WARNING: graphic violence
Shifting around, Athena would welcome the warmth the cap provided, taking a few moments to relax. Eventually, she shook her head, lifting the cap onto her. Blinking away any leftover tears, she would try to analyze the dream. Never before had something like that happened to her. She missed Zeke and Zachary dearly, but she never got a dream like that from them. Why? Were they ashamed of her? Did Brendan just want to cheer her on?
Sniffing, the fire type would flinch as a dark shadow loomed over her, and she slowly turned her head around to gaze up at Lucas. His eyes were narrowed, and were complimented by a frown laced on his lips. His eyelids were drooping just a tad, signaling that he possibly didn't have a good sleep. The expression wasn't exactly a surprise to the tiny chick Pokémon, except for maybe the tired look he held. Dropping a few berries by her side, the dragon-and-psychic type would release a grunt.
"You cried like a newborn last night," he grouchily mumbled, flapping his wings slowly as he gazed back at the entrance of the cave. "Hurry up and eat." Lowering her head, the Torchic would oblige to his orders, eating the berries as quick as she could. Gulping them down, she lifted herself to her feet, her eyes flickering down to the stone floor.
"Are we training today?" she softly asked, blinking her eyes. Please say no. A part of her was hoping that he'd simply shake his head to her question, but another part of her already knew the answer to said question.
"Of course," the dragon-and-psychic grumbled in response, glaring back down at her. "You need to train." Studying her up and down, he would quickly add, "You're weak. I don't care how much you hate training; if you take one step into the wild by yourself, you'll be killed instantly."
Athena nodded her head silently. As much as she hated to admit, he was absolutely right. She wouldn't be capable of defending herself when no one was around. That had been proven multiple times by the battles she was tossed in the days before. Despite that, she still wasn't happy about training to become a fighter.
With another mighty flap of his jet-like wings, the male would float out of the cave, not bothering to look back to see if the Torchic was following. Either way, she was, though her movements were just a tad slower than what he wanted. Finally taking the time to glance back at her, the dragon-and-psychic type would snort, eyes narrowing into slits.
"Hurry up," he growled, gritting his teeth slowly. Adding a hop to her step, Athena hurried after the eon Pokémon, not wanting to anger him any further. Once she caught up, he curtly nodded his head, looking around.
"The berry stack in the cave is running low," he flatly mused, his amber irises taking over the surrounding premises as he continued flying forwards. The female cocked her head. Berry stack? She hadn't seen a pile of berries in the cave at all. Maybe he kept it hidden? "That means I have to go get more." Stopping by a tree stump, he would release a sigh. The fire type stopped beside him, gazing up at him expectantly. "You kept me up a good portion of the night."
Athena blinked, bringing her vision down to get a good gander of the land that surrounded them. The two had traveled to a portion of the forest she had never been in, so basically all of it was unfamiliar. Quite a ways in front of them laid a few yellow flowers that slowly swayed in the small breeze that wafted through the air. A duo of Wurmples sat by those flowers, drinking nectar from their centers.
"Go fight those two Wurmples," Lucas ordered, nodding towards them as he glared down at the fire type. "They better be dead when I come back." Picking up the female, he would scoot forward before throwing her into a pile of flowers. With that, the dragon-and-psychic type rocketed back toward where they came from, before taking a sharp turn to his left and disappearing from sight.
Landing with a squeak, Athena quickly scrambled to her feet, staring at the two Wurmples with wide eyes. Didn't Lucas mention how she would die on her own in the wild? Why was he leaving her alone to fight not one, but two Wurmples? Did he not realize her inability to even fire a single successful ember?
The two bug types glanced nonchalantly toward the tiny chick Pokémon's direction, before turning their heads to continue sucking up the nectar. Releasing a sigh of relief, she would flap her wings idly, unsure of what to do now. Clearly the two Pokémon in front of her do not want to battle; if they did, they would've attacked her by now. Before she could make a single step, however, the two Pokémon left the flowers and slithered off.
What do I do now? Athena mentally questioned, idly taking a single step forward. It's not like she could go chase after the Wurmples. Plus, she would rather not fight them in the first place. Heaving a sigh, she simply began to saunter around, deciding to explore the land around her. There seemed to be no other Pokémon nearby; the area around her was completely silent except for a babbling creek.
Pausing in front of the creek, the fire type leaned forward, noticing a few berry bushes across the thin stretch of water. Just by seeing the red berries that clung to the branches of the shrubbery made her stomach rumble with anticipation. Bringing her gaze down, she mentally noted how the stream was small enough for her to simply jump across, despite how puny her legs were. Crouching down, the Torchic shook her hindquarters before jumping over the water, making it to the other side of the creek.
With a proud feeling rising inside of her, she walked over towards the berries, staring at them as a thundering noise came from her stomach. They were cheri berries- she could tell by their distinguishable shape and red color. Lapping up one of the berries, she would close her eyes, a contempt feeling sprouting inside of her as she swallowed it down. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until just now. After finishing the berries, the chick Pokémon began to walk away, until a gray figure jumped in front of her. With swift movements, it sent her flying with a leaf blade.
Landing roughly in front of the stream, Athena strained open her eyes to peer at the figure that attacked her. It was a brawny, gray Sceptile. His eyes were a sharp yellow, and black goo was sprayed all around his body, some parts dappled with a bit of blood. Blood roared in her slits as she stared at it, in shock of how identical its appearance was to the Sharpedo and Milotic that attacked her brother and father. Quickly, the Torchic staggered to her feet, blood pouring down her face as she tried to scurry away.
But the fire type was too slow, for the Sceptile already advanced on her, knocking her into the water. Instantly, she attempted to lift her head out of the liquid, but the grass type immediately smashed her face into it, using a single hand to hold down her face, and the other to hold down her rear. It was trying to drown her. The chick Pokémon attempted to screech out for help, but the only noise she could let out was a small gurgle as she watched goo float down into the water, like blood slowly dripping from a wound. Struggling now, she felt weaker and more faint as the moments ticked by, and soon she felt her body give up.
Suddenly, the force that held her was lifted away, and Athena's frail body immediately bobbed to the surface. Gasping for breath, she darted her vision upwards to see a familiar Latios slashing at the forest Pokémon with what appeared to be dragon claw. The Sceptile screeched loudly, attempting to slash open Lucas' face with x-scissor. However, he was much faster, moving away just in time, letting the creature only graze the tip of his left wing.
Prepping up yet another dragon claw, the dragon-and-psychic type slashed at the Sceptile's neck, ripping it open. Blood sprayed onto both the Latios and the Sceptile, staining them both. The grass type gagged before collapsing onto the grassy floor. The metallic tang of blood wafted through the air as the eon dragon silently floated over to Athena, who had managed to climb onto shore.
Staring at the bloody corpse of the Pokémon, the female gagged at the sight. The black goo that was plastered all over him seeped out of the wounds and eye sockets, mingling with the blood that accompanied it. Eventually, the goo slithered into the holes of the dirt. "W-What-"
"Why were you out here?" the Latios interrupted, his eyes narrowing into tiny, disgusted slits. "You could've been killed." The tiny chick Pokémon hesitated, her beady eyes widening. Emitting a sigh, the male shook his head slowly. "Can you walk?"
Heaving herself onto her feet, Athena attempted to take a shaky step forward, before falling onto her stomach with a small squeak. Another sigh escaped from Lucas' lips.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, bending down to scoop up the female. Before he flew off to the cave, he stopped beside the stream to also pick up Brendan's wet cap, dropping it onto the already drenched chick Pokémon. After that, he flew straight to the cave.
Eyes fluttering open, Athena would release a moan, cringing as she realized how wet her feathers were. As she shuffled around uncomfortably, she felt a few berries roll by her feet. Attempting to prop herself up, she felt her stomach lurch, releasing a bout of coughs. Straining her vision upward, the fire type saw Lucas watching her, all of the blood that was on him earlier now cleaned off.
"It's nighttime," Lucas stated matter-of-factly, motioning his head to the entrance of the cave. "Eat the berries and go back to sleep." With little hesitation, the female obliged, lapping up the berries. Once she was finished, she rested her head down onto the cold stone floor, shuddering slightly.
However, images of the bloody Sceptile corpse were still lodged in her mind. Over and over did his death scene play in her mind, almost tauntingly. "L-Lucas?" Athena stammered, opening her eyes slowly to stare at the Latios. "What was wrong with that Sceptile?"
Lucas would hesitate, then emit a large groan, shaking his head. "I'll tell you tomorrow," he half-heartedly promised, floating over to the Torchic. "Just try to sleep."
"But I can't," the chick Pokémon would quickly protest, flapping her drenched wings. "That Sceptile was.. was.." She was cut off as the dragon-and-psychic type lifted Brendan's cap, and silently rested it on top of her. Despite it still being wet, she felt a little more relaxed when it covered a good portion of her body.
"Sleep!" Lucas angrily snapped, resting on his side slowly. Reaching out with his claws, he would push the female away from him, giving her and himself more room. She simply snorted, wincing slightly as her hindquarters scraped against the stone floor. Lowering her cranium, she reluctantly closed her eyes, allowing a blanket of sleep to draft itself over her.