Author: Ai no Kitsune Rating: G
Finding the Heart Stone Chapter-3
This part is LONG, so I haven't been able to send it until I had some time. I've actually had it written for about a month now.
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OBSCURITY
James pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes in exhaustion.
"Look," he muttered, "I said I was sorry."
"I don't care! You just did it because you were losing!"
"I told you it was an accident!"
"Who has accidents like that?"
"He does," Misty interupted. "Give it a rest, Brock. Nobody cares."
"I care!"
"Then you're in the minority."
Brock ground his teeth, achieving a particularly nasty expression that only he could manage. With an angry snort, he turned on his heel and stormed off into the woods.
"There goes a really angry squinty guy," murmured Ash, but nobody heard him.
"You WERE just trying to mess up the game, right James?" Misty edged coyly towards James, who edged nervously away.
"NO! I just--I mean--uh...." He trailed off, and cast around the clearing as though looking for an escape route.
"It doesn't really matter," Misty said softly. She reached out a hand, and James leapt to his feet.
"I think I'll take a walk," he said. Misty slumped against the log and pouted.
On the far side of the fire, Ash grinned."I guess it's just us," he said.
Misty shot him a glare so vicious, it leapt the space between them and burned straight through Ash's forehead. He didn't seem to notice.He stood up and stretched, and yawned dramatically. Misty cringed, scooting backwards up onto the log.
"Uh, heheh, Ash, why don't you go look for Brock?" she grinned as innocently as she could.
"But I'd rather stay here with you," he whined. Misty groaned under her breath. Her fists were still bruised from the beating she'd given Ash earlier this afternoon; she didn't feel up to inflicting any more violence tonight.Ash came over and sat down next to her. Misty pulled her legs up to her chest.
"Aren't the stars beautiful tonight," Ash said, craning his head back so far his adam's apple stuck out. Misty tried not to gag.
"They look like tin dots in the sky," she snapped. She stood abruptly, removing her stabilizing weight from the log and sending it rolling backwards. Ash fell on his rear-end with a yelp.
"Hey...." he said, rubbing his tender area. Misty looked down at him.
"I'm going for a walk," she said.
"Out there with James?" Ash clambered to his feet and brushed himself off. He took a step forward. Misty raised her fists.Things might have gone amiss (more amiss), but at that moment the sound of crunching bracken interrupted them.Jessie walked into the clearing. Leaves and twigs clung to her hair and clothes, her face and knees were bruised, scratched and dirty, and she was clutching something in her hand.
"Jessie!" Ash squealed, and launched himself at the larger woman. Without looking around, Jessie swung an arm, caught Ash in mid-leap, and slung him to the ground. Ash didn't seem too upset.
"She touched me! She touched me!" he sang to himself, giggling.
"Jessie! What on earth happened to you? You look like you were mauled by a--a--"
"A bear," the redhead filled in, "Or some other large, dangerous animal not actually found in these woods."
"Uh, right. What happened to you, Jessie? You've been gone fore hours!"
Jessie looked at Misty, her eyes piercingly bright."No one tried to look for me?"
"Ash wanted to. James said you'd be fine."
"Ah," Jessie nodded. She glanced around. "So where is everybody now?"
"I don't know. Out. Brock got angry at James and left, and then James--"
"Ran off to get away from Misty! Hee hee!" Ash interrupted with a shriek of laughter. Misty balled up her fists.
"Alright," Jessie laid a hand on Misty's shoulder. "I'm going to get a bath. Try to stay civil, the both of you." And she disappeard into the woods.
***
When James came back, it was to a lively campsite. Jessie had returned at some point, and was laughing with Brock and Misty over some joke. Ash was around somewhere too; James heard his voice cheerfully adding to the conversation.James stopped outside the clearing and stood in the shadows, listening. The firelight shone on their faces, made Jessie's hair a vivid orange and shone in her dark eyes. James smiled.
"And then I said, 'why don't you make me, you pointy-haired goon!'" Misty finished, and everyone burst out laughing. Even Ash, who James was sure the humorous little story was about. He stepped into the clearing.
"James!" Jessie shot him a glowing smile. "I'm glad you're here. You've been gone a long time."
"Sorry," he said, "I was looking at the stars." Misty sighed, a barely audible sound.
"Now that everyone's here," Jessie said, "I have an announcement to make." She looked around.
"You too, Ash, get over here." Silence descended over the clearing.
"I know you're here somewhere!"
"Were you beating on that poor child again?" James murmured to Misty. She snorted and looked away.
"Ash, come ON." A bush stirred, and Ash emerged, had over a split lip.
"This better be good," he mumbled around the damage.
"Oh, it is," she said. She reached into her pocket and drew something out, clutched tightly in a fist.Jessie watched their faces as she drew out the stone. They all locked eyes on her hand and stared as she slowly raised it up before her, fingers so close together not even a hint of light seeped out.
And she said: "Look at this." And opened her hand.Light spille dout into the clearing, more brilliant than the fire, a radiance that made the stone's earlier light seem dim by comparison. Even Jessie was taken aback by the new brightness--she fumbled and nearly dropped the stone. The light shone on everything, picking out the leaves overhead in a hundred different colors, shining on the four other faces and making them suddenly beautiful.
"Oh..." Said Misty softly. She reached out a hand, trembled, and drew back. Even Ash was struck dumb by the light. He sat with mouth gaping, absolutly silent. Brock, too, seemed temporarily robbed of his ability to speak.Jessie shot a glance at James, subtley, from under her long lashes. He was sitting back, mouth open slightly, blinking as though he'd been struck over the head.
"Can I...hold it?" Misty asked softly.
"Of course," Jessie handed the girl the stone and she took it gently, reverently, biting her lip as she did so.
"It's warm!" She exclaimed.
"Jessie, where did you find this?" Brock asked softly.
"In the woods," she pointed, "About a mile from here.
"Can I hold it too?" Ash reached out and Misty, instead of clobbering the boy, handed it to him gently, though she clearly didn't want to give up the stone. After Ash, Brock requested the shining stone, and then quietly handed it back to Jessie. James did not ask.
"James?" Jessie asked, "Wouldn't you like to hold it?"
He looked at her, and the expression on his face was something she could not name. Slowly, and without a word, he reached out to take hold of the stone. Nothing happened. Jessie, somehow, had been expecting some reaction, either from the man of the stone. Neither changed, however, and James simply sat looking at it as the others had done;
"It's very beautiful," he said finally. Frustrated, though she didn't know why, Jessie reached out and snatched the stone back.
"Yes it is," she said. "I've never seen anything like this on Earth. do you have any idea what this is?" she looked at the others, but no face registered recognition.
Misty and Ash seemed infatuated with the stone, Brock and James looked at each other, but no one could offer any clues as to the stone's character. Finally James shrugged.
"Maybe it doesn't matter," he said. "Sometimes things happen that can't ever be explained."
"That's true," Brock said, nodding sagely. Jessie rolled her eyes as the boy went on, "It's like that saying, 'there are more things on heaven and earth then you can dream.' Or something like that."
"Alright," Jessie said. "I didn't show this to get lectured by you, Obi-wan. I'll keep it around awhile, if no one minds."
A chorus of "No's" and "Of course not's" followed the question, and Jessie, smiling, stuck the stone in her back pocket, where it warmed her through to the bone.
To Part-4
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