The throne room of Lord Shingen's castle was grand and spacious, with gilded walls and large, hanging tapestries depicting a rearing gold Raikou on a red backdrop. The lord himself, sometimes called the Raikou of Kai in human form, was seated on his throne as he gestured for his two vassals to rise from their kneeling positions before him.
"Yukimura," Shingen addressed one of them. "I believe we've covered all the necessary matters concerning our journey to the embassy. Go make certain the caravan is ready to depart. We leave at once!"
Yukimura in turn stood and made a hasty salute before running off as he was bid. As the remaining vassal, Steven stood up slower, feeling an odd, disorienting feeling as he did.
"Are you unwell, Steven?" Shingen wanted to know as he got up from his throne to approach; the concern on his imposing face was somewhat disconcerting. "As you know, this embassy is immensely important in unifying the clans. I can't have my... only available scholar sick on the job."
"Ah, no I'm fine, thank you for your concern," Steven answered, mostly truthful. His mind felt unusually sluggish, as if he were submerged in water and his thoughts and memories were like fish that he had to try and grope for. "I'm just, still reeling from the news yesterday... And the fact that Cynthia won't be going with us."
"Ah yes, the news!" Shingen barked with raucous laughter as he gave Steven a hefty pat on the back. "I believe some congratulations are in order! Although a proper celebration will have to wait until we get back."
Steven cleared his throat objectively, both jarred by the pat and abashed by the comment. "Yes, well, that's assuming Her Radiance even lets me out of her sight after we get back." He smiled mischievously at the nickname his wife was widely known for and had to fight the urge to join in with Shingen's chuckling.
The lord's laughter was abruptly cut off as his gaze caught on someone by the entrance. "Speaking of... I'll just leave you alone to say goodbye." Shingen nodded to Cynthia as he crossed to make his exit. "Your Radiance."
"Your Lordship," Cynthia returned with a respectful nod of her own; she had long since given up on discouraging the nickname. "I wish you safe travels to the embassy."
"Indeed!" Shingen replied enthusiastically, giving his chest a proud thump. "I'll have your husband home before the new moon!"
"I'll hold you to that," Cynthia warned in her no-nonsense tone, causing Shingen to offer a rare, wincing expression before making a hasty exit.
Steven didn't need to meet his wife's gaze to know she was in a sour mood; he could feel the electrical tension in the air, as if she were the Raikou with a thundercloud instead of Shingen.
"I don't like this," Cynthia told him as she approached and halted directly in front of him. "We haven't been truly separated since we got here."
"I know. And I don't like it either," Steven agreed as he tenderly touched her visible cheek. "But this is our job now. Besides, we chose scholar work to avoid the more... hazardous occupations, so it's not like I'll be on the front-lines if the caravan is attacked."
Cynthia lowered her gaze with a frown. "I still don't see why I can't go with you."
"Oh, but I think you do," Steven replied and leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers endearingly. "This isn't the safe, modern world we used to know. Here, just traveling in your... state could prove disastrous."
"My state," Cynthia nearly spat, but immediately calmed herself with a defeated sigh as she leaned against him indulgently. "I wish I'd never told you."
"If you remember correctly, you didn't tell me," Steven corrected with a strained wince as he gently touched her slightly distended stomach. "I just happened to notice."
"Well it's not my fault I didn't have any symptoms." The woman pulled back to look away sheepishly. "And it's not like I was purposefully hiding it. I just... wasn't sure."
Steven smirked, amused with her futile ploy at innocence. "Admit it, you just didn't want to get banned from traveling."
"I don't need to hear that from you," Cynthia all but snapped; clearly not appreciating his humor. "Let's see how well you do under house arrest for nine months?"
Steven cringed, realizing his mistake. They were both nomadic by nature, which meant staying in one place for so long was practically torture. "That was thoughtless of me, I'm sorry." He leaned in again and placed an apologetic kiss to the bridge of her nose. "The last thing I want is for you to be mad at me before I leave for two weeks."
Cynthia sighed again. "No, I don't want that either." She offered a strained smile before pinning him with a stern look. "But you better come back unharmed, or else."
Steven didn't need to hear any of her implied threats when he could imagine them well enough; her ire was not to be trifled with, Lord or otherwise. "Yes, well, you can count on that, I'll have Gar looking out for me, after all."
As if saying her name had summoned her, Garchomp entered the room with the other three trailing behind her. She bore a saddle while Skarmory was equipped with supply packs.
"If I can't go with you, then sending Gar to protect you is the next best thing," Cynthia added and gave her dragon a pat. "She's also more mobile and can fly you out of danger if needed... No offense, Aggron."
The metal beast whined plaintively in response but his expression conveyed that he understood the sense in her words."That's perfect though," Steven replied with a proud smile. "There is no better stationary guardian than him." He turned and touched Aggron's head. "You'll protect her for me while I'm gone,won't you?"
The steel behemoth affirmed with a low rumble before he and Garchomp exchanged a terse conversation, as if to say, You take care of my master and I'll take care of yours.
The human pair smiled warmly as they watched their four Pokémon say their goodbyes, only for their attention to shoot towards the entrance at the sound of footsteps. "Sorry to interrupt, but Lord Shingen says it's time to go!" Yukimura announced hastily and disappeared again, before he became the subject of Cynthia's wrath.
"No." Cynthia's voice was nearly a whimper as she latched onto him in a desperate, final embrace. "What if-" she started to say, but the words seemed to get caught in her throat. What if the worst should happen?
Steven smiled again, despite his own anguish at having to leave her behind. He returned her embrace and nuzzled into her hair before speaking soothingly just above her ear. "Nothing that exists in this world could keep me from coming back to you."
"I know what exists in this world," Cynthia whispered back bitterly. "And how unreasonable a promiset hat is."
"Ah, but you also know how unreasonably determined I can be when I set my mind on something."
He felt her lips curve into a smile against his neck. "I do."
/o/o/o/
Steven woke up to such a delirious dilemma that he seriously thought he was still dreaming. It was still nighttime, with only the light of the moon seeping through the tent fabric.
He had the nagging sense that he had been dreaming, but he couldn't remember what he had dreamed and it was beyond frustrating because it felt like such an important one.
Lying on his back as his senses gradually became more aware of things, he noticed a familiar (though still strange) mist hanging in the air; the Munna's doing, no doubt.
Cynthia had insisted that the babies be allowed to sleep in the tent to stay warm. They were tiny and didn't take up much space huddled together near the tent flaps, making it easy for Garchomp to simply poke her head inside to tend to them if needed. The problem was their unchecked and unaware dream mist antics.
It was impossible to see the color of the mist in the darkness, but for an instant he thought he seen an image projected there, one where he and Cynthia were sharing a warm embrace...
In the instant the image vanished he was suddenly aware of the woman in question and her entirely improper proximity, as well as the arm she had wrapped around his waist. Before he could even begin to piece together what was going on, he was instantly indignant with himself; why wasn't this the first thing he had noticed?
Looking over sidelong, he could see that she was lying on her side, with her other arm wedged between them, her hand almost cupped over her face as if she were subconsciously trying to block out the moonlight.
Briefly, he wondered if he was still dreaming. Three things convinced him that he wasn't.
Firstly, in response to her warm body huddled so close to him, his heart was thundering in his chest far too much for him to still be asleep. Secondly, her unique scent mixed with lavender was not a detail he expected to notice in a dream. Thirdly, her wedged arm was pressing against his injured one, which caused it to ache uncomfortably; a confirmation of reality if ever there was one.
The sharp pain was really the only downside to the whole situation.
Then he started to contemplate all the possible outcomes and realized that, although she had unconsciously moved into his space, she was no doubt going to wake up disoriented and probably a little humiliated.
He continued to contemplate his limited options for a long, surreal moment as he listened to her quiet breaths, with only her hand and a few inches between her mouth and his ear.
A dark, childish corner of his mind considered confronting her smugly about it, but his softer, more caring side immediately stepped in with an alternative solution. Although deception was never his first choice, this particular predicament had him conclude that it was probably best to let her think she got away with her unconscious slip-up unnoticed.
He closed his eyes and feigned sleep as he gave her a quick, light nudge to wake her up. With a sharp breath, Cynthia came to with a bit of a jolt, then instantly froze as she apparently assessed her questionable situation.
Although Steven couldn't see her as he tried to emulate rhythmic, sleeping breaths, he almost felt like he could see her reaction. As if she were afraid to wake him by making any further movements, she slowly pulled her arm away from his waist and likewise slowly retreated to her own sleeping space.
He waited another moment, allowing her to come to terms with the matter before turning towards her in his "sleep" in a ploy at "waking" up. Upon blinking "awake" he could see her vaguely staring up at her own dream vision in the mist but it was too blurry from his perspective and he couldn't make it out himself.
"Cynthia?" he spoke gently but still managed to startle her with another sharp breath. He chose to ignore her jitters by addressing a different matter. "Did you have a strange dream too?"
She hesitated, and although the poor lighting limited eye contact, she deliberately looked away. "...Yes."
Steven sat up and asked Garchomp to poke her head in through the tent flaps and light the lantern that had been included with Aya's gifts. "Do you remember anything about it? I can barely remember anything in mine."
Cynthia sat up as well, though oddly, she had one hand clutching her stomach, making him wonder if she was feeling sick for some reason. "No," she finally answered. She still seemed determined not to look his way. "I don't remember much at all."
"I see," Steven murmured dismally, wishing he could reassure her somehow. Her nerves were clearly frazzled and she was closing herself off more than ever. "I was just curious if the Munnas had connected our dreams again..." Oddly, a sense of déjà vu passed over him and he was moved to ask, "was Lord Shingen in your dream?"
It took her a few seconds to process the question but she finally turned her surprised gaze to meet his. "I- I think so." With the flickering light of the lantern, it was easy to see her expression gradually become more distressed, while her voice turned almost accusatory. "How much more do you remember?"
Steven blinked back at her, bewildered. "It's really foggy, so I only just remember he was there." He paused, unsure if he should mention that final embrace, but ultimately decided not to. "I recall feeling sad for some reason... I think you were upset as well."
Frowning in response, she pinned him with a serious stare. "Nothing else?"
"No..," he replied, drawing out the syllable cautiously as he noticed she was still clutching her stomach. "Are you feeling sick? I'd ask if it was something you ate, but we've been eating the same things..."
"I-I'm fine!" she snapped defensively and snatched her hand away as if she hadn't even been aware of her own actions. She laid back down with a huff and turned away from him without another word; whatever had upset her was clearly tormenting her on a severe level.
Sighing in resignation, Steven blew out the lantern and followed her example. He hoped whatever mental turmoil she was dealing with would be resolved by morning and idly wondered just how much worse matters would have been had he not feigned sleep.
Probably best not to think about it. He gave the sleeping, oblivious Munnas a threatening glare. No more crazy dreams!... I mean it!
/o/o/
/o/o/o/ Bonus Scene:
Togekiss: "Does anyone else remember that dream?"
Garchomp, Aggron, Skarmory: "..."
Togekiss: "I'm betting another ten berries that it comes true."
Aggron: "Wait, which part?"
Togekiss: (blinks blankly) "Please don't make me explain it to you."
Aggron: (Grumbles) "Hmm..."
Skarmory: (Pipes up) "I'll take the bet."
Garchomp: (Sulks and mumbles) I'm more than just a transport you know...