SEVEN | Skiddos and Don'ts
"Oh my gosh!"
"Look at them all!"
"They're so cute!"
"Miss Bowie, he's eating your shirt!"
Bowie turned on the balls of her feet and giggled at the sight of one of the many skiddo chewing at the knot on the back of her shirt. "Hey, that's not food," she chastised him. His tail wagged rapidly and he smiled around the knot. As Bowie reached back to brush him away, he let go and hopped from side to side, bleating.
Skylar surveyed the exchange a few feet away. It was best to let the kids get used to being around the pokémon without hovering. She could step in when needed and, so far, the kids listened to her when she went over the ground rules after their arrival.
They were wiggly and squirmy as she suspected; most were loud and eager to dive right in and a few hung back, watching from a distance but still equally captivated.
She understood; the sheer expanse of the sanctuary was enough to make her still take pause when she looked around. Sometimes she had to remind herself she lived there and got to be around so many different pokémon every day.
The team greeted the kids upon their arrival, lined up on the porch waiting for them to be unloaded. Zenith welcomed them with a big smile and promises of fun and a good learning experience. They were then broken down into separate groups to be toured around the sanctuary by a volunteer, each taking a station to then rotate to the next one until they had visited all of them; a picnic lunch was provided. They pulled out all the stops.
If they were lucky, maybe a few of the kids would grow up to volunteer there as well, if not at least do their part to bring human and pokémon unity if they decide to go down a different path.
"I told you the shirt was too big," Skylar commented. Zenith insisted on them having matching shirts for events like this. Colored off yellow with Sunrise Sanctuary written on the front, accompanied by a little doodled sun dotting the I, and the word STAFF or VOLUNTEER on the back, all the shirts were reused from the year before. Skylar hadn't had time to go through the inventory for extras or to order another in time, so Bowie was given an XL.
It didn't deter her; she simply rolled up the hem until it reached her naval and tied the excess off behind her. A few of the other volunteers lifted their eyebrows at the sight but if Bowie noticed she didn't let it show. She happily stepped forward when announced as "Miss Bowie" and took control of her group. Skylar was tasked to follow along with her as backup.
"It's fine! I made it cute!" Bowie stood and struck a pose, holding up V signs by her eyes, as if that would prove her point.
Skylar merely hummed. It wasn't entirely practical, the hemmed short and short shorts and sneakers—though it was a margin better than the layered gothic Lolita dress Chelsea, another volunteer two years older than Skylar, insisted on—but as long as Bowie got the job done, she could let it go.
And Bowie was doing a good job matching the kids' enthusiasm as they went around the sanctuary. They weren't afraid to ask questions when she also had a few of her own. It was still fun, but they did have jobs to do on top of it.
"Miss Skylar." Skylar glanced down at the tug to the hem of her blue plaid long-sleeved shirt. While she liked the matching t-shirts, she liked keeping cool a little more. Summer would be upon them before they knew it. "Can I have more food?" The little girl with a large red bow attached to her swinging ponytail thrust her palms upwards, eyes wide.
Skylar knelt and poured a small pile of pokémon food into her palms. "There you go." Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial tone she asked, "Do you want to know something cool about the skiddo?"
"Yeah!"
"They can use photosynthesis so they get most of their nutrients from the sun." As she spoke a skiddo bumped into her side and nuzzled against her thigh. Skylar stroked along its neck; the leaves of its mane tickled her palm. "Which means they can go a long time without eating or drinking. But we like to give them food once a week to supplement the vitamins and minerals." She lowered the cup to the skiddos mouth.
"Skiddo! Skid skid!" it cheered, little ears wiggling before stuffing its whole face into the opening. The two girls laughed.
"What's photo…" The little girl's lips turned down to a pout and her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to mouth and sound out the word. "What's…photo-synnesis?"
Skylar chuckled. Close enough. "Photosynthesis. In simple terms, it's when you convert the sun into energy or food." Satisfied with that answer, the little girl scurried over to a clump of skiddo who jumped on top of each other to be fed.
A little boy took her place; his large amber eyes sparkled with wonder. "Miss Skylar, how many of them are there?"
"We have thirty-seven skiddo here and one gogoat; Bucky." She pointed a few stalls down. At the mention of his name Bucky lifted his head, looked in their direction, snorted, and lay back down. She appreciated his effort. "He's the leader of their herd. Wherever he goes, they follow. Whatever he does, they do too."
Rhythmic thumping had her eyebrows collide and her eyes dart around until she found the culprit: one lone skiddo by the closed gate, repeatedly ramming his head against the wood. It made the little boy giggle. "See? Bucky's likes to headbutt the pen to get our attention and it seems he's passing that long as well." She made a clicking sound with her mouth and the skiddo immediately stopped ramming and sat on its haunches; his annoyed, expression made her chuckle. "Did you notice anything different about Bucky when you first came in?"
Small arms shot into the air and a few kids spoke the answer in a broken synchronicity, "He has a metal leg!"
"That's right. It's called a prosthetic leg. That means his first leg was replaced with an artificial leg to help him with his mobility."
"What happened to it?" Bowie asked, arm shooting straight into the air. The kids around her leaned forward, lips pressed together.
"He lost it." That was the safest answer. The last thing she wanted to do was traumatize the kids. Bucky's arrival wasn't under the nicest of circumstances.
The boy blinked up at her, freckled nose wrinkled. "Is it playing hide and seek?"
"Not exactly," she said following a laugh. Her heart warmed at his innocence. "Some people have two arms and legs, some people are born with just one, and some people lose them."
"Miss Skylar if you have so many skiddo, do they all have names?" Another boy with large front teeth asked. When a few of the other kids tittered nearby about wanting to know the same, he stood tall and puffed out his chest.
"Of course! Each skiddo is as unique as you and me so they get names as well."
"How do you remember them all?"
"You know how your teacher remembers all your names?" They nodded. "It's like that. I want to make sure I know all of them too."
"Miss Skylar, do you have a favorite?" Amber Eyes asked.
She shrugged. "All of them are my favorite."
"You have to pick one!"
Kids and their firm ideals. "Well, we do have Maggie." She motioned to the back corner where the skiddo in question lay with her head on Henry's lap. Her heart squeezed at the sight: Maggie's eyes were closed and a content smile sat on her face as Henry stroked her head. He held a matching smile. It was a nice change from the blank way he looked at her when she greeted him upon joining Bowie's group. Skylar was happy to see his name on the list of the class visiting from the Pokemon Academy but he didn't react much as they moved around the sanctuary, keeping his hands in his pockets and his face steady. She kept her interactions with him short in the meantime.
"Maggie was born blind and deaf, that means she can't see or hear. But her sense of smell is very keen! She can smell when one of us is coming to feed her or snuggle with her, she can also use her smell to figure out where to go, what to stay away from, and who she's playing with. She was very scared when she first arrived, but she's been doing very well."
The kids oohed and aaahed as they got closer. Maggie didn't move, letting out a content sigh when Henry's thumb stroked a spot behind her ear. The leaves on her mane and down her back was a lush green like the other skiddo, but hers were dotted with white specks. They'd been worried it was some sort of fungus at first; in the end, her dad chalked it up to an unexpected variant. She was beautiful all the while.
"That's a big part of what we do here, we give pokémon a chance to thrive. Some can't see, some are paralyzed, some have neurological disorders, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them. It just means they need some more time, more patience, and more love and, pretty soon, they can live very full lives like you and me."
The kids gathered near Maggie, talking among one another while raining pats and scritches down on her. The other skiddo flocked, nudging and bumping them while crying for attention. Bowie laughed, passing out more food, corralling some back her way. Good move. Skylar caught her eye and gave a single nod. Henry would've been buried in an earthy avalanche and a flurry of limbs beneath the kids' eager advances. Bowie blinked, head tilting slightly, and nodded back.
A shrill whistle sounded off in the distance. Skylar's head whipped around to the door at Apollo's following howl. He'd never been great with high pitched noises. Zenith's chuckled apology came after, along with his shouts of a station rotation.
"Okay everyone, it's time to let them out and for you all to switch stations," Skylar announced, hands going to her hips.
"Awww," the kids chorused, their shoulders sagging.
"We're going to the fields next for you to meet the miltank and some of the other sancutarians we have. And after that we'll go to the garden at the back to pick berries. There'll be enough time after lunch for you all to explore and play."
Bowie nudged the girl with the red bow; her eyes sparkled with a challenge. "I'll race you!"
The girl took the challenge. "I'll beat you!"
"Bet you won't! Loser has to give up their lunch cookie."
"You're on! Ready—go!"
The girl took off, laughing along the way as the tails of her bow flapped behind her. It set off a chain reaction of the other kids rushing to catch up with her and the skiddo following the food out the door. Bowie ran among the herd, her movements slower and more relaxed than the rest of giggling kids racing for the lead.
With the barn empty, Skylar moved around unlatching and releasing the other pokémon. Even with a tour they still needed to stick to their schedule.
The two nidoran hurried out, chattering along the way. The tauros came next, shaking his name while clip-clopping out the door. The slowpoke walked out backwards, his blank stare and ever-present empty smile trained hard in the direction of the back wall. The rhyhorn missing its horn almost went the wrong way upon leaving his pen; a few nudges to his rough side got him moving back in the right direction. It also left her with a tear in the knee of her jeans. Their newly returned houndour stayed curled in the back of her pen no matter how many times Skylar called to her. She'd try again later.
Cupping her hand to her neck, she lolled her head back, stretching and rubbing the tight muscle. A hot bath was in her future.
Turning, she came up short at Henry still sitting with Maggie on his lap. He should've left with the others, not that she blamed him too much. Getting a good snuggle in with the skiddo was very enticing but they did need to stay on schedule.
Skylar approached, keeping her pace light and careful. Maggie's head turned in her direction and her smile widened, lighting up her sweet face. Okay, maybe Maggie was her favorite skiddo. "Hey Henry, are you having a good time?" Skylar formed the according phrases with her hands as she spoke, stumbling a little as she thought through the right gestures, motions, and placement.
He blinked at her, the smile easing from his face as his eyebrows furrowed. Did she sign too fast? After kneeling she asked again, making sure she moved her hands and fingers slower, pausing in between to think of better word choices, simpler. He nodded when she lowered her hands.
"I spoke with your mom a few days ago. She says you're looking for a pokémon to help you. She's looking into a psychic type."
He nodded again.
"I suggested a few that I think would help." When he didn't react one way or another, she continued. "We're thinking a mime jr., mr. mime, or an abra. They could be the best for you in the long run to help with communication. On both ends. They'll be able to understand you or be able to read your mind and then can translate it in a way for your parents to understand using the same psychic wavelength, instead of needing to learn the body language of a different species."
Henry made a noise and sat up from where he'd been nestled against the haymow. Startled, Maggie lifted her head, ears lowering as his hands and fingers moved in succession. Skylar bit her lip, training hard on the gestures he made.
"'What if I want a different one? I…think—know—what my mom says, but the pokémon is supposed to be for me, right?' Well, yes, that's true." At her confirmation, Henry's jaw tightened. Maggie's smile disappeared and she nudged her nose against his arm. "'So why does my mom have to chose—choose, sorry—one for me?"
Skylar bobbed her head. He had a point there. Still… "There's nothing wrong with having her input. She's only looking out for you. It's what parents do. It's mega annoying sometimes"—she made a show of rolling her eyes; his eyes too, whether it was at her joke or at her attempt to relate she couldn't discern—"but, well, they wouldn't be parents otherwise, right?" Henry grunted. Skylar knew the feeling. "She means well."
How many times had she heard that? It was her dad's favorite phrase in all matters relating to her mom. And they'd been in reach for her to snap up at a moment's notice, even though she'd shoved them away. Ugh.
Maggie bumped her head against Henry's arm at Henry's frown. "Skid…skidoo," she muttered. Her voice carried a trembling rasp. Henry patted her head again, stroking her horn upwards. All at once a light filled Maggie's cloudy eyes, her ears perked up, and she jumped up to happily trot in place. "Skiddo! Skiddo!"
"Give it a chance. If you don't match with any of them, you can try another pokémon afterward," Skylar said. "It wouldn't hurt."
Henry's chest filled with his heaved breath, followed by a long sigh. He gave Maggie a look. Maggie bounced up on her front hooves again, beaming.
"You won't regret it. I promise." Skylar tapped her heart and winked. Henry nodded. "Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. You'll see."
With a sweep of her arm, Skylar motioned to the exit. Henry got to his feet, holding onto Maggie's horn all the way. She pranced along next to him into the sunlight.
—
Bowie stared, transfixed as Zelus practically floated up and down the ladder to harvest the ripe pecha berries. He made it all look easy with his bulging muscles and mechanical motions. Grab, twist, pluck. Grab, twist, pluck. Within minutes his harvest bucket filled to the brim with the orange fruit, and he casually carried it as if it weighed as little as a joltik. He gathered up the ladder, moved onto the next tree in the back garden, and started again.
Show off.
"Hey buddy, do you think you could help me out over here?" Bowie asked, putting on her sweetest smile.
"Machoke, choke!" Zelus wagged his finger in her direction while simultaneously shaking his head. "Ma, machoke." Then with a large, toothy, smug grin, he went back to grabbing more berries off the tree, alternating hands as if they were windmills. And, she swore, he flexed his muscles along the way.
"It's okay, I can do it myself." Even as she spoke the words with confidence, her shoulders sagged at the full branch above her. Maybe if she could get Rowan to use razor leaf a few times….
Her eyes scanned the expansive acreage in search of her ivysaur and found him walking along with the two miltank. They strolled at a leisurely pace, chatting about something. Mollie kept her arms behind her back, head tilted backwards and with her eyes closed. Nana, on the other hand, kept her eyes on Rowan, nodding every now and then with a sweet smile.
They paused by the fence where Rowan extended one of his vines and plucked a white flower out of the ground. Nana's eyes lit up and she clasped her hooves together when Rowan presented it to her. Cradling it to her chest, she reached out and patted Rowan's head. His cheeks turned redder than a slugma.
How sweet!
Humming the wedding march, she turned back to the berries bobbing above her. The song faded on an off-key note and she blew a breath out the side of her mouth. Gripping her shoulder, she spun her arm in the socket, wincing at the taught pull of the muscle. Just push past the pain, Bo! She had to regain her dignity somehow.
The kids were ruthless with their taunts when they beat her out of the barn. Okay, so maybe she let them win but they didn't have to brag about it so much. That little girl happily declared how she'd save Bowie's cookie for last when lunch came around.
Bowie had to show them up when it came to the harvesting station. Besides, fair was fair and the little girl took it in stride when Bowie gloated about getting her harvest bucket finished before she and three other boys filled theirs.
So maybe they were younger than her, she couldn't help that. There was nothing wrong with good healthy competition and she knew from experience the younger group could give them a run for their money.
If that youngster Joey came across her path again…
She sighed. Nothing good was going to come from wondering about how she'd do things differently. Those days were over.
Grimacing, she dropped her arm and let the burn in her shoulder ease as the seconds flowed. Did she rely on Rowan too much. Was that a bad thing? He was her first pokémon, her partner. And that was the whole point of being a pokémon trainer, wasn't it? Making friends, battling gyms, travelling, and being there for one another?
She yanked another pecha berry; it was cool and smooth in her palm.
She'd never been able to hold onto one for so long. Daffodil, her clefairy, used to eat them like candy. Not that Bowie blamed her, she was susceptible to poison-types.
In fact, it was the berries in question that had them stumbling across one another in the first place.
She'd just gotten past the Pewter City gym and was on her way to Cerulean when they made at Mt. Moon. She'd quickly fallen in love with camping, loved sleeping under the stars and being serenaded by the nighttime chatter of nocturnal pokémon. Seeing a meteor shower on top of that? She couldn't resist! The fact it was the only way she could get to Cerulean for their next gym battle was a bonus.
Rowan, a bulbasaur at the time, used his thick vines to help her climb a tree. Mt. Moon didn't have suitable places for climbing but that didn't stop Bowie. She had pokémon to meet and fun times to be had! Beating gyms along the way was just a formality.
The shower had just started when something by the cave entrance grabbed her attention. The elation filling her at the sight of the star-like pokémon, a clefairy, nearly had her falling back out the tree. The clefairy stood by the entrance to Mt. Moon, looked around, and shuffled past a few rocks until it pulled a pecha berry out from behind a rock jutting out the ground.
Bowie had a few on her thanks to a trainer she'd bumped into earlier, passing through to get to Pewter's museum. He traded her berries for a few of her spare potions; he'd already gotten all his badges. He was training for the league.
Good for him but she mostly wanted friends to hang out with. And that cleafairy was going to be her new friend!
A short fall and a promise of unlimited berries later, and clefairy was added to her team. Her first new friend!
It stung when she was the first one to leave her.
"You're pretty efficient."
Yanked out of her memories, Bowie ducked her head between the ladder rungs, turning Skylar upside down. She leaned against the leg of the ladder, light blue eyes nearly identical to the clear sky above. Straightening up, Bowie rolled back her shoulders and pushed an easy smile onto her face. "Yeah, well, you know, it was tough at first but it's all about getting into a routine." She reached upwards again. Grab, twist, pluck. "You know, Zelus looks more like a machamp than a machoke while he does this. I don't know how you compete against him."
"Well, for one"—Skylar extended a finger—"he basically makes harvesting his workout, so we don't get in the way of that. And for two"—she extended another—"we use clippers." She snipped at the air.
Bowie stared. "You…huh!?" They use what now?
Without a word, Skylar grabbed the object in question hanging off the ladder, unclipping the carabiner attaching it to a thick steel wire rope. She clacked the opening a few times as if to prove her point. Sweat dripped down the side of Bowie's face, rolling over her cheek and curled beneath her chin. The sun burned her skin as much as dawning realization did.
"…Have those always been there?"
"Mhm."
"Why didn't you stop me?"
Skylar shrugged. "I thought you saw them. Besides, you seem to have your own…"—she wiggled her fingers in Bowie's direction—"Bowie way of doing things, I kinda wanted to see how far this would go."
"I'm glad I amuse you."
"I wouldn't call it amusement."
"What would you call it then?" The ladder clinked and clanked beneath Bowie's steps as she descended, balancing the basket against her hip. Skylar took it from her, set it aside, and grasped her upper arm, steadying her, allowing Bowie to hop off the last rung.
"Morbid curiosity."
"Ha ha." Bowie wiped the sticky sap from the pecha berries on the sides of her shorts. Humming, she paused and then licked her palm. A sweet yet tangy taste clung to her tongue and lit up her tastebuds. Delicious! "Did they get all the fruit washed and sorted?"
That was the other part of the station; after gathering the harvested fruit they were to take the rest to Zenith and Delta to help wash and sort them. That must've gone by the wayside since Zenith was alone by the covered tables while the kids oohed and awed over the vaporeon basking under their attention.
"For the most part, but Zelus can cover the rest. Besides, it's time for lunch."
"Oh, thank god!" She was so hungry she could eat a mudsdale. Like the rest of the food she'd eaten over the last week, Zelus prepared it with the freshest ingredients. She couldn't wait to see what he came up with.
The corner of Skylar's lips twitched. "Get cleaned up a bit and I'll find us a place to sit."
Bowie's ears perked up. Did she really say 'us'? She didn't have time to ask Skylar for clarification and thought better of shouting after her for it. What if she ended up changing her mind? Though, so far, Skylar didn't seem the type to change her mind. Once it was set on something it was set; she had more fortitude than a golem's skin. But, maybe like a golem, Skylar could shed her skin too and a calm, chill lunch on a nice day could be the way to jump-start the process.
—
Shoving her pinkies in the corners of her mouth, Skylar let rip a quick and high-pitched whistle. Her heart thudded in time with her boots slamming against the ground while running across the fields.
The kids surrounded the paddock ahead where loud bellows, huffed grunts, and the spine-tingling scrape of keratin against rock sounded. Most of them remained on the ground, peering through the slats of the fence, but a few of the boys stood up on the wooden beams, leaning closer for a better look.
Please don't fall in. Please don't fall in. Please don't fall in. The thought ran through her head in a frantic cycle. Tauros was a rampaging pokémon; it didn't need just its tails to spur it on into a near-unstoppable frenzy. Rhyhorn, by comparison, weren't known as the most intelligent pokémon but they were solid and could do a lot of damage.
The thudding grew louder. Within seconds Dasher lived up to her name; her flaming hooves propelled her until she ran next to Skylar. Despite the apprehension taking charge of her body, a smile came to Skylar's face at the sight of the rapidash. Nothing beat witnessing the grace and majesty of her up close.
They worked in tandem: Dasher sped ahead and turned in a quick, tight circle. Steadying her hand against her flank, Skylar swung her leg up and over Dasher's back at the apex of her turn. Finishing the circular maneuver, Dasher and Skylar righted themselves and Skylar pressed her knees into Dasher's side.
A quick leap over the fence had the two running up on the locked-in mass. The familiar exhilaration of moving fast as the wind fluttered in Skylar's stomach. It was the closest she'd ever come to flying and that swooping
It came to a screeching halt a second later at the sight of the entangled and frustrated pokémon. She cleared the rest of the distance in three good galloping strides.
"Hey—calm down!" Her command fell on deaf ears as Pepper, the tauros, and Rocksteady, the rhyhorn, grunted and took fast, scrambling steps backward.
Rocksteady charged. Well, he tried to. Pepper's extra weight slowed him down but the force of the two heavy pokémon hitting the wooden fence was still solid.
It shook and vibrated, flinging the boys on the fence to and fro while the others down below screamed. The boys, steady once more, whooped and hollered.
"Knock it off!" Pepper and Rocksteady didn't hear that command either.
They twisted and turned, grunting and groaning while trying to get themselves unstuck. Skylar could tell it would be a difficult feat on their own; Pepper's horn was lodged deep by Rocksteady's neck. Each jerky movement had Rocksteady letting out a low groan.
Clicking out the side of her mouth, Skylar urged Dasher away from the rowdy pokémon. The rapidash side-stepped with high knees, her long legs elegant a contrast to the sharp stuttering steps to the other pokémon. Skylar needed her far away enough to not get hit while she came up with a plan.
That's all she needed, some time to think. To shut out all the noise and rely on her training and listen to her gut.
Just relax, Sky. You can do this. The main thing was to get the two separated by any means necessary. Afterword she could assess and debrief with her dad. And then he'd see the sanctuary would be in her capable hands.
Thankfully with the two pokémon up close they couldn't use the usual attacks in their arsenal. And even though they weren't the same type, Normal-type pokémon weren't affected by Ground/Rock-type too much; they had a better chance of tiring each other out sooner than getting too hurt.
That's it!
"Okay, girl." Skylar patted Dasher's thick neck. The heat-less flames flickered around her hand, a strange yet comforting sensation of nothing and at the same time. "We're going to wait for the right opening. Then I want you to use Ember, just to distract them, not hot enough to hurt. Then you're going to push on Pepper with your back hooves until they come apart. But not a full-on kick. Got it? They should be tired enough after separation to not go after one another again."
Dasher's ears flickered back and forth. She was listening and keeping an eye on the tussling pokémon ahead of them.
Skylar's muscles tensed, waiting for the right moment. Her eyes remained trained on them, going over her plan in her mind. Yes, de-escalation was the better option. The last thing she wanted to do was break their trust in her by using excessive force. That's what brought them to the sanctuary in the first place.
"Rhy…rhyhorn!" Rocksteady growled; he scratched at the dirt with his two-clawed foot. Pepper snorted in response, his nostrils flaring with eyes narrowed down to pinpricks.
"Get ready." Skylar's fingers curled into the silky, strong hair along Dasher's neck on either side of the flame.
She swallowed the little saliva remaining in her mouth. A trickle of sweat dripped down the side of her face. Easing out a slow, controlled breath, she leaned backward just slightly.
Dasher's flames always flared right before using a fire attack and while it wouldn't hurt her, she couldn't say the same for her hair. It wasn't her main priority in life but she would still like to keep it around.
Pepper and Rocksteady's heads thrashed from side to side, their feet scrambled against the ground. They shuffled sideways, urging Dasher out the way. A hard twist of their heads to the side exposed more of Pepper's embedded horn.
Now!
"Dasher—"
"Skylar!" Zenith stood tall by the face, his face hardened and clutching a rope in his hands. Once he had her attention, he turned it to Dasher. "Over!" he commanded.
Skylar didn't have a chance to protest when Dasher followed orders and moved closer to the fence. The kids backed up upon their approach, eyes wide with. Except for the freckled little boy who had his arms crossed and a large pout on his lips.
"Move up."
"Dad, I can do it!"
"Skylar." She stiffened. How was it possible parents could turn their kids' name into a foreboding warning? And did he have to do it now, in front of everyone? Cheeks burning, she turned away, avoiding Bowie's soft eyes.
Dasher's hair slipped through her fingers as she re-positioned closer to her neck. A muscle by Skylar's jaw twitched.
She had a plan. She knew what to do. She had her opening, and he ruined it! What was the point of everything she did if he wasn't even going to give her a chance? Doesn't he trust me?
Stuffing her bubbling frustration down, she kept Dasher steady and Zenith settled on behind her. Dasher carried his added weight with ease, and, through his direction, they got closer to the locked-in pokémon. Their breaths came heavier, and their movements were slower. Skylar couldn't help but notice if they'd waited a little longer she would've had her chance.
Tensions lowered as Zenith took charge. Once Dasher approached, he talked Skylar through throwing a lasso around Pepper's free horn and, together, they pulled most of Pepper's horn free. Rocksteady thrashed against the pain and Zenith called Rowan in to utilize his vines, holding him in place. A few more tugs and they were both freed, to cheers and applause from the kids.
As Zenith ushered the kids away, talking about how unpredictable a day at the sanctuary could be, Skylar led Dasher back to her stable where Dougie waited patiently with his mom. His hands flapped in excitement.
"You did a great job girl, thank you," Skylar murmured, patting her flank.
Dasher let out a soft whinny, bumping into her side. Skylar moved towards her head, stroked her muzzle, and gave it a kiss. Dasher turned her head, flapping her lips against Skylar's cheek to do the same.
The brush of her hair and whiskers tickled Skylar's skin. She laughed and nuzzled her face into Dasher's cheek. She smelled of smoke and sunshine.
"Sky, wait up. We have to talk."
Skylar didn't slow her pace. "It's fine, Dad." The last thing she wanted was her bruised ego to be poked.
"No it's not." His voice was closer and within a few strides her arm was in his hand, stopping her. "You should've waited for me."
Whirling around, her fingers curled into fists by her side. "I told you I could do it. If you'd just given me enough time I would've had it handled."
"And I don't doubt that." Clearly he did if he felt he had to step in. "What I did worry about, however, was your idea wasn't entirely sound." Skylar scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Did you think it all the way through?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, tell me your plan." She recounted her thought process, why she reached her conclusion, and the steps she would've taken. His expression never changed as she spoke and by the time she finished her hackles raised. "Here's the thing, let's say you managed to get them apart. What would have happened if you fell off in the process?" Zenith didn't give her time to answer. "You would've been too close. Either one of them could've trampled you. Pepper could've gored you. And you'd be lucky if it were that quick. Getting them free would've been the easy part."
Skylar crossed her arms, lips puckering. He had a point but…did he have to be so right about it? Maybe she hadn't thought that far ahead but why would she need to? Pepper and Rocksteady have been nothing but sweet and loving, they wouldn't hurt her. Not Pepper who, on crisp autumn days, would lay down with his head in her lap basking in the breeze, nor Rocksteady who liked to roll around in the mud after a good rain.
A light breeze shifted the grass between them, brushed against their clothes, carried away Zenith's sigh. "Do you know what set them off?" He shoved his hands into his back pockets.
"Pepper's ball deflated." The tauros battered his favorite ball around for hours on end, chasing after it before it went too far. "He got upset and I think Rocksteady was too close and then Pepper's horn got stuck in one of his crevices. And then they got mad about being in each other's space." Having the kids around egging them on probably didn't help.
Zenith nodded. "Alright." He blew out a long breath and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I think we've all had a lot of excitement for one day. Go finish your lunch. I'll take Dasher back and do a quick cool down with her and then I'll handle the other two."
Skylar dropped her arms in resignation. Now that her adrenaline wore off, her stomach growled louder than Apollo. She barely had a chance to sit down when everything began. "Do a good check to make sure the foal is okay." Pokémon were much more sturdy than typical animals, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure gestation hadn't been triggered too early.
"Dougie wouldn't let me forget." Skylar gave Dasher one more pat and moved toward the house. "Hey." Zenith brought her to his chest; his heart beat steady and his grip held strong. "I love you. Okay?" The words rumbled in his chest and thrummed in her bones.
She let his words sink in, blinking away the tiny pinch behind her eyes. "I know, Dad. I love you too." He was still here. At least she had that.
He kissed the side of her head. "And I'd appreciate it if you can wait at least two more years before you start giving me gray hair."
Letting out a hum-like laugh, she patted his stomach. "You're too late for that one."
—
"Are you…okay?"
Skylar lifted her chin from her palm, glancing up as Bowie sat next to her. The top step of the wooden porch squeaked beneath the added weight. With a shrug, she accepted the bottle of Ramune and popped the marble into place. That felt good.
"Yeah. Zelus gets, well, a little overzealous sometimes." It was a nice way of putting being yanked around like a rag doll as he looked her over to make sure she hadn't been hurt. At one point he even held her by the ankle and dangled her upside-down, and that was after squeezing her in a bone-crushing hug, wailing in distress.
"I meant with…the other thing." Bowie's fingers fiddled with the wrapping encircling the bottle.
Skylar nodded. She knew what she meant. Taking a swig from her bottle, she allowed the carbonation to fizz and pop on her tongue until it went still. Then she swallowed, savoring the lemon-lime taste as it clung to her tastebuds.
"I'm fine." Light from the slow setting sun bounced off the glass as it pooled across the covered porch. Remnants of laughter and chatter of the straggling kids faded as they walked down the driveway, waving to Dasher and Apollo who jogged after them down the fence line.
Sounds of night started to leak from Napier Forest; caws squeezed between the trees, warbling hoots and chattering clicks filled in the between beats, and roars burst through at random intervals. The flutter of wings overhead rewarded her with the sight of five zubat heading towards Napier Forest. She made a mental note to check their berries tomorrow; zubat had a tendency to drain some of the unpicked fruit left on the trees too long.
They'll need to be discarded. Skylar almost laughed at her own thought. Wasn't that what her dad kind of did earlier? At least it felt like it.
"I just…I don't get it." Skylar wouldn't have realized she spoke aloud if Bowie didn't jump next to her. Her attempts to stave off the flood were futile; they kept coming along the flowing wave of frustration. "I try to tell my dad I know what I'm doing he comes in and takes over. What do I have to do to get him to trust me?"
"…Throwing down with a mankey is probably a bad idea, huh?"
Skylar shook her head. "I think that'd kill him."
"Maybe it's not about trust," Bowie said after a few moments of silence. "Maybe you just need him to listen." Skylar narrowed her eyes. Bowie spun the bottle between her fingers. "I mean, I think he hears you but he's not listening. But that's parents, right?" She gave a wry smile. "Can't live with them, gotta find a way to live without 'em."
"I…don't think that's the saying." Besides, she already almost lost her dad once, she didn't want to think about if the situation had been worse.
Bowie shrugged and looked back off in the distance. Skylar studied her profile. How was she able to do that? Just go along like nothing bothered her. Let things slide off her shoulders and not worry. It must be nice…
She set aside her bottle and leaned back, digging into her pocket. Righting herself, she withdrew her uneaten cookie, removed it from the cellophane, and bent it. The soft cookie easily split in half. Nudging Bowie with her elbow, she held out one half once she had her attention. Bowie's eyes bounced from her face to the cookie and back, then she smiled and took it.
Bowie wiggled her cookie and it took Skylar a second until she chuckled and tapped her half against Bowie's. The two ate in silence.