Mark.

Several Mornings Later.

As time went by, we travelled smoothly along the route. The kids joked with Lee and I, and in turn, I tried to keep Lee from making sexually explicit cracks at awkward Romeo and ginger Juliet.

Then, one morning several days later, as we were packing up camp, the air felt more humid. And the clouds were looking differently shaped than the days before.

I grunted, securing my sleeping bag to my backpack and standing up. "We oughta hurry. It's gonna rain today."

"It is?" Riley asked, a smartass tone to his voice.

Dee put on her backpack, resting her fist on her hip. "What makes you say that?" She demanded of me. Her arrogance was really taxing on my patience.

"Because I know how to read the weather signs, kid," I snapped back at her. "Look at those clouds. Feel the humidity. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid, I'm twice your size and can beat you up."

There was a tense silence between the five of us as everybody prepared to start traveling again. You could have cut the tension with a pair of those shitty round-tipped school scissors.

After the moment passed, Lee mused, "I guess we oughta trust Mark on this, you guys. Hopefully, we can make it to that Moomoo Milk café before it pours."

"What do we do if it does start raining?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, we can't travel in rain," Riley chimed in with his half-girlfriend. "The five of us'll catch pnuemonia or something."

I heaved a heavy sigh at their concerns. "I planned ahead for bad weather," I assured them. "I've got some tents in my backpack. You three will-"

"Four," Astro corrected me. "I don't sleep in no pokeball."

It took all my willpower not to curse at him. "Okay, then. You four will have to share one, but they're designed for trainers traveling in groups, so it's not all that bad of a setup. And, I assume Riley is literate enough to read the directions to set it up, because I sure as hell won't."

When I glanced at him, Riley looked away, blushing. "I, uhh...y-yeah, I can do it."

The timid response put a smirk on Lee's face. He patted my shoulder.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" He loudly asked. "If it's gonna rain, let's get our sorry asses in gear!"

Hours Later.

"Leon, if he's gonna be a traveling trainer, he really needs to learn to set up a goddamn tent. Get back over here."

"Aw, come on, Mark. That's really not fair. And don't order me around."

Lee wanted to help Riley with his and the girls' tent, and that made me just a tiny bit jealous, which even then, I knew was childish and stupid.

Our shelter for the night was properly set up, ready for Lee and I to roll out our sleeping bags. Meanwhile, Riley was having trouble putting the stakes down.

"You gotta stick them in the ground in the right place," Lee explained. "Like Mark did. Girls, mind helping?"

I rolled my eyes. It was already drizzling, so we decided to stop for the night; by the time Lee was done holding Riley's hand through the tutorial on tents, we'd all be soaking wet.

In reality, the two of them managed to do it quicker than I'd imagined. Riley listened carefully to Lee's instructions, and Lee was very patient with the teenager.

Really pissed me off, the way Lee clicked with that snot-nosed little twerp.

{Um, snot-nosed twerp...right here, Mark.}

Shut up, Riley, it's my turn to speak. You get enough turns, you damn attention hog.

Lee.

That Night.

{Oh, for (expletive deleted)'s sake!}

Aw, be quiet, Mark. There'll be one less person narrating soon enough, anyway.

It finally stopped raining around eleven that night, and the tents kept us safe and dry. I sat on my sleeping bag, Shift dozing in my lap, waiting.

"What are you waiting for?" Mark grumbled. He was already laying down. "Go to bed."

"No." Water kept dripping on the tarp above our heads. "Go to sleep already, Mark. I'm staying up."

"Ugh. You're stupid." He turned onto his side, facing away from me. "Don't stay up all night, you dope..."

Shortly later, I listened to him as he snored, and snickered. I scratched the top of Shift's head.

"Sleepy yet, girl?" I asked her softly.

Shift nuzzled into my palm, cooing. "Ummmmbree..."

I chuckled, scratching her head more. Fallon had been my starter, but Shift had a special place in my heart.

I sat there a few more minutes, until a soft voice outside the tent asked, "Lee?"

Shift lumbered out of my lap, and I leaned forward to undo the tent flap. "I'm up, Riles."

After letting Shift out, I crawled out of the tent. Riley was standing barefoot next to his, wearing sweatpants and a long nightshirt.

"I heard you and Mark talking earlier," He admitted shyly. "You stayed up for me, right?"

I stood up, stretching and cracking my spine. "Ahhh." After sitting for so long, it felt great to stand.

"Lee?" Riley thought I hadn't heard him before.

Without an answer, I reached up and mussed up his messy hair. "You've got it, bud. I said I'd teach you about aura, didn't I?"

Riley smirked. "Yeah, guess you did."

"Girls're asleep, right? Not eavesdroppin'?"

"No, si-" Riley caught himself. "I-I mean, yeah. Amber and Dee're both asleep."

"Well, good." Shift nuzzled against his leg, and he rubbed his hand against her fur. "Shift is pretty affectionate, isn't she?"

I chuckled. "She really cozied up to you when you were conked out in Solaceon," I told him. "Now, come on." I grabbed the sleeve of his nightshirt and gently tugged.

I dragged him off for a couple feet, then we sat in the grass. Riley folded his hands patiently in his lap, biting his lower lip.

"Riley? Bud?" Shift draped herself across my lap, and I scratched behind her ears. "What's the matter?"

Cracking his knuckles, Riley stared at the pale hands sticking out from the sleeves of his nightshirt.

"I...uhm..." He stammered. "Well...you said not to listen to what Mark said, in Veilstone City, but...do Aura Guardian really usually die tragically?"

I raised my eyebrows, cursing under my breath. "Damn him..." I rolled my eyes. "Did what he say really bother you that much?"

The boy bit his lip. "Well...yeah," He admitted. "I mean, almost everyone hates the idea of death, but just-just thinking I wanna do stuff that could get me killed-puts a knot in my stomach just thinking about it."

I sighed. How was I supposed to reassure a 13 year old about such a morbid thought?

"Most aura guardians start training as young trainers," I murmured, stroking Shift's silky fur. Her blue rings glowed faintly in the moonlight. "Like...you. Or me. A lot of people think they're invincible as teenagers, that just because we know something others don't, we don't have to take any caution when learning to manipulate aura."

"But, everybody's just as human as you or me," Riley cut in gloomily.

I nodded. "But not as smart," I added with a smirk. "You're really smart, Riley-fast to catch on new things, and quick to react. You've saved at least three girls at this point because you could sense the danger. A boy like you wouldn't be easy to kill."

"That...that implies someone would try to." Riley caught exactly what I'd implied. "Lee...?"

"Not a lot of people like how..." I gnawed at the inside of my cheek. "...meddlesome people like us can be. Kids who have a way with aura, we have a nasty habit of interfering with bastard who intend to hurt others."

"Is that why you want to break down that organization, Team Galactic?" Riley demanded, sounding bolder. "Volkner told us you were at that meeting. What are you trying to-?"

"It's late." I cut Riley off very precisely. "Growing boy like you needs sleep, Rile. We'll talk more about it later." I urged Shift out of my lap, and stood up. "And...don't mention any of this to Mark."

"Lee!" He didn't much appreciate being cut off. I heard him stand up as I walked away.

Shift let herself back into the tent, and I followed suit. "Don't worry about it, bud. I've got my own agenda."

AOF: This chapter was going to go in a different direction before it went skinnydipping off of a whole other cliff.