The sun wove through gaps in her tent. The rays struck her eyes, causing her to groan and roll over. She tried going back to sleep, but after minutes of tossing and turning in her uncomfortable makeshift bed, she finally relented. Lilith loafed around her campground until she woke fully.
Water and food settled in her stomach.
Lilith shook away her drowsiness and headed out for the day. She then followed one of the small footpaths through a group of shrubs. Pokemon chirps were heard above the trees, even more were heard among the greenery below.
Pansage was occasionally spotted swinging through trees. Once seen, the little monkey would wave at her and smile. For some reason, he would never approach her. Lilith assumed it had something to do with his recent injuries, but made little sense.
No chance to offer a partnership presented itself. It didn’t even have to be permanent, she just needed something.
Overall, she had become much more comfortable with her surroundings.
Lilith basked in the natural splendor of her surroundings. The past few days had been liberating.
It was like she explored a whole new world from the one she initially saw. Something had clicked.
Her journey south was a short one.
It only took a few hours of weaving between the trees before she reached the river. The water flowed downstream in a rush. Today's mission was twofold. One was to replenish her water, the other was to have fun.
Only two types of Pokemon lived in the water. Tympole, the more common one, stayed towards the shore, while Basculin only occasionally jumped out of the water around the center of the river.
The river was about 10 meters wide, and flowed fairly quickly. Beams of light reflected off the surface.
Lilith walked up to the edge. A hand reached down and grabbed at the water. Liquid flowed through her fingers as it rippled with a cool feeling. She watched for a moment before removing her hand.
The water quickly settled. Her reflection stared back at her. Dejavu overwhelmed her. The last time she looked at herself was the day she arrived. Lilith had come a long way in the few short days.
She studied her reflection.
Sweat and mud covered her body. Lilith’s black hair stuck together. It was dirty and tattered, fused together into messy clumps. Hygiene had been low on the priority list until now. It was a luxury she had not been able to afford.
That could wait. She planned to have some fun first.
Lilith decided to move on. She followed the bank downstream and watched her surroundings.
Tympole sometimes stuck their head out of the water. She kept her distance and explored further.
She watched and remembered all the Pokemon she came across. A natural ecosystem was starting to form in her mind. Each terrain held different Pokemon, and the forest was the most diverse so far.
It was rare to see a new species of Pokemon. While traveling down the river, a new one jumped out at her. It was an Audino. Lilith had missed its presence. It jumped around without a care in the world. Audino’s large blue eyes met with her dark brown eyes.
“Aud” Audino waved at her.
The Pokemon had a light peach stomach and stood on two legs. Its coloring looked like it wore a light pink coat. It covered most of her body. Her ears looked like wings, but had lobes that hung down low.
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The whole turn of events threw her off balance. She waved back at the Pokemon, but Audino disappeared just as quickly as she appeared.
Lilith threw the whole scenario to the back of her mind and continued along.
The river went a long ways until finally, it took a sharp turn. The water slowed as it rounded the bend, reaching its destination. The trees opened up with it. The water deposited sand across the entrance. A sandy golden beach formed across the bend.
A lake opened up before her. The deep green water was relatively peaceful, only sporadic ripples danced across the surface. Pokemon emerged from the far side of the lake. Round blue bodies emerged from the water. Tympole followed behind them.
If the Palpatoad noticed her, it made no indication.
Lilith sat down and removed her boots. One was untied and pulled off after the other. Grass and leaves fell out with her feet. Her tiny body no longer fit the clothes she had since coming to this world, so she used stuffing to prevent rubbing. Grass was her only option.
Calluses still lined her feet, however. Rashes lined her feet with grass indentations made into her skin.
Lilith then undid her makeshift belt. Her incredibly loose jumpsuit fell off easily. Bumpy red rashes lined her body where her clothes had rubbed up against her skin.
A bra was unneeded because she was as flat as a board. All that she had on left was her undergarments.
Lilith walked the beach, looking for the clearest patch of water. She then grabbed a nearby stone. She submerged the fabric and rubbed them down aggressively. A deep clean was unlikely, but the sweaty smell had to go.
Once each piece of attire was cleaned to Lilith’s satisfaction, she draped them over the nearest tree to dry.
Now came the fun part.
Lilith dipped her toes in the water. It was cold. Not as cold as she expected, but still cold.
“Burr” She let out a shiver.
Soon both feet were in the water. Lilith observed her surroundings before she let loose. No Pokemon were around, so she kicked her feet around. Water splashed as she had a good time. Water rippled outward around her for some time.
Lilith always kept an eye on her surroundings.
Soon, she grew bored. She waded deeper into the water. The water line ascended upwards the further she moved. Her legs disappeared from view. Water climbed all the way to her waist.
Lilith grabbed her nose. In one quick motion, she pushed downward as her body contorted into a ball. She sunk so far that she submerged her entire body under the lake. She held her breath. Water wrapped around her. Bubbles of air left her nose as she slowly exhaled. Lilith stayed underwater. The stress floated away as the pressure increased.
Her chest tightened as the seconds passed. Soon it was too much to handle. Her feet found the ground and pushed off. Her entire body rushed to the surface. She bounced up and down before finding her footing.
Her next task was becoming as clean as possible. She used her hands to wipe down her body. With no soap, the best she could do was get rid of dirt and sweat using only water. She forcefully rubbed her entire body down. The only places she was more gentle was with the skin already irate.
She dunked again. Her hair grew wet once more. She used her hand as a comb to untangle her hair. After a few more bobs, her hair was untangled, and as clean as it was going to get.
Lilith felt like a new woman.
Her reflection scattered off the water.
‘A new child.’
Lilith corrected herself.
‘A second shot.’ she thought. Her mind wandered.
A few minutes later, her body was clean. The cleanest she could at the moment. Lilith kept to the shallow water but swam along the shore. No Pokemon were in the vicinity.
Lilith kicked her arms and legs out, floating on her back. She floated above the water motionlessly, the water held up her weight. She closed her eyes.
The sun beat down on her. A light breeze fluttered over her. She was at peace. No Pokemon called out to her, no cries were even heard, her ears slightly submerged.
She floated for what felt like hours. Alas, it soon came to an end.
Lilith returned to reality. She opened her eyes and sat up. Finding the loose ground beneath her feet, she trudged back to shore. She then checked her clothes. A few more hours and they would be dry.
With nothing better to do, she leaned her naked body against the nearest tree.
She killed time by watching the Palpatoad nibble at something from across the lake.
Lilith thought about how far she had come, the struggles that went with surviving. She was practically a different person from the one who was sucked up and spit out from the space-time rift.
She shuddered.
The thought was terrifying, but she was slowly getting used to the harsh conditions of living in the wilderness.