Chapter 59: A Night Departure
Zack's POV
"Question four: what do people bring in broken but leave with fixed?"
I heaved a frustrated sigh, overwhelmed by the complexity of the questions these two were giving. Never have I felt so stressed in my entire life such as this. Well, ok. There may have been plenty other of times that I've been stressed in my life, but this takes the number one spot for obvious reasons.
I felt stupid for not holding my piece of cloth tighter. I've always made sure that it was tucked safely away where I could still have mobility without it getting so much as in the way. How I managed to keep it from constantly falling off me for this long baffled me now that I thought about it.
I didn't have the human anatomy to keep such a thing tucked more securely. Every battle I had, every sprint I ran, that red cloth of mine was somehow able to remain tucked in the… um… what do you call it anyway where the leg connects to the body?
Regardless, everything now rested upon Charcoal who was currently mulling over the question, scanning the area to determine what the answer might be. I know I for one wouldn't have gotten any of the questions right and therefore would have probably had to remain here for the rest of my life until I knew where they took it.
I wonder what Pooch and Lizzie would say if they knew that I allowed for my cloth to be stolen. Would they be upset? Would they help me like how Charcoal, Ted, and maybe Skitty were helping me? I glanced over at Skitty who was… where did she get the oddly shaped object that had a weird green liquid in it that had a small little trinket resting inside- no! Stop it! You've been with this group long enough to know that she was mysterious in whatever it is she does; and yet I still found myself questioning her odd antics.
Speaking of odd, my mind wandered back to that incident I had back inside my Pokéball. A lot of questions hung around what had transpired back then, even though it wasn't so long ago that it happened. Were Pokéballs able to function like that? Or did some bizarre incident occur that I'm sure would come into play at a later time?
I shook my head a little, clearing out the thoughts in my head. Overthinking all this was only going to put more stress on me than necessary. I'm sure that I'll figure it all out as I go.
"Of course!" Charcoal said suddenly with a snap of his claw. "Ships! Sailors bring broken ships in to repair and leave with them fixed!"
I watched as the sand reptile grimaced in shock while the cat, Lani, I think her name was, gave a deadpanned look towards Charcoal. "You're becoming quite a nuisance figuring out these questions," she growled lowly.
"You're the ones who challenged us," Charcoal pointed out. "So you have no room to complain."
"Only because that Skitty friend of yours will nag us until our sanity is at its end," the sand reptile said. "But whatever. Fifth question!"
As Charcoal pondered the next question he was given, my mind wandered back to the two best friends I grew up with, wondering how they were faring and where they might be currently.
Admittedly, I did get up and leave a bit unexpectedly without saying my farewells to them, but then they did know how I was. I never was one to sit still for very long. I suppose there was always a part of me that knew someday I would up and start my adventure on a whim, not that I meant for my sudden leave to be intentional. There was so much in the world to see and sitting around wasn't getting me anywhere. My mind drifted back to the day that I began the adventure that led me to the moment I was currently in
The world around me was still dark upon my awakening, the sun a mere few hours from rising. Sleep had all but faded as I stared out the opening of the cozy little den I lived in. I couldn't explain why I had awoken suddenly. Perhaps I slept enough and was ready to start the day; or maybe I had awoken from a dream I was having, one that I couldn't even remember having. I didn't know.
What I did know was that the longer I stared out at the world beyond, a rising yearning took hold. I wrestled and mused at the very thought of what I wanted to do then and there, lest I lie back down and stare at the den's ceiling until I fell back asleep, but would that really quench the yearning I felt?
It wasn't the first time I felt this feeling. Spending every day with my two best friends was always exciting, especially with the many pretend adventures we thought up. This time, however, felt stronger than normal and it was what made my decision final.
Standing up, I walked towards the entrance of the den, stopping to look back at the sleeping forms of my parents. A thought to wake them crossed my mind, but then if I did would I still be able to leave so easily?
"What'cha doing up so early, Zack?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I looked around for the source of where the voice came from before looking up into the trees. At first, I wasn't able to see anything but the millions of branches that blocked most of the view of the night sky until I noticed a pair of yellow eyes glowing amongst them, staring down at me.
I grinned, running out to meet the Pokemon the eyes belonged to as said Pokemon jumped down from the tree. "Great Guardian Aranya!"
"Good to see you, Zack," Aranya spoke as I rushed up to her. The best way to describe her was that most of her body was like a tree. The bottom of her feet was what made her appear like she doubled in size and she had leaves to act for… well, I wasn't really sure. I never put too much thought into that. She had long, shaggy white hair that trailed down to the ground with a long nose poking out from it as well as her ears. "It's not natural to see you up at this time. Couldn't sleep?"
"Something like that," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I just kinda woke up and lost all feeling of sleep."
My ears dropped as Aranya stared down at me as if she could see my true intentions and was judging me based on it. After a moment of uncomfortable staring she closed her eyes, sighing. "I should have known," she said. "You never were one to sit still for too long."
"I'm sorry Great Guardian," I said. "But there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored! I can't do that if I stay here!"
"Are you certain you're ready for it?" she asked. "Life can be as cruel as it can be wonderful. You never know what might happen?"
"I know!" I replied, feeling a spark lighting within me as I felt the tug of adventure hammering against my heart; or maybe it was just my heart hammering. "I have just as much chance of something happening out there as I do here, but that's what makes it all the more exciting!"
Once again Aranya stared down at me with that usual look of hers, only this time I matched back with my fierce look of determination.
"So you're prepared then," she said after some time of silence between us. "Quite an odd time for the thrill of adventure to strike you but then I suppose it's always been this way. You've had a knack for it after all."
"I'm sorry that I'm leaving suddenly like this," I said. "But if I stay here any longer I might not ever want to leave. I don't want that to be my biggest regret."
Aranya simply chuckled. "There's no stopping you once your mind is made up," she said. "You will be missed but we're happy to know you're following your heart."
"I just wish I could say goodbye to mom and dad," I said, looking back towards the den. "Pooch and Lizzie too."
"Don't worry about it," Aranya said. "I'll let them know of your departure."
"Thanks Great Guardian!" I said with a grin. "I'll definitely have much to tell you guys once I return."
"I look forward to it," Aranya said. "Be safe out there."
"Oh! I almost forgot!" I said suddenly before turning to rush back to my den, being cautious as to not awaken my folks. Making my way to my sleeping spot, I picked up a familiar red cloth I kept neatly to the side before making my way back to Aranya. "I can't leave without this!"
"A… cloth?" Aranya asked curiously.
"Yep!" I said with a grin. "It's a special gift Lizzie gave me!"
"I see," Aranya said. "Then make sure to hold on extra tight to it."
"Trust me if I ever lost this thing I would never be able to show my face around her and Pooch again!"
The words I spoke that day still lingered in my head; and sure enough, as cruel fate would have it, I was on the verge of forever losing the one thing that bounded me to two of the best friends.
Huh…
Am I just repeating things in a different way to try and calm my nerves?
Well whatever.
Now that I thought about it, I did wonder where Pooch and Lizzie might be? Are they still living their life happily back home? Did they up and take their own path of adventure like I did? It would be nice to drop by and visit home to see what's changed, but as the current situation was I was a bit stuck traveling with a human and a band of unique Pokemon.
I snapped from my thoughts suddenly as I heard the sand reptile say, "Question eight!"
Wait, what? Was I so lost in my own thoughts that I wasn't even aware Charcoal had already solved several of the questions already?
I felt my heart hammer heavily, the corners of my mouth twitching upward. Was it possible that Charcoal could get through all these questions? Was he smarter than I thought he was? And how could a couple of kids create such difficult riddles? A majority of kids their age wouldn't even have the mindset they did.
Still, I had to give Charcoal far more credit than I had ever thought to have given him. Despite all that has happened, he's been a reliant friend to depend on. I couldn't ask for anything better than that!
