Korime
#5 of My Pokemon
There are facts... and there are legends. My name is Keith William Travels, and that's a fact.
Today, I plan to prove false a legend.
"I didn't think it'd be so big." My voice was slightly muffled by the scarf wrapped around my head, one of various clothing articles used to maintain some mockery of warmth.
My Glaceon gave a tiny huff, her tail swaying slightly.
"Well, it is," I grumbled, albeit quieter, as I tilted my head up to try and see the peak of Mt. Rushihike. Nothing doing. The top seemed obscured by a veil of clouds, as beautiful as it was ominous. "According the rumors, we may have to climb it."
Her head turned back, those deep teal eyes holding mine for an instant before rolling. I remember when she use to be such a sweet Eevee, always so eager to please...
"Oh, come on, Mika. It won't be that bad for you, at least. I'll be the one freezing my ass off."
"Glaceon." The tone was a little snotty, as though she were trying to relay to me that I should have thought of that in the first place.
"I can put you back in your Pokéball, you know."
She moved towards the mountain, haughtily swaying her hips as she moved. I gave a quiet sigh, the sound not escaping the scarf and the warm air only serving to fog my glasses. Mika had only recently evolved, I had to remind myself, this attitude of hers would fade before too long...
Right?
=*=*=*=
There was a legend in the nearby villages surrounding Mt. Rushihike, or a ghost story, or some kind of morbid fairytale, however you'd label it. The people in the villages were quite convinced the stories were real, at any rate, and were often passing around warnings to travelers or passersby. The reason I know of this was that I'd been traveling through one of the small villages when I'd been stopped by several dozen people, all warning me of the ghost who lived in the mountain or wandered by the base, or who randomly struck at the outskirts of town.
As you might be able to guess, there were several different versions of this story.
At any rate, from what I could piece together, the locals seemed to believe there was a woman who haunted the nearby area. Each time a blizzard came, the woman would wander through the snow, gliding over it and leaving no trace of her existence, save for the occasional body she'd leave in her wake.
"Be careful," an older woman had hissed to me. "That ghost, she's a seductress! She'll steal a kiss, and your soul, in the process!" The woman shuddered, wrapping her shawl around her shoulders tighter, as though to protect herself against the spirit. "She took my boy from me, many years ago. Frozen, from the inside out."
I heard many similar stories and found it hard to believe. Likely, their loved ones had just gotten lost and frozen in the blizzard, simple as that. And yet... there was something in the way they spoke, the way they would look over their shoulders, this tangible fear that clung to them tighter than an Ekans around a Pidgey. It made me want to do something for them, show them that their legends were merely that, a legend.
"Sense anything yet?"
Mika's ears twitched but she continued moving, not bothering to answer me. She was lucky, being lighter than I and affiliated with the element of Ice, she was able to easily walk atop the snow. Me? I had to trudge through it, the snow almost to my knees in certain points.
"Wish I would have thought to have rented a sleigh and a Mamoswine or some Walrein..." They weren't very swift compared to a Ponyta or Stantler but at least they could handle the cold better and for longer periods of time. Sure would have been a lot faster than my current speed, at any rate.
"Glace-glaceon." Mika's tone was a tad condescending and enough that I seriously considered putting her in her Pokéball for a time out. However, she was the only Ice Pokémon I had on hand and the one who'd best be able to hear or sense anything in this environment.
It was very lucky for me that the mountain, albeit tall, was not particularly steep. Not at first, anyway. It was my hope that traveling up the mountain and returning, alive, might be able to sway the villagers into thinking that there was no "ghost" or what have you haunting the mountain. It was all about surviving the cold and snow storms that blew through, that's all...
"She wears a kimono, same color as the snow, with blue markings on it and a obi that grows redder each time she kills," an old man with few teeth and breath that could knock out a Koffing, had wheezed. "She glides over the snow, just like the wind, barely stirring a flake! Swear on the grave of my Jigglypuff she ain't human. Ain't no human that can do that!" He'd glanced around, as though the woman might appear, before leaning in closer, murmuring, "Least... not the living kind."
My first logical guess was that it had to have been a Pokémon but when I voiced the thought, a young bratling of maybe seven years rejected my idea with scorn.
"D'aint any Pokémon like dhat." He gave one long sniff before rubbing his nose with a mittened hand. "Sides, only Pokémon 'round here are Swinubs and Snorunts, nothin' dat looks like a people. Sure ain't a Jynx, not much else can stand the cold."
I wasn't quite willing to dismiss the idea that it wasn't a Pokémon. I mean, my Mika evolved into something never seen before, couldn't there be other evolutions unknown to us? Look at all the trainers and professors seeking to discover new Pokémon, chart the latest evolutions and powers. I found it hard to believe this couldn't just be a new Pokémon that had yet to be named.
That, and my idea of a Pokémon seemed more fathomable than a ghost.
Moving was keeping me warm, though the bits of my face that weren't covered by the scarf felt slightly numb. The tips of my fingers were feeling a little chilled so I curled them tighter in my gloves, continuing to follow after Mika. She seemed pretty sure of herself so I just trailed after her, trying to keep my temper in check every time she'd look back at me with a "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!" look.
At the forty-fifth rolling of the eyes and exasperated, tiny sigh (that I only knew she gave because of the telltale sign of her exhaling), her body suddenly went from lax to ridged. Whipping her head to look away from me, her ears went flat back and a low growl began to escape her throat.
"What is it, Mika?"
Just then, a snowflake drifted down to strike my cheek. Looking up, I saw thousands or millions or hundreds of millions more beginning their slow decent to the earth. It started slowly enough but the tiny light flakes began to get bigger and thicker, the suddenly clear skies becoming almost nothing but white. I could just make out Mika's blue fur in front of me, but if I hadn't of been standing, I think I would have forgotten which way was up or down.
"Mika!" I think I saw her respond to my call but it was hard to see. "We need to find shelter from this Blizzard, now!"
I could just faintly hear her respond. Pushing forward, I found that it was even harder to move with the snow falling. There was a slight wind kicking up that seemed to be trying to push me back, as though wanting to detain me from my objective. I wouldn't let it though and just pushed harder through the snow.
I lost track of distance and time. The further I pushed forward, the less likely it seemed I would be returning back. The warmth I'd been feeling earlier was slowly dissipating, despite the fact that I was still moving. Fatigue was settling in, and along with it, desperation. I'd yet to see a place we could find shelter and Mika didn't seem to be having much better luck. She was still ahead, almost to the point I couldn't see her, but her distance gave me something to push towards. Like one more step would bring me one foot closer to her. Eventually, that mind set began to fade with the realization that she'd always be further than me and that no matter how much faster I tried to walk or harder I tried to push myself, I wouldn't be able to reach her.
It was about then that I noticed something to my left.
Trying to shield my eyes from the snow, slightly blinded from water specs on my glasses and the flurry of snow, I could just make out something orange in the distance. Calling to Mika, I began to head in that direction.
The orange didn't move and stayed consistent, though it was hard to see with the pelting flakes. Finally, I began to realize what the shape was. Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon. What was he doing out here? There was certainly no volcano anywhere nearby, no reason for him to be out here...
It was then that I saw her. Or, some of her.
I almost missed her at first, it wasn't until something moved between my line of sight and the Charmeleon that I began to make sense of the outline. I wasn't close enough to see any telling details, her face, an exact height. It looked as though she was about the same size as the Charmeleon but I might have been mistaken. I could make out the red of her obi, the only thing that really stood out in the white of the snow. It was such a contrast to substantial amounts of white that the sight of it made me uneasy, though I couldn't fathom why.
In that instance, the snow seemed to falter. What once was almost an indistinguishable blur of white let up for a brief whisper of time. I still couldn't see a face... but I could see her lean forward and bend down, her flowing kimono rippling in the wind. When she rose, the Charmeleon crumbled, slowly, like the snow, into a heap.
I think I blinked. The snow was back to its normal pace and the woman was gone.
Running as fast as I could, trying to leap over the snow but finding it impossible to do so, I made it to the Charmeleon in a matter of minutes though the tightening knot of inexplicable dread made it feel longer.
He was dead.
I didn't check for a pulse. His tail flame was out, completely out. His eyes were still open, the brilliant sapphire slowly fading as the body grew cold in the snow, his skin losing its vitality, changing from a deep ginger red to a sickly pumpkin orange.
"What were you doing out here?" The words came out harsher than I intended, fear chipping at them. Letting out a breath I'd been holding, the following words barely carried over the sound of the wind. "There was no reason..."
"Glace!"
At Mika's cry, I tried to seek her out. She was maybe ten feet away, her form barely present as she shook the snow off herself. Again, she urgently called to me.
It felt wrong to leave the Charmeleon lying there... but there wasn't anything else I could do. There was no way to burry him and I hadn't a Fire Pokémon who could incinerate him, the most I could do was lean over and close his eyes, a pitiful gesture of sympathy for the dead.
It was then that I noticed the frost and ice formed around his mouth, the dark black color around his lips.
The growing knot within me tightened as I backed away, not wanting to believe what I'd seen. I headed over towards Mika, shaking from something other than cold, and finally found the reason to the Charmeleon's presence.
Human. There was a dead human.
Nausea rose quickly, surprising me. There was nothing particularly grisly or gruesome over the apparent Hiker's death but the sight of this man lying so unnaturally still affected me even more than the Charmeleon had. His eyes, too, were open, though already lacking the color of life. It was with an unsteady hand I reached to shut his eyes, half fearful the man would suddenly spring to life once I touched him.
Needless to say, this did not happen.
His skin was as cold as the snow surrounding us, peculiar, I thought, when his Charmeleon wasn't that far away. Both bodies should still hold traces of fleeting warmth, right? I wasn't an expert but...
His mouth. There was frost surrounding it, like the Charmeleon, and his lips were blue-purple, cracked and peeling, so dark they were almost black. Frostbite? His clothes spoke of a man with experience in hiking, well prepared for the cold. I found it hard to believe it was merely a mistake on his part.
"Maybe..." I swallowed the words and stood up. No. There were no such things as ghosts.
Yet... as we walked away, it didn't escape my attention that the only tracks left behind were two sets of human and two sets of Pokémon.
*=*=*=
It was sheer luck that Mika found the cave. Actually, it wasn't even a cave, really, more like a small crevice between thick slabs of rock and ice, a nook just tall enough where I could stand without slumping and perhaps ten feet deep.
"Mika, use Icy Wind. Seal the entrance, leave a small opening at the top."
She seemed ready to disobey but a stern look got her working on it. Hopefully it would reduce the chill and keep the wind out.
The crevice was fairly barren, some snow had blown in at the entrance but the rest was empty from what I could see. Digging into my pack, I pulled out a lantern and some matches, searching for anything that might be burnable. A few books and magazines, nothing really substantial.
Trying the Hiker's bag, I met with better success. Mika had glared at me, eyes glittering like hard gems, fur bristling as I'd removed his pack. Honestly, I hadn't wanted to do it, but his supplies could mean my survival. As much as I was loath to take the dead man's possessions, my desire to live was stronger.
There was wood in his bag. Couldn't figure out what kind, didn't care, so long as it burned. There were also some pokéballs in the bag, empty or not, I wasn't sure. He hadn't had a pokebelt on so these could have his team... maybe another Fire Pokémon?
"No, better not chance it." I tucked the orbs back where I'd found them. I had no idea what Pokémon could be in there or how they'd react to a human who wasn't their trainer. At best, they might ignore me. At worst, they might attack.
A shiver of cold brought me back to the task at hand. Making a small "log cabin" and stuffing it with torn pages from my books ( I hesitated to tear the pages, having it instilled at a young age that damaging books was a punishable offense, even though I needed to do so for my survival), I grabbed the matches from my own bag. I wasted two or three, my hands shaking so badly that the flames went out. The next few licked at the paper but didn't catch. It wasn't till the twelfth or fourteenth that it finally caught. Soon, flames were greedily lapping at the sticks, warmth gradually emitting. This wood, whatever it was, caught fire quickly and released little smoke, confirming my suspicions that the Hiker clearly knew how to take care of himself.
"So... what killed him?" I settled closer to the fire, withdrawing my sleeping bag and his, sliding into mine and draping his around me like an overstuffed shawl. "Was it... her?"
"Glaceon."
I cast my eyes towards Mika, my Glaceon preferring to stay near the sealed entrance of the cave and away from the fire.
"She was a Pokémon, right?"
"Glaceon." The tone was dismissive and I reached for her pokéball without really thinking the action over. I'd been patient up till now but frankly, I didn't want to deal with her attitude at the moment.
"Mika, return."
She hadn't been expecting it. I could tell from the way her eyes went wide and her mouth opened to protest. The red light sucked her up, containing her in her pokéball once more. I worried that perhaps I was being too harsh before steeling myself against the notion. She'd been a fridge little bitch this whole time, she could handle a time out and learn some manners.
I wanted to release one of my other Pokémon for protection, for company, but Mika was the only one well equipped to handle the cold without suffering.
For now, I was on my own.
=*=*=*=
I think I fell asleep. Pretty stupid, all things considered. I didn't remember falling asleep but when I became conscious of my surroundings, I realized I was hunched beside the fire, it's flames slowly dwindling. It was a miracle I hadn't fallen in the fire.
Moving, my limbs stiff, I prodded the embers with a piece of wood, the coals glowing brightly. I debated on adding another piece of kindling or not, trying to decide whether I could afford to do so. The storm couldn't last forever, I figured. It would end soon, given how long it had been dragging on for. Then again... I'd thought that a while ago... and the storm was still raging, as though something was urging it on. The cave was relatively warm... but better safe than sorry.
I added an extra piece of wood to keep the fire going and pulled myself out from under the blankets. I needed some more pages to burn and I'd left the books out of reach. Scrambling to get the paper and hurry back before the warmth in the blankets faded, I paused just before my hand reached my bag.
I wasn't alone.
There, at the still sealed entrance of the cave, was the ghost woman.
Her opal kimono flowed around her, though there was no wind blowing in the cave. The crimson obi, so vibrant against the white, again brought a sense of foreboding. This time, I was able to realize why.
It looked like blood staining the snow.
I wanted to step back but held my ground. Perhaps if I didn't move...?
Taking in a shaky breath, I tried to make out more of her features. There were two gems atop her head, a light turquoise, that shimmered and glowed faintly. Actually, they looked more like ice then gems but I wasn't about to approach her and find out which it was.
Her hands, currently folded together, were attached to arms that attached to her head, not her kimono. The sleeves of her arms were finned, a faint teal spread along the edges of it. Slowly, those hands pulled apart. The movement was graceful, elegant...
And it scared the hell out of me.
She approached, the edges of her kimono more mist than cloth or skin. I forgot all about standing still and began to back away. I don't know if I blinked or if she was really fucking fast but she was suddenly right before me, so close, I could make out the feral yellow of her eyes, the blue orbs they contained the same color as the ice gems on her head.
I was trembling. This was it. This was how I would die. Not of old age, not of disease or any one hundred other scenarios running through my head. This. Was. It.
She lifted her hand with a fluid like grace. I raised my arms, concealing my face, the images of the frozen Hiker and Charmeleon flashing in my mind. However, this attempt was futile and damning in the same instant.
A howl of ice and snow blasted into me, knocking me over onto the ground. Luckily, it hadn't hurt as much as it might have otherwise. Still, it left me stunned. The woman, Pokémon, ghost... whatever she was, she threw her arms up, eyes glowing a brighter gold.
"Please." The word was soft, filled with all the longing I had in me, all my desires for another day that would never come should she end me now. "...please."
I tried to move, but my limbs would not listen to me. My body was not bound, but I couldn't budge. Out of the corner of my eyes, which was the only thing that would obey me, I noticed a wispy, azure sheen.
I was Disabled.
Realization hit me as my, no doubt, terror stricken gaze returned to the thing that was now sitting right on top of me. This wasn't a ghost, or a damn demon.
It was a Pokémon.
Its cold forehead pressed suddenly onto mine, just as I made the revelation, as if it knew. My chest felt frozen where it touched, in spite of the coats and garments that separated her from me. I felt certain that it would freeze my heart from within, till I recalled the lips of the Charmeleon and the Hiker. I was going to die the way the older woman had mentioned.
With a kiss.
Its tiny clawed hands pulled at my scarf, the knot giving way and coming undone. It took my hat next, followed by the earmuffs and even my glasses. There was nothing to prevent her from killing me, no one to come rushing in last minute, no Mika to try and save me. Even if I'd kept her out, though, odds were she would have just ended up the same way as the Charmeleon.
At least it would be over soon. Maybe someone would find my body and rescue her, rescue my other Pokémon and the Hiker's, if he'd had any. I could only hope so much.
A chilled breath flew into my lungs as it opened its mouth near my lips. I closed my eyes so I couldn't see it, awaiting death without the chance to scream.
I felt cold lips touching mine, as though I was kissing ice itself, before something slid into my mouth. Something smooth, wet, and warm.
Wait.
Warm?
Why was it warm?
I didn't care. My body was shivering, I was willing to accept any warmth I could get.
I tried pulling more of it into my mouth with my tongue, feeling it dance away from my futile attempts. Was this thing just teasing me? Holding warmth just out of reach to toy with a soon to be dead man? It wasn't just satisfied with killing me, it had to humiliate me too?
I gave up, not wanting to be fucked with. But that didn't seem to be the response it wanted.
Two tiny hands came to rest on my face, gripping it gently. It then swirled my tongue with hers, no doubt trying to entice me to play with it some more. I was through with games, though, and, after a short while, the treatment stopped. I heard a ghastly, girlish giggle and cautiously pried open an eye.
It was definitely female.
I opened my eyes in time to watch a strand of saliva bridge my mouth to her lips. The tiny, shimmering strand froze instantly, cracking and falling onto my neck, melting slowly, chilling my throat beyond words.
Steam rose from her mouth and I felt my body growing a little warmer. Her eyes were half-closed, her fingers sliding from my cheeks to my shoulders, bringing with them a constant coldness that penetrated the Farfetch'd down jacket I was wearing. Her touch was like frozen silk, a glove of frost that was as delicate as it was merciless.
She continued her way down my body, leaving me in utter confusion. She had given me a kiss. It was so warm, I'd welcomed it readily. Now that I knew what it was, my cheeks burned a little, despite the doom that no doubt waited around the corner.
The Pokémon giggled again, but this time, there was a deep, sultry tone to it. My neck was loosened enough from the Disable that I could just glance down at her, the dying fire illuminating her with a haunting, orange glow. It was not mystery to me why everyone else saw her as a beautiful maiden.
For a moment, I saw the same image.
Her fingers grazed across my inner thighs, burning them with their chilled touch even with the pants in the way. Lowering her head to my crotch, that one area of my body was assailed with sudden warmth as her lips opened and engulfed the front of my pants.
I could feel her tongue masterfully undoing the button of my pants, and, with her mouth, she slid my zipper down. I could no longer tell if the warmth was her doing, or my own. It was obvious to me that she had done this many times before, and her seductive look sent chills of a different kind down my spine.
I couldn't believe this was happening. I refused to. Maybe I had died and this was Hell, condemned for some forgotten sin and forced to endure this frigid creature's amorous embrace for eternity. A cute little growl erupted from her throat as pulled she nuzzled against my boxers, wiping the side of her face against the slit in the front.
This Hell... I was being forced to enjoy it.
Her face was warm one instant then cold the next. It was as if there was a single hot spot inside her body, one that seamlessly glided from her cheek to her mouth, to a single finger, to her chest, anywhere she wanted.
The remaining warm blood in my body started to converge on my crotch, every heartbeat making my member jump. This made her smile, and, as it swelled, she watched it rise through the slit in my boxers. Her warm cheek nuzzled it, only encouraging its incessant growth.
I closed my eyes and turned my head away, another giggle breaking through the freezing air. Two icy hands ran under my coat and shirt, stroking my stomach like icicles. My mind instantly pushed my attention to the warmest part of my body, my sex. She was fooling my own survival instincts to force me to focus on what she was doing. I couldn't escape and, with a hot, warm lick across my shaft, I was beginning to not want to.
If I was going to die when she was finished with me, if I wasn't dead already, maybe this was her way of making my death a pleasant one. I could stand defiant till the end, but it would still end all the same. What was the point? Dignity? I was already a sick Pokémon's little toy.
What was the point in fighting?
I opened my eyes once more, slightly bitter but accepting of my fate. My cock was hard now, and the Pokémon had raised its head from my lap. Its own eyes saw mine and shut themselves as she gave a pleased smile. I noticed a faint, glowing cord start to drift from her chest to mine. I wanted to close my eyes again, thinking for sure this was it, but I couldn't. It was solemnly beautiful, like an aurora.
Once it hit my chest, the cord grew bright for an instant, then dimmed out of existence. Before my confusion could increase, her lips opened wider in a smile and her mouth returned to my crotch. My shaft, which had started to soften in the cool air, became hard once more under her warm cheek.
I let out a sigh despite myself. It really did feel good. I may have been forced to feel the only warm part on my body, but that one part was all I needed. Her tongue circled the head of my dick, her colder hand gripping and aiming my shaft into her mouth. Mist rose from the point of their union, the drool dripping from her lips nothing more than melted ice, the chilled beads giving me a perverse thrill.
Moaning, my eyes closed of their own accord. I could feel a sound of equal pleasure issue from the icy queen's throat, the vibrations pleasant against my cock. Her billowing kimono draped over my hips and blanketed me with their cold touch, all the while her mouth sinking and taking my prick deeper. She was enjoying this as much as I was.
That's when I realized what the thread was. I remembered seeing it in battle, once. After a Haunter hit Mika with something like that, she knocked him out. Then, all of a sudden, she'd lost her will to fight.
Destiny Bond.
She was taking pleasure from me the only way that spectral body of hers could.
As her head started bobbing, I felt my muscles tense and relax. It was then I suddenly noticed my arms could be moved. An inch. Then another. I could escape!
Only I couldn't. I knew there was no escape, that there was a part of me that didn't want to. She looked at my rising arms with a bit of fret, as if she was debating on whether or not to Disable me again. I let my shoulders fall and she relaxed, continuing her wonderful oral treatment.
My hands gently rose to her head, not to push her off, but to encourage her. I really was enjoying it. She obliged me by murring in her own apparent pleasure. I was feeding her, but at the same time, she was keeping me alive. More and more of her grew warm as I allowed her to use me. The warmer she got, the harder she sucked, and the more her tongue danced around my shaft.
I was close to an orgasm, and, through me, so was she. If I came, would she be done with me? Would I die? I could think of worse ways to go, but there was one thing I had to try...
"Hey..." My voice sounded raspy to my ears and I had to swallow a few times before my mouth lost its dry feeling.
She continued sucking, but slowed down a tad so she could listen.
"I..." Again, I swallowed, feeling my dick pulsing with the urge to come but holding off till I could get the words out. "Could you send my Pokémon to safety? I..." There was the urge to come again. "I don't care what you... what you do to me... just let them, and the other trainer's, let them live..."
She stopped sucking, looking up at me. She gave a slight smirk before lowering her eyelids. I don't know if she was agreeing or simply laughing at me for suggesting something of her, but that was all I had to say.
I tried, Mika. The Pokémon returned to her sucking, my climax rapidly beginning to grow closer and with it, what could very well be the end of my life. I'm sorry.
I moaned. I moaned loud. So did she. I could almost feel my pleasure feeding her. I grabbed the back of her head and began to thrust into that heavenly warmth, the only warmth I could still feel.
My orgasm shook me, shedding warmth into my frozen body and sending my thick seed into her maw. She raised her head and released an angelic, otherworldly cry, letting the spunk splash lewdly against her face.
I was still lying down, taking in cold breaths that started to cool my overheating brain. I looked down at her, watching my spunk steam on her frozen face, her icy fingers dragging a drop to her lips as she licked at it like a popsicle.
Then, she turned her gaze to me and I knew my time was up. She moved her body up, eyes flashing blue, causing my vision to blur. I think I felt her lips touch mine one last time, so intensely hot or cold they burned but I couldn't distinguish which it was. My consciousness was torn almost instantly from me, my last thought my Glaceon's scornful look.
I really hoped she survived.
=*=*=*=
[I thought I was going to kill you, the same as that old man, but I will not, because you are young and beautiful. You must not tell anyone about this incident. If you tell anyone about me, I will kill you.](/?page=I_thought_I_was_going_to_kill_you%2C_the_same_as_that_old_man%2C_but_I_will_not%2C_because_you_are_young_and_beautiful._You_must_not_tell_anyone_about_this_incident._If_you_tell_anyone_about_me%2C_I_will_kill_you.)*
=*=*=*=
I was warm.
Again, my eyes opened. I was gazing at a white light.
Who knew Heaven had fluorescent bulbs?
A light blue blur faded into my vision and two familiar eyes began to come into a somewhat muddled focus.
"Glace!"
Mika nuzzled me, wiping her cold, wet face against mine.
I was alive... Mika was alive.
"You're very lucky, young man." A firm but distinctly feminine voice drifted through the air. I turned to see the famous pink, looped hair of Nurse Joy. She was carrying a tray over to the table beside me but stopped to pat the fur of my Glaceon. Mika didn't even glance at her, continuing to nuzzle me.
"Someone passing by the mountain found you at the foot, covered in snow. You were out, well, cold! She was there too, trying to wake you up and crying for help."
I turned back to Mika, whose eyes were streaked with frosted tears. She... really cared for me?
Wait, at the foot of the mountain? Was all that a dream? The dead Hiker, his Pokémon, my... that Pokémon...
"Yes, she didn't leave your side for a second. Your other Pokémon are safe too, if you're wondering, as well as the other Pokémon you found."
So... it wasn't a dream. "They're alright too?"
She nodded. "We're running a check now, but a local has already recognized one of them. It's tragic what happened, but the owner's family and friends are grateful that you managed to save them."
"Oh... so... you found the...?"
She gave a solemn nod and I didn't say anything more about the Hiker or his Charmeleon. At least they would get a proper burial now.
I felt an icy lick from Mika and smiled. It made me shiver a little, either because of the chill or the memory it brought to mind of another Pokémon and her tongue. She had let me live. Why?
Fuck, why did it matter? She had listened to me and spared the Pokémon. I had to thank her for that. She'd killed the others but spared my life. I shouldn't look a gift-Ponyta in the mouth.
We were alive. That was what mattered.
=*=*=*=
The following week was bed rest, doctor's orders. I tried to find information on the Pokémon I'd met and discover what it was but it must have been so new that no information had been recorded on it. I thought about telling everyone she was a Pokémon, not a ghost or a woman, but the words I'd heard whispered in my head when I'd been neither awake nor dead made me reconsider.
That, and I owed her for sparing my life and the lives of the Pokémon.
When people asked, I told them that I did meet a girl up there, that she'd almost killed me. I figured there was no harm in spreading the legend, so long as I didn't give out any information I hadn't previously heard. With any luck, it would keep travelers away from her.
But we all know how well that had worked for me.
(The irony did not escape me, by the way, that the very legend I'd sought to prove wrong was now becoming truth by my own lips.)
The villagers seemed to believe me wholeheartedly, especially the ones that had originally tried to warn me away. There were a few who thought I was just seeing things, that the cold had gotten to me, but I didn't mind. Either way, I figured most people would leave the mountain alone, especially with how the Hiker and his Charmeleon had wound up, and my particularly close call. I mean, I wouldn't say I wasn't made at her, but again, I owed her my life.
Mika never left my side, never gave me a reason to recall her after that. She slept on my bed, cautiously watching anyone who came too close. She must have felt like I did. I could have died and our last moments together would have been bitter.
We didn't want that.
I may not have finished what I started, but I was done, regardless. I had no intentions of following the visitor's requests to "Come and see what we can find together!"
Idiots. Was I really like that? So eager to go and put my life in danger for nothing?
Don't get me wrong! I'm not going to stop exploring, not until my lungs grow cold and draw their last breath!
...but I'm hoping that they'll stay warm for a long time.
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*Line from "Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things."
Based on the legend of the Yuki-onna or Snow Woman from Japan, where the creators' of "Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things" originally got the idea from.
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