9 – Learning Geology

9 – Learning Geology

Basking in each other's arms soon turned to sleep as adrenaline wound down and tired bodies gave in to the inevitable. A peaceful sleep of pure exhaustion, minds too worn out to offer anything but the most simple of dreams. Calcine and Brandy clung onto each other the whole way through it, dopey smiles on their faces.

So it was a sharp shock when they both started getting a stream of water dumped over their heads. The pair spluttered as cool liquid splattered against warm skin.

"Drink up!" Sparky said, pushing the canteen she'd half emptied into Brandy's hand. "I swear you sweated out all the water in your body, and you're more dried out than day-old Chesto Berries."

"Sparky? Why!" Brandy spat, mopping the spikes of her red hair out of her eyes.

"Because I couldn't wait to be helpful, as cute as your snoring was."

"Not to mention jealous," Calcine murmured, mouth steaming fog as the water evaporated against the still burning furnace or her insides.

"Me? Never!" Sparky said, slapping both her cheeks and tilting her head. The distrusting twin squints she got made her break into giggles. "Okay, maybe a little. You did a number on her Calcine! I thought she would melt into a puddle with her cooing noises. You'll have to give me some tips."

Sparky made some noises that Brandy refused to believe were accurate, short, gasping cries that made Brandy's ears burn. Calcine and Carkol seemed to find them very amusing, stone faces might be good at hiding laughs but their eyes sure weren't, sharp and mocking. Brandy dumped a tiny bit of the water into her hand so she could flick droplets at Sparky's chest. The Joltik retreated with high-pitched squeaks as the water crackled into arcing yellow static in her fur. She tore her fingers through the fur to try to get it off. Little clicking noises of frustration bounced off the cave walls as her fur began to puff up, making her look like a fuzzball.

Calcine wrapped her arms around Brandy from behind and squeezed her. "She does make a good point; you should drink. Would be embarrassing to collapse from heat exhaustion after all that."

Brandy shook her head as she drank, outnumbered; she was unable to even put up a fight. It seemed there'd be no escaping her partners fussing after her health. Carkol stood up as Brandy worked through the canteen, one small gulp at a time. The warm cloak rubbed across tingling skin and dropped the pair onto the smooth ground of the cavern.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've ideas for my work," Carkol says as she returns to her statue, the poor malformed thing getting reshaped as she dips her fingers into the stone. The cavern's walls shake as Carkol exerts her rock-shaping power.

Brandy rolled until she could get enough feeling in her muscles to get up to a sit. She waved her canteen at Carkol with the cheerfulness of someone who'd got fucked senseless and had not a care in the world right now. Fearless.

"You acted like a trainer there! You wanted to see what it was like? I've never heard of a Pokémon doing that."

"It's not a gift. I've decided on a name, and I want you to hand it in for me."

"You're finally thinking of getting a Trainer?" Calcine said, orange eyes soft at the edges. A look of surprise? At this rate, Brandy would spend ages puzzling about how to read faces with unusual eyes.

"Watching you two bond, I think it's about time I looked to feel that again. I'm not expecting to regain lost memories, but I have to hope I am the same person I once was. Perhaps if I find a Trainer who suits me just as well, I can see their reflection."

Brandy whistled. Sounded like a challenging responsibility for whoever did get her, having to compete with a ghost of the past. But some Trainers would be up for the challenge, no doubt.

"How about I send some Trainers your way who need some help? You could practice it together then, give them advice without having to feel all hollow by doing it all yourself?"

"That'd be sweet of you. I won't go easy on any Trainer. Maybe I'll take them under my cloak if they're interesting enough." Carkol looked back, white light burning out of triangle slices where her eyes should be.

"Lapidary. Remember the name for me, Calcine. Next time I see you, I expect to see you with a cloak of your own."

"Lapidary," Calcine nodded. "And maybe I'll blow past the cloak and get the full fiery mantle. Then I can look down on you for a change."

"Well then, push Brandy to get you there. No going easy on her!"

Brandy blushed as Calcine grabbed her arm and gave it a squeeze, leaning on it. Hopefully, Calcine went a tiny bit easy on her, or she wouldn't be walking straight for days between her and Sparky.

Lapidary waved her hands at them all, shooing them out. "No soppy goodbyes, you go! I will see you all again. I'll be very disappointed if you don't impress me when you do. I expect gym badges."

"Going there next!" Brandy said, tugging at Calcine's arm only to get sandwiched as Sparky grabbed her other, and the pair leaned on her. The blushing human filled in a Poké-sandwich.

Maybe after a bit of bonding, or she would get eaten alive!

The cave was still rumbling as they left, the sound of Lapidary working on her statue fading to a small drone they heard until the mines faded into the difference. One day Brandy would come back and see what she made if only to make sure it wasn't a statue of her and Calcine going at each other.

Or if it had to be that, at least she'd check Lapidary had improved her art. She didn't want generations to come to think she was some kind of potato person!