Atop the Mountain

Chapter 12: The Final Stretch

Once a year, between the two willows-

Leon is falling. No, wait- floating? He's pretty sure he's asleep, regardless, because he appears to be suspended in a pitch black abyss. At least he's clothed- something about being in a pitch black abyss makes him feel weirdly exposed.

"It seems you've made up with Raihan," a familiar voice sounds behind him- softer than he recalls it being before. Leon turns- finding the patch of abyss below him to be solid, and faces the hulking form of Zacian. The blue wolf towers above him, golden eyes narrowed into slits.

"You could say that," Leon says, not really sure how happy he is to have a Wolf God poking at his sex life.

"That's good- but it's not what we're here to talk about today," thank fuck for that "I apologies if being here is a bit disorienting. It's less likely we'll be overheard here." Leon isn't sure who might be around to overhear what happens in his dreams. It's bad enough that he apparently has two wolves watching him while he's awake- he really doesn't like the idea of some unseen force watching him while he sleeps, too. Before he can inquire further, however, Zacian is pressing on.

"As you may know- and if you don't, you might want to have a conversation with Raihan about his own dreams- but my brother and I can no longer effect the material world- not directly," one blue ear twitches, "we are, for all intents and purposes, dead, just not fully. The details of that don't really matter to you- just know that if I could deal with this personally, I would." Zacian stands now, circling Leon quickly enough that it makes him a bit nervous. She stops, looking down at him with an expression Leon can't read.

"Humans are soft, squishy, and you cry a lot. If I could climb up the mountain and tear Eternatus' throat out, I would," she bares her teeth slightly, "but I lost my chance. A thousand years ago, back when this all began. Zam and I tried to fight it ourselves, and we failed," her tail droops suddenly, and the normally proud wolf dips her head to Leon, "I've been picking up the pieces for a thousand years. I want to be done, so here's a hint- don't try to calm Eternatus. Kill it. You're a powerful warrior Leon, but you're soft. Don't let that get in the way."

Zacian's words swirl in Leon's mind. He has questions- a lot of questions, about how Zacian and Zamazenta pick and choose who goes up the mountain- about how he was chosen- about how Zacian and Zamazenta were there at the start, before Pokemon even existed.

Supposedly.

He'd been doubting that one for a long time.

He doesn't have the chance to ask any of these questions, however, because a moment later, Zacian is gone, and Leon is slipping back into deep sleep.

Away from where even the most brave of hikers may wander-

It can't last forever. Leon knows that. This bliss that he and Raihan have found themselves in as Raihan recovers from his encounter with Perrserker isn't sustainable. Leon wishes it was. He wishes he could be in a dingy inn, curled in bed with Raihan, for the rest of his life. It's not perfect- he's pretty sure the inn has a Blipbug infestation, but it's easy. He doesn't have to make big decisions, or cut out the throats of any dragon.

Raihan is awake when Leon is roused from sleep by early morning light seeping through the window. He's propped up against the wall, chewing on his bottom lip as he reads a large leather-bound book.

"Is that Rose's book?" He asks, pulling the blanket higher over himself.

Raihan closes the book, keeping a finger between the pages to keep his spot so that he can take a moment to lean down and place a gentle kiss to Leon's brow. "Morning," he murmurs, and despite the questions and anxieties that have carried over from his dream, Leon lets out a pleased hum at the contact.