Call of the Wind

Dislaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I\'m just having a little fun with it, that\'s all.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Call of the Wind


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

\"You stupid girl!\"

The slap was swift and hard, but Naiya took it in silence, wincing as the sharp sting of it met her cheek. Blinking back tears, she stared at her mother, eyes the color of blue glass steady and calm.

It took little to raise the older woman\'s temper, as she often blamed Naiya for all that went wrong in her life. Ever since her father had died many years ago, she bore the brunt of her mother\'s misplaced wrath.

\"As if I don\'t have enough to worry about,\" her mother spat, grasping her arm in an angry twist. \"You go and act like a fool, letting all that rain into your room!\" Another slap across the cheek. \"There\'s no money to pay for the damage the water made and you know that! How dare you do this to me!\"

In her mother\'s mind, all things revolved around money. Most especially, money she wished to use for herself.

\"Damn your foolishness! And your father who gave it to you! If I had never had you, I wouldn\'t have to deal with this aggravation.\" The older woman\'s face twisted into an ugly mask of hate, bitter memories of Naiya\'s father flitting through her mind.

Blaming her father and her own untimely birth for her misfortune was a favorite pasttime for Naiya\'s mother. As a vain young socialite, she had lusted after him, a handsome yet poor Pokémon researcher. Luring him into her bed had been easy, he had been mislead enough to fall victim to her wiles. What she had not expected was to find herself pregnant after their union.

She had no love for the child and had not wanted it in her life. Fortunately, her father had found out and convinced her to marry him. Once Naiya had been born, her mother could not do anything about the situation and had made life for them a living hell.

Her father\'s death in an excavation accident many years ago had done little to ease her mother\'s bile. They were dependent on a small yearly allowance her father had left behind, provided that Naiya herself was in good care. It was a precaution he had taken to ensure his estranged wife did not abandon their daughter completely. For this, her mother cursed her, and made sure she knew it everyday.

\"For your stupidity, you\'ll starve for the rest of the day!\" the older woman yelled at her. \"Go to your room! I don\'t want to see your face until that mess is cleaned up!\"

Naiya was quick to obey, silently bowing to her mother and heading upstairs to her small bedroom. She knew her mother would not calm down anytime soon, not until she had nursed the bottle of vodka she kept in the kitchen. The one she had just last night been greedily drinking from. For all the lack of money her mother claimed, she seemed to think her alcohol as essential as their daily supply of food.

One would think that being raised by such a witch had turned the young woman bitter as well. Amazingly, this was not the case. Despite the hardship of living with her mother\'s hatred each day, Naiya was a kind and gentle girl. She harbored within her the teachings of her father, the only person in her life to have ever loved her.

Her father had been a man full of life, caring and gentle as she. It was he who had taught her about nature and Pokémon, how to look for the good in things and not let the harshness of the world destroy her heart. When he had died, she had been devastated, wanting to end her life as well. But, because she knew he would want her to, she chose to live on.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Naiya turned and walked to her room. She paused in the doorway, taking a moment to look over the damage last night\'s rain had caused. There was a large puddle on the floor near the window, staining the old wooden floors a darker brown. The puddle had been bigger last night, most of it already soaking into the floor. When she had finally closed the window last night, she had paid it no mind, crossing the room to lay in bed, wet and full of questions about the longing she felt.

Looking at the damage now, Naiya simply shrugged and rolled up the sleeves of her plain, blue cotton dress. Grabbing a large sheet off her bed, she knelt and began to mop up the water. Her arms, slim yet slightly muscled, bunched and stretched as she worked.

She was use to labor, her mother made sure of that. Naiya already did all of the chores around the house, something her mother insisted upon for making her own life miserable. She often found herself repeating these tasks once, twice, or three times over when her mother wanted it so. Naiya did not mind, she welcomed the work. It proved a distraction from her mother\'s disdain.

Naiya was not a fool as her mother claimed. She knew she would have to leave her mother one day. Eighteen years of living with the woman was more than enough. But, because her mother hoarded all the money they had, she could not even support herself if she left. Her mother knew this and taunted her about it mercilessly.

Days when she could not stand her harping any longer, Naiya turned to housework to console herself. Needless to say, the house was very clean.

Because of the constant work, her body was well toned and slim. She was petite, barely over five feet at full height. Her breasts were full and high, her hips delicately rounded. Her body was well-shaped, curving sensuously in all the right places.

Her skin was a rich cream, hints of natural rose coloring her cheeks. Her face dainty and heart shaped, with a pointed chin and a small pink mouth that begged to be kissed. Her soulful blue eyes and curling black hair complimented her perfectly. Though she rarely spoke, her voice was smooth and light, with a softly lilting quality that was soothing to the ear. She was a beauty any man would be glad to behold.

Her mother, vain and jealous, knew her daughter\'s beauty rivaled that of her own youth. She downplayed it, purposefully giving Naiya drab secondhand dresses to wear and finding any excuse to slap her beautiful face. Another reason to hate the girl for the life she lead.

Naiya stood with the wet cloth in hand, having cleaned up most of the puddle. Moving over to the window, she squeezed the water from it, wringing the sheet tightly in her small hands. The floor could not be saved but at least it was no longer wet.

She spread the large sheet and hung it on her windowsill to dry. Pushing back her long hair, she gazed outside, enjoying the light breeze on her face. Beyond her window stretched a small ridge of mountains and further still Ilex Forest, one of the most vast and beautiful wooded areas in the whole of Johto.

Naiya smiled softly, bolstered by the sight of the dense canopy of trees. Her father had taken her on a hike there when she was younger and she longed to go again. However, because her mother kept her so close to home, she contented herself with secret long walks in the wide cluster of trees near her house.

Catching slight movement in the bushes by the trees, Naiya glanced down and gasped in surprise. Lumbering around the roots of the trees was a small blue creature, a young one by the size of the bulb on its back.

\"Bulbasaur...\" she whispered, recognizing it from the old reference books her father had shown her once, long since burned by her mother.

Enraptured by the sight, she leaned down further, watching the small creature with wonder. It was the first Pokémon she had seen in a long time.

Because her mother hated her and the memory of her father, she had denied Naiya the option of going on a Pokémon quest, not even allowing her to keep one as a pet. She knew her daughter loved Pokémon and being deprived of one broke the girl\'s heart. Her mother\'s cruelty extended so far as to put special long-lasting repel potion onto the fence that lined their property, which even now kept the Bulbasaur from venturing any nearer.

Naiya watched with regret as the small creature scurried back into the forest. How she longed for a Pokémon of her own, a companion to ease the loneliness that constantly pressed against her heart.

Suddenly, she gripped the windowsill tightly, her nails digging into the white wood. She wanted to walk in the forest today. *Needed* to get out of the house and away from her mother\'s oppressiveness. Even if only for an hour or two.

Turning back to her room, Naiya walked to her bed and reached under her mattress, grabbing a long coil of rope. It was one her father had used during his adventures and the only piece of him she had been able to save from her mother.

Crossing the room to the door, she locked it, effectively keeping her mother out if she chose to check on her later, which Naiya doubted. With the rope in one hand, she took an old white shawl from her closet and moved back to the window.

Many times before, when she had needed to get out of the house, she had used her father\'s rope to climb down from her window to the ground below. She had never been caught but she was cautious. She knew her mother would explode into a rage if she ever found out. Using the same method now, Naiya secured the rope to a sturdy old curtain rod and wrapped the shawl around her shoulders. Grasping the rope tightly, she swung her legs over the windowsill and carefully made her way down the side of the house.

After a few tense minutes, her feet finally touched ground and she breathed a sigh of relief. Leaving the rope where it was, she inched her way around the corner of the house until she could see through the kitchen window.

Just as she thought, her mother was far too busy drowning herself in alcohol to notice anything was amiss, and far too drunk to care. Because she had banished Naiya to her room for the remainder of the day, she wasn\'t expected to leave her bottle anytime soon.

Happier than she had been at the beginning of the day, Naiya started a brisk walk into the forest. Following an old footpath her father had made once, she disappeared among the trees, engulfed by branches that swayed in the wind.


~~~~~*~~~~~


The sun\'s rays shone off a magnificent blue and white hide, lending the large canine creature an ethereal glow as he raced across the sky. Suicune flew swiftly through the air, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the day before.

As he had focused the rains to fall where he commanded, he had called out into the night, letting the wind carry his cry of longing wherever it may. Too caught up in his own turmoil, he had not heard the answering call until later. When he did, he had been very surprised.

Suicune knew no humans had ever heard the wind\'s call before, they were not attuned to nature so well, yet the reply had definitely been made by a human. A female one at that.

The answering cry had been faint, carried a great distance by the stormy winds. In it he heard an echo of his own yearning, some missing part that she too was searching for. This human knew what it was that plagued him and perhaps together they could fill the void. Even now he could hear her words, haunting, pulling at him.

{{ I am here! Please! Come to me! }}

He had been flying since dawn, racing past the vastness of Ilex Forest until he had found the relative location of the human\'s reply. It was a small village, nestled along a small ridge of mountains, bordered by trees that stretched along their base.

Unable to pinpoint which house the woman had called to him from, he had circled the area. The prospect of meeting her, the one who had answered his call, drove him onward. But, as the day grew long, his frustration returned.

It was now midday and he had yet to find the human he was searching for. In need of rest, he flew towards the forest, where earlier he had seen a small mountain spring. Finding the area, he descended, barely disturbing the grass below. Turning his head he surveyed the area, his gaze landing on the spring.

It was a pitiful looking thing, hardly more than a trickle of water that seeped from a crevice on the mountain side. It pooled to an equally unimpressive puddle underneath, rimmed by uneven slabs of rock. Using his hearing, Suicune deduced that the spring filled from a river further up the mountain and ran underground to join with a larger pool.

The whole setup was barely larger than what the humans called a bird bath. To the eyes of the North Wind, the spring was definitely lacking. And the water was of a quality he did not desire.

Resigned to the task at hand, the great beast shrugged his shoulders and made a sound that could pass for a sigh, yet came out as more of a rumbling growl. Calling upon his powers, he went to work.

Gathering his power, Suicune let loose a ball of energy, bright and dark light shooting out from his massive jaw. The blast slammed into the mountain face, widening the crevice until it produced a fairly wide and strong current. Next, he sent an energy wave into the pool, bombarding the rocky bottom and sides. Soon, it had widened and deepened enough to allow him to bathe, if he so desired. When the rest of the spring met his standards, Suicune turned his attention to the most important feature of all.

The water.

Suicune was known in the legends for having the ability to purify any type of water. He did not disappoint. With grace and agility that came naturally, the mighty beast alighted upon the pool, his paws barely touching the suface. With a single light step, he backed away and watched as his magic glittered, purifying the water within. As a side effect, the pool would also have special healing qualities, should the need for them arise. With a final sprinkling of light, the process was complete.

Satisfied, Suicune approached the pool and took a long drink. After a while, he lowered himself to the grass. For the next few minutes, he rested, his thoughts once again focused on the woman who had answered his call.

It was a while later when he heard the sound of light footsteps approach. By the sound and smell of it, the intruder was human. Quickly rising, Suicune took a few leaping jumps into the trees, slightly disappointed his retreat had been disturbed.

As a legendary Pokémon and a messenger of Ho-oh, it was best he remained a mystery. Especially to human eyes. Their kind could be so foolish sometimes, even going so far as to try and capture him. Shaking his head, he lifted off into the air.

Then, he heard the singing.


~~~~~*~~~~~


Naiya strolled at a leisurely pace, enjoying the warmth of sunshine on her face and the feel of cool grass between her toes. She had taken her shoes off a while ago to enjoy herself more freely. The prospect of having the whole afternoon to herself had simply gone to her head. She was giddy with relief.

Searching her memory for a happier time, she recalled when she had once walked this way with her father. He had taught her about all types of Pokémon that lived in the forest. He had even used a special song to teach her of the three legendary beasts of Johto. Fondly remembering that time, she recited the song aloud.


- Long ago in a tower high
- The Great Ho-oh did aspire
- To teach the world to live as one
- Three beasts were born from the fire
- Raiku, the thunder
- Entei, the volcano
- Suicune, the wind
- All set forth to judge the world
- For the day Ho-oh would return


Naiya laughed at herself a bit, hearing how silly the song was, especially if sung aloud. It didn\'t matter though, she was glad she had a memory of that time with her father. She walked on singing and humming the rest of the song. When she reached the end of the path, she gasped, delighted by what she saw.

There was a small clearing she had visited once, a long time ago. This was it, she knew, but it had changed drastically with time. The trickling spring she remembered was now a small cascading waterfall, flowing stong and clear. The pool at the bottom had widened, still a bit rocky at the edges, but large enough to fit a few people. And the water, oh, the water was magnificent, clear as glass, it sparkled with the brilliance of diamonds.

Rushing forward, Naiya knelt down, cupping her hand into the pool to drink. Once the water met her lips, she sighed in pleasure. The clean, cool taste was wonderful, better than any bottled imitation by far.

Dipping her hands into the pool, she drank again, a bit of water trickling down the delicate line of her throat. Feeling the coolness against her skin, Naiya debated whether or not to take a little swim.

No one was watching, she glanced around to make sure. And the water was *so* inviting. Just a little while in the pool would make her whole day. Having decided, she dropped the shawl from her shoulders and reached for the buttons along the front of her dress. Slowly, she began to shed her clothes.

In the treeline, a pair of ruby red eyes watched her every move.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++






Damn, those hot red eyes...mrowr! *lick lick* >=}

@}---HHF---