NOVEL WEB Chapter 3.4 (Sofie 1): Stars
Letting the small girl’s question sink in, I dump our meals ingredients into the small pot, the water within ripping. I consider if I should keep the tiny table out, then decide it’ll be easier for us to eat if we have it. As I reach into my bag, I begin taking out two bowls, but I pause when I think about who the other one is for.
Morgan.
If you had asked me a week ago if I could get as close to someone as fast as I have with her anymore, I probably would have scoffed and thrown something at you. But well, it’s sort of hard to deny it now. I had bought all this stuff expecting to be traveling with Celine, yet I didn’t even know where she was anymore. For all I know, she was sitting in the Santalune Pokemon center, planning her battle against Viola. It gave me a very strange feeling.
The city isn’t very far, all things considering. Its bright lights fight for control of the sky against the setting sun, yet I know how that battle will end. I peek over to see my small group, quietly enjoying the evening wind. We could make it to the city with time to spare, but yet, I find myself unwilling to even suggest it. I pull the cheap blanket I had bought earlier today out of my bag, and after spreading it out on the ground, I take a seat.
“Mhm.” I pat the ground beside me, not daring to look behind me.
My heart clenches when the tiny Paldean girl obediently crawls to sit less than a foot to my right, our pokemon carrying their own bowls over as well. I really had done a good job on her hair, the short little bob she had complimented her nature better than I could have imagined it would. The little amount of skin Morgan showed was well tanned, showing the amount of time she had spent outside with Eve while traveling here. I really needed to get the girl new clothes, her current outfit just didn’t fit her at all.
I pinch my thigh, looking away. She wasn’t mine; thoughts like that were honestly just more of my selfish desires. Morgan was dramatically important to me now, someone who trusted me so much despite, well, me. If I hurt her by being my normal controlling self, I don’t think I could forgive myself.
“S-So uh,” mutters Morgan as she stares out at the pond with her storm grey eyes, “Where should I start…?”
A peek at Morgan finds her tapping her fingers against her legs, lost once again within her mind. I almost start to reach out, to pull her in, but I stop myself again. Probably a bit too far, I didn’t want to fry her.
“Maybe,” I quietly say, rubbing my hand against the blanket, “With what it was like, in Paldea.”
“Oh, that’s…” Morgan glances at Eve, the beast happily chatting with Cappuccino as she fretted over her injuries. “Yeah… I can do that.”
Eve, finishing her small meal, quietly wrapping herself around her partner. Cappuccino moves to sit on my lap as Chamomile dozes off on my friend’s head, her incessant eating now apparently over. Such a lazy girl.
“We first started, uh, right after I met Eve, near Montenevera, a city on the highest peak of the region.” Stretching her legs out, then pulls them beneath her, resting her hand on her thighs.
“That was how long ago?” I ask, then bite my tongue. Too hasty.
“O-Oh, two years. It’s been a while,” Morgan immediately responds, to my relief, “Anyways, we spent a good two months in the north province, the heavily mountainous regions, with a bunch of strong pokemon around.”
Morgan clenches her fist, her nails digging into her skin.
“Then… Then they found us,” She whispers, bringing her hands together to stop herself from breaking her skin.
“The rangers?” I mutter, a bit of hatred rising in my chest.
“Mhm… They um, didn’t like that I partnered with Eve.” Reaching over, Morgan places her hand on the Absol’s back. “They nearly cornered us in the east province, but we slipped out with some people’s help.”
Eve nuzzles her partner, and I don’t bother to ask who the people were. Honestly, I didn’t want to know.
“Our journey became more or less free from there. It… was long but…” Morgan’s eyes shift to me, and she turns a bit red as she looks away. “I guess it did lead here.”
Holding back tears, I stand up abruptly as the kitchen timer dings. I stiffly dish out the pasta evenly, then quietly move part of my portion over to Morgan’s bowl. I pick the whole table up, moving it to right in front of my friend. She meekly picks up her meal, quietly slurping up our creamy pasta.
I can’t help but smile, my thoughts going back to the first night she had been here. After Cappuccino pushed her into the bath, I rushed around to find something that fit her, but in the end I just grabbed one of my old sweatshirts and threw it at my Pokemon. When she walked out wearing the thing like a dress, I wanted to hug her. She had been so incredibly hesitant to eat the food we offered, yet once she started Morgan basically emptied the pot herself.
It was kinda like I picked up a little stray.
The sun sets as we eat, the two of us quietly enjoying each other’s company as the sky turns dark. Once she finished eating, Morgan surprised me a bit as she took out a brush and began to groom her Partner. Eve sprawled out entirely as Morgan carefully made each stroke, the Absol entirely content to leave herself to her Trainer's care. I immediately decide to get a full pokemon grooming kit when in Santalune, to be able to experience what that was like myself.
I chuckle when I see my pokemon, both of which are obviously exhausted. Now utterly snoozing, I recall Chamomile into her ball, then pick up Cappuccino and sit down on the blanket once again. Hugging my Pokemon to my chest, I sigh and lie down, looking up at the night sky above us. A wide variety of stars, though still dimmed by Santalune City’s light, shimmer in the curtain of space.
They bring to mind bitter memories.
Turning towards my friend, I find her having mirrored my position, and my words just seem to flow.
“It’s funny,” I say, looking back towards the celestial bodies, “How much things can change in two days.”
“Mhm,” My friend agrees without much pause.
“Y’know, back in Floaroma, I had a Pokemon,” I mumble, “Or well, a Pokemon friend. A Drifloon.”
“That ghost pokemon they say kidnaps kids?” Morgan shifts to lean on her arm, looking at me with a bit of concern.
“Mhm, one and the same.” I squeeze Cappuccino a bit, leading her to giggle. “They always showed up on Fridays, so well, that’s what I called it.”
I stroke my Chinchilla’s fur, her soft fur calming my burning heart just a bit.
“After the day the lights didn’t turn on, Friday never showed up again,” I sigh, tilting my head to look Morgan in the eyes, “From then on out, I found myself incredibly anxious whenever someone would leave.”
“Do you still…” Morgan reaches out and touches my arm, sending sparks through my skin.
“N-Not anymore, or well, not as bad. But for a while I would end up sobbing whenever my mom left the house,” I stutter, looking away from the girl. “She eventually started bringing me to her work, which is how all that started.”
I laugh ruefully, a frown falling onto my face.
“Whenever I would make a friend, I’d get super clingy, and I’d end up getting angry when they’d try to leave.” I close my eyes, a wave of guilt washing over me. “They’d eventually stop coming to see me, and I became known as that ‘creepy girl’ by most of the town.”
After a moment of hesitation, I move the arm Morgan is touching, taking her hand in mine.
“When we got to Vaniville, somehow everyone already knew about it.” I squeeze my hand softly, feeling her warmth. “So I only really had Celine, who didn’t care, but now I have you.”
I soften my grip, but I don’t release her hand.
“So now you know,” I say, a bittersweet smile spreading across my face, “You now have an overly attached girl stuck to you.”
Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes, finding that the sky is now covered in a blanket of shining stars.
“I won’t leave even if you ask me to, even if our path is going to be hard,” I whisper, my voice as soft as it can be, “So don’t be afraid, Morgan. I’ll keep you and Eve safe.”
Morgan chokes a sob, bringing my hand to her forehead as she finally breaks. Clutching my hand hard, the girl finally cries, two years of torment leaking out of her eyes. Eve puts her head on the girl’s stomach, looking at me with eyes full of gratitude. For a moment, I could swear that I felt it as well.
As Morgan lays sobbing quietly after grabbing my entire right arm, I find myself watching the various lights that dot the sky. Each one stays constant, their light seemingly incapable of yielding. Yet, I know that isn’t how the universe works, for everything eventually comes to an end. I passively watch as a shooting star zips across the skyline, its trail stretching across the whole horizon. Feeling a bit whimsy, I look down at the small girl who had fallen asleep clutching my arm to her chest.
“One day, I’ll wish for more with you.” I chuckle quietly to myself, carefully extracting myself from her vice grip. “But for now, this is enough.”
I stretch as I stand, feeling a bit stiff as I take the tent out of my bag. It’s a bit annoying to set up in the dark, but I eventually manage with the help of a sleepy Cappuccino, who holds a flashlight up for me. Once I finish, I move over and wrap Morgan up in the blanket, the light of the moon illuminating her subdued beauty. I pick her up, but as I move to carry her to the tent, I feel a stalwart, intent gaze from somewhere in the darkness.
I shrug it off as a trick of the night.