Past is Past ((Open))

[Game Junkie 404]

Mahari sat in the shadows of a tall, tall thicket tree. She was thinking about what had happened the day she lost her mother.

~~~

"Mahari!" a woman's voice called. Little Mahari, playing in the dirt with her friends, didn't hear the call. She was happy, carefree. She loved her life her by the volcano. But the peace seemed to be wavering. "What's that?" she whispered to her friends. "I think someone called you," said Anki, her best friend. "No," Mahari whispered, "the...peace. It's not there."

Her friend gave her a strange look. Mahari shook her head. They didn't understand that she could feel the emotion of the air. "Mahari!" Came the voice again. Quickly, she turned. Her mother came rushing into the den, panting and breathless. "Mahari, quick! The Horde is here!"

Mahari didn't know what the Horde was, but they must be bad. "Go home little ones," said the white Arcanine, "Find your parents." They scrambled out, and her mother fixed her with cold blue eyes.

"Listen to me Mahari, find your father. He's waiting to take you to the valley. Come on!" The two ran out of the den, and through the camp. Mahari spotted her father and ran into his chest, burying her face in his fur. "Father! I'm scared!"

And then a blood-curdling roar erupted and Mahari turned her head to see three vicious-looking Mightyena corner her mother, wound her, and take her away. "Mama!" she cried. She made to go after them, but her father picked her up by the scruff and run from the camp.

~~~

Mahari never saw her mother again, and never would. She knew in her heart her mother was dead.

She looked up into the canopy of trees, searching for a sign. Something, anything that would let her know she belonged. Or at least perhaps there were other Pokemon here.

[racerxchick]

The grass tickled gently at the long claws of Mage as she wandered into the large green thicket, barely accounting for others who might be about. She sighed, her long curled tails sweeping against the cool breeze as she wandered dazed through the openness. Tiny bugs scattered at her approach, letting knowledge hit her of a small group of trees in her nearby path, looking forward she was a bit shocked to find another pokemon here. The silence had taken her to a world she thought no others could inhabit, but now she looked upon another who seemed just as lost in it as she was. She approached, the age she did not hold holding blankly in her stare as she looked down to the laying white Growlithe before her. She breathed deep, contemplating the words she would start with.

It's quiet. I'm Mage, Fire Mage...you are?

She was always short for words, watching she almost held a prysmatic gleam over her red eyes as she awaited an answer.

[Game Junkie 404]

"Yes, I agree. It is quiet."

Mahari sensed this strange pokemon was of few words, like herself, and probably had an interesting story to go with her.

The breeze blew the grasses gently in a soft and sensual dance that always amazed Mahari. She could almost hear light, beautiful sounds similar to the thing the humans called music. It calmed her; made her at peace. And she had someone, even if a stranger, to share it with.

"I am Mahari," she said at last. after a little while that seemed to stretch across the very fabric of time.

The silence that inhabited this place seemed so perfect, Mahari couldn't believe she was either here and that it was real. That it was not simply a really, really good dream, to which she reasoned that she could never have such a peaceful dream. Not after that day, of course.

[racerxchick]

The breeze stroked against her darkened fur, carrying heavier with each passing moment until all of her tiny soft follicles were stirred. She sighed again, embracing the nature of things, the balance of perfection even in a still and silent moment. The growlithe spoke, redirecting attention quickly to her whch drew Mage's glance back to her for a brief moment before a smile passed her usually frigid features.

Interesting name. Seems to suit you, as no doubt you are as different as I am.

She nodded, drifting a tilt of her muzzle toward the sky as she dropped to her stomach and allowed her long fire-stained tails to reside beside her flanks. A stroke of her tongue was noticed as she cleansed her maned chest, then returning her full attention to Mahiri now with added interest.

You aren't like those other pack dogs, are you? I must admit my surprise in seeing a growlithe all alone out here in the open...

She stopped there, once again the desire to keep words to a minimum striking at her mind like a cold blade.

[Game Junkie 404]

The dog pokemon's white fur rustled in the breeze. A stray thought entered her mind (she wondered what her fur might feel like, as she'd only tasted the fur when she attempted to give herself a bath without water, and though it had tasted in a way that she hadn't expected it to taste -of ash- she still had never felt the texture) and then it rambled on and on until she realized with a start that the strange Pokemon called Mage was speaking.

"My mother told me, before her death, that it meant forgiver," she said after Mage finished speaking, "but what was done to her isn't so easy for me to forgive."

Shaking her head, and her short-but-shaggy mane, she brushed any thoughts the other might have. She flashed a gentle, but meaningful smile showing, or trying to show, that it was behind her, if only because it was in reality. This place, she realized, as she turned her head back to the sweeping grass, seemed to know somehow.

"And that is one of the reasons I am not like the others. I seek the solace that only solitutde with sparse moments of companionship can give me."

And then she was smiling softly, feeling almost complete in this strange place, with this strange creature, speaking as if they were old friends meeting each other after being apart for a very long time with no way to say what had happened in the other's absence.

[racerxchick]

Listening broadly she kept her mind open to the possibility of others intruding, yet all that Mahari said seemed to effect her in a way she had yet to understand. She thought of her mother, how caring and loving she was, how much she desired the company of her roving father who would never again return to the nest of the fire foxes. She thought of all that she learned, the ups and downs, all that added up to what she was now and how proud she was of that even if she was a mixed mongrel. She wondered just what happened to this Growlithe's mother that lacked in forgiveness? Contemplating the thought for a long moment she seemed to drift away until Mahari spoke once more, drawing her attention back.

Her reasons and Mahari's reasons for leaving fell of two different sides of the fence, in a way it was an interesting chance to learn some different perspectives from a broader range of someone else's life. Shifting a little she felt the thick softness of her cheek rise against the grass below, allowing the blades to brush tighter against her face. A blink drew her eyes to a soft close before a gentle purr arose from her chest, barely audible as it always was.

I see. I don't think I could fully comprehend where you sit now, your memories only of dark moments and deep hatred for something I will not question you about. You know, it adds respect to your being, for not all children respect their own parents in the way you do as you continue on in her respects.

She smiled, something many pokemon she encountered rarely submitted to. So many were to haughty and high lived to even regard their parents for their upbringing, only looking at the work they did themselves as something to be proud of. Then again she had witnessed others whose parents did nothing but drop them at birth and leave them to learn things in life the hard way, those also who survived such circumstances were respectable in her books.

[Game Junkie 404]

Mahari stopped to listen as Mage spoke, the wisdom in her words very obvious. She must be old, or at least a lot older than her to speak in such a way. But, hadn't she said that her manner of...was it speaking? Carrying herself? Well, whatever it was, it added character to her being. Stopping to think about whether that meant she was spiritually older than the age she really was, she left it be, saying in her mind that she was grateful for the comment even if she didn't fully understand it.

And then the smile. She realized at once that this smile was not given out often.

"You should...smile more," she said gently, straining it to make seem less...blurted out. "You don't smile often, I think, from the way that you do. I...you don't have to, it's just...a suggestion."

And she paused again, taking a look over Mage's appearance. She ws a strange breed, a hybrid, and it showed. How she had could to be this way was sort of obvious, but which had been the father, and which had been the mother? Had there been others? She didn't wish to bring such questions up, but perhaps conversation would be good, even if it were idle conversation at best.

"Oh, may I ask how you came to be the...hybrid you are? I mean, I know how it works, but, well, which parent was which breed? Yes, that's that I'm trying to ask."

[racerxchick]

(I'm going to post for Lava Stone hopping, just gotta think of what to put! )

Listening to Mahari she could feel the shock upon her face draw like a shaded curtain, she knew she could not hide it but decided it wasn't something to do. As she tried to recover from what she had said to Fire she could not find a way to stop her reaction, first starting at that gentle smile that soon melted to a laugh that none had dared to hear and she hadn't heard since she was young. Shut eyes allowed her to stand and step back as she regained her composure, shaking off the last few chuckles before seating herself and feeling the rapsure of her tails twist and turn in the moment. One paw wiped her nose for a moment before she looked upon Mahari, the smile remaining now to rescue her from another onslaught of laughter.

Yes, I know Mahari, not many have chanced to bring about a smile from me...I think it shows our company is good company.

As she finished Mahari questioned her breeding and with that drew a straight face from her for but a moment. None had asked her of it before, thus she had to consider what her answer would be before slipping into the details of her life, here she drew back into a smile, stare flowing to the sky above as she thought of her mother far from where they sat now. How humble those times were, yet too humble for her tastes, thus why she left home so young.

My, what a question. My shock may seem a little too apparent, no one has ever asked, though I am glad you did! You see, my parents were ones of chance meeting, my mother was a ninetails and my father an absol. They were in love from the moment they met, but it wouldn't last as they knew from their opposing lifestyles. I was sort of an accident, but my mother kept me to raise me as if I were anything but...it was simple get togethers, that was all, though I've never come across my father and doubt I ever will.

She smiled again, thinking of the one absol who she wished to meet more than anyone else ever, to meet the one who brought her to being was to be nothing more than a dream to her. Turning from her thoughts she looked to Mahari and knew her question to follow.

And you? What of your lineage? I dare find a simple answer of you and why you are white!

Her smile broadened, nearing another chuckle but levelling to a simple grin as she awaited an answer.

[/blockquote]

[Game Junkie 404]

(OOC: I was about to remind you...you think of everything don't you? Oh, and I got a Mystery Dungeon game for Christmas! It sort of make me understand how to describe being a Pokemon a little better. I almost couldn't put it down to type this! lol)

Mahari blinked rapidly, the shock on her face very slight, and she brushed it away in a single moment, blinking again, her silver eyes dancing. She studied Mage for a moment more, not having hear so many words at once, or at least from this pokemon. They were both creatures of silence, or at the very least short and quiet (but meaningful!) conversation. She stirred a little where she sat, moving a little in front of her, the grass behind her springing up like it had never been sat on.

"I was born in a Pokeclan down near the Volcano."

She stopped to chuckle softly, the laughter sweet and gentle, like that of a baby at peace. She shook her head smiling, her eyes once again dazzling like the metal they were often described as.


"You must know that I've come a long way from my home. You see, the truth of it is, yes, I was born there, but I didn't stay there for very long. I lived there with both my mother and father in peace until I was six moons old. My father is the orange you would usually see on an Arcanine, but my mother...she was an albino. White-furred, like myself. I carried on the gene, obviously. Well, one day she came to me and took me to my father in a rush, saying the Horde had come. I didn't know what they were then. Before she could join my father and I on a run to the valley father away from the volcano, some Mightyena took her away..."

She looked up at the break in the trees, at the clear blue, blue sky. The light shined in her eyes as a distant look came upon her face. Not one of sorrow, or any real emotion, but of deep, deep thought. after awhile of listening to the silence roar in her ears, she turned to Mage, with not a trace of sorrow in her being, and a hint of a grin tugging at her lips.


"Later my father told what they were. He didn't know why they had come. I don't think they came just for my mother, otherwise they probably wouldn't have attack the whole village. And I'm not angry. I am a little sad knowing I won't ever see her again, but she is always with me, in spirit. Perhaps someday I could be strong enough to fight them, properly, for my mother's honor. But not now. Now, I train, and I enjoy life."

Her smile, too, broadened and she met the ember-like eyes of Mage with a strange sense of understanding.

[racerxchick]

(Dang, I guess it is really fun, huh? Wish I got one, but I don't have that gameboy system so I couldn't really play it anyways.)

Mage sat silently for a long drawn out moment, listening calmly to Mahari's past and taking in what she could to truly understand the other fire pokemon. When at last she finished her explanation she pondered long and hard of the perfection in her upbringing, so calm and serene in place of Mahari's chaotic race to safety from the horde. She also thought of that dark group then, how she had heard so much but found herself lacking in ever seeing one of the many members of that group. Softly she allowed a breath to slip with a gentle sigh to follow, looking to the sky in consious effort to place things as they were in the back of her mind, to drown any chance of negative aspects toward this other pokemon. As she fell to a silent null of her mind she turned back to Mahari, a softer smile beset her face at the thought of enjoying life as she enjoyed doing as well.

Yes, that seems what most would prefer I would think, it all depends on how they do it though, and you and I are similar in those aspects as well.

With that she returned to laying within the comforts of the grass once more. A breeze sweeping upon her coat she allowed time to forget her being, her silence echoing within her soulful figure as if the very foundations of herself would simply drift away, the palest breeze wisking her away from the world like fallen leaves in the autumn.

[Game Junkie 404]

(Still can't think of what to type for Stone Hopping? *tsk tsk* I would say that's not like you, but you've probably just got a bad case of writer's block. Trust me, I get it a lot with I write my fanfiction.)

The dog pokemon nodded firmly, accepting her answer. Perhaps someday she would fight, but yes, she would not fight now. Now was the time for living and growing up. I wonder sometimes...what will I look like when I evolve? Sometimes when white Growlithe like myself do so, they return to that orange color...but...I like...being...this color.

She muttered a gentle, "Hmm," and laid right beside Mage in the grass.

It tickled the inside of her nose every other breath, and the sun would rustle it about, but the grass was soft and plush, not like prarie grass or lowland grass, and certainly not like desert grass. No, this was a grass all its own, a seperate catagory from all the others. The only thing close that came to this was medow grass, but meadow grass had flowers. If there were flowers, they were really small.

And the sun was nice and deliciously warm. Life was good, for the moment.

[racerxchick]

Blinking eyes opened only momentarily at the words of Mahari, her querying of her appearance when she should evolve to her larger, more formidable state. She chuckled, but only slightly, for why would someone so complacent and content with the way things are now be concerned of appearances. Her lids shut gently, dipping her head to her paws in contentment before rolling over to her back and shuffling through the grass, scratching a terrible itch that suddenly showed on her back. Her long bushed grip of tails swept across the field, almost like sweeping away her troubles before she rolled back over and looked to Mahari once more.

Why would you be concerned of it? Look at me for example...I am of fire fox and disasters, and when I evolve if I ever do I will take on the white fire gleam of my mother's elegance yet still retain much of how I look now! Cherish your appearance now, for if you fear yourself you give your enemies that much more against you.

A small tickle touched her side and she looked to find a weedle carefuly climbing her side. Setting a paw under the exposed limbs she lifted the smaller bug pokemon and set it on its way away from them before returning her attention to the conversation at hand.

[Game Junkie 404]

"Huh?"

Had the other Pokemon guessed her thoughts? Some psychic pokemon could probably even read them, but Mage was obviously of the fire persuasion. Mmm. But she didn't mind so much. Her ears twitched as she listened to the words, words of a Pokemon ho had lived a much longer life than she.

"I...suppose," she said slowly, "that is true. But I don't exactly fear myself, per se. If I become orange colored when I evolve, if ever, so be it. I'd just prefer to stay white. Do you get me? I like being this color. It's the color of purity after all. And, personally I think a white coat might look a little more daunting and formidable in battle."

She chuckled, and then it bubbled and erupted into a laugh where she couldn't help but let it ring. When she finally stopped, she turned her head a little and said, "Well, it looks good in my mind. In reality, it might not be so."

[racerxchick]

(AHH! I keep doing that…I thought that was speech and not thoughts…)

Mage looked over Mahari and listened with curiosity now, searching herself for what response she would make. In reality, if Mage ever came across a white creature it would sort of freak her out, not that it should considering the fact that if she were truly a full bred Absol she would have been ghostly white and blue hued. Still, the thought of another white like the clouds or white pale the color of absence to some and a mixture of all colors to others meant that those creatures were meant for something more than any other creature in the world. Perhaps that was why Mahari was white, she was possibly some sort of savior of sorts and Mage was just standing there chatting with her. She shook off the thought and surveyed the growlithe, a smile growing on her face as Mahari stood and took a gander of herself quickly and efficiently before speaking once more. Mage approached and raised a paw, gently stroking the fineness of the fire pokemon’s coat before nodding gently.

Yes. That wasn’t what I was implying either, but who cares...I think you got more out of it than I got! To look at it this way when you evolve if you keep that glossy white finish no other will have it…you’ll be unique. Orange? Totally out with the old type thing, white is certainly you and it looks good no matter how you look at it. Though, this silence is a little too much for me now. Perhaps we could go ahead and seek out something to do? Maybe there is something out there that will peak our interests.

She smiled again, though this smile was toothy, a sharp felineous fang slipping from her blued maw. Walking slowly forward and striding out beyond the last few trees gathered before the thicket. There stood a small drop off where far below was a long field, she looked down to it then jumped, landing gracefully in the tall grass and taking off in search of something she wasn’t entirely sure she was looking for yet.

[/blockquote]

[Game Junkie 404]

(OOC: My muse left me while I was in the middle of posting for Stone Hopping so this is all I got. -_-; )

Mahari's ears perked up. This wise pokemon understood her feelings, and she was fine with herself. It was still a long way of before evolution, but she looked forward to it nonetheless. As Mage spoke of white being a very becoming color for her, she could feel herself blush, and, knowing it could most likely be seen in her white cheeks, she ducked her head and shook it, smiling. She wasn't much for attention, Mahari. She was a somewhat humble creature. And then Mage spoke of finding something to do. While the conversation was nice, Mahari, too, could admit that talking alone was getting a little boring, no matter how relaxing it was.

"Yes, I quite agree. I'm terrible at making up games, other than the ones we used to play back at the volcano base as cubs, but...they're children's games. I don't even know if I remember all the rules to half of them."

She laughed a little before cotinuing.

"If you have any particular activty in mind, well, don't hesitate to say anything."

Her jowls turned up into something that resembled a smile, as much as she could possible make in her childish-yet-not-so-at-the-same-time form. Her puffy white tail wagged, too, her tongue licking her nose once in awhile.

[Empress]

Asteria

Asteria quietly crept into the small area, many bushes were here. She whine as her tail got stuck in a nearby bush. With a grunt and a groan she tried to tug it out, though it was firmly stuck. She whimpered and dug her small claws into the dirt and tried to haul herself out again. She made no progress. She sat down and lowered her head. She let out a tired sigh and lay down. Her body was smaller but her tail rather big. Her cupped ears twitched quickly. She sniffed the air and smelt pokemon nearby. She whined and hid behind the bush. She slid behind it easily. Silently she sniffed again. She smelt a growlithe, but did not know as to what the other pokemon was. She huffed and lay there, more of shyness then fear. She poked her head through the bush to look at them, and found her head was stuck. She whined and darted around the area, shaking her head as she went. She lay with a moan on the grass. [glow=blue,2,300]This is hopeless.. I'm stuck.[/glow] Asteria muttered.

She lifted her legs to the bush and pushed, the bush moved slightly. She dragged the bush around on the ground, trying to pry it off. She sat there panting from the effort. Then she went back to it. Suddenly she remembered what her parents had always said. [glow=blue,2,300]Just sit and relax then push it off gently..[/glow] She whispered to herself. She sat quietly and pulled the bush off slowly. She smiled. She looked at the two pokemon, now embarrassed. She looked down, ears laid neatly atop her small black and orange head. [glow=blue,2,300]I'm sorry, I did not mean to bother you. My name is Asteria.[/glow] She said, lifting her head a little.