In Hearts, In Minds, In Souls part 1

In Hearts, In Minds, In Souls - part 1

Rollie stirred from her deep sleep, opening her eyes slowly. She smiled slightly, looking to Piers snuggled under their blanket, on top of her belly. Nestled in the crook of her arm was their egg, still wrapped warmly in soft cloth. She could feel a gentle pulse from within; the life inside was growing. She lay her head back on her cushion, trying to imagine what it might hatch into. A deino? Maybe it would really be another zubat, like Piers. That thought made her chuckle. Piers would be so pleased to be with another of his own kind.

It was such a comfortable morning, today. She could see the sun's light glinting through their blanket-covered door, with not even a breeze to gust it aside. With no missions ahead for her, she could simply lay in bed as long as she wanted. Enjoy her time with Piers.

Rollie let her thoughts turn to the recent missions. The teams who had left had finally returned, and she was happy for that. Sirene and Lear had come back scuffled but all right, both of them cheerful about their accomplishments. Strum had returned as well, although he had been rather short-lipped. He had seemed more interested in a female pikachu, someone called AC. Rollie was sure she was from the Jennis Gang, a group of rescuers she had yet to speak to. She had never been incredibly keen on them, but if Strum liked them, that was good enough for her.

A tapping sounded at her doorway. She looked up, ears perked. A small silhouetted form was waiting outside the makeshift curtain. She made a bit of a face, but then she sat up, cradling Piers' sleeping form in one arm.

"Come in," she called quietly.

A pidove brushed the curtain back, trotting inside. Rollie recognised him as the one who had delivered Devonshire's letter to her a few missions ago. Rollie lowered her ears as he approached, reaching into his messenger bag. She hoped he did not have another mission for her.

"Apologies, miss," he said softly. He brandished a thick, dirt covered envelope. "I have a letter for you! Came quite a distance." He held it out for her.

Rollie looked at it curiously, then her eyes lit up eagerly. She took it from the pidove, trying not to snatch it outright. She eyed the charcoal markings on the front of the envelope, recognising her papa's symbol.

"Oh thank you!" she said happily, forgetting to keep her voice down for a moment. She glanced down to Piers quickly, making sure he was still asleep, before nodding to the pidove. "Oh… Um, I should have some poke around here somewhere…"

"No need, miss," he said, smiling slightly and nodding to her egg. "I can see you're expecting… and I believe I owe you for being late on your last letter."

Rollie grinned back to the bird pokemon. "Thank you… I appreciate this."

"It is no problem! Good day miss!" He trotted back out the door, taking to the air.

Rollie turned back to the envelope, wanting to open it immediately. She lay down on her back gently, letting Piers stretch out over her belly again to free her hand. She raised the envelope over her head, shredding it apart messily with her claws. She was careful not to mar her father's symbol; that she wanted to keep. She pulled the letter from the remains of the envelope, unfolding the thick parchment. She recognised her mama's tidy scrawl, and smiled. Papa could not write with his massive hands.

Rollie and Piers, greetings from Irnflash clan! I hope you are both doing well in Tao Village. Your previous letters sounded very optimistic, although I could tell the exact moment you evolved, Rollie. Your poor pretty writing became so messy! But don't fear, I'm sure you'll get used to your new hands before long.

Do you remember the Travellers, you two? I hope so, you loved them growing up. Well, we have found out they're going by Tao Village this year! And very soon. By the time you get this letter, we should already be nearly there -

Rollie sat up quickly, Piers tumbling into her lap with a surprised squeak. Her heart pounded hard as she re-read the sentence. They would be nearly there? Her family was coming to visit?? She continued reading, not having noticed Piers confused looks.

- we should be nearly there, so hopefully it won't be long before we're together again! I know this is very short notice, but you know our kind can make lodgings just about anywhere as long as we can dig. Looking forward to seeing you again! Love, Abell.

"Our family is coming to visit!" Rollie blurted out, looking at Piers excitedly. He brushed a folded wing over his messy hair, then looked at her quickly.

"They… they are?" His ears perked up, but his expression grew worried. "Oh… Oh but Rollie, they don't… know about us, do they?"

Rollie paused her excited train of thought, putting a claw to her chin. "Oh… No, no one really knows yet." She looked to Piers, who was blushing furiously. She smiled, rubbing his back. "Hey now, we don't gotta tell anyone! If you wanna keep it hidden - "

"It's not that I'm embarrassed by it!" Piers said quickly. "But… I think some of them will tease me."

Rollie rubbed her snout against his. She knew it calmed him down somewhat. "Don't worry about that. We're all older and wiser than we used to be. And who cares if they tease us? The point is, we're together and we're in love."

Piers smiled at her fondly. Rollie gave him a quick kiss before looking back to the letter. She could see Piers' frazzled expression in the corner of her eye, making her chuckle lightly. He was such a silly pokemon.

Piers snuggled closer to her belly, looking up at her. "I guess we can tell them. I think we've hidden it long enough."

"I'll be here if they bother you." Rollie knew there was much more to it then that, but she did not want to think about it. She wrapped her arm around him, then put down the letter. A thought had drifted into her head. "Hey Piers… Did we ever tell Sirene and Lear?"

Piers frowned. "Oh… I don't think so."

Rollie cocked her head. She wondered why that had never occurred to her. Certainly, she and Piers had been careful about who they revealed it to, but King's Pride were their closest friends in the village. She looked back to Piers.

"Maybe we could tell them, before we tell our parents?" Rollie suggested. "You gotta know they won't laugh," she added when he blushed again. "Plus those two are so close to being a couple they may as well just call it official."

Piers laughed, looking up at her with amusement.  "No, I suppose they wouldn't laugh… I guess I'm just…"

"Shy." Rollie nuzzled his cheek. "Well, the first step to getting past the shyness is facing it. How about we go find Sirene and Lear? We haven't even visited them since they got home, and I want some of that pie she said she was making."

Piers smirked. "I can't help but feel our visit is twofold…"

Rollie got up, gently grabbing their egg and cradling it under her arm. Piers fluttered on top of it, thumb claws hooked around her scales. Rollie smiled as she walked toward the door, pulling back the blanket curtain. "I can't wait until you evolve, and then I don't gotta carry you everywhere."

"Who said I was ever evolving?" Piers teased. "I prefer having my own private transport…"

Rollie shook her head, stepping out into the chilly packed snow. It crunched under her feet, glistening brightly in the sunlight. Rollie closed her eyes, enjoying the warm sun on her skin. Snow was not something she hated for being snow. She just disliked the cold biting winds that cut through walls and blankets.

If the weather wanted to be warm today, she was perfectly fine with that.

She walked through Tao Village, smiling at the sight of the various teams out and about today. The warmer weather had finally lured pokemon into the outdoors once more, some running errands, others playing in the snow. She saw a few teams - rescuers, she thought - at the fountain, speaking to Sorbet. She looked to the massive dragon, who seemed to be listening to them patiently, then drew her eyes away. She scarcely remembered her night speaking with him, but she could not believe she had really shouted at him. She glanced to Piers, but he seemed to be avoiding looking at Sorbet. She could understand that desire.

She caught sight of Sirene and Lear's home up ahead, and she sped up her steps while still careful not to trample the smaller mons in her path. Piers perked up in her arms as they neared the wooden hut.

"Do… you smell something?" he asked, sniffing the air.

Rollie snuffled loudly, lifting her air. Yes, she did smell something out of place. A strange earthly fragrance she was not familiar with. Piers shuffled on top of the egg, leaning forward as Rollie reached the door of the house. It was slightly ajar, and she could tell the smell was definitely coming from within. She hesitated, tapping at the door before pushing it open carefully.

*****