it was cold, but Red had felt far colder. Lived in far colder, in fact. Even with only the short sleeves of his jacket to protect him, he wasn’t too bothered by the chill. It was familiar. Almost comforting, in a way.
Red knew that was a dangerous feeling. That wasn’t why he’d come here, he tried to remind himself. He didn’t want to isolate himself up on some freezing mountain again (or in some freezing cave, for that matter). That was the last thing he wanted.
And yet...
It was hard: all of it. It seemed like this had all been easier, somehow, when he was younger: traveling to new places, meeting new people, finding new connections...all of it. Of course, a lot of that was probably some combination of nostalgia and his present anxiousness, but that didn’t change the fact that he was alone in an unfamiliar region.
Apparently sensing some of his discomfort, Chu rubbed up against Red’s cheek. He absentmindedly raised a hand to pet the PIkachu’s head; his gaze, however, remained on the cave before him: the Frost Cavern, they’d called it back in town. They’d said it was a good place to train, with plenty of high-leveled wild Pokémon. Even a few trainers, they said; and true enough, Red had seen a handful of them through the fog on his way up here. He hadn’t managed the courage to approach any of them, of course.
This was just a quick break, he reasoned. Get himself back into his comfort zone before venturing out again. It would be good. Good for him.
Red nodded to himself, let out a shaky breath, and stepped towards the entrance to the cavern.
