FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The weather seems to be finally improving, despite spring being still far away.

It hasn't rained in a short while, so the sun managed to warm the air enough to prevent frost from forming inside the flowerbeds.

At this rate, the first blooms will blossom before the election, a week from now; hopefully it will be a good omen.

When I check my phone to make sure I took the right turn, I sigh as I find a reminder from Keiran to call him if I need help.

«I'm disabled, not a child...» I reply while dropping a single "k thx" in the chat.

Dal Farra scheduled the interview in a small, solitary park easy to reach by bus, but it still took an excruciating amount of effort to make my lucario stop insisting to come with me.

Not that I can blame him; my mood hasn't exactly screamed "reliable" in the past months.

Finally, I find myself facing the entrance to the small blot of green my screen guided me to, and I immediately spot two people sitting on one side of a picnic table in a far corner.

Just to make sure I'm not interrupting a drug deal, I call the journalist, and I see one of the two pick something out of his pocket.

«Dal Farra, good morning.» he picks up, his voice also echoing between the walls of the park.

«Good morning. Just making sure I got the place right.» I conclude, before ending the call and approaching the two.

The journalist is the first one to stand up, and he offers his hand.

«Can we go by first name?» he asks with a hopeful smile.

He looks in his mid-forties, with blue eyes, a goatee, and straight, medium-length hair that's showing its first gray patches.

He's slightly taller and sturdier than me, dressed in a simple jacket and a pair of cargo trousers.

«Sure.»

As I shake his hand, I glance at the timid young man behind him, probably not even in his twenties, and then at the small camera resting on its tripod on the table.

This must be the cameraman he mentioned on the phone.

«He's Richard, my new operator. Not that you've met the other one, but just so we can cut him some slack..!»

Once I greet the boy, we all sit down.

«So, are you still fine with going through with this?» Joseph asks, putting his open hand up in front of him to urge me to consider it.

I nod. «I am.»

He repeats my gesture to Richard, who turns on the camera and starts the recording.

«Alright, Samuel. Are you willing to recount what happened to you? Go into as much detail as you need and can.»

I take a deep breath, starting to fidget with my fingers.

«Well... I was waiting for a colleague in the parking lot outside the office...»

Once I'm done, he lets me catch my breath and recover from the stress of recalling the encounter with Latifah.

«That's terrible. So, you had no familiarity with any of the previous victims, or with the garchomp? It was a wild pokémon attack in the middle of an industrialized city? Without any warning?»

«Correct.» I confirm. «Came out of nowhere. If you don't count the scream, but it wasn't much of a sign.»

«And... the repercussions? Something like that must stay with you for a long time...»

«I'm still not okay, if I have to be honest.» I admit, my voice breaking slightly. «Touching anything remotely sharp makes me jump, even just the corner of a table. I'm also scared of the dark, and my wounds still ache when I bend my body, among other things. At least I have an emotional support mon.»

He nods slowly, furrowing his brows in thought.

«That's massive damage. Do you feel there was anything that could have been done to prevent it?»

«Well, someone could have made a fucking better cage for a ton of blood-thirsty apex predator. Sorry...»

He reassures me with a wave of his hand and a purse of his lips, before gesturing for me to continue freely.

«I get her species is important for the environment, and so she was on a breeding program and you can't keep her chained in place, but c'mon..!»

«I understand. I mean, I'm not sure if you knew this already, but she had been captured for mauling a group of trainers in the wild in the first place; she was a ticking time bomb from the very beginning.»

«A disaster waiting to happen..!» I agree.

«Do you think she was properly cared for, in that center? With competence?»

I pause for a few seconds to think.

«Well... she did stay there for several years without major incidents... There was definitely a massive mistake, somewhere in their procedures. What was it, a power failure?»

He nods, before picking up his phone.

«I think so, yes. But the second most deadly culprit - if I recall correctly - was a male liepard, who snuck into a kennel and ate... two pidgeys and six rattatas, yes.» he reads, before audibly putting the device back down.

«Now, all life is sacred, but do you believe it was right for her to be treated with the exact same safety measures as the others? Or should she have been a special case?»

«She... probably was?» I assume, uncertain. «It just wasn't enough. Three people and six mons died. Another three and I almost died, too. I was... I was...»

My voice break, and I start tearing up.

«I'm sorry, I...»

«No need to apologize, Samuel. No censorship allowed. Take your time.»

Once I'm ready to continue, he joins his hands together on the table.

«You know, I also had the chance to speak with the relatives of the other victims.» he lets me know. «Most of them said the ones they lost loved pokémon, and had some of their own.»

«So do I...» I sniffle.

«Would you say that said "love" extends to wild pokémon? And to ones who aren't properly domesticated?»

I blink, unsure about the question.

«I- I suppose so..? Most species originated and still come from the wild...»

«And as such, some preserve their natural traits. Do you believe most trainers are actually aware of that?»

«I hope so.» I reply. «Although, there's no guarantee of that... And some people have no idea what they're doing, like with every other field.»

He pinches his chin.

«Yes, that's true. Some individuals can... lack the proper knowledge and know-how to deal with certain situations. But institutions?»

It takes me a few seconds to realize it's another question.

«Oh! They should. Given how much we pay in taxes...»

An amused smile flashes on his lips, before he quickly contains it to continue.

«That center is under their responsibility, in fact. It also functions through tax-payers money, since we grazed the topic.» he states, flashing his brows. «Always regarding that facility, you probably heard that Latifah, your assailant, was moved to a different, undisclosed location in the region, while the law would have normally labeled her as a dangerous wild pokémon and have her euthanized. How much do you think the protests from pokémon rights activists affected that decision?»

«There were protests?» I ask, surprised, and he nods vehemently.

«Yes, in fact. Well, mostly petitions, but a few small groups were reported all around Solris. Some even abroad, all the way to Sinnoh.»

I just stare at him for a moment, connecting the dots.

«In her favor?»

«In her favor, yes.»

Something tightens inside my chest, and frustration grips my throat and tear ducts.

«I... I personally hate that they didn't say WHERE they moved her.» I reply. «The people living nearby have a right to know. But the protests themselves... I don't know how they justified it. I sincerely hope they didn't know the full story.»

I clench my fists, imagining the faces of the idiots defending Latifah, and my hands start trembling.

«I don't know how they justified her, but I might have not reacted well, had I been there. Had I met the protesters.»

«Understandable. Apparently, they called for the use of a loophole in the rights reserved for owned exotic and rare pokémon, since she technically belongs to the state, and that gives her the right to re-training. Do you feel such a right overrides the one to safety?»

«In this case? Yes. Absolutely yes. She won't face justice for the dead and I will keep having nightmares and flinching if I sit wrong at the dinner table! Potentially in other cases, too. But right now I'm finding it very hard to be impartial about it, as you can probably guess.»

«That's understandable.» he nods, unfazed. «Would you say this makes coexistence with pokémon more troublesome in general, since accountability can apparently be bypassed by a legal technicality?»

«I mean... yes?» I reply, before catching myself. «I mean, it is more complicated than that. Most pokémon aren't Latifah, thank Arceus almighty, so it's usually fine..!»

«Of course. But what about pokémon who are easily capable of killing a human?»

«So, most pokémon!» I reply by reflex.

He purses his lip, looking away in thought.

«Sure... but I mean it more in a... aggression to ability-to-do-harm ratio. As in: even a joltik could potentially kill someone with a pacemaker or similar life support devices if the wrong spot gets shocked, and the little things can get vicious when hungry, but a runaway, scared bouffalant is a FAR more immediate threat. Do you follow?»

«Yeah... A bouffalant isn't as exotic or rare, so it might have not applied, but with such a precedent...»

«Hm.» he nods. «Now, about these wild pokémon: there have been suggestion to invest in various barriers to prevent their entry into population centers; would that make you feel safer?»

For some reason, this question instinctively rubs me the wrong way, but I'm getting tired and lightheaded from speaking so much and so quickly.

«I'm not sure.» I reply as I gather my thoughts. «That... seems like it would cost a lot for installation, maintenance, enforcement, and the works...»

«I believe it would be mostly cost-effective alternative, rather than just proper physical barriers, but yes, it would likely be a major investment over an extended period of time. But would it be worth it, do you think?»

«Probably.» I concede. «Public infrastructure can be hit or miss, in our region...»

«Now, to sum up what we've gone through so far, so we can deliver a clear message: had there been stricter regulations on the handling of pokémon, like Latifah, do you believe you would have still been hurt?»

There was... an odd pause there, in his sentence.

«I mean, having lived in Solris for my entire life, I know someone would have still skimped on the latter, while the former are often considered little more than guidelines, when things get specific.» I reply nevertheless, the frustration attached to the topic giving me a touch of energy. «Probably not in this instance, since everyone would have been terrified of her, but I doubt they would have prevented something like this from happening at all, at some point.»

He nods, brows slightly furrowed.

«But do you think pokémon of specific classes should be treated differently under the law?»

«More controls.» I reply. «Mandatory psychological check-ups for the mons owned by trainers or in general captivity would likely help a ton, as an example.»

«Okay. Last question, then I'll let you go.» He leans forward slightly, arms still crossed. «Should we, as a society, reconsider how much freedom pokémon capable of such violence are allowed to have?»

I open my mouth to give a careful answer, but I can't help but see teeth and claws.

Blood.

Corpses.

I think about the dead woman.

About the scream that wasn't a warning.

About my mother crying.

About Keiran and Sheila sacrificing their time so I wouldn't be alone.

About finding shadows and seeing eyes weighing my flesh.

«Yes.» my voice trembles. «If they exist only to hurt and kill, they should be erased.»

He flashes his brows at my answer, raising a hand to get my attention and maybe ground me.

«Thank you, Samuel. Nice work.»

Richard stops the recording, and shuts the camera down, a hint of uneasiness in his gestures.

I shake both of their hands again.

«What type of pokémon do you own, if you don't mind me asking?»

«A lucario. He helped me through my recovery.» I reply.

«A nice species. Loyal and hard-working. I would have wanted one myself, but my wife was bitten by a wild one when she was a teenager. Lost a finger.»

«Sorry to hear that. Must have been in distress to be so aggressive.»

He shrugs, unsure.

«According to her, it was a female with puppies nearby. It happened at the Regional Reserve of the Pale Mountains.»

I don't say anything, but my guess without further context is that the woman slipped out of the beaten path and tried to approach a riolu without knowing its mother had her aura trained on him.

Thank Arceus that lucario was alone, and that the other members of her pack weren't present to help protecting the pup.

«Yeah, I've been there, too. I've seen first-hand people get rammed by wild mountain gogoats while trying to photograph them from too close.» I reply.

By the way his brows furrow slightly, I might have accidentally shipped an implication with my statement.

Then, he exhales again, letting it go.

«Well, such is life. If your car was destroyed, did someone give you a lift?»

«Came by bus.» I shake my head.

«Hm. We're headed for the highway; if you live along the way, we can make a quick detour.»

«No, thank you, I have somewhere else to go before I head home.» I politely refuse.

The Swingshot isn't too far away, so I might as well walk there and look for friendly faces.

It's been a long while since I've talked to Cody or Angela; I doubt I'll find them on a Tuesday, but one can hope.

Finally, we wave one another goodbye, and we go our separate ways.

I can't help but feel like something's off about the interview.

I mean, it all adds up; I told my story, and he asked me what I would have wanted done about it-

No, not really: he offered a series of solutions.

Was it to remain realistic and let people hear what was possible at the moment, or did he want to push things in a specific direction?

The streets around me are empty, people already home from work and likely enjoying their dinner.

At least, the faint scents of cooked meats and exotic sauces tell me that, paired by the many small ethnic food houses filled with people mid-shifts and teenagers eating out.

I'm quite peckish myself, now that I think about it.

It might be time to try what The Swingshot has to offer on that department.

While my hunger prevents me from connecting the dots properly, I can still sum up his focus was on limiting wild pokémon's freedom of range.

Ah, and for harder to manage ones belonging to trainers.

I mean, it doesn't sound too bad, with the right means.

However, I doubt it will matter in the short term, since it's mostly something that troubles smaller population centers.

Sure, Uforia is far more than that, but given the timing, it will probably just be a last-minute promise to beg for more votes before being shelved indefinitely.

The street lights suddenly light up with a small delay from one another, like the world fastest fuse.

Replacing these with the newer LED models will probably come sooner in the next leading party's to do list than the projects we discussed earlier.

Regardless, I should move, before it gets too dark and late.

Not that the streets are usually full in this season, but their unusual emptiness allows me to jaywalk almost freely and to skip traffic lights, devouring the distance on the narrow sidewalks of this area.

If it weren't for the chill that rose in the last half hour, I wouldn't mind the city being always like this.

I guess the Solian winter will never miss a chance to fuck everyone over.

"Escape..."

I instantly turn around, scanning the street first, and then looking up at the countless windows lining the building to find the source of the whisper.

Nothing and nobody.

I warily glance between and under the parked cars in the street, uneasy.

Did I imagine that?

A part of me is starting to wish for someone else to be around, just to reassure me I did not end up in the Twilight Zone, or in a "backrooms" version of Uforia without realizing.

A lowering roller shutter grounds me, its rhythmic movement showing someone is actually bringing it down by hand.

Breathe.

Five things I can see.

Green car, black car, dumpster, stop sign, brass doorbells.

Four things I can touch.

My hands, my jacket, the cold air, my phone in my pocket.

Three things I can hear.

A muffled tv from an apartment, a drain disposing of the gathered moisture, my breath.

Two things I can smell.

The dumpster, cigarette smoke from a nearby public ashtray.

One thing I can taste.

Absolutely nothing, I've had a light lunch.

I'm hungry.

It must have been someone's tv.

With a final deep breath, I shove my fears into their cage, and I rein in my legs to make them carry me to our destination, trying to make them tremble only for the cold.

It crept up on me because I got lost in thought, but after collecting myself, I can see the familiar gray of the region's fog has slowly settled onto the street in perfect silence, ambitious enough to try and swallow the lights, too thin to succeed.

It did make the air colder, though.

«Fucking hell...» I stuff my aching hands in my pockets, curling up inside my clothes as I walk.

"Rebirth, life..."

That was louder.

Closer.

Real.

I back against the wall, eyes zeroing onto any movement they catch.

There's nobody here, nor as far as I can see through the swirling fog.

Why is it swirling?

There is no wind that could move it.

The street lights flicker and die, but "pieces" of mist seem to have captured some of the light, stretching it to split themselves from the gray sea.

"Open, escape, traverse, freedom, return..!", whispers sneak under the buzzing of the failing bulbs as the glowing pieces start to resemble ghostly eyes.

My heart stops for an instant as their gazes turn towards me, their shape still growing and shifting in form, more little masses twisting and curling around the main ones like ghostly fingers.

I'm finally forced to react when one starts forming around my waist, and I jump away by instinct.

The "entity" dissolves back into fog as my movement tears it apart, but it immediately begins reconstructing itself.

The area it touched feels numb and cold, the muscles there cramping out of control.

The first ones to have materialized are now fully developed, all carrying grinning faces with disproportionate features as they slowly approach me.

The moment I realize they're surrounding me, I start running for my life.

What the fuck are these things?!

Where are they coming from?!

I skid to a halt as I see larger entities form and stumble forward, almost humanoid in shape if not for the single, unblinking eye pointed at me.

Behind me, a horde of grinning faces is chasing me with an apparent supernatural calm, as if aware that their sheer number would wall me in.

I turn into a small alley, where the fog seems thinner, praying it's not a dead end.

A cold fit to my foot makes me trip, and when I look back, I'm horrified to understand the entities don't actually need the mist to appear, since I've stepped onto a forming one, seemingly growing from a wisp along many others around me.

I try dragging myself forward, unable to rest my weight on my now spasming calf.

The rough concrete of the alley scratches my palms, the fits of pain from the two times I came into contact with them holding me back further, making my movements less coordinated than they should be.

«Fuck..! Fuck..!» I whimper, growing nauseous.

The scar on my abdomen starts aching, my heartbeat skyrocketing while large shadows prowl in the dark corners of the confined space.

«No..! Stay away..!»

I shiver uncontrollably as if I were bleeding out again, my mind blanking out in a panic.

Sudden stings make me scramble onto the ground, and when I twist my body around, I see they're caused by several of the creatures biting and piercing through me with ghostly jaws and tongues, despite leaving no apparent wound.

Several more are descending from above, like rain pouring between the buildings, ready to join the others.

«S- stop..! Please..!» I cry.

My body immediately grows colder as disembodied hands grab me all over.

"Control, seize, sever..!", the voices continue within my head, growing louder and starting to replace my thoughts with others I can't even process, let alone recognize as my own.

«H- help..!» I utter, but to my horror, my own hand betrays me by covering my mouth.

My vision is being overtaken by violently colorful statics, as if multiple alien minds were fighting to uproot me from my body and peer through my eyes.

I can't breathe, the muscles expanding and contracting my ribcage no longer helping my lungs.

No..!

Stop..!

Arceus, no..!

Was I not supposed to survive Latifah..?

Even the colors are fading to black, my body refusing to respond to its master, sinew and flesh struggling against themselves to move as one despite the countless usurpers.

Please..!

Why are you being so cruel?

Why did you not just end me on that day..?

Why allow me to burden those dear to me if I wasn't meant to live..?

Why make me like this in the first place..?

This time, I don't get to see golden rings or clouds of unowns, nor to hear celestial songs nor feel any semblance of peace.

Was it a second chance?

Was I not supposed to lie outside of my species again?

Is this eternity..?

I feel myself crying, but I'm crushed under an invisible, intangible, impossibly heavy weight.

The ravenous whispers are still there, although faint and barely echoing through the ravaged cavern of my mind.

Will those things... use my body?

What for..?

Can they access my memories..?

Will they hurt Keiran..?

My parents..?

I want to struggle, to fight, and to scream, but I have no way to do so.

My grip on my own consciousness is faltering, the darkness growing more suffocating by the second.

At least spare them... even if you have to destroy me here.

A single star lights up in the empty sky above me, surrounded by fiery rotating rings.

"Ward."

"Defend."

"Banish."

The voice is warm, but firm, each word carrying the weight of a heavenly commandment, opposite to the panicked, frantic whispers scrambling to resist judgment.

And when the star chooses to end the darkness with a rain of golden rays, the unwanted voices turn into screams of terror.

Once again, my eyes are the second to report for duty after my lungs, but the former can't open right away, since the mighty light is still forcing them shut.

It feels... pleasantly warm, almost healing in quality.

Eventually, when the star allows me, I take in the world again.

The fog has left my surroundings, and the walls enclosing me no longer have a dark place for nightmares to lurk.

In the corner of my eye, just a few meters away from me, I see a glowing figure, surrounded by three rings of shimmering fires, and my heart starts pounding.

Is that Arceus..?

Is it the end of the world?

Are these the souls of the dead?

In the distance, I see the ghosts retreating from the newcomer as the stragglers are being dispelled, almost vaporized by its celestial halo.

The rings around its body grow slightly, forming a new star, just as bright as the one I saw earlier between them, and its wielder starts rising to the sky.

Terror spreads among the wicked as they realize what's about to happen.

So do I, therefore I close my eyes preemptively to shield them from the new blast, allowing just an instant to glimpse the fog being repelled and its inhabitants shredded beyond return.

As the punishment dims, the silence returns, almost unnatural on its own, after what just transpired.

While I'm too scared to move, the glow has come closer and stopped.

«Are you well..?» a feminine voice asks over a soft chirp.

I open my eyes, trusting that if I had to be smitten as well, there would have been no diplomacy involved.

Looking down at me, I face the concerned gaze of... a pokémon.

At least, I think it is, since I've never seen such a being my whole life.

I'm not actually sure if it has a sex, but the long, thin ovals of its eyes and its elongated, slender snout show feminine grace and a strange sense of fragility.

Its crest sweeps down from the crown of its head, splitting into two arcs beneath the jaw that echo the shape of a crescent moon, elegantly crowning its long neck.

Three feathered half‑circles surround its rounded cerulean‑gold form, meeting at two small paws folded as though locked in perpetual prayer.

While I'm starting to doubt this is the creator itself, between the most otherworldly wings I’ve ever witnessed, its banishment of evil, and the golden halo that surrounds it, I'm left to wonder whether I’m looking at one of its angels.

The pearlescent "gem" on its forehead glistens in the creature's own light as it tilts its head at my lack of a response.

«I- I'm alive.» I finally reply.

Surprisingly, I find myself able to stand as if I had never been attacked in the first place.

It's far from small, maybe my size or even slightly larger.

«What's happening..? What are those things? Why...»

«A rift temporarily opened in reality.» it... she replies.

The more details of her I catch, the more I believe this is a female.

For starters, this isn't her real voice; she's speaking through telepathy, so my brain is translating the signals sent by hers, which naturally carry information about her being.

At least, that's what Sheila recently explained to me.

«I don't know what exactly they were, but... psychic abilities are enough to banish them back to where they came from. Thankfully, it seems the rift closed too quickly for more to emerge... Those were the last ones.»

So, she's a psychic type.

Maybe a flying type, too..?

She does have wings and plumes, but she's clearly levitating, making it hard to tell.

Wait, why am I taking this so nonchalantly?

A "rift in reality"?

What the fuck does that even mean?!

A rift to WHERE?!

«Please, calm down..!» her feathers glow softly, emitting a soothing dance of lights reminiscent of an aurora. «You are no longer in danger..!»

For some reason, it works, and the topic retreats for the moment.

«Why were they whispering?» I ask instead.

She tilts her head again.

«Whispering..? I... I heard no words from them... and they didn't have real mouths.»

She sounds... hesitant.

Timid, even.

«Thank you. For saving me.» I finally tell her, which should have honestly been the first thing to say.

A soft smile appears on her pointy snout, and she averts her gaze, the circles of her wings tightening slightly.

«No need..! I just did what I was born to do..!»

Suddenly, she seems more like a nervous young girl than an otherworldly demi-god.

She's quite cute, all things considered.

«I'm Samuel.» I gently offer her a hand, which she stares at curiously for a few seconds.

Her eyes widen slightly.

«Samuel...» she repeats while a soft chirp escapes her mouth.

Is it a hard name to transmit?

When she remembers about my outstretched hand, she moves one of her paws from her chest as much as she can to touch my hands, before looking up at me hopefully.

«My name is Alba.»

She's clearly not domesticated.

She's also extremely intelligent, which isn't a surprise for her type, but the fact her telepathy is so well developed to be perceived as fluent Solian puts her in the top 1% of species, if not higher.

She's probably no joke in a fight, either, given how quickly she dealt with those ghosts.

«Can I ask you... what you are? I've never seen anything like you before.»

«I'm a cresselia. I hope I can convey the concept of my kind in a way you can understand.»

Wait...

Isn't that the species who supposedly has feathers that can ward off nightmares?

Does that mean those curved amulets aren't as much bait for the gullible as it seemed?

«Y- yes.» she hesitates. «Nightmares are caused by disturbances in reality, like ripples. My fallen feathers would contain a lingering trace of my power, so you could potentially use one to soothe yourself.»

Right, she has no idea of what I'm saying and I can't really project my thoughts, so she needs to "read" my mind to understand me.

But... does that mean she also read my comment on her appearance?

Great.

A shy smile beckons on her snout, likely as she understands I realized.

«I'm sorry for not warning you. I wasn't sure what your intentions would have been once free from the possession.»

«No, I get it. Your feathers must be quite sought after, and likely by people you wouldn't want ending up alone with.»

She nods, looking around nervously.

«It... takes a long time for them to fall and grow back. And without them, we can't manifest our gift...»

«I'm not looking to take them from you.» I reassure her. «Especially because I owe you my life.»

«Oh! No, you don't..!» she insists, timid. «I- I would rather you reach a safe space; for now, no more creatures will invade us, but that rift appeared suddenly...»

«Well, I was headed towards one.» I purse my lips. «It shouldn't be too far.»

«I can guide you there.» she offers, despite still looking conflicted.

Maybe she'd actually like to receive something in return, but is too shy or proud to ask?

I need to be careful of what I think about.

«Okay. Thank you.» I ultimately accept her help, giving her the chance to make up her mind along the way.

I resume my walk, being very mindful of our surroundings.

Her light easily dispels the mist, which has grown much thinner now.

Even the temperature has gone back to normal, and the street lights have been turned back on.

I wonder if they will think of it as a simple power outage, or if anyone else witnessed the event.

«I found nobody else outside.» she replies. «You were the only unlucky one. At least it led them all in one small spot.»

Recalling the entire thing, I think I recognize those things, at least some of them: gastly and haunters.

When I was younger, I read plenty of creepypastas and other nonsense online, so I saw plenty of illustrations of similar spooks and ghouls across the internet.

The rest, like those humanoids, I just have no idea; too many matches to properly define them.

Maybe dusclops? The big eye did stand out...

«What exactly does a "rift in reality" look like?» I try to move on from the implications stemming from spirits being real.

«It doesn't "look like" as much as it "feels like"; imagine a cold wind traveling through a tunnel, bringing the sound of distant thunder, except you can't see neither the opening nor the storm.» she ponders. «If you follow this... wind, you will find where the thunder is loudest; that's the rift.»

«Does this happen often?» I ask, now worried.

«No... and usually they are so tiny and ephemeral, they are almost never found before having already healed on their own. Although, there's an ever present, distant echo of them at all times. And rarely, a creature like those that attacked you can emerge from them.»

«So, there's a constant... background noise in your ears?»

She shakes her head. «Only if I choose to listen to it. Earlier, it was almost deafening, so I knew it was close.»

«What caused it?» I inquire further, but she repeats the gesture.

«I... do not know.» she hesitates. «Nobody but the Golden One knows. That's why he gave us the power to cleanse the wounds in his work.»

My eyes widen slightly in surprise.

«Arceus? You worship him?»

«We are thankful to him for his gift. And we obey his order.» she replies, a hint of pride in her smile, before the latter quickly vanishes. «But I doubt any of us have ever heard of him since then.»

«He's likely proud of you.» I reassure her. «Just... a bit too busy to state it, maybe?»

A chirping giggle escapes her, but the melancholy doesn't leave her eyes.

Eventually, we get to the alley leading to The Swingshot, and she cautiously shines her feathers around, illuminating the darkness to inspect the way forward.

«Anything amiss?» I ask her.

«No. It's just... strange.» she raises a brow. «I smell a sweet scent, and perceive... indulgence. Sorry for being blunt.»

I guess the sensations she usually transmits are way stronger than her words.

«Yeah, that's what happens in there.» I admit, rubbing my nape. «The sweet scent is just honey, though. It lets pokémon know of the place.»

«Oh.» she lets out with a surprised peep, her posture shrinking lightly. «Were you... coming here for that..?»

«Er... well, I was mostly going to visit my friends, but...»

Should I invite her inside?

She doesn't seem too open, as a mon.

But I do find myself intrigued by her...

Fuck, again, she can read minds.

«Would they accept me? I have nothing to trade...» she asks, surprising me.

«Well, I can offer you something to drink. It would be...»

«...the bare minimum.» she anticipates me with a wistful chirp. «You really don't owe me anything. But this place... you have made me curious.»

With that, she tentatively floats forward into the alley.

Rose freezes mid-sweep, jaw dropping at the sight of her.

«Good evening..!» she lets out, in disbelief.

«Hi, Rose!» I greet her.

«Hi, Samuel...» she mouths, still shocked. «Is- is she with you..?»

Something tells me the gardevoir knows what she's looking at.

«Is... something wrong?» Alba asks nervously.

«Oh, no! Not at all!» Rose hurries back behind the desk to set aside the broom, before clearing her throat.

«Welcome to The Swingshot! It's a pleasure to have you here, miss..?»

«Alba. You're... Rosaline?» she asks, taking the other psychic type by surprise.

«Is my mind that open..?»

«My apologies... I shouldn't have peeked.» the cresselia bows her head.

«Oh, no, it's on me..! I- I just never met someone like you, so... I got a bit excited..!» Rose admits. «And you can call me Rose..!»

Then, she turns towards me.

«May I ask how you two met each other?»

«He was being attacked by beings beyond reality.» Alba answers for me.

Rose's eyes widen.

«Did- did you get possessed by ghost types?»

«I guess? It was terrifying, but... I think her powers calmed me down, aside from banishing those monsters..!»

Rose raises her hands towards me, and suddenly, I feel as if my brain was being cupped and examined by invisible hands, which makes me shiver as a few sensitive spots are grazed.

"Observe, understand, feel..." I hear.

What is that..?

«I don't think his mind was wounded...» Alba adds, her mind's voice forcing me to focus.

Once the sensation vanishes, Rose relaxes, exhaling in relief.

«Yes, he's fine. Those beings were likely pure ghost types. A few pokémon carry part of their traits, and trust me, possession and similar can be more damaging than a punch from Mark.»

«Your mate is a machamp..?» the cresselia inquires out of nowhere.

«Ah..! Well, yes...» Rose stammers. «He's a good mon. You'll find him further down the way..! He handles our selection of produce..!»

She's on a whole other level.

I mean, yes, that was just common mind-reading, but the fact that it works on another experienced psychic type says a lot.

«Still, I guess that's what the headache I felt was; ghost types emerging nearby..!» Rose comments, preparing our tests. «Waste of a good aspirin...»

«What are those?» Alba asks with a hint of apprehension.

«Oh, just tests to make sure you're healthy, just in case...» she reassures her without finishing the sentence.

The cresselia seems perplexed, but complies with Rose's instructions.

After we are both clear, I pay for her entrance and lead her down the hallway.

She pauses right before entering the main hall, probably inspecting the environment with her abilities.

Eventually, she shyly joins me, immediately looking at the few mons present at the table, who are curiously staring back at her.

«Good evening, Samuel.» Mark greets me, leaning slightly to the side to get a proper look at Alba behind me.

«Hi, Mark.» I sit at the counter, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"Movement, force..." I hear the now usual faint whisper as she moves a stool closer with Psychic.

Okay, at this point I can say without a doubt that those voices are correlated to abilities like hers, and their words seem to even match their effect.

But why do they sound so familiar?

Gently, she settles her belly onto the stool, looking like a bird on its perch.

After a soft chirp of relaxation, her wings droop slightly, as if she were actively holding them straight.

«Good evening, miss.» the barmon bows his head to her while joining his lower pair of hands together, taking her by surprise. «Did you wish to order anything?»

«Ah..! What- what can I request?»

The second Mark opens his mouth to answer, she anticipates him, anxious. «A Black Velvet..!»

He blinks, surprised, but nods, before looking at me. «A Summer Pecha, please. Do you have anything to eat?»

«We serve various cicchetti and more substantial bakery goods such as focaccia and pizza cuts, or handmade panini.»

I notice Alba swallow her saliva, probably hungry herself as she sees enough food to sate an army in his mind.

«Can I have a... tomato, lettuce, and... mozzarella..?» she shamefully asks us, a hint of hope in her tone.

Mark turns to me, and I nod to let him know I'll get it for her.

«Speck, Parmigiano, and arugula?» I ask instead, and he nods.

«Warm?»

«Fine by me.» I conclude, letting him grab the panini from their case to warm up in a cooking iron, before he focuses on our drinks.

«First time in a bar?» I ask Alba.

«Yes.» she whispers in my mind, leaving me unsure if she can actually prevent others from eavesdropping on her inner voice. «I'm sorry for asking for food. I... haven't had much luck with foraging, lately.»

I almost forgot that she's a wild mon, with her being so well behaved.

«Don't mention it.» I reassure her, gathering my thoughts. «Say, have you considered offering your services for sustenance? Audinos do that, in the wild.»

She chirps out a chuckle. «Well... that's not unheard of for my kind, but that requires a perceivable threat I can ward others from. And... I'm not sure it would be fair to make others pay for something I received as a gift.»

«You still need to eat.» I point out. «How about offering... insurance? As in, preventive measures?»

She shakes her head. «That's how you end up labeled as a freeloader. If audinos simply kept illness away with their mere presence, their value wouldn't be perceived so strongly.»

I nod, recognizing the same pattern in a few failed companies I developed for.

«At least spring isn't too far away. Finding food should be easier, then.»

Right on cue, Mark places the two panini in front of us, warm and appetizing, followed by the drinks.

«Thank you.» I reply, grasping mine, my stomach crying in relief.

Alba's slides out of its paper napkin, floating towards her snout as if eager to end its own existence.

With surprising aggression, she opens wide and bites into the bread, shaking her head to tear it apart.

Not without trouble, she rips a large chunk off, which she easily swallows whole with a combative chirp, making my jaw drop.

Her eyes widen as she rapidly uses her abilities to trap the falling slices of lettuce and tomato in mid air.

"Hold, keep..." the voices whisper.

While she pecks them out one by one, her gaze locks onto mine, and she curls her neck, embarrassed.

I clear my throat, trying to make mine look like an accidental glance, before following her example.

«Good?» I ask once my mouth is empty.

She nods hurriedly, before going in for another bite.

«Would you like a knife, miss..?» Mark takes the chance to ask her name, but she's too focused on mauling her meal to pay him mind.

«Alba.» I quickly answer for her.

She releases the bread once she hears us, allowing me to notice the shallow mark of many tiny teeth.

«My apologies, hunger got the better of my judgment.»

The second Mark extends a knife, I swear I see two sparks cross the remainder of the loaf, and the latter float apart in three perfectly sliced segments.

"Sever, rend, divide..."

«How... did you do that?» I ask, uneasy about how fast and silent whatever she did was.

«Psycho Cut.» Mark interjects. «Miss Alba, while your skill is remarkable, I must ask you to refrain from deploying offensive moves in the premises. It may cause unintended injuries.»

«Oh, my apologies..!» she repeats, alarmed, her neck curling again. «I meant not harm! It won't happen again..!»

«Thank you.» he closes the matter before she can apologize again.

With some hesitation, she swallows another piece of her food, struggling slightly.

She tries drinking from her glass to help, but her eyes widen at the taste, and she coughs, the "morsel" lodging in her throat.

Both Mark and I get ready to help her, when I hear "Push!" from the usual little voices, and she must use her abilities to hastily shove down the blockage, before coughing a few times.

«W- what a powerful aftertaste..!» she murmurs, studying the floating glass in front of her.

«Would you like to exchange it for something else?» Mark asks, relieved that she didn't suffocate.

«No, no! It's fine..!»

Faster than she should, she swallows the other two pieces of her meal, this time mindful of the nature of her drink.

«Do you often...» I start, unsure on how to phrase it.

Swallow whole things the size of your head?

Shit, the mind reading, again!!!

She looks down, seemingly mortified.

«I didn't mean..! It's not a bad thing, I was just... curious. I'm only half-way through mine, so your species' method is quite efficient, if you have a strong digestion to match..!»

«My jaws aren't too powerful, so I usually just eat fruit whole. I do have a strong stomach to make up for that.» she admits. «This food dried my mouth, so I had some trouble, but I'm otherwise fine..!»

«I don't doubt it. It's... fascinating.»

Like the rest of you.

Her smile resurfaces, and she shyly returns to her Velvet.

While she keeps sipping on her drink, I notice her silently glancing at my panini.

«Did you want another one?» I offer.

«Oh, no..! It just... smelled interesting.» she sets down her glass without averting her gaze.

I rip a chunk of it, and offer it to her anyway.

«So you can eat meat, too?»

«I can, although I prefer fruit.» she finally accepts. «And... it's rare for me to obtain some.»

Once set inside her mouth, she closes her eyes and lets out a purring chirp, before finally swallowing, licking her lips.

Don't think it.

Don't think it.

She tilts her head, perplexed, her eyes focusing in my direction as if seeing right through my skull.

I'm not thinking lewd thoughts after you swallowed like that, so leave my poor, smooth, poképhiliac brain alone.

It's not my fault you're pretty and I'm in the prime age to have kids.

Brick walls.

Brick walls.

Dumb whoever reads this.

Get out of my head, already!

By her soft smirk, she must be enjoying herself.

If she's not used to drinking, she's likely letting herself go a little, too.

«Right, more than one couple are currently fornicating, upstairs.» she muses. «Were you hoping I would let you have me for the night?»

«Uh... I'm... not opposed to that thought.»

She seems to be considering me for a short while, a strange melancholy clouding her eyes.

«Well, we only get one chance at life, don't we? I'm willing to see what this is all about.»

My eyes widen lightly in surprise.

«So... is that a...»

«Yes.» she cheers up again. «I hope you will pamper me a little more, to allow us to be even once and for all.»

I scarf down what's left of my food, and down my drink in one go, much to her amusement and Mark's almost fatherly disapproval, before paying for both of us.

«Take care, Samuel.» the machamp urges me, which I recognize with a slight delay as a warning not to repeat last time's many mistakes.

«Right.» I nod, turning to face Alba.

The second I start walking towards the stairs, she floats forward with significantly more confidence than before.

Once at the top, she looks down at me with a warm, almost wistful gaze, before taking in her surroundings as if it were the last time she would see them.

«Now we need-»

«This one is empty.» she anticipates me, stopping in front of a door.

«You are surprisingly gentle for someone with your power.» I comment, opening the lock. «Especially if you were that hungry.»

«I try limiting the damage.» she moves her wings in what must be a shrug, following me in.

«Damage?» I repeat.

She nods, focusing on the room.

«I'm already seen as a mysterious, dangerous novelty; if I actually tried to take things by force, I would doom any chance for a peaceful interaction.»

I flash my brows in acknowledgment.

Once perched onto the bed, she sighs, relaxing her form once again and resting her neck on the sheets.

«Ate too much?» I tease.

«No. This is just... comfortable.» she smiles sheepishly, eyes heavy and half-lidded.

I take off my shoes and lie down beside her, head next to hers.

«Did you wish to rest?» I ask.

«While you give me some attention, yes.» her expression grows cheeky for a second.

I roll onto my side, and gently extend a hand towards her, wondering how she will feel to the touch.

Her plumage is reflecting the moonlight filtering through the room, her eyes like slitted pearls while they follow my digits, her pupils slowly expanding with intrigue.

Delicately, I caress her snout; the short down covering it is light and silky, allowing me to feel the hard tissues right under her skin.

Her eyes close when I move my fingertips along her crest, whether made of bone, metal, or something else entirely, I don't know.

It's smooth and perfectly symmetrical, as if it had been sculpted and sanded into being.

My palm cups her long neck, slowly trailing down its length.

Each vertebra feels like a bump, which makes me realize just how little muscle she has.

Is it malnutrition, or just the average build of a pure psychic type?

She chirps softly, her mystical wings fully touching the bed after drooping further in her relaxation.

When I reach her back, I sit upright to take the chance to study the feathery arcs crowning her body.

They look thin and fragile, like icy, iridescent rings around a gas giant.

I can't help but wonder how they work; are they just held together by some sort of energy?

If they can shed and grow back feathers as she said, there has to be some kind of "real" connection to the rest of her system.

«Don't be afraid... they won't break.» she encourages me, her mind sounding slightly more distant than before as she relaxes further.

Reverently, I bring a single fingertip to the flat side of her main wing.

A wave of bliss shakes my body when her feathers erupt in a small, harmless supernova, and my muscles give out.

"DEFEND ALL GOOD... VANQUISH ALL EVIL..." a chorus of countless voices sings, just like-

Just like when I had died.

I vaguely remember a song that felt like it wasn't meant for a mortal's ears.

Perhaps her species was truly blessed by Arceus..!

Through the shadow of the room, I see plasma-like forms intertwining, mixing, and separating anew, trading pieces of each other.

Below us and farther away, more are gathered, all different in size, light, and shape, some wavering, some firm and others everywhere in between.

Looking down at myself, I see a similar form coursing through my body as if through unknown arteries, veins, and capillaries, albeit seemingly more stable and dimmer in a few spots.

By the distance and differences, these must be the mons within The Swingshot.

Their... "souls", maybe?

But what exactly are they made of?

Some flow like water within their hosts, others dance in on themselves akin to flames, while others resemble firm and unwavering stars encased in diamond.

My own feels almost... plain, in comparison.

Are all human souls like this..?

My surroundings grow darker still, leaving only the galaxy of lives existing around me, before it all becomes one with the armies of celestial bodies in the now visible sky.

I feel almost dizzy at the sight of things incomprehensibly far away turn together like clockwork, a strange pressure mounting as if I were diving into a bottomless ocean, and yet, I can't stop looking at it all.

I must become part of it.

I feel as if giant fingers where trying to pluck me, to uproot me from myself.

As if a chain holding me here were loosening, cracking one ring at a time.

«Samuel.»

The voice is impossible to ignore, defeating even the call of the stars, who are instantly outshined by what must be Alba, a being of pure golden light orbited by rings of four crossed sparks, intertwined with long, shifting chains of unreadable, swirling markings, which sing and whisper and talk and turn into something I cannot hear nor read.

They are watching me.

Reaching for me.

A thousand eyes, a thousand words, a piece of infinity at her disposal.

"Return, live, cling..."

«Samuel..!» her voice surrounds my soul, stopping it before it can leave my body behind.

I open my eyes, finding her head hovering just above mine.

When did I faint?

Fall asleep?

Die?

I can't tell...

«It was... beautiful.» I murmur, sitting up despite my senses still recovering. «Are you... a goddess?»

«No, Samuel.» she replies with a soft, sad smile. «I only carry a gift from out of this world. I am a mere mortal; a scarred and flawed soul, just like you.»

There's no way that's true; she was nothing like me.

I saw no flaws nor scars on her... on her essence.

My eyes return back to her, now trapped in the physical realm; while no longer bordering the divine, she's still beautiful and ethereal, even more so, now that I've seen past her flesh.

Hesitant, I bring my hand back to her cheek, and she fully rests her head against it, cooing in appreciation.

«See? How many others have you held in the palm on your hand? Am I any different..?»

«I...» I murmur, feeling her telekinesis guide my fingertips into the nook between her cheekbone and her crest.

It is a common gesture; I have yet to find a mon who doesn't like their ears scratched.

«I don't know.» I admit, frustratingly uncertain. «You just-! What I've witnessed-!»

A sudden, gentle flash from her wings, and my thoughts quiet down, still scrambling, but now a mutter compared to a shouting match.

«That wasn't me, Samuel.» she chides with a comforting smile, still taking advantage of my fingers with heavy lids. «You witnessed Arceus's might. You tried to gaze too far, as every chick of my kind does once the gift manifest. I did it, too.»

A small pause forces itself onto our conversation, since her light also dazzled me a little, this time.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a trick to get more scratches, other stopping me from questioning her.

«So... The same way Arceus gave me opposable thumbs, he gave you... this "gift".» I finally retort while tracing her cheek with said finger, now far more clear-headed. «And these are just a part of my body, therefore of me as well. Should I consider that "a gift out of this world"?»

She raises a brow at my point, but without any offense on her lineaments.

«Our whole bodies are gifts from him; but my kind wasn't always like this. It's as if tomorrow you were granted the ability to fly, or to breathe fire.»

«Ah, so, if I were to gain either ability, or even both straight from the Golden One himself, I'd still be a regular mortal?»

«That happens to regular pokémon all the time, when they evolve. That's because all mortals are meant to serve him; these new abilities simply help us meet his demand.» she rests her chin onto my palm, as if she were borrowing it to strike a thoughtful pose.

«Boom! You triggered my trap card: that duty isn't limited to mortals! Legendary pokémon also fall under it, and they are openly considered gods and demi-gods by themselves and their followers. And, they often also gained new abilities in their parables, rarely on their own. Catechism saves the day..!» I retort, gently booping her snout. «So, you're still closer to the divine than you say..!»

She shakes her head in amused disapproval.

«Do I look like a legendary pokémon, you impudent little human?»

I shrug. «Dunno; I've never seen one. Have you?»

Surprisingly, she freezes like a sawsbuck caught in headlights.

An eerie silence settles between us as she averts her gaze for a few seconds.

«No.» she finally breaks it with a soft smirk. «But I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be thinking such... earthly thoughts if I were. I heard their presence alone is enough to make one kneel.»

"You hesitated", I ponder, aware she will read it. "Why?"

«Because I was surprised by your... lightheartedness.» she promptly replies, meeting my eyes once more. «Having built so many temples for legendary pokémon, I thought humans would have been more... pious? Sanctimonious, even?»

«More than you?» I tease her with an obvious grin.

«Hey, I'm the one who's been trying to convince you to stop being a "man" and act like a "male" for the past few minutes..!» she retorts, lips curving into an inviting smile while her body lifts off and hovers closer.

«Now, seriously... I know you just witnessed a lot, but... would you honor me by making love to me..? To set aside notions of the divine, and to cherish our mortality together?»

There's a light tremble in her inner voice, and it's making it surprisingly easier for me to begin separating the being of pure light I saw earlier with the shy mon courting me.

Once our breaths mingle, I answer by gently kissing her cheek and bringing my arms around her neck.

She nuzzles me again, before angling her head to carefully lick my lips, which I open to let her in.

Her scent reminds me of a distant field of lavender, with a hint of sea breeze.

It evokes an odd feeling of melancholy, a need to comfort and be comforted in an embrace.

Alba allows me to guide the kiss, likely recognizing her own inexperience, and maybe wanting to be spoiled a little.

Remembering Calypso's preference, I caress her spine one more time, and I shiver when I feel her down shift beneath my fingers, accompanied by a low chirp from its owner.

Something grasps my shirt, and I realize it's her paws clinging to the fabric with all of their tiny fingers' might.

Her eyes are not leaving mine, betraying a profound, silent hunger.

«Would you like to take the lead..?» I ask her, hesitant.

Her expression turns to surprise, her pearlescent eyes accentuating her dilated pupils as they widen.

«I... never got to be in charge.» she admits, shuddering slightly as if remembering something. «What if I make a mistake?»

I shrug.

«As long as I don't end up like your panini, there shouldn't be a problem.» I joke to reassure her. «Every time I come here, I meet a new species of pokémon, with which I inevitably mess something up; mistakes are part of the job. Or anything else, if you think about it.»

She remains silent for a few seconds, before studying my body.

Or my soul; I can't really tell, at this point.

«Can I... feel your skin? Under your outer layers, I mean.» she finally asks, uncertain.

I take off my jacket and lift my shirt.

I'm still not back at my base weight, but hopefully she finds it good enough.

A soft chirp escapes her as she brings her head closer to my abdomen, her breath warming up my scar and her snout making me shiver in anticipation with its grazing exploration.

Naturally, I grow harder in my trousers, which doesn't escape her notice.

«I see all males share a common reaction to someone they like.» she cheekily comments, and I feel a gentle psychic squeeze engulf it.

I loved that.

I want more..!

Her grasp is far more precise than any paw or hand, her gaze magnetic as if she had used Attraction.

She nuzzles me again, a patient yet entertained look on her face as she relishes every detail of my enjoyment.

Her psychic grasp spreads simultaneously around my body, like an army of loving, invisible hands.

«Are all humans so... pleasant?» she asks playfully as she maps my body without even touching me. «I could have gotten used to this.»

«Why... why not start now? Just... tell me what you want..!»

She pauses, wary.

«I... don't think you'd like that.» she concludes. «It's too much.»

«I've been nursed like a cub, fucked in the ass, and poisoned, among other things; you'd be surprised at how much I can take.» I encourage her. «I sure am.»

She sighs, steeling herself for a confession.

«I want you to be violent with me.»

I blink repeatedly, and she chuckles bitterly.

«Indeed.» she replies to the pause in my thoughts.

«As in...»

«I want to feel alive. Desired. Free. Filthy.» she utters to my face, challenging me. «To be rutted like a beast in heat.»

The determination in her eyes automatically dispels any chance for a retort, her clenched jaw communicating both her will and her worry for my response.

Finally, I nod, flashing my brows.

«Okay. I'll do it.»

Her posture wavers with a visible shiver, her gaze filled with disbelief.

«You... will?»

«I do reserve myself the right to stop at any point, if I deem we're going too far. I expect you to do the same.»

«But... I saw the wounds in your soul; your fear..!»

«It's a good time as any to start getting my life back. I also get a cute mon with it, so...» I gently pinch her cheek.

Surprisingly fast, she nips at my fingers, allowing me to see the curious rows of teeth crowning her jaws, as tiny and dull as I expected.

They are pretty good at holding me still, though.

She smiles as she harmlessly chews my skin, already awaiting my comeback to her "attack".

«I can see right through you, though; I think you're far too tame to hurt me..!»

«Oh, let me get some protection and I'll show you how tame I am..!»

"Push! Hold! Seize!"

«Oof!» I groan as her powers shove me onto my back, before pinning me down.

«I implied I can already see that. But we shall solve that quickly enough..!»

With that, she begins to strip my upper body bare, until my torso is fully exposed to her.

She starts by tracing her tongue from my navel to my pecs, stopping to tease a nipple while keeping her eyes locked with mine.

Then, once at the height of my collarbone, she seizes my neck with her teeth, applying a gentle pressure that makes me flinch.

My limbs squirm by instinct, but I'm quick to still them.

Five things I can see.

Her feathers behind her, the movement of her jaws, the light reflecting off her crest, the quivering of her form, the desire in her eyes.

Once she frees my throat, she tenderly licks it, before coming up to kiss me again.

«So brave..!» she murmurs, her mind seemingly cuddling up to my own as a new warmth spreads through me even without an embrace.

Touch. Four things.

Her down under my palm, then her paws, her cheekbone, and finally her lip.

Retracted her tongue, she delicately kisses my thumb, before nipping it.

«It's so hard to play rough with you..! You're too sweet to me!» she protests, playful.

The hitch in her breath, her coat rubbing against my skin and the bed while she repositions herself, the clicking of my buckle.

I consider showing her how to open it like I did with Calypso, but she's already ahead of me, the glimpse of a thought enough of a guideline for her.

She moves slowly, teasingly, making me want her.

Her tongue trails along my lower abdomen as she slowly drags my underwear down.

Her grasp descends again over the clothed pole standing ready for her, a small wet stain at the top.

The smell of my own arousal, and probably hers, too.

After trailing my fingers across her flank, I bring them to my nose; yes, her scent has changed, the lavender now struggling against the typical musk of a receptive female mon.

She suddenly pins my hand back against the bed, denying me even her fragrance.

«Are you finally convinced that I'm no angel?» she taunts, finally uncovering my erect member to rest the bottom of my glans against her tongue, blowing warm air over it.

The tip of her pink muscle keeps dangling like a pendulum, frustratingly close but never doing more than a quick skim.

She's trying to anger me.

Her unapologetic smile confirms my suspicion, helped by the way she start mouthing at my rod, doing her best to touch it as little as possible while making sure I know of how warm and sleek her throat would be.

It's all working extremely well in her favor.

I fight against the pressure of her psychic powers, reaching for her again.

Your taste will be on my tongue for days..!

After I devour you..!

However, she rolls her body to the side just as I'm about to reach her, cheeky amusement in her eyes.

My gaze is immediately attracted to her underside, rounded at the belly and covered in a bright yellow down that leads me to a thinning in her coat otherwise concealed by her tail, where thin, rosy labia have been sheltered until now.

«Not quite enough.» she jabs again, grazing my tip with her harmless teeth, and yet making me jump. «If it's motivation you lack, I can help..!»

I prop myself up onto my elbows to try and flip around despite the feeling of increased gravity, paired with occasional light shoves and the accompanying whispers.

I collapse under my own perceived weight right after I manage to roll onto my belly, but I'm quick to start dragging myself towards her.

«You are no worm, Samuel..! You can do better than crawling!» she presses down on me, an invisible wall stopping my advance.

I struggle with all of my might, but it feels like being encased in cement.

Until it suddenly doesn't.

I stumble forward, ending up crashing against her.

Something crumbles and hits the mattress and the ground below like a failed castle of cards, and I recoil in horror as I realize her wings have fallen to pieces, her feathers scattered everywhere.

«Oh fu-»

But in an instant, the shards blink like dying stars, before returning to their place and rebuilding their arching structure, lighting up again as if completing a circuit.

«How violent... what will you do with this poor, defenseless female beneath you..?» she croons, reminding me I've ended up on top of her.

Will she let me get protection?

«We can't breed..! There are no limits..! No taboos..!» she guides my hands to her neck. «Take me..! Take me wildly..! Take me violently..!»

Her inner voice is a breathy whisper, charged with the hunger that's holding her trembling body prisoner.

«I need it..! I DESERVE it..!»

She puts pressure on my fingers, forcing them to tighten around her throat for a second.

Taken by surprise, I pull back, but she insists with a pleading whimper.

Apprehensive, I indulge her request and squeeze lightly, just enough to hear the gasps in her breath, her mouth falling open as she starts choking.

I lower myself above her to take the opportunity and capture her drooling tongue.

«Samuel..! Harder..!» she bites my lower lip as soon as she gets the chance.

I comply, feeling the muscles of her neck struggle against my grip and her heart racing.

Her pelvis is searching friction, and maybe a violation.

Delegating the choking to my left hand and holding my weight to its forearm, I bring my right one back, seeking her entrance through touch.

Soon enough, I feel a sleek dampness beneath my fingertips, and her shiver makes it clear I struck gold.

«Please... I want to see blood..! Hurt me..!»

Blood?

Is it really okay to get to that point?

While I'm busy worrying, she disengages from the kiss and snaps her head back to my neck, this time biting me painfully.

My right hand instantly leaves her vulva to violently grasp her jaw, strong enough to make her yelp as I rip her teeth off my skin.

My heart is booming in my ears, my throat burning.

I smell iron.

Five things I can-

«I- I'm sorry...» she murmurs from within my hand. «I didn't mean to leave a cut..!»

As if I were in the eye of the cyclone of my fears, almost calm, I feel the bitemark; there is barely enough red to notice, so I probably caused the scratches myself by dragging her off.

My heart is still pounding and my muscles are charged with adrenaline, but they're obeying me.

I'm in control.

Fuck everything else.

I'm not going to hurt her.

«Sorry won't cut it; that deserves punishment.» I conclude, easing the grasp and caressing her cheek to let her know it's fine.

Shit, this is an actual step forward; I've never caught myself so early..!

Alba shudders a mixture of relief and anticipation in her newly crinkled eyes.

«A puny human like you? What could you possibly do to me?» she challenges me, her voice an octave higher than normal.

I sure hope I can deliver; I have no experience whatsoever in BDSM.

«Oh, I'll find your breaking point, don't you worry; "puny humans" like me are built for violence and cruelty.»

She raises a brow, amused, but skeptical.

«We'll start by... destroying your innocence!» I proclaim, maybe too theatrically, before delving my fingers back inside her.

«Oh..!» she hisses, muscles contracting all over. «You will be disappointed, then..! You're facing a vile, promiscuous beast..! There is no innocence left to take..!»

«Ah, you must have not checked deep ENOUGH!» I growl the last part, managing to slide part of my palm in as well, stretching her.

Cabinets burst open and sheets lift up in a single shockwave as her powers escape her control for a few seconds, during which I fear I might actually end up cut to pieces like her meal.

But when I look at her, heaving and shaking, I see only surrender.

«M- more...»

Having her permission, I slowly move wrist-deep into her, effectively filling her.

Her back arches while an incoherent chirp escapes her mouth, followed by an equally disjointed stream of thought.

Her insides are in shock, unable to follow her brain's direction and settling for her heartbeat's.

I pump my hand inside it, delicately closing it into a fist against her taut, wet flesh.

«Still alive, little mon?» I check in on her, praying I'm not going too far.

«Y- yes..! Yes!» she exults, tearful. «More..! Use me more..!»

Uh... I can't reach for a condom right now, or I'd probably try to work on her back entrance.

Maybe her mouth?

I turn onto my back, and I nudge at her head with my foot to warn her, before grabbing onto one of her paws to turn her to the side and pull her closer, until we're almost lined up for a sideways 69.

Catching a glimpse of my intentions, she uses her remaining willpower to curve her long neck and bring her head to my groin.

Without hesitation, she takes me fully in her mouth, her nostrils audibly working overtime.

The wet sounds of her sucking, her tongue struggling to rest comfortably with my cock in the way...

I grasp one of the ends of her crest with my free hand, guiding her away before sharply dragging her back again, effectively using her face as the most beautiful of fleshlights.

There is no fight in her; in fact, she's trying to anticipate my movements, risking slamming against my pubes snout-first.

Whenever I break the rhythm even for a second, be it by pausing or anticipating the thrust, I'm met by a little annoyed chirp and an annoyed string of protesting thoughts.

Regardless, my little teases will never ruin her obvious satisfaction; her lips and chin are connected to my cock and balls through a mess of drool, her eyes unfocused and her pupils dilated.

Her pussy is just starting to cramp against my fist, its muscles returning the violence as they feel their fall fast approaching.

I'm not that far off, either.

Might as well try to...

The second her walls squeeze around my hand, she lets out a shrill chirp, muffled by my flesh, her feathers nearly breaking formation as another shockwave hits the room.

As fast as I can, I pull out of her mouth and start stroking myself.

«Imagine- Imagine deserving pleasuring me..! Slutty little animal!» I dirty-talk, before inhaling sharply as I ejaculate against her snout and cheek, forcing her to close her eyes as a few particle of my release deviate from the rest.

Finally, I fall on my back, tired, and I inspect my hand.

«Shit, are you alright..?» I ask when I notice a thin sheen of blood covering my knuckles and a few other spots.

«It burns... so good...» she murmurs, barely there.

It's mostly arousal flowing out of her, a few strands of red trapped within the translucent fluid.

I can't help but think of Sheila, of her blood on the latex cladding me at the time.

Have I truly made progress, just because Alba liked it..?

Or am I back to square one, having actually found a way to justify a violent outburst?

A couple of minutes later, her breathing eases up, and she starts licking her lips, capturing some of my semen with her tongue.

«I never had this much fun.» she murmurs, smiling warmly at me. «I liked you marking me, as if-»

She pauses suddenly, her brows furrowing.

«Wait... do you feel..?»

Her eyes then widen, and she slowly turns towards the window.

Half-expecting more of those invading beings, I snap my head around to follow her gaze.

Nothing.

No ghost, monster, nor regular mon.

Just the grayish black of a foggy night.

Still, a strange, unfamiliar sense of anguish and longing clouds my soul like the saddest of embraces.

The fog outside the window swirls, and the same way it came, the feeling is gone.

A distant thunder echoes in the distance, despite no lightning nor flashes in the sky, and Alba shivers, eyes alert and downcast.

I feel like I've heard that sound before...

As if to make up for the lack of rain, she starts sobbing.

«Alba..?»

«What have I done..?» she whimpers as she gazes out the window, a small whine leaving her throat.

«Alba.» I try again, tentatively bringing a hand to her cheek. «What's wrong?»

She pulls back lightly, shaking her head.

«I'm disgusting. I- I keep doing the wrong thing... the wrong way.» she murmurs. «I keep... hurting others.»

Where did that come from?

I remain still, stunned by the sudden change in mood.

«What do you mean by that?» I finally ask, at a loss.

«It's... not something I can talk about.» she stops me without looking at me. «It's a matter of life and death.»

My eyes widen.

«And you expect me not to worry after what you just said?»

She hesitates, probably regretting her words.

«I- I just want to protect you!»

Protect me?

What could she possibly be hiding?

Lana's scolding resurfaces; should I probe her further?

«From what?» I can't help it.

She snaps her head, a flash of anger in her expression, but before she can transmit it, she pauses.

Then, she whines softly.

«Samuel... allow me not to be that pokémon for one night. To- to try and forget. I beg of you.» she pleads.

I sigh.

«Are you in danger? Just tell me this, and I'll let it go.»

She hesitates.

«I don't know. Not now.»

I raise a brow, and she averts her gaze again, reconsidering her words.

«I... I'm not in danger. I promise.» she attempts to reassure me. «I'm not alone. I will survive..!»

She wants help, but can't ask for it.

I sigh again in surrender, understanding I won't get anything else from her.

«Okay. I trust you.» I conclude, settling by her.

For a short while, we remain in silence, until the sobbing ceases completely.

I can't get her words out of my head, but I did promise her.

«Samuel?» she breaks the silence, distracting me.

«Hm?»

«Could we... go again? I feel like it was... quite short.»

«So, more like that? Are you sure you can take it?»

She considers her answer, her feathers barely lifting in a wave-like motion, which might be her equivalent of tapping her fingers on the bed.

«I am. The mix of pain and pleasure makes me feel... right.» she concludes. «Mind you, I don't wish for agony, but I have a high pain tolerance, despite not being a strong pokémon.»

«Hm. I don't really know how to go about it. I kind of prefer cuddling, if I have to be honest.»

«I don't want to force you into it, if you hated it...» she murmurs.

«Hey, look, I said I prefer that, but I'm still down for most things.»

«And I'm fine with gentle love-making, as long as it has some... "spice".»

Her soft smirk makes me think she believes the word to be naughty, like the "indulgence" from earlier.

She probably snatched it from someone else's mind in the building to try and tease me with.

I wonder if that word-sensation-thought conversion process can be exploited through its slight inaccuracies.

Could I "inject" some make-believe in our communications?

Willing to explore that, I gently cup her head to bring her closer, and I kiss her.

As I do that, I force myself to think about biting her neck, and she shudders.

Then, I trail my fingers down her side, slightly pressing my nail through her down while imagining them to be claws rending her skin, and she responds by nipping at my lower lip to demand more.

Reminiscing Calypso's "emotional sharing", Sheila's occasional insights into the mind of others, and Alba's inference from unguarded thoughts, my guess is that psychic types make most of their love through their expansive inner worlds, which would make my experiment a success.

In other words, if I can convince enough of her senses I'm hurting her, she might just get what she's looking for without actually suffering any wound.

Win-win.

The musk in her scent had been rekindled, and when my hand reaches her groin, I find a healthy amount of warm moisture.

Her mouth seeks for places to nip me, starting from my cheek and moving to my chin, but she eventually notices the convenient outward shape of my ear, which she playfully starts pulling on.

I occasionally feel a trembling caress graze my body, as if she were struggling to contain herself.

Delicately, I rest my teeth back onto her neck, and she shivers.

«Could you do it harder..?»

I growl against her skin, and she gasps softly against my ear.

Gently, I enter her again, thumb onto her clit.

I start pumping into her, nipping at her neck while my free hand moves to gently squeeze the side of it in brief intervals.

Her body eagerly responds by mimicking my grasp around my shape, her engorged petals sleek and welcoming while her invisible hands guides my forward.

I attempt pinching her clitoris, and she chirps in surprise, wings spreading fully.

What could I do to get rougher with her..?

Oh, right!

I didn't get to do that, before..!

Likely reading my idea directly from the source, her eyes widen and her jaw drops.

«S- Samuel..! That's..!»

«Do you want to try it or not?» I prevent her from digging herself into more unnecessary concerns.

The cabinet opens suddenly, and half of its contents fly onto the bed.

«Do you need anything else?»

Continuing to pump into her to keep myself hard, I make a quick decision: nubbed for anal.

Swiftly, I pull out of her to wear the freshly opened condom.

Once battle-ready, I spot two bottles of stimulant lube; one is pitch black with a familiar pattern of golden rings, which I ruthlessly toss back on top of the cabinet with a whispered Uforian cuss, my skin stinging for obvious reasons at the contact; the other is a occa-berry based solution, seemingly safe for all holes, which I start dispensing onto my latex armor.

Judging by her expression, if she can't prepare through the information she finds in nearby minds, she's easily surprised.

She swallows hard once I line myself up with her back entrance, a mix of apprehension and anticipation in her eyes.

«Oh..! Shit..!» she lets out when I ease my tip inside her, before curling her neck. «Sorry, I..! Ah..!»

She's tight, extremely so.

I pour some more lube onto my fingers, which I push through her still-distended labia, aiming for her g-spot and clit at the same time.

«Arceus..! Divine golden one..!» she mutters, clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. «Please don't look at me right now..!»

I try my best not to smirk at her last whimsical squeak.

«I thought you wanted to feel alive, filthy, and free.» I point out, fighting the movements of her inexperienced insides and bottoming out inside her. «It doesn't get dirtier than this, girl.»

She chuckles nervously, struggling, but clearly happy.

«Yes... I'm a dirty, disobedient pokémon..!»

«You are. Look at you, lying with a human!»

She doesn't have a proper rump for me to spank, so I try swatting the side of her lower body, making her gasp.

«And I have... no regrets..!»

«Really now! What If I stop doing this?»

The second my hand abandons her femininity, she gasps with indignation, and I immediately feel Psychic weakly pull me back, as if her womb had its own little gravity well.

As a response, I leave her makeshift orbit and stick the wet fingers past her actual lips, shocking her as I make her taste herself.

To make up for it, I intensify my assault on her rear, her body squirming beneath me.

She doesn't seem to mind being pinned, likely because we are pretty close in size, and the lack of change in her breathing despite the compression tells me her body isn't held together just by simple bone and sinew.

As always, her teeth are far too dull to cause any damage, so her suckling and nips don't bother me in the least.

«Please... put them back in... I will be good..!» she begs sweetly, eyelids fluttering slowly over her puppy eyes.

«Ah, not so naughty now, uh?»

«Quite the contrary..!» she suddenly grins with a playful malice that would make Lana proud. «How could I tempt you into ravaging me, I wonder..?»

I purse my lips and raise my brows in surprise.

Turns out the angel was hiding quite the horns beneath her halo.

«I think we're having trouble deciding who's in charge...» I comment.

«No, we are not; it's always been me.» she politely retorts with a cheeky smile, pushing her rear against me to make me start thrusting again. «You're doing all this so we can be even, remember?»

Right.

With a disgruntled grumble, I bring my fingers back were they belong, index and middle inside and thumb on the clit.

A blissful hum escapes her. «Good boy. Now take your revenge.»

I guide her pelvis higher, moving my legs to find a better position to obey.

Pretty much resting my chest on top of hers, head on her neck, I go back to pounding into her, one hand holding the condom, the other fencing with her powerful nerve endings.

Her mouth opens again, letting out increasingly frantic trills of pleasure.

Her spine is desperately trying to arch beneath me, as if her life depended on adding this one more crescent to her body.

In the corner of my eye, I see the blankets rippling like waves, and I realize it's her "touch" when it reaches my thighs, gripping them to the same rhythm of her insides.

More of it encloses my body at the belly, at the shoulder, at the scalp, testing, exploring, and holding me in place.

«S- Samuel...» she whispers, her many invisible fingers committing my lineaments to memory.

I can't even think on how to describe it, if anyone were to ask me: it's soft and yet unyielding, almost as if it could "freeze" from liquid to solid or anywhere in between at her command, but without growing colder or hotter, yet occasionally leaving an odd tingling sensation at its passage.

The condom's rim is unexpectedly squeezed shut against my skin, allowing her to lead my newly freed hand towards her.

Some of her feathers separate from her wings to orbit around my body and limbs, keeping their distance as I attempt to reach one.

She takes my hand back, guiding me to her plumage, and this time there is... something different.

Not visibly nor at the physical touch, aside from what must be goosebumps making her down stand on end, but... it's as if I had gained another sense, like a metal detector for something that isn't there; my fingertips act like a compass needle, heading for a place on her skin where the same tingle she can give me flares up.

My hand flinches back the second I find the "hotspot", and she gasps, her body squirming even harder around my flesh.

A surge of gentle pleasure travels through my body, passing right through flesh and bone like a ghost.

«Y- yes..! More..!» she murmurs.

Is this something psychic type can do?

Some sort of extension to her nerve endings?

Or is it something to do with her power to see souls?

I try going back to that spot, but whatever caused that wave of bliss seems to have disappeared.

Yet, this borrowed sense is already guiding me somewhere else...

Soon enough, it happens again, but this time I manage to hold steady, feeling the odd energy spread without following the rails of my nervous system, skipping body parts

as if it were just a slow, benevolent explosion.

If I focus, I can even see it; a small fireball dissipating like smoke as it expands away from its source.

While she lets it affect her, I think I can also see the being she was earlier, the mystical rings surrounding her aligned with her wings.

It's almost as if her natural glow were always there, only manifesting for "regular mortals" when needed.

Could I look again? To watch what it looks like when we are intertwined?

I move my hand back to her wing, and I feel as if I just let a lightning bolt pass through my body.

The vision comes back, the ocean of star and souls still revolving as it always must have been, but the difference is in our shapes; a fiery cord is chaining us together, using what must be her feathers as pitons to wrap around me before going back to her.

Both our lights seem to be flickering wildly like flames in the wind, only her rings remaining unreachable by mortal carnality.

I try focusing on her, to study every detail, but it feels like being stuck in a dream, her form not allowing any precise memory to go back to the mortal realm.

For a split second, I swear I can see through her, past the flares on the surface of her essence.

No, I can't; it's... a dark spot, right around where her heart would be.

What is that?

Do I have one too?

Can I take it off her?

Without a body, I have no way to stop the stream of thoughts, nor question my own actions.

I focus on the single blemish in the being in front of me, trying to reach it, somehow.

Regret.

Fear.

Hatred.

I barely touched its surface, and yet it tried to ensnare me before I could react.

I fill my lungs with a gasp, suddenly back inside my body.

Alba is pushing back against my flesh, not even questioning why I stopped in the first place.

Did she notice I was gone?

Is she too lost to read me?

Her breathing is unsteady, and her walls are clamping onto my fingers; she's close.

She might actually not know of my intrusion.

I resume my thrusts, trying to make her believe I was just tired.

«Oh..! Yes..!»

A lust-drunken smile fills her expression, an increasingly more audible series of chirps leaving her.

«Samuel..! Please..! Don't-»

Finally, her climax hits her again, and more of the room gets knocked over, the curtains and the cabinets door swinging slightly as her whole body spasms stiffly, a small jet of fluids spraying from her vulva.

No intelligible words reach my minds, substituted by a vast rainbow of positive emotions: pleasure, happiness, gratitude, and various derivatives that escape or surpass the human range.

Whatever that connection between us actually was, it must still be there.

I do my best to prolong her pleasure so I can join her, which due to her tightness, happens fairly quickly.

Tired, I lie by her one more time, allowing her to cuddle with me.

She rests her head onto my chest with a low, purring coo.

A soft smile is stuck to her snout, her pupil framing my reflection as it scans my face.

«I had managed to forget this was a trade until the very end.» she comments, rubbing her chin against my skin.

«Just because it was, it doesn't mean either of us had to lose something.» I retort, placing my hands on her horns to rub her cheeks with my thumbs.

«It's a first for me.» she admits, leaning into my touch. «I've had to barter my body for food before, but... nobody outside human cities has been this gentle. This... considerate.»

Damn.

Even the concept of that closes my stomach.

Someone like her, so majestic and ready to defend the weak, having to soil herself for a few berries is horribly unfair.

The black spot I saw comes back to mind, along with the feelings it conjured.

Wait, could it be..?

«Alba? Did you ever trade... something more than your body?» I try asking her. «Something you shouldn't have?»

As a wild mon, she's as free as one can get, especially since I can see very few trainers capable of subduing her.

Unless by "freedom" she means from the burden of sentience and a higher intelligence, chances are she's gotten herself caught in some bad deal of sorts.

Like a price for protection, or having to harm others on command.

Maybe it's a reach, but the words she used to dissuade me fit.

«W- what do you mean?» her mind jumps as it catches on from mine, stuttering. «What more could I have possibly given than my dignity and safety?»

«Your freedom?» I dare to voice what she already knew, bringing it into the world for her to face.

She freezes.

«You promised you wouldn't have asked anymore.»

Who could possibly be holding someone like her against her will?

A shiver runs through her, evoked by my unvoiced question.

«And I won't, but-»

She dashes up into the air, wings spread and head snapped towards the window with a gasp.

She's full on shaking, now, her breathing frantic with terror.

«Alba?»

Silent tears reappear in her eyes, before she turns to me.

«Did another rift..?»

«N- no. I must go.»

Her lips are trembling when she finally meets my gaze.

She approaches, settling over my body one last time to embrace me by wrapping her neck around mine.

«Is it the one who has you-»

A sudden kiss stops me.

Her tongue delicately traces my lips, as if committing their taste to memory.

«Don't ask. Don't try to search for me. If you do, you WILL die. It's UNAVOIDABLE. I beg you..!»

When she finally lifts off, the window behind her seemingly opens on its own, allowing the cold evening air to spill into the room.

She offers me a soft, forced smile that can't hide the fear in her glistening eyes.

«I... I thank you, Samuel. For everything. I don't know what's going to happen to me, if this will be my last night or not, but... I hope we don't meet again. You deserve a long, happy life..!»

Her farewell ended, her wings flare up before I can stand up to stop her, the following blast severing me from reality like the sharpest of blades.

«Samuel. Wake up.»

I manage to open my eyes, but my body feels still asleep under the blanket that was placed over me.

Mark is urgently shaking my shoulder.

«Where- What time is it? What happened? Why are you here..?» I ask, taken aback.

«It's almost closing time, midnight. I've been trying to wake you up for a few minutes, now.» he replies, concerned. «Where is Alba?»

I manage to turn to the closed window, and in the corner of my eye, next to me on the bed, I recognize one of her feathers.

«I- I don't know. But she's in danger..!»

«From what?» he asks, furrowing his brows.

«I don't know, she wouldn't tell me, but-»

«She's a wild pokémon, Samuel. You cannot call the police for her safety, even if you knew where she went.» he stills me. «And you certainly can't go after her yourself; I would stop you, regardless.»

I slump onto the bed, before reaching out to grab the Lunar Feather.

I'm pretty sure that's the name it's usually sold as.

It's smooth and silky, with a light phosphorescence that triggers as I rub the edge of its barbs.

It is... soothing, in a strange way.

«A precious gift.» Mark comments, his tone suddenly softer. «You should cherish it.»

He didn't say it, but even if the feather alone wasn't enough, his tone and words made it clear: I won't see Alba ever again.

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