Chapter 4: Too tired for a title
*Blah blah force deposit blah blah pokemon egg blah blah BOX later, l leave Violet City, Valkerous and Grace walking alongside me. The self-imposed bouncer of the route made an attempt to block me, but l flashed him a twenty and he moved aside, even giving me a Miracle seed....for another fiver. Man, Johto is getting expensive nowadays.*
"Hey Kalas, you know this route well right? You know who might get a chance to fight here?" *Valkerous asked. I nod and let out Tarzan and Esther, the two looking around confused, not being used to being....used.*
"Hey you two. Time to earn your keep and grow a bit. This route is perfect for you two, so let's go." *I say to them, walking on ahead. After only a few steps, l notice they haven't followed, and l turn back to see them looking at each other with great uncertainty. Valkerous, Grace and l all sigh in annoyance before the three of us go back and start pushing the two forward. They struggle slightly, but they move onward nonetheless, and soon Esther is up for her first trainer fight against someone with a female Nidoran. Esther hesitates for a second, that chance taken by the Nidoran, charging at Esther and clawing at her mid-air. Esther cringed, but as the Nidoran fell face first onto the ground, and Esther saw she was just fine, she used her Lick on Nidoran, which did damage, unlike the foe's attack. A few turns of that unfair matchup, the opponent falls down, fainted and Esther wins. She smiles widely and cheers, celebrating her victory with Tarzan, who shows his joy with her. Their celebration doesn't last long as we move forward, and it's Tarzan's turn to fight. His opponent is a Poliwag, but he feels a bit more confident afer seeing Esther win. Tarzan lashes out at his foe with Vine Whip, knocking it back a fair bit, a second one ending the fight, and giving Tarzan his first win as well. The trend went on for the whole route, both gaining experience and confident after each trainer, until we finally brake for the center.*
"I must say, good work out there you two. See, battling isn't all that hard now is it?" *I ask them, both nodding with victorious smiles on their face. After healing up, we exit the center and head into Union Cave. Upon entering, Elm's words enter in my mind: "And Zubats. Lots and lots of Zubats". This is gonna be a fun cave. And WOW, A SHINY ONIX!!!!!...nah. Would've been cool though. No, Roy the male Zubat was the first into the box. With Tarzan and Esther still out, we make short work of the cave's trainers, and onto route 33 we go.*
"Alright, now let's see. All l think l want in this grass is Medusa (female Ekans, but must have Shed Skin. The importance? When l named her she was the only one with Shed Skin on the whole route, the entire time l was grinding l found intimidate endlessly)." *I thought to myself before charging into the grass. And the first encounter is....Ekans with Shed Skin! Yeah, that's true. But it was Hades, Medusa's younger, annoying brother. (I told yah, l have a looooooooot of friends). He grins mischeviously at us as Valkerous goes out to meet him. He launches out at Hades with Quick Attack, but hit him far too hard, getting an accidental crit and sending him flying. Cursing my luck, we just leave, getting out of the rain, something Valkerous was very appreciative of. And what do we see? Nothing much really. Just some guy in black with a red R on his shirt blocking a man from going into a well....obviously someone got sick of Timmy falling over and over.*
"Look Tim, you've got to stop this. Lassie, the town Growlithe is sick of saving you, and she's not gonna do it anymore. I'm telling you to go home!" *The man said forcefully, shoving Timmy backwards roughly, and he gets the hint, leaving. The obvious neighborhood watchman noticed me and just shrugged his shoulders at me. I shrug back and enter Azalea, famous for Slowpokes. I make a mental note to tell the BUG gym leader he's in a town of WATER/PSYCHIC types. But, first thing's first. New friend in the woods and free stuff. Seeing it's pitch black out, l grin at the chance to get Rose, a female Oddish, who really carried me far once. I dash into the forest, and trip over....oh great. A lv6 female Paras. The wild pokemon looks at me curiously, then at my pokeball, tapping it with her claw curiously, getting sucked inside....sure, why not, free pokemon. Growing increasingly frustrated at my lack of luck, Kaso was sent to the box with Roy. (Named after the mushrooms on her back. I didn't care, l wanted an Oddish ;w; ). I head to the famous Kurt's house, where it's rumored he has the impossible talent of turning common acorns into metallic magic balls that capture creates with incredible powers. This l had to see.*
"Lemme guess, you're another sceptic who wants free stuff? Well not now boy, the town Slowpoke are gone, and Team Rocket is behind it, l'm sure of it! They've done nothing good to this town, and l have to stop them!" *Kurt yelled before sprinting out the door, shoving me out of his way. I close the door behind me as l follow him, hearing his grandaughter mumble about being lonely...meh, she'll get over it. Following the trail of prints Kurt left behind him, he must have been running so hard, l find they lead to the Slowpoke Well, where, upon standing at the top, l hear a faint groan of pain, and some young man yelling about falling down the well again. Oh Timmy... I climb down, and see Kurt clutching his back, while Timmy just sits there, looking at the top expectantly. I decide to not mention the obvious ladder, and tend to Kurt instead.*
"Oooooh, my back. Oh why did that numbskull Timmy have to run after me?!? The idiot bumped into me and we both fell down, but he landed on me, nearly breaking my back! Oh, but Team Rocket must be stopped! Oh, l know! Little boy l barely know, go after the most famous evil organization! You must do it for this small town you've only just visited! Oh, you do have pokemon right?" *Kurt asked.....best game ever. I roll my eyes and let out Valkerous and Grace, entering deeper into the well. The first man l see, is the neighborhood watchman, also clutching his back but standing up.*
"Ugh, curse the old man and Timmy! I'm so annoyed...hey kid! Battle me!" *He shouted, sending out his pokemon. A Rattata, oh joy. Valkerous ends it with Ember, and Grace takes the next one out with a couple Quick Attacks. The man growls in frustration before slumping down onto the floor, holding his back. I walk past him, and instantly another person shows up, only this one's eating something that looks a bit like a fat white carrot.*
"Hey kid, why'd you have to show up just as l got a snack, huh?"
"What the heck are you eating, an unripe turnip or something? *"I ask, not having a clue what that was.*
"Oh no, it's Slowpoketail. High in vitamins, delicious, and cures the common cold. I can breathe again now! Plus the best part is, the Slowpoke don't feel a thing, and the tail grows back! We're going to send salesmen out all over the region with these, sell them and be rich, and help people eat healthy!" *The grunt said enthusiastically. I shrug at the prospect and walk past, straight to the leader, who sat at his desk in the middle of a cave counting his money. I decide to get my encounter out of the way while he does that, finding and catching a female lv8 Slowpoke. Yaay, her name is Queen and she was sent to the box. Growing bored, l walk up to the man, and he jumps slightly, obviously startled. He then challenges me to a battle, shouting about me wanting to stop him or something. I dunno, l just let Valkerous use Ember on his Zubat and Koffing, the shards of his flames engulfing both opponents with ease.*
"Curse you brat! You ruined my perfect pyramid scheme! Fine, take the Slowpoke back, they annoy me anyways." *He said in great annoyance before warping out, his entire group along with him. I move to see if the Slowpoke were alright, when Kurt calmly walks up to me.*
"Hey kid! I just got done with an interview up top while you were down here. I took all the credit for saving the Slowpoke, l hope you don't mind. Anyways, come on, let's go back to my house." *Kurt said....his back isn't going to be his only problem when l'm done with him.*
Chapter 5: Yup, it's a flashback
*After giving Kurt a piece of my mind....and foot and fist, it was time again for a team meeting to decide what to do at the gym. Letting everyone out, we begin to discuss.*
"Well the choice is clear here, we have Roxxy and Bane do it. Really, there isn't much to discuss." *Valkerous states calmly. Just as it looked like this was going to be a short meeting, Roxxy huffs in defiance.*
"It was a clear choice the first gym as well, Mr. Team leader! But no, you had to prove you were, and no pun intended, 'hot stuff', and took on Falkner. Well, sorry, but it's too late for you to come crawling to me now. You and your wify there can do it again." *She says in an annoyed tone before turning her back on the rest of the team.*
"Come on Roxxy, are you going to be happy with just not doing anything again? He offered us this chance, l say we should take it." *Bane said calmly to Roxxy. This only annoyed her more, however, as she whipped around and smacked Bane right in the face, causing the poor Rattata to get knocked back quite a bit.*
"Listen here vermin, l didn't ask to get stuck with you as my partner in this challenge, l didn't ask for your input, nor will l ever, and you have no say in my decisions! Valkerous wants to prove he's the best on the team, l say let him do all the work then!" *And with that, she willingly went back into her ball, leaving both Valkerous and Grace to stare awestruck at her ball, Tarzan and Esther moving to help Bane, who is also at a loss for words.*
"Well Valkerous, it seems like you two are in this together again. That Scyther is a problem, but get past that and you've got Bugsy beat. Think you're ready buddy?" *I ask hesitantly, really wishing Roxxy would have fought instead. He simply looks at me and nods, the fire on his head and lower back ignited and bursting, ready for battle. Recalling everyone back, I heal the team up and head inside the gym....arachnaphobia people beware, spiderman himself built this gym apparently. Flipping switches and riding on giant mechanical spiders...so what did YOU do today? After finally solving the puzzle, we arrived to Bugsy (Who IS a boy people. He is male, despite what everyone else seems to think).*
"Excuse me Bugsy, but l have something to ask. Why are you a bug trainer in a town that worships Slowpoke?"
"Well that's simple. It's easy to train my bugs here!" *He exclaims proudly. I simply shake my head slowly before reaching for Valkerous's ball, sending him out to meet Bugsy's Scyther. Wasting no time, Valkerous let's loose his Ember, the shards of flames hurtling towards his opponent. Though they do damage, its not nearly enough as Scyther uses it's Focus Energy. Oh this might hurt. It's next move being Leer, I bite my thumb in worry, knowing that this Scyther is set up already, and the second Ember still not being enough to take it out. Scyther decides to go on the offensive now, it's Quick Attack landing at a blinding speed and smacking right into Valkerous with a critical hit! Valkerous lands roughly on the floor, eyes closed but twitching in pain before he lays still. And just as l thought l'd lost my starter already, his eyes shoot open and he forces himself up, the fire on his fur turning a darker shade of red and erupting higher than ever. With what must be the last bit of strength he had, Valkerous shoots out a stream of Ember, his ability Blaze boosting it to incredible heights. Burned and toasty, the Scyther falls backwards, fainted.*
"YEEEES! Oh Valkerous thank you! Now come back, you've done enough, Grace can take it from here." *I say cheerfully, recalling Valkerous and sending out Grace. The Pidgey looks at the charred Scyther and smiles softly to herself. Now was the time where it's not fair again, Grace taking out both Metapod and Kakuna. Seriously, let them evolve!!! However, after beating Kakuna, Grace sends her wings out all the way and begins to glow a blinding white. Her body grows rapidly, her wings stretching out further by the second. After a minute of the light, it fades, and Grace now stands before me in a more comfortable form for her.*
"Ah finally. Valkerous was right, being in that first form is crampt. Now l can really stretch my wings." *Grace says, doing just that and flying right out of the gym, me close behind her. My first thoughts are of healing Valkerous, heading straight for the counter and handing the nurse his ball before sitting in the waiting room and letting the team out.*
"So, l see our hot-headed leader isn't here, but his wife is, and evolved, eh? I can only assume he died then? Well, l think l speak for everyone when l say he was useful, but we can take it from here." *Roxxy says with smug confidence, receiving glares from the rest of the team, especially Grace. She looks around at the dirty looks, and simply huffs in responce.*
"What? Look, he wanted to be the hero, and look where that got him. Now then, l assume this is a meeting to decide the next team leader? Because l think it's clear l should be next in line, don't you think?"
"First of all, Valkerous is alive, just getting healed up right now. He took a beating from the Scyther, but he lived and won. Second, if Valkerous had died, Grace would be the new leader. And finally, if you don't shut up and learn to deflate your ego, you have no place in this team. I called you out here to tell you the good news, not to hold a funeral. And l'll be sure to let Valkerous know how you feel. Now then, something that needs to be addressed, Silver is going to face us very soon, and l think Esther and Tarzan are the perfect pair to do it." *I say, grinning confidently at the two. They, however, look nervously at each other, but nod in responce all the same. Roxxy is next to furious at being told off, but before she can say another word, l recall her back to her ball. Bane stays silent through the whole meeting, but l let him be, seeing as he probably has a lot on his mind. After a bit of strategy talk, the team goes back to their balls and Valkerous is finally healed up. I thank Nurse Joy, and head into my rented room at the center, going to sleep for the night, Valkerous curling up on the carpet next to the bed. Just before l manage to fall asleep, l see Valkerous, cringing in his sleep, growling slightly and the flames on his fur sparking slightly every now and then. I simply look at him sadly, knowing exactly what he is dreaming about.*
*And here is the flashback the title oh so subtly hinted at. This flashback takes place at the end of my last dual wedlocke run, where both teams made it to the Elite Four.*
*Having just finished grinding up the team in Victory Road, l sigh in relief at that whole ordeal being done with finally. I let the team catch their breath before l head over to the computer, getting ready to swap out teams to grind up Leo's group. (Yup, Leo was the other team captain then too.) Just before l turned the computer on, however, Valkerous (The only starter l ever choose in Johto now) walks up to me and places his paw on my shoulder.*
"Kalas wait. Don't switch the teams. I know Leo's group has fought hard, only loosing one pokemon throughout their whole run. I know he might have a better chance at this, but please. For the sake of everyone who has died on my run, please, let my team run though this." *Valkerous asked. I turn and look at him, his eyes full of pride, sorrow and regret. I hesitate, but eventually l agree, and after healing the team up, we head into the Elite Four. Inside the box, Leo glares furiously. On the team, there has been many deaths. Horrible luck has struck several times for Valkerous, killing Grace's sister Melony. (Also a Pidgeotto. I have two female pidgey friends. I determine which is which by their nature and ability. Grace is bold with Keen Eye, Melony is Lonely with Tangled Feet). But, a team of six still managed to make it to this point. Valkerous the Typhlosion, with his wife Taka, the Marowhak, Esther the Gengar with her husband Fang, the red Gyarados. (It's a Gyarados of my favorite color, yes l used him >w>). And Circette (Circuit's sister, obvioucly) the Ampharos paired with her husband Hades, the Arbok. The seven of us entered the dorrway to our first opponent, Will.*
"Alright, Circette and Hades, you two can do this." *Valkerous says flatly. The two nod confidently and Circette steps up to meet Will's Xatu. Discharge takes it out easily, as well as the Slowbro he sent out next. His Jynx, however, is where the problems begin. The psychic hurts increbily, and gets the special defence drop, but Circette stands defiantly, able to take another if needs. Discharge is let loose again, the electricity crackling everywhere before striking the opponent, only to be shrugged off, Jynx grinning evily. Psychic hits again, getting another special drop. (I was raging SOOOOOOOOOOO hard). Hades snarls at the Jynx and leaps onto the field, pushing Circette out of the way and dodging a Lovely Kiss. I take the time to heal Circette up as Hades dodges another Lovely Kiss. He grins confidently at me, and l nod back, Hades launching forward at Jynx with Crunch.
It never landed.
The Jynx finally uses Psychic again, and lands the Critical hit, blasting Hades back and embeding him into the wall. His eyes are motionless, glued open as his jaw hangs open loosely. Circette shouts in anger, getting back onto the field and using Discharge, also getting a critical hit. With nothing but the second Xatu to deal with, it faints easily and the battle ends, but not without loss. We rush over to Hades just as he becomes loose and falls onto the ground face first. Circette gets down next to him, tears flooding her eyes. Hades looks up at her, and grins slightly.*
"Hey....d...did we...win?" *Hades manages to choke out.*
"Yes, we won, now get up, please! We're going to Lance, the six of us! Come on, get up!" *Circette nearly begs, grabbing Hades' sides in an attempt to get him up. He simply shakes his head slowly at her before he lays out straight, his eyes closing completely, and breaths no more. As penalty for dieing in the challenge, an all too familiar, eerie wind blows out of nowhere. It gently blows across all of our faces before focusing on Hades. As the gusts of wind blow against him, his body start to fade, turning instead into small, pink rose petals. As the petals grow in number, Hades' body fades more and more until finally, he's gone, and the wind carries the petals away, leaving only a sobbing Ampharos in place of Hades' body. (It's a wedlocke, so l find it fitting for the fallen to turn into petals, as is the symbol of the challenge). I give the team a moment of silence to grieve before l pat Circette on the back, letting her know it's time to go. She sniffs loudly but nods, following the team into the next room where Koga awaits.*
"What happened to Hades is my fault. I made the decision to send him and Circette into battle. I've made a lot of poor choices in this run, and l'm not taking any more chances. Leaves Koga to me." *Valkerous said, a very serious look on his face as he steps up to meet his first opponent. Flamethrower after Flamethrower, Koga's pokemon are defeated one by one, and victory is ours easily. Valkerous grins proudly as l heal him up a bit and we head into the next room, where Bruno awaits.*
"Alright, l'm sure of this one. Esther and Fang, you two got this one, l know it." *Valkerous said, and with that, Esther and Hitmontop are opponents. With Esther sporting her favorite glasses, a Choice Spec Sludge Bomb does enough damage to knock out Hitmontop on one shot. And with that, Fang and Bruno's Onix face off.....and with that, Esther and Hitmonchan face off. (Seriously, l'd like to meet the guy who had trouble with Bruno's Onix). Sludge Bomb again proves enough for Hitmonchan and even Hitmonlee, but now the threat comes out in the form of Machamp. It's able to live the Sludge Bomb just barely, but goes for Revenge....ok.....why? It's poor choice was it's downfall as another attack knocks it out, and we have only one more to go before Lance.*
"And here she is, Karen. Ok, leave this to Taka and me." *And with that, Taka steps up to meet her first pokemon, Umbreon. Now l'd like to take this time to say l hate the guy who thought it'd be fun to give one of the tankiest pokemon in the game Double Team. Seriously, not cool. Bonemerang and Bone Rush both miss several times as the Umbreon continues to troll with Confuse Ray, but eventually Taka takes it out. My god that was not fun. Valkerous comes out and takes a hit while l heal up Taka, but fights back very shortly, knocking out the Murkrow. Gengar is the next opponent, and Valkerous stands ready to fight. Flamethrower does decent damage, but what does more is the crit Shadow Ball, knocking Valkerous down to red already. He growls angrily and with Blaze boosting his power, the next Flamethrower takes it out. Houndoom as the next foe, Taka urges Valkerous to take it easy for now, stepping up to face it. Taka stands posed for battle, bone in her hand. The Houndoom wastes no time in getting the first hit in, Flamethrower doing...oh no. Flamethrower doing more than half in one shot, but Taka remains confident, and tosses her bone at Houndoom for Bone Rush...only to miss. Her eyes shoot out wide in fear, her only shot gone as she stares Houndoom in the eyes. With Valkerous still incredibly hurt, and Taka unable to take another hit, my options are very slim. The only things in my bag are healing items and three X attacks. Taka takes in a deep, long breath and exhales it slowly, it coming out a bit choppy in her nervous state.*
"Kalas.....it's been fun l suppose. You have to heal Valkerous and...and...let me go." *She said, trying to be brave, but the tears streaming down her face betray her. Valkerous looks up at Taka, fear on his face as well. Taka looks back at him and attempts to grin before Houndoom's next Flamethrower engulfs her. I look away, unable to face the sacrifice made as l reach for a Hyper Potion, spraying it on Valkerous as he howls out in livid rage. Once healed, he charges at Houndoom, Headbutt getting landing and making Houndoom flinch. Valkerous doesn't let up at all however, and the next attack sends it flying out of the field, fainted. With Vileplume have no chance whatsoever against an angry fully evolved Fire starter, the fight ends. The remaining team looks at Taka's charred body before the eerie wind blows once more, taking her away from us.*
(I'm just saying, l was raging again. A move with 90% accuracy missed just when l needed it most. Figures.)
*Valkerous stands motionless for a few seconds before drawing in a breath, sighing heavily.*
"Why, Kalas. Why must l be cursed to see so man die infront of me? And why was l worth Taka throwing her life away?" *Valkerous asks in a low, sad voice.*
"I don't know old friend, l don't know. But, I do know you owe it to her to not let her sacrifice be in vane. Come on guys, Lance is waiting, we've got too much at stake to loose, too many have fallen to get us this far." *I say, and the group nods, pride shining on their faces. With Circette now being paired with Valkerous, we enter the champion's room, walking past the extremely gaudy golden Dratini statues. I mean really, didn't lance get the memo? The only statues of pokemon that are allowed are Rhydon, duh!*
"So Kalas, you've kept me waiting. Let's see if your team has what it takes to reign champions!" *Lance exclaims, and with that the final battle begins. He sends out his Gyarados, and to meet him is Esther, who l am putting a lot of faith in. Sludge Bomb hits, but only for a little over half, and he sets up Dragon Dance. Oh dang. With it's boosted speed and attack, Gyarados strikes first with Waterfall, getting a critical hit, cause NPC's have higher crit chances than the players. With Gyarados striking Esther and hard, she is sent hurtling back and out of the field....taken out in one attack. And with her down, l see my hopes of winning fade quickly. Fang roars out, lamenting his wife's demise and meets the opponent, ready to avenge Esther. Both serpeants snap at each other with Ice Fang, but eventually Fang wins. And with his first pokemon out of the way, Lance sends in the first of his Dragonite. Betting it all on one attack, Fang launches out for an Ice Fang, but gets beaten to the punch by Dragonite. Oh lovely, it's the one with Thunder. Thunder lands (Of course) and strikes Fang, the electricity surging through him violently, and he collapses, defeated as well. Just about all hope lost now, Circette looks nervously at both me and Valkerous. I hold a similar expression on my face as Circette, while Valkerous stares coldly at Dragonite.*
"I couldn't do it. I was doomed from the start. But you know what? I made it this far. Despite fate rearing it's cruel head around every single corner, everything that could go wrong going horribly wrong at every chance, l made it this far. But now that l've seen my friends fall right infront of me again, it's time to end this. I'm sorry Circette. I'm sorry you, Hades, Esther and Fang all got wrapped up in this, getting stuck with an unlucky leader." *Valkerous says solemly. As he takes a step towards the field, Circette cries out "NO!!!" and rushes ahead of him. She glares daggers at the Dragonite before tossing Valkerous a sorrowful look. She readies herself, and lets loose her Discharge, only for Dragon Rush to take her out in one hit, knocking her onto her back. She simply grins however, as a small bit of electricity crackles on Dragonite's tail. It spreads rapidly and soon Dragonite is covered in crackling electricity.*
"I...had to give...you a...fighting chance...enjoy Static you monster.....Don't give up Valkerous....please." *And with that, Circette too collapses, eyes closed and breathing no more. And now Valkerous is left in a one vs five situation, but a bit of hope remains. I take the three X Attacks out of my bag and slap them on Valkerous, his attack now through the roof as the Dragonite struggles to simply move, Static having luck for a change in paralyzing it every time. With a loud, defiant roar, Valkerous charges the Dragonite with Headbutt, his attack through the roof, it's enough to knock it out. Valkerous pants slightly, a small grin growing on his face as he sees a bit of hope after all. Lance sends out his strongest Dragonite, and it's a face off against two lv50 pokemon. Valkerous at full health and plus 3 attack, Headbutt is the only option as it does just under half?!? (Seriously, Valkerous' attack was over 300 after the X items, how did Dragonite live it so easily?!?!?!?!?).
The Dragonite retalites with it's best attack, Outrage. Lashing out against Valkerous, Dragonite smacks him incredibly hard. I watch in horror as Valkerous' health drops down rapidly and l look away. Once l hear his body land on the field, l look at him with watery eyes, only to see him looking back. He lays on his back for a few seconds, hardly breathing before struggling to get up. (HE LIVED WITH 1 HP LEFT, I WAS SO PROUD). And now the delema appeared. He lived with absolutly nothing to spare, and if that was min damage, Valkerous couldn't take another one from full health. I stood there struggling what to do, all the while Valkerous managed to get back on his feet, swaying slightly.*
"Kalas. It's over. I'm....glad we made it this far friend. I suppose l have that to be grateful for. But, before l....you know...before l go, l have one request. His team isn't good enough for the Elite Four, and if there is one right call in me, it's this one right now. His group would meet similar tragedy, and he would be the last one left. He would meet the same fate as me. My last wish, Kalas, is this. Please. Don't let Leo fight." *And with that, Valkerous let his fire-mane explode in ferocity, the flames soaring to the ceiling as he charged the Dragonite, yelling his fiercest battle cry as his Headbutt lands...however, Outrage does as well. And with that final blow, Valkerous' body is sent flying backwards, smashing against the wall.*
"Valkerous! Valkerous! VALKEROUS!!!"
"Valkerous!" *He jolts awake, eyes shooting open in surprise, seeing me by his side shaking him slightly.*
"You alright? You didn't look like you had a good dream, so l woke you up. You okay?" *I ask, already knowing the answer.*
"I'm fine. Just....remembered something is all. Now go back to sleep, don't let me keep you up." *And with that, he curled up again, falling back asleep, helpless against the regret in his mind.*
