Morning Light (Eclipse)

[Sam]

Rose sat on a large rock, overlooking the Sierra mountains, anxiously awaiting the return of Pyre, her dear friend Ponyta. On her left was her Pupitar, Thistle and on her right was her close partner, Destiny, the shiny Zoroark. The sun was just rising over the peaks of the mountains and Rose felt the usual sense of safety that morning light gave her. It was a wonderful feeling to feel again after so many years of being alone with three Pokemon and cut of from all human civilization.

However, today was going to be different. She wasn't just sitting on that rock to sit on it, she was waiting for someone. Someone that was on the same side as her. No, it wasn't Pyre, though she was waiting for her too, it was another human. A boy.

Suddenly, Destiny perked her ears and growled. Rose looked at the place were she was staring at. There was the sound of hoofs clopping on stones. Though she was almost sure of who it was, her hand instinctively curled around the bow that lay loaded beside her. Carefully picking it up to not make a single sound, she directed it at the noise and pulled back the string.

Then the creature stepped out and Rose put down her bow. It was Pyre, breathing hard, but eyes wild with excitement. She was usually like that after her morning run around the mountains. Rose stood and walked over to her, a warm feeling flaring in her chest. She was always so anxious when one of her only three friends ran off alone in this troubled time. She reached out a hand and stroked the Ponyta's neck, where the flaming mane didn't reach.

Without a word or a single noise, Pyre and Rose returned back to the rock where Destiny and Thistle were waiting. She sat down again, no longer tense, but patient. He would come.

[Wolfe]

A bead of sweat rolled down Brandon's sun-tanned forehead. He grunted with effort, grabbing another out-stretched handhold. Along with Blaze and Safira, the trio had been climbing for a few hours, only stopping for breaks after exhaustion nearly wore them down. The sun had just begun to rise, turning the sky a shade of rosy pink. Blaze, who was already a hundred feet above. A ray of sunlight fell upon him, which felt good after spending so many cold nights in seclusion, hiding from the superior foe.

It was about time that he had met a fellow Aeronian. It seemed that the Celestials were everywhere, and even though hundreds more were pouring into Aero by air and sea everyday, it was almost as if they outnumbered the natives ten to one.

He was brought back to reality when his foot slipped on a rock, which tumbled into the bottomless abyss below. Anyway, he was here to find a potential ally, one who could aid his cause. He clambered up to a clearing, and sat for a rest, Safira beside him, growling contentedly. A few more minutes of climbing and he would soon reach the peak. As he rested, Brendan looked out into the valley below. It was beautiful, little green hills and a village in the distance, a few windmills dotting the landscape. A small, narrow stream gushed along the valley which was spanned by a few wooden bridges. It was so peaceful here - but if the Celestials continued their advance, places like this would be destroyed.

Brendan resumed his climb, slowly ascending the mountain face, ever so slowly. When he had almost grabbed the top, Blaze stuck out a paw, and Brendan grabbed it thankfully. He stepped up onto the peak, and shook the dirt off the clothes. In the corner of his eye, he saw a girl, maybe 15 or 16 sitting atop a rock. He strode over casually and looked her in the eye, and smiled. "Hi, I'm Brendan. Nice to meet you."

[Sam]

Rose was just beginning to fall asleep on the warm rock when rustling rocks caught her attention. As quick as lightning, she snatched her bow and pointed the arrow tip at the source. They waited in silence until a boy stepped out, smiled and spoke to them.

Rose slowly lowered the arrow tip, staring suspiciously at him. Destiny was cocking her head at him, as if in deep thought. Then she turned to Rose and nodded. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stood up and stuck out her hand. If Destiny said that it was okay, then Rose would think it's okay.

Putting on her most charming and winning smile, she spoke right back. "My name is Rose. It's a pleasure. I guess we're allies now, then."

[Wolfe]

Brendan recoiled slightly, and his hand immediately went to where his knives were sheathed. In his mind, Brendan began calculating about what would happen next. If the girl shot him, it could easily be fatal. Then again, at close range he would probably manage to land a few slashes. Then the blue Zoroark next to Rose looked into his eyes. When Rose lowered her bow, the situation unfroze. After waiting for her to finish, he nodded, and returned the smile. He relaxed, stretching his weary muscles. "So," he started, "These two next to me are my companions." He took Combusken over by the shoulder, rolling his eyes. "This here's Blaze. He's the mischievous one." Blaze glared at Brendan somewhat seriously. The boy ignored him, continuing. "And the Umbreon's name is Safira. Both of them have been with me for as long as I can remember."

He took off his leather bag and opened it, letting its contents fall to the ground. "I have some food, a few canteens of water, and yes, some medicine that I.." Brendan trailed off, searching for a word. "That I borrowed. Don't worry, it's from the Celestial's base, so no harm done anyway." He let out a laugh, thinking that it was nice to have someone to talk to for a change. Then his eyes narrowed. "I might as well tell you why I'm here." In a calm, steady voice, slightly tinged with anger, he explained the events that had occurred, from his father's disappearance to the siege of Fitzgem City. When he finished, there was a steely look in his eyes. Sitting down on a felled tree stump, he looked back at Rose. "So that's my story. What's yours?"

[Sam]

While the boy talked, Rose was relaxing more and more. This boy was not unlike herself. She already knew that she was going to like this boy, even though she didn't realize it. She had never had a human friend before, there was just Destiny. As Brandon introduced his Pokemon, Rose made a slight nod to them. Her mother always told her to acknowledge someone when you're first meeting them. It was just the proper respect and courtesy. She turned to her own Pokemon as he paused. "This here," she said, pointing at her Pupitar, "is Thistle. He's stubborn, but a born fighter." Thistle made himself looked slightly taller, but all he managed to do was float a bit higher. "That's Pyre," Rose continued, now facing towards Ponyta. "She's a sweetie and the fastest runner you'll see." Pyre shrunk back modestly. "And this," Rose finally acknowledged her shiny Zoroark, "it Destiny. She's like a sister to me."

As the boy spilled out the contents of his pack, she carefully surveyed the contents. She had just about the same amount at her base. Then Brandon asked her for her past. At that moment, all the kindness went out of her mind and her face became hard and her expression cold. She simply said, "Team Celestial attacked my town, which, in fact, was on their side, and my mother was killed." Destiny made a small noise at her side. She looked at her and the Pokemon's face was full of sorrow, but also guilt. Both Rose and Destiny blamed themselves for running away.

Shaking out the bad feelings, warmth came back into Rose's face. She sat back down on the rock and pulled out her arrows. He had to know what their threat was about to face. Taking a single shaft, she held up the point for Brandon to see. "Do you see this arrow? It's made of Rosewood, almost impossible to break on contact. The feathers are come from a very rare bird. I found them after the passing of a Ho-oh on the very rock I sit on. The tip has been covered with Drapion poison and will kill instantly. If it doesn't, well, I guess the person will have wanted it to."

She placed the arrow with the others, the rainbow feathers shining in the light. "If we are to ever attack, the Celestials will never know what hit them." She turned to Brandon with a slight, sweet smile on her face. "What weapons do you possess?"

[Wolfe]

Brendan nodded slowly, with both understanding and compassion for he too had lost his parents. "I see," he started "I'm very sorry for your loss. Both Blaze and Safira growled affectionately, and Safira looked at Rose with sorrowful eyes. There was a moment of silence until Rose began sharing about her weapons and their vicious capabilities. Brendan shuddered for a moment, thinking how nice it was to be with Rose instead of having to face her I combat.

The boy cleared his throat, and reached into one of the many pockets in his leather jacket. He brought out a homemade slingshot, but instead of a regular elastic piece, a length of dried tree sap was strung between the two ends. Brendan held it up, and began to explain. "This is one of my custom slingshots. Its got a stronger elastic component, and like your arrows, this was carved out of a Rosewood branch, so it won't break or bend under most circumstances." From his belt, he unsheathed the twin daggers. The star steel glinted in the sunlight. "Now these," Brendan explained, "are made of star steel. The blade is one of the sharpest in existence. Allow me to demonstrate." Brendan gestured to Blaze, and the Combusken fetched a medium- sized boulder and laid it in front of Brendan. With a yell, he swung one of the knives and it sliced through the rock, embedding itself into the soil. As if on cue, the boulder split in two.

"Now," Brendan said as he beamed with pride, "this is what I've been waiting to show you." He rummaged through his pack, and came out with a bottle with clear fluid inside. "This is a concentration of pure ethanol. Lethally flammable. I've waiting for a while to put this to good use." Jokingly, he put on his best evil smile.

Growing serious again, Brendan stood up. "Now that we know each other, we should probably get going. I don't want to be ambushed the Celestials at night. Are you with me?

[Sam]

Rose nodded and stood up as well. Destiny jumped up beside her and Thistle and Pyre crept up beside them. Rose looked around the endless range of mountains. Where would they go? They could go to Rose's cave in the mountainside. That was at least safe. They could use that as their base...or they could just travel to a city and slink around there...or they could just wander around the region and take down the Celestials one at a time. At her cave there was a small supply of food, but it was safe. In a city there was a a lot of food, but no safety. Traveling, it was unreliable.

She turned to face Brandon. "I agree we should leave this place, but where would we go? We have three options. We could go to my cave where I have a small supply of provisions. It's hidden, so the Celestials won't find us there. We could go into a town and get as much provisions, but in danger all the time. Or we could wander and be in both danger and safety and have food where we find it."

[Wolfe]

Brendan considered Rose's options. He thought for a moment. If they went to her hideout, they would deplete the supplies stocked there for little reason but to regroup. He shook his head. With his amount of food, they might make it to Fitzgem or maybe farther, but there was no knowing what might befall them on the way there, and Fitzgem was controlled by the Celestials. Then again, it was possible to make it to Glitz City, and take a ship down somewhere else. But there was the difficulty of making it across the frozen north, and neither he or Rose had the means of transportation. Then, the only solution was to find the base in Calava City and hope that they would welcome two fellow Aeronians.

He explained why they had to go to Calava, and why they couldn't go anywhere else without risking something great. "Besides," Brendan explained, "We need to regroup, and I have some information to share that I can't tell you here." He walked over to the edge of the peak and looked out. He turned back to Rose. "We're about to change to fate of Aero. Will you come with me?"