Ashes and Sand
by MalwareBirb404Once again, a long uncomfortable silence hung over the room. Leone refused to elaborate too much on the fate of Hearth, both for her and Cinder’s sake; but everyone was able to put two and two together. It was then that Cinder leapt down from her seat and slowly walked towards the front area, sitting with her back towards everyone. She didn’t know how to feel anymore. On one hand, these were still her parents who had shown her and her brother nothing but love. But on the other hand, they were criminals. Criminals who had lied to them for her entire life, only to wind up facing their end to the very group they had once helped lead.
“So how do we find Sable?” Crash bluntly asked as he crossed his arms, wanting to change the topic as quickly as possible. “That’s what we came here for, right?”
Cinder, Hickory, and Leone each gave the Scraggy strange looks in response to his insensitive comment. But if one looked closer, they would see the dark type was trembling. Everything about Crash’s body was as tense as it could possibly be, as if trying to hold something in with every fiber in his being.
Cinder snapped her head back at Crash, looking as if she were about to explode. The teary-eyed Vulpix stomped towards the dark type, the sound of her heated paws sizzling as they touched the floor. “Crash you little-”
But before Cinder could get any closer, Hickory quickly stepped between his teammates. “I thought we resolved all of this?” Hickory asked, keeping himself between the two pokemon.
“Well apparently Crash has something he wants to say!” Cinder fumed.
Crash instead said nothing as he turned his head away from the fire type, this only further enraged Cinder as she at least expected some kind remark from the Scraggy.
“Cinder, please calm down!” Hickory pleaded. He had hoped that Cinder and Crash had put their differences aside back at the settlement, but a small part of him had a feeling something might happen between them eventually.
“Do you know what it’s like Crash?!” Cinder asked, rage fueling each word she spat forth.
“Having your life destroyed in an instant? Having those close to you ripped away?! Having a third of life being built on a pile of lies?!”
It was at this moment that something within Crash snapped as he shot off of his seat, stressfully laughing as he stepped forwards. “You know what, you’re right! I don’t know shit! Crash yelled.
“I don’t know what it’s like to have someone close to me, is that what you wanna hear?!”
“Hearth and Nyx cared enough about you and your brother to get you away from Scorch!” The Scraggy continued.
“Crash!”
“No! Shut up!” Crash yelled back.
Cinder was taken aback by this, having not seen the Scraggy this angry before.
“Crash, calm down…” Hickory said as he stepped forward. “We can talk about th-”
“Stay the fuck out of this leafhead!” The Scraggy spat, whipping himself around as he briefly ignited his hand with Fire Punch. While not throwing the attack at him, it was enough to get Hickory to back down.
“What the hell is your problem?!” Cinder shouted.
“MY PROBLEM IS NOT ALL OF US GET SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THEM CINDER!” Crash yelled back as tears formed in his eyes.
“ENOUGH!” Leone yelled before quickly gathering her composure. “Sienna, I know you are up there! Please take these three upstairs!”
Even though they flinched at Leone raising her voice, Cinder and Hickory were still both in shock at Crash’s outburst, Cinder especially; who in all this time had never expected to see him like this. All she could do was stare at the former bandit who she initially held an insurmountable amount of contempt for, who in her eyes had done nothing but cause her grief, stress, and rage… was crying.
“Lies or not, they still cared about you…” Crash whimpered before realizing exactly what he had just done.
Quickly wiping his eyes he slinked towards and up the stairs, passing Sienna on her way down. Turning her attention from the Scraggy to the Vulpix and Bayleef, Sienna kept her tired and deadpan expression. “Alright, let’s go.”
Once Hickory, Crash, and Cinder left for the upper deck with the Krokorok, Mellan and Ivan joined Leone at her table. Seeing the Purugly in a dejected state, Mellan decided to shift the conversation.
“Sienna?” The Luxray asked, motioning his eyes to the deck above.
“She began working for me recently, and in exchange I have allowed her to take refuge upstairs.” Leone answered, saddeness still present in her voice.
“But I assume that the two of you had something else in mind that you wish to talk about?” Leone asked.
Mellan nodded. “Yes. But I guess we could hold it off for a bit.”
It was going to be a long, tense trip up to the roof. Sienna could feel it. Not just for the members of Team Lightwood but for the Krokorok as well, as the second-hand awkwardness as well as being near Hickory was starting to get to her. But Sienna refused to show it, as the tan and black striped crocodile led the three towards a curtain at the back end of the upper deck. All the while she could hear Cinder fuming, Crash sniffling, and the nervous hums coming from Hickory who she was sure recognised her too.
“Guess I was right about today being interesting… Just not in the fun way.”
The Krokorok dug a large nail out of the wall keeping the red curtain in place. Pulling it to the side, Sienna revealed a locked door. “Turn,” She flatly demanded. The others did as they were told and faced the other wall. After some brief rattling noises, the three heard a click as the door opened. “Let’s go.”
Going up a flight of stairs, the group of pokemon found themselves in a large room mostly filled with stacked piles of shelves, chairs, tables and other miscellaneous things. Weaving their way through the room full of stuff, Sienna and the others made their way to another door. Walking up the final flight of stairs, Sienna pushed open the door to the roof.
Watching the others step out before her, the Krokorok raised a brow. “Weren’t there three of you?” She bluntly asked.
Crash glanced around and listened as he made sure that he was alone. Having split away from the others, the Scraggy hid amongst the stored items where he tried to force himself into a more normal state.
“Stop crying dammit!” Crash loudly whispered.
Soon out of the corner of his eye, Crash spotted jars of jam and dried tamato berries on a nearby shelf. Turning his head towards the jars, an idea crossed Crash’s mind. What were the odds that a stash of his favorite food would be sitting right there while he was feeling this horrible?
“Either this is a test of will, or the universe just hates me…” The Scraggy thought as he crossed his arms. “No… I’m not gonna stoop to eating my feelings like some depressed housewife.”
“Eh, who am I kidding?” Crash muttered before grabbing one of the jars.
It wasn’t the first time he’d stolen food, and doubted he doubted this would be the last. He twisted the jar open and stuck his hand inside to retrieve the spicy treats that sat within, angrily chomping down on each one. By the time Crash emptied the jar, he simply stared at it before it slipped from his hands. It didn’t break, but was enough to bring back one of his last memories of home.
The day his father threw a jar of his own money at his head was the last day Crash had stepped foot in that house. He didn’t remember it hurting too much on account of him being a Scraggy, his thick skull preventing any serious damage. But it was more so the meaning behind it all that stuck with Crash. ‘You are nothing.’ He sighed as he looked back at the shelf, as a second jar was starting to look really good about now…
Hickory thought back to his and Cinder’s conversation as he made his descent back to the storage room. Many choice things were said by the Vulpix in regards to Crash, but Hickory was rather curious to hear him out.
“Crash?” The Bayleef called out as he entered the cluttered room, only to be met by silence. “Are you in here? I just wanna talk.” Still nothing.
“I know you’re angry… and-” But before Hickory could continue, the sound of creaking wood and shifting glass caught his attention.
Carefully walking towards a large table in front of a shelf spotted with jars, Hickory bent his neck down to find the Scraggy arm deep in a jar of cheri berry jam. The two stared at each other before Crash scowled. “Whaddya want?”
“Just to talk,” Hickory said with a concerned gaze.
“Well I don’t,” Crash said before sucking the jam off of his hand.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Yeah, you can get me a spoon and fuck off.”
Hickory sighed as the leaf on his head began to droop, slowly turning away from the Scraggy. “You don’t have to tell me, but I think you might feel better if you did.”
A couple of minutes went by before Hickory began to walk. “It’s this whole ‘Hearth’ thing…” Crash dejectedly said, slumping down as he looked away from the Bayleef.
“I hate hearing about stuff like that. Like when your mom came running after you when you showed up at the guild.”
“You have your family… and Powderkeg still has her brother,” The Scraggy mumbled. Hickory made his way back towards Crash.
“So what you said back there…” The grass type said before trailing off. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
There was a moment of silence before Crash responded. “I left home,” The Bayleef heard Crash say.
“And surprise, surprise! I didn’t go off to some guild to try and help others!” The Scraggy exclaimed as he whipped his arms up. “Stole from the wrong guy, and wound up with Team Raiders.”
“Why stay with them?” Hickory inquired with a confused tilt of the head.
“Other than the fact they’re run by scary lunatics?” Crash remarked before turning his head away.
“Maybe cause for once, it’d be someone else’s turn to have a shitty day… But then things started to feel a little too much like home.”
However unbeknownst to the two pokemon, Cinder was intently listening as she peered in from the stairwell. Having come down from the roof out of curiosity.
“So what happened?” Hickory asked.
“What happened is that not all of us have nice families like you Hickory.” There was a long silence between the two before Crash spoke up.
“Let’s just say… my dad wasn’t very nice to me.”
It took a bit, but Hickory and Cinder soon understood exactly what Crash was implying. Their reactions were similar, both explorers taken aback by this information. But unlike Hickory, Cinder felt a tinge of guilt as she began to think back on some of her past interactions with Crash.
“I guess that explains a bit then,” Cinder muttered as she kept listening.
“Why am I even telling you this?” Crash remarked as he turned his attention back to his jar.
Hickory stepped back from the table and turned towards the door. “Well if it helps, I’m glad you did. And I-”
“Yeah whatever,” Crash huffed, placing the jar to the side as he turned his back to Hickory.
After hearing a few of the Bayleef’s footsteps, Crash looked up. “And don’t go telling Powderkeg any of this,” He demanded. The grass type stopped in his tracks and glanced back.
“I mean it Hickory. I don’t need her giving me a hard time about this too.”
Hearing Crash’s words, Cinder then turned to walk back up to the roof. But as she took her first steps, there was one more thing she heard Crash say just out of ear shot.
‘I don’t know what it is, but there’s a small part of her that reminds me of Scorch. That glare she makes…’ A choking, burning feeling built up in Cinder’s throat as she stormed up the stairs.
Reaching the top of the building once again, the Vulpix passed by Sienna before sitting down as she stared blankly into space. The Krokorok watched the fire type for a while, until ultimately deciding to retreat into a walled off chamber built on top of the roof.
“Now’s probably not a good time…” She thought, slinking inside before shutting the door.
Inside the decent sized room was a mess of fabrics, colored vials, and papers strewn about every surface. But to Sienna, it was home… sort of. A place she wouldn’t be bothered was a more accurate description, at least the Krokorok. Sure it was a mess, but it was her mess… A mess she kept telling herself she’d clean, but by some grace of Arceus still managed to find what she needed.
Knocking a vial of dye across the floor with her clawed foot, Sienna stopped and gave an annoyed groan, bending down to pick it up before something under the table caught her eye. After grabbing the vial, the Krokorok reached down and pulled at a piece of paper with her claws. She then laid it out on the table, brushing a few miscellaneous items aside. Staring at the worn map for a brief moment, Sienna shook her head before rolling it up and tossing it aside; she had work to do.
Sienna didn’t fancy herself a ‘craftsmon’, but she was certainly aware of her talents. Creating ability-enhancing garments was not easy, but it was something she was rather good at. However, a lack of material was always a concern, and would cause many of her creations to sit around her room unfinished. Her mind kept wandering back to the Vulpix outside, as fur from a fire type was needed for one of her projects, namely one possessing the Flash Fire ability.
Sighing, the Krokorok turned her attention to a mostly finished red scarf hanging from a hook on the stone wall. One would call it a more proper scarf then the ones the guilds would hand out, and most notably it had black markings on one end with three white, claw-like tips that hung off of them. A ‘seismic scarf’ Sienna called it, basing its design off of the legendary pokemon Groudon, said to live within the depths of the world itself. Noting some final adjustments that still needed to be made, Sienna grabbed a spool of scarlet thread and got to work.
After about an hour or so, Sienna finished and donned her new scarf before peering outside. She saw the Vulpix was still sitting there, this time slumped over by the nearby edge. The Baylfeef was there now too, but the two pokemon weren’t speaking. Sienna shrugged, but before she shut the door, the Krokorok heard the Vulpix speak.
“Do you… feel bad for Crash?” Cinder somberly asked as she stared out at nearby buildings. Hickory turned his head towards the fire type in confusion.
“Yeah, I heard you guys talking…”
“How much did you hear?” The Bayleef asked.
“Enough.”
“So do you feel bad for him?” Hickory asked in turn.
Cinder’s eyes widened, as she wasn’t prepared for her teammate to ask that. She then looked down in response as her ears fell, and tails drooped down. “I… want to.”
“But he was still a part of Team Raiders,” Cinder said before she realized what had come out of her mouth.
“ Annnd so were my parents. Right,” The Vulpix huffed. “And I’m just- I’m just so mad at them for being a part of that… It feels like my life was based on a lie. Like, what does that make me and Char?”
“That doesn’t make you-”
“DOESN’T IT?! I heard what you guys- …what Crash said.”
“My glare is like Scorch’s. That’s what he said,” Cinder continued as her eyes welled up.
“You are nothing like Scorch,” Hickory forcefully responded.
Cinder sat in silence for a moment before speaking up. “…What about my temper?”
“I’d say Scorch still has you beat,” The two heard a familiar, snide voice say. Cinder and Hickory turn around to see Crash walking towards them.
“Didn’t take you as the eavesdropping type, that’s really more something up my alley.”
Hearing Crash say this got a chuckle out of Sienna as she continued to watch, the three pokemon still unaware of her presence.
Cinder and Hickory glanced at each other before the Bayleef pulled away. “Should I give you some space?” Hickory asked.
“I don’t care,” Crash said, giving a shrug but still sounding upset. “Everything’s all out in the open now.”
While he was still trying to hide his feelings behind his demeanor, the others noticed his facade was slipping. As while he attempted to use a smug voice as if nothing had happened, the rest of his body told a different story.
Crash’s arms visibly quivered, faintly shaking while the rest of him looked strangely tense. “Now you two and Sparky know my secret,” He continued, sounding annoyed before calming down and thinking long about his next words.
“…Please don’t be mad at Hearth,” Crash said, averting his eyes from Cinder. The Vulpix was taken aback by what the Scraggy said, and she was about to step forwards until she saw just how sad Crash looked.
“Sounds like she actually loved you if that story’s anything to go off,” Crash said, his voice growing shaky.
“So yeah…” The Scraggy trailed off before turning around to walk away. “Arceus dammit, why did I do that-”
“Crash wait,” He heard Cinder say before stopping. She slowly walked towards him, standing a few feet away when she came to a stop. “…Can we talk?”
Crash said nothing as he continued to stand there, his back facing the Vulpix. “Crash?”
“What’s there to talk about? You heard my story already,” Crash choked, trying to hold back tears.
Cinder huffed. “Because you shouldn’t keep stuff like that in.”
“Yes Powderkeg, please educate me on how to handle my emotions,” Crash remarked as he crossed his arms.
Cinder found herself irritated by Crash’s statement, but quickly calmed down. “…Alright, I guess I deserved that one.”
“Egh, it’s not like we weren’t both being massive pricks,” Crash said in a depressed manner as he anxiously rubbed his arm. “And for what it’s worth… I’m sorry.”
CInder stared at the yellow lizard, who in this moment seemed completely different from when she met him. “Yeah… Me too.” She replied as she gave a sigh. “Crash, what are we doing?”
Crash rubbed his arm across his face before turning back towards Cinder. “Hm?”
“In the short time we’ve known each other, how many times have we done this?”
“Well if it means getting back to Timberglade, I guess I’d be willing to put up with you a bit more,” Crash joked, sticking out a still trembling hand.
A burnt out Cinder groaned. “Crash…” But before she could continue, the forced grin on the Scraggy’s face soon fell.
“You know, I’m kinda jealous of you two,” Crash said as his eyes shifted away from Cinder.
A confused look fell over the Vulpix’s face. “Jealous?”
“Like I said, you guys have family and others that actually want you around. I had bandits, and a dad who wanted a personal lackey.”
Cinder thought for a moment about his words, but was soon cut off by Hickory who was walking towards them. “What about Mellan?” The Bayleef asked. “Looking back on it, I’m pretty sure he and Ivan saved us because of you.”
Crash nervously smiled, “…It’s funny. Pretty sure Sparky once suggested I join the guild way back then.”
“So what stopped you?” Cinder asked somewhat forcefully.
Crash’s gaze narrowed. “I was raised to steal. And last I checked, guilds don’t like that,” He remarked.
There was a long silence between the three until the Scraggy whimpered softly. “Don’t really think he wanted me either…”
Cinder continued to stare at Crash, as this side of him was something… foreign. The smug smartass that she had grown to tolerate had been lost, replaced by something pitiable. Crash’s eyes started to well up again.
“You know, what hurt most was the one thing he didn’t do.”
“Sure, he’d throw things at me and call me every name he could think of. But when I first left, I hung around town for a while. And in the back of my mind, a small part of me hoped that maybe, just maybe… he would come look for me. Hated having to do things himself after all.”
Crash stopped talking as his face tightened into an intense scowl before softening into a look of sorrow just as quickly. Cinder felt bad, her ears folding down as she remembered the times she would grow frustrated and bite his tail to get his attention or shut down his antics.
“He said my glare reminded him of Scorch… I wonder if he ever-” The Vulpix shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts.
“Hey, Crash?” Cinder asked as her gaze wavered away from the Scraggy, averting eye contact with him. She then took a deep breath. “Come on,” Cinder quietly said, gesturing with her head towards the roof’s edge where the three then walked towards, Crash trailing behind the fox until they reached their destination. He and Cinder climbed up onto a wooden crate next to the Bayleef and silently stood, looking out at the Third Layer’s surroundings.
“…I’m sorry for what happened to you,” Cinder said as she stared out at the city.
Crash looked down and away from her. “Yeah… back at ya.”
Seeing that the show was over, Sienna retreated back into her space before quietly shutting the door. But the Krokrok couldn’t help but feel strange, as she felt something wet running down the side of her face. Scraping it away with her claw, Sienna curiously glanced at the door. Why was she crying? She didn’t know these pokemon, or frankly even care too much about why they were here. Perhaps a conversation like that was a rare sight in a place like this. Shaking her head, Sienna blinked a few times.
“Probably just shit in my eye,” the Krokorok reasoned.
Sienna turned her attention to something the Scraggy had mentioned in passing. Specifically the words ‘getting back to Timberglade.’
“That’s where that guild is, isn’t it?” She thought.
A few minutes later, Sienna stepped out of her room, making her presence known to Team Lightwood. However, rather than acknowledge them, she made her way to another end of the roof. Sienna wasn’t the most ‘sociable’ pokemon, typically leaving for any of the following reasons. When she needed food, materials, or information on what was happening around the Third Layer; and maybe ‘fresh air’ if she was in a good mood.
Picking up a plank and placing it over a crate and up against the wall lining the roof, Sienna formed a ramp. Taking a few steps back, Sienna then focused her sights on the roof of the adjacent building. While this was something she had done several times before, Sienna still needed to be careful. As what was technically a four story drop was something the ground type didn’t want to experience. With a running start the Krokorok dashed forwards, silently hoping her improvised ramp would hold. After all, no matter how practiced an action, gravity still had a funny way of messing things up.
Running up the plank, Sienna stepped foot on the wall before propelling herself off. What happened next was a blur until the Krokorok landed on the next roof. Picking herself up, she looked back at the three pokemon who were now staring at her.
“What?” Sienna flatly asked with a shrug. She then narrowed her gaze and pointed a claw at the trio. “Look, don’t even think about going anywhere. Miss Leone still expects you to be there! So don’t move!”
Sienna then slinked off to the end of the other roof before reaching a large pipe that curved down the side of the building. The tube was more than big enough for her to fit inside, and slide down to the street. She hated doing this, but to her knowledge it was the only way down from there, as the way into the building was blocked off from the inside. Sighing, Sienna got into a sitting position within the metal tube, hearing it creek in response.
“Brother in Mew, if this breaks…” She angrily thought as she gritted her teeth.
Tensing up as she slid down, the Krokorok stuck out her feet against the walls of the tube to slow herself down before falling out the bottom, which thankfully curved outwards. The resulting drop to the ground was a couple of feet, but nothing Sienna couldn’t manage. She found herself in an alley, quickly glancing around for any unsavory characters. The Krokorok sighed a breath of relief, as she really didn’t feel like fighting today.
Taking a moment to herself, Sienna leaned against the alley wall and let her mind wander. She began to think about the three pokemon that supposedly came from Timberglade, having found the story Leone told them to be interesting. But it soon brought to light certain memories that the ground type would rather not recall. However Sienna was then snapped back to reality when she remembered why she had come out here.
Slipping out of the alley, Sienna casually walked into a wider one where just one of the many markets sprinkled throughout the city were set up. Walking past various stalls and shady bystanders, the Krokorok was looking for something specific. Sauntering towards a big, empty stall, she went around the counter and slipped in through the large door behind it.
Once inside the open room, all Sienna could smell was smoke. She gritted her teeth as she saw the gray haze lingering throughout as tables of pokemon chatted over a smoke. Sienna rolled her eyes. “The air down here’s already rank enough down here without you doing this shit!” She thought.
Sienna hated the smell, but the Krokorok did need a few things from here, as going elsewhere was more risky. And the one in charge of the place is a recent acquaintance of Leone, so she needed to play nice.
“In and out Sienna… Just in and out.”
Behind a big, stone counter was a large Rypherior who loomed over Sienna as she approached. “So, what’s Leone want this time?” The stony-skinned reptile expectantly asked in a gruff, gravely voice, their teeth firmly clenching onto a pipe as they spoke.
“No, me this time.”
“Ah. The usual, I take it?”
Sienna nodded in response, trying not to breathe in too much of the ‘friendly atmosphere’.
The Rhyperior placed his hands on the counter, staring down at Sienna with a smirk. “Now what secrets are you willing to trade in exchange for entry?” Sienna glanced around before beckoning the rock type closer.
The Krokorok pulled herself up on the counter and whispered in his ear after he bent down, a wide grin soon appearing on his face. Letting out a slight chuckle, the Rhyperior stood back up and crossed his arms. “Well that’s good to know…”
Turning around, the rock type pulled open the metal gate behind him. It led to another room that was lit by the odd lantern hanging around. This didn’t bother Sienna too much on account of her species’ ability to see well in the dark. What did bother her was the stench still lingering in her nose. Sienna swore she could taste it now too, only adding to mild dislike of the Rhyperior.
“When I’m done, I’m washing my mouth out with sand… or licking a Skuntank… Anything has to be better than tasting this,” Sienna thought, rummaging through a crate as she searched for any items of use to her.
After a good while Sienna found most of what she needed, placing her acquired items inside a sack she found hanging on the wall. But it was then that a noise caught her attention, she looked up at the storeroom’s entrance.
“The hell was that?” She muttered before hearing something slamming on the floor. Curiosity got the better of the Krokorok, and she stepped out of the room to find the Rhyperior not behind the counter, but to the side of it as he stood up against the wall as a Blaziken held their clawed foot up to the rock type’s chest.
The tall, orange and red rooster stared daggers at the Rhyperior as a band of other fire types began to spread throughout the area. “Don’t make me ask twice,” The bird angrily said.
The Rhyperior smirked, “Do you know who you’re talking to?”
Unamused by the rock type’s remark, the Blaziken swiftly flicked up his foot, knocking the pipe out of the Rhyperior’s mouth. Seeing this, Sienna immediately decided that it was time to leave. However the Krokorok’s attention hadn’t been on the other fire types spreading through the room, with two in particular eyeing her from behind.
“How’s it going?” A smug voice asked. Quickly turning around, Sienna was met by a familiar set of faces. The Quilava from the Second Layer along with their Charmeleon friend stood by the other end of the desk, effectively boxing her in.
“So, where’s your Light Screen buddy now?”
“You two are a fucking pain you know that,” The Krokorok with an annoyed glare.
But before Sienna could do anything, the Blaziken was tossed onto the counter beside her, slamming face-first into the stone surface.
“So much for avoiding a fight today…” Sienna thought, the mood continuing to turn as all of the fire types in the room shifted their attention to their leader, all while all of the patrons slowly stood up.
Sienna ran down the street, as the chaos had spilled outside. She ran opposite of the way she came, as the Quilava and Charmeleon were still on her tail. Sienna didn’t want to lead them back to Leone’s, instead opting to lose them elsewhere. However she was confident that she knew the area better then them, being that she mostly saw them hanging around the Second Layer.
Shoving her way past other pokemon and dodging blasts of fire, Sienna made a dash towards a specific spot at the end of the large alley. The building marking the street’s end recently had scaffolds put up to keep the wall from collapsing. It would be risky, as Krokoroks weren’t exactly built for climbing, but it was also unlikely that the two would follow her up.
Clamping her jaws down on her bag as she got closer, Sienna planted her foot on the ground especially hard as she used Stone Edge. One after the other, pillars of rock rose from the ground acting as ever heightening stepping stones Sienna used to climb. Once close enough, the Krokorok jumped onto the second lowest platform, clawing her way onto the surface.
“Get the hell down here!” The Quilava yelled as the rocks crumbled away.
Sienna said nothing in response, raising her middle claw at the badger.
“We’ll burn that fucking thing down if you don’t!” The Charmeleon spat, huffing a small flame.
“If this falls, the whole wall‘ll crash down on you idiots!” Sienna shot back.
“Besides, you should be worried about your own asses!” The Krokorok said, gesturing towards the surrounding damage, and the angry pokemon beating back the other fire types. It was then that she placed her bag back in her jaws before continuing to climb, getting a good view of the havoc below.
Making it to the top, Sienna tried to keep her balance while standing on the shaky platform. Step by careful step, she made her way to the right. Her heart pounded as the sound of each shifting creek put her more on edge. Finally, she managed to turn herself around to face an adjacent building that was luckily the same height as the others in the area. However the distance was farther than she would have liked.
“Either jump, or deal with the shit below,” Sienna thought, breathing heavily through her nose.
“You planned for this, remember…”
She then used Shadow Claw, extending a dark, phantasmal construct from her claws as she prepared to jump.
Springing forward, Sienna nearly made it to the ledge. The Krokorok’s Shadow Claw dug into the building’s side. Using her free digits, she pulled herself up onto the roof and lay on her back, panting.
“I fucking… hate… this place,” Sienna groaned between heavy breaths.
After a minute or so, Sienna pulled herself up and looked at the ‘path’ ahead of her. The Krokorok’s gaze narrowed, realizing she’d now have to repeat the process a couple of more times.
“…Fuck.”
“I don’t know, it just feels… bad. The battles back home never got like this,” Hickory said as he, Cinder, and Crash looked down at the street below.
“Yeah…” Crash quietly replied as he gritted his teeth. “And I don’t think that’s supposed to bend like that.”
The other’s grimaced at the sight the Scraggy was referring to before catching a glimpse of Crash stepping away from the edge. “…My dad used to tell me stories about this place,” He continued after a brief silence between the three.
He then turned away, giving a nervous chuckle, as the fact that he was now in the depths of Inferno’s Maw really began to sink in. “Kept saying if I acted up, he’d send me here.”
Hearing this brought Cinder’s thoughts back to the spatial remnant that had brought them here. Crash had used it… And how Scorch could use it.
“How’d you do it?” Cinder asked.
Crash stopped in his tracks. “Do what?”
“The remnant. How did you use it?”
“I don’t know, how do you breathe fire?” Crash defensively said, a scowl clear on his face as he turned towards the Vulpix.
Hickory stepped towards the Scraggy to try and put a stop to what he felt could lead to another fight. “Crash-”
“I’m fine, I-” Crash snapped before his face softened. “…Look, I already get it’s my fault we’re out here in the first-damn-place.”
A silence hung over the group until something landed further away on the roof. “Good, you’re still here,” Sienna grunted, picking herself up.
“Are you okay?” Hickory asked as he held out a vine-like tendril, noticing the dripping cuts on her belly and legs.
Glancing down, the Krokorok sighed before walking back to her space on the roof.
Closing the door, Sienna dropped her bag on her bed before wincing in pain and irritation. The last couple jumps she made were nowhere near as good as her first, resulting in some less than graceful landings. However she was more annoyed if anything, as it wasn’t the first time this had happened. Grabbing some scraps of fabric, Sienna tied it around her leg before turning towards her bed. Emptying the bag, she looked over the things she had gathered. A black, cloth belt that had seen better days, and a large yellowish-green seed being among the more important ones.
A quiet, but annoyed crocodilian hiss slipped past her jaws, as she was still missing something. Sienna glanced at the door and sighed. “Guess I don’t have a choice but to make nice with them if I want this to work.”
Looking over at the worn map she had earlier tossed the side of her room, Sienna gathered her acquired items and placed them on her table. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” She muttered before grabbing one of her unfinished pieces.
“Even if they aren’t by some chance from Timberglade, they’re still better than nothing…” She thought as she began to sew.
It was much later when Sienna emerged from her room to find the trio of strangers gone. Walking towards the door, she made her way down to the storage room to find the three sitting on the floor on top of a tablecloth, sharing some food that she assumed Leone had given them. The mood was melancholy as an air of gloom hung over the trio, their earlier discussion bringing forth things to the front of their minds that they had pushed aside.
Cinder could only think about how Char was probably freaking out, as they had basically vanished from town. The two had already lost their parents to bandits, and now Char had lost his little sister. Although a small part of her began to wonder if Char knew anything about their family’s past. And if so, how much had he hidden from her?
As for Hickory, his mother immediately came to mind. Juniper had never wanted him to join the guild in the first place. And just as quickly as he had joined, he was now lost up in the depths of a city in the far off desert. He remembered that she said that she would check on him as part of their deal to let him stay at the guild. But as for all she knew now, her eldest son was missing.
The two then glanced at Crash, as his expression was clearly different from theirs. As he wasn’t trying to remember anyone, but rather forget. He only wanted to focus on the food in front of him, but couldn’t seem to as he poked and prodded at a fruit with his hand.
Sienna was about to turn to go back upstairs when Hickory caught a glimpse of her. Putting on an inviting smile, he stuck up one of his vines to try and get her attention. “Uh, hey umm-”
“Sienna.”
“Yeah, Sienna. Would you like to join us?”
The Krokorok had a look of complete disinterest on her face. But before she could shoot down the Bayleef’s invitation, her stomach loudly made the decision for her.
Remembering that she hadn’t eaten in a while, Sienna sighed and walked towards the only available spot without a word, sitting at the corner of the cloth between Cinder and Crash. She looked over the selection of food sitting between them before picking up a spiny fruit that grew from the cacti in the surrounding desert.
Holding it with her claws, she carefully began to peel away the protective skin and spines. The others watched her do this, somewhat in awe at the clearly practiced motions of the Krokorok.
Successfully peeling it off, Sienna sucked the juice off of her claw before tossing the fuchsia colored fruit into her jaws. Swallowing, she looked around at the others. Namly at their blatant lack of claws. “You want me to do yours too, don’t you.”
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Hickory replied with a smile. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to try it.”
Sienna thought for a second, but relented; picking up another spiny fruit in her claws.
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