ⓁⒶⓉⒾⒶⓈ

Julia was slowly coming back to reality, and the very first thing she noticed was how saddened the Latias was. She leaned over to rest on the dragon’s shoulder, her head against her long neck, whispering, “No, it’s all right… I’m just… I’m just a wimp, that’s all…” She fully blamed herself for ruining the moment.

Latias glanced back when she felt weight fall against her, initially worried that the petrified Audino had lost her balance. Met with her words, however, she straightened up and immediately shook her head. “It’s not your fault! I just... I get too excited sometimes--my brother used to tell me that. I shouldn’t have done that to you on your first flight, so I’m sorry for spooking you.” A smile quirked at her mouth. “It took me awhile to fly through clouds when I first learned; you aren’t the only one it scared.”

He was in awe as he looked around. A secret garden. It had a calming atmosphere, likely because it being hidden in a forest, he was accustomed to the setting having live in the forests outside of Johto.

Well, this is a certainly a welcoming place. Feel as though back home...

He noticed her looking at the wooden swing.

I guess you had fun times here. This where you live?

The grin on her face somehow managed to widen at his words, and the Pokemon turned on her heel to face him. She grabbed his wrist between both hands, began to move backward toward the swing on the other side of the yard. Only when she realized that she needed to face forward to better keep her footing did she bring one hand back to herself to quicken her pace toward her destination.

Latias slowed when they neared the wooden swing, and her fingers gently slid off of the man’s hand upon reaching it. She grasped one of the ropes holding it up, swiveled around to take a seat. Then, moving her legs to pump the swing forward, a satisfied hum vibrated through her throat as she faced the stranger expectantly. 

Not that she was too desperate for information. She had found a new friend, as far as she was concerned, and as long as he was willing to play with her, any other “important” stuff could wait.

   ▐ ❀✿▐ — ;   That face the Pokemon gave to her, the sorrowed sounds she cooed — something was wrong. Erika’s own expression faltered. She’d mentioned a sensitive topic, she could tell. But, she was also certain that the Eon Pokemon knew that Erika couldn’t have known beforehand before asking about a sensitive topic. “Oh, you poor darling … “ her soft, caring voice whispered out, placing gently hands on either side of the creature’s face, hoping to comfort her with her warm touch. 

“I truly am sorry. Something happened.” It was a shame that she would not be able to know details by Latias herself, given their means of communication were quite hindered. But, this was something to research later on, if it were possible. For now, the botanist wanted to comfort the legendary, bringing her own face close to Latis and nuzzling her close.

She was hit by a wave of comfort just by the botanist’s touch, as if the warmth from her palms was spreading through her entire body. Latias relaxed into the touch, let out a soft noise of contentment as she listened to the apologetic words fall delicately from her lips. It wasn’t held against her, of course. There was no way she could’ve known about Latios’s fate before seeing the sorrow that tugged down on Latias’s body. That didn’t make any of it hurt less.

But the way she handled it--how she understood what had happened in the simplest terms without needing to pursue the topic even further--that had been enough to help with the painful memories that had resurfaced. Latias hovered there calmly for a long while, her eyes shutting when their faces became closer. She was the one to close the last bit of distance between them as she nuzzled her nose affectionately against her new friend.

A friend she had only just met and trusted entirely.

Were her brother still around, he’d be scolding her for it.

Though reluctant to pull away from the caring touches, Latias eventually hovered back a few paces to look the girl in the face. A cheerier glimmer passed through her eyes, followed by a chirp of gratitude. She knew there was no point in dwelling on the past--particularly if it upset the atmosphere around them.

Please don’t go

Julia tumbled forward off of Latias and on to the ground, and it took almost half a minute for her to right herself and stand up. She was still completely spooked, but now that her feet were on solid ground again, she could at least start to breathe normally. “I’m fine…” It was a very unconvincing whisper.

That had probably been the least convincing answer Latias had ever heard, and the expression on her face contorted into further dismay. She lowered herself until she was practically sitting on the ground alongside her friend, her arms tucked tightly against her chest. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think it would scare you that much,” she continued to apologize fervently. “Can I do anything for you?”

Julia was still staring off into nothingness, staying perfectly still atop the dragon’s back. Slowly coming back to reality, she spoke in a voice barely one decibel above a whisper. “Can we descend now, please? I need to feel my feet on the ground again…”

She really had frightened the poor Audino. With a small frown, Latias nodded and began to make her descent--careful not to dive too quickly and shake Julia up even more. The flight had been intended as something to excite her friend, but clearly she had gone much too far with comfort boundaries. Latias merely hoped that the fright hadn’t been enough to make Julia scared of flying ever again.

She had seemed so happy at first.

Once they were close enough to the ground, Latias dipped her head to let her friend slide off of her neck. “Are you okay?” she asked as she circled her with concern painted on her face. “Didn’t mean to scare you back there; I’m sorry.”

Woah!

He was taken aback slight when she grabbed his hand and they began running, as he follows the girl. Whatever he said, must have made her excited and happy. All he could do is chuckle quietly as he is dragged with her to their destination, as they run through the city, going through plenty of alleyways.

Guess you love having company when it comes huh?

Latias cast a glance over her shoulder at his words, and the grin on her face brightened before she offered a vigorous nod. Considering how lonely her home got with her brother gone, she was always eager to make new friends--particularly those she trusted enough to welcome into her little safe haven. Of course, there wasn’t much logical reason to trust a man she had just met, but the feeling that had enveloped her body the moment he arrived in Alto Mare had been too difficult to ignore.

She couldn’t just let that go without getting to know him and understanding just who he was.

The path she took led them through the boat shop Lorenzo owned, to a passage at the back hidden behind the older man’s creations. Latias dragged her new friend into the large garden she called home, slowing her pace a bit to give him a chance to absorb his surroundings. Then, not a moment later, she was dragging him behind her again, along the paths amongst the foliage and around an extravagant fountain located at its center.

Her attention was focused on one thing: an old wooden swing that had been her favorite play thing since as long as she could remember.

Lucas couldn’t help smiling as he watched the sleeping Riolu. He seemed really comfortable cuddled up against her like that. Lucas had no idea what happened while he was asleep, but Topaz really seemed to trust this girl. And that was good in Lucas’ book. Any friend of his Pokemon was a friend of his.

So he decided not to think too much of the unusual vibes he got from her. Even if they were a little strange, he could probably tell if she was bad, right? At the very least, Topaz wouldn’t be cuddled up against her…would he be waking up soon?

He glanced up at her as she waved her hand dismissively. Hmm…maybe it would be good to introduce himself and Topaz? Wouldn’t hurt, right? “My name’s Lucas, by the way. And that’s Topaz.”

Her fingers brushed gently over the Riolu’s fur as she listened to his trainer, and Latias dipped her head to acknowledge his introduction. Lucas and Topaz. Easy enough to remember. What was going to be hard was offering up her own name--though she had dodged it thus far when Lucas hadn’t yet asked about it.

She carefully moved her legs out from under her, holding onto the slumbering Pokemon in her lap as she stretched her limbs. Leaning back against the tree, her attention swept over the surrounding park in contemplation of how to proceed with the interaction.

Her inability to speak had always been quite a hurdle.

                          A mundane stroll proved fruitless, as the goddess promptly drifted off into her own, secluded, little world. She had an affinity for losing herself in daydream, while constantly on the lookout for danger. But what kind of enemies lurked out here? Aside from territorial Pokemon, the goddess had not run into anything too significant. At least, not yet. Though she could only hope that it remained that way. And as Amaterasu took a forward step, her entire body grew unreasonably tense. Why…? Had she overlooked a minute, but very important detail in the neighboring vicinity? All of her senses suddenly flared to life, overwhelmed by the fluctuation of energy coursing through her entire body. Naturally, she faltered to a stop. What is going on here? Am I being stalked…?  A contemplative frown marred her visage, before the deity glimpsed sideways out of the corner of her eyes.

                 Trouble? No, this wasn’t trouble on eight-heads, was it? This was a girl, a stranger to be exact. Yet, she was bold enough to trace lissome digits through Amaterasu’s thick ivory mane. It was not an unpleasant sensation, though. However, it was a bit outlandish for a complete and utter stranger to approach without looking absolutely wary of her appearance. “Child, it isn’t wise to touch another’s hair without their strict permission. I have no qualms about it. But you should be careful next time, all right?” The goddess replied, her tone sounding almost motherly. How many times had she used that tone before? Too many times to count, right? Although, an innate instinct told her that there was much more to this girl than met the eye.

                     On the other hand, Amaterasu had grown curious of the other.

                                                               “Who are you?”

One single touch had been enough to cause the woman in front of her to tense, and it took that on its own to convince the curious Pokemon to retract her hand. She took a few cautious steps away, offering a more comfortable distance between them that better matched what Latias had learned of society’s norms. Most people didn’t like being too terribly close, she noticed. With strangers, at least. She had more than once seen intimate pairings walking about with their hips nearly stuck together, though quickly decided this scenario was nothing like that.

Perhaps trailing her fingers through that silky hair had been stepping over the line. It was much too late to reverse it.

Latias had already bowed her head in a silent apology for her invasive actions. She dipped the upper half of her body down, tucked her hands in front of herself to mimic what she had observed from people in her travels. When she heard the warm tone that spilled from the woman’s lips, though, the girl lifted her gaze to look upon that beautiful face. She wasn’t mad?

Carefully, she straightened back to her full height (which, admittedly, wasn’t very tall), and continued to stare at the stranger. Too absorbed by the mystic beauty of her, Latias barely even retained what had been said, but she shook herself out of her stupor in time to catch up with the conversation. An apologetic smile pulled at the corners of her lips, and she offered a small nod of understanding.

Asked about who she was, however, Latias’s shoulders hunched. She ran her hands together nervously, gazed back at the woman with what could be considered half of a shrug. All the girl could do was gesture toward her own mouth, shake her head in hopes of getting the message across.

I suppose you can feel the familiar presence within me. And you wonder how I know about what you are. Your not the first I met. Funny enough, my first encounter was...somewhat similar to now, only it was back on the mainland, and roughly 8-9 years ago...

He spaced out for a second before shaking his head.

Right, well if you want me to explain myself more, then we should do it someplace less populated, kind of like to keep myself a low profile... Do you know of a place where we can talk more quietly?

There were more like her? Of course, Latias hadn’t once thought that she and her brother were the only two--there was her mother and father to consider--but something about hearing it actually stated by this man sparked hope within her. Perhaps she didn’t have to be alone anymore.

A delicate little smile crossed her face, and she clasped her hands eagerly in front of herself when asked if there was a more private place the two of them could go. That was something she could help out with.

With an eager nod, Latias reached out to grab the stranger’s hand. She squeezed it once as a bit of a sign of reassurance, then pivoted on her heel as she slithered her way through the crowd to lead him to her safe hideout. It seemed like it had been ages since she had brought someone there; the excitement bubbling within her was difficult not to show on her face.