Sammy couldn’t sleep. It was cold in the room despite the blankets completely covering him. Feeling about the foot of the bed for Crescent’s warmth, he was surprised to not find the now-familiar weight there. Folding back the covers, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and set his already covered feet on the floor. He glanced about the room and finally spotted the Nidoran at his windowsill.
“Whatcha doing there?”
Walking over, Sammy peered through the window in search of what may have caught Crescent’s attention. Through the clouds Sammy could make out the soft white glow of the full moon on the horizon. Barely peeking above the horizon, it bathed the world in shadow and highlighted Crescent’s red sclera. As if transfixed, both Pokemon and human stared at the moon through the trees of the forest.
The forest.
The forest where he would face the Raticate.
The forest where he would be fighting a duel to the death.
Images of the dead Rattata surfaced in Sammy’s mind. Phantom smells of blood assaulted his nostrils as his foot throbbed. He gasped and clutched his arms together as his head was filled with the echoes of screams and gnashing teeth.
I didn’t mean to do it!
I didn’t mean to do it!
I didn’t mean to do it!
His internal thoughts were drowned out as the memories threatened to crush him under their weight. His breathing grew panicked as his legs failed him. They felt like jelly and threatened to give out on him.
They started it!
The Nidoran was there, but seemed to move in slow motion. His ears stopped their constant rotation to focus upon the distraught boy, and his eyes widened in a moment of shared panic. The chill in the room grew sharper, as if it was growing nearer.
I didn’t mean to do it!
A touch like ice settled on his shoulder. Despite the chill, it seemed comforting. Sammy’s eyes drooped and the rampant thoughts in his head settled to a dull murmur. Then, as sleep took him, everything went quiet and black.
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What must I do to become as strong as the moon?
What must I do to become the boy’s light at night?
These were the questions that filled Crescent’s mind. Separated from his kin when a Pidgeot had swooped down and stolen him away, he had struggled and fought off the giant bird in midair. He bit and scratched, he shot his barbs into the downy underside. He struggled until the bird had finally considered him more trouble than he was worth and dropped him into the trees below. Thankfully, branches had slowed his fall enough that landing had not severely injured him, but he was exhausted, tired, and hungry. He considered himself lucky that he only had bruises, both physical and emotional, considering what could have happened from the fall.
The rank odor of the Rattata was pervasive throughout the forest, so Crescent had crawled away from the trees as quickly as he could. His kin would fight them for dominance of resources and he had no desire to meet them alone as he was. There was never only one Rattata, after all. By following his ears and nose, Crescent had eventually found himself before the greatest cache of grain that he had ever seen. Truly a wonder, the stores were seemingly boundless and stretched far above him encased in metal.
Grateful to have found such a thing in his moment of need, Crescent had sated his hunger on the delicious seed. But blinded by his haste to regain his strength, he had failed to see the purple fur until they were already upon him.
They taunted him with acrid words. They assaulted him together like cowards, knowing that their soft fur would be no match for his spines. No honor could be found among the Rattata as they drew blood from his flanks and screamed obscenities at him for daring to take even a bite of their found treasure. Already weakened from his fall, Crescent could only do so much on his own.
Then the boy and that adult human had arrived.
They drove the Rattata back and proved their valor. The boy in particular stood by his side, unwavering as he took the ringleader’s life. He provided Crescent the openings needed to even the odds. They were one being as they drove the assault back, taking out one Rattata at a time with poison barbs and a steel pitchfork. Crescent’s pack leader had spoken of such a feeling of connection before. It had occurred with a human that stood shoulder to shoulder with him as they dove together into the bowels of death as a single entity of destruction. Such a bond, pack leader said, was special and once made should never be broken. He said that one would know if such a bond were true if a name was offered.
Crescent chose to remain until he had enough strength to make the journey back to his kin. The boy and his pack fed him and tidied his wounds. It was also clear to him that the surviving Rattata would seek revenge. And so, he would only stay with the boy until the honorless thing’s death to repay the favor.
But then the boy offered him a name.
He recalled the pack leader’s story.
Crescent was the name he accepted, and the “newly born” Crescent chose to remain in honor of the bond that was offered. He adopted the boy and his pack as his own. If he should one day meet his kin again, he knew pack leader would understand.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
When the other human had told them all about the now Raticate’s challenge, Crescent had become excited. He would have his chance to regain his honor sooner than he expected, and the boy would finally be safe.
But, seeing the titan of muscle and sinew had made Crescent realize his own lacking power. Standing taller than even his pack leader, and despite the comedic exterior, Crescent could sense the latent energy within the Machoke. He had seethed inwardly at even the suggestion that this… mercenary be allowed to fight in his stead, but the boy had looked upon him with such doubt in his eyes that he caved.
In the mock battles that followed, Crescent attempted to prove his worth to the boy. To prove that he was strong enough to fight the Raticate and win. Even with a single half-passing of the sun, Crescent had been reminded of the boy’s talent for battle. He directed the unfamiliar Pokemon with ease and surprised them all. Rooster had lauded the boy for his ability to adapt and complemented Crescent on finding such a human to bond with. The praise was flat in Crescent’s ears.
The boy still chose the Machoke over him.
What must I do to become as strong as the moon?
What must I do to become the boy’s light at night?
How can I prove that he will need no other?
The room was too cold. Despite the emptiness, Crescent’s ears were constantly warning him that something prowled nearby. He would stand vigil through the night.
The boy stirred and came to stand next to him by the window. He had been sleeping fitfully all evening, crying out for his mother. Crescent understood what it was like to lose a parent. His own mother had died defending the pack from a Beedrill swarm. Pack leader had raised him himself after that.
The two had stood by the window together for a moment, basking the moonglow in companionable silence. A moment of comfort, perhaps, before the bloodshed of the day to come. A moment that was spoiled when Crescent’s ears twitched in warning just before the boy seized and clutched at himself despite no assailant. Crescent’s ears scanned all around but found nothing. He froze as he did not know what to do, his damnable ears ringing alarms through his mind and making it impossible to think. It was then he saw a nearly transparent hand settle upon the boy’s shoulder.
The ringing in his ears stopped.
“Poor child.” A voice giggled. “Far too young to be experiencing this.”
Crescent bared his fangs, “Who are you? What have you done to the boy?”
The shadows in the room coalesced into a being with scarlet eyes. “A friend, I assure you.” A great lolling tongue oozed and roiled as it spoke. “My daughter says such great things about this child, so I have been… verifying… that he was as upstanding as she says he is. You are quite the vigilant protector, nearly sniffing me out in the hallway yesterday morning.”
“You speak too much and answer too little. Why are you watching us?”
The smile plastered upon the ghostly form shrank away. “Many eyes in the darkness know of what is to come in the morning. Their curiosity of the fierce warriors would overwhelm you all, and my presence keeps them at bay. I would have remained hidden and stayed silent, but I could no longer merely watch him suffer.”
“Cease your prattle! Tell me what you’ve done to him!” Crescent snarled back. “Make him right again!”
“Such demands!” A single finger waved back and forth. “I have just put him to sleep. No harm has been done.”
Somehow, Crescent’s ears were not warning him of anything even as the apparition lifted and cradled the boy in arms made of smoke. “What are you going to do with him?”
“This.” The creature set the boy down upon the bed gently and smoothed the blankets over him. But before Crescent could move, it dove down and thrust its hand into the boy’s skull.
“Stop! Get away from him!” Crescent bounded from his place by the window and charged for the creature. Its wriggling hand seemed to catch hold of something inside the boy and pulled it free. Even as Crescent reached the spot, the form simply vanished, leaving Crescent skittering across the floor opposite the bed.
It reappeared right where it had been before. “Goodness me, such valor.” It giggled as Crescent swung about and prepared to tackle again. “Now before you go scratching up the floor again, allow me to explain.”
Crescent snarled, barbs bristling at the ready. “Speak quickly.”
“Dreams are such delectable things, you know.” Its eyes widened as it tittered in glee. “Especially the happy ones; they’re so sweet and bouncy! But every so often, it’s truly a gourmet experience to sample nightmares. Spicy, deep, and rich!” It bounced a tiny black ball between its hands before tossing it into its mouth. “Oh my, this one is especially tasty!”
The creature disappeared again, leaving Crescent rapidly scanning the area. Where had it gone?
“Your charge should sleep soundly now.” came the oily voice from directly behind him. But as Crescent whirled about, nothing was there. “His nightmare was truly a treat, and will disturb his slumber no longer.”
“Your turn now. Rest well, oh vigilant one.”
The same hand that he had seen on the boy’s shoulder shot up from the floor beneath him. With that frigid caress, Crescent found his eyes drooping. He barely felt himself being laid between the boy’s legs on the bed.
“You two have such wonderful things to look forward to in the future! I look forward to sampling your dreams then as well!”