The Vagabond.

Chapter 8: Conflicted.

"There once was a boy, whose father was the king.
He ruled over the lands with his mighty fist.
His mother was the queen, as beautiful as the spring.
She never crossed anyone off from her list.

The three of them lived happily, with the father training his son.
When suddenly, a tragic day had come.
The queen turned sick, laying in bed motionless.
Everyone gathered round her, their faces hopeless.

She turned to her son, grabbing him by the cheek,
She pulled him closer, whispering into his ear;
Go forward, for you haven't reached your peak.
And whilst you do that, do not show any fear.

The son nodded his head, his eyes tearing up.
He took his mother's palm in his own, watching her as she looked up.
Her eyes had closed, and she fell asleep.
Never to be woken again.

The King, in a fit of rage,
Turned sour and harsh,
He chased after his son, not caring for his age,
And beat him so hard, he turned his brain to a marsh.

Filled with disgust and rage, the son left.
Carrying nothing but a distant memory and a grudge.
Now, the King looks out for his descendant,
Saying he's the one who killed his love."

Riolu rocked his head forward a bit, nodding in understanding and turning to look at Cain's reaction.

He watched as the big owl took a sip of his tea, putting the small wooden cup down on the floor of his treehouse.

Decidueye let out a silent cough before finally saying something. "I assume that boy was you?" He asked carefully.

"Yes, that is me." Cassian nodded, looking around the treehouse in awe. "It's quite a nice place you've got here, mister."

"Bah, don't flatter me. It's nothing but a humble abode." Cain smiled and had a look around as well, taking in his various trinkets.

That was, until Cassian noticed something and tilted his head in perplexity. His eyes were fixated on a single spot on the shelf with Cain's belongings.

The big owl looked back behind himself and at the shelf, not knowing what the issue was. Or if there even was an issue.

Riolu sighed as the two of them tried communicating without the use of words, seeking refuge in his own drink.

He stared down at his reflection, as if he was staring into another Riolu's eyes. His grip on the cup tightened.

After saving Cassian, Decidueye insisted he came to his treehouse for a nice and relaxing cup of tea.

The Wolf Pokémon was supposed to tell them his story, not a children's story. He sighed.

The two of them started talking to each other, now conversing freely about any topic they found interesting.

But he stayed silent, focused on the steam that was coming off from the warm tea in his paws, imagining they were clouds that slowly rose up to the sky.

He smiled gently at his own reflection. But only for a short while, before the two halves of his personality got into a fight again.

The more aggressive one was yelling at the pacifist to stop being so idle and go help Cassian with his family problem.

The latter tried retaliating, only to be shut down by another argument coming from the aggressor.

Riolu put his paws on his head and rubbed his temples, sighing under his breath. It's not the first time they fought.