Chapter Text
They’re lost.
Lani knows it without Makoa having to say a word. Where she once saw confident steps from her friend, now she notices hesitation. His Rockruff doesn’t seem much more certain than he does, though she remains cheerful, weaving her way between the rocks. Makoa, however, keeps glancing around, and it’s been several minutes since he last said anything.
Lani doesn’t need to be an expert to recognize doubt in the boy’s movements.
“I told you we shouldn’t have come,” she complains.
“But this is awesome!” he shoots back.
“We’re lost, and you know it…”
Makoa turns at the sound of Lani’s wavering tone, and for a second, panic flashes across his face when he sees her expression—but he quickly hides it. He steps closer, his voice and gaze softening.
“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I promise we’ll get out of here. I might not know exactly where we are, but we’ll find the way we came in, you’ll see.”
“You always get lost.” Lani hears her voice more childish than she would want, but she’s scared.
“But we always make it back, right?”
Makoa smiles, flashing his white teeth, that confidence of his unwavering. He reaches out and squeezes her arm, trying to reassure her.
“We’ll be back even before sunset.”
“What if we’re not?” she murmurs.
“There is no ‘what if.’ Rockruff and I will figure it out before you even notice.”
Lani looks down, not nearly as convinced as he is. Popplio nudges her leg with his nose, and she can’t help but smile a little.
“Aren’t you tired, Popplio?” Lani asks.
The terrain is rough, and Popplio is agile in water, not among rocks. Still, the Pokémon shakes his head, though she knows he’s trying not to worry her.
“Alright,” Makoa says, clapping his hands once with a grin. “Since we’ve established that we might be lost… Rockruff, girl, any idea where we are?”
“Rock!” she barks cheerfully, shaking her head.
Lani tries not to despair, which she’s finding increasingly difficult. Unlike Makoa, who never seems to lose his smile.
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll head up to the top of the mountain, and from there we’ll see which way to go down. Lani, you stay here with Popplio and rest—Rockruff and I will go.”
“No,” the girl says immediately. “I want to go with you. And I’m sure Popplio does too.”
Her partner nods, just as determined as she is. The truth is, Lani is afraid of staying alone in that place. She knows Popplio would defend her, and that she could try to be smart and protect him—but he’s not strong enough yet, and Lani… Lani doesn’t think she’d be much help if something bad happened.
“Are you sure? It’s a long way up, all uphill. You can stay here, and once we know something—”
“No,” she repeats, more firmly. “We’re coming too.”
Makoa hesitates for a moment, but eventually nods.
“Alright. But if you get tired, tell me and we’ll stop.”
Lani is already tired, but she’d rather push through than stay here any longer.
As soon as Makoa starts walking again, Lani crouches down and picks Popplio up, adjusting him in her arms. He’s heavy, but she doesn’t mind. He’s her partner, and he’s already done enough for them.
The climb, just as Makoa predicted, is exhausting. Lani feels her legs growing heavier, even more so with Popplio’s weight in her arms.
“You okay?” Makoa asks every so often, glancing back at her with a hint of concern.
“Yeah, I can keep going,” Lani replies each time.
But her pace slows more and more, her breathing growing heavier, her hands constantly shifting Popplio, trying to find a way to make the weight easier.
“Popplio, Pop,” he protests at one point, noticing how much she’s struggling.
Makoa turns again and frowns.
“Here, give him to me.”
“No, I can—”
He doesn’t let her finish and takes the Pokémon from her arms. The weight barely seems to affect him, the muscles in his arms subtly tensing.
“I could put him back in his Poké Ball,” Lani offers, adjusting her pace to walk beside him.
“A bit late for that. Nah, I’ve got him.”
Popplio gives his trainer a look that’s almost apologetic.
“Ruff!” Rockruff urges from a few meters ahead. Why are humans so slow?
The puppy doesn’t seem tired like Lani. In fact, she keeps darting back and forth. Worry is probably not something she feels either, judging by her ever-cheerful movements.
And finally, after what feels like hours to Lani… they reach the top of the mountain, where the ground levels out, less jagged than the climb. They’ve been able to drink from the bottles they brought, but it’s been a while since Lani ate her lunch, back before they got lost. Makoa scans the surroundings, stepping away slightly, trying to figure out where they should head down. Lani, meanwhile, sits on a rock, hungry, as Popplio approaches her again, now free. The Pokémon presses his nose against her calf with a soft whine.
“Are you hungry?” she murmurs, her expression softening when he nods. “Me too… but we already ate everything I brought…”
Makoa looks up, having caught part of the conversation.
“Ah, you’re hungry? Here.”
He rummages through his backpack for a moment before handing her a half-eaten sandwich. That’s how he left it during their lunch break, saving the rest for later—or so he said. And for that very reason, Lani shakes her head.
“No, it’s yours.”
“But I’m giving it to you.”
“You didn’t even finish it—you must be hungrier than we are.”
“Nah, I brought other stuff. Don’t argue, just eat.”
Without another word, Makoa drops the sandwich into Lani’s lap. Then he turns back around, continuing to scan the terrain, muttering comments to which Rockruff nods.
Lani hesitates, but she knows her friend well enough to understand he won’t take it back, so she breaks off a generous piece for Popplio and starts eating. When Rockruff looks at her, the girl smiles faintly and offers her another piece, which she accepts immediately, tail wagging.
“We should go back that way,” Makoa says after a moment, pointing toward a section of the slope.
Lani follows his gaze, lowering what remains of the sandwich to her lap. She doesn’t recognize the path, but honestly, all of this looks the same to her.
“Are you sure?”
“More or less.”
That answer does not reassure Lani in the slightest.
“Makoa!” she snaps. “We’re lost and you don’t even know how to get back! We’re not going to make it, and it’ll be dark in a few hours, and we’re still here, and we barely have any water left, and we’re hungry!”
She stops, because if she keeps going, she might start crying.
He notices and walks over, kneeling in front of her, his expression more sober now.
“Hey, I told you—we always find a way back. I’m pretty sure that—”
Makoa doesn’t get to finish the sentence.
A sudden crash of falling rocks startles them, kicking up a cloud of dust in front of them. The boy gets to his feet just in time to see a figure emerging from the haze. Lani feels him tense, but he steps in front of her.
“Rockruff, get ready!”
“Ruff!”
Lani stands up as well, frightened, and Popplio presses himself against her leg.
Makoa and Rockruff position ready to attack when the cloud of dust clears enough to reveal what lies behind it.
“Ah,” Makoa murmurs, his posture relaxing.
But Lani doesn’t calm down. The figure is large, rising a few meters above them.
“What is that?!” she half-whispers, half-exclaims.
“Relax!” Makoa turns toward her, grinning widely. “It’s a Drampa!”
Lani has heard of them. They’re said to be kind, gentle spirits, and she thinks she once heard Makoa’s grandmother say that their friendship is one of the greatest gifts a wild Pokémon can offer. But Lani also remembers that when a Drampa loses its temper, it becomes aggressive and dangerous. What if the one in front of them is agitated? Or worse—what if they have somehow wronged it?
Even so, Lani has to admit that the Pokémon’s posture doesn’t seem threatening, but rather friendly.
“Draaampa,” it greets in a deep voice, taking a few steps closer. Its eyes rest on each human and Pokémon before it, and it even seems to smile.
“Lani, this is amazing!” Makoa exclaims, full of excitement. “Drampa, this is Lani, I’m Makoa, and we’re lost” he summarizes. “Can you help us get out of here?”
“Wait, Makoa—”
“Draam,” the dragon nods.
Makoa’s face lights up as he turns back to his friend.
“See? It’s fine, Lani, he’s good!”
He grabs her by the arm, pulling her toward the Drampa.
“My grandma says that when she was little, she got lost and a Drampa saved her and became her friend. Maybe it’s even the same one! That would be so cool, Lani!”
“Yeah…” she murmurs, not entirely convinced.
Lani looks up at the strange creature, which returns her gaze with gentleness. No, it doesn’t seem threatening, but still…
Popplio, clearly sensing his trainer’s hesitation, nudges her legs with his nose.
“Plio. Popplio,” he encourages.
“Lani, even Popplio’s cheering you on!”
And Rockruff, never one to stay out of anything, jumps forward and gives Lani the final push (literally) she needs to end up face to face with the Drampa. It tilts its head slightly and exhales in her face, making Makoa laugh.
“See? He likes you!”
“I’m not so sure…”
“Stop being so negative. A Drampa came to help us—that means he’s our friend now.”
Lani raises an eyebrow, amused despite her nerves at such a bold claim.
“Who says that?”
“Me. And him.”
Makoa’s grin widens when Drampa lets out a “Dra” that sounds suspiciously like agreement.
“Hey, Drampa,” the boy calls cheerfully, “are you taking us down, then?”
The Pokémon nods and turns its long neck, gesturing toward its back. Lani feels like Makoa might start bouncing with excitement at any moment.
“That’s so cool!”
Lani picks up Popplio just before Makoa grabs her by the shoulder and helps her climb onto the large dragon’s back. She lets him, watching as he does the same and lifts Rockruff up as well, holding her with one arm while securing Lani with the other.
“Drampa, I think it’s that way,” the boy points.
Their new mount nods and lifts into the air. Lani gasps, clutching Popplio tighter; she didn’t know Drampa could fly, they don’t have wings. Though more than flying, it feels like the large dragon is floating, the girl notices.
Behind her, Rockruff barks a couple of times before letting her tongue hang out to the side. Makoa places a hand on Lani’s shoulder again, squeezing briefly.
“You okay?”
She nods, looking around—at the rocks beneath them, at the mountain they’re leaving behind, at the wind she cannot see but can feel against her face. Popplio’s eyes are wide open, and he seems to be enjoying the experience, which helps Lani relax a little more.
Makoa lets out a laugh. He is clearly happy, and even if she doesn’t dare look back for fear of losing her balance, she can feel his smile without needing to see it.
After a few minutes, Drampa descends to the ground, at the foot of the mountain. Rockruff is the first to jump off and immediately starts running around Drampa, thanking him for the ride—or maybe just burning off the adrenaline from the flight.
Makoa climbs down and extends a hand, helping Lani. She sets Popplio on the ground, and he presses his nose against Drampa’s side. The girl looks up at the large Pokémon and smiles.
“Thank you for bringing us down.”
“Yeah, that was awesome!” Makoa adds. “We’ll come visit you again. Right, Lani?”
She nods, still smiling. Drampa gives a small, understanding nod and exhales in Lani’s face once more, making her let out a soft giggle.
“Thank you again,” she murmurs.
“Ruff! Rock!” Rockruff barks, pointing her nose toward the stop up ahead—and the bus approaching in the distance.
Makoa’s face lights up again.
“Told you, Lani, it was this way! Come on, we’ve got to catch it before we miss it. See you around, Drampa!”
The boy grabs his friend by the arm and starts running toward the local bus stop, leaving Lani’s fear and uncertainty behind, back there, with the Drampa.
Once they reach the coast, Makoa walks her home.
“So, did you have fun in the end?”
“Yeah…” Lani frowns for a moment, then smiles more firmly. “Yeah.”
“See? And you didn’t even want to come this morning.”
“We still got lost,” she reminds him.
“But we made friends with an awesome Drampa, and we flew, and… and we had an amazing time!”
Lani lets out a small laugh.
“Yeah, I liked it in the end.”
Makoa’s smile is so wide that Lani wonders if his cheeks don’t hurt.
When they reach the front of her house, they both stop. Rockruff rubs the stones on her neck against Popplio, who lets out a small complaint, and then against Lani’s legs, who endures the affectionate gesture with more composure.
“Well… see you, Lani. Bye, Popplio. We’ll go out again another day.”
She nods and turns toward her house. But Makoa’s voice stops her before she reaches the door.
“Hey! About getting lost, and you being hungry, and you freaking out and getting afraid…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t tell my grandma!”
And for once, he’s the one who seems scared.