[FIN] Outsiders

[Tymiko]

It was around twilight by the time Tymiko woke. As far as she knew, she was without pokemon and alone in the forest. What happened prior to her passing out was foggy; all she knew was that she didn't want to think about it. Her head ached from her crying and the stress of her emotions as they had overwhelmed her.

Despite being relatively defenseless, the girl didn't seem afraid. In fact, she couldn't say she felt much of anything at all except drained. As she climbed down the trunk of the tree she had slept in, she realized that the surrounding forest wasn't familiar to her. The void of her feelings kept her from panicking, though, as she began to wander the woods for water. There had certainly been some the way she had come, but she would not go back there. She walked about in a daze, feeling as though she were still dreaming.  

[BlackPidgeot]

A pair of eyes watched Tymiko as she wandered through the woods. A shadow following her through the trees. She had sensed that humans were around and thus kept her distance. Then there had been screaming, anger, pain, despair, and host of emotions that drew her curiosity.

Now there was this one line girl who seemed every bit as lost as she was.

A voice then called out to her from no discernible direction.

"Where are you going?"  

[Tymiko]

The girl stopped in her tracks. That had most definitely been a voice. "...I don't know," she answered slowly, licking her dry lips as she heard the rasp of her parched throat. "I'm looking for water." In her dazed state, she didn't seem to worry too much about where the voice had come from. For all she knew, it could have been the one from the back of her mind nagging her again.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"I know where some is," said the voice.

"This way!"

The shadowed figure then jumped from one tree to another, expecting the human to follow.  

[Tymiko]

Tymiko blinked, perplexed. That was new. It was slowly dawning on her that the voice couldn't have been a figment of her imagination because how would it have known something she didn't? Curious, cautious, and grateful to not be alone, she hurried after at first a jog and then a run. It cooled her head a little to feel the air against her face.  

[BlackPidgeot]

The creature kept nimbly jumping from tree to tree, leading the way through the forest.

Eventually it came to a stop, perching on branch among the fall leaves, just at the edge of a clearing.

"There!"

An arm pointing towards some rocks where water was bubbling forth from the mountain and formed a tiny spring. Probably some of the cleanest water that Tymiko would find around there.  

[Tymiko]

Blinking at the unmistakable sight, sound, and smell of the life-giving liquid, the girl went to the spring and knelt. She cupped her hands and collected the cold water before drinking her fill. After that, she splashed her face to refresh herself and clean away the residue of previous tears.

Her immediate need met, the girl sat back on crossed legs and looked around her, searching for the shadow she had followed to the spring. "Thank you," she told the voice, "But why did you help me?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

There was silence as the girl drank her fill, but at the question the voice returned.

"I don't like humans," it said plainly.

"But you're different. You're like me. Alone and lost."  

[Tymiko]

At the word 'humans', Ty immediately had a hint as to what, if not who, she was talking to. The voice warmed her and she certainly felt like she could relate to it in the manner it had suggested, but she wasn't about to accept that so easily, much as she would have liked.

"Not different enough," she said quieter, staring at the spring. "I don't like humans either. They're petty, greedy, spiteful, selfish, and hurtful. I may be alone and lost, but I'm those things, too." She shook her head. "You're probably better off staying away from me, whoever you are." Tracing her finger in the dirt, she added, "You deserve at least to know that much for showing me water. Even if I didn't deserve your help."  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah," the voice agreed. "They pretend to be your friend but they're really not."

She then went quiet for a moment as if thinking, then spoke again.

"But I don't like being alone."  

[Tymiko]

The first comment from the voice roused Ty's curiosity. She raised her head, looking about once more. "I don't think anyone likes being completely alone," she said to the voice. But then she had to ask, "Who pretended?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Mama... All of them," the voice said back with a hint of sadness and anger. "They didn't want me anymore. So I ran away."  

[Tymiko]

"Mama...?" Ty repeated, tilting her head. "How did you know they didn't want you anymore? How many were there?" She frowned. "I'm sorry. It's not fair that they lied to you like that."  

[BlackPidgeot]

"I can hear their thoughts," she explained. "There are many of them. They were going to kill me."  

[Tymiko]

"If you could hear their thoughts," the girl asked, "how did they manage to trick you? Couldn't you tell they were lying when they pretended to be your friend?"