From: Nendil <lucyliu@flash.net> Subject: Re: [PW!] A Frosty Breeze in the Seafoam Caves Date: Saturday, April 24, 1999 10:22 PM Roberto Perez-Vila <RobfromVoid@prodigy.net> wrote in message news:371F91F8.9558164C@prodigy.net... > > Mithril-rama steps up to Robert, her arms crossed, "You were hugging that Bambi > girl! How could you?" > > Robert sweatdrops and begins stuttering, "Well, the thing was, I didn't want to... > but then she started to fight Charmeleon with her Shellder... and it Clamped or > something... on Charmeleon... see? Well, anyhow, Charmeleon had to melt the ice but > he couldn't if Shellder beat him up, so then Bambi called Shellder back... So I got > excited and... well... I hugged Barbara... No big deal, right? Right?" Robert smiles > awkwardly, hoping that Mithril-rama will be understanding. Mithril-rama stared at him quizzically for a few moments, then smiled. "No, of course not.... well, how 'bout we, um, move on now? I know I sure want to get out of here before I freeze..." she chuckled lightly, then chose a random direction and began walking. "Hey, wait up, Rilli!" Robert hurried to catch up with her. "You weren't hurt or anything, were you? That fall and everything..." He took her hand for support (and a bit of warmth too). Mithril-rama shook her head wordlessly, her hand writhing a bit nervously within Robert's. Finally she just grew quiet and kept her eyes glued to the frozen ground. They walked through the cave for a long time in silence, the stillness only punctuated by an occasional drip of water falling from the stalactites. "Robert?" Rilli jumped at the sound of her own voice echoing through the icy walls. She quickly ducked her head again as Robert turned to look at her. "I.. uh... nothing, sorry." Robert felt Mithril-rama's hand constrict in his grip. "What is it, Rilli? Something's wrong, isn't it?" Rilli looked down for a while longer. "... Do you think Bambi's attractive?" Robert blinked hard. "Well, uh, she's a very... developed... girl..." He felt Rilli's hand sag a little, and quickly continued. "But I don't think that makes her attractive! She's too... well, pushy and, ah, she doesn't think about others too much... heck, she doesn't think too much, period... She's not like you, Rilli." Mithril-rama smiled softly and blushed, but said nothing. Robert looked at her again. "That's not all, was it? There's something else, Rilli." The girl opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and closed it again. "No, it's... nothing important." "If it's not important, it wouldn't be bothering you," Robert assured her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Rilli, you'll feel better if you let it out." Mithril-rama smiled nervously. "No, I was just thinking... I dunno." She shook her head and tried again. "I'm probably... not the first girl you've met, nor the best. And... especially with things that happened recently, I dunno, sometimes I just wonder, if all this is gonna last." She inhaled sharply. "I mean, I'm afraid that I'm gonna wake up and find it was all some crazy fantasy my brain dreamed up. I don't want to lose you, Robert, but I know I probably will anyway, 'cause, 'cause I'm not worth it..." Her voice hit a shrill note, and she turned away, trying to blink away the threatening tears. "Not worth what?" Robert pulled Mithril-rama close and she clenched his shirt tightly. "You're worth everything to me, Rilli, and I'd never leave you if I can help it. Heck, I was the one who thought it'd take a miracle for a girl like you to notice me..." He laughed softly. "I guess we're both a little insecure about our relationship... but I still love you, Rilli, and I don't intend to change that anytime soon." Rilli exhaled deeply as the tension drained out of her body, her arms loosely sliding around Robert's neck. "Thank you..." she whispered, nuzzling his cheek. She chanced to glance up over Robert's shoulder. "Hey, is that an exit or is it just me?" Robert turned his head to see a patch of brightness, just barely visible over a high ledge. "Yeah, maybe..." he breathed, and began to run towards it, pulling Mithril-rama behind. It turned out that the ledge was higher up than initially appeared, perhaps twenty feet off the ground and covered with slippery ice. "How are we going to get up there?" Robert moaned. "Maybe we could have flew out if that darn Tauros didn't destroy the HM, but..." Rilli sized up the cliff. "I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way, and climb... It would be a lot better if we had some rope though." She glanced around the cave, and an idea came to her. "Victreebel, go!" she called, sending the plant pokémon into the icy cave. It shivered and protested a little, not liking the freezing environment. Mithril-rama patted it in encouragement. "I know it's cold in here, but if you help us, we'll get out of this cave sooner, Victreebel!" "Tree," the plant sighed, and stretched a vine up towards the ceiling of the cave, where it caught on to a stalactite. It pulled a few times to make sure it had a secure grip, then wrapped another vine around Mithril-rama. Grabbing onto the vines as support, the girl slowly managed to make her way up to the platform. "Hey, this looks like a way out all right!" she called down to Robert. "Hurry and come on up!" Robert eyed the wall warily and thought about looking for a safer path, but Victreebel had already secured the vine around his waist. He carefully began to advance up the cliff, but he slipped on a patch of ice and lost his footing. Rilli gasped and pulled on the vine, trying her best to help haul the load over. Victreebel strained, and retracted its vine little by little, careful not to pull Rilli over the edge. After an agonizing amount of time, all three were finally sprawled on the narrow ledge and panting for breath. Mithril-rama recalled Victreebel, and simply hugged Robert for a long time. Then, the two crawled out of the hole in the cave wall and into fresh air and sunlight. Nendil (hoo boy, sap city) -- The Aquafraternal Fanart Corner http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/2733