Ch. 78
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Wendy
I knew dragon types were strong. Strong, and willful. Takes a special kind of trainer to really bring out their best, an' I couldn'a said if I was that kind of trainer. I took the little darling in for a basic check up, an' of course to answer the obvious questions of sex and age. The sex was easy enough to determine, they looked the same on the outside, but she was all woman. Was a good thing, I figured. Had plenty of trouble with the boys as it was! The age though, was a question they couldn't have told me. More'n five years, less than ten by their best guess. But that's all it was. A guess. Still, knew more than I did going in, and that was plenty.
She was the clingy sort, content to stay wrapped around my shoulder or arm, depending on what I was up to. Hated the pokeball, but tolerated it. Fearless in a fight, too. More'n one trainer found out the hard way that a dratini doesn't need to be in the water to make good on a proper thunder wave, an' she didn't hesitate to lash out with every bit of her tail. Knew she could spray water, but it wasn't somethin' she seemed very good at, only did it a couple of times, to decent effect but it was obviously a strain.
Still, she seemed to get on well enough with everyone, an' I'd warned the boys away from her. Not that they'd been missin' out. Between Sprinter an' I, Stacky was well taken care of, an' poor Sprinter was often too exhausted to spend an evenin' with me when Stacky was finished. Suited me fine, for the most part. Was happy to not constantly be such a mess.
Rein was growing by the day, it seemed. The little bounsweet shared animated conversations with the dratini, and the two were fast friends. I envied them both for it, in truth. I still couldn't understand what they were saying. I had gotten a lot better at reading moods, and I could at least figure things out with yes and no questions. Still, it was a far cry from having a live-in translator. I wished I had that talent.
Staccato and I had found our step, even got back into practice for barrel races. Once he'd shaken the rust off... once WE had shaken the rust off, it felt like there was no stopping us. We'd find an event somewhere along the way, plenty of time. It had been years, I realized. I missed it, and I could tell he did, too. We were making better and better time, kicking up dust and working him to a proper lather. I didn't know if it'd mean much in real competition, but I thought we were on the right track. It felt right, at least.
I'd gotten better at sparring with Sprinter, too. He still battered me pretty readily, but I was flinching less, and giving back more and more. I wasn't winning yet, but I wasn't losing as thoroughly as I had been, either. Hard won though it was, I wouldn't change a thing. I was getting better. Faster, and stronger.
I was determined to keep working at it. Not just for his sake. For mine. I needed to see how far I could go. It was why I became a trainer in the first place. This was just one more aspect of it, anymore. It wasn't about proving people at home wrong. It wasn't about proving me right. It was about finding out what I could do. What I was really capable of. What we were capable of, together.
Sharon
Ugh. Bugger me! He didn't take the connecting ship. Bastard was still on Poni somewhere. That meant I had to wait. The waiting was fine... but hearing Zorah and Shizuka give me shit about it was miserable. I'd made up my mind, and that was that. But they were both worried I was about to make things worse. For him. For me. For all of us.
Again, Zorah had reiterated that it wasn't something I did wrong, or he did wrong. The guy wasn't out to hurt me. If anything he was afraid of being hurt. With good reason, too. If the league found out what he'd confided in me, if some of the activist groups knew... there'd be no saving him. No stopping them. They'd rip apart the little family he'd made. That was the power he put in my hands. The trust. I was kicking myself for having disregarded it because it wasn't a truth I wanted to hear.
I was still confused, in a lot of ways. I didn't know what I wanted. I couldn't ever picture myself with Zorah, let alone Shizuka the way he was with his pokemon. Wasn't interested. There wasn't an illusion Zorah could have spun that would have changed it. But that was me. I didn't have that kind of relationship, for better or worse, it wasn't in the cards.
But I wasn't angry at him. I wasn't disgusted with the guy. Once I'd had time to think it over, or maybe once I had time to stop thinking it over. There wasn't any hatred there. I was hurt because I felt brushed off. Unwanted. But that was all in my head, wasn't it? He never said it. He said he was afraid he couldn't make me happy. He was afraid I wouldn't be able to trust him. He was afraid.
And I'd gone and made that so much worse, hadn't I? Mum would be -so- proud of me.
All I could do was wait, keep an ear to the ground. Haunt the local pokemon center, and markets. Hope I found him again. It was maddening, but I'd wait a little longer, maybe I'd get lucky. I wanted a chance to apologize. He deserved an apology. He deserved the world. Of all the things he could have done to me, all the things I'd have let him, would still let him if he wanted, he just wanted to be honest with me. He was honest, and I had gone and buggered that up, didn't I?
I felt like an idiot. I was an idiot.
Even if things wouldn't... if he wasn't interested in me, because of all of this. I needed to apologize to him. I wanted to be his friend. Hell, I even wanted to meet the girl he told me about. Not that we'd have a thing in common but being friends with him. I wanted to apologize to his lycanroc, and the weavile. To all of them.
Maybe it wouldn't fix anything. I was probably being stupid, I knew I was obsessing. But maybe this time things would be different.
Zorah did his best to take my mind off of it. Talked about anything and everything else. Poor bastard was still in a cast, but he was on the mend, at least. I'd settle for that. Definitely put our plans for the island challenges on hold, but that wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to me. By far. A little waiting then. I'd have had no choice but to wait, anyway. A little waiting, and a little hope.
Shizuka
Petulant child. She'd always been that way. Not sure what she wanted, until she couldn't have it. At least this time what she wanted wasn't clearly, obviously bad for her. I'd seen him. Followed him. I was ready for his tricks. Ready for him to reveal his true colors. Ready to do so much more than watch, if that's what I needed to. Nothing drastic unless he made me. Then again, an accident at sea? So simple, so easy to arrange. So, so tragic. He would not have been the first person to find tragedy in place of a victim. But no. He had to be decent, didn't he? All the more complicated.
So I watched, and I waited, and I saw as she did everything she could to entice him, and he... danced just out of reach, made her pay attention. Made her listen. I forgave him for feeling her up. A fair trade. It made her stop and hear what he was saying, that he enjoyed the weight of her beneath his fingers was inconsequential. He took it only so far, and no further. A forgivable grievance. I watched as he let her withdraw, as he left. I watched his relief, a palpable thing. Watched as he walked away, and believed that the end of it. I watched as she stood in the shower, tried not to cry. Tried and failed, and my heart broke for her. As it had so many other times.
I was angry in the moment, in truth. Angry at him for hurting her, for letting her imagination run so far, and so free before telling her how things were, how they had to be. I wanted to lash out, but it burned out quickly. He was afraid, had to be careful. I understood that. She could have been anyone. Could have destroyed him with what he confessed to. Had every reason to want to. He was afraid, and I wasn't heartless.
Poor unfortunate soul! I wasn't heartless. I even defended him later, when her ego got the better of her. When she believed she'd been wronged, despite every truth to the contrary. I was nothing if not fair. He'd never find a more evenhanded judge. That he should be so lucky as to have met me! But no, to protect her from him, or him from her, it was nothing more than I should have.
I tried even to dissuade her. To convince her to let him go. What folly. She wouldn't allow it. Of course she wouldn't. Sharon was as stubborn as the night was dark. I knew better. Zorah and I were just along for the ride this time. So was he, that poor pitiful human. I almost wanted to warn him... but maybe some small part of me just wanted to enjoy the show. He wasn't a bad person... but that wasn't enough to make me want to rescue him. She wasn't going to hurt him. Well. Maybe a little, but he'd like it, if he let himself. Besides, he technically had hurt her, first.
I doubted she'd find him, though. I couldn't blame her for trying, but there were so many people, and not enough hours in a day. Besides, they weren't even on the same island, how long would she wait, trying to get her way? Still. You only live once... well. That's what the humans liked to say, anyway! You only live once... and she deserved some happiness. In a twisted way, I also knew she could make him happy. Humans were such simple creatures, after all. He was a man, and men were easy.
If he was what her heart was set on, I could play along, for the moment. I clearly wasn't going to win the argument, after all. I'd save my 'I told you so's for later. We never did skip that part, did we? Poor petulant child... but I did tell her, each and every time.
Trainer
It wasn't hard to find a ride between islands, even with the ships already having made their rounds for the week. A few questions as I got the basics squared away at the island pokemon center, and then I was off to the docks to see a man about a lapras. Maybe it was as commonplace as breathing to the local Alolans, but I'd never seen one, let alone gone for a ride across the ocean! As I approached, a tanned older man waved me over.
"Alola!" He called to me. "I'm Akoni! They called ahead from the pokemon center. You wanted to get somewhere a little more active, right? Let me see what I can do for you!" He pulled out a whistle as I approached, the shrill high sound carrying even over the cries of the local wingull population. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Well, a pokeball or something for starters. But they appeared, from not far away, a little further up the quiet coastline, head and shell above the water, almost but not quite blending in between sea and sky, a few, then a few more, and within a few minutes there were seven lapras cavorting and splashing around the dock.
"Easy, easy! He's new to the islands, see? We gotta teach him how to have fun our way, right? Who's up for a little swim, a little float, gentle like, yeah? No racing around, no sudden dives into the drink. Treat him like family for me." He said to the gathered crowd. The response was a cacophony of sing-song answers, but to my ears it was unanimous agreement, a little laughter, even a small scolding at him for putting on a show.
"They're all yours?" I asked, as one craned its rounded wedge-shaped head in, slipping beneath my hand all but forcing me to pet its head. His response was a laugh, although I got a sense he was sick of the question. "No, no. Doesn't work like that around here. They're more like friends. Family. We hang out, they come to the l??au, whether they're invited or not, I might add!" He said, in a playful scolding of the gathered group, who all feigned offense, sharply looking away as one, before returning to their mild play and chatter at the dock. "They're not mine, not anyone's. They're their own pokemon!" He grinned and shook his head. "Can't speak for anyone else, but I'd take offense to some hotshot jumped up trainer coming in and taking my friends away... although if they decided to swim other waters for themselves? That's nobody's business but the lapras! Now, c'mon, let's get you a harness while this bunch decides who's gonna spend the rest of the day babysitting you, ya?"
Akoni came back as I was getting my pack arranged, and making sure my girls were safe and secure. The backpack had been advertised as waterproof, but I didn't exactly want to test the claim, so I was grateful for the help getting a harness set up. The lapras who had come forward was a gorgeous shade of purple that I'd thought at first it was a trick of the light. I watched as Akoni set to task, and tried to learn a thing or two. The harness was broad and padded in the front, mostly just a sturdy strap to hold on to, for all it was attractively decorated. It was then that I understood the design. A few carabiners dangled from the shell side of it like jewelry. I could have harnessed myself in, sure. But the real benefit was I could strap my backpack down, and not risk a sink to the seabed trying to carry it. Or swimming after it.
Once I was settled in, I had a chance to really appreciate just how big a lapras actually was. The knobs of her shell were big and sturdy enough to feel comfortable beneath my hands, I could lean on them, and I imagined it would be easy enough to grab hold and climb, should I end up in the drink. It was an easy thing to make myself comfortable, even tying my shoes off to the shoulder strap, my bare feet taking in the texture in the ridges of the shell as I stood, one hand perched gently atop her head as I turned my gaze out to sea.
"Ha! Look at you, you're a natural. Say, you got a fishing pole?" Akoni asked, nodding with approval as pulled the small kit of tackle from the depths of my bag. "That's the stuff. Nice! Might let her take you around to see what's biting. No need to rush through, right? Enjoy the day, you know? The wind is just right, I promise you won't regret it! Just a suggestion. Enjoy the islands! Alola!" Akoni grinned broadly, pearly whites contrasting deeply tanned skin as he waved us off, and went back to whatever he'd been doing before he'd been interrupted.
I waited a few minutes, watched the broad flippers of the lapras churn through the sea. The dock drifted away behind us, and I closed my eyes. Took in the wind, the waves, the way we bobbed, rocked with the surface of the water. I was surprised the rest of the group didn't swim out with us, but they'd gone back to whatever they were up to before Akoni had called them over. My mind wandered, wondered, and finally I asked.
"So, what does a family of lapras do with their day?"
"What do you do with yours?" The answer came, singsong notes. "As if you'd tell me. Ugh. It's okay. I don't blame you. But what are you expecting from me?"
"Well, before I set out on this trip, it was mostly martial arts. Fighting, punching, kicking, training. Lately though I just want to see what's over the next horizon, make new friends, and lots of memories." I answered. "As for what I'm expecting... I mean, isn't it enough you're carrying me around? Thank you, by the way."
For a moment, she stilled, craned her head around to look at me, curious, if a bit wary. "Okay. That's a new one. Nice trick, got anything else?" She asked, as she looked me over as if seeing me for the first time. Her eyes shimmered, at a glance I'd have said jet, but as the light hit them just right, the truth was something closer to a deep brown agate. "You know, if you don't mind, I'd actually love to talk. I have lots of questions, and I bet you have a few, yourself." She said, paying more attention to me than the waters ahead now.
"Since you answered, I'll answer. We eat, sing, tell jokes, play in the waves, and sometimes get asked to carry people, or messages. Sometimes we dive as deep as we can, there's a lot of old things you humans have lost to the bottom of the sea, you know. Sometimes we sun ourselves in the shallows, or race around the islands."
"Okay, I have to ask." I said, with a nod as I settled in on her back, kicking my feet up on one of the broad knobs. "What does a lapras joke sound like?"
"Fine, but you owe me a human joke." She replied, as she got us moving again. "What's the difference between a wingull and a horsea?" She asked as she turned her gaze forward, clearly trying not to laugh at her own joke already.
"I could think of a few, but we're not thinking the same things, clearly. So what is the difference?" I answered, confused and wondering where she was going with it.
"The wingull is surprised when you catch it!" She answered, with a sudden snap of her jaws up toward the sky.
I was blindsided by it, and couldn't help but join in her laughter, of all the things she could possibly have said! I couldn't help but envision it. Poor wingull, but a girl's gotta eat!
"Human jokes... human jokes... Okay." I said, as one came to mind.
To be honest, I didn't remember, or care where we were going, and she'd clearly forgotten. We'd begun to drift around, trading jokes and telling stories. It was a good morning, and Akoni was right about the wind.