WHY IS DRAWING HANDS SO FUCKING HARD

These never fail to make me laugh

Here's a piece I wrote about my PMD Explorers of Sky OCs based on a scene from the game that really stuck with me. I wanted to explore how the reveal in the dark future would play out with my renditions of the characters, and I had a lot of fun with it! I'll definitely do more stuff like this in the future.

An Untimely Reunion

“The passage of time should be just up ahead! Let’s hurry along now.”

Clay, Leo, and Grovyle followed Celebi into the clearing. Sure enough, the passage was just across the way. Grovyle took a deep breath. He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. When Dusknior had taken him back to the dark future, he thought for sure that he had failed his mission. Now he had a second chance, and there was no way he was going to let it slip.

“So this will really send us back home?” Leo asked. “Can we finally go back to our time?”

“Yes,” Grovyle responded. “The passage of time will allow all three of us to return to the past. I used it when I came to your time originally.”

“That’s right!” Celebi added, nodding. “And I’m the only one with the power to open it! Isn’t that fun?”

Clay let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I was worried we’d never see our friends at the guild again. They must be worried sick about us right now.”

As the group approached the passage, Grovyle took one last look around. If everything goes as planned once returning to the past, this will be the last time he sees the dark future. He turned his gaze to Celebi. He knew she could fend for herself, but he couldn’t help feeling a tinge of sadness about leaving her alone here yet again. 

“You’re sure you’ll be ok here on your own?” he asked her.

“Yes of course, Grovyle dear! How many times do I need to tell you that I can’t ever be caught?”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” a familiar voice sneered.

Grovyle felt a crushing wave of dread come over him. He looked back towards the passage of time to find Dusknior waiting in front of it. He had a smug grin on his face.

“You…” Grovyle muttered.

“You’ve grown careless, Grovyle. I already knew you’d be coming here, but you were also unexpectedly easy to follow. You’re usually cautious enough to not let that happen.” He chuckled. “That sudden change will spell your demise. Now Sableye! Seize them!” 

Grovyle groaned. “Shit, we’re surrounded. Looks like we were followed. I’m sorry everyone, but we’re going to have to force our way through to get out of this.”

“That’s fine,” Clay said, readying himself. “Team Sunspark has faced far more difficult battles than this before.”

Dusknior smirked at them. “Oh, you lot won’t be going anywhere. NOW, MASTER DIALGA!”

The ground trembled beneath them. The group looked on in horror as the enraged legend slowly appeared on the mountain in front of them. Clay turned to Grovyle, who wore a distraught look on his face. “Is that-?”

“Yes. This is Primal Dialga,” Grovyle said through gritted teeth. “Dammit. It looks like this might be the end for us.”

Leo looked at him, shocked. “But we can’t give up! Not when we’re so close!”

“Don’t you get it? Primal Dialga is just far too powerful for us to face in our exhausted state. There’s simply nothing else we can do.”

“I see you finally grasp the gravity of your situation,” Dusknior sneered. “The dark future will never be changed. How does it feel knowing that you failed the one thing you devoted your entire life to?”

“I might have failed, but the cause isn’t lost. You seem to have forgotten that I didn’t go to the past alone. My partner is still there, and I have faith that he’ll succeed. I may fall here, but you haven’t won!”

“So you’re still desperately grasping to hope then. If you don’t mind, would you be so kind as to share the name of this beloved partner of yours?”

“Stop toying with me,” Grovyle growled. “You know who Clay is, and you know I’ll never forgive you for what you tried to do to him.”

Clay jerked his head towards Grovyle. Did he hear that right? “Did- did you just say his name was Clay?” he asked. “Because MY name is Clay.”

Grovyle scoffed at him. “Must be some sort of twisted coincidence. I wish you could have met my Clay. You two probably would have gotten along. Not that it matters now.”

Dusknior chuckled. “Oh, I can assure you that the similarities extend well past sharing a name. You see, our good friend Clay here used to be a human! He washed up on the beach one day as shinx with no memories of his past.”

Grovyle’s eyes widened. “Wha- What are you trying to say?”

“And it gets even better! Clay also happens to possess a very special ability. When he touches certain things, he sometimes has visions of events from the past or the future. Does a power like that sound familiar to you?” 

Grovyle’s heart dropped. “The dimensional scream? No… there’s no way. It can’t be true. You’re lying.” He turned to Clay and grabbed his sholders. “Please Clay… please tell me he’s lying.”

Clay looked back at him, terrified. “I’m so sorry Grovyle, but everything he said is true. As hard as it might be to believe, I really was a human. It’s the only thing about my past that I’m certain about. And I don’t know why, but I also can use the dimensional scream. It’s helped Leo and I complete tons of rescue and explorations. I told Dusknior about this in the past before we were taken here.”

“It’s true,” Leo added. “His dimensional scream has helped us locate main outlaws and points of interest during our guild work.”

Grovyle’s heart dropped. Tears began welling up in his eyes. He slowly turned back to Dusknior. His voice trembled as he spoke. “No… This is really?”

“Do you finally get it Grovyle? CLAY is your partner! He’s even wearing the same scarf YOU gave him; I don’t even know how someone as perceptive as you could miss that! I found him before you in the past and took advantage of his amnesia to convince him to fight against you. It made capturing you two laughably easy. The unwavering faith in him you so foolishly clung to won’t matter. The timeline will not be changed, and I’ll eliminate both of you here to guarantee it!”

Celebi went pale. “What? There’s simply no way. I could sense that the temporal distortion around you was stronger than Grovyle and Leo, but I thought nothing of it. To think you were Clay the whole time…” She trailed off.

.  

Clay didn’t know what to think or how to feel. He felt a rush of tears beginning to form. He was from the future? And Grovyle was his partner? But he had spent the past few months desperately trying to take down Grovyle! Was he really just being used all this time? The thought of it infuriated him. He glared at Dusknior through his wet eyes. “So thats it then? Was I nothing more than a pawn to you?”

Dusknior gave him a dejected look. “Trust me Clay, it wasn’t anything personal. I took no joy in this. You clearly had no knowledge of your previous mission, but I couldn’t risk your memories and motivation returning. I HAD to make sure the future remained intact. Taking advantage of your memory loss was the only way for me to guarantee that.”

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?” Clay screamed. “None of this was personal? Bullshit! Everything you’ve ever said to me was just a lie! You turned me against my own family! You made me HATE him! You nearly made us KILL each other! And now you have the nerve to say you DIDN’T want to do it? Pfft. Yeah, sure. Ok. I hope it was worth it then. I hope your life is better once Leo and I are dead and gone, because apparently killing us is the only thing that will let you sleep at night.” He took a shaky breath before adding, “You’re the most pathetic pokemon to ever walk this earth.”

Leo thought he saw Dusknior cringe at Clay’s last comment. “What? Is he actually upset by this?” He quickly shook the thought. Right now he had to focus on finding a way out of this. Surely there was something they could do. “Wait. We just need to get past these sableye and we’d be able to make a run for it. Could Celebi send us forward in time to achieve that?”  He slightly nudged her to get her attention. “Yes dear?” she asked.

He leaned closer to her and whispered, “You can travel through time right? That’s how the passage of time works, I’m assuming. Are you able to send us slightly into the future?”

“I can, but not by much. Especially with Dialga here. His command over time is significantly stronger than mine, so he could interfere with anything I try to do.”

“That’s fine. It only needs to be a few seconds. Just enough to let us get past these sableye.”

“Oh, that’ll be quite easy. A few seconds is nothing.”

“Good. Just wait until the moment right before they attack us. I’ll let Clay and Grovyle know.”

He turned back towards Clay, who was an absolute mess. He was still sobbing, and his front paws were soaked from trying to wipe away his tears. It killed him to see Clay like this. He had never really even seen him sad before, so to see him crying this much was heartbreaking. He wasn’t sure if he would ever forgive Dusknoir for doing this to him. He kneeled down next to him .“Clay? Hey Clay listen–”

Clay looked up at him. “Leo?” he said quietly, voice breaking. “I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry. You’re here because of me and my past. It’s my fault we’re going to die. If you weren’t–”

Leo cut him off. “Look at me Clay. None of this is happening because of you. Dusknoir said it himself. But we don’t have the luxury to think about that right now. I know how difficult this is for you, but you have to keep fighting. After all, we’re both still here! Team Sunspark hasn’t been defeated yet!”

Clay’s eyes widened. He sniffled and wiped away his tears again. “You- you’re right,” he croaked. “I think I’ll manage for now. But Grovyle…”

They both looked over towards him, where he stood frozen in place.

—

Grovyle' stood frozen in place's thoughts were racing. His vision was blurred. His ears were ringing. His heart was pounding. He could barely breathe. 

“This is my fault,” he thought. “I did this to him. I’m the reason why he went to the past. I’m the reason why he lost his memory. I hurt him. I hurt his friends, and I didn’t care. I didn’t even bother to learn anything about him. And now he’s going to die because of me. The future won’t even be changed. ”

“Grovyle…” a quiet voice called out.

“Clay?” He turned his head to make out a familiar figure. A young human boy with dark, messy hair stood there. He had bright green eyes and a blue scarf wrapped around his neck. It was Clay. “What- how did–”

Clay’s voice called out again. “Grovyle!”

He blinked hard and rubbed his eyes, only to find that Clay was gone. In his place stood a shinx with the same eyes and scarf. “That’s right. This is what Clay looks like now. It’s because of me. It’s because I couldn’t–” 

“GROVYLE!!!” Clay screamed. Grovyle jolted back to reality, regaining his senses. He looked around wildly. They were still cornered by the sableye, and Dusknior remained a few meters behind them. The passage of time was still out of reach. He looked back over to Clay. His eyes were filled with tears, and his whole body was trembling. His fur was sparking with electricity. Grovyle opened his mouth to speak, but he could barely get any words out. 

“Clay,” he stammered. “I- I’m sorry. I couldn’t- this is my–”

“Grovyle please!” Clay cried, voice cracking. “I understand how you feel! This hurts for me too! More than you could imagine. But we can’t think about that right now!” He gestured towards the passage of time. “We can still escape! Despite everything, we’re all still alive! You haven’t lost me yet! So please… I’m begging you! Keep fighting! Don’t give up hope!”

“But what could we possibly do? We’re outnumbered, and we’re up against a legendary. With our injuries we don’t stand a chance.”

Leo put a hand on his shoulder. “We don’t need to win! We just need to escape. And we have a plan to do it! Just wait for my signal, and be ready to run for it.”

“Hey!” Dusknior shouted at them. “Done saying your goodbyes? Good. Now Sableye, finish them off. Be sure to kill them this time.”

“YES SIR, MASTER DUSKNIOR!” the sableye cheered. They flared their claws and leapt at the group. Just before they struck, Leo called out: “NOW CELEBI!”

Suddenly, the four of them disappeared. “WHAT?! This can’t be” Dusknior screamed. “Reveal them, Master Dialga! They cannot be allowed to escape!”

The legend let out a monstrous roar. The air began to ripple a few meters in front of the passage of time. A moment later, Clay, Leo, Grovyle and Celebi reappeared.

“SIEZE THEM SABELEYE! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!” Dusknoir screamed.

Celebi winced. “I’m sorry, but it looks like this is as far as I can take you.”

“This is enough! We can make it from here!” Leo responded.

Grovyle hesitated for an instant.”But what about you, Celebi? I can’t just leave you! Not when-”

“Grovyle, we have to leave now! This is our only chance!” Clay yelled. “Celebi said she’d be fine, so we have to trust her!”

“He’s right,” she said. “Go on now dears! Change the future for all of us!”

Grovyle took one last look at her before turning towards the passage of time. With tears still in his eyes, he nodded at Clay and Leo. The three of them sprinted in, leaving the future of darkness in their past.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :D

Thanks for the tag Sofie!! This was a fun one!! :D

coffee or tea | early bird or night owl | chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative | freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks | mountains or fields | thunder or lightning | egyptian mythology or greek mythology | ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre | opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees I macarons or eclairs l typewritten or handwritten | secret garden or secret library | rooftop or balcony | spicy or mild | opera or ballet | london or paris | vincent van gogh or claude monet | denim or leather | potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaids or sirens I masquerade ball or cocktail party

No tags of my own this time, so anyone who wants to join please go ahead!

Thanks for the tag @steven-grants-world (we won't go into how giddy I get when I'm tagged in something!)

This or that…

coffee or tea (neither!) | early bird or night owl | chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative | freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks | mountains or fields | thunder or lightning | egyptian mythology or greek mythology | ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre | opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees I macarons or eclairs l typewritten or handwritten | secret garden or secret library | rooftop or balcony | spicy or mild | opera or ballet | london or paris | vincent van gogh or claude monet | denim or leather | potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaids or sirens I masquerade ball or cocktail party

no pressure tags: @marieziffer, @jewelsrulz, @diplomaticprincess, @wrenwithapen, @witch-oftheflowers, @lunar-ghoulie, @coneygoil, and anyone else who wants to because I hate forgetting people! Do it!

Nia sketches!

Reunion of hero and an old friend.

Now that i'm done with CotL, I have to make some doodles

Me: “Ok, I just got back home from my last day at Momocon! Time to spend the evening resting and catching up with all of my mutuals’ posts that I missed.”

Proceeds to have my heart exploded into ten million pieces by yet another Oblonger banger

I took @billycorn 's advice and decided to write a fic about this! The idea with the journal hit me hard and put this exact scene in my mind!

Dialga is Searching

Dialga stood in place. Meditating. Her mind drifted between timelines. Searching for any clues about the entity that caused her to lose her mind. All that appeared in his memories and in the timelines she examined however, was a hazy blob.

One with icy blue eyes that struck fear into the legend's heart.

She could still see those eyes clear as day. They haunted her. She knew she was more powerful than whatever being they belonged to, but they still filled her with a terror she had never felt before.

Dialga's meditation was interrupted by hearing the sound footsteps and labored breathing of a mortal approaching her body.

Dialga opened her eyes. Fully prepared to reprimand the fool that decided to approach her without permission. Her eyes then widened when she saw who it was, and what condition they were in.

It was Piplup.

Not just any Piplup, but the Piplup that was involved in bringing her back to her senses. Even if she didn't have the red bandana wrapped around her shoulder, she would have recognized her from her abnormal teal coloring. She believes her name is Melody?

Dialga's concern grew as she examined the bruises and cuts all across her body. Several cuts with coloring that indicated poisoning.

Despite that, and the pain she was clearly in, her expression was fiercely determined.

“Ah. Piplup. This is unexpected.” Melody looked up at her with wide eyes. “Why have you sought me out?”

The two stared at each other for a moment. Melody's expression slowly narrowed into intense anger. She swung the explorer's bag around to her front, pulled out a journal and grunted as she put her entire body into throwing it at her. The journal weakly landed on the ground in front of the legend.

In between heavily panting from the exertion, she snarled. “Read it.”

Dialga blinked in shock. Lightly recoiling her head. Then narrowing her eyes and looking down at the mortal.

“Your involvement in bringing me to my senses does not give you permission to treat me with such disresp-”

“I DON'T CARE!” Melody shrieked, interrupting the legend. She pointed a flipper at her. “You owe me Dialga! You have to do me a favor, and what I want is this! Now READ IT!!”

The two glared at each other for several moments. Her anger grew as a memory she didn't know she had, returned.

Dialga briefly considered bringing divine punishment down on this mortal for acting like she could command her like some mindless beast. Just like that thing had already done once before.

Dialga sighed. She does indeed owe this mortal. Disrespect and commanding aside, she would still be that mindless creature if it wasn't for her.

Dialga lifted the journal with Psychic. It would be unbecoming of Dialga to punish her whilst in a state of such intense emotion. She'll do what she asks and then give her a warning in no uncertain terms to never do what she just did again.

Dialga began to read. The first few pages contain a message to Melody, from herself. Begging her to not forget what is in this journal. And to ‘please believe that it's true.’

Dialga then quickly read through the rest of the journal. Almost every entry had to do with Sunny. The human-turned-Eevee that had been with Melody for the journey that they took to unfreeze the future.

A few entries had to do with Grovyle and Celebi. One particularly negative one had to do with Dusknoir betraying them. But every page mentioned Sunny at least once, even if the entry wasn't about her.

Dialga closed the journal and set it on the ground next to Melody. She continued to angrily stare at Dialga.

“That was touching, but I fail to see why you wanted me to read this.”

Melody's gaze fell to the ground. Her head hung low.

“Was it real?” She weakly asked. Barely louder than a whisper.

Dialga flinched. “What?” She asked.

Tears began to well in Melody's eyes.

“Was it real? Did any of that happen?” She breathlessly asked. She gave a sob and tears started streaming down her face.

Dialga's expression softened as she continued. “Nobody remembers any of that. It's like none of them ever existed.” She weakly cried out.

“I-I know the journal Says-h-h that it was, a-and that it's in my h-h-h-handwriting.” She hyperventilated. Dialga's eyes were wide, and her brows furrowed.

“B-h-h, But I don't kn-know anymore.” She sobbed a few more times. “I don't h- even rem-remember what she l-h-h-looked like.”

Melody fell backwards and sat on the ground. Sobbing for several moments before looking up at Dialga.

“P-please just tell me.” She pleaded. “D-did she e-exist? D-did h-h-h- a-any of th-that happen?”

Dialga stared at her for several seconds and then nodded. Melody's eyes widened.

“Yes. She did. All of them did.” Melody sputtered and sobbed some more. “Sunny did exist. Both of you helped save the world. As did Grovyle, Celebi and Dusknoir.”

Melody stared at her with wide eyes. Then shut them tight and sobbed.

“Th-thank Arceus.” She muttered. Then she sputtered and sobbed some more. She fell onto her side and curled up. Loudly sobbing.

Dialga could feel tears of her own stinging in her eyes. The first time she'd felt any for eons.

She watched the child cry for several minutes. An aching in Dialga's chest slowly rose the longer this went on.

Eventually, Melody's crying slowed. Then stopped with a heavy sigh. Tears still ran down her face as she sat upright and picked up the journal. Holding it in her flippers and stared at it for several seconds. Slowly rubbing the top of it.

Eventually, she put the journal in her bag and stood up. She turned and heavily walked back towards the way she came.

“Where are you going?” Dialga asked.

Melody stopped, and then sighed. “I just. I needed to know if she was real.” She muttered. “I needed to know that I wasn't going crazy. Thanks Dialga.”

Dialga narrowed her eyes. “I can simply open a passage to take you back to your home. I will not allow you to be further injured.”

Melody turned her head in surprise. “You would do that?” She gasped.

Dialga nodded. She then focused her power and a passage of time opened to the side of Melody, her jumping a bit in surprise.

“you are too injured to make the trek back on your own.” She said, trying her best to keep her voice sounding neutral.

“...Okay…Thanks.” Melody quietly said. She then stepped into the passage. It closed after she disappeared.

Dialga stood there for a few minutes. Just pondering the things that had happened.

She attempted to go back to meditating. But her mind constantly wandered back to Melody.

‘You have to do me a favor, and what I want is this!’

Dialga couldn't let the phrase rest. It replayed in her mind over and over.

Did she… Did she want Sunny back?

Dialga killed the idea of meditating and pondered.

The intense relief and sorrow that she had displayed was bringing Dialga to her own tears.

If she had asked Dialga to bring her back, if there was nobody to bring back, what would she have thought? What would she have done? Melody wanted to know if they were real.

Dialga shut her eyes. A tear escaping and fleeing down her face. She began to look through other timelines. Pondering what actions she could take.

And what of Grovyle, Dusknoir and Celebi? They gave their lives for hers.

And what about everyone else in that future that had been alive before being given a chance to live?

Dialga took a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself to do something she had never done before.

I just saw this and I’m so glad that I did. I got Litten hero + Dedenne partner… there’s something there with litten being a sleepy/grumpy cat and dedenne being a mouse that’s an uncontainable ball of energy. I might have to follow up on this there’s just too much potential here

hELP I'M SEEING EVERYONE'S TEAMS FROM THAT WHEEL POST AND NOW I DESPERATELY WANT TO DRAW THEM ALL

SOME OF THESE DUOS ARE ADORABLE AND OTHERS ARE ABSOLUTE COMEDIC DYNAMITE

HOLY HECK MY DUDES

Everyone go look at this!

I made some wild assumptions about some of the amazing teams I’ve been seeing in my notes after reblogging this amazing post and drew a handful of them! If anyone would like me to untag them, just let me know :>

@lordofdragos’s exeggcute and pineco (which I originally planned to draw with an evolved exeggcute dropping pineco onto the heads of their enemies from 30 feet in the air like the lil guy’s a hecking nuke):

@moxx-n-angel’s bombirdier and smoliv:

@stingraywipe’s litten and dedenne:

@gehtsis’s wurmple and magby:

@spoop-dee-boop’s scraggy and torkoal:

@fujii-draws’s chatot and teddiursa:

@demifiendcruithne’s galarian corsola and fletchling:

@driftingballoons’s jangmo-o and skrelp:

Empathy

A fic about the Riolu post from yesterday. Had a lot of fun with this one, so thinking about a part 2. Let me know if you want it! (Fic under the cut!)

The final light of day was leeching from the sky, taking it's warmth with it, and Charizard savoured that last feeling of heat on her scales. Reaching for the sky, she flew higher and higher, chasing the sun, but it slipped from her grasp, and with a peaceful smile, she stopped flapping her mighty wings, and fell.

The wind rushed by her, the flame on her tail flaring, and slowly, she twisted, opened her wings and caught the breeze, gliding down towards their log cabin, high in the mountains.

The garden was coming along nicely, but the weeds kept creeping in. She'd have to flambe the soil and strip away all the excess moisture. It was a good thing she'd picked up those new seeds today.

The seeds! Oh, Sarah, you-

Her eyes growing wide, she breezed in to land, quickly rifling through the satchel slung over her shoulder. Thankfully, it was all still there, though his present was a little smooshed after her stunt. Muttering under her breath, Sarah tried to mould it back into shape, but with limited success.

Deciding it was good enough, she stomped up the front steps and threw the door open. "I'm home!" Met with only resounding silence, she peered down the hall, and wandered into the kitchen. "Blue, you here?"

"Hello."

Sarah jumped, smacking her head on the roof and stumbling into the countertop as she landed awkwardly. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, are you alright?" Blue's expression was carefully neutral and she knew he was only asking to be polite.

She snorted, if only he'd laughed at her fright, that would've been better than this apparent indifference. That said, one of these day he was going to give her a heart attack, then he really wouldn't be laughing.

"'M fine,' she grumbled, rubbing her head and glaring at the rafters. "We need to raise the roof. It was fine when I was a Charmeleon but this is just getting ridiculous."

"I'll get started on it tomorrow."

Raising her brows, she looked the Riolu up and down. "I'm not sure you're really equipped for the job."

"Okay, you can do it, and I'll get to work on some bigger furniture." He jumped onto a stool, and the extra height meant his eyeline was level with the base of her neck, as if accentuating his point.

"Please, I'm really sick of the chairs giving way under me." She poked at her round belly, her wings drooping.

His head tilting, Blue pointed at satchel still hanging from her shoulder. "Did you get the blankets?"

"The blankets?" Her face clearing, she dropped her head into her hands. "The blankets!"

Blue nodded patiently, as if completely unsurprised. "You know, the sole thing you went to town for."

"Hey, that wasn't the only reason!"

Blue merely rose his brows in an unspoken question.

Her face flushing, Sarah dug into the satchel, pulling out his gift and sliding it across the countertop. "I also went to get this."

Slowly, Blue took it, turning it over in his hands. "It's a Glaceon plushie?"

The tail was a different colour from the rest of it, the crystal on it's head was lopsided and one of the ears was missing. The stuffing had been pushed forwards, so it had a massive head and spindly legs, but it was indeed a Glaceon plushie.

She crossed her arms, puffed her chest and, raising her head, tried, and failed, to keep the smile from her face. "Yep! Just like the one you had as a kid, remember, you told me?"

"You remembered?"

"Of course! So, what do you think?"

Glancing at the monstrosity in his hands, Blue nodded and placed it aside. "It's very sweet, thank you. Getting back on topic, did you purposely forget the blankets so I'd have to sleep next to you to keep warm?"

Her face fell and her arms dropped limply to her sides. "Seriously?"

Blue shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past you."

Muttering under her breath, Sarah stormed from the house, slamming the door shut behind her. Blue's head tilted as he watched her through the window, disappearing amongst the trees. Eventually, he shrugged and began working on dinner, occasionally glancing at the deformed Glaceon, smiling at him from where it sat abandoned.

As the night dragged on, and stars appeared in the sky, Blue waited, sitting at the table with a steaming bowl of stew before him. By the time Sarah returned, the meal was cold and she silently reheated it. They ate together, only exchanging a few words, before promptly going to bed.

Once upon a time, they'd had two small nests, now she barely fit in the one large one. So, after she'd climbed onto the bed of moss and soft grass, Blue jumped in, curling against her side. She laid her tail over his chest and partially covered him with a wing. There, his eyes closed and mind quiet, head resting against her side, he could hear her heartbeat; it was his favourite sound.

It was his own little cocoon, and he'd never felt so safe. Well, apart from when they'd first met. Even now he remembered it clearly, despite, or perhaps because of, how miserable it had been.

He'd woken up in this strange world, in a new body, with nothing but amnesia, and an aching sense of loss. Cautiously, he'd wandered into town, scared and amazed by everything around him. Then, as someone bumped into him, it all came crashing down.

With that first contact he'd felt something strange, a flash of colour and a trickle of emotions that weren't his. Curiously, he reached for the light, and grabbed it, but it slipped through his fingers and poured outwards. In an instant, he'd been able to feel it all, the townsfolk's every emotion. Happiness, love, excitement, loneliness, anxiety, grief.

He'd dropped to his knees, clutching at his head and screaming brokenly. It was as if he'd been dropped into the ocean's depths, endless black on every side, the pressure was crushing him. Please, please, make it stop.

That was when she appeared, a little Charmander, swinging her tail with reckless abandon, she slammed him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

When he came to, they were in the forest, and it was quiet. Sarah was sitting nearby, a mix of concern and guilt clear on her face. She went to apologise, but he felt it before she could get the words out.

He started sobbing, and she hovered just out of reach, her arms waving frantically. Eventually, she settled for sitting beside him, rubbing his back. Feeling her concern and warmth, Blue had cried until he had nothing left, until he was empty. She became the only person he could touch, and they retreated to the mountains. After that, he never reached for the light again, but at night, curled against her side, he thought he could feel just a piece of it. In the rough edge of her scales, in the warmth of her tail, in the beat of her heart, he could know a fragment of everything he was missing out on.

So, he couldn't help but frown when Sarah groaned and pulled herself from the nest.

"Follow me, now," she demanded, voice thick with sleep.

Blue whined, but did as he was told, following her out into the cold night. The mountain air raced through his fur, sending shivers down his spine, and the stars sparkled radiantly in the heavens above.

She lowered herself and gestured with her head. "Climb on."

Fiddling with his hands, Blue took a half-step back. "Why?"

"If I drop you I'll never hear the end of it. This way, it's not totally my fault."

"Yeah, that's a really poor reason to-ugh!"

Rolling her eyes, Sarah snatched his shoulders, pulled him close and launched into the air. Beating her mighty wings, she climbed higher into the air, catching a gale and riding it upwards. Blue wanted to scream but settled for latching onto her arms, eyes shut tight.

Sarah yelled over the roar of the wind, "do you trust me?"

"Absolutely not!"

She smirked. "Wrong answer."

Gripping him tighter, she spun, dove, and rose, her tail tracing their path through the sky.

His ears pinned back, Blue screamed, "thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"

Laughing to herself, Sarah pulled him away from her chest and flew a loop-de-loop, dropping him in the roll and catching him on her back when she was right way up again.

Blue yelped and wrapped his arms around her neck, his quiet whimpers torn away by the wind.

Sarah levelled out and glided above the mountain range, unable to keep the smile from her face."I'm not landing till you open your eyes."

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!"

"And it will continue until you open your eyes!"

Gripping her neck tighter, Blue slowly opened his eyes and immediately shut them again. The mountains raced by far below, their tree covered slopes bathed in moonlight.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Look up, dummy."

Turning his gaze to the heavens, Blue opened his eyes once more, and it took his breath away. Above them, countless stars shimmered, an ocean of jewels against a sea of black.

"It's... beautiful."

"Duh," Sarah said, chuckling. "I could stay up here forever, but I could never reach the stars. Though, if they reached out their hand, I would take it in an instant."

Leaning over, Blue glanced around, and couldn't help but notice the starlight glinting off her amber eyes, and she smiled back at him.

"If they could hear me, I would tell them, that they don't have to be afraid. That they don't have to keep hiding. They could come down from the sky, and I would hold them close, and listen to it all. Even if their spark faded, I would still love them."

There, amidst that sprawling sky, with all those glittering stars, there was only one piece of light Blue cared about. Closing his eyes, he reached out, and grabbed it. In that instant, it was like seeing her for the first time, all over again. She was filled with laughter, and worry, but there was something new as well, something that hadn't been there before.

Instantly, tears sprung to his eyes and Blue began to bawl, his cries seeping out into the night like ghostly howls. He could never have imagined he was so loved.