Peri back at it again, and this chapter we get our first Pokémon!
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The full moon hung high in the sky as I blasted across the sand, illuminating everything below in an eerie pale light while the stars painted a glowing tapestry above. Shadow clad sand dunes rose like mountains to the left of me, large outcroppings of stone peaking through to hint at the formations hidden beneath, as I navigated through increasingly rocky terrain. It was still desert, but at least something other than sand.
It had also gotten really fucking cold.
My hands shivered as I struggled to hold the throttle down. I had swaddled them in the overly long sleeves of my ill-gotten jacket, but between the thin fabric and decreased dexterity, it might have been more trouble than it was worth. A spare shirt was wrapped around the lower part of my face like a scarf against the shering winds, yet my ears had gone numb almost as soon as I took off, and my eyes were so narrow and tear-filled that I was navigating purely from silhouettes.
And I had no idea where the fuck I was. I'd hauled ass earlier before I had the time to consult a map, which wasn't ideal. Hopefully I was going in the general direction of civilization, but I would have to pull over to make sure. And to warm up. And sleep. Despite my earlier troubles, my eyelids were drooping as I swayed in the saddle. I'd fought it as much as possible, hoping to get as far away from the scene of my crime as possible, but I couldn't go on.
Which led me to stand in front of the cliff, staring at a pitch black hole in an outcropping that could only be a cave.
I sighed.
It was a stupid idea. Even on earth, walking into random caves in the wilderness was dumb. In the Pokémon world, where literally every single animal was capable of killing you? It went from dumb, to so far past braindead it was actually kinda impressive.
It was also, some-fucking-how, probably my best bet.
If everything was dangerous, camping in the open, in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere desert, became psychotic. At least there was only one way shit could come from in a cave, rather than a 360 murder zone.
So there was really no choice other than to grip my stolen flashlight tight, nut up, head inside.
The entrance to the cave sloped upwards rather steeply, leaving the upper part free of sand, if traitorous to traverse. I took my time finding my footing as I slowly crawled up with the large backpack trying to throw off my balance. I was nearly at the top when a rock gave away under me and I landed knee first on the stone.
"Fffffuuuuunnnnnggghhhh", a choked curse managed to escape my lips despite my best efforts to stay silent. I'd slid halfway down the slope before I came to a halt and quickly shone the flashlight to the top of the letch, on the lookout for anything I'd alerted. Zubat, in particular. The little fuckers hung out in caves in massive groups, if my metaknowledge was to be believed. One carnivorous flying rat was bad enough, but a swarm could fuck right off.
Nothing. Which was good. That had been a loud fall and if nothing had come to investigate, there was probably nothing at all.
The return climb was even slower than the first time, partly because of even more caution and because my knee throbbed with pain. The coarse ground had ripped a hole in my pants and there were some minor abrasions, yet it was less than I would've thought. Even the pain dulled almost immediately.
I finally crested the top and got a look at my temporary home. The cavern was sixty-something feet wide and around a third of that high. Stalagmites and stalactites rose and fell in random patterns at the sides, at times meeting and creating a cage of rock formations. The back of the grotto extended into the blackness, the light-cone of the flashlight broken by the mineral deposits. All I could see was half-shadowed spikes, boulders, two small circles that reflected the light, and the natural twists and turns of the-
-I widened my eyes in realization at the same time as a yellowish-orange bloomed to life and miniature pellets of flame fired at me like a gatling gun.
"SHIT!"
The embers missed my shoulder by millimeters as I hurled myself to the side, impacting the wall of the cave with the sound of a dozen firecrackers as they punched small craters into the sediment. Hitting the ground with an "OOMPH!" I was forced to scramble towards the nearest stalagmite immediately as the fire bullets re-aimed, shards of rock blasting everywhere as they closed in.
I was on my hands and knees, crawling at a breakneck speed like a demented toddler while the heat grew closer rapidly. I knew it was fucking dumb, but I couldn't help risking a glance over my shoulder right as I reached the stone formation that was my new safety blanket. Sure enough, as I glanced back, I saw the attack strike close enough to me that the debris cut into the bottom of my shoes so hard that I felt it slice up the bottom of my feet.
Desperate, I threw myself behind cover, yet the slight pause proved to be a mistake as a single compact ball of flame hit my knee exactly as I was pulling my legs to safety.
"Ooophmmmm-son of a fuckin-arrrrghhh!"
I clutched the backpack to my chest as vibrations rattled the outcropping against my back. The bullet had hit nearly dead-on my scuffed knee from earlier and had left a neat little circle of pink flesh, like a rug burn. Once again I'd gotten off lighter than I would've thought I would. Hell, even the pain faded at mach speeds, way faster than I'd ever experienced before, or so my gut told me. My feet were okay as well.
Something was off. It wasn't anywhere near as pressing as the pyromaniac animal trying to murder me, though.
In the time it took me to take stock of myself, the scorching barrage had ceased and the cave was left in terrifying silence. I strained my ears for noise, footsteps, breathing, anything. A light clanking of rocks reached me, but whether it was the fallout of the earlier scuffle, or my attacker getting ready for another attempt was impossible to tell.
Air rushed into my lungs as I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes.
This was bad. I had my back literally against a wall, my mobility was lowered, and I was being attacked by a fire spewing, magical animal while trapped in a cave with one exit.
I was so fucked. Fighting wasn't an option and neither was running.
Leaving no choice other than negotiation.
With a likely starving, territorial, murderous monster trying to eat me.
I hated Pokémon. Dumb fucking franchise for babies and psychopaths.
But fuck it.
"Wait!"
My voice echoced off the walls.
No response. I licked my dry, cracked lips.
"I know that I'm in your home, without your permission, okay? And I'm sorry about that. That's my mistake, okay? So if we all just calm down, I will leave right away. I promise."
Still nothing. Which was understandable, I was talking to an animal, how the fuck would it respond. Hell, I was banking on the anime being right and Pokémon understanding human language. Which was dumb but also my only real option.
"How about this," I continued, pulling a bag of jerky out of my bag pack. "I have some food. You hear that?" I justled the bag around to make some noise. "MMMMHHHH, yummy yummy food."
Anxiety was really setting in as I started talking to it like it was a baby.
"All this yummy yummy jerky could be yours, if we can be friends. Don't you want to be friends? I'm a great guy, funny, reliable. Little bit of a temper, but we all have faults, am I right?" My chuckle could have won a price for least sincerity.
"How about it, huh?", I fished out a piece of the jerky and inched it towards the side of the stalagmite. "Bestest friends in the whole worl-SON OF A WHORE!"
A new round of what I would guess to be an Ember attack barley missed my hand as I yanked it back. The flames kept coming for a few seconds before cutting off again and as seemed to be my default since coming to this world, I felt anger welling up in me.
"HEY HEY HEY! YOU CUT THAT SHIT OUT RIGHT NOW! I DO NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE FOR THIS CRAP TODAY, OKAY!? So you will calm the fuck down, and we will do this again, okay!?" A few deep inhales later and with a quick flick, I threw the jerky behind the rock and out of sight.
The wait was excruciating, reminding me of back in the shed biding my time for Kurt.
The pounding of my blood and the increased focus of potential violence.
Finally, I heard a quiet sniff. Then a second and third one. At last, wet gnawing and smacking sounds as the Pokémon gulped down the meat in record time making me let out a sigh of relief.
So far so good.
"Yeah, I told you it tasted good, right? Expensive brand, made from the real thing," I lied out off my ass. "I have a whole bag of it. Two, actually. Oh," I grabbed my half empty water bottle and unscrewed the lid. "I have water too. I bet you would like that, huh. Stuff's hard to find in these parts," I poured a small amount out beside my cover, where my soon-to-be friend could see it and heard it shuffle closer, sniffing all the while. One last breath and it was time to put on the big girl pants.
"I'm coming out, alright? I'm going to trust you and come out from behind the rock and if you don't attack me, you get food and water, yes? And I swear, even if you do kill me, I will beat the shit out of you first. So let's just be cool. See", Slowly my hand crept out. "There's one. And there's two, okay?"
So far, so good. With one last mumbled "fuck" under my breath, I stood up and stepped out.
Our eyes met immediately. Large brown orbs were narrowed into slits as they took me in, small triangle nose twitching in suspicion. Its small red-brown form was crouched down with its cream colored underbelly nearly scraping the ground, ready to launch itself at me with all six long, flowing red tails spread out behind it, swaying in an almost hypnotic manner. The big cone-shaped ears darted back and forth, its pompadour-esk tuft of hair in between them dangling with the motion.
As we assessed each other, the small fox-like creature pulled back its lips as it bared white, needle fangs at me, small flickers of flame visible in the gaps. A quiet, high pitched growl rumbled forth.
I blinked.
It was a Vulpix. That was… not necessarily good or bad, just not what I was expecting. What did fit my imagination, though, was its condition.
The incredibly fine fur coat was mattered with what I hoped was dirt and sweat. The skin was stretched taut across its lithe figure, each individual rib countable and distinguishable. The graceful tails were filthy and unkempt, tots of hair poking out randomly and large nots visible. On closer inspection, growling wasn't the only reason it opened its mouth, based on the light panting it tried to hide from me.
It would seem that the earlier Ember attack had taken a lot of its remaining energy and judging by the way its eyes darted down to the water and jerky in my hands, it was absolutely starving.
Good. Or, not good, as such, but beneficial to me in that specific moment. I wiggled the jerky, quickly catching its attention.
"There we go, that was easy, wasn't it? We are going to stay nice, calm, and friendly, aren't we buddy? Here you are," I slowly reached in and grabbed a piece, throwing it at the fox's feet. It jumped backwards a little, but the smell had it darting back and gobbling it up in a single bite, eyes on me the entire time, "Told you it was good, didn't I? Have some more."
I dumped most of the bag in front of the large cat sized creature and pulled a small
bowl from the camping equipment I'd kept. The sound of water hitting the porcelain instantly grabbed the fox's attention and I barely managed to place it on the ground before it rushed over and smashed its snout into the vessel, uncaring of the liquid pouring on its head.
"Don't throw up, please", I chuckled, sneaking a glance down under its body, "And a boy, huh?".
The male fox stopped its desperate gulping. He froze at the felling of my fingers gently scratching his neck, but the allure of the water proved too tempting and he quickly dove back in. As I put a little more force behind the petting, I took the chance to scan the cave again. There were a lot of rocks, but it was clean, dry, and there was a hole in the roof to allow the smoke from a fire to escape.
I looked back at the Vulpix.
There might even be an opportunity.
"I know that I said I'd leave, but would you mind if I stayed the night?". He stared
up at me suspiciously. I gave my most friendly smile as I sweetened the deal.
"I'll throw in another bag of jerky."
Vulpix looked back at his half-eaten pile of meat critically and then back at me. We stared at each other for several tense seconds before he blinked and gave a soft "Vip", before turning back to start chomping his way through his rapidly shrinking meat pile again.
I grinned.
"I'll take that as a yes. I'll get the rest of my things, see if I can't find stuff for a fire as well, I guess"
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Sparks sprung from the campfire as it crackled, wisps of smoke rising before being sucked away into the night. The flames caused light to play with the stalagmites, creating writhing shadows that would've had me on edge if I hadn't inspected it earlier. The egg further offset my paranoia from its place near the campfire, the blue scales dancing with every hue like a disco ball. Finally, the lightly snoring fluff ball, with a slightly distended stomach, enjoying his jerky coma made for a rather cozy atmosphere.
I rubbed my eyes as I put my map to the side and let out a content sigh, reclining on my sleeping bag, somewhat at peace for the first time since I woke up. Even in the shed at the train place, I had been restless and tense.
Which, as it turned out, had been a good thing.
Another sigh escaped me as I let my head fall back.
The whole thing with Kurt had been… a mess. A series of escalations that had gone too far. Farther than I'd ever taken it before. I'd always had a temper, and it was far from the first time I'd been in a fight, I knew that much, even with my fragmented memories. But that rage, that calm, aware, ruthlessly, rage… that was new. Something deadly. And I didn't… I didn't feel guilty. Not really. I regretted that it came to that, but Kurt was a dumb bitch that tried to kill me. He took it there, yet I felt like I should feel more than a smidge of regret for taking a life.
My emotions just felt… off.
I brought my fingers to my side and ran them lightly over the cut Kurt gave me. It was still tender, but not as much as a fresh knife wound should've been. I pulled up my shirt to take a look.
Sure enough, it looked days old, already scabbing over and smaller than I knew it had been.
I dropped the fabric with yet another sigh.
Aura was a thing in the Pokémon universe that I had a vague notion of. I remembered something about Aura Guardians, or something, that could straight up use Fighting-Type Pokémon moves and fought alongside Lucarios. Additionally, there were people like Sabrina, who, depending on the media, was a Psychic that could rival some fully evolved Pokémon. Koga, who was a fucking ninja, and Bruno, who was blatantly superhuman.
And that was just in Kanto.
But I hadn't known that it could influence emotions, or that I'd even have it. It seemed rare. Sure, the average person was way tougher and stronger than back in my original world. And they did seem to be more caricatures, than real people. I'd always attributed it to being a game, or anime, but what if it was because of Aura? What if, in addition to enhancing physical attributes, it did the same with emotion? Or maybe it was because I was in a younger body?
I shook my head and sat up fully.
That line of thought wouldn't get me anywhere while stuck in a cave. A mystery for another time.
Until then, it was something to be wary of and keep in mind, but it was all I could do. In the meantime, maybe I could come up with a better name than fucking Periwinkle.
I considered it for a moment before snorting.
"Naw, already made the mistake. Have to roll with it now."
I reached over to scratch Vulpix's full belly.
"Can't let it get us down, can we?"
The fox jerked his head up with a snort, eyes rolling around trying to see what was touching him. When he saw it was just me, he collapsed back down and gave a big stretch, jaws smacking a couple of times in contentment.
His behavior made me chuckle as I kept up my scratching, making his leg kick back and forth in enjoyment.
"Yeah, just have to take it easy for now and deal with things as they come. All this Aura shit can wait until I've gotten the fuck out of Orre. What a shit place, so far. Other than you, of course," I added with a bit of extra force to the petting. "Actually, speaking of leaving Orre…"
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I sat up properly. This was very different from finding an egg. What did you say to a superpowered animal to make them fight on your command as you ran around random places?
Though winging it had worked so far.
"... Do you want to join me? When I leave, I mean?"
Vulpix sat up again at my words, this time in an actual sitting position, and looked at me. Which was a good sign, right? At least he understood my words.
I felt my words pick up speed as I sweated under his gaze.
"I plan on traveling the world. Do you know what the world is?" The look changed into what I could only describe as condescending, even on a fox. "Right, sorry, of course you know, you're smart. Well it's-it's a big place you know, and, you know, there's lots of dangerous stuff out there. And even if there wasn't I want to be strong, you know? Fuck, maybe even the strongest if I can get that far. And… I would really like it if you… you know, came… with me…"
I trailed off at the end, gazing into the fire rather than facing him. The split second of silence after my words were enough to make me continue my verbal diarrhea.
"It's okay if you don't want to, I get it, this is your home, and we just met, you don't know me, why would you want come, it's fine, it was stupid to even ask-"
I found myself cut off as Vulpix unceremoniously collapsed into my lap face first. He wriggled around for a moment while I remained frozen, before finally ending up on his back, looking up at me. While it was a good sign, I needed confirmation.
"Is-is that… does that mean yes?"
"Vip viiip. Vip."
My grin must've been maniacal at the soft utterances. I'd kinda noticed it with the wingull, but Pokémon didn't say their names, yet it also wasn't quite normal animal noises. Rather, it was somewhere in between.
"Once again, I'll take that as a yes."
I couldn't help myself as I hoisted him up in the air while I laughed like an idiot. He wriggled around to try and escape my grasp, huffing and yipping in annoyance, but my joy couldn't be denied.
"YES! Oh, it'll be magnificent! You and me buddy! We'll plunder the deepest mysteries of this world and learn everything there is to know! We'll decimate the Leagues and leave only smoldering ruins in our wake! Fire and ash will be our legacy and people will tremble at the mere mention of our nam-Uuufff!"
Vulpix finally managed to squirm out of my hands and landed square on my chest mid sentence. He didn't seem to appreciate my enthusiasm as he battered my face with soft slaps from his paws, growling and huffing all the while. I sputtered as I flailed around trying to avoid the furry attack.
"Aarrgh-pleas-ppff-I'm sorry- I won't do it- pppppfff- not in my mouth-"
My apology seemed to do the trick as he stopped with one last huff and curled up on my belly facing away from me. Not far enough, however, that I couldn't reach over and give him some scratches behind his ears.
"I'm sorry, I'm just excited. You're my first Pokémon, you know. Well, other than the egg, but you know what I mean."
All I got was a snort, even as he pressed back into my fingers. I did have one last idea that might do it, though.
"Hey, what about a name? Do you want one?"
THAT got his attention, Vulpix spinning around to look at me with anticipatory eyes. I chuckled as my fingers found his ears again.
"Thought that might do it. Let's see, you're a fox, gonna be a nine tailed fox one day… there's Kurama, if we wanna be weebs, do we wanna be weebs?"
A blank stare was my response, the eagerness dimming.
Which was fair.
"Right, you don't know what that is, why would you… still, I already gave myself a shit name. Should properly spare you the humiliation… uhhh, we met in the desert, something sand-esk, maybe?"
Vulpix grew visibly more and more skeptical as he heard me ramble.
"Okay, okay, hold on, I'm just spitballing, putting some things out there. Hmmm… Ninetales get Flash Fire, I believe. Could go with something cringe like Inferno… Right, not Inferno, got it… also gets Draught, not sure how that works in actual practice, but it makes it sunny… oh, hold on!"
My new partner had seemingly given up and gone back to napping, but a single eyelid lifted.
"What do you think of Ra?"
Giving me his full attention, Vulpix cocked his head.
"He was the god of the sun, in an old ass culture from my home. Think he was like the leader of the gods or something, the most worshipped one, anyway. What do you think?"
He looked into the distance for a moment before shuffling further up my chest to lick at my face.
"Ra it is then," I chuckled, using both hands to pet the newly named Ra's face and ears. My cheeks hurt from the enormity of my grin, but I didn't care.
"Awesome."
I rocked up to sit on my ass, Ra in my lap as I grabbed the map again.
"Okay, I was looking at this earlier and it seems that I've been going in vaguely the right direction since leaving the train, which is called Outskirt Stand, apparently. If we want to leave Orre, and of course we do, then we need to go to what's called Gateon Port."
I pointed to the city at the top of the map so Ra could follow along,
"And catch a boat from there. It's quite a distance, probably a week if not more, and that's with Orre being surprisingly small. Lucky for us, Kurt was a very prepared dickhead. Scooter is filled up and there should be enough food and water for both of us. We also have about 500 Poké. I don't know how much that is, but hopefully it's enough to get us the fuck out. Sounds good?"
I looked down at my first Pokémon, an amazing statement, and got a nod back. Even the egg gave a wiggle. I'd noticed it a couple of times on the ride over, but I couldn't be sure if the time in between was getting shorter or not. Might be, though. I finished my thoughts regardless.
"Then let's get some sleep and head out in the morning. Might take a couple of days to find a ship, but with any luck we're getting the fuck out of Orre in as little as 10 days. After that, shit's gonna be easy street."
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The metal creature roared under them as they soared over the sand. Ra could move pretty fast on his own, but not for such a length of time, and certainly not while carrying his new human. The mighty Steel-type steed, belonging to the so-called Peri that Ra had claimed as his Trainer, was surely a beast of incredible skill, but seemed simple of mind as it had yet to respond to his calls.
Perhaps it was the toxic liquid Ra had seen his human give the steed to drink that addled its mind so. The smell reminded him of some of the discarded bottles he had found on occasion. The substance had burned his throat in a way not even his fire could and his head had been fussy for half a Light-cycle. He had learnt to stay away from the murky fluid, but it was probably unfair to expect everyone to have the same intellect as himself.
The Steel Steed seemed to be a popular breed among the humans, though, as almost all Ra had seen in the desert had their own to carry them.
Still, no one could deny the Steel-type's stamina as Ra's tongue waggled in the wind. He had taken position atop the beast's head to better survey their path, as was proper for the leader. It was his responsibility as the strongest to protect his new pack, to lead from the front, while his subordinates did their part. His human navigated from behind him, guiding their silent companion by grabbing onto its horns and tucking left and right. Even he did not speak to the steed as he did to Ra.
Periodically, the fox would feel those skillful fingers pay tribute with ear scratches and pets, while words half-lost in the wind went ignored.
He talked a lot, his human. Very enthusiastically, as well as loudly. Mostly good things, about training, and strength. His human appeared to understand his role as a servant and spoke of fascinating ideas to help Ra grow even mightier. Many humans he had observed spoke to their Pokémon with arrogance and superiority, as if they were their betters.
Which was silly.
Humans were as weak as newborn Pokémon, or close to it. Their strength lay in creativity, unity, and their minds, if in a different way than the World-Benders. Believing yourself above those that kept you safe was a dumb thing to do and the strongest member was obviously the leader of the pack. That was simply a fact of nature.
It was a good thing that he didn't need to teach Peri that.
Ra would have to train the human to be more respectful of his senses, however. His ears were not only extremely handsome, but also quite sensitive.
At least his Trainer had the foresight to refrain from touching his tails while he kept picking Ra up and throwing him around like he was a newborn kit.
His Trainer. What a strange concept.
He had seen Pokémon walking around with their human servants before, and had even daydreamed of having one himself to groom and feed him, but he never thought it would actually happen. Most humans he had seen came hurtling through on their own Steel-types, or were accompanied by other, stronger Pokémon, so he had always stayed clear of them.
Unless he saw the chance for some food, of course. Humans were so careless with their dens.
Until now. He had finally caught one for himself. Even if it was a strange one. Ra had smelled humans before, and had been to their nests. He was familiar with their scent. Peri, however, smelled more like the shadows in the various ruins scattered about the desert, than he did his own kind, with a hint of something dangerous to it. Something predatory. The kind of scent he only got from especially viscous sandstorms.
Regardless of his peculiarities, however, he was the human Ra had chosen, and the one he would stay with until whatever end came for them.
He had promised Ra strength, food, and head pats, and for that, he had Ra's loyalty.
Eventually they stopped for the day as the Lightbringer dipped near the horizon.
Jumping off the Steed with a quick paw-pad of praise for a job well-done, the fox turned up his head and sprayed out his tails in gratitude to the Great Orb. His mother had told him of the ancient Pokémon and their great sacrifice to bring Light and Life to the world. It was only right to acknowledge their pain at the end and beginning of their journey.
Ritual complete, Ra turned back to his Trainer right as the human finished setting up his collapsable den. They truly were an innovative species, desperate to make up for their weakness.
A quick burst of the flame housed in his chest had the small pile of dried sticks ignited, but as he went to curl up by it, Peri called out.
"Hey buddy? We still have a bit of light left. You mind if we go over your moves real quick?"
Ra cocked his head for a second before trodding his way over. Seemed to be a reasonable request if they were to be fighting together. He didn't have high hopes, with his Trainer's lack of intelligence, but humans seemed to have a knack for strategy and growth. Another way to overcome their own shortcomings.
"Okay, so, I'm certain that you have at least Ember, given our first meeting. Could you give me another demonstration?"
The vulpix stuck his snout in the air as he turned to the open desert. He refused to be embarrassed by his actions. Stupid human invaded his den all sneaky-like while Ra slept. He was in his full right to defend his home, regardless of him only having found it himself a little earlier than Peri did. If stupid human did not want to be burned, he should have either stayed out or announced himself louder.
Still, he fanned his life-flames and let them blaze up through his throat. A truly magnificent and awe-inspiring inferno burst from his mouth, an uncountable number of scorching balls that would give even the strongest Water-types, like those damnable birds, pause. He let it go on for a moment longer, to let Peri bask in his brilliance, before cutting it off and readying himself for his well deserved applause.
"Not bad, not bad. Range of roughly 60 feet before losing coherence, cone-shaped with a width of what seems to be 10-ish feet. Experience says that individually, the embers are not very strong, but I guess if you get caught in the flurry, there is a decent amount of them and they might stun."
Ra could feel his jaw drop at the sheer audacity. Before he recovered and taught the stupid, stupid human the error of his ways, those clever fingers found the sweet spot behind his left ear.
"Come on, bro, don't be like that. It wasn't bad by any means and if you were perfect, you wouldn't have any reason to come with me, would you? We'll get there"
Huffing, he turned back to their practice field, careful to not dislodge the scratching digits. The words made sense, he would postpone punishment for the grievous insult.
For now.
"Right, next up. Could you run out so I can get an idea of your speed and then use Tackle? Pretty sure you know that one."
Ra crouched down with another huff. Of course he knew Tackle.
A spray of sand erupted behind him as he set off. The sand was loose and not great for traction, but he had lived there his whole life and knew how to compensate. Quickly, he reached the spot where his glorious Embers had run out and threw himself forward, shoulder first. There was nothing to hit, obviously, and he tumbled around for a bit, but even his foolish human had to realise his awesome power. The clapping sounds confirmed that he did.
Scrambling up on all fours, he made his way back almost as fast as he left. He felt a little out of breath, yet it was nothing for one such as him.
"There we go, that was great," Peri stopped his clapping so he could return to his proper duties of petting, "I definitely wouldn't want to be hit by that. You're pretty fucking fast aswell, that's great."
Ra's chest puffed out, even through his breathlessness. Finally he got the accolades he deserved.
"But let's see how fast. If you got one more in you, could you show me your Quick Attack? Promise it's the last one for today."
A jerk of his head let him nip lightly at the fingers. Of course he could do one more! How dare the stupid, foolish, ignorant human! To think that he, Ra, would be exhausted by a mere two attacks! The nerve. He crouched down again and drew on the white energy that lived under his life-fire.
If the last launch-off had been a spray of sand, the next was closer to an explosion. A white aura covered him as his speed increased to easily three times what it had been before. In a second, he had blown past his previous turnaround point, so fast his surroundings blurred and he could barely see where he was going. Ra took a wide turn to come back around, careful of sudden change in direction. Experience had seen him lose his footing far too often to make that mistake again.
Unfortunately, he could feel his aura flicker, and by the time he made it halfway he had lost it entirely. His blazing pace turned into a sprint, then a run, a trot, and when he finally arrived back, he was heaving for air and stumbling towards his human. He would have collapsed if not for the hands that quickly caught and cradled him.
Whispered murmurs comforted him as they took a seat by the fire, and nails gently scratched along his spine.
"It's okay, breeeeathe, just breathe. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you like that, you're still recovering. I'm sorry."
He wanted to admonish Peri immediately for apologizing for things that were not in any way his fault, yet it took him several minutes to beat the dizziness and stop panting for his life. By that time his Trainer seemed to have calmed down himself.
Mostly.
"You okay buddy? I shouldn't have pushed for the last one, that's my fault."
Ra batted at him half heartedly, too tired to punish him properly. He was not so tired, however, that he couldn't perk up when his Trainer started pulling more of that delectable jerky and water from his pack.
He kept half-an-ear on his human as he started chowing down.
"Yeah, have some water. That was very fucking good though, VERY fast. Looks like you have problems with quick changes in direction, but we'll work on it. Maybe shorter bursts? Still, we'll focus on your recovery for now, keep the exercise light."
Ra wanted to protest, but exhaustion was setting in fast with the food in his belly.
The delightful fingers found his ears again as his trainer took him into the flimsy den and placed him by the odd human-sleep-sheet. He yawned as he tried to stay focused on whatever Peri was once again rambling about, yet the allure of sleep couldn't be denied.
His circumstances might have changed suddenly and there was a lot of uncertainty regarding what the future held and even about Peri himself, but as he laid there, warm, tired, and safe, he couldn't bring himself to have second thoughts.
It was a pretty good first light-cycle.
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I really like Ra's POV, that shit is great.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read up to 4 chapters ahead.