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negrekCurrently working on the monster amalgam of Chapter 44 and 45. This scene here already got kicked out of Chapter 43 and doesn't really seem to have a home in these chapters, either, so out it goes. I've got to get this beast under 20k words somehow!
Anyhow, it stands alone just fine, so I figured I'd get at least some use out of it. Under the cut for your reading pleasure.
--
A strange buzzing fills the air, noiseless vibration that the child feels in its chest and up inside its nose. It freezes, only to relax again when a low thrum follows. Steelix is singing where he lies, sprawled out at random between the trees. He's knocked a few of them over, and their splintered green trunks are already bleaching towards white.
Steelix sings to his teammates a lot, but now he must be doing it for himself. It's strange. The child feels like it only gets around half of his songs, each of their words so drawn-out and slow that the child's forgotten how one's started by the time it ends. But the songs are nice, in a weird way. Something about the way they shiver through the child feels comforting. Maybe Steelix is singing to others of his kind, too, sending his words through the earth for all of them to hear.
The child child sits and listens a while, wanting to speak but not quite finding the courage, growing ever more nervous despite the soothing rhythm of Steelix's song. At last it blurts out, "What are you singing?"
Steelix turns his head ever so slightly, and his rumbling dies away. The child watches the sun-dazzles all down his armor shift with the minute turning of his links. For a moment it worries about attack, but then Steelix says, "It's a song you sing for patience."
"Oh." Immediately the child has more more questions, the most obvious of which is *what does that even mean*. But, feeling pathetic, it can only muster, "It sounds nice."
Steelix says nothing. He makes no noise at all.
After a long moment the child says, "Thank you for listening to me when I said I wanted to help your trainer."
Steelix makes a metallic noise like a file rasped across an empty pipe. Whatever that means. The child tries to ignore it, to simply keep going. "Why did you? Why did you tell Mightyena to listen? I'm sure everybody told you what happened. You were even there when I... in the Viridian Base."
"I don't like you, in case that wasn't clear," Steelix says. "But I heard your message."
For a moment the child's confused. Then, "Oh. You mean you heard what the onix said? About trying to find you? You heard that?"
"Yes, once I could touch earth again. It echoes still below the earth. When the others went out to search, and I could not, I went to see who had sent such a call."
"Oh," the child says again, anxiety knotting in the pit of its stomach.
"You tried. That alone I can give you. The onix I spoke to thought your intentions were good. It's not much, after what you've done, but neither is it nothing." Even with his chin resting in the dirt the child had to look up to stare him in the eye--one eye at a time, they're too wide-spaced for it to focus on both at once. Now Steelix raises his head, ever so slightly, and positively towers. "It goes without saying, of course, that if you so much as gesture at injuring my trainer or any of my teammates I'll crush you to so much watery pulp."
The last time Steelix saw his trainer, ever, the child was up to its ankles in his blood. Probably the police didn't let Steelix out much except to ask him questions, so at least he didn't have much time to think about that or to worry. At least until now. The child's throat is tight for some reason. "I... won't," it manages to get out. "Sorry."
Steelix makes a screeching metal noise and drags himself around so his head lies atop his tail, facing away from the child. It looks up at the imposing wall of steel, bespiked and gleaming. "Thank you," it says, quietly, and turns away.
Anyhow, it stands alone just fine, so I figured I'd get at least some use out of it. Under the cut for your reading pleasure.
A strange buzzing fills the air, noiseless vibration that the child feels in its chest and up inside its nose. It freezes, only to relax again when a low thrum follows. Steelix is singing where he lies, sprawled out at random between the trees. He's knocked a few of them over, and their splintered green trunks are already bleaching towards white.
Steelix sings to his teammates a lot, but now he must be doing it for himself. It's strange. The child feels like it only gets around half of his songs, each of their words so drawn-out and slow that the child's forgotten how one's started by the time it ends. But the songs are nice, in a weird way. Something about the way they shiver through the child feels comforting. Maybe Steelix is singing to others of his kind, too, sending his words through the earth for all of them to hear.
The child child sits and listens a while, wanting to speak but not quite finding the courage, growing ever more nervous despite the soothing rhythm of Steelix's song. At last it blurts out, "What are you singing?"
Steelix turns his head ever so slightly, and his rumbling dies away. The child watches the sun-dazzles all down his armor shift with the minute turning of his links. For a moment it worries about attack, but then Steelix says, "It's a song you sing for patience."
"Oh." Immediately the child has more more questions, the most obvious of which is *what does that even mean*. But, feeling pathetic, it can only muster, "It sounds nice."
Steelix says nothing. He makes no noise at all.
After a long moment the child says, "Thank you for listening to me when I said I wanted to help your trainer."
Steelix makes a metallic noise like a file rasped across an empty pipe. Whatever that means. The child tries to ignore it, to simply keep going. "Why did you? Why did you tell Mightyena to listen? I'm sure everybody told you what happened. You were even there when I... in the Viridian Base."
"I don't like you, in case that wasn't clear," Steelix says. "But I heard your message."
For a moment the child's confused. Then, "Oh. You mean you heard what the onix said? About trying to find you? You heard that?"
"Yes, once I could touch earth again. It echoes still below the earth. When the others went out to search, and I could not, I went to see who had sent such a call."
"Oh," the child says again, anxiety knotting in the pit of its stomach.
"You tried. That alone I can give you. The onix I spoke to thought your intentions were good. It's not much, after what you've done, but neither is it nothing." Even with his chin resting in the dirt the child had to look up to stare him in the eye--one eye at a time, they're too wide-spaced for it to focus on both at once. Now Steelix raises his head, ever so slightly, and positively towers. "It goes without saying, of course, that if you so much as gesture at injuring my trainer or any of my teammates I'll crush you to so much watery pulp."
The last time Steelix saw his trainer, ever, the child was up to its ankles in his blood. Probably the police didn't let Steelix out much except to ask him questions, so at least he didn't have much time to think about that or to worry. At least until now. The child's throat is tight for some reason. "I... won't," it manages to get out. "Sorry."
Steelix makes a screeching metal noise and drags himself around so his head lies atop his tail, facing away from the child. It looks up at the imposing wall of steel, bespiked and gleaming. "Thank you," it says, quietly, and turns away.
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