Ch.89
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Trainer
Everything hurt. It had been a nightmare of a week. Everything was wrong. Everything had to be fixed. Maggie was the strictest teacher I ever had, and while I thought I was in pretty good shape, her demands were nothing short of grueling. Every day was a fourteen hour day. My muscles burned and ached from her routines, which involved everything from an impressive array of dances to raw calisthenics to train my stabilizing muscles and core. It wasn't enough that I could now perform a proper pirouette. I needed to be able to do it while lifting Tempest above my head single-handedly. The weight wasn't an issue, but the balance was enough that by the time we were through with the practice, I could feel the tremor in my back muscles from trying to maintain the posture.
I only had to lift Tempest. But I'd keep training until I could damn near do it with Cocoa. For Maggie, one did not train until they simply "got it right", training was only merely adequate once someone had trained until they simply "could not get it wrong".
And so, despite every aching muscle, every blister on my feet and every moment where her frustration at me left me grinding my own teeth, I trained. She was right. I knew she was right. Tempest deserved a partner who spared no effort to her triumph. Tempest deserved to know I had her back every bit as much as she had always had mine. I'd stop at nothing.
In the two hours a day we weren't training, I was caring for my girls in ways I had never considered before. I had a new set of brushes and soaps and oils and I was to use each of them or so help me Arceus, scolding would be the least of my problems.
It had been a week. One week. And I felt like I had learned more than I had in an entire year of Pokemon League coursework. It had been miserable, but I knew I was becoming a better trainer.
I never knew a Lycanroc could have such soft fur. Or look so sleek. Tempest was so beautiful. She practically glowed. As she sat in front of me while I brushed her fur and conditioned it with care, I realized that I was actually enjoying it all. Despite how difficult it was there was something about the end result that was absolutely addictive. I could see myself genuinely becoming a contest trainer, if that was where life took us.
If that was where my girls wanted us to be.
Tempest had begun to train her voice as well. I'd never heard her sing, I didn't know she could. But Maggie worked hard to help her find her natural range, and become more comfortable and confident in it. I couldn't say it was beautiful. Not yet. I could say that I understood it would be, in time. She had work to do, but she was working every bit as hard as I was.
No. She was working even harder.
She had never voiced a complaint, but I saw the way she carried herself. She was as sore as I was. So once I had finished brushing her fur and tending to that care for her, I massaged her back, and shoulders. Her arms, and even her hands. She was getting stronger, I knew it. I could feel it. I wondered, in a moment of wry amusement, how much more dangerous she'd be as a League battler with this kind of training to lean on.
Her gaze met mine, and as I held her heavy hand, she leaned against my shoulder. Whatever either of us might have wanted to say, just being held was enough. We were exhausted, and tomorrow was going to be another long day. But we were there together, to see it through.
Maggie - Contest Trainer
Fine clay. That's what Tempest was. I knew she didn't understand most of what we were doing. Why it mattered. She wouldn't for a while. But that didn't stop her from giving it everything she had. I pushed both of them right from the start. Maybe I should have gone easier, but I pushed them both as hard as I could. Until I was exhausted from teaching.
Tempest's trainer, oh what was his name? He worked hard. I'd give him full marks. He was one of the good ones. Might make a decent regional champion if he put his mind to doing so. He clearly cared about his pokemon. No. He loved them. Adored them. He believed in them so much I couldn't do any less. He was a good League trainer, and that was something he could take pride in.
But it was Tempest that wowed me. The girl soaked up the lessons like a sponge. She didn't flinch, and by the end of the week I was already sitting down with Sharon to try and figure out our approach. We had a lot to work with, and if we wanted to make it special, I had some ideas on how to fill the seats and really make a big deal of it.
If we could get Tempest to sing, and perfect a few dances, we could put on a small musical play. I even knew the one I had in mind. It was one I'd worked on with Maria, my poor Primarina, before everything went to shit. Tempest rekindled that spark in me. My thanks to her would be to get her ready for the performance of a lifetime.
We had all the pieces that we could have made it work, and for the first time in years; I wanted to see it. I wanted to get Maria back onto the stage. To give her that chance, after all these years and all our heartbreak. I wanted to give her a chance to be the pokemon she was meant to be.
I would need help for that, and there was only one pokemon who could have made it happen now. I needed help from Alcyon. Alcyon would be the deciding factor, and of all of us, she was the one with the best reason to never go back.
All I could do was ask.
Sharon
A play. A musical. It was... a hell of an idea, honestly. Looking over the notes Maggie had, I could see it. I could see it being a big hit. Something that would completely upstage my sister. Something that would yank the spotlight off of her so hard she'd get whiplash. It would take a lot of work. It would also take a lot of spotlight off of Tempest. She was working so hard it left a bitter taste in my mouth to consider it, but all I could do was present the idea to them, see what she thought of it. What her trainer did.
I hated to admit it but the plan was actually beautiful. It would raise a lot of questions that my sister wasn't ready to answer. And the play itself, the storyboard and ideas we'd gone over, it was something elegant and beautiful. Simple in its own way but that meant it would just be easier for the whole audience to follow.
I had to wonder though, whether my friend could swim, and how comfortable he was underwater.
Actually, that was a really good question. He was going to have to trust his safety to a pokemon he didn't know, if we did this. He was going to have to be dazzling on stage, and brilliant under water.
We'd have a lot to figure out, but what else could we do except try?
So I brought lunch.
Tempest - Trainer's Lycanroc
It was... beautiful. The play itself, and the way we were using it as a plan of attack. It was the most elegant weapon I've ever seen, and I was buzzing with excitement to realize my role in it. To bring Sharon's sister's past right back to haunt her? To put those she'd hurt worst front and center and weaponize her own shameful history?
Master raised a good point. In so doing, I'd immediately be considered on their level. The audience would take me seriously right from the start because we were sharing leading roles with known quantities. It raised the bar. A lot. But it wasn't like we weren't going for that, to begin with. Far from having the thunder stolen from me, they were adding their voice to mine. Making sure the whole world saw my debut and would believe right from the start that I was something special. Something truly different and unique. It was clever. It was overwhelming. I wasn't sure if I'd be enough, but I was damned sure I'd try.
A few tweaks. That's all it would really take. I wanted to sing my own song, something that had been on my mind for so long now I couldn't deny it. I wanted to sing a song tailored to my mate, rather than the words someone else chose. Other than that, I was completely invested in the idea.
It was my support that won Master over fully. His hesitance lasted exactly until I said I was interested. It meant more work for him, and I wanted to apologize, but he waved it off with that gentle smile of his. That gentle smile that always made my heart melt. The smile I want to protect.
... And that's what I wanted to sing for. The core of the song I hoped I could find voice to.
So I stayed up late that night, and for the first time, tried to find all the words I wished I could say to him. All the feelings I wished I could make him understand. I saw everything he was doing for me. He was glad to help Sharon, of course. That was just his way. But as he tossed and turned, looking for a comfortable enough spot to rest, I knew where his heart was.
I'd show him where mine was, just as soon as we were on that stage together.
Maria - Maggie's Primarina
I didn't understand. Not at first. Why Maria was trusting me to another trainer. But when she suggested we take our chance and perform our play... the one we had been working on all those years ago, I knew something had changed. Something amazing had changed. Whoever he was, he must have been one hell of a trainer to crack her shell. The woman was more than stubborn, and had kept to herself for a long time.
I had wanted to believe she'd find her way out of that shell she kept herself in, but as the years came and went... she just didn't. She blamed herself for what happened to me. She looked at me with pity, and it hurt. More than anything. More than any of the scars. More than losing my voice. Her pity was what hurt.
That was the first thing that he did differently. The first thing that made me believe in him. When he looked at me, it was with an attentive smile. His first words to me were; "I'll be in your care. Don't go easy on me." As if he didn't see the scars. Didn't see that I couldn't have replied if I wanted to. I was a primarina teaching him to dive, he was a human learning everything he could. It wasn't more complicated than that.
So I set aside my misgivings, and we started with teaching him to trust the equipment. To understand how it worked and how it was limited. We'd have ten minutes underwater. Maybe fifteen if he got good at it. That was the trade off to look natural. It wouldn't look good for an audience to see him dive in with a full tank, and he wouldn't be able to move the way we needed to move.
The second thing he did differently is that he never tried to lead. I showed him where to put his hands, and let him get comfortable with the way the water resisted him. He couldn't move through it the way I did. His body wasn't built for it. It seemed like he understood it instinctively, because he let himself relax, let himself be moved. I found myself having fun. Genuine fun, like I used to with Maggie. When she used to dive with me.
I was glad we were underwater. He wouldn't know I was crying. I had missed this. Had missed this more than anything. It should have been Maggie I was dancing with, but that could wait. A little longer, at least.
So I taught him how to move to extend my own motions. To turn a slow twirl and the thrust of my flippers against him into a flourishing spin. As the days came and passed, our training continued. I got to watch this human not just become more confident underwater, but enjoy our aquabatics and even began to see him diving for his own sake in the limited free time he had.
I had forgotten how much I loved sharing my love of the water with someone else.
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
I'd wanted to argue against it. I didn't want to go back. I didn't think Arceus itself could have dragged me back to that world. But to be Maria's voice? To help her fight against it all? To help her be on that stage the way she was meant to be? Before that conceited, arrogant, vile bitch of a trainer stole it away from her, because she was worried I wouldn't measure up?
Oh... Oh you'd better believe I wanted ALL of that fight. As much as I never wanted to go back, I wanted to bring that monster down even more. But... beyond that, I wanted to give Maria her due. She should have been the one to sing for everyone. To have her chance. Upstage me or not, she deserved the chance to try on her own terms, and she'd never have it now.
So if she couldn't shine on her own, then I'd help her shine. If Tempest needed me to help pull us up the mountain this time, then I'd pull so hard the mountain came tumbling down to us.
Maybe that's what it was all about. What I'd been missing out on all this time. I had friends in the other lapras I swam with, but it wasn't the same. We drifted through each other's lives and it was good enough for them. This lot was a little more complicated, and for the first time in a long time I felt my heart pumping with a reason.
So I stole away with Tempest and her trainer on my back. Maria towed Maggie along. We found ourselves a quiet place all alone, and I sang for them. I sang my heart out. I sang for every day I'd lost between that tragedy and now. I would sing until my voice hurt, instead of my heart.
They were all giving it everything they had; how could I do any less?
It wasn't just about taking back what was ours anymore. Somehow, to me at least, it didn't even matter. What was done was done, there wasn't any going back. In this moment, because of him, because of them, I felt like I was finally moving forward. Like I wasn't stuck swimming the same tide anymore.
For the first time in too long, the world seemed like a big place. And I wanted to see where the currents led me. Just so long as I had my friends with me for the journey.
Helena - Trainer's Absol
I stayed up late taking care of master, again. He had spent the past few nights tossing and turning, and it was ruining my sleep, so I figured I might as well do something to help. My paws set to kneading his back, pushing and rubbing against all the knots he'd worked up, and trying to ease out enough of the ache that he could sleep, and let me sleep in the process.
I was angry. Not at him, not really. Just in general. Something had been gnawing at me, some vague feeling of unease in my horn that wasn't going away, or getting closer. It was maddening like an itch I couldn't reach to scratch. You'd think I'd learn to ignore it, but that's not how it works for Absols. Or... not for me, at least. Fuck's sake, but I wish it were.
He was getting stronger. I could feel it in his back, and, to my own delight, in his butt, too. Taut and firm, I just wanted to smack it to see how it moved. But he needed his sleep more than I needed to tease him. For now, at least. So I savored the rubbing and the squeezing, as I always did. It bothered me. Bothered all of us, I think, that so much of his time was taken up with all of this right now. But I will say that Maggie did us right. She made sure that the care he gave to one was the care he gave to all.
My fur had never been my best feature, it was usually matted, dirty, and I knew what I smelled like most days.
Tonight I smelled of wildflowers, and a hint of spice. My fur was clean, brushed down and free of tangles. I knew I looked good. I looked better than good. I caught Belle staring, too. It turned me on to know I could get that out of her. It was still a complicated mess, but we were taking it day by day, and I was glad I could be attractive for her.
She'd been distant about all of this, the past few nights. It was tough to read her, in general, but I felt like I understood. We didn't really have a place in it this time. We'd gotten used to the idea of him always needing us, so it was ... frustrating, to say the least, to suddenly find we were just... here waiting. I felt him wince beneath me, and realized how hard I'd pushed. It wasn't his fault. Not really. I knew that. He was doing his best and this was important.
But I couldn't hide the way this was frustrating for us.
So, I woke him. I woke him, and Belle and we snagged Sybil on the way out. I tried to explain it, but I didn't have the words I wished I did. Mostly I just wanted him to look at us. To see us. To acknowledge us. I knew we weren't going to be the ones on that stage. It was Tempest's time to shine, and I wanted her to succeed. I did. But that didn't mean I wanted him to forget all about me. I cussed, and I grumbled, and I kissed him, and it wasn't really enough.
It wasn't really enough. Not until he pulled us into his arms, and kissed me back. It wasn't enough until I watched Belle melt into him the way she always did, her tough little facade falling away the moment she tasted his lips. It wasn't enough until Sybil grinned that mischievous little grin she had when she knew she was about to get what she wanted.
It wasn't enough until the three of us were his whole world, that's what we needed to feel, and that's what he gave us.
I knew it was a stupid thing to feel so angry about. Petty, even. I was being petty. It was stupid because he was honestly doing his best. He was giving every day everything he had. I knew that. We just needed to know we mattered. To feel like we did. Even when we weren't the ones stealing the spotlight. He gave every one of us his whole focus, his whole heart in every moment he was allowed to.
This wasn't a forever thing. He just had work to do. I knew that. Fucker just didn't know how to do anything in moderation, did he?
So I'd stop being petty about it. I'd... fucking try at least. I knew without even asking that Belle felt the same way. In the afterglow of everything the four of us shared together, I knew we'd made our feelings understood. And his apology was so passionate I couldn't help but accept it as tenderly as I could.
It wasn't like me to be so receptive... but it was nice to not have to take the lead the whole night. To be able to trust that to him. I could see myself doing it again, now and then. To just relax and enjoy the way he gave me all his attention. The moments where I could be everything to him were moments where I could stop thinking about what sensations and moods I was getting through my horn. He made all of that quiet. Made it all still. That's what I needed tonight. More than anything else, I needed the way he quieted my own thoughts.
He'd be tired in the morning... or so I thought. But Belle surprised me. She was usually very reserved about tiring herself out for someone else's sake, but once he'd settled in to sleep, she'd taken the initiative to soothe the aches out of him in the way only she could.
Then I soothed her in the way only I could.
Funny how that worked out.