The Past Is Dead, Part Two
[[I was going to post this later but I made a bunch of new icons for her and got impatient. Enjoy this future dated character development stuff!]]
Days later, Blacky was lost. She hadn't strayed far from Lavender Town, and could easily find her way back if she wanted to, but she didn't want to. She didn't know where she wanted to go. After her anger had passed, she felt a peaceful emptiness, which eventually gave way to sorrow. She shouldn't have said any of that... yet she didn't find herself wanting to change her mind now that she'd officially disowned Tobia. Entirely leaving her past life behind felt freeing, in a way. For so many years she bogged herself down with worries about what ever Golduck or what her Master would think if he knew about what she got up to at Smash Academy. But now? It was a huge weight off her shoulders. Still, her body shook with every step, and more than once she caught herself wasting hours on end just sleeping.
It was hunger, she decided at last, as a loud rumbling from her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten anything since Monday. She never got the hunting practice in with Volgin, but it was time to put her skills to the test. She could hear the sounds of water nearby, and recalled fishing with Uxie during the faculty retreat to the middle of nowhere. While it had taken a join effort to catch a single fish in the end, she only had herself to rely on now. Great, she was going to starve to death.
Following the sound of waves and the nauseatingly salty smell of the ocean, Blacky came across a large bridge with several docks jutting every which way. Some kind of fishing bridge, judging by all the people casting their rods over the edges. Perfect! Instead of finding food for herself, she'd just sucker one of the fishermen into sharing their lunch with her. She probably wouldn't have to worry about any of them trying to catch her, since they were usually only interested in water types.
Despite the amount of people around, not a single word was spoken. If she couldn't clearly smell humans all around her Blacky would have wondered if she was just hallucinating from hunger or something. Over the rhythmic lapping of waves, she could hear the sound of her own claws clicking against the wooden bridge as she approached the nearest cooler. Its owner looked far too preoccupied with the water to even notice he wasn't alone anymore, so she just invited herself to stick her head into the cooler and--
“Hey!”
As it turned out, Fisherman Hank was not so preoccupied that he didn't notice a large black thing poking around in his food supply. The Pokemon jerked its head up with a look of surprise - an Umbreon! That was a surprise. He'd never met one up close, but he'd seen a picture shown off by an Eevee enthusiast he met once. He didn't know much about them besides the fact that they were pretty rare in the wild, so this one probably had a trainer somewhere nearby. Besides, weren't wild ones only supposed to come out at night or something?
If it had a trainer, then they could feed it. He put the lid over the cooler with one hand and frowned. “Go get your own food.”
The Umbreon sat down and stared at him with big red eyes, ears flattened against its head. Nope. That was definitely not going to work.
“Nice try, but you should try using that one on your trainer.”
He was expecting the Pokemon to turn up the theatrics a little more, maybe beg on its hind legs or whine a bit, but instead it just turned its head away. Sunlight glinted off something near its ear. An earring? On a Pokemon? He'd heard of people putting their Pokemon in ridiculous costumes for the sake of winning beauty contests before, but he didn't know they'd go so far as to actually pierce their ears like that! He reeled his line in so he wouldn't have to worry about it while he leaned over to more closely examine the jewelry. They were definitely real. The Umbreon shied away from his hand, but he persisted. “Shh, it's okay. Man. Who'd do a thing like this? Let's just get these off...”
It kept struggling for a few moments, but finally gave up and let him remove the offending jewelry. He gently pulled apart the fur around the hole, noting that the area didn't seem infected or even irritated. That much was good. He stared down at the golden hoops in the palm of his hand before dropping them over the side of the bridge - he didn't know what else to do with them, really. “That takes care of that.” Now that he got a better look at it, the Umbreon was kind of scrawny-looking, wasn't it? “You must have run away from someone really awful, huh? I wouldn't blame you. Here...”
He opened the cooler and pulled out a cellophane-wrapped sandwich, unwrapped it, and set one half down in front of the Pokemon. “I hope you like turkey.”
The Umbreon sniffed dubiously at the sandwich, and for a moment Hank wondered if it was even going to accept the offer. But then it picked the food up in its mouth and trotted away without so much as an acknowledging nod. Well, that was gratitude for you. But if it suffered at the hands of humans the way he suspected it may have, then he couldn't really blame it for not wanting to stick around longer than it had to.
With a final look in the direction it ran off in, he sighed and cast his line out again.
In the days that followed, Blacky returned to the bridge to visit the fisherman every time she got hungry. By the fourth visit he started bringing an entire extra sandwich prepared just for her, and in return she provided him with some quiet company. It wasn't long before days became weeks. It was nice to spend time with someone who didn't know she could turn human; nobody expected a regular Pokemon to keep up her end of the conversation or understand a bad joke. All she had to do was pretend to listen. She didn't care much for the finer points of fishing, but she could tell the man was passionate about his hobby, and something about listening to someone who truly cared for the topic they were speaking on was comforting. It reminded her that there were still things in this world that could be cared about.
Like those she'd left behind at the school. Since leaving Lavender Town, Blacky was so lost in her thoughts about the events of the funeral that the school hadn't crossed her mind even once. It wasn't until a young trainer challenged Hank to a battle that she remembered that even though she abandoned her past, she was forgetting the present. She still had a trainer. She still had a team. Even if things might end just as badly as the first time... Even if she knew there were heartaches to come...
She just couldn't learn, could she?
On one particularly chilly evening, she decided to follow the fisherman home. As it turned out, he either lived in or was staying at a humble cabin not too far from the bridge. He must not have owned any flying Pokemon. But why would he? You couldn't catch a bird with a fishing hook. And if you did, you were doing it wrong.
For the most part she followed him undetected, but as he approached the door she got careless and stepped on a twig. The snap made him whirl around, probably expecting another trainer looking for a fight. When he saw it was just his new friend, he relaxed and held the door open.
“You want to come in tonight? It's going to be cold.”
She wasn't expecting to be invited in just like that, but she wasn't going to complain. Anything that would make her current mission easier. She crossed the threshold and took in her new surroundings. Scant furniture, walls completely bare except for a fishing calendar, a small kitchenette, and a stone fireplace. Hank busied himself getting a fire started before anything else.
“I guess by this point you're kind of like my Pokemon now, huh?” He chuckled, but whether he was serious or not, Blacky could only respond with a flat stare. He was a good guy, but she didn't want him to be her trainer. “If you're going to stay, I should give you a name. You look like a Blacky.”
Her ears perked. How did he... Then again, it was a pretty plain, common name.
“You like it? Blacky?”
She lowered her head, grinning her herself. It felt like ages since she'd heard her own name. It was so easy to lose one's self if they didn't even have so much as their own name. Finally she barked in approval, wagging her tail. Hank laughed and reached out to stroke her fur.
“Blacky it is, then.”
The pair shared a dinner of leek and potato soup, and while Hank went to bed, Blacky curled up by the fireplace and pretended to fall asleep as well. It wasn't until she could hear his snoring that she stood up, switching forms; human feet were soft and didn't have the noisy claws that would give her away indoors. She'd located the dresser almost immediately upon setting foot in the cabin, and now she rooted through the drawers, picking out warm clothing that would conceal her markings. Pants, socks, sweater (he could keep his underwear)... All she needed was his hat and boots and she'd be all set. Almost. She was going to need some cash, too. Where did he keep his wallet...?
There was a rustling coming from the bed, accompanied by a confused groan. Then a gasp as the fisherman realized there was a shadowy figure stealing his belongings. In the dying embers of the fire, he could see the criminal was a woman - a naked one, at that!
“What the--?!”
Shit. Blacky held the clothing to her chest. “Shh! Shh, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you.”
“You're... glowing!”
Blacky glanced to the distinctive golden ring on her shoulder and bit her lip. Wait. Wait. She could use this to her advantage. “I... Yes. I am. Do you recognize these markings? I'm the Umbreon you took in.”
“Wh...” At this point, Hank wasn't sure if he was really awake or not. He looked to the fireplace to notice that the actual dog-shaped Umbreon was gone, which made it kind of possible that it had turned into a woman-shaped one. Was she a Ditto?
“I'm a magical Umbreon, you see.” Blacky glanced around the room, still trying to locate his wallet. On his night stand. Of course! “I was sent here by Arceus Herself to see if there is still kindness left in humans. And by taking me in, you have passed the test.” Please, please, PLEASE buy this crap.
Hank just nodded, dumbfounded. “So what does... what does this mean?”
“It means that I will leave, and you will be rewarded for your kindness.” She approached his bedside, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. It lingered just long enough for her to reach over and grab his wallet while he was distracted. “Thank you,” she whispered, a little more sincerely. “Go back to sleep and I will let Arceus know of your good deeds. All right?”
“Y...Yeah...” He furrowed his brow and laid back down, squeezing his eyes shut. He was still convinced he was in some kind of dream, and it didn't take him long to fall back into sweet slumber. Blacky sighed quietly and dressed herself before leaving the cabin. That was two people in the same area who'd seen her transform. This was not good. But she felt a little bad about deceiving such a good-hearted person, so she made sure to pick a few surviving wildflowers to leave on his doorstep.
She would definitely ask Bob to grant him good fortune when she returned to the school.
The first thing she did when she returned in the wee hours of the morning of November 26th was collapse on her futon and sleep for almost an entire day. When she awoke, she took a long, hot bath, scrubbing away the accumulative dirt from her time in the wild until her skin was raw. Then she looked over her shelves, filled with relics of the past - script work she'd worked on over the years, dinosaurs she'd collected because they reminded her of her first human meal with Tobias... It all had to go. She took out some trash bags from under her sink and swept everything into them, from toys to trashy novels to manuscripts. The next things to go were the contents of her closet. She kept most of her jewelry except for what Tobias had given her, since she did enjoy wearing such things and it would be expensive to replace.
On top of her dresser was a nicely-framed but aged photo of a young redheaded boy holding an Eevee, with a Rattata and Psyduck on either side of them. All four of them had youthful joy in their eyes, which Blacky could only see now as blind naivety. After a moment's hesitation, she tossed that as well.
She met Lighter in the halls and asked him to help her bring the heavy bags out, to which he reluctantly complied. Her dorm was pathetically empty now, with only a few essentials. She needed to buy new things for her new life.
The remainder of the day was spent shopping for new clothes, books, a pair of Black Glasses, and a vase and flowers. After careful consideration, she picked up a pack of cigarettes and an ash tray from a cigar shop. She always hated the smell of cigarettes, but after Lavender Town, she was still of the opinion that she deserved a slow and painful death for her part in her brother's demise. Besides binging on disgustingly greasy food, this was the most subtle way she could think of.
The last thing she bought were some TMs. If she was going to go through a major change, she had to get rid of everything. Even moves Tobias had specifically asked her to keep practicing. He wasn't her trainer anymore.
The past was dead.
She felt so free.
[[If you want, you can have your dude run into her or knock on her door or whatever. Or not if you don't want to.]]
Days later, Blacky was lost. She hadn't strayed far from Lavender Town, and could easily find her way back if she wanted to, but she didn't want to. She didn't know where she wanted to go. After her anger had passed, she felt a peaceful emptiness, which eventually gave way to sorrow. She shouldn't have said any of that... yet she didn't find herself wanting to change her mind now that she'd officially disowned Tobia. Entirely leaving her past life behind felt freeing, in a way. For so many years she bogged herself down with worries about what ever Golduck or what her Master would think if he knew about what she got up to at Smash Academy. But now? It was a huge weight off her shoulders. Still, her body shook with every step, and more than once she caught herself wasting hours on end just sleeping.
It was hunger, she decided at last, as a loud rumbling from her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten anything since Monday. She never got the hunting practice in with Volgin, but it was time to put her skills to the test. She could hear the sounds of water nearby, and recalled fishing with Uxie during the faculty retreat to the middle of nowhere. While it had taken a join effort to catch a single fish in the end, she only had herself to rely on now. Great, she was going to starve to death.
Following the sound of waves and the nauseatingly salty smell of the ocean, Blacky came across a large bridge with several docks jutting every which way. Some kind of fishing bridge, judging by all the people casting their rods over the edges. Perfect! Instead of finding food for herself, she'd just sucker one of the fishermen into sharing their lunch with her. She probably wouldn't have to worry about any of them trying to catch her, since they were usually only interested in water types.
Despite the amount of people around, not a single word was spoken. If she couldn't clearly smell humans all around her Blacky would have wondered if she was just hallucinating from hunger or something. Over the rhythmic lapping of waves, she could hear the sound of her own claws clicking against the wooden bridge as she approached the nearest cooler. Its owner looked far too preoccupied with the water to even notice he wasn't alone anymore, so she just invited herself to stick her head into the cooler and--
“Hey!”
As it turned out, Fisherman Hank was not so preoccupied that he didn't notice a large black thing poking around in his food supply. The Pokemon jerked its head up with a look of surprise - an Umbreon! That was a surprise. He'd never met one up close, but he'd seen a picture shown off by an Eevee enthusiast he met once. He didn't know much about them besides the fact that they were pretty rare in the wild, so this one probably had a trainer somewhere nearby. Besides, weren't wild ones only supposed to come out at night or something?
If it had a trainer, then they could feed it. He put the lid over the cooler with one hand and frowned. “Go get your own food.”
The Umbreon sat down and stared at him with big red eyes, ears flattened against its head. Nope. That was definitely not going to work.
“Nice try, but you should try using that one on your trainer.”
He was expecting the Pokemon to turn up the theatrics a little more, maybe beg on its hind legs or whine a bit, but instead it just turned its head away. Sunlight glinted off something near its ear. An earring? On a Pokemon? He'd heard of people putting their Pokemon in ridiculous costumes for the sake of winning beauty contests before, but he didn't know they'd go so far as to actually pierce their ears like that! He reeled his line in so he wouldn't have to worry about it while he leaned over to more closely examine the jewelry. They were definitely real. The Umbreon shied away from his hand, but he persisted. “Shh, it's okay. Man. Who'd do a thing like this? Let's just get these off...”
It kept struggling for a few moments, but finally gave up and let him remove the offending jewelry. He gently pulled apart the fur around the hole, noting that the area didn't seem infected or even irritated. That much was good. He stared down at the golden hoops in the palm of his hand before dropping them over the side of the bridge - he didn't know what else to do with them, really. “That takes care of that.” Now that he got a better look at it, the Umbreon was kind of scrawny-looking, wasn't it? “You must have run away from someone really awful, huh? I wouldn't blame you. Here...”
He opened the cooler and pulled out a cellophane-wrapped sandwich, unwrapped it, and set one half down in front of the Pokemon. “I hope you like turkey.”
The Umbreon sniffed dubiously at the sandwich, and for a moment Hank wondered if it was even going to accept the offer. But then it picked the food up in its mouth and trotted away without so much as an acknowledging nod. Well, that was gratitude for you. But if it suffered at the hands of humans the way he suspected it may have, then he couldn't really blame it for not wanting to stick around longer than it had to.
With a final look in the direction it ran off in, he sighed and cast his line out again.
In the days that followed, Blacky returned to the bridge to visit the fisherman every time she got hungry. By the fourth visit he started bringing an entire extra sandwich prepared just for her, and in return she provided him with some quiet company. It wasn't long before days became weeks. It was nice to spend time with someone who didn't know she could turn human; nobody expected a regular Pokemon to keep up her end of the conversation or understand a bad joke. All she had to do was pretend to listen. She didn't care much for the finer points of fishing, but she could tell the man was passionate about his hobby, and something about listening to someone who truly cared for the topic they were speaking on was comforting. It reminded her that there were still things in this world that could be cared about.
Like those she'd left behind at the school. Since leaving Lavender Town, Blacky was so lost in her thoughts about the events of the funeral that the school hadn't crossed her mind even once. It wasn't until a young trainer challenged Hank to a battle that she remembered that even though she abandoned her past, she was forgetting the present. She still had a trainer. She still had a team. Even if things might end just as badly as the first time... Even if she knew there were heartaches to come...
She just couldn't learn, could she?
On one particularly chilly evening, she decided to follow the fisherman home. As it turned out, he either lived in or was staying at a humble cabin not too far from the bridge. He must not have owned any flying Pokemon. But why would he? You couldn't catch a bird with a fishing hook. And if you did, you were doing it wrong.
For the most part she followed him undetected, but as he approached the door she got careless and stepped on a twig. The snap made him whirl around, probably expecting another trainer looking for a fight. When he saw it was just his new friend, he relaxed and held the door open.
“You want to come in tonight? It's going to be cold.”
She wasn't expecting to be invited in just like that, but she wasn't going to complain. Anything that would make her current mission easier. She crossed the threshold and took in her new surroundings. Scant furniture, walls completely bare except for a fishing calendar, a small kitchenette, and a stone fireplace. Hank busied himself getting a fire started before anything else.
“I guess by this point you're kind of like my Pokemon now, huh?” He chuckled, but whether he was serious or not, Blacky could only respond with a flat stare. He was a good guy, but she didn't want him to be her trainer. “If you're going to stay, I should give you a name. You look like a Blacky.”
Her ears perked. How did he... Then again, it was a pretty plain, common name.
“You like it? Blacky?”
She lowered her head, grinning her herself. It felt like ages since she'd heard her own name. It was so easy to lose one's self if they didn't even have so much as their own name. Finally she barked in approval, wagging her tail. Hank laughed and reached out to stroke her fur.
“Blacky it is, then.”
The pair shared a dinner of leek and potato soup, and while Hank went to bed, Blacky curled up by the fireplace and pretended to fall asleep as well. It wasn't until she could hear his snoring that she stood up, switching forms; human feet were soft and didn't have the noisy claws that would give her away indoors. She'd located the dresser almost immediately upon setting foot in the cabin, and now she rooted through the drawers, picking out warm clothing that would conceal her markings. Pants, socks, sweater (he could keep his underwear)... All she needed was his hat and boots and she'd be all set. Almost. She was going to need some cash, too. Where did he keep his wallet...?
There was a rustling coming from the bed, accompanied by a confused groan. Then a gasp as the fisherman realized there was a shadowy figure stealing his belongings. In the dying embers of the fire, he could see the criminal was a woman - a naked one, at that!
“What the--?!”
Shit. Blacky held the clothing to her chest. “Shh! Shh, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you.”
“You're... glowing!”
Blacky glanced to the distinctive golden ring on her shoulder and bit her lip. Wait. Wait. She could use this to her advantage. “I... Yes. I am. Do you recognize these markings? I'm the Umbreon you took in.”
“Wh...” At this point, Hank wasn't sure if he was really awake or not. He looked to the fireplace to notice that the actual dog-shaped Umbreon was gone, which made it kind of possible that it had turned into a woman-shaped one. Was she a Ditto?
“I'm a magical Umbreon, you see.” Blacky glanced around the room, still trying to locate his wallet. On his night stand. Of course! “I was sent here by Arceus Herself to see if there is still kindness left in humans. And by taking me in, you have passed the test.” Please, please, PLEASE buy this crap.
Hank just nodded, dumbfounded. “So what does... what does this mean?”
“It means that I will leave, and you will be rewarded for your kindness.” She approached his bedside, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. It lingered just long enough for her to reach over and grab his wallet while he was distracted. “Thank you,” she whispered, a little more sincerely. “Go back to sleep and I will let Arceus know of your good deeds. All right?”
“Y...Yeah...” He furrowed his brow and laid back down, squeezing his eyes shut. He was still convinced he was in some kind of dream, and it didn't take him long to fall back into sweet slumber. Blacky sighed quietly and dressed herself before leaving the cabin. That was two people in the same area who'd seen her transform. This was not good. But she felt a little bad about deceiving such a good-hearted person, so she made sure to pick a few surviving wildflowers to leave on his doorstep.
She would definitely ask Bob to grant him good fortune when she returned to the school.
The first thing she did when she returned in the wee hours of the morning of November 26th was collapse on her futon and sleep for almost an entire day. When she awoke, she took a long, hot bath, scrubbing away the accumulative dirt from her time in the wild until her skin was raw. Then she looked over her shelves, filled with relics of the past - script work she'd worked on over the years, dinosaurs she'd collected because they reminded her of her first human meal with Tobias... It all had to go. She took out some trash bags from under her sink and swept everything into them, from toys to trashy novels to manuscripts. The next things to go were the contents of her closet. She kept most of her jewelry except for what Tobias had given her, since she did enjoy wearing such things and it would be expensive to replace.
On top of her dresser was a nicely-framed but aged photo of a young redheaded boy holding an Eevee, with a Rattata and Psyduck on either side of them. All four of them had youthful joy in their eyes, which Blacky could only see now as blind naivety. After a moment's hesitation, she tossed that as well.
She met Lighter in the halls and asked him to help her bring the heavy bags out, to which he reluctantly complied. Her dorm was pathetically empty now, with only a few essentials. She needed to buy new things for her new life.
The remainder of the day was spent shopping for new clothes, books, a pair of Black Glasses, and a vase and flowers. After careful consideration, she picked up a pack of cigarettes and an ash tray from a cigar shop. She always hated the smell of cigarettes, but after Lavender Town, she was still of the opinion that she deserved a slow and painful death for her part in her brother's demise. Besides binging on disgustingly greasy food, this was the most subtle way she could think of.
The last thing she bought were some TMs. If she was going to go through a major change, she had to get rid of everything. Even moves Tobias had specifically asked her to keep practicing. He wasn't her trainer anymore.
The past was dead.
She felt so free.
[[If you want, you can have your dude run into her or knock on her door or whatever. Or not if you don't want to.]]