HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Continued from Part One
Route 115
Flame was tired. He felt dead tired. But even more importantly, he was bored out of his wits.
Not long after departing, the expeditionary force was forced to cross a bridge over a river one wagon at a time; but that was about the most interesting event to befall them. The rest had been a nightmare of boredom and sweat. For hours they marched and marched without so much as one moment of rest. The conscious act of walking slipped out of his perception entirely, now little more of a mechanical impulse than breathing.
Solace would not greet him in the landscape, either. Lush forests alternated with rolling plateaus, and even dry hills every sporadic hour—it all started to look the same after a while. At some points he even craved to enter a mystery dungeon, if only to bring some excitement into play!
But undoubtedly the hills were the absolute most excruciating bit of the journey. Once the wagons became stuck in a pool of mud and their carriers realised help would be needed to make it uphill—all Aggron and Machoke and Rapidash, all scary-looking—no officer was spared from having to wet their legs and tails in slime, pushing the ungodly heavy wagons one by one for however many kilomtres required (Alice merely pretended; the lieutenants would not hear that she had no arms).
Every now and again he entertained himself by watching a scouting team composed solely of birds, soaring far above in tight formation and completing periodic surveying loops round the Task Force. No updates; nothing short of wilderness ahead.
Perhaps chatting with his teammates would have helped keep his mind off of just how dull things were, but chatter had been banned within the first hour of force-marching. Not that he could blame the lieutenants, of course. An army so large definitely produced enough noise to turn a pokémon deaf.
And so, left to its own devices, Flame's mind inevitably fell into the single action which would unequivocally destroy him: thinking. For no matter how long he kept them at bay, wrapped them under layers of glass, his thoughts would inevitably catch up to him. And chief amongst those was always his past.
He closed his eyes briefly, breathing out a small sigh as he trampled grass stalks. Nothing had changed. Nothing made arisen during his first day in this world remained in a sort of limbo, unmoved behemoths. Why was he here? Who was he? What on earth had happened to him?
Why was he here? The question looped endlessly in his inner echochamber.
He put a claw to his chin and closed his eyes.
In this past week, I've made no progress in figuring out who I am or what happened to me. But where do I even look? Alice said the Scum might have something to do with me, but that's just a theory. No concrete proof. Think, Flame, think…
Most surprisingly, the fact that he was walking and the fatigue somewhat helped his psyche carve out realistic possibilities of how events might have unfolded, and work backwards to find solutions.
Many times he'd been told that Charmeleons were not a common sight up north. That meant he very likely was not originally a native inhabitant of Aesernia, or the surrounding area. That left the southern portion of the empire (the map appeared behind his eyelids) at play. Immense swathes of land, certainly, but nonetheless fewer than before.
Suppose he'd joined the Imperial Army, and combat drifted him up north, fighting claw-to-claw and tooth-to-tooth; suppose a particularly able psychic had ambushed him, wiped his memories clean, and left him to freeze solid in that very cavern.
In such scenario, surely he'd left some kind of family member behind who now remained distressed at his disappearance. Or maybe even come searching…
For a moment, he halted hours upon hours of march. His eyes widened in enlightenment.
Of course! How could this have escaped him? It was so simple!
All he needed to do was find one of his fellow Char evolutionary line. None were native to this region. Thus, for any to present themselves meant a high likeliness of them being said family—a brother or a sister, looking for him!
Almost on cue he brought his eyes to analyse the compositon of the army group in front and behind him. The wagon convoy that stretched almost as far as the horizon covered much of the force, but from what he could gather no fellow Char stood out amongst the crowd.
This surprised him very little. If his family wouldn't come to him, he thought, then he would go find them himself.
Smiling widely, he paused to appreciate how pleasant it felt to have a long-term goal, one not tied to Team Phalanx's current mission or day-to-day survival. It gave him purpose.
High above, the scouting birds squawked in unison.
Flame maneuvered his way through dappled light and shade, venturing deeper into the coniferous forest. He had to make a conscious effort to keep his tail fire from brushing against endemic shrubbery. Nettles grew alongside ferns and seemed to intermingle into one thick, messy layer. From somewhere deeper in the heart of the woods came the droning of Spearows.
"So…" he hopped over a fallen log, "Ariel didn't even come along with us? After everything she said?"
Every word was alternated with loud snaps from the trampled needle-like leaves and withering twigs.
"That's her quintessential nature," Alice frowned, "We're sent to risk our lives, while she relaxes in her thermae."
"Oh, I hope those proles burnt her villa down for good," Gaius ran his claws along a tree's bark, leaving superficial scratch marks.
Such possibility, in hindsight, should not have evoked surprise. It grew when the expeditionary force had stopped to set up camp on a naked plateau overlooking what the lieutenants claimed to be the Portus countryside. Only then did those in the force realise that Ariel had not quite followed them.
Whilst dozens upon dozens of tents began to spring up, it was Gaius who suggested that they slip out into the nearby woods to hoard as much precious food as physically transportable.
Now, as they continued, he internally marvelled at how coniferous trees towered over all—so slender and fragile, yet the needle-thin leaves only began sprouting where a regular oak tree would end. Consequently, the forest's practical rooftop left swathes of unblocked air, allowing wind to kiss one's skin.
Not long afterwards they came upon an ample break in the trees, where moody sunlight streamed freely. It took but a few steps to realise that there was a fairly broad river slicing up two wooded areas, flowing with foamy impetus. He halted to inspect closer. Both the riverbed and the its banks were coated perfectly with jagged rocks of variable size. At no point did the water ascend above hypothetical waist-level, but it still looked like something any sound Charmeleon would rightly mistrust.
"Should we focus on something in particular?" Flame said, his eyes fixated on the pure current, "Like meat or berries?"
Gaius took a few moments to reply. "The two of you stay here and fish. In the meantime, I'll pick any berries that come up and look for ferals. Sentret shouldn't be too hard to find."
"Let's see…" Alice hummed, "I believe there were legionaries fishing downstream: I doubt they shall take kindly to us stealing their prey."
"Ugh, fine…" Gaius heaved, "Bloody bastards, playing our own game. Do what you want. I'm going hunting—see you at sunset."
"Hang on!" Alice raised her voice as the Grovyle turned to leave, "How can you be positive that you won't get lost? Let's stick—hey! Listen to me, for once!"
But Gaius had already begun dashing parallel to the stream, and exited auditory range mere seconds later.
Alice muttered something nefarious under her breath, diverting her eyes to the water and forest surrounding them.
"I think we should try," Flame looked her directly in the eye, "Nobody will ever know if we only catch a couple of fish and leg it. Are you up to it?"
Alice let out a chuckle, one not of derision, but of happiness. "Wow. First bread with cheese, and now fish. Eating like royals, aren't we? Yes, we can try."
"Fantastic," Flame nodded, "I'm assuming you already know the process."
"… Somewhat. 'Tis a skill I was never taught, but the theoretical part is relatively easy to grasp. Leave me a few seconds to word this properly."
She drifted closer to the ege of the water, dipping her tailtip in it, as though to gauge temperature and current intensity.
"Okay, so … the aim is to first stir confusion among the fish, preferably by denying them a chance to escape downstream, and one must then eletrctrocute the water. Any fish should instantly shoot up. Just make sure to catch them as they fall."
Flame hummed loudly. "Makes sense. Between us two you're the only one capable of electric attacks, so that's that. As for me…"
He brought his gaze all round to analyse the river. A voice in the back of his head doubted he could provide much help. Not that he lacked the intention: the stream was anything but impassable, and yet he did not wish to immerge one toe inside it.
No obvious solition presented itself until — there! That's when he saw it. A rough line of rocks jutting out of the stream, surrounded by foam, sufficiently flat and close to each other to be considered a haphazard bridge.
Without so much as a word, Flame walked forth to where his toes actually did touch the water. It was freezing, much like expected. For multiple, undecided moments he stared at the first of the many rocks, picturing possible aftermaths of disastrous falls—a slippery surface, that was all it took.
But those thoughts were soon held at bay by an impetus to show initiative, and—he felt—a particularly strong bout of self-confidence which originated from inside, rather than any individual praise or compliment.
Come on, Flame. It's easy. Show her you're not afraid.
Swallowing, he paced back a few steps, dashed forth, and jumped over his fears. Upon landing his balance suddenly teetered, but the rock was relatively flat enough to allow him to recover.
"Flame? What are you doing?" Alice's voice inquired from behind.
"I have an idea."
Once sufficently stable, he bent his knees carefully and, with another hop, reached a second rock, this one engorged akin to an oval-shape, but also marginally larger. In an effort to keep his feet still, Flame promptly brought his paws down as secondary support, much like a quadruped.
Were it possible, he would have driven his claws into the rocky surface, so close he felt to slipping to certain demise.
See? That wasn't so bad. Now…
Doubt creeped into his mind, but he shook it away immediately, and held on in the middle of the river.
"Okay, um … I'll use my fire to stir some confusion," Flame turned to Alice, "Once I have them trapped, you go in for the kill."
Alice nodded, looking rather curious. After all, standing on four paws must have been quite an amusing sight, he thought.
Filling his lungs with air, Flame wasted no time to follow standard attacking procedure: no sooner than he could puff his chest did his throat start to clench shut, and a lively, scorching jet of fire spewed out of his jaws and into the water.
No thought was required. Upon contact fire turned to steam, and was accompanied by a crackling hiss that closely symbolised pain. A localised trail of smoke quickly developed into an entire cloud. Fire kept streaming undeterred, pounding the river's surface and doubtless boiling it to temperatures unbearable for any fish. The onslaught continued for nearly an entire minute, at which point dwindling oxygen forced Flame to stop.
No sooner than he began gasping for air did Alice shoot a small net of electricity directly inside the stream. Water itself seemed to twitch, as ripples emerged all over. Then, quiet. Only the sound of his laboured breathing. He looked on with anticipation when an object emerged from under the surface—a fish, Magikarp to be exact, followed by another and another and five more simultaneously. All unmoving. Noticing that the strong current was drifting the motionless fish away, he reacted on instinct and quickly seized the only fish drifting within arm range.
He put it on the rock, pressed under both his paws to keep it although the Magikarp hardly struggled before going limp. The heat emanating only momentarily surprised him. It certainly did look unexceptional, though he would have to taste its flesh for himself.
Looking at the riverbank revealed that Alice had caught a fish of her own. They both looked each other in the eye.
"Did you see that? I didn't think we'd make it on the first try!" Flame shouted whilst attempting to retain balance in his quadruped posture.
"Me neither," Alice said, "I honestly expected fishing to require more effort. Had I known sooner, think of all the meals we could have caught! We'd be eating like royalty every other day."
"I wouldn't quite call Magikarp 'royalty food', but in our situation, that's the closest we can get."
"Oh, would you rather eat Gorebyss fillet?" Alice grinned playfully, "Is that the bar you're setting?"
Flame laughed. "Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind trying some."
Standing up on wobbly footing, he managed to jump back to the bridging rock without tumbling, claws sunk into the fish's skin out of paranoia. From there, it took one last hop for him to return on firm land.
Alice was struggling with getting her bag open, so he mindlessly did it in her stead, storing both fish inside, earning a nod of thanks from the Dragonair.
Two isn't enough for all of us, though, he thought, Certainly not enough for more than one meal…
His eyes wandered back to the bunch of dead fish floating away farther and farther downstream. Alice's own gaze followed his.
"Right. I almost forgot about our 'rivals'. They'll undoubtedly deduce our activities here. Here, let's go," she turned counter to the stream's flow, the water on her left.
"Okay, but…" Flame walked by her side, "There's only two fish. What about Gaius? I don't think he'd appreciate being excluded."
"Hey—we did all the hard work, we get to enjoy its fruits," she raised her snout, "Besides, remember this morning?"
Indeed he remembered. Faced with the prospect of splitting their rations, the Grovyle had refused to share a crumb of his bread with cheese. That memory suddenly evaporated any worry for their team leader.
Among other topics running through his mind, he wondered whether the two had always held this opinion of near-disdain for each other. In fact, the details of how Team Phalanx came to exist interested him a great deal. If Alice was born in the tranquil South, why was she here, amidst poverty and famine? And Gaius!—not one mention of family or friends or past life. Right now, however, he would only be able to ask her. He bit the inner part of his lip as he mulled over the options. Perhaps she would not wish to disclose her past—take offense, even. He would need to word such question with extreme care.
"Um, Alice," he said, waiting for her attention to be drawn to him, "Would you mind if I … asked a bit about your past? I still don't know you or Gaius properly. B-but if it's too intimate to share, I understand. Heck, I'd gladly tell you my story, but … you know…" he drifted, nervousness stealing syllables from his mouth.
She stared at him with a tiny grain of apprehension, silent. After a few seconds, she gave him a half-nod. "I suppose you're right. We are teammates, after all. Ask me whatever you wish."
"Thanks. So … I was wondering, what brought you up here? You were born in Urbe, right?"
"Yes, that is correct. I've lived in Urbe nearly my entire life. Up until three years ago. Actually…" she brought her eyes around, "Not even Gaius knows this, but my family comes from the imperial court." she took an extra second of silence. "Senators, to be precise."
His eyes dilated. "Woah, really? T-that's incredible! Did you ever get to meet the emperor?"
"Well … sometimes. At official speeches or banquets. Never talked to him, of course."
Flame contemplated the information she'd just revealed. He pictured the Dragonair scurrying about an elegant banquet, the imperial gardens visible outside the window, surrounded by dignitaries and servants. Now that he entertained that thought, he could not imagine a more appropriate setting for her.
"I did not choose to leave Urbe. 'Tis still my home, after all. However, my family…" she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, "Ugh, it's complicated. I have no clue what to think, or what I did wrong. They destested the sight of me. It all went downhill after some time. At times, I wonder if I'll ever be able to return."
Flame immediately detected the notes of discomfort and bitterness intertwined in her voice, and decided to not press the matter any further.
"On that matter, I did some thinking earlier. With Aesernia destroyed, we might not have a job anymore. What if we look for a better life elsewhere? Nothing is forcing us to stay."
"I hadn't thought of that. It's definitely a possibility," a smile touched her snout, "How about we think this through once we have gathered enough food?"
Just as those words were uttered, a bush displaying pear-shaped berries (some ripe, some spoilt, others healthy-looking) presented itself inside a small ditch off the riverbank. Sunlight would soon vanish completely, and gathering food at night presented unnecessary dangers. The two of them continued to chat about any and all minutiae than came to mind, from the beauty of Urbe, ancient history, future ambitions and dreams, or just prodding fun at one another. Talking, at times, overshadowed the main task they were there to accomplish.
Eventually, whichever topic of discussion ceased to matter much, both simply content in the other's companionship.
Camp Horizon
The sun had long set by the time distant thunderclouds covered its nightly counterpart.
The plateau was an arid and barren place, where dun yellow bushes sat atop equally rusted soil, one of chunky complexion that glued to the legs. Some ways away it dropped off to a startling height, where darkness engorged what lay beyond.
Flame returned to his senses when the dense odour of smoke permeated his nostrils, infused with cooked fish. He stopped muddling his attention into nothingness and turned back to the group he'd been spending the night with. There were many of them, most mere officers, a few legionaries, all gathered round a large pyre to dine very much informally. Some engaged in near-hysterical laughter and droned on about immature sex jokes he did not understand, others quipped in every other bite, others yet—Alice and Gaius flanked him—made but the sound of chewing.
He ripped another chunk of flesh off the cooked Magikarp in his claws, gnawing eagerly at to leech off more of its salty juice. It was unlike anything he'd ever eaten before: the scales felt crispy beneath his teeth, hiding a layer of plentiful flesh. At some point, he became so lost in the meal that he unconsciously abandoned efforts to savour it slowly. It disappeared within a scant few minutes.
Seeing no common rubbish dump agreed on, he felt authorised to chuck the bones and inedible parts behind his back without so much as care. The sheer taste of this dinner left him licking his lips to taste its last traces. He now knew that fishing would become a semi-priority whenever searching for food in the future.
Overall, the outcome of their detour had been very fruitful. Their bags now contained enough Sentret and Deerling meat and berries and fruit to last them circa four days (to gather any more would have proved futile due to putrefaction). It certainly did feel alleviating not to have to worry about such basic needs for once—the privilege to focus on the bigger picture.
Out of sheer curiosity, he shifted his attention to the ongoing conversation around him and attempted to pick up stray sentences.
"That's what you call 'craziest experience'? I once had a Haxorus give me head."
"With those tusks touching down there? You've gotta be kidding!"
"Nah, their females have smaller tusks. Pretty good tongues, too."
"Small tusks? You mean like Ariel?"
Five pokémon or so burst into laughter. "Woah, now, she's a special case. If it weren't for her voice, I would have thought she was a guy."
Flame found himself snickering lightly at that. It's true, though. Almost called her 'sir' when she first addressed me.
A handful of sparks jumped our from the pyre, appearing to hit one nearby pokémon before fading away into invisible ash.
Disinterest took a hold of him. The fire and social atmosphere did feel welcoming, yes, but his eyelids had begun loosening of their own accord every so often. He got to his feet, turning to leave, and noticed Alice peering up from the corner of her eye. Gaius was too distracted talking to other officers.
"Tired. I'm going to bed," he mumbled to her with as few words as feasible.
Thus, while walking away from the group, he squeezed his mind to remember where exactly their assigned tent was. He remembered that it stood somewhere close to the plateau's edge, but…
Mid-step, he froze. His eyes had caught wind of a most improbable sight. Sitting alone outside a group of ragged tents was, of all things, a Charmeleon. Female, judging by its looks, sifting through her bag, fire-tipped tail swaying to and fro. Her scales were markedly more pale-hued than his—a delicate orange. It took some moments for him to fully realise what this entailed. The plan he'd concocted hours earlier rushed into his mind all at once.
She's just like me … this is the chance I've been waiting for! There must be a reason she's all the way up here. What if she's my sister?
Even the remote possibility of having found a lead roused his excitement to no end. He needed to extrapolate every useful minutia conceivable from that brain of hers.
Moving by sheer impetus rather than conscious thought, he moved within a few metres of her. Before he could protest to himself that it would become awkward and that he needed to word his question correctly, it was already too late to back out.
"Hey there," he sat cross-legged by her side.
"Oh, hi!" she smiled back with mild surpsise, with none of the expected wariness, "It's so refreshing meeting a fellow Char out here."
Flame smiled back even wider, finding the timbre in her voice sweet—not unlike Alice's. "Same. I haven't seen one in … months, at the very least. How come I've never seen you around at Camp Tempest?"
"Big place, y'know," she shrugged, completely attentive, "I was starting to think I was the only Char for hundreds of kilometres. Finally, my ears can hear something other than that horrible accent they have up here. It gets maddening after a while."
Flame paused for a second, if only to gather his racing thoughts. To find an element on instantaneous connection certainly did bless his chances. But to ask the fatidical question outright would deprive him of crucial knowledge. One step at a time, he thought.
"Name's Flame. You?"
"Livia," a smile blossomed on her short snout.
"Livia … I like that name. Perhaps I have met you before. Where are you from?"
"My family owns the Imperial Navy dockyards in Agia Marina. We get by just fine—the only reason I'm here is to help my country."
He had the map of the Empire behind his eyelids. Rummaging through memory, he recalled such a settlement far along the southern coast, just off the Lipari Arcipelago. So far, every piece fit to form a plausible scenario. Riding the flow of the conversation would surely lend more details.
From so close, he could not help but take a moment to notice her 'features'. Her body was built just like his, only distinctly feminine: a less pronounced snout, shorter claws and tail, as well as a tantalisingly puffier upper chest.
Some part of him stirred in protest. Not necessarily that this act was morally distasteful in and of itself—some other message he was unable to decipher. He cast that thought aside.
"Wow, what are the chances? I come from that area as well. Ur—Urbe, to be exact. Arceus knows I miss that place…"
Livia turned to face him directly, her posture open and untense. "Same. Life up here's bloody depressing. Y'know, when you came up to me like that, for a moment I could have sworn it was my brother. You and him truly do look alike."
Now his interest peaked. A tingling of excitement washed upon him. There was a very realistic chance he was this Charmeleon's sibling—in which case, however, this whole situation (his occasional glances at her form) would abruptly become very creepy.
"Really? I'm going to assume that's a compliment, then," he chuckled, unconsciously mimicking her posture. "And, this brother of yours … have you heard from him recently? Just for curiosity."
Her gaze wandered over to the starless night sky. "Yes, actually. Just a week ago, he wrote me a letter."
Flame frowned. He felt his shoulders slump. All was not set in stone certainly: a letter would probably take weeks, perhaps months to be delivered. More than enough time for his hypothetical past self to disappear without a trace, considering he solely possessed memories of the past week. At the very least, knowing they probably did not share blood made those thoughts caressing his mind less weird.
Livia's smile faded as well. "Even while enjoying company, I'm unused to sharing personal details as much as this. Why are you so interested in me?"
He bit his tongue lightly. "Um … the main reason is that I need your help. For some time now, I've lost all contact with my family. They likely don't know where I am. Do you have any memories of hearing about a missing Charmeleon?"
Her gaze softened. "Oh, I see. Let me recall." she spun her gaze around, hanging in troubling silence for some time. "There's only a couple families of Chars back in Agia Marina, and I know them all very well. So, no, I have no information of use to you, unless it happened after I enrolled."
A small breath of defeat left him. It had been arguably the worse fate of all—not only did no grasp of a concrete lead to his past exist, but no previous hypothesis could be definitely scrapped, either. He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Don't worry about it. I appreciate it nonetheless. Maybe I'd feel a bit more disappointed if your voice weren't so soothing."
She giggled lightly. "Is that so? Why, thank you. In that case, I suppose you won't mind chatting some more."
Flame nodded courtly. "Would you prefer taking this conversation to my tent?"
The words had poured from his mouth spontaneously. Then, realisation struck him with the force of a slap across the face. Warmth rose into that very face, and his eyes suddenly jerked between her own and a nondescript point behind her.
"Listen, Flame…" she said slowly, paws cupped together, "I appreciate how sweet you're being, and you are kind of cute,"—he flushed redder—"but I already have a mate. I promised him we'd marry once I got back from deployment."
"Oh."
Whenever he attempted to conjure more words, his mind seemed to shut down completely. Silence between them only stretched. To maintain a composed face was intolerable. It had been too early—far too early. He ought to have fraternised more beforehand!
Remaining still didn't seem like a desirable option, so he shuffled to his feet. "That's fine. D-don't worry about it. I'll … be heading to bed, now. Good luck."
She said something in goodbye, but he didn't quite catch it, for he had already moved away toward his own tent.
Well, that was … sloppy, at best. I tried, he sighed internally.
With his vision blurry from fatigue, he entered his team's tent, puzzled at this rotten feeling that had nestled firmly within his chest.
End of Chapter XI