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Behind every blush and shy smile is a story that begs to be told...

Let's take a look at the Nature that few know. Look back, to the life he once called... well. We'll find that out, won't we?

Nature's Story

Part 1 - Family

The afternoon light was soft and faintly warm, trickling through the glass of the top-floor corridor at Café Plaisir. It was calm, serene, relaxing in its simplicity. This made it all the more sudden when, with a pounce, the Luxray landed heavily on the Arcanine's back.

The feline's paws curling around his neck and into that warm, inviting chest fluff. "Prometheuuuuus...?" The Luxray mewed with a smile.

Prometheus had stopped walking down the corridor. He tossed his head, shaking the other Pokémon around. "Heeey, Ceylon. What d'you need?"

"What're you doing tonight? You working, or...?"

Prometheus turned his head to look back at the shaggy, British Luxray. "Well, no, I've got the night off." he replied in his heavy Greek accent.

Ceylon's smile grew wider. "Brilliant! I was wonderin'. I'm getting a few of the waiters together, gonna have a thing, and I'd love for you to be there..." he said, trailing off slightly, his star-shaped tail batting across the Arcanine's hind legs.

"A thing?"

"Yeah! Nothing big, just gonna have a few drinks, a bit of a chat, it'll be fun!"

Prometheus's gaze wandered. Ceylon watched him intently, paws quickly tapping at the cream fluff.

"Who else is going to be there?" he asked eventually.

"Well, I asked the Mightyena twins, they'll be there if they're not requested elsewhere. That new Leafeon, Leo, he said he might be up for it if he's able. Aquarius..."

"Aquarius?" Prometheus looked back at the Luxray.

"Yeah, he'll be there. I asked Firenze, he's going to be on waiter duty, but we'll see him around. I'm gonna ask others too of course; Ravage, Sahbumnim, Nature, Typhoon, Nike..."

Prometheus gave a not-very-encouraging hum of thought. "Well, you see, this is my first night off all week. I was planning to just relax..."

"This will be relaxing, c'mon. Just a bunch of us, sittin', chattin', nothin' to do!"

"Still..." wavered Prometheus uncertainly.

"Drinks are on me."

"Done."

Prometheus shook his body like a dog covered in water, and Ceylon jumped off, landing on all four paws. "Midnight, waiter's lounge. No customers to disturb us."

"When is it finishing?"

Ceylon shrugged, looking away. He smiled, distantly. "Oh... when it finishes..."

* * *

The tray wobbled slightly, but Nature eased it back into position with little difficulty, the bottles clinking melodically against the glasses. The Lucario finished climbing the stairs, and then automatically turned to look out of the window.

It was night in Oklahoma, and the hills and plains around Café Plaisir were dark, empty of buildings or other habitation. The Café had a few lamps on the outside, and a fair distance away streetlamps cast their white, artificial light on the nearby road. Past that glow, a thick stratus layer coated the sky; but through a few breaks in the clouds, the heavens were alive. Nature watched the stars twinkle for a brief moment, a smile sliding across his muzzle.

He blinked as his vision refocused. He looked at his reflection, and took it in; the lithe figure, the tray of drinks, the black apron with the Café's logo in one corner... the smile on his face.

His smile faded slightly, eyes unfocusing, his mind wandering. This person he was now... it was so... different...

There was a shout and a laugh from down the corridor, and one of Nature's ears twitched at the sound. He blinked again, and his mind returned back to the present. With another look at his appearance, he pulled one head-tail over his shoulder, and headed off down the corridor and around the corner.

"Ah, hey! How about no?" exclaimed a familiar voice from beyond a slightly ajar set of double doors, plainly marked in large letters; "STAFF ONLY". Giving it barely a glance, Nature pushed them open, and walked into the Waiter's Lounge.

It was a relatively sparse room, compared to many of the others in the Café; where the many public areas had pictures of landscapes, this room had mostly blank walls. There were only a few plants around for colour, and to the impersonal eye, the colours and decór did not quite live up to the warm, welcoming atmosphere that permeated elsewhere.

But then, it didn't need to. This was the Waiter's Lounge; a place of relaxation and most of all, privacy and distance from any customers. That was enough.

Conversations carried across the warm room, letting a homely, familiar feeling permeate the surroundings. A few groups of waiters and staff were, here and there, absorbed in their own social chit-chat. Nature's ears picked out the conversation from before effortlessly.

"I'm not tellin' you my real name. That's final."

The voice was smooth, confident. Nature looked to the source; a Keldeo was sat on a large beanbag, staring at the Mightyena beside him.

"C'mon..." the Mightyena whined, tossing her head as she flicked her gaze around. "Tell me. I'll keep a secret."

There was a short, sceptical silence from the Keldeo. Next to the two, a Luxray lounged back in a large, comfy armchair. The electric type's eyes lit up at the sight of the Lucario, and he beckoned him over with one large forepaw.

"Listen..." The Keldeo continued eventually with a sigh as Nature walked closer, the Lucario swinging his hips as he made his way between the chairs and large cushions that littered the floor. "I'm not gonna tell you mine, just like you wouldn't tell me yours! It's fair."

The Mightyena blinked. "Uh. Sinister _is_my real name."

There was another short silence, broken only by another laugh from the Luxray. "Damn, Aquarius, she got you there."

Sinister huffed, and rolled onto her front, turning to stare at the Luxray. "Well come on, _Ceylon._What's yours?"

"Not on your nelly, my dear, sorry." Ceylon smiled, and turned back to Nature as he stood before them. "Here's someone else who won't tell ya his real name. Nature, my lovely Lucario, where ya been? I've been looking for you all day!"

Nature hesitated, the drinks still aloft. He'd been looking for him...? "I went walking." He said finally, the words coming out rather quickly. "Jack said it was okay, as long as I covered the switchover between the afternoon and evening shifts, I've been on since eight."

He looked around at the other Pokémon; on one large beanbag was Aquarius, a Keldeo with his long red mane flowing down over one eye, who looked back at him with a deep, intelligent gaze. Next to him sat Sinister, a young, energetic Mightyena. As he watched, she gave Aquarius the slightest of kicks, followed by a vague, toothy grin.

To his right on an oversized plump cushion lounged Prometheus, who stared at them with a large grin as his tail flicked slowly across the floor. An Arcanine with a Ninetales heritage, his large bulk overlapped the sides of the cushion and limbs rested on the floor. Nature smiled gently at him, remembering.... He'd been very... close with Prometheus recently.

Ceylon leaned in, his large mane flicking as he shifted on his chair, and smiled intently at the Lucario. "When do you get off?"

"Well, usually right after the customer does." Aquarius commented. Sinister laughed, echoed by Ceylon.

Nature gave a slight blush, giving the Keldeo a sideways glance. "My shift finishes at midnight."

Ceylon glanced over at a small clock on the far wall, and Nature followed his gaze; 11:54pm. "Great! You can join us. Now c'mon, drinks."

Nature blinked, feeling some of the hairs on his wrists rise nervously, and lowered the tray onto the table. "What are you all doing...?"

"A whore's night in." said Sinister with a smirk. Ceylon leaned back, and Nature noticed him watching the bottles as he unloaded them; Red Wine, Ouzo, and a bottle of beer.

"Yeah, pretty much what she said." Ceylon replied. "We're just gonna be sitting around, drinking, chatting, and it's all on me."

Nature smiled politely. Inside him, his stomach jumped slightly, and he found himself pulling at his apron with one paw as he picked up the now-empty tray. "How very generous..." He said quickly. "I'll join you when my shift's over."

"It already is! Sit down."

Nature looked back at the clock. "There's still six minutes though... and then I need to check inventory, and talk to Jack, and..."

"No, listen." Ceylon said, staying leaning in as he stared into the Lucario's deep red eyes. "Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna put that tray down, grab a wine glass, and sit yourself down here for the night. Alright, femmy?"

Nature blushed profusely, putting his paws behind his back, feeling rather overwhelmed. He clutched the tray anxiously.

"There's... not really any room to sit, I..."

"Oh, just get your great big blue butt down here." Prometheus said, as Nature suddenly found two Arcanine paws around his small torso. He yelped, the feminine Lucario being quickly manhandled over to Prometheus' cushion. He fell onto it, nestled against the Arcanine's underside, large paws on his legs. He bit his lip and then leaned back against the fire-type, who shuffled back against him. The warmth was... comforting. His stomach jumped again as the Arcanine snuggled up against him.

"You people, you are too strict." Prometheus started up again in his Greek accent. "I have no problem with people knowing my name." He raised his voice slightly, gesturing towards Aquarius. "Giannis Daniilgiós. At your servize, of courze. There is no point in hiding one's name, I say. No shame to be had here."

"Yeah, that!" Sinister said with a grin.

"After all, what is there to be ashamed or secretive about here, eh?" Prometheus continued, nudging against Nature. "We are a family!"

Aquarius lifted his head suddenly. "Ah! Now that I'll drink to." he exclaimed. Nature noted the tantalising glances he was giving the bottle of beer sitting in front of him

Ceylon jumped suddenly, his tail jerking as his eyes went wide. "Oh! Bloody hell, I almost forgot..." he said, and smiled at them. "We can start this off now, can't we?" With his tail, he picked up a bottle from beside his chair, and presented it to the group.

"This Baileys is straight from the UK. I brought it back with me when I was last there, and you're all having some, okay?"

Nature smiled, watching as the Luxray began to pour out five measures of the alcohol into glasses specially designed for feral Pokémon, with large handles and wide bases.

Just like that...

Deep inside him, part of his mind recoiled in surprise. He still wasn't used to this, he thought, as the Luxray nudged the glasses towards each of them in turn. Nature took his gratefully. He wasn't used to... well... he wasn't used to having people like this around him.

"There. Got more for any others that join us later..." Ceylon said, putting the bottle back down. "So yes. I therefore propose a toast." He continued in his finest British accent - the Queen's English, as he called it. The Luxray straightened up, his tail curling around the glass and raising it. Around him, with various paws or other appendages, the rest of the Pokémon did the same. Nature hurried to copy, glancing at the sloshing beige liquid. He sniffed curiously at the creamy, alcoholic aroma, and a pleasant shiver ran down his spine. He looked back to the Luxray.

Ceylon regarded all of them, and his gaze brushed over the Lucario's. Nature felt light when it did. The Luxray's smile was warm, inviting.

Ceylon raised his glass a little higher.

"To our Plaisir family."

* * *

Three years ago

It was a late, autumn afternoon, with evening beginning to loom its large, tired head across the landscape. It must be half past four by now, Robin thought, as he stared out over the small, squat one-storey building below him. Around it were fallow fields, a road... and a whole lot of nothing.

An endlessly flat expanse, just like much of Oklahoma, the young Lucario thought. It was rather beautiful in a strange way, how the land could be completely devoid of anything right to the horizon. There was something about such swathes of emptiness which gave the world a grand sense of scale.

Hell, he was even the tallest thing around in this tree, even higher than the house. Well, pretty much. Robin sighed, settling back against the main trunk, crossing his legs on the large branch on which he was sat. Here, he liked it. He enjoyed life. The pressures of the school day had ceased, and the creeping dread of what was to come was still far enough away that he could forget about it...

Yes, forget about it, at least for now. Robin found himself pulling at the tight shirt around his torso, so restricting, so formal. His school clothes; neat, ironed, folded, scratchy... It wasn't that they were tight; on the contrary, the Lucario's lithe figure made it like putting a sack over a rake. It was that they were just so... clingy. He felt like he couldn't move.

But yes. Forget about it, he reminded himself. There's nothing to worry about right now. Slowly, Robin closed his eyes, letting the wind whisper to him through the leaves of the late spring.

Robin had always felt a deep connection with nature....

It was a while later that he felt a pressure on his paw. His eyes flicked open - he didn't even think to reach out with his mind, inspect the auras around him. Instead, he raised his arm, blinking in the bright, blue-hued light that comes after one's had their eyes closed for a while.

On his black-furred paw, curled around the short spike on the back of it, was a small Caterpie. As Robin watched, it turned to stare up at him with large, dark eyes, the rest of its segmented body twitching. This particular Caterpie seemed to have a rather eccentric light green pattern cascading down its back.

Robin inspected the bug. "Hello." he said, turning his hand slightly to look it over. The Caterpie shrunk back a little, before fully uncoiling from the Lucario's paw spike, and stepping forwards onto his fingers. Robin chuckled, feeling it's small feet through the fur.

Eventually, Robin leaned forwards, slowly standing up on the branch. It wavered beneath him; he was a few metres from the ground, but he'd done this before. Slowly, he raised the Caterpie, reaching it towards the higher leaves.

"Theeeere you go..." the Lucario said, and gave another small, soft laugh as the bug began to crawl onto a higher branch, heading straight towards a rather large leaf. Robin stood there for a few moments longer, balancing on his own branch, while the Caterpie began to munch through an early dinner.

Wasn't it something that people said? "Oh, what must it be like to be a bird" or something like that. Usually when life had got them down so far they were in such despair, the monotony and the basicness of such a simple life seemed a relief to the complexity. Abandon the world, and live just like a small bug or bird, searching just for the next meal; barely any concerns.

Robin smiled gently, watching the Caterpie eat slowly. He couldn't deny it... it was enticing.

His thoughts had wandered so far, the sound of the car pulling up didn't enter his mind until it was too late. Adrenaline suddenly coursed through his veins as his heart caught in his mouth. He crouched down, and began to lower himself onto a lower branch. Maybe he could still-

"ROBIN!"

Robin gave a yelp, his fingers slipping, and he fumbled his descent onto the lower branch. Grasping it, he was just able to swing himself into a heap on the ground. It didn't hurt... well, at least, not as much as the ice that had just stabbed through his stomach at the sound of the Hitmonchan's voice.

Robin looked up slowly, eyes wide. His stepfather stared down at him, wearing an expression that made the Lucario pull at the grass nervously. The face was creased as he glared down at the much smaller Pokémon.

"What...were you doing?" He said, his voice betraying the anger.

"I... was sitting in the tree."

"Yes. You were." The Hitmonchan said the words slowly, laden with distaste. "And what have I told you about climbing that tree?"

Robin stammered a little nervously. The Hitmonchan leaned in closer, the smell of sweat heavy in the air. "Well!?"

"I-I shouldn't do it... Father..." Robin replied, looking down.

"Look at me when you're talking to me, boy!"

Robin looked up again, and the Hitmonchan thrust his face into the young Lucario's. "You... said that I shouldn't do it."

"You're damned right." He said, crouching down slightly, his gaze flicking from the Lucario to the tree, and then back again. "I've told you about this, time and time again. We are not like them!"

"No, sir..."

"We don't go around climbing trees and eating grass and shouting a single word all day. We are civilised." He drew the word out, enunciating each syllable, pouring his southern drawl into each letter. "We are sophisticated. We are... better."

"Yes, sir..."

The Hitmonchan gave a short grunt. "You're three years from adulthood, not three years old. Act your age!"

Robin nodded slowly. The Hitmonchan blew air out of his nose, watching the Lucario for a bit longer, who trembled under the inspection. Eventually, he straightened up, putting his large hands on his sides. It wasn't a hard action to accomplish - the Hitmonchan almost had much diameter as he did height. His eyes were small and sunken, and stared out at the world with a daring glare.

Right now, he was staring down at Robin with the same look one would give the lemon that replaced the final cherry in a slot machine. He breathed in through his nose slowly, one foot tapping the sparse grass.

Robin nursed his arm with one paw, and averted his gaze finally. Better... than them? He thought bitterly.

"Simon...?" came another voice, and a slight jingling came just in front of an overwhelming tidal wave of perfume as someone else strode quickly towards the two. Robin closed his eyes and winced as the jumbled amalgamation hit his sensitive nose.

"Simon, darling, what's going on?" asked Robin's mother, another Lucario, who joined her husband. She carried a handbag, dangling from one hastily brushed arm, and her tail curled around her legs as she stopped.

"I caught Robin climbing the tree. Again." Robin's stepfather narrowed his gaze only further at him. Robin's mother sighed.

"Oh, Robin..." she said. "Not again..."

Satisfied for now, the Hitmonchan turned, stalking back towards the house. Robin rose meekly, and rubbed his arm again - he must have grazed it during the fall, despite the layer of thin fur. He looked over at his mother, who had gone to look at the tree.

"I can't see any damage..." she said, crossing her arms, her gaze still sliding up and down the rough trunk.

Robin looked away, fingering his arm uncomfortably. "I just... needed some peace."

"Peace? You were all alone, what more peace do you need..." She retorted dismissively. Robin swallowed. He hadn't meant that kind of peace, but...

He nodded slowly. "Somewhere to sit down, too..."

She didn't react to that, simply looking back to the tree with concern. He watched her sadly, until seemingly satisfied, she turned back. "Come on. Follow me."

Robin did so, staying close in her wake as they walked around to the front of the house, right next to the driveway. In it was a small car, faded grey, with mud splattered across the sides.

Against the car leaned Robin's older brother, Jake, another Lucario who had a bag slung over his shoulder. Unlike Robin's slim, petite figure, this one had a body that was large and defined, and almost a clear foot taller. His arms bulged with muscles, his yellow chest fur visible under the unzipped jacked showed the ridges of a six pack beneath.

"Don't worry, Mom." he said, smirking back at Robin. "He's probably not even strong enough to damage that tree. You trying to build your muscles, shorty?"

Robin said nothing, and Jake's smirk grew wider; It wasn't a kind expression by any means. No, it was one that Robin was more than acquainted with. Sadistic delight.

Their stepfather had reached the door, and he pulled out a large set of keys held on a large ring. Robin stopped behind him.

"If I had a key, I wouldn't have to wait out here for an hour..." Robin found himself saying suddenly. He swallowed instantly afterwards as the sound of rustling keys ceased. Impulse - it had never done anything but hurt him.

His stepfather turned, and glowered at him. He rose one large hand, pointing right at Robin, who felt that cold stab of fear again.

"You do _not_speak to me that way..." he said quietly, his unblinking eyes fixed on the small Lucario. Robin stood still, not daring to move. "When you're under the roof that your mother and I have so kindly, out of our own hearts, provided for you, you will obey the rules that I set down without question."

He paused and breathed in. Robin watched the Hitmonchan's other hand clench down on the ring of keys.

"Do I make myself understood?" He finished, with a terrifyingly level voice. Robin nodded. He wasn't confident he could even make a sound at this point.

The Hitmonchan let his gaze flick down and up Robin, before he finally turned back to the door. "Right." he said loudly, fiddling through the ring of keys again to find the right one. "There's a lot to be doing, and you both know it. It's chores until dinner. Jake, you get an hour off."

"How about I weed the garden?" Jake asked quickly. Of course. Robin stayed quiet, feeling the gaze on the back of his head; there was no benefit to arguing, even if he hadn't just annoyed his stepfather.

"Garden's yours." their stepfather said. "You," he said, jerking a finger over his shoulder at Robin as he stuck the key into the lock, "you've got the inside of the house."

Robin opened his mouth, but closed it again and nodded, instead replying once more with "Yes sir."

Jake walked past him, carrying two large gym bags like they were nothing. He cast another smirk at him. Behind him, their mother followed, fiddling with the insides of her handbag absent-mindedly. She cast a final glance over at the tree with an intense frown, before disappearing inside the old, worn door.

Robin turned, and retrieved his bag from against the side of the house. He stared out once more at the tree himself. Somewhere, up there, was that Caterpie.

He wondered if it had a family too, or whether it was living by itself, just as he thought it might. Hunting and foraging for its own food; living in tranquility, peace, in such freedom...

"Robin! Now!"

Robin jumped as his stepfather's voice echoed down the hallway in front of him. He kept his eyes down, and slowly walked into the house. The door closing behind him made a bang, the sound resonating in his head.

* * *

Better than them...

The thought worked itself over and over in Robin's mind. It wasn't a new thought, by any means - his stepfather was no stranger to that sentiment. Something in the way it was said, the tone, the emphasis on the word as if it were being used to describe a particularly bad kind of fertiliser. It stuck, and... it hurt.

By 'them', his stepfather was referring to other, more wild Pokémon. Many in this "enlightened" age were far from the mono-vocabularied ancestors that they used to be. Those Pokémon had never been stupid by any means - well, according to others, anyway - but had just not integrated with civilisation. Now though, here Robin was, in a family of Pokémon. House, car, jobs, school.... A wonderfully artificial life in place of a natural one.

"Natural...." his stepfather would comment. "What did the great Mother Nature ever give us? A brain the size of a walnut and twice as dense. No, this - this is where we belong. _This_is life...." He'd say all this, and gesture around him. Gesture at the TV, at the cooker, at the walls and roof of a house so immaculately clean because 'we have to sell it, you see, move up the property ladder'. He'd mention 'Civilisation' and 'Culture' and 'Politics'.

The sun, the wind, the morning breeze and chatter of flying-types - no, they didn't mean anything. This life, these walls were his horizon, the roof his sky. And he'd say that...

And never with a smile.

Robin wondered about that. No matter his feelings, his thoughts or sentiments, he couldn't help but accept that his stepfather was right... well, partly..., mostly.... Society, community, culture, they'd done and given wonderful things. Electricity without electric-types, warmth without fire-types, news, communication, safety. Millennia of progress, and not a single smile from someone who claimed it to be the way to go, not a single sigh of contentment.

"It's the way it's done, Robin." he'd be saying, as the Lucario would rub at a streak of grease on the kitchen counter, or mop at dirt that had collected by the back door "It's how it's been done by civilized man for thousands of years. We've perfected it, we're the best that have ever lived. Why anyone would ignore that is beyond me, I could tell you..."

But if he was right, why were there so many out there? So he'd been told, anyway. So many still shunned this style of living. They still spoke, reasoned, lived and loved - they just... didn't take part in this life.

It certainly didn't seem that glamourous. It didn't give his stepfather a smile. Maybe that was why? Or maybe he was happy, and he just didn't need to smile. Was that something that came with age...?

"Natural life, natural urges... it's not right, you know? We're past those instincts. Filthy animals..."

Robin would nod, say "No, sir" - or "Yes, sir" if the situation demanded it, and hope it was the right one - and continue with his work. He still felt at odds, though. He'd still think of Pokémon, like that Caterpie, who lived out there in the wide-open world where freedom seemed to reign, and wonder why the allure was so strong - why, when he thought of it, his chest would feel light and a lump would form in his throat?

If it really was that bad away from civilisation, if they really were better, here, today in this 'proper' life... it came back to that question, which now just as before circled his brain over and over again.

Better than them... why did that sound so...

...Wrong?

* * *

It was dark outside by the time Robin opened the door to his bedroom, and the familiar, comforting scent hit his nose. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, trying not to let it make any sound. He leaned back against it, resting his head against the holes where a lock had once been installed, and let out a long sigh. His whole body ached, the exhaustion wearing on his mind. Slowly, automatically, he looked around.

The room was... semi-tidy. The rest of the house was immaculately clean, or as clean as he could make it by himself. Strange how weeding the 'garden' outside the front door was considered as big of a task as keeping the whole house in perfect, catalogue-cover condition; Jake never had to do any of the indoor work. Robin couldn't request it. He didn't have the courage.

The Lucario sighed, feeling a knot in his stomach as he admitted his failing. He scanned the room, and felt that pain loosen slightly. This room didn't have to be kept to the perfect standards of his parents, his... "overbearers", a word his mind had conjured up. It seemed to fit.

A pile of magazines were stacked on the floor by an old cabinet filled with VHS tapes that weren't even his. Against the other wall, a small set of drawers were covered with a pile of dog-eared books, with worn pages and frayed covers. Above them, a calendar showed a picture of a tree, leaves of gold and red and brown, gleaming in a setting sun. On the floor, an alarm clock with a trailing cable showed the time as 23:13.

Robin turned an ear back to the door. There was a soft murmuring, but by the sound of it, it was coming from his parent's room across the hall. He let out another gentle sigh, and slowly, began to peel off his clothing.

Everything went on the floor, unnoticed, unheeded. He'd need them again tomorrow, of course, but that was a while away. He always got them back on before his parents burst in, 7am, to drag him up for the morning chores. No; he wasn't going to wear them here. Here, he didn't need to.

Naked now, free, he tiredly collapsed onto the bed by the window. His head lay against the blankets, and he inhaled the musty, familiar scent. For a moment, that's all he did. No-one to demand anything of him, to tell him what to do, to tell him off...

After a while, he opened his eyes, and then realised he'd closed them. Tiredness dragged at the edges of his consciousness. He blinked, rubbing his face, and sat up.

Outside his window, the tree caressed the wind with its branches. The land was dark, empty of any other structures, and not even the small road that went past his house had any streetlamps on it. A thick stratus layer coated the sky, but...

Through a few breaks in the clouds, the heavens were alive.

His paws grasped the windowsill slightly, and he stared up through the window, out at that sky. The stars... they were so bright, so vivid. He could see the flickering colours, hints of red, or blue, or orange. He peered closer, seeing smudges of star clusters, so far away...

He didn't think now, there was no debate, no questions spinning around his head about what was right and what was proper. All of a sudden, Robin felt lighter; the burdens of life, the weights of his family... they were gone. No, all he was now, all his mind was, floated freely out into that sea of wonders.

The starry night sky... what had been built on Earth was nothing out there. All these technologies, these social and physical constructs, the artificial world was meaningless at best. Culture, politics, this pedestal-worthy 'Civilisation' ended just a few miles from the ground.

Out there, there were no families; no-one to force their judgements on others out there, to look and comment and degrade with an eternal frown. No, none of that out there, out there in the scale of the grand universe...

Robin shuddered slightly. Some felt small, insignificant, and hated it. His stepfather was probably one of them, though he'd never said as much - he'd never reveal something like that to Robin if he did, anyway. But the idea didn't shake Robin; the concept that everything he'd experience, everything in this world ultimately coming to nothing... it was... comforting, in its own strange way. Just another thought adding to the dichotomy.

The Lucario put his head in his paws, staring out across the dark plains of Oklahoma. The tree waved in a gentle night's breeze, and a few leaves spiralled through the warm night air. The dark shape towered over the house, so inviting. His heart ached slightly as he watched it, imagining once more being that Caterpie, up in that tree, relaxed by the gentle swaying. Almost absent-mindedly, he snaked his tail out behind him, the end waving back and forth in time to the tree's motions in the night's breeze.

He stayed there for what must have been half an hour. Sleep could be had later, he thought. Sleep was an escape, and right now... right now was one of the few times he didn't want to escape.

The tree... the stars in the background, endless sky above the dark plains... so... open, so inviting....

Robin jerked suddenly, opening his eyes and blinking. He'd closed his eyes again, his body feeling wearier than before. Sleep was coming on quickly, and he felt a slight pain of sadness. What would he gain by sleeping now? If he did, the next thing he'd know he'd be hearing his mother banging her bedroom door, and be scrabbling for his clothes before she burst in on him, checking her phone, forcing him up for the morning chores.

He looked out across the landscape, admiring it for one last time. Close to the horizon, the clouds continued to drift, only just revealing a waning crescent moon.

Robin paused. One paw, that had been on his sparse blankets ready to pull them around him, moved back to the window.

The crescent's light was pure, and he took in every detail of that surface that he could discern; the bright craters, the dark seas...

Robin swallowed, letting out a gentle sound, almost a whine. His tail curled around his waist as he looked back to everything he could see; the tree, the grasses in the fields, the rustling hedges, the distant horizon...

One day, he thought. Yes, yes, he was sure now. He'd always been; after all, it was always so enticing. The prospect of it... nothing but nature, the freedom, being away from this house and this family...

With a determined look, he eventually pulled his eyes away from the scene, and lay back down in his bed. His body relaxed instantly, feeling the familiar lumpy mattress underneath him. The moon cast a vague light over the covers, and slowly, Robin pulled them over himself. He shut his eyes, head against the small pillow, his mind swirling with the idea. His heart felt warm, and in the depths of the covers, he smiled to himself.

One day.