Jay Wolfe
The next morning was awful to put it simply. My wounds, which I had been glad had gone unnoticed by my parents, felt stiff when I woke up and I had nearly collapsed when I started walking. Curse used her heal bell upon noticing and the pain soon faded, allowing me to move normally as I finished getting ready before meeting the others in the front of the Pokémon Center, though only Freya and Soren were currently out there. Ivan joined us shortly after while dragging Josef behind him.
"Ready?" Freya asked as she started walking. "Come on, let's go before they think we aren't stopping by."
I followed behind them, the dull throbbing pain slowing me slightly as I walked, and I could tell Soren noticed the small change in my walking pace. I refused to look at him, if I did that he would question me... he could question me anyway- probably would. Curse brushed against the side of my leg as if to emphasize and I crouched down to pick her up, letting her sit in her normal place on my shoulder. The extra weight wasn't comfortable with my bruises but I wasn't going to give anyone a reason to ask if I was 'okay'.
"Jay, Jay, look!" Freya shouted a few minutes after walking in silence- still tired from waking up so early- and I followed her finger to see smoke rising just outside of Iceshore... right in the area my house would be in.
"Let's go." I picked up the pace to a run, the others following suit soon after.
The flames were already consuming the buildings beyond the point of saving when we reached my home. Firefighters and their water type pokémon had managed to tame the fire but it was too late to salvage most things- if any. We stayed back as the fire slowly died out and injured pokémon were taken to the Pokémon Center, though I didn't see my parents... not until the very last embers were gone and most of the people had started to leave. Their burned bodies were loaded into a medical truck and taken off to Iceshore's morgue, the only way I even recognized them as my parents was the fact it was their house.
"Jay?" I felt a nudge on my arm and hesitated before turning to look at Soren. "I'm... I'm sorry you lost them."
I looked back at the burned out ashes, the buildings looked like rotting skeletons of some large pokémon. Without speaking I started walking towards them, careful not to be noticed by the remaining police and medics as they left. I went over to the barn, as it was the least burned down, and made my way inside. I could hear the others following behind me but none actually caught up to say anything. I wasn't sure what I was doing in here, I wouldn't find anything, I should just leave before the building broke in or something.
Curse stiffened suddenly before jumping down, her ears perked up in what I first thought was alarm, before dashing off to the back of the building where the newer cement wall had withheld most of the fire. I followed after her until she came to a stop in front of a stall.
She turned to look at me. "Eon...!"
I moved closer to take a look at what she'd found: a dead lycanrock lying on her side- well I took it to be a her considering the two babies curled up against her stomach fur. They didn't seem too burned, which could be due to their rock typing, but they were still dead. Probably trapped or sleeping when the smoke killed them. The two rockruffs didn't even look like they'd hatched from an egg that long ago, perhaps even this morning.
"Come on Curse, there's nothing to do about that." I turned away before wincing as Curse swatted her paw at me, obviously making sure to hit a bruise. "Ow, what?"
"Umber." She turned back and walked closer before nudging the rockruffs.
I was glad the others had spread out in their own examinations of both the house and the barn so they couldn't see me crouch down and wrongfully think I was crying, though I could tell Soren was keeping an eye on me from the other side of the barn even if he was pretending not to.
"They're dead." I repeated dully.
Curse ignored me and prodded the small shapes harder, eventually dragging them away with her teeth by the rocks on their scruffs. I jumped momentarily as a quiet whimper filled the silence. I continued watching them again and slowly the two brown furry forms started moving, slowly stretching out as the cold air got to them and they searched for a source of warmth. I wasn't sure if their mother had managed to save them or if it had just been luck that they survived while burrowing in her side. Either way, at least they hadn't been met with the cruel fate of suffocation.
I shifted my bag off my shoulder and opened it, quickly rearranging some of the items inside to take out two pokéballs and setting them aside. I couldn't stay here to care for them until they were old enough to go out into the wild and I didn't want to drop them off at the Pokémon Center with the rest of the wounded pokémon from here... it seemed wrong. Sure, they would all be given to good trainers, released into the wild, or sent to the professors and other breeders to live out their days but I couldn't find it in me to give these two up to that fate. I picked up the smallest one first and felt the rockruff wriggle even more in my grip before settling down as I placed it in my lap as I examined him for any injuries. I moved on to his brother a few minutes later and after I was satisfied they weren't in any danger of dying I tapped both of them on the head with the pokéballs I had taken out.
"Eon?" Curse nudged me again a few minutes later and I glanced up, quickly turning away from her as I registered the footsteps walking towards me.
Soren knelt down beside me, worry in his gaze. "Hey, you okay? I mean... I guess not... but, um, do you want to talk about it or something? I'm here if you need me."
I shook my head and attached the pokéballs to my belt with the other ones before standing up. A flash of anger burned through me as I took in the scene again before dying out, there wasn't anything I could do about this. It happened. They were dead. My home was gone along with anything I could've returned to if becoming champion didn't work out.
Soren's arms wrapped around me, gently pulling me close to him in a secure embrace, which made me shudder slightly. I hadn't realized how cold it had been until now and I returned his hug numbly as he continued trying to comfort me. "Jay, I wish I could do something to help you. I would do anything to make you feel better, do you know that?"
I wanted to respond but couldn't get the words out and only managed to tighten my grip on his jacket as I finally started crying. It was embarrassing really, crying on Soren's shoulder when I had been so strong before. I was acting so weak now yet I couldn't stop and he didn't seem to mind as he stroked my hair and rubbed his hand on my back in an attempt to soothe me, though, it could've been to comfort himself as well. Eventually I sighed and stopped crying but stayed close to Soren as he slowly sat us down on the ground. The others hadn't shown up yet from what I was aware of and I was relieved they couldn't see me like this... the less people who saw me in a messed up state like this the better.
He gave a long exhale and I felt his head against my shoulders as he got comfortable, finally speaking again as well. "Jay, please, say something."
I was silent for a few more second before rasping out a short response, my voice muffled by his neck and from crying. "Sorry... I'm... I'm fine."
"Don't lie." He pulled back slightly so I was forced to look at him... I probably looked terrible- or at least not how I wanted him to see me. "Jay, I love you... I want to help you but I need you to talk to me."
I felt him tense as he realized what he'd said and I thought about just ignoring his plea and that comment but knew it would worry him even more. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's just a shock... I'll get over it. People die, they would've died eventually anyway."
"You loved them and they were killed. Don't try acting like you could care less. I know you do, it's obvious." He was still anxious for my reaction, I could tell despite the concern for the situation in his voice.
"It couldn't have been an accident." I muttered, closing my eyes after the effort to keep them open failed. "I'll kill whoever did this."
Soren didn't respond, though I didn't think he liked what I said. If it was who I thought did this, and I'm pretty sure he was thinking the same people, then it would be dangerous to try getting revenge. Especially after what happening on Howling Pass. A smaller body curled up against me and I could guess Curse had started feeling left out and unable to do her own job at making me feel better, the thought of her being jealous did make me smile a bit and glance at her before closing my eyes again. As long as I kept them closed I couldn't see what was around me... I wouldn't cry. I just had to steel myself against this. No more weakness, I had to prove I was still strong... not some emotional child. I had wanted to leave this place, this shouldn't matter to me, no matter how much I loved my parents...
"I shouldn't have come back. It's my fault Valhalla found this place. I might as well have started the fire myself..."