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Woolpower - A Luminian Short
Forum-Index → Fanmades → Fanfictions → Woolpower - A Luminian Short
Posted: Sun, 26/07/2020 21:49 (4 Years ago)
Woolpower
Chapter 1Ah, just another day in the life, exploring Luminia, hanging out with Emerald and Hiro, and stressing over a certain article of clothing I’m trying to find before my parents find out and kill me.
Okay, I should probably back up a bit.
My name’s Fortem, I’m a Lycanroc and a citizen of Luminia, a pokemon kingdom in the sky. Don’t know about it? Well, Yung and Azure, some other pokemon who live here, have written a guide you can check out here! You can learn a bit more about me on the first page of the guide, I think… but I digress.
Anyway, I decided to try my hand (paw?) at writing a bit, please don't write in here as well, but feel free to read it and give feedback... Hiro thinks it might help with my self consciousness with my abilities, but I'm not sure. We'll, here's to hoping, I guess.
So, recently, my dad had decided that for me to be a knight like him and my mom, he needed to get me more involved in what he liked to call: ‘knightly activities’. That included more arena sparring with other knights, learning about Luminia’s history, and attending occasional meetings with Dainn the rest of the Royal Guard.
This was all fine and good with me, it just meant that I had a little less free time, and a little more parental pressure, making me more aware of the continuous march of time that would eventually lead me to my inevitable demise, nothing new… except for the fact that this time, I’d lost my scarf.
One of the pieces of uniform for anyone who lived in the castle (read: knights and knight family) was a coloured scarf signifying rank. To put it quite simply: I think the scarf sucks. Not the craftsmanship, the texture is amazing. Seriously, whoever made them needs a raise. It's the rank symbolism. If you’re wearing that scarf out in public… well, expect pokemon to treat you like a King… it seems a bit unfair to me, especially when I’m not a proper knight. I haven’t earned it, know what I mean?
Anyhoo, back to the story. At the meeting, one thing that was needed was the scarf, just for tradition and professionalism, I guess. What would happen if you didn’t have it? Nothing that bad… if you were unlike me and didn’t consider a few harsh glares harmful to your self esteem.
And so, it happened that it was the day before the meeting, and I was coming back from a morning walk, planning to chill inside until the meeting. As you could probably guess from my opinion on them, I wasn’t wearing my scarf. I’d slipped it under a rock near the castle of light, which was easy for me to lift, being a rock type myself.
I, thankfully, remembered about the scarf and rock on the way back to the castle, and lifted the rock with my tail… to find nothing. No scarf. Dun dun dunn!!! (Emerald wanted me to add sound effects, so, of course I did. Not sure how well they work when you can’t actually hear them… but they’re amusing to write, either way)
“Shoot, shoot shoot,” I muttered, digging around the rock frantically, and looking for my red scarf to no avail. I whipped my head from side to side, searching for the scarf. “My parents are gonna kill me…”
Was I overreacting? Probably, but hey, I was tired, and I’m a pretty anxious pokemon to begin with. Well… there went my plans of relaxing inside for the rest of the day. I anxiously ran to the suburbs, to find my friends, Hiro (short for Sachihiro) and Emerald to try and figure out what had happened.
Posted: Wed, 29/07/2020 20:51 (4 Years ago)
Woolpower
Chapter 2“So… what you’re saying is that you lost the scarf you hate and we need to find it?” Emerald asked me, as I took a sip of my tangy mago berry smoothie that Hiro had insisted on buying for me (It’s my favourite one from Summer’s Cafe; try it, its berry- sorry, very good). When Emerald phrased the question like that… well, the task on hand did sound a bit sillier.
“Yep… unfortunately, I need it. Thanks, guys” I nodded, gratefully. I’d run into them today in the Anthian District, where I’d considered not throwing my friends into my problems, and looking for my missing scarf myself. Naturally, that's when they saw me, and insisted on helping.
“You could try talking to your parents?” Hiro, the mewtwo, suggested. “They might be able to find you one before the meeting; besides, it was your dad’s idea to go, right?” I shook my head, and one of the rock spikes in my ruff almost knocked over my drink. I’m graceful like that.
“It might work, but don’t think I’m brave enough to… sorry, Hiro.” I looked down sheepishly. My parents had named me Fortem because it meant brave… but… well, I’d grown to be quite the opposite. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
“Maybe you could buy or find a new one somewhere?” Emerald put a paw over my shoulder. “Someone had to have made the scarf.” Emerald was right… whoever made the scarf was someone who I both hated and thought should get a higher payment... why did the scarf have to be so cozy?
“I guess… but have you seen the scarf? The string is as thin as an ariados’s thread… it must have taken more than one day to make it, and the meeting’s in just a few hours, and I don’t want to bother the maker, and we don’t even know who they are or where to find them…” I began to feel lightheaded, and my stomach churned. I doubted it was from the mago smoothie.
Hiro put his paw on me to steady me as well, so by now, the three of us looked like we were having an awkward group hug. “It’s gonna be fine, Fortem! We can find it,” He encouraged, with a small smile. Hiro was a little shier and less expressive than Emerald, so for him, that was the equivalent of a giant grin. I wish I could believe him.
Emerald turned our awkward hug into a better one by tackling my neck fur playfully. Somehow, he dodged my neck spikes, too. “Yeah, we’ll find it!” He exclaimed with confidence, getting us some curious looks from the rest of the customers at the cafe. Even if I couldn’t find the scarf, at least I had my friends, and that's what counted, right?
Okay, sorry, this is getting a bit cheesy… but I’m not exaggerating when I say that Hiro and Emerald are the actual best friends a pokemon could have (Guys, if you read this, please don’t tease me, I needed to add that in there, cause it's true).
“Thank you,” I wheezed, “Emerald- you’re squishing me-” Despite his small size, with his energy, that riolu could probably crush a trash can with a single hug… That might help you empathise with yours truly, a poor, squished, wolf pokemon.
Just kidding, Emerald, your hugs are great, go ahe-wtevfifawi (sorry for the random scribbles, Emerald was reading over my shoulder and decided to hug me in the process of writing… You can imagine how that went).
Emerald let go. “Sorry!” He smiled at me. He wasn’t 100% sorry. I was 100% fine with that. I stood up reluctantly, wanting to stay at the cafe and relax, but I was done with my drink already. I sighed. “Anyway, lets get looking.”
Posted: Fri, 31/07/2020 22:48 (4 Years ago)
Woolpower
Chapter 3We would have been fine if a literal puffball hadn’t needed the scarf.
So, we had no luck looking in the park and the playground, and none in the Anthan district either. None of the shop owners had seen a ‘red scarf’ which was surprising, given how loose of a description I gave. Maybe red scarves just weren’t fashionable at the moment, I don’t know.
Finally, Emerald, Hiro and I split up to search the suburbs, which was too big for us to search together. I padded down the streets, my tail waving anxiously, and my eyes scanning the area for any signs of red. I sniffed around, trying to detect the distinct smell of red scarf…
Then I saw it. Two pokemon and something red (My scarf!) on a far off porch, as well as… a lot of other colourful things. What could they be doing? Having a fashion show? Doing a month’s worth of laundry? I bounded down the street towards them.
The first pokemon’s ears perked up, and she turned towards my direction. It was a puffy, white wooloo, ironic given the scarf situation. Next to her was a pile of blankets and scarves and… a woolless wooloo? That was sort of a contradiction as well…
The second wooloo seemed to, for some reason, have been purposefully made as warm as possible. He was basking in the sun, getting body heat from the other wooloo. A mug of warm water sat in front of his mouth, sending a snake of steam drifting upwards, and on his back was my scarf… and yet, he seemed to be… shivering?
The first wooloo stared at me, then at the pile of textiles beside her, then looked down sheepishly (Get it? No? Nevermind…). “Does one of these belong to you?” She bleated, gesturing with her hoof.
I was too confused to speak for an awkward five seconds or so. Finally, I managed to croak out:. “What… what’s all this?” The look on my face must have been priceless. The wooloo’s ears flopped down. “Okay… this probably looks really weird, but I can explain,” She hurriedly answered.
“So, I’m Roma, and this is my brother, Leo,” She gestured at the warm wooloo with no wool (talk about a tongue twister), shivering lightly in his sleep. “He… never grew any wool. I don’t know why, and Mama doesn't know why either… Recently though, he kept saying that he was always cold… it started small, but Leo began complaining more and more.” Roma paused. “Mama keeps going to the school of magic to try and find a healer to help him feel warmer, and Leo said that he was colder than ever, so I wanted to help and find something to cover him and make him warm…”
“... But Leo’s also allergic to wool and cotton. It gives him rashes and stuff…” I looked at Leo, both pitying and admiring the little creature. Not growing any wool, getting sick and always feeling cold, and being allergic to most fabric, all at the same time? I’d have never guessed the odds of that happening to a pokemon, let alone a wooloo, who typically grows lots of fur…
“So, I went looking for something comfy that Leo could use for a blanket, and after looking everywhere, I found that,” Roma nodded proudly towards my scarf, which had been wrapped snugly around Leo.
I hardly had the time to wonder how such a tiny pokemon had found the scarf under the heavy rock before Roma continued: “It’s made of something other than cotton or wool! And it's super cozy! Leo even said that it helps a bit… So yeah… that should be about it…” She looked back at me.
Now that I had a full grasp of the situation, I didn’t know exactly how I could solve my problem… but I knew what I wasn’t going to do. There was no way in all of Lumina that I was asking for my scarf back. Leo obviously needed it more than me, and asking for it back would just upset both Roma and Leo. And, if something of mine could help a pokemon in need, I’d be willing to give it up in order to help.
I nodded at the two sheep pokemon. “Ah, ok, I understand. I hope Leo feels warmer soon.” I started off towards the other end of the suburbs to find Emerald and Hiro. My mind worked furiously, trying to come up with another plan, as I saw my friends race towards me.
“Fortem!” Emerald panted, as he slowed to a halt in front of me. “Did you find the scarf?” “Well… yes, but…” I explained the situation to Hiro and Emerald, who listened intently.
“...Do you think I made the right decision?” I looked to them for reassurance. “Of course!!” Hiro told me. “You made a kind decision. Besides, we were going to ask you because…” He pointed to a store, on the border of the Anthian district and the suburbs, where I could faintly hear someone shouting: “Get your scarves here! Any colour! You never know when you might need one!” Hiro looked back at me. “Well, we have a plan. How good are you at being unnoticed?”
Posted: Sat, 15/08/2020 18:54 (4 Years ago)
Woolpower
Chapter 4To answer Hiro’s question? I was pretty decent at staying unnoticed. I didn’t have Dainn’s majestic aura or really look out of the ordinary. If you were to look in a room filled with pokemon, your eye probably wouldn’t land on me first. That being said, I was still worried as I padded into the meeting hall, wearing a scarf without the patterns and crest of my old one. It was a good plan, but I’m a naturally anxious lycanroc.
Really, all I had to do was not get my parents to notice that the scarf was slightly different, and I was all clear. With my luck, I happened to be sitting between the two of them. Sweating nervously, I covered as much of the scarf as I could with my neck fluff, and hoped for the best.
Turns out that I got lucky. I only had to endure half an hour of incredible stress instead of the usual 60 minutes. Great! Most of the rebuilding work of Luminia had already been finished, so this meeting was relatively shorter. I sighed in relief as I finally walked away from the meeting.
As I padded over the castle walkways back to my home, I gave Hiro and Emerald (who were drinking some Heaven Berry Lemonade on a bench near the castle) a smile and a tail flick, and mouthed ‘Thanks’. I wondered if they saw me, until Emerald returned a message with a thumbs up, and mouthed what could either be ‘Awesome’ or ‘Rotom’ and I thought that the first would be more probable.
Seeing that it was late, I found my room and flopped onto my bed, which wasn’t as cozy as a bubble or balloon (hmm… maybe I should get one of those to sleep on), but did the trick. I stared out the window, and watched the sunset, while basking in the amber light of the sky. My fur changed to match it as I transformed into dusk form.
Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. Who could it be? My parents? No… they would have walked right in, and they were still at the arena... Emerald and Hiro, perhaps? “Come in!” I called out, and lazily walked over to open it.
To my surprise, I found a stately gallade wearing a scarf - very much like the one I was missing, I might add - standing outside. “D-dainn?” I said, startled, standing up taller to look more dignified (read: look like I knew what I was doing). Why might the captain of the royal guard want to speak with me?
“Ah, I was worried that you might not be here,” Dainn said, with a smile, but I barely processed it. My mind was still racing to figure out what business he had with me. It immediately jumped to the fact that I hadn’t worn the proper attire to the meeting. Had my friends’ plan not worked? “S-sorry!” I blurted out, awkwardly.
“Hmm?” Dainn tilted his head slightly to the side, something I also did when I was confused. It felt a little weird sharing a habit with the esteemed knight. “Oh, about the scarf?” I thought I was done for. Then, he did something even more surprising. He pulled out another scarf, and handed it to me
“No need to worry!” Dainn reassured me. “I don’t think anyone else in the guard noticed, though it was a clever plan. The scarf is also more of a formality… it’s not too important to the meeting, but I thought I’d give you a spare scarf I have…” I took the scarf, still confused by the unexpected chain of events.
“I… occasionally lose scarves too, so I happen to keep a few extras. If you need another one, let me know,” He said. “T-thanks!” I croaked, trying to process everything at once. Dainn sometimes seemed a little intimidating to me, and we’d never really interacted… and now it turned out that he was a lot more friendly than I’d thought. I think I had good reason to be so astonished.
“However, that’s not actually the only reason I came… though I guess it’s like…” Dainn thought for a moment. “What’s the term? Hitting two foes with one move?” I relaxed a little bit more, letting out a tiny grin as the guard captain continued. “But I digress, I wanted to discuss something else.”
“I’ve noticed your progress with training with your parents. It’s not out of the ordinary that they want you to be a knight… but if you wanted to do something else, that’s fine too, I can probably arrange for you to spend less time in the arena…” This to me was like getting hit by three attacks in a row, thought not in a bad way.
“Really?” I asked, eyes wide. Dainn nodded with a smile. “Yes, if that’s what you want. But… I also think that one day, you might make an excellent knight. You’re smart and resourceful; both good skills to have working in the guard.” And hit by yet another attack. What move was this? Fury swipes?
“I-I’m not great at battling though… and I don’t really enjoy it either… sorry,” I looked down at my paws. It was Dainn’s turn to be surprised. “Not all knights need to battle, really, the main thing is just being able to solve problems. You proved that you were when you helped save Luminia, and brought the other scarf to the meeting,” He gestured to the red scarf that I’d worn instead of the scarf Leo and Roma had. I was about to point out that it had been Emerald and Hiro’s idea when Dainn continued.
"You know there are knights that specialize in healing, right?” The galade asked me, as I looked back up at him. “What’s the use of a group of knights if they’re only able to fight instead of heal and help?” He explained. He did have a good point. “The school of magic has a branch where they teach light and healing magic, but knowing first aid qualifies you too…”
“Why are you telling me this?” I said, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Sorry to sound rude… it’s really great and helpful, thank you… but why?” I looked at Dainn shyly, and he answered. “I just thought I’d give you some more options… I know you have a lot of pressure on your back right now, but you’re gonna go on to do great things, I’m sure.”
My parents had said the same thing to me before. It was encouraging, but it felt more like an order, only adding to the stress. Somehow, when Dainn said it, the words didn't carry the same stress. Maybe it was because he’d presented me with so many opportunities beforehand.
“I should probably get going,” Dainn said, looking at the setting sun. “The arena will be expecting me soon for a session of night training... “ He paused, and looked at me. “Don’t be afraid to talk to me or ask me anything, Fortem.” He grinned, and walked out the door with a wave. I barely had the time to utter a “thanks” before he’d left.
I took in a few deep breaths. What had just happened? I needed some time to process it; it all sounded too good to be true. I hopped back onto my bed, and looked at the sun as it cast it’s final rays before dipping below the horizon.
Maybe I could be a knight, but not a battling knight. I could still help others… I thought about what I’d said to myself at the Wooloo’s house: If I had something that could help a pokemon in need, I would be willing to give it up or use it.
Maybe, now that I felt comfortable asking Dainn, I could try learning some first aid, something that I’d wanted to do for a while, but couldn’t find the time or place… And maybe sometime in the future, I could try to apply for the school of magic.
I looked outside once more. The star-splashed sky seemed to grow brighter, even as the sun’s glow disappeared over the rooftops of Luminia. The kingdom seemed alive with possibility.