The World Without Them || Original Pokémon Fanfiction ✓

Chapter Thirty-Three: Leverage

~~~ Sage Tooley ~~~

 Sage, Frost, and Mana spent the two days after their sudden arrival in eastern Inridia huddled inside the abandoned lighthouse as the storm raged on mercilessly. Their food supply had begun to run dangerously low and, as a result, there was the dull yet constant gnawing of hunger in the girl's stomach. They were nearing the bottoms of their canteens as well, although those were easy enough to refill given how torrential the rain was.

 Only when the typhoon let up did Sage suggest that they venture outside. As soon as she heard the symphony of raindrops pause, she opened the worn door and poked her head through the opening. It was still drizzling, but the Iris was more than relieved to see that the clouds were beginning to part, making way for late morning sunshine and blue sky.

 Sage held the door open so Frost and Mana could walk out. The Pokémon immediately bounded towards a patch of wet grass and flung herself in it, rolling around joyously. Her human companions watched with small smiles as they too stretched and savored the feeling of being outside the lighthouse.

 "I'm glad I'm not the only one enjoying this. I thought I might never be able to go outside again," Frost remarked as he took his gaze off Mana and leaned his head back to stare at the blue expanse above them.

 Sage nodded. "Same here. Being cooped up in there sucked."

 The boy snorted at her comment and made his way over to Mana. The creature halted in her frolicking to peer up at him. She shook herself out and in the process sent water droplets everywhere before leaping into his arms. Frost turned back to Sage as soon as the creature had climbed onto his shoulder and stabilized herself there.

 "So what do we do now?" He asked. "Where should we go?"

 Those were the questions that Sage had been asking herself ever since she had woken up in the field of flowers. They had somehow wound up near Beachden, a city that was as far from Valcoast as one could get. They were nowhere near the islands, the Tanna Society's old location, or the police.

 Sage turned her head and gazed out at the ocean. A thought had crossed her mind, but she was hesitant to bring it up. It was risky, and the odds of Frost giving his support to the notion was probably incredibly low.

 Finally, she sighed and looked back at him and the Pokémon.

 "I have an idea, but you aren't going to like it."

 Frost studied her face briefly before shrugging. "Let's hear it then. It can't be any worse than some of your past suggestions."

 "My past suggestions have saved your life more than a couple times, actually." The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "But anyway, I think that we should go to Beachden.

 She saw his expression change from curious to surprised to incredulous. She braced herself for the interrogation that was sure to come as he opened his mouth to speak.

 "You're telling me that you want to go to a big city even though the government has no clue where we are right now and risk getting found out?" He questioned in disbelief. 

 "Hear me out, Frost. I wasn't suggesting that all three of us go in, I think it's best if I'm the only one to do it. I'm not as easily recognizable as you are and I'm good at keeping myself out of sight. We have no other destination in mind and we're low on supplies. And besides, I need to call Corinne and update her on our situation and the only way to do that is to go to Beachden," the greenette explained.