It's Like Every Other Cliche [Melody:CD]

[Lazarus]

A soft, almost none existent gust of wind softly flew around. The gale swerving and twisting upon branches upon bushes, the soft creaking of crispy greenery, the little edges of the leaves whistling a mesmerizing symphony. A drop of recent rain, a small puddle below a willow tree, rippling as the drop fell onto it. Another small echo throughout the empty trees of the mountain.

A lace of stardust across the skies, nocturnal clouds illuminated by an emerging moonlight. The midnight hue of the clouds adding a brighter edge to the gallant little stars that twinkled like a rhythm of strings and if you were lucky, a small shooting star would pass by and even give you a chance of making a wish.

A sprinkle of starlight here and there, the yellow-ish lights highlighting a few sculptures of water, the puddles creating their own little rainbows with what little light that passes through those crystalline tears. Another gust, and a strand of red hair flew by, the small piece twisting around the wind and knotting around. On a small boulder, an eerie glow around him, Laz was busy dangling his legs about the edge of a pretty stiff cliff. Well, not really a cliff, more of a stair case-ish kind of ledge around the place.

"I could spend my life...in this sweet surrender."

An echoing voice, passing through reality as it reverberated through the air, carrying the music to those who could hear it. A pair of black eyes, staring blankly at the wide expanse of the island flitted from place to place as Laz brought his head up high, looking at the moon with a pretty inclined look.

"What else is there to do?"

[Melody Taylors]

Melody sighed. Mizu and Midnight were at her side, walking at the same melancholic pace as she had been the past couple weeks. Unusual for the girl, she displayed a very sad face. She looked like she missed someone, which was not far from the truth.

"It's... such a nice night, isn't it?"

[/b] Melody said, her blue/green eyes twinkling slightly. While her voice wasn't meant to be sarcastic, Melody still didn't seem to be too happy to be out in such a nice night.

The wind blew the girl's hair back as she looked for a place to sit. Finding a nearby stump, Melody sighed softly as she took a seat. The Dewgong placed her head near Melody's leg, while the Eevee jumped onto her lap, softly emulating a cat's purr as the two tried to comfort her trainer.

Melody said nothing. She smiled sadly at the two Pokemon, her small mouth forming a melancholic smile that, for once, did not spread. Instead, the inherent sadness of the smile made for a much more blue moment.

"Ima... watashi wa nani ga dekimasu ka? <So now... what do I do?>"[/b][/font][/blockquote]

[Lazarus]

"That's enough stargazing for the night..."

Laz murmured, lying to himself about it. He had wanted to stay all night and just watch the stars and the moon flitter about in the night sky. Stay up and not sleep until the crack of dawn.

"Would have been nice to stay..."

Laz whispered as he stood up, making sure to stay wary of the cliff side and not accidentally plunge himself to danger. Moving away from it, Laz started to feel the incessant night breeze. Science never really was his best subject.

Laz kept walking, and walking, and yeah, he just really kept on walking since he wanted to head out. Then he saw a quite familiar face, right off the distance. And well, he really only knew one person who had an Eevee.

"Hey Melody!" Laz hollered, a small grin on his face. Finding someone who he could at least talk to. As great as his pokemon were, he did need human contact. Trudging on the dirt, Laz finally got to where she was.

"What's up? Been working hard?"

[Melody Taylors]

"Hotondo torikunde inai desu ne... <More like hardly working, ne.>"

[/b] Melody said softly, feeling rather down, enough that she didn't even manage to look up at Laz, instead, her gaze looked down at her green shoes. They didn't seem to ever match with her outfits, but Melody loved them so much nonetheless.

"Laz-senpai wa? How about you, Laz-senpai?"[/b] Melody said softly. "You seem like the type who grows stronger every day. Anata no Pokemon mo, tsuyoku mieru... <Your Pokemon look strong too.>"[/b]
[/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"If something's bothering you, I'll be more than happy to listen."

Laz said, walking behind Melody and sitting on the relatively large rock. His back next to hers as he looked at the little stars twinkly high above.
"Me? Well, nothing much really. Just training and getting a few more combos down."

Laz replied, a small strained smile on his face as he kept staring up at the stars. Turning around, Laz ruffled Melody's hair up a bit and leaned down so he was face to face with her.

"C'mon, I'll listen."

[Melody Taylors]

"Daijobou ja nai... <I'm not okay...>"

[/b] Melody said softly, the tone of her melodious voice slightly off, almost as if her throat hurt. She pointed meekly at her throat, similar in fashion to that of a small child trying to give attention to a part of her's that hurt.

"I'm okay."[/b] She falsely translated, her usually shining eyes dulled down to a bromidic hue that lacked its typical liveliness. "I'm... just out of muse, I suppose."[/b]

Trying to forget the actual events that happened, Melody decided to go to another end. She knew too well that Laz was going to make her speak, no matter what. People tended to be like that, which was okay, in her eyes, she wasn't too much of a hypocrite to begin with.

But, now she was beginning to understand why people wanted to be left alone.

In the end, Melody knew it would just be futile to hide it. Right now, every fiber of her being was focused on being sad. As much as she tried to, it was almost impossible to be happy. She would just need to get it out of her chest.

"Um... well... yeah, I'm not okay. I'm... not okay at all."[/b] Melody said, just as softly as before. "Soushite... you remember Solo, right? He, um, he left me this note not too long ago."[/b]

Melody reached into her bag, taking out a piece of paper with a rather sweet scent. A single tear dropped from her green eye, followed a couple seconds later by a tear from her blue eye. "Um, he's left me his Pokemon, and due to circumstances beyond his control, he's left."[/b]

Mizu, the endlessly caring Dewgong, began to cuddle her trainer, trying to make her happy, which worked to a rather small extent.

"I... I don't know. Eto... I'd feel betrayed or abandoned at this moment, but I know very well that if he had a way to avoid this, or if he could've stayed... he would've, desu yo... but... I often feel so empty and so uninspired."[/b] Melody's lip began to quiver, her eyes beginning to shine again, due to the tears that were waiting to come out. "Look... look at this."[/b]

She took out another piece of paper, this time a composition she had been writing. Unlike most of Melody's previous prodigious musical writings, which were complex, impressive, and playable only by experts of the instrument it was written by, this one looked simple, prosaic, and mostly empty. "My mind is cloudy, my thoughts dull, and more importantly..."[/b]

Melody took a deep breath, her sentence slightly cut off.

"I think I'm depressed."[/b][/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"You're not a great Liar, Melody."

Laz chided, albeit in a friendly way and more of a cheery gesture than anything. Yet the atmosphere remained tense, the sinking feeling that a massive python would just suddenly tense and coil around you before ripping the air off your lungs. It was suffocation, bluntly put. Not that Laz minded.

"You know, if you keep looking down, you won't be able to appreciate anything but the floor."

The redhead chimed as he sat down on the dirt. His pants making contact with it as he carefully leaned with his back towards the stone that Melody was sitting on. Looking up, the red head stared at the girl, a small smile on his face, hopes of letting her smile a bit more. 

"I don't know what to say about that." 

Laz answered as he pointed at the small note that the girl had shown him. He didn't bother reading it, since Melody just explained to him what it was about. Taking a small breathe of the evening breeze, the red head thought about a small idea.

"Melody...have you ever touched the clouds?"

Laz asked a small grin on his face as he  procured a pokeball from his belt. There was evidently a grin on his face, big enough for Melody to notice at least.

And with an explosion of light, a purple bat materialized from the pokeball as it took the silent approach this time. Just the gentle batting of its wings and the night breeze as it turned around, showing it's back to Laz and Melody.

"Do you trust me?"

Laz asked the girl in exact Disney fashion. One of his hands supporting him on his Crobat, the gentle breeze swaying his long red hair into the air and that charming smile of his illuminated by the cloudless moonlit sky. And a final touch, his free hand, a gentle caress on the cheek of the girl, his hand wiping the tears away before he offered it to her, for her to take.

[Melody Taylors]

"I... do."

[/b] Melody said softly, wiping away one of the tears coming out of her eyes that Laz had missed. Swiftly, her head turned to face Laz, even at these hours of the night, the unmistakable crimson hue of his hair was more than visible. Then, she turned to see the Crobat.

Laz's words still rang through her head. Did she trust him? Without a doubt, she did, he had helped the girl gain more confidence and basically gave her the building blocks to her battling strategy. They had built enough of a rapport to trust each other, so why not?

"Midnight... Mizu... kaete kudasai."[/b] Melody recalled her Pokemon back into their Poke Balls. She had an idea of what Laz was going to do, so she thought it would've been a wise idea to not leave her Pokemon behind.

Meekly, she reached for Laz's hand. She slightly worried that the extra weight might be too much for what she assumed was going to happen, but in reality, Melody's a tiny girl, more than likely she wasn't going to shift the weight too harshly.

Saying nothing, Melody took a quick look at the Crobat, then at Laz again. Her lip quivered softly, mostly from nervousness. It wasn't that she was worried that she was going to fall, but rather, nervous because she had never flown before, and that alone was an exciting event.[/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"Thank you for trusting me...Then what are we waiting for?"

Laz mumbled just beneath his breath before breaking into a wide infectious grin. The wind chose this time to send another strong gust of wind, the trees shaking rather noticeably as the leaves began to dance on their branches and twist and turn with the twigs. Some of them were plucked away and surfed the air. Dancing quietly to a muted song as they glided ceremoniously to the cliff side where Laz's Crobat was facing.

The red head lessened the grin into a simple smile, his eyes showing much mirth as he took the soft hand of Melody and noticed that it was trembling. It could have been from worry, maybe she didn't trust him as much as he thought. It could have been from the sheer excitement since to Laz's knowledge, Melody didn't own a flier pokemon. His other hand had taken a rather firm grip on the Crobat as he pulled with all his might, Melody into the back of the huge purple pokemon.

Jubei gave a grunt but Laz silenced it with a quick heel to the pokemons back. The grunt sounded like a mewl instead. Taking Melody's hand in his, Laz placed it on the base of the Crobats horn like ears, mostly for grip; doing the same for her other hand. "Don't scream..."

Laz whispered, a taste of laughter in his voice as Jubei leapt from the cliff side and fell down the mountain. The rushing force of the wind blowing through its stream lined body and Laz's flailing flame like hair. A shout of excitement escaped Laz's mouth but was drowned out by the rushing air as the Crobat wildly opened its wings. Pushing towards the night sky, the Crobat powerfully flapped its wings as it controlled the flow.

A screech of satisfaction from the Crobat and the red head, along with the girl, had that single moment where the moon just seemed bigger than usual. The pale blue moonlight showering the hurricane of leaves that had followed them from the mountain with its beautiful lunar light. An array of dancing shadows adding to the ambience of the cloudless night sky.

"It's a great evening, isn't it?"

Laz muttered in awe, the sight of the satellite just breath taking. He still had the uncharacteristic smile on his face, his wild red hair having a few leaves sticking out at the edge but it was a fun time, and those scant times were meant to be enjoyed. Higher, the Crobat flew, so high that it felt like you could touch the clouds.

Raising his hand into the air, Laz aligned his thumb and forefinger and squeezed a bit. Fitting the moon in them like it was a simple, everyday coin.

"That The Sweetest Sin Is The Bitter Most Dream..."

[Melody Taylors]

As instructed, Melody did not scream. She had no intentions to, she had not been been frightened, she was mostly excited over the sensation of flying. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Melody simply let out a soft gasp, and, for the first time in roughly two weeks, smiled earnestly. She had never been scared of heights, and she knew exactly why. The view was breathtaking and impressive.

"Takusan takai desu ne. <We're really high up, aren't we?>"

[/b] Melody whispered in awe. "The view from here is beautiful. I've never actually flown before... it... it feels awesome."[/b]

As the wind gushed through Melody's sole bang, the mood ring-like strands of hair seemed to stand up higher than before, almost as if to signify a change in her semblance.

Needless to say, Melody was happy again. [/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"Yes, it really is beautiful."

Laz agreed as his gaze flittered from the bright and twinkling stars before getting a small glimpse of that pleasant smile that managed to get across and spread on Melody's face. It was just a simple gesture but then again, these things were what always set Laz off. Letting his shaggy red hair curtain all over his face, hiding a dying blush and that small smile that threatened to break into a grin.

He could feel the wind rushing through again as Jubei went for another spin, flapping hard as he swooped down, increasing in velocity as he dive bombed before making a break and shooting up, performing an actual spin with his wings. At this little display, Laz had to pull closer to Jubei, his hands grasping on the ears for support ashe pressed closer to the Crobat, in response, Melody's body would v sandwiched in between.

"That was dangerous..."

Laz mumbled with a shaky laughter as he loosened his grip and moved backward, separating from Melody and oddly enough feeling a bit down for it. Shaking it off but promising to dwell on it later, the red head gave a small laugh. "Well, it looks like you're a bit happier now."

[Melody Taylors]

"Dangerous... hai, hai."

[/b] Melody said softly. She wasn't scared at all, though. The whole experience managed to ainstill in her a feeling she had never felt before.

Melody had a sole tear in her eye, but she wasn't sad anymore. Giving Laz a quick tight hug, the young trainer smiled weakly, mostly out of awe. Seeing Laz and his Crobat command the sky in such elegance was rather enthralling for Melody. She couldn't help but blush a bit when she saw it.

"A-Arigatou gozaimasu."[/b] The gozaimasu, of course, was innecessary here, but as usual, displayed Melody's perpetual politeness. "I've... been feeling sour for the past couple weeks... and... it wasn't until now that I managed to actually be happy once again. Thank you, Senpai... thank you so much."[/b]

Looking down at the floor. Melody tried her hardest to hide the blush created by hugging her Senpai too tightly. Her smile faltered just a tiny bit as her self-conscious and self-confidence faded a bit. She couldn't be attracted to Laz. That would be silly. There he was, an impressive trainer in his own might with impressive might and strong Pokemon, and she was basically physically frail, and a mediocre trainer at best. In her head, the chances of Laz actually liking her back, were probably nil.

She tried to make the thoughts go away, and just reminded herself of the nice moment the two had spent in the sky. In fact, she remembered the couple moments the two had spent together: their meeting in the Music Room, where he had seen her play her first composition, their meeting in this exact same place, where Melody attributes the foundation to her abilities to him, she had seen him battle too, trying to make sure she learned something from her experience, and at the same time, grew more adoration for him, and of course, the current situation, where he showed her how nice it was to fly.

Blushing red once again, with her hands trying to cover her cheeks, Melody had now become a bit flustered, in similar fashion to when a fangirl gets to be with her idol.

But once she got out of her little world in her head, she was bitterly reminded of the fact that Laz would probably never go for someone like her. She was just too frail and unimpressive. Her own self-confidence was in tatters.

She smiled softly, her lips quivering a bit, and her blush faded halfway. "Again, Senpai, thanks. I really appreciate this... and it was really fun too."[/b] At least he ended up cheering her up. So that at least meant he cared, right? That was the only thing keeping the smile on Melody's face.

And that was good enough, right?[/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"Yes, yes it is."

Laz laughed as his companion for the night had easily laughed off what could have been a potentially death causing skill that his apparently still out to get him Crobat performed for the two of them. As it was, Jubei was now only fleeting through the night sky and flying slower, letting the two have their peace as he had his fill of putting his owners life in danger and getting that much closer to becoming free and taking over the world one of these days.

Laz kept his smile on as he felt some warmth radiate into his skin as Melody gave him a quick and sincere form of affection. It was cute, to say the least. Feeling her soft bang tickle his chin, Laz had to smile at the feeling once more as he gave the girl a soft stroke there before leaning back a bit, feeling another set of wind pressure by the side. Turning his head to the side, what smile left Laz's face as all the mirth became transparent in his eyes as he saw the moon lazily floating in the night sky. The blue and pale moonlight giving a beautiful hue to the shadows that were dancing in the wind.

"You're more than Welcome, Melody."

Laz began as he got closer to the girl, letting this feeling just keep simmering inside him as he enjoyed the company. It didn't feel so bad, having her in his arms but then and there, Laz had to stop. He was probably over playing his feelings again, no, he didn't need another kind of heartache injuring him further and causing him to wake up from a stream of nightmares that would kill him in the darkness. No, Laz was still afraid to be hurt.

"Just remember, I'm always free if you want a ride to throw all your sadness away. With me being recently booted up to the Silver Dorms, I'm a lot easier to reach."

Laz said, a mirthful tone mixed into his voice as he saw the cliff side of the mountain nearing. It was the same as he left it, nothing out of the ordinary or out of place. At times, Laz was sad that the ride would soon end. As much as he would've wanted to be selfish and keep flying in the sky with Melody by his side, he knew he couldn't. With a regretful sigh, though Laz made sure to pass it off as an exhale, the red head had steered his Crobat back into the landing area.

"Like I said, Melly. Anytime, anyplace, just call me and I'll be there."

Laz smiled as he offered the incentive. Once he felt that his Crobat had finally landed safely and it was fine to go down without any repercussions, the red head went down first, his feet crunching on the weedy soil that made up the cliff side as he extended his hand to help Melody down.

After that, Laz would have returned his Crobat back to its pokeball with the beast having enough sense not to shout at a bloody degree that would damage everyone's ear drums. Once the red light faded and the ball on his belt once more, Laz offered his arm to Melody.

"Mind if I walk you home?"

[Melody Taylors]

Melody once again tried to hide her blushing. "Sure. I'd... I'd love that, Laz."

[/b] Her lip slightly quivered out of nervousness now, but she knew too well if she didn't regain her composure, she'd simply look like a depraved weirdo. She cleared her throat and looked back up.

Of course, something she didn't expect was that she would be staring straight into Laz's eyes. Still trying to keep her composure, her lip was beginning to quiver once again.

Blinking, Melody looked away after a small while. As they walked, Melody tried to keep slightly close to Laz, without imposing too much. She didn't want to scare him off, after all.

Giggling softly, Melody placed her index finger on her cheek. "That was very fun. Flying for the first time with you was really fun."[/b]

Melody blushed softly as she added the following sentence. "Perhaps... we could go out again someday?"[/b][/blockquote][/font]

[Lazarus]

"That's nice."

Laz replied, facing Melody properly as the two walked side by side back to the silver dorms where they would more or less retire for the night. Laz gave a small yet thankful smile at the girl, more for her company for the night than anything else. Feeling the soft crunching of the gravel as the two made their way down the winding path of the mountain.

Enjoying the time with Melody, Laz just allowed himself to stop thinking so much about the world for a while. Feeling his shoulders sag as the tension began to seep from his body while his foot steps felt lighter per move of them, the red head again let himself grow a bigger smile. Putting his arm over the faintly blushing girl, the red head only gave a cheerful nod.

Letting his hand rest on the girls shoulder, Laz had to push himself and Melody closer to each other to actually let himself be comfortable, the action not ringing any alarms in his head as he continued walking at the same pace as her. He'd have to let go once he got back to the dorms though.

"Sure Melody, anytime, anywhere."