Once Is Enough

Part 11

"Hey, awesome, kit!" Zoar beamed proudly. "You were lightning fast! I couldn't even match up to you!" This wasn't a lie, and he knew it. Something in his body made him slower. Something in his mind...

"...So... This is your home?" he interrupted his own thoughts. Avian bobbed his head.

"Sure is! Come on, let me show you around!" He took Zoar by the front paw and began tugging him along. "Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Zoar couldn't help but chuckle, taking back some of what he thought earlier: he was sill young. He was still a child. At least he still had some pureness left in him.

Avian ended up showing Zoar every single nook and cranny of his home-sweet-cave. Where he slept, his parents, where he stored his stolen berries from his mother's gatherings. All the while, he didn't look or feel the slightest bit remorseful for them. He enjoyed talking about the locations, and Zoar kept him going on and on about his favorites spots such as the field where his father and him played catch on every full moon to keep him off track from his tragedy.

When the sun began to reach its highest point, Avian's excitement almost piqued as he urged the Luxury into the forest. He showed him all of his mother's favorite trees and plants and what they meant to her as she did to him long before. Zoar pointed out most of the berries he knew from heart and helped Avian pick some for lunch. As they got back, they enjoyed a peaceful berry picnic near a pile of freshly touched dirt, but Zoar didn't seem to notice they were there. He just focused on spending time with Avian.

He was overly worried about the poor boy's emotions if and when they reached his home ever since the whole thing began. It worsened when Avian confessed of his parents' fate, but it relieved him to see Avian smiling brightly as usual with his optimistic attitude firing up his way, it was almost contagious. It was something about Avian that Zoar absolutely wished for in a companion. Maybe it was his determination? His compassion? His acceptance? Whatever it was, he thought, he was glad the pup had it.
____________________________
Zoar washed himself underneath the shade of the cave and let Avian wander off nearby. He could still see him in his radius of sight as he shuffled around all over the place to find something to entertain himself with. The Luxray looked down to concentrate on cleaning his left paw of any residue.

One thing he had never liked in his pack was their overall sanitation. Of course they tried to keep themselves in decent hygiene, but none of the Pokemon ever bothered to wash themselves after a long hunt. It bothered Zoar with the horrid stench and appearance from his peers, the smell of old blood and meat wafting around them like a perfume.

It was disgusting to him, even now.

Every chance he got, Zoar would sit himself down and clean the dirt off his fur from head to toe, making sure not to miss any spot. His packmates often jeered about it behind him, but he didn't mind, that was how he was looked upon anyways.

The Luxray centered his attention on Avian once again. He saw that he was sitting crossed-legged, looking at something with deep thought. His back was slouched as he stared blankly with his eyes, now reflecting a honey color in the sun.

On closer inspection, Zoar noticed that the pup was sitting in front of the catch field that he and his father held so dear.

He remembered what Avian had once said,

"My parents just promised they'd play catch with me when I get home..."

Heavy with a languor presence, he gasped and felt his heart sulk. He couldn't possibly imagine how much arduous pain must have been going through Avian as he was seated there, completely void of the joy he had before. With patience, Zoar let himself brainstorm for a while, until he had an idea.

Avian suddenly heard the rustling of grass behind him, and footsteps walk away to the side. He was too tired to look, in fact, he was too tired for anything at the moment. The snapping of twigs didn't even lift him from his trance. It was probably Zoar anyways, hunting for food.

He shut his eyes softly.

...

That was when something gently tapped him on his outstretched leg.

Awakening and turning to see what it was, he found a familiar tumbleweed of sticks and grass woven with vines and bunched together into a decently-sized ball. He was subtly stunned for a moment, and picked it up soon after he regained his concentration. When he looked behind him, Zoar stood with a benevolent smile across his face, one that brought back melancholic memories.

"How about a game of catch, Ave?" he asked.

Avian's eyes and heart filled with warmth, and his lips shakily curved to match Zoar's.

"...Okay!"
____________________________ Words couldn't describe how happy the two felt. They played for hours, tossing the makeshift ball back and forth, enjoying every single second. It was almost like heaven to them, honest bliss that felt pure and true.

They could finally get rid of those harrowing memories, even if it were for only a short amount of time in their entire lives. Hopelessness began to slip away from their subconsciousness, their feeling of meaninglessness found a new purpose.

Their reason to die, at long last... Felt weaker than their struggles to live.

It was an unforgettable moment between two Pokemon.

Two friends.

A new family.

They felt as if they were finally at peace.

Finally... "Home" again.

With one another, they knew they were truly accepted by the other.

Truly loved.

At long, long last...

They were happy.

The sun was slowly covered.

Clouds of black and dark gray began eating away at the daylight. It was almost as if nighttime had already fallen by the time they covered the sky.

The air smelled thick and moist with powerful electricity paralyzing the air.

Low rumbles of thunder began to echo through the trees and the wind began to pick up slightly as to shake them of their precious leaves.

His ears suddenly perked up.

Zoar heard something.

Growls.

Familiar growls.

...Something was wrong.