Ch. 81
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Claire - Trainer's Delphox
That night, we had a very pleasant little tour of the observatory, where we all got to see through that immense lens. It was more than just impressive. It made me feel small, insignificant, and somehow happy. It was different than I'd expected, although maybe I wasn't quite sure what I had expected to begin with. It felt like they could see everything.
But it was more than just what I saw, looking up at the sky. It was what I felt, in the room. Alcyon was a buzz of wonder and joy such that her tears wouldn't stop falling. Mira had taken a contented perch atop her head, her ribbons trailing down on either side to keep herself steady, a fuzzy pink hat as much as a pokemon. The two watched the activity with rapt attention, both murmuring back and forth to each other.
Mira was fast friends with just about everyone. It wasn't much of a surprise anymore. Helena and Belle were still a little guarded around her, but even they had been coming around of late. Still perched atop Alcyon's head, the four had begun an animated conversation about the craters in the moon, and the colors of an asteroid. Penance and master were more subdued, the fatigue of the hike had truly set in. While they both took their turn looking up at the night sky through the observatory lenses, and made the odd remark about the pictures shown, when we were ultimately let loose to return to camp, they did so with clear exhaustion. A good natured grin shared between them as they tugged and wrestled with the straps to pull Alcyon along on her makeshift cart.
It was a lot less than camp normally was, we couldn't put up the tent in the parking lot, of course, and there wasn't a safe place outside of it, not really. So we just did what we could, arranged ourselves and the sleeping bag as best as we could. It was uncomfortable, to say the least but even Alcyon didn't seem to mind, as we all gazed up at the stars together.
It felt like we all had plenty to say, but no energy left to say it.
As master drifted into dream, I closed my eyes and sought him out. I felt all his aches, burning like wildfire in muscles he hadn't used that way in years. I could soothe the way he felt it in his dreams, although I couldn't actually help how his body would feel in the morning. His relief was almost a tearful thing, and before long he'd begun to dream. Muddled and raw as his bare sleep was, it was hard to touch directly.
But I could see him there, in his thoughts, he was gazing down at the sunset from the mountaintop. I could almost pluck his thoughts out of the sky, rich and vibrant. He'd been amazed at the warmth of the Alolan people, at how quick they were to help him with what must have seemed an insane, maybe impossible task.
His thoughts had drifted to being impressed with Penance. How could any of us not be? She put her heart and soul into it. Gave everything he asked and more. In his dream he could feel her curled up around him. She deserved it tonight, deserved the world. As his slumber deepened, I touched at her thoughts in turn.
Everything was scent to her, in that moment. She wasn't quite asleep, just very relaxed. She could smell flowers on the wind that were so subtle I'd missed them. The scent of master's sweat, it was an aphrodesiac to her. Far more than it ever had been to me. When she focused on it I could almost taste her arousal. A flush of warmth that was so vivid I felt it in my belly, despite it being entirely hers. The salt of the sea, distant and so far below now. She was drifting, in her dreams, they were on the deck of the ship we'd arrived on, and he was rutting against her in the middle of a dance floor. A hundred eyes hungry with lust as she sank her head down on him in front of everyone.
I had no idea she wanted that kind of thing! But it was easy enough to bring the two together. To feel master's arousal grow, and her body respond to his pleasure in kind. A new scent tantalizing her, that of his masculinity and need. I was setting them up, just a little. I wanted her to have her treat... and I knew he would gladly give it to her. As for me, when it happened, I'd watch. Like so many other times I had. I loved watching him play, and she wanted an audience.
She deserved the treat she wanted most, and he needed her gentleness. It would be good for both of them after we made it down, tomorrow.
Belle - Trainer's Lucario
I stayed up late, for once. They were all a bad influence on me, maybe. I was usually the first to bed, and the first awake. Today felt special though. I sat up with Sybil and Helena, and we counted the stars. Most of the evening passing in reltive quiet. I could tell Helena was waiting for bad news, but she wasn't agitated, so it wasn't bad news we were getting yet.
Which was good, I hated to admit it, but I ached down to the pads of my feet. It was rough climing a mountain. I couldn't imagine how tired master must have been. Or the arcanine for that matter. But it was so sweet. He was sweet.
Clever too, I had to admit. Or damned determined. I wasn't sure which, but did it really matter? Either way, it was praiseworthy. Seeing him stand by his convictions, even when that meant hauling a lapras up a mountain? It was good to know he really had that kind of strength in him.
But as strong as he was, mostly he was gentle. Kind. Kind in a way that few pokemon, and fewer humans could claim to. He saw a problem, something that was hurting someone; and then he gave it all he had to make it better. Nobody made him do that. Nobody asked him to, even. His convictions were to treat her with the same care and love he gave all of us. It was that which made me so proud to stand by.
He took up the hardest parts for himself, too. He could have left the arcanine to struggle on her own, and she would have. She wanted to make him proud. To impress him. But he put everything he had into being right there with her, and I could tell by the way her aura changed that it meant everything to her. He leaned on her, heavily, but he also took every step with her as best as he could. They did it. Together.
I believed we were all staring at him, as he leaned against the railing in the hour before sunset. I wasn't looking anywhere else, so I could only believe. But I did, and each of us had our own reasons to, none of which were too terribly different, for all they were purely our own. I got to see something in him that was magical. Special. Something that didn't even seem to fit in the world I knew. It was my treasure now. Something quiet, and secret, inside my heart.
"You're blushing." Helena said, not teasingly, but curious. "What's on your mind?" She asked, nudging me with a heavy paw.
"Same thing as everyone else, I think." I replied, with a shrug. "He looked good today." I could tell by the tilt of her head she saw right through me, but she let it be, and I was grateful she did.
"Yeah, he did. But he's a damned idiot, still." Helena groused, as she gazed out to the darkness. "As if trouble isn't looking for us. As if there's no way we're going to need to be ready for a fight." She sighed at that, raked her claws against the ground lightly. "I'm being a bitch. He did a good thing, and I'm not mad at him for it, it's not his fault he's marked. It's my fault. I know that, and I'm sorry." A moment passed, her gaze turned to him, oblivious, contented, and exhausted as he was. "All those sleepless nights. I know they were my fault. I can't be mad he's tired and getting sleep. I know it's a precious thing." She sighed again, heavily, and gazed up at the sky. "You're right though. He looked good doing it. Looked great. Sent a chill from my tail all the way up to my horn."
"Your horn. Right. So that wasn't you trying not to make a wet mess when he was scratching behind your ears earlier?" Sybil chimed in with a teasing grin, doing her best to change the somber mood. "Besides, isn't it our job to look after him? He'll fight, if it comes down to it, but nobody's fucking with him on our watch, right? He's an idiot, but he's our idiot, and we'll make sure nothing happens to him. Well. Nothing that we don't approve of."
I was glad the attention was pulled away from me... but somehow I just couldn't focus on their back and forth. I hated to admit it, as I sat and leaned back against Alcyon, but they weren't the only ones turned on by him. I was a woman, too. As much as the reality of sex scared me, I wanted him in that raw, relentless and natural way. I wanted him and that terrified me, even if he didn't anymore.
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
It was nice, to have a chance to get to know his pokemon. Mira was an affectionate little sweetie, and I got the feeling she'd just make a nest on top of my head if I let her. I couldn't blame her, being so small compared to everyone else. Just like I wanted the view from up here, in a way, I offered her something kind of like it.
She'd confided in me, in private, that she'd never seen her trainer look at anyone quite the same way as he watched me, when I was first taking in the view. It left me feeling blushy, giddy. He was watching me, the same as I had watched him. It was good to know it wasn't something he was doing for my benefit, too.
From our corner of the parking lot, I could see all the lights as they'd come on in the houses, and in time, I got to watch most of them go out. People going to sleep, another day of human things to do ahead of them. I could see, very faintly, maybe wingulls on the wind. Maybe a different bird. Long, lazy loops over the sand and water. The light of a ship out at sea. Clouds had begun to roll in, high and wispy, above us. The moon painting us all in pale silhouette.
He fell asleep almost as soon as he'd set down. The arcanine too. She curled around him, gave him something to lean on, and with her head in his lap, rested with him. I appreciated that for him. That she'd keep him warm as the chill of night set in. They'd draped his blanket over me, and Claire and the lycanroc leaned against my side, which helped. The cold didn't bother me too much, but it was a lot more noticeable when the wind picked up.
It was again the absol and the weavile keeping watch at night. Me too, this time. For a while. They spoke in hushed tones, and gazed out down the road with a kind of easy banter that was comforting, a rhythmic lull from them that I ended up drifting off to.
I felt safe with them, the same way I had with my pod.
So why did I feel so conflicted?
Penance - Trainer's Arcanine
They all went to sleep later than we did. Master and I were out early, curled up together where the railing curled, marking the corner of the parking lot we spent the night in. It would be a while before dawn, the whole world was still dark. He stirred, and I stirred, and for a moment, his hand idly scratched through the fur at my neck. Then up, to get behind my ears just the way I loved. I drifted, in and out, as he did. Until I realized we were alone, together. Everyone was asleep, even Helena and Sybil had ultimately come back to rest. I could see Sybil's silhouette, atop Alcyon's shell. Cocoa and Mira had stolen most of the pad that master rolled out beneath his sleeping bag, and sometime in the night, the sleeping bag itself had been draped over Alcyon's neck, to keep her warm.
Belle was awake, I realized as I craned my head, and looked about, sitting on the railing not far from the rest of us, and gazing up into the sky. Doing some serious thinking from the look of things. I hoped she was alright, but it wasn't my place to intrude any. I was glad we had someone up to look after us, all the same. I'd slept like the dead after yesterday's toil. Tonight wouldn't be much better, I knew. We'd be doing the same thing, just in reverse. If anything it'd be even harder. I knew that, and he warned me of it, too.
But as he caressed my cheek, pulled my attention away with a kiss that lingered long, and deep and sweet... I couldn't be mad. No, what I was feeling in that moment was something else, entirely.
I felt loved.
I felt loved, and relied on, and trusted. He asked me to help him with something there was no way he could have done alone. Something that maybe not all of them together could have managed as well as he and I did. He trusted me to be there for him, to help support him when he took on the world itself.
I felt loved, and I wanted him to feel loved, and I wished we could have gotten away with it, right then and there. My dreams had been wild, and I knew I was dripping wet. I just wanted him inside me. But I had to settle for that kiss, and then one of my own. My tongue against his bare chest, slow and sensual, promise of everything I was going to give him, just as soon as we could. To enjoy the scent of him, the taste of him. To me it was delicious, earthy, masculine, and entirely his.
Arceus, but it was like he was made just for me. I wanted to wash him myself, anywhere he'd let me lick. It wouldn't help. I knew. He'd still need a proper shower, but still. Next time we were alone, I was going to offer. No. I was going to beg.
It was frustrating in the best, most delicious of ways that I could only tease just a little. My tongue slipping across his bare chest once again, then down as I lowered my head, gazing up at him all the while. I'd rest my head in his lap, as natural as could be... but I knew my feelings reached him. His were poking up at me from beneath.
Maybe tonight... maybe not. But no matter what, he was the mate I'd chosen. I loved him and he deserved all of me.
Trainer
I was glad to be up so early. Penance had relented, and drifted off to sleep, while I pet her head. It seemed a miracle that I managed to slip away without waking her again. The poor dear was exhausted, and today was going to be even harder than yesterday. It was a cruel, unfair thing I asked of her, and she did it without hesitation. I'd have to make it up to her. As soon as we were camped for the night, I was going to give her a massage. Do my best to ease the aches out of her. She deserved that much at least.
Speaking of aches; everything ached. From my toes to a pounding in my temple as I stretched just a little. I was honestly dreading the trip down. It was going to be an absolute mess. No matter how much I wished it otherwise. There was just nothing for it but to do it. My back and my legs were already pissed, and that wasn't about to get any easier.
Still; time waits for none, and it was time to wake Alcyon. I knew she wanted to see everything. She wouldn't want to miss this. So my hand went to her cheek, and I patted her, gently but arrhythmically until, with a brief murmur of confusion and complaint, she lifted her head, grumbling something about spheals before realizing where she was, at which point she nudged me with her head in silent affection, and then craning herself above my head where I was pointing.
We watched together, from the top of the mountain, as the sky at the horizon began to change. Black slipping through deepest shades of azure, and gold. The clouds on the horizon illuminated in vivid pink, and shaded in gray. She got to see something she'd never dreamed of before. I got to hold her, the weight of her head partially resting on my raised arm, cheek to cheek with me as the sun touched the top of the ocean from where we were watching. The water losing its inky endless darkness as the daylight grew.
She murmured something wordless. It came out in a hushed whisper of 'Pras.' She was awed, it was the equivalent to our 'wow'. I kissed her cheek, and she nuzzled against me in return. That moment was ours, and it was a treasure I knew we'd both keep forever, no matter where the tides took us. But it was meant to be a moment, and we had a big, long day ahead of us both. So, with a gentle brush of my hands at her cheeks, I let her enjoy her morning as I began to make the rounds, wake everyone else up, one by one. I was surprised when there were no complaints, no grousing, or 'five more minutes'. Even Mira was up at the first nudge, her ribbons trailing up my arms as she met me, nose to nose in her affectionate way. The little darling stretched, in that languid boneless way she always managed when she was truly relaxed, but then scrambled up my back to ride my shoulders as we got our day started.
The wind that morning was bracing. Not as cold as it had been in the night, but not far off. A fragrance of flowers, and promise of rain. Today was going to be a rough one. But being able to give Alcyon her dream? Worth it. Bring it on. But first, we needed to eat. We all needed to eat. Getting up here had been a trial, and back down would be doubly so! Breakfast was enough that we were now actually out of food. We'd all be famished by the time we got down the mountain, but I had no doubt we'd find something to eat in Malie.
All that was left was to limber up, and figure out the harness. Then... then fight gravity all the way down, so poor Alcyon didn't descend too quickly.
Fuck's sake, I should have thought that through. If the straps broke or anything like that... I didn't even want to think about it. It would be okay. It had to be.
Tempest - Trainer's Lycanroc
He was a madman, and I loved him for it. I was also happy to help. Today, rather than dragging the lapras behind them, she rolled in front of them. Their job was to keep a sure footing so she didn't just careen off into the abyss. My job was to help steer her, one way or the other around the curves down the mountainside. Claire volunteered to help but honestly she didn't have the strength to make much difference. Belle and Cocoa on the other hand, made things at least manageable.
I knew he was strong, but I'd never seen him with a task he was truly struggling at. We were making much slower progress, it felt like it was going to take forever. But we'd get there. My mate wasn't one to give up, not once had I ever seen him do that.
It was inspiring, if anything. He never asked for a break, just leaned back hard against the harness, his heavy boots against the ground as if he would dig into the mountain itself, were it that he could. One step, then the next, trembling with exertion, dripping sweat on an already humid day. The clouds had gathered, and the air hung stiflingly still. I could taste the rain. I welcomed it, but I also knew how dangerous it was.
It would make the ground slick, and that was the last thing we needed, so I called everyone to grab the straps. To not let go. I went to the very back, behind master. My hands at his waist, leaning back, letting the weight of the backpack settle low and heavy as if to help pull against the lapras. I could feel my back straining, my whole body protested, and I wouldn't let go even if it killed me.
Together, we moved a little more quickly, but we were scarcely halfway down when the rain started. A torrential downpour. It was all we could do to keep our footing now, and we'd begun to move faster, because we couldn't quite stop ourselves from it.
Arceus, it was about to get rough, wasn't it?
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
The last hour was an exhilarating ride... or a terrifying ordeal. I'm not quite sure which I felt more. But he got me to the bottom in one piece, plus a few stray twigs and leaves, and together, we took shelter under the awning of a malasada shop. He'd never had the treat before, none of them had, so I insisted. Not that I had to, the smell alone drew them in. Sweet, salty, perfect.
There they were, wet fur, sore feet, like a pack of drowned rattatas, enjoying an island staple like it was the brightest, sunniest day. We all laughed together. The absurdity of it. It wasn't even much past midday and we were all done in. Even I was tired, just from the ride. I couldn't imagine how they were feeling. But even so, this was the most fun I'd had maybe ever.
"But it's sooo good, right?" Mira said, between mouthfuls. "Even if we weren't all dying of hunger, it would be delicious." She added to a general murmur of agreement. She had a face full of sugar, was licking the tips of her ribbons still. She'd devoured hers voraciously and seemed revitalized by the treat.
"We'll still need an actual meal together, but this is nice, too." Claire said, giving her trainer a nudge at his shoulder. "So we're doing it again. Very. Very soon. Aren't we, master?" She asked, as she took another dainty nibble. She was careful not to make a mess of herself, any more than the rain already had, at least.
He laughed, nudged her right back. "Hey, who's in charge here?" He teased, but shrugged helplessly. "Not me, not today, clearly!" He added, a ripple of laughter rolling through his team. For his part, he was slow to finish the treat. Savoring every nibble.
"So... is this every day?" I asked, in a still moment. "This can't be every day for you, right?"
Nothing was this nice. Not for long.
Belle
I knew that tone. I'd have shared it, not long ago. Helena looked up from her treat, and for a moment seemed crestfallen, but I wasn't going to let her bite that bullet. Not this time. Not alone at least.
"We came here because we're trying to escape someone who wants to hurt one of us." I said, deflecting away from who. "Because he won't give her up to them, to let them hurt her. They want her, and they're willing to hurt all of us. So... no, this isn't every day." I said, as I stood up, reached up to brush against Alcyon's cheek. "You're right. No matter how good things look at a glance, there's no such thing as perfect. We've had to fight before. Truly fight. To fight and not know if we were going to be alright on the other side of it. He's gotten himself hurt trying to protect us. I've had to set his bones. I've had to do things, too. I've had to hurt people, and pokemon. But I know what side of this fight I belong on, and I don't regret it. I'm here to protect my best friend, and the only human I've ever met that I felt safe beside."
She seemed to take it all in, and made a motion with a flipper that I couldn't help but interpret as a shrug. "But when you're not having to defend yourselves from the sharpedos in the water, this is how you all treat each other? This is normal?" She'd completely brushed aside the reality of our being hunted, no, she wanted to know if he was real. If this was real.
Helena spoke up, nuzzling against me as she left her comfortable seat at the edge of the bench the others were gathered around. "I didn't believe it at first, either. Neither did Belle. We thought it was a trick, that he was hurting them, and they were just too scared to say otherwise. But no. They love him. They love each other. And we fell in love too. He's different. That stunt he pulled getting you up the mountain? That's just him. That's just like him. He's an idiot, but he's our idiot... and I know he won't say it, because he'd never want you to feel pressured, but he wants to be your idiot, too."
One glance at master and I knew he was mortified. Shame faced, he couldn't quite meet Alcyon's gaze, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh, felt pity for him, or was angry. But he didn't wallow in it, just got up and faced it. Whatever I felt about his response, I could at least respect the grit it took to take it head on.
Trainer
"They're not wrong." I said, swallowing past the lump in my throat at having been put on the spot like that. "But it doesn't need to be like that, either. I want you to stay with us, Alcyon, but I know that's not what you want. You already said so. Feeling trapped, the being brought places that your body wasn't meant to get you to, the fear of only being let out in uncomfortable places out of pity. I listened, I really took it to heart. I'm not trying to change your mind. I know... you have a life here, a whole world that is yours, and it's heartless of me to even think to take that from you. I'm sorry." I meant it. I felt nothing but guilt for how selfish I was being.
"But I think the past couple of days have been something truly special. Something I'm going to keep like a treasure until I'm old and gray." I added, reaching up to brush her cheek as she stared, waited for me to finish saying what I had to, I suppose. I appreciated her patience, it was a loving thing from someone I couldn't help but believe I had just wounded, savagely.
"Watching you see the world from a place you only dreamed of? That might be the biggest memory I get to take from Alola. We've only just arrived, and I might have done one of the most important things in my entire life. That's what you are to me. What they are to me. I want to give everyone of them the same kind of feeling you had, at the top of the mountain. I won't always live up to that, so... I'm afraid this isn't every day, no. But that doesn't mean this isn't real."
Alcyon leaned in, nudged me with her head. "I'm not sure what I feel right now. I'm afraid, mostly." She admitted, quietly. "I'm stuck between worlds, in the middle of a storm, and I don't know which way to swim." A moment passed, and with a ragged weary sigh, she pulled back, met my gaze evenly. "Don't get your hopes up. But maybe I'll swim with you as long as you're in Alola. Emphasis on maybe. I don't like the idea of a pokeball still, and fuck's sake I don't like YOU right now, but I can deal with it."
I shook my head, gave her neck a pat with an open, albeit slightly sugary palm. "No promises on what I hope for, it's kind of a long list." I admitted, drawing an honest laugh out of her. "But not taking you from home? Yeah, I can live with that."
"One more thing." She said, nudging me away to look me sternly in the eye. "If you let me out of a pokeball within EYESIGHT of a cheap hotel pool, I swear you'll be an ice sculpture in the middle of it! Are. We. Clear?"
I didn't have to ask if she meant it. I could feel the seething in her tone. There was a story there, but I wasn't about to ask. No way.