Peacekeepers

Chapter Eleven - Truth

AN: This chapter sort of got away from me, but it was fun to write, which is the point I suppose. Also, points to whoever finds the Tales of Phantasia quote in this chapter. (Any Tales fans out there? T-T) There's also (unintentional) Lion King and Star Wars ones, if you squint.

-o-o-o-

The rain had calmed to an annoying drizzle by the time the group broke camp and got on their way. They made fairly good time through the forest and once they left the shelter of the trees the precipitation had thankfully died off completely.

Lush, rolling plains once again spread out before them, with snow capped mountains lining the horizon in the direction Aaron was leading them.

Squinting with curiosity across the grasslands, Cynthia pointed out a far off herd of Tauros. "We should probably avoid those..."

Aaron simply nodded in agreement but Steven turned to her with interest. "Bad experience?" he wanted to know, feeling both curious and amused.

When Cynthia hesitated to answer but eventually nodded reluctantly, Steven couldn't help prodding further. The thought of her balking at any Pokémon intrigued him. "Is the mighty Sinnoh Champion afraid of Tauros?"

"I'm not afraid of them," she snapped back defensively, seemingly embarrassed, before raising her head to regain some dignity. "Tauros are widely known for their volatile nature, so it's always better to avoid a herd when possible."

"Yes, of course." Steven nodded compliantly but allowed his smirk to linger, guessing she was still hiding something.

Not even a moment of his silent teasing had lapsed before Cynthia released a defeated sigh. "I had just started out on my journey. I was trying to catch a Ponyta to ride, since Gar was still just a Gible at the time."

Steven listened intently, suddenly finding himself immensely curious about her initial Pokémon journey. Cynthia, on the other hand, was growing more embarrassed as she spoke and brought a hand up to hide the side of her face not veiled by her hair.

"The Ponyta I was after ran away and joined a herd of Tauros, but I wasn't so familiar with their aggressive tendencies at the time and I thought I could scatter the herd to single it out..." Her voice faded to a mutter by the time she finished. "Needless to say, they charged me and I had to climb a tree."

Steven had to stamp down a violent chuckle at the mental image. Apparently his amused expression gave him away though, since Cynthia was aiming a glare his way. "Ahem," he cleared his throat objectively, attempting to banish his smirk. "So, did you ever get the Ponyta?"

Although he found her story amusing and believable for her early trainer years, the Cynthia he knew now gave him an entirely different mental picture. If a herd of Tauros charged at her right now, he imagined her standing firm and simply holding out her hand in a commanding pose. With her reputation, he would not be surprised if even a rampaging Tauros was reduced to a breaking halt to obey her.

"I eventually caught one, yes," Cynthia replied, unaware of his reverie as she crossed her arms, her glare shifting into a pointed, narrow gaze. "Your turn."

"I'm sorry?" Steven wondered aloud; he had no Tauros experience outside of trainer battles to share. He quickly surmised what she wanted though and he felt himself cringe in response. "Oh..."

"Yes," she affirmed with a deceptively nice smile. "Please, regale me with one of your early novice mistakes."

After a long moment of contemplation, Steven sighed in defeat and decided on probably the least embarrassing blunder he could think of, although in reality he'd had very little control over the situation back then...