The Rise of the Outcasts (Offical revised/rewritten book) | Pokemon Fanfiction

Chapter Two | The Sandstorm

1803 words
Cinder was so busy keeping her hat on her head that she didn't realize the map was two fingers away from slipping out of her paw and into the storm. So it was a surprise when she suddenly felt the paper slip away from her grasp and lose itself in the dryness of the desert.

But that map wasn't the most of her worries right now. She was stuck in a storm with her friend, a rapidash, and she knew that rapidash were usually very prone to panic and reacted in dramatic or exaggerated ways. She was not only scared for both her and her friend's life, but also that she could get thrown off Comet's back any second.

To Cinder's surprise, Comet handled the situation very well. She gave out different commands that Cinder didn't really listen to much to- She just did as she was told, getting off of Comet's back and hiding under her body, and focused on how she was going to get out of the dust storm that had just engulfed her and her friend in a raging storm of sand and small rocks that lashed at her eyes, despite her hat blocking most of it out.

She found it hard to breathe normally and occasionally fits of coughing erupted from her mouth. Her throat began to feel drier than the desert itself, and all she could do was pull her hat over her face to prevent anything else from flying into her mouth, nose, and eyes as Comet stood over her for protection.

Cinder didn't know how long she and Comet stayed in that position, but she thought that Comet must've been very strong, or at least strong-willed because, to her, it felt like an eternity. What impressed her more was that Comet wanted to keep moving even after standing in the dust storm for so long.

So Cinder hopped on her back again and the rapidash, having good experience with directions, started to walk forward, shivering from the cold desert that was now under the dim lighting of the moon and stars instead of the hot, bright sun. Instead of hard and crusty ground, Comet now stepped on soft sand and had to take lighter steps so her hooves wouldn't get buried in the endless ocean of sand and sand dunes.

After calming down from the fear she just experienced, Cinder began to realize how dry and itchy her throat was and scratched at her neck desperately. She was still coughing up sand and dust that had somehow managed to get into her lungs even against her best efforts to protect herself from it. I'm never getting trapped in a dust storm again, she told herself. Never ever. But she still worried.

She was snapped out of these thoughts when Comet spoke up. "So, uh... The weather's pretty nice today," she said. Cinder couldn't but snort at the sarcasm. Even in the toughest times, Comet almost always was able to make a sarcastic remark or crack a joke to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. Just got a little sand stuck in my lungs, and I'm feeling severely dehydrated now... Nothing too bad," Cinder said back, going along with the joke. Comet just shook her head with a smile and a slight chuckle.

A comfortable silence filled the air for a bit until Comet's ears slicked back. "Cinder... Do you think we'd ever be separated? You know, if this whole prophecy thing is real, that is," she asked. Cinder was taken by surprise. The question was so sudden, and she wasn't prepared for it.

"Oh. Well, uh... We might," Cinder admitted. "Yeah, we might... But if we are, we'll still see each other in our hearts, in our minds, in our memories... And every time I look up and feel the hot sun against my fur or the cold night wind rushing through my ears, I'll think of you. I'll think of you, and I'll think of this moment. I'll think of all the hardships we went through together and how we supported each other through it."

Comet was quiet for a good few seconds until she finally scoffed and rolled her eyes. "There you go, making everything so affectionate and sappy... You know, if you keep that up, I might fall in love with you," she remarked, though Cinder knew she was only joking.