Death Is Lonely

Part 1

The trail of blood was fresh.

Autumn leaves crackled under Yveltal's massive talons. She ducked under a branch, careful not to touch the delicate wood, and scanned the ground ahead. A small tuft of white fur showed her the way, and she continued down the path. Another spatter barely stood out against the red, teardrop-shaped leaves on the ground, but Yveltal was very keen on that kind of color.

Under the evening sun, everything was quiet; too early for the nocturnal Pokémon to rise, but too late to hear the diurnals. Long, dreary shadows blanketed the cooling forest floor, and Yveltal wondered if she would find what she was looking for at all.

A spark of white-yellow light answered her silent plea. It was tiny—it would have gone unnoticed had it been any dimmer. She walked gingerly toward that spark of light, stopping only when a quiet whimper confirmed her suspicions.

A little Pachirisu; young, but not too young. Old enough that it left the nest, but perhaps only recently. On its side, Pachirisu let out another quiet whimper. Dim lights reflected off of its eyes, and Yveltal realized that it was staring right at her. She lowered her head in respect; poor thing. A shame it wasn't lying in the opposite direction.

"It's okay," Yveltal said, her voice an ominous trill. With her words came a cruel, hollow breeze that kicked up dry leaves and dusted her body and blinded Pachirisu. Another whine, an arm reaching up to its face, but it was too weak.

Yveltal lowered her head—her beak was larger than the little thing—and brought a wing forward. Her tail's claws flexed on the ground, digging into the dirt absently. Almost on reflex, it drew away life from the nearby trees, but she quickly stopped herself.

"Little Pachirisu..."

It whined back, not recognizing her words. A wild Pokémon, no doubt, yet that didn't make it any less tragic to Yveltal. Life was draining from this one too early, and Yveltal wondered if she could bring this one to Xerneas. But not only was he too far away, but perhaps that would only lead to more suffering.

Morbid curiosity drove Yveltal to inspect Pachirisu closer. The wound was across its chest; some sort of slash. Must have gotten into a fight it simply couldn't win, perhaps falling prey to a predator. Yet it still managed to escape. It was strong, but not strong enough to escape the aftermath. The little one was too small; these wounds were far too grave, and there were hints of poison coursing through it, too.

Yveltal sighed, making another ominous trill, and gently picked Pachirisu up. Then, she began to sing. The song had no words—it would be meaningless to Pachirisu, after all—but the tune was slow and became slower, notes rising and falling with Pachirisu's chest. The harmony slowed the wind and settled the leaves; the sun set, making the sky just a little darker. Pachirisu relaxed in her claws, weakly snuggling against her massive wing.

On the final note, Yveltal gently ran her free wing's claw under Pachirisu's chin, then the cheek—it sparked, weakly, and Pachirisu smiled. Yveltal didn't care much for the tingling sensation, but she didn't stop her song. Finally, she moved it to Pachirisu's forehead, where a small, dark aura collected at the tip of her claw. Pachirisu, still smiling, stiffened, and then went limp. It was gone.

Yveltal set Pachirisu down after that, and the leaves surrounded the lifeless body. Yveltal stared for a while until more little, gleaming eyes to her left caught her attention. Two pairs of them. Two more Pachirisu, the same age as one whose life had just been extinguished. They looked at Pachirisu with little recognition of what had happened; did they understand death? On a primal level, they at least recognized Yveltal as a threat, because when she looked at them, they immediately backed away.