FLOOD [Pokémon]

Chapter 51

^ "Lior and Nightlight 3" (4-23-2020)

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LIOR

"Break!"

Thank Arceus! Lior's fingers screamed for joy as the call echoed across the work site: it was General Carys, long-calling from the far side of the wreckage, where she and a glut of soldiers were working to break the boat's largest mass into giant pieces. A handful of Army Pokémon were assisting her, including a Dewgong: a concentrated Aurora Beam had frozen the giant rod of iron and steel, and it had been a simple matter of smashing it apart afterwards.

Lior was on the opposite end of the boat, and he had no help: all of the soldiers and squires that had been assigned to this task were busy clearing out the inside of the boat wreck or assisting Army Pokémon in boring holes in the hull or snapping apart the vessel's railings. He didn't need any assistance anyway: all he was doing was tying together bundles of metal and setting them aside for easy transport back to the trench.

All the same, his poor fingers were grateful for a break: they'd been out here all morning, and the tips of his digits were beginning to go numb from the chill in the water, which had been steadily growing stronger over the past several weeks.

He pushed up from the rocks and made his way to the outskirts of the work site. A small pavilion had been erected here by Enos and his couriers, and they were busy handing out small parcels to the soldiers queuing up: lunch, if you could call it that. It was all seaweed, three different kinds, according to Tirza Mari — she was one of ones who'd helped put the packets together. The taste was akin to eating grass, but she'd assured him that each strip of seaweed was packed with enough carbohydrates to fuel him for another four or five hours at the boat, which was the point.

Jabez was one of the couriers distributing lunch. When he spotted Lior, he kindly placed another belt of seaweed in the pack before handing it to him. Remembering the taste, Lior sort of wished he hadn't bothered.

Just like yesterday, they were allotted half an hour to consume their meal, so he looked for a spot to choke down his seaweed in peace. He'd just decided on a nearby ledge when a familiar voice called to him from the other side.

"Hey Lior! Ew, is that lunch again?"

He turned to see Elon swimming down into the ravine, waving at him. He tensed a moment, his eyes going over to General Carys; the lady warrior was still by the boat, saying something to some of the soldiers. None of the generals seemed to like Elon very much... Probably because the boy's frank personality hadn't ingratiated himself to them. Luckily, it looked like she hadn't noticed yet, so he smiled.

"Hi. Yes, it's today's lunch. Probably tomorrow too, and the next day."

Elon twisted down and took a seat next to Lior, wrapping his tail around them both. "Well, Elon to the rescue! Why don't we swap?" He pulled something from his pocket and held it grandly out for Lior. It was small and roundish and red. And hard — Lior tapped it with a finger and almost thought it was a rock. But he'd never seen a stone this color...

"It's an apple," Elon said. "Surface food."

Lior raised a brow. "How did you get it?"

"I didn't. I snuck it out of the kitchens. Someone there got it on Drought."

"Are you sure it's safe to eat?"

"Why would it be in the kitchens if it wasn't? Go on." Elon stuck the apple in Lior's hand, then plucked the seaweed out of his lap. He crunched off a piece and grimaced. "You're so lucky I'm a nice person," he groaned. "This tastes like dirt!"