|
|
"Can't we stop?" Misty snapped irritably, fingering the blue stone in her pocket. She didn't mean to be so harsh; the whole trio had just been in a mutual bad mood lately.
"Oh, Misty, don't tell me you're tired," Ash said sarcastically. "Geez, it's just like a girl to tire out after walking for ten minutes."
"For your information, Ash Ketchum, it's been more like five hours! And it's dark out!"
"Will you two shut up?!" Brock yelled. "God, don't you ever stop?"
"YOU keep quiet, Brock!" Misty whirled on her other friend. "It's your fault, anyway! Why do we even trust the map to you? Even Pikachu's got a better sense of direction!"
"I'm sick of all your whining, Misty! All you ever do is complain!" Ash glared at the girl.
Misty crossed her arms, huffily. "Oh yeah?" She sat down, cross-legged, in the middle of the road. "I'm not taking one more step! You two can go ahead and stumble along in the dark if you want to, but I'm getting some sleep."
Ash stuck out his tongue at the girl. "Fine, but see if we care when you get lost and we never see you again." Ash grabbed a hold of Brock's arm. "Come on, Brock, let's leave her."
The older boy wrenched his arm away. "Don't boss me around!" he yelled angrily. "Besides, I'm tired, too!" He opened his backpack and pulled out his sleeping bag.
Ash frowned in indignation, but did the same. "I guess I'll see you two in the morning," he muttered. "I hope you'll be in a better mood then." Detaching Pikachu, who had been asleep the entire time, from his shoulder, he curled up in his sleeping bag and dozed off, instantly.
"Me, in a bad mood?" Misty cried shrilly, but he was already asleep.
She glared at the slightly snoring bundle. "Fine. I'm going to sleep, too. Don't bother waking me up in the morning, Brock." She slid into her sleeping bag.
"Why would I bother?" Brock muttered. He rolled out his sleeping bag and crawled inside, all the while mumbling about insolent little kids. He was asleep in a heartbeat.
Overhead, the full moon shone down, big, and bright, and silent.
James stumbled along the dark path, trying hard not to cry. He had never been the most macho of men, but he really didn't want to break down in front of Jessie. Well, at least not when she was like this. He had cried in front of his partner thousands of times, but, well, Jessie wasn't acting like the girl he had known most of his life. She walked quickly, eyes staring straight forward, hands clenched at her sides, ignoring him and Meowth. She seemed especially determined, more so than usual.
James, on the other hand, felt like something inside him had been torn in two. He felt that a part of him was suddenly, seriously missing. He had never felt so depressed, so lost, so scared in his life. It was all he could do to keep himself from stopping in the middle of the road and crying until he could cry no more.
Meowth stalked alongside the quiet pair, tail lashing, grumbling to himself. He hadn't said anything since they had met the woman.
Come to think of it, James had been feeling fine until they had met the beggar woman. And Meowth had been loud and obnoxious, or, in other words, completely normal, that morning. He'd been angry ever since coming upon the strange woman.
And Jessie... she certainly wasn't acting normal. She'd been almost, well, heartless, in a way. She'd been this way, James reflected apathetically, ever since they'd met the woman.
'No,' a voice spoke quietly. 'It's not the woman. It's the amulet.'
'That's stupid,' James thought. 'Maybe that Persian stone changed Jessie, and sure, Meowth hates Persians, that's probably why he's mad. But why would Jessie's amulet make me--' (here he heaved a pathetic sigh, earning him a disdainful flick of the eyes from Jessie and a irritable growl from Meowth) '--so unhappy?'
'It's not the presence of her amulet that saddens you,' the voice said. For some odd reason, James took comfort in the voice. It seemed so caring. So understanding.
'It's the lack of your own.'
James' eyes widened suddenly. "Maybe you're right," he mumbled to himself.
Neither of his teammates noticed,
The trio continued down the silent road, not speaking, only thinking.
And what thoughts they were.
The moon seemed to grow larger in the sky. It shone down a pure white, bathing the silent forest in its warm glow.
Misty's eyes flicked open. Automatically, her hand went to the amulet laying next to her pillow, seeking reassurance from the pendant. The girl's hand closed around the blue stone protectively.
The stone flared bright blue.
Instantly, Misty let out a startled yelp. She pulled her hand back from the stone as if it had burned her. It wasn't the sudden color change that had frightened her. When she had received the stone from the woman, she had felt a calmness overwhelm her, a serenity that had slowly dwindled away as the evening had worn on. Now, having sought for the same comfort a second time, the stone had almost burned her. It had sent a strong message of dislike through her entire body, as if to say, very simply, I don't want you.
The young girl bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears. A small part of herself told her that this was stupid, asked her why she was getting worked up over such a small thing. But, no matter how much she berated herself for being so weak, and no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyelids shut, tears managed to find their way down her cheeks. She couldn't explain it. She just felt so lost.
'Oh, Misty, please don't cry,'
The voice seemed so earnest and pleading that Misty couldn't help smiling. "Why shouldn't I?" she asked quietly, wiping her eyes.
'Well, why would you?' it answered curiously.
Misty looked down. "It's because of the amulet."
The voice didn't answer for a moment, and somehow, Misty got the idea that it was nodding gravely. 'Oh, I see now,' it said thoughtfully.
Misty smiled again. "What?"
'Maybe you've got the wrong one,' the voice hinted. 'Come find me, Misty.'
The girl blinked, confused. "What?"
The voice was silent.
Misty propped herself up on her elbows and looked around her. The night was unusually quiet. The moon was unusually large. There was a sense of mystery in the air. Despite the dull feeling of despair that resided deep inside her, Misty couldn't help shivering with pleasure. The feeling was almost magical.
A noise to her left caused the young girl to turn. Brock was tossing in his sleep. His teeth were gritted and his forehead was beaded with sweat. Misty wasn't surprised to see he had his amulet out on his pillow, as she did.
His amulet. Her eyes rested on the dull red stone. It, too, had lost its shine.
'Misty...'
She picked up her own blue amulet and rattled it idly in her hand, ignoring the jolts it sent up her spine. An idea was growing in the back of her mind, slowly but steadily. She bit her bottom lip pensively.
'MISTY!'
Hearing that utterance, the girl almost involuntarily lunged forward, landing with a thud next to her older friend. In his fevered state, Brock didn't notice. Hardly stopping for breath, Misty's hand darted forward and grabbed the red stone, leaving the blue amulet in its place, in one fluid motion. The older boy gave a slight gasp, and slept on.
Crawling back to her sleeping bag, Misty held the amulet to her chest, smiling slightly. The depression was gone, replaced with a warm belonging.
'Good night, Misty,'
" 'Night..." she murmured sleepily, snuggling down into her sleeping bag. Her eyelids drooped, growing heavier and heavier until they closed completely. With a contented sigh, the girl fell into sleep.
Under her relaxed hand, the stone began to glow. Red light leaked between her fingers, bathing her face in its warmth. Misty smiled in her sleep.