Chapter Text
“Furfrou… Fetch!” The voice of a seemingly young boy yelled. As he did so, using his left hand, he threw a large stick into the nearby forest.
The Furfrou, which was most likely the boy’s, ran after it. Rushing through the bushes, dirtying its luscious white fur.
The boy waited for his Furfrou to come back, however, that moment never came. Even after waiting for five whole minutes, Furfrou still hadn’t come back.
“Furfrou..? Furfrou!” The boy began to panic, quickly rushing towards the bushes where Furfrou was last seen before it disappeared.
“Furfrou! Where are you?!”
Lumine let out a loud sigh, “Finallyy! Ugh… it felt like it took forever to arrive here…My feet are sore…” She whined softly, dropping herself down onto the plush chairs of the Pokemon Center.
Childe, who had taken a seat next to her, just laughed at her whining, placing his arm on her shoulder and leaning against her.
The two of them had just arrived in a Cyllage City and decided to take a rest there before Childe went to challenge the Cyllage City gym. Mostly due to the fact that Lumine wouldn’t stop complaining about how much her feet hurt.
I mean, it wasn’t her fault. It's been years since she last travelled, obviously she would get tired easily.
“I say we go find a place to eat first, then we can find a place to stay for the night. As, I doubt you’d wanna watch me challenge the gym today.” Childe grinned, using Lumine as support and pushed himself of the chair.
Suddenly, he grabbed Lumine’s hand and pulled her with him, Lumine’s bag almost flying off at how hard he had grabbed her, “Hey-! Let me rest a bit more!’
Childe turned a deaf ear to Lumine’s cries and pleas for more rest, continuing to pull her along. Only releasing his grip on her hand when they were ways away from the Pokecenter.
Childe continued to walk, this time, turning around to face Lumine, thus putting him in the position of walking backwards
“You need to be more active! Come on! Let’s look around! I already see a few interesting shops I want to look around!” He began to speed up his walking, not before long, his walking broke out into a run, leaving Lumine no other choice than to chase after him.
Lumine groaned, debating on whether she should just leave him, but Lumine was a good travel partner, and he was also in possession of all their mora, so, she would very reluctantly follow. She began to follow after him, unpreferable, she was much slower than the man. Her sore legs were to blame for that.
Curse Childe for making her walk so much…
When Lumine finally caught up to Childe who was inside a crystal shop, he was examining a handful of stones, to be more specific, evolution stones.
He was digging through a batch of the stones, most likely trying to find a water stone. “Aha! Found one!” Childe suddenly exclaimed, lifting the stone and practically shoving it in Lumine’s face.
“I can finally get my Wartortle to evolv-”
“You know… Water stones don’t work on Wartortle…” Lumine interrupted, causing Childe’s previous excited expression to freeze before it crumbled.
“...Well then, this is useless now,” he said with a sigh, placing the stone back into the batch. Looking like a disappointed child who opened a mystery pack, only to find that they got the toy they wanted the least.
However, Childe quickly recovered from the previous gloom he felt, “It’s fine! That just means Wartortle and I just need to work harder to get it to evolve, and when it does, we’ll be the strongest!”
He placed his hands on his hips and stood in a confident manner. Lumine groaned at his actions, glancing around, hoping no one saw him, else she’d die of embarrassment.
“Since this shop doesn’t prove any use to me, let’s check out the others! Come on!” Childe exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing hold of Lumine’s wrist, yanking her off with him.
“Wait, no! Not again!” Once again, Childe refused to listen to Lumine’s protest, dragging her along with him.
The next shop they arrived at was a jewellery store. In the store were many people, however the pair paid them no mind as they looked at each of the jewellery. None in particular catching the eyes of Lumine. The same however, could not be said for Childe.
First, he picked up a red bejewelled necklace. The necklace shined so bright it practically blinded Lumine. She looked away, begging for Childe to put it back.
Childe pouted but listened to her, sighing as he did so, “But it would match so well with my earring!” he pointed at his earring, still pouting.
Lumine’s face just twisted in a grimace of revulsion. Seeing this, Childe sighed defeated, it wasn’t long however before he spotted another piece of jewellery which caught his interest.
“Oo! What about this!” He said as he picked up a gold ring with cerulean blue crystals. “Doesn’t it match my eyes?”
Lifting the ring to his eyes to compare the ring to them.
“I guess… but you shouldn’t buy it. It’s too big. Looks weird.” Lumine remarked. Her facial expression being one of boredom.
“Killjoy…” Childe muttered to himself. Just then, once again, he saw another piece of jewellery he liked, however, this time, when he saw the jewellery, unlike before where he just seemed to find the jewellery nice looking, his eyes brightened when he spotted this specific piece.
He quickly grabbed ahold of it, lifting it up and showing it to Lumine. “Look! This earring looks almost exactly like mine! Just in the colour yellow!” He suddenly gasped, eyes shining once again. “I noticed that you have piercings on your ear, but no earring! We can match! It almost perfectly matches with your outfit!”
He turned to the direction of the counter, ready to go pay for the earring, but he was stopped when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Don’t. We shouldn’t waste Mora on useless things like this,”
“But-”
“No ‘buts’ now let's go.” Lumine left no room for discussion as she turned around and walked out of the shop.
A few minutes later, Childe walked out of the shop.
“What took you so long?” Lumine asked, tilting her head, voice curious.
“Ah- well, I couldn’t remember where I picked the earring from and it took me a while to find its original place…” Childe said, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Lumine just sighed before changing the topic. “Well, it’s already getting dark, and we haven’t found a place to stay at,”
“I’m sure the Pokemon Center would be more than happy to let us stay there for the night!” Childe spoke already running off to the Pokemon Center.
“Wait! No more running! Please!” Despite this, Childe didn’t slow down. So, as per the now the usual, Lumine had to chase after him.
Looking back, Childe yelled, “You need to be faster girlie! What if one day we are getting chased an- Omf!” All the sudden someone collided into Childe, causing him to fall onto his butt with a thud.
Lumine instantly quickened her pace, running up to Childe and kneeling down beside him. “Childe! Are you okay?” She stuck her hand out for Childe to grab ahold off, helping him get up. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m fine…”
Once both Lumine and Childe were back on their feet, they turned to face the person who crashed into Childe. The two of them were surprised to see a young boy who looked to be around the age of fifteen. He had white hair with goggles placed snuggly on his head. He wore a grey sweater with a white shirt collar. He also had really dark blue shorts on, with lots of keychains hanging from his shorts. Some of different Pokemon, some just being cute characters from a show he probably watched.
Recovering from the fall, the boy pushed himself off the floor and looked up to face the thing he had bumped into, his eyes widening slightly upon seeing Childe. “Ah! Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I thought I hit a lamppost! I didn’t know i crashed into you! I’m so sorry! Please forgive me! I’m so sorry!’
The boy stumbled over his words, bowing multiple times, apologising to Childe. Childe’s eyes widened, certainly not expecting such a reaction from the young boy. He glanced in Lumine’s direction, eyes begging for help, but, when she saw the look in his eyes, she quickly turned away, giggling to herself.
Childe was speechless. How could Lumine leave him to figure the situation out for himself?
Bringing his attention back to the still apologising boy, he motioned for him to stop. “H-hey. It’s okay! You don’t have to keep apologising! Look, I’m completely fine!”
Childe smiled when the boy stopped apologising. “Are you all right though? When you fell, the thud was pretty loud,” Childe asked the boy, tilting his head to the side, his eyes glancing over the boy’s form, checking for injuries.
“Ah! Don’t worry! I’m fine! This happens pretty often so I’m used to it!” The boy’s previous glum expression now replaced with a grin.
Both Lumine and Childe glanced at each other, deciding to ignore the last part of what the boy said.
Crossing her arms over her chest, this time, it was Lumine’s turn to ask the questions. “Why were you running so fast? And why were you not looking at where you were running? That was very irresponsible of you. You could have gotten seriously hurt!”
The boy looked down to the floor embarrassed and dejected. “I’m sorry… I was just in a rush, I didn’t mean too…” The boy began to sniffle.
Lumine’s eyes widened not expecting a reaction like that from the boy.
“Hey, hey. No need to cry. I was just worried about you,” Lumine instantly went to comfort the boy, bending down slightly so that she could face the boy directly without needing to look down.
“What your name?” Lumine asked in a comforting tone, rubbing to boy’s back, to comfort him.
“B-Bennett.” Bennett spoke, having stopped sniffling.
“Bennett, why were you rushing? Did something happen?” Lumine asked as she stopped rubbing Bennett’s back, pausing a bit when saying his name, before standing back up.
“I-I… well…” He started but stumbled over his words.
Childe, who had been silent for a while now, finally spoke. “How about we go find a place to sit at? Maybe you’ll find that a more comfortable place to be, instead of standing in the middle of the road,”
Bennett nodded silently. Childe and Lumine looked at each other and nodded as well.
“I’m pretty sure I saw a park over there, we can go sit at one of the benches there,” Childe pointed in the direction of north-east as he spoke. Once he finished his sentence, he began walking towards where he pointed, Lumine and Bennett following after him.
When they reached the park, Lumine and Childe led Bennett over to a nearby bench. Only speaking once Bennett had taken a seat.
“So, do you want to continue telling us why you were rushing?” Childe questioned, taking a seat next to Bennett. Lumine opted to standing instead.
Taking in a deep breath, Bennett began speaking, “So, earlier today… I was playing with my Furfrou. I threw a stick like I had done many times before that, however, this time, my Furfrou never came back… I’m scared. Furfrou’s never been on its own before! What if something happened to it! I bet it’s so scared right now… oh Furfrou…” Bennett began to panic, his breath quickening.
Lumine and Childe quickly went to comfort him. “Hey! It’s okay, calm down. Breath…” Childe took in a deep breath, being an example for the panicking boy. Lumine also helped by once again, rubbing to boy’s back.
Once Bennett calmed down, he began speaking, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trouble you…”
Childe shook his head, “You’re not troubling us at all! We just want to make sure you’re okay! So don’t worry, alright?”
Bennett nodded, a small smile formed on his face.
Pushing himself of the park’s bench, Bennett stood up, “Well, I think I should go back to looking for Furfrou now! Have a nice night!”
Bennett was about to run off, but stopped when he heard Childe call out to him. He turned and looked back at Childe, confusion written on his face.
“You shouldn’t be running around town this late! It’s dangerous!” Childe scolded, standing up from the bench.
“But-”
“Ah! No. Childe’s right,” Lumine began, cutting Bennett off. Childe’s eyes brightened at hearing he was right from Lumine, but Lumine paid no attention to that.
“It’s far too late to be running around town.” Lumine paused for a moment before she continued, “How about this, you continue your search tomorrow and Childe and I will help you search for your Furfrou, deal?”
Bennett’s eyes widened, he only seemed to think for a moment before a large smile appeared on his face. He answered with excitement. “Really? Thank you!”
Lumine just gave him a comforting smile before waving a hand to him, “Now go. You’ll need rest so that you’ll be energised for our search tomorrow. Me and Childe will meet you at the Pokemon Center. Be there by ten in the morning. ”
Bennett nodded his head aggressively before running off, a little pep in his step as he ran.
Once Bennett was out of sight, only then did Lumine and Childe begin speaking again.
“So, shall we head back to the Pokemon center?” Lumine asked, placing a hand on her hip.
“You know… maybe we should continue exploring tow-”
Childe was stopped in his speech when Lumine grabbed him by the ear and yanked him down to her height, making him face her directly. She didn’t say anything and just glared at him.
Childe took in a sharp breath, opening his mouth to speak when- “Ow! Hey- wait! Let go! I’m sorry!” He whined.
Lumine had begun pulling him by the ear, making the walk back to the Pokemon Center slow and painful.
“Owiee!! Please Lumine let gooo!”
“NO!”
Then next day, at 10:47 p.m., Bennett came running into the Pokemon Center, hair a mess, clothes looked like he’d rushed to put it on.
Childe and Lumine were sitting on a bench in the corner of the Pokemon Center, watching as Bennett ran in. Squinting his eyes to inspect the boy, Childe noticed something, “Is… Is he wearing his shorts backwards...?”
Lumine just giggled when Childe pointed that out.
Bennett, who had frantically been looking around the Pokemon Center, finally spotted the pair.
Running up to them, Bennett yelled, huffing, “Hey guys! I’m sorry that I’m late,”
When Bennett reached the bench they were at, he took a seat next to them. Take a closer look, Lumine and Childe noticed how ruffled Bennett’s clothes really were. “What happened to you? You look like you slipped and fell,” Childe joked.
“Oh, I did. Multiple times in fact! I also almost got robbed, my alarm clock blew up… uh, I also fell down a flight of stairs when running here!”
“...”
Lumine and Childe were speechless. Really, how unlucky could one person get?
“Well, since I’m here now, let’s go search for Furfrou!” Bennett got up from the bench and waited for the other two to follow.
Lumine and Childe blinked a few times before snapping out of their daze.
“R-right. Let’s go,”
The group exited the Pokemon center, stopping at the side of the crosswalk.
“So, I say we split up and search the city. We could also ask around if to see if anyone saw your Furfrou,” Childe suggested.
Lumine and Bennett nodded.
“We’ll meet back here at two, okay?” Lumine brushed a hand through her soft locks of hair.
And with that, the group was off. Lumine went towards the shopping area, Childe ran towards the park area and Bennett ran off to the housing areas.
“Hm… where could that Furfrou be…” Childe muttered to himself.
He was currently wandering around the park, looking under benches, behind trees and even looking into the water fountain, but no luck.
Walking at a leisurely pace, Childe examined the area around him, searching for any spots of white that may be the certain Furfrou he is looking for.
He took a few steps forwards, crushing leaves and branches beneath his feet as he did. Suddenly, at a random loud snap of a branch, he saw a flash of white run past him.
Childe jumped at the sudden appearance of it but quickly composed himself. In a matter of seconds, he was off, chasing after whatever he’d seen.
The Pokemon he’d seen was fast, causing Childe to almost lose sight of it multiple times, but luckily, he managed to find it each time he did.
Chasing the Pokemon, Childe ran past trees, into bushes and almost fell once or twice, but finally, he managed to catch up to it.
The Pokemon had come to a stop and now was sitting infront of Childe, and when Childe could finally get a good look at it, his heart dropped.
No… this wasn’t the Furfrou he was looking for, no, this was-
“AN ABSOL?”
The loud shout from Childe echoed throughout the park, causing many others to turn to look at him, yet he couldn’t care less, he had practically fallen to his knees, still in disbelief that he’d mistaken this Absol for the Furfrou he’d been searching for.
Even when the Absol had left, he was still practically stuck to the ground. With a groan, Childe finally pushed himself off the ground.
This is going to be harder than he expected…
Lumine huffed as she leaned her back onto a wall of a random shop.
She had asked over ten people, and yet, non so far had yet to have any information on the missing Furfrou!
Pushing herself off the wall, Lumine swung her bag over her shoulder so that it was now infront of her, she opened the front pocket of the bag and pulled out her guidebook. Glancing at the corner of the screen, she read the time, 1:27 p.m.
It was almost time to meet up with the rest and she had absolutely nothing!
Lumine groaned, stuffing the guidebook into her pocket instead of back into her bag and swinging the bag back over her shoulders, she continued to walk around, asking anyone she came across if they knew anything about Furfrou.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about that,”
“A furfrou..? I’m sorry but I’ve got nothing,”
“I don’t know anything, sorry!”
The more and more replies she got, the more she was losing hope about ever finding this Furfrou. It was like it practically disappeared out of tin air!
Moving her left hand to her pocket, she pulled out the guidebook.
1:50 p.m.
She might as well start going back to the Pokemon Center already. Considering how unlucky she’s been at getting information. Slamming the guidebook shut, she put it back into her pocket and began walking in the direction of the Pokemon Center.
As she was walking, in the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a lady who looked go be in her seventies and dressed in pink bent down, seeming to be picking things up off the ground. Lumine instantly went over to help her, rushing over and bending down to pick the dropped items up.
“Thank you young lady,” The woman spoke in a soft tone, a smile on her face once they had finished picking everything up.
Helping the woman get back up from her bent down position, Lumine replied to her words, “Ah, no need to thank me, it was really nothing.” The woman just chuckled in response.
“Will you be okay from here on? I can walk you to wherever you’re going if you’d like,” Lumine offered, placing whatever items she had picked up back into the woman's bag.
“No, no. Don’t worry about little ol’ me. I’ll be fine,” The woman’s smile grew wider.
Lumine just nodded, waving goodbye to the woman before turning away, about to continue going back to the Pokemon Center when she suddenly paused. Turning back around, Lumine asked, “Miss? Have you by any chance seen a Furfrou recently? One that was alone,”
At her words, the woman’s eyes brightened in recognition, “Yes! I have! I saw a Furfrou just seconds before you came and helped me! It was actually that Furfrou which caused me to drop my things. It had run into me and ran off before I could reprimand it, hmph!”
Lumine instantly perked up, “Really!? Where did it go? Did you see where it had run off too?”
“I saw it go that way,” As the woman spoke these words, she pointed in the direction of the nearby forest which was visible from where they stood. “I saw it run past a few trees before I lost sight of it, but I’m pretty sure it’s there, I swear if I ever see that Furfrou again I’ll-”
Lumine didn’t listen anymore, she began running back to the Pokemon Center only looking back to shout a loud, “Thank you!” to the woman.
“What the hell happened to you?” Childe asked, voice laced with concern as he laid eyes on a bruised Bennett.
“Well, I may have tripped and fell down a flight of stairs… twice…”
“TWICE??”
Bennett chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.
“I’m not even going to ask anymore…” Childe just sighed, leaning against the wall of the Pokemon Center.
“You know, I just realised… Where is Lumine..? It’s not like her to be late,” Childe spoke after a few minutes of waiting, glancing at the watch on his hand.
2:13 p.m. it read.
“I’m sure she’s just-” Bennett was speaking when suddenly he was cut off by a loud shout.
“Guys! Guys! I think I know where Furfrou is!”
Turning their heads, Bennett and Childe saw Lumine walking briskly towards them, panting slightly.
Taking a moment to register her words, Bennett’s eyes widened when they did, “You do!?” Bennett’s mouth formed a large smile. He looked so happy he was practically crying.
“Some lady told me she’d seen a Furfrou running into the forest nearby. It might have been your Furfrou!”
Wasting no time at all, once hearing what Lumine had to say, Bennett was off, rushing towards the forest.
Childe grinned and went with Bennett, their speed making Lumine tired already.
“Wait- guys! Don’t run!” But they were already too far to hear Lumine.
Lumine groaned and followed after them, of course, instead of running, she choose to jog instead, not willing to waste any more energy than she already had.
Rushing through the forest, Bennett and Childe ducked and ran past multiple trees and bushes, trying to look for Furfrou. Bennett getting hit in the face by multiple branches from trees as they ran, but he quickly got back on his feet.
Suddenly, the two heard a loud cry. “That sounded exactly like Furfrou!”
Moving quickly, the two made it in record time to where they heard the sound come from. Eyes widening when they saw the scene in front of them.
There, infront of their eyes, was a vast plain, the area had a long river by it which seemed to stretch on forever. Large trees surrounded the fields, the sounds of several Pokemons in the air. However, Childe and Bennett paid them no mind or the beautiful location there were in, too focused on the sight of a Furfrou being surrounded and attacked by a bunch of Beedrill!
Bennett’s eyes widened, his heart felt like it was beating a hundred beats per second. He felt his heart drop when he saw the state his Furfrou was in.
It looked like it could barely stand up, struggling to fight against the swarm of Beedrill.
Bennett took a step forward, a hand placed on his chest on the area near his heart,
“FURFROU!”