Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Trainer ❯ Fall's Ashes ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Two: Fall's Ashes
Ash had never been so confused in his life. It seemed as if everything were flickering into ashes like the seasonal open fire every fall.
He was blowing away like those ashes, wasn't he?
His fists flexed at the complex thought of his actions, the release of his new ebony plated wrist guards flexing away from their tightened grip.
A warm burning smell caught him for a moment as his head lifted to the dirt lifted road ahead of his twisting path, a silver glint passing across his side as his hips would move towards his destination.
The hanger draping among his mahogany shaded belt would beam the moon's silvery shine every other minute as his trance would pick up, the blade's brusque needle tip digging its way from its small stitched scabbard hugging at his pant leg.
The smell was rather refreshing to the fall's scenery, even though it smelt of burnt wood and rotting ashes that were spread across melting wax.
It seemed to correspond quite well with the walking wind that hugged his ebony hair strands as the locks would flap their wings to the wind, leaves their falling feathers that would flutter to the earth as treasured and biased mementos.
His breath gave out for a moment as an ice cloud formed between his cheeks, the gas shattering into winter's crisp air as a baseball would have done to a fragile window sheet.
He stood there impatiently.
The walk he had planned through the Darkened Road seemed pretty pointless, even though it was a time, as his mother had always said, that he could exercise his thoughts into making them all make sense.
Even that seemed pretty pointless. Even he knew that not everything had an answer to a human's true comprehension…but if it were a Shadow Trainer on the other hand…
Ash fidgeted slightly as his right palm rubbed out his mahogany eyes.
He couldn't remember much about those sort of legends…he had once, but it had all become invisible to his comprehension somehow…it was the strangest thing; almost as if a specter had touched his shoulder.
A sudden brush of footsteps made Ash's body freeze into a shot trance, his right hand grasping the hanger between his right fist as his eyes struck gold, and his teeth morphed bare.
As the short handled knife ripped from the scabbard to face the stranger behind him, a short gasp of fright caught his ears before the blade hit blood and ripped flesh. His confused golden eyes blinked at the elderly, furrow bashed man standing before him in utter shock, his emerald eyes shaking in pure terror.
"Please, don't hurt me sir, I only came out here to warn you!"
Ash's hanger gradually sank to his side, his melodious russet eyes once again recurring to his face like a ripped piece of banana, unison causing his shoulders to lower at their sudden rush in defense.
"I'm sorry sir…you just frightened me…I can get pretty defensive while frightened." The hanger took its place at his auburn shaded belt, metallic buckle letting out a shine to the hanger's own split mirror. His eyes shone mystified at the man's earlier remark, his hair flattening within the wind's current. "What did you come to warn me about? I don't exactly see anything dangerous within this road." His feet altered twice within the hassling dirt blocks that flew within the leaves. "It's actually pretty peaceful. No annoying Murkrows' to ruin its beauty."
The man's pug face wrinkled into a face of veins as it became full with horror. "That's just the point. When a Murkrow's ebony feather doesn't drop upon the ground, or have shown their site among this road, a Cnorkspa is usually on its hunt."
Ash's face pulled back within a confused gesture, his head cocking upwards to the road behind the elderly man. "A Cnorkspa, huh? Can't say I've heard of one of those."
"A Cnorkspa is a ferocious monster with the body of an Arcanine, and the immense wings of the furious dragon-monster, Charizard. Don't you study your legends or prophecies in school, boy?"
Ash's eyes flickered in annoyance. "Prophecies and legends aren't real, sir. Now if you don't mind, I must be going-"
As Ash started to gate forward, the man yet again blocked his path. "The Legend speaks that only an Ambitioner can slay the great Cnorkspa warriors…but as everyone knows, they've been extinct over the last thousand years…so unless you're a hidden Ambitioner under human skin, turn around before you get killed between claws and teeth."
What an idiot. "Look, gramps, I don't have the time for this. I really must be going. So if you don't mind, be gone before my knife does its work for you."
As Ash trotted in front of the man's gestures, right hand sewn around his hanger, the old man let out a soft grin that made the wrinkles among his face grow immensely. "And shall the Legend live."

* ~&~ *

"Gatem?" When Gatem didn't answer, the fluting voice calling her name in the distance grew noticeably impatient. "Gatem!"
Gatem Irsac ignored the child's numerous calls towards his own problems, her hands washing themselves among the vinegar she had spilt among the wooden breached desk her father had made in his own youth, blonde hair resting among its gory puddles. The stench of the substance stunk as bad as it tasted, for the only reason Gatem even bothered to use it was for the rare occasion of Caro Ketchum's presence.
It astounded her of how the adolescent boy could possibly drink down the salty liquid within his throat without cringing, or calling it 'repulsive within the liver.' To his mouth the fluid was rather bracing and pleasing within the brackish crackers she used to cure his frequent bone pains that would swell among his arms, and pass down to the legs to paralyze him within a short time. It seemed to be a rather curse of punishment, or as far as punishments would get anyhow.
She lined the vinegar within a small tube and placed it among the end of the counter, a small note attached to the tube's tightly smashed cork.

Caro-
I've placed this on the house within your Excellency.
Please be kind to give Brandon the new paints you promised him-I have a feeling that stupid feline of his, Plunde, will eat his current set sooner or later. That just explains how dumb the creatures are these days.
Also consist of giving Gyro some of the leftover bread in the cabinet. Remember not to take any, for it's for Gyro only…not in your source.
-All is well,
Gatem Irsac
"Gatem! I had to have called your name at least ten times! Must you be so consistent within your work? You're supposed to be taking care of me, you know." The russet creamed boy grimaced at his Aunt's immature personality toward her insolent nephew, ebony eyes piercing within the sharp hiss of the vinegar's unpleasant smell. His hands immediately flew to his nose to guard its passage.
"Brandon, how many times have I told you that my work always comes first? Besides, what happened to your marbles? Grow bored of them so easily?"
Brandon let out a sigh of defeat; a cream blotched kitten bounding into the room to his heals. "It's not that…" His eyes fixed upon the purring Meowth kitten at his heels, "It's because Plunde pushed them down the sides of the wood within his curiosity, and swallowed my flower-creamed paints. I have nothing to do anymore except go to the market like you had promised last week."
"Well, give Plunde a smacking of your belt. It should teach the little thing a lesson." Her eyes fixed back onto the vinegar, the salty smell no lounger plunging into her nose like it had done earlier that evening. "Besides, you need to start to teach your pets a little discipline…other words they'll just stay spoiled beasts."
Brandon frowned. "I can't hit Plunde...she probably just didn't know any better, besides, if I did hit her, she probably wouldn't love me anymore…" His breath shortened. "Sorry for bothering you Aunt Gatem."
Gatem rolled her eyes at the boy's so called 'ignorance.' She didn't understand why children always asked for help if they knew they were going to deny the adult's wisdom.
"C'mon, Plunde…lets go see if we can get the marbles out of the floor."
As their footsteps cowered up the stairs, new footsteps entered within.
A shadowed figure of gleaming silver eyes approached Gatem within their sneaky strides, lights expanding from their horizon.
Before Gatem could realize any of this, she was hit between bolts of plunging silver light, blood restrained to her forehead of unconsciousness.

* ~ & ~ *




"Ash?"
Ash trudged into the room smiling weakly, his pants cut from the bottom and stained within a red substance that seemed to represent blood, his hair completely matted like the end of a broom.
His breath seemed to shorten easily within each breath.
Misty walked up to her tired friend within a stern look that searched for plain answers, her frizzy orange hair flowing down her sternly built shoulders. "What happened to you…? And is that blood?"
Ash gave a slow nod before slouching down onto the couch within a lazy posture, his grime-split shoes easily falling off his feet. "Yes, Misty, it's blood. An Arcanine attacked me on the way home, so I had to do something with it…" A nervous smile crept upon his face. "I guess I should've been smarter within my choices."
Misty looked dumfounded at her friend's un-expectable response, a gasp shortening within her throat. "You mean you killed it!"
"There was nothing I could do unless I wanted it to kill me first, Mist!" Ash looked slightly annoyed. "Besides, it isn't the worst thing a person could do…I only killed to defend myself."
His head cocked upwards to her cerulean deep eyes, her stern face causing him to frown to the darkness. "Where's Pikachu?"
"Out in the garden with Togepi and Brock. They're waiting for the sunset to arrive among the horizon."
As Misty's voice trailed off, Ash's shoulders hunched slightly to his exhaustion. The fight with the Cnorkspa had been the clearest history ever within his short life…he never even knew how to start telling Misty about his unknown heritage, or even if he should in the first place.
But at that minute, he finally realized Amanda was right…something was definitely wrong with him, and that was something in which he would soon find out.