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The raindrops still clung to Liko’s clothes, her skin, her hair. It was cold, tiny stings that dotted across her body.
She wasn’t used to this kind of feeling, this aching gap in her chest. She hated it.
The sight of Nyahoja’s paws scratching at the ground as it slipped over the edge of the deck was burned into her mind, lingering like a ghost wherever she looked.
“Come on. We can’t just sit out here.” The voice came from above her; still unfamiliar to Liko even though it wasn't the first time she’d heard Friede speak.
Liko stood, Friede’s arm still around her. Rather, he pulled her upwards, standing up with a light tug at her arm.
He hovered over her as he led her back towards the tower she’d been hiding in. Smoke from the move that Amethio’s Soublades had used still unfurled, even as the rain continued to beat down. Friede directed her to yet another door, tucked into the central column of the ship, this time around the side from where she’d been hiding. A back up entry point, presumably the one that Liko had watched Molly retreat to only moments ago.
They stepped in and out of the rain, and Liko ducked out of Friede’s arm. He didn’t seem to mind.
Thunder cracked in perfect timing with lightning outside, and Liko tried to not flinch. It didn’t work all too well, but by this point there wasn't much face she had left to save.
A staircase loomed in front of Liko, plunging down dark into inky depths she couldn't see the bottom of.
“I’ll go first,” Friede said as he walked forward. “It looks kinda creepy when the powers out like this, but it’s not scary at all in the light.”
His voice faded slightly as Liko watched him retreat deeper into the dark. She followed, steps still shaky. The only thing scarier than walking into the dark creepy staircase on the strange floating ship, following the man who swept her away from her school without explaining a word, was being alone.
It was loud around her.
The rain continued to pelt the ship from all sides, it was a cacophony only blurred by the ship's metal exterior. Every drop banged against the ship, and every sound collected together into a tangled web of noise Liko felt like she was drowning in.
It was a blurry almost-pain.
She stared downwards at her feet as she walked down the stairs. A soft red glow poured out from the stairs. Emergency lightning.
Tinted crimson, Liko focused on her own feet as they stepped further and further into the inky unknown.
Each time she took another step down, she could feel the squish of impact, her sopping wet sock in an equally wet shoe. She was probably just stepping through her own personal puddles at this point. Despite the noise from outside, the squishing sound was still stuck in her ears every time she took a step.
She had to keep her steps careful, the bottom of her soles were slick, and her limbs still felt shaky. It wouldn’t be hard to slip down here, tumble downwards and downwards where Liko couldn’t even see.
If she hadn't slipped, maybe she would’ve been able to catch Nyahoja before it fell. If she’d been more careful about where she was standing, maybe she would’ve prevented Nyahoja from slipping in the first place. If she’d been more careful when commanding Nyahoja, if she hadn’t of gotten involved, if she’d never tried to run and given over the pendant in the first place-
Her thoughts were running headlong into each other again, and all Liko could think was that if she had just been better , things wouldn’t be the way they are.
Her head hurt.
She couldn’t tell if it was from the noise or the rain or the altitude, but it pressed in on her, a grip from all sides that closed in on her thoughts. Maybe the cause was all three.
It was a static sort of noise, fuzzy and uncomfortable. Friede was whispering something into his phone that only mixed with the ocean of loud that Liko’s surrounded in.
Or maybe he wasn’t whispering. Every sound seemed blurry, it was all blending together. So Liko couldn’t exactly tell.
It didn’t matter, really.
Liko only noticed they'd made it to the bottom of the staircase when she went to step down and was met with flat floor. The door in front of her was pushed open, and Friede held it for her as she stepped through.
There was hardwood beneath her. That was pretty much the only thing she could notice. With her senses muted and her emotions feeling like they were washed out.
She couldn’t stand this, the way the air she tries to breathe in feels like it was slipping away from her. It was a scary, shaky, feeling. Liko bit her tongue and tried to focus on breathing, on not crying all too much.
“Here ya go.”
The jagged and rough thoughts that scraped against Liko’s mind were met with something softer.
A towel, actually; it was white and fluffy, and it has been tossed right onto Liko’s head.
“Ah-“ Liko opened her mouth to reply, but the usual polite thank you she has prepared on her tongue doesn’t fall out like it’s meant to. Words caught in a web again, she can’t make herself speak how she’s supposed to.
“Dry yourself off, alright? We don’t want you catching cold.”
The voice (somewhat monotone, but not all that deep. That woman from earlier, then. Molly, she’d said.) didn’t seem particularly upset or angry. If anything, her tone was gentler, careful with Liko.
Liko reached up towards the towel, rubbing it against her hair and face to try and soak up the rain water.
Once she’d deemed herself sufficiently dry, she pulled the towel downwards, messing up her hair in the process. Stray hairs flew out in every direction, static electricity making them hover outwards from her face.
Liko wrapped the towel around her shoulders, pulling it inwards in front of her like a blanket. Still damp, and not all too warm, but the light weight felt comforting around her.
Molly stood in front of her, crouching slightly to be closer to Liko’s eye level.
Usually, when adults did that, she felt some sort of condescension. Being looked down upon in a way that made her feel uneasy in her skin.
It didn’t feel like that right now.
“Bit better, yeah?”
Liko nodded, words still failing her for the time being.
“We should get you out of those wet clothes though….” Molly mused, “Soon, if not now.”
Liko shook her head, which Molly took to mean as “Later, then.”
Liko had already exhausted herself as it was, she wasn’t sure she even had the energy for something so simple at the moment.
She trembled still, only slightly. Tremors that she tried to conceal by pulling the towel around her closer, not that it did much to help. She took a quick look across the room. Friede had disappeared before she’d even noticed.
“That can’t be all too warm.” Another voice interjected, much more vibrant than Molly’s. Liko turned her head, a woman with golden hair that faded to orange beside her.
“Here, trade me!” She said, holding out a blanket.
It was a bit faded, a quilt of some kind judging by the stitching. The fabric was a beige sort of colour, the fabric worn down into something soft to the touch.
Slowly, Liko pulled the towel off her shoulders, holding it out to the woman as she took the quilt from her.
It was very soft, and she wrapped it around herself just as easily.
She was still damp, her uniform was soaked through, but the blanket helped.
She wanted to say thank you , and also where are we going and I need to go find Nyahoja now so please let me off and I’m sorry even though she couldn’t place what she’d be apologizing to them for.
She didn’t say anything.
The women exchanged a glance with each other, nodding wordlessly.
They were judging her, by one merit or another, Liko realized. Oddly, a fear of not measuring up to expectations flared in the back of her mind. Of course, by now she’d likely failed any tests anyone here had been trying to set for her, formally or otherwise.
Her heart rate picked up a bit when the weight of everything settled on her shoulders again.
She did not know these people. She did not know where she was. The only things she knew were that Nyahoja was gone and it’s her fault, and that some other people she did not know are after her and her pendant.
Everywhere she looked, there was someone to be afraid of. Everything in her was screaming that she should run , but there was nowhere to run to, and her legs were shaking too hard to go anywhere at all. She wasn’t even sure she could take one step as she was now.
All of her was shaking.
“Hey, kiddo. Deep breath, yeah? You want some tea?”
Molly’s voice again, her hand reaching out in Liko’s direction. It hovered over her, not quite touching.
Liko’s voice remained absent, but she ducks her head down and nods. It’s polite to accept, so she’s been taught.
“Alright, I’ll start the kettle then.”
A small bzzt! Sounded out as Molly’s phone zipped out of her pocket, hovering in the air for a moment. Molly reached forward just as the phone suddenly plummeted in midair, falling directly into her awaiting hand.
Vibrant against the darkness of the room, Liko caught the silhouette of a Rotom darting to her left before it disappeared, and the electric kettle clicked itself on.
“Nice one.” Molly said with hushed breath, praising her Pokemon.
Molly continued to busy herself with the tea prep, and Liko tried to look around the area a bit just to get a better sense of her surroundings.
There was a table. Chairs. Vase of flowers on the table?
She was looking at everything the same way she always is, her eyes functioning just as normal, but she can’t quite seem to get the details to stick in her mind. It’s all just. Dulled at the edges.
A gentle chuckle came from behind Liko’s head.
“You’re still dripping a bit onto the floor.”
The other woman said.
Liko looked to her feet again, registering the small puddle she’d collected. Her socks were so damp she hadn’t even realized.
“I’m sorry.”
They were the first words she’d been able to choke out, though they were still tangled up in her anxieties. The phrase came out diminished; her voice didn’t sound right.
“Eh, don’t worry. Hardly the worst this old floor has seen! Your clothes must be soaked through though.”
Liko nodded.
“Well, you’ll be able to dry ‘em here, so I suppose it’s nothin to worry about.”
Liko paused at that for a moment, then nodded. Even if she was confused, best to go along with whatever they said.
“Which tea do you want?” Molly’s voice came through again. She walked over to Liko, holding out two bags of tea. Liko couldn’t focus enough to read either label, but she recognized the one cupped in Molly’s right hand. That shade of green, the sort of tea her Grandmother liked.
Thinking about her grandmother only made Liko’s heart squeeze tighter, so silently she pointed out at the green bag.
“Yeah? Thought so. One sec…”
Molly trailed off as she turned back around.
It was odd.
These people couldn’t be trusted, and Liko knew this. Maybe it was just the adrenaline wearing off, but she found herself wanting to sink into this rhythm. It was nice, the gentleness.
“Here you are.”
Molly handed Liko a teacup, paper tag fluttering slightly as Liko accepted it.
Liko cradles the drink in her palms for a moment. The warmth of it seeped into her palms, it was a comforting weight to hold.
“I’ve got some for you too, Orio. And me, too.”
“Aw, you’re the best.”
Liko watched carefully as the other woman, Orio then, accepted the cup and took a drink without hesitation.
Her face screwed up.
“‘-T’s hot!!”
Molly laughed lightly, trying to cover the sound with her fingertips to no avail.
“Again, Orio? You do this every time.”
Orio stuck out her tongue in Molly’s direction. Molly, raising an eyebrow, blew lightly on her tea, then took a sip.
“Mm. That’s nice.” She murmured, looking up and over to Orio, who only glared further.
The tension melted as soon as it formed though, they were only playing at any sort of dispute.
Giving it a light blow of her own, Liko took her own sip of tea.
It was stronger than she was expecting, but she liked it that way. It was nice to have something solid to hold onto, a taste to feel in her mouth that wasn’t her own unspoken words.
For a while, Liko just sat with that. With warm tea, with two strangers, with the blanket around her shoulders soaking up a bit more water from her uniform.
It was funny now, how tired she’d become just by sitting down. Or rather, the exhaustion of everything was really catching up to her now. The adrenaline had held her out for longer than she’d been expecting, but even that had long since settled away by now, leaving Liko weary and on the verge of sleep.
She cradled the teacup in her right hand, reaching up to rub at her eyes with the other, as if she could brush the sleepiness away from herself.
Her grip on the teacup loosened, threatening to slip out of her grasp and tumble onto the floor. Instead, Orio reached forward, taking the cup out of Liko’s hands and gently setting it on the table.
“Whoops, there we are. Bit more steady.”
Part of Liko wanted to protest, but the rest of her was much too tired to do anything much more than blink there and try to fight back against sleep.
Molly glanced over to her phone, then back over to Liko.
“Oh, it’s later than I thought.”
Orio glanced over, eyes widening.
“Oh wow, yeah.” She turned her attention back over to Liko, “You’ve gotta be exhausted.”
Liko just nodded dimly.
“Mm, thought so.”
Orio stood, taking Liko’s teacup as well as her own back over towards the kettle.
“Mol, the extra room, how’s it looking?”
“Bad.” Molly replied bluntly. “It’s a storage closet with an unmade bed in it at the moment. Putting her in your room would be better.”
“Good idea!” Orio replied, placing the cups down. “Liko can take my bed, I’ll share with you.”
Molly grumbled slightly.
“Unless you’re volunteering your room for her?”
Molly shook her head, “No, better your room than mine. But you’re sleeping on the floor this time.”
“Fineeee!” Orio singsonged, walking back over to the table.
“Whadja say, Liko? Seems like a good time to get some rest, yeah?”
“Mm-yea…” Liko mumbled out, her words still blurring together in mind and aloud.
“Gotcha, let’s head on over then.”
Orio placed her hand on Liko’s shoulder, gently guiding her forward. As she exited, she waved back over her shoulder to Molly.
“See ya in a bit!”
Back through the interior of the ship, Orio gently pushed Liko out into a hall and up a staircase, eventually leading them back up to the deck.
The rain still beat down upon the ship, but the ship's layout meant they were protected from getting hit by it. It vaguely reminded Liko of walking out on her porch when it rained, only a lot higher up.
The wooden deck beneath her was still smooth and dry, though a smattering of raindrop sparks bounced towards her feet as it continued to pour. An uneven line was drawn out by the gap, where the rain had soaked everything through and the divide to where it was untouched. Those stray droplets skewed the line, bouncing out of place to encroach further on the “safe zone”.
Liko was broken out of her train of thought when she stumbled backwards, Orio’s arm keeping her in place from walking any further.
“This one here’s my room!” Orio said with pride, stepping forward to bang her fist against a sturdy metal door. “It’s a bit untidy, but it’s clean!”
Liko ducked her head down towards Orio.
“A-ah- th-thank you.”
Orio grinned.
“Don’t mention it! If there’s anything you need, just let me know, yeah?”
Liko nodded.
“Great! Oh, and if you want, leave that soaked uniform out here for me. I’ll get those cleaned and dried up for ya, no worries!”
Liko gripped the strap of her backpack just that bit tighter. Thank goodness she’d grabbed it. The spare set of clothes Ann had urged her to stuff in there in case they’d ever have an impromptu sleepover had felt like a waste at the time, but now she couldn’t be more grateful.
“I will.” She says, bowing her head down again. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it!” Orio chimed, waving her off. “I’ll leave ya to it then, you’re probably tired enough without me blabbing on. Have a good night, Liko.”
And with that, she turned and walked back the way she came, leaving Liko with the door.
With a bit of effort, Liko pushed it open.
The room, as Orio had warned, was rather messy.
Across the stained wooden floors lay maps and tools in all varieties and sizes. The largest map took up nearly a quarter of the floor space, held down by a couple wrenches and a screwdriver. The bed was unmade, but at least it’s got a pillow. Liko shuffled forward, pulling the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders off and onto the bed. There. Much better.
Liko gingerly stepped around the blueprints, placing her backpack down and rummaging through it until she found the smaller bag she’d kept her clothes in.
‘Thank you, Ann.’ Liko thought to herself as pulls the bag out. ‘I’m sorry too, Ann. I’ve just gone and disappeared on you now, haven’t I? When you come back to our dorm it’ll be all messed up… the window will be open… Then again, I don’t think you’d really mind.”
Then again, Liko thought that maybe Ann would be excited by the whole prospect, save for losing Nyahoja. Like it was some kind of adventure. Liko almost wanted to laugh at that. If anyone should be the heroine of some story, it was Ann right? A spirited girl with lots of energy and a friendly attitude. Not Liko.
She wasn’t suited for a role like this! Surely the audience would protest? But maybe it was too late for that.
Liko yawned, trying to cover her mouth with her palm to conceal it even though no one was there.
On autopilot, she’d gotten changed without even thinking about it, and so she folded her worn clothes into a neat pile and left it sitting outside the door.
She wasn’t entirely sure if that Orio woman was really going to take care of it, but it was only a school uniform. She had others if anything happened to that one, and it wasn’t as if they didn’t already know what school she went to.
With all that settled, Liko walked back over to the bed, letting herself collapse down on top of it. She rolled over, pulling the blanket along with her.
This was all so strange. Awful and scary, and yet not entirely bad.
These people, not entirely trustworthy but not entirely evil.
There was a kindness to them, to this ship, that undercut the chill of the rain, of Liko’s fears.
She couldn’t let herself melt into that warmth, their warmth, when she still had to save Nyahoja. Nyahoja would love this ship, Liko was certain.
It was her pokemon. It was her fault. It was her responsibility. And Liko was so prepared to try and right her mistakes alone but…
It was so hard.
“Nevermind that,” she thought to herself, “In the morning, I’ll fix it.”
But even then, her thoughts came blurry and half formed, as she already began to slip into sleep.
Through faded memories of her grandmother, Liko slept curled in on herself as the storm faded out. There, with a drive she hadn’t experienced before, tucked away by a new sort of kindness she had no idea how to accept.
The storm they’d found themselves in would only rage on for so long, the lightning would quit jittering across the sky, the thunder's growl would fade to a gentle murmur.
In the morning, Liko woke up to sunlight shining in on her face.