Chapter 2: Diagnosis

Ten minutes later, Salamence was lying on a very large gurney and Dawn and I were in the waiting room, sitting rigidly against the comfy chairs. The man was talking to Nurse Joy. I let him do the talking, something I wasn't used to. I was used to do everything myself. Too numb from what had happened, it didn't seem to matter for once.

A few minutes later, the man walked up to me, his Espeon right next to his side, "I'm sorry your Salamence is hurt."

I looked up at him. I wasn't good at socializing on a normal day, so thinking of something to say to this stranger now seemed impossible. Dawn sensed my inability to socialize and riled up her chipper spirit, "Thank you so much for helping us."

"Anytime. My name is John by the way." He held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Dawn and this is Paul and Piplup." Dawn shook hands with him and Piplup waved. I did the same, somehow managing to make eye contact.

"Don't worry, your Salamence will be fine." John said.

"There's really no real way to tell that." I said. I'd never liked optimism.

John shrugged, "It wasn't by chance I felt like taking a walk in the middle of nowhere this morning. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen you fall. It was really weird too..."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I didn't notice until Salamence started roaring, but it looked like something invisible was shaking him in the air almost."

My mind filtered back to those gusts of wind. They were impossible. In those sky conditions, it was out of the question for that kind of force to exist. Not only that, but right before hitting the ground, air had blown us up, steadying Salamence. It was impossible for air currents to rise upward only feet from the ground with the force to keep a bulky Dragon type and two humans in the air. Absolutely, undeniably impossible.

"I guess God saved you guys." John said, "So really, you'll all be fine."

I stared at him.

"I need to get going, but I'll be back to check on your Salamence tomorrow."

"We may not be here that long." I said, sounding colder than I wanted to.

He looked like he wanted to pat me on the head reassuringly, "I'm sure you want your Salamence to get some rest. You seem very close to your Pokemon."

I decided not to reply.

"I'll be here tomorrow." He repeated.

"You don't need to do that." I tried not to sound exasperated.

"I really want to make sure he's ok." John said gently, "It's no problem."

"Thank you so much." Dawn stepped closer to me as if sensing I'd snap, "It means a lot."

"Nice meeting you two." John waved before turning and walking towards the exit, his Espeon trotting nimbly beside him.

"He's so nice." Dawn said.

I didn't say anything.

"You ok?" A hand came to rest on my shoulder.

"I'm going to check on Salamence." I said, walking away, letting her hand fall off. Part of me wanted to turn back and correct my mistake, but I was too set on priorities to even consider that option.

I walked down the hall until I got to the glass window of Salamence's room as Nurse Joy inspected him. He was being suspended a few feet off the floor by a harness around his stomach. Nurse Joy and Chansey were crouched at his right forearm with a layer of what I assumed was cotton, wrapping it around his skin gently.

Salamence was awake, his menacing expression one I wasn't used to seeing. If I wasn't his Trainer, I would think that he was very intimidating to the point where most people would be scared to come near him. I knew him better than that. Even if his face showed anger, it was only to hide how much he was hurting.

Any insults about him being a weakling, of needing to stop being such a childish, pathetic baby were so far from my thoughts that I couldn't consider insulting him again as I took in how hurt he was. It reminded me of Dawn fracturing her wrist, except Salamence was in a more serious of a situation that wasn't caused by clumsiness. It was my responsibility to make sure Salamence was safe and healthy. In that, I'd failed.

Nurse Joy noticed me standing by the glass and came into the hall, giving me a small smile. It didn't make me feel any better.

"Your Salamence seems to have a simple fracture. I checked the tissue around the bones, but it should be fine as long as Salamence doesn't put any strain on his forearm until he heals."

"How long will that take?"

"It depends on how old your Salamence is. Younger Pokemon and humans have bones that heal faster than older ones. With Pokemon, if they've recently evolved, they heal even faster."

"He's newly evolved and hatched less than a year ago" I stated.

"Wow, you raised a Bagon that quickly?" She seemed impressed, "I'm sure that Salamence will be ready to take the cast off in a week and a half, then wear a brace for another week or two depending on how well he does. During that time, he shouldn't be walking or flying."

I wasn't sure what to think about being told I couldn't train with Salamence at all for approximately three weeks. I accepted the news with a less cynical mindset than I expected considering it seemed like a small price to pay compared to the pain he'd already gone through.

"If you have any questions, I'll be at the front desk. Chansey should be done soon with the cast. Feel free to go in and visit your Pokemon."

I bowed minutely to Nurse Joy, speechless. She smiled and walked away. I turned back to the glass, staring at Salamence as Chansey finished gathering up the last of the leftover materials. She left the room with a cheerful good bye, smiling happily at me, almost dropping bandages in her peppy enthusiasm as she hurried off to the front desk.

After a deep breath, I entered Salamence's room without knowing what to say, but fully aware that he would need some encouragement. Something touchy-feely, which I wasn't good at thinking of on a normal day, much less one that felt grim.

I stuffed my hands in my pocket and walked right in front of Salamence, who looked at me tiredly. I decided to start off with a comment I was comfortable with, "It looks like they wrapped your arm with a blue Slurpuff. At least Dawn would be pleased with the color choice."

Salamence gave me a sour face and looked back down at the floor, his head drooping so low it almost touched the tiles. I knelt down and took my hands out of my pockets hesitantly, allowing one to rest under his chin and one on the side of his face, rubbing his jaw gently. I wasn't used to treating him this tenderly and knew I was doing it right (I wasn't an idiot- the amount of Dragon training books I'd read with sections on bonding and affection), though it felt foreign to me. His rough scales were even soothing to my hands, which I found odd. Perhaps it was because they reminded me of myself.

Salamence's eyes sparked with relief, then confusion as they looked up at me.

"I'm sorry." I admitted, "I didn't know how to handle the wind. It was never my intention for you to get hurt."

I felt his jaw tighten as he studied me. I couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

"You did remarkably well considering the circumstances." I complimented. He was a sap for praise.

He rolled his eyes this time and looked away. I stopped rubbing his face and stood up, annoyed, "Don't blame me for the wind. You're more attached to the sky than I am. You know the sky may be harsh at times, but never so unpredictable."

Salamence raised his head angrily.

I frowned, "So you weren't blaming me?"

He snorted and shook his head.

"Fine. It's hard to tell sometimes with your dramatic poses." I crossed my arms, "Anything else you'd like to say to me?"

Salamence leaned forward and pushed my body backward with more force than I'd anticipated, making me stumble back a few steps. I glared at him and he smirked.

"So we're even now?" I asked dryly.

Another snort.

"You just got a ticket out of training for three weeks with this injury." I told him, "Don't be too overjoyed."

Salamence's tail and head dropped again. He may complain about training, but at the same time he longed for it like I did. He wouldn't be himself until he was healed and getting stronger.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find some way for you to practice. Don't underestimate me as your Trainer. I'm capable of mental training torture as well."

Salamence's mouth fell open and I smirked, "I'll be back later. Rest, or your training will become more unbearable and you'll want to break your other forearm."

Salamence let out an annoyed grumble as I exited the room, feeling a bit at ease.

Hi guys!

Considering I've been writing like crazy, I decided another update was in order. I'm exhausted from writing though. Seriously, I've been at it for hours today. Not complaining though. I enjoyed it. But it's really weird to be over a hundred pages into the writing and looking back at chapter two and going "Oh, that's where all this started?" Believe me, a lot happens in this story. I'm drained from it, that's for sure.

Oh, and on that note of me having over a hundred pages written- I do. Not boasting, and I'm not going to post them until they're ready. This story is super important to me and I want to make sure it's as perfect as I can humanly make it. Which means lots of editing and changing plans and chapters. So still don't expect updates every day. It'll be worth the wait. These chapters seem so lame to me compared to all the effort I've poured into the story as it finds its stride. Of course, I'm writing about what I'm most passionate about, so of course I'm going to have that opinion. I just had to start out simple.

Well, I'm rambling. I'm tired lol. Plus I just love this story so much. 

Alright, I looked ahead to the next chapter. For you ikarishippers out there, you'll like the next chapter. This story isn't as focused on their growing relationship, but there will be ikarishipping moments of course. But there's a lot of other stuff that First Faith focuses on that's more important. You'll see.

I guess I've talked enough. You guys keep fighting the good fight.

Pokemon Question of the Day: What's the scariest thing about the Pokemon world?

God bless,

Flips

PS- This chapter is dedicated to my friend, fanfictionranger. Such an amazing girl. I love her. So blessed to have her as a friend, always worrying about others more than herself. Love is selfless. I hope you know how much you embody that! Thanks for inspiring me!