PG:DotS: Childhood dream

"What the hell do you MEAN you didn't get a big of a paycheck?!"

"I-I'm sorry dear, b-but--"

"Sorry? THAT'S gonna cure it?! No way! It's always "sorry this" and "Master that"! Why don't you actually DO something for a change instead of wasting your time in that big federal office that doesn't do ANYTHING?!"

"I... I have to work there! If I didn't, the girls...!"

"Oh, it's back to "the girls" huh?! What about MY NEEDS?! What about ME?!"

"I-I'll try harder! Master, don't--!"

The sound of a loud smack reverberated up the stairs of the small house, followed shortly by a wail of pain. The blue-haired, blue-eyed girl winced as she peered around the door, staring at the looming shadows at the bottom of the stairs.

'Dad's... drunk again...'

Another wince as another smack was heard. She knew that if she left the room and went downstairs, she would share some of the pain - the burn marks from the electrical prongs he used were still fresh from the last time and no matter how many damp flannels or wet rags she placed on her thigh they wouldn't go away. More importantly... the mental sensation of electricity shooting through her made her physically sick at the thought.

Yet... she didn't regret what she did... not a single bit of it.

Another smack, another scream. The girl winced again and finally closed the door as quietly as she could. She wanted to go downstairs and help... she wanted to go downstairs and do anything... ANYTHING... to help her mother.

But she couldn't.

Sure, she was already starting to threshold - ten was a young age to start, but it was obvious - but she could still only do minor things with her magic. She'd only just learnt the other day how to make a small fire or freeze a glass of water... other than that, she couldn't do anything to help.

Her mother was a full-fledged Sorceress and, as soon as she'd seen the magical potential, had started training her to control her magic. She didn't have a lot of time to do so since she worked so often, but she took as much time out of her schedule as dared possible to teach her daughter using her own skill.

She loved her mother... very dearly.

The girl sighed, the muffled shouts coming from downstairs ringing through the floorboards. She gritted her teeth and picked up the toy staff that she'd been given for her training. She stared at it sadly, the rubber handle and plastic moon on the end looking worn and battered from so much use. After a moment of simply standing and staring at it, she carefully placed it back against the wall next to her bed and sat on the edge of it, her head in her hands as she felt tears slip from the corners of her eyes.

'I want... to grow strong. I want to protect Mom... I want to do all of the things she can do and... not have to be with someone like Dad. I want to meet someone who actually cares about Pokegirls and who they are... who they are inside, not outside.'

Slowly, the girl swung her legs onto the bed and went to pull the covers up over them, the tears finally leaking from her eyes onto the white sheets.

'...Pity nobody like that exists...'

Over the shouting and slamming from downstairs, a soft knock sounded on the girl's door. She stopped, unsure of whether she'd heard correctly. Gently swinging her legs back out of the bed, she tried to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her blue nightgown.

As she approached the door, the knock sounded again; slow and tentative, as if... scared. At that moment, the girl knew who it was; hurrying to the door, she quietly turned the knob and opened it, letting the light from downstairs filter into the room.

In front of her stood a small girl who looked younger than she was; bright yellow-orange hair fell to just past her ears that had already started to become pointed, her large blue eyes swimming with tears as she clutched the large pillow to her face, her small body shaking inside the white nightgown.

"B-b-b-big... b-big sister..."

That was all she needed. With a single swoop, the ten-year-old took the younger girl in her arms and gently closed the door, simply holding the younger girl to her, reaching up and stroking her hair softly to try to calm the now crying sibling. Neither of them moved for a moment as the older girl continued to stroke her hair until she'd calmed down before moving away a little, looking down at her.

"Please don't cry, Vermillion..."

"B-but Daddy..." The little girl whispered, looking back up at the older girl with tears still fresh in her eyes; "D-Daddy's hurting Mommy again..."

"...I know..." The older girl looked away, trying to hide her own tears appearing; "But... we can't interfere. We promised Mom we wouldn't."

"But... M-Mommy's in pain..." Vermillion whimpered, holding onto the blue-haired girl tightly; "D-Danielle... why does Daddy hit Mommy...?"

"...I don't know... I really... don't know..." Danielle whispered, reaching up and wiping her eyes gently with her sleeve; "...but I know that... Mom's protecting us. She knows that... that if she wasn't here, then... we'd be hurt more..."

"Like yesterday...?"

Danielle winced as she felt the painful burns on her thigh give her a sudden, sharp reminder; "...Yeah... like yesterday."

The younger girl looked down before looking back up at Danielle, her blue eyes shining again; "...Big sis... why did you stop Daddy from hurting me?"

Danielle's arms tightened around the younger girl, holding her closer. She could still remember everything so vividly... her father had gotten in a rage thanks to the League revoking his Hunter's license due to his drinking. He was angry and taking it out on her mother, as usual... and Danielle and Vermillion had been watching from the doorway. When he spotted them, he grabbed the electrical prongs that he used to stun Ferals and had advanced towards them. Her mother had tried to stop him but he'd pushed her aside and continued towards them. Danielle had told her sister to run, but she had been rooted to the spot by fear. Right when the prongs were being brought down, Danielle threw herself in the way and...

"...Because you don't deserve that, Vermillion..." Danielle said finally, breaking her train of thought; "...You're only seven... you're not even a true Pokegirl yet. You don't deserve to feel that kind of pain."

"But... neither are you..."

"I... I know that."

The two stood there in silence for a long moment, the sounds now having gone from downstairs. The soft pit-pat of rain had started drumming against the window, slowly giving a soft rhythm as it filled the room with a white-noise effect. After a moment or two, Danielle turned and pulled Vermillion to the bed, gently easing her sister under the sheets and pulling the covers up, stroking her hair gently as the younger girl got comfortable.

"Big sister..."

"Yeah?"

"...Tell me your story..." The younger girl looked up at her; "The one about... the nice man..."

Danielle was silent for a moment as she stared at the wall in thought before a small smile crept onto her face, reaching a hand to stroke Vermillion's cheek.

"...My story is..." Danielle gave a soft sigh, looking dreamily up at the ceiling; "...My story is that one day... somewhere... there'll be a man. A man who... he's not like anyone else. A man who doesn't judge anyone differently - whether you're human males, human females or Pokegirls... no matter what species of Pokegirl you are, even... he views everyone as the same."

"Really...? Even... You and me? And Mommy, too?"

"Yeah..." Danielle nodded firmly; "He'll judge all Pokegirls equally and... won't treat them badly... or be angry at anyone... he'll treat us like real people. Everywhere he goes, he'll spread love and happiness and it won't matter if he's not strong... or courageous... or full of pride. That won't matter... because... b-because..."

"B-big sister..." Vermillion looked over at Danielle sadly, seeing tears begin to leak from the corners of her blue eyes, Danielle with-holding a sob as she buried her face into her hands; "What's wrong, big sis?"

"I-it won't matter b-because... he's not trying to prove anything f-for his own good... e-everything he'll do... everything will be for the g-good of other people. He'll... he'll be the person who changes this world... who'll make it a b-better place... f-for everyone... a-and..." Danielle looked up at the ceiling again, tears slipping from her eyes freely.

"I... I want to meet him. I want to travel with him... not as his Pokegirl... not as his slave or... his underling or someone who j-just d-does his bidding... I..." Danielle bit her lip, staring down at the floor sadly, her voice trailing off a little before speaking up again.

"I... I want to b-be... his friend. Someone who he can turn to... someone who will be there for him when he's sad or... when he's in pain. Someone who he can laugh with... joke with... and m-most importantly... I want him to be someone... who won't look down at me, but... right at me... a-as an equal... not as a Pokegirl... not as... a monster..."

There was a long silence in the room as Danielle kept her face hidden in her hands, her tears running tracks down her arms from her hands. The soft pit-pat of the rain had intensified to a low drumming noise as small sobs escaped from her mouth.

"Th... that's... that's my dream... t-to meet that m-man..."

"Then why don't you do it...?"

Danielle's eyes widened as she turned to look at her sister. The much younger girl was cuddling her pillow, her eyes half-lidded and a small smile on her face, small tears of her own making tracks on her own cheeks.

"If there's a nice man like that... then... why don't you find him? I'm sure that man would love to be best friends with you... big sis..."

"Ver... V-Vermillion..."

"Just... make me a promise..." Vermillion closed her eyes quietly, a small smile crossing her features; "When you find him... let me know... I want to meet the nice man too..."

"I..." Danielle slowly reached a hand up, stroking her sleeve across her face to wipe the fresh tears that had made their way into her eyes; "...I will. If... if I find him... then I'll promise to let you know."

"You'll find him..." Vermillion whispered, her eyes closed as she buried her face into her pillow.

"If anyone can... big sis... you can..."

-/-/-/-

"There you are! Geez, I’ve been looking all over for you!"

"...Hm?" Danielle shook her head gently, looking up at the face in front of her. The tanned face, green eyes and spiky black hair of her Trainer greeted her, his face streaked with concern; "Oh... hey Cazu."

"...Danielle... you're crying..." He said, his voice a mixture of surprise and worry as he knelt down in front of the ledge she was sitting on, reaching his gloved hand up to let his fingers gently trace the damp tracks down her cheeks; "Are you... alright?"

"...I'm fine..." Danielle shook her head, pushing his hand away as she rubbed the tears from her face with her bare arm; "...Sorry, Cazu. It's... it's nothing for you to be concerned over."

"It sure is something for me to be concerned over and don't you forget it," He retorted, moving to sit next to her on the ledge as his right arm gently moved up to rest on her back; "Something's obviously bothering you, Danielle... and I hate to see my friends upset. You can tell me."

"I..." Danielle opened her mouth, her memories still vivid of that night ten years ago. She stared at Cazu for a moment before looking down, her eyes hiding under her hat.

"...I can't, Cazu... I'm sorry... it's... personal."

Cazu sat there for a moment, staring at her in silence before gently nodding his head and reaching up, his free hand resting on her arm.

"...Alright... I understand. I won't press... but you know?" He gave her a lop-sided grin; "You can tell me whatever, whenever. If ever you just need to talk... then say the word. I'll always be here for you, Danielle. That's a promise."

Danielle gave a small smile, her blue eyes looking back up at him for a second; "Thanks, Cazu. I'll... tell you someday. Promise."

"Sure," Cazu nodded, smiling and standing up gently, patting her shoulder; "Well... I'll be at the Pokegirl Center. Come back when you're ready."

He turned to leave, but paused for a moment before turning and giving her a gentle smile and a caring glance.

"I'm always here if you want to talk. That's what friends are for." He lowered his head as he began to walk away, shaking it lightly as he went.

"...Please try not to be too long. I worry about you... and it's not just because you're my Alpha."

The Witch's eyes followed him as he slowly walked away from her, his black hair swaying in the breeze and seeming to absorb the light of the setting sun behind her. She watched him until he was out of sight after which her head lowered and her eyes closed, another tear leaking from the corner of her right eye.

'Vermillion... on that day, ten years ago... you said that I'd find a man who respected all of us as equals... someone who I could walk alongside as a friend...'

Danielle stood up, turning to stare at the setting sun, wiping the final few tears from her face, her cheeks becoming warm from neither the sun's heat or from her crying.

"I worry about you... and it's not just because you're my Alpha."

A smile crept onto the Witch's face as she tilted her hat to the side, blocking the setting sun from hitting her eyes as she turned to head back.

'...I think I've found him... just like you said I would.'