From: Shimarisu <rachel.r@scotland.com> Subject: [PW!] The Cat Walks Alone Date: Thursday, August 12, 1999 8:10 AM The cat walks alone -------------------- Murasaki was alone. She was alone in respect to the outside world, and she was alone in actuality. Her only companions had by their own choice gone back into their pokeballs, because they were not used to the darkness. And Murasaki had decided to turn away from the path that was at present guiding her through life, and find some momentary distraction that would take away the confusion that had plagued her earlier. For some time now, she had walked in the shadow of humanity. She had crept along the borders of the ways that they walked, never daring to be dragged completely in, but the light of freedom was as a faint glimmer. She never knew completely if her way was still guided by it. And yet her destiny was clear, that she had to find some way of working with the world in order to get the most of it, and the most of it meant for her benefits alone. She would not conform. And yet she had to find some way of conforming. She owed that to *him*, at least. In the timeless caverns of Mt Moon an age could have passed as she made her way along the tunnels. The light had failed, bringing a cold, dead, moonless midnight with it, and the air was icy cold. Murasaki was somehow lost, but her destiny was pulling her onwards so it mattered not. Indeed, she had not acknowledged the fact, and her resolution to continue walking despite the enveloping darkness did not fail her. She did not know if she would meet with Kiniro again. Her fate would decide. And soon, the eerie twilight glow that had lit her path earlier returned. Some areas of the caves were lit by electric torches nailed to the walls, they had been placed there by prospectors looking for moonstones. Murasaki wondered if Kiniro had been along this way, and then mentally chastised herself for thinking this. Of course, she did not care what Kiniro did. Suddenly, Murasaki's path was blocked by a mountain stream that had somehow carved its way into the rock over the aeons. Or perhaps it had been there since time began, and the mountain had grown up around it. Perhaps it had run into a natural crevice formed by the growth of crystals of nitrates that had fossilised over time. Nevertheless, nothing mattered. Nothing mattered any more. This might have been the place where Kiniro had taken his wash earlier. Or she might have stepped into another dimension, where time no longer existed and everything was at a standstill. It seemed that anything could have happened in the eerie silence that pervaded the caverns. Was it possible for nothingness to pervade the atmosphere? She did not know. Even the stream was silent. At length she decided to allow her companions the chance of a drink. They had eaten earlier, Kiniro had been sure to bring along the necessary food products for his pokemon as well as hers, but they'd had no water at the time and were sure to be thirsty. So she released them from their confinement onto the cold rock floor of the cave. As she thought, they were thirsty. Both of them were pleased to see the stream, and started to drink immediately. Murasaki was relieved that the cavern she was standing in was large enough to accommodate the Snorlax's bulk. Any smaller, and she would have had to follow the stream along to see if she could find a more open area. Not that that would have deviated from any planned route. She had none. There was nothing here to do but drink the water herself. So she knelt down and cupped her hands into the clear stream. That was when she saw it. Some way away, a little out of reach, something was glowing with a bright white light at the bottom of the pool. It seemed that it was not reflecting the torches within the caverns, but was instead producing its own light, as a faint aura surrounded it - an aura of water that was lit up by the glow of the mysterious object. Murasaki decided to investigate. So she stood up, and waded into the stream. The water was not too deep, and thankfully her boots were waterproof enough to prevent her feet becoming sodden. She would not have liked that. She took a pride in her appearance, but did not like to submerge herself in water when she washed. Water was not one of her strong points. After she'd made her way hesitantly to where the object lay, she plunged her hand in and fished it out of the pool. It was a spherical stone, almost flawless but for the erosion that had pitted its surface, a result perhaps of the movements of the water currents over centuries. Its iridescence was that of the moon in its fullest, and was projected forth in a manner that suggested that the stone did not rest in her hand, but floated above it. Kohban would have liked it. He would have kept it from all other, would have teased her with the very sight of it, but nevertheless the thought made her smile. And yet it made her desperately unhappy. She remembered. "Light of my midnight hour," she said to herself, "You are lost. The cat walks alone..." She waded from the water and knelt down beside Ivysaur, then took out the secret pouch she carried containing a few keepsakes. Memories of a time now lost, trinkets that meant little but she had promised him that she would keep them until the time they would meet again. She had never known the true reasons why he had abandoned her in that strange place, only that he said that it was time for her to find her path. But she still hadn't found it. Murasaki suddenly realised that her musings had allowed her mind to wander away from thoughts of her new companions, who were the only ones who mattered now. She glanced sideways, and the sight of Ivysaur resting after a long drink comforted her. She had first met Ivysaur, at that time. Of course at first he had been in his original stage of evolution, and the old man who gave him to her had told him to take care of him and train him well for battles. Murasaki had been angered at that. Ivysaur did has he wished, and wandered where he liked, he had proved his worth. She remembered the time that he had gone out as a Bulbasaur, and been gone for many days before returning in his current form. She had thought she'd lost him then, but if she had it would have been the creature's prerogative and therefore his destiny. And when Ivysaur had come back she had at first not recognised him. She laughed quietly to herself, recalling the creature's indignance at her blank expression. Ivysaur looked up, as if he knew that Murasaki was thinking about him. He yawned. Murasaki continued to smile. "Come on, Ivysaur," she said to the creature, "Are we setting off again then?" She recalled the Snorlax into its Pokeball. It had gone to sleep again, and now nothing would wake it. Some time later, as the two of them walked back along the way they had came, Murasaki allowed her mind to wander back to a happier time, a time she often forced herself to forget. Of course, she had few memories of the time that had preceded even that. She had been so young. So very young. Had she been impressionable, had the ways he had taught her meant little? Perhaps under different circumstances she would have integrated with the human world, and lived as even.... She shuddered. A Pokemon Trainer. Was she changing? Even this - she tugged self consciously at the Rocket uniform she wore - even this was a conformity. But it was the way life was taking her. Maybe she would go with the flow, for now. It made no difference. Whatever happened, she was sure of one thing. That she would always, somehow, be alone. TBC? - Shimarisu (who has been feeling rather moody, of late) * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!