The morning sun awakens, bringing with it an orange and purple-tinted shore on the western coast of Canalave City. But the endless freezing blizzards of Mt. Coronet continue to rage on, with only herds of Mamoswine and Abomasnow plowing through endless amounts of sheer white snow. The caves underneath hold deep, branching caves that sprawl endlessly, sheltering both hikers and swarms of Zubat, and cold water will occasionally drip down onto whoever is below its frost-covered icicles.
Square on your forehead. The feeling sends a chill down your spine, forcing you to instantly spring up straight. What time is it? You still can't see anything. Unable to get a feel of your surroundings, you breathe out an audible yawn and lie back down on the sleeping bag. Too fatigued from the aches on your back, you push everything out of your mind and hug your Furret pillow. It smells better and warmer than usual. You give its hair a good ruffle and it... hugs you back?
"...-say this, [Y/N]... I love being with you. More than anyone else."
"Uh. C-Cynthia?"
She slowly opens her eyes, and was briefly confused before realising who she was unconsciously wrapping her arms around. She quickly pulls back and scurries over to the other side of the tent, still struggling to see you, and pretty much anything else around her. She yawns and rubs her eyes, before turning red as a tomato once she clears up her vision.
"[Y/N]!? What are you doing? And what am I doing? I feel really sleepy. What time is it right now?"
"Just breathe for a second, you can ask me the questions later. I was just sleeping, nothing to worry about."
"But why- *yawn* were we...?"
She stares at you for an answer, but all you can do is break it, to which she turns silent, feeling a little too energised to go back to sleep. You two end up agreeing to sit outside to cool down a little bit. While you're getting comfortable with snacking on a rock, Cynthia decides to stretch and take in the fresh air around.
"You know, I think we can reach Spear Pillar today. Yesterday might have been a flop, but I'm sure we can manage on the second, don't you think?"
She's probably asking you a serious question, but her enthusiasm is too adorable for you to actually think about it.
"Sure."
"On a separate note, did you hear? There's gonna be a huge festival in Alola later this year. I bought a ticket already, since they say they may be visited by the Pokemon incarnations of the sun and moon! Isn't that exciting to think about?"
"... Yeah. Any chance it might just be a marketing thing?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. I mean, we have The Creation Trio here in Sinnoh, so I don't think it's a scam or anything."
"I guess you're right. You'll be going alone, the-"
Cynthia interrupts you with a drowsy breath, leaning in closer to you. Feeling a bit sleepy yourself, you decide to let her do what she wants.
"Yeah, I think so. As much as I want to take you with me, I don't think I'll be able to. My parents wouldn't know, and my grandparents are, well. They're them."
"Lots of people are gonna feel lonely here without you, y'know. I know I will. Are Gabite and Togepi coming along?"
"Well, yeah. I can't just leave them with my grandparents, they wouldn't know what to do. Don't worry about me! I'll be just fine while I'm travelling; I'll have to get used to it if I want to be an archaeologist, after all."
"That's not exactly what I'm worried about."
"Hm? Then why the long face, [Y/N]? You can share it with me, if you'd like. I'll keep my lips sealed, though I can't guarantee the same if Gabite hears about it."
"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.