Chapter Text
It had been two hours since the four friends had settled into the undergrowth. Bushes and trees shield them from a pack of several Tauros grazing in the pasture before them. Mostly hidden, they decided to watch the Pokemon and to wait for an opportunity to leap in an attempt to each capture one.
However, the longer they waited, the more Tauros joined the herd. Frustration had crept upon the four of them. Their impatience grew steadily, each appearing in them very differently. All on their knees, the terrain had begun to make their already tired legs even sorer.
“Do you think they see us?” Lan Jingyi asks, his voice above the whisper they should be speaking in.
“Would you
shut up
? Of course, it’s going to see us if you don’t shut your fucking mouth!” Jin Ling cuts in, voice laced with knives sharper than steel and even louder than his friend’s.
“Jin Ling…” Ouyang Zizhen murmurs.
“I mean come on-” Jin Ling is still continuing, hazel glare settled onto the Lan kneeling at his right side.
“Jin Ling.” From his left, Lan Yuan places a gentle hand along his arm. His cousin tenses slightly at the contact and shifts his gaze over to glare at him. Lan Yuan grants him a gentle smile. “Calm down. You’re going to spook them.”
Ouyang Zizhen shivers. “And then we really will have a problem.” He whispers.
Scoffing, Jin Ling rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the herd they had their eyes on. “They haven’t heard us yet. I think their hearing might be out.”
“Don’t jinx it, mistress.” Lan Jingyi smirks, ignoring the scolding look from Lan Yuan. “They might hear your complaining and mistake it for one of their whining children.”
Set off, Jin Ling finally shoots to his feet. “Huh?! What was that?!”
And like a wildfire, chaos ensues. Multiple pairs of ears perk from the herd before them. Instantly, the sound of stamping hooves and the screams of four boys resound across the forest. Now on higher alert, the Tauros begin their stampede towards the small group.
“Go!” Lan Yuan ensures his friends are already running off before scrambling after them.
“Jin Ling!” Lan Jingyi snaps. “I’m going to
strangle
you if we survive!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have started a fight then!”
“Well, if you two keep getting caught up with your argument then we are going to turn into soil! Dirt! I’m too young to turn into dirt!” Ouyang Zizhen hisses.
Making their way into the deep terrain of the woods, the boys run a solid half mile before they’re a comfortable distance ahead of the herd. Making a last-ditch effort to lose the Tauros’ completely, Jin Ling pulls a Pokeball from his belt. He turns slightly over his shoulder to release his Sandslash into the open air.
“Cut down those trees to stop them!” He orders, voice even higher than usual. The Sandslash follows his gesture toward the two large oak trees on either side of the path they’re running on. With barely a second between his order, the trees fall to the ground with a large crack.
Bringing the Sandslash back with practiced praise, Jin Ling quickly catches up to his friends as they finally slow to a much-needed stop.
Lan Yuan doubles over for a moment, hands on his knees as he fights to catch his breath. After a moment, he raises his gaze and smiles warmly. “Jin Ling? Jingyi?”
“Yeah?”
“What?”
“If you two ever get us into a mess like that again, it will not be fun for any one of us.” Adjusting his parka, he settles his hands politely in front of him. “Okay?”
Lan Jingyi raises his hands defensively.
Jin Ling simply rolls his eyes.
If he weren’t incredibly irritated, Lan Yuan would find it amusing just how much Jin Ling resembled his uncle.
“Perfect.” Lan Yuan smiles. “Let’s keep going then. I’m sure we can catch a Tauros another day. Probably when there is only one of them.”
“Yeah. It’ll be mine.” Jin Ling scoffs. He grunts when Lan Jingyi nudges his shoulder roughly. “Hey!” He snaps over at him.
“You wish it’d be yours!” Lan Jingyi laughs brightly. Some Pidgey’s flee at the loud, vibrating sound of his cackle.
Ouyang Zizhen sighs, glancing over to Lan Yuan. The other stands serenely, his long, waist-length hair still perfectly tied up into a ponytail despite the chase scene that had just happened. Wisps of his raven hair curl around his ears and his bangs are mostly still in good condition. Lan Yuan smiles at him and nods toward their bickering friends. Together, they continue their quest down the beaten path.
With Lan Jingyi’s humming serving as their main accompaniment, they walk towards the next gym and competition circuit. It has been a couple of months since the boys last battled and competed. The paths between the towns only grew longer in distance the closer they came to challenging the Pokemon league.
“Hey.” Lan Jingyi suddenly says, his arms crossed behind his head as he walks. “I think we walked down this path when we first left Gusu, Lan Yuan.”
“Hm.” Glancing around, Lan Yuan nods. “You’re right. It was before we got Jin Ling.”
“‘Got’. You’re talking about me like you caught me up like a Pokemon.”
“I would never!” Jingyi chuckles. “I willingly catch Pokemon. I got stuck with you.”
To that, Jin Ling turns and swings out his foot. It meets Lan Jingyi’s stomach.
As they had traveled, the four of the boys had learned more about each other.
At first, it had only been Lan Yuan and Lan Jingyi. With fourteen years of life under them and formal training from their town’s gym leader, they had been groomed since birth for this journey. The layers they left their hometown in had been shed for the comfort of light parkas, a sleeveless turtle neck, a t-shirt, gently damaged jeans, and running shorts. Their fur-lined boots had been strapped to their backpacks and had been replaced with much more comfortable sneakers.
Upon their arrival in Yunmeng, the two had challenged the gym leader (and coincidentally, Lan Yuan’s uncle from his other Father’s side) and failed miserably. Apparently, they had challenged one of the last gym leaders instead of starting at the beginning. Jiang Cheng had laughed at their naivety and let them go. However, before they could leave, Jin Ling had stepped up to them and demanded that they allow him to join their journey as he was also just starting out. At first, the young boy in overalls and boots wanted to go alone but his uncle made it necessary that he had company.
It took about two hours of travel for Lan Jingyi to really
wish
Jin Ling had traveled alone.
Along the way, somewhere in between Qinghe and Yi City, they had run into Ouyang Zizhen. The boy, brought up by his wealthy parents to become a trainer, only wished to learn how to become a Pokemon breeder. He fit into the group perfectly after the four of them had had a run-in with some Ghost Pokemon in a nearby forest. When Ouyang Zizhen asked to join, Lan Yuan didn’t hesitate to say yes. Even Jin Ling couldn’t argue.
About a year had passed since Lan Yuan and Lan Jingyi had left Gusu. Currently, they had begun the trek back home to challenge gym leader, Lan Zhan, in order to be one step closer to the league.
Several hours later, the terrain of the route before them shifted into empty plains instead of the canopies of trees. Instead of the normal spring air, the temperature about them began to steadily drop. Mostly unbothered, the two Lan’s continued on. Ouyang Zizhen shivered slightly, but remained content with the sweater he wore. Jin Ling, sweetheart of sunny, water-surrounded Yunmeng, currently suffered with his arms exposed to the chilling bite of the wind.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Jin Ling turns his gaze back to his cousin. “Hey. Lan Yuan. When are we supposed to get back to Gusu?”
Glancing down to his watch, Lan Yuan slowly shrugs his shoulders. “A couple of hours maybe. Probably less.” He frowns slightly when he takes in the other’s appearance. “Are you getting cold?”
“No- uuugh.” As if Arceus its-fucking-self wants to disprove him, his body trembles in a vicious shiver.
Stopping in his tracks, Lan Yuan smiles as he pulls his coat from his pack. He unfolds it before handing it to the freezing trainer.
It takes a long moment for Jin Ling to accept with rolling eyes and a grumble. “Fuck you. I’m only taking it because you two are batshit for being able to survive in this.”
“Some people just can’t handle it.” Lan Jingyi sneers, tucking his hands into the pockets of his parka. Despite being in running shorts, he barely seemed phased by the cold. “Poor princess~”
“I’m not some fucking snow Mankey.” Jin Ling spits, zipping the jacket to his chin. “I have normal bones that like to be warm and not freezing.”
“It’s not even that cold!”
Ouyang Zizhen laughs nervously. “It’s pretty cold, actually.”
“Shh.” Lan Jingyi places his finger to his lips, turning and walking backwards to speak to him and Jin Ling. “C’mon! You’re tougher than that, Zizhen!”
Sighing, the one question raises his hands with a grin. Fighting has never been in his nature. He wouldn’t start now of all times -- especially cold and tired.
Lan Yuan trailed behind the three of them, sifting through his backpack to find the necessary tools he kept to keep him and his friends warm. He had a feeling they would have to stop and set up camp soon. In front of him, Ouyang Zizhen was sifting through the booklet he carried everywhere.
And again, the voices from the two at the front of the pack began to rise again. Lan Yuan tuned into their argument long enough to comprehend that they were still arguing about the weather and proceeded to tune them out once again.
“You’re such a fucking idiot!” Jin Ling snaps, face flushed from both the whipping winds and his growing frustration.
Ouyang Zizhen raises his head. He notices something on the path before them. “Hey-” He starts.
“Me? We have this argument like every day, you know. I really think you should know who you’re talking to.”
“Guys-” Ouyang Zizhen pitifully tries to stop them from walking.
“And you know what?! I think you should-”
“
Jin Ling!”
But the warning comes too late. Lan Jingyi is actually the first to make contact with the obstruction in the middle of the road.
And that obstruction? A body huddled into a tight ball.
With a loud yelp, the Lan tumbles into a forward roll. His legs, red from meeting the snowy floor, end up in a tangled mess of the body’s red and black robes.
“The fuck is-” Lan Jingyi suddenly stops talking as his eyes meet the face of the man he fell over. His black hair falls into wisps about his face. Dark strands are soaked due to the snow falling and his face shines bright as his body struggles to keep him warm. A prominent shiver is wrecking the man’s body. His fingers are curled tightly despite his lack of conscious. Dark brows furrowed, his teeth are clenched in tight exertion. His skin seems too pale for someone with his complexion. The man is
familiar.
“Huh. Kinda looks like-”
“A-die?” Lan Yuan is frozen, big hazy grey eyes widened in shock.
“The fuck?!” Jin Ling yells.
Slowly, the man rolls over onto his back. Eyelashes fluttering, he slowly looks up at the sky. His nose wrinkles as he turns his head to the side. Squinting, his eyes meet Lan Yuan first.
“Huh. You look like my son.”
Before anyone even thought to speak, they turned to Lan Yuan. They could only watch as big tears pooled in his eyes and fell down his usually composed features.