Chapter 6 - Rememberance - The Trial of Wind!

alph6(@__@ Aaaand Arti had another name-change, at the request of Ankari... It’s now Articu. Sorry about this..)AlphChapter 6: Rememberance-- The Trial of Wind!||*||The afternoon was warm and dry. Winds blew through the trees, ruffling Yuki’s silver hair as he lead the group through the woods. Squirt was holding her hair back with one hand from the wind. “Egh, I hate the wind. It always makes my hair explode.”Yuki sighed. This morning was rather uneventful. The group had eaten apples for breakfast, as they were still afraid of fire. Squirt had tripped over a rock, and then Latias had tripped over her.Yup, the normal morning.::I’m bored.... Where are we going to next?:: Zeni piped up from where he was trudging behind Squirt.::... I’ve heard that there is a rest-stop for traders near here...:: Piima stated sullenly, lagging behind.Latias clapped cheerfully. “Oh, we should stop there! Isn’t there a lake near there, too?”Squirt nodded. “Yes, I believe my mom said that once... Also, we could probably get something to eat at the rest stop too. I wouldn’t mind.” Articu raised a fist energetically. “Food! I bet they have lots of good food!” Mareep nodded, looking at the sky. “Well, it’s noon, so the sun’s overhead. But, in the morning, it was over there, so..... that way’s south.” She announced, turning on her heel and walking south.Yuki, Squirt, Articu, and Latias, as well as their pokemon, followed her through the trees.||*||“Oh, god, that was good~!” Squirt flopped back onto a pillow, having eaten her fill of the meal. Articu was still attacking the food, tearing off bread and shoving it into his mouth, then finding room to jam in cheese. Mareep and Latias ate slowly at their food, dabbing at their mouths with napkins after each bite. Yuki was picking solemnly at his food. “Especially that soup. It was good.” Squirt added, rolling over on her side and clutching the pillow. Mareep nodded, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Yep. The bread’s good too...” She winced slightly, catching sight of Articu. “.. But watching him is making me lose my appetite. I’m going to take a nap.”Latias picked up the cloth napkin from her lap and placed it on the table, shoving her plate forward. “I’m gonna sleep, too. I need my beauty rest~!” Articu burped, then sighed contentedly. “I gotta agree with them, nothing’s better after a big meal than a big nap!”And with that, the three exited the dining room and went off; the girls to one room, and Articu to another.Squirt sweatdropped at them, then turned to Yuki, who was still picking at his food. “Ah... You should eat more. We probably won’t be able to eat like this until we get back to Alph after this journ--” “I’m fine..” “Oh, but...!” Squirt persisted, looking sad. Yuki sighed, shoving a boiled potato in his mouth. “Habby mow?” Squirt cheered up instantly. “Yep! Well then, I’ll go off and take a nap too, then... ” She remarked, standing and stretching. Yuki quickly swallowed the potato, and stood as well. “.. Wait..! .. Uh, well..” Squirt looked over her shoulder, back at him. “Hm? What is it, Yuki?” “... Nothing.” Squirt smiled and turned back, facing the doorway. “Alright. But, if you ever do need to tell me anything, I’ll listen.” And with that, the girl skipped into the room.||*||Just as the group lay down on the cots to sleep, the same mysterious voice rang out through the rest stop; however, only the five heard it. ||The time for the Second Trial has come.||Everything about the rest stop disappeared: The people, the Pokemon, the building, the furnishings... everything.Articu screeched and wrapped his arms around himself. “Not this again, I don’t wanna catch fire.”||The Trial of Fire has already passed. This is the Trial of Wind.||The stiff breeze began to blow harder, harder, and harder, until everyone began to slide backwards. ||This will test your endurance in the wind. You must reach the Idol to end the Trial. The same rules apply.||The glowing idol appeared several feet away. It looked exactly the same as the last, but instead of the yellow stone in the center, this one was white.Suddenly, the wind increased in speed and force, picking up everyone into the air and blowing them back. Yuki was the first to grab hold of something; a tree branch. He struggled to pull himself up, but the wind was amazingly powerful.Articu grabbed hold of a tree branch, and caught Latias’ hand as she flew back. The priestess hung off of his arm, while he wrapped his free arm around the branch.Squirt and Mareep had both attached themselves to the branch behind Articu and Latias, and clung to it for dear life as dirt and leaves were blown into their faces.Meanwhile, up closest to the idol, Yuki had managed to lift himself past the branch and on to another, closer one.“Eep!” Latias yelped as she felt her hands slipping from Articu’s. Within moments, the wind had torn her from her friend, and the priestess felt herself flying back at a rapid speed. She stumbled around and shot her hands out to grab anything she could touch. Latias finally felt the satisfying grip on a branch from another tree, bending with the pull of her in the wind.Yuki, meanwhile, was making astounding progress up the tree branches. His hand grasped another branch, but a strong gust of wind pulled it free. He flew back into another tree branch, but it had caught him. He squinted through the dust and pressed on.Squirt was completely content with the safety of her branch, but Mareep tried to climb further, calling back to Squirt. “If Yuki doesn’t make it, then what?” She was silenced as a large rock that had been caught in the wind blew past. She ducked her head as it flew over, and Squirt slid to the side to avoid it. The rock continued to hurl past, headed straight for...Latias, who was still clinging to her branch. She squeaked in fright as the boulder neared her face, but suddenly, everything stopped, The boulder froze in motion, and then fell to the ground, along with everything else.Latias thudded to the ground and winced, rubbing her rear. “.. Oww... I have dirt in my eyes.”Articu, Squirt, and Mareep also fell from the branches, yelping as they did so. “Ah! Look, Yuki reached the idol...!” Squirt shaded her eyes from the sun and looked to the sky, where Yuki, clutching the idol, had floated up. The idol glowed a pale green, then swirled into translucent wings which appeared on Yuki’s back for a moment. They then swirled around the area, and the rest stop and its inhabitants reappeared. Yuki gently floated to the ground as the world returned to its state before the trial.||The Trial of Wind is completed. The winner is Yuki. The loser is Latias.||Latias looked horrified. “I only just gained my bragging rights, and now Yuki gets them!?”Mareep couldn’t help but chuckle as she stoof up and dusted herself off. “Yes, yes...”::There they are~!:: Zeni came bursting out of the door and zoomed into Squirt’s arms. ::Was that another of those weird trial things?::The girl laughed and nodded, hugging her worried Pokemon. “Yes, yes, but it’s okay..” ::No it isn’t~!:: The turtle protested. ::Here..:: He untied something from his tail and stuffed it in Squirt’s hands. ::You gave this to me a while ago for safe-keeping. You said that your old friend gave it to you before they dissappeared... I think you should have it back. For good luck during the trials. Then you can show your friend what you’re doing...::Squirt blinked down at her Pokemon and opened her hands.In them was the shell that Zeni had packed. It was delicately carved to look like a flower, and hung off of a thin strip of black leather. “Oh... ” She closed her hand around it and smiled. “Thank you, Zeni..”Piima and Wara came running out of the door soon after. ::Mareep, tell me about these ‘trials..’:: Piima began, looking up at Mareep. ::They sound... intriguing.:: Mareep smiled and began her story. “Well, the first one was the Trial of Fire: Everything burst into flames, and then we had to get this Idol thing...” Mareep went on.Latias joined Mareep to help describe the Trials, and Articu cheerfully sat down and listened, occasionally adding dramatic details. The mareep seemed interested in the story they were telling.Wara waddled over to Yuki. ::You look different.:: Yuki tore his gaze from the others, and shook his head. “.. No, I’m fine. I’m just, um... glad that I won that trial, is all...” Wara looked excited. ::What was this trial?:: “Wind.” ::Ooh, oooohh! Tell me about it, tell me!:: “.. Listen to Mareep’s story...” Yuki solemnly trudged inside. Wara stood there and stared at his trainer, blinking. ::Yup, there was something very different about Yuki... I wonder what’s wrong with him NOW?:: The snorunt shrugged and waddled over to where everyone had joined in the storytelling.

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