Flat Out Refuse

No matter how you try to rationalize it in your head, the idea of leaving so much of yourself exposed just feels wrong. Arro has fought beside you and has more than earned his way into your good graces, but this Milotic… You **** yourself to look past your friend into her eyes once more, desperately trying to read her. She remains as firm as ever, never breaking your visual stand-off. Finding nothing to work with there, you fall back on her actions up until this point.

It is true she aided you in your fight against the Quagsire, though that could have been more self-preservation than anything else. To your knowledge she hasn’t lied to you yet, though you do recall feeling the effects of her alluring voice as well as that tail upon entering her home. And lastly, she attempted to subdue you without explanation. That last bit stung the most and didn’t sit well with you. Your demeanor stiffens as you come to your conclusion.

“Forgive me, but my mind is my own.” You give the Vaporeon a sympathetic look before returning your glare to Lyra. Arro begins to assuage your worries once more but you quickly interject, “I have no doubt that ‘You’ mean no harm, Arro…” the emphasis on him being clear to all. “But I can’t say the same for your Chief here.” Though she’s not moved since first kneeling, you can tell that the last bit flustered the large woman a fair amount.

Not backing down in the slightest, you continue. “You think I’m being unfair, Elder Lyra?” you don’t even attempt to hide the venom in your tone. “I have tried to be as civil and understanding as possible since entering your home and where has that gotten me? I’m not only treated with suspicion, but also without any provocation..” You point a finger to the limp girl on the bed to add a bit more fire to your next statement, “.. you tried to do THAT to me!” Having shouted the final bit, any good will between the two of you quickly dissipates.

Lyra stares hard at you for a long while, neither of you willing to back down. Finally, she is the one to break the contest, looking away in thinly veiled frustration. Arro, completely unsure of how to react to your outburst, simply stands frozen, awaiting the Chieftains retort. He doesn’t have to wait long.

“You have no idea, little Sneasel, the things I’ve been **** to do to protect my people.” Her words are cold, lacking any of the harmonious flair from before. “I have lived for nearly a century and in all that time I’ve known little more than the stress of my impossible charge.” You remain fixed on her scarlet orbs, even as she slowly begins to rise. “You think this illness is the first threat our people have faced? Do you have the slightest notion of the responsibility I have to these pokemon?!” The harshness in her voice coupled with her towering over you at her full height puts a few cracks in your resolve.

Once again the poor Vaporeon attempts to douse the flames before they grow but a single glower from his leader withers him on the spot. You can tell that, however justified you are, tensions are too high for anything productive to be accomplished. You shake your head with disgust and turn towards the bedroom doorway. “We aren’t going to learn anything from each other…”

You take a few steps toward the shell curtains, thinking to ask the other villagers. You are interrupted, however, when that multi-colored extremity rips past a startled Arro and snakes its way between yourself and the exit. More surprised than angry at this point, you face up to the now scowling Matriarch, a grim determination upon her visage. “I didn’t dismiss you, feline…” She speaks slowly, leaving little room for misinterpretation.

Taken aback by the audacity of this one to assume authority over your person, you hop back from her tail before barking out that her permission isn’t required. Further annoyed by your continued refusal, Lyra casts a wary eye to her right hand eeveelution asking him if, perhaps he was mistaken about you. Arro is at a loss, stammering out fruitless placations and begging for calm. You do feel sorry for him, torn as he is between the both of you, but you’re set on leaving and won’t be deterred.

After declaring as much, Lyra’s anger suddenly seems to melt away, her tail still blocking your way slumping against the floor. What was once drawn up in a picture of simmering rage gives way to solemn resignation. She once again looks to the Vaporeon, a look of genuine regret about her before she softly whispers, “... Forgive me.” Barely a second later a powerful shot of water comes rocketing toward your head.

Having suspected this less than favorable outcome was approaching, you side step the expected burst, putting the bed between you. You have little time to appreciate the correct read before that bothersome tail comes swiping in from your left. This one forces you to duck low, bringing you close to the bedframe and the sleeping feral atop it. “I don’t want to fight you!” You yell prior to jumping clear of another jet of liquid.

Lyra doesn’t respond aside from stomping past a pleading Arro to bear down upon you. With a corner to your back, what little options you once had are quickly fading. Hating yourself for it but knowing you’ve few choices left you bare your fangs and ready yourself to counter attack. The predictable tail sweep comes at you once more, missing your prepared dodge and collides viciously with the wall behind you. This impact seems to break the Milotic’s sight line of you, and you decide to take advantage. You hop up to the right of the recoiling tail and launch yourself toward the exposed Elder, hoping to stun her with a kick long enough for you to flee.

You never get the chance as a blue streak obscures your vision before the breath is crushed from your lungs. The split sec prior to colliding with the floorboards, you come to understand that Arro has intercepted your strike. Completely unprepared for the tackle, you crash down hard against the recently slickened floorboards. The **** at which you were hit causes you to slide back, Arro still atop you, as you come to a stop just inches before smacking into the wall in a groaning heap.

Despite the throbbing in your head, you crack open your eyes to see the Vaporeon straddling you, an arm pinning your back to the boards. He wears a mask of utter turmoil, silently pleading with you to stay put. It would seem your new acquaintance still knows where his loyalties lie. You grunt against the pain radiating around your back and shakily try to push him off. “Please Kale!” sincere anguish obvious in his quivering voice. Those distraught words almost break your resolve.

Almost.

You redouble your efforts, thrashing wildly against him, trying to buck him off your torso. Whether it’s his half-hearted attempt at holding you down, or your growing anger at the betrayal, his grip seems to be weakening. After one firm kick, you manage to unbalance him enough to wrench his arm from your chest. It is just as you’re about to roll him off you when your ears are set ablaze by, “ENOUGH”

The instant that booming demand was made, the tension in your straining muscles dissipates. The word reverberates around your skull, consuming your determination and sealing away your burning anger. Your struggles with Arro quickly cease as you feel him soften atop you, the command seemingly affecting him as well. Reactively looking to the source, you peer up to see Lyra towering over the both of you, those devilish tail gems already swaying in the morning sun. You **** yourself to look away, gritting your teeth and clamping shut your eyes with the last of your will.

More requests come, this time in a more restrained, almost tranquil tone. The Vaporeon wastes no time in doing as he’s told, as you feel his form shift off you and hear footsteps bringing him to the wall behind you. The buzzing in your head grows stronger the more you ignore the now silky smooth call, the words blending together to form more of a sea of noise rather than a coherent directive. It is all you can do to drive those words away, so much so that you can’t even resist when you feel a strong pair of arms carefully scooping you up.

Your legs dangle limply as you are gently held aloft, that soothing cacophony growing closer and fully encompassing your mind with a pleasant, albeit incomprehensible murmur. The endless stream of blissful nonsense soon becomes too much to bear and just as you think you might let your resolve slip, you are suddenly enveloped by silence. It is as close to an absolute stillness of sound as ever you’ve heard, so much so that you almost believe you’ve gone deaf from the auditory ****. You can, however, still feel your limbs hanging there completely unresponsive, exhausted as you are. The seconds tick by in that empty void, the darkness soon brings a bitter chill. Too tired to even shiver, you are helplessly stranded in that inky dark.

Your lungs begin to scream for air and you realize it has been what feels like minutes since your last breath. To your horror, when you do try to fill your chest with air, you cannot. A pressure upon you keeps the oxygen from reaching its sorely needed destination. Panic takes hold and, still unable to move your body, you resort to whimpering as the tears begin to fall from your clenched eyelids.

“Breathe.”

The simple directive, a lifeline in the ceaseless black, fills you with warmth as well as a much desired lungful. You gasp greedily and take to the fullest extent your heaving will allow as the sensation of a smooth hand wipes away your **** tears. “Why do you resist, Child?” The soft spoken question strikes hard, bringing much of your sense back to you. The wondrous feeling of that unnatural coldness being **** from you is pure ecstasy.

“Ahhh…” The voice continues. The hand that once dried your sorrow strokes tenderly across your forehead, the warmth spreading further throughout you. “Fear is sadly commonplace in these dark times…” The comforting hand continues to trace down along your cheek to scratch at your neck. The stimulation is intoxicating, and soon you find yourself wishing for more of its affections. “I can offer you a way to shed your fears, little one..” The invitation intrigues you to say the least. You can’t remember the last time you lived without the constant worry of becoming dinner. The velvet tone prompts once more, “You need only Open Your Eyes~”

You don’t even think twice before your sore eyelids ease open, a slight sting radiating through them from the instant stream of light mixed with shimmering hues of Red and Blue…

Moments later, you find yourself sat comfortably on the large bed, just as Lyra had asked. Across the way, you see her conversing with a rather handsome Vaporeon. You do occasionally wonder what it is they speak of but deep down you know it is rude to eavesdrop. Thus, you busy yourself with thoughts of Lyra’s promise to ‘free you from your fears.’

“Please Elder Lyra, I beg you…” Arro’s voice quivers, fresh dampness about his eyes. “He is a good pokemon! He just acted rashly… Surely we cannot-!” His rebuttal is quelled with a finger curling beneath his chin. He is again lost in those engrossing pools of red as his chieftain, his mentor stares loving into his soul.

“The day's events have convinced me that those who remain in Crest Cove must return to the sanctuary…” She motions to Jona, still dozing next to the now dazed Sneasel. “I cannot lose another to this madness, Arro…” A mournful look crosses her tired face. “As such, we must go where your friend cannot follow.” The aquatic vulpine attempts one last **** plea, suggesting that she might simply remove the last few days from Kale’s memory before sending him on his way. Lyra is already shaking her head before his thought is finished. “Look at him, my dear… Such an act would leave him muddled for the better part of a day. In that time, he would no doubt fall to a carrier of the illness…” She casts a forlorn expression down unto her stalwart. “Is that how you would have him meet his end? Confused and terrified in the clutches of a sadist?”

The image of his new friend going through such an ordeal almost brings another wave of tears. Knowing that his chieftain is right, he slowly shakes his head and looks to the floor, defeated. “The choices we make in life aren’t always simple, my friend. We are defined by our resolve in the moments that would break other, lesser pokemon.” She again cradles his chin in her palm, guiding his eyes up to hers. “You will know this one day… But for now, please take Jona home and wait by her side.” She looks over to you joyfully kicking your legs off the side of the bed, with not a care in the world. “I will join you once I’ve set things right.”

Without another word, the Vaporeon scoops up his infected friend, offers you a sympathetic look and quickly walks through the shelled curtains. Left alone, staring affectionately up at the Milotic woman, you can’t remember a time when you’ve felt so safe.

With Arro caring for Jona, Lyra stands quietly for a while, looking over your diminutive form. When at last she is sure you are alone, a smile gingerly creases her face. Without a word, she slowly, sensually unties the front of her chest wrap and allows it to fall free, her generous bosom bouncing from the motion. She begins to take deliberate, leisurely steps toward the bed, allowing her hips to sway as she goes. “It is regrettable, little kitten, what must be done…” Those lovely words hum throughout the core of your being as she kneels before you, that smooth chest just inches from your reddening face.

“...But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it~”