Wishing || Dreaming

Hau replies, giving a small smile before turning back to stare out at the horizon. The sun was setting over the ocean, the smell of sea salt lingering in the air.

"Ahh, just... pondering, I suppose? Thinking real hard about some stuff that's happened, and might happen."

They fiddle with their sleeves a tad.

  The little pokemon mirrors Hau's stance, casting their own gaze out to the ocean as they offer a small hum in response to the trainer's words. Far be it from them to pry on the reasons why, they instead focus their attention on the action itself.

They offer a comforting little pat to Ree's shoulder!

Ree gives a small, sad little smile, before offering their hands for Jirachi to settle in again.

“I know you can pro’lly tell what I’m thinking about,” they say, quiet, as they lean back. “Honestly, it still feels too good ta be true. It’s hard to believe that I get some actual good days now. It’s …”

a pause. They exhale softly, looking up.

  The star takes no time in deciding to accept this offer, nestling comfortably in Ree's arms. They look upwards in silence at the trainer as they speak, and their silence carries for a small moment after Ree has said their peace.

  Truthfully, Amany had not considered confirming what Ree had been thinking; that seemed a measure too intensive for one wearing their emotions so openly ( at least, in this moment ). Thankfully, it is easy enough to hazard a guess as to what was on the young human's mind, and it is a sentiment they have seen before.

"It is real," they reiterate, their tone a tad contemplative. "When one lives a life filled with hurt, the good things feel like dreaming. That is something I was told, once."

  They pause, turning their own gaze to the sky.

He let out a small relieved breath as the Pokemon didn't seem too upset with him. Either way, he was going to make a conscious effort not to grab them again, especially without their explicit permission. He clasped his hands together in front of him and squeezed them tightly as extra security to make sure he didn't do it again.

The grin on his face stretched so wide it almost hurt a bit. Hearing Amany rationalize his words and relate it to their own experiences felt nostalgic, in a way. It reminded him of when he was little and going wide-eyed with awe as the train emerged from the tunnel to stop at the turntable in the middle of town. Talking to them about it now was like talking to Ingo in their youth about how they were going to ride the train far away one day and never look back.

"Yup. A lot like an onix. Or an orthworm." He nodded as he readjusted on the ground once more, hugging his knees to his chest. Emmet watched as their gaze made little lines in the soil and reached for a fallen twig, using it to draw out the subway's routes.

He blinked back up to where they were floating once he was finished drawing it from memory, his eyes a bit wide with surprise. It was one thing to explain the subway to someone. It was something he always found joy in, but to be asked about his interest in it specifically was new to him. No one had ever really asked that before- it was just accepted as fact and honestly? Emmet hadn't thought much about it himself.

"Hmm." Gaze back down to where the lines indented into the dirt, trying to remember all the way back to when he'd been a kid. "My brother and I grew up in Anville Town. It's a rrreally small town far away from any others. The only way to get anywhere is by train." He was silent for a while, really mulling it over in his head.

  Amany lowers down to stand on the ground next to Emmet as he speaks, gaze fixed on the map so lovingly drawn out by hand. Though their eyes do not stray from the drawing for most of his recounting, they are listening ( hanging on to every word, in fact ), and they do not waste time commenting when he's finished.

"It is nice to like the same things as others around you. Humans do not seem to know they can grant their own wishes by coming together like that."

  They look back to the trainer, head tilted in casual inquiry ( though there is a pleading sort of spark in their gaze that can't quite be put to words ).

Altra curiously looked back at the little Pokémon. It was super cute, and he really felt bad for startling the poor thing. But even so, he did his best to not appear as a major threat, nodding his head at it's first little.. albeit confused sound.

"Amany? That's a nice name!" He looked confused, he didn't know he 'felt' scary. But that might explain why some Pokémon avoid him so often. Outside of a few.

"Mm.. no.." He shook his head, raising a hand up to pull at his own cheek.

"I'm very much alive! Though I've had some friends wonder if a ghost Pokémon put a curse on me." He offered his hand to the little Pokémon. trying to show he couldn't hurt her.

  With that last confirmation, Amany seems to calm down enough to close the distance, placing a timid paw atop Altra's palm before seeming to drift into deep thought at his question.

"... I do not know what a 'home' is. I am knowing the word, but not... the feeling? As humans say. I have a place that I like very much! But I do not stay there all nights."

  Their tone is somewhat matter-of-fact, and they cast a glance up at the night sky, seemingly unbothered by the admittance.

"That is okay, I think. I fly until I get tired and then I sleep where I can be safe. That is how it has been for a long long time."

  A pause.

  The little pokemon exhales as the berry is taken, somewhat relieved to no longer be holding something so heavy ( for them, anyway ). Content, they lower themself to sit in the sand.

"Hau. Okay! I am... Amany."

  A briefer introduction than they tended to give upon a first meeting, but most humans tended to give only the one name these days. Oh how times change. They do not comment on the apology, only tilting their head in response.

It’ll go away, but it’ll come back.

it’s more than Ree could ever hope for.

the gentle weight of a gentle Pokémon on their shoulder. The reassurance that their wishes are just as worthy as other people’s. The promise that it’s not just for tonight.

“… nngh”

They duck their head, cheeks stinging now. A sniffle, as they wipe their eyes.

“If I knew it was real… woulda made a wish a little less selfish…”

But.

  They nestle down next to Ree with a small, satisfied exhale, draping their wings around the both of them best they could. It was a common thing for humans to get emotional over wishes ( especially over healing ones, so it seemed ), so they don't find themself uncomfortable at the display. If anything, it served as a clear 'job well done' that they could reflect on later.

"That is okay, too. Feel what you need as long as you need! Selfish wishes are not bad in themselves. It is important to want for yourself as much as it is important to want for others."

That’s … yeah. That’s their chickenshit handwriting. Ree reaches out to take the tag, with shaking hands.

They’re not shaking because of pain.

“.. I thought this was like. A metaphorical wish,” they admit, turning the tag over in their hands. “I figured it was like. One of those things that grownups do to make kids feel better, yeah?”

A pause. Ree swallows. Their eyes feel hot.

  The tag has a glossy, ethereal feel to it, bending without leaving creases or tears as it is examined. Amany does not speak in response to most of Ree's musings. It is at the sound of the apology that they move closer to briefly press their forehead to Ree's shoulder in an attempt at comfort. They keep their eyes closed for a short moment, seemingly in thought, before they smile reassuringly.

"It is real and it is not a short term wish; this I am sure of. Its power may come in waves, but it will never fade. Remember this in the moments when the pain is there, and you will be okay."

  They pause before speaking once more.

There is the soft sound of chimes as a familiar little creature floats into view. They look Ree up and down before nodding seemingly to themself. "Ah! I was thinking right. You are feeling better, yes?"

They’re climbing one of the trees just outside of Po Town.

Their body can do it, now. It’s so — bizarre, and strange, that their body can still have this strength even after three years. They’re sitting on one of the branches, in awe, when the wishing creature appears.

Ree blinks.

“—? I am, but … how did you…?”

Seems like they don’t remember giving that wish at all. Maybe they thought it was a fake thing. Their legs sway back and forth.

  Ree's answer causes the wishmaker to beam, floating over and swiftly finding purchase on an adjacent branch to cling onto. Resting their chin on the bark, they blink up at the human with excited eyes.

"This is a normal thing for humans when they hurt for a long time, I have seen. It will be feeling normal in a time! Please make sure not to get hurt by doing too much, okay?"

  They hoist themself up to properly perch on the branch before reaching up and pulling at one of their tags, the action causing a new tag to take the old one's place. Slowly, familiar handwriting begins to cover the removed tag, and Amany holds the paper out to Ree.