Chapter Text
In the Alabaster Icelands, the sky was clear. Stars flew across the sky and the Pearl Clan had gathered outdoors to watch. Almighty Sinnoh was sending them a gift. It was said that children born on such nights would be blessed, but no one was near to giving birth. Even if no one was to be blessed tonight, it was still a beautiful sight to behold.
Irida was interrupted from watching the stars by one of her Eevees tugging at her leg. He was nearly growling and aggressive, which was unusual. Calaba's Bibarel was doing the same. Something was happening.
They followed the pokemon, other villagers following close behind. Just beyond the bridge, Eevee took off, diverging from the main path and started yowling when he reached the top of a nearby snowdrift. Irida followed, then paused when she saw what her eevee had been pointing her to. Her hand went to her mouth before shouting down to the others.
"It's a child!"
Every member of the impromptu search team was immediately lively, running to catch up to her. She saw Gaeric take Calaba in his arms to help her up the hill faster.
Irida took off her cloak and wrapped it around the shivering child. They were naked, but there was no sign of their clothing nearby. It seemed unlikely they’d taken it off in a fit of hypothermia, but it was certainly still possible.
She ordered someone to run back to the village to warm coals and water. She wouldn't let
them die, not on her watch. She rubbed their back and arms to warm them a little. Her eevee curled up against them. Calaba only needed a quick look to know what to do. The child's skin was nearly transparent and their lips were blue. Short, quick breaths escaped their mouth. Hands were curled into fists.
"Let's get them back to the village," she said.
Gaeric immediately gathered the poor child in his arms. The rest of the group simply struggled to keep up as he ran back to the village. He arrived nearly at the same time as the messenger that had been sent earlier.
When Irida arrived back at the settlement, the villagers were in an uproar. Someone had called for a search. The child had to have been with someone, there were likely others stranded out there. It wasn’t a particularly cold night, but someone unprepared could easily succumb to the cold. Irida didn’t have to give the order, the search parties were already forming and heading out.
Irida joined others in the medical tent to check up on the child and help however she could. They’d already been wrapped in warm blankets and coals were placed next to them. Water was being warmed. One of the doctors, Ruby, kept her hand on their neck to check their pulse and breathing. Their pulse was thready at best.
Their frostbitten fingers were carefully dipped in warm water and the child whined. It was their first sign of life. “Shh, it’s okay sweetie,” Ruby muttered, brushing their hair out of the way to lay a warm cloth on their forehead.
Irida was asked to switch places with Ruby. Their other hand was dipped in water and warmed. The warm rocks were replaced.
Irida checked their pulse. It was much more stable than out in the field. Their temperature was rising as well. She was starting to believe that they might be okay. She heard the others say as much.
The three continued to work for the next hour, the child occasionally making some noise, but not waking. Irida checked their pulse once more and felt them flinch. Was her hand too warm for them?
They slowly opened their eyes. They were fuzzy and unfocused, looking around the tent but not settling on anything. Their colour was odd. Purple wasn’t a natural eye colour, was it? Irida could worry about that later.
Calaba looked over. “Hello dear,” she softened her tone. “You’re safe in the Pearl Clan’s settlement. Can you tell me your name?”
The child frowned, looking from Calaba, to Ruby, to Irida, then back to Calaba. At that moment, the three women had the same thought: did they understand the language?
“Can you understand us?” Calaba asked.
They nodded. Oh thank Almighty Sinnoh. They tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Calaba frowned. Mute? Or vocal chords still frozen? Only time would tell. “Let’s stick with yes or no questions, then. Are you in any pain?”
They shook their head.
“Good, good. Tell us if that changes. My name is Calaba, that one is Irida and this one is Ruby.” She gestured to the others to make introductions.
“Was there anyone else with you?” Irida asked. She needed to know. She could send word to the search parties if they had more information.
The child frowned, curling around themself a bit. The poor thing didn’t look any older than 5 or 6 years old. They couldn’t have been alone out there. Slowly, they shook their head.
The three women exchanged a worried glance. Maybe they’d wandered off?
"Do you remember how you ended up in the snow?" Irida pushed further. She knew she shouldn't push. The poor thing had almost died, but she had to know.
The child frowned again, looking much more upset this time. Damn, she’d gone too far.
Calaba huffed. “Go inform the others that the little one will be fine, Irida. Ruby and I will take over from here. Do try to find some clothes for them.”
She might outrank the old woman, but she knew better than to argue right now. Especially not in front of a distressed child. She left with a curt nod as she heard the child sniffle. At least they were feeling well enough to cry?
She didn’t make it a step out of the tent before a group of people approached her, asking about the child. She walked further from the tent so she would be less likely to be heard from it. She assured them that the child would live, but that was about all of the information she had at the moment. She didn’t want to alarm anyone by saying they didn’t seem to recall anything since they could have just still been dazed and confused from the near-death experience.
She didn’t even have to ask about needing clothes for them; multiple mothers had already volunteered some of the clothing their children had grown out of.
There hadn’t been any updates from the search parties.
★
Ruby had gone to the child’s side. Calaba wasn’t the greatest at reassuring children, so she would take care of this part. She carefully wrapped her arms around them. They leaned into her, but she couldn’t tell if it was because they were seeking warmth or comfort - probably both. She could provide both.
She kissed the top of their head. They sniffled again, but seemed too tired to cry. “It’s okay dear, we’ll take good care of you I promise.”
She held them for quite some time. She had decided to not let go until they did, which they showed no signs of doing anytime soon. She rubbed their back. Calaba was watching with a small smile.
They needed to know they were safe. Right now, that was what they needed most. They needed a mother, and Ruby would happily play that role for as long as was needed. Whether that was until just a few minutes from now, when a panicked parent informed by the search party would burst into the tent to see their baby, or if it was for longer.
“I think I was alone.” Their voice was small and quiet. Almost inaudible, if one wasn’t paying attention. “I don’t know.”
Ruby rubbed the back of their head. Their white and blue hair (such odd colours, just like their eyes) was knotted and would need a good brushing.
“What do you mean?” Calaba asked.
“I can’t remember anything.” Their voice was wet and wobbly. They looked up at her. In their eyes, she saw panic and fear and confusion and a lot of other emotions. She’d never seen someone look so sad. She might start crying too, but she had to be strong for them.
“That’s okay,” she assured them, even if it wasn’t. It wasn’t okay that they’d almost died alone in the icelands. It wasn’t okay that they were alone. So many things weren’t okay right now, but they didn’t need to know that. “You’ll be okay, we’ll help you.”
They leaned back against her. Calaba approached the pair with a warmed blanket and a tunic. She hadn’t even noticed Irida briefly coming in for a delivery.
The child was helped into the tunic. Calaba noticed that they had no blemishes or scars of any kind. They’d been well taken care of until recently. Had they been abandoned? Had they been distracted by the shooting stars, trying to chase one and wandering so far they couldn’t recognise their surroundings? Had they been left for dead in the Icelands? No, no surely not. There was someone out there looking for them, there had to be.
Once the tunic was on, another warm blanket was wrapped around them. Calaba started preparing tea as Ruby brushed their hair. She loosely braided it, noting how soft it was.
They didn’t say anything more, simply watching the two women as they worked.
They accepted the cup of tea. If they could keep this down, they’d have some warm soup later. They were both gentle. The child was still fragile. They shouldn’t be rushed. They were also able to keep the soup down. They were oddly quiet, but that was to be expected.
They were tired. They should get some sleep. Ruby started preparing the bed. New warm blankets. A new warm pillow.
They started settling in. They reached out to take Ruby’s hand. She took it and squeezed, smiling.
“Lilac,” they blurted out.
Both women turned to them. “What is it?” Calaba asked.
“My name is Lilac.”
Ruby smiled and the child mirrored. It was their first smile. “Get some rest, Lilac. I’ll be right here, I’m not going anywhere.”
Lilac nodded and closed their eyes. Ruby didn’t let go of their little warm hand. Her back would hurt whenever they woke up, but it would be worth it.
Calaba smiled at the scene. “I will go get a few more supplies, I’ll be back shortly,” she said before stepping out.
The older woman quietly closed the door behind her and looked up at the sky. The sun would rise soon. A star streaked through the sky, right above the medical tent.
A child born on a night of shooting stars is blessed.
Surely, a child found on such a night would be blessed as well.