Across the Seas: Prelude

Absol

Andy had left Ocean behind. Whatever fate befell her, likely death, he didn't want to stay there and watch anyways. He rubbed his good eye, avoiding contact with his bad one, and took one glimpse towards the rising sun before deciding it was too bright to look at, and faced back forward on the road. The landscape had plenty of trees to hide anyone in them, but he hoped it would keep anyone outside of it from noticing him as well, considering he didn't know who was looking for him right now. If it was Whisper, he was in trouble. Although, he had doubts it was him. At least, specifically him. He could have sent a message here to a certain outlying group of his faster than Ocean could have swam him here. If that was the case, then someone who worked with him was looking for him, and he wasn't ever gonna know who.

The morning was at least calming his nerves. The sounds of singing birds, and the gentle breeze was soothing. Mixed with the morning sunrise colors and cloudless sky, he couldn't complain about anything. The brush and shrubbery of the forest around him was lively and growing well, as were the trees, standing tall and creating a thick canopy anywhere there wasn't road. He'd almost assume you couldn't live between them, but he'd seen a few wild pokemon wandering around. Each time they'd pass by, he'd gotten on edge and would shyly step back, though they didn't seem interested in him, and would just carry on with their business, leaving Andy alone.

A whole day had passed since he'd left Ocean at the docks. And in that time, the road had kept going in one direction, but it had only taken a couple moments before Andy came across a 4 way crossroad. He hadn't gotten any directions from Ocean, she'd only told him to follow the road. This intersection threw a wrench in his route, and there wasn't a sign to unscrew the bolt wedged in. Each direction simply carried on to more forest, but one path specifically had a cart that was attached to a Mudsdale, with a Charmeleon and Machop outside it, looking at a broken wheel. They all seemed to be talking, but they were too far away for him to hear anything they were saying. Maybe only a word or two would get passed when they raised their voice, but everything else was just mutters. Andy contemplated just moving on to a different road, but if he wanted to find Absol's Guild, he had to get directions, or else he'd just be wandering aimlessly, and they may be the only ones he could ask. He took a deep breath, and began approaching, their words becoming more clear as he got closer.

"... order that we can't have late," the Charmeleon was saying. Whatever he'd said at first, Andy couldn't hear.

"You know I don't work with wood," the Machop pointed to the back of the wagon cart. "I work on silk or fabrics."

"Then we might just be stuck here." The Charmeleon backed away from the wheel, wiping his forehead, before noticing Andy right when he was about to get their attention. "Oh, hello there, say you wouldn't happen to be good at working with wood to make a new wheel, would you?"

"Uh," Andy didn't know how to answer. He didn't know if he was or wasn't. His usual source of knowledge about his skills didn't seem to want to work, and he didn't want to sound rude by saying no. Where was the harm in trying? "I can give it a-"

"Great!" The Charmeleon interrupted with, before grabbing some wood from the back of the wagon, and laying it before Andy, while going back to grab some tools. Once he had everything, Andy began to work with them. He couldn't say where the idea came from, but his body simply moved along while hardly thinking about it. The Machop, Charmeleon, and Mudsdale all watched him work, as if entranced by his motions.

"Wow, we managed to cross roads with a carpenter," the Mudsdale finally said. As Andy continued working, they all decided to introduce themselves.

"My name's Opal," the Charmeleon said, before gesturing to the Machop. "That's Emerald, and our wagon muscle is Topaz." Andy chuckled a bit.