A/N: If you want to know what the 'more realistic' Pokémon in Truth and Lies look like, a good place to start would be Joshua Dunlop's art. You can find it at "joshuadunlop (d0t) art stat ion (d0t) c0m." ... Ffnet is getting more annoying with their filters. He's done most of the first 151, and a couple extras (Espeon and Umbreon come to mind), plus his art is amazing in general. Worth a look.
Finally, if you like this story or any of my other stories, please consider supporting me on Pa Tree On. You can find it by going to Pa Tree On DOT com SLASH KajaWilder (you must have NSFW filter turned off to find my page). I can only continue my current (or faster) pace of updates if I can pay my bills. I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely getting closer. If you think about how much enjoyment you get out of a movie- about two hours worth of fun- for $10-20- you are getting far greater value by supporting a writer like myself. If even one in twenty people that read this supported me on Pa Tree On at any level, I would be able to easily continue focusing on writing more... and you could read more. I'm going to keep writing anyway. But the pace would be and will be a lot faster if you can spare a few dollars monthly. My lowest tier isn't even a small drink at a theater, any more. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to you? If so, then please support me.
Of course, you can ALSO find more of the same stories there. I post everything on this site at least a week after it's posted on , so if you want more and don't want to wait, well... there you go.
That's enough out of me, though. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Through the Storm
Elle sighed, bored, as she flipped through the late-night channels. There was weather: foggy in the lowlands, but otherwise clear with the fog moving on by noon. Cartoons, but dumb ones that had less plot than the vapid things the real world produced. But still impressive realism for a game.
And porn, of course, there were several channels of that, but after she'd fingered herself to five different orgasms over the last two hours, even the appeal in that had worn off- she was getting a bit raw, too.
So, despite the late hour, she had her scan window open, trying to figure out how it worked, when a tired Alex stepped into the room without knocking. She was dressed, mostly, in a long men's t-shirt, her legs crossed beneath the blanket, so there wasn't anything to cover, not that she particularly cared any more. If he wanted her tonight, she might just...
Something caught her eye. His expression, both pleased and guilty... and a number.
"You fucked someone," she whispered, blue eyes wide.
He froze, half-bent as he took off his shoes just inside the door, lights off aside from the night-light in the small bathroom and her own screen. Clearly, he hadn't realized she was awake. "Uh..."
"You totally did," Elle whispered, "Fucking great. How was she? I'm assuming it was a she- and not a Pokémon? Not that there's anything wrong with that here, judging by the porn channels on the holo-screen."
He blushed, turning away as he slipped off his socks, lifted his shirt then grabbed his sleeping shorts before heading into the bathroom.
When he came out, though, Alex was forced to confront a certain truth.
Again, there was just one bed.
Elle was already in it on the far side, her screen pointing toward him, and her glasses back on. She grinned the moment she saw him, "I knew it. Your Prowess went up. You're at twenty-one! It must've been good."
"I don't see how it's your business, one way or the other," Alex muttered, "Are you going to yell at me if I try and sleep on the floor again?"
Elle nodded quickly, "You know I am. So, how was she?"
"Fine, alright? It was fine. I enjoyed it. Is that what you want to hear?"
"Sure," Elle grinned again, leaning forward in the darkness, "You going to fuck her again? Can I watch?"
"What- what the fuck? Why would you ask that?"
She ignored his dumbstruck expression, and patted the bed, lifting the blankets and flipping them over so he could climb in, "Because I want to? I'm curious, okay? I've never been with a chick either. Might be hot. I could see myself enjoying it. Who was it?"
"None of your business."
"If I suck your dick, will you tell me?"
"Wh- no!"
"Fine," Elle grumbled, "well, for what it's worth, you used to have a Prowess of sixteen, three higher than mine. Both times Gobbler sucked you off, it went up two. I started tonight at twelve, and when I got tired of rubbing myself, I was at fifteen, so you're still way ahead of me."
Alex rolled his eyes, then slipped beneath the blankets and flopped down facing away from her. "Good night."
He almost thought she was asleep when the girl shifted closer, and whispered in his ear, "I was thinking about sucking you when I put my fingers in my pussy, too. Every time. Are you sure you won't tell me?"
It took all he had to not roll over and take her. If it hadn't been for Joy...
Elle yawned and stretched, only to freeze as her hand encountered a patch of wild hair half-way up. Oh, shit... I forgot Alex...
But he didn't wake up when she slowly withdrew her hand and slipped away so she wasn't lying right next to him in the wide hotel-style bed and stretched again, more slowly, before rolling onto her side and propping her head on a raised hand to look down contemplatively at her companion. He sure is cute, but... bit of a stick in the mud. I mean, I can't blame him for going out and fucking, but why hasn't he asked me? Just 'cause a girl says she doesn't want it doesn't mean it's true. Doesn't he know we play hard to get sometimes?
Her thoughts were derailed as Alex's muscular arm moved behind his head and he rolled it slightly. His breathing didn't change, though, and after a few moments, she exhaled in relief slowly. Then she got an idea, one that made an evil sort of grin spread. Slowly, the hand she wasn't lying on lifted the blankets so she could look down his equally muscular, lightly haired chest. He wasn't a bodybuilder by any means, but Alex clearly exercised, or at least took care of himself. He had a clearly defined six-pack on his abdomen, and visible gaps where his muscles held the waistband of his shorts away from the deeper parts of his body. I've already seen what he's hiding in there, but...
Slowly, gently, she reached her hand down, lowering her head for a better angle as the blanket fell, and twisted just one finger, very slowly, beneath the waistband, then began to pull up when he didn't move. Before she could pull it down and get an actual look in the shadowed space, Alex grunted, and she froze. Shit...
Slowly again, but much faster than before, she lowered the cloth back. Ah well, next time, girl. May as well get in the shower while he wakes up so we don't fight over it later.
As much as she was fascinated by sex, and really enjoyed the pleasure of build-up and orgasm, she hurried through her morning ablutions. Four days of traveling with Alex had taught her that he was nothing if not an early riser, and they were even on who had woken up first once more.
Fortunately, she'd had the wherewithal, between her numerous orgasms the night before, to do the laundry in the Center's laundromat so she had clean clothes to put on. Even if her top would be the same, unevenly cut off shirt courtesy of his Lickitung's passage.
Elle caught his eyes slamming shut as she stepped from the bathroom with a towel draped around her body and another twisting up in her hair. She crowed inwardly while she crossed the room on soft feet to reach towards her own folded stack of clothes and pick up the ones on top. Should I just change here...? Nah... I'll let him fantasize a bit more about me dropping the towel.
Elle crossed back to the bathroom, humming quietly to throw off any suspicion, and shut the door- but she didn't let go of the handle. In fact, she cracked it again, just enough to grin widely when she heard her companion's frustrated groan, "That girl's gonna be the death of me..."
You know it, Alex!
She dressed quickly and quietly from there, and was running her new brush through her long hair while drying it when he gave a soft knock on the cracked door. "Almost done?"
"Give me five minutes?"
"Sure," he muttered, "I just gotta pee."
"Go ahead, I won't peek." Like hell.
"Uh... no."
So she unplugged the blow-dryer and opened the door, stepping past him with a grin to finish the job in the main room. "It's all yours."
It didn't take more than a few seconds, since she was fully dressed, with even her Pokégear on and powered up, to realize that his Prowess had gone up one point again when he left the bathroom about ten minutes later. Score one for me...
Quickly, Alex gathered up his own clothes, and headed for the bathroom for a shower of his own, "Thanks for washing these. I'll get the next pair."
"You aren't touching my underthings unless I say you can," Elle admonished him, "so wash your own if you want, but leave mine."
While he was showering, Elle finished her prep work, applied some light makeup, and put her shoes on before gathering her gear and leaving a quick note on the top of Alex's own backpack.
Gone downstairs to get our Pokémon and order breakfast.
When she stepped into the once more crowded central lobby of the Pokémon Center, Elle grinned at the wash of 'humanity'. There were people of all stripes, just like the familiar, crowded streets of Pacific Mega-City, but most of them were adults, only a few younger ones had been allowed by their parents into the closed Beta test, and fewer still the version she'd cheated her way into.
Unlike in many generations past, the mix of males to females that played games religiously was more even, and there were as many females, more attractive than not due to the game's willingness to allow someone to edit their avatar, as there were men.
Still, to her, there weren't that many. Three years of being addicted to porn had given her broad acceptance of many things, but a strange pickiness in what she found most attractive.
Nurse Joy, for example, was drop-dead sexy. Not because of the curves, but the way she carried herself, and presented herself as a powerful woman- with those curves that men (and women like herself) drooled over.
"Hi, Joy," she said, stepping up to the counter and leaning in a bit, "I'm here to get my Pokémon, and Alex Ward's."
"Alright," the rosette said cheerfully, "I'll go get both sets ready to go, but you should be aware that, if you break up your party with them in your possession, they will return to him. We can't allow the stealing of Pokémon."
"I wasn't planning to," she laughed, "I like him."
"I do too," the simulacrum whispered, giving her a wink, as she twirled and gave a bit of a sashay while moving into the back room that had more than just her eyes widening.
Is... is she the one he...? Damn, that's impressive. She's grade-A, and I didn't think he had the self-esteem.
With ten Pokéballs on her belt and in her backpack, five each, she moved next to the diner's counter, and ordered buizelcuits and gravy for both of them, hoping it was more like biscuits and not another early-gen Pokémon as the name implied, with a side of Pidgey eggs, scrambled, for both of them too.
Just as the food was arriving, Alex did too, and he waited for the young Lass-type to finish setting down the trays with a wink in his direction before sitting down, "Thanks for ordering and getting our Pokémon. You did get mine, right?"
She nodded, handing the balls over before picking up her cutlery.
They ate in companionable silence, as she'd found that both of them were a bit more introverted in the morning. But just as he was getting done, her own later half was interrupted by a pair of twin beeps, one that several people throughout the diner seemed to have gotten at the same time.
Alex turned to the side and swiped his menu open. "Huh, an email from Game Freak. Seems like a system-wide announcement."
"Read it," she murmured through a half-full mouth, before finishing the job.
"Attention all players receiving this message, yadda, yadda... half-way through the allowed game-week in one sitting. No world news to report in the real world... all players receiving the message will receive an additional warning at twenty-four hours before log-out time, and then be forcibly logged out to test that system. They request that all players stay in until then if it isn't too uncomfortable, but if we need to log out for something we can do so. As of yet, no health concerns with any play-testers... furthest advancement is a few people with one Gym Badge each. Two Boulder, one Heart, one Soul, one Rainbow, and one Thunder from this area, and in the Johto Region, two Zephyr Badges. Those are the leaders currently, but the average is still well away from getting a Gym Badge, and all of those players had a type advantage and went straight there, catching very few Pokémon apparently."
"Cool," Elle nodded, "would've been interesting to start in a different area, but then we wouldn't have met. And it's not like I'm familiar with Kanto, either."
He nodded, "Well before both our times- my grandpa might've been playing there when he was little."
Elle pushed her plate away, then reached across the table to down the last few sips of his orange juice, "Well, should we get going? Are we planning on staying around Pallet much longer?"
He shrugged, "There's some hills to the east, and we haven't done much catching right around town. Want to do one more day, then maybe a night, see if we can catch something different?"
"Sure," Elle nodded, standing up and hitching her pack onto her shoulder, "we can either camp if you want, or come back here so you have some hot pinkette to stick your dick in again."
Alex, bag half-way onto his shoulder, dropped it with a loud crash, causing several people to look their way, and a few chuckles. He sent Elle a glare, and didn't seem very impressed by her would-be innocent expression.
She followed his angry stalk out with another grin, "Come on, Loki, Cock. Time to get on the road again."
The two Pokémon hurried after them, the latter scurrying past her to catch up to its own master, the now-familiar presence at the back of her mind that she knew to be her Ghost-type (though it seemed she alone could see him) following over her own head.
He waited until they were a few blocks from the Center before hissing, "What the fuck? What makes you think I-"
"Lots of things," Elle shrugged, "Though I don't know what the big deal is. Obviously, I don't care who or what you fuck. Was she good? She's really sexy."
"Not that it's any of your business."
Elle giggled again, giving the angry man a playful shove on the shoulder, "Seriously? Come on, you came back looking pleased, and she said she liked you when I talked to her this morning. Even asked if you were coming back, okay? It's not that big a deal, I just put one and one together and got a series of four variables that started with 'f' and ended with 'uck'."
"Fine," he grumbled, walking faster to get ahead of her, "Yes, I 'put my dick' in Joy, okay? And yes, it was great, and yes, she's super sexy for a fake... thing."
"And you wanna do it again?"
He paused mid-step, but only for a moment, just enough time for Elle to be beside him again, her own shorter legs moving faster but just as easily to keep up. "... Yes, okay? I would."
"Okay."
Three hours later, not another word spoken between them, they were out in the distant east fields, nearing the foothills of some tall maps, when zoomed out fairly far, could see that it stood almost by itself near the east coast of the peninsula, giving them a rough outline of the region they were in and a little bit of some area to the west. Aside from being able to tell it was a large, shield volcano of some sort just by looking at it with a basic knowledge of geography, Elle could also tell it was a mountain by the little bit revealed through the 'fog of war' on their maps: "Mt. Hida". She couldn't tell yet, if there were additional letters in the name, but as it had taken all day for the H and I to appear, she didn't anticipate finding out shortly after lunch, not least of which because a storm seemed to be blowing in from the southeast. Dark clouds gathered thick and strong, blew steadily toward them, and even the wind carried the scent of ozone, though they hadn't seen lightning.
"Should we head back to town?" she asked quietly, looking to their right as they continued to rise through gentle grasslands, having left the actual fields that fed Pallet Town a couple hours earlier.
They'd seen a few deer-like Pokémon grazing in the distance, but the small herd had scampered off, bounding through the flora with a speed Alex and Elle would never be able to match, but both had been easily able to catch relatively defenseless Pokémon. Hoppip, which somehow flew, whirligig style, on two broad, dandelion-like leaves, and Sunkern, that were bright yellow and brown creatures like seed-pods about ten inches on a side, which could do little but shake their own leaves at he and Elle while they captured their pair from a large drifting cloud of them.
"No, let's keep going," Alex said determinedly, glancing only briefly at the approaching thunder clouds, "There's bound to be a place to shelter up there, look how rocky it is. We'd never make it back to town. We should pick up the pace, though."
But as night fell, their 'Gear assisted in finding another few Pokémon, too.
"Look, that's one," Elle whispered, pointing into a copse of bushes, higher into the hills.
He followed her pointing finger, "Okay, but what is it?"
"No idea," she shrugged, "Loki- go get it. Start with Hypnosis, then use Confuse Ray."
Alex looked over at her sharply. "Confuse Ray...?"
"Just learned it," she whispered, wincing as a distant crash of thunder sounded.
Beside her, while her Gastly made its way forward, Alex counted slowly, "One, Two, Three... getting closer. We've got to hurry."
She felt, rather than heard, Loki's two attacks take place. Hypnosis sent a visible wave of energy pulsing forward from its 'head', and Confuse Ray made its eyes flash, but neither were audible with the blowing wind, not that they were noisy moves anyway. "The Confusion worked," Elle hissed, "Stay here."
Then she moved forward in a crouch, bent low and reaching for a ball, "Alright, Loki, use Smog, then Lick."
She could see the poisonous mist a bit more easily, but it was quickly blown away and didn't seem to have much effect on the Pokémon, though she heard it give a strange sort of wheezing for a few breaths. It was bigger than she'd expected, the size of a ten year old child or so, just about three feet tall, mostly bright red with black spots on the back, though the colors of the chitinous shell ran together behind the leaves that blew in the ever-increasing wind.
She heard the saliva run from it, though, as the Pokémon finally realized it was under attack a moment later. "Lick again, one more time!"
The thing shrieked, a piercing wail that made Elle and even the more distant Alex wince and cover their ears, but that did nothing at all to Loki as she watched the purplish mist exude a long tongue once again and rake it up the underside of the Pokémon's body.
It fell from its perch beneath the shrub, landing hard on its back but wiggling furiously in an attempt to right itself. "Oh, no you don't," she said quickly, tossing her red and white Pokéball with an underhanded side-swing.
It curled and twisted through the air, but slipped underneath the bush and clapped against the monster's head. A moment later, it vanished in blue-green light, and the ball closed.
It immediately started rolling, and Elle found herself on her knees a moment later, physically holding the ball shut, praying it would hold.
Beep.
"Fuck yeah," she crowed, lifting the ball high in her left hand, only to yank it back when the sky flashed brilliant white, illuminating the area as if it were daylight, followed by a tremendous crash of rolling thunder that echoed loudly off the hills around them for several seconds.
"Alright, good job," Alex said hastily, bending down to grab Elle's arm and help her up bodily, "We need to get going, we aren't equipped to be out in the open like this, not even with the tents- they'd blow away. Celebrate when we're someplace safe."
"Y- Yeah," Elle muttered, looking up at the darkened sky with after-images of everything around echoing in her eyes.
This is almost as bad as... no. Don't think about it, Elle. That was a long time ago, and this is just a game. Just a game. It's just a game, it can't really electrocute... anyone.
Rain began to pound down around them just a few minutes later as they made their way higher into the hills, and both were drenched within seconds as the night became truly dark, lit only by the frequent but irregular bolts of lightning that lanced across the sky, or occasionally struck one tree or another, usually too close for Elle's decreasing comfort.
"There!" she heard Alex shout, though they were within arm's reach of each other just to stay in sight range, "I see a shadow! Maybe a cave, but at least an overhang!"
She peered through the rain, but couldn't see anything at all beyond it until another stroke of nature's fury lit the narrow valley, which was now bordered on one side by cliffs, though they'd been too small to use as shelter for some time, and the ground was starting to pool with water. Neither wanted to be here if there was a flood, so they would have to find high ground, even if it took them into the rain again.
Fortunately, they were able to reach the little cave in about two more minutes of hard running, feet slipping and sliding over the now infrequent grass but thick mud, and on two occasions, Alex had fallen in his lead, once smacking his knee into a rock hard enough to send a rivulet of blood down his shin that she could see even from the back as they ran, though the rain quickly washed even that away.
Less luckily, the entrance was a good ten feet off the ground.
"I don't think I can climb that," Elle yelled, "And it's not stable enough for you to give me a boost!"
"Don't need to," he reminded her, "We have Pokémon! Throw Gobbler up there, have him help you with Vine Whip!"
Elle's eyes widened, only to wince again as thunder crashed just over the little ravine, "O- Okay! Alright, little one..."
She opened the 'Ball directly into her hand, letting the plant wrap its little roots around her as it hunkered down for a grip, immediately lifting its two leaf-arms to cover its eyes. "Alright, Gobbler, here's what I want you to do!"
A few seconds later, apparently able to understand her even if it still struggled to say its own name, she hurled it upward, spinning into the air.
Her aim was still good, though, and a few seconds later, they saw her just peeking over the edge of the rocks. Then she stepped back out of view, and they waited, Alex with his pack over Elle's head to at least provide a little shelter as she looked up, watching... and waiting a bit more.
Eventually two green vines, less than an inch thick but maybe enough to hold Elle's weight, twisted together into a coil and slid down the cliff face.
"Here goes nothin'!"
Elle twisted her hands and wrists around the vine, then gave a tug. It seemed secure... but did she dare trust her entire body weight, and her pack, to a creature whose stem was thinner than even these vines?
"Go," Alex shouted again, bending down and cupping his hands, "I'll give you a boost- you only have to climb a couple feet!"
"No peeking up my skirt!" she cried, then lifted her leg obediently to step into his hands.
Somehow, he was able to lift her more than four feet off the ground before he let go for the briefest of moments, just enough to make her give a shrill cry of terror, then pushed her up even further, this time with both hands beneath her foot but facing the other direction. "Use my shoulders! That might be enough!"
She took another step upward, terrified that he'd slip, or that her feet would, or...
But no, he was rock-solid, and from there, Elle threw her vine-wrapped hands over the edge of the ledge.
"There's a rock to your right!"
She glanced down, and saw what Alex was pointing at. It was just an inch or two out from the main face, but it would be enough for a few seconds, she hoped.
Elle put her toes on it for a moment, then shoved upward, throwing her body weight up and in so that her waist, at least, hit the slightly rounded edge. "Come on, Gobbler- Pull!"
Alex had been the one to say it, but Elle was glad for the assistance as she mostly just had to lift her legs as it somehow hauled her in, the vine-arms retracting into the little creature's body.
It kept pulling until she was completely in the cave, which was surprisingly deep. She still couldn't see the back, even with the soft purple light of Loki illuminating it for her and her alone. "Okay, thanks Gobbler. That was awesome. Can you help Alex?"
"Rout...?"
The arms retracted further, and the little creature gave another plaintive cry, shaking both leaves and its head from side-to-side in a close approximation of, "No, sorry."
"That's okay, he's a big boy. He can do it, I'm sure. You did great, hun."
The Grass-type seemed a little reassured by her words, but Elle, glaring up at the sky for a moment, stepped back out into the rain, not caring that she was getting wetter by the second. Nothing I can do about that anyway, and maybe it'll wash the dirt off my clothes and face...
She leaned down, finding Alex looking through his own Pokémon with a thoughtful expression, "I might have another idea- but I think I can just climb it! I'm gonna try it!"
"Good," she called back, hands cupped to her mouth, "'Cause Gobbler's hurt, I don't think she could help you without it pulling her apart."
"Okay! Keep an eye out, but I- I should be alright!"
He put two hands on the rocks, and a foot, and started to climb.
He got five feet up, nearly halfway with his fingers on the ledge itself, when the ledge, weakened by the rain, fell away beneath his hands and he tumbled down.
"Alex!"
Somehow, he spun mid-air and landed on his feet, though he was bent low and put a hand on his injured knee, "Ow... okay, Plan B! Back up!"
She took just one step back and watched as he pulled out both his Weedle and Caterpie, then said quick words to each of them.
Then they... kissed? No... they were close, but not kissing. As she watched, the two Bug-types drew away from each other, and, over the next two minutes, Alex fashioned a silken rope at least twenty feet long with the help of his small Bug-Types. "Okay, catch him if you can," Alex called up to her, "But I want him to attach to the ground back there, after wrapping around an outcropping or something. I think it'll hold, but..."
"Okay, I'll holler when I think it's good!"
Alex nodded and shot her a thumbs up.
A few seconds later, his Caterpie, too, was flying into the cave mouth.
Elle almost slipped as she caught it, almost dropping the gigantic, wriggling, shelled caterpillar, but it went still the moment her hands hit it. "Alright, little guy... your turn, I guess. String Shot, who'd have known it could be that useful?"
There weren't much in the way of outcroppings, but Elle decided that she could mimic the effect with her own Bugs' weight and String Shots, too, latching it to a five-foot patch of sticky webbing, then pressing her own weight against the place it left the web and standing on it, to the left of the cave. "Alright, try it!"
There was a strong tug, one that made Elle's feet shift, but that was it. A moment later, another, harder one, and another. Then they were coming rapidly, and in less than thirty seconds, the silken rope lifted from the ledge just before Alex's head came into view, then shoulders, body held away from the cliff as he rappelled upward, hand over hand, with his Weedle on his back, clinging on for dear life. "Good teamwork," he said with a grin, reaching back to give his yellow bug a chance to climb down more easily as he stepped in, "Really good, and good thinking."
Elle grinned, "I'm not a ditz, you know?"
Then she shrieked again as the storm intensified, one, two, three blasts of lightning striking in near unison, and making her cover her ears as she dropped to a crouch instinctively.
"Elle...?"
"I fucking hate storms," she growled, face bright red as she stood up, "I love rain, but lightning and thunder..."
"Okay, that's not that abnormal," Alex said, and she watched him wince, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. It's common enough, no big deal. I won't and don't judge."
She didn't care, though. Instead, she only then realized she was freezing, and started to shiver, though Alex seemed only a little cold.
"Fire, okay- my supplies should be plenty, I made sure to get waterproof gear for this reason. Okay..."
She continued to shiver, heedless of her mud-brown front and white backed clothing, or of the growing hunger and thirst, while he put together several small logs of long-burning, light and compact fuel, then used a lighter he produced from even deeper in his pack,, and lit it with shaking fingers in the middle of the cave about thirty feet back, where an echo told them both the cave ended.
She had her hands, white and pale, held out to the flames before they'd even really taken, and Alex laughed, "Alright, I'll let you warm up a little, but we both need to get out of these clothes, and soon. I'll rig up my tent to block sight from outside, and we can take turns changing and drying off. Sound good?"
Elle nodded, trying to ignore her teeth which had also begun to chatter.
Of course, his small tent wasn't enough.
Both were, which meant they would be sleeping in the same space without barriers between them outdoors, just like in the Pokémon Center in Pallet, not that she really cared.
After the wind- and sight-break had been put up with the help of their Weedle and Caterpie again, Alex hurried to set up the collapsible pot outside to let the rain fill it while he continued to prep, starting with her sleeping bag, then his, which he unzipped and opened fully, then zipped together.
"T-T-Trying t-t-o g-g-get in m-my p-pants?"
Alex snorted, though she heard his own teeth chattering a bit, "I'm fucking cold, too. It's the fastest way to warm up, even faster than a fire. Besides, how's this different than the Center's bed?"
"C-c-c-colder, w-w-etter."
"And less comfortable, I get it," he chuckled weakly, "but come on, I'm doing the best I can here. Let me see how full the pot is."
Alex shook his head as he stepped back through the hanging tents, "Only a quarter. How much left in your canteen? I've only got half of one left, and we need some to drink."
She shook her head, "N- Not much. I expected a stream or something."
He frowned, then reached into his larger pack again and pulled out a small saucepan, too, "I guess this'll do, we'll just have to wait. Any idea what you want to eat? Something hot, of course- I'm already making hot chocolate. Soup?"
She nodded vigorously, but didn't try to speak. It was embarrassing not being able to when normally it was so easy.
He rummaged in his pack, then hers, before pulling out a couple packets that looked similar, "I guess we can mix them- I don't want to wait to cook them separately. That okay? It's Mil- er, beef stew and minestrone. Might actually be good together."
She looked up again, "F-f-ine."
After setting them beside the fire, between her and her own pair of Bug-types, he stepped out into the rain once more, this time bringing back the half-full pan and just over half-full pitcher. "This should be good, but I want to boil it before we put it in the canteens. Cooking should be okay."
She nodded, watching still, her hands only just then slowly starting to warm as the fire truly got going, as he poured some of the water from the pan into the pitcher, then a bit more back, and set both down carefully, just overhanging the little rack on both sides, and dumped in the contents of both dehydrated mixes.
Fortunately, the fire was abundant soon after, and within a couple minutes both containers were boiling. Alex broke out his tin of hot chocolate first, letting that mix and pouring them both a half-cup to let them start warming from the inside while the soup-stew finished cooking.
Now more brightly lit, Elle could see the markings of occasional creatures in the cave, along with a few droppings in a deeper section at the back, but nothing that suggested it was currently in use, which made her exhale slightly in relief- not that a wild bear would be worse than the raging storm just fifteen feet away, of course.
She almost jumped, lost in her thoughts and dread for the next crash of thunder, when Alex stood up and peeled his still soaking shirt from his body, "Alright, time to change. I'm tired of being cold, aren't you?"
"Sh- shut u-up," Elle growled, "I-it's d-dif-fferent f-for a g-girl!"
"Then don't look," he muttered, "but it's nothing you haven't seen before, pervert."
She snorted, but didn't have a good come-back before he'd stepped behind her carrying his pack to set it down about five feet beyond where she could see. She heard him rummaging, but for once was in no mood at all to take a glance his way.
Still, after a few more minutes, he draped a mostly-dry white towel he'd apparently been carting around with his clothes, probably taken from the Center in Pallet, over her head, "Use that to dry off once your clothes are off. I'll go out if you want, but it's probably easier to see if I'm peeking from here."
"O-out," she muttered, standing slowly, and groaned as her stiff, frigid legs and back protested the movement.
"Okay."
She undressed and dried herself, still shivering, quickly, and dressed in her warmest clothes, long flannel pajamas she'd purchased for cold nights, and put a pair of warm socks on, but didn't bother with her sneakers. "D- dressed."
He didn't come back in, so Elle frowned, and dared, just barely, to peek around the corner of the hanging tents.
"Fuck, Gobbler," she heard Alex groan down at the little Bellsprout, which had rooted in the rocks several feet past the tents and stayed there from where it had helped her up. Alex wasn't being pleasured by it, though, he was leaning against the wall of the cave nearby, apparently almost talking to himself.
"Does she even know how much of a tease she is...? Telling me to do what makes it easier to peek, shit..."
Huh... I just wanted him further away, but I guess now that I think about it, he's right... huh.
"Should I just... do what she seems to want? I mean... it's a crime, right? She's a kid."
I'm fifteen, I'm not a kid. I'm legal in a year and a month... and this is a game.
Elle shook her head and let the impromptu curtain fall, stepping carefully back to where she'd dressed and calling louder, "I'm dressed!"
This time, a few seconds later, she saw the tents pushed aside again, "Good- I thought you'd be lying at first."
"C-Crossed my m-mind," she said, still chattering with a smile, then crouched down beside the fire again to give the stew a stir with the nearby metal spoon.
"You're incorrigible," he muttered, taking a knee a foot or two away and letting his Pokémon out, all of them, to warm up in the rest of the space.
"And you want my body," she giggled, "though I can't blame you."
He snorted, but didn't protest.
Elle grinned.
An hour or so later, dinner consumed and with no sign of the storm letting up soon in sight, Elle stood up, a little warmer but still shivering, and headed for the now combined sleeping bags. "Coming?"
"Not immediately," Alex said with a sigh, "Get comfortable."
"I'd rather get warm."
He blinked, then nodded, "Good point. Uh... give me a second to bank the fire and finish off my hot chocolate, and I'll be good."
When he opened the bags to climb in himself, the man settled himself next to her, and she leaned into his warmth, resting her head on his firm shoulder with a sigh as they both leaned back against the rounded wall of the cave. "You feel warm. Smell good, even..."
A/N: A final note before you click away.
I am now opening COMISSIONS.
I will write anything LEGAL (as in, not violating age legalities) that is within a fandom I know anything about, if your idea sparks even a little interest for these amounts (via or Venmo).
I will not be comfortable writing abuse toward or from the central characters, or 'grooming'.
You can also get One-Shots (or a series of them) by becoming an $8 Patron. That's far cheaper overall, but the length of the work will be decided by me in that case (based on your idea and how many words it takes to get it 'done' to a publishable place).
And if you've ever been interested in creating an OC, or even an SI, and putting it into the FwB verse (or others) to have some fun with the characters, well... I also do that for the higher two tiers of Patrons. In case that's added incentive. ;)
All amounts should be in U.S. currency (as that is where I am located and pay my taxes).
5000~ words (/- 500) = $15.00
6000-12000 words (/- 1000) = $25.00
13000-20000 words (/- 2500) = $35.00
22000-50000~ = $50.00
Longer on request, but expect $75.00-$100.00.
Contacting me via PM is probably the fastest way without joining my Pat]r[ }e{on (which also allows access to my semi-exclusive Discord).