Post by WARendfeld on Nov 14, 2012 9:23:57 GMT -6
Camping Out
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not! The first time I was here in Johto, I was practically running all over the place. I even covered the distance to Cherrygrove City from New Bark Town in less than a day.” Alex shook her head in disbelief as she noted, “And I was forty pounds lighter back then. Can’t really believe it.”
“Well, you look better for it.” Evening was beginning to settle upon the two, and while they’d covered a fair distance, there was still quite a ways to go before Alex and Nicholas could arrive at Ecruteak City. As they continued on, Nicholas caught sight of the odd Hoothoot beginning to stir, and reasoned, “Call me crazy, but it might be time to stop for the night.”
“You’re not crazy, it’s a good idea.” Alex quickly looked over the area, taking note of every feature she could find. Granted, there were a number of trees, but the area was for the most part open. She quickly found her gaze moving to a small patch of even ground near a pair of trees. “There we are. That looks like a good spot. If nothing else, it’ll provide us good cover for the morning when we have breakfast.” The two moved to their appointed spot as she added, “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful night.”
“Yeah, that it will.” Nicholas tossed off his cloak and bag and set them aside, idly thinking aloud, “That was probably one of the best things about Orre. You always had a clear view of the stars.”
“Hoenn and Johto aren’t so bad in that regard. Just depends on where you park yourself.” Her own bag set aside, Alex began sorting out her things for the night. “Truthfully though, I’m less worried about where I sleep than what could happen when I sleep. Call it paranoia or simple experience, but a girl with a figure like mine, out in the woods? By most people’s estimations, that’s a recipe for disaster.”
A blanket laid out on the ground, Nicholas turned to her with surprise. “Even with me here?”
“Yeah. Saddening, isn’t it?” Her sleeping bag laid out, Alex laid out upon it and slipped off her boots. “I mean, I’m not discounting your skills as an Aura Guardian, you’ve gotten a lot better since you and I first met, but if something happened to us out here…”
“Alex?” His jacket off, Nicholas turned to her with a smile and assured her, “You’ve got every right to be worried, but you need to relax. You’ll be fine, I’ll be fine, and ShadowWarrior will be fine.” Blankets ready, he noted, “Maybe it’s just my naiveté talking, but I don’t get why Team Rocket would be interested in tracking him down anyway. I mean, as cruel and as horrible as what they did was, why not just find another Murkrow out in the wild and capture him?”
A shrug. “Bad guys don’t think like we do, Nick. I mean, you remember what happened with me right? Jackson Canmore was driven towards seeing my death even when I was a baby. He could’ve poisoned me or something, but instead he went through an elaborate method to kill me that didn’t work. And if the rumors I’ve heard about the folks in charge of Team Rocket are true, well, it wouldn’t shock me if they tried to snatch ShadowWarrior back, even if it wasn’t pragmatic to do so.”
“Kosda was pragmatic, and he was running Cipher.”
“Kosda wasn’t about to risk a distortion in the space/time continuum by killing us before we could go back in time and fight him for his first time. Being pragmatic doesn’t preclude you from being a monster; it just means you stand a better chance of pulling off your objectives.”
“And he failed his objectives, didn’t he?”
A nod. “Yeah, he did.” Alex got back on her feet and pulled her nightclothes from her bag. “Hey, could I…?”
“Right, turning away.” Nicholas turned himself so that he was facing away from Alex and noted, “No offense, but I’m thinking there’s more to it than this.”
Her vest put aside, Alex paused in slipping out of her jeans. “You mean with them?”
“No, I mean with you.” As Alex continued to change out of her daywear and into her nightwear, Nicholas elaborated. “You killed Canmore, and you killed the four assassins. You aren’t proud of that, and I know that, and I also know that you’d have avoided it if possible. But I think a part of you is afraid of turning out like them.”
“Is that wrong?” A loose pair of shorts and an oversized shirt now covering her, Alex sat back down on her sleeping bag and started putting her hair into a braid for the night. “You can look now.”
Nicholas turned back. “No, it’s not. But you aren’t them. I mean, would you try to kill a baby? Would you kill someone for money? Would you kill anyone for any reason other than self-defense?”
“No. But since when did you approve of me killing anyone?”
“I don’t, and I definitely don’t want to see you kill someone again, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t step back and look at things. Besides, there’s always the chance that these guys will decide that you just aren’t worth it.” He slipped off his own shoes and stood up, his own night things ready to be changed into. “Now, could you…?”
Alex turned around without another word, and as Nicholas started undressing himself, she continued, “Still, I don’t see Team Rocket being particularly pragmatic. I mean, you’ve heard of Ash Ketchum, right?”
“The kid who could have been an Aura Guardian but turned it down? Of course.”
“Well, for a good chunk of his time as a trainer, he’s had the same pair of Team Rocket operatives chasing after him in the hopes of snatching up his Pikachu. And that’s ignoring the rumors I’ve heard about Mewtwo. Do those actions really suggest they’ll let ShadowWarrior go?”
“No, but last I checked, neither of us was Ash Ketchum. And they weren’t hunting after Mewtwo anymore either.” His pajamas on, Nicholas settled underneath his blankets. “If they’re after us, then we’ll do the sensible thing and worry about it when it happens. You’re good to look.”
Alex turned about and slipped into her sleeping bag. “Fair enough. And in all honesty, I hope you’re right.”
“Me too.” Nicholas settled under his blanket, a look of discomfort spreading over his face. “Right now, I’m just hoping I can get a proper night’s sleep.”
Alex grinned and settled into her bag to sleep. “We’ve been on our feet for most of the day. I think we’ll be fine for that.”
TBC!
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not! The first time I was here in Johto, I was practically running all over the place. I even covered the distance to Cherrygrove City from New Bark Town in less than a day.” Alex shook her head in disbelief as she noted, “And I was forty pounds lighter back then. Can’t really believe it.”
“Well, you look better for it.” Evening was beginning to settle upon the two, and while they’d covered a fair distance, there was still quite a ways to go before Alex and Nicholas could arrive at Ecruteak City. As they continued on, Nicholas caught sight of the odd Hoothoot beginning to stir, and reasoned, “Call me crazy, but it might be time to stop for the night.”
“You’re not crazy, it’s a good idea.” Alex quickly looked over the area, taking note of every feature she could find. Granted, there were a number of trees, but the area was for the most part open. She quickly found her gaze moving to a small patch of even ground near a pair of trees. “There we are. That looks like a good spot. If nothing else, it’ll provide us good cover for the morning when we have breakfast.” The two moved to their appointed spot as she added, “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful night.”
“Yeah, that it will.” Nicholas tossed off his cloak and bag and set them aside, idly thinking aloud, “That was probably one of the best things about Orre. You always had a clear view of the stars.”
“Hoenn and Johto aren’t so bad in that regard. Just depends on where you park yourself.” Her own bag set aside, Alex began sorting out her things for the night. “Truthfully though, I’m less worried about where I sleep than what could happen when I sleep. Call it paranoia or simple experience, but a girl with a figure like mine, out in the woods? By most people’s estimations, that’s a recipe for disaster.”
A blanket laid out on the ground, Nicholas turned to her with surprise. “Even with me here?”
“Yeah. Saddening, isn’t it?” Her sleeping bag laid out, Alex laid out upon it and slipped off her boots. “I mean, I’m not discounting your skills as an Aura Guardian, you’ve gotten a lot better since you and I first met, but if something happened to us out here…”
“Alex?” His jacket off, Nicholas turned to her with a smile and assured her, “You’ve got every right to be worried, but you need to relax. You’ll be fine, I’ll be fine, and ShadowWarrior will be fine.” Blankets ready, he noted, “Maybe it’s just my naiveté talking, but I don’t get why Team Rocket would be interested in tracking him down anyway. I mean, as cruel and as horrible as what they did was, why not just find another Murkrow out in the wild and capture him?”
A shrug. “Bad guys don’t think like we do, Nick. I mean, you remember what happened with me right? Jackson Canmore was driven towards seeing my death even when I was a baby. He could’ve poisoned me or something, but instead he went through an elaborate method to kill me that didn’t work. And if the rumors I’ve heard about the folks in charge of Team Rocket are true, well, it wouldn’t shock me if they tried to snatch ShadowWarrior back, even if it wasn’t pragmatic to do so.”
“Kosda was pragmatic, and he was running Cipher.”
“Kosda wasn’t about to risk a distortion in the space/time continuum by killing us before we could go back in time and fight him for his first time. Being pragmatic doesn’t preclude you from being a monster; it just means you stand a better chance of pulling off your objectives.”
“And he failed his objectives, didn’t he?”
A nod. “Yeah, he did.” Alex got back on her feet and pulled her nightclothes from her bag. “Hey, could I…?”
“Right, turning away.” Nicholas turned himself so that he was facing away from Alex and noted, “No offense, but I’m thinking there’s more to it than this.”
Her vest put aside, Alex paused in slipping out of her jeans. “You mean with them?”
“No, I mean with you.” As Alex continued to change out of her daywear and into her nightwear, Nicholas elaborated. “You killed Canmore, and you killed the four assassins. You aren’t proud of that, and I know that, and I also know that you’d have avoided it if possible. But I think a part of you is afraid of turning out like them.”
“Is that wrong?” A loose pair of shorts and an oversized shirt now covering her, Alex sat back down on her sleeping bag and started putting her hair into a braid for the night. “You can look now.”
Nicholas turned back. “No, it’s not. But you aren’t them. I mean, would you try to kill a baby? Would you kill someone for money? Would you kill anyone for any reason other than self-defense?”
“No. But since when did you approve of me killing anyone?”
“I don’t, and I definitely don’t want to see you kill someone again, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t step back and look at things. Besides, there’s always the chance that these guys will decide that you just aren’t worth it.” He slipped off his own shoes and stood up, his own night things ready to be changed into. “Now, could you…?”
Alex turned around without another word, and as Nicholas started undressing himself, she continued, “Still, I don’t see Team Rocket being particularly pragmatic. I mean, you’ve heard of Ash Ketchum, right?”
“The kid who could have been an Aura Guardian but turned it down? Of course.”
“Well, for a good chunk of his time as a trainer, he’s had the same pair of Team Rocket operatives chasing after him in the hopes of snatching up his Pikachu. And that’s ignoring the rumors I’ve heard about Mewtwo. Do those actions really suggest they’ll let ShadowWarrior go?”
“No, but last I checked, neither of us was Ash Ketchum. And they weren’t hunting after Mewtwo anymore either.” His pajamas on, Nicholas settled underneath his blankets. “If they’re after us, then we’ll do the sensible thing and worry about it when it happens. You’re good to look.”
Alex turned about and slipped into her sleeping bag. “Fair enough. And in all honesty, I hope you’re right.”
“Me too.” Nicholas settled under his blanket, a look of discomfort spreading over his face. “Right now, I’m just hoping I can get a proper night’s sleep.”
Alex grinned and settled into her bag to sleep. “We’ve been on our feet for most of the day. I think we’ll be fine for that.”
TBC!