//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Dawn of the Second Day // Story: Sweet Scent // by Marcibel //------------------------------// Gardenia was awake to greet the dawn of the second day in a new world, matching the sun's glare as it poked its bright smile over the horizon. Sleep didn't search for Gardenia, nor could she find it. It was like trying to sleep the first night or week in a new place. And it wasn't that she didn't trust Blue Sky, far from it. The stallion was sweet, clever, and a laugh and a half. The dinner and conversation accompanying it was enough to make her smile and chuckle despite the worries and questions left unanswered. She glanced down at the slumbering puff beside her. Krissy's trumpeting snores didn't exactly nurture sleep either. Gardenia brought up a claw to rub the crust from her eyes. They felt heavy, and the light stung. She stood, just in time for a Taillow to caw and fly overhead. Peering at the canopy found a significant increase in the number of Pokémon seen. Originally, it had seemed like the ghastly hands of something unknown had reached through the boundaries of space and time to pull only her and her new companion into a different place. But seeing as how the canopy of the forest had found new residents—Kakuna and Metapod dangling by a thread, chirps of every bird Pokémon imaginable, a single Slakoth bathing in the early morning sun—that definitely wasn't the case. And thus, more questions began eating at Gardenia's attention. Investigative was certainly a word for Gardenia. Questions deserved answers; there was no point to life if it wasn't to ask the whats, wheres, whens, whys, and hows. She could have very easily been a detective in a previous life; she could have been one in this life, if she hadn't ruined a similar career path. Whoever or whatever brought us here seemed to have taken the entire population of Earth along with it. Perhaps a Legendary? The only thing that seemed to elude any of her working theories was the why. Why would someone or something relocate billions of creatures to a different planet? Why change her from a human into a Grovyle? And that thought in particular spurred another: are there other humans here that have new forms forced upon them? She stifled a yawn, and it disrupted her train of thought. Good thing, too; it was starting to give her a headache on top of the exhaustion. She climbed to her feet and stretched, eyeing the pile of food and supplies stacked against the cart. "Please, for the love of Arceus, have coffee," she muttered. Gardenia tiptoed over, kneeling down, searching the supplies. Burlap sacks were filled with carrots, potatoes, celery; there was enough food for a party of six for at least a couple weeks. In the fourth sack, she found a tin at the bottom. Her heart soared at the idea of coffee. The tin was pulled out, and the lid was popped open. Gardenia shuddered. Heavenly bitterness assaulted her nose, and she felt fully awake from just the smell of the grounds. The tin was set aside as Gardenia gathered together a kettle, a tin cup dangling from the overhang of the cart, and a pale of water. Alright, first things first, a fire. The instruments for brewing and the coffee grounds were brought and left by the fire pit. Gardenia fetched a couple of logs from the cart and gathered dried twigs and leaves scattered on the ground, dropping them next to the pit. The twigs and leaves were placed loosely in the pit, and Gardenia held a particularly long twig upright in the center of the forest of twigs and spun it between her hands. What I wouldn't give for a Fire-type right now… she thought. But her training as a Pokémon Ranger taught her how to depend on the land and oneself as much as the Pokémon around them. It took forever, but there was finally a spark. Gardenia lifted the stick and blew on the fresh embers. Five huffs later, she grinned to herself as a little orange flower grew, nibbling on the twigs and leaves. She threw more twigs on top, followed by the smallest log when the fire was large enough, light gray smoke floating up as it told hold. The fire pit top was found on the far side of the cart, dragged, and replaced over the fire. Within another fifteen minutes, Gardenia served herself a hot cup of lucidity, not considering or caring how it would affect her new form. She took a sip, humming to herself. She wasn't sure if it was the new tongue or not, but the coffee tasted differently—pleasantly earthy among the teeth-gnashing bitterness. Looking into the cup, Gardenia thought back to the stew last night, made from things that existed on Earth: potatoes, carrots, and onions, to name a few. And in digging through the supplies, she had noticed he carried a lot of similar gear and food a hiker on Earth would have. While staring into the tin cup filled with a black liquid, a sense of eerie familiarity crept along her back. As she neared the bottom of her first cup, Gardenia's eyes caught onto a faint shadow moving inside Blue Sky's tent, only for the old stallion himself to burst out with a blinding smile reflecting the early sun's rays. "Ah, that's what I like! Waking to a steaming pot of coffee!" he bellowed, startling awake Krissy. Blue cantered over to the fire, his horn sparking as it grabbed one of the cups from the cart and poured himself a cup. Gardenia held out her cup, and the levitating kettle freshened her coffee. "You, uh, don't mind that I made that I took the liberty to make some coffee, huh?" she asked. "Of course not! I did say to make yourselves at home!" Blue tilted his head, and he downed the whole cup of coffee in three visible gulps. Krissy fluttered up to the two, yawning. "Whatcha drinking?" "Nectar of the gods, dear! Coffee!" replied Blue. "Want a cup?" "Oh, um…" The Togekiss's crowning feathers folded against her head. "Annie never let me have coffee. Said it was for humans only." Gardenia held up her tin cup, lightly twirling it around. "I'm on my second cup, and it hasn't affected me differently." Blue pulled off and poured a third cup. He held it in front of Krissy, warning, "It's hot, dear." Krissy took a short sip, and her cheeks bulged and her face contorted in an eye-watering grimace. She definitely looked more awake than before, and Gardenia almost choked on her drink trying not to laugh. "Don't like it, do you?" she asked. Krissy shook her head. Blue chuckled. "Alright, dear, just spit it back into the cup." She did so, and Blue dumped it into the grass. "How can you stand drink that?! Not even Rawst Berries taste so bitter!" "Well, Rawst Berries have a very tame bitterness to them," said Gardenia. "Durin Berries, however, are even more bitter than this." She gestured to her cup, and Krissy gagged on the thought. "To be fair, though, you might like it if it had some sugar or creamer." "Can I have some plain, not-disgusting water, please?" Blue nodded with a tickled grin and humored the Togekiss, using his magic to rinse the cup and serve up a cup of cool water without budging from his seat. Krissy thanked him and drowned herself in it. Blue Sky refilled his cup, and the mirthfulness disappeared from his muzzle and eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you girls think your next move might be?" Gardenia and Krissy exchanged glances. "I don't know," Gardenia answered, "I haven't thought about it. I've been too preoccupied with where we are." "I told you, you're in—" "Yeah, I know where we are, but I guess it's more about the why or how that's getting underneath my skin." Gardenia took a sip. "As for plans...I have nothing." She and Blue Sky looked at Krissy wilting under the sudden attention. "I-I don't know. I always went with whatever Annie or Lita did…" Blue hummed to himself. "Well, if neither of you have plans, then why not come with me? I'm heading to Manehattan, to the east." He pointed with a hoof in the direction between Gardenia and Krissy. "I don't have traveling companions ever, so I thought it would be interesting if interesting...creatures like yourselves joined me." For a moment, Gardenia thought she should be offended being called a creature, but after quick glance at her new body she figured she should be angrier at the person or Pokémon responsible for that instead. "That's absurdly trusting, and nice, of you," Gardenia commented. "That's what ponies are all about! Trust and helpfulness!" replied Blue. How naïve, Gardenia thought, shaking her head. "I don't want to be a burden." "I'm not asking you to be one. I figured since neither of you know about where you are, having a guide who's explored this world several times over and traveling with me would be better than wandering aimlessly. But you don't have to decide right now. I'm not packing up and moving on until tomorrow." Gardenia's eyes darted to Krissy, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange, her expression unreadable. Gardenia pulled her mouth to one side. "Well, thanks for the offer. It's very kind." Blue Sky answered by raising the rest of the coffee to her, downing it, and pouring another. "Last night, I poured out my heart for you," he said, pausing to sip, "so I hope you don't mind telling me about yourselves, to better know who I could potentially be traveling with." Gardenia looked at her cup. "Um, sure, what do you want to know?" "Hmm, how about that hometown you mentioned?" "Ah, Eterna." Memories popped up in Gardenia's mind, bringing the hint of a smile to her face. "Very rustic place, one of the smallest towns in Sinnoh to have a Pokémon Gym, but we do have a rich history of one of the centerpieces of Sinnoh folklore." "Er...Sinnoh?" "Oh, yes, Sinnoh. It's a region of the—of our world that's settled on a large penninsula." The small smile grew on Gardenia's face. She loved talking about Eterna and Sinnoh—who didn't cherish discussing their home? "We have incredibly cold winters, the region is cleaved in half by a mountain called Mount Coronet, and much of the region's mythology is centered around the completely real Legendaries Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—the embodiments of time, space, and anti-matter respectively." As Gardenia told of Sinnoh, Blue Sky used his magic to stroke his beard, an eyebrow hoisted high as he listened intently. "Embodiments, or gods?" "Probably closer to gods in power, but everyone just regarded them as embodiments. They supposedly created our universe." Blue Sky nodded and waved with his hoof for Gardenia to continue. "Anyway, Eterna's big draws are this huge statue that's centuries old and tells of the Legendaries, Eterna Forest and, by extension"—Gardenia couldn't suppress the shudder—"the Old Chateau." "What's so wrong with it?" "It's...haunted." Blue started belly-laughing, and Gardenia rolled her eyes. "You laugh, but in our world, ghosts are real. So when someone says, 'Hey, this place is haunted,' no one doubts you. And Ghost-types are nothing to mess with." She could feel another shudder threaten to rip through and chill her spine. A warm drink of coffee proved efficient of staving it off. "Annie has a Misdreavus. She's nice." "Great, but I hope to never meet her. Misdreavus run amuck in Eterna Forest, scaring trainers and travelers. Shrieking unprovoked, biting and yanking on hair, using Confuse Ray on people. I have nothing good to say about them." Gardenia frowned at the disappointed look on Krissy's face. "Sorry. Nothing personal, it's just that I really don't like Ghost-types." "Why don't you like 'em?" Blue Sky asked. Gardenia's claws strangled the cup in her hands, forcing it to bend and contort and fold at the seams. "When I was a little girl, I wandered into Eterna Forest alone at  night and was attacked by a group of Ghost-types. It was the kind of thing that'll mess you up, and I don't like talking about it." Blue Sky nodded. "Alright. Next question, if you don't mind." Gardenia shrugged. "Sure, shoot." "Who's the one pony you're most hopeful to find here?" Gardenia simply replied, "My girlfriend." "Really? You have a girlfriend?" Gardenia nodded, and Blue chuckled. "Color me surprised. Honestly took you for the 'love is needless' type. What's her name? What's she like?" Gardenia's mouth, despite her best efforts at restraining it, twisted into a crooked smile as the vision of a tiny woman with short black hair and sleepy eyes, and a deep orange Kantonian kimono drifting in an imaginary wind entered her head. "Her name's Erika," she answered, spinning the cup idly in her hands, "and she's a Gym Leader, like I was."