Angel of the Shadows

15. Meowtastic Motivation

The two Meowstic eventually fell asleep on her, and Angel couldn't bring herself to remove them. One by one, her other Pokémon found a spot on her and curled up to sleep. Their weight on her both comforted and terrified her. Night Terrors were a common experience for her, including the ones that pinned her to the bed, incapable of movement. That wasn't what terrified her the most about people or Pokémon on her chest.

Her Pokémon knew how it made her feel and made efforts to avoid it as best as possible. However, Sylvie would do it in rare situations anyway. Usually, it was only when he felt it would help far more than it would make her uncomfortable, and she was actually grateful for those moments. It took a true friend to know when to force their affection and when to hold back out of respect. Dreamer could also regularly be found with his upper half on her chest. It was a compromise she allowed since it only made her partially uncomfortable. She felt movement and then heard a chirp beside her right ear. It was Sylvie, who then nuzzled his face against hers.

She chuckled and lifted a hand to pet his face. At her movement, the two Meowstic finally stirred and awoke. It took them a minute to stretch and clean their eyes, and she groaned in pain when she could finally sit up. When it came to cats, there were very few circumstances where she would disturb them if they were comfortable. Typically, only if she'd gone numb or had to use the bathroom. "Did you have a nice nap?" Nap was an understatement since they'd been asleep for at least three hours.

The male responded with an adorable purr, but the female turned to her and spoke. "Thank you. We don't know how you managed to get us away from that witch, but we are eternally grateful. Topaz and I were taken from our friend in Kalos many years ago. His name is Jayden, and we would appreciate it so very much if you could return us to him."

"Uhm. I wish I could, but I'm doing something important at the behest of Giratina."

Their ears twitched and then laid back against their heads, and she couldn't stand to see them cry. "Well...| Angel brought out her Pokénav and drew up an image of Primarcina. It looked like Kalos was only a few weeks' journey from Kanto. It would be quite a way out of her way, but...She looked back up at the Meowstic, and her heart melted at the look in their eyes. "I'm sure Giratina wouldn't mind if I helped you out. That said, I still need to do something first if that's all right with you."

Maya. She still needed to see and confirm if she was alive, and if so, face her and question why she'd never mentioned her alliance with Team Rocket, even though she would have known that Angel was a member. Not just because of the stories she told but because, unlike Angel, she would have had access to that information. Angel remained silent as she watched the Meowstic speak amongst themselves. After a few minutes, they nodded. "It's okay. We couldn't have expected you to drop everything to help us."

"If it were something else, I may have. But, like you, I'm in search of a friend. Something may have happened to her, and I want to verify that she's okay. Once I've done that, I'll gladly take you to Kalos to find your friend."

At that, Topaz and his partner made a chirrpurr and began to knead their claws on the ground. Angel chuckled at how such a simple statement could make them so happy. The same could be said of people, too. Sometimes, a few kind words or a single small action could make a world of difference in someone's life.

She changed position to where her legs were at an angle from her body and reached out to pet the female. To her surprise, the female approached and stood against her chest as she rubbed her face against Angel's. "My name is Amber, and my partner is Topaz. We have another request for you. If it's not too much trouble, that is."

From the looks on their faces and their posture, it was clear they hesitated to ask. Angel knew that response. She recognized it all too well from looking in the mirror every day. It was the hesitance of someone who'd been abused. Deep down, Amber and Topaz seemed to fear she would be another Mally, even though her current actions so far said otherwise.