Story Notes:
I'm still pretty new at the whole writing thing, so if you're one of those people with high standards either wander off now or please provide some feedback on how to make it better. I've dealt with enough jerks elsewhere... and considering I couldn't figure out a way to write the summary without it sounding cliched is enough of a kick in the head, thanks.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.---
Escape Sensations
Jay ran as fast as he could through the pouring rain, but there was no escaping it. The Charizard charging down the road behind him moved a lot faster than he could. It was only a matter of time before it caught him and either crushed him, tore him apart or turned him into charcoal. Something slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. A second later a voice thundered into his ears and something hit his head.
"I said wake the hell up!"
Jay opened his eyes, breathing heavily from the nightmare. Not to mention the pressure on his back that was easy to identify. "What... what time is it?" He mumbled, trying to steady his breathing. A difficult task with his roommate sitting on him.
Roufas smacked him in the head again. "Two, but that's not important! Get up, now!" He said, a rare trace of panic in his voice.
Just the tone was enough to wake Jay up in a hurry. Roufas jumped off the moment he started to try and get up. "What's wrong?"
"It's Simoon, just move!" He said, grabbing something off the floor and running out of the room.
Rolling out of bed, he hurried after the Persian, tripping over his blanket and almost smacking into the door-frame because of the darkness. Sliding his fingers along the wall as he went down the hallway, he heard Roufas bump into one of the kitchen chairs. By the time Jay got that far, the Pokemon door he had put in was swinging to a stop. Opening the back door, he caught sight of Simoon's burning tail right away. She was on the ground by the fence, a fallen plastic chair nearby.
Roufas dropped something by her and looked at Jay. "Would you open this damn thing and use it?"
Jay hurried over, dropping onto the ground and grabbing what Roufas had brought out. It was the first aid kit he had taken with him on his camping trip. It clicked open and he removed the potion he had stuck in it, turning to Simoon. Carefully shifting the Charmander onto her side, he flinched upon seeing the bloody gash on the back of her head.
"What the hell was she doing?" He wondered, taking a cloth from the box and wiping away the blood before spraying the potion on her wound.
"I'd say she was trying to leave by climbing over the fence." Roufas said, looking at the chair. "Hard to believe something made of plastic could do that much damage, though."
"It wasn't the chair." Jay said, noticing the red rock that had been underneath Simoon's head. "She just landed in the worst possible spot. Why would she want to leave in the first place? We're trying to find her home, after all. Does she just not want to go back?"
"I don't know." Roufas muttered, staring at the grass. "It's times like this I wish they would build a Pokemon Center in this town."
Jay's fingers twitched at the thought. "It's not..." He muttered, then shook his head. "I don't think it's bad enough to warrant that sort of place."
"I hope not."
"You and me both." He said, reaching down to pick up Simoon when a feeling made him stop. Jumping to his feet, he spun around, as if expecting to find someone standing there. Apart from the light coming from Simoon's tail lighting up where he was, the backyard was covered in shadow. The feeling that something was about to grab him had passed before he even fully stood up, but it left him trembling.
"Jay, what's wrong?" Roufas asked, looking around.
"I just thought... I don't know." He muttered, a twinge of pain in the back of his head. "Just imagining things, I guess."
"Afraid of the dark?"
"Of course not. That's just stupid." Jay said, watching over his shoulder as he bent down to pick up Simoon. "If I'm afraid of anything, it's what might be hiding in the dark."
"If your vision at night is as bad as you say, I can understand that." Roufas said, leading the way to the back door. "I haven't seen or heard anything."
"Neither have I... it was just a feeling. I'm probably just edgy after those nightmares and then this." He sighed, taking one last glance at the backyard before closing and locking the door. "Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning."
---
Simoon twitched, starting to wake up. Her head was aching, but that wasn't what had woken her up. It was the light flicking sensation tickling the bottom of her right foot. Slowly sitting up and rubbing her head, she caught sight of the cause. Roufas' ear. Quickly trying to move backwards, she accidentally kicked him and woke him up too.
Roufas glanced up at her, eyes half-open. "How's the head?"
"Sore... w-what happened?" She stuttered, bumping into the arm of the couch.
"You landed on a rock. Luckily, Gail saw you and woke me up to help. By biting my tail. She really needs to try being a bit more gentle." He said with a yawn, rolling off the couch and stretching. "Then I got Jay, who healed you up and brought you back inside."
"Gail told you? I thought..."
"She didn't like you?" Roufas guessed. "Actually, she made a point of telling me exactly that before she left. I'm still not sure why, though."
Right..." Simoon mumbled, turning and looking out the window. Now she was confused and it was already morning, which ruined her chances of escape.
"Why were you trying to leave, anyway?" Roufas asked, sitting down. "Do you not want to go back to that island?"
"Of course I do... I just..." Her muscles tensed, not sure what to expect for a reaction. "...I heard you and Jay last night. Planning to do something to me."
"Oh, you heard us?" Roufas muttered, looking away rather quickly. "Sorry if I sounded rude, but I'm used to speaking my mind with Jay."
"Rude? The human said he was going to 'take care of me' today! That's more threatening than anything!"
Roufas blinked at her. "Simoon, are you sure you've never seen a television before? Because it sounds like you watch too many gangster movies if you think that was a cue to 'whack' you."
Simoon stared at him. "Then... what were you...?"
"I guess you didn't hear what I said first." He sighed. "We were just discussing one of the details about you living here for a while. We've got most things covered, but one is... still in need of fixing. We're not planning to hurt you or anything like that. If that was the case, why would Jay be trying to find your home?"
"I... hadn't thought of it like that." She admitted. "Still, what were you talking-"
"Hey, you hungry?" Roufas interrupted, turning around in a hurry. "Let's go wake Jay up so we can get some breakfast."
"W-wait a second!" Simoon said, the Persian ignoring her. She sighed, hopping off the couch and following after him. Already irritated, confused and sore, she didn't want hungry on the list too.
"You know..." Roufas said as she entered Jay's bedroom. "...he was pretty worried when he went back to bed, maybe you should be the one to wake him up. That way he'll know you're okay right away."
"You want me to?" Simoon looked up at the bed. It wasn't that much taller than her, but getting to the top might be a problem anyway. Especially since trying to scale something was why her head was still aching.
"Here." Roufas crouched down next to the bed. "I'll give you a lift up. Just promise you won't start singing 'kitty-cat rodeo' like Hickory has before."
"Sure..." She mumbled, having no idea what he was talking about. Using the Persian as a stepping-stool, she hoisted herself onto the bed and promptly toppled onto her side when she tried to stand up. The top was hard to stay upright on since it was unusually soft and springy, almost like trying to walk in sand during an earthquake. "How exactly do I wake him up, anyway?"
"Same as you would with anyone else."
"I've only ever had to wake up my Brother before, and he was always grouchy about it."
Roufas shook his head. "The only time Jay wakes up in a bad mood is when Gail starts singing outside his window. If it's you, I'm pretty sure about how he'll react. Just tell him to wake up."
"Okay..." Simoon moved a little closer. "...Jay? Roufas wants you to wake up, so... um..."
Roufas sighed. "You might want to try speaking a little louder."
"Right..." Hesitating for a moment, she leaned forward and barely rose her voice from what it was before. "Wake up, Jay. It's morning."
"I'm starting to think you're really bad at this."
"It's different, waking up strangers compared to family." Simoon said, glancing at him. "My Brother usually fell asleep sitting up, so all I had to do was knock him over or poke him in the head a few times. How do you usually wake Jay up?"
"Depends on how hungry I am. Sitting on him, biting his feet, smacking him in the head, pulling his hair." Roufas smirked. "Licking his nose. He hates that almost as much as Gail's singing."
"I wouldn't be too fond of it myself." She commented, looking back at Jay for a moment before slowly approaching his face.
"You're not going to-"
"Of course not." She said quickly, reaching out and taking a clawful of Jay's brown hair, giving it a tug. "Jay, wake up already."
Jay groaned and Simoon released his hair, backing a few inches away. Opening his eyes slightly, he looked at her and they flew fully open. "Holy crap!" He cried, pushing himself backwards and falling off the bed.
"I knew that'd get you up in a hurry." Roufas laughed, walking around and grinning at him.
"Damn it, Roufas. I wonder why I put up with you sometimes." Jay grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head. "You feeling alright, Simoon?"
"Just a little sore..." She mumbled.
"That's good." He said, getting to his feet. "I'll go get your breakfast ready."
Simoon waited until after he left before moving to the edge of the bed and looking down at Roufas. "Why did he look at me like that when he woke up?"
"Like what?" Roufas asked.
"It was only for a second, but I could have sworn he looked terrified of me."
Roufas nodded. "I don't know if I'd go that far, but you do frighten him. Something happened when he was a kid, and he's been scared of Charmanders and the like ever since."
Simoon stared at him for a few moments, waiting for an explanation. "Well?" She pressed once it seemed like the Persian wasn't going to continue.
He just shrugged. "I honestly don't know. It was before my time, so you'd have to ask him. You'll probably get the same answer I do, though. He always says he can't remember."
"Oh..." Simoon glanced at the door, wondering what had happened.
"Well, let's go eat. That was the whole reason to wake him up in the first place."
"R-right..."
---
Once Jay was sure Roufas and Simoon had a decent breakfast in front of them, he hurried out the door without bothering to fix himself anything. After spending most of the night drifting between nightmares and worrying about Simoon, he had to keep moving to get his mind off things. Starting up the motorcycle, he headed for the hospital. Talking with Roufas or Magnus usually helped him sort out his thoughts, and he figured the latter was more in need of company.
When he arrived Magnus was sitting up in bed, a book in one hand and a pile of them on his bedside table. He stared at Jay for a moment before speaking. "Never thought I'd see you awake this early during summer vacation."
"I had a rough night." Jay said, closing the door and dropping onto the chair by the bed.
"Nightmares again?" Magnus asked, setting down his book.
"That, plus the cause of them nearly killing herself by landing head-first on a rock. It's like she's just trying to find a variety of ways to scare me." Jay sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Who are you talking about?" A curious voice inquired from the corner.
Jay felt his stomach tighten, looking at where the voice had come from. "Oh, hey. Didn't see you over there." He said, forcing a grin and wondering how bad this day was going to get. "You're here early, Lana."
"You're one to talk." She replied, closing the book she had been holding and setting it on the arm of her chair. "Who got hurt last night?"
"N-nobody you know. Just someone I met during my short trip to Viridian Forest." He said quickly. "She's fine now though, nothing to worry about."
"You met her during the trip?" Lana wondered.
Jay nodded.
"And you saw her again last night?"
"Uh... you see-"
"No use hiding it anymore, man." Magnus interrupted. "Lana, Jay told me about a hottie he met in the forest. Apparently she was just passing through, but they ended up spending some time together. He gave her a lift down here and I talked him into asking her out before she left town." He glanced at Jay. "I'm guessing it didn't go well, huh?"
After a moment of staring blankly at his friend, Jay shook his head. "That's putting it lightly."
Lana looked at them, clearly skeptical. "Jay on a date with someone he just met? Please. If that were true it'd be all over Pallet by now, there are only two good places to eat in town and both have rumor-mongers."
"That's why I also suggested he cook her something himself, to keep the gossip from starting and maybe even impress her in the process." Magnus added. "Jay might not have the makings of a master chef like Daniel, but he's not bad."
Lana shook her head. "I can't believe he'd take advice like that from you in the first place."
"Hey, I may not look it, but I can be quite romantic." Magnus grinned at her. "If you don't believe me, I could..."
"Whatever it is, I'll pass." She said, heading to the door. "Anyway, I have a few errands to run and I'd like them to be done before this evening. See you two later."
Magnus blinked as the door closed behind her. "That was surprisingly easy. She's gotta be up to something."
"Knowing Lana, she'll wait until I'm alone and then grill me. By now she knows trying to get a straight answer from me when you're around is next to impossible." Jay crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "How the hell did you come up with that so fast, anyway?"
"Just playing to my strengths. Making stuff on the spot and having it sound convincing is just something I'm good at." He shrugged.
Jay chuckled. "You've certainly had enough practice."
"Ha ha." Magnus looked back at his book. "What happened with that Pokemon?"
"I think she was trying to run away. Roufas woke me up and I found her unconscious in the backyard. It looked like she was trying to climb over the back fence."
"What is she, anyway?" He asked, turning the page. "You forgot to tell me last time."
"A Charmander."
Magnus' hand stopped halfway through turning another page. "Well... that explains why you're having nightmares again."
"Yeah. Just looking at her makes me twitchy. Especially like last night, when..." He trailed off, thinking about that feeling he had gotten.
"Jay? You alright?" Magnus wondered. "You're looking a little pale."
"Y-yeah. Just thinking." Jay said, tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair and trying to get his mind off it. "What's with all the books, anyway?"
"I asked Lana to bring them over for me because if I have to watch anymore news, talk shows, or reality TV, I'm going to lose my mind." He complained, gesturing to the television. "I watched 'Nine Lives to Live' the other day for crying out loud. They need to get cable or something."
"Isn't that the soap opera that uses Pokemon actors with voice-overs? Supposed to be based around a Meowth, if I remember right."
"A couple of them, a Skitty... it's mostly a feline cast. There's even a Purugly that's like a mob boss or something." Magnus explained.
"It sounds absurd." Jay said with a laugh.
"You've got that right. Anyway..." Magnus began flipping through his book again. "...I figured I could use some of my time to start on your request for help. These are mostly geography books, giving info on different regions and islands. I thought I might be able to find something useful in one of them."
"Oh... I'll leave you to it, then. I have a few errands of my own to run." Jay said, standing up.
"Like what?"
The six scratches down Magnus' sidecar entered Jay's mind. "Supplies for Simoon, a new lock for my door so Mom can't barge in, a mechanic, breakfast... nothing special." He said, hurrying out of the room.
"Right. Good luck with tha... wait a second. Mechanic?"
Jay practically sprinted down the hall as Magnus' cry of "What the hell did you do to my bike?!" came from behind him. Explaining could be done later, after the bike was fixed but before Magnus had his cast removed.
---
Simoon paced in the backyard, still unsure about staying. Looking at the scratch marks left in the fence where she had fallen, she decided that making another climb would be too dangerous. Especially in the daylight. Maybe sticking around for a little while wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Her Uncle did tell her there were just as many good humans as bad ones out in the world, even though she'd mainly seen the worse side so far.
What Roufas had mentioned and what she had overheard continued to nag at the back of her mind. They weren't talking like it was anything simple, and Jay didn't sound too thrilled at the time about solving whatever the problem was. She'd tried to get Roufas to explain it a few more times after Jay had left, but couldn't get anything out of him. He did let it slip that she probably wouldn't like it either at first, which just caused more anxiety.
"Still hanging around?" A familiar voice asked.
Simoon looked up and saw Gail perching on the fence. "I don't have much of a choice right now..."
The Pidgey ruffled her feathers a bit. "Fine, but you'd better not stay long."
"Why do you seem to hate me?" Simoon wondered, hoping to clear up at least one of the things confusing her. "I'm sure we've never met before."
"Because of what you're doing. Just leave as quickly as you can, before you end up causing too much damage." Gail glanced at something on the other side of the fence. "That's all we have time for." She said, turning and preparing to leave.
"Wait a second! If I'm causing problems, why did you tell Roufas I was hurt?"
Gail hesitated for a moment. "If that blow to the head had killed you, things would have ended up worse than I'm expecting. Besides, I just want you gone, not dead." She said, before flying off.
Simoon rubbed her head, still clueless about what the Pidgey's problem was. She didn't think she was causing damage, the only painful thing that came to mind was the rock she'd landed on. A familiar rumbling sound came from the distance, getting closer and distracting her. It came to a stop nearby and Simoon headed back inside, hoping that unlike Roufas and Gail, Jay might be able to give her a proper answer or two.
Pushing up the swinging door back inside, she heard the front door open and Jay's voice come from the living room. "Well, I got the stuff. I don't suppose you told her?"
"I thought a surprise might be more fun." Roufas replied.
"Great." Jay sighed. "I just hope she doesn't set me on fire. Where is she?"
"Right here." Simoon said, walking into the room. "Look, can we just hurry and get whatever you're planning over with? I wanted to ask you a couple things..."
Jay glanced at the thing on the wall that made a constant clicking noise she was still trying to get used to. "Well, how about you guys eat lunch first? I wanted to get the new lock taken care of first."
"Sounds good to me." Roufas said, hopping off the couch. "You get Mag's bike fixed up?"
"Yeah, Roger took care of those scratches right away. Nothing to worry about."
Giving a small, irritated sigh, Simoon wandered back into the kitchen. With any luck, her building headache would be gone before it was time for whatever Jay had planned.
Two hours later the pain, along with her patience, were coming to an end. Jay had been doing something to the front door since they finished lunch, though she wasn't sure what. The door had been open for most of that time and she probably could have made it out easily, but decided against it. Curiosity had gotten the better of her... not to mention there was a good chance she could run into even worse problems outside.
Finally, Jay stood up and gave the door a kick shut. "That's why handyman is not on my list of career choices." He commented, tossing something aside.
Roufas grinned at him. "At least you don't have a gaping hole in the wall like when you tried to install the Pokemon door for me."
"Don't remind me." Jay sighed. "I'm just glad Sam was able fix that."
"Yes, but now don't you have another matter to take care of?" Roufas asked. flicking his tail in Simoon's direction.
"I know, I know." Taking the only full bag left sitting on the table, he headed down the hallway. "Simoon, would you mind joining me? There are a couple things we should talk about."
The Charmander had hurried after him before he even finished his question. Following him into a room she hadn't been in before, she tried to remember what Roufas had said about it during the little tour. Something about it not being very important. However, the door closing behind her and trapping her inside with Jay made her think that knowing just what the place was used for was far from unimportant.
"About how long has it been since you left your home?" He asked, walking over to a piece of cloth on the floor and sitting down.
Simoon thought for a moment. "I don't know... a month, maybe more."
"And since you got off that ship, you spent most of your time trying to find a way back, right?"
She nodded. "That, plus trying to find food, safe places to rest and running from crazy humans and Pokemon. Why?"
"It's just... there's an..." Jay rapped his fingers on the floor, obviously straining to find the right words. "...it's about you staying here for a while. There are some details that have to be sorted out. We've got food and bedding covered, I've taken care of security from nosy people with the new lock, so that just leaves why we're in here."
"Which is?" Simoon asked, keeping an eye on the bag still in his hand.
"Hygeine." He took a bottle from the bag and set in on the floor between them. "I found this at the shop. It's supposed to be like shampoo, but for scales instead of hair."
Simoon blinked, wondering what exactly "shampoo" was, but also remembering she hadn't had the chance to properly clean herself off in ages. "So you mean I..."
"Smell like the underside of a Grimer." Roufas said from outside the room.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Rou."
"Anytime."
"Sorry about him." Jay sighed. "Being tactful isn't his strong point."
Looking down, Simoon did notice her scales were lacking the sheen they used to have. Not to mention the unpleasant aroma she had noticed a week ago. The first time she noticed it was back when she was in the forest and figured it was just part of the environment. After that she just got used to it. Of course, knowing where it was really coming made the choice easy. "Okay. Use it."
"If you're sure." Jay leaned over, twisting a large knob on the wall beside him. Water suddenly gushed out of the metal object beneath it, falling behind the short, white wall he had been leaning against.
Simoon watched him cautiously. "You need water for it?"
"Of course." He put his hand under the stream. "What else would you use to get clean?"
"The magma pools worked well enough back home."
For a moment, Jay looked at her as if she was crazy, then shook his head. "If you can handle that, I guess I don't need to worry about the water being too hot."
"No..." Simoon approached where the water was going into. The top of the wall was about eye-level with her. Before she could ask how she was supposed to get to the other side, Jay grabbed her just under the arms and lifted her over. Fighting back her reflex to scratch him for picking her up without any sort of warning, she decided it would be better to just grit her teeth and get it over with quickly.
Jay started to reach for where the water was coming out, but hesitated just before he touched it. "Simoon, about your tail flame... will anything bad happen if it gets wet?"
She looked at him, puzzled. "Like what?"
"Well, I heard somewhere that if it's doused it can... have bad side effects. To put it lightly." He explained.
"I've never heard of anything like that. It can be used to measure how healthy we are, among other things, but that's about it." She started to submerge her tail and Jay went to grab it, stopping as the burning tip went under. "See? Nothing happens."
He gave a sigh of relief as the fire reignited once she lifted the tip of her tail back out of the water. "Don't scare me like that."
Letting her tail drop again, Simoon stared at him. She didn't know what he was expecting to happen, but he did seem genuinely concerned. Beginning to think her Uncle was right about there being some good humans, she flinched as it suddenly started raining on her.
Jay noticed her reaction. "Ah, s-sorry. I should have said something before I turned on the shower... I'm just not thinking very clearly right now."
"What's wrong?" She asked, already having a good idea of the answer. His trembling hands made it fairly obvious.
Jay glanced over his shoulder. "Just... a strange feeling."
Waiting until he had done something to stop the rain, Simoon gave the water a half-hearted swipe. "You're afraid of me."
"No... yes... sort of." Tapping his fingers on it for a second, Jay popped open the bottle. "It's hard to explain. Just close your eyes, alright? You don't want this stuff getting in them."
Turning to face the floor and expecting whatever was in the bottle to be dumped over her, she tensed upon feeling Jay's hands beginning to rub her head and back. "W-what are you doing?" She stuttered, ready once again to take a swing at him.
"Following the instructions. I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, so I'll try to make it fast." He said, focusing his fingers on a small part of her head for a moment. "It is working, I can already see a difference here."
Simoon closed her eyes, trying to ignore how uneasy she was feeling about being in such close contact with a human. After all she'd been through after leaving home, she just couldn't help thinking about the number of ways he could attack and what little resistance she could offer in the situation. The water was shallow, but deep enough to cover her face,,, his hands were only a few inches from wrapping around her throat... she had her back to him, so setting him on fire wasn't an option and there was no telling what else he had in that bag he could reach for...
She gulped, wishing her imagination would get under control. Thinking of something to keep her mind elsewhere, she remembered there was a reason she was putting up with this. To ask a few questions and, hopefully, get some answers this time. "Why are you afraid of me? Roufas said something happened, but he didn't say much else."
Jay's hands went still for a second. "I don't know. I was six when it happened, so I only remember pieces. It was storming, there was a lot of mud... a really pissed off Charizard... and a Charmeleon that went to bite me in the throat..." His hands stopped again. When he spoke, it seemed more like he was talking to himself. "I don't understand that part. I mean, if that's what happened, I should have been killed, or at least have a scar."
Simoon opened one eye a little, looking back at him. He had a soapy hand to his neck and a distant, confused expression on his face. "That's all you remember?" She asked, snapping him back to reality.
"Yeah." He mumbled, going back to work.
"Why me, then? You didn't mention a Charmander."
"It's not really you, it's just... sometimes when I look at you, I get scared. Not of you, but of... something else." Jay rested his forehead on top of the short divider and sighed. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Simoon shook her head. "Not at all."
He looked up, giving her a weak smile. "Don't think too much about it. After all, what's important is getting you back home, right?"
"Right..." She nodded, turning away and closing her eye again. "...but you don't know how long that will take, do you?"
"I'm hoping a week at the most. I don't have any classes this summer, so I can focus on the research."
"That's not too long." She mulled over an idea for a few seconds. Jay didn't seem like the other humans she'd run into after all, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Why don't we use that time to help each other a little? I mean, if we make each other nervous... maybe..."
"Getting to know each other would put some fears to rest. Exactly." Roufas interjected from outside the room. "Nice to see one of you picked up on my hints."
"Is eavesdropping your new hobby?" Jay asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Only when there's nothing good on television."
"Oh... go eat a shoe."
Simoon grinned. The relationship Jay seemed to have with Roufas was enough to convince her trying to get along with him was worth a shot. "He might be right. What do you say?"
"Alright... it couldn't hurt. Let's start by working together. Give me your hand." There was a popping sound and Simoon glanced over her shoulder at Jay. He was holding up the bottle of shampoo. "I'll just take care of what you can't reach."
"I'm surprised you didn't think of that sooner." Roufas said.
Jay turned to the door. "I've only ever given you a bath before now, and you're never any help. If you're so interested in overcoming fears, maybe I should start helping you get over your fear of water."
"I think I'll go see what's on TV."
"So much for the commentary." Jay said, his eyes stopping on the bag for a second. There was something small in it, but Simoon couldn't tell what. "There is one more thing I didn't mention about you staying here. It's more of a... favor, than anything."
Starting to get nervous again, she shifted her position enough so setting him on fire was an option. "What sort of favor...?"
"I said wake the hell up!"
Jay opened his eyes, breathing heavily from the nightmare. Not to mention the pressure on his back that was easy to identify. "What... what time is it?" He mumbled, trying to steady his breathing. A difficult task with his roommate sitting on him.
Roufas smacked him in the head again. "Two, but that's not important! Get up, now!" He said, a rare trace of panic in his voice.
Just the tone was enough to wake Jay up in a hurry. Roufas jumped off the moment he started to try and get up. "What's wrong?"
"It's Simoon, just move!" He said, grabbing something off the floor and running out of the room.
Rolling out of bed, he hurried after the Persian, tripping over his blanket and almost smacking into the door-frame because of the darkness. Sliding his fingers along the wall as he went down the hallway, he heard Roufas bump into one of the kitchen chairs. By the time Jay got that far, the Pokemon door he had put in was swinging to a stop. Opening the back door, he caught sight of Simoon's burning tail right away. She was on the ground by the fence, a fallen plastic chair nearby.
Roufas dropped something by her and looked at Jay. "Would you open this damn thing and use it?"
Jay hurried over, dropping onto the ground and grabbing what Roufas had brought out. It was the first aid kit he had taken with him on his camping trip. It clicked open and he removed the potion he had stuck in it, turning to Simoon. Carefully shifting the Charmander onto her side, he flinched upon seeing the bloody gash on the back of her head.
"What the hell was she doing?" He wondered, taking a cloth from the box and wiping away the blood before spraying the potion on her wound.
"I'd say she was trying to leave by climbing over the fence." Roufas said, looking at the chair. "Hard to believe something made of plastic could do that much damage, though."
"It wasn't the chair." Jay said, noticing the red rock that had been underneath Simoon's head. "She just landed in the worst possible spot. Why would she want to leave in the first place? We're trying to find her home, after all. Does she just not want to go back?"
"I don't know." Roufas muttered, staring at the grass. "It's times like this I wish they would build a Pokemon Center in this town."
Jay's fingers twitched at the thought. "It's not..." He muttered, then shook his head. "I don't think it's bad enough to warrant that sort of place."
"I hope not."
"You and me both." He said, reaching down to pick up Simoon when a feeling made him stop. Jumping to his feet, he spun around, as if expecting to find someone standing there. Apart from the light coming from Simoon's tail lighting up where he was, the backyard was covered in shadow. The feeling that something was about to grab him had passed before he even fully stood up, but it left him trembling.
"Jay, what's wrong?" Roufas asked, looking around.
"I just thought... I don't know." He muttered, a twinge of pain in the back of his head. "Just imagining things, I guess."
"Afraid of the dark?"
"Of course not. That's just stupid." Jay said, watching over his shoulder as he bent down to pick up Simoon. "If I'm afraid of anything, it's what might be hiding in the dark."
"If your vision at night is as bad as you say, I can understand that." Roufas said, leading the way to the back door. "I haven't seen or heard anything."
"Neither have I... it was just a feeling. I'm probably just edgy after those nightmares and then this." He sighed, taking one last glance at the backyard before closing and locking the door. "Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning."
---
Simoon twitched, starting to wake up. Her head was aching, but that wasn't what had woken her up. It was the light flicking sensation tickling the bottom of her right foot. Slowly sitting up and rubbing her head, she caught sight of the cause. Roufas' ear. Quickly trying to move backwards, she accidentally kicked him and woke him up too.
Roufas glanced up at her, eyes half-open. "How's the head?"
"Sore... w-what happened?" She stuttered, bumping into the arm of the couch.
"You landed on a rock. Luckily, Gail saw you and woke me up to help. By biting my tail. She really needs to try being a bit more gentle." He said with a yawn, rolling off the couch and stretching. "Then I got Jay, who healed you up and brought you back inside."
"Gail told you? I thought..."
"She didn't like you?" Roufas guessed. "Actually, she made a point of telling me exactly that before she left. I'm still not sure why, though."
Right..." Simoon mumbled, turning and looking out the window. Now she was confused and it was already morning, which ruined her chances of escape.
"Why were you trying to leave, anyway?" Roufas asked, sitting down. "Do you not want to go back to that island?"
"Of course I do... I just..." Her muscles tensed, not sure what to expect for a reaction. "...I heard you and Jay last night. Planning to do something to me."
"Oh, you heard us?" Roufas muttered, looking away rather quickly. "Sorry if I sounded rude, but I'm used to speaking my mind with Jay."
"Rude? The human said he was going to 'take care of me' today! That's more threatening than anything!"
Roufas blinked at her. "Simoon, are you sure you've never seen a television before? Because it sounds like you watch too many gangster movies if you think that was a cue to 'whack' you."
Simoon stared at him. "Then... what were you...?"
"I guess you didn't hear what I said first." He sighed. "We were just discussing one of the details about you living here for a while. We've got most things covered, but one is... still in need of fixing. We're not planning to hurt you or anything like that. If that was the case, why would Jay be trying to find your home?"
"I... hadn't thought of it like that." She admitted. "Still, what were you talking-"
"Hey, you hungry?" Roufas interrupted, turning around in a hurry. "Let's go wake Jay up so we can get some breakfast."
"W-wait a second!" Simoon said, the Persian ignoring her. She sighed, hopping off the couch and following after him. Already irritated, confused and sore, she didn't want hungry on the list too.
"You know..." Roufas said as she entered Jay's bedroom. "...he was pretty worried when he went back to bed, maybe you should be the one to wake him up. That way he'll know you're okay right away."
"You want me to?" Simoon looked up at the bed. It wasn't that much taller than her, but getting to the top might be a problem anyway. Especially since trying to scale something was why her head was still aching.
"Here." Roufas crouched down next to the bed. "I'll give you a lift up. Just promise you won't start singing 'kitty-cat rodeo' like Hickory has before."
"Sure..." She mumbled, having no idea what he was talking about. Using the Persian as a stepping-stool, she hoisted herself onto the bed and promptly toppled onto her side when she tried to stand up. The top was hard to stay upright on since it was unusually soft and springy, almost like trying to walk in sand during an earthquake. "How exactly do I wake him up, anyway?"
"Same as you would with anyone else."
"I've only ever had to wake up my Brother before, and he was always grouchy about it."
Roufas shook his head. "The only time Jay wakes up in a bad mood is when Gail starts singing outside his window. If it's you, I'm pretty sure about how he'll react. Just tell him to wake up."
"Okay..." Simoon moved a little closer. "...Jay? Roufas wants you to wake up, so... um..."
Roufas sighed. "You might want to try speaking a little louder."
"Right..." Hesitating for a moment, she leaned forward and barely rose her voice from what it was before. "Wake up, Jay. It's morning."
"I'm starting to think you're really bad at this."
"It's different, waking up strangers compared to family." Simoon said, glancing at him. "My Brother usually fell asleep sitting up, so all I had to do was knock him over or poke him in the head a few times. How do you usually wake Jay up?"
"Depends on how hungry I am. Sitting on him, biting his feet, smacking him in the head, pulling his hair." Roufas smirked. "Licking his nose. He hates that almost as much as Gail's singing."
"I wouldn't be too fond of it myself." She commented, looking back at Jay for a moment before slowly approaching his face.
"You're not going to-"
"Of course not." She said quickly, reaching out and taking a clawful of Jay's brown hair, giving it a tug. "Jay, wake up already."
Jay groaned and Simoon released his hair, backing a few inches away. Opening his eyes slightly, he looked at her and they flew fully open. "Holy crap!" He cried, pushing himself backwards and falling off the bed.
"I knew that'd get you up in a hurry." Roufas laughed, walking around and grinning at him.
"Damn it, Roufas. I wonder why I put up with you sometimes." Jay grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head. "You feeling alright, Simoon?"
"Just a little sore..." She mumbled.
"That's good." He said, getting to his feet. "I'll go get your breakfast ready."
Simoon waited until after he left before moving to the edge of the bed and looking down at Roufas. "Why did he look at me like that when he woke up?"
"Like what?" Roufas asked.
"It was only for a second, but I could have sworn he looked terrified of me."
Roufas nodded. "I don't know if I'd go that far, but you do frighten him. Something happened when he was a kid, and he's been scared of Charmanders and the like ever since."
Simoon stared at him for a few moments, waiting for an explanation. "Well?" She pressed once it seemed like the Persian wasn't going to continue.
He just shrugged. "I honestly don't know. It was before my time, so you'd have to ask him. You'll probably get the same answer I do, though. He always says he can't remember."
"Oh..." Simoon glanced at the door, wondering what had happened.
"Well, let's go eat. That was the whole reason to wake him up in the first place."
"R-right..."
---
Once Jay was sure Roufas and Simoon had a decent breakfast in front of them, he hurried out the door without bothering to fix himself anything. After spending most of the night drifting between nightmares and worrying about Simoon, he had to keep moving to get his mind off things. Starting up the motorcycle, he headed for the hospital. Talking with Roufas or Magnus usually helped him sort out his thoughts, and he figured the latter was more in need of company.
When he arrived Magnus was sitting up in bed, a book in one hand and a pile of them on his bedside table. He stared at Jay for a moment before speaking. "Never thought I'd see you awake this early during summer vacation."
"I had a rough night." Jay said, closing the door and dropping onto the chair by the bed.
"Nightmares again?" Magnus asked, setting down his book.
"That, plus the cause of them nearly killing herself by landing head-first on a rock. It's like she's just trying to find a variety of ways to scare me." Jay sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Who are you talking about?" A curious voice inquired from the corner.
Jay felt his stomach tighten, looking at where the voice had come from. "Oh, hey. Didn't see you over there." He said, forcing a grin and wondering how bad this day was going to get. "You're here early, Lana."
"You're one to talk." She replied, closing the book she had been holding and setting it on the arm of her chair. "Who got hurt last night?"
"N-nobody you know. Just someone I met during my short trip to Viridian Forest." He said quickly. "She's fine now though, nothing to worry about."
"You met her during the trip?" Lana wondered.
Jay nodded.
"And you saw her again last night?"
"Uh... you see-"
"No use hiding it anymore, man." Magnus interrupted. "Lana, Jay told me about a hottie he met in the forest. Apparently she was just passing through, but they ended up spending some time together. He gave her a lift down here and I talked him into asking her out before she left town." He glanced at Jay. "I'm guessing it didn't go well, huh?"
After a moment of staring blankly at his friend, Jay shook his head. "That's putting it lightly."
Lana looked at them, clearly skeptical. "Jay on a date with someone he just met? Please. If that were true it'd be all over Pallet by now, there are only two good places to eat in town and both have rumor-mongers."
"That's why I also suggested he cook her something himself, to keep the gossip from starting and maybe even impress her in the process." Magnus added. "Jay might not have the makings of a master chef like Daniel, but he's not bad."
Lana shook her head. "I can't believe he'd take advice like that from you in the first place."
"Hey, I may not look it, but I can be quite romantic." Magnus grinned at her. "If you don't believe me, I could..."
"Whatever it is, I'll pass." She said, heading to the door. "Anyway, I have a few errands to run and I'd like them to be done before this evening. See you two later."
Magnus blinked as the door closed behind her. "That was surprisingly easy. She's gotta be up to something."
"Knowing Lana, she'll wait until I'm alone and then grill me. By now she knows trying to get a straight answer from me when you're around is next to impossible." Jay crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "How the hell did you come up with that so fast, anyway?"
"Just playing to my strengths. Making stuff on the spot and having it sound convincing is just something I'm good at." He shrugged.
Jay chuckled. "You've certainly had enough practice."
"Ha ha." Magnus looked back at his book. "What happened with that Pokemon?"
"I think she was trying to run away. Roufas woke me up and I found her unconscious in the backyard. It looked like she was trying to climb over the back fence."
"What is she, anyway?" He asked, turning the page. "You forgot to tell me last time."
"A Charmander."
Magnus' hand stopped halfway through turning another page. "Well... that explains why you're having nightmares again."
"Yeah. Just looking at her makes me twitchy. Especially like last night, when..." He trailed off, thinking about that feeling he had gotten.
"Jay? You alright?" Magnus wondered. "You're looking a little pale."
"Y-yeah. Just thinking." Jay said, tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair and trying to get his mind off it. "What's with all the books, anyway?"
"I asked Lana to bring them over for me because if I have to watch anymore news, talk shows, or reality TV, I'm going to lose my mind." He complained, gesturing to the television. "I watched 'Nine Lives to Live' the other day for crying out loud. They need to get cable or something."
"Isn't that the soap opera that uses Pokemon actors with voice-overs? Supposed to be based around a Meowth, if I remember right."
"A couple of them, a Skitty... it's mostly a feline cast. There's even a Purugly that's like a mob boss or something." Magnus explained.
"It sounds absurd." Jay said with a laugh.
"You've got that right. Anyway..." Magnus began flipping through his book again. "...I figured I could use some of my time to start on your request for help. These are mostly geography books, giving info on different regions and islands. I thought I might be able to find something useful in one of them."
"Oh... I'll leave you to it, then. I have a few errands of my own to run." Jay said, standing up.
"Like what?"
The six scratches down Magnus' sidecar entered Jay's mind. "Supplies for Simoon, a new lock for my door so Mom can't barge in, a mechanic, breakfast... nothing special." He said, hurrying out of the room.
"Right. Good luck with tha... wait a second. Mechanic?"
Jay practically sprinted down the hall as Magnus' cry of "What the hell did you do to my bike?!" came from behind him. Explaining could be done later, after the bike was fixed but before Magnus had his cast removed.
---
Simoon paced in the backyard, still unsure about staying. Looking at the scratch marks left in the fence where she had fallen, she decided that making another climb would be too dangerous. Especially in the daylight. Maybe sticking around for a little while wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Her Uncle did tell her there were just as many good humans as bad ones out in the world, even though she'd mainly seen the worse side so far.
What Roufas had mentioned and what she had overheard continued to nag at the back of her mind. They weren't talking like it was anything simple, and Jay didn't sound too thrilled at the time about solving whatever the problem was. She'd tried to get Roufas to explain it a few more times after Jay had left, but couldn't get anything out of him. He did let it slip that she probably wouldn't like it either at first, which just caused more anxiety.
"Still hanging around?" A familiar voice asked.
Simoon looked up and saw Gail perching on the fence. "I don't have much of a choice right now..."
The Pidgey ruffled her feathers a bit. "Fine, but you'd better not stay long."
"Why do you seem to hate me?" Simoon wondered, hoping to clear up at least one of the things confusing her. "I'm sure we've never met before."
"Because of what you're doing. Just leave as quickly as you can, before you end up causing too much damage." Gail glanced at something on the other side of the fence. "That's all we have time for." She said, turning and preparing to leave.
"Wait a second! If I'm causing problems, why did you tell Roufas I was hurt?"
Gail hesitated for a moment. "If that blow to the head had killed you, things would have ended up worse than I'm expecting. Besides, I just want you gone, not dead." She said, before flying off.
Simoon rubbed her head, still clueless about what the Pidgey's problem was. She didn't think she was causing damage, the only painful thing that came to mind was the rock she'd landed on. A familiar rumbling sound came from the distance, getting closer and distracting her. It came to a stop nearby and Simoon headed back inside, hoping that unlike Roufas and Gail, Jay might be able to give her a proper answer or two.
Pushing up the swinging door back inside, she heard the front door open and Jay's voice come from the living room. "Well, I got the stuff. I don't suppose you told her?"
"I thought a surprise might be more fun." Roufas replied.
"Great." Jay sighed. "I just hope she doesn't set me on fire. Where is she?"
"Right here." Simoon said, walking into the room. "Look, can we just hurry and get whatever you're planning over with? I wanted to ask you a couple things..."
Jay glanced at the thing on the wall that made a constant clicking noise she was still trying to get used to. "Well, how about you guys eat lunch first? I wanted to get the new lock taken care of first."
"Sounds good to me." Roufas said, hopping off the couch. "You get Mag's bike fixed up?"
"Yeah, Roger took care of those scratches right away. Nothing to worry about."
Giving a small, irritated sigh, Simoon wandered back into the kitchen. With any luck, her building headache would be gone before it was time for whatever Jay had planned.
Two hours later the pain, along with her patience, were coming to an end. Jay had been doing something to the front door since they finished lunch, though she wasn't sure what. The door had been open for most of that time and she probably could have made it out easily, but decided against it. Curiosity had gotten the better of her... not to mention there was a good chance she could run into even worse problems outside.
Finally, Jay stood up and gave the door a kick shut. "That's why handyman is not on my list of career choices." He commented, tossing something aside.
Roufas grinned at him. "At least you don't have a gaping hole in the wall like when you tried to install the Pokemon door for me."
"Don't remind me." Jay sighed. "I'm just glad Sam was able fix that."
"Yes, but now don't you have another matter to take care of?" Roufas asked. flicking his tail in Simoon's direction.
"I know, I know." Taking the only full bag left sitting on the table, he headed down the hallway. "Simoon, would you mind joining me? There are a couple things we should talk about."
The Charmander had hurried after him before he even finished his question. Following him into a room she hadn't been in before, she tried to remember what Roufas had said about it during the little tour. Something about it not being very important. However, the door closing behind her and trapping her inside with Jay made her think that knowing just what the place was used for was far from unimportant.
"About how long has it been since you left your home?" He asked, walking over to a piece of cloth on the floor and sitting down.
Simoon thought for a moment. "I don't know... a month, maybe more."
"And since you got off that ship, you spent most of your time trying to find a way back, right?"
She nodded. "That, plus trying to find food, safe places to rest and running from crazy humans and Pokemon. Why?"
"It's just... there's an..." Jay rapped his fingers on the floor, obviously straining to find the right words. "...it's about you staying here for a while. There are some details that have to be sorted out. We've got food and bedding covered, I've taken care of security from nosy people with the new lock, so that just leaves why we're in here."
"Which is?" Simoon asked, keeping an eye on the bag still in his hand.
"Hygeine." He took a bottle from the bag and set in on the floor between them. "I found this at the shop. It's supposed to be like shampoo, but for scales instead of hair."
Simoon blinked, wondering what exactly "shampoo" was, but also remembering she hadn't had the chance to properly clean herself off in ages. "So you mean I..."
"Smell like the underside of a Grimer." Roufas said from outside the room.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Rou."
"Anytime."
"Sorry about him." Jay sighed. "Being tactful isn't his strong point."
Looking down, Simoon did notice her scales were lacking the sheen they used to have. Not to mention the unpleasant aroma she had noticed a week ago. The first time she noticed it was back when she was in the forest and figured it was just part of the environment. After that she just got used to it. Of course, knowing where it was really coming made the choice easy. "Okay. Use it."
"If you're sure." Jay leaned over, twisting a large knob on the wall beside him. Water suddenly gushed out of the metal object beneath it, falling behind the short, white wall he had been leaning against.
Simoon watched him cautiously. "You need water for it?"
"Of course." He put his hand under the stream. "What else would you use to get clean?"
"The magma pools worked well enough back home."
For a moment, Jay looked at her as if she was crazy, then shook his head. "If you can handle that, I guess I don't need to worry about the water being too hot."
"No..." Simoon approached where the water was going into. The top of the wall was about eye-level with her. Before she could ask how she was supposed to get to the other side, Jay grabbed her just under the arms and lifted her over. Fighting back her reflex to scratch him for picking her up without any sort of warning, she decided it would be better to just grit her teeth and get it over with quickly.
Jay started to reach for where the water was coming out, but hesitated just before he touched it. "Simoon, about your tail flame... will anything bad happen if it gets wet?"
She looked at him, puzzled. "Like what?"
"Well, I heard somewhere that if it's doused it can... have bad side effects. To put it lightly." He explained.
"I've never heard of anything like that. It can be used to measure how healthy we are, among other things, but that's about it." She started to submerge her tail and Jay went to grab it, stopping as the burning tip went under. "See? Nothing happens."
He gave a sigh of relief as the fire reignited once she lifted the tip of her tail back out of the water. "Don't scare me like that."
Letting her tail drop again, Simoon stared at him. She didn't know what he was expecting to happen, but he did seem genuinely concerned. Beginning to think her Uncle was right about there being some good humans, she flinched as it suddenly started raining on her.
Jay noticed her reaction. "Ah, s-sorry. I should have said something before I turned on the shower... I'm just not thinking very clearly right now."
"What's wrong?" She asked, already having a good idea of the answer. His trembling hands made it fairly obvious.
Jay glanced over his shoulder. "Just... a strange feeling."
Waiting until he had done something to stop the rain, Simoon gave the water a half-hearted swipe. "You're afraid of me."
"No... yes... sort of." Tapping his fingers on it for a second, Jay popped open the bottle. "It's hard to explain. Just close your eyes, alright? You don't want this stuff getting in them."
Turning to face the floor and expecting whatever was in the bottle to be dumped over her, she tensed upon feeling Jay's hands beginning to rub her head and back. "W-what are you doing?" She stuttered, ready once again to take a swing at him.
"Following the instructions. I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, so I'll try to make it fast." He said, focusing his fingers on a small part of her head for a moment. "It is working, I can already see a difference here."
Simoon closed her eyes, trying to ignore how uneasy she was feeling about being in such close contact with a human. After all she'd been through after leaving home, she just couldn't help thinking about the number of ways he could attack and what little resistance she could offer in the situation. The water was shallow, but deep enough to cover her face,,, his hands were only a few inches from wrapping around her throat... she had her back to him, so setting him on fire wasn't an option and there was no telling what else he had in that bag he could reach for...
She gulped, wishing her imagination would get under control. Thinking of something to keep her mind elsewhere, she remembered there was a reason she was putting up with this. To ask a few questions and, hopefully, get some answers this time. "Why are you afraid of me? Roufas said something happened, but he didn't say much else."
Jay's hands went still for a second. "I don't know. I was six when it happened, so I only remember pieces. It was storming, there was a lot of mud... a really pissed off Charizard... and a Charmeleon that went to bite me in the throat..." His hands stopped again. When he spoke, it seemed more like he was talking to himself. "I don't understand that part. I mean, if that's what happened, I should have been killed, or at least have a scar."
Simoon opened one eye a little, looking back at him. He had a soapy hand to his neck and a distant, confused expression on his face. "That's all you remember?" She asked, snapping him back to reality.
"Yeah." He mumbled, going back to work.
"Why me, then? You didn't mention a Charmander."
"It's not really you, it's just... sometimes when I look at you, I get scared. Not of you, but of... something else." Jay rested his forehead on top of the short divider and sighed. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Simoon shook her head. "Not at all."
He looked up, giving her a weak smile. "Don't think too much about it. After all, what's important is getting you back home, right?"
"Right..." She nodded, turning away and closing her eye again. "...but you don't know how long that will take, do you?"
"I'm hoping a week at the most. I don't have any classes this summer, so I can focus on the research."
"That's not too long." She mulled over an idea for a few seconds. Jay didn't seem like the other humans she'd run into after all, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Why don't we use that time to help each other a little? I mean, if we make each other nervous... maybe..."
"Getting to know each other would put some fears to rest. Exactly." Roufas interjected from outside the room. "Nice to see one of you picked up on my hints."
"Is eavesdropping your new hobby?" Jay asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Only when there's nothing good on television."
"Oh... go eat a shoe."
Simoon grinned. The relationship Jay seemed to have with Roufas was enough to convince her trying to get along with him was worth a shot. "He might be right. What do you say?"
"Alright... it couldn't hurt. Let's start by working together. Give me your hand." There was a popping sound and Simoon glanced over her shoulder at Jay. He was holding up the bottle of shampoo. "I'll just take care of what you can't reach."
"I'm surprised you didn't think of that sooner." Roufas said.
Jay turned to the door. "I've only ever given you a bath before now, and you're never any help. If you're so interested in overcoming fears, maybe I should start helping you get over your fear of water."
"I think I'll go see what's on TV."
"So much for the commentary." Jay said, his eyes stopping on the bag for a second. There was something small in it, but Simoon couldn't tell what. "There is one more thing I didn't mention about you staying here. It's more of a... favor, than anything."
Starting to get nervous again, she shifted her position enough so setting him on fire was an option. "What sort of favor...?"