บท 6: Chapter 5 - Black and Green
Elise rested on her bed, letting the soft feathers of the Fletchling rub against her, and comfort her. It had nuzzled up against her, cooing gently as it enjoyed the warmth of the girl. She let her fingers unconsciously run through its feathers, her muscles untensing at every purr and coo. Her thumping heart began to smooth, rapid breaths beginning to slow.
She took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. A second. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Imagine a piano, the melodic rhythm of the score; a violin, its strings resonating with precise movements; a brush, painting over a canvas of mistake, repurposing it, perfecting it. Breath by breath, moment by moment, she calmed herself.
Elise opened her eyes slowly as she let a final exhale leave her mouth. I'm fine... It's going to be fine...Fine. She thought to herself, gradually lifting herself up and sitting on the bed. The Fletchling chirped at the movement.
Elise smiled, "Thank you, Fletchling. Thank you so much." The bird spun around in midair, landed on the girl's shoulder, and nuzzled its beak against her neck. Elise raised her hand to pet it, and the bird happily let her do so. This feeling, it was so foreign, but not completely so. It reminded Elise of something long ago, something primal that her memories could not capture.
The Fletchling chirped to get her attention then pulled on her soaked dress with its beak and flew off over to a toppled wardrobe. Change my clothing? Elise thought, sliding her legs off her bed and walking over to the hovering Fletchling. The Fletchling seemed to turn energetic at her movements.
Picking out a few articles of luxurious clothing, Elise began to don them when the Fletchling stopped her. It rummaged through her wardrobe, picking out some less conspicuous clothes. Less bright, less flaunting, less-noblelike. Pieces of airy clothing that suited more outdoor activities. Clothing Elise had let rot inside her wardrobe.
"Wear these?" She muttered as the Fletchling tugged the clothing towards her, wings flapping violently. The Fletchling nodded as it dropped the clothing in front of her.
"Is there somewhere you want to take me?" Elise asked, feeling the rubbery texture of the leather clothing that was made for Mudsdale rearing. Shabby, inelegant, unpresentable. It comprised of a dull brown vest accompanied by a hooded white jacket that ended with a forked robe, and skintight leather pants. The mark of House Rochelle was engrained on the back of the jacket.
There was more than one reason why Elise had thrust this set of clothing into the back of the wardrobe, but now the Fletchling wanted her to wear it. It tugged at her, almost impatiently. "Okay, okay," Elise said as she slipped the uncomfortable clothing over her. Granted, it wasn't as uncomfortable as some of the more luxurious clothing she typically wore, but the skintight sensation of the leather felt odd.
"There, happy?" Elise said. "I've worn it now, what do you want?" The Fletchling flapped over to the window, trickles of rain still sending droplets of water down the pane, and gestured into the far horizon. Beyond the wrecked ruins of the manor, beyond the snaking path, and into the woods... Her eyes widened at the realization. It wanted her to travel into the woods, to the drop of charred black in the far distance.
That is where it wanted her to go.
Trudging through the flooded forest, Elise discovered the hard way that wearing anything white was an easy victim of the mud and environmental hazards that populated the woods. She grumbled as another pie of mud sloshed its way into the backend of her robe. She was beginning to regret venturing into the forest. She didn't even know why the Fletchling wanted her to go there, for all she knew, it could be right into the maws of something flame-breathing Pokemon, or so she had inferred from the charred oak she had seen from afar.
But she felt inclined to trust the frantic little bird, who was zipping around ahead of her. It seemed agitated and alert, darting between oaks and scanning its surroundings obsessively. Elise could tell that whatever awaited them was something that the Fletchling was deathly afraid of, but it hadn't backed down, and neither would she.
After a tedious trek, they had finally arrived. The Fletchling hovered boldly ahead of her, directly between her and the charred masses of wood. It looked as though a monsoon of flame had struck through this specific area of the forest, stripping it of life and casting it aside as a charred corpse. And on the ground... oh on the ground. It brought Elise to her stomach.
The corpses of men lay scattered, charred and lifeless. A few of the men had been spared from the ravaging flames, barely affected by the flames with only the edge of their clothes being tinged. But death did not spare them. The Fletchling rushed to a fallen soldier, screeching as she neared, lifting his head to face away from the ground.
"Maverick?" Her stomach turned inside out, ejecting the bile left in her stomach. Elise fell to her knees. She- She knew that boy. She'd seen him training outside on an occasional glance. He had been fine just a few days ago. Why was he here now? What happened?
She tried to stand, but she somehow managed onto her knees again. The world seemed to overlap in waves, undulating and merging in a concoction of pure nausea. She managed a glance at the Fletchling, who was frantically pecking at the boy, trying to awaken him from his slumber. What...happened here? Elise thought, face going green again as she noticed another detail.
Maverick, the boy, his side. Something had ripped a bite from him, a powerful bite that sought flesh. Crunch. Blood. Glistening red. Pain. Bile ripped out of Elise's throat. Beads of sweat dripped from her chin, mixing with the bile and flooded water beneath. The end of her cloak drifted in the water beside the boy, mixing with the mud, soaking up the blood.
A crunch resounded a short distance away, and she careened backward, landing on her back and her arm in front of her. One. Two. She awaited the devastating bite that never came. She peeked her eyes and saw that it was no beast that had alerted her, but a boy and his little Pokemon. A broken stick was beneath the Pokemon's foot.
Relief flushed Elise, but she didn't dare let her guard down. A peasant, no, a slave and a Riolu, Elise thought, judging from the rags the boy wore. An unlikely pair. What were they here for, to scavenge? Were they the cause of this; no, that Riolu couldn't--wouldn't have caused this much damage.
The Fletchling perched itself atop her head, extending its wings in an offensive position and screeching at the intruders. Elise felt calmer with the bird atop her, as though a guardian was watching over her. It was only then that she realized that the boy, the intruder, had been staring at her. Intensely, and... furiously?
He took a step forward, and Elise scrambled back. The boy suddenly halted, and another staring contest ensued. Black eyes that seemed to stare directly into her soul, burning and pillaging anything in its way. His fists were clenched. Back slightly hunched forward. Legs slightly angled for a dash. Elise's heart rushed. Attack. He would attack.
Right at the climax, when all that buildup was just about to erupt into an explosive attack, he relaxed. Fists unclenched. Back straightened. Leg muscles untensing. It was only then that Elise had noticed the Riolu grabbing the boy's hand, stopping him, saving her. The boy sighed and relented, but his face was still contorted in fury.
Elise knew she had to escape, that type of anger was the type of hit. She knew. She'd witnessed it firsthand before. Scrambling back onto her feet, she stepped back slowly and deliberately, so as to not alert the boy the Riolu. Riolus were powerful, with their evolved counterpart being seen as a Guardian, a protector of the region, even. Such power was not something Fletchling could match, even if it did stay to fight.
Her foot landed on something squishy. A sickening sounded out as her leather boot sunk further. She risked a glance down, which she quickly regretted. Her boot had sunk right into the open wound of a corpse, sinking into the exposed flesh, dashing the brown boot red. The eyes of a dead man pierced her. Her eyes crisscrossed, breaths suddenly heavy.
She forced her eyes away, tears beginning to rim them. The boy stared at her, wrath seemingly growing fiercer. It was then that Elise understood why. He was a Paldean slave, and she was the daughter of a Nobleman. The only noble house near here. She had heard gossip of the slaves' escape from a few of the maids shortly before they left, and here was one of said escapees.
Rumors said that Duke Rochelle treated his slaves cruel as he could.
Suddenly, the slave rushed, arms held close and legs leaping. The Riolu ruffed in protest, but it was ignored. Fletchling rose up to protect her but was swatted aside. He slammed himself into Elise, knocking the wind out of her. They tumbled a few times on the soggy grass, him dragging her around, before colliding with a charred body. The sickening smell of burning flesh flooded Elise's nostrils.
The slave had positioned himself above her, situating her in a tight lock. Elise tried shoving him off, but her weak, untrained arms were nothing against even a malnourished slave. The slave raised his arm, preparing to strike, and Elise shut her eyes. One, Two, Three. Seconds passed but no strike came.
She risked a peek at the boy. His face had done an entire 180, now sporting a look of fear, raw, unadulterated fear. He was staring at something beyond her, beyond the charred black trees. The ruffs of the Riolu shocked her back to reality.
She flipped her head and finally saw it. A golden beast crouched between the tree. Blue eyes that peered from amidst the foliage, teeth glinting eerie white. Pyroar.
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