Tenth Sacrament: Gift

[11121_assumption]

As the sun is setting, the video opens on Walter in Mt. Mortar. A sketchbook and pencil have been set aside as he sat with Bonfire the Vulpix at his side. They were nearby a cave river, the soft glow of a fire illuminating them and the surrounding area. Assumption set down the camera and walked into frame, standing beside Walter and watching eagerly.

The egg, the focus of the video, was hatching.

A few shakes and a soft cry came from within. Walter leaned forward, hands held together. Finally the shell broke in a flash of light and in the eggs place stood a beautiful Alolan Vulpix, her fur tinged a soft violet and shining in the firelight. Walter looked between Bonfire and the new Pokemon, before reaching forward and gently bringing it into his lap. The newborn blinked up at him, accepting his soft touches. Bonfire climbed into his lap to greet her fellow fox, gently touching her nose to her.

"You're a gift from God. I wonder if you have special powers? But all Pokemon do, don't they." He murmured to it softly. The Alolan Vulpix just listened to him thoughtfully. "You look a little like Dahlia. It would be fitting, to name you for a priestess."

Assumption wagged his tail, picking up the camera and smiling before shutting it off.

Comments

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

She's very beautiful.

And that's a lovely name.

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

[ He has...no idea who this is. But he responds politely. ]

Thank you. I don't know if that's the name I will give her yet.

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

[And that's how she wants it to be for right now.]

Careful. She may end up liking it and then not give you a say in the matter.

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

[ Walter recieved the message and frowned. Really, who was this person? ]

She doesn't seem especially responsive to it.

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

[You could always ask.]

Well she is a newborn. Not much is going to phase her right away.

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

Then she won't be partical to a name I've mentioned in passing.

[ He just doesn't understand why you're messaging him, who is this ]

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

A fair point.

I suppose you'll see once she makes up her mind.

[Hey, you posted to the network, sir. She just happened to be doing her usual pass of information gathering.]

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

[ Actually he did not. His Marowak, Assumption, did. ]

Who is this? We haven't spoken before.

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

[Well it was still on a public network.]

We haven't, no.

My name's Cissnei.

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

[ ...Then why did she contact him? He's so confused. They don't know each other but she just decided to talk to him? Was it just because of the newborn Vulpix? There's a pause as he talks with Heather about it, before responding to Cissnei. ]

I'm going to name her Claudia.

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

An equally as lovely name.

Speaking of names, am I going to get yours in return?

[Text]

[11121_assumption]

If you ask for it.

My name is Walter Sullivan.

[Text]

[notmyrealname]

I figured a name for a name was a fair trade.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Walter.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[.... HRRK and to think she thought the days when seeing a post from Walter gave her involuntary trauma flashbacks were OVER.]}

--you shouldn't name her that.

_{[NO TIME TO COUCH IT IN SOFT COAXING WORDS SORRY]}

[11121_assumption]

[ Oh hello Heather. ]

...Why not? [ But he's not asking in a challenging or defiant way. More a genuinely curious one. The little white Vulpix peers at heather curiously as her red sister tried to hide behind her. ]

[foolishwren]

--because Dahlia was evil!

_{[STILL SPEAKING HASTILY AND A LITTLE MORE EMPHATIC THAN SHE USUALLY DOES.]}

[11121_assumption]

[ Walter wasn't great at reading people or understanding them. Being isolated all your life wasn't exactly great for building social skills. But he was observant and took care to remember what he could about the people around him.

Heather spoke and acted fast when she was angry. She was doing that right now. It was the same tone she had used when talking about the Order, before they were...civil with each other. Walter closed his eyes, before looking down at the Vulpix. ]

...She hurt you. Didn't she?

[foolishwren]

_{[There's a long pause as the words battle it out in her throat. Hearing it laid out like that stings because it's true. Of course it's true. And nothing proves it more than her own hesitation.]}

--she hurt a lot of people.

Everybody she touched.

Just-- Walter, no innocent baby animal deserves a name like that.

[11121_assumption]

[ There's a pause again as he thinks it over. The newborn took this all in quietly, curled up with Bonfire. All people hurt others; it was part of living, to hurt others, even if it wasn't intended. But this was about Heather. Dahlia had been a priestess. And being a priestess didn't mean she would be any better than the priests. ]


Okay.

I want her to have a good name. Something special, and kind. But I don't- I didn't know many people like that. [ He didn't know many good people who weren't saints back home and he had already named a Pokemon Eileen. And it felt like he shouldn't name his Pokemon for people he'd met here. ]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[There was a long tense silence from Heather than only broke, in the form of a sigh of relief that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, when he conceded.]

[She'd been half expecting him to stubbornly cling to the name, or even worse, try to argue in the real Dahlia's favor.]</sub>

... You could... always name her Claudia.

Claudia was a priestess too, you know.

_{[And while Claudia had also hurt her... she was special. And kind. And (even though it had taken Heather years to fully accept this) not evil, despite her unforgivable actions.]}

[11121_assumption]

Claudia? [ He repeated it, remembering how she had mentioned the other High Priestess. Yes, she had been good. She had done her best for her flock and truly felt for the people suffering around her. In his lap, the white Vulpix perked up. He gently pet over her head. ]

Claudia. [ The little fox gave a soft call, nodding. He smiled to her and then to Heather. ] Thank you.

...I'm. [ He sounds unsure, because he is. He's never known how to talk about this but in light of their...shared history, he wants to say this. ] I'm sorry. That Dahlia hurt you.

[foolishwren]

_{[Her shoulders rise and fall in a soft sigh.]}

It's not like there was anything you could have done.

You were just a kid then, too.

_{[Because she can only assume he MUST have been around-- if Dahlia had meddled in his upbringing, it must have been during those dark Alchemilla years. She's not sure how far apart they'd been in age, but there's not much point in wondering about the specifics.]}

[11121_assumption]

I didn't mean sorry like that. But, I remember how it hurt with the priests. I hated them so much and...and I don't like that people here know what that was like.

[ He had felt empathy and sympathy for his fellow orphans. What Heather had gone through wasn't the same, he remembered, but given her reaction it must have been similar. Outside of that, it had been difficult to feel sorry for the students at college, whining about their families or how drunk they had gotten.

And he really did dislike how the people he had grown close to in this world had suffered too, even if it was just part of life. ] Suffering is natural. It's...humans cause suffering, even when they don't mean to. But what the priests and what Dahlia probably did was...unique.

[foolishwren]

I know.

Suffering is a fact of life.

But that doesn't give anyone the excuse to inflict it on another person for their own gain.

_{[Her voice is hollow as she says it-- she's not berating Walter or speaking accusingly. She just sounds so tired.]}

Dahlia knew exactly what she was doing, and it was for no one's benefit but her own. It wasn't out of faith, misguided, or by accident.

[11121_assumption]

[ Walter lowered his eyes, looking at the Vulpix. Claudia. He spoke softly. ]

My suffering was...necessary. I had to suffer, so God could feel it. And, when it was enough, Valtiel told me it was time for the ritual. I was still angry, when they hurt me. But there was a reason why.