A Superior Land (Mega Adventure Tribute) - Wizarmonfan X Mandriel

Ara glanced nervously at Rath. He considered letting Wyvern out after all to protect him in case the litten tried to pull anything as he slept, but he wasn't certain if that would just make things worse.

Not feeling any better about his situation, he indicated toward Rath and asked, "He's not dangerous, is he?"

 

Feeling much better, Ara took the roll and wondered how something he'd heard his mother call 'disgusting fast food garbage' could be considered 'gourmet'. There was so much he had to learn about the world.

The crackling of the fire was able to drown out the creepy forest sounds that surrounded them. For the first time that day, Ara found that he actually felt secure. To a degree, that was. He was still hanging out with a stranger and his Pokémon hated him, but he no longer felt so alone. He drew the doona around his shoulders and wondered if Kayla felt the same way.

 

Ara was woken up the next morning by a cacophony of screeching bird Pokémon. He opened his eyes to find the sun shining directly into his face and groaned, squeezing them shut. When he moved to sit up, his muscles ached from when he'd rolled off the mat in his sleep and spent the night lying on the rocky ground.

At least things can only get better from here... He thought to himself. Careful not to wake Kayla or her Pokémon, he silently unzipped his bag and retrieved some cans of stew. Since she'd provided them with food last night, it only made sense that it was his turn that morning.

 

"There's no rush." Ara said, using a pair of sticks as makeshift tongs to lift the heated cans away from the fire. He poured the contents of one onto the ground before their Pokémon and did his best to divide it into three equal portions. After giving himself a moment to brace himself, he let Wyvern out. "There's enough to go around; please don't fight."

Wyvern scowled at him and shot a greedy look at the other pokemons' food, but obeyed. Ara sighed in relief.

 

"Now that the sun's up, we can finally see where we're going." Ara said, unfolding his map and laying it on the ground before them, "It says here that there's a path that leads from Okimira Town directly to Kagawa City. We must have missed it yesterday with everything that happened. If we could find it today, we should be able to get back to civilisation."

 

Ara had never liked the salty dry flavour of chips, but it felt rude to turn down a gift. He shoved the packet into his bag and busied himself with cleaning up his things. As he was packing his bag, his hand brushed against something cool and metallic. He pushed the items covering it to one side to reveal his can of repel.

Without thinking, he reached for the repel, but hesitated. Kayla and her Pokémon could help him deal with any wild Pokémon they came across; it was best he didn't waste his limited supply. He had somebody he could depend on now.

Wrenching his gaze from the repel, he pushed it to the bottom of his bag and zipped it shut. He looked around the site to make sure he hadn't left anything behind and turned to Kayla, "Are you ready?"

 

Ara laughed nervously, "Don't worry, I'm sure they won't do something like that!" Though going by the conviction in Kayla's voice, he couldn't bring himself to totally believe what he was saying. He hoped that nobody was looking through his stuff back at home. He wouldn't have put it past some of his family members to snoop when they had the chance.

 

Ara blinked, not completely sure how to respond. "Oh? That's..." Terrible? Rude? A complete breach of privacy and trust? "... Unfortunate." Damn it. He didn't mean to sound inconsiderate. "I-I mean," he struggled to find a way to backpedal, "Tha-that's not right." Yeah, no kidding. Every word that came out of his mouth just made him feel more stupid. "I mean..."

The sight of a worn dirt path through the trees flooded him with relief.

"Oh, look. The road." Was it insensitive for him to try and change the topic? The subject of bad parenting made him uncomfortable.

 

Ara sighed, half relieved they were no longer lost and half proud he'd been able to smoothly steer the conversation away from uncomfortable topics. At least, as smooth as he could possibly make it.

They stepped onto the road, its dirt surface compacted by the generations of travellers that had walked it. If he'd known what the road ahead held in store for the two of them, he would have called his brother right then and there and begged from him to be taken back home. But neither he nor Kayla couldn't have predicted the series of events that lay in their near future as they continued in ignorance along the path to Kagawa City.

 

Ara leapt backward, heart thudding wildly as the man materiallised in front of them.

"Ah- Whuh- Huh?" he almost tripped over his own feet and grabbed onto Kayla's arm to steady himself.

Who was that? Where did he come from? Was he armed? Was he going to hurt them? Did he have any fairies?