Chapter 16
April
"So, Bagon and the others ran for cover and I just floated there. Grayos didn't say much. He said he was sorry for something that no one told me and he just left." Dawn and I glide through the passages on the way to our living quarters after training. After sharing how I evolved, I begged Dawn to tell me how she turned into a Dragonair. After constant pursuit, she spilled.
"Seriously? What was Grayos doing there?" I stare at her in wonder. The leaders are like celebrities to Skyborn. The only time I see them is when we're called to an assembly. A leader talking to me up close and personal seems like a dream.
"I don't know. Maybe he was flying through or something and noticed us outside. It's forbidden, you know." Dawn speaks in a casual tone.
"Yeah, I guess." We fly in silence. Some pokemon pass us, minding their own business. I break the quiet scene. "But, there's one thing that I don't get." Dawn turns to me expectantly. "You told me that you were outside on the cliff with a Bagon and his posse, you fell off, evolved, then Grayos magically appeared." I give her a "really?" expression. "Dawn, can you be any more vague? Tell me the details! What was Bagon, Swablu, and Trapinch doing there? Why were you outside? How did you fall off?" I swap my expression with a "pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top" face. Dawn sighs. Another pokemon passes by and she follows him with her eyes. Dawn bends down to whisper to me.
"Wait until we're back at the room." She straightens up and I understand. She trusts me, but no one else.
We duck underneath the curtain without difficulty. The large room engulfs us in it's rock walls. Dawn settles on her bed, the lower half of her body coiling around to keep balance. I sit down on my own straw bed across from hers. I wait. Dawn takes a deep breath.
"As long as I can remember, I've been in training. I've trained harder than everyone else, day in and day out. I worked hard towards my goal. To evolve. Yet, once I was of level to evolve, nothing happened. I was crushed. I continued to train my hardest. I learned new moves, but I still looked the same. Eventually, I gave up. I still trained like everyone else, but while they evolved, I remained in the primary pokemon state. Everyone I grew up with became Vibravia, Shelgons, even Altaria. I would just stay in the same rank and wait for another round of newbies to watch go by." She pauses then continues.
"It eventually got around that I stayed a Dratini for longer than normal. They believed that I was cursed. No one would talk to me, afraid of catching it. I was the bottom of the cliques and a disgrace to my superiors. I no longer felt anything but pain." Another pause. Tears began to stream down her delicate cheeks in miniature waterfalls. That's when I notice the marks beneath the tears and on her cheeks. It's not too noticeable, but I identify them immediately.
"Dawn. Why do you have scars on your face?" She sighs and more tears come to join the growing stream. Dawn explains further, getting a bit choked up.
"Our squadron was training in our grounds. I got there a bit late, but I got right to work. I let loose an Aqua tail on a dummy. It fell apart and I was proud of my power. But I got everyone else wet in the process. They hated me. Every last one of them wanted me dead. So, apparently, that's just what Bagon, Swablu, and Trapinch intended to do. They secured me and gagged me while I was half-asleep in my living quarters. They brought me to a cliff and claimed that I was a demon sent by the Wings of Legend to bring bad luck and to find out all their secrets. I told them that it wasn't true. But, as a torture device, Bagon kept slashing at me, demanding answers I didn't have. Eventually, they gave up and threw me off the cliff. Before I hit the ground, I evolved. You already know the rest..." Dawns voice fades off. Her neck cranes forward to hang her head low. Sobs echo in the cavern, each one bouncing back and forth in the large room. I fly over to comfort her. She notices me and bends her neck down lower to cry on my shoulder. I just wrap my little arms around her neck and give her a reassuring hug. I don't know what to say. I've had a much easier life than hers. Pity-comfort seems false. So, I just stand there, holding Dawn in my arms.
"Dawn?" She removes herself and looks at me. I grab hold of her head, one hand on each side and stare her straight in the eye. "It's in the past. You can't change it. You can either cry about it or grow from it. Which will it be?" Dawn is taken back in surprise. I'm surprised at myself. It's the first really smart thing that I've ever really said. I stare at her. She stares at me. Dawn nods.
"Thanks, April."