Playing by Ear
Story by UmiTheUmbreon on SoFurry
#42 of All They Knew
The morning sky was dull and depressing, forcing chilly air and strong breezes across Hau'oli as a cold front pushed inward from over the ocean. Wrathful grayish-black clouds restricted the sun's usual vivifying rays like a dense, limitless ceiling with far and few gaps.
People walked with umbrellas in-hand and wore heavier clothing than usual. Some tarped their cars in driveways, and restaurants around Hau'oli offered rainy-day deals.
Wild pokémon, such as torracat and litten, took shelter under homes, beneath cars, and under trees on routes. Others like popplio, rowlet, and slowpoke waited to embrace it in trees and on the beach.
Ruki woke to a thunderous boom as dawn broke. Skye was in a deep sleep under him, her arms limp around his neck and her nose pressed to his chest. Her soft breaths hit his fur and fingers twitched against him.
Ruki pressed his nose to her head and gave it the slightest nudge. He'd ensure to head straight to her after dinner next time.
Another abrupt and significantly louder boom filled the sky outside and reverberated for several moments, rumbling Ruki's being while he looked to the window. If Skye weren't asleep, he'd go investigate the sky. Thunderstorms were a phenomenon he would never get tired of.
Ruki remembered watching plenty looming over cities and routes many miles away from high points at Lanakila, where he could see lightning zigzag beneath clouds and rings of rainfall. After Skye brought him to the city, he became a part of what he once watched. Being under them was just as extraordinary, albeit petrifying, to a clueless vulpix.
Shortly after his trip down memory lane, the next few peals of thunder woke Skye. Her eyes shot open frantically; she lifted her head to meet Ruki staring at her with slight concern.
He nudged her cheek and eyed her tousled frizzy hair. It was just thunder. Everything was okay.
"Wh-What was that?"
Thunder.
It took Skye a moment to catch her breath. Her heart still raced. "What a sound to wake up to." After gathering herself, she pushed the blanket away and got up to go to the window, which Ruki had been waiting for.
He wasted no time getting down behind her, watching her push the curtain aside.
"Oh, it'll rain soon." She looked up at the overcast. The beach was vacant other than flocks of pikipek and trumbeak pecking at the sand. "It'll be gloomy. We should go out on the back porch for it."
"Ni." Ruki flicked his tails. They never used the backyard other than to train; it was ideal for a rainy day as the patio had a gazebo to catch the drops.
However, Skye had a minor headache. She hadn't gotten much sleep, and the weather had woken her relatively early. "Sometime later, though. I need to lie back down." She had to call Aaron as well, but that would come during the afternoon.
Skye got back into bed and lay on her stomach while the wind whistled outside. She found storms calming overall unless they were exaggerated like the more violent tropical storms Alola occasionally got that shut most of the region down due to harsh winds that peaked and screamed. They brought heavy showers and wintry chills that stung one's skin.
Skye opened her eyes some time later and saw Ruki standing on his hind legs, his forepaws on the windowsill while gazing out the window.
He looked back at her, his tails swaying. "Nini!"
"I didn't mean to fall asleep." Skye yawned. "Is it raining?"
He nodded. It wasn't drizzling, either. It was raining.
"Mkay." She grinned and rubbed her eyes. "Let's go." She grabbed her phone for a moment to check the time. It was ten minutes past seven. She'd gotten another hour of sleep, which had relieved her headache some. Skye got up and went out in the hall.
She opened the door beside hers, leading to a small room with a cold cemented floor, a washer and dryer, and full shelves lining the walls. Her parents used the room as a storage unit.
The sliding glass door was feet away.
Skye giggled to herself, recalling Ruki helping her load the machine whenever she'd come to wash her basket of clothes. She'd dump her pile on the floor, and as she grabbed and tossed them inside, he'd pick up pieces in his mouth and either give them to her or stand on his hind legs and drop them in himself. He was the cutest thing.
Ruki entered and glanced as she closed the door behind him, then looked aside to see her standing on her tippy toes.
He then watched her unlock and pull the curtained backyard door open.
A tepid breeze lifted the curtains, bringing her a slight shiver. She stepped onto the marble-tiled patio and sat on the swing couch some feet from their table set.
A steady patter of rain hit the grass ahead and the gazebo above. Toucannon nearby clacked their beaks, showering under the rain.
Ruki sat beside her, sniffing the air to take in the rain's unique fresh scent saturating the moist atmosphere.
"You love the rain, don't you?" Skye reached her hand and set it on the back of his neck.
He nodded and kept his ears on alert for more thunder whenever the sky lit up. Maybe it was his inner water type. Ice had to melt after all.
The backyard was an excellent place not to be heard. Skye's parents rarely came back here, so she could use it to talk to Aaron in private. It wasn't her focus at the moment, however. She glanced at Ruki, then got up from the couch to join him on the floor, leaning against his side.
He brushed his tails against her lower back.
"Would you ever go to a Pokécademy, Ruki?" She looked at him.
He met her eyes.
"They're building one in the inner city. They made progress with the Blueberry Academy, but this one's gonna use a full curriculum made for pokémon with intelligence divisions and everything."
It sounded cool. Ruki could already read, but he would be better at it if someone taught him daily.
"We'll see when it's done, I guess, but I think it'd be good for you, especially since you're the most curious ninetales I know." She grinned.
Skye turned ahead again. "I kind of like the way this makes me feel." She watched lightning traverse the overcast in zigzags while thunder followed. Its deep, crackly bass shook the sky and layered the city in somber waves. It brought her a touch of gloom and suppressed it with a ton of beauty.
Ruki remembered playing in it as a vulpix, sometimes with friends; he usually finished with a messy and soaked coat, resulting in a bath and an irritated Skye. He couldn't imagine dirtying his fur intentionally now, but those were fun days.
Skye brought her knees up and hugged them. "But I'm not a furry ice type like you. We'll stay out for a little while longer."
"I mean, it's a stupid idea, Aaron, but I don't have a better one." Skye sat on the backyard couch as planned, taking the last bite of a sugar cookie while subtly swinging back and forth. The rain had urged her to clean and bake earlier, so she had with Ruki after they'd gone inside.
It had stopped raining as hard and dissolved into a gentle mizzle, an earthy perfume lingering in the air. The sky was still gray, and the occasional peal of thunder echoed as more clouds filtered in from over the ocean.
"Well, tell me then. It can't be that bad."
"Ugh, okay, so I was going to say you could come over for dinner or something, maybe leave Sylmi at my place with Ruki afterward. We take the ferry to Akala—but wait... that would also mean you or I would have to go to Hau'oli for Sylmi and bring him back."
"Your parents are going to read that like a mystery thriller. Would they be okay with it?"
"I don't know. It's partly why I wish I lived on my own..."
"Are you gonna bring it up to them?"
"Later."
"Think about it and do what you feel is best, then. We can take this as slowly as need be."
She rubbed her eyes. "I'll text tonight. Talk soon." She hung up after his bye.
At 7 p.m., soon after dinner, Skye's father and Ru had gone for a walk. They did so every other day. Her mother was on the couch reading a book with her glasses on while Skye was still at the table with Ruki sitting by her on the floor. Skye had waited for her father to exit the house before even thinking of standing.
"Mom," she said and sat on the couch next to her.
Ruki had followed and sat by Skye's feet.
"What is it, hon?" Her mother removed her glasses and set them aside.
"You know how Aaron is here?" Skye began.
"What about it?"
"S-So, he's leaving soon, and we haven't gotten to spend much time together... I mean, we have, but we had our pokémon with us. So, I thought he and his sylveon could come over for dinner, and afterward, he could leave his pokémon here with Ruki and take me back to Hano... forr the night?"
"Ahh, I see." She grinned. "You want alone time. I guess that's fine with me as long as you aren't senseless about it; I know we've taught you well. It'll be nice to get to know Aaron more. We'll see what your father thinks when he comes back."
Skye looked away.
She sighed. "Skye, hon, you can't hide it from him. You know it'll turn out worse that way."
"I know…"
"I'll make sure you go either way. Don't worry."
They waited around ten minutes for his return, and for Skye, the environment was tense the entire time. She'd spent the minutes gathering what she'd say to her father and how she would say it.
When the door opened, Skye organized her thoughts.
"I could do it if you're uncomfortable," her mother whispered.
"It's okay."
Her father was quick to notice them on the couch. He grinned. "What's going on?" He shut the door and stayed by it with Ru.
"I was discussing something with mom a-about Aaron." Skye sat up. "I thought it'd be nice if– if he and his pokémon came over for dinner tomorrow before he has to leave in a few days."
"That would be nice, actually. We can do that." Her father crossed his arms.
"A-And." Skye swallowed. “I was– mh, also thinking he could leave his pokémon here afterward and take me to Hano f-for the night."
Her father's grin faltered and eyes slightly narrowed. "But you'll be back the same night, correct?"
"Uh, sure…"
"Oh, we can let her make her own decisions, John. Skye was fine on her trip," her mother butted in.
Skye glanced at her mother.
"We'll see. I'll gauge more once he's here," he said.
Skye stood. "Dad, I was already alone with him for a week in Sinnoh, and we've talked for months. I promise you can trust me. When have I seriously disobeyed either of you?"
"You're still naive." He pulled his arms against his chest. "A week and an online relationship means nothing; neither do some phone calls. We've taught you to be confident, to hold yourself highly, and who to seek. Have some sense, slow down, and allow this more time to develop. You don't know him."
Skye's cheeks flushed. The silence was deafening and thick enough to pierce. She walked briskly down the hall to her room.
Ruki watched her leave, then looked at her mother, who appeared disappointed. Ru didn't seem to mind, but he never showed much emotion outside.
Ruki followed after Skye and slipped in before her door closed.
"Not fucking fair," she said and lay on her bed, curled up on her side while holding her pillow to her chest. She squeezed it with a slight headache forming behind her eyes. "Have some sense..." she mumbled. "Just you wait."
Ruki sat by her door. She seemed more upset than he had ever seen her.
Skye sniffled and wiped her watery eyes. She looked down by her door and saw Ruki idle. "I'm over this. So irrahz..." Beyond annoyed, actually. "You can come up."
He walked over and climbed onto her bed, then lay next to her.
Him being in her vicinity caused her to break. Skye scooted closer and buried her face into his chest, crying into his fur.
Ruki didn't move a muscle, tensing against her whimpers. Skye was going through enough, and now she was barely allowed to do what made her happy.
She pulled away and sighed shakily, rubbing her eyes and pink nose while sniffling. “Why the fuck can't he just trust me? I don't get it, Ruki... All I've ever fucking done was listen."
Ruki eyed her defeated expression with sorrowful wear in his gaze.
She grabbed her phone from under her pillow and opened Aaron's contact, then texted him: 'Be here at 6 p.m.' She grinned ruefully. His every message and the mere idea of him entering her mind still made her grin every time.
The night would go as planned for the most part. Skye would have to make the most of it.
Hugged up to Ruki's backside while he slept, her cheek pressed to the back of his neck, Skye lay awake in the middle of the night in dull pajama shorts and a bra. She was having more trouble going to sleep tonight than the previous one. Aaron had replied to her message hours ago, confirming he'd be there and asking how the talk had gone. She hadn't responded and probably wouldn't for a while.
She hoped to any Tapu willing to listen that her father wouldn't create an awkward environment. Skye didn't want to lose Aaron; if her parents ruined or weakened her relationship, she'd resent them and be alone all over again. Skye may not need Aaron, but it was starting to feel close. If they worked out, she could see him being a significant part of her future.
She tightened her hold on Ruki and shut her eyes. Tomorrow would be one of the longest days she'd have in a while.