Chapter Two: Root

I would have noticed it even if I was blind.

It was, in all simplicity, a brilliant chance for my naive foolishness to get the better of me. Mother had informed me that she had matters to take care of; that she had some chores that needed doing, and that she would be gone for a few days.

Being the impatient child that I was, I had merely paid attention to the last sentence; if my guardian was to disappear for such a long period of time—she'd never been gone that long before—could I find this freedom? Could I break her rules?

The logical side of my brain told me not to. It told me to pay attention to Mother's grieving, anxious eyes, the tense expression that I might try to venture out; the tight words that escaped her quivering lips.

"Don't go outside at all costs," she had begged me. "You'll get hurt. I've left you with more than enough food and water. Just please, for both our sakes, keep yourself out of trouble and stay inside until I come back."

I had the urge to snap back a reply about how she never let me go outside even if she was there to supervise me, but I stayed quiet and nodded. I could tell that the Volcarona was worried, and I had to do my part for Mother.

But what little self-control I had was swiftly washed away on my second day after Mother had left—I had managed to pass the day with hours of unbearable silence and daydreams of the unrealistic outside world that lived in my mind.

Nothing will happen if I leave for just a little while, right? That was what the mischievous part of my mind had whispered, and I had, for the most of my life, lived with such naughty thoughts bottled up in an unhealthy corner of my mind.

Half an hour later, I found myself in the wilderness, agape and horrified—and it was then that I believed every warning word Mother had spoken.

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I may have been someone weak, but I wasn't a cripple. Yes, I was frail, but I could still move by myself without any assistance. I just tired and caught illnesses and aches frequently—and those problems had led Mother to coop me up for most of my life.

At first, I thought she was just being overprotective, but it turned out that the reason she had done all this was to protect her very own child—Father had passed away long ago, and I was the only one she had left.

To describe this forest as a wasteland would be a huge understatement. Little greenery remained; I didn't know how this could be deigned a forest any longer, and the stench of dust and cold, stale air lingered everywhere.

I considered returning to my safe abode, but I had already done this much. I couldn't afford to just turn back now and give up on this dream.

The beautiful woodlands I had in mind shattered with a dull, abrupt sound at the back of my head, and I realised with a sorrowful glance that this forest had been imaginary all along.

The air was thick with a haze that the sun could no longer keep away, and my surroundings seemed to be like a photo; it looked as if it weren't real, as if it was a timeless photo that I had been trapped in and every detail morphed into semi-stagnant pools of limp decay.

Maybe if I train hard enough, I can get into the Company and fight for our region. Maybe Mother would let me go if I was strong.

I tried stretches with tentative, slow actions—and it was hard not to choke and gag on the thick fog surrounding me. Still, I convinced myself that I would return just after a few exercises, and that was all the persuasion my simple-minded brain needed.

When it turned out that I had overestimated my stamina, I curled into the nearest tree—it wasn't so much of a plant as it was a crumbling structure withering in the freezing winds—shivering and coughing on the slate-grey smog.

I laid there for what seemed like hours, pathetic and stationary under the bare shelter of cracked branches just a shade away from obsidian, with regretful thoughts running through my mind—but then, a distant noise resounded, and I tried to lift my heavy head with a groan.

"What's that?" It was a faint murmur, one full of curiosity, and I could tell that it was one of those human males that Mother had warned me about.

I slid an eye open to see him waving one of those strange devices around, the small machine producing an uncomfortable light to aid him in his search. At last, the flare landed on me, and I tried to back away and move my freezing horns to shield me.

The male—he seemed like a young boy at most—seemed to get my silent plea, and he shifted the object so that the light died out, kneeling beside me and using his clumsy hands to inspect my body.

His caressing wasn't uncomfortable, and I let him do that for a while, the two of us silent as he checked me over with only his grim mouth visible to my half-closed lids.

Mother's words about how these humans were dangerous echoed somewhere in my head—but as I rolled over and tried to catch a view of his expression, I could tell that the soft look in his large grey eyes meant me no harm.

"You're a Larvesta, aren't you?" He stood up at last, and his tone was one of kindness. "What are you doing out here? The government could easily catch you like this, you know—haven't you heard that they're harvesting Larvesta for artificial sunlight?"

I replied with a grunt, certain that he wouldn't be able to understand anything I said. He frowned, trying to understand my words—but as any other human, he could only attempt to read my tone and behaviour as I spoke.

"Hey, I got an idea." He shifted as he looked down at me, that serious expression on his face returning once again. "If you're all alone like this, why not come with me and join the Company? It's made up of Volcarona, but I'm sure that Father would allow me to keep you until you evolve."

This is it! my mind blared at me, overriding any sense of calmness I possessed and ignoring any what-ifs my brain tried to stop me with. It's an opportunity, isn't it?

I could hear the nagging voice at the back of my head, telling me that this was a bad idea and that I should have listened to Mother, and for a moment, I tried to pause and think things through before agreeing.

A small bout of internal struggle gripped me—there were two conflicting sides of me, after all. Mother's little angel who would obey her without question, and more prominently, my inner devil who was selfish and wanted a glow of my own.

But I found myself nodding before I could even start to understand just what I was doing—but the boy wouldn't understand that. He would only see the eagerness that I displayed.

He picked me up with a grin, and it was then that I realised that I felt secure in his hands.

I felt even more secure than I had when I was in Mother's grasp for these seven years I was alive.

"My name's Alder, Larvesta." His orange hair was glaring in comparison to my pale, weak horns, and he was a light that seemed to emit radiance equalling the sun.

"It's nice to meet you."

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