Something about Anything

Silverdawn slithered through the shaded grasses of Shadowhue Forest, her tongue flickering out to taste the air. She used her senses of smell and the vibrations of the earth to tell where she was going, since she was blind. She had no real reason for coming out to Shadowhue Forest, but she was rather bored this day. Her shop hadn't had many customers, and she was finding herself spending more time wandering around the town or exploring Shadowhue or Pecha Forest. She wondered if she would meet any new pokemon this day.

"No, no, no, not again, not again!" the Aipom cried, heart thumping and limbs burning with exertion as he tore through the trees of Shadowhue forest. "What did I do this time?!"

Behind him a flock of Pidove gave chase, flapping their little wings angrily as they struggled to keep up with the fleeing monkey. He was positive he hadn't done anything this time. Were they still angry about those feathers he'd plucked? That was ages ago! These flying-types really held a grudge, but at least there weren't any Tranquill in this bunch. They would've caught up easily and begun pecking him into submission. Just thinking about it made him tremble. These birds were merciless and relentless.

In his panic, swinging from branch to branch, the Aipom was not as agile as he usually was. Eventually it caught up to him when he grasped a limb that was too weak to hold his weight. It snapped loudly, throwing Cracker completely out of rhythm and sending him tumbling towards the forest floor. He struggled to maintain his altitude, skimming a branch with his tail, deflecting a tree trunk in his way, but ultimately he was in for an unpleasant landing.

He didn't see the Pokemon slithering along the ground until it was too late. The only words that could escape his lips were, "Look out!" Then he collided with the Ekans, immediately becoming tangled up in the snake's long body as both Pokemon barreled straight through a bush and into a hollow beneath a large, old tree before coming to a stop.

((Energy: 13))

Silverdawn just barely heard the words "LOOK OUT" before something was crashing into her body, her coils getting tangled up in whatever had smashed into her. She hissed in panic, her body instinctively reacting by coiling tighter around whatever it was that had run into her, and tried to prevent the thing from moving. Silverdawn winced as the pain set in after the initial shock had begun to fade. She scented the air and recognized the scent of an Aipom and she turned her head to look at the pokemon entangled in her coils.

"What on earth has gotten into you?" she asked incredulously.

"Shhh-shh-shh!" Cracker hushed, pressing his paws against the Ekans' mouth.

There was a tense moment of silence before the loud buzz of a dozen wings filled the air. Hidden in the hole beneath the tree, the Pidove had lost track of the Aipom, carrying on the chase without him. He waited in a quiet panic as the sound slowly died down, until only a strangler or two had to pass. Once they were gone he removed his paws from the snake's mouth and let out a loud sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Arceus!" he cried. "I thought they were gonna get me for sure!"

Silverdawn hissed furiously as the Aipom covered her mouth -the NERVE of this pokemon! As soon as the Aipom had let go of her mouth she smacked him in the face with her tail -a great feat considering that she couldn't actually see his head.

"What in the Shadow World is wrong with you?!" she hissed angrily, tightening her coils around the monkey pokemon, just enough to make the pokemon uncomfortable. "First you slam into me with little to no warning, then you grab my face when I demand to know why! You have some serious explaining to do, mister! And you'd better get to it fast before I decide I'm hungry enough to swallow you whole!" She hissed. She wouldn't actually eat him -he would certainly give her indigestion- but he didn't need to know that.

His relief at having lost the Pidove was short-lived. The Ekans he'd found himself entangled with promptly slapped him with her tail before cussing at him angrily and squeezing him in her coils. The Aipom's face puffed up as the air was forced out of his lungs momentarily. He waved his arms frantically, trying to apologize for the unexpected landing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he squeaked. Squirming in the Ekans' grip, Cracker winced. "Look, I was just trying to get away from a bunch of Pidove chasing me when I slipped. I didn't--I didn't mean to drop in on you like that, I swear! Please don't eat me!" Thoroughly convinced the Ekans would live up to her threat, the Aipom squeezed his eyes shut.

Silverdawn glared with her sightless eyes at the Aipom before abruptly releasing the pokemon, shoving him away with her tail. "Fine. Don't do it again," she spat angrily.

"You want to be more careful who you run into. I may not have actually eaten you, but there are plenty of pokemon who would jump at the chance for far less reason," she warned the aipom.

Cracker's relief was palpable when the Ekans finally let him go, issuing a warning in the process. Keeping to the corner he was pushed to, he quickly checked himself over to make sure everything was accounted for, like he could've somehow lost a limb without realizing it. More importantly he rubbed the spots where his fur had chafed against the snake's scales.

"I said I was sorry, you don't have to be rude," Cracker grumbled, once he was sure he was still in one piece. "And I'm not stupid, I know how dangerous it is. Especially in this awful place. That's why I stay in the trees." As he spoke, he watched the Ekans, slightly perturbed by the colour of her eyes. He couldn't tell if she was looking at him or staring into space. "Anyway..." he said slowly, raising an arm to wave. "My name's Cracker. I came looking for berries. I heard this place is full of Cherri Berries and Sitrus Berries but... This place still creeps me out."

Silverdawn snorted at the Aipom's grumblings. "Where did you hear that there were sitrus berries here? Sitrus berries are rare unless you grow them yourself," she dismissed the Aipom's words.

"Anyway, I'm Silverdawn. I was just out for an innocent walk -or slither if you prefer- before you so rudely slammed into me." Silverdawn said nonchalantly, still aiming her head towards the other pokemon. She knew that her gaze often disconcerted other pokemon, and she liked the idea of other pokemon being afraid of her. It made it less likely that they would attack her.

Now he was sure of it. There was something off about the way the Ekans was looking at him. Her head was pointed in his direction, but her eyes were elsewhere, seeming to stare into oblivion. And she hadn't mentioned that Cracker was still waving his arm. Slowing to a stop, he dropped it back down and cocked his head.

"Well... It's nice to meet you Silverdawn, even though it... wasn't under better circumstances. Heh..." The Aipom rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly then cracked a smirk. "You know, we kinda saved each other really. I mean, if I hadn't of landed on you I would've gotten hurt real bad. And if we didn't wind up in here, those Pidove would've been all over the both us. I... know it's a silly way to look at it but..." That blank stare was still unnerving him.

"Can... you... see me?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to offend the Ekans a second time in such quick succession.

Silverdawn had to prevent herself from saying something snappish in retort from the Aipom's words. Yeah, sure we saved each other... if he hadn't come by this way this wouldn't be happening at all. She thought uncharitably.

Silverdawn had to roll her unseeing eyes at the Aipom's -she couldn't remember the pokemon's name- last words. "No, I just blankly stare at nothing for the fun of it," she stated dryly. "I'm blind, you dope. Cloudy eyes and all, I think it would be kind of obvious."

Right, right! That's... what I thought," Cracker replied with an awkward chuckle. He'd never met a blind Pokemon before. Being able to see was pretty important to him, he couldn't imagine what life would be like without it. But Silverdawn seemed okay with it, if not rather bitter about it. Is that why she was so grumpy? All this animosity towards the Aipom couldn't have sprung up just because he crashed into her. He was beginning to feel a little sorry for the Ekans.

Jumping to his feet, Cracker forced a grin, trying not to let it get to him too much. She likely wouldn't appreciate sympathy anyway. Certainly not after meeting him in such a crude manner. "I think it's safe to leave now," he said, peeking through the shrubbery that lined the gaping maw of their hidey hole. The Aipom exited first, crawling over the leaves and twigs until he was back on the path Silverdawn had been traveling down.

"So you were just going for a walk, huh? I mean--well, you know what I mean," he stammered. "Would you want to... come along with me? Hah, y'know, safety in numbers, right? A-and who knows, maybe we could go on an adventure! That'd be fun, right? Right?" The nervous monkey looked around the forest, feeling thoroughly creeped out and hoping the Ekans would agree for his own sake.

Silverdawn sighed in a very put-upon manner. Why was every pokemon she ever met trying to drag her on so-called 'adventures'? it was very off-putting for the non-social ekans, and she still had nightmares about losing her sight to that damned nidorino.

"Sure, fine, whatever," she grumbled. "It's not like adventures have never screwed me over before, right? No stupid nidorino to blind anyone this time, huh?" she spat bitterly

Cracker winced involuntarily when the Ekans bluntly described how she lost her eyesight. "Is that... Really what happened?" he asked, envisioning what must have been a gruesome attack that stole Silverdawn's vision. He couldn't imagine why anyone would do such a horrible thing. He was all but certain now that her blindness had to be responsible for her sour attitude.

Seeing her this way made him determined to ensure nothing bad happened on what he already expected to be a very unpleasant venture through Shadowhue forest. Although he didn't even really know Silverdawn, he was feeling a strong sense of empathy for her loss. Clearly she needed more positive reinforcement in her life. And Cracker wasn't about to let her down in that regard. Bearing another grin, the Aipom hopped closer to her and gave her a quick hug before she could react.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you Silverdawn! I promise!" he said. "I'm sorry about what happened, but as long as you're with me nothing's gonna hurt you again. We're gonna have fun! Come on!" Bouncing up onto his tail the Aipom started hopping along the trail, opting to stay on the ground for her sake, much as he disliked the sensation and exposure of being on the ground.

Silverdawn rolled her eyes at the Aipom's excitable personality. "Yeah, my first time in Pecha Forest. You know, they all say how Pecha Forest is practically the safest dungeon around? Bald-faced lie. Stupid Nidorino spat his poison straight into my eyes. My own venom reacted badly to his venom, bada-bing-bada-boom, blinded." Silverdawn stated bitterly.

Then she glared at the Aipom. "I don't need you to protect me! In case you had already forgotten, who was it exactly who was just about to swallow who whole? I'm more tough than you'll ever be!" she snapped.