1-Dear you

Dear You
Chapter 1- Saving a Life

I got down on all fours as I heard the faint rustling in the bushes. I could feel the vibrations of the creature in the ground. A mouse. My stomach growled loudly at the thought of finally having a meal, but I quickly silenced it by getting closer to the ground.

I inched closer and closer, slowly picking up the pace. Then I saw it scramble out from under the bushes, taking the time to eat a small berry. I smirked, and moved closer. How stupid mice were. They didn't even notice the slightest movement. Getting closer and closer, I lifted by haunches, getting ready to pounce.

"AAAAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

I jumped in the air in fright at the noise and the mouse scrambled back under to brush to take cover. I quickly looked around to see where it came from, but there were no Pokemon in sight. I sighed in annoyance. "I was finally going to have a meal...." I thought.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

I heard it again, this time louder. I could hear the fear in the Pokemon's voice. I raced around in the light rain storm, trying to find where it was coming from. As I came out into a clearing, I could hear it more clearly. The only things around me were a couple of trees and the cliff right in front of me.

"P-PLEASE HELP ME!!!"

Fearing the worst, I peered over the side of the cliff. To my horror, there was a Pikachu dangling from one of the rocks. He was holding on with one paw and looked pained as he strained to hold on. He looked within my reach.

"Oh, thank God!" He cried out.

"Oh my-- How did you get there?!" I cried out to him.

"T-that doesn't matter!" He glared at me, slipping a bit and wincing. "Just please help me!!"

"O-ok!" I quickly got down on all fours and reached my hand out. He lifted his paw that wasn't hanging onto the rock and tried to reach mine. We came close a couple of times, but we only touched the tips of our fingers.

Hurrying, I whipped around to see if there was anything I could use. Then I saw a large broken tree branch. With all my strength, I grabbed it in my mouth and dragged it to the edge. I extended it with my paws, and lowered it.

"Have you got it?" I asked, the rain blinding my vision.

"Y-yeah.." He trembled.

"Ok, I'm gonna pull you up." I said, straining to pull up the heavy tree branch.

After a while, I finally got half of the branch up, but the weight was too much, and before I knew it, it pulled back down towards the cliff. We both screamed, and I had to dig all of my paws into the ground to stop us from tumbling over the side. I had barely saved us, as my paws were at the edge.

"I-I can't pull it up..." I said. "You're gonna have to climb up the branch!"

"C-can't you just try again?" He sounded desperate.

"I just barely stopped us from going off the edge," I shouted back. "And I don't know how much longer I can hold it up now!"

I thought I heard him gulp. "F-fine..." He murmured over the now heavy rain.

I felt him struggling to come up the branch, and the weight of him sometimes caused me to almost trip. I knew once the weight was unbalanced when he came up, there was going to be a problem. As I strained to hold onto the branch, I felt him get close to the top. I began to struggle to hold on as the weight became unbearable.

Finally I saw him at the edge. The branch wobbled unstably, and he shook as he tried to hold on.

"Jump!" I commanded him.

"But what about you?" He asked.

"Don't worry, just jump!" I yelled.

With an uncertain look on his face, he did, and the branch dipped towards the ground. As it came back up, I lost the strength to hold onto it, and I started to feel myself fall with the branch, but I was grabbed around the stomach and pulled back before I could. The branch fell into the dark crevice.

I turned to see the Pikachu had saved me. He was still holding onto me and breathing heavily, obviously traumatized by what just happened. I was too, but I was also relieved that he had caught me.

"T-thanks...." He finally managed to spit out. "If you hadn't been there....I would have fallen..." I felt his stomach hit my back as he breathed.

"N-no problem..." I answered, and I turned my head so I could see him more clearly. "Thanks for catching me."

He laughed slightly. "No problem..."

After realizing how close we were, he finally unraveled his arms from me and chuckled nervously. We both got up to face each other. I noticed his eyes were icy blue and the fur around his head formed a swirl between his eyes. The black parts on his ears were spiky as well.

"Um, so I'm Angel." I introduced myself.

"I'm Sparky." He replied. "Original, huh?"

I laughed. "Sure is." Suddenly thunder cracked loudly from behind us and we both jumped. "Why don't we find some shelter?" I offered.

"Good idea." He agreed immediately, and I led him to my den.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we sat in the cave watching the rain fall (a different cave, at this point I'm no where near my original home) we chatted idly. He seemed like he was a nice Pokemon. A bit impulsive, but nice. He made a couple of comments about my purple and blue tails and ears. He didn't make fun of them. He just acted stunned, which was a first.

"So how did you end up over the side of the cliff?" I asked.

"Oh, well I was chasing after a Shinx." He replied. "You know...from the Tribe. He had electrocuted me, and I wasn't about to let him get away, so I chased him as far as I possibly could. When I made it out to the clearing, I thought he had gone off the side of the cliff, and I looked for him at the edge. But I felt a push from behind me, and I fell down the side of the cliff. I don't know how, but I managed to catch onto a rock. And it seemed like hours I was dangling there, but finally you showed up."

"Yep." I said, not knowing how to respond. "I'm glad I did."

"Me too." He agreed. He twirled his finger nonchalantly. "By the way, thanks for letting me stay here."

"Oh, it's alright." I said. "I was planing on leaving here tomorrow."

"Y-you don't live here?" He asked.

"No, I always travel." I responded. "In hopes that there will be SOME peace in the different places I go."

He snorted. "Good luck with that."

"You don't think there are?" I asked him.

"Are you kidding?" He said, getting up just to prove his point. "We barely have any territory anyway. And all of them seem to eventually get taken over by.....the Tribe." He sat down again. "My old house was."

"So was mine." I murmured, not wanting to go into great detail. It stayed silent for a bit until the growl of Sparky's stomach awoke us both from our dazes.

"Heh, would you happen to have any food?" He asked, slightly blushing.

I sighed and got out a bowl of berries. "Only a little bit. Sorry." I sat down opposite to him.

"No, that's ok." He said, eyeing the food hungrily. "I haven't eaten in a week."

He then began to chow down on the berries until there was none left. I smiled weakly at him as he ate. "Jeez, he didn't need to eat all of them...." I murmured quietly to myself.

He sighed loudly and rubbed his stomach contently when he was done. Then he noticed my awkward stare at the empty bowl. "Oh, you wanted some didn't you?" He asked.

I nodded meekly. "Well, you probably have more anyway." He shrugged and laid back to relax.

I growled a bit. "He comes into my house and eats most of my food...." I grumbled, picking up the bowl and bringing it to the 'kitchen' section of my house. Air quotations meaning, it's not really a kitchen. It's more of a room with a few rocks in it for a table and chairs. And a couple poorly built cabinets. Anyways, "Oh well. I guess it's expected. He seems just as lonely as me."

"Um, hey." He called from the other room. "Er....Angel, wasn't it?"

"Yes," I replied, padding back into the room.

"Did you make this?" He asked, holding up a silver necklace with a flame at the base that was colored in gold and silver streaks.

"No, my grandmother did." I replied. She had made it for me when I was younger. Iris had one also, except the necklace was gold and the base was mostly silver, where mine was silver and the base was mostly gold.

"Wow, it's really pretty." He said, studying it in his paws.

"Thanks." I said, taking it from him and tying it around my neck. I only took it off when I needed to hunt.

We stood there in silence for a while. It was weird to have this stranger inside my den, as I never really came across any Pokemon. Except for Tribe members.... It must be weird for him too, since he doesn't know me!

Suddenly he sighed loudly and got up. "Well, um, I guess I should be going." He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Huh? Ok." I said, shuffling my paws a bit. "A-are you sure you don't want to stay?" As the lightening cracked from outside, I felt bad that I was going to have to send him outside into the storm.

"Yeah, I need to get back to....the grass." He sounded a bit reluctant, but he headed to the open door. "Thank you anyway, Angel. Maybe I'll see you again."

My heart melted. He had nowhere to stay, the poor thing! But it was obvious that no matter how much I fought with him, he would still insist on leaving. I sighed and smiled wryly. "Yeah. See you."

He looked as if he was smiling forcefully as he left, and he slammed the door behind him, the sound of rain being muffled. I hoped he would be ok.

As I went to the cupboards to get some apples, suddenly I heard the door open again. I turned around to see Sparky soaked to the fur, smirking bashfully. "I-I got wet..." He murmured, moving the wet tuft of fur from his face. The rain water dripped onto the floor.  

"I see." I laughed, and grabbed a small towel and handed it to him.

He gladly took it, and wrapped it around himself and smirked again. "So...how about that stay you were talking about?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I finished piling up the straw to make a bed for Sparky and lay a small blanket on top of it. He shivered next to me, and unwrapped the towel from himself. He went to sit down on the straw bed and sighed and laid down. "Man, this is comfy." He mused.

"I wouldn't say comfy." I said, stifling a laugh. "I mean, it's just straw."

"Straw is much better than the cold ground." He said, in all seriousness.

I frowned a bit and sat down on the straw bed next to him. "You always slept like that?" I asked.

He suddenly looked a bit remorseful. "Yeah. I told you. The Tribe took away from home."

Damn them. Damn them. Damn them. "I-I'm sorry. I forgot. That's awful."

He laughed forcefully. "Yeah. That's not even the worst part. I...left my family while they were being attacked." He turned his head away from me.

I blinked. "W-why?" That really was the only thing I could say.

"I don't know. I was scared I guess." He grumbled. "I felt like I had to get out of there. And there was nothing I could do."

Just like....me with Iris.... "I know how you feel." I murmured to myself quietly.

"Yeah? That's what everyone says." He said, somehow hearing me, kicking a piece of straw away as if it had been annoying him. "None of them actually do. I betrayed them. I don't even know where they are. They could have been killed." I heard him choke on the last part. "I've been traveling for two years, alone and without food."

"I really do, though." I insisted. "My....my sister.....when I was ten. She couldn't take being locked up in our small territory anymore, and she tried to climb the wall. Before I could stop her, a Luxray came and....slashed her in the back. I didn't even fight. And then they dragged her to their camp and I overheard the saying that they were going to train her as their own. I didn't do....anything to defend her. And now, she's....I think she's with them." I felt the tears come at the memory, but I wiped them away. "For seven years....I've been alone."

I looked up to see that Sparky had turned to look at me in the eyes. He looked angry. "Damn them. They're....so detestable.... They rip apart Pokemon's families and their homes. They have no right to do it. But they do it anyway, no matter who they kill or harm."

I sighed to myself and sobbed a bit at the same time. It came out more like a shudder. He looked at me. "You've been through rougher, huh?" He said.

I looked up at him, my eyes filling up with tears again. Angry, hot tears. "You have no idea, honestly." I murmured.

He looked at the ground for a bit, as if he didn't know how to respond. Then he started again. "What did you do all that time?"

"Huh?" I wasn't sure what he was asking at first.

"You said you spent seven years alone." He repeated. "Did you travel?"

"Trying to find my sister, yes." I said. "Of course I never did. I got plenty of revenge on the Tribe's Shinxs and Houndours."

"Well, that's one good thing." He said. "Did you ever think you would come close to finding her?"

I was surprised that he was even interested. "Y-yeah. Mostly I would go to sleep, and think that I was back in my original home with all of my family members there. And everything was back to the way it was. But when I woke up, I realized no matter how much I dreamt of it, it would never actually happen. But. I never stopped having them. They relaxed me. And gave me some hope." And there go the tears. I was an infamous cryer at a young age, and it definitely impacted me now.

He didn't really react to my tears, he just nodded slowly. "I always had those. That I was back with my family, and that....it never happened. I never abandoned them. And they forgave me for all my wrongdoings." He sniffed a bit. "And when I wake up, I feel happy for a few hours. I don't know why, I guess because it was a break from my usual misery."

So we've both been through misery. We've both lost our family. And we were both alone. We both have fallen. "I felt the same way." I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. "We've...we've both been through a lot of crap, huh?"

"'Crap' is an understatement." He muttered. "But, yes."

"Do....do you really think we deserve to be alone?" I asked him, legitimately.

"For what I did to my family, I do." He said, turning his head away from me once again. Why was he trying to hide his emotions? "But you don't sound like you deserve it. And I don't want to be alone."

".....We both don't. Nobody does." I said, walking towards him. "So, that's why I was wondering. Would you....like to....travel together, possibly?"

He whipped around and stared at me like I was crazy. "What?" He asked as if he hadn't heard me, but I knew he did.

"Well, we've both obviously been through a lot. And we relate in that respect." I looked at him straight in his ice blue eyes. They dilated and sparkled in his wonderment. "I don't want to keep traveling alone. And....you seem...pretty nice."

He blinked. "You....want to travel.....with me?" He asked.

"Well, yeah." I repeated.

He looked bewildered. "W-wow. I mean, if you really want to." He looked slightly happier.

"Yes! Yes, I do!" I cried, happy that he was accepting. Finally, I wouldn't have to be alone.

He scoffed. "Fine then. But you'll have to keep up with me." He smirked and folded his arms.

I gave him a look. "What, you think I can't?" I challenged.

"Until I see your speed and attacks, I won't be certain." He said, giving me a daring smile.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll see them." I said, standing over him and glaring, but still smiling. "And I'd like to see yours as well. Then we'll see who can keep up with who."

"I accept that challenge, Angel." He smirked. "Don't be surprised if you can't." Then he smiled once more before he laid back down on the straw bed.

"W-wait, that was a yes, right?" I wondered, bewildered that he stopped the conversation so abruptly.

"Yep." Was all he said. Then he turned over to face her and smiled slightly. "Thanks again. Good night." Then he turned away again to fall asleep.

I smiled as I looked at him. He had agreed. He wasn't my mother or grandmother or sister or father or any of them. But he was at least someone I could trust. He was somewhat annoying, but he had been through so much. I hoped he would open up to me a bit more. Just so I could get to know him better. But then that would mean I would  have to tell him about my mother and grandmother.

I sighed. I would worry about that in the morning. Right now I was just happy to be with Sparky. Just to have someone to be with. I hoped he would want to travel with me. And as I went to sleep, I remember having the start of a different dream. I was fighting side by side with Sparky, against that Luxray. With our combined attacks, we took him down without an effort. The backround around us turned lush and full, and Pokemon scampered around, happy to be alive. And no sight of the Tribe anywhere. Sparky and I sat watching them, and above us I saw something else.

The silhouettes of my family, watching over us, smiling in the bright blue sky.