Chapter 18
Dawn
The flicker of the blue flames fill the silence of the room. April is sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling in blissful rhythm. I wish I could sleep like that, but I can't. I can't fall asleep. My body is exhausted, but my mind refuses to give it a break. I'm too scared to fall asleep. I'll just be plunged into another nightmare. Another cold, dark cage to try to fight my way through. So, I just watch my delicate little friend sleep.
There is occasional flapping outside the hallways. My head doesn't turn to the door, but I pay close attention to the flapping of wings. I feel like I'm watching a tree grow. Long, boring, and empty. It's going to be a long night.
I hear two pairs of wings fly through the hallway. One has long and powerful strokes with little effort. The other pair seems to be struggling yet, strong. They get closer to our dorm. Pokemon in twos are a bit rare at this time of night. It's typically just one. I hear their talons hit the ground in front of our living quarters. I turn to the silk curtain to see a Fearow walk through. He gazes at me with kind eyes. The silk falls onto the other pokemon. I peer behind Fearow's large wing. Emerging from it is a Staravia. Not just any Staravia. OUR Staravia.
I turn back to my slumbering partner. "April! Wake up!" She moans. I bend down and push at her with my snout. She turns away. Irritated, I free my tail from below me. I've been working on this move for days. The orbs on my tail start glowing. I move them in elaborate patterns just like Lilia told me. April still sleeps when I flick my tail for a final move. A cloud forms above April's sleeping body. Just as I hoped for, the small gray cloud released little drops of water. They shower April, soaking every part of her body. She starts sitting up and moaning louder.
"Mffff. Stop the raaaaiiiiin!" She whines as the rain pours harder.
"You wouldn't get up! We've got guests, April!" I jerk my head to Fearow and Staravia. She glares at me and then sleepily turns to face our guests. Her eyes get wider at the sight of Staravia. With one more flick of my tail, I erase the rain cloud from the room. The Fearow explains their presence.
"Sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night. My name is Jiroh. I'm the leader of the first-evolution Raptor squadron." He gestures to the Staravia. "This is Blake. He is your roommate. He's been held in the infirmary for several days due to an injury. He needs to take it easy for a few more days, but he should be alright if he doesn't strain himself." Blake stares at us and recognizes us instantly. He grins a bit. Jiroh continues. "He will be living with you in your living quarters. Make sure that he's healing alright and tell me if there's a problem. Goodnight." With that, he leaves the room to go to bed himself, leaving the three of us to wonder how the heck we got paired up when we met on sheer coincidence a few days ago. Blake is the first to speak.
"Um, I want to thank you. Both of you for helping me out there a few days ago." He waddles on his talons closer to us. I guess he's not used to being grounded yet. He studies his claws sheepishly, avoiding our eyes. April is the first to break the silence.
"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all. But, geez, first I get paired with the Dratini that I met a while ago and now I get paired with the guy that I met falling out of the sky! What are the chances of that?" She starts giggling again and Blake chuckles along with her. "I'm April, by the way." Blake nods and turns to me expectantly. I take a deep breath.
"My name is Dawn." I gaze at him, reading his eyes. He seems to be thinking, searching his memory or something. Then, his eyes widen in surprise.
"Y-you're D-dawn?" He stutters, backing away from me. His eyes turn from surprised to fearful. I sigh heavily. I instantly know why. I should've expected this eventually. Just because I've evolved doesn't mean the "cursed pokemon" bit goes away.
"Yes." I study the floor before me while Blake studies his exit routes.
"Um, I'm s-sorry. Th-there must have been a mistake and-" Before Blake can finish and get through the curtain door, April drops right in his path, coming from seemingly nowhere.
"And just what is THAT supposed to mean, Blake?" April gets right up in his face and he's taken back by shock and surprise.
"W-well, she's cursed and-"
"SHE'S NOT CURSED! SHE WAS JUST A DRATINI THAT EVOLVED A BIT LATE!" April's on a roll. Blake frantically gazes from me to April, unsure who to be scared of the most. But, April doesn't stop there. "You gossip-spreading, big-mouthed, curse-believing, back-talking, bully! You and the rest of the lot! Assuming that innocent pokemon are inflicted with a stupid curse! How dare you!" It's official. Both me and Blake are terrified of her, now. The soft bubbly Togetic that I once knew has transformed into a blossoming inferno of rage. You can almost see the steam coming out of her ears and the fire that grows in her pupils. We're both speechless. April's breathing becomes a bit slower and she has calmed a bit. Still, as a last bit of anger, she grabs Blake by the feathers and lifts him up off the ground, her face inches away from his. In a calm-deadly voice, she leaves one last scar on Blake. "Dawn is not cursed and you will treat her as such. Understand?" Blake gulps in response. "Good." She drops him on the ground and flies back to her straw bed, still seething. Both of us stare at her and then stare at each other. I offer him a bit of relief
"She'll be her typical bubbly self by tomorrow." He grins a bit. April squints at him one last time before lying down. She's the kind of person that falls asleep instantly. I, on the other hand, stay up for hours. I stare from the slumbering April to Blake, still standing in the center of the room. He speaks up.
"Um, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I-I didn't know that you weren't cursed." He studies his talons again. I glare at him.
"Yeah, like I told you I was cursed. Don't rely on jerks for the truth next time." I send a cold stare into him. He sighs.
"I know. It was stupid to believe them." His shoulders hunch over. Part of me wants to yell at him like April just did. Another part of me can't blame him. He's not the one who started the rumors. He was taught that the rumors were fact. Kind of like being taught that the sky is pink for your entire life up until you go outside and find out that it's blue. I want to say something nicer than my last comment to him. But, I can't bring myself to do it.
"It's getting late. We should go to sleep." That's all I can get out. Blake looks up from the floor, nods, and takes the straw bed next to mine. He settles in and falls asleep quickly like April. So, it's just me. Staring into the dancing, blue flames of the torches that line the wall, counting the seconds until dawn arises.