#I LOVED THIS GAME SO MUCH | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

agoldengalaxy · 2 years

Text

After the Storm

read on Ao3

words: 2135

“Speaking of friendly…” Rising to his feet, Clavell brushed off some blades of grass and Pokémon fur from his jacket and clasped his hands behind his back. “I am happy to see you, young man. I trust that the remainder of your treasure hunt has been going well?”

For a moment, they stared at each other, a sort of silent, mutual understanding of the truth that they had learned a mere week ago. Arven cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. I’ve just been, uh, taking it easy for a bit.”

“Okay, buddy. It’s been a long time. Ready?”

Arven crouched in the grass, hiding what he was holding from view behind his back. An excited Mabosstiff curiously wagged his tail, waiting. With speed befitting Miraidon, Arven stood, striped ball in hand, and threw it with all his might. The Pokémon let out a powerful woof and bounded after it, nearly bowling over a nearby student.

Fondly, Arven placed his hands on his hips, waiting for his loyal partner to fetch the ball. A light breeze blew by and he closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh air. For just a moment, he felt the most at peace he’d had in years. As long as Mabosstiff was still by his side…

A loud bark startled him out of his thoughts, and he blinked down at the dog in question, the ball much too small between his sharp teeth. It looked as though he were grinning, his tail wagging back and forth, ready for the next throw. Arven crouched down, running his hands up and down the soft fur with a grin to match Mabosstiff’s. “Oh, who’s my little buddy! Who’s the best boy? That’s right! That’s right, it’s you!”

Clearly enjoying the attention, Mabosstiff dropped the slimy ball on the ground, leaning into his trainer’s touch, his tail thumping against Arven’s arm. He continued to shower him in love for a moment before picking up the ball again, straightening up.

“Okay. I think I need to give you more of a challenge, huh, bud?” Taking a deep breath, he reeled back and threw as hard as he could. It soared through the air, and Mabosstiff took off after it. To Arven’s absolute horror, he realized the ball was sailing right toward an unsuspecting Director Clavell - with the excited Mabosstiff right behind it. Panic seared the boy’s veins. He shouted, “D-Director! Look out!”

Clavell turned his head at the shout, his eyes widening, but the warning was enough for him to reach his hands out and catch the ball with surprising speed. A loud woof echoed in the air, and like a wreck he couldn’t look away from, Arven watched his beloved Pokémon partner tackle the Director of Uva Academy to the ground.

His legs moved before his mind caught up, and before he knew it he was kneeling down beside Clavell, who was… laughing . Mabosstiff was happily licking at his face, and the old man was laughing. “Oh! Oh, dear! That tickles!”

“Mabosstiff! Off!” Arven commanded, and luckily, the Pokémon listened, shaking himself off as if he had done nothing wrong, and stepped to the side. While Clavell caught his breath, Arven stumbled over his words. “I’m so sorry, Director, he’s got all this new energy ever since he started feeling better, and he thinks everyone wants to be his friend, a-and he’s always really loved that ball -”

“Nonsense. No need for apologies, Master Arven.” Clavell cut him off with a warm chuckle as he moved to sit up, brushing some grass from his shoulders. “I needed that laugh today. It’s nice to meet someone so friendly.” He reached up, scratching a much calmer Mabosstiff behind the ear.

Arven just stared at him, dumbfounded. He’d talked to Director Clavell before, of course, and he was always very kind, but the boy couldn’t help but think he seemed very…stiff. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten in trouble for this, but even crazier was that he could tell that the old man meant his words. He blinked and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“Speaking of friendly…” Rising to his feet, Clavell brushed off any remaining blades of grass or Pokémon fur from his jacket and clasped his hands behind his back. “I am glad to see you, young man. I trust that the remainder of your treasure hunt has been going well?”

Clavell seemed pleased with that answer. He nodded, the ghost of a smile pulling at his lips. “Good to hear.” Suddenly, he looked down, finding Mabosstiff nudging against his hand, clearly wanting more pets. Arven smiled, somewhat fond and somewhat exasperated.

“I think he likes you, Director.”

“I should think so. I just gave him attention,” he replied with another warm chuckle, indulging the creature with another couple of head pats. “Ah, that reminds me. I have some spare berries for your friend here, and I’ve been told that students don’t care much for tea, so I’ve taken the liberty of purchasing some hot cocoa if you’d like to join me for some this afternoon. I’ve been quite lonely as of late with all the students out on their treasure hunts.”

Arven took a moment to deconstruct the director’s invitation. He knew one thing; Clavell was itching to talk to him about his father and doing his best to hide it. Exhaling slightly, he glanced down at Mabosstiff, wagging his tail happily. Well, this talk was bound to happen someday. It was better to get it over with, right? Then they could just pretend it never happened.

“…Okay. We’re not busy, anyway. Lead the way.”

The next thing he knew, he was sitting across from the director’s desk with Mabosstiff contently eating berries at his feet. “Here you are. Careful, now, it’s still hot,” Clavell mused, crossing the room to hand the mug to Arven, who took it somewhat hesitantly.

“Thanks.” Uncomfortable silence filled the room as Clavell nodded and returned to his desk, picking up his own mug. His eyes felt like daggers in Arven’s chest. Soon, the awkward feeling was replaced with the white-hot anger he used to feel if he thought about Turo too long. His grip on the cup tightened. “You want to talk about him. So do it.”

Clavell seemed genuinely surprised by his comment. Arven couldn’t help but think he must have been putting on a front, even though Juliana had told him that he was a terrible actor and liar. Either way, he seemed to recover quickly, remorse soon appearing on his features.

“I apologize, Master Arven,” he said, trying to keep some emotion out of his voice, though Arven couldn’t figure out what kind of emotion it was. “I did not think I was so obvious, but I am not so concerned with your father.” Breathing in, he lifted his gaze. “He was my friend. I know you know that. But he is gone, and I cannot overlook how he treated you. All this to say, I simply wanted to ask how you are really doing.”

Despite being asked that question more times than he could count the last week, he hadn’t expected it to come from Clavell. Arven slowly tried to loosen his grip on the cup, lifting it to his lips. “I’m fine, Director. You don’t have to worry about me.”

The corner of Clavell’s mouth twitched upward. “I know I don’t. You are quite strong, and you have a wonderful group of friends now, do you not?”

Arven fought a smile. He thought of Nemona, who he’d once thought was insufferable, but now he didn’t think he’d be half as okay without her somewhat naïve positivity. He thought of Penny, whose dry humor and sarcasm always replaced any awkward silences, who showed that she cared through small gestures. He thought of Juliana, who always seemed to see him when she listened to him talk, smiling and encouraging him to keep going.

And Mabosstiff, who snored contently at his feet.

“Yeah,” he said finally, firmly. “I do.”

Clavell smiled, lines etching around his eyes. “That is wonderful to hear.”

Suddenly, a question burned Arven’s tongue. He leaned forward a bit. “Director, did you know? About what my dad was doing?”

A shadow passed over the old man’s face for a moment. He glanced toward the window, as if he might find the professor in question just outside. “I knew that he was very fond of the Violet Book,” he answered slowly. “When he told me he was venturing into the crater, he said it would only be a few days. The days turned into weeks. The weeks turned into months. Soon, I barely heard from him at all. I suppose that was when…” he trailed off, immediately shaking the thought away. “The Turo I once knew was different. In fact, that selfless AI you all met seemed to be a rather similar copy of the professor. If you want my opinion, I believe Area Zero completely messed with his mind.”

Arven released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, staring down into the rippling hot cocoa in his hands. “I feel like I never really knew him,” he blurted quite suddenly, so surprised by his own voice saying those words that he looked up. His surprise was mirrored on Clavell’s face, with a mixture of pity and sadness. For some reason, he felt compelled to press on. “I knew…that that wasn’t my dad, that it was an AI. But I still felt so upset when he left.”

“That is only natural, my boy,” Clavell murmured, quiet and kind. “I’m sure that if it were up to him, the AI would have stayed with you, though it would never be quite the same.”

Hot tears burned Arven’s eyes. Mabosstiff gently nudged his knee with his giant head, and he shakily moved to scratch behind his ears the way he liked it. He remembered so clearly the way that AI Turo had stared down at him, his body somewhat broken and crystallized, some semblance of artificial pity and love in his eyes when he had said that Turo had truly loved him. It didn’t feel that way, but he wanted so badly to believe it to be true. That was all he had left.

When he looked up, he noticed Clavell was holding a tissue out to him, a steady presence despite being blurred. Arven blinked, realizing that, at some point, tears had gathered and begun streaming down his face. He sniffled and took the tissue, blowing into it loudly. He wouldn’t admit it, but Juliana had been right - it felt a lot better to talk about this. He never would have imagined it would have been to the director of the academy, though.

“Director,” he said slowly, his mind strangely the clearest it has been in weeks. “Thank you.” He got to his feet, with Clavell not far behind, moving out from behind his desk, the look on his face almost conveying he was afraid Arven might do something rash. “While the Treasure Hunt is still going on, I think I still have something I need to figure out.”

Clearly puzzled, the old man tilted his head. “And what might that be?”

Arven released another breath, a small smile finding its way onto his face. “No one, including me, knows who I am other than being the great professor’s kid. I need to find myself”

Surprise etched onto Clavell’s features for a moment before being replaced with a look of, dare he think, pride. He clasped his hands behind his back. “I think that is a wonderful idea, Master Arven.”

Arven took him in. If Clavell had once seen good in his father, then there must have been some in there somewhere. Clavell had a big heart, and that was true from everything he’d seen and everything he’d heard; how he’d handled Team Star, for example. Right now, Arven wondered if he was imagining the way his eyes seemed to shine.

Mabosstiff trotted up to the old man, nuzzling against his hand. Chuckling, Clavell indulged him and petted his head gently. “Do not worry, my friend,” he murmured, “I am sure we will see each other again very soon.”

Inexplicably, Arven found himself walking toward Clavell, too. He cleared his throat awkwardly and held out his hand, though it didn’t quite feel right. The director eyed him for a moment and took it, but when they let go he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around him. It was gentle but light enough that he could pull away if he wanted.

“Thank you for talking to me today,” he said softly, while Arven stood stiffly in his arms, too stunned to say anything else. “I look forward to seeing what treasure you find lying ahead.”

All of a sudden, Arven felt like he wanted to cry again. When was the last time he’d been held like this? He couldn’t remember. The remaining rational part of his mind let him lift his arms to return the embrace, feeling just a bit better.

“Me, too.”

#pokemon #pokemon s/v #pokemon scarvio #pokemon arven #pokemon clavell #professor turo #my two favorites deserve some time together #maybe the real dad was the director we found along the way #anyways #I loved this game so much #my post #my writing #agoldengalaxy

19 notes · View notes