Painted Ghouls

Chapter 32

It had felt like an eternity of never-ending blackness before Athena emitted a soft groan, her eyes fluttering open slowly. She was in a different setting than before, with no sign of any creatures around her. Placing her left claws on her cranium, the Blaziken heaved herself upwards, propping her body upright as she rubbed her head nonchalantly. How long was I asleep? she pondered, scanning the surrounding premises.

The blaze Pokémon was in a rather dark and gloomy forest- the canopy above was rich in leaves, so not much light managed to pass to the forest floor. A few berry trees and bushes alike were nearby her, yet they were picked bare. Heaving a hefty sigh, she would continue to rub her head, a sudden hunger blanketing over her. Heaving herself to her feet, the female silently wobbled around before regaining her composure.

Where am I..? the fire-and-fighting type would ponder, blinking her optics rapidly. Am I near that one place? Or far away from it? With a snort, the Blaziken would glance up at the canopy of trees. It was hard to tell whether it was day or night, due to the leaves blocking out most of the sky, and little to no wind existed in the woods. A few Taillow could be heard from a distance, albeit no other sign of life seemed to be showing.

Taking a tentative step, Athena would blink her eyes drowsily as she flexed her claws, looking around for Brendan's cap. Noticing it almost immediately, she would bend down to pick it up, scooping it off of the floor with her claws. Dusting off the knit, she rapidly froze as a few bushes nearby rustled with sound. Gently setting down the hat, the blaze Pokémon shifted into a battle stance as she awaited for something to pop out of the bushes.

After a few moments of silence, a slim Swampert came crashing out of the shrubbery, sending leaves and grains of dirt flying. Landing roughly onto the forest floor, the Pokémon emitted a groan as he rubbed his head, before swiveling his black pupils onto the Blaziken. "You're awake!" he gasped, hopping with excitement before sitting down, his whole frame still trembling.

For a few moments Athena would remain in her fighting position, before slightly relaxing as she noticed a familiar scar on the Swampert's lips. "Damien?" she asked, her tone more optimistic than she expected it to be. The water-and-ground type happily nodded, excitement clearly rippling all over his frame as he shook his tail-like fin in the air. The blaze Pokémon chuckled lightly as she reached down and picked up her former trainer's cap once more. For some reason, she didn't feel much joy in being reunited with her friend. "How long was I passed out?"

Damien suddenly paused, a calculating look forming onto his features. He would then casually shrug, pupils drifting off toward his right. "I don't know," he stated, blinking his orange eyes as he tried to contain his obvious excitement. "It's been a while!" The Swampert motioned over toward his right, his voice gradually growing more and more excited. "I found you knocked out, and some of your feathers were this gray color! So, I dragged you here!"

Athena felt her free claws clench tightly as the male mentioned her feathers. Vivid memories of what the Rayquaza had done to her crashed inside of her brain. Damien must've noticed her sudden mood change, for he silently stepped away from the female, cocking his head at an acute angle. He seemed more curious than worried. For a few moments the silence would stretch on, before the Swampert heaved himself onto his two hind legs. Batting at the air like a tiny Skitty, the male fixated his attention onto whatever was behind his companion.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing behind the Blaziken with widened eyes, his mouth gaping open. Whirling around, she allowed scorching hot flames to envelop around her wrists as she glared at the scenery behind her. There was nothing dangerous- let alone notable- there. Unless a bunch of foliage were to be counted as life-threatening.