Painted Ghouls

Chapter 26

WARNING: violence

Eyes fluttering open, Athena released a yawn, propping herself up in a seated position. The sun had been sitting above the horizon for quite some time now, by the look of it. The sky was a light blue, indicating that it was still morning. A small number of fluffy clouds appeared to be racing across the sky at a medium speed, but there seemed to be no sign of a storm. A chilling wind roamed through the area, causing her feathers to ruffle out slightly, before she immediately smoothed them down.

Placing her left claws onto Brendan's cap, which laid beside her, she groggily looked over towards her right. Lucas was gone. Most likely to eat, or to simply roam about the broken city. Or maybe even both. Emitting a muffled groan, the Combusken lifted herself to her feet, dusting herself off. Holding onto her trainer's cap with her claws, she raked her vision over the surrounding premises.

The two had chosen to sleep under a giant piece of metal that jutted out from a heap of burnt furniture. Although it wasn't the most comfortable spot, it certainly was better than sleeping out in the open. Chances were, Lucas would want to make this their permanent sleeping spot. Or, rather, permanent until they decide to leave Mauville City whenever the spring came. Winter in Hoenn was known to be short, but it never ends too quickly.

With a little hop to her step, the fire-and-fighting type began to mindlessly saunter about, unsure of what to do. For the past few days there had been no Pokémon to battle, and it wasn't like she could walk over to Damien to play with him. Damien. The name of the Marshtomp rang in her mind, accompanied with a longing feeling. Where was he now? Was he doing alright? It had been a long time since the two had last seen each other- surely by now he would be alright? Hopefully.

Blinking, the young fowl Pokémon found that her feet had started towards the berry pile while she was lost in thought. Truthfully, she didn't mind that. Now that she thought about it, she could hear her stomach growl. She was hungry, and the last time she did eat was last night. Fiddling with the accessory she held, she recalled how Lucas apologized for his rude words and beliefs the night before. She was surprised by that moment, needless to say. She had never thought that he would apologize for himself, possibly risking his pride being lowered.

He was rude to her when they first met. He had said some pretty hurtful things, and by the way he said them and shown his facial expressions, he truly meant what he said. However, he had changed over time. He stopped his cruel insults, and he stopped bashing the female for her lack of battling skills. And he apologized. Sure, he didn't really compliment her much, and he most likely never will, but still. He had proved that he wasn't as cruel as she thought he was.

Pausing, Athena brought her vision upwards, noticing that she had reached the berry pile. Setting Brendan's cap down onto the tile, she reached over to move the charred piece of wood that blocked the hole to the berry pile. Once the material slammed itself against the tile, she reached forward with one arm, her claws scraping against the berries. Suddenly, a blast of water hit her side, knocking her onto the floor. With a loud gasp, she hopped to her feet, swaying back and forth as she snapped her gaze onto the attacker.

The creature was something she had never seen before. It was a bipedal Pokémon, with four white and red-tipped feathery spikes protruding off of its back. The rest body was a bluish gray, containing claws that were nothing but sharp and deadly. A crooked, malicious smile was plastered onto its face. A long scar ran across its tan and blue armor-like belly, indicating that this Pokémon had been in serious fights prior to this moment. The thick tail that belonged to this creature lashed side to side, also laced with a few scars. Possibly the most horrifying attachment to this creature was the black goo that seeped out of its mouth. It was a ghoul.