Young Writers Society

Darren watched the fiery pup disappear down the street. Once Aiden was out of sight, the Electrike turned right and entered the Power Station that was situated on the corner. A greeting formed on his lips, but like a timid Clefable, it vanished upon the sounds of conversation reaching his ears.

With furrowed brow, he entered his mother’s office. Audrey Cassidy sat at her desk, a Delphox opposite her. Said vixen was wearing characteristic crimson robes, but a scarlet shawl was also draped over her shoulders. Her wand lay on the table, next to a cup of what would most likely prove to be tea. While the Delphox spoke, she raised her right hand to her ear and tugged on her golden earring.

Darran registered all the information within a span of two seconds, so he could only wonder why the local soothsayer was speaking to his mother about a seemingly stressful subject before he was spotted.

‘My heart,’ the Manectric called, ‘don’t skulk over there in the shadows. Come say hello.’

The Delphox turned in her seat and displayed a warm smile. ‘Ah, Darren, ‘ow good it is to see you.’

‘Hello, Miss Le Chatelier,’ Darren greeted, approaching the two ladies. ‘I wasn’t eavesdropping, I assure you.’

‘‘Tis not a cause for concern at all, le cher. I would ‘ave known if you ‘ad ‘eard.’

Darren never failed to be mesmerised each time the fortune-teller spoke. Every letter – even the r’s that she pronounced in that peculiar, guttural way – seemed to roll off her tongue like the finest silk. Several times in the past, he had found himself lulled to sleep in her shop by the soothing combination of her accent and the burning incense.

Of course, they weren’t in her cottage outside the village, so his senses were in no way dulled. In fact, he couldn’t fathom why she would meet his mother in the Power Station when they usually conversed in their house. Sure, the Power Station was closer, but Darren harboured a growing suspicion that they were hiding something. It was not his business to pry, though, so he wouldn’t dare to ask.

‘We’ll continue the conversation in a moment, Charmaine,’ his mother said. Turning to her son, she asked, ‘Did you need me for something, dear?’

‘No, no, I was just checking in.’

‘Oh, okay. How was school?’

‘It was fine,’ Darren lied. ‘Nothing interesting happened.’

‘See, it wasn’t so bad after all,’ she said cheerfully and nuzzled his neck.

Darren responded with a smile; fortunately, his mother was the Electric Pokémon, not the Psychic one, otherwise his eyes would have given him away.

‘Audrey, remember to ask ‘im about the offering.’

‘Right! Darren, when was the last time you made an offering to Reshiram? I can’t remember.’

‘Err… I can’t either,’ he replied.

‘Then it was too long ago,’ Miss Le Chatelier admonished playfully. ‘You mustn’t neglect the praise of a deity simply because you were born on their day, and not their month. I say this with great respect to the twelve Zodiac Deities, but the seven Major Deities are the leaders of the pantheon. That is why the days were named after them – to receive more praise, not less. Luckily, I ‘ave yet to make my own offering today, so we can go to the Pinnacle Shrine together.’

‘That is kind of you, Charmaine. I’ll pay you for the incense once I return home.’

‘Not at all!’ the Delphox protested. ‘I’d happily grant you a favour every now and then.’

‘I believe the one I asked for is significant already.’

The Delphox simply waved her hand nonchalantly. ‘Now, now, Audrey, I must insist. Your friendship is payment enough.’

Darren witnessed the exchange with patience, but the two adults seemed to have forgotten about him. He didn’t really want to wait for a prolonged period of time to be dismissed, but he didn’t want to be rude by asking either.

‘Darren, you can come see me at my cottage in…’ the soothsayer turned to Darren’s mother, ‘is an hour all right, chéri?’

‘Quite.’

‘Then off you go, le cher.’ Miss Le Chatlier made shooing motions with her hands and winked.

Darren had thought it felt like she had read his mind.

He was mumbling to himself when cream fur blocked his view. Jumping back, he spat the hairs out of his mouth.

‘Seriously, Aiden? You shouldn’t just pop out of nowhere.’

‘Hey, I was standing here for thirty seconds already. You’re the one who practically ran out the building.’

‘Whatever. Didn’t you say you’d see me again in an hour?’

‘I did, but I thought it would be easier if I walked through the village and made rough sketches first. I thought you might want to join me.’

‘Sure.’

‘Great! We can share the credit, then. Come on, let’s go!’

‘Go where? The marketplace is over there.’ Darren nodded to his front left. ‘Don’t you want to start in the centre of the village?’

‘Good point.’