FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Well, it's been a long time coming. I'm sorry for the terribly long wait. If anyone has read my latest journal entry, they would know how pissed I was last weekend when I couldn't post like I wanted to. I haven't that pissed in a long time. I'm usually very easygoing and calm, but whatever. I'm in a better mood and nothing is gonna get me down today. I feel great. Now, I'm off to do another posting. Comments and votes are still welcome and appreciated.

**********8**********

Aaron awoke in a dark place. He opened his eyes and sat up, regretting it instantly as he felt really dizzy all of the sudden. He waited until the dizziness went away before getting a good look at his surroundings. It was unfamiliar to him, but he could swear he's been here before. As he tried to remember why this place looks familiar, memories of what happened before he blacked out came flooding into his mind and he began to cry. He had lost them, the two pokémon who cared deeply enough about him to treat him like their own child, who loved him enough to give their lives just so he could live. For that reason alone, he truly wished for himself never to have been born, never to have existed, not even to have been considered a thought in anyone's mind. He didn't want to be himself. Any other pokémon would do. Even an absols nearly solitary lifestyle seemed ten times more appealing than the situation he's in now.

There was some shuffling behind him and he quickly turned around to see Quake coming in the room with a torch in his paws. Aaron groaned as the dizziness came back with a small headache added to it.

"You're awake?!" Quake exclaimed. He ran over and knelt beside Aaron to make sure he was okay.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy though." Aaron replied weakly as he recovered from the dulling headache and the crying. "What am I doing here? Why am I alive?" Quake looked at Aaron a bit surprised that he would ask him why he was alive. Quake frowned and set the torch down.

"I don't really expect you to remember what happened. You weren't really yourself then."

"What do you mean 'not myself'? What happened?" Aaron asked getting a bit worried.

"I'll tell you in the morning. For now, just get some sleep." Quake replied before getting up and walking out the room. Aaron wanted his questions answered, but he felt too out of it to do much of anything besides sit there with a dull aching in his head. With a small sigh, he slowly lay back down and closed his eyes.

*****8*****

The next morning, Aaron woke up rather late compared to what he's used to. He still didn't have the energy to get up and fly, let alone walk anywhere, which was strange to him. Never had he exhausted himself so much that he wouldn't be able to fly anywhere after a good nights sleep.

"What happened to me?" He asked himself. Aaron lifted his head slightly to look over his body to see if any physical damage was the cause of his weariness, but then he stopped as he remembered that his body was covered in his mothers' blood before he blacked out. The smell and the amount he that covered him came back to him full force. His closed his eyes as they started to water again and softly cried. His body would forever be stained with his mistake of ever agreeing to stay with the nicest pair of pokémon he'll probably ever meet. He didn't how long he cried for, but he felt like it wasn't enough to express how torn up he was inside. His tears eventually stopped coming and he fell asleep.

Quake was watching Aaron the whole time he was venting his emotions. The recent events had hurt him too, not as much as Aaron he guessed, but still pretty deeply. He had lost two of his closest friends, one of which he grew up with. He felt sorry for young psychic as he watched him pour out all his emotions. In the back of his though, he couldn't help but put the blame on Aaron for staying with them, but he quickly dismissed that thought from his head every time it came up. It wasn't fair to think like that. He didn't know that they were coming back to look for him. Quake was sure they knew what they were getting into when Dante had told him he took in a wanted mew. He only wished he were there sooner to help in any way he could. But now wasn't the time to grieve. He had work to do and it wasn't going to get done with him standing around. Quake left his home and headed toward a nearby pond.

The walk felt longer than it actually was to the giant rock lizard. Every step reminded him of what he had to do and he was not looking forward to it. He arrived at the pond in a matter of minutes and glanced down at his work. Dante and Flora's lifeless bodies lay before him. Quake felt like it was his duty to clean them up and give them a proper burial. He knew that Dante would've done the same for him had he died before him. He took a deep breath and got straight to work.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Ori was silently sulking in her room wondering why she couldn't go see her friend. She had heard the news about his parents and wanted to comfort him in his time of need, but Gil wouldn't let her leave, saying it wasn't safe to be around him yet. She didn't understand what he meant, but she didn't really care. The blue pachyderm knew she had to be with him right now because that's what Aaron would do if she were in his situation. In fact, she had planned to sneak off and see him when Gil leaves to get lunch. She knew Gina wouldn't mind as long as she knew where she was going. When Gil finds out that she's gone, Gina would most likely persuade him to stay and let her go... Or at least that's what she thought. Ori wasn't absolutely sure on that idea, but she had faith her mother would allow her to go.

"I'm going out to get lunch." Gil said to Gina near the entrance to his home.

"Okay, just be careful." Gina replied.

"I will." With that, Gil left and Ori took that as her cue to get ready to leave also. She waited a couple minutes to give Gil some time to get some distance away before she made her move. She snuck past her mother, who was busy with something in her room, and made it outside. Once outside, the blue pachyderm looked back at her home one last time before taking off in the direction of Quakes' home. It wasn't far, but it was far enough away for her to use rollout instead of running. Along the way, she stopped by an oran berry bush and picked a couple to give to Aaron.

Ori arrived at Quakes' home in a couple minutes.

"Quake?" she called out into the seemingly empty cave. There was no response so she assumed he stepped out. She casually walked inside and looked for Aaron. She found him lying on his back sleeping in a room, so she quietly walked inside and sat by his side. She placed the berries down and looked him over. "There's nothing dangerous about him." she thought to herself. "Looks like he's been crying though." She let out a sigh and laid down next to her friend. She decided she was going to stay and wait until he woke up.

*****8*****

Aaron woke up again sometime later, still not feeling he has the energy to move around much. He glanced to his side and saw a mass of blue next to him.

"Ori?" he called weakly. The pachyderm ears twitched at the sound of him calling her and she too woke up from her sleep with a small yawn. She opened her eyes and saw Aaron looking back at her.

"Aaron!" she exclaimed. "You're up!" Ori jumped up and started to nuzzle his face.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to see you. Oh, and I got you these." Ori rolled the oran berries next to Aaron's' face. Aaron smiled and slowly sat up.

"You didn't have to do that for me."

"I know, but I wanted to. Here, eat up." Ori handed a berry to Aaron. He took the berry and dropped it as he gasped at what he saw. His paws were clean. He did a quick scan of his front and saw that the rest of him was clean too. There was not a trace of blood on him. He wondered who could've cleaned him up.

"Quake..." he thought. "He must've..."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Huh, what?"

"You're crying." Aaron wiped his face and felt some wetness on his paws.

"I'm sorry. It's just... a thought."

"You sure you're okay? You know, it's not very macho to cry in front of a girl." Ori joked, trying to make him feel better. Aaron laughed a bit.

"I suppose you can't let it slide this one time?"

"Not a chance." she replied as she wiped some fresh tears off his face with her trunk. "I'm not gonna let you live this one down."

"I should've figured as much. Can't you give me special treatment for today?" Aaron asked as he leaned against her powerful nose. Ori acted like she was thinking if she should or not.

"I guess I could let it slide for today. Just remember that I'll get you back double for tomorrow."

"I think I can take that." Aaron turned slightly and hugged Ori's nose. It was the best he could do in his position, not that she minded. She actually preferred this than him trying to hug her larger frame with his little arms.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to him, Aaron felt a little peace in his heart. For a moment, he forgot that his parents were dead and he just lost himself in the comfort of his friend being there for him when he needed her most. He let out a long sigh of relief and hugged a bit tighter before letting go. He felt a little better now. Aaron leaned forward and picked up the dropped berry.

"Wanna eat with me? I wouldn't feel right if I was the only one eating."

"Okay, but only because I haven't eaten lunch." Ori replied as she grabbed a berry and positioned herself behind Aaron so he could rest on her side.

"You haven't eaten lunch?" Aaron asked as he leaned back on then pachyderm. Ori shook her head.

"Nope, I skipped it to come see you." she replied as she took a bite of the berry.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I do what I want to make sure you're okay Kitty." Aaron took a bite and smiled at his nickname.

"Ori?"

"Yeah?"

"You're... the best friend I've ever had." Aaron said in the sincerest way possible as he looked at her.

Ori felt her heart flutter when he said that. It made her feel good that she was being such a good friend to him. It was sort of funny to her. During the last few months they've spent together, her mother has been quietly hinting, in her own way, that she and Aaron become mates. In a way, it almost made sense to become mates with him. She would play with him everyday, even in the rain, they enjoyed each others company, they talked about everything on a personal level, they made an effort to hide to scent of their "fun time" from their parents, and the list goes on and on. If she were to really think over their relationship how they acted around each other, she could safely assume that they were practically mates already. It's just that she didn't see him in that romantic sort of way and, as far as she knew, he didn't either. They were as close as anyone could possibly be without having any sort of romantic feelings for each other.

"Same goes for you too, Kitty." Ori replied as she looked back at him with a smile of her own.

After they finished of their berries, the two friends simply lay together enjoying the others' company. They didn't get much alone time though. There was some movement outside that caused Aaron to look to the entryway of the room. Quake entered the room carrying a few large fish in his arms, looking a bit tired.

"Ori, What are you doing here?" he asked, not expecting her to be here. Aaron sat up for Ori to turn around and face the rock lizard.

"I wanted to see Aaron, so I snuck out." she simply stated. Quake let out a sigh.

"You know your dad is gonna come looking for you."

"I don't care. I just wanted to see him."

"Whatever, you two hungry? I got some fish if you want some."

"I could go for some fish right now." Aaron said cheerfully.

"Me too!" Ori added.

"Alright. Let's eat. Afterwards, I need to show you something Aaron. You can come along if you want Ori." Quake said as he sat down next to them. He passed out the fish and they silently ate their meal.

For some reason, it felt a little awkward to Aaron while they were eating. He felt that Quake was being a little distant towards him. Every time he would make eye contact, Quake would look away and stare at something else for a while. Though it made him feel slightly uneasy, he passed it off as something he was going to be shown. After they finished their meal, Quake led Aaron and Ori through the forest. He made sure to take the long way to where they were going to give himself some time to get ready what he had to say. Aaron still didn't have enough energy in him to fly, so he rode on Ori's back.

They arrive at a small clearing sometime later. Aaron recognized it immediately. It was the same clearing that Flora took him to after their first bath together. He started to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, as well as tears form in his eyes.

"Are we almost there?" Aaron asked as he tried to keep himself composed. Quake glanced back at the psychic cat, feeling a little bad for bringing him here.

"Yeah, we're here. Look up ahead." Quake instructed. Ori moved to the side of the giant rock lizard so they could see where exactly where he was taking them. Up ahead were two large, tall stones that stood next each other. As they got closer, Aaron noticed that the ground in front of the stones were overturned and loose, meaning somebody's been digging there. They stopped in front of the mounds of overturned dirt. Both Aaron and Ori took a moment to study the stones in front of them. Both of them had a drawing on them, but as to what they meant; neither the cat nor the pachyderm knew what it was.

"Aaron, you wanted me to tell you what happened to you right?" Quake asked. Aaron turned to Quake and replied with a 'Yes'. "Well, I not exactly sure how to explain it, but it was something real bad. When I heard a few uh... gunshots in the area, I ran as fast as I could to make sure you guys were alright. If I had known those guys were back, I would've been there with you all sooner. When I finally got there, I saw you... glowing." Quake paused took a moment to think of a way to describe what happened.

"I was glowing?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah. I'm not very familiar with psychics and their powers, but I know you probably shouldn't have been able to do what you did. It was... a bit frightening, even for me." Both Aaron and Ori were listening intently now, both curious as to what could have been so bad. "I got there as soon as that bastard pointed that fucking death stick at you. I would've torn him to shreds but before I could do anything, he fired and we were both hit with this powerful explosion of energy. When I say explosion, I mean there was literally an explosion. Despite my large size, I was pushed back a little ways back and that hunter guy was blown back and had his neck impaled by a low branch. After the explosion died down, I went to check on you, but... There was a giant, psychic barrier preventing me from getting close to you, Dante, and Flora. Psychic energy doesn't really affect me, so I can get past any sort of barrier one puts up, but yours was a surprisingly difficult to pass through. That wasn't the only thing that surprised me though. Once I got inside, everything in there was... disappearing."

"Disappearing?" Aaron and Ori asked together.

"Yeah. It was weird. It was like everything was burning, except there was no fire. I was even starting to disappear, but there was no way I was gonna let that happen, so I shot a hyper beam at you to knock you out, hoping that it would get you to stop. It worked, but I put a little too much force behind it. Fear of disappearing into nothing kinda makes you forget who you're attacking. So long story short, I knocked you out, the force field of despair went away, and I took you back to my place."

"Is that why daddy said that Aaron was too dangerous to be around?" Ori asked. Quake nodded.

"Yeah. That; and the fact that he would release large burst of his energy in his sleep. Also, when I was taking him home, a few other hunters appeared and I had to take care of them while protecting him. Aaron felt bad by what he just said, but a question popped in his head that caused him great concern, not that probably almost killing Quake didn't concern him enough.

"What happened to mom and dad? I know they're... dead... But I what to know what happened to them."

Quake grinned slightly at the little psychic cat, only because Aaron showed a little interest in the story and he didn't feel like there was as much tension as he thought there would be.

"They're just fine." Quake replied. "In fact, they're right here in front of you." Quake pointed to the two mounds of overturned dirt. Aaron and Ori quickly turned to the mounds of dirt with surprise. It only took a moment for them to understand what he meant and their surprise turned to sadness. "I, uh, cleaned them up and gave them a proper burial. I know you're gonna miss them along with the rest of us, so I buried them in a place where we could see them everyday. If you want, we can put a flower or something every time we visit to honor their sacrifice." Quake put his large paws on Aaron's head and scratched behind his ear. Aaron leaned into the scratch a little as a small smile crept across his face.

"Thanks Quake."

*****8*****

A few weeks passed since that day. Everyday, the trio would pay their respects to Dante and Flora. Sometimes Gil and Gina would accompany them on their trips. Each of them would place a flower on their graves and say a silent prayer. Aaron didn't do as much praying as he did crying and regretting for not forcing them to teleport with him like he suggested. There wasn't a time when he didn't think back and wish that things had gone differently. No one blamed him for thinking that way, saying they would be thinking the same thing had they been in his shoes. Ori never left his side during his down time. She would cheer him up when he was sad, hold him when he cried, and snuggled up next to him whenever he was going to sleep so he would have some comfort while he slept. The only time she wasn't with him was when either of them had to relieve their bladders. Other than that, they were inseparable. Aaron appreciated her willingness to comfort him, but he thought she was being a little too clingy. Nevertheless, he let her do whatever she wanted.

Quake wasn't the same as he used to be. He wasn't much fun as he used to be, not that he had much to laugh at for the moment, but he didn't seem to put that much effort into trying to make the kids laugh. He didn't have anyone to really connect to anymore. Gil of course wouldn't be someone he could tell everything to, like Flora, and not be subjected to a lecture about it. Not only that, Quake couldn't didn't connect on a personal level with Gil like he did Dante, so it would be kinda hard to act a little goofy around him without getting a weird look from him. It was sort of the same for Gil. He didn't really connect with Quake in all the time he's known him. He always thought of him as somewhat of a clown that didn't take a lot of things seriously. It was only recently that Gil saw a serious side to Quake that made him change his opinion of him. With Dante and Flora gone, he was sure that he would get to know the giant rock lizard in the coming years or so.

During this time, Aaron had regained his energy and is able to fly again. Unfortunately, he didn't feel like playing as much as he used to. He spent most of his time thinking and sharing his thoughts with Ori. She didn't mind talking to him, but she missed the way things used to be. Aaron would tell Ori everything, but there was one thing in his mind he couldn't tell her, or anyone for that matter. For their safety and his own, he was going to disappear. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he felt he needed to go someplace where others wouldn't be harmed because of his presence in their lives. He had gathered the courage he had and was prepared to just leave in the middle of the night. No goodbyes. No arguing with the others who would beg him otherwise. Just a clean break. He didn't think he could go through with it if he had to say goodbye to everyone that really cared for him. He decided that this would be his last night staying in the Mt. Silver area.

"See you in the morning you two." Quake said as he left the psychic cat and blue pachyderm in the room.

"G'night Quake." Aaron and Ori said together. Aaron had laid his head on Ori's side like he did countless nights before, but this time he wasn't going to sleep. He would wait until she fell asleep before he made his move. They had a conversation as always before they officially retired for the night. It was a little over fifteen minutes before the pachyderm fell asleep, but Aaron wasn't going to move yet though. He had to wait for Quake to fall asleep next. As he waited, he went over exactly what he was going to do over and over in his head. Quake fell asleep about twenty minutes after Ori did, but the young psychic waited a few more minutes to be sure they were all in a deep sleep. He slowly got up so he wouldn't disturb Ori and flew out the cave to make one stop before he says goodbye to his home.

*****8*****

Ori shifted in her sleep. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little cold. She unconsciously tried to find the little source of warmth that her body knew all too well, but was disappointed when she couldn't find it. The constant feeling of cold woke her up from her sleep and she groggily looked around for the little pink ball of warmth.

"Kitty?" she quietly called out, but got no response. She assumed that he went out to relieve his bladder, but was jolted fully awake after realizing that he doesn't wake in the middle of the night to pee, because he goes before they go to sleep. Now that she was awake, something in her gut told her she had to go look for him before it was too late. She thought about waking Quake, but decided against it. "No reason for him to get worried." she thought. With that decided she snuck out the cave and used her powerful nose to follow Aaron's scent.

After a few minutes of following the psychics' scent, the blue pachyderm realized where her friend was going. The only question on her mind was why he was going to his parents' graves in the middle of the night. She started to run faster now that she was sure if her destination. It didn't take that much longer to get there. Once she saw Aaron sitting in front of the graves, she quietly snuck up behind him. She was about to get his attention, but he started talking.

"Mom, dad... This might be the last time I see you again. I'm leaving this place." Aaron said with some tears forming in his eyes. Ori couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"He was leaving? Right now?" she thought. "Why?"

"I really don't want to do this," Aaron continued. "But I have to leave here so that everyone will be safe. I don't want the same thing happening to them because of what I am. I hate the fact that this happened to you just when we felt like a real family. It... Hurts when I think about... all the times we had fun together and how we'll never be able to do it anymore. I... don't understand why you wouldn't let me teleport us to a safe place. You would still be alive... with me.... so I wouldn't feel as hurt as I do now." Aaron paused to wipe the tears streaming down his face. This was getting to hard to do, but he knew he had to wrap up his goodbye or else he'll change his mind about leaving altogether. "Thank you... for everything. I won't be able to keep this with me. It'll... hurt too much for me to keep it. I'm sorry." Aaron removed his necklace and dug a small hole. Once it was deep enough, he looked at the necklace one last time before he dropped it in the hole and covered it up. He sat there for a couple minutes to mentally prepare himself for the last step; finally leaving.

The psychic slowly levitated off the ground and turned around to make his leave, but was startled by the sight of his friend.

"So that's it? You were just gonna leave and not say anything to anyone?"

"Ori, I didn't mean-"

"Shut up!" Ori shouted, making Aaron flinch. "Why would you want to leave without saying anything to us?! I thought we were friends Aaron!"

"We are friends. That's why I-"

"Bullshit! Friends don't just abandon each other! Friends just don't leave in the middle of the night because they're too afraid to say goodbye to the people who care about them! Why would you do something like this?! Are you trying to hurt us?!" Aaron flew closer to Ori and was shocked with what he saw. She was crying. She had never cried in front of him before. Even when she was in immense pain, she never shed a single in front of him, so he knew he must've hurt her really bad. In fact, he could actually feel how hurt she was. She was practically projecting her feelings onto him, and it felt like a knife was going through his heart.

"I'm doing this to protect you guys. I don't want anyone else to die because of me." Aaron explained.

"We don't need your protection! We can protect ourselves just fine! Why didn't you tell me you wanted to leave?" Ori asked trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"I... was scared." Aaron confessed. "I didn't want to look you guys in the face when I told I was leaving."

"So you thought it was okay to leave without saying anything? You're a jerk, you know that?! You could tell your dead parents all about it, but you couldn't tell ME , your best friend?! Was it easier to tell them because you don't have to look at their faces anymore? Were you afraid that you would hurt our feelings; my feelings? That I'll be acting like I am now? That I'll completely ignore your feelings just so I don't have to see you leave me behind?"

"I... I..." Aaron was speechless. He didn't know to respond to her. It was easier to tell his dead parents because he didn't have to look at their faces. He didn't tell her because he was afraid of her reaction. He also didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he also didn't want to have to deal with this. Because of his selfish decision, he caused more harm than he intended. If she was acting like this, he was wondering how Quake would react if he had found him instead of her. He would probably be angry with him, probably outright pissed. Staring at his friend now, he could only guess what would happen if she didn't wake up and catch him.

Ori was furious with Aaron, but she felt more hurt and betrayed more than anything else.

"How could he do this to me?" she thought. Out of all the stupid things he's done, this was the stupidest. She would've understood his want to leave if he just told her about it, instead of hiding it from her. True, she would be sad because he wanted to leave, but she would get over it after a little while and continue with her life. It would be a big adjustment for her, but not something she couldn't get used to. She really cared for him and wanted him to be happy. She had unconditional love for the smaller cat and she was sure he had the same kind of love for her. She stayed with him for weeks to help him get over the death his parents. She did everything possible to comfort him, to make him laugh, to get him to see that he always had someone who would there for him when times were rough. It just confused her that he would pull something like this and expects things to go smoothly. She sniffles a couple times and slowly tried to calm herself down so she could think clearly. She let her emotions do the talking for her so far and needed to calm down before she says something she might regret.

Aaron moved closer to Ori and wiped the tears from her face.

"I'm sorry." he said barely above a whisper. Ori stopped her sniffling and looked into the pink cats' big blue eyes. "I... didn't mean to hurt you or anybody else. It's just that... I don't want you guys to try and stop me from leaving and I'm not good with saying goodbye. I want to keep what happened to my parents from happening to anyone else, even if it means I have to live alone."

"You don't have to say goodbye." Ori replied. "You're gonna come back every once in a while to tell me about what you're doing."

"I can't do that. I don't want to put you in danger."

"You're not putting me in danger! The only danger here right now is your unbelievable paranoia. You're gonna come back..." Ori suddenly crouched down and tackled Aaron on the ground, pinning him down with her weight. "...or I'm not gonna let you get up." Aaron tried to wiggle his way from under her, but found it impossible to move even an inch.

"You know I can just teleport from under you." he said with a mildly irritated look on his face.

"I know." she replied with a sigh. "But before you do, I need to tell you something... something I need you to hear." She took a moment to gather her nerves for what she was about to say. "I think you're really kind, smart, cool, and... kinda cute. We've gotten to be really close and I honestly don't want you to ever leave me. I think... you're the closest thing I'm ever gonna have to an actual mate." She blushed a little on the last part, as did Aaron. "My mom has been... hinting that we should become mates since we spent so much time together and get along really well. On some level, I think she's right. We do get along well and we pretty much act like a real couple would when we're together, but at the same time, I just can't see you in that kind if way. I care about you very much. You might even say that I... love you." Ori paused. Her face felt really hot after she said that. Even though she felt embarrassed for confessing these things, she needed him to know this. Aaron felt a little hot in the face as well, not because he felt really flustered by what she said, though that was part of it, but because this was the first time since they've met that he sees her as a girl. He doesn't see her as 'just a female friend' by his side, but as a cute female that needed him. This was a side of her that was alien to him. She was fully opening herself up to him. It made his heart beat a little faster and his breathing was picking up as well.

"Aaron," Ori finally continued. "Even though I... love you, I'm not in love with you. I want you to be happy, even if it means... you have to leave. I don't want you to go, but if you have to, just know that I support you and hope you come back someday." she finished with a small smile. Ori got off Aaron and allowed him to get up. Aaron got up and floated just enough off the ground so that he was eye level with the blue pachyderm.

"Ori, I... feel the same way about you too. I really appreciate you being honest with me and I'm sorry for what I did. I honestly couldn't imagine my life without you either. I want to show you something before I leave, something I learned from the humans before I came here. I just need you to close your eyes and stick your nose in the air so I can do it." Ori did as instructed and moved her nose out of the way, curious about what he was going to do.

Aaron leaned forward and pressed his mouth against Ori's. She wanted to jerk her head away and ask what he was doing, but she couldn't bring herself to do it for some reason. It was like her body wanted this to happen and it was on autopilot. It was strange. It started off as a weird feeling in her gut, but it started to feel... right. Like, this was the thing that defined where they stood as two individuals who have come to really care for each other. This was the moment where they could say everything that was in their hearts, without the need to describe it in words. This moment, that said everything they needed and wanted to say, sent her emotions into overdrive. Ori felt like her heart would explode with a sudden passion for the pink cat in this strange, foreign... passionate mouth touching experience. All the pain she felt earlier seemed to just melt away in the few seconds Aaron was doing it. After he was done, it took Ori a couple seconds to realize that Aaron had stopped

"W-w-what was that?" Ori asked a little dazed from her emotional high.

"It's called a kiss. Humans use it to greet each other or show their loved ones that they care about them. Sometimes it's even used to keep promises." Aaron replied.

"Promises?"

"Yeah. When humans become mates, they kiss during some sort of ceremony to promise each other that they'll be together forever. I'm promising you that I'll come back someday and tell you where I've been."

"You won't forget right?"

"Of course not. I'll never forget you or my promise." They stared at each other for what felt like forever, dreading what was coming next. "It's time for me to go." Aaron said sadly. Ori sighed and turned away from the pink cat.

"I know. I'll tell everyone when they wake up tomorrow. Don't wait too long to come back."

"I won't. Take care of yourself and... I love you." Aaron said before turning away from his friend and flying away.

"Love you too, Kitty." Ori whispered to herself.

**********8**********

It's been ten years since that day. Ten years since he's seen his childhood friend and everyone he's knows. Even though he's come back at least once a year, he hasn't seen anyone he knew from that long ago. He still intends to keep his promise to her, but he won't be able to if he can't find her. Aaron had stopped his crying and is still sitting in front of the graves of his parents. He reflected on everything that's happened back then and time just seemed to forget that he was there. Before he even realized it, it's been hours since he arrived and he hasn't moved from that spot. The sun was well into the afternoon and it will be a few hours till sunset.

"I miss you guys so much right now." Aaron said to himself.

"I miss you too, Kitty." someone said behind him.

"No way. Only one pokémon has ever called me that." Aaron thought. He quickly turned around and saw a powerful, fully grown donphan looking at him with a big smile. "Ori, is that you?" The gray pachyderm giggled.

"Took you long enough to find me. Been taking care of yourself?" Aaron couldn't believe it. It was her. He flew over to her and hugged her much larger nose.

"Arceas, it's been so long. Where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere." Aaron said as he ended the embrace.

"Well, not long after you left, I-"

"Mom!" someone called out.

"Where'd you go?!" another shouted. Both Aaron and Ori looked to the side to see two little phanpy popping out from behind the trees and running toward them. "Why'd you take off like that?" one of them asked a little out of breath.

"Yeah, and who's this?" the other asked just as out of breath as the other. Ori simply smiled at them and glanced at Aaron, who was trying to grasp what was going on.

"He is the best friend I've ever had in my life. His name's Aaron and he's come for a visit." She turned her attention back to the psychic cat. "Aaron, these two are my pride and joy; Terra and Evan."

"You're a mother?" Aaron asked in disbelief, causing Ori to laugh at him.

"Isn't it obvious? A couple of little phanpy shouting 'mom' isn't a big enough hint for you? Come to my home. We have a lot to catching up to do."

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