Laura's cabin was quaint, it was made of wooden logs, and had a few rooms. Most of the rooms had worn-out beds in them, probably for those who are stuck on the mountain. Sam and I put our stuff inside the first room and then decided to look around.
My leg was still hurting, but I could limp fairly well around the cabin. The trick was to not put too much pressure on it. Laura had also put some sort of medicine on it and bandaged it up. She said it would feel better in a few days.
Sam and I explored the cabin. Like I said, it was pretty small and old fashioned, with wooden floorboards and old furniture. There were glass panes, rugs, you name it! I was just surprised that I could actually read the names of the books on the bookshelf now!
There wasn't much else to look at, so I hobbled back over to Laura to ask what kind of things she does and to check on Rou.
"I mostly read books and meditate. Sometimes I go outside to practice my moves also." She said.
"Right... what do you read?" I asked reluctantly. I had never been a big reader, but I didn't want to go outside and practice moves with my leg, and I wasn't sure about meditation.
"Really anything. There's a lot of books over on the bookshelf, in the other room" she said, gesturing over to the doorway of the room. "and I've pretty much read them all."
Rou was still resting, so I hobbled back to the other room and looked at the bookshelf. History books, psychology books, books about sports, fantasy, art... you name it. It was all really boring, so I eventually found some paper and decided to teach Sam some of those paper and pencil games I probably learned in middle school. He really likes Tic-tac-toe.
Eventually we had some dinner (some sort of delicious stew), and went to bed. Rou woke up the next morning, so we told him what had happened, got all packed up and ready to go, and started back up onto the trail.
Before we left, Laura also made sure we were well-equipped with berries and more snow gear. She had some snow hats to keep our heads warm, and also made sure we knew the dangers of frostbite and things. Some of it actually sounded familiar to me. She also made sure we knew how to pace ourselves so we wouldn't get too worn out on the way to the top. I get the feeling she tells this to all the Pokémon that get lost.
We started hiking again and this time, Laura was in the lead. She brought us up another path and we only had to camp once. Sam asked her if there was another rescue request, who would get it, and she said that she lived with many Absol, and they would take care of it. I still didn't know what Absol looked like, but I presumed it was the kind of Pokémon in the cabin's pictures- white, dog-like Pokémon who had what looked like a metallic scythe coming off the side of their heads, curving upwards. Not as scary as it sounds though. You'd have to see them.
Anyway, Laura led the way up the mountain, and we hiked for the rest of the day. We then stopped a little ways down from the peak for the night. We would definitely get there tomorrow, before noon even!
"Hey Eva?" Rou asked me while I was unpacking my sleeping bag. "Could I talk with you?"
I looked over at Sam and Laura, talking and making dinner. "Uhh, sure?"
Rou looked back at me. "I don't want Sam to hear."
I finished rolling out my bag and then we went over to a snow-covered tree log and sat down (there were way more trees this high up). "What's up?" I asked.
"It's just, I don't understand why Sam saved me. I mean, I know you guys are friends, but Sam doesn't like me, right?"
This was harder to talk about than I thought. "Rou, the thing with Sam is that he wants to be friends with everyone. Why else would he do what he did if he didn't think you two could be friends?"
Rou thought for a minute. I took the silence as an opportunity to drive the point farther.
"Remember how we were thinking about the difference between dealing with criticism and caring for each other? Well, if we are sensitive to each other's feelings, I think we'll be able to communicate and know if we need to back off or if we've gone too far. What do you think?"
"Yeah." Rou replied, still quiet. "So how do I be more sensitive, but not give in to excuses? How do I tell him when he needs to be less wimpy?"
"Well, I guess you guys just need to talk? Maybe talking to each other and developing an understanding is the first step here?"
"Yeah.. I think you're right." He said. "I'm gonna go talk to him right now!" Rou started marching over to Sam and Laura. I followed behind, hoping that this was the right play.
"Sam! We need to talk!" Rou said proudly, standing in front of him. "We are going to get along now!"
"Uh! W-what?!!" Sam replied nervously. He seemed uncomfortable with Rou's sudden demands.
"Yeah, I know you need to be more strong and I need to understand you better, so let's communicate!" Rou said triumphantly.
"Woah woah woah, let's pause for a sec!" Laura interrupted. "What are we trying to do here?"
"I'm trying to talk to Sam so that we don't have to argue anymore." Rou said.
"Well, that's not the best way to do it. Why don't we start by taking inventory of the situation?"
"Inventory?" I asked.
"It's a way to solve problems between two Pokémon without arguing." She said. "Here, both of you sit down and face each other."
Sam and Rou both sat down by the fire, faced towards each other and looking back at Laura. I sat down on a rock nearby to watch this.
"Now, this is a safe place. Nothing that we say here is going to offend each other- this inventory is just for helping us sort out our problems with each other in a productive way, agreed?"
"Agreed." Rou said.
"Agreed." Said Sam.
"Good. Now while Sam is talking, nobody else talks. I will be here to mediate and ask questions. Sam, when Rou came over here and started talking, how did that make you feel?"
"It made me feel scared." Sam replied.
"Why did it make you feel scared?"
"Because it looked like Rou was going to shout at me or something. It was like he was gonna force me to... do something I guess."
"Alright." Laura continued. "Now it's Rou's turn. Rou, when you came over here, what were you trying to do?"
"Well, I was talking with Eva about getting a better relationship with Sam," Rou said. "and she said maybe we should communicate. So I came over to talk."
"Why do you want a better relationship with Sam?"
"Because... well, because he saved me. Even though I've been rude to him. Eva said that he wants to be friends with everyone, and I guess I feel that I haven't given him that chance?"
"Alright. So you wanted to talk with Sam to have a better relationship with him, but in doing so, you actually frightened him a bit. He felt you were demanding that he be friends with you. Is that correct, Sam?"
"Ye-yeah."
"So what can we do to communicate better?"
"Uh, we can... maybe ask the other Pokémon if they want to do something first, instead of demanding or assuming they want to?"
"Does that sound good to you, Rou?"
"Yeah. I didn't mean to sound demanding. I'm sorry Sam." Rou said towards Sam.
"It's alright. I'm just glad we got that cleared up." Sam replied, looking like he was feeling better with this.
"Are we good then? Are you two okay if we call it a night on this inventory?" Laura asked.
"Yeah, thanks." Rou said.
"Thanks!" Sam replied.
"Good, because the food's almost done."
Laura and Sam had prepared some sort of vegetable-soup looking meal. I didn't think that a kid's cartoon would have vegetables, but then again, this was real, and we had Popeye anyway.
It tasted fantastic, but what really surprised me was that Rou and Sam hadn't argued! That, and how Laura knew just what to do and it worked! I watched her as she simply ate her food, how did she do that?!
After the meal, while Sam and Rou were setting out their sleeping bags and getting ready for bed, I decided to ask Laura. "How did you do that with Sam and Rou? How did you learn that?"
"I used to resolve fights a lot more back home." Laura said while unpacking her bag. "My Ma and Pa taught me how. Us Lucario are supposed to bring peace and resolve conflicts between others. It's what we do."
"Wow... so there are more like you? Where did you come from?"
"My family's from a little place called Luca's village. It was home to the first Lucario we know of. There aren't too many Lucario left though, so it's rare to find us unless you know where to look."
"Woah... I'm gonna have to learn a thing or two from you... would you be willing to teach me some stuff?"
"Sure, if we have time. Maybe I could teach you a few things while on the way to the peak tomorrow morning."
"I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!" I replied.
And as we settled into our sleeping bags for the night, I couldn't help feeling a bit excited for tomorrow. I mean, I might finally find out what I was here for, and how I might be able to get my memories back! Maybe if I'm lucky, how to even go home! I have to stay calm though, 'cause I need to sleep.
I just can't wait!!!