Chapter #3The Cost of Devotion by: Unknown Rain kept the visibility to less than several feet. Trees and gorges appeared out of nowhere. Broken branches ensured that looking down was essential, or else a potential fall might hurl you down hills. Fierce winds blew the very moisture from bare skin, leaving it dry and chapped. Fog and mist combined and surrounded everything like a blanket. It had laid itself down and over the entire region like a gaseous roof. The storm had not been exclusive to just Johto, but it had seemed far more intense here than anywhere else.
Even Kanto to the east hadn’t received as much rain. It seemed as though the rain would never stop. Reports had said that this storm had come out of nowhere. Clouds had formed and gathered in a matter of hours, seeping down from the mountains and smothering the small village beneath a mask of grey. There were hardly any warnings either. The sun had disappeared behind the westerly mountains in the middle of the afternoon as usual. Shadow usually bathed the small village of Blackthorn City, but with the cloud it might as well have been night.
Ryan had to walk almost horizontally as he blindly padded his way through the wind and rain. Not everyone could make it back in time before the obscuring weather came down. He had been outside when the storm began. Now he was at its mercy. With a full backpack rattling on his shoulders, he had more than enough to carry through the tumultuous weather. A single misstep would no doubt find him collapsed on the ground with his face pressed against the grass. There had been no communication from the village either since the fog had descended.
He had to make it back before night fell. It wasn’t exactly warm in the midst of this maelstrom already. When night would arrive, it would be impossible to find his way back. The cold wouldn’t make it easy either. He and the pokémon beside him would be forced to find shelter for the night, and the next morning make their way back.
“Do you think a tree would be a good place to stay?” Ryan tilted his head over his shoulder.
“Yes, let’s take a Charizard up a tree.” Alita, his pokémon, said sardonically. “I’m sure fire and bark will work together just fine.”
“What else would work then? Do you see anywhere else for us to take a break?
“Why don’t we just pop up a tent until the storm passes?”
“You want to stay out in this weather? When the rain is coming at us from the side?” He shook his head. “It’s also not that waterproof; it’s like a flood out here.”
“Maybe I could just sit on you?”
“As much as I’d love that, you’d get cold.” Ryan looked up and down his pokémon. The Charizard was handling the weather a lot better than he was. She didn’t have a coat, nor a scarf or gloves to keep her warm. No doubt the latter would just get wet and cold anyway. It might have had something to do with her body shape. Every time Ryan was forced into a battle against a six-year old, he found it embarrassing that his pokémon was so ‘maturely shaped’. Nothing explicit but a soft, hefty, belly was present that jiggled quite uncontrollably. Younger trainers simply giggled and called her a ‘chubby lady’ innocently.
Older trainers would shake their heads slightly when beaten by the pair. A relationship between pokémon and their masters was less than accepted. While there was nothing unlawful about it, there were those with less than a favourable attitude. It didn't help that she was a little too eager to compliment her owner in public. It led to some awkward explanations.
Alita was a little taller than Ryan. At full height she was just a head above him on a good day. Her large wings were capable of lifting both her soft frame and her trainer into the air with ease, and they were good at wrapping around Ryan to pull him into a hug.
“Then maybe I’ll just pull you in close.” Alita bumped against her trainer. “Then you’ll not be able to get away.”
“Alita, come on. Keep those kinda thoughts for when we’re out of danger.”
“Aww, don’t be snappy with me.” She joked. “You know I love it too.”
“Can you see a house or some sort of shelter that we can stay in?”
“Who’d build a house out here? There’s nothing but rocks and stones.” It was true. Below them seemed to be a sea of fog and mist.
The pair was midways up the mountain when the fog had descended. Currently they were trying to make their ways down, but with a line of sight shorter than his arm it seemed that they’d be trying for ages. Vision had to be kept to the treacherous floor below. The wind would pick up loose stones and pebbles. Underfoot was treacherous enough that progress was slow.
“Even if we keep at this until we reach the base, we’ll still have a few hours left to get back.” Ryan hunched over on his knees, gasping for breath.
“I don’t mind walking in the dark.” Her long tail swung forward with the fiery tip burning. Hisses of steam came from the raindrops’ failed attempts to extinguish it. “I got a little light.”
“I don’t want to stay out here for another few hours, Alita. I’m almost soaked to the bone already. With this wind I’ll be a human icicle before long.”
“Then I’ll cuddle up and keep you lovely and warm.” The Charizard giggled.
“Do you have any idea where a little shelter would be? I have no idea how far we are from the bottom, and I don’t want to find out.” Ryan wore a small, black, face mask that covered from his chin to the base of his eyes. Usually it would be good for stopping his nose or his lips from behind affected by the wind. But with this weather, the rain seemed to pass right through it. The wind didn’t help; penetrating through the woollen fabric and leaving it drenched.
"I can't even see the mountains, what makes you think I can see a-"
"There!" He interrupted, pointing to a section of black to his left. The wind had blown a little more strongly in the last second, revealing the sheer surface of stone. "I'd never have seen it!"
"What are you waiting for then?" Alita had to shout over the gust that picked up and brought the gale back down upon them. The pair was dunked back into the grey sea. "Where was it again?" A second glance showed that the mist had hidden it. Instantly, Ryan set off to press himself against the rocks. The surface was covered in cold rain, setting the drenched human even further. Not that it mattered.
"I'm sure..." He said as his fingers combed the rock face. "...that if I jumped in the sea now I'd somehow get drier!" Sharp wind whistled along the nooks and juts out from the rock. They both had to shout over it to be heard.
"Any luck?"
"Nothing! I can only feel rock!" His arms were spread wide, his fingers dancing on the stone, searching for a dip that could be the cave.
"Keep searching! It's gotta be somewhere!"
"No shit it's here! We both saw it!" Ryan pressed his face against the mountain to cut out as much wind as he could. Alita stood slightly behind him; helpless. Her arm span was not as wide as Ryan's. Both were dwarfed by her wings though. Wings? Wings! "Alita, give me a strong gust! Blow some of this fog away!"
"That'll give us a bit of looking space!" Her impressive wings unfurled from her back. Though they were drenched in dew and rain, Alita could still move them. Several hundred pounds of air moved with lightning speed as her wings flapped just once. Like a cloth on a misted mirror, the fog cleared for a few seconds. Ryan's view did not change. He could see nothing but the rock wall.
"Where is it? It was just around here!" The fog began to seep back mere seconds after it had cleared. Two pairs of eyes scanned the wall. Alita prepped her wings for another powerful beat, when a small sliver of black piqued in her peripheral.
"There! On the left!" Alita pointed to where she believed it was moments before the fog reclaimed it.
"You sure?" Ryan began to shimmy his way along the rock towards where she was directing.
"No. But I can always flap again."
"Babe, you gotta conserve energy.
"If I can't make it, you have to get out of here!"
"It's just wind, Alita." He rolled his eyes.
"And it'll blow me away, and I'll never see you again!"
"You've just used your wings."
"Oh yeah..."
"I can cuddle up against you if you say you're cold." She smirked.
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