The Journey of 1000 Miles- Ch.2 Jirachi's Recovery~

Continued from The Journey of 1000 Miles- Ch.1 The First Step~

Meiline Koto, a young teenager still could be seen running, bursting from the tree line of Viridian Forest. Her auburn hair fell loosely from the bun it had been in, now falling into a loosely tied ponytail flowing behind her. It was rather amazing she could be so quick with the open heeled sandals she had on, but her long legs carried her swiftly.

She could be seen holding something, cradling it with a worried expression on her face. Whatever it was had been wrapped in the plaid shirt she normally wore over her white tank top. She slowed a bit, to catch her breath as a silvery feline figure halted in front of her watching. It had been leading her through the woods, its quiet gaze calmly examining Mei's condition.

It was Absolom, her Absol. He walked up to her as she quit running for a moment, panting a bit after the trek through the forest. He nudged her gently with his black nose, closing his eyes as he rubbed his head against her. He knew she was tired, but they needed to hurry to Pewter City and they weren't far now.

The small figure in her arms moved a bit, opening its eyes weakly as it turned its head to look at them before collapsing again, eyes closed once more. It had a pale white face, with something like a yellow star around its head and blue tags. It was a lot like a wishing star, in fact. It was a Jirachi, and Mei knew them from studying astronomy, as it had shown up in many myths of the stars.

Her legs shook a bit, but Mei took a deep breath and looked forward. She gave a strong nod that said she was ready and determined. Absolom's eyes showed he was proud, though he remained silent. He turned back toward the path, hopping a few strides forward and waiting for Mei to come along. She glanced back at the tree line, just to make sure her companion, Tsume was still following before turning forward and running on toward Pewter.

Natsume continued running the direction of the Pewter City gates.. His usual cold look returned to his face again. He brought out one of his pokéballs to look at it. He put it away again. Natsume wished there was water for him to let it out. "Ok, we're now here." He said. Natsume continued running, turning at the doors of the pokémon center, barely giving the doors time to open before entering.

Lucario kept up swiftly and continued to stay beside Natsume. He was happy for the time Natsume had lost his cold expression, but disappointed when it returned.

Mei smiled as Tsume caught up with her, her feet padding hard against the ground. Her face turned slightly sad though, seeing that cold look come over his face again. Hmm...maybe it's just a show he puts on... she thought, turning the corner and bursting through the sliding Pokemon Center doors.

Absolom kept a few steps ahead of them the whole way, quickly dashing five to ten feet in front of them whenever they'd catch up, and turning back to wait. He halted at the side of the Pokemon Center, to wait for the others. He allowed Mei to head through the doors before him, following closely behind, shooting in at her heels.

Mei ran up to the counter, holding tightly to the wrapped up bundle within her arms. "Nurse Joy!" she called out, stopping at the counter. She gently lay the Jirachi down, peeling back her over shirt to reveal it to the nurse. "Please, Joy...can't you help it?" she pleaded, looking up from the severely injured Pokemon. It seemed to be wheezing a bit, having troubles breathing by now. I hope its injuries aren't too severe... she thought, hoping.

Nurse Joy turned around quickly, startled from them coming in all at once. "Huh? wha... calm down... Oh..." she says, realizing how severe it really looked. She did some typing on her computer. Two chansey came from the emergency room with a small hospital bed. "Please lay your pokemon on the bed so we can take care of it in the back. You'll have to wait out here." She says.

Natsume felt himself about to cry in the suspense. He tried hard to hide it with his rude expression.

Mei glanced back momentarily to Tsume. He doesn't act the same out here...maybe it's other people... she then turned back to Joy. She nodded, lifting Jirachi gently, the limp Pokemon dangling half lifelessly in her arms. "Right then..." she said reluctantly, laying it gently on the stretcher, lifting its ribbon like extensions and laying them next to it.

Mei backed away slowly, one hand in a loose fist near her chest as she watched them take Jirachi away. Please be okay... she prayed silently, closing her eyes momentarily. Absolom met her at her side, nudging her with his nose as though it were a 'You did the right thing' gesture. Her face softened looking down at him, a sad smile creeping to her face as she gently stroked his thick white mane.

She walked over past Tsume, then found a waiting bench. She sat down on it nervously, folding her hands in her lap over and over again. "Do you think it'll be alright?" she suddenly said, breaking the silence in the static filled air. The sudden atmospheric change almost felt as though a tiny explosion would happen, but it was of course all just circumstance.

Nurse Joy wheeled the bed back to the emergency room, along with the two chansey. "We will be out as soon as possible." She said, as she walked off.

He walked to where Mei had gone and sat down beside her, but making sure there was space between. "I.. hope." Natsume says, keeping himself from crying only by a sliver."I think something's going to happen... I mean... a Jirachi... is someone after it? I do hope it's okay." He felt a single tear leave his eyes and completely hid it. 'Please be ok'

Is someone after it? The thought hadn't crossed Mei's mind before, but it would make sense. After all, Jirachi was rumored to be able to grant any wish, there would surely be people who would lust for such power. She clenched her fists a bit, closing her eyes as the crater flashed back in her mind.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed open, "But...the meteorite. Jirachi fell from the sky, who could have been chasing it way up there?" She tilted her head back, staring up at the ceiling tiles as though she were looking straight through them to the sky above. Who could, and would do such a thing... she wondered, unable to grasp how they could chase it from the very stars.

Mei glanced over to Tsume, recognizing that hurt expression. He was worried, though he didn't want to show it. "It's alright Tsume...I'm sure that's why Absol made us go there, so that we could help it before it was too late. There's a reason for these things, you know..." she sounded so optimistic, hard to believe with all the bad luck that she has.

Mei watched Natsume, twiddling her thumbs idly as he threw himself down with an audible thunk against the wall. Her fingers stopped as he stood, rubbing his head. She let out a soft sigh and nodded as he headed for the door. She glanced back to the back door, the emergency light still on. Mei crossed her legs beneath the bench she was sitting on, placing her palms flat against the seat on either side of her for balance as she leaned forward and stared into the floor.

"Absolom...we did the right thing, didn't we? I mean...retrieving Jirachi-bringing it here. It's gonna be okay wont it?" she asked, keeping her gaze down to the ground. Absolom ruffled his white fur as he stepped to Mei. nudging her lightly with his nose. Her hand lifted, setting gently on his head and breaking her solemn stare. A sad smile found its way to her lips as she glanced over to the Absol, running her fingers through his silky fur. "Thanks..." she said before sitting back up.

Stretching her arms up and over her head, Mei tilted her head up and back, expanding her chest with an exhilarating breath. She released her hands, allowing them to drop back to her side as she stood and exhaled. "I do feel better now. Let's just hope that Jirachi and Tsume will too," she said glancing once more back to the ER door. She then looked to the outside door, and decided to go check on her new friend. She walked out the doors to reunite with her travel companion.

Natsume was looking for a pond or something so he could let out Milotic. The place was so much rock. 'I guess that's what this place is known for.... where am I supposed to find rivers or anything?' He thought to himself. He sat down for a second. 'I'm not.... the emotional type... why do I cry? I don't want to... be so weak... to cry so easily. My emotions are only a weakness to me...' His hands were burned from the fire that had been on while he had his fists clenched. Though he could create fire, he is still able to feel the burn it gives.

((Not much else to say. -_-))

(Do remember Jirachi is in the recovery room and such.)

Mei exited and glanced around looking for Natsume before catching a glimpse of him in the distance. He seemed to be distressed over something. Absolom joined at Mei's side and glanced up to her waiting for her move. Mei turned down to him, giving a slight smile before looking back up to her traveling companion. Even his aura showed his distress. "Hmm..." she grunted audibly as she thought of possible ways to make him feel better. Deciding standing there obviously wasn't helping, she began to walk over to him with Absolom following closely.

She approached him with slight caution, as she remembered his 'problem' with flammables. "Hey Tsume," she said trying to sound a little up-beat to lighten the mood. "You alright? You took off awful quick back there," she started glancing back momentarily to the Pokemon Center before placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Maybe you're hungry? We could go get some food while we wait for Jirachi to recover," she suggested, refolding her hands behind her back.

Natsume didn't really look back as he spoke. "I don't have the funds to do so," He says, "I am not wanting to take up any money that you have, either." He still wanted to look for water, though he didn't. 'how am I supposed to find water in a place famous for rock, anyway?' he thought to himself. He tried to hide his burned hands in his pockets before she saw, but he wasn't very fast to do so.

Lucario was not really wanting to be out at the moment, and Natsume could tell he didn't want to. "Come on, into your pokéball, Lucario." He says, bringing out Lucario's Pokéball, a red beam stretched its way to Lucario, pulling it into the Pokéball.

"Well..." Mei started, reaching for her small pack at her waist. "I do have some money that I'm not really using. If I bought food for myself, then shared it with you then it wouldn't really be you taking money from me. After all, I wont be able to eat the whole portion myself!" she joked lightly, taking a step or two closer once Lucario returned to its ball. "Other than that, we could go near that old saw mill and see if the berry bushes are still there. They used to grow wild by the old river over that way."

Mei turned her face to the sun, partially shading her eyes from it with her hand. "Hm...I think it's...This way!" she said, quickly turning and pointing to he edge of town. "That is if I remember right," she quickly added at the end. "So what do you say? We can go grab a bite to eat while Jirachi recovers," she said, taking Tsume by the arm and giving a little tug, a meek smile on her face.

Natsume was rather surprised at Mei. Anyone he had met was usually scared off by his ability. Either they would run off screaming, or they would just gradually drag themselves further away until they left him completely. No one had actually been this nice to him before.

Natsume took a breath. "I guess we could..." Natsume says, which literally meant yes. He still tried to hide away his emotion, conceal it away best he could.

Mei smiled softly, "Then let's go," she said calmly as she gave his arm a tug before releasing it and walking off. She'd been to Pewter city before, but it had been some time, and she didn't know if the river still ran through town there. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back as she walked a few steps. She could remember the cool wind blowing through the soft grass back then. She let out a sigh and opened her eyes as she continued walking toward the edge of town.

Absolom followed the pair quietly, keeping all his senses alert to watch for any danger toward Mei. She was the only human he knew of to be so very prone to those dark energies to follow her. He swore to protect her, and protect he would. His gaze was intent ahead, as Mei approached the old mill which appeared to be abandoned.

Mei let out a sigh, scratching her head a bit, "It looks like the river stopped flowing, the water wheel isn't turning anymore. I wonder what happened..." she drifted off, eyes following the dry river bed up and over what used to be the falls. "Hey Tsume, think maybe something's blocking the water up stream?" Mei asked, turning to face Natsume and Absolom.

Natsume followed Mei as they walked through Pewter City. He looked constantly ahead for the mill, he had been out searching for water a while before. The river would be a good source of water. At the moment, all he really saw was rock.

Natsume had lost the grim look that had constantly followed him before. He was naturally the curious type and wanted to see what it was. "Do you think we should check it out?" He asked Mei.

((And then I don't get it... is it dried up and not flowing anymore or is it that the river is calmer than usual?))

{The river has halted to nearly nothing but a few puddles here or there.}

Mei stretched her neck back, looking up to the cliff side where the waterfall used to pour from. It seemed pretty high up, but she seemed less than worried. "Sure, Tsume. Let's climb it!" she shouted loudly, her feet padding the ground as she rushed over to the rocky wall. "Hmm..." she said, staring up the nearly vertical wall, wondering how she'd be able to scale it effectively without mountain gear.

Suddenly, she jerked her head to the left at a subtle noise. It was Absolom, standing on a higher rise than she was on. Mei stared at him for a moment, with him staring right back before he leaped to another rise a bit higher than the one he'd been standing on. Mei's expression suddenly changed, a smirk going across her face.

"Yes, I see, Absolom!" she shouted, running over beneath where he'd been before, placing her hands up on the wall, grasping some of the rocky protrusions. She hoisted herself up, using her feet to brace and help lift as she rose, carefully using each rock to her advantage. She flinched, however when one of the rocks broke free, causing her arm to fling down, losing her stance as her entire body jolted toward the ground. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes closed tightly in worry before she started to breathe again. Luckily, she'd caught herself on the ledge just above her. She could feel her heart pounding, but swung her other arm up, hoisting her body up onto the ledge with her arms, legs scrambling up behind her.

She sat down, panting for a moment before looking back down to the ground. She glanced upward, still a few more ledges to go, but she was up pretty high now. She looked back down to Natsume once again. "Come on up, Tsume, it's not so hard!" Mei said enthusiastically before standing back up, and heading for the next ledge. She was determined to get up to the top the fastest way possible.

Natsume watched Mei on the first part. He had an idea on what to do, but it didn't change the fact that he wasn't the best at climbing. But it didn't mean he was not going to try. Natsume walked over to the rock wall. The rock that had fallen from Mei stepping on it was a warning for him, he had best be careful.

"Alright, here I go." Natsume said after hearing her call him up. He started with the first. The rocks were rather hard for him to grasp as he climbed. It was much slower than what Mei had done. One of the rocks he had grip on decided to turn loose and he needed to quickly grab another rock, almost falling back. The rest of the way wasn't so easy, either. He was almost at the top, when the rock under his foot broke. He fell down some, and he accidentally let out some flame on his hands, and tried to grip a rock, and made a slightly singed hole in the wall. He was at the middle again, but he was finally able to get back up to the top. Eventually, he was able to pull himself on where Mei was.

"Eh... that was easy," Natsume joked(He joked?! OMG!!! JK), "Well, I made it to the top."

"Mhmm," Mei said, dusting the dust from her clothes. Her legs and arms were rather scratched up from rubbing against the rocks on the way up, but Mei didn't seem to mind. Absolom kept a watchful eye from a safe distance, as was usual. "Well at least the easy prat is over!" Mei said, which seemed like a joke but the intonation in her voice would say otherwise. She was now facing away from the cliff, down a path carved into the landscape. "It looks like the blockage is still further upstream..." she said, slightly disappointed, and yet with a hint of excitement in her voice. It would seem she was excited for this new adventure.

"Come on, Tsume," Mei said, a smile now on her face as she turned back to Natsume. "We stillgotta find that blockade before we can clear it, after all!" Absolom, taking the hint began to walk slowly down the path. Mei laughed a bit, and started off behind her trusted Pokemon.

Natsume smiled. He noticed late, and quickly covered it up. He reached for the first rock. He had bad difficulty trying to grip it with his now burned hands. Still he didn't give in. He put all his strength into pulling himself up. At least this time, no rocks broke off, until he was finished with them, anyway. Except for one, that completely burst to dust when he grabbed it. "Huh? How'd that happen?" He asked, after grappling to another rock. He pulled himself further up, being careful of any more 'exploding rocks.'" When he got himself from the top finally, he pulled himself up. 'Maybe that was just an illusion...?' He thought. Natsume moved on like it hadn't happened.

Natsume got rid of any dirt that was on him that he could get off. Now he was following Mei down the path in the direction she and Absolom were going.

Mei glanced back to Natsume, her smile turning into a slight frown. She could see them, the black creatures that haunted her. There were only glimpses but it seemed they were going after Tsume now too. Perhaps they were just trying to keep him away from her, due to his aura? Mei wasn't exactly sure, but she was now worried that she ma have put him in danger.

"You should be careful...I understand if you want to turn back," Mei said as she faced forward again, walking at a steady pace down the dried up river bed. She wasn't sure what could have caused such a massive disturbance that the entire river would dry up. Perhaps those little demons had something to do with this too...She couldn't be sure. Absolom glanced back momentarily, to watch over the two travelers as the evils swarmed. It was obvious Mei was the one drawing them, but why were they now targeting Natsume as well?

Natsume thought what Mei said was a bit odd. "Understand if I wanted to...? I didn't find a reason to turn back..." He says to her. "...is there something I don't know...?" He looked around. "So do you got any ideas of what may be causing the water to stop flowing?" He didn't see anything, but something certainly did feel odd.

Mei only slightly looked back over her shoulder, letting out a soft sigh as she turned her face toward her feet. She didn't want him to run away, and didn't want him to think she was weird for her abilities. Yet, she also didn't want him to get hurt. "I...I fear I may have put you in danger..." she muttered before raising her head again, letting out another sigh.

Up ahead however, the vegetation seemed to be getting thicker and tougher. Budding flowers turned into thick thorny vines. The fine grass became tall, dense crab grass. All in all, it wasn't the friendliest environment. Mei had troubles believing that all this belonged up here. However, it became abundantly clear that it was this very vegetation causing the problem. It had grown so thick, it cut off the river completely, letting no more than a trickle through!

"...Danger...?" Natsume wondered. He ventured onward still. The sudden increase in plant life was noticeable for Natsume. He had accidentally scratched his thumb from a thorn as he ran through. He made no sound about the blood that had pearled up and began running down his skin.

When he had reached the most dense of the many plants, he saw how little water had gotten through the many tough vegetation. "Er... I think the reason has been found... but what do we do to release the water? I got nothing to cut it with. I could use fire... but it may cause more damage than good." He says to Mei. He hides his thumb, which still rickled with blood.

"Hmm..." Mei said, giving a nod to Tsume. He was right, the fire might spread and damage more than just what was blocking the river. However, neither of their Pokemon could possibly hack through the thick, thorny vines. "Maybe we should try walking around it..." Mei started, but looking in either direction the odd 'forest' of thorns and dense grass stretched too far to be reasonable. "Never mind..." she then said.

Absolom walked up a little ways to where the vines weren't so thick, and used his scythe to slash a small path into them. Mei glanced over, and knowing that he wouldn't be able to cut through the thicker ones, knew that he could create a path for them to go through. "Good idea, Absolom," Mei said, running over to the path. She had to crouch a bit to go through, and it was pretty narrow to where some of the outstretched thorns would tug at her clothes and catch her skin. However, Mei didn't seem to let it bother her as she followed Absolom through. "You coming, Tsume?" she called back as she pushed forward.