rediscovery // william

[seth ivers]

ALL WE CAN DO IS HOLD ON

JUST GIVE ME A REASON TO KEEP MY HEART BEATING

william▐
707 WORDS▐
N/A▐
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soaring around in circles, searching for hours in felt like.. yet he was no closer to finding what he'd lost. Perhaps he had been too reckless when he rushed to make that delivery on time, or it might have been his own carelessness that made the c-gear drop from his pocket into the abyssal woodlands below. From whatever height he had been at when it slipped from his possession, for all the trainer knew it might have shattered once it hit the forest floor. Although the case remained water-resistant for the most part, who knows how well it would hold up against crashing from too high.

It was going into the late afternoon already, the red sun setting the sky ablaze with it's warmth just as the forest became a little more dim with each passing minute. The young man sighed as he glided in the air on the back of his pidgeot, the two gliding across the landscape before they slowly descended to an opening just off in the distance. He would have to backtrack for a second time now, knowing full-well that every moment he spent looking for the possibly broken device meant he would be no closer to getting back in contact with his uncle to confirm the delivery he'd made in the first place.

As the youth's stunning blue gaze scanned the ground below for any signs of the red-encased device, he hopped off his companion just before they landed to give the pokemon a break at last. From here he would have to check the path on foot once again, the trainer then turning around to take the exhausted bird back into it's pokeball with only a quick sign of gratitude to break the silence between them. "Thanks for all your hard work today, Cecil. You can take a break now buddy." Seth smiled earnestly as the pidgeot chirped back proudly, then dissappearing in a red beam of light just as he withdrew the pokeball to store in his pocket.

After a few short seconds of looking around, the young man finally reached in his pocket for another ball to release another comrade to help him search on foot for the time being. As he raised the new ball and held it to open, the ball cracked with a loud click and a white beam hurled out onto the grass just a few short feet away. After only an instant the ball snapped shut again as an Absol now stood before him with a curious look in it's eyes. Seth smiled when he saw her, though out of habit raised an arm to the back of his head and began to let his embarassment show a little easier.

"Alright Vyra, I need your help. I.. kinda dropped my phone this morning and I haven't been able to find it yet, but I have a feeling it's on the path around here somewhere. Think you can give me a hand for a little while?"
 The absol looked less impressed with him, though more annoyed that she wasn't called for a battle and instead would have to waste her time with more trivial matters. It seemed almost like an insult at first that he even had to ask, but she turned away without hesitating then began walking off with just enough of a pace for him to follow.

It didn't take long for Seth to notice, and in that moment he jogged over to walk by her side as they both headed for the dirt path just outside the clearing. "Thanks. I could use those sharp eyes of yours." He smirked, the pokemon almost ignoring him as she looked on ahead while she dared to keep well aware of her surroundings. The two of them hadn't known one another for very long, but it wouldn't hurt to try working together every so often outside of battles. It was getting later in the area, and they were far from any town or anyone who could come running if things suddenly got bad.

They'd have to make their search quick but thorough, and hopefully have enough time to get somewhere with a roof before it'd get too dark. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

[william]

it's been a long time since he's last been to hoenn, and it shows in the way that his feet lingers on the path and his eyes flick from the road to the surrounding forest. he's walking, not even flying or teleporting -- only anne at his side, like she usually is these days, taking silent vigil with her rose-red eyes closed. the sun is starting to descend and turn the sky a vibrant red, and william turns his head up to bask in what light remains and leaks through the trees. it won't be long before nightfall arrives, and he picks up his pace, anne adjusting without a comment. having been this long on the road, he doesn't want to be stuck out in the forest; he won't ask his companion to teleport, or any of his fliers to take them all to the nearest town. hoenn is his place of origin, and he will walk every part of it, road by road by road, nevermind his aching feet and sore limbs. he turns to stare off into the forest, the shadows of various pokemon moving amongst the foilage playing tricks on his eyes. it's anne who has to tell him of the other travelers on the path -- how many times as she done that by now, when he is so distracted by the ground under his feet and just keep walking -- by tapping him on the shoulder and, he notices, her eyes are open. <is that...?> the psychic voice is a whisper, likely only into his own mind, and william turns to look at the duo properly -- a man and his absol -- when he realizes just who it is. he stops in his steps and his hands lie limp in his pockets. what are the chances? "...seth?" seth ivers did some things, tell me if you want anything changed <3 alsososhortgomen =.=;;

[seth ivers]

ALL WE CAN DO IS HOLD ON

JUST GIVE ME A REASON TO KEEP MY HEART BEATING

william▐
669 WORDS▐
SORRY THIS TOOK A WHILE! ;A;▐
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Only a few short minutes had passed before Seth became engulfed in the dread of losing his precious c-gear. How was he supposed to contact his uncle now? Or his grandmother? How was he supposed to know what time it was? Or know where he was going when he so often got lost on the mainland? It was laughable how naive he was compared to most trainers or people his age, considering he had only left Mossdeep recently and knew very little about the other regions or cities. Not only that, but when it got darker he would have an even harder time finding what he'd lost against the dark wilderness spread out for miles.

As his eyes jumped across the path and outline of the woods, he eventually grew tired and let himself zone out to the point of his body seemingly walking on it's own. Although as he tuned out the same footsteps of an absol by his side, something else shook him from his trance just a few feet away. He heard his name, whispered on the wind at his back. It might have taken a few seconds for his mind to register the sound, but before he'd noticed Vyra turning around in a flash to address the stranger who'd arrived along the same path, Seth felt the ground at his feet slip away as he toppled over the absol and face-planted in the dirt.

Vyra let out an alarmed growl once Seth's knees had accidentally bumped into her, and as he hit the ground she jumped aside to stare down the one who'd called his name. A young man with a gardevoir at his side, both looking over at them as they stopped and seemed to know Seth by name. Vyra's growl muted before she became wider-eyed and looked to the young man picking himself up off the ground in confusion, as Seth's eyed widened just the same as he got to his feet again and wiped the dirt off his chin. He turned when he noticed the stranger behind him, but at first couldn't believe who it was.

He had heard about what happened in Fortree City through the news that echoed back to his home all those years ago, but even when he feared the worst, he still hoped that his friend had made it out of the area all right. "Will?" Seth brought himself to muster the name, but still looked on in disbelief as he almost felt his entire body go numb just for saying it. William as he remembered, his only childhood friend who lived across Hoenn who he'd lost contact with following the loss of his home and family.

Seth's eyes beamed with hopeless disbelief, while his heart could accept the truth standing right in front of him. He had so many questions to ask, so many things he'd wanted to tell him all these years, while all he could manage was a failing attempt at holding back the powerful emotions now whirl-winding through his mind. He wanted to run over and hug William so badly, him and Anne both, but he struggled to move more than a step or two forward and crack a smile when the tears started rolling down his cheeks. "Will! I can't believe you're here!"

His eyes shut as he quickly wiped away the tears on his face, frantically looking back up at William with an embarrassed look of grimace on his face. "I uhh.." He felt the pain on his chin begin to fester, he'd probably get a nice bruise from hitting the ground that hard. "What are you doing out here? How have you been? I mean--" Seth's heart sank a little as he asked, he didn't know where to begin, or even what to expect after all this time. He could have tried to pass the sadness off as a result of hurting himself, but just as Will's appearance brought back happy memories, there were still some sad ones attached too.

[william]

it's like living a dream, almost: his reaction time has slowed, and he can only stare as seth -- seth seth sethit'sactuallyseth -- falls over his own pokemon. only it's not a dream, because he is here and he is alive in the middle of an arceus-damn war. alive. losing contact never does well for people who are worried sick. whatwith seth's courier job and his own vagabond journey across the regions, the chances had been so little that they could meet up again -- especially after the destruction of william's first c-gear, lost on a battlefield. there's a noise, like startled surprise, somewhere, and he takes a step forward. in the back of his mind he realizes that the noise is him -- a rattled breath through rattled lungs. seth doesn't move forward, and william is about to, but anne beats them both; at the first sign of seth's tears she has already reached the other man and his absol in a fit of teleport. completely ignoring the dark-type, she does what william desperately wishes he could do, wishing the sun never sets so that no light goes out -- she stares at seth, rose-eyes wide. <dear arceus, seth,> she whispers -- an area telepathy. the absol will not hear anne's voice unless it wishes to, but the gardevoir does not care about that fact at the moment. her hand twitches as if she wishes to heal the injury on his chin, but it flutters useless at her side instead. she clears her throat. <we've... we've been alright. war's taken a lot out of us, but alright. how have... you been, seth?> then, as if she has realized that william has still not moved, she calls out behind her without even looking. <william, get over here and hug your friend.> and he does. the moment that seth will give him a moment, he will crash into his friend in a fierce hug as if he will disappear and never return. like smoke in the wind in the trees. "it's good to see you again, seth." his words choke his mouth and stick in his throat, but he says it. seth ivers

[seth ivers]

ALL WE CAN DO IS HOLD ON

JUST GIVE ME A REASON TO KEEP MY HEART BEATING

william▐
547 WORDS▐
CHILDHOOD THEME▐
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Vyra took a step back, though taken off-guard by the gardivoir's sudden advance that shook the absol's nerves just enough to have the hairs on her neck stand up once again. They knew one another, but it was none of her business nor her agenda to care. She took a few steps off the beaten path and wandered about to look around the grassy areas of the forest floor, paying little mind to her teary-eyed master still in awe as Anne brushed her hand close to him but resigned herself. Seth knew he wasn't fooling anyone, but still the sad grin on his face couldn't have been any brighter.

Anne's eyes met his own but he couldn't look away or bring himself to move even after he heard her voice, for he could see it all in her gaze before the tears he fought continued to fall all on their own. The grassy plains, he could remember the sounds the wind made as it passed through the trees. The sky as clear as crystal with a beautiful blue, the blinding sun falling over the flower fields just by the stream they played by. Two young boys, he could remember the strain on his face from smiling so much back then.

He remembered the smell of such a place full of life and the many sounds of wild pokemon running free in the wilderness. The countless butterfree fluttering overhead and the enjoyment they found in adventuring together. Seth could never forget how the dirt felt under his shoes as he ran through the woods on paths just as similar to the one they both stood on now. The question settled on his mind before he realized how long he had been silent, the images of a time of peace tore away behind the ocean waves he remembered so fondly before a blinding pinnacle of fire.

The flames that haunted him.. then, crying out to anyone who might listen, as the shadow of his mother escape just beyond the horizon of a dark and cold night. Closing his eyes as the tears broke away and he opened them again to be sure he wasn't lost in some daydream, he knew what he had found was true; a friend he lost when everything else he had seemed to slip away. He was alive, just within his reach at last, when words themselves couldn't have meant anywhere near as much as he had tucked away in his heart all these years.

"I'm better now." He said at last, quieting himself as he tucked the back of his hand to wipe away the tears again in a silent protest against them. He smiled on the verge of being unable to say much more, when only his actions could speak for him as he wrapped an arm around Anne's shoulder and gave her a half delicate hug. Only then did he hear Will's voice again, and it damn-near broke his heart when he let Anne go and nodded happily to her.

His attention slipped back to Will, his feet struggled to take a step to her side to give his friend a welcoming smile still. He took a few steps closer, but can't muster the words he needs. "...Now that you're both here."