Chapter 2
"What...What is that...?" The huge creature awoke from her slumber, the soft sound of music filling the air. To her, however, the music had no tune; it was surreal, a magical feel to it. She painfully pried open her eyes - they felt heavy, as if they hadn't been used for an eternity - finding herself still completely in darkness. She felt lost - this wasn't her world, she had no idea where she was.
"This is...a cave?" She scrambled frantically through the darkness, forgetting for a moment about the music that had awoken her. As she felt around hurriedly, she missed a step, stumbled and fell heavily on her side, grazing herself sharply on the jagged edges of rocks, shrouded in the impenetrable darkness. She struggled to get up, each movement she made sent bolts of pain shooting through her body.
"That...that sound again..." The hauntingly soft music penetrated the darkness once again where no light could, lulling her slowly into a trance as she listened, her pain gently fading away.
Absentmindedly she followed the sound, the echoes around her not disorienting her, but only amplifying what she heard, leading her ever closer to its source. Eventually, she saw a light - though it seemed small at first. The light grew, rays of brightness shone upon the walls as she approached it, the shroud of shadows around her lifting with each second she moved closer to the light.
"Ah..." she paused, her nose nearly touching the radiance. Shadows surrounded her still, wisps of darkness at her tail. Hesitating, she might have drawn back into the void, had the music not done what it had:
It stopped.
The sudden lack of sound startled her, jolting her from her trance. She looked around hastily, like a child that had just realised that it had lost its mother.
Where had the music gone? Where had it come from?
She had to find out, if only to quell the curiosity that had crept out from inside her. She had been slumbering for a long time, a length that she could not judge. After all, she had awoken in a strange darkness, with no idea of what had been happening around her.
Swallowing her fear and hesitation, she leapt through the hole that seemed to connect the darkness and the light, landing on the ground with a soft 'thud.', before levitating slightly off the floor once again. She looked behind her, her serpentine body rising and falling with her breathing. Apparently, the darkness had been, as she had suspected, a cave; though as to exactly where the cave was, or how she had gotten there, was still a total mystery to her.
Taking a deep breath, and resigning herself to being hopelessly lost, she looked around her, trying to find some indication as to where she was.
But to no avail.
The best she could ascertain was that she was now in a clearing in a forest, or perhaps in a meadow of some sort. She took another deep breath, carefully indulging her senses in each wisp of air that entered her lungs. After all, she had not consciously smelled anything in ages. She looked down. Flowers covered the ground, making the field seem more pink, red or white than green in some parts, the scent of grass and nature filling her sense of smell, while the bright blue of the sky filled her sights the moment she looked up. How long had it been since she had seen these close up?
Lowering herself slowly, she stopped floating, softly lading on the grassy land. Levitating came naturally to her - with her body, it was the only way to move about, besides slithering around on the floor. Letting go of her instinct to never touch the ground, she felt the long blades of grass brush against her body, waving back and forth in the breeze, tickling her ever-so-slightly.
"Ah." As she enjoyed frolicking around in the grass, the music that had awoken her began again, this time much louder, clearer, and the source of which - she could be sure - much, much closer.
Lifting herself off the ground, she floated off the ground once again, slowly following the sounds back to their source, instinctively making sure not to make a sound of her own. Whether that was due to hunting instinct, or due to not wanting to disturb the melodies in the air with noise, it was lucky she had been silent, for as she closed in on the source of the trail, she felt the presence of another being other than herself.
She hid behind some bushes, hoping that the foliage would hide her huge body somehow, so that she could enjoy the melodies just a while longer. She had definitely reached the end of her hunt, for sure, and yet she had yet to spot the true source of the music that both filled the air around her, and seemingly made her heart feel...full.
Suddenly, a rustle from the nearby bushes nearly made her jump. However, she held her ground, wanting to find out what could possibly make such...wondrous music, even if it would be the last thing she ever did. She peered out from behind the leaves as much as she dared, her curiosity and anticipation just about to leap forth from inside her.
Suddenly, she spotted him.
Alone in the smaller alcove of trees, much darker in comparison to the meadow just a few steps away, stood a single figure, its left hand gripped tightly around some kind of wooden object, the enigmatic source of the music that had roused her from deep slumber. She knew the object had been producing the sounds, but yet she felt the importance of the entity holding it - if he were gone, the music would cease, the wooden object simply a tool to make the melodies, it seemed.
"Ktchh." In all the excitement, she neglected to watch her whole body, and with a single twitch of her tail, a branch broke, ceasing the music altogether. Before she could react, the figure whirled around, and she suddenly found herself gazing into two deep, frosted pools of bluish-gray. It was then that what the figure was became apparent to her.
A human.
"Mmm..." Sonata stirred softly, opening her eyes when she felt something touch her forehead. Coiling herself upright, the Dragonair looked at her trainer, his hand stroking her neck rhythmically, his eyes locked with hers, his gaze melting away all sleepiness from her body, lifting up her spirits instantly.
"Andrew, how long have we been together?" The sapphire-blue dragon coiled herself lovingly around her mate, his breathing making her feel safe, secure.
"About...six years, I think." He seemed to drift off, presumably to think back on their time together, or - and she couldn't help but smile at the thought - to think back on their first time together, as a couple.
"Remember the song you were writing when we met?" Sonata nuzzled her trainer gently, licking his cheek playfully, still wanting what she had expected the night before.
"Yeah...'Awakening', wasn't it?" The Dragon Pokémon nodded, 'Awakening' had been one of his most popular compositions, he played it almost every concert he gave, and yet people still seemed...entranced by it, even those who made a point to catch each winter's performance. And why shouldn't they? It had awoken her from her sleep, after all.
"Play it for me to hear again, please?"
"This is...a cave?" She scrambled frantically through the darkness, forgetting for a moment about the music that had awoken her. As she felt around hurriedly, she missed a step, stumbled and fell heavily on her side, grazing herself sharply on the jagged edges of rocks, shrouded in the impenetrable darkness. She struggled to get up, each movement she made sent bolts of pain shooting through her body.
"That...that sound again..." The hauntingly soft music penetrated the darkness once again where no light could, lulling her slowly into a trance as she listened, her pain gently fading away.
Absentmindedly she followed the sound, the echoes around her not disorienting her, but only amplifying what she heard, leading her ever closer to its source. Eventually, she saw a light - though it seemed small at first. The light grew, rays of brightness shone upon the walls as she approached it, the shroud of shadows around her lifting with each second she moved closer to the light.
"Ah..." she paused, her nose nearly touching the radiance. Shadows surrounded her still, wisps of darkness at her tail. Hesitating, she might have drawn back into the void, had the music not done what it had:
It stopped.
The sudden lack of sound startled her, jolting her from her trance. She looked around hastily, like a child that had just realised that it had lost its mother.
Where had the music gone? Where had it come from?
She had to find out, if only to quell the curiosity that had crept out from inside her. She had been slumbering for a long time, a length that she could not judge. After all, she had awoken in a strange darkness, with no idea of what had been happening around her.
Swallowing her fear and hesitation, she leapt through the hole that seemed to connect the darkness and the light, landing on the ground with a soft 'thud.', before levitating slightly off the floor once again. She looked behind her, her serpentine body rising and falling with her breathing. Apparently, the darkness had been, as she had suspected, a cave; though as to exactly where the cave was, or how she had gotten there, was still a total mystery to her.
Taking a deep breath, and resigning herself to being hopelessly lost, she looked around her, trying to find some indication as to where she was.
But to no avail.
The best she could ascertain was that she was now in a clearing in a forest, or perhaps in a meadow of some sort. She took another deep breath, carefully indulging her senses in each wisp of air that entered her lungs. After all, she had not consciously smelled anything in ages. She looked down. Flowers covered the ground, making the field seem more pink, red or white than green in some parts, the scent of grass and nature filling her sense of smell, while the bright blue of the sky filled her sights the moment she looked up. How long had it been since she had seen these close up?
Lowering herself slowly, she stopped floating, softly lading on the grassy land. Levitating came naturally to her - with her body, it was the only way to move about, besides slithering around on the floor. Letting go of her instinct to never touch the ground, she felt the long blades of grass brush against her body, waving back and forth in the breeze, tickling her ever-so-slightly.
"Ah." As she enjoyed frolicking around in the grass, the music that had awoken her began again, this time much louder, clearer, and the source of which - she could be sure - much, much closer.
Lifting herself off the ground, she floated off the ground once again, slowly following the sounds back to their source, instinctively making sure not to make a sound of her own. Whether that was due to hunting instinct, or due to not wanting to disturb the melodies in the air with noise, it was lucky she had been silent, for as she closed in on the source of the trail, she felt the presence of another being other than herself.
She hid behind some bushes, hoping that the foliage would hide her huge body somehow, so that she could enjoy the melodies just a while longer. She had definitely reached the end of her hunt, for sure, and yet she had yet to spot the true source of the music that both filled the air around her, and seemingly made her heart feel...full.
Suddenly, a rustle from the nearby bushes nearly made her jump. However, she held her ground, wanting to find out what could possibly make such...wondrous music, even if it would be the last thing she ever did. She peered out from behind the leaves as much as she dared, her curiosity and anticipation just about to leap forth from inside her.
Suddenly, she spotted him.
Alone in the smaller alcove of trees, much darker in comparison to the meadow just a few steps away, stood a single figure, its left hand gripped tightly around some kind of wooden object, the enigmatic source of the music that had roused her from deep slumber. She knew the object had been producing the sounds, but yet she felt the importance of the entity holding it - if he were gone, the music would cease, the wooden object simply a tool to make the melodies, it seemed.
"Ktchh." In all the excitement, she neglected to watch her whole body, and with a single twitch of her tail, a branch broke, ceasing the music altogether. Before she could react, the figure whirled around, and she suddenly found herself gazing into two deep, frosted pools of bluish-gray. It was then that what the figure was became apparent to her.
A human.
"Mmm..." Sonata stirred softly, opening her eyes when she felt something touch her forehead. Coiling herself upright, the Dragonair looked at her trainer, his hand stroking her neck rhythmically, his eyes locked with hers, his gaze melting away all sleepiness from her body, lifting up her spirits instantly.
"Andrew, how long have we been together?" The sapphire-blue dragon coiled herself lovingly around her mate, his breathing making her feel safe, secure.
"About...six years, I think." He seemed to drift off, presumably to think back on their time together, or - and she couldn't help but smile at the thought - to think back on their first time together, as a couple.
"Remember the song you were writing when we met?" Sonata nuzzled her trainer gently, licking his cheek playfully, still wanting what she had expected the night before.
"Yeah...'Awakening', wasn't it?" The Dragon Pokémon nodded, 'Awakening' had been one of his most popular compositions, he played it almost every concert he gave, and yet people still seemed...entranced by it, even those who made a point to catch each winter's performance. And why shouldn't they? It had awoken her from her sleep, after all.
"Play it for me to hear again, please?"