Chapter 62: Time Alone

With Dawn on Salamence's back on our flight to Mauville City, we had stayed pretty close to the ground. Now, we held nothing back.

I'd never flown on the back of a Pokemon before last night. I had never been afraid of heights, though to know we were now about two thousand feet in the air and I had no safety restraints of any kind was somewhat unnerving. I was just as new to flying as Salamence was. The only difference was I'd read about it, studied it. Still, he had his natural instinct, which was more valuable than any book I could possibly read.

I looked at the clouds above us. They were puffy. "Salamence, those are Cumulous clouds. As you can tell, flying right now is easier because of the thermal currents. These currents are caused when warm air is next to cool air. The warm air rises, pushing you upwards so your wings don't have to, causing flying to be less of an exertion. Always check the types of clouds when flying."

Salamence's wings were broad and stayed still as the thermal continued for a second before he was forced to flap as the current ended.

"If you are tired and need the help flying, thermals normally appear in mountains, next to rivers, and over fields. That's the most important type of cloud. Most other clouds include precipitation and you shouldn't be flying then, though we'll practice in case of emergency."

I heard him grumble at the possibility of flying during a storm.

"So much for growing wings, Bagon," I said, knowing it would irritate him to call him by his unevolved form's name.

He roared in rage.

"Now that you're angry, dive. Remember, you've done this before while fighting off another Salamence. Don't be afraid."

Without warning, Salamence dove. I squeezed myself tightly to his body, the wind forcing my hair away from my face. I had to squint my eyes, which began watering from the air forcing itself at me.

"Pull up," I ordered after he dove a thousand feet. We were still very far from the ground, though it only took seconds to descend considering he could dive at about one hundred and forty miles per hour. He buffeted his wings and I felt him falter at the abrupt change. "You need to use your head to steer. Your tail is a rudder to help you balance. Focus."

Salamence steadied himself and began experimenting with moving his neck and tail to change the direction he was flying. I could feel his tail especially working on making sure he was balanced, being carried in the air perfectly.

I took a moment to realize the miracle that flight was, that Flying Pokemon got to experience on a daily basis. Did they take it for granted, being this high in the air, above the world, seeing it from a different perspective?

My eyes scanned the scenery below. We were pretty far away from Mauville, but I knew that Dawn was down there on the ground somewhere, no matter if I could see her or not. It was odd, being this high up and seeing all around me, farther than anyone on the ground could see. The extent of how far I could see what would happen in the future with Dawn was still pretty unknown, but at least I felt the courage I needed to find out myself.

"Dive again. This time, hold nothing back," I commanded.

Salamence roared before plummeting down, the exhilaration making me almost yell out from the excitement of newfound freedom. Almost.

Dawn

The Pokemon Center at Mauville City was close to a small line of shops. As nice as the Pokemon Center was and how safe being in our room was, I didn't think I could really handle being absolutely alone. The only reason I'd been able to fall asleep last night was because of Paul. If I hadn't been right next to him, hearing him breathe, it would have been impossible to turn off all the fear and panic even after knowing I was away from Team Magma.

If he hadn't shown up, right now I'd probably be... I cut off the thought, shuddering as I walked towards the shops.

Piplup looked at up me in worry from my arms.

"Oh." I blinked a few times, returning me to the present moment. "I'm ok. No need to worry."

Piplup hugged himself against me and I smiled. Paul may think my partner was a pushover, but I knew Piplup would protect me with his life and was capable of anything.

"Let's go check out the shops. That will give us something to do. Besides, I'm in the mood to buy something. It's been such a long time since I've looked at clothes."

The dress I wore now was my favorite, of course, and I knew that when people traveled they were forced to only carry the very basics, but that didn't mean I didn't want to buy new ones all the time. Besides, I felt like tonight would be a special occasion.

I blushed, feeling a rush of Butterfree. I knew how Paul felt for me and I knew he did too. So that meant he wanted to be with me, right? He did say he'd always save me... right?

Sighing, I finally made it to the front door of some sort of boutique. I adjusted Piplup in my arms to open the door, hearing the bells chime merrily in welcome. A woman smiled at me, folding shirts as I walked in. She gave me a polite nod before returning to her work, which I was grateful for. I didn't feel like talking to anyone but Piplup right now.

My feet took me over to a rack of dresses which I looked through eagerly, finding a few I liked, but didn't have enough interest to try on. I walked over to some more racks, enjoying doing something that didn't have to involve Pokemon, training, or being in a forest far away from people. I didn't mind the metal hangers screeching against its perch as I went through hundreds of clothes, though my mother would always say it hurt her ears. I was sure Paul would be a little more than annoyed at the sound too.

Every time I used my left hand to push a hanger on the rack, I remembered a moment I'd had with Paul. Him kneeling next to me, eyes full of concern, my wrist stinging from the fall. Being in his arms, hardly jostled as he carried me to the hospital. What it felt like to have my head against his chest, feeling stupid for even wondering if having a hurt wrist had been worth it since I got to be in his arms for such a long time, feeling so conflicted about my feelings for him. How his fingers were so gentle as he rubbed lotion on my wrist, so careful not to hurt me. Every moment where we'd leaned forward, so close to touching, to kissing, before being horribly interrupted-

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the saleswoman asked.

I jumped, surprised to find her right behind me.

"No, not really." I paused, then smiled sheepishly. "Even if I was, right now I'm being really picky if I was going to buy something."

"Oh, so you want to spoil yourself?" the woman asked teasingly.

"Um, well-"

"I think I have just what you're looking for." The woman motioned for me to follow her. I hesitantly did, clutching Piplup tightly as she took me to the back of the store where there was a small alcove. She stood in front of a rack and I couldn't see what she was searching for.

A few seconds later, she turned around holding a beautifully creamy peach colored strapless dress. The train of it dipped in the back, reminding me of a frilly Goldeen tail. The dress was gorgeous and I wanted it, then and there. Even Piplup liked it and began chirping in excitement, squirming in my arms as if to tell me the dress was meant for me.

"I'll take it," I said, not even caring about the price. I'd just been kidnapped yesterday- silly things like watching my money right now didn't seem really important. I was sure my mom would be ok with paying for this dress. After all, she loved it when I dressed up just as much as I did. Plus, the biggest reason was I wanted to impress Paul. This dress seemed like the perfect way opportunity.

I couldn't wait to see his face...

I smiled, hugging Piplup tightly to myself as I walked over to the counter to pay.

Hello Readers!

I hope you enjoyed Dawn's POV. Once First Light comes to a close, I'll be posting what I call "hidden chapters" of things that I'd written in her POV, but didn't want to include in the actual story considering one of the fun things is not knowing exactly how Dawn is feeling when reading, right? So you have that to look forward to if you love Dawn.

Oh, also, I just wanted to explain that I know in the anime Salamence don't exactly move their wings when they fly, which I think is really weird. It's Dragon/Flying and since when can Flying types float without Levitation or some sort of Psychic power? They can't. So in my Pokemon world, Salamence have to flap their wings and, really, I'm pretty sure their wings would be structured for actual flight since I'm a total bird brain nerd when it comes to flying, as you could tell by Paul's knowledge of flight. So in my Pokemon world, Salamence flap their wings like normal Flying types. Just letting you know if you're a nitpicky person who was going "Whoa, wait, Salamence just kind of hover and don't move their wings." Not in my world.

I dedicated this chapter to 808Hawaii_girl because she's awesome, a big First Light reader who always tries to comment first, and was the first to understand my reference I made on the last chapter. :) If you people haven't seen Avatar the Last Airbender (the SHOW not the movie. Don't EVER watch the movie), then go watch it. Now. It's the best show ever. I don't care if it's a kids' show, it's hilarious and deep and has amazing characters and an awesome story and it's everything I want MY stories to be. So if you're interested in any of the things I listed, go watch it. Especially if you want to make giant mushy friends.

Let's see... maybe I should have a chapter dedication contest thingy again. And I feel like I want to say you're not eligible if you've already won, at least this week. (Sorry Hawaii!) Really, I'll see because this one might be kind of hard, but if you get it you're awesome. Here we go- "Snaaaake. I'm a snaaaake. Oh, where'd by arms go!? Just kidding, I'm a snaaaaake."

Well, I sound crazy for that quote, but oh well. It's hilarious if you know what it's from. Make me proud!

I'll be updating next Friday, August 1. I love the next chapter, though it's a Salemence and Paul oriented chapter. Writing about Salamence is so much fun. Truthfully I don't want First Light to ever end since I love it so much, though I'm going to keep writing about Paul and Dawn so I shouldn't be so sad about it.

Pokemon Question of the Day: What makes absolutely no sense in the Pokemon world that maybe isn't really that big of a deal, but it bothers you? For instance, my entire rant on how Salamence shouldn't be able to defy gravity like that. A giant hulking beast that apparently weighs only 226 pounds (...What??? It must have hollow bones like birds or something) can levitate? Nope. I love rants- go ahead!

Thanks for reading! Have an amazing day and make sure you vote and comment if you loved it!

-Flips