Talks of the past

Vali stared at the ceiling after head up to her room for the night. Steven knew that she'd been abused. He didn't know who had done it only that it had happened. On one hand, she didn't like that he knew about it. On the other hand, she was relieved since it meant she didn't have to hide it. He knew and there was nothing she could do about it. The fact that he'd put it together and only asked her for confirmation rather than ask who had done it was a nice. The only ones that knew outside of Sirius were Professor Oak, Delia, and a few League officials that were bound by silence. Not even Ash, Gary, or Daisy knew about the abuse, the rangers that worked with Sirius didn't either though she knew that some probably suspected it.

Knowing that someone she considered a friend knew, it was disconcerting and made her a little unhappy. Not at Steven, she wasn't unhappy with him, but with Hermione and Ron. They had been her friends and Ron had seen the bars on her window back in second year along with his brothers. Fred and George had been the ones that had confronted her about the abuse though they didn't know everything and were the ones that she'd ended up going to when she woke up from nightmares. Knowing that Steven could help her when she had a nightmare, she felt relieved if a bit reluctant since that would mean letting him take the Twin's place. Then again, he wasn't taking their place since they would be doing it if they were here.

Letting out a soft sigh, Vali rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. She needed to sleep not thinking about what happened. It had happened and nothing was going to change that fact. She listened to her pokemon's breathing and felt their warmth around her feeling herself relax.

Steven didn't bring up her abuse the next morning when she joined him for breakfast. He only asked her if she wanted to go take a look at the open air market together. They headed out with Smaug walking beside her in an attempt to get used to his new body and Pidgey settled on her shoulder. The flying type was getting heavier and starting to gain some diversity in her feather which meant she would be evolving soon enough. Once she got done at the market, she would be attempting to get Pidgey to evolve. Vali paused at one of the stands where a woman was selling lava-rocks and lava cookies. She bought a few and handed Smaug one of the lava cookies earning a growl of pleasure from the lizard. The woman smiled at the sight, "You two have a good bond. How long have you been training him?"

"A few months now," Vali said earning a surprised look, "He's my starter,"

"You're from Pallet Town then?" The woman asked as Vali ran her finger's through Pidgey's breast feathers and the trainer nodded, "I haven't seen one of those from Pallet town in a month. You're a bit behind the others,"

"Distance wise, but taking my time and getting my pokemon as strong as possible makes it more than worth it," Vali replied not really minding that she was behind the ones that had left the moment they got their starter pokemon.

If Vali had left with them, she wouldn't have been able to travel with Steven. Sure, it might have saved her from the rough trip through Viridian Forest, but it was more than worth it. She managed to get Sandshrew which wouldn't have happened if she had gone through Mount Moon earlier than she had. She wouldn't have been as prepared for Flint nor would she have made it through Mount Moon quite a quickly. Her pokemon wouldn't have benefited from being around more experienced pokemon and getting valuable advice. She wouldn't have gotten a good friend and traveling partner that helped her keep from making mistakes. In the end, she would never regret waiting to start her journey or having Steven as a traveling partner.

Soon, Vali continued browsing the open air market and ended up picking up a pair of goggles. Unless someone had a psychic-type, any battles outside of League or Gym sanctioned ones were not surrounded by a psychic field. While not having goggles at the beginning of any journey was fine, the battles that occurred later on with more powerful pokemon tended to cause a lot of debris to be kicked up which meant goggles were essential. Any trainer with a flying type had to have goggles as well to ensure their eyes were protected during any flights. While the goggles she picked up weren't the best quality, they would work until she could afford a better pair. Not to mention, they were her favorite color: Dark Red.

Vali also ended up picking up a few novels for times when she was bored, her pokedex was charging, it was raining, etc. They weren't anything special just a few adventure novels and a mythology book. The mythology book was a rather beaten book that had obviously been lost to time until it ended up on the second hand book table she'd found it on. While Professor Oak was the leading authority on Pokemon, he didn't really talk about the legendaries that supposedly existed which was a shame in her opinion. The most she heard Professor Oak talk about was Celebi. Don't get her wrong, Celebi was an amazing legendary, but a pokemon that basically used time travel like a play-toy wasn't something she enjoyed thinking about. Call it a fear or something, but she didn't like time-travel.

The legendaries that called to Vali were Ho-oh, Lugia, the bird trio, and the legendary dogs. Of those legends, she absolutely loved Moltres. The legendary fire bird that was basically fire itself given mortal form. The respect and adoration she bore fore the fire bird was even higher than anything she felt for Fawkes. If there was one thing she wanted to do in this world, it was meet the Kantonia legend of fire. It wasn't because she wanted to challenge it, no, she wanted to see it for herself and admire its beauty. Whether from afar or up close, she didn't care so long as it happened.

Vali headed to the pokemon center soon after buying those books. She settled down in the common room area and began reading the mythology book after letting out her pokemon. She absentmindedly scratched behind Balto's ears in between turning pages. It wasn't until Balto barked and shook the book when he jumped off of the couch she'd been sitting on that she stopped reading. She looked up to find Steven walking into the room, "Hey."

"Find something interesting at the market?" Steven asked as he bent down to pet Balto.

"I got some more lava rocks, some lava cookies, a pair of goggles, and some books for when things get slow," Vali marked her page which was on the origin of the legendary bird trio, "I was reading this,"

"You're interested in mythology?" Steven looked at the book curiously.

Vali nodded as she helped Sandshrew up onto the couch and rubbed the small pokemon stomach earning a coo of pleasure, "Yes though it's mostly Ho-oh, Lugia, the bird trio, and the legendary dogs. They call to me though Moltres is the one that I have the most interest in."

Steven sat down on the couch as Pikachu and Balto began to rough house a little, "Because its one of the fire-type legendaries?"

"That and it reminds me of a creature from back home," Vali smiled down at Sandshrew, "They're called phoenixes and most go their entire lives without seeing one. Back at school, the headmaster had one for a familiar. I can't explain what a familiar is because I've never had one," Hedwig could have been hers and she dearly missed her faithful owl, "Fawkes, the phoenix, saved my life twice that day in the chamber of secrets. Even before then, I've always had an admiration for phoenixes especially after I touched him for the first time. The warmth he gave off called to me in a way that I can't really explain," Vali's mind went back to Fawkes, "I've always had a love of fire even back when I was just a baby, if Sirius is to be believed. Meeting Fawkes and feeling the warmth he gave off, I felt...like something in my soul had come alive," She smiled softly as she remembered her last trip to the headmaster's office and how Fawkes had settled in her lap, "It's really hard to describe. Moltres...It isn't a phoenix, but it's a being of fire given mortal form in ways that the other fire-type legendaries aren't. One day, I want to meet it not for a battle, but to see it for myself and perhaps feel that warmth again," She paused as her cheeks lit up and she realized she'd been rambling, "Sorry,"

"It fine," Steven smiled lightly at her, "You're really passionate about this,"

Vali nodded as she looked at the book, "Yeah. Professor Oak doesn't really talk about the legendaries save for Celebi which is a shame."

"Do you not like Celebi?" Steven asked as she frowned.

Vali shook her head, "It's not that I don't like Celebi. It's an amazing creature along with Dialga, but I don't like the idea of beings being able to use time as a play-toy. It's an unsettling thought especially considering how Sirius and I..." She trailed off as her hand went to her chest where the golden tinted scars created by the time turner's shattering rested and grimaced as they chilled slightly, "It scares me more than a little. Even if they're legendaries and are supposed to uphold some kind of balance in the world, I just..."

"It's unsettling," Steven offered earning a nod from her, "What happened there?"

Steven was pointing at her hand and Vali flushed lightly, "When the hour-glass shattered, pieces of it and the sand embedded themselves into my skin. While the glass was gotten rid of along with most of the sand, it left its mark on me."

The uncomfortable souvenir that served as a reminder of how close her magic came to killing her. Steven gained an understanding look, "I see. So how did Fawkes save you that day?"

Relief ran through Vali when Steven changed the conversation though she didn't quite like the story he asked for, she began telling him the story after ensuring that the common room was empty of all save for them. The words that left her mouth were stilted at first before turning smoother as her mind went back to that day. The memories before entering the chamber itself were dull and not something she thought of. Even the memories of Tom Riddle were dull, the things she recalled were the unmistakable scent of algae, the pungent odor death from the rats, and old air that filled the damp chamber. The chill that had swept over her body the moment she entered the chamber that worsened when she spotted Ginny's far too still body. The coldness emanating from Ginny's body despite the fact that death had yet to claim her. The sound of ancient stones grinding against one another and the slithering of a snake far larger than anything she'd encountered before. The sound of the snakes hissing mixed in a terrifyingly melody with Fawkes song as heat finally returned to her bones. The way her heart pounded in her chest as she ran from the snake in an attempt to buy herself time was as addicting as when she flew as fast as she could. The heavy weight of the sword in her hand as it came from the sorting hat and the coldness that filled her heart which grew as she killed the great beast that had survived over a thousand years within the chamber. The sadness she'd felt for the creature that had been left to rot in loneliness even as its oh so cold venom burned its way through her veins. The contempt and anger she felt towards Riddle as she drove the fang that had been stuck in her arm into the diary he'd come from. The acceptance she'd felt towards her death as she lay within the chamber knowing that she would never again return to her kin. The blazing hot warmth to soothed the burns of the venom and healed the aches of her body. Of all those things she'd felt within the chamber, it was the cold venom and hot phoenix tears that Fawkes had cried for her that stuck out the most.