Narrator
As we watch that wretched Sableye pass out of Castle Draclugia, a couple of thoughts come to my mind.
What a sorry sight that was!
Let's follow him.
You know, he's a lot older than most people would guess. If I had to venture one, I'd say both of them are about the same age. Granted, one of them does actually age more slowly than the other (or used to), but that's not my point. All I care about are numbers right now, and those are probably on par with each other. If you were to ask me, I wouldn't be able to come up with a convincing reason as to why I mentioned their ages at all, honestly. I just thought it was an interesting piece of information. Make of it what you will. They have other things in common besides their age, I think. I'm not really going to tell you what these things are, because as of right now, they'd just be rumors. Rumors are never a good thing to encourage or create, as one merchant guild leader found out not too long ago. You might not notice unless you were paying attention, but she actually does have feelings! A lot of them, in fact. You're most likely a simple paying customer, so she has no real need to show herself as anything but a merchant. I wish I could have been a bit closer to that conversation, but alas! Vampires don't get along with our type too well, they say we interfere with their... their everything, really. Our inherent natures tend to clash no matter what we do, so we must respectfully agree to go our own ways. That's going a bit off track though, my apologies. Anyway, any closer and she may have detected me, and eavesdropping is a rather hard thing to explain away. You understand, right? I had to be satisfied with looking in through a window, even if the view it offered was rather pitiful. Ah, I almost lost him while writing this! I really should pay better attention to the outside world more, but that really isn't my forte. My "thing", if you will. There I go again, actually. Time to catch up to him! Not too close though, of course.
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I don't normally do this, you know. Oh, don't get me wrong, I meant to say I don't normally follow... him. You'd have to be a bit touched in the head to think stalking him a good idea. At least, that used to be the requirement. He's changed a bit over the years. For the better, I believe, but who am I to judge? I've only been watching him for decades. Well, not him, specifically. He is quite unique and intriguing, yes, but I am aware of the dangers of tunnel vision. Best to keep an eye on everything you can, lest you be caught off guard. While he is generally intriguing, that is not the case tonight. As we speak, you and I, he appears to be wandering about the village. I wouldn't... quite say he was looking for something, although I could understand how someone could make that assumption. If I am completely wrong and he is indeed on the hunt, I don't believe he knows what he's looking for. That last bit can be said with confidence only because he does this nearly every night. I know that if I had been searching for as long as he has been, I would have found whatever it was long ago, I assure you. Would you like to know the funny part? He's actually the most talkative during this time of night, yet every Pokemon runs when they spot him! Well, that's not quite true. I've talked to him before, but only after he caught me doing the very stalking I'm currently engaged in! He didn't even mind that I was spying on him, which was a relief. Didn't even ask me why I was doing it. Strange fellow indeed. We ended up talking for quite some time, about many things. I'm currently writing a book about some of them, which I'm sure will be finished in the near future.
I'll leave him be, as I should start my search before it gets too late. Unlike him, I know what I'm looking for. Unfortunate, vulnerable Pokemon. They're the easiest prey to catch, you know.
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Our narrator's search for a suitable Pokemon has proven to be a success, and in a rather short amount of time! That isn't really a surprise; Sorbet's rampage has left many homeless. Suitable living conditions are being offered free of charge at Merlot's castle, but, understandably, not all Pokemon are comfortable with being near her. Some have chosen to rebuild their old homes, and some have chosen to brave the wilderness of the woods outside of Tao Village. The latter are usually the ones found by our narrator. Tonight's catch seemed to be a Dratini! He quickly called out to catch her attention, but not before making sure no one was around to interfere.
"Young miss, are you quite all right?"
The sudden appearance of a predator in the middle of night would normally shock most Pokemon, and this Dratini was no exception. She had initially thought her new house (which was actually just a crudely constructed tent made of rocks and branches. They have no limbs, you know.) would serve her well as a temporary shelter, but at this point in time it felt like a cage with only one way out: forward. Forward. The direction in which the predator was located.
Gotta sound confident, maybe he'll leave.
Gathering up what little resolve she had, she demonstrated just how confident she truly was.
"Ah, um, I-I'm fine, thank you!" She hoped that he would accept this response and go on his merry way, but there was no such luck tonight. She was cold and hungry, and this was obvious to him. He stepped forward, and soon enough he was too close for her to flee; he had taken that opportunity away while she (naively) took the time to respond to him. She felt a bit angry at her own foolishness, then came to a rather grim realization.
He's done this before.
That thought didn't do much to reassure her. She accidentally looked into his eyes and became filled with indecision. Should she fight him? Try to flee? The answer to both of these questions was no. Fighting would only prolong the inevitable, and fleeing would be an exercise in futility. He had four legs, she had none. Should she plead for him to spare her? No, again. That would only make her seem like an even easier target than she currently was. All that was left for her to do was-
"Miss? Are you sure you're all right? You seem terrified! Is there anything I can do to help?"
His repeated question caused her to snap out of her trance. She realized she had been staring at him during that whole thought process, and he still managed to walk right up to her without her noticing. She had been too distracted by thinking of things she could do when she should have been paying attention to the threat in front of her. Why couldn't she focus on him?
Help? He's not going to.. What? Isn't he going to eat me?
"Goodness, no, why would I want to do a thing like that?" He recoiled in shock as he said this, but she wasn't sure if he was being completely serious. One could never tell with his type, and he did sound a bit sarcastic. She shied away from him, further sliding back into her small tent, not in fear but rather in embarrassment upon realizing she had spoke those last thoughts out loud. Fear does things like that, sometimes. She looked at him again, now not quite sure what to think.
"It's cold out tonight, isn't it?" He inched a bit closer, returning her stare with a cheerful look. She liked that look, for some reason.
It is cold out, she thought. Normally it wouldn't bother her, but it did tonight. Maybe it was the scare she just went through.
"It also sounds as if it will rain soon. A rather bad combination, wouldn't you agree?" He moved a little closer. She didn't notice.
She agreed. She wished she had her old house back, but wishing doesn't really make things happen. She would have gone with him right there and then, but the cry of a far-off Hoothoot startled her, making her break his gaze and think about the danger she was in.
"What say you accompany me to my house, just for the night? It wouldn't sit right with me to know that someone as lovely as you will be sitting out here in the cold rain! I'll get a fire going, and I have plenty of extra bedding. I'll have a stew cooking, as well. How about it?"
He smiled as he said this, and it was almost convincing. Or maybe it was genuine and she was just being paranoid. At any rate, it would be nice to sleep in a real bed again, and she was hungry. Maybe he was actually interested in the welfare of a stranger like her. Or maybe he wanted to finish her off where no one would see. She decided not to take that risk.
"Um, I don't mean to offend, but I really am all right.. I do thank you for your offer, really. I was just about to head to sleep." She hoped that he would take the hint. He didn't.
"You don't have to be so paranoid, you know. I would never dream of harming anyone. Especially not a beauty like you, my dear girl."
He crouched down to eye level as he said this, and she caught his gaze again. Any doubts she had about him melted away, and she didn't care to wonder why. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
It was very cold now, and she was very hungry, and it was starting to rain. She was having a hard time focusing on much of anything while looking at him, and the promise of a fire, a bed, and a stew was too much.
She agreed to go with him.
She couldn't remember the journey to his house. How long did it even take? She couldn't remember that, either. Where was she? His house, supposedly. She didn't know where his house was, though. She wondered if she would be able to find her way back home in the morning. If morning ever came for her, that is. She hoped it would. Why did she come here in the first place? Her stomach growled, and she remembered why. She felt a little more at ease when she detected the scent of a soup cooking from somewhere in the back of his house. He wasn't lying about the food, at least. The door closed behind her, and she felt him brush against her as he walked by. His house wasn't that small, but the majority of space had been taken up by piles of books strewn about the floor. She spotted his bed, and it looked very inviting. Maybe she'd take a short nap while he tended to his soup. That sounded like a good idea. She was awakened by the sound of a bowl of soup being placed on a small wooden table in the middle of the room, and by the aroma it gave off. She was very hungry, and eager to find out if the taste lived up to her expectations. It did. He seemed pleased by her approval of the food, and let her finish before he decided to talk again.
"Tell me, would you happen to know of any stories? I'm a bit of a writer, and I'm always looking for more tales to put in my books."
Another smile. She felt like she could talk to him about anything, and she didn't want to let him down. He did go through all this trouble for her, even though she didn't ask him to. Trouble is, the only real stories she knew of were childhood fairy tales. She had quite a few stories she made up herself, but she didn't know if those were quite what he was looking for. She told them anyway, and was pleased to discover that he enjoyed them. After a while, she ran out of stories to tell and energy to tell them with. The fear she felt had been replaced with gratitude, and she wondered why she ever doubted him in the first place. The initial confrontation had frightened her, yes, but that was hardly his fault. Did she even know his name? No, she had neglected to ask him, although he did ask for hers. She would get his name in the morning, for right now all she had on her mind was sleep. Settling down in the bed she had napped in earlier, she thanked him again and went out like a light. While he was mildly amused she had gone to sleep so quickly after getting into his bed, he was a bit disappointed she had run out of stories to tell him. She was exceedingly competent at telling stories, which was a delight. As a bonus, he wasn't familiar with any of the stories she told him, which was extremely rare. The notes he took would serve to help him remember them later, when he would start to compile them into a book for all to read. That would be done later, though. Right now, she was out of stories and fast asleep, and that was all that mattered. There would be no more stories from her, which made him a bit sad. Nothing left to do but that, though. He crept closer to the bed, taking great care to make sure he didn't wake her.
