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Celeste had taken up residence in the corner of the exercise yard once more. She was staring out through the fence towards the forest, lost in thought. Were her children okay? If only she could get word out to them that she was okay...and get word back that they as well were fine.

Trilling softly and sadly, she readjusted her bandaged wing carefully against her back. While her wing seemed to be healing correctly, it was taking much too long for her tastes. She needed to see her children again. They couldn't possibly survive on their own without her.

She was still staring sorrowfully through the fence as she passively wondered about that young Absol she'd talked to once before. Bliss, it was... Despite her own troubles, Celeste said a quick prayer to the PokeGods that she was doing well now.

Startled out of her thoughts, Celeste jumped and whirled around, backing down from the giant fire lizard. She'd heard there was a Charizard here from Bliss...but she hadn't imagined running into him like this. She felt corned like this...but at the same time, she sensed from his behavior that he meant her no harm.

"Perhaps not okay, though I am not unwell," she admitted with a note of sadness in her voice. "I suppose I will survive well enough, however. I appreciate your asking, kind sir." She hoped she was correct in her guess that despite his fearsome appearance, this Pokemon meant well.

With a quick glance over the dragon's form, she noted no serious injuries. "Am I correct in assuming," she ventured a guess, "that you too are being held here against your will? I cannot see a creature as grand as yourself as staying in this sort of place of your own free will." She frowned again, musing once more that if a Charizard couldn't escape this place, then what hope did she have?

Celeste blinked, tilting her head curiously before answering. 'No, actually, it's not. It aches a bit from time to time, but other than that, the only problem is in waiting for it to heal completely." She shook her head slightly, a very human-like gesture, thinking again of her impatience to be healthy and able to fly again.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed at the mention of being shot with some sort of 'dart' thing. She wasn't sure what that was exactly, but it didn't sound good. "And all for looking after one of their own? I swear, there's something wrong with these human creatures. Irrational, illogical, panicky creatures..." she muttered softly, distracted for a moment.

"My name is Celeste," she replied politely once she'd shaken off her momentary distraction. Another thought had crossed her mind though. "Err...the girl you mentioned...is she okay?" Perhaps it was her natural maternal instinct kicking in, but it seemed to extend even across lines of species. She got the idea that this girl Charcoal mentioned was a youngling of sorts as well.

At his saddened expression, Celeste immediately regretted her rash statement earlier. She hadn't meant to imply such things about all humans...simply the strange ones that inhabited this building and kept them all hostage.

"The poor child. To have no memory of where she comes from or who she is? That must be terrifying. Why wouldn't they allow you to care for her?" There was something wrong with that idea in the Pidgeot's head. If the humans weren't caring for the child, then why would they object against a Pokemon doing so? Did they have some personal issue with the child herself?

At the mention of the familiar name, however, Celeste tilted her head curiously. "Bliss? She wouldn't happen to be an Absol, would she? If so, I believe we might have crossed paths." The bird Pokemon wasn't completely oblivious to the fire dragon's change in mood and she watched him warily, ready to move if necessary to avoid any type of wrath. What sort of relationship did the two Pokemon share that would cause such a dramatic mood shift? "...I take it that Bliss objected, then?" Not that that was surprising, based on the intense hatred of humans that the Absol had seemed to radiate.

Feeling a bit as if she were under the dragon's scrutiny, Celeste continued her wary watch on Charcoal. "I see. Well, I've never had a trainer myself, but at the same time, I've not had much experience dealing with humans either. Perhaps she has...and perhaps those experiences have not been favorable. Personally, my experiences have been limited to my recent encounters with the humans here. From what I've seen here, my own judgements are not favorable either...at the same time, I have to keep in mind the possibility that not all humans behave in this fashion. Same as how not all Pokemon behave the same, yes?"

Settling down and making herself more comfortable, she ruffled her feathers lightly to fix their positioning. "Perhaps she just needed some time to get used to the idea. Who knows?" She knew from her own experience, it was hard for a Pokemon who'd never had a trainer to understand or trust humans. It was only natural in that sense for one such as Bliss, with her obvious scorn and disgust towards the human creatures, to have reacted in such a manner. "The only question now is how she feels after having time to reconsider the idea. If you have regrets about some of the things you said, then who's to say she doesn't as well?"

Blinking, Celeste debated on how to answer before speaking again. "I'm afraid it's been some time since I last saw her. At the time, the most she said was that there was a Charizard captive here as well. I'm afraid she didn't say much more than that, certainly nothing personal," she finished sadly with a shake of her head.

She couldn't help eye Charcoal with interest, hiding a knowing smirk. The Charizard was backing down...from Bliss? Ah, but the reasoning why? Well, that was a matter that was more obvious for the older and more experienced than for the young.

"I have a feeling that you'll have to seek her out to do so," she admitted. "Bliss seems like the stubborn type, from what I've seen so far, and your best bet would be to approach her first."

Instantly sobered, Celeste nodded slowly. "Yes, for as long as I can remember, I've lived here on this island. I was here before even the humans came and built their strange buildings. Back before grey touched on these old feathers." She smiled, reminincing for a moment about her younger days. Back when life was more carefree...

"I met my mate, Talon, on this island and together we started a family only recently. One day, Talon went out hunting; he was always worried about providing for us all, especially once the children came along. He never came back. I can only assume he ran into trouble, either with another Pokemon...or...these humans," she trailed off, only a touch of bitterness in her voice. It was a few moments before she could continue again. "I was left to take care of our little ones on my own. We had three beautiful little chicks, the handsomest little Pidgeys you've ever seen," she cooed proudly. "They were growing fast, but were still quite young and unable to take care of themselves. That's when disaster struck. I wonder sometimes if I've done something to anger the PokeGods themselves. Our nest was attacked by a fully-grown male Fearow. I had no choice but to try and drive him off, though I had little hope of doing so. I'm a nuturer, not a battler."

She shook her head sadly again, glancing towards her bandaged wing. "I don't even remember most of the battle. Somehow, we found ourselves tangled in the air above this very yard before plummetting towards the ground. He fared better than I, as he escaped...I didn't. My wing was useless and I was trapped in here with no way to get back to my babies. The humans here fixed my wing and bandaged it, so for that, I am somewhat grateful. However, they will not let me leave. I've had no word on my babies and I still don't know how they fare. I need to get out of this place as soon as possible...they can't possibly survive without me..." She trailed off, looking out through the fence with saddened eyes.

"I'm sorry," she trilled weakly with a sad smile towards Charcoal. "That's probably far more than you ever wanted to know, isn't it?"

Celeste glanced sideways at the fire dragon, in awe that one so strong and fearsome could house such a kind heart as well. She hid her knowing smile, instead nodding gratefully. "Thank you," she muttered simply, both for the understanding and kind words, as well as the shared heat. She was getting much to old to be sitting out in this sort of cold all the time. Especially with this injured wing. She seemed to have more trouble keeping the circulation going without movement or an extra source of heat.

And so, the Pidgeot found herself in the cozy company of a Charizard, surrounded by humans and fences. Life was odd sometimes. Eyes closed, she silently absorbed heat and enjoyed the company before deciding to speak again. Glancing up at Charcoal, who still towered over her, even at rest, she asked quietly, "I get the feeling that you understand my story on a deeper level, don't you, young dragon?" She cooed softly, continuing before he could interrupt. "Yes, I'm old enough to call you 'young dragon,' so no arguing. Let an old bird talk." Her golden eyes were warm now, with understanding and wisdom that only comes from age. "Tell me now...you mentioned having a trainer. I can only assume something happened that resulted in you ending up here. Would you mind sharing your story now that I've shared mine? And if you don't mind...could you...tell me about your former trainer? I've always sort of wondered what it would be like to have one..."