Torq knocked a bough aside moodily as she made her way through the outskirts of the village
Welcome back folks!
Hm, I'm not a huge fan of inserting tons of flashbacks about a character's past, but in this case, I just didn't know how else to do it XD See, I'm a Pokemon fic writer, but I read Beyblade fics, and its always Kai (this loner character) waking up from a horrible nightmare about how he was abused or whatever (some are written well, but it's very much overused XD)
SO, this whole chapter is basically a HUGE flashback, and it explains a lot. (And there will be one or two more short Torq – Kito flashbacks later on). Consider it a story within a story, perhaps ; )
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Torq knocked a bough aside moodily as she made her way through the outskirts of the village. "Nothing's changed," she thought. And Kito…
At last, the Vaporeon made it to a clearing. It was a secret spot of sorts. Before her towered a large waterfall, spilling its contents into a basin like pond. Everlasting spring flowers bloomed here, never wilting nor withering away. The grass was lush and vibrant. The water maid sighed reflectively and laid back on a patch of green, listening to the soothing rush of the water and letting nostalgic memories flow into her head.
They weren't always like this. In fact, back when they were younger, Torq and her brother were like best friends. Bell would always be her lovable sister, of course, but Kito was the one she confided in. The two were inseparable, embarking on wild adventures all over the island, much like Flint and Skip in their childhood. But there was one difference between Torq and the rest of her family that drove them apart: she loved the sea.
"Come on, Kito! Hurry up or we'll miss it!"
"Alright, I'm coming! Where are we going anyways?"
"You'll see!"
The young Vaporeon ran ahead of her brother, who did not have trouble keeping up. The pair ran until they were panting, jumping over logs and dodging branches, until finally, they made it.
Kito paused. "Hey, we're not supposed to be here," he warned.
Torq ignored his comment and savored the feeling of warm sand between her toes and the ebbing tide lapping at her footpaws. "This is where I found my water stone, remember?"
The thunder dog remembered. It was not so long ago. Torq had found the stone washed up on the shore and picked it up, allowing the ancient essence of water flow through her veins and transform her into the mer-creature that she was today. Their parents weren't very happy about it. Not her transformation- they were allowed to pick their own stones- but the fact that she found it on the beach. They weren't allowed on the beach.
The Vaporeon plopped down onto the sand and sighed, "Isn't it beautiful?"
Kito didn't say anything.
Before them was a truly magnificent scene. The two had caught the sun just before it was about to set. The semi-circle wedge was a soft red, the last of its rays stretching under the clouds and across the ocean's surface.
"We can see this from the village," the Jolteon stated.
"No," Torq retorted, "we can see the glow off the top of the trees from the village. But we can't see the way the light glitters off the water like that, or hear the waves, or smell the sea!" She inhaled deeply, "Don't you just love that smell?"
The thunder dog sat next to his sister and gazed at the horizon. "It is kind of nice. I don't love it like you do though."
The water maid stuck her out at him playfully. "I don't see how you and Mom and Dad and the rest can be happy in that little village. Sometimes…" she had a faraway look in her eyes, "Sometimes I wish I could just sail away."
Kito turned to her, startled she would say such a thing, but she was too entranced in her fantasies to notice. What would their parents say if they heard her talking like that? They waited in silence until the last glimmer of light faded on the horizon.
That night…
"Torq! You know you're not allowed to go there! What if you were seen? What if some pirates came and took you away?" The angry Flareon turned on his son, "And you! How could you let her go like that? You're her older brother, Kito! You're supposed to protect her!"
The Jolteon stared down in shame, but the Vaporeon fought back defiantly, "So what if I was to be seen? Why are you so afraid of the outside world? Look, nothing happened to us!"
"Daddy, stop yelling," Bell mumbled.
Sera held the Eevee close and scolded the two older ones, "You're setting a bad example for you little sister! Torqoise, I forbid you to go back there."
"Make me!"
"Don't you dare talk to your mother like that!" Slap!
The Vaporeon sat on the floor, paw placed against her stinging cheek. Her father had never backhanded her like that before. Tears welled up in her eyes. Without a word, she got up and ran out of the room.
Sera shook her head and hugged Bell while Ignaceous sighed and rubbed his temple in frustration. "I went too far."
Kito gave his father a cold look, "That was uncalled for, Dad." Then he, too, sped out of the room, to seek out and console his sister.
He found her at their secret place, the waterfall. There she sat, dry eyed, on the water's edge, hugging her knees and staring out at nothing.
"You alright?" the thunder dog asked, putting an arm around the water maid.
Torq leaned against his shoulder. "I don't get them sometimes. What's wrong with seeing what's out there?"
The Jolteon tensed, "Nothing's wrong with that. Just, Mom and Dad are always worried for us, you know? It was wrong for Dad to hit you like that though."
The Vaporeon's paw instinctively went up to her face, which still burned from before.
Kito hesitated before continuing, "But maybe… they have a point. Maybe we shouldn't go back there anymore…"
She sprang up. "Kito! You don't mean that!"
The thunder dog got up as well, "I don't mind breaking the rules and running off into the woods to play, but all your talk about sailing away and all…"
"Not you too… I guess there's nothing left for me here then!" Torq snapped.
The Jolteon looked hurt, "That's not true, Torq… you know you'll always have me."
The water maid shook her head, "Kito, I can't stay here… I can't stay trapped on this island forever. With that, she turned and left.
Kito looked up at the stars and sighed. She was like water, impossible to hold on to.
The days following that incident passed by without any trouble. Their father apologized and Torq shrugged it off as if it were nothing. In fact, she seemed so indifferent that the thunder dog grew worried. She would disappear for hours at a time, alone, and when questioned she would reply, "I was just taking a walk." She hardly ever played with him anymore. They were drifting.
Then, one night, he heard her get out of bed and sneak out.
He followed.
The Vaporeon moved swiftly in the dark, as if she'd traveled this path many times before. There was a sinking feeling in Kito's stomach; he knew where she was headed.
It was a gorgeous full moon night. The bright orb glowed majestically in the sky, painting the sands pale blue and twinkling off the ocean's ripples. He saw the silhouette of Torq near the water's edge. She was standing next to something bobbing up and down in the water. Could it be…?
"Torq, no!" Kito yelled, dashing towards her.
The water maid turned around in surprise, "Kito! What are you doing here?!"
He didn't answer her. Instead, he focused on the craft floating peacefully on the tide. "So that's what you've been doing! You made that?"
Torq nodded proudly, "All by myself!"
It was a roughly built raft, but it functioned.
The Jolteon was concerned, "You aren't going to…"
The Vaporeon answered confidently, "I am." Then, her eyes lit up, "Hey! You should come too! It'll be our biggest adventure yet! Just like the old days…" she reached for his paw, but he drew back.
"Torq, you can't." The thunder dog shook his head, frustrated.
Torq looked down, "I see."
Silence.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye then…" she turned to untie the rope that anchored the raft to a rock.
Kito seemed to be fighting an inner battle. "Wait."
The water maid turned around, and he pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
The Vaporeon looked up, puzzled. But before she could question him, she felt pulses of electricity rush though her body. She gasped in pain and fell to the ground as her brother released her. He backed away, shocked by what he had done. She tried to get up, but Kito's plan had worked; she was temporarily paralyzed. Torq had never felt so much hatred for him.
The thunder dog turned to the raft. His sister put weeks' worth of labor into it, how proud she was. He cursed himself for what he was about to do. Squeezing both eyes shut, Kito placed his paws on the wooden craft and concentrated his electric energy. He felt the logs char and crumble under his touch. His eyes flickered in Torq's direction, but he could not bear to look. He could not forgive himself… "Somehow, someway, I'll make it up to you…" he reassured.
Torq wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. For the first time in her life she wanted to hurt her brother. It was torture, seeing her hard work, her boat to freedom, go to waste. "Kito, how could you?"
The water maid lied there, immobile, the cold waves brushing gently against her arms. Wait…cold? The tide came again. She felt it, soft and wet; the water rejuvenated her. Slowly, she flexed her fingers. Her tail twitched. Suddenly, a large crest washed over her and she was alive. She rose, still shaking slightly. The Jolteon was too busy with his task to notice. But what now? Her raft was destroyed, but Torq could not turn back, not when she was so close. A sudden wind blew from the land out to the ocean, and she knew what she must do.
The Vaporeon ran, all her senses made keen by the water slapping against her. A voice called out to her, but it seemed so far away… she was waist deep now… there was splashing behind her… taking a deep breath, Torq plunged into the sea and was gone. Anybeast looking from the shore could not have known that she was ever there.
The water maid twisted about in the depths. Never before had she felt this way; it was as if she were flying. The Vaporeon relished her speed and her power, dolphin tail propelling her forward effortlessly. Torq grinned to herself. Mustering all her strength, she beat her fins hard against the water and shot up. The shimmering surface grew closer and the next moment, she broke though, out and up, into the sky. She went higher than she could ever jump on land. She could almost touch the moon…
Splash! Torq hit the water again, and traveled onward. She remembered that she didn't even leave a letter for her parents, or say goodbye to Bell. But most importantly, she did not look back.
Torq was deep in thought. Perhaps she was too headstrong back then. Had she any regrets? Thinking back to all the adventure's she's been through, all the different creatures she's met, the Vaporeon decided it was worth it. And now, she was back home again. She frowned, "They must let me make my own decisions by now…"
Suddenly, a rustling noise came from the forest. The water maid slid soundlessly into the pool and focused. In an instant, she faded into the water, invisible to anybeast looking down from above. It was a trick she learned somewhere on her journeys, and it required immense concentration. She waited.
It wasn't long before Kito arrived. He stood at the edge of the spring, sharp ears swiveling this way and that. He detected nothing. Yet, a sixth sense told him that his sister was here.
"Torq, I know you're out there." He paused, trying to find the right words in his head, "That day a few years back… I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just… I promised Dad that I would protect you. And I promised that I'd always be there for you…" A wistful smile appeared on his lips, "I guess I was acting like our parents. I just didn't want you to go, sis… we were best friends once."
Torq heard him, but she remained hidden. In her heart she knew that she had forgiven him, but she just wasn't ready to face him yet. "Besides," the Vaporeon thought to herself sullenly, "things will never be like before."
The thunder dog sighed and turned away, heading back to the village, "I'll leave you alone then."
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Well, hope you liked it! Reviews are appreciated, as always.
Cheers!
Canyx