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Dot and Roy hadn’t left her side since they reunited. Liko felt guilty for making the two worry so much, first with the failure of her Implementation Test and then her disappearing, so she was trying her best to assure them that she was fine!
…Well, maybe fine was a bit of an exaggeration, if she was being honest. It was hard to stay optimistic when she could still feel the biting cold of the cave, crawling up her arms and down her back. How her cheeks were still numb even after she sat in front of a heater when they made it back to Glaseado, constantly reminding her of how much danger she had been in. While nothing terrible had happened in the end (and she even ended up understanding Amethio a bit more), she still felt on edge thinking about how easily everything could’ve gone wrong. What if Spinel attacked them while they were trapped? What if Amethio hadn’t been so willing to cooperate? What if there hadn’t been a crack in the ceiling? What if, what if?
These thoughts haunted her all throughout their journey back to Montenevera, which was made in mostly awkward silence. Roy made several attempts at making conversations, and Liko did her best to respond to his cheer, but her heart simply wasn’t in it. Even Dot, who usually spent their travels complaining, was uncharacteristically quiet, instead clutching Liko’s hand like it was the only thing keeping them there.
They decided to end this leg of their travel at the same inn they stayed at before Roy’s implementation test, and the bluentte all but collapsed in front of the heater. The warmth helped chase away some of the chill, but there was this lingering freezing feeling she still couldn’t shake off. It was like there was still a part of her trapped in that cave, scared and alone and cold and-
“Hey, Liko, check this out!”
She was pulled away from her thoughts by Roy’s voice, and she looked over to see the boy gesturing to something on the floor. Shuffling over, she was greeted by the sight of…Fuecoco? Not the actual Fire Croc (who was standing proudly beside his trainer), but instead a recreation of it made out of the sticks they used for fuel. It was silly, cute, and absolutely Roy.
Roy was like the earth beneath her feet, keeping her grounded and stable. The way he was so unabashedly himself, his optimism and love for life shining like the sun; it was inspiring. Whether he intended to or not, he helped force Liko out of her shell, helped her get out of her own head and helped her *act* without second guessing. While she didn’t see herself singing quite as readily as he did, she had nothing but respect and admiration for the redhead.
“Wow, it looks just like him!”
“Hehe, thanks! I was gonna do Kilowattrel too but he’s…a bit too big.”
Ah, that was true. “Hm, maybe you can try making one from when he was a Wattrel? I think he’d appreciate the thought!”
Roy brightened at the idea. “You’re right! Wanna help up out?”
“I’d love to, but I think I’m going to call it a night. Today’s been a…long day.”
A look of sympathy flashed across Roy’s face, and he nodded. “Oh, that’s okay! I’ll join you in a little bit, Fuecoco and I are gonna go see if we can find a few more sticks for fuel!”
And with that, he and his partner ran out the door, leaving Liko to join Dot in their small sleeping area. The purple trainer immediately crashed as soon as they arrived, so Liko decided to follow suit. After changing into her pajamas, Liko got cozy in her sleeping bag next to Dot, ready to finally put this day behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was back in the cave with Amethio, their attacks failing to make a dent against the blocked off exit.
“We’re not strong enough.”
A wild animal approached her, eyes frantic and foam running from its mouth.
“Umbreon, rampage to your heart's content.”
An icy voice speaks from behind her.
“You failed.”
Failed. Failed. Failed.
Liko bolted up right, panting heavily as shivers wracked through her whole body. Looking around, she saw that it was the middle of the night. She was still in the cabin, Dot and Roy blissfully sleeping beside her.
She was fine, Spinel was gone, she wasn’t in the cave anymore, so why did she still feel so cold? Why were her eyes darting around the room like she might be attacked from any angle? Why did she get up and check that the door could still be opened, even though she knew the answer?
Returning to her sleeping bag, she tossed and turned, trying and failing to fall back to sleep. Sighing, she resolved herself to a restless night with thoughts haunted by the cold.
“…Liko? You okay?”
Oh, she must not have been as quiet as she hoped, since Dot was suddenly shuffling around in her sleeping bag to face her.
“I-I’m fine! Just fine!” She tried to force her voice to be even, but there was enough of an audible stumble to it that Dot sat up.
“Wh- Liko you’re shaking like a leaf! What happened?!”
Knowing better than to lie to Dot, Liko curled into herself, hugging her legs against her chest and turning away from her friend. “…I had a nightmare.”
There wasn’t an immediate response, and instead she heard an unzipping noise behind her, followed by something slipping into her sleeping bag. This wasn’t the first time Dot had done this, and Liko had come to expect it on most nights of their journey, but despite everything she still felt a small grin slip onto her face. She’d never get tired of this feeling, no matter how many times it happened.
Liko felt the streamer’s arms wrap around her back, and she leaned against her, greedily drinking in the newfound warmth.
“You wanna talk about it?”
If she was being honest, no, she really didn’t. She wanted to cuddle with her girlfriend and act like the nightmare never happened. But it felt wrong to leave Dot in the dark like this, so Liko stirred her resolve. “It’s…silly. It was just about everything that happened today.”
“Mm, it was really scary, so I don’t blame you.”
“It- It was but…but it feels silly. Nothing bad even happened. I wasn’t hurt, we still have Terapagos, but…” But she couldn’t shake off the dread, couldn’t shake away the ice that feeling?
“But you’re still scared?”
Liko just nodded, words failing her at that moment. She shouldn’t be scared, shouldn’t be so affected, so why? Why was she?
“It’s okay if you’re scared, y’know?”
Huh?
“Like- anyone would be scared in a situation like that. I’m scared over it, and I wasn’t the one that went through it. You don’t have to be hurt like, physically in order for something to still hurt.”
She…she didn’t?
That one statement, that one affirmation, was the straw that broke the Camerupt’s back. The walls she’d built around those feelings to hide them away crumbled, and suddenly she felt tears begin streaming down her face.
“Ack! Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Dot was cut off by Liko throwing herself deeper into the embrace, burying her face in her girlfriend's shoulder and openly sobbing.
“It-It was just so scary. I didn’t know if we’d make it out, and I keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye. And I’m j-just so- so cold.”
Dot muttered something under her breath (something about causing severe bodily harm), then began to gently run her hand up and down Liko’s back. “It’s okay, I love you, you’re gonna be alright.”
If Roy was like the shining sun, Dot was as dazzling as the full moon. Her radiance was subdued in comparison, but no less brilliant to Liko. In her arms she felt safe, like nothing could ever hurt her again. Liko loved everything about Dot, and right now those feelings were amplified. Dot had seen her, broken down and scared, and still showed nothing but love and care.
Liko wasn’t sure how long the two of them sat there, with the blue haired girl crying as the purple haired one whispered sweet reassurances to her. At some point her sobs must’ve woken up Roy, because she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and could vaguely make out the boy smiling at her through her bleary eyes. It helped, showing her that it wasn’t just Dot that was giving her unconditional love and support, but Roy as well. And for the first moment since leaving that awful cave, she felt warm. Like the block of ice that had formed around her heart was starting to melt.
Liko might not be okay right now, but as long as she had the support of her girlfriend and best friend, she could convince herself that things weren’t going to be bad forever. That when she woke up in the morning, she’d still be here, safe and loved. Those thoughts helped her drift into a pleasant slumber, filled with dreams of curry and love.
(And when she woke up in the morning, she found the guilt that had settled in her chest to have lightened. Not gone, but manageable, which was a relief.)