Embers to the Flame: Part 1

The crackling of the campfire was silenced by the loud chirping of the Pokemon in the wilds. It was definitely a noisy night for some reason. Ambre looked over at the edge of her small camp, having been defined by a rope of hanging tags with different markings and bushes hovering over just outside the perimeter.

Ambre should have stayed back at Lumiose and spend the night there, even if it would be expensive. But no, she figured she could get to Laverre City before sun down. She looked at her boots that were caked in mud next to the fire, letting out a huff of air at the thought. It wouldn't have been bad either, if it wasn't for the fact that route 14 was supposedly a haunted route as well with ghosts roaming the night. One story tells of children getting lost in these woods and never being found ever again. Another says that some ghosts would hunt anyone they find out at night, hiding in the shadows to steal their life. There was even a story of a witch in the woods. Ambre rubbed the white fur on the Absol on her lap, relaxing for the Pokemon for sure as he laid his head on his trainer's lap, but more comforting to her knowing that Absol was by her side.

There was a rustle in the brush. Both Absol and Ambre looked at the bush. The rustling then stopped with the two watching, one shaking and the other glaring. Absol then barked at the bush. A chirp came from the bush followed by something scurrying away. Satisfied, the Absol then laid his head back where it was while Ambre continued to rub his head. At the very least, Absol was there for her.

She didn't know why either. Unlike the rest of Ambre's Pokemon in which she was either given or caught by normal means, Absol seemed to have chosen her instead. Before she technically began her Pokemon journey at a rather late age of eighteen, heading to Lumiose City from her home town of Cyllage, Absol followed her. From outside the city, through the Connecting Cave, running right behind route 7, showing no fear in passing any trainers along the way who must have thought the site of a Pokemon chasing a girl to be silly, and then waiting patiently right outside of Professor Sycamore's till she came out. And Ambre still didn't know why Absol was so desperate to join someone who just got their first Pokemon.

Absol got up from his spot and walked for the open tent behind them. "Going to bed?" Ambre asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sol," he replied.

"I'll be there in a minute then," she got up as well. Ambre grabbed a layer of dirt and tossed it on the fire, the fire itself dimmed. Three more layers and the fire was soon gone with only the embers left. Taking one of her boots, Ambre then started to swat the remaining embers with the sole, leaving her in complete darkness save the weak moonlight through the clouds and trees.

Satisfied and with both boots in hand, Ambre retreated into the tent and found her sleeping bag on the left side, Absol already sleeping on the other side. She placed the boots in a corner, closed the tent opening, and began to change clothes in the darkness. Even in the cramped space and some of it already taken by a Pokemon, Ambre had no problems in getting out of her typical clothes and into her sleepwear. She then discarded her clothes neatly by the other corner up front and got into her sleeping bag. She then pulled out her hair band that held her curvy, blond hair into a ponytail, letting it fall down to her shoulders. Ambre then pulled the sides of her sleeping bag closer to her, tightening the space around her and relaxed. Her journey was going well with her fifth gym badge just the night before. And thus far, there had been almost no hiccups in her journey. Absol helped quite a bit, but that wasn't to say her other Pokemon weren't lending a hand either.

Ambre rolled over and fell asleep, dreaming of nothing in particular.

Something wet was covering her face. Ambre opened her eyes in darkness and with the sound of the tent being rustled by the wind. She rolled away and wiped her face. "What is it Absol?" she asked. Absol scrapped against the front of the tent, moaning. "Alright, hold on," Ambre pulled herself out of her bag, pulling up the zipper to let Absol out. With her Pokemon free to go out, Ambre laid back and went back to sleep.

Instead, Absol pulled on the sleeping bag.

"What now?" Ambre got up, barely seeing an outline of Absol at the end of her sleeping bag.

"Sol," he moaned.

With a groan, Ambre pulled herself out of sleeping bag and out of the tent itself. Immediately, she was met by strong winds that made a shiver run up her spine.

"Really, Absol? You're going to drag me out at this-" Snap! Crash! Thud!

Ambre caught up with her shiver as she spun around to see her tent no longer where it was, shortly followed by moans. "What happened? Is someone there?" Ambre asked out. The cloudy night only helped keep everything near pitch dark. "Are you alright?" Ambre tried to get close, feeling her way through leaves and bark of what was apparently a fallen branch or bush. Her hand then hit something stiff yet smooth. Someone's boot.

"I-it's nothing," a deep voice finally replied. The person rolled off and got up, Ambre seeing them clutching themselves.

"Hold on! You look hurt. I have some bandages and I get you to a hospital if need be."

"That's not necessary," he replied. The figure then tripped and fell to the ground. Ambre just remembered her small fence bordering the camp.

"Wait, you can't even see through the darkness," Ambre ran up to the figure.

"No, I'll be fine," he insisted. Ambre grabbed his arm to try and restrain him. "Ack," he jerked his arm out of her reach.

"See, you're in pain," Ambre commented.

"No, I'm not, you just squeezed my arm."

"At least let me look at it and make sure it isn't broken or anything."

"No, it's alright."

"No it isn't. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I have someone I need to meet."

"After falling from the sky?"

"Yes."

"Then at least let me escort you."

"I don't need an escort." The figure then walked off, tripping on the same wire as before. "Ah, ow!" he yelled.

"Will you let me help you now?" Ambre asked again.

There was a brief moment of silence, save some heavy breathing from the figure. "Fine. But promise me that what you see you will never speak to a single soul about it," the figure answered.

"Surely it isn't that bad," she replied.

"Promise me."

"Fine, I promise."

"Good, because I will hunt you down if you do."

"Sheesh, let me just get my flashlight then so that we can see." Ambre shuffled her way back to where her tent once stood. She felt the branch and tried to pull it up, rather heavy but she managed to barely get it off the ground and turn it off of her tent.

Ambre then felt around for the opening and looked inside for her bag, right in the corner where she placed it. With luck, she found the flashlight and turned it on. Thankful for some actual light, she looked around the inside of her tent at the damage that had been done.  While the tent was probably ruined with branches already inside, they seemed to have missed her bags and not touch her sleeping bag. She then got back into her bag and pulled out a white med kit. Pulling herself out with the box in one hand and the flashlight in the other, she turned to the figure: a boy about her age covered almost head to toe in dark clothes save for his head which was rounded and covered in black fur with a short, pointed muzzle, a gold ring on his forehead, two long ears pointing out with a gold band around each all with glaring red eyes.

"Wait, an Umbreon?" Ambre stood still.

"Not a word to anyone," he answered.

"But what are you though?"

"That is something you don't need to know."

"But... are there others like you? Are you the only one?"

"That is something you don't need to know."

"Is there some kind of secret-"

"Are you going to help me or not?" the Umbreon interrupted.

"Oh, yes, I guess that should come first," Ambre finally kneeled next to him and opened the kit, "Take off your coat so that we can have a better look at your arm."

The Umbreon did so, removing the black wind coat and pulled back the short sleeve to his left arm. Following the same as his head, the Umbreon's arm was covered in thin, black fur with a gold ring on his shoulder. Yet it appeared to be structured like a human arm with only the palm of his hand being padded. His elbow though looked swollen.

"This may not be good," Ambre commented as she dug through the kit.

"No ice pack or anything?"

"No, I thought it would be something we could bandage, but I don't know any way to reduce swelling."

"How about some pain relief?"

"Yeah, I have some, but I don't see how it will reduce swelling," Ambre showed the small bottle.

"Well it is aching a bit," he answered.

"Oh, I guess I can do that then," she replied and shook out two pills. The Umbreon then grabbed one pill and swallowed it whole.

"Do you need a drink?" Ambre then asked, replacing the leftover pill and the bottle back.

"No." The Umbreon then got up and put his coat back on, "I better leave then."

"Wait, do you need an escort? There should be a hospital in Laverre City and-"

"I'm not going to Laverre City and I don't need an escort," the Umbreon answered, dusting himself off.

"Can you at least give me your name?"

"That is something you don't need to know." He stepped over the wire carefully and behind a bush.

Ambre closed the kit closed and got up with it and the flashlight in hand. "Come on Absol," she said to the Pokemon sitting next to the tent.

"You're not planning on following, are you?" the Umbreon asked.

"You're hurt and you tripped on the same wire twice," Ambre answered.

There was no reply, Ambre went in after him but was stopped when the Umbreon stepped in front of her, Ambre feeling his eyes glaring at her out of the light.

"Look, you need to forget that I even exist. There are things that you are better off not knowing."

"But you are hurt. I can't stand the idea of a Pokemon being left injured."

"I'll have my friend look at it when I meet them."

"Then let me help you to them."

The Umbreon huff and looked around the opening carefully. "If I stay till morning, will you leave me alone and forget that I existed?" he asked.

"If you are feeling better in the morning," she replied.

"Fine, but as soon as the sun comes up, I'm gone." With that, the Umbreon sat down on the ground where he stood.

"I'll make you a bed then," Ambre said, looking back at the flatten tent. Immediately, she pulled out her sleeping bag and tried to figure out what to do for another. She didn't have a second one since she always traveled by herself. The tent, while probably mostly just the rods that were ruined, wouldn't seem that warm. But he also had fur, meaning that he could probably stay warmer easier. Even Absol didn't seem to have a problem with this. Ambre shook the idea from her head, it didn't seem fitting for someone who just fell from a tree, even just a Pokemon.

Looking at the sleeping bag, she had another idea. If she unzipped and used it as a larger blanket, it should be large enough for two. Then the top of the tent could be used for the bottom to keep them off the ground, even if it wouldn't be that comfortable.

Ambre began pulling out her bag and clothes from the tent and taking out the broken rods. She then quickly brushed off the loose sticks and leaves, leaving the top clean at least. With the top of the tent cleared, she then unzipped the sleeping bag and placed it over the flatten tent neatly. "Bed's ready," she called out to the Umbreon, still sitting in the same spot.

"Where are you sleeping then?" he asked, getting up from his position.

"Here as well," she replied with a finger pointed at one end of the bed.

"And you are fine with that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I would imagine it would be like sharing a bed with Absol. Besides, I don't have any spare blankets or anything."

The Umbreon groaned with his ears drooping. "Fine," he said as he pushed himself up with his right arm. He pulled back the covers on the far right end and settled in on his right shoulder, using his good arm to lay his head. Ambre then pulled the cover over him. "You don't have to baby me you know," he said to the gesture.

"You're the one that's hurt," she replied with a faint smile.

The Umbreon turned away and closed his eyes.

Ambre took the other end and found a comfortable spot on her stomach. "Are you good?" she asked with one hand on the flashlight next to her. The Umbreon didn't respond, but instead kept his eyes closed. With a bit of a smile, Ambre turned the flashlight off and closed her eyes.

"Hey," the Umbreon asked once they were in darkness.

"Yes?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at him albeit in vein.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just watched a Pokemon get hurt and never help," she answered.

"Even when you are just getting yourself in danger?" he asked, "How do you know I won't attack you while you sleep?"

"I've gotten in deep trouble before and I'm still alive," she bluffed. "Besides, I have Absol to protect me," she didn't bluff.

The Umbreon fell silent.