No sooner had the Rufflet disappeared into the foliage did Leah turn her wide, mildly horrified eyes to the gashes along her shoulders. They weren't particularly deep -- certainly not life threatening by any means -- but the fresh blood that oozed from them quickly paled her skin. She clamped her opposite hand around the slashes, briefly wincing at the pain, and stepped back a few paces. Soon enough, her back hit the trunk of a particularly wide tree and she leaned her body weight into it.
"Good... Good work Solstice," Leah managed with a weak smile to her partner. But she could hardly focus on the matter. Not only was this the first time a wild Pokemon actually attacked her (sort of), it was one of the very few times the sheltered girl had even gotten hurt. Shock and pain mixed together.
Quietly, Solstice padded up to her trainer, looking upwards with concerned eyes. Her body trembled a few times and then she reached out to touch Leah's leg. The gesture, while sweet, did little to sooth Leah's growing panic.
"Where's the exit?" She said in a rushed tone, her eyes flicking in all directions. A moment ago, she had been sure of where she was going but now she suddenly felt really turned around.
"They're closing soon. We can't get stuck in here all night like this."Solstice gave an understanding nod before turning around. Slowly, she scanned the area as if to join in the search for the path they had been walking on. The silence that followed seemed to confirm that even the Pokemon wasn't too sure where to go.
Just then, the sound of tiny feet pushing through the grass sent a cold chill through Leah's body. Rigid, she pressed her back into the tree and hoped whatever Pokemon it was would just leave. It wouldn't sense her. It wouldn't approach it--
Stepping around the tree was a tiny, brown Pokemon with large, infant eyes. The Pokemon cooed up at her, a small hand pointing eagerly in her direction. In most circumstances, Leah would have smiled at thee cute Pokemon and even humored its excitement. But this wasn't any ordinary baby. It belonged to one of the most intimidating--
With surprising stealth, the mother Kangaskhan stepped from the brush from behind the tree. The large, beefy Pokemon looked to the child then looked to Leah's pale, wide-eyed stare. A face that rested in a perpetual scowl regarded Leah for a long, silent moment before she scooped up her child, tucked it back into her pouch and moved to better face Leah.
From the side, Solstice watched with equally large eyes, attention flicking between Leah and the wild Pokemon. For once, it seemed like the Snorunt now was not the time to attack. More importantly, she probably understood she had no hope of winning that fight on her own. At least, not in a way that kept Leah safe.
The Kanga let out a low, surprisingly soothing grumble and reached out with a clawed paw. With a tenderness, she rested the paw atop Leah's hand that covered the wound. Her eyes lingered on the blood that had started to push through Leah's fingertips before holding the human's stare.
Let me help, the Kanga seemed to scream. Her posture, eyes, and gesture so easy to read that it stole away Leah's breath. Never before had she really felt like she
knew without a shadow of a doubt what even her Eevee was trying to say . There had always been a sort of animalistic barrier that made their actions so hard to read. So hard to understand. But... In that moment, she wondered if this was how all trainers communicated with their Pokemon. This shared, deep connection.
Go figure the one time she felt this was with a wild Pokemon that could rip her head off with one wrong move.
Despite that, Leah gave a trusting nod and started to push her hand away from the wound. A gross, wet sound followed as her hand was peeled from the oozing mess. Needless to say, blood was dripping off her fingers as she put her hand back to her side.
The baby Kanga ducked into the pouch of its mother, tiny hands rustling around before producing a rather large (by comparison to its tiny body), yellow berry. The fruit was adorned with slightly dark yellow spots and sported a pear-like shape. At a time, she would have instantly recognized the berry for its restorative powers and sour flavor, but her heart was still going a mile a minute and her brain to match. She hardly knew which direction was up at this point.
The small baby handed the berry to its mother who promptly squished the berry in her hand. The wet, juicy noises was accented by the sounds of the water dripping to the ground. Without wasting any time, the Kanga held the squashed berry over Leah's arm, letting the juices drip over the wound.
Pain shot through her body, much like how she expected alcohol would feel on a fresh wound. She gasped and jerked away, earning a worried look from the Kanga. It took most of her self control not to bat away the Kanga and go back to putting pressure on the wound.
I know it hurts, but trust me, the Kanga's posture implied. Her caring, but tender stare soothed the trainer for a moment before she opened her paw. With enough force to feel the weight, she pressed the berry into Leah's shoulder. The gooey, slimy mess pressed into the open wounds and earned a pained yelp from Leah as she leaned away out of reflex. Only, she found herself pressing into the Kanga's other arm. A gentle hand wrapped around Leah's side and opposite arm, cradling her while the other hand worked the berry into the wound.
"Why are you helping me?" Leah asked to distract herself from the pain.
"Don't you know I'm a trainer? Aren't wild Pokemon supposed to be afraid of us?You needed help, was the simple response Leah practically heard from the Pokemon.
Do I need more of a reason?The gesture stunned Leah into silence.
For a few moments longer, the Kanga continued the pressure before she lifted her paw. Blood soaked her brown skin, as well as a mixture of the yellow berry. Leah's shoulder, while still stained from the previous blood, no longer gushed out fresh waves of it. Like a makeshift bandage, the berry had stuck to the skin and filled the gaps in her flesh. Surprisingly, most of the pain was numbed along with it, earning a look of awe from the trainer.
Let's get you home, the Kanga would seem say as she backed away from Leah. There was a softness to her expression that implied a smile followed by a beckoning gesture.
Without hesitating, Leah recalled Solstice to her pokeball and followed after the large mother. At a steady pace, the two of them made it back to the Safari door before the sun could finish its descent. The doors were about 100 yards or so away from Leah, granting a lot of space to the Kanga. She couldn't imagine the wild Pokemon really wanted to go that close to where trainers came and went.
"Thank you," Leah said softly. She pulled her eyes away from the door and up towards the Pokemon who had come to her aid.
"But... I don't understand it. Why you? Why can I tell what you're saying but not what my own Pokemon want?"The response the Kanga had seemed to be too complex to properly convey with just her gestures and expression. But Leah seemed to get the idea that some Pokemon and people just link together really well, regardless of circumstance. The answer didn't really make her feel much better, admittedly. A soured frown rested on her face as she looked to the doors.
"If... If it's so special, why do I have to leave you behind?" Leah said softly, whining a bit as if the circumstances were just too unfair.
"I can't bring myself to properly fight you after everything you've done. And... And I'm sure you have a family back here. I can't possibly ask to take you away from that, but... I've never felt this sort of connection with any Pokemon. It's like I finally feel like a trainer."Leah's hands clenched, fists shaking in frustration. She couldn't help but reach into her bag and pull out her last Safari ball.
"But I can't just leave without asking, either," she continued with a much more forced tone. Suddenly, she pivoted on her heels to face the Kanga. She held out the Safari ball with trembling fingers.
"I understand if you say no. Heck, you probably should say no, but... If you want to... You could maybe..."The Kanga made her decision before Leah could even finish her emotion-fueled rambling.
