PokèDruids [PkmnWattys2016]

Quest

Hah, see how much this chapter twists your mind. Wait, let me answer that for you: a lot. Oh, and be prepared for some pretty good fighting. Later. If I get there. I might.

The first hours of the walk with Trapinch were quite eventful. In the beginning, the trip was filled with many obstacles and impasses. The smaller size definitely made travel a lot slower (although more interesting) for Eros. Fallen trees and objects that would be simple climb-arounds were either impassable walls or beautiful gates, even though they were a tad frequent. As Eros walked, he measured himself vertically to Trapinch and found he was taller by an inch or two; However, a simple raise of its head could change that. He also took notice of things he would generally ignore. For example, the grass, which would often be up to his knees, the taller patches being too stiff for him to move about. The trees also intrigued him; As they were simple Giants before, they now existed as towers that easily reached into the sky. Pits in the ground, resulting from stray Pokemon attacks, took a new meaning as well. Simple markings were an obstacle, thorough holes were fatal pits, and large holes were legendary chasms. Trapinch didn't have the same novelty as Eros, being its own size its whole life. Eros also realized that other Pokemon would appear much more frequently near him, no longer avoiding a human. Eros waved to the first few he saw, sometimes receiving a wave back, but he stopped this habit as Trapinch showed a bit of distress at this. Otherwise, the two kept quiet as the obstacles took much of the breath out of Eros.

The two made it to an area that was more level than before, marking significant progress for the two. However, the intended destination was a desert, much farther south from where they were now. At this time Eros was using Trapinch for support for his injured legs, holding onto its sturdy head. Trapinch didn't seem to mind, but Eros was none the less conscious of the favor it was granting him. The two had to walk along a large open plane with fields of wheat growing everywhere. The amber field was colors even more so by the soft afternoon sun. As the wheat grew above the heads of the two, the only sense of direction they had where the sun, somewhere on their right, and dumb luck, which seemed to be plentiful for Eros, now that he thought about it. Whenever the two were hungry, a bush with berries was never too far away. Should the berries have been too high to reach, another bush with lower fruit was close and ready for the picking.

The two also had a conversation when they entered the planes, Eros able to catch his breath. He started with this simple subject, "So, why did you leave?"

Trapinch replied neutrally, "Something gave rise to massive sandstorms all of a sudden and everybody left. There was no way for anyone to handle that kind of weather; Even Groudon would have trembled at its force."

"Sounds unpleasant."

"The only hint to why the storm stirred up was that a bell tower in the desert rung for the first time in centuries the night before it started. The place had been abandoned ever since. I used to live near there, too, so that sucked."

"Oh." Eros though of another question to pass the time. "What should I call you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can't call you Trapinch forever. In theory, I could, but I bet I could come up with a better name. Like... ORION!"

Trapinch shot a weird gaze towards Eros. "First off, I'm a girl."

"Really? I mean, I never checked, but..."

"Second, I already have a name. It's Alakysaba." Trapinch gave a short pause before adding, "Although I personally never liked the traditional Pokemon names. Did you have any good female names in mind?"

Eros though for a second, only drawing up Cerci from memory. He changed some of the core parts and quickly spat out, "What about Sicily?"

"That sounds nice. You can call me Sicily from now on." And so Sicily and Eros walked together through the plains, staying free from the sight of other Pokemon. But an hour later and the pair found themselves at the edge of a desert, nightfall almost upon them. Both managed to bring a few berries along with them, sustaining them for the night. They slept peacefully but a stone's throw away from each other.