Metamorphosis (Pokémon Watties 2017)

3: Going Up

"Are you serious?" Isa looked to Kaden, shocked. "You could do literally anything in the village, yet you're choosing to waste your life helping me out with that stupid tree?"

"Why not? It's not like I have anything else to do with my life. Figure you could use a little company as well." Kaden shrugged, Isa immediately giving him a tight hug.

"This is great! Maybe with another person, we can make it so that we'll be done cutting down that tree a generation earlier."

"Why not make it us who cut the tree down? Then we can leave the village and find your friend, right?"

"Now that'd be nice."

---

"Are you regretting becoming a cutter now?" Isa asked. He had started to make it a tradition with Kaden, asking the question every day after they finished their work.

"Not yet." Kaden looked around as the two started to head back to Effervescent Village. "Hey, you wanna try something before heading back?"

"Kaden? What are you doing?" Isa turned around to watch as Kaden walked back to the tree, grabbing their axe and walking around the tree.

"Have you ever climbed a tree before?" Kaden asked, gripping the axe and swinging it into the tree. He made a small mark in the tree, reaching up about four feet on the side of the tree. "Give me a hand over here, would you?"

"What? Kaden, I don't think we're allowed to do this."

"But you never said that we couldn't. Besides, if you've never climbed a tree before, you haven't lived. Even I know that and I only remember living the past month or so. You gonna give me a hand or what?" Kaden was already reaching up, placing a foot on the handle of the axe.

"Are you sure?" Kaden gave Isa a firm nod. "Okay then." Isa went over to Kaden, waiting to see what he would do next.

"I'm gonna guess you're strong enough for this. Hold out your hands together like this on about the same level where the axe is." Kaden now stood entirely on the handle of the axe, propping up one foot against the tree. He held his hands out, locking his fingers and his palms facing the sky.

"Like this?" Isa lifted his hands in the same fashion to where Kaden's other foot was.

"Perfect. Now don't fall over, or this isn't gonna work. Ready?" Kaden took a foot off of the side of the tree, placing it on Isa's hands.

"Kaden! You're gonna crush me!"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing!" Kaden lifted his other foot off the axe, setting it down on one of Isa's shoulders. "Now turn around so I'm facing the tree, but go slow."

"Kaden!" Isa groaned, interrupted by a laugh.

"If you really feel like you're gonna collapse, then tell me so I can get down. But that'd be a disappointment, so come on! It's not that much longer."

"Oh, all right." Isa turned around, waiting for Kaden's next command.

"Lift your hands up as high as you can." Isa lifted his hands to about his shoulders, Kaden lifting his foot from them. Kaden soon lifted his other foot from his shoulder, Isa immediately turning around when he stopped. Kaden had put the axe in the tree about three feet higher from where it had been earlier. He had a foot on the axe and his other leg propped around the branch just above him. He reached up, grabbing onto the branch and swinging his other leg, now sitting on the branch. "Ta-da! Now you try it!" Kaden leaned down and pulled the axe from out of the tree, letting it drop. Isa let out a small yell and jumped back as it fell to the ground.