The storm rolled in two short days later. The clouds covered the sky and blotted out the sun, turning day to night. Once, on a trek to the river before the storm, Kenji could see the lightning crawling through the dark clouds. They towered far into the sky and created a bulbous wall that spread across the horizon.
The sight of the powerful storm sent Kenji into a panicked frenzy as he sought to prepare for the onslaught of wind, rain, and lightning.
His mornings were spent gathering stones from the river. The exercise was surprisingly invigorating as it worked the muscles in his body. During his breaks from carrying the heavy rocks, he foraged in the surrounding forest while collecting every piece of wood he could find. Enough, that branches lined the floor of his simple shelter and protected him from the slurry of mud that was soon to develop. More wood was piled against the far wall to keep it from soaking up the moisture and turning too wet to burn when the storm finally passed.
Flutter was taking refuge with him under the protection of the boulder. The giant butterfly was careful to keep its delicate wings dry but was still perilously close to the sheet of rain falling from the sky. While the storm blew in, the beast was braving the strong winds.
Kenji watched only briefly as it fought to fly against the oncoming storm only to be blown away by a strong gust. It had to maneuver quickly to avoid striking the trees around it. Then, the butterfly was almost racing the wind as it dodged around the trunks and low branches. It was impressive to see such a fragile creature weave through the forest in effort to grow stronger.
The sight of the Pokémon pushing itself encouraged Kenji to work harder. He focused largely on gathering and foraging, opting to pile the collected food instead of crafting a proper storage for it. Rocks were haphazardly piled in front of his wooden walls to better anchor them against the wind. When the storm was over he would be able to easily move them to create a fire pit outside the shelter.
In preparation for the coming storm, he created a smaller one inside the wood and mud walls. A ring of stones were piled around a hollow in the dirt floor. Worried about a stray ember igniting the wood, Kenji built the pit deep with a several layers of stone surrounding it. For now, it was pile with dry leaves and kindling that he found in the forest.
When Kenji first built the firepit, he made a brief attempt at starting it but quickly gave up. Without a proper flint, he was unsure of how to start a fire. Typically a Warrior would have a bond create a small spark or flame. More powerful beasts were even capable of creating a small orb of sunlight to provide heat and light. Otherwise, a simple flint and striker were enough for most people.
As he shivered from the wind, Kenji pulled clumps of mud out of several silk cocoons to further seal the walls. It would not dry well without a source of heat but it worked well enough for now. It left his hands slick with mud but a few moments of holding them outside in the rain washed them clean. When he was finally done packing the walls, Kenji sat back and comforted the shaking Pokémon by his side.
Sprout was resistant at first in staying under the shelter but when the thunder started to boom he quickly gave in. The turtle was young enough that it was possibly the beast's first major storm. What worried Kenji more was how long the Pokémon could go without the sun.
The young beast was barely mobile at the best of times, only moving to find the sun's rays. He was more energetic after eating a few berries but quickly settled down. For plant Pokémon, the sun was more than just warmth and light. They drew nourishment from the rays and could not subsist off berries alone.
Keeping the Pokémon close, Kenji spent some time simply relaxing. No longer did he have to rush or work past sunset to prepare. Now, all he could do was ride out the storm and wait for it to pass. The food would last days and water was falling from the sky. After the past frantic days, a moment to sit down was welcome.
Still, there was always work to be done, so he did not sit still for long.
Grabbing some branches, Kenji started to snap off the offshoots that grew along them. The removed leaves and twigs were set aside into another pile as fire kindling. When he grew bored and his hands began to hurt, he used cocoon silk to tie the cleaned limbs together. He continued to rope the branches together until he had several large but rough crates. With a few wider pieces of wood or on top, he would be able to easily stack them atop each other.
When he judged that he had enough, Kenji began to sort through everything he foraged so far. There was a small variety, some that he was sure he recognized from Greenleaf. The ones that grew in thick bunches made the most of his supply as they were easier to spot while moving through the forest. The purple fruits were somewhat dry but had a sweet aftertaste and went down smoothly.
More exciting was a discovery he made while collecting nuts from a nearby tree. There was a prickly fruit that looked remarkably hairy that he had noticed while traveling. The sight of it was off-putting enough that he did not believe it was edible. However, when he found one while foraging for the storm he could not help but inspect it closer.
The skin was broken as it something had crushed it or attempted to bite through the coarse hairs covering it. Underneath the spiny fur was a green skin covering a pale pink fruit flesh. The sight of it made Kenji realize that there may be more food around him than he could have thought. Previously inedible berries were now changed in his eyes. All he had to do was a bit of work to uncover the fleshy fruit inside.
With that, Kenji started gathering everything growing from the surrounding trees and shrubs. If all of the berries were truly edible and not poisonous, then he had enough food for over a week. Once the fruits were organized, Kenji picked up one of the hairy green berries.
He rolled the fruit around in his hand briefly before grabbing a pointed rock and digging it into the skin. The spiny hairs were rough but not to the point of drawing blood. They worked to protect the berry but not enough to keep him from peeling it open.
Like before, the fruit flesh was a pale pink. Nearly enough pale enough to white. He sniffed it warily but the smell was not nearly as off putting as its appearance. If anything, it reminded Kenji of the berry bunches he collected.
Squeezing out some of the juice, Kenji rubbed it onto a small part of his arm. He waited several minutes to see if his skin grew irritated or raised but nothing happened. Next he peeled off a strip of the fruit and, hesitating briefly, dropped it into his mouth.
His lips twisted at the unexpected bitter taste but he forced himself to chew it thoroughly before swallowing. The flesh was surprisingly smooth and only after a few bites he was able to easily swallow it.
While Kenji waited for a reaction, he made an attempt at cleaning up his shelter. Stray branches were moved aside or pressed further into the dirt to provide a flatter ground. Already some of the water was soaking into the dirt beneath the wood and creaking a slick mud.
Outside, lighting crackled across the sky and lit up the forest. The thunder deafened his ears when he briefly poked his head out. The storm clouds blanketed the stars and covered the forest in shadow. Combined with the pouring rain, Kenji could barely see the surroundings. That was, until a light began to rise above the forest.
Above the tree line, it almost appeared as if a branch of electricity reached up to the sky. It crawled slowly towards the clouds, seeming as if it were probing the open air before beginning to retreat. Flickering to life in the storm clouds, another streak of lightning appeared. Where the first branch was slow and ponderous, this was not. It raced through the dark, branching only lightly. As the river of lighting neared the opposing steam, the air grew still and even the rain seemed to pause.
Then they struck and the world went white.
Kenji opened his mouth in a silent scream, drowned out by the overwhelming boom of thunder. When he could finally see and hear again, he found himself on the ground inside the shelter. The rain was stinging as it fell on his body and scrambled in the muddy ground to right himself. Crawling back to the shelter, he fell inside.
Wiping the rain from his face, he saw Sprout violently shaking against the wall, warbling in terror. The Pokémon was curled into its shell, only the head extended to voice his fear. Even Flutter was disturbed and moved to the back of the small cave to avoid the crash of lightning and thunder.
Righting himself, Kenji approached the terrified beast and comforted him. The act of soothing Sprout helped to calm his nerves as well. It was nearly impossible for him to determine what species of beast caused the explosion of lightning but the Type was easy to identify.
The Electric Pokémon was clearly using the power of the storm to strengthen itself, as any proper Warrior would. His main concern was that such an act would not be allowed to go unprovoked. While the storm would allow the electric beast to reach new heights, the territorial leaders could not miss such a clear display. If it survived the heavens' tribulations, then it would soon have others coming for it.
If it did not happen soon, then the Pokémon landscape was due for an upheaval. Powerful beasts laid claim to large swathes of land, even in Ransei where Warlords ruled. Anytime a new Pokémon rose to such heights, entire villages were devastated as they sought to establish themselves. Depending on how the ensuing battles went, the entire region could be affected. Sometimes it even extended across the kingdom borders, an ill omen that signaled the prelude of war.
Sighing to himself, Kenji forced his worries to the side. All he could do was prepare. Perhaps, if he was lucky, an army would march by and rescue him. Though he would not keep his hopes up.
What happened, happened.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Returning to the strange, hairy fruit Kenji peeled the rest of the pale berry free and forced it down. He was not a fan of the bitter and sour taste but it was food. Besides, maybe he could grow to like the flavor after he ate enough of them. The seed was offered to Sprout but the beast was too scared of the storm to eat. Instead, Kenji tossed it to the side in an empty crate.
Staring at the now organized fruit, Kenji turned away. The spiny fruit put off his desire to try any more of the untested berries. Instead he would work on something that he's been wishing for ever since arrived. Before, even.
A way to defend himself.
There was little that a regular person could do against a Type Beast wishing them harm but sometimes the threat of an attack could be enough to ward one away. Not only that but the right weapon could be so much more. While he was trained in the bō, a wood staff would be of little use cutting down branches. Besides, constructing a proper bō would require something to carve with. No, for now he would need something sharper, more varied in its usefulness. With even a small knife he could better harvest and work wood into more useful forms.
With a proper weapon, he would be able to hunt for an actual meal instead of subsisting on nothing but berries. To grow as a Warrior, he would need more than a minor variety of fruit. Even those who disparaged eating the meat of beasts had to be careful in their diet lest they starve on a feast of berries.
To that end, Kenji picked up two rocks that he gathered from the river. One was large enough that it barely fit in his hand while the other was rounded and slightly oblong. Hold them tightly, Kenji brought the smaller rock down upon the edge of the other. The sound of the two stones striking each other was sharp but faded quickly.
The large stone bore only a small chip and Kenji struck it again with force. With the second strike, a flake the length of his finger and half as wide broke free. He let it fall to the ground and inspected the new edge of the stone closely. Where the stone broke off appeared sharp and he tested it by digging the large rock into a nearby branch.
With only a minor amount of pressure the stone easily cut into the tough wood and Kenji grinned in excitement. He could already see how his survival would change with a stone knife or even an axe.
Turning the stone slightly, he began to roughly tap the two rocks together. However, after only a few more breaks the large rock broke too freely and was rendered into a pile of sharp flakes. Holding the stones in his hands, Kenji looked at the chips at first with dismay.
Closing his eyes, he thought over what he did wrong. Instead of losing himself to the frustration of a failed attempt, Kenji worked through it.
Metal was rare in Greenleaf. Enough that not even the status of Warrior could guarantee one a metal weapon. Most of their metal weaponry and tools were won through battle or trade. Still, the people of his kingdom persevered. Type Beasts were incredibly resilient and with their help, Greenleaf was able to craft elaborate structures and tools.
If his ancestors could build a kingdom with nothing but their hands, then surely he would be able to make a simple axe.
Opening his eyes, Kenji released his held breath. Picking up another large rock, he struck it with the smaller one still in his hand. Like before, a flake of stone fell free to reveal a sharp edge. Not pausing to inspect it, he turned the chipped rock and hit it again. Another flake broke free and Kenji flipped the rock over to strike it from the other side. Like this, he slowly and carefully broke the stone.
Forced to wait for brief flashes of lightning, the form he envisioned slowly took shape in his hand. The leather guards he sweat in while trekking through the forest now served to protect him from the sharp edges of stone. Still, he could feel the pinching heat when his hand slipped and he struck his finger instead of the stone. At the same time a spray of bright orange sparks lit the darkness of his shelter and blinded him.
Shouting from the pain and surprised by the sudden light, the rocks fell from his grip and he cradled his hand close. Holding his limb, he glared at the stone. However, when Kenji registered the sparks of light, he soon forgot the pain in his fingers and scrambled on the ground. With the help of a flash of lightning, he was able to find the dropped stones among the chipped off flakes. Unmindful of the cut he received, Kenji snatched up the precious rocks in the following thunder.
Holding the two stones protectively, he felt a smile creep on his face. Unable to help himself, Kenji felt a laugh bubble out and he started to giggle uncontrollably. He was sure that if anyone saw him, then they would consider him mentally unwell. On the other hand, if anyone saw him then he would no longer be struggling to survive in a beast ridden forest.
"Ha," Kenji barked in laughter as he stood up.
Shuffling over the firepit, he crouched near the short wall protecting it. Holding the two rocks in hand, he scrapped them together in a quick strike across the revealed stone. Lifting off the rock, a spray of light showered the leaves and kindling. Instead of the fire he imagined blazing to life, the shadows smothered the sparks to keep the shelter dark and cold.
Desperately trying again, Kenji scrapped the stone across the face of the flint to elicit another shower of sparks. Like before, they quickly died on the leaves. Glaring at the would be firepit, Kenji felt the frustration rise and he tightened his grip over the stones in his hands. He could feel the rock digging into his palms as he silently snarled. Air pulsed through his nostrils as he fought to regain control of himself.
Seizing hold of his anger, Kenji forced it down. If he lost himself to his emotions then he would never survive. Just as easily as he could to rage then so too could he fall to despair. A deep pit that he would never want to climb out of.
Kenji closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He intentionally relaxed his grip, not allowing the stones to fall but no longer clenching them until his hand paled from the effort. His mouth opened and closed as he worked his jaw loose. With a final deep exhale, he opened his eyes and focused on the firepit before him.
If the sparks were not lighting then he was doing something wrong. Leaves burned easily and fast when lit from a flame but they obviously served as poor kindling. If the thin leaves would not catch then neither would the twigs and small branches he threw in.
With the rain beating down on the tree and boulder sheltering him, he cleaned out the firepit. Everything was removed and piled separately until there was nothing but bare dirt surrounded by a ring of stones.
Grabbing a handful of leaves, he shredded them with his fingers. Fistfuls were crumbled into a ball, torn apart, and crumbled again. Powder fell from his hands as he held them over the firepit until he ran out of leaves. Looking over the small pile torn leaves, Kenji did not believe it would be enough. They might catch fire but he doubted the thin plant material would burn hot enough to light a log.
Picking up the twigs, he broke them as small as he could with his hand and added them to the firepit. As dark as it was, he struggled to see the small offshoots and yelped in pain when something pierced his skin. Dropping the small branch in his hand, Kenji jerked his arm up to his eyes in an attempt to see what happened.
Embedded in his finger was a sliver of stone that he missed when cleaning out the pit.
With a wince of pain, he pulled the shard out. Blood well from the small cut and he moved to toss the stone piece away. Before he could release it, however, he froze. The broken piece of stone was sharp enough to cut him and he knew it was sharp enough to carve wood.
If that was the case, then why was he not using it to shave off proper tinder?
Turning around, he returned to his pile of broken off flakes. Most were thin with sharp edges while the rest were merely shards too small to hold properly. Lifting the edge of leather apron, he wrapped it around the edge of stone flake to keep from cutting himself.
With the stone knife in hand, he grabbed a piece of wood and placed the edge at angle to the branch. With one hand hold the wood still, he used the other to scrap the stone flake down. The simple knife cut into the wood and he had to angle to keep from ripping too thick a strip free.
Snatching up the wood strip, he set it carefully inside the firepit. Right now, to him, the sliver of wood was the most valuable object in his entire shelter. Picking up the branch again, he painstakingly started the process of shaving it down. Time passed slowly and he had to take a break several times to eat or comfort Sprout after a loud burst of thunder. However, with nothing else to do and the thought of a fire waiting for him, he pushed on.
Kenji carved his way through several sticks until he had a pile of wood shavings inside his firepit. It rivaled the mound of shredded leaves in size. In order to better create a chance of a spark igniting, he packed the leaves into the center of the shavings. He debated separating them into a several piles but if this failed then he would have to simply wait out the storm to try again.
With one hand gripping the flint, he used the other to scrap the river stone down its smooth surface. In one short and quick motion, sparks flew.
His proximity to the pit meant that most of the fire-giving sparks landed inside but the pile of tinder was small enough that only a few hit. Kenji held his breath as the tinder seemed to glow before the light faded. Undeterred, he tried again and again, creating a rain of sparks to rival the downpour outside.
So consumed with striking the flint, Kenji missed the first flickers of flame. With sparks still falling he dropped to the ground to blow on the tinder.
In the dark of the shelter, the lines of heat crawling across wood and leaves were clear to his eyes. It looked like lightning reaching through the sky, searching for something to strike.
Sucking in a deep breath, Kenji pinched his lips and gently breathed out. He encouraged the fire to take, to give him warmth and light.
The red and orange light flickered as if threatening to go out and he frantically breathed on it again. With a burst of air from his lungs, the light swelled and bloomed. Catching on the leaves, a flame consumed them quickly before leaping to the wood shavings. There it seemed to struggle to burn but, as more and more of the leaves caught fire, the shavings started to darken and crack.
"I did it!" Kenji jumped up and cheered loudly. "I made fire!" he laughed.
The loud noise and sudden movements startled his two companions. Flutter lifted off briefly in agitation before settling down with a scolding trill of complaint. Sprout started to warble in fear, withdrawing into his shell until all Kenji could hear was the shaky notes echoing out.
Ignoring the two beasts, he rushed to his pile of sticks and snatched up a handful. He moved back to the firepit in only a few quick steps and dropped to the ground. Letting the wood fall, he hurriedly picked up them up one by one as he started to place them over his growing flame.
Already, the fire lit up the shelter and turned it from a dark, damp hole into a dim, damp hole.
Still, it was kingdoms better than what he had before.
Kenji leaned the largest branches against each other before placing the smaller ones inside. He had to a few into the dirt to hold them in place, unmindful of the growing heat as he rushed. The flame was done consuming the leaves and was now burning through the wood shavings. Small twigs he tossed in earlier were smoldering and he threw what else he could find in.
The flame grew into a steady burning fire as he cared for it. Sprout's growing warbles shifted to croaks of fear, drowning out the crackle of burning wood. Even Flutter was starting to whine, the butterfly's trills of complaint piercing his ears as it rebounded of the stone walls. Only once he was satisfied that the fire would not go out, did Kenji stand up to comfort the two beasts.
"Come on, you-" he broke off in the middle of his own complaining with a light cough that grew harsher as he struggled to breath. Tears blurred his vision and he ducked back down. Still coughing, Kenji crawled to the wood walls and tugged the wood free.
In his effort to keep out the wind, he also worked to trap the smoke inside with him. If it were not for the mud sealing the walls to the boulder above then the dark smog would easily follow the slanting roof out.
Water poured in, shocking him with its cold as he worked to tear a hole in the wall. The dried mud broke free in chunks and showered his face as he coughed. He spat out the dirt as he continued to work until the smoke started to clear. He opened the hole further before falling back and sitting next to Sprout.
Flutter trilled angrily at him as the butterfly's wings were now slightly stained by the smoke. She flapped them to push the smoke out, incidentally sending some towards him.
"Sorry," Kenji coughed as he waved the smoke out of his face. "I know, I know. I should've been more careful."
The butterfly continued to squeal angrily and Kenji nodded along as the beast rebuked him.
Still, it did little to remove the smile from his face as he warmed his hands on the fire.