Descendant: Chapter 2; Meet and Greet
#2 of Descendant Series
<Author's Note>
A continuation of my second pokemon project, and I'm feeling pretty good about this one. There's no bloodshed or anything, but it's an important chapter in a story that I will be continuing, probably before I resume my Shifters series (My muse is still MIA in that regard, and I don't want to restart that series until I feel confident that it will be up to scratch). For now though, please enjoy the second chapter, and as usual rate, comment etc. Cheers Guys :D
Descendant: Chapter 2; Meet and Greet
The bright lights of the pokémon centre shone bright in ward 104 that night, as Leif's one hundred and eighty-sixth and final stitch was sewn into his flesh. He bore the pain though, the numb ache inconsequential compared to the triumph and adrenaline running through his veins. His first pokémon lay inside its ball beside the bed (fully healed mind you, and with quite a bit less fuss), and the pain he felt only added to his sense of fulfilment.
I did that he thought with glee, I earned the trust and respect of a wild pokémon, and I did it with my bare hands. He glanced over at the red and white capsule, a small frown appearing on his face. Only thing is, I know next to nothing about Absol, I should probably do a bit of research. The grin returned. On the other hand, the best way to learn is through doing, isn't it? Maybe I'll just get to know my new partner as I go along.
The doctor finally looked up from his long work, saw the grin on Leif's face and rolled his eyes. "Well, that's the last of the stitches" he said, looking over his notes. "Now that the wounds are closed I'll prescribe a small dose of Moomoo Milk mixed with Blissey egg and we'll have you cleared tomorrow morning".
"And no" he said firmly, catching the look Leif was giving him "There's no way I'm letting you out of here looking like that, so drink your milk and go to sleep" the doctor poured a small glass of opaque liquid from a machine in the corner and passed it to Leif.
Wincing as he straightened up, Leif took the glass and sculled the revolting mixture in one gulp. Pokémon may enjoy raw Blissey egg from time to time, but the stuff made him gag as he forced the liquid down, still smarting from the doctors pointed remark.
Surely I can't look that bad he reasoned with himself, It's only a few cuts and bruises. Then he recalled the looks on people's faces as he'd been helped down the main road into town and reconsidered. Pulling a small mirror from his backpack that sat beside the bed, he gasped as he caught sight of his reflection, and then grinned, tilting his head to better take in the full picture, the multitude of lines and blotches that covered his face.
The doctor saw the mirror, and sighed. "It all looks pretty horrible at the moment, but trust me, they'll heal fully overnight, given the dose of milk you just took. Blissey egg and Moomoo Milk react in... interesting ways. But as I said, those cuts will heal"
"Wow" Leif remarked with surprise, he'd never had the need for drastic medical attention before, and the thought that he would walk away without a scratch after the fight astounded him.
"Well, almost every scar at least" the doctor said "This particular cut", he gestured to a crescent-shaped line that ran from Leif's right cheekbone to chin in a flamboyant streak "Is beyond the medicinal capabilities of this centre. If you so wished I could call..."
"No" Leif said, interrupting him "It's fine, thank you for everything you've done doctor"
"If you're sure" the doctor replied, turning away "Now you get to sleep, that medicine will work best on a good night's rest" He walked out, switching off the light and closing the door behind him as Leif finally relaxed and drifted off into sleep.
The next morning, the sun shone strong through the blinds of the hospital window as Leif's eyes cracked open. With an exclamation he tossed aside the covers and sat up. His body twinged with the remembrance of pain, but apart from a mild ache he found himself able to move about freely. Checking himself in the mirror again he found that the doctor had been right; all of the scars on his face had faded and several had completely disappeared, but a single rugged line still ran down his cheek. Shrugging, he slid his legs off the bed and hopped up.
Walking was a little painful, and every muscle in his body was stiff from the previous day's exertions, but he was determined to leave that morning. Collecting the pokéball and his backpack from beside the bed, he limped out into the corridor and down the hallway to the reception.
Nurse Joy smiled at him as he made his way to the front desk. "There he is!" she exclaimed rummaging through the papers on the desk. "I need you to sign these" she stated, pressing a mass of papers to Leif's chest. "It's not often we have treat badly injured humans here, so there's just a little paperwork I need filled in before we can officially clear you".
Leif sighed, looking down at the huge pile of paperwork in his arms, Am I ever going to actually leave this town? he thought rather irritably as he plonked himself on a chair in the waiting room and pulled a pen from his backpack and settled in for the long haul.
Three Hours Later...
"Bloody hell that took a while" Leif muttered to himself as he trekked at last down the road out of town. The sun was already directly overhead, even though he was barely five minutes walk out of town. After filling out the paperwork (It took over two hours!!!) he'd said his final farewells to Geoff and Lisa and left town at last on his journey. Finally it was the open road and his journey towards becoming a pokémon champion. Which reminded him...
Pulling the Absol's ball from his belt, Leif looked down at the pokémon he would be sharing his journey with. I suppose now is as good a time as any he thought, pressing a button to expand the pokéball.
"Let's go Absol" he said, lightly tossing the ball up. A bright light shone from the ball as his pokémon was summoned, materialising into a familiar quadrupedal shape. Leif grinned as the light vanished and his Absol appeared in front of him.
"Wow" he said simply, taking it all in. As well as being fully healed of damage from their scuffle, the Absol had been restored to full physical health. Gone were the shallow hungry eyes and gaunt frame, dull and dirty fur replaced by a coat that shone like fresh snow. Lean muscle rippled in the Absol's shoulders as it stretched, claws sharp and gleaming. Leif was speechless.
The Absol sat in place for a moment before noticing the dazed expression of Leif's face and sighing slightly. 'And good morning to you too'.
Leif's jaw went slack as he stared at the Absol. The voice had been decidedly feminine, and resounded in his head, penetrating his deepest thoughts. Then, catching himself he laughed out loud and looked around for whoever had spoken. "Very funny!" he called as the Absol rolled its eyes. "You can come out now".
'Down here you complete buffoon!' the Absol called again, and Leif twinged as the loud voice echoed in his skull. He grinned sheepishly as he looked back down at the pokémon next to him.
"So that I was you talking to me? What is this, some side effect of the Blissey egg? Now I'm hearing things?"
'You are hearing me because I have decided to talk to you' the Absol replied with as much dignity as she could muster. 'Some Dark types have the ability, though not all choose to share this with their trainers'.
"So why didn't you talk to me back at the feast?" Leif asked, still perplexed by the whole thing, "Why only talk to me now?" The Absol sniffed, a little shame-faced as she answered.
'Even after that pecha berry I was too weak. As I am now, telepathy does not drain me overly, but as tired as I was... I lacked the ability'. She looked up at him, straight in the eye. 'I wanted to thank you' she said, 'You helped me when I was at my lowest, and I have decided that you are worthy. I will travel beside you'. By now, Leif's head was pounding; telepathy obviously didn't agree with him and he struggled to find the words to respond.
"It was nothing" he said finally. "Anybody would..."
'Don't say anybody would do the same!' interrupted the Absol 'You, of all the people at that feast were the one to help me. You have earned my trust by assisting me, and my respect in battling me. Don't sell yourself short'.
For a moment, Leif forgot his pounding headache, touched by the Absol's words. "I... thank you" he said, a blush springing up in his cheeks. "I would also be honoured to travel with you, but..." his voice became a little desperate as he tailed off, "Is there any way you could talk without telepathy? My head hurts".
The Absol looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered. There was no real reason the boy couldn't learn how to speak pokémon, the major obstacle stopping other people from speaking it being ignorance and arrogance towards pokémon as a whole.
She expressed that thought to Leif (In as few words as possible), and he grinned in response. "I've always wanted to talk to pokémon, and now you're saying that I'll finally get the chance? This day couldn't get any better!"
The Absol finally grinned as her first impression of the teenager was confirmed. He really was a good person, and most importantly, he lacked the superiority complex that most humans expressed towards pokémon. She'd made a good decision in her choice of partner.
Leif grinned back, and then a thought struck him. "So what do I call you?" he asked, slightly embarrassed that it had taken him so long to find his manners. "I mean, obviously you're female..."
'Evidently' she said, and he winced slightly before noticing the smirk on her face and relaxing somewhat.
"But do you have a name I can call you by?" he asked, and she turned to meet his eyes again.
'My name is Star' she replied, and then hesitated as he reached a hand out.
"Well then Star" he replied, "My name is Leif, and it's a pleasure to work with you". Star gave a small laugh of both surprise and pleasure as she look his hand in her clawed paw and shook firmly, a bond forged between the two travellers.
"Now" Leif stated, grinning as he straightened up. "About those language lessons..."