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Ingo practically collapsed onto the stairs at the entrance to the Temple of Sinnoh. He leaned back. The cool stone was mildly uncomfortable, but he was too tired to care. His eyes searched for the sun, which was slowly sinking below the horizon.
“Thanks for the help,” Rysan said, coming to sit on the stairs beside him, “You can stay here, tonight. I’m not sending you back to the settlement this late.”
“Much appreciated.”
Rysan chuckled, getting to his feet. He held out one hand, which Ingo gratefully accepted and he stood as well. They gathered the supplies they’d brought up to the temple--cleaning supplies, as the upkeep of the Temple was left to the Highlands Wardens--and packed them away into the basket Rysan carried. It resembled the basket Sneasler carried, and Ingo found that while the basket may not be advantageous in most scenarios, it was certainly the best way to carry things up and down the cliffs.
Really, it should have been Melli cleaning the Temple with Rysan, as the other Highlands Warden, but Melli was… Melli. Rude. Self-Important. All among other things. Ingo didn’t mind so much, cleaning the Temple was the least he could do after all the Pearl Clan has done for him.
Rysan pulled his flute from the basket, turning to face the temple’s entrance. He played the tune that called for Lady Sneasler, and it echoed throughout the Temple. Then the flute was returned to the basket, and the basket worn across Rysan’s back. The Warden rolled down the sleeve of his tunic, displaying his Warden Band and the Burst Heart inside of it. There was a flash of light, and in a moment Rysan had fused with the first Lord Sneasler.
A few moments later, Lady Sneasler climbed into the temple. She rushed to greet Rysan, growling and purring happily.
“Yes, yes, hello Lady Sneasler,” Rysan said, laughing, “I need you to carry Ingo down the mountain again, if you don’t mind.”
Sneasler’s eyes narrowed, and her gaze flicked over to Ingo. She tilted her head, sighing. She made a sound of begrudging agreement, lifting the lid off the basket on her back and gesturing for Ingo to approach her. He was thrown in the basket haphazardly, and Ingo squirmed to get comfortable in the small space.
He wasn’t sure why Lady Sneasler disliked him. Or if she disliked him at all--maybe she just treated anyone that wasn’t Rysan or her children with a sort of uncaring attitude. In either case, he knew Lady Sneasler certainly wasn’t a fan of his, and simply put up with him for Rysan’s sake.
It wasn’t long before they reached Rysan’s tent, tucked away between cliffs so as to go unnoticed by wild pokemon. Ingo was dumped from the basket the moment they arrived, and Lady Sneasler retreated back to her den.
Rysan had set his basket at the entrance to the tent, having abandoned his burst form. He invited Ingo inside the tent, saying that he’d put away their supplies in the morning. “It’s already so late,” he said, “Can’t be bothered.”
“That’s the spare futon,” Rysan pointed towards the back of the tent, “You can sleep there.”
Ingo nodded. Rysan got into his own futon, and so Ingo slipped beneath the covers of the one he’d been offered. There wasn’t much chance for him to fall asleep before he felt something jabbing into his back.
He turned, expecting to find a stick or rock, and being somewhat surprised by the small Sneasel that was poking him with its claws. “Erm, Rysan?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you usually have wild Sneasel roaming your tent?”
Rysan looked over and started laughing. “That’s one of Lady Sneasler’s kits. She’s a bit mischievous, that one. Don’t worry too much, though,” he waved his hand dismissively, “She won’t be able to produce poison for another month or so. The main danger with the little ones is the sharpness of their claws.”
The kit yipped, crawling over Ingo and coming to curl up by his face. She nipped gently at his chin, then licked him before seeming to try and sleep.
Ingo wasn’t about to move her. How could he say no to such a cute face? So he curled his arm gently around her--she opened her eyes for a moment, but quickly returned to her rest--and slipped into sleep.
-- -- --
“I think…” Rysan said slowly, chuckling, “You’ve been chosen.”
Ingo wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up in this situation, but here he was, with one of Lady Sneasler’s kits latched onto the front of his shirt and refusing to let go.
Lady Sneasler was glaring at him.
“Rysan. Please help.”
“Nope!” he threw his hands in the air. “That kit has decided she likes you! And if we take her away, she’ll be upset, and then Lady Sneasler would be upset, and,” Rysan glanced over at Sneasler, “it’s not good when Lady Sneasler is upset. So! You better keep that kit happy, or I think Lady Sneasler will maul you.”
Ingo stared up at Lady Sneasler. “Please don’t.”
Lady Sneasler growled.
What had he gotten himself into?
-- -- --
Ingo was not, apparently, allowed to leave the highlands. That was Lady Sneasler’s rule, because the kit was not allowed to leave the highlands, and the kit would not be separated from Ingo. So, Ingo would stay.
Rysan had weaved a small basket for him--a basket like Sneasler’s--for carrying around the kit, so that she would stop ripping holes in his jacket. He had also been taught Sneasler’s call, in case anything were to go horribly wrong, though the flute he had been given was not one of the respected Celestial Flutes.
For now, Ingo would have to make his home in the highlands. He’d be staying in Rysan’s tent, for the time being--until either Sneasler allowed him to leave or the kit lost interest. Which meant that he would have to learn to climb the cliffs of the highlands. That, or Sneasler would have to carry him everywhere, which neither of them were particularly keen on.
So here they were, Lady Sneasler directing him as he climbed one of the shorter cliffaces in the highlands. Gliscor hovered overhead, in case he fell.
Lady Sneasler barked at him. Ingo winced, pulling back his hand; the stone he had been about to grab was loose, and would have fallen had he touched it. His eyes scanned for another hold--and there, his fingers curled around a protruding rock.
After a bit more shuffling up the cliff face, he finally reached the top. Lady Sneasler climbed up after, seeming to look him over before directing him towards another cliffside. Which he also managed to scale, after a few attempts. Lady Sneasler again joined him at the top, huffing at him with some annoyance.
“Thank you, Lady Sneasler,” Ingo said, “for your help. Perhaps next time I should bring some kind of offering, yes? Rysan said you liked the beans that grow in this area, shall I gather some of those?”
Lady Sneasler gave him an odd look. She shrugged, and Ingo resolved to do so. She then directed him towards another cliff, and he sighed. Time to go up, again.
-- -- --
“Don’t eat that.”
The Sneasel kit held the Augav Berry in its claws, smirking.
“Don’t,” Ingo repeated, “You won’t like it.”
Lady Sneasler laughed, and Ingo glared at her. “Okay then, fine, you can deal with her when she hurts herself.”
Lady Sneasler tilted her head, and the Sneasel kit bit down into the berry. Ingo growled. “Aguav berries,” he said slowly, “Are one of the few types of berries that will cause confusion if disliked.”
Lady Sneasler’s eyes grew wide, and she darted towards her child. Who was now eating a rock. Great.
“What did I tell you,” Ingo grumbled as he pulled a Persim Berry from his pocket. “Problem child.”
-- -- --
“Can I ask you a question?”
Rysan glanced up from his meal. He tapped the side of his bowl, tilting his head. “What’s up?”
“You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal, but,” Ingo glanced away, “Do you ever regret becoming a Warden?”
Rysan hummed. “That’s not really what you’re trying to ask, is it?”
“Ah, well, I just mean,” Ingo coughed, “I just mean that… being a Warden means you have to live up here. You hardly get to see your family. Do you ever get lonely? Do you ever wish you could just live at the Pearl Clan camp?”
“Well, yeah, I’d love to be able to share a tent with Gelonia again. And… I do wish I’d been there for Irida, more, throughout her childhood. I--” Rysan tilted his head back. “Yes, No, both. I do regret it, I don’t regret it. There’s not really a right answer, is there?”
“I suppose not.”
Rysan set his bowl down. “Something’s bothering you.”
“Home. My lack of memories. Longing for a place I don’t know.” Ingo tilted his head back. “Lots of things are bothering me. They’re just being particularly troublesome, at the moment.”
Rysan smiled softly. “That’s alright. Anything I can do to help, or…”
Ingo shook his head. “I do not think so.” he paused. “Thank you.”
Rysan nodded. “Yeah, anytime.”
The rest of the night proceeded in silence, and when Ingo woke the next morning, he felt much better about a lot of things.
-- -- --
Pecha berries were not Ingo’s favorite, but he’d taken to carrying them around after an… incident. With the kit. Who was not only producing poison younger than most, but also had strangely potent poison.
Rysan had gone back to the settlement for the day, so Ingo was left alone on the mountain--or with Melli, who he had been lucky enough to not have many encounters with.
He pulled a Figy Berry from his pocket, dangling it over the basket Sneasel was inside. She snatched it from his hands, retreating into the basket, and Ingo chuckled.
A scraping noise along the edge of the cliff drew Ingo’s attention, and soon Lady Sneasler stood before him. She cried out at him, and he tilted his head. “I’m afraid Rysan has left for the day. Do you need something?”
Sneasler’s eyes went wide, and she growled. After a moment, she grabbed his arm and gestured towards her basket. Ingo didn’t hesitate to climb inside.
Sneasler seemed panicked.
Sneasler didn’t panic.
Something was wrong.
Ingo held the basket with Sneasel inside on his lap as Sneasler carried them down the cliffside. She poked her head out, letting out a confused mew, and Ingo rubbed gently under her feather.
Ingo was dumped from the basket soon enough. He didn’t recognize their location, and all he could really tell was that they were in a cave. Sneasler was behind him, pushing him forward, until she grabbed him by the shoulder. She pointed down.
A group of young Sneasels were curled up in a nest, mewling softly. Ingo looked back at Sneasler; was this--?
She pointed at the nest again, and this time Ingo could see the issue. Though most of the Sneasel were active, crawling about in the nest or running about the den, there was one that didn’t move. At all.
Paralysis.
Ingo was glad that he carried around snacks for his Sneasel kit, and he was glad that she liked Cheri berries. He drew a Cheri berry from his pocket, gently lifting the paralyzed Sneasler’s head. He carefully opened the Sneasel’s mouth with one hand, holding the berry over their head with the other and slowly crushing the berry so that its juices would drip into the Sneasel’s mouth.
After a moment, Ingo tossed aside the berry’s skin and laid the Sneasel back down in the nest. He glanced over at Sneasler, who still seemed panicked but was noticeably calmer. She trilled at him, softly, and Ingo took the noise as a thank you .
Now, though, they would have to sit and wait.
-- -- --
It had been three months since Sneasel had initially latched on to Ingo, and finally Lady Sneasler was allowing them to leave. Ingo had decided to take a trip to the Pearl Clan Settlement, and Sneasel would be joining him.
“All ready to go?” Rysan asked, “Got all the Pecha berries you might need, right?”
Ingo nodded. “I do.”
“Perfect.” Rysan paused. “Say hello to Gelonia and Irida for me, yeah?”
“I will be sure to do so.”
Ingo’s gaze flitted to Lady Sneasler as she approached him. She seemed to glare at him, but then she smiled. She leaned down and licked his forehead, laughing as she turned to walk away.
Ingo readjusted his hat. “Thank you, Lady Sneasler.”
Rysan and Lady Sneasler watched Ingo’s descent down the mountain for as long as they could.
And then they left to return to their duties.
-- -- --
Ingo had meant to return to the highlands in a week’s time, but Calaba had asked for assistance in gathering berries and herbs, and after that Gelonia had asked him to deal with some Rufflet that were causing problems, and then--well, he could go on.
He really hadn’t meant to stay away so long, but he had been busy, and Sneasel hadn’t seemed to mind.
Maybe, it was a mistake.
He had been gathering with Calaba when he heard the news. When Aniu had flown to them, telling Calaba she had to hurry back to camp quickly because Rysan was--
Rysan was--
Injured . Not Dead, but so close.
Calaba had flown back to the Pearl Settlement with Lord Braviary and Aniu, and Ingo had rushed back as quickly as he could on foot.
He didn’t make it in time.
He could hear Irida crying from across the camp, as he returned.
Lady Sneasler stood outside the healers tent. She growled at anyone who stepped towards her, with a different sort of fierceness than what Ingo was used to.
She didn’t growl at him, as he approached. He lowered his head, murmuring his apologies, and Lady Sneasler grabbed him with her claws and pulled him close to her.
He was hardly bothered by the poison.
-- -- --
Each Warden, upon their appointment, would receive a piece of wood, and a knife blessed by the Almighty Sinnoh. They were to go up to the Temple of Sinnoh in the highlands, and they were to carve their Warden Band.
Ingo… could hardly lift the knife.
What was he supposed to do? This place reminded him far too much of the hours spent with Rysan, ensuring that the temple was spotless.
The only Warden Band he knew with any significant familiarity was Rysan’s. If he started to carve, would it come out to look just like his ?
Thunder echoed through the mountain. It wasn’t raining here, quite yet, but the clouds shone threateningly on the horizon. A soft mewl at his side drew Ingo’s attention, his eyes wide. “Sneasel? You aren’t supposed to be here--”
She pawed at his leg gently.
Ingo looked away. “I suppose… I should simply try, yes?”
Sneasel chirped, sitting down and leaning against his side.
Ingo picked up the knife, looked up at the sky, and whispered a prayer.
And then he let the Almighty Sinnoh guide his hands…
-- -- --
Ingo set down his basket at the entrance to the Temple of Sinnoh. It was filled with cleaning supplies, for the upkeep of the Temple. He glanced around, taking in the state of the Temple, and suddenly realizing why Rysan had always been so grateful for his help.
“Well then, Melli,” Ingo said, glancing over at the other Warden, “How about I teach you how to clean the temple?”
Melli stuck out his tongue. “Fine.”
Ingo chuckled.
He was glad to not be alone up here, even with Melli as company.
He was glad to not be alone at all.