Chapter 60: Necessary Skills
We flew for about half an hour, though we passed Mauville several times considering flying was such a fast means of travel. Salamence was eager to stay in the sky as long as possible. As peaceful as it was, Dawn and I grew cold from the icy wind and, despite Salamence's warm skin against our legs, we soon couldn't stand the cold.
He started descending towards the lit up city. I gave him directions to the Pokemon Center, where he landed quite gracefully considering it was his first true landing. Still, I had to catch Piplup who began tumbling off the side. Dawn slid off Salamence's back first and I followed suit.
"I'm hungry," Dawn announced.
I nodded, feeling very shaky now that all the adrenaline produced from today's events was gone. I really hadn't eaten much since the night before. "Let's drop our Pokemon off at the front desk and go eat. There's always something to make in the kitchen."
I took out Salamence's Poke Ball, turning towards him, somehow not at all surprised that such a wimpy Bagon could turn into a beast capable of anything. Salamence lowered his head so that his eyes were right in front of me.
We did it, I heard him say with his toothy smile.
I touched his forehead with my hand, unable to think of words to show him my gratitude for everything he'd done for me. The moment seemed to last forever as we stared at each other. Eventually I removed my hand and he disappeared into his Poke Ball.
Dawn and I headed inside. A Chansey was watching the front desk and we gave her our Poke Balls. She handed us two keys with a tag that read "Room 4" on both of them. We thanked her and headed to the kitchen where we both opened boxes of cereal and fruit, not caring that it was probably 3:00 in the morning.
We both ate ravenously. I'd never seen Dawn eat so quickly but, yet again, neither of us were used to going without food. I pulled out some orange juice from the fridge, Dawn's favorite, and some water.
I sighed as I finished about three glasses, my stomach finally feeling full. Still bruised, but at least nourished.
I stared at Dawn who was still picking at some cereal. She had dirt covering her arms and face. I'm sure I didn't really look any better.
"I'm going to take a shower," I said, standing up.
Dawn looked up at me. "Ok. I am too in a minute. I'll meet you in the room?"
"Yeah." I nodded, noticing she looked kind of flustered.
I walked away, my mind really too tired to think about anything else besides getting clean and going to sleep. I went into one of the multiple bathrooms with my backpack, pulling out my extra set of clothes and peeling off the layer that was stuck to me with sweat before stepping into the shower, rinsing off the layers of grime that had accumulated over the past day.
It was an automatic process and, before I knew it, I was drying off and redressing. I walked down the hallway to our room, pulling out my key and unlocking the door, pushing it open roughly. Dawn wasn't in the room yet.
The room was nicely furnished. There were multiple bunk beds. I immediately threw myself onto the closest bottom bunk, chucking my bag next to it and opting to take off my shirt. I hadn't really studied my body in the shower, but now I could see my chest bruising from the multiple hits I'd taken today.
I sighed contently as my head hit the pillow, my body sinking into the soft mattress that couldn't possibly be more comfortable.
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that the lights had been turned off. I didn't know how long ago I'd fallen asleep. It'd been an accident. I'd meant to wait for Dawn. The second thing I noticed was a soft click noise that sounded like a door closing. My eyes focused groggily on the door where I saw a shadow move. Dawn.
I watched as she quietly made her way over to where I was, reminding me of the night after her Contest where she'd sat on me. I could remember her blush, the fear in her eyes, the way she didn't want to leave me- only now I understood that I felt the same way about her. It felt like such a long time ago, yet really not much time had passed at all.
Her form moved until she was hovering above me. I stared up at her curiously, knowing it was too dark for her to see my expression or even know I was awake. I could tell she was dressed in more than a towel this time. She sat down slowly on the bed, letting out a sigh.
"Are you going to sit on me again?" I whispered.
I felt her jump slightly, but her tone was steady. "Nah."
I waited for her to speak again.
"Paul?" Her voice seemed small and scared.
"Yeah?"
I felt her unease, and then she slapped the mattress. "I'm tired of asking you for permission. Scoot over."
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow, not that she could see.
"I said scoot over." Her voice was more demanding this time.
Dumbfounded, I did, and she laid down facing me. I could see her face better and could see she was staring at me as if daring me to retort.
I smiled lightly. "This is different."
"Gonna threaten to kill me in my sleep again?" Dawn's defensive tone made my smile widen.
"I've decided to let you live."
I felt her foot kick mine gently. "Such a gentleman."
"You're the only one who thinks so," I said quietly.
She yawned.
If I'd been more awake, I would have been questioning her decision to sleep in the same bed as me. She was wearing clothes, so the obvious intention was easily thrown out.
Sleep shut down my brain and I felt myself drifting.
"Paul?" Dawn whispered.
"Mmm?" My eyes were closed.
"Thanks for saving me."
"Always," I whispered, my reply feeling a bit off, yet absolutely true, in my drunk-like sleeping state. I fell asleep, leaving the world of reality far behind.
My sleep was dreamless and exactly what I'd needed. When I woke up I felt refreshed and, even better, I felt Dawn's skin against mine. The smell of Pecha berries was strong and I took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent that had become associated with the girl who was sharing the bed with me.
We were under the covers, the warmth of each other making me drowsy again as I refused to move. It felt nice to be here with Dawn, to be on a soft bed. She was safe from Team Magma, right here, my arm wrapped around her.
When had that happened?
I opened my eyes and studied our positions. Dawn's back was against me, her body fitting perfectly against mine, My right arm was under the pillow, which was shifted diagonally so that she could use it as well considering her head was level with my chest. My left arm was around her upper stomach and I could feel her breathing slowly.
It felt nice. Really nice.
Was I still dreaming? Ever since Dawn had wormed her way into my life, things had seemed chaotic. Tense. Upside down. In some ways good, in some ways bad. I'd become a different person and so had she. We'd changed each other and there was something between us that I would never have thought was possible.
So had I been dreaming this all up? Really, if someone had told me that I'd even agree to travel around with Dawn a couple months ago, I would have scoffed at them and how stupid they were for bringing such a dim, naïve, impossible theory of theirs to my attention and wasting my time. Now I felt the opposite. She wasn't a waste of time at all. Not a waste of space, not a nuisance, not just some girl who had an annoying repetitive catch phrase that never shut up.
Dawn was a unique, selfless, gentle, caring soul that was patient enough with me to help me understand that there was more to life than Pokemon training and had taught me that it really was possible to form bonds with people without them pulling away.
And so here we were- Dawn and I, sleeping in the same bed without any further intentions than actual REM and company last night. Regardless, it was a closeness I'd never shared with a person before and an experience I soon wouldn't forget despite my unconsciousness during the entire ordeal.
I ended up getting lost in my own thoughts as I memorized what it felt like to touch her this way, trying only to analyze it from a scientific perspective and failing. She really was a piece of work. No wonder she charmed her way into everyone else's lives.
I smiled. Charming her way into my life seemed to me like a much nicer way than saying she'd wormed her parasitic self into my daily routine. Things really had changed.
Dawn stirred. Her left hand came down to touch my own, which was still wrapped around her stomach, and I heard her sigh as her fingers intertwined into my own as she attempted to adjust her body so it was even closer to mine.
Speechless, I wasn't sure if I should say something. It was getting late, but...
No, I said to myself firmly. Today is not about training. It's a day just to be. Right now I'm mastering the necessary skills.
I closed my eyes and nestled my head closer to Dawn's. My lips became buried in the locks of her hair, tickling pleasantly. I sank back to sleep, not wanting to wake up.
Hey Readers!
So, what do you think about this chapter? Progress enough for you? Probably not for most of you :P Be sure to vote and comment if you liked the chapter!
Wow, I don't have much else to say. I'm not sure when the next update on First Light will be, but within the next two Fridays (if you haven't noticed, I update on Fridays).
Pokemon Question of the Day: If you were a Pokemon, would you rather be a Wild Pokemon, one owned by a Trainer, a Coordinator, or just some lazy person that never made you do anything but gave you free food? I mean, there are way more options than that, so feel free to be imaginative.
Thanks again for reading! Have an awesome day.
-Flips