A/N: Thank you to Guest, Alverd, and hapemape for your reviews! Rage has greatly appreciated your hugs!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
By the time Rok and Reaper had finally reached the fork, the sky was turning a soft orange as the sun dipped below the horizon, and Rok's head was spinning in circles with what Reaper had told him about Dark Type moves. He'd always found Type advantages hard to keep track of in his lessons, and now he had a whole new Type to learn about!
"Is this the fork you were talking about?" Reaper asked.
Rok nodded, approaching the rushing water warily. His body ached with phantom pains from the last time he'd found himself in those waters. But he couldn't let that stop him now! Not when he was this close to home!
Reaper stepped forward, dipping her foot in the water until it came all the way up to her shoulder. She scowled as the current buffeted her leg, but turned back to Rok and said, "This river's pretty shallow. We should be able to just walk across."
"What about the current? Won't it just knock us down?"
Reaper rolled her eyes. "If you get swept away, I'll catch you, okay?"
"And what if we both get swept away?"
"Oh my Arceus, do you have any better ideas?"
Rok frowned at his paws, quickly looking up again at the sound of splashing water. Reaper had already fully stepped into the river and was slowly making her way across. Rok could see her claws gripping the rocks on the bed as current pulled at her.
He sighed. Her really, really didn't want to go in those Kyogre-cursed waters. But…what choice did he have?
So he bounded in after Reaper, gritting his teeth against the biting cold and steeling his muscles against the rapid flow of the river. The rocks slipped and slid under his paws, and he desperately struggled to remember everything he'd learned in his swimming lessons. Okay, let's see… he needed to anchor himself, right! He just needed to anchor himself to stay steady. The rocks were always slipping and sliding all over the place, but maybe…
Rok quickly started digging away at the riverbed, tossing aside the rocks until he found the soft sand that they were hiding. Quickly, he burrowed his paws into the sand, letting it hold him in place. Slowly, he took a step, burying his foot into the sand again. And again. And again.
It was slow, very slow, but he was moving. He was crossing the river!
Rok looked up at Reaper, grinning with pride. She was a little ways ahead of him, moving faster but not by much. She'd barely made it to the middle of the river. Her body was tilting with the current, and he could make out the sound of her growling in frustration as the rocks slipped away between her claws.
Rok watched as she took another step…
And slipped.
Reaper yelped as she was knocked off her feet, the water flipping her end over end as she was swept away by the current.
"Reaper!" Rok screamed, and pounced after her, tackling her in the water. He fixed his teeth around the scruff of her neck and desperately kicked against the current, propelling himself and Reaper towards the shore. The water pulled at him, and Reaper kicking and flailing wasn't helping. He just needed to get to the shore.
It was just a little bit further. Come on, just a little bit further…
Yes!
Finally Rok's paws found dry ground and he pulled himself and Reaper up onto the bank. Both of them were panting for breath and soaked down to the bone. Rok was fairly certain he didn't want to go swimming again in his life, but he managed to shoot Reaper a grin.
"Well," he said, once he'd caught his breath, "that was something."
"I hate this place." Reaper groaned, "How do you stand it? It's like…one giant death trap!"
"I could say the same thing about your town." Rok replied and heaved himself to his feet, shaking the water out of his fur. Thank goodness umbreon fur was so short. If he was still an eevee he'd have been damp and miserable for the rest of the day.
Although, he couldn't help but note (with some amusement) that Reaper's long fur was condemning her to that very fate.
Rok jerked his head up the river. "Come on. This river should cut across the guards patrol circuit."
"Great, wonder what horrible surprise will jump out at us on the way." Reaper grumbled.
They walked in silence for a little bit, Reaper frowning at her paws, Rok glancing around himself, ears twitched at any noise. The sky was starting to darken, and night-time was always more dangerous in the forest. A lot of the most violent wild pokémon did their hunting at night.
He wondered, were any of those pokémon Dark Types?
"Thanks."
Rok jumped, startled by Reaper's sudden quiet statement. "Huh? For what?"
"For saving me. In the river." Reaper muttered, refusing to meet his eyes. "You didn't have to do that."
"After everything you've done for me lately?" Rok asked, "It was the least I can do!"
Reaper looked up at him, and Rok realised with a start that this was the first time she'd looked anything other than angry. She looked…actually Rok didn't really know how she looked. Sad? Nervous?
Vulnerable?
Taking a chance, Rok nudged her shoulder lightly. "Hey, I'm not just going to let you get hurt, okay? You've helped me so much, introducing me to Smoke and Rage, coming with me to my village even though you hate the forest…I have to show my gratitude somehow."
Reaper stared at him for a few moments, then snorted, and extraordinarily soft smile just curling up her face. "Dear Arceus you're a dork."
"I don't know what that means, but I'll take that as a compliment!" Rok said cheerfully.
A/N: The feeeeeeeeeeels :')
I apologise for the lack of general progress in this chapter, but I wanted some Reaper-Rok bonding, and a little bit of Rok saving Reaper and showing her that yes, there is good in the world. Next chapter, we're finally going to be in Rok's village.
Please review!