Post by subtleAssiduities on Aug 6, 2016 16:35:41 GMT -5
Fall
The ranch was dull at night; quiet, but not silent, still but not frozen, like a restless sleeper. The dark types who awoke when the sun went down didn't find much to do with each other or by themselves most of the time. Even after years of living this way, of being more comfortable in the dark, Angelo didn't like having the night to himself. The ranch was no fun at night. And the little fun you could have had to be metered; Arceus forbid you wake one of the diurnals. He avoided it as best he could, since he knew if he did wake someone he couldn't be sorry about it.
With the seasons changing the nights were growing longer and colder. It didn't make finding something to do any easier. He stepped out of the barn and let the moonlight soak into his fur, giving his markings their signature glow. The sky was mottled tonight: patches of persevering stars poking around thick cloud cover, and no moon. It gave the sky the impression of having holes in it. There wasn't much light the sky could offer tonight.
As a crisp wind ran its fingers through the ranch Angelo drew in a deep breath. The frigid air woke his body like a kick to the ribs, and he let it; better to wake all at once than a little at a time. He padded into the open field, searching for something he could throw his attention into.
That was when he saw the luminescent form of another canine Pokémon gliding along the fence. His ears perked as he looked more closely, but a further examination wasn't needed; he recognized the Pokémon at once. It was Vivian.
He still wasn't used to seeing his friend at the ranch. Note and Ellie had only started living together full-time a few months ago, and Vivian wasn't with Note when he moved in for good. Even though the ranch wasn't that big, he only ever ran into her in passing, usually in the mornings. He didn't know what she did the rest of the time. But her company was better than anyone else's he would run into out here. And she looked like she might have something to do. So he followed her.
From a distance of a few paces back he watched her trot along the fence, stop to peer through the posts, and then trot again. She did this several times before she finally came to a stop, her gaze locked on something in the distance. Angelo waited for her to notice him, but when that did not happen, he took a tentative step forward. "Vivian?"
She bristled and spun to face him. The motion was so quick that Angelo found himself bracing, but upon recognizing who he was the mutant relaxed. With a sigh, her round eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"
"Uh. Following you?" He put on his best smile and ventured another step closer. "That is, if you're going somewhere."
"Bloody git," she sighed, the words sounding strangely foreign, and yet very comfortable in her mouth. She examined the object of her attention that lied beyond the fence- whatever that might be. When she spoke again, the twinge of an accent that had colored her words was gone. "I didn't plan on going with anybody."
"Well, where are you going?" He had a sneaking suspicion that this location of hers would include breaking some rules. "Maybe I can help you get there."
"I don't need help." But the statement was passive; it wasn't a refusal for company. "If you can keep up, you can come. I don't care."
His tail went up like a flag, and he trotted to her side. "So, where are we going?"
He didn't get a reply. Vivian examined the fence before her, and then she dropped to her belly and squeezed through the space at the bottom. It was a tight fit for her, and she left some bits of mane stuck to the wood, but when she stood up on the other side she was waiting for him to join her, not checking herself for injuries. Angelo slipped under the fence and stood at her side expectantly.
So she was off, galloping across the field with the gait of a toy rocking horse. Angelo paced her, his eyes on her broad shoulders as she led the way through the forest beyond the ranch. He had no trouble keeping up with her; she wasn't particularly fast. But the longer they ran the more he wondered where they were going. He couldn't remember the last time he had been out here before, if ever. For being new to the area, Vivian sure ran like she knew where she was going.
The air got colder before she brought them to a stop at the edge of a clearing that opened upon a large lake. In the time it took them to recover from their run, Angelo recognized it: the Lake of Rage. Ellie had taken him and her team here before, when the weather was better for swimming. The place had a reputation for the Pokémon that inhabited the water; he had always thought of this as a dangerous, crazy place, unsafe without strong company. But it didn't look that way now. The water was a smooth layer of reflective silver, catching every ounce of the limited starlight and turning it back with an elegant intensity. The air was chilly, but gentle, nonabrasive; the trees surrounding the lake must have blocked the wind on all sides. There was no sense of the impending danger that this place held in warmer months. Angelo couldn't fathom why Vivian would want to be here. It didn't seem like the kind of place for causing trouble, or doing anything exciting at all. But he didn't voice his confusion out loud. If Vivian had a plan he trusted that it involved something more than staring at a sleeping lake.
One pounce-like leap took her out of the shadow of the trees and into the open. Her path was random, erratic- a wide zig-zag that bordered the trees. And then she seemed to completely disappear.
Angelo stared, eyes stupidly wide, at the place where she had vanished. The shadows and lights must have played a trick on him. But that didn't make any sense. She was glowing. She wouldn't have just stopped glowing. He stepped into the field and found underfoot a thick layer of dry, crunching leaves. In the darkness of the cloudy night, he had totally overlooked them; but they covered the entirety of the field, and in some places he had to raise his paws to his chest to walk through them.
He put the pieces together a moment too late. In an explosion of leaves Vivian rose from the litter and tackled him back into it. The frightened yelp he let out was short-lived; when her teeth met his throat, it wasn't hard enough to hurt.
With a thrill of excitemrnt he realized that he had been lured into a game. He kicked and squirmed his way free, and then he bounced away until he found a leaf pile to hide in. She followed on his heels, beat him to a hiding spot, and tackled him again.
With each breath the forest took, more leaves blew into the field for them to play in. The cool air seemed to make them weightless; once kicked up they had a curtain to sneak around in, hide under, pounce through. For all his strength and speed, Angelo found that he couldn't keep up with Vivian. She was a better hider, she was a more precise pouncer, and she could lay in the leaves and make no sound. Time and time again he found himself on his back, her teeth playfully nipping at his skin, and when he finally didn't have the energy to fend her off, he sounded his defeat with an exhausted howl. "Okay, okay! Get off!"
She responded with a nip that actually pinched before backing up and flopping into the leaves. They came up like water ducking for a rain drop, and then sprinkled down at their own lackadaisical speed. Angelo rolled onto his side with a huff, the sting of a dozen defeats making him pout. When Vivian turned to face him, she smild back like a queen watching a jester dance.
And something in the way she looked at him, the way she smiled, the way the lonely starlight set her pelt aglow, struck Angelo so hard that he lost his breath. He didn't know what his face was doing, but it made her smile grow, and the competitive look in her eyes softened, grew sweeter. It was something unlike anything else he had seen her do. He felt like he had tripped and fallen into a cavern of gold.
And when she looked away, he was dragged out of that cavern again. She gaze went skyward, and upon seeing something there her smile faded. She got to her feet, shook off, and trotted toward the water. Angelo scrambled to his paws to trot after her, tripping over himself twice before he caught up. "Now what?"
"It's getting late." She walked onto the deck and peered into the water. Angelo padded to her side to do the same, and he saw there why this was something to worry about. Although it had seemed like it was only dry leaves that they were playing in, clearly they had kicked up more than that. They were filthy, their fur stuck in every direction, leaves clinging to their heads. If they went back to the barn like this they would surely get in trouble.
"Whoops. Shit." The words seemed appropriate for two different situations, but Angelo didn't know which covered this one. He backed up, ears flattening against his head as he realized the predicament they were in. "Well now what do we-"
A splash interrupted him. He jumped back to avoid the assault of a wave of icy water, and then scrambled to the edge of the dock to peer into the water again. Vivian broke the shaking surface and tossed her bangs out of her face. She fixed him with an expectant look that, when it went unanswered, she followed up with, "Well? Get in!"
"But it's freezing!" he sputtered.
"It is not. You'll dry off."
She was wrong, and he knew it, but his pride wouldn't allow him to defend his case. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and jumped in.
The water closed around his body like an iron grip, stunning him long enough for his butt to hit the bottom of the lake. Even when he found the ability to move again, he couldn't seem to get going in the right direction. Dizzy and stiff, he clawed for what he thought was the surface, but he didn't rise fast enough. Bubbles rose in front of his eyes as he released the last of the breath he was holding, and the sides of his head started to pound.
A bright red set of eyes filled his vision as he struggled toward the surface. He didn't realize it was Vivian until he felt a set of jaws clamp around his nape- firm, but not painful. She dragged him to the surface, where he quickly righted himself and took a breath. Now that he was breathing, he realized that he had been panicking, but not really drowning. The shock of icy water had made him stupid.
"What was that?" Vivian hissed, shoving him in the shoulder. "Can't you swim?"
"I told you it was cold!" Her shove sent him careening, and he didn't realized that it was toward shore until his paws sank into soft mud clay.
"It is not! Arceus, you're such a baby."
He didn't try to argue; he knew better. Once he had found his footing on land, he shook himself off and crouched, pulling himself as tight as he could to control his shivering. He didn't know how she could be so calm in ice-cold water until he watched her climb out after him and shake off: steam was rolling off her mane and tail in thick white clouds, eagerly carried away by the slight breeze. A fire type. Of course that would make a difference. He just didn't think it would make this difference.
She eyed him in a way that made him feel incredibly stupid, but it wasn't as hard as he would expect it to be from her, all things considered. She shook herself out one more time; it seemed to dry all of her but the tips of her tail and mane. "Come on. We have to get back to the ranch."
"Okay." Forcing his stiff body to move felt like more work than he was up to, but he got up and got moving. She ran more quickly this time, and it was harder to keep up with her. When they finally came to the fence, he wanted to collapse right then and there.
But he resisted the urge until they were on the inner side of it. The run had done nothing to dry his fur; it had only made his ears and tail go numb, and he was still shivering. He didn't react as Vivian set her paw on his back.
"You're still wet? You're so pathetic."
He didn't look up, waiting for more berating, but her next touch was a nudge, not a kick. "Get up. You can't just lay here."
"I bet I can." But he pushed himself to his feet and followed her anyway.
The back of the barn was bathed in the brightest source of light Angelo had seen that night. Spare bales of hay were stacked in two partial pyramids that formed an uneven cove in the center.
Vivian climbed the stack and straddled the little space expectantly. On aching legs Angelo struggled into the space, where he flopped onto his stomach and decided that he wasn't going any further. "Is this where you sleep?" he mumbled, his words slurring. He didn't know whether to blame the cold or fatique.
"Yeah." She shimmied down the cove and settled beside him. Her mane pressed against his neck and shoulders, and the heat rippling off it melted the aching pain from his frozen joints. The reliefwas instant, and he relaxed against her and closed his eyes.
"No wonder no one can find you."
She scoffed. "No one's looking for me."
There was a heaviness in her voice under the nonchalance. Angelo knew what it was, and he didn't like hearing it there. "That's not always true. I look, now and then."
"Yeah?" She sounded dubious.
"Yeah."
"Well you're bad at finding me."
He grunted. That wasn't even a taunt. "This was fun," he ventured. "We should do it again some time."
"You did a lot of complaining."
"I didn't do that much." He shifted closer and stuck his nose in her fluff. "I wouldn't have if you told me you could warm me up."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "I didn't think I'd have to."
"You didn't answer my question," he huffed. "Can we do this again?"
"If you want to. I do this every night."
He should have figured. "Hm. Cool. Then I guess I will too."
The smile was still there. "Okay."
. . .
Angelo woke up cold and damp. The starlight that had graced this wall the night before had turned into chilly shade; the hay felt hard and prickly, and the wind was seeking him out. Even before he truly awoke he felt disappointed. But he didn't know why until he opened his eyes and looked around.
The little cove where he had spent the night with Vivian was lonely now. She wasn't here, and there was no heat left to chase away the chilly Fall breeze. The only thing he had left was the smell of her on his fur.
The ranch was dull at night; quiet, but not silent, still but not frozen, like a restless sleeper. The dark types who awoke when the sun went down didn't find much to do with each other or by themselves most of the time. Even after years of living this way, of being more comfortable in the dark, Angelo didn't like having the night to himself. The ranch was no fun at night. And the little fun you could have had to be metered; Arceus forbid you wake one of the diurnals. He avoided it as best he could, since he knew if he did wake someone he couldn't be sorry about it.
With the seasons changing the nights were growing longer and colder. It didn't make finding something to do any easier. He stepped out of the barn and let the moonlight soak into his fur, giving his markings their signature glow. The sky was mottled tonight: patches of persevering stars poking around thick cloud cover, and no moon. It gave the sky the impression of having holes in it. There wasn't much light the sky could offer tonight.
As a crisp wind ran its fingers through the ranch Angelo drew in a deep breath. The frigid air woke his body like a kick to the ribs, and he let it; better to wake all at once than a little at a time. He padded into the open field, searching for something he could throw his attention into.
That was when he saw the luminescent form of another canine Pokémon gliding along the fence. His ears perked as he looked more closely, but a further examination wasn't needed; he recognized the Pokémon at once. It was Vivian.
He still wasn't used to seeing his friend at the ranch. Note and Ellie had only started living together full-time a few months ago, and Vivian wasn't with Note when he moved in for good. Even though the ranch wasn't that big, he only ever ran into her in passing, usually in the mornings. He didn't know what she did the rest of the time. But her company was better than anyone else's he would run into out here. And she looked like she might have something to do. So he followed her.
From a distance of a few paces back he watched her trot along the fence, stop to peer through the posts, and then trot again. She did this several times before she finally came to a stop, her gaze locked on something in the distance. Angelo waited for her to notice him, but when that did not happen, he took a tentative step forward. "Vivian?"
She bristled and spun to face him. The motion was so quick that Angelo found himself bracing, but upon recognizing who he was the mutant relaxed. With a sigh, her round eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"
"Uh. Following you?" He put on his best smile and ventured another step closer. "That is, if you're going somewhere."
"Bloody git," she sighed, the words sounding strangely foreign, and yet very comfortable in her mouth. She examined the object of her attention that lied beyond the fence- whatever that might be. When she spoke again, the twinge of an accent that had colored her words was gone. "I didn't plan on going with anybody."
"Well, where are you going?" He had a sneaking suspicion that this location of hers would include breaking some rules. "Maybe I can help you get there."
"I don't need help." But the statement was passive; it wasn't a refusal for company. "If you can keep up, you can come. I don't care."
His tail went up like a flag, and he trotted to her side. "So, where are we going?"
He didn't get a reply. Vivian examined the fence before her, and then she dropped to her belly and squeezed through the space at the bottom. It was a tight fit for her, and she left some bits of mane stuck to the wood, but when she stood up on the other side she was waiting for him to join her, not checking herself for injuries. Angelo slipped under the fence and stood at her side expectantly.
So she was off, galloping across the field with the gait of a toy rocking horse. Angelo paced her, his eyes on her broad shoulders as she led the way through the forest beyond the ranch. He had no trouble keeping up with her; she wasn't particularly fast. But the longer they ran the more he wondered where they were going. He couldn't remember the last time he had been out here before, if ever. For being new to the area, Vivian sure ran like she knew where she was going.
The air got colder before she brought them to a stop at the edge of a clearing that opened upon a large lake. In the time it took them to recover from their run, Angelo recognized it: the Lake of Rage. Ellie had taken him and her team here before, when the weather was better for swimming. The place had a reputation for the Pokémon that inhabited the water; he had always thought of this as a dangerous, crazy place, unsafe without strong company. But it didn't look that way now. The water was a smooth layer of reflective silver, catching every ounce of the limited starlight and turning it back with an elegant intensity. The air was chilly, but gentle, nonabrasive; the trees surrounding the lake must have blocked the wind on all sides. There was no sense of the impending danger that this place held in warmer months. Angelo couldn't fathom why Vivian would want to be here. It didn't seem like the kind of place for causing trouble, or doing anything exciting at all. But he didn't voice his confusion out loud. If Vivian had a plan he trusted that it involved something more than staring at a sleeping lake.
One pounce-like leap took her out of the shadow of the trees and into the open. Her path was random, erratic- a wide zig-zag that bordered the trees. And then she seemed to completely disappear.
Angelo stared, eyes stupidly wide, at the place where she had vanished. The shadows and lights must have played a trick on him. But that didn't make any sense. She was glowing. She wouldn't have just stopped glowing. He stepped into the field and found underfoot a thick layer of dry, crunching leaves. In the darkness of the cloudy night, he had totally overlooked them; but they covered the entirety of the field, and in some places he had to raise his paws to his chest to walk through them.
He put the pieces together a moment too late. In an explosion of leaves Vivian rose from the litter and tackled him back into it. The frightened yelp he let out was short-lived; when her teeth met his throat, it wasn't hard enough to hurt.
With a thrill of excitemrnt he realized that he had been lured into a game. He kicked and squirmed his way free, and then he bounced away until he found a leaf pile to hide in. She followed on his heels, beat him to a hiding spot, and tackled him again.
With each breath the forest took, more leaves blew into the field for them to play in. The cool air seemed to make them weightless; once kicked up they had a curtain to sneak around in, hide under, pounce through. For all his strength and speed, Angelo found that he couldn't keep up with Vivian. She was a better hider, she was a more precise pouncer, and she could lay in the leaves and make no sound. Time and time again he found himself on his back, her teeth playfully nipping at his skin, and when he finally didn't have the energy to fend her off, he sounded his defeat with an exhausted howl. "Okay, okay! Get off!"
She responded with a nip that actually pinched before backing up and flopping into the leaves. They came up like water ducking for a rain drop, and then sprinkled down at their own lackadaisical speed. Angelo rolled onto his side with a huff, the sting of a dozen defeats making him pout. When Vivian turned to face him, she smild back like a queen watching a jester dance.
And something in the way she looked at him, the way she smiled, the way the lonely starlight set her pelt aglow, struck Angelo so hard that he lost his breath. He didn't know what his face was doing, but it made her smile grow, and the competitive look in her eyes softened, grew sweeter. It was something unlike anything else he had seen her do. He felt like he had tripped and fallen into a cavern of gold.
And when she looked away, he was dragged out of that cavern again. She gaze went skyward, and upon seeing something there her smile faded. She got to her feet, shook off, and trotted toward the water. Angelo scrambled to his paws to trot after her, tripping over himself twice before he caught up. "Now what?"
"It's getting late." She walked onto the deck and peered into the water. Angelo padded to her side to do the same, and he saw there why this was something to worry about. Although it had seemed like it was only dry leaves that they were playing in, clearly they had kicked up more than that. They were filthy, their fur stuck in every direction, leaves clinging to their heads. If they went back to the barn like this they would surely get in trouble.
"Whoops. Shit." The words seemed appropriate for two different situations, but Angelo didn't know which covered this one. He backed up, ears flattening against his head as he realized the predicament they were in. "Well now what do we-"
A splash interrupted him. He jumped back to avoid the assault of a wave of icy water, and then scrambled to the edge of the dock to peer into the water again. Vivian broke the shaking surface and tossed her bangs out of her face. She fixed him with an expectant look that, when it went unanswered, she followed up with, "Well? Get in!"
"But it's freezing!" he sputtered.
"It is not. You'll dry off."
She was wrong, and he knew it, but his pride wouldn't allow him to defend his case. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and jumped in.
The water closed around his body like an iron grip, stunning him long enough for his butt to hit the bottom of the lake. Even when he found the ability to move again, he couldn't seem to get going in the right direction. Dizzy and stiff, he clawed for what he thought was the surface, but he didn't rise fast enough. Bubbles rose in front of his eyes as he released the last of the breath he was holding, and the sides of his head started to pound.
A bright red set of eyes filled his vision as he struggled toward the surface. He didn't realize it was Vivian until he felt a set of jaws clamp around his nape- firm, but not painful. She dragged him to the surface, where he quickly righted himself and took a breath. Now that he was breathing, he realized that he had been panicking, but not really drowning. The shock of icy water had made him stupid.
"What was that?" Vivian hissed, shoving him in the shoulder. "Can't you swim?"
"I told you it was cold!" Her shove sent him careening, and he didn't realized that it was toward shore until his paws sank into soft mud clay.
"It is not! Arceus, you're such a baby."
He didn't try to argue; he knew better. Once he had found his footing on land, he shook himself off and crouched, pulling himself as tight as he could to control his shivering. He didn't know how she could be so calm in ice-cold water until he watched her climb out after him and shake off: steam was rolling off her mane and tail in thick white clouds, eagerly carried away by the slight breeze. A fire type. Of course that would make a difference. He just didn't think it would make this difference.
She eyed him in a way that made him feel incredibly stupid, but it wasn't as hard as he would expect it to be from her, all things considered. She shook herself out one more time; it seemed to dry all of her but the tips of her tail and mane. "Come on. We have to get back to the ranch."
"Okay." Forcing his stiff body to move felt like more work than he was up to, but he got up and got moving. She ran more quickly this time, and it was harder to keep up with her. When they finally came to the fence, he wanted to collapse right then and there.
But he resisted the urge until they were on the inner side of it. The run had done nothing to dry his fur; it had only made his ears and tail go numb, and he was still shivering. He didn't react as Vivian set her paw on his back.
"You're still wet? You're so pathetic."
He didn't look up, waiting for more berating, but her next touch was a nudge, not a kick. "Get up. You can't just lay here."
"I bet I can." But he pushed himself to his feet and followed her anyway.
The back of the barn was bathed in the brightest source of light Angelo had seen that night. Spare bales of hay were stacked in two partial pyramids that formed an uneven cove in the center.
Vivian climbed the stack and straddled the little space expectantly. On aching legs Angelo struggled into the space, where he flopped onto his stomach and decided that he wasn't going any further. "Is this where you sleep?" he mumbled, his words slurring. He didn't know whether to blame the cold or fatique.
"Yeah." She shimmied down the cove and settled beside him. Her mane pressed against his neck and shoulders, and the heat rippling off it melted the aching pain from his frozen joints. The reliefwas instant, and he relaxed against her and closed his eyes.
"No wonder no one can find you."
She scoffed. "No one's looking for me."
There was a heaviness in her voice under the nonchalance. Angelo knew what it was, and he didn't like hearing it there. "That's not always true. I look, now and then."
"Yeah?" She sounded dubious.
"Yeah."
"Well you're bad at finding me."
He grunted. That wasn't even a taunt. "This was fun," he ventured. "We should do it again some time."
"You did a lot of complaining."
"I didn't do that much." He shifted closer and stuck his nose in her fluff. "I wouldn't have if you told me you could warm me up."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "I didn't think I'd have to."
"You didn't answer my question," he huffed. "Can we do this again?"
"If you want to. I do this every night."
He should have figured. "Hm. Cool. Then I guess I will too."
The smile was still there. "Okay."
. . .
Angelo woke up cold and damp. The starlight that had graced this wall the night before had turned into chilly shade; the hay felt hard and prickly, and the wind was seeking him out. Even before he truly awoke he felt disappointed. But he didn't know why until he opened his eyes and looked around.
The little cove where he had spent the night with Vivian was lonely now. She wasn't here, and there was no heat left to chase away the chilly Fall breeze. The only thing he had left was the smell of her on his fur.