, where a single house lay nestled between the forest and the sea.

"This is called a house," she said, pointing down to the blue-roofed building. "Humans live inside it. They make and eat food, sleep, and play inside them sometimes. Other times they come outside to do those things."

"Wowww," Jirachi breathed, awestruck. "Can we talk to one?" he asked, searching the house eagerly with his inquisitive eyes.

Celebi couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think that would be a good idea," she told him, "But if we stay close to this beach, there are Trainers who come out to train their Pokémon nearby. So maybe we'll see one."

"Okay!" he agreed, nodding eagerly. Celebi just looked at him as they hovered in the air, fighting a laugh.

"What?" he asked curiously, tilting his head.

"Nothing," she giggled. "I've just never met a Pokémon so fascinated by humans."

He smiled widely. "Last time I awoke, I was close friends with a human," he explained. "I just can't help but wonder if I'll see her again."

Celebi stopped abruptly, letting go of his hand. "What did you say?" she asked.

Jirachi looked confused by her reaction. "I wonder if I will see my human friend again," he repeated, puzzled.

Celebi stared at him, not knowing whether to correct him or pity him. Didn't he know? "Jirachi..." she started gently, "I don't think you'll see your friend again."

Jirachi blinked at her, still smiling. "But my friend told me we would meet again someday."

Celebi fumbled for words. "Jirachi... you see... Humans don't...they don't live as long as you or I do."

He merely blinked at her. "I don't understand," he said.

Celebi gazed at him with pity. "I know," she said, and took his hand again. Perhaps it would be better not to tell him for now.

(-o-)

"I can't believe we saw 5 humans!" Jirachi exclaimed.

That evening, as they sat in the Pecha tree and ate their fill again, Celebi wondered whether she should explain the concept of having a life span to Jirachi. He was so blissfully ignorant, as he popped berries into his small mouth, not knowing that every friend he had ever had was most likely dead. It tore her apart inside. She vowed to be the first friend he would ever see again, if she could.

"Celebi, what is troubling you?" he asked, snapping her out of her reverie. "You have been quiet since we saw the 'house'." He plucked another berry, offering it to her.

She took it, but did not eat it. "I was just...thinking about your friend," she admitted.

His eyes lit up. "She was a young human, about eight years old. She had shiny black hair that fell over her shoulders, and beautiful, bright blue eyes. Almost like yours," he added offhand. She blushed. "We did so much together," he sighed, staring up at the stars that were beginning to emerge. "She took me to meet her family, and I stayed with them in their village. We played together all day and were so exhausted that we fell asleep on the floor every night! When my seven nights were up, she took me to the forest and told me she'd see me again someday." He sighed wistfully. "Oh, Sachi," he said, smiling up at the brightest star. "I wonder where you are now."

Celebi said nothing, and merely gazed at the stars with him.

Author's Note: And the plot thickens. Well, actually, as of right now they're just kind of learning about each other, but I promise there will be a plot. XD

Oh, incidentally, the name "Sachi" means "wish". :D

I have run into a bit of a writing snag in the middle of Chapter Three, so it might take me a couple days to finish it. I'm also going back to college on Saturday, but I'm hoping the entire story will be written by then, so it shouldn't be an issue (I hope). Grant me wish of boundless creativity, Jirachi...XD

You know what else I wish for? Reviews. You would make my wish come true if you just click that little button there and tell me what you thought. :)

Thank you so much for reading and even bothering to click. It really means a lot to me. :)