When I finish telling Kasha my story, her face is a mask of calm, but her eyes tell a different story. Horror and another emotion that I can't quite pin down has turned her grey eyes into storm clouds. I look down at my feet to avoid her stormy gaze, not knowing how she'll react. I watch my feet as we continue walking south. The silence goes on for a few minutes before Kasha surprises me by hugging me.
"Oh, Rin! I don't know what to say other than I'm so sorry!" I'm stunned at her sudden affection, but I return the hug, tears slipping out of the corner of my eyes.
"Thank you Kasha, thank you for understanding," I say, glad my friend could accept my troubled beginning. Kasha releases me and she looks at me like she's seen me for the first time.
"So despite the people hunting you, you still want to go on the Gym circuit?" She asks and I nod.
"It's been a dream of mine ever since I was little," I say, "I don't want to give up because I'm being searched for by the authorities and some group of criminals. I want to be Champion and I want to be a Pokémon Master!" Kasha laughs at my mood swing, going from sad and quiet to determined and full of conviction.
"Come on, Master, let's get to Marn before the sun goes down. I don't want to sleep outside tonight, it smells like a storm and I don't want to get caught in it." Kasha says, confusing me. The sun's shining brightly and it's still warm out. I sniff the air and find the telltale smell of snow on the way. I laugh at my own ignorance.
"And I thought just northerners could smell snow on the wind!" Kasha laughs along with me.
"It's a trick my dad taught me. 'Cept down in the Islands we sniff for rain, not snow," She explains, "It's a nice skill to have. It's kept me out of a few nasty storms in the past." I laugh at the thought of Kasha being caught in a storm, she'd probably look like a drowned Glameow.
"What's so funny?!" she asks in a louder voice than necessary.
"I'm just picturing you tromping through the rain looking like a drowned Glameow," I giggle even more. Kasha shoots me a glare before dissolving into giggles herself. We continue on our way to Marn, enjoying one another's company for the trip. I'm glad that I finally told Kasha about my past since it feels as if a giant weight has been lifted off my chest. We don't see anyone on the road, especially no criminals or police officers. The sun starts to set as we come to the crossroads that will take us south to Marn or west to the Crystal Forest. The Crystal Forest is a large forest filled with trees that are always in a state of thaw. Their branches drip with multi-colored icicles and when the sun sets, it turns into a grand lightshow of different colors.
"So," Kasha says, studying the signs, "Crystal Forest or straight on to Marn? I'm kind of partial to the forest myself, considering the lightshow it becomes at sunset." She pointedly looks at the sun dipping close to the horizon. I think about my options. Go south and go up against my first Gym or head west and see the Crystal Forest?
"Let's go into the forest," I say, "Maybe we'll find you a Crysat!" I can see Kasha's eyes light up in possibility.
"Onward!" she yells before dashing off into the forest trail, leaving me behind.
"KASHA! Wait up!" I yell, running after her. I catch up to her quickly, but she's already in full search mode. I follow her as she weaves in an out of the trees, totally ignoring the rainbows of light, created by the myriad of dripping icicles. I wonder at their marvel, the rainbows crossing one another, overlapping and weaving into each other. There are colors here I can't even describe! Blues and Greens making shades only found in the Southern Seas, Reds and Indigos blending to make the most amazing Violets and vibrant Purples. Yellows and Oranges mix to create such warm tones, I feel like I'm sitting at the fireplace in my old home. The trees practically glow like Volbeat and Illumise, in fact, there are a few floating through the branches, doing their courtship dances. The trees hold all sorts of colorful pokémon. Snorunt gather in their nest, hugging one another in warmth. Misdreavus float along on the breeze, their pearl-like necklaces glittering with a ghostly light. The Furret playfully bound through the half melted snow, jumping on one another and running off. The Sableye fade in and out of the shadows, their diamond eyes glittering with the dying light of the sunset. I look around at the beautiful sights, taking in as much as I can. I turn to tell Kasha to look for a minute to see she's gone. I sigh.
"Great, now I'm lost and Kasha probably is as well," I grumble and look around once more to try and find the trail that we followed into the forest. I find no such thing and sigh once more. "Looks like I'll have to track down Kasha." I throw my three pokéballs into the air. Tikeri, Eve and Winter pop out, distracted by the rainbows and the atmosphere.
"Hey guys!" I yell to grab their attention, "I need your help. Kasha and I have gotten separated and she's probably just as lost as I am. Can you help me out and pick up her scent?"
"Ubetcha Rin!" Tikeri says putting his nose to the ground. Eve and Winter follow suit, sniffing around the area to find a whiff of Kasha. Tikeri picks up her scent first and barks at me to get me to follow him through the trees. Winter hops on my shoulders, her tail making a nice scarf, and Eve and I follow Tikeri on foot, going around trees and through a lot of bushes. The sun is almost gone when we reach a treeless grove in the forest. Tikeri sits down quickly, panting from the trek through the thick forest.
"We'll stay here for now. Maybe Kasha's already turned back on her trail and is looking for us right now," I tell my companions, sitting next to Tikeri.
"That's okay with me," Tikeri says as he pants, "I'll be right here in the meantime." I laugh at my tired Growlithe.
"Don't get too worried Tikeri," I say in response to his laziness. I dig around in my bag for the berries I found yesterday and give some to everyone, not wanting them to collapse out of hunger. After that I dig out my scraps of metal and other bits from the pocket I keep separate just for that. I toy around with them for a little while, to keep my hands busy. I fold the malleable metal into the curves I need and I hook the two metal rods together, making a joint.
"Hey Tikeri, you think you can heat this up a little for me?" I ask and he nods producing a small flame. I hold the end of the joint over the flame until it turns a bright orange, then stick the glowing end on the bottom of the curved piece of metal, using my screwdriver to smooth over the connection, making a bond. I smother it with snow, making it hiss and sputter. I look over the seams with a practiced eye and judge them to be sturdy. I do the same to another joint and curved piece of metal, using Tikeri's flame to bond them together. I test the curved pieces by beding them and am glad to see that they've hardened. The heating and cooling have cemented their shapes and now they won't bendor deform when it takes a beating. I grab the main body of my trinket and hook the free end of the jointed pieces on the inside to the mechanism, or I try to. It's gotten dark and I can't see what I'm doing anymore since the trees above me have blocked out the moon. I see a warm glow to my right.
"Thanks Eve!" I say as I turn to see her and her rings all lit up.
"Anytime Rin," she says contentedly.
"So what are you doing?" Winter asks as she sniffs my gadget.
"That's for me to know and you to find out later," I say light-heartedly. Winter lays next to Tikeri and watches as I put together my trinket in the light of Eve's rings. I attach the small spring to the gears in the round main body and then attach the other end of the spring to a key-shaped bit of metal. I grab my thick leather gloves out of my bag and put them on. I put two metal pieces over the spring contraption, closing it into the main body. I have Tikeri heat these up as well, bonding them together and to the body. I dip the whole thing in the snow, melting the snow and making the metal contraption hiss violently. I pick it up out of the snow once it's done hissing and grab a rag out of my bag to wipe off all the soot from heating it up. Once polished, it shines brightly and its true form is revealed to my companions. It's got a round body with a pointed head at the end of a long neck with a long tail trailing behind it. On its back are small pieces of metal sticking up like spines in two rows down the length of its back. It also has four of these spines on the end of its tail, sticking up. Its back legs are bulky and short but its front legs are wide and elegant wings with five, wide, finger-like appendages that are closed for better flight. On its head are two long, triangular pieces of metal around the eyes, sticking up a small bit past its head. It's not very whole yet, considering I haven't sanded down the seams, but anyone would know the shape. It's Lugia, Guardian of the Sea.
"Wow Rin! It's so elegant!" Winter says in a small bit of awe. Tikeri tips his head to the side.
"What is it?" I laugh at his ignorance. It's too funny to see him lying there with his head sideways and the confused look on his face.
"This is Lugia. He's the Guardian of the Sea and of the Three Legendary Birds," I explain.
"Okay," Tikeri says, finally seeing the shape.
"Now let's see if it works!" I say excitedly, turning the wind-up key in the gadget's back. The key turns with a clicking noise and I let it go once it's all wound up. It flies from my hands, its wings flapping gracefully. It turns in a couple circles, mesmerizing me and my pokémon then it flies off into the bushes. I jump and start to run after it.
"Ow!" I hear from the other side of the bushes. I peek through to see a pale, lean boy, older than me by maybe a couple of years and definitely taller by a good eight inches. He's rubbing his head of shaggy, dirty blonde hair, messing it up further and displacing a small pair of circular glasses. His green eyes are crunched in confusion as he reaches down to pick up my mechanical Lugia. Oddly enough, only his right hand has a red and black fingerless glove on it, the other one is bare. His light hoodie is half black and half white and unzipped over a red shirt with an hourglass on it with the sand falling down. His blue jeans look like they've been through a paper shredder with an especially large hole on his left knee though his black and white, zigzag sneakers look pretty new. He studies my little gadget before looking around and spotting me staring at him from behind a rather large bush. He smiles warmly despite being attacked by my contraption.
"I'm not going to bite," he says with a chuckle, "You can come out from behind the bush." Despite giving off the vibe of a total computer geek, he looks like he's really nice. I exit the bush with my pokémon following behind me. He holds out his hand for a handshake and I shake it.
"I'm Guy, Guy Campbell," he introduces himself.
"I'm Reena Frost, but call me Rin" I say, despite feeling a little scared at meeting this boy late at night… in the middle of the Crystal Forest.
"Really, I won't bite," he says, noticing my shaking hand. I swallow to clear my throat and just nod.
"I don't know, you might," I say, trying to tease. He smiles wider.
"There ya go! Is this little thing yours?" he says, holding up my Lugia that fits his hand perfectly. The tail reaches his wrist and the head rests on the last digit of his middle finger.
"Yes it is, thank you for not crushing it," I say as I take it back, checking for dents and other bumps.
"Now why would I do that? It may have hit me in the head, but I'm not going to crush a perfectly good whatever-it-is," He laughs. I smile as well, finding there's nothing wrong with my trinket.
"Next time, though, you might want to watch where you throw that thing," I laugh as he rubs his head again.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just so excited to give it a test run," I explain, "I wanted to see how it flies, whether I needed to fix the wings or use a different gear."
"Wait, you made that?!" he asks in surprise.
"Yeah, I did. Got a problem with that?" I ask, teasingly angry.
"No! Just curious," he says with a smile. Winter jumps up onto my shoulders and sniffs at Guy.
"He smells funny, Rin," she says, being awfully rude.
"He does not Winter! Now be nice!" I scold.
"What?" he asks in confusion.
"She said you smelled funny, and I think she's wrong," I say, looking at her on my shoulder with a pointed look. Guy laughs.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I smelled funny!" he says while laughing, "I haven't been to a town in, like, four days! I'm looking for a Snorunt and I've had no luck in catching one at all! Speaking of capturing, how'd you get a Crysat? I've been in the north for almost a week and I haven't seen one," I laugh at his question.
"Winter you sure do attract a lot of attention," I say to her and she looks like she's going to burst form all her pride, "I met her in the woods outside of Kentil. She challenged me to a battle and I caught her right after Eve evolved into an Umbreon." I point out Eve standing at our feet. She purrs up at the tall boy.
"I like him," Eve says, "He seems to have been raised right, Rin."
"Yeah! I like his hoodie! It's almost as unique as your hat!" Tikeri says, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in true Growlithe fashion. I laugh at Tikeri's silliness.
"What'd they say know, Ms. Speaks-with-Pokémon?" Guy asks after my giggles subside.
"Both Eve and Tikeri like you. Tikeri especially likes your hoodie," I explain, "Though I'd watch out for your danglers if I were you. He has a tendency of breathing fire when excited and he started my hair on fire once!" Guy gives a surprised look to Tikeri, but otherwise doesn't say anything.
"Hey, Guy," I say, grabbing his attention, "Have you seen a girl with white hair around anywhere? Taller than me, but shorter than you and wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue pants?" Guy thinks for a minute, then nods slowly.
"Yeah, I think I have. She was looking for something and she was headed that way," he points to the right, off into the thicker art of the forest.
"Great, now I've gotta go weave through the thickest part of the forest to find her," I say with a grumble, "Thanks for your help!" I start to walk off in the direction he pointed but he stops me.
"Why don't we look for her together?" he asks, "Two heads are better than one." I smile, not wanting to go alone in the first place.
"I think I will take you up on your offer!" I say with a wide grin, "Let's go find Kasha, she's probably even more lost than when we started." Guy nods and follows me in the direction he pointed, Tikeri in front of me, sniffing for Kasha's scent. It starts to snow as we walk, proving Kasha's and my own theories from earlier today. Guy and I walk for another half an hour before we find Kasha, who's wandering around just as lost as we were. I scold her for running off without me and then introduce her and Guy. We walk back to the clearing I made my Lugia in and we set up a campfire. I show Kasha my invention and she studies it like an Aipom with a coconut, it's really amusing to watch. Guy takes an egg out of his bag and checks to see if it's okay, then takes care of his other pokémon. He has two, Woody the Treeko and Buddy the Bidoof. Both are kind and very well taken care of. I drift off to sleep when Kasha and Guy start to talk about what Legendary is the best, or something like that.
Hey all! hope you like the sudden change in scenery! Guy is brought to you in part by the wonderful mind of gregginator54! Hope ou enjoy him as he hangs out with our heroine and our friend Kasha! See ya next time!