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Chapter Text

There are many legends in this world…

...

A young sneasel sits at attention, wide awake as the other children have drifted on to sleep, entranced by his elder’s stories. Stories of a great bird, with wings of black and red, the ender of lives. A deity that grants them favor in the afterlife.

The sneasel looks up to the night sky before puffing out his chest, and proudly declares that one day, he’s going to be the one to find their god.

The elder gives him a warm chuckle and reminds him that he needs to rest if he wants to grow big and strong enough to find them.

...

Some share stories of power. Others provide comfort, or promise safety.

...

A bidoof settles down to bed next to her younger brother. He asks their dad for a story in a chipper tone. Just one more, please?

Their father huffs, but settles down in the straw to share the legends of the mountain. Of the great beast that slumbers there. The mountain mover, continent tower, protector of the small. He tells of his father before him, who went up the mountain in search of the great god.

The big sister rolls her eyes and declares that those legends are for babies. But her brother’s eyes are full of stars. Her father insists the story is true, that one day, the king will reawaken, and that when he does, he’ll protect them all from the coming calamity.

...

Many of these stories are nothing more than that. Legends. But the gods? Oh, the gods are very real.

...

A proud ninetales sits with his mate, murmuring the stories his father used to tell him. Of a deity far to the north. A dragon that had lost its purpose. A dragon that was as empty inside as the people that followed it, that blew icy winds from the mountain tops and froze their hearts, so they might be strong enough to survive.

His mate tells him what a horribly sad story it is, and he gives her a grunt of agreement. He hopes that they’re only tall tales.

...

These gods… they may be useful to us. The life in this world is filthy, like vermin. We seek to cleanse it.

...

A bisharp stands in a clearing, the pelt of a slain mamoswine draped over her shoulders. She speaks to her fellow pokemon of the teachings of their deity, of the life-giver. Of their importance. For if the forest were to quit providing life to the prey mon, then surely they would perish as well.

She raises a hand into the air and asks for their deity's blessing.

...

For our people, we will do whatever it takes. We will find these gods. We will bend them to our will. We will use their power to reshape the world.

...

A litten takes his place in front of the sacred stones, sitting down between the two for his vigil, closing his eyes as he recalls the inscriptions.

We give thanks to the Sun Devourer. We give thanks to the Moon Bringer. We ask for their blessings and we pray for their safe returns.

He raises his head and lets out a mournful cry.

...

We must succeed. I will stop at nothing to make this world ours

...

A tired torracat waits for his gods. A scarred bisharp commands her followers. A world-weary ninetales listens in horror. A stubborn bidoof gets in an argument. A terrified sneasel flees his kin, and the place he once called home.

A ship runs ashore in an underpopulated bay, teeming with activity as the pokemon on deck get to work, putting their plans into motion.

...

For me, there is no sacrifice too great.

Chapter Text

The Stranger

Haru’s morning routine typically started out with a slow stretch in front of her family’s hut, watching twigs and leaves float by in the river’s lazy current. She’d make her way to the water’s edge, lapping at the shallow pools created by the family dam, quenching her thirst after a long, restful night and contemplating the same old schedule she kept to every day.

Today as she exited the hut, she found herself blinking in the mid-morning light. One by one, she stretched her legs, sniffing at the air in hopes of catching a whiff of breakfast on the breeze. Her mother had brought bread home the day before and had planned to make fresh blukberry jam this morning, a break from the usual leafy greens and a treat she eagerly awaited. She could still smell the lingering scent of berries, despite her mother having got up early to finish it in the first place.

She continued on to the edge of the pool, slowly lapping at the water as she contemplated her day. After breakfast she would head out into the yard for her day’s work, helping her father by prepping the trees he had brought back the day before, chipping away at the branches and gnawing away at jagged cuts, cleaning the leaves from the wood and stripping the bark from the trunk. Perhaps she would head to the village around lunch time, trading her money for vegetables or a trinket or two as she listened in on the day’s news. Perhaps, if she was lucky, an expedition team would pass through, with news from some far-off village, with new stories that the village pokemon had yet to hear. Then, satisfied with her peek into the outside world, she would return home for the day to finish her chores and eat a well-earned dinner.

The life of a bidoof was hard work, certainly, but it went by at a slow and steady pace that would make many a pokemon jealous.

But unfortunately, for the last few months her days seemed far less normal than she would like.

“Is that Haru?”

“I assume so.”

“Hey! Hey Haru! Helloooo! Good mooorrrning!”

Haru let out a groan, tilting her head up, a scowl on her face. Of course, her morning would be interrupted by those two.

She turned to look up the path that led to their house. Headed down the dirt and gravel path was an absol, who looked calm and composed. On her back sat a much more cheerful looking kirlia, waving down at Haru from her vantage point. The kirlia’s long hair had been bound together by thick, pink bands on either side of her head. Seeing her, Haru considered returning to bed.

“Good morning, Shimmer, Muse,” the bidoof called out, holding back a sigh.

The absol, Muse, carefully made her way down the bank. “Good morning, Miss Haru,” she greeted with a dip of her head. “Shimmer was hoping that your brother might be home this morning.”

The bidoof stole a glance back towards the house. In truth, her brother was probably still asleep. And she was sure he would rather stay asleep than deal with Shimmer’s antics. “I’m afraid he’s a bit busy at the moment,” she lied.

“Aww, and I was really hoping we could talk to him!” Shimmer pouted, shaking her head. “It’s been foreeever since we got to talk!”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Haru responded perhaps a bit too bluntly. “Some of us have to make a day to day living. Besides, you talked to him just a couple days ago.”

If the kirlia realized the statement was meant to be passive aggressive remark, she did not show it. “Exactly! We had been hoping he’d come with us to pick wild herbs in the forest today.” She paused for a second before a realization seemed to hit her. “Oh! Why don’t you come with us instead then! It would be fun! Besides,” she added in a teasing voice, “you could really stand to get out more.”

“As nice as it sounds,” Haru began, trying to stay tactful, “I really have a lot of work to do. More important things.”

“What’s more important than spending time with your future in-law?”

“You do realize you’re not my brother’s mate, right?”

“Yet.”

“You’re not even dating!” The bidoof let out an indignant huff and turned away. Why did every conversation with Shimmer seem to end up like this?

The kirlia waved a hand dismissively. “That’s beside the point. I’m sure we will eventually. So.” She paused to clasp her hands together. "Are you coming or not?”

Haru turned back to stare down the kirlia. “I just said-”

“I think you should go with them, dear.”

Everyone turned their attention towards the speaker, a bibarel that had lumbered out from the hut, stretching in the morning sun. Muse dipped her head in respect to the older pokemon. “Good morning, Mrs. Saku.”

“But Mom!” Haru began to protest.

“No buts!” the bibarel chided. “You’ve been so busy with work lately, I say you could use a day off. Besides, I could use some more dandelion crowns, if you can still find any this late in the summer. And it’s not safe to go into the forest alone, so why not go now, while the opportunity's there?”

“It’s not that dangerous in this part of the woods,” Haru argued. “I could take care of it myself if you really need them.”

“But why risk it? Besides, Anu stopped by this morning - on his way back from patrol - to say he spotted signs of a wildener kangaskhan nesting not far from here. You know how territorial they can be. None of you should be facing something like that alone, should things go wrong.”

Haru opened her mouth, but bit back a reply, and instead let out a groan. There was no winning with her mom when her mind was made up. She lowered her head. “Okay, Mom, fine.”

Behind her, Shimmer clapped her hands once. “Great! Muse and I already have our gathering supplies, so we’ll leave once you’re ready!”

“Just give me a moment to eat,” the bidoof responded sullenly, turning back to try to scoot past her mother by the door.

“Have you two ate?” the bibarel asked, turning her attention to her guests. “We have day old bread and fresh blukberry jam, if you’re hungry.”

Muse took a second to look towards her kirlia companion, who gave her an excited nod. She dipped her head to the bibarel. “We would appreciate it. Thank you for your hospitality.”

The absol followed behind their bibarel host, lowering her head to speak quietly into Haru’s ear as she passed by. “Sorry about this,” she mumbled. “But look at the bright side. There’s always something to find or something to do in the forest.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Once their bellies were full of delicious bread and jam, and Muse’s back had been laden with satchels for herbs and a bundle of berries and sweets for an afternoon snack, the trio set off, following the path up the river towards the northern forest. Shimmer sat atop Muse’s back, softly stroking the absol’s mane and chatting about her plans for the evening and about her father’s plan for expanding the village daycare to add a separate, permanent nursery.

Haru brought up the rear, ignoring the conversation entirely. Instead, she found herself lost in thought about where she’d rather be: back at home helping her dad prepare trees for carpentry. Did she enjoy getting out and exploring from time to time, or taking long walks after a stressful day? Sure! Did that mean she wanted to be out here spending time with Shimmer and just wasting her time when there was work to do? Absolutely not!

If she was going to be out and about, she would much rather take a trip to one of the neighboring settlements, helping spread her parents’ business. Her dad’s lumber work – both felling and the finer art of carpentry – was the finest in the village (though, to be fair, her family were the only lumberjacks in the village.) And her mother’s wooden sculptures were uniquely beautiful – not that her lumberjacking was subpar. Oh, if only she could spend all day working away at processing lumber, it would make her a very happy bidoof!

But no, she just had to be out here with one of the few pokemon she couldn’t stand to be around. Maybe her brother could try to ignore it and be nice for civility's sake, but Shimmer drove her nuts! At least Muse was nowhere near so bad. In fact, as they made their way deeper into the woods, Muse at least made an effort to try and keep the conversation away from Shimmer cooing about her brother.

Muse had always been an interesting case, in Haru’s opinion. She had never known the details about Muse’s early life, only that she had been working and living alone in the mayor’s – Shimmer’s father’s – estate. At a younger age, she served just as a friend and companion for the kirlia. But as they grew older, she also took up the mantle of bodyguard, especially when the two ventured to a neighboring village or into the surrounding forest.

Haru did not envy her one bit.

“Hey Haru! What would your brother think about these flowers?”

The bidoof snapped out of her thoughts just a little too late, accidently bumping into Muse’s legs. After a hasty apology, she turned her attention to the kirlia, only to close her eyes and take a deep breath after giving the patch of flowers a quick glance-over. “Well, I think they're nice, but the flowers won't matter to Toshi because he doesn't-”

“-Care about the kind of flowers, he cares about me? Aw, that's so sweet of him!”

Haru considered snapping back that no, she meant that he doesn't care about her. Not like that at least. But she held her tongue. They had been over this dozens of times the last several months, but it never did any good. Shimmer’s long-standing crush had always been annoying, but lately it had been the cause of most of the stress in her life.

“Sure,” she finally grumbled with an edge of sarcasm. “That’s definitely why.”

She turned away as the kirlia bent down to begin gathering up flowers, fuming. She could hear Shimmer and Muse talking behind her as Shimmer put the flowers in one of the baskets on Muse’s back. Wasn’t this trip supposed to be for gathering wild herbs and other edible plants, not the cutest flowers for a love bouquet?

In desperate need of a distraction, she took a moment to look out for trouble, sniffing at the air. The wind carried the scents of the forest. Moist earth, wild herbs, the smell of a rattata that had ventured from its burrow. The rancid scent of some long-dead pokemon. And some scent that seemed familiar, and yet a little odd at the same time. Perhaps someone from another village had passed through recently? Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Satisfied with her assessment for the moment, she closed her eyes and settled down in the grass to wait for the other two girls to finish what they were doing, listening to the sound of the forest around her.

Then she heard it.

Her head jerked up in alarm as a fierce screech sounded from somewhere beyond the trees. And a roar. The sounds of a battle raging nearby. At once she was on her feet in a defensive stance, should the combatants come barging in their direction. Muse had taken notice too, now on edge and standing in front of the kirlia. Even Shimmer, despite not having as good of hearing as her two four-legged companions, had stood up apprehensively, able to hear the ruckus in the distance. Haru shivered as her mother’s earlier warning about a kangaskhan rang in her ears.

An anguished cry. A victorious roar. Then silence. Slowly, the sound of wildener pokemon around them returned to normal, as if nothing had happened at all. Life continued on.

Shimmer immediately turned to her companions. “I’m going to check that out,” she announced.

“Shimmer,” Muse responded, shaking out her fur. “I cannot advise that. It is not our place to interfere in the affairs of wildeners. The survivor may be something very territorial as well.”

“But what if the other pokemon survived?” Haru pointed out uneasily, trying to relax as she turned to look at the absol and kirlia. “And beyond that, what if they’re not a wildener? What if they’re just some unfortunate traveler?”

The absol seemed to consider Haru’s explanation for a moment, before finally conceding with a sigh. “Very well. We will go look. If they’re alive, we can take them back for medical attention, should they allow us to. And if they’re not… well, I’m sure Mandi will know what to do.”

With the decision made, the trio began to move as quietly as possible through the underbrush. Muse took the lead, nearly crouching as she walked, pausing to sniff the air every once in a while. Shimmer and Haru followed closely behind on either side, Shimmer allowing her psychic powers to focus and branch out, keeping an eye out for danger from behind.

Before long, they came across damage to the underbrush, signs of a fierce battle, of a larger pokemon coming through without care of what they destroyed. The odd smell she had noticed earlier was growing stronger, Haru realized, along with the hair-raising smell of fresh blood. They were moving along at barely a crawl now, all senses peeled for danger.

Muse stopped in front, raising a paw to stop the other two from advancing, and sniffed at the air. A few seconds later, she lowered herself onto her belly and continued forward at almost a crawl. The two behind her did the same. Or at least, as similar as they could; neither of them were built for sneaking around the forest, after all.

The absol tilted her head back and motioned for silence as she crawled under a bush, poking through with her nose low to the ground. Haru took note of a streak of blood on the leaves.

Suddenly, the leader stopped, backing out of the bush with an unreadable expression. Her attention turned to the bidoof.

“Haru, listen,” she started quietly and firmly. “There’s someone back there. They’re bloodied and unconscious, but still breathing. But… they need medical attention. Fast. I need you to go in there and bring them out. Understand?”

Though hesitant, Haru responded by dipping her head before moving in front of the absol, who stood up straight at attention and sniffed the air, watching for danger. The bidoof crouched low to the ground and shimmied her way inside, following a trail of blood droplets past the bush and through a small thicket of thorns.

At the far end, almost as deep as they could have gone, was the unfortunate victim. They were a sneasel, albeit smaller than the ones she usually saw around the area. And they were an absolute mess.

She took only a second to make the assumption that he was a male, based on the size of his ear feather. Speaking of the feather, it looked as if it had been torn to shreds, and his tail feathers were not in much better shape. The tip of his ear had been sliced away, it and another nick on the side of the ear oozing blood. A nasty bite wound decorated his upper leg, the marks jagged, as if his attacker had thrown him around. And right in the middle of his back was a nasty burn. The scent of singed fur combined with the smell of blood nearly overwhelmed the poor bidoof. Several other small cuts marked him as well, though they were not nearly as bad as the bite or the burn.

The sneasel’s breathing was labored and shallow. Haru set to work crawling through the brambles until she was right up next to him, angling her head underneath his stomach to roll him onto her back as carefully as possible. Even with him being small for a sneasel, he was still quite a bit bigger than her, his feet and front claws scraping along the ground as she practically dragged herself and the injured sneasel out into the open.

She heard Shimmer let out a gasp as she emerged with the injured pokemon on her back before she felt him lifted up from above. As soon as the weight was off her, she stood up on her hind legs, carefully helping position him so that he was straddled across Muse’s back.

With the stranger now set, the trio began to make their way back to the main forest path, speaking in hushed voices.

“I’ve never seen a sneasel like him,” Shimmer whispered first, her eyes darting to the unconscious dark type.

Now that she mentioned it, Haru realized Shimmer had a point. The sneasel’s colors were a bit off. Although his fur was fairly close to the grey she was used to - though perhaps with a bit of a more brown undertone – his bent and broken feathers were more of a mint color.

“Neither have I,” Haru agreed. “He doesn’t smell like any of the nearby villages. Where do you think he’s from? Seadra’s Tail Island? He doesn’t smell like Ruffle though.”

“Maybe,” Muse muttered. “Ruffle hasn’t lived in Seashoal village for a long time, so she doesn’t have as distinct of a smell. There’s a whole world beyond the Great Misty Canyon; there’s always a chance he came from there. If he survives, maybe we can find out.”

If. That one word managed to sober the trio even more. They were back on the open path now. The absol gave one last wary look back and forth, checking for any danger on their route, then took off at a sprint, bounding into the lead.

“I’m going on ahead,” she called back to her companions. “Shimmer, you stay with Haru and go get back to the village together. Watch each other’s backs. I want to get him back as soon as possible though, okay?”

Haru set her face with determination and uttered a sound of agreement. She would set aside her complaints about Shimmer. For the moment. The kirlia seemed to hesitate though, running to try and catch up. “But I could teleport back and let them know what’s going on!”

“And that would leave Haru alone in the woods,” Muse pointed out.

“I can take care of myself, you know,” Haru interjected.

“I’m sure you can usually, but whoever - whatever did this could still be nearby. None of us should really be alone here right now.”

“What if I were to teleport him back?”

“You know you still have trouble taking companions along. Just trust me, please. We have little time.”

The kirlia hesitated again, before giving a sullen nod. “Fine, you win,” she grumbled. “But I’m so going to chew you out when we get back.”

The absol slowly blinked back to Shimmer but said nothing more, darting off down the path.

Haru gave the kirlia an unamused look at her response before continuing at a slower pace. Hoping, for once in her life praying that Muse would make it back in time.

Chapter Text

Slowly, the sneasel struggled to open his eyes, his vision spinning. The first thing he noticed was the empty plain that stretched out beyond the horizon. With his vision blurred, he could not make out where the ground ended and where the sky began. Carefully, he pushed himself to his feet, steadying himself as his perception cleared.

He looked down to his paws, and the two wicked-sharp claws that curved over either paw, flexing them experimentally. Narrowing his eyes, he turned his attention to the featureless land that spread out around him. It looked to be around sunset, a deep red tinge just barely clinging to the sky. But there was no sun, moon nor stars here. The ground seemed watery, rippling around his feet, reflecting the bit of the red light back up.

With nothing to tell him where to go, he picked a direction and began to walk, his feet making a quiet splish-splash with every step. After some time, he could make out a small dot on the horizon. He adjusted his trajectory towards it.

Is this a dream? The sneasel wondered quietly. Certainly, he had never seen anything like this. This couldn’t be real, could it?

Out in the distance, the dot began to take better form. It appeared to be a small mound made of the same strange, water like material as the ground.. On it, a single, withered, leafless tree.

He began to creep closer, aware of his exposure in the open air as he tried to make sense of what it might be or what it might mean. He took another step in the strange water. But this time, it was far deeper than he expected. The sneasel let out a startled screech as he tumbled in, engulfed by the watery depths. He thrashed and flailed as he sucked in a lungful of water, gagging as he tried to pull himself to the surface. But something seemed to grab hold of him. Dragging him deeper and deeper, his lungs filling with water…

He gasped awake with a start, sitting up bolt upright, wheezing as if he was still drowning. No, he was okay. It was a dream. All just a dream.

Even as he came to the realization that it had been a dream, he continued to take wheezing, labored breaths, becoming aware of sharp and throbbing pains in his body. A chill seemed cut through even his thick fur and down into his bones. As he looked himself over, he noticed white bands that wound around his stomach and back, and leg. He pressed a paw to it then quickly pulled away, wincing in pain.

Taking in note of his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was the nest he was in, made of straw and grass woven along with twigs, and lined with a something fluffy and white, like fur but… not. The second thing he noted was the wooden ground beneath him, cut into near perfectly flat boards, something that seemed far too unnatural to him.

The wall behind him, however, seemed normal: the wood twisted and warped as if he was inside the trunk of an old, hollowed tree. Near the domed roof, a single hole in the wall allowed light to filter inside, as well as the distant, muffled voices of more pokemon, speaking words he could not make out. Climbing up to it seemed like too difficult a task, in his condition.

More empty nests lined the wall, with a second ring of nests looping around the center with a walk space between them. Across the room was a wooden partition. And beyond it, the single exit: a large, unnatural opening leading down a wooden tunnel.

The sneasel tried to force himself to his feet, fighting the dizziness and nausea that the movement produced. This area was too open, and yet left him cornered at the same time. He strained his senses for any sign of danger. He needed to move. To escape. To hide. To shroud himself in the bushes or in the trees, away from the sight of any would-be predator or prey.

Carefully, he sniffed at the air, ears listening for even the tiniest sound of movement. The voices from outside seemed distant. He could hear more voices beyond the wooden barrier, too, but could not make out the scent of what kind of pokemon they might be. The breeze through the window carried their scent away. And what little he could make out was masked by the pungent smell of berries. Lots and lots of berries.

“Pull yourself together, Nip,” the sneasel mumbled to himself, slowly inching forward in a crouching position despite his body’s protests. “Think. You’ve been in worse situations. Just… relax.”

He paused as he reached the opening, ear twitching, as a buzzing sound caught his attention from beyond the tunnel. Beyond the partition was another space, this one with a small raised wooden platform in the center. Beyond that, the tunnel curved out of sight at an angle. The walls beyond were made of the same unnatural boards as the floor.

The buzzing, as it turned out, was an illumise, who came zipping around the corner a moment later, excitedly blabbering about something until they took notice of dark-type up and about. Their ramblings came to a stop. The sneasel froze, cautiously flexing his claws and baring his fangs in a pitiful threat, considering his physical condition.

For a moment the illumise stared at the slightly larger pokemon, blinking once. And then seemingly without a care, they smiled, and spun around to buzz back down the tunnel. “Lecha!” They called out in an accent unfamiliar to the sneasel. “Your patient is awake.”

The illumise’s reaction disarmed the sneasel, his threatening glare wilting into a confused tilt of the head, pupils still narrowed to slits. Still, he could not stop his escape attempt now. Not now that he’d been noticed. He began to move one foot at a time stumbling a bit along the way. The only ways out were either to follow the illumise back down the tunnel, or to try climbing through the hole in the wall.

As he put weight down on one foot, a sharp pain shot through his leg.

There would be no daring climbing escapes today.

He managed to get past the partition before his leg gave out. He fell to the ground with a startled screech just before the illumise returned. This time, a fluffy, feathered pink and purple pokemon followed behind. An aromatisse. He bared his fangs at the two of them, letting out a low growl as a pitiful threat.

“See,” the illumise said, gesturing towards him. “I told you they brought in a wildener.”

The aromatisse let out a concerned chirp before placing a bundle she had brought with her to the side, then turned to chide the illumise.

“Now, now, Twi. He’s no less deserving of help than anyone else here.”

“I know,” the illumise, Twi, responded. “But you think they could have left us with someone who could help out if he got… violent?”

The aromatisse sighed, shaking her head. “I know you’re young and this is your first time dealing with something like this, but not every wildener is out to get you. Many of them are quite nice, in fact. Honestly, what have your parents been teaching you?” With a firm shake, she looked down to her bundle for a moment. A pause, then she turned her head back.

“Besides,” she added with a wink. “I’m stronger than you might think. I’m sure I can handle things should it come to that. Old Lecha still has some tricks up her sleeve yet!”

With that out of the way, the aromatisse busied herself with the bundle she had sat down, pulling loose a knot. The fabric fell open around the contents: a couple oran berries, a sitrus berry, and another pale blue berry that Nip did not recognize, as well as a small wooden bowl. She hummed, looking over the contents, then back to the tense, sharp-clawed pokemon.

Finally, she picked up the pale berry and tore it in half, taking one half and the sitrus berry. She passed the other half to the illumise. “Twi, I want you to use the two oran berries and the remainder of the rawst berry to make a poultice. Can you do that?”

“Both oran berries?”

“Yes, I don’t want to apply the rawst to the burn itself, but I’m hoping absorbing the juices into the other wounds will still help.”

The illumise shrugged before landing on the ground. “Whatever you say.” Twi reached an appendage down to lift one of the oran berries to inspect it for a moment, then finally got to work peeling the thick skin away.

Satisfied finally, Lecha turned her attention to the crouched sneasel staring from several steps away, eyes narrowed to slits. She began to approach slowly, and Nip responded with another growl. She held her hands up, only the berries in tow.

“You don’t need to fear me,” she began in a soft tone like she would use to speak to a frightened child. “We do not wish to hurt you, dear. We only want to help you, if you’ll let us.”

The sneasel’s growls quieted, but he still stayed hunched, eying her cautiously, sizing her up.

“You seem like you went through a terrible ordeal,” she continued, taking another small, calculated step forward. “Some of the pokemon in our village found you collapsed in the forest. We just want to treat your injuries. Okay?”

The sneasel pondered her statement for a moment. When he finally spoke, it was in a cautious, guarded tone. “This is a… village?”

Lecha nodded slowly, taking another step towards the hunched pokemon. “That’s right. You’re in the medic hut of Theran.”

“I have never heard of this… ‘Theran.’”

“We’re a village by the Gorebyss River, famous for our carpentry and our oran berries!” Twi piped up from behind Lecha.

Nip considered their words, scrunching his nose, but at least relaxed a bit for a moment, his fur lying flat.

Encouraged by the change of demeanor, the aromatisse closed the gap between them, and offered out the two berries.

“Here, eat these,” she said in a soft tone.

The sneasel gave the berries a skeptical look, but eventually struck out, spearing the berries on the tip of his claws. He gave the sitrus berry a cautious nibble, sucking and licking away the small bit of juice that spurted out.

For some time, he nibbled at the berry in the near silence of the room. But finally, the sound of buzzing made him jerk, his attention springing back to the illumise as his fur began to raise again.

The bug had arisen from their spot across the room, buzzing across to deposit a bowl of blue pulp in front of them.

“Thank you, Twi,” the aromatisse hummed, reaching a paw down into the pulp, inspecting it. “Will you go get some gauze from the shelf?”

Twi buzzed in response, taking to the air. A quick zip to an indentation carved into the walls, and they returned with a white substance that reminded Nip vaguely of woven spinarak silk. The same substance that was already wrapped around his chest and leg, now that he thought about it.

With a hum of thanks, the aromatisse scooped a pawful of the berry pulp and reached over to begin working it into the fur around the sneasel’s ear.

The sting of the juices caught the sneasel off guard. He shrank away from the paw with a warning hiss, narrowing his eyes.

The aromatisse seem unconcerned, however, keeping a calm composure as she slowly lowered her arm to hold it in front of Nip. “This is to help you heal, the juices have healing properties that will help with your cuts. Will you allow me to help you?”

For a moment, he stayed stiff, eyeing the paw through narrowed eyes. But after a tense moment, he relented, lowering his head.

The aromatisse let out a cheerful chirp as she returned to her work, spreading the pulp over the stinging wound. Then she moved down, carefully unraveling the old gauze around his leg before doing the same process there.

For a few minutes, she worked in silence. But when the sneasel continued to stay quiet the doctor finally broke the silence.

“So, you’re not from around you, are you, dear?” she questioned, not looking up from her work.

“Are you from the forest?” Twi butted in. “Do you have a name?”

Lecha shot the illumise a sharp glare for a split second before returning to her work.

Nip glanced blankly between the two pokemon, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as he looked over to the illumise, then relaxing slightly as he returned his gaze to the aromatisse.

“Nip,” he finally grunted. “My name is Nip.”

Lecha hummed in response. “Nip? Okay Nip, that’s a start. Do you mind telling me what happened to you? It might help me treat your wounds better after all.”

Another pause. “A kangaskhan,” he admitted with a bitter tone. “Got me with a fire punch in the back.”

“Your voice is kinda funny,” Twi interjected.

“Your voice is kind of funny,” Nip hissed back.

The doctor paused for a moment, looking at Nip curiously before closing her eyes and letting out a hum. She began to wrap the gauze around his leg. “Mhm, that makes sense. You must have gotten too close to the one nesting nearby.”

A pause. “You could say that.”

She bowed her head, closing her eyes. “You really should be more careful, dear. Has no one ever told you to not agitate a kangaskhan? Especially one raising an egg or a baby. I take it she’s responsible your leg and ear also?”

He glanced down to the dressed wound and responded with a grunt. “Yeah.”

Licking the last remains of the sitrus berry off his claws, he began nibbling on the second berry. Already, he could feel a bit of his strength returning as the berries began to do their work. He began to chew faster as his nurse stood back to look over her handiwork.

A distant sound suddenly caught Nip’s attention. His ear-feather twitched as he sat up, straining in hopes better hearing and identifying the noise.

“Lecha!” A voice called from down the hall. “Are you here? Are you busy?”

The aromatisse’s ear twitched; she turned her head back towards the way she came. “I’m in the back! You can come on back here though.”

There was the sound of shuffling in the distance, then of footsteps from a rushed, waddling gait. Finally, a plump, brown pokemon – a bidoof – came around the corner, a small satchel dragging on the ground behind her.

“Oh, Haru,” Lecha called out, turning her attention away from the sneasel. “What are you doing back so soon? Is everything alright?”

Haru bowed her head towards Lecha. “I’m fine. Nothing bad happened, dad is just feeling a little weak this afternoon. I was wondering if maybe I could pick up a few white herbs?”

The aromatisse seemed to consider for a moment. “I believe I’ve only given him two this month… Okay, give me just a minute and I’ll prepare some for him. I can give him three more.”

The bidoof quickly bobbed her head, a grin spreading across her face. “Three sounds perfect.”

Lecha nodded again in return before pausing to wipe her paws off on the cloth she brought the bundle in. “Wait here for a moment while I go jot my patient’s information down in my books, then I'll be back with those for you.” With that, the aromatisse scurried off.

As the bidoof waited, she caught a glance of dark fur behind where Lecha had been standing.  She propped herself up on her hind legs, straining to get a better look before recognition seemed to light up in her eyes.

“Oh, you're awake!”

The plump pokemon waddled over with a toothy smile, sniffing at the sneasel, who recoiled as she approached with narrowes eyes.

She paused with a tilt of her head. “What, never met a bidoof before?”

Nip blinked a couple times in stunned silence. “No, just never one without sense of self preservation.”

The bidoof seemed taken aback by the response at first, but quickly shook it off. “Nah, there’s nothing to fear inside the village gates. We’re safe here.” But she still backed off, regardless. “But I’m glad to see you doing alright. When we brought you in yesterday, we weren’t sure you were going to survive.”

“Haru here was with the group that found you,” Lecha interjected as she returned from the tunnel. “You should consider yourself lucky.”

Nip  looked towards bidoof, then back to the aromatisse before turning his head away with a grunt. “All I mean is that I have never met a plant eater that wasn’t overly cautious and was so willing to put themselves in harm’s way.”

“You aren’t exactly in any condition to cause anything harm though,” Twi buzzed. “Even if you were, Lecha would never let any harm come to Haru or anyone else here.”

Nip opened his mouth to say something else, but nothing came out and he quickly shut it, lowering his eyes, though not before shooting the illumise a confused look. Earlier they were terrified of him, but now they were oh so confident in the aromatisse?

“So,” Haru started, settling down a few feet away as she changed the subject. “You don’t sound like you’re from around here. Are you a forest ‘mon or other sort of wildener? Or are you from one of the other villages?”

Stuck between staying and talking or retreating to the room of nests, Nip chose to sit down. “You keep using that term. Villiages?”

“You know, Pokemon settlements. Places where all types of pokemon gather instead of just a single species.”

Finally, something seemed to click with the sneasel. “Oh, you must be speaking of tribes. Yes, I come from the Half-Moon Tribe of the north.” He paused, scrunching his brow before continuing. “Are they known out here?”

The bidoof closed her eyes and shook. “Nope. I've never heard of any village that called themselves a tribe. Let alone any called the Half Moon Tribe. Maybe… I might have heard a passerby mention a tribe in passing, but nothing comes to mind.”

“I see…”

“Is something the matter?”

He scrunched his brow for a second, before perking up, his expression relaxing. “I must have come further south than I realized. You.” He raised a paw to point at Twi. “Where did you say I was, exactly?”

“You’re in Theran village pal,” the illumise chimed in. “Home of the finest oran berries east of Mount Domo.”

“You guys grow oran berries down here?”

“Of course! They're delicious and make for a great food supplement for anyone traveling through the mists or across the sea.”

“And are an invaluable part of any good medic’s first aid supplies,” Lecha interrupted, returning from the tunnel. “Does that surprise you?”

“No, not totally,” Nip responded. “Even the youngest kits should know the values of oran and sitrus berries. I've just never heard or see anyone actively growing them. Let alone using them as food. Not when they're so hard to come by.”

“Oh, but they grow great here, there's so many produced, that there's no reason not to use them as emergency rations. Are they rare where you come from?”

Nip closed his eyes. “Very. A well protected bush may only yield one or two harvests in the warm season. And the bushes are few and far between. Not to mention the race to gather as much as possible up before outsiders take them for themselves.”

“Outsiders?”

“Pokemon that are not a member of our tribe, whether they be single mons trying to survive on their own or rival tribes trespassing on our territory.”

“Oh!” The illumise perked up. “We call the pokemon that live in the forest ‘wildeners,’ since they live off the land and are more on the wild side, what with the usual lack of a code of honor.”

“Some of them have morals,” Haru interjected. “Some of the forest mon are just loners that prefer the quiet of life on their own. But living alone has its downsides. There's no one to protect them if another hungry wildener thinks they look like easy prey.”

Twi piped up. “Killing pokemon for food or for sport, instead of trying to settle in and either change their diet or work with a meal vendor? I wouldn’t call that morals.”

A moment of awkward silence filled the room as Nip gave the bug-type a blank expression, until Lecha broke the void by clearing her throat. “Now, now,” the aromatisse started, waving a paw. “You know it’s not that simple, Twi. Besides, every loner pokemon and wildling makes their choice, you can’t force a pokemon to change the ways that their fathers and forefathers taught them.” She shook her head, adding with a mumble, “I really need to speak to your father about what he’s been telling you next time he’s in town.”

Twi gave a grunt in response. Then their facial expression relaxed before they buzzed their wings, taking to the air, the awkward pause in the air forgotten. “Oh! I should go let the others know that Nip woke up. Shimmer and Muse would want to know, right?”

Haru let out a groan and tilted her head up towards the ceiling. “They were over at my parents’ place when I left. Off pestering my brother, as usual. Let my mom know I’ll be back home soon, would ya?”

“Of course!” The illumise buzzed. And then they were off, zipping down the hallway in a rush, leaving Nip, Haru, and Lecha alone in a slightly more peaceful room.

Nip, who had been quiet during the exchange, continued to stare down the tunnel Twi had disappeared down for a moment. “You mean they don’t-” he began to mumble, before cutting himself off with a shake of his head. Carefully, he began to push himself back to his feet, finding himself with significantly more strength than he had when he had first woken up. Not that the pain had subsided.

“I thank you both for your hospitality,” he began. “But I should take leave as well.” He began to take a step forward, still limping slightly.

“Now hold on,” Lecha interjected. “You’re still in an uneasy condition, and in no way in shape to travel. Where do you intend to be rushing off to?”

The sneasel paused mid step before slowly turning his head to the fairy type. How much should he share? “I am on a… spiritual journey of sorts,” he explained after a second of hesitation. “For my tribe. For myself. I really must get going.”

“A spiritual journey you say? I can understand the desire to hurry dear, but you really must rest, at least overnight. I need to keep an eye on those wounds of yours, apply another round of medicine. You’ll never complete any trip in this condition. I find the morning you’re doing significantly better, you can leave then.”

“And if not,” Haru added in, “you can always stay in the village for a day or two. Most of the pokemon around here would love to hear about what the norther part of the land is like. Are you from the other side of the Great Misty Canyon? Actually, you must be. All the land between here and there is charted out, and like I said, I’ve never heard of any ‘half-moon tribe’.”

Nip tilted his head, his ear feather flicking. “A canyon? Well, yeah, I did pass through one, now that you mention it.”

“Not many people risk passing through the canyon,” Lecha added in an impressed tone. “It's the most dangerous known mystery dungeon this side of the continent.”

“That rift?” The sneasel scoffed. “I went through far more dangerous challenges for my coming of age.”

“Who in their right mind other than an explorer or seasoned rescue crew would enter a mystery dungeon?” Haru questioned.

“Are you kidding? All kits have to go through a dungeon’s mists to complete a task and earn their final spot in society!”

“It sounds like your tribe puts value on different things than our village,” Lecha interjected. “Perhaps you two could continue your discussion over in the resting area? You need rest, after all, my dear guest.”

“Actually…” the bidoof started, her tone drooping. “I should probably get back home.” She bowed her head slightly to Lecha. “Thank you very much for the herbs though. I’m sure my dad will make good use of them.” She then turned her attention to the sneasel. “Perhaps if you’re in better condition tomorrow, I could show you around that town? You seem like the type that would visit the local shrine, if you’re on a spiritual journey.”

Nip closed his eyes for a moment, considering his options. He was in no condition to rush off on his own at the moment, and it certainly would not hurt to find out how things were run around this part of the land. He finally gave the rodent a nod. “It would be appreciated.”

The bidoof gave a signature buck-toothed grin. “That would be great! I’ll see you tomorrow then!” With those parting words, the pudgy pokemon waddled on out around the corner, leaving Nip alone with the nurse.

“Now,” Lecha started. “I can help you back to a nest, if you need me to.”

The sneasel shook his head quickly. “No, no I’m fine.” Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, testing his strength, then turned and began to limp back into the room he had been in just a short time before.

“Trust me, I know how to take care of myself.”

The aromatisse clucked her tounge. “Well, if you insist dear. Don’t push yourself too hard though. You’re safe here.”

Reaching the nest he’d been in before, Nip settled down and closed his eyes. As he listened to Lecha leave the room, he mumbled to himself, “easy for you to say.”

As Haru began to make the trek back home, she let her mind wander back to her meeting with the strange sneasel, only giving distracted greetings to pokemon that passed her by. A pokemon from the other side of the Misty Canyon, how rare an occasion! From what she had heard, very few explorers had ever set foot inside, let alone made it to the other side. So, even if she wasn’t interested in the exploring side of things like her brother, surely it would be worth asking Nip more about the other side, right?

“Yoo-hoo! Haru!”

The bidoof shook her head, clearing it as a familiar voice caught her attention. She slowed to veer off the path towards one of the nearby stands where the voice originated from. The wooden stand was painted a bright, pale yellow, though the paint was chipped and faded with age. Baskets of berries sat out both on top and in front of the stand. Also standing on top was the shop keep: a lone bellossom.

Haru stood up on her hind legs to get a better look, placing her front paws on the shorter end of the counter. “Good evening, Ruffle. How’s the shop been?”

“Slow today,” the bellossom said with a dismissive wave and a sigh. “Making up for yesterday’s rush, I suppose. But stationed exploration teams returning from the west should pass through in the next moon.

“But enough about me,” Ruffle continued. “I happened to see you leaving Lecha’s. Is everything okay? How’s that sneasel doing?”

“Oh! He woke up sometime today. He looked worse for wear, but alert. In fact, I think he was already ready to leave, not that he was well enough to. Lecha put a stop to that.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Ruffle responded firmly, smoothing down her petal skirt. “When Muse came rushing through town yesterday with the poor thing on her back, Roselei and I were worried he’d already passed. It’s nice to hear otherwise. Did you happen to find out where he’s from?”

Haru shook her head. “Nope, said something about being from some ‘tribe’ north of the canyon though.”

The bellosom’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “That far away, really?” She paused, waiting for the bidoof to confirm before she continued. “Well, it’s a relief that he’s not a wildener sneasel at least. I’d hate for poor Tor to have even more on his plate to worry about on top of the daycare renovations and those two ghost kids he took in a few moons back.”

“You have a good point there,” Haru agreed before pausing. “You’re from one of the barrier islands south of here, right Ruffle? What was it like, traveling here? Did you have to pass through any mystery dungeons?”

“Indeed I am!” Ruffle responded, following with a pleased hum. “I grew up in Seashoal Village, on Seadra’s Tail Isle. There’s an entrance to an underwater mystery dungeon not far from there, but it can be sailed around, so no. Why do you ask?”

“I was just trying to get an idea of what traveling so far would be like,” she admitted. “Especially travelling through a mystery dungeon alone. At least, I figure he traveled alone.”

Haru paused, glancing up to the reddening sky; it would be dark soon. “Oh! I need to get these herbs home to dad. Sorry to cut things Ruffle, but I really gotta go!”

“No worries,” the bellossom replied with a pleasant wave. “Say hello to Saku and Chipper for me, would you?”

“Of course. Take care, Ruffle!” With that, Haru turned, scurrying back along the road home.

Fortunately, Haru had no more interruptions on her way home, managing to get back to the river before the sun had dipped even halfway below the horizon.

Unfortunately, Shimmer and Muse were still hanging around by the time she got home. Twi also had not returned to Lecha’s clinic yet, but Haru was less concerned about the illumise.

Muse had taken up a spot lying by the river, watching water slowly seep through the bibarel dam, the occasional leaf floating by in the lazy current. Twi was asleep, resting against the abosl’s side. Haru dipped her head to Muse as a greeting when she passed by.

As she entered their home, Haru was greeted by the smell of cooked potatoes and carrots and onions. Her mother had mentioned making a soup today. The bibarel in question was busy at work, carefully balancing filled bowls on her tail as she passed them out to the other occupants of the hut: her father, her brother, and Shimmer. Her dad - another bibarel - had spread himself out on the dirt floor, his eyes closed as he half-dozed. Shimmer had seated herself on the family’s single stool, which was used for guests as they had little use for it. Her brother, Toshi, a slightly smaller bidoof, sat nearby looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Oh, there you are Haru,” Saku greeted as she held her tail up to Shimmer and Toshi. The two each took a bowl, Shimmer lifting hers with ease while Toshi carefully balanced his between chubby paws until he could get it to the floor. “I invited Shimmer and Muse to stay for dinner, and Twi too, if they want.”

“That’s…” Don’t be rude, Haru reminded herself. “That’s great. Mom. I just got back with the herbs for Dad.”

The other bibarel cracked open a single eye, a grin forming on his face. “Oh, thank the gods, he groaned. “I swore I could carry that log, ya know, but I guess I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Haru backed herself out of the satchel’s strap and reached a paw inside to pull out the three herbs, then gingerly grabbed one with her teeth and carried it over to her father.

Shimmer brought the bowl of soup up to her mouth, taking a sip before giggling. “I was just telling Toshi about how we rescued that sneasel yesterday, and how brave I was, isn’t that right, Toshi-kins?”

“Yeah…” her brother, Toshi, began with a nervous chuckle, turning his head in an attempt to hide his discomfort with the pet name. “It sounded… awesome.”

Shimmer opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Muse entered the hut with Twi on her back, speaking in her usual even tone.  “So, Twi told us that the sneasel woke up and seems to be recovering.”

“That’s right,” Haru responded with a dip of her head while her mother continued to pass out bowls, using a wider, shallow bowl for the four-legged mon in the room. “His name is Nip, and apparently he’s from north of the Great Misty Canyon. He said he came down this way on some sort of spiritual journey, and he’s not planning to stick around for long.”

“Well, I can understand that,” her father chipped in. “You know, your grandfather went on a pilgrimage all the way up to the peak of Mount Domo back in his youth, searching for the Tomb of Regigigas.”

Haru resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I know, Dad. You’ve told me the story before. And he swore he caught sight of Regigigas in the swirling mists.”

“He did!” Her father insisted. “Now, I know that no one has seen Regigigas for certain in several lifetimes. But perhaps that’s because no one’s bothered to look?”

A frustrated grumble escaped the back of Haru’s throat. “Fewer pokemon go looking because they have more important things to do than to go off chasing legends that might not even exist!”

“Haru. Chipper,” Saku interrupted, her tail slapping the ground impatiently. “I know you two don’t see eye to eye on these things anymore but… can we please be civil in front of our guests?”

For a moment, Haru stared her mother down, then averted her gaze, staring down to her bowl of soup. “Sorry.”

“Didn’t mean to start an argument…” Her father grumbled, raising a paw to sheepishly scratch at his neck fur.

The bibarel continued to stare at her daughter for a few seconds before giving a terse grunt. “Good.” She then turned her head to Shimmer, Muse, and Twi, who had taken seats next to each other. “Sorry you three had to hear that. I hope you’ll forgive our inhospitality.”

“It’s all fine,” the kirlia responded, dismissively waving a hand. “Father isn’t the most spiritual mon himself. But he says that it’s important to let everyone follow who they want to. It’s fortunate for some of the pokemon here, since some of those gods wouldn’t be accepted elsewhere. For example… did you know that Ruffle has a small shrine to Hoopa in her house?”

“Really?” Toshi interjected. “Hoopa? I find that kind of hard to believe.”

“It’s true!” Shimmer insisted. “I mean, it’s not just to Hoopa. She and Roselei are also firm followers of the nature gods, but Ruffle says that Hoopa reminds her of home.”

“Huh.” Chipper shook his head. “I don’t know a whole lot Hoopa. But I never thought I’d hear about someone worshiping it, from what I do. Especially someone as… friendly as Ruffle.”

Shimmer brought a hand up and twirled it around her hair. “You’d be surprised. I learn all sorts of things from dad about the other pokemon in this village.”

At that point, Haru tuned out, her mind drifting between Ruffle and Nip. She found herself wondering what kind of pilgrimage Nip was on, what kind of god he might follow. Could he be traveling down to Seadra’s Tail? Perhaps he too was a follower of Hoopa. What was Hoopa supposedly like?

She had quit listening to the religious tales of other pokemon seasons ago, even though she knew it was probably a poor idea with how ingrained it was in many pokemon’s lives. Sure, it might hurt future working relationships, but it drove her nuts, how much some pokemon depended on the gods. Chasing down legends, putting their lives in danger for something that might not even exist! Even some expedition groups focused less on research and exploration, and more on trying to find some of these mythical pokemon.

What a waste of time, when there was so much they still did not know about the world! So many places that needed to be charted. The fact that she had never heard of where Nip was from was proof enough of that. And who knew what was really across the sea! Everything they knew about the lands beyond were second-hand stories from aquatic pokemon, and even then, a lot of those stories clashed with each other.

Though… Perhaps it would be worth it to learn more about Nip’s god. Not because she cared about it, per say, but because passing on new information might help build her reputation. And the more she got her name out there, the better chance she had of expanding the family business.

Even as their guests said their goodbyes and she settled into bed for the evening, she found herself thinking about what questions she might want to ask, what she might be able to learn.

She was going to make the most out of tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“You shouldn't be putting so much stress on your leg, dear. You’re going to worsen your wound.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday! I’m no newborn kit, exposed and mewling for the safety of a nest. I know how to take care of myself.”

Waiting in Lecha’s reception room, Haru was beginning to have second thoughts. Despite having arrived bright and early, it seemed Nip had arisen even earlier, and was causing a heap of trouble for the poor aromatisse doctor.

He still had a limp as he rounded the corner of the hallway into the reception room, sniffing cautiously at the air. Still, he certainly seemed better than he had the day before, his strength starting to return. His fur also looked better, groomed neatly into place with not a single piece of straw sticking to it. And despite the look of discomfort on his face, he seemed determined to stand on his own, removing his paw from the wall as he stepped into the open. Finally, he caught a glimpse of Haru, locking eyes with the smaller pokemon.

“Oh, the bidoof from before. So, you did show up.” His voice was quiet, perhaps a bit surprised.

For a moment, Haru was stunned into silence, disarmed by the blunt response like she had been the day before. She shook her head to clear it. No. She had promised herself now that she would get to know the strange sneasel. If nothing else, she’d do it for the possible fame, to spread her and her family’s name! Resolve set, she took a firm step forward. “Of course I did. I said I’d show you around, and I intend to keep that promise.”

A difficult to read expression crossed his face, but quickly passed. “Fine, I wouldn’t mind checking out the shrine you mentioned at least. And I could use a proper meal. Lecha only offered me vegetables and berries, and told me I needed to speak with a ‘Mandi’ if I wanted anything with meat in it.”

Meat? Haru hesitated. As an herbivore, she always made an effort to avoid Mandi’s shop, and all the unfortunate implications that came with it. The temple as well, though for different reasons. But if she wanted to get on Nip’s good side and learn more about where he came from… “Alright, I guess I can help you with that.”

Lecha finally appeared from the room beyond the hall, a cloth stained with berry juices in her paws. “Are you going to show our guest around town, Haru? Take it slow, would you? I’ve told him he needs to rest his leg, but since he insists on moving around, I suppose I can allow it as long as he stays nearby and rests frequently.”

“You can’t make me stay here if I don’t want to,” Nip argued. Lecha chose not to respond to that.

“Don’t worry, we bidoof aren’t exactly known for our speed,” Haru joked. Her comment seemed to defuse the tension. For now.

She turned to the curtain-shrouded exit, making sure that Nip followed before making her way back into the open air. The sneasel followed close behind, blinking as he adjusted to the mid-morning light. Haru gave him a moment to gather his senses as he made his way out into the open before beginning to walk speaking as she went.

“So, this is Theran Village’s central square. You’ll notice that there are a lot of small vendors around here. Ruffle - that’s the bellossom over there - has a stand where she sells the berries that she and Rosalei grow. The building next to it is a food shop that works with them for supplies. It’s run by a swalot, but you’d be surprised how careful he is about keeping his workspace clean. There’s a slurpuff that sets up shop around here sometimes but… it’s really just a bunch of junk. But she’ll buy some of the weirdest things from you for high prices! Don’t ask where she gets all that money, you won’t get an answer. Let’s see, what else…”

“What about that place over there?”

Nip had paused to point at one of the larger buildings in the square. It was a mishmash of bright colors: pink, blue, and purple. Two pokemon were hanging nearby at the moment: her father and a diggersby. They were both busying themselves, running about with lumber and dirt and metal as prepped for the days work. “Oh, that’s our nursery and daycare. They’ve been working on expanding it. Grombert - that’s the diggersby over there - and my father have been hard at work the last moon or so to get it ready, and they’re almost done. Tor, the blissey that runs it, lives there, along with a couple of orphaned mons that stay there all the time.”

The sneasel scoffed, catching Haru off-guard. “Why would you make your nursery the brightest, most obvious place in town? Wouldn’t that attract trouble?”

“Well…” She began, averting her gaze as she considered his question, and the relatively valid point. But soon, an answer came to her, making her respond in a firm, confident tone. “It makes the kids feel more comfortable, apparently. Tor also really likes the bright colors, not that you would know from the way he talks about it. Besides, it’s safe here, especially in the middle of the village. We only have a few guards, but they take their job very seriously. No wildener would ever dare try to break in here.

His ear twitched, appearing unconvinced. But he dropped the matter. “So, who is this ‘Mandi’ I was told to see.”

“Oh. Right.” Remember what you’re doing this for, Haru. “Her shop is actually a bit of a walk away from here, so, um, if you could follow me, please?” She began walking at a slow gait, making sure that the injured sneasel would be able to keep up. Though… perhaps she was dragging her feet a bit. Until they arrived though, she supposed it would be as good of time as any to learn more about him.

“So, I know it hasn’t been very long yet,” she started, “but what do you think of the village so far?”

“It’s… odd. You have all these… ‘buildings,’ as you call them. Weird dens that seem too big and open to be safe. And they’re so spread out. Why would you do that?”

“I think a lot of pokemon like to have space. And with them being more spread out, it both gives larger ‘mon a way to maneuver and helps keep a fire from spreading, should one of them catch fire.”

“I guess… But why is there no tree coverage? Or brush? I can understand a central clearing for everyone to gather in, but trees and the brush provide cover and protect from danger. Why would you settle somewhere with so little coverage?”

“There’s no trees in the center because we cleared them out and leveled the ground so we can build on it. Same for the brush, although you’ll notice we have a few bushes and trees here and there for decoration. Why? Are things different where you come from?”

“Oh yes. Where I come from, we build and carve our dens out of dirt and stone and bring in brush and moss and other plants to build our nests. The nursery and children’s den are built the same way, but with brambles and thorn bushes protecting the entrance. And we use harvested pelts from our hunts to line our nests and to build more mobile shelter for emergencies.”

Haru came to a sudden stop, stiffening. Nip almost bumped into her. She turned back to look at him incredulously. “I’m sorry, did you say that you hunted other pokemon?”

He blinked a couple times. “Of course. How else would we get the food we need?”

“You… but you don’t need to kill for that.”

The sneasel scoffed. “You are a plant eater, right? I wouldn’t expect you to understand. The gods blessed us with sharp claws and teeth for killing and tearing. We do what we must to survive, just as our prey does. But death is an inevitability for all living beings. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can get in Yveltal’s good graces.”

“Who?”

Nip looked taken aback. “Yveltal, the overseer of death and most important pokemon in the land, if you ask me and my kin. Without death, there is no rest, and pokemon would continue to multiply until there was no space left.”

Haru blinked. “Nope, never heard of them. But… maybe I’m not the best mon to ask. If you ask me, I think too many pokemon follow the myths and legends too closely, and don’t think for themselves. Sometimes I wonder if we’d be better off forgetting them.” Nip opened his mouth to say something, but Haru shook her head and continued before he could. “But that’s beside the point. Anu is supposed to be tending to Regigigas’ shrine today, so perhaps you can ask him if he knows more about Yevetal. Or whatever their name was.”

It occurred to Haru that she might be acting like a huge jerk. But she was still in shock, dwelling on the idea of a whole group of pokemon hunting, let alone a society, as opposed to a loosely associated group of wildeners! The idea of anyone hunting down innocent pokemon, and trying to justify it, made her blood boil. There was plenty to go around, right? Mandi’s business proved that, did it not?

Speaking of Mandi’s business…

“Sorry,” she said bluntly, in a tone that suggested that she was not very sorry at all. “Anyways, this is Mandi’s.”

She stopped in front of a small, plain wooden shack. It was old, but still looked to be in good condition other than a worn paint job. Mandi probably had not spent much time worrying about that. What really sat the building apart from the others they had passed on the way, however, was the entrance. Instead of the usual open doorway, or cloth covering at best, the entrance was covered by two separate wooden doors hinged at the top. One was quite big, obviously built for larger customers, while the other one was small and looked to be made with smaller and weaker pokemon in mind. A quick glance back made it clear just how far they had walked; the town square was completely out of sight now, and the forest beyond that was barely a dot on the horizon.

Haru led the way inside. As she pushed her way past the wooden door, the movement set off a bell, prompting a voice to call from inside, “I’ll be with you in just a minute!”

She heard Nip quietly shuffle in behind her. The room they stepped into was surprisingly clean, if mostly empty. There was a counter at the far end with both a tall and short portion, made from carefully carved and polished stone. Above her, she could see a hole cut in the roof that light leaked through; likely an entrance for any flying types that could not easily push one of the doors open. Beyond the counter was another doorway, this one just covered by a cloth like most. There were even a couple sweet-smelling potted plants next to the counter and a couple stools and woven mats. Everything seemed relatively normal for a shop.

Except for the smell.

Even with plants to help mask it, and the curtain to help contain it, Haru could pick up the scent of blood and the stench of death. It made her hair stand on end. Nip, perhaps unsurprisingly, seemed rather undisturbed.

Finally, after what felt like forever to the poor bidoof, Mandi emerged from the backroom, thankfully cleaned up.

The bird that waddled inside was nearly four times Haru’s size, her head nearly devoid of feathers with a thick, tan, feathery collar around her neck.

“Ah, Miss Haru!” The mandibuzz said in a cheerful voice. “Never thought I’d see you visiting my little shop. Either you’re here to help that sorry looking sneasel over there, or you’ve suddenly grown a taste for meat. What can I help you with?”

Haru thought it best to ignore the sorry excuse for a light-hearted joke. “I am here to help the sneasel, actually. This is Nip. He’s from some far-off place and is looking for a... meal more to his tastes. We’re hoping you could help him out.”

Mandi seemed to catch on immediately. “Of course, dear heart,” she said in a sing-song tone before turning her attention to the sneasel. “So, what kind of flavor are you in the market for? We have a couple rattata ready to go, just brought ‘em in this morning and already checked them over for disease. If you’re more a fan of the watery taste, I have a remoraid I could sell ya that Vale found a couple days back. Or I have a bit of ponyta flank left. Everything else is still being processed I’m afraid.”

“Oh, I haven’t had fish in forever. I could go for some of the remoraid.” He paused, considering a word that stuck out in her statement. “Er… what do you mean, processed?”

“Ah, you really must have come from somewhere far off. All the meat vendors around here are required to process any bodies they bring in and check with neighboring towns to see if any unfortunate souls are missing, so their bodies can be returned for a proper burial instead of being salvaged. Enforcer’s Union rules.”

“Do you have no way to tell that you aren’t hunting pokemon from neighboring… villages, then?”

“Hunt?” she squawked. “Oh, goodness! Everything we bring in is scavenged. It would be unbecoming at best to hunt others. Every pokemon that’s brought in here died of causes out of our control. They could be of something natural like old age, or something less natural like drowning or being unfortunate enough to cross a territorial wildener’s path.”

“Do they have ways of knowing who belongs to what tribe where you’re from?” Haru asked.

“Of course! Every tribe marks their members with something. Dyeing fur or skin with berry juices are the most common ways, but some of them use more permanent marks, like specific scars or piercings. Hunting down another tribe could start a skirmish; everyone knows better than to do that.”

Haru looked the sneasel over. “So, what’s your mark then?”

“We typically use half-circle markings and occasionally asymmetrical lines.” Nip shifted his weight off of his injured leg. “But, er… mine were washed off during my travels, and I haven’t bothered to reapply them.”

The bidoof mentally stored that information away. “Interesting… but we’re getting sidetracked, sorry.”

“It’s all fine,” Mandi said. “Now, for the next question. Do you just want that dethawed to prepare yourself? Or did you have a specific preparation in mind? I assure you, Zylar is quite skilled in all sorts of preparation techniques. He can do it as a filet or on the bone. He has equipment for grilling, frying, baking… you name it.”

“Why would you cook perfectly good meat?”

“To reduce the risk of contamination, dear. But I assure you, we keep everything frozen so that it lasts longer.”

“Is it really that old?”

“You never know with scavenged meat. Usually, it’s not that old, but we believe in playing things safe.”

For a moment, Nip hesitated. “Fine, fine. Just dethaw it, I guess. And I guess you might as well cut out the bones if you’re going that far.”

The mandibuzz bobbed her head cheerfully a few times. “You got it! I’ll get Zylar on it right away!” With that, the bird turned to shimmy back towards the back room, squawking out an order to whoever Zylar might have been, leaving Haru and Nip in an awkward silence.

Nip watched the doorway that Mandi had disappeared through, and when it became obvious that she would be a while he instead hobbled over to one of the stools, looking it over for a moment before taking a seat himself. Haru followed after, choosing one of the mats.

She was starting to feel rather uncomfortable with the whole situation. Maybe she shouldn’t have offered to give him the tour after all. Without thinking, she mumbled, “How… do you live with yourself?”

The sneasel shot her an unamused glare. Crap. Maybe she should have worded that better. But the words were already coming out of her mouth. “Like… hunting. How do you live with yourself knowing you cut someone’s life short. You’ve cut several lives short, all for the sake of eating when you could have… I don’t know, not done that? At least I’m assuming you’re eating, and not just hunting for sport.”

Nip was silent for several moments, staring down the Bidoof. When he finally responded his tone was cold. “No. Hunting for sport would be cruel, but there is no way that we could have sustained everyone on this ‘scavenging’ concept. Not while competing for territory with rival tribes as well.” He paused to shake his head. “Death is inevitable. And while I agree that killing for sport is wasteful and wrong, taking a life to be able to live is just the way the world works. Just as we hunt other mon to survive, other mon would kill us if it meant they would live.”

She quickly sensed that she would get nowhere with this. So, she opted to drop the subject, turning her head. It was silent again, for a time. Hoping to brighten things up, she asked, “so, what is the climate like where you come from?”

For a moment, he seemed to consider whether he wanted to answer. “Cold,” he finally said. “Well, cold in comparison to here, I mean. Where I come from, snow is not uncommon by this time of year. It was forested, where I lived. Live. To the north, there are mountains. We don’t travel up there - Tempest always warned that the tribe up there was even less receptive to outsiders than us.”

“Hold on, back up please. Who’s Tempest?”

“He was - still is, I suppose - my mentor. A majestic ninetales. He was adopted into our tribe at a young age, orphaned after his father, Snow Weaver, vanished. He never really talked about it, so I did not force the matter. He taught me much of what I know.”

“Including how to hunt?”

The blunt interjection earned Haru another sharp glare. She muttered a quick apology, if only because she had not meant to bring the issue back up.

“If you must know. He taught most of my hunting skills, yes. And most of my battle skills as well. I would consider myself a seasoned fighter, and one of the better in the tribe, thanks to him.”

Thankfully, before she could stick her foot further in her mouth, Mandi returned to the counter, this time followed by a cubone in a cloth apron, carrying a bundle wrapped in wax paper. Haru recoiled when she noticed the bloodstains on the cubone’s apron.

Nip rose from his seat, meeting with the cubone across the short counter.

“Your order,” the cubone said quietly. “It’s ready. Take it.”

“Ah, thanks. Er… what’s your name, again?”

“Zylar.”

“Thank you then, Zylar,” the sneasel said before backing away with the package in his claws, already starting to tear into the paper.

“Pleasure doing business with you two!” Mandi chirped. “Now, about payment… That would be ten poke for the meat, add five for the dethaw, and two for the cut… that’ll be seventeen poke.”

Haru glanced back to the sneasel - who had paused to stare dumbfoundedly at Mandi - as it suddenly occurred to her that he probably had no money. Did they even use poke where he came from? Who knew? With a sigh, she pulled off her satchel. Fortunately, she always carried a little with her when she was around town. She dumped a few of the coins onto the counter, carefully counting out just enough for the meal. A glance back revealed that Nip had already sank his teeth into one of the slices of meat almost ravenously, without even cooking them! How weird. And kind of gross. Very gross, actually, to her.

With a quiet thanks to the shop keep she moved to exit back the way they had come.

Stars, please let the rest of the day go better.

Fortunately for Haru, most of the remainder of her tour went off without a hitch. She had the opportunity to show off some of the other shops, the guards’ hut and yard where the town guard trained and where many of them stayed, and even showed him the sprawling fields of berries and vegetables at the town’s edge. Nip had seemed to be in awe of just how much food they grew there.

But as the sun began to descend from the sky, there were still a few things left to show. Still, she had saved the temple for last, hoping that he might open up more about his home while there.

The two were now on their way up the path towards the temple, Haru leading the way, with Nip trailing a bit behind, his limp more pronounced than it had been in the morning. She paused when he started falling too far behind.

As he finally caught up, she spoke up. “Do you need a break? We can stop for a bit if you need to.”

The sneasel responded with grit teeth and shook his head. “I’m. Fine,” he huffed. He glanced up the street and, noticing a building up ahead, pointed it out.

“Is that. The place?”

Haru turned her head to the building he was pointing at. It was more isolated than most of the village’s huts, and far bigger too. The land around it was surrounded by a carefully placed wooden fence, four uniform horizontal planks making up each section.

“Oh, no that’s not the temple. That’s Mayor Jhorlo’s house.”

“Is this… Mayor Jhorlo one of your village elders?”

“Er… No. He’s just our Mayor.”

“Oh, Mayor is his title. I see. What is a ‘mayor?’”

“He’s sort of like… the guy in charge of making sure everything runs safely and efficiently here,” Haru explained.

“Oh, so he is not an elder, but his function is similar to one. I understand.”

“I… guess? Are these elders something important in your tribe?”

“The tribe’s leadership is made up of the elders,” Nip explained. “Pokemon that have been fortunate to survive into their twilight years, that choose to impart their… wisdom. To the rest of the tribe.”

Haru took a moment to digest that. And to digest the hesitance in his voice. “Are you okay?”

He blinked at her a couple times. “It is nothing important, it’s fine,” he finally said. “Well, I have no need to learn about this mayor’s house. The shrine must be further ahead?”

“O-oh. Of course.” With that, Haru took the lead again, traveling in silence for some time until another building came into view.

This one also stood out from most of the other city architecture. While most of the houses had been built out of wood and clay, and occasionally cobbled together stones, this building was made of slabs of carefully carved stone. It was square in shape, with intricately designed pillars, depicting the stories of Regigigas that she’d heard her whole life. Stories of the titan dragging the continents and islands into place, of him forming the golems. Of the golems taking their place resting in the mountains, protecting Regigigas’ “Tomb,” the shrine supposedly somewhere deep in the peak where they slumbered. Haru could not help but have her doubts.

Nip, on the other hand, seemed entranced by the design. By the stone building and all its art. The two made their way up the ramp leading into the building through a huge open entryway.

The inside was lit with a combination of candles and of the luminescent plant life that many of the villagers used in their home. The building was mostly empty, save for a pair of pokemon. The first was a reserved lucario, a broom in hand, sweeping away dirt and leaves that had managed to blow in through the entrance. The second was a hawlucha, her arms crossed as she spoke quietly with the lucario. She was the first to notice the visiting pair, tilting her head up slightly to signify to the lucario that they were no longer alone. The lucario turned his head to look back towards the duo, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“Haru, is that you? I never expected to see you here.”

It seemed like that was the theme of the day. “Good afternoon, Anu, Whisper.” She nodded her head in the direction of both pokemon. “I, um, this is Nip. The sneasel we found the other day. He said he’s on some sort of spiritual journey, so I offered to show him the shrine.”

Only then did Anu seem to notice the sneasel standing beside her. “O-oh, o-of course! Good afternoon, sir.” He paused when the hawlucha, Whisper, interrupted him, mentioning something to him quietly before taking her leave. She brushed her claws against the lucario’s shoulder before she left. Whatever she said, it seemed to fluster Anu.

He turned his attention solely to the sneasel. “A-Anyways. So, tell me, what made you make this journey you’re on. Are you a follower of the great Regigigas? Or perhaps of his titanic creations?”

Nip quietly shook his head. “Not directly. The name Regigigas is… vaguely familiar, though I know little more than that.”

The lucario seemed taken aback for a moment but smiled regardless. “I suppose I should not expect much more from a foreign mon. Every part of our world has their own culture, after all. It’s to be expected that pokemon from other places would have limited information about Regigigas. So, tell me. Who do you follow?”

“My tribe follows the legends of the trio of balance. However, Yveltal is our patron deity. Our neighboring tribes though, the ones we are friendly with, pay tribute more specifically to Zygarde and Xerneas.”

The lucario smiled weakly. “I’m afraid I haven’t heard of them. I would love to hear more about them sometime, but I’m afraid now is not the time, as I need to finish clearing the shrine of debris before the evening patrons come in to pay their respects.”

Now it was the sneasel’s turn to act surprised. “Really? No one down here has heard of them?”

Anu shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, but I would be surprised. Not even the passerby explorers have ever mentioned them. Where did you say you were from?”

“The northern mountains. On the other side of… I believe your healer called it the Great Misty Canyon?”

The lucario let out a hum. “Oh! That would explain it. Last I heard, the Expedition Society only just started making plans for a permanent outpost on the other side. Information is… quite limited, if they haven’t been there yet. Not many explorers travel north of the canyon.

“Regardless, you are free to stay here for a while, if you would like. We have a small room to your left for visitors that wish to pay their respects to their own deities.” Anu gestured to another large doorway to the side him, leading to another dimly lit room. Haru could make out a handful of candles on a stone slab, as well as a few other items that she couldn’t identify from here.

“I appreciate it, thank you.” With a dip of his head, the sneasel limped past the lucario and into the room.

In hopes of passing the time, Haru turned her attention to Anu, who had returned to sweeping. “So,” she started, “How are things with you and Whisper? I believe your egg should be close to hatching, right?”

The lucario looked up with a surprised expression, then quickly busied himself with sweeping again, a tiny smile on his face. “We were talking about that, actually. Whisper things we have another moon or so to wait. She was heading over to check with Tor when she left.”

Sensing how flustered Anu was, Haru just gave him a quick hum before turning her attention to the display beyond. The main statue on the shrine was of Regigigas. Unlike most everything else, his statue had been molded from bronze. Or at least coated in it. Metal could be a bit hard to come by. And metal-workers were even rarer, so getting the statue built had to have taken a lot of work and money.

A few offerings lay at the feet of the statue. She still had no clue what Anu did with those, but she remembered them disappearing from time to time when her dad used to bring her and Toshi, back when they were younger.

In front of the statue of Regigigas were three smaller statues of his titans, the golems of rock, ice, and steel. Unlike the first statue, these were only made of stone, though they had been painted. Or at least, they had been at one time; much of the paint that had covered them had chipped and weathered away over time, and never been replaced. Anu once told her there used to be more, but their names and appearance had been erased from history, for reasons no one knew.

Her attention turned up to the wall behind the statues. Although there was little light to make them out with, she could see the bits of the paintings of the creation trinity, and the single egg painted in the middle. Of all the gods, those were the only ones she could believe might exist. No other explanation had come up for the creation of mystery dungeons, after all.

Deciding to not dwell on stories and memories that would sour her mood, she began to make her way over to where Nip had gone, to see if he had finished whatever he was doing.

He had not. As she approached the room, she could make out the outline of the sneasel in the dim light. He was sitting with his legs almost crossed, his claws in his lap. She suspected that his eyes were closed, but she could not tell from here. As she got closer, she began to make out bits and pieces of something that he was mumbling.

“Do I disgust you, Yveltal? …I don’t know how much longer I can keep running. Yveltal, if you hold any favor for me still after what I did, let me make it someplace safe.”

Haru backed away slowly. Perhaps it meant little. Perhaps she should not be quick to judge. But something about that sentence rubbed her the wrong way. She forced herself to calm down. It was probably nothing. She hoped.

She waited by the entrance, ruminating on the feelings until the sneasel finally emerged, a hard to read expression on his face.

“Thank you for waiting for me,” he mumbled.

“No… no problem,” she said, trying to not avert her gaze. “We should… probably go back to Lecha’s, huh? It’s getting late, and she’ll probably want to apply fresh bandages.”

He grunted an agreement before beginning to make his way back down the ramp. Haru followed behind at a slower pace, her mind dwelling on what she overheard, and what little she knew about Nip. He had said before that he was on a spiritual pilgrimage. Perhaps it had some truth to it, but what he said suggested he was running from something, or someone. And based on what Anu said, there was no knowledge of Yveltal down here, which would suggest that he was not here to find something about them. So, it raised the question.

If he was not really on some sort of pilgrimage, what had he come all the way here for?

Twilight was perhaps the liveliest time of day in the forest. As sleepy pokemon made their way back to their nests and shelters, out came the kricketot and kricketune, singing their evening songs. Out came the volbeat and illumise, dancing their twilight dance. And out came the nocturnal pokemon – hoothoot and sneasel, murkrow and morelull – all waking for evening activity.

As dusk began to settle in, a particular kangaskhan was settling down in her carefully constructed shelter. Today had been quiet; no pokemon had been foolish enough to try fighting her. No threat had been stupid enough to trespass on her territory. Few would have the nerve to try fighting a kanaskhan. Fewer survived to tell the story.

But as she tried to settle in, a sense of unease overcame her. Something was wrong. It took only a few seconds before she realized the forest around her had silent silent. No chirps, no buzzing, not even the rustle of a rattata dashing from bush to bush. She gently rubbed a paw over the egg hidden in her pouch, as if worried it would no longer be there. Slowly she stood back up, sniffing at the air, peering deep into the undergrowth.

Suddenly, she heard something burst from the bushes behind her.

By the time she spun around, they were already upon her.

She felt a powerful set of jaws clamp down on her leg. She let out a howl and tried to shake the pokemon free, swinging her leg wildly. The pokemon did not let go; if anything, they bit down harder. She caught a glance of cream and black in the fading sun. She could not easily reach down to bite, so she did the next best thing she could think of to do. She took a deep breath, focusing energy into her left hand. It became alight with fire, a technique she had learned from her father. In one swift strike, she struck the jaws that had clamped down on her leg. The blow was just enough to dislodge her assailant, sending them flying in an arc when she swung her leg again.

The other pokemon landed on their feet a short distance away, finally giving the kangaskhan a chance to look over her opponent. She was tiny, only coming up to the kangaskhan’s thigh. But just as big as her body was the massive second set of jaws that protruded from the top of her head. Besides the black and cream, a red curved design had been dyed into the fur on her chest. Another design, a spiral, had been dyed around her right arm.

The kangaskhan let out a huff. “Try to attack me, eh?” she roared. “You ain’t any bigger than that sneasel I smashed up. You’ll crumple just as easy!”

For a second, the mawile seemed caught off guard by the statement. But then her resolve strengthened. She dashed forward head-first.

The kangaskhan was faster. When the mawile had almost reached her, she spun, swinging her tail in hopes of knocking her attacker off balance. It connected, tripping up the mawile and throwing off her momentum. But it did not keep her down for long. As soon as she had her balance, she dashed again, this time springing up. The kangaskhan brought her hands up defensively, protecting her chest from the brunt of the steely headbutt. Even so, despite the small pokemon’s stature, the force of the blow made her skid back a few inches, kicking up leaf litter and dust.

By the time the mawile landed. she had already begun her next attack. As the mawile sprang again, this time with her second pair of jaws arced forward to bite the kangaskhan focused just long enough to allow her hand to become alight with flames once more. Jaw made contact with flame. The kangaskhan felt jagged teeth graze her arm, only for them to be knocked away as her fist connected. The mawile was knocked sprawling backwards, bouncing in the grass. She did not move.

The kangaskhan let out a triumphant roar and turned her back.

Then she felt a blow to the back of her head.

She whipped back around. The mawile was gone.

Another blow, this time to her flank. She tried to whip around, but the mawile was already gone again. Another blow to the head. She let out a frustrated roar, snapping at the air.

She turned her head back. The mawile was already upon her, striking her directly in the stomach with anther headbutt, knocking her off-balance. As she desperately tried to regain keep her footing, she felt teeth snapping at her heels. She stumbled, falling back onto her back.

The mawile was on top of her in an instant. She felt teeth sink around her neck. At any second, she expected the pokemon to rip her throat open.

But it never came. Instead the mawile remained there, staring her down with a cold look in her eyes.

“I had planned to kill you,” the mawile began, “but… something you said interests me.”

The kangaskhan tried to raise a fist. The teeth sank in deeper.

“Do not try my patience. You said something about a sneasel earlier. Tell me, what did he look like?”

Sensing the danger, she and her unborn child were in, the kangaskhan began to stutter, fumbling over her words. “I-I- yes! The-the sneasel! He was kind of a gre- a grey brown! W-with weirdly colored feathers. Y-yeah, they weren’t red like they usually are!”

The mawile narrowed her eyes. The jaws dug a little deeper. “And what did you do to him?”

“He- he tried to steal my egg! S-so so I made sure he wou-wouldn’t be able to do that again, see?”

The pressure relieved slightly. “Did he, now? Tell me, did you kill him?”

“I-I don’t know, he tried to drag himself off but- I never saw the body, I swear! I just left him to be picked off. He might’a survived!”

The mawile seemed to consider it for a moment before finally pulling her jaws away, only to strike at the kangaskhan’s shoulder, digging fangs in and ripping a bit of flesh away as she tore it open, making the normal-type shriek in pain.

“Something to remember me by,” she grunted with one last look at the kangaskhan before hopping down. “If I see you again, you won’t escape with your life.”

She began to walk away, leaving the kangaskhan to tend to her wound. She could have killed her; she had planned to in the first place. But it would have been such a waste, with only herself to feed. And besides, the kangaskhan had given her valuable information, valuable enough that she considered sparing her life a fair trade.

Nip was nearby. And if he was alive, he could not have gotten far.

Chapter Text

 Nip awoke when warm sunlight filtered down onto his nest from the window overhead. He stretched in the beams of light, letting out a silent yawn, raising his arms high above him, then sticking his legs out one at a time. As he stood up, he gave his injured leg an experimental stomp, winced, and grinned when the pain was little more a dull throb. Much of the pain had subsided in the four sunrises that had passed since he woke up in Lecha’s clinic. Perhaps he would have been healed quicker if he had not strained himself the last several days, running around the village, but the difference would have been minor.

Much of his last few days had been spent wandering the village alone, learning more about the inner workings of the community. Many things - including food - cost “money” or required trade, unlike the communal meals of home. And what was offered to him were mostly things he couldn’t digest: Grains and vegetables, as far from his diet as they could be. He’d gotten sick when he tried to cave and eat a meal with nothing but bread and potatoes and carrots, all things he had never eaten before. But he had no money with which to purchase more meat, and Haru had insisted that he would have to find a way to make money if he wanted more. His injuries had made hunting an unlikely scenario. He had curbed his hunger on extra oran berries, but only barely. And orans wouldn’t be enough, in the long run.

But now? Today, he felt well enough that he might just stand a chance. Today, he planned to head to the outskirts of town, to the forest that Haru had pointed out. A good meal, a good night’s rest, and then he would be on his way.

He could not stay here forever, after all.

He didn’t even want to stay here forever, even if he could. They were too strict. Too stuffy. Too single-minded. Too much like the things he wanted to leave behind.

His mind wandered as he stepped out into the lobby. Haru was… okay, he supposed. She had been a bit obnoxious. But she spoke her mind more so than anyone else here. That much, he could appreciate.

He took pause when he stepped outside. Speak of the dark one themselves.

To his left, he noticed two bidoof standing a little way down the dirt path, conversing pointedly with each other. One he recognized to be Haru. The other, he assumed, must be her brother. He considered continuing without greeting them. But he supposed it would be rude. Afterall, she had not only been involved in his rescue, but also helped him understand how things worked in this odd little place. He should honor that.

As he grew closer, their voices became clearer.

“Are you sure you can’t get out of this?” He heard Haru groan.

“Sorry,” the other bidoof replied. “Mom’s the one that said yes to Shimmer. Will you please help me with this, just come with me so I won’t be alone? I’ll make it up to you, I swear!”

Haru raised her head to the sky and let out a huff. “Fine, but you owe me!” She turned to look at the other bidoof. “So why is Shimmer headed out to the forest again? Didn’t she bring your flowers just earlier this week?”

He shook his head. “Nope, she never made it back with them after you guys found that sneasel. So, she decided she wanted to just take me looking herself.” He paused, looking back towards the clinic, and let out a startled yelp when he realized that the pokemon in question was standing just behind them, prompting Haru to look his way as well.

She forced a weak smile. “Oh, Nip. Out and about again?”

Nip blinked and let out a grunt. “Yeah. Did you guys say you were going to head into the forest? Do you mind if I join you part of the way? I need to make some preparations - I plan to leave in the morning.”

Haru seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I mean, we’re just going out to gather wild herbs. Then again… You don’t have any money to stock up on supplies with, do you?” The sneasel shook his head in response. “Well, if you can find some of the more useful medicinal ones, Lecha might buy them off of you. Maybe you could even get yourself a bag and some travel supplies?”

He considered for a moment. Perhaps he could get one more meal as well, without having to spend energy to hunt. Or even two, since he could keep the meat frozen. It was in no way ideal but… it might allow him to cover more ground without stopping. “You make a good point. If you are alright with it, I think I will come.”

The other bidoof stepped forward. “Nip, right? Haru told me your name. I’m Toshi.” He glanced back to his sister with a hint of nervousness. “I wouldn’t mind if he tagged along. The more the merrier, right?”

Nip gave an appreciative nod before moving to stand beside the duo. “Muse and Shimmer are the kirlia and absol, right? Is there a particular reason you don’t want to be alone with them?”

“W-well,” Toshi said, nervously rubbing a paw against his face a couple times. “See… Shimmer likes me. A lot, maybe too much. I mean, she’s nice and all but… I just can’t see her that way! She’s too pushy! But mom really kind of… eggs it on, encourages her. Encourages me to hang out with her. She’s the mayor’s kid, so she’s rich and has a lot of power in the village. Muse is nice enough and kind of keeps her from being too pushy but… It’s just nice to have company so I’m not stuck talking to her the whole time, you know?”

Nip closed his eyes and let out a hum. “I think I can understand. It can be frustrating, being forced into a relationship that neither party wants, or that only one party wants in your case, just because others think they know what’s best for you.”

“Tell me about it. I mean, I don’t think my mom would ever actually force me to get together with Shimmer but… I don’t know, it’s all just so frustrating and hard to argue against!”

The sneasel considered for a moment. “So, you are not forced, so much as pressured? Unfortunate, but at least you have a say in the matter.”

“What are you even trying to say?” Haru interjected, prompting Nip to suck in a breath.

“Oh… never mind. I suppose it wouldn’t make sense to you anyways.”

If the two bidoof were going to say something, neither of them did. Instead, something behind Nip caught Haru’s eye. “Oh, there they are. And is that… Why is Shimmer’s dad here?”

Nip turned to look back to the group of pokemon behind him. Walking up the path were the kirlia and absol that he expected. But in addition to the two, three other pokemon walked with them. The first was a purugly: his fur groomed neatly to perfection with a small, sparkling stone attached to a string around his neck. The other two were each purrloin, one walking on either side of the group at attention.

“That’s her dad?” he asked, whispering his question to Haru. “Does that work?”

“He and her mother - a gardevoir - had been together a long time, but I think she had a surrogate father.”

“Her mom died not long after she hatched,” Toshi added in. “So, it’s just been her and Jhorlo for years.”

Haru cut in with a curt tone. “I don’t know why he’s out here. Usually, he considers Muse more than enough protection for Shimmer.”

The group of pokemon came to a stop a few steps away. The purrloin both sat down at the same time, but continued to stay at attention, eyes unblinking.

Shimmer hopped down from Muse’s back, giving a friendly wave. “Hi Toshi-boo! Oh, Haru and the sneasel too! Nip right? You should have told me you wanted to make this a double date.”

Nip, Toshi, and Haru all three did an immediate double take, looking to Shimmer and then amongst their group. Haru was the first to speak.

“What? No, it’s nothing like that! Toshi asked me to tag along so he’d have more company, and we extended that invitation to Nip!”

“A-and this isn’t even a single date!” Toshi added, stammering.

Shimmer took their response all in stride. “Kidding! Oh, you are too silly, cutie-pie. But whatever you say.  Anyways, my dad is here because he wanted to speak with us before we headed into the forest is all.”

The purugly chuckled. “Indeed. I really am sorry to bother you fine folks. I just needed to speak with you before heading into the forest you see.” Nip took note of his silky-smooth voice. Something about it put his fur on end, like perhaps it was a well-practiced front.

“I wanted to make sure you all knew to be careful, is all. Whisper came by this morning with some disturbing news, you might have heard. She said there’s reason to believe that a predator wildener has been hanging around the village. They’ve found several… er… remains around the area. All small mon, but still. Now you… five should be fine as long as you stick together, but I want you to all take extra precaution, understand? I don’t need a mess to pick up, and I’d like my daughter and her friends to stay safe.”

His explanation and request elicited slow nods from each of the other pokemon - except the purrloin, who were still at attention. Satisfied, he let out a purring noise before turning. “Jaques. Lotte. We’re finished here. Back to the villa, okay?” He looked back towards Shimmer over his shoulder. “Take care, sweetheart!”

The two purrloin turned in unison, walking just behind the purugly. Shimmer gave her father a wave.

“Bye, Dad!”

Now slightly more somber, the group turned each other.

“A predator, huh?” Haru mumbled. “Are there any precautions we should take?”

“Perhaps we should designate a lookout,” Muse suggested. “Who of us has the strongest senses?”

“Probably you or Nip,” Toshi answered. “But since you’re really the muscle of the group… Nip, do you mind acting as our spotter? Do you know what that means?”

“I was not planning to stay around the whole time but… I suppose I could,” the sneasel responded. “I have a pretty good idea of what you’re talking about. Bring up the rear, keep an eye out for trouble, especially when the rest of you are preoccupied, correct?”

“Close enough,” Haru said. “You can either flank or bring up the rear. Normally, this level of caution wouldn’t be needed this close to town, but if Jhorlo felt the need to bring it up we should be careful.” She pointedly turned her head towards Shimmer. “Technically, we probably shouldn’t be going out there at all, if things are that bad.”

“Oh, Dad is probably just being silly,” Shimmer said. “But if it makes you feel better, then I’m all for the extra caution.”

On one hand, Nip could not help but feel flattered that these pokemon trusted him enough to do such an important job, and considered him skillful enough to follow through. On the other… part of him was in shock for the same reasons. Still, it would give him a chance to gather up some money, which he had quickly learned he would need if he ran into any more settlements.

With that plan in mind, the five headed further down the road towards the line of trees in the distance.

Once the group entered the woods, they fell into a tight formation. Muse walked in front with Shimmer on her back, the kirlia sensing the nearby area as best as her skills allowed for danger. The bidoof siblings took up the middle. Toshi occasionally cast a cautious glance into the woods on either side of their path. Haru, on the other hand, was much surer of herself, though Nip was not entirely convinced that it wasn’t just for show.

He brought up the rear, occasionally sniffing at the air as he listened for any sign of danger. So far the journey had been quiet. Maybe too quiet, in his opinion. But perhaps this was normal for this part of the woods?

Still, it was hard to focus when Shimmer just kept chatting away.

She seemed to be recounting some story from her childhood. “So, I demanded that he paint his shop pink, that it would be more becoming of him. I told that old swalot that my daddy would make him paint it pink, and that seemed to make him consider things a little. But Muse stepped in and pointed out that he couldn’t do anything until the next season, when the smeargle crew came through. And I guess by the next season I had already forgotten. Oh! That makes me think though, don’t you think it would be neat if we paint our house pink, Toshi?”

“E-err…” the bidoof stammered, searching for any sort of response. “I’m really more of a blues and greens guy, actually.”

“Well a dark shade of either of those could work well with pink, right? We can compromise!”

Sensing no hope of winning, Toshi just mumbled, “I guess.”

Nip tuned out the conversation. There was no need to let himself get distracted by such silly discussion. He turned his attention instead back to listening for trouble. He heard a rattata skittering in the underbrush, squealing about the larger, scary pokemon entrenching on their territory. He could smell that a combee had passed through here recently, carrying nectar back to their hive. Somewhere above him, a taillow flew by, letting out a chittering song as he looked for his mate. Nothing dangerous so far.

If only he could slip away and hunt. But they were making more noise than an angry beartic. No wonder everything was running off.

Shifting his attention back to watching for danger, he turned his head to the side. He expected to see nothing, but instead caught a glimpse of distorted air, and of a ring of trees that were not only unnatural in formation, but in color too: wavering patches weaved and swirled about, turning the green leaves red and orange. Then the distortion would shift elsewhere, leaving the leaves green once again.

Haru caught his look, turning to look towards the distorted location. “Oh, that’s Sunglow Thicket,” she said matter-of-factly. “It’s the only mystery dungeon that’s less than a day’s journey from here. That’s part of why we don’t have a rescue guild branch in town. Not enough nearby danger to need them. There are so few that get lost around here that the local guard can handle whoever does.

Nip tilted his head. “Rescue… guild? I apologize, we don’t have anything like that where I’m from. You’ll have to elaborate.”

The remainder of the group stopped, pausing to look at the sneasel. “Really?” Toshi questioned.

“It makes sense they would not have a rescue guild branch,” Muse pointed out. “As far as I know, there aren’t any guild, union, or society branches on the other side of Great Misty Ravine. Do you have nothing to help those that get lost in the dungeons, though?”

“We rarely enter a patch of distortion outside of coming of age trials,” Nip responded with a grunt, turning his attention back to sniffing at the air. “So, there would be no need to rescue outside of emergencies. Everyone is expected to know how to take care of themselves in danger, save for the kits. And they aren’t meant to leave our nesting grounds.”

“You know, you use kind of silly words,” Shimmer cut in, holding back a giggle. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.”

“What, you don’t know what a nest is? I would say you all are the ones using the ‘silly’ words. I mean… what does ‘guild’ even mean?”

Haru let out a sigh. “Sorry about Shimmer. Anyways… a guild is sort of… like a group of pokemon that band together under a certain cause and skillset and vow to look out for others? Toshi, you’re the one that’s into all the expedition and rescue stuff, help me out here.”

“Okay,” Toshi began. “Well. Your explanation is pretty good. Down in Southern Harbor Town-”

“Where?” Nip interjected.

“All the way down south, it’s one of two major port towns responsible for ferrying goods up the rivers.”

“O...kay?”

“Anyways, Red’s Rescue Guild headquarters is there. In most towns near a major dungeon, Red - that’s the flareon that runs the place - has a guild branch set up to handle rescues. Now, this is not to be confused with the Expedition Society, which is a group of researchers that work to learn more about mystery dungeons and their containment, or the Enforcer’s Union, who specifically focus on tracking down outlaws that may be hiding in hard to reach areas or mystery dungeons. Both of those are in Eastport Town - that’s the other major harbor town.”

“Creative name, Red,” Nip mumbled sarcastically.

Shimmer piped up again. “Hey, you’re the one that’s named Nip. Like a little bite, you know? I don’t know if you have room to talk.”

“If you must know, my name specifically relates to frostbite.”

“Still a little weird, but okay. Whateeever you say.”

Nip threw his head back, turning his attention back to their surroundings. Muse and Shimmer veered off into a patch of grass nearby, the absol digging at the roots of some plants in the soft soil. Toshi wandered a bit further away, sniffing at a nearby bush. Haru busied herself carefully picking up the plants Muse dug up with her teeth before standing on her hind legs to place them in a satchel on Muse’s back.

Nip turned his attention away, letting his mind drift. As nice as everyone here had been, this wasn’t a place he could stay. As much as he wanted to rest, he couldn’t here. Perhaps if he went over the mountain. Maybe there, he could finally settle, even if only for a while.

A whiff of an odd smell on the air made him turn his attention back to the present. Though he couldn’t identify the smell exactly, it reminded him of soot and ash, the remains after a fire. Yet, he hadn’t smelled anything burning. Tensing, he slowly looked around to scan his surroundings.

The others were still preoccupied with their foraging. Well, the two bidoof and the kirlia were at least. Muse had paused and was sniffing at the air just like he had. With how preoccupied they were, it reminded him of distracted prey he would sneak up on back in his old hunting grounds.

Something shifted the undergrowth ever so slightly. His ear twitched as he tried to home in on the sound.

Just as he called, “Look out!” A blur of blue and cream burst from the undergrowth, dashing towards the smaller, isolated bidoof. Instinctively, he dashed forward to meet it, inhaling before spitting out small shards of ice at the creature. But it was hardly fazed.

Toshi let out a surprised squeal, scrambling backwards into the bush. The quilava tried to follow after, swiping at Toshi as he retreated, but before it could reach him, Nip barreled into its side, delivering a jab with his claws before looping around to get on the pokemon’s back.

The quilava cried out and twisted around, trying to reach around and bite at any part of Nip it could reach. There was a small pop, and then plumes of smoke began to pour from the vents on top of its head, obscuring Nip’s vision. He coughed, squinting his eyes shut as he dug his claws deeper into the quilava’s skin. He felt it twist beneath him, and suddenly he was on the ground, the wind knocked out of him by the quilava’s weight.

“Let go!” the quilava hissed. “I saw him first!” It twisted around to lunge at Nip and bit down on his arm. But before it could do any more damage, the quilava was suddenly thrown off.

Nip stood up, his vision still obscured by the smokescreen. But as the smoke began to dissipate, he could see Muse standing in front of him, her horn lowered towards the quilava with dark energy surrounding it.

“Back off!” she barked, her maw twisted into a snarl.

Nip heard someone step up beside him. Glancing over, he saw Shimmer, with Haru just a few steps behind.

The quilava’s ears twisted back against its skull. Not keen on testing the odds against that many pokemon, it turned tail and fled, disappearing back into the undergrowth.

Muse waited tensely for several heartbeats, watching and waiting, before she finally relaxed her guard. “Grab what you already harvested,” she announced. “We’re leaving.”

Shimmer blinked, her mouth hanging open. “But… we just got here!”

“That one was young,” Muse replied. “And not from around here. He probably came down from the mountains to hunt. His mother might still be nearby, and I don’t fancy starting a fight with a typhlosion. Do you?”

No one could argue with that. So, with those words hanging in the air, Shimmer and Haru went back to finish gathering up the few herbs they had found. Toshi, meanwhile, sidled up beside Nip, silent for a moment.

“Hey,” the bidoof began, shuffling his feet. “Um. Thanks. For helping me back there.”

“Think nothing of it,” Nip replied, turning his attention back to the forest. “I was just returning the favor. It would be… unbecoming of me to not do so. You asked me to keep an eye out, so I did.”

To that, Toshi just hummed in agreement. The two of them stood silently for the next couple of minutes, waiting for the girls to finish, then they all began the trek back towards the village.

At first, the group walked in a tense silence, the fear of being attacked by a typhlosion driving them to be extra careful. But as the trees began to grow further apart, heralding their approach to Theran village, they began to relax.

Shimmer was the first to break the silence. “Musey, mister Nip, you two did great back there. Are you sure you can’t stick around for a while, Nip? I bet Whisper would love to have a strong mon like you in her guard.”

Nip flicked his ear. Was she… offering him a position in their society? To him, a stranger? How naive. As much as he wanted to point this out, he forced himself to be polite. “Your offer is kind. But I have other obligations I must attend to.

”Shimmer waved a hand dismissively. “Sure, sure. But think about it when you come back through, alright? I’ll put in a good word for you if you do. I’ll have you know I can be very persuasive.”

That sounded… not great. He wasn’t sure what she meant by “persuasion,” but he was certain he wouldn’t like it. “Thanks… but I likely won’t be passing back through. I’ll… be headed back home on a different route.”

“Really?” Haru asked, rushing so that she could walk beside him. “Why’s that?”

Should he tell the truth? Or a believable lie? “I am… hoping to see more of this part of the land,” he explained. “None of my kin have traveled this far south.”

“Not even for a pilgrimage?”

“It’s a bit of a personal pilgrimage,” Nip explained.

“I see…” Haru turned her gaze back towards the buildings on the horizon. “We didn’t really get many herbs, did we?”

Nip glanced back to the bags on Muse’s back. Indeed, there were only a few in the satchel.

Haru hesitated. “Well… if you’d like, I guess I could offer you a spare bag in the morning. It’s not much but… it would give you something to carry things with at least. I’d help you with money but… I kind of already spent my spare change. Sorry.”

Was she serious? Nip reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “That is… kind of you. I may take you up on that offer. Thanks.”

It was bizarre to him, how willing these village mon had been to help him out. Was this the norm in this part of the world? How strange. It was, odd, but he almost felt like he could grow used to this.

He paused, sniffing at the air as a stiff breeze rustled the leaves on the trees around them.

And as he took in a deep breath, he caught a whiff of a strong, familiar scent that made his fur stand on end. Something different that stood out from the scents of this forest. He opened his mouth and took a deeper breath as he processed the scent. He caught the scent of earthy mud that hadn’t quite dried out, and the smell of wild razz berry bushes. But beneath that all was an all-too-familiar scent. A pokemon’s scent that still carried the faint, faded tone of pine needles and frostbitten herbs. He froze, his eyes narrowing to slits. She was here? Now?

“Hey, Nip, are you alright?”

Nip shook himself out of his stupor. Toshi had stopped to look back at him, his head tilted in concern. The other three had stopped as well.

He forced his fur to lay flat as he tried to calm down and assess his options. What was he supposed to do, tell them he was being chased by a crazy pokemon? Would they believe him? What if they confronted her? Would she just attack them, too? Or would she turn them to her side? Neither outcome was good.

“It’s… Nothing,” he finally lied. “I smelled something odd. ‘Spose I’m still worried about that typhlosion. Fire doesn’t exactly agree well with me.” Still, he didn’t wait to see how they’d react. Instead, he began to walk again, this time a bit faster, trying to not break out into a sprint.

His explanation seemed to satisfy the others, as they all mumbled some sort of agreement. Haru continued to stare at him a bit longer than the others. But she, too, relented. He did his best to not appear relieved.

Still, he was distracted as they made their way back to town, constantly glancing over his shoulder for a glimpse of cream and black fur. It took all of his willpower not to just bolt right there, to disappear back into the trees. But he was downwind. If she was still nearby, she likely hadn’t spotted him.

Nip was shocked to find himself relieved when he reached the sparse and open village. But… she wouldn’t follow him here. Probably. Not during the day at least. Even she wasn’t stupid enough to attack him in the middle of a bunch of other pokemon in broad daylight.

“You should probably get that looked at.”

“Hm?” Muse’s words snapped him out of his thoughts. She leaned over to nose at the spot where he’d been bitten. The quilava’s vicious bite had managed to break skin, but he hadn’t thought much of it until now.

“You have a good point,” he admitted. “I will return to your healer to recover. Thank you.”

“Do you need us to walk you back?”

“I will be fine, thank you.” He paused to look around until he spotted the humble medics’s hut, the small building built off of a huge, ancient stump. “Take care, you four. I… will see you in the morning, I suppose, Haru.” With that, he made his way towards the hut, eager to get out of the open.

Lecha was not in, so he treated himself to a single oran berry – figuring she wouldn’t mind – and then returned to the nest he had been staying in. A flat object with strange scrawling had been left in his nest. He could gather that it was some sort of message but had no clue what it might mean. Quietly, he cleaned himself of the blood. But try as he might to relax, he couldn’t. Knowing that she was so close…

“Yveltal, won’t you spare me this one more time?” he mumbled. He needed to leave. He needed to leave right now. Night would fall soon. Perhaps he could slip out under the cover of darkness?

His stomach growled, and he was suddenly aware of just how hungry he was. He wouldn’t get far without food. But… Berries wouldn’t sustain him. Not when he needed to get as far away as he could, as quickly as possible.

As he lay there, worrying, an idea came to him. A cruel, perhaps foolhardy idea, but an idea, nonetheless. An idea that would make certain he wouldn’t be able to come back. But it was the quickest idea he had in mind.

He had done worse, right?

With an uneasy feeling in his stomach, he laid down to rest and waited for nightfall.

Nip startled awake to visions of snapping jaws and the phantom pain of long-healed bruises. He reached over to rub his shoulder and winced when he brushed over the bite wound. With the help of Lecha and a few oran berries, it had already begun to heal. Lecha had checked on him briefly before retreating to bed, quietly commenting on how tense he was but not pressing the matter. He almost said something. Almost opened up and explained his fear. But no. Explaining the truth of his situation would only lead to more prying questions. Questions that would have surely turned her against him.

No one back in his tribe had believed him about Umbra. Why would she? And even if she did, how would he explain everything else?

Glancing up, he noted the moonlight peeking through the window. He rosefrom his nest, he swiftly made his way to the cabinet of herbs on the far side of the room. A few satchels hung off of wooden pegs in the wall. He chose one with a long strap that he could sling over his shoulders. The contents were dumped onto the table. In their place, he instead placed four oran berries, a heal seed, and a reviver seed. Hopefully, he would not need the seeds, but it was best to be prepared.

He gave one last look back to the nest he had stayed in the past several days. Indecision twisted a knot in his stomach, and he questioned if this was the best way to handle things. He shook his head. No, he had already made his decision. He would live with the guilt and consequences, but he would live.

He crept out lightly on his tiptoes, taking great care to not let the wood below him creak. The entrance room was dark and empty. A single, unused luminous orb inside a dark, tinted container provided just enough light for him to avoid stepping on anything that would have woke Lecha and alerted her of his movement. He carefully crossed this room too and pushed through the cloth exit into the night air.

The village was much quieter at this time of night, the streets empty save for a single guard with their back turned further down the road, silhouetted only by the flame of a torch they carried in their hand. He would have to work his way around them later. One thing at a time. He paused for just a moment to sniff at the air, the fur on the back of his neck standing on end when he smelled that all too familiar scent. Umbra had been nearby. And recently. How close to the town had she gotten. If she decided to risk confronting him here…

Either she would turn the villagers against him, or else they would be treated as little more than an obstacle.

Neither outcome was desirable.

He turned his back on the guard and instead made his way back towards his destination. Even in the moonlight, with his perception of color limited, he could make out the patchwork of different color values of the daycare. He moved swiftly, scurrying from hiding spot to hiding spot as he approached, praying the wind would not change and carry his scent to the guard, or else they would not notice it or find it unusual.

The daycare was only slightly more protected than he initially thought. Bars covered the windows, more likely to keep the children in than any threats out. The front, however, only had a cloth covering like the clinic, albeit a slightly thicker and sturdier type of fabric. He pushed it aside with ease.

Although he couldn’t make out the details, he could tell that the inside was just as garishly colored as the outside. His stomach knotted slightly in anticipation. For a moment, he considered giving up this part of the plan, and instead chancing a trip to the mandibuzz’s shop. But a growling stomach and fear of being caught by his pursuer if he waited even a moment longer egged him on. He swallowed once and steeled his resolve, then continued further in. Fortunately, and surprisingly, the floor here was just dirt. Perhaps part of the renovation? The reason did not matter. What mattered is that it would be easier to sneak across than the wooden boards.

He sniffed at the air before taking an entryway to the left, carefully straining his senses for any sign of other pokemon. The room it led into was small and cramped, but also noticeably warmer than the first. And there in a nest, nestled in individual nests around a small dugout with a flame orb was his target: eggs.

There were only four, none of them particularly large. The smallest could not have been bigger than his head, and the largest was no bigger than he was. He couldn’t even guess what pokemon any of them might be in the darkness. It would not matter though, would it?

He began to reach down for one of the mid-sized eggs, his paws shaking in anticipation. But then he hesitated.

If he took this egg, there would be no turning back. There was no telling how the villagers would react to this sort of thievery; his kin would have killed any thief they caught, but they also would not waste time hunting down a thief that escaped. For just one egg, the loss would be mourned, the nursery barricades would be strengthened, and life would move on.

He could still back down right now. He could turn back and leave the nursery and instead target the meat shop. Surely, that would be less severe a crime?

“Tor won’t like it if you mess with those.”

He froze, hearing a quiet voice behind him, their tone grating in a way that sent chills down his spine. Slowly, he turned his head. A single pokemon, a small shuppet, was floating just a few feet away. A child, he thought. No real threat, but he had no time for a confrontation.

Slowly, he began to pull a paw away from the egg, keeping his eyes on the young ghost that floated between him and the exit. “I’ll just… be on my way…” he mumbled as he started to back away.

He tripped over one of the eggs, biting back a yelp as he fell to the ground.

Apparently, this upset the shuppet, as he began to let out an ear-piercing screech. Nip yelped and flinched, covering his ears. “What are you doing?!” The shuppet yelled. “You’re gonna hurt the eggs!”

Nip staggered back to his feet, turning first to the window before he remembered the bars.

He turned back, only to see shuppet less than a claw’s length from his nose. Startled, he let out a yelp and lashed out, dark energy cutting through the shuppet’s form, throwing him backwards. He hit the wall with a startled cry and slumped, unconscious.

Nip stared at the child, then glanced in horror down at his claws.

What he should have done was drop everything and run. But with a thousand panicked thoughts racing through his head, he instead grabbed the egg nearest him before turning to dash out of the room. As he made his way towards the exit, he could hear sounds of movement and voices in the room just beyond.

“Aves? Tor, where’s Aves? I can’t see him he’s not here I heard him scream!” The first voice was soft, but distressed and just as grating as the shuppet’s, its tone rising into a panic as it continued to speak.

“Stay here,” a second voice replied monotonously. “I will go find out what is going on.”

The sneasel burst through the flap just as the large form of a blissey appeared in the other doorway. Stealth was no longer in his favor, instead opting for speed to get as far away as possible. He made it all the way to the other side of the square before the blissey discovered what had happened and let out the call of alarm.

“Thief!” The blissey called out, emerging from the nursery. “Egg thief!”

Nip dove into a bush on the side of the path, clutching his prize tightly in both paws. He stayed deathly still, not daring to even breathe as the guard from before, a hawlucha, rushed past him. He waited till they got just a little way further before bursting out of his hiding place, continuing down the path. But he had emerged too soon; the sound of movement made the hawlucha spin, letting out an alarmed caw.

“You there!” He heard the Hawlucha squawk. “Halt!”

Nip yelped as he heard something shatter behind him. Suddenly, the whole area lit up as if it was daytime. He squeezed his eyes shut against the harsh light but dared not stop. The hawlucha must have seen him in the burst of light because he could hear it pursuing him, slowly catching up.

Cooling the air around him as he prepared an ice attack, he sucked in a sharp breath and turned his head, exhaling a burst of frigid air, small crystals of ice forming in the stream. He did not look to see if it actually hit, instead choosing to focus on the quickly growing tree line. If he could make it into the forest, he could probably lose them.

He chanced a glance to the left and realized with alarm there was a growing speck dashing towards him in an attempt to cut him off. It was some quadruped, running on all fours, but he couldn’t make out the details yet. He pushed himself to run faster. As the other pokemon grew closer, moonlight and the sparks dancing on their pelt revealed that his pursuer was a manectric.

There was a flickering flash of light as electricity surged across the field. Nip let out a pained yowl as one of the arches hit him square in the back, threatening to make his limbs seize up. He stumbled.

But perhaps the attack worked out in his favor as well. He heard a pained squawk from his pursuer as well. “Vale!” The hawlucha cried out. “Watch where you’re aiming that!”

The manectric was nearly caught up to them now. He couldn’t get caught! Not now! Not when he was so close! He took a step forward, fighting the painful electrical spasms. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of the Hawlucha forcing herself to her feet out of the corner of his eye. If either of them managed to catch up to him this would have been all for nothing.

He sucked in another breath of air and forced his body to move, despite the lingering tingling numbness. Sharp chunks of ice quickly began to form on his arms, on his tail, and in his mouth as he focused, flash-freezing the moisture in the air around him. Just as the manectric entered pouncing range, sparks now dancing on its fangs, he spun, launching the shards of ice at the electric type’s face in point blank range. It let out a pained yelp, its attack thrown off as razor sharp shards of ice sliced at its muzzle.

He spat out the shards that had formed in his mouth at the hawlucha as a quick follow up, then turned and fled once again despite the numbness in his limbs, finally reaching the trees. He was out of range of the effects of the luminous orb now, leaving him with the advantage in the cover of darkness. But the other two also knew these woods better. He could hear another pokemon rushing their way in the distance. He scrambled and stumbled amongst the underbrush, slowed down by the lingering numbness and by his soon-to-be meal. He may have gotten a head start, but they would catch up soon if he did not find somewhere to hide.

Pushing through the undergrowth, he found himself back at the path that he had traveled with Haru and the other village pokemon earlier that day.

An idea sprang into his head. The mystery dungeon! If he could get inside before they caught up, it would spit them out somewhere else and would provide him with short-term shelter so he could eat and treat his fresh injuries.

He stumbled through the bushes in the darkness, desperately looking for what might be a dungeon entrance. All he needed was two trees that seemed slightly off. He could hear voices growing closer; the manectric must be tracking his scent. He was so close! So close to escape, so close to freedom.

He strained his sense of hearing and caught note of a dead zone of sound to his right. He spun and rushed towards it as quickly as his numb limbs would carry him. The distortion of space would create a void without sound from the outside, so logically that had to be where the dungeon was.

“There you are!”

No! Not now! He whipped his head around, catching sight of the small, cream form of a mawile in the distance, rushing in his direction. How could she have found him at the worst possible time?

He turned tail and fled, stumbling towards what he hoped was the entrance to the mystery dungeon. As he pushed through the point that marked where the distorted, unstable space began, he felt the shift of warm, humid, summer heat to crisp fall air. He felt leaves crunch beneath his feet and heard the sounds of his pursuers suddenly cut off.

He was in. The sneasel let out a relieved breath and slumped to the ground, his legs giving out. The dungeon had deposited him in a small, empty clearing, perhaps three or four body lengths either way.

His claws slipped into the bag, fumbling to find the longer form of the heal seed. Popping the green and white seed into his mouth, he let out a sigh of relief as feeling began to return to his limbs. But as the adrenaline of his daring escape died away, a realization struck him: Umbra saw him go into the dungeon. The villagers would be able to work it out. If this dungeon only had one true exit, all they had to do was wait for him to find his way back out and ambush him.

He may have trapped himself between a waiting, angry mob and the dangerous, ever-shifting maze.

Chapter Text

“Ah, finally a nice, normal morning.”

Haru stretched out in the morning sun, flopping onto her belly as she let the warmth relax her tired muscles. Fir the first time in days, her morning had been free of interruption and excitement. And after any hopes of spreading her name by learning from Nip was from had been dashed by his caginess and hurry to move on, she was ready to return to her usual schedule.

Still, there was still one loose end to tie up before she could get back to work. One thing that she needed to take care of. Nip may have failed to provide her with the fortune she had been hoping for, and she was still skeptical of his motivations, but it would only be polite to say goodbye.

Returning into her family’s hut, she waddled over to where her mother had set out the morning’s food on a small, clay platter. An apple had been paired with a small, flat piece of bread and a few assorted nuts. She sat back on her haunches, lifted the apple between her paws, and began to gnaw away.

Her mom, surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, she had left early to help her dad fell trees, to make up for her slack. Even her brother was out and about already. As bad as she felt for shirking work, she couldn’t help but appreciate the silence.

After scarfing down the simple breakfast, she nosed her way into a small drawstring bag, letting it hang around her neck, then set out, beginning the short walk towards the village square. Yes, a quick, polite goodbye to Nip, and then she could get back to work. It was better to not burn bridges, wasn’t it?

As she began to make her way towards the village center, however, she realized that something felt off. The road to the village had been eerily quiet so far; she hadn’t passed a single mon. The few that she saw as she neared the square moved in a hurry, speaking in hushed whispers. A knot beginning to form in her stomach, she picked up her pace as well.

A dozen or so pokemon — about a third of the village — had already gathered, with more walking towards the commotion. Unable to see whatever was at the center, she ran up to the edge of the crowd. She caught sight of Ruffle near the edge, who waved her down and gave her a curtsey in greeting.

“Ruffle, what’s going on?” she asked.

The bellosom shook her head. “I don’t know. Something to do with Whisper and Vale. They came out of Lecha’s clinic early this morning looking a bit roughed up and headed straight for the daycare. Anu came rushing from the temple just a few minutes ago, too.”

Haru opened her mouth to say something else but closed it again when she heard hushed voices nearby.

“Look, the mayor’s coming!”

“The mayor? Something big must of happened.”

“Where is he? I can’t see!”

“Haru!”

The bidoof whipped around at the sound of her name. To her left, she could see Jhorlo making his way down the road from his manor, his face grim but his pace unrushed. Just behind him, Muse — with Shimmer on her back as usual — had veered off, heading her way at a light trot. Normally, she wouldn’t want to hear from the duo. But if anyone might be able to fill her in, it would be the mayor’s daughter.

Muse skidded to a stop in front of her. Haru pawed at the ground nervously. “Shimmer, Muse, please tell me you have an idea of what’s going on.”

The pair exchanged an anxious glance before turning their attention back to Haru. The fact that Shimmer of all people seemed worried only further twisted the knot in her stomach. “Nothing good I’m afraid,” Muse answered. She paused to lay down on her stomach. “Here, climb on behind Shimmer, we’ll go where we can see better.”

But with something big enough that it had drawn this much of a crowd… Though tempted to turn down the offer, she wanted to be at the front. Something was happening here, and it was too big to not stick her nose in. She stood up on her hind paws and scrambled up onto the absol’s back.

Muse stumbled a bit under her weight, but quickly corrected and pushed through the crowd, weaving between bodies and stepping over smaller pokemon. Recognizing Muse and Shimmer, most pokemon parted to let them pass.

At the center of the crowd were the pokemon Ruffle had mentioned: Vale, Whisper, and Anu. In addition to the two guards and shrine attendant were the mayor and his two personal guards, Lecha, Tor — the blissey that ran the daycare — and the two young ghost pokemon that stayed with him. The shuppet of the pair seemed tired and unsteady, resting in air against the phantump’s side.

They arrived just in time to catch Vale raising his voice at Tor. “Really? You did everything you could? You seem pretty relaxed for someone who had an egg stolen right out from under their care!”

The blissey turned to look at him, a neutral, almost bored expression on his face. “I assure you I am oh so torn up inside.” His tone was dull, unperturbed by the manetric’s harsh words.

“Yeah? Well you sure did a shit job of stopping the thief!”

“I already told you, he had already left by the time I discovered the theft. I would not have woken up at all if not for Aves’ bravery.”

At mention of his name, the shuppet meekly tried to hide himself.

“Yeah, well that doesn’t mean—”

“Vale!” Whisper cawed.

The manetric flinched, turning his attention to Whisper. Up close, Haru could see that the hawlucha’s feathers were singed in spots, and her eyes hinted at exhaustion. Besides that, she also had a patched-up gash on her shoulder, and Vale had several recent cuts on his face.

“Fellow pokemon, please,” Jhorlo started, cutting in. “I know tensions are high right now, but I am here for a reason. I need the full story. From the beginning, you know. Let’s start with this: what all was stolen, and when did the theft occur?”

“I had a bag and a few minor supplies stolen,” Lecha began, “the most valuable of which was a single reviver seed. But that’s minor in the grand scheme of what happened last night.”

“Agreed,” Tor said, still in his usual monotone. “I was awoken by the sound of Aves’ screech at perhaps halfway through the night. I saw someone make an exit out the door at that time but did not get a good look. I instead went to find Aves and check the egg room and discovered Aves had been knocked out and an egg stolen, at which point I called for the guard.”

“I started running that way,” Whisper said, beginning her part of the story. “I got about halfway there and heard movement behind me. I broke a luminous orb and was able to catch sight of someone fleeing the scene, carrying—” she took a deep, steadying breath. “—carrying the egg with them. I turned to pursue the thief, and chased them out towards the forest, where Vale came in to try to help. He discharged electricity, but unfortunately I was caught in the fray, and the thief managed to get away.”

“Do you have any clue where they went then?” Jhorlo asked.

“Vale tried to track the path. We have good reason to believe he entered Sunglow Thicket. As far as we know, he’s still in there, but we aren’t certain.”

The purugly let out a long breath of air, coming out as a frustrated hiss. “I suppose I should fill the crowd in, before we start making preparations to track him down. Whisper, are you sure you want to be in charge of the operation? I can let you rest if you would like, given the situation, you know.”

The hawlucha nodded slowly. “I am positive. This has… unfortunately become personal, and I’d like to see him brought to justice myself.”

“Very well,” the mayor replied before turning his attention to the still growing crowd. He cleared his throat loudly, bringing most of the uneasy murmurs in the crowd to a stop.

Haru leaned forward to whisper to Shimmer. “Do they even know who the thief is?” Haru asked.

Neither Shimmer nor Muse answered Haru, further twisting the knot in her stomach. She turned her attention back to Jhorlo.

“Pokemon of Theran Village,” the purugly began. “This meeting brings no good news, I’m afraid. I’m sure some of you heard the commotion late last night, and others have been filled in on it by those that did. Yes, the rumors are true; last night, we had our first egg theft in many cylces. Since before I was Mayor, and before my mate was Mayor. Whisper and Anu’s egg was stolen from the nursery.” He paused, allowing the pokemon to murmur amongst themselves for several heartbeats.

“An egg theft? Here?”

“When was the last time we had any crime this serious?”

“Could this be a sign we’ve lost Regigigas’ favor?”

“Now, now, dear villagers. I know this comes at a great shock, but please let me talk. There is more to discuss. Although our valiant guard gave chase, the thief was able to escape, unfortunately. However, we have been able to track him to the Sunglow Thicket. As soon as this meeting is over, we’ll be sending a few of the guard and some volunteers to go and stake out the known dungeon exits.”

“But Jhorlo!” A villager from the back of the group called out, someone that Haru could not see. “Do we know who the culprit is?”

“Please give me a moment, I was getting to that. Yes, thanks to witnesses and the hard work of the pursuing guards, we were able to identify the thief as none other than the sneasel that had been staying at Lecha’s clinic these last few days.”

More voices broke out, some louder than others.

“What?!”

“I knew bringing an unvetted stranger into town was bad news.”

“Was he a wildener? What did we know about him?”

“How could this be happening? He seemed so nice!”

“Order!” The purugly called out. “Order please!” Slowly, the cacophony of voices died away. “I know this is a lot to take in. It’s unfortunate that someone we gave such care to has betrayed us. As I said, the guard will be preparing a stakeout of Sunglow Thickets. Anyone who wants to volunteer should meet with Whisper. We will bring this thief to justice. That is all. Please disperse and go about our daily business.”

Slowly, the crowd began to break away in small groups of pokemon talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. Some pokemon made their way over to where Whisper stood to offer their help. Jhorlo turned his attention to Muse, Shimmer, and Haru.

“Shimmer, dear, I have business to attend to at the villa. Will you see to it that anyone that didn’t happen to be here gets filled in on the situation?”

“Of course, dad,” the kirlia replied with a dismissive wave. “I’ll touch base with Phoel and Numi at the post office and make sure a memo gets delivered to everyone. Would you like me to send a message out to the enforcers union also?”

Jhorlo shook his head. “Not right now. I would like to keep this problem just village business if at all possible. We’ll reconsider it if he manages to give us the slip out of the mystery dungeon.”

“With all respect sir,” Muse cut in, “how do you know he hasn’t already?”

“Even a seasoned explorer would take several hours to work their way through Sunglow Thicket. By then we had at least one guard watching every exit, you see.”

“What if he happened to have an escape orb with him?” Haru suggested.

Jhorlo scoffed. “No one reported any orbs being stolen. Only a few medical supplies and a bag from Lecha. And with how few of us settled pokemon venture inside, it’s unlikely he’d find one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be going. I have a lot of work to do. We have a trade shipment coming in today, as you may already know.”

The purugly dipped his head to Shimmer, then he and his two purrloin guards began to walk back to their home.

Haru carefully slid off Muse’s back. She opened her mouth to excuse herself, but Shimmer held a hand up, glancing back to be sure her father was gone.

“Okay you two,” the kirlia began, “go get any exploration gear you have together. We’ll meet back at the edge of town in an hour.”

“E-excuse me?” Haru stammered. “What on earth are you getting at?”

Before Shimmer could answer, the call of “Haruuu!” sounded behind her. Whirling around, she saw her brother hurrying up the street as fast as his stubby legs could take him. He took a second to catch his breath. “Did you already hear?”

Haru opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a squeal from Shimmer.

“Toshi-kins!” Shimmer exclaimed. “Oh, this is just perfect, now we have a full team!”

Toshi slowed to a stop in front of Haru, tilting his head up towards the kirlia. “Huh?” he deadpanned.

Muse turned her head back to look at the kirlia as well. “Shimmer… I think I know what you’re getting at, and I cannot advise it. We don’t know Nip’s strength.”

“Wait,” Haru interjected. “Are you suggesting we go into the mystery dungeon and track him down ourselves?”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking, oh you do catch on fast! Think about it, we’re the ones that brought him here, so that makes it our problem, doesn’t it?”

“But Shimmer,” Haru protested, “none of us are trained for battle, except Muse. Besides, they’ve got a stakeout in the works. Let the trained battlers handle it.”

Shimmer shook her head. “And sometimes dad makes dummy decisions. I know we’re not fighters, but we still would have the upper hand in numbers.”

“Shimmer…” The absol pawed at the ground nervously before shaking her head. “I am going to strongly advise against this. But if we must go, I would like it if Haru did accompany us, at least.”

“W-what? Why?” Haru stammered.

“Because, you’ve had the most interaction with Nip, and thus have the best chance of convincing him to come back without a fight.”

Haru didn’t like this one bit. Why should she have to get dragged into this mess? “We don’t even know if he’s still there!”

“I don’t know…” Toshi mumbled. “I think it’s worth a shot. Besides,” he added, with a bit of mischief in his eye, “wouldn’t this be a great time to make your name known, if you could help bring a criminal to justice?”

“That’s…” Haru began, but she couldn’t come up with a satisfactory argument. He did have a point… As did Muse. “Oh… Why are you taking their side Toshi?”

“Hey, I want to go out there and join the Rescue Guild or Expedition Society one day. I have to practice dungeon exploring at some point, and what better time to start than now?”

Haru groaned, outmatched. Technically, she could just not go, leaving the rest of them to explore without her, but she could not bring herself to let her brother dive into danger without her. “Fine, just one attempt to find him. But make sure you bring an escape orb. I’m not risking any of our lives down there to peacefully stop an ungrateful egg thief.”

“Aw come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Shimmer teased. “Fine. You and your brother go get your supplies. We’ll meet you in an hour.”

--

“You’re better at this, Toshi. What should I grab?”

“We mostly have heal seeds and oran berries, but if you happen to have any pecha or aspear berries, I’d bring them too.”

“Pecha berries I get,” Haru started, pausing to grab a couple in her mouth by the stems and pull them into her bag. “There’s plenty of bug and grass wildeners around here. But why aspear? I don’t know if we even have any.”

“Nip’s an ice type,” Toshi explained, pawing a couple of oran berries out of a basket. He knocked them over to where Haru was before retreating to his room, returning with a couple of seeds that he spat out of his mouth. “It’s possible he’s packing moves that could freeze us. Better safe than sorry. But if we don’t have any, we’ll just have to use heal seeds.”

Haru finished placing the items in her small bag, then nosed her head through the strap, so that it was hanging around her neck. “Well, there’s not a lot of space in here, so we’ll go with what we have. Hopefully Shimmer and Muse have stuff more useful for exploration on them.”

“They should still have stuff from yesterday. C’mon let’s get going before mom gets home and questions where we’re going.”

“I’m going to get so chewed out for skipping work, aren’t I?” Haru grumbled, following her younger brother out the door.

The two set off down the path, heading away from town and instead towards the path to the forest. She could see a few tired looking pokemon working their way up the path, likely the few that had been watching the exits before the meeting. A marshtomp among the group let out a yawn and began to speak with the others in his group in a hushed tone, sparing only enough time for the pair of bidoof to give a quick wave of a hand.

A white smudge against the tree line alerted her to Muse’s location, just off the path. She adjusted her route slightly, cutting through overgrown grass and bushes to reach them faster.

Muse had been outfitted with a bigger satchel than usual, carefully secured to her back with a couple straps. Shimmer was down from her usual perch, instead resting against Muse, playfully running fingers through her thick neck fur. “Okay, so you still have the oran berries from yesterday, and you bought a few cheri and pecha berries, an escape orb and a totter orb?”

The absol nodded. “That is correct. I also brought a petrify wand from the villa, but it only has a few uses left in it.”

“That’s fine, we’ll save them for emergencies.” The kirlia opened her eyes. “Oh look, there they are, finally!” A hand raised up, waving Haru and Toshi down. “Hey you two! Come on hurry up already! We’re losing daylight here!”

Haru huffed, but picked up her pace regardless, Toshi following close behind. Once the four were together, they did a quick look over of their supplies before setting off, heading down the path into the woods. At first, Shimmer prattled on about various things, intent on offering a distraction, but eventually her small talk gave way to uneasy silence, as they grew closer to their destination. Before long, they could spot splotches of red and orange and brown amongst the greenery.

“Do you see anyone from the village?” Toshi asked, breaking the silence.

“Not here,” Haru responded with a shake of her head. “But as far as I know, there’s not a dungeon exit in this area. Better for us, I guess. I mean, I know we’re all adults here, but can you imagine how most of the village mon would react if they saw us headed into the dungeon, especially right now?”

Toshi grimaced. “Eugh, fair enough. I think Mom would flip.” He went on to mimic Saku’s voice. “‘Putting yourself in danger like that?’ She’d say. ‘How could you? You worry your mother so much.’”

Haru snickered slightly as the group made their way down a hill towards the dungeon. “Gotta love Mom. She’s great, but sometimes she just gets so pushy. She’s got it in her head that I’m going to become mates with some powerful dragon-type or something. I mean, really? Maybe I’m not ready to settle down mom, I’ve got a life ahead of me still!”

“Um… Sis?” Toshi mumbled.

Shimmer covered her mouth to restrain a giggle. “Wow Haru, you got some issues!”

Haru realized she had begun to ramble, and how loud her voice had grown. “Er… Never mind. Let’s just focus on the task ahead.”

She took the lead, making a beeline for two twisted aspen trees that marked where the distortion began. The grass here came nearly up to her nose, but in little fluctuating patches on the other side, she could see shorter grass covered in fallen red and yellow leaves. She had never been to Sunglow Thicket, but she’d been told the dungeon was trapped in a perpetual autumn, almost like it was frozen in time.

As she stepped through the point where normal and distorted world met, she immediately noticed the drop in temperature from summer to fall air. She paused and shook, as if casting off the cold. While she had only been able to see patches from the outside, in here the trees were completely red and gold. The sound was different too. After passing through, it was as if the normal quiet chatter of forest life just dropped away, leaving only the rustle of trees in a light breeze.

The other three followed closely behind, Toshi walking up to stand beside her and Muse and Shimmer following just behind him. She shifted her weight as she took a better look at her surroundings.

The dungeon had deposited them in a clearing, thick brush impeding their ability to proceed in most directions. Even behind them, the way they came, there was nothing but thick undergrowth. Just to be certain, she took a moment to waddle over and try to push through, only receiving a few thorns in her face for her trouble.

“You don’t think he’ll still be in this zone, do you?” Haru asked, turning back to the group.

“I doubt it,” Toshi said. He pawed at the ground anxiously. “I heard the zones typically shift layouts every few hours or so and sweep out any unfortunate pokemon in the area. He would have probably tried to get to the base floor as quickly as possible — where it’s stable — so that he could rest.”

“A good point,” Muse agreed. “Still, I think it would be best that we try to sweep every zone as carefully as possible, to make sure we don’t miss him.”

Shimmer reached out to brush her fingers through Muse’s thick neck-fur. “Good idea Musey. You come up with the best ideas!”

Muse lowered her head and rubbed a paw across her muzzle, though Haru could tell she was smiling.

“Well I try to come up with reasonable solutions.”

“Actually…” Toshi started, taking a step back towards the group. “I think we should hurry through this zone. We can spread out our search in the next zone. I’m almost certain he would have moved on by now.”

“I feel that’s fair enough,” Muse agreed. “Let’s hurry. We’re wasting precious time the more we stand around here.”

With an air of caution about them, the group set off, crossing the clearing with their senses peeled, as if expecting wilderners to burst from the undergrowth at any given time. The clearing narrowed into a thin path, just wide enough for them to pass through single file. Muse took the lead, head raised high and treading cautiously while the others followed close behind.

Sunlight slowly shifted as they made slow progress, filtering through the thick, golden canopy. The longer they traveled through the narrowed pathway, the more the undergrowth felt like it was closing in, threating to swallow them up. The path twisted to and fro, leading then in a caravan around tight, blind corners to a point that Haru could not be sure they had not doubled back on their path at some point.

But finally, the path began to widen slightly, enough that they could walk in pairs of two. Then it opened into a small clearing a bit further down the path. Muse paused, giving the following pokemon a chance to spread out behind her.

Haru stepped forward to stand beside Muse, scanning the room for any signs of danger.

“Hey, what’s that over there?”

Haru turned her head to the left where Muse was pointing a paw. Across the clearing she could make out something glimmering in the sunlight.

“I don’t know, I’m going to check it out real quick.”

One last quick, cautious look around, and she began to rush across the floor to the glimmering object. As she got closer, she could tell that it was some sort of orb, although she could not tell what kind yet.

“Sis, wait!”

Haru glanced back towards her brother, slowing her gait. But before she could say something, she felt the ground shift slightly below her, and heard a soft, clicking noise.

A powerful gust of wind whipped up beneath her. She tried to hold her ground, digging her paws into the dirt, but the gust was too much, and she was hurled into the air backwards towards her teammates where she crashed into Shimmer. She let out a pained squeal as she flopped to the round.

Haru groaned and pushed herself to her feet, her vision blurred. The sound of beating wings turned her attention back to the orb. As her vision cleared, she saw that a fletchinder had landed in front of it, a couple of fletchlings hiding just behind it.

“This is ours!” The fletchinder chirped. “We found it and you can’t have it!”

Muse backed up slightly, lowering her head. “My apologies, we did not realize it belonged to someone. We are just passing through. If you would, please allow us to pass.”

The fletchinder gave pause, looking back to the fletchlings behind him, who returned skeptical looks.

“Really,” Haru grumbled under her breath. “Who leaves something so valuable just laying around on the ground for anyone to grab like that?”

Although she thought she had been quiet, apparently, she was loud enough for the fletchinder to catch her words. He whipped his head back around, talons scraping at the dirt and leaves below him. “What was that?”

“Haru,” Toshi urged in a whisper, bumping against her front right leg. “Watch what you’re saying! You never know what kind of mood a wildener is in. Especially in a dungeon!” He turned his attention back to the trio. “Oh, it was nothing! My sister is just in a rush is all. We’re looking for a sneasel that might have passed through here.”

The fletchinder scraped at the leaves again. “A sneasel? You’re out here helping a sneasel?”

Toshi blinked a couple times. “What? No! We were-”

But the fletchinder was no longer listening. Both it and the two fletchlings had taken to the air now, along with the two fletchlings. Muse jumped to the side as the evolved bird dove for her head, talons outstretched.

“Shimmer!” The dark type called out. “Get back!”

“No way!” Shimmer called back, stepping up beside her guard. Her eyes glowed blue with psychic energy. She raised her hands up on either side, and turned her attention to the nearest fletchling, who was now diving towards her. For just a second, she squeezed her eyes shut, then pushed outwards with both hands. The same pale glow from her eyes enveloped the fletchling, seeming to stop it in its tracks.

“Ha ha! Finally! I’m really getting good at using my psychic powers in a fight, Muse!”

The absol grunted in response, slicing at the air with her sickle-like horn to ward off the fletchinder. “Don’t you think you should stop talking and finish the attack before it breaks free?”

“Oh, right!” The kirlia giggled, seemingly unperturbed by the danger. She brought her arms back, then swung them to the side in an arc, sending the captured fletchling flying into a tree. It fell to the ground with a pained chirp and did not attempt to get up.

Haru and Toshi found themselves back to back, each with a few welts coming up where the other fletchling had managed to peck at them with its beak or scratch at them with its talons, severely out speeding the two bidoofs. But when it would flutter too close to her face, Haru would snap at it with her fangs, but so far all she had managed to do was pluck a feather or two.

“This isn’t working!” Toshi called out.

“You think?” Haru called back.

“I’m going to try something, cover for me!”

Haru spun around as her brother took off, running a little way into the clearing. She chased behind him with the fletchling right on her tail. Once he had built up a decent amount of speed, he turned in an arc so that he was facing back towards the fletchling. He sprang into the air and came down curled into a ball, rolling and quickly gaining speed. Haru barely moved of the way as he came barreling past, knocking into the fletchling.

The fletchling tumbled in air, barely managing to keep its balance. Before it could get out of range, Haru reared up on her hind legs to chomp down on its leg, pulling it down to the ground. Its wings beat against her face as it twittered in alarm, trying to peck at her face. She only bit down harder until she felt the delicate leg bone snap in her powerful jaws.

Only then did she finally let go. As the bird tried to rise back into the air, she charged head-first, knocking into it and sending it sailing back a few feet. The small bird tumbled along the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away. Slowly, it managed to turn. Faced with her and with Toshi rolling back for another attack, the bird struggled to take to the air and fled back to the edge of the clearing, ducking down into a patch of grass.

Toshi slowed to a stop. “That was kind of brutal. You sure you’re not a fighter?”

Haru didn’t answer, turning her attention back towards Muse and Shimmer to see how they were faring. The absol took a blow to the side from the fletchinder, wreathed in flames. Muse grunted, skidding a few inches back from the force of the blow, but stayed on her feet. She sprang back a few more inches to put distance between herself and the bird.

The fletchinder dove once again. Muse crouched slightly as dark energy began to swirl around her horn. The bird dove again. Just as it closed in, no more than a few inches from her face, Muse sprang up, swinging her head sideways so that the sharp tip sliced across his chest, sending him tumbling through the air. He hit the ground hard and did not rise.

The group slowly gathered in the center of the clearing, looking over each other’s injuries. Both Toshi and Haru had a few cuts, but were otherwise fine. Muse had taken a few embers to the face, and her right flank had been singed by the flame charge. Only Shimmer had gotten out of the battle without a scrape.

“How’s everyone faring?” Shimmer asked.

“Pass me an oran berry,” Toshi replied. “That should keep me going for a while.”

“I’ll take one, too,” Haru said, pawing at her bag to remove it and reach for the berries.

“I will be fine,” Muse said. “I do not wish to slow down our pursuit.”

Shimmer looked the absol over and frowned before approaching to place a hand on her hip. Muse scraped a paw across the ground, gritting her teeth.

“Nonsense,” Shimmer said with a shake of her head. “You’re hurt and trying to continue with that limp will slow us down more. Let me take care of this.”

The absol lowered her head slightly. “But I… Yes, of course, I’m sorry to have worried you, Shimmer.”

Shimmer Giggled. “You don’t need to apologize to me Musey! Now hold still, this might feel a little weird.” The kirlia laid a hand over the absol’s flank again, taking a deep breath. Her eyes began to glow with a slight pinkish tint. A wave of pink energy expelled from her hand, then another, and another, washing and wobbling over the absol’s body. The waves continued for several heartbeats, and then faded.

“How’s that feel?”

Muse carefully took a step on her hind leg. “Much better.”

At the positive response, the kirlia sprang forward to wrap her arms around Muse’s neck. “Oh, good! I hadn’t tried using that heal pulse since I got Lecha to teach me.”

Muse chuckled weakly reaching a paw up to put just a bit of space between the two of them. “Shimmer, you’re embarrassing me.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Shimmer replied. Though she backed off regardless. “Now come on, we’re losing daylight!”

The group gathered up their things and continued across the clearing, Haru paused to pick up the orb — a slumber orb, she thought.

“You sure you should do that?” Toshi asked. “They’re gonna be pretty mad when they wake up.”

“It could be useful,” Haru countered. “Besides, I’m considering it payment for our troubles. If we’d lost, they totally would have looted our stuff.”

Toshi gave her an unconvinced look, but didn’t argue, hurrying to catch up with Muse. Haru frowned. He wasn’t mad, was he? She thought she had made a good point. But she decided not to pursue it, continuing forward.

“There’s the entrance to the next zone,” Toshi said. He raised a paw to point to the left, where there was a gap in the undergrowth. But instead of a path, it appeared more like an indentation, the trees just behind seeming to warp and twist at odd angles.

By now, they’d walked through several clearings and interconnecting pathways, twisting this way and that so much that Haru wasn’t sure that they hadn’t doubled back on their path at least once. At least they didn’t run into the flechinder again. And yet…

“This was an oddly small floor,” Shimmer mused. “But we didn’t run into Nip, so that must mean that he’s deeper in the dungeon, right?”

“Hopefully,” Toshi agreed.

They crossed the clearing and stepped into the small dent in the undergrowth. When they did, the world seemed to spin and the trees beyond seemed to shift away, opening into another clearing. As they stepped across the threshold, the trees beyond seemed to distort and twist and when the group turned back, there was nothing but trees and thick shrubbery behind them.

There were two ways to exit this clearing. One to their left, and one from the top-right corner. Both seemed to curve northwards, from the bit down the paths Haru could see.

“Let’s start with the left,” Toshi suggested, turning. “We have to start somewhere.” The group set off once again, working their way across the zone. After a while, it all seemed to blur together. Path, clearing, path, clearing, crossroads, clearing. They all seemed the same, yet different as they trekked through leaves and around bunches of bushes. A couple times, they encountered wildeners again, but none were bold enough to take them on, fleeing down the paths.

When the search through the second floor proved fruitless, they returned to a clearing where they’d seen the distorted route onwards into the third zone.

“Figures he would be further in,” Haru mumbled. She shook her head before addressing her teammates louder. “Hey, do you think he might have taken shelter in the stable zone already?”

“All the way at the end?” Toshi asked. “I mean… it’s possible. But I don’t know if he would have traveled that fast.”

“Besides,” Muse added, “we can’t risk missing him and allowing him to slip away as a result.”

“Fair point,” Haru said “But at the same time why can’t we just—”

She cut off as Muse suddenly stiffened, raising a paw to shush her.

“Shh, someone’s coming,” the absol warned, lowering herself into a crouch. The others shifted to defensive stances as well, following Muse’s gaze to a path into the room with a blind corner. It wasn’t long before the rest of them heard the tell-tale crunching of leaves as some pokemon approached their position.

“Probably just another wilderner that’ll turn tail when they see us,” Haru muttered. But as the pokemon rounded the corner, it quickly became clear that they had run into something much more dangerous.

The pokemon on the far side of the clearing was similar in size to the two bidoof. But they were bipedal, with cream and grey fur. Some of the lighter fur had been dyed with some sort of reddish tone, a spiral design climbing one arm and a crescent design adorning their chest.

Judging by the large second set of jaws, Haru inferred that the creature must have been a mawile. Something that, as far as Haru knew, was not native to this area, or anywhere nearby.

The mawile seemed to notice them as she entered the clearing and noticed their defensive stances. She turned, locking eyes with Muse, and reached out an arm towards them.

“You there!” She barked in an accent that Haru had come to recognize the last few days. “If you have seen a sneasel around and know what is good for you, then you will tell me where he is!”

Chapter Text

"If you have seen a sneasel around, then you will tell me where he is, if you know what's good for you!"

Haru glanced uneasily to the mawile on the far side of the clearing, then back to her companions. There was something about the mawile, about the way she carried herself, that screamed danger. Haru’s instincts told her to run. If there was a body of water nearby, perhaps she would have dived down to wait out the danger.

Still, it seemed like she was looking for Nip as well. And if that was the case…

Her nose twitched as she stepped forward, choosing her words carefully. "We're actually looking for a sneasel right now."

The mawile looked her over, seeming to size up the quartet. Then she turned away, speaking over her shoulder. "So, I suspect I am on the right path. That is all I needed to know.” She raised one paw back over her shoulder. “You should turn back now. It will be dangerous ahead. He is dangerous and is not to be taken lightly."

Haru glanced back over to her three travel companions. Shimmer had climbed down from Muse’s back, and walked forward to stand beside Haru. “With all due respect, miss scary mawile, we kinda have our own reasons for looking for him. He’s in biiiig trouble with our village, see. Maybe we should team up?”

The mawile paused, the second jaw on the back of her head opening ever so slightly. She turned back to give Haru a dangerous look. "Is… that so? You've spoken with him, then?"

Haru took a single, unnerved step back. "I…"

"I take it that means you have been harboring him, then, and that is why I have not been able to find him." When none of the pokemon answered right away, she scoffed. "You best leave now; you're trying my patience. My business is with him, and I have no time for pokemon such as you that might get in the way of my goal."

“What’s her problem?” Shimmer mubled, a pout forming on her face. “Is it just me or is she behaving kinda irrationally? I’m sensing some real anger in her.”

“Let me handle this, Shimmer,” Muse said, stepping forward. Then she addressed the Mawile. "I'm afraid this is our business. Nip needs to be brought back to our town to have his misdeeds there addressed. He was staying there for a time, yes, but he's run off now."

The mawile narrowed her eyes and snapped her jaws threateningly. "I do not work with mon that would harbor a bottom feeder like him. This is my final warning. Turn back and allow me to deal with my kin's problems, or I will be forced to be rid of you too."

Haru gulped nervously. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her throat. This mawile was crazy! Was she really threatening them? It was instead Toshi that stepped forward. "Sorry, but we have a way of doing things around here, and we can't let you leave until we know what's going on. You’re kind of… acting weird. How do we know you’re not help him?" Shimmer and Muse glanced to him for a moment, then - getting the idea - rushed ahead to block the exit.

The mawile watched as the two moved into place with a flat expression, though that expression quickly soured when Shimmer and Muse stayed put. "I don’t have time for this. Out of my way.” Without warning, she dashed towards the Kirlia.

"Here she comes!" the absol cried out, pushing Shimmer out of the way. The kirlia stumbled and fell, and the mawile’s jaws closed on nothing but a tuft of furn.

Everyone scattered, making some space between themselves and their opponent. Missing her attack hardly phased the mawile. By the time she had landed, she was already spinning to face her opponents again.

Muse was the first to meet her, pouncing forward with dark purple energy forming a glowing aura around her horn. The two met in the center of the clearing, Muse swinging her head to the side to slice at the mawile as she ran by, the other blocking the brunt of the blow with her steely jaws.

As the mawile turned to pursue Muse, a small branch, glowing with psychic energy, was swung at her head. She stopped in her tracks and turned to glare at the kirlia that had tossed it at her. Deciding that she looked like a much easier target, she turned her attention to Shimmer instead. The top of her head seemed to glisten in the light as she charged.

Caught off guard, Shimmer shrieked and let out pulses of fairy-type energy in hopes of slowing the mawile down. "EEK! No! Bad mawile, stay back!"

"Shims!" Muse called out, running towards the kirlia. "Move! Teleport out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you guys behind!" she called back, but she did close her eyes to focus, warping across the field at the last possible second.

"Hold still!" The mawile called out in frustration, whirling around, only to be greeted by not one, but two bidoofs rolling - no barreling - towards her, quickly picking up speed. She only just barely sprang out of the way of one of them, the other one knocking her arm and shoulder. While the one that missed slowed to a stop to realign themselves, the other kept moving, picking up speed as they rolled in a wide arc in the field to turn back to her.

This time, however, she was ready. She braced herself as the bidoof came speeding towards her yet again, waiting. The two made hard contact, knocking her back a few steps’ worth from the force of the blow alone. But she stood her ground. As Haru bounced back and landed, she dashed forward and raised a jaw full of razor-sharp fangs, managing to clamp down Haru's abdomen as she tried to recover.

The bidoof let out a pained squeal, panicking and struggling in her grip. "Ouch! Let go! Guys gett’er off me!"

"Sis!"

The mawile turned her head towards the voice. Toshi had recovered, now running at the mawile, his face contorted in concentration. As he drew closer, water began to form and spiral around his tail.

"Your fighting skills leave a lot to be desired," the mawile growled. With practiced motion, she swung her jaw in an arc, tossing Haru in the direction of her brother, using her as a living projectile to throw off Toshi's pursuit. The bidoof landed with a heavy thud, dazed for a moment as the world swirled around her.

Haru felt herself being pushed up as Toshi struggled out from underneath her. She groaned and shakily pushed herself up to her feet. She could feel the sticky sensation of blood on her back and could see an oozing row of punctures along her stomach. Fortunately, the wounds seemed shallow, not that it was much of a relief.

Toshi took a second to look her over. "Take a moment to pep yourself up. I'm getting back in there." He waited for her to huff out an agreement before turning back towards their opponent

She sat back on her haunches to reach into her bag, fumbling for an oran berry. Once she felt her paw brush up against the thick rind of one of the life-saving berries, she pulled it loose and popped the entire thing in her mouth, spitting out the nasty, bitter rind as she fell back onto all fours and took off after her brother. By the time she caught up, the bleeding had already stopped, though the wounds were nowhere near healed yet.

The mawile danced out of the way of a headbutt from the younger bidoof, ignoring him in favor of charging towards Muse with fists raised. The absol steeled herself for the blow, magenta energy surrounding her horn. A pink energy surrounded the mawile’s claws as she drew closer; the force of Shimmer's confusion attack did little, but did slow the mawile enough to soften her opening blow.

At the last second, the mawile leapt into the air, coming crashing down with her arms stretched out onto Muse, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. The absol slashed and kicked at the smaller pokemon, trying to knock her away as she grappled with Muse's thick mane, her second jaw snapping and trying to find a purchase. Most of Muse's strikes did little more than swipe uselessly through the thick fur around her legs or leave small nicks in the mawile's steely jaw.

"Shim-" the absol cried out, only to cut off with a yelp when the mawile managed to land a punch to the jaw.

"I'm trying!" Shimmer called back in a panic, one hand stretched out toward the struggling pair, and the other clutching her head as she tried to grab hold of the mawile again with psychic energy. "You're moving around too much, I can't get a good grip!"

"Don't worry!" Toshi yelled as he ran past the kirlia. "I'll help out!"

He stopped barely managing to avoid being flattened when the two rolled, exposing the mawile to his side. He raised up on his hind quarters, throwing his weight into the mawile in hopes of pulling her down, trying to bite down on her shoulder. She let out an angry screech, jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow. Still, he refused to be pushed away, managing to bite down on one of her ears.

As soon as his back legs hit the ground, he pulled with all his might, pulling the mawile down with him. She let out an angry screech, flailing in the fallen leaves as she tried to right herself. Still, Toshi did not let go, even when she did manage to get on her feet, a determined expression on his face. The mawile breathed heavily, chest heaving as she stared the bidoof down with clenched fists.

Haru let out a triumphant cry as she rushed over to meet and help her brother, Muse carefully climbing back to her feet behind her.

With a pained grunt, the mawile suddenly yanked her head, pulling Toshi loose from his braced stance, He was tossed into the air when he didn’t let go to of the ear, clinging as long as he could even as it began to tear. As he flew through the air above her, she sprang up and whipped her head to the side, using her jaws like a club to knock him out of the air, slamming him into the ground. A storm of leaves blew up from the ground around where he landed just from the sheer force of the attack.

But the mawile wasn’t finished. She landed and barely dodged out of the way of a slash from Muse, the absol's horn brushing up against fur as she stumbled backwards. Muse kept up the attack, advancing on her as she tried to spring further and further away, until she spun and clubbed her with her jaws too, sending her sprawling.

With Muse dazed, the mawile took the opportunity to dash towards the still recovering Toshi, the bidoof struggling to get back to his feet after the brutal blow. She snapped the defenseless pokemon up in her jaws in one fluid movement. Fangs dug into Toshi’s exposed belly. He let out a shrill, pained squeal, freezing everyone in place with horrified expressions.

"Nobody move!" the mawile shouted as she clenched her jaw. Toshi cried out as the fangs dug deeper, blood seeping around the punctures. Once she was quite certain that she had the attention of the others, her grip loosened slightly, just enough to relieve the pressure while preventing escape.

"I would not normally resort to such cheap tactics," the mawile began, punctuated by huffed breaths, her face scrunched in anger as blood dripped down her wounded ear, "but I refuse to let you waste my time any longer. Any sudden movements and I'll snap him right in half!" To punctuate her words, she squeezed the unfortunate bidoof in her jaws again. He squealed and went limp in a desperate attempt to lessen the damage.

Haru glanced nervously to Muse and Shimmer as the mawile began to back away towards the nearest path out of the clearing, the other two just as frozen as she was.

Or so it seemed.

Although Muse was just as still as she appeared, Haru could see the look of concentration on Shimmer's face. Stealing a cautious glance back to Muse, she could see the absol's bag jostling ever so slightly. She turned her gaze back to the retreating mawile, not wanting to draw attention to whatever the kirlia was doing.

The mawile - and her bidoof hostage - were almost halfway across the clearing by the time Shimmer spoke up, her voice surprisingly clear and level, considering the situation.

"Hey, hold on just a moment!" she called out. "Where do you think you're going with my Toshi-kins?"

For a moment the mawile kept walking, ignoring her, but she seemed to think of something and paused. "I have no interest in harming him further, so long as you three do not get in the way of my goal. Once I am certain you're not following me, I will let him go, so that he might find his own way home."

Haru glanced back to the kirlia for a moment, watching the psychic type flinch. Or at least, it appeared to be a flinch, but Haru had seen that expression enough times to know better. A psychic pokemon teleporting themselves was easy enough; teleporting other pokemon or items was a whole different problem. The kirlia closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. "Well… I suppose I can't let my dear Toshi get hurt, can I?" A pause, a beat of silence followed. Haru did her best to ignore the floating orb. Wait, was that an—

Then Shimmer squeezed her eyes tight, clenched her hands into fists and used her psychic abilities to slam the orb down directly on the mawile's head. The glassy ball shattered at the impact, swirls of bright blue mist bursting forth and spreading out through the clearing in tendrils. Some of the tendrils only made it as far as the mawile and Toshi. Glowing, psychic energy quickly began to spread over the pokemon from where the mist made contact.

The mawile growled, swatting at the mist only for the energy to spread even quicker. Once she was fully enveloped there was a bright flash of light, and then she was gone. Toshi fell to the ground with a pained whimper, only to disappear a few heartbeats later.

"Oh no, that's not the totter orb!" Shimmer exclaimed. "Good going, Shimmer. Everyone get ready, looks like we're making an emergency exit."

Muse turned to spring towards Shimmer, allowing the kirlia to grab hold of her as they were hit by the nearest tendril of psychic mist.

"Toshi, hang tight!" Haru called out as she dashed towards the nearest tendril, tensing as psychic energy washed over her body. Then they, too, were gone in a flash of light.

Haru had been through the sensation of teleportation a few times in her life, mostly through psychic-type children messing around in their youth. She could recall a time when a younger Shimmer had tried to teleport her away so that she could talk to Toshi alone. She’d only succeeded in accidently dropping her into the nearby river.

An escape orb behaved like an emergency teleport, creating an escape route when the orb shattered. It felt like she was falling from a high place, only to pull up at the last second. Suddenly, she was sprawled out on the ground near where they entered the dungeon, the last undistorted place they’d been.

“I’m never going to get used to that,” she groaned.

It took her a moment to reorient herself as her vision returned, along with the familiar smell of tree sap and wildflowers. A few feet away Shimmer and Muse were recovering - or rather, Muse was recovering while Shimmer looked her over for injury. Figures, Shimmer would have been used to teleporting, after all.

But she had bigger problems. Toshi? Where was he? The bidoof raised her nose up into the air, sniffing, tensing at the smell of fresh blood. She turned her head towards the scent and caught sight of her brother lying several bodylengths away, halfway beneath a bush.

"Toshi!" she cried out, rushing towards the injured pokemon, only to stop short when she caught sight of cream fur just a few steps away. The mawile groaned as she climbed to her feet. Haru quickly moved to put herself between the hostile pokemon and her younger brother. A quick glance told her he was conscious, though in bad shape. Several deep punctures oozed blood that matted up his fur. He let out a high-pitched whine as Haru stepped into his vision.

"Haru… my leg hurts real bad." His voice came out a hoarse whisper.

The mawile caught sight of her a moment later. "You! What have you done?" she spat, clenching her hands into fists. She widened her stance in an attempt to appear larger and more intimidating. "We're outside the dungeon now. I've lost nearly half a day's search thanks to you! Any chance of finding a trail will be gone now!"

Haru heard Muse and Shimmer run up behind her, taking defensive positions on either side. "Well that's just fine because you aren't going anywhere," the kirlia said in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Not after what you did to Toshi. You attacked first, after all."

And yet… were they really in any position to make demands of the mawile? Muse looked exhausted and worse for the wear, with clumps of fur missing here and there, and shallow cuts and scratches along her flank. Shimmer was physically unscathed, but Haru imagined she was likely mentally taxed after using so much psychic energy in such a short period of time. And she wasn’t looking good, either.

She gulped as she realized that if they got in another fight with the mawile, they would not win.

The mawile scoffed and turned her head. "Why should I waste any more time with you? You are obviously no match for me, and the dungeon would finish you off, should you attempt to pursue."

Haru caught sight of a grin on Shimmer's face as soon as the mawile turned away. The kirlia had something planned, that much she was certain of. "If you had just agreed to talk things out and explain why you're trailing Nip, this all could have been avoided," she pointed out, her voice wavering and exhausted.

The mawile turned her head back for a moment, then turned away entirely, fangs snapping dangerously before she began to walk. She stopped a few paces away, however, to speak. "Because I am only concerned about what he did to my kin, not yours.”

"But if we've both have reasons to track him down," Haru argued, "we could have worked together."

"I do not need pokemon like you slowing me down."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Toshi said, shakily trying to climb to his feet behind the girls, glaring daggers.

"You are weak," the mawile replied bluntly. "And you have no knowledge of the situation at hand."

"You don't have knowledge of our situation though," Muse pointed out, raising a paw. "We have our own reasons for tracking down that sneasel."

"Perhaps I did not make myself clear? I do not care about your reasons. I will be going now; I have wasted enough time."

"You'll be doing no such thing!"

The whole lot turned their heads to look to the side, Shimmer punctuating the motion with an, "it's about time."

Three pokemon appeared amongst the trees, rushing ahead to help surround the mawlie. Anu dashed ahead at unnatural speeds, cutting off her path. A fiery rapidash followed close behind with an espurr clinging to her back.

The mawile turned to look to the arriving pokemon with narrowed eyes, before whipping her head back go glare dangerously at Shimmer. "You… you called for them?"

With help having arrived, Shimmer relaxed, no longer at attention, and leaned against Muse, draping her arms over the absol's side. "That's right! We couldn't let you just go after attacking us without explanation. You'll be coming back with us to the village now. Oh, by the way, there's a leaf stuck to your shoulder."

Shifting her gaze slightly, the mawile made note of the leaf Shimmer mentioned and shook it off, then turned her attention back to the new arrivals to size them up. "You are wasting my time," she growled. "The longer I have to spend dealing with you, the more likely it is that he will get away." Still, she made no motion to attack.

Anu turned his attention first to Shimmer, raising a paw up to his chest, and took a deep breath to steady his speach. "Blessings from 'Gigas that you are safe, my lady. Essra filled us in on the details you sent her along the way. Th-thank you for calling for us."

He then turned his attention to the aggressing mawile. "A-As for you… You don't have to worry about the sneasel — that is who you're looking for, I assume — getting away. We are watching every known exit of Sunglow Thicket. No one will be leaving without us noticing. But I'm afraid… I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to come with us back to Theran Village. We can't let your aggressive attack just go. Do not worry, you'll have a chance to explain yourself. If all is well, we will probably let you leave town afterwards, after passing judgement."

The mawile turned on him with a snarl, flexing her fingers and raising her steel jaws threateningly. But still she only held her ground. A tense, silent moment passed, then she finally relaxed, if only slightly. "Fine. I will go with you for now, only because it would do me no good to waste my energy fighting. Maybe then I can convince you why it is so important for me to be out here hunting for Nip. Make it quick."

The lucario flinched at Nips name, then paused to brush a paw against his aura sensors to calm himself. "Very well." He turned his attention to the espurr. "Ah… Essra, will you help Shimmer get Toshi situated on Muse's back? Then Muse, would you please take him to Lecha for treatment?"

"Of course," Muse replied, bowing her head.

"Mmm, you got it, Boss," the espurr said, waving a paw before shimmying down off of the rapidash's back. She landed on the ground hard, holding out her arms to steady herself.

Satisfied, Anu turned his attention to Haru. "What about you? Your wounds do not seem as deep, but if needed I'm certain Romi would give you a ride back."

Haru winced, standing up on her hind legs to get a better look at the bite marks on her stomach. Now that the rush of battle was starting to wear off, she found herself a bit weak in the legs, pain starting to take its toll. Still, her stubborn pride got in the way.

"I'm… I'm fine," she decided, lowering herself back to the ground. "Yes, I can walk."

Anu let out a quiet hum, raising a paw to his chin and tilting his head slightly. "Very well. Let me know if you change your mind."

"I am going to go ahead with Toshi," Muse announced, turning her head to check up on the injured bidoof. “I’ll let the others know what happened.”

The lucario dipped his head. "Run swift as Dialga's Messenger."

Muse looked away, a slight, sheepish grin on her face. "Thank you for your blessing, Anu." Then she took off at a jog down the trail.

Anu turned his attention to the remaining pokemon. Both Essra and Shimmer had seated themselves on the back of the rapidash, who took up the rear. Anu led the way, with the mawile just a bit behind him. Haru fell in line just a bit behind her, not wanting to be anywhere near those jaws, but also wanting to be able to keep an eye on her.

"Is it really alright to pull this many pokemon from watching the exits?" Haru could not help but ask.

"Romi and I came from separate groups, so that there's still pokemon there to watch," Anu replied, holding up a paw in the air. "I'll be sending her and Essra back after we get to town though."

Haru hummed in response and said nothing more, instead dedicating her energy to keeping pace with the longer-legged pokemon as they made their way back to the village.

"Alright dear, you're free to go, but I want you to relax and do nothing strenuous for the rest of today. And tomorrow, if you can help it. Understand?"

Haru bowed her head slightly in response to the aromatisse, holding in a frustrated sigh. "I understand Lecha, thank you."

By the time Haru returned to town, Lecha was nearly done treating Toshi, his fur damp from being washed of blood, the wounds treated with berry pulp and bandaged, and his back-left leg carefully held in place with a splint. He drifted in and out of sleep while Lecha worked on Haru, planning to stay the night to keep his wounds tended to. Haru silently thanked the fact that Lecha had sent Twi home, making her treatment quiet and far less stressful.

Once Lecha was finished with her, Haru left a few coins in front of the straw bed she'd been treated in, said her goodbyes to Toshi and her thanks to Lecha, and lumbered out of the clinic. She made her way towards the center of the town square, where most of the villagers had gathered.

It seemed that she had arrived at just the right time, as Jhorlo was just beginning to speak as she pushed her way towards the front. He and his two purrloin guards stood in the center of the crowd, the mawile standing a few feet away. Shimmer, Muse, Anu and Whisper all stood in the center as well, though off to the side. Muse and the purrloin stood at attention, while the others were relaxed.

"So, mawile," Jhorlo began, speaking loud enough for the audience to hear. "You attacked a group of pokemon from this village in Sunglow Thicket, or so I heard. Care to explain yourself?"

"It is simple, really," the mawile responded, turning her head to address Jhorlo directly, though with enough volume to also address the crowd. "I was hunting for a sneasel, and they got in my way."

The purugly let out a puff of air, turning his back on the mawile for a moment. "My daughter tells me that you refused to explain the situation, and that they felt they could not allow you to continue without at least that much. So why not explain now? Start with your name, if you please."

She brought a hand up and over one eye, a frustrated sneer working its way onto her face. "You are wasting your time as much as you are wasting my own and giving that piece of dung a chance to escape!" When no one moved, her face scrunched up in anger for a moment, before she forced herself to relax. She brushed her fingers along her damaged earlobe before dropping her hand back to her side.

"Fine. My name is Umbra. It is my understanding that your… 'village' had trouble with Nip. I do not know how many lies he may have weaved, but he and I come from the same tribe. I was sent after him to bring judgement upon him for crimes against our kin."

The crowd around Haru broke into hushed whispers.

"Crimes?"

"What could one sneasel have done?"

"Don't underestimate him, look what he did to us!"

"Quiet, quiet all of you, please!" Jhorlo raised his voice. When even that could not settle the crowd, he yowled even louder, loud enough that some pokemon covered their sensitive ears. Only then did the chatter die down. He turned his attention back to Umbra. "Please, continue."

The mawile raised her hands in front of her, closing her eyes. "That is all there is to it, really."

"If you'll excuse me speaking out of line, I think we have a right to know what crime he caused," Jaques, one of Jhorlo's purrloin guards, said. "There is a big difference between petty theft or juvenile delinquency and, say, murder or stealing an egg from the nursery."

Umbra opened one eye, peeking at the purrloin. "Your tone suggests to me that something of that sort happened here. Am I correct?"

"Indeed, you are," Jhorlo said. He sat down and raised one paw. "This sneasel was found injured in the forest a few days ago. We nursed him back to health, you see. Last night he broke into the nursery and stole one of the eggs before taking off and fleeing into Sunglow Thicket. We have several pokemon guarding every known exit path of the dungeon, to catch him when he attempts to leave."

"Including the entrance?"

The purugly sat his paw back down. "Well…"

Haru held back a snide remark, silently thinking back on how she’d asked something similar, only to be shot down.

"I see. Very well, considering the situation, I believe it fair to tell you what happened in our tribe. You see…" She paused, lowering her head slightly. "Almost two moons ago now, Nip left the tribe in a fit of anger. That in of itself is not a crime, even if it would have been frowned upon. However… before he left, he… he attacked our nursery, destroying several eggs in the process."

Alarmed voices broke out in the crowd.

"He did what?!"

"How could he do that?"

"Only a monster would attack defenseless eggs."

"How could we have ever let him into our village?"

"I do not pretend to know his exact reasons," Umbra said, raising her voice over the ruckus. "We were fortunate that our nursery was well-fortified, or else we would have lost even more. However, none of that matters in the end. What matters is that he did it, and that my attempt to catch him in the dungeon was foiled." She shot a pointed glare in the direction of Shimmer and Muse.

"Hey now!" Haru called out, ignoring the stares she drew to herself with the outburst. "That was a fight that could have been avoided if you had just explained things in the first place. For all we knew, you were there to help him escape!"

Umbra visibly recoiled at the accusation. "You really think I would conspire with that… that… monster? What do you take me for?"

"How are we supposed to know that? You wouldn't tell us anything!"

"I have told you now. And now that I have explained the situation, I need to be on my way before he sneaks his way out of the dungeon."

Jhorlo looked the mawile over for a moment. "Very well. I think we are mostly in agreement.” He paused, looking to several faces within the crowd. “You may leave on the stipulations that you do not attack any of our village pokemon again, and that once your business is finished you leave this area and do not return. I do believe that is fair, I think.” A few murmurs passed, but no one contested him.

"Very well, I believe I can abide by those rules." She turned and made a motion to leave, but Muse stepped in front of her, bowing her head slightly.

"With all due respect, Miss Umbra, may I offer a suggestion?" the absol asked.

The mawile narrowed her eyes. "Make it quick."

"If you would give us just a night's time to prepare, I am sure the pokemon of our village would be more than happy to help track down Nip. We have reasons to bring him to justice, too. And while we're preparing, we have the town guard, as well as other volunteer pokemon watching all the ways out of the dungeon."

“Except the entrance, apparently.”

“I can fix that,” Jhorlo announced. “I’ll have word sent to the guarding pokemon to spread out.”

Umbra blinked once. "Why should I agree to this?"

"There is power in numbers. And besides that, the dungeon is constantly shifting. By sending in multiple teams, we could check multiple zones at once and have a better chance of flushing him out, if nothing else. Sunglow Thicket is not a deep dungeon either, so there's no concern of stretching our numbers too thin."

She paused for a moment, turning her head towards Jhorlo. "Apologies for speaking out of line, sir. But I wanted to get the idea out in the open for everyone to consider while I had a chance."

"Oh no, you are quite fine, Muse," the purugly said. "I think it's a splendid idea. However, we should really be asking dear Anu and Whisper, since they're the ones leading this operation, you know."

Anu stepped forward. "I am… hesitant. To send so many pokemon into a dungeon at once… However, it is likely our best bet."

Whisper spoke up next, raising a wing up as she addressed the crowd. "I don’t like waiting… but you make a fair point. By the time we would be ready to mobilize, it would already be dark. Tomorrow, we can split up everyone into teams of three or four. I'll have three sets of two monitoring the exits. Other than that… the number of teams will depend on how many are willing to go."

The hawlucha paused, bringing one set of claws up to her beak. "That said… based on what we know of the dungeon’s patterns, if he has not left by morning, he would have to be hiding out in the dungeon's stable zone. I still think it would be best if we stagger each teams entrance by a short period of time, and have each team do a quick sweep of every zone before moving on.

"That will be all, anyone who is interested in volunteering should see me as soon as this meeting is over."

The purugly let out a contented purr. "Very good. That will be all, I believe. You are all dismissed. Spread the word to anyone who may have missed the meeting. And Umbra, I would like a word, if you will?"

The crowd began to disburse in small groups, most of them making their way over to Whisper. Haru began to turn and make her way back towards Lecha's to check on her brother again but stopped when she felt a paw brush lightly against her back. Muse stood just behind her, her expression unreadable, with Shimmer at her side.

"Haru, I'd like to speak to you for a minute," Muse began, raising a paw before walking a few paces away, waiting for Haru and Shimmer to follow.

The bidoof let out a sigh and followed. Whatever Muse wanted to talk about, she doubted she was going to like it.

Their walk continued a little way further, until they were a good distance away from the crowd, coming to a stop under a shady tree. Muse laid down in the shade, gesturing for Haru to do the same. Shimmer took a seat next to Muse, leaning against her side.

"Alright," Haru began, "what do you want now?"

"I think Muse has some sort of plan in mind, don't you Musey, my friend?"

"Indeed," the absol said with a bow of her head. "I brought up the idea of groups going in to look for Nip because… and please don't get mad about this… because I think we need to go back ourselves."

Haru was up on her feet in an instant. "Are you crazy? Look what happened when we tried to do that today! I got hurt. Toshi got seriously injured. It'll take days for him to recover at best! You got hurt and you haven't even gone to get treatment! Obviously, none of us were up to handling a mystery dungeon. We should just leave it up to the pokemon that know what they're doing. Besides, they've got Umbra to help them. I'm sure she can take care of Nip without us."

"Don't you find her story a bit… suspicious?" Muse asked.

"I mean…" Haru trailed off, glancing back in the direction they'd come from. "I found it odd that she only told the story now, under scrutiny, if that's what you're talking about. But otherwise it all checks out. Her story even goes along with his actions here."

Muse opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, turning instead to look to Shimmer for support.

" I'm with Muse here, Haru," the kirlia said, flipping her hair. "It's just too… odd to me. I'd like for us to go back and try and get Nip's side of the story, at least."

Haru was baffled "Why do you care so much about his side of the story?" she huffed. "For gods sakes, he stole an egg from us Shimmer. He's probably killed Whisper and Anu's child by now. Think about it, use your head!"

Muse closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "We don't know that for sure. Yet. Admittedly, it probably is too late for the egg by now. But… we can always hold out hope."

Haru turned her head to stare Muse dead in the eye. "And why are you taking Shimmer's side all of a sudden? This morning, you were suggesting it was a bad idea. You're supposed to be Shimmer's voice of reason! Besides, the main reason I even went along was because I wanted to keep an eye on Toshi. And look how that turned out!"

"The encounter with Umbra was unfortunate, but not the norm," Muse pointed out, keeping her voice even. "Consider the fight with the fletchinder beforehand. She was in a whole different league than the normal pokemon that live in Sunglow Thicket. I think that with Umbra's appearance, the situation has changed. Besides..." She trailed off, dropping her gaze.

Shimmer gave Muse a scrutinizing look before beginning to run her fingers through the absol's thick mane. "You had a premonition, didn't you?"

"I… Yeah. Before the fight with Umbra. It's the first one I've had since… since before my parents died." Muse visibly sagged.

The change in tone was just enough to make Haru's anger dissipate. "A… premonition? Now?" She hesitated, thinking back to the way Muse had been at attention while everyone else was relaxed when Umbra spoke. She had thought it was just her usual protectiveness of Shimmer, but perhaps there was a different explanation "Is that why you seemed so… on edge?"

"It wasn't much," Muse admitted. "I don't really know what it means. I don't know why Umbra put me on edge, and yet Nip did not, despite him being the one to wrong us. Perhaps I just was not paying close enough attention. If I had, maybe… maybe I could have prevented something. I want to see if I can get Nip to tell us more before the whole of the village catches him."

She turned her head to look at Shimmer, then back to Haru. "Tomorrow morning… I'm going back to Sunglow Thicket, whether you two come or not. I must apologize in advance, Shimmer, if this means abandoning my post."

"Oh Musey, you know I'd never let you go alone!" Shimmer punctuated her statement with a giggle and brushed up to nuzzle the absol's cheek. Muse pulled away just slightly, caught off-guard by the sudden contact, before relaxing.

“Why not just tell everyone? I’m sure they’d understand where you’re coming from,” Haru pointed out. “Or at least tell Jhorlo, or Anu and Whisper! They’re the ones that have a stake in this. The ones that should be handling the situation. Not us. Muse, we’re barely adults!”

Muse dropped her gaze. “I didn’t think they’d listen.”

Seeing the absols lack of confidence, Haru visibly deflated and finally gave the idea some thought. If it had just been a matter of catching Nip for glory's sake, or to show him mercy, she would have no problem just leaving the two to it. But this was different. Superstitious or not, she couldn’t risk not acting when Muse sensed disaster. "Fine, I'll help you. But only for the sake of the village.”

Muse let out a relieved, breath. "Oh, thanks so much Haru, I really appreciate it. I-"

Shimmer pat her hand against Muse's cheek, making a shushing noise. "It's time to be quiet, guys. Someone's coming."

Haru turned to look behind her. The coast seemed clear at first, but then a group of pokemon rounded the corner. Jhorlo led the group, followed close behind by his purrloin guards. Just behind them was Umbra, her expression unreadable.

"Ah, Shimmer, my dear daughter," the purugly began, bringing a paw up to rub behind his ear. "I'm so glad I found you. I've been talking with Umbra and wanted to let you know that I've offered her a guest room. She'll be staying with us until our resident egg thief is brought to justice. I wanted you and Muse to take her over, if you would."

Shimmer shot a side-eyed glance over to Muse, but quickly shifted to a smile. If she was upset, she did not show it. "Oh, that sounds great, Dad!"

She stood up, stretched, and gestured for Muse to do the same. "Sorry, Haru, we gotta go. I'll be sure to come see you and Toshi-kins in a bit, okay?"

"Great…" the bidoof grumbled, before pepping up just a bit. "I should go check on him, speaking of, and fill him in on what happened at the meeting. Have a good evening, everyone."

The purugly rumbled in amusement. "Tell your brother I wish him well, would you?"

"Of. Of course." Before her mood could give away their plans, Haru turned and began to lumber off at a leisurely pace. Toshi… oh. He wouldn't be healthy enough to go along, leaving her with just Shimmer and Muse as traveling companions.

“Gods, Haru, what have you gotten yourself into this time?”

Chapter Text

“And so that’s the story we were given and what we plan to do about it. Crazy, right?”

Toshi trembled slightly before stretching out in the straw bed, the action interrupted by a wince. “Wow, that’s… a lot’s happening, huh? You’re so lucky to get to go do something so important, even if it is with Shimmer.”

Haru recoiled and let out an exasperated sigh. Of course, Toshi would find excitement in something like this — chasing a criminal through a mystery dungeon — even after the nasty injury he had received in their first attempt. She hesitated, trying to think of a tactful way to reply. “Toshi… I know it sounds cool to you and all, but this is really dangerous. I mean, look what happened to you, you could have gotten killed. I don’t like putting any trust in that mawile after what she did to you but… why should I bother helping Nip, after what he’s done here?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Toshi responded without hesitation. “If she went so far with us, how do you know she wouldn’t kill Nip — someone she apparently actively has a grudge against — on the spot? Justice has to be served, but it should be served fairly.”

“I… guess that’s a fair point…” Haru grumbled begrudgingly. “But even if she would go that far, I’m still not entirely convinced the danger is worth it. Especially when none of us are trained for fighting. Well, except for Muse.”

Toshi shifted in his nest. “Listen, you know how much I look up to the Expedition Society, right? When I’m not sure what the right thing to do is, I sit back and think to myself ‘What would Expedition Head Blue do?’ And in this case, I think they would say that Nip’s side of the story deserves to be heard at least, even if it does end up being a big fat lie. I think most of the town would say the same. I think even Anu would say the same. Not sure about Whisper though, I know this must be particularly hard on her…”

Haru grunted and scraped a paw across the rough wooden floorboards. “Ugh… I… Kind of hate that have a point.” She paused for a moment. “To be fair… I do want to hear what he has to say for himself…

“But!” she added quickly, stamping a foot on the ground for emphasis, “I also think Shimmer, Muse, and I going into the dungeon again is a poor idea. There’re enough town guards dealing with it. Pokemon that are trained to deal with troublemakers. I’ll go with them to keep an eye on them, and because I probably have the best chance getting Nip to come along quietly. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“If I wasn’t so beat up already, I’d go out there myself!” Toshi exclaimed, jumping back to his feet, only to whimper and sink back down into the straw. “I mean… it would be good practice. To be honest… I’ve been thinking about stepping up my training, to give me some practice so that I can get strong enough to join the Expedition Society or the Rescue Guild soon. Besides, every pokemon deserves at a second chance, even if it’s under close scrutiny.”

Haru deflated slightly. She wanted to argue that pokemon like them had no business working for something as intense as exploring or rescuing, but sensed arguing was a losing battle. “I know. I really do understand how you feel. You want to chase the dream of adventure. But I just want to settle down and handle the family business, you know? Sure, fame and glory to put our name forward would be nice, but not at the risk of my life and everything Mom and Dad have been building up. And all this mess keeps pulling me away from it.”

She stepped forward, leaning in to nuzzle against Toshi before continuing. “But… I guess you’re right. If I was able to end this without bloodshed and I don’t, and more pokemon end up getting hurt, I would feel pretty bad about it. I’ve already agreed, so I’ll do it this time. But you guys still owe me, big time.”

The younger bidoof chuckled, nipping playfully at Haru’s ear. “Thanks, Sis, I’m sure you won’t regret this.”

Haru pushed a paw up against his face and pushed him away, then circled back to settle in a nearby nest. “Now we just need to wait for Muse and Shimmer. They said they’d meet me here.”

“No need to wait!”

Haru groaned at the chipper voice. Was peace and quiet too much to ask for? 

Muse and Shimmer entered shortly in usual form, with Shimmer lounging atop Muse’s back. 

“Oh, Toshi, I was so worried about you!” The kirlia cried out, jumping down from Muse’s back to run over and give him a hug.

“Ow ow ow! Shims stop, please!” Toshi paused and pawed against Shimmer, gently attempting to separate them.

Shimmer was quick to let go and pull back, giving the bidoof room to breathe. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Mmm. Sorry sweetheart, I was just worried about you! I’m so glad that you’re safe!”

“Yeah,” he replied with an awkward laugh. “Thanks…”

“Could we just-” Haru began, cutting off when she realized that no one was listening, instead listening to Shimmer babble more nonsense about her love of Toshi and how worried she was. She raised her voice. “Could we just please discuss the matter at hand?”

That finally caught the kirlia’s attention. “I’m not sure what’s left to discuss? We have plenty of items leftover from today, other than the escape orb and a few oran berries that we had to use. But those are easily replaced.”

Haru started to retort, but clamped her mouth shut as the aromatisse doctor entered the room, a shallow bowl in hand. 

“I hope I don’t hear my patients discussing running right back into the dungeon when they’re supposed to be resting.”

“Oh no, of course not, Miss Lecha,” Shimmer said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Hm…” Lecha stared down the kirlia for a moment, an awkward silence that seemed to stretch on forever. “Well, I suppose I should get a better look at you while you’re here, Muse. You left in such a hurry before I didn’t get a chance to examine you properly.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Muse insisted. “I mean, my jaw is a little sore, but… it’s nothing serious.”

“Nonsense. I can tell you’re exhausted. You’re hiding a limp and you’re missing clumps of fur! Stay right there. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Muse let out a sigh and lowered her head, slumping down into one of the nests “Well… While we’re waiting… I suppose we could discuss the fact that Umbra will be staying the night with us.”

“Who?” Toshi asked.

“The mawile.”

“Excuse me?” the bidoof squeaked, attempting to hop to his feet, only to end up sprawled out again, front legs trying to clutch his stomach in pain.

“What did I say about sudden movements, dear?”

Toshi whined before carefully settling himself back into the straw. “I know, I know, ma’am. Sorry.”

Lecha let out a satisfied huff and sat her bowl aside, turning her attention to Muse as she began to work through the absol’s thick fur, looking her over for wounds.

“Anyways,” Muse said, suppressing a wince when Lecha brushed up against a nasty scrape, “taking her over to the villa was an… awkward situation, all things considered.”

“I imagine so. Did she say anything on the way over?”

Shimmer chimed in. “Not a word. Though I couldn’t tell if it was because she felt awkward about the situation, or if she was just being stubborn. Didn’t stop me from rambling on to her.”

Lecha stood up straight, nudging the empty bowl in front of the absol, and walked off towards her shelves of berries and herbs.

“I got the impression that it was both,” Muse said.

A moment of awkward silence followed, interrupted only when Lecha returned with a wet cloth and a sitrus berry. 

“Here,” she said, placing the berry in the bowl. “Fortunately, none of your wounds are deep. I’m going to clean them out and then you can be on your way. The sitrus berry will help with the pain and speed up recovery. Keep them clean and eat an oran berry tomorrow morning, and you should be back to normal within the next two to three days.”

“Oh, good.” Muse paused to stifle a yawn. “I should be able to sleep well, then.” The absol dipped her head down to scoop up and chew on the berry as silence fell on the group once more.

“Well,” Haru said, getting up to stretch. “I suppose I should head home. It’s getting dark, and we’re going to have to get up early to...” she trailed off, mindful of Lecha’s presence. “Well, I’m going to have to get up early to catch up on work. I’ll see you guys later. Toshi, you staying here?”

“Mmm, guess so,” the other bidoof said, closing his eyes. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“Don’t worry Toshi-kins,” Shimmer piped up, clapping her hands together. “Everything’s going to turn out alright. We’ll get this delt with, then things can go back to normal!”

“That’s right,” Haru said firmly, before adding under her breath, “I hope.”

Stupid! Now look what you’ve done!

Despite his exhaustion, Nip forced himself to keep moving throughout the night. Or at least, he suspected it was night; he could not be certain how much time had passed from within the mystery dungeon, where the sky did not change. Fear that the dungeon would shift and sweep him out kept him moving. Fear of being followed, of being caught and hauled back, kept him looking over his shoulder. Fear of the death that either could cause kept him tense. Only once he made it into the dungeon’s third division did he allow himself a moment’s rest.

There, he was able to turn his attention to the egg. There, as he took a moment to rest, guilt finally had a chance to gnaw its way into his belly. 

Two ideas warred within his mind. One was of hunger. The innate need to eat to survive. Even if stealing an egg from his saviors was cruel, the ends justified the means. Though he normally did not care for the taste of egg, the deep hunger that twisted his gut squashed that feeling.

But moral reason and his consciousness held him back. If he were to be caught, he reasoned, he would have a better chance of surviving the encounter if the egg were still intact. He should have just stolen meat from the mandibuzz and cubone; he would have had enough time, even factoring in the longer walk there, and if they had caught him, he would have had the advantage against both. And would it not be cruel to kill a child that had a much better chance at a good life than any of those from his homelands? Even if some of the rules of the village seemed senseless, it still seemed like a better life than what he had been offered. For the most part.

Why does it matter? He thought. I’m never going to see them again. Why should I care what they think of me? Once he gave them the slip, he could continue south until he found the ocean, follow it around a good distance until he was certain he was untraceable, and then settle down somewhere for a quiet, solitary life where no village could tell him that his way of life was evil, and no tribe could set up arbitrary rules that trapped him in misery. 

There was one ultimate question, however, that left him more conflicted than any other.

Did eating an egg stolen from people that saved him out of the goodness of their heart make him a monster? If it did, could he live with that?

He grit his teeth, claws pressing against the thick shell. No, he wasn’t sure he could.

…

But by the time he reached the fourth division, all that remained was a lingering sense of guilt, and littered pieces of shell that would be swept away by the dungeon winds.

Though no two dungeons were the same, most had similar attributes. Some were a tunnel, connecting two places. Others led to a stabilized area at the end, that had the time-frozen characteristics of the dungeon, but never shifted. Legends in Nip’s tribe spoke of dungeons where pokemon like Yveltal hid themselves away, watching the world move around them. Other legends spoke of treasures and artifacts that kept the world in balance. Sometimes those two legends intersected, telling of gods that watched over world-ending artifacts, guarding them for all eternity. 

But most dungeons were nothing like that. Most dungeons were much more ordinary, like this one.

The dungeon led him to a large, open field of tall grass that came almost up to his neck, void of undergrowth but filled with a low, thin fog that obscured his vision. Trees were sparse here, ancient oaks occasionally sticking up out of the mist like twisted sentinels. 

Though the land was mostly flat, it occasionally dipped into a crater that had long grown over with grass. As Nip carefully tread through the tall grass, taking great care to be certain he was not accidently stumbling into one of the steeper dips, he wondered what ancient battle could have left scars like these on the land. Were these a result of the time and space gods? The fact that a mystery dungeon brought him to it would suggest so. Yet he wondered how many details had been lost to time. Had other pokemon fought alongside Dialga and Palkia? If so, were they other gods? Or ordinary pokemon like him?

He shook his head to clear the thought away, nervously combing his claws through his ear feather. He should be focusing on more important, relevant things. Like figuring out if he was being followed, and if he could afford time to sleep. 

Could the village pokemon be laying outside in wait for him? Or had they pursued him into the dungeon? Or both, even, sending pokemon to flush him out and lead him right into an ambush? Were they clever enough for that sort of tactic? He heard no sound of pursuers since he’d entered, though he had no clue how much time had passed since his ill-planned escape. Still, the tall grass, mist, and still air of the stable division would provide him cover, so long as he stayed still, quiet, and low to the ground. With that in mind, he listened carefully as he advanced towards the center, occasionally sniffing at the air.

Several heartbeats passed in near silence as he crept through the tall grass, only the muffled sounds of his own pawsteps reaching his ears. Nip could not help but wonder if any pokemon lived here. He had seen pokemon living throughout the dungeon, some of them attacking him to defend their territory. And his few excursions into mystery dungeons in the past had usually ended in populated stable pockets. Yet here? It seemed like nothing. So far at least. Perhaps there were some spaced out amongst the grass, and the fog was muffling the sound of their movements.

As he neared what he suspected was the center, he found himself in a ring of shorter grass. At the center of the ring was the biggest crater he’d seen yet. This one, however, had long ago filled with water, creating a moderate sized pond in the center. A lone, ancient tree stood at the water’s edge, parts of its roots exposed by erosion. 

Nip glanced at the sky and across the water before cautiously inching his way towards the shore. No, no one seemed to be nearby. How fortunate, that he had found a water source. If he could also find food, he’d be able to sustain himself down here until it was safe to leave.

Satisfied that he was safe for the moment, he approached the water’s edge, peering down into the murky depths. Unfortunately, it was not the clearest, most clean water he’d ever seen, but it seemed drinkable enough. It would do for now.

He crouched down and leaned forward to lap up a few mouthfuls. It had a slight earthy taste. He scrunched up his nose but powered through it. 

And yet, something kept him from relaxing. Something that felt like a little sting in the back of his head. He paused, going still as he stared out into the water. Though the water was murky and limited his vision, he could still see the ripples in the water, could still see the shadow swimming towards him.

He scrambled back from the water’s edge just in time to avoid snapping fangs. The pokemon sank back into the water, staying just enough above water level to be able to peer out and get a good look at Nip. He did much similar, edging closer to where land met water, watching cautiously.

The aquatic pokemon was surprisingly vibrant in color. A gaudy pink made up most of her scales, but some were blue, yellow, or purple.

“Ah, a dark type, that explains much,” the bruxish mumbled to herself. Then she spoke louder to address Nip. “A clever one you are, pulling back just in time. Tell me, what brings you to Storyteller Bruxi’s pond?”

Nip gave the bruxish a skeptical, distrusting look. “Storyteller… Bruxi?”

The bruxish scoffed. “Yes dear, that is my title. Bruxi. Storyteller and lore seeker of Sunglow Thicket. I also try my fins at offering psychic advice from time to time.” She waved a fin showing her teeth in what might have been a smile. It was horrifying to look at. “You may relax, by the way. I don’t try to eat pokemon twice. Besides, you look much too tough to eat.”

Nip wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or offended by that. Slowly his hackles lowered and he relaxed, standing up straight.

“There, that’s better, isn’t it? Come closer. It’s been a while since anyone new came to visit me. How has the world been outside of these waters?”

“Uhh…” The sneasel hesitated, rubbing his claws together. “Fine, I guess?” This is stupid! What am I doing? “Er… if you don’t mind me asking, how did you get down here, in that pond?” He glanced up, squinting in an attempt to make out the shore on the other side. “There doesn’t exactly seem to be a water source. And I don’t know that it rains inside dungeons.”

“Trying to figure out the logic of a mystery dungeon? Hah! You are a funny one. Yes. You simply must tell me your name.”

He hesitated. It wasn’t any of her business! What if she told the villagers that he was here? ...No, they didn’t usually interact with wildeners, right? And the last thing he needed was to make more enemies. Not now.“Call me Nip.”

“Well, Nip, perhaps there are diglet tunnels that flooded a very long time ago, that used to connect to the world outside the dungeon before they caved in. Before they caved in, I swam in here as a wee little bruxish and decided to stay for a while, but then I grew too big! Or perhaps I was dropped into the dungeon when a staraptor tried to make off with me as their meal. Which of these stories is true? Does it really matter?”

Nip averted his gaze, hiding his frustration with the coy answer. “I suppose not, in the end. I do not plan to stay for very long anyways, so why bother?”

“I suspected as much,” Bruxi said, her tone lofty and nonchalant as she swam just a bit closer to shore. “Only a small group of pokemon live here permanently. And most of those travel out into the rest of the dungeon to gather supplies or prey on forest mon that were foolish enough to wander inside. Perhaps you have noticed, but this dungeon – the stable zone in particular - is quite lacking in food. A few berry bushes grow here and there in this zone. And a fruit tree or two. But carnivores like you or I are far less common. This dungeon will not sustain you for long.

“Besides,” she added with a wry, toothy grin, “I suspect there’s more to you being here than just passing through, isn’t there?”

At once, Nip’s mood shifted from cautious to angry and apprehensive. His ear twitched and he visibly tensed, looking the bruxish over cautiously as he shifted into a defensive pose, showing his claws and baring his fangs. He shouldn’t have trusted her! “What is that supposed to mean? Are you working with the village pokemon? Are you just trying to stall me? Answer me!”

Bruxi laughed, sinking lower into the water, bubbles escaping as she continued to laugh even as submerged, throwing off Nip’s defensive posture. She returned to the surface a moment late. “Oh, good gods, no! You won’t find many down here that think fondly of that lot. They’re quite cowardly, most village mon. Only traveling into the dungeon if they absolutely have to, looking down upon the wilderner way of life, taking our possessions if we protect our territory. If you’re avoiding village pokemon, for better or for worse you’ll find a mon or two here that will defend you from them.”

“Bruxi! Bruxi!”

The two pokemon whipped around at the high-pitched chirp sounded in the distance, still clear enough to hear, even in the fog. Bruxi seemed to fall into a trance for a moment, and Nip got the impression that she was using her psychic abilities.

“Case in point. Why not take a moment to listen to what dear Blais has to say?”

The call of the bruxish’s name sounded twice more before the pokemon arrived at the pond. There were three of them, all looking worse for wear. A fletchinder swooped down first, nearly losing his balance when he landed. A few feathers were bent here and there, and a few scrapes left behind dried blood. And he was absolutely filthy, dirt and dust and even a twig sticking to his feathers. Two fletchling landed shortly after the fletchinder, looking no better. The worse looking of the two fletchling leaned against the other, standing on only one leg. Its other leg hung at an awkward angle.

Once they caught sight of the sneasel, they both took to the air again with shrill, panicked tweets. 

The fletchinder got one look at Nip and squawked in alarm. “You- You’re the sneasel they were looking for, aren’t you? What are you doing here?!”

“Calm down, Blais,” Bruxi said in a calming voice. “The sneasel will not harm you. Or he’ll have to answer to me. Please, tell us what happened. Start from the beginning, if you will.”

Nip suspected he could take her in a fight, but decided it not worth it to argue, or even try. He relaxed his posture enough to appear non-threatening. A moment later, when no more sounds came from him, the two fletchling returned, landing just behind Blais, and huddled together behind him.

Blais looked to Bruxi, then to Nip, and took a few seconds to preen anxiously. “W-well… We found one of those neat orbs recently, when we were out looking for supplies. We found a gust trap and placed it there to protect it from being stolen until we could come back for it, and then left to search for more supplies in that area.”

“Why not just take it with you?” Nip questioned.

“I had to make sure we could carry any more important stuff back,” the fletchinder countered. “Regardless of that, we’d only gotten halfway to the next field when we heard the trap go off. We raced back as fast as our wings would carry us and saw a bunch of those town mon there, trying to take it from us! They said they were looking for a sneasel. We tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them. They knocked us all out, and when we came to, they’d already left, and they took the orb with them! I wanted that orb, and they didn’t need it!”

The bruxish hummed in thought. “The only one that’s come through today is the sneasel here. What pokemon were they?”

“There were two bidoof, a kirlia and one of those, umm…” Blais hesitated, trying to think of what the last one might be, making a curved motion in the air with his beak. “Four legs. They had a horn like that.”

“An absol?” Nip suggested, a pit forming in his stomach.

“Yeah, that’s the one!” one of the fletchlings chirped out.

Nip’s throat felt dry. Not a mawile – not Umbra, and not just any village pokemon, but instead those four were pursuing him. Possibly among many others, for all he knew. Umbra could be in the dungeon as well, for that matter. At best, he could hope they might slow each other down.

“What did you do to make them mad enough to chase ya in here anyways?” Blais asked in an accusatory tone, experimentally flapping his wings before wincing. “Steal an egg or something?” 

Nip visibly tensed at the accusation, an action that did not go unnoticed by the fletchinder. Blais squawked indignantly. “You totally did, didn’t you! Why I oughta chase you back out of this dungeon myself!” To punctuate his words, Blais spread out his wings in an attempt to appear more intimidating, a few cinders escaping the side of his beak as he squawked.

In response, Nip crouched, a low growl sounding from the back of his throat. But before either of the combative pokemon could jump the other, they each received a spurt of water to the face.

“I will not have fighting at my pond,” Bruxi said, her words coming out firm and dangerous. “Sneasel, you would do well to explain yourself. Neither Villager nor Wildener take well to egg theft around here. Hunting is one thing, but going after something as defenseless as an egg? You’ll be lucky to survive if you pull that stunt again.”

“It’s not like I go out of my way to poach eggs,” Nip grumbled, shaking water from his fur. “In fact, I much prefer the taste of most meat over eggs. I just… was in a tight spot and thought it was the best solution, alright?”

The fletchinder turned his back, though he did turn his head to keep one eye on the sneasel. “And why should I trust you?”

Nip closed his eyes and turned away slightly. “You don’t have to. I don’t care if you trust me or not. I just want some peace and quiet, and I’m not interested in causing trouble again.”

“Whatever.” Blais’ remark was punctuated by a couple flaps of his wings. “I’m going to go get some oran berries out of the stash. And maybe see if old Chimes is around and can do something about Fleet’s leg.”

He turned his head to stare Nip down with a glare that could penetrate the soul. “Don’t expect me to stick out my neck when they come looking for you. If they hadn’t already wronged me, I’d sell you out for a single oran berry.” 

Bruxi watched as the flying type took to the air, kicking up dust as he took off. Then she turned her attention back to Nip. “You’ll have to excuse him. He has a lot on his mind, taking care of his younger siblings.”

“Really? Those two were his siblings?”

“Mhmm? His parents are… well, not around anymore. Why, does this surprise you?”

“Things are different back where I come from. There, we don’t…” Nip trailed off, his ear flicking. “Well, it probably does not matter to you. I plan to rest here, perhaps find something to eat, and then I will be on my way.”

“Mmm, running away from your problems, yes?” 

“I’m not-” Nip started, but the bruxish cut him off with a spritz of water that barely missed his face.

“Oh, hush darling, it’s written all over you. I may not be able to read the mind of a dark type, but I know a troubled soul when I see one.”

Nip had nothing to say to that. So, he clamped his mouth shut and instead focused on grooming as much water out of his fur as possible. 

When he failed to speak up, the bruxish turned away, swimming back a little way into the water. “You may rest here if you would like, but if you wish to eat you will either have to stick to plants, or else return to the other zones of the dungeon. The stable zone has a bit of a truce, of sorts. No one will bother you here, but if you try to hunt here, they’ll turn on you in an instant. The rest of the dungeon is fair game though, and everyone knows it.”

“You tried to attack me at first though,” he pointed out, eliciting a chuckle from the water type.

“Oh, fair enough, but can you really blame me? I’m confined to this pond. Surely, I have to find food somehow, or else rely on the good will of others.” She paused, humming in thought. “It’s the price we pay to live free of the rules of villages and towns.”

With barely a splash, the bruxish disappeared back into the murky pond waters, leaving Nip alone with his thoughts.

He decided to claw his way up into the tree nearest the pond, claws digging into the ancient bark as he scrambled up. From here, he was at least partially shrouded from view by leaves, and could get a better look out over the fields of grass. Although the fog still limited his vision, he could at least see further than before. Silently, he thanked Yveltal that his feathers were more of a mint-green, instead of the more common red variant; it kept him from sticking out like a sore paw.

Now that he could see further into the mist, he could catch more signs of movement. A rattata running here, a bounsweet bouncing there, an ursaring flattening the grass as they lumbered through, a poochyenna playfully pounced after a butterfree in the distance. Bruxi’s parting explanation rang in his ears as he watched. Though all these pokemon were safe here, leaving for food meant risking their life. A pokemon that was a friend here could be an enemy if they crossed paths elsewhere.

What a terribly lonely way to live, he thought.

And yet, had he not given everything up for this? When he had left hom- when he had left his tribe in a fit of anger, he knew what he was getting into. He knew he was leaving the protection of many for a life alone on the road. He had no one to fend for but himself, but also no one to stand up for him.

He always considered himself a loner; he never expected that he would actually miss the companionship of pokemon — or at least some pokemon — that cared.

When Nip finally drifted to sleep, he dreamt of a barren cliff of dry grass and dust, an ocean soaked crimson by the setting sun, and the ebony silhouette of a pokemon soaring across the dimming sky as stars began to twinkle.

If Umbra could describe Theran Village in one word, it would be “strange.” There were a lot of things in the sleepy community that she found odd and unusual.

She found it strange, first of all, that a bidoof and an absol would work together, fighting in one unit. Or even live in the same community, for that matter. The psychic type — kirlia, she thinks she called herself — the kirlia’s place in the food chain was harder to place, but she suspected the companionship between a kirlia and an absol would be strange too. Psychics were uncommon in her region, so her lack of familiarity was understandable, at least.

The whole community was strange, for that matter. She could not think of one tribe in which herbivores and carnivores lived in harmony with each other, and only of a few large groups of herbivores that banded together.

Even the way they made their dens was strange. Instead of dug out and compacted earthen tunnels or painstakingly carved caves, they built their own of stone and felled wood, with no brush and undergrowth to protect and hide the entrances, leaving their homes exposed.

These pokemon had so little sense, it was no wonder Nip had such an easy time wreaking havoc.

The mawile stretched out in the straw bed with a yawn, situating herself on her belly, and dug deeper into the herbage. Even this was odd. She thought back to her own bed back at home. Sure, straw and twigs and reeds built up a base, but it was also carefully lined with fur and feathers to keep out the cold.

She would love to be back there, instead of halfway across the land chasing after a pokemon as ungrateful as Nip.

But as she closed her eyes and tried to put that… that… scavenging… egg stealing… cretin out of mind, a soft scratching at the — what did the kirlia call it, a door? There was a scratching at the door that caught her attention and made her spring to her feet. 

“Who’s there?” she called out, voice on edge.

“Please come out,” a voice mewed from the other side. “Mister Jhorlo would like to see you.”

At the name of the leader of sorts around here, she relaxed, if only slightly. She took a second to brush out any stray bits of hay that might have clung to her fur, then approached the door. She pushed the wooden latch that kept it shut, then cautiously pushed the door open.

Two purrloin stood outside, one on each side of the door, waiting for her to exit. She edged her way out, carefully looking both ways to be certain it was not a trap. Once she was certain though, she stepped all the way out so that she was between the two of them. 

The two turned in unison, the one to her right raising a front paw. “Follow me, please,” he said, voice firm. “Jhorlo’s room is this way.”

He took the lead, guiding her down the wood and stone den’s tunnels, and up an incline to the second level. They passed by an opening along the way, wooden boards bound together to create a place to overlook the sleepy village buildings below. And then they were back into the dim tunnels, rounding a corner until the moonlight was out of sight, coming to a stop in front of another door.

The lead purrloin sat down on one side, bowing his head. “We have arrived.”

The second one sat on the other side of the door and motioned in the same way. “Mister Jhorlo is waiting inside for you.”

Umbra could not help but hesitate in the doorway, her training and caution coming back to her. Here she was, without ally in unfamiliar territory. For all she knew, she was walking into an ambush. 

Relax, she chided herself. No one here has been particularly strong. As if they could defeat me. She elected to ignore the fact that she’d avoided fighting the lucario and rapidash earlier. After all, their appearance brought the fight from four against one to seven, and even she had to hesitate at those odds.

Now resolved, she took a confident stride through the doorway.

Th room was much more lavishly decorated than the nice, though sparse, room she had been placed in. An opening in the back of the room allowed moonlight to filter in, lighting the room partway. For those dark corners the light did not reach, luminous moss had been placed in jars, giving the majority of the room a dim, blue-green hue. The walls had been painted a deep purple, with an occasional painted design breaking up the monotony.

To her left, a wooden block - or perhaps a chest - rested against the wall, several old-looking trinkets neatly lined up on top. At the center of the room was a low-rising wooden platform, the top carefully sanded and glazed down into a smooth surface. Atop the table was a candle, a bowl filled with water, a well of some sort of ink or dye, and some type of parchment. On the floor on her side of the platform was a plush object made of material that reminded her of spinnerak silk. And on the other side sat Jhorlo, nonchalantly grooming down the fur along his shoulder.

“Ah, there you are,” he began, looking up towards her. “Please, come stand across from me at the table. Or if you prefer to sit, feel free to do so on the pillow.”

Umbra wordlessly followed the instruction, hesitating and brushing her fur before taking a seat on the plush object she suspected he was referring to. Even then, though, she stayed attentive, listening for the first thing that might sound off.

If Jhorlo noticed her discomfort, he said nothing of it. He leaned forward to lap up a couple mouthfuls of water while waiting, then sat up straight to address the mawile. 

“Ah, apologies, I did not think to have a cup of water brought in for you. I’ll have someone bring you some to your room after we talk, is that alright?”

Only then did Umbra realize how parched she was, having not drank since before she’d entered the mystery dungeon that morning. But thirst would show weakness, so instead she responded, “that will be fine.”

“Good, good. Then with that out of the way, how about we get down to business, yes?”

Wanting to appear nonchalant, Umbra reached up to scratch behind her undamaged ear. “Oh, of course. Though I cannot imagine what sort of business you have with me?”

“You’ll have to refresh my memory a bit, I don’t remember if you explained all of this already. My understanding of your story is that you’re here hunting down that no good sneasel, Nip, yes? Tell me, what do you plan to do once you catch him? Be honest, if you please.”

Umbra let out a quiet hum. How much did she need to share? “Once I catch him, I must make sure he faces justice for what he did to our kin.”

The purugly stared her down. And then he chuckled. “Hmm hmm hm… Quite the vague answer, you’ve given me there. But your sense of justice and the village’s may not align, you see.”

When Umbra said nothing in response to that, he stood up and began to pace along the other side of the table. “It would do you better to answer me honestly, you know. I’m actually on your side, despite what you might think. Sometimes the village pokemon can be far too soft.” His voice took a dangerous tone. “The fact that you walked free after your little fight is proof of that, if my daughter and her friend’s side of the story can be believed.”

He stared for several heartbeats, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air before returning to his casual tone. “What if they just let him go with a slap on the wrist, as they did you? Perhaps my late mate would have been alright with that. But as she’s not around anymore, I have my own way of running things. I can help you get to him before they do, so that you can enact your own justice, but only if you’ll be truthful.”

Umbra remained quiet while listening to his speech, carefully considering his words. Only when it reached an end, and he stopped to look up at her expectantly, did she speak. “I suppose you may have a point. Very well. If you must know, I was told to try and drag him back to our tribe to face judgement. However, if that was impossible, I was given permission to kill him, so long as I bring back proof of his demise. We are nearly a moon’s journey from my tribe, if one were to head directly there. I think my decision is obvious.”

“Looks like I was correct then, I suspected as much.” The purugly sat back down, voice coming out silky smooth. “In that case, I do believe I can help you out. I’ll have Jaques and Lotte accompany you. Should you get there first, you should have the chance to enact your plans. There’s just… one little catch.”

Umbra narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Explain.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’ll be anything major,” he added quickly. “No problem at all. My only request is that you leave the body behind. I suspect you wouldn’t want to travel with a corpse, after all, and I’m sure poor Mandi could use more stock. It’s so hard to scavenge enough food for all the carnivores in town, you see.

“Besides,” he added, his voice rumbling with an amused purr, “I’ve always wondered what sneasel tastes like.”

“Excuse me?” Umbra growled, slowly rising to her feet. “Do you have any idea how disrespectful it would be to leave a tribemate to be scavenged? Yveltal’s code says that any pokemon that’s been a friend to you should be given proper burial.” Not that Nip had ever been a friend to her. He was always a waste of resources, even before his treachery.

Jhorlo scoffed. “Like I would just scatter his bones about. What kind of pokemon do you take me for? I don’t know anything about this ‘Yveltal,’ but if it really bothers you that much, I can promise that our scavengers will bury whatever’s left once they’re done, as they always do. But even if they didn’t, do you really think he deserves that, after what he did to the pokemon of your tribe? Or is there something more you’re hiding?”

“Of course there’s not!” she snapped, her second set of jaws clamping tightly. She leaned forward, her tiny claws digging into the smooth surface of the wood. Narrowing her eyes, she stared at the purugly, who stared back with an even, smug grin and a glint of moonlight in his eyes. Then she forced herself to relax and lean back. “No, everything I’ve said thus far is truthful. I… suppose you have a good point though.”

For a second, she swore she saw a glint of light in the purugly’s eyes. A slight shift of his expression. He stepped closer to the table, placing his paw in the well of ink, then pressed it firmly to the paper. Even in the dim light, she could see the bright red pawprint it left behind. He then sat back down, placing one paw next to the well. “Well. Do we have a deal then?”

She hesitated only a moment longer. What difference did it make to her what they did to Nip? Or rather – to his body, once she had enacted revenge for her tribe. Once she killed him, he’d be out of her — and her kin’s, of course — fur. She could take his feathers as proof and wash her hands of this whole ordeal, returning to the home she loved.

She placed her hand into the thick ink, then pressed her palm against the parchment, next to his print and below rows of randomly placed dots. “Well, Jhorlo, I think we’ve come to an agreement.”

The purugly let out a pleased rumble. “I must thank you for your cooperation, Umbra. I’ll have Jaques and Lotte prepare to leave with you first thing in the morning, and get you outfitted with a bag to carry your belongings. Get some rest; you have a big chase ahead of you tomorrow, and you’ll need to hurry ahead of the rest of the villagers.”

She’d be able to sink her jaws into him soon. Snap his neck, or watch his lifeblood bleed out. Then she’d never have to think about Nip again.

“Of course I will, Jhorlo. I won’t let this opportunity go to waste.”

Chapter Text

Haru found it difficult to sleep that night, her dreams plagued by nightmares of Shimmer, Muse and herself dying in increasingly terrible ways. In one particularly nasty dream, she found herself ripped apart by an angry mawile, left alone to die as the other two struggled to survive.

It felt like it took forever for the first light of dawn to arrive, and at the same time rushed by in no time at all. But as light started to peek into her window, she forced herself to her paws, shook off the stray bits of straw that clung to her fur, and lumbered out of the house as quietly as possible, making sure to grab her bag along the way. She’d replenished the oran berries they’d used the night before, but otherwise their supplies were the same. Hopefully the others grabbed the escape orb.

Shimmer and Muse were already waiting for her as she stepped outside, the absol looking almost as tired as her, while Shimmer was wide awake and as bouncy as always.

“Got everything?” the kirlia asked in a whisper. 

“I’m good to go,” Haru answered. “Remind me why we have to leave so early, though?”

“Because we need to get there before everyone else, silly.” As she spoke, Shimmer took a moment to look through Muse’s saddle bags, making sure everything was in place. “Especially Umbra. You know she’ll be the first one in. She seemed like she was still asleep when Muse and I left, but I doubt she still is.”

“Right, right,” Haru mumbled, thinking once again how she very much would like to be back in bed. Or anywhere but here, getting ready to head into Sunglow Thicket again, for that matter. “I guess we should get going then. Are people going to ask questions if they see us leaving town, though?”

“No one is going to question me,” Shimmer assured, with a giggle. “And if they do, I’ll just tell them it’s business for dad. That’ll shut them up.”

Haru was not convinced, but it was as good of an excuse as any. The trio headed down the path out of town in silence, watching the sun slowly rise into the sky in front of them. Haru swore she caught a glimpse of cream fur as they neared the edge of town. She hoped it was a trick of the eye, but one little possible glimpse was more than enough to get her moving just a bit faster.

The race to catch Nip was on.

Despite the discussions of the previous day, the entrance to the dungeon was just as barren as it had been before, with not a single guard watching it. 

“I still think that was a huge oversight,” Haru muttered as they passed through the distorted space and took a moment to reorient themselves amongst the golden-leaved trees. 

“Maybe so,” Muse agreed. “I don’t know how often the dungeon shifts, but it’s best we move quickly. Nip would have to be in the stable zone by now. If he’s still here.”

Time seemed to move at a crawl as they made their way through the first three zones, working their way amongst the twisting paths and open clearings. They only met a single wildener along the way, an oddish that took one look at the trio of pokemon and ran off, thinking better of trying to start a fight on its own. 

The fourth zone was a bit less forgiving. 

“Don’t just stand there, run!” cried Haru as she barely rolled out of the way of an ursaring’s claws. She took off, skidding on leaves, spraying them into the air in her attempt to flee. 

“An ursaring? Here? Who knew we had so many scary pokemon living this close to the village!” Shimmer’s voice came out in a shriek as she shot pulses of fairy-type energy out in the direction of the ursaring, holding tight to Muse’s thick mane as the absol fled.

“Don’t worry about attacking it!” Muse called, looping back towards Haru. “It’s not worth the fight and you’ll just make it angrier! Grab Haru and let’s go!”

The kirlia finally quit shrieking at the top of her lungs, the waves of energy dying away. “Oh, fine,” she agreed, sifting her attention. She held one hand out, letting it glow with blue energy as she turned her attention to the fleeing bidoof. 

Haru cried out as she felt her limbs seize up. Yet her feet began to lift from the ground. She shifted her eyes towards Shimmer, as she flew, slowly catching up to the two. Once she was close enough, Shimmer lessened the connection, holding her as tightly as she could in her arms while providing extra support with the psychic. 

All three of them together now, Muse turned tail and ran, making a beeline for the nearest path out of the clearing. “Do we have any blast seeds?” She yelled back to Shimmer.

“Even if we do, I can’t check and keep a grip on Haru!”

“Turn me a bit, I might be able to reach!” Haru cut in. She felt shimmer twist a little bit, so that her paws could reach into Muse’s saddlebags.

Muse grit her teeth. “I can’t stand around and wait. Hold tight, I’m gonna run as fast as I can!”

Haru flinched as she heard a roar behind them, the Ursaring still pursuing with more speed than she expected out of the lumbering normal-type. 

The path in front of them slowly began to veer to the left, guiding them in an arc that seemed to lead back towards the clearing they had started from. Angry roars and crashing sounds drove Muse to push herself forward. They were slowly outrunning the beast, but they couldn’t be quick enough.

“I’ve got something!” Haru announced, her agile little paws wrapping around a stick in Muse’s bag. She pulled out the wand, gripping it for dear life as she watched for the ursaring to appear around the corner behind them.

Muse skidded to a stop as they reentered the clearing, sending up a spray of leaves. “Which way?” She called over her shoulder.

“Try the path to the left!” Shimmer shouted, glancing back over her shoulder nervously, expecting the brutish beast to reappear any second. “The left!”

The absol wasted no time speeding off, feet scrabbling in the leaf litter.

The ursaring reappeared. Haru swung the wand wildly in a panic, a wave of yellow energy expelling from tip. She watched, holding her breath, as the wave hit the ursaring square in the chest. It let out an angry roar and tried to take another step, only freeze in place, twitching as it tried to fight the wand’s effects.

“Told you the petrify wand would be useful!” Shimmer called as they disappeared down the path she’d chosen.

Even with the ursaring petrified, Muse did not stop, running through the twists and turns aimlessly until Shimmer spotted the distortion leading to the next zone a few clearings later. The trio let out a sigh of relief as the noise of the previous zone died away, leaving them in silence outside of Muse’s heavy breathing. She flopped onto her side, panting, unceremoniously dropping her kirlia and bidoof passengers in the process.

“Sorry guys,” she gasped between breaths. “I just need... A minute.”

“Look on the bright side,” Haru tried weakly, wincing as she tried roll onto her belly. “We found the next zone.” She stood up slowly, stretching out the aches. “And we haven’t come across any of the others yet, so we’re probably still ahead.”

“Unless someone else had the same idea that we did,” Muse pointed out, still breathless. She rolled back onto her stomach.  “Then they could be ahead of us.”

Shimmer took a moment to carefully dust herself off, then combed her fingers through her hair. “Good points, both of you. You’re both so clever! We gotta keep going then, to catch up or stay ahead, whichever it may be!”

The absol slowly climbed to her feet and addressed Shimmer. “Um… Sorry, do you mind walking for a bit? I’m kind of exhausted.”

“Of course, of course,” Shimmer said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Save your strength and all that. We should be to the last zone soon enough and we need to be in tip-top shape for that. Everyone keep an eye out!”

The crew sat off in an apprehensive silence, making their way through the forest of perpetual autumn with their goal in mind. No one dared speak, for fear of drawing unwanted attention when so close to their goal.

How long they spent in the fifth zone was unclear; Only the passage of twisting paths and thousands of fallen leaves to showed that they were making any progress at all. 

But after what felt like forever, the end was in sight. Shimmer was the first to spot the distorted break in the undergrowth, more half dozen clearings later. 

“Ready?” Muse asked.

Muse and Shimmer shared determined looks. Haru was less certain but did her best to hide it. The trio stepped through the distortion.

Haru waited for the vertigo to pass as she stepped through the narrow path, then took a quick, cursory look around, only to discover that she had to stand on her hind legs to see anything over the thick, tall grass. 

Unfortunately, even then she could see little, for fog kept her from seeing much further.

The trio huddled close together, looking cautiously about for any signs of life. Muse raised her head to sniff at the air, then tilted it downwards to sniff at the ground. 

“It’s faint, but I smell something… off. Something different from the scent of these woods. Nip, possibly. Stay close and on guard, I’m going to try and track it.”

Muse began to walk, each paw step careful, stopping to sniff the ground every moment or so to make certain she was staying on the correct path. Haru walked just behind, following the absol’s path exactly, trying to sniff out the abnormalities in the scent of damp grass and dust. Shimmer brought up the rear, her eyes glowing a soft blue as she attempted to feel for anyone around them with her psychic abilities.

Haru’s sense of smell was, unfortunately, dampened by fog in the air, moisture clinging to her fur. “I think I hate this dungeon,” she mumbled under her breath as she pushed further through the grass, only to almost bump up against Muse’s leg.

The absol had come to a stop just ahead, staring down into a crater just a few feet away. The other two sidled up beside her. 

“Did he go down there?” Shimmer asked. 

Muse shook her body, flinging moisture and dust into the air. “No. The path veers to the left. I was just… thinking for a moment. Legends say that the mystery dungeons are the scars of the War of the Ancient Ones. It’s…. Kind of sad, to look at it in person, and see that even hundreds… thousands of years later, scars still remain on the land.”

Haru stared down into the hole for a moment, looking at the grass that grew thick at the bottom. Then she let out a scoff and turned away. “Who cares about some ancient battle in the past. It happened so long ago, it doesn’t really matter anymore. We should be looking to the future instead. Or the present, at least. Come on, we’re wasting time.”

Muse turned to look at the bidoof for a moment. “I would argue it still matters, since mystery dungeons still exist, but I can’t fault you for your feelings.” She turned back and peered down into the crater for a moment longer, then let out a hum of ascent and turned, sniffing at the air again.

The path Muse lead them on was a winding one, twisting and turning deeper into the stable zone, avoiding each crater or hole they passed. Haru followed the trail just behind, confirming that the absol was on the right path. The next few minutes passed in a tense silence, coming closer and closer to the center. 

Then finally, they were free of the grass, the scent trail leading to a small pond in the middle, mixing and mingling with scents of the forest. 

“I’m getting a drink of water,” Shimmer mumbled. “Give me just a moment.” She stepped forward to the water’s edge, lapping up a few mouthfuls of the water, scrunching up her face a moment later. “Tastes like dirt.”

Haru, on the other hand, had no interest in stopping, sniffing the trail even as it moved into mud. She followed it closely at the water’s edge, until it came to a sudden stop. She was so intent on the smell, however, that she didn’t notice the tree until she had knocked her head on it. She let out a yelp, falling back onto her butt so she could try to rub her head where she’d bonked.

Muse and Shimmer joined her a moment later.

“Is this where the trail ends?” Shimmer asked. 

“Seems like it,” Muse reported. “Though… its possible he masked his scent.”

“How so?” 

“Swimming in the water, caking himself in mud or… other smelly things. Either of those are a possibility.”

“Or he’s still up there,” Haru finished. “How are we gonna find out? You and I can’t climb, Muse, and I don’t know about Shims going up by herself.”

“Aw you really do care about me, future sister in law!” Shimmer remarked with a squeal. 

“Don’t push it,” Haru said with a growl. “I mean, you can go if you want and I won’t stop you.”

Shimmer waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever you say, Harhar. I have an even better idea. I’m going to yell at the tree.”

“What?” 

“You heard me!” 

“Shims wait—”

The kirlia took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she focused and chose her words. Then she cried out in a shrill, disarming voice, “Oh Niiiip! Won’t you please come down here? We just want to talk!” As she screamed, she let out pulses of energy, aiming at the branches above. 

The leaves swayed from the force of the pulse, but at first, it seemed like nothing had happened. But a second later, as Shimmer’s energy died away, Haru caught sight of a dark form hanging from one of the higher branches: a sneasel with mint-green feathers grumbling curses under his breath.

“Hey, I see him! Up there!” Then she turned her attention to the fugitive. “Hey! Nip! We’re serious! Come down from there peacefully, and we won’t have to fight!

“Yeah! If you come with us, we’ll take you back to the village before Umbra can get you!” Shimmer added.

“She probably knows you’re here by now,” Muse added. “If she’s already here, she would have heard all that yelling.”

“Hey, no fair Musey, don’t pin it on me.”

The sneasel slung himself around, so that he was balanced safely on the branch. He peered down at the trio for a very long moment as they stared back up at him.

And then he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, blasting them from above with air so frigid that small shards of ice began to form, sending a chill through the trio. Then he jumped, landing several yards away on his feet, immediately taking off at a run.

“Aw, looks like we’re doing this the hard way!” Shimmer called out. “Let’s go guys!” No sooner had she taken a step, however, a blast of water from behind knocked her off her feet. She turned her head just in time to see a pink tail disappear into the depths of the water. 

“Stupid water-type!” the kirlia cried, shaking a fist. “What’s their problem? Oh, don’t just stand there, guys; don’t let him get away!”

Muse took off first, following the parting grass. Haru bounded after them as quickly as she could, not waiting for Shimmer to scramble back to her feet.

Nip had the advantage of speed, but Muse had the advantage of height and being able to see where she was going over the grass, cutting corners around pitfalls to slowly gain on the sneasel, who was running practically blind. 

Haru was less lucky, being even slower than the long-legged absol. All she had to guide her were chance glimpses of Muse’s pale fur between gaps in the grass. 

Shimmer caught up with her a moment later. “He’s really moving!” she reported. “But he keeps having to readjust himself to avoid the craters. Wait- they’re both stopping up ahead! I think they’ve run into someone!”

Haru forced herself to move faster, guided by Shimmer towards where the two had stopped. Heartbeats later, the two burst out into a small clearing barren of grass, perhaps twice as wide as Muse was across and three times long.

A serviper stood blocking the way, hissing angrily. Nip stood behind it, glancing anxiously back towards Muse. And beyond him were two other pokemon: a tediursa and a steenee. 

“I don’t care what he’s done,” The serviper hissed angrily, apparently in the middle of an argument with Muse. “We do not. Break. The pact.”

“We don’t care about your stupid wildener pact,” Shimmer announced, garnering a flinch from Muse. and a warning noise from Haru. “He did a crime. We’ll be taking him back to face that, if he wants to live.”

“Well, we don’t care about village rules. The stable zone is neutral territory,” the serviper shot back. “Either respect that or — if you choose to attack — we will be forced to intervene.”

A tense staredown followed as the trio sized the enemy up. If they attacked, it would give Nip a chance to slink away. The tediursa seemed anxious, and unprepared for battle. The serviper and steenee on the other hand…

Before they had a chance to decide, however a voice called out that chilled the trio of village pokemon to their core.

“NIP!”

The mawile appeared a moment later, took one quick cursory glance at the two frozen sides, then set her eyes on nip and launched herself at him. 

The sneasel sprang out of the way of the snapping jaws with a terrified screech. Immediately the six other pokemon sprang into action, the clearing breaking out into the chaos and cacophony of fighting pokemon. 

The tediursa cried out in alarm and barely avoided getting hit by Umbra on the rebound. 

The steenee sprang up and shot razor-sharp leaves at the mawile. 

Muse charged towards the serviper, dark energy accumulating on her horn.

Shimmer gasped out in alarm as she spotted familiar faces emerging from the grass.

“Jaques? Lotte?”

“Shimmer?”

“Miss Shimmer?”

Haru hung back, trying to catch sight of who was fighting who. She caught sight of grey and green slinking out of the cloud of kicked-up dust, getting ready to disappear back into the grass. 

She sprang out of the way of a whirl of claws and scales, barely avoiding the poisonous tip of the serviper’s tail.

“Shims! No time to explain, look!” She raised a paw to point towards the slinking sneasel, who had nearly reached the grass. 

“Throw me! Quick!”

Shimer stared at her long enough to blink once, then Haru’s plan clicked with her. “Got it, hold tight to your bag!”

Haru winced as she felt psychic energy surround and lift her stiffly into the air. 

“I’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Good luck!”

By now, more pokemon living in the stable zone were appearing, jumping into the fray with only a vague idea of who was friend or foe only interested in ending the fight by any means necessary. Before she could make any more sense of the fight, though, she was flung through the air, flying directly towards Nip.

She let out a battle cry as she fell, crashing into his back with all the raw power of a furious bidoof, sending him sprawling to the ground. She held tight for a moment, digging paws into his back as she tried to sink her teeth into his scruff. In response he screeched and scrambled and twisted beneath her. 

But she had underestimated his flexibility. He twisted just enough to strike at her, slashing at her side with glowing claws.

She let out a pained squeal, her concentration broken, giving him just enough of an opening to wiggle and struggle free from under her, shoving her aside.

As soon as he was loose, he scrambled to his feet and took off at a run again, shards of ice beginning to form in his mouth as he prepared another attack.

Haru climbed back to her feet and flew forward with all the speed she could muster. He had a head start, but he was fleeing at full speed yet. In a last-ditch effort, she leapt, springing forward with paws outstretched, tackling him without holding back. 

Right into one of the craters.

The two tumbled head over heels as they bounced and skidded down the steep slope, coming to a painful stop at the bottom. 

Haru groaned, shaking her head in an attempt clear the dizziness and gather her bearings. She caught sight of Nip a few feet away, also trying to climb to his feet. He coughed and spat out a few lousy ice crystals.

“We can stop this now, you know!” Haru called out, stamping her foot as she faced him down.

He turned his attention to the bidoof and took up a defensive pose, eyes narrowing to slits. “Yes, we could. You can let me go and then I’ll be out of your fur and you’ll never have to worry about me again. You can pretend I never existed.”

“Don’t you try to play that with me! You stole an egg from us. Unless you still happen to have it, there’s no taking that back!”

The sneasel crouched, dark energy forming around his claws. “I don’t want to fight.”

Haru shook her fur and glanced to the side. In the confrontation, her bag had been knocked loose. She darted her gaze back to the sneasel. “Then give up, because that’s the only way you’re getting out of this without one.”

Without waiting for an answer, she raced forward with her head lowered, prepared to headbutt him.

Only to earn a sharp pain to the side of the head as he struck first.

She stumbled, knocked off course by the glancing blow. As she reeled, he turned tail, bolting towards the side of the crater.

She responded by chomping down on one of his tail feathers and tugging.

The sneasel screeched, stumbling, and nearly fell.

Unfortunately, all she got for her trouble was a pulled tail-feather. She spat the feather out and charged again, knocking into him with a hard headbutt. As he stumbled to the ground, she hurried to try pinning him again, this time more mindful of his claws.

“You again?!”

Haru glanced up at the angry squawk above her. She caught sight of orange and blue, just in time for the flame-wreathed bird to crash into her side, knocking her back several feet. 

“Give me back my treasure!”

She climbed back to her feet as the fletchinder took to the air again, the flames dying away. But the bird was already circling back for another attack. Even worse, Nip had taken the opportunity to attempt an escape again, already climbing halfway up the steep crater walls. And the sounds of fights in the distance still raged on.

If he got away now, then they may never find him.

“Ha! Did you think you could escape me that easily?”

Haru glanced up behind her to the rim of the crater. Outlined in the mist was the form of a mawile. Umbra must have broken off from the fight when she realized Nip was gone. 

Nip paused his upwards climb, sucked in a breath, and spat shards of ice at the steel-type. Umbra responded by shielding her face with her hands, the worst of the shards either striking there or bouncing off harmlessly. He paused for a breath, and the mawile took the opportunity to dash to the other side, preparing to block his escape.

If she got to him first, it was over.

An angry caw sounded overhead. Considering her options, time ticking down as the fletchinder dove at her again, Haru glanced to the torn bag to her side. 

The sleep orb.

“Fine, if you want it so bad, come get it!”

She dropped it right in front of her and steadied herself, waiting just a few more seconds for the fletchinder to come closer.

Then she dashed forward to headbutt the orb, sending it flying with as much force as she could muster, shattering it against the side of the crater.

Green powder burst forth from the orbs remains, whipping up into a cloud, spreading quickly as it ballooned out. Haru forced herself to hold her breath and hunkered down. 

The others caught in the cloud were less lucky, unprepared for the orb to take its effects.

Nip let out an angry screech, trying to climb his way out of the cloud before the effects could take hold. But it was too late. His eyelids began to droop, his voice died in his throat, and his grip weakened. Unconscious, he tumbled back to the bottom of the hole.

The fletchinder, similarly, was caught mid attack, hitting the ground and skidding to a stop in a half-asleep stupor.

Even Umbra was sagging, teetering dangerously on the edge before pitching forward, falling into the pit.

Haru let out a breath as the green mist dissipated and relaxed slightly, feeling a bit safer now that the three aggressing pokemon were asleep. How long the artificial nap would last, however, was yet to be determined.

And she still had another problem to deal with. Even though she may have stopped Nip’s escape, she had no way to get herself out of the crater, let alone with Nip in tow.

She sank to the ground, legs splaying out under her as the rush of battle died away. Her wounds, however minor, were stinging, now that she had a moment to dwell on it. For one thing, her head ached, where Nip had struck it, though she was pretty sure he had not broken skin.

She twisted her head to get a look at her side. On one side, her fur was singed, a nasty burnt smell wafting up. On the other, Nip’s claws had managed to cut, but the wounds were fortunately shallow. Two lines of red clumped in her fur. But she would live. 

Relieved that she was in no danger of bleeding out, she turned her attention to other important matters. She strained her ears for the sound of the other battle nearby and realized that she could no longer hear it. Had the fight ended? Who won? Had everyone moved on without her, thinking that perhaps she had run off? Surely Shimmer would have said something right?

Unless she had been knocked out, of course. Or perhaps they had all been defeated, left at the mercy of the angry wildeners? The fleeting thought of being abandoned was enough to strike fear into the bidoof.

Stuck as she was, Haru did the one thing she could think to do.

“Is anyone out there?” she called out into the fog. “Help me! I’m stuck down here!”

Several moments passed with no sound. She called out twice more. Hoping that some kind soul would help her out, even if the others had moved on. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling exhausted now that the danger had passed.

“Haru? Is that you down there?”

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar masculine voice. Slowly, she climbed up to her feet, tilting her head up to put a face to the familiar voice. 

Barely visible in the mist, Anu stood at the edge of the crater, peering down with squinted eyes.

What Haru should have said was, “Yes, it’s me.” Instead, she blurted out, “Anu? What are you doing here?”

The lucario raised a brow. “I should be asking you that. You didn’t sign up to help.”

Haru sheepishly turned her head. “Well… Shimmer and Muse were planning on going, and I didn’t feel good leaving them alone after last time.”

Anu let out a noncommittal hum in response to that, then turned his attention to the unconscious figures resting in the base with Haru. “Is that—”

“Nip and Umbra, yes.” She paused, slightly altering the truth in her head as she spoke. “I used a sleep orb to knock him out and Umbra got caught up in the attack.”

“And the fletchinder?”

“Er… the fletchinder was an attacking wildener. That’s pretty much all there is to say about him.”

The lucario took a moment to hum in thought. “Okay, let’s get you out of there then. Give me just a moment.” He grew quiet, closing his eyes. Haru watched as the dangling aura sensors on either side of his head stiffened, raising up slightly. He took a step back from the edge and turned, walking away. 

Haru was left alone once again. She turned her attention back to the trio of sleeping figures, watching for any sign of movement.

The mawile began to stir.

Of course the orb’s effects wouldn’t last long; that was too much to ask for. She tensed, watching with bated breath as Umbra squeezed her eyes and clenched her hands. She let out a groan, slowly climbing to her feet.

“What happened?”

Haru kept her mouth shut as the mawile began to look around, taking in the injured bidoof and the sleeping forms of the fletchinder and Nip. She turned her attention to Haru, piecing things together in her head.

“You used an orb, didn’t you?” She grumbled. “You did not need to do that. I could have stopped his escape easily.”

“I was still being attacked!” Haru countered indignantly.

The mawile only grunted in response, turning away from Haru to instead approach Nip again.

“Anu will be back in a minute,” Haru blurted out. “He went back to get help to get us out of here.”

Umbra tilted her head to look towards the top of the crater. “I suppose it would be difficult to climb out of here…” She turned, twisting so that she could scoop up Nip within her second jaw. “Guess I can just take care of this now though.”

Haru sucked in a breath and tensed, her mind jumping to the worst possible conclusions. Umbra would kill him. She was going to kill Nip right now, in front of her. Maybe her too, for being a witness. Even if she lived, they would never get the answers. They’d never know if the egg was still around, or why he did it. They’d never know how true Umbra’s story was. 

Was this really just?

Perhaps she was overreacting, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

“Wait.”

The mawile paused, turning her attention to Haru. “If you have something to say, spit it out.”

Haru could not help but flinch at her tone, but she spoke, forcing herself to be brave and even a bit defiant in the face of a pokemon she knew could kill her.

“There’s no need to rush into any judgement. Once we get back to the village, we’ll have a chance to get everything sorted out, and Nip will get what’s coming to him for everything he’s done.”

The mawile tilted her head away, considering for a moment before sticking her nose up in the air. “As I’ve said before, my kin have our own way of dealing with things. He is my responsibility, and as such I will deal with him and judge him my way.”

Her jaw clenched, squeezing the sneasel a bit harder. He jolted with a gasp, eyes opening wide, woke by pain. At first, he panicked, squirming and struggling in her grip, claws scraping uselessly against the steel jaws. 

“No. No-no-no,” he began to mumble incoherently, as his strikes became more and more desperate. “I’ve made it so far. Not now, not now! Yveltal, please.”

“Oh, quit your whining, it’ll all be over soon” Umbra growled, her tone darkening as she addressed Nip. She squeezed her jaw even harder, like a vice. Nip let out a pained yelp and went limp. For a second, Haru thought he might be dead — or at least unconscious — but shallow, panicked breaths and the occasional twitch of his claws proved otherwise.

“Umbra, stop,” the bidoof demanded, climbing back to her feet. “You came with the village, which means you have to use our laws.”

“Do not make me your enemy, bidoof,” the mawile replied, narrowing her eyes. “I will deal with this brigand the way I promised to. It’s nothing personal, just what I have to do for my kin.”

“It’s very personal!”

Haru’s gaze quickly shifted over to Nip, his voice catching her attention. As soon as he noticed, he spoke again, words tumbling out of his mouth like a waterfall, his pitch raising in urgency the more he talked.

“I-isn’t that right Umbra? That’s why they sent you after me isn’t it? You told them you-you wanted to deal with me yourself, right? Because it w-wasn’t enough that you ruined my life, right?”

The mawile responded by turning to slam him against the side of the crater with a huff. “Your lies will get no sympathy from me. You ruined your own damn life.”

Nip spat dirt out of his mouth. “That’s a lie and you know it!”

“Can you both just shut up!” Haru called out!

“No!” Nip and Umbra yelled in unison.

“You can’t expect me to be calm when she’s just making excuses to hurt me like she always has!”

“You expect me to be calm when Nip is telling lies to try and get you on his side?”

Haru growled, shaking rage seeping into her tone. “I’ve had enough nonsense! I’ve been dragged out here twice in two days, to hunt down you—” she paused to angrily gesture her head towards Nip “—And then I’ve been bitten, burned, clawed at, and chased in the process. And you, Umbra! You attacked us for no good reason yesterday! Why should I trust anything you say? No. We are all going back to the village and getting an explanation. Do I make myself clear?”

Neither of the two other pokemon said anything, instead staring blankly at the enraged bidoof.

“That’s right, they’re over this way.”

Haru turned her head back towards the voice. A few seconds later, Anu emerged from the fog, Shimmer’s hand in his paw and with Essra resting on his head. The espurr hopped off his head, and dove head-first into the pit, slowing her descent with psychic once she was close enough to see Haru.

“Sorry we took so long, everyone,” she announced, dipping her head to Haru and then to Umbra. “Thank you for holding on to the criminal, Miss Umbra, let me get you back up to the top, then Anu can take over.”

"I can hold on to him just fine!" Umbra snapped.

"I'm sure you can miss, but if you have an issue, you have to take it up with the boss." As the espurr spoke, she brushed a paw up against Umbra. a few seconds passed before a soft blue hue overtook the mawile.

Essra squinted her eyes shut, using a great deal of concentration to keep the steel-type within her psychic hold. She raised a single paw and, after a second, the mawile was raised into the air and up to the edge of the crater, Nip still held in her grip.

She turned her attention to the fletchinder next, carefully raising him out of the crater and depositing him in front of Shimmer, who then took over the psychic hold.

“Um…” Haru began, her brow furrowing. “Why are you taking him?”

The espurr turned to look at Haru, raising a paw. “Anu said he attacked you, right?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“That’s why. They’re taking in the wildeners that started the fight in for questioning. The serviper and steenee at least. The teddiursa is just a kid, and we wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of an angry mother ursaring.”

“I guess that’s fair enough,” Haru mumbled, stiffening as she felt psychic energy grip her muscles, lifting her into the air and back up onto solid ground. Essra floated back over the edge just a moment later.

Now that she was up close, Haru could see that Shimmer had not escaped the battle against the wildeners unscathed. There was no serious damage, but several lacerations lined her arms and torso, the small cuts staining her short, fuzzy, white fur red. Otherwise, however, she looked okay. 

The group made their way back the clearing where the fight had first broken out. Several unconscious pokemon were sprawled out in the grass, and the few that were still awake were hiding in the grass on the fringes, licking at their wounds. 

Whisper had arrived by now and had gotten straight to work organizing things. The serviper had been draped over Romi’s back, the rapidash pacing anxiously back and forth. At the moment, Whisper and a roserade were helping hoist the steenee onto Vale’s back. 

Jaques, Lotte, and Muse were to the side, Jaques holding a slice of a pecha berry up against a nasty bite in Muse’s shoulder while the absol ate a second one. Besides the nasty bite, one of her eyes had swollen nearly shut. The two purrloin looked not much better, with cuts along their backs and one nasty slice along Lotte’s flank.

The hawlucha turned her attention towards the arriving party. “Anu, there you are.” She paused, crossing her arms as she looked over Haru and Umbra. “Good, it looks like there’s no serious injury, other than Muse’s bite.

As she locked eyes with the sneasel still in Umbra’s grip, she narrowed her eyes, before returning her attention to the roserade beside her. “Roselei,” Whisper started, her voice firm, “go help Umbra out and take the prisoner.”  

The mawile took a step back, speaking in an annoyed rumble. “Why does everyone insist on treating me like a newborn. I can take care of holding him just fine.”

The hawlucha looked Umbra over. Out of all the pokemon that had been involved in the fight, she was the least injured, with nothing more than a few scrapes and a single cut. 

“I’m sure you can,” Whisper replied flatly. “But I still want those wounds looked at. You’ll go with the others to the infirmary to get your injuries treated. Don’t worry, we won’t be passing any judgement without you.”

"Why don't I just take care of things myself? I don't have to follow your rules."

"Because if you don't," Whisper said in a frustrated growl, "I'll lock you up for your attack on village Pokemon yesterday. I don't have time to deal with your tantrum."

Umbra opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it and closed it again. “Fine. Do make it quick though.”

The roserade approached Umbra with an unreadable expression on her face. Thick, thorny vines unraveled from underneath her flowers as she waited silently for the mawile to open her jaw. Once the teeth were just loose enough that she could slip a vine in, she snaked the vines inside with just a bit of concentration, wrapping them tightly around the sneasel so that his arms were bound to his sides. Only then did Umbra let go entirely.

“You may want to bind his mouth, by the way,” Umbra said, turning away. “He has nasty icy wind and ice shard attacks that he might spit at you otherwise.”

“Fair point,” Roselei agreed. The vines snaked just a bit further out, reaching up to wrap around his snout.

“How dare you say that! You just don’t want me to ta-” The sneasel let out a yelp as thorns dug into his face, but it cut off as his mouth was forced shut, turning into a pained whine as he was dragged to his feet.

Satisfied, Whisper turned to her mate. "There should be two more teams coming though later. Will you and Essra wait here for them to let them know we're done?"

The lucario bowed his head. "Of course, dear. We'll meet you in the village."

"Thank you." She turned her attention to the remainder of the Pokemon. "We will be returning to the village now. Those that are injured should go to Lecha's when we get there. The rest take the wildeners to the guard hut for questioning." 

She paused to look over to Shimmer. "I apologize, but do you mind taking the fletchinder over for us? Vale and Romi are the only ones big enough to carry him, and both of them are preoccupied."

"Of course, I can," the kirlia said, waving a hand dismissively. The movement also caused the unconscious fletchinder to move.

He's really out of it, Haru thought to herself as Shimmer passed her by. Weird. Both Umbra and Nip woke up pretty fast. Is he okay?

She was jostled out of her thoughts by Whisper's voice. "Alright everyone, move out!"

The Hawlucha leapt forward to take the lead. Romi and Vale followed next, carefully balancing the wildeners on their backs. Roselei followed next, half leading, half dragging Nip. Umbra wouldn't stray far from the sneasel, practically looming over him, despite her smaller stature.

Shimmer and the fletchinder, Haru, Muse, Jaques, and Lotte all followed behind in a loose group at the rear. They made their way in a straight line - or as straight as they could while dodging craters - heading through the fog until they reached an area where the trees and fog seemed to grow thicker. And then they continued further still, until the fog grew so thick that Haru could barely see the pokemon in front of her.

But then the fog began to clear, and it began to grow warmer, the crisp, cool autumn air replaced with humid summer heat. They found themselves back in the forest outside Sunglow Thicket. A small group of pokemon – a quagsire, a pidove, and flaffy – charged forward at first, ready to strike at the pokemon that exited. But once they caught sight of Whisper, they stopped short. And when they saw the captured Nip, they broke out into excited chatter, the pidove taking off back towards the village to let everyone know the good news.

Haru spent much of the journey in silence, even as the Pokemon around her talked. Some were excited. She caught Muse asking Jaques and Lotte why they were there but did not catch the purloins' answer. The fletchinder woke up at some point, squawking obscenities as he struggled to pull loose from Shimmer’s psychic hold. A few quick strikes from the two purloin and Muse were enough to subdue him. 

But Haru’s mind was otherwise occupied. She should be excited. They captured Nip! And soon he’d be punished and exiled or else locked up and she could put this whole mess behind her.

But as they continued their march towards the village, she found herself dwelling on his panicked cries from back in the crater. Her mind drifted to questions she could not easily answer. If he was sent away with Umbra, would the mawile kill him? Should she really care? Were his panicked ramblings only words to try and garner sympathy to get himself out of trouble and get her on his side? Or was there really something fishy going on between him and Umbra?

Whatever the answers may have been, Haru did know one thing. Lies or not, she needed to know what Nip claimed was going on with Umbra. Only then could she answer those questions for herself.

Chapter Text

"Ouch! That stings!"

Lecha clucked her tongue and shook her head as she looked over the injured bidoof. She continued to carefully wipe away dirt and grime from Haru's cuts with a damp cloth, ignoring Haru as she winced and squirmed.

"I told you not to go back to the dungeon," Lecha chided. "And what did you do? Go back to the dungeon. You have no one to blame but yourself."

Haru groaned, sifting slightly in the nest. "It's not like I wanted to be there."

"Yes, yes, you've already told me. Now hold still and let me get a look at your head there."

Her gaze shifted to the side as Lecha moved around her, catching a glance of Muse out of the corner of her eye. The absol was laying down with her eyes closed, her shoulder heavily wrapped in a pecha-soaked cloth bandage. Shimmer had draped herself against the absol's side, small pulses of healing energy passing from her hands on occasion. Jaques and Lotte had left shortly after their treatment was finished, speaking in low voices as they headed back to meet up with Jhorlo.

Umbra paced at the edge of the room, her minor cuts already treated with a couple oran berries from Twi. The illumise in question was on the far side of the room, humming as they worked on washing out the used rags.

"Why is it taking so long for them to get back?" she caught the mawile grumbling. "They better not do anything without me."

Behind her, she heard Toshi grumble something inaudible. Her thoughts cut off as Lecha's released a wave of healing energy from her palm, easing her pain and relaxing her tense muscles.

Lecha finally stepped back. "Alright, dear, get yourself an oran berry from Twi, then you're good to go.” Her gaze hardened. “But be careful. No strenuous activity for two days. And keep those cuts clean. Understand?"

Haru groaned, rolling her eyes. "I understand. Nothing but stripping bark the next couple days. Got it."

The aromatisse gave her a pointed look. "Alright, off you go then."

She turned her attention to Shimmer and her guard. "Muse can leave too, so long as you don't ride on her back, Shimmer. Give that bite time to heal. And Toshi… If you want to go out to the square to participate in the sneasel's judgement I'll allow it, but come straight back afterwards, understand?"

Toshi hopped up immediately, then paused with a wince. "Finally, some fresh air! I-I mean… Y-yeah, I got it. Thanks, Lecha."

"What kinda punishment are they gonna do? You think they're going to behead him?" Twi interjected in a lighthearted tone without looking back.

"Excuse me?" Lecha squeaked, before growing more serious in tone. "Don't even joke about that. Where did you ever get such an idea?"

The illumise finally turned. "My dad told me we used to do that here."

Lecha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "That was many, many years ago. Generations ago. When the woods were wilder and pokemon were less civilized. Besides, you don't really want to see a beheading, dear. Trust me."

Twi tilted their head. "Have you seen one, Lecha?"

"No, fortunately, but I have seen some nasty injuries in my years, including loss of limbs. Those are bad enough."

"You wouldn't see one anyways," Haru said. "Usually even unincorporated villages ship their worst criminals off to the Enforcers Union. They handle any executions these days. And those are only done behind closed doors."

Satisfied with her explanation, she stood and stretched, then turned to Toshi. "Are you ready to go then?"

Toshi carefully stepped out of the straw bed and gave himself a look over. "As I'm gonna be. I don't really care too much to go but… I guess I want answers is all."

"You and me both," Haru agreed. "Simmer, Muse, you two coming?"

"'Course we are! Muse, let’s escort my Toshi-kins."

"I don’t need an escort," the bidoof mumbled while Shimmer shook Muse awake. He made no further argument, though.

Muse lifted her head, then stood and shook, sending stray bits of hay in all directions. She winced as pain flared up in her shoulder, but pushed through it and took the lead, walking beside Shimmer down the hall. Haru let Toshi walk in front of her so that she could keep an eye on him, watching his slow, careful movements. As she walked through the hall into the lobby, she heard footsteps patter behind her. Stealing a glance back, she caught sight of Umbra following behind.

"I'm not going to stand around and wait any longer, if even all of you can go," she growled when she caught sight of Haru staring back.

Haru elected to ignore the statement, turning her attention back to her brother as they exited the building.

The majority of the village pokemon had already gathered just outside of the square, waiting around the small building the town guard operated out of. And yet, Nip, Roselei, and Whisper were nowhere to be seen.

Umbra ran ahead of the beaten and battered group, pushing her way through the crowd to try and get into the building. Vale and Romi blocked the entrance, however, barring all pokemon from entry. The bidoof pushed herself to walk a little faster and tried to weave between the crowd to get a better look.

"Move aside!" Haru caught Umbra snapping at the manetric and rapidash. "He’s my problem. I should be involved in whatever is going on."

"Relax," Vale growled, sending a couple warning sparks in Umbra’s direction. "They're just questioning the wildeners. They'll bring the sneasel out when they're done so he can make his claims and face judgement."

Umbra snarled, but clenched her fists and turned away, beginning to restlessly pace again.

Soon after, the serviper and steenee emerged from the hut, flanked on either side by the quagsire and flaffy that had been waiting outside the dungeon. The fletchinder followed shortly after.

As he looked over the crowd, the fletchinder caught sight of Haru and let out an angry squawk, opening his wings as if to attack. But a weak jolt of electricity from the flaffy stopped him.

"Let them through," the quagsire called out. "They've been cleared to visit Lecha for healing, then they'll be returning to where they came."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the crowd parted, letting the three wildeners through with distrusting looks. The steenee and serviper, in turn, did little to counteract the anger and distrust, glowering right back. The fletchinder, however, took one cautious hop before taking to the sky. "Forget this. I have family to get back to." Soon, he was only a speck in the distance.

A few minutes of tense chatter passed, the villagers milling around anxiously as they waited for any sort of news from inside. Enough time passed that the quagsire and flaffy returned, this time without the Wildeners. Lecha joined the crowd shortly afterwards. Finally, however, their patience was rewarded.

Roselei came out first, stretching in the afternoon sunlight before moving over to meet up with Ruffle on the side. She rubbed her flowers together, her gaze shifting to the doorway as she mumbled something about ice types. In response, Ruffle brushed her hand against one of the roserade's flowers, pulling it down to hold onto at her side.

Another moment passed and Anu emerged, having returned by now from the mystery dungeon. In his paws was a stack of parchment, a piece of charcoal balanced on top. Essra came next, her eyes glowing with psychic energy. Then he appeared.

Nip's forepaws had been bound together by a thick rope that glowed with the same psychic energy that glinted in the espurr’s eyes, dragging him out of the hut as he tried to keep on his feet. The crowd broke out into a cacophony of sound ranging from nervous whispers to jeers at the expense of the sneasel. Once he had been brought in front of Anu, Essra cut the psychic connection. Nip stumbled. As soon as he found his balance, his ear folded back against his skull. His eyes narrowed to slits as he faced the angry crowd.

Finally, Whisper emerged with Jhorlo beside her, the two conversing in serious, hushed voices. Haru strained, leaning forward in an attempt to catch what they were saying, though she could only make out snippets.

Whisper spoke first. "You know I respect your leadership and your thoughts, but… with a trial… I more than anyone… can't do that."

"I understand your hesitations," came Jhorlo's reply. "But… perfectly reasonable… we know that he… nothing this serious in nearly a decade… have a good reason to…"

"Even so, that's... responsibility. Punishment of that… handled by the Enforcers…"

Finally, Jhorlo was close enough that she could hear his words clearly. "And we don't have an Enforcer's branch here. It would take far long for any to arrive, too. We'll have to make our own decisions."

"In that case, we'll take a vote after we hear his story, as we usually would," Whisper replied curtly. She shot Nip an unreadable glance. “As horrible as this is, we can’t just skip our normal processes altogether. We are not wildeners. We don’t kill first and ask questions later.” Then she turned away, taking a few steps to stand beside Anu. She scowled at the sneasel but said nothing more for the moment.

Jhorlo turned to take a seat on the other side, his expression unreadable.

Haru considered the snippets of conversation, her mind drifting back to the conversation in Lecha's clinic. Were they actually considering an execution? On one hand, she thought for a crime this serious, it was certainly reasonable to consider it. On the other hand, Whisper had more reason than anyone else to call for an execution, and even she seemed against it.

Anu stepped forward, raising a paw to call for silence in the crowd. A moment passed as the clamor died down, pokemon nudging and shushing each other into silence once they noticed the lucario. Only after everyone grew silent did he begin to speak, clearing his throat.

"We…We have… gathered..." He hesitated, cleared his throat again, and continued, choosing his words carefully. "Apologies, I am… not the best at speaking to crowds, as you all know. And this situation is… not easy for me, to say the least. I am sure you are all gathered today to bear witness to the trial and sentencing of this sneasel."

"We already know he's guilty!" shouted the flaffy from the back of the crowd. "Get on with it!"

"I understand your feelings," Whisper said tersely, "but our laws dictate that we give accused pokemon a chance to defend themselves."

Anu turned his head to give Whisper a grateful glance. "Ahem, right. Let me, let us review the story so far." He paused to look down at the parchment. "Three days ago, this sneasel, Nip, was caught in the act of egg theft and was chased out of town, fleeing into Sunglow Thicket with the egg. There are… Three crimes were known to be committed, other than evading arrest and assaulting a guard. Our e-"

He cut off and took a deep breath. "An egg was stolen from the nursery, along with a bag and a handful of supplies from Lecha's clinic. This bag was fortunately recovered, though the egg… He also assaulted a child in the nursery, as brave Aves tried to stop him."

Anu turned to address the sneasel directly. "Do you deny any of these claims?"

"I…" Nip hesitated, eyes darting to look towards the lucario, then back to the crowd. He lowered his head slightly. "I would argue it wasn't 'assault,' but rather 'defending myself'... I… think they attacked first."

The lucario glanced over to Whisper with a pleading expression. She let out a sigh before stepping forward, speaking up in a much clearer voice. "You ‘think’? How do you not know” Nip said nothing, so she continued. “So, you contest the assault?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Fine. What about the other accusations?"

Nip sucked in a breath, tensing. He stayed like that for a moment, prompting the crowd to break into hushed whispers. Haru caught herself leaning forward, breath bated as she waited for his response. Would he tell the truth? Or dig himself into a deeper hole?

Finally, though, he turned his head slightly away, ear and ear feather pressing back against his skull. "I… guess not…"

"See he admits it!" the flaaffy bleated above the crowd as a wave of murmurs broke out.

"I told you he was up to know good."

"That's why I never help strangers."

"Oh, don't get so high and mighty just because you're selfish."

"Settle down!" Whisper barked waving a wing towards the murmuring pokemon. The crowd quickly fell silent, spooked by the lead guard's harsh and commanding tone.

Satisfied, she turned her attention back to the sneasel, narrowing her eyes. Her tone shifted ever so slightly, a hint of danger under the command. "I'm only going to ask this once… why?"

Shrinking back from the fighting type’s thinly veiled threat, Nip was slow to reply. "Well... it just… seemed like a good idea- no, it was a poor decision even then… but it seemed like my best option at the time."

"You better explain before I-" she cut herself off, steadied her tone, and started over again. "Just… Explain."

Nip's gaze shifted to the mawile just a few feet away from him, eyes fixating on the dangerous set of jaws just waiting to snap him up. "I was… hungry. And I was in a hurry. Not thinking clearly. Trying to think of the fastest way out of town that would also give me something to eat. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone… elsewhere. But at the moment, I thought that the nursery was the closest and least guarded place I could go."

"And why exactly were you so keen on leaving so quickly, and so okay stealing an – stealing a child – from a village that had taken you in, saved your life and offered you shelter?"

Anu stepped forward, placing a paw on the hawlucha's shoulder. "Dear… isn't that kind of a loaded question?"

Whisper pulled away ever so slightly, clenching and unclenching her claws. "Well he can still answer it, can't he?"

"Let me take this one, Whisper. I know this is hard on you. It's hard on me too. But take a second to calm down." Anu turned his head to Nip. “Answer the question, please.”

Nip jerked his head in the direction of Umbra. "I think you already have that answer. Because I knew she was nearby."

He turned his attention to Nip "So… Why were you so keen on getting away from her?"

"Because she wants to kill me!"

Haru, as well as a few other villagers, turned to look at Umbra. The mawile raised a hand in front of her and closed her eyes. "I only plan to carry out a reasonable punishment for the type of crime he committed," she responded curtly. "If that means death, then so be it."

"A reasonable punishment? Yeah right. I don’t know what kind of lies you’ve told, how you’ve spun the story, but this has all been about your ego! You're only here because of our personal squabble, aren't you? That's why they sent you of all pokemon after me!"

Umbra scoffed. "You're reaching, Nip. And jumping to conclusions. Typical."

"Enough!"

Whisper moved forward to stand between the two bickering pokemon, shooting each of them a dangerous glare. "Both of you. Calm down."

She turned her attention to Nip, ignoring the look Umbra was giving her. "Let me get the story straight. Umbra claims to be tracking you down because you attacked their nursery. Is this correct?"

A long pause stretched out as Nip stared at the hawlucha. He turned his head away a moment later, ear and tail drooping. "It was… a very poor lapse of judgement. After seasons of strife with my tribe, all of my anger and frustration spilled over. At the time, I felt like I was saving those poor souls from a life of restriction and suffering. By the time it occurred to me that there were better ways of doing that, I'd already gone through with it."

Uneasy murmurs broke out into the crowd. Whisper gave Anu a look and began to speak in an urgent tone.

"What kind of monster thinks like that?" Haru heard the quagsire whisper.

"One that's sick in the head," flaffy replied.

Haru thought for a moment. She… kind of had to agree with that. Why would anyone ever think killing a pokemon was saving them? She pawed at the ground anxiously. Yet… Something didn't seem right. There were still questions unanswered. Questions that might just make his crazy story make a bit more sense.

"Was it really bad enough to make murder seem reasonable?" She blurted out, perhaps a bit louder than she'd meant to.

At once, everyone nearby turned their eyes to look at her, including Nip, Anu, and Whisper. The flaffy leaned in towards Haru, perplexed. "Are you trying to defend him?"

Haru took a quick step back. "Of course not! I just… Something doesn't add up here. Either there's some part of the story we're missing, or he's completely dangerous and immoral. And…"

She paused, thinking back to the day she spent taking him around town. Sure, it could have all been a ruse to get on their good side and get everyone to let their guard down. But then again, there were the broken bits of prayer she overheard at the shrine. Had that all been a ruse too?

She turned her attention to Whisper. "Pardon me for speaking out of line but… I'd like to ask something."

The hawlucha tilted her head upwards for a moment. "I suppose we can open up the floor for questions from everyone now. Go ahead."

She dipped her head. "Thank you, Whisper." She turned her attention back to Nip. "So what's the truth? What's your deal? When you first came here, you claimed to be on a pilgrimage. Instead you're a fugitive on the run after a heinous crime. And yet your behavior here from before Umbra showed up doesn't match your behavior after. You say she’s feeding us lies, but you don’t deny any accusations."

Realizing that she had started to ramble on, Haru finally asked her question. "What I'm trying to ask is… Why'd you do it? What made you feel like killing unhatched eggs was doing them mercy? And why are you so certain that Umbra is chasing you for personal reasons?"

Nip frowned, turning his head away with a sour expression. "Umbra was the beginning- the root of my falling out with the tribe. She was supposed to be my mate. Not that she ever treated me like one, let alone an equal."

Uneasy murmurs broke out in the crowd, pokemon wondering what this could possibly mean for the situation as a whole, or if it could be believed. As Haru turned her head to get a better look at everyone's reaction, it seemed like the only pokemon that might be unphased by this information were Umbra and Jhorlo. The two were watching Nip, each with an unreadable expression.

"Settle down!" Whisper raised her voice over the clamor, waiting for the crowd to quiet.Once it was silent enough, she turned her attention to Umbra. "Is this true? Are you two mates?"

"We were," Umbra clarified. "Obviously that was considered null and void after what he did."

"It should have been ended a long time ago!" Nip snapped. As he continued, his voice began to waver. "How many times? How many times did you throw me out of our den because you wanted nothing to do with me? How many times did I ask the elders to reconsider our arrangement because you were too proud to, before things took a turn for the worse?"

Nip turned his attention to the crowd. For a second, he locked eyes with Haru before addressing everyone else. "You want to know why I felt I was saving pokemon from suffering? Because of what I suffered through: seasons of struggling to better my place in the tribe before the pairing ceremony, only to be assigned a mate that hated me! Whenever I went for advice or help, saying that we failed to get along, I was told they would work things out. But they never did. And then? And then that's not even the worst part!

"They wanted to know why we hadn't produced an egg. They wanted proof we weren't infertile. And if one of us was… if I was, I refused to lose everything I worked towards in such a humiliating way. So, I decided to lose everything on my own terms: by leaving. But not before preventing the next generation from suffering the way I did. Was it a poor decision? Maybe so. But at least Yveltal would watch over them in the afterlife."

Several pokemon murmured uneasily amongst themselves as Nip's words hung in the air. Certainly, that explained a lot of his history, as well as the hostility between himself and Umbra. But was it enough reason to change how he would be judged? Even if it was an explanation for what he did to the tribe, it wasn't an excuse. And it certainly did not excuse what he did to them.

Muse's voice raised above the chatter. "There's something I would like clarified, please."

Most of the talking died away, pokemon turning their attention to the absol on the edge of the crowd. She shrank back nervously at the attention, but an encouraging pat from Shimmer helped her find her courage again.

"When you talk about how badly you and Umbra got along, why did you end up with her in the first place?"

"Yeah," a diggersby from the back of the crowd said. "Why'd you guys even become mates if you hated each other so much?"

Nip scowled. "I thought I made that clear. Neither of us had a choice. Mate pairings are chosen by the tribe elders based on three things: egg compatibility, expected tribe standings, and personality. The first two have the most bearing, as the reason for choosing mates for pokemon was to ensure the healthiest offspring for the survival and wellbeing of the tribe. New mates are expected to produce at least one egg by their second warm season together. Do you understand what that means?"

Haru took a guess, anxiety twisting her stomach into knots. "That you two were together for two cycles before you, er... left?'

Nip let out a grunt, shifting his bound arms uncomfortably. "More or less. Can you imagine what it's like, spending so long being treated as inferior, only to be told that you're expected to get along and produce offspring or else lose the spot in society you spent your adolescent years fighting to reach?"

No one had anything to say to that. At most, a couple of pokemon shifted uncomfortably.

Nip narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and put on his best pleading expression. "That's why I'm begging you to let me go. I didn’t want things to turn out this way. I don't want to stay around and cause any more trouble. I just want a second chance at living. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Not technically, Haru thought to herself, but just letting you go after everything you've done? How do we know you won't just do the same thing to the next village you come across? This was your second chance, and you blew it!

Fortunately, she didn't have to come up with an answer, as Umbra spoke up in a sharp tone.

"Your reasons don't change the fact that you committed crimes!"

Several other pokemon murmured in agreement, sending a ripple through the crowd as they discussed the matter. Anu and Whisper spoke together in hushed voices, then moved over to speak to Jhorlo. Vale and Romi both approached the group as well. Haru could not make out what they were saying, but she could see that Vale in particular seemed displeased, a scowl on his face. Jhorlo looked perhaps a bit annoyed, but otherwise seemed as neutral as he had before.

Finally, however, the group broke apart. Anu stepped forward and raised a paw for silence. When things were quiet enough that he would be heard, he spoke.

"It is true that Nip has committed grave crimes. Not just against our community, but against another. It is my opinion that we cannot just let him go in good consciousness. That said, I personally would not feel comfortable releasing him into Umbra's custody, with the murky knowledge we have of the situation as a whole. But it is not my decision to make. Not alone. So, as is tradition, we will open it up to the village to decide what to do."

Whisper stepped forward next. "We have come up with four ideas. We can let him go, if that seems like the best solution. We can release him to Umbra and let his punishment be handled by his tribe. We don't have the means to jail a pokemon long-term here, so instead we could contact the enforcers branch in Oltree Village and have them pick him up and decide what to do."

She paused with a scowl. "Or… Due to the… situation we unearthed during this hearing, we've decided to offer one other option. Although I personally don't care for this option, I will yield to the village if it is the majority. If you will it, and if he is willing, we can keep him here to undergo rehabilitation. He'd be paired with a guard at all times of the day and be locked up at night. During the day he would be expected to either work around the square to help with village improvements, or else go through education on how to be an upstanding citizen. He would only be released when he has shown through good behavior that he has changed." She paused. “And if he doesn’t show improvement… we’ll revisit our decision.”

"Whisper and I will be abstaining from the vote," Anu announced. "Umbra will not vote either, as she is not a member of this community. Anyone else who feels uncomfortable deciding can also abstain. Now, if there's anyone who believes his story and is in favor of letting him go, please step forward now."

Haru stood on her hind legs so that she could get a better look at the rest of the crowd. A couple pokemon exchanged awkward looks or hushed whispers, but none stepped forward. She looked back to Nip and noted that he'd shrank back, his ear twitching nervously, his pupils huge and round like saucers.

Did he really expect us to let him go? Haru thought. He’ll be lucky if no one snaps his neck in the middle of the night!

"No one? Very well. Let's… move on to the next, then. Is there anyone in favor of turning him over to Umbra?"

More awkward glances were cast, and for a moment, it seemed like no one would step forward for this either. But then Vale stepped forward, the manetric's snout scrunched up in a scowl.

"Oh, to heck with it. He shouldn't be our responsibility, and who knows what the enforcers will decide to do. Yellow's known for being a bit too forgiving for my tastes. I say let his peers decide what to do with him."

A few others murmured in agreement. More pokemon stepped forward: the quagsire, the flaffy, and a vibrava, as well as Zylar - the cubone from the butcher shop - Romi, and Roselei. Jaques and Lotte stepped forward as well, the latter leaning against her brother's shoulder to steady herself.

Anu carefully counted out the pokemon in his head, pointing to each one as he tallied them up. "That's… nine in favor of releasing to Umbra. Let's move on then. Those in favor of releasing him to the enforcers?"

Haru stepped forward, having already made up her mind. But as she glanced back, she realized that Shimmer, Muse, and Toshi – none of the people she knew best had stepped forward. Even her parents were hanging at the back of the crowd. She tilted her head, honestly surprised.

She wasn't alone, though. Tor and Essra stepped forward, as well as a pidove, a slurpuff, a mienshao, and a swallot.

"I don't feel right releasing him to Umbra, with everything that has come to light," Tor mumbled. "But I don't feel safe leaving him around here." A couple of the others murmured their agreements.

"We have none in favor of releasing him, nine in favor of releasing to Umbra, and… seven in favor of releasing him to the enforcers?"

Haru chanced a quick glance to Nip while the Lucario spoke. The sneasel appeared tense, hunched. His mouth moved, but no sounds escaped him. Was he shaking?

"Finally, would anyone in favor of rehabilitation and community service step forward."

Shimmer and Muse stepped forward immediately, followed shortly by Ruffle and Mandi, as well as a plusle, a buneary, a psyduck, a meowstic and a ribombee.

Toshi hung back on the edge of the crowd. He reached a paw out like he was going to step forward, but his expression was torn.

"Nine…" Anu brought a paw up to his face, his brow furrowed. "We have a tie then…"

"In the event of a tie," Whisper began, raising a wing to place it on her mate's shoulder. "We typically have the mayor cast the final vote. Jhorlo, do you have an opinion on the situation."

The purugly stood up, a rumble in his throat. "Of course, I do," he purred. "I believe I already talked about it with you, Whisper. I had already carefully considered the situation, and this new information does not change anything for me. If I must break a tie, then I vote to-"

"Wait!"

Everyone's attention turned to the bidoof that made the outburst. Toshi waddled forward, his head held high. "I'm sorry, I was struggling to decide what to vote for, or if I should vote at all. But I have to follow my heart, and my heart says to follow what I think Society Head Blue would say. If it's okay, I'd like to cast my vote now."

Anu and Whisper shared a look, then looked to Jhorlo. The purugly’s expression was unreadable, but he dipped his head.

"Very well," Anu finally said. "You are a member of this community too, and you have a right to vote. What is your decision?"

"You know Blue is a big part of my inspiration, of why I want to join the rescuers or the expedition society so bad. And I believe that… Blue would want to give someone a second chance to prove themselves. That's why I'm voting for rehabilitation."

The lucario blinked, taking a moment to digest the verbose explanation. "Well… We…"

Whisper stepped forward and interrupted him, her response blunt. "We could have done without the long-winded explanation."

She continued, speaking in a louder voice. "That brings the vote for rehabilitation to ten. As such, the community has spoken, and the sneasel's rehabilitation will begin tomorrow. So long as…" She paused, turning to address Nip. "Are you willing to learn our ways and make an effort to be a better pokemon?"

Nip took a deep breath. His gaze darted to the side before settling on the ground in front of him. "If the alternative is going with Umbra, I'll do anything."

"Very well." Whisper turned back to the crowd. "If you would like to be involved in choosing tasks for him to work on, please meet me in the Guard's Hut shortly. Vale, would you take the sneasel back to his cell for now?"

The manetric huffed, shaking out his fur. "Fine. Don't blame me if things go downhill though. Just remember how I voted."

Whisper crossed her wings in front of her and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Now, Vale."

Vale lowered his head and complied, stepping forward to push Nip back towards the hut with his snout. "Come on now, I don't have all day!"

Nip paused and looked towards Toshi. He blinked at him once slowly, then allowed himself to be herded away.

Once he was out of sight, the crowd began to disperse, most pokemon leaving in groups of two or three, or else heading into the hut. Jaques and Lotte moved to speak with Jhorlo. Vale emerged a moment later and joined the two. Jaques left with Vale a moment later, speaking quietly, while Lotte and Jhorlo instead approached Umbra.

Haru headed towards brother. Shimmer and Muse were already by his side.

"That was really cool there Toshi, coming in there and deciding the vote at the last second!"

Toshi turned his face away sheepishly, rubbing at his face with a paw? "You think so? I mean, I was just trying to do what I thought was right…"

"Of course, I do! It's the type of decisiveness I expect out of my future mate!"

His face fell slightly. "Ha ha… yeah, sure… Could we maybe not talk about that right now though? This whole discussion we just had makes it feel extra awkward at the moment."

Muse shifted her attention away from her charge and the uncomfortable bidoof and caught sight of Haru, locking eyes with her. "Ah, there you are."

Haru quickly closed the distance between them. Toshi and Shimmer turned their attention to her as well.

"Hey, Haruru, what gives?" Shimmer asked in an overly cheerful voice.

"What… gives?"

"Yeah, why didn't you vote with us?"

Haru gave the kirlia a flat expression. "What, I can't make my own decisions?"

"Of course you can," Muse cut in. "I think what she means is… Shimmer wants to know why you'd vote to turn him over to strangers?"

"Because that's the enforcer's job? To deal with criminals?"

"I suppose that's true," Muse mumbled. "But… I would have thought that you, out of everyone, would have wanted to rehabilitate him? Considering you spent the most time with him out of everyone here."

"Spent the most time- I spent… like… two days with him, Muse. Total. Maybe a little more, but not much! And I don't have time to run around worrying about him. I have more important things to do! I-"

Shimmer interrupted with a giggle. "I think Haru is just taking this personally!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you feel personally betrayed that you spent time explaining how things go around here, hoping to learn stuff from him, and then he went and did a crime. Isn't that right?"

"No, it's not!"

"You say that, but I'm not so sure!" Shimmer's voice came out in a sing-song tone.

“That’s… not really fair,” Toshi mumbled, but Shimmer was still preoccupied and didn’t notice.

"Anyways, I wanna get back to the villa before dark. Just think about it Haru, and I think you'll find that I'm right. You know kirlia's can sense emotion, don't you?"

"You sure do a lousy job of it with Toshi!" Haru snapped.

"Woah!” Toshi held up a paw. “Please can we all just calm down?"

Haru took a long, deep breath as Shimmer and Muse began to walk away. "Fine. Come on Toshi, you need to get back to the clinic. And I want to go home. I'm sore, tired, and now I'm angry too."

"Look on the bright side though," Toshi replied. "Now that Nip's caught and everything's been decided, things should go back to normal, right?" He paused, scrunching up his snout. "Or… relatively normal at least."

Haru closed her eyes, considering for a moment. "You know what, you're right. I mean, things might be a little odd around here, with everyone keeping their eyes on Nip. But at least I'll be able to get back to my normal schedule. No more running into dungeons, no more fighting, no more getting burned by angry birds."

She shook out her fur, then nuzzled up against her brother. "Thanks for trying to help me feel better, bro. I know you tend to like adventure and shaking things up, so I appreciate it. C'mon, let's get you back to Lecha's."

As they began to walk away, Haru glanced one last time back at the guard hut. As much as Toshi's words helped her feel better, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to Shimmer's words. Was she taking things personally? No, that was ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason for her to take things personally, after all.

If one were to follow the Gorbyss River from Theran Village downstream, they would eventually find themselves at the eastern coast. By coincidence they would also happen to find one of the oldest known settlements: Brinash Town. In years long past, it had been a tiny settlement of only a few dozen pokemon, but as the years went by, it grew to be one of the largest and most important cities in the land.

It also happened to be the location of the Expedition Society Headquarters.

Here, an arcanine made his way through the busy streets, rushing, yet taking great care not to mow down any of the other pokemon along the way. Several stalls called out in an attempt to catch his attention, hoping to sell wares to the obviously brave and powerful pokemon. Surely, he needed dungeneering equipment, right? If only he would stop here, they'd give him the best deal on orbs he could find in town. But he ignored every call, every offer.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Soon, a building familiar to him came into view. One that stood out amongst the other building s in town. For one thing, it was by far the largest building, and painted with vibrant colors to attract attention. A huge banner hung from the front, a design of a vaporeon's face painted on it, with the words "Expedition Society" underneath.

The arcanine carefully stepped around the teams of explorers making their way out of the building, narrowly dodging a litleo that burst out in front of his shinx and meowth partners, and passing a grumpy solosis and his overly-eager frillish partner as they made their way outside. Several pokemon milled about on the ground floor, most looking over the job or announcement board.

He ignored all of that; he hadn't come looking for a job.

Instead, he made his way up a ramp at the back of the room to the second floor. The library was not his destination either, so he continued on to the third.

By this time of day, the live-in quarters were nearly silent, most pokemon having already left for their missions. He made his way down the hall, past the apprentice rooms and the ranked rooms, until he came to a set of large double doors. Here, a pangoro blocked the way. She walked up to meet him in front of the door, a scowl on her face.

"Do you have business with Society Head Blue?"

The arcanine bowed his head. "Urgent business."

"You'll have to come back later. Blue left for the Great Misty Ravine three days ago. Can you leave a message?"

The arcanine glanced to the left and then the right before leaning in. "Mago, listen. It's me, Maneth. I've come with a message from Progne. If Blue isn't here, then we need to talk."

The pangoro's eyes lit up with recognition, though she continued to frown. She pushed one of the doors open. "Of course, come on in."

The arcanine passed the pangoro and entered the room. Blue certainly had not changed over the years; the room was in a way, both clean and cluttered. No trash or other filth could be seen in the room. And yet trinkets and baubles lined every available space.

Maneth heard a click behind him as the pangoro closed and latched the door.

Only then did Mago's frown vanish, replaced by a coy smirk. "Hmph. If you came back after all these years, something must be going on. You can shed your disguise now; we're all alone."

Maneth let out a huff of air and turned his head. "Can't be too careful in my position, you know? Can’t risk being followed.” A second later, the arcanine seemed to melt away, leaving a smaller black and red beast in his place. The zoroark shook out his great mane, clutching a satchel close to his body before standing up on his hindpaws.

"Let's make this quick then. Why are you here?"

"Like I said before, Progne sent me. They received a distress call about seven days ago. From one of the lessers, Tinny. Someone - or something - is chasing him."

The pangoro frowned and grunted. She made her way to a shelf in the wall and bent down to pick up a piece of charcoal and some parchment. She grumbled under her breath about how small the charcoal was, but with some effort began to jot down notes. "Something?"

"Tinny couldn't name his attackers. He said there was a honchkrow and a girafarig, but there were also other pokemon that he didn't recognize."

"How could Tinny not recognize one of Mew's creations?" Mago asked incredulously.

"We don't know! He had to cut the connection before we had a chance to get his location or a description. Progne asked me to see if Blue could mobilize the Society and Red his Guild, have them keep an eye out. But they also wanted to warn them to be careful. We don't know what these pokemon are after."

“If they’re chasing down a lesser god, it can’t be anything good.”

He paused to adjust the strap on his bag. "Exactly. I came here first, but I'm headed south to Red's guild next."

"Progne could always contact us directly, you know. It would be faster."

Maneth grumbled, scratching behind his ear. "Sure would make my job easier, but you know why they won't do that."

The pangoro let out a groan, setting aside the parchment and charcoal. "I know. It's still a pain. I'll get someone to let Blue know he had an urgent visitor."

Maneth blinked and flashed a lopsided grin. "That's a relief. Really. Anyways. I need to get going then. I have a lot of ground to cover." He closed his eyes, concentrating, and the illusion of an arcanine filled his place once more. He approached the door, then paused. "Listen, I know this is ironic coming from me but… may the original one's favor shine on you all."

Mago let out a single amused chuckle. "You're right, that's rich coming from you. But may it shine on you as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an announcement to plan out."

Chapter Text

Century. Decade. Year. Season. Moon. Hour. Minute. Second. Most pokemon only ever moved forward in time. But for Celebi, time was his sandbox. Forwards. Backwards. Forks that peered into timelines that would never come to be. All of it twisted around him as he flew through The Passage of Time.

"Oh, where is it where is it? Why couldn't you do this yourself Dia? Where was I supposed to go again? When? Oh, this is so boring."

Slipping through the timestream was perhaps the easiest part of Celebi's job. The Passage of Time was his refuge, a place void of sound, a place to relax when other parts of the job could get noisy and dangerous.

Of course, while the traveling part of their job was easy enough, landing at the right place and time was much more difficult. And influencing events without being noticed was even more difficult. What he wouldn't do to have a convenient disguise.

He paused at one particular spot, letting pulses of light pass by him for a moment. "Right, this seems close enough, doesn't it?" As he was alone, no one answered the question. But that didn't stop him from saying, "you're right. Even if it is wrong, popping in to check won't hurt. I'll be in and out lickety-split!"

He slowed to a stop and squeezed his eyes shut, cutting his connection with the stream to reappear at the moment he stopped.

The sky was a deep red above him stars beginning to appear in the sky. He had entered into a clearing. In hopes of getting a better look, he took to the air.

Something was very wrong here.

Smoldering, fresh gouges and craters dotted the landscape. A few of them were marred with smoking corpses of unfortunate pokemon that had either fought or been caught in the crossfire. Though troubling, neither of these things were what made the air so disturbed.

No, what bothered him was how he could feel time twisting out of shape here, bending and scrunching in ways that it shouldn't. And if he had powers over space, he was certain he'd feel that unraveling too. Soon, this place would become another one of the mystery dungeons. He hated mystery dungeons and their unnatural order, creating pockets that he couldn't just enter and that screwed with his senses. As if he wasn't disoriented enough, they had to go and bend the natural order of time out of shape!

"No, no bad, you idiot. This is not where you want to be. Or when? What year is this? Hundreds of years in the past, at least? What time is the 'present' right now?"

But the view of the battleground did help clear up where he was. On the positive side of things, he was at least close in space to his destination. Now he just needed to get out of here and travel through time a bit.

Celebi placed his hands on his hips. "Okie doke. Theran Village, Theran Village… Now, when were you founded, again?"

Though the first day of recovery had been frustrating, Haru was soon back into the swing of her normal schedule. A rest by the river, breakfast, work, lunch, work, leisure. Everything was right back where it was supposed to be.

"Put your back into it!"

Well, as close as it could be, all things considered.

"I'm trying, okay!" Nip snapped. His claws were wrapped tightly around a wooden beam more than twice as long as he was tall. Grombert - the diggersby construction worker that worked with her dad - watched as he dug his feet into the ground, dragging the beam behind him one step at a time.

Vale, the current guard on watch, jumped to his feet in an instant, sparks coursing through his fur. "Hey, watch it! No talking back!"

Nip scrunched up his nose at the start of a snarl but stopped after thinking better of it and dropped his gaze.

Haru let out a huff, watching the situation, and shook her head, veering slightly out of the way to walk past the other pokemon without greeting. Three days had passed now since Nip's trial, and she was more than eager to move on.

"Hey, Haru, is that you?"

Haru turned her head to the right towards the sound of the voice. Her father stood on his hind legs a bit down the path, draped over a debarked and half gnawed-through log.

"There you are!" Haru called out. "I brought lunch!"

"Oh, thank goodness, I'm starving." The bibarel stood up straight, pulling himself off the log, and then plopped down on all fours and waddled around to meet Haru halfway. "What'd you bring today?"

"Bread with apple jam and roasted potatoes. It might be a bit cold though. Mom made it this morning before heading off to fell a few trees."

Chip let out a hum as Haru shuffled out from the bag, then began to dig through the contents in search of the box of food.

"Hey Chip, your girl bring any for us?"

Chip glanced up to look at the waving diggersby before turning his attention back to Haru, who nosed his paw out of the way so that she could pull out the box herself.

"Half of that's mine, by the way," Haru said. "There should be enough apple jam if he brought his own bread though."

Chip glanced in the bags before calling back to Grombert, "not really, sorry! But I got some extra jam."

Grombert grumbled something under his breath before calling out louder. "That's fine, I was going to pick up some sweet bread from Swell for lunch anyways. I don't think I need any more sugar than that!" And then he laughed, as if he had said something funny.

The bibarel lifted a bundle out of the box with his teeth and waddled over to where the other three were. Haru considered picking up her food and leaving, but the walk to town had taken a good portion of her lunch break, and she was feeling a bit peckish already. It wouldn't hurt to eat here. So, she gathered up her own bundle and followed behind her father.

"'S fine you didn't bring me anything," Vale huffed, lying down on his stomach. "I can't properly digest most of that stuff after all. Besides, I won't get a chance to eat till Sparks takes over, and he should be here any time now. I'll head down to Mandi's then, then Jhorlo wanted to talk to me about something. That reminds me…"

The manectric stood up and moved a few feet back to stuff his head in a bag lying against the wall. He retrieved a small bundle from inside and unceremoniously tossed it. It audibly smacked the sneasel in the face. He let out a yelp and let go of the beam he was holding, nearly dropping it on his foot.

"There you go, eat up. Or don't, not my problem if you starve."

Grumbling under his breath, Nip grabbed hold of the bundle and pulled the knot loose, frowning at the contents.

Haru stole a glance over, noting two razz berries, a nanab berry, a corked jar with water, and a small bowl. The sneasel made a face but began to nibble at the berry anyways. Vale caught sight of his expression and let out a low growl.

"Don't even ask. I already told ya you're going have to put up with it until you get some money. You're a prisoner, not a charity case, and razz, bluk, nanab, and wepear berries have all been ruled as safe emergency food sources for obligate carnivores."

"I think you're making that up. I've never seen, let alone heard of one of these 'bulkberries.' Besides, how do I know you're not trying to poison me? You seemed pretty ready to send me off to my death, after all?"

Vale responded with a grumble and a roll of the head. "What good would it do me to kill you? Other than maybe getting some shut eye for once, since you're always whining my ears off? Besides, I didn't prep those for you. If you got a problem with your provisions, take it up with Whisper."

"Oh, so the pokemon that actually has a reason to want me dead is feeding me. Got it, I feel safe eating this now. Not."

"Eat it or don't but shut up. Or I'll make you shut up. I don't give a shit if you starve or get poisoned or whatever, so long as you give me some respect and some peace. And. Quiet."

Nip glared at the manectric for a moment longer, before averting his gaze, turning his attention to the berries laid out in front of him.

Chip sat down with his food as the exchange happened, watching with a curious glint in his eye. He tilted his head slightly, his tail thumping against the ground. "Er… don't you think that was a bit harsh, Vale?"

Vale let out a huff and shook out his fur before sitting down, scratching at his neck with his hind paw. "Oh, come on, Chip. Why should I be nice to him? He stole and probably ate Whisper's egg. He killed an unborn child from our village! He should have been locked up at best, or else executed. But no, I'm stuck out here babysitting a murderer because the village voted to rehabilitate him." He paused. "No, wait, let me be more specific. I'm here because your son voted to rehabilitate him. It was tied up, and your son had to go and be the good guy."

"Now hold on," the bibarel said, standing back up on his hind legs, "you don't know what way Jhorlo would have voted. He could have gone either way! And I don't appreciate you insulting my son like that!"

To this, Vale let out a low growl, his claws digging into the soft dirt, and muttered something about asking Jhorlo himself. But before he could jump to his feet and do something he might regret, Grombert stepped between the two of them, pushing them back with his prehensile ears.

"Enough! I know tensions are high, but that's no excuse to be jumping at each other's throats! Now, Chip, I sympathize with you, but Vale has a right to his opinion, and he does kind of have a point: the sneasel hasn't given us good reason to be nice.

"Hah, see!"

"And you, Vale," Grombert added, turning his attention to the disgruntled manectric, "insulting Toshi was absolutely uncalled for."

"Yeah!" Haru said, stepping up. "Toshi had nothing to do with what Nip did. So, leave him out of it."

The manectric averted his gaze. "Fine, sorry. I'm sorry for insulting Toshi. Besides, he wasn't the one to bring that thing back to the village."

Haru stepped forward and let out a low growl. "Hey, jabbing at me instead doesn't make you look any better."

"I didn't name any names." Vale gave Haru a pointed look before standing up to back away from Grombert, turning away afterwards before laying down with a huff. "Fine. Whatever. But don't blame me when another egg gets stolen, or someone turns up dead."

Grombert let out a long sigh before changing the subject. "Speaking of eggs… Hey Chip, did you get to talk to Tor about our proposal yet?"

The bidoof sat back down and began to pick at his food. "He's… hesitant. On one hand the extra security-" He cut off, catching sight of Nip staring out of the corner of his eye. "Actually, can we talk about this later? I don't know if discussing plans is the best idea right now."

"Eh?" Grombert turned his head to look back at Nip, who quickly averted his gaze and busied himself with trying to remove the cork from the bottle of water. "That's right! Eat up! I don't want to hear you complaining about an empty stomach when we get back to work."

Letting out a sigh he turned his attention back to Chip. "Right, good point. Maybe it isn't the best idea to have him around the nursery… but then again, they can watch him and the eggs at the same time. So…"

Nip's ear twitched, and he opened his mouth like he was going to say something. But then he thought better of it and shut it again, turning his head away to absentmindedly nibble at one of the berries, making a face at the taste.

Haru looked up from her food and stared at the sneasel for a moment, guilt gnawing at her stomach. As much as she hated to admit it, Vale sort of had a point. If she, Shimmer, and Muse hadn't brought Nip back, this all would have been avoided... probably. He probably would have died in the forest, meat-eating wildeners drawn by the smell of blood. But perhaps he would have survived. Perhaps he would have found the village and stolen from them anyways.

"Do you need something else, Haru?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head up and turned back to look at her father, who was staring at her with a concerned expression.

"Oh, no. Not really. I was just thinking about something. I should... Probably head back anyways. I want to get a couple more trees stripped before the end of the day."

At that, Chip chuckled. "That's my girl, always the hard worker. I know it's a ways off, but I know you'll make us proud when you take over the business one day."

Haru hummed in response. Taking over the family business... Part of her so looked forward to it, and yet she wanted to make it into so much more, and worried about living up to that dream.

No, now wasn't the time to worry about it. She took a moment to scarf up and gulp down the last couple bites of food. "I better get going then, I'll see you tonight, Dad. Goodbye Grombert. Goodbye Vale."

The diggersby raised a meaty ear to signal his farewell. Vale let out a huff of air and shook his head but showed no real signs of aggression.

She glanced over to Nip one last time as she began to walk away and caught sight of him staring at her, his pupils narrow slits. As soon as he noticed her looking at him, however, he quickly averted his gaze.

As she made her way back towards home, Vale's harsh words rang in her head, and she found the guilt getting the better of her. And anger. Thinking about Nip, and how he'd wronged the community stung. His answers during the trial had been unsatisfying, as well.

Her thoughts drifted back towards Shimmer's words the other day. Was she taking things personally?

A few moments passed in silence as she made her way down the path, turning back towards the walkway to the river. And as she stewed in silence, she became certain of something.

The only way she was going to find peace was to confront Nip directly.

To say Umbra was upset would be an understatement.

No, Umbra was livid. For three days now, she'd allowed herself to stew in her anger. How could these idiot villagers just up and protect Nip like that, especially after a crime as heinous as his? She had come so close to catching him, only for it to be ripped away by a sentimental bidoof!

If that didn't frustrate her enough, now it seemed like many more of the villagers eyed her with suspicion. More often than not, it seemed like there was someone watching her, waiting for her to screw up. She hadn't even been able to slip away for some peace and quiet, or to hunt. At least Jhorlo understood her needs though; someone always came by in the morning to provide her with food.

Until today, at least.

The morning had come and gone without a single pokemon stopping by her room. Waiting for food to arrive, she had stuck around, trying to curb her restlessness by doing things like grooming, or reciting stories and legends from her Tribe, refreshing memories of the story, as was tradition. She even spent some time trying to think of a way to extract Nip, realizing - unfortunately - that she would have to spend some time understanding the village structure and customs to stand a chance. But still, no one came.

Now, as late-afternoon light poured in through her window, the claws of hunger dug into her belly. Even on her travels, when was the last time she'd gone nearly a whole day without food? It had to have been at least a few winters ago.

To say the least, she was still in a foul mood when she heard a soft scratching at the door. She responded to the sound with a grunt, not bothering to get up from the nest. The door pushed open a moment later, one of the two purrloin appearing on the other side.

"Jhorlo would like to see you," she announced, dipping her head in greeting.

"It is about time," the mawile grumbled, finally sitting up.

The purrloin - Lotte, if she remembered correctly (though she cared little about remembering the name) - waited for her at the doorway, turning to begin walking down the hall once Umbra approached. The mawile followed in silence for a moment. However, there was something off, a concern that she voiced after a moment.

"Where is the... Other one? The one that's usually with you."

She seemed to be prepared for the question, answering nonchalantly without breaking stride. "Jaques had other obligations to attend to. He will be back in the evening."

"I see." After that, Umbra said nothing more.

Before they could get to their destination, however, the duo was interrupted by a pair of passing pokemon rounding the corner: a kirlia and an absol walking side by side, the kirlia chattering away. Umbra muttered a curse under her breath, unfortunately reminded of the meddling pokemon that also lived here.

"Oh, Musey, Look!" the kirila said, pointing before waving Umbra and Lotte over. "It's out guest of honor!"

Lotte paused to look back towards Umbra before veering off the planned path to speak with Shimmer.

"For formalities sake, it would be best we say hello. Jhorlo will understand our tardiness."

Muse dipped her head to the pair as they approached. Lotte came all the way up to stand just in front of Muse, her tail raised in greeting, a slight purr rumbling in her throat. Umbra, however, kept her distance.

"Good afternoon, Lotte," Muse said, her tone warm. "How have you been?"

"I've been well," the purrloin replied. "Work has gone surprisingly smooth the past week, all things considered."

Muse laughed, her demeanor softening slightly. "Glad to hear it. Sorry we haven't been around as much lately. Things have been... interesting the last few weeks, as I'm sure you know."

"Yeah," Shimmer added with a giggle. "This is, like, toootally my fault. Really though, things have been so wild lately. If it wasn't for such dire reasons, I'd say I like that things have been shook up so much!"

Shimmer's voice was loud and overly upbeat. Maybe some could find it endearing, but to Umbra, it was a headache waiting to happen.

Muse looked up and noticed Umbra and, upon seeing her disdained expression, adopted a curter tone to address her.

"Ah, and Umbra. I take it your day is going well?"

Umbra huffed in response, not answering the question. "I have more important things to do than small talk."

"Aw, don't be like that!" Shimmer said, draping herself dramatically over Muse's back. "You're such a spoilsport. Just like Haru - but at least I like her!"

Muse flinched ever so slightly, raising one paw as she turned back to look at her charge. "Shimmer... perhaps it would be better to at least be courteous to our guest?"

Shimmer waved a hand dismissively in response. "Why should I? She's not being nice either?"

"Well, it's not my place to question you but... if you want to be a great leader someday, you have to learn to be respectful, even when you don't want to be."

"That is a good point," the kirlia said, clapping her hands together for emphasis. But before she continued, she raised a hand and held it up to Muse's mouth in a shushing gesture. "But I'm not a leader yet and I'm not going to be nice right now."

Her serious statement aside, the teasing smile returned to her face, and she turned back to face Umbra. "So, how long are you going to stick around moping like this? A decision's already been made, so why are you still here? Go home, or something."

Umbra's expression soured. "I will not leave without Nip. It is my duty to bring him to justice."

"Is it really?" Shimmer said, a mischievous look in her eye. "Is it really your duty? Or do you have some other personal reason for sticking around?"

Umbra narrowed her eyes, a scowl on her face. "It is my duty. But even if it was not, that is none of your business."

Shimmer continued to stare at her for another long moment, the air tense. But finally, she relaxed, turning away. "Well, all I'm saying is that he's facing justice, so your really don't have any reason to stay here, you know?" Then she turned her attention away. "Come on Musey. We got better things to do."

The absol shook out her fur and turned, nosing Shimmer back the way they came. "Of course. Whatever you wish."

"Let us know if you need anything," Shimmer called back towards Umbra. "We'll be listening!"

And with that, that the two disappeared around the corner, the kirlia chattering about whatever nonsensical thing came to her head.

Something about the way she'd said her last statement unnerved Umbra. But she pushed the concerns about the vapid fairy-type out of her head and instead turned to address Lotte.

"Is she... always like that?"

"Pretty much," Lotte replied, reaching up a hind leg to scratch at her neck for a moment before standing and turning back to resume their walk towards Jhorlo's again. "She's got her head in the clouds most of the time, but she's smarter than you'd think. Muse helps keep her grounded though. They play well off of each other, don't you think?"

Umbra replied with a noncommittal grunt. She cared little about what the pair did or did not do. They were not her concern.

When she didn't respond, the purrloin faltered, shocked by her lack of care for the social niceties. But she quickly shrugged it off and moved on.

The rest of their short trip to Jhorlo's room was spent in silence. Lotte couldn't find a good topic to start a conversation with, and Umbra had absolutely no interest in speaking. Soon, they were standing in front of the door.

Lotte reached up to scratch at the door a couple times, then pushed it open the rest of the way.

"I apologize for the delay, sir," she said as she entered. "We had a run-in with your daughter and spent a few moments speaking wither her.

"That's quite alright, Lotte," Umbra heard Jhorlo say. "Thank you for explaining. You're dismissed for the evening. Miss Umbra, would you enter, please?"

Lotte dipped her head respectfully before turning, brushing her tail against Umbra as she passed. The mawile stepped forward into the room, and the door shut behind her.

It took her a moment to spot Jhorlo in the room. Fabric had been pulled over the opening - the window - in the back of the room, limiting the lighting to just to just a dim, afternoon glow, and whatever was lit by the glowing moss. The purugly's location was only given away by the slight glint of his eyes.

"Good evening, Umbra," he said with a slight rumble in his voice. "I trust your day has gone well?"

"Well enough," Umbra said in a curt tone. "Would have liked a lunch though."

"Oh, I figured you would have been able to figure out how to get it yourself by now. You seemed so certain and confident in yourself. I apologize for overestimating you."

The underhanded jab was not missed by Umbra. "Are you... trying to antagonize me?"

"Only time will tell, I think," he replied, standing up. "I'll be curt with you, dear Umbra. It all depends on how well this meeting goes."

"Do I really need to be here for all this?" A voice barked from the corner. Umbra immediately whipped around and spotted a manectric lounging on his side, a bored expression on his face.

"Oh, please hush, Vale," Jhorlo snapped as he walked around to the front of the table. "I'll get to you eventually."

His expression shifted to a restrained smile as he turned back to talk to Umbra. When you're in my position, there are many things you have to juggle, you see. But we're not here to talk about that, now are we? We're here to talk about you. And Nip."

She scoffed in response, her expression souring. "I would have thought you would have the final say in any judgements, and yet he's protected now more than ever."

"Begrudgingly," Vale interrupted from his corner.

"Yes, yes. I Know. And who was supposed to catch him before the whole village caught up, might I ask? I told you to go ahead of the villagers for a reason, and yet you still failed. This failure is on you."

"On me?" she growled. "How is it my fault that a bunch of meddlers ran ahead? Those two, the kirlia and the absol, your daughter and her guard, they are under your command, right? If you cannot control those idiots, I do not see how this is my fault?"

Jhorlo rose up to his full height, his voice coming out in a hiss. "How dare you speak about my daughter that way? I don't think you understand the position you're in right now, but I suggest you watch your tongue."

Umbra's paws clenched into fists. "Why should I? I am not beholden to follow your rules and niceties. Give me one good reason I should not call our deal off and march down to kill him right now and leave?"

The purugly paused for a moment, looking her over. When he finally spoke, his voice came out silky smooth, instead of the previous hiss. "I can give you a few, dear Umbra. For one, if you try, you'll bring down the wrath of the whole village. Certainly, there may be a few that would sit out, feeling you did the right thing, but the majority will follow the decision that was made. And besides that, if things go wrong, there's nothing I can do to protect you."

"I am not some kit that needs protecting though," she snarled.

"Fine, fine. I can understand the sentiment. However... There is one other thing. Even if you succeed, if you break your contract, well... Let me just say... things won't go well for you."

At this, Vale sat up, alert, and looked between the two squabbling pokemon. "Wait, contract?" His voice dropped to a surprised mutter. "Oh, Jhorlo, you clever bastard."

As soon as the last word left Vale's mouth, Jhorlo spun to spit a reply at him. "I don't remember speaking to you. I suggest you hold your tongue as well."

The manectric flinched before turning his head away, laying back down. "Of course, sorry, sir. Won't happen again."

Satisfied, Jhorlo turned his attention back towards Umbra. "As I was saying, we made a written agreement that you would work for me to bring in Nip. And if you fail that, or if you were to leave without sharing, as per our agreement, both of those would be breaches of contract, you see. And per our contract, if you were to break it, well, I would be allowed to use lethal force. And I do not think you want that, now do you?"

Umbra stooped slightly, adopting a defensive pose. "Is that a threat?"

"It can be," Jhorlo replied casually, "if you don't keep your side of the deal."

The mawile stared him down, thoughts racing through her head. How dare he treat her like this? Had this been his plan all along? Maybe he'd conspired with the village mon to sneak Nip out, and this had all been a ploy to humiliate her. "You did not. Mention. This. Before."

Jhorlo scoffed. "Well, I figured I wouldn't have to. It was all right there in the contract you signed. I figured any clever mon would have taken the time to read it."

At that, Umbra had to take pause. It was true that she'd signed a paper, but it had not occurred to her to try reading it at all. Even if she had, would she have been able to read it?"

"Prove it," she growled. "Let me see this contract."

"But of course." Jhorlo turned to reach a paw up and push a glass jar back on the desk, allowing it to illuminate a piece of parchment. As Umbra cautiously approached, she could make out her signature. But as she looked over the words, she realized with dismay that she couldn't read the writing. Her people had a very simplistic set of runes, with a handful of different print shapes and strokes representing words or concepts. Not everyone had the means to write it, but everyone was taught how to read and interpret them.

These, on the other hand, were made up of a series of dots and lines strung together, running across and then down the page.

"What kind of trickery is this?" Umbra growled. "This is... this is a bunch of nonsense!"

Jhorlo's head reared back slightly, eyes glinting in surprise. "You mean to tell me that you can't read this?"

"These are a bunch of dots, not a reasonable language! Where are your shapes? Your pawprints and footprints?"

A silence stretched out as her question hung in the air. Then Jhorlo began to chuckle, his tone turning dark and silky again. "My, my, this is rather unfortunate, isn't it? Unfortunate for you, I mean. If you had bothered to tell me sooner, I could have done something to help you, you see. I could have explained the terms in more detail!"

"So, what, you're just going to hold me to something I couldn't understand?"

"Well... yes? You were the one that signed it without looking, I can't have helped if I didn't know, right?"

Umbra had heard enough. All this nonsense, and she still wasn't any closer to dealing with Nip. "That does it," she growled. And without a second thought, she whipped around and charged Jhorlo, her skull starting to glow.

Jhorlo seemed to anticipate this, however. Before she could strike, he stepped to the side. She sailed past harmlessly, but as she passed, she felt a sharp jab in her side.

When she spun back around, the purugly was staring at her with a smug smile. "Goodness? Is that all you've got? Well, I wouldn't do that again, if I were you."

His words only served to anger Umbra even more, to the point that she was practically seeing red. But before she could lash out and strike him again, a jolt of electricity struck her, sending painful spasms through her body.

She whirled around to strike whoever had attacked her, but her jaws closed in on empty air. Momentum from the failed attack drove her forward, causing her to stumble.

"Ah, swagger," she heard Jhorlo rumble. Was this funny to him? "A risky move, but the results speak for themselves."

Was this anger the result of some kind of attack? No, she was already angry, this just made her angrier and threw off her perception. But maybe she could calm down, just a little. She sucked a deep breath in through her nostrils, then let it all out in a huff, relaxing slightly. Now that she wasn't in a blind rage, she could see exactly where the electrical attack had come from. Still in the corner of the room, Vale had stood up, sparks of electricity bouncing off his pelt.

She looked between him, and then back to Jhorlo. This must have been why he was here; Jhorlo was anticipating an attack. With a grunt, Umbra turned and raced towards the manectric.

An arc of electricity raced through the air as she drew close, slowing but not stopping her. She raced up and underneath the electric type, clamping down on his stomach with her second jaw.

Vale let out a pained yelp, flinching as the sharp fangs dug into his stomach. He responded to the attack by whipping around to try and snap at her and, failing that, let out a powerful surge of electricity, bolts flinging out in all directions.

The surge was much more powerful than she expected, her muscles twitching and convulsing as electricity surged through her body. For a second, she though she smelled burnt fur. Was it her own?

But as the surge died down, she realized that her muscles still felt tensed up and unresponsive. She tried to move her arm but got little more than a twitch. Had the blow been powerful enough to paralyze her? Her? How?

"Watch where you're flinging that electricity!" Jhorlo snapped. Use something less destructive!

"She was biting me, get off my pace!" Vale took the opportunity to whip around, biting down into her torso to pull her off. He flung her a few feet across the room, where she landed on her stomach. With a feral growl, she slowly forced herself back to her feet and tried to face Vale again.

But he wasn't in the corner anymore.

Instead, he was rushing her with speed she hadn't been expecting, pouncing forward with sparks dancing in his mouth. She whipped around defensively to block the attack with her steely jaws.

But instead of landing on her, he sailed overhead, landing just on the other side to spin around.

She reached up to throw a punch against his jaw, causing the manectric to yelp. She tried to attack again, but her muscles seized up again at the worst possible time.

He took the opportunity to swat at her with one hard blow from his paw, knocking her down. This time, he did not waste the opening, not giving her another chance to attack. She felt one paw slam down on her stomach and had just enough time to see his mouth burst into flame before he struck, clamping down on her shoulder.

She felt the fangs sink into her skin, biting down not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to hold her tight in place. But it wasn't the teeth that hurt the most. No, it was the flames. Fire rolled off around the bite in waves, scorching and burning fur and blistering skin. She let out a scream and thrashed, trying to twist around so that she could get a good bite down on his leg.

But her struggles were growing weaker and weaker as she tired herself out. Which only served to make her angrier. Finally, she managed to hook her jaws around one paw, clamping down hard enough that he finally let go, stumbling back a couple feet.

Slowly, she climbed back to her feet to face him again. She took a step forward, trying to ready an attack, but then stumbled and tipped forward, falling flat. He took the opportunity to limp forward again, standing nearby ready to strike, but staying away from her dangerous jaws.

At this point, Jhorlo stepped between the two.

"My, my. Now this is concerning," the purugly mewed in mock surprise. "Who would have thought our own Umbra would turn on us? You saw that. Right, Vale?"

Vale grunted in response, letting out a huff of air.

Slowly, Umbra pushed herself back to her feet, paws scraping against the wooden floor. How in Yveltal's name had she been thrown around by these two? Or really, mostly just the manectric?

As if reading her mind, Jhorlo let out a smug, chirp-like noise before speaking. "What, surprised you had a harder time against pokemon actually trained for battle, are we? Seems for all your boastful, high and mighty air, you're not so strong after all."

Umbra replied by letting out a growl, clenching her fists and snapping her jaws threateningly. "Shut. Up."

"Oh, are you trying to threaten me again? I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear." He sat down, seemingly unconcerned, and began to groom his face. Between swipes of his paw, he added, "Vale has more than enough reason and permission to use lethal force on you now, you know. It would be a shame to kill you though, really. You may have broken the terms by attacking me, but I am a merciful pokemon, and would be more than willing to give you a second chance… for a price."

With narrowed eyes, the mawile squeezed her fists again. "And why should I agree to anything now?"

"Because if you don't, then you have no further use to me, and I'll just have Vale kill you now?"

At that, the manectric stood up a bit straighter, pawing anxiously at the ground. "Are you sure about that, boss? I mean… wouldn't people notice if she disappeared all of the sudden?"

"I highly doubt it," Jhorlo snapped. "There's no one here that cares enough to look into it if she disappeared. But I don't pay you to ask questions, do I? Remember your own debt, Vale."

Umbra turned her head backwards just enough to see Vale flinch. He let out a soft whine before replying, "yes, of course. Sorry, sir."

Satisfied, Jhorlo turned his attention back to Umbra. "So, your answer, please?"

Umbra growled for a moment. She shouldn't have been defeated so easily. Her, defeated by these two? There had to be some foul play at work. Even so… she was in no position to fight right now.

"Tell me your demands," she finally answered.

A smug grin crept on to Jhorlo's face. "I'm so glad you asked. Tell me, how much have you bothered learning about the… laws and regulations about the meat industry around here?"

"Get to the point."

"Fine, fine. Well, suffice to say that around here, eating meat is seen as a necessary evil. But since it wouldn't do to go and accidently off someone's relative, there's a lot of… restrictions. Down here, civilized pokemon don't hunt, as you might already know. They harvest bodies of the pokemon that die in the wilds. Or at least… that's what they'd like to believe.

"Truth is, that's just not sustainable, you see. Too many pokemon need to eat meat to live. I may be a bit underhanded, my dear, but I have no interest in seeing good pokemon starve just because of a few little rules. So, since you've already got a bit of experience in hunting, I have some interest in… recruiting you.

"Here's what I can offer you. If you hunt for me, hunt for the town under the radar until you finish your objective, then we can just… sweep this little hiccup under the rug. So, what do you say?"

Umbra hesitated, clenching her jaw as she looked between Jhorlo and Vale. "... And if I refuse?"

"Well, that would be quite unfortunate. But I suppose it can't be helped. I suppose we'd either have to turn you over to the guard though, for attacking me, or else kill you right now."

If Umbra was being honest with herself, her options were limited. Agree, or die. Agree, or let Nip go. Agree, or lose any hope of avenging her kin.

"Fine."

The purugly's maw twisted into a cruel, toothy style. "Excellent. I'll have Vale fill you in on the details in the morning. Pleasure doing business with you, my dear."

Chapter Text

Every part of Nip’s body ached. 

He was no stranger to hard work; keeping the tribe’s resting grounds clean and tidy was by no means easy. And on rare occasions, more involved hunts and tasks kept him away from the resting grounds for days. But dragging around materials more than twice his size for hours on end with only a short break in the middle? Slicing and chopping wood for so long it made his paws bleed? No, that was not normal. But it was his new routine. And now, he found himself exhausted at the end of every day. 

Somehow, he figured that was the point. Afterall, he knew far too well that an exhausted pokemon caused no trouble.

As usual, the day’s work continued as the sun crawled its way across the sky, until it was nearly dark out.

“Aight, I think that’s about enough for the day.”

The diggersby’s call announced the end to the grueling work. At once, Nip breathed out a relieved sigh, sinking to the ground before flopping his back. The dirt be damned, he was already dirty; what was a bit more? By now, the shadows were long, and the sky had grown a deep orange. Scattered, puffy clouds were tinged crimson as they drifted across the sky. Some pokemon back in his tribe would consider the color an ill omen. He didn’t know whether he should, as well.

He heard footsteps approaching and instinctually tensed, trying to sit back up. But his aching muscles protested, leaving him prone as the form of a quagsire loomed over him.

“Are you about done moping around? I’d like to head back and lock up for the night.”

Nip bit back a stinging retort, trying to hide his annoyance behind only the twitch of his ear. Best to not make things worse than he already had today. Rolling first onto his side, then onto his stomach, Nip peeled himself from the ground, climbing slowly to his feet.

As they began to walk away from the daycare and back towards the guard hut, he kept his head down, not interested in seeing the stares and leers of any village pokemon that might be going about their business at this hour. 

The walk back towards the guard hut was fairly short; most places that weren’t dens – or houses, or whatever weird made-up word the villagers used for their weird shelters – were all together in a ring, taking a few minutes at most to reach, and the hut was no exception. 

He came to a stop just outside the fabric barrier, listening to the quagsire follow behind. His ear feather twitched irritably as he waited. On one hand, the whole arrangement annoyed him, spending night after night in a dank cell, curling up in a corner in hopes of keeping warm in the drafty building. How did these pokemon stand it, being in such a wide-open chamber with only one narrow exit?

On the other hand, he couldn’t blame them for keeping him somewhere where he couldn’t run. He’d already tried finding a way out of the barred cell, striking at the metal with his claws and ice, to no avail. And it wasn’t the worst place he could be. Even if he couldn’t run, at least Umbra couldn’t get to him here.

At least, he hoped not. If she could, well, he was like a cornered rattata.

And that didn’t even touch on the diet he’d been given thus far. Whisper claimed that he’d eventually have money to purchase meat, but he wasn’t sure he believed that. He wasn’t sure that she wasn’t slowly starving him to death, enacting the only form of revenge the village had allowed.

The quagsire - Slies, if he remembered the name correctly - paused just behind him, waiting for him to keep going. When he did not, Slies scoffed and reached up to pull the curtain aside. Nip let out a resigned sigh and stepped inside. 

The guard hut was one of the larger buildings, built with a second level. He had no idea what was on top, but the bottom was furnished with only a low, wooden platform, a couple of nests for the guards or any visitors to rest in, and three cells of varying sizes. 

Typically, the bottom floor was empty at this time of day, or at most might have a single guard waiting for him and his watcher to return. But tonight, someone else, someone familiar was waiting in one of the nests. 

A lump of brown fur raised up as they entered, alerted by the rustling of the fabric.

“Eh? Haru? What are you doing here?” Slies asked. “Everything alright? I hope you haven’t been waiting here long.”

“Long? Oh, no, no, not at-” Haru cut herself off with a yawn, blinking a few times. “Not at all. I just, er… and this might sound a bit weird I guess, but I kind of wanted to ask the, um… I wanted to ask Nip a couple questions. Is that okay?”

“Him?” Slies tilted his head, thumping his tail against the wooden floor a couple times. “Well, I mean, I guess it’s alright, go ahead.”

“Thanks. Of course.” But then she said nothing, just staring at Nip, then back to Slies. “Um… I know you have to keep an eye on him and all, but… do you mind giving me a minute of privacy? Maybe you could… just guard the entrance? There’s no windows or anything for him to escape through.”

“I dunno about that Haru… What if he takes you hostage or something? That could be just as bad.”

Nip felt almost insulted by the suggestion. “Do you really think I would do something as cowardly as that?”

“You stole an egg,” the quagsire pointed out. “I wouldn’t put anything past you.”

At that, Nip could only clench his teeth, his ear lying flat against his skull. He understood why they were upset, but death and cruelty were just facts of life, and he was only doing what he thought he had to for survival. How would taking Haru hostage help with that? In fact, it was more likely to get him killed. 

He didn’t air his thoughts though, not wanting to risk a blast of frigid water to the face. Or worse.

Slies continued to give them a hard stare, but when Haru did not budge, he sighed and gave in. “Fine, Fine. Just for a few minutes though! I’ll be right outside. Give me a shout if you need me. "And you”—he turned to face Nip, thumping his heavy tail on the ground a couple times in a threatening manner—"you better be on your best behavior."

Nip said nothing, but forced himself to relax slightly, his tail feathers twitching.

With that, Slies brushed back past the curtain, leaving Nip and Haru alone in the room.

At first, Haru still said nothing, her gaze shifting to the ground. Nip shifted his weight uncomfortably in the silence, watching her without a word. “Well, what is it that you needed to ask so bad?”

“Just a second,” she said quickly. “I’m trying to figure out how to word it.” The silence stretched on for just a bit longer, before she finally sucked in a breath and answered. “I just… I don’t get it. What’s your problem?”

He blinked. “What’s… What’s my problem?”

“Yeah.” She looked back up. “How can you live with yourself, turning on and hurting the pokemon that took you in and saved your life? You killed someone’s child. Do you realize that? Or are you just morally bankrupt?”

Nip scrunched his nose at the start of a snarl, her sharp words stinging. This is what she came here for? To insult him and ask questions that he had already answered? He forced his fur to lie flat before replying. “That’s… Death is inevitable. Whether it be at the hands of a hungry predator, or because your prey struck back. Or any sort of horrible accident. And at some point, you just have to accept it. You have to accept that you must kill to live, or you have to accept that the world isn’t safe, and that others might hunt you for food. Sometimes it’s both. It’s terrifying, I will admit. But it’s just the way life works.”

Haru blinked a couple times, seemingly stunned by his response. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he couldn’t tell. But finally, her gaze hardened. “So that’s it, you justify your actions because that’s just the way the world works? What a terrible excuse.”

“Well, I’d like to hear what you think then. Do you really think searching for unfortunates and letting your carnivore friends eat what amounts to carrion is healthy? That it’s right? Do you really believe that it actually works that way?”

“Yes? That’s the agreement every pokemon has to live by, to be able to live in a civilized society. They don’t hunt and kill other pokemon, and in turn, they have access to all the resources and materials living in a town provides. Simple enough.”

“You can’t really believe that’s sustainable, do you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be, it’s worked for all these years.”

“How do you know though?” Nip asked, tapping his claws together. “You don’t seem like you’ve bothered keeping up with any of that. Have you ever even bothered asking and finding out?”

“I don’t need to,” Haru insisted. “It’s written into our laws and rules. If there was something shady going on, surely someone would have done something about it by now.”

Nip opened his mouth to say something more, but shut it, sensing that this wasn’t an argument he was going to win. Instead, he just let out a huff of air and returned back to the first subject.

“Fine. Let me try explaining another way. I…” He trailed off, hesitating. How much was he willing to share? On one hand, he’d already spilled most of his story, and he doubted hiding anything now would matter. On the other, he was still hesitant to tell the whole story, seeing how she’d reacted thus far.  There were still things about his life that he doubted she would take well. And he feared the idea of losing this last chance at life if he said the wrong thing.

“Well? I’m waiting. And you know what, let me ask you another question while I’m at it. Why did you steal an egg, when you could have just gone a little bit further out of town and stolen from the meat shop?” Then she quickly added, “Not that I’m encouraging theft, but theft is less heinous than murder.”

“I already answered this,” he growled, quickly growing frustrated. “I honestly thought that it was my best option. In the moment, I was concerned with getting away as quickly as possible. For all I knew, Umbra could have already reached the village and was just waiting for me to show myself.”

“And you really think she would kill you in the middle of the village? Or at all?”

“Yes!” Why couldn’t anyone else see Umbra for how dangerous and aggressive she was? “If it wasn’t for the guards here, she would sneak in and kill me right now, I’m sure of it. And if she had caught me alone in the village then, well, if she didn’t kill me where I stood, she’d at least drag me off into the woods and kill me there.”

“Because of what you did in your tribe?” Haru hesitated for a moment, pawing nervously at the straw. “…I’m going to be honest Nip, based on everything you two have said, I can’t totally blame her for wanting you dead, even if I don’t agree with handling things like that.”

Nip recoiled. Was she serious? Did she wish him dead too? He drew his paws down his face, trying to keep his emotions in check. “No. Well, yes, but also no. She wanted me dead from the moment we were paired together, because she saw herself as too valuable to be paired with a scrawny, runty sneasel for a mate.”

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then began to pace, his ear lying flat against his skull as he grew more and more irritated. “But she couldn’t just kill me, could she? That would just get her thrown out of the tribe instead. So, she went out of her way to make my life a walking nightmare. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be kicked out of your home on a cold winter’s night? To be forced to find shelter elsewhere as a blizzard bears down on you? To day in and day out be scared to leave home, for fear of someone taking their anger out on you? To have everyone look down on you and view you as a disappointment? Because if not, then you have no right to judge me. And if that’s all you came here to do, you might as well just leave.”

Satisfied with his response, Nip turned and took a few steps away, turning his back towards the door. It would be so easy to knock her over and make a mad dash to freedom right now, but what good would it do him, breaking out in the middle of the square with too many pokemon still around? Umbra would just chase him down again, and he’d be back to life on the run.

He expected Haru to turn and leave, but he never heard the sound of retreating pawsteps or of rustling fabric. When the silence stretched on for far too long for comfort, he turned to glance back, and caught sight of Haru still standing in the same spot, staring at the ground with an unreadable expression.

“Did you have something else to gripe at me about?”

Haru was startled out of her thoughts, jumping at the sound of his voice. She blinked once, then spoke hesitantly. “I just… I don’t get it. I can’t figure you out. You’re ungrateful and cold-hearted and act like you did nothing wrong. And yet you’re just serving your sentence like you want to change. Why haven’t you run off by now?”

The truth? A believable lie? What difference would it make, now? “I… suppose it sort of benefits me, at the moment,” he replied before taking a seat in one of the nests, pausing to run his tongue along his shoulder, beginning his nightly grooming ritual.

“What do you m- do you just do that in front of everyone?” 

“What, groom? Most pokemon know better than to stare. There’s no privacy here anyways.”

“No. I mean, yes, but most pokemon just don’t groom in front of others period. Unless they’re trying to show off that they don’t see someone as a threat, or they’re really close I guess.”

He let out a quiet huff. “Well you can view it that way if you want. Because I don’t see you as threatening at all.”

“Hey!” Haru snapped. “Don’t forget who beat you last time!” 

“You used dungeon magics on me. I’d hardly call that a fair fight.”

“What, the orb? If you’re upset about being beaten that way, that’s your problem, not mine.”

Nip held back a growl. Great, now they were back to arguing again. This would get them nowhere. So, he elected to ignore her again, returning to his grooming. The silence stretched on for another few minutes before Haru spoke again.

“Ugh, let me just… I can’t make sense of you. How is this beneficial to you?” 

“It’s simple,” Nip replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “If I’m in here under the watch of all these guards, and Umbra’s out there, then she can’t get at me without a fight. It’s not ideal, but it’s safer than trying to run off now. She can’t even attempt to kill me without everyone noticing.”

Haru stared at him for a long time. “Okay, Nip. I could believe that, but I’m still not convinced she’s going to kill you.”

“You don’t know her like I do. It took me more than a moon to travel from my tribe to here. Do you really think she’d go all that way back with me as a prisoner? Even if it wasn’t so far, she would have killed me anyways. She’s always been looking for an excuse to get rid of me, I know it. She was expecting someone far stronger and more prestigious than a runt that had to fight to be acknowledged as a skilled hunter.”

As he spoke, he could see the Haru’s expression begin to shift towards one of deep concentration. “Are you… sure you’re not overreacting a little?”

Nip let out a low hiss. “You don’t know what I went through. How many nights I spent either out in the cold, or huddled in the back, expecting Umbra to come back and lash out for existing around her. Don’t you dare tell me I’m overreacting.”

“Surely someone would have noticed if any of this was actually happening and done something about it, right? Why didn’t you just tell someone?”

He couldn’t help but scoff. “I did. But no, Umbra was too well-respected, no one would have believed me. The few pokemon I did tell did nothing to stop it. Tempest at least tried to provide some comfort… but he’s even more an outsider than I was. What was he supposed to do?”

Haru open her mouth to say something, but paused, thinking. “Who was Tempest, again? I think you said his name before.”

“My mentor. He taught me much. But he was adopted into the tribe as little more than a pup. He never would have gained much power in the tribe, and he didn’t have any when I… left.”

He waited for a moment for Haru to reply. When she didn't, he turned his attention to smoothing out his ruffled fur. Another moment or so passed before she finally stood, shaking a couple times, tossing bits of straw that had gotten stuck to her fur in all directions before beginning to head to the exit. 

She paused halfway there. "You know I have no reason to believe you, right?"

The statement stung more than it should have. "I don't care whether you believe me or not. I know the truth. But if you’re not going to listen… why did you bother coming in the first place?"

Haru took another few steps, then faltered. She hesitated for a few seconds longer, not daring to look up at Nip. “You better watch yourself,” she finally warned. “They might change their sentencing if they don’t think you care about changing.” Then she disappeared through the fabric.

Nip stared for just a bit longer, a cold pit forming in his stomach. But he forced himself to relax. He didn’t need to worry about what she thought. Whether she got the answers she was seeking, he did not know. Nor did he care. He couldn’t be bothered to care, when she obviously didn’t do the same.

Slies entered a few heartbeats later, his mouth turned in a tired frown. "By ‘Gigas, could you two be any louder? You're luck-" He cut himself off. "Nope, not going to say it. That would probably be in poor taste." 

The quagsire's tail thumped against the ground a couple times as he headed over to an alcove on the far side of the room and reached an arm in, pulling out a ring with three bumpy bits of metal. Keys was the word Nip had learned over his last few days here.

He begrudgingly stood up as Slies approached him, not wanting to draw his ire and take a thump from that slimy tail. Silently, he allowed the quagsire to lead him over to the mid-sized cell, a small chamber perhaps three times as wide, long, and high as he was tall. Calling the inside sparsely furnished would be an understatement; the only things in the cell were a small water trough by the bars and a messy straw bed. Bits of hay were still strewn about the floor from when he'd gone a bit stir-crazy the first night he'd been held here, but that he hadn’t bothered to gather up.

Now behind the relative safety of the bars, he waited until he heard the sound of a click behind him before moving to settle into the nest with his back to the rest of the room. There, he finished grooming himself before settling down uneasily. 

Not that he was asleep though. No, that would take some time. For a while, he just laid there with his back to all the guards that came and went, getting ready to change shifts. Whisper approached his prison at some point, trying to get him to speak to her. Demanding it even. He didn't answer though. He never did. Because he doubted anything he could say would make her forgive him, and he didn’t see the point in trying.

He didn't even want her forgiveness, though. Stealing eggs was just a part of a sneasel's nature. Or so he'd been told. And he felt no shame using that to his advantage, even if he would have done things differently now, now that he'd had time to think about the repercussions of his action.

Eventually though, the sun set completely, leaving the room dimly lit by jars of luminous plants. And after a short time, one of the guards came and put most of those away, leaving only a single source of light in the room. 

Even then, Nip stayed awake for a while longer. Listening quietly for the sound of movement, particularly from outside. But all he heard was the occasional passing of footsteps, accompanied by torchlight from under the curtain doorway as a guard made the rounds.

At some point, he sent a silent prayer to Yveltal, wondering if he’d said and done the right things.

Only once he was totally exhausted did Nip finally drift into fitful, troubled sleep, his dreams disturbed by rough waves, flashing lightning, and frost-covered trees. 

Morning came and went in much the same way it had been for the last several days. A guard would come and rouse him by stuffing a handful of berries into a thin slat under the bars, and he'd chew with disinterest so that his stomach at least would not be growling when he left to do labor.

Eventually, the sound of scraping claws or heavy footsteps on the wooden boards would alert him to an approaching guard, and he would get up and follow them out to help with construction, the only job that he could help with at the moment. Or at least, the only job willing to take him. 

This morning, however, there was a slight bump in the routine. Breakfast came and went as usual, and the flaffy guard came at the usual time, but as they made their way across the square to the construction zone, Nip noted several dozen wooden boxes laying along the road, filled to the brim with berries. There, Essra was busy using her psychic powers to load them up on a wooden board with wheels, the rapidash guard waiting at the end of it.

Nip slowed down as they passed by, curiosity getting the better of him. For a second, he locked eyes with the bellossom that ran the stand. But she quickly averted her gaze to her partner, the roserade standing beside her. That pairing was something he had been curious about for a long time, but an explanation would have to wait for another day.

“Move along, sneasel,” the flaffy bleated, poking him between the shoulder blades to get him moving. “Nothing to see here.”

“What are they doing?” he asked. 

The flaffy snorted. “What, never seen a convoy before? They’re getting ready to trade goods with one of our southern neighbors. Don’t you have anything like that where you’re from?”

“Not at all,” Nip replied. “Territories are heavily disputed, and it’s always each tribe looking out for themselves.”

“Don’t know how you guys survive like that. But whatever. Now come along. We haven’t got all day.”

And then they were off again, closing the last of the gap to the nursery construction site.

Both Grombert and Chipper were already there, the bibarel of the pair busily gnawing away at a long, relatively thin log, working to cut it apart into manageable pieces. When he saw the pair making their way towards him, he raised a paw in greeting and paused to stretch out his back. 

"Oh, good morning you two. It's a bit colder today, don’t you think, really doing a number on these joints of mine." 

Now that he mentioned it, Nip did realize things were a bit colder. Nothing like the harsh weather of the north, but at least cool enough that he felt comfortable in his fur. His ear feather twitched in acknowledgement of the comment. 

"Y'best go talk to old Grombert and see what he wants done today. I think we're putting up the awning today. Another day or two and I'd say we'll have this job finally done.

"Really, like this?" the flaffy asked. "You're not going to put in any security measures?"

Chipper blinked a couple times, and then groaned, sitting back on his haunches. "That's right, I totally forgot about the gate. Grombert was working on the fence today. Guess I'll have to bring over more logs tomorrow."

"How is this... gate supposed to protect this place?" Nip questioned.

All eyes turned to Nip, their gazes ranging from cautious glances to dangerous glares. It took him a second to realize what their problem was.

"No, no," he said quickly, raising up his paws in front of him defensively. "Not like that. I mean. Where I'm from, they use thorns and brambles, as well as mon-fashioned spike traps, to protect the nursery den from intruders, so that the only way you'd be able to get in is either an attack or by going through the front entrance. otherwise you just get a paw or face full of painful spikes.”

Chipper's eyes lit up. "Oh, this works... similarly, I guess. Perhaps not as dangerous to the children. It's just a fence around the perimeter to keep people from just walking right in."

That made... some sense, Nip supposed. Though he didn't see how that would protect from an attack from above. Something like a staraptor swooping from above would be a real threat.

Before he had a chance to voice this concern, however, he heard a voice squeak from behind. 

"Eep! The sneasel's back!"

He turned his head just in time to catch the retreating, spectral form of a pumpkaboo, rushing back to the safety of the daycare. Once he was safely back on the other side of the wall, he turned back to steal a glance towards Nip from the entryway. But when he saw the sneasel looking right at him, he squeaked in alarm again and disappeared inside. Every day, it was the same thing. The skittish pokemon would cry out an alarm when he saw him, and then run off.

"Tor, the sneasel’s back! Why won't you make him go away?" he heard the child cry out.

Then he heard the blissey's deep, monotonous voice reply quietly. "It's not my decision Myo. I just need you to be brave for a few more days. Can you do that for me?" The pumpkaboo, Myo, said nothing, so Tor continued. "Why don't you get Aves and go watch the berry cart head out of town. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I... guess so..."

"Hey, earth to sneasel. Anyone in there?"

Nip snapped back to attention as a pink paw waved in front of his face. He turned his head slightly towards the flaffy, who grunted before pointing out Grombert again.

"I said, why don't you hurry up and get started already."

Biting back a stinging retort, Nip lowered his head and began to walk towards the diggersby. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the pumpkaboo from before and the shuppet he'd fought during his escape leave the daycare, giving him a wide berth as they floated off towards where the boxes of berries had nearly been loaded up. 

Now standing before Grombert, he cleared his throat to catch the diggersby's attention. Grombert turned towards him, one ear holding a handful of small, uniformly shaped red rocks.

"'Bout time you showed up," Grombert said, grumbling as he dropped the stones onto a pile of more stones. "I'll be having you work on laying bricks for the fencing today, at least till it's too high for you. Got everything you need right here." He gestured with both his left paw and left ear towards the pile of rocks, and then to a wooden trough filled with some sort of grainy, grey slop. 

Nip shivered involuntarily at the thought of dipping his paws into that mess. "What, do expect me to use my bare claws or something?"

"Only if you break the trowel." The diggersby stooped down and picked up a flat piece of wood sticking out of the grainy mess. "It's easy enough. Lemme show you how it's done." 

Nip watched as he began to work, scrapping a thin layer of the substance, which Grombert soon explained was called "mortar" on the side of one of the stones before placing it next to another one on the ground. He did this a couple more times before starting a second row, setting up the next set of bricks so that they overlapped with the previous row. Then he finally passed the trowel off to Nip and pointed out where he wanted the bricks before finally leaving him alone with his guard, heading over to where Chipper was busy at work prepping wood. 

Despite his best efforts, Nip managed to get some of the mortar stuck to his paws as he began working, the cold, wet, grainy substance sticking to his fur in uncomfortable ways. He grumbled as he laid the bricks, fighting the urge to work carelessly. 

He had only just finished his first row of work when he was interrupted yet again, this time by Haru approaching the work area, pausing to let the berry cart pass by before crossing over to the work area.

She didn't even acknowledge Nip as she passed, heading straight to her father, grumbling under her breath.

"Mom said you forgot to take your herbs," Haru announced before Chipper could say anything, ducking out of her bag’s strap. "She still doesn't want Toshi up and about, walking all the way to the square yet after his injury, so she sent me instead."

"Is that why I'm aching so bad?" the bibarel asked. "I thought it was the weather."

"Well, it is cold," Haru agreed, "so I don't know. But please don't do this again. I had to stop what I was doing to run these all the way down here. I was nearly done cleaning the tree I was working on, too!"

"Gods, thanks Haru, didn't mean to make you worry about me or anything," Chipper said as she pulled out a couple of white herbs, placing them on the ground in front of him. "Thanks though."

"Don't mention it. Now if you'll excuse me, I-"

Haru didn't finish her sentence. In the distance, there was a loud crash and a bright flash of light, followed by shouting and a blast of frigid air.

All five pokemon turned in near unison towards the source. A gout of flame burst into the air in the distance, but the source was out of sight. Seconds later, Whisper came dashing by, heading in the direction of the fire. 

"That looks like it came from the direction of the berry cart," the flaffy announced, alarm creeping into his voice. He looked out towards the direction, then nervously back at Nip, then back towards the sound of shouts. "Stay here," he said in a warning tone, before racing off towards the source.

That left Grombert, Chipper, Nip, and Haru, to stare at each other uneasily as shouts and the sounds of battle kicked off in the distance. Every few seconds, there would be a flash of light or a plume of fire, followed by a crash or a snap, or many other manners of attacks. 

It seemed like the sounds were slowly growing closer, however. Many of the village civilians had come out from the surrounding businesses to look at the commotion.

A pair of ghastly figures came zipping through, making a beeline for the daycare. They dashed behind the gathered pokemon, then huddled behind Tor just beyond the doorway.

"A scary pokemon's trying to break into town," Aves announced, huddling a bit closer to Myo.

"Yeah! real scary! He attacked Romi when she wouldn't let him by. Wouldn't even talk to her!"

Another blast of frigid air flowed in their direction, strong enough for ice crystals to begin forming on the tips of Nip’s fur even this far away. He paused, sniffing as the wind passed by. Another plume of smoke filled the air. Something about the smell on the wind struck Nip as off. Familiar, even. For just a few seconds, he was transported in his mind back to kithood, to a cold winters day as he followed a pokemon off into the woods surrounding their home.

Without thinking, Nip darted off, dashing in the direction of the smoke. Behind him, he heard shouts of protest and anger, and at least one pokemon chasing him, but he ignored them.

He wasn't trying to run away. Not right now. He just needed to know.

It wasn't long before the scene of the battle came into view, though it seemed like the fight was nearly over by now. Four of the guards were fighting, some in better conditions than others. A thin layer of ice caked one of Whisper's wings, while the rapidash was struggling to stand, with cuts and bruises lining her body. Sparks of electricity danced off of both Vale and the flaffy's flank, neither of them looking too bad, with only a couple of scrapes and some ice crystals stuck to their fur.

Collapsed in the center of the four was a ninetales, his blue-white fur ratty, caked in mud, and singed. He, like Romi, was struggling to climb to his feet, his breathing ragged. As he stood, Nip could see a nasty, infected wound stretching from his neck all the way down to his shoulder. 

And despite all that, despite the wound and the mud and the vague look in his eye as he stared down the village guard with a soundless snarl, Nip still recognized him. Without thought for his safety, he called out the familiar name.

"Tempest!"

Chapter Text

“Tempest!”

All eyes turned to Nip the moment the name spilled out of his mouth. The looks he received varied from disdain to surprise, but that was nothing new. For a moment, under the scrutinizing looks, he worried he had been wrong, and that he was only causing trouble with a stranger that would bite him later.

But when the ninetales eyes lit up with recognition, the feeling subsided, and Nip knew for certain that he was right.

Ignoring a shout for him to stay where he was, Nip dashed forward towards the ninetales. But he only got a few bounds along before he faltered and stopped, overcome with feelings of anxiety and fear. Why was Tempest here? Had he, too, been sent after him? Would he defend him, or would he kill him? Perhaps neither? Fear and indecisiveness rooted him to the spot, and he instinctively shrank down, watching Tempest with wide eyes for any signs of movement.

“I’m sorry, Whisper! He ran off and I couldn’t keep up with him!” 

Nip’s ear twitched at the voice. He turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of Haru slowing to a stop next to Whisper, her sides heaving with effort. Nip ignored her, turning his attention back to Tempest. The ninetales in question had not stepped towards him. In fact, he had instead collapsed onto his side, though his head was lifted up to stare at Nip. 

Hesitantly, Nip began to step forward again, reaching a paw out to gingerly touch the wound on Tempest’s neck. He didn’t know how old it was, but he could tell that it had been there for a while, still not totally healed and stinking. Tempest responded to the touch by baring his teeth, making Nip flinch and shrink away at first. But when he did nothing further, nor said anything, he finally felt safe enough to relax. For the moment, at least.

“What… Who did this to you?” Nip asked breathlessly.

Tempest said nothing, only holding Nip’s gaze.

Anxiety clawed at the sneasel’s belly again, though now for different reasons. Question after question flashed through his mind. Why wouldn’t he answer? Could he answer? Perhaps the injury kept him from speaking.  Was it temporary or permanent? He knew Tempest knew how to take care of himself; even a wound this bad should have been better taken care of than this. So why wasn’t it?

And what brought him here? He’d shown no real aggression towards him, and yet the likelihood of him arriving here by chance seemed impossible.

“What are we waiting around for?” He heard Vale shout, snapping him out of his thoughts. Whipping his head around he caught sight of the manectric slinking forward, crouching low to the ground with sparks bouncing off of his bared fangs, ready to sink his teeth into whoever moved first.

Tempest, too, turned his head, and struggled back to his feet before stumbling forward so that he was between Nip and the approaching guard. But his condition hardly let him stay on his feet.

“Vale! Stand down!” Whisper snapped, breaking Vale’s concentration and intense gaze.

“But-”

“Your opponent is subdued, Vale. Disengage.”

Vale grumbled something under his breath but relented. He stood up straight turned to take a few steps back. 

Satisfied, Whisper turned to Nip. “Ignoring the fact that you shouldn’t be here,” she began, stealing an annoyed look at the flaaffy that was supposed to be watching him, “you seem to know this strange ninetales. Explain yourself.”

Nip looked up to Whisper, then to the rest of the pokemon surrounding him before shrinking into Tempest’s fur. He swallowed, sucking in a breath of air before answering.  “Tempest is… was… is… my mentor,” he began. “He taught me… most of what I know. My fighting skills, hu… how to track something and survive in the wilderness, all of that. He offered me a chance at getting stronger when most of my… former kin were trying to steer me away from the path of a fighter.” 

Whisper looked up to the other guards, trading an uneasy glance with several of them. “Do you know why he’s here?”

“Not at all,” Nip replied, lowering his gaze. “I haven’t seen him since…” He trailed off. Tempest would know what he did, and the entire village knew now, too. But trying to say it himself left a vile taste in his mouth. 

“...Since I left our resting grounds,” he finished. 

“We should drive him out,” Vale warned, his voice coming out in a low growl. “He might help our prisoner try to escape.” He took a threatening step towards Tempest. Nip, without thinking, moved to put himself between Tempest and the aggressive manectric, the air around him growing cold.

Before either of them could make a move, though, Whisper stepped between the two, holding up a wing on either side. “Both of you stand down. Nip, if you so much as raise a claw at me, I’ll call a new vote and let that mawile drag you out of town, I swear to any god you hold dear.

“And Vale, you are not in charge here. What we do with the ninetales is up to the village as a whole to decide. Not you. Do you understand me?”

The mere thought of Umbra made Nip shiver. He forced himself to relax, the air around him returning to normal, and dropped his gaze to the ground. Vale, meanwhile, also averted his gaze, muttering a quick apology towards Whisper.

The hawlucha growled, lowering her wings. “Glad you two could see reason.”

Now that the sounds of battle had died away, a handful of villagers had made their way over from the square to investigate the situation. Nip watched as Whisper looked over the crowd until she locked eyes with one particular pokemon. 

“Lecha, would you please escort both Romi back to the clinic, then meet us at the guard’s hut to deal with this… ‘Tempest?’ You can treat him there. Stati,” she paused to gesture to the flaaffy, “you go with them too. Vale, I want you to fetch Jhorlo and tell him what happened, please. Then don’t come back. I can’t deal with your aggression right now. You were due for a break anyways. I’ll be taking Nip back to his holding cell for now, until we have a chance to discuss what to do.”

Vale responded with a grunt before turning to run off. Nip felt a paw lightly press up against his back, signaling for him to move out of the way as Lecha approached Tempest, giving his wounds a quick look over. As Whisper began to lead him away, he heard the medic call out, “Twi! Twi, go make me a sitrus poultice! And bring me another sitrus berry and an energy seed.”

Whatever happened next, Nip didn’t see due to being shepherded around the corner so that the scene was out of sight. Still, he couldn’t get thoughts of Tempest out of his mind. What did his appearance mean? He’d shown no signs of hostility towards him, but the fact that he was here couldn’t be chance. Had he followed him here? Was he, too, here to kill him? Had his moment of anger turned even those that cared about him against him?

An anxious, guilty pit formed in his stomach. His silent questions were left unanswered as he crossed the threshold back into the guards’ hut. As much as he would rather be back with Tempest, trying to get answers and making sure his mentor was alright, he felt it best not to draw Whisper’s ire any more than he already had. But as he was locked back away and things fell quiet, his unanswered questions continued to plague his mind. 

Perhaps, with a good word from Tempest, he could convince the villagers to let him leave. But after his less-than-positive departure from the tribe, would Tempest even be willing to vouch for him? Would he be able to vouch for him, for that matter? Or had that wound taken away his ability to speak entirely?

Shimmer found it quiet at home that day. Too quiet. Boringly quiet. Quiet in a way that made her uncomfortable. There was hardly a single emotional aura in the house, just the quiet, stewing flicker of an emotional aura that she suspected was Umbra. Sure, Muse was here too, but everything about the dark-type’s mind and emotions were an enigma, like a deep, dark void in a vibrant world.

“Muuuusy,” she whined, draping herself dramatically over her friend and bodyguard’s back, “can’t we please go do something already?” 

The absol let out a sigh, dropping her head to rest it against one of Shimmer’s prized pillows. “As much as I would love to go somewhere, Shimmer, your father asked us to stay and keep an eye on the house.”

Shimmer groaned. “I know that. But it’s so boring. Surely it won’t be a problem if we just go out for a quick walk around the square, or maybe to see my Toshi, right?”

Even if she couldn’t read Muse’s emotions with her psychic powers, there were a few things Shimmer knew about her friend, and about her reactions. For one thing, she could tell from the way she tensed beneath her that her will was crumbling. Muse could never say no to her for too long. 

But to Shimmer’s surprise, Muse managed to hold her ground this time. “Not right now, she insisted. “Maybe tonight around dinner, we could go down to the square for food. But let’s stay here for now, okay? Besides, didn’t you want to keep an eye on Umbra?”

Oh, right. Shimmer let out a huff, sliding off of Muse’s back and adjusting herself so that she was sitting and leaning against her. “I hate it when you have a point. Fiiine, guess we’ll stay here and be bored.”

“I don’t know, don’t you think the quiet is kind of nice for a change? It seems like there’s always pokemon coming and going around here.”

Shimmer supposed Muse had a point. Sort of. She may not have an absol’s sharp senses, but she did have psychic powers. Psychic powers that picked up on the comings and goings of most visitors. Still, she had gotten pretty good at tuning out most of it over the years, unless she felt a particularly strong spike of emotion. 

Like the anger that had come off of Umbra in waves the last couple days, since Nip had been brought back to town. She was silent for a moment, her mind dwelling on the thought, before she blurted out, “do you think we made the right decision? About Nip?”

“Hm?” Muse didn’t raise her head. “What makes you say that, Shims?”

“It’s just… you and I both think there’s something fishy going on, right? And it’s good to give someone a second chance and all, but… What if he doesn’t change. What if other pokemon end up getting hurt, and it’s our fault because we decided to give him a second chance. I mean, he’s already hurt two different groups of pokemon. He didn’t deny Umbra’s claims, and…” She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I’m afraid of having blood on my hands, Muse. And what kind of a leader to-be am I if I can’t help but second-guess myself?”

Muse raised her head, pressing it up against Shimmer’s shoulder. “Hey, no one can be confident all the time, trust me. I’m always second-guessing my actions. It’s just the way I am.”

“Really?” Shimmer asked with a wistful tone in her voice. “You always seem so certain, though…”

“I have to,” Muse replied. “I have to make my decisions whole-heartedly. That’s my job as your bodyguard. And if I had followed the prophet path my mother took, I would have to appear certain so as to not make others worry. Just like you do. Look, it’s okay to have doubts, Shimmer, because I’m here to listen and confide in. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Shimmer took a deep breath again, a smile creeping onto her face. “I guess you’re right. Thanks for trying to help me feel better, Muse. I’m just worried about what’s going to happen next, I guess. With both Nip and Umbra here, and all, and we still don’t know what your premonition was about. It’s a lot to worry about.”

“I know.” The absol pulled her head away, dipping it as she closed her eyes. “But for now, try not to think about it. Relax. We can worry about Nip when your father gets back, and we have the free time to worry about it, right?”

“I suppooooose. But it’s sooooo boring right now!” Cheered up a bit, Shimmer was back to her normal, bubbly mood. Was it a façade? Kind of. But considering how ugly her real feelings were, and how much disrespect she’d receive as a leader for showing that side of herself, she could bottle it up and put on a cheerful look.

Speaking of leadership… a good leader had to be strong, right? With nothing better to do, she decided that a good use of her time would be to practice honing her powers. Both to practice and as a show of how much better she was feeling, she spent a few minutes levitating various items around her room: a few trinkets her dad had found or bought for her over the years, a couple pillows, a sundial that had gone unused for some time now, and a carefully constructed bidoof plush that she’d had to go to the next town over for. Creepy? Maybe a little. But it was as close as she had to the real thing, so she wouldn’t let anyone shame her for it.

Soon, she had all of the inanimate objects floating in the air. She spent a moment rearranging them, but quickly grew bored. Levitating inanimate objects was easy. And there was no way she’d be able to get a grip on Muse; the dark type slipped through her psychic hold like nothing more than smoke. Only the most powerful psychics could take hold of a dark type. One day, maybe she’d be able to do it. But not yet.

With her options for levitation exhausted, she decided to try stretching the reach of her natural senses. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and imagined first her home, then the area around it. Sensing only Umbra’s emotional aura, following behind a blank spot that she assumed was one of the purrloin siblings, and Muse’s blank spot, she took another deep breath before pushing her senses further, slowly expanding the radius as she strained, scanning for any type of emotional pulse. She was rewarded, after a few minutes, with a quick read of a pokemon hurrying by a bit of a way off. There was a slight nervous twinge to their emotional state, but nothing really out of the ordinary. 

For a moment, she considered focusing and diving into Umbra’s psyche. Maybe she could figure out how many of Nip’s claims of the mawile’s cruelty were true. But she hesitated and held back.

Dad always told her that it was rude to read people’s minds and memories, after all.

Instead, she continued to try and strain her senses a bit further. For her troubles, she picked up on a sudden spike of anger and frustration. She squeezed her eyes shut just a bit tighter, grunting at the sudden overwhelming emotions. 

Concerningly, as she continued to feel the emotional aura, she realized that it was moving closer, heading in their general direction, and fast.

She broke her concentration with a pained gasp, her sense sucking back inward to her general area.

At once, she felt Muse tense up, raising her head to look back at Shimmer.

“Shims? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” she groaned, bringing a hand up to her temples. “Just… wasn’t expecting that. Someone’s coming, and they’re not happy.”

Muse began to stand, trying to not disturb Shimmer as she did so. “Stay here, I’ll go check it out.” 

Before Muse could leave, however, Shimmer grabbed hold of the thick fur around her neck, hoisting herself up.

“Nope, not letting you go alone,” she announced. “I’m gonna be a leader one day, so I gotta go with you, right? Di-plo-ma-cy.”

“Why are you saying it that way?” Muse mumbled, before realizing that not only was it a question she wouldn’t get answered, but that there were more important things to worry about. And there was no way Shimmer would back down. “Very well, but stay either behind me or on my back, please. It’s my duty to protect you. What would your father say if I let you get hurt because I was careless?”

Shimmer started to giggle but caught herself and covered her mouth. No, she shouldn’t make fun of Muse’s seriousness, even if she did wish she’d lighten up a bit. She was just doing her job. 

Carefully, she turned the latch on her door with her psychic powers, saving Muse the trouble of trying to do so with paws - even if it was built in a way that allowed pokemon with paws to easily push it open - and ducked her head as Muse pushed her way through the door.

Quietly, they made their way down the hall and towards the entrance, trying not to disturb Umbra as they moved to intercept whoever was coming their way. Even without extending her senses, Shimmer could feel the pokemon’s emotional aura now, burning bright with anger. Despite her better judgement, she probed just a bit further, trying to read just the surface thoughts in hopes of figuring out who was approaching, and what their intent was.

That was an okay use of her powers, right?

How could Whisper think this was a good idea? Allowing another one of those into the town, I swear no one thinks things through anymore! 

Shimmer pulled her probe away. “Hey, Muse, I’m pretty sure it’s just Vale. Don’t know what he needs, but it seems like it has to do with Whisper somehow. Aaaaaannnd he’s pretty ticked off.”

Muse hummed in response, dipping her head. “Do not worry, I’m sure he means no harm to us, but I will protect you if anything goes awry.”

Shimmer fought the urge to roll her eyes. Muse meant well, but she could be such a stick in the mud sometimes.

The two stopped just outside the front entrance. Unlike most homes in the area, the villa had actual doors, as opposed to just a cloth covering. Dad was always worrying about keeping her safe after all. Not that he didn’t have his own secrets, as she was sure he did, but she liked to think it was more about her.

They waited no more than a few seconds before Vale burst through the door, panting.

He looked around wildly until he spotted the duo, and then hesitated.

“What brings you here at this time of day?” Muse asked, only dipping her head for a greeting.

Vale’s response came out in gasping, huffed breaths. “Whisper sent me… to speak… with Jhorlo.” He slumped forward, struggling to stay on his feet.

Shimmer let out a thoughtful hum, then addressed Vale. “I’m afraid you’ll have to talk to me instead,” she announced. “Daddy’s off on a trip to talk with Aunty Hearty. Come on, Muse, let’s take our guest off to get a drink, don’t you think?”

“Whatever you think is best, Shimmer. Come with us, Vale.” Dipping her head respectfully, the absol turned and began to walk. Vale sputtered in indignation for just a moment before resigning himself and following.

“We really... don’t have time for this,” he grumbled.

Shimmer waved her hand. “Come on, don’t be such a worrier. Whatever’s going on, it’s not going anywhere. You seem more angry than anxious, so it can’t be that bad. Let loose, it’s gonna be fine!”

Once they were in the kitchen - a simple room with a lower counter to accommodate shorter pokemon, and a taller one perfectly suited for a gardevoir, as well as a set of cabinets that held most of the dishes and food, and a simple stovetop and oven - Shimmer climbed off Muse’s back and made herself busy pulling out a cup and two bowls. Using her psychic powers, she pulled the lid off of a moderately sized container in the corner of the room and dipped both bowls and the cup in before placing the containers of water on top of the lower counter.

Despite his previous grumblings, Vale took a moment to greedily lap up the water before speaking.

“A ninetales showed up today. Weirdly colored. Pale blue. Never seen anything like it. I’d think he was one of those shiny mutations you see every once in a while, but he used ice attacks, not fire. He got in the way of Romi’s cart and tried to muscle his way past, but she wouldn’t let him by, and it turned into a fight.”

Shimmer frowned, trying to piece together what it meant. Normally, they wouldn’t come up to her dad immediately after an event like this… unless something really bad happened.

“He didn’t kill Romi, did he?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, gods no! That’s not the problem at all! We beat him without too much trouble. He was in horrible condition. The problem is… well, he seems like he’s somehow knows that sneasel. But he can’t – or won’t – speak. I think Whisper wanted Jhorlo there to discuss how to handle things.”

Shimmer stole a glance over to Muse, who stared back levelly. If she knew her friend, it looked like she had the same idea. Gently, she placed the cup back on the counter. Then she slammed her hands down, slapping it open-palmed. “Well, that settles it! Looks like I’ll just have to go instead!”

Vale gawked for a moment, blinking a couple times before he remembered his manners and shut his mouth. “You? You… you can’t be serious.”

“‘Course I am!” Shimmer replied. “Father says I’m gonna be a leader someday, so I got to start somewhere, right? Besides, it’s not really like you have a choice. Dad won’t be back till late tonight at the earliest.”

The grumpy manectric let out a grunt. “Fine. Just. Go on down to the guard’s hut. I believe that’s where they took him. I’ll be down there later.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Muse asked, tilting her head in surprise.

Vale let out a grunt. Shimmer felt a nervous flutter come off of him. “Oh, I have a detour I need to make. Something I want to check out. Besides, Whisper wanted me to calm down before I came back.”

She felt the nervous emotion grow stronger and stronger, the longer she took to respond. She swore she saw him twitch, tremble, as if withering under her gaze.

“Shimmer?”

She felt Muse lightly nudge her in the side. Finally, she closed her eyes and turned away, forcing a disconcerting, sing-song voice. “Fine, fine, see you later then, Vale!”

Shimmer took just a moment to stretch, then practically danced out of the kitchen and all the way back to her room, Muse following behind much more slowly and seriously. There, she picked up a bag and a few basic goods, including a couple berries and coins. This was her chance to show off how much she’d learned, and she couldn’t let it go to waste!

Vale hadn’t come by first thing in the morning, and Umbra hadn’t known whether to be confused or relieved. 

Things had been quiet since the afternoon before; Lotte had guided her back to her room without a word, returning just a bit later with an oran berry, a cheri berry, and some slice of meat that she couldn’t identify. 

She stewed in her anger and frustration late into the night, until she had drifted off into an uneasy sleep. 

And now, here she was, quietly being guided away by Lotte towards the woods.

“Vale will meet us soon,” the purrloin explained as she led the way. “He was unable to get away from guard duties today.”

“So, what, you are just… okay with… all this?” Umbra asked, holding her arms out wide. “Whatever Jhorlo has you doing? Were you assigned to this role as a child? I thought the village did not work that way.”

Lotte paused, looking back and tilting her head. “What? Oh, no. Not really. Jaques and I owe him our lives, though. So, we just do as we’re told and keep our noses out of his business.”

She continued to pad along, occasionally glancing back to make sure Umbra was following.

The duo made their way around the edge of the town center, getting a few glances as they passed by. But no one much seemed to be about. Whether that was a good thing or not was questionable at best. 

Soon they were coming up on the edge of the tree line. For just a moment, Umbra thought about the fact that she could easily kill or even just injure Lotte and get away. But leaving meant the risk of losing track of Nip. She could go right in and kill him afterwards, but there were too many witnesses, and it would leave her fighting through a crowd to escape afterwards. No. As much as she hated to, she needed to bide her time for a bit longer, watching and waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Even if it was under that loathsome purugly.

Lotte stopped in a clearing just a short distance into the woods. She climbed up onto a fallen log and stopped, turning to lay down on it while facing Umbra, and the rest of the woods as a result. 

“It shouldn’t be long now,” she announced, her tail flicking back and forth on occasion.

It would be so easy to just walk away right now. To disappear into the woods and never come back.

But without proof of Nip’s end, she could not return home. Or rather, she refused to return home without making sure Nip could never come back. Without proof of his demise, she would be an outcast for her failure. And she refused to be an outcast.

Frustrated, Umbra settle down in front of the log to wait. 

Leaves rustled in the wind as the sun slowly climbed high in the sky. She could hear the sound of prey mon scampering amongst the undergrowth around them. Not giving chase was agonizing. But then again, chasing small little rattata and sentret was not her style. Absentmindedly, she brushed a hand against her injured ear, taking a few moments to inspect it impressed with how much and how well it had healed already. 

Finally, she heard the thundering footsteps of a mon racing in their direction. Lotte must have heard it too, as she stood up with her tail raised high. Umbra also stood up. A moment later, Vale burst into the clearing, huffing.

“We’ll have to make this quick,” he announced coming to a stop just in front of them. “We had some… trouble with the berry shipment.”

Lotte tilted her head, but said nothing, inviting Vale to continue.

“Another one of your lot showed up and raised havoc,” he said, turning his gaze on Umbra. “Some weird looking ninetales that Nip recognized. Ring a bell?”

Umbra froze in place. No. It could not be him… could it? “Did… did he say his name?”

Vale grunted in response. “Nope. Don’t think he could though. Nip called him Tempest, though. I had to run fetch someone to deal with that. Jhorlo wasn’t in so I had to send Shimmer down instead. I don’t know how long I can stick around before the others notice I’m gone So let’s get a move on already.”

He turned and began to walk further in the woods. Umbra hesitantly followed behind. He began to explain the rules and regulations of how and where Jhorlo expected her to hunt, so as to not raise suspicion. But she was only half paying attention, her mind stuck on this new information.

If Tempest is here…

Her job just got even more complicated.

The guard’s hut was a flurry of activity, with Stati – the flaaffy – keeping watch while Siles and Whisper busied themselves with work. Anu had come down to from the temple, nervously sitting cross-legged and alert next to the cell they’d placed the ninetales in for holding. The door to said cell was just slightly ajar, allowing Lecha easy access as she busied herself wiping and cutting away matted and bloodied fur so that she could get to his wounds easier. 

The ninetales himself had quit trying to fight back by now, eyes glazed over as he absentmindedly stared at Nip in the cell over. Nip himself was watching Lecha work, sitting up against the back wall, his ear and his tailfeathers twitching occasionally. Otherwise, he was completely still and didn’t even acknowledge the entrance of Shimmer and Muse. 

Whisper looked up from her work, and Shimmer felt a flash of relief course through her, only for it to be replaced with frustration when she realized Shimmer was the one that had arrived, not Jhorlo like she had expected.

“Shimmer…” the hawlucha began, clicking her claws together. “I was… expecting some with more… I was expecting your father.”

Blunt, very blunt. “Sorry, dad’s out of town, so I came in his place instead!”

Whisper let out a long sigh. Shimmer didn’t miss her exasperation. “I see. I guess we can just wait and deal with this when-”

Shimmer raised a hand and cut her off. “Nope, nope! It’s totally fine. We at least figure out what’s going on now, right? We can always figure out what to do about it when dad gets back.”

She received an apologetic smile, and swore she felt a flash of pity. “I appreciate the offer, Shimmer, but-”

“No, no, no. It’s fine, really!”

“Besides,” Muse added, stepping in, “would it not be better to learn the situation now, before they have time to come up with excuses, or a good cover story?”

At that, Whisper hesitated. Shimmer laid a hand on Muse’s back to show her thanks. Finally, the hawlucha let out a sigh. “Very well, I suppose you have a point there. I’ll tell you what we know, and then we can work things out from there.”

The three of them gathered around the table at the center of the room, Whisper taking a seat on one side and Shimmer and Muse sitting on the other. Shimmer did her best to pay attention as the hawlucha began to explain the situation, telling her about the fight, as well as Nip’s apparent relation. About half-way through the story, however, she felt something poking at the edge of her senses. She turned her head expectantly through the doorway.

Whisper’s words died in her throat when she noticed that Shimmer was no longer paying attention, and instead looked in the same direction. “What is it?”

“Well if you want to know what’s going on Haruru, you should just come inside and listen.”

There were a few seconds of silence, followed by a quiet swear, before a very embarrassed Haru waddled her way inside, taking a seat by the table without speaking or looking up.

Whisper let out a long breath before continuing, finishing the story. 

“Well, now that we brought him here, we wanted to speak with Jhorlo, and decide how to proceed. Logically, we should hold a judgement, as he’s attacked our villagers. But we have no idea why he attacked, other than that we wouldn’t let him by, and he’s obviously in no condition to talk, let alone travel. But at the same time, I’m hesitant to keep him here, where he may break Nip out.”

“Hm… this is quite the problem,” Shimmer agreed, forcing herself to be uncharacteristically serious. She had to think! If she were her dad, how would he handle the situation. Ideally, they’d hold a meeting and pass judgement, but it’s hard to pass judgement on someone who wouldn’t explain themselves…

“Shimmer…” Haru began, speaking for the first time since she’d arrived. “Why don’t you just… I don’t know, use your psychic powers to poke around in his brain and see where he’s from and why he’s here?”

Shimmer stiffened, avoiding the bidoof’s gaze. Certainly, she’d already broken her dad’s instructions once today, though not without good reason. But at the same time, it just felt… wrong to look into people’s heads, especially as deep as Haru was suggesting. A cursory glance at current thoughts was one thing, a deep dive into memories though?

She turned her head to look back at the ninetales. Lecha had left by now, leaving a few berries at his side. He had not gotten up from where he’d been laid out, but he did seem more alert, keeping an eye on Nip while occasionally stealing glances at the rest of the pokemon. His emotions were difficult to discern, clouded by turmoil, but there was one thing she could feel radiating from him: relief.

Nip was much harder to read, his typing leaving her only with body language to go off of. He had pulled his legs up to his chest and sat staring, not daring to look away, as if the ninetales would disappear if he did. 

“Well?” Whisper asked.

Shimmer turned back around, and realized that everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to make a decision. 

“I, for one, think it’s a good idea. If you’re not up to it, I can always get Essra to do it,” the hawlucha added.

She stood up quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly, as she had to take a second to find her balance. “No, no don’t worry about it. It’s fine. It’s fiiiine. Just let me take care of things. I don’t want to have to worry about it.”

Whisper gave her a skeptical look, then relented, settling down to wait.

Slowly, though refusing to show hesitation, Shimmer approached the cell, taking a seat in front of it. She was no fool. The bars would hold to some level of brute-strength attacks, but they couldn’t hold either of the pokemon inside forever, should they try to escape. It was kind of nerve-wracking, to say the least, and she couldn’t help but wonder how the Enforcers dealt with it. Did they have better ways of holding pokemon?

She heard Muse rise and approach her, laying down just behind. She let out a quiet hum, but did nothing more to acknowledge her presence, instead focusing her gaze on the ninetales.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Her eyes drooped shut as she focused and reached out for his mind.

Snow.

Words and thoughts were not the first thing to come. Instead, she saw snow, a light flurry of flakes falling all around her. Around him. She was watching a memory through his eyes, she thought.

Nip, I’m sorry. I swear I’ll get us out of this situation, and make sure no one hurts you again.

The snow grew harder, blowing into a flurry that whited out her vision. Fractured flashes of memory danced before her eyes.

...

An older ninetales, pushing him back into the bushes, telling him to stay hidden.

...

He stands proud in a grassy clearing, other pokemon surrounding and watching him, nearly quivering with excitement and nervousness and anticipation.

...

He’s in that same clearing again, but now his tails drag the ground tiredly. There’s a mangled body at his feet, and blood on his fur. He feels like he should feel horrified, distraught, but he just feels… empty. 

...

Now he’s out in the snow again, waiting for something. When will Father be back? He thinks to himself. The wind picks up, blowing flurries of snow. And then he spots a bright red feather in the distance. 

...

A young sneasel sits in front of him, beaming proudly as he presents the body of a rattata. He swells with pride and tells Nip what a good job he’s done. 

...

“Must you leave, Tempest?” The elderly Persian asks him.

“I am sorry, I cannot call this my home any longer. I have lost everything now. My father. My mate. My… You know I was always an outsider here. I will never return to Kyurem’s people, but I must find my own path now.”

…

His eyes are closed, or else it is dark, He nuzzles up to someone, to his mate, and tells her the story of Kyurem.

…

“What is wrong, Nip?” he asks the sneasel. “Surely there is something the elders can do?”

“I’m fine.” Nip insists. There’s a flash of sadness in the vision. “I just… I have to get through to them eventually, right?”

… 

A flash of fangs in the moonlight. Tempest lets out a call of alarm, but it’s cut short as he’s ripped open. He falls into the grass, left to bleed out soaked in moonlight.

Why…

…

GET OUT!

Shimmer fell back with a gasp as the ninetales struggled to his feet, his muzzle twisted into a snarl once again. Suddenly, she was quite glad she’d sat down before attempting the psychic connection..

“Shims!” Muse cried out. She quickly rushed to stand between Shimmer and Tempest, allowing the kirlia to use her body as a way to climb to her feet. “What happened? What’s going on?”

Shimmer swallowed slowly, trying to digest and put together all the memories she’d seen, trying to figure out what was and wasn’t important. 

“I… think he’s here as a friend of Nip’s. But there’s something that concerns me more.”

Muse tilted her head and stared while Whisper approached to close the cell door. “What is it?”

Even with that brief flash, the emotions in the scene were enough to give Shimmer a revelation that somehow was horrifying to her. “That wound. The one on his neck…” She trailed off, bringing a hand to rub at her temples. “That was intentional. Someone, for some reason, wanted him dead. And if he somehow survived, they didn’t want him talking.”

Chapter Text

Haru stumbled over her words as she tried to digest Shimmer’s statement. “What do you mean, it was intentional? Why would someone try to kill him?”

“There could be any number of reasons,” Whisper said, looking Tempest over with a grave expression. “Shimmer, did you get any other information? Do you know who did it, or why they wanted to… silence him?”

“I’m… not sure,” Shimmer began. “Everything was flashing so fast and-” She cut herself off, grunting as she brought a hand up to her head.

“Are you alright?” Muse asked, turning her head back to look at Shimmer.

“I-I’m fine. Really. Just the aftersh-shocks from withdrawing from his memory so fast. Just… give me a… mo…men…” Before she could finish, she suddenly pitched forward, going limp against Muse’s side.

“Shimmer!” Muse’s voice was tinged with panic. When she twisted around to check on Shimmer, the unconscious kirlia fell the rest of the way to the ground with a dull thud, motionless other than her breathing.

“Muse, please stay calm,” Anu said, standing up to approach her. “S-she probably just strained herself.” He shifted to help lift Shimmer up, raising one paw over her with his aura feelers waving before looking over to Whisper. Despite his reassuring words, Haru could tell that he was trembling, something she was sure Muse noticed, too. “Still, I think… Let’s take her upstairs to recover. Haru… ah… will you please fetch Lecha, just to be safe? You, um, you may be able to catch her. Before she gets back to her clinic.”

Haru replied with a grunt, turning to push her way out the door as her heart pounded against her chest. She’d heard stories of psychics overexerting themselves or being seriously harmed when a deep reading went wrong. Sometimes they didn’t wake up. And as much as she hated Shimmer, she would never wish that on her.

She reached the center of the square, looking around nervously. “Come on, Lecha, where are you?”

“How’s she doing, Lecha?”

“She’ll be fine. She strained herself when the connection was cut, but she’ll recover within the next day or two. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse than it is.”

“I’m fine, really. Stop worrying about me, everyone. Oh, this is so embarrassing. It’s just a headache.”

Once she had fetched Lecha, the flurry of activity that followed seemed to pass in a blur. First, she had been out in the village square trying to spot the aromatisse, but now she was seated on a cushion on the second floor of the guards’ hut, waiting for Lecha to finish tending to Shimmer.

Whisper had taken a seat in the corner of the room, drinking from a small bowl of water as she waited. Muse was much less relaxed, pacing back and forth, looking over Lecha’s shoulder any chance she got. Or she was, until the doctor had become frustrated with her and told her to back off. Now she was standing near the stairs, occasionally lifting one foot, then the other, as she anxiously waited for Lecha to finish. Amongst all the excitement, Haru felt that she probably shouldn’t be here; there really wasn’t any reason to be here now that Shimmer had been attended to.

Oh, who was she kidding? She knew she shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t have been here at all. But she couldn’t help it! Curiosity about Tempest had gotten the better of her. After all, she rationalized, whatever happened with him would have an effect on the village. And what happened in the village would have an effect on business, especially if word got out. Jhorlo would probably want to keep all this under wrap - who would want to visit or hire services from a village that was harboring an egg thief, after all?

Ok, they weren’t technically harboring him, they were rehabilitating him. But other villages would see it the same way, right?

“-be off now.”

Catching Lecha’s voice, Haru realized she had stopped paying attention at some point, getting lost in her own thoughts. Muse nearly knocked over both her and Lecha as she shoved past to get to Shimmer, nudging her back down as she tried to sit up, fretting over her in a way that reminded Haru of a concerned mother.

Lecha sounded like she was about to say something, giving Muse a hard look, but apparently thought better of it, chuckling and shaking her head before turning to leave, quietly heading down the stairs.

“Don’t worry us like that,” Muse said, carefully maneuvering herself so that she could rest her head beside Shimmer without poking her.

“I’m fine, Muse. Really. Look at me.” Then Shimmer paused to look around the room, confusion clouding her look. “Actually… how did I get up here, again?”

“I knew it. I’m going to get Lecha again. You’re still hurt.”

“Muse,” Whisper snapped from her corner, giving the absol a hard look. “She’s going to be fine. She just needs a little time to recover, understand? Just let her rest. It’s psychic strain.”

“But she’s never been strained like this before!” Muse insisted, her brow knit with worry.

Haru hummed in agreement. Even though she very much preferred the subdued way Shimmer was acting, she would be upset if something actually happened to her. Voicing her thoughts would be rude, though, so she held her tongue, instead addressing Muse’s worries. “She’s also never been in a situation where she would be strained like this, has she? You heard Lecha. Give her to tomorrow. If she’s not back to her… perky self by then, then you can worry about it.”

“I’m fine, really,” Shimmer said, reaching a hand up to pat Muse’s head. “Thank you for worrying about me. Now, um… please answer my question?”

“I helped Muse bring you up here,” Whisper explained, standing up. “You were falling in and out of alertness after you told us something about what you saw. We sent Haru after Lecha to make sure you were okay. Anu is still watching the prisoners.”

Shimmer took a long breath. “Ah, okay. So maybe we should talk about the big fluffy guy downstairs. What do we want to do about him?”

Whisper blinked. “Ah, shouldn’t you rest for a bit? I mean, we can wait for your father to get back-”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, what if business keeps him busy for a day or two? Do we want him to have to come back and deal with this mess?”

Whisper averted her gaze. “I… guess not. If you’re really certain you’re okay, you could start by telling us what you saw.”

As Shimmer sat up, Haru shifted so that she was more comfortable and could better pay attention. Prior to today, she’d never seen the resting area. It wasn’t very fancy; a couple of straw nests for beds and one big cushion bed – which is where Shimmer was laying – a low-laying table with cushion seats in the center, and a couple of chests full of equipment were the only furnishings.

She was brought back to reality by Muse’s voice. “Are you sure you’re up to this?” She asked quietly, nosing Shimmer’s shoulder. “We can wait, if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. Really. I’ll be fine. Just… give me a moment to recall things.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes to concentrate. “Everything I saw was… really fragmented, and I’m not sure I remember everything. I don’t even know if everything was important. But I remember seeing… snow. A lot of snow. What else… Oh! I saw Nip when he was young. Tempest seemed very proud in that memory. And there was a memory with an old persian. You know, one of the grey ones with the chubby cheeks? He was asking Tempest why he was leaving, and he was all like ‘I lost everything’ or something. Seemed important but the details are fuzzy. And… there was another memory about Nip where he said something was fine but… I didn’t really understand that one. And of course, the one where he was attacked. That was the last one I saw.”

“So, he left somewhere - I’m assuming the group that he and Nip are from - on neutral terms at best? That’s definitely something to follow up on when I get Essra or her mother in here. Thank you, Shimmer.”

Haru listened quietly to the exchange up until that point. But when Whisper mentioned Essra, she couldn’t help but interrupt. “Wait, Essra? You don’t mean you’re going to send someone into his mind again, do you? Especially after what happened to Shimmer?”

“What choice do I have? He can’t speak to us. And asking yes and no questions will only give us part of the story. I either have to have someone dictate his directed thoughts – which is less dangerous but allows him to lie – or we have to dive into his mind again.”

“What about just having him write his answers down?” Haru suggested. “That way, you don’t have to invade his mind, but it would be just as reliable as reading his thoughts.”

Whisper hesitated. “That’s… I don’t think that would work, Haru. Most wildeners don’t have a writing system. We can’t rely on the idea that Nip and Tempest can write. Besides, that poses the same reliability issue as thought reading.”

“But it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Haru continued stubbornly.

“She… may have a point,” Muse pointed out quietly. “Even if it doesn’t work, isn’t it worth a shot, so no one else gets hurt?”

Whisper looked the three of them over, and Haru could tell she was thinking about it. A frustrated look crossed her face, then she let out a huff. “Fine. We’ll try it. But if it doesn’t work, we’re going back to my plan.”

She retreated to one of the chests in the corner of the room, shuffling through it until she found parchment, a small bowl, and a small jar of ink. Holding all of them in her hands, she headed towards the ramp down, but paused there.

“What are you waiting for?” Haru asked.

“Oh, that’s easy,” Shimmer replied. Haru glanced back, noting that the kirlia was on her feet, trying to climb onto Muse’s back. “She’s thinking about what she’s going to have to do about Tempest,”

Whisper narrowed her eyes. “Are you reading my mind now?”

“What? No, of course not! You’d feel it if I was. It’s just super obvious. We don’t have the means to keep someone captive long period, so you’ll have to make some decisions over how to handle Tempest after my dad gets back.”

The hawlucha blinked a couple times, looking Shimmer over. “I… didn’t expect that out of you. Is it really that obvious?”

Muse glanced to Shimmer before saying, “it kind of is, yeah.”

“Couldn’t we just handle things the way we’re handling Nip?” Haru asked.

“It’s… more complex than that. If he’s friendly towards Nip, then letting him stay, even under supervision, could run the risk of him helping Nip escape. He could pull a stunt like Nip did as well. And I still don’t trust Umbra, for that matter.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about Umbra,” Shimmer said. “Muse and I are keeping a verrry close eye on her.”

Haru was blunt. “That’s… not reassuring. Where is she right now?”

Before Shimmer could say anything that certainly would have given Haru a headache, Whisper stepped in. “Can we please move on? Look. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’ll have to discuss it with Jhorlo and the other guards, and then bring it up to the village. But I swear, I will not let any of them hurt anyone else, understand?”

Silence fell across the room as Whisper’s heavy words hung in the air. After a moment, Shimmer broke the silence.

“Come on, we’re wasting daylight, aren’t we?”

Whisper let out a grunt before turning to head down the ramp, her talons clicking on the wooden surface. Haru headed down afterward, hearing Muse question Shimmers health before following.

Shimmer, perky as always, cheerfully let her know that she was absolutely fine, draping dramatically across her back.

Anu was in the exact same position he had been when she had first gone up to the second floor, sitting cross-legged in front of Tempest’s cell, his head bowed, and eyes closed. His aura feelers hovered and trembled just a bit, making her assume that he was reading the room. He let out a grunt, acknowledging their arrival.

Nip and Tempest, however, had moved. The ninetales was laying on his stomach against the cell bars, his nose poking out into the gap between his and Nip’s cell - a space about as wide as Haru was long - as he stared down the sneasel. Nip was also near the gap, laying on his stomach with his head resting on his arms, staring back at Tempest. His tail and ear feathers drooped, suggesting wariness.

As they approached, Haru noted the odd expression - confliction, she assumed - on Tempest’s face. What it meant, she wasn’t sure. But if anyone else noticed it, they said nothing.

Whisper came to a stop just in front of Tempest’s cell and cleared her throat, drawing the two prisoner’s attention and jolting Anu out of his meditation.

The lucario looked around the room, settling his gaze on Shimmer. “Ah, Shimmer. You seem weak, but I’m glad to see that you’re okay. You had us all worried.”

Shimmer waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about me! I just needed a moment.” Yet, Haru could see how tightly she was gripping Muse’s coat, and how she slightly leaned forward to stay balanced.

“Ah, right, of course.” He turned his gaze to Whisper. “Nothing has happened since you left. They moved, but otherwise things have been totally calm.”

Whisper gave a grunt of acknowledgement as she passed him to stand in front of Tempest’s cell. “Good. We can work out the details of how to handle judgement for his attack when Jhorlo returns, but for now…”

She turned her attention to Tempest, looking him over with narrowed eyes. “Alright, ninetales. First, I will… apologize for the invasive method of obtaining information. But the fact of the matter is we don’t know if we can trust a word you say. We’re going to give you a chance to give us an honest answer now. But choose your words carefully, because if you lie, we won’t hesitate to turn you over to the enforcers for proper punishment.”

Through the bars, she pushed the parchment, laying it out on the floor. After pausing to unstop the jar and pour a small amount of ink into the bowl, she passed that through, too. “Why are you here? What are your intentions? And we need to know how you were injured, as that seems to be… relevant, from what we gathered.”

Tempest stared for a few heartbeats, looking first to Nip, then back to Whisper. Then he dragged himself to his feet, standing tall with his tails fanned out. The air grew chilly, and Haru instinctually shrank back at the threat display, poised to flee. She forced herself to appear relaxed a second later, realizing that no one else seemed fazed.

Whisper, in particular, was completely unperturbed. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You can write your answers down there, we can have a psychic read your mind and translate, or, if you refuse to cooperate, we’ll have them dive into your mind again. And I guarantee the next one won’t be so easy to expel.”

For what felt like an agonizingly long time, Tempest stood dangerously still, the tips of his tails twitching as frost formed on the ground around his feet. But finally, he bowed his head, closed his eyes, and took a couple steps back before sitting down. Pawing at the parchment, he pulled it closer before placing a paw in the ink.

Haru swelled with pride, giving herself a mental pat on the back. Her idea was really working! She watched intently as he drew his paw across the parchment to make a thick black streak.

That’s odd, she thought, faltering. the orientation is all wrong. Is he going to write sideways?

It quickly became obvious that was not the case. Instead of the standard series of dots and lines that made up the written language Haru knew, he drew three sides of a square, leaving the bottom open and placing a dot in the middle. He followed that up by triangular shape, and then two quick parallel diagonal lines.

Haru stared down at the glyphs, her expression blank. “What’s… what’s that supposed to mean? That’s not… that’s not words.”

Someone scoffed. Haru looked up and caught sight of Nip staring at her. He quickly averted his gaze, turning his head to look at the back wall. Then he sat up, scratching behind his ear before turning his attention to the parchment.

“That first set of lines clearly represents the concept of safety. Protection from attack on most sides, like a sensible den. A triangle with equal sides like that can stand for help or caution. And the two lines can mean hunting or seeking. It’s a universal territorial marker. Simple, really. What were you expecting?”

Whether he meant it or not, Nip’s tone was harsh and sounded almost accusatory, reminding her of the way he’d sounded during their argument the night before. Admittedly, she sounded that way too, but she at least had good reason, right? Was he still mad? Well that was just fine. She had been harsh, but she had the right to be, didn’t she?

“Well it was the best solution,” she defended. “I just thought–”

“Thought what? That we’d use the same symbols?” Nip let out a frustrated growl, cutting her off. “You’re making assumptions again. Assuming a pokemon you’ve never met is good. Assuming that they think the same way you do, and that the way you look at things is the right way. No wonder you’re so naive.”

Haru felt an uncomfortable pit forming in her stomach, which quickly flared into fiery anger. “Excuse me?” She squeaked, marching towards Nip’s cell. “How dare you. We saved your life and you repaid us by taking one! Maybe I did make some assumptions. At least I’m not a terrible pokemon that takes advantage of others kindness. No wonder you–”

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt paws grip her sides and drag her back. She let out a surprised squeal and instinctively struggled as Anu pulled her further away. Whisper stepped between her and the cell, banging a wing against the bars. “Will both of you shut up!”

It took Haru a second to recover after the loud bang. She looked back to the cell and saw that Nip had scrambled backwards away from Whisper, his fur fluffed up and his pupils mere slivers. His breathing had turned rapid and shallow.

“Both of you, stop,” the hawlucha growled, crossing her wings as she backed off. “I do not have time for petty squabbling like this. And–” she cut off, her eyes flickering to something behind Haru. Turning to look back, Shimmer was visibly swaying, steadying herself on Muse with one arm and holding her head with the other. “Too much. Too strong emotions,” Shimmer mumbled.

Whisper took a deep breath and turned to Nip. “You need to watch your tongue, sneasel. Remember, you’re only here because the village is giving you a chance to prove that you’re going to change. But this? Heckling other pokemon does not sound very remorseful, now does it?”

Nip, having calmed down a bit, averted his gaze, mumbling what might have been a half-hearted apology. Haru let out a satisfied huff. But before she could get too proud of herself, Whisper turned on her next. “And you, Haru. You’re not helping the situation.”

“What did I do wrong?” Haru asked incredulously.

“You’re antagonizing him.”

“He antagonized me!”

“I know. But you need to be the bigger mon and ignore him. If you can’t do that, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I don’t need a petty argument getting in the way of the investigation. Nor do I need our emotions to overwhelm Shimmer and make her pass out again. You can get the details later when we bring things up with the rest of the village.”

“But–”

“No buts!” Whisper stared Haru down with a narrowed gaze. “If you really want to help, then you can go fetch Essra. Or better yet, Phoel. Tell her to come over here. Looks like we’re going to need a psychic after all. And when you’re done, don’t come back.”

Haru sputtered. Maybe she shouldn’t be here but… how did this not concern her? She helped bring Nip here in the first place. “But I–”

“This isn’t negotiable. As head guard, this is an order, Haru. Leave.”

Haru turned to look at Shimmer and Muse, hoping they would come to her defense. But Shimmer was looking pallid, and Muse was too preoccupied with fretting over her to even notice Haru’s gaze. Sensing this was a fight she couldn’t win, Haru finally turned towards the door, a dark expression on her face.

“Fine,” she grumbled, making her way towards the exit. She could see when she wasn’t wanted.

The sun beat down on Haru, heating her fur as she trudged across the square. Knowing where Phoel would be, she made her way towards a stand near the center with a cloth canopy draped over it. Underneath, a bored looking meowstic sat, her head propped up by one paw while the other tapped away on the wooden surface. Next to her, on a perch, sat a pidove, but he took off before Haru got too close. Off to deliver a message, she suspected. Surprisingly, there was one other pokemon there: Toshi.

Haru called out a greeting as she got closer, causing Toshi to nearly jump in surprise. “Haru? What are you doing here?”

“Whisper sent me to fetch Phoel. Said she needs the help of a psychic to deal with the ninetales. You heard about what happened, right?”

Toshi shuddered. “Yeah, heard he managed to rough Romi up pretty good. It feels like we can’t go even a few days without something wild happening lately, huh?”

Haru hummed in response before turning her attention to the meowstic. “Good afternoon, Miss Phoel. You heard me, right?”

“Loud an’ clear, boss,” Phoel said, waving a paw. “Gonna have to wait a minute though, dear. I’m waiting to hear back news from Brinash town. Heard the Expedition Society is gearing up for something, but I’m trying to find out what.”

“Brinash Town?” Haru asked, tilting her head to the side. “Why are you asking about them? That’s several days journey from here.”

“Well, it is one of the biggest and oldest towns around,” Toshi pointed out. He lifted a foot to paw sheepishly at his muzzle. “But to be more specific, I, ah, asked her to. I’ve been… well, I’ve been trying to listen for news about apprenticeship openings at the society.”

Haru blinked a couple times. “Openings? Don’t tell me you’re planning on leaving?”

“Not anytime soon!” Toshi said quickly. “I mean, well, if openings came up soon, then maybe. But they’re not really accepting newbies right now. Society head Blue is currently out on business. Apparently, he’s working on passing through the Great Misty Ravine dungeon and establishing a base on the other side! Isn’t that cool? We’ll finally be able to explore the rest of the continent and find out just what lies beyond.”

“I mean… I guess it’s neat… but we have three whole pokemon right here that passed through there, you know. Nip, Umbra, and now that ninetales. Tempest, I think Nip called him?”

Toshi’s face scrunched up as he considered her words. “I mean, I guess. But… that still doesn’t change the fact that there’s still so much we don’t know. Doesn’t that excite you?”

“I prefer to stay grounded,” Haru replied. Why should I waste my time on something that’s several cycles away from being relevant to me?”

“Are… you alright? You seem like you’re in a bit of a bad mood.”

“Whisper made me leave because I was ‘antagonizing Nip,’ or something. Like, yeah, I got mad and started to gripe at him, but he started it! He was the one that insulted me! I think he’s just still mad about what happened last night.”

“What… what happened last night? You were out kind of late.”

“Oh, it was awful. I was feeling kind of torn up about the situation with Nip. You know, because I’m kinda a little bit responsible for helping bring him here. So, I decided to confront him directly and see if I could get a better answer than what he gave publicly. I mean, I actually spent some time with him, after all, so I was hoping that he would consider me trustworthy or something, I don’t know. But he just spewed the same sob-story he told the rest of the village, like we’re supposed to pity him for what might have Umbra done to him, despite what he did to us. If that even happened!”

“I mean… Umbra didn’t deny it, did she?” Toshi pointed out quietly. But Haru didn’t acknowledge him, too deep into her rant.

“He convinced himself that he’s safe from her hiding in that jail cell. I don’t think he’s considering changing his ways at all. I think he’s just using it for protection. If Umbra wasn’t here, he’d probably attack whoever was guarding him and try to run away.”

“Uh… sis?”

“Well, he started getting really angry when I pointed that out, so I reminded him that he needed to watch himself, or else they might change their mind and redo his judgement. I also pointed out that I didn’t really have a reason to trust his story.”

“You said what?”

“And I think he’s still kind of mad about that, so he tried to goad me. Sorry, what were you saying?”

Toshi blinked, looking his sister over. “Um… Haru? You kind of were antagonizing him.”

“He antagonized me first, I went over this already.”

“No, I mean last night. Were you trying to upset him? I mean, you literally told him that you thought he was lying.”

Haru blinked. What was he getting at? “What? No, I wasn’t trying to upset him. I was just being truthful.”

Toshi sucked in a breath, anxiously dragging a paw across the ground. “Well… you were kind of insensitive. I guess. So, can you really blame him for getting upset?”

“Insensitive?” Haru tilted her head. “Even if I was trying to be insensitive, why should I spare his feelings?”

“I get that but. Didn’t you notice how scared he was of Umbra. Don’t you think his story might have had just a bit of truth to it?”

Haru averted her gaze for a second, uncertainty clouding her mind. Then she reminded herself of how cowardly he’d been, and how low he was willing to stoop. “I mean… he was probably just putting on a show. And even if he wasn’t, why should I be nice to him? He hurt our village, Toshi. And he hurt his tribe too. He had a second chance in us, and he blew it. We should have turned him over to the enforcers and been done with the situation. Or maybe we should have turned him over to Umbra, I don’t know.”

Toshi’s mouth dropped open. “You… you don’t mean that, do you?”

“I mean, it’s not ideal, but we’re just wasting our time with him, don’t you think? I mean, has he shown any interest in changing? Or is he just going to turn around and go hurt more pokemon the moment we say he’s free to go?”

Shifting his weight anxiously, Toshi turned to look elsewhere. “It’s only been a few days, Haru. Give him time. Wouldn’t you want others to give you the same courtesy if you wronged them?”

A beat of hesitation. “Sure, but why would I ever need that? It’s not like I’m going to go out and kill someone for food, or steal someone’s egg.”

His gaze dropped to the ground. “It… doesn’t have to necessarily be that… You kinda wronged Nip, didn’t you? Maybe I’m just being a bleeding heart but… You told him that you don’t believe Umbra hurt him. Don’t you think that’s something pretty personal to open up about?”

“Is that what this is about? Toshi, he’s given me no good reason to believe him!”

“But Umbra didn’t deny it either, remember? What if he wasn’t lying? Think about how rude it would be to say that to his face. What if I were to tell you that I didn’t believe you were swept downstream as a kid when you told me why it took so long for you to start swimming in the river? How would that make you feel?”

Haru opened her mouth and raised a paw as she started to respond, but hesitated, putting her paw back down and closing her mouth as she thought it over. “I would feel crummy, sure. But… no one’s forced to believe me if they don’t want to.”

Toshi dropped his gaze. “What about when you get into arguments with Dad?”

Arguments with Dad? Oh, right. Arguments about Regigigas, she guessed. “What about those?”

“Well… you’re kind of wronging him, in a way, aren’t you? Every time he brings Regigigas up lately, you get in an argument with him. Don’t you think it’s a little abrasive to just brush his feelings off like that?”

Haru didn’t like where this was going. “What’s so wrong with feeling like pokemon rely too much on gods that either don’t care about them or never existed at all?”

“Nothing!” Toshi said quickly. “But… you’re always picking a fight over it. Don’t you think it would be better to just, I don’t know, let things be? You’re not going to change his mind by insulting him - or anyone else for that matter.  You know how Dad feels about the stories about Regigigas, so why do you keep antagonizing him over it?”

“Letting things be is kinda why Shimmer is still chasing after you, isn’t it? Besides, I just think he’s not thinking clearly! Maybe if he started putting his faith in other pokemon that are around him instead of a ‘god’ that has done nothing for him, he’d stop running himself ragged!”

Toshi shifted uncomfortably. “Is that what all this is about? This isn’t even about Dad. Or not just about dad, is it? This is about Grandpa Catkin, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Haru said quickly, but Toshi wasn’t paying attention anymore.

“All this time, I thought you were just doing all this for the sake of being contrary. But… no, you’re holding a grudge. You’re still upset that Grandpa died trying to find ‘Gigas, aren’t you?

A pit started to form in Haru’s stomach. She turned her head away. “That’s… That’s not true! I just think it’s foolish to put faith in a pokemon that does nothing to help anyone.”

“But Regigias has helped in a way, hasn’t he? He’s helped dad stay strong all these years. At least, that’s how I understand it?”

“Even if you were right, grandpa wouldn’t be dead if it weren’t for ‘Gigas,” Haru argued. “Why are you so quick to defend a pokemon you’ve never met? Why are you so quick to defend Nip, for that matter, when all he’s done is hurt us?”

“But he did help us. Back in the woods, remember?”

“Um… could you two have this discussion somewhere else, please?”

Haru and Toshi turned their attention to Phoel, who was staring at them with her claws digging into the wood.

“Psychic couriership takes a lot of focus and energy. I don’t need these kind of distractions when I’m trying to work.”

Both bidoof shifted uncomfortably, averting their gazes as they muttered some sort of apology.

Satisfied, Phoel let out a huff. “Now, I need to go help Whisper. But before I go, I heard back from the network, Toshi. Whatever is going on at the society is under tight wraps. From the sound of things, even the exploration teams only have details on a need to know basis. Sorry I couldn’t help you more.”

Toshi shifted his gaze to avoid looking at Haru. “Ah… thanks, Phoel. I appreciate it, really. Though… that’s really weird. Blue is well known for being very candid about what’s going on at the society…”

Phoel raised her arms, so that her paws were up in front of her. “I don’t know what the deal is, boss, I just deliver the news.”

“I know. Thanks anyways.” He turned back to look at Haru. “I should probably get back to work. Shouldn’t you, too?”

Toshi was right. The sun was just starting to descend in the sky; Haru’s lunch break had gone way longer than planned, with all the excitement. What did she have to show for it? Whisper was angry with her, and Toshi was obviously uncomfortable with how their conversation had gone.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said quietly. “See you at dinner?”

“Mhm.”

Unnerved by his noncommittal response, but unwilling to push the matter further, Haru turned and began to trudge towards the edge of the square, making her way back towards home, before veering instead to the upstream path, towards where they felled trees. Toshi would be heading home to work on debarking, and she wasn’t totally sure she wanted to see him, still upset by his accusations. Maybe felling a tree would help her calm down.

Still, as she passed a field of berries on her left, the sparse village homes behind her now, she couldn’t help but dwell on his comments.

Was she really in the wrong here? Was she really being that much of an asshole? She really, honestly felt like she wasn’t.

But some lingering uncomfortable feeling in her gut told her she couldn’t be sure.

Things were quiet after Whisper had sent Haru away. Anu, after briefly exchanging words with Shimmer and Muse, excused himself, returning to his duties attending to Regigigas’ shrine. He gave his mate a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed.

Muse had managed to convince Shimmer to lay back down for a while and headed upstairs, where they would wait until Phoel or Essra arrived.

Leaving Whisper alone in the room with Nip and his possible ally.

She silently stared at Tempest for some time, scrutinizing his every detail. But eventually, she averted her gaze, nervously running her claws through the feathers on the side of her head.

Quietly, so silent that even pokemon like Nip and Tempest had to strain to hear, she mumbled, “titans, what have we gotten into…”

She turned away for a moment. But a scuffling sound made her whip her head back around. Nip had begun to scoot closer to the bars separating him from Tempest. But as soon as Whisper was looking at him again, he froze, his pupils wide as he stared back. She continued to stare for several seconds, then turned away again. Running her claws through her feathers again, she plucked one, winced, then slowly lowered her wing.

“Why did I ever agree to take on this position… I thought I left all this kind of trouble behind when I settled here… Darn it, I’m not prepared for this! Gods, Volt, why’d you have to go and die on us? And Leas, why’d she have to up and disappear? She was a great leader. Better than me…”

Her gaze drifted to the parchment, and the useless marks on it. Stupid! She knew that it was a pointless endeavor, trying to communicate with writing. And yet, she’d wasted her time with it anyways. How could she be so stupid?

She plucked another feather. Where was Phoel? Surely, Haru should have been able to get her by now?

A low, growl-like noise rumbled in her throat as she looked up to make eye contact with Tempest. But he was too busy staring at Nip to notice, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Hey!” she snapped, drawing his attention. “While we wait for the psychic to arrive, I suppose I’ll gather some cursory information with yes or no answers.” She began to walk, light on her feet, towards Tempest’s cell, stopping just in front of him at attention. “Now, I want you to bow your head if the answer is yes. Understand?”

She waited for him to perform the action before continuing. “Glad we got that settled. So, to start off… How much do you know about Nip? Do you know why he left the tribe?”

Tempest lowered his head.

“Then you likely know about the accusations that the mawile, Umbra, made?” Tempest’s lip curled into a soundless snarl at the mention of the name, and Whisper could feel the air growing cold again, but ignored it for the moment. “You know about what happened to the eggs in your nursery? Before you answer, I should mention that Nip here did not deny those accusations. In fact, he even explained his reasons for doing so. Horrible reasons, I might add.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Nip springing to his feet, fur bristling. He opened his mouth to say something, but only the slightest of sounds escaped before he caught himself.

The air grew more frigid. But then Tempest glanced over to Nip and hesitated. In the end, he bowed his head again.

“So, did you follow him here to help him?”

He bowed his head. Whisper sucked in a sharp breath.

“Why? Why would you help him after everything he did to your tribe? Do you have any idea what he did to ours? To our village? Do you have any idea how cruel he is? Why don’t you tell him, Nip? Tell him what you did to us.”

She turned her attention to watch as the sneasel stood frozen, his eyes narrowing to slits. His ear and tail feathers drooped, and he said nothing. Huh, so he could feel shame for his actions. It almost made her feel pity for him. Almost.

But he didn’t speak, so she scoffed and turned her head. “Well, since he is unwilling to answer, I will. Nip was found left for dead in the woods. A few of us villagers rescued him, bringing him back here to recover. But do you know how he repaid our kindness? By stealing and eating one of our eggs.”

Tempest stared at her for a moment, his gaze scrutinizing, as if trying to figure out if she was being truthful. Then he turned his attention to Nip. When Nip refused to meet his gaze, his tails drooped, and he laid down in the cell. What he was feeling, she was uncertain. Nip turned and sat with his back to Tempest. Something about that really ticked her off.

“So, now do you feel guilt?” Whisper asked Nip, looking him over. “Do you wish you could go back and change things? It’s a little late for that! Even if you really make a change to be a better mon, you can’t change what you did here, and there are going to be mon that will never accept you for that. Do you get that? Do you really feel remorse? Or do you just regret getting caught?”

“Whisper? Is everything okay?”

Whisper let out a gasp, whirling around to the ramp upstairs. Muse was standing at the top, looking her over with a worried expression. Whisper averted her gaze. “Sorry… Was I that loud?”

“Loud and clear,” Muse confirmed.

“I’m sorry. I just… this is all very personal. I… really shouldn’t be in charge of this whole operation, but… I don’t trust many others to handle things fairly.  Anu is in the same situation as I am. Romi and Siles don’t have time to be involved in overseeing this. I don’t trust Vale and Stati to take care of things fairly.”

Muse dipped her head. “I understand. Really, I do. But maybe you need to step away for a moment? Go rest. I’ll watch them.”

“No. Phoel should be here any time now. I need to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“It’s a good thing I’m here, then.”

Whisper groaned, turning to spot the meowstic in the doorway. Oh, gods, had she heard that entire outburst, too? “Sorry you had to hear that.”

“Don’t worry about it, boss. We all know you’re going through a tough time.” The meowstic lightly padded forward, reaching up to place a paw on Whisper’s side. “Sorry for the delay. I was waiting on a message. So, what did you need me for?”

Whisper turned her head and tilted it upwards, gesturing in the direction of Tempest. “Simple mindreading, hopefully. He can’t talk, so I want you to translate his thoughts. If he’s uncooperative though… I might need you to go a bit deeper. Is that alright?”

Phoel shifted uncomfortably. “I haven’t done anything like that in years, so I may be a little rusty but… If you need me to…”

“I really do,” Whisper confirmed.

“Got it. Leave this to me.” Silently, Phoel padded over to sit in front of Tempest, taking a seat on the floor. She took several deep breaths, bringing her forepaws in front of her as a gentle glow escaped from her eyes.

“I’ve made contact,” she reported. “He’s quite insistent that I leave him alone, though.”

Whisper turned back to Tempest. “Well, if he doesn’t want to risk the damage of a deeper dive, he better be honest, then.” She directed her attention to the ninetales. “We’ll make this quick. Are you planning to help Nip? Especially now that you know what he’s done here.”

A moment of silence passed. Phoel frowned. “He says ‘I sincerely apologize on behalf of my… my student. He suffered much in the past and made poor decisions as a result.’”

Was he serious? Whisper clenched and unclenched her claws. “Sorry doesn’t cut it here. This isn’t just petty theft. This is murder. He came here and he needed to follow our laws, and he should consider himself lucky to be alive.”

There was a long pause. Phoel hesitated when she next spoke. “’Can he really be held to those laws if he did not know them?’”

“It’s common sense!” Whisper snapped. “You don’t kill the ‘mon that saved you!”

An uncomfortable silence followed. Tempest said nothing more. Or at least, Phoel did not pass on any more information.

Whisper let out a long breath. “Next question. Why did you attack Romi – the rapidash – why did you attack her when you came into town?”

“’She wouldn’t let me by.’”

“She wouldn’t let you- that’s it? That’s your reasoning?”

“’Yes. She wouldn’t let me by, so I used a show of strength to make her let me by.’”

Closing her eyes, Whisper brought a claw up to scratch at her beak. She could feel a migraine coming on. “Okay. Fine. Whatever. So if that’s the case, why did you try to come into town in the first place?”

“I’m paraphrasing his… colorful language here, but he says he was tracking Umbra. He followed an old scent into town. Smelled Nip when he got close.”

Well, that explained something, though Whisper was shocked by how well he’d managed to track a scent. She was quite certain Umbra hadn’t left Jhorlo’s in several days. Let alone town. “You attacked someone to get into a village, on the off chance that Umbra might be here? That’s rather… impulsive. You could have told her why you were trying to get into the village and she might have let you pass.”

“Um, Whisper,” Muse said quietly as she crept down the ramp. “I hate to be that mon, but… he kind of couldn’t. Couldn’t speak.”

Oh, right. She really wasn’t thinking straight right now. She let out a long breath. “Fine. Just… one more question then. How were you injured.”

“It was Umbra, obviously,” Nip grumbled under his breath.

Whsiper whirled around to glare at him. “I don’t remember asking you.”

“Well, for what it’s worth,” Phoel began, “the big guy says it wouldn’t surprise him if it was Umbra. But… He doesn’t know for sure. Everything happened so fast, he didn’t get a good look at his attacker. He is certain that it was a member of the tribe, though. He remembers the smell.”

How could he not- Whisper cut off herself off. “I see… Thank you. We will… keep all of these claims in mind as we look into how to handle this precarious situation. I believe that will be all.”

Tempest stared at Nip for a long moment before his next thought was translated. “He says…’Due to the… to the nature of what has happened here, I will defer to your judgement, so long as no more harm comes to either of us. I should have done more to help Nip before things reached this point. I’m sorry. But I will not leave, even if you ask me to. I have no reason to return to the Half-Moon Tribe. I was always an outsider, even before all this, there is nothing for me there anymore.’”

Whisper had begun to walk away, but once Phoel spoke again, she paused. “You… would not leave? Even under threat of death?”

“’Nip is the only of my kin I have left. Or rather, the only one I still hold any affection for. I will not leave him again.’”

Whisper looked Tempest over, judging his conviction. “Very well. I will trust your claim. I have to wait until our Mayor, Jhorlo returns before judgement can be passed, and will keep you here until then. But I promise no harm shall come to you until then.”

“You have my thanks, Whisper.”

Whisper plucked a feather. “I’ve already regretted trusting Nip. Don’t make me regret trusting you, too.”

Chapter Text

For Theran Village, the next two sunrises passed without incident. Word spread around about the strange Ninetales and whispered rumors passed between the villagers, but mostly life continued just as it had before. Even for Nip.

Whisper, or one of the other guards, would rouse him shortly after dawn, tossing a few berries his way. Then they’d guide him over to the daycare to work on renovations, where he’d spend most of the day dragging around and cutting lumber. When the sun started to dip low in the sky, he’d be sent back to his cell with a few more berries. Both evenings, he sat against the bars as close to Tempest he could get, talking to him quietly. A couple of the guards would return to the hut when darkness settled in outside, putting away jars of moss that lit the room before retreating upstairs.

Speaking of Tempest, the Ninetales had yet to be let out of his cell; Whisper had explained that until Jhorlo returned and they could discuss what to do, he would have to remain locked away. As far as Nip could tell, Tempest seemed mostly fine with this. Still recovering from his infected injury, he was in no condition to be out working or doing anything of the sort. That didn’t stop him from becoming agitated both times Nip had been removed from his sight. Not that Nip was in any position to argue about it.

Despite how regular the last two days had been, this morning started a bit different. He was roused, fed, and escorted to the daycare as usual. But instead of getting straight to work, he and Chipper now sat to the side next to a pile of unworked lumber, waiting, while Tor and Grombert conversed in front of the daycare. Nearby, Anu and Whisper were engaged in their own conversation, both of them occasionally stealing a glance at Nip to see if he was behaving.

Nip shifted uncomfortably on his feet before sitting down, keeping an eye on Tor and Grombert as he tried to listen in on their conversation. In hopes of appearing nonchalant, he started to busy himself with grooming, running his tongue over the side of his forepaw before brushing it over his face. An unpleasant memory of how Haru reacted about his grooming bubbled to the surface, though, making him slowly lower his paw.

“You say you’re almost done, then?” he overheard Tor ask.

“With everything but th’ fence,” Grombert confirms. “But to finish that to your, er, specifications, I’d have to get Romi to bring in another load of bricks. Whisper says she can’t afford to send a guard off till Jhorlo gets back though. Not even a part-time one. Besides that… I hate to say it, but we’re running a bit low on funds. A brick wasn’t exactly part of the budget, after all.”

“True,” Tor replied in his usual monotone voice. “I take it you’re asking for the rest of the payment now?”

“Not the rest of it,” Grombert said quickly. “Just the second third of the agreed-upon amount. The rest can come later. Though we may have to renegotiate the price, what with both the increased cost of supplies and the additional set of working paws.”

“Are you really going to pay him?” Nip caught Tor shooting him a nasty look. He quickly averted his gaze.

“What? Of course not! But we do have to pay Whisper for lending out his labor. She’s gotta pay for the expenses of feeding him somehow.”

The blissey closed his eyes. “I don’t like it, but that’s a fair point I suppose. Give me a moment.” With that, Tor disappeared inside the vibrant building. He reappeared shortly after, carrying a small sack in one of his stubby hands. “I trust this will be enough for now?”

Grombert grabbed the bag in one paw and jingled the coins inside. Then he held out an ear and dumped the contents out onto it, inspecting them with a scrutinizing gaze. Finally, he flashed a grin. “That will, indeed, do! I’ll get this divided up and prepare an order. Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” Tor turned and returned inside, while Grombert quickly returned the coins to the bag before approaching Chipper and Nip. Whisper and Anu glanced up from their conversation, and Nip quickly did his best to make it look like he hadn’t been listening in.

“Looks like we’re going to have a couple days off,” Grombert announced. “Let me just take care of my business with Whisper and then we can all be on our way.”

“Fine by me,” Chipper said. He fell down to all fours and stretched. Nip could hear his joints crackle with each movement. “Gives me a chance to rest these old bones. What are gonna do about the sneasel, though?” He gestured his head towards Nip.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine without the work,” Nip grumbled under his breath, rubbing one sore forepaw with the other. He hoped no one heard that.

If anyone did, they didn’t say anything about it. Whisper turned to address Grombert, Anu hanging a few steps behind. “He’s not your responsibility to deal with. I’ll take care of finding something to keep him busy. Roselei should have a field of oran bushes ready to harvest. I’m sure she could use the help. I’ll talk to her about it before evening.”

Nip looked down at his claws, fighting the urge to scowl. They all talked about him like he wasn’t even there, not even giving him a chance to give any input. Then again, that was kind of the point, as much as he hated to admit it. It didn’t mean he had to like it. Hoping to get his mind off of that, he turned his attention back to Grombert, watching him count several little lumpy disks out of the pile. Most of them seemed to be roughly the same size, but there were a few smaller ones. He gathered up the smaller pile before pushing it towards Whisper.

“I think this should meet our agreed-upon amount?”

The hawlucha counted the coins one by one, then scooped up a few before passing them on to Anu. “Here, take him around the village today. Let him buy meat or whatever else he wants within reason. I’ll put the rest with our current funds and figure out how to approach next week later. Bring him back around lunch time. I’ll have Stati relieve you at that point so you can get back to your duties.

Anu stared down at the coins in his paw, his brow furrowed. “Are you sure, Love?”

At the same time, Grombert gave Whisper a quizzical look. “Why would you give him any money? This is a community service sentence, not a job.”

Whisper’s feathers puffed up as she whirled around to glare at the diggersby. “I pride myself in not running our guard like the enforcers do, thank you very much,” she snapped.

Grombert stumbled a few steps back, holding up his prehensile ears defensively.  “Okay, okay, sorry I asked.”

Slowly, Whisper sucked in and then let out a breath. “No, I’m sorry. I snapped at you under stress and I should do better. I need to prepare a statement before Jhorlo gets back about the Ninetales and any other things that happened since he left. Plus the aforementioned issue of trying to figure out the logistical mess of feeding him and Nip. Besides, letting Nip buy his own goods might give him a better idea of how the village functions, and may help him integrate into society if everything works out. It’s not like I’m letting him buy just anything, anyways.”

She turned her attention to Nip. “I’m giving you a little time to walk around the village and do what you want with this time, so I expect you to be on your best behavior, understand? Anu will be letting me know if you don’t.”

Nip held her gaze evenly and said nothing. But the way his ear swiveled back and his feathers drooped gave away his anxiety. Whisper continued to give him a meaningful stare. But when he kept quiet, she sighed and turned away, scooping up the remaining coins.

“I’ll see you later, Anu.”

As she began to walk away, Anu approached Nip. He placed the coins into a small, cloth pouch that rested against his hip before addressing the sneasel with his paws clasped together.

“Ah, we should, um, probably discuss what you wish to do with this free time. Are you hungry? P-perhaps we should go get something to eat. I suspect you’d like to have something more to your taste than what the guard has fed you thus far, wouldn’t you?”

Without thinking about it, Nip licked his lips, his mind drifting to the past. His body itched for the exhilarating excitement of the hunt. For the rush as he stalked through the forest, pine needles squishing under his feet as he carefully sniffed the air for signs of prey, or else for the scents of those that might hunt him.

His claws twitched slightly at the thought, but he knew that wasn’t what Anu was offering him. Not with how soft these village mon were, or at least claimed to be. “I am hungry, yes,” he finally said quietly.

Anu hummed in acknowledgement, then moved so that he was standing behind Nip. “Off we go, then.”

Wordlessly, Nip turned and began to walk away from the daycare. Anu followed close behind. Nip was quite certain that he was keeping an eye on him the entire time.

They walked in silence for a moment. But as they left the others behind, a burning question escaped Nip’s mouth. “Are you planning to feed me something I can actually eat, now that you have some of this… ‘poke’ stuff?”

“Hm?” Anu tilted his head but didn’t stop walking. “Oh, right. I don’t know how Whisper is going to handle things. It’s… complicated, I’m afraid. I understand that you are an obligate carnivore. Whisper does, too. But… the meat from our village is sourced from scavenging. It doesn’t leave much to spare, and as a result, we can only feed so many mouths. In times of shortages, sometimes we must do without. And I’m afraid if Whisper has to choose between feeding you, and one of the other villagers going hungry… Well, she’ll at least give you berries until there’s more.”

Nip stopped walking and turned to look at Anu, his gaze incredulous. “You can’t really believe that, right? That all of your meat comes from scavenging.”

Anu stopped as well and stared down at him. Nip noticed the tiniest flicker of uncertainty in his gaze. Then his muzzle stiffened, and he closed his eyes. “You must remember, you are not from around here. I can’t expect you to understand how we do things, but I ask that you try to understand how we handle things here. We scavenge so that we might take only what we must. Our community is small as a result, but it is peaceful.”

“I don’t need to be from around here to know that’s not sustainable!” Nip growled, frustration seeping into his tone. Then he flinched, realizing how heated he was sounding, and shrank back. Slowly, he sucked in and let out a breath before standing tall again. “I-I meant to say… I can’t believe something like that really works. My kin only killed what we needed to survive. Yveltal’s teachings told us to not let the lives we take go to waste. And yet, there is no way we could have survived on this scavenging. There wouldn’t be enough to go around.”

The lucario gave Nip a scrutinizing glare. He shrank back once again, avoiding looking Anu in the eye. But before he could try and talk his way out of things, Anu sighed, placing a paw against his chest spike. “Again… Please remember this is not your homeland, things are different here. Besides, that’s part of why Whisper gave you a share of the earnings: so that you might purchase your own food, so you wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not we could get you some.”

Nip wanted to say, is that reason enough to leave me malnourished? But there was no point in arguing if it would only make Anu upset again. Getting into arguments led to fights. And fights against a pokemon like Anu would leave him beaten down. It wasn’t worth the risk.

They began to walk again, but before Nip could start up the path towards the meat shop, he felt a paw on his shoulder.

“Ah… apologies, Nip, but, um. I’d like for us to stop inside this shop first.” Anu lifted a paw to gesture to a tent that had been set up to the side. The tarp was colored a swirl of pale pink and white. A sign had been placed in front of it in the same unfamiliar writing that the pokemon around here seemed to use.

“What is this place?” Nip asked.

“Sweet’s Shop,” Anu explained. “She comes into town every so often and carries a lot of random stuff she finds around the area. Most of what she brings around is useless, but every once in a while she’ll bring in orbs, wands, or other useful items. I hope you don’t mind if we stop for a minute. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a trinket you’ll like?”

Nip highly doubted that. But he was in no mood to argue, so he just let out a grunt and moved to step through the entry flap.

A large piece of woven cloth, covered by intricate swirling designs, blanketed the ground inside. Several other smaller, similarly ornate carpets sat on top, with items on top of those. Some items were little more than a fanciful rock, though Nip did spot a couple of glassy orbs in one corner. One he recognized as an escape orb by the dim grey color with a bright light that sparked and danced deep inside. The other he didn’t recognize as any particular orb, and he wasn’t convinced it was an orb at all.

“Ah-ah, customers!”

Nip glanced up and looked to the back of the tent, movement catching his eye. From underneath a piece of cloth, a slurpuff had appeared, her fur disheveled.  

“Oh, it’s Mr. Anu,” the slurpuff continued as she tried to flatten down her fur. “Oh, and you must be the sneasel I’ve been hearing so much about. Hello!”

She held out a paw, and Nip recoiled, noting the stickiness of some sort of berry that had matted the fur of her paw together.  She stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and spun away, seemingly unconcerned by his reaction.

“Well, aren’t you two looking rather well today. What can I get for you? I have all sorts of wares for sale… if you have the coin.” She spun back around, bringing a paw up to her mouth, and shot the two a leer for just a second before returning to her usual cheerful demeanor.

Nip shot Anu an incredulous look. This was what he wanted to stop for? He hadn’t been wrong, most of this really was junk. Not noticing or ignoring Nip’s look, Anu moved to the corner of the room to inspect pile of orbs and probably-not-orbs. He had his back to Nip, but Nip could tell from the way his feelers wavered that he was still watching him. Or watching his aura, at least.

“Ah, my good sneasel friend!”

Nip felt a sticky paw grab hold of his hand. He yelped and jerked it away. Sweet gave him a weird look before continuing, grabbing his paw again to drag him to the other side of the tent. “You look like you’ve been traveling rather light. Wouldn’t you like something nice and shiny to accompany you?” Carefully, she picked up what looked like a shard of crystal. On two sides, it was nearly flat, the sides ended in sharp, jagged edges.

“I…” Nip stared at the object. It was rather shiny… but what was the point? Some part of him wanted to store it away, and some other, rational part of his mind told him that he was wasting his time.

Anu glanced over and let out a sigh. “Um… Sweet, c-could you please not attempt to sell him broken glass? Or any sort of weapon, for that matter.”

The slurpuff glanced at Anu with a sour expression. “Aww, you’re no fun.” She perked back up and turned her attention to Nip, who had taken a couple steps back when she’d turned her head. She still had a hold of his paw though, keeping him trapped in the interaction.

Dragging him to another pile, Sweet finally let go of his paw so that she could dig through a handful of scarves. When she stood back up, she held a small, drawstring bag made of a pale brown cloth. “See, isn’t this perfect for you? Don’t you wish you could carry things around? I have a big bag of my own!” She gestured to the corner of the room where, just as she said, there was a large bag, nearly as big as she was.

“Um…” Nip began. She did have a point. It would be nice to have something to carry things with when he got out of here. He had initially stolen a bag for that reason. On the other hand… who knew when he’d be allowed to leave? And until Umbra gave up (something he doubted would actually happen) he was perfectly content with hiding behind the guards.

“What do you want for it?” he finally said. Because it couldn’t hurt to ask.

Sweet shot him a goofy grin, her tongue lolling out. “Oh, I knew you’d like it. And you’re such a cutie, I’ll make you a great deal. I’ll sell it to ya for just 80 poke. Or a jar of combee honey — I’m kind of hungry. That’s a bargain you can’t refuse!”

Eighty poke? That seemed like a lot. But he had no clue what a big number was, by village standards. He glanced back to Anu uncertain of how much that would leave him with.

Anu picked up on the unspoken question. “If you buy it, it’d leave you with twenty.”

Twenty. Nip could quantify twenty. Twenty was more than he remembered the meat costing before. But not by much. It would leave him with little more than enough for a single meal.

“No deal. I need that money to eat.”

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Sweet frowned, dropping the bag back onto the cloth. “Let me know if you change your mind though. Or if you find anything neat. Like combee honey. I miiight be willing to do a trade sometime.”

After that, she turned her attention to Anu, who had picked out the escape orb and a rock with little golden flecks in it. The two exchanged money, and then Anu stepped outside, waiting for Nip to follow.

He took one last look at the bag before trotting behind Anu, the flap closing behind him.

After the short detour, Anu and Nip made the trip to the meat shop in silence. And Nip was fine with that. Compared to the typical ridicule, jabs, and snide remarks from his guards, the silence was a welcome break. Or it should have been. But with Anu, in particular, the silence was somehow worse.

The meat shop looked just as innocuous as Nip remembered it. If he hadn’t already known about the food stored inside, he would not have given the old, run-down looking building a second thought.

The sound of movement from inside made him pause just outside the door. He took a couple steps back, then, of all pokemon, Vale emerged, carrying a bundle between his teeth. He took one look at Nip and his maw twisted into a snarl. He sat the bundle down and stared at him, his eyes narrow. “Shouldn’t you be doing your manual labor? “

Anu took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “Relax, Vale. He’s been given a day off, just like you. And he’s chosen to spend it in the same way you are, from the looks of things. What are you up to?”

Vale scoffed. “Spending it like him? Feh, yeah right. I’m about to spend the afternoon with my friends. Something I doubt a mongrel like him would understand. I was just picking up something for us to eat.” He tilted his head towards the package.

Nip’s nose scrunched up as his lip started to turn into a snarl, but he forced himself to be silent.

Anu said nothing about Nip’s state, instead addressing Vale with a tilt of his head. “There’s no need to say something like that. Anyway, you’re speaking of Jaques and Lotte, I assume.”

“Lotte at least. Hopefully Jaques will make it home in time for dinner.”

The lucario let out a hum. “Fair enough. Have a good day then, Vale.”

Vale let out a huff. “Any day I don’t have to babysit a murderer is a good day in my book, Anu. I should be wishing you luck.”

“I assure you, I will survive.”

The manectric had nothing to say to that. So he picked up his bundle again and pushed past them. He brushed up against Nip as he passed, and Nip let out a quiet sharp yip when he felt a small static shock.

“Oopfs. Sohry, my bahh.” Vale mumbled around the bundle, though from the sneer on his face, Nip suspected he wasn’t sorry at all. Anu said nothing as Vale passed him, but Nip was shocked to see a disapproving frown on his face.

“Sorry about that,” Anu mumbled, moving towards the doorway. “Shall we enter?”

Anu pushed the wooden flap open, allowing Nip to enter before him. As the flap opened, Nip sucked in a breath, taking in the mouthwatering smell of food. He stepped inside. Mandi was still at the counter with a rag in her beak, using it to carefully rub off what looked like a stain of blood. When she noticed her customers, she stopped, dropping the rag.

“Ah, well look who it is. Good to see you again, Anu. How’s Whisper holding up?”

“She’s doing better,” Anu replied calmly, bowing his head in greeting. “I trust business has been going well?”

“Well as it usually does. Vale just brought something fresh in. Said he found it on his patrol route. Chased off a raticate and brought it back. Can I maybe interest you in that- oh!” She cut off suddenly, glancing down at Nip. “Oh. You’re here, too. Stuck on guard duty, Anu?”

Nip kept his gaze on the ground, avoiding Mandi’s pitying glance towards Anu. “Whisper asked me to take him for a walk,” Anu explained. “Gave him a bit of change from what Grombert was paying her for the help.”

“Got it got it. So… I guess you two are both looking for something to eat.”

“Indeed,” Anu replied. “What were you saying you just got in?”

“Ah, right. I have a rattata that’s already been checked over and approved for sale. Vale brought in a fletchling, but it’ll probably be midafternoon till I hear back on that one.”

Nip’s ear twitched, and he glanced up. “I’m sorry, did you say a fletchling?”

Mandi tilted her head. “I did. Why, does that interest you?”

He flicked his ear and turned his head away. “No, it does not. What else do you have.”

Mandi stared at him a moment longer. “Well… I’m afraid Vale wiped out a lot of my stock, but I have some krabby  meat and a bit of a serviper left? Someone brought back… most of a sawsbuck the other day, but I’m afraid I don’t have much of it left. Enough for two meals, for someone of your size, probably.”

Nip considered his options for a moment. “I’ll take both the sawsbuck and the serviper. As much as you could spare. Don’t bother processing it this time.”

Anu raised a brow. “Isn’t that a bit much for you.”

“Of course it is,” Nip snapped. Then he realized how combative his tone was and took a breath to calm himself. “Half of it is for tempest. If you village mon aren’t going to feed us, then I will.”

Anu flinched at his tone, but did not argue further. “Very well. I understand.” He turned his attention back to Mandi. “I’ll take the rattata for myself and Whisper, but we would like it prepared. It’ll… be enough until you get more in.”

Mandi tilted her head before opening her beak cheerfully. “My pleasure. That’s going to be twenty poke for you, anu. As for the sneasel… Fourty should be good.”

Nip tilted his head. “Why so much?”

“Well, you are buying enough for four meals,” she pointed out, “And serviper meat is more popular than you’d think. Rare enough that it costs more.”

Nip had nothing he could say to that. Anu exchanged coins with the mandibuzz, and then she disappeared into the back, calling out for her cubone assistant.  Nip took a seat on one of the cushions to wait. Anu paused for a moment before sitting down beside him.

“If… if you don’t mind me asking,” the lucario began quietly, “is there something about the fletchling that upset you?”

Something about Anu’s tone made Nip flinch. “It’s nothing important,” he muttered. “I just remember seeing a couple of fletchling when I was in the dungeon and wonder if it’s one of the ones I saw, that’s all. Doesn’t really matter, that kind of danger is the price of living wild.”

“Anu let out a sigh. “I see. Are you troubled by it?”

“No more than I would have been if one of my former tribe-kin had been killed when away from camp. The creators gave us teeth and claws and the need to hunt others for our food. But they also gave those pokemon that we hunt their own ways to defend themselves. It’s just the way the world was created.”

“Do you ever think that it’s cruel?” Anu asked.

Nip let out a grunt. “Perhaps. But the creators must have made us like this for a reason. Besides. Though life is cruel, death frees us of these dangers and these burdens.” He paused, closing his eyes as he recalled a familiar mantra from his youth. “Yveltal will take the dead under her wing and grant them eternal peace.”

“And what of those that are killed before they get to live,” Anu pressed his voice raising. “What happens to those that never get to hatch? Those that die before they ever get to leave the nursery.”

Nip flinched, his ear and feather lying flat against his skull as he shrank away from Anu. The lucario noticed the movement and looked away, taking several deep, steadying breaths.

“I… apologize. It is unbecoming to let my emotions get the better of me.”

Nip was silent for a moment, his gaze on the ground. “You of all pokemon have every right to be angry. It’s only natural for a parent to mourn and want to avenge their child. So why aren’t you? Why bother keeping it in?”

Anu was quiet for a moment, taking in several deep, steadying breaths. “Believe me, N… s-sneasel,I am livid with you. I hate you. I hate you more than my own mate, even. She, at least, understands your reasoning, even if she feels it’s flawed. Even if she feels so torn up inside by what you’ve done. But… she has an obligation to treat you fairly, to carry out the village’s justice. And, as a religious leader, I have an obligation to lead by example. Following Regigigas means walking a path of peace, and that means I must put aside my anger.”

Nip was quiet for a moment. “Whisper… doesn’t hate me?”

“She wants to. But she understands what it’s like being in a position like yours. Maybe not quite the same… But being alone, not knowing where to turn to? Having to make a tough choice about where you’ll get your next meal? But… Ah, maybe I shouldn’t be bringing this up. It is rather personal, after all.”

Nip leaned back against the wall. “She’s not from around here, is she.” It wasn’t a question.

Anu tensed. Then sighed. “S-sort of. She’s… She used to live wild. Gave up the life of a wildener to settle down here many season-cycles ago, when she was still quite young.” He smiled wistfully. “I was still a riolu pup. Lady Gratitude was still the mayor back then, and times were prosperous.” His smile faded, twisting into a frown. “And then the drought happened, and all the misfortune that followed… Ah but. O-oh, I’ve said too much already. This isn’t my story to tell. Look, here comes Mandi.”

Nip sat up straight turning his attention back to the counter. Sure enough, there was the mandibuzz, carrying two parcels in her beak. She sat them both on the counter, nudging one a little closer to the edge. “There you two go. Sorry about the wait. Xylar had to finish preparing our message about the fletchling.”

“It…” Anu took a deep breath. “It is absolutely fine, Mandi. No worries at all.” He picked up the first parcel, taking a peek inside, before handing it to Nip. As Nip glanced down, he could see the meat inside had been cut, so that one couldn’t tell what pokemon it had been at one point. As much of a waste of time as Nip saw it, he could understand why some pokemon would want their food prepped that way. It was a lot easier to eat when your food didn’t look like your neighbor.

“That one is mine,” Anu explained. “I will exchange it with you when we return to the guards’ hut. Come along now.” He picked the other, slightly larger bundle up and began to walk pushing the wooden door open so that Nip could pass through.

Just outside, Nip paused and took a deep breath. “Well… for what it’s worth, Anu…” Nip hesitated. Anu gave him an expectant look.

Just spit it out, said a voice in the back of Nip’s head. Just say you regret your decision. It’s not that hard. Tell him you made a poor choice. Tell him you shouldn’t have betrayed their kindness!

But Nip said none of that. Instead, he sighed, closing his eyes. “Nevermind. I’ll talk to you about it another time.”

Nip pushed past Anu and silently began to walk back in the direction of the village square. But even after he had been returned to his cell, and after he had shared his food with Tempest, the words still echoed in his head. And even after the lights went out, and he had groomed himself and settled down for the night, his mind still drifted back to his conversation with Anu.

Umbra stewed quietly in her room, pacing back and forth in hopes of getting some of her restless aggression. After a long morning of hunting with vale, the manectric had shooed her off back to Jhorlo’s villa, taking two of their three kills with him. She considered telling him to buzz off and going to attack Nip on her own. After all, how was Jhorlo supposed to stop her when he wasn’t around?

But logic had stopped her. How was she supposed to get to him in broad daylight, when he had guards watching his every move? No. She had to wait until the time was right. And as much as she longed to sink her teeth into his mangy flesh and rid herself of his nuisance once and for all, she hadn’t gotten this close without a hint of patience.

Unfortunately, patience didn’t rid her of anger.

She let out a low growl, her claws scraping against the wooden boards as she paced. How could the pokemon here defend him? They had seen for themselves how low he was willing to stoop. And now Tempest was here, too. That ratty ninetales… how was he even still alive? She swore she had done him in before she left, knowing that he would chase after Nip. Tempest had always been so quick to defend him and anything he did. If he wasn’t male, she’d think he was pining after him!

Gnashing her teeth together, she reached down to pick one of the cushions that made up her “nest”, tiny claws digging into the fabric as he squeezed it. “Ngh… I don’t get it… How do you keep evading me? You very existence is a blight. How could the elders slight me like this? First pairing me with… with that low rank runt. Then, with I make it clear to him and the elders that I want nothing to do with him, nothing happens! And then when I try to make the best of a bad situation, he goes and betrays all of us like that! And now I’m out here, chasing him down because he had the nerve to attack the nursery instead of just running off and dying in the woods or something!”

Pink energy shimmered around her claws. She channeled the energy into the cushion as she squeezed, imagining it to be Nip, then threw it into the air, snapping it up with her second set of jaws before shaking it violently. Oh, how she wanted to sink her teeth into his flesh and rip him to shreds like a juicy bit of prey. It would be a suitable end for him. And yet, at the same time, she wanted to take her sweet time and make sure he suffered, after what he’d done to the tribe. And after he’d slighted her, personally. After she’d gone through all that trouble to break his spirit and turn him into a… tolerable mate.

She slammed the cushion against the ground her jaws hitting the floor with a thud. Bits of the fluffy innards went everywhere, thrown into the air and spilling onto the floor from the sheer force of her attack. And then she stood there, huffing for breath as she glowered at the pillow’s remains.

And then a quiet scratching caught her attention. She whipped around just as the door creaked open, Lotte standing in the frame.

The purrloin looked over the scene with a concerned expression. “Ah. Is… Is everything alright, Miss Umbra.”

Umbra felt her face heating up in embarrassment. Just how much of her tantrum had Lotte seen? She had a reputation as a poised and dignified pokemon to uphold, and she hoped that it was not tarnished by the outburst. “I am… Fine,” she replied stiffly.

Lotte stared, her expression becoming unreadable, only the twitching tip of her tail betraying any emotion. “I will take you at your word, then. How has your morning been? I take it your hunt went well?”

“Well enough,” Umbra replied with a huff, bending down to pick up the ruined cushion. “Caught a fletchling that strayed a bit too far from its home. Didn’t even see me coming till it was too late. Its leg was all bent out of shape, so it wouldn’t have survived long anyways. Course, cause of all your rules and regulations, Vale had to run off and get them ‘processed’ or whatever. Do you seriously not keep any food around here?”

Lotte hummed, stepping inside. She began to bat at the stuffing, working it into a pile. “We keep some berries and bread, for Miss Shimmer, and sometimes Jhorlo will have Vale just bring his hunts here directly. Says it helps lower suspicion and makes sure those of us that are… looking out for the obligates of the village stay well-fed enough to do so. Like that wooper you brought home, for example.”

Umbra raised a brow. “You hunt?”

“Not often. Usually only when I accompany Jhorlo on business. Vale does most of the work around here. At least, work of that sort. Hunting. General muscle work.”

Thinking about the manectric, Umbra scoffed. “Why does Vale even put up with Jhorlo anyways? You say you’re repaying a debt, and I’m only doing this because I have to wait for the right time to… take care of Nip.”

Lotte flicked an ear. “I don’t know the details. Jhorlo saw no reason to share that with me, and I don’t intend to question him and bring his kindness into question. But I’m sure Vale has a good reason.”

A growl sounded from the doorway. “You know, it’s kind of rude to talk about people behind their backs.”

Umbra turned her attention back to the door. Vale stood in the frame now, a bundle of some sort of paper tied together laying at his feet.

Lotte followed Umbra’s gaze. “Well, good day to you too, Vale. What brings you here?”

He nosed the parchment a bit further into the room. “I brought lunch. Figured Jaques would be hungry when he got back. And you, Lotte. And Umbra and Jhorlo too, I guess.”

“Well, how thoughtful of you!” Lotte let out an amused purr. “Bring it on in, I’m sure Umbra is hungry, too.”

She was. A growl escaped her stomach. She’d had nothing to eat since yesterday, and the morning she and Vale had spent hunting had taken a lot out of her. Vale carried the bundle over to the center of the room, holding it in his mouth by the strings. He sat it on the floor, then Lotte made quick work of slicing it open, passing out a sliced piece of some unknown pokemon to each of them. Umbra still found it odd, that they prepared their meals in such a way, but she was in no position to complain.

Lotte and Vale exchanged small talk while Umbra worked away at her share, tearing pieces off before swallowing them whole. This… sitting here while the other two passed the time when she could be out there finishing her duty so she could hurry up and return home, it drove her mad.

“I cannot wait to get out of here,” she growled under her breath, drawing the other two’s attention.

“What was that?” Lotte asked.

“The sooner I take care of Nip, the sooner I can leave. All I need is a feather or something like that. I would take an eye, or something else much more concrete, but it would rot before I made it back. If only I was not run so busy doing all this hunting for Jhorlo.”

“You have plenty of time,” Vale pointed out. “But… well, I think Lotte wanted to finish cleaning up in here. Why don’t you walk with me, for a moment?”

Umbra scarfed down the last of her meal. “Why should I? You have given me no reason to get along with you, outside of hunting.”

“Just do it,” Vale growled, frustration seeping into his tone.

She considered arguing further, but decided it was not worth it, and finally stood, stretching before walking ahead. Vale followed, taking the lead once they were in the hall. When they got to the end and began to take the ramp to the bottom floor, he finally spoke. “You know you’re not getting out of here anytime soon, right?”

A growl escaped Umbra’s throat. “What are you getting at?”

“That sneasel? He’s gonna be locked up for moons. He’s constantly under watch, too. And Jhorlo finds you too useful to let you just leave. So, to him, that sneasel’s more useful alive than dead. Hate to say it, but you played right into his paws.”

“You’re joking right?” Umbra deadpanned.

“Listen, Umbra. I don’t like you. At all. You’re only slightly better than that sneasel in my eyes. But I can sympathize with your situation. You and I, we’re in similar boats here. I’ve been working under Jhorlo for seasons. Hunting for him, but also doing his dirty work. And I can tell you right now, he’s not planning to let you go anywhere. He’s got part of the town caught up in his claws, and wool over everyone else’s eyes. You make one wrong move, and it’s you that’ll be disappearing, not Nip. No, if you want to get rid of him, you’re going to have to take matters into your own paws.”

Umbra’s gut twisted. As much as she would like to argue otherwise, Vale’s warning made perfect sense.  “So. If you hate me so much, why bothering telling me this?”

“I want that sneasel gone as much as you. He hurt the village. And while I don’t care too much about that, I care about the fact that he’s got everyone so convinced with his sob story that he’s wasting the time, energy, and resources of the village. He’s wasting my time.”

Vale spun around to look Umbra in the eye. “Let me cut to the chase. You and I. We’re going find a way to get rid of that sneasel. That’ll get you, him, and hopefully that ninetales out of my fur so the village can go back to normal, understand.”

Umbra stared at Vale for a moment, her eyes narrowed. What the manectric said made sense. But at the same time, she found it hard to trust. “And if I refuse to work with you?”

“I hope you like working for Jhorlo until you either die of old age or a hunting injury, or else he makes you… disappear.” He paused, glancing back up the hallway. “Ever notice that there’s no liepard around here for Jaques and Lotte to have come from? There’s a reason for that. I’ve been around long enough to remember their ma. I know what happened to her.”

Umbra grit her teeth. “Fine. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to discuss an idea, at least. What do you have in mind?”

“Next time we go out hunting, we’ll talk. Deal?”

“Why not talk now?”

“I need time to figure out what Whipser’s going to do with the ninetales. Once we know that, we can hash out a plan. Sound fair?”

Umbra thought back to the last time she’d struck a deal in the village. Unlike Jhorlo, though. Vale seemed to be more brawn than brain. And on top of that, he was in a… very useful position, if she wanted to get at Nip. “Very well. Do not make me regret trusting you.”

Are they seriously still chasing me? How rude!

Celebi forced his wings to flutter faster. Trees whizzed past him. Occasionally, he’d graze up against the bark or smack against some leafy twigs, sending decaying leaves to the ground as he dodged and weaved through the forest in desperate hopes of escaping his pursuer. He didn’t dare look back, hearing the cracks and groans as trees fell left and right, his pursuer effortlessly slicing right through them. An explosion rang in the distance, and he flinched, grasping at an arm that had become shriveled by burns, scorched almost black.

So I overshot my time jump a little. Why does this have to happen to me? It’s not faiiir!

He yelped as wind whipped around him, a glowing crescent shape of energy flying by. Another one struck him in the back, sending him tumbling through the air. He hit the ground hard, groaning, and felt something gooey oozing down his back. He tried to flutter back to the air, but his wings wouldn’t cooperate. No, if he stopped now, they would catch up. And he didn’t want to find out what happened if they caught him. The carnage behind him was bad enough.

Another distant explosion. This time he heard the pained, anguished cry of some pokemon unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast. His eyes widened in alarm, and he struggled to his feet, wincing as he put pressure on his damaged arm.

Slowly, he brought his shaking hands up, creating an L shape in each one, holding them together to form a rectangle. He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating, trying to pull psyonic energy together. A pulse blasted forward, channeled through his hands, and a window to another time opened in front of him.

With all the speed he could muster, Celebi stumbled forward towards the temporary portal through time.

But just as he was about to cross the threshold, he heard a loud yell from behind. Another air cutter slammed into him, slicing into his back, and he let out a scream. His strength failed him, and he tumbled forward as the world went dark.

Chapter Text

“We have come to an agreement, it seems.”

Jhorlo’s voice rang clear as he stood in front of the small crowd, Jaques and Lotte sitting at attention behind him. Behind them lay the icy ninetales who, despite his condition, held his head high and proud, meeting the looks of the villagers that had decided his fate. Whisper stood at attention by his side.

“As you all have voted,” Jhorlo continued, “we will continue to monitor him over the next moon or so, putting him to community service while also teaching the laws of our region. If he behaves well, we will reconvene on the afternoon of the next full moon to decide whether he is free to leave. I hope this is all agreeable to everyone, yes?”

Mixed murmurs rose from the crowd around Haru. Some seemed displeased with this outcome, but most were neutral or even happy with it. Haru glanced towards Toshi, hoping to catch his eye, but he avoided her gaze. Almost three days had passed since they’d had their argument, yet Toshi still seemed uncomfortable. The two of them had barely exchanged any words since.

Figuring the meeting was over, she took a step towards her brother, but stopped when Jhorlo cleared his throat.

“Ah, Whisper, you said you had something you wanted to bring to the attention of the village before we adjourned, correct?”

“I did,” Whisper said, stepping forward. She looked over the crowd with a stern expression. “I apologize for taking time out of your busy days. As you all know, Vale, Siles, and myself are currently the only full-time guards. Romi, Stati, Essra, and Anu have all been helping with the work, but they also have their own obligations. As it is, we have been stretched thin, monitoring the sneasel during his long-term community service. And with the ninetales now needing to be watched as well, that is even more true.”

She paused, taking a deep breath. “I am asking for volunteers to help out for at least the next moon. We need pokemon that are willing to watch either the sneasel or the ninetales for periods of the day, while they do their work. Anyone that does so will be paid for their time. If you are interested, come see me after this meeting, as there will be a short test to be certain you are fit to handle a fight, should one happen. Thank you, that is all.”

Jhorlo sat on his haunches, silently watching Whisper as she spoke. When she finished, he stood back up and returned his attention to the crowd. “Thank you, Whisper. With that in mind, you are all dismissed.” He waited just a few heartbeats before turning around to face Jaques and Lotte. One gesture from his paw and they stood in unison, flanking him as he headed back towards his villa.

The crowd began to disperse, most pokemon leaving to go about their daily duties. Haru, however, stayed in place for a moment before standing on her hind legs, trying to look over some of the shorter pokemon in search of Toshi. She spotted him approaching Whisper, and got down on all fours to follow him.

She made it within earshot just as Whisper cocked her head, her expression concerned and skeptical. “Are you… sure about this, Toshi?” Whisper asked.

“Positive!” Toshi replied. “I-I’ve been practicing my attacks and everything. I don’t think I’d need to fight, but if I did, I’d be able to take care of myself!”

The hawlucha looked unconvinced. Haru wasn’t sure that Whisper could frown, but she certainly looked like she was. Whisper opened her mouth to say something else, but then caught Haru’s gaze and quickly straightened up, clearing her throat. “Ah, are you here to volunteer as well, Haru?”

Toshi turned his head, following Whisper’s gaze. The look on his face — some mix of surprise, skepticism, and some third emotion Haru couldn’t place — made her quickly avert her gaze.

“O-oh. No. Not at all,” Haru replied quickly. “I was just…” I wanted to talk to Toshi, privately. “I was going to. Check. On Toshi. I should probably go.” This was embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, a familiar chipper voice piped up from behind Haru. “Well, we’re here to volunteer. Aren’t we, Musey?”

Haru bit back a groan and turned back to look at Shimmer and Muse. Well, even if she had considered volunteering, she definitely wasn’t going to now.

“You as well?” Whisper asked. “I am… hesitant.”

“Oh, come on,” Shimmer pressed, her voice staying up-beat. “You said you needed all the help you could get, right? Well, I’m help. Muse is help. That’s two whole helps! Besides, I’m totally feeling better.”

Muse turned her head. “Two whole helps? Shimmer, I am not convinced you are as well as you claim.”

“I’m fine, Muse, really. You’re not gonna convince me to stop.”

The absol sighed, lowering her head. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, Whisper, Shimmer would not be working alone. It is my duty as her bodyguard and as her friend to keep her safe. And thus, I would be working with her at all times. I won’t request you to pay me, of course, as I’m already paid plenty working for Shimmer.”

What a headache, Haru thought, glad she wasn’t Whisper right now.

Whisper looked up over Haru. Haru turned to look behind and noted that only two other pokemon had stepped forward: the swallot that ran the local inn and eatery, and Twi, of all pokemon. Great. Another pokemon that got on her nerves.

Whisper let out a long breath, turning her attention back to Shimmer as she picked up a cloth bag that was sitting at her feet. “Very well. I am willing to give you all a chance. But you’ll have to prove yourself fit for the job. Come on now.”

Whirling around on one foot, Whisper began to walk away, leaving the others to share a look before following behind. Haru looked towards the retreating group, then back towards the square. Despite her hesitations, she followed. If nothing else, she could support Toshi in his test, right?

“You didn’t sign up just because I did, did you?” Toshi awkwardly avoided Shimmer’s gaze, keeping his head facing forward.

Shimmer let out a little gasp, dramatically clasping her hands against her cheeks. “What? Noooo, of course not! Although, now that you mention it…”

Toshi let out an alarmed squeak and slowed his pace so that he was no longer walking beside the kirlia. But Shimmer shifted on Muse’s back so that she could turn and continue the conversation. “Really though, cutie, I joined because I thought it would be fun. And important, that too. Besides, I figured Musey would want to keep an eye on things, you know?” She punctuated her last words by giving Muse a pat on the back.

“I-I never said that!” Muse stammered, faltering.

“Never denied it either.”

Haru tuned out the rest of the conversation, brushing up against Toshi as they made their way towards a field just a bit outside of the village. Though she’d never used it herself, it wasn’t uncommon to see a couple mon from the village sparring or otherwise honing their skills.

The grass at the center was relatively short, easy enough to maneuver in for training purposes. It was also relatively flat, with few rocks or stones laying around to trip up any fighters. A few boulders dotted the tall grass beyond.

Whisper came to a stop and spun around to face the following pokemon. “We’ll do the assessment here. Would all of you please stand off to the side? Except you, Toshi. Come with me.”

Toshi shot the others a quick, somewhat nervous glance before stepping forward, following Whisper to the center of the grass. “So, um, what did you want me to do?”

Whisper pulled the cloth bag off of her shoulder and tossed it aside, then crossed her wings and faced Toshi. “Like I said, I need to ascertain that you can handle yourself in a fight, should either of our… guests get rowdy.” She uncrossed her wings, crouching forward into a fighting pose. “You’ll be sparring against me.”

“Wh-what?” Toshi squeaked. “Against you?”

“Of course,” Whisper replied promptly. “How better to test your prowess than to do so myself. Now, prepare yourself!”

Toshi stared, eyes wide like a noctowl. But then he shook off the shock and shifted into a battle stance, pawing at the ground.

Whisper waited for just a few heartbeats longer to give him time to prepare. Then she charged forward with a battle cry. Her wings took on a metallic sheen, sunlight gleaming off the top. Toshi flinched, then shook it off and charged, curling into a ball to rush forward. Bidoof collided with wing and the two fighters bounced back. Toshi uncurled and landed on his feet, wincing slightly.

By the time he had recovered, Whisper was already rushing towards him. She sprang into the air, rocketing back towards Toshi beak first. She turned so that she’d land shoulder first, attempting to crush him under her weight.

Toshi leaped forward and curled into a ball again, this time using the rollout to dodge. Whisper landed where he’d been just a heartbeat before. She was quick to recover, though. One somersault and she was already back on her feet.

To Haru’s right, Shimmer bounced up and down. “Woo, Go, Toshi! You’ve got this!” Haru kept her eyes on the field, though.

The bidoof rolled in a wide circle, turning back to rush down Whisper. But she was ready for him. She rushed forward to meet his challenge and lunged, striking him with her knee. He let out a pained squeal, thrown backwards by the blow, and hit the ground with a dull thud.

Everything went quiet. Haru stood tense, expecting that to be the end. Yet Toshi still struggled back to his feet. 

Whisper raised a wing and opened her mouth to speak, but Toshi charged again with a shrill cry. Moisture gathered around his stubby tail, forming into a swirling vortex of water as he ran. She moved to sidestep him, but he nimbly changed directions, spinning on his front paws so that he could slam the aqua tail into Whisper’s side.

Toshi rebounded from the attack and tensely stared Whisper down, panting. The feathers on the side he’d struck were disheveled and damp, though it was hard to tell how much damage he might have actually done. She stared him down with a fierce gaze for several heartbeats. Haru waited with bated breath, expecting Whisper to launch another attack. Instead, she relaxed, though her expression was unreadable.

“I think I’ve seen enough. Please stand to the side while I assess the others. We’ll talk in a bit.”

Toshi tilted his head and shrank down slightly. “Did… did I pass?”

Whisper tilted her head up to look at the other pokemon. “I’ll discuss it with you after I’ve finished assessing everyone else. Consider it a maybe, for the moment.”

Her words seemed to satisfy Toshi well enough; with his head held high and a sparkle in his eyes, he ran back to the sidelines with renewed vigor. Shimmer passed him on the way back, called forth for her assessment. Muse pawed at the grown nervously, glancing back and forth between Toshi and Shimmer, before finally settling her attention on the bidoof. Haru hesitantly approached behind her.

“Your fighting was excellent, Toshi,” Muse said. “Between this and the fights back in Sunglow Thicket, it’s obvious that you’ve been training the last few seasons, haven’t you?”

Toshi grinned. “I have to if I’m going to join the rescuers or the society! I need to be in tip-top shape, or else they may not take me seriously.”

Haru bit her lip. “Are you serious, then? About leaving?”

Toshi flinched and avoided Haru’s gaze. Muse shot Haru a questioning look but said nothing. “Well… yeah. I mean, not right away, obviously. But maybe in a couple moons… maybe when spring comes around, after Blue comes back from his expedition.”

But you have a place here, Haru wanted to argue. She kneaded the ground in hopes of holding her tongue. It’s dangerous out there, more so than this relatively safe village. What if something happens? What if… No, she needed to stop those thoughts.

She took a deep breath. “Look. Toshi, um… I know you’re kind of busy right now. But maybe we could talk when you’re done? I’d… I’d appreciate it.”

Toshi tilted his head, his brow knit with worry. “I, um… sure? I guess I’ll catch you back at home.”

“That’ll work,” Haru agreed. “I’ll see you there.”

She turned. As she walked away, she heard Muse quietly ask Toshi if everything was okay. He mumbled something back, though Haru couldn’t hear it. She decided not to try and eavesdrop. She wasn’t sure she’d like the answer.

Haru’s troubled feelings did not go away as she returned to the village square. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get thoughts about Toshi out of her head. She should be happy for him. He was figuring out what he wanted to do in life and moving on. So why did it make her feel so… bad?

She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she did not realize she’d wandered over to the guard’s hut until she stood just outside. She wasn’t the only one outside, though. So absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn’t even noticed Vale pacing around the entrance until the two collided with each other.

“Hey, watch it!” the manectric snarled, before realizing who he was talking to. He straightened up slightly, though he still addressed Haru in a low growl. “What are you doing here?”

Who put iron thorns in his nest? “Walking. Is that a problem?”

At her leading comment, he straightened up a bit more and averted his gaze. “Er… Right, sorry. You caught me at a bad time. “

His problems were really none of her business, but she had noticed how agitated the manectric had been recently. Curiosity and concern led her to ask, “Is everything alright?”

Vale blinked once. Twice. A growl rumbled in his throat and he shook his head back and forth before beginning to pace once again. “Does everything look alright? This whole village has decided that it’s for the better to waste our time babysitting those two-” he violently jerked his head in the direction of the hut “-while we have much more important things to do! Fall is coming fast. We should be fixing up the town gate. Preparing preserves for winter, focusing on trade with the neighboring village, anything but this! And all for what? Just to supposedly rehabilitate a couple of pokemon that are just going to run off and contribute nothing the moment they get the chance? It’s pointless! Meaningless!”

While Haru was inclined to agree, she couldn’t help but think to the pokemon sparring in the field. “I mean… you probably — no, definitely — have a point, but isn’t that why Whisper is asking for volunteers? To help relieve you guys?”

He paused, then scraped one paw against the ground. “Tch… that’s true. But it still wastes our time. They should be doing their own jobs. Besides, do you have any idea how much of Whisper’s budget is going into feeding those two? And now she’s going to pay volunteers as well? At this rate I’m going to end up with a pay cut.”

More scraping. Vale let out a huff through his nose. “It’s a waste! Why couldn’t Jhorlo just make a decision himself? But no, he’s too sentimental about running things the way Lady Gratitude did. Says it builds community. Builds community my ass! It just divides us further!”

Haru shifted uncomfortably. Again, Vale’s sentiments resonated with her own, albeit with a much more aggressive approach. “I… guess you have a point,” she mumbled.

Vale stared for a moment, then sat down and scratched behind his ear. “See, you get it, Haru. I’m glad someone around here has a bit of sense. I oughta talk to Jhorlo about this. Not that it’ll do any good.” Haru let out a hum of agreement. Vale, in response, stood back up and continued his agitated pacing. “If Whisper would just hurry up and get back, maybe I could actually talk to Jhorlo before he retires for the evening. But no, I’m sitting here babysitting a couple of pokemon that are barely any more civilized than a wildener!”

Maybe he was right. Maybe he should talk to Jhorlo about this. If nothing else, maybe Vale could get him to understand that Nip should be someone else’s problem. Maybe something for the enforcers to deal with, not something for a village about as far from the hotspots of civilization as could be.

She hesitated for a second, not sure if she should offer her thought. She wanted to get back home, and she had things to do. But she said it anyways. “I… If you think you’re only going to be a few minutes, I guess I could watch them so you can go talk to Jhorlo.”

Vale tilted his head. “Wait, really? I don’t know… are you sure, Haru? If something goes wrong, you’re not exactly a fighter.”

“Well… No, you’re right. But we are in the middle of the village. Besides, I held my own against Nip well enough before.” She elected to omit that she had to use an orb to stop him last time.

The manectric gave her a hard stare for a moment longer. A strange, unreadable expression crossed his face. It almost seemed like… frustration? Then he shook it off and stretched out his forelegs, raising his back into the air. He yawned. “Well, if you insist. No skin off my back. Just hang around inside, I’ll be back soon.”

He turned and rushed off, leaving Haru alone in front of the entrance.

Haru hesitated outside, suddenly having second thoughts. She was just one bidoof. What was she supposed to do if both Nip and Tempest came after her? She barely held her own against Nip. How was she supposed to handle both of them?

Relax, she told herself. They’re locked up in there and I’m out here, and I’m in change. They can’t do anything to me.

Resolved, she stepped inside the hut.

Tempest was lying with his back up against the bars, his head on the ground. His eyes were closed, and his expression was relatively relaxed. Fortunately, she couldn’t see the nasty scars on his neck at this angle. He flicked his ears at the rustling sound of Haru entering the room, but otherwise didn’t move.

Nip, too, was up against the bars, stretching a paw across the small space between the two cells to just barely brush his claws through Tempest’s fur. He barely glanced at Haru, then spoke to Tempest in a low voice, his voice so quiet that Haru couldn’t hear the words.

She shifted uncomfortably. Why was he being so quiet?  What didn’t he want her to hear? Was he maybe… planning an escape? Despite her earlier bravado, she suddenly felt very, very weak.

 “H-hey,” she began nervously, coming to a stop in front of the two cells. “Mind telling me what you’re so keen on keeping quiet about?”

Nip glanced up at her with a frown and narrowed eyes. “We’ll talk later,” he said to Tempest before retracting his arm, standing up, and walking to sit on his nest in the back of the cell, facing Haru.

Still, he said nothing to her, and she didn’t like that. “Come on, just fess up. Or should I tell Whisper that you’re plotting something, because that’s the only thing I can think of that you’d want to keep quiet.”

Nip was back on his feet in an instant. He slunk to the front of the cell, his ear laid flat and his maw twisted into a snarl. “What is wrong with you? It’s like you’re trying to get me killed!”

Haru stumbled backwards before remembering that he couldn’t get to her. “T-that’s not true! But you’re already on thin ice, and you’ve given me no reason to just blindly trust you. Look where that got us already.”

He scoffed, turning his head. “Fine. If you must know, I was telling Tempest about the hardships I endured to get here. It’s not easy to outrun a pokemon that knows how to track you, you know. But that was none of your business, so I don’t see why I needed to tell you. Besides, our previous conversations suggest that you wouldn’t believe me anyways. You probably still don’t, so why should I bother?”

“T-that’s—” Haru cut off. He did have a point. There was very little he could say that would have changed her opinion. But she wasn’t about to let him win. Not now. “W-well, your actions speak louder than your words. You try to act like you feel remorse, but you’re just scared of the consequences! Here you are, hiding behind the village’s protection, doing the bare minimum to act like you’ve changed. But in the end, you’re the one that went and stole an egg from the mons that helped you like some… some lawless wildener!”

Nip stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. Tempest rose to his feet, his tails lashing. Although his gaze was neutral and steady, there was a fierceness in his eyes that almost made Haru regret opening her mouth.

“How dare you,” Nip growled. His head was down where Haru couldn’t see his face, but the way his claws trembled at his sides betrayed his emotions. “I’m not asking you to like me, or act like I haven’t made mistakes. But by the gods, Haru, can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt that I’m trying?!”

By the time he finished speaking, he was shouting. He looked up, his face nearly unreadable. Was it anger? Hurt? Something else? A combination of conflicting emotions? Haru couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she hadn’t expected such a volatile response. Her heart raced as she stared wide-eyed back at the sneasel, expecting him to try and strike her from beyond the bars.

“Haru? What are you doing here?”

The tense atmosphere shifted to the entryway. Whisper stood within the doorframe, her beak hanging slightly open. She took one heartbeat to assess the room, then her gaze turned stern and she straightened up. “Will you please explain what exactly you are doing here? Where is Vale?”

Haru scrambled to stand at attention. “Vale wanted to talk with Jhorlo! Said he wouldn’t be long so I offered to give him a few minutes break, that’s all!”

Whisper tilted her head, skeptical. “Really now? Even though you had no interest in helping out?”

Haru felt her body grow warm with embarrassment. “W-well… it was only supposed to be a few minutes and… he made a good point…”

Whisper stared a moment longer before sighing. “I’ll talk to him later. You’re free to go, Haru. No. You need to go. That’s an order.”

“Wait, are you done with the sparring matches already?”

“They were just quick sparring matches. Only took a few minutes.” Whisper dusted off one of her wings, approaching one of the chests. A burst of cold air — the remnants of a hail orb used in the confined space — escaped before Whisper retrieved a package of… nope, Haru didn’t want to know what was inside. She had a good enough idea.

“Your brother will be partnering up with Twi to watch the sneasel every few days,” Whisper continued. Nip let out a groan at Twi’s name, but a sharp look from Whisper made him quickly avert his gaze.

“I… see,” Haru said. “I guess I should get going, then. I have work to do, after all.”

“As do I. Take care of yourself, Haru, and may the gods light your path.”

Recognizing that the statement was well-intentioned, Haru held her tongue and turned to leave, not even daring to look at Nip as she left. Still, she swore she could feel his gaze glaring at her back, and had a feeling he was in no rush to see her again. Good, the feeling was mutual.

She’d barely made it across the square before she heard a voice calling her name. Glancing up, she caught sight of Toshi making his way from the clinic, smelling faintly of oran berries and medicinal herbs. There was a cheerful, fierce, perhaps even defiant, look in his eye as he approached.

“Guess who’s helping the guard,” he said with excitement as soon as she was close.

“I already heard, Whisper told me,” she replied.

He tilted his head. “Really? What were you doing talking to Whisper? In fact… Why are you still here? I thought you’d be back near home by now.”

“Well, I stopped to talk to Vale,” Haru explained, deciding to leave her altercation with Nip out of the discussion. She didn’t need a repeat of their last conversation. “But I guess this works out, because I wanted to talk to you anyways.”

Toshi averted his gaze, shifting in place. “I mean… I guess? What do you want to talk about?”

Haru nibbled at her lip. “Walk with me,” she mumbled, turning towards the path home. Toshi hesitated before following her. She was silent for a while, trying to carefully think about what she wanted to say. There were all sorts of ways she could word it, but in the end, she just let out a sigh and stopped walking.

“Look, I’m sorry about my outburst the other day. I… might have gotten a bit heated, and I shouldn’t have directed my anger at you.”

Toshi blinked. “A bit? I’d… argue that was more than a bit heated. But… apology accepted, anyways.”

Haru waited for him to say something more. But when he didn’t, she continued. “I just… I’m frustrated. It just feels like everyone is letting things go too easily. With Nip and, to a lesser extent, Tempest. And besides that… I’m… worried about you.”

“Worried? Why?”

“Well, because you want to go off to the bigger towns and put yourself in danger! Rescuing, exploring, they’re both dangerous jobs. Besides that, the bigger towns, they’re just more dangerous in general. It’s safe here. Jhorlo and the guards, they all work so hard to keep everyone safe, and that’s not something you can say of other places.”

Toshi was silent now. “I get it, Haru. You’re worried about me. And maybe you’re right to be worried. But in the end, it’s my decision to go, and I want to go because I want to help people. Rescuers, they make sure everyone stays safe. Explorers chart new land, but they also figure out what places are too dangerous for everyone else to go to, you know?”

Haru opened her mouth, hesitated, closed it. Then she breathed once, preparing her reply. “I just…I know you’ve always had an interest, but this all seems so sudden. I’m used to slow days, but lately it feels like time has flown by and there’s never been a quiet moment. But… I’ll… try to be more considerate of what you want out of your life, okay?”

Toshi smiled. “I appreciate it, Sis. Thanks.”

Haru let out a breath, and it felt like some of what had been weighing her down was gone. “Thanks, Toshi. Come on. We should get home.”

Despite her frustrations, Haru’s evening was uneventful, and her morning was equally quiet, breezing by without much thought. Stretch. Breakfast. Work. And now it was lunch time. She meandered down the path back from the area they’d been logging from, expecting to pick up a warm lunch of roasted carrots and potatoes from her mom. To her left, the river bubbled, a few early autumn leaves drifting by in the current. To her right was an old wooden fence, a gentle slope up into Ruffle and Roselei’s oran field just beyond.

Familiar voices drifted from above. Not Roselei nor Ruffle’s but instead Shimmer and Muse. The only reason she could think of for them to be there was if they were watching Nip already. She paused, tuning in to their conversation. Shimmer’s louder voice came through much clearer.

“Here’s what I’m thinking, Musey. We should make Toshi a cute little goodbye package, so that when he leaves for the expedition society, he’ll know just how much I- I mean, all of us care. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Are you… other motive?” Came Muse’s voice.

“None whatsoever!” Shimmer cheerfully responded.

Haru sighed and scrunched up her nose before turning away. Shimmer was being Shimmer again. No ulterior motive, what a joke.

The voices went quiet and Haru began to walk again. But before she could get far, a white figure appeared at the top of the slope. “Miss Haru, is that you? Shimmer said you were nearby. She wanted to talk to you for a moment.”

How did she- oh right. Psychic. Empath. Whatever. Biting back a groan, Haru considered just ignoring Muse and moving on. But that would be rude to her, and Muse had done nothing wrong. Besides, she’d just end up hearing an earful from Shimmer later. Resigned, she stepped off the path, wood scratching at her back as she just barely squeezed under the fence. Muse waited for her at the top before leading the way back between rows of the pale-pink-leafed plants.

They made their way to a path that broke the rows in two. Muse paused to wait for Haru before continuing further down the path, where she cut back into another row. Further down the path was Shimmer, who was happily babbling on about whatever nonsense came across her brain, though she never took her eyes off Nip, who was quietly using his claws to slice berries off at the stem. He glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps but went right back to his work as soon as he saw that it was just Muse and Haru. A bit further down stood a roserade, who was looking over the crops with a stern expression, glancing back at Nip and Shimmer every once in a while.

“Ah there you are Haru, I knew I sensed a bundle of sunshine and anger.”

Haru tried her best to ignore what was probably meant to be a light-hearted jab. “What do you want, Shimmer?”

“Can’t a gal just want to talk?” Shimmer replied in a teasing tone, sauntering towards Muse. She brushed green hair away from her face before leaning against the absol. “Really though, I just wanted to get your opinion on something is all. I know it’s a ways off, but Toshi’s not gonna be around forever. I want to get him something to remember me by. At least until he’s ready to come back and settle down. You know him best. What kind of gift would he like best?”

“Peace and quiet,” Haru said without missing a beat. “In fact, both of us would like that. All you need to do is leave him alone.”

“Awww, what's the fun in that? It’s not like I’m going to message him every day to make sure he doesn’t forget me or anything.”

Haru couldn’t tell if that was a joke. She really hoped that was a joke.

“Really, though,” Shimmer continued. “It’s not like mon from this area leave all that often. Dad says we’ve had more pokemon come to the village than we’ve had leave. Getting out of the bigger towns, or settling down in something more secure than the wildener life. Like Whisper. Or your mom, in the former case. I think the last mon that moved out was… Jaques and Lotte’s dad, and that was cycles ago. Like. I was barely a hatchling long ago. And…” She leaned in and cupped one hand to the side of her mouth, lowering her voice. “I’m sure you know, but the circumstances around his leaving were rather questionable, considering he left his kids behind, and his mate had just… mysteriously vanished.”

Haru fought the urge to snap at Shimmer. “You know, it’s kind of rude to gossip about such serious matters.”

Shimmer looked taken aback. She glanced down, speaking in a mumble. “Yeah. You’re probably right. Sorry.” Then she was back to her usual hyper self. “But that’s besides the point. Back to the gifting.”

A huff escaped Haru. “Look. He’s not going anywhere for a few more seasons at least. I’m pretty sure they said they weren’t accepting any new recruits until Blue returns from the other side of the Great Misty Canyon. And that could be moons away.

At the mention of the canyon, Nip glanced up, tilting his head. But as soon as he caught Haru’s eye, he quickly averted his gaze and returned to his work.

Shimmer, however, did not miss Nip’s glance. “Did you have something to say, Nippy-Nip?” she asked in a sing-song voice.

Oh stars, she’s giving him nicknames now? Haru could feel a headache coming on.

“Nothing,” Nip grunted without looking up. He pulled another oran off the stem and dropped it into a basket.

“Come on,” Shimer said, draping one arm over Muse’s back. She waved at Nip with the other. “You know you can talk, right? Make conversation? We’re not going to bite. Well. Haru might but that’s just because she’s grumpy as usual.”

“E-excuse me?” Haru stammered.

Nip said nothing, continuing to quietly harvest the berries. For a moment, it seemed like he was just going to ignore them entirely. Then he finally said, “I…. Have to admit, it’s impressive that you can grow so many berries. So efficiently, too. But do you really have need for so many? I know orans are valuable for healing, but…”

“You have that much right,” Roselei said gruffly, approaching the group. A thorny vine shot out from under her blue flower, wrapping around the basket beside Nip. Another vine came from her red flower, and she used it to sit a fresh, empty basket to his side.

“Orans stay fresh for an obscenely long time, and are an ingredient in most healing medicines, besides just being used on their own. Everyone needs them for that, so there’s a need to grow them, and they do well in trade. Plus, they have a very smooth taste and texture, so they’re a common cooking ingredient, too.”

“Maybe you should learn a bit about growing them,” Shimmer suggested. “I’m sure that kind of knowledge would be useful up where you’re from, right?”

“It’s not like I’m going back there,” Nip grumbled. “Why would I go back where I’m unwanted? No, wait, where I’m wanted dead?”

An awkward silence fell over the group. Haru shifted uncomfortably, while Muse turned her attention elsewhere, her tail twitching. “Are we done here?” Haru asked. “I was headed home for lunch.”

Shimmer waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. If we’re putting the gifting idea on ice then we can chat later. Say hi to Toshi for me will ya?”

She certainly would not. “Sure,” she said.

Haru turned to leave. But before she could take more than a step back towards the path, Muse tensed up, holding a paw in front of her.

“Muse, what—”

“Something’s wrong,” Muse said tersely, her eyes on the sky. “Something might… it’s… There!”

The absol raised her paw to point vaguely in the direction of the village square. Haru followed the gesture. It was hard for her to pick out at first, but then she noticed something off. A ring of light pulsed in the sky, nearly the same blue, only visible against the clouds.

The first pulse was slow, like a gentle wave at the edge of a lake. But then the pulses grew faster, more frequent. Five sets of eyes stared transfixed as there was one final flash of pulsing light. A short pause followed, then something burst through the center, whizzing through the air like a falling star. But just as quick as it had appeared, Haru lost sight of it below the trees. She didn’t miss the crash that followed.

“We need to get back to town,” Shimmer said, her voice uncharacteristically firm and serious. She looked at Nip. “You, Nip, you gotta stick with us. Get on Muse’s back. I’ll run alongside. Haru, come on. You too, Roselei.”

Nip stood up, pushing the basket away, he shot Shimmer an uncertain look before complying.

“Shouldn’t we be going away from the big bang?” Haru said, incredulous. “It could be dangerous!”

Muse let out a breath as Nip climbed on her back, waiting for him to steady himself. “Come or don’t, it’s your choice, Haru. But if there are others that are hurt… we could use all the help we can get.”

With that, she turned and raced into the oran bushes, Shimmer following close behind.

“I’ll catch up with them in a moment,” Roselei said. “I’ll get a pack of orans, in case they’re needed.”

Haru looked at the roserade, then back in the direction Shimmer and Muse had gone. She really didn’t want to put herself in danger. But if there were pokemon that were hurt, and she ignored that…

She turned and ran after Shimmer and Muse.

By the time she stumbled down the slope and scooted under the fence, gasping to catch her breath, the other three were already well on their way up the path. Muse had dashed ahead, but now paused to give Shimmer a chance to catch up. Haru began to stumble in their general direction, but the others ran ahead without her, soon disappearing out of sight as the path curved around a small copse.

As she passed by the houses of other mon, they were noticeably quiet. Anxiety wormed its way into her belly. This wasn’t right. Normally there’d be at least a mon or two loitering about along the residential path. Had everyone else gone to investigate the crash? Or else, were they hiding away? She certainly wanted to hide.

Reaching the village square only worsened that feeling. The outer edges were eerily quiet; only Tor and the ghost children were nearby, Tor quietly murmuring in an admittedly awful attempt at calming them down as he herded them away.

She left them behind, catching sight of more pokemon further away, close to Ruffle’s berry stand. Or where the stand used to be, at least. Bits of wood, loose berries, and other debris had been strewn about the area. Haru weaved her way between the mess and the crowd. She caught sight of her father and began to make her way towards him, then saw Shimmer pushing her way through the gathered pokemon. Morbid curiosity won out, and she followed the kirlia, catching sound of nervous rumblings from nearby pokemon.

“I don’t like this,” Romi murmured, nervously striking her hoof against the ground. “This has to be an ill omen, right?”

“Where’s Anu?” a pidove, Numi, said. He fluttered up to settle on Romi’s back as Haru passed. “Surely, he would know, right?”

“He went to fetch Jhorlo,” Phoel said. “Said he’d be back shortly.”

An ill omen? Looking to Anu instead of a pokemon that could help with the injured, like Lecha? That was dumb. This was obviously something serious, but how was she supposed to take it seriously if all anyone was doing was striking it up as some sign from the gods?

But as she finally reached the front of the crowd, she stopped short, her mouth hanging agape.

Ruffle sat to the side, her leaves stained with berry juices and from the sap that leaked from a nasty gash along her right side. She trembled, struggling to eat an oran berry, as Twi pressed a rag to her side. Her eyes were still glued to her stand — or what was left of it, at least.

Splintered wood was bent every which way, shattered to bits. All the baskets had been upturned or destroyed, and the ground just behind was torn apart from the impact of something. A something that Lecha was now leaning over next to the impact site, her hands glowing with pulses of psychic energy.

As she moved so that she could see who Lecha was working on, she could see just how badly they were injured: sap leaked across the ground from the cuts that shredded their arms, their head, and every other part of their body. One arm was shriveled from a nasty burn, and there was at least one other nasty burn on their back.

But despite the pokemon’s mangled form, and despite the fact that the injured pokemon was something Haru had never seen for real, their shape was still recognizable enough. Her mind went back to a loosely bound book of pictures. An elderly bibarel sat beside her, flipping the page to a picture of a small green pokemon that flitted through the trees, fingers pulsing with blue energy as it prepared to travel through time.

Some way, somehow, Celebi was laying half-dead in front of her.

Chapter Text

Celebi. In front of him was Celebi. The great messenger of time. Prophet of doom and fortune. Struck down as if little more than prey.

Fear struck at Nip’s chest like burning claws. His fur bristled, but he couldn’t look away from the horrifying scene. He felt Shimmer push past him, bumping against his side as she hurried towards Celebi, healing energy already at her fingertips. He paid her little mind, his eyes still stuck on Celebi. Were they breathing? Were they alive? What could do something like this to a god?

It seemed the villagers had similar questions. Around him, he heard hushed whispers, uncertain mumbles, and panicked mumblings. He ignored them, the blood pounding in his ears drowning out their sound. 

Oh Yveltal, he silently prayed. What could do such a horrible thing?

“Out of the way!”

A yowl, louder than any other voice, finally cut through the fog of panic. 

His head held high, Jhorlo carefully picked his way through the crowd, each pawstep careful. He did not look at any of the gathered pokemon, keeping his gaze forward as the two purrloin moved ahead of him in sync, clearing onlookers out of his path. Near Muse, he came to a stop, staring down at the Celebi with an unreadable expression.

“What happened?” He asked Lecha, his voice silky smooth. “Has anyone seen what did this?”

“Don’t bother me right now,” Lecha snapped, her voice uncharacteristically sharp. “I need focus if you want me to save the fallen god. Twi! Prep a rawst and sitrus poultice. Shimmer, keep using that healing pulse. We need to stabilize him before we can move him.”

Jhorlo stared a moment longer, his eyes narrowed to slits. For a heartbeat, Nip thought he might strike Lecha for daring to talk to him like that. But instead, he turned back to the crowd, raising his voice. 

“Pokemon of Theran Village. Please return to your daily routine, if you would. Standing around gawking will help no one. Allow Lecha to do her work, and then perhaps when she is done we will get our answers.” 

A few pokemon quieted to anxious mutters, fidgeting and glancing between the felled god and the mayor. They seemed like they didn’t want to leave, and Nip couldn’t blame them.

Jhorlo cleared his throat and spoke again, his voice dropping into the slightest of growls. “That was an order from your mayor. You all have work to do, and waiting here helps no one. For the sake of the village, and all the pokemon who live here, return to your work. Or at least return to your homes and stop crowding the square. If something important changes, we will summon you all, understand?”

Reluctantly, a few of the pokemon began leaving, casting glances over their shoulders. Ruffle returned to her berry stand — or what was left of it — and heaved a sigh before beginning to inspect the wreckage for anything salvageable. From the back of the crowd, Chip approached her and began to speak in a low voice before raising a paw and waving in Nip’s general direction.

“Haru, Muse, Nip! Why don’t you three come over here and help sort this mess out.” 

Nip suppressed a wince, trying to ignore the tiredness in his limbs. Muse turned and began to walk towards the bibarel, and Nip looked over his shoulder back at Celebi. Anu was there now, having brought a sturdy wooden board to place Celebi on, in hopes of safely transporting them into Lecha’s hut. Reluctantly, he turned his attention back to the ruined stand. 

“Can you believe it?” Chip said when they drew close, keeping his voice low. “Celebi. Here. In our lifetime. When was the last time anyone heard of gods just appearing?”

“Did you call us over to gossip?” Haru grumbled. Nip shot a glance out of the corner of his eye. Despite her tone, her expression betrayed stormy feelings, surprising Nip. The way she had talked before, he was surprised she’d feel anything about the appearance of a god among them. 

“Right. Sorry,” Chip mumbled. “Anyways, I figured we could clean up while, well, while we wait. Y’know? Be good neighbors and all. Figured Nip could help, too. Doubt there would be any point in returning to what he was doing right now, right?”

“That’s quite fine, I think,” Muse said. She turned her head to look towards the medic hut. Shimmer was just disappearing through the entrance.  She kneaded the ground anxiously before returning her attention to the small gathering. “I believe Whisper would be fine with that arrangement. I… don’t want to go too far away, myself.”

Sensing that he would not get out of more manual labor, Nip sighed and began to pick over the splintered bits of wood. He, Haru, and Chip spent some time in silence, gathering pieces up and into a neat pile. At some point, Toshi joined them, taking one quick look before falling in order. Muse kept her eye on Nip, occasionally casting glances back to the hut. Ruffle worked her away around the group, gathering the smashed berries and inspecting them to see if anything was salvageable. At some point, her mate joined her and began helping, consoling the shaken Ruffle. But her eyes, too, betrayed troubled thoughts. Was she upset about the berry stand? Celebi? Or perhaps something else entirely.

“Do you think Celebi is here for a reason, Dad?”

Toshi’s voice shook Nip out of his thoughts. The younger bidoof had sat down for a minute, and was currently working at a splinter that had managed to lodge itself in his paw. Chip bent down to sniff at the paw, before reaching down to carefully pull the woodchip loose. When he stood back up, he sighed. 

“I don’t know,” the bibarel admitted. “Your Grandpa Catkin might would’a known. He studied the legends in the area, back in his youth. But I’m afraid I only ever really memorized the stories about old ‘Gigas.”

“Celebi always shows up for a reason. If he’s here, and in that condition, it can only mean trouble for all of us.” The words were out of Nip’s mouth before he even realized it. Six pairs of eyes were on him before he even finished talking. 

“Do you know something about Celebi?” Toshi asked. Haru scoffed and continued to work, though Nip didn’t miss the curious glance she shot his way. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Nip replied. “Celebi may be one of the lesser gods, but he’s the emissary of Dialga, ruler of time. Even after the gods all vanished, Celebi still appeared to mortals from time to time, often in times of great change, or great peril, to offer a choice or to offer a warning. If he’s here...” He paused, letting his words hang in the air, “then it means that something will happen that could alter the history of the world.”

His words were met with silence and stares, no one moving as the weight of his words sank in. At least, until Haru let out a huff and continued to work. “You can’t really believe that, can you? First off, that’s assuming that someone like Celebi has our best interest at heart. And second, even if that were true — which I highly doubt — why would he come here, to a frontier village, to say something?”

“Why not?” Nip countered. “It means that this, here—” he swept his paw out, gesturing to the area around him “—is where the trouble will be. Or else there’s someone here that can change it.”

“You sure know a lot about these things,” Chip said. “Did you study these sort of things?”

“Sort of.” Nip scowled. “Not by my choice. But I guess the knowledge has come in handy. And… it is rather interesting, I suppose.”

Haru paused to squint at him, but pointedly turned her back and said nothing more.

Muse was the next one to break the silence. “I just hope Shimmer is okay,” she mumbled. “I should be in there watching over her. She still hasn’t fully recovered from the mind-reading accident. What if something goes wrong? What if she gets hurt?” Her paws worked at the ground as she glanced between Nip and the medic hut.

Before she could fret further, Toshi stepped up and comfortingly pressed up against her leg. “Come on, Muse. It’s Shimmer. When have you ever known her to let something like that get her down? She’ll be fine.”

Muse glanced down at the bidoof, her fur still ruffled, but his words seemed to make her relax slightly. She sat down, taking a deep breath. “You… you’re right. I shouldn’t worry so much. Thank you, Toshi. It seems my fears were unfounded anyways. Look.”

She tilted her head up, gesturing with her nose to the medic hut, where Shimmer was emerging. The kirlia turned her head back and forth for a moment, then made eye-contact with Muse and crossed the square. Her expression was tired and serious. But as far as Nip could tell, she was fine. And before she had slowed to a stop, she was already speaking. 

“Celebi has awoken. Muse, I need you to get my dad, please.”

Muse stood up. “Jhorlo? Now? But what about—”

“Nip can come with me,” she said. “The others too, if they want. But… well, Celebi looks ready to talk. And we shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

Hesitating a heartbeat longer, Muse let out a grunt before turning to run off in the direction she’d seen Jhorlo go. Shimmer gestured for Nip and the others to follow her in the opposite direction.

Nip’s heart skipped a beat as he stood up a bit straighter. He was about to be an audience to a god. The messenger of one of the greats, at that. His shoulders tensed as he thought about what he should say. Was there anything he could say to a god? Was it even appropriate for mortals like him or any of the others to be there?

He stole a glance at Haru and narrowed his eyes. Her expression was serious, and she began to move ahead of Shimmer. Was she going too? What business did she have meeting with a god when she’d done nothing but decry them? Would she say something? Do something to put them in bad favor with Celebi? He flexed his claws without thinking. As he followed Shimmer, he just had to hope that Haru’s presence wouldn’t ruin everything.

The inside of the medic hut was exactly as Nip remembered. The same clean environment. The same pungent smell of berries. Just as he remembered it.

But one thing was off now; a god flitted about the room, floating unsteadily and mumbling under his breath. But as Celebi heard the sound of approaching pokemon, he stopped in place and slowly raised his head to stare. His pupils shrank as he looked all of them over, and a tense silence hung in the air as everyone waited breathlessly for him to speak. 

“Wow, tough crowd. You’d think that none of ya had seen me before. Oh, wait.”

There was a bright flash, and suddenly Celebi was gone. Before he could process the teleportation, Nip felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head, then sprang backwards, hissing with fur bristling, as he found himself face to face with the little god. 

“But that’s alright, you mortals are always speechless when you meet me.” Celebi giglged, then floated back into the air. “It’s good to see your village doing so well. Looks like the rebuilding efforts went great!”

Shimmer blinked. “Wait, what?”

Celebi turned away, looking at Haru. He stared at her for an uncomfortably long time before flashing a grin. “Oh, I thought for sure you were a bibarel. Saku, right? Well, congrats on finding yourself a mate. I’m sure the kids will be lovely.”

“E-excuse me?” Haru stammered. “I’m not Saku, you got me mixed up for my mom.” She paused for a second. “Wait, how do you know Mom?”

But Celebi did not answer. Instead, he raised up into the air, so that he was hovering over the entire group again. “You guys are gonna be the talk of the world soon enough, you know that? Dialga has taken great interest in the events that have transpired here. Or will transpire? I don’t remember. Maybe I hit my head too hard? I dunno. It’s all relative to the moment. But I’m here for a reason. And, well, I might as well deliver it to you all. Time stops for no one after all! Not even me!”

Nip felt frozen in place. This was Celebi, messenger of Dialga. A powerful god for all to revere. But he was behaving so… childishly? Scatterbrained, maybe? Nip struggled to follow his leaps in logic. And from the looks of the other pokemon, they were equally lost.

Hoping for answers, he took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Celebi, you say you have a message for us. Please tell us, so that we might understand Dialga’s will!”

He heard Haru huff behind him and suppressed a wince. How could she dare show such disrespect, when a god had shown himself here, physically in front of her, proving her wrong? Even if both his sudden appearance and personality were… disconcerting, did she dare risk being smote?

Celebi, too, noticed her sound. With another flash of light, he disappeared and reappeared, lounging on the floor beside her.

“What? Enamored by my power, little bidoof?”

Haru squeaked and stumbled backwards. “A-as if I would ever want anything to do with the likes of you! You come in here acting like you’re something special, but you’re just mocking us!”

Celebi placed a hand to his chest, a mock wounded expression crossing his face. “Oh, I’m hurt Haru. Hurt!” Another flash and he was on her other side. His voice dropped into a low tone as he slung one arm behind her neck, speaking directly into her ear. “You best watch yourself, dear. Not all of us take well to insults. If you stood before the great Dialga, you’d be nothing more than a sad little pile of bidoof ash.”

In response Haru growled, but before she could say anything more Celebi looped around to face everyone again. “Ah, if I knew how rude you guys would be, I never woulda agreed to warning you all. But a deals a deal, and I supoooose I should do my job.”

The light flashed again, and Celebi was gone. Nip whipped around, ears swiveling as he tried to pinpoint where Celebi had disappeared to.

“Where did-” Toshi cut off as a commotion sounded from outside.

“Citizens of Theran Village, gather to me!” Nip startled at the sound of Celebi’s voice. It came from far away, but was abnormally loud, booming loud enough to still be heard clearly.

Shimmer turned back towards the doorway. “Come on!” She urged before rushing out. Toshi and Haru stumbled after her. Nip followed at a slower, more cautious pace, his gut twisting with apprehension. Lecha followed slower still, bringing up the rear as they exited the building. 

A small group of pokemon that had remained in the square after Jhorlo’s dismissal were gathered now at the center. Celebi hovered unsteadily above them, his hands raised high as if preforming some sort of ritual motion to make his voice louder.

Ruffle was there, as was Roselei. Whisper and Anu stood just in front of the group, the hawlucha placing her claws on her mate’s shoulder as a sign of comfort. A few other pokemon that Nip recognized were also there. And from the north, Muse was rushing back. Jaques, Lotte, and Jhorlo followed just behind. 

“Great Celebi,” Anu said, lowering his paws to his side with palms facing outward. “You, voice of the forest, messenger to Dialga, the keeper of time-”

“Yeah yeah I love the praises and all. Go on, tell me more.” Celebi’s voice had returned to normal, no longer thundering across the square.

Anu blinked and sucked in a breath, but with a sudden jerk, Celebi dipped downwards to place a finger to his muzzle. 

“Shhh. Shhhh. Shhhhhhhhhhh. I was kidding. Come on. I may have all day but you don’t. My life is eternal. Yours is a fleeting speck of dust.”

The lucario stared, but stayed silent. Good, Nip thought. At least someone in this village knows how to be respectful. But the respect did little to put his heart at ease. The way Celebi was behaving. None of it lined up with the stories he’d been told as a child. Celebi was supposed to be calm. Elegent. Perhaps a bit emotionless. But the god that he saw in front of him was anything but. 

Celebi held his position for just a few seconds longer, before returning to his original position. “Now, as you were saying?”

“Right…” Anu brought a paw to just below his chest spike. “I, Anu, ask of you, what brings you to our quaint village?”

For just a heartbeat, there was a mischievous gleam in Celebi’s eyes. When he spoke, it was once again in the cacophonous voice that made Nip’s ears ring. “I have been sent here with a message… of doom!”

A few pokemon gasped. Nip’s fur began to bristle, and he could see even Anu’s tail starting to dip like he wanted to tuck it between his legs. But a squeeze on the shoulder from Whisper made the Lucario hold strong.

Celebi let his words hang for a little longer, then continued back in his normal voice. “Although… I don’t actually know what time I ended up in. Maybe the doom already happened. I dunno. Then it would make this point all moot. Let me think. Was anyone supposed to die? The square does seem to be in mostly good shape. Hm…” He pointed at someone near the front. Nip stood up on the tips of his toes and could see he was gesturing to Vale. “I don’t remember seeing you so… either I’m just in time or way wayyyy too late.”

“E-excuse me?” Vale stuttered. Static made his fur fluff up. Then he growled, eyes blazing with anger. Roselei stepped in front of him before he could do anything rash, though.

Celebi returned to his echoed voice. “Okay, okay, here’s what we’ll do. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A bunch of strange pokemon show up, cause chaos, and then a bunch of pokemon die. Sound familiar?”

“Some of it does,” Vale growled, turning away from Celebi now. He began to stalk towards Nip. Alarm seized the sneasel’s chest, and he stumbled backwards. 

“Is more death coming, Celebi?” Vale growled. “Just say the word. Say it, and I’ll rip his throat out.”Sparks danced at the manectrics jaws. Those snapping jaws that could crunch bone and snap necks and rip flesh. Nip’s breath came shallow.

“Vale!” Whisper snapped, stepping away from her mate. “We don’t have time for this. Stand. Down.”

“But you heard him,” Vale argued. “More death is coming.”

“That’s an order, Vale. Think. We haven’t heard the whole story yet.”

“No no, go on,” Celebi said. “I wanna see a fight. It should be interesting.”

A vine reached up to brush Vale’s side. Roselei walked up to stand beside him. “Just a moment ago, you were ready to round on Celebi himself. Calm down, Vale. Let us hear the whole story, first.”

The manectric growled, his lips curled into a nasty snarl, and for a heartbeat, it looked as if he might spring on Roselei. But the roserade kept her composure, and finally he backed down, pointedly turning his back on Nip. 

“Aww, I was looking forward to that,” Celebi whined. “But I know how it would have turned out anyways. Or probably, at least. I only saw one of you two. Maybe you just went and changed history. But no. He’s not one of the strange pokemon I was talking about. Trust me, you’ll know them when you see them.”

Nip’s heartbeat slowed and his breathing began returning to normal. But the apprehensive feeling in his gut remained. He brought his claws up in front of him, staring at his palms, only distantly listening to Celebi now.

“Anyways, I should wrap this up or something. So I’ll just say this. Trouble is coming. Biiiig trouble. Trouble that will affect the entire world if you don’t do something. Big scary pokemon are gonna come here and kill you all. Or something like that. I don’t remember the details. But it sure was scary. There was fire and screaming. And blood. Oh. Can’t forget about the dead bodies. At least I think they were dead. I dunno. I wasn’t there for long before the little scary guy started chasing me. And then I woke up here. Funny how that worked out. For me. Anyways. Do something or I’m going to be very, very cross with you. If there’s any of you left, anyways.”

Celebi stood up straighter, dusting his hands off. “Anyways. I think that just about covers everything I needed to tell you? I should get going before the big wispy guy gets angry- oh right I wasn’t supposed to say that. Whoops. Forget I said anything about that. Just remember the warning of doom and all that. Fix it so Dialga doesn’t get mad at me.”

“Wait, Celebi!” Anu reached out towards the little god, but he was already floating upwards. “If you have any care for us mortals, tell us what this danger is, so that we may prepare. Please!”

But Celebi ignored his pleas. He held his hands up, creating a square with his fingers. A beam shot into the air, and a square-shaped ripple appeared in the sky. He stopped just outside. “Good luck everyone, you’re gonna need it! And remember! Reality is more than it seems, life is fleeting and worthless! Buy gold! Bye!”

And with that, Celebi vanished into the ripple, and the gate through time disappeared, leaving Celebi’s parting words hanging in the minds of the distraught village pokemon.

Ruffle was the first to break the silence in a hesitant voice. “What… what should we do?”

Whisper’s expression was unreadable. “Anu… this is your area of expertise. Was that really Celebi?”

Anu grunted. He didn’t try to hide his troubled emotions. “He certainly looked like depictions of Celebi. But… his behavior, it doesn’t line up with stories about him at all.” He took a deep breath, then shook out his nerves. “Right. A plan. Regardless of… Celebi’s personality, we can’t deny the fact that he came here with a warning, and it would be foolish to ignore it. Whisper, I… I think our best course of action is to be vigilant.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Vale growled. “You’re going to take the word of that… that… whatever that thing was? I refuse to believe that that thing was Celebi How do we know he wasn’t just trying to cause chaos and distrust?”

“Aw Vale, don’t be like that,” Shimmer chided, stepping forward. “You seemed perfectly happy to believe him just a moment ago, when you could spin the story to fit your desires.”

Vale snarled, sparks dancing along his pelt. He didn’t turn to face Shimmer, but Nip could tell from his crouched posture and wild eyes that he was more than ready for a fight.

“Enough!”

Jhorlo’s voice brought silence to the small crowd. The purugly took slow, methodical steps until he was nose to nose with Vale. His eyes were narrow slits as he hissed at the manectric. “You. No matter how reasonable your concerns. You do not threaten my daughter. Do you understand me?”

Sparks danced for just a few heartbeats longer. Then Vale slumped, breaking his stare. “Yes, sir.”

“Glad we could come to an understanding.” Slowly, Jhorlo turned, walking back to stand beside Anu.”

“That aside, both Vale and Anu have a point. It is hard to trust the word of a creature as chaotic as Celebi - or whatever he may have been. But it would also be foolish to ignore it entirely, when there may be a threat to our village’s well-being. We can’t just turn away any pokemon that passes by. It would ruin our reputation, and denying entry to any rescuers or explorers going about their job would be foolhardy.

“But at the same time, we cannot just let any pokemon go about as they please during these troubled times. Here is my proposal, though I am willing to modify it if you, the villagers desire. All pokemon that pass through must keep to the village square to do their business. Those that wish to stay the night will have a curfew. Does this seem reasonable?”

The pokemon muttered amongst themselves. Nip could catch bits and pieces of their conversation. Some seemed uncertain, but most seemed amicable to the idea. 

“That brings me to the next point.” The purugly turned, and Nip couldn’t help but shrink back beneath his fierce gaze. “Our current…guests and prisoners. We cannot deny the fact that they could be the pokemon Celebi was talking about. I have misgivings about continuing their community service at the moment. Whisper, how have the sneasel and ninetales been doing thus far?”

Whisper quickly stood at attention. “Well, Jhorlo, the ninetales has been doing well. He’s hardworking, and although he has his ornery moments, he generally seems to be interested in doing his best and seems willing to adapt to our culture. Though he does act up if Nip does not return before dark. It would be best if he didn’t start a ice storm in the guard’s hut, but I’m certain it’s something we can work out with time.”

Jhorlo’s gaze was unwavering. “And the sneasel?”

Whisper hesitated, and Nip’s gut twisted as the silence grew longer and longer. “He… does seem to be a hard worker. I can’t deny that. But… he, too, has a temper. And one that he is not good at checking. I want to believe he’s getting better. That he’s understanding how to behave in our society. But I’m... concerned that all he’s done thus far has been little more than an act.”

“I see.” He sat down and began to rasp his tongue over a paw. Nip wasn’t sure anyone else saw the purugly’s claws unsheath. Was Jhorlo threatening him?

“You know, Whisper,” Jhorlo continued. “I know you’ve put a lot of work into this. No one can deny that you’ve tried. But perhaps it’s time to admit that this sneasel is unfixable. I understand your hesitations on working with the Enforcers, but perhaps it’s time to pass him off to them. I’m sure they know how to take care of someone like him.”

Nip’s breath hitched. His legs went weak, and he felt like a stiff breeze would knock him over. After all his hard work, putting up with intensive labor and barbed comments, would they just kill him anyways? Or pass him off to someone who would? How cruel could they be? He stumbled backward, his fur bristling.

But instead of acting defeated, Whisper puffed up her feathers and stood up a bit taller. “No. I’m not giving up after doing this much. I’ve worked too hard to give up now. Please, let me work with him a bit longer.”

Jhorlo stared at her for a moment, then let out a long sigh. “Very well. You may continue to work with both of them. But their hours must be limited, and they will be under the same curfew that any passing pokemon would . And I would like to request one other thing from you.” He turned to face Vale. “As you know, we do have one other foreign pokemon among us. Umbra has been staying with me for some time now. And while I do trust her, I would like to request a guard remain with her while she goes about her buisness, just in case she is one of the pokemon Celebi mentioned. Allow me to borrow Vale for the next moon, until we can… ascertain what pokemon Celebi spoke of, or else that the threat has passed.”

Whisper tilted her head. “If you believe that is the best course of action, I will defer to your judgment. But only for the moon. If you wish to use him longer, we’ll have to discuss this again then. Fair?”

“Very,” Jhorlo replied. “But we will be revisiting the sneasel’s progress on the same day. Those are my terms. Not every pokemon is suited for village life, but when they wrong us on our territory, well. Someone has to pay the price.” 

Jhorlo let his words hang between Whisper and Nip before speaking louder, addressing the entire gathered group of pokemon. “This day has shaken many of you, I am certain. But in these trying times, we must remain vigilant in heart and in faith. Celebi may not have met our expectations, but we must believe that doesn’t apply to all gods. Stay on guard, watch out for one another, and if you see any suspicious activity, report it to myself or Whisper. That is all.”

With that, Jhorlo turned and began to pad methodically back home. Whisper gave Vale an acknowledging grunt, then the manectric followed after. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse, uneasy mutters filling the air.

Nip, however, did not move. Not until he felt a nudge along his back. He spun, letting out an alarmed squeak.

The gentle eyes of Muse faced him down. “Come on,” she said in a gentle tone. “We should get you back to your cell, before any other... excitement happens.”

For a second the thought of making a run for it bubbled up in Nip’s head. Jhorlo had nearly sent him away, despite everything he’d done thus far. But if he tried to run again, Umbra would follow. And then she’d kill him, if someone else didn’t first.

And he was so, so tired.

With a bit of coaxing, he began to shuffle forward, his gaze kept to the ground. Despite all that, Whisper, of all pokemon, had insisted on giving him another chance. It didn’t make sense. Even with everything he’d been told about her, he couldn’t fathom why she’d be willing to help him now. 

But that was only the tip of his iceberg of troubled thoughts. His mind drifted back to Celebi. To his fickle and flippant nature. 

Celebi is one of the calmest, most composed gods of all, he remembered hearing once, on a cold winter night. He must be, to be able to travel through time undeterred by the horrors he’d see. 

Nip had been taken to the Wall of Stories, a place within the caves where the elders painted their history. It was there where he’d learned of Xerneas and Yveltal and the Original One and many others. Including Celebi. But the Celebi in those stories was so, so different. Were the stories about Celebi wrong?

Here, in front of him, Celebi had proven to be anything but calm and composed. And if Celebi, a god known by most all, a common point in many pokemon cultures, was nothing like the stories, then what did that say about other stories. Were they wrong as well?

What did that say about Yveltal? What did that say about him? Everything he had done in his life, he’d done so because he believed it was just in the eyes of Yveltal. Or, if nothing else, that Yveltal would understand his flaws and his reasons, and make her judgment accordingly. But what if Yeveltal was as callous and flippant as Celebi? Or what if Yveltal was harsh and uncaring? What if she cared not for his reasons, only for his actions?

As he stumbled through the doorway into the hut, he didn’t even look up to greet Tempest. His eyes were glued to his claws. Bits of shell and fluid clung to them, glistening even in the darkness of the nursery den. The unmoving form of a half-formed child lay at his feet. It would take a long time to wash it out, and even then, the image would still be seared into his mind-

He blinked and the vision was gone. The ground below him wasn’t dirt and dried grass, but roughly cut wood. He was in the guard hut, not in the tribe. Not with the pokemon that he had spurned and run from, but amongst pokemon that hated him for different reasons.

For nearly the past moon, he’d put up with the hard labor, viewing it as a safe haven to protect him from Umbra. But his heart was never in it. It was just a means to an end. When it was over, he’d return to his lonely life and live wild, but free, until Yveltal felt it necessary to reclaim him.

But now, with his future uncertain, the guilt of what he’d done here, and the guilt of what he’d done all those moons ago, was catching up fast. 

Chapter Text

"Let's see. Merry's team is out logging for firewood and building supplies right now. They'll need rest when they get back, but then I could shift half of them on to this project…"

A blue furred paw pressed on a piece of paper. In the corner of a tent, a vaporeon lay in a nest of dried grass and braken, studying the list of duties he'd created. Occasionally, he would pause, his tail flicking, and mumble some thought before continuing down the list, oblivious to the sounds of construction outside.

Across from him, a gogoat stood at attention, waiting for orders. His gaze drifted to the list, to the vaporeon, then to other paperwork scattered about. He shuffled slightly, letting out a puff. His breath drifted away in a cloud of mist, and he shifted, letting his attention waver again. It was far, far too cold for his liking.

The vaporeon finally paused, though he did not look up from the list.

"Ganlon, has Farrin returned from his scouting mission yet?"

Ganlon snapped back to attention, scraping a hoof across the ground. "Not yet, Blue, sir. But he should be back any minute now."

Blue did not look up. "Good, good. When he gets back, tell him to report to me. In the meantime, gather up all the obligates and tell them to report to the center of camp by sunhigh. I need to discuss hunting with them."

Ganlon's expression shifted into unease. He shuffled one hoof across the ground, catching on the cloth covering. "Sir, with all due respect, you can't seriously plan to let pokemon hunt, right?"

Blue finally looked up. His gaze was cool, emotionless. "What choice do I have? Traveling through the Ravine was more arduous than I expected. We've already used up a significant portion of our jerky stores on the journey here, and the remainder can only feed us for so long. I understand your concern." He locked eyes with the gogoat. "But we're in uncharted territory now. Outside of civilization. I have pokemon I have to take care of. And if I have to bend the rules a little to make sure everyone is fed, I will."

He paused, tilting his head up. His finned tail thumped against the ground twice before he continued. "It's not ideal. I understand that it's dangerous to hunt when we don't know the type of pokemon that live here or how they might react. I can't even be certain how many teams will bring themselves to kill, even for survival's sake. But that's the reality the Original One left behind for us. Everyone knew that, and what they were getting into when they signed up for this expedition."

Ganlon hesitated before finally relaxing his posture, though his grim expression remained. "Very well," he grumbled. "I don't like it, but I understand. I'll be taking my leave."

The gogoat turned and pushed through the tent flap muttering under his breath. Before Blue could continue his work, however, another pokemon — a lithe boltund — poked her head through the tent flap.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but Mago has contacted the courier on duty. She said she has an urgent message for you."

Blue's expression darkened. "Urgent? I'll be right there."

He waited until the boltund left, then stood and stretched. He'd been working on his list of responsibilities for his followers since dawn, and there were still more assignments to sort out. Of the most concern at the moment was hunting. Every pokemon he'd brought knew how to fight; defending oneself outside of societal boundaries was an important skill for any explorer. But even among the carnivores on his crew, few of them had ever had to hunt for their own food — or at least, few had ever admitted to it. And despite knowing they might have to live without society's laws for a time, he wondered how many of them would find it within them to go through with it.

As he exited his tent, midmorning light and the sounds of construction greeted him. Several pokemon milled about, either working on a chore or else waiting for orders. He waved his tail to greet a team consisting of a fennekin, an espeon, and a vulpix, who were busily cleaning out a fire pit. And he nodded his head to a haxourus and meganium as they passed carrying lumber, headed to a dugout where their other team members were assembling the framework of what would eventually be a basement. And above it, there would be a cabin. It wouldn't be the finest structure they'd ever built, but the gold and brown leaves that filtered from the trees signified that autumn had already sunk its claws into the region. Winter would come soon after. He didn't want his society members to be without shelter when the frost came.

Near the center of camp, a wood platform had been hastily constructed. Several essential jobs were performed on or around it. On one side, a pawful of pokemon were busy preparing lumber. On the other, a line of pokemon waiting for their daily rations stretched from a larger tent and wrapped around the side.

Blue squeezed between the queue, passing a sunflora and a panpour heatedly debating whether they had time to plant any of their berry seeds and which ones were hearty enough to survive the winter. On the center of the platform, an indeedee lounged against a tall wooden stool. Her eyes were closed, and her pensive expression told Blue that she was likely deep in telepathic conversation with someone far away. She opened her eyes just as Blue reached her and gestured for him to follow her to a secluded corner a little further past the mess tent.

Blue wasted no time once they were away from any prying ears, speaking before he had even sat down. "Echo, you said you received a message from Mago? What news has she sent?"

Echo shook her head, taking a seat on a haphazardly assembled stool in the corner of the tent. "Impatient today, sir? Mago sends her regards. She's glad to hear we made it through the dungeon. On her end, she says things have been mostly smooth."

Blue tilted his head. The tip of his tail thumped against the ground. "Mostly?"

The indeedee closed her eyes, crossing her arms. "She said a zoroark came through about half a moon ago. Came to speak to her and claimed trouble was coming. Unfortunately, we were in the dungeon already when the message arrived, and the psychics couldn't pick up our signal until I reestablished the connection this morning."

His tail stopped. Maneth? He let out a slow breath. It was probably nothing, but… "What sort of trouble?"

Echo shrugged. "Don't know. I was told the details were too sensitive to transmit. That it's probably nothing, but that Mago didn't want to take any unnecessary risks."

Anxiety churned in Blue's belly. He took a deep breath to fight off urge to let it consume him. Relax. Don't let it show. You've hidden worse. Still, even as he shook out his nerves, the unsettled feeling remained. The last thing he needed right now was trouble bad enough that Maneth and Progne were contacting him over it.

"Very well," he finally said, relieved that his voice remained steady and authoritative. "My message to Mago is that she is to continue to monitor the situation. Let me know if anything changes."

The indeedee closed her eyes. "Understood."

Blue waited for some time, in case there was anything else important that he needed to hear. When it seemed like there would be nothing more, he prepared to excuse himself. But just as he stood, Echo spoke up again.

"I'm receiving another transmission. You have a message from Yellow. She's requesting a direct link."

Really? Wasn't he dealing with enough stress already? Blue suppressed a groan. But saying no would just create more issues later. Might as well get it over with.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he cleared his mind, locking away sensitive thoughts and memories that he didn't want prodded. Although he trusted Echo to be as safe as possible and not try to dig into his memories, he learned long ago that he could never be too careful. "Very well."

A few heartbeats passed as he felt a small, sharp prick in his head, followed by a building, unpleasant pressure at the back of his skull. Then the pressure suddenly vanished and almost at once a voice echoed in his head.

Finally, Yellow grumbled, her voice as sharp as always. Mind telling me why you crossed the ravine without talking to Red and I?

Just what he expected. Trouble. He pictured the jolteon in his head, remembering her spiky yellow fur and ever-intense expression before he replied. It's honestly nothing nefarious, Yellow. We were in a hurry. We need to make a permanent base before first snowfall, and we couldn't wait for you or red to send us help.

You're making excuses. Why didn't you just wait until spring? We could have had enforcers and guild members arrive ahead of time and help you with preparations, if going now is such a big deal. Or, Mew's Curse, here's a better idea. Just wait. We can't even solve our own problems right now. Why go looking for more?

Blue tried to suppress a sigh, but it still escaped into his mental stream of thoughts. I understand your point. But I didn't feel comfortable waiting any longer. Northern society has been isolated since the Great War. The longer we wait to make contact, the more likely it'll be that contact brings trouble.

Maybe they're better without our help. The thought must have escaped Yellow's mind before she could contain it, because she quickly added, Would it really have made a difference if you'd waited a few more seasons? We waited this long.

I'm not talking about this right now, Blue replied sharply.

A silence passed where both kept their thoughts private. Then, with a sigh, Yellow conceded. Well, you're already there, so you might as well see this through. Just keep us updated. And remember, we can't send any help until spring. You're on your own now.

I knew the risks when I came here, you don't have to remind me.

Another sigh. …Ho-Oh's blessings go with you, Blue. I pray you don't need them.

There was a quiet pop sound as the two psychics severed the connection, then Blue was alone with his thoughts. And a massive headache. The throbbing pain only worsened as he let his worries loose, no longer shielding them from prying minds.

As much as he hated to admit it, Yellow was right. At least, partially right. They had enough issues to deal with just trying to keep society running without going and trying to find out if there were any settlements north of one of the world's deadliest dungeons.

After giving a quiet thanks to the indeedee, he slipped out of the tent and returned to his own, curling up in the grassy nest.

What were they doing here, trying to fold more pokemon into society? As it was, they were already struggling to keep all their pokemon fed and happy while still keeping peace with wildeners. Scavenging only went so far, and Yellow's capital punishment for violent offenders was a shoddy dressing for an infected wound. How could the creators be so cruel? To gift all pokemon with knowledge, but curse some to need to eat others to survive?

Oh, right. They let a war fester under them until it got so bad that they had to intervene. They'd always been careless. At least one of them was working to make amends, though. Not that it had done much good so far.

But that's why I'm really here, he tried to tell himself. If we're lucky, perhaps the pokemon up here have a better solution.

And if they didn't?

Blue curled into a tighter ball. If they didn't have answers… Well, he just hoped he hadn't come for nothing.

The forest was unnaturally silent. The thick canopy of leaves shrouded the depths of The Forest of Ancients. What little light made it to the ground dappled dirt paths and thick undergrowth. Giant trees stretched high into the sky, their boughs obscured by smaller ones. No wind blew through the depths. No leaves stirred. No pokemon stirred, either, but one exception.

Head low, a single stantler trudged down one of the twisting paths, occasionally swaying with exhaustion. His eyes seemed to hint at wariness. But he was far more weary. There were no other pokemon here. He'd made certain of that.

The path opened into a clearing, a dead end with the largest tree yet at its center. For just a second, he glanced back, tapping one hoof on the ground. Then he charged directly towards the tree.

And passed right through it.

He was in another clearing, this one empty. The stantler shook his head, then the illusion dissolved, leaving an exhausted-looking zoroark in his place. He looked around the clearing, blinked, then reached into his bag and pulled out a gnarled, twisted piece of wood that looked like had seen better days.

Maneth may have created these illusions himself, but he was too tired to remember the path forward.

Holding the guiding wand up, the tip lit up with energy, glowing brighter when he pointed it in a specific direction. He followed the light, letting it take him through layer after layer of distortion. Backups of backups of illusions. Until he finally reached the true center of the dungeon.

Mew's Temple had seen better days. Much of the once-polished stone had become overgrown with moss, ivy and all sorts of plant matter. He'd done what he could to preserve any art or text, as had the attendants who had come before him. But he was only one pokemon. Once, there had been many attendants, keeping the temple in pristine condition. But that had been well before his time. When the war was still fresh on everyone's minds. Before Arceus' order. Now it was only him. Him and…

"Uncle Maneth! You're back!"

From the yawning opening of the temple entrance, a sentret scurried out, scampering over boulders and down dilapidated steps. He ran a circle around Maneth, jumping into the zoroark's fluffy mane.

Seeing the tiny scrap returned a bit of energy to Maneth's eyes. "Whoa there, Junior! Give me some time to settle down. We can't all be full of energy like you." The sentret laughed, then sprang out of Maneth's hair to land in his arms. Maneth shifted so that he was holding the sentret in one arm, putting away the wand before giving him a scratch behind the ears. "What are you doing out here, squirt?"

"I came to see you. I learned a new move yesterday. Watch! Watch!"

The sentret sprang out of his arms. He frowned, concentrating as he raised himself onto his tail. Then he sprang forward, lashing out blindly with his claws before turning back. "Did you see? Did you like it? Progne called it 'fury swipes!' Isn't it cool?"

Maneth smiled with a level of tenderness he gave few others. The kid was growing up so fast. A far cry from the tiny scrap he'd frightened moons ago.

"Amazing work, Junior. Keep it up." He dropped down on all fours to give the sentret an affectionate nuzzle and a lick behind the ears. "Another season or two and you just might be ready to evolve." Junior's eyes widened, then he cheered and began running circles around the zoroark again. Maneth stood back up. "Now, I'd love to see more, but it'll have to be later. Right now I need to talk to Progne. Do you know where he is?"

Junior's smile faltered. He curled inward, flicking his tail anxiously. For heartbeats, Maneth stopped breathing, a pit forming in his stomach. His ears swiveled back and forth, as if searching for some unknown danger.

"They're inside," Junior finally said, voice quieter than before. "They've been no fun lately. Always worrying. They were very upset just before you came home…"

"Well, Progne has a lot to worry about," Maneth said, his tone serious. "I'll go check on him. Stay near the temple."

Before the sentret could say anything more, Maneth leapt over him, scrambling up the crumbling steps and into the old temple, hoping that his fear-scent would go unnoticed by Junior. He did not stop to admire the old drawings, or to crawl into his nest, a simple bed of moss and ferns situated near the entrance. All his weariness had left him.

He found his patron at the back of the temple, floating in front of an old, disused altar. Tiny pink forepaws clutched at the side of their head, and their tail hung limp, the tip twitching slightly. Maneth couldn't hear from where he stood, but he could tell they were muttering under their breath. Heart sinking, he rushed forward, but Progne didn't turn to acknowledge him.

It was terrifying, seeing Mew in this state.

Maneth opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, letting out a slow breath. No matter how long he served the god, he never found it easier to comfort them. Slowly, he leaned in and pressed his forehead against Progne's back, and after a pause, the mew's tail brushed against Maneth's side.

For some time, they stayed there in silence. God and humble servant. Only the sound of Maneth shifting into a more comfortable position broke the quiet.

"I lost contact with Victini."

Maneth didn't react right away, caught off guard by the mew's broken silence. Then he stiffened, ears perking up as he turned to stare at Progne.

"Wait, Tinny? How? What happened? Was he still being chased?"

The mew took a long breath and lowered their paws, leaning against the edge of the altar as if to steady themselves. There was a vacant look in their eyes that put Maneth on edge. "He was. At least, he thought he was. Last night, he told me he thought he was still being followed. He cut the connection so he could focus on moving. I tried to reconnect with him after the sun rose but… nothing. He hasn't replied. What if something went wrong? Oh, stars, I should be out there looking for him but-"

Maneth rested a forepaw on Progne's back. "You're doing everything you can without drawing attention to yourself," the zoroark soothed. "I'm sure Tinny is fine. I mean, by the stars, Progne, he may not be as powerful as you, but he's still a god!"

Progne's response was dull, sullen. "Then why hasn't he answered me?"

The zoroark's paw shifted slightly, as if starting to hesitantly shift away. The subtle change told Progne all he needed to know. Maneth didn't have an answer to that. But then he pressed his paw back, firmer this time.

"Give him time. I know it's concerning but… you have so much to worry about. Focus on one thing at a time. If you don't hear from him soon, then you can worry."

Another long, slow breath escaped Progne as they tried to relax. "You… are probably right. I need to prioritize." They pushed off of the altar to free float, and Maneth's paw slipped away. "I guess I should ask you how your visits went, since they're… slightly related."

Pushing himself to his feet, Maneth stood at attention. The comforting moment had passed, and now they were back to business. "Red and Yellow are doing well. They said they would keep an eye out for trouble."

Progne tilted his head. "Only Red and Yellow? What about Blue?"

"Blue wasn't there. He has… pushed head to the next stage of Unity. I spoke with Mago, who told me he was headed north. By now, he's probably through the Great Misty Ravine."

"Already?" A subtle wave of psychic energy pulsed from Progne, disturbing the dust around them. Their tail twitched, though whether out of worry, agitation, or something else, Maneth wasn't sure. "Well… it's early, but I guess we'll just have to hope he can make contact with some of the others. Stars, finding Cresselia and getting her to contact me would be ideal. It would make assessing the state of northern society so much easier." They hesitated. "If Blue has already moved this far along, you might as well nudge the others on your next trip out. The sooner he has backup, the better."

Maneth hunched, drawing inward, and did his best to suppress a sigh. He only just got back, and Progne was already talking about his next trip. Didn't he deserve a break? Or at least a nap?

Then again… he owed his life to Progne. It wasn't right to be ungrateful. Pushing his exhaustion away, he stood back up. "Right. Understood. Do you have anything else you want me to do?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes, actually. Yesterday, about half a day before I lost contact with Victini, I briefly sensed Celebi's presence. Not in the same place, and not for long. But Celebi wouldn't let me establish a connection." Progne shook their head, drooping slightly. "Seems like that's becoming more or more common these days." They perked up again. "But that's besides the point. I need to know why Celebi showed up."

Maneth's hind claws dug into the stone, and his ears flattened for a few heartbeats before he realized what he was doing. He shook away any signs of frustration, but the negative feeling still seeped into his tone. "Let me guess, you want me to go check out the area he showed up in. And do damage control if necessary?"

"Correct. The sooner, the better."

"Understood. But…" Maneth sank to the ground, letting out a yawn. "Could I maybe rest for an evening first?"

The mew blinked, as if they hadn't even thought about the mortal need for sleep. Then, after a heartbeat of hesitation, they floated forward to brush their muzzle against Maneth's. "Of course you can. In fact, I think I'll join you. You have no idea how much I need to relax right now."

The flickering flame of a dying campfire lit up a forest clearing, creating a small, bright spot against the darkened trees. A small pot hung over the fire, though the food inside had long since been eaten. Two pokemon sat on a flat rock near the fire bed, watching the flames die. One was a treecko, a small bag with a badge pinned to it slung over her shoulder. The other was a charmander, her eyes half closed as exhaustion from the day's travels caught up with her. Still, she wore a content smile on her face as she leaned against the treecko. Each held a cup in their hands.

"Good job out there today," she mumbled, puffing out a contented sigh.

The treecko gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You too. I think we made great progress on our research. Do you think Blue will be proud?"

"I hope so. I hope he checks in with headquarters soon. You think he's finished crossing the dungeon yet?"

"Probably. I'm sure Mago can tell us when we get back to headquarters."

Treecko glanced down to her cup, watching the tiny ripples of water as she tilted it slightly. Then she smiled and lifted it. "Here's to another successful expedition!"

The charmander giggled and toasted, then the two settled into playful banter and laughter as the last of the fire died away. For once they could relax, their world at peace.

Then there was a loud crack in the distance, followed by rustling and the creaking of wood. Both girls went dead silent, the jovial atmosphere evaporating in an instant. Even the distant sounds of local wildeners had fallen to uncomfortable emptiness.

"What was that?" the treecko whispered.

"I don't know," the charmander replied in an equally hushed voice, cupping her claws over her tail flame as if it would make any difference. After a couple seconds, she tossed away her water and tried to hide it with her cup, with slightly more success. "We didn't catalog any large wildeners living in the area…"

The two went silent again. Though there were no other sounds as loud as the crack, there were certainly other noises. Raised voices, barked instructions, someone crashing through undergrowth.

The charmander glanced uncertainly at her partner. "Should we… check it out?"

"I think we have to," the treecko said as she stood up, hastily kicking dirt over their campfire. "It's our job as explorers to investigate anomalies." One hand went into her bag, readying an iron thorn. The charmander, meanwhile, pulled her tail in front of her, keeping the flame hidden as she kicked dirt to snuff out the last of the campfire.

For a while, they followed the sounds, aided only by moonlight and the bit of flame that escaped the charmander's cover. The voices soon grew louder, and before long, they began to see flickers of light ahead. The duo slowed down, moving at a cautious crawl as they approached the voices, some of which were now loud enough to hear.

"Hold it down!"

"Careful! You don't want to damage it too much!"

"Commander Zaid will be here soon! Hurry up!"

The treecko pointed to a nearby tree and began to climb it as quietly as she could, clinging to the trunk with sticky fingers while holding the thorn in her mouth. The charmander watched as her partner crept out onto a branch, guiding her forward with the wave of one hand. She moved forward past a few more trunks and then behind the shelter of a rock. Carefully, she peeked over the edge. They were finally close enough to see. There was a whole group of pokemon in a clearing ahead - at least, she thought they were pokemon. Some of them certainly looked like pokemon, like the honchkrow at the center. But others…

There was something… off about their appearance. Something wrong. There was one that looked vaguely avian, similar in size to a staravia. But it's body was geometric. Angular. Inorganic. Another one was similar to a wartortle, but much bigger. And then there were some that looked almost like pokemon they knew, but not quite right. Like a torchic that had two tufts of orange feathers on either side of their head, instead of the normal orange and yellow crest.

The nearest pokemon were facing away from them, forming a loose circle around the honchkrow, who seemed to be holding something down. Or… someone? One of the pokemon, a short-eared umbreon, stepped towards the center, holding a paw up for silence.

"You gave us a good chase for quite a while, didn't you?" The umbreon said. "But we finally caught you."

She looked around to the rest of the gathered pokemon. "Now that we've captured Victini, we are one step closer to our goals. Finding and acquiring the rest of our targets should be much easier with his powers."

"Like I would help the likes of you, you-" The insult was cut off by dull thud and a shrill cry. The charmander cupped her hands over her jaws, stifling the gasp that threatened to escape.

"That's right, keep quiet. We have ways of making you work."

The charmander's gaze tilted upwards into the tree. She could see anxious eyes looking down at her and knew her partner was on the same page. They needed to do something. But they had no hopes of winning this fight. And by the time they got to the nearest town and got help, these pokemon would be long gone.

Suddenly, Treecko's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to cry out an alarm, but before she could make a sound, something whizzed by overhead. It collided with the tree and then with a cacophonous boom, it exploded in a blaze of fire, shredding the tree and sending shards of burning wood in all directions. Charmander dropped to the ground, deafened. Something sharp struck her in the side, and she opened her mouth to scream, a plume of smoke escaping her jaws.

Before she could recover, someone picked her up from behind, grabbing her just beneath the arms. She let out a small cry. At least, she thought she did, but she couldn't hear it. Her eyes darted to the side, and she saw the treecko on the ground, burnt and unmoving. She had to be alive, right? But Charmander couldn't tell.

Her hearing was starting to return now, and she caught snippets of rough, angry voices.

"… You bring… forest why don't you?" one unfamiliar voice said. "Was that really necessary?

Someone behind her, though not the one that was holding her, replied, "You have no right to question me. It was ab-so-lutely necessary. The Lady ordered no witnesses. Staying hidden is a necessity. I am simply carrying out her demand."

"But sir, people are going to notice this, don't you think? Every feral in this forest would have heard that!"

"And they'd know better than to come here. Are you questioning your commander?"

"N-no, of course not, sir!"

"Then get to it."

Before anything could happen, however, the honchkrow let out a startled cry. Victini struggled to his feet, wreathed in flames. In some last-ditch effort, he threw the honchkrow off and charged towards the pokemon holding the charmander, colliding with them. She was thrown from the pokemon's grip, tumbling to a heap a few steps away.

Victini bounced to the ground nearby, landing unsteadily on his feet. He screeched an unintelligible warning to the charmander, flinging her away from the attackers using psychic energy and taking off on his own. She recovered quickly this time, scrambling forward on all fours with wide, terrified eyes.

She made it out of the clearing before catching a glimpse of something in the corner of her eye.

A blur of movement. She felt pain at her neck, then something sticky running down her scales. She collapsed, thrashing, blood pooling around her.

No no no, not here! I have to get back! Have to… warn…

She could still hear the voices far away, muffled as if she were underwater. She swore she heard something about a presence. A small creature, barely more than a blur of white and orange, passed in front of her vision. She heard the victini screaming before his screams suddenly cut off. For a moment, she swore she saw the flickering vision of a tree, leafless and decaying. And then, even that faded, and her world went dark.

Chapter Text

No…No!

Muse jerked awake with a gasp, eyes wide with fear. She sprang to her feet, her claws enveloped with shadowy energy. Her gaze darted about the dark room, illuminated only by a sliver of moonlight. No one else was here. It was just her, her nightmares, and the throbbing pain in her horn.

She relaxed slowly, the tension leaving her body. Exhausted, she sank back into her bedding, ignoring the stray bits of straw that she’d thrown about in her sleep. She could fix that in the morning when she wasn’t so distressed.

“Musey?”

Muse had failed to notice the creaking of floorboards outside, or that her door had been opened. Shimmer stood in the doorway, eyes glowing with psychic energy. She crept into the room, kneeling by the absol’s side. 

“Muse, what happened? Are you having another premonition?”

Muse looked up towards Shimmer, locking eyes with her. For a moment she was lost in those eyes, and her heart ached to tell Shimmer all her worries, like she used to. But something held her back. She couldn’t tell her. Not yet. The throb in her horn forbade it, made her fear the consequences, scared her of hurting her dearest friend. So, she took a deep breath and, as she always had, hid the pain.

“No, it was only a bad dream.”

Shimmer furrowed her brow, then scooted forward and turned so that she was laying against Muse’s side with an arm draped over her. Her tiny fingers ran through the absol’s fur, providing a hint of comfort. “Oh, Muse. I’m sorry. I wish I could do more to help you.”

Muse bowed her head, resting it against Shimmer. “Your company helps me more than you know.”

For a while, the two stayed in that position, content. Or at least, Muse feigned contentment. But inside, despite Shimmer’s presence, her stomach still churned with worry.

And deep inside, she knew something was very wrong. Something worse than the feeling she’d gotten around that mawile, even. She knew she needed to tell someone else about her premonition. But she couldn’t involve Shimmer, not when it was this bad. Not without running it by someone wiser.

But if she couldn’t involve Shimmer… who else could she trust? Toshi? He was kind, but he had no power to do anything. Perhaps…

As she drifted off, an idea came to her. Someone that, while perhaps not ideal, she felt she could at least trust to help.

But as she closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep, she decided she could worry about that in the morning.

The smell of petrichor clung to Haru’s lungs as she took a deep breath stretched in the weak morning light. The air still felt damp after a shower had passed through before dawn. Perfect weather for a bidoof. She let her breath out slowly, soaking up what little warmth she could get. Autumn was certainly in full swing by now, with the leaves starting to turn a golden color that matched the local mystery dungeon. Soon, short frosty days would drive her to huddle down in her nest for longer and longer.

“Timber!” The sound of her mother’s voice and creaking wood caught Haru’s attention. She turned to watch as a tree several paces down the path tottered before falling away from her. Haru paused her own work of chewing branches off another felled tree, observing as her mom gave the tree a quick look-over and let out a satisfied grunt.

“That one should make for some good firewood,” Saku said, thumping it once with her broad tail. Haru bobbed her head in agreement. Winter was still a couple moons off, but they needed all that time to prepare. The whole town would be needing firewood soon enough.

“Do you want me to start removing the branches after I finish this one?” Haru asked. While waiting for an answer, she turned back and started to gnaw at another branch.

“Yes, but you can do that after lunch. For now, why don’t you load some of those branches and take them back home, dear? Your brother can finish them later.”

When? Haru thought, a frown forming on her face. When he’s done playing guard for the local criminal? To her mother, she didn’t respond right away, taking a moment to finish chewing off the branch she already started. Once done, she dipped her head before dragging a few of the branches into a small cart, stepping into an attached harness. Her mother helped tighten the straps. Then she began to pull, straining against the weight, struggling to take the first few steps. Slowly it began to move, and with momentum now on her side, she took off back towards town at a steady gait.

Her route took her back into the outskirts, where she passed dozens of rows of berry bushes. She’d reached Roselei’s farm. She slowed to a stop and — with a bit of effort — loosed the straps enough to come out of the harness. If she remembered Toshi’s hasty explanation before he’d dashed out on breakfast this morning, this is where he was watching Nip work. Curiosity got the better of her. She stood on her hind legs, then climbed onto one of the wooden rails of the fence running along the path. With the added height she could just barely see the tip of a green feather dipping up and down.

Returning to her cart for only a moment, she wedged one of the branches against the wheel to act as a temporary brake, then scrambled under the wooden fence and into the field. She passed oran bush after oran bush — the most common berry that the grass-type couple grew.

Before long, she reached the row where Nip was working, reaching up to pull the orans from the bush and place them into a straw basket. Roselei was nearby, picking from plants on the opposite side of the path. When one of the baskets filled, she’d raise a vine into the air, and a local avian, an unfezant, would take the basket and fly it back to the farmhouse. He came for another pass just as she arrived, giving Haru the chance to see Nip shrink back when he dove, as if he expected to be carried off like a piece of prey. For the briefest heartbeat, she felt a pang of pity, before reminding herself that he didn’t deserve sympathy.

He could use a little fear, anyways, she thought.

Toshi, who was standing a few paces down the row, noticed Haru approaching. He stood on his hind paws for a moment, then ran over to greet Haru with an affectionate headbutt.

“Hey, sis, what are you doing here?” he asked after taking a step back.

“I was just passing by, and I wanted to see how you were doing,” Haru explained. “How are things?”

“Good.” Toshi glanced back watching as Nip tossed a couple more berries into the basket. “Everything’s been quiet. There’s been no trouble at all.” He hesitated, his cheerful expression faltering. “Actually… I’m getting a little bit worried, if I’m being honest. I know I didn’t have a lot of interactions with Nip, but he’s been acting… weird since the incident with Celebi. Subdued. I think he was really bothered by what happened.”

Haru groaned inwardly. Not the celebi again. The small god’s appearance had been shocking to her, to put it lightly. After all her insistence about how the gods were either useless or non-existent, she’d been proven wrong on one theory, and right on the other. And yet… as much as it made her want to feel smug, to tell everyone else that she told them so, that she knew these godly pokemon were bad news… it left a sour taste in her mouth. Celebi’s ditzy, useless behavior was almost everything she’d feared. The only thing that could have made it worse was if he’d been malevolent; and she still couldn’t be certain he wasn’t.

Instead of that, she voiced another thought that she thought might be controversial. “I don’t see how you can show any sort of sympathy after everything he’s done!” Her voice came out in a loud whisper. She glanced at Nip to see if he showed signs of noticing. But if he did, he said nothing. His posture didn’t change. Not even the twitch of an ear. In fact, he barely looked up from the ground, reaching mindlessly for another berry.

“I know I probably shouldn’t,” Toshi admitted. “But I can’t help it. I keep thinking about how I would have acted in his paws. And… I dunno. He made a lot of mistakes, but don’t we all?”

“Not everyone’s mistakes result in the deaths of children,” Haru pointed out flatly. “I don’t know why I have to keep repeating myself here.”

“Fair…” Toshi hesitated. “But even so… look at him. Have you ever seen a pokemon look so beaten down?”

Haru followed his gaze as he turned to look back at Nip, squinting against the sun to get a better look. Now that he mentioned it… Nip didn’t look as well kept as usual. His fur truck up in spots, as if he hadn’t groomed properly in days, and he worked quietly and sluggishly without looking up.

Her attention was turned back to Toshi as he continued. “Even if you’re not concerned by Nip, think about everyone else affected by this. I know how you feel about pokemon like Celebi or Regigigas, but all those stories are important to some pokemon. I mean… think about how shaken up Anu must be, on top of everything he and Whisper have already been through in the past moon.”

Haru felt a twinge of guilt twist her gut. She wanted to argue but… but it didn’t feel right to. She wanted to say she told them so, to point out that she’d told everyone that the gods either didn’t exist or didn’t care about them. That they weren’t worth wasting breath and prayers over. Even so… though frustrated, she didn’t want to upset pokemon that were already hurting by sticking her paw in her mouth. She’d done enough of that already.

“I should… probably get home,” she finally said, averting her gaze. “I’ve got firewood to get back and other things to take care of. See you tonight?”

Toshi stared at her for several heartbeats. Just a little too long, to make the moment more awkward than it already was. Then he closed his eyes and dipped his head. “Alright. See you tonight, sis.” With that, he turned to pad back to the working group, leaving Haru to walk by herself back to the road.

After dropping off her branches and a brief conversation with her dad – in which she found out that he’d been distracted and burned everyone’s meal - Haru decided to take a lunch break and head to town for food. She suspected this, too, was a result of being stressed by Celebi’s appearance. The way others were acting was really starting to get on their nerves. What had they expected? Before being proven real, the gods had already proven themselves useless, in Haru’s eyes.

On her way to the main square, she passed Umbra and Vale, who were making their way out of town muttering in low voices. Huh, she never expected the two of them to get along. How odd. It had escaped her mind by the time she reached the main square.

In a village this small, most pokemon had to make their own food. There was only one place one could get a hot meal in town, and that was the local tavern: The Lazy Meowstic. It was one of the largest buildings in town, standing two stories and made of sturdy timber. In the spring, the front would be decorated with pots filled with colorful daisies and daffodils and tulips, but at this time of year the storefront was barren.

Haru pushed her way through the lightweight wooden doors and stepped into the main entrance. Light filtered through windows on either side of the building, illuminating a few particles of dust dancing in the sunbeams. To the right was a small dining area, where a quagsire and an espurr – the owner’s daughter – quietly picked at meals of grain and thinly sliced meat. Haru fought the urge to shudder at the thought of whatever poor pokemon had become their meal. At least the meat was unrecognizable as any single pokemon. It made it palatable enough to keep her from gagging.

To the left was a small reception desk, where the tavern owner, a simisear, was speaking with an unfamiliar group of pokemon — a charmander, a charizard, a girafarig, and a raichu. As the charmander shifted in place, Haru caught sight of a badge glinting on her bag. Explorers, by the look of it. Probably passing through for the night. Unimportant. Toshi would be interested, though. He’d want to bombard them with questions about work at the society, and how things had been in the big towns. Maybe Haru would mention them to him when she headed home for the night.

“Just take a seat at any table, Haru,” Meaad, the simisear, called from behind the counter. “I’ll be with you after I get these fine folks settled in.” And then he was no longer paying her any mind. “Now, how long are you looking to stay with us?”

Haru turned her attention away from the desk, taking a seat at a low table close to the window. She found the light soothing. And, as a bonus, it was far enough away from the other patrons that she’d probably be left alone. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk right now. Not that she normally was.

“Sorry about the wait, Haru.”

Looking up, Haru saw the kindly face of Meaad giving him a lopsided grin with his hands clasped together. “Now, what can I get for you today?”

“Veggie sandwich with Mago juice, please,” Haru answered, turning her attention back to the window. She heard Meaad shuffle away and closed her eyes, relaxing on her cushion.

“Hey! Look who it is! Hi Haru!”

The peace couldn’t last long. Haru bit back a groan as she turned her head, seeing Shimmer waving at her from by the door. Muse was by her side, stoic as always. To Haru’s surprise, Tempest was on Muse’s other side, his tails waving slowly behind him. Likely, they were on volunteer guard duty, like Toshi. Haru willed them to turn around and leave, but Shimmer zipped straight to her table, plopping down by her side.

“I won’t keep you long,” the kirlia promised, her grin wide. “I just thought we’d take a minute to catch up. It feels like you’ve been avoiding us, and that’s not very nice, is it?”

“I’m always avoiding you, Shimmer,” Haru replied curtly. “I don’t enjoy spending any more time with you than necessary.”

Shimmer laughed and gave her a dismissive wave. “I know you don’t like me Haruru, but you really gotta learn to get along with people. You’re gonna get yourself in trouble one of these days with that tongue of yours.”

Haru pointedly ignored her and turned her head away. She heard shuffling as Muse and the ninetales stretched out around the other side of the low table. A tingling sensation pricked the back of her mind, and she focused to push it away before turning around to glare at Shimmer. “Could you at least have the decency to stay out of my head?”

Shimmer giggled. “Oh, that’s not me.”

At the same time, Haru lost her focus and heard a faint word echo in her mind. H…lo. He…llo.

“You’ve heard ninetales around here tend to have latent psychic abilities, right?” Shimmer continued. “Well, I figured that Tempest here might have those same abilities, despite having an ice affinity. And I was right! I’ve been teaching him some basic psychic skills, so that it’s easier for him to communicate.” She paused, glancing to Muse. “It’s not perfect. I don’t have a way to help him link with a dark pokemon’s mind. But it’s an improvement!”

Haru stared at her for several heartbeats, processing her explanation. Her paws dug into the hardwood as her mood soured further. This seemed like a mistake. She had to speak her mind here. “Don’t you think that’s a bit… unwise?” Shimmer tilted her head, so Haru continued. “I mean. I know it’s hard for a psychic to take over the mind but think about it. You’re teaching someone who’s in jail techniques that can confuse and manipulate. What if he uses it to break out? Or to hurt someone.?”

A chill settled over the group, and Haru fell silent. She glanced over to the ninetales. Was he the source of the cold? He met her gaze with… disappointment. Sadness maybe. She felt a pang of guilt for just a heartbeat, but then pushed it away and stayed firm.

Shimmer didn’t stay silent for long. She rolled her eyes and leaned forward to pat Haru’s paw. Haru yanked it away. Briefly, Shimmer’s perky facade broke, and she looked genuinely surprised by Haru’s hostility. Then she was back to her usual self. “Look, don’t worry about it Haruru. Tempest’s nice. He’s a surprisingly nice conversationalist, even if he’s still getting the hang of things.”

Haru turned to Muse. “And you’re… okay with this?”

Muse was looking out the window, eyes unfocused. It was only after a long pause she realized she was being addressed. She jolted, then shuffled under Haru’s scrutinizing glare as the bidoof repeated the question.

“Well…” Muse began, “I am… concerned for Shimmer’s safety. It’s my job to make sure she’s safe. But… Tempest has shown no ill will since settling in. If Shimmer thinks it’s okay, then… I trust her judgement.”

Haru blinked. Since when had Shimmer shown good judgement? Was Muse being serious? There was some emotion in her tone that Haru couldn’t place, but the absol didn’t appear to be joking.

She raised a paw sliding it across the table towards the absol. “Are you… feeling okay, Muse?”

“Hm?” Muse’s gaze returned to the window. There was a distant look in her eye. “Oh, I’m fine. Just… thinking about something is all.”

Haru let out a slow breath. This was getting her nowhere. She stood, shook out her fur, then moved to a different table. She didn’t have to deal with this nonsense. She’d eat quickly, then get back to work, where the trio wouldn’t dare bother her. Fortunately, they seemed content to leave her be.

It seemed like everything was flipped upside down lately. She wished Jhorlo would just send the troublemakers off for the Enforcers Union to deal with. Maybe then her life would go back to normal.

Whisper worked by candlelight, making neat lines of dots and dashes across the page. With the new season upon them, she needed to get her expense report finished soon. Jhorlo wasn’t going to like it; taking care of prisoners was expensive, and while they’d done several tasks around the village to help other locals, none of that money was going back to Jhorlo’s pocket.

Her claws faltered as she reached the part of the report where she would request more funds.  Were they just wasting time and resources, trying to rehabilitate these two? She was certain Tempest could be a responsible member of society. He was willing to work with others, willing to learn. Nip on the other hand?

She started to reach a claw towards her feathers, then stopped herself. Turning her head, she stared into the darkness. Her night vision was not the best, but she could hear a faint shuffling from Nip’s cell well enough. Occasionally she could see the glint of claws in the moonlight, but they were never raised.

He was pacing again. Over the last several nights, he’d awoken from sleep and begun to pace restlessly, sometimes deep into the night. She figured it had to do with Celebi’s appearance. She didn’t want to sympathize, but it was difficult not to when she knew Anu was going through similar struggles. Not that he could show anyone else; as the village religious leader, he couldn’t show shaken resolve after Celebi’s… lackluster appearance. If he faltered, others would. No, he had explained to her time and time again why he had to be strong. She didn’t think it was fair, but at least she understood.

Her claws went back to the wooden desk, tapping at it as she tried to reign in her focus.

Just as she turned back to her report, though, she heard an out of place noise. A scratching at the hut’s front door. Whisper paused, tensing, and waited. It happened again. Slowly, she stood, picking up the luminous orb she’d been working with, then tip-toed towards the door.

The scratching sounded again. She cracked the door open only a sliver.

“…Muse?”

The absol’s fur glowed in the moonlight, giving Muse the appearance of an otherworldly creature. Whisper opened the door further and caught sight of Muse’s grim expression.

“What’s wrong?” Whisper asked.

Muse crept inside. She kept low, her muscles coiled, as if she expected trouble to spring out at her at any time. Whisper’s heart raced, egged on by the absol’s unusual behavior.

“Can I speak to you? Privately?” Muse’s voice was quiet and tense.

Whisper dipped her head, walking around her and moving into a small, secluded office space. If it weren’t for the prisoners, this was where Whisper would usually conduct business. It was sparsely decorated, just how she liked it. Another wooden desk, a chair, a couple of flowers starting to wilt in a cracked vase. A small, crude painting of herself and Anu sat on the desk. The only other decoration was a line of small portraits lining the wall. At the very end was Whisper’s painting. To its left was an illustration of a fierce looking liepard. And just beyond it, a painting of a luxray with gentle eyes. Muse’s gaze lingered on it for a few heartbeats, and briefly, Whisper saw the fear in Muse’s eyes be replaced with a deep sadness.

“Your father was an incredible pokemon,” Whisper murmured. “I’m sure he would be proud of you.” Muse said nothing in reply but dipped her head. Whisper allowed her a moment to grieve before ruffling her feathers and continuing. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

Muse looked back up. The fear had returned. “I… wasn’t sure who to talk to. I considered telling Shimmer, and I still might. But…” She trailed off, her tail tucked between her legs. Whisper had only seen Muse act like this once. And it was before one of the worst tragedies to hit the village; the death of both of Muse’s parents, Haru and Toshi’s grandfather, and Shimmer’s mother – the Mayor before Jhorlo. The four of them had perished on a journey to try and find Regigigas, and their deaths had left the town in turmoil for some time.

The absol had to take a deep breath before she was able to speak again. “I… you knew my parents better than anyone. If they trusted you, then I can too. For nearly the past moon, I’ve been plagued by feelings of disaster. They started small; the first one came after Umbra came to the village. But they’ve gotten worse.”

She paused again, and Whisper couldn’t help but feel frustration roil in her gut. Why hadn’t Muse’s powers picked up that the sneasel would bring trouble. His actions had hurt the village. His actions had hurt her. It took all her self-control to remind herself that it wasn’t Muse’s fault.

“Sorry,” Muse mumbled, shrinking back.

Whisper realized she must have been showing signs of aggression and forced herself to relax. “No, you’ve done nothing wrong. Go on.”

“It’s… a lot. It’s hard to talk about. The premonitions worsened after Celebi appeared. And then… last night. Last night I… I had another one. A premonition within my dreams. A horrible nightmare of death and destruction. I… I don’t know who causes it, or even who I could trust. Telling the wrong person could lead us all to our doom.”

Muse tilted her head up, staring at Whisper with a fierceness that threatened to make her heart stop. “All I know is that I don’t know how to stop it. I don’t even know if it can be stopped. And that. That terrifies me.”

Chapter Text

Whisper silently stared at Muse for a long time, expression unreadable. Her fierce eyes gave nothing away, nor did her body language. Muse’s heart thundered in her chest. What did she think? Did she believe her? Was she upset? Should she have said anything at all? Did she pick the wrong pokemon to confess to?

“This is… a lot to take in,” Whisper finally said. “Especially coming more or less out of nowhere like this. Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything at all?”

She believed her! Muse perked up slightly, the worst of her worries dissipating, only to tense again when she remembered the worst of the details.

“The dream was dark,” Muse began, crouching and staring at the floor. “But I saw the flickering glow of… of fire, I think. There were loud, explosive noises. Like…” She paused, trying to think of a reasonable comparison. “Like a self-destructing graveler. There were many eyes watching me, surrounding me like a cage. When I woke, my horn burned, and my body ached like I’d been attacked with a thousand tiny cuts. The burning hasn’t gone away since.”

She looked up, eyes wide as she stared at Whisper again. “You. You do believe me, right?”

Whisper let out a long breath, her gaze traveling up and down Muse as if sizing her up. She raised a wing, scratching at the side of her face, harder and harder until a feather came loose. Then she stiffened, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

“That’s… Concerning,” Whisper admitted, moving behind her desk to grab a piece of parchment and a piece of charcoal. “It’s more informative than what Celebi gave us, but it’s still horribly vague. Do you have anything else you can tell me? Anything else you can remember?”

Muse sighed, lowering her gaze. “Unfortunately, I don’t really know how to interpret it. How figurative or literal it might be. I never got proper seer training. My mom died before I was old enough to learn, and there’s no one else in the village that could fill in the gaps. I could make guesses, but they’d be little more than that? Maybe the enemy is unknowable? Or some sort of natural disaster? I don’t know.”

“Jhorlo never got you a tutor?” Whisper began to write, but paused and looked up when Muse stopped talking. “He made sure you were so well taken care of otherwise, I’m surprised he didn’t do that as well.”

Muse shuffled her feet. “I… I asked him about it eventually – a few cycles back, when I was getting close to of-age. He said he’d get around to it, but he never did. Not… that I pursued it too much. I didn’t particularly want to follow in my mother’s pawsteps and…” She smiled wryly and a hint of bitterness seeped into her tone. “Well, we Absol don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

Whisper went back to writing. “True, true.” Sitting the charcoal down, she lifted the paper and brought it close to her face, looking it over in the dim light. “Well, Anu has a little experience with dream interpretation, albeit not nearly at the level of a true seer. If it’s alright with you, I would like to talk to him about your dream. We can discuss what the best course of action is.”

“Really?” Muse perked up, her tail waving slightly.

“That said,” Whisper continued, bringing Muse back to attention, “there was something you said that bothered me. You are Shimmer’s bodyguard, correct?”

“I am.”

“And you said you’ve told her nothing so far, right?”

Muse dipped her head. “Correct. Where are you going with this?”

Whisper laid the parchment in front of her. “If… whatever your dream was about is as bad as it sounds, don’t you think you should tell her? At least the basics, if nothing else.

Muse froze, pupils dilating. Despite her best efforts, she could feel her hackles beginning to rise. “I… I don’t want to involve her.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in an excuse that felt weak, even to her. “It’s my duty to protect her. I can’t just involve her like that. She should be worrying about improving her leadership skills and her psychic powers, not this.”

“With all due respect…” Whisper began with a tilt of her head. “Isn’t she already involved by virtue of being your charge? On top of that, if this is serious enough that you’re coming to me, then it’s something that affects the whole village. Whether you like it or not, she’s involved just by being here.”

Opening her mouth, Muse struggled to come up with more protesting words, but she could think of nothing. Whisper had a point. She shrank back and, after a moment, finally mumbled, “I just… I don’t want her getting hurt. Especially not for my sake.”

The room grew silent. Muse peeked up and swore she caught a knowing glint in Whisper’s eye, but the hawlucha’s expression was as stern as usual. After several false starts, Whisper spoke up. “I understand your worry. But think of it like this: the best way she can protect herself is to be prepared. But how can she be prepared if she doesn’t know to expect trouble?”

Once again, Whisper had a good point. But negative thoughts still nagged the back of Muse’s mind. What if she wants to get involved? I won’t be able to stop her. What if knowing makes her reckless. What if she thinks the best way to protect herself is to keep her distance? What if… What if…

“It may be your job to protect her,” Whisper went on, snapping Muse out of her spiraling thoughts, “but she has to live her own life. She can’t do that if you coddle her and treat her like a child all the time — something several villagers could learn, now that I mention it.” The last part was muttered under her breath.

“I-I would never treat her like a child!” Muse sputtered, standing back up straight.

“Then start treating her like an adult. Be honest with her. And not just about the premonition. I think there’s other things you need to open up about, aren’t there? I think she’d appreciate it.”

Muse’s heart skipped a beat. What was Whisper implying? She knew Shimmer better than anyone. She knew exactly how much of Shimmer’s personality was a facade, a carefully constructed mask so that others would underestimate her. But she also knew how much that mask had affected her ability to be genuine. And she knew how much of that had developed around allowing her to get her way — even when she shouldn’t have.

She could only dwell on those thoughts for so long. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Whisper. Thank you. But…” She glanced out the window. “It’s getting late, and I do not believe I have anything else to tell you at this time. If I learn anything else, I will let you know.

Whisper stood up, expression unreadable. “Understood. Thank you for trusting me with this, Muse. Have a good night.” With that, Whisper stood and moved to hold the cloth partition open, then did so again with the wooden door, letting Muse out into the crisp night air.

Muse walked around the main path for a bit, trying to sort out her thoughts. In the distance, she could hear the chirping, hums, and warbles of a bug-type chorus. Though it wasn’t particularly late, most pokemon in the village had settled down for the night by now. Nocturnal pokemon tended to adjust to a daytime schedule in settlements as small as this one. Outside of special duties that needed to be done at night, like guard duty. Speaking of which, Vale seemed to be on duty right now; she spotted him pacing the perimeter of the village square with his head low. Not in the mood for small talk, she gave him a wide berth and made her way up the trail to the villa.

The large stone walls stood out against the night sky, a monolithic dark spot that blotted out the stars. Few structures in the village compared to its size, and even fewer were as sturdy. Only the temple and tavern could compare in size, and only the jail in security. Muse felt just a bit safer once inside.

The foyer was dark; only a single, dimly glowing luminous orb sat on a table and moonlight from outside provided any visibility. Muse carefully picked her way around furniture, heading for the ramp to the second floor, where Shimmer’s room was.

Before she could reach it, though, the creaking of wood and scent of blood caught her attention. She tensed, the burning sensation of her horn flaring up. Was the subject of her premonition already here? Shadowy wisps gathered around her claws as she prepared to strike, should the sound prove to be a threat.

“What are you doing?”

The accented, lilting voice caught her off guard, but made the attack dissipate.  It did little to soothe her nerves, however.

“Miss Umbra?” she asked, blinking. Sure enough, the mawile moved into a shaft of moonlight, clear enough to see. Muse blinked. “What are you doing up so late?”

“I could say the same to you,” Umbra replied, passing by so close that they almost touched. “I do not believe it to be any of your business.”

Is she dodging the question? Combined with the scent of blood… No. Muse shook out her fur, trying to soother her nerves. I’m over reacting. Jumping to the worst conclusions. Umbra had probably just injured herself. Or perhaps she had a raw meal. Perhaps not the safest option, given the chance of disease. But given what she’d seen of Nip’s eating habits, it would make sense. She didn’t want to think about the alternatives, from the tamest to the most severe.  She went out of her way to not think about those sorts of things, normally, and she didn’t care to start now.

“I went for a walk,” Muse finally explained. “Sorry for bothering you, Miss Umbra. I’ll be on my way.” Slipping back around the mawile, she crept down the hall, light on her feet. Her path took her first to Shimmer’s room, where she peeked inside. The kirlia was fast asleep, comfortably curled up in a pile of straw, covered by a blanket of wool. On most nights, Muse would join Shimmer — as she had been invited to do so at any time — but tonight she was hesitant. She needed time to think. Backing out of the room, she pulled the door shut with her teeth, then headed back towards her normal room in the servant quarters.

The rooms here were simpler, though not in a bad way. While certainly nothing like Jhorlo’s office, or even Shimmer’s room, there was still enough opulence that she lived comfortably. As she walked, her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Whisper, then to Shimmer.

So caught up in her thoughts, her paw caught on something in the walkway. She stumbled forward, biting back a curse. Had one of the twins left something out? She turned back to investigate.

“…Muse? Is that you?”

A rustle of fabric followed Lotte’s voice. The purloin poked her head out from her own room. Her eyes were wide, and she crouched low to the ground as she looked around.

“It’s me,” Muse replied, shaking out her paw. “I just tripped on something.” She turned her attention back to the object. It was a small, rough hewn bag, smelling slightly of blood.

“Sorry about that,” Lotte said, creeping the rest of the way out to join Muse. “Jaques left it out here so that he doesn’t forget to clean it. Don't ask me why.”

“Did he go to Mandi’s shop today?”

Lotte tilted her head up and began to weave around Muse’s legs, tail high. “Well, of course he did. Where else is he going to get lunch from? Why? Are you hungry?”

After a heartbeat of hesitation, Muse decided she didn’t want to answer that. She tensed and pulled away, prompting Lotte to back off with a lashing tail.

“Sorry,” Muse mumbled. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Lotte let out a long breath. “No, you don’t need to apologize. I should have asked first. I know we’re not as… close as we used to be.” She muttered something that Muse couldn’t quite catch, eyes flickering with wistfulness, then put on a forced cheerful expression. “But… I shouldn’t be dwelling on the past. How have you and Shimmer been? She… did say yes, right?”

Muse’s eyes widened, caught off guard by the change in subject. She stuttered trying to come up with a response. “I-I. W-well…”

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t confessed to her!” Lotte’s tail stuck up straight and her pupil’s dilated.

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Muse glanced behind herself before continuing in a low voice, “I don’t need everyone knowing before I can bring up the courage to ask her out myself!”

“Honestly, Muse, where has your confidence gone? You were never this shy when we were dating.”  Lotte sat down and began to run her tongue over a paw before running it behind her ear. Muse averted her eyes, uncomfortable; watching another pokemon groom was kind of intimate. But they weren’t partners.

Not anymore, at least.

“You were the instigator, though.” Muse pointed out. “You asked me out. This is different. Now I have to be the one to ask Shimmer out. And besides —” she sat down heavily “— it’s not that simple. It’s my sworn duty to protect Shimmer. That dynamic makes it… difficult to just talk about my feelings. You and I were on equal footing. But I’m performing a job for Shimmer.”

“A job that requires you to share a room with her?” Lotte tilted her head. “Sounds like some normal boundaries are crossed, anyways.”

“That’s…”

“Look, Muse.” Lotte paused her grooming, looking at Muse with one eye. “I know we have… differing opinions about how things are run around here. You don’t like the secrecy that Jhorlo uses, but you stay out of his fur out of respect for what he did for you. Jaques and I are in a similar boat, but we directly help him keep the village running smoothly where we can, even if that means getting our paws dirty. He gave us shelter when Mom disappeared, and I have to respect that.”

She hesitated, then continued. “I know those differences are a part of why we split. But despite all that, I’m trying to give you some solid advice here. You need to share your feelings with Shimmer before it eats you up inside. It’s already messing with you emotionally. You put on this stoic face to try and be strong or something, but you’re just hurting yourself in the process. You and Shimmer are already close. What’s the worst that could happen?

Muse’s claws dug into the wooden floorboards. She knew Lotte had a point, but at the same time… “She could say no, and it would lead to a schism in our friendship. Besides, she already has her sights on Toshi.”

“And does he reciprocate?”

Muse didn’t answer.

Lotte flicked her tail. “Well, whatever you decide, just don’t let yourself have regrets for staying silent.” She stood, heading back for her room, but paused halfway in. “And Muse… well, if you ever change your mind about… well… us, or decide you have room in your heart for two girls, I’m right here.” With that, she disappeared into the darkness, leaving Muse alone with her swirling thoughts.

Umbra poured three buckets of warmed water into the stone basin of the washroom, threw in a few aromatic leaves, then lowered herself inside. She shuddered at the feeling of water in her thick fur, but it was a necessary evil. Over the last moon, she’d grown used to the regular schedule of washing away any traces of her hunting trips, but she still hadn’t grown used to the sensation.

Tonight’s hunting trip went well enough. She’d caught a raticate, then she and Vale had worked together to bring down a lopunny. Many mouths would be fed between the two of them, though they would never know the secret behind their food supply. The other carnivores thought themselves better than wildeners because they didn’t hunt, didn’t kill for their food. And though none said it, she was certain the few villagers she’d talked to thought themselves better than her because their culture allowed them to pretend they did not have to kill to live. But they were all fools.

She scrubbed at her fur for a while, until she was sure there would be no lingering traces — sight or scent — of blood, then she stepped out and released a stopper in the basin, allowing the water to drain outside. As she looked herself over, she realized that the markings signifying her rank in the tribe had completely faded away. A frown crossed her maw. During her travels, she’d always made sure to keep them fresh and visible, a statement of who she was. But she’d been kept so busy lately, she hadn’t had time to think about reapplying them. Let alone any real time to plan getting her claws on Nip.

Yveltal forgive me, she thought. I swear I haven't forsaken you. 

It did her no good to dwell on the sour thoughts right now, so she forced them away. After patting herself nearly dry with cloth, she returned everything to its rightful place and stepped back into the tunnel — no, the hall, if she remembered the term correctly.

“Ah, Umbra, there you are.”

One of the purrloin — Jaques, if she remembered correctly — was standing in the hallway, the tip of his tail twitching. He dipped his head in respect. “Just in time.”

Umbra groaned inwardly. What now? But what she said was, “Did you need something?”

“Jhorlo asked me to fetch you. He wanted to speak with you. In private.”

Umbra’s pensive frown turned into a scowl. “Can it not wait until morning? I am tired after a long day of doing his work for him.”

Jaques was unfazed. “I am only telling you what he asked of me. You’re free to refuse, of course, but I would recommend against it. Jhorlo is benevolent, but he does have such a temper when things don’t go his way.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it! It is merely a warning.”

Umbra sized him up, having a feeling it was both. Jaques was lean and well-muscled, his pelt rippling with hidden strength. But it was clear to her that he’d never been in a real fight. And besides that, she had the elemental advantage. He was no different from Nip — if he did mean to harm her, she’d have no issues putting him in his place.

What came after could cause trouble, though. She had no allies here, no one coming to her defense. She couldn’t even put her trust in Vale, someone in a situation like her own. She snorted, her back jaw clenching to show her displeasure. “Fine. Take me to him.”

Together, they walked down the dark hallway, coming to a stop in front of the door she now knew was Jhorlo’s. Jaques nosed the door open before flicking his tail, gesturing for Umbra to step inside.

Jhorlo was already here. And, unsurprisingly, so was Vale. The manectric sat in one corner with his shoulders hunched, his gaze occasionally shifting between Jhorlo and herself. Umbra still smelled the faintest traces of blood. He’d obviously not cleaned up before this meeting. Probably not by choice. She suspected he was only here as a threat to her, to make it clear that a fight would not be tolerated.

She stopped in front of Jhorlo and turned to face him, staring with poorly disguised hatred. The purugly looked her over, then lifted one paw, claws glinting in the cold light as he gave it a nonchalant inspection. “Vale tells me your hunting went well.”

Umbra stiffened and stood up straighter, falling into old habits for a moment. “Yes. We were able to catch a—”

“That’s quite alright, no need to go on, my dear. He told me all about it.”

Did he really interrupt her? How infuriating. Her lip curled back to show her teeth, and she dug her claws into her palms, but she had the sense to hold her tongue. If things worked out the way she hoped they would, she’d find a way to get back at him. She and Vale had spent plenty of time together since Jhorlo had borrowed him to be her “guard.” From the way he talked, it was clear he held a similar level of resentment for the mayor. All she needed to do was wait for the right moment.

“That’s not why I called you here, regardless.”

Finally satisfied with his inspection, Jhorlo put his paw down and stared Umbra in the eye. “How long have you been with us now? It has to have been at least a moon, I feel.”

Umbra paused. How long had it been? Several days had passed since that… false prophet — that was the only logical explanation she could come up with for the celebi’s strange, inconsistent behavior — had appeared. “That sounds right,” she answered carefully.

“Quite a bit of time, is it not? I expected you to have dealt with your problem by now.”

Was this some sort of joke? “Well, if you remember, sir, your village chose to try and rehabilitate the problem I was supposed to solve. He is always busy, always kept under close watch. You have left me with few opportunities to get close, let alone deal with him.”

“Is that so? How unfortunate. You seemed much more clever than this, I thought.” Jhorlo cast her a pitying look, but she could tell from his eyes that he was getting some sort of enjoyment out of this. He knew he had set her up to fail, and he was enjoying mocking her.

He went back to inspecting his paws. “No matter. Continue to lollygag, for all I care. However.” He glanced back at her out of the corner of his eye. “You should do something soon, I suggest. I’m starting to hear… questions.”

“Questions?”

“Yes, yes. Questions about your reason for still being here. Questions about what you’re doing to earn your keep. When a pokemon does nothing but laze about all day, especially one that’s done little to get in the good graces of the village, they start to ask questions. I’ve given them some simple answers about how I gave you some time to get situated.” He flexed his claws. “But if you continue to do nothing to make yourself useful, especially in times like these, then I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer you protection for much longer.”

Not doing anything for the village? Umbra let out a low growl. “Half of your village would be starving, if not for me.”

“Would they? Or is that just what you say to make yourself feel better? We were getting on just fine before you arrived.”

“Then why is it so important I hunt for you, then?” Umbra demanded.

“Well, we have more mouths to feed now, thanks to your lot.”

“That’s your village’s fault.”

Jhorlo laid his head on his paws, looking down at her smugly. “No, it’s your fault for not getting your part of the bargain done. But I can’t exactly go telling everyone that, now can I? So, if you want to keep staying here, I suggest you either take care of your problem, or make yourself useful. It would be unfortunate if you had to… disappear, wouldn’t it?”

Umbra’s temper flared. She took a step forward before remembering that Vale was in the room. With a deep breath, she glared at Jhorlo through narrowed eyes. “Fine. I’ll figure something out.”

Grinning, Jhorlo sat up. “Good. You’re dismissed. You may leave as well, Vale. Go clean up.”

Umbra turned on one foot and stormed out the door, her jaws and fists clenched. She heard Vale race to catch up behind her, but did not acknowledge his presence at first.

Once they were far enough down the hall that Umbra felt they wouldn’t be overheard, she addressed Vale. “You did a whole lot of good, just sitting in the back there.”

Vale paused. Then he lowered his head and kept walking, his voice dipping into a snarl. “What did you expect me to do? Stand up for you? Fat lot of good that would do. All I’d do is make Jhorlo think we’re plotting against him.”

“We might as well be.”

“But you don’t want him to know that. No, if you want a chance to get back at him and take care of your own problem, you’re going to have to bide your time. Play by his rules until the opportunity presents itself.”

How long was she going to have to wait? She’d already been chasing Nip for moons. When she agreed to leave the tribe to fix her mistake, she’d expected to be gone a moon at most. She hadn’t expected Nip to flee halfway across the land, and then hide behind the protection of the people he harmed like a coward. “I’m tired of waiting,” she growled back, walking at a steady pace. “If the opportunity isn’t going to present itself, then we’re going to have to create one.”

Vale paused before continuing to trot behind her. “Fair point. Listen. Tomorrow afternoon, we can discuss this somewhere more private. Does that sound reasonable?”

That was more like it. She stopped and turned around. “Deal. Do you have a place in mind?”

“Hm… Have you been to the tavern yet? They have some… private rooms where we could get a bite to eat and discuss over dinner. If you don’t mind running the risk of… rumors… well, the only place more private I can think of is going out into the forest. And that’s likely to raise just as many questions.”

“Rumors?”

“Nothing that’s likely to get in our way.” He hesitated. “Come on, don’t make me spell it out. Villagers might think we’re… doing things together.”

Oh. Gross. But not the worst thing that could happen. She crossed her arms. “Fine. I do not care what the villagers think of me. Once we’re done, I will be out of your fur.”

“Works for me. I suggest you get some sleep then. I’ll come get you for the usual routine tomorrow.”

With that, Vale stalked off down the hall, leaving Umbra alone to return to her room and plot.

Chapter Text

"What is he doing here?"

Haru's mouth hung open. Standing in the middle of the path along the river where her family had been cutting trees was Stati, the flaaffy guard. He yawned and stretched in the mid morning light, static sparks flickering in his wool. In front of him stood a rather sorry-looking Nip. Toshi had arrived at the same time, though he was quick to get to work gawing through branches on a felled tree.

When her mom had said they were getting an extra set of helping paws this morning, it somehow hadn't occurred to Haru that the help would be leased out through community service.

"Now, Haru, I know how you feel about this," Saku stopped rolling the log she'd been moving to shake her head. "But look at it from our perspective. Demand for lumber and firewood is up, but there's not a whole lot of pokemon who can lend a spare paw. And besides, look at those claws! A little focus, and I'm sure he can cut cleanly through some of these branches for firewood with ease."

Haru's gaze drifted over the sneasel's wickedly curved claws. Her mom did have a point, as much as she hated to admit it. Though, as she looked closer… had some of those nicks always been there?

"Don't worry," Toshi said, snapping Haru out of her thoughts. She turned to see him pressing down on the branch he'd been chewing. "I don't think he's going to be causing any trouble."

Turning back towards the sneasel, her mind drifted to the previous day's discussion, along the path to the berry fields. If what Toshi said was true, maybe Nip really wouldn't cause trouble. Though not totally convinced, she still stepped aside to let Nip by. He passed without protest, keeping his head down.

Stati, meanwhile, sprawled himself out in the middle of the path. His demeanor suggested he was lazing about, but he still kept an eye on Nip at all times, watching Saku lead him to a pile of smaller branches.

"Now, if I remember correctly, you worked with my mate some during the nursery construction project, so you already know some of the process. But I don't think you ever were involved with stripping bark." Saku stood on her hind legs and reached down, grabbing one of the branches with her forepaws. "Most of what you'll be doing won't involve that, but I would like to get you familiar with the job, just in case. Now, let's see, where to start…"

Haru drifted away from the pair – there was no need to listen in further on her mother's lesson – and returned to the log she had started working on.

Once Saku's explanation finished, the group lapsed into near silence. Occasionally, she would hear a grunt from Nip or a word of instruction from Saku, but otherwise no one spoke as the sun climbed high into the sky. A neat little pile of bark formed to Haru's side as she worked on stripping the log. A couple of bites disappeared down her gullet, but it wasn't like anyone was going to miss it. It was a nice emergency food source for some, sure, but only a handful of the locals could even digest it.

Occasionally, Haru's attention drifted to Nip. Like Toshi claimed, he did nothing to suggest trouble. For each branch in his pile, his claws glowed white with energy, then he brought them down upon the middle. Usually he struck with enough force to slice through with a single swipe, though sometimes he had to strike again to finish the cut.

But throughout the entire process, he never spoke a word, never looked up, never stepped out of line. His movements were nearly mechanical. And now that she was near him, she could see for herself just how disheveled his fur was. Clearly, he hadn't been grooming.

It was a pitiful look, but she still couldn't feel any pity for him. Not after everything that had happened.

At some point, Toshi stepped away for a break, while Saku headed a little further up the path to fell another tree. And around the same time, the near silence began to get to Haru. She considered her options: talk to herself, talk to Stati, or talk to Nip. Stati was out; the flaaffy was curled up in a manner that made it clear he didn't want to be disturbed. And she didn't want to come across as weird by talking to herself. Which only left…

No, she shouldn't. Every time she talked to Nip it just devolved into angry bickering. But the chance of conversation was so enticing…

She walked over to stand near Nip, observing his handiwork for a while. He said nothing, and barely even acknowledged her with more than a tilt of the head. It caught her off guard; considering how much vitriol had passed between them recently, she'd expected him to at least be hostile.

"Is this really all about Celebi?" she said after a while, unable to keep herself from blurting it out.

Nip said nothing.

She tilted her head. Her toes curled into the dirt, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. Keep your temper, she warned herself. "It would be nice if you at least acknowledged that you heard me."

Again, Nip said nothing, but this time his ear flicked.

Haru let out a slow breath. "Okay, fine, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, I guess."

She turned and began to walk back towards her spot, but then Nip's voice reached her ears, quiet and monotonous.

"I've just discovered that the stories of at least one god I spent my life learning about was very, very wrong. Many of the decisions the pokemon of my tribe make are dictated by those stories. Our traditions, our lifestyle. Everything. If the other stories are just as wrong, then every decision – every decision, every mistake, every action – I made in my life was for nothing. Things I was proud of, things I justified in the eyes of a god that would be benevolent in death. Things I justified for the sake of survival…" He trailed off and turned away.

"Not that many of your recent actions were justifiable to begin with," Haru muttered. So now he chose to grow conscious? Haru wasn't sure if she believed it. His behavior just put a bad taste in her mouth.

To her surprise, he didn't give her a snarky reply. He just turned away and continued his work.

Haru bit back the growl in the back of her throat. Had he really put so much stock in the gods that he would use it to justify himself – oh wait, he'd said as much.

She wanted to press him more, try and see if he really had any regrets now and if he'd try to justify himself some other way. But before she had a chance to, she heard her name called from down the path.

"Haruuuu. Oh, Haruuuu!" Oh stars, why did Shimmer have to show up now?

Sighing, Haru turned her head towards the sound. Shimmer sat atop Muse's back, waving from a short way down the path. Toshi had returned, but was speaking with Stati. The flaaffy's expression was flat. Annoyed. Haru couldn't blame him; who wouldn't be annoyed by Shimmer's sudden appearance?

No, that seemed to just be a her problem. Stati actually seemed annoyed with Toshi.

After a moment of consideration, she hurried down the path to where the two boys stood.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Muse wants to talk with us," Toshi answered. "You, me, and Shimmer. Privately."

Oh. She didn't like the sound of that. It seemed like any time one of them wanted to talk to her privately, trouble followed. "What? Why?"

"She didn't say." Toshi tilted his head. "It shouldn't take long, though."

"It better not," Stati grumbled. "This is supposed to be a joint guard job. The fewer pokemon here, the harder it is to watch the prisoner."

"I don't think he's going anywhere," Toshi said, just as he had before. "But we're going to be just down the road, back at the house. If he causes any trouble, just give us a shout."

The flaaffy huffed and stood, stretching. Small sparks danced in his wool as he walked to the side of the path, where he could better see Nip.

Haru muttered a quick apology, then hurried after her brother. But she couldn't help but glance back, catching sight of Nip watching them, before quietly continuing to work. She couldn't help but think Toshi was right; Nip wasn't going anywhere.

The house was empty when Haru and the others arrived. At breakfast, her dad mentioned going out to make plans with Grombert for a new building project, and it seemed he was still working on that. At the entryway, she took a moment to enjoy the relative peace while the others made their way inside. The water caught in the dam swirled lazily, and she could hear the distant sound of gurgling as it tumbled downstream. For the moment, everything was peaceful.

But she couldn't stay out here forever. Pushing her way through the cloth covering, Haru waited for her eyes to adjust in the dimmer room. The other three had already taken up spots around the dining table, so she grabbed a cushion in her teeth and dragged it over, claiming a spot.

Haru's mind drifted before she could make herself comfortable. If her mom were her, she would have said something about getting refreshments for the guests. She hesitated for a moment before social niceties won over. Waddling over to the kitchen area – a simple, wooden counter with a few cabinets below, a few pots for storage, and a small brick oven – she nosed her way into the rightmost cabinet and reached her forepaws in to grab three bowls and a cup.

To the side of the cabinitents was a moderately sized wooden dispenser. She pushed the bowl under a faucet sticking out of the side, then pressed down on the faucet. There was a heartbeat of pause, then a steady stream of water spilled out until she let go. Pushing the bowl of water aside, she repeated the process until all four containers were filled.

This would be so much easier if I was evolved and could carry more, Haru thought as she rose to her hind paws and wobbled back to the table, taking only one drink at a time. Walking on two legs was difficult, and carrying any more at once was just asking for a spill.

Once the water was served, she returned to the kitchen to grab a few razz berries as a snack, sitting them on the center of the table before taking a seat. She tipped her head back, pointing with her nose in Muse's direction. "Alright. Now, what's this all about?"

Muse took a deep breath. Then another. She closed her eyes and let out a third. Shimmer gave her a reassuring pat on the back before settling down. "Alright." Her voice was soft, and Haru could hear a quiet scraping noise as the absol's claws dug into the ground. "Do you all remember a while back, when I mentioned having a premonition when Umbra showed up?"

"Of course I do," Shimmer answered, her hands clasped neatly around her cup. "That's why we've been trying to keep an eye on her. But she's been too good about hiding surface thoughts to get anything out of her, lately. I've still been able to pick up emotions, but… I wish dad would just send her away already."

"Yeah, she's definitely bad news," Toshi agreed, rubbing at his belly. The puncture wounds had since healed over, and his fur hid the scars well, but Haru imagined he'd have the reminders of the fight for a long time. "What has she even been doing? I've only seen her around town a couple times, and I doubt your dad would let her just live in the Villa for free."

"Unless he's doing it to keep an eye on her," Haru pointed out. "Sort of a… keep your friends close and enemies closer sort of thing."

Toshi looked at her, then down at his water. "Maybe…"

Muse looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't, letting the room lapse into an uneasy silence for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and moved the discussion to the next subject. "Well… that feeling hasn't gone away. If anything, it's only gotten worse. And then… A couple nights ago, the feeling hit its peak. I had a dream."

Haru's heartbeat quickened. Her breath caught, and she found herself leaning forward. The other two looked similarly enraptured. As Muse went on to describe her dream, the visions of doom of destruction, Haru couldn't help but stare.

The more Muse said, the more she felt claws digging into her chest. She was no longer at the table. Instead, snow drifted in flurries and a biting wind chilled her to her bones. An elderly bibarel, his body mangled and malnourished and stinking like death, lay splayed out on the ground, speaking in hoarse whispers to the other adults surrounding him. A young absol lay collapsed nearby, her voice a mournful howl.

She didn't even realize that Muse had finished talking and that the discussion had turned until she heard Toshi say her name.

"Haru? Hey, Sis, are you listening?"

"H-huh?" The claws weakened their grip slightly and the memory faded. She was back in her home, the worried expressions of Toshi, Shimmer, and Muse staring at her. "I… Yeah, yeah I'm listening." Her voice was weak and shaky. "Just… remind me of the most recent bit?"

Shimmer continued to frown and tilted her head, her brow knit, but said nothing. She brought her elbow up onto the table and propped her chin on her hands, never removing her gaze from Haru.

Toshi stayed silent a few uneasy seconds longer. "We were just talking about what to do."

"About…?" Haru was still distracted. Her mind drifted back to the last time Muse had a premonition like this. She was too young to remember the details, but she remembered a young, whimpering absol clutching at her horn as the village watched a bibarel, a luxray, an absol, and a gardevoir make their way into the woods at the base of Mount Domo. A liepard leaned forward and tried to reassure the absol that her parents would be back before she knew it.

The claws tightened.

"You're doing it again. Are you sure you're okay?"

Toshi's voice snapped her out of it. She shook her head to clear the thoughts. "I… I'm fine. Really. Sorry."

"If you say so…" Toshi trailed off. "A-anyways. We were talking about what to do about Muse's visions. They line up with Celebi's claims, though with a lot more detail. This is obviously something serious that can't be ignored."

Shimmer continued to stare at Haru with that scrutinizing expression, making Haru shift uneasily in her seat. Was she reading her emotions right now? But then she seemed to think better of it and her usual smile returned. "Agreed, I don't want my dear Musey to keep going through these awful feelings." Shimmer reached over and gave a flustered Muse a pat on the back. "Oh, and making sure the village is safe is important, too. I guess."

It took a moment for Haru to realize that Shimmer's latter statement was meant to be taken as a joke. "Isn't it obvious?" She said, her voice still wavering. "We tell the pokemon in charge – Whisper and Jhorlo – what's going on. What Muse saw and felt. She gives them updates if anything changes, but otherwise we keep doing what we're doing. Live our lives. Follow instructions and prepare to the best of our ability."

"I mean, I told Whisper already," Muse mumbled.

"Great," Haru said a little too quickly. "Already halfway there."

"But," Muse continued, reaching up a paw to rub at her horn. "I'm hesitant to tell anyone else. I… I don't know who else I can trust. It took all my courage and faith just to tell who I already have. I almost didn't even tell you guys. Not because I don't trust you, but because I was afraid doing so would put you in danger."

"And I understand your concerns, but I'm glad you told us," Toshi said. "Anyways, we can't just do nothing. I mean. Sure, we should tell more pokemon - this is more than the four of us can handle - but we can't just keep doing the status quo. That's what leads to the bad future, I bet."

An image of Umbra holding Nip in her back maw, staring scornfully at her flashed in Haru's mind. Then she pictured Toshi splayed out on the forest floor, oozing blood from Umbra's bite. The claws constricted. She couldn't breathe. "You don't know that," she snapped with a fierceness that surprised her. "Last time we acted on Muse's premonition, we nearly got killed!" She slammed a paw on the table to emphasize her point.

Gasps, then silence followed her outburst. Shimmer and Toshi stared with wide eyes, while Muse flinched back, her shoulders hunching.

A moment passed before Toshi spoke up. "I mean, yes… but what would have happened if you guys didn't go? What if Umbra had killed Nip? Or what if something worse happened? What if by letting her run amok, it led to bigger disasters?"

This again? Haru thought she was over their disagreements on Nip, but the words were flying out of her mouth. "I wouldn't trade his life for any of ours. If we hadn't intervened, Umbra probably would have left and then the whole issue would be moot!"

"Y-you don't know that for sure," Toshi stammered, eyes wide.

"Yes I do!" She slammed both her paws on the table again. "Why are you so willing to throw yourself into danger again and again? For pokemon that don't deserve it, and now for some. Some god that was less useful than a bag of wet parchment."

"H-haru," Shimmer tried to interject, but Haru was too deep in her rant to notice.

"It's like you're asking to get killed! The world isn't as noble as you think it is, and if you just keep running into trouble, you'll never get to join the Expedition Society."

The heartbeat Toshi's jaw dropped open, she knew she struck a nerve. Immediately, guilt made her stomach twist. Why had she said that? Why? It was too late to take it back, and it was too much. Her breathing light and shallow, she spun around and rushed through the cloth entrance to her house.

"H-Haru, wait!"

She ignored Toshi's call, her head whipping back and forth. She needed an out. She needed to get away. Her attention turned to the bubbling river. Without a second thought, she dashed towards it and sprang into the water. The world became muffled around her as she dove. Then she let the current carry her downstream while she wallowed.

It was unclear how much time passed. But eventually, Haru had to climb out of the water, before it swept her too far downstream. She flopped down on the bank, eyes closed as she let her fur dry out in the light. She groaned as she realized she'd left her bags on. Though the outside was waterproofed with a waxy coating, the contents were probably damaged. She resigned herself to dealing with that later.

Her head still swam with negative thoughts as she lazed about. About Celebi. About Nip. About grandpa. About her outburst. She wanted it to all go away, but it wouldn't. In a daze, she got up and began to listlessly make her way back towards town.

As she walked and tried to process her emotions, distress turned to bitterness. What made Muse so certain the information Celebi fed them – or the lack thereof – could be trusted? How did she know her dream was related? Maybe she didn't have a premonition at all. Maybe she just thought she did because she was over-focusing on some stupid, useless god.

The image of the elderly bibarel crossed her mind again. No. No, she couldn't take that risk. Maybe it had nothing to do with Celebi, but Muse would know what a premonition felt like. And Muse wouldn't lie about something as serious as this.

Even if she thought the conclusions were stupid, Muse's heart was in the right place. She needed to apologize after she'd relaxed for a bit. Maybe a stiff drink would help. She didn't drink often, but right now the idea appealed to her.

Before long, she arrived in the village square. Maybe now was a good time for that drink. And maybe some food, for that matter. But her stomach still roiled from the aftermath of her outburst; there was no way she could eat right now.

With a sigh, she pressed onward, promising to stop for a bite later. Her dad was in town. Maybe she could talk to him about this?

No, she knew what his answer would be: to talk it out with Toshi, but also to visit the teachings of Regigigas for further guidance and wisdom. The first, she could agree with. But the latter…

Another sigh, another violent shake of her head. Maybe she'd just find a nice tree to rest under for a while. Somewhere where she could clear her head. She should have just stayed by the river. The quiet bubbling would have given her something to focus on. To ground herself.

She almost turned around right then, but then sounds from nearby caught her attention.

Looking up, she saw a few villagers hanging out near the entrance to the temple. From the way they shifted, but stayed silent, it seemed like they were watching something. As much as she wanted to avoid anything that had to do with the temple, curiosity got the better of her. Quietly, she slunk forward, until she was past the taller pokemon and could better see what was going on.

Anu stood at the temple entrance, his head bowed and paws held to his chest just below the spike. His tail drooped low, but wasn't quite tucked between his legs. Across from him stood the team Haru had seen at the tavern yesterday: a charmander, a charizard, a girafarig, and a raichu. The latter two stood stoically at the back, while the charmander stood at the front, her tail flame blazing. The charizard looked uncertain, gaze constantly swapping between the charmander and Anu.

"I… I'm sorry," Anu said, "but my decision is final. I… I cannot take you at this time."

"And why not?" The charmander's response came out in a frustrated, high-pitched growl. "You won't explain anything! Why are you treating us like this?"

"We…" Anu's tail twitched. "We are dealing with a serious inter-community issue. It is nothing that requires intervention from the incorporated powers, but it means I cannot be away from the village at this time. I apologize but…" he trailed off. "All I can offer you is what I've already told you."

Haru knew Anu well enough to know that there was something he was hiding from the explorers. But she suspected it was just the situation with Nip. Afterall, they'd needed to ask for extra volunteers to watch both him and Tempest, and now Vale had mostly been acting under Jhorlo to keep an eye on Umbra. They really couldn't spare anyone right now.

The charmander's tailflame flared and she opened her mouth to say something, but the charizard spoke first.

"Su. It's not worth it." Then the charizard turned her head up to look at Anu. From the way she was hunched, it was clear she wasn't happy, either, but she clearly didn't want to escalate the situation. "Thank you for your time, teacher."

The other two still stayed quiet, though they shifted uneasily.

Anu dipped his head. "I apologize that you came this far for nothing, but I do wish you luck on your travels."

With that, he turned and disappeared inside, and the small crowd began to disperse, until it was only Haru, a couple of straggling villagers whose gazes ranged from concerned, to uneasy, to outright distrusting, and the expedition team.

"What do we do now?" the raichu mumbled, just loud enough that Haru could hear.

"The locals clearly don't want us here," the girafarig answered. "Should we just go looking for the shrine ourselves?" He lifted one front hoof, then the other, shifting his weight with nervous energy. His tail-head waved back and forth, as if trying to watch for trouble.

The charmander shook her head. "No, it's too risky, and we're bound to raise the ire of the locals if we go somewhere we're not supposed to. Maybe we can find a wildener willing to take us to the shrine. There are still those among them that follow Regigigas, aren't there? They might even have information different from what we got here."

Haru tilted her head, staring at the strangers. Unease churned in her stomach, and she felt like she had a migraine coming on. And yet, she couldn't help but ask, "What's so important about going up to that old shrine?"

At once, all eyes turned to her, and that unease deepened. As she glanced from side to side, she realized that the remainder of the crowd had already gone back to their own business, leaving her alone with the strangers.

"That's to say… I mean…" Nervously, she shuffled her paws. "What's so important about going up there that you can't get here?"

For a moment longer, nothing was said as the explorers exchanged glances with each other. Then finally, the charmander stepped forward, digging into her bag to fish out a badge. The center was shaped like a teardrop and made of a bronze-colored metal. Blue-silver wings sprouted from either side, misshapen like they were formed from water. On the tear drop, the shape of a vaporeon's head had been stamped on the center, with the word "Expedition" printed on the bottom.

"I'm Suli," the Charmander said. "We're a research team from the Expedition Society researching the effects of mystery dungeons, their origins, and the myths surrounding them."

Haru tilted her head. "If you're wanting to investigate mystery dungeons, there's a small one not far from here. Sunglow Thicket. It's about six zones or so."

The charmander smiled, but there was something about the gesture that seemed off to Haru. Something not quite right. Like it was stiff and rehearsed. "Yes, we already visited it. The base floor was quite fascinating, really. Looks like the result of a powerful battle. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find any concrete evidence of that so far.

"But one of the other things we're doing is looking into local legends and records. The lucario – Anu, I think his name was – was able to provide us with some valuable insight. But there's still gaps. And we don't even know if it's accurate." The charmander sighed and shook her head, her tailflame dimming. "We wanted to go up to the old shrine and see if anything there was different, but Anu refuses to take us."

Haru huffed. All of that lined up. "Well, I don't think you're going to have much luck getting anyone to go. Everyone is currently really worked up over Cel—" She cut off, realizing a little too late that Celebi's appearance was something she probably shouldn't talk about.

But it seemed it was too late to take it back. Even after cutting herself off, all four of the pokemon had trained their eyes on her. Haru took a few uneasy steps back. "I mean, um…"

"No, no please stay." The charmander held her hands up in front of her in a gesture unfamiliar to Haru, though she got the feeling from the rest of the body language that she was trying to be placating. "We're not looking to cause trouble. But please, can't you tell us more?"

"No. No, this is local business, nothing you should be worrying about." The words tumbled out of her mouth as she tried to think of an excuse to leave the conversation."

The charizard stepped forward. "Su, should I…"

But the charmander shook her head. "No." She let out a long breath. Then she looked around quickly before lowering her voice. "Listen, miss…"

"Haru," Haru answered, answering truthfully out of habitual politeness.

The charmander tilted her head, giving Haru a confused smile. "Listen, Haru, I don't know what's going on that's got everyone here on edge, but I promise we're not here to cause trouble, just doing routine explorer work. But I will admit there is…" She trailed off, then continued in a lower tone, "There's more to the situation than what we've said. Would you please hear us out? Come with us back to our room. This is a… sensitive situation."

The way the charmander moved set Haru on edge. Through the haze of her growing headache, her mind screamed at her to refuse. To run away. But she pushed her worries away. These were explorers. Explorers that came across as shady, but explorers nonetheless. As one of the major governing bodies of the incorporated towns, they had a duty to serve the pokemon around them, and behave themselves, even outside of their territories. If she couldn't trust them, who could she trust?

"Okay," she said after a long moment of silence, "but only for a few minutes. I don't have a lot of time to spare, anyways."

The charmander's tailflame brightened, and she looked at Haru with a cheerful expression. "Great! If you'll just come with us back to our room, I'll explain everything."

She spun around on her heels and hurried ahead of the group, headed back towards the tavern. Haru caught the other team members exchanging nervous glances. Worry knotted her stomach. Was she doing the right thing, giving these pokemon a chance? The last time she'd done so, it hadn't ended well.

They're explorers, she reminded herself. Not random nobodies from the middle of nowhere. It's fine. You can trust them.

With her nerves steeled, she followed behind the charmander.

Haru had never had a need to stay at the local tavern, so she'd never seen the inside of the bedrooms. But it was exactly what she expected. It was sparse and empty; a pair of nests lined either side of the wall, with a storage chest at the very end of the room. Beams of sunlight shone through a single window, and a handful of moss jars affixed to the wall to brighten up the dark corners. A couple of bags were strewn about the room, with dungeoneering supplies, rations, and equipment peeking out of the top. As far as Haru could tell, everything was in order, and the explorer's story lined up.

Unlike many of the homes and businesses, the room had a wooden door to protect the privacy and belongings of the pokemon. The smaller flap was currently latched shut, likely since most of the pokemon in the room were too big to use it.

As everyone filed in, the girafarig, the raichu, and the charizard all took up bed spaces. For the charizard's bedding, the normal straw had been swapped for a bed of occa leaves, if Haru remembered her berries correctly. But it was the only one of its kind in the room. Maybe Suli shared a bed with her? Maybe they were mother and daughter. Unusual for both of them to be on the same team, but not unheard of.

"Allow me to introduce my teammates," Suli said, lounging against the chest at the end of the room. "This is Skorch, Topaz, and Remer." She gestured to the charizard, then the raichu and girafarig. "Together, we form Expedition Team Brushfire."

"Uh huh," Haru said. Taking a seat with her back to the door. Through the still growing headache, she recognized that they had positioned themselves so that there was no one between herself and the door. But with the small flap latched, she'd have to contend with pushing the big door open if something did go wrong. She forced the instinctual desire for deep water to hide in out of her head and said, "Go on."

"As I said before, we're here investigating the origins of the mystery dungeons. Unfortunately, their formation was so long ago that there are few surviving accurate accounts. All we have to go off of is geography and legends." Suli paused, turning around to open the chest and dig around inside it. When she turned back, she was holding a map in one hand and a tattered book in the other.

"We've been going from village to village in the area, investigating nearby mystery dungeons and speaking with locals about their legends. Our goal is to compare and contrast all these stories and try to find patterns in the stories that line up with mystery dungeon formation."

"I see," Haru said, watching the charmander's every movement. "And what does that have to do with the old shrine?"

"As far as we can gather," Suli started, spreading out the map in front of her, "that shrine is one of the oldest surviving structures in the area, dating back nearly five centuries — oh, excuse me, you might not be familiar with that terminology — 500 cycles." She gestured Haru closer, pointing at the map. "While a lot of it is damaged or in disrepair, from what I understand the shrine has depictions of older stories that have fallen out of common knowledge carved into it. We want to see how that lines up with what we know.

"And who knows?" Suli looked up. There was a spark of excitement in her eyes that reminded Haru of Toshi when he talked about joining the Expedition society and going on adventures. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll be able to figure out where Regigigas — or any of the titans, for that matter — have been hiding for this long. Or if they exist at all, for that matter. But based on what you started to say earlier, I get the feeling that they're more than a myth?"

Being reminded of her slipup made Haru uneasy. The conversation shifting to gods only made the unease worse. For the second time that day, she fought to stay calm. "I went up there a couple times as a child," she began, ignoring the prying tone in Suli's voice. If she was hoping to find out more about Celebi, then she was out of luck. "It's been a long time but… from what I remember, there wasn't anything special about it.

"Besides," Haru added as her tone turned bitter, "what's the point in focusing so much on finding legends? It's not like they're doing us any good, anyways."

"The charmander glanced up at Haru with undisguised curiosity. "Oh, What makes you say that?"

Topaz and Remer had been lounging in the corner of the room. But Haru realized they were now staring directly at her. More unease churned in her gut. "Well, what I mean is, looking for more information on the mystery dungeons is good and all, but what's the point of bringing legends into the mix: No one's seen them in hundreds of cycles – i-if they exist at all." She tittered. "They haven't exactly done anything to help the world with its problems. Sounds pretty useless if you ask me."

Suli stared, her eyes keen with interest. "It sounds like you have a bit of a bone to pick with the gods. Why?"

Haru wasn't sure she liked that look. "That's none of your business."

Oppressive silence hung in the air as charmander and bidoof locked eyes. Haru's head pounded. Why were they so interested in her issues with gods? No one had ever been this interested. At least, no one who wasn't trying to get her to reconsider.

It was Remer that broke the silence. "I think we can trust her, Su. Maybe she'll be able to help us. Her reasons don't matter."

Suli turned. Haru could see the tension in her coiled muscles, as if ready to bolt. "Are you sure? If we tell her, there's no going back."

"Tell me what?" Haru's heart felt like it could explode at any beat.

"I'm certain," the girafarig answered. A beat of silence passed, then he said, "If we keep on at the pace we're going, we'll never get anything done."

The charmander's tail flame dimmed. Her teammates leaned closer, equally tense, breath held as they waited for the answer.

Finally, Suli sighed. "Fine." She held up her hands in the same placating gesture as before. "Just… don't freak out, okay?"

A deep breath, then the charmander stood up straight. Her form seemed to wobble, like heat waves on a hot summer day. It built up more and more energy. Then, all at once, a white and red body exploded out of the charmander.

The pokemon that stood in her place was tall and lanky. Wiry, pale grey fur covered the pokemon's torso. Long, curved claws — longer even than Haru's teeth — dug into the wooden flooring. Along her arms and legs were red bumps that could be mistaken for raw wounds at a glance. A vulpine face poked out from behind a thick, rippling red and white mane.

Suli was a zoroark, but she was unlike any Haru had ever seen.

Instinctually, Haru shrank down and took a step back. Zoroark weren't necessarily dangerous. In fact, so long as you didn't run into a hungry wildener zoroark, she'd heard they were quite friendly. But there was always that one story in the back of her mind, that one warning to be careful about following strangers. That a suitably powerful zoroark could cast illusions that hid your screams.

Haru didn't know how true that was, but she was afraid she was about to find out.

But the zoroark showed no signs of aggression. In fact, she seemed quite relaxed.

"Please, forgive me for deceiving you," the zoroark said in a slightly deeper voice. "It was not our intent to cause trouble but… well, there aren't many zoroark like me, so I don't like to reveal my form if it's going to cause fear."

"O-of course," Haru said. Her headache had lessened slightly, making it easier to think. Yes, this was shocking, but not necessarily cause for alarm.

The zoroark gripped her satchel tighter. "What I've told you is mostly true. We really are an exploration team looking into the formation of mystery dungeons. And we really are trying to piece together the true stories of the gods, but there's more to it than that."

She glanced back down to her map. "Have you ever wondered why the world is the way it is? With so many problems that don't have easy answers, some of which make you question the benevolence of the gods? Make you question why they're viewed as good when they've caused so much strife?"

Haru stared with wide eyes. "Of course. I mean… the most obvious one is the meat issue. How could a benevolent god just force pokemon to kill each other to live?" A pause. "Of course, that's if they even exist in the first place."

The zoroark bobbed her head in agreement. "Exactly. And yet, there are good things about the world, too. Are these the work of chance, or benevolent gods making some things better, but not everything?"

A deep breath, then the zoroark reached out, offering her forepaw to Haru. "And that's where our research comes in. Allow me to reintroduce myself. My real name is Susana. My team's goal is to put together a better picture of the gods and which ones are benevolent. In doing so, we hope to find these benevolent gods, and ask their help to make the world a better place. But at the same time, we hope to expose the wicked ones for what they truly are."

Chapter Text

"Finding the gods?" Haru stood stiff, staring, flabbergasted at the strange zoroark in front of her. Her mouth hung open as she tried to process Susana's claim. "You… you're…"

"A zoroark, yes," Susana interrupted with a chuckle. "Once again, sorry for deceiving you. My appearance is rather frightening, isn't it?" She raised a forepaw to rub at her wild, disheveled mane. "Our job requires some degree of secrecy so I usually keep my true form hidden. Not everyone is as friendly as you, Haru."

She began to approach, and Haru took stumbling steps backwards on instinct. Susana's posture was nonthreatening, but the prey part of Haru's mind didn't like the idea of a large, strange pokemon approaching her. Especially when there was no escape route. But she forced herself to stop and held her ground. "I-I… I'm not as friendly as you think. Come any closer and you'll see how much damage these teeth can do."

The zoroark didn't seem swayed by Haru's trembling threat, but she did stop, chuffing as if she'd heard a joke.

"Goodness, I'm sorry if I've come across as threatening, Haru. Look, maybe I can make it up to you, make it clear we mean no harm. Are you hungry? Thirsty? We have carrots and bread in the way of herbivore food. We also have razzberry juice and wine."

Haru still felt an edge of hunger. But her stomach was too twisted to even think about eating right now. "I'm fine."

Susana dropped her paws to her sides and shrugged. "Suit yourself. But really, please make yourself comfortable. You can stay right there if it makes you feel safer. Just let me come by so I can unlock the small door for you. That way you can leave at any time." She took a step forward. "As you can see, none of us need it, so there was no need to unlock it."

"I'll… let me do it myself," Haru said, backing away until her rump bumped against the door. If she let Susana do it, there was a chance that she would use her illusions to make it look like she was unlocking it. If Susana was talented enough, she could still trick Haru into thinking the door was unlocked anyway. But that was less likely. And even so, doing it herself made her feel safer.

No one stopped her from unlocking the door, assuaging her fears somewhat. She turned back and crouched so that she was more comfortable, but still able to turn and flee at a moment's notice.

Susana returned to her spot by the map and took a seat, brushing her claws through her mane. "Now that that's settled, where should I start…"

"Maybe at the beginning," Haru said bluntly. "Who are you, really?"

"Oh, everything I've said so far is true." Susana stopped brushing her mane and tilted her head at Haru, ears flicking up. "We're explorers from the Expedition Society, on a mission to find out more information about both mystery dungeons and the gods. The only thing I lied about is my identity." She paused. "Well, I know we only told a partial truth before inviting you here, but there's a reason for that!"

Haru considered for a moment. "So why are you so secretive about it? I'm sure a lot of pokemon would be excited to go chasing legendaries."

"Isn't it obvious?" the raichu, Topaz, said. "Think about it. Most pokemon fear the discovery of their gods. They might say they want to find them, but they're lying to themselves. What if the gods don't live up to their expectations? What if the stories are lies? What if they don't exist at all?"

Skorch, the charizard, spoke next. "There's hundreds of stories about various gods, but we have very little hard evidence. The theory that Dialga and Palkia formed the dungeons during the historic War of the Ancients is well accepted, but even that isn't completely proven. But no one questions it, because few pokemon are ready to face the possibility that the gods aren't real. Or that, if they are, they don't really care."

Haru snorted, thinking both of her earlier conversation with Nip and the way everyone had been acting since Celebi's appearance. "You got that right."

Topaz, who had splayed out on his belly and begun tracing shapes in the floor with his tail tip, cast a glance at Remer before discerningly looking at Haru. "The way you said that makes me feel like there's something you aren't telling us."

Haru's gaze darted to the side as she tried to find a way to salvage her comment. As much as she wanted to expose Celebi for the fraud he was, something held her back. That information was for her village and her village alone. "All I mean is that there's some pokemon out there that freak out when their faith is challenged. That's all."

Topaz exchanged another look with Remer. Haru's heart pounded, threatening to burst through her chest as the silence drew on. It was Skorch that finally spoke.

"Makes enough sense, don't you guys think?"

Susana bobbed her head. "Agreed." Then she turned back to Haru. "Well, now you know why we're trying to get to the shrine. But, as you saw back in front of the temple, we haven't had much luck getting anyone to take us." She sighed, slowly slinking back to her map. She traced a line across it with one claw before looking up again.

"You said you've been there before." Her tone was leading. "Is there… any chance you could take us? Maybe even a bit further up the mountain, if time permits? I know it's a big ask, but you'd be doing us a big service. And we'd be happy to pay you for your time."

"E-excuse me?" Haru's mouth hung open as she tried to process the request. They wanted her to take them to the shrine. No, not just to the shrine, but up the mountain. They couldn't be serious.

Susana tilted her head, her ears flicking back and forth. "Goodness, what's the matter?"

It took several moments before she finally found her words. "Do… Do you realize how dangerous it is to go up there? No one goes up there anymore." Well, that wasn't totally true. Anu went up there every few cycles with a couple other guards, and there were probably wildeners that visited the shrine to pay respects, since most weren't comfortable entering the village to visit the temple itself; she couldn't remember the last time any had shown up for any of the religious festivals. But she wasn't about to say that out loud.

"You're likely to encounter territorial wildeners along the way," she continued, stamping a paw. "And don't get me started about the dangers beyond the shrine. My understanding is there's no real path up the mountain past the shrine. And you have to deal with chilling winds, large crevices, and — if you get high enough — snow and freezing temperatures. Pokemon have died trying to scale it." Her mind drifted to falling snow. A younger Muse's wails rang in her ears. Then she shook her body and forced the thoughts away.

Remer exchanged a look with Skorch before saying, "I understand your hesitations, young one. But you would be in good paws. We are well experienced with exploring dangerous locations."

"If she's never been past the shrine, then she wouldn't be able to guide us any further, would she?" Skorch interjected, addressing the girafarig. "I don't see the use in asking that of her."

Through the discussion, Susana remained quiet, her eyes closed.

Haru turned away and took a step towards the door. "Sorry, but my answer is no. I sympathize with your cause. Really, I do. But I can't justify risking my life for it."

Susana sighed. "I understand. Thank you for your time, Haru." Then she turned back to her team. "Come on, we best hit the streets again. I'm sure we can find someone in this village willing to take us."

Haru paused, about to unlatch the small door. "…I thought you were talking about looking outside the village for help before."

"Well, we're considering it," Susana admitted. "If we can't find anyone willing to help here, then we'll have to head out. But we'd prefer to work with civilized 'mon. You know how difficult it can be to work with wildeners, pokemon still beholden to their instincts, right?"

Haru lowered her paw and turned around, thoughts racing through her head as she made mental connections. All the while that dull headache from before persisted. If these explorers went asking around the village, they were bound to come across Toshi sooner or later. And he wouldn't hesitate to answer an exploration team's request.

Her mind drifted to mental images of her dying grandfather, a pokemon who made it far into the mountains, only for his traveling companions to die. A pokemon who made it back home, only to succumb to his injuries shortly after. Suddenly it wasn't her grandfather lying in front of her, struggling for breath as he told the adults of his team's demise until his body gave out, and he was silenced forever. Now it was Toshi. Bleeding and small, his eyes glassy and staring at nothing.

She couldn't let that happen.

Heart racing, she took her paw away from the handle and turned back to Susana. "Fine. Fine. You make a good point. I'll help." Susana opened her mouth to say something, but Haru cut her off with a raised paw. "But only as far as the old shrine. And only under the condition that, if you do decide to go further, you escort me back to the village first. After that, you're on your own."

"That wouldn't be a problem." Susana brought her paws up and tapped her claws together, eyes closed in a friendly squint. "How soon could you go? Is tomorrow good? We've already stocked up on supplies — except food, but we can take care of that tonight."

Tomorrow? Haru tilted her head. "Why so soon?"

Remer answered as he climbed to his feet and approached the storage chest. "We have other leads we want to follow up on afterwards, but we have to return to our branch and report our findings soon."

That's a reasonable explanation, Haru thought. She stared at him a moment longer before letting out a breath. "Alright. You have yourselves a deal."

Susana clapped twice and showed her teeth in what Haru thought was supposed to be a friendly expression. "Excellent! Where can we meet you tomorrow?"

Haru looked to the ceiling, considering. There were a few places she could think of, but some would raise questionsl. "I think the best place is… There's a bridge crossing the river, not far outside of the village. The path to the shrine branches off of the road on the other side. That would be a good place to start."

Susana bobbed her head. "Cool. We'll meet you there just after sunrise so we can get a bright and early start. Anu said it's almost a day's journey away, and we'd like to get you back home in a reasonable amount of time." She held a paw out towards Haru, paw pad facing up.

Haru stared at the paw. Susana had made this same strange gesture before. When the zoroark didn't move, she tilted her head. "What are you doing?"

Susana looked at Haru, then at her paw. "O-oh, I guess this fad hasn't reached you guys out in the boonies yet. It's called 'shaking paws.' It's kind of like… a physical promise for a verbal agreement."

"An agreement…" How strange. Still, she sat back and reached up to place her paw in the zoroark's. "Very well." They held paws for a moment, then Haru pulled away. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

She turned and reached up to push down on the handle, putting her weight against the door. As she made her way down the hall, her headache weakened to little more than a throb, and she began to think. She was going to have to tell her parents about this — at least, to some degree. They'd want to know why she was skipping work, after all.

So entrenched in her thoughts, she didn't notice the pokemon watching her as she left.

"Hey, Meaad. I need a room for two. Should only need it for a couple hours."

The simisear raised a brow, looking Vale up and down, then glanced behind him to look at Umbra. She stared back with a flat expression. After a few heartbeats, he closed his eyes, raised his hands palm-up to either side, and turned away. "Room for two? Coming right up."

Umbra continued watching him for a few more heartbeats before turning away to take in her surroundings. They were in another wooden building — one of the larger ones. On their side of the room, there was only the counter, a few plants, and an incline to a second floor. On the other side of the room, sat a pawful of matching furniture items. Chairs and tables, if she remembered the words correctly. Sunlight filtered through a handful of windows, creating patches of light throughout the room.

A couple pokemon sat at the tables, casting curious glances in her direction. She turned away and ignored them. Food scents wafted from their side of the room, and from an entryway beyond the tables. She could identify the smell of cooked meats and sickly sweet fruits. Her stomach growled, but she ignored that, too.

This room would be absolutely horrible if trouble showed up. There was the counter. Or perhaps under the tables, but they were too exposed for her liking. At least they made a makeshift weapon or shield, in a pinch.

"Ah, here we are."

The simisear's voice brought her attention back. He slid a small metal object across the counter, placing it in front of Vale. "One of you is dexterous, so I'll leave you to go to your room. Upstairs, last door on the left. Vale, if you happen to leave last, just come get me or the night staff We'll get the door locked for you. Either way, make sure to leave the key at the front when you're done." He glanced back to Umbra and smiled wryly. "Enjoy your time together."

Umbra stepped forward and grabbed the key, casting one more unamused glance at Meaad. Then she turned and made her way towards the ramp. Vale followed just behind, trotting until they were side by side.

Umbra leaned towards him and muttered into his ear, "Remind me why this is the best place for our discussion?"

Vale lowered his head and replied quietly. "Most places don't have the degree of privacy we need. I don't even trust my own home. And we can't go to the woods all the time or pokemon might get suspicious. Besides, the rumors that crop up from meeting here should provide some cover."

Umbra clenched her jaw. Right, the gross rumors he'd mentioned before. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. "If we want those rumors to stick, then we need to look the part," she grumbled, suppressing a shudder; if she had to act, then she would. And she considered herself quite the actress.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she made sure they were still being watched. Then she forced a smile, and — before he could protest — tilted her head up to nuzzle against Vale's lower jaw.

Ugh, how embarrassing. Thank Yveltal they were out of sight shortly after. At least that would get pokemon talking.

"Do not ever make me do that again," she said monotonously with a shake of her head.

"Hey, you're the one that chose to do it, don't look at me."

They said nothing more.

Halfway down the hall, a sound caught Umbra's attention. Muffled voices. One of them feminine and familiar.

She stopped. "Hold on. Does that not sound like the annoying bidoof?"

"Toshi?" Vale tilted his head. "No, but now that you mention it, it does sound sort of like Haru…"

Umbra strained her ears until she could figure out which room the sound was coming from. She approached, speaking. "Something strange is going on. Listen."

She leaned forward, pressing one ear against the door. Vale came up just behind and did similar.

"You said you've been there before," an unfamiliar, low-toned feminine voice said. "Is there… any chance you could take us? Maybe even a bit further up the mountain, if time permits?"

Umbra stole a glance at Vale. His eyes were narrow, and his lips drew back in the beginning of a silent snarl. They continued to listen for a few moments, long enough to hear Haru agree. Vale drew back and crept to the end of the hall, taking care to keep his claws from clicking against the wood. Umbra followed, smelling signs of an electrical current as she sidled up to him.

"Well?" she asked.

"This is suspicious," Vale growled. "I know that bidoof well enough to know she'd never go to the old shrine of her own free will." He looked back to the door and crouched, tail low and still. "I know we have matters to discuss, but I have a job to do. I need to deal with this first. We can make plans afterwards."

Umbra's claws twitched with frustration. This was a waste of her time. Nip was far more important than helping some pathetic little bidoof that got in over her head. Haru could get herself killed for all Umbra cared.

But at the same time, she could understand the feeling of obligation. The need to fulfill a duty. She let out a long huff, turning away. "Fine, but make it quick."

Vale dipped his head in understanding and lifted a paw. But before he could take a step, the small door swung open and Haru waddled out. Umbra and Vale froze, watching as she headed down the ramp without even noticing them.

"Now what?" Umbra asked.

"Follow my lead." Vale approached the door with that same light step, as if sneaking up on prey. Then he raised a paw to scratch at the door.

All chatter and movement stopped on the other side. There was a shuffling, then the small door creaked open, and a charmander poked her head out the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Vale stood at attention, looking down at the charmander. "Yes, actually. We're with the local law enforcement. We'd just like a quick word." He glanced the charmander up and down. Sizing her up, Umbra presumed. "May we step inside?"

The charmander's brow furrowed. "If you need to, I guess. Is there a problem?" She stepped back.

"Probably not," Vale replied as he stooped and ducked through the smaller door. He jerked his head to gesture for Umbra to follow. "Just following up on a concerned inquiry from the innkeep. Said he saw a townie come up here with you guys." He glanced to the map on the floor, then at the other pokemon. You're the explorers that were staying in town, right? Could I see your badge for a moment?"

The charmander tittered. "Are you talking about Haru? She left a few moments ago, actually. You just missed her. But here you go." She picked up the badge, messing around with it for a few heartbeats before tossing it in Vale's direction. It landed on the ground with a metallic clatter.

He looked down at the badge through narrowed eyes, inspecting the surface. He sniffed it. Gave it an experimental lick. Then gingerly picked it up with his teeth and flipped it over, repeating the process.

Umbra crossed her arms, gaze flicking between Vale and the other pokemon. Subtly, she lifted her jaw, parting it in an attempt to appear larger and intimidating.

"Hmm," Vale finally said, still stooping. "This is a genuine explorer badge, alright." He stood up straight. "There's just one thing that seems off to me." He looked between the other three pokemon. "Where's your other establishing member, Miss… what was your name again?"

"Suli," the charmander answered. "And you mean Chamomile, the treeko? She's back at base, handling paperwork."

"I see. If you're Suli, that makes you the team lead? You have a lot of evolved pokemon with you for only being a charmander with a silver rank." He knocked the badge skidding across the floor in Suli's direction.

Umbra had no idea what he was talking about, but she got the idea that something was fishy about their story. The way the raichu was fidgeting backed up her thoughts.

Suli frowned and crossed her arms, tail flame flaring. "Does no one in this villiage know how to be hospitable? Seriously, do you treat all outsiders with this sort of disrespect?"

"Only ones that act suspicious," Umbra answered.

Vale bobbed his head in agreement. "Exactly. Now, if you really are who you say you are, you wouldn't mind coming down to the psychic courier to contact your branch and verify your identity, now would you?"

Umbra scanned the evolved pokemon again. The raichu was shifting uneasily again, while the charizard gave him a nervous glance. They weren't expecting to be challenged, she thought. They're lying about something, and they don't have an excuse ready.

Her attention shifted to the girafarig. Unlike the other two, he was staring at Vale with rapt attention and a serious expression. Such a serious expression, in fact, that it almost looked like…

The heartbeat it clicked in her head, she tackled Vale, sending him tumbling. A moment later, a foreign force sent her flying over him. She heard the wall splinter behind her, but it did not give.

The charmander dove for the chest, reaching for something inside. At the same time, Vale sprang back to his feet, a low growl in his throat. Umbra felt her fur stand on end heartbeats before bolts of electricity flew off of the manectric, striking everyone, including herself.

The charmander cried in pain and reeled back. And then, almost instantaneously, she was no longer a charmander, but a strange, pale-furred zoroark.

But she wasn't the only one that changed. One second, Umbra was looking at a perfectly normal charizard. The next, the two horns morphed into one. The girafarig's backside grew in size and became a dark mirror of its upper body. One side stared wide-eyed at the zoroark, the other glared at Vale

But the raichu's transformation was the most significant. Its fur turned dark orange, its ears shifting back. Horns grew from his head, and spikes appeared along his back. Umbra gaped at the raichu-like creature with undisguised shock.

Sparks danced around Vale's pelt as he fell out of his battle-ready stance. "What," he began, "the f—"

"HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE?"

Everyone froze at the sound of the innkeeper's voice, bellowing from below. The pounding sound of a pokemon running up the ramp followed.

Vale shook out of his stupor first. He turned and raced through the door.

"Wait!" the zoroark growled, pouncing towards him.

Umbra intercepted her with a metallic headbutt, knocking her out of the air and sending her sprawling on the ground. She put one foot on the zoroark's torso, holding her second jaw up in a striking position.

"Vale, what in the blazes is going on in there?" Umbra turned her head so that she could watch Vale out of the corner of her eye, while still watching the Zoroark. She could just see the simisear steaming on the other side of Vale, through the door. "You know the rules. No fighting in the inn."

"Sorry about that, Meaad," Vale answered gruffly. He stood at attention, stiff and serious. "I had to put a sudden end to a dispute up here. Won't happen again. And if it does, I'll escort them out myself. We'll see if they like fighting after spending a night in jail."

"You have the space for that?" Meaad asked. Now he just sounded confused. Umbra wasn't surprised; Nip and Tempest wasted most of the jailspace, from the way Vale talked. There was no room for these four.

The simisear tried to lean around Vale. The zoroark gasped, then suddenly Umbra wasn't pinning her down, but instead a small, frail charmander. The other pokemon changed back to normal forms as well.

Meaad let out a huff of air and looked back at Vale. "Right. Then see to it."

Umbra heard receding footsteps, then Vale slipped back through the door, kicking it shut behind him. An invisible force shoved her, then the disguised zoroark slithered out from beneath her and scampered back to stand in front of the others.

"Now, where were we?" Vale asked, lazily looking the pokemon over. His gaze settled on the "charmander" and he clenched his jaw. "Oh, right. Listen. I got him off your tail, but that doesn't mean you're free to go. Now talk."

There was a pause, then the zoroark shed her fake form. Her teammates remained disguised, however. She tilted her head and crossed her arms, lips drawn back in a snarl. "Why should we?"

Umbra mimicked her pose, raising her back jaw overhead to show off her maw and rows of pointed teeth. "I don't think you understand the situation you're in, Zoroark."

Vale stepped forward, sparks rippling through his fur as he continued where Umbra left off. "We just caught you red-pawed with a stolen Expedition Society badge, impersonating a team. You're looking at cycles of jail time. Or worse, if I report you as attacking a guard. But I'm giving you a chance to explain yourselves. A chance to explain why you're doing this and — perhaps if your answer is satisfactory — a chance to lessen your charges."

The zoroark's expression faltered. She turned her head to look back at the rest of her team. Each nodded to her before her gaze shifted to the next. Umbra could feel a headache coming on. But to her surprise, the zoroark turned back, the rest of the illusion dropping.

"Fine," the zoroark began with a sigh. "My name is Susana. We're not explorers. We're an advance team for a group that sailed in from offshore. We made landfall a few months — moons — ago."

"Offshore?" Vale asked with a tilt of his head. "How far are we talking?"

"A whole continent," the zoroark answered.

"Preposterous," Umbra cut in. "There is no way to safely travel across the sea. The stars guide us, but the methods for transporting many pokemon would be impossible."

"I can't help it if you haven't figured out how to advance that far," Susana snarled. "Believe it or not, that's on you, but I am only speaking the truth now."

Umbra wasn't convinced, but she gestured for the zoroark to continue.

"We've been researching the gods that the pokemon on this continent follow in an effort to compare them to our own stories. And to, perhaps, further advance our society." She crossed her arms again. "But that's all you're getting out of me."

Umbra gave Vale a serious look. "So, what are you going to do?"

Vale's tail swished back and forth twice before he answered. "Take them in, I guess, for impersonating. I can write off most of the other stuff, but their explanation is unsatisfactory for that. And there's an argument to be had that they took advantage of Meaad's discounted accommodations for pokemon working for incorporated powers."

The zoroark's expression turned aggressive once again. "Now hold on—"

But before she could say more, Umbra held up a paw to stop her. "Wait. I have an idea. Clearly you four have something you're still hiding. Perhaps we can… come to an agreement."

Vale lowered his head so that it was next to Umbra's and spoke in a low tone. "What are you getting at?"

Umbra turned back to speak to him directly, keeping her second jaw facing the strange pokemon. "Think about it. The way they talk, they're in deep trouble if they get caught. We may be able to use that to our advantage. To deal with our… situation."

"Oh. I see." Vale's tail stuck out stiffly behind him. "But which part?"

"Nip. We can discuss how to get back at Jhorlo separately. Though we may be able to twist this to make him look bad."

"You know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Susana interjected.

Vale exchanged one last serious glance with Umbra, then straightened up as she turned. "Good," he began. "Then you should understand your situation. You help us with something and get out of town, we pretend none of this happened."

The raichu-like creature glared at him through narrowed eyes. "And why should we? There's four of us and only two of you. We could just knock you out and get out of here on our own.

"And there's at least four pokemon below us that would come running at the sound of battle," Umbra responded nonchalantly. She had a feeling it was a bluff; most of the pokemon here were far too soft to get involved. But it still got her point across. "And if you run off, then you don't get to go to the shrine like you wanted."

"That's right," Vale added, taking a threatening step forward. "And what do you think happens to pokemon that attack a guard? I'll give you a hint. I've always wondered what zoroark tastes like."

Susana froze, eyes wide. The false raichu was less restrained. "You're sick!" he shouted, sparks flying from his cheek-sacs.

But neither Umbra nor Vale acknowledged him. Instead, they kept their eyes on Susana.

"F-fine. Fine," she finally said, ears laying flat against her skull. "What are your demands?"

Umbra grinned, showing her fangs as she stepped forward. "We have a certain… troublesome pokemon locked up here. A sneasel. I need him… gotten rid of. Killed, for his crimes against my kin. But the village has been too soft on him. You capture him for me, so I can finish the job, and this little incident stays quiet."

"Where is the sneasel?" the charizard asked. "Just in the jail?"

"He works various community service jobs during the day," Vale answered. "But we keep him locked in the jail at night, along with a ninetales. If you get rid of the ninetales, too, great. But I'm less concerned about him."

Susana mulled it over a minute, reaching up to scratch behind her ear. "Seems like a reasonable deal. There's just one problem. We're leaving tomorrow. So if you want to make this work, it best be fast."

"What?" Sparks bounced out of Vale's fur, dying away on the floor as he crouched. "What happened to bringing the bidoof back?"

"Oh, that?" Susana didn't miss a beat. "Skorch here" — she gestured to the charizard — "was going to fly her back when we were done, while the rest of us prepare to scale up the mountain."

"That's a fool's errand," Vale warned, though he returned to a neutral stance. "Going up the mountain, I mean. More capable pokemon than I have perished on the climb. But if you insist, well, it seems like a reasonable plan."

Umbra couldn't care less what they did with the bidoof. For all she cared, they could take her back or leave her to starve, so long as Nip was captured. She crossed her arms and tilted her head, so that she was staring Susana in the eye. "Well? Do we have a deal?"

"What do you guys think?" Susana turned back to her team. "Topaz? Skorch?"

"No issues," the fake raichu answered.

"None from me," Skorch replied. "Remer?"

The girafarig shifted in his nest. "I think we should come to a compromise." Both heads looked directly at Umbra. Her skin crawled as she stared back at the unnatural pokemon, but she refused to let it show.

"You want the sneasel," he continued, "and we want up the mountain without interruption. I say we nab the sneasel and take him with us up the mountain. Alive. If we return empty-pawed, or don't return at all, then you can rat us out. But this gives us… insurance that you'll keep your word."

Umbra scowled, narrowing her eyes. "I refuse to let that waste of breath, that blight on Yveltal's good name, leave my sight."

"Then what do you suggest?" Susana asked flatly.

Umbra's simplest answer was that she just refused to compromise, flat out. But she suspected that would not go over well. So instead, she found a separate option. "I will accompany you. I care not what you're doing, nor how long it takes, so long as I am able to finish him at the end." Perhaps she shouldn't be so single-minded. But she was sick of waiting.

The false explorers shared a glance between each other. No words were spoken, but they clearly were of a single mind. Finally, Susana turned back.

"Fine, that can be arranged."

"There's one possible issue," Topaz said, raising a paw. "What about the bidoof? How is she going to react to all this?"

"I doubt she'll raise a stink," Vale answered. "She doesn't like the sneasel either. She doesn't want him here and she wants him to see real justice as much as we do."

Umbra wasn't entirely convinced. The bidoof had tried to stop her before, when they'd first tried to catch Nip. But that was also before his crimes were proven. Perhaps it would be different now.

Skorch's voice brought her attention back to the conversation. "We can do a trade off, if needed. So long as we're careful. With a bit of direction, I can fly to catch up, covertly pass off the sneasel, while Haru is distracted at the shrine, then fly her back."

Susana tilted her head. "It's risky, but I suppose that works."

"What about Jhorlo?" Vale's voice came in a low tone, just beside her ear.

She could care less about Jhorlo. Once she was out of here, he was Vale's problem. But she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that answer. "We can discuss that privately. I don't think we can expect help for that one from these pokemon."

Vale seemed satisfied enough with the answer, as he stood up. "Seems reasonable," he said to the others. "Then do we have a deal?"

Susana bobbed her head. "I believe we do." Then she took a seat, picking up a map that had been left on the ground. "Now, what do you have in mind?"

Chapter Text

The sun was starting to dip behind Mount Domo, casting deep shadows into the woods as Haru arrived home. Though she had steadily made her way back, she froze just outside the door, heart fluttering. Would Shimmer and Muse still be here, waiting to confront her? And what of Toshi and her parents? She'd skipped out on work after their spat, something that hadn't happened in cycles. Just thinking about the coming earful was painful enough.

There was only one sensible thing to do.

Haru pushed through through the entry curtain and made straight for her room, replying to her mother's greeting with little more than a grunt.

She paused again just inside. Her room was sparse; she'd never found much need for little trinkets and other specialty items. They were a waste of money. Though she had a shelf, it only held a few well-worn books and a couple old wood-whittled figures. She'd made one a few cycles back, part of a short-lived art experiment. The other was a gift from her grandfather.

She made a straight line for a nest tucked in the back corner of the room, passing a low desk along the way. There, she collapsed faced down, burying herself in the straw without bothering to take her bags off.

And she remained like that for some time. At some point, her father stopped in her doorway and tried to make conversation, but she just grunted at him. She was left alone after that.

But she couldn't avoid her family forever. Eventually, the call for dinner forced her to climb to her paws. Only then did she bother slipping out of her bags and returning to the common room.

Toshi had already sat at the table, as had her dad. Her mom had prepped dinner tonight and was currently setting portions and drinks around the table. The scent of fresh bread and caramelized carrots sent her stomach rumbling.

She avoided her brother's gaze as she took a seat across from him. A chunk of bread with dipping oil, a simple salad, and a few roasted veggies in a savory sauce were spread across the plate in front of her. A cup of water sat to the side, but a small dispenser of spiced oran wine was at the center of the table. She wondered if her parents brought it out for a special occasion, or if they planned to drink to forget everything going on in the village. She was tempted, herself, but she couldn't run the risk of getting tipsy tonight. Not when she needed to get up early.

They ate in silence for a few moments, none wanting to broach the subject of her earlier behavior.

Her mom was the first to speak, her sentences punctuated between bites of food. "Well. You were right, Chip. That sneasel can do some good work. A shame he doesn't apply himself. Perhaps things would have turned out better for him if he did."

"Are you thinking of asking for his help again?" Chip asked. "'Gigas knows we could use it right now."

Haru groaned inwardly. Oh please no, she thought. I can't deal with that right now. Just send him off to the Enforcers already. But she kept her thoughts to herself, not looking to bring any attention.

"Perhaps," Saku answered. "His help came in handy today, considering we were short handed. Which reminds me…" Her gaze drifted to Haru, who shrank down behind the table. "Dear… You didn't come back from your break. Toshi told us you ran off. What happened?"

"It was nothing important," Haru answered quickly, paws digging into the fabric. "I just needed some fresh air. I went to town and then…" She trailed off, silently cursing herself. In all the excitement, then worry, she hadn't bothered to come up with an excuse for tomorrow's absence. If she was already being pestered about today, how was she supposed to explain running off with some explorers without sounding weird? If her parents knew the truth, they'd probably think she was going to the shrine out of spite and try to talk her out of it.

Was she going out of spite?

No. She was going to protect Toshi. That's all.

"I got to talking with some travelers while I was there," she began, mind racing as she formed the lie. Her stomach twisted with guilt. "And they asked me to help with a job. They needed some logging done down river and I offered to help out." She fought the urge to cringe. Now that she said it, the story sounded pretty weak.

"Travelers, huh?" Chip asked, pulling a bowl of wine closer. "You wouldn't happen to mean that group of explorers staying at the inn, would you?"

Haru swallowed and forced a smile. "Those are the ones. They were looking at setting up a camp. More of an outpost really. I don't think the village would agree to let them build one here, Jhorlo least of all. But no one owns the woods outside the village. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have one nearby in case of emergencies, you know?"

"Sure," Chip answered carefully. "But it has the potential to take away business from old Meaad. We see Society teams more often than we do any other type of traveler, save maybe merchants. Why would they come here if they got their own place?"

"Well, they wouldn't have a hot, fresh meal if they're out in the woods," Saku pointed out.

"I think it's pretty cool," Toshi said, eyes sparkling. "Think about how much we could learn if there's more permanent teams in the area! I wish I was going instead."

Haru's stomach twisted again. She hated how easily the lie had come, but at the same time, Toshi's reaction made her all the more certain she was doing the right thing by hiding the truth.

The conversation shifted to questions about Shimmer and Muse's wellbeing, then other topics that Haru didn't care to chime in on. Her attention drifted in and out as she picked at her food, her appetite waning.

Dinner ended with the last rays of sunlight. Chip excused himself to take his herbs, and Toshi retreated to his room to read. Only Haru and her mother remained.

Just as Haru opened her mouth to excuse herself, Saku said, "Would you be a dear and help me clean up?"

Haru bit back a sigh. She should be getting to bed, considering she needed to rise early. But there was no use in debating her mom. If she tried to argue that she could make her own decisions, her mom would point out that she wasn't the homeowner, and that meant she had to help out around the house. Standing on her hind paws, she reached out across the table to gather up the dishes. Saku handed her a jar of luminous moss before taking the dishes, then the two of them staggered outside.

They stopped at the edge of the dam, pushing through the reeds until they were in the muddy shallows. A large stone stuck out along the edge, the top dry. There, they placed their burdens. Haru and Saku each took one of the ceramic plates and dunked them into the water.

"Is everything okay, Haru?"

Saku's question caught her off guard. She froze for a heartbeat, wide-eyed. "Of course. Why wouldn't they be?" She fought to keep the unease out of her voice.

Saku looked down at the water for a moment, silent. "Well… It's just… you've been acting strange lately, dear. Ever since that Sneasel showed up. When he first appeared, you were so interested in showing him around. I thought it great, since you rarely get out. But then he… well, you know."

It was clear her mom didn't want to bring up Nip's heinous act. And it made Haru wonder: if it bothered her so much, then why was she willing to work with him?

But she didn't get a chance to voice her thoughts, as her mom just kept plowing on. "And then you ran off with your friends into a dungeon—a dungeon—to apprehend him. I would have expected it out of Toshi, what with his adventurous streak. But you? I would have thought you'd avoid it, or try to talk them down."

"I did try," Haru argued. "I just figured… it was better if I went with them, to keep them out of trouble."

"Even the second time?" Saku pressed. It seemed that was a rhetorical question, because she continued, "But it wasn't just that. Since then, you've been in a foul mood—don't think I haven't noticed. And now you're running off with strangers. Is there something wrong? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Haru fought to control her annoyance, then wondered why she was so annoyed. "Well, I'm not really running off with strangers," she said. "I'm running off to do a job for strangers. I think there's a difference there. As for the other stuff…" She trailed off, taking a deep breath. Surely her mom could understand her anger?

"I went into Sunglow Thicket for two reasons. I already said the first. The second time, I wanted to make sure Nip faced proper judgment, instead of being offed by someone willing to take hostages just to get to him. He was brought back, all but admitted to the destruction of several eggs—most of them maliciously—and then got nothing more than community service. Surely you can understand why I'm frustrated?"

Saku sat her rinsed dishes on the stone, then pushed out further into the water, disappearing beneath the rippling surface. Haru remained in the shallows, blinking. But her mother returned a minute later, expression pensive. She gestured for Haru to follow her out. With a sigh, the rest of the dishes were cast aside, and Haru slipped into the cool water.

There was no danger in this small pool, created by their own handiwork. And there would be no prying ears in the center.

"I do understand," Saku said once Haru joined her. "But I also know much of your behavior is unhealthy. Toshi told me about how you left earlier, though he wouldn't go into the details." The bibarel tilted her head upwards, gazing at the stars. Her wet fur glistened in the moonlight. "Whatever's going on, I can't force you to tell me. But I want you to know that I'm here, if you ever need to talk."

Treading water, Haru turned so that she was facing her mother. She struggled to find her words. How was her behavior unhealthy? Sure, she'd been quick to anger recently. She could admit as much. But surely that anger was justified? "I know," she finally said. "I'm still figuring some of it out for myself. But if I need anything, I'll let you know."

"Good girl," her mother replied. "Now, we should get to bed. We wouldn't want to catch a chill!" Her tail slapped the surface of the water, and she dove, reappearing back in the shallows. Haru followed behind slowly. She stopped for a moment to load the dishes onto her mother's tail. Then they both went inside.

Haru lay awake for some time after that, tossing and turning in her nest. Worry gnawed at her as she went over the conversation with her mom. Should she tell her mom the truth? About where she was going?

No. It would only worry her more. And the last thing she wanted was to worry her.

Soon, she drifted into a fitful sleep.

Once again, an endless expanse of water stretched out before Nip, mimicking the orange of the cloudless sky. The fur on the back of his neck prickled as he walked through the shallows, sending ripples on the otherwise still surface. He was vaguely aware that he was dreaming, and that it was the same dream that he'd had countless times. But he couldn't fathom why he was here again.

The same hill from his previous dreams—the one with the dying tree—appeared in the distance, the tree's branches spreading wide like outstretched claws. Involuntarily, he sped up, light on his feet as he raced towards the hill. Every time he dreamed of this place, he always fell into deep water before he reached it—and he'd had the dream several times since Celebi's appearance. The last thing he wanted was to wake up from the sensation of water filling his lungs, choking the life out of him.

But as he approached, the water remained shallow, only reaching his ankles. His pace slowed as he reached the base of the hill.

Tall grass waved in an imperceptible breeze. Beams of dying sunlight poked between the branches of the tree, dappling the grass with golden pools. He slunk up the soggy bank and into the neck-deep blades, climbing until he reached the base of the tree.

Thin ashen bark peppered the base of the tree, cracked and peeling away to reveal pale wood beneath. The bark thinned away further up the twisting trunk, disappearing around the gnarled branches. No leaves remained. Nip knew little about trees, but if this one wasn't dead already, surely it was dying?

His attention shifted to its base, where roots poked up through the dirt. Nestled between two of these roots, something out of place caught his eye. A blood-colored feather. He picked it up.

The feather was nearly as long as his arm and mostly that deep blood color, tapering to a midnight black as it reached the afterfeather. Nip wracked his brain as he tried to come up with different pokemon the feather could have come from. It was too big for a sneasel, and they didn't usually taper to black. Talonflame, maybe? But he didn't think they had feathers this long, either. It would have to be an incredibly large one.

Then a long-buried memory of a lesson back in his old nesting grounds surfaced, and he pictured an old historic painting. Though the details faded with time, he could still picture the deep bloody feathers of a bird—his patron—perched on a tree with her wings spread wide.

"Yveltal?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, pulled away and made inaudible by a sudden gust of wind.

This feather belonged to Yveltal. It had to. Then was this the tree from the painting? It couldn't be; it was old and wizened and dead. The tree in the painting was lush and vibrant. Covered with plant life and teeming with the spirits of the departed. This was a stark opposite.

He turned and raced away from the tree, fur bristling as he scanned the sky for any signs of his god. All the while calling out, "Yveltal! Yveltal I am here! Is this a vision? Is this something more? What do you need of me?"

A quiet splish-splash signaled that he had run back into the water. His foot caught on something just beneath the surface. Stumbling, he waved his arms wildly, but it was no use. With a yowl, he tumbled into the water. Deep into the water, as if the bank weren't even there. An invisible current pulled him away from land, dragging him deeper and deeper into the depths. The feather spiraled up and away, leaving him behind in the darkness, lungs burning.

But he wasn't alone.

The current swirled as a massive, dark figure swam around him. Vision blurred by water, he couldn't see well. But as the figure came to a stop just above him, watching him sink, he could just make out the form of two great dark wings, and two bright blue eyes that glowed with some emotion he couldn't place.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to gag and panic as he sucked in a lungful of water. No, not water. This fluid was thicker, more viscous, and had a familiar flavor. Yolk. He was drowning in egg yolk. He flailed, desperate to reach the surface, but his vision was fading fast. And soon, all he could make out were those two smoldering eyes.

Before the end, he heard a voice.

You do not belong…

Nip gasped awake, coughing and sputtering. He flailed in the darkness, rolling onto his belly as if to vomit up swallowed water. But nothing came.

Of course nothing came; it was just a nightmare. He was still in Theran village, hidden away in his cell.

Bits of straw clung to his fur as he sat up, blinking. His flailing had scattered his nest, leaving him exposed. As he looked around the dimly-lit room, he could see two pairs of eyes watching him. One was Tempest, his expression betraying worry. The other was tonight's night guard, Anu.

He turned away from both of them, stood, and began to pace his small space, keeping his head low.

What was he supposed to make of his dream? He'd had it several times, but this time it was different. He'd found that feather… Yveltal's feather, he was sure of it!

Did that make this more than a dream? A vision? He wasn't a psychic. He'd never been gifted—or cursed, for that matter—with the power of prophecy. And yet, he'd had the same dream so many times; that had to mean something!

So what was he supposed to make of the ending? You do not belong. Who had said it? Yveltal? Was Yveltal abandoning him? Did Yeveltal even care about him to begin with?

A tiny, pathetic whimper escaped his lips as he scraped his claws together, catching on every nick and chip. Some of the damage came from hard labor, while other parts came from striking at his cell walls as he tried to calm his frazzled nerves. It wasn't like he was using them for anything else, anyways. He couldn't remember the last time he'd hunted; it was some time before arriving here, in this cursed town that had destroyed his last shred of hope.

With another whimper, he slumped to the ground, cheek meeting the wood flooring.

"Having nightmares, are you, Nip?"

Anu's question brought Nip out of his sulking. He turned his head so that he could see the lucario, but did not rise or otherwise reply.

"You were twitching and mewling in your sleep," Anu continued. His tone was factual, neither accusatory nor comforting. The corner's of his mouth twisted upwards. And for just a moment, Nip thought he might be enjoying his suffering. But the rest of his body language suggested otherwise. "Ah, please forgive me. I… do not mean to pry. It's just…"

Anu took a deep breath. "I… I know you are religious. We spoke of your patron before. I don't know how central Celebi is to your beliefs. B-but I know his appearance has left many of the faithful shaken. Celebi does not act like the myths say. What does that mean about the rest of the myths? About everything we grew up believing? If your nightmares are anything of that nature, I can't say I blame you, but know that you are not alone."

What do you know, Nip thought ruefully. Still, he sat up so that he could better look at Anu. And Tempest, for that matter. The ninetales watched from his own cell, tails slowly waving, almost hypnotic.

"I find it curious," Anu continued, following Nip's gaze. "Celebi's appearance has affected you far more than it has Tempest. Why is that?"

Nip considered ignoring him. What good would it do to talk about this? But after a moment, he realized Anu was giving him something other than his dreams to focus on. Or trying to, at least.

"Tempest really should be the one telling you about this," he began, shifting so that he was in a more comfortable position, "but I supposed that isn't an option right now. Tempest wasn't born to the Half-Moon tribe. Instead, he joined as an adult. He's told me that, as a child, he belonged to a separate tribe from further north, a group of ice-types that worshiped the remains of the Original Dragon, Kyurem.

"Kyurem was not known to be kind to the living. At best, it was a callous defender of its followers. But some of their stories described it as openly malicious to mortals. And yet, they still followed it, because they believed themselves to be Kyurem's chosen, the only ones that it looked after." He glanced at Tempest. "Did I remember that correctly?"

Tempest dipped his head.

"How fascinating," Anu said, shifting in place. He took a deep breath and held it for some time before continuing. "Perhaps I can use this to illustrate my point. From… From what you've told me, there are conflicting stories about this Kyurem. Some characterize it as a defender, others as something more sinister. And it's hard to believe that both of these stories could be true. In fact, it's entirely possible that they're not. But there are more than two stories. I imagine there are countless tales."

His paw came alight with aura as he waved it in the air. "I imagine there are many conflicting stories about Celebi, as well. The myths around here characterize him as a valiant hero, traveling through time to bring both the blessings and the curses of the future. He's said to be noble and stalwart, and always having the interests of the good at heart."

"Yes, that's not too far from our stories," Nip replied. "What is your point?"

"Well, we've now met Celebi, and know he exists. And we also know that the legends weren't entirely correct. And yet, there are still morsels of truth based on what we've seen. He did come to warn us, a small village, of dangers, even if he went about it in a… strange way. And knowing that part of the story is true, we must find comfort in that." Anu's voice grew firm. "Perhaps we need to revisit our legends. Reevaluate what we hold true. But in the end, we still cannot know everything. And we will have to take some things on faith."

Faith. That was easy for Anu to say. He wasn't the one whose every decision, every justification for everything questionable he ever did, was shattered by the legends being wrong. Then he mentally berated himself for thinking like that. Anu had to contend with the cruelties of the world, too, and shaken beliefs made that harder.

"Thanks," he finally said, "but… there's more to it than that."

"Oh?" Anu tilted his head, then scooted a little closer to the cell. "If you wish to talk about it, I'm all ears."

"What?" Nip flinched and copied Anu's expression, his ear twisting flat against his skull. "Why would you want to know? Do you wish to mock me?"

Anu was quiet for a moment. "I-if I'm speaking honestly, a part of me wants to. N-not mocking necessarily." He held his paws up in a defensive gesture. "Just… Just let you wallow in your misery, r-rather.

"B-but I won't!" He continued before Nip could reply. "Because I have a job to do. Despite everything, it would be unbecoming of me. I could yell and scream and hurt you, but it would go against everything I stand for." A beat of silence followed. "And I hope—perhaps foolishly—that extending kindness to you will help you settle, and finally understand our way of life. And then, perhaps, you can be sent on your way."

Nip's anger dissipated, replaced with surprise. And confusion. His fur slowly lay flat, and the tension left his shoulders.

Anu watched him unblinkingly, then he turned his head and stood. "There… is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about," he began. He turned and disappeared into a small room. A rustling sound followed, then he returned with a small bag in his paws, the long drawstring hanging down loosely.

"Here," Anu said, passing the bag between the bars. "I remember you eyeing this a few days back. Consider it a… peace offering of sorts."

Nip blinked, eying the bag cautiously. It certainly looked like the same bag, and it looked empty. But it made no sense.

"Why?"

Anu sighed, dropping the bag just inside Nip's cell. "As I just said, holding a grudge would be hypocritical. I've… struggled to forgive you after what you did to my mate and I. But perhaps, with kindness, I can make you understand what it means to be a village pokemon. And perhaps I'll be able to break the cycle of revenge." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then sat down with his back straight. "The law will punish you for what you did wrong. My duty is to guide you on how to be better. So. If you ever need to talk about matters of faith, or anything at all, I will do my best to listen and assist."

For a moment, Nip stared at the bag laying at his paws, struggling to process his feelings. Based on everything he'd ever been taught, Anu shouldn't be helping him, shouldn't offer forgiveness. Even if he had reasons for doing what he did, and even if it was just the laws of nature, he still hurt Anu. And he struggled to fathom how he could just let it go like this. Or try to, at least.

At the same time, relief warmed his chest. Perhaps, if there was anyone that could provide answers to him, it would be Anu. And perhaps there was something he could help him with right now.

"Well," Nip began, fiddling with his claws. "There is… something I'd like to talk to you about." Anu gestured for him to continue, so he took a hesitant breath. "Over the last few days I've been having these… recurring dreams…"

But before he could continue, the sound of ruffling fabric caught their attention. Nip scented an electric current heartbeats before Vale stalked through the entryway, giving off frustrated sparks.

"Vale?" Anu stood up, tilting his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Vale replied with a snort. "Do I need a reason? But if you must know, I actually came here to fetch you, Anu. I was passing by the temple on a night patrol and saw one of those explorers. He asked to see you."

"Did you tell him I was busy?"

"Of course. Told him it was too early. Told him a bad time and to come back later after the sun had fully risen. Even threatened to chase him off. But he was insistent."

Anu sighed, then glanced out the window. It was still dark. "Well, I can't go and see him right now, anyways. So he'll just have to wait till after my relief comes in, at least." His words were punctuated by a yawn.

"If you need relief, I can take over," Vale replied. He walked over to stand beside Anu. "You're just watching the prisoners for a while, right? I can take over until you get back. Already finished my rounds."

"No, he can wait." Anu shook his head. "It would be unbecoming of me to leave my duty incomplete."

"But what about your duty to the patrons of the temple," Vale countered, sparking. "I know you have a few visitors in the mornings. What if he heckles them like he did me."

This, at least, seemed to make Anu hesitate.

Nip watched the exchange through narrowed eyes. Why was Vale so insistent on taking over? He knew from experience that Vale didn't care to be around him or Tempest. Was he just looking for a way to harass them? Surely even Vale wouldn't go that far?

Finally, Anu sighed. "Very well. I will see if I can convince him to leave without a fight." His attention turned to Nip. "Apologies. We will continue this conversation another time." With a rustle of fabric, he was gone.

Vale lay down in front of the cells, watching Nip and Tempest with his mouth clamped shut. He looked in no mood to converse, and Nip didn't expect he had anything nice to say anyways, so he took a moment to gather up his scattered nest and settled down as if to sleep. But his nerves wouldn't let him. He felt electrified, alert after Anu's conversation. He doubted he would get any more rest, but he could at least lie down until the guards took him out in the morning.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there awake. It must have been some time, because he could see the faintest outline of light around the doorway when the sound of a commotion outside caught his attention. Curious, he sat up.

Vale was already on his feet, letting out a guttural growl while sparks danced in his fur. "Hey! What's going on out there?" he barked, stalking towards the entrance with his head low and hackles raised.

A burst of flame greeted him, blasting him in the face as it engulfed the fabric covering. He let out a surprised yelp, stumbling back.

Nip scrambled to his feet and pressed himself into the shadows in the corner of his cell. The acrid scent of burnt fur made him gag as he watched, looking for signs of life in the manectric. Vale groaned and shifted, but did not try to get up. Sparks danced weakly on his pelt but went nowhere.

As the flames died away, the attacker became clear. A great dark beast—a charizard with some physical quirks unfamiliar to him—rose to her feet. Her tail flicked back and forth as she watched Vale for signs of resistance. Then she snorted smoke and turned towards the door.

"Subdued," she announced with a growl.

"Excellent," came a reply from just outside.

Nip's blood turned to ice. He stiffened, still crouching. He knew that voice all too well.

Flames still crackled in the doorway, illuminating a stout, familiar figure.

Umbra.

Tempest sprang to his paws in an instant, lips curled in a soundless snarl. He stalked on the other side of his cell, hackles raised as the air in the room chilled. Nip's breath came out in frosty puffs as he pressed himself against the wall. Umbra was here. Umbra was here. Why was Umbra here?

He knew. He knew he knew he knew. He knew exactly why she was here.

She entered the room with a leisurely gait, eyes trailing over the charizard and the downed Vale, then to Tempest, before her eyes finally settled on Nip. He knew she could see him. Smell him. He must be giving off a fear-scent…

Her posture shifted; if it had been anyone else, he could mistake her expression for friendly. But there was no hiding the malicious intent in her eyes.

Without taking her eyes off of Nip, she said to the charizard, "Find the keys, would you, Skorch?" The charizard lumbered away, leaving Nip her sole focus.

"Oh, how I have waited for this day," she began, her tone light and airy. "More than six moons, you have evaded my grasp. Managed to slink away. No, it has been longer, has it not? You have been a thorn in my side since the day we were made mates. But no more. Finally, almost three cycles of careful work is paying off."

The strange charizard returned, dropping a ring of keys into Umbra's outstretched claws. She looked at them, frowning. "How am I supposed to use these, exactly?"

"It's not that difficult. Just stick one in the hole and turn until one of them unlocks the door." The charizard snorted smoke.

"Do not patronize me," Umbra snapped back. Then she started sticking keys in, one at a time. By the third or fourth key, the cell door swung open. Just like that, the only barrier between himself and Umbra was gone.

Nip tried to form frost around him, to call forth an ice shard. But he couldn't focus. He could only press himself against the wall as she marched towards him with a degree of nonchalance. She knew she had won, and she was taking the time to gloat.

"All the lies, all the cruelty and misdeeds, only to end like this. It is kind of pathetic, is it not?" She chuckled. "Then again, you always were pathetic. Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Somehow. Nip found his tongue. And despite his defeat, bitter resentment coated his mouth and gave him the courage to growl a single sentence.

"You're a monster."

Claws struck his cheek, then a blow to his stomach sent him reeling. He screeched, crumpling to the ground as white-hot pain radiated where fairy energy burned his skin—no, his very spirit. He felt his will to fight fading, succumbing to the pain. Why had he ever expected anything different? It always ended like this, with his face against the ground, a growing pain in his ribs, and Umbra standing over him, reminding him of how useless he was. Any time he showed defiance, this was the outcome. He should have known his death would be the same.

Then a blast of frigid wind sent him rolling backwards. He heard Umbra grunt and several dull thunks as he tried to climb to his feet, pelted by slush and chunks of ice. As his vision focused, he could see Tempest crouching with his gaze concentrated on Umbra, focused on creating more ice as he froze the air around him. He was attacking the mawile; Nip just happened to be caught in the blizzard.

Umbra snarled, marching towards Tempest despite the layer of frost accumulating on her steely fur, only to fall short due to the bars between them. With a frustrated snort, she tossed the keys toward the charizard. "He clearly has a talent for surviving certain death and causing me trouble. Here. Deal with him." Her gaze shifted to the wooden floor and the furniture. "Or better yet… send this place up in flames. Then we can leave unimpeded while they deal with the fire."

"What?"

Vale sprang to his paws with speed that surprised Nip. Clearly he wasn't as injured as he'd first looked. "You can't do that," he sputtered. Do you have any idea how far that'll set back the town? And whose hide do you think it's going to come out of? Jhorlo's not a total idiot!"

"He will figure it out either way. My disappearance and Nip's disappearance will be proof enough for him."

The manectric grunted, crouching. "Yes, but the destruction of the town isn't necessary. What if the fire spreads? Our quarrel is with Jhorlo and with the sneasel."

"We don't have time for this," the massive charizard growled, her tail flicking restlessly back and forth. "The lucario could return at any time. Just grab the sneasel and—"

Nip was suddenly blinded by bright light, spots blooming in his vision. Yelps and grunts filled the air. But through it, Umbra still stood tall, her attention focused on Tempest, the source of the attack.

"Just do it," she snapped. "Before the ninetales gives us away."

She was distracted. Nip crawled forward, claws digging into the wood as he dragged himself towards his cell door. This was his chance. If he could just reach the door, he could make a run for it. Even with the charizard on her side, he could hide in the bushes outside town. Get to the river and destroy his scent trail. He could run again, and find somewhere to start over.

But doing so meant leaving Tempest behind to die. Umbra would never let Tempest live if his distraction let Nip escape. Leaving him to die was the coward's way out.

And yet, Tempest was causing a distraction now. Was he just fighting back? Or was he trying to give Nip an opening to escape?

Heart heavy with guilt and confusion, Nip continued to crawl out the cell door. Dawn light—freedom—was only a few bounds away.

Fire erupted on his back, his world exploding in agony. The horrible smell of burnt fur and flesh choked him as he screamed, ears ringing. He scrambled, dragging himself forward. But the fire followed, until finally, he quit trying to avoid it. Though the flames died, the pain remained. He felt pressure on his back, digging into the fresh wounds. He had no strength to crawl.

Somehow both nearby and distant at the same time, he heard Umbra's voice. "Hurry up and set a fire. All that screaming will have attracted someone. Then we run. Vale, you need to look injured, go to…" But whatever else she was saying was lost. His cheek hit the ground, then the world went dark.

Chapter Text

H… help…

Shimmer stirred, still half-asleep, and blearily opened her eyes. Pale dawn light filtered through her window, painting patches of sunlight on the wooden floor and casting the rest of the room in a blue hue.

Something poked her in the back, rousing her further and making her aware of the warm, furry thing under her head. She rolled onto her side, catching a glimpse of Muse's face. A small part of her wanted to giggle as the absol twitched in her sleep, but sense overruled it as she caught a glimpse of her contorted face and remembered the night before. Muse's feeling of foreboding hadn't gotten any better. Shimmer had insisted on Muse sleeping here, hoping company might soothe her. Poor thing.

Rolling back over to face the window, Shimmer couldn't help but wonder what had woken her; usually, she didn't wake until the sun had risen fully. Had it been Muse's fidgeting? She couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something.

Help!

A sudden burst of psychic energy, distant and weak, struck her mind. She gasped, bringing a hand up to her right horn. That must be what had roused her. Someone was trying to contact her. Someone who knew where to find her. And she had a sneaking suspicion she knew who.

And if he was contacting her, then…

She sprung to her feet, then leaned over to shake Muse awake. Before she could speak a word, the absol jerked awake and scrambled to her paws, eyes wild and hackles raised.

Muse took two gasping breaths before addressing the kirlia. "Shimmer? What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Shimmer replied, uncharacteristically serious. "I think Tempest is trying to contact me. I don't know why. But I think something is really, really wrong." She threw her arms wide to emphasize her point.

Muse took another breath, this time deep and steadying. "Okay. Focus. We'll go down to the square to see what's going on. Grab my bags, please."

"Right." Pink psychic energy gathered around Shimmer's hand, her eyes glowing the same hue. A set of pink bags flew across the room, straps landing in her waiting palm. She secured one bag around her waist, then attached the other to a harness before strapping the whole setup around Muse's torso. She stuck one hand in the bag, feeling around to verify she had the basic supplies she might need, then raced out the door with Muse on her heels.

The villa sat on high ground, compared to the village square, at the top of a rise that offered a view of the rest of Theran. On a lazy day, Shimmer could sit outside beneath a sturdy magnolia tree, watching the villagers mill about without a care in the world.

But today, she had a clear view of a dark plume of smoke and licking flames billowing out of the jail, and of several pokemon racing toward it.

For a moment, Shimmer stared in wide-eyed shock, jaw hanging open. What could have caused this? Did her father know? She hesitated, knowing her father would be upset if she spied on him like a child, before letting her emotion sense spread out. As usual, Muse was a black hole. She could pick up a single, faint trace of someone in the villa, though it was hard to interpret their emotional signature from this far away.

A nudge from behind grounded her back in reality. Muse gave her a light headbutt. "We should get down there. Climb on my back. It'll be faster."

"O-oh. Right." Shimmer couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice, her usual cheery front shattered. She put her hands on Muse's side and vaulted up to straddle her back, clinging tightly to the absol's mane. "As quickly as you can."

Muse lurched forward, racing down the hill at full sprint. Wind whipped around Shimmer's face, her thick hair streaming behind. A moment later, they leveled out at the bottom of the hill, the panicked cries of villagers starting to reach Shimmer's ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on reigning in her emotion sense. Her grip on Muse's fur tightened, heart racing as she silently urged the absol to run faster.

Oh no oh no, please let everyone be okay!

By the time they reached the square, other pokemon were already fighting the flames. Saku and Chip spat streams of water from their reserves while Toshi flung globs of water from his tail. Nearby, she spotted the cubone from the meat shop slinging globs of dirt and mud at the base of the fire.

Shimmer sprang from Muse's back and took a few running steps forward, only to stop and turn back to the absol. She didn't have any water or ground moves. What was she supposed to do for help?

But before she could say anything, the sound of coughing made her whip back around toward the building.

Two figures emerged from the entryway, supporting each other. The first was Whisper, her feathers singed and sooty. One wing held a damp cloth to her beak. Leaning against her was Tempest, who looked even worse. The fur on parts of his flank had burned away, leaving exposed, blistered skin in an angry red hue. His eyes were dull, and his tails drooped as he limped forward.

The pair made it only a few steps further before Tempest shuddered and collapsed, taking deep, heaving breaths.

"Lecha!" Whisper croaked, her voice hampered by the smoke. "Lecha, quickly!"

"Coming!"

Shimmer turned just in time to see the aromatisse scurry away from an injured Vale, leaving him in the hands of her illumise assistant, Twi.

The stench of burnt fur wafted towards Shimmer; patches of Vale's fur had burned away, but his injuries were hardly worse than Whisper's. Next to him, Anu paced restlessly, his aura sensors quivering.

Lecha paused as she passed Shimmer. "You know how to use heal pulse. Right, Dear? Come, help me."

"R-right." Finally, something she could do. Something other than standing around uselessly. Shimmer stumbled after Lecha, rushing towards the fallen ninetales. By the time she reached him, healing energy danced at her fingertips. She focused, pushing the healing energy forward, aiming for the areas that looked the worst while Lecha elevated Tempest's head. With her free paw, she reached into a satchel, pulling out a couple rawst berries.

"I need you to try to eat these," she said to Tempest. "Do you think you're able to?"

Gingerly, Tempest took one of the berries between his teeth, biting into it, only to drop it as a coughing fit wracked his body.

Lecha let out a sigh, reaching into her bag again for a mortar and pestle. "Very well. I don't like using a topical treatment on burns, but it looks like the best choice here." She turned her head towards Whisper. "If you have any burns, you can get a berry from Twi. I'll be with you once I've finished treating him."

Whisper held up a wing. "Not yet. I have a situation I need to deal with." She looked back towards the guards' hut. Flames still licked at the timbers but were dying quickly under the onslaught of water. "I just woke up to my workplace on fire, one guard injured — not the one who, mind you, was supposed to be there — one prisoner trapped and critically injured, and one prisoner missing." She took a stumbling step towards Anu and Vale. "What in Regi's name happened here?"

One prisoner missing? Shimmer whipped her head about, scanning the small crowd for the oddly colored sneasel. Without thinking, she let loose her emotion sense, as if it might help her pinpoint him. But he was a dark type. Even if he were here, she wouldn't have sensed him. She did, however, pick up the general anxiety of the gathered pokemon, and a surprisingly strong spike of the same from Vale.

"It was one of those explorers," Vale grunted, teeth bared. "I don't know if she acted alone, but I suspect not. Anu left to deal with another one at the temple. Then the charizard attacked while he was gone. She knocked me out. When I came to, the whole place was on fire and she was making her escape with Nip."

"What?"Whisper puffed out her feathers, hitting Shimmer with a sharp pang of shock.

Anu hung his head. "I knew there was something wrong with those explorers. Something about their aura was just… wrong. And the fact that the zoroark was parading around as a charmander… But for them to attack a guard… I should have paid closer attention to their credentials. I'm sorry, Whisper."

The hawlucha's expression softened. "Dear, this isn't your fault—"

"And Nip!" Anu flattened his ears against his skull, tail tucked between his legs. "I really thought I was getting through to him… Please don't sugarcoat this, Whisper. I could have prevented this. I've failed this community."

Shimmer frowned, bracing herself against the waves of disappointment and regret that rolled off Anu. She didn't expect a sudden flash of anger from nearby.

He's lying.

She knew that psychic signature. She snapped her head to stare intently at Tempest. The ninetales struggled, trying to stand, only to slump back to the ground, panting.

"Stop that!" Lecha chided. "You're in no condition to move."

He's lying, Tempest repeated in her mind. Umbra was here. Umbra brought the charizard. He was in on it.

What? Shimmer sent the word back without meaning to. She could believe that Umbra was somehow involved. But… but Tempest's story couldn't be right. Vale was a good mon. He was always hanging around the villa, helping her dad out with odd jobs. He could be gruff, but he only had the village's best interests at heart.

Right?

But if Umbra was involved, why didn't Vale say so? How could he miss her involvement? And what would Tempest have to gain by lying? It was possible he was covering for Nip. But if Nip had abandoned him to die in a fire, why would he still be loyal?

Her mind raced through the possibilities, trying to decide what to do. Who to believe. Should she try to read their thoughts? Her dad always told her not to, and they would definitely notice an inexperienced mind reader like her, but maybe…

Please. Tone was difficult to discern through a psychic voice, but she could feel the desperation emanating from the ninetales. I can't lose him again.

"What do you mean the explorers were involved?"

Toshi's panicked voice cut through the haze. Shimmer's gaze followed the bidoof as he scrambled to a stop in front of Whisper, his eyes wide and fur ruffled.

"Haru said she's supposed to be with them. What if they tricked her? What if they hurt her? We have to do something!"

Sudden clarity hit Shimmer as she took a deep breath. Something didn't add up here. And she would be the one to get to the bottom of it.

Giving Muse a quick pat on the shoulder to get her attention, Shimmer sauntered over to the group surrounding Vale.

"They didn't say anything about where they were headed, did they?" Whisper asked.

Vale hesitated. Shimmer felt more waves of anxiety. "No, I'm afraid not. Not while I was alert, at least."

"Haru said she was helping them set up a base…" Toshi mumbled. "Maybe they're in the forest. Maybe we could catch up to them?"

"We have reason to doubt their character," Anu pointed out. "There's no reason to believe that story is true."

"Maybe we can track them?" Whisper suggested. "Only one of them could fly, so they couldn't have all escaped by air. There should be some scent trail to pick up on."

She needed to speak up. She needed to speak up now before everyone ran off without the full story. "Heyyy, Valey," Shimmer chimed in with a sing-song tone. "You didn't happen to see anyone else in the attack, did you?"

Was that fear she sensed? "No, just the charizard."

Shimmer giggled. "That's funny." She let the statement hang in the air for a few heartbeats while she played with her hair. "Because Tempest said Umbra was there, too. And that would change the situation significantly, don't you think?"

Vale glared at her. This time, she was certain she felt a spike of fear. "Quit joking around, Shimmer. This is serious! Haru could be in danger. And that ninetales cannot talk."

She giggled again. "Silly Vale, of course he can. He just doesn't have any interest in talking to you."

All eyes were on her, now. Perfect. Just how she liked it. Whisper's gaze was fiercest of all.

"Shimmer, if you know something, then just say it. We don't have time for cryptic statements."

Holding in a sigh, Shimmer waved one hand in a circle. "You know how psychics can communicate with others if they know roughly where the other is? Or how they can project thoughts into someone else's mind? Turns out ninetales have some innate psychic ability. So I've been teaching Tempest how to speak with his mind!"

"You've been—" Whisper cut herself off, ruffling her feathers. She turned to the ninetales. "Is this true?"

While Shimmer couldn't hear anything — she doubted Tempest could project into multiple minds at his skill level — the way Whisper's eyes widened and her beak hung open told her everything she needed to know.

Small sparks danced across Vale's pelt. "Are you seriously going to believe that? Even if he can talk, we know he's loyal to Nip! He's probably just trying to buy time to let the bastard escape. I bet Umbra is still up at the villa."

Was she? Shimmer tried to think back. Had she picked up on Umbra's emotions? She didn't think so. She only remembered picking up one emotional signature. But she had to be certain. Turning to Muse, she asked, "Could you run check, please? Get Dad as well, if you see him. He needs to know about… all this." She waved her hand in the direction of the smoldering hut.

The absol dipped her head. "Anything for you." Then she turned and sprinted back up the road.

"I'm not sure what that's supposed to prove," Vale growled. "Even if Umbra wasn't there, that doesn't mean she's here."

"That's true," Whisper admitted. "But you were supposed to keep an eye on her."

Shimmer turned back to Vale, changing the subject. "Now, now, you heard what Toshi said. Haru is supposed to be with those explorers that took Nip. I know Haruru, and she would never help Nip escape." She took a step closer. "And while she doesn't like him, I highly doubt she would help Umbra with anything, either. Not after she threatened to kill Toshi."

Vale gritted his teeth. "Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do. You don't exactly endear yourself to her, princess."

Shimmer's eyelid twitched. Seriously? Vale was usually rude, but not this rude!

Before she could come up with a witty reply, Toshi butted in.

"Excuse me?" he squeaked, marching towards the manectric. "That is my sister you're talking about. How dare you suggest she's in cahoots with these… these… pretenders! I don't care if they were helping Nip or helping Umbra. Either way, she could be in danger and you're here arguing trivialities instead of trying to help!"

Toshi drew back his lips to fully bare his incisors. "Are you going to help us find my sister? Or are you just going to waste our time?"

Vale sparked, ears flat against his skull as static rippled across his flanks. But his expression betrayed unease. After a moment, he looked away. "I'm telling you. Umbra was not here. The charizard was helping Nip escape. But… I did hear the word 'mountain' when they fled."

"That makes a degree of sense," Anu said, pawing at his nose. "They've been trying to get me to take them up to the old shrine for days. Though it still doesn't explain Nip. As far as I know, they never interacted with him… But they did definitely try to lure me away from my post."

"It's a lead," Whisper concluded with a wave of one wing. "I'll gather up some supplies and leave immediately. Lecha, could you part with some oran berries? Possibly some aspear and rawst, as well. I suspect most of my supply was ruined."

The aromatisse looked up from her work on Tempest. "Of course, dear. Twi, could you please fetch some?"

You got it!" The illumise gave a messy salute, then buzzed off back towards the medic hut.

"I'm coming with you!" Toshi announced, taking a step towards Whisper.

The hawlucha tilted her head. "That's kind of you to offer, but—"

"My sister could be in danger! I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her while I stayed back here and did nothing."

"We'll come too," Shimmer chimed in. "Musey and me."

Now Whisper's attention was on her. "This isn't a game. These pokemon are dangerous, and we don't know how powerful they are."

"You allowed Muse and me to help watch Nip and Tempest. And you're going to need all the help you can get, right?"

"This is different! Your volunteer guard duty was in a controlled environment. There's more at stake here."

Shimmer crossed her arms and stuck out her lip, glaring. "Well, who can you trust to bring instead? Vale?"

Whisper returned the glare for a moment longer, then sighed and turned away, flapping her wings. "You three are going to follow along if I don't let you come anyways, aren't you? Fine. But you have to listen to everything I say."

"I… I will come as well," Anu said. "It is my duty. Romi and the others can cover things here until we return. And if they hear any additional information that suggests we need to look elsewhere, Romi is the best mon to catch up to us."

I want to come as well. Tempest's voice entered Shimmer's head. He must have contacted Whisper just after, as they both turned towards him.

"Absolutely not," Whisper said. "Your condition is too bad for you to travel, as I'm sure Lecha will agree. And I still cannot guarantee you are telling the truth. If the explorers helped Nip escape, I don't trust you to help stop him. You will stay here."

She tilted her head in Vale's direction. "And that goes for you, too. Until we get to the bottom of this, you are to stay in Lecha's hut. Do. Not. Leave."

Sparks danced on Vale's back as he let out a growl, but he lowered his head submissively.

"Good. I'll see what I can scrounge up from the ashes. We should still have a nullify looplet. I hope it survived the flames. Anu, get rations from Meaad. Tell him it's an emergency and we'll pay it back after we return."

Toshi scurried off to speak with his parents as Whisper approached the burnt building. At the same time, racing pawsteps alerted Shimmer to Muse's return. The absol collapsed on the ground in front of her, panting. "She's… she's not there… Jhorlo… coming…"

Shimmer shot Vale an accusatory glance. This whole situation reeked.

"That doesn't prove anything!" the manectric growled. But he didn't look at Shimmer as he shuffled off to the medic hut.

Suppressing a sigh, Shimmer turned to fill Muse in on the plan. The absol shot her a distressed glance. But she didn't try to argue. She didn't have a chance to, as Whisper returned with a few items in wing. She handed a few berries, an orb that Shimmer thought might be a petrify orb, and a heal seed. Anu returned a moment later, bag laden with food.

"We'll properly sort things out as we go," Whisper said, standing a bit straighter. "Lecha can explain the situation to Jhorlo whenever he gets here. Let's move out."

She took the lead, marching out of the square at a brisk pace with Anu just behind, stopping only to collect more berries from Twi. Toshi dashed over to meet them, ignoring a call from his mother. Shimmer took just a heartbeat to lift Toshi onto Muse's back. The bidoof clung tight to her fur, shooting a grateful glance. He'd struggle to keep pace with everyone else on foot, she suspected. But she could manage.

Oh, Haru, Shimmer thought as they raced out of the square. Now look what you've gotten yourself into.

The palest beginnings of dawn light crept above dark treetops, casting the surrounding forest in a dark, blue hue. Haru yawned as she padded down the path toward the mountain trail, feeling the brush of her bags against her back. This was early, even for her. But the sooner she took the explorers up the mountain, the sooner she could get back.

Up ahead, she caught sight of Susana — currently in her charmander disguise — and the girafarig conversing. But where were the other two?

Susana looked up, caught her eye, and waved a hand. "Over here!"

Waddling down the path as quick as she could, Haru dipped her head in greeting. "Good morning. I… thought we were in a hurry. Where are the others?"

"Topaz forgot some of our supplies and had to run back for them," the girafarig answered. "And Skorch is feeling under the weather. Probably ate something that didn't agree with her. She'll catch up later if she starts feeling better. She can fly, and she has a rough idea of where we're heading."

"O-oh, okay," Haru answered. Then a thought occurred to her. If Skorch could just fly up to the shrine, why do you need me to guide you?

Then she remembered that the path was no longer well-traveled, and was likely obscured by bushes and wild grass. It would be difficult to guide someone if you weren't familiar.

And, fortunately, she was familiar enough. Even if it had been many, many seasons since she'd been to the old shrine.

"Would it be better if we waited until she feels better?" she asked. "Having eyes in the sky could be useful if we run into trouble."

Susana shook her head quickly. It took Haru a few heartbeats to figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar gesture. "No, no, I understand your concerns. But we're on a strict timeline. We can't afford to spend any more time waiting around."

Haru supposed she couldn't argue with that. While things weren't so strict here, she imagined schedules in bigger towns, and for organizations as huge as the expedition society, were different.

She was spared from continuing the conversation by the sound of racing pawsteps.

"Ah, there he is." Susana waved a claw, then pointed in the direction of the pawsteps. Haru turned to see the raichu racing up the path. He skidded to a stop, panting.

"Sorry I'm late. But I got the goods." He held up a cloth bag.

"Thank you, Topaz," Susana replied. She took the bag and tied it to a large pack on Remer's back before turning her attention to Haru. "Well then, we should be off."

"R-right." Haru sucked in a deep breath, stealing one last glance down the path. Her heart thudded hard against her chest, pounding fast with anticipation. She could still back out of this, right now. No, remember why you're doing this, she thought to herself.

She turned to point a paw at a fork in the path that led into thicker vegetation. "We'll need to head this way."

The group set off, Haru in the lead. As the ground sloped up, it didn't take long for the route's disuse to show itself; the undergrowth here was less tended-to, overgrown bushes taking up half the path in parts, grass springing up between dirt and stone. Early in the journey, before the sun had risen fully, they came across a fallen tree blocking the path, its trunk covered in spongy moss. While the three explorers leaped or clamored over it without issue, Haru was forced to push through a thick bush and weave between the chaotic tangle of roots to get around.

While the journey was silent for a time, it wasn't long before Susana started trying to make conversation.

"So, Haru, what's this shrine like?" she asked. "I mean, we've heard a few descriptions, but we've never seen it for ourselves."

"Prepare yourselves for disappointment," Haru answered. "It was already falling into disrepair before the village quit visiting about fifteen cycles ago. I imagine it's even worse now. What could be moved was already taken down to the village a while ago."

"Really? I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose." Susana scratched at her cheek. "Still, I'm sure there's things there that couldn't be brought down that we may find useful. Carvings, paintings, and statues. Information. Speaking of which… you don't happen to know any strange or unusual stories. You know, legends that wouldn't be well known outside of your village?"

Haru sighed, her head drooping before she paid attention to her surroundings again, stumbling around a crumbling hole in the middle of the path. "Nothing that Anu couldn't tell you."

"Sure, sure," Susana said, waving one hand, "but I want to know your version. What were you told? How do you remember it? You seem to have a different perspective on things than someone like Anu would."

Her version? Haru didn't want to talk about her version. But Susana wasn't going to shut up unless she did. She grumbled, then began. "Well, there's plenty of stories about how Regigigas formed our continent, moved the pieces together to create mountains, and pulled them apart to create rivers and valleys. There's stories about his three sentries, spread out across the land to protect other followers, and garnering followers of their own. And there's stories of the Banished Ones, the two failed creations lost somewhere beyond the sea."

Another grumble escaped her as she ducked to squeeze under an overgrown holly. "Some pokemon think his resting place is deep within the heart of Mount Domo, but I think that's stupid. Even if he is there, for a mon that's supposed to be protecting his followers, he sure did a lousy job. I have my doubts he ever even existed. Or cared, if he did exist."

The girafarig, Remer, sped up to walk beside Haru. "I can't help but notice something troubling you, Haru. Do you want to talk about it?"

Haru felt a headache coming on. She sped up. "My reasons for distrusting gods are, frankly, none of your business."

"My apologies." Susana hurried to catch up and stand at Haru's other side. "Please excuse Remer. He means well."

Haru shot the girafarig a glare. "Anyway, my point is that there's no way for us to know how true any of these stories are. Even if the gods are real, the stories have probably been distorted after hundreds upon hundreds of cycles being retold."

"There is… one way you could find out," Topaz interjected.

Pausing mid-step to glance back at the Raichu, Haru tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I get what he's saying." Susana reached for her Expedition Society badge. She ran her claws across the metallic surface. "Think about it like this. If we could just… find one of these gods. Talk to them. They'd know the truth about what happened all those years — I mean cycles — ago. And imagine what we could do if we just… could get them to do our bidding. We could reshape the world. Make it fairer. Imagine reaching out to the mother of all life, Mew, and having her change the way pokemon work so that no pokemon is obligated to eat meat to survive. Or if she created some lower life form so that we didn't have to hunt other sapient creatures."

She spun to face Haru, her eyes gleaming. "Wouldn't that be great?"

Haru shifted uncomfortably, off-put by her sudden excitement, before starting to walk again. "Well… yeah, it could be great." Then she thought of the encounter with Celebi, and she couldn't help but let out a snort. "But good luck convincing them to do anything. I bet a bunch of them have gone mad, given how old they'd be."

Susana didn't try to argue further, and the group lapsed into silence again. The sun slowly climbed high into the sky as they worked their way through the undergrowth, stopping only once for a brief break before continuing their marathon. Occasionally, the monotony of the trip was broken by quiet conversations between the explorers, but Haru kept out of it.

The sun had nearly reached its zenith by the time Susana called for a second break, this time for lunch, in a small, grassy clearing along the path. To their left, the ground sloped upwards, a tree line a short distance up the hill. To the right, a rocky lip protected them from falling down a short, but steep, incline, scraggy bushes clinging between cracks in the stone.

Haru sank gratefully to the ground as Susana began passing out rations: dried meat sticks for herself, and apples and carrots for the rest of the group. As everyone settled down to eat, she pulled a ceramic dish and a waterskin from the supplies on Remer's back, filled the dish with water, and set it in the middle for everyone to share.

Taking a bite from an apple, Haru closed her eyes, enjoying the weak warmth of the autumn sun. Her family would need to start preparing winter rations soon. They still had half a season, but the weather could change fast. A healthy stock of wood and dried fruit would do them well.

Susana tore a bite from her own meal, jaws snapping as she did her best to chew and break it down. Haru couldn't help but cringe and hastily looked away. At least the meat was so processed that it didn't look like anyone anymore.

Just a moment later, the disguised zoroark addressed Haru.

"So, Haru, how much longer do you think it'll be before we reach the shrine?"

Glancing up at the sky, Haru squinted. It wasn't sun-high quite yet. She looked at her surroundings, trying to pick out anything familiar. Her attention turned towards the downward slope. She approached, climbing up on the stone so she could look over. A good ways below, she could make out a patch of blurry colors that she thought was Theran Village.

"We're definitely over halfway there. It shouldn't be too much longer…"

Susanna bobbed her head and opened her mouth to say something more, only to suddenly snap it shut and stare intently at Remer. The girafarig was stiff, eyes wide and boring into the tree line. Haru's heart raced as she stood, following his gaze. She could hear the sound of rustling bushes, now, coming closer fast.

"What's going on?"

Before any of the explorers could answer, the nearest bushes rustled, then a figure burst free and stumbled down the slope towards them.

They'd clearly seen better times; their fur was bushed up, eyes wide and wild, and breathing ragged. Dried blood coated their cheek, and the scent of charred flesh and fur wafted from them. Their claws were bound together in thick rope. A second length of rope twisted around their ankles, tight enough to restrict movement but loose enough that they could still run — if barely.

More importantly, though, Haru recognized the pokemon. And she couldn't fathom any reason he would be here.

Chapter Text

Nip stirred, waking. His head — no, his whole body — ached, dulling his senses. But as he struggled awake, he became aware of wind whipping around him, tugging at his fur. Amidst the pain, the sensation felt distant. Something sharp dug into his sides.

He peeked one eye open just a crack, trying to process the sensations, trying to figure out their cause. Had he overworked himself? Then his mind caught up with what he was seeing, and he snapped to full alertness.

He hung limply from two thin, scaly arms, occasionally bobbing as trees — many turning gold and red and brown — rushed by several body lengths below. All at once, his last memories came racing back. Umbra. Vale. The strange charizard. Tempest's distraction. His failed escape.

Struggling against the wind, he tilted his head slightly and squinted. That same charizard was the pokemon carrying him now, her talons digging tightly into his torso, but holding him away from her body. She was speaking, but her words were snatched away by the wind. He could just make out another voice as well: Umbra's.

He was as good as dead. Umbra had him in her clutches. She won. There was no way she would drag him all the way back to the tribe. As soon as she had the chance, she'd end his life.

And even if, by some miracle, she did take him all the way back to the Tribe (not home, he reminded himself, no longer home) the outcome would be the same.

He hung his head, despair threatening to overwhelm him. Had he always been destined to die at her hands? Was he cursed by Yveltal? Damned as a wretched creature? Or did Yveltal not care for him at all?

No.

His heart fluttered as one last hopeful thought danced in his head.

He wasn't dead yet. And that meant he still had a chance, small as it might be. All he needed to do was find a way to escape. And he had one idea.

In one jerking motion, he twisted around in the charizard's grip. His claws were inaccessible at the moment, bound tightly together. But he could still get his mouth around her arm. He bit down with all his might, teeth sinking deep into flesh. The iron taste of blood welled on his tongue.

She jerked her arm free. And all at once, he was plummeting towards the trees.

His brain barely had time to process his descent before twigs and leaves grabbed at him. Pain blossomed across his chest and the wind was driven from his lungs as a branch broke his fall. Then he slipped off and landed, stunned, on the forest floor.

He coughed, gasping, as horrible pain throbbed in his chest. Had he broken a rib? It wasn't an outlandish assumption, given the fall, but he hoped with all his heart that he hadn't.

Please, Yevetal, he silently prayed, if you have any favor left for me, let me get out of this alive.

Ignoring the painful protests of his whole body, he rolled onto his side, dragging himself with bound claws under a nearby bush to hide. It wasn't a permanent hiding place, and it wouldn't be effective once his captors landed — and knowing Umbra, they would land — but it gave him a moment of reprieve to think.

Hadn't this happened before? Him, battered and burned and an inch from death, hiding deep in the undergrowth from someone who wanted to kill him? What were the chances?

No, focus, he chided himself. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he turned his attention to his bindings. His wrists were tightly bound together in front of his torso. His legs, too, but they were looser. Enough for him to hobble along, even — though he'd never be able to run.

Start there. The claws could come if he had time, but he needed to be able to run. Sucking in a breath to endure the pain, he twisted until he hooked one claw into the knot around his leg, tugging and twisting until it came loose. At least, loose enough to give more slack to the rope. He should be able to run like that, almost at full sprint.

A crashing sound from branches above startled him, and he sprang to his feet with fur puffed out. Something thumped onto the ground, followed by a quieter thump.

"He must still be nearby," Umbra's voice shot cold fear through his heart. "It still reeks of him. Do you understand now why I wanted him dead first?"

"He's cunning, I'll give you that," the charizard replied. "But in his state, he won't get far."

Dread twisted Nip's stomach. He was out of time. Any heartbeat now, Umbra would spot the marks where he dragged himself, or properly pick up his scent trail. Or maybe she'd have the charizard flush him out with fire. He'd deal with the rest of his bindings later, but he had to move now.

Keeping low to the ground, he dragged himself deeper into the undergrowth as quietly as he could, trying to disguise his noise amongst the sound of wind in the leaves. As soon as he was on the far side of the bushes, he forced himself to his feet, fighting nausea. Crouching lower than the bushes, he crept further away, casting glances and swiveling his ear back to listen and make certain he was moving away from his pursuers.

"Look, there's blood here," he heard Umbra say. "And see these scratches in the dirt? He was just here."

"So he couldn't have gotten far," the charizard concluded. "Which means…"

He didn't dare look back again, afraid he'd come face-to-face with the fire-breather. But their voices were growing quieter. He was moving faster than they were. Just a bit further, then maybe —

Something snapped beneath his paw.

Nip froze. The sound of the breaking twig wasn't that loud. But to his strained payche, it sounded louder than a seed bomb.

And unfortunately for him, Umbra's hearing was her best sense.

"That way!" The sound of someone barreling through the undergrowth in his direction followed Umbra's exclamation.

No more time for stealth. Gritting his teeth, Nip dashed further into the forest, running as quickly as his bindings and injuries would allow. Distance. Gaining distance was all that was important right now. Bushes and brambles tugged at his fur as he ran, and he fought the urge to yowl in pain as he trod on a thorn. But adrenaline pushed him through the pain, pushed him to run faster, pushed him to duck through paths that others might not be able to take.

But the problem with something big and powerful like a charizard was that it could make its own path, and Nip could hear her gaining on him.

Suddenly, he burst free from the undergrowth onto a dirt path winding through the woods. The local wildeners must use this — that was his best guess for such a well-maintained trail. While it wouldn't present obstacles to his assailants, it was bound to lead somewhere. Hopefully somewhere safer.

He stumbled down the path, fallen leaves crunching and squelching beneath his paws. Any other time he would find the changing colors beautiful. But right now, he was focused only on escape.

Paths like these usually led to rivers or gathering spots or other landmarks where he might find help. Or perhaps even…

As he pushed through some overgrown bushes, the last thing he expected was to emerge into open air and come face-to-face with a group of pokemon. Three of them — a charmander, a girafarig, and a raichu — were unfamiliar. But the last pokemon was someone he'd grown accustomed to seeing, and one he'd never expected to run into somewhere like here. And though his chances of receiving help from her seemed slim, with nowhere else to run or hide he had a feeling she was his only hope of getting out of this alive.

Haru stared at him, eyes wide and jaw hanging. It took her precious seconds to find her voice. "Nip?"

Haru struggled to make sense of Nip's appearance. What was he doing here? And in such a ragged state, no less? And alone. Where were the guards? None of this made sense!

The sneasel took a step forward, eyes wild and panicked. "P-please," he stuttered, casting a glance to the woods behind. Something else was crashing towards them, the sound making Haru's heart race. She took a stumbling step backward, legs stiff as he continued. "Umbra and a charizard, they attacked the guards' hut. They took me. They. They hurt Tempest. I don't even know if he's alive. I got away but they're still after me." He glanced into the woods again before turning to take another step, staring at Haru. "Please, help."

Haru struggled to process his plea. Umbra and… a charizard? Skorch? Before she could ask for more information, another pokemon crashed through the bushes just behind Nip, who raced towards her, his fur bushed.

A lone mawile emerged, though Haru could still hear rustling, suggesting there was at least one other pokemon waiting in the woods. Haru took an uneasy step back, her gaze shifting back and forth between Nip and Umbra.

Nip said she was with a charizard. While Nip might have been lying, the timing was awfully convenient. Skorch wasn't here. She'd stayed back in the village because she was sick, right? But if she was helping Umbra, then… Haru glanced at Susana, but her disguise gave nothing away.

"There's nowhere left to run, Nip," Umbra said, taking a step forward. Nip, in turn, took a step back, ear flat against his skull and teeth bared. "Accept your fate. Accept justice."

"This was never about justice!" Nip shouted back, though there was no hiding the fearful quiver in his tone. "If you cared about justice, things never would have reached this point!"

Umbra narrowed her eyes. "No one forced you to commit treachery. You dug your own hole."

Nip's eyes darted back and forth as if looking for a way out. "I… I can't deny that, but… But you still can't absolve yourself of guilt when you spent seasons upon seasons to make me break!"

Haru uneasily turned to Susana, trying to drown out the shouting match for a moment. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

The false charmander tilted her head, expression unreadable. "Why should we?"

Why should they? "You're Explorers!" Haru sputtered, incredulous. "Someone's asking you for help. Aren't you supposed to, you know, break it up and get an idea of what's going on?" As far as she knew, Enforcers usually handled this kind of situation, but explorers and rescuers could step in in an emergency like this. Right?

And though she was hesitant to help Nip, she doubted Susana's team knew anything about his crime. Even if they did, this wasn't the will of the village.

But Nip mentioned a charizard. The thought circled around her head again. Was Skorch really involved?

Susana let out a long sigh, her expression turning bored. "Remember our agreement, Umbra."

Nip was shouting something, but at Susana's words, it died in his throat. He stared at Susana, while Haru's attention turned towards Umbra.

"Agreement?" Haru started. "What are you talking about?"

"We spoke to Umbra and another pokemon yesterday. They asked us to take care of this sneasel here for his crimes. I apologize for not telling you, but it was purely Explorer business."

"Take care of… N-now hold on. I apologize, but Umbra here isn't law enforcement. She doesn't have the jurisdiction to hand Nip over to you guys. And this isn't an incorporated village. You can't just come here and do what you want without proper approval from our Mayor or the head of the guard."

"Is she not?" Susana asked. "Well, she was with a manectric. Vale, I think his name was?" Her charmander mouth twisted into a smile, an expression that looked off. Threatening, almost. "Haru, relax. This is all by the books. Just let us do our job. If you're really concerned about it, then you don't have to be involved. Once we reach the shrine, I can have Skorch take you home."

Haru's heartbeat accelerated. If Vale was there, then it was possible that this was by the books. But something didn't add up. She stole a glance at Nip, the sneasel frozen in wide-eyed terror. She shook out her fur. "I-I'm sorry. Vale is involved in local law enforcement, but he's not in charge. If things changed and you guys are turning Nip over to the enforcers—" She hesitated. If Umbra was involved, she doubted that was the case. "If you guys are turning him in, then I need to know that Whisper okayed this. I-I think we should head back."

Susana hesitated, her expression distant for a moment, as if paying attention to something else. Then she smiled again. "The hawlucha, right? Of course she okayed it. We wouldn't be doing this otherwise, right?"

Of course. The thought entered Haru's head. Susana's been trustworthy so far. "I…"

But the charizard. Nip had said the charizard attacked. He could be lying, but it didn't make sense. Why would Umbra be here if they were really turning him over? The charizard attacked. The charizard attacked.

She shook her head, trying to focus with a splitting headache. She had a decision to make. If she went along with this, then her village would wash their hands of Nip, and no one would have to worry about being threatened by him again. He was guilty. He'd hurt not just them but the pokemon he'd lived with before. He wasn't deserving of mercy.

On the other hand, she thought back to her brother. Her… not really her friends, but her peers, Shimmer and Muse. She thought back to that time in the forest when Nip had saved her brother from the wildener quilava. How would the person she cared for the most react if she just stood by and let this happen? Could she live with his disappointment?

Was this really just? Could she live with herself if it wasn't?

Of the second and third questions, she was uncertain. But she knew the answer to the first. And it made her decision.

"I-I'm sorry," Haru stuttered, taking a step back. She was keenly aware of the rock wall behind her, the drop on the other side, and how much danger she might be in. "I can't abide by this. We aren't an incorporated village, and you can't just come here, ignore our rules, and boss us around. I'm happy to help you get to the shrine, but I will not take you any further unless we return to the village first and get this sorted out."

Silence. For one agonizingly long moment, no one moved. Then Susana sighed again.

"How disappointing. I had such high hopes for you, Haru."

That was all the warning Haru got before the zoroark charged her, shedding her disguise. Utter chaos broke loose. Out of the corner of her eye, Haru caught sight of Nip bolting, then the raichu chasing after him. The charizard exploded from the tree line, taking to the air to join the chase.

But she couldn't focus on that. Susana bore down on her, springing with claws outstretched. Haru had no time to run. No time to fight back. All she could do was curl into a ball and brace.

The pain of sharp teeth blossomed along her sides. She let out a terrified squeal, lifted and shaken violently before being tossed aside.

She lay dazed on the ground for a moment before trying to struggle to her feet, feeling blood oozing through her fur. But before she could, a paw grabbed her around the back of the neck and lifted her, so that she was face-to-face with Susana.

Haru squirmed and squealed, jaws snapping in instinctual panic. But the zoroark held her at an angle where she couldn't reach.

"What a disappointment," Susana said, casually strolling towards the rocky lip to the side of the path. "You seemed so like-minded. We thought you might even come around to understand us, with time. But I guess you were all talk."

She held the bidoof over the edge, giving Haru a clear view of the sharp drop, followed by a steep slope. She'd probably survive if she fell, but not without severe injury. An angry, pained screech in the distance told her Nip was faring no better.

"Since you had to go and make things difficult, let me explain how this is going to work." Susana shook Haru, letting her words sink in as she held the bidoof over the edge. "You're going to do everything we tell you to. You're going to take us to the shrine, like we asked. Then, when we're done there, you're going to continue to guide us further up the mountain, until we find proper information on Regigigas' current location or reach the top empty-handed. If you refuse, I'll drop you right now. If you try to run, I'll snap your neck. But if you're a good little bidoof and do everything we tell you to, we might let you go home when this is all said and done."

"U-up the mountain?" Images of an injured, malnourished, dying bibarel flashed through Haru's mind. "Y-you can't! It's too dangerous! No one has survived the trip!"

Susana loosened her grip. And just for a split second, Haru thought for sure she was falling. Then the claws closed around her right hind leg, leaving her dangling face-down. Her vision swam, and it felt like she was being sucked down the cliff, despite not moving at all.

"Well, Haru?"

"Okay, okay!" Haru squealed, shutting her eyes tight. "I'll do it!"

Her stomach lurched as she was pulled back over the edge before being unceremoniously dropped in the grass.

"If you want to eat, you better hurry up," Susana said. Then she turned to face the rest of her team. "Looks like you two caught him. Topaz, resecure the sneasel's bindings. Then feed him something. He's more valuable to us alive and I don't want to waste energy carrying him.

Haru had totally forgotten about their meal, her food trampled and dirty from the one-sided skirmish. She looked up just in time to see the charizard drop Nip, planting a foot on him before he could try to escape again. Still, he struggled, taking in heaving breaths as he tried to pull himself free. The raichu gave him a strike across the face before moving to resecure his leg bindings.

"Why'd you go and put his claws in front of him, Skorch," Topaz grumbled. "Ugh, what a mess."

"We were in a hurry," the charizard replied. "It took longer than expected to subdue both him and the ninetales."

The raichu grunted in response as he loosened the arm bindings just long enough to re-secure them behind Nip's back, leaving him unable to do anything with his claws. Nip, in turn, growled and tried to bite Topaz, but without success.

Umbra watched the proceedings with an unamused expression. "Why would you waste valuable resources on him?" she asked, stepping to the center of the group. "We should just kill him now before he finds a way to slip away again."

"Because you have yet to earn my trust," Susana responded as she gathered up the remainder of their meal site. "We don't need you getting in the way of our goals — which are already derailed as it is. He lives until we complete our goal or I am satisfied you will not turn on us or let Haru escape and run for help."

Umbra turned to glare at Haru, the murderous intent on her face clear. "You can do what you want with her. I hold no loyalty to this village. And I am more than happy to help with this excursion, so long as I can return home after. You do not need to hold my own goal over my head to convince me."

At that, Susana hesitated, glancing at Remer. "What do you think?"

"Steel pokemon are harder to get a read on," the girafarig answered, climbing to his feet, "though she seems honest in this regard."

The head on his back spoke next. "I'd still recommend keeping him alive until she proves her loyalty. Consider it… collateral."

"Very well. Then my answer stays." Susana turned back to Umbra. "Speak with Topaz and get yourself something to eat. I need to tend to Skorch's wound."

Umbra glared for a moment longer, then begrudgingly approached the raichu.

Haru looked down at her half-eaten food, her stomach twisting in knots. She couldn't finish it. She couldn't take a single bite. She was going to die here, lost to the mountain. And her family would probably never know what happened.

Someone stumbled into her side, sending a painful jolt across her fresh bite wound and forcing her attention back to reality. Nip slumped beside her, forced into a sitting position by Topaz. He growled at the rodent, but Haru could smell his fear.

"Wait there until we're ready to go," Topaz said, standing behind the two of them before turning his attention back to Susana.

With nothing better to do, Haru followed his gaze. Susana was standing next to Skorch, holding up one of her arms to inspect a nasty bite wound oozing with blood.

"Mm… It's a deep one, but not too severe. I'll use our last super and save the stronger stuff for later."

Reaching into her bag, the zoroark pulled out a small red bottle with a yellow contraption on top. She shook the bottle, claws scratching at the front of the contraption, then aimed it at the charizard's wound. A quiet hissing sound filled the air as a mist sprayed out of the bottle.

Skorch winced, but as the spray hit her wound, the bleeding quickly coagulated and then stopped. And to Haru's surprise, the wound grew smaller, scabbing over.

Once the mist stopped, Susana placed the bottle back in her bag. "Not perfect, but about as much as we can expect out of a self-brewed potion around here. Can you eat on the go?"

"Of course," Skorch replied as she tested her arm.

Susana bobbed her head. "Good, then we set off immediately." The zoroark turned back towards Haru with narrowed eyes and gestured up the path. "Lead the way. You too, sneasel. Stay in front of us."

Haru wanted to protest. Wanted to run away. But there was nowhere to run, and refusal meant certain death. So she climbed carefully to her feet, ignoring her developing aches, and began to walk. Nip limped just behind her. Casting a glance back, she could see his eyes glazed from pain and his ear flat against his skull. But he gritted his teeth and kept his gaze on the path ahead.

She turned back to the path as well, trying to ignore the gaze of the dangerous predators just behind her.

She'd messed up. She'd messed up bad. And now she was going to pay the price.

Chapter Text

"Up ahead, that has to be the right place. Right, Susana?"

Haru didn't look up to see where the charizard was pointing. Everything hurt. Her legs, her head, her belly, even her ego. She'd barely paid attention to where they were walking, only glancing up when addressed to see if they were still on the right path. Otherwise, she tried to ignore the conversations around her. But it was difficult when the explorers spoke in harsh, hushed tones, discussing what to do after they were finished at the old shrine, and how long they could afford to travel after dark before resting.

To her side Nip limped along, his breathing heavy and punctuated with the occasional whine. He seemed determined to focus on the path ahead, ignoring his hostile surroundings save for the occasional swivel of his ear.

It was hard to feel sympathetic. In Haru's opinion, this was all his fault. If he hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened. The explorers wouldn't have turned on her, and she wouldn't be a prisoner. She'd be able to go home after this. But now? Now she was as good as dead. If the explorers didn't kill her, the mountain would.

Behind her, the sound of paw steps came to a sudden stop. Haru stopped a few heartbeats later, forcing herself to look up.

Before them, a cavern gaped wide open, carved into a cliff face. Faded carvings decorated its entrance, mostly covered by overgrown vines and moss. Although she couldn't see it well from her vantage point, she knew there was writing above the entrance reading, "To our Protector, our Lord, Regigagas."

Susana took a step forward and spun around to face the group. "Okay. I want to finish with this site before sundown, which doesn't give us much time. Topaz, you stay out here with our guide and prisoner. Everyone else is with me. That includes you, Umbra."

The mawile scoffed, shaking her head, but said, "Very well." With Susana in the lead, she and the other explorers disappeared into the yawning cave.

Haru sank to her belly, paws screaming for a break. She was ready to wake up from this nightmare. But her aches reminded her that this was all too real.

A hiss at her side snapped her out of her thoughts. She started to disdainfully turn her attention towards Nip, only to let out an alarmed squeak and scramble back to her feet.

Topaz was no longer a raichu. In his place stood a larger rodent, its fur a dark reddish-orange. Haru scrambled a few precious steps back from the unfamiliar pokemon.

The strange pokemon scoffed, shaking out its fur, then spoke in Topaz's voice, his tone patronizing. "What? Never seen a gorochu before?"

"N-no!" Haru stuttered. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"That's because your stupid, backwards raichu never learned to evolve." Topaz flexed his forepaws, an electric pulse rippling from his cheeks all the way down to his tail. "This p — this place, this continent is so weird."

Cautiously, Haru took a step forward. "W-what are you talking about?"

The gorochu rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Ugh, how much do I have to spell out for you? Are you really this dense?" He sized up Haru with a smirk. "We're not from around here, you hillbilly. We came from across the ocean on our Lady's orders. Took us long enough to get a seafaring vessel going with our mixed bag of knowledge and the frankly paltry resources on the other continent, but here we are."

"Across the ocean?" Nip asked. "That's impossible!"

Haru had to agree. They had boats capable of riding the ocean along the coast, sure. But going out to open waters? That was far too dangerous!

And yet, everything presented to Haru thus far suggested these pokemon were capable of more than anyone she knew. Still, there was something she couldn't wrap her head around. "But… But why? Why are you doing this?"

Topaz opened his mouth to say something more, then suddenly snapped it shut, his expression shifting into a glare. "I've said more than enough. I'm not about to get my hide tanned for overspeaking. Besides, what's it matter to you? You're as good as dead once this is all over, anyways."

Before she could question him further he turned away, though the way his ears twitched made it clear he was still listening to her every movement.

He's right, I'm going to die here, she thought. She'd hardly thought of anything but her demise since the explorers — or whoever they were — turned on her. Topaz wasn't lying. The chances of surviving this ordeal were slim, whether death came by accident or by the paws of his team.

"Haru?"

Why did this have to happen? Why? Why? When did everything all go so wrong? When did her life spiral out of control?

Her eyes darted back and forth until they settled on dark, blue-green fur. Right. Everything spiraled out of control the moment he showed up. Maybe she wouldn't have come with the explorers if not for her experiences with him.

Her head spun, her breathing shallow. Maybe… Maybe…

"Haru? Haru, you need to snap out of it. This isn't helping."

It took her a moment to realize Nip was talking to her. He was staring at her now, gaze inscrutable. If anything, his expression suggested… Worry? Pity, maybe?

Anger swirled in her head, mixing with barely restrained panic to create a volatile cocktail. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Nip recoiled as if struck by claws.

"Yes, your fault! If you hadn't shown up, then none of this would have happened."

"You chose to work with those pokemon of your own free will," he hissed, hackles raised and with a growl in his throat. "I had nothing to do with this."

Haru ignored him. "Everything's gone wrong since you came here," she countered, her voice raising to a shrill squeak. "The egg, then Umbra, then Tempest and Celebi, and now this. If you hadn't shown up, I'd be on my way home soon! But instead, I'm going to die on this gods-forsaken mountain and no one's ever going to know what happened!"

Ending her rant with a wail, Haru buried her face in her paws, curling up to block out the world. She took deep, shuddering breaths, his previous words sinking in. Nip had a point. She knew he had a point. But she couldn't accept it. She couldn't accept the idea that she'd driven herself to her own demise.

Mom, Dad, Toshi… I'm sorry.

Something hard gently nudged her side. A few heartbeats later, it happened again, this time with more force.

"Hey," Nip grunted, nudging her a third time. "You're not dead yet. And that means there's still hope."

Slowly, Haru uncurled, staring up at Nip with wet eyes. His expression gave away his annoyance, but his tone was gentle.

"There is still hope," he repeated, lowering his voice. "If you can just hold on to that, if you can just focus on that little chance of survival, then maybe we can figure something out. That's how I got by as long as I did."

Haru blinked in confusion. "Wh… what are you trying to say?"

At first, Nip didn't reply. He turned his head towards Topaz, ear flicking before he turned back to Haru with a lowered voice. "I'm saying that there's always a chance we can make it out of this alive. We just need to focus. Just need to be alert and ready to pounce on opportunity. But that opportunity won't come if you give up."

Unease plagued Haru's mind. But the more Nip said, the more her panic dissipated, leaving behind clarity. He… had a point. She wasn't dead yet. Maybe there was still a chance to escape. But one major obstacle stood at the forefront of her mind.

Keeping her voice low, she asked, "But how? There's five of them. And I'm not a fast runner."

Nip took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, the frustrated expression was gone. "You're right. In normal circumstances, we'd never get away. I'm injured. You're injured too, but less so. That's why we have to be prepared for an opportunity to present itself. For an opening where they're busy or preoccupied."

He looked to the sky in the direction of the setting sun. "Wherever they think they're going, it's going to take a couple of days to get there. Which means we have a couple of days to figure something out. To find a moment when enough of them are distracted so we can make a break for it. For a convenient chance to lose them in dense forest, or down a river, or… something."

Now that he had mentioned their injuries, Haru felt acutely aware of all her aches and bruises. He spoke a lot of sense, but they'd never get far in this state. Maybe his hope was misplaced.

But at the same time, it was the only hope she had. She'd never get away with just her strength and skill alone. As uneasy as she was at the prospect, she needed his help. He, more than anyone, knew a thing or two about running and hiding and avoiding capture.

"Okay," she finally said. "It's worth a shot."

But if they were going to have any chance of escape, they needed to be as prepared as possible.

Twisting, she reached around to grab a strap on her bag with her teeth, pulling it around where she could easily access it. She reached inside with grabby paws, scooping out four oran berries. One was kept for herself, while the other three were rolled towards Nip.

"I can't make proper medicine out of these," she whispered, "but they should still help some if you eat them."

Nip stared at the berries, squinting, before shifting to remind Haru that his arms were still tightly bound behind him. Right. That was a problem now, and it could cause more later. She was positive she could chew through them, but not with Topaz watching. Not while he snuck suspicious glances their way, tail sparking threateningly.

With a sigh, Haru reached out to pull the berries back to her side, using her teeth and paws to tear apart the thick skin. Then she passed the mostly intact flesh back. This time, Nip leaned down, wincing, to grab it with his teeth, popping the whole thing in his mouth to chew as best he could. Haru peeled two more berries before starting on her own.

As she watched the sneasel eat, she noticed that Nip's focus shifted from her to their surroundings, his ear swiveling at every sound.

"How are you handling this?" she couldn't help but ask. "Aren't you scared?"

"Terrified," Nip corrected. Now that he mentioned it, Haru realized the fur at the back of his neck was standing on end. And yet, he was somehow managing to remain the rational one between them.

"I lived the last three cycles of my life in constant fear," Nip continued. "And I learned that giving up doesn't make things better. If you want to survive you have to fight back."

"Fight back…" Haru considered his words for a moment, studying the grass beneath her paws. She glanced back up, words tumbling out of her mouth without thinking. "Is that how you've justified your crueler actions?"

"Haru, please." Nip's expression turned stricken, and there was an edge of desperation to his tone. "If we want to get out of this alive, we have to work together. Bickering doesn't help. Can't this wait until we're out of danger?"

Nip made a good point. Embarrassment turned Haru's face hot. She decided to change the subject and instead focused on a different thought plaguing her mind.

"This mountain is dangerous enough in the best of times," she mumbled, tracing patterns in the dirt. Now that they weren't talking about escape, she didn't bother keeping quiet enough to avoid Topaz's listening ear. "I lost my grandpa to the mountain…"

Nip looked like he wanted to say something. But before he could, Susana reappeared, now without her disguise.

"We need you at the shrine, Haru," the zoroark said, her tone cloying. "Topaz, keep an eye on the other one, will you?"

Haru cautiously climbed to her paws, picking her way across the overgrown path. She didn't want to go. Why would Susana need her? Had they changed their minds and decided to kill her here? Or maybe she was overthinking this, and they were actually going to let her go?

Light filtered into the cave, but it couldn't penetrate far. With the sun setting on the other side of the mountain, most of this area was cast in shadow.

But that didn't stop Susana. As they entered, she scooped up a short torch that had been planted at the entrance. She gestured for Haru to lead the way.

Dirt and dust coated every inch of the chamber, tinting everything with reddish grime. The shapes of carvings flickered in and out of view within the torchlight, depicting many of the stories of Regigigas that Haru still remembered from her childhood. Some of them, however, had been coated by slimy lichen, blotting out parts of the pictures or text.

Here and there, the rotting remnants of wooden furniture and structures still remained. Nature had reclaimed the shrine fast; if Haru remembered correctly, it had only been about fifteen cycles since the shrine in the village was completed.

Near the back of the chamber stood a statue of Regigigas, carved from stone and just small enough to fit inside. Haru remembered hearing that it was carved out of the cave itself. Small bits of metal made up the eyes and markings on the statue, gleaming in the light of the fire. At the base was a stone basin. At one time, it would have been filled with water — a representation of Regice to complete the trio — but with the disuse of the shrine, it now lay barren.

Haru came to a sudden stop as she caught sight of the rest of the false explorers. They, too, had undergone transformations like Topaz. Skorch's transformation was almost unnoticeable, with only the loss of a horn. But the second head on Remer where his tail should have been felt uncanny.

And Umbra didn't seem phased by their true forms at all. If anything, she seemed bored. Perhaps frustrated.

"Don't just stand there," Susana huffed, giving Haru a nudge with her foot. "You have work to do."

Haru stumbled forward with a squeak. "What do you want from me?" she demanded in a shaky voice. "What can I do that you can't?"

Susana approached a wall to their right. She tapped her claws against an image of Regigigas shaping a mountain. Or, to be more specific, against old, faded writing beneath it.

"Can you read this?"

Haru took a few careful steps forward, squinting in the dark. Her head ached, perhaps from trying to make out the small shapes in the dark. It looked like it was written in the antiquated writing style her village used before the modern incorporated territories standardized written language, forcing them to switch for trade purposes. Instead of a series of dots and dashes, the dots were stacked in bunches of three rows and two columns. Her grandfather had thought it important for her to learn.

And so our Lord came to form Mount Domo
That which He would call Home for ages to come
We rejoiced for his proximity
We prayed for his protection

"I don't know what it says," Haru lied, turning to Susana. "We don't use that form of writing anymore. It died out over a lifetime ago."

Silence fell over the room. Haru held her breath. Then, suddenly, pain exploded in her head and she felt a force seize her and lift her inches into the air. She let out a loud yelp, flailing, her senses blurred.

"She's lying," Remer — his second, darker head — hissed. "She's telling a partial truth. I heard the words echo in her head."

Realization struck Haru. He'd been listening the whole time. Had he been listening before, too? How hadn't she noticed? Was he that advanced?

Was that why they suggested finding someone else to bring them here? Was that why she jumped to the conclusion of Toshi? Had he been subtly influencing her thoughts or manipulating her the whole time?

She focused, remembering the basics of warding off a psychic's powers. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, then focused on the visual image of spikes and thorns, of fire, of all things unpleasant.

Get out of my head!

The girafarig recoiled and dropped Haru. For just a heartbeat, Haru felt proud of herself. Then Susana loomed over her and all feelings of accomplishment gave way to fear.

"Is that so, Remer? I'm disappointed in you, Haru. Did you really think you could hide things from us? Do I need to remind you of the position you're in?" As she spoke, dark, wispy tendrils swirled around her jaws.

Haru shrank back. "N…no, of course not." An image of Nip flashed in her mind. She quickly forced it down, focusing on the zoroark's jaws instead. She couldn't afford to let them hear any thoughts of escape. Nip would be safe, but any moment she thought of escape without diligence was a chance Remer could read her mind.

"Well then," Susana growled. She reached down to spin Haru around so that she was facing the wall again. "Read."

Haru took a deep breath, trying not to tremble with fear. She repeated the words she'd thought before, phrasing familiar from her childhood.

Susana bobbed her head. "Good. On to the next."

The two of them made their way around the chamber, Susana providing light as Haru read the passages out loud. Passages about the creation of the continent. Passages about lands far beyond the ocean, far out of reach, with warnings to never go here. Passages about the war of the gods. Passages about the followers of Regigigas, hidden away from battle until they couldn't hide anymore. And passages about Mount Domo, and the mystery dungeon near the peak, where legends said Regigigas lived.

"Is all this really necessary?" Umbra growled when Haru was about halfway done. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed across her chest. "This seems like a waste of time."

"Far from it," Skorch replied, her tail swishing. She was now on the ground, using her good arm and a piece of charcoal to scrawl in an unfamiliar script. "Even if we don't use this information to track down Regigigas now, it will be even more worth it later, when the others arrive."

The others. Haru had forgotten about that. And now, with new context, horrors swirled in her mind.

It wasn't just her in danger. It was her entire village.

She had to get out of there.

She had to survive.

She had to warn everyone.

But for the moment, she pushed her thoughts out of her head. For now, she needed to focus on what was in front of her, to focus on surviving this day.

Chapter Text

Everything ached.

Though the oran berries had alleviated the worst of Nip's pain, the evening's walk flared his bruises and scratches and burns all over again. Exhaustion made his feet drag across the dusty ground. As the evening passed, the vegetation around them thinned, a sign of their elevation. But the high slope to their left made it clear there was still a long way to the peak.

All the while, he tried to remain alert, on the lookout for any opportunity to make a break for it. But exhaustion made it harder, a fact he was unfortunately all too familiar with.

Now, sometime after dark, his captors finally elected to stop and camp for the night. The strange zoroark scurried off and disappeared into a nearby copse, returning shortly thereafter with an armful of wood. She dropped them on the grassy path and set to work digging a small pit. Then she arranged the wood inside, stepping out of the way to let the charizard start a fire after she had finished.

All the while that… Gorochu — or whatever Topaz called himself — watched over both Nip and Haru, leering with undisguised malice. Across the clearing, Umbra, too, stared at Nip, eyes narrow and mouth set in a thin line. And why would she hide her disdain? She had no reason to. His captors were basically on her side, and Haru was as much a prisoner as he.

Nip swallowed thickly, ear lying flat as he averted his gaze. If Umbra had her way, she'd find a way to kill him in the night. He was afraid to sleep. He was afraid that if he did, he'd never wake up. Or would she want him awake to feel his death? He wouldn't put it past her.

To his side, Haru sank to the ground. He snapped out of his anxious trance, focusing on the bidoof instead. She looked as tired as he felt, eyes drooping shut. He wanted nothing more than to drop on the ground and rest too. But he needed to stay vigilant, a point that felt all the more important when the zoroark approached them.

"We need a way to keep our… guests from wandering off," Susana mumbled, just loud enough that he could hear. Then she barked, "Topaz! Help me dig a pit." She jabbed a paw at the Gorochu. "Skorch, I want you on first watch tonight."

Grunting an affirmation, Topaz raced to her side and started scooping out pawfuls of dirt, creating a neat little mound. A moment later, Susana joined in, deepening the hole while he widened, until they'd formed a hole about twice as deep as Nip was tall, just wide enough for himself and Haru to lie down inside.

Topaz dusted off his paws, then scurried over to nudge Haru back to her paws. Then he gave Nip a rough shove, nearly knocking him over as he drove the two of them to the edge of the pit.

Nip hated this. What if they buried him alive? Would he be able to fight back? But he hopped in on his own, keen not to fall and injure himself further. Heartbeats later, however, a heavy weight thumped on top of him, driving the breath from his lungs. He gasped for air, panicking as he tried to struggle free, toe-claws failing to find purchase in the loamy soil.

After a moment, the dazed Haru finally managed to drag herself to the side, freeing him. She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't quite catch.

Nip struggled to sit up with bound arms. Before he could do anything else, he heard a rustling, then the light above dimmed. Glancing up, he saw a tangle of branches blocking off the exit, their leaves illuminated by firelight.

From above, Topaz's voice drifted. "Don't waste our jerky on him. Our supplies are too limited to bother. Besides, it's not like we're going to keep him alive for that long, right?"

Susana's voice drifted from further off, and Nip was only able to catch snippets. Words like trust, and soon.

They're talking about me, Nip thought. Resigned and exhausted, he slumped against one of the walls. A heartbeat later, the branches shifted. Something hard bonked him on the head, then rolled to a stop in front of him. An apple. He was half-convinced they were hitting him on purpose.

Nip sighed, using his foot to drag the apple closer before leaning forward to grab the apple's stem in his teeth. If he had to eat fruit to have energy for tomorrow, he'd do it.

He could make out the shape of Haru — a paler blotch against the dark dirt — tearing into her fruit. A flash of her teeth in the moonlight gave him an idea.

"Haru," he whispered, "could you unbind my arms? Either by cutting the rope with your teeth, or tugging the knot loose?"

The bidoof looked up, a pair of beady eyes glistening at him in the darkness. "Why?"

Because it would make things easier? Because my arms hurt from being stuck like this for so long? Because my wrists feel raw with pain? He answered, "So I don't have to struggle to eat my food. …You… you can put them back when we're done if you just pull them free. Best not to let them get any ideas that we're working together."

Something flashed in Haru's expression. "Don't talk about that," she hissed. "There may be prying ears. Or minds."

"Prying…" His thoughts flashed to the abnormal girafarig — Susana hadn't bothered putting their disguises back up after leaving the old shrine — and realization hit him like a geopebble. As a pokemon with dark elemental affinity, his mind was protected from most psychics, impenetrable. But Haru's wasn't.

"Fine, fine," he said, forcing his fur to lie flat. They may not be able to read his mind, but they'd be able to smell his fear. "But can you at least get my bindings so I can eat?"

Haru hesitated a moment longer, then took a deep breath and murmured, "Okay. I'll loosen it, but just temporarily. If I undo it entirely, they'll know something's up."

Nip shifted so that he was on his knees with his back to Haru, allowing her better access to his arms. Her grabby little paws and teeth tugged at the knots, pulling his arms this way and that. Fur brushed up against his, and he felt her cold nose touch a particularly tender spot. Then the ropes slackened, and he was able to pull his arms free.

Leaving his bindings in a position where he could easily slip them back on, he turned back to Haru, rolling his shoulders and rubbing at his wrists where the ropes had irritated his skin. "Thank you," he mumbled, reaching down to spear the apple on one paw.

His gaze flitted to the branches blocking the exit. "If you can handle it, I think it would be helpful to sleep in turns tonight."

Haru took another bit of her apple, chewing it slowly before she replied. "In case someone out there gets any… ideas?"

"Yes. I don't trust them to keep their word."

The bidoof paused, shivering and taking a shuddering breath. "Y…yeah. I think you're right. I can take first shift if you'd like."

"I would appreciate it," Nip admitted. "I'll try to get some shut-eye as soon as I'm done eating."

"Useless!"

Umbra's screeching snapped Nip out of his stupor. He climbed to his feet, staring in the direction the raticate had disappeared. His fur pricked with frustration. If Umbra had driven it in the right direction in the first place, he could have ambushed it. Instead, he'd been forced to give chase, tripping over the dense undergrowth. Now it was too far away.

Dusting his fur off, he turned to face Umbra with an agitated expression.

Big mistake.

The mawile swung her second jaw at him, sending him sprawling. She stood over him, eyes narrowed in a dangerous squint.

His heart raced, panicked eyes darting between Umbra's face and her jaws. Her expression was unreadable, but that was perhaps more terrifying than blatant anger.

"Can you not do anything right?" Umbra said in a dangerously quiet tone. "Now the tribe will go hungry because of your incompetence."

"Y-you drove it the wrong way," Nip stuttered, scrambling as he tried to back away and get to his feet. He knew it was dangerous, but he had to push back against this. "I couldn't keep up!"

"Are you suggesting this is my fault?" The familiar pink flashes of fairy energy sparkled at her fingertips and cascaded to the ground.

"N-not on purpose!" Nip raised his claws to protect his face, just in time to block the brunt of a strike. The spark popped against his arm in blinding flashes and burned, eating away at his will to fight back. With a quiet cry, he curled inward, only to be knocked over again with a burning kick.

"Look at you, you pathetic lump," Umbra said in a sickly sweet voice. Then it shifted to a growl. "You would not want the tribe to starve, would you? Don't bother coming home until you've got more than twice that raticate's weight in food."

He only whined in response.

Footsteps, light over the crunching undergrowth, faded away. Some time passed before Nip finally uncurled, breath hitching. He was alone again.

Or was he?

His ear twitched as a gust of wind rattled the branches high above, bringing with them whispers.

Did you notice Nip limping today?

Umbra says he tripped over a root while hunting. How clumsy can you get?

How did he manage to pass the hunter's test with slip-ups like that?

He is a curse on our tribe.

The elders never should have taken his egg.

Outsider. Outsider. Outsider.

The trees twisted and contorted, roots slithering through the undergrowth to surround him like the bars of a cell. He scrambled, squeezing between them, only for new, thorny brambles to intertwine and dig into his fur.

A thick fog rolled in as he struggled to keep his breathing under control, breath visible in the cold. With it came the eyes. Watching him. Staring. Glaring. Judging.

Nip pressed himself against the thorny roots, eyes wild and frost billowing out of the sides of his mouth.

"Stop!" He pleaded. "Go away!"

The fog closed in, roots tearing through the ground around him. The whispers persisted.

Nip.

Nip.

"Nip!"

Something was shaking him. Nip startled awake, fur bristling, to near-total darkness. A thin sliver of moonlight dappled his prison through the branches, revealing the shape of a familiar bidoof sitting over him. Her eyes flashed in the dim light.

"Haru…?" Nip's tone came out groggy as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. "What…?"

"You were dreaming," Haru answered quietly. "You were thrashing and mewling in your sleep."

Nip's fur burned hot with embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry," he mumbled. "Don't worry about it. Just a nightmare about…" Did he dare say it? What point was there in hiding things now? "About my tribe."

Haru sat back. "About… what happened when you left? Or… something else?" Nip suspected she was trying to ask about his attack on the nursery, but with all the tact of a rampaging tauros. He was too tired to care.

"In… a way," he answered with a sigh. "More the… events leading to it. The fights. The manipulation. The isolation." Why was he bothering to explain himself now? It wasn't like it would change Haru's mind. Her stubborn behavior had made that exceedingly clear. But… if he was being honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to change her mind. Not anymore.

The bidoof's expression was unreadable. "You… hurt a lot of pokemon," she mumbled. "Both here and there."

"I know," Nip replied, drooping, "but when you've spent cycle upon cycle of your life beaten down again and again, wallowing in misery with no way out but…" he trailed off, wincing.

"It warps your perception, Haru. It influences you. Makes you want to lash out."

"But it doesn't make it right." Haru said. "It doesn't fix what already happened."

"No," Nip conceded. "It doesn't. You have to live with the consequences. But that's just it. Live. When you die, only Yveltal is left to judge you. It… that prospect is terrifying. Especially after… what we saw here in the village." He didn't say Celebi's name, but he thought of the scatterbrained god all the same. "That would be the easy route, to embrace death without fighting anymore."

It was a coward's way of thinking. His tribe taught him to fight for his life but to face death with dignity. But what dignity was there in laying over and dying because others thought you should?

Haru was silent for a long time. Nip felt his stomach flip as he settled down again, closing his eyes. Why wasn't she saying anything?

"I… think I can understand that."

Nip peeked an eye open. The bidoof was tracing a pattern in the dirt, refusing to look at him. "When I was pretty young, before Toshi was even born, there was a horrible drought. Crops failed. We had to travel to other towns to get enough food. It came at the worst possible time, when we were trying to remain an independent settlement under mounting pressure. I don't remember that part, but I remember the hunger.

"Both of Muse's parents, Shimmer's mom, and my grandfather made a journey up here, beyond the shrine and up towards the peak, in hopes of finding Regigigas. In hopes that, perhaps, he could fix things." She laughed bitterly. "Only my grandfather made it back down, and he succumbed to his injuries within a day of his return, nothing to show for their trouble. To make matters worse, the drought broke within a moon. Times were still hard, but not for much longer. All that suffering… all for nothing."

Silence. Nip broke it moments later. "Is… this why you hate reliance on gods?"

"It wasn't the sole cause," Haru answered, "but it was the start."

Everything about Haru's behavior suddenly made sense. Nip considered what to say next, or whether he should say anything at all, but finally took a deep breath.

"I can understand where you're coming from, as tough as that may be to swallow. I… spent my entire kithood trying to be accepted by my kin, all the other pokemon of my tribe. I was born in the tribe, but my egg had been stolen from somewhere else. I… don't know where. No one would tell me.

"I was viewed as an outsider. Underestimated because I was small. Aside from Tempest and one or two other 'mon, I had to struggle every day of my life to be respected as an equal."

His tone rose as he struggled to keep his volume in check. "And then I prove myself. I prove that I'm strong and capable of hunting and fighting just as well as anyone else. And what do I get? I get paired with a pokemon who hates who I am so much that she's determined to make my every waking moment miserable. That she's determined to find any way to get rid of me that doesn't get her claws too dirty."

Behind his back, he flexed his re-bound claws. "No one but Tempest ever tried to help." There were others who were sympathetic, but they never lifted a paw. "And as an outsider himself, he had limited influence. Haru, I struggled with the idea that Yveltal would allow me to continue suffering. What good was a god that ignored the pleas of her followers? But when things reached their breaking point… I realized that Yveltal isn't that type of goddess. Yveltal would not hold my paw. If I wanted to escape, I had to take matters into my own paws."

"Despite all that, you still chose to follow her?" Haru asked.

"For me, it provided comfort. Hope. I had to cling to something to survive." He hesitated before adding, "Even if… recent events have made that difficult."

He sighed. "Our situations may be different, but their effects were similar. Both left us worse off. Bitter. I… think I understand where your anger comes from now. You're hurting."

Haru shifted uneasily but said nothing. "Sorry," he mumbled, turning to lie back down. "That all probably sounded stupid."

He closed his eyes, but he was too tense to sleep. His mind still dwelled on images of Umbra, on the burn of fairy energy and the bruises she left behind.

Then, to his surprise, he felt something warm press against him. Twisting his head, he could just see Haru lying back to back with him, face turned where he couldn't see.

"Don't think anything of it," she grumbled, stifling a yawn. "But… Maybe you have a point. Sort of. I… I let my feelings cloud my judgment. I have no one to blame but myself for getting into this situation.

The two lapsed into uneasy silence for several moments, only the sound of their breathing, the crackle of fire, and the distant chatter of nocturnal wildeners providing ambiance.

Finally, Haru found her tongue. "Look. I… I still don't like you. You're rash. You've hurt a lot of pokemon. And you've tried to use your suffering to justify your actions. But if we have any hope of survival, we have to work together."

It was probably the closest thing he was going to get to an apology. Not that he particularly deserved one, did he? "Thank you." He paused. "Do you want to try sleeping for a bit? I don't think I'll be able to for a while."

The bidoof shifted beside him, yawning. "Sure. Just wake me up sometime before dawn, okay?"

"Of course." Then Nip went silent. Soon enough, he heard quiet snores from Haru.

Tilting his head, he stared at the flecks of light above their makeshift prison. He closed his eyes, mentally tracing over the spots where he used to dye his fur. He'd stopped bothering when he went on the run. It was too identifying. And before long it had faded. A connection to his tribe and his god, severed.

Yveltal, he prayed. If you have any kindness to spare in your heart, please let us get out alive.

The air was thick with exhaustion, worry, and fear, the strength of emotions threatening to overwhelm Shimmer. She focused on blocking out as much as she could.

The sun had set not long ago, forcing them to travel with only an intact luminous orb and a torch for light, and Muse's nose to guide. Earlier, as the sun was setting, they'd found signs of a struggle, droplets of blood decorating the grass. Muse had picked up Haru's scent, alongside Nip's, Umbra's, and unfamiliar scents she couldn't place. Anu suspected it was the explorers.

As they'd followed the scent trail up the road, Anu realized they were headed straight for the old shrine. They'd picked up their pace. Now, the shrine entrance loomed ahead, the entrance a dark void in an already dark night.

"They must have lingered here for a while," Muse reported, sniffing at the grass. "I can smell both Nip and Haru here, and it's strong. Haru's scent leads to the cave, while Nip's leads…" She took a few steps forward before raising her head and tasting the air. "It seems to lead directly up the trail." She ran several more body lengths forward. "Haru's scent, and most of the others, rejoin here and continue up the path too."

Whisper sighed. "Then we know she was still okay at this point." Shimmer didn't read her thoughts, but the spike of worry suggested she wasn't completely confident about that.

The hawlucha tilted her head to stare at the crescent moon and stars. "We'll stop here for the night, and start again at the crack of dawn."

"What?" Toshi squeaked. "But Haru's still out there! We can't stop now. What if she's hurt?"

"I know you're worried," Anu began gently as he approached the shrine entrance. His luminous orb did little to dispel the darkness. "But the road ahead is perilous. You've never been there, but there's a forest not too far beyond here that we'd have to cut through. There are territorial wildeners there. And the path becomes untamed and perilous not far beyond that." The conviction with which he spoke was unusual. "We can't risk stumbling about in the dark. This is the safest place we could ask for."

"Anu is right," Whisper agreed, stooping down to be eye-level with Toshi. "He knows this trail better than any living pokemon in the village." Then she stood, following her mate into the darkness.

Reluctantly, Toshi followed, head drooping. Even with her mental blocks up, the waves of anxiety rolling off of him nearly overwhelmed Shimmer. It was kind of charming, in a messed up way, knowing that he cared so much about Haru's safety.

She was worried too, of course. But it didn't do anyone any good to worry like that. Maybe she could cheer him up!

Practically gliding across the dilapidated path, Shimmer caught up with the bidoof. "Aw, cheer up," she said in a sing-song voice. "We'll catch up tomorrow, I'm sure. Then we can all go home and pretend this never happened and you and I can talk about our future plans together and…" Shimmer trailed off. The more she spoke, the more the anxiety waves spiked. With them came other emotions. Negative emotions.

Toshi came to an abrupt stop, spinning to face her. "Shims, I'm not in the mood to humor you."

Shimmer faltered, blinking twice. "But I—"

"My sister is in serious danger, and you're making it about yourself!" His voice turned shrill. "Do you even care?"

"Of course I do! I was just—" But Shimmer didn't get a chance to finish her thought. Toshi whirled back around, racing into the cave.

Shimmer started to give chase, but a paw on her shoulder held her back. She looked up to see Anu staring down at her, eyes gentle. "Give him some space," he began, walking around and then stooping so that he was eye-level with Shimmer. "He's stressed right now, and needs time to himself."

"I was just trying to cheer him up," Shimmer protested sullenly.

Anu was quiet for a moment. He bit his lip, struggling to start speaking.

"Your heart is in the right place," he began slowly. "But have you considered that you can be… overbearing sometimes, making him feel like he has to go along with you to keep the peace? Toshi has a hard time saying no to people. If he shut you out here, doesn't that suggest that he must be extremely stressed?"

Shimmer dropped her gaze, stomach tied in knots. She didn't like where this was going. "I guess, but—"

Anu cut her off. "No buts. Shimmer, you are an incredibly smart and powerful young woman, but you need to learn to take no for an answer. There are a lot of bad things going on right now. Haru is likely in danger. Tempest is severely injured, and both Nip and Umbra are missing. One of our guards might be involved in this mess, too. Who knows how deep this buneary hole goes."

Pawsteps sounded behind Shimmer, then she felt a puff of hot breath on her back. She turned her head to see Muse, as unreadable as always.

"Musey?" Shimmer asked hesitantly. "What do you think?"

Unease briefly flitted across the absol's face before she took a deep breath, relaxed, and leaned down to bump her forehead against Shimmer's. "I… think Anu's words are wise. Give Toshi some time. When we get back, let him have an honest conversation with you."

Shimmer didn't like that answer. What if… What if Toshi was really upset and never wanted to see her again? What if she messed up so spectacularly that she couldn't fix things? What if…

What if he didn't actually like her?

Muse nudged her, nuzzling Shimmer's cheek. "It's going to be okay. No matter what happens, I will be here for you. Right now, let's just focus on finding Haru."

Shimmer took a deep breath. Right. Haru. She was what was most important right now. "Okay. Let's just get some rest."

"I'll take first watch," Muse offered. "I'll wake Whisper or Toshi in a while."

Shimmer frowned. "No," she said, putting a hand on the Absol's back. "Let me. You're the best tracker. We need you at your best tomorrow."

"But…" Muse looked between Shimmer and Anu before dipping her head. "Very well. I will speak with you in the morning." With that, she headed into the cave, leaving Shimmer alone with Anu.

The lucario gave her a pat on the head, then turned toward the cave as well.

Shimmer headed to the entrance a moment later, sitting so that she faced the moonlight flooding inside. Alone her thoughts raced.

Vale's lie bothered her. She wasn't surprised by Umbra's involvement; she and Muse had suspected foul play from the mawile for some time. But why was Vale covering for her? Did her father know about this? What about Jaques and Lotte? They couldn't. They would have done something to stop it, right?

And then, more personally, there was Toshi. She knew Anu had a point, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe… just maybe… his reaction was something that had been a long time coming. She knew he was sometimes uncomfortable around her, but she'd convinced herself it was something he'd get used to.

Sighing, she pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the stars above.

Oh, Regigigas. Why is this happening?

Chapter Text

Morning came far too soon. Dawn light trickled into the makeshift prison, dappling Haru's face. Despite getting relatively decent sleep, exhaustion clung to her bones. She wished she could get some more rest, but the branches shifting overhead indicated otherwise.

Susana's long claws reached into the pit, scooping her up before unceremoniously dropping her beside it. The zoroark leaned in again, dragging out Nip, who hissed and spat at her.

He looked about as good as she felt, though he'd clearly attempted to groom and clean himself in the night. She wished she'd done the same. Her complaints about him grooming in public seemed so far away now. So inconsequential.

Further down the path, the other three explorers gathered together, eating and conversing. Umbra sat beside them, her attention slipping in and out of the conversation as she took opportunities to glare at Nip. Even from a distance, Haru caught some of their chatter.

"How much longer do you think this is going to take?" Remer asked. "I pinged the camp to give our location this morning. Our Lady is requesting a status update."

Skorch puffed a ring of smoke. "Your guess is as good as mine. The stories we found refer to another mystery dungeon. We'll probably have to go all the way to the peak."

"I'll bet we'll get there in no time flat!" Topaz said, jumping to his paws. "Come on, we're the best scouts of the gang."

"You know Our Lady doesn't like referring to our alliance as a gang," Skorch huffed.

"Yeah, well, she's not here!"

Umbra tore off a bite of jerky, chewing. "Do you seriously plan to make me wait that long to get my side of our deal?"

"Susana will decide when your end of the bargain has been fulfilled," Remer replied. "But if you prove your worth, I'm sure it won't be that long."

Umbra let out a low growl, clenching and unclenching her claws. "I will do what I must to get rid of him. I do not care what happens to this village. Once my role is done, I plan to wash my claws of the situation and return home."

Skorch tilted her head. "You don't live here?"

Haru would have listened to more, but an apple bonked her head, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Hurry up and eat," Susana grunted. "Or don't. No skin off my back. We're leaving soon."

Nip sat beside her, scowling at his own fruit before leaning over to take a bite. With a sigh, Haru gave up on eavesdropping and dug into her own.

The path became dilapidated as they traveled further up the mountain. Grasses and bushes sprouted up in the middle of the otherwise open space. In one spot, the remnants of a landslide forced them to scramble over piles of stone and rotting wood, slowing them down. It felt like they'd barely made any progress by sun high, but Haru already wanted to drop and take a long nap.

They still had a long way to go, the peak visible in the distance. Ahead, the path curved away from the cliff they'd been following, veering into a stretch of woods that sloped gently upwards.

"Susana!" Remer called from the back of the group. "This seems like a relatively sheltered area. Should we stop here for lunch and try to gather more supplies? We may not have another opportunity as good as this."

"I thought we were in a hurry!" Topaz protested. "We brought plenty of supplies. Let's stop for lunch, sure, but we shouldn't waste any more time than we need to."

"Easy, Topaz," Susana said, her tone placating. "You both make good points. We don't know how many days it will take to reach and research the peak, and Our Lady will want updates. But we also cannot afford to run out of food."

The gorochu's cheeks sparked with indignation. "Then why are we wasting our food on them?" He gestured sharply in Haru and Nip's direction. Haru flinched, but Nip remained stoic.

Susana took a deep breath. "I'll concede your point on the sneasel. But we need Haru in good health if she's going to guide us."

But you've made it clear I won't survive this either, Haru thought, involuntarily shivering. Her gaze dropped, staring blankly at the pebbles in front of her, but a nudge from Nip made her look up again.

She glanced at him, confused, but he said nothing. Instead, he stood at attention, ear swiveling, nose twitching, and mouth slightly parted to take in scents. Looking for an opening, maybe?

Raising her head, she sniffed at the air, only to freeze as she picked up a musky scent. Someone else was nearby. A wildener, she suspected. And a big one at that. She tried to think back. Had she smelled this before? It reminded her a bit of ursaring scent, but it wasn't quite right. As she squinted at the tree line, she could just make out gouges in their bark, likely territorial markings.

Nip turned his attention to her and hissed in a low voice, "This could be the opening we need. We need to draw their attention. Get loud. Argue with me, or something."

"What?"

But before she could get clarification, Nip let out a growl and spoke in a loud, disgruntled tone. "Ugh, don't you get how tired I am? I could hardly get any sleep with you snoring all night long."

Well, she had to say something now or this wasn't going to work. Letting indignation color her voice, she replied, "I don't snore!"

"Oh yes, you do. Like a hibernating snorlax. Not to mention how much space you took up splayed out like one."

"Oh my god, shut up." Susana stomped over towards them, making Haru shrink back. She raised a claw as if to strike them. But before they could, Remer called out.

"Susana?" The mutant girafarig's voice quavered. "We're not alone."

Just as he said it, Haru felt the ground tremble. Pebbles jumped and clattered as it lurched, the trees swaying. She yelped, dropping to her belly as she rode out the shock waves of the earthquake.

Before she had time to recover, two massive ursaluna barreled out from the trees, claws glinting in the sunlight.

"Shit! Evasive maneuvers, team!" Susana called over the wildener's threatening roars. "Skorch! In the air. Topaz! Non-electric attacks! Remer! Focus on range! Umbra, do whatever you can to help!"

Then the zoroark launched herself at the nearest ursaluna, whispy tendrils of dark-type energy dripping from her mouth before she let out a vicious snarl.

Haru cowered in place, trembling as the clearing broke out into a flurry of battles. How strong were these explorers, if they were willing to take on not just one, but two angry ursaluna?

A sharp nudge to her side made her flinch, shaking her out of her thoughts. She whipped her head around. Nip stood alert, eyes still on the battle. But when he spoke in a low hiss, he was clearly addressing her.

"This is our chance! They're too distracted fighting for their lives."

Their chance…? Clarity hit Haru like a snorlax. Nip was right. They likely wouldn't get a better opportunity than this. She sprang to her feet, fighting full-body tremors. "R-right. Let's go."

"Head for the trees," Nip said, spinning on his heel. "The undergrowth looked thick. We might be able to lose them." Then he dashed away, head low. Haru raced after him as quickly as she could, left in the dust.

She'd made it halfway to the trees — Nip nearly swallowed by their shadows — when she heard Skorch roar, "Susana! The prisoners!"

Haru didn't dare look back, but she could hear the zoroark's yelp well enough, followed by a loud curse. "Topaz! Stop them!"

Haru stumbled over her paws. She couldn't see Nip anymore. It was just her. Just her in danger. Just her outpaced.

An odd scent hit the back of Haru's throat, almost like the smell of burning. A heartbeat later, before she had a chance to think, a thunderbolt struck. She collapsed, her limbs seizing and convulsing. Instinctively, she tried to let out a terrified squeal, but couldn't.

Then, as suddenly as the pain started, it was over. She slumped, panting, the burning scent still stuck in her throat. Her paws felt like jelly as she tried to stumble forward. But she'd gotten hardly more than a pawful of steps before a heavy weight slammed her from behind, sending her tumbling.

The gorochu's claws dug into her back, drawing blood as his weight forced her to the ground. She screamed and struggled, hind legs churning in the dirt, but couldn't drag herself free.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears welling. Was this it? Was she going to die here while Nip escaped? Why? Why was this happening? What did she do to deserve this?

Something cold nicked her ear. Topaz grunted, his weight shifting. The pressure on her back lessened. She peeked one eye open.

Nip?

The sneasel was racing towards her, shards of ice accumulating on his legs. The scent of electricity flared in her nostrils again. But before Topaz could release his charge, Nip pounced, striking him in the head with a single, spinning kick that threw him off balance.

Haru scrambled to her feet, staring with wide eyes. Nip… Nip had rescued her.

"Stop staring, idiot," Nip snarled, giving her a shove with his shoulder. "Run."

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Haru dashed towards the trees. Behind her, she heard the sound of another dull strike and a yelp from Topaz. A heartbeat later, Nip dashed past her once again.

The shadows of the trees swallowed him. She dove under the nearest bush, finally daring to take a look back. Topaz clutched at his head, glaring into the bushes. He shook it, then dropped on all fours and dashed toward the trees.

They weren't safe yet. They had to keep moving.

"Stick to the densest undergrowth," Nip hissed from somewhere nearby. "He's bigger. It'll slow him down more than it will us."

That made sense. Haru took a deep breath, pressing her belly against the dirt so that she could shimmy under a tangle of brambles. Thorny stems scraped her pelt, tugging loose strands of fur. But she emerged on the other side of the patch unharmed. The crashing sound of Topaz kept her moving.

She completely lost sight and sound of Nip, but she could still smell him nearby. Silently, she cursed herself for not bringing any battle supplies, though she doubted Susana would have let her keep them.

As she dived under a bush, she felt the ground slope beneath her. Down was good. Down was towards home. Or it would be if she didn't suddenly emerge at a steep drop-off, eye-level with the tops of the trees in front of her. Swirling mist rose around their branches. In spots the air wavered, revealing flickers of dead branches.

Nip emerged to her left, panting. His eyes darted wildly. "A… A mystery dungeon?" he gasped.

Behind them, the crashing came closer. Nip whipped his head around, then he turned to Haru. "We have to chance it."

"What? You want to just go running into a dungeon — a dungeon we have no information on?"

"Have any better ideas?" He didn't wait for a response. Walking to the edge, he stood precariously before taking a seat with his legs dangling over. Then, with a deep breath, he pushed off, half sliding, half falling down the slope. Loose pebbles skittered around him before he lost control and fell, disappearing into the mist.

Haru glanced at the forest behind her. He was right. They had to chance it. She could either enter the mystery dungeon or face Susana's wrath.

She took a single step…

And pitched forward, tumbling down the hill. Head spinning, she had just enough sense to tuck into a ball, rolling out as she bounced off stone and spun through dirt, fog rising around her.

She came to an abrupt stop when she crashed into a snowdrift. Stunned by the sudden cold, it took Haru several heartbeats to uncurl, backing out of it. Powdery snow clung to her back in clumps. She shook it off, thankful for her water-resistant pelt.

Snow crunched behind her. She froze, then whirled around.

It was just Nip, staring at her with wide eyes. "We need to move. If he jumps in now, he'll find us."

Right. Topaz.

Haru turned to get a good look at their surroundings. They were in a small clearing, ringed by holly bushes and tall, gnarled, leafless trees, their branches creating a web overhead. Pale sunlight trickled between them, dampened by dungeon fog. On the far side, the bushes parted, creating an open, winding path broken by the occasional tree. As far as she could tell, it was the only way forward.

She took a few steps, then paused, looking at the tracks she left behind.

Nip followed her gaze. "We'll just have to move quickly. Look for oddities that could suggest a zone shift. Do you know anything about this dungeon?"

"Nothing," Haru replied. "I didn't even know it was here." Maybe Anu did. Maybe Toshi did. Maybe her grandfather would have. But she'd never seen a reason to memorize any dungeons except for ones that might actually matter to the average merchant. A part of her regretted that now.

"I see. Well… hopefully it won't be a long one. I don't suppose you have any food stocks if we're here for a while?"

"Just oran berries," Haru said as they exited the clearing.

"I see," Nip mumbled. "All the more reason to move quickly."

They lapsed into tense silence, trudging through the snow as they pushed deeper into the dungeon. For the most part, it had the typical layout that Haru was used to, with small clearings and winding paths, though these paths were wider than what she was used to. She noticed Nip constantly checking over his shoulder, ear swiveling as he remained vigilant. There was no point in small talk. Only in pushing forward.

Several empty clearings later, they found the entrance to the next zone, a small ring of holly bushes, the trees around them almost forming a cage. A beam of sunlight shone down on the center. Haru and Nip wasted no time in entering the ring, the fog closing in around them, then parting to reveal a new clearing.

"That should be enough distance for now," Haru said, slumping. "Let's rest for a moment."

"This would be a good time to deal with these bonds," Nip said, gesturing with his head to the arms behind his back.

Right. His bindings. Haru felt her heart skip a beat, the smallest seed of doubt in her mind. What if he used this opportunity to make a break for it? What if he ran as soon as they were safe and went on to hurt someone else?

She pushed the thought out of her mind. He just saved her when he could have left her behind. Right now, they both needed to be able to run and fight freely. She could put aside her misgivings.

Taking one of his paws in hers, she pulled him down so that his arms were at mouth level and began gnawing on the rope, crushing and splitting the thick cord of fibers in her jaws. Several tense heartbeats passed as the knot frayed and loosened. And then, all at once, Nip was free.

He wasted no time springing back to his feet, rubbing at his sore wrists. "Thank you. Let's keep moving."

The next zone went by in tense silence. The one after that, as well. Nip finally broke the silence on the fourth.

"Once we find our way out, it would probably be beneficial to keep to the shadows. How well do you know the mountain?"

"This part?" Haru asked. "Not at all. I've never been this high." She glanced at the twisted branches above them. Snow flurries filtered from the foggy sky. "I… believe there's a river that cuts through the mountain a bit off the main path. I could hear it yesterday evening, not long before we made camp. Otherwise, I'm clueless."

Nip sighed. "That may be our best option."

As they entered another empty clearing, he took a quick look around for food or the exit before pointing to a path out. "If we can follow the river, or even swim in it, we may be able to lose them. We could mask our scent."

He had a point. Haru couldn't help but be surprised, even though she knew she shouldn't be. The plan seemed like something a wildener would come up with. Of course, he almost was one. But his logic was sound, and she couldn't come up with any better ideas.

Humming an affirmation, Haru turned her attention back to the sky. It was hard to judge what time of day it was. The sky of a dungeon rarely synced up with the real world. They could have been here a quarter of a day or an entire one, and only her tiredness and hunger would give any indication of which was correct.

Suddenly, Nip put his arm out in front of Haru, forcing her to stop. He held his other paw up to his mouth, gesturing for silence. Then he took a few hesitant steps forward before stopping again.

But the sound of crunching snow continued. A moment later, Haru caught a glimpse of a dark orange pelt racing past.

Topaz was here.

Nip remained still for several heartbeats, then raced ahead. "Come on. We need to hurry. He must be following our tracks."

Haru chased after him as fast as she could, spraying snow behind her. Ahead, the path opened into a clearing. They'd already passed through here once, their paw prints now mingling with Topaz's. Nip wasted no time dashing to the only path they hadn't taken yet, Haru trailing close behind.

They didn't dare talk, afraid that Topaz would hear them, running in tense silence. Only the sound of crunching snow broke the monotony. The twisted, gnarled branches of the trees bared down on them, reminding them that there was no place to go but where the dungeon took them.

Panting, Haru struggled to keep pace. The snow numbed her paws, her hot breath coming out in puffy clouds.

"There," Nip hissed. "There's the next exit."

Sure enough, Haru could see the now-familiar ring of bushes and branches, heralding them to a new zone. Nip waited just outside for her to catch up. Then, together, they stepped into the space.

Every heartbeat they spent with their vision obscured by fog felt like torture; Topaz could catch up at any minute, and they'd not know it until too late. But finally, the fog cleared, revealing a copse of scattered trees and deep snow drifts. A small handful of wildeners were scattered about the field. A few raised their heads to curiously or warily stare at Haru and Nip, but none bothered to approach. And that was just fine, as far as Haru was concerned. The sooner they got out, the better.

"This must be the stable zone," she said, taking a few steps into the snow. "Look for a path winding out of here."

"Like that one?" Nip pointed to their right, past a dozing furret, and to a spot where a trail almost clear of snow disappeared into the mist.

"Exactly like that one," Haru agreed, taking the lead. "Come on!"

The mist swallowed them up, thick enough that Haru couldn't even see her nose, her footsteps muffled to silence. But just as quickly as it engulfed her, it left her standing next to Nip, brown and gold leaves falling around them.

She took a second to orient herself, sniffing at the air. The wind was blowing towards her and into the dungeon. Not good. But the air seemed moist, perhaps a sign of the river. A narrow dirt path weaved through the undergrowth ahead of them, winding through the woods with the occasional dip. Most of the bushes and plants along the side were barren of leaves, picked clean.

"This looks like it might be a sawsbuck path," Haru said. She pointed one paw down the path. "I think there's a good chance we'll find the river if we follow it."

Nip tilted his head. "I'm surprised you recognize it."

Haru scoffed, taking the lead. "The nearest village is more than a day's walk away. We need basic survival skills to travel. Just because I don't live like a wildener doesn't mean I know nothing."

"I didn't intend to say that," Nip growled, shaking his head. He dashed forward, passing Haru. "Come, we cannot afford to waste any time. Topaz could exit any heartbeat now."

Nip was right, Haru silently admitted. There was no time to dawdle. Against the aching protests of her limbs, she broke out into a sprint, twigs whipping at her fur along the edge of the path as it narrowed, widened, and twisted, meandering through the forest.

They traveled without speaking, afraid to alert any prying ears to their presence. Occasionally Nip would stop, sniff at the air, then dash off again.

As time passed, the sound of rushing water grew louder, louder, louder, turning eventually into a roar. Far louder than a river should be. The forest petered out, giving way to grass nearly as tall as Haru.

She stopped and stood on her hind legs, just able to make out the far side of a river. Or the bank, at least, which sharply dropped off at least a couple body lengths above the water. Dropping back onto all fours, she pushed through the grass until she reached the near bank. Nip came to an abrupt stop just behind her, a growl in his throat.

Instead of the gentle, swirling currents they'd hoped for, the water raced past, white and frothy. To their right, the roaring was louder. The sound finally clicked in Haru's mind. A waterfall. They were near a waterfall.

"This… This is no good," she huffed, barely audible over the roar. "I'm not sure even I could swim that…"

Nip watched the swirling water for a moment, then nudged her side. "What if we go downstream? Maybe it'll let up if we get past the fall."

He turned and pushed his way back into the grass, blades parting around him. Haru turned to follow but hardly made it a dozen paces when a shadow suddenly blotted out the sun. Heartbeats later, a blast of fire rained from above, combusting the grass in front of them.

Haru froze, panic seizing her. Nip gave her a shove, shaking her out of it. She turned to race away from the fire.

Only to skid to a stop as more grass burst into flame ahead.

She yelped, turning again, but there was only more fire. "Shit!" On three sides, flame closed in. Behind them, the river rapids roared. They were trapped.

"Do you know any water techniques?" Nip yelped, focusing and trying to form ice shards on his pelt. "We need to cut a path through!"

She didn't. The best she had was rollout, which could get her through the fire fast, but she'd still be putting her body in harm's way.

Before she could try, the shadow swooped by again. Claws dug into the nape of her neck. She squealed and struggled and tried to twist and bite, but the charizardthe way the charizard held her, she couldn't. She could hear Nip hissing and spitting nearby. But her vision was too blurred to locate him, smoke burning her eyes.

Skorch dragged her across the ground and through the fire. Pain blossomed across her side as flames licked at her fur. Then the charizard suddenly let go, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Haru tried climbing to her feet but her legs gave out and she collapsed; she couldn't move. She heard Nip growling and spitting, a pained roar from Skorch, then a dull thud, a sickening snap, and an agonized screech. Grass and smoke blocked her vision. The acrid stench of burning filled her nostrils. Somewhere nearby, she could hear Nip gasping for breath, a pained whine accompanying every exhale.

They'd failed.

She had no clue how long she lay there under the charizard's careful watch, but it was long enough for some of her strength to return. Not enough to run, but enough that she managed to sit up.

The fire had either been put out or burned itself out. She wasn't sure which. But a dark patch of scorched grass still smoldered. The charizard nudged her towards it with one foot. Ashy dirt, still hot but starting to cool, burned her paws. She danced on them, trying to spare her feet as much as possible.

A moment later, Nip was ushered over to the grass, his left arm hanging at an awkward angle and his eyes glazed with pain. He stank of scorched fur and fear. She felt somewhat sorry for him.

Haru looked away, only to squeal in panic. While she'd been preoccupied with him, Susana had emerged from the tree line, the rest of her fake explorers and Umbra accompanying her. Her maw was twisted into a scowl, eyes narrow.

"I see now why you insisted on killing him before we traveled," the zoroark growled, gesturing a paw toward Umbra. "Thanks to these two, we've lost over half a day of travel. And on such a time-sensitive matter."

"Our lady isn't gonna be happy with that," Topaz mumbled, speaking out of the corner of his mouth.

Susana's nostrils flared, a puff of spectral energy bursting from her mane. "Topaz. Stop." She took a deep breath. "You've proven your point, Umbra. These two have outlived their usefulness."

No. Haru shrank in on herself. No. No. No. No. No. She wanted to take a step back. To turn and flee. But she felt rooted to the spot.

The mawile took a step forward, undisguised glee and malice twisting her face. Haru always knew Umbra was dangerous from the moment they first met. But now she could see the side Nip feared. Umbra had no reason to mask it anymore. The only people around her didn't care… or were about to die.

"S… stay back!" Haru squeaked feebly.

But for the moment, Umbra ignored her. Haru wasn't her prize. Instead, she raced towards Nip, knocking him to the ground with a hard strike across the chest. Haru heard a quiet "oomph" as the wind was driven from him.

He writhed on the ground, trying to get back to his paws, but Umbra pinned him with one foot, her second jaw arced towards him. He lashed out with his good arm, but her thick, wiry leg fur kept him from doing any damage.

"Face your death with dignity, coward," Umbra spat. "Or don't. You've had plenty of opportunities to do so, even before fleeing, and yet you still struggle."

Pink sparks of fairy energy swirled around her claws as she raised them, aiming for his throat.

Something whizzed past Haru's ear. The projectile smacked Umbra on the side of the head, knocking her off her feet. Haru blinked as the aura sphere burst apart, eyes wide. A loud yelp from Susana followed. She turned her head towards the source.

In the distance, the zoroark tussled on the ground with an absol, who'd bit down on her arm. Not just any absol — Muse.

And behind her, racing from the tree line, were Shimmer, Toshi, Anu, and Whisper.

Chapter Text

Umbra hopped to her feet in an instant, turning to face her assailant. The lucario glared at her, assuming a defensive stance. "You again?" she screeched. "Stop meddling in my affairs!"

"I'm only going to say this once," Whisper barked with an intensity Haru had never heard from her — not even when dealing with Nip. "Turn yourselves in peacefully, or we will use force. We have — Toshi, wait!"

Breaking ranks, Toshi raced down the slope towards Haru, calling her name. Hope swelled in her chest, but it was replaced with dread as Topaz raced up the hill to intercept. Toshi skidded to a stop, planting his paws in the dirt and growling. Topaz responded by dropping on all fours, spiked tail lashing.

At first, Susana said nothing. Then she grinned and chuckled, the laughter starting sinister before turning into rasping barks. Muse let out a low growl, digging her front claws into the zoroark. Wispy, purple tendrils that seemed to suck in light rose from Susana's fanned-out mane. Before Muse could react, the tendrils lashed out, striking at her legs, face, and shoulders. She visibly winced, shivering.

That was all the opening Susana needed. She hooked her legs under Muse's belly and kicked, sending her flying. At once, the zoroark sprang to her paws. "This has gone too far. Kill them all!"

The field exploded into chaos. Toshi lunged at the gorochu, teeth bared and glowing. Topaz spun out of the way, racing back towards his team with Toshi close behind.

As he ran, Topaz released a thunderbolt toward Anu, Whisper, and Shimmer. The trio dodged, Shimmer teleporting just in time. The bolt instead hit a tree, the trunk bursting into flame. Shards of bark exploded out in all directions, raining down on the combatants.

The kirlia reappeared in front of Haru, who yelped instinctively and tried to scramble back, but her legs felt like jelly.

Haru felt a psychic hold wrap around her body, dragging her as Shimmer grabbed Nip's good arm and dashed away from battle. She deposited them in a patch of tall grass, away from the thick of the fighting. Then she reached her hands into the satchel at her hip, pulling out a handful of oran berries.

"Okay, you guys," she said with a wink, "eat these and stay out of trouble while we handle things!"

Nip reached out for a berry, only to freeze with pupils narrowed to slits.

"Look out!"

His warning came too late. Umbra slammed into Shimmer from behind head-first, knocking her flat with her iron jaws. The kirlia screeched and writhed, ruddy marks swelling on her back where steel energy had made contact.

Umbra spat in Shimmer's direction, then turned towards Nip, claws glowing as a low grow sounded in her throat. "Why do you continue to struggle? Just roll over and die already!"

Nip's eyes were glazed with pain, but he held his good arm in front of him as he took a defensive stance. "Why won't you just move on already? This could have been resolved peacefully a long time ago!"

"Because you don't deserve it!" she shrieked, lunging.

Nip sprang back, her glowing claws only grazing him, and retaliated by flinging a pawful of ice shards in her direction. He turned and dove into the grass.

Umbra shoved Haru out of the way to chase after him. But before she got far, another aura sphere struck her in the back.

Anu slid to a stop in front of Haru, standing stiff as his eyes darted between her, Umbra, and Shimmer. The kirlia groaned, pushing herself to her hands and knees. At the same time, Umbra whirled around to face Anu, jaw raised high and her claws sparking once again.

The lucario crossed his arms across his chest and took a deep breath. Two bone-shaped aura blades formed, one for each paw. He swung his arms to his sides, taking a fighting stance.

"Fine," Umbra hissed. "If I have to break your spirit first, then I will!" She lunged, claws slashing across Anu's thigh. He winced and shivered involuntarily, but retaliated by smashing one of the bone clubs against her cheek.

Rolling with the blow, Umbra sprang to her feet and tackled Anu, howling with rage. The two rolled over and over, each trying to get the upper paw, soon out of reach.

Shimmer sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to stand, trembling. "S-she hits hard, I'll give her that." Reaching into her bag, she grabbed another oran and gulped it down, spitting out the skin. "I gotta go help. Keep everyone healthy. You two stay hidden." Before Haru could argue, she teleported away.

Haru shrank into the tall grass, tearing open an oran to get to its healing flesh. But she couldn't keep her eyes off the fight.

Whisper grappled with Topaz, electrical burns singing her feathers. The hawlucha sprang into the air and dove at the gorochu, springing out of the way a moment later to roost and recover.

Anu and Umbra were on their feet again, the former flinging more bones while the latter dodged and weaved, dashing in to strike when the opportunity presented itself.

Shimmer took psychic potshots at Skorch between heal pulses directed at the rest of the team. It was enough to keep her from raining fire down on the team. For now.

Susana towered above them all, sending pulses of dark or ghost energy towards Muse when she was far, and striking with teeth and claws when she was close. But Muse was nimble, dodging most of the ranged attacks and powering through the physical strikes to slash with her horn and claws.

Occasionally, Haru caught sight of Toshi rolling about, knocking over grounded enemies whenever he got the chance.

But they weren't winning, Haru realized. While everyone was holding their own, the fight was clearly taking its toll. Whisper trembled. Blood oozed from wounds on both Muse and Anu, the former's injuries staining her white fur.

She should be helping. She should be protecting her brother, her neighbors. But what good could she do in her current state?

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. The girafarig, Remer, had circled the combatants, keeping out of the way and keeping both heads low. Now, he stood near the edge of the riverbank, alert.

Psychic energy, bright and chaotic, gathered between both sets of horns. He sent two psybeams hurtling in Whisper's direction.

Preoccupied by Topaz, she didn't see the strike until it hit her. She stumbled with a squawk, giving Topaz an opening to follow up with a thunderbolt. She crumpled.

"Whisper!"

Anu disengaged with Umbra, racing towards the gorochu. His bone rush struck once — twice — sending Topaz sprawling. He didn't get up.

But before Anu could pivot, Umbra struck him in the back. The pair grappled in the dirt once again but it was clear Umbra had the advantage now.

And now Remer had his sights set on the lucario.

"Ugh! We can't just sit here!" Nip growled. Haru stumbled as he pushed past her.

"Nip, wait!" Haru started to give chase but stumbled over a stray stone. Already, he was halfway across the field.

He sprang at the girafarig, slashing with his good arm while keeping the other one close. Startled and knocked off-balance, Remer's next strike launched harmlessly into the air.

Haru struggled to her feet and chased after Nip.

Electrical sparks gathered between the horns of Remer's golden head. A heartbeat later, he launched the charged beam at Nip. But the sneasel danced out of the way before striking again. Remer took a stumbling step back, teetering close to the edge.

Taking the opening, Nip sprang on the girafarig's back, dark smoke trailing from the claws on his good arm.

Haru's eyes went wide. She was nearly close enough to attack. "Nip, no!"

The sneasel slashed his claws across the dark girafarig head's neck with all the strength he could muster. A sickening crack and a pulse of blood followed.

Remer screamed, stumbling, as the head convulsed and went limp. He wobbled a few steps forward, then to the side, trying to find his balance with just one head. He tottered at the edge of the bank for one agonizingly long heartbeat, then toppled into the river, bringing Nip down with him.

Haru dashed to the edge of the bank and froze. White water rushed by, sweeping both pokemon downstream. In a moment, they'd plunge over the waterfall. She saw Nip's head for a heartbeat before he disappeared under the surface. Remer flailed, eyes wide with panic.

"Susana! Someone! Anyone! Help!"

Nip wouldn't be able to fight the current. Even before his arm was broken. But now?

If he didn't drown before he reached the waterfall, the drop would kill him, dashing him against the rocks below.

Haru acted on instinct. Before she could think about it, she leaped into the river.

Water pounded her back, sending her tumbling through the current. She fought to right herself, instinctively paddling as the river spun her and knocked her against underwater rocks, driving the breath from her. Then she breached the surface.

The riverbanks raced past her on either side, too steep to climb out. She ignored that, focusing on swimming with the current before diving underwater again. Ahead, she could see Remer's flailing hooves. But where was Nip?

She kicked her feet, blinking underwater. A stream of bubbles caught her attention ahead. There he was.

He'd just smashed against a jagged, underwater boulder, mouth open in a soundless scream. He flailed as water entered his mouth, twisting uselessly as the rapids carried him away.

Haru angled herself towards him and kicked, catching up in mere heartbeats. She sank her teeth into his scruff and pushed for the surface, sucking in a lungful of air as she cleared.

Nip hacked and sputtered, coughing up water. He was practically dead weight as she tried to swim against the current now, looking for a spot where they might be able to climb up the bank. But with the extra weight, she struggled to make any headway. They were slowly creeping closer to the waterfall, each stroke a losing battle. Exhaustion made her limbs feel like heavy steel.

Remer smashed into her as he tumbled past, nearly making her lose her grip.

We're not going to make it, Haru thought as her world spun. I'm not strong enough. Someone, anyone, help! Regigigas, save us!

Wait.

Haru's mind snapped with sudden clarity.

Was she truly that desperate, truly so helpless that all she could do was pray?

No.

She knew better.

If she wanted to save the two of them, she had to do it herself.

With renewed vigor, she paddled against the rapids, treading water. She had to give this her all. She couldn't give up. She huffed through her nose, every muscle aching and screaming. She had to do this.

Desperate strength surged through her limbs, hot and electrifying. Her heart hammered against her chest, her blood roaring in her ears. She'd never felt this alive before. Never felt this determined. Never felt…

Just when it felt like the energy might overwhelm her, blinding light overtook her vision. She felt her body bulk up, limbs elongating and ears shrinking. Her small, tufty tail lengthened, morphing into a long, scaly tail like a boat's rudder. She instinctively smashed it against the water, propelled forward by new strength.

Not just strength. Before, water had been familiar. But because she was used to it. Because she grew up in it. Now it was more like she was one with it. Was this what it felt like to have an elemental affinity?

Her tail waved behind her, pushing her forward as she struggled to keep Nip's head above the water. They were still doing little more than treading water. Her strength alone was not enough.

But the water around her felt different, now that she was a bibarel. Like it was an extension of herself. Maybe if she… willed it to propel her forward…

The water complied. Her first aqua jet was a sloppy maneuver, jolting her to the right and left before evening out, her personal current driving her upstream. She angled herself towards shore, took a deep breath, and then dove. Nip thrashed in her grip, but she did her best to ignore it.

In heartbeats, she reached the riverbed. Her paws touched the muddy surface, then pushed off of it, swimming back upwards with all the speed she could manage.

Propelled by her aqua jet, she leaped from the water, spraying droplets as she soared through the air and over the bank, landing on the grass and tumbling to a stop.

They'd made it. They'd survived.

Finally, she let Nip go. He flopped on the ground before dragging himself to his forepaw and knees, hacking and sputtering and coughing up mouthfuls of river water. His good arm shook with the effort of keeping him upright.

"A warning would have been nice," he rasped between coughs.

Haru sank to her belly. The burst of energy that came with evolving was waning. Any moment now, she thought she might pass out. "Hard to do with a mouthful of your fur."

As she lapsed into silence though, something seemed off. Where were the sounds of battle? The fight had still been ongoing when she jumped into the river.

Heaving herself back to her paws, she stood on her hind legs, putting her new size to good use. After scanning her surroundings, she noticed the smudgy forms of pokemon downstream. One that she thought was Susana stood at the bank of the river, a smaller white shape standing behind her. The charizard flew tight circles overhead but was no longer breathing fire down on the combatants.

Nudging Nip (who she realized was now notably smaller than her), she tilted her head towards the pokemon. "Come on. We need to regroup."

"Right… Right." With a groan, Nip heaved himself to his feet, wincing as he jostled his broken arm. He circled around to Haru's other side, draping his good arm across her back for support.

Together they limped back towards the others. As they walked, the charizard swooped out of sight, reappearing and carrying something limp in her arms. A mournful wail followed.

They emerged at the edge of the burnt grass. Remer lay unmoving in a soggy heap, one head bent at an awkward angle and the other oozing blood from a gash at the back of its neck. Susana stood hunched over him, eyes wide with shock.

Haru turned her head to find everyone else. Skorch stood next to the zoroark, expression unreadable. Topaz lay sprawled out on the grass, unmoving save for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Just unconscious.

Muse stood behind Susana, her legs shaking. Her typically pristine fur was dyed with patches of scarlet and one eye was nearly swollen shut.

A low growling to her right caught Haru's attention next. Anu and Whisper were still struggling with Umbra, the former pinning her second jaw shut while the latter worked to bind it with rope. The mawile struggled in the dirt, swiping her claws at their feet. Nasty burns peppered Whisper, feathers missing in patches, while Anu did his best to ignore still-oozing gashes in his abdomen and thighs.

When Umbra caught sight of Nip, half-drowned but still alive, she redoubled her struggles. "Let go of me! Are you going to side with him? He ate your egg! He ruined your life!"

Whisper visibly flinched. But then she shared a glance with Anu and continued tying the bindings. "I'm not siding with him. I'm siding with the village and the decision they made." She grunted and pulled a knot tight. "Even if it weren't the case, the outcome would be the same. You assisted pokemon that kidnapped one of our villagers."

Umbra growled and started to say something more, but Haru tuned her out. There were still two pokemon unaccounted for.

Standing on her hind legs, Haru spotted Shimmer a short distance away. Tear lines streaked her face. A cold pit formed in Haru's stomach. Toshi. Where was Toshi?

Slipping out from under Nip, Haru raced across the burnt grass and to Shimmer's side. The pink glow of a heal pulse wrapped around her hands, channeled into a bundle of brown fur at her side. Coagulated blood spiked the fur along Toshi's back, his breathing ragged. As Haru approached, he tried to lift his head, but Shimmer pushed it back down.

"Stop. I've only just stopped the bleeding. You can't let it open up again, Toshi-kins."

Toshi whined but complied. His eyes shifted to Haru. "You evolved."

"I did," Haru confirmed, trying to keep her voice from croaking.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he continued. "That zoroark, she's tough. Threw me around like a rag-doll. But I think Umbra was worse." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm just… so glad we got here in time."

"You're lucky you're not dead!" Haru replied, panic making her words harsher than intended. She turned to Shimmer. "Be honest, is he going to be okay?"

"He's stable," Shimmer replied. "Now that I stopped the bleeding, he should be okay, but… he should still see Lecha as soon as possible."

Haru tried to calm herself. He would be okay. He was fine. Nothing to worry about.

"There. That should hold."

Whisper's voice dragged Haru's attention away from her injured brother. She stood up next to Umbra as Anu moved on to bind the gorochu.

The hawlucha turned her attention to Susana. "You. You'll all be coming back with us to the village."

"You…" Susana growled. Dark energy swirled around her jaws. She let the snarl loose in Whisper's direction. "You killed him! Remer is dead because of you!"

Whisper didn't flinch. "I'm sorry your compatriot did not make it. But the river here is treacherous. I cannot help that he fell in."

"Skorch could have rescued him if you'd just stopped fighting!"

At the mention of her name, the charizard flinched, shrinking in on herself. "I really did try, Susana. But by the time I realized he'd fallen in…"

"And whose fault was that? It was that screeching kirlia, distracting you!"

Whisper took a step forward, standing beside Muse. The absol's horn turned darker and began giving off dark wisps.

"Enough," Whisper said. "This fight happened because you kidnapped one of our villagers. You can either come along quietly or we can drag you back unconscious. Your choice."

Skorch placed a hand on the zoroark's shoulder. "Susana, maybe we should listen. We're severely outnumbered now."

Susana narrowed her eyes. "Fine. But at least allow us to bury our fallen comrade."

Whisper glanced at Anu, then dipped her head. "Very well. I am not without honor. However." She reached into a bag at her hip, pulling out a looplet. "You'll have to wear this. Don't get any ideas about using illusions to sneak off later. This looplet will nullify your ability to create them."

"Ugh. Fine." Susana swiped the looplet and snapped it around her left forearm. She shuddered as it took effect.

"So… are we going to talk about how weird these guys look?" Shimmer asked as Susana started digging.

"They are strange," Anu agreed, "but I feel that may be a conversation for another time. For now, we should focus on resting before we have to make the trip back down."

"We'll stop at the old shrine to sleep," Whisper said. "Then we can head back to town at the crack of dawn."

"Can we get that far before nightfall?" Muse asked, sinking to the ground. "Especially given our injuries and our… prisoners."

"We need to get home as soon as possible," Haru said. "The sooner we get back to the village, the sooner we can get proper healing. And…" She glanced at Susana. "From what I heard, there could be more trouble coming."

Whisper tilted her head. "Care to explain?"

"Later. Right now I… I need a break." She sank to her belly, nerves and exhaustion getting the better of her. She tried to reach for her bag, only to realize it was gone. The strap must have snapped when she evolved and grew bigger. It was lost to the river now. What a shame; she really liked those bags.

Fortunately, the others had come prepared. Anu reached into his satchel and started handing out oran berries.

Shimmer reached into her own, pulling out a small mortar and pestle. Taking a few of her berries, she skinned them and then mashed their flesh into a pulp. "It's not as good as one of Lecha's poultices, but it should still help for now," she explained as she massaged the berries into Muse's fur anywhere she found a cut, creating fresh stains. Then she turned to do the same for Toshi.

Anu stopped at Nip's side, staring down at him. The sneasel couldn't return his gaze. "Before we leave, I'll see if I can find something to keep that arm still. Lecha can treat it better when we return." He paused. "You should consider yourself lucky. If not for Tempest, we wouldn't have been able to find you."

Nip snapped to attention. "Tempest! Where is he? Is he okay?"

The lucario held one paw up placatingly. "He was badly hurt, but he was alive and stable. We had to make him stay and rest."

"Oh, Yveltal's blessings," Nip murmured. He swayed on his feet, eyes drooping. It looked like Haru wasn't the only one ready to collapse.

The next several moments passed in relative silence. Haru couldn't complain. Evolution was usually cause for celebration, but she was content to celebrate later when she was safe and well-rested at home.

Soon, the shallow grave had been filled in, leaving a patch of upturned dirt amid the burned grass. Haru imagined nature would recover by winter, as if the fight had never happened.

"We should get moving," Whisper said after giving Susana and Skorch a moment to mourn. "Muse, do you think you could carry… that one until he wakes up?" She gestured in Topaz's direction.

Muse sized the gorochu up. "I… I think so."

Haru turned towards Toshi. "Do you want me to carry you for a while? I'm not sure you should be walking so soon." Guilt twisted her gut. The only reason he was hurt this time was because of her. What kind of big sister was she?

Toshi didn't argue as Anu and Whisper first lifted Topaz onto Muse's back, then Toshi onto her own.

They'd won, but she couldn't bring herself to celebrate. It hadn't come without cost, and it was close to turning out far worse.

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head as they set off. After all, they had a long walk ahead of them.

Chapter Text

Last time, under captivity, Nip hadn't been brought into the cave. But now that it was his shelter and sleeping place, he had a chance to look it over. There was something melancholic about the cavern, with its old carvings and rotting furniture (a word he'd learned during his time in Theran village). He couldn't imagine his tribe ever abandoning what clearly used to be a special, religious space.

Lacking in straw, moss, or any other bedding, it was hardly a comfortable resting place. But it would do for tonight.

A small fire crackled at the entrance, the flickering flames illuminating Anu, who sat guard next to it. Whisper had insisted that they take turns keeping watch, and her mate had offered to take the first shift.

Susana and the rest of his former captors were gathered in the back of the chamber, most having dozed off. But Umbra's malicious eyes glowed in the firelight, watching him. He shivered and rolled over, trying to ignore her gaze.

Movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention to where Shimmer, Muse, Toshi, and Haru had settled down together to sleep. Haru dragged herself to her feet, stretched, and quietly padded to the entrance to sit beside the fire opposite Anu.

The lucario acknowledged her presence with a thump of his tail and the dip of his head. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Not well," Haru murmured. "It's hard to sleep near pokemon that tried to kill you."

Nip could relate.

Anu hummed an acknowledgment. He reached into a satchel at his hip and pulled out a white cloth with green trim, wrapping it around his shoulders. "I imagine so. You've been through a terrible ordeal, Haru. No one would blame you for struggling afterward." He paused before adding, "I don't think you're alone in that."

Haru tilted her head before turning back, catching Nip staring at her. He averted his gaze but sat up. No point in pretending to sleep now.

The lucario looked at Haru, then Nip. Then stood, stretching before heading out of the cave. "I need a moment to myself. Do you two mind keeping watch for a moment?"

"Me?" Nip asked. "Why would you ask me?"

"You're not going far in your condition," Anu pointed out, gesturing to Nip's broken arm, which was haphazardly held stiff with a makeshift splint made of two sturdy sticks and some twine.

"Ah, right." He shouldn't expect trust. He knew that. But disappointment still churned in his belly. "Very well."

"I guess that's fine," Haru said, turning her gaze back to the entrance as Anu moved out of sight. Nip hobbled to sit beside her. Pale moonlight fought against the orange hues from the fire to wash the color from her fur. They sat in silence for several moments.

He was the first to break it. "Congratulations on your evolution, by the way."

"O-oh. Thanks. It's a shame I probably won't get a chance to celebrate it any time soon."

Nip hummed in acknowledgment. "I take it evolution is a big deal in your culture?"

"It's a milestone," Haru said. "For those that choose to evolve, it marks a new period in their life. It's a marker of experience, of overcoming adversity. But those that intentionally choose not to evolve are still celebrated."

"It is — was — similar in the Half Moon… in my tribe. It signifies the strength of a pokemon. It's… expected. A mon that delays evolution is honored, but one who outright refuses is seen as weak. They risk losing social status. Their position, if it's lucrative. We all have to be strong for the greater good. Most of our lives are chosen for us. Our training. Our position. Our mates. All to make the tribe stronger. The elders know what's best, after all." He couldn't help but spit the last part out, bitter bile in his throat.

"You don't sound like you agree."

He tilted his head back and forth, considering his words. "The elders wanted me to be a lore keeper. There is value in their craft, but half the pokemon are given the position out of pity because they're seen as too weak to do anything else. I proved my worth and got placed among the hunters. And paired with Umbra. When things went… poorly with her, I couldn't get them to take my concerns seriously. She had them wrapped around her claws."

His fur was bushed now, but he was too worked up to notice. "When we didn't produce an egg, they wanted to know why. They wanted proof that we had… well, you know. I couldn't take any more. I snapped like a brittle twig, Haru. And—"

No, he couldn't relive those moments. Nip shook out his fur and gave his shoulder a habitual lick. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away. I should try to sleep again."

He stood and started back to his sleeping spot.

"…Nip?"

He paused and glanced back. Haru scratched at her muzzle.

"That… That sounds rough. I'm… sorry it happened to you. It shouldn't have."

An apology? From Haru? Tonight was full of surprises. He flicked his ear to acknowledge her.

"Goodnight, Haru."

It took until nearly sunset the next day for the group to return to Theran Village. Anu led, his tail drooping with exhaustion. Haru, as the least-battered pokemon, kept pace beside him. The trio of surviving explorers and Umbra came next, their arms bound. Skorch's mouth was tied shut and the nullify looplet was still snapped tight around Susana's right forearm. Muse flanked them on one side, Shimmer and Toshi trudging on the other. Whisper brought up the rear, Nip walking beside her.

They were all exhausted. Clearly, no one else had slept well, either.

As they neared the outskirts of town, wild land turning to fields of berries, Whisper spoke up. "Anu, please run ahead and alert everyone that we're back. Tell them to gather in the square for a meeting. We need to deal with… this situation" — she gestured to the prisoners — "as soon as possible. Have Vale brought out, too. Oh, and we need Lecha."

Anu opened his mouth in a wide yawn, smacking his gums a couple times. But he then dipped his head and took off ahead of the group at a brisk run, disappearing over the top of a hill and leaving Haru alone at the front.

As they crested a hill and the village came into view, Toshi hobbled to the front to stand beside Haru. Nip caught a glimpse of his eyes — glazed with pain — before he reached her.

"How are you holding up?" Toshi asked.

"I should be asking you that," Haru replied. "I just have some bruises and electric burns."

"I'll be fine." Toshi lapsed into silence. "Mom and Dad are going to freak out. I mean, look at us, Haru. We're both pretty battered and you evolved! I wish it had been under better circumstances."

Haru sighed. "I know what you mean." Then, wanting to encourage Toshi, she forced a smile. "But look at the bright side. After this is dealt with, maybe we can arrange my evolution celebration. It could be a nice return to normalcy."

Nip could tell from her posture that she didn't believe that. Things would never be normal for her again.

Toshi offered a weak smile. "Y-yeah. That would be nice."

Before either of them could say anything else, a loud shout sounded from further up the road. Two bibarel came into view, racing towards the group as quick as their chubby bodies allowed. Behind them raced a purugly, who quickly overtook them and made a combeeline towards Shimmer.

Jhorlo skidded to a stop just in front of the kirlia, audibly purring as he bumped his forehead to her shoulder and pulled her close with one paw. "Oh, Shimmer, my darling daughter!" he cried, voice thick with emotion. "Thank 'Gigas you're safe. If I had lost you to that mountain, too…"

Shimmer giggled, running a hand behind her dad's ears and giving them a little scratch. "I'm fine, really! Muse kept me safe. But we had to go. It was important for the safety of the town."

"Your mother said the same thing, but she…"

It took him several moments to compose himself enough to address Muse. "Thank you for keeping my daughter safe. I hate to think what would have happened if you weren't there."

Muse opened her mouth to reply, but her response was drowned out by another voice.

"Oh, my kits! My precious babies! You're safe!"

Haru's mother had caught up and was now nuzzling her daughter, nearly knocking her over with the force of her affection. Then she bumbled over to do the same to Toshi while her mate hovered just behind, eyes watery with emotion.

"We're so glad you're safe," Chip said, bumping Haru just below her jaw with his snout. "And you've evolved! What in Gigas' name happened?"

"It's a long story," Haru began. "I—"

But before she could tell her story, Jhorlo interrupted her with a cough. He was back to his controlled, business-like self.

"Right. Thank you for bringing our children home safely, Whisper. But we should get moving. You wish to address the village before nightfall, I understand."

"Yes," Whisper replied from the back of the group. "We need to decide what to do with… these four."

Saku and Chip looked up, seeming to finally notice the abnormal pokemon for the first time. The former gasped and took a step back. "Who… what are they?"

"Those are the explorers," Whisper answered. "And based on what Nip and Haru told me on the trek back, they're trouble. The kind of trouble we need to deal with immediately."

Chip and Saku exchanged a glance. "Then we should get going. The sooner it's dealt with, the sooner you two can get home and recover."

With that, a few more words were exchanged before the group set off again.

Nip couldn't help but trail behind, his mind preoccupied. He'd been sidelined and alone during the heartfelt reunion, lacking ties to the village. A familiar ache of loneliness tried to worm its way into his chest. As usual, he was little more than an outsider. If he hadn't made it back, it was likely no one would have cared.

That wasn't quite true, though. Tempest would have cared, wouldn't he? He'd come this far just to find him, so surely that meant something.

"Nip!" Whisper called. "Hurry up."

He looked up. A gap several dozen body lengths wide had grown between him and the rest of the group. "Ah, sorry." He rushed to catch up, then kept pace the rest of the way back, trying to push the negative thoughts out of his head.

Most of the village had already gathered by the time the group reached the square. Gasps and murmuring rose from the crowd as they walked by, most eyes glued on Susana, Topaz, and Skorch.

Nip kept his head low, keen to catch as little attention as possible. It must have looked bizarre to them, him walking by completely unrestrained — that is, if they weren't too distracted by the otherworldly pokemon among them.

It felt strange. Once, not that long ago, everyone had gathered to decide whether he'd live or die. Now he was on the other side, presenting his case against Umbra.

Haru nudged him out of his thoughts. "Nip, look."

Following her gaze, he noticed the medic, Lecha, headed their way. And leaning against her shoulder for support…

"Tempest!"

Nip stumbled forward, but the aromatisse signaled for him to stop. "Let us come to you. I need to look your whole group over."

The wait for her to cross the gap was agonizing. Tempest was clearly worn out just from the walk here, limping with his paws dragging on the ground. His eyes were clouded with pain, but relief shone through the haze.

Tears pricked the corners of Nip's eyes as the pair finally came to a stop in front of them. Lecha set to work, poking and prodding at the burns on his back, running her paws through his fur to search for cuts, and carefully feeling his broken arm. Twi, that annoying illumise, showed up shortly after to assist. Lecha mumbled something about making sure his arm was properly set before providing any more orans. But Nip paid them little mind. All his attention was focused on Tempest.

"You… you're safe," he said, his voice barely more than a breath.

Tempest leaned forward to run his tongue across Nip's forehead, huffing a frosty puff of air. Nip couldn't help but laugh, pushing the ninetales away with his good paw. "Ha! Stop! I'm glad to see you too but they don't like public grooming here!"

Another puff of frost, then Tempest trotted to sit behind Nip, reaching out with a paw to draw him close. At the same time, he turned his head to stare at Whisper.

The hawlucha froze, her feathers puffing up as she turned to stare back. "What did you say?"

Nip tilted his head, flicking his ear. "I didn't say anything."

"No, not you. Tempest. What do you mean, thanks for saving my —" she cut off, eyes clouding with confusion."Why not?"

A silent moment passed. Tempest pulled him closer, placing one paw protectively in front of Nip, who looked up and knit his brows together. "Are you using telepathy?"

"He is," Whisper said before addressing Tempest again. "Look, I don't care what your Tribe said, you're not with them anymore. This is something you need to tell Nip."

Another beat of silence. Whisper let out a series of frustrated chirps. "I will respect your request and not discuss it. But I'm serious. As soon as you get a chance, you need to tell him." She shot a pointed glance at Nip. "He has a right to know."

"What is she talking about?" Nip asked.

Tempest took a deep breath and let out slowly, closing his eyes. His tails fanned behind him, flicking droplets of frosty mist.

"He'll have to explain on paper later. I don't think telepathy works on dark types without assistance from specialized techniques or items to suppress your psychic immunity. Items we don't have."

She turned away, taking a few steps before pausing. "I'm serious though. You need to talk. Later. After we get this dealt with. Stay where you are for now." She raised her voice. "And you as well Haru. Go stand by them. We'll need your testimony, too."

At the sound of her name, Haru looked up. A handful of the villagers — a pidove, an espurr, a flaaffy, and that quagsire — had gathered around, congratulating her on her evolution. But they let her pass as she hurried to the center to stand by Nip and Tempest.

Anu returned at about the same time, bringing Vale with him. The manectric's muscles were bunched and ready to spring, his head low and eyes narrowed. Sparks bounced off his pelt every time he shifted.

"Have him stand with the other accused," Whisper directed before turning to the crowd. She lifted one wing to point and count the pokemon around them, then raised it high to call for silence.

"We need to get started," she began. "I believe everyone is accounted for."

"Phoel is closing down the psychic communication line for the night, but she said to go ahead," a simisear said, pointing to the meowstic in question on the far side of the village. "She can hear well enough."

Whisper dipped her head. "Very well. Thank you, Meaad." Then she addressed the rest of the crowd. "As you have all noticed by now, the guards' hut burned down recently. At that time, one of the mon being kept there, Nip, disappeared. Before you stand the pokemon accused of being responsible: Susana, Topaz, Skorch, Umbra, and Vale."

Uneasy muttering broke out among the gathered pokemon.

"Vale? Really?"

"There's no way."

"This has to be a mistake… right?"

Whisper held up a wing for silence. "There's more. Additionally, the first four are accused of kidnapping one of our own villagers: Haru."

That, the other villagers seemed less torn over. But Nip tuned out their mutterings, focusing instead on the accused. Though Susana's expression was unconcerned and her two compatriots' were blank, Umbra's face was contorted with barely contained fury.

After giving the pokemon a moment to settle, Whisper continued. "Vale. Do you deny any of these claims?"

"Of course I do!" Vale growled, a wave of sparks running down his body. "This is ridiculous! I was attacked. What would I stand to gain from any of this?"

"You'll have a chance to defend yourself later," Whisper said before turning to Umbra. "You've been accused of kidnapping, assault, and attempted murder. Do you deny these claims?"

Umbra scoffed, but her voice came out smooth. "Is it murder if I've been ordered by my elders to 'take care' of a murderer? This all could have been avoided if your village had not meddled in our affairs. I do not deny what I have done, but I deny that any of it was wrong."

No surprise, Nip thought ruefully. You've always thought everything you did was just.

But what did the crowd think? Nip scanned their expressions. Most seemed uneasy or nonplussed, but a few of them seemed to consider her words, a fact that made his stomach twist.

Whisper's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "As for the remaining three—"

Topaz opened his mouth to interrupt, but Susana took a step in front of him before speaking herself. "Haru came with us willingly as a guide. Beyond that, we have nothing to say to any of you."

Whisper opened and closed her mouth twice before she found her voice. "Very well. Then let us start with testimony. Anu, could you give the timeline as we understand it?"

The lucario took a step forward. "Ah, o-of course." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding a paw up to his chest. "Several days ago, a group of four pokemon claiming to be members of the Explorer's Guild arrived…"

He went on to describe how Nip had been kidnapped from his perspective. Most of it was familiar.

"After I left Vale in charge, I returned to the shrine but only found a note stating they would try to talk to me again later. By the time I returned, the jail was on fire and Nip was gone."

Nip swiveled his ear at the sound of this name but found his attention drifting in and out as he watched the crowd. He focused again when Anu described the battle.

"One of the accused attackers fell into the river and went over the waterfall. He did not survive. May the gods show him mercy in the Great Beyond." He paused and bowed his head, and Nip noticed several other pokemon doing the same. How strange. How could they know the afterlife if they didn't know of the pokemon that governed it, Yveltal?

Anu shook his head violently. "That is… all. From my perspective."

"Thank you," Whisper said. "After the fire, Tempest used telepathy to contact Shimmer, then later myself. He gave testimony of the events from his perspective. Before I share it, I would like Nip to give his own account. If you would, sneasel."

The gruffness of her tone didn't surprise Nip; she probably wasn't happy about dealing with him. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Focus.

"A while after Anu left," Nip began, "Umbra and the charizard showed up. They attacked Vale and entered my cell. Tempest tried to fight them off from his confines. At that point…" He trailed off, struggling to remember the rush of events. "I believe Umbra told the charizard to set the jail on fire. She… got into an argument with Vale at that point. He didn't like that idea. I tried to crawl away while they were distracted but was knocked out. When I came to, we were soaring over the mountain forest."

"Thank you," Whisper said. "That aligns closely with the story I received from Tempest. Was there anything else important?"

Nip tried to think back. The entire event was a blur, sharp points of recollection surrounded by a pain-induced haze. He focused on the argument. Was there anything odd about it? "I… remember Jhorlo's name coming up in the argument. Something about him not being an idiot. I'm not sure that's important, but…"

Whisper chuffed. "It may or may not be, but the more detail you can give, the better."

Nip went on to explain the remainder of the events. His failed escape. Being taken prisoner with Haru. Their shared escape attempt. All culminating in the battle by the river.

Afterward, Haru told her own version of the events, admitting to initially helping the explorers out of a flawed sense of need, then her own imprisonment. When she reached the part where she talked about the old shrine, her words had the entire village listening with bated breath. And by the time she was done, not a single mon spoke.

Whisper stood at their center, her eyes closed and her wings crossed. "Thank you, Haru. For now, let us move on to defenses. We'll start with… Vale." She turned to the manectric, her eyes steely. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Sparks danced along Vale's back as he took a step forward. Nip took a subconscious step back, not keen to get shocked by his static.

"Are you really going to listen to them? Nip and Tempest are both criminals. They're just making things up to get me in trouble!" Vale began pacing with his head low, paws kicking up puffs of dirt.

"I was attacked. I don't know why they feel the need to drag me into this. Maybe because I'm a strict guard? Maybe because they feel I didn't do enough to protect them? I don't know. But you're all fools if you'd believe their word over mine, someone who has made sure this village was safe and cared for, for cycles."

Mutterings broke out among the crowd, uncertain and confused. Nip's heart galloped. While it was true the village had no real reason to trust his word… Vale was lying. He had to be. If he got off without consequences, Nip knew he wouldn't be safe.

Then, from the back of the crowd, came a hesitant voice. "Vale… did come to the inn with Umbra the other day…"

Heads snapped around to the speaker: a simisear. Meaad, Nip thought his name was. The crowd parted as he made his way to the front.

"Maybe it's nothing, but… Just a few days ago, the two of them got a room at the inn. There was a brief altercation with, um, those guys" — he gestured to Susana — "but Vale had it under control, so I thought nothing of it."

All eyes turned back to Vale, silent as death.

The manectric's eyes widened, his hackles stiffening. "Wh — n-now come on, you don't mean to take that as proof, do you? That's just coincidence! Yes, I've spent time with Umbra, but that means nothing! I was betrayed!"

When that didn't seem to convince the majority, his voice grew more desperate. "I've been protecting this village for cycles. Longer than some of you have been alive! You don't really think I'd do something to harm the pokemon here, do you? I wouldn't — do you really think I would hurt Haru?"

That got the crowd talking, skeptical tones rising from the villagers.

"No," Whisper admitted. "At least, not intentionally. But the fact of the matter is that there's too many coincidences, Vale, to not be suspicious."

Vale swept his gaze wildly across the crowd, desperately looking for a friendly face. Nip followed his movement and saw nothing but worry and skepticism.

Then the manectric's stance changed. He adjusted his forepaws and squared his shoulders, letting out a low grow. "I see how it is. So what are you going to do? Lock me up? Drive me out? Do you realize how much I've done for this town? You'd all be starving without me. Every single obligate meat eater!"

Nip narrowed his eyes. Every… obligate? Every carnivore? Was he getting at…

Vale's gaze snapped to Jhorlo. Small, jagged bolts of lightning struck the ground around him, and Nip could just pick up a low buzz. "Fuck this. If I'm going out, I'm dragging you down with me." Then he raised his voice to a shout.

"You think dragging dead, diseased things back is enough to feed everyone? No, it's all a fabrication. Jhorlo has been forcing me to hunt for the town for cycles."

"What?"

"That can't be right."

"Jhorlo would never."

Other comments were lost among the growing clamor. At the center of the storm, Jhorlo sat at attention, calm and unbothered.

The purugly waited a moment, allowing the villagers to work themselves while he checked his claws, before raising a paw to call for silence.

"I'm disappointed in you, my dear Vale. To think that you would not only betray the trust of our village, but also try to throw it in disarray when your misdeeds were caught? For shame."

He raised his voice louder, addressing the crowd as a whole. "I would never do something so antithetical to the beliefs of our village, you all know. What kind of dirt would I even have on you, if it were true?"

Nip narrowed his eyes. Jhorlo's tactic was all too familiar. It was the same kind of deflection Umbra used when he came back from a hunting excursion with her, bruised and bloodied. Whether or not Vale's comment was true, Jhorlo was hiding something.

Vale flinched, the sparks racing along his pelt dying away. A long, tense moment of silence followed.

"What does it matter," the manectric growled under his breath. "I'm as good as dead or driven out as it is.

"You want to know what happened? Fine. Remember a few cycles back, when Leas was found dead in the woods? Everyone thought a wildener had gotten her. But it wasn't a wildener. It was me."

Gasps swept through the crowd, followed by swift murmurs that Nip could only pick up traces of. He leaned to the side to whisper in Haru's ear.

"Who is that?"

"Leas?" Haru kept her eyes on Vale. Nip saw her muscles ripple beneath her pelt, wound with tension. "She was the previous head of the guard before Whisper. About seven cycles ago, she went missing during a routine patrol. Siles — that quagsire over there — found her body two days later just outside of Sunglow Thicket. She was Jaques' and Lotte's mother."

"Jhorlo's guards?" Nip looked at the two purrloin flanking the mayor. Their fur was bushed as they stared at each other wide-eyed.

"Jhorlo," the female purrloin started. "He's lying, right? He has to be!" The tone of her voice suggested she didn't believe them, that she knew Vale was being honest, but she was desperate for reassurance.

"Of-of course he is," Jhorlo snapped, his own fur bristling. But there was a waver in his voice that wasn't there before. "I don't know what's going on in his head that makes him feel he needs to drag the rest of the village down with him!"

Nip picked up the burning scent of ozone. Instinctually, he dropped to the ground just as a bright discharge of electricity blasted off of Vale. It struck Jhorlo. It narrowly missed Whisper, who had also dropped to the ground. It struck Haru beside him, who let out a loud squeal. And it struck several other standing villagers who didn't react in time.

As soon as he quit discharging, Vale leaped into the crowd, pushing through the remainder and weaving among the buildings as he made a mad dash out of the square.

At the edge of the crowd, a rapidash struggled to her feet and started to give chase.

"Stop!"

Whisper's single-word command rang out over the groans of the villagers. She sprang to her feet, heaving a deep breath. "Let him go! We have enough to deal with as it is. We'll put out a bulletin to the Enforcers and to all the nearby villages."

The rapidash looked like she wanted to argue as panicked voices rose from the villagers, but the loud thwap of the Sile's tail drew everyone's attention. "Hey! Whisper is right. Vale will get what's coming to him one way or another."

Whisper took another heaving breath and gasped a "thank you" to the quagsire. She reached up and clutched at the feathers to the side of her head as if she meant to rip them out. Before she could, Anu came up from behind and placed a paw in the small of her shoulder blades.

Then he spoke up, speaking slow to force the stutter out of his voice. "As it stands, we still have four pokemon to deal with."

"Right. Right," Whisper said. She took one more deep, steadying breath, then pulled herself away from Anu. "We'll start with Umbra. Is there anything you have to say in your defense? Any reason we shouldn't give you a harsh sentence when you admitted to the allegations?"

"As I said before, this all could have been avoided," the mawile said. "What good has meddling in my affairs done? What has Nip done for any of you of his own volition? He's rotten."

At first, no one said anything. But then Toshi's exhausted voice came up from behind Nip. "He… saved my life from a wildener."

Haru hesitated, her expression almost embarrassed. "…He did help me escape. He could have left me behind when Topaz caught up to us and pinned me. But he came back."

Hastily, she added, "Don't get me wrong. He's harmed our village irreparably. But… I don't know if I would have survived without his help. I don't know. Everything that's happened in the last couple moons is so messed up."

Nip stole a glance at the bibarel, blinking slowly.

Whisper stared at Umbra for a moment longer. When she said nothing else she turned to Susana. "And what about you? Any defense?"

"We had no reason to hurt Haru," Susana replied, tone silky. "She was helping us. All we asked for was a little help inspecting your old shrine. Then things got out of hand. Punish us if you wish. It'll make no difference to your village in the end."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Siles grunted.

But Susana had turned her head, clearly done speaking.

"I… think I have some idea," Haru said. "When… when we were captive, I overheard a couple of things that Susana's group was talking about. First, the reason they went up the mountain… They're trying to find Regigagas. They're trying to bend him to their will."

"That's preposterous!" a roserade at the back scoffed. "A pawful of outsiders, controlling Regigagas? Ridiculous. It'd never work, if they even found him to begin with."

"But they didn't come alone." Haru drew out the last word, voice tinged with desperation. "They kept referring to someone they work for. 'Our Lady,' they called her. The way they talked… there's more coming. Possibly a lot more."

"Could they be what —" Nip cut himself off. He didn't want to mention Celebi by name, given what little he knew about Susana's group. "— what that omen was about?" From the way the other pokemon looked at each other, it was clear some of the villagers were thinking the same thing. More discussions broke out, growing into a cacophonous din.

Whisper held up a wing. "Everyone, quiet! QUIET!"

The voices slowly died away, heads turning back to the hawlucha. She took a deep breath. "We don't know what they want, and it's clear they're not willing to talk at this time. But they're trouble. Due to the severity of this… entire situation, I am asking for your permission to take charge here."

When no one argued, she continued. "We will contact the Enforcer's Union first thing tomorrow to have Susana's group taken in for proper questioning."

She pointed at Siles, the rapidash, then Meaad. "You three. I am going to keep our troublemakers in one of the tavern rooms, given the lack of a jail. Romi and Siles, you two are to guard them within the room. For the sake of simplicity, Umbra can be kept with them. Find someone who can come relieve you halfway through the night. Given our zoroark's ability to create illusions, I don't want her left alone at any point. Understand?"

"Right. Understood." Siles bobbed his head.

"Good. Next." She turned to Jhorlo. "While I seriously doubt Vale's testimony, I think it would be best if you remain within the villa for now. You, and the rest of your household. Jaques, Lotte, that includes both of you."

Jhorlo puffed out his chest. "This is ridiculous! There is no reason to believe the words of a condemned mon."

"While I agree," Whisper started diplomatically, "given the severity of the accusations, I think it's for the best. When everyone sees that there aren't any food shortages, it will help prove your innocence."

Shimmer reached over to place a hand on her father's head. "It'll be fine, Dad. Just for a few days, then we can put this all behind us."

Even as she said it, Nip picked up a subtle fear scent wafting from their direction. He wasn't sure if it was Shimmer or her father. And Muse looked downright miserable sitting behind them.

"Does everyone agree with this?" Whisper asked.

There were a few mutterings and a cough, but no one dared to challenge her.

"Right. That leaves us with just one more thing." She turned to Nip. "Your community service… With Vale gone and our guards busy watching over Susana's group, we do not have the time to continue it. Rather than hold you here or try to turn you over as well, I believe the best decision is to exile you once Tempest is healthy enough to travel. You would need to leave Theran Village and the lands surrounding it within one day's travel.

Nip hesitated. "Your demands are… reasonable." And yet, for reasons he couldn't fathom, he felt his stomach twisting in knots at the thought of leaving.

"Any disagreement?"

"Are you sure about this, Whisper?" Siles said. "He could be a liability if we send him on to the next town. If he commits a crime there and they find out we released him after what he did here…"

"It's…" Whisper started to reach for a feather, then caught herself. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. Given everything that's happened and everything we still need to deal with."

The quagsire looked like he wanted to say something more, but he only shook his head and took a step back. No one else spoke, though Nip could tell not everyone was happy with Whisper's decision.

"If there's nothing more, we will call this meeting to a close for tonight. We will reconvene tomorrow evening, after the Enforcers have been contacted, and decide what to do next."

She stood in the center as the villagers began to disperse, waiting till most were gone before walking over to speak quietly with Jhorlo. Nip wanted to eavesdrop, but a light shove from behind broke his concentration. He glanced back to see Twi.

"C'mon, Mister Thief," the illumise said. "Let's get you back to the hut to get looked at before it gets too dark."

He stole one more glance back at Haru, who was helping her brother to his feet. A part of him wanted to say something to the duo, given all that had happened and all that would happen soon. But instead, he silently let the illumise guide him to the medics' hut.

Chapter Text

Soot clung to Yellow’s paws with every step she took, clinging to the fur between her toes and staining her paws black. A chilly breeze cut through what remained of this part of the forest, unimpeded without foliage. A handful of enforcer teams fanned out around the jolteon, some with noses low to the ground in search of suspicious scents. Above, a few fliers drifted in wide circles, looking for abnormalities.

Less than a half-moon ago, a wildfire had ripped through the Silken Woods, burning so fiercely that nothing remained. The local rescue teams had already come through a quarter-moon prior, searching for survivors. Now it was the enforcer’s turn to investigate the cause. The fact that it had taken this long to get teams on the ground was an embarrassment. Especially given that an expedition team had gone missing in the wake of the fire. Which is why she’d come all the way from headquarters herself to investigate.

In front of her, a staravia landed crossing a wing over his chest. “Enforcer Yellow.”

She dipped her head. “Speak.”

“The flyby suggests that the fire started in a clearing up ahead. There’s some damage to the trees near there that suggests signs of a struggle, but we suspect most of the evidence was destroyed in the blaze.”

“Thank you. You are dismissed.” She moved to walk around him, but he hesitated, staying in her path. “Yes?”

“Well… it’s just that my buddies and I saw an arcanine headed this way from the opposite end of the damage. He kind of looks like that private detective who comes around sometimes, but given the… you know, situation we’re in right now, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to risk an approach. We just thought you should know.”

Maneth? Yellow stood still for a few heartbeats. “Thank you. I’ll head for the clearing now. Were there any others already there?”

“Just The Sniff-it-Outs.”

“Go ahead and tell them to take a break but stay nearby. I’ll take care of the Arcanine if they show up.”

“Will do.” With a running start and a couple wingbeats, the staravia took to the air, circling once before flying ahead.

Yellow followed behind at a light trot, intending to give him time to alert the team. It gave her time to think. If the arcanine was Maneth in disguise, they’d have to find someplace private to talk. No one here had a high enough clearance to know his true identity, let alone the conversations he had with her. If it wasn’t him but someone with unsavory intentions, her appearance alone would likely be enough to spook them away.

But by the time the jolteon reached the clearing, the other pokemon were still there, gathered around a single spot on the far end. Apprehension sent spikes of static and sparks racing through her fur. She had to force the feeling away before it could get out of hand.

“What’s going on over there?” she called, sprinting across the clearing. Not far beyond them, she could see a handful of trees that looked like they’d been splintered apart by an explosion. Possibly the cause of the fire.

The members of The Sniff-it-Outs, a houndoom, a houndstone, and a growlithe, stood in a tight circle, the staravia from before with them. They parted at the sound of her voice, revealing what was worrying them: a pile of charred bones, half buried in the ash.

“We just found these,” the houndoom said. “We’re not sure… but these look kind of like treecko bones, don’t they? Some sort of reptilian pokemon, at least.”

“One of the missing explorers was a treecko, wasn’t she?” the growlithe asked.

Yellow kept her jaw set in a firm line. “You are correct. The missing team is treecko-charmander duo. Go get a sketcher to draw up an image of the scene, and a mon to gather up the bones. We’ll have them taken back to headquarters for identification.”

“Right.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Mam. Although…” The growlithe nosed something else towards Yellow. “We also found this. We weren’t sure what to make of it.”

The item in question was some sort of container, Yellow thought. But it had melted beyond recognition. She couldn’t figure out what kind of material it was made of.

“Take it with you. We can try to figure out what it is later.”

Yellow turned away, focusing her attention on the splintered trees. Remains suspiciously similar to one of the missing explorers, found near signs of an explosive attack… She didn’t like the implications. But they’d only found one set of remains. There were two pokemon missing. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t come across a handful of remains already. Wildeners lived here, after all. Or used to, she guessed. Some were likely unable to escape the flames.

Shaking her head to clear it, she kept walking. “I’m going to find that arcanine and see if they’re who I think they are. If not… they’ve got a lot to explain, snooping around here.”

Without waiting for a response, she took off, racing into the trees.

Alone, she had a moment to think about the damage she’d seen. The radius of the explosion was concerning, longer than she was used to seeing. She didn’t want to speculate what was capable of causing this type of damage. A lesser god, perhaps. Or a very powerful mortal.

Her feet hardly touched the ground, each pawstep muffled by the ash. The acrid stench still hung in the air, muffling her sense of smell. She thanked the stars it hadn’t rained recently; the only thing worse than ash was wet ash.

There, in the distance. Among the grays and blacks and whites, the arcanine’s orange coat stuck out like a sore paw.

Yellow approached cautiously, sniffing at the air. The arcanine was male. He walked like an arcanine. But did he smell like one? It was difficult to tell with the ash clouding her senses.

Of course, just like he stuck out, Yellow did, too. And it didn’t take long for him to look away from the tree he was pacing around and notice her.

“Yellow?” the arcanine asked.

“Maneth?”

The arcanine jerked his head in the direction of the tree he had been investigating. “You better take a look at this.”

After only a heartbeat of hesitation, Yellow raced over. The tree looked like it had been cut clean diagonally, though it had since burned. The remains of the trunk lay on the ground. A few other trees near it were destroyed in much the same way.

But it wasn’t the trees that concerned her once she reached him.

He took a step back, giving her a clear view of the decomposing corpse of a charmander.

“Forest fire wouldn’t burn hot enough to cremate a charmander,” he said, putting a paw over his snout to try and dampen the stench. “Not likely to kill one either. This one looks to have met a grisly demise. Maybe the cause of the fire though.”

“Not likely, given the scene I just came from. What in Arceus’ name are you doing here, Maneth. No, don’t drop your illusion. There are other teams around.”

The illusory arcanine took a step back. “I was on my way to investigate something for Progne. But when I saw the state of this forest, I wanted to see if I could figure out what happened. Any idea?”

“Not yet. We know it happened a little over a quarter-moon ago, though. Two explorers went missing around the same time. Looks like we found them. Or what’s left of them, at least.” She nudged her paw towards the charmander but didn’t dare touch it. Dealing with grisly scenes like this was never fun, and this was on the tamer side. She’d have to send the sketcher this way, next.

“Damn. All this destruction to kill just one explorer team? Seems like overkill, doesn’t it?”

“Perhaps, but we don’t know yet whether they were the target or just collateral damage.” Not that it mattered. An explorer team was dead. A young one, at that. Pokemon that had a bright future ahead of them. She remembered their initiation ceremony, how the charmander’s eyes had lit up as Blue presented her with her normal rank badge. Yellow felt rage roiling inside, threatening to unleash the beast she knew she could be.

“Hey! Hey, Yellow! Calm down. Your sparks are going to shatter my illusion.”

Her sparks? Oh.

Yellow took a deep breath. “Sorry.” She sat down, running a tongue down her paw in anticipation of washing behind her ear, only to stop, curling her lip at the acrid tang of ash. “What were you doing for Progne?”

“Progne sent me out on an investigation mission,” Maneth explained. “They said they felt Celebi’s presence but were unable to make contact with him. They wanted me to see why Celebi showed up now of all times. And why he chose to appear where he did.”

Celebi? For a moment, Yellow forgot about the dire situation they found themselves in. “And where was that?”

“Near the base of Mount Domo. The specifics are difficult to triangulate, but there’s only a few villages in the area, so I thought I might start with those.”

“Mount Domo, huh?” Yellow closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. “How long ago was this?”

“I was told to leave… about a quarter-moon ago, now.”

“I see. I probably wouldn’t have been in to hear any delivered news…” She closed her eyes, thinking. He was probably in a hurry, but it wouldn’t hurt to play things safe. “Tell you what. I want you to come back with me to headquarters. It’s a little out of your way, but we can reach out to see if anyone in the Unified villages has seen anything out of the ordinary. If not, then it narrows your search to unincorporated villages.”

“And there’s not many of those in the region,” Maneth concluded. “I only saw two on the map. Theran and Malkin.”

“Rocorn isn’t incorporated either,” Yellow said. “Not yet at least.”

“Understood. I’ll mark those down.” He paused; Yellow suspected he was busy at work pulling his map out under that disguise. “Do you think this might be related?”

“Related to what?”

“Right, you’re not fully filled in. Progne also lost contact with Tinny, not long before Celebi appeared. They hadn’t been able to reestablish contact since.”

Dread churned in Yellow’s belly. “Do you think someone is targeting the gods?”

“I don’t know, but Celebi appearing, Victini disappearing… And this fire. In fact…” A rustling came from the disguise as Maneth pulled out his map. The disguise did as well, dropping it on the ground. “I think… Progne told me roughly where they lost contact. They didn’t ask me to investigate that right now, but… this isn’t too far from it. Within a day’s travel for Tinny, I’d guess.”

Yellow fought to control her sparks. A massive fire. A missing god. A dead expedition team. “This… may be even more serious than I thought.”

She glanced up as a shadow passed by overhead. It was that staravia again, come to check on her. She tilted her head up and let out a yip to call him down.

He landed at her side, recoiling at the sight of the charmander corpse.

“Have the team come over here. We’ll need the sketcher to draw up this one, too. Investigator Blitz will stay here to mark the spot until they arrive.” She flicked an ear in Maneth’s direction.

“Will do. What about you?”

“I need to speak with the psychic on duty and get a bulletin out. Whatever happened here is a sign of serious trouble. We need all teams on high alert.”

She pushed past the staravia, forcing herself to walk until she was a good ways away before breaking out into a run.

Yellow should have known better than to hope there would be no more fighting after they unified the continent. But now serious trouble was on the horizon, more serious than she suspected any mortal pokemon had ever dealt with.

She had made a promise to protect the pokemon relying on her. Now was the time to make good on it.

Elsewhere, an encampment of strange, otherworldly pokemon sat in an alcove sheltered by high, rocky walls. The shadow of Mount Domo loomed in the distance, only a few days’ journey away. A few pokemon, those who suspected they could pass as natives, stood along the perimeter, watching for actual natives to scare away or kill for supplies.

In the center, a white leporid darted between the tents, making her way to the main one at the center. She kept her long, blue-and-white–striped tail wrapped tightly around her waist.

At the entrance to the main tent, two pokemon — a porygon and a short-eared umbreon — stood guard. The umbreon stepped forward first.

“Warabbit Waisha, what business do you have with Our Lady?”

“Bad news from the courier, I’m afraid,” Waisha said with a shake of her head. “I need to speak with her immediately.”

The umbreon turned to the porygon, who stilled for a moment.

“She is free at the moment, but you must hurry. The evening report starts in twenty minutes.”

Waisha involuntarily shivered. She never liked the way that porygon spoke, but the way its voice became so stilted when telling time was exceptionally creepy.

But the answer seemed to satisfy the umbreon. “Better you than me,” she said, stepping aside.

Waisha rushed inside, skidding to a stop as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Why was their leader insistent on keeping things dark? Then she saw a wave of sparks at the end of the tent and understood. One of her deputies was already there. His body snaked and slumped around her waifish form, barely having the strength to move. The Lady had explained that he wasn’t built for this world. Or that it wasn’t built for him. One way or the other. Regardless, without the infrastructure to support him, he was slowly dying.

“Waisha, was it?” The Lady asked, her claws snaking down the deputy’s slender form in the dim light. “Why are you here?”

Time to steel your nerves, Waisha told herself, taking a deep breath. “First off, some good news. I heard word from Commander Zaid that Mina has fully subdued and integrated Victini. We’re ready to move to the next phase of the plan.”

The Lady quirked her head, her antennas barely visible threads in the darkness. “Good, good. But that would have been covered in his report. Why are you really here?”

“Well,” Waisha began, gulping. “I just spoke with the courier. He said he’s lost connection with Remer. The last message he sent before disappearing was an SOS.” She hesitated, wringing her paws together. “Between that and the previous report, there’s reason to believe that Susana’s team may have been compromised.”

Silence. The deputy groaned and shifted around The Lady. She shushed them, running her hand between his cords. “Did she report any electricity or electric types in the village?”

“I’m… sorry?”

“Any electric types. Don’t be daft, now.”

It took Waisha a moment to understand. “Oh, one, I think.”

“It’ll have to do.” The Lady’s eyes flashed in the darkness. “Thank you for the confirmation. I will speak with Commander Zaid and have him put in the order to move out first thing in the morning. Our target will be Theran Village. Then, depending on Susana’s report, the mountain beyond. You are to speak of this to no one for now, understand?”

“Of course, My Lady.”

“Good.” The Lady leaned back on her cushion, bringing her hand up to her deputy’s spiky head. As Waisha slipped out of the tent, she could hear her speak, voice soothing and serene.

“I will do everything in my power to find you a better energy source,” she promised. “No matter what. You just need to hold on for a little longer, okay? Once we have enough of the gods’ power on our side, we will shape this land to suit our needs. I promise.”

Chapter Text

Haru slept fitfully that night, her mind plagued by nightmares about Susana, her waking moments plagued by the events of the trial. As much as she tried to push the worries away and distract herself, it always came back with a vengeance.

When her mother called for breakfast the next morning, she practically had to drag herself out of bed. Toshi beating her to the table was a small relief, but a relief nonetheless. She counted her blessings that Lecha okayed him to come home just after nightfall.

Breakfast was a quiet ordeal, full of stilted bits of conversation about her evolution, about the food, about things that had happened while she was gone. Small talk. But no one wanted to address the donphan in the room. Her kidnapping. Toshi's injuries. Vale's accusations. The looming threat posed by Susana.

All the while, Haru poked at her breakfast: bread with oil and a leafy salad with razz berry vinaigrette. Her mom usually didn't bring out the dressing except on special occasions, given that they had to order some of the ingredients from traveling merchants.

"What's on the work agenda for today?" Haru finally asked after poking at her meal for the umpteenth time.

"Well…" Chip began, looking away.

"I'm sure you're eager to get back to work, but you two should take the day off," Saku finished for him. "You're still recovering, after all. And besides that… After what happened yesterday, we're not sure what kind of work there will be today."

"Oh, okay," Haru answered, trying to appear nonchalant by taking a bite of her food. But on the inside, dismay festered in her belly. Work would have been a welcome distraction.

Beside her, Toshi twisted to nibble at and adjust his bandages. "It'll be fine, Haru. Come on, if nothing else, there's bound to be someone who needs help in town."

He had a point. Probably.

Pushing herself away from the table, she forced the rest of her meal down her gullet with a couple of quick gulps. Normally, she would savor the flavors. But with her mind addled as it was, everything tasted like ash.

Then she returned to her room, remembering with dismay that her best bags had been swept away by the river, along with a notable portion of her money. Sighing, she reached for her older bags, realized the belly strap holding them together was too small for her now, and let them hang around her neck instead with a frustrated huff. Maybe she would get it adjusted while they were at the square.

Toshi was waiting for her in the main room. Together, they left, making the short trek to town in silence.

The village square was uncannily empty, especially for the time of day. Anu dipped his head to them as he passed, hurrying towards the tavern. A few moments later, the flaaffy guard exited, yawning. He ignored them as he headed towards his residence on the outskirts of town.

Other than him, the only pokemon they spotted were Whisper, Phoel, and Numi, the pidove who acted as a messenger when Phoel had incoming messages. Whisper leaned over the courier stand, watching as the meowstic closed her eyes and focused, her ears flipping up as she channeled psychic energy. Numi dozed quietly on a perch overhead, occasionally starting awake only to drift off again.

Haru turned her attention away. "Doesn't seem like there's anyone out here. Where is everybody?"

"I don't know," Toshi said. "I thought people might be shaken up by yesterday, but I figured that would make them more active, not less." He tapped his foot, his gaze sweeping across the square. "What should we do? Maybe we could go and check on Shimmer and Muse?"

"Would we be allowed to?" Haru countered. But she understood her brother's worries. She hardly considered herself close to Shimmer, annoyed by her at the best of times. But confining her to the Villa almost felt unfair. Whether or not Vale was lying, there was no way Shimmer was involved. The girl couldn't keep a secret to save her life. And Muse… No. There was no way she was involved.

…Right?

Speaking of Vale… "Do you… think Vale was telling the truth? About Jhorlo?" She couldn't help but remember a conversation she'd had with Nip. It wasn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like cycles ago, after everything that had happened.

Do you really think searching for unfortunates and letting your carnivore friends eat what amounts to carrion is healthy? He'd said. Do you really believe that it actually works that way? You can't really believe that's sustainable, do you?

Toshi hunched his shoulders, staring at the cobblestones beneath him. "I… I don't know. It just seems so… outlandish after everything Jhorlo has said and done to keep things running smoothly. But… Did Vale really have an incentive to lie? I'm not so sure…"

Maybe he had a point. But Haru didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. Because if that was true…

She opened her mouth to say something more, but movement out of the corner of her eye interrupted her thoughts.

She turned in the direction of the clinic, surprised to see Nip emerging. Lecha followed behind him, lingering near the entrance. The sneasel squinted in the morning light, noticed Haru and Toshi, and trotted over. He hesitated when he got close, ear and feather folding back as he crouched submissively.

"Haru, Toshi," he said in that now-familiar accented tone. "May I… join you for a few moments? I needed some fresh air."

Before Haru could say anything one way or the other, or even make up her mind, Toshi answered. "Sure. Why not?" He cast a glance at Haru, who relented with a dip of her head.

The trio fell into an awkward silence. Toshi started to say something, only for the words to die in his throat.

"So," Haru finally said. "It sounded last night like you'll probably be leaving soon."

Nip looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah. Probably. Lecha doesn't want me to leave until my arm heals enough. Said she was going to talk to Whisper about it. I'll probably be here another half-moon if she has her way. Tempest will probably be able to travel in three or four days though."

Haru felt like she should be relieved. A part of her was. Nip would be gone. Umbra would be taken away by the Enforcers. The village would go back to normal.

But if Susana was to be believed, that wasn't really true, was it?

Even through the relief, another part of Haru ached at the thought of him leaving. It made her uneasy. She figured it was because of the adversity they'd gone through together. He'd saved Toshi, once. Then he saved her when Topaz nearly caught her. But the thought that she would feel that way at all, after everything he'd done, also unnerved her.

"What about you?" he asked. "What do you plan to do?"

"Celebrate my evolution," she answered. "Try to go back to normal. But I'm not sure how normal it'll be, with all these changes."

"I don't know about you, Sis," Toshi said, sitting down, "But I don't think I can go back to normal. Maybe it's time to… leave." His final word came out barely more than a whisper, sending a shiver down Haru's spine.

Nip opened his mouth to reply, but a loud smack sounded behind him and drew his attention. The trio turned to look in the direction of the courier's stand. Phoel had slammed a paw on her counter, eyes open and glowing with psychic energy. Whisper had sprung back, her feathers puffed up. Numi was nowhere to be seen.

"What do you mean you can't send anyone?" Phoel hissed. A scraping noise followed as her claws dug into the wood.

Haru and Toshi exchanged a glance before making their way over, Nip lingering behind them.

They reached the stand just as the meowstic shut off her psychic connection, pulling her ears in tight, lip curled back in a snarl.

'What's going on?" Whisper demanded, leaning across the counter.

"It took me forever to establish a connection with the enforcer representative," Phoel growled, her lip curled back. "When he finally accepts my signal and I explain that we need someone to pick up some criminals, he says it'll have to wait. He wouldn't even let me explain the severity of the situation. Apparently, they've declared some sort of emergency and have all hands on deck. They're not sending any assistance to unincorporated villages." She let out a long breath before looking Whisper in the eye. "We're on our own."

Frustration churned in Haru's belly. They wouldn't even listen? Then what good were they? She clenched and unclenched her forepaws, looking to Whisper for guidance. The hawlucha had closed her eyes, standing stiff for a moment. "We don't have the resources to send them. We'll have to keep them for a while longer, at least until we decide what to do. I don't want to make any changes until we deal with the situation with Jhorlo. Phoel, I want you to continue to pester them daily until I say otherwise, okay?"

Phoel sighed, resting her cheek against the countertop. "Yeah. That's fine. Don't be surprised if I come complaining to you about the headaches, though."

"I'm always willing to listen, Phoel. Now, if you'll excuse me, I better go make the rounds alerting the guards." She dipped her head to Haru and Toshi, then hurried away.

"Is this normal?" Nip asked, addressing Haru.

"What, the Enforcer thing? A little, I guess." Haru sat down to scratch at her belly. "Because we're not incorporated, we're not really prioritized. But I can't remember a time that they ignored us outright. From what I understood, the Enforcers were founded on the idea of helping any pokemon that asks for it. Same for the Rescuers and the Expedition Society."

"I guess Yellow doesn't care about that. Or isn't keeping her mons in check," Toshi mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Nip asked.

Toshi turned to him. Normally, Haru knew he'd be excited to talk about one of the three governing branches of the unified towns. But his eyes were troubled. "I mean this isn't normal. Yellow supposedly has a strong sense of justice. If their group is acting out like this…" He shook out his fur. "It's probably nothing to worry about. We're not incorporated, so we get the short end of the stick there. But it comes with its benefits."

"Like?" Nip prompted.

"For one thing, we have control over what we do with anyone that breaks the law here," Haru said. "I'm not going to lie to you, Nip. If you had pulled your stunt in an incorporated village, you'd be dead by now. Food for some other village."

Nip crinkled his nose. "You're not okay with hunting but you're okay with that?"

"I never said I was okay with it," Haru countered. "Our village would never. Like I said. We're not incorporated. So we don't have to follow their rules."

Nip looked like he wanted to say something more but seemed to think better of it.

"If we're going to get your bags adjusted and see if we can see Shimmer, we should probably get going," Toshi said. "You want to come with, Nip?"

Haru wasn't so sure about having him accompany them for that long.

Fortunately, she didn't have to think of an excuse, as Nip looked back towards the clinic. "I should probably go back. I'm not supposed to drift far from the medic's hut."

Toshi tilted his head. "So soon? Ah well. See you later then."

Nip dipped his head first to Toshi, then to Haru. Then he turned and walked away.

"Well," Toshi said after Nip disappeared behind the curtain at the entrance, "we still have time to kill. Are we going or not?"

"We might as well," Haru mumbled after thinking about it for a moment. "I don't know if we'll be able to actually see them, but… it wouldn't hurt to check."

The manor on the hill stood tall against the clear blue sky. Normally, it felt welcoming — or welcoming enough, at least. But today, with all the curtains pulled closed and the doors tightly shut, Haru felt uneasy as they approached.

To her surprise, a pokemon sat just outside the door, soaking in the rays of the sun: the diggersby that handled all the local construction. Grombert.

He peeked one eye open as they approached, then yawned and stood up, waving an ear. "Haru? Toshi? What are you two doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Haru countered.

He used one ear to scratch at his side. "Well, Whisper thought it'd be a good idea to have someone keep watch here, so she asked me to do that. Figured it'd be best to save the battle-ready mon for the more dangerous pokemon."

"I guess that makes sense," Toshi murmured. More loudly, he added, "We were just stopping by to check on Shimmer and Muse."

Grombert closed his eyes, waving his paws in front of him. "Sorry, Toshi, no can do. Whisper was clear: no one leaves, no visitors. Official business only."

Toshi shrank back, but Haru refused to be easily deterred. "But Shimmer had nothing to do with this mess, right? Surely, she could take a visitor?"

"Sorry, Haru. An order's an order. If you want in, you need to talk to Whisper."

As much as she wanted to argue further, Haru didn't see a point. She sighed, taking a step back. "It's no good. Come on, Toshi, we might as well head back. See you later, Grom'." She turned and started back up the trail, letting her tail drag along the ground to make a point of how disappointed she was.

"Darnit," Toshi mumbled, stumbling as he caught up. "I hope they're okay. There's got to be some way we can check on them at least."

Haru paused and tilted her head up so that she could get a clearer look at the two-floor building. "Maybe… Do you know which window is Shimmer's room? Or Muse's?"

Toshi followed her gaze. "I think… Shimmer's room is that one?" He pointed his paw to a window near the corner. "Muse's room would be on the back side, but I'm not sure which one."

"Okay, let me try something." Haru cast a look at Grombert, who had closed his eyes again, before stepping off the path and pushing through the surrounding underbrush. Once she was comfortably out of sight, she took a deep breath, focusing. This was new — she'd only drawn on her water affinity once, and that had been on external water. This was different. This was pulling from somewhere inside her and from the moisture in the air. And yet, it felt like the most natural thing in the world when she shot a brief, concentrated stream of water at the window. There was a quiet splat as it struck and splattered across the glass. She held her breath, but no sound came from Grombert's direction.

Then Haru waited, watching the window. She was about to try again when a hazy, green-and-white form appeared behind the glass. It was difficult to see her well from this far away, but she knew it had to be Shimmer. After a few seconds, the kirlia offered her a subdued wave, then disappeared again. Another blob, Muse, appeared shortly after, sitting to watch them for a moment before disappearing into the room. Neither reappeared after.

"Well…" Haru began hesitantly. "I think they're okay, at least. That's something to be thankful for."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Toshi looked at his feet. "…We should probably go. Hopefully, we can put all this behind us soon." He shook out his fur. "Shimmer might be overbearing and all, but I never wanted her to be… I don't want anything bad to happen to her, you know? Muse too. They're good mon."

Haru looked back to the window. As much as she agreed with Toshi, those words from Nip kept swirling in the back of her head. How much did the two of them really know? "Yeah… I hope you're right."

Shimmer watched as Muse sat in front of the window, staring out at Haru and Toshi. The absol's shoulders were hunched; Shimmer suspected she hadn't slept well the night before.

Not that she could blame her. This entire situation, being locked away at home, was hard enough for her. She could only imagine how Muse felt. The two of them had practically grown up together, what with her Dad taking Muse under his paw.

There had to be something she could do to help.

"Aw, come away from the window, Musey," Shimmer called, waving the absol over to settle down beside her. Muse hesitated before slinking across, her head low.

Shimmer had seen her worried before, but never like this.

Well, maybe once like this. She'd been very young, recently hatched, when the news of the failed expedition reached them. She couldn't remember much of it, but she remembered Muse being inconsolable. Rightfully so, given that she had just lost both her parents, but Shimmer had been too young to understand that at the time. She'd been too young to understand the loss of her own mother, even!

She pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind as Muse settled down beside her, head on her forepaws. Shimmer reached over to run her fingers through the thick fur on the absol's neck, worrying at a tangle here and there. "Aw, Musey, did you groom this morning? You look like a mess."

It took the absol a moment to respond. "Oh… No, I… I didn't feel up to it this morning."

Shimmer frowned, letting silence hang over the room for a moment. She wasn't used to words being this hard to get out. "Are you still worried about last night?" she finally said. "Don't worry about it, okay? It's going to be fine. Once it becomes clear that this is a big, silly mistake." She wished she couldn't hear the doubt in her tone.

More silence. Muse lifted her head to stare at her claws. "What if it's not, though?" she asked. "What if it's not fine? What if Vale was telling the truth? What would you do, then?"

Shimmer's fingers caught on another tangle. She stopped and pulled her hand away. Muse turned to look at her, an expression on her face that Shimmer couldn't quite discern. Then she averted her gaze. "I just… I don't want you to be hurt w… if it turns out to be true."

It was a minor slip-up, but with the way Muse struggled to look her in the eye, Shimmer couldn't help but be suspicious. She had to press, silently begging Muse to laugh it off. "You… were about to say when, weren't you? Muse… do you know something? Are you hiding something from me?"

Muse flinched and looked away. "Please, Shimmer, it was a slip of the tongue. It's not my place to speak on your father's matters."

That was practically a confession. "Muse, tell me the truth. Was Vale being honest? Do you hunt?"

Muse widened her eyes, tensing, muscles coiled and ready to flee. "No. Never! I've never hunted. I don't…" She stared at Shimmer with a stricken expression, her claws digging into the wooden flooring. "I don't know if he was lying! I…"

"Musey…" Shimmer started, feeling tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. "Just tell me the truth, please."

Muse stared at her for a moment longer, voiceless, before she finally dropped her gaze. "I… don't have the full picture. But I know there was some truth to it. I know Vale, Jaques, and Lotte went out hunting to feed the village. I know Jhorlo knew about it, but I don't know if it was forced or all of their own volition. I know he never wanted you to find out."

Shimmer wanted to snap at Muse. Accuse her of lying. She wanted Muse to say she was just joking. But she knew Muse wouldn't lie to her when asked like this. The thought that she'd been hiding it this long hurt. But what hurt more was knowing that her father genuinely was in on it.

She pushed herself to her feet, sniffling. Muse looked up, startled. "Shimmer, where are you going?"

"To talk to my father."

There was a dangerous lightness to her voice. Muse scrambled to her feet, trying to block the way."

"Please don't do this to yourself, Shimmer," Muse said, her eyes pleading. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Shimmer just teleported to the other side of her. "It's a bit late for that, don't you think?"

Muse flinched, and for a second, Shimmer felt guilty. She was sure Muse hadn't meant to hurt her by hiding things. If anything, she'd been trying to protect her. But right now, she didn't need protecting. She needed answers.

She left the room, marching down the hall. She could hear the skitter of Muse's paws following behind her, but the absol hung back.

When she reached her father's room, she didn't bother to knock, flinging the door open. Her father was alone, lying in front of the window with his head on his paws. He flicked his ear when she entered, but didn't get up. Jaques and Lotte were nowhere to be seen. Frankly, she didn't care where they were.

"Father."

No movement.

"Is it true?"

His ear twisted back to listen, but otherwise, nothing.

Shimmer failed to hold back a sob. "Everything Vale said. All of it."

The purugly shifted. "Do you think I would lie to you all this time, my dear daughter?"

"I don't know anymore," Shimmer said, clenching her fists. "If Muse was willing to lie to me all this time, then can I trust you?"

Jhorlo let out a loud sigh. Silence passed for a moment before he lifted his head. He still didn't turn around to face her. "I take it she said something to you, then? I've already gotten an earful from Jaques and Lotte. I'd hoped you'd never have to get involved in my affairs, Shimmer. Not until it was time for you to take your place as leader, at the least."

Why wouldn't he turn around? "Look at me, Dad."

The purugly finally climbed to his feet, turned, and sat back down. His eyes betrayed a lack of sleep.

"Why?" she choked out.

"You'll have to be more specific, I'm afraid," Jhorlo said, blinking.

"Why did you do it? And why did you hide everything from me?"

"I didn't want you involved, like I said," he replied, answering the second question first. "I could say a lot of things about why I did. I can't answer all of them. But… First and foremost, I wanted to keep this village free. I didn't want it to be incorporated, just like your mother did. But there were too many mouths to feed and not enough meat to go around. I came up with the best solution I could, you must understand."

"Was blackmailing Vale a part of that?"

He let out a long sigh. "It was… an opportunity that I took advantage of. Someone had to do the dirty work, you know. I just channeled Vale's destructive energy into something useful for the village."

Shimmer clenched her fists at her sides, gritting her teeth. She could feel her father's residual anxiety and exhaustion, and it took all of her self-control not to try ripping into his mind to see if he was being honest. It wouldn't be hard, though there was no guarantee he wouldn't shut her out or hurt her to get her out of his head. It wasn't worth the risk.

She'd seen enough anyway.

Turning on one foot, she stalked out of the room, pausing at the doorway when Jhorlo called her name.

"Shimmer?"

"Make it quick."

"I… Everything I've done, I did for this village. I did for you."

Those few words were all it took to break her heart. With a sniffle, she said, "Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

And then she raced back to her room, shoving past Muse and slamming the door behind her before the absol could follow her inside. She sank to the floor just inside, back against the door, and sobbed for a while, struggling to form a coherent thought. Eventually, she managed to drag herself back into her nest. A while after that, Muse pushed her way inside, dragging a jug of water with her teeth. She curled up around Shimmer silently.

A part of Shimmer wanted to yell at her and chase her out. Muse had lied to her too, after all, even if the deception didn't run as deep. But she also didn't want to be alone. Not right now. As she drifted off into an uneasy nap, she struggled to make sense of everything.

Why was everything falling apart?

Chapter Text

Two days crept along like a slowpoke. Without community service to keep him busy, Nip spent most of his time pacing the perimeter of the medic hut, getting fussed over by Lecha, or sleeping, only going out once or twice. This morning, he lay inside with Tempest, staring out the hole in the wall — the window. Rain pattered on and ran down the clear surface, the soothing sound of a drizzle lulling him into a sleepy haze.

Tempest was nearly recovered now. Lecha thought the ninetales would be strong enough to travel with another day or so of rest. Nip's broken arm would take a little longer, at least a half moon, but it wouldn't stop him from traveling.

It would be time to leave Theran Village soon.

Nip felt like he should be relieved. Finally, he'd escape this stuffy village and its strange rules. They would take care of Umbra. If all went well, he would never have to worry about her again. He'd finally be free.

And he had no idea what to do with himself.

He'd spent much of his life trying to fit in. Trying to better his position in the tribe. Then he spent the last two cycles just trying to survive Umbra. Then on the run. Then imprisoned. And now… Now what? The endless possibilities were overwhelming.

A cold nose nudged his shoulder, dragging him out of his thoughts. Nip offered Tempest a slow blink and leaned back against him. "I'm fine," he said, gently pushing Tempest's nose away. Then he settled down into his fur, appreciating its warmth.

A shuffling sounded from the other room, followed by quiet murmurs, loud enough for Nip to recognize the voices, but too low to pick up the words.

Pawsteps on creaking wooden boards heralded the approach of the visitors. Nip picked up on Whisper and Anu's scents only heartbeats before they appeared.

He tensed, keeping his head low. They were probably here to discuss his departure; their aura wasn't particularly welcoming. Anu's eyes were narrow and his tail low as he fiddled with something in his paws. And Whisper's feathers were puffed up, though her eyes wandered to anywhere but Nip.

"Hello," he said, avoiding eye contact. "What brings you here?"

Anu cleared his throat, but after an awkward beat of silence, it was Whisper who spoke. "A few things. Actually. We'll start with the simple stuff."

Movement out of the corner of his eye made Nip look up just in time to catch a bag that had been thrown at him. The bag Anu had given him before, shortly before he'd been kidnapped. It was a bit singed in places, and the shoulder strap had been tied back together, but it was otherwise still intact.

"We've been going through the rubble from the guard's hut," she explained, gesturing to the bag. "We found this and figured we should return it."

"There's also something inside," Anu added. "Take a look."

Curious, Nip poked a claw into the opening and tugged so that the bag spread open. He reached his paw in and fished out a flat, circular object, an alternating pattern of black and white rings adorning either side. As he held it in his paw, testing its weight, an uneasy feeling that he couldn't identify sent tingles through his body. "What is this?"

"A ring target," Whisper explained. "It's an artificed object, kind of like looplets and scarves. When you hold on to it, it temporarily takes away your elemental immunity. So, for example, a ground type could be struck by electric energy. Or a dark type like yourself could be affected by a psychic."

Underneath his back, Nip felt Tempest tense and shift, muscles coiled as he came to attention. Nip cocked his head. "Okay? I do not understand why you gave it to me, though."

Then a voice sounded in his head. So I can talk to you.

Nip's fur puffed up. His eyes darted back and forth until they landed on Tempest, who was looking at him, expression serious.

"Tempest?"

The ninetales dipped his head. Yes. Yes, Nip. It is me.

Nip whipped his head between Tempest and Whisper before settling on the latter, still confused. "I still don't understand. Why are you giving this to me?"

"Let me explain," Anu said, placing a paw on Whisper's shoulder. "Lecha says Tempest should be fit to travel within two days. Three, at most. While she would like for you to stay long enough for your arm to heal, we've determined that it isn't an option. Therefore… We thought it would be… helpful if you and Tempest could communicate more effectively. We don't have much use for the ring target right now."

Nip looked up, still trying to wrap his head around the act of kindness. But one thing Anu said stuck in his head. "You… Don't have an option?"

The lucario flinched, taking a step back. Clearly, he wasn't keen to explain. Whisper averted her gaze, but sighed after a moment, keeping her eyes on the floor as she spoke.

"I spoke with Mandi this morning. I don't know if you remember her. She takes care of meat distribution." Oh, he knew exactly where this was going. "She said her stores are running low, and she hasn't gotten but one body in recently. She said if things don't pick up, she'll run out of stock before a quarter moon passes."

She finally looked at him. "We don't have the meat to support you. Once you eat whatever you have here, that's it. Even disregarding our… history. It's best that you leave as soon as you can."

"So Vale was telling the truth. About hunting." His statement was blunt, though he kept his expression neutral. A part of him felt vindicated. For all their high ideas, the villagers were ultimately no different than him and his tribe. Another part of him felt pity. He'd had his worldview fractured recently. This wasn't that different.

"We don't know for sure yet but… it would seem that way." Whisper closed her eyes and crossed her wings.

She took a deep breath before adding, "Volt convinced me to join the village when I was younger. He told me that there were other ways to live. That I didn't have to live wild. I wonder how much of it was built on a lie. How far back this goes. If it was happening then, I wonder if he knew."

"I'm… sorry."

Whisper shook her whole body, ruffling her feathers. "Save your condolences. I'm not looking for pity."

Nip doubted she was telling the truth, but dropped the matter. "So, what will you do as a village?"

"I've sent out one of the guards to scavenge," she said. "Hopefully she comes back with something. But we'll have to come up with something soon."

Anu took a step forward. "We should go. I suspect there will be more mon at the temple, waiting for me. And if you're going to arrange a meeting for tonight, you'd best start making the rounds."

Whisper took a deep breath. "Right." She looked at Nip one last time, then cast a pointed look at Tempest. "I hope the ring target helps you and wish you good luck. I've told Lecha to let me know when you leave. She's supposed to give you directions to some of the nearby villages, in case you wish to get your arm checked there." Then she spun, flaring out her wings, and was gone, Anu following in her wake.

Nip stayed silent for a while, mulling over the conversation. He should have felt nothing but relief. Here he was, with permission — instruction — to leave with no further punishment. His intuition about the village's seedy underbelly was correct. His injuries were healing. Tempest was okay, and even had a way to communicate with him. All things considered, he'd made off way better than he should have. Better than he deserved.

So why didn't it sit right? Why did he feel like he'd swallowed a bone?

A nudge from Tempest's nose brought him back to the present. The ring target felt heavy in his paw as he heard, Are you alright?

"Fine," Nip rasped. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he took a moment to focus on the tone of the voice in his head. It sounded vaguely like how he remembered Tempest's voice, but off. Like he was hearing him through clogged ears. He instinctively shook his head, then offered a slow blink.

"Given what we were just told, I suppose we should discuss what to do next. Where to go." He chuffed, closing his eyes. "Admittedly, I don't know much about the area. It would probably be best to put some distance between ourselves and here… And, if possible, avoid any other settled groups for a while."

If you think that would be best, Tempest replied. I know even less of the area than you. Tracking Umbra kept me busy.

"I know what you mean. I rarely had more than a day or two to rest in one place before I had to move again. She's persistent. I hope this is the last we see of her." He paused, picking at a straying sliver from one of his claws. "I know I've already said this, but it means a lot that you came looking for me. Deciding to leave the tribe must have been a difficult decision."

Not as difficult as you'd think. I… wish I'd never gone back in the first place.

Never went back? Nip sat, eying Tempest curiously. Nip knew Tempest was an outsider, like himself, but he was under the impression that Tempest had just joined as a youth. The idea that he left and came back… "What do you mean?"

The ninetales tensed, claws digging into the nesting as he looked away with a scowl. Several heartbeats passed before he finally spoke again. I… think it's time you knew something about me, Nip. Something I promised the elders I'd never tell. While it is true that I was an outsider, brought into the Half-Moon Tribe as a child, I… actually left it for a while.

Nip blinked. That was… unusual, but not totally unheard of. "Were you taking pilgrimage to one of the neighboring tribes? A diplomatic journey?"

Not… Not quite. Let me start from the beginning. You know some of this. I was adopted at a young age after being found alone in Half-Moon territory. My father, Snowweaver, had brought me here, then disappeared. That much, you know. The part I was told to leave out… The pokemon that found me was a young sneasel. Aurora was her name.

"Aurora?" Nip tilted his head. "I've never heard of her. In neither the oral nor the marked records."

You wouldn't have. She was struck from the tribe's history.

"What? Why?"

She was exiled. She put her trust in the wrong pokemon and… well, tribe pokemon got killed. Though the killer was brought to justice, she still had to pay the price for bringing them in the first place. She chose exile instead of execution. And I went with her.

"But you came back," Nip said, an uneasy feeling burrowing in his gut. "Why?"

It was… a particularly harsh winter. Aurora… She wasn't well, wasn't paying close enough attention. We were nesting on the outskirts of the North Star territory, the Children of Xerneas. Tempest exhaled loudly, resting his head on his forepaws. She was mortally wounded by a scouting party, gored by one of the pawniard. They would have dragged her off to be served to their matriarch if I hadn't intervened.

Ice crystals were growing around Tempest's paws, forming fractals of frost as they weaved across the wooden planks. Nip could feel the air chill around him. She left me behind with an egg. Our egg. I tried to take care of it but… it was clear I wasn't going to survive if I kept tending to it. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I returned to Half Moon territory and begged to be let back in. After deliberation, the elders let me back, but with a catch. Everything that happened with Aurora, even her existence, must never be spoken of. Like she never existed.

"You don't mean — my whole life — You're…" The implications swirled in Nip's head as he struggled to speak, struggled to think.

Nip, you have to understand. If I thought things would turn out the way they did… We would have left the hunting grounds far, far behind. I never would have taken your egg back to the tribe. Yes, Nip. Aurora was your mother. And I, your father. I wanted to tell you for so long. But I'd made a promise to the tribe, and I feared the consequences of being open. I'm sorry.

A maelstrom of thoughts swirled through Nip's mind. Tempest was his father. Tempest was his father. He wasn't an egg brought in from nowhere, he was the son of an outsider and an exile. The elders knew. The elders knew and they'd done nothing when Umbra abused him.

He brought his good paw to his head. Maybe there was more to the way he'd been treated, before. There were other outsiders in the tribe. Pokemon who came as eggs or at a young age. Most of them were given the cold shoulder, too. But was it the same? Was he singled out as an outsider, or because of what his mom did?

Flashes of memories danced in his mind. Exclusion from hunting parties, even after coming of age. Standing alone, or with only Tempest during ceremonies. Some of the other pokemon had given them nasty looks then. Maybe there was more to it than he thought.

Nip? Are you alright?

Nip stood up abruptly, running his claws through disheveled fur. "I'm going for a walk. Alone. I need time to think."

I understand. I will be here when you return.

He scurried out the door, ignoring Lecha as he passed even as she called his name. He needed fresh air. He needed room to breathe. He needed to get away before his stormy thoughts consumed him.

He needed to talk to someone. Someone who wasn't Tempest. Someone outside of the situation.

Nip wandered outside in a daze for a while. The rain still fell in a cold drizzle, the cobblestones of the village square slick beneath his paws. The square was nearly deserted. An espurr was walking toward the inn, chatting with a flaaffy — he recognized them both as guards from his community service, likely off to watch Susana and her group. On the far side, the meowstic courier hunched at her stand, trying to stay under the driest parts. Closer to him, a bellossom was holding up some sort of waterproof material to show off her wares to a single customer: Haru.

Without really thinking about it, he crossed the square towards her. He'd hardly call her a friend, but at least she was familiar. Someone he could talk to as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

So focused on picking over the berries, she didn't notice his approach, only realizing he was there when the bellossom (Ruffle, he thought) glanced his way. Haru turned, her expression as troubled as he felt.

"Good afternoon," he said with a dip of his head. "Are you doing well?"

"Well enough," Haru said, sighing. "Mom wanted me to pick up orans for dinner. She wanted to try candying the peels. So here I am. Out in the rain. Not that the rain is bad! It's actually quite nice, and, um…" Nip understood some of those words, but didn't have the chance to question the others as she sighed and lowered her voice. "I think she's trying to keep me busy, to be honest. We're not doing any work right now. Too much in the air. No one wants anything."

Internally, Nip chuckled. She seemed like the type to worry about work all the time. "Is there something you'd rather do?" he asked.

"Read, maybe," she said. "But I didn't pick up anything new when Sweet was still in town. And with the rest of the village in a panic, there's not much to do." She turned away, plucked a few orans from the basket, and sat them on the counter. Then she sat back on her haunches, fiddling with a strap on her belly until a bag attached to it was easily accessible. She reached a paw inside, fished out a few coins, and exchanged them for the orans.

A quick "thank you" to Ruffle, then she turned away from the counter, saying nothing at first as Nip followed. "What about you?" she said as they neared the center of the square. "What are you up to?"

He should have known it would come back around to him, but he was still at a loss as to where to start.

"Tempest is healing well," he began slowly, flicking his ear when a fat drop of rain hit it. "By Whisper's request, we are leaving in two days instead of waiting for my arm to heal, too." He hesitated before adding, "Apparently, there is a food shortage. She thinks it best we go ahead and leave."

Haru tilted her head. "A food shortage? What do you—" Her eyes widened as the implication hit her. "Oh. Um. I see." She shook out her pelt, spraying Nip with droplets. "Um… So… Two days from now, then? Where will you go?"

"I don't know," Nip said. "I know little about the region. Perhaps we'll just travel for a while. This area is fairly mountainous. Maybe we can find ourselves a good spot to make a burrow."

Haru furrowed her brow. "Maybe you could try visiting Malkin? It's only a couple days walk from here. There's a miltank family there that exports milk. It might help with the whole… meat thing."

Nip let out a long sigh. "Haru, there's no getting around the fact that we will need to hunt, assuming we don't try to settle in a village. Even if milk tides us over, it only helps for so long."

Haru didn't say anything for a while. And when she finally did, she changed subjects, voice quiet and somber. "Everyone's scared. First you and Umbra and Tempest, then Celebi, and now Susana and everything that came out in the trial." She sighed and stopped walking, sitting on her haunches. Her scaly tail thwapped against the stones. "Whisper's right. With all this uncertainty, it's probably for the best you go."

Nip took a few steps forward and turned around to face her. "What about you? What do you plan to do?"

Haru's expression darkened. "I don't know. Mom and Dad… Last night I heard them talking about leaving. Going to one of the other nearby villages, at least till things settle down. They don't know I heard them, and I haven't told Toshi yet. I think some other pokemon are thinking about it, too. Twi's mom was packing up when I passed by."

Now that she mentioned it, Nip hadn't heard anything out of the annoying illumise today. He wasn't surprised that others were thinking of getting away, but Haru's hunched shoulders and expression told a different story. He hazarded a guess. "You don't want to go."

"No," she said, barely audible over the thickening rain. "This is my home. I don't want to abandon it. But I'm not a fighter. Sure I can get by, but I don't train for battle. If it's as bad as it sounds…"

"Then you'd be a liability more than a help," Nip finished for her.

"…Yeah."

The duo lapsed into silence. Before Nip could think of something to say, the rain picked up, pounding his head and shoulders. He flicked his ear, ducking. There had to be somewhere out of this rain.

Haru must have picked up on his discomfort, because she said, "If you want to continue this conversation, maybe we should go sit at the tavern. I'm getting hungry anyways. I'll pay." Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed for the largest building in the square. Nip, after only a heartbeat of hesitation, followed, dashing ahead to get out of the rain.

He shook out his fur beneath a cloth canopy over the door, then stepped inside.

A simisear stood at the counter, wiping a glass with a white cloth. Siles was leaning against the counter, talking in a low voice. He shot a glance at Nip as he entered, offered a sour frown, then returned to his conversation.

The room was otherwise devoid of pokemon, tables empty. A fire crackled on the far side of the room, contained in a small chamber, but no pokemon sat near it.

Haru joined Nip a moment later, stretching. "You know, now that I evolved, the rain feels so much nicer. Come on, quit standing around." She nudged him in the direction of one of the low tables near the fire, taking a seat on a cushion. Nip reluctantly took a seat across from her, aware of the pokemon watching them from across the room.

After a moment, the simisear crossed and stood at Haru's side. "Today's food options are veggie soup or bone broth stew and rosemary bread. Is that okay with you two?"

"Afternoon, Meaad. Soup for me," Haru said, eying Nip.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Um… stew I guess?" He assumed by context that the stew was the meat eater's option.

"Excellent. And to drink?"

"Um… razz berry tea," Haru said. "Wait. No. Give me the razz berry wine instead."

Nip blinked. He had no clue what that was. Or what the options were. Shrinking under the simisear's gaze, he averted his eyes and let out a little cough. "Um… The same, I guess."

Haru tilted her head. "Have you ever had alcohol?"

"What's alcohol?"

The bibarel tittered. "Bring us a tea out as well. Just in case."

Meaad clasped his paws together. "Right. I'll have that right out." Then he turned and disappeared into another room, leaving Haru and Nip alone. Sometime while they had been ordering, Siles had slipped out the door.

"Like I was saying," Haru began, continuing their conversation from outside. "I don't really know what to do. I want to stay, but I know I'd be more of a hindrance than anything. I just wish there was something I could do to help. To be useful."

Nip took some time to think about that, long enough that their food and drink came out. He tapped his claws on the table as Haru lapped at an opaque, reddish liquid in a bowl.

"Why are you telling me this?" Nip eventually asked, unable to come up with a good answer.

"I'm… sorry?"

"Why are you telling me, specifically? Why are we here, talking together. I know we spoke a lot in the mountains, but that was a little different. You made it quite clear you wanted nothing to do with me before."

Haru stared at her food, not looking him in the eye. "I… I don't know. I guess… well… You're the only other mon that went through what I did with Susana. I don't know."

So he'd garnered some degree of trust. Nip blinked, surprised. Maybe he shouldn't be, given everything that happened. Given their conversations since then. But Haru had been one of the most aggressive pokemon towards him before, aside from Siles and Vale. It was a shocking change.

Nip squeezed his eyes shut. Flexing and unflexing his claws. Well, if they were going to be honest…

"Tempest told me that he's my father."

Haru spat out her drink, spraying it all over her bowl of soup. She raised her forepaws to cover her mouth, eyes wide. Slowly, she lowered them. "You're serious?"

"Why would I lie about this? And not only that, but my mother was tribe-born. Exiled, but still tribe-born."

"Then, all that stuff you said back in the cave…"

"Was built on a lie," he finished. "And I don't know what to make of it all. How many pokemon knew and hid it? All the elders, for sure. Probably most pokemon older than me. How did they keep it hidden for cycles? Did pokemon slip up and I just didn't know it? I wouldn't have had the necessary context, given they seem to have erased my mother from their records."

The words kept pouring from his mouth, question after question tumbling forth. "Is that why they treated me differently? Is that why they actually wanted me to be a lorekeeper? To keep me under watch and out of trouble? Is that why no one intervened with Umbra, even after I spoke up about it?" He let out a low growl, slamming his fist on the table and sending ripples across his drink. "What did I do to deserve that?!"

Why didn't Yveltal intervene? The thought was left unsaid. He knew the answer, didn't he? The gods weren't as faultless as he was led to believe. Celebi had proven that. But a new thought was burrowing into his mind. What if Yveltal saw him as cursed? Someone that never should have existed. A blight on his tribe. Maybe that was why he had suffered for so long without help.

Was that the meaning of his recurring nightmare?

"That's fucked up."

Haru's voice cut through his racing thoughts. He looked up. The bibarel was staring intensely across the table.

"What?"

"That's fucked up," she repeated, her tone dark. "You realize that, right? Regardless of what you've done recently, you certainly didn't deserve that kind of treatment then."

"Are you saying I deserve it now?" She'd certainly acted that way before.

She hesitated, giving Nip all the answer he needed. But she still kept going.

"Using what happened then to justify what you did here would be unacceptable. But… As far as I'm aware, you had done nothing to deserve shunning and abuse."

"But my mother did, apparently."

"And? You're not your mom! Did you even know her?" When he didn't respond, she kept plowing ahead. "I didn't think so. So how could she have affected your actions? Come on, Nip, you're not stupid." She paused, scrunching up her nose. "Actually, I take that back. You're a little stupid."

Nip looked down and fished a hunk of meat out of his stew, skewering it on a claw. "Thanks," he deadpanned.

Haru leaned forward, pushing a paw under his chin to force Nip to look her in the eye. "My point is. Regardless of your actions, you shouldn't be facing punishment for someone else's. Not even your mother's. Umbra, awful as she may be, is not responsible for you choosing to steal and eat an egg. But in the same way, you are not responsible for whatever your mom did to get herself exiled. Understand?"

Nip averted his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. "Yes. I understand."

"Good, glad we got that sorted." Haru leaned back and started lapping at her soup, occasionally snapping up chunks of vegetables with her teeth. "So. How does this change things with you and Tempest?"

"I don't know," Nip said. "He lied to me. But… so did everyone else. I just wish I knew how many pokemon were in on it." He dragged the bowl of wine to the edge of the table and leaned down to lap up a sip, only to scrunch up his nose and rub his tongue up against the roof of his mouth in an attempt to get the taste off.

"So sour. How do you drink that?"

Haru chuckled. "It's an acquired taste. You don't drink it for the flavor. You drink it for the effects. Another bowl or two and you won't be able to walk straight."

"Why would I want that?"

"It can help calm nerves or help you drown out your worries. Make you forget things suck for a while."

"Is that why you're drinking it?"

Haru looked down at her bowl. "I don't think I'm drinking enough to get tipsy, let alone get the full effect."

"Then why are you drinking it?"

"I dunno. Just felt right."

"Oh."

The tea was much better. As they lapsed back into silence to eat their food, Nip's mind kept returning to the deception. Tempest had told him much, but… He doubted Tempest could explain his treatment at the hands of the other Tribesmon, beyond what he'd already said.

But there was… one pokemon here who might have answers. He set his bowl down, watching Haru eat until she noticed his stare.

"What?"

"I… I think I need to talk to Umbra."

Chapter Text

"Are you sure about this?"

Nip sat in front of a low table in one of the upper tavern rooms, his back to a window. The rain had finally stopped, rays of setting sunlight dappling the floor. Haru sat at the window, looking out to the empty square below.

Across from Nip, Whisper stood with her wings crossed, expression guarded. She looked him over, then eyed Haru.

"Yes," Nip said, bowing his head submissively. "I think… If what Tempest told me is true, then I want answers. This may be my last opportunity to get any."

Whisper exhaled slowly. "Alright. Well, if you're certain. But I'm staying in the room while you talk. We don't want to take any unnecessary risks here." The hawlucha turned, briskly walking out and down the hall. A moment of silence passed before Haru found her voice.

"I'm not sure how much you're going to get out of Umbra." Nip acknowledged her with a twitch of his ear, so she continued. "Think about it. Don't you think she would have used this against you if she knew?"

He tensed his shoulders but didn't turn around. "Probably. But I just need to know for sure. I need to kill that part of my life so I can move on. And if that means speaking with her…. I'll do what I must."

Haru didn't respond, turning her attention back to the window.

When Whisper returned, she nudged Umbra along in front of her, the mawile's hands bound together in front and her back jaw tied shut with a second length of rope. A third piece connected the two, limiting her range of motion and preventing her from bludgeoning anyone with her second jaws. She narrowed her eyes as she spotted Nip, but reluctantly complied with Whisper's instructions to take a seat across the table.

"Okay," Whisper began, "We want to keep things quick and simple. Nip has a few questions that he'd like you to answer. We're asking you to cooperate here. No funny business."

Umbra scoffed. "What is there to say? I have no desire to speak with him or anyone else here."

Whisper gave Nip a look that screamed "You're wasting your time." He took a deep breath. Remember, she can't hurt you here. You're the one in control. For once.

Out loud, he said, "You're about a cycle older than me, correct? How much do you know? About myself and Tempest."

The mawile scoffed, glaring at him. "What is there to know? You two are uncomfortably close. That is all I need to know."

"Did you know he was my father? Did you know my mother was a Tribe exile? Did anyone tell you that?"

A genuine look of surprise crossed Umbra's features. Nip caught a brief quickening of her breath before her scowl returned. "Preposterous. Yes, you were both outsiders, but… he came first and then…" She knit her brows together, trailing off. "Yveltal above, he was not padding after you like a lovesick pup."

Nip scrunched his nose. It would have been one thing to hear that before (though he'd never come close to viewing Tempest that way) but to say it now that they knew the truth about his connection with Tempest… "Gross."

"It was gross enough to imagine before this wrinkle," Umbra said. "The elders never would have allowed it. Two males as mates? It goes against the prosperity of the tribe."

"Wow," Haru interjected. "I knew you were awful, Umbra, but this is the cheri on top."

Nip ignored that, trying to circle around back to the subject at hand.

"So you knew nothing?"

"Very little. I knew your egg was brought in within a day of Tempest's arrival. I knew the adults spoke about you in hushed whispers, but I never had the full context."

Nip watched her closely, judging her body language. He wouldn't put it past her to lie, but at the moment she seemed honest enough.

The corners of her lips turned into a thin smile, a dangerous look that Nip was all too familiar with. "It certainly explains a lot, though, does it not? The shunning. The decision to make you a lorekeeper. It clearly was supposed to keep you away from anything important."

Nip narrowed his eyes, pupils shrinking to slits. He recognized Umbra's tone; it was the one she used when she was going to say something back-handed. When she was trying to goad a reaction so that she could justify her malice. And yet, he couldn't help but take the bait. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Nothing," Umbra replied with mock innocence. "But do you not find it strange, especially now? They clearly did not want you. It is a wonder they let you and Tempest return at all." She made a show of checking her claws, then running them through the thick fur on her ears.

"No wonder everyone was so willing to ignore your incompetence. They were probably hoping you would just get the message and scram. Or wishing they never let you come in the first place. Of course, you could not even do that right, could you? Look at the pain you caused your old tribe mates. Look at the mess you left me to clean up. Honestly—"

At this point Nip, who had begun to growl, hackles raising at her insinuations, finally snapped. He lunged forward, teeth bared in a snarl, and was only stopped by the table between them. But the interruption was enough to bring him back to his senses. He knew what she would do if he fought back. How could he be so careless? And as quick as the anger came, fear replaced it. He pulled away, eyes wide.

But just as he did, Whisper yanked Umbra back by the rope binding her jaw, giving it a rough shake. "Hey! That's enough out of you."

At the same time, Haru took a few steps toward Nip, hesitating behind him. "Stars above, is she always like that?"

"Only privately," Nip answered, surprised to see her show her true colors in front of others. Or had she always shown them, and everyone ignored it? A seed of doubt sprouted in his mind. The more he tried to remember, the more the memories blurred together, falling through his claws like grains of sand. He couldn't make sense of them all.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, catching Umbra's voice as she addressed Whisper with a raised brow. "Why do you stop me? He is the one that made move to attack. I only speak the truth. You, out of everyone in this accursed village, should know that."

A flash of something crossed Whisper's face. "You do not speak for me. Only I can decide how I handle what happened. Around here, we don't take kindly to pokemon telling us how to feel or how to handle things."

"Even if they murder your child?"

In one swift motion, Whisper grabbed Umbra by the joint connecting her second jaw to her head and hurled her to the ground. She planted a foot on the mawile's chest, breathing heavily.

"My feelings on Nip. Are none of your business. And I do not appreciate. Your attempts to manipulate me. You had your chance to handle things in a civilized manner and you blew it. So I suggest you cut it out before you make things even worse for yourself."

The hawlucha took several more deep breaths before snapping her attention to Nip. "Anything else you want to ask her? Or are we through here?"

Nip's gaze bounced between Whisper's intense glare and Umbra. In a matter of heartbeats, the hawlucha had done what the elders never had. She'd… just shut Umbra down. Refused to let her play mind games. He blinked once. Twice. Three times. And for the first time in cycles, Umbra looked pathetic instead of threatening. "No," he breathed out. "No, I think we're done."

Whisper stiffly bobbed her head, stepping back and reaching down to lift Umbra by the arm. "Good. I'll be back in a moment to wrap up after I take her back." Then she turned, dragging Umbra away.

Haru waited for a heartbeat or two after Whisper left to approach. "Well. That was eventful. Did it help any?"

"Not really," Nip answered honestly, his body feeling drained like he'd fought a herd of mamoswine. All it told him was that Umbra wasn't in on the ruse. But instead of relief, he only had more questions. New doubts about his place in the tribe. "I'm not sure why you stuck around."

"Not like I have much better to do until it's close to dinner time," the bibarel said, slowly stretching.

Before Nip could say something more, Whisper returned. Her eyes drooped, exhaustion showing. "I've got the room key. If you two are done, then I'll take it back to Meaad. I need to check in with Phoel, anyway, then finish gathering the rest of the village."

"Sounds like you're pretty busy," Haru commented.

Whisper chuckled dryly. "Of course. With Jhorlo out of commission and all the chaos that Susana brought, running the day-to-day has fallen on Anu and myself. I've run the guards ragged just trying to keep up with the guarding and the needs of the village."

"Something is going to go wrong if you're not careful," Nip pointed out. "If you continue to exhaust yourself."

"Of course it is," she snapped. "But what am I supposed to do? The enforcers still won't help. We're running out of food. Everyone's low on sleep. And we still have no idea how dangerous things might get."

Nip flinched and averted his gaze. "I don't mean to criticize."

Whisper sighed. "You have a point. It's just not helpful without a solution."

"We know whatever it is isn't good, though," Haru interjected. "I mean, if Celebi's nonsense meant anything."

"True," Whisper said. "But outside of the couple of small things you were able to pick up, we still know nothing."

They lapsed into silence, frustration palpable. Then Nip spoke.

"Do you think there's any way you could get more information out of Susana, Haru?"

"Me?" she squeaked. "What do you mean?"

"Susana was initially friendly with you, even if it was mostly a ruse. She thought you'd agree with her. If anyone could get more information out of her, it's you."

The bibarel's face scrunched as she concentrated, considering. "I don't think I'll be able to get anything out of her, but perhaps it's worth a try."

"I suppose we can spare a little more time," Whisper said, glancing at the door. "If there's a chance it might help."

"I'd appreciate it," Haru said. She exchanged places with Nip, giving him a chance to look out over the square. The berry farmers, Ruffle and Roselei, had hauled a basket of oran berries to their stand and were conversing. Nip couldn't be sure what they were discussing, but the conversation seemed heated, the roserade gesticulating sharply at the stand and at one of the paths out of the village.

The sound of the door clicking brought his attention back to the room. The zoroark was with them now, towering over Whisper, who led her to the table by her bound arms. She checked to make sure the looplet was still secure before seating her across from Haru. Then she moved to stand in front of the door, opening it briefly to whisper something to a pokemon outside.

Susana sneered. "So first you want to talk to Umbra, and now me? Wow, aren't we lucky."

"We just have a few questions," Whisper said, her eyes narrow.

The zoroark drew her lips back in a snarl, ears pinned back against her skull. "And why should I do anything to help you? Remer is dead because of you."

Haru took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her forepaws. But then forced an expression that was equal parts friendly and icy.

"Well, Susana, let's look at it this way. The four of you attacked pokemon from the village, set fire to our jail, and kidnapped and threatened to kill me when I backed down after finding all that out. What did you expect to happen?"

To that, Susana said nothing. Haru's beady eyes narrowed, all while still keeping that faux-friendly expression. "Do we understand each other now?" she asked, her tone mockingly sweet like she was talking to a clueless kit. "Great, then maybe we can have a civil conversation."

Haru sat back on her haunches, taking a deep breath. "So when we met, you told me you were a team dedicated to seeking out benevolent gods to get their help. Obviously, some of that was a lie. But how much?"

"Oh, it's true," Susana replied. "Well… mostly. Some of it is… a matter of perspective."

"What do you mean?"

Susana flashed her teeth. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Yes, we would, Nip thought, though he didn't voice it out loud. Especially since Haru kept plowing on.

"I heard your team mention a boss of sorts. Our Lady, I believe. Who is she?"

"Oh, her?" Susana asked. "Yeah, she's the pokemon in charge. I guarantee you've never seen anyone like her, though. Same with the majority of us."

It was a hint, but hardly useful. Nip wasn't even the one interrogating Susana, and yet following her conversation felt like yanking teeth.

The door creaked open, catching both Nip's and Whisper's attention. The hawlucha approached, taking something from the guard outside, then approached the table.

"I have a question, if you don't mind my interruption, Haru," Whisper said. She slung a bag onto the desk. Nip recognized it as the one Susana had been wearing before. The hawlucha reached a wing inside, pulling out a strange, white and pink object, then another one. Then what seemed to be a clear container with a yellow liquid sloshing around inside. "What are these?"

Susana looked the objects over, before leaning back. "I'm not giving away all my secrets."

"I saw her use something like this," Haru said, pulling one of the pink and white things to her side. "She did something to it and it sprayed some sort of mist that near-instantly healed a bite wound."

"I see," Whisper said, picking one up. She turned it over in her hands, scratching at it and knocking it against her beak before hitting it against the table.

"Hey, quit that!" Susana yelped, finally eliciting some sort of response other than hostility or nonchalance. "I can't replace those if you break them!"

"Oh?" Haru asked. "Why not?"

The zoroark gritted her teeth and hesitated before responding, "Because there's nowhere on this backwards pla — backwards continent with the capability of replicating the materials. At least as far as I've seen."

Haru looked at Susana, then at the remaining pink and white object. She reached over to knock it over and dragged it towards her, letting it rest precariously close to the edge of the table. "Oops," she said monotonously. "My paw slipped. It would be a shame if it happened again, wouldn't it? So why don't you just talk?"

Susana let out a low growl. "You want to know what's going on? Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you. I don't know how long it will be before Our Lady's forces arrive, but we outnumber the pokemon of this backwater village by at least double. And you've already proved yourself useless and uncooperative in our quest to find Regigigas. After that and what you did to Remer, I doubt Our Lady will let you live."

She flashed her teeth, mimicking Haru's faux-friendly expression. "If I were you, little bibarel, I'd run while I still had the chance."

Haru swallowed thickly. And Nip did the same. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was: they had barely beaten Susana before, and it had mostly come down to Remer's untimely demise. If they had more than a village's worth of skilled pokemon…

"Okay," Haru said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go back to these strange things again for a moment." She wiggled the object next to her paw. "What are they?"

"…Potions," the zorark finally said. "A common sight where I'm from, but unknown here. At least at this concentration."

"Potions…" Haru repeated, eying the object.

Susana seemed to consider something for a moment. "You seem to think yourself smart. Superior after defeating my little party. But you wouldn't survive where I come from. At best, you would be Bound, subservient to Man."

Haru tilted her head, eyes narrow. "What's that supposed to mean? Who is Man?"

"Who indeed? Or what, perhaps. I'll leave you with this, Haru. Man had technology to bend pokemon like you and me to their will, and all sorts of other wonders that have sprung from their Bonds. Like these potions. Our Lady only has a small fraction of that technology. Fragments that we stowed away when we came together. But it's enough to crush your little village and render it a burning husk."

Haru slammed her paws on the table and leaned forward. "What are you talking about? What kind of technology?"

But Susana was clearly done talking. She leaned back, closing her eyes. Further probing proved useless. Eventually, Whisper took her back, ordering Haru to put the potions back in the bag and bring them with her once they left.

And then she was gone, leaving Haru and Nip alone.

"Well," Haru began after a few moments. "I suppose that's that, then. I guess we got something out of it, at least. Though not much."

"I suppose." Nip agreed. "I… wasn't expecting that out of you. How did you keep your calm?"

"Simple, I just pretended she was an unruly customer."

Nip wasn't fully sure he understood, but he twitched his ear anyway.

Haru pulled the potions together, the bottles clacking against each other. "I wasn't hearing things, was I? Susana was definitely going to say something else other than continent, right?"

Nip thought back. "I think so. And then all that talk of Man… Whoever that is."

Haru bobbed her head. "I think Topaz nearly did something similar, back on the mountain. There's still something they're hiding. Something's really off about them. Like…." She gestured to the bottles. "We have medicinal salves, sure. Different mixes of herbs and medicinal berries. But this stuff… It was a near-instantaneous heal. Something is very wrong."

Nip took a step closer. It was hard to tell from a distance, but he realized Haru was shivering. More obvious was the scent of fear.

"How are we supposed to stand up to these kinds of pokemon?"

"I don't know," Nip admitted after a moment. "You would have to be skilled. Tricky. You couldn't face them head-on."

"Is that it, then?" Haru whispered, more to herself than Nip. "Is Theran village… doomed?"

Nip didn't answer. He thought instead of Celebi's cryptic message. He had a feeling Haru was doing the same.

Well, he knew from experience that wallowing in defeatist feelings would do no good.

"I don't know what the future brings," he said. "But the only way to change it is to take action. What action should that be? I don't know."

Haru didn't answer for a while, staring blankly at the table. Finally, she heaved a great sigh. "I guess you're right. I don't know what to do but… we should get going. Staying here isn't helping."

She pulled the potions back into Susana's bag. Then, with some finagling, she got it over her back. She tilted her head in the direction of the key. "Mind grabbing that for me?"

Nip followed her gaze. "Oh, sure." He picked up the strange metal bit and then followed her out the door.

They ran into Whisper in the hall.

"Are you two only just leaving?" Whisper asked. The feathers around her neck puffed up. "Never mind that. I think we need to accelerate this village meeting, given what we heard. Haru, would you run along and fetch your family and any others you run into? I'm going to make my rounds and get everyone else."

"O-of course," Haru stammered. Turning away, she addressed Nip with her back turned.. "I'll see you soon." Then she started off down the hall faster than Nip expected, leaving him alone with the hawlucha.

Whisper ran her claws through her crest before addressing Nip. "You… you should at least stay for the meeting, so we can make sure everything and everyone is addressed. Tempest, too. Even though you're leaving soon, you know what's going on. So this affects you, too."

Then she was gone, hurrying down the hall and leaving Nip by himself, wondering just how much trouble they had gotten themselves into.