Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. The following story should not be read by anyone.
Epilogue
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THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE NINETEEN YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS OF CHAPTER SIX.
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I looked out onto the field behind our house, watching the berries of all colors sway with the light breeze, through the steam rising from my mug. Every row held another species of berry, and had about 30 separate plants as a part of it.
I heard Gard enter the room.
"You know," I said. "I couldn't be much more proud of you two than I am. Look at all we have."
"You might not see it very much," she replied. "But when I look at him I see more of you that you can imagine."
"Likewise." I took a sip. The tea had an almost sour flavor to it, a result of steeping the water in Nomel leaves.
Another figure entered the room, and I turned around to revel in the glory of my only son, Sirknight the Gallade.
He was taller than his mother and I. In his hands he held two baskets full of berries, along with two others hanging on his sword-like elbows.
He held them up, as though he was offering them to me or asking what to do with them. Unlike his mother, he wasn't gifted with the ability to speak, but he expressed himself pretty well, generally through his actions, or writing, or even the occasional painting.
I took the baskets from him and looked through them, finding that the berries were in very good shape and of rather high quality.
"These are going to the market, Sirknight," I told him, handing the baskets back. "Thank you."
He nodded and left the room. I took a deep breath and tried to take in everything we'd built, everything we'd created over the years past, but I couldn't.
The entirety of the progress I'd made throughout my life had remained something I had much trouble conceiving, no matter how much I saw it, or how much it proved its existence to me. Shortly after Sirknight hatched, we'd decided to put Gard's general knowledge of berries and herbs to good use, by starting an independent store.
We'd earned more than enough to move into a larger house in only a few months, so we did. We also had more land, so our income increased. Of course, we ended up using a lot of our resources on Sirknight, whether through feeding him something healthy with the berries themselves or buying him things with our money.
He grew up tall and proud and strong. He was very smart and wrote like an experienced editor, but couldn't talk. We still loved him, though. Nothing could change that.
I left the room to wash my mug, and I happened to walk past Sirknight's humbly adorned room, with the painting he was working on catching my eye. Something about that painting was important.
I walked in and saw what was portrayed on the canvas, and a flood of indescribable emotions overtook me.
The image was of a couple, sitting on the shore of a small pond next to each other, with the moon's light reflecting off of the water. Nearby was a tent and a campfire, the latter of which was releasing a few sparks.
I stared at it, in awe at its realism. Sirknight stood next to me with his arms crossed, obviously quite proud of it effect on me. I broke myself from my trance and left the room after thanking Sirknight, who was completely aware of its effect on me.
A few days after that little ordeal, Sirknight came back from the stall we had opened at the market in a particularly good mood. His eyes were curved with joy, and he moved quicker than usual. However, when he went to cut the berries from their separate plants, I noticed a sudden change in his behavior. He was still happy, but he wasn't working as well as he normally had. His production was slowed, and even though I didn't really mind that, I still wanted to know what was up with him. I observed his new routine. He approached a bush, as he normally did, and he swung his sword out to cut a berry off of the bush, as he normally had. However, once the berry was in his hand, he would just stare at it as though he was infatuated with it. He would stare until the next one was being cut from the bush. After watching this a few times, I finally approached him to ask about it.
"Sirknight!" I said, walking over. "Can I talk to you?"
He made a shameful face, which meant that he knew that his production was being slowed. He nodded and set the basket down.
"Alright. Sirknight," I said, scratching my head awkwardly. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
He nodded, looking a little confused.
"Then tell the truth, Sirknight," I firmly said. "What is your problem?"
He shook his head and put his hands out, as if to correct me.
"It's not a problem?"
He nodded.
"Well, what is it, then?"
When I said that, he just stared off in the direction of the market that he'd come from, before slowly raising his hand to point in its direction.
"Is it something that can be brought to me?"
He shrugged and pondered it for a moment, before nodding once more.
"Alright, bring it to me, then."
He kicked off to a running start, and sprinted toward the market. I watched him disappear before picking up his basket and bringing it inside. Gardevoir was reading in the kitchen. I spoke to her as I rinsed off the berries.
"Gard, did you notice anything unusual about our Gallade today?"
"Yes, I did, and I think I know what you're thinking, but you're not correct," she said, reading my emotions. "He's not in heat. I'd be able to tell."
"I know he's not in heat, Gard," I said before chuckling a little. "I'm just confused about why he's acting that way. I sent him to go get whatever's been distracting him lately."
"Well, I think I know what it is, but I'm not sure," she said, flipping to another page in her book. "I have a feeling it's-"
At that point, we heard a knock at the door. We got up to answer it, and there couldn't have been much anyone could've done to prepare me for what I saw when I opened the front door. For what I saw when the door was opened was Sirknight, but with a companion of his own.
She was a rather pretty, young brunette with straight hair. She had a shy smile on her face. "I take it you're Sirknight's parents?" she said. Her voice was quiet and calm.
"Yes, we are," Gardevoir said. "May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Veronica," she said, offering her her hand to shake. We both shook it before she retreated back to outside the threshold of our house. "Sirknight and I met today at the market, and we got to communicating, and well, now we're going out, if that's not a problem with you."
"Of course not!" Gardevoir and I both said in unison.
"Good, because I think he's quite the gentleman," she said. "You've raised a fine young man."
Of course, I subconsciously wondered if they'd already had sex, even though they'd just met that day. Gardevoir punched my arm after reading my emotions.
"Well," I said to Veronica. "I think you two look quite happy together, even if it's the first day. I mean, Gardevoir here and I didn't even really ever go out."
"What," she said, tilting her head. "You mean you just met and got married?"
"It's a little more complicated than that..." I said, turning to Gardevoir. Her face was as light as the day we fell in love, which to me was like the first day we'd known each other. "We knew each other for a long time before we fell in love."
"Well," Veronica said, grabbing onto Sirknight's arm. Sirknight appeared to be pretending he was somewhere else. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"
Gardevoir replied this time. "Absolutely."
"Well, I was walking past his stall and our eyes caught, and it just sort of happened."
"Yeah," Gardevoir said. "For some people, that's just how it happens."
"Listen," Veronica said, looking at her watch. "I've gotta get going. What time do you want him home?"
"Uh," Gardevoir stuttered.
I interrupted. "He can be home any time he wants."
Veronica shot Sirknight a look that made me worry. It brought me back to when Gardevoir was in heat the first time. That surely meant that tonight, they were going to...
Gardevoir punched my arm again as we watched them walk off of our front porch, toward the sun that was now setting. Gardevoir and I retreated back inside, before sitting down on the couch.
Gardevoir finally spoke. "Jack."
"Gard."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Her thoughts mingled with mine, causing lust and love to flood into my soul. I answered her with a kiss.
"That's not quite what I meant, Jack."
"Oh, what did you mean?"
"Jack," she said, taking my hand. "They look just like we did."
I thought about it for a moment. "I guess so," I said. "It kind of makes sense, I mean... Pokephile couples aren't commonly seen in public, even though it's legal and everything."
At that point, I decided to go back and look at Sirknight's latest painting again, to refresh my memory. Then it occurred to me that Gard would want to see it.
"Gard..." I said. "Have you seen Sirknight's latest painting?"
"No, I haven't," she answered, looking up from her book. "Is it good?"
"Gardevoir, you have no idea..." I half-whispered with enthusiasm. "You've gotta see it."
She stood up and followed me into Sirknight's room, noticing the painting as soon as she'd entered. Her breath was taken as mine had been.
"Is that... is that supposed to be-"
"I think it is," I interrupted her. "Whether or not he realizes it."
I took Gardevoir's hand and let her rest her head on my shoulder as we admired our son's talent. I cherished being able to spend time with her. I let my head tilt until it was resting atop hers, my thumb resting comfortably against the golden ring I'd put on her finger so long ago.
And I still had my whole life ahead of me.Chapter End Notes:I hope that satisfied you guys. Now I've gotta get started on writing about Sirknight and Veronica...
Like I've said before, and I'll say again, please review these. I can't push it enough. Review like every word is another pump from a Blaziken. So warm
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE NINETEEN YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS OF CHAPTER SIX.
----------
I looked out onto the field behind our house, watching the berries of all colors sway with the light breeze, through the steam rising from my mug. Every row held another species of berry, and had about 30 separate plants as a part of it.
I heard Gard enter the room.
"You know," I said. "I couldn't be much more proud of you two than I am. Look at all we have."
"You might not see it very much," she replied. "But when I look at him I see more of you that you can imagine."
"Likewise." I took a sip. The tea had an almost sour flavor to it, a result of steeping the water in Nomel leaves.
Another figure entered the room, and I turned around to revel in the glory of my only son, Sirknight the Gallade.
He was taller than his mother and I. In his hands he held two baskets full of berries, along with two others hanging on his sword-like elbows.
He held them up, as though he was offering them to me or asking what to do with them. Unlike his mother, he wasn't gifted with the ability to speak, but he expressed himself pretty well, generally through his actions, or writing, or even the occasional painting.
I took the baskets from him and looked through them, finding that the berries were in very good shape and of rather high quality.
"These are going to the market, Sirknight," I told him, handing the baskets back. "Thank you."
He nodded and left the room. I took a deep breath and tried to take in everything we'd built, everything we'd created over the years past, but I couldn't.
The entirety of the progress I'd made throughout my life had remained something I had much trouble conceiving, no matter how much I saw it, or how much it proved its existence to me. Shortly after Sirknight hatched, we'd decided to put Gard's general knowledge of berries and herbs to good use, by starting an independent store.
We'd earned more than enough to move into a larger house in only a few months, so we did. We also had more land, so our income increased. Of course, we ended up using a lot of our resources on Sirknight, whether through feeding him something healthy with the berries themselves or buying him things with our money.
He grew up tall and proud and strong. He was very smart and wrote like an experienced editor, but couldn't talk. We still loved him, though. Nothing could change that.
I left the room to wash my mug, and I happened to walk past Sirknight's humbly adorned room, with the painting he was working on catching my eye. Something about that painting was important.
I walked in and saw what was portrayed on the canvas, and a flood of indescribable emotions overtook me.
The image was of a couple, sitting on the shore of a small pond next to each other, with the moon's light reflecting off of the water. Nearby was a tent and a campfire, the latter of which was releasing a few sparks.
I stared at it, in awe at its realism. Sirknight stood next to me with his arms crossed, obviously quite proud of it effect on me. I broke myself from my trance and left the room after thanking Sirknight, who was completely aware of its effect on me.
A few days after that little ordeal, Sirknight came back from the stall we had opened at the market in a particularly good mood. His eyes were curved with joy, and he moved quicker than usual. However, when he went to cut the berries from their separate plants, I noticed a sudden change in his behavior. He was still happy, but he wasn't working as well as he normally had. His production was slowed, and even though I didn't really mind that, I still wanted to know what was up with him. I observed his new routine. He approached a bush, as he normally did, and he swung his sword out to cut a berry off of the bush, as he normally had. However, once the berry was in his hand, he would just stare at it as though he was infatuated with it. He would stare until the next one was being cut from the bush. After watching this a few times, I finally approached him to ask about it.
"Sirknight!" I said, walking over. "Can I talk to you?"
He made a shameful face, which meant that he knew that his production was being slowed. He nodded and set the basket down.
"Alright. Sirknight," I said, scratching my head awkwardly. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
He nodded, looking a little confused.
"Then tell the truth, Sirknight," I firmly said. "What is your problem?"
He shook his head and put his hands out, as if to correct me.
"It's not a problem?"
He nodded.
"Well, what is it, then?"
When I said that, he just stared off in the direction of the market that he'd come from, before slowly raising his hand to point in its direction.
"Is it something that can be brought to me?"
He shrugged and pondered it for a moment, before nodding once more.
"Alright, bring it to me, then."
He kicked off to a running start, and sprinted toward the market. I watched him disappear before picking up his basket and bringing it inside. Gardevoir was reading in the kitchen. I spoke to her as I rinsed off the berries.
"Gard, did you notice anything unusual about our Gallade today?"
"Yes, I did, and I think I know what you're thinking, but you're not correct," she said, reading my emotions. "He's not in heat. I'd be able to tell."
"I know he's not in heat, Gard," I said before chuckling a little. "I'm just confused about why he's acting that way. I sent him to go get whatever's been distracting him lately."
"Well, I think I know what it is, but I'm not sure," she said, flipping to another page in her book. "I have a feeling it's-"
At that point, we heard a knock at the door. We got up to answer it, and there couldn't have been much anyone could've done to prepare me for what I saw when I opened the front door. For what I saw when the door was opened was Sirknight, but with a companion of his own.
She was a rather pretty, young brunette with straight hair. She had a shy smile on her face. "I take it you're Sirknight's parents?" she said. Her voice was quiet and calm.
"Yes, we are," Gardevoir said. "May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Veronica," she said, offering her her hand to shake. We both shook it before she retreated back to outside the threshold of our house. "Sirknight and I met today at the market, and we got to communicating, and well, now we're going out, if that's not a problem with you."
"Of course not!" Gardevoir and I both said in unison.
"Good, because I think he's quite the gentleman," she said. "You've raised a fine young man."
Of course, I subconsciously wondered if they'd already had sex, even though they'd just met that day. Gardevoir punched my arm after reading my emotions.
"Well," I said to Veronica. "I think you two look quite happy together, even if it's the first day. I mean, Gardevoir here and I didn't even really ever go out."
"What," she said, tilting her head. "You mean you just met and got married?"
"It's a little more complicated than that..." I said, turning to Gardevoir. Her face was as light as the day we fell in love, which to me was like the first day we'd known each other. "We knew each other for a long time before we fell in love."
"Well," Veronica said, grabbing onto Sirknight's arm. Sirknight appeared to be pretending he was somewhere else. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"
Gardevoir replied this time. "Absolutely."
"Well, I was walking past his stall and our eyes caught, and it just sort of happened."
"Yeah," Gardevoir said. "For some people, that's just how it happens."
"Listen," Veronica said, looking at her watch. "I've gotta get going. What time do you want him home?"
"Uh," Gardevoir stuttered.
I interrupted. "He can be home any time he wants."
Veronica shot Sirknight a look that made me worry. It brought me back to when Gardevoir was in heat the first time. That surely meant that tonight, they were going to...
Gardevoir punched my arm again as we watched them walk off of our front porch, toward the sun that was now setting. Gardevoir and I retreated back inside, before sitting down on the couch.
Gardevoir finally spoke. "Jack."
"Gard."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Her thoughts mingled with mine, causing lust and love to flood into my soul. I answered her with a kiss.
"That's not quite what I meant, Jack."
"Oh, what did you mean?"
"Jack," she said, taking my hand. "They look just like we did."
I thought about it for a moment. "I guess so," I said. "It kind of makes sense, I mean... Pokephile couples aren't commonly seen in public, even though it's legal and everything."
At that point, I decided to go back and look at Sirknight's latest painting again, to refresh my memory. Then it occurred to me that Gard would want to see it.
"Gard..." I said. "Have you seen Sirknight's latest painting?"
"No, I haven't," she answered, looking up from her book. "Is it good?"
"Gardevoir, you have no idea..." I half-whispered with enthusiasm. "You've gotta see it."
She stood up and followed me into Sirknight's room, noticing the painting as soon as she'd entered. Her breath was taken as mine had been.
"Is that... is that supposed to be-"
"I think it is," I interrupted her. "Whether or not he realizes it."
I took Gardevoir's hand and let her rest her head on my shoulder as we admired our son's talent. I cherished being able to spend time with her. I let my head tilt until it was resting atop hers, my thumb resting comfortably against the golden ring I'd put on her finger so long ago.
And I still had my whole life ahead of me.Chapter End Notes:I hope that satisfied you guys. Now I've gotta get started on writing about Sirknight and Veronica...
Like I've said before, and I'll say again, please review these. I can't push it enough. Review like every word is another pump from a Blaziken. So warm
Date:Feb 21 2013 Chapter:Epilogue
first off, 'Sirknight' is Gardevoir's japanese name--even if appearence-wise it suits Gallade better.
and second, i think Gardevoir could have use a name other than 'Gard'. Just my opinion.
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