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Valora wakes up in the middle of the night to a life-changing disaster.
TRIGGER WARNING! Contains: fire, natural disaster, implied death
Valora, etc. are characters made by me, based off of characters in the Pokémon universe owned by GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not claim rights to characters such as Vaporeon, etc.
By PseudonymousUmbreon. If you wish to use or reference my work and/or my characters, please contact me first.
Valora was at the library with her dad that night. The place was as beautiful as it ever was, adorned with candles on every surface. Shelves stretched in all directions to infinity, and colossal wooden ladders that Valora wasn’t allowed to climb yet moved on tracks across each column of books.
Dad was at the grand front desk that towered over Valora. Up on a raised platform, Valora had to use all four paws to reach her father, clamoring up the side and around to where her father sat in his padded desk chair. She reached up with her paws, and Dad scooped her up, placing her comfortably in his lap.
Everything was right with the world. Valora looked at the pretty candles with the largest smile on her face, then at her dad’s latest work: a map of Sa’huana. A large brown and red circle sat in the center of the island.
“What’s that, daddy?” Valora asked, pointing to the blemish on the map.
Dad smiled. “That, mija, is Mount Xiuhtecuhtli. The volcano that gave life to our lovely little island.”
“Xi… Xuteh…” Valora played with the word on her tongue.
“Xiuhtecuhtli,” Dad repeated, chuckling lightly. “The god of fire, and the god of time. A fire that burns for as long as the world keeps turning.”
Valora looked at the volcano in amazement. “What’s a volcano?”
“A big mountain, with fire inside. Sometimes, the ground will rumble, and the fire will come out and rain down on what lies below!” Dad lifted his hands and danced his fingers downward like rain, landing a spark on Valora’s nose.
A shiver ran down Valora’s spine and she tilted her head. “Isn’t fire bad for us?”
Dad grinned. “In the moment, it can be. But remember. Xiuhtecuhtli is also the god of time. Fire destroys, yes, but it also brings new beginnings. And maybe, out of the ashes, comes something beautiful.”
“Woah…” Valora murmured, looking at the candle on her father’s desk. The flame danced and flickered about, and Valora leaned back onto Dad’s chest, wondering what new beginnings laid beyond the candle’s light.
“Valora! Wake up! Wake up, please… We need to go…”
Valora rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, blinking awake as her older brother, Vicente, came into focus. The Eevee stood over her, panic in his puffy eyes, as if he had been crying.
“Wha’s happ’nin’?” Valora stammered, throwing back the blanket and moving to stand up.
Vicente looked like he wanted to say something, but swallowed whatever it was that desperately wanted to jump out. “We need to go. Do you remember the escape plan?” His eyes betrayed no sign of jest.
Valora’s eyes widened. “Th-the escape plan?” Adrenaline shot through her veins. “But… the ground didn’t shake…” She focused her ears. Was someone screaming?
“It doesn’t matter—c’mon!” Vicente grabbed Valora’s paw and pulled her out of bed. “Where’s your suitcase?”
“Uhm…” Valora glanced to the side. “I wanted to take the stuff out an’ wear it, and then I forgot to pack it again…”
Vicente stared. “Are you serious—ugh, there’s no time for this! Grab some clothes, stuff them in there, and let’s go! Quickly, before—” He choked on a word. “Just get your suitcase, c’mon—” He started grabbing clothes that Valora had haphazardly thrown around the room throughout the week.
“Those aren’t clean—” Valora started to say, pulling her suitcase out from under her bed. It was almost as big as she was. She rummaged through the few articles that were still in there, trying to assess what all she needed.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re clean or not, Val! Would you just listen to me for once?!” Vicente threw a pile of clothes into the suitcase and snapped the cover shut, glaring into Valora’s soul.
Vicente was shaking, but Valora couldn’t tell if it was anger, or… something else. She took a step back, and tried to think of something to say back.
Suddenly, a shrieking noise pierced the room—no, the whole house. The smoke alarm was going off.
A sense of unease settled itself in Valora’s stomach. “Where are Mommy and Daddy?”
Vicente swallowed. “They’re at the library, Val. Now c’mon.”
With a newfound focus, Valora zipped her suitcase closed and grabbed Vicente’s paw.
The two Eevee retraced the path they had speedwalked a thousand times over, but this time it felt so much more real. Out of the bedroom. Down the hallway. Down the stairs. Into the liv—
The floor was lava.
Where there had been a shag carpet that itched at Valora’s pawpads was now an ever-growing cover of lava. Everything the lava touched seemed to waver and melt. Smoke billowed into the air, creeping across the ceiling to the stairwell, and a fire was steadily spreading across the wallpaper.
Vicente pulled Valora back from the bottom step, glancing frantically around. “Through the dining room! Hurry!” Valora caught a glimpse of the family portrait above the couch, now fallen from its perch and half-submerged in molten rock, alight with flames, before she was pulled the other way into the dining room and through the kitchen.
Luckily, the path to the back door was unobstructed, and with Vicente’s help, they jumped the fence that separated their yard from the neighbor’s house. Vicente sprinted to the backdoor and rapped on the frame with enough force that Valora thought the door was going to fall off its hinges.
An old Serperior flung the door open, clearly having been woken mid-dream as well. She had thrown a coat over her nightgown and carried a hastily-packed bag of her own.
“Kids! Thank goodness you’re okay,” Sra. García said, reaching forward to embrace the two. “Where are Samuel and María?”
“They’re at the library!” Valora said, happy to be in the presence of an adult. Everything would be okay, now that Sra. García was here.
Sra. García and Vicente shared a look, but said nothing. “Let’s get you two to the beach,” Sra. García said, a dark shadow coming over her face. “Hopefully we’re not too late.”
Valora’s heart skipped a beat. “B-but… shouldn’t we find Mommy and Daddy?” she asked.
Sra. García shook her head. “We’ll meet them when we’re safe, child. We need to get to the boats before they’re all full.” With that, Valora was lifted into the air and brought against the Serperior’s shoulder. “Let’s go, love.”
Over Sra. García’s shoulder, Valora got a perfect view of their house, which was now fully lit with orange and white flames. Dark rock that glowed a menacing red crept around the corner, starting to eat at Sra. García’s house as the neighborhood started to fade into the distance.
At the beach, all was chaos. People dashed around, shouting names, tripping over each other, and arguing with official-looking adults wearing neon orange vests that seemed to glow in the dark.
“Women and children first!” the vested people said, and some didn’t listen. A man was pulled out of a boat set to float away while three children and a mother were ushered in, the boat itself already fuller than it should be.
“Come on, kids,” Sra. García said, dragging the two to the shore. “Do you have room for us?” she asked one of the officials at a dock, who was arguing with a couple watching their children float away.
“We can’t leave without Mom and Dad!” Valora exclaimed, trying to pull herself out of Sra. García’s grasp.
Vicente fixed her with a glare, holding back tears. “We need to save ourselves, Valora!” He pulled their two suitcases onto an empty boat as Sra. García stepped on, Valora in tow, struggling to get down. Sra. García was frustratingly strong.
“No! I want Daddy!” Valora said, kicking against Sra. García’s chest.
“Hush, child. It’ll be alright,” her elderly neighbor said, but Valora was inconsolable. The lava already started to creep up onto the sand, and the boats were declining in number as the shouts of the people on the shore became more and more frantic.
“Maybe they got on another boat,” Vicente said as people Valora only distantly recognized filled in the boat to capacity. The look on Vicente’s face told Valora all she needed to know.
And the tears started falling.
As the orange-vested officials cut the boat loose, Valora watched through a waterfall as the island shone as bright as the sun. Trails of lava spilled down the sides of the volcano, trees glowed with halos of fires, and the tallest structures began to topple. In the skyline, she spotted the library, standing tall and proud at the base of the volcano.
The silhouette of her parents’ library was the last part of Sa’huana Val saw crumble to the ground, and the boat drifted into the darkness.
TRIGGER WARNING! Contains: fire, natural disaster, implied death
Valora, etc. are characters made by me, based off of characters in the Pokémon universe owned by GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not claim rights to characters such as Vaporeon, etc.
By PseudonymousUmbreon. If you wish to use or reference my work and/or my characters, please contact me first.
*****
Phoenix
Coevolution Int.12.5Valora was at the library with her dad that night. The place was as beautiful as it ever was, adorned with candles on every surface. Shelves stretched in all directions to infinity, and colossal wooden ladders that Valora wasn’t allowed to climb yet moved on tracks across each column of books.
Dad was at the grand front desk that towered over Valora. Up on a raised platform, Valora had to use all four paws to reach her father, clamoring up the side and around to where her father sat in his padded desk chair. She reached up with her paws, and Dad scooped her up, placing her comfortably in his lap.
Everything was right with the world. Valora looked at the pretty candles with the largest smile on her face, then at her dad’s latest work: a map of Sa’huana. A large brown and red circle sat in the center of the island.
“What’s that, daddy?” Valora asked, pointing to the blemish on the map.
Dad smiled. “That, mija, is Mount Xiuhtecuhtli. The volcano that gave life to our lovely little island.”
“Xi… Xuteh…” Valora played with the word on her tongue.
“Xiuhtecuhtli,” Dad repeated, chuckling lightly. “The god of fire, and the god of time. A fire that burns for as long as the world keeps turning.”
Valora looked at the volcano in amazement. “What’s a volcano?”
“A big mountain, with fire inside. Sometimes, the ground will rumble, and the fire will come out and rain down on what lies below!” Dad lifted his hands and danced his fingers downward like rain, landing a spark on Valora’s nose.
A shiver ran down Valora’s spine and she tilted her head. “Isn’t fire bad for us?”
Dad grinned. “In the moment, it can be. But remember. Xiuhtecuhtli is also the god of time. Fire destroys, yes, but it also brings new beginnings. And maybe, out of the ashes, comes something beautiful.”
“Woah…” Valora murmured, looking at the candle on her father’s desk. The flame danced and flickered about, and Valora leaned back onto Dad’s chest, wondering what new beginnings laid beyond the candle’s light.
*****“Valora! Wake up! Wake up, please… We need to go…”
Valora rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, blinking awake as her older brother, Vicente, came into focus. The Eevee stood over her, panic in his puffy eyes, as if he had been crying.
“Wha’s happ’nin’?” Valora stammered, throwing back the blanket and moving to stand up.
Vicente looked like he wanted to say something, but swallowed whatever it was that desperately wanted to jump out. “We need to go. Do you remember the escape plan?” His eyes betrayed no sign of jest.
Valora’s eyes widened. “Th-the escape plan?” Adrenaline shot through her veins. “But… the ground didn’t shake…” She focused her ears. Was someone screaming?
“It doesn’t matter—c’mon!” Vicente grabbed Valora’s paw and pulled her out of bed. “Where’s your suitcase?”
“Uhm…” Valora glanced to the side. “I wanted to take the stuff out an’ wear it, and then I forgot to pack it again…”
Vicente stared. “Are you serious—ugh, there’s no time for this! Grab some clothes, stuff them in there, and let’s go! Quickly, before—” He choked on a word. “Just get your suitcase, c’mon—” He started grabbing clothes that Valora had haphazardly thrown around the room throughout the week.
“Those aren’t clean—” Valora started to say, pulling her suitcase out from under her bed. It was almost as big as she was. She rummaged through the few articles that were still in there, trying to assess what all she needed.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re clean or not, Val! Would you just listen to me for once?!” Vicente threw a pile of clothes into the suitcase and snapped the cover shut, glaring into Valora’s soul.
Vicente was shaking, but Valora couldn’t tell if it was anger, or… something else. She took a step back, and tried to think of something to say back.
Suddenly, a shrieking noise pierced the room—no, the whole house. The smoke alarm was going off.
A sense of unease settled itself in Valora’s stomach. “Where are Mommy and Daddy?”
Vicente swallowed. “They’re at the library, Val. Now c’mon.”
With a newfound focus, Valora zipped her suitcase closed and grabbed Vicente’s paw.
The two Eevee retraced the path they had speedwalked a thousand times over, but this time it felt so much more real. Out of the bedroom. Down the hallway. Down the stairs. Into the liv—
The floor was lava.
Where there had been a shag carpet that itched at Valora’s pawpads was now an ever-growing cover of lava. Everything the lava touched seemed to waver and melt. Smoke billowed into the air, creeping across the ceiling to the stairwell, and a fire was steadily spreading across the wallpaper.
Vicente pulled Valora back from the bottom step, glancing frantically around. “Through the dining room! Hurry!” Valora caught a glimpse of the family portrait above the couch, now fallen from its perch and half-submerged in molten rock, alight with flames, before she was pulled the other way into the dining room and through the kitchen.
Luckily, the path to the back door was unobstructed, and with Vicente’s help, they jumped the fence that separated their yard from the neighbor’s house. Vicente sprinted to the backdoor and rapped on the frame with enough force that Valora thought the door was going to fall off its hinges.
An old Serperior flung the door open, clearly having been woken mid-dream as well. She had thrown a coat over her nightgown and carried a hastily-packed bag of her own.
“Kids! Thank goodness you’re okay,” Sra. García said, reaching forward to embrace the two. “Where are Samuel and María?”
“They’re at the library!” Valora said, happy to be in the presence of an adult. Everything would be okay, now that Sra. García was here.
Sra. García and Vicente shared a look, but said nothing. “Let’s get you two to the beach,” Sra. García said, a dark shadow coming over her face. “Hopefully we’re not too late.”
Valora’s heart skipped a beat. “B-but… shouldn’t we find Mommy and Daddy?” she asked.
Sra. García shook her head. “We’ll meet them when we’re safe, child. We need to get to the boats before they’re all full.” With that, Valora was lifted into the air and brought against the Serperior’s shoulder. “Let’s go, love.”
Over Sra. García’s shoulder, Valora got a perfect view of their house, which was now fully lit with orange and white flames. Dark rock that glowed a menacing red crept around the corner, starting to eat at Sra. García’s house as the neighborhood started to fade into the distance.
At the beach, all was chaos. People dashed around, shouting names, tripping over each other, and arguing with official-looking adults wearing neon orange vests that seemed to glow in the dark.
“Women and children first!” the vested people said, and some didn’t listen. A man was pulled out of a boat set to float away while three children and a mother were ushered in, the boat itself already fuller than it should be.
“Come on, kids,” Sra. García said, dragging the two to the shore. “Do you have room for us?” she asked one of the officials at a dock, who was arguing with a couple watching their children float away.
“We can’t leave without Mom and Dad!” Valora exclaimed, trying to pull herself out of Sra. García’s grasp.
Vicente fixed her with a glare, holding back tears. “We need to save ourselves, Valora!” He pulled their two suitcases onto an empty boat as Sra. García stepped on, Valora in tow, struggling to get down. Sra. García was frustratingly strong.
“No! I want Daddy!” Valora said, kicking against Sra. García’s chest.
“Hush, child. It’ll be alright,” her elderly neighbor said, but Valora was inconsolable. The lava already started to creep up onto the sand, and the boats were declining in number as the shouts of the people on the shore became more and more frantic.
“Maybe they got on another boat,” Vicente said as people Valora only distantly recognized filled in the boat to capacity. The look on Vicente’s face told Valora all she needed to know.
And the tears started falling.
As the orange-vested officials cut the boat loose, Valora watched through a waterfall as the island shone as bright as the sun. Trails of lava spilled down the sides of the volcano, trees glowed with halos of fires, and the tallest structures began to topple. In the skyline, she spotted the library, standing tall and proud at the base of the volcano.
The silhouette of her parents’ library was the last part of Sa’huana Val saw crumble to the ground, and the boat drifted into the darkness.
Category Story / Pokemon
Species Pokemon
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 65.2 kB
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