Burning for you - Body heat
#4 of Burning for you
It's that time again, time for another posting. Thanks again, and hopefully for the last time, to Mysterydude for proof reading. :D
RE: the new banner: Yeh... sorry about that, I just hate the default banner so I threw something together quickly, ah well, nevermind.
Ugh, trying to make these chapters shorter and failing miserably. While In my opinion bigger is better, even I have to admit that 13,000 words is extremely excessive for a single chapter and this one is only a few thousand words shorter.
Anywho on with BFY chapter four now. Oh and the song which inspired this chapter was "I caught fire (In your eyes)" by The Used. (Wow I just noticed how that song title works on multiple levels ^^) Also a quick warning: There is so much soppy BS in this chapter, it buuuuurnssss. xP
Here goes.
Burning for you - Body heat
"Hey you... Where are we?"
The driver of the van ran his hand across his eyes in an attempt to wipe the sleep from them. The drive had been much longer than he'd expected, and he had pulled off to the side of the dirt track they were on to have a quick break. He must have fallen asleep, he noted, as the sun had now risen on a new day.
"That's right shit for brains, I'm talking to you. Where. Are. We? Get it?"
He swivelled around in his seat to look at the bodyguard he had hired. The man had the look of someone who was in a deep sleep about him, but was writhing, and grimacing as if in pain. 'Something of a relief really,' he thought to himself. 'He wouldn't shut up about hearing voices anyway.'
It suddenly occurred to the driver that if the man sitting next to him was asleep, then the person he'd just heard speak must have been...
"So smart. Now answer my goddamn question!" The voice was condescending and commanding and venomous all at the same time, it made the driver flinch just to hear it.
"Are you an idiot? Well... yes, clearly, but are you a mute idiot? No! So will you please answer my question?" This voice was different. It sounded as if it was coming from within his own head as opposed to from the back of the van. The speech, if one could call it that, was strange and unrefined. It was the voice of someone who had not spoken properly in an age. It was rough and guttural, and it chilled him to the bone.
"W-Who are you?" he stuttered lamely.
There was a long pause before the smug, condescending tone from before reached his ears once again. "Who do you think? How many people do you think are on this road exactly? It's just you, me, and sleeping beauty here." The driver cast a shifty glance back to his traveling companion to make sure he wasn't trying to pull some weird prank. The man was sleeping as soundly as before.
The driver attempted to calm himself. It wasn't as if the psycho could hurt him from where he was. A shiver went down the man's spine as a dry chuckle could be heard through the thick metal. "So cute, so naive, so wrong!" The voice was now manic and mocking. The change of tone unnerved the man, and he tried his best to block out the voice.
"Oh I'm sorry but that just won't work," the voice continued, its tone switching between happy, excited, bored and sad several times throughout the short sentence. "I'm bored back here and I need someone to talk to."
"Oh yes?" The van driver turned the key in the ignition, wanting to get the rest of the way to the sanitarium as quickly as possible all of a sudden. "What would you like to talk about?"
"Just a little game I made up... It's going to be a lot of fun, and it starts so soon." The voice was back to its high pitched mocking. The driver shuddered once again. He had transported hundreds of people to the sanitarium, but this one was different.
"How do you play this game?" The driver was trying to force himself not to speak, but something in the way the voice spoke... No it didn't speak, it seduced, it manipulated, it twisted the mind and shriveled the spirit. All just by making itself heard.
"Oh don't worry, the rules are quite simple... Such a shame you won't ever get to play."
Ashley opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the fluorescent lighting reflecting off of the white, tiled walls. She was weak and felt dizzy, but pain was a distant memory to her, and suddenly everything, from the fact that she had almost died, to the concerned face of the Nurse looking over her was extremely funny for some reason.
After shining a bright light into each one of her eyes, the nurse pulled a short needle from Ashley's body and took it, along with the bag of liquid it was attached to away from her, setting it on a nearby table.
Casting one last look back at the Vulpix the nurse left the room, as Ashley slipped once again into a state of semi-consciousness. The world went black, and time was no object as Ashley slept a long, dream filled sleep.
When she woke again that strange euphoria had left her. Nothing was funny anymore, she began to worry about Fyre, and Marcus, and even that human girl that she didn't know. Worst of all the pain had returned. She began to writhe as her numerous wounds made themselves painfully noticeable.
She opened her eyes to try and find something to focus on other than the pain. She noticed that she had been moved to a new room. Rather than a table she now lay in a bed. Not a particularly comfortable one, but a bed none the less. The walls were no longer white tile but were now a cream colored paint.
She attempted to turn onto her side and gave a loud yelp as the pain in her stomach exploded. Colors swam in front of her eyes and she closed them, biting down hard to try and diffuse the pain.
Taking a couple of deep breaths as the pain subsided; she decided that she should probably stay still for now. She seemed to be safe enough for the moment anyway. She had no way to know if Fyre was okay, but seeing as how she couldn't help that for now, it seemed like a good idea to get some rest in the meantime.
Fyre inhaled sharply as he felt the sudden pain in his side. He was confused; he had assumed that once he died pain would cease to be a problem. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, allowing them to adjust to the low light intensity.
The first thing he noticed in the room was breathing which was not his own. His eyes focused on another form laying not too far away, its chest rising and falling in time with the breath of its owner. Even in the relative darkness he could tell it was Kat. Which meant either she too was dead, which was unfathomable to him, or much more likely that he was very much alive.
He leaned in to get a closer look at his sleeping companion. As his eyes became used to the dark he could make out more features. First her clothes; they were covered in soot and ash, and now that he sniffed the air, he could smell the pungent aroma of burned flesh on the palms of her hands.
Putting two and two together, he whimpered slightly at the thought that his stupidity had inflicted pain upon her. He realized how idiotic he had been last night. No matter how hard things got, it was no reason to take the easy way out. It was this kind of weakness that he had hoped to rid himself of by proving himself to Kat, and still he had managed to make himself look like a sniveling little runt.
He continued to berate himself as he looked Kat over. Thankfully, aside from the burns on her hands, she had apparently suffered no further injury. He now owed her so much, his sister's life as well as his own. He didn't know how he was ever going to pay her back for all she had done, and there was still a dilemma which he could no longer ignore: He might still love her.
Looking at her face, he noticed the reddened streaks where tears had traced their slow journey down her pale cheeks, and could still see the slight damp patches on the bed sheets where those tears had fallen. It pained him to see her this way. It was far worse, to know that he had caused it.
He leaned closer and gave her a lick across the cheek, his now much larger tongue lapping at the trail of tears and wincing at the stark saltiness. Slowly, Kat stirred and awoke from her deep sleep.
At first, she seemed not to recognize him. The haze of sleep was soon broken however. She gave an elated gasp, and embraced him tighter than he would have imagined possible coming from the thin built female.
He felt fresh tears drip onto the fur of his back, and his surprise was quickly replaced by guilt. "I thought you... That you might be." She pulled back from the embrace, the new set of tears streaming down her face. "Don't you ever do that again!" she scolded him before looking away awkwardly. "I don't know what I'd have done if you had been..." She turned back to him with a shaky breath. "Thank god you're alive."
The moment was broken as a door swung open to allow Nurse Joy's entry. The nurse sat down next to Fyre on the bed and began to dab his side with a damp cloth wordlessly. He winced as the cloth pained his bruised body. Considering what he had planned he was lucky that was all the damage there was.
"Where are we?" he asked. He had seen pokémon centers before and this didn't look like any of the ones he'd been in.
"This is the Hearthome pokémon centre," answered Kat, a slight smile crossing her face as she became sure of Fyre's good health. "The police are looking for Ninetales and they're not as common in this city as you might think. Some reverend said he saw one before leaving the cathedral for the night, and Officer Jenny came around the centre this morning asking about any Ninetales that had been admitted recently. Nurse Joy was kind enough to set up a spare double bed in this supplies room until the heat died down."
Fyre turned to the Nurse, who had stopped dabbing the cool water on him and was standing up, preparing to leave. He gave a short bark of thanks and she curtsied. "I may not be psychic but I know a thank you when I see one." She gave a knowing smile. "Your trainer explained everything. I'm not in the habit of sheltering fugitives, but if they found you they might've put you down, and no pokémon deserves that." She turned to Kat with a brief nod.
"If he seems aggressive towards anyone return him to his ball, and for the love of all that's holy keep him away from places of worship from now on." The Nurse gave a good natured smile and turned to leave again.
"Oh, and your Vulpix woke up this morning. She's been moved to room 206 for observation. She responded well to treatment but I want to keep her for a little while to ensure she's ready to go. You can, of course, visit her at any time you like now that she's out of intensive care." With that she gave another curtsy and finally left the room.
Kat still lay opposite Fyre, now absently running a hand through the thick tuft of fur on his chest. "Hear that? You're Hearthome's most wanted," she teased, her stroking becoming a soothing massaging motion as she spoke.
"Can we go and see my sister?" he asked, the worry clear in his voice.
"Of course," she said softly. "I assume now that we've found your sister and I have my pokémon, you'll be leaving soon?" there was a poorly contained sadness in her voice, and he felt guilty that he had to say yes. As she said it however all his motivation for leaving left him, and suddenly all he wanted was for this moment to never end. She was staring into his ruby eyes intensely, seemingly lost in them, and he stared right back into her cool, grey ones, captivated by their beauty.
Suddenly, and without knowing quite why he did it, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. A real one this time. The shape of his muzzle made the action awkward, but he was able to create a seal between her lips and his own muzzle as he had seen humans do so intimately before.
He expected her to pull away, to shout at him or at least act disgusted. Instead she returned the kiss with force, even pushing forward with her hand so that he was lying on his back, with her on top of him, and holding him down while she continued her stoking motion. The kiss broke finally after a few minutes, leaving both parties panting with exhilaration.
A few more moments were spent staring into each other's eyes before Fyre managed to speak up. "Kat... What did we just do? And... What does it mean?"
Kat blushed as she realized she was lying on top of him and got up swiftly, smoothing down her clothes as she did so and averting her gaze. "It's called a kiss Fyre," she said over her shoulder as she turned to the door. "And it can mean a number of things... It can mean: "hello," it can mean: "goodbye"... Sometimes it means: "I love you." The blush wouldn't fade and she wasn't making this any easier for herself.
She giggled at the perplexed look plastered on Fyre's muzzle. "So which of those did that kiss mean?"
She thought for a few seconds, smiling coyly at the fox-like pokémon while she thought about her answer. Deciding on how she was going to put it she bent down and planted another soft kiss on his muzzle. "That one meant thanks, for not being dead," she whispered. With that she turned and opened the door, leaving Fyre to scramble to get up and follow her as fast as he could. He winced as the harsh pain in his side made itself known once again.
As they made their way through the twisting corridors, Fyre thought about what she had said.
"Sometimes it means: "I love you."
'Did she mean that? Is it possible?' He couldn't decide. It was very possible that she was completely innocent. He shook the thoughts from his head for the moment and focused on following Kat through the centre, thinking all the while about what he'd say to his sister.
Ashley woke as the door to the room she was in swung open, revealing the human she had seen next to Fyre back at Marcus' cave. The human wore a look of excitement, and was blushing, obviously embarrassed about something.
As she approached the bed, however, her expression changed to one of concern, and she leaned over the copper furred pokémon, asking in her human tongue if she was alright. Ashley knew that the human wouldn't understand her but made an attempt at communication anyway. "Where... Where's Fyre? Is he okay?" she yipped the questions restlessly, not even taking time to breathe between them. "Where am I? Who are you? Why were you with Fyre?"
The girl let out a slight laugh as the Vulpix finally finished shooting questions at her. "Yup, you're definitely Fyre's sister." She smiled as she thought of the similarities, how neither could stop to think before blurting out questions.
The Vulpix was stunned for a second as the human addressed Fyre by his true name. Something a normal human couldn't know. "How do you..."
"Don't worry about it for now." The human had a smile that Ashley couldn't help but trust. "Now, I've got someone who wants to see you. Are you ready? He's not quite the... same as he used to be." Panic invaded Ashley's mind as she concocted horror images of mutilation and disfigurement in her head.
"No! No, nothing like that!" the human exclaimed, confusing the Vulpix again as she apparently read her mind. "It's just, well... You'll see." She turned back, walking to the door and holding it open slightly. Ashley heard something enter, but because of her vantage point couldn't see whatever it was.
She took a couple of deep sniffs. 'It smells like Fyre.' her tails began to wag slowly, but unsurely. It didn't sound like Fyre. Heavy paw pads hit the floor, and the click of claws on the floor tiles could be heard over the beeping of some of the pokémon centre equipment.
She was shocked as a large white head appeared beside her, its red eyes filled with worry, joy, and a slight sadness. The Ninetales gave a yip of excitement and Ashley leapt back in shock, causing immense pain to shoot through her. She grimaced and fell back down with a yelp.
"Ashley? Are you okay?" the Ninetales now wore a look of concern at the strange reaction. He hopped up, supporting his weight with his forepaws on the side of the bed, allowing him to get a better view.
"I-I just... Fyre?" She clambered to her paws, grunting as she put weight on her still healing limb. She padded across the bed towards him, looking him up and down as she reached the edge.
She didn't know what else she had expected, but he was a full Ninetales now. Almost double her size and as white as the snow which covered Mt. Coronet, as opposed to the more creamy-white of most Ninetales. She continued to gaze at him, now unrecognizable to her apart from his scent, which carried a stronger, more masculine aroma than it had previously.
"Fyre what... happened to you?" The Ninetales looked slightly hurt as he heard the distress in his sister's voice.
"I evolved... Why? Is that bad?"
Ashley struggled to come to terms with the evolution of her brother. "I-I suppose I can't call you little brother anymore?" A shaky smile crossed her muzzle as she came back to her true self.
Fyre smiled slightly and the human laughed. Ashley cast a glance to her and then back to Fyre. "Who is she? Did she capture you?"
"No." Fyre replied, unaware of how Kat had gotten him back to the pokémon centre. "She agreed to help me find you if I helped her catch her first pokémon. Her name's Kat, she's completely different to any other human I've ever met."
"Can she... understand us?"
"No, I don't think so... I can't really explain it, but she can hear our thoughts, and from them she can translate what we say and respond."
Ashley gave Kat a suspicious glare. "And you say you haven't caught Fyre, you just wanted to help him?"
"Well actually... You see I kinda needed to capture him to help him." Kat rubbed the back of her head awkwardly while averting her gaze.
"You see? I told you... Wait... What?" Fyre turned to stare at Kat, who was trying her best to seem innocent.
"Remember last night?" She didn't want to tell Ashley what Fyre had attempted, it would only make her worry. "Well, I couldn't get you out, I had to capture you, I had to save you... I'm sorry but... Listen, when Ashley gets released I'll give you the pokéball and you can do with it whatever you want." She sounded sad as she said this, and Fyre began to feel awful.
It was as if no matter what he did, he couldn't help but hurt one of the people he was trying to protect. 'She was only trying to help me, I can't hate her for that... I can't hate her for anything.'
Kat gave him a sad smile as she read this in his mind. She was glad that he didn't hate her, but she still felt bad for forcing him into that pokéball... Even if she was only saving his life.
Surprisingly Ashley seemed the least concerned, apparently accepting that he would be released as good enough. "Thank you for helping my brother find me, I'd have been done for without you."
"Really it was nothing. I got my first pokémon out of it after all."
"Still, I doubt my brother could have survived without you. I owe you both my life and my brother's."
The room became silent as no-one knew how to continue. The silence was broken as Nurse Joy blundered into the room, followed closely by a Chansey. "I'm terribly sorry," she bowed to Kat as she came to a halt, "But we have to do some testing to make sure that there have been no side effects to the drugs we administered. Could you two step outside? We may be awhile."
Fyre gave his sister an affectionate nuzzle before turning and following his, 'Well I suppose she's my trainer... For now at least.' He was shocked to find that the idea didn't repulse him. He was quite content to be her pokémon, for the moment anyway. At least this meant that he had an excuse to hang around with Kat for a little longer.
Kat, who was walking a little way in front of him, smiled as he thought this. She really didn't want to see him go, and it seemed he didn't want to leave either. Still, she couldn't separate him from his sister against his will, and she doubted Ashley would be thrilled at the thought of joining her. By the end of today Fyre would need to make a choice.
She decided that if she was to become a true trainer she would need to form a bond with the only pokémon she had. Although she wasn't looking forward to trying to avert a confrontation. Fyre followed her as she led the way back to the room they had rented the night before. Something seemed different.
Spotting the strange case on the bed Fyre whimpered slightly and backed away, his ears flattening to his skull. There was something about it, like it was only half there and it was reaching out to try and make itself whole with anything and anyone. It was a siren song of sorts. The case pulled you towards it, even though you knew that whatever was in there, its intentions were far from benign.
Kat gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, it has that effect on most people. Like you don't want to acknowledge that it exists but it won't let you ignore it. I think it's worse for pokémon than it is for people though." Fyre looked between her and the case.
"Is that the relic?"
"Yes, don't worry you get used to it after awhile and it just becomes a kind of afterthought. Don't get me wrong though, you can never truly forget it."
Fyre allowed his ears to resume their normal position as the effect of seeing the case for the first time had already begun to fade. "So what do you have to do with it?"
Kat shrugged, "I just have to take it with me... that is until Sabrina, or another family member comes to claim it from me. Although that could take days."
Fyre wasn't sure if he liked the idea of letting her travel with this, clearly evil, artifact with only the, equally evil, Mightyena for protection. He gave a slight whine of concern.
"It's fine Fyre. The relic itself is completely harmless as long as it's in that box, and you've felt how it affects people. Do you really think someone would want to hurt me for it? I'm in no danger. But it's very sweet of you to worry about me."
Fyre watched as Kat sat down on the bed, making sure to stay a certain distance away from the box, regardless of what she had just said, and reached for one of the two pokéballs at her belt. Drawing it out, she tossed it between her left and right hands a couple of times before leaning down towards Fyre.
"Fyre, I need you to do something for me."
"I'd do anything for you if you asked." Fyre affirmed with a nod.
"I'm about to release that Mightyena I captured from its ball. I want you to promise me that you won't attack it."
Fyre stood silent for a second. Kat leaned in close to his face to look him in the eye. "Promise me."
Fyre took advantage of her new position to steal another quick kiss, the third one of today. "That one meant: "I promise." A wolfish grin spread across his muzzle as he saw the shocked look on her face.
"You little womanizer." She scritched his chin with her free hand. "I'll get you back for that."
Something in the way she said it, and the mischievous smile that she wore, made Fyre feel strange, like he was trying to breathe with something heavy on his chest. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling, while it did make him slightly nauseous. It was exciting, thrilling even.
Kat felt this and blushed. 'Maybe it would be best if I taught him how to hide his thoughts first, he was almost there last time.' She pondered the matter for a short while, leaning back and resuming tossing the ball between hands.
"How about I teach you how to hide thoughts and feelings from me first?"
It was Fyre's turn to blush. Had she just felt that? He nodded his head sheepishly in response.
Kat waited as he closed his eyes and lowered his head, allowing him to focus on his sister. Part of her wasn't sure if she wanted to give up on being able to read his every thought. If she couldn't she would never have found out about his feelings for her. She wouldn't have discovered her feelings for him.
'She couldn't... could she? Be a pokephile?' Her psyche had been a battleground ever since he had kissed her, accidentally, that first time. Her heart said yes while her conscience said no, and her brain couldn't decide between them. Still, she could not deny, that whether it was love, or something else, that kiss, and the two this morning had been... exciting, electrifying even. She attempted to calm her thoughts as she began her foray into Fyre's mind.
As Fyre cemented the image as best he could in his mind, he felt Kat begin her probing. Something was different though. It was as if she wasn't trying, there was no real force behind her search for a weak spot in his mind.
Kat wandered through Fyre's consciousness half-heartedly, not really trying to find a way in, hoping that if he thought she couldn't break this image that he wouldn't try any harder and succeed in blocking her out. It was selfish of her, but she wasn't prepared to give up her insider info yet.
She was suddenly aware that without even trying she had already broken the image, it was as if Fyre couldn't focus on his sister at all.
"Fyre?" He sat with his eyes closed tight, in a frown of concentration, clearly trying his best to maintain his sister's image despite the futility of his attempts.
"Fyre," His eyes snapped open as he felt her hand rest on his flank. "Sometimes the priority of our thoughts can change. It's possible that now that your sister is safe you no longer have to focus on her as much. Try changing to something you care about equally."
Fyre took the information in with a nod, he understood what she meant but he couldn't think of anything which he cared about more than Ashley. 'Unless...' This was a perfect way to discover whether he truly loved Kat. Closing his eyes, he took a mental picture of her. Focusing on it and it alone. Instantly he noticed the difference, it was much easier to focus on Kat.
When picturing his sister there were other things to distract him. He would think about how much he was going to hurt those Mightyena if he ever saw them again, how badly she was hurt, and how it was all his fault. When he thought about Kat there was only her, her and how much he cared about her, how much he wanted her to be happy, how much he... Loved her.
Kat attempted to gain entry into his mind once again; she was surprised at how strong this mental image was. She couldn't even see the subject, it was completely blocking her. She stained hard to force entry, but this only sharpened the image enough to make out that the figure was human. It could well have been his old trainer, strong emotions, such as hate or fear, often allowed mental protection just as strong as love or friendship.
Fyre kept the image strong in his mind, all the while feeling Kat's futile attempts at breaking this new barrier. A victorious grin spread across his features. He felt much better knowing that he could block her mind reading; it felt better still, to know his exact feelings for Kat.
"Damn, whatever you're thinking of, it's working." Fyre finally allowed his concentration to break as he felt Kat's consciousness withdraw from his own. "Who was that?"
This brought up another problem for Fyre. Now that he knew how he felt, how could he tell her? Earlier when she had kissed him, it had felt as though there might be more to what she said than was apparent but he couldn't be sure, and if he was wrong...
"It was someone who used to be a friend of mine." It was only half a lie, after all she was more than a friend to him now.
"Really? They must have meant a heck of a lot to you."
"They still do, but I don't know if they think of me the same way."
"So you... Loved this friend?" Fyre nodded the affirmative. "Then why didn't you tell them how you felt?"
"We... weren't the same." Fyre looked away as he felt he might be revealing too much.
"So?" Kat felt like she knew what he was trying to tell her, but wanted to allow him to say it himself rather than drag it out of him.
"So if I had told her, and she didn't feel the same way..."
"If she was a true friend then it wouldn't have mattered. A true friend doesn't care about differences, only similarities." Fyre thought about what she was saying as she continued. "If you loved her then she must have been kind, selfless and caring. That makes you and her pretty similar." Kat struggled to think of more ways to coax out what she wanted to hear.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Kat willed Fyre to just say what was on his mind. It was amazing, just how quick she had fallen for him. She supposed it was because she was psychic. She could hear anything anyone thought of her, she tried to stop herself but eventually the temptation was too great.
She had only had a couple of true boyfriends, but the way they thought about her... Like an object. It made her sick. Whereas Fyre, the way he valued her, the way he thought of her was so different, akin to hero worship.
It was not as if there wasn't a certain amount of lust in the way he thought, but it was unlike the humans she had been with. He respected her opinion, felt special just to be around her, and wanted her to be happy. It had unnerved her, at first, to find that she felt the same way about him, but her philosophy had always been: be yourself. If loving Fyre made her a freak then she didn't want to be normal.
Fyre only continued to stare into space, apparently lost in thought. Kat played with the idea of probing his mind while he was distracted, but dismissed it. That would have been unfair to him.
She sighed as she finally stood up from the bed. "Come on then, let's go meet my first pokémon."
Fyre barely even registered that she had spoken. He was back to concentrating on the image of Kat, only this time she did not appear as she was now. She was wearing only her underwear as she had been the night before last. His throat became dry and he gulped as the Kat in his head gave him the mischievous smile he found so cute.
A second touch on the side broke him from his vision with a jolt. "Ground control to Fyre," Kat said with a slight laugh. "I thought I'd lost you there for a second." She was wearing the same smile from his daydream, and he blushed furiously at the memory.
"We'll go outside, where there's less chance of him trying anything... Or you trying anything for that matter." Fyre nodded silently, and waited as she walked to the door before rising. He followed her awkwardly as the stiffness in his sheath, which had been plaguing him recently, refused to go away.
The driver gave a sigh of relief at the sight of the sign stating that that the return to civilization was only an hour's drive away. They were almost off of the dirt road that they had been forced to follow, and in just a short while they would be unloading the, now thankfully silent, passenger.
He had been driving all morning, wanting to get to the sanitarium as fast as possible, and it had finally paid off. There was a rustle of clothes as the man beside him finally awoke with a start. The driver remained wary of him after last night, even though he could no longer deny the voice that his hired bodyguard had heard.
"How did you sleep? Feel better now?" His voice was almost a whisper, for fear of disturbing the... one they were transporting. Somehow 'man' didn't quite fit the voice that he had heard.
The bodyguard looked shifty and unsure, he looked at the driver with only a hint of recognition. "I... I understand."
The driver took his eyes off of the road for a moment to cast them back to his companion. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
The man didn't reply, his eyes were closed tight and he appeared to be in pain, he began to grind his teeth as the pain seemed to intensify. "Yes, yes... I will if you make the pain stop."
The driver became alarmed instantly, whatever the madman was planning it couldn't be a good thing. "Whatever he's saying, ignore it! He won't help you, just ignore it!"
But whether the man simply couldn't hear him or was choosing not to, his plea went unheard. The man began to breathe heavily through his teeth. He let out a sharp cry of pain and slammed his fists on the dashboard.
"Take it easy, ignore him, ignore everything he says." The driver was in a state of panic now, the man he had hired to protect him was now the threat.
"Ignore me?" the playful voice chimed in his head again. "But I'm just having a little fun." The driver felt his foot apply extra pressure to the accelerator without his permission. He tried to switch it to the brake, but his body refused to adhere to his mind's command. His hands let go of the wheel and snapped to his sides, once again, without his permission.
The fear made him shake. he would have shouted, screamed, anything, but whatever was preventing his movement was also preventing his speech. He tried to turn to look at his companion and he was allowed this small mercy. He could see the same fear in the bodyguard's eyes as he imagined were in his own.
"You might want to hold onto something, we're going even further off-road." A vicious cackle ripped through the van as the voice in the drivers head said this, without even attempting to hide the sadistic pleasure it was taking in their fear.
The body guard reached for the wheel. Looking back to the driver he finally regained a small measure of self control. "I'm sorry." He twisted the wheel savagely, and the vehicle jerked to attempt to follow the command. The driver's voice could finally be heard exclaiming as the van careened off the road and into the surrounding woodland.
Kat stared at the ball in her hand for a short while, the midday sun shining off of its red surface. 'My first pokémon.' She glanced back to Fyre who sat patiently, watching her with a wary eye.
She sighed, 'this is it.' She grasped the pokéball in her hand tighter and raised it above her head in the traditional trainer rigmarole. "Okay, come on out!" She hurled the ball with a twist of her hand, causing the ball to spin in the air.
The red beam of light emitted by the ball slowly took form and solidified. The alpha Mightyena was still grimacing, his eyes closed, waiting for Fyre's jaws to close. After a few painless seconds the wolf-like pokémon opened his eyes, blinking with surprise at the human standing before him.
Cru looked left and right, suddenly realizing that he was on his feet, far from where he had been before... She had captured him. He remembered now. That strangely comforting feeling of being trapped inside the ball, struggling for a short while before finally conceding defeat.
Hearing a low snarl beside him, he turned to see the white of Fyre's teeth, bared to allow the growl. Cru flinched slightly but didn't move. "Fyre, you promised." The Ninetales lowered his head, ending the growl and turning to the human with a slight whine.
"I'm sorry, he can be a little headstrong." The human kneeled down, apparently a little too near to him for the Ninetale's comfort, as the pokémon let out another short growl. This was ignored by the human, however, and she simply continued to stare into Cru's eyes.
Cru made no attempt at attack, deciding that if he did decide that he didn't like this human, he would wait until that Ninetales was distracted before making his move.
"Well thinking like that certainly won't help your position." The human laughed as Cru did a double-take.
'I'm sure I didn't say that out loud, and even if I did...' He looked at the human, confused. "Can you... Understand me?"
"To put it simply... Yes." Kat decided it would be better to skip the details for now; she would fill him in later. "How does it feel to be a psychic trainer's first pokémon?"
Cru rolled his eyes, "Phenomenal... Wait... First pokémon?" He looked at Fyre, who stared back menacingly. "So you aren't hers, you're just her bitch right?" He smiled triumphantly as the Ninetales embarrassment became apparent.
"Kat, he's not making this easy."
"I'm sorry Fyre, but you're just going to have to grin and bear it, at least until your sister is better."
Fyre gave a slight grunt of indifference as Kat leaned in closer to Cru. "Now... How do I know I can trust you?" The question was rhetorical, but Cru took it upon himself to answer anyway. "And what do I call you?"
"My name is Cru, if you must know, and as for trusting me, you can't." He grinned savagely, then winced as Fyre resumed his growling. "... But I suppose I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me, and I've always wanted to get away from those idiots I used to call pack-mates."
The human, who Cru surmised from her conversation with the Ninetales was called Kat, seemed amused by this. "Why's that?"
"Aside from being complete morons? They wouldn't let me have any alone time, they were morons. They wouldn't let me leave, they were morons. They didn't have a brain cell to share between them... Have I mentioned they were morons?"
Kat laughed at this, Fyre remained silent.
"So, you don't mind being captured too much?"
"I'm not... Insane about the idea... But for a trainer I suppose I could do allot worse than you. Besides, this gives me a chance to travel; I've always wanted to see the world outside of our hunting area. I'm prepared to give this a shot. If it'll keep me from surviving on scraps... and being ripped to shreds by your bitch."
"Stop calling me that," Fyre whined indignantly.
Kat felt that she probably couldn't have hoped for a better answer considering all the facts. "Glad to hear it... Who knows? You might grow to like me."
"I wouldn't hold your breath."
Kat jumped slightly as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She had been sure to choose a secluded spot amongst a small group of trees and was shocked that somebody had found her. Whirling around, she found Gareth, looking rather taken aback by her sudden movement.
"Gareth! You scared the shit outta me!"
Gareth couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry Kat, I saw you leave the centre and decided I should tell you that I was leaving, but I didn't want to interrupt your first proper meeting with your first pokémon. He looks like a fine pokémon to begin your journey with."
Cru sneered at Fyre, who growled at him. He was surprised at himself, taking pride in the humans comment was not something he had expected.
"... And this must be the Ninetales I've heard about," Gareth continued. "A strong team you've got there."
"Like I say, he's not really mine."
Gareth just shrugged. "Well... Maybe we could have a quick battle? I promise I'll go easy."
"I thought you had to leave."
"Fine... If you're too scared why don't you just say so?" He grinned playfully at her.
She returned the smirk, before turning to her new pokémon. "Well, do you feel like battling?"
Cru was surprised, and he shot her a confused stare. "You mean... I have a choice?"
Kat seemed equally surprised by his reaction, "Well... Of course... I wouldn't want my pokémon fighting against their will. What kind of friendship would that be?"
Cru still didn't really understand, but it made him feel good to know that he now had the power to make his own choices. Even as the alpha of his pack he was restricted. It seemed that with this human he was actually free. "Uh... I guess."
"Okay Gareth, you're on. I hope you're ready to lo..." She was cut off by a tinny sounding ring from one of her pockets. Remembering the phone Gareth had brought to her yesterday, she searched through her pockets. Finally finding it, she glanced at the caller I.D. The only number actually registered in the phone was her sister's, and it was her who happened to be calling. Flipping the phone open she held it to her ear.
"Hello?" Sabrina's voice sounded different through the mobile than it did through the phones in the pokémon centers.
"Hey Sabrina, thanks for everything."
"Well I knew you would need the pokédex, and the phone is really for my benefit. This way I won't have to phone around every pokémon centre in Sinnoh to find out where you are. Anyway, sorry to cut this short but I was really hoping to catch Gareth, is he around?"
"Uhm... Sure, hold on." She offered the phone to Gareth, who rolled his eyes, earning a small giggle from his cousin. He reached for the phone and wandered away, holding the phone up to his ear as he distanced himself from the group.
"Gareth? So he's the litter-mate of..."
"Yes." Kat cut Fyre off before he could say Darius' name. The silence between them lasted for awhile, broken only by Gareth's half-heard conversation with Sabrina.
"So... Did I ever tell you how much I love awkward silences?" Cru tried to make conversation, attempting to alleviate the silence with sarcasm, but clearly neither his new trainer nor the Ninetales sitting next to him were in the mood to speak.
As Gareth finished his conversation he closed the phone, terminating the connection. He spat on the ground and turned back to the small group. "Okay, looks like I do really have to go. Sabby's biting my head off about spending too long over here. It was good to see you Kat." He embraced her once more.
She returned the sentiment and watched in silence as he returned to the centre, presumably to pack last minute items
"Listen," Cru piped up as they sat and watched the human retreat. "Fun though it's been, chasing your bitch's sister without any proper food for a couple of days now, I'm really starting to get hungry. Any chance of some food to persuade me not to bite the hand?"
Kat nodded slowly, and began walking back towards the pokémon centre herself, with Cru, and a still growling Fyre in tow.
Kat stood, trying as best she could not to allow herself to weaken. Her hands betrayed her as they fumbled at her belt, attempting to remove the pokéball. Finally she succeeded, although part of her wished she hadn't.
Crouching on one knee, she rolled the ball across the ground to Fyre, who stopped it with one paw. It had not been long after they had finished eating that Nurse Joy had informed her that Ashley was in good health and ready to go. It had felt like a physical blow to her, she had expected more time with Fyre, more time to try and convince him to stay with her, though even in her own mind that sounded evil.
Cru sat to the side of her. Surprisingly he still hadn't made a bid for freedom or an aggressive move; perhaps he was being honest when he'd said he would give this 'tame pokémon' thing a shot.
Fyre sat opposite her, next to his sister who was urging him to make his goodbyes quickly. Kat stood back up with a sigh. She watched Fyre raise a paw above the pokéball, ready to destroy it. He looked at her once more, looked into her eyes; she was literally almost in tears. Still, he couldn't just abandon his sister.
Kat turned away as she realized her eyes were threatening to betray her also. She took a deep breath to steady herself before beginning. "Well Fyre, I guess... It was fun hanging around with you... I know we didn't always see eye to eye but... I hope you still consider me a friend. So I suppose... this is goodbye. I'm going to stay here for tonight and leave tomorrow around midday so if you want to talk again sometime between those times I'll be..."
"He's gone Kat." She whirled around as Cru addressed her. She looked quickly between him and the empty space where Fyre and the pokéball had been. She felt hurt, more than that she felt betrayed. He didn't even say goodbye. He hadn't said anything since Gareth had left. 'Is he mad at me for something?' She couldn't be sure.
With a sigh, she began the short walk back to the pokémon centre, with a heavy heart. She had Cru now, but it wasn't the same. She doubted any pokémon would ever be the same. He was so different, so amazing. It was unexplainable. Still, she supposed that was love.
After reaching her room, she returned Cru to his ball before slumping down on the bed next to the case containing the relic. Without Fyre around it seemed much more foreboding and much more dangerous. Deciding she couldn't bear to look at it anymore, she moved it across the room next to her bag and items. She then proceeded to lock the door and head for the shower, not sure at this point what else to do.
Fyre sat at the entrance to the cave inhabited by the irritatingly friendly Marcus. It wasn't that Fyre hated him, but the Cubone just didn't seem to know when to leave well enough alone. 'Probably born of a life of solitude,' Fyre supposed.
He hadn't known what to say to Kat before they left, he had just turned tail and ran, picking up the pokéball in his mouth as he did. It was the pokéball which he sat staring at now, lost deep in thought. He couldn't bring himself to destroy it. It was his only memory of Kat, unless he... But could he really abandon his sister?
The more he thought about it the less it seemed to matter. Even if he went back to Kat she probably hated him now, for running like that without saying goodbye. He let out a long sigh as Marcus came out with berries to attempt, once again, to coax him into the cave.
After fleeing the human city Ashley had instantly asked to be led back to the Cubone's cave, and while Fyre was hesitant about bringing his sister to the very place she had been attacked, he relented eventually. He always did.
As they had come upon the cave Marcus had rushed out to hug his sister, in what Fyre viewed as a, 'more than friendly' way. Then turned to introduce himself to the Ninetales, thanking him profusely for, "saving their tails" as he put it.
And so it had been all night. Marcus and Ashley would exchange, more than friendly, pleasantries, in a, more than friendly, way. And Fyre had remained outside of the cave. Simply staring at his pokéball.
It was quite dark now; the fire Ashley had lit in the cave began casting warped, flickering, and disturbingly Mightyena-shaped shadows on the cave walls. Still, the mental argument raged on. 'It's not as if you'd be leaving Ashley alone, she has Marcus now, and the way they're acting, I think they need their space.'
He was disturbed by Ashley nuzzling his chest, which she now only just reached without standing on her hind legs. She was concerned about him, and wouldn't let him forget it either. "Fyre, Marcus and I are going to bed, I think you should get some rest too."
Fyre only shook his head and resumed looking into the distance.
"Listen," she said as she limped away slightly. Her leg was still healing, the nurse had said it might never heal completely. "I don't know why that human means so much to you, but it's obvious that you either need to forget about her or go back to her. Or this will tear you apart."
"And you'd be okay with me going to her?"
"She seems okay... For a human, and you really seem to have a bond. I'd take anything over watching you hurt yourself like this." Fyre returned to staring into the distance.
'If I go back there and she doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her, it will destroy me. I can't travel with a human forever knowing that she doesn't feel the way I do. I have to find out.'
Ashley walked back to him and nuzzled his side as she walked back into the cave to join Marcus. "God has a plan for us all Fyre, and maybe his plan for you is to go and protect her. You won't know unless you try. And if you choose to travel with her, just remember, I'll be praying for you every night."
Fyre was amazed by his sister yet again. After all she had been through, after everything, she still believed. Yet here he was, a Ninetales, backing down from what was the most important thing in his life because he was afraid? He watched her as she walked into the cave and joined Marcus. Even after evolution she was still much stronger than him, more even-headed too. He trusted what she said despite the protest of the Beautifly in his stomach.
He picked up the pokéball in his muzzle again. In truth his mind had made its decision long before now, he had been decided back when he had managed to block her mind reading. It was always going to be her. All he needed was that little push. Wasting no time, he ran, full-speed, back towards Hearthome, and the pokémon centre.
Kat sat back on the bed with a defeated sigh. She had been in the shower for much longer than necessary, simply allowing the water to run over her body. She had waited for a long while, but still she couldn't bring herself to make choices with the same decisiveness as when Fyre was around. It was if he'd come and stolen her confidence. She knew it wouldn't be the same with any other pokémon, or person for that matter.
Now wearing a centre supplied bathrobe, she buried her head in her hands, kneading her brow with her fingertips and attempting to concentrate. She didn't know how long she sat like that. It could have been hours, a day, it really didn't matter. Eventually she stood up with a snap of her fingers, as she usually did when she made a decision. It was funny, even that action seemed lack-luster, and pointless without Fyre around.
After all, she had only decided that fresh air might do her good. Stripping off the robe, she walked to her bag. She threw on a pair of her usual jeans and a white vest top which left her naval exposed. It was cold but she didn't really care. It hardly mattered, if Fyre wasn't there to share her comfort then what was the point in having comfort?
Replacing her boots, she strolled to the door, half heartedly and twisted the handle.
The next feeling Kat experienced was not cold, as she had expected, but a great, heavy, furry, heat which sent her crashing to the ground. She was stunned for a couple of seconds as the form on top of her dropped something out of its mouth, and began nuzzling her furiously.
Fyre couldn't believe his luck, she was still here! After him abandoning her without even a good-bye, she was still here. Yes he knew it was ridiculous, yes he knew it was pathetic. But what did it matter, this was Katrina!
He allowed her to push him off her after a little while of this treatment, waiting patiently, his tails wagging frenziedly while she stood up and dusted herself off. She looked up to see her attacker and exclaimed as she registered the situation. "Fyre! I thought that you weren't coming back."
"Would you rather I hadn't?" Despite his new-found confidence, he was still nervous about what he was about to ask her.
"No! No, I... It's great that you're back. I... Really missed you." She looked away, embarrassed.
He walked over to the pokéball which he had dropped after his initial assault. Picking it up in his maw, he returned to the still blushing human. By standing on his hind legs he was now able to place his forepaws on her shoulders. This action made her attention snap back to him, and the object in his mouth. Opening his mouth slightly wider he allowed the pokéball to drop into her hand. "You'll need this."
He dropped back down to all fours and watched as she looked between him and the pokéball in her hand. "Fyre... I... I..." she didn't seem to know what to say. Which to be honest suited him, because he didn't know what to say either.
After a few minutes of this mutual speechlessness. Fyre finally decided to take the initiative. He walked over to the bed and hopped up onto it, sitting down and motioning with a flick of his head for her to sit down next to him.
She complied without argument, sitting beside him and beginning to stroke the fur on his shoulder slowly, as if she knew he needed to be soothed for whatever he was about to say.
"Katrina..." He left a long pause as he struggled to come up with the right words. 'So far, so good idiot. Now tell her how you feel!' He swallowed past the dryness in his throat, and turned to look her in the eyes. Somehow the kindness and intelligence there allowed him to find the words easier.
"Katrina, I'm sorry, for running away like I did, it was cowardly." Katrina opened her mouth to protest, but the look in his eyes hushed her and she closed it again.
"I feel like I owe you so much now, my life, my sister's, and more. I hate the thought of you traveling alone, with just that case and Cru with you. It physically pains me to think of you getting hurt. I want you to be... my..." The words just wouldn't come. He knew what they were. He wanted to say: "My trainer... My lover... My mate?" Anything would sound better than just cutting off there. But his tongue refused to fulfill his mind's wishes.
He finally understood the meaning of tongue-tied. He literally couldn't force himself to make any kind of sound. His stomach knotted and his confidence drained as he sat in silence. He looked once more into Kat's eyes. There was no hidden answer there, but his confidence was restored as she urged him on silently. He took his strength from her and he could feel her begin stroking his side again.
Wordlessly he leaned forward and planted another kiss on her lips. Her stroking stopped and she tensed up slightly, but did not break the kiss. Fyre could feel it; this was different to the others. This kiss had meaning, this kiss had depth, this kiss had true affection.
He used his forepaws to push her down onto the bed, and she allowed herself to be eased down slowly. He then switched his position to be more comfortable, so that he was now straddling her body. From there the kiss intensified. Again without knowing quite why, Fyre began to open his mouth and allowed his tongue to exit.
Without a second thought, Kat permitted his tongue's requested entry into her mouth. She was surprised to find that his tongue wasn't all that different to any humans she had ever felt. It was rougher, longer and flatter, but there was not the taste of rancid meat that she had feared, or the burning heat she had expected.
Both of their tongues wrestled expertly in Kat's mouth before Kat began to snake her tongue back into his muzzle, making the kiss truly mutual. The heated, wet, conflict continued for longer than Fyre cared to take note of, he became totally lost in this new feeling. To the point where he was only vaguely aware of Kat's hands wrapped around him, kneading at his flanks and massaging his back.
As the kiss finally broke, both Kat and Fyre were left panting. They continued to stare into each other's eyes as they regained their breath, their recent exchange of saliva leaving them both feeling invigorated and excited.
"Kat..." Fyre finally managed to say. "I... I think that one means: "I love you."
Kat smiled as she heard what she had wanted to for so long now, blushing as she felt a sudden stiffness near Fyre's groin brush her stomach. "I think you're right Fyre." She shot him the mischievous smile she knew he liked, as a wonderfully evil idea crossed her mind. She allowed her hands to slip from his back and slowly inched them around his waist. She leaned up again and kissed him, allowing their tongues to mingle once more, before breaking the kiss as her hands neared where she felt the stiffness. "And this means: "I love you too."