We buried Cobalt on a grassy slope on Route 118.
"No," I said when Torrent had offered to get a shovel, "Dust to dust."
What I had said didn't even make sense to me, but Torrent nodded knowingly and started to scrape away at the damp surface. Even with all of us digging, it took us several hours.
I preferred it this way. It gave me a chance to say goodbye, to put my love into the soil Cobalt would sleep in forever. Earthworms wriggled under my knees.
The dirt crumbled between my fingers when I planted a Sitrus Berry over her grave and watered it with the tears steadily dripping down my face. Briar bent down and planted another one.
"For Lana," he said.
I broke down again.
"I'm sorry, Briar. I promised I wouldn't lose anyone. But-"
"Don't," he warned, "Don't you dare leave us and wallow in your pool of self-pity. Be strong," his voice cracked, "For us, be strong."
Couldn't he see I was trying?
"My, my, girl, you look dirty."
I looked up and saw a man mildly staring at me, his fluffy white hair blowing in the wind. In his hands was a bicycle, which he immediately propped up. He pulled out a handkerchief, wet it with some water from his bottle, and gave it to me.
"Wipe your face, girl."
I swiped at my cheeks with the handkerchief, trying not to get it too muddy, but before I could hand it back, Torrent took it and firmly wiped my face with it. I started to complain.
"Your Piece knows what he's doing," the man interrupted. "Clean outside means clean inside."
I eyed his coffee-colored loafers and neat polo tucked into slacks. In my head, I imagined what I looked like to him: overgrown hair, dirty dress, tear-streaked face, blackened knees and hands.
"Have you lost one then?" he asked, gesturing at the grave.
"Two."
"It's never too late to quit."
"I can't quit."
"Why not?"
"I have to do this."
"It's never too late to quit. And it's never wrong to quit, girl. Hear me?" He closed his eyes to the sun, remembering a different day, a different scene. "I quit two years ago. This town was being filled with PALs. It was just a matter of time before one of mine died, girl. Then, a trainer came by. Strong Pieces in PALs. I was crying in the dirt like you were. He gave me a water bottle and told me that it was better to quit than have no reason to continue." The man opened his eyes again. "Heard he went crazy, though. Anyway, girl, better not to do this unless you have conviction." He started to stroll down the road.
"Sir, your bike!"
"Better for you to have it. Good advertising for me, too."
He waved goodbye.
After he had left, I sat in the dirt, wondering if quitting was the same as giving up, if what he had said was correct. I had forgotten to give back his handkerchief.
I did not even touch the tall grass, unwilling to find a new team member. Slowly, the sun slipped below the horizon, staining the sky with shades of rose and apricot. Our shadows grew longer.
"What are you thinking?" Torrent asked while briskly striking the fire starter. With Lana and Cobalt gone, he was having some difficulty.
"Here, let me try that."
He willingly handed the flint and steel to me. I chewed at my tongue, thinking. Friction was the point here. Torrent had been simply hitting the flint with the steel as hard as he could. I changed the angle of my hand and hit a long, sliding stroke that sent sparks skittering on the tinder. After gently blowing at some glowing spots, the dried grass caught on fire and soon, we had a campfire. I sat back on my heels, pleased.
"I'm thinking of what the man said. I'm thinking of Wally and Winnie. I'm thinking of Cobalt and Lana. I'm thinking-"
"-we're thinking of quitting," Foxglove said quietly, approaching us, his hand in Avira's.
Silence.
Four pairs of eyes stared at them.
"You're joking," Briar said.
"YOU-!" There was a flurry of feathers as Skyra dived Foxglove.
"COWARD!" she snarled, her dagger inches from his eye. He did not fight back, but lay prone, unmoving. "COWARD! HOW DARE YOU, SO SOON AFTER WE LOST-"
"I don't want to lose Avira," Foxglove said, calmly lowering Skyra's dagger. I dragged her back by her shirt, restraining her.
"And I don't want to lose Foxglove." Avira took Foxglove's hand again. "We are more than siblings. We are half of a whole. If one of us die, we'll walk around soulless. We don't want that. The man said it was okay to quit. And it is."
Skyra made a strangled noise, and then rocketed into the rapidly darkening sky. Even from that dizzying height, we heard her scream.
I motioned for Foxglove to come closer. He did and gazed steadily at me, our heights level.
It was okay, I think. It would be okay to let them go.
Red eyes steadily looked back at me.
"How old are you, Foxglove?"
"Seventeen in human years, nineteen in Piece years."
"You never take off your mask."
He smiled and slid off his face coverings. His hair was a warm sandy color. Again, I could feel the sting of tears.
If it was okay, then why did I feel so sad?
His cool hands took my cheeks and kissed my forehead.
"This is my blessing, for whatever it's worth," he said. "I do not fear you any longer, Master, but who knew I would come to enjoy your presence."
Avira gave me the same blessing.
"And this is mine."
I took a good look at her, trying to memorize her face.
"Master, a word of warning. Avoid the dark spirits that swirl the air and the hushed whispers."
Foxglove shook Torrent's hand and ruffled Briar's hair. Avira hugged both of them.
Then, they melted into the woods, as only shadows do, out of our vision. Out of our lives.
We were left alone, with the fire crackling merrily.
"Now it's just us four." Skyra's voice was hoarse when she landed. "I can't believe they... It's just us four."
"They had every right to leave," I said. "And it wasn't wrong of them to. It's okay if it's just us four."
Briar took my hand.
"She's right," he said calmly. "Just as our loyalty to each other keeps us here, their loyalty to each other made them leave. And us four is more than enough."
People are leaving you again, Alex.
I shook my head to the voice.
Are you really that complacent? You just let them-
"Someone tell me a story," I said abruptly, interrupting the voice.
"...What?"
"A story. Someone tell me a story. Your favorite memory."
Skyra's eyes lit up.
"At Slateport. Remember where we battled the soda pop people? That was the funniest battle of my life. It was so easy!"
I laughed, grateful that Skyra was distracted.
"I never actually saw that battle," I reminded her, sitting down, "Were all of you awesome?"
"Nah, just me," Torrent boasted, only to be punched by Briar. "Although, it was the funniest thing. Skyra got Tackled on wing so she went spiraling into Bri-" He laughed hysterically when Skyra turned red.
"I thought you said we were never going to mention that!" she hissed, leaping on Torrent. The Marshtomp was up on his feet in a second.
"Wanna go, Taillow?" he chuckled.
"You're on, sucker!"
They both jumped at each other, thrashing and laughing.
"You know," Briar said to me, "You should probably join in. It would be good exercise."
"What, no. They'd kill me. They're both ridiculously stronger than me. Why don't you join them?"
"Because I would kill Torrent. By accident." He placed sarcastic quotes around his words. "And they're not going to go all out on you. Trust me. It'll be fun." He gave me a little push.
So, hesitantly, I vaulted over Skyra and crashed into Torrent. We both fell down, but his arms formed a protective cage around me so that I was rattled, but not bruised.
Here, I learned something.
When I threw kicks and punches at Torrent, he would block them so that I only hit the back of his arms. Through sheer force, he grinned, deflected, and lightly jabbed at my stomach and back. But when I tried to hit Skyra, she would redirect my fists and legs with taps so that I was missing by millimeters. Her fists hurt more, but not enough to bruise.
Interesting.
I dropped out of the match, panting and giggling, while Torrent and Skyra still sparred.
My phone pinged.
Scott: Congratulations on the Gym! I'll be cheering for you!
"Two punches."
"No way!"
"Three punches."
Torrent laughed, slugging Briar on the shoulder.
"There is no way you're going to be hotter than me when you evolve!"
"I'm betting you four punches that I will be."
"Lexa, what do you think?"
They were happy today. The entire week, the weather had been gorgeous. We had helped clear a tunnel with Rock Smash and had gotten the HM Strength for our troubles, not to mention a delicious dinner from the couple we had reunited. Training had been going smoothly, as well.
"Hm," I responded, bending a sheaf of grass away from my head, "are we talking about cute or hot?"
"Hot. Like, smoking hot. Skyra won't answer because she's biased."
"Che!" Skyra said, "More like I don't care."
"Buzzkill," Torrent sang. I couldn't help but giggle. "So who, Lexa? You're gonna have to choose. Briar and Skyra are evolving in like, two battles."
"Both of you are always going to be my cuties."
They continued to argue. Honestly, I couldn't quite imagine what they would be like older than me. Right now, it all felt like we were the same age.
Skyra grabbed my sleeve.
"Do you think Lana and Cobalt would be okay with us being this happy?" she asked quietly, looking up at me, unsure of herself.
How rare, this doubt reflected in her eyes.
"Do you remember how cheerful Cobalt used to be before Lana died? And how nice Lana was? I'm sure they would want us to be happy, okay Skyra?"
She was about to respond when Briar tackled a Poochyena. Skyra immediately swooped in with a Quick Attack, landing neatly on her feet. The golden sparks whirled around her daggers and around Briar's slingshot.
"Briar leveled up. Evolution is imminent. Skyra leveled up. Evolution is imminent."
Briar whimpered once, but didn't scream.
"Don't touch me," he managed to say before convulsing on the ground while the white light wrapped around him. Meanwhile, Skyra had already taken to the sky, flying higher and higher until I could barely see her.
"Man, now they're both gonna be older than me," Torrent grumbled, "But definitely not hotter."
"Do you think they'll have a personality change like you did?"
"Why?" Torrent asked, catching my hand in his, "Are you scared?"
I looked up again at the sky and saw Skyra again, rapidly descending. But my attention was drawn to the ground when the light subsided and Briar picked himself off the floor.
"Daaaaaaaamn," Torrent drew out the word, giving Briar a once over. "Boy, you are fiiiiine."
Suddenly, Torrent shot backwards, landing heavily in the bushes. My heart jumped in fear, and I was ready to recall Briar into his PEN. However, Torrent rose from the bushes, shaking leaves out of his hair.
"Dick Mach Punch, mushroom."
"Sorry, baby. It was a love tap." Briar's voice had gotten deeper, less grumpy, more confident. He was taller than Torrent now, with dark green jeans, light olive cardigan and cream-colored skinny tie. His button up was a fresh lime. Bending over, he picked up a sage-green fedora with a maroon band, dusted it off, and put it on his head.
"Breloom, the Mushroom Piece. It scatters spores and loves warm and humid climates. It feeds on trees and plants in fields and forests."
I remembered Skyra and looked up again. So did Briar.
"She's... not slowing down," I said nervously, as the figure came plummeting towards us. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Briar responded.
"Are you su-"
I was interrupted by a blood-curling yell as Skyra hurtled into the sky again, grazing the top of the tall grass. Her wingspan had almost doubled in size. She made a sharp turn and dove towards Briar, colliding with him and sending both of them skidding across the floor.
"Did you see me fly?!" she demanded, vehemently, banging both fists on his chest when they had stopped rolling. She still had on the same red bandana and white tank top, but her shorts had been swapped for red jeans. A sleeveless navy coat billowed from under her legs and her long ponytail had an electrifying streak of maroon.
Briar propped himself up on his elbows.
"I did."
"I'm so fast now!"
"You are," Briar murmured, reaching forward and unknotting her bandana. Once he did, he tied it around his wrist, like a cuff, and settled his hat on her head.
"You're a lot taller, too."
"I am," he said, bringing her fingers, the back of her hands to his lips. Skyra turned red all the way down to her neck, her wings twitching.
"Arceus, you're embarrassing," she muttered, looking away.
"Hm? Yeah. I am."
Then, he cupped her face, leaned in, and kissed her.
Suddenly, Torrent took my hand, running and tripping towards the start of Route 112. But even though Torrent was smiling, something felt off.
"Torrent, what's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing."
"Torrent?"
He slowed to a walk and turned to me.
"Torrent, something's wrong."
His only answer was to nuzzle into my shoulder, holding me tightly.
"Nothing's wrong, Lexa," he crooned, hugging me tighter. "Nothing's wrong."
"Torrent..." I felt a shuddering sob escape his lungs. "Torrent, after my brother died, all I said was 'I'm fine', hoping that whoever listened to me believed it, hoping that I would believe it. But I wasn't. And it's fine if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, but don't pretend for one second that you are okay right now."
He did not say a word, but continued to cry like his heart was broken.