[my lifε prior τo kαiruu]▬
[/i] the time that would have ensured your family a position of power in the most coveted spot of the tribe of pokémorphs in the entire johto region. my parents never forgave me for that blunder. sure, they hid it well, but i always sensed a seething, if not muffled, snarl of hatred in every look they gave me. i know they must have loved me, somewhere beyond the disappointment. we were well off; money was never far away when we needed it, but to have had that opportunity
so close, only to have it torn away because of
one simple complication was an unforgivable incident. why the hell it was my fault, i still don't know. it must just be one of those things.
i suppose i should explain, at least a little.
the kata family was only one of the dozens of different groups of pokémorphs in the tribe that resided in the city of ecruteak. somewhere in the distant past, the 365 days of the year had been divided by use of a bizarre system, essentially assigning most species of pokémon their own day. some of them were excluded, counting man-made creatures like the porygon family, the castform. spiritomb was an unspeakable, thus not allowed so much as a mention in the calendar. some creatures shared the same day if they were connected to each other; this included creatures like the regi, latios and latias. every year, the order of days would change, assuring that no child received the same pokémon's attributes if one happened to be born on the same day as a child borne the previous year. one thing was always static, however. the new year, january first, was always to be arceus' day. that day was shared by one other creature, whichever pokémon was assigned that particular number.
arceus' hour. that's what they called the small window of time between the thirty-first of december and the first of january, heralding a new year. a child born on the stroke of twelve, midnight, was to receive the blessing of arceus himself. they treated that kid as a god come to earth. i suppose that's what my parents wanted for me. instead, there was a complication, at the most crucial point of the delivery. i was delayed by a half an hour, and lost the tiny opportunity because of that problem. instead, i was born on the day of koffing. my parents were devastated, sure. i don't know if they despised me from the very moment they learned i wasn't born an arceus 'morph, but nevertheless, i was indirectly responsible for ruining the chance at a good life. scratch that. i ruined the chance for my parents to be even better off than they already were; they wanted the bragging rights, to be able to walk around and say "my son's an arceus 'morph!" and see the awe on a person's face when they realized the magnitude of the news. i ruined all of that.
mother and father weren't half as hopeful when artemis was born; the twenty-eighth of that year's february was dedicated to linoone. i was almost desperate to make sure they wouldn't extend the same silent bitterness toward my baby brother. no, they thought he was perfect. i was all but forgotten, all because of this bundle of undeveloped paws, tail, and ears. i was angry toward artemis for some time, thinking he'd stolen away the affection i was supposed to be given. i became a rude, rebellious kid, openly showing my dislike by avoiding playing with artemis and instead looking for different friends. it was my first mistake, acquainting myself with nikolas, keegan, ari, and andré. we became friends almost too fast; each of us was a misfit either by choice or because of the desire to look cool. andré, a persian 'morph, wormed his way up the social ladder on charm and wits alone, with a sharp tongue and arrogance working in tandem to assure he always got what he wanted. nikolas was close behind, an absol 'morph with snowy-white hair and the brilliant red eyes to match. his parents thought him too plain to fit in their flamboyant family, and so, he didn't spend much time at all at home. keegan was a sleek and unassuming person, one of andré's
other cronies. he, an almost stunningly beautiful roserade 'morph, needed nothing more than a sly glance to get his way. maybe that's why andré was so keen to befriend him.
ari was the only female in our group; i think her parents were disappointed with the species she was born as; i didn't complain. she was just like me, deviated from her parents' plans at birth. in fact, i was vicious toward her parents for ostracizing her. they were perfectionists, her mother a frilly beautifly 'morph with concerns more for raising a 'proper' young lady out of her daughter than allowing her any freedom whatsoever. her father was a very handsome mothim 'morph, which is probably why she was such an ill-fitting match in the family. being a zubat 'morph was never easy for her. she spent a good deal of time away from home and with me, keegan, and nikolas. andré spared us a moment when he wasn't ruling the rest of downtown ecruteak or terrorizing younger kids.
my parents eventually gave up on me, and i could tell that they were concentrating their efforts on creating a model son out of artemis. i scoffed at that; my brother was never brave. he was a timid little prettyboy, and none of my group failed to notice that. i showed him outright that i didn't like him, and even then he'd follow me, meekly accepting any abuse my friends would throw at him. it was always indirect, maybe because they were skeptical of my reaction, but it elevated quickly to harsher insults. i came to imagine he was just a glutton for punishment, but i never so much as said a word when he was being battered verbally. i let him hang around, thinking he'd become bored soon enough and go home. most of the time, he did. he'd mumble a quick 'see you later, nii-san', and leave, and i'd watch him go, not even bothering to reply to him.
i seriously wondered whether he hated me.
i can't remember why they were so horrible to him; moreover, i can't even begin to grasp why i never did anything about it. i had more pressing things to worry about. ari and i were on the fast track to becoming a couple; even so, with her at my side, i felt an odd emptiness. something was missing, something crucial; being with ari made me feel out of place, like i wasn't supposed to be there. i forced myself to enjoy her company, but eventually it was clear that i didn't like kissing her. there was just no interest in her body coming from me. i didn't let it show, stubborn as i was. sex was the answer, i thought back then. maybe that's what was missing.
ari and i spent a night together; i had to fake all of it. i had to fucking
fake it. halfway through, i had to move away from her and confess it; i had no interest in girls. she didn't understand. i didn't expect her to. eventually, she got up and left. i didn't see her again. nikolas and keegan never questioned me. i had always been the unspoken leader figure, someone to look up to. it wasn't only because my family was wealthy. well, maybe it was, but i never heard anything pertaining to ari from them. maybe she'd left johto. who knew; i didn't bother to find out. she wasn't going to accept the fact that even though i'd tried my damnedest to like her, there was just nothing aside from friendship there. she couldn't face the idea that her first lover was actually gay. it just didn't register. i forgot about her soon enough, or tried to, but an image of her prodded at the back of my mind every once in a rare while.
i never said a word about my orientation to my parents; that's all they needed, more fuel to burn my image in their minds. my father would rather have cut his own throat than own up to the fact that his oldest son was a queer. i contemplated leaving, taking off and leaving my parents with their perfect son, let them mold artemis into the ideal child. well, at least until keegan told me andré and artemis were going out. i nearly choked. the perfect brat was as much of a fag as i was. i was nineteen by then; artemis was sixteen. he was stupid enough to tell mother and father; i was there to see my father turn a very nasty shade of red. my mother turned away, letting father dearest deal with this shock to their plans.
by this time, i'd begun to rethink my relationship with my brother. andré had bragged quite openly how 'easy' artemis was, and it made me feel almost resentful. i wanted to tear the arrogant smirk off his face. with the years, his persian nature had come through more and more, until even keegan had begun to reject his presence. to andré, artemis was a toy. an object of amusement; what i didn't understand was why my brother was silly enough to stay with someone like him. i was so absorbed in my thoughts, i barely noticed as my brother stumbled back from the force of a harsh slap to the face. my head snapped up so rapidly i thought i heard the sound of a whiplash. my father was seething, his expression steely; mother was nowhere to be seen, presumably conveniently ignoring this turn of events. artemis was holding a hand to his rapidly swelling cheek, tears welling up in his cornflower blue eyes. i could tell by his posture that he was terrified. i sat on the couch where i was, watching intently, debating between leaving the room or stepping in to stop the next blow. i'd never thought my father could get so violent; sure, he was a scyther 'morph, but he'd always been the portrait of perfection to all the little kids that adored him. i thought he'd trained himself to keep his temper to himself.
unfortunately, i hadn't, despite undergoing the same training in the martial arts.
i was about to lower my gaze, when artemis glanced at me; i actually flinched at the look in his eyes. he was pleading silently, asking for my help. despite all the times i'd willingly let my so-called friends insult him freely, ignoring him when he requested my company, and all the kind remarks he'd given that i'd ignored, he was still willing to reach out for me. i felt bile rising in my throat, and it stung the base of my tongue. disgust for my own behavior was eating at me, and i guess that was what got me to move. i hated feeling resentment toward myself. eventually, my lips began to curl, revealing my fangs, and i slammed down a book i'd been reading, walking right over to my father and lashing out to grab his wrist as he moved to strike artemis again. he looked almost surprised at the ease with which i'd stopped him. silently, i watched him, my eyes narrowing dangerously. he knew what i could do; artemis shivered behind me, tentatively touching the welt on his face. i could hear him whimpering quietly, either from the pain, or from fright, as i stared our father down, snarling silently. eventually, he yanked his wrist out of my grip, twisting it painfully in order to escape my iron hold, and rubbed it. for a moment, he considered me, and i flicked my gaze over his shoulder at mother, who had finally come back into the room. she watched me with an unreadable expression on her face; at last, father spun on his heels, storming out of the house with a string of curses.
i didn't let my mother ask. she watched silently, a mixed expression of confusion, hurt, and amazement as i grabbed artemis by the hand and pulled him into my room, shutting the door behind us. it was one of the very, very few times i'd allowed him into my room. i motioned for him to sit on my bed, and he did so, coiling his legs under himself and wrapping his tail around his knees while i moved back into the kitchen to fetch ice. mother was gone, presumably following my father to speak to him. artemis flinched when i sat beside him, pressing the icepack to his swollen cheek. he wasn't expecting something so gentle from me, i could tell by the look in his eyes. "
..a-arigatoo, nii-san." he managed to hiccup finally, wiping his tears on his sleeve quickly, as if he could hide the fact he'd been crying. i scooted away from him, expecting him to declare he hated me at any moment. "
why did you tell them." i finally broke the silence; my intended question was more of an bizarre statement, as if the query was a definition of idiocy rather than a need for knowledge.
artemis didn't answer, and i was beginning to doubt he'd even heard me, when he finally piped up. "
...i-i thought maybe.. maybe at least mother would have understood." artemis let his gaze fall, and i watched as he picked at a loose thread in my blanket. "
you must really be stupid then. look at yourself. she didn't even try to stop him, and if i hadn't, you'd probably have been hurt a lot worse." i replied with an acidic edge to my voice. i wanted to hit him and hug him at the same time. to tell him what an unbelievably hopeful fool he was for thinking our parents were going to accept their son as a homosexual. even more so, i wanted to smash holes into the walls around us because i couldn't bring myself to apologize for being such a shitty older brother when all artemis needed was for someone to be there. he didn't so much as wince from my harsh words; maybe he knew they were true. "
i just can't stand it anymore. the lying, the constant fear. i hate it, noah, i just... i want it all to go away." he hugged his arms around himself, biting his lip and staring at the pattern of delicate swirls on my blanket. i was silent, unsure how to respond to this; i wanted to force him to spill the reasons why he wasn't accusing me of being a cruel sibling, asking why i was never a big brother to him.
maybe, just maybe, he wasn't like that. how could i know? i scarcely spent time with him. i thought he'd turn out to hate me as well, once my parents told him why i was such a failure in their eyes. then i realized i'd never thought to ask him what his opinion on this situation was. maybe he didn't hate me. maybe he wasn't an elitist snob like mother and father. the concepts of those simple facts were burning me from the inside out, and i didn't like it. artemis gazed at me steadily, his eyes so unlike mine, clear and blue and shiny as if he was holding back tears again. i wanted to ask my brother why he was so forgiving, to tell him i didn't deserve a second chance. why was he so readily giving me everything, trusting me to take care of him like a big brother should? i hadn't protected him for a good part of his life. what changed? why did it change?
for the first time in my life, i didn't know what to do.
our parents treated us with an indifferent air from that day on. father would disregard me as much as he did artemis; mother made at least a small effort to be kind to us, mostly when father wasn't around to witness it. i knew he was ashamed of both of us. mother made attempts to make amends with us, to tell us she didn't hate us for our choices. despite me not having said a word as to my orientation, i think my parents knew. my father wasn't an idiot, and my mother, being a mismagius 'morph, had her ways of extracting information from people without even the slightest effort. i knew our welcome had been spent. mine had been wasted the very moment it became apparent i hadn't been born a deity. i wanted to leave. weeks went by, and i began to study infomation about other regions, often staying up late into the night when insomnia extracted its tolls. i considered kanto, hoenn, sinnoh. it had to be out of johto, i knew that. most of the kids from the pokémorph tribes became trainers, coordinators, or breeders. they'd travel all the way to new bark town to get a starter pokémon from professor elm. totodile. cyndaquil. chikorita. every single region was the same; water. fire. grass. orre was a haven for people who wanted a life away from pokémon. almia and fiore were for those who wanted to train to become rangers. none of these places seemed to fit. they were too ordinary, too overdone. i shuffled through dozens of leaflets, catalogues, and magazines, every one of them the same. fire. water. grass. nothing unique.
kairuu.
i came across the name on my laptop one night, when a bout of insomnia was keeping me from getting sleep. i scrolled through the information slowly, ready to discard it as i had all the other regions. something about it caught my interest; humans and pokémon could communicate with each other by speech. the professor had long since deviated from the fire-grass-water starters, and offered a more varied list of pokémon, even going so far as changing the selection on a whim. not only that, he offered a completely
random choice for those who wanted to be adventurous. not only that, the professor's parents ran a place called eggshell cottage. seemed a trainer could also have an egg hatch and claim that as their starter instead. even more amazing was the number of pokémorphs living alongside humans; nearly fifteen percent of the population was made of half-human creatures, and instead being looked down upon, pokémorphs were embraced warmly. it was almost too perfect, and for a while, i suspected an elaborate hoax. maybe it was all just some cruel joke. but the more i read about kairuu, the more apparent it became that, yes, this heaven did exist. i bookmarked the page and searched up a ferry service to the region; the tickets were expensive, and i felt an uneasy pang of concern. i'd also have to find a place to live.
i continued to root around, pulling up list after list of affordable housing in the region; i was so engrossed in my search that i didn't hear my bedroom door creaking open. the patter of tentative footsteps was familiar, but my shoulders tensed anyway. artemis wandered over to me, settling beside me on my bed. his eyes were wide and alert, as if he hadn't slept either. i could feel his eyes scanning the page that boldly stated 'kairuu; a new opportunity!'; i silently clicked over to another tab, a ticket-reservation form halfway filled out. "
two tickets." artemis finally breathed, leaning over on his knees to read through the form quickly. "
brother, are they for.."
"
for us." i cut him off, actually turning my head to stare at him with a lopsided smile of sorts; it was one of the few times i'd actually
smiled, not smirked. he gazed back, his eyes puzzled. "
i want to get away from them, artie. both of us. there's so much in kairuu; i can train, you can coordinate, like you've always wanted to. it's perfect. we can start over, and no one has to know where we've gone." i knew i sounded excited, and it must have been scary. i'd rarely been excited about anything, except now, when the prospect of leaving the oppressive atmosphere i'd been spending a good part of my life in was within my grasp. i could tell he was excited, too. his tail was flicking back and forth, almost agitated, but the look in his eyes was anxious. "
w-what if they find out? they won't let us leave so easily." i knew he was scared; he was scared of our father, and i really didn't blame him, despite having lost my fear and respect for him a long time ago. "
artie, you're eighteen. i'm twenty-one. they can't say, or do, anything to stop us." i said the words more out of the need to calm him.
i doubt father would give a flying fuck if we vanished off the face of the earth, i thought, but refrained from voicing that opinion out loud; it'd just serve to make artie upset, and i'd become too protective of him to allow that. we'd just have to keep it on the down-low. fortunately, my retort worked; artemis' eyes lit up with a tentative glow, and he wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. "
let's do it."
a few weeks or so later, i was busy poring over the information i'd collected, when i heard my mother exclaim loudly downstairs; artemis replied meekly, his voice cracked and hurt. i could've sworn the hairs on the back of my neck bristled, that's how alarmed i was. i got up and left my room, nearly running right into my brother as he came up the stairs. i stifled a shocked yelp when i saw him; the right side of his face was bruised, already turning a pale violet-blue in color. five diagonal welts, the last shorter than the others, marred the skin, beads of blood welling up from the spots where the skin had broken. i didn't have to ask in order to know where those scratches had come from. artemis was feigning calm, but i could tell he was on the verge of breaking down. i reached out to touch his shoulder, but he shirked away from me, and instead moved straight into his room. he pushed the door shut behind himself, but did not lock it, a sign that i was free to follow him if i wanted to. i did so immediately, slipping into the room silently to find artemis huddled in a corner of his bed, his arms wrapped around his knees.
as i approached, he exhaled an almost hysterical breath, shuddering from head to toe, and glanced up at me as i sat on the edge of his bed. "
...wasn't as bad as i thought it would be." he said, a crooked smile of sorts twisting his lips. i was quiet, waiting for him to go on. "
said i was useless. pathetic. i'd never find anyone as good as him." a bitter laugh made my very skin prickle uncomfortably, and i had to curl my hands into the fabric of my pants to hide them shaking. "
i told him i didn't want to see him again, th-that i was sick of being used, sick of... of everything. that's when he hit me. he shouted at me, said i was an idiot for listening to anything my 'queer freak of an older brother' said about him. he.. he finally left, then. keegan... keegan took me home.." he explained, touching the tips of his fingers to his injured face. "
...keegan said he hadn't seen anyone even try to stand up to andré before. told me th.. that i should just stay away from him. said you were a good brother, that you were just misunderstood. h-he said he was sorry for all the things he and.. and nikolas and ari ever said to me. he didn't wish this kind of treatment on anyone; maybe it was just his teen foolishness, he told me. a-and... i said.. i said i'd never thought of you as a bad brother. i told him you were hurt, so hurt, and it was hard to accept any help. at least.. at least that's what i thought. ...i didn't want to give up on you. because then... then i wouldn't be any better than anyone else who had ever done so. i had to try. i'm an idiot for thinking andré ever loved me. so stupid..." his voice broke at that, and i nudged myself closer to him; he buried his face in my chest and finally let it all go. i wrapped my arms around his shaking form, gently brushing my hand through his hair, playing with the fur-tipped ears atop his head, anything to keep myself from exploding on the spot. fury was threatening to overload my senses, and i closed my eyes, tightening my grip around artemis and counting under my breath to keep my anger in check.
finally, i was calm enough to relax slightly; my throat felt constricted, but i refused to give in to the feeling. i'd been right all along. artemis had tried to make a connection with me for the sake of letting me know i wasn't alone. he didn't want me to feel alienated from the family; i almost laughed then, refraining from voicing the thought that just then popped into my mind.
you never could restrain yourself from being such a goddamn goody two-shoes, little brother.at that point, i was thanking arceus for giving me such a wonderful brother.
once i received the tickets, it was as if i was walking on eggshells. artemis and i were planning on leaving on a night that our parents were out to avoid any confrontations. we'd take a bus out of ecruteak, travel to goldenrod, and take the magnet train to kanto, where we could catch the ferry to kairuu. i'd already transferred a large sum of money from my parents' account to mine, something they surely wouldn't miss; in fact, i knew they wouldn't. i'd made plans to place a payment on a small japanese-style house, one that artemis had immediately fallen in love with. mother and father suspected nothing; i'd been discreet about emptying my room of anything important, and kept my laptop secure and locked out from prying eyes. a mere few days later, when our parents planned to spend the entire night at some frivolous event or other, we left.
the bus ride was uneventful; a few trainers nodded off in their seats, weary from the long ride. artemis was asleep, curled up on the seat beside me, his head in my lap. i was on edge myself, and i knew the feeling wouldn't subside until we were safely out of the johto region. no one knew where were going. we'd been careful not to dispense that information to
anyone who might have passed it on to our parents. at artemis' request, i left keegan a letter saying thank you and goodbye. maybe i'd see him again some day. in fact, i hoped i would. i'd never realized what kind of person he really was, and now, a feeling of remorse was creeping through my veins; to shrug the emotions, i stared out the window, shocked to realize that rain had started to fall while i was engrossed in my thoughts.
we attracted our fair share of stares at the train station; some of the people in goldenrod had never so much as caught a glimpse of a 'morph before, and they didn't even attempt to hide their curiosity; while most of them were driven by simple human interest, i saw others who muttered obscenities under their breaths and turned away rapidly when i glared at them. artemis was either ignorant to their faults, or refused to acknowledge them. then again, he was being swarmed by little girls and boys who found his tail an object of amazement; their parents were flustered, apologizing in torrents, but artemis only smiled and answered questions for their brats with supreme ease. i watched on protectively as my brother was surrounded by the curious children, seemingly having forgotten all about his anxiety. maybe that was a good thing. for now, at least.
at last, the train slid to a halt on the tracks, and the disappointed kids had to disperse. artemis made a point to wave at them from the window, and they waved back enthusiastically. "
looks like you've got fans." i jabbed playfully once the train began to move and artemis was forced to settle down. he gave me a lopsided grin, averting his eyes for a moment. "
...it was nice." he mused, watching the landscape blur past as the magnet train picked up speed. "
i think most of them saw you as some overgrown linoone doll of sorts." i smiled, leaning back against my seat, more relaxed now that i knew we were leaving johto for good. artemis laughed at that, a sound that died down fairly quickly, and he concentrated once more on the environment outside the window. i knew he was probably feeling a little homesick already, despite himself. i dozed off, relaxing into a state i didn't call sleep; i could hear artemis singing softly to himself, accompanied by the soft rustle of paper. he must've been folding origami pokémon, something he was extremely talented at.
...he'll run out of paper before we get to kanto, i thought sleepily, and that was the last thing i knew before artemis was nudging me awake. "
ohayoo gozaimasu, nii-san. ogenki desu ka?" he smiled at me when i finally sat up, surprised i'd actually slept at all. i felt disoriented, not completely there. it was irritating, to say the least. i'd forgotten what actual sleep felt like. "
..doko?" i asked as i stretched, hissing at my stiff muscles. "
kanto-chiho. yamabuki shiti." he replied, clearly humoring me by speaking in japanese. kanto region already? i knew the magnet train ran from goldenrod to saffron, he needn't have added that. "
..nanji desu ka?" i asked, wishing there was enough room in the corridor for me to stretch like i normally would - by bending over backward to make sure i got every muscle cramp out of my back. my sense of time was completely screwed up, thanks to falling asleep despite my will. "
hachiji go fun mae." came the response a few moments later. barely eight o'clock in the morning. i groaned silently, and stumbled out into the corridor, still feeling fuzzy from sleeping so long. artemis followed, and we got off the train into a slight drizzle of rain.
the towering buildings around us were a change from the tradition-oriented streets and houses in ecruteak. i wasn't keen on staying any longer than necessary; the ferry was set to leave that afternoon, and i was eager to get to kairuu as fast as possible. we ate at a small café, where a very attractive waiter attempted to charm artemis with sweet talk, but i (very politely, mind you) asked him if he would have liked to find out what it felt like to live the rest of his life with a chair shoved up his ass, and he left us alone soon enough; a different waitress took our order, and suffice to say, while she admired both of our appearances, she didn't attempt to make any advances on either of us. i could feel eyes burning the back of my neck when we left, and i could've sworn it was the handsome waiter who had hit on my brother.
sick of buses already, i hailed a taxi to take us to vermilion city, where the ferry port was located. the driver didn't look all that friendly, but his mind was set on getting us to our destination when i flashed him a warning snarl; he didn't like the look of my fangs, i could tell, because he didn't say a word during the ride, save for a brief "
thank you for your patronage, sir" once he let us off at the harbor. he even attempted to show us a forced smile when i handed him a wad of bills and told him to keep the rest. "
...you don't need to try so hard." i told him as i rounded the front of the cab; artemis was waiting for me some ways off; the guy gave me a bulgy-eyed look, as if he would have liked to disagree with me, and sped off as soon as he was sure he wouldn't run me over in his hurry to get away. i watched him loop around several cars, and laughed when he got stuck behind a dump truck; the sound of his horn honking carried over clearly, and artemis cocked an eyebrow as he stood on his tiptoes to see what was going on. "
must be in a rush to pick up another client." i said nonchalantly, still amused by the man's reaction; artemis didn't seem all that convinced, however.
the ferry was right on time, waiting patiently as passengers clamored to get onboard; most of them, just as i'd predicted, were trainers from various regions. i saw more pokémon than i could count, most of them including a starter from one of the four regions; one trainer was having a hell of a time keeping his blaziken from attempting to duke it out with another kid's infernape. of course, it didn't help that the infernape's owner was making snide comments about his starter being more powerful than the blaziken. i ducked out of the way when the blaziken attempted to thunderpunch the infernape in the face, and pulled artie with me to a quieter section of the ship, where a few girls were giggling in a group while comparing the cuteness factors of their companions; truth be told, i'd never found anything appealing about a wigglytuff, clefable, or togetic, and had to withhold a snort as i passed by. for a moment, i didn't realize artemis wasn't behind me, but it didn't take me long to find him. he was chatting with a very tomboyish girl not very far off, and... surprise, surprise, the pokémon sitting right next to her was none other than a linoone.
once i managed to extricate my brother from the company of the curious girl, we wandered into the bowels of the ferry to find our temporary quarters; the cabins were modest enough for a single day's stay, maybe two. i dropped my bag at the foot of my bed and threw myself on it without a second thought. "
...not very comfortable." i griped after a moment, turning myself on my side to escape the pressure my spine was being subjected to. artemis perched on the edge of his on the opposite wall, gazing out the small window silently. for a single cruel second, i contemplated throwing one of my boots at him as a joke, namely to get his attention. at last, he turned to me with a small smile. "
well, we're on our way now. no turning back, right?"
i returned the tentative expression with a crooked grin. "
...right."
the ferry ride took us a good three, four hours. by the time the announcement came that we would soon be docking at angler's wharf, i was ready to jump ship and
swim the rest of the way. i never even realized my stomach could get so upset; i'd been so sick half of the trip that artemis had forced me to lay down for the rest of it. i'd done so only grudgingly, mainly because i knew i wasn't going to stumble around our cabin, throwing my guts up while some moron took his time in the one bathroom down the hall.
"
..never. again." i swore under my breath as i practically raced down the ramp and onto good, clean, dry land. artie followed, hauling both our bags over his shoulders as i leaned my hands on my knees to gain my bearings and get my stomach to settle down after that torturous trip. dusk was settling around us, and i deduced that we should probably crash at an inn for the night, then look for the laboratory in the morning. we spent the night at a very comfortable little motel (lo and behold, no prolonged, weirded-out looks, save from the few foreign trainers who'd taken the ferry with us), and left in the morning, feeling refreshed and clean.
it didn't take us long to find the lab; it was literally right up the road from the harbor, a whitewashed building that looked at first glance more like someone's farm than a sterile researcher's business palace. a smaller, cozier-looking farmhouse was clearly eggshell cottage, and that's where we headed first. i'd already decided i wanted to hatch my companion instead of choosing one from a selection that had been in the same building for mew only knows how long. "
i have the sneaking feeling it'll be a poison-type, like you, brother." artemis pointed out as we approached the cottage steadily. "
even better. i'd love an ekans. or even a grimer. although..." my expression became almost dreamy, "
..a koffing would be amazing, too."
it was every ecruteak-born 'morph's dream to have the pokémon they shared DNA with on their team; mine, of course, was a koffing. or... well, a weezing, too. artemis had been after a zigzagoon for as long as he could remember. unfortunately, they weren't all that common in the johto region. the greatest honor any 'morph could achieve was owning a shiny-attributed version of themselves. of course, not every 'morph agreed with having a pokémon version of themselves on their team, but to the tribe originated from ecruteak, it was somewhat of a pilgrimage. a quest, really.
we were greeted by an elderly couple and their three pokémon; i recognized the raichu easily enough. honestly, any kid born into the world of pokémon could recognize the pikachu family... the other two were sinnoh-origin creatures, and it took me a while to recall their names. the froslass came to me, because i remembered reading an article about a johto trainer's female snorunt being exposed to a dawn stone completely by accident and then evolving into a froslass instead of a glalie. the jackal creature was apparently called a lucario. steel and fighting-type. "
are you lovely lads both here for a starter pokémon?" the elderly woman asked, but artemis shook his head and nudged his chin at me. "
..just my brother. i've decided to take a look at your son's collection instead." he offered shyly, and the couple smiled. "
lee's very enthusiastic about switching out his available choices. i hope you find something suitable. now.. noah, was it? if you'd come with me..." the gentleman spoke up, leading me into a room at the back of the small house; hundreds of eggs surrounded me, and i had to hold back my amazement at them all. was i supposed to choose one, or...?
before i could ask, the man pointed down the row at something, exclaiming suddenly. "
well, i'll be! looks like we've got a shaker!" he shuffled down to the shivering object, motioning for me to pick it up before it wobbled itself right off the shelf. i looped my arms around the warm silvery oval, wondering what exactly would come out of it. even as i held it, the egg split into a white glow, morphing in my grip until nothing but a furry, fox-like creature lay nestled in my arms.
it was a shiny eevee.
mr. hemlock eyed me appreciatively for a moment, and nodded finally. "
...a rare hatchling, that one. never thought i'd see the day when one of those critters popped out of an egg." as i cradled the newborn eevee, the man gathered a multitude of items, packing them neatly into a small bag, and handing me a sleek, black, gold, and crimson pokéball even i could recognize as a luxury ball. how... generous. "
this is for him. and you should also feed the little fella these..." he opened his hand to reveal four rare candies; i fed them to the eager kit. as i returned into the front room, artemis came to meet me, clearly curious as to what i'd obtained. "
..aiyaa, kare wa kawaii desu!" artemis sighed as he witnessed the tiny fox kit on my shoulder; as he attempted to pet the eevee, however, the little bastard nipped at his finger. "
...cute? i'm not cute! i'mma fucking killer!" the shiny eevee snapped, surprising both of us into silence. so
that's what they'd meant when they claimed pokémon and humans could speak to each other with ease! while artemis inspected his finger, i took this time to reprimand the eevee; grabbing him by his scruff, i dangled him in front of my face, mustering a very unpleasant scowl, despite the desire to laugh at what the kit had just blurted out. "
look. there are two things i don't want to see you do. one. disobey me. and two.." i twisted him around so he could see artemis, who had decided the bite wasn't anything serious, "
attacking artemis. he's my brother. and you'll treat him with the same respect you treat me with. he's as much your master as i am. understood, nox?" i turned him around again, ignoring his flailing and protesting; the name came to my mind just then, just like that. at last, the eevee glared up at me wistfully, and mumbled something in agreement to my terms. "
...alright. now can you let me back up? you're ruining the good impression you made on me."
the laboratory wasn't too bad; for now, at least, it seemed devoid of other wannabe trainers. the professor was an early-bird type, it seemed, because it didn't take him long at all to greet us. at first, i thought we had the wrong place; he didn't look anything like the professor-type to me. in fact, he couldn't have been more than just a couple of years older than me; that, the fact he didn't wear the traditional lab-coat, dress-shirt-and-tie, khaki pants and patent-leather shoes but a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt that boasted 'no-name café' or something equally ridiculous. that, and he had a piercing decorating his lower lip. he seemed enthusiastic alright, but not stupid. "
so you must've been at my parents', then." he smirked as soon as he spotted nox, and let us in. the desk in the corner was overflowing with papers, books, and other random items, including a few empty potion bottles and lava cookies.
like the eggshell cottage, the pokémon were contained in a room separate from the main lobby area; the noise was almost unbearable. every species was separated to their own pens, and every single one of the critters was crying out for artemis' attention. what caught his attention, however, were the flock of mareep in a corner pen. as he petted them, a small male with a shockingly pink coat of wool and a powder-blue face raced up to him, as hopeful as the other members of his species. i'd never seen a shiny mareep before, and at first thought he'd fallen into a vat of paint; that, or the wool had been dyed. artemis was spellbound the moment he picked up the odd one out. "
...can i take him?" he asked timidly, holding the mareep close to his chest; the other mareep were still crowding around the fence, clearly looking disappointed at not being chosen. lee looked as if he were considering it, but his expression melted into a smile quickly enough. "
'course. poor thing's been there for a bit."
after artie got his items, we meant to leave the lab; while he'd been picking out his starter choice, two other kids had shown up, both of them younger than artemis. out of the corner of my eye, i noticed one of them, a blonde kid with mismatched eyes, gazing at artie's mareep with an adoring look on his face; unfortunately, my brother was hiding behind me and didn't notice any of it. "
it looks like you've got an admirer." i mentioned idly, causing artemis to blush rapidly and hide the lower half of his face with the fluff of pink wool on his mareep. i found it cute, now, that my brother was back to his old, shy self. he acted so differently in my company than among people his own age. maybe he just needed a push. literally.
we moved aside when the two newcomers moved in to pick out their pokémon; the younger boy wasn't very creative. his choice was a scrawny little female bulbasaur. the other kid, however, had decided to copy artemis; apparently the pink mareep had been one of a pair, because the professor relinquished a female shiny mareep into the care of the blondie. i nudged artemis in the ribs with my elbow and suggested he strike up a conversation with the other mareep's owner. "
seriously, you two have so much in common." artemis squeaked something feeble in protest, so i gave him a small push toward the blonde boy. "
go on. he won't bite. and if he does, bite back." i smirked.
i wonder if things had turned out differently if i'd ignored the kid and left the lab with artemis as soon as he got jack.
felix and mica decided that traveling together would be a good option, at least for the time being, and so we formed a four-person group; as i'd suspected, artie and felix hit it off from the start. as soon as we got some ways down mallowfox road, we encountered a trio of zigzagoon. i could only imagine my brother's heart leaping out of his chest, that's how pleasantly surprised he was. i had no interest in those creatures, so i let mica, felix, and artemis each capture one; it wasn't long before the two lovebirds shared a whole plethora of pokémon, including a female rattata each. i got my hands on a moon stone after finding out that, in the kairuu region, a moon stone had a profound effect on eevee; nox evolved into a shiny umbreon soon after, something i was supremely proud of. my team of pokémon fluctuated as i obtained new members to fill it, including adopting a koffing from an adoption center run by an espeon 'morph named quill, who, despite a slightly rocky start, became a good friend of mine.
meeting dakota was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
aside from my brother, of course.
i'd volunteered to stand in for the professor while he was away on a business trip (or whatever he called it); i had nox with me, as always, and because it'd been a slow day, i was idling away the time in an armchair, just laying there relaxing. nox was in my lap, curled up and content, sleeping, just as i was. i'd left my chikorita on guard duty, told her to wake me if a trainer came by, but she wasn't the brightest creature, and timid to boot, so when there was a knock at the door, she opened it, completely unsure of what to do. i can assume she invited him in, at least, and asked him what his business was. (stupid question, really.)
here's the... embarrassing part.
nox is a fairly jumpy creature, especially if he's woken from a sound sleep; i can't blame dakota for wanting to pet the umbreon, but at the time, it wasn't a very good idea, especially if one doesn't know what kind of personality a pokémon is hiding. well... nox didn't take very kindly to being touched while he was sleeping, so he woke up, totally startled, and, reacting completely naturally, dug his claws into the surface he was standing on. i can only assume he thought he was standing on solid ground, because he didn't hesitate to sink his claws into whatever was under his paws. unfortunately, it happened to be me, and, conveniently positioned, the bastard sunk those inch-long scythes right into my crotch.
talk about a wake-up call.
i was awake in an instant; i, much like nox, didn't realize where i was sleeping at first, so i rolled right out of the armchair and fell on the floor, right along with my umbreon. suffice to say, it was painful. i have a high threshold for pain, but i don't think
anyone could completely ignore a blow to such a sensitive place. i tried to play it cool, sure, and dakota naturally was all apologies; now.. i hate when people gush 'sorry' over and over, and i despise when anyone concerns themselves with my well-being. for the time being, i decided to avoid walking, and instead sent nox to pick up the items he needed. not the most traditional way to meet a person, i know, but for some reason, for us, it worked. for the first time, it seemed the void inside me was filled.
the festival.. i'd rather not remember much of that day, and i won't say much about it here. all i
will say is that if i see that two-faced little bitch again, i'll physically tear him apart.
artemis was a wreck for months after that incident; nothing i said or did helped. he gave up his pokémon, gave up on himself. day in and day out, he'd either spend sleeping, or just laying in bed. he lost weight because he didn't want to eat. it hurt to see my little brother like that; dakota made attempts to cheer him up, but he'd just tell us to go away, to leave him alone. even more than that, it hurt to have him push me away. this continued through the winter months, until artemis and i both received an invitation for the yule ball. artemis wanted to stay home, but i all but forced him to go with me. "
it's a good change of pace. you've got to get out, artie."
he pulled himself together for me, or at least tried. he dressed himself up for the occasion, prepared a gift for his secret santa recipient, and seemed to get some of his old cheer back. i knew the incident was still bothering him, but i wanted him to forget about it. dakota told me, in secret, that his cousin nema had insisted on switching with him, so that he could give artemis a few gifts. i'd known nema for some time now, and i knew he was a good guy. maybe it'd be good for artemis. hell, it'd be good for both of them.
and it was.
it's been some time now, and i can't say how amazed i am at the change nema's brought about in my little brother; he's gained confidence, gotten his urge to coordinate back, and is even looking for a job as a fashion model. it's been barely a year since we left ecruteak, and everything's so perfect now. i don't even want to look back at our life before kairuu.
i'm grateful that my little brother has at last found his own happiness.[/ul][/blockquote][/blockquote]
