When you awoke you were amazed you fell asleep in the first place.
You weren't sure how long it had been until you looked at your locator. Much to your surprise you had slept seven hours despite the disturbances in the chest chamber, it was 3 AM. The heart below the transparent floor resounded in your bedroom, almost as if it were directly inside your head. Groaning, you stood up and looked down.
It was almost hypnotic to watch it, but you had better things to do than stare at your host's heart, even if its slow rhythm was kind of relaxing when you focused on it. It was going to officially be the first full day inside Ho-oh and you had some serious thinking to do.
Vaporeon was happily asleep over the desk and you didn't want to wake her up unnecessarily. As long as she didn't get out of your bedroom everything should be fine. You had a concrete place to go, as you craved anything that could confirm without any doubt what Ho-oh had been saying about being a better host.
It took you quite a while to find a path to the head and to your objective. In your other stay you didn't really explore the winding paths that weren't organs or anything else, so most of the body was unknown at least in that regard. The path was tiring and you were glad you at least slept deeply, even if it was still way too early. You blamed the sound of Ho-oh's breathing and heartbeat and considered asking him to let you move, but you suspected a hefty amount of tokens would be needed.
Soon after around half an hour of ascending nonstop you walked forward until you got to the place you were hoping to reach. A few steps along the edge of the throat until you stepped on the tongue. You officially were inside Ho-oh's beak.
You were relieved to see that it was slightly open, way more than enough for you to go through.
You walked over the length of the tongue, always staring at the way out, until you were almost on the tip. There you sat down, thoughtful. Did this mean Ho-oh wanted to be a better host? He had knowingly left an easy way out. Sure, you wouldn't really be able to do a lot in your actual size and Ho-oh was the only one who could return you to your size, but compared to last time this is as if he left a huge hole on the wall of a fortress.
If he's really willing to do this then...I suppose I could give him a chance. At least he's more reasonable now. But what could convince Arceus? I doubt a mere 'hey we're friends now' would be enough for him to give back the legendary status to this stupid bird.
The tongue under you shifted, making you think Ho-oh was awake now, but nothing else happened. You continued sitting, trying to think. Yesterday you had shared Vaporeon possible plans for the future inside Ho-oh, but it wasn't anything you were completely sure would happen.
First things first: we have to truly trust each other, but how can I do that? You had never owned any avian Pokémon, so you had no idea how to bond with one, and even if you did it was likely anything you could do wouldn't work from the inside. Unless...
You remembered a not so good moment from a year ago. You had been forced to groom Ho-oh and it had been a bad experience, as expected from anything that would involve the bird. If it's ever needed I at least could interact with a projection of him. That didn't change the fact you had no idea how to proceed, though.
"Are you trying to escape, human?"
You were startled, snapping out of your thoughts. "No, no, no, no! I was just here, thinking..."
"You could have done that in your room" he groused.
"I have been here for quite a while. I could have escaped anytime but I didn't."
Ho-oh didn't reply at that. Instead something ringed in your locator, prompting you to look. Once you did you saw a number. "Twenty?"
"That's your weekly allowance" he explained "Since your very inconsiderate use of my resources I decided to charge you for your daily necessities. You can also see in your locator a list of the prices"
You did so, frowning. With twenty tokens you didn't have enough for three daily meals, a bath and anything else you needed. You'd be short for a couple days. "I wouldn't have asked for a bath if it weren't for your very inconsiderate welcome, you know"
"It wasn't my fault!"
You pressed the yellow button, sending a shock on wherever Ho-oh was ready to be punished. Ho-oh suddenly stood up, making you fall face first onto the tongue. "Okay, it was, it was!"
"Good to see we understand each other, but these tokens won't be enough for the week"
"I already told you yesterday that by doing jobs inside me you would obtain more, and I'm very generous with them. A single one would give you enough for the week, while the hardest one would last you at least two months. You could check that in the Work Center"
"How nice. Either way, I have been thinking about what we have to do and...yeah, I'm cooperating. I think I know what to do"
"Tell me"
"First we need to actually...like each other, even if it is enough for you to not to rip my head off at the first chance"
"And how do you plan to do such a feat?" he said, almost amused. You scowled
"Hell if I know"
Ho-oh didn't really like that answer "Then go think about that!" The tongue under you moved, bringing you to the throat again. Just before you got swallowed again you made your decision on what to do.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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