Connected Rivers (Chapter 6)

Chapter 6



Ría woke up from her sleep next to a shady tree near the riverbank. The morning sun shined down through the forest cover nearby as she yawned and stretched out. She sat up and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and looked around.

“Nh, mornin’ already…? Eh, might as well go and find somethin’ to eat…” she mumbled, slowly climbing to her feet to go and look. “Maybe even see what Kelvin’s up to…” With a tired shrug, she slumped off to find both her boyfriend and some berries to eat. She glanced around at the various bushes, looking for the right one that she liked best. “Hm, not findin’ the right one yet…” she said with a sigh. As she continued to walk along, she suddenly tripped over something that felt rather big lying on the ground. She let out an alarmed noise as she crashed to the ground, pulling herself up after a moment.

“Gah! The hell was that?” she grumbled, hearing whatever she tripped over groaning somewhat. She looked back to see who or what it was, and was astonished. “Wha? What the hell?! Kelvin!” She quickly got up and grabbed Kelvin by the shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to get a response. What happened to you? C’mon, wake up!”

“Ungh…” he groaned, waking up in a daze and slowly opening his eyes. “R-Ría? Is that you…?” He winced again, realizing how sore his body felt. “Gah, fuck… my body hurts so much…”

“Ya got me a li’l riled up,” Ría sighed and shook her head, looking back down at him and continued with a more serious and concerned tone. “What the hell did ya do? What happened to you? And why are you all the way out here?” Kelvin slowly pulled himself up and shamefully looked down.

“I was trying to come see you last night to make sure you were fine… and then…” he paused for a moment to collect himself, ashamed to admit what happened. “Then that jerk Cinder came around… the bastard wanted my necklace and I wouldn’t give it to him, so he beat me up and stole it from me…” He groaned painfully again and held his head. “Bastard’s fucking strong… knocked me unconscious and then he left…” Her eyes were chilled with anxiety, disbelief and some fear. She's not used to feeling concerned for someone before, but the Floatzel was really shaken.

"You're kiddin me…" Ría struggled to bring Kelvin up to his weak feet while leaning him to a nearby tree for support, looking at him sternly. "... what else can ya tell me about this ass named ‘Cinder?’ What was he?"

“For one, he’s huge… bigger than any Typhlosion I’ve ever seen…” he began, trying to hold himself up. His body was shaking audibly from struggling to stay upright. “It was dark, so it’s hard to say how he looked exactly… but I think he had red fur as well instead of blue, like a shiny or something…” He looked up at her a moment. “I’m sorry if it’s not helpful enough, it’s hard to think when I’m in so much pain…” Shaking her head with a heavy sigh, Ría helped Kelvin a little off of the tree in an effort to help him regain his balance, blinking at him.

"Looks like we won't be restin' easy knowing a big bastard like that is around, huh...?" Chuckling mildly from her own dark humor, the female Floatzel attempted to help Kelvin walk. She could feel the slumping weakness of his body, but didn't let that frustrate her. "C'mon... we can't stay here."

“Yeah, probably better we go somewhere safer…” Kelvin replied with a small nod, putting his arm around her to hold himself up as they walked off together. He winced at each painful step, trying to carry his own weight as to not depend too heavily on her to move, and shamefully stared down at the ground. “I still can’t believe I let that asshole beat me so easily… or let him take my necklace…”

"S'not like I had high hopes for ya..." Ría remarked bluntly, rolling her eyes a little as she kept half-lugging Kelvin back to their usual resting area. "'Sides... this means ya know one of his tricks, right? Next time ya see 'im... ya can get around him, right?" The Floatzel patted Kelvin's shoulder reassuringly, trying to raise his spirit up, not wanting to hear him whine so much. "For now, just take the time to ease yourself... ya look like ya need it." He nodded and stayed quiet as they continued along.

“I’ll just try to rest it off for now… but I’ll hunt that bitch down and get my necklace back one of these days…” Ría just shook her head and smirked, not surprised by her mate’s feistiness, but still hoped he’d be smart enough to wait first.

After a short while longer, they made it back to Kelvin’s usual resting spot under a shady tree by the river. Ría helped him to sit down before standing back upright again and looking around.

“Alright, just give me a moment, n’ I’ll fetch some berries for ya,” she said, before walking away to hunt around, leaving the injured male Floatzel alone by the tree. Kelvin sat back, staring at the ground and sighed as she walked away. He felt so weak being seen in such a condition by his girlfriend, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides, that wasn’t a fair fight at all; he was caught off guard and over-powered by Cinder. Now the focus was just accepting her help, taking revenge on that bastard, and getting his necklace back again. “Yo, Kelvin, I’m back,” called out Ría, snapping him out of his little world, with a few different berries in her arms.

“Oh, right… looks like you found quite a few there,” Kelvin responded, slowly raising his head to look at her again. The collection of Oran and Sitrus berries was quite modest, along with a couple others. Ría set them down in a pile near him and sat down, picking one up that she’d picked for herself.

“Eat as many as ya like,” she said in a passing tone as she took a bite of her berry. Kelvin looked at them for a moment, before picking out one he liked and started eating.

“Thanks… I appreciate the help…” Kelvin replied with a grateful smile, forcing it more than anything to try and show he was fine. He quietly continued eating his fill of the berries until he felt better, the pain disappearing from his body. He leaned back to relax somewhat, sighing. “I feel better physically now… but until I get my necklace back, I’m not completely fine. We’ll need to find that bastard and get it back.”

“And how do ya plan to do that?” Ría responded as she finished eating the berries she’d picked for herself. “It’s not like we know where the guy is.”

“Well, we don’t know, but maybe those guys we met before do. You know, Mya and her friends.”

"Eh..." she muttered, looking to the side with a little uncertainty. With a faint shrug, she turned her glance back to Kelvin. "... guess we can take a shot at that. Who knows... maybe they caught a glimpse of that slimy jerk." Kelvin nodded and stood up with her.

“Let’s go find one of them then, I’m sure they can help somehow.” With that the two headed off to search for their new friends.



They looked for around for a while until finally coming across the lean Furret girl, Mya. She was seated underneath a tree, nibbling at an apple she’d found. Hearing the sound of footsteps her ears twitched, and she glanced over to see who was there, smiling at the sight of the attractive couple coming her way.

“Well well, this is a pleasant surprise,” she greeted as they approached.

“Pleasant, right…” Ría replied in a dry, displeased tone.

“Uh, sure…” Kelvin said, shaking his head to not think about it further and quickly changing the subject. “We came here to get your help with something… or rather, someone.”

“My help, hm? What is it you need?” Mya asked, looking curious as she set the apple aside.

“Yeah, you see…” Kelvin started to explain, taking a moment to think how he should do so. “I got ambushed by that stupid Typhlosion Cinder you guys warned us about. He beat me up and stole my necklace. I blacked out after that, so I don’t know where he went or how to find him… we’re hoping maybe you guys can help us out, since I can’t let him get away with this.” Mya listened to his story intently, sounding a little stunned such a big, strong guy like himself couldn’t handle Cinder.

“Hm, I see… well, I can’t do much about it personally, but I can get Ace to help. We usually enlist him to scout for Cinder anyway, so if you’re serious about looking for him, you should talk to Ace.”

“Ah yeah, the little Furret guy we saw before…” Kelvin recalled. “Didn’t he say we should come find you if we needed him?”

“Sure did, I’ll lead you to him then. If nothing else he can report to you when he finds Cinder or knows where he is.” She gave them a faint smile and turned to scurry off, signaling for them to follow along. The Floatzel couple looked to each other for a moment, shrugging and deciding to go with her. After all, she was their only lead on finding Ace anyway. They walked along together through the trees as Mya sniffed around along the ground, checking particular bushes they came across, and stopping to make sure they were still behind her.

“You sure ya know where to find ‘im at?” Ría asked in an impatient tone.

“Yeah, of course I do,” Mya replied, sounding a little offended. She turned around to look back at them again. “Why, you think you could find him without my help? By all means, go ahead and try if you want to.” She stood with a proud smirk across her face.

“Fine, I get it,” Ría said with a sigh.

“Good, that’s what I want to hear. I don’t think he should be much farther now… closing in on one his usual hiding places if my sense of direction is right.” Mya kept going on as the couple followed again, eventually seeing a rustling in some bushes up ahead. All of them came to a halt and waited to see if something would pop out, Kelvin readying himself with a Water Gun just in case. After some anxious moments, a furry head emerged with a friendly smile, before the rest of the long striped body slithered out.

“Well well, if it isn’t those Floatzel again!” Ace greeted, standing up on his back legs. “Guess I was wrong about you being the type to not need my help, eh?” He snickered a little as he looked in Kelvin’s direction. Kelvin clenched a fist and growled lowly.

“Shut up, he ambushed me in the dark of night!” he barked in response. Ría sighed and stood in his way to keep him blocked off.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just sore,” she said.

“Whatever you say, big guy,” Ace replied with a chuckle, then turned to Mya. “And always a nice treat seeing you back around, too.”

Mya smirked and flicked her tail. “I could say the same, but these guys have got some business with you. Maybe I’ll come stop by again later. They can find their way back without me.”

“Right, right... see you around, Mya.” He waved to her as she scurried off again back where they came from, then turned his attention back to the Floatzel. “Well then, what can I do for you two anyway?”

“Simple, we want your help tracking down that fucking bastard Cinder,” Kelvin said in a matter of fact tone. “That asshole jumped me while I was alone, beat me up, and stole my necklace. I won’t let him get away with that, so I’m looking to get it back from him.”

“Really now?” Ace replied with a smirk, looking him over as he explained. “I see you’re quite serious about this... it isn’t often folks come to me deliberately trying to find Cinder, they’re usually trying to avoid him. But hey, I can do my best for the right price.”

“A price, huh? What do ya want?” quipped Ría.

“Hm... for a job like this, I could accept a payment of some berries... assuming folks like you hunt berries, too,” Ace answered. He turned his back to them and rubbed along his chin to think it over further. ”For each day I’m needed for this job, I think 5 berries should suffice. Any kind really, doesn’t matter. How does that sound to you?”

“It’s fine by me, as long as we find his ass and bring him some justice. Just come find me by my tree down near the river when you’ve got something to report, and maybe I’ll get you the berries there if I got them on me. Is that fair?” Kelvin replied, keeping a stern look on his face as he stared at the Furret.

“Yeah, that’ll work. I’ll be sure to let you know any time I see him around and where to find him... the rest I’ll leave up to you,” Ace said with a smile, turning back around to approach them. He extended his paw out as he looked at Kelvin. “I should warn you, though... you don’t know what you’re messing with getting involved with a guy like Cinder. Good luck to the both of you.” Kelvin reached out and shook his paw, before Ría reluctantly did the same.

“Mh, great... now let’s get out of here, ya need to relax before things get any worse...” she grumbled, turning to walk away after the shake. Kelvin slowly nodded before turning to follow her off, going back the way Mya led them before. Ace waved for a moment, then got caught up staring at their back ends as they walked away. He smirked to himself and turned back around to go back in his bush again, thinking to himself “Man, what I wouldn’t give to have a piece of either of them... those are some fine looking Floatzels.”



They arrived back at Kelvin’s usual tree by the river soon after, as Ría helped Kelvin to sit down against it. She stood back up and looked him over again for a moment, shaking her head at the visible bruises that had formed from his fight with Cinder the night before.

“Here, just get some rest n’ don’t do anything crazy... I’ll come check on ya later, m’kay?” Ría said, then stood back up again.

“Sure thing... thanks for the help, Ría, I really appreciate it...” Kelvin replied. He leaned back against the tree and folded his arms behind his head as she headed off on her way again. He stared out over the river across to the other side, thinking to himself about that night. “I wonder if I could’ve took him if he didn’t ambush me like that... I’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure...” He let out a sigh and rested his head back on his arms, slowly sliding his eyes closed to listen to the sound of the river flowing. Suddenly he heard something nearby in the bushes, like someone was around. Alertly he opened his eyes and looked around. “Now what is it?” There was no answer, things stayed quiet. He shrugged and went back to trying to relax. But then, the sound came back; only it felt closer than before. Kelvin tried not to worry about it, figuring it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. A few anxious moments later, he could feel a presence near him, like someone was watching him. He opened his eyes again to look around, omitting a low growl with a warning. “Show yourself!” He waited a moment, before finally the small figure of a familiar red Pachirisu stumbled out from one of the bushes.

“I-I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to scare you, sir...” Scaevola apologized as he nervously came forward, stopping down in front of him. “I was just going along looking for something to eat, a-and I noticed you here...” Kelvin sighed and settled down, adjusting his position a little to get comfortable.

“Really now? What kind of food?” he asked, an idea churning in his brain.

“Oh, well, anything really...” Scae began, still sounding nervous. “Nuts, berries, that kind of thing...”

“Berries, huh? Hm...” Kelvin thought further about it, then smiled down at the young Pachirisu. “Say, uhh... what was your name again?”

“I’m Scaevola, sir...”

“Ah, right, Scaevola... your friend Ace there said he’d help me find Cinder if I gave him some berries each day, and as you can see, I’m not in much condition to do that...” Kelvin began to explain, a smirk coming over his face.

“You’re... looking for Cinder...? But why?” Scaevola looked more frightened now than before.

“Because that fucker stole something special of mine, and I want it back. As you can see, I had a little run-in with him last night...” Scae finally took a moment to examine his body closer, seeing what he meant by that from all the bruises. His eyes grew wide in shock as he looked.

“Wow, you do look in pretty bad shape... does it still hurt?”

“Eh, not too much now. Ría helped me feel better with some berries before, but it wasn’t something I hoped to have happen when I moved here. I’ve dealt with pain a lot worse than this in my old home from all kinds of fights.”

“Oh my... no wonder you look so strong... but that’s good it doesn’t hurt still...”

“Yeah, but anyway...” Kelvin sat back up some more and looks down to Scae. “Point is, I was thinking maybe you could help me out here. What do you say about fetching some berries for me to give Ace until we find Cinder?”

“Oh, well... I mean, I guess I could... but what would I get for doing so?” Scae curiously looked back down to Kelvin’s feet, unable to keep his attention away from them forever. He shook his head to try and get his thoughts off them.

“Whatever you want, I guess. Right now I just want to find that bastard so I’m not worried about the price. So if anything sounds good to you, just tell me,” Kelvin responded, not noticing what Scae was looking at.

“Hm... maybe I could, uhh...” Scae trailed off, trying to muster up the courage to ask about it. “M-maybe get a chance with your f-feet...?” He blushed nervously at the suggestion, expecting to get hit and braced himself for it. But instead, Kelvin raised an eyebrow, or the closest thing he had to them, staring curiously between Scae and his feet. Finally he shrugged and said, “Eh, sure. If that’s really all you want from me for this favor, I’m fine with it. But what exactly do you want with my feet?” Scae looked a bit surprised by the reaction, smiling and nodding.

“Well, I l-love giving foot massages and other kinds of stuff like that... I r-really like your feet, too... th-they look nice like you do, s-sir...” He blushed even more, growing more nervous now. “And I guess maybe if I can keep a couple of the berries for myself to eat, too, that’d be fine...” Kelvin couldn’t help but smirk a bit and give a reassuring nod.

“Fine by me, as long as you get me five berries a day for Ace to take. You do that, and you’ll get some fun with my feet like you want,” he said, teasingly lifting one foot to poke at Scae’s chest. Scae blushed and nodded with a smile as well.

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll make sure I find some for both of us.” His stomach growled again at him and he nervously looked down, putting his paw over it. “Uhh, m-maybe I should leave you alone now... I still need to find something to eat, too...” Kelvin chuckled a little and settled back against the tree again.

“Go ahead, I need some time to relax anyway. Don’t forget our deal now.” Scaevola nodded again, gave one last look to the Floatzel’s feet, then turned and scurried off into the forest again. Kelvin let out a sigh of relief at having that taken care of, slowing closing his eyes again to get back to where he was before. In a matter of minutes, the tired Floatzel drifted off to sleep, getting some much-needed rest finally. Once his body felt better, he’d get cracking on making himself stronger to prepare for Cinder. With how easily he got handled last time, it was necessary to do if he wanted to stand a chance. But this wasn’t the time to worry about it, at least not yet.