(no subject)
There was a glowing light just up ahead and it swung back and forth.
Back.
And forth.
Back.
And forth.
A dull fog filled her head until she was utterly incapable of independent thought, utterly incapable of knowing where she was or even who she was. All she felt was a muddled thudding that came from the depths of her heart, a feeling that she should stop now, that something was very very wrong. And yet the lights continued to entice her, to pull her away like a bad child lured by a greedy Duskull. It was three quarters personal weakness and one quarter desire.
When Noa awoke, for some reason she expected blood on her hands. Of course, there was no such thing. He'd never allow it. "Itzal... Itzal!" she cried out, wishing his wasn't the first name on her mind.
"He's not here." a low voice replied, and when she looked up, Shiva flooded her vision. As long as her feet touched the ground, Noa was immune to his constant electricity-- Shiva had coiled himself around and above her to act as shelter from the heavy rain. The air was thick with moisture and heat, with a scent of wet gravel and sand pervading. Despite the foreboding atmosphere, Noa could feel her cells gladly take in the light water vapor. A stray raindrop managed to hit her, however, and she winced in pain--pain? "Don't move. You've got burns all over you."
Of course she did. Though her memories of the night before were gone, that fact alone let her know exactly where she had gone and what she had been doing. That and there was only one pokemon who could cause her such injuries, Noa thought. But she said nothing. Nothing really needed to be said, at this point. Glancing up, she could see their trainer in a sleeping bag not too far away. Perhaps she'd been left out of the plot this time.
Gingerly, she squirmed out of the eel's grip a little, letting more water reach her body. Shiva let her go without protest. The resulting pain was a good hurt, she convinced herself, and truly she felt her wounds closing up as she took in more of the rain. "He's still hunting?"
"It's almost dawn. No doubt he'll be back soon."
"Did I..."
"No, you've been here the whole time. I'm sure he only wanted to get you out of the way this time." A sigh. "He even asked me to take care of you, and you know how much he hates that."
"You and me... We're always justifying him, aren't we?"
Shiva chuckled a little, but it was a raspy, sad sound. "He's my friend and all. I like the guy enough, I just can't agree with a lot of his actions, especially when you're involved."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
That voice, which sounded airy and emotionless--and yet filled with hatred--all at once, was unmistakable. Noa whirled around and there he was, floating down from the sky before an eerie yellow full moon that was only just beginning to fade with the passage of dawn. Itzal.
Shiva managed a low growl. "You know exactly what I mean. Where have you been for the last several hours? Did you even care about what the side effects of your hypnotism could be?"
"You know I'd never hurt Noa."
"Tch. You say that, but who's the one who's always causing her to get burned? I know you're upset that you two can't get close, but be reasonable for a chan--"
"Did you kill someone again?" Noa's voice rang out, interrupting the two men.
She thought for a split second that Itzal smiled at that, but his face never really changed, after all. "No."
"You're lying!"
"Don't be silly, Noa. You know pokemon can't lie."
Just then, she saw the smoke and realized that he'd been flying through the rain all this time, was now floating midair in it. "A-are you crazy?! Get over here, the rain's putting your fire out!"
"I won't." How strange that even though they were only separated by a short distance, he felt further from her than ever before.
"What are you--!!"
"I want Noa to say 'Welcome back, Itzal. I love you.'" he said, totally unabashed. And yet part of him desperately wished that she wouldn't. That she would admit that she was angry with him, for at least he knew that would be the truth.
If it was possible, Noa would have blushed bright red, but with her skin being such a dark brown, a soft orange was all she could manage despite her reservations about what he'd been doing. A recent memory began to surface.
"Why do you have to do this? I know you're hungry, but isn't my life force every day enough? I don't want you to have to devour the souls of others!"
"I can't... I need more strength. Until I can make the entire world burn... For that day might very well come."
There was a serious purpose behind his words, she thought, even if she could not understand it well. "Itzal... Itzal, if you have to do this, I will help! I, too, have a 'mischievous heart'..."
He looked straight into her eyes then, and that was when she first saw the lights, felt her reason and emotions freeze until she could do absolutely nothing at all. "You know, Noa," A single voice cut through the fog. "I'd rather die than bring you down with me, too."
Shaking, her eyes brimmed with tears, Noa said in a shaky voice, "Welcome back, Itzal." She smiled now, without knowing what he thought of it, without knowing that this, in fact, was what hurt him most--her acceptance. She meant it, though, despite everything, no matter how Itzal might have thought otherwise. For no matter what he did, she knew his innocent, childish heart better than anyone and she could never be convinced to hate him. "I love you."
And, perhaps, Itzal was thinking just then, some pokemon really could lie.
『TITLE』 a beautiful lie
『RATING』 PG-13??
『CHARACTERS』 itzal + noa, with shiva (pokémon b/w gijinka)
『WORDCOUNT』 981
『NOTES』 well I guess in this part they're not actually human yet, lol, but it's still that set of characters, so whatever. um the part with 'mischievous heart' is a reference to her 'prankster' ability, which is called 'mischievous heart' in the japanese b/w. everything else, well, this is just a tragic little fic and if you've read the dynamics essay on these two......... (unsure)
『SUMMARY』 Is there such a thing as a relationship that can carry on despite a complete lack of trust? Perhaps, if love can overwhelm it...