Pathos「Pokemon Fanfiction」

Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: Moratorium Sensation

"Terminus Cave?"

Avis scowled down at the map he'd been given, about to tighten his grip on it, but he soon realised that he'd scrunched the paper several times over and that it was going to be illegible if he was to crumple it even further.

He didn't know which was worse—staying behind to continue on with pointless missions, or being dragged several kilometres away from the village on something else that was most likely futile as well.

Still, he appreciated Lillian's tenacity. She didn't ask too many questions, and he was glad for that—she had a one-tracked mind, it seemed, so he just needed to follow her until she was done with whatever little world she was living in.

The boy tried to tell himself that he was doing this for a cause as noble as Aiden's should have been, but the truth lay bare in the pits of his mind. He was agreeing with Lillian because she was allowing him to drop the act—nothing more, nothing less.

He did enjoy the girl's company, though. Avis almost preferred the excitement of this life to the dull, dreary days from just a few days ago.

"Oh—Aiden?" He looked up, snapped out of his thoughts, and he startled when he saw Fabio standing a few metres away. "I didn't expect to see you here, but good afternoon, I guess."

He didn't return the greeting, knowing that it wouldn't have affected his former friend in the slightest, but he did give him a curt nod and open his mouth to at least give him an answer. "What are you doing here, Fabio?"

"I'd rather you call me Faust, but since I know you, I'll let it slide." He raised an eyebrow at that, and Avis remained motionless in response. "I'm going to investigate the Hoenn headquarters on Lillian's request. I dug around a little and found that it was somewhere after this path."

"That's nice. Be careful." His cool tone was a little too detached for his liking, too alike to Avis' voice and lacking the warmth that Aiden's had, but he tried to brush that fact aside as he continued speaking. "I'm going to head to Terminus Cave."

Fabio tilted his head at that—and though the action was the smallest bit forced, he was relieved that the two of them were able to carry out a somewhat normal conversation just like they had before.

He smiled, the edges of his mouth pinched, but that wasn't too noticeable and he respected the boy's skill. "Really? They're on the same path, y'know. It's getting late, so I can come with you to an inn or something."

Avis was about to question why an inn existed just several hundred metres away from a village—or anywhere near the headquarters, really—but the older boy was right. Night was approaching soon, and he wasn't in the mood to trek with cold nipping at his skin.

"That would be nice." He made sure to sound more grateful this time, and it seemed to work—Fabio matched his expression with a smile of equal sincerity. "Thank you...Faust."

"I told you that I was fine with you calling me by my name, but thanks for taking the consideration." He pressed his lips together into a thin line at that. "Still, it shouldn't be too long until we reach."

• • •

He woke up the next morning with a tired grunt.

Avis wanted nothing more than to strangle Fabio right then—their views on "not too long" had apparently been more than a little different, but he supposed that he couldn't blame the mercenary. He had, after all, been confined to the same village for most of his life, and the other boy had had missions involving the whole of Kalos.