Journey Through Createa

Robert grunted as he was pulled down on the ground. He didn't complain though; especially not when Luke laid her head on his shoulder. He looked up through the branches of the trees above him and listened to the gentle babble of the nearby river. With a sigh he realized that the ground was still wet from the rain -- moisture that was quickly soaking into his pants. He supposed that happiness came at a small price, so he didn't stand up.

"She loves the idea," Michael replied with a smile. "I knew she would. Any excuse for her to travel: she'll take it. I guess we're a team now."



The Nuzleaf crept closer to Fae, obviously not sure if they could trust her. She held out her hands to show that they were empty.

"It's okay," she repeated, "I won't hurt you. Please, let me see if I can help." The Nuzleaf seemed unsure, but they allowed her to creep closer to the injured one.

"Hey there, little guy," she said with a smile. He watched her warily and held out his leg for her to inspect. She shook her head as she saw the damage; a large burn covered his right thigh. She dug in her bag, hoping that she had thought to bring some ointment with her. She wished for a moment that she had taken Robert with her, since he was sure to have what she needed. Her hand finally rested on a small jar though, and she pulled it out with relief.

"I'm going to put this on your leg now, okay?" Nuzleaf didn't respond, but he didn't try to resist either. She opened the jar and rubbed some of the foul smelling ointment onto Nuzleaf's burnt leg. He flinched for a moment, but then sighed in obvious relief.

"Nuzleaf!" he cried with a smile. Fae grinned back, glad that she could help. She stood up to leave, but the Nuzleaf grabbed her pant leg. She was surprised, but didn't pull away.

"Do you want to go with me?" she asked hesitantly. The Nuzleaf nodded enthusiastically, so she picked him up gently. "Alright. I'm Fae. It's nice to meet you. I'll call you Gare, if that's alright." Nuzleaf smiled encouragingly, so the name was final. She happily headed back to where she left her friends.

Luke opened one eye as Fae rejoined the group. She stood up, startled when she saw the new member of their group. "Well who's this?" She asked. "What did we miss?"

Ember jumped up, startled by Luke's sudden movement. When he saw the new pokemon, though, he began to jump around Fae in circles. Sometimes it seemed that his energy was endless.

Luke smiled at Fae. "We haven't really had a chance to talk, but I'm glad that you and Michael are coming with us. Are there any towns you've been wanting to visit?" Ember was getting overly excited, so Luke scooped him up into her arms.

Fae smiled and held up her new Nuzleaf.

"This is Gare," she responded. "He's going to be traveling with us." She continued cradeling him in her arms. His burnt leg looked better, but she knew that the ointment alone wouldn't heal it completely. "He'll need to go to the pokecenter as soon as we reach Peachpit."

She grinned at the mention of their further travel. She couldn't wait to see what was beyond Peachpit. She had studied maps for a long time. Back then her plans had all been hypothetical, but now she might actually get the chance to play them out.

"I'm glad that we're going too! I'll have to call back to my family when we get to Peachpit and let them know, of course, but I think it'll be a great adventure! Let's get to town first though, and then we can discus where we'd like to go from there. I'd like to stay in Peachpit for a few days, of course, to check out the gym."

Luke smiled as she tried to stifle a yawn. "That'll work out fine. I should probably call my family too, come to think of it. They'd get worried if I just ran off."

"Maybe we should set up camp soon," Luke observed. "It's about to get pretty dark. After sundown, Ember becomes a useless little lump." She smiled fondly at her sweet little cyndaquil, who was still full of energy. "He burns it all off and then..." Ember fell into the dirt. Luke giggled. "...he gives up."

Ember was already fast asleep, dreaming of the new people and pokemon he was so fond of. Luke picked him back up and held him to her chest. "So where should we set up camp?"

Robert looked around. There wasn't a lot to this area other than the path. He had figured that there would be places to rest, but they obviously were in between normal camping areas. He started to dig out his map when Fae spoke up.

"There's a clearing just over there where I found Gare. I'm sure the Nuzleaf wouldn't mind if we stayed there. Would they?" Gare shook his head in response.

"That sounds like a plan, then!" Michael said with a smile. "Lead on, silver girl."

The group followed Fae to the base of the ancient tree. Michael and Robert got to work on a make-shift tent using some canvas and rope that Robert had stashed at the bottom of his bag. Fae set Gare down on a bed roll to rest and went to talk to Luke.

"We haven't really gotten to have any 'girl time' yet. If we're going to be traveling together, I'd like to get to know you better." She smiled and glanced over at the boys. They were working hard, and their construct almost looked like it would stand on its own. "I've noticed you and Robert have been getting pretty close. How long have you known each other?"

Luke blushed. "About a year now, actually. He's a pretty steady pen pal. It was a little easier to talk to him online, though. He was a little less shy. Not that I'm complaining. I think it's kind of cute." She looked over at him as she spoke. "Also, I suppose we're kind of a thing now." The blush on her face grew a little deeper. "I didn't expect it so soon, but he confessed to me earlier." Her smile was as wide as it could get.

Staring at Robert, Luke couldn't help but giggle a little. Robert looked over at her and smiled. Embarassed, Luke smiled back before she broke her gaze from him and looked over to Fae. "What about you? How long have you and Michael been together?"

Luke stroked Ember as she talked. A soft little sleep-purr escaped him and he rolled over in her arms. She just couldn't get over how adorable he was. She knew that when he evolved he'd be less cute and more awesome, but she couldn't help but enjoy it while it lasted.

Fae smiled. She remembered when her and Michael had just started dating. It was an awkward phase, but it was fun in its own way. She liked the steady feel of a long-term relationship.

"We've been kind of a thing since we were young. We grew up together, so we were always playing and getting in to trouble. Basically, where one of us was, the other was close behind. I guess it became official about five years ago. He asked me to a school dance. I'm not sure why, but he was convinced that I would turn him down. The look on his face when I agreed was priceless. He confessed to me that night. The rest is ancient history." She looked over at her beau. The tent almost resembled a tent now. It still gave her butterflies to watch him when he wasn't paying attention. She loved the little things that he did.

Robert and Michael backed away from the propped-up canvas. It wasn't beautiful, but it would at least stand. They exchanged a high-five and walked over to where the girls were sitting.

"Hey there," Michael said with a grin, "not talking about us, I hope?"

Robert and Michael exchanged worried glances as the girls giggled in reply.

"Right, well, the tent is ready. We should all be able to fit under it," Robert finished with a blush. "Are you two ready to call it a night?"

Luke sighed happily. "Absolutely!" The group walked over to the tent and Luke made sure that she got to sleep next to Robert. She knew she had a tendency to toss and turn in her sleep, and it would be awkward if she woke up with her head on anyone else's chest.

Ember woke up enough to crawl to Luke's feet before plopping down. It was like he grew roots. He was not moving from that spot until the sun was high in the sky.

Luke tried to get to sleep, but she just couldn't. She was too excited. A new pokemon, a new boyfriend, and a new adventure all in one day was a lot to take in. Quietly, Luke snuck away from the group. She needed to burn off some energy. She took Robert's flashlight and went on a walk through the woods. She found a small pond and sat down to sort out her thoughts.

As everyone laid down to sleep the forest came alive. The trees buzzed with the sounds of nocturnal bug pokemon and the distinctive cries of Hoothoots could be heard from far away. With the symphonic lullaby of the night, the group was able to fall asleep quickly. Robert was a deep sleeper and didn't notice as Luke stood up and wandered off. Cookie didn't need to sleep though, and tilted its head in curiosity as its owner's friend walked away. It levitated silently and went to follow.

It took a while for Cookie to find where Luke had gone off too. It dodged through the trees slowly, not wanting to run into any wild pokemon without its trainer there to protect it. Finally the trees opened up to a small pond. The stars and moon were dancing on the surface of the water. Cookie could see Luke's silhouette against the reflected light. It floated up to her and propped its head on her lap.

It looked up at her with searching eyes. What had caused her to come out here, rather than sleeping like the other humans and pokemon? It chirped at her, as if scolding her for wandering off.

Smiling softly at the little porygon, Luke laid her hand softly on Cookie's head. For a while she sat like this, petting him and staring out at the smooth surface of the lake. She considered fishing, but right now she needed to calm down. Anyways, Ember was back at camp. Even if she caught something amazing, she couldn't keep it unless it was either weak or willing to come.

"I know, I shouldn't have left camp," she said, looking down at Cookie. "I just needed a breather for a moment. So much has happened today." Luke took a deep breath. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding since Robert's confession.

Deciding it would be best to head back to camp soon, Luke stood and scooped up Cookie in her arms. "Robert would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you," she said. With this, she started off, dodging her way through the trees as she went.

The rest of the night passed without event. Cookie had returned to his post watching over Robert as soon as they returned. Luke seemed to have finally gotten to sleep. At the very least, she didn't get up and wander around anymore. Cookie gave a quiet happy chirp and waited for morning to come.

Fae woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise. She looked around, not surprised to see that everyone else was still asleep. Robert's Porygon was staring at her. She shivered a bit. Cookie was a good pokemon, but it creeped her out a little bit. She preferred a real flesh-and-blood pokemon any day. Not that she would ever tell Robert that. She climbed over the mess of bodies at her feet and went to check on Gare. The burn seemed to be doing fine, and he didn't seem to be in any pain. She smiled and stood up.

She went to the edge of camp and reached up towards the sky. It felt so good in the mornings to begin with a long stretch. She was halfway through her normal routine when the rest of the group started to stir. She finished up quickly and walked over to them. She sat cross legged just outside of the tent and watched with amusement as they all tried to wake up. Michael was groaning, which wasn't unusual for him. He wasn't exactly a morning person.

"Anyone up for some dried fruits and nuts?" she asked in an overly cheery voice.

Luke opened one eye and looked around hazily. Not ready to wake up, she closed it again, but not before she'd had the chance to see that her comfortable pillow was, indeed, on Robert's chest. Wide awake, Luke sat up at lightening speed. She tried to pat down her hair and looked sheepishly at Robert.

"Sorry, it's kind of a force of habit. Every time I sleep with someone, I subconsciously... you know, cuddle with them." She was blushing furiously and Ember was making that strange laughing sound again.

Luke looked up at Fae. "Yeah, nuts sound good," she replied in answer to her question. She then reached for her brush and tried to tame her hair. She knew that she must look funny. Probably one side of her hair was sticking straight up and the other side was flat against itself. She wished there was some way not to look like this every morning.

Robert opened his eyes and grunted at the morning. He felt like something was pressing against his chest. He looked down and right into Luke's eyes. A hot blush covered his face as she sat up, fussing with her hair.

"I-it's fine," he replied sheepishly. He grabbed his glasses off of the ground and replaced them on his nose. "I really didn't mind. That is, uh. . ." he decided to shut up before his foot became lodged in his mouth. "I'd love some breakfast."

Fae did her best not to giggle at the awkward couple. She looked over at her own man, glad to see that he was starting to sit up. She pulled some food out of her bag and split it into four equal meals. It wasn't much, but it should tide them over until they found something for lunch. Maybe the could do some real fishing later. She hadn't planned on getting caught in a rain storm when she packed the food for their trip.

The group sat down to eat, ready for a new day. Luke was more awake than she'd ever been, and was still a little embarrassed from earlier. She sat down beside Robert and Fae and helped herself to the nuts. She had never really liked dried fruit, though.

As soon as the group was done eating, they began packing their things to start off. Ember ran circles around everyone, his energy fully restored. At one point he accidentally ran off into the woods. Luke put down her pack. "I'm packed anyway, guys. I'm going to find Ember."

Luke set off into the woods again, noticing that Ember had entered the woods at the same place she had left last night. She decided to head for the lake. Ember was probably thirsty, he would be looking for a source of water.

Everyone finished their meals pretty quickly. It wasn't exactly a filling meal, but it was enough. Michael began taking down the tent while Fae rolled up the bed rolls. Robert moved to help, but he couldn't find anything he could do without getting in the way. He checked his pack to make sure it was still in order and looked around. Luke and Ember had disappeared into the woods for some reason. He motioned for Cookie to follow and went in the same direction.

"I'm going to make sure Luke and Ember find their way back alright," he called back to the other couple. The responded with distracted nods, so he moved on. Strangely enough, Cookie took the lead. It usually preferred to follow, but Robert trusted its instincts. Before long they stopped at a small natural pond. Robert looked around in amazement. It was beautiful. He wondered briefly how Cookie had known where to go, but the thought didn't last long in his head. There by the water were Luke and Ember.

Ember had his head submerged in the water and Luke was filling her own bottle. He walked up to them awkwardly.

"We're going to be ready to leave soon," he said. "How did you find this place? It wasn't on the map."

He smiled as Luke turned to look at him. With a sudden jolt of panic, he realized that they were here alone. Truly alone for the first time since they had met in Peacove. He could feel his face turning red again.

"I suppose you could say I went adventuring last night. I couldn't sleep at all so I wandered out here. Cookie followed me." Luke smiled. "I suppose that's how you found me so easily. Is there something wrong?" She asked as his face began turning red.

Suddenly, Luke realized it, too. It was just the two of them and their pokemon out at this secluded little lake. Her face turned scarlet and she began to play with her hair nervously.

Ember looked up at the two curiously. What was wrong with them? Perplexed, he began sniffing at both of them. They were awfully nervous for some reason. Ember climbed up onto Luke's shoulder and began licking her face to try to calm her down. Luke pulled him into her arms and began focusing with all her might on the ground at her feet.

"Thats, really nice," Robert stammered. "I'm glad that Cookie kept you company." He looked away for a moment and then back to Luke. There were a million thoughts racing through his mind. He was afraid to act on them. He knew how she felt about him, though. There wasn't too much of a risk. . . right? He took a deep breath to steady himself and took her hands in his.

"I'm really glad that we decided to travel together," he said with a smile. He knew he would never be a smooth talker, but he tried his best to remain calm at the very least. "Until you came to Peacove I spent almost every day glued to my computer. I never imagined that I would get to travel around like this. Thank you."

He leaned forward and carefully kissed her lips. It lasted only for a second, but it was enough to light his face aflame.

"S-sorry," he said, taking a step back. He worried that he had taken it too far. After all, they had really only just met. He forced himself to look back at Luke to see if she seemed offended.

Luke froze as Robert's lips touched her own. Her heart skipped a few beats and she wished that she could completely stop time. She was sad when he pulled away. She looked back down to the ground, trying to hide her blush.

"You don't have to apologize at all." Luke smiled. She set Ember down and took a deep breath to get over her nerves. Then she took a step forward, wrapping her arms around Robert's neck. She kissed him lightly and smiled at him. "We should get back to the group though, shouldn't we? They'll be getting worried soon."

Ember was running circles around them. He wasn't sure what just happened, but he didn't care. Luke seemed very happy about it, so that made him okay with it. He climbed up Robert's leg and sat on his head again. It was comfortable up there in his messy hair.

Robert's face lit up in a grin as Luke wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her again, amazed at the warm feeling that it spread throughout his body.

"Okay, we can head back," he said a little begrudgingly. "We need to get back on the road, I guess. If we make good time we just might be able to reach PeachPit by night fall."

He took her hand in his and the two walked back to where they had left Michael and Fae.

"Well, you two look happy," Michael teased as they walked up. The new couple blushed. "Anyway, we need to get moving. I've got everything packed up and ready to go."

Robert put his pack on his back. and double checked that Cookie was ready to go. Charm was still safely resting in his pokeball, but he double checked the pokeballs on his belt too. He nodded, satisfied that he had everything he needed.

Fae picked up Gare. His leg was doing better, but he still wasn't up for walking. She tried to hold him in her arms, but he wiggled in protest and climbed up onto her shoulders. He could see better from up there, apparently. With everything settled, the group set out once again.

Ember picked up on the fact that they were moving on and sat still to keep out of the way. He shook his rump in that strange way that he did when he was happy or excited. Luke could have sworn that he thought he was a dog sometimes.

Yawning, Luke bent over to pick up her bag. She really should have tried harder to get to sleep last night. She was going to pay the price for it today. She checked her bag, counted her money, checked her food supply and all of that. Everything was accounted for and she had enough food to supply the group with two meals.

Luke stretched and swung her bag over her shoulder. She was more than ready for another eventful day. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in site. It was a beautiful day for a long walk. With everything and everyone accounted for, the group headed back for the path with Ember skipping behind them.

The group spend the rest of the day traveling, taking only short breaks to make up for the time they had lost the previous day. They came across several more pokemon on their way, but none of them seemed too eager to attack. None of the trainers were interested in capturing them either, so the group was able to travel in relative peace. They made light chatter on the way, strengthening the new friendships they had started just a few brief days ago.

Robert's eyes widened as Peachpit came in to view on the horizon. It was so much larger than he could have imagined. He knew the dimensions of the city by heart, but actually seeing it was a whole different thing.

"It's amazing," he said in awe.

"It is," Fae agreed with a smile. "Let's stop by the Pokécenter first. I want to make sure that Gare is all better before I go anywhere. You guys can check out the town while you wait, if you want."

Luke smiled. It wasn't quite as big as Settis, but it was impressive compared to Peacove. She felt much more at home here. Immediately she started looking around for a shopping center. She needed to stock up pokeballs, potions and food.

"I need to get some supplies," Luke chimed in. "Robert, do you want to come with me? I know you'll be wanting to replace the potion you used and they should sell full heals here. And, sometime while we're here, we need to find a phone and call our families."

Ember looked up the moment they entered the town. He had gotten so used to fresh air that he had forgotten what the city was like. So much noise, so many people. A low growl escaped his throat. He didn't like the city. He couldn't trust people here. So many of them wanted to hurt him or Luke. He was going to keep his guard up.

"I'd be happy to go with you," Robert replied with a smile. He couldn't wait to see the kind of things that they had for sale in a real city. They walked into the store and Robert couldn't help but laugh. It was amazing! There were shelves full of merchandise, neatly organized, in bulk. It was nothing compared to the market stands in Peacove. Not that he didn't love giving the local shop owners business, but they couldn't stand up to this. He grabbed a basket and carefully picked out items that would be useful. In a spur of the moment decision, he picked out a pokédoll that he thought Luke might like.

Fae and Michael walked into the Pokécenter. Michael wandered off to the public phones while Fae took Gare up to the counter.

"His leg was burned," she explained to Nurse Joy. "I had some Burn Heal with me, but I'd like to get it professionally looked at please."

Nurse Joy nodded and took the Nuzleaf from Fae's shoulders.

"It'll be just a few moments. We have a waiting area just over there," she said with a smile. Fae thanked her and went over to wait with Michael. She saw her mom on the phone screen and smiled. It looked like they had managed to call while their parents were sharing dinner. She joined in on the conversation, eager to tell them everything that had past in the brief time since they had left.

Luke tried to pick and choose responsibly. She got a few more pokeballs, a couple a full heals, some status healers, and more food. There, that ought to hold them for awhile. She glanced over at Robert. He seemed to be having fun.

Luke put Ember on top of her head. "Alright, now we'll get something for you." She spread her arms out. "Pick out anything you want." Ember sniffed around. He eventually picked out a small treat meant specially for fire pokemon.

Luke checked out and waited for Robert to finish his shopping. When he was done, she suggested that they wait to go find Michael and Fae. "I've heard of a small diner around here," she said. "It's supposed to be pretty good. We could go eat there."

Robert looked up from reorganizing his bag with his new things as Luke approached him. He checked his coin bag to make sure he had plenty to cover a meal.

"That sounds like fun," he replied with a grin. "I've got enough to get by for a few days. I'm going to have to get some more here soon, though. Hopefully we'll come across some new trainers as we go."

He paused and then stood up with something behind his back. He did his best not to blush as he held it out for her.

"I got this for you," he said. "I know you're a little old for dolls, but it was just so cute, I couldn't resist."

In his hands was a medium sized pink doll made to look like a Skitty. It had a yellow ribbon tied around its neck.

"I hope you like it."

Back in the Pokécenter, Michael and Fae were finishing their calls home. Nurse Joy came out with Gare following close behind.

"Nuzleaf!" he cried happily as he ran up to Fae. She grinned. He looked so much better! She thanked the nurse and gave Gare a hug. Now they just needed to wait for Robert and Luke to come back.