In this post: Xio, Raine, Estelle
Time: um... Night? Probably soon after sunset to around 11pm or 12am.
==============================================================================
Nyarth
After I was able to get Xio-nii-sama outside, I showed him my Fury Swipes attack. I tried as hard as I could. But I couldn’t touch him once! Not even close. That really made me realize how terrible I was at attack. I definitely need to work on that. He seemed to just abandon attack for a bit because he ordered me to run about 40 yards between two trees. I got ready to take off, and when he lowered his hand, I ran. As I did, though, I already knew I was going too slowly. This was embarrassing…
I returned to Xio, who was rubbing his temples. I knew this wasn’t good. I approached him slowly, my hands behind my back, and asked, “Umm Xio? You are rubbing your temples and looked annoyed-nya…you okay?”
“Ah kid, that was pretty damn slow…So we gotta speed you up.”
That instantly got me excited. So many ideas came to my head on making me go faster. “Like tying a rocket to me or what? Maybe roller blades or running shoes???”
He smirked at me and declared showing me his claws, “I got something better! I’m about to kill you, kid, because you are a disappointment to me and to all the Meowths that came before you!”
“Please tell me you’re joking-nya?” I squeaked, but then suddenly there was a thin line of hotness on my cheek. I lifted my hand, and found that it was blood. Xio hadn’t even moved, far as my eyes saw. My eyes widened, knowing now that he was dead serious. My pulse quickened.
“I’d say you better run, because I ain’t joking with you, kid.”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I screamed as I bolted from that spot. I had to get away. I knew Xio was serious about training, but I didn’t expect him to KILL me if I wasn’t good enough!!! I was scared out of my wits!!! I DON’T WANNA DIIEEEE!!!!
Obviously XIO thought this was fun… he must have a completely sick mind!!! Gah!!! “HA HA HA COME ON KID!!! NYA!!! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!” I heard him yell out from close behind me.
“NYA NYA NYA!!!! NOT FUN!! NOT FUN!!!!” I screamed, a couple tears flying out of my eyes. Thank Arceus for adrenaline, I put on an extra spurt of energy and zoomed a little farther in front of him. Gotta run… gotta live… Oh great what now?! Xio had disappeared, and I skidded to a halt and whipped around. Where was he? “Nya? Xio-nii-sama? Where’d you go-nya?? I’m scared, where are you? This isn’t funny-nya!!!” I panted and my body was already shaking out of extreme terror. Then it came from behind me.
“BOO!!”
“AHHHHHHHHHH NYA!!!” It scared me clean off the ground, and then he swung me by my tail and propelled me up, up into the sky! Well… I’m away from him for now, the calm thought entering out of place in my frantic mind. But everything has to come down eventually… and as I fell back down to earth, he jumped up and caught me and not thinking, I grabbed onto his shirt for dear life. I didn’t know what I was more scared of. Death by his claws, or falling to my end!
He hardly gave me time to recover my wits before we moved to the next task. And did it HAVE to be water-related?? I can’t swim! I never have!
We were at the lake. He ordered me to strip to my boxers and spat, “No excuses, you wanted me to train you and train you I will. I never said it was going to be easy. You probably think this is hell but this ain’t even close, kid. So get your ass out here before I decide to drown you. GOT IT?”
I stopped thinking about my uneasiness and threw off my clothes and waded in. “Why are we doing this Xio-nya?” I jumped when a wave came near me.
He started rambling on about something involving movement in water, but I hardly understood most of it. As it got harder to move forward into the water that was already at my waist, I guessed he basically meant that I’d get more of a workout moving in this. We began my exercises then, starting with my legs and then my arms and back. Then we moved into the deeper water.
“But I-I can’t swim-nya!!” I gulped as my toes left the muddy bottom for a second.
“You have the innate ability to swim, you’re a freaking cat!! Now swim!!” He then shoved me in the back and I was sent flying forward face first into the water. “I do believe there are certain…. Creatures in the water that may get you if you don’t move fast enough.” I felt a sharp pain on my right footpaw and I yelped and sprang forward in the water. The nips continued and I tried to kick at them wildly as I scooped the water past me to get away. A couple of seconds went by before I realized… I was swimming! I turned to Xio but all of a sudden a small jolt of electricity came at me and I ducked my head underwater for a second to dodge it. It was barely in time, though.
“What are you doing-nya?!” I squeaked and dodged left as he sent another jolt at me.
“You gotta be quick on your feet, you lazy excuse for a feline! Move!!” Another jolt came at me and thinking quick, I moved my head directly in the line of fire. The bolt reflected off my head coin and reflected back at Xio. He dodged it easily, but he looked a little surprised and said, “Hm! Good work. Your mind’s faster than I thought.”
“S-stop trying to hurt him!! Xio-s-sama!” My ears perked at the sound of Raine’s voice. She was standing on the shore with a frightened expression on her face and her eyes full of fear.
I splashed toward her to reassure her but then my face got hot as I remembered I was only in my boxers. I squatted back down in the water and called out, “Xio-sama’s only training me-nya! Daijobu-nya!” I raised a thumbs-up to her.
Seeing her made me remember what happened earlier this evening, and I turned even more beet-red. For some reason, I sheepishly glanced back at Xio, who rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Don’t be more of a disgrace than you already are, kid!” He growled.
I forced a breath and yelled before I could stop myself, “I-if you’re not going to the festival with anyone yet-nya… let me take you, Raine-san!!” I looked at her, my brow furrowed with the unexpected effort.
Her eyes widened for a bit, then she smiled cutely and replied, “I’d b-be honored, Nyarth-kun.” She bowed and then hurried off back to the mansion.
I did it! I have someone to go with to the festival! I jumped up in the water and cheered. Then another, bigger bolt of electricity came flying by me and my training resumed.
We continued for another couple of hours until I was literally too exhausted to stand. I collapsed into the water and just lay there underwater for a few seconds, listening to the peaceful sound of the lake, until I was lifted up into Xio’s arms. I choked up some water and rubbed my eyes, and laid my head against his chest as he carried me out of the water. By the time we were out of the forest, I was already conked out.
***
A while later, the exchanging of words and me between arms woke me up a little. Estelle-chan had taken me from Xio and I was only awake long enough to witness our entrance into the mansion. Not long after, I started dreaming the dream again.
I was a bit faster at running this time, but in the end I still ended up on the ground, terrified of the giant metal beast in front of me. But then something different happened. In the midst of the metal whirring and my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, dad’s lullaby floated on the wind through the trees to me. The one he always sang to me, before he got captured. It got louder and louder until the rest of my dream just kind of faded away, and then it started sounding not like dad’s voice, but more like…….. Estelle’s? Wait… Estelle knew that song?
==============================================================================
Meh, 4 pages but why are we trying to make them as long as possible? Hmph :p
There Afton!! I posted. I didn't really make up much of training, because whatever I thought of sounded really lame... so that's all I could come up with T^T anyway, I don't think Nyarth technically asked Raine to the festival yet, so I added that in there, and I talked to Nae about that last part with Estelle. I know it's kinda late to be posting, but hopefully you can get your reply post in Nae, before we move!!! *w*
