Cynthia x Reader: A Journey of Two

Chapter 9: Sudden Hiking Trip, Part 2

"Heh. I appreciate the offer, I really do, but it's not something I can say all willy-nilly. Maybe some other time, Cynthia. Let's get a move on for now. We have a Spear Pillar for you to see and fawn over, don't we?"

"Hngh, again with the teasing... But you're right. I'm gonna pack our things up, and let me guide the way again! I can't let you handhold me all the time, it'd be embarrassing if anyone knows about it. And besides, we can't get lost again when we know what went sideways yesterday, right?"

"..."

"Right?"

Wrong. The gang spends about two hours figuring out how to climb higher up the mountain from the inside, with Cynthia at the lead. For better or worse. Togepi tired out pretty early, so he went back inside his Pokeball for the time being, and honestly, you can't blame him. The amount of rocks and steep climbs ate away slowly and agonizingly at both your shoes and your feet, risking more injuries than necessary. Even more so for Ralts, who could barely walk a few feet before getting dirt and pebbles lodged onto her legs. You offer to put her on top of your head or inside your backpack, but she refuses thanks to her horn sensing that you're tired, too. Sometimes you wish she didn't have that ability.

Does she know about your Cynthia dilemma? Before you could finish that thought, Gabite and Pupitar broke down the path below you, racing each other to see who could eat more dirt before stopping. At least they're having fun. Their rumbling and shaking reverberates throughout the entire cave system, prompting some Zubat to latch on to Pupitar. It got its teeth stuck on one of his spikes, and now it can't let go. Getting a good chuckle from that display, you turn to see Cynthia, whose soul looks like it's about to quit after getting just a little bit closer to Spear Pillar.

"You alright there? Maybe I should take over navigation duty for a while. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm fine. Really, I am. It's just this dumb map! No matter how I look at it, this is definitely not how the path is shaped. There's gotta be something wrong with it."

You walk up next to her and pay close attention to the map, grabbing it close to her. Weird, the E on the drawn compass is placed on the left... Oh. So that's what it is. You can't help but chuckle as you carefully turn the map in Cynthia's hands until the E is facing, well, eastward. She groans exhaustedly and continues to lead the way, with you making sure that she holds the map right. Fortunately, the rest of the trip has no other issues, though you did run into some slightly tougher wild Pokemon on the way, which Gabite and Pupitar made quick work of. The more you walk up this mountain with Cynthia, the more you start to think: what are the Creation Trio, really? Are they supposed to be real at all? Scratching your head, you turn to ask her, and see that she's trying to take a shortcut on a steep rock.

"Hey, Cynthia? I want to ask you about something. Can you get back down for a second?"

" Ah! Just a little higher... What's the matter, [Y/N]?"

"I want to hear more about the 'Creation Trio' you mentioned yesterday. And honestly, I'm still a bit skeptical about the-"

Before you could finish, her eyes glimmer in excitement, rapidly rushing down the rocky slope without a second thought to tell you about myths, and perhaps try to convince you that they're real. But the rocks decide that today is their sick day, and crumbles into pebbles, causing her to fall freely on the way down. This is bad. You sprint towards her and reach out your arms, only being able to hope for the best.

"Oomph! [Y/N]? The rocks broke down when I tried to step on them! And then you caught-?"

"Well, I couldn't think of anything else; that was a pretty close call. But I'm glad you seem okay. You are, right?"

"W-well. Yeah. I'm fine. T-thanks... You wanted to know more about the Creation Trio, right?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing. Nevermind. Just take the safer routes next time, alright? Spear Pillar isn't going anywhere. "

"I guess you have a point."

Another bout of silence between you two. But it's definitely not caused by a disagreement.

"Could you p-put me down now? This is kind of embarrassing... I mean, if you don't mind."

"Right. Sorry about that."

You let Cynthia step down from your arms, brushing off some dirt off her gear while avoiding eye contact with you. To add to the awkward silence, you can see Gabite and Pupitar watching everything that happened. They both have a smug expression taped to their faces, but you have no idea how Pupitar pulled that one off. Ralts stares at you curiously, sensing your strong emotions with her horn. The one silver lining is that Togepi didn't see. You hope the journey to the top won't be much longer.

For both your and Cynthia's sake.