《From the Vast (Pokémon Fanfiction)》 Chapter 1: Stranger ¡°There is a human at the clinic.¡± The unthinkable fact reverberated through the gathered minds as the gentle glow of the earliest dawn filled the tiny side chamber. Everything that needed to be said had already been exchanged, leaving the three figures shrouded in expectant silence as they awaited the last person they were waiting for. The only sounds piercing the quiet were an occasional held-in yawn from the pair of diurnal scouts and the bustle in the room beside theirs. The bustle of their healers tending to the sole reason behind all this commotion. Even if most present wished they had gotten another hour of sleep instead¡ªor four¡ªthey all agreed that said reason was¡­ important enough to warrant being here. Even if begrudgingly. If only Aria could finally show up to let them discuss the mess that they were in¡ª ¡°^Apologies for the delay. I had a hard time putting Bell back to sleep, but I¡¯m here now. Anyone care to fill me in beyond ¡®oh no, human¡¯?^¡± The crystal-clear words filled the minds of everyone gathered as a pale, tall figure stepped into the room. Her dimly glowing, red eyes squinted as they tried to make out a large object in the corner. Before she could work out what the item was, though, another voice finally responded. ¡°So far, there¡¯s not much beyond that, really. Sprout found it crashed and dying in the ravine east of the village, and carried it over here. Then she woke us up while the healers got to work to watch over it and went back to clean all the blood up.¡± Lumi spoke up with quiet, rough woofs, black fur arcing as he picked himself up from the carpeted floor. ¡°^The ravine? Isn¡¯t it ways off their path? Rather close, considering.^¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we ended up at, yes. Though, even if they had been spying on us, Sprout would¡¯ve found them in that spot eventually, and I doubt they would¡¯ve just fallen like that.¡± The faint golden sparkle on Ruby¡¯s forehead was the only sign of her being there, the rest of the Weavile entirely obscured in the shadow. ¡°Perhaps their contraption malfunctioned on them. That possibility does not explain their presence there in the first place, however,¡± a loud, harsh voice added, its source just as attention-grabbing. Ori¡¯s towering exoskeleton of red metal stuck out from its surroundings as he investigated the nondescript object in the far corner. It was very narrow and split between metal for its center, and an unknown black material for the pair of attached wheels and a T-shaped segment at the front. Aria¡¯s attempt to figure out its purpose failed so utterly it threatened to give her a headache. Since it had wheels, it might have been meant for carrying objects? With how little room it had to carry anything, that sounded very unlikely. Whatever that human had used it for, its front wheel now being bent at a harsh angle rendered it unusable. At least the object beside the metal contraption was much more self-explanatory. It was a colorful, closed bag with a pair of straps on it, obviously meant for carrying items. ¡°^No, it doesn¡¯t indeed. Hopefully Sprout has enough experience with human watching to know what... this is, and help us figure out a plan for this mess.^¡± ¡°Plan? Not sure what there is to plan Aria, at least beyond ¡®we help it not die in here and then dump it off back at the human village¡¯,¡± Lumi said dismissively, flicking his paw off to the side. ¡°What if another human comes searching for them? What if they had found what they were looking for before falling down the ravine, and we¡¯re at risk of our cover being blown now? What if they wake up and start fighting?¡± Ruby cut back in, eyeing the Luxray down. ¡°Are you implying that all of us couldn¡¯t take on a single half-dead human without all its silly objects?¡± ¡°Hopefully not. Either way, we have to know why they were there before deciding what to do with them next,¡± the Weavile summed up, her posture deflating with a sigh. As the tall psychic kept trying to make sense of the damaged contraption, she felt attention being drawn back to her. She groaned inwardly at being expected to dig into the subconscious of a human, of all things. Her coworkers were right, though. There wasn¡¯t much else they could do right now. ¡°^I can take a look once the healers are done with them. How long have they been tending to them?^¡± ¡°Couple hours, give or take. Their injuries must be nasty; the crash site had blood all over. Hopefully covered it all before any wilding could get too good of a sniff.¡± Ruby shuddered, the gruesome scene still fresh in her memory. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why move it here in the first place? Why not have human healers deal with their own injured and save us this mess?¡± Lumi grumbled, the annoyance in his voice growing with each word. ¡°Sprout wasn¡¯t sure whether they¡¯d survive long enough for her to carry them to the human town. Better to have a bit more of a hassle on our paws than condemn someone possibly innocent to death, don¡¯t you think, Lumi? Besides, as I said, we don¡¯t yet know what they had seen. Better to be safe on that front as well,¡± Ruby snapped back, eyes narrowing ever more at the Electric-type¡¯s complaints. The Luxray sighed before relenting and laying back down on the cold floor. ¡°What if they indeed had seen too much? What is your contingency for that outcome, Ruby?¡± Ori asked, voice as flat as ever. Despite how it may have sounded like, the others knew it wasn¡¯t intended as a gotcha¡ªthe most metal speaker in the room merely wanted everyone to be on the same page. ¡°Well,¡± the Weavile looked up at the green-haired psychic as she stepped out of the shadows, ¡°from what I know, targeted memory removal is an option. And we¡¯re certainly not lacking in skilled psychics.¡± ¡°^I appreciate the flattery, but it won¡¯t make what you¡¯re describing any less difficult¡ªor messy. Not that I won¡¯t try my best should the worst come to it. But it¡¯s something that can go wrong in more ways than one, and I don¡¯t even want to consider it until we¡¯re absolutely sure it¡¯s necessary.^¡± ¡°But it¡¯s always an option, got it. Hopefully, we won¡¯t need it. Either way, let¡¯s not preemptively antagonize them any more than we need to. They¡¯ve already been through a lot.¡± Everyone nodded with various levels of reluctance, exactly none of them looking forward to having to deal with a human, even if an incapacitated one. They understood that fate didn¡¯t leave them with any other choice, though. At least, any other choice that wouldn¡¯t make them worse than these very beings they were hiding from. As the sun rose further, pushing through the snowy, white sky, the commotion in the human¡¯s room gradually died down. Eventually, Aria walked over to take a peek, the sight hard to make anything out of. Most of the human either laid under a thick blanket, or was covered in bandages. Their left arm was entirely enveloped in a bulky, blocky cast, and under the effects of paralytic venoms to numb the pain. The only part that was clearly visible was their head, remarkable in how unremarkable it was. Pale skin, two small eyes, a mouth, a pointy, comically shaped nose, a pair of ears. A decent bit of long, brown hair. Utterly nonthreatening. And maybe, in some other world, in some other time, they might have very well been. ¡°^How are they doing?^¡± Aria asked the Leavanny healer as she cautiously approached the human¡¯s bed. ¡°About as well as possible for someone with their injuries. Their left arm was shattered; must¡¯ve landed on it. Took a while to put the bones back into place. Plenty of bruising and trauma elsewhere as well. The recovery won¡¯t be quick. Though, judging by some of their scars, it¡¯s hardly their first scuffle.¡± As if Aria needed even more reasons to dread all this. ¡°^What do you mean?^¡± ¡°Wish I had a better idea of what I was looking at myself. A few burn scars like I¡¯ve never seen before, all the same size and rounded. Signs of past bone bruising, too.¡± Maple wrapped up her work with a light pat before pulling the blanket over the human¡¯s arm. Aria didn¡¯t want to even think about what that implied. She just hoped they would figure out how to move this human back to their world before they woke up and started making trouble¡ªand preferably without her having to dig into their unconscious. ¡°^Thank you for your work, Maple. Hopefully, you won¡¯t have to put any more effort into them before we hand them over to their own healers to deal with.^¡± ¡°Eh, unsure how much they¡¯re ready to be carried, unless you¡¯re intending to hover them all the way over there yourself. Too much pressure on the injuries and they¡¯re likely to reopen. Human or not, I don¡¯t appreciate my efforts being wasted.¡± Oh joy. Aria nodded, acknowledging the Leavanny¡¯s concern. She spared one last glance at the bedful of trouble on their hands and paws before heading back to the other room and interrupting the idle chatter, ¡°^So, turns out our... ¡®guest¡¯ might be something of a troublemaker. Have you all had a sweep through what they brought with themselves to make sure there¡¯s nothing dangerous in there?^¡± The trio glanced at each other before slowly shaking their heads. Nobody was exactly eager to go digging through human creations, the horror tales of what they were capable of far from alien to them. Aria didn¡¯t even have to inspect their thoughts to realize that the expectation was being silently placed on her. After all, why should anyone have to physically touch it if she could handle it all at a safe distance? Which¡ªyeah, they were right. The realization didn¡¯t make her eyes roll any less as they lit up, surrounding the beg in a bright white shimmer. As the Gardevoir moved the bag to the opposite corner of the room, Lumi and Ruby scooted over towards her, giving the potential threat as wide of a berth as they could. All the while, Ori remained focused, bracing himself to Protect them all should the need arise. Before the group of scouts could investigate any further, though, they ran into a¡­ conundrum. ¡°^Does¡ªdoes anyone know how to open this thing?^¡± Aria muttered, drawing everyone¡¯s attention to the bag in question. On a closer inspection, it didn¡¯t seem to have any visible openings. The fabric was connected to what looked like a metal seam, but was otherwise uninterrupted. Humans were dedicated to making sure nothing they ever did or created made sense, weren¡¯t they? ¡°Wait, maybe there¡¯s... no, no wait, how¡¯s this thing even work?¡± Ruby asked, no less confounded by the one object they all expected to be self explanatory. As the scouts were about to start arguing about how this ¡®bag¡¯ even worked, the shuffling behind them caught the attention of the two that weren¡¯t busy either holding up a potential danger or safeguarding against it. They turned around to see the owl who¡¯d found the human in the first place step in, her exhaustion mixing with bafflement at the scene in front of her. ¡°What... are you all doing?¡± ¡°^Trying to see if the human was carrying anything dangerous with themselves without getting ourselves killed,^¡± Aria responded without budging her vise-like mental grip on the hovering bag. ¡°In the immediate moment, attempting to open this bag they had brought.¡± Ori looked flatly at the Decidueye, hoping she would crack the mystery of the hole-less human bag. Sprout let out a tired, drawn-out sigh as she buried her face in her wing, plunging the room into silence. Once she was done getting that out of her system, she stepped around the Scizor and grabbed a dangling bit at the end of the largest metal seam and gave it a solid yank. Before anyone could react, the seam came undone, showing off the bag¡¯s insides. ¡°That¡¯s how ya do it. And that¡¯s not how... these work, nothing¡¯s gonna blow up in your faces, heh. Besides, I really doubt this human was carrying anything dangerous with them. How are they doing, by the way?¡± Sprout asked, weary smile creeping onto her beak. Aria could only blink, dumbfounded at the Decidueye¡¯s apparent recklessness as she lowered the bag down closer to the floor ¡°^The healers finished patching the human up for now. I¡¯ve heard them mention they found some scars of past fighting on their body, so if anything, I¡¯d be even more suspicious of them. What makes you so doubtful, Sprout?^¡± The news woke the owl up from her morning exhaustion, sleepy expression turning concerned as she looked back at the psychic. ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t expect a child to have anything too dangerous on themselves, Aria dear. Or to be the aggressor in any fighting they might have been a part of.¡± ... A... child? The bag landed on the carpeted floor with a faint thud as everyone stared at the owl in astonishment. Her revelation painted every single detail in a whole new light¡ªa much more unsettling one. ¡°S-Sprout, are you sure of that? What if it¡¯s j-just a small one¡ª¡± ¡°I sure haven¡¯t seen a grown human this tiny in all my time scouting, Lumi. Adults are easily my height if not taller, and this lil¡¯ one would fit snugly under my wing,¡± the owl cut in, lifting the brown limb up for emphasis to stress the size difference. As much as the Luxray was unsettled by the news, his piercing eyes staring with unease at the sleeping human behind a nearby wall, the Weavile was deep in thought. Her sharp claws rhythmically tapped against the damaged contraption¡¯s metal frame before she asked for clarification, ¡°Humans are diurnal, correct?¡± Sprout answered with a nod and a chuckle. Being nocturnal teaches one to not assume on that front, after all. ¡°A diurnal child getting into a lethal accident, on their own, at night, away from their settlement... something¡¯s off about all this.¡± It was hard to disagree with Ruby¡¯s assessment, even if the conclusions the scouts¡¯ minds went to couldn¡¯t be further apart. They ranged from assessing the situation as a deliberate subterfuge, knowing that a child in distress would be helped and taken in no matter what... somehow, to an even more disturbing possibility of said child having tried to run away from a danger that had already claimed its family. ...the latter more so than the former. ¡°Undoubtedly. With any luck, an inspection of this bag¡¯s contents will let us establish what led them here,¡± Ori explained, his voice gaining the smallest hint of excitement. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not seriously considering the idea that this is all some nefarious action, Ori.¡± ¡°Certainly not, Sprout. That sounds... incredibly foolish to consider. Disregarding that, I still think we can glean much from the items they have brought with themselves.¡± With everyone else nodding and Lumi innocently looking away from the rest of the group, their attention once more shifted to the inert bag. Its open seam was enveloped in a bright aura before being parted wider. The entire bag was then lifted and flipped upside down, pouring all its contents. Which, to everyone¡¯s relief, featured an absence of those round, wretched things. And a marked presence of... a whole lot of cloth. Which, at a closer inspection¡ªnamely, Ori walking a couple steps closer and picking the topmost item up¡ªturned out to be clothing. It was obviously tailored for a human, and simultaneously of higher quality than any craftsmanship their village could produce, and in an objectively rough state. Full of holes at the seams, discolored yellow in places, and creased all over from the haphazard packing. As much cloth as there was in there, though, the other loose items were even more interesting. A small metal object, thin and about as long as one of Ruby¡¯s claws, pointed at one end. A larger, tubular¡­ thing, black and flaring out towards one end, its material an enigma to everyone gathered. On top of the pile, a simple if high-quality knife, sized for a human hand. And last... a Fennekin doll, a really well made one at that. ¡°That is an unreasonable amount of clothes for one person.¡± ¡°Well Ori... yes, but humans do wear lots of clothes constantly, so it¡¯s only appropriate, I suppose, ha. This one was wearing three layers in places when I found it; sure baffled the healers!¡± Sprout chuckled, amused at her coworkers¡¯ surprise. As confusing as that insight was, it could ultimately just be swept under ¡®Humans are weird¡¯. It didn¡¯t tell them much if apparently all humans each wore about as many clothes as a dozen denizens of their village combined¡ª ¡°Though I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever seen them carry this many spare clothes. Not without setting camp somewhere for the night, at least.¡± Or maybe it did? ¡°Well, what then could it mean, do you think?¡± Ruby cut to the point, the entire mystery unnerving her more and more by the moment. The Decidueye could only sigh and shrug as her expression grew increasingly tired. The sun continued with its late, but unrelenting ascent, making thinking harder and harder by the moment. ¡°I only keep watch of them, not their thoughts. Though, taking a gander at these would probably help as well¡ª¡± ¡°^After we¡¯re done with these.^¡± As much as their guest being a youngling changed how she felt about them, Aria was still far from eager to dive under a human¡¯s skullcap for no reason. ¡°That¡¯s a remarkably well made knife, but why would they need one?¡± the Weavile asked as she inspected the knife from all around, taken aback at how flawless it looked. She had heard plenty about the human mastery of metal despite them being neither Fire nor Steel typed, but never had a chance to see it for herself until now. Hell, she¡¯d even managed to sharpen a claw on this thing¡¯s edge, and effortlessly at that. ¡°No clue about that, either. I¡¯ve never seen a human with a knife on them, not one this large at least. I guess it¡¯d be helpful in food preparation on the go¡ªthough why would they even bring one instead of just preparing a meal beforehand is beyond me, *yawn*...¡± This was even more confusing than the clothes¡¯ sheer quantity. They knew humans had to use knives without either claws, blades or Psycho Cut in their stead¡ªbut even then, why would this child bring one with themselves? Maybe they were a cook of some sort, though they still wouldn¡¯t get any use out of it unless they went foraging. It couldn¡¯t have been a weapon, because if humans most definitely weren¡¯t something, it was hunters. ¡°^Guess it¡¯s just one more unknown in the end.^¡± ¡°Now, this item,¡± Ori said as he leaned to pick up by far the most obviously human item on the pile. Its cylindrical body was made of a smooth, yet ever so slightly bendy, material. Its wider end had a large opening with what appeared to be like glass inside it, and something too small to make out behind said glass. ¡°To have access to so much pristine glass and use it for what appears to be decoration. I do not understand it.¡± The barely noticeable confusion in Ori¡¯s voice caught the others¡¯ attention. Aria took the risk and stepped closer to investigate, reaching over towards the Scizor with an unspoken request. The seemingly perfectly clear glass fascinated her in particular. It was so unlike the dirty, colored beads the village¡¯s own craftspeople made, to where¡ªif not for hearing tales of humans knowing how to manufacture clear glass in abundance¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t have been able to connect the two as being the same material¡ª *click!* As Aria inspected the item, her hands shifted along the smooth material. One finger eventually landed on a softer part that gave in when pressed, until an unexpected click made the glassy end of the device explode with light. The sudden, blinding glare aimed at her face made the Gardevoir psychically toss the item away out of reflex. It bounced off the floor and rolled for a bit before coming to a stop; the light still shone out of the glass-tipped end. After a few moments for everyone to calm down after the abrupt action, and for Aria to blink the glare away, Ruby cautiously picked the device up. The cone of light moved along with it, making its purpose clear. ¡°Guess that¡¯s quite handy if you can¡¯t see in the dark. You alright there, Aria?¡± ¡°^Y-yeah, just caught me off guard all wide eyed. Ugh, that stung.^¡± Even if it was much too weak to be a Dazzling Gleam on a stick, Ruby still handled the item carefully. She kept the light away from everyone before spotting a differently looking spot on the handle¡ª *click!* ¡ªand turning the sudden Flasher off. ¡°Mikiri will have an incredible field day with this item.¡± ¡°Will she now?¡± Sprout asked, her tone making it clear the only correct answer was ¡®no, she will not¡¯. The tinkerer in Ori let out a tiny, metallic sigh of disappointment as the owl continued, ¡°One thing to find some abandoned scrap out there and pick it apart to see what makes it tick, another to destroy something that belongs to someone under our collective care.¡± ¡°An unconscious human,¡± Lumi attempted to cut in, but Sprout had none of it. ¡°Someone under our collective care. A child, no less.¡± ¡°Even then¡ªif you¡¯re not planning on keeping all their junk in here, taking up a clinic room, maybe handing it off to someone who knows what they¡¯re doing so that they can watch over isn¡¯t the worst of ideas?¡± the Luxray persisted, his point more agreeable now. ¡°The best of ideas would be stashing it all for nobody to touch until the human¡¯s awake and can decide for themselves. Though... *sigh*, there isn¡¯t exactly anywhere else appropriate or with as much free space as her workshop now, is there.¡± It was way too late in the morning for her to be dealing with any of this. ¡°Just¡ªjust tell her not to touch anything once you move it over,¡± Sprout instructed, trying to blink off her exhausted daze As much as her knowledge was helping the ongoing investigation, she more than deserved some shut eye. Aria laid her hand on her shoulder, combining it with a caring expression to get her suggestion across, the Decidueye nodding deeply in response. ¡°Yeah, just move all the human things over there, tell Mikiri to contain herself, and I suppose any further decisions can wait for now...¡± ¡°If it is a child, what happens when their parents come looking for them?¡± The eventuality in Ruby¡¯s question gave everyone a pause. Sprout sighed again and muttered the best plan she could come up with on the spot. ¡°I told Lucere to contact you all if some human does come looking, and I trust your combined judgment to think of an appropriate response when that happens, as much as I hope it doesn¡¯t come to it.¡± The other scouts were torn between appreciating Sprout¡¯s trust and dreading the exact situation she¡¯d just described. Either way, it was as good of an answer as they¡¯d get. With that in mind, they gently urged Sprout out¡ªeven experienced scouts have bedtimes, and she was way past hers. ¡°Rest easy, Sprout, we¡¯ll figure it out,¡± Ruby chimed in as the owl shambled out the clinic. As everyone else bid the owl goodbye, the Fennekin doll in the corner, overlooked until now with all the other, more eye-catching trinkets around, caught Aria¡¯s attention. Upon a closer inspection, that certainly wasn¡¯t a fabric she was familiar with, simultaneously slicker and rougher to the touch than any she¡¯d ever felt. It made for a poor imitation of fur, even though the actual craftsmanship was once again finer than any doll she¡¯s ever seen. So much detail, such a cute expression, even got little fabric paw pads¡ªoh? Aria¡¯s glance at the doll¡¯s underside revealed a newly familiar¡ªif utterly unexpected¡ªelement. A metal seam ran down the length of its tummy, with a small metal element hanging off one of its ends. ¡°It appears humans enjoy using this kind of metal seam.¡± Aria could only shrug at Ori¡¯s comment as she recalled the trick Sprout used to open the bag. She carefully grabbing the dangling bit and gave it a firm pull¡ª *ring-ring-ringringRINGring-ring* Well, at least it worked. The immediate result of that action, though, was a handful of small metal disks falling out of the opening, bouncing off one another as they scattered across the carpeted floor. Even if it was nowhere near as abrupt or blinding as the black device from earlier, everyone still needed a moment to process what had just happened. And, naturally, leaned in to get a closer look at the metal disks afterwards. ¡°Would they forget what they are if they didn¡¯t have these... reminder circles?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt you to try and be less snarky sometimes, Lumi. They¡¯re too well made not to be decorative, maybe some kind of charm?¡± Ruby rolled her eyes as she inspected the tiny disk in her claws. The intricacy of its etchings was stunning, especially the Serperior motif wrapping around the outer rim, though its function was nowhere near clear. ¡°^Why would you carry several identical charms, and keep them so hidden while at it?^¡± Aria shot down that possibility, though she¡¯d be lying to say she had any better ideas. With a bit of focus and her psychics, the Gardevoir picked up all the disks littering the floor all at once. Ruby flicked the one she was holding up for Aria¡¯s mental reach to grasp as well. If there¡¯s anything the item seemed to be made for, it was that. ¡°A human custom, perhaps? The more charms, the better, or something,¡± Ruby suggested offhandedly, paws already itching to flick these disks again. ¡°Sure wouldn¡¯t be out of character for them,¡± Lumi mumbled under his breath. As Aria was about to slide the disks back into their hiding spot, she spotted something else in the small pocket. Her gentle tugging slid several rectangular pieces of a canvas-like material out of it. The artwork on them was incredibly detailed, though seemed to be identical on all the smaller rectangles. ¡°More charms I suppose?¡± The Gardevoir ignored Lumi¡¯s sarcastic comment as she focused on the one rectangular object that stood out. It was larger, stiffer, and much smoother to the touch. Its artwork was also incredibly detailed, but¡­ in an entirely different way. Whereas the metal disks and canvas rectangles bore art that was as detailed as it was abstract, this stiffer item featured a scene so realistic it looked as if Aria was observing it with her own eyes. It pictured a human¡ªseemingly the same human that ended up here¡ªlooking up directly at the viewer with a smile as they held an actual Fennekin in their arms. The little mon seemed no less happy than the human as they followed their gaze, staring motionlessly at the Gardevoir. It looked so much like a window to a real place that Aria tried moving it around just to see if the perspective would shift. To her slight disappointment, it did not. Suppose it was just a painting after all, even if an apparently infinitely detailed one. The backside was blank aside from a few symbols of what must¡¯ve been the fabled human writing, contents as inscrutable as ever. The depicted scene was so quaint that the Gardevoir had a hard time not smiling at it, even despite the seriousness of their current situation. The human was clearly happy, the Fennekin also looked content¡ªthough, was there something wrong with their eye¡ª ¡°Did you find something interesting, Aria?¡± The psychic wordlessly passed the realistic artwork over to Ori, sliding all the disks and other rectangles back into the doll. The Steel-type brought the rectangle right in front of his eyes, seemingly no less baffled by all the detail. ¡°I have no idea how one would create a painting like this. There does not appear to even be a visible paint texture anywhere. It¡¯s as if a piece of reality was directly etched into thin wood.¡± Such an interesting curio couldn¡¯t resist being passed between all the scouts. The red pincer soon handed it off to a white, clawed paw, the attached face forming a small smile. ¡°That¡¯s cute. Wonder how long they had to hold the pose for the artist to finish painting it.¡± ¡°^Do you think it was made after an actual scene?^¡± Aria asked, wholly dumbfounded by the tiny painting. ¡°Sure can¡¯t imagine it not being. Creativity¡¯s one thing, but making all this detail up from scratch doesn¡¯t exactly sound feasible.¡± The Gardevoir couldn¡¯t help but agree the more she thought about it. She wondered what connection there was between the doll she was holding and the real firefox that the human apparently knew and had an affection for. As she pondered on, the picture was shown to the least handed scout in the room. ¡°Wonder how much the little one was actually enjoying it, hmph...¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt you to not assume the worst of people for once,¡± Ruby jabbed in, not appreciating Lumi¡¯s snark any. ¡°Humans sure ain¡¯t people¡ª¡± ¡°Let me guess, they¡¯re just some mindless beasts that only want to harm and prey on ¡®us¡¯, the enlightened species?¡± Silence fell over the chamber as the Weavile leered at the Luxray. Despite her best efforts, exhaustion eventually tempered her glare, prompting her to take the picture away and wordlessly pass it back to Aria. While Lumi attempted to shrink or preferably collapse underground under the ice-type¡¯s scalding gaze, Ori took it upon himself to diffuse the tension by redirecting everyone¡¯s attention towards something more productive. He peeked out of the room, glancing over at the sleeping human. To the scouts¡¯ relief, the unexpected guest was still right where they¡¯d last seen them. ¡°How difficult is it to investigate a person¡¯s memories, Aria?¡± With the detailed image slid back into the doll, the Gardevoir closed its metal seam and looked up at the Steel-type. She shuddered at the begrudging reminder of her upcoming duty, but knew all well there was no other way through but forward. ¡°^Harder than it would be if they were awake to cooperate. Though, ultimately, not too difficult either way. Not waking them up will be the trickier part.^¡± ¡°All four of us could easily restrain a half dead, juvenile human even if that were to happen,¡± Lumi quipped in, only to be swiftly rebuked again. ¡°Either of us could probably pacify them with a stern look in their current state. The point is to not put them through any unnecessary fright and pain, Lumi,¡± Ruby snarled, the Luxray taking his cue to shut up this time. ¡°Do you need us to do anything while you are in the middle of that process, Aria?¡± ¡°^Not wake them up, preferably.^¡± With a deep breath, the Gardevoir entered the chamber with the sleeping human and approached them once more. Her hands shook slightly as she examined the unconscious child. ¡°What if it ends up being too much?¡± Ruby asked with tired concern in her voice as Aria took her position beside the bed. A bright, pale shimmer enveloped her eyes and hand alike while she concentrated on the task ahead. ¡°^What do you mean?^¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re the expert here. I don¡¯t know the specifics, but I¡¯d imagine some memories could be a bit too much to bear, especially ones as... potentially traumatic.¡± Aria paused for a moment, not paying the possibility much mind before proceeding. ¡°^In theory, yes, though I heavily doubt it will be anything I can¡¯t snap myself out of.^¡± ¡°And what if it will?¡± Ruby asked, but it was too late. Aria¡¯s shimmering hand was already resting on the human¡¯s forehead, their minds melding together as the psychic descended into the child¡¯s subconscious.
Traversing through an unconscious mind was just similar enough to the usual awake existence to lead those who had accomplished it to describe it with regular, commonplace terms¡ªbut also just different enough for these same terms to fall far short. The analogy Aria opted for most of the time was a walk through a sparse forest or an orchard. Each tree was an individual memory, and related memories were physically bundled together. Of course, this analogy too was woefully flawed. Trees¡ªmost trees at least¡ªdidn¡¯t move or change shape in real time, had reasonable minimum and maximum sizes, and couldn¡¯t conjoin themselves with other trees on a whim. The latter process was always particularly gruesome to imagine with actual trees, but only made sense in the quasi-dreamscape Aria was now wading through. A headspace that even knowing the underlying truth of what she¡¯d have to do, stripped of the layers of abstraction inherent in an analogy, couldn¡¯t have prepared Aria for. It was far from her first time diving into an unconscious mind. Even if their owners weren¡¯t awake to help guide her towards what she needed to see, she usually had no issue finding her way towards the specific events or knowledge she was interested in. This one was different. Darker, colder. The usual mist that shrouded asleep minds was so thick in here she could barely see even a few feet in front of herself. This must¡¯ve been what a comatose mind was like. With a bit more focus, Aria attempted to clear the way ahead of her. She¡¯d pushed the fog just back enough to give her some breathing room, before steeling further into the murky realm. She examined every ¡®tree¡¯ she passed by, looking around blindly for the child¡¯s recent memories. Normally, they¡¯d be the first thing she saw in here. But, as it was growing increasingly clear, these were not normal she or the other scouts were dealing with. Her own unease at what she would find in here wasn¡¯t helping one bit either, especially as it was steadily fueled by the scattered noises, bits of human speech, and especially distant screams she occasionally heard echoing through the desolate mindscape. Fortunately for Aria¡¯s resolve, they weren¡¯t too common, lest the whole thing devolved into a haunted cacophony. Each time they reached her, though¡ªsometimes painful, sometimes wrathful¡ªAria couldn¡¯t help but feel a shiver run through her fin. The sooner she found her answer and got out of here, the better. As dark as this place was, it was only a temporary setback. Her dislike of empty flattery aside, Aria was good at this, quickly honing onto and following along with whatever traces of awareness she could sense. Each step brought her closer to where the child¡¯s consciousness had last faded. Or, more realistically, was abruptly snuffed out. As she got closer, the surrounding shrieks grew louder, and she could sometimes just barely glimpse shadowy outlines at the edges of her vision. She knew she had nothing to fear¡ªthey weren¡¯t real, merely a reflection of how the beings that had cast them haunted the poor mind she was wading through. She might¡¯ve only been caught in the crossfire of the child¡¯s subconscious torturing itself, but hell if it didn¡¯t provide further motivation to up her pace and get through this faster. And, considering the hour of the day and the emptiness of her stomach, get some breakfast afterwards. It was hard to estimate just how long it took for her to find what she was looking for. It could¡¯ve been anywhere from minutes to hours. All that Aria knew was that she was becoming desensitized to the unnerving stimuli around her at a pace her aware mind would¡¯ve found disturbing. And then, one final step later, she finally saw it. The sapling of a memory looked paradoxical, dead and alive in equal measure, a decayed trunk topped with freshly grown branches and leaves. Traumatic start, with an indeterminate conclusion. Aria would do everything in her power to make the latter a good one, but first, she needed to see how it had begun... Chapter 2: Whispers keep going keep going I¡¯m so tired keep going it¡¯s so cold keep going my legs hurt I can¡¯t stop now I can¡¯t turn back I can¡¯t ever stop The point of view Aria was forced into was far from a clear one, in a very literal way. The corners of the human¡¯s vision were blurred beyond all comprehension. Even the center was slightly frosted over, obscuring the scene even further¡ªa scene that was far from clear to begin with. The human was surrounded by almost complete darkness, with only the weak light coming from somewhere below their point of view illuminating the snow-covered path ahead. After she got over the initial disorientation, Aria made out the T-shaped part of that metal contraption in the lower part of the child¡¯s vision. Judging by how the blurry scenery shifted around her, they were using it for locomotion, somehow. Confounding as the sights were, the sounds she heard painted a much clearer, much bleaker picture. The rumble of the contraption¡¯s wheels against snow and dirt, night ambiance, strained panting, and the hammering of a racing heart. how long still it¡¯s so far what was that noise please be just me I¡¯m so tired The recollection was murky, even beyond what Aria could see and hear. Their entire thought process appeared to have almost melted into one continuous stream, any specific focus difficult to discern from the mental flood. What wasn¡¯t difficult to make out, though, was the sheer fear saturating their mind. Fear, exhaustion, and strain at what this child was pushing themselves through. They were only barely pushing through, and every single movement had their body screaming for them to stop, even if just for a moment¡ª But they couldn¡¯t. What they were afraid of wouldn¡¯t let them. I can¡¯t stop now keep going I want to go home keep going keep going keep going can¡¯t turn back now Despite the growing panic in the child¡¯s thoughts, the view itself scarcely changed at all. The human path they were on cut through the woods in a largely straight path, letting Aria try dissecting the panic filling the human¡¯s head. No matter how hard she tried to make out what they were afraid of, though, the answer remained out of her reach. The little one was running away from home, that much was clear, but the ¡®why¡¯ didn¡¯t cross their mind even once. It made for a confusing, but no less disturbing, spectacle. A spectacle with a foregone conclusion, no less. my legs hurt how much more need to stop for a moment need to catch my breath can¡¯t can¡¯t CAN¡¯T they¡¯re already after me have to be or maybe they¡¯re not The view shifted slightly as the child squinted towards something barely visible in the distance. They soon determined it to be a fallen log cutting the forest path in half, forcing the human to slow down as they approached, their body shaking harder and harder. need to stop carry bike over have to stop maybe catch a breath I¡¯m thirsty just a couple min- ¡°ANNE!¡± To the best of Aria¡¯s ability to tell, the voice was little more than the echo originating from their own mind, not unlike what she experienced while traversing their subconscious. It couldn¡¯t have been anything else¡ªit was much too clear, too directionless to be anything but that. But it didn¡¯t matter. CAN¡¯T STOP GO AROUND KEEP GOING CAN¡¯T GO BACK What mattered was that the girl thought it was real. That she just heard her name being barked out by a gruff, masculine voice. The thought made the fear¡¯s grip on her body even tighter as she bolted onward, eyes frantically scanning the path ahead. GO AROUND THROUGH THE TREES CAN¡¯T STOP THERE With a yanking motion, the view swerved into the tree line, dodging the fallen log. The uneven terrain turned an already barely coherent scene into a blurry patchwork of light and dark, of black trees and white snow around them. Grunts of pain escaped the girl with every rougher spot as she kept giving it her all; her body screamed for a reprieve that wouldn¡¯t come. hurts everything hurts legs hurt can¡¯t stop don¡¯t let me stop The view rattled on as the human made their way through the trees at alarming speeds. Her eyes madly darted from side to side, trying to find a path back to the road without stopping; the density of the surrounding forest rendered that task nigh impossible. ow ow ow back to the road can¡¯t stop just keep going ow there has to be an opening ahead hurts head hurts Despite the nigh-delirious state she was in by that point, the human eventually spotted a way back onto the road. In her focus, however, she failed to notice the ravine quickly closing in on her current path from the other side as she pushed the contraption to its, and her limit. there THERE don¡¯t stop keep at it it¡¯s gonna be over soon I¡¯ll be safe safe hurts Anne let out a strained grunt as she tried pushing on just that bit harder. Giving it her all, she turned the contraption to scale the incline and get back onto the path¡ª Only for the snow and ground under her to finally give in. The crumbling edge of the ravine dragged her in along with itself, toppling the contraption and its rider alike. The human¡¯s eyes got the briefest of glimpses at the endless abyss she was falling into before they turned skyward. For a couple of heartbeats, there was nothing. No more thought, no more movement, not even any screams; the human¡¯s breath stuck in her own throat. Only once she was into freefall, staring at the brilliant moon above, did more thoughts come through, slow and staggered. I¡¯m gonna die I don¡¯t want to die I don¡¯t want to die please don¡¯t let it hurt I¡¯m sorry ember¡ª
And then; the vision tore itself apart in an instant. Aria was ejected from the girl¡¯s mind with enough force to physically stagger her, the violence of it all leaving her stunned. The child in front of her shook and sobbed fearfully in her dreams; the limbs that weren¡¯t paralyzed jostled as if trying to run away from an impossible threat. ¡°Aria, are you alright!? You were gone for almost an hour, what¡¯s¡ªwhat¡¯s going on?¡± the Weavile shouted, only managing to stay awake out of concern for her friend. Her worst fears were confirmed¡ªAria looked thoroughly spooked; the human was suddenly having a nightmare; and neither could immediately speak up about what had just happened. The Gardevoir didn¡¯t respond, beelining for the bed once she¡¯d snapped herself out of her daze. Once there, she laid a hand on the child¡¯s forehead again, shaking as she drove away the nightmare with a bit of applied Calm Mind. At that point, though, she could¡¯ve probably used some as well. ¡°^They¡ªshe¡ªwas running for her life.^¡± Silence fell over the room as everyone chewed through Aria¡¯s words, including the two scouts that until now have either been examining the once-moving contraption or taking a nap. Thankfully, the psychic¡¯s intervention was effective, letting the girl return to as peaceful a slumber as was possible after a crash like that. ¡°Running for her life from what in specific?¡± ¡°^I¡¯m... uncertain, Ruby. She was too exhausted to think coherently. All I gathered was that she was running away from home, likely because of some other human, but I couldn¡¯t figure out who that was.^¡± Aria didn¡¯t want to move, didn¡¯t want to let go of this scared, traumatized child. Her innermost nature called for her to protect her as much as she could; to do everything in her power to keep her safe¡ªbefore being overruled by the eventual realization that she already was. Once she¡¯d calmed down, she finally took her hand away, hoping Anne¡¯s dreams wouldn¡¯t include any more recollections of what she¡¯d been through. ¡°Can¡¯t you dive into its head again and find that part out?¡± ¡°^I¡¯d rather spare her the pain for now. Not like any other human is gonna find her here, anyway¡ª^¡± ¡°Are you done with your psychicing, Aria?¡± a low, feminine voice asked, pulling everyone¡¯s attention over to the room¡¯s entrance. The elderly Blissey looking in might¡¯ve only been about as eager to deal with the human as Lumi was, but her vows took precedence. ¡°^Yes, Esther. Did you want to administer another treatment?^¡± ¡°More so, just double-check everything. I¡¯m sure Maple and others did a great job, but you never know with humans¡­¡± Aria winced internally at their chief healer¡¯s tone as she took a few steps away from the bed. It was easy to dismiss the Luxray as just being abrasive and prejudiced, but the Blissey, with all her lived experience? Much less so. Esther¡¯s moderate annoyance at having to deal with a human again after all these years wasn¡¯t difficult to sense. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t manifest beyond just a few minor grumbles. In a few quick moments, her check-up around the sleeping human¡¯s body was done, finding nothing amiss. Before the healer left, though, the Gardevoir had something to ask her. ¡°^Esther, is she really just a child?^¡± An immediate, thoughtless nod, the truth plain to see. ¡°^How old is she?^¡± Now that was an interesting question, one that the Blissey had to chew on. She walked back over to the bed and took a much closer look. Her recollection wasn¡¯t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, leaving her uncomfortably uncertain about the girl¡¯s age. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ unsure. Could be anywhere from seven or eight to maybe eleven.¡± The description left most gathered confused, rendered very ambiguous by the lack of a unit. ¡®Seasons¡¯ made the most sense considering this being a child, but an elaboration wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°Seven or eight what, moons?¡± Ruby asked. ¡°Years.¡± ¡­ The Weavile blinked in confusion; the answer taking her aback. To think that this human that wasn¡¯t just a child, but was clearly a child, could¡¯ve been almost her age was¡­ weird to think about. ¡°^Is there any way you could know with certainty?^¡± This wasn¡¯t anything Aria needed to know, but¡­ it still could help in piecing together what could¡¯ve happened to her. Or, at least, that was the Gardevoir¡¯s justification to herself. ¡°Not without checking her papers, hah, doubt that¡¯s gonna be happening,¡± the Blissey chuckled to herself. Right as she was about to turn for the exit, doubt crossed her soft, weathered face. ¡°Though¡­ she brought some items with herself, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Yes. They are located in the side room.¡± Esther didn¡¯t even wait for Ori to finish before heading over there. In her wake, an array of rustling, clicking noises, leaving Aria worried the healer would unintentionally damage some of the girl¡¯s possessions¡ªbefore finally, a louder ¡°aha!¡±. ¡°There we go; I think that¡¯s an ID. Let me try to read this¡­ ¡®Student¡¯¡­ ¡®Identification¡¯¡ªyep, an ID,¡± Esther spoke triumphantly, her words going squarely over the heads of everyone gathered. She was much too invested in her little investigation to notice, though. ¡°First name ¡®Anne¡¯, last name ¡®Martin¡¯. Date of birth¡ª10th of February, 538 AR. Which¡­¡± Esther flicked the card against her other hand as she stepped out of the side room. She grumbled quietly at realizing that even that clue wouldn¡¯t amount to much, not without knowing what year it was in the human calendar. The last date she remembered seeing with confidence before making her escape was 528¡ªor was it 529? It couldn¡¯t have been more than a couple of decades since. She hoped. ¡°¡­I¡¯d guess she¡¯s nine, then.¡± The number meant little on its own, and the Blissey was well aware. ¡°Around Cadence¡¯s age, relatively.¡± Now that was something everyone could work with¡ªand be unnerved by. A stray human child, still far from maturity, ending up with such injuries on her own¡­ ¡°^Thank you so much for your help, Esther. I hope Anne will be able to clarify it for us herself in not too long.^¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± the Blissey commented acerbically as she departed, leaving the room uneasy. Her tone, Anne¡¯s situation, all the unknowns still surrounding it¡­ it all sent shivers down their backs. ¡°I suppose with everything said, keeping her here until we know more would be an appropriate course of action, even once she does sufficiently recover enough to be transported. There is no purpose in potentially exposing her to the threats she originally ran away from.¡± Ori¡¯s proposition was met with an almost unanimous agreement. The peril that Anne had been in, combined with her age, made most everyone see her in a very different light, even if the mystery at the root of it all remained unanswered. Not a lot they could do about it at the moment, though. ¡°Guess that¡¯s about it for now, then?¡± ¡°^Seems so. Go get some rest Ruby, we can take care of her items on our own.^¡± With the question she was actually asking answered in the way she preferred, the Weavile sighed out loud and headed for the exit, sending everyone off with a wave. ¡°Have a good day everyone¡ªand keep Mikiri off all this stuff. I¡¯d rather not find her workshop in pieces when I wake up.¡± After Ruby¡¯s sendoff, the rest of the group started preparing to leave as well. Ori hoisted the metal contraption over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing while Aria put all the assorted items back into the human¡¯s bag. While the Gardevoir clumsily tried to close its metal seam, she noticed the room grow darker for a moment, looking at the small, Safeguard-protected window on its other side. She might¡¯ve only glimpsed the Whimsicott there before they flew off, but knew instantly what their sight implied. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. There goes any secrecy they might¡¯ve had about this entire human mess. Aria sighed, distracting herself from that realization by focusing on grabbing the small pile of clothes in the corner¡ªthe ones Anne was probably wearing when she crashed¡ªup together into the air together with the bag. Yep, definitely the ones she was wearing when she crashed; the reek of blood Aria could recognize anywhere. Why did she have to disturb that pile, ugh... ¡°Can I help with anything?¡± Lumi asked, catching the other two¡¯s attention. His anatomy didn¡¯t let him easily carry a whole ton¡ªmaybe the bag in his mouth, but that was about it. With how little it weighed, though, there was no need for that, especially while he could help them in some other way. ¡°^No, we¡¯re good, I think. Though¡ªif you could run ahead to Holly¡¯s and get us some breakfast in advance, that¡¯d be very appreciated.^¡± Rumbling of her stomach was the only comment Aria needed to motivate the Luxray into action. As she was about to leave, she looked over her shoulder one last time, wishing she could do more for Anne as she watched the Leavanny check up on her again. With a deep breath, she put that thought aside and followed Ori out. They had their own duties to take care of. Their village wouldn¡¯t keep itself hidden, after all.
The pair¡¯s walk was uneventful as far as their cargo went. To little surprise and more than a bit of relief, the human items continued to be as inert as metal, cloth, and some other materials could be. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t extend to the passersby. The massive contraption attracted a lot of attention in particular, only feeding further into the rumors already spreading through the village. They could understand some of it; much of what they carried was rather unusual, but in any other circumstances, the items wouldn¡¯t have earned more than a curious look or two. Alas, these weren¡¯t any other circumstances. ¡°M-Mrs. Aria?¡± The quiet, palpably unnerved woofs dragged the Gardevoir¡¯s attention away from tired annoyance. She smiled weakly at the Braixen, extending an arm towards her as she marched on. ¡°Good morning, Ember. I take you¡¯ve already heard the ¡®news¡¯?¡± Aria spoke with her physical voice, the sound helping soothe the Braixen¡¯s nerves as she scooted over and hugged the Fairy-type¡¯s side. The fox¡¯s shudder answered for her while the icy wind made her eye patch flutter; the Gardevoir sighing inwardly in response. Thanks, Sol. ¡°I know a human in our village sounds scary, sweetie, but I promise we¡¯ve got it under control. They¡¯re badly injured, comatose, and don¡¯t have any human items on them. We¡¯re all safe,¡± the Gardevoir reassured. She meant everything she said, but she knew there was one thing in particular that the lil¡¯ fox needed to hear more than anything else. ¡°Nobody will hurt you again, sweetie.¡± Ember nodded fearfully, her shaky hug tightening for just a moment. Aria came to a stop, giving the Braixen all the time she needed and then some. Saddening as the sight was, it doubled as a dire reminder of how important her duties were, filling her with some well-needed motivation on the cold winter morning. ¡°Th-th-thank you, Mrs. Aria¡­¡± Ember steadied her breath before leaning back and swiping the wetness out of her eyes. Her smile up at the Gardevoir was so weak it only barely qualified as one, but its intent was appreciated all the same. ¡°Take it easy today, okay? Pearl and Jovan will understand if you can¡¯t help with the little ones today¡ª¡± ¡°N-no no, I can! I-it calms me down, and without that m-my mom would keep trying to train moves with me and¡­¡± Ember shuddered, earning herself another pat on the back. ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot of effort to catch up, but you¡¯ll get there in time,¡± Aria said, smiling at the fox. ¡°It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s not that, it¡¯s¡­ n-nevermind.¡± Whatever the cause might have been, this seemed to be a topic the Braixen was even less keen to talk about. Enough so that she excused herself soon after, her mix of embarrassment and badly hidden anxiety much easier to sense than she would¡¯ve wanted. No matter how much Aria wanted to help, her duties took precedence. As they resumed their march on, the pair of scouts had to constantly answer questions about a scary human in their midst, growing ever more absurd as the rumors evolved and twisted on themselves. They were the guardians of this place, though, and soothing everyone¡¯s fears about this most unusual visitor was a part of their duty. It sure didn¡¯t help Aria keep herself from eye-rolling at the third question in a row about this half dead child Cadence¡¯s age being a ¡®trainer¡¯, though. Especially since even if that was the case, Anne wouldn¡¯t have any of her human tools with her once she woke up. Unless the humans had developed an uncanny ability of kidnapping other living beings just by looking at them, they would all be more than safe. Thankfully, not everyone was so afraid of their unintentional guest. ¡°I-is the human okay?¡± The chirped out words got both scouts looking up at their source, one particular Dartrix that had perched on top of the contraption¡¯s metal handle. Ori was quite literally too strong to care, not even having noticed her landing, while Aria answered shortly after. ¡°^She¡¯s not doing the best Blossom, but is already much better than when your mom found her thanks to our healers.^¡± The owlet nodded somberly at the news¡ªshe was glad they were being tended to, even if they still were in a rough state. With how hard they had apparently been injured, guess it only made sense for them to need a long while to feel better. ¡°O-okay. A-are the rumors true?¡± ¡°You will have to be more specific than that, Blossom,¡± Ori said. ¡°Is she really just a child?¡± Blossom¡¯s sleepy expression grew startled at the crazy rumor turning out to be true as both scouts nodded. She had a hard time not empathizing with the stranger in a situation like that, no matter what terrifying species they might¡¯ve been. ¡°Oh, gosh. Her parents must be so scared...¡± the Dartrix muttered, afraid for the human. Her mom would¡¯ve scoured every single last inch of the woods if something like this had happened to her. Even if humans couldn¡¯t fly, with all the wild things they supposedly could do, they probably had some other way of accomplishing the same goal. A fact the pair of scouts underneath her were acutely aware of. The longer all this took, the higher the odds were that despite their best efforts, humans would eventually stumble upon them while searching for the girl. And if there were enough of them, the risk that at least one human would slip through the cracks and blow their cover grew higher and higher. A nightmarish situation, no matter how they sliced it. ¡°^Yes, they likely are. The healers are working on getting her back into shape as fast as they can, though, so hopefully she¡¯ll be back home safe before humans can do too much searching.^¡± Blossom nodded firmly, wanting to support their healer as much as she could with that. Even if it just meant avoiding hurting herself in the meantime to not take up any of their attention. But maybe¡­ she could help in some other way, too. ¡°Mhm! Oh¡ªcould I visit her once she feels better? She¡¯s gotta be so lonely in there...¡± The Dartrix might not have known much about humanity¡ªthough still more than others thought she did¡ªbut figured that being friendly was universal enough. Sadly, friendliness wasn¡¯t an option, either. ¡°^She¡¯s still unconscious, Blossom, so sadly not. Even if she comes to, she¡¯s not supposed to know our village exists and we won¡¯t let her see more of it. Once she¡¯s ready to return to the human town, we¡¯ll have to make her forget everything she saw here before she leaves, anyway.^¡± Bleh, this would be a messy job, and Aria wasn¡¯t looking forward to it in the slightest. ¡°Awwh... b-but, if she¡¯ll forget it all, won¡¯t it end up not mattering what she saw?¡± ¡°^I know what you mean, but it doesn¡¯t work like that, sweetie. It¡¯s not as simple as just me snapping my fingers and suddenly she doesn¡¯t remember any of this anymore. It¡¯s slow and messy, and there¡¯s always a risk of me either forgetting to erase something which could have her potentially start recalling it all, or worse¡ªerasing too much by accident. The less there is to remove, the lower the chance something goes wrong.^¡± The Dartrix chewed through Aria¡¯s words for a moment before nodding with a slump. It wasn¡¯t fair; she just wanted to help and give the poor human some friendship, but she couldn¡¯t even do that. ¡°^It¡¯s rough. I know, sweetie. It¡¯s still very nice of you to offer that, though. And, who knows, maybe once you¡¯re older and your mom lets you fly all the way over to the human village, you¡¯ll find her there and become her friend then?^¡± It was certainly a Farfetch¡¯d theoretical, but hardly impossible. It lifted Blossom¡¯s spirits up a bit, but also left her nervous in a way that Aria wanted to follow up on¡ªonly for the owlet to speak up first. ¡°Yeah! I hope I¡¯ll be able to do that... um, where are you taking her things, anyway?¡± ¡°We are moving them to Mikiri¡¯s burrow for storage,¡± Ori explained. That made sense¡ªif there was anyone who knew how to handle human things, it was Mikiri. But if there was anyone who knew how to break human things, it was also Mikiri. And after one too many accidental fires her tinkering had started, Blossom knew better than to get too close to her cobbled deathtrap of a burrow. ¡°Oh, I hope it goes well! U-um, I have to go now!¡± Wasting no more time for politeness, Blossom took off in the exact direction away from their destination. Aria only barely held in a chuckle at overhearing her thought process. She had to admit the owlet¡¯s concern wasn¡¯t baseless though, growing antsy as they neared the burrow. The structure itself escaped simple description. It was massive compared to other dwellings in the village, embedded into the side of a large hill, and made of equal parts mud, stone, brick, wood, and several of those weird wavy metal plates that humans occasionally littered the woods with. It was chaos, but¡ªto the best of everyone¡¯s knowledge¡ªit was at least somewhat controlled chaos. And currently, a very loudly rumbling chaos. The scouts glanced at each other before Ori knocked on the oversized door¡ªat least relative to the inhabitant¡¯s actual size. The noise ceased shortly afterwards, the silence soon followed by heavy shuffling and quick steps toward the patchwork door. Mikiri stepped out right away, looking up at the unexpected visitors. Her eyes and a good chunk of her front face were covered by something neither of the two scouts recognized. Black, reflective, and vastly oversized eye coverings, with thin extensions that wrapped around her head, kept in place with some string. Her front mouth might¡¯ve expressed the words ¡®what now¡¯ without even needing to speak, but that changed the moment she noticed the contraption on Ori¡¯s shoulder. She wasted no time on greetings, calling out right away, ¡°That! Gimme that!¡± ¡°^Mikiri, these aren¡¯t for you to toy with.^¡± The Mawile was about to protest, only forcing herself to stop because of not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to at least inspect a non-corroded instance of that particular human contraption. One deep breath later, she spoke more calmly, eye coverings still on her face, ¡°Alrighty. What¡¯s all this then?¡± ¡°^I take you¡¯ve already heard of the human ending up in¡ª^¡± ¡°Human? What human?¡± Mikiri¡¯s head and maw alike tilted to the side, both left slightly agape as she waited for an explanation. ¡°You have not gone out today yet, Mikiri, have you.¡± ¡°Nah Ori, not until I get that dumb mess inside to stop getting stuck every few minutes, just can¡¯t get these dumb gears to align right, ugh! But that¡¯s all besides¡ªwhat human? A useful one?¡± ¡°^A young girl that almost died on the outskirts of our village tonight, and is now in the healers¡¯ tent until she recovers,^¡± Aria answered, chilling the Mawile¡¯s enthusiasm significantly. Both because it was just a messed up situation, and because she doubted someone in that state could explain a few trinkets she had been wondering about. And that was assuming Aria would even facilitate such a conversation in the first place. Which sure didn¡¯t sound likely with how stern her expression was. ¡°That¡¯s... rough. What about this thing then? Is it hers?¡± ¡°^Yes, it is. But we¡¯re not moving it here for you to take it apart, but because... *sigh*, there isn¡¯t exactly anywhere else where all that¡¯d fit, so we now ask you to keep an eye on it in your workshop.^¡± ¡°And trust you not to meddle with it.¡± Both scouts thought an unspoken ¡®too much¡¯ afterwards. Getting to inspect a less-broken example of the contraption she¡¯d been curious about for a while for the price of just using up some space in her oversized burrow? A deal she¡¯d take any day, even if it limited her ability to take the device apart and figure out what makes it tick. Hopefully, she¡¯d at least be able to figure out its purpose. ¡°Hmmmmm¡ªdeal. What¡¯s all the other stuff and why does it smell of blood?¡± ¡°These are her other belongings. A bag of clothes and a couple other items, and the clothes she was wearing at the time of her accident.¡± ¡°...why so many clothes?¡± ¡°^Why are you wearing this thing on your face?^¡± Aria couldn¡¯t wait with the pressing question any longer. Mikiri blinked in confusion before remembering that there, in fact, was something on her front face. She reached behind her head to untie the string that held the object in place before holding it up. ¡°Helps a ton with sun glare. Or when welding metal. Or when stuff messes up and there¡¯s a ton of sparks everywhere. No clue what it actually is¡ªlooks cool, at least.¡± Mikiri underlined the last point by putting the eye covers back on and re-tying the string behind her front head as she led her guests in. The inside was unusually well lit by her standards; the sunroof opened up all the way. Most of the space on the inside was taken up by a massive mess of gears, rust-covered metal ones and makeshift-looking wood ones alike, all connected to a grindstone in an arrangement Aria knew better than to even attempt to understand. The only part that she could figure out was a crank at the side of it all, placed high enough that it required a small ladder next to it just for the Mawile to reach it. ¡°Just drop it off in the back. Though, I gotta ask, what¡¯s up with that bag? Not seeing any openings there.¡± Despite the sheer cool factor of her eye coverings, Mikiri couldn¡¯t deny them being rather cumbersome to use in the dimmer parts of her burrow. She blinked a couple times as she took them off, holding them by the side extension in her maw as she inspected the pile of human stuff. ¡°There is a peculiar mechanism within it. It requires one to grab the loose part and pull it across the metal seam,¡± Ori explained, intriguing the metal fairy. She did as instructed, eyes going wide at the ease with which the formerly hole-less bag was opened. She experimented a few times by opening and closing it slowly while paying close attention to the lines of metal teeth on the sides of the seam. Her hands and maw itched for more tinkering¡ª ¡­ She didn¡¯t even have to look up at Aria to know the Gardevoir wouldn¡¯t be approving of any tinkering. With a dejected sigh, she zipped the bag closed once more, half groaning and half asking, ¡°You sure you can¡¯t let that human stay just so that I can take a proper look at their stuff?¡± ¡°^Only if you house her here, keep her safe and content, keep her from escaping, and fend off all the dozens of humans that will come in search of her.^¡± ¡°You¡¯re driving a hard bargain there Aria, but I might just¡ª¡± She might not have been even tangentially related to any Ice types, but Aria¡¯s glare was very good at freezing people in their tracks, especially when backed by a subtle, yet firm expression of ¡®this isn¡¯t funny¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re a killjoy, Aria.¡± ¡°^Better to be a killjoy than to even consider letting us all do something we¡¯re more than likely to really regret. I¡¯m already dreading when the first of their ¡®search party¡¯ will show up, though Lucere will at least inform us of that when it happens.^¡± ¡°Something tells me you and your brother won¡¯t have too much of an issue leading a couple clueless humans astray when that happens,¡± Mikiri chuckled. ¡°^Maybe not the first time, no, but that same something tells me they won¡¯t give up after just one search. Sooner or later, they¡¯ll force themselves here no matter what we do. Hopefully, the girl is off our hands long before that can happen.^¡± ¡°Then why not just dump her back on their doorstep and not have to worry about any of that? Y¡¯know, return to sender and all that.¡± ¡°She is much too badly injured for that,¡± Ori explained. ¡°^That and because she almost died while running for her life away from something or someone, and until we can figure out what it is, we¡¯d rather not leave her in certain danger.^¡± Well, shoot. Mikiri rocked in place as her every idea was shot down, finally drained of enough fixated momentum to actually think things through. She sure wasn¡¯t arriving at anything reassuring, whistling to herself before admitting the obvious, ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve got a big ol¡¯ bloody mess on your hands.¡± Both scouts could only sigh and nod in response. This was way too much to think about on an empty stomach this late in the morning. ¡°Well¡ªdon¡¯t let me hold you up then. You gotta do what you gotta do to keep this whole place safe and all, and hopefully it won¡¯t include a humanling kicking the bucket in all this mess.¡± But if she does, dibs on all this stuff. Aria was about to scold Mikiri for that thought, but after the emotional rollercoaster of this morning, she couldn¡¯t help but burst into giggling at just how abruptly morbid it was. All the while, Ori was looking at her with visible concern. ¡°^Pffft, can¡¯t promise anything, but hopefully it won¡¯t come to that, anyway. Take care, Mikiri.^¡± ¡°Ha, and you best don¡¯t go mad over all this¡ªsomeone¡¯s gotta keep your brother in check from getting too annoying!¡± Truly, her most important duty. With a light stretch of their limbs, the pair of scouts left the spacious burrow, Aria¡¯s mental reach closing the door behind them. Their village was quickly getting to its busiest, the winter sun already close to its zenith. ¡°Breakfast?¡± Ori asked. ¡°^Right away. My stomach is already screaming at me.^¡± The Scizor didn¡¯t have to be told twice, his steps as brisk as possible as they took off towards the pantry as Aria levitated beside him. A direct Teleport would¡¯ve gotten her there even faster, but would also leave her exhausted before even noon. And the little of the future she could intuit told her today¡¯s mess was nowhere near over. ¡°Do you think humans can eat Holly¡¯s cooking?¡± The robotic words took the Gardevoir out of her thoughts; the topic unlike the Scizor. ¡°^Considering she told me a decent chunk of her cooking was inspired by human recipes she¡¯d heard about, I¡¯d guess so.^¡± ¡°How does the idea of saving some for the girl once she wakes up sound, then?¡± ¡°^Hah, a welcome gift?^¡± ¡°It appears to me that it would help her recover sooner. Nobody has ever not felt better after having some of Holly¡¯s food.¡± Ain¡¯t that the truth. ¡°Yeah, good call, Ori.¡± The intensifying aroma of freshly baked goods, combined with the rumbling in their stomachs, encouraged the two scouts to keep at their haste. After one last turn, the pantry finally came into view¡ªlarger than anything nearby, built with brick upon a stone foundation, extending a floor underground, and doubling as Holly¡¯s dwelling. Only barely sturdy enough to contain the cook herself. If not for the morning rush having already passed some time ago, Lumi would likely still have been waiting in the queue for their portions. Then again, with how chatty the Azumarill was, she would have probably offered them a shortcut through the queue in return for a scoop on the topic the entire village was buzzing about. Not like that hasn¡¯t happened in the past. To their relief, Lumi had already waited his turn. He was busy going through his own portion as he laid beside the pantry¡¯s counter, keeping guard of his coworkers¡¯ meals. The kitchen¡¯s ambient heat helped keep them warm, but it only did so much. Even a lukewarm breakfast beat no breakfast, and Aria wasted no time levitating their portions over, catching the Luxray¡¯s attention while he was busy stretching and discharging into the snowy ground. ¡°Got Mikiri under control?¡± ¡°^As much as anyone can hope to, yes.^¡± ¡°So, not at all?¡± Aria rolled her eyes as her and Ori¡¯s portions arrived into her physical reach, letting them finally sate their hunger. After swapping them, of course. A metal scrap reinforced roll would likely... not go along too well with her fairy physiology. As they bit into their meals, the cook herself noticed their arrival. A drawn out whistle caught their attention as they were waved over; the Azumarill standing on her toe tips on top of a stool to make sure they noticed her. It was incredibly hard not to notice, and that applied to Holly¡¯s presence in general. ¡°Oi! Grumpypaws here wouldn¡¯t say anything about the whole affair, but I know you two were there too. Get to spillin¡¯!¡± Holly commanded as she opened the front counter of the bakery and placed a stool in the snow to sit on and stare at the scouts expectantly from. ¡°I imagine an appropriate place to start from is to ask how much have you heard already,¡± Ori responded. As disappointed as her was at being unable to dodge the cook¡¯s gossipy questioning, he figured he could at least skip some of it by not being redundant. ¡°A whole lot of nonsense is what I¡¯ve heard. Human in the healers¡¯ tent, and then everyone tells the rest of it differently. I need the truth, babes, and only the truth.¡± Guess they wouldn¡¯t be skipping anything after all. ¡°^Well, to be more accurate, a human girl¡ª^¡± ¡°Wait wait wait, you mean just a young¡¯un?¡± Holly cut in, eyes narrowing. A firm nod confirmed her suspicions, genuinely surprising her¡ªsomething rarely seen from her. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned. So a kid got themselves messed up enough to need our help bad enough to get taken in, eh? That¡¯s... poor thing.¡± ¡°^Yes, it¡¯s awful. Especially since it looks like she was running away from something, or someone¡ª^¡± ¡°Wait a bloody minute, a kid running for her life? Don¡¯t they literally have a town a couple of hours from here?¡± ¡°That is where she came from, to the best of our knowledge,¡± Ori clarified. The Azumarill silently mouthed out something that was probably obscenities before shaking her head, eyes wide at the insanity of it all. ¡°So what, did a bloody Tyranitar just stroll in there and level the place!? Why would she be running!?¡± ¡°^We just don¡¯t know yet. I¡¯ll have to dig into it deeper, just not today to spare her any more stress.^¡± ¡°Can¡¯t y¡¯all send someone over to check up on their town in the meantime? This¡ªthis makes no sense!¡± Holly shouted. ¡°If something destructive had happened to their town, I would expect to see a lot more than a single child try to flee from there,¡± Ori said. ¡°^That, and from what I could make out, it felt like she was running from another human and not a mon or some sort of natural disaster. If it was the latter, we¡¯d probably feel it over here too.^¡± ¡°Not like we have the spare manpower to watch their weird settlement, either.¡± Lumi¡¯s addition in particular shut down Holly¡¯s idea. This was the one time where they really couldn¡¯t afford to divert anyone from their regular scouting duties, not with the heightened risk of humans sending their own reconnaissance. The Azumarill pondered through it all for an approximate three seconds before groaning in frustration. From the outside, it sounded like an absolute mess, and even her hyperactive brain couldn¡¯t figure any of it out. ¡°Whoever hurt her best sleep lightly¡ªif I ever get my paws on them, I¡¯ll make them fear water alright.¡± With the assorted grumbling and smacking of her bulbous tail against the snow, Holly was done venting her anger out. Now that her anger had been dealt with, it was time to switch gears into something actually constructive. ¡°And until then, might as well make her something nice. Now what do humans like...¡± ¡°Cruelty?¡± Lumi¡¯s badly timed joke was rewarded with his head becoming surrounded in a shimmering aura before being forced down, planting into the snow. ¡°^She¡¯s unconscious, so preferably something that can be reheated without too much difficulty, and can last a couple of days. And... thanks, Holly. We meant to ask you earlier if you could do something like this, make something for her once she wakes up.^¡± Holly scoffed at that, flicking her wrist limply. She couldn¡¯t keep a prideful smile from creeping onto her expression for too long, though. ¡°Babes, babes, thought you knew me better than this¡ªof course I¡¯ll cook for anyone who needs their stomach filled, that¡¯s hardly even a question. I¡¯m already itching with ideas... Salac to give her a kick of energy once she¡¯s back up, Pecha to help fight off any disease, Kasib for flavor... oh oh oh am I loving it already. Now, you three!¡± The Azumarill¡¯s sudden call startled the scouts, stopping them in their tracks as the cook picked her stool up and moved it back into the pantry. She almost dove into more cooking there and then, before remembering to follow up, ¡°Enjoy your meals! And good luck with your duties, not like y¡¯all need it, hah! Keep safe.¡±
With their portions wrapped up, the scouts departed for their duties shortly afterwards. A couple of Agilities let Aria get to the area she patrolled relatively quickly, and without exerting her too much. ¡®Too¡¯ was definitely the load-bearing word in that sentence, but she could keep sensing for nearby humans while catching her breath. Most of the time, her shifts were uneventful. The forest in which their village was located might¡¯ve been sandwiched in between two human settlements¡ªone of which was very sizable¡ªbut very few humans ever ventured close enough to be of any danger. They tended to stick to that neat, straight path of theirs, and even then it saw maybe a couple of humans a day, if that. Still, they had to remain ever vigilant. If even one human had learned the truth and walked away with it, the rest would inevitably know too before long. And once that happened, they were doomed. Aria remembered thinking that humans were some sort of collective organism, back when she first wound up here. Her mentor had to explain to her that wasn¡¯t the case, which only confused her even more. At least, until he offered an alternate explanation¡ªthere were just too many humans to handle. Their village had somewhere around two to three hundred souls the last time they counted. The larger of the nearby human settlements, however, had thousands upon thousands. Even if very few of them enslaved Pokemon for fighting, many others still had access to those terrifying ¡®balls¡¯ of theirs. More than enough, taken together, to leave them horribly outmatched¡ªand that¡¯s without taking reinforcements into account. For as large as that nearby town was, it paled compared to humanity¡¯s largest. The sheer scale of the human world made Aria¡¯s head spin whenever she attempted to comprehend any of it. To her chagrin, this wouldn¡¯t end up being another day of steadily patrolling between a couple of abandoned human structures without ever spotting anyone. Shivers ran down her spine after spotting a distinctively human aura in the distance, snapping her away from pondering and back to reality. Sneaking up on people was much easier than she had thought it¡¯d be growing up. Full invisibility, while possible, was difficult and draining to maintain. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t necessary most of the time¡ªall she needed to do was to make herself hard to notice and most living beings, mons or humans alike, grew almost completely blind to her presence. Their eyes would just glaze right over where she was whenever she had accidentally made a noise. Though, just to be sure, she mentally reached over and blocked all stimuli coming from her as well. The goal was to redirect them without them ever consciously noticing, her typing awarding her that leg up above most of the other scouts. Her brother and Cypress could also confuse them in into leaving, but everyone else had to resort to intimidation. Which¡ªwhile just as effective in the moment, no doubt¡ªalways carried the risk of drawing further attention down the line. Especially when done by a scout whose species didn¡¯t live here natively. Part of why Ori only handled wildlings that tried to predate on them. That, and he just really wasn¡¯t good at being threatening beyond his sheer size, tried as he might. The human Aria had snuck up on seemed to be there on their own. Any companions wouldn¡¯t have been much of an issue for her either¡ªunless they were Dark-type, of course. After making sure they weren¡¯t able to see, hear, or otherwise perceive her at all, she dove into their surface thoughts, the human stopping to look around at the sudden sensation of being watched. The immediate good news was that this human had nothing to do with Anne. The slightly worse news was that she was a ¡®birdwatcher¡¯, and that she was venturing over in the approximate direction of their village in order to get ¡®photos¡¯ of the Rowlet family after hearing of them being here. Aria had no idea what some of that meant, but the Rowlet part was clear, at least. Clear and odd¡ªSprout was much better than to ever let herself get spotted by whoever she was observing. Sigh, Blossom has been getting out there on her own, hasn¡¯t she? Something to bring up once she was back. And in the meantime¡ª ¡°^There aren¡¯t any Rowlet in these woods. Whoever told you that made it up.^¡± Aria spoke telepathically; her mental utterances were much more so commands than words. A light form of Hypnosis let her steer the human¡¯s thoughts without them ever realizing anything was afoul. ¡°^There¡¯s nothing to see here. Also, you... forgot about a ¡®stove¡¯ back home.^¡± She wasn¡¯t sure whether that suggestion would accomplish much beyond confusing the human further. Most of the concepts she dredged up from their mind were only partial at best. *GASP!* Well, it looked like her idea worked almost too well. The human turned around on a dime, breaking into the fastest panicked jog they could manage with such a heavy bag bouncing on their back. That went smoothly, thank gods¡ª ¡°Aria, Aria!¡± The bird cries filled the woods, loud enough for Aria to worry about the human doubling back to investigate them. Before she could do anything about it, though, Lucere perched on a nearby branch and continued, ¡°The humans are on their way!¡± Aria¡¯s attention narrowed, ¡°^How many, where, how far along are they?^¡± ¡°Two with one mon, slowly following the human path! Lumi is keeping an eye on them!¡± ¡°^Where¡¯s Marco?^¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I found you first! Though, between the two of us, I trust you more than your brother to handle this with the delicacy it needs¡­¡± As serious as the atmosphere was, Aria couldn¡¯t help but chuckle weakly, before relaxing her body for another Agility. ¡°Fair enough. Lead the way, Lucere.¡± Chapter 3: Pity As the Altaria guided her through the forest, Aria couldn¡¯t help but keep replaying what she¡¯d seen in Anne¡¯s memories to herself. So much of it didn¡¯t make a lick of sense, answering almost nothing beyond the girl having ran away from something. Despite her confusion, she still felt protective of the human girl out of reflex, more so than she probably should¡¯ve been. Guess a child was a child in the end, and wanting to protect those who couldn¡¯t protect themselves was her innermost nature. Even if that child also happened to be human. Don¡¯t worry, Anne, we¡¯ll get you back home safely. ¡°^Lucere?^¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s call had the Dragon-type dive to fly beside her, easily matching her pace. ¡°Everything alrighty, Aria?¡± ¡°^Yes, yes, just¡­ goodness is this entire topic a mess.^¡± ¡°Yep yep. Just awful, I hope the healers hurry up!¡± ¡°^They¡¯re already doing what they can, I¡¯m sure of it.^¡± ¡°Hope to bits that¡¯s true! We need to get rid of the human before they wake!¡± ¡°^It would be the best for our security, yes.^¡± ¡°And more~! Nobody wanna deal with an awake human!¡± The forcefulness of Lucere¡¯s words made Aria raise an eyebrow as she ran through the nondescript woods. She wasn¡¯t aware of the Altaria having had any particular experiences with humanity in the past, but it was always a possibility. ¡°^Why so?^¡± ¡°Oh, you know! They¡¯re awful and think of us as dirt! They hate us; why wouldn¡¯t we do the same?¡± It certainly was an interesting conjecture, based almost entirely on concentrated ¡®trust me¡¯. A part of Aria doubted that she¡¯d get anything out of this discussion at all, but figured she could at least push it a bit further and see what reasoning the Altaria had for her claim. ¡°^And why would that be, you think?^¡± ¡°Oh, Aria, we and humans are different! Everyone hates difference when it¡¯s this big!¡± Now that was a much more concrete, and yet much broader reason. It also made Aria immediately call nonsense, but the last thing she wanted to do right now was engage in an argument with her coworker. Especially since they were finally coming up on where Lumi had been waiting for them. The Gardevoir gradually undid her Agility as she slowed down, trying her hardest to keep her breathing quiet. She then put up a small Safeguard for them all, making Lumi step down from the small hill overlooking the bespoke human path and bring the other two up to speed. ¡°Two humans with a leashed Growlithe. They¡¯re following the trail that the crashed human left behind themselves,¡± Lumi said matter-of-factly, keeping his snark down for the time being. ¡°^Any chance they¡¯re just using the same path and not following her?^¡± ¡°Very doubtful. It seems they¡¯re having the Growlithe track the human¡¯s scent. Came close to picking mine up a couple times earlier.¡± That settled it, leaving Aria no other choice than to get in there herself while hopefully remaining undetected. As she prepared herself for it, though, Lumi followed up, ¡°They¡¯re walking very slowly, for some reason.¡± He was no less confused than Aria at hearing that, the bewilderment in his voice unlike him. ¡°Can confirm!¡± Lucere¡¯s chirped confirmation had the psychic reconsider her plan for a moment. She soon realized that it didn¡¯t matter for much, though¡ªsprinting or crawling; their purpose here was clear enough. As was her need to stop them. ¡°^Alright. I¡¯ll try to follow them, and see if I can put any of this together. Lucere, scout along the path towards their town to see whether any reinforcements are on the way. Lumi, be on your guard in case I¡¯ll need backup.^¡± ¡°Okie-dokie!¡± / ¡°Aye aye.¡± Once the Altaria flew off, Aria got to work. With a deep breath, she extended her mental reach; sensing and effortlessly breaching into the three minds on the other side of the hill. Once that was done, she approached them, keeping a close eye on their appearance as she scanned their surface thoughts. Their outfits were very bulky, making them look much larger than they would have otherwise. Almost all their clothes were an almost black shade of blue¡ªthick jackets, leg coverings, large belts with a multitude of pouches. The only exception was a sleeveless garment on their upper half, colored a very¡­ unusual kind of yellow. On it were a couple of stripes and an unknown human symbol, possibly writing, made of a reflective silver material. As many layers as they wore, though, noticing how cold they felt wasn¡¯t exactly a feat. Aria was eternally grateful at how much more effective the thin Safeguard sheen surrounding her body was at keeping her warm compared to human clothing, even if the result was still only just bearable. The bulk of the Gardevoir¡¯s attention, however, was placed on someone else. The Growlithe pup was likely only a couple of years old at most. They constantly kept trying to outrun the reach of their leash, the jolts of pain every time they tried to do what they were supposed to¡ªfollow the scent¡ªclear to sense. In any other circumstances, Aria would have seriously considered teaching the humans a lesson, or at least giving the lil¡¯ Fire-type some much-needed reprieve. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t do that this time. Not with so much at stake. To her dismay, the group remained silent for a while. Aria cursed herself for ending up just late enough for them to have wrapped up their previous conversation topic. Right as she was preparing to dive deeper into their thoughts the hard way, though, the Growlithe perked up in her direction. Fortunately, their human handlers didn¡¯t immediately get the significance of that¡ª ¡°~What is it now?~¡± the human voice snarled, their voice gravely and unamused as they glanced over their shoulder. All they could see were snow and trees, making them grumble at the puppy. Even if their handlers¡¯ senses were too limited to spot her, the Growlithe¡¯s most definitely weren¡¯t. The little one tried to bolt towards her, only to find themselves thrashing against the limits of their leash. ¡°~Get back here, you dumb fucking dog,~¡± the second human muttered in exasperation, hangover tainting their words and actions alike. They yanked at the Fire-type¡¯s leash out of spite to get back at them as Aria ensured the puppy couldn¡¯t smell her anymore. ¡°~Even it¡¯s going nuts at this pointless shit.~¡± The second human chuckled at the remark, breaking into a harsh cough before shaking it off with a low groan. ¡°~It¡¯s just a straight path, isn¡¯t it?~¡± the first human asked. ¡°~It is!~¡± ¡°~So why the fuck do we have to track that kid all the way over to Lillywood!?~¡± ¡°~Fuck if I know!~¡± ¡°~Of course that bitch is in Lillywood, where fucking else. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get back, write it in and be done with it.~¡± As unenthused as the second human was at them being here to begin with, such a blatant disregard for procedure made them pause and second guess themselves. They looked over at the unending path ahead and back at the other human, Growlithe yanking at the leash in their hands all the while. ¡°~You sure?~¡± ¡°~Course I am! Where else could she be?~¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t know, Lillywood guys apparently couldn¡¯t find her.~¡± ¡°~Didn¡¯t look hard enough is what it is, not our fucking problem.~¡± The second human was quite unnerved by that. They were torn between being eager to turn tail and get back to warmth, and genuinely concerned about the remote possibility that some dumb kid got themselves hurt on a straight stretch of path. ¡°~Besides¡ªthe fuck is her bum mother gonna do, throw a bottle at us?~¡± the first voice chuckled under their breath. ¡°~What about Tom?~¡± ¡°~What about him!?~¡± The non-answer left the second human speechless for a moment, before they finally relented with a quiet ¡®yeah¡¯. The two humans turned around, leaving the Fire-type beside them thrashing against their leash before one stronger yank finally made them obey with a painful whine. As stunned as Aria was at that entire sequence of events, this one she wouldn¡¯t let slide. Suddenly, the human holding the leash lost their footing, falling face first onto the snow-covered dirt. The first human offered only snark, ¡°~Speaking of bottles, you¡¯d do well to skip on one or two.~¡± ¡°~Shut the fuck up, ugh¡ªno idea how I even slipped there.~¡± As the second human picked themselves back up, Aria backed off towards Lumi. Her expression was as flat as it ever got as the Luxray spoke with appreciation, ¡°Nice work. As far as I¡¯m concerned, that asshole deserved worse, but I¡¯ll take what I can get.¡± ¡°^I didn¡¯t do anything.^¡± Aria¡¯s quiet admission caught Lumi off guard, leaving him unsure how to interpret that. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°^They backed off on their own. All I did was trip one of them over.^¡± ¡°They did? Why¡ªwere they not looking for the girl after all?¡± ¡°^They were, it¡¯s... I-I don¡¯t know. They were searching for Anne, but then at some point, they just... didn¡¯t want to bother anymore. Decided to go back and lie that she had made it to the town on the other end of the path.^¡± ¡°That¡¯s...¡± Lumi mumbled, speechless. Sure, his expectations for humanity were already nonexistent, but this was somehow even more loathsome than anything he could¡¯ve imagined. Despicable as it was, though, it still left questions. ¡°Are they just not gonna search for her anymore?¡± ¡°^It would seem so. They mentioned something about her mother maybe doing that, but weren¡¯t taking that idea seriously either.^¡± ¡°Humans just keep finding ways to sink even lower, eh?¡± ¡°^I don¡¯t know if I can even argue with that, I...^¡± Aria grasped for words, unable to find any. ¡°Take your time, Aria. At least this threat is averted. I¡¯ll spread the news so we¡¯re all on the same page.¡± ¡°^Good call, thanks Lumi. And,^¡± she followed up, the words catching the Luxray right as he was about to storm out. Light blue arcs of electricity jumped around his fur as he looked over his shoulder, ready to take off. ¡°^Let¡¯s meet again at the healers¡¯ tent, tomorrow morning.^¡± ¡°Gonna dig through more memories after all?¡± ¡°^Not sure if there¡¯s a way to avoid that anymore, I¡¯m afraid.^¡± ¡°Hah. Sure thing¡ªtake it easy today.¡± Much as Aria didn¡¯t want Lumi to end up being right in the end, she didn¡¯t see any other way out of this mess. She was left alone with her thoughts as she watched him head out, the winter cold stinging harder than ever. The sheer attitude with which these people had treated not just a missing one of theirs, but a missing child, was harrowing. Was that just how humans were deep down? She sure hadn¡¯t felt anything near this despicable from her previous interactions with them, their minds not too different from her own. But these two¡­ Aria had no idea whether they were uniquely horrible, or if that was humanity¡¯s true nature. Her soul kept trying to convince her it was the former, but her mind couldn¡¯t shake all the doubt off. Who knows¡ªmaybe the potential for that kind of indifferent cruelty lied in her, too. She couldn¡¯t imagine herself ever acting like that, the mere idea so against everything that made her a Gardevoir, against everything that made her¡­ her, that it made her feel ill. That didn¡¯t mean it was impossible, of course. What Aria knew for sure, though, was that after several hours of thoughts running in circles around that topic and ultimately getting nowhere, the only thing she wanted to do was to go home and fill her soul with something warmer.
If there was one part of winter that Aria liked, it was the much shorter scouting shifts. Nothing stopped humans from sneaking over in the dark, of course, but very few were foolish enough to attempt that even in the summer. Sprout could count all the instances where she had to actually give some potential intruders a scare on her talons over her many years of scouting. After what she¡¯d witnessed earlier today, Aria doubted any humans would come looking for Anne overnight. Or ever again, for that matter. Thankfully, she wouldn¡¯t have to think about that unpleasant subject for much longer. A smile crept to her face as she beelined for the entrance to the large burrow, under a larger hill, under an even larger oak that crowned its peak. Her home. As puny, downright miserly, as the wooden door at its front was, the light flowing out of the gaps between it and its frame gave its homeliness away. Aria closed her eyes and undid her Safeguard as she stepped in and made her way down these familiar, worn steps, the warmth and pleasant smells making her shudder. ¡°Good evening, honey,¡± her husband spoke, his voice harsh, bestial, angry even¡ªto an untrained ear, at least. Aria knew, however, that this was his happy voice. His species left him with an unfortunately limited vocal range, and what he had of it came off as intimidating for many. His face suffered from the same issue, the always-visible fangs especially unnerving in a vacuum. ¡°Hey, sweetie.¡± Regardless of how he sounded to strangers, Aria knew the person underneath the demonic Grimmsnarl facade well enough to be as comfortable around him as she got. She walked over with a dreamy expression and let him pull her into a gentle, warm embrace as he worked on the dinner. ¡°Long day?¡± ¡°Very.¡± The squirmy sensation of his individual hairs moving around was equal parts ticklish and comforting. Aria let herself get moved and held even closer, nuzzling into her husband¡¯s shoulder. A part of Garret wanted to ask about the murmurs about a human in their village he¡¯d heard earlier, but there was no need to rush. His head leaned on hers as they basked in the hearth¡¯s warmth, the Gardevoir¡¯s lithe body getting warmed up fast. ¡°Smells delicious.¡± ¡°Thank you~. Holly¡¯s advice never fails, hah.¡± ¡°Indeed, it does not. She recommended some new ingredients?¡± ¡°Spices! A bit less pepper, a bit more salt, and to try out a bay leaf or two. Aroma wise I have no complaints so far, and I doubt the flavor is gonna disappoint us either.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Nothing you ever make is~.¡± It was hard to spot a blush on the fiercely green skin of his cheeks, making knowing how to do so feel extra special to Aria. Her tired smile grew wider as she allowed herself to close her eyes and focus on all the other, more pleasant stimuli. Though, as she focused more on her psychic senses, something unusual became apparent. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone?¡± As much as she appreciated some peace and quiet after a long day, Aria wasn¡¯t used to seeing her dwelling be so calm after dark. She sensed a couple of minds playing in an adjacent room, and had a very good idea of who they were, but that still left a few heads absent. ¡°I know Cadence and mom went out to grab something, haven¡¯t seen Marco all day, Bell and Elric¡ª¡± Before he could finish, the door to the kids¡¯ room flung open, a pink blur scrambling out of it right away. His every motion filled the burrow with rattling noises as he was being persistently, yet futilely, chased by a teeny Ralts. The lil¡¯ psychic¡¯s best efforts only earned him laughter from the Gligar as the bat kept shaking the rattle in his tail¡¯s grasp, making the Ralts try even harder. The Ralts¡¯ glow surrounded the toy before it was inevitably yanked out of his mental grip again and again, pushing him to frustration. ¡°Give it back!¡± As amused as the bat was at the situation, his smile washed from his face the moment he saw the tyke¡¯s mom having made her way back. Her unamused expression told it all, distracting the Gligar for long enough for the Ralts to finally yank the rattle out of his tail¡¯s grip. ¡°Elriiiic...¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mrs. Aria, I-I just got carried away with it¡ª¡± the Gligar tried to explain himself, pincers clicking in anxiety. ¡°I know, I know, you¡¯re not in trouble, sweetie. I just want you to be careful and know when to stop so that it¡¯s fun for you both,¡± Aria explained with a tired smile. She couldn¡¯t even pretend to be upset at any of this, especially now that Bell had gone from frustrated to happy at reclaiming his toy. He excitedly waved it around as he ran around the room¡ªbefore finally spotting his mom having made it back home. ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Hey Bell~.¡± The tyke giggled in glee as his mom psychic¡¯d him into her arms and held him close. Aria¡¯s tired expression softened as she looked back at the Gligar. The last thing she wanted was to make the boy think he was in trouble, moving her little one off to one arm and outstretching the other one for a hug. Elric accepted the invitation right away, flying over and clinging onto Garret¡¯s arm as he let the Gardevoir provide some well-needed affection. ¡°Sorry...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay Elric, it¡¯s okay. Bell really likes you¡ªright, Bell?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± the Ralts squeaked out, filling everyone else with warmth, and especially his bat friend. ¡°I-I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want that to change because you went too far by accident.¡± ¡°H-he¡¯s not angry at me, right?¡± ¡°Oh no, not at all. Just something to keep in mind for the future,¡± Aria smiled, stroking the back of Elric¡¯s head as the last of his worries left him. ¡°You¡¯ve already grown up a lot this winter, you know? Your dad is gonna be really proud of you once he wakes back up.¡± The comment did wonders at lifting the bat¡¯s spirits back up as he held onto his temporary guardians. He knew it¡¯d be at least a month more before his dad would snap out of his hibernation, but that didn¡¯t stop him from checking on him every morning, just in case. ¡°Y-you think?¡± ¡°Absolutely, Elric! I remember how scared you were the last winter, and look at you now, you¡¯re taking it like a champ!¡± Garret said, fueling the Gligar¡¯s fluster as he settled into the affection, the dinner getting wrapped up in the meantime. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Garret...¡± Comfy as the scene was, Aria realized it¡¯d get even comfier soon. She let go of her husband and carefully lowered both kids down on the floor before instructing them, ¡°Everyone¡¯s on their way, let¡¯s lay things out for dinner~.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Elric chirped before swooping to grab a handful of wooden bowls while Aria pulled the short table from the corner to the center of the chamber. She then whisked a few pillows from her bedroom and laid them around; some of the Whimsicott fluff leaking out of the slowly tattering fabric. Bell helped by clapping and squeaking at the sight of so much motion happening around him. They got done with the preparations just in time, the front door opening right as Elric set down the final spoon. Before the gust of icy wind could chill the atmosphere in the burrow, Cadence reignited it by excitedly running down the stairs and shouting, ¡°Mom mom mom is it true with the human!?¡± ¡°Cadence sweetie, one thing at a time,¡± the Indeedee behind her chided. ¡°Okay, grandma!¡± The Kirlia-shaped bundle of energy bounced into the kids¡¯ room to drop her scarf off before running back over to her mom. ¡°Is it true, mom!?¡± ¡°What¡¯s true?¡± Bell asked confusedly, looking up at his sister and her red cheeks. Cadence groaned under her breath at him not following along and answered, ¡°The human!¡± ¡°Human?¡± ¡°We can talk about it over dinner sweeties, now get yourself seated,¡± Aria instructed, catching the tykes¡¯ attention. ¡°Okay, mommy!¡± / ¡°Okay mom!¡± / ¡°Okay ma¡¯am!¡± Aria chuckled at the three squeaky voices responding nearly simultaneously before they took their seats. The Gardevoir lowered herself onto the pillow next to Bell as her mother-in-law took a seat beside Cadence. Right as they did, the final missing member of the family made his way back home, the Gallade¡¯s expression even more focused than usual. ¡°Evening Marco, something on your mind?¡± Aria asked, making her brother chuckle¡ªthe subject of his thoughts was obvious enough. He knew better than to rush that topic ahead of dinner, sitting down as Garret carried the entire pot of stew over to the table with one arm. With the portions getting handed out, the wooden spoons got to work¡ªBell¡¯s under his mom¡¯s careful watch. As the rich flavor rejuvenated the family¡¯s bodies, Autumn noted her son¡¯s tweak in his recipe, ¡°^Hmm. More salt this time?^¡± As used as the Indeedee might have been to mentally communicating with her Dark-type son, she couldn¡¯t deny that it grew more difficult as the years kept coming. No matter how hard Garret tried to lower his mental guard around his family¡ªletting them link up to him in the first place¡ªdoing so remained incomparably harder than linking up with anyone else. Thankfully, this was just a fallback¡ªspoken language was more than sufficient most of the time. It didn¡¯t stop Autumn from feeling down at the realization of just how much her abilities were slipping by the season, though. ¡°Mhm! Holly¡¯s recommendation.¡± For a few solid minutes, the only sounds filling the burrow were the scraping of wood on wood. Even Cadence waited until she was done through most of her portion before bringing the talk of the day back up, ¡°^Is it true with the human, mom?^¡± ¡°^You¡¯ll have to be more specific than that, sweetie.^¡± ¡°^Is there really a human in our village?^¡± ¡°^Yes, yes there is.^¡± As obviously true as the news was to her, Aria saw her husband, her mother-in-law, and the boy her family watched over all pause at the revelation. Their eyes went wide at the incredulous rumor being confirmed; Cadence squeaked giddily,¡°^Eeeee¡ªwhat¡¯s their name? Are they scary? Can I meet¡ª^¡± ¡°^Cadeeeence.^¡± ¡°^Sorry grandma.^¡± ¡°^Don¡¯t be sorry sweetie, just take your time. Your mom isn¡¯t running anywhere, and neither are we. Now¡ªwhat was that with the human Aria?^¡± The Gardevoir chuckled at the elderly Indeedee¡¯s barely veiled enthusiasm, emptying her bowl as she continued, ¡°^Her name is Anne. Sprout found her before dawn. She had gotten hurt near the human road to the east, and was in a very rough state.^¡± ¡°^Ooooh... was she mean to someone so they hurt her¡ª^¡± ¡°^No sweetie, no, it was an accident.^¡± ¡°^How come she was there in the middle of the night in the first place?^¡± ¡°^That is a very good question, Autumn,^¡± Marco spoke with a knowing tone, catching his sister¡¯s attention. The two locked eyes as the rest of the table ate on, switching to communicating directly without anyone else overhearing. ¡°^Do you know something more about it?^¡± Aria asked. ¡°^Followed the trail back to their town while you dealt with the group they sent. I think I even know which building it started from.^¡± ¡°^Any finds there?^¡± ¡°^Whole place reeked of spoiled wine and looked ransacked. It was just that single building, though.^¡± Aria had no idea about just how significant that find was, but it didn¡¯t sound pretty in the slightest. She nodded deeply before asking, ¡°^Found anyone there?^¡± ¡°^Regrettably, no. The whole place had a miserable aura, and there was a lot of human attention around it, so I didn¡¯t stay long.^¡± ¡°^Makes sense. Could her family be ostracized in their own town?^¡± ¡°^Not impossible, but... something tells me that¡¯s not quite it.^¡± The Gardevoir nodded as she continued with her meal; the mystery refusing being neatly answered¡ªor even having any meaningful progress done with it. Seems she would have to have a sweep through Anne¡¯s memories after all¡ª ¡°^What are you two chatting abooooout~?^¡± Cadence chimed in, unable to resist at seeing her mom and uncle talking covertly for any longer. Marco chuckled in response, while Aria answered vaguely enough to not be lying. ¡°^Scouting stuff.^¡± ¡°Are other humans looking for her?¡± Elric asked, his words making both siblings glance at him and nod simultaneously. Marco picked up the slack of explaining it this time, ¡°^They sent a search party earlier today, but Aria diverted them.^¡± ¡°^Not even. It was...^¡± By the time Aria realized she¡¯d spilled more than she should have, the entire table¡¯s attention was already on her¡ªincluding Marco, apparently out of the loop about what had happened earlier that day. Ultimately, there was no real reason to keep secretive about all this beyond it just being¡­ upsetting. ¡°^They just backed out on their own, didn¡¯t want to bother. Treated the whole thing more like a nuisance rather than a search for a lost child.^¡± ¡°^A child!?^¡± Autumn shouted, taken aback in a mix of disbelief, worry, and outright disgust. Her thoughts and attention kept glancing over to her adoptive son, something deep inside her refusing to accept such a vile state of things. ¡°^Yes, she¡¯s a child. Around Cadence¡¯s age from what Esther told us.^¡± ¡°^To get treated like that by one¡¯s own kin...^¡± ¡°^Can we visit her, mom?^¡± Cadence asked. Aria considered her request more than Blossom¡¯s earlier in the day, but only just. As unnerving as Anne¡¯s circumstances already were and kept growing, it wasn¡¯t like they could just send visits to her freely. Sooner or later, they¡¯d figure out what had happened to her and get her home, safe and sound. ¡°^No sweetie, we don¡¯t want her to know she¡¯s here. Besides, she¡¯s still comatose, so it¡¯d be a very one-sided visit,^¡± Aria explained. Her response deflated all three kids, even if Bell didn¡¯t quite grasp everything being discussed. He may not have understood the significance of the village¡¯s unexpected guest, but was disappointed at not being able to visit a potential friend all the same. ¡°^But that¡¯s just mean! She¡¯s here on her own and hurt, she¡¯ll be so scared when she wakes up!^¡± Cadence pleaded. ¡°^I¡ªI know, sweetie. We¡¯ll have to figure something out if that happens while she¡¯s still here, but we¡¯re not doing this to be mean, I promise. We just want to keep you all safe.^¡± Aria might¡¯ve spoken for the scouts as a whole, but she couldn¡¯t deny that her daughter¡¯s remark got to her in particular. Each new revelation made her increasingly doubtful of whether it would be possible for them to just return Anne back home peacefully. She didn¡¯t have any ideas about what they could do instead if the push came to shove, either. It was probably for the best to leave that topic for now, and just hope that things would sort themselves out. Fortunately, Cadence wasn¡¯t privy to her mom¡¯s doubts. The lil¡¯ Kirlia sighed as she tried to accept the explanation at face value. She didn¡¯t fully believe it, but knew she wasn¡¯t gonna be getting anything different. The rest of the family dinner passed on mostly silence, only occasionally interrupted by the more mundane, daily topics. Aria kept quiet throughout, her mind busy churning through all the uncomfortable facts on her own. She was the first to excuse herself back to her and Garret¡¯s room once she¡¯d wrapped her portion¡ªshe knew she¡¯d need all the rest she could get her hands on before tomorrow¡¯s meeting. Sunroof closed, Will-o¡¯-Wisps extinguished, door shut, Safeguard to muffle the commotion in the living room raised¡ª Dreams stubbornly not coming. The harrowing possibility of Anne not having a place to return to swirled around in the Gardevoir¡¯s head. It didn¡¯t feel too likely¡ªnot yet at least¡ªbut couldn¡¯t be eliminated entirely, especially with the apparently awful state of the building she ran away from. If that truly was the case, deciding her fate would most likely come down to the Elders. Which didn¡¯t exactly fill Aria with confidence. They wouldn¡¯t kill her, but they wouldn¡¯t let her stay either, both possibilities equally impossible. Anne would have to be returned to humanity, but who was to say she¡¯d be treated well in the town she came from? Or even in the town at the other end of the woods? Was there anything they could do to guarantee her safety? ¡­ ¡­ Aria laid still as she grappled with the question, answers refusing to show themselves. Her husband¡¯s eventual arrival helped soothe the worst of her worries, replacing them with his most familiar, most welcome warmth. His soft snores provided a steady rhythm to mimic with her breathing, letting her slowly rein the emotional whirlpool in. Things would turn out alright. She had nothing concrete to base that hope off, but¡­ she felt it deep inside her all the same. Any details could be hashed out later¡ªfor now, she just had to breathe in, and out. And in, and out. And in, and...
As welcome as her rest was, it had to end eventually. Much earlier than she would¡¯ve preferred, no less. The bedroom was completely dark as Aria came to. The sunroof getting opened with her telekinetic reach didn¡¯t help either¡ªno sun or moon to be seen; whichever stray starlight there was couldn¡¯t illuminate anything at all. Guess duty called whether the sun was up or not. The Gardevoir grunted at yesterday¡¯s exertion as she slid out of her husband¡¯s embrace, the contrast between his warmth and the surrounding chill making her shudder. She remembered to apply her Safeguard just moments before she opened the front door, drowsiness not doing her any favors. Onward. Even at night, their village was nowhere near lifeless. A bunch of Dark and Ghost-types were making their way around, greeting her as she passed by. She drew a couple of curious looks, but only by the arguable virtue of being up so ungodly early. Far from the earliest one around, even for the village¡¯s diurnal inhabitants. ¡°Aria darling, why in the blazes are you up so early!?¡± Holly¡¯s shrill greeting snapped the Gardevoir out of her half-conscious stupor, prompting her to try shaking the remaining tiredness aside as she answered. ¡°^Scout meeting, we gotta discuss what to do with the human.^¡± ¡°Help her, that¡¯s what! Speaking of, got around to fixing something for her¡ªoughta get her right back on her legs once she comes to!¡± Holly said, accentuating her words by slamming the small bundle on the counter with much more force than needed. A pair of very thick, very buttery pastries weren¡¯t the healthiest choice¡ªespecially with how sugary they smelled and looked¡ªbut if anything would be effective at filling the little one with energy, it¡¯d be that. She wasn¡¯t sure what the wooden bottle beside them held¡ªknowing the cook, though; it was her own special blend of sweetened berry juices. ¡°^Thanks, Holly.^¡± ¡°Anytime, darlin¡¯! Same ol¡¯ for you?¡± ¡°^Same old for me.^¡± ¡°Coooomin¡¯ up!¡± Alas, Aria couldn¡¯t deny having a sweet tooth herself¡ªmuch to her kids¡¯ chagrin when she kept nudging them towards heartier meals than Holly¡¯s sugary goodies, while herself being no better. Granted, her nutritional needs were much different than¡ª ¡°Aria.¡± The low hum accompanying the buzzed-out words clued the Gardevoir as to the speaker. She tried to shake what remained of her worries off before looking to her side, staring the weathered Vespiquen in the eye. ¡°^Good morning, Liz.^¡± ¡°I need the rundown of the human situation.¡± Aria knew better than to sigh out loud at the understandable question¡ªor to answer it straight. Messy as the situation was, most only cared about one specific angle of it, and the Vespiquen¡¯s was very easy to guess from experience. ¡°^She¡¯s approximately this tall, and in a coma. She had extensive damage over the left side of her body, needed a full limb cast. Build similar to mine, apparently similar to Cadence¡¯s age mentally. Her items were moved to Mikiri¡¯s burrow.^¡± Liz stared at nothing as she reached a claw up to drag it along the front of her horns, using the tally marks carved into them for counting. New head to feed was unsurprising, even if everything else about them was unusual. Them being comparably large was a concern, as was their rough state¡ªdressings and salves were a limited resource, after all. The last remark made her stop dead in her tracks and refocus on Aria, the little she had of an expression growing concerned. ¡°Why there?¡± ¡°^Couldn¡¯t think of anywhere else with enough space.^¡± Mikiri¡¯s human know-how was also a contributing factor, but one that would make the Vespiquen quartermaster drop in despair if stated outright. ¡°Bad choice. Too late to change. Need to ask Lavender and Sol for more dressings.¡± It¡¯d be nice for the latter to do something productive as opposed to snooping and spreading rumors; Aria wasn¡¯t about to disagree with that¡­ ¡°When will the human be gone?¡± The one question everyone was asking themselves, if each for very different reasons. ¡°^We don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll let you know once we do.^¡± Liz was well aware she wouldn¡¯t be getting any further revelations about the human case this early on. She accepted the response with a faint nod and headed off, leaving Aria to endure the rest of the wait until her meal was done. As the Gardevoir waited, she looked up at the sky; the sight lifting her spirits. Eastern skies were shifting into lighter purples and darker reds by the moment, dimming out the surrounding stars. The sunrise brought with itself as much calm as it did uncertainty. Before the unnerving topics of the day could worm further into her mind, the bubbly whistle snapped her out of her daze, to the sight of Holly waving her meal around. ¡°There ya go. Pass on good wishes from me over to that kid once she comes to.¡± ¡°^No guarantee she will today, Holly.^¡± ¡°Then tomorrow, or wheneva¡¯¡ªI just want her to know she¡¯s got someone in here cheering for her, is all.¡± Aria forced out a weak smile, picking up both hers and Anne¡¯s portions before responding. ¡°^I will, thank you. We¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s alright.^¡± ¡°Oh, I know that, silly. Nursing them back to health ain¡¯t the same as treating them friendly though, and that¡¯s the thing I¡¯m less certain on.¡± ¡°^I¡¯ll... do what I can to make her feel welcome.^¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Now off you go, you have this whole place to keep safe, don¡¯t lemme keep ya waitin¡¯!¡±
For once, Aria wasn¡¯t the last one to show up at the healer tent. The few minutes until Lumi showed up were spent in tense, if somewhat amusing, silence. Aria could feel Ori¡¯s hungry attention at Anne¡¯s meal, even if he didn¡¯t let it get to his expression. Ruby¡¯s shifty eyes, constantly trying to force themselves away from the levitating meal, betrayed her focus as well. Sprout looked about one lapse of judgment away from devouring it in an instant. Once the Luxray had finally arrived, he didn¡¯t remain inconspicuous, either. ¡°Lemme guess, that one¡¯s for the human?¡± ¡°^Indeed~.^¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with. That smell¡¯s gonna drive me insane without anything in me,¡± Ruby grumbled. ¡°I concur,¡± Ori followed. Aria rolled her eyes at her coworker¡¯s reactions, levitating the bundle into the air before enveloping it in its own Safeguard bubble. The gesture might¡¯ve dulled the meal¡¯s scent, but the associated shimmer only drew more visual attention to a warm meal that others lacked. ¡°^Let¡¯s get to it, then. Any overnight developments, Sprout?^¡± ¡°None. Ain¡¯t seen any humans tonight, neither on the path nor anywhere else. Heard about what happened with the group they sent yesterday, bloody despicable.¡± ¡°No better words for it, are there?¡± Ruby concurred with a growl. She might not have thought of humans as all that different to them in the end, but goddamn if these two made that particularly difficult in the moment. ¡°^Marco had checked up on their town yesterday. The building the girl¡¯s trail originated from looked and smelled absolutely run down.^¡± The group grew quieter at that revelation. Their minds all ventured in a similar direction, and not one they were keen on delving deeper into¡ªat least not yet. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that one bit.¡± ¡°^Me neither, Ruby. I really hope it won¡¯t come down to that, but it might be a good idea to figure out what we¡¯re gonna do if it turns out her home isn¡¯t safe to come back to.^¡± ¡°Well, that sounds obvious enough to me! If she doesn¡¯t have a safe home outside our village, we give her one here until she can go back to her kin,¡± Sprout said. The rest of the group stared incredulously at her, the idea equal parts obvious and unimaginable. A human in their shelter against humanity? Was she out of her mind!? ¡°You can¡¯t seriously suggest that, Sprout,¡± the Luxray pleaded, hoping his coworker had simply fired a woefully ill-timed joke. ¡°I can and I am. She¡¯s a battered child, about as dangerous as a Metapod. Denying her safety because of her kin sounds like the kinda things humans do, and we are supposed to be better than them, aren¡¯t we!?¡± the Decidueye raised her voice, leaving everyone in the room feeling uneasy. Most of the group was stuck in a bind between not necessarily disagreeing with what she was saying, but being instinctively opposed to what her words implied. Eventually, Ori broke the tense silence. ¡°Perhaps it is wise to change the subject for the time being. For all we know, we¡¯re just entertaining a blatantly incorrect possibility.¡± The group took a deeper breath each at that. They all agreed with the Scizor¡¯s suggestion at a rational level, but their hearts lied in very different directions about what should happen to the human. ¡°Aria, you had mentioned investigating further into the human child¡¯s memories. Do you still want to attempt that?¡± ¡°^Yes Ori, I... yes. It¡¯s a good idea to get that done, just so we have a better idea of just what in the world is going on with¡ª^¡± AAAAaaa-AAA! The shrill, hoarse scream coming from the human¡¯s room made the entire group¡¯s hearts skip a beat. In just a few seconds, it turned into whimpers of pain, accompanied by the sounds of scrambling healers. ¡°Too late.¡± Chapter 4: Facade The sight awaiting the scouts in the human¡¯s room was less scary than it was sudden. The healers tending to them had backed off, unsure how to proceed or what had even caused this outburst. Once Aria stepped into the room, they turned to face her, wordlessly asking for advice. Advice she wasn¡¯t about to give, deciding to intervene directly instead. Anne¡¯s eyes were clenched shut as she shook on the soft bedding, feebly trying to twist her body onto its right side. A cursory check of her thoughts revealed her screams were caused by the pain in her left arm, unceasing even as she quietened into pained whimpers. Aria¡¯s medical expertise was very limited, but she still knew enough to put a Calm Mind to use. Her touch on the cast-wrapped arm numbed the nerves, gently cooling the panic building inside the human child. In just a few moments, Anne¡¯s whimpers gave way to quiet gasps, and then deep breaths as pain left her be for now. ¡°^She was in pain,^¡± Aria explained, her comment making the Leavanny¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°Must¡¯ve underestimated the dose, damn it. Can you hold them like this for a moment?¡± Close watch over Anne¡¯s thoughts let Aria know she¡¯d heard Maple¡¯s words¡ªand that she was much too tired to pay any attention to what she perceived as incoherent insect noises. The Gardevoir shuffled off to the side as she held the human¡¯s arm in position, giving space for the leafy nurse to walk over. Maple looked for the right spot before administering the fastest Poison Jab of her life, blissful paralysis soon returning to Anne¡¯s left arm. ¡°Better now?¡± ¡°^Much better, thank you Maple.^¡± ¡°Are you gonna put them back to sleep?¡± ¡°^I may, but it¡¯d be good to see if I could figure out what¡ª^¡± Aria spoke, before Anne¡¯s mumbled words cut the hushed conversation short. The rest of the room froze at realizing they still had an awake human in their midst. They watched as Anne shakily rotated herself onto her back, before Aria instructed them, ¡°^Back off for now, I¡¯ll handle this.^¡± Aria waited nervously as the human girl looked at her, torn between helping her and protecting her village in her secret. Anne¡¯s condition, though, skewed the Gardevoir mostly towards the former. Everyone watched closely as the girl pried her eyes open, immediately squinting as she stared at the ceiling. Her gaze took its time moving around the walls before landing on Aria and trying even harder to focus. The room¡¯s collective beat skipped as they awaited their inadvertent guest¡¯s reaction¡ª ¡°~Th-thank you, nurse...~¡± Out of everything Anne could have muttered in her miserable state, Aria expected gratitude the least. It made her feel warm, but the uncertainty about just what the girl meant soon eclipsed that sensation. The Gardevoir walked half a step closer in silence, eyes closing as she dug into the girl¡¯s thoughts, trying to piece together just what was going on in here. ... Figures Anne wasn¡¯t scared; she could barely see her. Peeking through her eyes revealed the resulting image to be unfocused beyond all recognition. Aria¡¯s appearance was reduced to a tall white and green blur that Anne was interpreting as some sort of human in a full body outfit and a face mask¡ª ¡°~N-nurse?~¡± The confusion in the human¡¯s voice left Aria unsure how to respond. After chewing through it for a moment, she went along with what the girl thought she was seeing, and answered in character, ¡°^I¡¯m here Anne, I¡¯m here. How are you feeling?^¡± Aria sighed inwardly in relief at Anne not suspecting something was afoul. As her¡¯s slow, muddled thoughts coalesced to come up with a response, the Gardevoir glanced at what remained of her group. Sprout and all healers but Maple have taken their leave in the meantime, leaving just the Leavanny and the scouts. Before any of them could try catching Aria¡¯s attention, Anne said, ¡°~I¡¯m thirsty. C-could I have some water, please?~¡± Aria wordlessly passed Anne¡¯s request over to Maple as her expression continued to soften. Anne¡¯s miserable state fired up every last bit of empathy in her system, making her inch just that bit closer. Still, her duty weighed on her mind, forcing her to maintain an impersonal facade of a human nurse. ¡°^Water is on its way, Anne. Would you want something to eat as well?^¡± ¡°~Mhm,~¡± Anne mumbled before closing her eyes and relaxing into the bedding, giving Aria an opportunity to dash over and grab the meal Holly had made for her. The sweet, buttery aroma immediately filled the air as the pastry was taken out of its protective bubble and set down on the bedstand. The girl was much too exhausted to think through the weirdness of food being provided so quickly. Most of her senses that weren¡¯t busy hurting focused on how wonderful the smell was, making the cold room feel so much more welcome. ¡°~Th-that smells so nice...~¡± ¡°^It does, doesn¡¯t it?^¡± The allure of a warm meal made the injured girl try to squirm around on her bedding; wincing as she tried to get closer. She managed some steady, if slow, progress towards that before suddenly stopping, the outburst of anxiety in her head taking Aria aback. ¡°~C-could I have m-my clothes back? If there¡¯s n-nothing medical stopping that. A-and glasses...~¡± The first part of the request was easier to understand, if difficult to fulfill in the heat of the moment. The second part, though, had the Gardevoir completely dumbfounded. She froze for a moment, eventually deciding to buy herself time, ¡°^We¡¯ll get to looking for your clothes, sweetie. In the meantime, could you describe what do the ¡®glasses¡¯ look like?^¡± Once she had answered the girl¡¯s request, she spoke to just the Luxray, ¡°^Lumi, run to Mikiri¡¯s and bring over Anne¡¯s bag and all the clean clothes it had in it, right away.^¡± ¡°Aye aye,¡± Lumi answered before bolting out of the tent, passing the leafy nurse holding a cupful of water on his way out. The part of the exchange Anne could hear confused her almost as much as the ¡®nurse¡¯s¡­ oddly phrased question. ¡°~V-very t-thick lenses, metal rims and temples. Black, b-but some paint is flaking.~¡± As unhelpful as the description on its own was, the mental visualization that accompanied it was a godsent. It let Aria get a good look at the item in question¡ªand made her realize they had seen nothing like that when digging through the girl¡¯s bag. She focused on passing the imagined image over to Ori and Ruby, making their heads spin a bit as she spoke up telepathically, ¡°^She asked for this item. There wasn¡¯t anything like it in her bag, right?^¡± Ori opened his mouth before remembering their guest could hear him, too. He tried putting on the quietest whisper he could manage, to¡­ mixed results. ¡°None to my recollection.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a sweep through where Sprout found her, just in case,¡± Ruby added. Despite her trying to keep her voice down as well, it was unsuccessful at avoiding catching Anne¡¯s attention¡ªor at least it would¡¯ve been, if not for the green-yellow blur much closer to her occupying her entire focus. This weird, tiny hospital she must¡¯ve been in only got weirder and weirder at the moment. Anne asked, figuring one question wouldn¡¯t hurt, ¡°~I-is this a Leavanny?~¡± Aria thanked the stars for their facade remaining unbroken as she looked over at Maple. She only barely avoided a mistake of her own; her mental reach stopped an instant before it would¡¯ve become visible. Instead, she grabbed the cup with her physical hands, cursing the close call under her breath. ¡°^Yes, Anne. She... helps us with our patients.^¡± Thankfully, the girl took the answer at face value, as vague as it was, especially once her ¡®nurse¡¯ continued, ¡°^I¡¯ve got the water. Will you need help with drinking, Anne?^¡± ¡°~Mhm.~¡± As Aria made her way over to where Anne could reach, the girl slid towards the back of the bed. She was holding the covers with her good arm as close to her front as possible, not letting them slide even slightly. A rather confusing behavior, but Anne¡¯s discomfort at not wearing any clothes was trivial to sense, and this tied into that in some unclear way. No matter what exactly was the reason, Anne had a spare pair of hands to help her out, regardless. The pretend nurse had to help herself keep the cup stable with a bit of telekinesis as her pretend patient drank. Anne downed the entire cup without pausing even for a moment, gasping afterwards. She got a much closer look at her ¡®nurse¡¯ now¡ªbut even though some details weren¡¯t adding up, she wasn¡¯t focusing on that. ¡°~C-could I have more, please?~¡± The unnecessary nicety of the question brought a soft, sad smile to Aria¡¯s face. ¡°^Of course Anne. Will you need help with eating as well?^¡± ¡°~N-no, I think I¡¯ll manage that one. Though, I-I have a question if that¡¯s alright...~¡± ¡°^Go right ahead, sweetie.^¡± Once the cup was passed to Maple, Anne once more had Aria¡¯s undivided attention as she reached into the bundle of Holly¡¯s meal. She kept her hunger in check for just long enough to stammer out a question, ¡°~W-where am I?~¡± The one question Aria hoped she would not have to answer. Her silence unnerved Anne while she waited for a response. Fortunately, while the Gardevoir had no idea on how to respond to that without making the girl more suspicious, Anne herself did. She mumbled quietly as her train of thought was investigated, together with the name of the location she hoped she was currently in. ¡°^This is the Lillywood hospital, sweetie. You... had a very rough accident in the woods, but the rescue came in time and moved you here.^¡± Anne sighed as her hunch turned out to be correct, before freezing at the mention of her accident. What she had previously assumed to be a nightmare turned out to be exactly what had happened last night, the realization making her gulp. Aria felt the accompanying pang of fear clearly, reassuring her right away. ¡°^Don¡¯t worry Anne, you¡¯re safe now¡ª^¡± ¡°~A-a-are they here?~¡± The fear dripping from Anne¡¯s words gave Aria a pause, her attention narrowing as she responded, ¡°^They?^¡± ¡°~M-m-my parents...~¡± ... The Gardevoir could only stare as the pieces of the rotten puzzle suddenly came together in the most disgusting, harrowing way imaginable. Something deep inside her cried out at the realization; her body trembled as she spoke up, ¡°^N-no, they¡¯re not, Anne.^¡± ¡°~Oh, oh good.~¡± The girl was still thoroughly shook, the reassurance and her delicious meal providing only a fleeting reprieve. As she wrapped her portion up, though, fear crept into her mind once more while she eyed up the ¡®nurse¡¯ and the Leavanny beside her. She knew full well that her request wouldn¡¯t be honored, but she had to do something, say something, try to fight what felt like the inescapable¡ªtears welled up in the corners of her almost-blind eyes as she stammered, ¡°~P-p-please don¡¯t make me go back...~¡± Anne¡¯s whimper almost made Aria break her facade there and then as the child shrunk into her bedding; her terror the likes of which the Gardevoir wouldn¡¯t wish even upon her enemies. ¡°^I-I¡ª^¡± ¡°~P-please! I-I¡¯ll do anything, PLEASE¡ª~¡± ¡°^We won¡¯t let them hurt you again.^¡± The girl¡¯s teary eyes snapped open at hearing that, staring at her nurse in all her blurriness. A desperate question bubbled up from the depths of her terrified mind, carrying within it the tiniest spark of hope, ¡°~R-r-really?~¡± ¡°^Yes Anne, really. Y-you¡¯re safe here, I... I promise.^¡± It was the one response the human wasn¡¯t expecting in the slightest. Even if a healthier, less exhausted Anne would¡¯ve immediately doubted the truthfulness of these words, the pained, blind, tired her couldn¡¯t help but to latch onto the stranger¡¯s promise, shaking as she tried to process it all. ¡°~T-thank you n-nurse...~¡± Her relief was as immense as its effects were immediate. The release of tension, combined with her exhaustion, knocked Anne out in moments. Before long, the room was plunged into a thick, confused silence once more. Nobody but the Gardevoir was aware of what was said before them, having just been observing their coworker for the last few minutes. Anne falling back asleep brought relief to everyone around. Maple set the cup of water down on the bedstand next to the unfinished pastry while Ruby attempted to catch the Gardevoir¡¯s attention, ¡°Aria?¡± Her name being spoken out loud finally got the Psychic-type to face her group once more. Nobody expected to see a handful of stray tears flow down her cheeks, or to see her body shudder. ¡°We¡¯re¡ªwhat happened?¡± Lumi asked, his tone unusually not dismissive, the distraught state of his coworker stopping any snark in its tracks. ¡°^We¡ªwe need to talk.^¡± Nobody could deny that. After sparing one last look at the bedful of trouble on their paws, the scout team returned to the side room. Lumi dropped the human¡¯s bag in the middle of the room; Ruby held onto her spoils. Took a fair bit of raking the snow with her claws, but she eventually found the glass-and-metal trinket. Everyone remained silent as they awaited Aria¡¯s words¡ªwords that kept not coming. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to force anything out, before resorting to telepathy, ¡°^I figured out what she was running away from.^¡± ¡°Great. What is it and how do we deal with it¡ª¡± ¡°^It¡¯s her own family.^¡± The answer cut Lumi off mid-sentence as a cold shudder ran down his and everyone else¡¯s spines. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ruby asked. ¡°^I wish I had a more concrete idea. But... the fear she felt when asking if her parents were here was more than just worrying about being chewed out. She was scared for her life, and if they¡¯re the reason she ran away... what do we even do?^¡± The rest of the group looked among themselves as they thought back to their earlier spat with Sprout. Nobody liked where their imaginations were ending up when attempting to think through it all. Still, the girl¡¯s parents being terrible didn¡¯t quite mean she didn¡¯t have any other family. ¡°I find it hard to believe she was running towards nowhere on that fateful night. She must have some other relatives she intended to reach before suffering her accident. If we can ensure she reaches them, then that will be all our problems solved,¡± Ori said. While most of the group was persuaded by his argument, Aria most definitely wasn¡¯t, not after feeling it all for herself. She couldn¡¯t imagine someone gripped with that much fear had a plan beyond their immediate future. Though, it¡¯s not like either of them had any concrete evidence to base further decision making on, and they both knew that. The Gardevoir sighed and nodded along¡ªthey¡¯d have to dig into it further once Anne was awake again and could answer questions. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. But, at the same time... what if she indeed had nowhere else to go? ¡°Besides, judging from what Mikiri just found out, I kinda doubt we¡¯d ever want this one of all humans staying here longer than necessary,¡± Lumi commented. Aria was about ready to snap at his remark, but ultimately held herself back. Everyone watched as Lumi opened the bag by yanking on the dangling bit with his teeth, and reached in to clumsily grasp the Fennekin doll. ¡°Look inside, at that weird painting again. That¡¯s our Ember.¡± The revelation chilled the room almost as much as the one from a few minutes earlier. Aria¡¯s psychics yanked the doll out of the bag before forcefully unzipping it; her hand shook as she reached into its pocket. It couldn¡¯t be true, it wouldn¡¯t make any sense with what she¡¯d seen of Anne¡ª ... The doll landed on the carpeted floor with a weak thud, spilling out some of its metal circles and canvas rectangles. Aria could only stare transfixed at the tiny detail inscribed on that thin piece of wood, Lumi¡¯s words unfortunately coming true. The little Fennekin¡¯s left eye had the same misshapen iris and almost nonexistent pupil as she had seen on the Braixen the few times she took her eyepatch off in public. Aria kicked herself for overlooking the detail in earlier chaos, and her spirit burned up in flames as she passed the picture to other scouts. ¡°That is... terrible.¡± Ori¡¯s response summed up the group¡¯s thoughts about the matter. Lumi felt a slight pang of guilt at shattering everyone¡¯s spirits, even if the reason for it was one they would¡¯ve had to tackle eventually, anyway. ¡°Not like it changes much. Her staying here was never an option. All this means is we¡¯ll have to pay closer attention to her and make sure she¡¯s out of here and someplace safe as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Do you really think she deserves safety anymore, Ruby?¡± Lumi responded with contempt, more so towards the subject of their discussion as opposed to the Weavile. ¡°If this is true, then no. But if what Aria said is true, and the girl really ran for her life, then sending her back home would sentence her to death. That ain¡¯t a punishment I¡¯m comfortable condemning anyone for, no matter how severe a crime.¡± Even Lumi knew better than to argue a philosophical matter like that, swallowing his disagreement as the tiny painting was passed over to Ori. The Scizor expressed more emotion after glancing at the image than he usually did in a week, immediately closing his eyes and sticking his pincer out for Aria to grab the cursed item again. ¡°Though... what is this for? Do you know, Aria?¡± Ruby asked as she showed off the trinket with two large glass circles and bits of metal surrounding them. Two longer metal pieces stuck out to the sides of the glass, one of them bent harshly. ¡°^I¡¯m uncertain. Considering her eyesight was so terrible she couldn¡¯t tell me apart from a clothed human, I suspect these to have something to do with alleviating that.^¡± Lumi blinked dumbfounded at that claim. He had a difficult time imagining a vision so crippled it couldn¡¯t differentiate his friend from one of those despicable creatures. Though, compared to what his eyes were capable of, almost every other creature was stunted in that regard. ¡°Sounds like she should stay parted with them, then,¡± Ruby commented. Aria felt like she ought to disagree, to claim that intentionally keeping someone blind was cruelty, but¡­ she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say that out loud. Not when knowing that the injured human had something to do with what had befallen Ember all these years ago. No better way to maintain their facade of this being a human facility than to keep Anne unable to tell what she was even looking at. That silver lining couldn¡¯t conceal how conflicted Aria felt about all this. Her desire to comfort Anne clashed violently with the scorn she felt like she ought to be showing the girl; her expression twisted before settling back down. The conflict left her unable to move on even as the rest of the group took their leave, the glass trinket left on the floor beside the bag. In desperation, Aria took another look at the image in her hand. The human was unmistakably Anne, and the Fennekin was unmistakably Ember, but... How could both of them look happy if that was the case?
A part of Aria considered bringing the painting with herself, before deciding against it in the end. If it was all true, if Anne was indeed one of Ember¡¯s tormentors, then the last thing the Gardevoir wanted was to subject the vixen to more trauma. She wouldn¡¯t ever forget the night when she, along with so many others, first arrived at the village. Based on their recollections, there was a human facility some distance away, where many mons were housed before eventually breaking out. The conditions they described were barbarous. Bright lights, minimal space, being trapped in cohabitated cages behind metal bars. And yet¡­ it was apparently a marked improvement for many there, purely by the virtue of food and water being provided regularly. That fact did little to make it all sound any less monstrous, any less¡­ Human. Many escapees ran off wherever the wind took them, never to be seen again, but the rest eventually stumbled upon their village, Ember among them. Terrified, scarred, traumatized, the cruelty she¡¯d been on the receiving end of monstrous beyond words¡ª Before Aria could mull through her thoughts any further, she felt her attention be psychically grabbed by a passerby. Her pose slumped a bit at seeing who it was, but she didn¡¯t let it get to her voice or actions. ¡°^Good morning, Cinder.^¡± ¡°^When will that thing be gone?^¡± the Delphox asked, leering at her. The Gardevoir had to commit the entirety of her willpower to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the Fire-type¡¯s pointed question. Sure, hardly different from what most of her coworkers had expressed in content, but much more insufferable in tone. ¡°^We¡¯re doing what we can to resolve their situation as soon as possible. We¡¯d rather take a bit longer to avoid tossing an injured child out to die.^¡± While the first part of her response had Cinder snarl at her, the second managed to shut her up for the time being. Much harder to overlook the ¡®injured child¡¯ part than the ¡®human¡¯ part. Especially with her daughter also fitting that category. ¡°^Do hurry. Ember could barely sleep last night in fear, and I have no doubt that many others are suffering just as much because of its presence.^¡± ¡°^I¡¯m aware,^¡± Aria responded. The uncomfortable silence lingered until the Delphox took her leave with a barely concealed side eye. Even once she¡¯d left, it took Aria a while to get going again, the mental murk about the older vixen fighting against the realization that she had a point. She ought to get this dealt with as soon as possible. Still, the hateful scorn with which Cinder had referred to a child made Aria shudder, even if said child was human and possibly had hurt Ember in the past. She understood why; she was there when Ember told her what she¡¯d suffered through; she witnessed her burning rage turn into an unbreakable resolve to let no harm come her adoptive daughter¡¯s way ever again. And if said resolve didn¡¯t keep veering all too close to wishing for a bloody, fiery vengeance, it might¡¯ve even been laudable. Regardless of any objections Aria held towards her mother, she only had sympathy for Ember. Even beyond her harrowing past, she¡¯d soared during her stay here. Evolved, started catching up to other kids, and even started volunteering to help look after the village¡¯s little ones. Bell adored her, and his mom wasn¡¯t far behind in that regard. As expected, Ember was busy tending to the kids today as well. While most tykes were gathered around the Torkoal resting at the center of the large, open tent¡ªmany of them asleep¡ªa few other, smaller groups played around the tent. The tots sitting on the Braixen¡¯s lap looked to be taking a nap after a playing session earlier, basking in the warmth trapped underneath her off-white shawl as they grazed on a handful of nuts. Even beyond the bliss of having someone warm to snuggle into on a cold winter day, the shaking of her paws made any casual affection all the more pleasant. And while much of the shaking was because of what humans had done of her in the past, the fear flowing through her mind was clear to sense, much starker than yesterday. Aria loathed to add to that misery, but¡­ she had to know. ¡°Good afternoon, Ember,¡± Aria greeted with her physical voice. Mellow as it was, it still made the Braixen jump¨Cand sneeze. Thankfully, not even the louder sound managed to wake up either the Riolu or the Shinx on her lap. The Gardevoir remembered Cinder blowing sparks and flames by the lungful when she got sick, and was surprised to not see any with the younger vixen. Curious, but nowhere near as much as the reason she was here. ¡°G-good afternoon Mrs. Aria! B-Bell is with the rest, next to¡ª¡± ¡°Oh no, no, I¡¯m not here to pick him up. I wanted to talk to you, actually.¡± Even through her shawl, the Gardevoir noticed Ember¡¯s shaking intensify as a stray gust of wind made her white eyepatch flutter. ¡°Oh. Wh-what about?¡± Aria need not have been a psychic to tell just how spooked the vixen was, or even what she was so scared of, one-eyed glances towards their clinic telling her everything. Entirely understandable, and sure didn¡¯t make the Gardevoir regret having to ask her about all this any less. She telekinetically shoveled some snow off to the side before she sat down beside the fox and offered her a shoulder to lean on. ¡°Well¡­ it can wait a bit. How are you doing, sweetie?¡± Ember eagerly accepted the offer, huddling in as she tried to keep her breathing under control. ¡°W-when will that human b-be gone?¡± Aria pet the fox¡¯s head as she took a deep breath. The answer was as straightforward as it was unsatisfactory, Ember¡¯s body language shrinking as she explained, ¡°We don¡¯t know, sadly. Their situation is... a complex one, and we want to avoid potentially harming them even more through acting hastily.¡± The Braixen leaned further into the Gardevoir as she churned through her thoughts. As she did so, the Riolu on her lap woke up with a big yawn and an almost as large stretch, tail immediately wagging at seeing Aria. ¡°Hiiiiiiii Mrs. Aria! Oh no, is Bell leaving¡ª¡± ¡°No no, I¡¯m not picking him up yet, sweetie,¡± the Gardevoir explained. ¡°Yaaaaay. Oh oh, did you see dad around?¡± The Gardevoir shook her head, internally thankful for that fact. Lariat was as dependable as anyone got, sure, but nuance¡­ wasn¡¯t his strong suit. Not much of it needed when repelling any wildling predators that might take their village for a free meal, but that couldn¡¯t be said for their current mess of a situation. Or any other one that included humans, for that matter. ¡°Not yet today, nope!¡± Aria answered. ¡°Awhhhh. I love dad!¡± Reya woofed. ¡°He loves you too, sweetie~.¡± The brief, cutesy distraction did wonders for Ember¡¯s nerves, letting her gather her thoughts and continue, ¡°H-he really does, Reya! A-and as for the human¡­ I hope they get well soon, I-I really do¡ª¡± ¡°Even just so they¡¯d leave sooner?¡± Ember froze as Aria completed the sentence for her, before looking away in a small, shameful nod. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sweetie. If there¡¯s anyone justified in wanting them gone from here, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°It feels m-mean to say...¡± Ember mumbled. ¡°Maybe, but I know you¡¯re not doing it out of malice.¡± Speaking of possible malice... ¡°But¡­ I wanted to ask about something else.¡± The clarification might¡¯ve been a lie and Aria might¡¯ve been a terrible liar, but fortunately for her, Ember was too focused on her worries to notice. The words perked her up, making her look at the taller psychic as she continued, ¡°Does the name ¡®Anne¡¯ ring any bells for you?¡± Aria had to smudge the pronunciation to hide the name¡¯s obviously human origin¡ªand judging by Ember not immediately panicking at hearing it, she was successful. She didn¡¯t expect the Braixen to focus so much on it either, enough so that it made her stop shaking for a moment. It didn¡¯t last long until uncertainty and¡­ frustration joined the fray. The vixen tried to mask it as well as she could as she answered, ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t think so. Why do you ask, Mrs. Aria?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s nothing.¡± The Braixen might¡¯ve been distracted last time, but this time she caught onto Aria not being honest with her. She looked uncertainly at the Gardevoir as the latter got up, swiping the leftover snow off her skin dress. ¡°Alas, it¡¯s time for me to return to my duties. Come visit sometimes, sweetie. Cadence enjoys hanging out with you more than she¡¯d admit~.¡± The thought brought a smile to Ember¡¯s snout, distracting her away from her previous doubts. As Aria returned Reya¡¯s excited waving, she thought about whether there was a point in returning to the clinic, or if she should just resume her usual duties. Before she could decide on either, a low, heavy voice caught her attention, ¡°Aria? A private word if you could.¡± The Torkoal¡¯s words caught the surrounding tykes¡¯ attention for a moment, before it went right back to the stories being woven by their caretakers. Said Wigglytuff and Grumpig waved over at her as well; the wordless gesture returned as the Gardevoir addressed the fiery tortoise, ¡°^Yes, Elder Ana?^¡± The Fire-type might not have been capable of telepathy proper, but she made up for that by thinking about her words really hard. It let Aria and any other nearby psychics pick up on what she was trying to convey with minimal effort. Which¡ªconsidering the group in question currently comprised a handful of toddlers, most of them asleep, and one very occupied caretaker¡ªwas good enough. ¡°^What¡¯s the situation with the human?^¡± ¡°^Improving quickly health-wise, she woke up earlier today for a moment. It appears she was trying to escape from her family when she suffered her crash, and it is very uncertain whether she has any safe place to return to. We are in the process of figuring out what to do with her once she recovers. And,^¡± Aria paused briefly, the fact still not sitting right with her, ¡°^it seems she is one of Ember¡¯s past tormentors.^¡± Ana grew quiet at that, old age helping the speed of her thoughts any. She wasn¡¯t gonna let that stop her, though. ¡°^How... confident are you of that claim?^¡± ¡°^Not at all, but there is some evidence towards it I cannot argue with.^¡± The Torkoal responded with a slow, thoughtful nod. A part of her clearly wanted to say more, but she resigned to wrapping the chat instead, ¡°^Very well. I trust your judgment. Proceed as you were.^¡± ¡°^Understood, Elder Ana.^¡± ¡°^May the winds hasten you, Aria.^¡±
The Gardevoir¡¯s walk back to the clinic took a while, her pace dragged down by conflicting thoughts swirling in her mind. They took up enough of her attention to make her overlook a couple of very critical facts until after she¡¯d stepped into the large, multi-chambered tent. One, Anne was awake. Two, Autumn was with her. One hurried dash later, the Gardevoir entered Anne¡¯s room, thankfully finding the situation under control. The Indeedee was pouring the girl a cup of Holly¡¯s concoction as she watched with curiosity; the green glow of Autumn¡¯s telekinesis captivating despite being little more than a blur to her eyes. ¡°^Autumn, what are you doing!?^¡± Aria shouted telepathically, her private message going unnoticed by Anne¡ªwhich couldn¡¯t be said about Autumn turning her head to look up at her daughter-in-law. Her motion made the human glance over in that direction as well, mood improving at the sight of her ¡®nurse¡¯. ¡°~H-hello, nurse!~¡± ¡°^Making sure the girl¡¯s comfy! I¡¯m not even sure if she can drink anything like this, Aria. Someone had to come help her.^¡± ¡°^She thinks she¡¯s in a human hospital¡ª^¡± ¡°^And she still does, don¡¯t you worry. I didn¡¯t try to talk to her.^¡± A quick check of the human¡¯s surface thoughts confirmed the Indeedee¡¯s words, much to Aria¡¯s relief. All Anne perceived was a mon nurse checking up on her and helping her have a drink. ¡°^Alright, I see. Sorry, I¡ª^¡± ¡°^Shhhh. Don¡¯t go around worrying Aria, you¡¯re just trying to¡ª^¡± ¡°~N-nurse?~¡± Anne asked, interrupting the mental exchange. Aria cleared her throat as she refocused on the girl, taking a couple of deep breaths before responding as calmly as she could. ¡°^I¡¯m here Anne, I¡¯m here. How are you feeling?^¡± ¡°~Better. T-this Indeedee came and helped me w-with the drinking while you were gone!~¡± Even if her phrasing wasn¡¯t ideal, Anne¡¯s gratitude was downright palpable to both women. The nearly blind human looked at the shorter psychic with a weary, tired smile, before asking uncertainly, ¡°~Um... c-can I thank them in a w-way they¡¯ll understand?~¡± Autumn had to bite her tongue not to chuckle at the silliness of the question. The small smile on Aria¡¯s expression was thankfully much harder to spot for their guest. ¡°^Just say it out loud and she¡¯ll get what you mean, don¡¯t worry,^¡± the ¡®nurse¡¯ explained. ¡°~O-okay. Um... thank you, Mrs. Indeedee.~¡± The elderly psychic answered with a light bow before hovering a freshly refilled cup of juice over to the girl¡¯s mouth. It was some of the best tasting¡­ anything she¡¯s had in years now, unable to keep herself from downing the entire portion at once despite how intense the flavor was. While Aria was glad Anne was feeling better, the pressing questions remained, regardless of how unpleasant they were to talk about¡ªor difficult to segue into. She didn¡¯t want the girl to get the impression she was being interrogated, but¡­ she had an idea. ¡°^We¡¯ve found your bag, Anne. I¡¯ll move it over to your bed.^¡± The news had the girl drink faster, spilling some juice onto her face as she tried to nod in response. Aria was conflicted about what to do with the eye-related glass trinket, ultimately following the conclusion they had all settled on earlier and leaving it be. The Fennekin doll peeked out of the bag¡¯s opened metal seam as the Gardevoir picked it up by the weird-feeling handle. Even if Anne couldn¡¯t make out much of it, she reacted immediately to getting her bag back, ¡°~Thank you s-so much, nurse! What about t-the glasses?~¡± ¡°^We¡¯re... still looking for them, unfortunately.^¡± ¡°~Oh, o-okay. I really hope they¡¯re alright, they¡¯re so ex-expensive...~¡± The thoughts about the trinket¡¯s price didn¡¯t translate into anything Aria was familiar with, leaving her confused about what the ¡®expensiveness¡¯ actually implied. That unknown was soon swept off to the side, though, replaced by a cautious observation of what Anne would do with the bag¡¯s contents. Autumn wasn¡¯t any less curious, watching from behind her daughter-in-law. Reassuringly, the Fennekin doll was given a close, one-armed hug. Internal warmth mixed with somber longing as Anne held onto the toy for a few moments longer, before setting it down and reaching in for her other items. ¡°^That¡¯s a nice doll,^¡± Aria commended. While her precise phrasing confused Anne a bit, the gist was understood all the same. Shaky fingers brushed through the fake polyester fur as her almost blind eyes tried to hold back tears, taking both Aria and Autumn by surprise. ¡°~Mhm. It¡¯s nice, a-and I¡¯m glad I found it...~¡± There was a lot left unspoken in that sentence, prompting the Gardevoir to keep going with the topic, despite how upset it was making the girl. ¡°^Is there something wrong, Anne?^¡± ¡°~Oh n-no, no, no, it¡¯s just... I-I miss her, the real her.~¡± ¡°^Her?^¡± ¡°~My F-Fennekin, Ember. We... we had to separate, and I p-promised her I would find her one day and we¡¯d both finally be safe...~¡± Autumn¡¯s resulting gasp startled Anne, making her look in the Indeedee¡¯s direction as she shook. ¡°~W-what was that?~¡± ¡°^Don¡¯t worry Anne, she just... sneezed. So, Ember used to live with you?^¡± The Indeedee slowly backed out of the room, confused and disgusted by what she¡¯d just heard. What followed right after, though, gave her a pause. ¡°~Mhm! We¡¯ve known each other since sh-she was tiny. I loved her, and she l-loved me too, it felt like. We¡¯d go everywhere together, she¡¯d snuggle i-into me at night, we¡¯d hide together from the other kids, o-or my parents...~¡± This wasn¡¯t adding up. Anne¡¯s recollection was so utterly different from what they ¡®knew¡¯ about Ember¡¯s upbringing that it felt almost insulting, but¡­ it was as genuine as it got, every word of it. Aria and Autumn stared at each other in shock as they tried to figure it out. They weren¡¯t about to take some random human¡¯s word over the Braixen¡¯s, but the former meant it in a way that left no room for deceit. Could a tragic misunderstanding have taken place? Was Anne¡¯s ¡®Ember¡¯ even their Ember? Or, most distraughtly, could what Anne thought to be affection have only harmed Ember? While the two psychics exchanged thoughts on how realistic either possibility was, the girl they talked about had stumbled upon a mystery of her own. As she reached up to wipe the tears from her face, she noticed a stark absence of something very expected. The shocking realization made her keep going, sliding the rest of her right arm along her nose and mouth before feeling along the cast covering her left arm. Her movements grew shakier by the moment as they continued around her body¡ªher neck, shoulders and stomach all coming up clear as well. By the time Anne was done, the anxiety building within her was acutely palpable, made more unnerving by neither psychic having an idea of what could¡¯ve sparked it. Keeping her cool, Aria put the earlier confusion aside and spoke up calmly, ¡°^Anne? Is something wr¡ª^¡± ¡°~W-where¡¯s the IV tube thing... o-or the nose thing with oxygen, o-or¡ª~¡± Anne rambled before taking a long, careful look around the room, trying to spot anything white or metallic from the oddly brown and tan decor. Nothing, nothing that looked even remotely like any medical equipment or like what an inside of a hospital should look like. Anne shrunk into her bed by the moment as panic built inside her. ¡°~O-or anything...~¡± Aria had no idea how to respond, slowly backing off from the bed. Their entire facade had come undone in an instant, leaving Anne to whimper out in terror, ¡°~Wh-where am I?~¡± Chapter 5: Trust Aria and Autumn remained frozen out of shock as Anne¡¯s fear grew by the moment. The Gardevoir wanted to immediately reassure the girl that she was safe and that she had nothing to fear. At the same time, though, their village¡¯s safety depended on Anne being kept in the dark about where she was, and this wasn¡¯t a responsibility she could just ignore. The two forces clashed inside her as the room stayed at an impasse. The Indeedee didn¡¯t want to endanger everyone here either, forced to painfully overrule her caring nature and just watch. Anne¡¯s thoughts darted around the place, trying to come up with a way out before reminding herself that she was blind, injured, and that this ¡®nurse¡¯ had a psychic with them. What was that woman gonna use that Indeedee for¡ª ¡°^Anne. You...^¡± the ¡®nurse¡¯ spoke, finally decided on what to do, ¡°^...you are in the middle of the Lillywood forest. We found you after you¡¯ve suffered your accident; and took you in to patch you up. You are safe here, I promise.^¡± Autumn stared aghast at her daughter-in-law for giving out their secret, her shock clear for the Gardevoir to notice. Aria responded telepathically without looking away from Anne, ¡°^At this rate, she¡¯ll need her memories cleaned, anyway. The least we can do is make sure she feels safe.^¡± She knew full well her justification was a flimsy excuse, one that wouldn¡¯t pass muster if she were to hear it from anyone else. Regardless of what the human girl had done, she was injured, blind, and utterly terrified. And to stoke the flames of her empathy even further, Anne felt so like her actual daughter with her age and voice that the mother within her couldn¡¯t resist the desire to comfort her further, even if her stoic expression gave little of that away. Before Autumn could argue with, or even acknowledge that justification, the girl spoke first, ¡°~Wh-what do you¡ªis th-this a cabin or¡ª~¡± A harrowing thought forced Anne to take another look at her ¡®¡®¡®nurse¡¯¡¯¡¯, eyes squinting harder than ever. Her mind was sufficiently wiped of any idea of what she ought to be looking at, to finally realize what she was feebly trying to stare down. No amount of disposable scrubs could ever result in an appearance like that. No way someone would wear red protective glasses when just facing patients. That wasn¡¯t just some red patch sewn into the outfit¡ª ¡­ The realization hit the girl hard as her vague fear of the unknown solidified into a very concrete terror of something very known. She froze with a pitiful whimper before doing the only thing she was capable of¡ªhiding under her blankets and hyperventilating. ¡°^I¡¯ll take care of this mom, just make sure nobody disturbs us.^¡± ¡°^Please be careful, Aria.^¡± ¡°^I will.^¡± With Autumn gone and taking the post right outside, the room now only had the human, and the Gardevoir she was so terrified of. Their mental link let the latter see just what was writhing underneath the girl¡¯s skullcap, many of the fears ones she was all too familiar with. Fear of death, immense distrust of psychics, the acute awareness of just how powerful the wild mon sharing the room with her was, and that she could do nothing to stop them. The knowledge that, if so desired, that Gardevoir could kill her a dozen different ways before she could even scream, including some particularly disturbing ones Aria had never conceived of before. Others were related to ideas Aria only knew of faintly. She remembered hearing from her family, many years back, that humans attached a particular amount of frightful reverence to their kin. And while the Gardevoir usually thought little of the ¡®knowledge¡¯ her old clan had passed onto her, she couldn¡¯t deny that chills ran through her fins at sensing the term ¡®ghost bride¡¯ in the girl¡¯s panicking thoughts, referring to her. Trying to tug at that name, to find out more about its associations, made Anne shake in fear even harder. Ultimately, the specifics didn¡¯t matter¡ªthey were all baseless nonsense, made viciously potent by the girl believing in them. Most of them Aria would¡¯ve just internally scoffed at coming from anyone else. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to do that here, though. The shaky, pathetic sight on the bedding was much too pitiful for judgement like that. All she could think of was comforting the girl, but didn¡¯t have many good ways of accomplishing that. A Calm Mind would¡¯ve helped, but only in the moment. Sooner or later, Anne would¡¯ve realized her mind was being toyed with, and her distrust would only deepen. The only way to regain her trust was the slowest, riskiest, and most mundane way. And so; Aria spoke again, ¡°^Anne, we...^¡± She considered her words for a while, before deciding to reveal the whole truth, and continued, ¡°^We found you injured and unconscious in the snow. Even if we knew how to bring you to the human healers, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten you there in time. I¡ªI know this isn¡¯t what you expected to see, and I wish I had been honest with you from the get go. But I wasn¡¯t, and I¡¯m sorry for that.^¡± It all hurt to admit, both to herself and to the girl, but she knew she had to. ¡°^I know you don¡¯t trust me, I know you¡¯re terrified of me, Anne... but I¡ªI promise you¡¯re safe here. Neither us nor... your parents will lay a hand on you while you¡¯re under our watch.^¡± The Gardevoir closed her eyes, keeping a close eye on the child¡¯s emotions. Eventually, she had no choice but to admit what felt like defeat, wincing as she spoke, ¡°^If you would prefer, I can leave you alone for now. There¡¯s water on the stand for you, and I could bring you more food, if you wish.^¡± To say Anne¡¯s thoughts were turbulent in response to Aria¡¯s words would be the understatement of the Gardevoir¡¯s life. From fearful shock at what had happened to her, to enmity towards the psychic for deceiving her, to terror of the wild creature¡¯s fearsome power, to self-deprecating shame at even trying to hide from something that could kill her with a passing thought, to an attempt at actually considering its offer, all those in a matter of moments. The intensity of the negative thoughts aimed towards her was enough to almost give the Gardevoir a headache of her own, but she persevered. Her stoic appearance cracked into the tiniest frown as the girl admitted internal defeat, so convinced she was going to die that she didn¡¯t see any point in even hiding any more. As harrowing as it was, though, Aria could tell at least some of her words had wormed their way into Anne¡¯s mind, making her slowly doubt her assessment of the situation. For the longest time, the girl didn¡¯t acknowledge her words, and the Gardevoir thought she should just leave to give her some space to cool off¡ªbefore hearing the weakest of whimpers, clear to her mind, ¡°~Why d-did you s-save me?~¡± The question gave the Gardevoir a pause¡ªnot because of what it said, but what it implied. It stung, but she tried not to focus on that. Anne talking to her at all was immense progress on its own, her fear palpably fading by the moment. That realization was corroborated further once Aria opened her eyes and spotted the human peeking out from underneath her covers¡ªand immediately stopping with a whimper once she realized the Gardevoir was staring back. ¡°^Isn¡¯t that what anyone with a shred of heart would do? An injured child out in the cold, about to bleed and freeze to death... why wouldn¡¯t we do what we can to save you?^¡± The last question echoed in Anne¡¯s mind, refusing to let itself get overlooked. Of course, she tried to answer it, multiple times no less, with each response only getting more prejudiced and absurd alike. None of them could withstand being scrutinized for any amount of time, though, immediately falling apart when faced with what the girl knew she¡¯d been through so far, and how many chances that Gardevoir and other mons have had to end her. The only idea that resisted that scrutiny was of her being played with for that Gardevoir¡¯s perverse amusement. It was no doubt finding a lot of joy in filling her head with a false sense of safety before pulling it out from underneath her. After all, it had already done so once; who said it wouldn¡¯t do so again? It was illogical, incoherent, and incredibly resistant to being disproved. Aria was well aware, considering giving up for the time being, but¡­ even it didn¡¯t stick around for too long. As terrified as the girl was, not even her panicking mind could contort the facts enough to make that idea feel realistic. Not with what that Gardevoir had said to her, be it as a pretend nurse or as, presumably, itself. Gradually, that dangerous possibility that the wild psychic was actually telling the truth began taking up more and more of her mind. Her certain fear burned into uncertain doubt¡ªabout the Gardevoir, about herself, about whether any of this was even real. As Anne¡¯s mind tied itself into knots, Aria took a deep breath before daring to get closer. She stomped as loud as she could with each step, wanting to make sure the girl had noticed them. And notice them she did, shrinking further underneath the blankets, trembling as she awaited her fate. Eventually, the steps stopped, making the girl¡¯s heart skip a beat before she felt the bedding underneath her shift as if weight had been placed beside her left leg. The gentle rustle of fabric on fabric only provided further evidence towards what she thought had just happened. After getting over the shock of that Gardevoir having sat down on the edge of her bed, Anne dared peeking out to see what the hell were they doing, lifting the covers just a bit¡ª Only to see the psychic¡¯s green hand laying down in front of her, palm side up, ready to be grasped. The sight transfixed the girl as her exhaustion-dulled thoughts churned through what the intent of that gesture even was. Before long, though, that voice reached her mind again, ¡°^I won¡¯t hurt you Anne, I promise. You don¡¯t have to fear me.^¡± The previous time the human had heard this message, she¡¯d immediately dismissed it as a cruel joke at her existence. As safety being dangled in front of her, only for her to get stabbed should she reach out for it. The book she¡¯d been reading before her doomed escape provided more than enough fuel for terrifying mental imagery of psychic abilities being used to harm her, but¡­ she didn¡¯t let her imagination get the better of her. It was all still scary, terribly scary, but as hard as Anne¡¯s mind tried¡ªand try it did very hard¡ªit couldn¡¯t convince herself that the Gardevoir was out to get her, not this time. In the absence of a concrete reason for that wild mon to hurt her, the maelstrom inside Anne¡¯s mind finally began to calm down. Enough so for it to take a sober look at what had happened, and put it together into a coherent image. An image that had the Gardevoir sitting beside her been trying everything they could to make her feel safe. It was all unbelievable in the most literal sense, especially once she thought about just where she was. The structure she was in was unlike anything she¡¯d heard of in these woods, and was seemingly tended to entirely by mons, with no people around¡ª Unbelievable, and yet here she was. Injured, blind, scared; but as far as she could piece it together on her own, safe. Another peek from underneath the protective blanket revealed nothing had changed since the last time. The green hand was exactly where she¡¯d last seen it, though now Anne had enough composure to look further along the arm, at the Gardevoir beside her. She didn¡¯t dare look all the way up at their face though, not yet. If she was safe here, with this powerful creature talking to her, trying their absolute hardest to comfort her, then maybe what she¡¯d heard about wild mons wasn¡¯t all that true in the end. For a while, the girl could only stare at the green hand in front of her, still too uncertain to do much of anything. The longer she laid there, though, the more the uncertainty within her boiled, condensing into more fear. Her mind desperately wanted to cling to the idea of safety and to not let itself get torn by terror again, but had no idea how to avoid it¡ª Except, of course, by acting. Slowly, very slowly, Anne¡¯s hand reached out from underneath the pretend cocoon of her blanket, towards the Gardevoir¡¯s. Half of the girl¡¯s mind screamed at her to stop while the other half cheered as loudly as it could for her to continue, the cacophony making her thoughts impossibly hard to follow for a few moments. For a moment, Aria worried about the girl backing out¡ªbut thankfully, she pushed through. Anne flinched slightly as her pink, bruised hand made contact with the green one, the immediate sensation almost indescribable. The wild mon¡¯s skin was silken smooth, somehow so human and yet so very different. Softer than a baby¡¯s bottom and almost electric to the touch, slightly numbing in the most comforting way. It emanated an odd warmth, beyond just physical heat¡ªa warmth of safety, refuge, love. It felt like it could out-protect the raggedy blanket covering her body. ¡°^It¡¯s okay Anne, you¡¯re safe. Take as much time as you need.^¡±
By the wonderful @anthrodyniacoms on Twitter!
Despite the inhumanity of the being that spoke towards her, Anne only nodded in affirmation. The comfort emanating from the Gardevoir¡¯s touch stilled the relentless worry inside her head bit by bit, calming her heart along with it. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Until all that was left was silence and peace. At least, initially. Freed of the panic that had gripped it, the girl¡¯s mind began drifting towards confusion at everything else going on, and with it came curiosity, bright and innocent. Anne felt her hand being held that much closer at that, but didn¡¯t connect the dots herself. Instead, she focused her entire resolve on facing the world around her as it actually was, and that extended to the being that had helped her out. Slowly, she withdrew her hand before reaching around to pull the blanket away from her face. The sudden light made her squint even harder before she looked up at the Gardevoir beside her. She still felt a shudder go through her at that sight, the rambling of a small part in the back of her head about how afraid she should¡¯ve been. She refused to give it any more power, though, focusing instead on the psychic¡¯s expression and barely managing to make out the wide smile filling it. ¡°^Hello there, Anne. How are you feeling?^¡± Aria thanked whichever deities were nearby for the girl overcoming her fears enough to make that first, crucial step on her own. Her Calm Mind-infused touch only sped up what Anne¡¯s mind was already well on its path towards. The curiosity she felt bubbling to the forefront of the girl¡¯s mind only made the Gardevoir happier still, making her want nothing more in the moment than to comfort this poor child further. And that, of course, included satisfying her understandable confusion. ¡°~I¡¯m... I-I think I¡¯m okay. Th-thank you... um¡ªwhat¡¯s your name? And how do you know mine?~¡± ¡°^You¡¯re very welcome, sweetie. My name is Aria. And how I know your name... there¡¯s a fairly strong mental connection between us right now. It lets me see some of your surface thoughts¡ªyour name, how you¡¯re feeling, and such.^¡± It was a great simplification, true, but entirely appropriate for her needs at the moment. As the Gardevoir scooted closer to the girl, she thanked the stars that her explanation did not inspire any further fear or disgust inside her. Even without those, Anne¡¯s mind wouldn¡¯t remain entirely peaceful, though. Instead of fear, came self-consciousness, thoughts about everything the girl thought about the psychic while she was panicking¡ªand how messed up and offensive it was. ¡°~D-does that mean you could hear what I was th-thinking all along? If so, then... I-I¡¯m sorry¡ª~¡± While Anne may have wanted to shrink away in shame, Aria had other ideas. The girl flinched at her body suddenly being enveloped in the same kind of warmth as the one emanating from the Gardevoir¡¯s hand. It was as soothing as it was surprising, and the former reaction soon won out in her mind. ¡°^Shhhh, settle, settle Anne. No need to apologize for panicking. It¡¯s only natural to be scared of those you don¡¯t know, especially in a situation as scary as yours. You did nothing wrong here, I promise.^¡± The reassurance helped immensely; Anne responded with a gentle nod as she looked up at the Gardevoir. The sheer gratitude for her gaffe not being held against her welled up inside her small, roughed up body, making her shake a bit. ¡°~Thank you, M-Mrs. Aria. That¡¯s a p-pretty name...~¡± Aria giggled at that remark and shifted closer still, leaving the human squirming a bit. ¡°^Thank you Anne, your name is really pretty too.^¡± The same green hand she¡¯d held moments before reached over towards Anne¡¯s head, gently petting her brown, unkempt hair. It emanated more of the same pleasant, tingly, loving sensations, melting through her worries even more effectively than earlier. It felt so, so very nice... And Anne couldn¡¯t even remember the last time she was touched in a comforting way like that. Before Aria could investigate that stray thought, she heard the Indeedee reach out to her from the other room, ¡°^Feels much better now! Is it alright if I come back in?^¡± ¡°^Anne?^¡± Hearing Aria¡¯s voice interrupted the girl¡¯s train of thought before it could venture into a dark place again. ¡°~Y-yes, Mrs. Aria?~¡± ¡°^The Indeedee you saw earlier... her name is Autumn. She¡¯s my mother-in-law. She¡¯s asking whether she could come back and chat with you too.^¡± A part of that sentence took Anne aback for a hot minute. The girl was much more used to the mental image of an Indeedee as a nameless assistant at a hospital or a clinic more than she was to them being sentient beings with names, families, and personalities. However; much the same was true about the Gardevoir she was now talking with, making her shake the disconnect away from her mind with a firm nod. ¡°^Come in, mom.^¡± Autumn wasted no time before waddling back in, smiling widely at the sight of her daughter comforting the poor child. ¡°^Hello there sweetie~. I am so, so glad to see you doing better! Do you still need a drink, dear?^¡± she asked, her old, slightly croaky mental voice throwing Anne¡¯s mind for a loop. The girl was deeply unused to mons speaking up and sounding like pe¡ªhumans. Though, with how alluring the offer was, confusion had to take a distant second place. ¡°~Yes, p-please, Mrs. Autumn.~¡± ¡°^Oh hush now sweetie, no need for formalities, just ¡®Autumn¡¯ is more than fine. Oh, seems you¡¯ve dropped this~.^¡± As the Indeedee made her way to the bed¡¯s other side, her eyes briefly lit up with a green sheen, levitating the Fennekin plush back onto the bed. The moment it touched the bedding, Anne pulled it into a close hug, sighing in relief. The two psychics might¡¯ve still been deeply uncertain about just what the relationship between the human girl and the Braixen helping with the little ones was exactly, but they had a terribly hard time imagining that Anne had ever intentionally harmed the fox. All the while, the realization that she¡¯d just blown up their entire facade in front of Anne was finally sinking into Aria¡¯s mind. Still, she was good at this. Once the need arose, she could remove all traces of this having ever happened from Anne¡¯s memory. Or, at least, that¡¯s what she told herself to excuse what she was about to do. A glowing sight in the corner of her vision distracted Anne from watching the Indeedee grandma pour her another glass. Aria¡¯s eyes were aglow with faint white light as she retrieved an important item from the side room, her find soon landing on the bedding before the girl. ¡°^I¡¯m sorry for keeping this away from you earlier, Anne.^¡± Anne had no idea what the Gardevoir was referring to, not managing to make it out even when squinting as hard as she could. The suspense made her quickly down the rest of her drink before feeling around in front of herself¡ªand squealing in relief at finding her glasses. ¡°~O-oh thank you, thank you, they¡¯re alright...~¡± Despite her overjoyed reaction, a closer examination revealed a nasty crack in the corner of the left lens, and one arm to have been bent at a harsh angle. She¡¯d have to at least deal with the latter issue if she wanted the eyewear to stay on her head. A quick attempt at fixing it herself only made her realize her fingers had nowhere near the strength to fix the thin piece of steel. ¡°^Do you need help, Anne?^¡± Aria asked. ¡°~Umm... y-yeah. I can¡¯t wear them like this, th-they¡¯re bent here...~¡± The link between them let the Gardevoir figure out what the girl was referring to. She nodded as her white aura enveloped the metal stripe, straightening it out in a single motion before Anne could elaborate. The effortlessness of it all caught the girl off guard. Thankfully, she was calm enough by then to end up towards the latter end of the terrified¡ªawestruck spectrum. ¡°~T-thank you, Mrs. Aria...~¡± Seeing the glass trinket be used for its intended purpose caught both psychics¡¯ attention. Anne¡¯s sight returned as her squinting eyes opened all the way, letting the mons make out her hazel eyes. And cementing the realization that, indeed, all this was happening. That she was indeed conversing with two very real mons tending to her, mere feet away. A glance around the room made her recognize that this wasn¡¯t a cabin as she¡¯d previously thought, but instead a large tent; thick canvas surrounding her from all sides. There was an opening up on the wall to her right, letting in light but seemingly not the cold, courtesy of the sparkling sheen covering it. Somehow. ¡°^Huh, so this thing helps you see~?^¡± Autumn¡¯s creaky voice pulled Anne¡¯s attention back towards her. The Indeedee was even cuter in as high of a definition as anything ever got for the human. ¡°~Mhm! My s-sight is very bad, a-and these curve the light to make up for that,~¡± Anne explained. For once, she wasn¡¯t the one that ended up being utterly confused about something. Her explanation didn¡¯t make a ton of sense for either Aria or Autumn, making her second-guess herself and try coming up with a better one. Before she could get too far into that task, though, the Gardevoir interrupted her, ¡°^We¡¯ll have to ask you some more about it sometime. Right now... would you mind answering a few questions, Anne?^¡± Anne nodded in affirmation and leaned in, listening intently. It took the Gardevoir a while to actually say her questions out loud. She wasn¡¯t exactly racing to get back to the topic of the terrible things that had befallen the girl and ruin the serene mood. Alas, she knew she would have to, eventually. Still, that didn¡¯t mean she had to get to the worst of it right away. Though, the question of which of the two topics she wanted to ask about was worse wasn¡¯t exactly an easy one. ¡°^Sooo, I was curious... you and Ember. How were you two like?^¡± Even the slightly less awful question instantly drained much of the room¡¯s warmth away. Instead of the expected fear, though, Aria felt somber sadness fill the girl¡¯s mind, her good arm holding the plush much closer as she reminisced. ¡°~W-we were... it was us two against the world. She meant everything to me. We¡¯d go everywhere t-together, even to school. I wasn¡¯t allowed to bring her there, a-and she¡¯d always get really scared wh-when I had to hide her in the backpack, a-and I¡¯d apologize every time, but I-I had to, or they¡¯d hurt her...~¡± Anne whimpered, the two psychics growing aghast with each word. The lead the girl had left at the end was one they had to investigate further, as much as neither them nor the girl really wanted to. Aria¡¯s slow, gentle pets helped a fair bit, but they could only do so much. ¡°^Who was hurting her?^¡± ¡°~O-other kids at school. They made fun of me for bringing her, b-but if I left her outside the class, they¡¯d chase her down and hurt her and she was too scared to fight back. O-or if they found me during recess, they¡¯d corner me and beat me until I let go of her. Most of the time I¡¯d run or hide o-or find a place where teachers were watching, or just endure it, b-but...~¡± Anne¡¯s tears kept flowing despite the psychically enhanced affection, her words filling out the terrifying picture one bloodstain at a time. The elderly Indeedee felt a wrath within her she had never felt before; a desire to storm into the human backwater and enact justice on those responsible in as ruthless of a form as she could think of¡ª But it only lasted mere moments before dimming into just feeling sorry for the human and the fox. As terrible as it all was, enough to force Aria to Calm Mind herself lest she¡¯d lose composure, she knew she had to continue, asking, ¡°^I-I see... were there no safe places for her?^¡± ¡°~S-sort of... when I could I left her at Mrs. Graham¡¯s library, b-but it wasn¡¯t always open in time, or on all days... a-and I couldn¡¯t leave her at home, o-o-or,~¡± Anne paused, shaking even harder than before as tears leaked from underneath her eyelids, ¡°~or they would hurt her so much more...~¡± ¡°^Your parents?^¡± Aria asked. Anne nodded, breaking Autumn¡¯s heart. She wished she could do or say something to help the poor child, to somehow prevent all the suffering from those that should¡¯ve been the ones closest to her. Alas, all she could do was watch as her daughter proceeded with her questioning, the resolve to make things right building up inside her by the moment. Before Aria could ask another question, Anne continued on her own volition, mind fraying as she retold it all, ¡°~Th-they hurt me a lot when I went back to them, and when I stopped crying as much, they started hurting Ember, a-and I couldn¡¯t do anything...~¡± Aria had enough. The girl¡¯s retelling was genuine and painful enough to cast away any doubt the Gardevoir might¡¯ve had in her mind. However, it meant that someone else wasn¡¯t telling the full truth about what had happened, and there was one person involved in all this Aria¡¯s doubts immediately leaped towards. Still, that was a topic for another time. The Gardevoir nodded slowly as she kept petting the abused girl, a touch of Calm Mind steering her away from reliving it all. Her other question remained, though, and with how intimately it tied to the current topic, Aria figured it was the best time to ask it, just to get it over with, ¡°^I¡¯m so sorry, Anne. When you were running away from your parents, on the night we found you... were you headed towards someone? A¡ªa family member that would take you in¡ª^¡± ¡°~N-n-no.~¡± The answer was as straightforward as it was damning for any ideas Aria might have had. Her free hand clenched in a brief flash of the same anger that Autumn had felt earlier. She couldn¡¯t comprehend anyone hurting and abusing their own little one, deep down¡ªbut that made it no less true in this situation. ¡°~I-I just... I had to run. I-I overheard my father saying he was g-gonna kill me if I pissed him off again. I stayed up that night, crammed as much as I could into my bag, stole a neighbor¡¯s b-bike and took off. I thought I¡¯d have the best chances in Lillywood, that m-maybe I could take a train from there to C-Castelia and find someone who¡¯d help me out, s-someplace I¡¯d be safe...~¡± Like here... A pang of pain shot through both psychics at overhearing Anne¡¯s stray thought. No matter her previous composure, or even Aria¡¯s constant help, the girl¡¯s tears continued to flow. Her plea from earlier came back in force, even with the fake human place being replaced by whatever non-human place this was. It felt just as hopelessly impossible as it did last time; her fear turning her words into a pitiful whimper as she begged, ¡°~P-please don¡¯t make me go back...~¡± As different as the circumstances were now, as utterly unthinkable a course of action as it would imply... Aria¡¯s response to that request, deep down, remained exactly the same. ¡°^We won¡¯t let them hurt you again, Anne.^¡± ¡°~B-but... I-I don¡¯t have anywhere to go¡ª~¡± ¡°^Then let this be your home until you do.^¡± As much as Autumn wholeheartedly agreed with her daughter¡¯s verdict, she still turned to face her in shock at unilaterally deciding on something so unheard of, so against the purpose of their little shelter from humanity. It was difficult, almost impossible, for her to wrap her mind around all the implications of Aria¡¯s words¡ªand yet, that didn¡¯t make them any less inarguably correct. Before Anne could whimper out a quiet ¡°~Really?~¡±, a tearful glance at Aria¡¯s expression told her everything she needed to know. The Gardevoir¡¯s composed neutrality had given way to fierce determination, and then a gentle smile as the girl kept looking. And then, at last, one final firm nod sealing the promise. The next thing Aria knew, Anne had grabbed her petting hand, and moved it in front of herself to hold in a tearful, one-armed embrace. Neither expected, nor something she could leave at just that, especially with Anne¡¯s yearning for comfort being downright palpable. Anne¡¯s eyes went wide at the sensations that followed. Covers were telekinetically held against her front, before she was lifted and pulled closer to the Gardevoir, leaning on her. She couldn¡¯t argue with the outcome, though, finding herself position to not just hold the psychic¡¯s hand, but her entire body. There was not a shred of hesitation in the side hug that followed. Anne¡¯s impromptu embrace was shaky, tearful, rather awkward¡ªbut so, so needed. A kind of comfort the girl worried she¡¯d forgotten entirely by now. The mess of thoughts stirring in her mind was just as if not even more chaotic than earlier. Awareness that she had no idea where or even what ¡®here¡¯ was. Worries about this place seemingly not having any other humans. The intense relief Aria¡¯s promise of safety brought. Realization of just how deeply comforting the Gardevoir¡¯s presence was, And an unspoken desire to have it last forever. Unfortunately, it had to end only a few minutes later. Aria shuddered as she felt a familiar aura approach fast, one honing on her in particular. She squeezed the girl one last time before looking up at the room¡¯s entrance and taking a deep breath. Just in time, as the Luxray blitzed in mere seconds later. His fur arced as he came to a stop, piercing eyes turned to look at his coworker¡ªonly to go wide at what he actually saw. He had no idea what was going on in here, but liked exactly none of it. ¡°^What is it, Lumi?^¡± Aria asked, shaking him out of any grumbling. His thoughts returned to the issue at hand as he watched the human look up at him. It wasn¡¯t supposed to have that glass trinket, goddammit Aria¡­ ¡°Another human searching for this one. One, with an Arcanine. Nobody is following them, and Marco is keeping track of them for the time being.¡± The news wasn¡¯t what Aria expected or wanted to hear. As she thought about who this new human could¡¯ve been, her ideas ventured in the most unsavory direction. The earlier impulse to hurt those who had hurt the girl came back in full force, making the Gardevoir¡¯s expression narrow and her free hand clench into a fist. ¡°^I see, I¡¯ll be on my way there, I have an idea of who that may be¡ª^¡± ¡°~W-what¡¯s going on?~¡± Anne¡¯s quivering voice took Aria out of any further bloody thoughts. She felt the fear of the intimidating Luxray staining it, making her stroke the girl¡¯s hair before responding, letting everyone hear this time, ¡°^I have to leave for my duties, unfortunately. I¡¯ll be back as soon as possible. Autumn, do you mind keep¡ª^¡± ¡°^Say no more Aria~. I¡¯ll stay with you Anne, as long as needed.^¡± Despite the reassurance, the girl felt distraught at the unexpected symbol of her safety leaving so abruptly. It wasn¡¯t like she had any room to argue, though, nodding as she let go of the Gardevoir. The room felt so empty the moment she left, making the human shrink into her bed. As she departed the healers¡¯ tent and then their village, Aria knew one thing more clearly than anything else in the world. If she ran into Anne¡¯s parents, there would be hell to pay. Chapter 6: Encounter She could probably slow down just a bit... The old woman stopped to catch her breath on the side of the snow covered road. Any hopes of doing so without grabbing her companions¡¯ attention were dashed as the Arcanine stopped with her, looking up at her with clear worry on his snout. ¡°~Don¡¯t worry Leo, I¡¯m good, I¡¯m good. Just¡ªjust need a moment. Much more walking than usual, but I¡¯ll manage,~¡± she spoke, stroking the hound¡¯s rich mane to counteract the stinging cold. It did little to reassure Leo himself, however, especially with his human¡¯s obviously pitiful state. The Ribombee that scrambled out of the cream fur shortly after was similarly doubtful. She wasted no time before trying to convey that to her human, buzzing softly as she flew over to the woman¡¯s free hand. The pretend attempts at dragging the limb in the direction they came from sent a clear message, but they only made the recipient sigh. It¡¯s not like the lil¡¯ bee was wrong, even. The old woman¡¯s years were catching up with her. She was in absolutely no state to be undertaking this expedition. It shouldn¡¯t have been her tired old self pushing deeper and deeper into these cursed woods in search of a lost child¡ªbut if not her, then who? Anne¡¯s damnable parents that fled the place the moment the police got involved? The cops that did barely any searching themselves, and only put up a handful of disposable ¡®missing person¡¯ posters? The rest of this anemic, half-dead town? She shouldn¡¯t have to be the one doing this. But if she didn¡¯t at least try looking for Anne, even if just to confirm what felt like the inevitable by now, nobody else would. ¡°~L-let¡¯s keep going for now. Still got the lead, Leo?~¡± The constant snowfall of the past few days had almost completely obscured any trail the girl had left, visual and olfactory alike. The Arcanine let out a low woof before sniffing the air again, finding himself increasingly unsure despite the straight path not leaving many other directions for Anne to have gone in. His human knew what to do. Leo¡¯s head perked up as he saw the old woman pull the book out of her purse once more. He gave it an intent sniff, before picking up on the trail again, walking slow enough for his guardian to keep up. ¡®Understanding Pose and Motion, Illustrated¡¯, hah. The woman could bet a fair bit of change that nobody aside from Anne had ever borrowed that one. As the group resumed their trek, the Ribombee flew into the pocket of her human¡¯s jacket, and snuggled up to her free hand. She was torn between not wanting to be outside in such bitter cold, eager to go back home, and loathing the idea of staying back while her guardian was putting herself at risk. The human responded to her tiny hug by embracing her with her thumb, her voice tired and croaky, ¡°~I¡¯m okay, Luxie. Don¡¯t worry, sweetie. It¡¯s... cold, and scary, I know, but we can do this, one step at a time. Hop back into Leo¡¯s mane and warm yourself up. Don¡¯t feel you have to be freezing yourself in there for me.~¡± Her words thankfully had their desired effect. The lil¡¯ bee soon squirmed out of the woman¡¯s pocket, about ready to dive back into the Arcanine¡¯s mane¡ªbefore stopping at the last moment. Instead, she flew up to her human¡¯s face, its determined expression making it clear there would be no arguing about their trip. Instead, Luxie flew closer to nuzzle the old woman¡¯s cheek with her entire body. The elder¡¯s features softened as she closed her eyes for just a second, savoring the sensation before the Ribombee retreated into Leo¡¯s warmth. Brief as it was, the moment of comfort was appreciated all the same. It softened the impact of yet another frigid gust that came soon after; the frost forcing a quiet grunt out of the human before she doubled down in response. She pushed on as hard as her body still allowed¡ªfor a few moments at least, spite proving to be a very fickle fuel for tasks like this. Fortunately, she wouldn¡¯t have to rely on it for much longer. A bump in the blanket of snow right ahead of them caught the entire group¡¯s attention. The couple inches of bark peeking out from underneath it wordlessly explained its presence. ¡°~Guess we have to go around it, through the white menace,~¡± the old woman sighed¡ªonly for Leo to stop dead in his tracks. He then did a nasal double take before slowly, yet confidently, leading them off into the trees. Gentle as it was, the downwards slope of the sudden detour made trekking through it that much harder for his human. The hound didn¡¯t leave his guardian¡¯s side even for a moment, providing constant, constantly needed support. Every pebble or root deviously hidden underneath the snow made it even harder to follow the doomed path, for them and Anne a few days ago alike. ¡°~Goodness Anne, what happened to you...~¡± Both her companions shared that thought, Luxie¡¯s quiet squeaks especially unnerved. They all knew, at a certain level deep down, that the girl didn¡¯t make it. Seeing her tragedy unfold like this only made that clinical realization even more viscerally disturbing. Thankfully, the path evened out eventually, making it that much easier on the old woman. It wasn¡¯t long until the Arcanine leading the party stopped once more; at what felt like random. ¡°~Leo? What hap¡ª~¡± the woman asked, stopping after taking one more step and noticing what her Arcanine had moments earlier. Her eyes went wide as she backed off in reflex; the ravine in front of them as deadly deep as it was hard to spot in the uniform whiteness. ¡°~Verdammt...~¡± Much like the sinking feeling in their stomachs suggested, a glance down revealed Anne¡¯s ultimate destination. The handful of specks of red on white couldn¡¯t have been anything else, But¡­ The snow layer down there wasn¡¯t even so thick as to fully cover the muddy dirt. And yet, there was no sight of either Anne¡¯s body, the bike she stole, or anything she had worn that night. As Luxie gasped at the sight as loudly as her tiny body was capable of, her human was already thinking through what might¡¯ve actually happened there. No matter what, they would have to see this to the end. ¡°~There¡¯s no way she survived that fall. Something must¡¯ve dragged her, but... carnivores would¡¯ve likely done their deed on the spot, especially in such a hidden location. Even the few species that store meat for later wouldn¡¯t bother with dragging a body whole and just cut out the good bits. And I¡¯m not sure any of them even live in this area to begin with...~¡± As the human muttered to herself, trying to make sense of the situation at hand, it was Leo¡¯s turn to suddenly realize something. He froze as he sniffed the air some more, finding another, incomparably stronger lead. Stronger, fresher, Nearby. The Arcanine turned in the direction his nose was guiding him towards and bolted without waiting any longer. His mind was deadset on either rescuing the lost youngling if it was her, or avenging her if he¡¯d caught a whiff of the beast that had eaten her. ¡°~Leo, WAIT!~¡± the old woman shouted before bustling to catch up with the Fire-type. Between old age, the weather, and her exhaustion, she only reached the pace of a light jog, even as she pushed herself to her limit. Luxie was unsure which of the two to stick with before zipping towards Leo, utterly confused about what was happening. They wouldn¡¯t have to run for long. Leo had stopped in his tracks only a couple dozen meters in front of them, once he¡¯d dashed within view of his target. Or rather, targets. He felt intimidated at being outnumbered, but he had no idea what he was even looking at. He might have been a town hound, but these two... kinda-humans-but-not-really sure didn¡¯t look like the creature to feast on someone else¡¯s flesh. Then again, one of them was downright rife with the girl¡¯s scent, so what did he know? The black quadruped that accompanied them did look very carnivorous, but barely smelled of Anne. Something wasn¡¯t adding up. Without any idea how to proceed, the Arcanine assumed a defensive stance and backed up a couple of paces. He locked his eyes with the opposing group, shifting from one potential threat to another as he growled quietly. The Ribombee that followed had a similar reaction¡ªthough in her case, a ¡®defensive stance¡¯ meant diving into Leo¡¯s mane to hide, and occasionally peeking out to keep track of what the wildlings were doing. Or rather, presently, not doing. It took a while for the human to catch up. Even the brief burst of exertion at a downright sluggish pace left her completely out of breath, and supporting herself heavily on her cane. Once she came to a stop behind Leo, the hound shifted to shield her as she recovered, just in case. Eventually, she found enough strength to look up at the scene before her¡ªand recoiled immediately. While her mons¡¯ reactions to the creatures in front of them were mostly unfamiliar confusion, the human¡¯s response was a stark clear of something well familiar. Of what these beings were, what they could do, and why crossing them was a mistake one only made once. ¡°~L-Leo, Luxie, back slowly a-and don¡¯t make sudden moves...~¡± the human muttered, following her own advice as she inched backwards, The freezing air hurt her airways as she panted in a mix of strain and anxiety. She kept trying to figure out what was going on¡ªdid Leo catch a cold to lead them there, right into the maw of danger? Or did these three do something to Anne and... oh god, oh god, Reshiram merciful¡ª ¡°^You¡¯re looking for someone, aren¡¯t you?^¡± The entire group felt a feminine voice manifest in their minds. It was like an icicle¡ªcrystal clear, freezing cold, and pointed like a dagger. Leo and Luxie were taken aback at hearing such a clearly understandable message for the first time in their lives, though the former didn¡¯t acknowledge it. Their human, on the other hand, only grew more afraid. The neutral question felt taunting to her already terrified mind, as if offering to lead them to Anne¡¯s fate. Even beyond that fear, the textbooks she taught from years ago were clear on telepathy being a tool for intimidation, not communication. ¡®You can hear me clearly, back off now¡¯ and all¡­ ¡°~K-keep going until we make it back t-to the path sweeties, keep going...~¡± Before her elderly heart could give out, the voice elaborated, slightly less tense, ¡°^A young girl named Anne.^¡± Her worst fears being confirmed made the old woman stop in a mixture of terror and grief, shaking at the ghost bride¡¯s ¡®words¡¯. A rational part of her knew she should¡¯ve kept going, to not let herself be taunted. But deep down, she had to know what had befallen the girl, even if it would come at the cost of her life. After a few excruciating moments, she replied with words drier than sand, eyes affixed on Leo¡¯s head, ¡°~I-I take it you know what... b-became of her, then...~¡± To even acknowledge the wraith¡¯s words was asking for trouble, to invite further interaction by responding to them was to sign one¡¯s own doom. Though, considering the circumstances, it¡¯s not like they weren¡¯t doomed already. As the small group awaited a response, they huddled closer. Leo¡¯s piercing gaze locked with the Luxray¡¯s, before jumping to stare down the white humanoid that stepped forward, his low growl making it stop in place. ¡°^She had suffered a serious accident, but is now safe, and is being tended to.^¡± Despite how utterly infeasible the admission sounded, it still made the woman gasp. It felt impossible, but¡­ what use was lying for a ghost bride, anyway. It had her on a platter, if it so desired. The tiniest bit of relief crept into the elder¡¯s mind, and much more of it into the heads of her companions. It still left the big, and almost as morbid question of what would happen to Anne now, at the wraiths¡¯ mercy. ¡°~T-that¡¯s... good. Wh-what... what will happen to her once she recovers?~¡± The long pause following the question was only interspersed with the Luxray¡¯s intermittent growls and barks. They sent freezing shivers down the human¡¯s spine as she kept trying to back off, bit by bit, with her companions soon getting the cue as well. Before her group could skitter away too far, though, the woman saw the wraith¡¯s eyes light up with a white flare. An instant later, she bumped into an invisible wall right behind her, letting out the most pitiful whine at realizing her own entrapment. ¡°^Who are you, and what brings you looking for her?^¡± a different voice asked. Masculine, less pointed, but just as distant. Fear of being essentially held at gunpoint left her thought process, glib despite her age, sluggish and miserly. ¡°~M-my name is Olive Graham. I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m Mylock¡¯s librarian. Anne used to visit me all the time. She¡¯d spend most of her afternoons i-in the library and stay until closing, doing homework or reading or t-trying to relax, with Ember or alone, later on.~¡± Olive¡¯s miserly body did not appreciate the tension in the air one bit. She leaned on her cane more and more as she shook in place, too afraid to even warm her hands in Leo¡¯s mane. ¡°^That does not explain why would you push yourself though this cold in search of her,^¡± the masculine voice said. Indeed, it didn¡¯t. ¡°~We never t-talked much, but... if I didn¡¯t go find out what happened to her, then nobody else would. M-My library was one of the few places she ever felt safe in, I¡ªI want to do right by her,~¡± Olive explained, finding herself reminiscing about some of their shared memories, not even considering that these recollections might not have been of her own volition. One spring evening, a couple years back. She was sorting through the recent arrivals and stocking the shelves as Anne and Ember exchanged giggles and woofs respectively, just out of sight. Goodness, was that fox a fixture on Anne¡¯s lap. She wanted to get the whole box done in one go and not put the rest of it off until the next morning, with her library staying open a couple hours longer than normal because of it. Long enough for its most frequent visitor to doze off after a couple cups of sweet tea, together with the little one in her lap. Even now, she teared up thinking just how much she wanted to let them stay in the only safe space they had left. Alas, they had to return to their horrid house eventually, day after day. She remembered Anne being startled awake by the lightest touch on her shoulder. Another scene, back when she briefly substituted as a biology teacher, when Leo was still just a Growlithe pup. He was just as keen on her lap as Ember was on Anne¡¯s, and they spent many recesses watching the school¡¯s courtyard together. Alas, their attention was too scattershot to notice the brawl brewing off in the corner. A couple of boys from the rougher families cornered Anne as she knelt down beside the fence, comforting the lil¡¯ fox. One of them taunted her, making her stand up while still facing away from him. Olive was about to shout to make them disperse, before Anne cut her off with a sucker punch right to the taunter¡¯s nose. Knocked him right on his ass; made his group scatter. As much as the librarian wanted to cheer for her at that, she limited herself to looking the other way and making sure Anne wouldn¡¯t get in any trouble over that. While she reminisced, the old woman felt her body become lighter. As if some of the unceasing pressure was taken off her elderly joints, leaving together a massive weight off her chest. Couldn¡¯t have been anything but her conscience. After a long, increasingly less tense silence, the feminine wraith spoke again, sounding¡­ different. Less imposing, warmer, notably uncertain, and with a clear gratitude in its voice, ¡°^Thank you. As to your question... we aren¡¯t sure. We don¡¯t know how safe she¡¯d be to return to... the human world. We hope you can... advise us, somehow.^¡± The sentence made all the grammatical sense in the world, but it still stunned Olive to hear. To hear a cruel, deceiving spirit suddenly turn¡­ questioning, asking her for help and not the other way around, sounding so¡­ normal. Like a person. Olive breathed deeply as she chewed through that conundrum, the lessened pain around her body making that task easier than usual. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t arriving at any particularly reassuring conclusions. ¡°~I¡¯m... unsure. She¡¯d eventually end up with a foster family. Though, given her age, I don¡¯t know how likely she¡¯d be to find one before she turns eighteen and gets kicked out of that system. With how underfunded that entire program is, I can¡¯t imagine the places she¡¯d be staying at in the meantime to be all that better than her present house...~¡± The situation got even grimmer the more she thought about it all. It was bad enough to where she wondered whether Anne staying under the woods¡¯ and ghost brides¡¯ protection really was the best possible outcome for her, as outlandish as that was to consider. To think the very society from which she sprung failed her so much that her safest option was being given shelter by spirits... As her thoughts were being picked up by others beside herself, Olive thought back to how normal that ghost bride sounded. She couldn¡¯t get that out of her mind, making her wonder whether all this wasn¡¯t yet another cruel trick its kind was said to engage in, or¡­ if it was being genuine here. The sound of snow being waded through cut her thoughts off, sending a shiver down her spine. An upward glance revealed the feminine wraith to be approaching her. She knew better than to ever meet eyes with them, only daring to sneak the briefest of glances. All she saw was a calm, sad expression, lacking any ferocity aside from the vivid crimson of its eyes. ¡°^I see. With how unsafe the human world sounds for her, it sounds like she¡¯ll have to stay with us for some time longer, then. She told us she has no family left either...^¡± ¡°~None that she should be with, no. Heard her mother ran off to her folks when the news broke. That whole rotten bunch shouldn¡¯t be let anywhere near her, even if she¡¯s not nearly as awful as Anne¡¯s father.~¡± This really was it then, wasn¡¯t it? She¡¯d found out what had happened to Anne, even if the answer in its fullest was one she had a hard time comprehending the full impact of. She didn¡¯t entirely trust the beings that had conveyed it to her, but knew well she was in absolutely no position to argue for a more appropriate end for the girl. Both because doing so with a ghost bride was how people end up being buried alive, and because she really had no argument for a different outcome. There wasn¡¯t anywhere else safe for Anne¡ªand if nothing else, the wraiths of the Lillywood Forest were at least powerful enough to keep her from harm. It was an answer; it was the answer, but... Olive wasn¡¯t satisfied, not one bit. She couldn¡¯t just let it happen like this, not if she could help it. And help it, she wanted to. ¡°~Is there... is there any way I could possibly help her out? I owe at least that to her.~¡± There was another long pause from the wild group, once more interspersed with Luxray barks. They sounded louder and more forceful this time, harsh enough to make the old woman back off¡ªand realize there was no longer any barrier keeping her trapped. As much as she wanted to flee and bring her companions to safety, her duty wasn¡¯t done here yet, the resolve to help Anne outweighing her waning fear. A couple more minutes of a mostly inaudible exchange later, the wildlings seemed to have arrived at an agreement, even if a tenuous one. The sound of fast steps trailing off into the woods made Olive glance up and see the masculine wraith run off, leaving just the other one and the Luxray. Leo was much too confused about what was going on anymore to keep on posturing. He kept shielding his human from the stranger, but wasn¡¯t otherwise trying to scare the wild mons away anymore. The snarl on the Luxray¡¯s expression still concerned him, though. ¡°^I would greatly appreciate any help, and I¡¯m sure so would Anne. I don¡¯t¡ªI don¡¯t know what a human girl like her needs. I will do all I can to keep her safe and cared for, but I am completely clueless on any specific human requirements or wants,^¡± the ghost bride explained. To meet one in person was surreal enough; to witness them asking for help was so dumbfounding it melted through much of Olive¡¯s fear of that kin. Enough so for her to finally dare do the unthinkable. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Her body shook as she looked up the rest of the way, finding the white creature¡¯s expression soft, uncertain¡ªand that bit warmer in response. Their red eyes were still as striking as the fairy tales had her believe, but there wasn¡¯t any malice within them for once. ¡°~Well... shelter, food, and water are the obvious basics. Being wanted, cared for, clothes. Beyond those, there really isn¡¯t anything that¡¯s strictly needed, I don¡¯t think¡ªespecially in Anne¡¯s case, hah. Give her a book or something to draw on and watch her sink into her own little world,~¡± Olive spoke. The spirit acknowledged her words, calming down. She was glad beyond words that the little one she had already grown fond of was almost just like everyone else¡ªbut only almost, and there definitely were places where Olive could help. ¡°^We can provide most of those, thankfully. Though, clothes and ¡®books¡¯ are something we lack.^¡± ¡°~Hah! Books are my specialty, you could say. With how few people visit the library, I don¡¯t even see an issue with her getting to take a few of them for good. Though, knowing her, she¡¯ll be done with them in days. As to clothes... I imagine rifling through her wardrobe would be helpful here; no way she took everything with her, after all. Beyond that... I don¡¯t think I have anything that fits her particularly well, but a poor fit is better than no fit, and there are definitely a few things that spent the last decade in my closet uninterrupted. Plus, she¡¯ll grow into it, assuming she stays there for long enough.~¡± ¡°^This would involve heading over to your town to retrieve these items, wouldn¡¯t it?^¡± As obvious as the answer was, it was worth stating it clearly. Olive¡¯s free hand reached into Leo¡¯s mane as she nodded, the hidden Ribombee snuggling into it all the while. ¡°You can¡¯t be seriously considering that, Aria,¡± a low, gruff voice cut in, catching the human group completely off-guard. There wasn¡¯t anyone that could¡¯ve said that, aside from the intimidating Luxray staring up at the spirit and them alike. ¡°^I don¡¯t see why not. I know my stealth, and unless a sight of a Luxray accompanying Olive¡¯s group is enough to send that whole place into a panic, I imagine we¡¯ll be inconspicuous enough. And¡ªI figured it¡¯d be the best for us all to be able to understand each other, if this is gonna take a while,^¡± the freshly named Aria said. The Luxray looked about ready to blow up at her, before her addendum made him look at the human group wide-eyed, only able to spit out, ¡°Have you gone completely mad!?¡± ¡°A-all of us?¡± a quiet, squeaky voice asked, making the whole group look over the Ribombee daring to peek out from Leo¡¯s mane. Aria¡¯s affirmative nod sent her whizzing over to her human¡¯s cheek, nuzzling and hugging it as hard as her little body could manage. ¡°T-thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! O-Olive, I¡ª¡± Luxie paused, never in a million years expecting to have an opportunity like that. Everything she wanted to say welled up inside her fairy body. Words kept getting stuck in her throat, leaving her sniffling as she snuggled in, her human¡¯s hand gently petting her in return. Olive was similarly taken aback, but knew just what to whisper in response, ¡°~Love you too, Luxie.~¡± Leo was nowhere near as talkative, instead just nuzzling into his human¡¯s cane hand. As the human¡¯s companions expressed their affection, the pale creature off to the side gave the Luxray a smug smirk, making him roll his eyes. It took a while for the librarian¡¯s group to compose itself again, but once they did, Olive spoke again, ¡°~Would¡ªwould following us back to our town be something you¡¯d be interested in?~¡± ¡°^Anything, if it means I can help Anne out that bit more.^¡± Olive smiled at Aria¡¯s conviction, especially as it matched hers. A newfound sense of purpose renewed her strength, as tired as she still was. ¡°~Well, I suggest we get a move on then. The snow sure ain¡¯t stopping anytime soon, and I¡¯m feeling myself slowly lose sensation in my legs, hah...~¡± The off-the-cuff remark made both of her companions look up at Olive with worry on their faces. Waiting no longer, the entire group turned around and headed out, fresh snowfall having already slightly obscured their tracks. Before the librarian could get properly going again, she saw yet another on an already very long list of unexpected sights today. The spirit held her green hand towards her with a smile, ready to be grasped. At any point in her life prior to now, she would¡¯ve thought herself having mere minutes, if not seconds to live in a situation like that. But now¡­ now she felt just about ready to take her chances. And boy, was she glad to have done so. The warmth that filled her body as her hand took the spirit¡¯s was almost the complete opposite of what she had expected it to be. It worked away at her numbness and aching while undoing decades of strain and wear, making her feel almost weightless. ¡°~Ohhhh. Definitely not what I imagined this to feel like.~¡± The ghost bride just giggled at her words as they got going. The sound was so unlike anything she expected from her kin, while also just being very pleasant at the face value. It made the librarian feel just that bit more self-conscious about the spooky stories she spent her life believing in. ¡°^Hah, I gathered. I¡¯ve no idea who came up with half the things you were thinking I could or would do.^¡± Despite most of the terrifying myths turning out to be lies, this seemed to be the one part that was indeed true, enough so to make the stranger casually admit to it. Olive wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about her thoughts being read like that, but it was a concern for another time. ¡°^My name is Aria. I... can¡¯t thank you enough for agreeing to help us, Olive.^¡± ¡°~My pleasure... Aria. I braced myself to find a dead body, if even that. To hear she¡¯s doing alright is... the best news I¡¯ve had in a long while, that¡¯s for sure.~¡± ¡°M-me too... that ravine looked so, so scary, h-how did she survive that!?¡± Luxie asked, her voice bringing a smile to the librarian¡¯s face. The sound was such a dead ringer for how Olive imagined the lil¡¯ bee would sound like if she could talk that it was almost baffling. Baffling, and so sweet that she had no reason to doubt it sounding the way it did. ¡°^Barely. Thankfully, we... found her quickly.^¡± The pause in Aria¡¯s voice to carefully pick her words was noticed, but Olive was of no mind to pry into it. Even if she wasn¡¯t a vengeful banshee that the human expected her to be, she was still a magical creature, one that likely kept many secrets. ¡°Yeah... I-I was so scared for her when she went missing; I thought she was dead for sure a-a-and it¡¯d probably just break my heart. A-Anne¡¯s too sweet to have something like that happen to her...¡± Luxie rambled. ¡°I knew she¡¯d make it. She¡¯s much more resilient than she looks,¡± Leo said, making the Ribombee raise an eyebrow as Olive chuckled. ¡°~Indeed, even if it¡¯s by necessity.~¡± The Luxray grumbled at Olive¡¯s words as the group made their way back onto the forest path, ¡°If you apparently ¡®care¡¯ for her so much, why didn¡¯t you help her before?¡± The Electric-type¡¯s snarled gotcha drew glares from most of the rest of the group. Olive, instead, just sighed quietly. It stung, despite her knowing on a rational level that she¡¯d done everything in her power to help. ¡°^Leave judging people¡¯s hearts to me, Lumi¡ª^¡± ¡°~No, no, he has a point, I think,~¡± Olive sighed. ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t!¡± Luxie shouted. ¡°You g-gave her a safe place all the time in the library, made her feel as welcome as you could¡ªyou even called for people to come and investigate what her parents were doing to her¡ª¡± ¡°~And what came of it?~¡± Luxie couldn¡¯t respond to that; the simple lack of knowledge shutting her up. Though, considering Anne¡¯s situation didn¡¯t improve at all afterwards, the answer was likely ¡®not much, if anything¡¯. ¡°B-but, didn¡¯t someone come to look at what was happening?¡± ¡°~They did. I saw a single police cruiser roll up to their home, then her father talking to one of his coworkers and blowing that entire thing off. Then, the next day, a couple new bruises on her neck,~¡± Olive said. The pangs of fury Aria felt back at the clinic came back in force, even as she tried to control herself. These were some evil people she was saving Anne from, the realization giving her more motivation each time she thought about it. Lumi wasn¡¯t entirely convinced yet, but at least his next question wasn¡¯t dripping with as much smarm, ¡°Then why not take her under your own wing, if her own family is so monstrous towards her?¡± ¡°^Lumi¡ª^¡± ¡°~Do you think I wouldn¡¯t have done so if I could?~¡± the old woman asked, voice dripping with contempt for the Luxray¡¯s words. Contempt, and more than a bit of regret at her own impotence. She¡¯d wished so, so many times she could just spirit the girl away from her day-to-day hell, but¡­ Alas. ¡°~I¡¯m not her relative, and she has a living family. Best case she¡¯d spend a few days with me before I end up behind bars for the rest of my life and she would be forced to get back to her house, and I can¡¯t even imagine what her father would do to her afterwards.~¡± Aria didn¡¯t need to know what ¡®behind bars¡¯ meant to realize it referred to a punishment. Her heart shuddered at such an obviously generous act being held against the elderly woman. As much as her perception of how virtuous individual humans could be changed by the minute, humanity as a whole remained little more than a monstrous, vile mess inside her mind. One that brought misery to everything it touched, including itself. The terrifying mental image chilled the discussion for a long while afterwards, enough for the group to approach the end of the forest path. Luxie hovered out of her warm shelter to nuzzle her guardian¡¯s cold hand, catching her attention. ¡°~We¡¯re getting close. Whatever stealth you had in mind, Aria, now¡¯s a high time to exhibit it¡ª~¡± The end result spoke for itself, enough so to leave Olive speechless at how effective it was. She was still holding the spirit¡¯s hand, her attempts at clenching it were returned by Aria moments later, but attempting to look at her, or even at the hand she knew she was holding, yielded no results. Her eyes just slid over the spots she would¡¯ve been in. ¡°^How¡¯s that for stealth~?^¡± ¡°~What in the...~¡± Aria¡¯s disembodied giggle warmed the atmosphere from its previous gloom as they neared the entrance to the human village. The psychic herself almost never ventured this far, especially not during her duties, but there was one curious sight in front of her she needed to ask about. ¡°^I¡¯ve always wondered what was the purpose of that¡­ object.^¡± ¡°~Hmm?~¡± The partially faded and grossly out-of-date sign that flanked the gate to the woods was a sight Olive had turned out completely over the years. She found the wild creature¡¯s curiosity of it charming, almost cute.
,-----v----_------. MYLOCK POP: 1,634 \----^-------^---/
¡°~It has the name of the town¡ªMylock¡ªwritten on it, and its population. Says it¡¯s sixteen hundred, nowadays the actual number is closer to eleven hundred.~¡± Beyond the confusion at what ¡®written¡¯ meant, the meaning of the sign took Aria aback. The town¡¯s population might have been pitiful by the standards of human settlements, but it was enough to leave the Gardevoir genuinely surprised. ¡°^T-that¡¯s a good few people, goodness. And on the other side?^¡±
,--------_----v-----. ?? LILLYWOOD 8 MI. \---^--------^----/
¡°~Name of the town at the other end of the path, Lillywood, and the distance to it.~¡± ¡°^And how big is that one? I¡¯ve heard it¡¯s quite bigger than even this town.^¡± ¡°~Not a high bar to clear. Hmm... last time I checked it was something like forty, fifty thousand.~¡± As underwhelming as Lillywood was, when compared to the regional capital of Mistralton, the number was still enough to completely stump both Lumi and Aria. Olive couldn¡¯t see the latter, but she felt her arm suddenly being yanked backwards as she walked on, as if her impromptu companion had stopped. ¡°~What¡¯s wrong?~¡± ¡°^That¡¯s an astounding number of living beings, good heavens...^¡± The librarian just chuckled, amused at Aria¡¯s innocence. ¡°~I¡¯ve a feeling that if I told you Castelia¡¯s population you¡¯d faint on me.~¡± ¡°^May be if it¡¯s substantially higher than that...^¡± Did two and a quarter orders of magnitude count as substantially higher? Once Aria had snapped out of her daze, the group finally crossed the threshold between wilderness and humanity. The sight that met them on the other side was firmly underwhelming for Mylock¡¯s inhabitants, and confusing otherwise. The dirt trail opened into a wider one, lined with a multitude of stone slabs, many of them cracked. A massive black path ran beside it, also apparently made of stone. The faded white markings covering it gave little clue as to its function. The most eye-catching sight, by far, was the pair of large, metallic objects off to the side of the black path. Each was large enough to comfortably contain their entire group¡ªand probably another copy of it on top of that, if they squeezed in the right way. ¡°^What are those...?^¡± ¡°~Cars. Used for getting around much faster than we can on foot,~¡± Olive explained. Her description left a lot to be desired, and a part of Aria was just about ready to ask the librarian¡¯s ears off about all the human objects around them¡ªbut unfortunately, their mission here had priority. The sooner they were done with it, the better, especially with her stealth having suddenly become much, much more draining with so many more minds around. Altering one person¡¯s perception to erase her was already far from trivial, and with all the humans up ahead, Aria had to concentrate just to not let herself be spotted. Thankfully, Olive guided them right where they needed to go. Their destination wasn¡¯t too far from the entrance to the woods, one of a row of ugly, rectangular copies of the same design built decades ago. Multi-story, single-family, mostly abandoned. Or, in case of the specific building they headed towards, worse than abandoned. The sight of a Luxray accompanying Mrs. Graham¡¯s Arcanine turned a few heads as they passed by, but it didn¡¯t deserve any stronger reaction than that. Especially with Lumi leering down at any onlookers as he scouted the area. Even beyond having way, way too many humans for comfort, this place was just obscenely ugly. The tide of gray and black around them was only occasionally broken by a ¡®car¡¯ of a different color, or a stark outfit of one of the locals. The massive, multi-story building on the other side of the wide black road cutting through the middle of the town was rendered off-putting by the drab color it was painted with. Raw stone and dark smudges peeking out in places didn¡¯t help any, either. ¡°What an ugly place,¡± Lumi commented. ¡°~Harsh, but true. Can¡¯t believe they still haven¡¯t renovated the school after all these years, good gods.~¡± A glance at the building they were heading towards had Olive put on a snarl of her own. The litter strewn around the front yard was a perfect company for the opened front door and the reek emanating from within. Luxie, in particular, couldn¡¯t resist dry heaving before diving back into her human¡¯s pocket. ¡°~Just a couple days and this place already feels like it¡¯s rotting. Only befits her family, if nothing else. Hold your breath,~¡± Olive instructed. Lumi and Aria didn¡¯t have to be told twice. The atrium opened up into the kitchen immediately in front of them. The town-dwellers soon realized, with vivid clarity, that it was the kitchen¡ªand more specifically, the opened fridge¡ªthat was the source of the putrid odor. To their right was a small closet full of junk, while the other side had the stairs up to the first floor. As Olive led everyone up there, the two wildings among them paused mid-step at the unknown, concerning sounds coming from above. ¡°^Is there someone up there? I can hear voices but can¡¯t feel anyone...^¡± Aria muttered. ¡°~No, no, it¡¯s just the TV. The bastard didn¡¯t even turn it off.~¡± There was enough contempt dripping from Olive¡¯s voice to make her spit it out as they stepped onto the first floor. The human voice emanating from one of the rooms was now clear enough to make out¡ªif one spoke Unovan, that is. ¡°~¡ªand now for the recap of Hoenn Pro Series 149!~¡± the announcer shouted. ¡°~Following twenty tense weeks of battles, Trainer Brendan and Gym Leader Flannery with scores of sixteen to four and fifteen to five respectively have managed to secure the top two spots, giving them a possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to challenge the Hoenn Elite Four to potentially replace one of their members¡ªand if they succeed at that, potentially even Champion Wallace himself! In anticipation to the no doubt grueling fights that await them and their teams, let¡¯s take a look at the best, most tense moments of all the battles that had led them here, right after the message from our sponsors, on League24 Extra 2!~¡± The sensation of hearing a voice without any attached mental activity¡ªor even just physical presence¡ªwas an extremely dumbfounding one for Aria. Her aura¡¯s subconscious efforts to probe towards where the sound originated only found a quasi-metallic slab, the mismatch between her senses making her head spin. ¡°^What is that voice even saying...^¡± ¡°~You don¡¯t want to know,~¡± Olive responded, her answer as short as it was definitive. Thankfully, Aria didn¡¯t have to concern herself with it for much longer. The elderly human beelined to what had to be the girl¡¯s now-abandoned room, its sheer mess making it look like it¡¯s been ransacked several times. ¡°~Here we are.~¡± This might¡¯ve been much more furniture than Aria was used to seeing in a single room, but the despairing state of it offset that realization. Desk and shelves were falling apart, wardrobe missed one of its doors and chair one of its legs. Half of the outer wall was reduced to bare brick and mortar, with a few plumes of mold on the ceiling completing the picture. Smaller pieces of variously colored fabrics and white, rectangular sheets laid all over the floor. Some of the latter had unknown black or blue symbols on them. None of this made any sense to the wildlings, but they went along with their human guide for now. ¡°~Might as well grab everything she has left, underwear especially.~¡± Olive pulled a colorful, glistening bag out of her handbag and unfurled it open. It was large enough to contain this entire mess, evidenced by the librarian walking over to the wardrobe and grabbing whatever clothing that remained by the handful. ¡°~Luxie, take a look at shelves and nooks. She had a whole pencil case she kept hidden.~¡± ¡°On it!¡± Lumi and Aria were too unfamiliar with humanity to contribute much. The former stood guard outside the room as the latter paid close attention to everything the librarian and her friend were doing. The lil¡¯ bee was zooming around the room and collecting small, stick-shaped objects, slowly building a pile on top of the nearby desk. A good dozen pens and a couple pencils was a good haul, but the actual pencil case remained stubbornly hidden, even as Luxie double and triple checked every corner, much to her frustration. ¡°^What does that... ¡®pencil case¡¯ look like?^¡± Aria asked. ¡°About as big as I am, tubular I think... I remember seeing it just a few weeks ago, it has to be in there somewhere!¡± Luxie explained. ¡°^Lumi?^¡± ¡°Hmm? *sigh*, Fine.¡± The Luxray¡¯s eyes glowed dimly as he swept the room through the adjacent wall. Solid objects were reduced to mere outlines and other living beings, to what humans would call anatomical diagrams. Not a perspective he enjoyed seeing the world through, but it came in handy sometimes. ¡°Inside the top layer of this... bedding, I think?¡± The rest of the group all focused on the unkempt bed, with Leo pulling the covers off in a single, firm motion. Underneath, just a stained, bare mattress¡ªone with a barely visible hole in the side facing the wall. Luxie spotted it first, buzzing right over in an instant. ¡°Got it, thank you!¡± She didn¡¯t expect Anne¡¯s pencil case to be this heavy or well-hidden. Considering how much the girl valued being able to draw, though, doing everything to keep it safe from her parents¡¯ prying eyes only made sense. It also turned out to not be the only item stuck in the mattress. The large photo frame that lied beside it only barely fit through the gap, forcing the bee to give it her all to pull it out. Her efforts, thankfully, were more than worth it. An elderly woman sat on a couch, gray hair tied in a bun and a sea of wrinkles dotting her smiling expression. On her lap sat Anne, and on Anne¡¯s, Ember, all three snuggled together as tightly as they could. ¡°Oh my goodness, we have to take it!¡± Luxie squealed. ¡°~Of course. Pack it in, all the pencils too¡ªwe¡¯re scavenging everything in here. Aria, could you help us with the paper?~¡± Olive¡¯s mental image was clear enough for the psychic to realize that the word referred to all the scattered white rectangles. A shimmering glow surrounded them all as they were lifted in unison and gathered into a neat heap, making Luxie ¡®wow¡¯ under her breath. ¡°~There¡¯s more of it on the shelves and inside the desks, and a few notebooks too. I think she¡¯ll appreciate everything we can grab.~¡± Aria didn¡¯t have to be told twice. All the doors and drawers were rattled open as her mental reach scoured every inch of the room, picking up everything that either was paper, looked like paper, or had paper in it. The sheer quantity of objects even in this single, rundown room was utterly baffling for the psychic, making her own dwelling look ascetic by comparison. The heap of paper ended up being a few inches tall by the end¡ªand even if only half of it was usable for drawing, it¡¯d still be weeks, if not months, of canvas for Anne. Combined with the drawing supplies and clothes, it was enough to fill Olive¡¯s bag to the brim. ¡°~She took almost everything that wasn¡¯t falling apart with herself as far as clothes went, not much else left. One more sweep and I think we can get going¡ª~¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Lumi said, his words freezing the group as he tracked his target from behind several walls. A figure shambled in after leaving one of those metal cages on wheels, slamming the front door behind itself after it had walked in. Everyone heard the gruff grumble that followed, And some of them knew very well who that was. ¡°~Can only be the homeowner,~¡± Olive whispered. Her words made all the wrathful thoughts from earlier slip back into Aria¡¯s mind as she pieced together the identity of the newcomer. Her hands clenched into tight fists before she addressed the group with a cold, pointed voice, ¡°^Leave him to me.^¡± After acknowledging Aria¡¯s call, Olive headed for the stairs, her fear of the person who awaited them subsumed by the Gardevoir¡¯s emboldening presence. She didn¡¯t even try to keep her footsteps quiet as she reached the atrium and turned to face the kitchen, heart racing. The brown bottle shook in the man¡¯s grasp as he emptied the last of its contents with staggered, uncoordinated gulps. Excess whiskey splashed onto his unkempt, short beard, and the vomit-stained police uniform underneath it. His face, already marked with a permanent grimace, twitched harder as it turned to face the intruder in HIS fucking house. ¡°~Tom. Fancy meeting you here after all this,~¡± Olive spoke. Anne¡¯s father let out an animalistic grunt as the librarian¡¯s companions stared him down. As obvious as especially Leo¡¯s intimidation was, his inebriation and aggression were even stronger. Without letting out a word, he grabbed the freshly emptied bottle by the neck and lunged towards Olive, ¡°~Get the FUCK out of my house you FUCKING BITCH!~¡± Before Leo or Luxie could do anything, they felt something deep inside their minds stop them from acting. Olive¡¯s scream was caught in her throat before she saw the other human¡¯s arm become enveloped in a bright white light; frozen in place as if the air itself was holding it in a vise. ¡°~Wh-what the FUCK is¡ª~¡± Tom screamed at seeing a ghost bride emerge from behind that worthless bitch of a librarian, its eyes burning up in a brilliant flare. He put his entire strength into trying to pry his arm out of the demon¡¯s grasp as it approached, only straining it further. His mind was equally entrapped, forced to focus entirely on the fiend¡¯s eyes as tendrils of pure terror stabbed deeper and deeper into his psyche. ¡°~G-get THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME¡ªGAAAAAHHHH!~¡± His spat out demand was interrupted with a visceral crunch as the bones in his wrist twisted and broke at the sudden application of more force, deep blue bruises enveloping his hand moments later. The agony broke out through his grimace with a pathetic shriek, his thoughts full of pain and anger¡ªand not even the tiniest shred of remorse or regret. There was no doubt left in Aria¡¯s mind. Before Tom could do anything more, his entire arm was yanked backwards, bending his elbow the other way as he was flung into the kitchen. The cracking of bone and snapping of ligaments mixed with the shatter of glass from the stove he impacted. He wasn¡¯t thinking of relenting, though. His drug-induced haze muffled enough of his pain for his rage to keep him going. The trash bag of a human stared the demon down as he pushed through the pain, physical and mental alike. Near-blinding migraine did little to slow him down as he tried to bolt to the other side of the kitchen, eyes set on the dirty knife on the countertop¡ª Another disgusting crunch filled the room as his ankle was crushed into a thousand pieces; his shrill scream cut off once he¡¯d impacted the filthy floor. Utensils and shards of glass dug into his skin with every motion, the suffering magnified by the psychic¡¯s influence¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t enough for him to stop yet. In desperation, his unbroken hand reached for his holster and aimed his service pistol at the demon. He shrieked in hatred as he tried to pull down on the trigger¡ªonly for the hand holding the gun to smash into his own face with enough force to break them both. A cacophony of cracking of bone, the deafening gunshot, a bullet ricocheting off a metal pipe, and finally, Tom¡¯s pained cry as the bullet pierced his leg saturated the air. And snapped what remained of his resolve. Even as the monster of a human was reduced to a sprawled, agonized mess, capable of little more than twitching and bleeding, a part of Aria wanted to keep going. To not stop until she¡¯d fully reciprocated the enormity of the suffering Anne had experienced by his hands. Her eyes burned up with white once more¡ªand stopped shortly after as her anger-fueled high began to die down. An eerie sensation filled her as she stared at the pathetic heap of a man. Not joy or hateful glee, nothing as uplifting as that, more so¡­ contentment. Of the awareness that he wouldn¡¯t ever be capable of hurting anyone else again. Of at least some of Anne and Ember¡¯s pain being avenged. Even if he eventually recovered, the pain would remain his lifelong companion, its burning presence accompanying him until the end of his life. As he deserved. ¡°^Let¡¯s... let¡¯s get going...^¡± Aria whispered. The rest of the group was too aghast by what they had witnessed to even think about disagreeing. The display of violence was so utterly unlike Aria it left even Lumi worried, making him look at his coworker in uncertainty as they hurried through the front door. ¡°D-did he really d-deserve all that...¡± Luxie whimpered, her and others¡¯ fear stinging the psychic¡¯s heart. The air was so saturated with that emotion it was making it hard to think, leaving Aria unsure of what to even say in her defense¡ª ¡°~All that and worse. Hold on.~¡± Olive¡¯s grim tone caught everyone¡¯s attention as she pulled out a small item from inside her purse. She put her bag of spoils down as she talked to the metallic device, its purpose unknown to the wildlings. ¡°~Afternoon. There¡¯s a man with a broken leg in here. I¡¯m not sure if he can move. 17 Central Avenue, ML4 468, Mylock. My name is¡ª~¡± *click* ¡°~None of your business. Alright, let¡¯s go, before the ambulance gets here. He¡¯ll live.~¡± Chapter 7: Village Autumn was left speechless after her daughter had departed for her duties, uncertain how open she should be with Anne. One thing was clear, though¡ªshe wanted to cheer the poor girl up, especially with how her mind felt like it was withdrawing more and more by the minute. Maybe a few pats on the arm could work¡ª Anne recoiled the moment the Indeedee touched her, letting out a sound somewhere between a whimper and a gasp. She stared at the Psychic-type wide-eyed as her brain played catchup, feeling self-conscious about her abrupt reaction. ¡°~O-oh, sorry Mrs¡ª~¡± ¡°^Shhhhh, it¡¯s okay, sweetie. My fault for not asking first,^¡± Autumn reassured. Her words soothed Anne¡¯s mind before it could start tying itself into knots again. She nodded with a shy smile as her arm returned to its previous spot within Autumn¡¯s reach. Once there, the Indeedee went for it again, her motions slower, more telegraphed, and much more effective at calming the girl. ¡°^There, there, I¡¯m here Anne. If there¡¯s a way I can help let me know, okay?^¡± Anne nodded along automatically, before pausing to actually consider the Indeedee¡¯s words. Her gaze roamed away from the psychic as she gathered her words, mumbling out, ¡°~C-could I ask some questions?~¡± Autumn responded with a beaming smile and a nod of her own. Being able to climb on the bed would be useful for this; there should¡¯ve been a footstool around or something¡­ welp, guess not. ¡°^Of course! Answers are the least you deserve in here after all this. Actually, lemme try¡ª^¡± Before Anne could ask what the little psychic was going to do, the grandma answered for herself. Her old body didn¡¯t appreciate the minor display of athletics as it attempted to climb onto the edge of the bed¡ªand neither did her old mind that had to help her with a touch of telekinesis. Autumn might¡¯ve made an awkward, clumsy joke out of herself, but with it being enough to break through some of Anne¡¯s anxiety, she didn¡¯t regret it one bit. The girl did tense up once she realized her giggles were noticed, but it wasn¡¯t anything that couldn¡¯t be helped by the Indeedee getting in on the joke and laughing, too. ¡°^Oh don¡¯t you worry, Anne. I know full well I made a bit of a show of myself, hah!^¡± ¡°~Yeah, heh.... Umm, as to the question... wh-where are we?~¡± Autumn hesitated, unsure how much of their secrecy was now fair game with the girl. Eventually, she settled on ¡®all of it¡¯¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t be sending her away anytime soon, anyway. ¡°^Well~, we never agreed on a name for this village; none of them sat right with Orion, hah. I know it¡¯s smaller than your human town, though, and nestled in between two of them.^¡± Anne¡¯s eyes shot wide from behind her glasses as she leaned in and whispered, ¡°~L-like, an entire village? A village of Pokemon?~¡± ¡°^Mmmhm~!^¡± ¡°~Wow...~¡± The girl¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t help but think back to a book she¡¯d read years ago, its plot so similar on the surface. A secret Pokemon society away from prying human eyes, rescuing abused mons and fighting criminals. She¡¯d read and re-read it so many times the spine started to wear out. And with her being too self-conscious to bring it up to Mrs. Graham, eventually she just stopped borrowing it to not accidentally break it. Granted, a prehistoric-looking settlement in the middle of the forest didn¡¯t have the sophistication of a futuristic underworld, but Anne would take Aria and Autumn over every single character in that book combined. ¡°~That¡¯s... I-I had no idea places like that really existed. I-I remember reading a fictional story about it, but just that...~¡± ¡°^Yep, we sure exist! I don¡¯t even think we¡¯re unique or anything¡ªif we could make it work in such a tight bind between two human towns, then there have to be many more in more accommodating places.^¡± The mention of a bind between towns made Anne think of what that actually implied. She didn¡¯t remember the local geography perfectly, but she could still try sketching out the broad strokes. Hopefully, it¡¯d be enough for Autumn to point at where this magical place in the woods fit in the area. ¡°~O-oh, in between Mylock and L-Lillywood? Like this¡ª~¡± Autumn was left taken aback at just how quickly Anne¡¯s thought process sped up in the few seconds that followed, jumping between a few increasingly anxious topics. The little one wanted to show her something, but in order to do that, she had to pull it out of her bag. This made her shuffle over to the edge of the bed, shifting the blanket before her and her immobilized arm before admitting the inevitable to herself. The reasoning behind each individual action was completely lost on Indeedee, and so was Anne¡¯s anxious resignation at the end. Confused, she slid over and asked cautiously, ¡°^Is everything okay, Anne?^¡± Anne¡¯s gaze was glued to the covers as she ¡®umm¡¯ed and ¡®eh¡¯ed for a moment. The awkward search for words took Autumn off guard with how out of nowhere it was. ¡°~I¡¯ll have t-to put my clothes on...~¡± Sounded difficult without one arm, but nothing the Indeedee couldn¡¯t assist with. ¡°^Okay! Let me know if you need any help with it.^¡± As confusing as Anne¡¯s anxiety was, the blank, deadpan stare she gave the psychic grandma in response only dumbfounded her even more. The two remained at an impasse before Autumn spoke up again, raising an eyebrow in return. ¡°^Is something wrong?^¡± ¡°~I-I... okay, right, I forgot. Umm... c-could you leave the room while I do it?~¡± Anne asked, her words as clear to Autumn as the intent behind them was hard to understand. She was about to ask for an explanation before sensing just how much of the girl¡¯s anxiety was tied to the mundane-sounding part of putting clothes on. Sure, Anne¡¯s clothes were both more plentiful and fancier than anything anyone in the village wore, so maybe they had some cultural importance? Or were a ceremony one did on their own, like Celia¡¯s secluded rituals? ¡°^Alrighty, I can do that. Shout if you need help Anne, I¡¯ll be waiting outside.^¡± Autumn felt palpable relief fill the girl¡¯s body in response, cementing her decision. She would have to talk about all this with Aria later, but for now, there was no harm in giving Anne her privacy. The moment the Indeedee stepped out of Anne¡¯s impromptu room and stood guard, she heard cloth being shuffled and items rattling about. As good a confirmation as any that her anxiety had something to do with being watched. Maybe it was related to her holding the covers to her front, too? Something to ask her about once she was done, either way. Autumn was in no rush, watching their healers either chat with or tend to the other patients in their clinic. The mysterious human in the next room over was brought up a few times, but the mix of emotions was much fear as it was good wishes. Eventually, the Indeedee closed her eyes and started humming to herself to burn time¡ªonly for a low, croaky, feminine voice to break her impromptu meditation soon after, ¡°Autumn?¡± ¡°Good afternoon, Esther. Is something the matter?¡± the Indeedee answered in her physical voice. ¡°You have been standing like this for a while now. Is there something wrong with the human?¡± ¡°No, no, she is just putting on clothes, and asked me to step out until she¡¯s done.¡± The Indeedee opened her eyes to reveal a Blissey staring her down. Surprised that the human had woken up, annoyed that she wasn¡¯t kept in the loop about it. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware she woke up again. Well, once she is done, let me know. We ought to take another look at the mess of her arm and see if it needs any further intervention.¡± ¡°Hah, your expertise coming in useful again after all these years?¡± ¡°I wish it wasn¡¯t,¡± Esther grumbled, taking Autumn back. The Indeedee didn¡¯t like the tone of it one bit, making her prod further. ¡°Well, from what I and Aria have been talking with her so far, she¡¯s been nothing but sweet.¡± ¡°From my experience, many a human are until they¡¯re in a position where they can be terrible without suffering repercussions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rather cynical way to look at it all.¡± ¡°And one I have experienced more times than I can count,¡± the Blissey asserted, making Autumn renege. Only one of them had the lived experience necessary to form an opinion like this, and it wasn¡¯t the Indeedee. ¡°Right, right, my bad. Well, I certainly hope that she¡¯ll be an exception to that rule, then. If you don¡¯t mind me asking a question, though...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Could you have a clue why the whole clothes thing had her get so anxious and ask me to step out?¡± Esther blinked before chuckling under her breath. It might¡¯ve been decades since she¡¯d last seen a human¡ªuntil this whole mess began¡ªbut she wouldn¡¯t ever forget respecting patients¡¯ privacy being drilled into her back at the human hospital. ¡°Ah yes, the human so-called modesty,¡± she began, trying her hardest not to roll her eyes. ¡°I think it is a cultural thing. There¡¯s some big rule against the front or the groin being visible without any coverings in their society. Or just the groin in case of males. I¡¯ve no clue what the reason is for it¡ªI¡¯ve seen what¡¯s under these coverings plenty and it¡¯s about as normal and mundane as I am. Some fatty lumps for females on their front, and the usual set of bits between the legs. More exposed than with most species, so that may be why? I genuinely have no idea.¡± As their chief healer gave her answer, Autumn listened in on what was going on in Anne¡¯s room. The shuffling noises had mostly ceased by then, but the girl hadn¡¯t given them an all-clear yet. Hell, she only got more annoyed by the moment. ¡°I see... well, don¡¯t see a reason to disrespect it if it¡¯s that important for them. Though, she¡¯s been at it for a while now. ^Anne? Are you alright?^¡± Autumn called, switching to telepathy halfway through. Her words startled the girl, resulting in several drawn out ¡®umm¡¯s and ¡®eh¡¯s as she shuffled around the bed. ¡°~Oh no no, just c-can¡¯t get this stupid knife to go through, ugh...~¡± Anne¡¯s response left both Autumn and Esther dumbfounded. The Indeedee almost went back there and then before asking again, more urgently this time, ¡°^Anne, what¡¯s wrong?^¡± ¡°~Nothing, just I-I tried to tear this sleeve a-and¡­ *sigh*, you can come in.~¡± The girl¡¯s clarification cleared up precious nothing, but a go-ahead was welcome much the same. Esther and Autumn stepped in to a messy sight on Anne¡¯s bed. At least some of her dress-up had gone successfully, as evidenced by a sock-clad foot dangling from the side of the bed. Upper body clothing was clearly the main obstacle, its left sleeve trying to be torn open with the big girl Anne had gotten from¡­ somewhere. Unsuccessfully. ¡°^Goodness Anne, what were you trying to do there?^¡± Autumn asked. The girl looked away in embarrassment at the situation, more so because Autumn having to step in, as opposed to the mess on her bed. ¡°~The cast won¡¯t fit through, so I-I tried to cut the sleeve open and c-couldn¡¯t manage...~¡± As straightforward as the explanation was, it still left questions. Autumn walked over to inspect the knife, utterly confused by its presence there. Esther, however, took it upon herself to solve the problem directly. Anne gasped as the Normal-type grabbed the shirt¡¯s left sleeve and tore it open in her hands, leaving only a thin strap to rest on her shoulder. ¡°~Oh¡ªlike this! T-thank you... M-Mrs. Blissey?~¡± Human speech was one of these sounds that had only grown more grating in hindsight for Esther, but she couldn¡¯t deny that being thanked, so honestly and innocently, felt rather nice. The Blissey settled on a curt smile, equal parts forced and genuine, and a small bow. ¡°^Her name is Esther, Anne. But, the knife¡ªwere you carrying it with yourself in that bag? What for?^¡± ¡°~Thank you, Mrs. Esther. A-and, um... I...~¡± Needing help with tearing a sleeve open was embarrassing, sure, but the topic ahead was even worse in that regard. Autumn regretted asking, about to clarify that Anne didn¡¯t need to respond before the girl went ahead anyway, ¡°~I-I was scared... thought that I c-could at least try defending myself with a knife like that if I-I ended up on the street...~¡± Autumn¡¯s comprehension of Anne¡¯s explanation was limited by not entirely understanding the meaning of ¡®ending up on the street¡¯. That wasn¡¯t an obstacle Esther faced, though, melting through much of her hesitation. Even the Indeedee understood the desire for self-defense, which¡­ made little sense either. At least, until she remembered how weak humans stripped of all their inventions were said to be. The mental image of a child waving a knife much too large for her hand for intimidation was just¡­ sad. ¡°^Oh, dear... I¡¯m so sorry.^¡± ¡°~It¡¯s okay now, d-don¡¯t worry Mrs. Autumn! It was silly of me to bring it, I-I know...~¡± ¡°A bit, but I doubt you¡¯d be able to get a hold of a gun. Autumn, could you tell her we¡¯ll be looking at her arm, and it might get bloody?¡± the Blissey asked, her mumbling, squeaky voice catching Anne off-guard. Autumn was there to convey the gist, thankfully, ¡°^She¡¯s saying that they¡¯ll need to take a look at your arm, and it¡¯ll be rather bloody.^¡± ¡°~O-oh...~¡± The Indeedee barely needed her sixth sense to realize how spooked that idea made Anne. She wanted to suggest something else before Esther cut in, ¡°I think if we slide the bed a bit, we¡¯ll be able to use the curtains as a divider. Yeah, that¡¯ll work. Tell her to finish changing and then we¡¯ll get to it.¡± The Indeedee passed the message on before leaving the room with Esther. She felt the relief and triumph that shortly followed, calming her down as the Blissey got ready. It took Anne a bit longer than expected to get ready again, and once the two women stepped back in, Autumn spotted the reasons for the delay¡ªa few items scattered beside Anne, away from her broken arm. Before the elderly psychic could even offer help, Esther sprung into action, reaching down and dragging the entire bed, patient included, about a foot or so. Anne gripped to the bed tight at the sudden motion, but couldn¡¯t get a word in before the curtains around the bed were rolled down. A bit of fine-tuning later, the Blissey had them just down enough to obscure her arm from the girl¡¯s perspective, while avoiding any further slack. In the meantime, Autumn scooted over to the bed¡¯s other side, not particularly caring for the bloody sight underneath the cast, either. Comforting the human through the checkup¡ªnow that was up her alley. As her hand was being stroked, Anne got a good feel for the weird sensations coming from her broken arm. The entire limb was still almost completely devoid of any feelings¡ªslight coldness once the cast was taken off aside. Before she could grow distraught, thinking about how messed up her arm must be now, Autumn distracted her with a topic from earlier, ¡°^So, what was it you wanted to show me Anne¡ªand what are those?^¡± Despite how self-explanatory the slightly chewed large format notebook and an equally worn down pen were for the human, the chubby psychic was clueless about them. Anne didn¡¯t realize that before she got into it, flipping the pages until she found a large enough clean spot for her drawing and explaining, ¡°~Oh, just my notebook and a pen. S-so, this village is like¡ª~¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The bird¡¯s-eye sketch of the surrounding area did little to clarify Autumn¡¯s confusion, including about how Anne was even drawing it. Her thick, rectangular canvas looked like it was made of an uncountable number of smaller, hair-thin rectangles, most already drawn on. A closer inspection revealed the short stick in Anne¡¯s good hand to be adding black lines onto the sheet with its every motion. The color made Autumn think of decals being burned in wood, but with none of the associated warmth or smoke. As the human worked on her under-explained idea, the Indeedee¡¯s attention shifted to the sketches in every corner of the opened pages. More than a few Fennekin, two drawings of an Arcanine roaring and sleeping respectively, a lovely drawing of some small insect creature buzzing around, and¡­ all of them looked really pretty. Much of the exact detail was absent, sure, likely owing to the limitations of the medium and Anne¡¯s tools. But what was there was clear enough for Autumn to make out what species she was looking out, what they were feeling, and especially what they were doing, each pose livelier than the last. It wasn¡¯t the most intricate artwork even in the borders of their village, but that didn¡¯t make it any less aesthetically pleasing. The Indeedee was so entranced by all the tiny sketches to where it took Anne tapping her paw to catch her attention after she was done, only for the psychic to speak up, ¡°^Goodness Anne, these are all really pretty!^¡± The girl shrunk and blushed at such a direct compliment. She tried her hardest not to move as her gaze darted all over except at the Indeedee. ¡°~Th-th-thank you! I¡¯m glad you like them! If¡ªif you want I can draw you too, Mrs. Autumn!~¡± The reception of Anne¡¯s art and the offer that followed were equally unexpected. The girl didn¡¯t expect her meager artistic skills to ever get appreciated this much, especially not in a village of mons who could all do much more impressive things. Meanwhile, Autumn got downright giddy at the opportunity to be depicted by someone so skilled. ¡°^Oh, I¡¯d love to! Should I try a specific pose, or¡ª^¡± ¡°~This one works q-quite well, if you could hold it! N-need experience with more unusual poses like this, anyway...~¡± The realization that her arm was having a surgery done on it less than two feet away from her didn¡¯t have room to settle into Anne¡¯s mind as she got into her element. With every line drawn, more of her shakiness and anxiety evaporated, until only the flow remained. Autumn watched close as a large empty spot in the girl¡¯s notebook was filled up with her likeness¡ªor at least, with what would become her likeness. Bit by bit, the handful of basic geometric shapes became so much more than just angles and lines. One circle turned into her waist and got more of a definition, another became her head and horns, a small cylinder became her upper arm. Many gradual changes, all smooth yet skillful enough that to the Indeedee it might as well have been magic. Occasionally, Anne¡¯s left shoulder twitched before she reminded herself of that limb being out of service. It made her put the enchanted stick down and bring her good hand up to her eye, muttering something about perspective and horizon as she stuck her fingers out in all sorts of ways. It really let Autumn notice how weird her hands were. She was far from unused to defined hands¡ªAria¡¯s and Marco¡¯s were firmly on the more intricate end of the spectrum, with quite a few degrees of freedom. They paled compared to Anne¡¯s, though, and it wasn¡¯t even close; both in terms of the number of fingers and their flexibility. And with that came the less-than-pleasant realization of just how thin and sinewy they were. The individual bones that underlaid them were much too visible for comfort, making Autumn feel squeamish. If nothing else, Anne was getting as much use out of them as possible, giving her a very intricate and accurate grip of her stick. Her immense focus helped, too. It was enough for her to not even notice Esther wrapping up their handiwork on the other side of the curtain. She was done most of the way with Autumn¡¯s sketch by then, with only the surrounding detail left. The window with someone peeking through it, the creases on the covers, the corners of the irregularly shaped room, even the specks of dust in the air. And then; she was finally done. ¡°~Alright, I-I think I¡¯m finished! W-what do you think, Mrs. Autumn¡ªoh?~¡± It took the girl until now to consciously notice the curtain having been pulled up and her cast replaced with a new, slightly less bulky one. As she blinked through her confusion, the Indeedee gasped at seeing the completed sketch, ¡°^Anne, this is gorgeous! I¡¯ve never seen myself drawn like this¡ªthis is incredible! I can¡¯t thank you enough for this, sweetie.^¡± While Anne attempted to not combust in a fluster at the Indeedee¡¯s praise, her exhaustion began to creep up on her. After a few groggy blinks, her attention shifted to the sour pick-me-up juice from earlier¡ªor rather, the empty bottle that once held it. ¡°~It¡¯s really n-nothing, it¡¯s just a sketch, so much missing detail and oversimplification¡ª~¡± ¡°^But it looks so nice! I¡¯m sure most of our artists could even learn a thing or two from you~.^¡± That particular compliment had Anne blush bright red and glance away. She was equal parts embarrassed and giddy at Autumn¡¯s words, trying to figure out how much of an exaggeration it was. Her body answered with a drawn out yawn. ¡°^Aww, tired?^¡± Autumn giggled. ¡°~No no, I-I don¡¯t think so at least. I didn¡¯t f-feel tired before...~¡± ¡°^That¡¯s what Heal Pulse does to you, honey. I¡¯m sure some of Holly¡¯s concoction will help you push through that¡ªoh?^¡± The sight of an emptied cup made the Indeedee try to telekinetically weigh the bottle, predictably finding it empty. No matter, she knew exactly what to do. ¡°^Sounds like you need a refill, then! Would you want me to get you some while you nap or just rest in the meantime?^¡± Nap, not really, but rest... Anne could use some of that, yeah. The idea of not having anyone around that could understand her was a bit worrying, yes, but forcibly distracting herself away from it was as good an antidote to that as any other worrisome thought. Not perfectly, but well enough to last her until the psychic grandma got back¡ª Anne blinked in confusion at feeling her hair being ruffled without any physical touch. She looked around the room before it finally clicked together at the sound of Autumn¡¯s departing giggle. And then, it was just her, with clothes this time. Trying to just close her eyes and clear her mind had drowsiness creep up on her fast enough to almost knock her out there and then. Instead, she tried a different approach, reaching into the side pocket of her backpack and pulled out the stashed book; the makeshift bookmark of a card left bent from handling. Suffice to say that a crime thriller about a murderous, vengeful Gardevoir had lost all its scare factor after her chat with Aria. Especially with it having been more comforting than anything she¡¯d experienced since her grandma was still around. And with Autumn acting much like her grandma once did, too¡­ A-anyway¡ªit was really hard to take any of that book¡¯s events seriously now. It left her giggling as she started flipping through the pages to where she¡¯d last left off¡ªbefore seeing the shadow being cast on them move, making her look up at the window. How long has that Dartrix been staring at her for!? The Rowlet family had always sat in a weird spot for Anne, right between ¡®cool¡¯ and ¡®very intimidating¡¯. They looked neat, but the mental image of being shot or impaled by one of their quills sent chills down her spine every time she read their entries in the dexes. On a rational level, it wasn¡¯t any more dangerous than the myriad of other methods of hunting or self defense almost all mon species had available to them; she knew that well. It just felt¡­ so much more viscerally unnerving in a way Anne had a hard time explaining. Kinda like her father when he started waving his service gun around¡ª Her train of thought was interrupted by the grassy owl leaning in closer after being spotted. It then took the gun analogy to another level by waving its loaded wing at her, its expression inscrutable. Anne had no idea what the gesture implied and was too scared to think of what to do in response. Maybe if she¡¯d just waved back, it would leave her alone? As opposed to other terrifying possibilities, such as interpreting it as her own attempt at intimidation. Neither, as it turned out. Anne flinched backwards with a yelp as the Dartrix breached the magical window and perched on the edge of her bed. It spoke up in birdsong, not stopping even as it eyed her out from all sorts of angles. She could only imagine it was trying to speak to her, and hoped it would get the clue soon after. As scared as she still was, the lack of any aggressive displays slowly melted through her fear, bit by bit. Thankfully, the bird seemed to be aware of having accidentally spooked her. The movements that followed were much more telegraphed as it inched towards her, steps clumsy from inexperience. Its head craned as it scanned over her book and notebook alike. Anne hoped she¡¯d be able to speed its visit along by holding up her most recent scribble for it to get a better look. Its reactions were lively, if nothing else¡ªloud, drawn out chirps as it looked all around, before its attention snapped back over at the girl, much to another, smaller startle. Her reaction made it pause, one wing stroking its chin as it clearly tried to think through something. It even looked¡­ quite cute while doing so, even if Anne was still unnerved as hell. Soon after, it finally settled on a plan of action, taking the girl aback even if she couldn¡¯t disagree with the results. Before she could react, the owlet hopped the rest of the way over and¡­ hugged her. For a few long moments, all she could do was freeze as her brain played catchup. Once it had caught up to what was going on, not even it could deny how clear the gesture¡¯s intent was. It was all scary, but¡­ it¡ªno, they¡ªseemed to mean her well. After letting go of the notebook, she returned the embrace. The grassy birdie was much warmer to the touch than she would¡¯ve thought. Even their cooing really sounded like they were trying to comfort her. ¡°~Th-thank you...~¡± She felt them perk up at her words as her eyes grew damp. For a while, she just held them like this, relaxing to the backdrop of their incomprehensible bird noises. Their hug wouldn¡¯t end up lasting all that long before they hopped back a couple of paces and smiled at her; the expression clear despite their unemotive beak. ¡°~D-did you come here to check on me?~¡± she asked. As expected, they only responded by tilting their head. Anne didn¡¯t let that discourage her, lightly bowing to show her gratitude instead¡ªand giggling at seeing it be returned moments later ¡°~Heheh. Wonder if...¡± Struck by an idea, Anne grabbed her notebook before flipping through the pages in search of another spot large enough for a sketch. The birdie watched with interest all the while¡ªuntil realizing that they were the one the girl had just started drawing. The realization caught them off guard, leaving them looking around the spot in search of the right spot to perch on before settling right in front of Anne¡ªon her legs, even. Once they landed, they struck a pose of either waving at her or showing off their wing. Quite a difference in possible connotation. ¡°~Hmm... I-I think I can salvage this, yeah¡ª~¡± The pen whizzed over the lined paper as the Dartrix began to take form on the page. At some point, Anne didn¡¯t even need to glance up at them anymore, filling the detail in from memory. Once the birdie had caught onto that fact, they finally lowered their aching wing and leaned in, cooing at the progress of the drawing. Right as Anne was getting into shading, though, loud bangs from nearby startled both her and the owlet alike. The Dartrix couldn¡¯t get more than a couple of confused chirps out before the noises got more defined, turning into loud squeaks and honks. They sounded like they came from right around the corner¡ªbefore the unexpected guest showed themselves. A Dartrix watching her through the window was one thing, at least they were covert in their¡­ curiosity. Something that couldn¡¯t be said in the slightest about the bouncy, bubbly Azumarill that half-stepped, half-hopped into the room. Anne only got a brief glimpse of the gourd and a tied bundle in their hands before they got to speaking¡ªand didn¡¯t stop until the owlet chirped in. Their silence ended up being very temporary, though at least once it had resumed, it was aimed the other way; loud honks towards the room¡¯s exit answered with quiet, panting squeaks. The source of the latter emerged moments later; Anne feeling bad at seeing Autumn completely out of breath like this. And with the little psychic came clarity. Anne¡¯s mind itched as the Indeedee focused on providing a translation for them all again, following up with a telepathic comment as she caught her breath, ¡°^There, there Holly, she can hear you now! I told you that you didn¡¯t have to run¡ª^¡± ¡°There we go! Now,¡± the freshly identified Holly spoke, ¡°here ya go, Anne! Your meal.¡± The Azumarill¡¯s delivery was grasped by Autumn¡¯s green shimmer and hovered over to the bedside table as the psychic sighed in exasperation. ¡°~Th-thank you! Wait, d-did you make these?~¡± Anne asked. ¡°Sure did! Your personal juice blend and a hearty batch of cookies. Ya needed a proper welcome gift in here!¡± Cookies took Anne aback in particular. Even the mention of the treat evoked memories of a better, safer time, making the girl shake a bit. ¡°~Th-that¡¯s¡ªthat¡¯s so nice of you. I-I¡ª~¡± ¡°Doncha fret about it Anne, my pleasure! Ya sure deserve an actual welcome after all the dumb worrying the scouts were doing earlier.¡± Holly brushed off. Anne wasn¡¯t sure what the Azumarill meant, but was more than content to just appreciate the gift. Still, she really wanted to return the kind gesture, somehow. ¡°~But, I-I want to pay back¡ª~¡± ¡°Hush hush now! I mean it when I say I¡¯m glad to do this. I don¡¯t ever need anything in return, sweetie.¡± ¡°~H-how about a drawing?~¡± For once, the Azumarill was the confused one in the room. Anne clarified by bringing over her notebook for Holly to get a better look. The rabbit¡¯s eyes turned wide as saucers as she scanned the pages, commenting, ¡°Hot damn we¡¯re got an artisty girl in here! Jovie¡¯s gonna have a field day with you sometime, hah!¡± ¡°^Maybe let¡¯s not rush ahead that far into the future Holly...^¡± Autumn chided. ¡°Right right right. Anywho¡ªprolly best I haul myself back over to the pantry, hah! The rush is gonna pick up anytime now¡ªyou take care of yourself Anne, stop by sometime once you¡¯re better!¡± With the encouraging words dispensed, the Azumarill turned on her heels and headed out. Her tail bounced on the carpeted floor as she turned the corner, calling out towards someone unseen, ¡°Hey¡ª¡± Her greeting got abruptly cut off, dumbfounding Anne for a moment. It was probably just a limitation of Autumn¡¯s translation or something. The Indeedee, on the other hand, smirked at the Dartrix still perched on Anne¡¯s legs, asking with a voice equally chiding and curious, ¡°^Blossom~?^¡± ¡°Good afternoon Autumn! I-I¡ªumm...¡± the owlet chirped back, searching for words. Anne sure didn¡¯t expect their translated voice to sound like a teen only a couple of years older than herself. Autumn broke into a quiet chuckle, shaking her head as the Grass-type replied, ¡°I wanted t-to check up on her!¡± ¡°^And how is she~?^¡± ¡°She¡ª¡± The realization that the lanky, pink artist could now understand her took its time to hit Blossom. Once it did, though, the Dartrix wasted no time hopping towards the girl and speaking back up, excited, ¡°Aaaaa hi! My name is Blossom! How do you draw so nicely!?¡± Anne couldn¡¯t resist laughing at the question; the owlet¡¯s earlier excitability made all the sweeter. ¡°~I¡¯m A-Anne! And hehe, I¡¯ve b-been drawing for a few years now, had a lot of practice w-when I was younger.~¡± As simple and obvious as the answer was, Blossom grew even giddier at hearing it. Her curiosity soon spread to other items, especially the medium on which Anne¡¯s art took place. ¡°That¡¯s so cool! What is that stick you draw with? It looks so weird! Oh oh oh, are you gonna be staying here!?¡± The mostly drained, clear pen was as boring as it got¡ªfor Anne, at least. Its brass tip shone faintly as the girl held it up for the owlet and grandma to see, which, combined with the translucent material, made it look downright magical. Right as Anne was about to get into the weeds of how the simple device worked, the follow-up question made her freeze in uncertainty. ¡°^So far all the signs are pointing to ¡®yes¡¯, Blossom, Anne will likely stay here for a while,^¡± Autumn answered. Her words weren¡¯t entirely confident, but it was enough for the human girl to go ahead with showing off her tool. ¡°~A-anyway. This is a pen. It lets out a tiny bit of ink when I move the tip over a surface. Doesn¡¯t even have to be paper,~¡± Anne explained. She proceeded to demonstrate that fact on herself, holding the pen with her teeth to draw a crooked line on her right hand. After making sure both Blossom and Autumn had seen it, she rubbed the spot against her chin to smudge it off, to limited success. ¡°It comes off, r-right?¡± Blossom asked. ¡°~Yeah! Well, not from paper, b-but skin eventually just sheds it. I-I think that¡¯s how it works...~¡± The mention of shedding skin confused both listeners. They only really recognized it from the handful of reptiles living in their village. And, sure, they shed fur and feathers too, but that was these and not¡­ skin. The Dartrix chirped, alarmed, ¡°Y-your skin falls off!?¡± ¡°~W-what!? No, I-I mean¡ªit¡¯s like when just a tiny bit of it falls off, l-like hair, and regrows back.~¡± Autumn and Blossom sighed in relief at the clarification. Whole body skin shedding would¡¯ve made the mysterious humans even weirder¡ªnot to mention sounded incredibly painful. ¡°Ooooohhhh. And this white thing? How does it break down like this!?¡± ¡°^Blossom, I think we should take it easy on Anne. She¡¯s had a very, very long day so far.^¡± As much as Anne wanted to object to Autumn¡¯s words and explain the little she knew of how paper worked, she couldn¡¯t deny her own exhaustion¡ªespecially after a quiet yawn cut her off right as she was about to speak. She had no choice but to wordlessly admit defeat, acknowledged by Autumn with a wink as she poured the girl some more of Holly¡¯s concoction. ¡°Awwwwhh, okay... O-oh oh, Anne, you¡¯re from that nearby human place, right? I think I¡¯ve seen you before!¡± Blossom said. Autumn stared blankly at the Dartrix admitting to venturing to the village her mom had told her not to go so blatantly. Anne was stunned too, but for different reasons¡ªthinking back, she remembered overhearing a couple of kids mentioning having seen a weird brown and white bird on a lamppost a few weeks back. The mental image of Blossom being so curious about their middle of nowhere she flew all the way over just to see it made her chuckle. ¡°~Yeah! T-though if you¡¯ve seen me outside, I-I was wearing a gray hat and had my hair t-tied up like this,~¡± Anne spoke as she scooped her hair into a messy ponytail, making the Dartrix nod even harder. ¡°Yes, like this, I remember you now! I-I never thought we¡¯d ever see anyone f-from there in here, teehee,¡± Blossom giggled, glancing out the window toward the human village¡ªand froze at what she saw, her voice aghast. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s all that smoke?¡± The cue had Anne lean over and Autumn climb onto the bed to see for herself. A massive plume of black smoke was rising from Mylock¡¯s direction, its sheer size worrying. ¡°~Looks like something¡¯s b-burning¡ª~¡± *rumble!* The aftershocks of a distant explosion were too weak to do more than rattle Anne¡¯s cup a bit, but the sheer tension accompanying them almost made Blossom panic there and then. ¡°W-what was that!?¡± ¡°~I-I don¡¯t know! I¡¯ve no idea what¡¯s even b-burning,~¡± Anne shouted, wanting to look over at Autumn for reassurance¡ªbut couldn¡¯t. Regardless of how hard she tried to move her head or eyes, her gaze was frozen facing the plume of smoke. The confusion of it all quickly gave way to terror, making her cry out, ¡°~M-Mrs. Autumn, what¡¯s g-going on!? I-I can¡¯t l-look away!~¡± ¡°What do you mean,¡± Blossom asked before her voice was cut off, scaring Anne further. Whatever comfort the girl might have previously felt had given way to fear, making her hyperventilate as the Indeedee spoke up again, somber and apologetic, ¡°^Anne, I¡¯m sorry for all this, b-but this is important. I need you to... think back, back to the dearest memory of Ember you have, and focus on it. Can you do that for me?^¡± With all the fear gripping Anne, it was hard to reminisce about her and Ember. She still tried her hardest, though, and eventually memories started flowing. Their fondest moments together, their hardships, every single instant of comfort they ever shared. In no time, it didn¡¯t even feel like she was the one looking back anymore. The flashbacks felt like a thread being pulled out of her head with more force than she could¡¯ve ever managed alone; each vision was completed by another perspective. From the beginning, to the end, and much, much too intense for either the weary human or the chubby psychic. Just a few seconds later, Blossom was left chirping in panic at suddenly seeing four people faint all at once, ¡°Help!¡± Chapter 8: Secret The gunshot that rang out from the rundown building startled the passersby, but considering the history of the family that lived there, most of them dismissed it as the father of the household having yet another aggressive episode. And with Mrs. Graham leaving the building soon after, looking like she saw a ghost, they felt affirmed in that hunch. Knowledge that an ambulance was on its way helped Luxie calm down after the violent display she¡¯d just witnessed. The lil¡¯ bee worried whether it was right to ever inflict such a harm on anyone else, but after thinking back to what she¡¯d seen of Anne, she couldn¡¯t find any empathy for the girl¡¯s father in her. She just felt¡­ so very cold. Lumi was surprised his coworker was even capable of a violence like that, the bloodthirst so unlike her. He sure wasn¡¯t gonna object to an awful human getting put in their place, though. ¡°Where are you leading us to now? Is this not everything the girl had?¡± The translated barks made Olive flinch, startling her out of her shock at what she¡¯d just witnessed. She shook her head, trying to push it aside, before answering, ¡°~It is, yes. I want to add something from myself, too. If she¡¯s gonna live away from other humans, she¡¯ll need... a few things sooner or later. And a few books she liked wouldn¡¯t hurt either.~¡± ¡°Things? Such as?¡± Lumi asked. ¡°~Personal hygiene. Knowing what will happen to her body in the next few years.~¡± The latter aside got the Electric-type particularly confused. His vocalizations caught the attention of a few bystanders as they ventured deeper into the town, the surrounding buildings growing denser and taller. ¡°I thought humans didn¡¯t evolve.¡± ¡°~No, no we don¡¯t. This is something else.~¡± The aside explained precious nothing, making Aria concerned. Hopefully, whatever that mysterious process was, she¡¯d be able to help the poor girl through it¡ªassuming Anne would be allowed to stay for that long. Alternatively, having Olive nearby to help answer any further question would help too, but¡­ that wouldn¡¯t be an option, unfortunately. The Gardevoir had to put in more effort with her every step, the growing number of onlookers straining her psychics. Erasing the image of herself from one mind was straightforward, but by the time she had to split her attention a dozen ways, she could barely keep walking straight. Her breathing grew loud enough to make a few passersby glance over their shoulder as they walked past. Lumi wasn¡¯t a fan of more humans either, sticking close to the local half of the group. The metal monstrosities whizzing past them kept startling him, though less and less each time. The town center was less drab than the outskirts, but much of the colors it had were visibly flaking paint or weathered storefront decorations. Some of the promotional posters were eroded down to just cyan and white as they proudly advertised an upcoming music festival here in Mylock, in just seven years ago. Lumi had no idea what any of it meant¡ªonly that it all just looked tacky. There was something he did recognize, though, scattered all over the place. He asked, ¡°Is that the girl¡¯s face on those white things flopping everywhere?¡± Olive sighed and nodded. The missing person posters had only been put up yesterday, but many of them were already illegible because of snow or vandalism. They proudly displayed an out-of-date school photo, Anne¡¯s thousand-year stare visible even then.
MISSING ANNE MARTIN Missing from: Mylock, Lillywood County, ML Date of Birth: February 10th, 538 Date Missing: January 29th, 549 Height: 4¡¯5¡± Weight: 61 lbs Hair: Shoulder length, Brown Eyes: Brown Anne was last seen wearing a green jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and a gray cap. CAN YOU HELP? Please call the Lillywood County Sheriff at 555-252-1221 Callers may remain anonymous
¡°~They¡¯re missing person posters. Supposedly, they¡¯re there so that people can be on the lookout for those who¡¯ve gone missing. In practice¡­ they¡¯re an excuse to not do any searching for those with the resources to do so,~¡± Olive explained, trying hard not to audibly scoff at them¡ªand especially at the people that had put them up. The Luxray nodded along as they kept going, looking around for any suspicious humans. ¡°How long until we¡¯ll get there? This place gives me the creeps.¡± ¡°~Hah. It¡¯s ugly, yes, but most have a better idea than to bother strangers like that.~¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a shame, Mylock feels so gray and boring,¡± Luxie commented. The librarian couldn¡¯t help but concur, sighing as they all turned the corner. The side road was much narrower, leaving less of the sidewalk usable¡ªespecially with much of it occupied by parked cars. Outside of a miserly church that she couldn¡¯t force herself to attend anymore, there weren¡¯t any social spaces left in the town. The small park on the southern end? Swallowed by the woods. The plaza where a small basketball court stood once? Converted into a supermarket, struggling to stay afloat just a few months in. ¡°~That¡¯s because it is. And we¡¯re almost there, the library¡¯s just up ahead,~¡± Olive explained. As much as she meant these words, they weren¡¯t *entirely* true. Sure, the town wasn¡¯t doing well, but there were some signs of life left in it. One of them was right ahead, no less, trying to open the library¡¯s front door. A few attempts to budge it later, his mom finally spoke up after making it across the street, profoundly exhausted, ¡°~Liam, it¡¯s closed, don¡¯t you see?~¡± ¡°~But it¡¯s Thursday! It should be open!~¡± the little boy responded. ¡°~But it¡¯s just not. Mrs. Graham isn¡¯t in, let¡¯s head back home¡ª~¡± ¡°~I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!~¡± Olive spoke up, perking up the attention of both the tyke and his mom. The former immediately scrambled over towards them, waving excitedly in the air, ¡°~Hello Mrs. Graham! Hello Leo, hello Luxie!~¡± The Arcanine sped up as the boy approached, both of them at approximately the same eye level. It let the latter hug the former with ease, the warm mane returning sensation to his nose as he nuzzled into it. ¡°~Good afternoon Liam! I apologize, I was busy earlier, but I can stop by for a moment and let you grab something.~¡± ¡°~Thank you!~¡± Liam said. Without wasting another moment, he turned around and bolted towards the library¡¯s entrance. Leo took off in a slow jog next to him, starting an impromptu race he tried to not win too hard. With fewer minds around, Aria found herself able to do more than just walk and hide. The boy¡¯s excitement soon grew contagious to be around, bringing a smile to her face. ¡°^Aww, he feels like one of my own kids...^¡± ¡°~He¡¯s sweet, isn¡¯t he? Guess expecting a sibling in not too long really gets one excited about reading to them, hah,~¡± Olive whispered, a soft smile filling her weathered face. Leo predictably won the race against a four-year-old, but the consolation prize of more puppy hugs and kisses made the bitter defeat more than palatable. As the group approached the library¡¯s entrance, more and more of the spray painted mural on the building¡¯s front facade came into view. The passage of time had left it tarnished, and hardly of highest artistic quality even when it was new, but the picture of a Dragonite enjoying a book while surrounded by piles upon piles of other books still beat bare glass and stone. ¡°~M-Mrs. Graham, there¡¯s really no need,~¡± the boy¡¯s mom pleaded. ¡°~Oh it¡¯s no problem, Julie. I need to grab something from there myself, anyway.~¡± Once Olive made her way to the door, Liam stepped away to give her space. He was giddy to rush in as soon as he could before spotting someone he hadn¡¯t seen before. The Luxray¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t particularly friendly, but the boy wasn¡¯t about to let that stop him. ¡°~Who¡¯s that?~¡± The sight of a proud Electric-type backing off at being approached by a little child made the two town mons giggle. His mom wasn¡¯t quite as amused, though, unnerved by the lack of any collar on the mon, ¡°~Liam, give the Luxray some space, they¡¯re not used to you.~¡± ¡°~Mhm! His name is Lumi and... I¡¯m looking after him while his owners are on vacation. He doesn¡¯t enjoy being touched, so listen to what your mom said, Liam,~¡± Olive explained. ¡°~Awwwh, okay...~¡± Even if hugs were off the table, the boy wasn¡¯t gonna waste the chance to at least greet the hound. He waved excitedly at him, much to Lumi¡¯s confusion. ¡°W-what is he doing...?¡± Lumi asked, his growls making the boy¡¯s mom gulp. She grabbed her son¡¯s hand and dragged him into the library proper the moment Olive unlocked the front door. Luxie just found it all amusing, laughing in her twinkly voice, ¡°He just wants to say hi!¡± Despite Lumi being taken aback and not exactly feeling like meeting any more humans, even he couldn¡¯t deny that this was one of the nicest possible answers to his question. The mons made their way in shortly after the humans. Aria immediately scurried further in, searching for a spot to catch her breath, while Lumi took in the view. Out of everything he¡¯d seen in this bizarre human town, this was the most confusing place yet. Almost every wall was filled with colorful stripes. The few shelves that weren¡¯t full let the Luxray see how it was all laid out. As it turned out, the colors he saw were just narrow sides of larger, rectangular slabs that filled the shelves up, both those against the walls, and a few freestanding ones. The realization didn¡¯t make the end result any less overwhelming, though. What space wasn¡¯t being taken up by shelves of colorful blocks, was instead filled with a couple of tables, and a few chairs¡ªone of them getting immediately taken by the boy¡¯s mother. The only other element of note was an unpainted counter that Olive soon walked behind. After a few clicking noises, the off-white rectangular object on the counter spun back to life, ancient fans whining and rattled as they begged for mercy. The similarly colored object that stood on top of the box soon shined light, but only in the librarian¡¯s direction. ¡°~I want to return these!~¡± Liam said, following his cheerful call by grabbing the bag next to his mom¡¯s chair, and pulling all the books out onto the counter. They may have had more pictures per page than the words on them had syllables, but that didn¡¯t make the librarian any less happy to see them be taken out and read. ¡°~Sure thing, Liam. I¡¯ll take care of them, you go and look for more in the meantime.~¡± ¡°~Okay!~¡± Off in the nook between bookshelves, Aria took her time getting her bearings after taking her disguise off. Olive¡¯s explanation of why they had ventured here made sense, but the Gardevoir didn¡¯t expect just getting here to be so draining. If she was ever going to repeat this, she would need a less demanding way of hiding¡ª ¡°~*gasp*!~¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s eyes snapped open at the sound; the sight of a young human boy in a funny-looking outfit looking up at her froze them both. Most of the rest of the library as well, with only the boy¡¯s mother ending up confused instead of shocked at hearing the telltale sound. In the tense silence that followed, Aria moved a finger to her lips to try shushing the boy. Before she could even get halfway there, though, Liam erupted with excitement, running away and shouting, ¡°~Mom mom mom there¡¯s a big mon and white and green in there!~¡± To everyone¡¯s relief, Julie¡¯s reaction to her son¡¯s words was only an exasperated, tired sigh. She pried her eyes open as her son ran towards her, desperately trying to catch her attention. ¡°~MOM!~¡± ¡°~Liam, what are you talking about...~¡± Julie groaned. ¡°~Mom there was a big mon there!~¡± her son explained. Realizing there was no way to get out of being dragged along, Julie slowly stood up and followed his son. Olive hoped that Aria had this under control, despite letting herself be seen like that. ¡°~Where did they go?~¡± Liam asked the empty space before him. ¡°~I truly wonder,~¡± his mom answered. Her dead tired sarcasm went over her son¡¯s head as he looked all over that part of the library. Meanwhile, Aria slowly inched away with the aid of levitation, making no sound as she hovered over to Olive¡¯s side. ¡°^Sorry for that, I was catching my breath and let my guard down.^¡± The librarian shook her concerns off. Liam¡¯s mom didn¡¯t see any of it; there was no reason to panic. She whispered over to the psychic, hoping to calm her down, ¡°~Don¡¯t worry, she just thinks he made it up.~¡± ¡°^I know, I know, thank goodness.^¡± ¡°~But it was right there!~¡± ¡°~Big and white and green mon, right in that corner?~¡± Julie asked, somehow sounding even more done than before. As she passed by the counter on her way back to her seat, Aria saw¡ªand sensed¡ªsomething extremely off about her, even beyond the unusually large belly. The realization made the Gardevoir freeze as the mom kept chatting with her son. ¡°~Yeah! I told you!~¡± Liam said. ¡°~Sweetie, a Snorlax wouldn¡¯t even fit there.~¡± ¡°~Not a Snorlax, they¡¯re not green!~¡± ¡°~They kinda are,~¡± Julie argued. ¡°~No! And it wasn¡¯t fat, it was just big like you!~¡± Olive and her companions had to focus to keep their amusement to themselves, the librarian managing that much better than Luxie. The bee¡¯s twinkly laugher made her human break the facade of calmness as she finished checking the books in. Julie didn¡¯t mind, glad that someone was enjoying the silly stuff her son was saying, but Liam remained determined. He ran up to the librarian and asked, ¡°~Mrs. Graham, are there any big and white and green mons out there?~¡± Aside from the one standing almost shoulder to shoulder with her? Olive chuckled softly at the thought as she returned the thin books to their proper spots, smiling at the boy and answering, ¡°~I don¡¯t know Liam. I really don¡¯t know Pokemon all too well.~¡± It was a convenient enough lie, if nothing else. Even if Julie saw right through it on account of the elderly librarian being her biology teacher back in the day, Liam didn¡¯t know that. He deflated as he thought about what to do next, the burning mystery frustrating him. If not for the answer to that particular riddle giving her away, Aria wouldn¡¯t be able to resist giving him a hand, all too familiar with Bell getting stumped on questions like that. Unfortunately for their secrecy, Liam soon reminded himself of one way to figure out what that mon was. It was a very slow way, but a guaranteed one, making him dash over to the large shelf filled with massive tomes bound in fake leather and ask, ¡°~Mrs. Graham, can I go through the dexes?~¡± ¡°~Sweetie, we don¡¯t have time...~¡± his mom pleaded. ¡°~But mooooom!~¡± ¡°~How about I let you borrow one and then you can go through it at home, Liam?~¡± Olive asked. Julie looked at her in concern, not just at the prospect of listening to her son¡¯s excitement every time he saw something vaguely tall and white, but also at the librarian letting anyone take the expensive-looking tomes out. Then again, there were digital versions now, even some on smartphones¡ªfigures that the big books weren¡¯t as valuable anymore. Still, it made her feel bad to have the librarian cave to her son¡¯s silly demands. ¡°~You really don¡¯t have to, Mrs. Graham.~¡± ¡°~Don¡¯t worry Julie, it¡¯s not an issue. So, how¡¯s that sound, Liam?~¡± ¡°~Yes please!~¡± ¡°~Alright! I¡¯ll get it checked out for you while you look for other books to take home, okay?~¡± ¡°~Mhm!~¡± The boy¡¯s mom shook her head with a sigh as she leaned back in the chair. Her tummy didn¡¯t leave her with many comfortable positions, and this one was the least bad, she supposed. Leo¡¯s warmth helped immensely as well, taking the edge off her strain as she closed her eyes and reached her hands into his mane¡ªcatching Lumi¡¯s attention. Wonder what was up with that massive stomach¡ª ... Oh heavens. ¡°Aria, are you seeing this?¡± he growled, perking the drowsy woman up. She eyed him out with more than a bit of uncertainty, creeping ever closer to fear. It made him lie down to look less intimidating as Aria responded, ¡°^Yes, yes I am. O-Olive, what is¡ªwhat is going on with her?^¡± ¡°~Hm?~¡± As the librarian grabbed the books for the girl they were here for, a quick glance around the nearest shelf let her see that nothing had changed about the expectant mother since the last time she¡¯d seen her, approximately thirty seconds ago. She whispered her response, hoping Aria could still hear it, ¡°~I have no idea what you¡¯re referring to.~¡± ¡°^Her... stomach.^¡± Olive blinked in confusion a few times before the question finally clicked for her. An amused smile filled her face as she kept whispering, building a pile of books on the counter all the while, ¡°~Forgot that all mons lay eggs for a moment, hah. Well~ humans don¡¯t. Instead, we... how do I put it. You could say that instead of growing in an egg, the baby grows inside us. And then later instead of the baby hatching out of the egg, we... lay the baby, already formed and breathing.~¡± Both Lumi and Aria were left dumbfounded at the revelation, though to a very different extent. As weird as an idea of growing offspring inside one¡¯s body was, it was the part at the end that shocked the Luxray the most. That baby was massive! There¡¯s no way this human was going to ¡®lay¡¯ it, it wouldn¡¯t fit! Though¡­ it¡¯s not like their normal, proper eggs weren¡¯t similarly sized, either. And these got laid all the time, which¡ªhow in the world did that work either, what¡ª Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Amused laughter at his expense filled his mind, chilling Lumi¡¯s racing train of thought. Aria snickered at seeing a father to a lil¡¯ cub not having any idea about how that entire process worked beyond the immediately pleasurable part. That¡¯s not to say she wasn¡¯t confused at Olive¡¯s words. In her case, though, the broad strokes made enough sense that the Gardevoir could at least visualize it all. It sounded¡­ very unpleasant, much more so than what she had to go through with Bell and Cadence. ¡°^I see... that sounds so, so much worse compared to just laying an egg.^¡± ¡°~Oh, I¡¯ve no doubt it is. Thirty-nine weeks as opposed to what, three?~¡± ¡°^More or less, yeah.^¡± Aria answered. ¡°~Hah, I would¡¯ve gladly taken the egg option after my oldest, believe me. Alas, we have to go through that entire process the hard way.~¡± And a hard way it clearly was; the wear on Julie clear to the Gardevoir. She could only do so much to help without getting herself spotted again, but a touch of relaxing warmth applied to her joints and muscles wouldn¡¯t hurt. As much as the expecting mom¡¯s body appreciated the gesture, her mind was taken aback by it, making her look around the library in confusion. Just the Luxray off the side, Leo snuggling her, and Mrs. Graham and her son assembling a stack of books each, the latter with Luxie¡¯s company. ¡°~Something wrong, Julie?~¡± Olive asked. ¡°~No, no, Mrs. Graham, just...~¡± ¡°~Tired?~¡± ¡°~That too, yeah, heh...~¡± Julie chuckled, shaking off her earlier surprise as she tried to stretch a bit. Her past teacher¡¯s caring nature was appreciated even now, long after her graduation. ¡°~Managing to get some sleep in?~¡± ¡°~Barely, though today was especially hard with all the news of Anne.~¡± As Olive acknowledged her former student¡¯s words, Aria kept close attention on the conversation being had, just in case. ¡°~Terrible situation, isn¡¯t it?~¡± Olive said. ¡°~It is, poor girl. Hope she ends up somewhere safe.~¡± Everyone gathered agreed with that sentiment, with many present contributing to it more directly than Julie could¡¯ve ever known. Her worry for Anne reassured Aria, a gentle and well-needed reminder of not all humans being malicious¡ªespecially with her clearly having known the girl at some level. ¡°~I¡¯m sure she will,~¡± Olive reassured with confidence, though not as much as to feel suspicious. Julie appreciated some feel-good reassurance, even if she didn¡¯t believe it deep down herself. ¡°~I don¡¯t know. Did you hear about what the police said?~¡± ¡°~Hmm?~¡± ¡°~I heard she was spotted in Lillywood yesterday, but apparently that wasn¡¯t true. Nobody has any idea where she is. She took a path through the woods, has to be in Lillywood or nearby, but if nobody spotted her there¡­ I-I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s nightmarish. I can¡¯t wait to get out of here,~¡± she muttered, voice growing wobblier as she continued. Olive paused her book hunt to walk over and reassure her with a pat on the shoulder. As she did, the expectant mother wiped off any tears before they could finish forming. ¡°~How¡¯s Ethan¡¯s job hunt going?~¡± the librarian asked. ¡°~It¡¯s going well, thank the gods. Has a couple interviews in Mistralton scheduled up this week, the house is mostly packed up and ready to move whenever. This whole mess gave us a kick in the butt to get that done before the due date. Once we get a go ahead, I¡¯ll start looking around for school vacancies there. Hopefully, there¡¯ll be some spots somewhere.~¡± ¡°~I¡¯ll miss you all, hah. Not many bright spots left in this town.~¡± Julie nodded somberly, wishing she could disagree with that assessment. Even after teaching here for a few years, it was very hard for her to do so. She replied, ¡°~Y-yeah. It¡¯s just an hour by car away. Wonder if Liam will be up and asking us to take him to visit you all again, hah.~¡± ¡°~I¡¯ll try to keep the library well stocked for him, just in case.~¡± The boy peeked around the corner at hearing his name¡ªonly for the Ribombee to interrupt that by tickling his exposed neck, lighting up the atmosphere some more. ¡°~How¡¯s the book search going, Liam?~¡± ¡°~It¡¯s going good Mrs. Graham! Just one more! Can I take out one more, mom?~¡± ¡°~Yes, yes sweetie, go ahead. Remember, you¡¯re the one carrying them,~¡± Julie chuckled. ¡°~Mhm!~¡± As the adults chuckled, the distant sound that had been creeping closer caught their attention, though not all of them knew what it meant. It got everyone looking through the windows as it grew even louder. The wildlings winced at the sudden intensity, before being taken aback by something very large and very red moving past their building. ¡°~Oh shoot, hope it¡¯s nothing here,~¡± Olive said. ¡°~Oh no, did I miss it?~¡± Liam asked, visibly deflating with an ¡®awwwh¡¯ as he dropped off the final book, sighing to himself. ¡°~Yeah, it was a fire truck, sweetie. I thought your preschool took you to see them recently?~¡± Julie asked. ¡°~We did, yeah! It was so, so cool and the Blastoise wore a big cool yellow glowy suit! I wanna see more!~¡± ¡°~Hopefully we won¡¯t have to see it from up close...~¡± As the mom and son chatted, Olive checked all the books out and packed them into bags. Quite heavy for Liam¡¯s size, but she had no doubt the boy¡¯s excitement would let him carry it all. ¡°~Alright, all checked out!~¡± ¡°~Thank you, Mrs. Graham!~¡± After the boy moved the bags over to the front door to the library, he scrambled back over to the librarian and hugged as much of her as he could. He then did the same to Leo, Luxie¡ªas carefully as he could¡ªand, mistakenly, to Lumi, too. ¡°~Hehe, tickles!~¡± The Luxray was as startled as the boy¡¯s mom, both of them too taken aback to react, if for vastly different reasons. Thankfully, Liam¡¯s hug was short-lived, his hair frizzled out as he dashed over to the front door. ¡°~L-Liam, Mrs. Graham told you he doesn¡¯t like being touched...~¡± Julie reminded, aghast. ¡°~Oh! Sorry!~¡± Aria passed the apology on; herself trying not to giggle at seeing her coworker so startled by a literal harmless child. ¡°~L-let¡¯s get going, sweetie.~¡± ¡°~Mhm! Bye-bye, Mrs. Graham! Bye-bye, Leo! Bye-bye, Luxie! Bye-bye, Lumi! Oh, Mrs. Graham, if you see any big white and green mons can you tell me when we come next?~¡± ¡°~Teehee. Yes, yes I will sweetie, pinky promise!~¡± Liam was convinced, so excited at the possibility of finding the mysterious mon that he literally ran circles around his mom as they walked out of sight. Once they were gone, the librarian turned towards the now-visible Aria and whispered, ¡°~Found them.~¡± Luxie broke into chirping laughter, with others soon following in her steps. The release of tension was well appreciated as the librarian started to check out Anne¡¯s fill of the books, their covers much less eye-catching than Liam¡¯s. ¡°How did he even see you, Aria?¡± Lumi asked pointedly, the question making the Gardevoir sigh and roll her eyes. ¡°^I had to catch my breath without the disguise. Believe it or not, keeping oneself hidden is much harder than just staring grumpily at everyone,^¡± Aria answered, her voice almost as tired as Julie¡¯s was moments prior. ¡°~And besides, nothing came of it now, did it,~¡± Olive chuckled. ¡°But what if it did?¡± Lumi persisted. ¡°~I really doubt anything would, even if Julie caught a glimpse of Aria too. She¡¯d maybe freak out a bit, but eventually she¡¯d just think she hallucinated something in her exhaustion, and that would be it.~¡± ¡°Do humans lie like that to themselves all the time?¡± ¡°~From what I know, confirmation bias is hardly a trait that¡¯s exclusive to humans¡ªas demonstrated very well by you, Lumi,~¡± Olive explained, not looking away from her current task. Luxie and Leo giggled at the Luxray¡¯s grumbles to a backdrop of repetitive beeps. As each book was checked out, Olive put them into a hefty bag, the sight catching Aria¡¯s attention. She figured this was a good time to find out what these things even were, asking, ¡°^These books. What are they?^¡± The phrasing gave Olive a pause. Eventually, she decided to just go through the titles already in the bag, one by one. ¡°~This one¡¯s about puberty and how it impacts one¡¯s body, this one¡¯s a fantasy novel she liked a lot for a good while, this one¡¯s about processing trauma¡ª~¡± ¡°^No, I mean... what are they as items? How does Anne get these abstract concepts from them?^¡± Without skipping a beat, Olive laid the book she was holding on the counter, and opened it to a random page. Aria was taken aback at the block just splitting in half like that, and even more so at the ocean of tiny, black symbols filling the off-white interior, their sheer number making her eyes glaze over. ¡°~Simply put, they¡¯re stacks of pages with words written on them. You read the words in order to get what the author was saying.~¡± Even though it felt weird to explain books on such an abstract level, it wasn¡¯t entirely unexpected here. As much as the adjective ¡®illiterate¡¯ clashed with the graceful, almost ethereal appearance of Anne¡¯s guardian, it¡¯s not like it was inaccurate. ¡°^And all these symbols are the human writing?^¡± Aria asked. ¡°~Unovan more specifically, but yes.~¡± ¡°^And if I don¡¯t know that writing, then I¡¯m not getting anything out of these books?^¡± ¡°~I¡¯m sure Anne would be happy to teach you.~¡± Olive reassured. The librarian¡¯s assertion took Aria off guard. She watched, confused, as the librarian gestured at Leo to help carry the books before asking, ¡°^Are you sure? I don¡¯t know if I could even learn it¡ª^¡± ¡°~I¡¯m much older than you, and I¡¯m learning a new language right now. You¡¯ll figure it out.~¡± ¡°^I mean, I¡¯m not human¡ª^¡± ¡°~And?~¡± Olive cut in. The blunt question left the Gardevoir uncertain how to word her worry before the human continued, ¡°~It¡¯s just a language and a bunch of symbols. There¡¯s nothing inherently human to it. We have to learn it too when we¡¯re very little. You¡¯ll manage, honey.~¡± As much as Aria worried about Anne getting properly acclimatized to and learning about the village, she didn¡¯t consider the possibility of the knowledge exchange happening the other way around. Which¡­ the more she thought about it, the more useful it sounded. ¡°^And these books, the other ones in here, what... ¡®words¡¯ do they have in them?^¡± ¡°~Hundreds of stories, large and small in scope. Religious texts from many religions. A hoard of knowledge about our world, both the natural and manmade parts, and its history. How do we breathe and eat, what are the migratory patterns of birds in southern Galar, what¡¯s the chemical composition of the Moon, who were the peoples that lived here before the Kantonian Conquest and the Unovan Expansion massacred them, how are these very books made. If you¡¯re curious about something, anything, it¡¯s likely that someone has already written down their knowledge about it.~¡± ¡°^And¡ªand all you need to get that information is to just know how to read the human writing?^¡± ¡°~Pretty much, yes. Hope that was a good pitch for getting you into reading, hah. Alright, ready to get a move on again?~¡± Aria might have heard Lumi¡¯s thought process shrugging it all aside as just silly human nonsense that wouldn¡¯t ever matter for them¡ªbut she knew better. Those that had lived amongst humanity didn¡¯t shy to share the stories of their contraptions, ranging from merely handy to society-warping. Even something as basic as being able to write down their knowledge to make passing it down over generations easier would help a lot¡ªand that didn¡¯t come close to half the wonders human inventions were supposedly capable of. ¡°~Aria?~¡± Olive asked, growing concerned. ¡°^A-ah yes, yes. Let¡¯s move on.^¡± She couldn¡¯t deny that some of Lumi¡¯s objections did hold water¡ªsuch as the question of how much Olive could even help them with in the end. The uncertainty and its implications refused to wash from her mind as the librarian led them out of the building, leading their impromptu pack. As they turned the corner back onto the town¡¯s main road, an odd sensation struck Aria. The humans¡¯ attention wasn¡¯t anywhere near as hard to redirect anymore, almost all their focus honed in on something behind the group¡ª ... ¡°^O-Olive...^¡± Aria whimpered, making the librarian look over her shoulder¡ªfollowed by the rest of the group. A pillar of thick, black smoke rose from a burning house in the distance, reaching up for the clouds. The firefighters¡¯ attempts to douse it proved ineffective until the second fire truck showed up, their combined efforts finally making an actual dent in the blaze¡ª *BOOM!* The group gasped at the massive fireball that suddenly engulfed the building. The already-present paramedics wasted no time before jumping into action, before the smoke even cleared. Once it had, though, it revealed Anne¡¯s former house to have gotten completely leveled by the blast, leaving nothing but a soon-extinguished charred ruin. ¡°~Mein Gott...~¡± Olive muttered, taking a few steps back. ¡°I-is that¡ªis that Anne¡¯s house?¡± Luxie whimpered. Her human nodded in affirmation, making the lil¡¯ bee huddle closer to her. Nobody knew how to process the sight before them¡ª Or rather, almost nobody. Lumi smirked, ¡°Well, that¡¯s that for that rotten place.¡± ¡°^Now she really has nowhere to go back to...^¡± Aria whispered to herself, sobered by what she¡¯d just witnessed. As true as that sentiment already was, having the building disintegrate in front of them only drove another nail into the coffin of Anne ever coming back to this place. A coffin that, by now, was just about ready to break the floor underneath it from the sheer weight of all the nails that had been hammered into it. ¡°~I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be doing ourselves any favors by staring into it. What¡¯s done is done. I just hope not too many were hurt,~¡± Olive commented, calming herself down. ¡°B-but¡ªwhat if we caused it?¡± ¡°~Nothing was burning when we left, Luxie.~¡± ¡°What if we just d-didn¡¯t see it¡ª¡± ¡°~I-I don¡¯t know. I,~¡± the librarian tried to answer, voice catching in her throat at the possibility of being indirectly responsible for all that. It didn¡¯t take long for her to compartmentalize the worry away in her mind, the lil¡¯ bee¡¯s concerns acknowledged with a sigh. ¡°~I doubt we did it. Even if we indirectly caused it somehow, Tom only has himself to blame for this. Let¡¯s move on.~¡± Luxie wasn¡¯t wholeheartedly convinced, but supposed the explanation made sense. In time, the group resumed their march, if more slowly this time. Olive and the lil¡¯ bee aside, they weren¡¯t anywhere near as concerned about the moral implications of their actions. Be it because of not having any direct impact on what had happened, or by having an ironclad moral justification. Still, they hoped that nobody but the homeowner got hurt in that blast. Silence hung heavy over them all as Olive led them into one of the several multi-story buildings. Its inside was weirdly barren, especially when compared to the library. Undecorated stone of the floors contrasted with the walls, full of variations of the same plain wooden door. The only color present was the plainest of white paints covering the handrails of the serpentine staircase winding upward in the building¡¯s center. ¡°What is this place?¡± Lumi asked, confused. ¡°~Oh? My apartment building, I live here.~¡± ¡°You mean in this entire building?¡± ¡°~No, no, obviously not. I mean in one of the apartments here.~¡± Lumi didn¡¯t consciously recognize the word, leaving him confused as the group made it up a few flights of stairs. Eventually, they stopped before one of the less barren doors, the worn out, muddied mat in front of it providing some much needed color. ¡°~Here we go, make yourselves at home.~¡± Even if Olive¡¯s apartment was nowhere as massive as the building as a whole, it still dwarfed Aria¡¯s burrow, and was more densely decorated while at that. The individual chambers were all perfectly rectangular, most painted in bright, if muted, colors. The furniture was no less eye-catching than the paint, all the shelves and drawers adding up to an overwhelming, cluttered, colorful mess. ¡°~Tea?~¡± the librarian asked. Aria wasn¡¯t a stranger to the drink, and even if in any other circumstance she would¡¯ve loved to sit down and get a sip or two... it wouldn¡¯t be possible here. ¡°^We¡¯ll pass, thank you.^¡± ¡°~Suit yourselves. Come and take a seat in the living room while I grab everything.~¡± The Gardevoir took her time taking all the detail in as the Luxray was just glad to see something soft he could lie down on. Still, he mumbled as he went through the rooms, ¡°This place is still massive...¡± ¡°~For just poor old us? Yeah, not disagreeing¡ªthough back when this was a family of six even all this space felt cramped much of the time,~¡± Olive explained, Aria spotting the large family portrait beside the living room¡¯s entrance on cue with her words. It looked similarly magical to the smaller painting she¡¯d found in Anne¡¯s doll, but much larger and depicting a much more populated scene. A younger Olive, another adult human, three human children, and an oddly light-colored Eevee, all bundled underneath a large blanket, watching something out of frame. ¡°^Was this how your family used to look like?^¡± Aria asked. The librarian peeked out of the kitchen and gave the Gardevoir a firm nod, before bringing her cup of tea over shortly after. She didn¡¯t sit down, though, immediately dipping for the bathroom as she answered, ¡°~Yep! This was... twenty-five years ago, I think¡ªsame year as when that circus truck crashed nearby, remember driving past the wreckage to get the developed photo. Anyhow¡ªhusband¡¯s gone, boys have all moved out, and now it¡¯s just us three, a makeshift bunch.~¡± ¡°^What about that Eevee?^¡± ¡°~Oh, Lovelace. She and my oldest were inseparable. He moved to Hoenn with her, and she evolved into an Umbreon, and now both of them have started families. Speaking of,~¡± Olive paused, chuckling to herself as she exited the bathroom and stuffed a few packs of something into the bag. Afterwards, she grabbed the book laying on the living room table, its front cover two colorful rectangles, and resumed an earlier topic, ¡°~Been trying to pick up some Hoennian so that I can visit them someday without making a show of myself, hah. It¡¯s slow going, but if I can learn a third language at seventy, then so can you at... however old you are, really. Let¡¯s see, how did the greeting go... a-ri-ga-to... lemme check the glossary... saa-na-i-to.~¡± Seeing a human having difficulties grasping one of what turned out to be many, many human languages was quite reassuring for Aria. Yeah, she could definitely do it if Olive could, and gave it enough time. ¡°I wonder how the mons ended up being included as a part of this ¡®family¡¯,¡± Lumi grumbled, keeping his tone just down enough to not appear accusatory. His intent was crystal clear to Olive by now, though, making Aria facepalm at him even trying to be coy about it anymore. The librarian continued to fill the bag with everything Anne could need out there, including a few of her own clothes, as she answered, ¡°~Lovelace was adopted, way back. Most of the details are blurry by now. Leo... my youngest worked as a firefighter for a while, got wind of some Growlithe runts looking for homes since they would be unfit for working with the cops.~¡± She glanced over at the hound with a warm smile; the Arcanine wagging his tail in return. ¡°~And so, one day he just showed up on my doorstep with a tiny puppy in his arms. By then I was living alone and loneliness was really starting to wear me down, but I was too hesitant to adopt again because of my age. Instead, he did it for me, and I¡¯ve been grateful ever since.~¡± Once his human wrapped her recollection up, Leo picked himself up with a big yawn and eagerly nuzzled her some more. Before Olive could continue, Luxie spoke up first, cutting her off, ¡°Oh oh oh, can I tell this one?¡± ¡°~Of course, Luxie! Who¡¯s better to tell it than someone who it¡¯s all about?~¡± ¡°Okay okay! I was much much younger, just a Cutiefly far far from where I hatched, and it was so cold and I couldn¡¯t find many flowers anywhere anymore. I was so hungry and cold and it was starting to rain, and then I finally sensed some pretty flowers nearby, I went straight for them and I really wanted to get to them! And then I hit a weird barrier I couldn¡¯t see and was so frustrated and angry and kinda despairing a-and then Olive opened the window and let me in! And she helped me dry myself, and gave me some sweet water to drink, and I could sip the nectar of all the flowers and she was so nice! And then a few days later when the weather got better she let me back out again, but I came back because I liked it here, it was nice and warm and I had food... and then I stayed!¡± As the lil¡¯ bee finished recounting her experiences, Olive was filling in the last of the free space inside the bags with whatever potentially useful clothing she could squeeze in. Once done, she smiled up at the littlest member of her household, Luxie wasting no time in flying over and hugging as much of her human¡¯s face as she could. ¡°Thank you for making my life better...¡± ¡°~Thank you for being a part of mine.~¡± With a couple of gentle pats on the Ribombee¡¯s back, the human let go of her and grabbed the two sizable bags and brought them over to the wildlings. ¡°~Alright, I think that¡¯s everything I can fit in. Clothes, paper, pens, books, a couple snacks, hygiene¡ªthank goodness I kept some extras of these for other girls from rougher families. I hope they will be of help.~¡± Aria eyed down the spoils with a mix of trepidation and relief. She lifted them in her pale glow for a couple of moments before dropping them back down. Bulky as they were, they were nothing compared to what her mind could bench press on a good day. ¡°^I can¡¯t thank you enough for all this Olive. I¡¯ll be forever in your debt.^¡± ¡°~Then repay it by making Anne¡¯s life as good as you can, Aria.~¡± The Gardevoir nodded deeply, ¡°^I will. I promise.^¡± ¡°~Godspeed, Aria. She counts on you.~¡± Aria acknowledged Olive¡¯s words as she closed her eyes, mulling through an internal conundrum. One that a whole lot more light was about to be shone on. ¡°C¡¯mon, get it over with and let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Lumi muttered. ¡°~Get what¡ª~¡± Olive tried to ask, before she and her companions were surrounded with the same white sheen as the bags from moments prior. Aria¡¯s mental grip bound them in place, only letting them breathe and mutter. ¡°~W-what are¡ª~¡± ¡°^I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t express how much I appreciate everything you¡¯ve all done for us, but... I, we, can¡¯t risk you knowing where Anne is, or about our involvement. The stakes are too great. I wish I didn¡¯t have to do this,^¡± Aria explained, her tone apologetic. ¡°Wh-what are you gonna do¡­¡± Luxie squeaked. The lil¡¯ bee¡¯s fear cut deep into Aria, her expression flat aside from the fiercely growing eyes. It brought all the terrifying mental imagery of ghost brides into the forefront of Olive¡¯s mind, making the Gardevoir wince. ¡°^You will forget everything that has happened today. You¡¯ll only know that Anne is safe, but nothing more.^¡± After a long, painful pause, the psychic¡¯s eyes lit up brighter still, making the whole group recoil in various ratios of fear and anger. Luxie was obsessively going through the events of the day in her little head, trying to hold onto the memories as well as she could. About as effective as pushing back a tidal wave with one¡¯s bare hands. ¡°^I¡¯m sorry.^¡± The mental grip grew tighter, almost painful, as the family either stared back or braced themselves for the inevitable. They waited for the evil deed to happen, moment by moment¡­ Only for it not to. Before the group¡¯s expressions could change to confusion, they heard Aria¡¯s voice again, little more than a hushed whisper this time, ¡°^Keep your faces like this. Don¡¯t speak, think aloud.^¡± The instructions made little sense, but the trio were much too shaken to even think about not following them. They kept their faces frozen as an expectant space filled Olive¡¯s living room. ¡°^I... don¡¯t want to do this. But I must know, with absolute certainty, that no word of this will ever reach anyone else. Your aid and knowledge has been invaluable, and will continue to be so if Anne stays with us, and it would be cruel of me to reward it like this. But I cannot risk our safety¡ªours, Anne¡¯s, the safety of hundreds of other beings that would be in peril if the human world at large knew.^¡± A heavy pause followed, mental grip relaxing ever so slightly as Aria took a deep breath. ¡°^Can you all, especially you, Olive, promise me that? Promise that no word of what had happened beyond the pretense you¡¯ve already set up will ever reach anyone else, not even your loved ones?^¡± As much as the Gardevoir¡¯s actions made sense with how much was at stake, the group in front of her still felt betrayed at a threat like that being held over their heads. Leo in particular wanted to bark something back at her, literally and verbally alike, before ultimately keeping himself down. Soon after, Luxie¡¯s thoughts reached the others first, ¡°^I-I promise! I want to keep you all and Anne safe, I don¡¯t want to forget you, forget knowing she¡¯s gonna be alright.^¡± ¡°^Hmph, fine. Promise,^¡± Leo added. ¡°^Olive?^¡± The old woman remained silent for the longest. Terror of the situation, sting of betrayal, fears of losing her memory, and affection towards Anne all swirled under her skullcap. Her hand clenched briefly as she got a grip on herself, before responding at last, ¡°^Just as you promised me her safety, I promise you your secrecy, Aria. If she ever needs anything, I want to be able to help.^¡± Her words were hurt, dripping with resentment towards the Gardevoir for even considering just using them all like that. Resentment that wasn¡¯t at all unearned, as sad as Aria was to admit that. Alas, that was the only way Marco and Lumi would¡¯ve ever agreed to confide in a human. As much as she was growing to hate the forced secrecy of their village, she couldn¡¯t deny things being the way they were for a good reason. ¡°^From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you all, for everything. When I let go of you, pretend to be dazed and confused.^¡± Aria¡¯s grip held them for a few more moments before fizzling as suddenly as it had initially appeared. Olive blinked at her surroundings as she took a few steps back, Luxie buzzing straight into Leo¡¯s mane, and the hound flopped onto his side, staring up at the ceiling. ¡°^Quick, before they come back to,^¡± Aria urged Lumi the moment she ended her part of the charade. The Luxray didn¡¯t have to be told twice, bolting out of the apartment as Aria levitated the bags with herself. Just before following him out, she passed the group one last, brief smile before running out. Into the vastness of the human world. Interlude I: Rupture That BITCH will PAY for this. Tom''s grunts and whines of pain were but one of a whole host of noises that rang through the decrepit kitchen. Droning hum of overhead lights, ominous hissing of ruptured pipes, unceasing drops of leaking water splashing against the metal sink. Whether the trashing wretch of a man could hear any of them, obscured by the deafening sounds of blood rushing through his veins and the racket of his racing heart, was another matter. That fucking THING too. The pain of his mangled limbs barraged his mind, but his unceasing fury eclipsed even that. At that WORTHLESS BITCH daring to enter MY house, MY fucking property, and DARED to fucking speak to me like that. How dare she, how FUCKING dare she disrespect me like that. Another pained gasp cut off the bestial snarl of anger before it could escape his throat, leaving him shaking even harder on the messy floor. It''s ALL her fault. Blood, bile, and water pooled around him as the natural gas in the air above turned it hazy¡ªnone of that was consciously noticed, though. Much, much too late for that. A slow, grinding facsimile of laughter pushed its way through gritted teeth as he fantasized about everything he was going to do. I''ll have her FUCKING dog turned into a PELT. His justice would be glorious, they would all suffer just like he has. SHE fucking went in and DARED to raise her voice AT ME, AT ME, I AM THE FUCKING LAW! Too late for discipline for that bitch, I''ll have her fucking HEAD on a STAKE, and then EVERYONE ELSE in this fucking town. For all the skeevy looks they gave him, for their disrespect. He was their superior. It''s MY fucking town, they are just background decoration, they are NOTHING. He could have them all thrown behind bars. They think their fucking mons can save them? If they even tried to look at him wrong, he would have them hunted down. He had immunity. If I wanted I could unload my ENTIRE fucking mag in them until they stop twitching. They were below humans and humans were below him, he had authority over them all. He was the protector of the law, and they were NOTHING. Don''t they fucking DARE backtalk me. He saw what they thought of him, how they dared to talk about him when the topic of Anne came up. Already good for fucking nothing, NO FUCKING RESPECT, and then that Graham WHORE kept teaching her worthless fucking shit. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. How dare she run away from ME. I OWN her, she is nothing without me, would never be ANYTHING without me. It was Lisa''s fault. She corrupted her. That fucking BITCH. This time, Tom''s anger-filled shout overcame his incapacitation, ringing through the decrepit building. He was already on his way to shape that little brat into something proper before she even left her diapers, but of course SHE had taken it away. Just wouldn''t suffice to keep HURTING him, she had to fucking take his PROPERTY too. But now you''re fucking dead, Lisa. Anne''s mine, she will ALWAYS BE MINE. Snarls and shouts gave way to laughter as his bloodshot eyes stared straight into the fluorescent lights above. For a moment, he thought he saw her, he saw Anne, he saw Lisa, stare down at him from above. DON''T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT. From beyond. He struck the air with his bare, broken hand. The pain was unbearable, but the anger was just barely stronger. That FUCKING demon''s head will be mine, too. A crooked grin twisted his bloodied expression as his imagination took him for a tour. I''ll burn down that entire FUCKING forest, kill every single last THING there, if it means getting my hands on that thing. Did it think it could just come at him without any consequences? *wee-woo-WEE-WOO!* I knew that bitch wouldn''t have the balls. As the approaching sirens pierced Tom''s veil of agony, more and more vicious glee dripped into his train of thought. All she had to do was fucking RESPECT me, and she and her FUCKING dog couldn''t even do that. With each drop came just enough relief, sating his urges just enough to let him endure until the ambulance got here. I will make that Graham BITCH regret everything, especially her being weak enough to call for help. Fantasies of violent torture raced through his mind as his working hand¡ªor what remained of it¡ªreached into the pocket of his vest. The boys will appreciate getting to rough up an old BITCH on the LAW''s dime. They made the mistake of letting him live, and he would make sure it cost them everything. He pulled out a cigarette, bent in half, and stuck it in his mouth. They''ll pay for this. None of them would get away scot-free. Not that BITCH, not that THING, not that worthless girl for DARING to run away from me. If she''d fucking died out there, then fucking GOOD, it was all that fucking bitch ever deserved after Lisa filled her head with WEAKNESS. THEY''LL PAY FOR THIS. The thought echoed in his mind, reverberating ever louder. She finally tossed that THING and still wouldn''t behave. His grin grew with each repetition, his body calmed down, the hissing pipes and the distant sirens grew louder. Oh yes, he would make them all pay, without mercy. I''ll have a field day going with a HAMMER over their EVERY limb and joint. As the bloodthirsty fantasy gripped his mind, he reached for the cracked lighter in his pocket, too drunk on revenge to feel any pain anymore, and brought it to his lips. THEY''LL PAY FOR THIS. THEY''LL PAY FOR THIS. THEY WILL PAY FOR THIS¡ª *click!* Chapter 9: Return Marco had no idea why his sister was so insistent on getting help from that random human and her band. She shouldn¡¯t have needed to be convinced to wipe their memories after they were done helping, but at least she agreed to it in the end. Sure, the human in their village was an injured child¡ªhe knew full well how much that fact tugged at his sister¡¯s heartstrings. The strangers¡¯ actions would help Anne out, but¡­ she was still a human. Her days in the village were limited by how long it¡¯d take her to recover¡ªand they sure didn¡¯t need another pile of human stuff to look after in the meantime. He wasn¡¯t opposed to being nice to her until she got better, but knew it wouldn¡¯t matter much in the long term. Eventually, she¡¯d be left without any memory of said kindness, and there were very few things that could¡¯ve changed that outcome. Said number wasn¡¯t zero, though, even despite Anne having something to do with Ember¡¯s predicament. That involvement confused the psychic in particular as he sprinted back to the village. Ember¡¯s and Olive¡¯s versions of the events were drastically different. And, if Aria was to be believed, Anne¡¯s recollection matched the latter. They couldn¡¯t both be true. If not for him having personally reached into that woman¡¯s memories with his sister, he wouldn¡¯t have given the human¡¯s retelling even a single moment of consideration. But he did see it all, genuine and untampered. Something wasn¡¯t adding up. Even if Aria¡¯s attempt at reconciling the two versions of the events failed, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t give it a stab of his own¡ªas doomed as that idea felt with even his sister having failed at it. The real question was how would he bring the subject up. The last thing he wanted to do was to give Ember a panic attack, and there was no way Cinder would take kindly to the topic either. He¡¯d have to be diplomatic about it, but how to go about it remained a mystery¡ª ¡°Outta the way!¡± a shrill voice called out nearby. Marco dashed back out of reflex, just in time to see a large, reddish blur barrel through where he had been just moments later. It was trying to brake through the means of Ori¡¯s leg stabbing the snowy ground, and came to a stop the hard way shortly afterwards. Namely, by falling apart. The corroded metal parts holding the front wheel gave up and snapped, plowing the frame into the dirt. It launched the passenger on the Scizor¡¯s shoulder head-first into a tree, leaving it shaking as the Mawile bounced off and dove into the snow Once all present had processed what just happened, and Ori had climbed off the pile of junk, Marco finally spoke up, a mix of concern and annoyance in his voice, ¡°Mikiri, are you alright?¡± ¡°Ya, ya, ya, I¡¯ve been through worse, this is nothing. Wonder what broke there, ugh,¡± Mikiri grumbled before demonstrating her perseverance by wading through the almost-as-tall-as-her snow, stepping out of the worst of it soon after. The small gash on her forehead undermined her carelessness, with a few drops of rust-colored blood soon flowing down her face. ¡°Ah, this bit. Annoying, I think I have enough scrap to make a replacement... oh, Ori, you alright?¡± ¡°Affirmative. You should try to test the integrity of it more next time before asking me to help.¡± ¡°This was the integrity test,¡± the Mawile corrected. ¡°Didn¡¯t Aria ask you two to not touch any of the girl¡¯s items?¡± Marco asked, his tone now firmly on the side of annoyance. At their antics, at the Mawile going against what had been asked of her, and at his coworker slacking off while acting as a test dummy. ¡°I¡¯m not! This one¡¯s not hers! Hers just let me figure out how it all fits and then I made this one out of all the broken parts I scavenged!¡± The Gallade sighed and shook his head as he buried it into his palm. Mikiri didn¡¯t notice, getting right back to trying to analyze the failure mode she¡¯d just been on the receiving end of. As her fingers felt along the freshly snapped piece of rust, Ori pointed out the obvious, ¡°Mikiri, you¡¯re bleeding.¡± ¡°What?¡± The Mawile patted her forehead, wincing slightly and groaning at seeing the rusty blood. Less so because of her injury, and mostly because it was yet another distraction from her object of interest. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯ll be fine. Now now, could I reinforce it some more somehow... welding a thicker piece here could work. Though then I¡¯d have to balance it somehow or the steering would get worse¡ª¡± ¡°Mikiri.¡± ¡°Ughhhh... fine, fine, I¡¯ll go get it checked. Can you move all this back to my workshop in the meantime?¡± ¡°Someone has to,¡± Ori grumbled. ¡°Alright, alright, see you once I¡¯m patched up. I¡¯ll need your input with some changes I have in mind¡ªfine, fine, I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going!¡± Thankfully, Ori didn¡¯t have to speak up again for the Mawile to finally get going, the snow growing thinner as she marched towards the village. As the Scizor turned to face the destroyed two-wheel, Marco asked, ¡°What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn¡¯t you be scouting?¡± ¡°I can ask you the exact same question, Marco.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out what¡¯s going on with that human kid and Ember,¡± the Gallade excused himself. ¡°Are you? Because presently you seem to just be idly watching.¡± Marco rolled his eyes at Ori¡¯s callout. It wasn¡¯t undeserved, making him grumble to himself as he resumed his trek further into the village while the Scizor picked up what remained of Mikiri¡¯s contraption. As the Gallade withdrew into his own thoughts once more, he heard Mikiri grumble again, ¡°Yes, yes, I know. I¡¯m going to the clinic.¡± A glance up revealed the Mawile¡¯s words to have stopped the Wigglytuff in his tracks before he could speak up about the unnerving sight. With the tinkerer walking away, the fairy¡¯s attention wandered towards Marco instead. He waved as he bounced towards the Gallade, ¡°Hello Marco~. How¡¯s your day?¡± ¡°It¡¯s... going, Jovan.¡± ¡°Something on your mind?¡± ¡°A lot, and I like none of it,¡± Marco sighed. The Wigglytuff grew a bit concerned at the unenthusiastic response, looking up at the scout with his green eyes. ¡°Something to do with the human, I assume~?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I see, I see. All that mess does sound like a big ol¡¯ pickle. Even the kiddos are starting to ask about them, hah. Holly has had some run-ins with humans in the past, so I tried to recount them and try to get some morals in. Truthfully, I¡¯m just stringing words along for the most part. Any specific questions and I have to change the subject, heh. Bell asked me what color are humans and I just couldn¡¯t figure out what to tell him! I was thinking you could help me answer some of it, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°You¡¯d have to ask Aria. She¡¯s spent a lot more time with them,¡± the Gallade advised. ¡°But surely you have to know something yourself~?¡± Jovan pleaded. ¡°Picked up a couple things, but that¡¯s about it. It¡¯s nothing big.¡± ¡°Well, even if it¡¯s little, I¡¯d love to discuss it over a cup of something nice and warm, someplace comfy. How¡¯s that sound, maybe later today~?¡± Jovan¡¯s point flew right over its recipient¡¯s pointed crest. The Gallade briefly considered the idea, before shaking it off. He wouldn¡¯t have the time for a detour this big, especially with him not knowing a lot to begin with. He answered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Again, Aria¡¯s the one to ask about them. I know little and truthfully, I hope that won¡¯t change.¡± Marco noticed the blip of flat dissatisfaction in the Wigglytuff¡¯s mind, ascribing it to him not being able to get the information he wanted. Unfortunate, but nothing he could help with, making him march on without a second thought. ¡°I see. Well, why not~? They are just a child, from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°A human child. And... *sigh*, I¡¯m trying to figure out some unknowns surrounding them, many of them on the unsavory side,¡± Marco explained, shuddering at all the unknowns around the human¡¯s circumstances. ¡°Oh dear. Unsavory...?¡± ¡°Very much so.¡± Jovan didn¡¯t need any further explanation to get Marco¡¯s gist¡ªor at least to guess what he might¡¯ve been getting at. Obviously, nobody would want to talk a lot about a young ¡®trainer¡¯ that treated them all as objects. It made sense, and it made the fairy feel that bit worse for even asking. ¡°I see. Well... I¡¯ll be off grabbing a drink at Viv¡¯s if you have a change of heart. Hopefully, your search proves successful~.¡± ¡°I hope so too, would be nice to finally figure something concrete out.¡± ¡°See you around, Marco,¡± Jovan waved. ¡°See you.¡± As the purple Wigglytuff changed course, the green-white knight marched on. Right before turning the corner, he saw the fairy pull aside a Skuntank for a presumably similar chat. As much as Marco grumbled quietly at yet another fellow scout not being on their patrol, he was at least glad that Jovan would get his answers. There were few people in their village better equipped to answer them than someone who had been a ¡®trainer¡¯s¡¯ property for so much of her life. The thought made him shudder, before he forcibly discarded it from his mind¡ªwhat awaited was scary enough. He was still unsure how he¡¯d bring the human girl up with the foxes beyond a vague outline. It¡¯d be for the best if he could have a chat with Ember one on one, but was doubtful how much would the Braixen trust him on this. She was fond of his sister, yes, but have had very few interactions with him directly. Being as good at sensing emotions as his sister was would¡¯ve been very welcome here as well... Marco didn¡¯t let that thought get to him, mentally resetting at hearing the whizzing sounds from around the corner. It was accompanied by two mental presences, one dignified and steadfast, and the other uncertain and scared. The practice he soon walked in on broadly matched along these lines. Cinder¡¯s Psybeams struck true every time, bright and vivid, with enough force to chip the boulder where they hit. Ember¡¯s, on the other hand, had a tendency to miss and fizzle out with her shaky grip. Even when they hit their target, though, they had no force to them, and didn¡¯t look powerful enough to even bruise someone. Much the same was true of the fireballs that followed. The Delphox¡¯s flame roared as it soared towards its stone target, leaving it glowing dimly where it hit as the sparks it left in its wake melted the snow where they landed. The Braixen¡­ had a hard time executing the move at all. Her mind was too gripped by anxiety of fear, both of the obvious and of something else that Marco didn¡¯t quite catch, to attain the necessary focus. The umpteenth attempt to calm herself down, first by deep breaths and then by trying to concentrate on the flickering flame tipping her wand once she remembered her mom was watching, accomplished little. Each time, her grip on herself inevitably fizzled when it was time to let loose, receding into more fear. Of her very own flame, of the human in their midst. Even Cinder had to admit this was going nowhere. She tried to quell her disappointment in both herself and the rest of the village as she walked up to her daughter. The lil¡¯ fox shook in her shawl, pulling her mom into a hug the moment she could. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I-I¡ª¡± ¡°Shhhh, it¡¯s alright sweetie, it¡¯s okay. They¡¯ll be gone soon, don¡¯t worry,¡± the Delphox reassured. Before she could continue soothing her daughter, she narrowed her gaze at seeing the Gallade approach. Any earlier warmth evaporated from her tone as she spoke, ¡°What is it, Marco? Shouldn¡¯t you be out and helping to resolve this... whole human situation? Because if you scouts want to, I can help solve it quickly and very effectively.¡± The veiled threat in Cinder¡¯s words had Marco narrow his eyes as Ember clung to her mom. She felt cold, even with her typing and her shawl, and the hostility in the air didn¡¯t help. As much as the Gallade wanted to snap back with ¡®what do you think I¡¯m doing¡¯, he knew that it¡¯d just make the older vixen blow up on him for implying a connection between Ember and their unwelcome guest. Likely not even figuratively at that. ¡°I only want to ask Ember about a couple of things,¡± he explained. ¡°Such as?¡± Cinder snapped back. The lil¡¯ fox perked up at Marco¡¯s words, ears lying flat. She always wanted to help others, but had no idea what someone as important as a scout would want to ask her about. All Marco could do was sigh and consider his words one last time, keeping his cards close as he tried to tease out the truth one detail at a time, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been told that an old friend of yours had recently turned up in our village, and they¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Thankfully, Cinder didn¡¯t get the implication right away. The hostility in her expression waned as her daughter thought through that claim. Most of the friends she¡¯d made at that bright place were still here, and others had just run off for good when they all broke out¡­ maybe one of them ended up wandering here in the end? That¡¯d be lovely, but didn¡¯t sound realistic; it¡¯s been over a year since then. Someone else? Was there even anyone else? They¡¯d have to be from before then, and¡­ Everything prior to the bright place was hell, but¡­ there was¡ª The Delphox grew consternated at the unpleasant territory her daughter¡¯s thoughts veered into. She held the Braixen closer as she grew upset, petting her to distract her from the horrors of her past. It could only do so much. ¡°Shhhh, it¡¯s okay, sweetie. As you can see, Marco, it doesn¡¯t ring any bells for her. Mind leaving us alone now?¡± Marco was about to do that before spotting the hesitation in the fox¡¯s thoughts. He ignored her mother¡¯s response and provided another hint in its stead, ¡°An old friend named Anne.¡± The clarification didn¡¯t help the Braixen any, but it resulted in an immediate change on Cinder¡¯s end. In an instant, the air surrounding her went from frosty to scalding, immediately battering Marco¡¯s front. With it came painful, sharp prickling in his mind, the kind that could only come from a very angry psychic. The kind his own psychics were much too weak to nullify. ¡°How dare you bring that thing up like that!? How DARE you claim any of those monsters as anyone¡¯s friends, especially one of her friends!? It being let live is already injustice enough, but you DARE bring it to our doorstep, and make her suffer even more!?¡± Before Marco could respond, he was telekinetically shoved backwards, splaying him onto the snow as the unrelenting Heat Wave burned his front. ¡°Don¡¯t you, or any other scout, dare speak of this again. If you, your pitiable sister, or anyone else are too maddened to see what must be done with that vile thing, I will eagerly demonstrate. Begone.¡± The Gallade only caught a brief glimpse of Ember¡¯s mortified, confused expression as she was ushered back to her dwelling. She wanted to speak up, opening her mouth, before a light push cut her off. Before she knew it, she was back in her den; the door getting psychically slammed shut behind her. Somehow, he had outdone even his worst-case scenario. As covert as he had tried to be, Cinder saw through him, and Ember didn¡¯t seem to have come up with anything either. He had one task, and he had fumbled it completely, the disappointing reality much more painful than even the burns on his front. Enough to make him overlook the Delphox having recognized Anne¡¯s name. Once he¡¯d picked himself up from the muddy puddle of freshly melted snow, Marco took his leave. Much as he tried to maintain his usual poise, the constant pain barraging his point made it so much harder. An attempt to Meditate the aching away only resulted in him losing his balance, and the winter cold didn¡¯t offset the burns either. He only had himself to blame in the end. Should¡¯ve waited for a better moment¡ªor just given up on that entire undertaking. Just toss the shared human delusion aside and let Ember rest while they work on moving the human trouble back to their own rotten world. Guess... a drink wouldn¡¯t hurt right about now. There was no point in dwelling about what he¡¯d seen; he knew that well, but¡­ it still stung. A lot. Especially when compared with Aria¡¯s successes at calming the humans down and getting knowledge out of them. If there was any silver lining, it was that he doubted all this would¡¯ve ended any better if it was his sister doing the talking. Even worse, if anything. Not much of a reprieve, really¡ª ¡°Maaaarco! Areee you okay, daaarling?¡± a croaky voice asked, pulling the Gallade¡¯s attention out of the dark pit it was threatening to fall into and redirecting it onto the elderly Lilligant. Only her head poked out of her hand-knit shawl, the bulb where her flower would sprout from come spring wrapped in a small beanie. ¡°Marcooo?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m fine, Lavender. Just heading to get some tea.¡± ¡°Pleeeease let Maple look at theeeese burns, they look horribleee! I need to prepareeee more dressings soooon, oh dear¡­¡± Lavender fussed, looking over his body. ¡°I will, in just a bit. They don¡¯t hurt that much. I¡¯ll be okay.¡± The Lilligant remained unconvinced, orange eyes squinting as they looked over his front. ¡°Whoooo hurt youuuu¡ª¡± ¡°I really need to get going, I¡¯m sorry,¡± he muttered, walking away before the Grass-type could finish, feeling even worse about his injuries. Now they didn¡¯t just hurt him, but they made others concerned for him too, something he really doubted he deserved after his failure. The rest of his slow march towards the makeshift cafe was spent staving off any further feelings of inadequacy¡ªmostly unsuccessfully. Thankfully, the rich, herbal aroma that spread far and wide from the building was effective at dulling the unpleasant thoughts. Jovan perked up from his pondering the moment Marco stepped in. His obviously sorry state left the Wigglytuff immediately alarmed, making him call out, ¡°M-Marco? What happened, a-are these burns?¡± His high-pitched, alarmed words made the dragon behind the counter look over in concern as well. It was enough for them to step out of the warmth of their makeshift stove, clad in an almost full body, fluffy outfit to keep the winter frost at bay. ¡°Oh my, Marco?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯ll be fine. Yeah, j-just light burns, I think. I¡¯m gonna be alright,¡± Marco reassured. ¡°You don¡¯t ¡®just get¡¯ this many burns, not all over your front like that! Marco hun, what happened!?¡± Jovan pleaded. As the Wigglytuff tried to get answers, the Goodra took it upon themselves to help the scout more directly. Their raised purple hand wordlessly asked for permission, before reaching over and touching up on the reddened spots along the Gallade¡¯s body. It might¡¯ve felt icky to the touch, but the aloe vera-like relief it brought was both inarguable and much appreciated. The relief released much of Marco¡¯s tension, making him relent and explain, ¡°Just... I had a good hunch that Ember could have an idea about what¡¯s going on, maybe recognize the human. Cinder... didn¡¯t take it well.¡± The answer startled both the fairy and the dragon before the latter resumed their help, speaking up in their soft voice, ¡°That does sound like Cinder. I doubt that asking Ember about all this was a particularly good idea to begin with...¡± ¡°It¡¯s more complicated than that, Vivian, but¡­ yeah. It was doomed from the start, I think...¡± The Goodra nodded uncertainly as they wrapped up the first aid. They scrambled back behind the counter to pour their guest a cup of their signature sweet tea¡ªand a few more for themselves right after. The pot of water was immediately refilled and set over the fire once more. In a cold as bitter as this, there was never any downtime in needing a drink to warm oneself with. ¡°More complicated~?¡± Jovan asked. The Gallade just sighed, unenthused about the idea of dredging up all the worthless ¡®details¡¯ he and his sister have gleaned so far. The Wigglytuff relented with a disappointed nod, looking down at the ground as Vivian handed the scout a cup of tea and asked, ¡°Would you fancy something nicer to sit on than these chairs? Got a spare pillow in here and you look and sound like you could use it.¡± ¡°I... I suppose,¡± the Gallade relented. ¡°It¡¯s really no problem, Marco.¡± ¡°I-I know, I know, just... *sigh*, thanks Viv.¡± ¡°Anytime,¡± the Goodra smiled. Marco less sat down and more so collapsed on the large pillow behind the counter as he sipped on his cup in defeat. He passed Jovan a thankful nod once he¡¯d joined him, though only interpreted it as the Wigglytuff¡¯s near-universal friendliness. The cafe¡¯s mellowness came back in full swing once he was done with his cup. He tried to shake everything that had happened so far off, before deciding to clear his head with a bit of Meditation. And, once he¡¯d wrap that up, get back into his usual duties. This place wouldn¡¯t protect itself, after all. As he cleared his thoughts, the purple fairy beside him dozed off and started leaning on him. In the meantime, the Goodra a few feet away from them alternated between sipping on the warm tea and knitting another layer for themselves to brave the cold with. Right as they were about to start on another cup, they saw someone peek into the cafe¡ªand did an immediate double take before speaking up, ¡°Ember? Are you okay, sweetie?¡± The Braixen was very evidently not okay. Her expression was somewhere between uncertain and terrified, her whole body shook¡ªand yet, she was here. For her troubles, she was offered a cup of tea the dragon brewer hadn¡¯t gone around to drinking yet. ¡°I-I¡ªdid Marco c-come here earlier?¡± Before Vivian could explain that the Gallade was still here, the unpleasant situation the psychic had experienced gave them a pause. Instead, they responded with their own question, not wanting to expose their friend to even more of Cinder¡¯s wrath, ¡°What makes you look for him, sweetie?¡± Ember shook even harder at the direct question. The stick in her tail looked about ready to fall out as she huddled up, making Vivian nudge the cup of tea again. This time, their gift was accepted, even if the fearful fox spilled some of its contents in her shaking. ¡°He c-came over to us earlier, a-and asked about something. My mom got really angry at him, and I don¡¯t know why, and... and I¡¯ve been thinking. There¡¯s something weird going on; it¡¯s hard to explain. I wanna help him, m-maybe he can help me with that weird thing, I-I don¡¯t want my mom to know...¡± That was all the dragon needed to hear. They walked over to the other end of the counter and leaned down, shaking the Gallade out of his trance. Not without startling him, sadly, but the aura he sensed right after pulled his focus away from that. ¡°Ember?¡± he asked, shocked. The Braixen grew equal parts reassured about him being alright, and apologetic about what had happened earlier. ¡°I-I¡¯m really sorry, Mr. Marco, I don¡¯t know why m-my mom¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay Ember, it¡¯s okay.¡± As much as Marco envied his sister¡¯s form at all times, he would¡¯ve really appreciated having a better grasp on the Ember¡¯s emotions right now in particular. His emotional intelligence was enough to tell the lil¡¯ fox was clearly sad and panicky, but not enough to have a good idea of how could he help. Suppose that imitation was always an option. Marco pushed on as he tried to mirror what his sister would do when Cadence got really sad. He kneeled before the Braixen and opened his arms wide for a hug¡ªone immediately accepted. The fox¡¯s uncertain warmth aggravated his burns through her shawl, but the comfort it brought them both more than made up for it. For a while afterwards, both the psychic and the vixen tried to get a better grasp on their emotions. The Gallade was relieved to feel his gesture working and Ember¡¯s anxiety waning, even if slowly. Guess even if he didn¡¯t have the body he wanted after their parents forced him into this one to act as the family¡¯s ¡®protector¡¯, he could still help like his sister. It was obvious, but¡­ it still reassured him to think about. ¡°Did you want to talk to me about something, Ember?¡± he asked. ¡°Y-yeah...¡± the Braixen muttered. ¡°Take your time. We¡¯re not rushing.¡± The Braixen nodded as she mulled through her thoughts, taking small sips of her tea here and there. Vivian watched over them both, keeping a steady supply of the soothing drink. After gathering her thoughts, she spoke, ¡°Mhm. It¡¯s... when you mentioned a friend with that name, I-I tried to think back and see if I remembered, and I didn¡¯t, but... it¡¯s like, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s like there¡¯s something weird, something I can¡¯t remember in a weird way.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Ember¡¯s words didn¡¯t immediately clarify anything, or even provide much of a hint toward their ongoing mystery. But they caught Marco¡¯s attention all the same¡ªeven if he failed at his original task, he could still try to help the lil¡¯ fox. ¡°Do you think it could have something to do with that friend I mentioned?¡± The fox was less certain on that front. Though, considering that thinking about a friend like that had set her on a path towards figuring out there was something wrong with her memory, there could have very well been a connection there. ¡°M-maybe, yeah...¡± Marco sighed deeply. As much as he genuinely wanted to help, there was an obvious limit to how much he would be able to, considering the actual identity of that ¡®friend¡¯. He was unsure how to break the news to the fox, trying once more to gather some nice words to soften the blow¡ªand arriving nowhere. ¡°There¡¯s... something you have to know first, though.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it, M-Mr. Marco?¡± ¡°That friend I mentioned, the one named Anne... that¡¯s the human in the clinic.¡± Predictably, Ember¡¯s immediate reaction at the news was a frightful freeze. Marco was torn between not wanting her to feel entrapped by holding her closer, and wishing he could comfort her somehow. A frown broke through his mask-like expression, letting her know she wasn¡¯t alone in her reactions to the unpleasant fact. Just as he thought he¡¯d only end up failing Ember again, though, she began to compose herself once more. Her thoughts were rapid, uncertain, afraid¡ªbut not panicking anymore. She held strong as she gave that fact, and her own memories, some more thought. ¡°I-I see...¡± Ember had no recollection of ¡®an old human friend named Anne¡¯. The very idea was messed up, and her mom wasn¡¯t that wrong in reacting to it like she did. However, besides the memories of the horrible humans that hit her, the two big ones and the several smaller ones, with all their fists and kicks and screaming, there was¡­ something else. Something that had been driving her crazy ever since Marco first brought up the idea of an old friend. A wound in her mind that had been there all along, but which the Gallade¡¯s words had shone a light on. Not a memory, but¡­ An absence of one. So many of her older memories had an imprint left on them by someone that didn¡¯t exist, that she didn¡¯t recall. Someone that¡ªto the best of her ability to tell¡ªwasn¡¯t evil towards her, and with whom she enjoyed interacting with. Any details about them, though, were entirely absent. Even then, they weren¡¯t perfectly nice, made clear by the tattered memories she could piece together. Being confined to small, dark, shaking places for long amounts of time, moved from a warm and nice place to the hell where her abuse had taken place, being¡ªbeing abandoned¡­ Marco¡¯s concern only grew as he listened in to the fox¡¯s thought process. Any relief at her not freaking out even harder was offset right afterwards by the disturbing half-memories she dredged up from the depths of their mind. He had no idea what might¡¯ve caused them, and before he could offer any guesses, the fox spoke up again, her shaky voice unusually determined, ¡°I-I... can I s-see that human?¡± There was no chance that this was it, that the nice not-person was a human, but¡­ if just a mention of the girl at the clinic made her aware of this gash in her memory, maybe seeing her in person would clear it up further. Who knew; maybe she was just one of the nasty small humans that tormented her and the nice person. Maybe remembering the abuse she had experienced on her hands would reveal more about the missing piece of her memory. Ember didn¡¯t know. All she knew was that she had to try something, that she couldn¡¯t just live with this awareness of her mind being so broken. Even if it meant seeing that human. Ideally, without getting seen herself. ¡°A-and make sure she won¡¯t see me?¡± The Gallade and Goodra were both too dumbfounded at her request to respond before she clarified. Marco nodded eagerly in response¡ªhe would do whatever he could to help, especially now that there was a chance of answering the mystery he¡¯d initially tried to solve. He answered, ¡°Absolutely. You don¡¯t have to do this, Ember¡ª¡± ¡°B-but I want to! I want to help, I want to know w-what¡ªwhat¡¯s wrong w-with my head...¡± With one last, tighter hug, Marco got up. Vivian could only stare at them both in shock before offering them some more tea, muttering in disbelief, ¡°That¡¯s not something I ever expected to hear from you, Ember, that is for certain...¡± Despite the stress of the situation, and the terrifying reality of having to approach that human to have her questions be answered, Ember still chuckled that tiny bit. The levity helped, even if the fear it was based on returned soon after. ¡°I-I know, it¡¯s just¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to explain yourself to me, sweetie. It¡¯s okay,¡± Vivian reassured. The fearful fox appreciated that sentiment greatly, dashing over to give the Goodra a hug of her own. Her warmth, figurative and literal alike, was greatly appreciated. ¡°T-thank you...¡± Ember mumbled. With the hug gone, she faced the Gallade once more. Her resolve held as she walked from behind the counter and grabbed his. No matter how it would end, she was ready to get to the bottom of all this. ¡°L-let¡¯s go...¡±
Every step closer to the clinic made the vixen shake harder and harder. The creeping reality of what she was about to do thrashed against knowing that there was no way around this, no other way of resolving the mess in her head. But gods, did it not make any of it any less scary. Ember clung closer to Marco as they stepped into the clinic tent. The sight of the vixen in these particular circumstances gave the onlookers a pause. It didn¡¯t last too long, but it still made Ember even more self-conscious about what she would have to do. ¡°^She¡¯s in the room over there,^¡± Marco said. Gathering enough focus to respond to the telepathic comment in kind was hard. Ember only persevered after a few drawn out breaths, silent to any onlookers and especially to the object of her fearful interest. By the time they made it over to the pulled-aside flap, though, something else caught the fox¡¯s interest. ¡°^I-is that Holly¡¯s voice?^¡± Marco might¡¯ve been too focused to notice that right away, but once the Braixen had brought it up, he couldn¡¯t think of anything else. His eyebrow twitched at their cook having decided to blatantly ignore their efforts to keep the human in the dark. The last thing Aria needed was it being even harder to get rid of Anne¡¯s memories once the time came for that. ¡°^Ugh, it is. She shouldn¡¯t be there, why is she¡ª^¡± he muttered, but before he could finish his sentence, the Azumarill turned towards the entrance of the human¡¯s room¡ªwith them right behind it. ¡°Hey¡ª¡± the Azumarill spoke, her overzealous greeting cut off with haphazard Safeguard. ¡°^Holly, what are you doing here!?^¡± ¡°Bringing the girl something to eat, that¡¯s what!¡± ¡°^She¡¯s not supposed to know any of us are here!^¡± Marco reminded with a grimace. All the Azumarill could react to that with was lifting her hand and making a speaking gesture with her paw as she let out incoherent squeaks¡ªthe closest thing to a ¡®blah blah blah¡¯ she could manage. ¡°You¡¯re all so silly paranoid over her, she¡¯s just a child! What¡¯s she gonna¡ªEmber!? What are you doing here, sweetie?¡± The Braixen was at a loss for words, the entire situation too much of a mess to even try to summarize. ¡°^It¡¯s complicated, Holly,^¡± Marco answered. ¡°I¡¯ve gathered that much!¡± ¡°^Just¡ªjust leave us alone for this. We don¡¯t have time to explain this.^¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine! Goodness, you scouts are all the same scaredy, paranoid bunch it feels like,¡± Holly groaned. As much as Marco didn¡¯t appreciate her Parting Shot, his attention was squarely on the fox beside him. More and more fear crept into her thoughts, making him kneel beside her and pull her into a tight hug once more. ¡°^I¡¯m here Ember, I¡¯m here.^¡± ¡°^M-mhm...^¡± she muttered in response. ¡°^Take your time.^¡± While Ember gathered courage for these few final steps, the Gallade kept a close watch over everything going on in the other room. He grumbled to himself at sensing Blossom there, and didn¡¯t have one iota of an idea about why Autumn was there, either¡ªbut these could wait. Suddenly, he sensed the entire group turning and focusing on something from the door¡ªjust the opportunity they needed. He spoke up, ¡°^They¡¯re looking at the window, this is our chance.^¡± Before Marco could come up with some motivation to help the fox push through in the end, she took the first, terrified, determined step on her own. And then; another. Out of his embrace, through the door frame, the scout right behind her as they leaned into the room. ¡°^N-no...^¡± Ember whimpered. The column of black smoke in the distance might¡¯ve been a worrisome sight in its own right, but his attention was entirely on the fox beside him. Her mind had come to a screeching halt at the sight of the human on the bed. It wasn¡¯t fear; it wasn¡¯t just fear. The memories stirred by seeing them were the same half-erased ones she was so scared about earlier. She remembered the stimuli, the sensations of seeing that human. So many individual threads in her mind had something to do with them, but all of them led nowhere. So many broken memories forcibly brought to the forefront of her mind, combining to make the hole in her recollection so much more well-defined. Its outline was shaped exactly like the human in the room; its edges so sharp it felt like she had been cut out of Ember¡¯s mind with a scalpel. As grimly revealing as that fact was, it didn¡¯t provide answers by itself. The memory hole at the core of the Braixen¡¯s being was clear to see now, but that didn¡¯t diminish its effects. It left Ember paralyzed even as the room was shaken by a distant rumble, making Blossom chirp out in panic. Marco couldn¡¯t risk the human interfering, not when they were so close to cracking the mystery. He reached over with his psychics and froze Anne¡¯s focus in place¡ªwhich the girl unfortunately noticed moments later, trying to look at Autumn only to find herself unable to. The Indeedee sensed what had happened, gasping as she looked over at her son and family friend. She had no idea why Marco was doing something like that, taken aback before he spoke, ¡°^I¡¯ll explain later, Autumn¡ªI¡¯m sorry, this is really important. It seems like Ember used to remember Anne but something happened to her memories, I¡¯m not sure what to do¡ª^¡± ¡°~M-Mrs. Autumn, what¡¯s g-going on!? I-I can¡¯t l-look away!~¡± Anne cried out. ¡°What do you mean,¡± Blossom tried to ask before Marco forcibly severed the mental link between her and the Indeedee. The situation quickly grew too intense to manage for everyone involved, the fear seeping from Ember and Anne alike saturating Autumn¡¯s senses. She pushed through regardless, trying to make heads or tails of the scene, before coming up with an idea, ¡°^Maybe a powerful memory from Anne will help, I-I don¡¯t know¡ª^¡± ¡°^We have to try, mom.^¡± Marco responded, determined. Autumn kept enough of a grasp on herself to act right away, speaking up towards the human girl again, somber and apologetic, ¡°^Anne, I¡¯m sorry for all this, b-but this is important. I need you to... think back, back to the dearest memory of Ember you have, and focus on it. C-can you do that for me?^¡± The Indeedee reached into the human¡¯s mind immediately afterwards as her son-in-law did the same with the Braixen to his side. Vivid memories were coaxed from Anne¡¯s recollection and passed from one mental hand to the other, both adults anxious to see how Ember would react to them. An instant later, they had their answer. The vixen¡¯s mind got a glimpse of something it had been missing for so long, and it wanted more, needed more¡ª And more was provided to it. Voluntarily at first, but it wasn¡¯t long before the sheer burning need emanating from Ember overwhelmed the strained psyches of the other three. They were dragged along as it clawed out a torrential flood of moments, images, sounds, experiences, scenes, and thoughts¡ªtoo much for anyone to handle, and yet greedily taken all the same. Ember¡¯s mind replayed it all to herself, every last recollection Anne had of them together, forcibly excavating the Braixen¡¯s versions of the events from underneath the mental spell that bound them hidden. Everything, from the beginning...
¡°~Annie, Annie, come here!~¡± the loud whisper yanked the almost-six-year-old¡¯s attention away from her scribbles. She dropped the yellow crayon on the wood panel floor as she pulled herself up, before running out into the corridor. There, she saw her granny holding a tiny towel-wrapped bundle in her arms, more alert than ever. ¡°~Could you grab a cup of water from the kitchen and bring it here, darling?~¡± Just as quickly as the tyke had run over, she was gone again. After helping herself reach the sink with a stool, she brought the glass cup over, only spilling a little bit. What awaited her in the living room, though, made her stop on the spot. A tiny red-yellow shape was curled on top of the towel, now laid out on her grandma¡¯s lap. Their fur was disheveled and stained with soot, wriggling as she held them closer, gesturing to her granddaughter to hand the cup to her. The old woman concentrated on keeping her arms from shaking as she brought the cup over to the little one¡¯s snout. Her other hand lifted their head up a bit, to help them drink. ¡°~Drink baby, drink. You¡¯ve been through so much already, goodness...~¡± grandma whispered. In the meantime, Anne sat down next to her gran, trying to not make a noise. She intently observed the furry bundle, watching them calm down as they drank, bit by bit, until their delirious exhaustion gave way to rest. ¡°~Is-is that a Fennekin, grandma Lisa?~¡± The old woman nodded lightly at Anne¡¯s whispers. ¡°~Sure is. Poor, poor thing... the entire building caught fire. Awful, awful fire...~¡± she shuddered at the firefighters¡¯ description of the events as she placed the cup on the table, rocking the now-asleep fox. ¡°~We¡¯re gonna be looking after her for a while until she grows up some. Hoping you¡¯ll help me out with her a bit Annie, heh.~¡± Anne nodded rapidly without her gaze ever veering away from the fox. Her grandma chuckled at the sight before carefully lifting the entire bundle up and offering it to the lil¡¯ girl. Anne¡¯s eyes went wide as she looked up for approval, granted with a gentle nod right after. She was afraid to even breathe too hard lest she stir the little Fennekin awake as she pulled her legs up onto the couch and nestled the bundle between her knees and front. Her body rocked to the sides as she cautiously reached in, stroking the soft fur behind the fox¡¯s large ears with a couple of fingers. ¡°~What¡¯s her name?~¡± Anne asked. ¡°~Well... we don¡¯t know, sadly. Probably will have to give her one soon,~¡± grandma Lisa answered, watching as her granddaughter remained transfixed by the fox in her arms, continuing her comforts. After patting the girl a few more times, the old woman stood up and got to working on a list, scribbling it down on the back of a receipt. They¡¯d have to take a trip to the town and grab some food for the lil¡¯ kit. Hopefully, she was old enough for berry pulp until then. She would need to get her some bedding, bowls for chow, a few other things¡­ and get her checked up at the vet, of course. And then ask that same vet about so many things¡­ Heh, just like when Annie first ended up under her care. Thankfully, with nowhere near as many bruises¡­ Time flew by as one child comforted the other. Anne soon sank into a peaceful rhythm, carefully petting the tiny Fennekin every once in a while. Eventually, their breaths synchronized as the fox continued her rest¡ªrest that ended not long afterwards. The fox¡¯s body ached as she slowly came to. All around her, softness and warmth. They made her feel safe, even if her last memories were full of chaos and screams and crashes and fire; so much fire¡ª ¡°~Oh? Are you waking up?~¡± a soft, hushed voice asked, one that the Fennekin didn¡¯t recognize or understand at all. Its closeness made the aching fox turn towards it and pry her eyes open, making the voice gasp and hold her that bit firmer. She tried to focus on the human holding her, especially their wide, hazel eyes hidden behind thick glass circles, as they spoke up again, ¡°~Hiiiii. I¡¯m Anne.~¡± The human smiled wider before she felt a pleasant touch on the back of her head, purring quietly as she wriggled her head. ¡°W-who are you...¡± the Fennekin asked. ¡°~No no, everything is alright now. Don¡¯t worry lil¡¯ Fennekin, you¡¯re safe here,~¡± the girl reassured at hearing what she presumed to be just whines. As the two talked past each other, the tiny fox saw the human¡¯s expression turn to worry before she was held even closer. ¡°~Oh no, wh-what¡¯s wrong with your eye?~¡± Was something wrong? The lil¡¯ fox nestled in closer at hearing approaching steps, before spotting a second, bigger human in her peripheral vision. ¡°~Oh, she woke up already?~¡± the bigger human asked. ¡°~Yeah. H-her eye looks really bad, though...~¡± Before the Fennekin could get worried at the other human¡¯s presence, the comforting touch on the back of her head resumed. Together with the nearby heartbeat, it put her at ease as the bigger human examined her eye, ¡°~Oh dear, I see. Hopefully, it¡¯s not some infection. We¡¯ll have to make sure at the vet tomorrow.~¡± More gentle, loving pets on the fox¡¯s head, calming her in this unknown place. She purred as she pressed herself into the human¡¯s petting hand, making them smile. ¡°~Poor dearie. It almost looks like a little ember. Hopefully, it¡¯s not painful for her...~¡± the older human sighed. The little human pulled her in closer before continuing her slow rocking. In no time, the exhausted fox gave into the comfort and closed her eyes as the girl had an idea, ¡°~Ember... i-is that a nice name, grandma Lisa?~¡± ¡°~Haha. It is, Annie. Let¡¯s hope she won¡¯t mind its origin.~¡± ¡°~C-can she stay with us for good?~¡± Lisa¡¯s expression turned pained as she chewed through the question. All the while, the fox continued to relax under her granddaughter¡¯s touch, under her calm heartbeat, under the room¡¯s warmth. Her surroundings remained unknown, but¡­ They felt safe. ¡°~I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll think about it, sweetie. I don¡¯t know if a hamlet like this will be the best place for a Fire-type like her. Though... *sigh*, we¡¯ll see,~¡± the old woman flinched, holding back tears as she slowly petted her granddaughter. So alike her, bringing all those fears back in force. Was it right for her to take another soul under her wing at her age? With her health risks? She didn¡¯t know. ¡°~It¡¯s an enormous commitment, Anne, looking after someone like that. Taking care of their needs, protecting them if need be...~¡± ¡°~I can do that, I promise! I-I won¡¯t let anything happen to her!~¡± the girl pleaded. ¡°~Shhhh, I think she¡¯s trying to sleep some more. I don¡¯t doubt you will do your best, sweetie, but... *sigh*. Heh. She¡¯ll be lucky to have someone like you.~¡± ¡°~I won¡¯t let a-anything happen to you Ember, I promise...~¡± I promise...
...through their greatest loss...
¡°~P-please pick up...~¡± Anne pleaded, making Ember shudder as she woke up from her nap. The fox stretched a bit before scrambling out of her cot and walking towards her best friend¡ª Only for the scene that awaited her to send a chill through her tiny body. Grandma was sprawled out on the floor, face down. Unmoving. Anne shook as she held the large C-shaped end of the ringing contraption, tears flowing down her cheeks. She gasped soon after, focusing intently on the talking object in her hand; the bits of muffled speech Ember had overheard were too quiet to make anything out of. ¡°~M-my grandma fell down a-and I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s breathing, p-please help...~¡± As the girl listened in and nodded long, Ember made her way over, wanting to help their grandma after the obvious accident she had. It was only after that the realization of her being unconscious finally hit her. ¡°~M-main Street 12, w-we live in Hilltop, near Mistralton, p-please come soon... no, I d-don¡¯t know the postcode... It¡¯s just her a-and me and our Fennekin, Ember...~¡± Anne continued. Soon after, the person on the other end of the talking device finally advised the girl what to do. The curly cord stretched as the eight-year-old kneeled down next to her unconscious grandma, free hand reaching for her neck. ¡°~I-I don¡¯t know if I can feel a pulse. N-no, she isn¡¯t breathing¡­~¡± More instructions followed right after. Anne nodded to nobody before trying to flip the old human over onto her back with shaking hands. Ember got her intent right away, helping her human as much as she could with her snout and body¡ªanything to make it all just that bit easier. With a loud, strained whine, they just barely pulled through. Anne tried to give the Fennekin a reassuring smile before her focus was yanked away by the instructions continuing. She tried to hold the end of the device between her cheek and shoulder; the simple procedure made that much more difficult by the horror of the situation. ¡°~In the center of the chest, b-both hands together... shoulders a-above, okay, I-I think I have it.~¡± The series of repetitive, fast-paced presses on her grandma¡¯s front that followed didn¡¯t feel like they were accomplishing much. Their pace grew steadily irregular as first exhaustion, and then despair sank in, tears flowing down Anne¡¯s cheeks as she tried her hardest to do something, anything, only for it all to have no effect. Ember could only curl up next to her human, trying to comfort her at least that much in the increasingly dire situation; the sheer impact of it all not having the time to sink for her yet. Eventually, Anne was snapped out of her futile trance by the person on the other end saying something. It made her scramble onto her feet and almost trip over Ember as she dropped the phone and dashed out of the kitchen. The heavy lock on their front door clicked before she opened it¡ªjust in time for the distant sirens to get close, making both girls get out of the way and huddle in a corner as they listened. Listened as the paramedics stepped in, two humans and an Indeedee. They all wore dark green outfits with yellow, shiny decals; carrying a stretcher as they briskly stepped into their home. Listened to their alarmed words as they examined her grandma. Listened as one of them brought a defibrillator over while the other pressed on her chest hard enough to snap her ribs. Listened as another set of sirens approached from a distance, combining into an overwhelming cacophony that left Anne frozen and staring at the floor as more adults showed up. Listened to their audible exertion as they lifted her up onto the stretcher before carrying her out. Ember tried to help as much as she could, climbing onto Anne¡¯s tummy as she¡¯d done many times in the past. She tried nuzzling her front and cheeks to comfort her, something, anything to help her friend¡ªmost of it for naught. Eventually, shock gave way into grief as Anne¡¯s stunned expression broke down into pained, terrified sobs, holding Ember as tight as she could at the realization her grandma was gone. ¡°I¡¯m here Anne, I¡¯m here, I don¡¯t know w-what happened, but I w-want to make it b-better...¡± Ember woofed. Her human held her closer, but her tears only kept flowing. Flowing, until she had no more left to shed. No matter what would happen to them now, Ember would be there for her, the only hope Anne had left...
...through their darkest hours...
¡°~You ate it didn¡¯t you!? We fucking told you not to!~¡± the woman shouted. ¡°~I-I was hungry, I¡ª~¡± the girl pleaded. ¡°~Shut up! Just fucking wait until your father hears of this!~¡± ¡°~No, no p-please don¡¯t I¡ª~¡± The pained shriek of her human being struck made Ember whine and curl up even closer to the girl¡¯s bed. She shook in a mix of fear, grief, and her own pain, one side hurting with her every breath after having been kicked earlier that evening. ¡°~If you¡¯re gonna eat whatever the fuck¡¯s in the kitchen like a fucking dog, then go and fucking join it!~¡± ¡°~I-I¡¯m sorry, I d-didn¡¯t mean to!~¡± ¡°~SHUT UP!~¡± The back door of their house was flung open with a loud bang before Anne was forcibly shoved through it in nothing more than her pajamas. She tripped on the concrete stairs and fell onto the cold, October mud, her whine of pain barely audible above the sound of the door getting slammed shut again. ¡°~Where the FUCK is that thing...~¡± a gruff, masculine voice snarled. Ember panicked at hearing it, desire to comfort her friend mixed with the fear of further punishment as she leaped onto Anne¡¯s bed and then the window sill, aching at even that slight exertion. Thankfully, she scrambled out of the room and down the building¡¯s exterior the moment before the door to Anne¡¯s room was flung open with a kick. A couple of angry grunts left the man before he slammed the door closed. The voices of their tormentors mixed in from inside her house as Ember looked for her friend. ¡°~WHERE IS IT!?~¡± the man shrieked. ¡°~I don¡¯t fucking know!~¡± ¡°~I FUCKING told you not to use that TONE with me, you BITCH!~¡± Ember had learned to tune out the kinds of shouts and screams that followed. Her small body soon made its way onto the patchy grass of the backyard. She just barely glimpsed Anne making her way inside the crooked shed up against the fence, limping at her every motion. Gusts of icy wind hastened her as she broke into a sprint, desperately wanting her human to feel better, to bring her some reprieve from the constant hell they¡¯ve spent the last year in. Anything to make up for her being too afraid of her own fire and of the two big humans to stop it. Anne squealed in pain as Ember pushed the shed¡¯s door open, the sound stabbing the fox¡¯s heart. Pushing on, she scrambled in further underneath the plastic tarp Anne was using as a blanket, nuzzling the girl¡¯s front. ¡°~E-Ember, no, you d-don¡¯t have to¡ª~¡± Anne whispered, her words cut off by a drawn-out whine as Ember¡¯s unfortunate step aggravated a fresh bruise on her arm. It gave the fox even more fuel for her warmth, pushing her to help even harder, to provide whatever comfort she could. Just like she¡¯d done so many other times in the past, all appreciated more than Ember could ever know. Anne¡¯s resolve to keep going burned bright while her less painful arm held the Fennekin close. She curled up around the fox as she shed bitter tears, feebly trying to maintain a semblance of composure. ¡°~D-did they hurt you a-any more?~¡± Even as she was being comforted herself, Anne¡¯s hand reached in to stroke Ember¡¯s back, her affection as loving as always even if much slower from all the pain. Their suffering grew that bit dimmer as they tried to be each other¡¯s reprieve. ¡°Shhhhh, shhhhh... I-I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here, I love you Anne...¡± Ember purred. Her whines may not have been understood, but their intent was clear as day all the same. Anne held her friend that much closer as she tried to deepen her breathing, one painful inhale at a time. ¡°~You d-don¡¯t deserve to have to suffer like this E-Ember, I¡¯m sorry...~¡± ¡°Shhhhhhh...¡± Their shared pain and grief steadily gave way to exhaustion and strained rest as the two held each other close. Anne¡¯s worries about hiding all this in time for tomorrow¡¯s P.E. class and from Mrs. Graham clouded her mind for a few minutes longer, before they too relented under the Fennekin¡¯s outpouring of warm love. Today was hell, tomorrow would also be hell, but here, now... they had each other, and that was all that mattered.
...to the very end.
*breath* *breath* Heavy, strained breathing mixed in with an arrhythmic scraping of limping legs against the cold gravel. They were only occasionally interrupted by a loud rumble of the passing car, their headlights blinding in the darkness shrouding the country road. Each time they did, Ember huddled up closer in Anne¡¯s arms, the unsettling surroundings only adding to the physical pain from earlier that day. Even looking up at the girl¡¯s usually reassuring face did no good, even when she could make her out in the dark. Large bruises on the side of her head, left eye almost swollen shut behind the glasses. Dried bloody streaks between her nostrils and mouth, various cuts and scrapes all over. But it wasn¡¯t these that made the lil¡¯ Fennekin shiver as much as she did¡ªshe was sadly much too used to seeing these. It was Anne¡¯s expression. Not scared, Ember had seen her scared many, many times, and been there to comfort her every time. It was something else, something much more unnerving. Detached. Hopeless. ¡°You¡¯ve been walking for so long now... A-Anne, what¡¯s going on? Why aren¡¯t y-you going back to your room?¡± Ember ruffed, making her human glance at her and give her a few more pets as she pushed on. One limping leg played catchup with the other as Anne whispered, voice entirely flat, ¡°~I¡¯m sorry.~¡± Ember had no idea what these words meant. She¡¯d heard the sound that underlaid them enough to associate it with Anne being apologetic, making her try to reach her friend even harder. ¡°Are we going somewhere safe now? A-Anne, I¡¯m scared, please... it¡¯s so dark and cold and you¡¯re looking so unlike yourself, please just go back to your house, Anne...¡± Anne paused for a moment, staring ahead with a vacant expression for a few seconds before she shook painfully. Her posture curled up as she held her friend just that bit closer. Stinging tears formed in the corners of her eyes, making her sniffle before pushing on and whispering, ¡°~W-we¡¯re almost there now... Just a bit more, and then y-you¡¯ll finally be safe, Ember...~¡± ¡°A-Anne, you¡¯re hurting bad, I¡¯m hurting, why are we out here in the dark like this...¡± Ember asked. Her human didn¡¯t answer. Instead, she pushed on through the side of the barely lit road, their destination finally coming into view as they cleared the last corner. The building was unwelcoming, the dirty white walls and cold, bright lights illuminating its front facade giving it an even more intimidating appearance than it would¡¯ve already had.
HELPING HAND POKEMON SHELTER
¡°~I¡¯m sorry...~¡± Anne came to a stop next to the scary building, not calming Ember down any. The kit bundled in closer as the human looked around, before stumbling towards a trash container in the corner and scanning through its contents. Soon after, she grabbed a slightly damp cardboard box off its top, holding her friend with one hurting arm. ¡°W-what¡¯s that for? What are you doing, Anne?¡± Ember woofed. Anne recoiled at the sound as she set the box down. She then stared at it for a few moments, keeping tears at bay before giving her fox one last hug and carefully laying her down inside the box. Ember looked at Anne in alarm as she reached into her school backpack, the leaky pen¡¯s ink staining her hand as she wrote ¡®EMBER¡¯ on the side of the box. If her ball hadn¡¯t been left behind at her grandma¡¯s place, she would¡¯ve placed it there, too. ¡°Anne, I¡¯m scared. Wh-what is this for, I wanna get out,¡± the kit pleaded as she tried climbing out of the slightly too tall box, back into the safety of Anne¡¯s arms. The human could only stare at her, painful regret slowly filling up the once blank expression. ¡°~I-I know it¡¯s scary, Ember, but... it has to be done. Nobody will hurt you here. Y-you¡ªyou¡¯ll finally be safe.~¡± Anne lingered for a couple more moments before standing back up and taking a step back. Away from the box, away from the light of the shelter¡¯s lamps, making Ember¡¯s unrest bloom into a full-blown panic attack. ¡°Nonononono, I-I¡¯m sorry Anne, I¡¯m sorry, p-please don¡¯t leave me here, I-I¡¯ll hide better next time, please, PLEASE!¡± The human girl winced at the fear in the Fennekin¡¯s squeaks, her own tears continuing to flow as she tried to persevere through what had to be done. ¡°~I-I don¡¯t want this either Ember, b-but you saw what happened earlier. I-I did everything I could a-and...~¡± she said, voice catching in her throat as stared down at the fox in regret. Her injuries on the hands of the derelicts that cornered them in the schoolyard earlier today were less noticeable at a glance, but even worse than hers to a more experienced eye. Her human noticed each little wince, all of them making her heart bleed. ¡°~I-I couldn¡¯t protect you. I... I never could. It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s all my fault. You deserve better Ember, you d-deserve to be safe.~¡± Ember just continued to panic, trying to bite her way through the sodden cardboard, ¡°P-please, don¡¯t leave me here, I-I¡¯ll do better, i-it¡¯s so scary here, PLEASE!¡± Anne crouched again and reached in, trying to calm the fox down one last time as she looked up at her with pleading, terrified eyes. She pleaded, ¡°~Please don¡¯t look at me like that. I-I don¡¯t want to do this Ember... b-but if there¡¯s a chance that you¡¯ll finally be safe, and have a family that loves you, a-and have someone who can actually p-protect you...~¡± the girl wept as she stroked Ember¡¯s head, trying to hold her plan together at the very end. ¡°~I-I love you Ember. I¡¯m sorry. F-for everything.~¡± ¡°P-please pick me back up, Anne...¡± Ember whined. The human didn¡¯t respond, petting her light of hope as she composed herself one last time. ¡°~O-one day. One day things will be better, a-and I¡¯ll find you again, Ember, and... and then we¡¯ll be safe. I-I promise. I promise I¡¯ll find you again one day, I-I¡¯ll never forget you¡ª~¡± The sudden creak of the shelter¡¯s front door opening startled them both. Anne froze at the noise and the words that followed, before leaping up to her feet and running away into the darkness. Ember screeched in despair at being abandoned, the paralyzing fear that gripped her persisting long after she was picked out of the box and laid down on her cot, Safe, at last.
And then; Ember remembered everything. Just a few seconds later, she blacked out at the overstimulation, together with all the others. Blossom was left chirping in panic at suddenly seeing four people faint all at once. ¡°Help!¡±
Ember hurt so much. Her body ached after her sudden collapse, her mind screamed at being subjected to a lifetime of sensation in a span of moments. But her soul fought against that pain, now that she knew exactly who the human in the room was. ¡°Ember sweetie, what are you doing here? Come,¡± Esther pleaded. Ember ignored the Blissey¡¯s comment as she lifted herself from the cold, carpeted floor, through a reverberating migraine, and onto her feet. Neither Marco nor Autumn even registered to her mind as they laid unconscious. There was exactly one being she cared about at that moment. One that she¡¯d been missing, knowingly or not, for the past year and change. One that had been her constant, enduring hope all her life. And now, Anne was here, with them, safe... The healers could only stare in shock as Ember shambled towards the bed, almost losing balance a few times. Each step made her whimper in pain as she sobbed at it all. At what she and Anne had been through. At her having somehow forgotten her human. At Anne being so badly hurt. At her almost having almost missed her only chance to be together with her again. In that moment, though, none of that mattered. None of that could matter, could even come close to the importance of the human on the clinic bed. With slow, painful motions, Ember climbed onto it before laying down on the only right place in the world for her to be. Beside Anne, beside her human, beside someone she loved so wholly and utterly. Her shaking arms wrapped around Anne¡¯s front as she nuzzled in, sobbed woofs repeating one more time, ¡°I-I¡¯m here Anne, I¡¯m here, I-I love you...¡± And then; she held her human that much tighter at the realization that followed, ¡°Y-you¡¯re safe... we¡¯re finally safe...¡± By @Sweet_Mintality! Chapter 10: Rest *bwoOSH!* In an instant, the empty, snow-covered path leading into the Lillywood forest suddenly got much busier. Aria almost collapsed after her long-range Teleport, spending the next minute or so just catching her breath. Lumi only needed a moment to grab his bearings before standing guard for his coworker. Thankfully, the nearby pillar of smoke still held a firm grasp of the attention of any humans around. Once Aria had recovered enough to walk again, she couldn¡¯t resist investigating the sight either. Her mind complained in exhaustion as she disguised herself once more, this time just to check what happened to Anne¡¯s former house from up close. The once-imposing, multi-story building was little more than a heap of charred rubble. Everything but bricks had been reduced to ash and misshapen metal, with enough burning violence to damage the walls of the nearby homes. She had no way of knowing if this destruction was truly her fault¡ªan unknown she¡¯d end up taking to her grave. Gleaming that nobody but the former homeowner had died in the inferno soothed her conscience a bit, but it could only do much¡ªmany still got hurt, after all. Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter. With a sendoff comprising a few more malicious thoughts towards the monster of a human that had brought it upon himself, and silent prayers aimed at the innocents hurt while tending to the inferno, they could get going. ¡°^It¡¯s all rubble now. Thankfully, nobody else died in that explosion, though a few got hurt,^¡± she admitted. ¡°Good riddance, eh?¡± Lumi snarked. ¡°^...yeah. Good riddance.^¡± Right as Aria dispelled her disguise and was about to finally head home, she felt a tiny mental presence behind her. She flinched as she glanced over her shoulder, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t end up having to daze a human for real today. Instead, she only saw a small Magnemite hanging down from these cables that spanned the whole settlement, unknown in their purpose. Staring right at them. ¡°^Let¡¯s go.^¡±
Even if the bags Olive left them with didn¡¯t weigh that much, Aria appreciated any relief after the strain of the day. Lumi gladly took one bag in his maw before racing ahead¡ªthough at the price of having to be explained what in the world did he walk in on earlier. As unenthused as the Gardevoir was about having to spell it out for the hound, the idea was bearable when framed as keeping the other scouts on the same page. With any luck, they¡¯d find a few of them along the way to spread the news to¡ªthe sun was setting, after all, time for a shift change. With each step closer to her home, Aria¡¯s plan for the rest of the day grew much more defined. Drop the bag off at the clinic, catch others up to date about Anne¡¯s situation, plan a meeting tomorrow to discuss their next step, race riiiiight back home, and spend the next week catching up on her rest after the bedlam of today. Or, at least, that¡¯s what she wished she could do. Even if they were sure that Anne posed no threat and that nobody would come looking for her anytime soon, her future was still undecided. Hopefully, Olive could help them return the girl to humanity somehow in the long term¡ª ¡­ Before the Gardevoir could continue weaving her plans, the stray, overheard thoughts snapped her right out of that train of thought. Worries about the human were expected by now, but thinking about her and Ember in one breath was something that only Autumn or the scouts should be doing. Someone had spilled it to Holly or Sol, didn¡¯t they? At least, that¡¯s what she hoped. Deep inside, Aria felt a building awareness that this wasn¡¯t quite it, hastening her steps as she approached the clinic. Dread built into her by the moment, especially with all the noise and attention and¡ª Marco!? The Gardevoir didn¡¯t wait an instant longer at sensing her brother¡¯s injuries. She Teleported the remaining distance over, spontaneously appearing beside his bed and startling the nearby healers. She felt even woozier afterwards, but it didn¡¯t matter. Marco was hurt, and so was Autumn, the two resting on adjacent beds she had suddenly found herself in between. ¡°^Marco, what hap¡ª^¡±, Aria tried to ask, the answer reaching her mental senses before she even finished forming her question. Anne¡¯s and Ember¡¯s auras laid still, meshed together on the other side of the nearby wall. Warm, loving, unconscious. ¡°Uuughhhh... yeah,¡± Marco grunted. His pained voice made his sister try banishing some of his strain with a Calm Mind¡ªonly for the Gallade to shake his head at sensing her attempt, ¡°D-don¡¯t, I¡¯ve never felt this sore in the brain. There was just so much all at once...¡± he muttered, scrunching his expression at his aggravated headache. Before Aria could ask for an elaboration, she was shoved aside by the healers to get better access to her brother. She backed up a couple of paces and took a seat on the empty part of Autumn¡¯s bed. The Indeedee explained instead as her son-in-law drank his medicine, ¡°Seems our Ember was indeed Anne¡¯s Ember, and they really loved each other as much as her words had us think. But¡­ Ember had any memory of Anne erased from her mind at some point, and helping her remember was so intense that it wiped all of us, hah.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still seeing some of their memories when I close my eyes... gods, it¡¯s such a weird sensation,¡± Marco added after finishing the bitter drink with a gulp and a dry heave. He pushed through his aching and sat up, involuntarily leaning forward. The explanation only raised more questions, all of them the kind Aria didn¡¯t like one bit. One of them stood out in particular; she narrowed her eyes as she asked, ¡°^Erased?^¡± Both Marco and Autumn firmly nodded, well aware that their response would prompt a question about the perpetrator. The Gallade didn¡¯t have a certain answer, but his admission of what happened was almost that. ¡°Yep. I don¡¯t know who did it, but¡­ considering how Cinder reacted to me even bringing the girl up when talking to Ember, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there was some meddling involved on her end.¡± A closer look at Marco¡¯s front wordlessly explained what he meant by ¡®reacted¡¯. Aria¡¯s anger spiked at her brother having been treated that way, leading Autumn to scramble over and pat her shoulder; dissolving any emotions before they grew even more intense. Cinder would answer for what she¡¯d done. The Gardevoir was of half a mind to walk over and interrogate the vixen there and then¡ªat least, before her sore muscles reminded her of their existence. ¡°Don¡¯t know if I would trust her at all right now. The way she talked about all this, you¡¯d think she was just about ready to come in and incinerate Anne with her own paws,¡± her brother continued. Scratch that; maybe her muscles could wait¡ª Before Aria could storm out to interrogate a proficient fighter on a subject that they were both emotional about, a familiar presence entering the tent perked her up. ¡°^Sprout?^¡± The Decidueye was no less baffled at the bustle than the Gardevoir herself was minutes earlier. She wasted no time walking over as she tried to piece the situation together herself, arriving at nothing more than vague concern. And then, very concrete concern at seeing the state of the family she¡¯d been long-time friends with. ¡°Aria, Marco, what¡¯s all this, what¡¯s up with the girl?¡± ¡°^She and Ember, well...^¡± Aria started, having a hard time putting words to her mental image of the situation. Without thinking twice, Sprout decided to see for herself, walking over to the entrance of Anne¡¯s room and peering in. Her gasp convinced the Gardevoir to do the same soon after. Ember¡¯s head rested on Anne¡¯s chest; her body language curled up and small as it kept the bulk of her weight off of her friend¡¯s torso. Her arms were wrapped around the human as Anne¡¯s one good arm held the vixen in return. Their mental strain was clear, but at least they weren¡¯t burdened with the pesky consciousness that would badger them with pain. ¡°A-are they friends?¡± Sprout asked in surprise. ¡°Yeeeeep. They grew up together, and from what I picked out from the flood, were really protective of one another,¡± Marco clarified. As heartwarming as the sight was, it only raised more questions¡ªsure, Anne was innocent, but what would happen with her and Ember now? Or at least it did for Aria; Sprout seeming to have them all already figured out, ¡°Oh goodness... well, time to look around for a home for her in here, hah!¡± Sprout¡¯s cooed exclamation had both psychic siblings think through that idea. Aria couldn¡¯t deny that the idea of Anne staying here for a while wasn¡¯t as outlandish as it had been earlier in the day. At the same time, ¡®a while¡¯ wasn¡¯t the same thing as forever, and something told her that Ember would be opposed to anything less. ¡°Won¡¯t this room suffice until she can get a move on?¡± Lumi asked, his not-as-gruff-as-usual voice catching his coworkers¡¯ attention as he stepped out of the side chamber. Aria spotted the bag he¡¯d been given; put away in the small space. His expression perked up as he noticed her arrival, speaking up, ¡°Ah, here you are. Figured that you wouldn¡¯t know what happened here, either.¡± Sprout had to use her entire willpower to not blow up at the Luxray at the idea of rushing the girl out of here. Aria was glad to make that task easier for her, by offering her an even-worse subject to be angry about, ¡°^No, Marco figured it out while we were gone. Though, considering that the only reason we didn¡¯t know about this earlier was because someone erased Anne from Ember¡¯s memory, we still have much to discuss.^¡± The Decidueye¡¯s glare narrowed at hearing that, the implication not exactly difficult to see. Aria¡¯s hand on her shoulder was the only thing that kept her from flying out right now and threatening to turn the fox into a pin cushion if she didn¡¯t explain herself. ¡°Wait¡ªyou mean Cinder?¡± Lumi asked. ¡°^We can¡¯t know for certain Lumi, but it sounds like it, yes.^¡± ¡°Let me handle this and I¡¯ll have it figured out in no time¡­¡± the Decidueye muttered. ¡°^Sprout, please, I don¡¯t want you to get hurt over this. Just a question had her blow up at Marco earlier today,^¡± Aria pleaded. Her words had thankfully managed to chill Sprout¡¯s enthusiasm¡ªnot even her zeal at the little ones being mistreated was enough to push her towards risking her own life on this. It did make her much angrier, though, making her walk out of Anne¡¯s room to express her anger in a much louder way without waking the sleeping kids up. ¡°I can only imagine what she¡¯d do if she saw this, then. Perhaps we ought to keep an eye on her for now, just in case?¡± the Luxray asked. As valid as the concern was, Aria did a double take at it coming from him all people. She blinked at him in utmost confusion as he flatly stared back at her, growing increasingly baffled at the Gardevoir¡¯s astonishment. ¡°What?¡± ¡°^No, nothing, just... yeah, that¡¯s a good call. Sprout¡ª^¡± ¡°On it.¡± Without waiting for any elaboration, the Decidueye bolted out of the healers'' tent. As everyone else hoped she¡¯d be alright, Autumn broke through the tension and spoke up, taking advantage of the pause of the scout chat to put voice to her curiosity, ¡°So~, what¡¯s all this stuff that you brought with yourself, Aria?¡± Both the Indeedee and the Gallade were eyeing the very human bag. Its material was as colorful and shiny as its contents were obscured by a large layer of dark, fur-like clothing. It left a lot to the imagination, including how their sister and daughter got her hands on any of it to begin with. ¡°^These are things for Anne. The human that was looking for her turned out to be someone who knew and cared for her a lot, even if she couldn¡¯t give her a home herself. She let us know what items to take for her, especially the weirder human ones for human needs. Clothes, something they call ¡®books¡¯ with a ton of writing, art supplied, and something for hygiene, though she didn¡¯t elaborate on what it was,^¡± Aria explained. Autumn wasn¡¯t sure which part of that answer to ask about first¡ªthe human that helped them out, or the nature of the items in this funky bag. Before she could speak up, Marco cut her off, addressing the obvious concern, ¡°Don¡¯t worry mom, Aria wiped all this from her memory.¡± ¡°^Y-yeah.^¡± The tiny bit of hesitation in Aria¡¯s affirmation wasn¡¯t lost on either Marco or Lumi. Before they could prod that subject, though, Autumn followed up with her actual question, ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m curious about. What do you mean that human couldn¡¯t give Anne a home? Did she not have the space, or¡­?¡± ¡°Oh space she had plenty.¡± ¡°^It¡¯s not about space mom, it¡¯s... it¡¯s their laws from what I understood. They prevented her from that because Anne still had a living family, even if a terrible one.^¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know the half of it, the things we¡¯ve seen... B-but, what do you mean, Anne was being borderline tortured in there! They can¡¯t be saying that the hell she¡¯d been through is preferable to her living with a friend!¡± Autumn pleaded. ¡°^I think that¡¯s exactly what they¡¯re saying, mom.^¡± The Indeedee didn¡¯t respond, too busy switching gears to calm herself down at the harrowing revelation. The human world had just grown even more disgusting, and her resolve to help Anne out even more unbreakable. No matter how unthinkable the things she¡¯d need to do to ensure her safety were for the rest of the village. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m not letting her step back into that terrible world ever again,¡± Autumn asserted. Lumi rolled his eyes at her steadfastness, not expecting it to last. Before he could put a snarky voice to that attitude, though, a chirped out cry from the clinic¡¯s entrance caught their attention instead, ¡°Cinder¡¯s not in the village.¡± Sprout¡¯s previous boldness had mellowed out to nervous uncertainty, even if accompanied by the same cross expression from earlier. ¡°^What do you mean?^¡± Aria asked. ¡°She ran out of her den into the woods earlier. I didn¡¯t follow her, but can circle back and¡ª¡± ¡°^No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary.^¡± As angry as Aria had been and still was at Cinder, hearing about her having run elicited the tiniest flicker of sympathy in her in response. Even if it was immediately dwarfed by the anger at the knowledge of what she¡¯d almost certainly done to Ember. The real question was, what would she do now that her jig was up? The minds of everyone gathered ventured in vastly different directions. Anything from attempting to take out her wrath on the human girl, to¡­ trying to permanently escape accountability for what she had done. ¡°Someone¡¯s gotta keep watch on her, then,¡± Marco suggested. His idea wasn¡¯t disagreeable in the slightest, but the details were when it got very difficult. ¡°^She¡¯s strong enough to pick up on someone following her. If she senses someone, she¡¯ll likely feel cornered and lash out at them,^¡± Aria argued. Her counterpoint preemptively chilled Sprout¡¯s enthusiasm, but she wasn¡¯t the only one who could be entrusted with that task. ¡°Even a dark type?¡± ¡°^No, Lumi. You know as well as I do that Rose and stealth don¡¯t mix whatsoever, and I wouldn¡¯t feel safe for Ruby in case she slipped up and let herself be spotted.^¡± ¡°I could watch over Anne, then,¡± Sprout suggested. ¡°^Are you sure, Sprout?^¡± ¡°Why not, eh? Worried about me holding my own against Cinder if she showed up?¡± ¡°If it got to throwing moves, I¡¯ve no doubt you¡¯d win, dear. But if it ever gets to that point, then that¡¯s already too late, isn¡¯t it?¡± Autumn explained, her concern giving the proud owl a pause. She had no choice but to agree with it, sighing as she grumbled into her down. Combat was one thing, but while she had evolved into being a ghost, her talents for misdirection paled in comparison with the rest of that type. ¡°You¡¯re right, ugh. Hmm... guess that leaves Cypress, don¡¯t it?¡± the owl asked, defeated. ¡°^Mhm. Sprout, if you could¡ª^¡± ¡°On it.¡± As the Decidueye stepped out into the steadily growing night, the dim, orange light of the sunset¡¯s dying breath briefly lit up the entrance to Anne¡¯s room. The healers counteracted the dark soon after with a couple candles and a dim Will-o¡¯-Wisp, but everyone¡¯s bedtime was coming¡ªand it was coming fast. ¡°I suppose any further discussion can wait until the morning, now that we have someone to look after them?¡± Lumi suggested. Both psychic siblings agreed to his point with a nod, a quiet wince leaving Marco as he moved his head. ¡°^Yeah. See you in the morning Lumi, I¡¯m gonna wait for Cy to get here and relay what we know so far to her.^¡± ¡°Sounds good. See you all in the morning, then. I¡¯ll pass on the news if I find anyone along the way¡ªimagine everyone will want to chime in on this.¡± With another scout¡¯s departure, the tent grew increasingly quiet as most of the patients settled in for bedtime¡ªa group that notably didn¡¯t include Marco. Instead, the Gallade tried to pick himself up, only for Maple to come right over and swat the idea out of his head. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± she asked, taking him off-guard. ¡°Home? Got my duties tom¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, no no no, I do not think so. You¡¯re not going anywhere like this, Marco. You can barely stand up, and we need to swap the dressings on your burns, anyway,¡± the Leavanny asserted. ¡°Come on, Maple¡ª¡± ¡°No, you come on Marco. You¡¯re in no state for anything but resting right now, and for a few days at that. Besides, you helped Ember out from what I¡¯ve heard. You¡¯ve earned a break.¡± ¡°^She¡¯s right, you know,^¡± Aria chided, her words making her brother grumble and sit back down. He was still opposed to the idea of taking a break, growing increasingly annoyed at Aria¡¯s quip. She didn¡¯t know why that was, but she wanted to do something about it all the same, walking over to his bed before sitting down beside him. She passed him a smile he couldn¡¯t see, but which he could sense all the same. ¡°^What¡¯s wrong, Marco?^¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her discreet words had no immediate impact. At least, none beyond making the feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment peek out of the cracks in his well-composed mental facade, weakened by his pain and strain. Aria might not have gotten an immediate answer, but she knew what she had to do all the same. One arm carefully wrapped around her brother, avoiding the burned spots, before pulling him closer. The Gallade didn¡¯t resist, or even react beyond a small grimace creeping onto his face. ¡°I-I should be out and helping, a-and not licking my wounds...¡± he mumbled, barely audible. His sister still noticed; her embrace only grew tighter. ¡°^But you¡¯ve already helped a ton today! I can only imagine how grateful both Ember and Anne will be towards you once they wake up.^¡± Aria¡¯s point plunged Marco into a longer silence as he leaned forward. After staring at the floor for a while, he finally got to the crux of the issue, ¡°You¡¯ve been helping e-even more, and you don¡¯t have t-to rest...¡± The Gardevoir was taken aback, unsure how to interpret his words before feeling another pang of inadequacy resonate through her brother. She held him even tighter at that, pressing her head into his. ¡°^I wasn¡¯t on the receiving end of a Fire-type¡¯s outburst, and didn¡¯t have to sift through enough memories to leave me incapacitated. It¡¯s not a competition, Marco, my contributions don¡¯t diminish yours. And, besides, I think that between the two of us, Ember in particular will be much, much more thankful towards you~.^¡± As much sense as his sister¡¯s words made, they still felt like excuses in his favor, deep down. He had a hard time shaking that unpleasant sensation off, curling up more while his sister patiently held him. ¡°^I mean it, Marco,^¡± Aria reassured. ¡°I-I know, it¡¯s just...¡± Thankfully, Aria had a good guess on what exactly ¡®it¡¯ was here. Their breaths synchronized as she held him, the mental words that followed beaming with reassurance, ¡°^You¡¯ve changed several people¡¯s lives for the better today Marco, you deserve all the rest in the world after something like that. We¡¯ll keep this place safe while you recover. You just gather your bearings and accept your positive impact on the world.^¡± The affirmation chipped away at the Gallade¡¯s composure, but it took until the admission that followed to fully break it down, ¡°^I¡¯m so proud of you, Marco.^¡± The knight reached up to embrace his sister as tears welled in the corner of his eyes. And then, once Autumn had joined in on their affection, comforting him from the other side, the dam finally burst, wetting his cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m p-proud of you, too...¡± As he processed his emotions, Aria began to pet her brother next to his crest. The gentle expression of affection might¡¯ve grown much less common as they grew up and evolved, but it was just as effective as back when he was a lil¡¯ Ralts being comforted by his big sister. His hug grew that much tighter as he calmed down, his self-worth and today¡¯s accomplishment finding increasingly fertile mental ground on which they could settle on and take root. It was liberating; it was exhausting, making the offer of rest feel more justified by the moment. ¡°^Love you,^¡± Aria whispered. ¡°L-love you too. Sorry for¡ª¡± ¡°^Anytime, Marco. This is what big sisters are for, isn¡¯t it~?^¡± she chuckled. ¡°Heheh, y-yeah...¡± Marco admitted. ¡°^Gonna be calling it a day?^¡± ¡°I-I think so, yeah. Thank you.¡± ¡°^You¡¯re welcome, bro. Sleep well.^¡± With a couple more pats on the back, the siblings detached themselves from each other. Autumn likewise scrambled off the bed to let her son lay down; Aria¡¯s telekinesis pulled the covers over him before he could even reach over. As much as he grumbled at that, and at the pets that followed, he appreciated them more than his sister could ever know. With the tent¡¯s main chamber falling into slumber, ever-busy healers aside, Aria saw fit to spend the rest of the downtime in Anne¡¯s temporary room. Once she¡¯d moved the bag of human stuff over, Autumn followed along with her. The sparse moonlight aside, the room was completely dark. It was only barely enough to make out the two sleeping girls, but it was all Aria needed. A smile crept to her face as she walked over to their bed, ruffling their heads in their sleep as she applied a bit of Calm Mind to hopefully prevent them from waking up in too much pain. ¡°What do you think is gonna happen to her, Aria?¡± Autumn asked, hushed words putting the Gardevoir in a pensive mood. It was a question she wished she had anywhere near a confident answer to. ¡°^I was already thinking we could bring up everything we know up to the Elders tomorrow, together with what Cinder did, and... decide on what will happen to her.^¡± ¡°By one of your fancy votes, eh?¡± ¡°^Mhm. I... I imagine most scouts would be supportive of her staying here for as long as is necessary once we explain everything. What I¡¯m more concerned about is how many of the Elders we¡¯ll sway,^¡± Aria shuddered. ¡°Can¡¯t you just outvote them?¡± ¡°^Yes, we can, but with just thirteen votes, having three of them vote against Anne, no matter what we say, doesn¡¯t leave a lot of room for error. Hell, you can add in Lumi and make that four for all intents and purposes.^¡± That indeed was a much scarier thing to consider. Autumn walked up to her daughter as she chewed through the dilemma, almost bumping into Aria¡¯s leg in the dark. ¡°Ana has always felt reasonable enough in that regard. Winnie... yeah, unlikely. Celia...¡± the Indeedee trailed off as she considered the final Elder, ever difficult to predict. The Primarina was by far the most exotic member of the trio, with nobody else in the village having ever seen or even heard of her kin. It was rare to see her just making her way around, rarer still to hear her silken voice. The few times she spoke, though, she tended to be the kindest Elder. She was also the most experienced with some of the worst of humanity. The missing fins, fingers, and the many scars adorning her body after having been forced to perform to humans¡¯ amusement was testament to that fact enough. Aria considered her chances, dismissing Winnie and Celia entirely and focusing entirely on Ana. The possibility of maybe swaying one vote wasn¡¯t particularly reassuring, but it sure beat having that one vote aimed in the opposite direction. Now, to come up with something to convince that Torkoal with¡ª ¡°And all that would accomplish would be letting her stay here, kept at arm¡¯s length from the rest of the village, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Autumn cut in, distraught. Aria nodded with a sigh. With how uncertain even that felt like, a better fate for the girl might as well have been a pipe dream. One that Autumn was willing to fight for. ¡°That¡¯s¡ªno, I¡¯m not settling on that. I don¡¯t agree to making her out to be some sort of nuisance we¡¯ll benevolently put up with, not a child!¡± she shouted. ¡°^Mom!^¡± A pang of guilt shot through her as the sleeping girls shuddered in their shared rest. They calmed down soon after, letting her breath a sigh of relief, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just¡ª¡± ¡°^Shhh, it¡¯s alright mom.^¡± Autumn gave her daughter a look before chuckling at her own weapon being used against her, relenting soon after. She continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want her to be tolerated; I want her to be accepted. I doubt Ember will appreciate her friend being treated like an ongoing issue that will eventually leave her again, either.¡± The very idea had the Indeedee have to hold back a few tears, the mental gash at having witnessed Anne and Ember part ways from both perspectives simultaneously still very raw. The mere thought of forcing them to relive it made her want to throw hands, physical and psychic alike. ¡°^I¡ªI want that too, but I¡¯ve no idea how we¡¯d go about that. People are gonna have questions. Where would she even stay,^¡± Aria tried to ask. ¡°With us!¡± Autumn snapped back. She kept her raised voice firmly in the whisper range this time, stunning Aria as effectively as with her earlier, louder comment. ¡°^What¡ª^¡± ¡°At our burrow. With us. In our house. However you want to say it. We¡¯ve got plenty space even in the kids¡¯ room, things are sized right for her, we can talk with her even while she¡¯s still learning the language,¡± the Indeedee explained. On a logistical level, her suggestion made all the sense in the world¡ªthere wasn¡¯t another dwelling in the entire village better suited for a human than theirs. But it still left so many issues. ¡°^What if the kids object to that? Or Garret, or Riddick, once he snaps out of his hibernation. What if it won¡¯t be right for her in the end¡ª^¡± Aria argued. ¡°That¡¯s what asking is for! Besides, knowing that it¡¯s either this or her being forced to return to the human world will help sway them as well.¡± ¡°^That just feels like manipulation.^¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡± Autumn asserted. ¡°^What about everyone else being opposed to her staying?^¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure opposed to Cinder ever setting another paw in here again and you won¡¯t catch me protesting her right to safety. Not out loud, at least.¡± As much as the addendum made Aria chuckle, she remained unconvinced. Autumn stroked her chin as she tried to come up with something more persuasive¡ªand it was the concept of persuasion that sparked her next idea. The chuckle in the dark made Aria worry about what idea had hit her mom this time¡ª But before either she or the shorter psychic could speak up, they felt a particular chill in the air. It made them look over the entrance to the side room as Autumn whispered, ¡°Cypress?¡± Right as they were about to look at the window, both women felt a cold tentacle being placed on their shoulder, shivering as the aforementioned ghost spoke up, ¡°Present...¡± The Mismagius¡¯ drawn out, whispering voice may not have brought any curses with it, but it was still unnerving in the dark. They chuckled, floating in front of the psychics before continuing, ¡°Apologies, I could hardly resist...¡± ¡°^I¡¯m aware, don¡¯t worry. Thank you for being here Cy.^¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no problem. With how incensed Sprout was, I gathered it was something important. And... I think I¡¯m feeling more ¡®Mr. Cypress¡¯ today, if that¡¯s alright...¡± ¡°^Of course, Cypress. And yes, it is important. We wanted to ask you to watch over them tonight,^¡± Aria asked. With how quirky the Mismagius was, seeing him be genuinely surprised was rare¡ªand that was on top of just how uncommon it was to see him in general. His duty of stirring up chaos on the other end of the woods to distract human attention away from their village was an important one. It also resulted in him spending entire days at a time away from home. It made the dumbfounded look at his face even more precious as he took in the two souls holding together on the bed, ¡°Oh... I am hardly certain which of these two I ought to be more surprised at...¡± ¡°^Right, you¡¯ve been away for the past few days. The human¡¯s name is Anne. Sprout found her gravely injured on the outskirts of the village, and we helped patch her up. And, as we later realized, it turns out that her and Ember have been long-time friends, but Ember couldn¡¯t remember because someone erased the memories of Anne,^¡± Aria explained. The ghost didn¡¯t react to the rundown in any overt way. Instead, he leaned in closer to the sleeping duo as the wispy extensions on the front of his body glided over the girls¡¯ shoulders with a gentle, chilly touch. Their intertwined fates were clear to sense. ¡°Remarkable... I assume that someone is Cinder, then...?¡± ¡°^That¡¯s what we¡¯re suspecting, yes. She ran away from the village earlier today. We want you to keep watch for her in case she tries to hurt Anne overnight, and to incapacitate her if she shows up.^¡± Cypress finally acknowledged Aria¡¯s words with a slow nod and a quiet mumble. His yellow eyes closed as he whispered protective incantations. Both psychics felt the air in the room shift at his Lucky Chant, but not in a way either of them could narrow down. ¡°It¡¯d be my pleasure...¡± ¡°Thank you, Cypress. I still hope there¡¯s some grave misunderstanding underlying Ember¡¯s memories being erased, but Cinder running away makes it harder and harder to believe that...¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome dear Autumn. I... do feel compelled to ask about what shall happen to our dear Anne here...¡± ¡°^It¡¯s... up in the air, we¡¯ll see tomorrow. Though... you do tend to mess with human kids her age sometimes, right?^¡± ¡°I merely appear where I¡¯m being looked for~. But, correct, I¡¯ve run into many kids her age. Tricky for striking the right balance between not being scary at all and being too terrifying...¡± ¡°^In the event she¡¯d end up staying here for good... do you think she could pose any risk to anyone?^¡± Aria asked, ninety-nine percent sure of the answer. With how difficult of a case they¡¯d have to make for Anne, though, any further bit of reassurance was invaluable. ¡°She¡¯s no trainer, so no. Frankly, I would be more worried the other way around...¡± Cypress mumbled. The phrasing had both women look up at him with concern, making him elaborate soon after, ¡°The price of teaching everyone that humans are all scary monsters, and that we hide from them because of the monstrosity, is that some may start to believe that. Especially the little ones¡­¡± The mental imagery of someone attempting to ¡®protect¡¯ themselves from Anne sent a freezing shiver down Aria¡¯s spine. It made her walk over to the bed and stroke the human¡¯s hair out of a protective impulse. ¡°Not something we can¡¯t fight against, thankfully,¡± Autumn reassured. ¡°^How so?^¡± Aria asked, her concern palpable for her mother-in-law, emboldening the Indeedee further. ¡°We can start sowing the seeds of the idea of her staying and work away at any doubts that arise. I can bring it up with the kids tomorrow and try to work through any issues they might have. Frankly, we¡¯d just need more voices to contribute...¡± ¡°Pragmatic. I like it...¡± Out of everyone in the village that could contribute to something like that, there was one voice in particular that had both the volume and the reach to be of help here¡ªand it was one both psychics thought of at the same time, ¡°^Holly!^¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to her tomorrow. I hope she¡¯ll be receptive.¡± ¡°^Oh you have no idea, mom. Who else...^¡± Aria wondered. ¡°Jovan feels like the type to love a heartwarming story to share...¡± ¡°^Like sister, like brother, heh. Yeah, him too.^¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring it up when leaving Bell under his care. Anyone else?¡± Autumn asked. No more candidates immediately came to mind for anyone present. Perfectly understandable considering the hour of the day; the fact underlined by the Gardevoir¡¯s held-in yawn. ¡°That seems like a plan enough for the time being¡ªand you seem like you need rest, dear Aria...¡± ¡°^Y-yeah, it¡¯s just...^¡± As much as their plan was coming together, the Gardevoir had a hard time shaking off the worry at the possibility that nothing would work out and that Anne would end up tossed out into the snow to die. At that point, even the cruel act of wiping Ember¡¯s memories of her friend once more felt reasonable, even if just to spare her the pain. It still disgusted her to even think about, though. And to think she had threatened someone with it mere hours earlier¡­ ¡°Have you spoken with the girl already...?¡± the ghost asked. ¡°^Yes, we talked earlier. I tried to fool her into thinking this place was a human hospital, but it didn¡¯t last. Eventually, I told her the truth, and thankfully she trusted me even despite having lied to her earlier.^¡± ¡°Then extend that grace to yourself...~¡± That much she could do. Deep breaths worked away at the built-up anxiety inside her as she acknowledged the Mismagius¡¯s words with a light bow, ¡°^I will. Thank you, Cypress. Have a good night.^¡± ¡°Anytime... Oh, it would appear that your husband is approaching...¡± The remark broke through both Aria¡¯s and Autumn¡¯s somber moods, replacing them with confusion at what Garret was doing here. They gave the sleeping girls one last glance before leaving the healers¡¯ tent right as the Grimmsnarl turned the corner. If not for his fangs glistening in the moonlight, he would¡¯ve been almost invisible at night. ¡°Honey?¡± he called out, squinting into the night. ¡°Yes, yes sweetie, we¡¯re here!¡± Aria responded, switching to her physical voice. With how excruciatingly long the day had been, she longed for little more than finally getting some rest. And while this might not have been that, unless she were to sentence her husband to having to carry her back home, just holding him was enough to melt through much of the tension pent inside her¡ªand inside him, too. ¡°We¡¯ve all been so confused about what was going on with you all, got a bit worried... wait, where¡¯s Marco?¡± the Grimmsnarl asked, concerned. ¡°He¡¯s... in the healers¡¯ tent. He got roughed up today, and they¡¯re keeping him overnight just in case.¡± The Grimmsnarl¡¯s fanged grimace shifted just enough for his wife and mom to notice the concern it now conveyed. Aria answered his unspoken question as they all turned to head home, ¡°We¡¯ve... learned a lot about Anne today. Cinder wasn¡¯t happy about Marco asking Ember about a potential connection between her and Anne. And then, it turned out she¡¯d most likely erased Ember¡¯s memories of Anne.¡± ¡°I-is he gonna be alright?¡± he asked. ¡°Thankfully, yes. It¡¯s just some surface burns, and the healers took good care of him,¡± his wife answered. That much was reassuring, at least. Garret held his wife close as they walked on, the worry about everything going on lately filling his mind. ¡°Thank goodness. A-and what did you say about Ember and the human?¡± ¡°They used to be close friends, sweetie, and grew up together. Their... human family was absolutely wretched. Anne parted ways with Ember to keep her safe, and then ended up running away for her life, which then led to her crash and us finding her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... oh the deities¡­¡± he muttered, the idea of a family vile enough for a child to run away for their life making him feel deeply ill. He knew it was exactly that kind of family that he had hatched in before being rescued and eventually raised by Autumn, but¡­ it was so much worse to hear it having happened to someone else. It also made him want to hug his mom¡ªwhich was what he then did. Autumn squeaked as she was suddenly lifted off the ground and into his arm, but her surprise gave way to affection soon after. ¡°The rest of the human world doesn¡¯t seem to be any better for her in that regard. Her staying here for good would be for the best,¡± Aria continued. ¡°And I had the idea that our burrow would work well for that~,¡± Autumn added, making her son pause mid-step. The idea evoked so many mixed feelings inside him it felt impossible to even start untangling them all. To help a child, to pass the torch like that¡ªit was euphoric to think about. But, at the same time, ¡°Are you sure, mom? I¡ªI don¡¯t want her to live somewhere where she¡¯d b-be scared again...¡± Without their respective psychics, Aria¡¯s and Autumn¡¯s hugs were far from impressive in strength. They more than made up for that in how heartfelt they were, though; both women were more than happy to reassure the most important man in their lives. ¡°You look mean at a glance, sweetie, but brush aside the top coat and you¡¯re all honey. Her parents... looked reprehensible and acted so, so much worse. I¡¯ve seen some of her memories, a-and they still make me ill to think about...¡± Autumn explained, getting the group moving again. Garret nodded through his mom¡¯s words, holding her tight as he got a grip on his breathing. Doubts and worries kept swelling inside his skull, but his wife was there for him. ¡°That¡¯s not something we¡¯re deciding on here and now. Just... once it comes to that, once I have to stand up and plead Anne¡¯s case in front of the Elders, I want to know that I¡¯d be able to bring our burrow up as a place where she could stay and be safe. And that I don¡¯t doubt one bit.¡± The explanation made sense, though even just acknowledging that felt like agreeing to a massive commitment. He kept airing his worries as they got closer to their home, ¡°Do you think we¡¯re ready for another soul to be taking care of?¡± ¡°¡®Ready¡¯ in the sense of being prepared enough to start trying for another child? Probably not~. Ready in the sense of being able to provide a lost, traumatized soul with the safety she¡¯d been lacking for so long, even if it includes some growing pains? Absolutely.¡± It was an important distinction to make, sending a wave of fluster through Garret¡¯s face. He only barely kept himself from lifting his wife off the ground with the hug that followed. ¡°W-Well, you¡¯ve interacted with her much more th-than I have so far. You probably know better, sweetie.¡± ¡°I hope that one day you¡¯ll feel as confident in your ability to be the best dad she could ever wish for as I am~,¡± Aria smiled. As flustering as the previous remark was, this one was incomparably more effective. Before the Gardevoir knew it, she was swept off her feet and held tight, returning the embrace as they walked into the view of their burrow¡¯s entrance. Decrepit as it looked, the stray rays of light escaping through the holes between the door and its frame betrayed its homeliness. Alas, both psychics had to be lowered onto their feet so that they¡¯d fit through the front door. As much as Garret wanted to resume holding them tight once they walked in, filling their stomachs with something yummy came first. The scene that awaited inside was an amusing one. The prospect of getting to keep playing even with it being dark outside left the trio of kids acting a bit hyper. They were in the middle of some play tussling, surrounded by their toys as their guardians walked down the stairs. ¡°Mom, where have you been!? A-and where¡¯s Uncle Marco?¡± Cadence asked, the worrying she¡¯d been masking with play finally showing itself¡ªespecially with Marco still absent. Without skipping a beat, she got up to her feet and bounded over to her guardians, needing some comfort of her own. ¡°We had a long, busy day, sweetie. I¡¯m sorry for being gone for so long. Marco got injured during his duties, and is at the healers¡¯ tent,¡± Aria explained, crouching to hug her little ones. The visible worry on both the Ralts¡¯s and the Kirlia¡¯s faces made her hold them that much tighter as Autumn comforted the flying scorpion just off to the side. ¡°Uncle Marco is hurt?¡± the Ralts asked. ¡°Yes Bell, he is. It¡¯s nothing big, thankfully, but he needs a few days to rest it off,¡± his mom explained. ¡°Can we come and make him feel better?¡± After all, smooches were the panacea for any ouchie as far as the tyke was concerned. Surely it would work here, too. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d really appreciate it sweeties~.¡± Bell squeed at his mom¡¯s reassurance, squirming in her arms. Just a few feet away, Cadence felt a wave of cheekiness come over her. She knew she¡¯d get shot down, but maaaaaybe her mom was just about tired enough to offhandedly agree to her idea? She asked, ¡°Oh, oh, oh¡ªcould we see Anne if we¡¯re already gonna be at the clinic~?¡± Aria had to stop herself from reflexively disagreeing. She and Autumn glanced at each other at the Kirlia¡¯s question, before a playful, tired smirk crept on their faces. ¡°...you know what~? Deal.¡± The sudden gasp that left Cadence and Elric was almost loud enough to stir the Gligar¡¯s dad from his hibernation. Aria broke into giggles at the group¡¯s palpable excitement, with Bell following soon after¡ªeven if he still had no idea what the entire big human deal even was. ¡°Really!?¡± the Kirlia asked. ¡°Yep! She may end up staying in our village for a bit longer, and it¡¯d be good for her to make some friends, don¡¯t you think?¡± As surprised as Cadence was at the unexpected one-eighty turn of her mom¡¯s opinion on this, she couldn¡¯t deny liking her current logic much, much more than the typical scout scaredyness from yesterday. She squealed, ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you!¡± ¡°Will we be able to play with her?¡± Elric asked, his question much more deserved despite him being no less excited. As he spoke, he scrambled over to hug his current guardian, warm to the touch in the shared glee. ¡°To an extent. She¡¯s still injured, but I think you¡¯ll all be able to figure something out~,¡± Aria explained. While the two older kids were left satisfied, eager at the idea of sating their curiosities first hand, Bell¡¯s mind wandered to the question he had earlier today. His small body wriggled with joy at getting to make a friend, but he had no idea what that friend looked like! ¡°What color are humans?¡± A tricky question to answer for how simple it was on the surface. Aria paused as her husband poured her and Autumn their portions of the dinner, the rich aroma relaxing her with her every breath. She explained the best she could, ¡°Many colors, really. They¡¯re like us with furless skin and hair on top of their head, but I¡¯ve seen their skin be anything from dark brown to whitish pink, and their hair from black to yellow. Even saw one with pink hair a few months ago, but nobody else like that since, hah.¡± ¡°Maybe they were a really important human?¡± the Kirlia asked. ¡°I doubt it, Cadence; they didn¡¯t feel any different to anyone else. How¡¯s that for an answer, Bell~?¡± The toddler had to think long and hard before the incomprehensible baby train of thought finally arrived at the Happy Feelings plaza, making him squeak as he held his mom closer, ¡°Okay! I wanna meet Anne!¡± ¡°And you will, tomorrow. And now, all three of you are up way past your bedtimes~.¡± The shared groan that left the tykes at her comment was music to Aria¡¯s ears. With a bit of help from her psychics, she picked up the entire trio and carried them over to their room. Their excitement gave way to sleepiness as they were tucked into their shared bedding, and then¡ªrest. For once, Aria wasn¡¯t be far behind in that regard. As overwhelming as tomorrow felt to think about, Anne believed in her. And, as she chewed through the lukewarm dinner, she was happy to earnestly share that belief. They¡¯d figure something out. Even if the Elders were about as likely to accept Anne with open arms as a Fire-type was to embrace a tidal wave, not even they could resist a good sob story. Far from the soundest argument in the world, but it was likely to sway at least one vote¡ªand one vote was all it might take to seal the girl¡¯s safety. Half an hour later, when she was well on her way to dozing off, one thought in particular kept Aria warm and calm as she played the role of the big spoon. Her mind grew quieter with each passing moment, the mantra bringing peace to her and Anne alike, She would deliver on her promise to Anne, no matter what. Chapter 11: Guilt ¡°~Open the door you FUCKING WHORE!~¡± Anne hyperventilated as she watched her room¡¯s door shake inside its weathered frame. Her father¡¯s every bang threatened to finally make the old, moldy wood give in and leave nothing between herself and the result of whichever minor slight it was that had upset him this time. Each time, she backed further into the corner, to little effect beyond draining the heat out of her body even faster. ¡°~Once I get in there, I¡¯m gonna fucking KILL that RAT of yours, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!~¡± Immense as her fear about her own safety was, though, worries about Ember were even brighter. The teeny Fennekin bundled in against her front, seeking refuge from the hell that awaited her outside of her human¡¯s embrace. Anne tried to think of something, anything she could do. She could¡¯ve sworn there should¡¯ve been a window nearby, but there wasn¡¯t, there never was. They were cornered, and only had to live as long as it took the drunkard meters away to break down the final barrier before him. ¡°~OPEN!~¡± A large crack sprouted from the top of the door, almost cleaving it in half. Anne shrieked in horror as she held Ember even tighter, keeping her from looking at the unfolding terror. The only comfort she could provide the lil¡¯ fox in their last moments. ¡°~THE!~¡± The second strike broke away enough of the rotten wood to let Anne get a peek of the furious, bloodshot eyes on the other side of the doorway, and the bared, rotting teeth underneath them. All she could do in the face of that horror was close her eyes and curl up even tighter, bracing for whatever was to follow. ¡°~FUCKING!~¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to see any more of this...¡± ¡°~DOOR!~¡± The whispered voice made Anne look up just in time for the final strike to break the door apart¡ªfollowed by reality itself. Everything dissolved into colorful, sparkling glitter before fading away into darkness, leaving her staring at nothing as her dream-numbed brain tried to process it all. In an instant, it was only her, Ember, and¡­ someone else left. As terrifying as the sight of a Mismagius would normally be, the unreality of everything around her heavily dulled its impact. After a brief stare, Anne looked down at the fox she¡¯d been trying to comfort all along, only for her to be very different, too. Larger¡­? Taller¡­? Was she wearing something¡­? Anne was too dumbfounded and shellshocked to notice the sluggishness of her thoughts. The confusion that underlaid them was still there, though, trying to make heads and bushy tails of the bipedal fox resting on her lap. ¡°Hmmm... I suppose it won¡¯t hurt...¡± an unknown voice whispered, making her look up at the ghost once more. Their crooked smile grew as their yellow eyes glowed. The surrounding darkness warbled, and one blink later, Anne found herself in another kind of darkness entirely. More and more of her sensations came to as she stared at the tent¡¯s ceiling, too dark to make anything out of. A glance to the right provided her something to focus on; the bluish moonlight just strong enough to render the distant treetops visible and to illuminate the bed she rested on. The raggedy blanket was warmer than she would¡¯ve¡ª ¡­ Oh? It wasn¡¯t until Anne tried to shift on the soft bedding that she actually felt the furry, warm weight on her chest and side. The awareness of something else being this close to her almost made her try scrambling away there and then¡ªat least until she realized how familiar some of these sensations were. The weight, the warmth, the texture, both of the softer fur against her shift and the warmer, rougher one pressing against her collarbone. The more Anne thought, the more details crept out from the recesses of her memory. ¡­ Wait... The limited lighting and the shawl covering them made it difficult to make out who the stranger was. Difficult, but not impossible¡ªwith a large, triangular ear sticking out through the hole in the fabric telling. Not quite like a Fennekin, more like a Braixen, like the pictures in the encyclopedias she¡¯d tried to read to process her grief before it backfired hard on her. ¡­ It couldn¡¯t be... The body shape fit, the size fit. Trepidation gripped Anne¡¯s mind as she reached to pull back the hood on the fox¡¯s head. She tried to suppress the realization that had been building up all along, lest it all turned out to be a freak coincidence and she¡¯d have to experience the pain of having to let go of Ember again¡ª That Braixen was wearing an eyepatch on the same eye Ember couldn¡¯t see out of. The girl¡¯s eyes went wide as the mental dam she¡¯d set for herself began to buckle and shatter, her tiny body shaking at the growing realization¡ª ¡°~E-Ember...? EMBER!~¡± Anne couldn¡¯t care an iota less about how much noise she made as blinding, overwhelming joy filled her mind. She cat up to comfort her friend as her right arm reached to scoop Ember into as close a hug as she could manage¡ªthe same position they used to spend hours in. Or as close an approximation as possible, considering she just didn¡¯t fit anymore. As much as she wanted to scream in joy, soon enough Anne found herself fighting through tears as she curled her body around her one flame of hope, now reignited into a roaring inferno. Warm enough to drive her strain and exhaustion away, leaving only bliss and relief. Just as her jubilant exclamation had turned into a silent, intense hug, that hug slowly turned into quiet, held-in sobs. Her fears about how Ember was doing, about if she¡¯d ever find someone that would love and protect her, about her having been put down or handed off to a notice trainer¡ªall of them left her strained mind, one tear at a time, wetting her shirt as the sleeping fox¡¯s chest expanded and contracted into her own. She was safe; they were finally safe... As Anne clung to Ember, not wanting to let go for the next forever, the adrenaline rush accompanying her revelation began to fade. Her breaths grew shakier as she burned through the last of her emotional high, leaving her aching, drowsy¡ªand with Ember beside her, once more. Considering neither her shout nor the hug that followed had woken her up, she must¡¯ve been just as exhausted. Anne chuckled weakly at the thought as she snuck her hand inside Ember¡¯s hood and stroked her between the ears. It¡¯s been years, but she still remembered exactly how to do it just right, as if no time had passed at all. ¡°~I-I¡¯m here, I-I¡¯m here¡­~¡± she whispered, calm repetition soothing her psyche as she drifted closer and closer to total exhaustion. She closed her eyes for just a moment, only for a quiet, unnatural whisper to snap Anne back to full awareness. She gasped, holding the lil¡¯ fox tighter as she scanned for threats. A pair of glowing, telltale yellow-red eyes staring at her from a few feet was as definite a threat as they got. Anne twisted herself as she tried to scoot away from the ghost, a shriek of fear caught in her throat. The Mismagius¡¯ attempt to approach her earned it a similarly horrified whine, audible this time. Pitiful as it was, it made the bringer of curses stop in its tracks with another drawn-out whisper. Anne had no idea whether these were the terrifying, mind-breaking incantations she¡¯d read about, or if they were something else altogether. Either way, she was powerless to stop them, only able to clench her eyes shut and curl up with Ember in her arms, bracing for whatever was to follow. And then¡­ nothing did. Nothing painful or threatening, at least. She heard the ghost¡¯s whispers once more, drawn out and¡­ more melodic this time, almost rhythmic. They droned on with a rudimentary yet ethereal tune, one that dug deep into Anne¡¯s psyche with each syllable. Sound by sound, the tension in her body evaporated, the terror gripping her mind lost power, even the aching in her left arm diminished to the point of being ignorable. And then; it ended, leaving Anne with an emptier, calmer mind. Anne used some of the reclaimed brainpower to redouble her efforts to provide Ember all the attention she¡¯d been owed over the past year, and the rest to dare look up from her impromptu hiding spot. The Mismagius was now much closer, most of its body illuminated by the moonlight. Easily in reach was she to untangle her arm from around Ember, floating low enough to be on eye level with her. Its¡ªtheir¡ªangular smile grew larger, and yet less contorted as they made eye contact. Curiously, they were holding a book in one of their front tendrils. Anne¡¯s focus shifting towards it made the ghost laugh, the sound chipper and breathy. At a certain level, she knew she ought to be afraid, but she just¡­ wasn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t have the time to dwell on that absence of sensation before the ghost hovered closer, and placed the book down beside her. They then reached with the freshly freed tendril to pet her on the head; gentleness combining with a weird mix of physical coldness and spiritual warmth, filling her with reassurance. It felt much nicer than she ever expected a creature like this to feel like. Even despite Anne¡¯s exhaustion, the repetitiveness of that thought didn¡¯t go unacknowledged. ¡°~Th-thank you...~¡± The ghost bowed their hatted head, light pets continuing for a while longer before their focus was suddenly drawn to¡­ the nearest wall. Before Anne could really notice, their gaze shifted along the wall in tune with approaching, muffled sounds, until something entered the room. Anne had no idea what; the being obscured by the darkness. Their noises sure weren¡¯t, though¡ªas quietly as they were tried to be pronounced, the mews, purrs, hisses and growls kept catching the girl¡¯s attention, putting her on edge. For a few moments, the ghost and the unknown being talked, the former glancing at her a few times. The chitchat ending didn¡¯t bring her any relief, though¡ªthe opposite, if anything. It made the unknown creature approach closer, a brief golden glimmer the only sign of their existence as Anne leaned away from them. They walked around her bed before seeming to dig into her bag¡ªat least if the shuffling of cloth and a few thuds were any indication. Anne could only hold her breath as she listened in; hold her breath and comfort herself by petting Ember. Eventually, the rustling finally stopped¡ª Before something cold and smooth touching her exposed arm made Anne jump. The object was then placed down beside her, brain taking its time processing the events as the stranger walked further back into the room. Begrudgingly, she unwrapped her arm from around Ember, before reaching towards the unknown item. And grabbed the cheap plastic flashlight she took from the house¡¯s toolbox on that fateful evening. Once the realization hit her, Anne did the first thing that came to mind. She pointed the tool toward where she last heard the noises come from and turned it on with a satisfying click¡ªjust in time to realize why that was a bad idea. Thankfully, the Weavile she¡¯d inadvertently flashed only flinched and squinted¡ªas opposed to any more¡­ drastic reaction. ¡°~S-sorry!~¡± The cone of light was immediately redirected towards the ceiling, lighting up the room enough to make out the Dark-type from their namesake darkness without having to blind anyone else. To Anne¡¯s relief, the apex predator didn¡¯t mind all that much, nodding as the light was aimed away from her face and chuckling at the girl¡¯s expression. They may have smiled too, but she couldn¡¯t quite make it out. It seemed they wouldn¡¯t be the only stranger visiting her either, though. The next bit of rustling outside was followed up on by an honest-to-gods Scizor stepping in, seemingly also taken aback by her. Somehow. As the non-human occupants of the room exchanged words, even more of them showed up. The Luxray was probably the same one she saw yesterday¡ªthe glare of their gleaming eyes matched, at least. It was only brief, but it still left her chilled as they joined in on the ongoing discussion. Yesterday, yesterday... trying to remember what had happened yesterday once that bubbly Azumarill left proved futile. There was smoke in the distance, Blossom was worried about it, and then¡­ out cold. She was probably so exhausted after everything earlier, she just dozed off on the spot. With how abrupt her rest seemed to have been, though, even that idea didn¡¯t quite fit. Before she could think through it any further, the next stranger stepped in, their entrance much less subdued than others. The Decidueye was almost the Luxray¡¯s polar opposite in the look they gave her. Her fear of their kin made it difficult to take in their positive attitude to the furthest extent, though. It definitely wasn¡¯t as strong as it used to be with the warm impression Blossom had left yesterday, making her ¡®only¡¯ flinch backwards as the owl approached, cooing happily. As unnerving as the situation was, Anne couldn¡¯t deny it felt nice for someone to get happier at seeing her, for once. Whoever had shown up next seemed quite apprehensive about entering the room. Anne watched a few of the already present mons face the entrance in response to the canine woofs, but their source never revealed themselves. Whether it was for the best, she didn¡¯t yet know. As nice as the Decidueye and as confusing as everyone else was, it was the last arrival that really brought relief to Anne¡¯s confused mind. She turned her flashlight at the steadily creeping sunrise as the Gardevoir approached and greeted, ¡°^Good morning, Anne! How are you feeling sweetie?^¡± Her dimly glowing red eyes had become a more comforting sight than the girl would¡¯ve ever thought possible. Anne herself might have been fine enough, but it paled in importance compared to who she had woken up next to. she held the asleep fox once more while she put the words together, all the emotions making it so much harder. ¡°~Sh-she¡¯s here, Ember¡¯s here, she¡¯s safe, she¡¯s¡ª~¡± Anne¡¯s sniffle cut her off before she could finish her sentence. She snuggled up closer to the fox as the joy of their reunion hit her once more, too powerful for words. The Gardevoir¡¯s resulting pets were just as tingly and pleasant as she remembered them, making the girl squirm as she held onto her best friend. ¡°^Mhm! She¡¯d been living with us for the past year. I apologize for not introducing you to each other earlier, but we weren¡¯t sure whether she was really the Ember you knew. Thankfully, she... remembered you, and was overjoyed to see you again,^¡± Aria explained. Her words brought on emotional turmoil inside Anne, each small pet along Ember¡¯s head helping her straighten her racing thoughts that bit more. The firefox having been here all along was as much a relief as it was depressing. She lived less than an hour by bike away from someone she thought she¡¯d never see again. It hurt to think about, filling her with regret for not even thinking to try looking. Hearing that Ember was just as happy to see her again forced many more happy tears out of Anne. She was so relieved her friend didn¡¯t hold a grudge against her because of what her family had done to her, or at the pain of their eventual separation. Both of those may have hurt her just as much as they did Ember, but she cared about the lil¡¯ fox more. ¡°~I-I¡¯m-*sniff*-I¡¯m so glad to hear... Sh-she was so scared when I left her at the shelter, and-*sniff*-I w-was so worried she¡¯d hate me for it...~¡± Aria¡¯s tingling, magical pets continued as she sat down on the bedding. She reassured, ¡°^No, not at all. She loves you just as much as you love her, and I can feel that rather well~.^¡± Anne scooted closer almost out of reflex, close enough to lean on the Gardevoir with her entire body as she held Ember tight, sniffling all the while. The remark at the end accomplished its intended purpose, making the girl giggle. She needed that more than words could tell, looking up at the Gardevoir teary-eyed. ¡°~Th-thank you... is she alright? I-I think I shouted loudly earlier a-and she didn¡¯t wake up...~¡± Anne watched closely as Aria moved her hand from her forehead to Ember¡¯s. A moment of focus resulted in a small, yet confident smile on Aria¡¯s face, and an equally reassuring nod. ¡°^She¡¯s perfectly okay, just really, really tired after yesterday. It was a lot for all of us, her especially.^¡± That made sense, at least. Anne hugged the Braixen tight one last time before slowly letting go. As comforting as it was for her to dispense affection, this position couldn¡¯t have been anywhere near as comfortable for Ember, now that she had evolved. She took her time in lowering the vixen onto the bedding beside her, giving her the entire pillow and much of the blanket. It was chilly in here, yes, and letting go of Ember didn¡¯t help with the goosebumps all over Anne¡¯s body, but the fox deserved comfort right now more than ever. Her human could bear a little cold. Thoughts in that vein helped distract the girl from everything else going on in the room. The previous conversation had reignited in the meantime. And with all but Aria¡¯s parts being audible and yet untranslated, it left Anne feeling on edge. One that was constantly being melted through with the Gardevoir¡¯s constant affection. Thankfully, the whispered animal sound near-cacophony didn¡¯t last long. Everyone but the Mismagius and Aria got going in not too long, and the final one to depart left a few passing words to the Gardevoir. She didn¡¯t look like she liked what she¡¯d heard as she turned to the girl once more, ¡°^Anne?^¡± ¡°~Y-yes, Mrs. Aria?~¡± ¡°^Just ¡®Aria¡¯ is okay, sweetie. I was just thinking, actually. Would you like to meet my kids? I¡¯ve a daughter that¡¯s around your age and a much younger son, and they¡¯re both rather excited to hear there¡¯s a human in our little village. And, considering you¡¯re not going away anytime soon, probably wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to meet some more people here~.^¡± The offer came out of the left field, taking Anne aback. On one hand, she wasn¡¯t exactly good with meeting people, be they humans or mons. On the other, what M¡ªAria said also made sense. As frightening as that whole prospect was, it was a good idea to get started as soon as she could, and with someone she could expect to not be mean. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t dislike her for any of the actually valid reasons either¡­ ¡°~A-are you gonna be watching o-over us?~¡± Anne asked, not expecting the Gardevoir to be so surprised at her question. ¡°^Hmm... I have my duties to attend to, unfortunately. How about this¡ªI ask my brother to watch over you all, and then I¡¯ll come back in a few hours and rejoin you~? Maybe even with my husband, hah!^¡± ¡°~Okay, th-that sounds good. Does your b-brother know about m¡ª~¡± ¡°^Yes he does. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind helping out with this.^¡± ¡°~A-alright. What are they all like?~¡± ¡°^Well, my brother, Marco, is a bit more withdrawn than me. He may come off as cold, but give him a chance and he¡¯ll warm up quickly. My daughter Cadence is really energetic and excited about meeting you. Don¡¯t hesitate to tell her to slow down a bit if needed; she won¡¯t mind. Bell is really little and just happy to meet a new friend, even if that friend is a bit different from others~. Elric will also be here; he¡¯s a boy we¡¯re looking out for while his dad hibernates. He¡¯s shy at first, but really playful once you get past introductions.^¡± The descriptions of Cadence and Elric left Anne worried about how well their personalities would end up meshing. She was the absolute furthest thing from energetic or physically playful, even before her injuries. And as much as she didn¡¯t mind being a shy bookworm, that personality type might¡¯ve been rather alien to this village, considering that books didn¡¯t exist here. Still, she had no way to know but to try. ¡°~Okay! Wh-when are they gonna b-be here?~¡± ¡°^Once they wake up and have breakfast. Cypress here will keep you company until then, is that alright?^¡± The namedrop made the girl look over at the Mismagius. They grew increasingly less scary as the sun rose, their small stature in particular dispelling much of Anne¡¯s remaining worries. ¡°~Yeah! Th-thank you. Oh, who were... e-everyone else here, the ones that have left by now?~¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°^They¡¯re my coworkers, Anne. We all look out for the safety of our village and make sure that nobody dangerous stumbles on it, be it an angry predator that wants to hunt those less capable of self defense, or... well, a human,^¡± Aria explained. As much as she expected that latter addition to confuse the girl¡ªor worse, upset her¡ªit thankfully didn¡¯t result in either. Anne just nodded in understanding, already aware of the threat that human awareness would pose to this village of mons. Trainers were one thing, but¡­ the risk went deeper than just them. Anne distinctly recalled reading about something like this in a stuffy history book, one of many she¡¯d gone through in her many years at Mrs. Graham¡¯s library. An incident in Kalos some half century ago¡ªa few dozen mons had moved into an abandoned human town. Based on a report written for a local newspaper at the time, they appeared to have been living in it much like humans did. They used the buildings the intended way, engaged in farming, stockpiled food. They even visited nearby human villages and bartered for useful items in exchange for the crops they grew. Which was how the word of them eventually spread. After a good couple years of growth, the news of them had made its way to a nearby city. As an unbelievable rumor, sure, but it was enough for the League to intervene. Within days, elite trainers had either captured or chased the village¡¯s inhabitants away, making sure to level the buildings and poison the farmland in their wake. The official reason was to prevent wild mons from becoming a threat to nearby humans or themselves by misusing the buildings. But those who were there knew better. ¡°~I-I see. But... why in this r-room? Was it about me?~¡± Aria sighed heavily, unable to help but to confirm Anne¡¯s hunch. ¡°^Yeah, it was. But¡­ we were just discussing where you¡¯re gonna be staying once you recover,^¡± the Gardevoir explained, shuddering at the words. Thankfully, Anne was too distracted to pick up on it, letting Aria continue, ¡°^I think it¡¯s about time I got going and joined the others. There are some¡­ important things we need to discuss in a more appropriate place. I¡¯d hate to keep them waiting for too long.^¡± ¡°~Okay! H-have a nice day M¡ªAria!~¡± With the final hair ruffle, Aria got up and headed out, her smile vanishing the moment she looked away. Her departure left the room in silence, only broken by muffled sounds from the next chamber over. Guess she could try to relax¡ª ¡­ Huh? While she had no delusions about the Mismagius¡¯s inability to read, she at least expected them to have been examining the book she¡¯d brought with herself when running away from home. That turned out to not be the case. The realization took Anne aback, making her investigate just what this book was. Its front cover was someone¡¯s reflection in a shattered mirror, with the cracks spreading radially from their right eye. Quite eye-catching, especially when combined with the title:
COMING TOGETHER: Recovery after trauma
A very¡­ appropriate choice of book, but it didn¡¯t shed any light on how in the world was it here to begin with. Anne only grew more confused by the moment, looking around the room to see where it might¡¯ve come from¡ªwait, where did those bags in the corner come from? Was that one of Mrs. Graham¡¯s old coats!?
Aria hated lying. The moment she left Anne¡¯s room, the Gardevoir had to take a breath and mentally reset. She regretted having to lie to this extent again, even if she knew it was preferable to the alternative. The last thing she wanted was to make her panic at the awareness that her life was dangling on the line drawn by a trio of old coots. To deny her just one day of happiness, of being cared for and surrounded by friendly faces. ¡°Aria?¡± Speaking of friendly faces. The Gallade had already felt much better than the last time she¡¯d seen him. Still in nowhere near a shape to return to scouting duties yet, but enough to bring a smile to his sister¡¯s face. ¡°^Morning, Marco. I¡¯m alright, just¡­ got lost in thought.^¡± ¡°You sure?¡± he asked. No, no she wasn¡¯t. But the rest of the scouts were likely already getting annoyed at her for taking so long, she didn¡¯t have the time to go over every single little detail this terrible situation was woven out of. ¡°^For the most part. Do you feel you¡¯ll be able to come along and give your testimony about what you saw?^¡± ¡°For sure, meant to ask you about that. If they think they can decree Anne out of this place, then they¡¯re wrong. Ember won¡¯t let them and I for sure won¡¯t let them, either,¡± Marco answered, stalwart. ¡°^That¡¯s what I wanna hear! That aside, I¡­ agreed for the kids to come over and meet Anne. She felt mostly positive about the idea, though we¡¯d need someone to watch over them and be on the lookout for Cinder, just in case.^¡± The Gallade blinked at his sister in confusion, very uncertain about how well he¡¯d perform as a nanny. Then again, that was something he was in the state for¡ªonce he got a bit more rest at least¡ªas opposed to any other duty he might have wanted to undertake instead. Including the latter part of what his sister had described. ¡°I-It¡¯d be new for me, and I doubt I¡¯ll be too good at it, but¡­ I can give it a shot. Though, if Cinder comes, I-I doubt I¡¯d b-be able to do anything a-about her...¡± he stammered, earning himself a telekinetic hug from his sister. The warmth made him squirm as he looked up at her, trying to cool himself down after the vixen¡¯s mention. ¡°^We can ask Cypress to stay here for longer, then. It¡¯s no big deal. And~ I think you¡¯ll do fine at watching over Anne. She reminds me of you a lot really, just give her, and yourself, the time to warm up to each other,^¡± she reassured him. ¡°Th-thanks, I¡¯ll try that...¡± ¡°^You got this, I believe in you~.^¡± Marco gave Aria a shaky smile before wincing as he stretched and tried to scan his surroundings. The auras of Anne and Ember being so closely bonded brought an immediate smile to his face, one that wouldn¡¯t wash off soon. ¡°Th-thanks, sis. And, goodness, I had no idea what I was gonna see when Anne¡¯s memories started flowing yesterday, but¡­ the sheer love between them, it¡¯s so sweet it¡¯s almost cloying, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hah! Knew it,¡± a high-pitched voice chuckled from nearby, self-satisfaction dripping from their voice. Both siblings looked further into the tent and blinked in unison at the smug expression on the tinkerer¡¯s front face. Or, at least, the parts of it that weren¡¯t covered in dressings and which didn¡¯t have a cold bag tied to them. ¡°^...Mikiri?^¡± Aria asked, confused. ¡°Yeah~? Just saying I knew these two liked each other.¡± As much as Aria wanted to roll her eyes at the half-truth¡ªthere was a ton more smugness there than just affirming one¡¯s own hunch¡ªthe fact that the Mawile of all people knew it took her aback. As did her presence here, making her ask, ¡°^Why are you here?^¡± ¡°Ask your brother. I was test driving a fixed version of the big human two-wheel with Ori when we had to emergency brake and it all fell apart and sent me tumbling. And then Ori went on about how I was bleeding and nagged me into coming here, and then the healers nagged me into staying the night because something something concussion something. I feel fine,¡± the Mawile explained. It sure was a quintessentially ¡®annoyed Mikiri¡¯ response, but it also only brought more questions with itself. Aria didn¡¯t have the time for any of them, aside from the most important one, ¡°^Uh, huh. How did you know Anne and Ember liked each other?^¡± ¡°The weird thin painting, silly. I¡¯m supposed to be the one that can¡¯t communicate well, and even I picked up on that human and Ember being friends. All that Lumi could go on about when I showed it to him was yapping on about how the human abused her and other dumb nonsense. For all his fancy eyes, he sure can¡¯t see for shit sometimes,¡± Mikiri chuckled, before going for the jugular, ¡°Then again, considering how much meandering there apparently was between the scouts before anyone even considered that obvious fact, I¡¯m not sure how much any of y¡¯all are better at that.¡± The worst part about the Mawile¡¯s words was that Aria couldn¡¯t even dispute them. She was right; their worried uncertainty looked patently absurd in hindsight. Then again, that was simply the magic of hindsight, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°^It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s not always as simple as that when so much is on the line, Mikiri.^¡± ¡°Maybe, but that doesn¡¯t mean y¡¯all should go around trying to cram what you see into the box of your pre-existing biases and ideas as opposed to shaping the latter around the former,¡± the Mawile rebuked. The siblings¡¯ blank look had the metal fairy chuckle to herself, unfortunately aggravating her headache a bit. ¡°What~? I just pay attention to Jovan¡¯s fancy-schmancy philosophizing from time to time. It has some useful tidbits like that, even if most of it is boring as mud.¡± Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to attend some of those themselves some time instead of just trying to convince Cadence and Elric to check them out. ¡°^Seems so, yeah. Well, best we get going, the others are waiting for us,^¡± Aria said. ¡°Don¡¯t let me hold you up any more, then. You gotta do what you gotta do to keep this place safe, and hopefully it won¡¯t include a humanling getting torn away from Ember again.¡± ¡°^We¡¯ll¡ªwe¡¯ll try my best, Mikiri.^¡± ¡°I know that much¡ªnow off ya go!¡±
The Elders¡¯ tent was far from lively at the best of times, and the weight of the situation hanging in the air only made it even gloomier. The present scouts were gathered in a loose semicircle around the central, sunken fire pit. Its gentle, steady flames may have kept the physical frost at bay, but did little to help with the emotional coldness. Aria and Marco¡¯s entrance had some less patient voices reacting with some variation of ¡®finally¡¯, making them roll their eyes as they took their seats; the Gallade leaning on his sister. ¡°^Apologies for the delay. A few things held us back,^¡± Aria said. ¡°None of them could¡¯ve been as important as this! By Orion, such disrespect!¡± a raised, gurgling voice whined. It only gathered eye rolls in response, from most of the audience at that. The Breloom that had muttered it grumbled to himself afterwards, arms extending just long enough for him to cross them as he narrowed his beady eyes. ¡°^There¡¯s a difference between importance and urgency, Elder Winnie. Comforting a scared child is more urgent, even if for some reason we think it more important to decide how we are going to make them suffer,^¡± Aria explained. Her words had most of the tent grow silent except for constantly grumbling Winnie, and the Torkoal beside him. The Fire-type lifted herself up and walked a few steps forward before replying, voice low and slow, ¡°I ask you to stay away from emotional language like that, Aria.¡± The Gardevoir sighed as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As much as she respected the Torkoal, she couldn¡¯t deny her constant pretense of dispassionateness being annoying at times. Still, not something to whine about here and now. ¡°^Understood, Elder Ana.^¡± ¡°Very well. Let us begin this session in earnest, then.¡± As undignified as both the tent and the mons gathered inside it looked, the procedure was taken seriously. Everyone gathered tried to put their most objective foot forward, even if their opinions about this entire mess couldn¡¯t be different if they had tried. ¡°The topics for discussion in this gathering are to be: the current situation about the human, Cinder¡¯s involvement, and the decision of what shall we do with the human going forward. Are these accurate?¡± the Torkoal asked. Her gaze moved around the chamber, each other elder and scout like nodding in acknowledgement one after another. At least, until she¡¯d made it to the very last person on her checkup. The Torkoal gave her a few more moments to hopefully realize what was going on, before resorting to speaking out loud, ¡°Celia?¡± Hearing her name finally took the Primarina out of her mute pondering, gaze jumping from a nondescript spot on the floor to her fellow Elder. The dim, harsh lighting made the many scars adorning her face and arms especially visible. Her right flipper had only a single finger remaining, and she lacked any of the pearls or stars that typically adorned her kin¡¯s heads. Much of the translucent fin and hair that sprouted behind it was missing from the left side of her head, too. With a few strained motions, she pulled herself up to be in line with Winnie; the wheels of the cart that the rear half of her body rested on squeaking as they rolled a few paces. ¡°Present. The topics do sound accurate,¡± she responded, voice just as smooth and soothing as it was the first time the present had heard it despite everything she¡¯d been through. ¡°Very well, let us begin with discussing the current situation around the human. Aria, from what I know, you¡¯ve had the most involvement with them. Could you catch us up with everything you¡¯ve learned so far,¡± Ana asked. Aria shuffled forward a couple feet as the Torkoal backed the same distance, and spoke, ¡°^The human¡¯s name is Anne. She¡¯s a child of approximately the same mental age as Cadence. Two days ago, before dawn, Sprout had spotted her having fallen into the ravine close to the human path, and rushed her into the village because of her grievous injuries. She would not have survived being flown to the nearest human healer¡ªand that¡¯s if we even knew where the healers were located inside their massive town.^¡± As Aria picked her next words, she saw the Primarina¡¯s gaze go wide in shock before jumping over to the dirt beside her. Odd, but she didn¡¯t have the time to pay the Elder further attention before the Torkoal spoke up, ¡°Sprout, can you vouch for Aria¡¯s words?¡± ¡°Yep I can, Elder Ana.¡± ¡°Proceed as you were.¡± ¡°^Anne first woke up yesterday morning. I tried to fool her into thinking she was in a human hospital, but eventually she saw through my lies and panicked. I then told her the truth about the village, as myself, to find out more about what led to her crashing in the ravine,^¡± Aria explained. The corner of the Winnie¡¯s mouth twitched. He clearly wanted to interject at this point¡ªand loudly at that¡ªbut reined himself in to preserve decorum. Celia was back to staring at the dirt, eyes wide and yet focused as her left flipper covered her mouth. Ana remained as stone faced as ever, though that was more so because of her anatomy than anything else. Her veneer of objectivity was taking significant effort to maintain in light of Aria¡¯s actions, the fact only apparent to the Gardevoir. ¡°C-continue.¡± ¡°^Her crash resulted from her having attempted to run for her life away from her abusive family. It was an unplanned, exhausted act of desperation. She has no relatives she can trust to provide her a safe shelter, and no home to go back to.^¡± ¡°Elaborate on that latter point,¡± Ana requested. ¡°^I¡¯m speaking both figuratively and literally. Her parents have abused her to the point of physical harm, and the building of her house has burned down.^¡± All the elaboration had accomplished was making the gathered blink in confusion, uncertain how Aria could even claim to know the latter. The briefest sign of a raised eyebrow crept onto Ana¡¯s expression, before it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. ¡°Explain how you know that.¡± This is where things got trickier to justify. Aria took another moment to clear her mind and glance at Lumi, the latter nodding at her as she got her thoughts in order. He might¡¯ve been cranky and crass, but his loyalty was undeniable. ¡°^Yesterday afternoon, Lumi had alerted me to a human from their nearby town being on the lookout for Anne. Me and Marco interrogated her, at which point she turned out to be someone Anne trusted. She, Olive, felt obliged to search for Anne in light of her disappearance.^¡± Now the contentious part. ¡°^Considering Anne¡¯s situation and uncertain future, I asked her to help us with any human necessities that Anne might need¡ªwith us removing any memories of that encounter afterwards, of course. She agreed and provided invaluable insight and support, including much clothing that had belonged to her.^¡± Aria kept her eyes closed, knowing full well the kinds of glares she was getting. ¡°^We visited Anne¡¯s old house to take any remaining clothing she had left behind. As we were doing so, Anne¡¯s father showed up and attacked us. I incapacitated him in response. He was extremely aggressive, resorting to physical violence without provocation, and we have good reasons to believe he acted similarly towards Anne.^¡± The silence in the tent was thick enough to cut with a knife. Even Celia¡¯s azure eyes were staring at her, though not without any less intense a thought stream behind them. ¡°...Lumi, can you vouch for Aria¡¯s words?¡± Ana asked, no less dumbstruck than others. ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Proceed as you were.¡± ¡°^As we talked to her, Anne kept mentioning an ¡®Ember¡¯, a Fennekin she lived and grew up with. She regarded them as very close friends that she had to part ways with because of tragic circumstances. We also found a lifelike artwork depicting our Ember, but younger, together with Anne, among her possessions. When asked, Ember denied remembering anyone like Anne.^¡± As Aria wrapped up her line, she glanced over her shoulder at Marco; the Gallade nodding intently while rolling his shoulders. ¡°^I ask that Marco be allowed to provide his perspective here, as he was the one to solve this mistery.^¡± ¡°Granted.¡± The Gardevoir passed her brother a couple telepathic pats on the back as he scooted forward to take her spot. His body ached, but it wouldn¡¯t be like him to not push through it. As he gathered words, his sister looked around the room, tallying up how everyone felt about the situation so far. Almost everyone remained focused, even Lumi and Winnie, to her surprise. Sure, in their case, it was tainted with some level of dismissiveness, but their attention was held all the same. Hopefully, they¡¯d be able to evoke the reaction they wanted from them. Something that Aria sadly thought much less possible from the one scout who didn¡¯t even bother stepping into Anne¡¯s room earlier. Lariat wasn¡¯t known for being talkative, sure, but his present silence went beyond that. His expression remained the same stoic flatness as always, one with no thought behind it to add texture. As far as the Lucario was concerned, he already knew what to do before hearing any specifics. Not even because of any sense of misguided intelligence, no. Humans weren¡¯t like them, would never be like them. Not a moral judgment, but a perfectly black and white categorization of an ingroup and an outgroup, one which couldn¡¯t be argued against with emotions alone. ¡°Ahem. After apprehending Olive and passing her off to Aria and Lumi, I thought to ask Ember if she could remember Anne. This backfired¡ªshe had a panic attack, and Cinder s-struck me in anger,¡± Marco said. His dry, croaking voice came perilously close to cracking, but ultimately held. ¡°I thought my investigation was done for, but then¡­ Ember ran over to catch up with me. She still didn¡¯t remember anything about Anne, but my question made her aware of something being wrong with her memory. She then asked to see in Anne in person.¡± Both siblings felt doubt flash through the surrounding minds at that claim. Not something they could blame them for, but ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°I escorted Ember to the clinic and ensured Anne wouldn¡¯t see her. The moment she saw Anne, though, she froze up in panic at feeling that ¡®something wrong with her memory¡¯ much more clearly. From my perspective, it felt as if all memories of just Anne had been removed from her recollection, which my intervention then undid.¡± More hesitation¡ªhow could it have been? That wasn¡¯t like their Ember, shouldn¡¯t have been like their Ember. ¡°As a result of my intervention, myself, Ember, Anne, and Autumn fainted. From the healers¡¯ testimony, Ember woke up first, immediately laid down beside Anne, hugged her, wouldn¡¯t let go when asked, and fell asleep. Following that, we discovered Cinder had fled the village between me speaking to her and Sprout scanning the area for her.¡± The reactions to the finished tale varied. Disbelief, anger at Cinder, shock at Ember having done something so drastic, astonishment. Winnie briefly broke through his grumpy resting expression into genuine concern for Ember; Celia¡¯s eyes went wide as she kept covering her mouth with her flipper, thoughts racing, and Ana¡­ Ana closed her eyes, lowered her head in defeat, and muttered to herself, bringing the tent into a stone-cold silence, ¡°And so it is...¡± The other Elders¡¯ attention snapped to Ana in an instant, neither having any idea what she meant. Scouts were similarly keen on figuring it out, growing increasingly displeased at what they were internally accusing her of. ¡°What... do you mean by that, Elder Ana?¡± Sprout asked, having enough composure to keep her words neutral¡ªeven if not her tone. Her wings itched¡ªthere was something very wrong going on in here. What happened to Ember was a disgrace, a betrayal at the hands of her own guardian, and the one person everyone expected to be objective and rational knew something about it. The fiery tortoise kept pondering in response, making the Decidueye¡¯s expression twist into a snarl. ¡°Elder Ana¡ª¡± ¡°I am thinking, Sprout.¡± ¡°What is there to be thinking about!? A little one had her mind violated to erase what sounds like the only friend she¡¯d had prior to finding her way here, and you seem to know somethin¡¯ about that!¡± the owl shouted. ¡°It is not as simple as that¡ª¡± ¡°Then what is it!?¡± A low, frustrated grumble left the Torkoal in response. As much as she loathed being hurried along, and was of half a mind to chew Sprout out for that outburst, she knew better than to go against the crowd like this. Especially with this emotional an issue. There was only so much nice wording could do to conceal a sad, unsightly truth. ¡°Four hundred and five days ago, the group Ember was a part of first stepped foot into our village. Twenty-one days later, Cinder approached me with a dilemma,¡± Ana began. Aside from the crackling of flame, the tent remained dead silent. ¡°Ember had been getting better at that point. She was recovering from her injuries, making friends, and growing more comfortable thinking of Cinder as her mother. And yet, she still suffered immensely. Because someone she¡¯d known and loved her entire life, someone she wanted to comfort and save, was still suffering in their personal hell.¡± Ana¡¯s posture shrunk, regret making it oh-so-difficult to keep going. ¡°Ember didn¡¯t know why they had abandoned her, but she didn¡¯t care. She was somewhere safe now, and her friend still suffered. She begged Cinder to rescue that friend so that they may be safe here with us. Every single day. She even begged me, the few times Cinder had enabled communication between us in these early days.¡± But, of course, that friend was a human. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what to say. We tried to explain to her it wasn¡¯t possible, and that there was nothing we could do. Our explanations were about as successful as trying to argue a river into changing course. Ember was deaf to them, as she was right to be, for we were both lying, even if that¡¯s not how we thought about it. To permit a human to live with us feels like a heresy even now¡ªback then, it was simply unimaginable.¡± And yet, Ember kept pleading, every single day. ¡°Cinder didn¡¯t know what to do. We have exhausted every avenue of rational argumentation and made no progress. All she knew was that her daughter was hurting, and she wanted her to not hurt anymore,¡± Ana recalled, remembering that day with perfect clarity. The sheer expression of defeat on Cinder¡¯s face, the awareness of just how immoral her idea was. And yet, it was the only one they had. ¡°I¡­ advised her against her idea. But, if it was my little one, and I had been the one unable to help them¡­ I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not a position anyone should ever have to experience the misery of, on either end.¡± The silence that followed only lasted a few tense moments. The Decidueye wasn¡¯t as seething as she was before, but she was still cross as she said, ¡°Regardless of Ember hurting or not, what made Cinder think she had the right to control her daughter like that!?¡± Before the Torkoal could respond, a different, slyer voice joined the chorus of opposition, ¡°Whether it was love or malice, Ember was still hurt all the same in the end, wasn¡¯t she?¡± And then another still, cold and pointed. ¡°^Nor does it explain her outburst at Marco.^¡± ¡°Sprout, Ruby, Aria, I do not know. Cinder¡¯s sins are her alone to atone for. I am not excusing them. I merely want it clear that she had not done them out of malice. She will answer for her assault, she will answer for attempting to obstruct you. If nobody else, Ember will hold her accountable for having her memories tampered with.¡± As angry as the gathered were at the Delphox, they knew they had the chance to solve the impossible dilemma that had led to her actions in the first place. Sprout spoke up once more, out of any semblance of order, pointing the obvious solution out, ¡°Then let¡¯s vote for Anne to remain here, and avoid forcin¡¯ anyone else to even consider doing the fucked up things Cinder has ever again!¡± ¡°A sad story doesn¡¯t make a HUMAN living here acceptable, for Orion¡¯s sake!¡± Winnie shouted. ¡°^With all due respect, Elder Winnie¡ªshut up. Her soul is no different from ours just because she¡¯s a human.^¡± ¡°That is blatantly absurd, Aria,¡± Lariat growled, dumbfounded. His words earned him a few pointed stares, one of them not hesitating to speak up, ¡°Is it now, Lariat? Do you really want to claim she¡¯s inherently evil?¡± ¡°This conversation is not about abstract philosophy, Ruby. It is about the material danger posed to us by that human having knowledge of us and being able to leave¡ª¡± ¡°We all know much more than Anne does, and yet we¡¯re free to walk, Ori. Why would she betray the only place that had offered her safety¡ª¡± ¡°You know how humans are, Marco, why wouldn¡¯t you think th¡ª¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± Despite it only being a clearing of her throat, Celia¡¯s Disarming Voice wasn¡¯t any less effective as a result. The escalating shouting match was defused in an instant; the room¡¯s undivided attention was now squarely on the Primarina. Her eyes scanned the room¡ªas if counting¡ªbefore she spoke once more, now in her normal tone, ¡°I doubt any further argument today will be productive. Considering the importance of this decision as a precedent, I reckon we ought to delay the vote until all scouts are present. It would also give us time to give the situation the thought it deserves.¡± Even once the immediate effects of the Disarming Voice had worn off, nobody in the tent was in the mood for any more fighting. One by one, a chorus of nods answered Celia, regardless of what position each participant thought that having more time would push the rest towards. ¡°Perfect. How does tomorrow¡¯s twilight sound in terms of an appropriate date and hour?¡± the Primarina asked. Once again, no vocal objections. ¡°Let it be so, then. Make haste spreading the news to the rest of the scouts, and may tomorrow bring us closure.¡± With the atmosphere in the room defused, Ana stepped forward to catch everyone¡¯s attention, hoping to close the session. Right as she was about to speak up, though, Celia cut in once more, words aimed squarely at Aria as opposed to the ground before her, ¡°Aria? I have one request in particular for tomorrow¡¯s session. Considering your closeness to the human, you are the best equipped person in the village to fulfill it.¡± A jolt of dread shot through the Gardevoir¡¯s horns at being addressed directly like that. She had no idea what the other Fairy-type was expecting from her¡ªaside from maybe being prepared to administer a memory wipe as soon as they done with the verdict. The mere thought made her want to scream. ¡°^How could I help, Elder Celia?^¡± she asked. ¡°I wish Anne be brought over, so that the Elders could ask her questions directly. I would be the one translating for her.¡± As confident as Celia was in her idea, it was clearly the other Elders¡¯ first time hearing it. Their uncertainty was clear on their faces¡ªthough, as they thought about it, they realized they both had some personal questions they¡¯d ideally have the girl answer in person. Aria shuddered as Ana and Winnie affirmed the request. Both at the logistics of moving Anne over, and at the cruelty of exposing her to a band of strangers verbally arguing about her being worthy of living. ¡°^I hope you aren¡¯t expecting me to subject her to hearing every single argument against her personhood¡ª^¡± ¡°No, no such thing. She can stay unaware of the actual discussion, or even of her purpose there. I just want to have a brief chat with her before we get into the voting proper,¡± Celia clarified. Guess Aria could do that much, even if she really, really didn¡¯t want to. She didn¡¯t want Anne to panic once she realized what¡¯s going on. Though, it¡¯d also be on her to keep the worst of the details away from her attention, then. ¡°^I¡¯ll try, Elder Celia.^¡± ¡°Perfect. Thank you, Aria. You can proceed, Ana.¡± A few short rounds of the ceremony later, it was over. As the scouts departed the Elders¡¯ tent and headed for their duties, the uncomfortable truth of what they¡¯ve learned about the Delphox weighed down on her minds. It, together with the unbearable weight of tomorrow¡¯s decision, pushing them further into dissociation¡ªbe it by performing their scouting duties, or otherwise. Aria fared no better. Once she¡¯d said her goodbyes to Marco, she turned towards the woods surrounding their village¡ªand then; her patrol path. As she did, one hope burned brighter than the rest, bouncing around her head with her every step. I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, mom. Chapter 12: Monster ¡°Eeeeee, do you think she¡¯ll draw me too, grandma?¡± The shorter half of the family may have taken their time getting ready for the big event today, but once they were finally awake and sated, there was no extinguishing their combined enthusiasm. Cadence was busy showing that fact the clearest, having to keep herself from running literal circles around her grandma and brother. Hops, twirls and leaps, the sheer extent of the Kirlia¡¯s excitement enough to overcome the biting cold of the winter morning. Or at least, enough when combined with Safeguard and a long scarf wrapped around most of her torso. ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask her nicely, sweetie~,¡± Autumn answered. ¡°I will! It just sounds so cool, I wish I could draw...¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite sure you already can draw, Cadence~!¡± Elric chimed in. The fairy stopped just to stick her tongue out at him¡ªonly for the Gligar to respond in kind, and much more effectively at that. Any other time of the year, and he¡¯d be down roughhousing on the ground... but no, not in winter. Not when they were on their way towards the mysterious human, either. ¡°You know what I mean!¡± Cadence asserted. The bat cackled as he leaped deftly from one wall to another, making the littlest member of the group join in on the giggles from his grandma¡¯s arms. Bell¡¯s very slow pace may have annoyed his sister when he took forever to catch up, but it also meant that any longer trips would be spent being held by a loved one. He squirmed for the umpteenth time that morning at how nice it all felt. Grandma holding him, a warm blanket around him, they would meet a new friend! What¡¯s not to like? ¡°Maybe Anne will show Cadence how to draw?¡± he asked. He liked that idea, it made him happy to think about. Friends being nice to each other¡ªand of course they¡¯d be friends with the human! Grandma told them she was nice, and nice people meant friends. ¡°Nooooo, she doesn¡¯t need to! I can¡¯t draw, it¡¯d just be a waste of time.¡± ¡°But would you want her to teach you?¡± the Gligar asked. ¡°She won¡¯t be interested, Elric!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that~,¡± Autumn teased, fizzling her granddaughter¡¯s self-deprecating train of thought with a grumble. True, she didn¡¯t know that, but c¡¯mon! Anne wouldn¡¯t wanna waste her time on someone who couldn¡¯t draw at all; she¡¯d have so many more interesting things to talk about! Humans could do so many weird, cool things¡ªof course Anne would want to talk about those instead! Before either Elric or Autumn could egg the Kirlia on, the entrance to the healer tent finally came into view. Cadence wasted no time before bolting straight ahead without a care in the world; the Indeedee¡¯s call to wait getting stuck in her own throat and discarded soon after. Incorrigible, that one. Her loved ones would not have it any other way. The Gligar was only slightly behind his friend, getting him and Cadence all of thirty-odd seconds of head start in confusedly looking around the tent before Autumn and Bell caught up. No Aria, no Marco, the bed that the latter had slept in emptied and cleaned up. Hmm. The healers would probably know something. ¡°Esther? Do you know where Marco went?¡± the Indeedee asked, making the Blissey spare them all a brief look. Tried as she might to fight it, her serious expression melted at the sight of the excited kiddos. ¡°He and Aria left for some scout business, I¡¯m quite sure. They haven¡¯t gotten back yet.¡± That much was clear. Autumn figured Marco would¡¯ve gone with Aria, even if just to provide another vote in favor of letting Anne stay. Fingers crossed it all ended up working out. No way of knowing at the moment, though. Either way, Autumn¡¯s own duty took precedence. Had to mentally prepare everyone else here for a wild human in their midst. Which meant... ¡°Alright. Cadence. Elric, can you both promise me you¡¯ll wait here until Marco is back and don¡¯t go rushing in on your own? Anne¡¯s been through a lot. The least we could do is spare her further anxiety, don¡¯t you say~?¡± Autumn asked, just in time to stop the Kirlia from peeking into the human¡¯s room for herself. She sighed in relief at her emotional appeal working out, even if at the cost of making the older kids grow self-conscious about how would they come off to a complete stranger. Nothing that some gentle affection couldn¡¯t help with, especially when combined with Bell¡¯s best efforts. Anything to make his family feel better, even if he didn¡¯t quite understand why they were sad right now. He loved his family. ¡°Okay, grandma...¡± Cadence mumbled. ¡°Relax, stay out of the healers¡¯ way, and wait for Marco. He should be here any moment now, okay?¡± ¡°Yes, grandma!¡± / ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± Smiles, relief, hugs, a few more pats¡ªAutumn could get out of the healer tent and on her way again. Her task was too important to waste any more time, though she wished she knew exactly how to go about all this. The one idea she came up with during breakfast would be a logistical mess and she doubted other teachers would be too approving of it, but¡ª ¡°Autumn,¡± a flat buzz interrupted her train of thought. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the source of the disturbance. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time, Liz.¡± The Vespiquen hovered in place for a moment, stunned, before catching up with the psychic, ¡°I need the status on the human¡ª¡± ¡°I said, I don¡¯t have the time. Your fancy tallies can wait.¡± Autumn paid the frustration behind her little attention¡ªshe had something more important to take care of. Anyhow; she doubted other teachers would be too approving of her plan but¡­ Their problem, because she was going through with it anyway.
The village nursery was far from the liveliest of places this early in the day. Many of the assorted tykes were either still asleep, or really wished they were asleep. All the warmth wasn¡¯t helping either¡ªeven without the Fire-type Elder to provide warmth, the small fire pit made for a comfortable atmosphere. As evidenced by well over a dozen little ones huddling up close to each other and their caretakers. It¡¯d be a while before everyone was here. And if Autumn had anything to say, today¡¯s ¡®everyone¡¯ would be much larger than usual. ¡°Morning Jovan, Pearl!¡± she greeted, her voice reaching the two caretakers with mixed results. The Wigglytuff blinked away his momentary daze, while the Grumpig looked like she¡¯d been freshly woken up; limbs and curly tail alike stretching to the sound of a held-in yawn. Before either of them could return Autumn¡¯s greeting, though, another voice filled the sleepy gathering first. One much livelier, and much more confused, ¡°Hiiiii Autumn! Where¡¯s Bell?¡± The lil¡¯ Riolu underlined her confusion by glancing around the clearing, neither eyes nor aura having any success in finding her favorite playmate. Head tilts gave way to tail wagging once the Indeedee responded to her question in the most affectionate way, ¡°Hey, Reya! Bell won¡¯t be around today sadly, he¡¯s gonna be visiting Anne!¡± ¡°Awwwhhh... oh oh oh, who¡¯s Anne?¡± ¡°The human at the clinic!¡± Autumn answered. Regardless of how drowsy the two caretakers had been before then, the Indeedee¡¯s clarification had managed to wake them up in record time. As uncertain as the Wigglytuff¡¯s expression might have been, it was the Grumpig that spoke up first, ¡°Hope he ain¡¯t in there all alone, Autumn...¡± ¡°Not at all Pearl, Marco will be watching over him!¡± ¡°Oh, good~. Wait, Marco!? How is he? Why¡¯s he watching over a human?¡± Jovan asked, alarm clear in his soft voice. Autumn took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding, dispensing pets to the lil¡¯ Riolu all the while, ¡°He¡¯s still injured after his encounter yesterday, but doing well overall!¡± ¡°Oh, thank goodness...¡± Reya wouldn¡¯t be the only one receiving affection, either. The fairy balloon flinched a bit as the Indeedee reached over, giving him his own share of pets, before eventually giving in. ¡°Yep! As to the human question...¡± Autumn trailed off, unsure what to say. A part of her wanted to bring up every single thing she¡¯d seen. Every single horrific event the human girl at the clinic had been subjected to. Every tragedy, every strike by the hands of people who were supposed to be her guardians. Every time she¡¯d been treated like garbage at home, or like a monster by the village. She really wanted to¡ªbut there simply wasn¡¯t the time, nowhere near. Instead, she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts before continuing, ¡°It¡¯d take a while for me to explain everything, but the gist is¡ªthe human is innocent. She used to be Ember¡¯s friend. She doesn¡¯t have a family to go back to, and it¡¯s likely she¡¯ll end up staying here for a while.¡± ¡°Ember¡¯s friend, eh?¡± the Grumpig asked, having a hard time visualizing that one, especially with Ember¡¯s fear of the alien in their midst still fresh on her mind. Then again, the Indeedee was all truthful; she could sense that¡­ good gods, what was going on? ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be more than glad to tell you herself once she¡¯s up again.¡± Autumn answered. ¡°Even in the best-case scenario, I worry about how well anyone here would think of a human, even an innocent one...¡± Jovan picked up, still wondering what the hell had happened yesterday once Marco had left with Ember. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to talk with you two about!¡± Most of the little ones were too young to get anything out of the discussion going on above them, to the adults¡¯ relief. That didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t listening, though. Dozens of curious eyes bounced back and forth between their caretakers and the Indeedee, especially at all the mentions of humans and their mysteries. Both Pearl and Autumn were well aware of that, and the latter didn¡¯t shy from using that knowledge. ¡°All the kids are curious about Anne, and she might end up staying with us for a while¡ªit¡¯s the talk of the village. I¡¯ve spent a fair bit of time with her, and I¡¯m rather confident about most things now. How does me taking up a few hours to talk about humans sound?¡± Neither Jovan nor Pearl could deny the utility of an approach like that, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t have their objections. The Wigglytuff asked, ¡°What about your own class~?¡± and the Grumpig followed up, ¡°Ya sure the kiddos are gonna catch everythin¡¯, love?¡± ¡°Well Jovan, that¡¯s why I wanted to bring my class over here as well, reach all the kids at once. And, Pearl... the youngest ones probably won¡¯t, even with translation. But that¡¯s fine¡ªthe important point is teaching them that not all humans are scary and evil, and they don¡¯t need all the details for that.¡± ¡°I getcha, Autumn, jus¡¯¡­ makes me doubt it¡¯ll be any good. ¡®specially if their parents won¡¯t stop going on about how humans are deep down evil.¡± Pearl sighed. That was the one objection the Indeedee couldn¡¯t disagree with. Her shoulders slumped as she admitted defeat on that point, ¡°I know, Pearl. This won¡¯t be enough in case Anne ends up staying, I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m well aware. But it¡¯s a start, and it¡¯s better than nothing, and I want to do anything I can to help. The girl¡¯s been through hell, the same hell as Ember. We owe it to her to try our best.¡± The emotional appeal broke through the caretakers¡¯ remaining hesitancy. Pearl acknowledged the idea with a firm nod, before moving her attention to all the curious, confused little ones. Jovan was almost convinced, too, but there remained a very large hitch, one that had already burned Marco yesterday. ¡°I... can¡¯t imagine Cinder will be all too happy at the idea...¡± ¡°Cinder won¡¯t be an issue today, Jovan.¡± Autumn reassured. Not something the Wigglytuff expected to hear, but effective at bulldozing through his concerns all the same. The ¡®why¡¯ remained unclear, but¡­ he didn¡¯t want to know, either. ¡°Sure~. I believe we can do that then, as long as you can manage your share of the kiddos~.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about it one bit, Jovie. I¡¯ll be going to drag them over now, unless you two have any further objections¡ª¡± ¡°Autuuuuumn... can I go visit Bell?¡± Reya asked, butting into the grownup conversation. Her words earned her a few more pets, but sadly, no agreement. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Reya, but you should stay here with Mr. Jovan and Mrs. Pearl.¡± ¡°But whyyyyy?¡± ¡°Marco will already have to look over four people. It wouldn¡¯t be nice to add a fifth one now, would it?¡± Numbers weren¡¯t the Riolu¡¯s strong suit, but empathy most definitely was. As little as she was, she could still see the Indeedee¡¯s point; tail wags deflating as she grumbled under her breath. Autumn didn¡¯t want to leave her out to dry either, continuing, ¡°How about you come visit later today? He¡¯d love to play with you at our place!¡± Offer of more play¡ªimmediate excitement, redoubling the tail wags. ¡°Yes, please!¡± ¡°You got it Reya! I¡¯ll talk with you later!¡± ¡°Bye bye, Autuuuumn!¡±
¡°Is it true that humans can spit fire?¡± Thankfully, retrieving the older kids from their usual location turned out to be a much easier task. Just the mention of the mysterious human in their midst had most of them perk their heads up in curiosity, regardless of their prior knowledge. And with it easily beating another session of practicing Protect or Safeguard or whatever, they didn¡¯t need any convincing either. The other teachers were a bigger obstacle... at least in theory. Cinder¡¯s absence eliminated the one voice that would¡¯ve absolutely vetoed the idea. With her out of the picture, only one other teacher remained. Autumn knew him well enough to capitalize on his own latent interest in human feats with a few pointed questions. Even better, he¡¯d agreed to grab someone who has had a lot of experience with humans¡ªand it didn¡¯t even sound like the bad sort of experience either. Things were falling into place. Now she just had to stave off the flood of questions until they arrived back at the clearing. ¡­ Guess she could get the sillier ones out of the way already. ¡°Nope, they don¡¯t! They can¡¯t use any moves, remember?¡± Autumn kept explaining. That particular factoid refused to get weird no matter how many times the kids have heard it. It just sounded.. wrong. Deeply, utterly wrong¡ªand yet correct all the same. How could humans just not use moves? What was wrong with them? Just how they could be so fearsome with such a dire handicap? Some of these questions could be answered, some couldn¡¯t, and some¡­ very few people ever wanted to delve too deep on. ¡°But that¡¯s so weird!¡± ¡°I know sweeties, I know. Humans are definitely a bit weird, but deep down, they¡¯re not that different from us, I promise. Alright, we¡¯re here! Please seat yourselves down everyone, and keep mindful of the younger kids!¡± The horde of children of various species and ages took a while to finish settling in place. Most of the littlest ones stuck to their softer caretakers as they were surrounded by the older kids. Of the latter, a few faces coalesced towards the front of the group. Blossom was excited, but couldn¡¯t help but gulp after Autumn gave her a knowing smile. Not everyone had the Dartrix¡¯s enthusiasm¡ªif anything, most didn¡¯t¡ªbut that was Autumn¡¯s job to change, and she felt confident in her own ability. Just need a bit of empathy. ¡°^Alright everybody, thank you all so much for gathering so quickly! It¡¯s a special occasion today, after all! You¡¯re all gonna have a lot of questions, so I¡¯d want you all to raise a limb if you want to ask a question so that we can go through them one at a time!^¡± Autumn spoke telepathically. It wasn¡¯t easy linking up with so many minds all at once, especially not at her age, but Autumn wasn¡¯t gonna show it in her expression. Age, schmage, she could do this. Anything to make this as clear as possible for the listeners. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Anything to give Anne more of a chance. ¡°^As you all probably know now, there is currently a human in our village, inside the healers¡¯ tent. Her name is Anne, and she was rescued by our scouts a couple days ago¡ªyes, Hawthorne?^¡± ¡°Why was it rescued?¡± the Espurr asked, annoyed. Autumn had to hide an inward wince at hearing her words. She could empathize with the kitten to a point¡ªher dad had been on the receiving end of more human cruelty than most, after all... but not the Espurr herself. It always made Autumn grimace a bit to hear her use her father¡¯s past as a cudgel to bash all humans everywhere with. ¡°^Anne was rescued because she got very hurt in the woods. She would¡¯ve died if not for our help.^¡± The Indeedee wasn¡¯t sure whether being blunt was the best approach with so many toddlers around, but if nothing else, it made the older kids get the message loud and clear. Hawthorne wasn¡¯t satisfied with that, but at least she let her teacher continue, ¡°^There¡¯s a good chance she ends up staying with us for good.^¡± For approximately ten seconds. ¡°^Yes, Hawthorne?^¡± ¡°Why!?¡± Focus, focus¡ªshe¡¯s just a kid. ¡°^Anne¡¯s been through a lot, Hawthorne. She had experienced a lot of abuse, and it¡¯s not safe for her to return to her human family. In addition, she used to be friends with Ember¡ª^¡± Autumn explained, stopping as half a dozen hands shot up immediately, the same question reverberating through all the attached heads. She continued, ¡°^I know Ember hasn¡¯t mentioned Anne previously. It¡¯s because she didn¡¯t remember either. There are...^¡± She¡¯d need a cleanse after having to whitewash Cinder of all people, but bringing her up would just derail everything. ¡°^There are reasons as to why she didn¡¯t remember. It was a very scary, very traumatic time for her. Our minds sometimes try to erase terrible memories because of just how much they hurt to remember, and that¡¯s likely what happened here. All this has already scared Ember a lot, and I¡¯d want to kindly ask you all to not barrage her with your own questions about all this, okay? She¡¯ll tell you all if, and when she¡¯s comfortable doing so.^¡± The array of limbs finally began dying down as the kids gave thought to Autumn¡¯s answers. Each, except for one particular Stunky paw, still reaching as high up as the kit was capable of. ¡°^Yes, Zephyr?^¡± ¡°How¡ªhow do we know she won¡¯t be aggressive towards anyone?¡± the Stunky asked. Aside from the voice crack at the beginning, his words with as much confidence as the Stunky could project. Confidence and eagerness, the lil¡¯ one holding position as he awaited an answer. There was an accusation in his question, yes¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t the point, not the main point. Much less interest in the human¡¯s underlying dangers, and much more in potentially being helpful in mitigating them. ¡°^Several reasons! You all might have heard a thing or two about humans being powerless without their tools and yes, that is true. Humans can¡¯t use moves, not even the simple ones. If it¡¯s just their own, they¡¯re almost completely defenseless. That¡¯s something I really want you all to remember. She can¡¯t really hurt any of you, but you all can hurt her a lot. You will have to be much more careful with her than with other kids, especially during any physical play. And... Blossom!^¡± The Dartrix jumped at being pointed out, enough so to end up airborne. She wasn¡¯t holding her wing up; everybody was staring at her. She begged for it to not be what she thought it was as she replied, ¡°Y-yes, Mrs. Autumn?¡± ¡°^C¡¯mere.^¡± Oh no, it was. The selection sent chatters through the other kids as the Dartrix hopped over to her teacher. She wanted to bury herself underground or fly off into the distance, either or¡ªanything but being stared at like this. As much as Autumn wanted the owlet to feel a bit put on the spot because of so flagrantly going against their request to not venture into the human lands, the girl¡¯s reaction made her feel a bit bad. A gentle hug didn¡¯t solve all the anxiety, but was very appreciated all the same, helping Blossom in easing out. ¡°^So, Blossom~. You¡¯ve spent some time around Anne. How would you describe her as? Age and personality-wise?^¡± The murmurs that followed brought back some of her anxiety; the Dartrix of half a mind to just take off there and then. But¡­ depending on what she said, the other kids might end up liking Anne more right out of the gate. She wanted that; she wanted that a lot, especially now that she had a better idea of what yesterday was all about. Anne deserved to be given a fair chance by others here. That realization didn¡¯t magically cut through all the worries, but it was still effective all the same. Enough for Blossom to push ahead, right as Indeedee was second guessing this whole idea. She spoke up, ¡°Ummmm... A-Anne is about m-my age. She¡¯s really shy too, I-I think even more so than I am! She got really scared for a moment when¡ªwhen she spotted me in the clinic¡¯s window, h-heh...¡± Autumn¡¯s sigh of relief was small enough to avoid being noticed by too many onlookers; the answer netting the owlet a couple more pets as it sparked more chatter in the crowd. ¡°^Yep! Anne is just a girl, close in age to many of you, and a really timid one at that. Besides¡ªI¡¯d hope that nobody here would be aggressive towards others without a reason, so I don¡¯t see why Anne would either. *Sigh*, yes, Hawthorne?^¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a human¡ª¡± ¡°And what about that?¡± a gruff voice cut Hawthorne off, catching the attention of most gathered. Their heads turned towards the final two missing faces; neither of them the sort anyone here wanted to upset. Few kids had ever chatted with the Electivire that had just spoken up¡ªhe was known much more for having spent many years in human captivity before becoming a scout than for being talkative. Fewer still had ever seen him don his headgear, a white human-made cap with several blue markings, nestling in comfortably between his horns. Oddly enough, it wasn¡¯t the only¡­ accessory he had brought with himself. Armbands weren¡¯t all that rare as articles of clothing around the village, but arm-Magnemite most definitely were. This one was on the smaller side and asleep if the closed eye was anything to go by. The Electric-type they were leeching from didn¡¯t seem to mind their presence. Flanking them was a Serperior, the other remaining teacher. He didn¡¯t appreciate having to trudge through the snow, slithering his way towards the firepit the moment it came into sight. Amusing as the sight was, the gruff voice continuing pulled everyone¡¯s attention back to the Electivire, ¡°What about her being a human, Hawthorne?¡± ¡°N-n-nothing, M-Mr. Geiger.¡± ¡°I certainly hope so. Well, hello everyone. I¡¯ve been told you wanted ol¡¯ me to ramble on about humans for a while, ah?¡± Geiger greeted the crowd with a smirk. ¡°^Thank you so much for coming, Geiger, and yes! Your point of view is unique in the village, and with Anne being likely to stay for a while, it¡¯s for the best that we all learn more about them. Yes, Zephyr?^¡± ¡°Ooh, will you ask my mom to speak too, Mrs. Autumn?¡± An innocent, excited question, more relaxed than his earlier posturing. Unfortunately, the Indeedee had no idea how to respond to the Stunky. Yes, his mom similarly had a lot of human knowledge, and she used it often as an active scout, but¡­ But. Autumn wanted to be honest, and keeping someone from speaking up just because it wouldn¡¯t be what she wanted to hear was just about the peak of intellectual dishonesty... goddammit. ¡°^If she has a free moment during the day, then I can ask Rose to chime in as well. From what I know, she¡¯s busy today, so let¡¯s focus on the here and now. Geiger, could you describe how much time you¡¯ve spent with humans and in what capacity?^¡± The Electivire straightened out with a proud chuckle, trying to appear as respectable as he could physically manage. Granted, some of that was cut into by the old man cough that went through him afterwards, but he was imposing enough that the kids really didn¡¯t care. ¡°I have spent the first thirty-one years of my life under human watch,¡± he started, earning gasps from all around. Some of them impressed at anyone surviving for that long amongst humans, the rest shocked at any creature being this old. ¡°I used to live... uh... you, over there?¡± ¡°^Grace, what¡¯s your question?^¡± ¡°Who is that on your arm?¡± the Zangoose asked. Geiger gave her a hearty laugh at the choice of her question, one tail curling to pat the sleeping magnet as he answered, ¡°Ha, I wish I knew in all honesty. From what I know, they followed Lumi yesterday and ended up clinging to him by the time he woke up. He tried to get them off but couldn¡¯t figure out how, so he approached me and... now they¡¯re attached to me. In all truth, I¡¯m not sure why they¡¯re here in the first place or why are they so clingy, but I don¡¯t mind. Can always ask one of our skilled psychics to help translate later. Anyhow¡ªany other questions, uh, Grace?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that thing on your head?¡± ¡°Ha! I was about to get to that. I used to live in a large human facility where humans used to make electricity. I¡ªokay, I hope this question is less prejudiced than the previous one, Hawthorne.¡± The teacher in Autumn didn¡¯t appreciate shade being thrown onto one of her students. However, the grandma that wanted to look out for all the little ones, no matter their looks, most definitely did. She¡¯d only held in the chuckle that followed through the sheer power of will. ¡°It¡¯s not¡ª¡± the Espurr tried to cry out. ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°Did humans keep you enslaved there to make electricity for them?¡± ¡°No. Anyway, my duty there, after I¡¯d evolved into an Electabuzz, was much more benign. To the best of my knowledge, my responsibility was to intervene in case of severe emergencies, and either help stabilize the electricity output, or shut the whole system down depending on the severity. You, the Gloom.¡± ¡°^Mint¡ª^¡± ¡°...aren¡¯t humans Normal-types? ....and if so, how do they make electricity?¡± Mint asked, words as engaged as it was possible for a voice this sluggish to be. He leaned in forward as much as he could, awaiting a response. ¡°I think they are, yes. As to how¡ªI wish I grasped more than a sliver of it. Human creations are incredibly complex, even most humans only know about one or two in any detail. For much the same reason, I doubt the one in the village will be of much help answering that question either. From what I understood of it, it involved a very dangerous process that glowed blue, and which we were instructed to stay well away from. That process heated a lot of water to devilish temperatures, and that hot water was then used by a separate machine to make electricity.¡± ¡°...if they just need hot water for electricity, why not heat it directly?¡± the Gloom asked. ¡°I am not entirely certain, Mint. I¡¯d advise not to come up with any half-baked ideas to explain that conundrum, though. Humans are many things, but as a collective, they¡¯re not stupid. I¡¯d even say they¡¯re devilishly smart as a whole, which is good for their ingenuity, and bad for us when it comes to hiding from them.¡± ¡°Which is why we have to try our best to keep hidden from them!¡± Zephyr butted in, his voice once more shining with courageous pretense, even if accompanied by nervous taps on the snowy ground. Before Autumn could chide him for speaking up out of order, Geiger responded, ¡°Correct, Zephyr! It¡¯s all too easy to underestimate any singular human whenever our intimidation or misdirection succeeds, but the mere fact of us having to try as hard as we do proves their intelligence by itself.¡± ¡°But if they¡¯re this devious, th-then how can we trust any of them, even that injured one?¡± the Stunky asked, his voice maintaining his fearlessness¡ªat least, aside from the one, noticeable crack. Thankfully for him, though, it went unacknowledged. ¡°They¡¯re no hive mind, they can just communicate with each other very effectively. On a few occasions, I was asked to help after a part of their electricity infrastructure had sustained significant damage. It was well over a day¡¯s march away, but they knew instantly when it got damaged, and were able to cooperate on the repair effort over even further distances in moments. More than anything else, it was that communication that made the biggest impression on me. Yes, Mint?¡± ¡°...isn¡¯t that Psychic?¡± ¡°Similar in use, completely different in how it functions, from what I know. Suppose no Psychic has that high of a range, Autumn?¡± ¡°^Nope, even from one end of the village to another would be impressive. What you¡¯re describing just isn¡¯t possible.^¡± ¡°Not for an actual Psychic, no. *Sigh*... Hawthorne?¡± ¡°Even with all that ¡®communication¡¯, we wouldn¡¯t need to hide from them if they weren¡¯t all evil!¡± ¡°Define ¡®evil¡¯,¡± Geiger responded flatly. The Espurr was sufficiently taken aback by the task to shut up there and then. On top of having no idea where that question even came from, she just had no idea how to even begin answering it; mewling out ¡®ummm¡¯s and ¡®ehhh¡¯s. ¡°¡®Evil¡¯ is too banal of a label to be useful for this context,¡± the Electivire began. ¡°Imagine... hell, imagine if all the labor in our village was being done by humans, had to be done by humans. Nothing about us as individuals needs to change, merely that we need human labor to survive. None of us would be any more eager to go out and hurt them any more than we¡¯d want to hurt anyone else. We¡¯d simply be aware of the ¡®fact¡¯ that we need to have some humans enslaved, that we need to control them, that we need to kidnap them from their houses if needed, and act accordingly. We wouldn¡¯t hate them, but... if kidnapping one or two was what it took to let our entire village continue existing like it does, then we¡¯d begrudgingly tolerate it. Not as a good thing, but as a necessary thing. Zephyr, go on.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t, we¡¯d know better than that!¡± the Stunky spoke with courage once more¡ªor at least a veneer of it. ¡°How can you be sure? There¡¯s no inner fairness within us that would stop us from doing so. Just think of all the bloodshed being done by feral mons, how needless it ultimately is, if only they knew how else to survive... actually. Ha, I got it! Hahaha!¡± Geiger laughed, waking up a few snoozing tots out of their naps¡ªincluding the Magnemite attached to his arm. He spared the lil¡¯ magnet a chuckle before continuing, ¡°You can simply think of most humans as ¡®feral¡¯, in that way. That¡¯s the only way to live they¡¯ve ever known. There¡¯s no hatred behind it, no targeted animosity, merely cruelty taken as a necessary evil. And just like the only difference between us and our feral cousins is our upbringing, much the same holds true for humans. I don¡¯t doubt the girl in our clinic won¡¯t turn out any more malicious than any of us. Less so if anything, just to overcompensate. Just like we protect ourselves from feral mons that would have us for dinner, so we have to be on the lookout for ¡®feral¡¯ humans.¡± ¡°Except feral pokemon can join the village if they express willingness to.¡± a low, heavy voice interrupted, making everyone turn towards the Torkoal, most adults with a quick bow at that. Geiger limited himself to a tip of his hat, and an unamused look. Autumn¡¯s expression of respect was similarly scuffed¡ªthough in her case, it was caused by concern most of all. What have they decided for Anne? She wasn¡¯t shutting this entire conversation down, so they couldn¡¯t have said no¡ªright? ¡°Indeed, Elder Ana, that comparison isn¡¯t quite perfect. Even then, the only difference is that the feral mons won¡¯t cooperate with each other on a large enough scale to ever pose a serious threat to us. If they could coordinate, there would absolutely be a group of feral mons that tries to overwhelm us to feast on those of us who cannot defend ourselves. It¡¯s simply a matter of organization,¡± Geiger continued. ¡°As opposed to that theoretical, human intervention is a serious and constant threat.¡± ¡°It is, yes, but it¡¯s not because of any inherent human quality. If the girl in the clinic can¡¯t talk to other humans, there¡¯s no risk of the knowledge of us ever spreading through her, and at that point, she¡¯s no more dangerous than any of us. Zephyr?¡± ¡°So we just need to not let her leave the village to communicate with other humans!?¡± Stunky asked, excited at having come up with an idea. ¡°Hold your enthusiasm, lil¡¯ one. Doubt your mom or any other scout would appreciate having to babysit her just to keep her from escaping. More of a cage than a home at that point, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡ªI could do that! I could watch and keep her in here!¡± ¡°I like your spark Zephyr, but these matters need much more careful thought. Besides,¡± the Electivire paused as a thought struck him, fingertips tapping against his other forearm. ¡°I was wrong in my assessment there, now that I think about it. Everyone in our village could potentially make humanity aware of us; by mistake or by oversight. Showing ourselves where humans don¡¯t expect to see our kin, stumbling onto someone the scouts haven¡¯t caught. Deliberate treachery. All those are possible for all of us; the human girl is neither different nor more dangerous in that regard. We¡¯re doing ourselves a disservice if we keep thinking of humans as the sole outlet by which we may expose ourselves to the world.¡± Much to Blossom¡¯s despair, there wasn¡¯t any covert way for her to bury herself underground while remaining unnoticed at that remark. Thankfully, Ana¡¯s response caught everyone¡¯s attention before the Dartrix could feel bad for what she¡¯d done, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine anyone here resorting to treachery against their home.¡± ¡°Neither can I. Which is why I imagine the girl won¡¯t do such an act either if this place becomes her home, and not merely a cage for her to be contained in,¡± the Electivire responded flatly. The Electivire and the Torkoal stared each other in the eyes for a few tense moments; age sharpening their wills enough to not let either relent. A handful of shocks jumped between the prongs on Geiger¡¯s head and through the magnet on his arm, the Steel-type feeling the tension very acutely as the silence grew more uncomfortable by the moment. Autumn used the opportunity to finally answer the distressing question for herself, hoping the Elder would be too distracted to notice her thoughts being investigated¡ªvote deferred. Neither damnation nor redemption, just more of this interminable limbo. ¡°Uuuuuh, Mr. Geiger?¡± the Zangoose¡¯s voice snapped the Indeedee and the Electivire out of their thoughts, the two nodding in unison. ¡°Yes, Grace?¡± the Electric-type asked. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told us what that thing is in your head.¡± The reminder, and the burst of laughter it sparked, did wonders to diffuse the built-up tension. Guess he really forgot to mention that detail, hah. Alright, at that point the kiddos had earned a closer look. With a single, swift motion, Geiger yanked the cap off his head and tossed it towards the Zangoose, catching her off guard. And so did all the static that had accumulated in it, frizzling the Normal-type¡¯s fur all over her body; Grace herself too surprised to even immediately react as the Electivire explained, ¡°That¡¯s just a cap with the symbol of the facility I lived in. Everyone that had responsibilities there had one of these, human and mon alike. This one was modified to fit my head better. Feel free to take a look, everyone. Just be careful with it.¡± Even besides the weird blue markings on the front, the white fabric of the cap was unnaturally well-weaved. It was flawless in a way nothing really tended to be, confusing the older kiddos as it changed hands. The blue parts were incomprehensible geometric shapes that most adults recognized as the fabled human writing, with a simpler symbol off to the side-a circle with three radial, widening arms coming off of it. As much as Geiger appreciated the kiddos¡¯ reactions to his hat, there was one sight he could only shudder at. Shudder, before begrudgingly taking the bait, anyway, ¡°...yes, Hawthorne?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you trapped there, Mr. Geiger?¡± The question quieted the chit-chat, neither Autumn nor Geiger appreciating the swerve of direction towards that unpleasant topic. Still, it merited an answer even if just to be appropriately thorough, as messed up as it was. ¡°In a way, I was, yes. I could only walk around in so much of the facility. I couldn¡¯t leave unattended, or for good. I wasn¡¯t truly free, and I can only imagine the horrible circumstances behind just where my egg originally came from. All those are true.¡± ¡°How can you say that humans aren¡¯t evil then!?¡± Hawthorne screeched. ¡°In which relevant ways does my plight back at that facility differ from the human girl¡¯s current situation?¡± The Espurr was taken aback at such a question, at its downright absurd gall. It was obviously different in so many ways, way too many to speak of, but there was one that stood out in particular, ¡°If she just left, then we¡¯d all be in danger!¡± ¡°From the perspective of humans overlooking me, exactly the same was true of me. I was incomparably stronger than them. I absolutely had the capacity to not just doom them in the abstract, but to single-handedly end their lives in the most violent way without them being able to do anything about it. I had to be contained; I had to be controlled.¡± Not a topic that ever grew any more comfortable to think about, even with the understanding of systemic reasons things were this way. ¡°They couldn¡¯t give me all the freedom I wanted, or even all the freedom they wanted, but on an individual level, they treated me as well as they were capable of. They trusted me, and I returned the favor. I don¡¯t know if they ended up thinking of me as a full-on equal, but that¡¯s how it felt much of the time¡ªup to and including me in their entertainment or discussions even with me unable to speak their language, only listen.¡± Geiger paused for a while to steady his breath, following up shortly after. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m even here is because they broke their rules. The facility eventually shut down, and I was supposed to be moved somewhere else, away from them all, and they covertly let me free. It¡¯s oh-so-easy to assume humans are uniquely evil and that none of us could ever stoop to their level. All that does is a disservice to them, and a disservice to us.¡± Once more, heavy silence. The younger kids stared, confused, as the older ones pondered. Geiger¡¯s description was evocative for most of the audience¡ªbut there remained one key detail that had gotten overlooked in all the deep discussion. ¡°Hmm? Grace, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡ªhow do humans look like? They¡¯ve got to be small if so many of them couldn¡¯t stop you,¡± the Zangoose asked. ¡°Did¡ªdid I end up never going over that?¡± ¡°^Spirited discussion makes us overlook simple things like that, ha,^¡± Autumn chuckled. ¡°That it does, Autumn, that it does. Now, as for humans as living beings...¡± As Geiger got to describing humans¡ªa topic Autumn could actually contribute to¡ªshe took a sweeping look over their audience. Many of the little ones were confused or sleepy, both outcomes very understandable. But, again, not all. Most of the older kids were paying close attention. Concerned, curious, distraught, empathetic towards so many parties. Wishing good things towards the one human that all this was sparked by. She couldn¡¯t quite spot Reya anywhere, but maybe Lariat just got done with his scouting duties ahead of time and picked her up. Wonder how Anne and the kids are doing. Chapter 13: Strangers Where did all these items come from? Anne stared at the couple bags in the corner for a hot minute, colorful plastic full of assorted items refusing to make itself any clearer for her aching mind. She recognized the coat that lay on top of them as belonging to Mrs. Graham, and the title of the book Cypress had been reading tingled something deep inside her brain, but... did that mean what she thought it could mean? Did Mrs. Graham give her some of her stuff and books? That much Anne wasn¡¯t even all that surprised by¡ªthe old librarian has always been great to her, but it still left so many questions. How did these end up here? Did Mrs. Graham know about this forest wonderland she ended up in? Did¡ªdid someone just steal these from Mrs. Graham? So many questions, exactly nothing for answers. It was all dumbfounding, but maybe inspecting the bags¡¯ contents would clarify things? Anne doubted, but it¡¯s not like she had much else to do while she waited for Aria¡¯s family. That whole idea still made her uncertain. She wanted to trust Aria that she¡¯d be alright and her kids would end up liking her, but¡­ her experiences with peers her age hadn¡¯t been the most positive. Add to that the unavoidable personality clash between herself and anyone more outgoing than her¡ªwhich was basically everyone¡ªand it felt like a disaster in the making. And by disaster, she meant just very awkward. Hopefully. Let¡¯s just check these bags out¡­ Anne still didn¡¯t feel very strong, and the progressively returning aching in her left arm didn¡¯t help one bit. Still¡ªa night and day difference compared to the exhaustion of yesterday. Enough so to at least let sit at the bed¡¯s edge on her own. Not before giving Ember a bit more affection, to help her power through the terrible vastness of a few minutes without her human beside her. Alright, ready, let¡¯s¡ª The sheer confusion in her mind had pushed the awareness of the Mismagius in the room out of her immediate attention¡ªuntil now. His sudden reappearance before her made her jump a bit. She remembered something about them feeding on emotions, and the faint flicker of the red gem on Cypress¡¯ front appeared to confirm that. Anne didn¡¯t notice that, though, focusing on his confused expression and a few more non-magical whispers. Could he understand her? Anne didn¡¯t know, but there was no hurt in giving it a stab. ¡°~I-I just wanna take a look at the¡ªat the bags,~¡± she explained. She had no idea whether it was her words or the pointing gesture accompanying them, but the ghost seemed to get the gist. He continued his ghostly mumbles, glancing back and forth between the girl and her possessions. A few moments later, the request was granted, making him float off to the side. ¡°~Th-thank you, Mr. Cypress.~¡± A deep nod of his brimmed head, warm reassurance inside her. Let¡¯s try¡ª Ow, ow, ow. Her legs weren¡¯t quite as weak as she expected them to be, but they weren¡¯t much better either. Even just standing still had them threatening to buckle underneath her, making her wince. As Anne clenched her eyes, she caught a brief glimpse of the Mismagius floating before her again, expecting to be ushered right back into the protective cocoon of her bedding. And not for the ghost to give her a hand. She leaned her weight on him before she could even force out a thanks; the bringer of curses comfortable with the load she was putting on him. There was some pleading in the utterances that followed¡ªor at least, that¡¯s how they felt to Anne. They wouldn¡¯t be fulfilled in either case, not with her curiosity shining even brighter than any aching. She was used to pain, for better or worse¡ªenough to not let it discourage her from making the most of her daily life. Cypress, however, wanted to help on that front as well. The ghost¡¯s eyes closed as his other tendril reached up to touch his side, the chant that accompanied the gesture putting her on edge. Before she could ask what he was doing, she felt a jolt on the side of her body, akin to a large pinprick. It didn¡¯t hurt at all¡ªmore than that; it did the opposite of hurting. The imaginary wound felt like it outright sucked up the pain from the surrounding area, strength returning to Anne¡¯s body with every breath. As relieved as she was, a glance at Cypress made it clear the pain didn¡¯t just disappear into the aether. There was a gleaming gash where he¡¯d touched his body, his crooked expression wincing before finally easing out and refocusing on her once more. Before she could worry about him being alright, the gash began to fade away, and he nodded towards the bags once more. With the Mismagius¡¯ constant support, Anne could finally get moving, one hard-earned step at a time. Each one came easier, each one hurt less¡ªespecially with the ghost¡¯s aid. Progress felt good, good enough to eclipse everything else, hunger included. Just like she was used to. With her not having a spare hand to reach in, the coat-covered bag was off-limits. The items she could make out in the other bag were promising, though. Paper, notebooks, an entire pile of pens, even her pencil case! She was quite sure these were all the drawing supplies she had; everything she¡¯d ever scrounged up. Just¡­ sitting here, safely bagged. Relief wasn¡¯t a substitute for answers, but it was still appreciated all the same. Though, a better look still wouldn¡¯t hurt either. Maybe she could... Her good hand waved to catch the Mismagius¡¯ attention, wiggling in his grasp. Its fingers curled to first point at him, then at her busted arm, and finally made a grabbing gesture and pointed at the bags. Hopefully not too difficult to grasp, and not too painful for her in execution. She hurt, yes, but she could carry a couple of bags over¡ªshe was stronger than just some aching. Ignore the cast on her left arm, ignore the unfamiliar territory. Cypress gave that idea approximately two seconds of consideration before rejecting it, turning his entire body side to side together with some more murmurs. Though, that didn¡¯t mean he had no idea of his own¡ªone he wouldn¡¯t waste time even trying to explain, immediately proceeding with it instead. His purple body half guided, half dragged her toward the entry of the room, taking her off guard. The same was true of her good hand being moved up towards the flaps of the entrance¡ªand then being let go. Before Anne knew it, she was left to hold on to the thick canvas while the Mismagius went on his merry way; her shaking growing by the moment. To his credit, a glance over her shoulder answered her confusion right away. His spectral body visibly strained and stretched as he moved the bags towards her bed by himself, one at a time. Probably a better idea, yeah. She wished she could say it made her feel any better, but it didn¡¯t. Yet another person being forced to do stuff for her and help her out... Trying to distract herself from that unpleasant topic, Anne turned her attention over towards the entrance she was holding onto for dear life. Her own chattering teeth were the loudest thing she could hear, any sounds coming from the other room almost completely muffled out. Maybe she really was just somewhere on her own? Either way, a small peek wouldn¡¯t hurt... Oh nope, there were way more beings in here than just her and Cypress. Most of her attention fell upon the small group chatting amongst themselves on the bed off to the left. One of the Ralts-Kirlia pair must¡¯ve been Cadence and the other Bell, but Anne had absolutely no idea which was which. No idea, and not a whole ton of spare brainpower to ponder on that¡ªnot with the Gligar also being there. School classes spared no time in warning them about the dangers of the feral mons. As far as their climate went, Gligar were way up there in terms of threat they posed to hikers. Anne may have known way better than to give in to scaremongering like that, especially after her interactions with Aria, but the subconscious fear was still there, making her shake even more¡ª *squeak!* The high-pitched sound coming from just off to her side made Anne jump, heart rate spiking as she glanced down at its source. She expected to see danger, but not the teeny Ralts, now on her side of the room¡¯s entrance. ¡°~Wh-wha!~¡± she gasped, startled, any balance she may have had evaporating immediately. As Anne tried to keep herself upright, a stronger yank on the canvas flap tore through the thread attaching it to the doorframe, to the tune of her cut-off gasp. Within moments, she was falling backwards, head right on the collision course with the floor¡ªand then, suddenly, she stopped. Her body was frozen in midair, the makeshift door she clung onto obscuring her view of the situation. The comfortable tingling that surrounded her body gave her a good idea of what had just happened, but her racing mind had to take its time piecing it all together. Panic at her sudden fall. Embarrassment at making a scene. Worry of having damaged her shelter. None of them helped any as she was moved through the air, mind tying itself into knots by the moment. Too paralyzed to consider letting go of the brown flap in her hand, even after she ended up safe and sound on her bed again. Let¡¯s just lay down and forget about this, just be sorry for making all that scene and hope she could eventually apologize to someone for¡ª ¡°^Anne, are you alright!?^¡± a tween girl¡¯s voice called out, no less clear than Aria¡¯s earlier. Anne just wanted to shrivel up. ¡°~I-I am, I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m sorry...~¡± It was the only thing Anne¡¯s mind could even vocalize, be it to itself or externally; the sheer muck at everything she¡¯d just done eclipsing all other thought or sensation. All the pain, all the aching, all the discomfort, all paled in comparison. She messed up bad and she should feel awful about it, just like about everything else about her¡ª Suddenly, a small, warm, tingly hug, right on her covered torso. Anne froze at that sensation, not knowing how to process it in the heat of the moment. Maybe they were just reaching to grab the door she¡¯d accidentally torn off, and this pose was an accident. Maybe they just slipped. After all, she had no idea who it was or why would they even¡ª ¡°^Anne, Anne, it¡¯s okay, I promise!^¡± the voice spoke again, going from concerned to downright pleading. Anne had no idea whether what they were saying was right, or had any clue about what she should do now. All she managed to do was force herself to unclench the hand gripping the flap and let it be taken away, the rest of her body remaining frozen. She heard something that sounded like that girl¡¯s voice speak up with her physical ears. It made her recoil further into her bedding and hope that it wouldn¡¯t be followed with any well-deserved scolding. And indeed, it wasn¡¯t. Something even smaller and equally tingly moved to hug her right arm, while a larger, colder presence wrapped its arms around her left side. The sensation of firm chitin on her bare skin made her jump¡ªonly a bit, though, especially as her mind unwrapped itself from the suffocating panic threatening to smother it whole. Bit by bit, her thoughts made headway in processing her immediate surroundings. ¡°^It¡¯s okay Anne, it¡¯s okay, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong!^¡± the voice continued. It was as direct of a reassurance as she could ever get, and yet it still felt like not enough. Like the speaker was just taking pity on her. Each thought toward that muck had the two huggers on her front and right side hold her closer. Their small, warm bodies grew more comfortable by the moment, their hugs continued to feel undeserved. ¡°~I-I shouldn¡¯t,~¡± Anne mumbled. ¡°^It¡¯s just a door, you did nothing bad Anne! Please, nobody is angry at you, Anne...^¡± the tween voice kept going, having gone from pleading to distraught. It made Anne feel even worse even as her brain tried its hardest to mull through what she was actually hearing. Was it alright, was it really alright? Of course someone would be angry at her after that, she damaged the place. Probably startled someone too. She should¡¯ve just stayed where she was¡ª ¡°^Nooooo, nobody is angry at you, I mean it Anne! Nurse Maple wants to check up on you and take a look at your arm, a-and Mr. Cypress is just worried about you. I-I mean it Anne, please believe me...^¡± Anne¡¯s brain took its time churning through that, right hand shaking after letting go of her impromptu blanket. In no time, it was grabbed by the warm, tingly presence hugging her front. The magical touch immediately stimulated more blood flow, and returned some of the sensation. D-did that voice mean it? Were things really alright? ¡°^Yeah, everything¡¯s okay Anne, I mean it! We¡ªwe¡¯re sorry for startling you like that¡ª^¡± ¡°~B-but you d-d-didn¡¯t do anything wrong,~¡± Anne immediately tried to reassure. ¡°^And neither did you!^¡± The tingly warmth finally made her act and return that hold. Her fingers wrapped around a soft torso, its heartbeat rapid and calming as the other side¡¯s hug tightened. ¡°^Please?^¡± The last addition broke Anne¡¯s mental dam. Her arm reached up to embrace the one that had been hugging her all along, gently pressing them to her front. She heard them gasp quietly, before all the surrounding affection grew even tighter. It felt nice. It felt so much nicer than Anne thought she deserved to feel after a mess up like that... And yet; it was still there all the same, eager to comfort her. ¡°^A-are you feeling better Anne?^¡± the voice asked, relieved. ¡°~I-I think so, yeah...~¡± ¡°^Yay! Do you want me to help take this flap away? Nurse Maple told me she¡¯ll stitch it back together and that it¡¯s no big deal.^¡± ¡°~O-okay. S-still, I¡¯m sorry for damaging it...~¡± ¡°^But you really shouldn¡¯t be! Hold on, lemme...^¡± Anne felt the comforting presence she¡¯d been hugging wriggle out of her embrace and slide off her; skin tingling wherever they touched. Moments later, the entire flap covering her body began to shimmer. It was first lifted upwards by about an inch, before shooting off to the side and falling onto the floor in a heap. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to light, panicked gaze jumping between everyone around her the moment it could focus again. Cypress right above her, visibly relieved. A Gligar to her left, one pincer laying flat on her left shoulder, their expression brightening quickly. To her right, right beside Ember, a Ralts and a Kirlia next to each other. The latter waved excitedly at her, ¡°^Hi! I¡¯m Cadence, and this is Bell and Elric! Are you feeling better, Anne?^¡± It was hard not to feel better with three kids all hugging her, no matter their species. Doubly so when they were trying to soothe her overeager self-loathing. Her mental murk wasn¡¯t quite gone, the thoughts about how she shouldn¡¯t have panicked like that were still alive and well. At the moment, though, the friendly faces around her took priority, especially with the eagerness of Cadence¡¯s voice. ¡°~I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m better now, I think. Th-thank you so much Cadence, sorry for p-panicking like that...~¡± Before Anne could finish that thought, another burst of affection came from around her. She would be smothered in it today no matter what her stinky brain thought of that, and she best get used to it quickly. ¡°^I mean it Anne, it¡¯s really all good! Do you need help with sitting up? Nurse Maple still needs to look at your arm.^¡± ¡°~Oh no no, I th-think I can do it myself, lemme...~¡± It was all the cue everyone around her needed to let go for a moment, freeing enough space for the injured girl to sit up. The sight before her let her connect the name she heard Cadence throw around with an actual face¡ªone of a relieved Leavanny. Maple sighed in relief at seeing her doing better, before pointing at her injured arm. Anne twisted her body to the right, sticking her left arm as far out as she could manage. ¡°~O-okay, is this enough?~¡± she asked. Before Cadence could even forward the question on, the Leavanny went ahead with her treatment. She honed in on a patch of exposed skin and reeled her arm back; the purple glow that enveloped its tip bringing immediate worry¡ª Before she could act on it, though, it was already too late. The Poison Jab struck true, immediately undoing the built up aching, the paralytic warmth bringing relief. ¡°~Oohhhhh¡­ th-thank you, nurse.~¡± The message was received with a curt bow, followed by a moment of hesitation. And then, moments after, one leafy arm reached up to pat her head, sending her squirming to the amusement of everyone else. It felt... really, really nice. The same couldn¡¯t quite be said about the Leavanny proceeding to turn towards Cypress and do something that could have only been chewing him out, making him flinch a few times. By then, though, Anne¡¯s attention was already dragged away elsewhere. ¡°^Are you feeling better now, Anne?^¡± Cadence asked. She was, she really, really was. Anne wanted to express the sheer relief Cadence¡¯s persistent affection had brought, making her arm twitch as if trying to hold the Kirlia tight. It stopped shortly after, the uncertainty over how it would be received giving her a pause. Should probably ask first, but shouldn¡¯t be a bother¡ª ¡°^Anne?^¡± The worry in the Cadence¡¯s voice had Anne looking at her, eyes locking with hers. She didn¡¯t know what she expected the fairy to do, but dispensing another hug was the obvious choice in hindsight. Bell followed in tow beside her, doubling up on the affection moments later. ¡°^I don¡¯t want you to be worried, I¡¯ll tell you if you do something I don¡¯t like! And I love hugs, hehe. And so does Bell, right Bell?^¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Bell¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t have sounded any older than three years old or so. The precious sound immediately made Anne¡¯s good arm return the hug around the two little psychics and the bat¡ªand check up on Ember, just in case. Still fast asleep, not even close to waking up. She really must¡¯ve been exhausted after what happened yesterday¡­ ¡°~Okay, I¡¯m just... not used to this. Thank you Cadence, a-and Bell, and Elric...~¡± ¡°^You¡¯re welcome Anne! I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m really glad to finally meet you! Oh, oh¡ªwhat¡¯s Ember doing beside you?^¡± the Kirlia asked. Anne didn¡¯t expect to hear her resolute reassurance give way to uncertain giddiness, at least before it took another left turn towards curiosity once more. Aria had told Anne her kids were excited to meet her, but she wasn¡¯t expecting that to be so... literally true. The hype was clear to sense in Cadence¡¯s voice, taking her aback. There was the question of how much she should tell the kiddos about her and Ember, but the basics wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°~I¡ªI¡¯m glad to meet you three t-too! Aria had told me you were gonna visit. A-and Ember is my old friend, actually! I-I haven¡¯t seen her in so long, and Aria told me she was excited to finally see me again!¡± Gasps from Cadence and Elric, followed by Bell¡¯s a few moments later. Giddy to hear about something their friend hadn¡¯t ever mentioned. ¡°^Really!? That¡¯s so cool!^¡± Cadence squealed. ¡°~I-it is, it really is. I just hope my first impression after all this time won¡¯t be too bad. A-and that it wasn¡¯t too bad with you th-three...~¡± Who was she kidding, it really was, good gods. Before Cadence could respond with anything, it was Elric that spoke first; the Kirlia intervened with the translation just in time. ¡°¡ªy did you freeze like that, Anne? With the door and all. You tore it by accident, right?¡± ¡°~I¡ªy-yeah, I did, it¡¯s just...~¡± Anne paused, lost for words. How could she even explain any of this? Details would help, but they¡¯d be probably very inappropriate for a trio of kids that didn¡¯t sound even close to ten years old. Not like she was much better on that front¡ªher eleventh birthday was still a week away or so. She felt more mature than that, at least. Whether it was for any good reasons, she doubted. Probably shouldn¡¯t tell them everything, or even most things... ¡°~I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m not used to my mess-ups going unpunished.~¡± ¡°^But you didn¡¯t mess anything up, Anne!^¡± ¡°Who would punish you for that?¡± Cadence¡¯s reassurance was welcome, but Elric¡¯s question made her wince. The answer was as straightforward as it was monstrous, deep down. She didn¡¯t want to traumatize these kids, but¡­ didn¡¯t want to lie, either. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°~M-m-my parents...~¡± Elric and Cadence were too stunned to respond right away. Their little bodies shook as Anne¡¯s conscience screamed at her for telling them that. What the fuck was she thinking? They wouldn¡¯t understand, and even if they would, they¡¯d get messed up. Aria would be furious, and¡ª ¡°But that¡¯s mean!¡± Bell cried out, words equally innocent and inarguable. ¡°~Y-yeah, my parents are mean...~¡± Anne admitted. Two tight hugs from each side, Bell¡¯s trailing close behind. Followed soon after by another piece of his toddler wisdom, ¡°My mom and dad aren¡¯t mean. Maybe they could be your mom and dad, too?¡± ¡°^Bell, that¡¯s not how that works...^¡± Cadence chided. The idea was silly, but Anne¡­ Anne couldn¡¯t help but think upon hearing that. The offer was absurd, yes, of course it was, but... gods. She might not have spent all that much time with Aria in the grand scheme of things, but she¡¯d be lying if she said the Gardevoir didn¡¯t make her feel safe. Safer than anyone and anything ever since her grandma had passed, confident about everything ending up alright... It was just yet another impossibility, an absurd idea brought up by a toddler, but... but. Anyway. Everyone noticed the somber atmosphere filling the room, but nobody knew how to deal with it. Elric eventually got an idea, though, a chittered giggle leaving him before he leaned in towards the Kirlia, ¡°Oh, Cadence, didn¡¯t you mean to ask Anne about something~?¡± The human herself was taken aback at that message, and especially at the stammers that left the Kirlia afterwards, ¡°^Elric! C-C¡¯mon, that¡¯s n-not the time!^¡± ¡°~Not the time for what?~¡± Anne asked, and Cadence almost combusted in embarrassment. A red blush took over her cheeks as she looked away, much to the other girl¡¯s surprise. Did¡ªdid she do something wrong? No, no, she didn¡¯t, but if not, then what was happening? What was she so shy about? ¡°^N-nothing! Forget about it, it¡¯s fine¡ª^¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Cadence, you were so excited!¡± the Gligar teased. ¡°^Elric! She doesn¡¯t need me being a baby right now!^¡± ¡°~What were you excited about, Cadence?~¡± Anne asked. Critical hit, even more fluster sprouting on the Kirlia¡¯s cheeks. A part of the human girl worried whether she¡¯d done something wrong again, but the rest of her wanted to comfort the smaller, if not necessarily younger, girl. She held Bell and Cadence to her front, the former squirming as the latter threatened to catch on fire in embarrassment. ¡°Teehee, she wants you to¡ª¡± Elric spoke; the translation yanked out from underneath him before he could finish the sentence. The rest of his message was delivered in hisses and clicks, the abrupt shift making Anne jump. It was sudden, but also quite rude, especially since she still didn¡¯t have any idea about what was going on in here, or why Cadence was so skittish about any of this. Guess it was time for her to figure the other girl out. ¡°~Cadence? I didn¡¯t hear what Elric said there. Did you want me to... do something?~¡± ¡°^N-no, no, it¡¯s just¡ªit¡¯s just something childish, don¡¯t worry about it...^¡± ¡°~You helped me out of that bout of panic; I¡¯d love to do something in return for you! E-even if I don¡¯t have much a-and can¡¯t do almost anything in comparison...~¡± ¡°^But that¡¯s not true, you can draw very nice¡ª*eep!*^¡± Cadence reassured before her hands snapped over to cover her mouth at the accidental slip up. Beside her, Elric broke into amused, chittering laughter. If the Kirlia wasn¡¯t so focused on being embarrassed, she would¡¯ve given him a stink eye. ¡°~Oh? Do you want me to draw you Cadence?~¡± If the fairy freezing up was anything to go by, Anne had just nailed it, making her break into soft laughter. Seeing the reassuring and affectionate Kirlia be reduced to a blushing, squirmy mess was adorable¡ªnot to mention funny. ¡°~Oh Cadence, I-I¡¯d love to draw you! It¡¯d be my pleasure!~¡± A quiet gasp of surprised relief. The fairy turned to look up at her with borderline puppy eyes from her vantage point on top of her thigh. They weren¡¯t needed to get what she wanted, but they helped warm Anne¡¯s heart even further. ¡°^R-really?^¡± Cadence asked, awestruck. ¡°~Yeah, of course! I just need some pens and paper... actually, I could use colored pens for this! Need my pencil case and a clean page, I think they¡¯re in that bag over there¡ª~¡± Before Anne could even point out which bag she meant, it was already being dragged over to her. The bright glow of Cadence¡¯s Psychic kept popping on various objects around the bag, as if wanting to move them all out but unsure which to grab in specific. It was adorable, enough so for Anne to give Cadence another tight hug, much to the latter¡¯s embarrassed squeak. ¡°~Thank you! I think I can reach in and take what I need myself now. And you could get in the pose you want me to draw you in maybe?~¡± ¡°^EEEEEEEE YES YES YES YES THANK YOU THANK YOU ANNE!^¡± Cadence¡¯s mental voice suddenly going to max volume made Anne wince, but she couldn¡¯t linger on that discomfort for long. The Kirlia bounced off from her lap and struck a pose while the human dug through the pile of items, making mental notes of everything she found. Stationery, paper, a lot of whatever scraps of clothing she left behind at home. Underwear and socks and... period products. Guess¡ªguess she would need those eventually, but still, *eww*. The ickiness of having to think about her own biology didn¡¯t last long, thankfully. Not once she had excavated the small stack of pages from the assorted items and dropped off on top of the bedding. It was flanked moments later by her pencil case, catching the attention of Bell in particular. Now just to find the right scrap of paper to scribble on, ha. ¡°^Oh oh oh oh what are those Anne!?^¡± Cadence squealed, hyped about every last one of Anne¡¯s magical human items. Right, figures nobody here would know the specifics. ¡°~This is paper! It¡¯s like... I think it¡¯s made of wood but just really, really really thin and can nicely bend and be drawn on. I have a lot of loose pages here, take a look!~¡± Anne explained as she passed the topmost page over to the Kirlia, Elric helping himself out to one right afterwards as well. The tweens toyed around with the new and exciting material as Anne pilfered through the stack in search of the right piece of canvas. As he searched, Cadence¡¯s worried voice interrupted her, ¡°^Oh A-Anne, what¡ªwhat are these...^¡± Oh shoot, gave her one of the spooky ones, didn¡¯t she? ¡°~I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m so sorry Cadence, here, try this one, this one is just... some practice I was doing...~¡± ¡°^B-but why are they bleeding?^¡± Anne soon replaced the page of sketches with a different one, letting her properly examine what had unsettled the fairy. There wasn¡¯t anything too disturbing in there¡ªnot by a human metric, at least. Still, unnerving. A few practice sketches of how blood would flow down a finger from a small pinprick. Rough trace of her inspiration for these drawings. A half-complete sketch of a crown of thorns, discarded once it had grown too messy. ¡°~I was¡ªI was just trying to draw how flowing blood would look like. There¡¯s like¡ªthere¡¯s one artwork I can show in a bit that really inspired me with these, e-even if they¡¯re all really creepy. I-I don¡¯t like actual blood either, don¡¯t worry, I just think you can do cool stuff with it in art. A-and it made me experiment a lot...~¡± With every word, the creeping feeling of trying to justify drawing messed up stuff only grew. Her eyes soon fixated on a recently dredged up empty page, self conscious filling her rattled body. Cadence was still shaking off the unnerving sight, even if she really wanted to comfort Anne as well. Elric didn¡¯t know what was wrong with the sight of a little blood, left confused by the whole situation. All that left Bell to deal with the situation. And deal with it he did, mumbling as he splatted on Anne¡¯s front, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Anne. Nothing bad happened!¡± He might not have had the vocabulary to reassure others as effectively as his mom and sister did, but the will was definitely there. His teeny head craned up to look at her once he¡¯d finished delivering his comforts, trying to see if they worked with all his senses. And work they did, though mostly through the means of sheer cuteness. No matter the exact mechanism of function, the gesture was appreciated all the same. ¡°~Thank you Bell, I-I needed to hear that.~¡± ¡°Okay! *Gasp!* I didn¡¯t ask! Can we be friends?¡± the Ralts asked. The entire room erupted into giggles of various intensity, everyone but Bell amused at his wonderfully innocent question. The tyke himself just looked around in confusion, squeaked out ¡°What?¡± only fueling the surrounding laughter. ¡°~Yes, yes we can, Bell! W-we can all be friends!~¡± ¡°Yaaaaaay! Thank you, Anne!¡± Another splatted hug, just as nice and warm. Right as the human girl was about to start her handiwork, the affection made her decide to delay it just that bit more. She put the pencil down, taking Bell aback before using that opening to counter attack the lil¡¯ Ralts. Her gentle scratches on the side of his head were super effective, his entire teeny body wriggling happily under that magical influence. His hands latched onto her own and held it close for a while afterwards as they both calmed down, giggles taking their time to subside. ¡°^Bell...^¡± Cadence chided. ¡°~Hehe, it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry Cadence! Your brother hasn¡¯t done anything wrong either.~¡± Elric cackled as Bell finally let go of her hand¡ªthough he wasn¡¯t even considering leaving her lap. She couldn¡¯t blame him¡ªit¡¯s not like she wanted him to leave, either. Just had to grab the pencil and she could get to sketching. ...oh? Her eyes scanned the surrounding bedding, trying to spot the soft pencil she loved sketching with. It¡­ seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Oh well, had to pull another one out of her pencil case¡ªhey! The louder giggle beside her finally clued the human into what was going on. Elric was holding both her chosen pencil and the rest of the pencil case in his pincer and tail, respectively, just barely within reach. Anne was unsure how to react, not wanting to ascribe malice, but also too spooked to act with his stinger and all. ¡°Elric, give those back!¡± Bell squeaked before trying to retrieve the items himself. His bluish aura enveloped the pencil¡ªbefore it was yanked out of it. His arms kept reaching towards where his psychics surged, each time for naught. The Gligar looked very amused, this was clearly play, so might as well¡ª Anne¡¯s attempt to grab the pencil case had the tail and its stinger slide away so fast it was little more than a blur, startling her. By the time Elric had stopped, he was already latched onto a support at the edge of their room, taunting the rest of the group by sticking out his tongue. It was funny, yes, but Cadence could tell that it had missed the mark with Anne. ¡°^Elric¡ª^¡± ¡°Elric, give back!¡± Bell cried out. Once more, the pencil was yanked out of the little psychic¡¯s mental grasp; once more the bat followed it by scampering up the wall, ending up suspended under the ceiling. Neither of the boys showed any signs of stopping, but Anne was still a bit rattled, and Cadence realize they were taking it all too far again. ¡°^Elric, please stop!^¡± ¡°But we¡¯re just play¡ª¡± Cypress broke his previous silence, catching the attention of most of the room and making Cadence fix the link between him and Anne she only now realized was missing. A glance at the ghost showed him to be perusing the books in the other bag, a glimpse at their covers making the human gasp in excitement. Did Mrs. Graham give her that book about a fantasy mon civilization after all? That would¡¯ve been so cool. Anne loved that one and read so much of it that its back had started to give out. She always worried that Mrs. Graham would be mad at her for damaging it. ¡°Give it back!¡± Bell tried his luck once more, even more forcefully than before. The bat only barely managed to keep a hold of the precious piece of treasure¡ªand then, not anymore. *crack!* The loud sound plunged the room into silence as the pencil snapped in half at the sudden force; both pieces immediately getting dropped onto the carpet. ¡°^Elric!^¡±, Cadence called out, upset. If the Gligar hadn¡¯t already been distraught at the sight, the Kirlia¡¯s shout would¡¯ve made him. But he was; now even more so. His body language shrunk as he let go of the pencil case, some of its contents splatting out onto the floor upon impact. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I-I-I j-just got carried away with it, I¡ª¡± ¡°^You broke it!^¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°~Hey, hey, it¡¯s okay.~¡± Anne reassured, snapping the kids out of their bickering before they could grow any more incensed. She was still a bit unnerved, wasn¡¯t happy that one of her best pencils had some lifespan taken out of it, but ultimately nothing bad really happened. Definitely not bad enough to justify anyone being mad at anyone else. Other than her, at least. ¡°~D-don¡¯t worry Elric, I can fix it easily and even use it broken like that. It¡¯s not a big deal. J-just... c-could you not yank these away in the future?~¡± The human¡¯s comforting side ended up on top amidst the mental slurry of thinking about how to react to Elric¡¯s shenanigans. She wasn¡¯t a fan, and had hopefully conveyed that, even if the last thing she wanted to do was to make the Gligar feel bad for any of it. ¡°O-okay. I¡¯m sorry, I-I just did it because it¡¯s f-fun with Bell¡ª¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t! It¡¯s mean!¡± the Ralts denied. Elric really didn¡¯t need that double whammy. The whimper he let out was so close to ultrasound that most gathered only barely heard it. And while Cadence agreed her playmate needed a dose of reality like this, he was still her close friend, and he was hurting. She wanted to help, and directly at that. Her eyes and body became surrounded by a pink sheen before she hovered in the air. Psychic flight took her to her friend underneath the ceiling, right into her arm''s reach. ¡°Not fair, I wanna hug Elric too!¡± Despite his offense just moments prior, the lil¡¯ Ralts couldn¡¯t ever resist being affectionate. His sister giggled at his silliness, much to his confusion. Cadence¡¯s glow expanded to cover the bat as well before she levitated both of them down onto the edge of the bed, right in front of the human. Bell acted in the only way he could¡ªnamely, by scrambling ahead and squirming in between his sister and friend, his teeny body not coming close to fully embracing either of them. Anne, of course, followed in tow. This felt nice. It was so, so nice to be able to do something, anything at all, about people being mean to her, intentionally or otherwise. Back in Mylock, all that her speaking up would accomplish would be to make the offender double, triple down, anything but acknowledge they did something wrong. Anne wished she could say it was just boys, or just kids either, but no, it wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t ever just any particular group. Maybe there was something wrong with that entire town, maybe with humans, deep down. She didn¡¯t want to consider that idea, but... sheesh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Anne...¡± Apologies were mostly unheard of either, making Anne almost do a double take. ¡°~I forgive you Elric, don¡¯t worry. Though~ if you could pick up all the stuff you dropped, that¡¯d be nice.~¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Elric responded, immediately disentangling his hug and going to work, to the others¡¯ amusement. It was nice for people to be on the same page again and for the Gligar to hopefully knock off that type of ¡®play¡¯ for good. Cadence appreciated the former, and Bell the latter¡ªand both were relieved that their human maybe-friend was feeling better now. The Kirlia wasted no time bouncing back to her previous spot and resuming her pose, a touch of Psychic letting her maintain impressive levels of balance on just one leg. Her head and hand alike reached for the skies, beckoning as if asking the sun to stay in the sky for just a bit longer, or the moon for just a bit more of its soothing light. Or at least, that¡¯s what Anne ended up reading into the pose once she got to sketching, half a pencil gliding over the page. Each stroke further solidified the fairy¡¯s anatomy, Anne¡¯s thoughts swirling around them as she put them to ink¡ªor rather, graphite. The weird, almost segmented legs, the short flaps of her skin dress, the two fingered hands. The piercing red eyes, imposing despite the Kirlia¡¯s visible excitement, expression, parted by her kin¡¯s signature hairdo. And, of course, the twin red horns their kin were so known for, the same color as her eyes. The very same horns letting Cadence narrow down just what Anne was focusing on at that moment. She couldn¡¯t deny it felt weird being eyed in that kind of detached, almost objectifying way. Then again, she supposed it made sense with the focus on wanting to capture how she looked. There were plenty of parts of her best friends that looked weird the moment she paid any attention to them¡ªshe shouldn¡¯t have been surprised that the same was true for her as well. Heck, it was true of Anne, too. Her hands were so weird and stretched, her whole body was so boney, especially around the neck and shoulder area. It was almost creepy to look at! Okay, maybe she should shift focus to something else. She didn¡¯t want to think of Anne as weird, just like Anne didn¡¯t really think of her as weird either. Or... well, not exactly ¡®weird¡¯. Cadence¡¯s focus let her know there was something in Anne¡¯s mind that was quite off; a tinge of fear deep inside, one currently obscured. Fear of her entire kin, the details too inexact for her to make out. The idea made her feel bad to even consider. She already felt self conscious about a few of the other kids that got spooked by her from time to time. All she ever wanted to do in situations like that was to help them not be scared, but¡­ mom was clear that Calm Minding or otherwise manipulating someone this way was mean. Even if to make them not scared of her. Cadence tried her best to take that advice to heart. Even with Anne¡ªshe really, really wanted to help her more directly when she was feeling terrible about herself, but didn¡¯t. Because that would be mean. The Kirlia didn¡¯t want to be mean, she wanted people to like her. She wanted everybody to like her. ¡°~Alright, I think that¡¯s linework done. You can come here Cadence, I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll be coloring in now!~¡± Cadence leaped over, covering the entire distance between herself and Anne in one jump. She had to resort to telekinesis to soften her landing, sure, but even with that caveat, her jump was impressive, right? Right? Even if it was, it paled in comparison to what Anne had made there. Cadence let out a quiet ¡®wow¡¯ as she scanned the linework, giddy at seeing herself captured so accurately like this. All the little details, even the ruffling on her hair or how her flaps laid against her thighs. It made anything she¡¯d ever made look like the simplest and ugliest of baby drawings in comparison, the kinds that Bell¡¯s playmates would make in the sand. No way anything she ever made would be half as pretty¡ª ¡°~Cadence?~¡± ¡°^Oh, sorry, I just got lost in thought. This is so pretty, Anne! How do you draw like this?^¡± ¡°~You mean, with a p-pencil?~¡± ¡°^Nooo, I mean this nice! It¡¯s so pretty...^¡± The Kirlia acutely felt Anne¡¯s embarrassed chuckle as the girl filled in the outline with shades of green and red. And once she did, there was no coming back. ¡°^I mean it Anne, it¡¯s so cool!^¡± ¡°~Noooo, it¡¯s really not, I¡¯m still learning a lot¡ª~¡± ¡°^But that doesn¡¯t make it any less cool!^¡± ¡°~But I¡¯m not cool!~¡± ¡°^Of course you are! I wish I could draw anywhere like that, o-or do anything else this cool...^¡± ¡°~B-but you do, you¡¯re plenty cool Cadence, all the telekinesis and¡ª~¡± A gruff voice coming from the room¡¯s entrance ended the flustered exchange on the spot. The torn door had been fixed in the meantime, but everyone¡¯s focus rested instead on the Gallade peeking into the room. Right, Aria mentioned her brother would watch over them, and they went right ahead with it before he got here. Oops, hopefully he wouldn¡¯t be mad... Similar thoughts cruised through the minds of everyone else, the sudden coolness immediately taking the newcomer aback. He shouldn¡¯t have been this forward. He took a deep breath, made sure everyone could hear him this time, and spoke up again, ¡°^It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry, I just thought Autumn told you all to wait until I got here.^¡± ¡°^She did, uncle, but Anne tripped and fell and I helped her and she got scared and¡ª^¡± ¡°^Hey, hey, I meant it, Cadence. It¡¯s really fine,^¡± the Gallade reassured. Aria would know what to say to comfort all the little ones¡ªall he could do was stumble and hope he could accomplish a fraction of that. Still, he had to try, especially with Anne being clearly as unnerved by him as she was. It left him feeling self conscious as all hell, but it wasn¡¯t the time for that. It was time for keeping composure and being the guardian the kiddos needed. Marco¡¯s imposing size, relative to everyone else in the room, made Anne shrink as he walked over. He kneeled beside the bedding¡¯s edge to lessen that disparity, only enough of his body peeking up to be closer to everyone¡¯s eye level. Before he would do anything else, though, it was time to introduce himself to the one girl he was here for, in as affable a way as he could manage, ¡°^Hey Anne, my name¡¯s Marco. My sister asked me to look after you all, though from what I can see you¡¯ve all been behaving well enough.^¡± ¡°Well enough is certainly the appropriate descriptor here¡­¡± Cypress¡¯s aside made the Gallade chuckle and the two older kids grumble a bit, but Anne was still uncertain. She wanted to trust the freshly introduced Marco, but his stone-like expression and somewhat ambiguous tone left her conflicted, nodding weakly at his introduction. It worked away at his confidence about being well-suited for any of this. Self-consciousness about never being able to stack up to his sister soared once more, almost making him give up there and then¡ªno, hell no, Anne needed him. He could do this, just had to take a deep breath and... be honest. ¡°^I¡¯m... not as good at being warm as Aria is, and I¡¯m sorry for that. Still, I want you to feel as welcome here as can be, Anne, especially after everything you¡¯ve been through. Would you... would you want a hug?^¡± he asked. Marco¡¯s words, and the contrast between them and his stern appearance, took Anne aback in the best way. Any preexisting worries soon turned into much warmer, much kinder compassion. The girl figured that not everyone would be equally good at being warm, even if they were trying their best. Moment by moment, the imposing knight felt more and more like Aria¡¯s next of kin. ¡°~I-I¡¯d love a hug, thank you, Mr. Marco.~¡± ¡°Yay, hugs!¡± Yay hugs indeed Bell, yay hugs indeed. The resulting scramble to get everyone in on the embrace was a bit awkward, but no less heartfelt because of that. All the affection was really getting to Anne, the worries¡¯ grip growing weaker by the moment. Ember was safe and still snoozing right next to her; Aria and her family were really nice to her and already felt like friends; they were both safe in here. Her appreciation of this village in the middle of the woods only grew by the moment, as did the deep relief in her body at being able to stay here for good. Even if he wasn¡¯t anywhere near as good at this as his sister, the sheer proximity made Marco overhear Anne¡¯s relief. He had to use up his entire composure not to wince in response. He knew the rest of his family were doing everything in their power to ensure that would come to pass, but... the uncertainty still hurt, and it hurt deeply. The things he¡¯d seen inflicted on her, by fate, by her own damnable parents, even by the Elders through their words. No matter what these old coots thought was appropriate for Anne, he wouldn¡¯t let her be hurt ever again¡ª ¡°^Uncle Marco?^¡± ¡°^Oh, sorry Cadence, I was just thinking about something, it¡¯s all good.^¡± It wasn¡¯t, but thankfully he knew how to keep his thoughts secure from Cadence and Bell. His niece wasn¡¯t convinced, though. Even if she didn¡¯t know what he was thinking about, his feelings were an open book, worries palpable to the lil¡¯ fairy. She was about to ask what was wrong before Marco redirected the discussion somewhere else, spotting an interesting piece of art in the corner of his eye. ¡°^Heh, convinced Anne to draw you, eh Cadence?^¡± ¡°~N-naw, I-I didn¡¯t need c-convincing. Cadence r-really helped me out earlier, and I wanted to pay it back, a-and I love drawing people.~¡± ¡°^That¡¯s really sweet of you both,^¡± the Gallade smiled. ¡°~Thanks Mr. Marco...~¡± ¡°^It¡¯s nothing, uncleeeee¡ª^¡± ¡°^I¡¯d say it¡¯s more than nothing if Anne repaid you like that, hah.^¡± Marco¡¯s response flustered both girls. He chuckled at their silliness, letting go of the hug and ruffling their heads. Cadence¡¯s excited squirming and Anne¡¯s light flinch may have been very different reactions, but the human soon eased out as well, especially as he played up more of the psychic tingling. Soon after, though, something rather unusual caught Marco¡¯s eye. ¡°^That¡¯s... a rather worrying drawing. Is everything okay Anne?^¡± The human girl only needed a brief glimpse to figure out Marco was referring to the same sketches that had unnerved Cadence, making her grumble. She figured she might as well explain what had inspired the sketches, and how they really weren¡¯t anything all that bad. ¡°~No, no, I promise, it¡¯s just art. H-here, lemme show you wh-where I got these ideas from, I know they¡¯re creepy but they¡¯re also cool¡ª~¡± Letting go of everyone around, Anne reached over across Ember¡¯s sleeping body to the book she¡¯d brought with herself. She didn¡¯t know what was the intended purpose of the card she used as a bookmark¡ªall that mattered was that the art on it had fueled her experimentation towards more morbid art, and the improvements in anatomy that followed. ¡°~Here, th-this drawing inspired me.~¡± Aside from bits of black squiggles on a white background¡ªthe fabled human writing¡ªmost of the rectangular card was taken over by a central artwork. It was almost all black, with a single pale bald human head in the middle. His hands covered most of his face, except for one quivering eye, staring directly at the viewer. Scratch marks trailed from the tip of his every finger. There wasn¡¯t much blood, but it was enough to stain his fingers and some of his hands, and this was only the beginning. At the top of his head rested a single wavey, purplish tendril, two reddish pinpricks piercing the darkness immediately behind him. The artwork was impactful enough, but then it somehow got even better once Anne tilted the card up and down. The reflective, colorful layer on top of the black background came together to show an outline of a Mismagius right behind the central figure. Followed by several more in the darkness, all with their mouths open as if laughing. Or chanting. ¡°How does it do that!?¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t know Elric, b-b-but it¡¯s cool, right?~¡± ¡°^It¡¯s really morbid, that¡¯s for sure. I think you¡¯ll like this, Cypress.^¡± Marco commented. The ghost wasted no time floating over to the rest of the group. His curiosity about the small card in the human¡¯s hand overcame his creeping exhaustion, at least in the moment. For a moment, Anne worried the Mismagius would end up taking it the wrong way, but thankfully, that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°Oh, morbid, fearful, grisly. I love it. Wonder what all these¡­ scribbles around it are supposed to mean. Some sort of description, perhaps¡­?¡± ¡°~Oh, those, I¡¯m... not sure in all honesty. I think it¡¯s for a game, but I don¡¯t know what any of it means. I only have this card because Mrs. Graham found it in her library after some older kids left a mess behind themselves. I can¡ªI can read the text out, if you want?~¡± ¡°I would like that, yes¡­¡± ¡°~Alright, at the top it says ¡®Duress¡¯, then ¡®Sorcery¡¯ there, then ¡®Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a noncreature, nonland card from it. That player discards that card.¡¯. And in italics, ¡®Each syllable unravels a bit more of your mind.¡¯~¡± Absolutely nobody in the room was any less confused after Anne¡¯s lecture than before it, and that extended to the human herself. Hopefully, none of what she¡¯d just read would be interpreted the wrong way. ¡°^What is ¡®italics¡¯?^¡± Cadence asked, dumbstruck. *woof!* The bark coming over from the room¡¯s entrance successfully derailed all the gathered trains of thought. The Riolu that awaited them might have been nowhere near as weird as the human-made card, but her presence here was almost as confusing. ¡°Hi Reya!¡± Bell squeaked at the newcomer. ¡°^Reya? What are you doing here?^¡± Marco asked with concern. *woof, woof!* ¡°^Reya, you were supposed to stay with Jovan and Pearl, they¡¯ll be worried about you...^¡± *woof, woof woof?* ¡°^*Sigh*... yes, you can stay and play with Bell.^¡± The Gallade knew better than to try steering the living torrent of enthusiasm and wagging that was the lil¡¯ Riolu away towards where she ought to be. All it¡¯d do was buy them a bit more time before she would circle back around and come back here again. She really liked her best friend, and there was no living force that would stop her from playing with him. Not even adults and their rules. Especially not adults and their rules. He and Aria should take a page out of that steadfastness, ha. Hope she¡¯s doing alright out there. Chapter 14: Humanity Thirteen votes. Just thirteen votes to decide between redemption and damnation of an innocent child, already spurned by life. The topic refused to wash itself from Aria¡¯s mind as she ventured further away from the village, diverging heavily from her usual route. She had to see to something important before starting on her duties¡ªsomeone important, in fact. With just thirteen votes, seven would seal the deal in either direction. Numbers weren¡¯t her strong suit, but she could figure that much out, at least. Her, Marco, Sprout, and Cypress were shoe-ins for letting the girl stay, which just left three more. Just had to sway three more souls towards her side, and there wouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about anymore. Anne would be safe for certain, and they would all be able to rest easy. At the same time, the three elders and Lumi were all but certain to vote the other way. They, too, needed just three more voices, and to Aria¡¯s despair, it felt like their task of finding said voices would end up being much easier than hers. Lucere was almost certainly going to agree with them. She rarely spoke with the Altaria¡ªtheir scouting routes rarely intersected¡ªbut from the little she had, the deep distrust of humans was clear to sense. Hard to blame her for perceiving humanity as a virulent plague when her duty was playing the proverbial doctor and doing anything in her power to stave it off. But... they weren¡¯t dealing with the abstract, shapeless mass of humans and their constructs. They were dealing with a lone, lost child. Ruby gave Aria the impression of being broadly on board with letting Anne stay, but she wished she could be as sure of that as she wanted to be. Shutting Lumi down and poking holes in the Elders¡¯ words was one thing; genuinely having no objections was another, and Aria was much less certain of the latter. Whichever points of contention she might have had, Aria was confident enough in the Weavile¡¯s level-headedness to be sure that they would get argued through. Ori was... opaque at the best of times. Even someone as deliberately logical as him was still driven by emotions, and it always peeved Aria that the Scizor almost never acknowledged his. Maybe he simply didn¡¯t know how to do it. It was a possibility that deeply confused the Gardevoir, but a possibility all the same. From what she sensed at their meeting, Ori was uncomfortable about the whole human situation, even if these emotions never breached the surface of his expression or words. Maybe bringing these up with him would help him sort through them and figure out how he really felt, deep down. Lariat... would be tricky to persuade, she feared. The Lucario wasn¡¯t dim, but he tended to be single-minded. Protecting his in-group was the sole transcendent motivation behind his becoming a scout. An in-group that a human was unlikely to ever be accepted into on an emotional level. Still, Aria could try to use Ember¡¯s predicament to appeal to his soul. She wanted to think that not even someone as stern as him would argue against repeating the misery the Braixen had been through, but it remained to be seen. That left the last scout, absent from the meeting. The idea of lowering their guard all the way down and withdrawing all patrols just to debate how cruel they¡¯d be didn¡¯t sit right with Aria. Still, if that¡¯s the procedure, then that¡¯s the procedure. She disagreed, but her energy was best spent elsewhere¡ªsuch as on the person she was heading towards. How could she convince someone who had spent over a decade and a half of her life as a ¡®trainer¡¯ pet to feel sorry for a human? Aria had no idea how to answer that question, and even thinking about it threatened to roast her mind. The Skuntank might have been easygoing, but they never had to deal with stakes this big before. She knew full well from experience how easy it was for smiles to be replaced with cold focus if the situation called for it, and replacing smiles with seething anger fueled by one¡¯s own past was likely even easier. Rose had a heart; Aria knew that full well, but... *sigh*... It remained to be seen if she could pry it open even the slightest bit once she¡¯d finally found her. Sensing other minds wouldn¡¯t help with Rose¡¯s Dark typing, but she still had her eyes and nose, and Rose was more than noticeable with that first sense. And exponentially more so with the second if anything was to go down. Which¡ªfortunately for the often downwind village¡ªit rarely ever did. Alright, here she was, unaware of the miserable discussion they were about to have. ¡°Rose!¡± Aria called out. The Skuntank stopped mid-step before slowly turning her bulky body around toward the sound; a grumpy resting expression replaced with a grin and a wave of her stout foreleg. She wasted no time before speaking up either, her voice its usual cheerful, ¡°Heya Aria, how you doin¡¯, darling? Quite far from your route, ain¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I wanted to talk to you about something, actually.¡± Her answer took Rose aback before the Skuntank nudged her in the direction of her patrol. ¡°Oh, really? Somethin¡¯ popped up with Zephie, orrr~.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry, nothing of the sort; your son is as eager to help as ever,¡± Aria reassured. ¡°Damn right he is.¡± ¡°I... I wanted to talk about the human, actually.¡± ¡°Ah, makes sense! Heard a buncha rumors about weird things happening with her last night. I really hope she¡¯s doing alright, all in all,¡± Rose smiled. Her unflinching compassion towards Anne stunned the Gardevoir, making her stop as she tried to process the information. It took the Skuntank more than a few moments to notice that hangup, body shape leaving her prone to accidental tunnel vision. ¡°Aria? What¡¯s wrong, darlin¡¯?¡± ¡°Oh¡ªnothing, nothing at all, I...¡± she trailed off, unsure how to word her concerns. Though, she supposed she might as well speak Rose¡¯s language and be as honest as can be here, ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d have much goodwill for them.¡± The rapidly changing expressions on the Skuntank¡¯s end conveyed a story in themselves. Eyes narrowing in offense, then relaxing in realization, and finally doing an impressive roll in exasperation accompanied by a drawn-out groan. Skuntank anatomy didn¡¯t lend itself towards facepalms particularly well, but that sure didn¡¯t mean Rose didn¡¯t try. ¡°Oh, come the hell on, darlin¡¯! I spent fifteen years with a human as my best friend; why the hell wouldn¡¯t I feel for them? And this kiddo ain¡¯t even a trainer, just a poor lil¡¯ scamp that ended up here against their will.¡± Human as her... best friend? ¡°I... figured your experiences as a trainer mon were traumatic enough to put you off humanity for good,¡± Aria admitted, stunned. ¡°Oh, I know, everybody in the village does! It¡¯s bloody annoying, frankly, but I gave up tryin¡¯ offering my version of the events since nobody listened. They all just heard what they wanted to hear, and I can only stand so much of bein¡¯ ignored like that,¡± Rose groaned. She was annoyed, and it was the kind of annoyance that had been brewing for a while, aimless and with Aria only being its incidental recipient. The Gardevoir was unsure what to do with that information, expecting many responses¡ªbut nothing like this. ¡°I apologize, Rose. I assumed, and I shouldn¡¯t have in hindsight.¡± ¡°S¡¯pose, I can hardly blame ya. Talkin¡¯ with most folks in the village about humans is like discussing the night sky with peeps so scared of the dark they jump at their own shadow. Some of it ain¡¯t unearned, sure, but at least just as much is bein¡¯ silly and paranoid.¡± Aria couldn¡¯t deny Rose¡¯s point, left unsure what to say now. Though¡­ there was one course of action that would both endear the Skuntank to anything else she had to say, while filling in one of many knowledge gaps she had about the mysterious, terrifying humanity. And that was simply listening. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind... what was it like, then? Being... owned, and battling like that?¡± Aria asked with stilted words. It was dumbfounding to be asking about experiences as horrid as that with a straight face, without any underlying anger or comfort. The Skuntank didn¡¯t need either, not with her apparent cheerfulness about the whole thing. It made no sense, but that¡¯s what it was. Rose eyed her for a couple moments at that inquiry, eyebrows rising as she mulled it through. She supposed she very well could, especially now that it seemed her coworker was open to actually listening to her. ¡°Aight, I can recount how it all went down, then. It started in what humans call ~Sinnoh~.¡± ¡°~Sinnoh?~¡± ¡°Yep~. It¡¯s an island, far, far away from here. Both my friend and I hail from there, and that¡¯s where our big ol¡¯ adventure started,¡± Rose explained, upbeat. ¡°What was their name?¡± ¡°Well... ~Adam~. I¡¯ve no clue what it means, really, and I think I butchered the pronunciation a fair chunk, but that¡¯s what his name is. We¡¯d... known each other since we were both little,¡± the Skuntank explained, voice growing quieter as she concentrated. An involuntary smile crept onto her features as she replayed the memories in her head, continuing, ¡°Me and Ma used to live rather deep in a human town, ya see. For the most part, they didn¡¯t treat us all too nicely, and I s¡¯pose it makes sense from their end. We always made a hell of a mess when digging through the stuff they threw out¡ªthough it¡¯s only their fault for tossing out so much good food, ha!¡± ¡°Humans... throw out food?¡± ¡°Fair bit of it, even. Some of it moldy, which I get; not everyone got an immune stomach after all, but definitely not all. Anywho. Most humans gave Ma and me a wide berth, which is only smart of them, ha. Not all, though, and my friend was one of those fools that didn¡¯t. Though since I was a kid, and he was a kid, and Ma wasn¡¯t around at the moment, and he brought snacks... I let it slide and let go of the posturing Ma taught me I was s¡¯posed to be doing. It¡¯s hard to be particularly hostile towards what feels like the only being that isn¡¯t scared of me to bits, especially if he also brings food.¡± Rose was well into walking on autopilot by now. Aria picked up the slack, giving the immediate area a scan to thankfully find it empty of any dangers. Seems the Skuntank could reminisce all she wanted~. ¡°And that was hardly a one-off thing either; eventually, he began to show up near our den daily with a berry, something sugary, or even one of his own sandwiches. Felt really sweet to see him taking the human treats his parents made for him and just sharin¡¯ those with me directly. He got me wrapped around his finger, and me being the ever-hungry kit loved it, ha. Got food, got pets, got affection, got... a friend. Why wouldn¡¯t I love it?¡± Rose chuckled, voice dreamy from pleasant memories. ¡°What about your mom?¡± ¡°She was understandably skittish at first, but eventually, she saw the error of her ways, especially once he¡¯d brought her a snack or two, ha. Though still kept tryin¡¯ to drill into me to let myself be caught by none of them damnable balls, since then I¡¯d be gone for good. But honestly? Even then, I didn¡¯t really mind getting, eh, ¡®caught¡¯ by that friend of mine. Ma aside, he felt like the only bright light for me in that place, and I couldn¡¯t imagine having a future on my own. Had no idea whether it¡¯d come down to that, but decided that if it did, I was going with him.¡± ¡°And then it did come down to that?¡± Aria asked, worried about broaching unpleasant topics. ¡°Ha! Hold on, lemme do a bit of finessin¡¯...¡± Rose mumbled, taking Aria aback, especially as she followed it by stopping in place and moving her tail around the top of her body. The Gardevoir had no idea the limb had anywhere near as much flexibility as Rose promptly showed, its range of motion more like a furry tentacle than something affixed to the Dark-type¡¯s back. She didn¡¯t have the time to ponder on that too much, though, not once Rose was done grabbing the item she wanted to show off. She¡¯d heard these balls described plenty of times and never thought that an actual one would end up looking this... mundane. Less like a death trap or an unbreakable cage, and more like a mere object. A very, very human object, of course, its artificiality made determining its materials nigh impossible. The red and white hemispheres looked like nothing else Aria had ever seen, glossy even despite the uncountable tiny scratches covering them. Other decorations were much easier to spot, even if they weren¡¯t any easier to explain for the psychic. Slightly creased artworks covered a few spots on the red half, worn at the edges and visibly bleached in places. There was a flower, a scribble of a Skuntank, and a red geometric shape Aria didn¡¯t know the significance of, a sharp point at the bottom stretching to two adjacent semicircles at the top. Probably plenty more too, but they were covered by the plume of Rose¡¯s tail holding the ball up in the air. The Skuntank spared her coworker no chuckles at her dumbfounded expression as the horrible abomination of a ball was slipped back into its previous spot, completely hidden when pinned between Rose¡¯s tail and back. ¡°Hahaha, darlin¡¯, you look like you got Licked by a ghost or somethin¡¯!¡± ¡°How, why, when¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m gettin¡¯ to it, I¡¯m gettin¡¯ to it~,¡± the Skuntank chuckled. ¡°So, one day, once the time came, it was the time for my friend¡¯s big ol¡¯ trainer adventure. I didn¡¯t know a whole lot of his language, but I could still figure the gist out, and boy, was he giddy. At the start, I was a bit sad, worried about him leaving for good... but then he showed me that ball and asked if I wanted to go with him. Most kids his age get given a mon they breed for this to start the whole trainer business with, but he wanted to take me instead. And yes¡ªhe asked, he didn¡¯t just throw it at my face apropos of nothin¡¯, ha.¡± ¡°What did your mom think?¡± Aria asked, shuddering as she tried to image a similar situation happening to her children. ¡°She was... *sigh*, I think she was just worried. Worried about what¡¯d happen to me, whether I¡¯d be treated well and all. I trusted my friend at that point, and so did she, but there was always that bit of doubt about how it¡¯d all end up goin¡¯ in practice. But, eventually, she agreed, and we were both sooooooo happy. I remember scrambling onto a small patch of grass in their park, turning towards him, and him just smiling so wide it almost split his head open as he held that thing. Held, aimed, and threw, and in I went!¡± Aria had to keep her confusion and revulsion in check throughout Rose¡¯s recollection. The evilness of these devices contrasted greatly with the whimsical nature of Rose¡¯s tale, feeling impossible to resolve. And yet, the Skuntank continued to do just that, waddling on with a content smile as her memories reached that delightful moment. Though, this was one conundrum Aria had to ask about, ¡°That ¡®ball¡¯. How did it feel? They make you disappear, right?¡± ¡°I think? Was never clear to me. As to how it felt... warm. Really, really warm. It was like, I¡¯m already giddy to go out on this adventure with him, to be by his side, and then I see him throw that thing, it hits, and it¡¯s this wave of warmth all over me, and then the next thing I know he let me out again there and then. As much as I liked him before, it felt like I liked him even more afterward, somehow. Only for a while, though¨Cmaybe a couple months or so. Almost like infatuation or somethin¡¯, hah. Mighty peculiar in hindsight, but it was pure bliss at the moment. It... heh,¡± Rose chuckled bitterly; the Gardevoir beside her left in the deeply unusual situation of having to wait for the source of her amusement to be verbally conveyed to her. ¡°It felt like I was meant for this. It felt right.¡± Rose lingered on that moment for a while longer, pensiveness eventually getting her to stop and stare at the snowy ground before her. She took a deep breath, and then another, before finally shaking it off and continuing with her patrol and recollection alike, ¡°And so, the big ol¡¯ journey began. Just me and him at the start, but that didn¡¯t last all that long. After all, he had to get his hands on the rest of the team, and I had to start my training. It was... gods, it was hard to get into it, in hindsight. The battles, the training, the practice. They were strenuous, especially starting out. Back where I grew up, all I really needed was a Scratch or two for any scrap to be decided; nobody was gonna die for a bit of human trash with how plentiful it was. But in these battles, with wildlings and especially with other trainers, it was combat for as long as I could keep standing. It¡¯s, uh, it¡¯s surprising how much pain we can tolerate before keeling over with a bit of practice.¡± ¡°How does practicing something that excruciating work?¡± ¡°The hard way, really. Pushing my body to its breaking point and back, trying moves so many times it felt like I was gonna throw up, fighting and fighting and fighting with teammates, up to the point of fainting and back. And again, and again, and again, day in and out. It¡¯s... it never really hurts less, is the thing. Taking a full-strength Body Slam now is just as excruciating as it was; the only difference is nowadays, I feel like I can take a lot more of that pain on. It feels like it should be enough to make me tumble over and break, but it¡¯s just not, not if I force myself to keep standing. Maybe it¡¯s even possible to get used to hurting with enough practice, but even after all my training, I didn¡¯t end up getting all the way there.¡± ¡°That sounds nightmarish,¡± Aria commented, aghast. ¡°It¡¯s,¡± Rose paused, reflectively wanting to deny that. No, of course it wasn¡¯t that bad; she managed it all well, after all. Then again, she knew all too well that her experience wasn¡¯t the only one out there. ¡°With the right support, it¡¯s manageable. Constant struggle, yes, but having my friend on hand made all the difference as far as motivation went. It felt like all that suffering was for a reason, like it wasn¡¯t just misery for misery¡¯s sake. I was doing it for him, and he was there for me throughout. And, like... after some time, when the differences first show themselves, it feels incredible for a while. Going from a single Starly Tackle almost knocking me out there and then, to shrugging them off and sending them tumbling to the ground with one well-aimed Bite or Scratch. You don¡¯t really feel stronger at any point, but the results speak for themselves eventually, and the results sang.¡± ¡°These Starly... did he order you to chase them into battle?¡± ¡°Sometimes, yep. Most of the time, they were territorial enough to try intimidating us off their turf, and that was as good an excuse for a scrap as it got. Eventually, they spread the word amongst themselves, and in time, just stepping in was enough to send them scrambling, ha!¡± the Skuntank laughed. ¡°And did the human use that opportunity to ¡®catch¡¯ them?¡± Aria asked, words dripping with unspoken accusation. Hardly an undeserved one, either. Rose was forced to sigh and slowly nod, some of the enthusiasm in her voice deflating, ¡°Yeah. In fairness, it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t try ¡®recruiting¡¯ more team members the same way he recruited me. I remember us settin¡¯ camp one day, myself exhausted after a day of training and glued to his lap, him fixin¡¯ us both some roasted snacks. It was so serene, so innocent. He made some extras, laid them on the opposite side of the campfire, and waited to see whether anything would bite and come warm itself.¡± The Skuntank closed her eyes, thinking back to the bliss of it all, of well-deserved rest after a strenuous practice session. ¡°And sure enough, a Shinx had made their way over, kept eying us down between bites, ha. Eventually, they downed the whole thing aaaaand scampered right off afterward. If my boy was anythin¡¯, he was persistent, so he tried again and again. That same Shinx even came back at some point to grab another treat before running off again. Eventually, though, a single lil¡¯ Starly ended up staying even after finishin¡¯ their portion and waddled closer, over to the fire. And another snack later, closer still. And so it kept going for a while before the birdie finally lowered their guard enough to rest by our side and snooze.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Aria followed Rose¡¯s recollection in her mind, imagination taking her for a pleasant ride. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at the mental image of a lil¡¯ human offering a small mountain of snacks over to the local wildlife until something bit for good, and began trusting him. Such a lovely scene, a weary wild Starly dozing off beside them¡ª ¡°And it was only then that he went for the ball and nabbed them.¡± Oh. The Gardevoir needed a moment to come to after the whiplash she¡¯d just been subjected to, commenting, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that Starly felt anything but hatred after realizing what had happened to them...¡± ¡°You¡¯d think, but there¡¯s somethin¡¯ weird to these balls, I tell ya. They came out of it even more affectionate, not mindin¡¯ coming along with us one bit. And so, the team expanded to the two of us, and we could start better practicin¡¯ against each other. He tried that again a couple nights later, but no catch this time.¡± ¡°That sounds like a lot of food inadvertently going to the wildings...¡± ¡°Eeyup! Plenty of stores around the area and places to rest at though, there was always someplace to resupply around each corner,¡± Rose admitted, not noticing the contradiction. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were in these Starlys¡¯ territory?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s... I¡¯m really unsure in hindsight. Like, it was wilderness; it was supposed to be wilderness, I¡¯m quite sure. But there were a lot of human facilities along the big main path we were following. Stores like the ones inside their towns, spots for my friend to use to communicate with his mom, even spots I could recuperate at. I still don¡¯t remember how the latter worked. Felt like we were never more than an hour¡¯s walk away from a human-made building,¡± the Skuntank realized, brows furrowing. ¡°That¡¯s... odd.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t catch me denying that, ha. Anywho, we kept going like that for a while. Training hurt, but camaraderie helped, having my friend on hand helped, and of course, victories helped. We had our first battle against another trainer a couple weeks in; gods, I still remember it. Me and Starly versus their Turtwig and Bidoof, we smoked them! We were at the top of the world, all the pain was worth it for that moment alone.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t imagine they were all that eager to fight you two...¡± Aria muttered. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised! At least... at least at the start. A few months later, we had our first big, really important battle, in a fancy stadium inside a cave and all. Still remember the other human wearing this silly red helmet, pffft. Didn¡¯t end up getting too good of a look before his Onix slammed right into me. Felt like I almost fainted there and then; it hurt that much.¡± Rose rolled her shoulders, quite certain a crick she got after that one blow never came out right. She continued, ¡°They took hit after hit and just wouldn¡¯t go down, and we both just had to keep on dodging their strikes; it was so overwhelming. We got some practice against Rock-types like that earlier, but nothing could¡¯ve prepared us for all that. I even had to learn how to Dig fast enough to catch them off guard, but it was worth it once they finally fell. We won, we had won our first important match, a Stunky and a Staravia takin¡¯ on a team of Rock-types and comin¡¯ out on top! Take that, everyone!¡± Even just retelling the story was enough to get Rose pumped, her walk gaining a spring to it as the tip of her tail waved from side to side. ¡°It was just the first step, but at that moment, I really, really wanted to see it through to the end. To keep going and never stop, to keep winning and making my friend proud. Goodness, was he proud. We spent a good couple days afterward just lazing, celebrating, and napping, and it was the best feeling in the world.¡± ¡°Sounds... idyllic.¡± ¡°It... it was, at times, especially near the start. I had no idea what Ma had meant with her warnings. Not yet. Even all the pain was tolerable at that time, if barely. Of course¡­ nothing good ever gets to last forever. We took the big trainer down, but we had to get back to training afterward. It was just the first step of so, so many, and all of them turned out to be harder than the previous one. We all got stronger and stronger, but all that meant was that the training hurt more and more. We lost sometimes, but it was worth it since we¡¯d eventually come out on top, even if it took even more practice, even more days of every single fiber of my body screamin¡¯ in pain. The victories were worth it. Making him proud was worth it.¡± Rose¡¯s pace slowed down, one paw shaking with each step. A wince accompanied it each time, one that Rose couldn¡¯t keep hiding forever despite her best efforts. ¡°It never got any easier, though. Not when we won our second important match, not when I had evolved into a Skuntank, not when our team grew to its full size of six. It hurt and kept hurting, and we kept pushing through that. I started figuring out ways of dealin¡¯ with the pain, was able to keep pushing day in and out, but some others weren¡¯t so lucky. They couldn¡¯t bear it anymore; it was too much. Sometimes he¡¯d set them free, sometimes he¡¯d stop bringing them out for weeks or months. I knew that as long as I was by his side I would manage, but...¡± Another painful step, another wince, now joined by tears rolling down the Skuntank¡¯s cheeks. ¡°He, too, changed for the worse. We all started off so excited, but just a few years later, it was as if all the smiles had left him. I¡¯d only ever catch him smiling or relaxing in the evenings; at all other times he¡¯d get so serious. Kept reading strategies, devising plans, directing our practice in a more specific direction, managing diets. S¡¯mores and sandwiches turned to flavorless paste and pills. Even if most of the day-to-day stuff wasn¡¯t all too pleasant for me, it was worth it as long as it remained a fun adventure for us. Eventually... that stopped being the case.¡± With a deep sigh, Rose finally stopped her march, Aria following in tow. ¡°None of us were havin¡¯ fun anymore. None of our opponents were, either. You can tell when someone¡¯s into this, y¡¯know. There¡¯s that enthusiasm to their expression, that lightness to their moves. I felt like I had it in me for the longest time, like many of my opponents did too, but the further we went, the fewer of us, and the mons we fought against showed that kind of eagerness. Eventually, it was just me, and then... not even me, not anymore.¡± The Gardevoir crouched beside her friend, wordlessly offering affection in the wintry cold. Her offer was gladly accepted, the Skuntank¡¯s soft fur tingling her legs and hands as the nuzzles were exchanged for light pets. ¡°I can¡¯t even blame him all that much, I don¡¯t think. It¡¯s either makin¡¯ it through the entire grueling circuit or giving up and realizing you¡¯ve wasted years of your life on something that went nowhere. He was trapped in the system, and we were trapped with him. I think he always wanted the best for us, but all that stress, all that pressure... he didn¡¯t see; he couldn¡¯t see what was happening to us all. Just how much strain it was putting on us, and on him, too. There was no choice but to keep trainin¡¯, keep practicing, keep suffering in the pursuit of light at the end of an unending tunnel.¡± Aria¡¯s affection kept coming; all of it was both needed and appreciated. The Skuntank didn¡¯t think that any of it would shake her anywhere near as much anymore; it¡¯s been years after all¡ªbut it did, all of it. Each tiny detail and tattered recollection of her friend¡¯s anxious expression and sunken eyes as he spent hours devising strategy or managing the little money the League provided them through their trip. ¡°Eventually, I couldn¡¯t take the training either. Pain is manageable as long as it¡¯s for a purpose, but once that purpose is gone? It just starts meltin¡¯ through you; each strike feels like it shatters your bones. I started to falter, couldn¡¯t complete my reps, couldn¡¯t put up as much practice as was necessary. Couldn¡¯t pull my weight. The team got stronger. We were a chain made out of ever-strengthening links, in which the weakest had to be replaced from time to time. And, after so many years, I became that weakest link. I had to be shelved. It was days between each time he¡¯d finally let me out of my ball. I felt physically rested each time, but mentally it was just a flash from one moment to another; none of it made no sense anymore. I didn¡¯t know what day it was, where I was; my teammates were strangers. We were in some other country entirely, and I had no idea.¡± ¡°And then,¡± Rose¡¯s expression scrunched up as her fur bristled, the eventual relaxation leaving her even more tired, ¡°and then; I realized I had reached my limit. I couldn¡¯t continue. I had no idea how to convey that to him, to the human that used to be my friend. One evening, I approached him as he was strategizing, reached for my ball, and swatted it well off into the distance before staring at him. I hoped he could figure it out, and¡­ he did. He just stared at me, showed any emotion that wasn¡¯t stressed for the first time in days, and... asked me if I wanted to go. All I could do was nod with all my strength.¡± ¡°Was he angry?¡± ¡°Heartbroken. It was as if, for a moment, he finally saw what I felt, what we all felt. Like it all really got to him for the first time in years. He looked me in the eye, and just¡­ wept. Held me tight, kept apologizing over it all. Over how much it hurt. Over failing us. Kept blaming himself for our losses, for us havin¡¯ to hurt even more. Kept apologizing to me specifically, for ending up so far from home and with nowhere to go. Took one brief look at the fancy case with the colorful badges, the seven of them, and just tossed it off to the side, and it all rattled all over. I held him back; I held him close. His tears kept flowin¡¯, apologies kept flowin¡¯. He said he didn¡¯t know what to do, that he wasted the last fifteen years of his life, of my life. He said... he said he just wanted me to be happy.¡± More tears, more affection, the latter helping only nominally. ¡°We spent one last evening the way we used to. He made a sandwich for us for the occasion, toasted it, and shared it between us. I spent the night on his lap, crying. He held me tight all night long. Then, the next morning, he gave me my ball, and I was free to go. I didn¡¯t want to leave, but knew I couldn¡¯t stay. I took one last look at him, and... left. And then, a few months later, ended up here, with y¡¯all. Figured might as well put all my strength and practice to some actual use and settle down. I don¡¯t regret it one bit, but... I miss him, miss Ma. Hope they¡¯re doin¡¯ well.¡± Finally, the tears waned, replaced by composure. Each soggy strand of thought got shaken off, one after the other, until Rose was close to her former, cheerful-ish self. A couple more nuzzles on Aria¡¯s legs, and she¡¯d had her fill, stepping away with deep breaths. The Gardevoir didn¡¯t know what to say; there weren¡¯t any words appropriate for the tragedy of her coworker¡¯s situation. Eventually, she whispered, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Rose.¡± ¡°He did many awful things in hindsight, but... none of it was cruel. It was only how things had to be, according to their system. There was no other way but misery, and misery is where we ended up at, despite him trying as hard as he did. He wasn¡¯t a bad person. I don¡¯t think most humans are. I don¡¯t even think most trainers are. Their world binds them just like it wants to bind us, and there¡¯s little any single person can do about it.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t they change it?¡± the Gardevoir asked, distraught. ¡°I wish I knew. Maybe they just can¡¯t, for one reason or another. They have to realize it¡¯s bad for everyone, right? That much was obvious to me, but... maybe it¡¯s not obvious to them. Oh well. That was... a bit of a rant on my end, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Rose chuckled. ¡°It was, but it was very... enlightening. Thank you a lot, Rose.¡± ¡°Anytime, darlin¡¯! Though I take you didn¡¯t haul your whole self over here just to hear me whine and reminisce over the ol¡¯ days, good and bad, eh? Think you mentioned that human girl in the village?¡± Aria nodded deeply as she picked herself back up to her feet, a glance skyward giving her a vague idea of how much time had passed. Her route had gone unwatched for a while now; it was time to wrap this up. ¡°Yes. She doesn¡¯t have anywhere in the human world to go to, and the Elders have settled on a vote to decide whether to let her stay here.¡± The Gardevoir wasn¡¯t sure what kind of reaction she was expecting from Rose when mentioning that, but the drawn-out groan wasn¡¯t it. Neither was another attempt at a facepalm that accompanied it, nor the array of grumbles that followed it, ¡°Oh, come right on, really? How come that¡¯s even a question? Course she oughta stay here if she has nowhere to go! Ughhh... these old farts, I swear. Oh well. I¡¯ll be there, lay out just what they need to be convinced. You can count on me, Aria.¡± Rose¡¯s words made Aria let out a breath she wasn¡¯t even consciously aware she was holding. So much of the tension left from her lithe frame all at once that it almost made her jump, the tiny motion leaving the Skuntank chuckling. ¡°Thank you so much, Rose. It¡¯s so, so appreciated.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fret it darlin¡¯, I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve grown close to her. Just can¡¯t help but rush in to protect people, eh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a stereotype...¡± Aria muttered, rolling her eyes. ¡°A stereotype for a reason! Aight, I¡¯ve fallen behind on my patrol somethin¡¯ mighty, and so have you probably, ha! See ya later, hun~.¡± ¡°See you later, Rose.¡± ¡°And don¡¯t ya worry about the girl¡ªdoubt the Elders will have the gall to say no to a loaded Skuntank inside their tent, ha!¡±
¡°Sage?¡± The ghostly murmur snapped the Phantump out of her idle thought, glowing eyes shrinking as they focused on the sight before her. And then, moments later, at the Banette beside her. ¡°Y-yes, M-Mr. Yaksha?¡± she answered, shaking at the ambient cold and her own thoughts. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Sage was always okay, even when she wasn¡¯t. It annoyed the Banette a great deal. One thing to look after a poor, lost hauntling, another still to have that lil¡¯ ghost never be as forward with him as he would have liked. About anything. Yaksha couldn¡¯t blame her for that either, not with a fate like hers. The humans were bastards, one and all, and every single thing the ghost had seen of their actions only cemented that fact further for him. ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to pretend, Sage. We can pause for a moment. We¡¯re hardly rushing.¡± ¡°Mmmm... o-okay,¡± she admitted hesitantly. Yaksha¡¯s zipper mouth parted as he let out a heavy sigh. With an affirmative nod, he turned his attention towards scanning for threats, letting the smaller ghost focus inward once more. Hardly anything ever bothered them when they were making their way around, especially not during the day when all the Dark-types were asleep. Humans, as always, were the negative exception. But even they just needed a scare or two to scatter and leave them alone. Or at least, when the Banette was there for the lil¡¯ one... The thought involuntarily unraveled more of Yaksha¡¯s zipper, the tiniest bit of pink light escaping as he lashed out. Shadow Claw left no immediate scars on wood aside from slight discoloration¡ªgive it a couple weeks, though, and the dying, dry bark would fall off along the three parallel cuts, scarring the oak trying to endure the bitter cold. For a while, he thought his grudge about humanity would be enough to keep him going forever, driven away from his long-time home. It¡¯s been decades since then, but he still remembered it so well. Humans showed up with their tamed mon, and he had to run away, ending up with nothing and nobody¡ªnot even memories of the good times. He didn¡¯t need them; not anymore. Neither did Sage. But she deserved them; deserved them so much more than her Banette wreck of a guardian. A quick glance over Yaksha¡¯s shoulder revealed Sage had only floated over a bit, the Phantump¡¯s attention affixed to a tiny, frozen puddle. He¡¯d seen this enough times to not even have to look anymore, knowing exactly what would happen afterward. And Sage... knew too, to an extent. Still, she went through the motions, again and again. An inky tendril reached down to swipe the fresh dusting of snow off the ice, the revealed surface as reflective as it got this time of the year. She stared at the ghost in the reflection, its wooden face and spectral body mimicking her movements. Sage remembered enough to know that it wasn¡¯t her, but... what ¡®her¡¯ even was anymore was becoming harder to tell by the day. The occasional glances at the denizens of the woods provided inspiration, but no concrete answers. A bird? A rodent? Maybe even a bug? Something small enough for humans to beat up... Her eyes clenched shut as she partially withdrew into her wooden shell, the pained whimper catching Yaksha¡¯s attention. Each time she tried to think back for any amount of time, she only ever arrived at the same half-formed memory, the cursed capstone of her existence. Three humans cornered her, tall bodies towering over her. Their faces were erased from recollection, but not the sounds they made. The cruel laughter, the shouts, the screams. She remembered hurting so much. She remembered her head hurting so much. And that wasn¡¯t even the last time they¡¯d torment her¡ª ¡°Sage, I¡¯m here. You¡¯re safe now.¡± Yaksha whispered, the accompanying embrace making Sage flinch. She snapped out of her recollection and back to the reality around her¡ªsnow-covered woods, just like for the past however long. So uniform that if not for her guardian¡¯s guidance, she wouldn¡¯t have thought they were making any progress at all. Once the Phantump had gathered her attention, she looked at the other ghost. The Banette¡¯s pink eyes were still as unnerving as when she¡¯d first seen him all these weeks ago, and even knowing there was no malice in them¡ªnot at the moment¡ªhelped little. ¡°Reminiscing won¡¯t help you much, kid, trust me. I know the allure all too well,¡± he reassured. ¡°Mh-mhm.¡± ¡°It was just what you told me, right?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, and¡ª¡± ¡°And what?¡± Yaksha asked, attention narrowing in an instant. Why did she have to bring it up? He¡¯d just be even more worried... ¡°Sage, what happened?¡± the Banette insisted. ¡°N-nothing...¡± ¡°Was it this morning when I left for recon, and you stayed at that ruined building?¡± ¡°Mmm... y-yes,¡± the Phantump relented. Yaksha sighed, continuing his patient hug. Sage was a rough kid, but he knew the right tricks to make her spill what was really gnawing at her. ¡°What happened then, Sage?¡± ¡°Th-there were a c-couple humans, and they saw me a-and they threw things at me, l-like pebbles and bricks...¡± Sage felt Yaksha¡¯s grasp on her tighten to painful levels before he let go. He turned his head towards the woods as if to scream, but no words came out, nothing but full-body writhing. She briefly watched the pinkish light shine on the shrubbery before Banette, wilting whatever it touched before disappearing as suddenly as it had come. He snarled, ¡°Beasts, one and all. Next time I see one of them, I will not resort to just some idle scares...¡± ¡°M-Mr. Yaksha¡ª¡± the Phantump pleaded. ¡°Shush, kid, leave it to me. I promised to keep you safe, and I will, but these things have got to pay¡ª¡± *caw, caw!* The repeated caws coming from some ways away firmly captured the attention of both ghosts; the human murmurs accompanying them made Yaksha¡¯s glare narrow. A peek into the trail they were previously following confirmed the ghost¡¯s worst fears¡ªtwo humans walking in their direction. A taller, darker-skinned one with a Murkrow on their shoulder, and a shorter, lighter-built one, the pink color of their hair unusual for their species. Wanted to hurt Sage while she was down, no doubt. ¡°Bastards, beasts, I¡¯ll show them. I¡¯ll show them good,¡± Yaksha seethed. ¡°Mr. Y-Yaksha¡ª¡± He wasn¡¯t listening, mind so overtaken by fury that all he could do was let it loose. In a split second, he was in the two humans¡¯ path, the scream that followed overflowing with hatred, unraveling deep inside the ghost, ¡°RAAAHHHH!¡± *CAW!* His entrance was nothing if not successful; the human duo stuck in place as if rooted. The Murkrow stared daggers into the ghost, but he didn¡¯t see or care¡ªthey had to pay, humans had to pay; what would end up happening to him was a very distant concern. His care burned bright, But his grudge burned brighter. ¡°Th-these weren¡¯t¡ª¡± Sage tried to say, but the Banette didn¡¯t hear, he couldn¡¯t hear. Curses and fury echoed in his mind, loud enough to drown out all other sound; all other thought. This has been a long time coming. Yaksha¡¯s Shadow Ball came out in a split second, aimed at the weaker of the two humans, the one without their little Murkrow slave. A seething sphere of dark energy rocketed through the air, the monster on the collision course only able to stare at their impending death¡ª ¡°~IZZY, WATCH OUT!~¡± And then, with a loud shout, his target was tackled to the ground. Yaksha¡¯s Shadow Ball careened off into the distance before inevitably striking and collapsing a distant tree. A momentary setback, especially now that both of these vermin were down and immobilized. This was his chance to follow up and nail them this time; another projectile beginning to form between his hands¡ª *CAW, CAAAAW!* And then, the next thing he knew was utter pain overflowing his body, tearing it apart. His own spectral hands tore his body up, pink light shining through the gashes all over its gray surface. The cloth body tattered in spots as the dark and pink energy ravaged him. He hurt. If he had any blood, he¡¯d be bleeding to death. Sage could only stare in horror; stare at her guardian; stare at the Murkrow that had almost banished him in a single strike, utter fear freezing her tiny body. It was only after a long while, once the two humans had picked themselves back up, that she¡¯d forced herself to float over to the knocked-out Banette. Still moving, thank goodness¡­ ¡°~Holy shit, Chucky¡ª~¡± the taller human muttered. *caw, caw!* ¡°~C¡¯mon Lee, let¡¯s dip outta here!~¡± the shorter one pleaded. ¡°~But we still haven¡¯t found¡ª~¡± ¡°~LEE!~¡± ¡°~Fine, fine!~¡± The Phantump looked up at the exchange between the two humans and a Murkrow. whimpering in fear. One of them had gotten so much closer to them, his lower voice filling her with fear. Sage hyperventilated with nonexistent lungs as she hovered backward and away; the human only sparing her the minimum of attention as he approached her guardian¡ª *crr-cr-crrr-crr-CRACK-CRACK!* Suddenly, something on the back of the darker-skinned human began to rattle loudly, the piercing sound freezing everyone gathered. Sage had no idea what that sound implied, but it sure seemed that the humans did, and they weren¡¯t happy about it. The pink-haired one turned on a whim, dashing over to the other one and pulling him backward, him and the Murkrow on his shoulders¡ª An instant later, something appeared in front of them. Tall, white, and green-haired. The air itself cracked with energy as it hovered a couple inches above the snowy dirt, facing away from the hauntling. For a few moments, there was just silence, choking and deafening. And then, before Sage knew it, both humans were screaming at the top of their lungs and running away as fast as their legs could carry them. The Dark-type reluctantly followed, chasing after their human¡¯s increasingly distant shrieks, its own caws contributing to the fading cacophony. The white being remained in its pose until the humans were out of earshot. Only then did it slowly descend onto the snowy ground and turn around, its red eyes piercing through Yaksha. And then; it spoke.
Not the stealthiest of ways of getting rid of some humans, Aria had to admit. Though, with how dedicated to finding her that darker-skinned one was, it¡¯s not like she had too much of a choice. Them having been aware of her for an unknown amount of time was terrifying, but she could figure out how to adjust her patrol route later. Right now, there was yet another mess for her to take care of. Or rather, two ghostly messes. ¡°^Are you alright? Why did you attack them!?^¡± she asked, unnerved. After a few attempts to pick himself up, the Banette gave up, finally accepting his temporary resting spot. A stream of grumbles continued to flow out of his unzipped mouth, eventually coalescing into a coherent response, ¡°They kept harassing Sage...¡± ¡°B-but they didn¡¯t...¡± Sage insisted, her words finally catching the other ghost¡¯s attention. His pink gaze snapped to her, making her jump a bit. It hurt to see, admittedly, especially with all the time he¡¯s been looking out for her, but... oh well. ¡°What do you mean, Sage?¡± ¡°I-it wasn¡¯t them... it was th-the other humans earlier...¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°I-I tried to, b-but you weren¡¯t listening!¡± Sage shouted, worried, her voice girly and shrill. She floated closer to her guardian as the fear of these humans left her system, her pinprick eyes looking over the Banette¡¯s raggedy body with concern. Off to the side, Aria just sighed at the mess of a situation. At least nobody got killed. ¡°^Do you need help?^¡± she asked flatly. ¡°And who are you to ask?¡± ¡°^Someone who knows a healer or two and hails from a settlement for mons. You two look like you could use a hand.^¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine...¡± ¡°M-Mr. Y-Yaksha, I¡¯ve never seen you this hurt...¡± the Phantump pleaded. ¡°You¡¯ve only known me for a couple months, kid.¡± ¡°Please!¡± ¡°^You hear her,^¡± the Gardevoir chuckled. ¡°*Ugh.* Fine, fine,¡± Yaksha relented, groaning. ¡°Th-thank you...¡± Sage¡¯s quiet, squeaked response tugged at a spectral heartstring or two, much to the Phantump¡¯s relief. Slowly, Yaksha picked himself back up into the air and continued, ¡°So, where is that ¡®settlement¡¯ you mentioned, oh stranger?¡± ¡°^It¡¯s for the best if I guide you over. My name¡¯s Aria, and yours?^¡± ¡°M-my name is Sage, Mrs. Aria!¡± ¡°Yaksha.¡± With a tilt of her head, Aria set a direction for the group. The lil¡¯ Grass-type followed her close, floating right beside her as they got going, the Banette keeping his distance behind them. ¡°^What brings you here?^¡± she asked. It didn¡¯t take her long to realize she¡¯d made a faux pas. Yaksha¡¯s glare was unnerving, but it paled when compared to Sage freezing in place and shaking, unfocused eyes staring into the distance, her fear shining brightly for the psychic. ¡°Not the best of questions,¡± Yaksha grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ve been around this wider area for longer than I can remember, kept moving from place to place while avoiding humans¡¯ spread, the lot of them. Sage... Sage, come here. You¡¯re safe now.¡± As grumpy as he was previously, the Banette¡¯s mannerisms changed immediately at seeing the Phantump be as terrified as she was. Sage withdrew into her stump as he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll say this once, and I best not have to again. Sage was murdered by humans. If she never sees one again, it¡¯ll be too soon.¡± ...oh no. Interlude II: Interlopers ¡°~Lee, I really think we should turn back...~¡± The punk¡¯s voice wavered as she spoke, eyes sweeping from side to side. Her concern was apparent on her pale face, framed by a couple of visible strands of pink-dyed hair. The cold today was milder than the last few days, but the weather was by far the smallest of worries this dumb trip of theirs would have them run headfirst into. Especially if they ended up running into the actual target of their search. As much as her boyfriend thought she was overly scaredy in general, he wanted to comfort her in the moment. Searching for that ghost was exciting, but a large part of the excitement was finally cracking this mystery they¡¯d both been speculating about for months now. It was no fun if he was the only one into it. And that¡¯s on top of the more usual reason of: ¡°I like this chick, and I want her to feel alright, thank you very much.¡± ¡°~C¡¯mon Iz, we¡¯re gonna be fine. We¡¯ve got Chucky! Right Chucky?~¡± caw! The Murkrow occupying Lee¡¯s shoulder was only very vaguely aware of what was happening. Still, as long as this human kept providing him with treats, he wasn¡¯t complaining one bit. On cue, the human¡¯s dark-skinned hand reached into a pocket of his jacket; a single piece of sugary cereal getting pulled out moments later. The sight immediately caught the bird¡¯s attention, the treat¡¯s alluring glittering only matched by its sweet flavor. And once it was thrown into the air, it was quickly snatched by the large, yellow beak. A couple of content caws left the bird afterward as they huddled closer to their human¡¯s head. It was cold out there, much colder than in their town, but the human was friendly, and treats kept coming, so he might as well stick around. ¡°~Lee, I think you¡¯re putting too much faith in them. They¡¯re feral, after all...~¡± ¡°~Izzyyyy, I know mons spook you a bit, but we¡¯re gonna be alright, promise. Chucky¡¯s got no reason to go against either of us, not with all the treats. He really likes me.~¡± ¡°~He really likes the bag of cereal in your pocket.~¡± ¡°~Murkrow are smart. He could¡¯ve totally yanked it all out and flew off by now if he wanted to.~¡± Izzy didn¡¯t know enough about mons to argue with that, grumbling for a moment before letting the topic rest. She didn¡¯t feel any better about any of this, though, that¡¯s for sure. ¡°~He stuck with us in that standoff earlier, spooked these chumps right outta our turf.~¡± ¡°~There¡¯s a bit of a difference of scale between a couple of human losers and a Ghost Bride, y¡¯know...~¡± These woods were haunted, and everyone knew that. It was about as accepted in the Lillywood area as that of the sky being blue-ish most of the time. That awareness was enough to discourage most from venturing in too deep. Feral mons were already scary; feral Ghosts were something else entirely. To their knowledge, the Mismagius that hung out near the school grounds had harmed no one, but that didn¡¯t make them any less creepy. Or any less a magnet for many a local dumb kid. Enough for them to become a local attraction, even for trainers. At least, if that chump that sat near them on the bus earlier today was any sign. Gonna catch the famous Lillywood Mismagius. Yeah, sure, pal. Anyway. As scary as feral Ghosts were on their own, what they were after was somehow even scarier. The kind of thing that only the most reckless of fools would ever dare to actively search for. That, or your average hormone-addled teen with no self-preservation impulse. ¡°~Not a Gardevoir Izzy, again, just a ghost of one.~¡± ¡°~That makes it even worse, y¡¯know!?~¡± She¡¯d tried to dissuade him from sating his curiosity, but it was about as effective as trying to put out a wildfire with a toy watering can. Not when they¡¯ve seen that particular specter so many times over the past few months. Lillywood has been in what felt like a perpetual decline, and there was no better self-contained sign of that than the ruins in the distance behind them. It used to be a fancy hotel slash resort ages ago. By now, it was just That One Ruined Building that attracted all the teens in the area. Proving ground for many street artists, too, Izzy among them. Of course, town officials tried to cordon it off or other half-hearted measures that were all much cheaper than properly demolishing the place. If there¡¯s anything that teens are good at, however, it¡¯s deliberately circumventing arbitrary adult-made nonsense out of pure spite. They¡¯ve been hanging around it for a few months now, but it was only recently that they really noticed another entity besides themselves in there. Well, not quite in there, but nearby. Izzy only spotted them by accident while going over the landscape photos she took from the highest floor, and it was the kind of sight that many a creepypasta was based on. A Gardevoir in the frame''s corner, just barely visible within the treeline, thankfully not looking right at her. She and Lee kept bickering about whether it was some spooky ghost nonsense, and of course, the only way to know for certain was to investigate further. And sure enough, the next day Izzy aimed her camera right in that direction, there it was again; standing among the trees and staring at the hotel. It lingered for a minute or so before turning around and leaving. Gave the couple all the time and fuel in the world to chat amongst themselves and argue what the hell they¡¯d just seen. Was that just a wild Gardevoir, or maybe a ghost of one? Both possibilities were the stuff that Izzy wanted precisely nothing to do with, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for her boyfriend. There was a lot of charm in just how much of a daredevil he was at times, but... c¡¯mon, there was a limit to these things. Taming a feral Murkrow was really cool and all, but anything to do with a Ghost Bride sounded like begging for one¡¯s death in one gruesome way or another. They didn¡¯t even get to argue for all that long before it showed up again. And then again, and again. Each time it¡¯d walk up to the same spot, stay there for around a minute, start walking straight back, and repeat it all, on average, a hundred and seven minutes later. It didn¡¯t have a set schedule to the best of their ability to tell, just popping up among the trees a few times during the day. It almost felt like a patrol, but of what? Neither teen had any idea how to answer that, which left the other major possibility, one that Lee had first put forward. It was haunting this place! In some weird, roundabout way. It¡¯d be far from the only spook to do so, though most others only stuck around for a short time. Thankfully, even Lee had enough grip on reality to know to avoid these Ghosts when they popped up. For the most part, they did a decent job of staying out of sight by themselves. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Outside of that one Misdreavus that almost made them have a heart attack, at least. Half a can of spray paint to the face hopefully discouraged it from trying any of that ever again. None of the more common Ghosts were anywhere near as unusual as that recurring specter of a Gardevoir. Maybe their human had died in this hotel many years ago, and that¡¯s why it was closed now? Perhaps they had murdered someone and kept coming back to admire their handiwork? The teens didn¡¯t know. These were the kinds of mysteries that most didn¡¯t want to know. Lee was definitely not a part of the ¡°most¡± category. He immediately wanted to investigate deeper; needing a good couple of months to finally convince his girlfriend to accompany him to take photos. And she was even beginning to warm up to that idea- At least, until yesterday. At any rational level, Izzy knew perfectly well that having that Ghost Bride be missing that day and a building in that backwater Mylock village deciding to explode on a whim were two completely unrelated events. But... it was still a disturbing coincidence. One she really, really didn¡¯t want to investigate, and one that only added further kindling to the flames of Lee¡¯s curiosity. Enough so for him to bike all the way over to Mistralton to ask his uncle for a piece of particularly fancy equipment that would help in their little search. Izzy didn¡¯t knpw that there were academics who researched psychics specifically. Or, at least, any academics that haven¡¯t been long wrapped up tight in a straitjacket. Somehow, there were, and just like any self-respecting egghead, they had their fancy pieces of kit. The narrowness of their functionality correlated linearly with their price. With how expensive this little gizmo was, The punk had no idea just how the hell did her boyfriend convinced his relative to let him borrow it, even if just for a day. Maybe being a bit of a daredevil and making poor decisions ran in the family, ha. As pricey as the device was, it wasn¡¯t doing much at the moment. A large box stashed inside Lee¡¯s backpack with a single long cord extending out of its side, capped off with what almost looked like a dowsing rod. A metal stick the size of a pencil, one end split into three short perpendicular sections around an inch long. All this junk could supposedly sense the aura magic bullshit nonsense that the psychics did their weird spells with and make noises once it did, kinda like a Geiger counter. Only instead, the stuff this specific version would detect was somehow even more dangerous than gamma radiation, against all odds. And they were walking straight towards it, probably getting closer and closer by the moment... ¡°~That thing is still not detecting anything, Lee. Maybe it changed its path, and it¡¯s gone?~¡± ¡°~Nah, I¡¯m not buying that. Why would a ghost just up and change like that for no reason?~¡± ¡°~What if it blew up in that explosion in Mylock?~¡± ¡°~I haven¡¯t heard a thing about a Gardevoir or anything that looked like one being involved in that mess.~¡± ¡°~Then why would it be gone yesterday?~¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t know Iz. Hopefully we¡¯re able to figure it out today, ha! We can crack this case, I¡¯m sure of it, eh Chucky?~¡± caw! ¡°What if something else ends up attacking us? Like- I-I don¡¯t know, a wild Luxray? Doubt Chucky will be of much help there...~¡± caw, caw! ¡°~You heard him~. But nah, I really doubt that¡¯s gonna happen. I¡¯d think most mons know better than to just harass people for no reason, not with League being all too eager to come down on them for that.~¡± ¡°~Something tells me feral mons aren¡¯t too familiar with human para-governmental organizations...~¡± ¡°~Don¡¯t have to be if the message is just ¡®don¡¯t eat the lanky things¡¯-~¡± RAAAHHHH! CAW! The loud cry sent dread deep through both teens, sounding like a mix of screams, whispers, and fabric being torn. Their eyes immediately shot up towards the source of the haunting noise, the being that stood in their way not one either teen was expecting. The Banette¡¯s pink eyes drilled right into their very souls, the line of the zipper-like grin constantly wavering between a crooked smile and a harsh scowl. It was terrifying and decidedly not the ghost they were looking for. Both the teens kept enough of their brains to start slowly shuffling backward, avoiding sudden moves. Finding a spirit of a Gardevoir was one thing. Silly myths aside, any attacks of humans on their hands were unheard of. Something that absolutely couldn¡¯t be said of the Banette in front of them- And it was very, very eager to demonstrate that fact. ¡°~IZZY, WATCH OUT!~¡± The punk¡¯s attention, temporarily distracted by the briefest of glances at the nearby tree and a Phantump peeking out from behind it, was drawn right back by her boyfriend¡¯s scream. Just in time to see a sphere of dark, crackling energy fly straight at her. Her brain short-circuited at the sight, and her feet felt rooted to the forest floor. The only movement her body could manage was her face twisting into utter horror before she shut her eyes, bracing for certain death- Only for Lee to tackle her to the ground, only barely dodging the Shadow Ball. A couple of skipped heartbeats later, they heard a loud bang in the distance behind them; the shatter of wood followed up shortly by the deafening croak of a collapsing tree. The Banette wasn¡¯t done, nowhere near. Its hateful eyes kept staring them both down as it began to form another projectile between its raggedy hands- CAW, CAAAAW! Only for Chucky to strike first. The seething mass of pink and black energy hit the ghost without warning, the shriek that left it even louder than the one it had first startled the couple with. Once the smoke had cleared, they finally saw the many tears and cracks covering its writhing body. Pink light leaked out of them as the Banette thrashed on the ground, screaming in pain. Neither of the two knew enough about battles to have any idea just what had happened. It sure looked like Chucky had just laid it out in one hit. And judging by his expression, the Murkrow was only looking for an excuse to follow up with a finishing blow. ¡°~Holy shit, Chucky-~¡± caw, caw! ¡°~C¡¯mon Lee, let¡¯s dip outta here...~¡± ¡°~But we still haven¡¯t found-~¡± ¡°~LEE!~¡± ¡°~Fine, fine!~¡± Izzy might not have wasted time getting up, but Lee most definitely did, the curiosity getting the better of him in the end. With Chucky returning to his proper place on his human¡¯s shoulder, he felt confident enough to approach the wounded ghost. Especially now that it got company. Thankfully, it was far from a particularly intimidating sort. The tiny Phantump that had floated over to the downed Banette immediately backed off at seeing him, its whimpers shrill and pitiful. He almost felt bad for a moment- crr-cr-crrr-crr-CRACK-CRACK! The rattling, cracking noise from the box in Lee¡¯s backpack froze Izzy¡¯s blood. The punk looked over her shoulder, only to see her boyfriend getting closer to the ghost that had just tried to murder them. She wanted to shout for him to come and leave, but her voice stuck in her throat as the device rattled and screamed at them about the looming threat. It was right there! They were gonna fucking die! They had to get out, get out NOW! He¡¯d saved her once, and now it was time for her to repay the favor. Izzy remained silent as she dashed over and grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulders, about to yank him straight back and pull him out of there- Only for their destination to arrive first. The Ghost Bride appeared in front of them in a blink, hovering a couple of inches off the ground; its eyes shrouded in a brilliant white flare. The single, drawn-out, ear-piercing whine replaced the previous clacking as the soul of a mighty psychic stared them down- ¡°^BEGONE!^¡± Can do! The teens took off in utter terror; the sight of a furious ghost burned into their retina. Their minds were overfilled with fear- Run, run now, your life¡¯s on the line, run, RUN, RUN! Chucky might have been immune to whatever had just befallen his human and his human¡¯s human, but he wouldn¡¯t argue with their screams, following them out with a few more caws, only occasionally glancing over at the ghostly Gardevoir. It remained in its spot, unmoving, merely staring in their direction until the group finally made it back to the ruins. They sure as hell weren¡¯t gonna stop there, not until they were safe and back at their place. Possibly not even then, depending on just how much excess fear their minds got soaked with. Chapter 15: Nurture ¡°^So, any more questions for now?^¡± Autumn asked. Despite the utter weirdness of the creature being discussed, not even two entire classes of kids could maintain a steady output of questions forever; the Indeedee left with no responses for the first time in what felt like hours. She definitely didn¡¯t mind, and neither did Geiger after having to do more talking in one extended session than he usually did in a week. Still, it¡¯d be a shame for their class to end on a flat note like that. No, there were much better ways of reinforcing the knowledge she¡¯d been trying to drill into their heads. ¡°^Alrighty! Now, how about you discuss what you¡¯ve all just learned with your friends? We and other teachers are here, so if you have questions, don¡¯t hesitate to ask!^¡± On cue, the entire clearing exploded into a cacophony of murmurs, growls, and whispers; what felt like a dozen different discussions starting off before she could even finish the sentence. Quite a lot of sudden noise for her ears and horns alike, but the Indeedee would tolerate a bit of over-stimulation if it meant the kids would be more effectively swayed. And, even more importantly, she could exchange more than a couple of words with the adults, now that the little ones were occupied. ¡°^How are you holding up, Geiger?^¡± A drawn out grunt and a staggered stretch weren¡¯t the most inspiring of responses to a question like that, but the words that followed made up for it somewhat. ¡°I¡¯m managing, I think. Glad to be of help, though, good gods, my throat is taking a beating,¡± he chuckled. ¡°^Won¡¯t hurt to grab a drink at Viv¡¯s after we¡¯re done here,^¡± Autumn suggested. ¡°That it won¡¯t, indeed. As an aside¡­ I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not curious about your personal involvement in the girl¡¯s situation, Autumn. The way Oliver described your request made it look... unusually pointed for you.¡± ¡°^That¡¯s... an accurate way of describing it, yeah. Hard to be too detached with my daughter having been Anne¡¯s primary point of contact with the village for the past couple days, and having gotten a very good look at what brought her here in the first place.^¡± ¡°Hmm, about that. I¡¯ve heard a lot about ¡®what¡¯ but very little of ¡®why¡¯, and I won¡¯t deny my curiosity about that. Ultimately, I only know so much about humanity, and to hear about a child escaping her home to her doom sets off more alarms to my head than a practice emergency drill at the facility I worked at.¡± Autumn had exactly zero idea about what his comparison meant in terms of words, but everything about what emotions came with it, and those were inarguable. She sighed, ¡°^Ultimately, it comes down to an abusive family making her fear for her life.^¡± Geiger didn¡¯t respond immediately, his tone instead lowering into a drawn out grumble. The charge in his body spiked enough to produce visible discharge between his horns and tails for a brief moment. ¡°I see. I am terribly sorry. Suppose it only makes sense to prepare everyone for accepting a new head in our fold, even if it¡¯s an unusual one.¡± ¡°^I hope so, yes.^¡± The uncertainty in Autumn¡¯s voice caught the Electivire¡¯s attention right away; eyes narrowing with another, brighter flash between his horns. ¡°And I¡¯d hope something as self-evident as a girl¡¯s need for safety isn¡¯t being called into question by anyone beyond an annoying, xenophobic child...¡± ¡°^I wish,^¡± Autumn whispered. Immediately, his right hand clenched into a tight fist, the Thunder Punch¡¯s charge fierce enough to catch the attention of many nearby kids. ¡°It sounds like I ought to... talk sense into someone,¡± he muttered through teeth. ¡°^Geiger, please. I know you mean well, but I can¡¯t imagine intimidation achieving anything but making things worse.^¡± The Electivire grumbled again before exhaling with a slump, his bulky body nodding as he eased out. He knew better than this, and even if he was too old for trying to plead with terrible people instead of being forward and harsh with them, his preferences came second with actually important matters like that. ¡°You aren¡¯t wrong, Autumn, but... who¡¯s holding it up?¡± ¡°^From what Aria told me, the scout council decided to hold a vote about what shall happen to the girl, and I sensed from Ana that the vote ended up being deferred until tomorrow.^¡± Geiger went through the faces of increasing familiarity in his head; grumbling in various degrees as he thought through everyone involved in a decision like that and their probable level of disagreement. ¡°Ah yes, that explains why Lumi was even more wound up than usual last night, even Lyn sensed. I ought to try having that discussion with him again. Won¡¯t hurt in any case. I know Ori less, but picking his brain about all this in return for some technical knowledge sounds doable. Wish I had concrete advice for Marco, though you probably know better already¡ª¡± ¡°^Marco won¡¯t be a problem. He¡¯s on Anne¡¯s side after I helped him uncover some of what happened that led her here.^¡± Geiger smirked, ¡°Ha, that¡¯s swell. Knew he could be reasonable sometimes. With anyone else, I imagine that all my presence would do would be to put them on the defensive, and even I¡¯m knowledgeable enough about people to know to avoid that. It looks like you¡¯ve got it under control then~.¡± ¡°^I wish. The uncertainty grinds away at us all so much. I do what I can, and I hope it¡¯ll prove enough,^¡± Autumn sighed. ¡°Sounds like all the other great people I know,¡± he reassured. The Indeedee didn¡¯t expect a compliment considering the terseness of the situation, but she couldn¡¯t deny it having helped a hefty deal. Her light chuckle split the Electric-type¡¯s expression with a warm, if tired, smile. ¡°^Thank you, Geiger. You know, I might even join you for some tea, if you¡¯d be willing to wait for me~.^¡± ¡°It¡¯d be my pleasure, Autumn. Before any of that, though, there¡¯s this little fellow that I¡¯ve been meaning to ask a Psychic about,¡± the Electivire said, patting the Magnemite still attached to his arm. Their singular eye was open all the way, constantly scanning around the area. It was hard to pick their emotions out from the crowd, especially with her slipping skill, but what Autumn could make out was¡­ very confused and worried. Oh dear. ¡°^Of course, Geiger! Now, you mentioned how they followed Lumi back here over from the human town, right?^¡± she asked. ¡°That¡¯s what he¡¯d described, yes.¡± ¡°^Hope it¡¯s something innocuous, then. Alright, let me try,^¡± Autumn muttered as the arm-magnet was lowered into her reach. She focused on getting through the metal shell and into the mind contained within; carefully stroking the top of their spherical main body as she spoke up, ¡°^Hello there, sweetie!^¡± Their eye shot wide open immediately. The slight zap along her paw made Autumn flinch, but she persevered, observing the lil¡¯ one¡¯s reactions with as many senses as she could manage. ¡°^Yep, yep, that¡¯s me talking to you! What¡¯s your name?^¡± Not much happened for the next few moments. The Magnemite¡¯s eye remained closed as they thought through that question; their side magnets slumping as they grew sadder. The sight brought a frown to the Indeedee¡¯s face, making her redouble her efforts towards communicating with the stray little one¡ªvery little one, it felt like. Much of what went on in their head was only partially formed; not unlike what she¡¯d experienced with Cadence and Bell when they were too young to even walk. ¡°^If you don¡¯t have or can¡¯t remember your name, that¡¯s okay, too, sweetie. You¡¯re safe here, no matter what. Do you recall following anyone yesterday?^¡± A careful nod; much of their tension finally relaxing enough to start gradually detaching themselves from Geiger¡¯s arm. The Electivire wasn¡¯t rushing them along either, free hand contributing his own affection to whatever careful extent it was capable of. ¡°They... like me. Not like... others,¡± the Magnemite thought as hard as they could. ¡°^They were like you? Just how Geiger beside you is also like you?^¡± Autumn asked. The unnamed Steel-type took their time chewing through her words, but once they did, their shaky nod confirmed her hypothesis. ¡°^Seems Lumi was the first Electric-type they¡¯ve ever seen, so they followed them, Geiger.^¡± ¡°Either they¡¯re very young, or that human village is an absolute hole in the ground,¡± Geiger commented. ¡°^I¡¯ve a strong feeling both are true. In any case¡ªdo you remember having any parents or friends in there, little one? Someone who would look out for you?^¡± This time, their eye swerved from side to side after a moment of thought; the sight deflating Autumn¡¯s expression a decent bit. ¡°No... only me. Others... mean. Threw things at me and ran away...¡± ¡°Hmm. Yeah, that figures,¡± the Electivire sighed. ¡°^Oh? What do you mean, Geiger?^¡± ¡°Where I worked, Magnemite were considered pests, since they ate the electricity our facility produced. I had to shoo groups of them away once or twice because otherwise they¡¯d start becoming a problem. I imagine most humans don¡¯t view them too favorably.¡± Autumn sighed at that description. It made sense, but she didn¡¯t need further reminders about the... less than pleasant nature of humanity when taken as a whole and not as singular, lost children. Geiger continued, ¡°Sounds like this little one hatched on their own, didn¡¯t get the friendliest of greetings from the human village, and spent a while sticking to a transformer, a power cable, or a substation. Uhhh, large boxes with electricity in them or long, metal, electric cables. Does that sound accurate, little one?¡± Moment of thought, a relatively confident nod. ¡°Yep. Feel free to stick to me for now, then. We¡¯ll figure something out. Alright, I¡¯m way overdue for a drink, and afterwards I¡¯ll ask Viv to help show the little one around. Who knows, maybe we¡¯ll attend Jovan¡¯s classes tomorrow to start working on our language right away, ha! Anyhow. Care to join us for some tea, Autumn¡ª¡± Before the Electivire could finish shooting his shot, though, his and Autumn¡¯s focus was taken up by several kids eagerly trying to catch their attention. ¡°Mr. Geiger, Mr. Geiger!¡± the Zangoose at the front of the group asked. From what the Indeedee could piece together, they had a fair bit of an argument just now; Blossom and Hawthorne both left about as irate as each other as the other three saw it fit to settle their argument by asking the adults more questions. ¡°Yes, ...¡± ¡°^Grace.^¡± ¡°...Grace?¡± Geiger asked. The Zangoose blinked flatly at the Electric-type needing to be reminded of her name again, before going through with her contribution to the discussion at hand, ¡°The human, uh... these weird balls of theirs. How dangerous are they?¡± ¡°Extremely so,¡± the Electivire answered flatly. Seeing the growing smirk on the Espurr¡¯s expression, Autumn followed right up, ¡°^Which is why it¡¯s good that Anne does not have any, nor is she in a position to ever obtain them.^¡± ¡°I told you!¡± Blossom triumphed. If there was any more smugness in her voice, it would¡¯ve been dripping down her beak. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s not dangerous, Blossom!¡± Hawthorne shouted back, not taking her idea getting discarded well. ¡°How would she even hurt us, huh!?¡± the Dartrix insisted, prying her eyes open just to leer at the Espurr. It felt special in a grim, amusing way. ¡°They have their other evil tools! They stole our gifts and are using them for themselves!¡± ¡°...is that true?¡± the Gloom asked, weary and even a bit fearful. The idea of their own strengths being used against them was a deeply unnerving one. Which is why it was very fortunate that it just wasn¡¯t true in the slightest. ¡°No, of course not,¡± Geiger explained. ¡°Some of their contraptions mimic certain parts of what we can do, but for every crude imitation there are at least three other feats I¡¯ve never seen them get anywhere near close to reproducing. Psychic feats, control over plant life, Fairy tricks, might of Dragons... to the best of my knowledge, all those are completely unattainable to humanity.¡± ¡°A ha!¡± Blossom exclaimed, triumphant. Unfortunately for her, Geiger wasn¡¯t quite done yet, ¡°Consequently, some of their most dangerous inventions don¡¯t map onto any specific type. The blue glowing energy source in the facility I worked at wasn¡¯t anything Electric in nature despite its glow, and I have exactly zero idea about what else it could be. Human weapons of choice are similarly type-less, stretched handheld devices capable of launching metal slugs at speeds fast enough to be imperceptible, striking targets before they can react¡ª¡± ¡°...wouldn¡¯t that be Steel-type?¡± the Gloom asked, throwing a wrench into Geiger¡¯s explanation. The small gathering took a while processing Mint¡¯s question, mostly through the form of blinking slowly at once another. Off to the side, Hawthorne was almost celebrating in place at the ¡®good fortune¡¯ of Geiger having brought up an actual threat with human contraptions, finally! Autumn rolled her eyes repeatedly. ¡°I have... no idea,¡± the Electivire admitted. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Ori about it later, now that you brought that up. In either case, considering that I¡¯ve only ever seen that kind of weapon be carried by dedicated adult security guards and nobody else, I heavily doubt a child would be capable of getting their hands on one.¡± And immediately, the Espurr¡¯s mood deflated again, the Indeedee having to do everything in her power not to giggle at sensing that. She spoke, ¡°^Indeed, she doesn¡¯t have one of these devices. Really, the most dangerous item I¡¯ve seen in her possession was a metal knife; similar in size to Grace¡¯s claws, with nowhere near the raw strength backing it up. And that¡¯s it.^¡± As the Zangoose examined her paws, the rest of the group thought through the implications of what they just heard described, minds arriving at wildly different conclusions. Autumn wished she didn¡¯t get to sense Hawthorne¡¯s, but thankfully for once it wouldn¡¯t be the Espurr that spoke up first. ¡°With how weak she sounds, won¡¯t she need someone to accompany and protect her?¡± the Stunky asked without his signature bravado for once, the genuine curiosity making the Indeedee smile. ¡°^Initially she probably will, Zephyr, same as any other recent arrival or little one who can¡¯t get around by themselves yet. That¡¯s just a matter of communication and not defense, though. Nobody is gonna be attacking her.^¡± Despite the confidence in Autumn¡¯s words, thinking of that possibility brought up more than a bit of uncomfortable uncertainty; the non-zero risk of something exactly like that happening threatened to fry her mind. She hoped nobody would speak up to question that assumption¡ª ¡°But what if they do?¡± Goddammit, Zephyr. ¡°^Well... in that case, they¡¯d be judged just as if they¡¯d attacked anyone else unprovoked, if not harsher because of the sheer power disparity.^¡± ¡°Why does the human get special treatment!?¡± the Espurr screeched. ¡°I imagine for the very same reasons we¡¯d all judge people harsher for striking a defenseless child over a capable adult, Hawthorne,¡± Geiger grunted, shutting Hawthorne up. As well as the Indeedee was hiding her disappointment with the Psychic kitten, the same absolutely couldn¡¯t be said for the Electivire; his words somehow getting even flatter each time he spoke. It was not unearned in the slightest, even if somewhat rough for a child. Autumn just sighed in equal mix relief and worry. ¡°Maybe that just means she¡¯ll need multiple people to protect her!¡± Zephyr chimed in. His conclusion was hard to disagree with, though he and the Indeedee felt very different about it. What she could make out of his enthusiasm took her off guard, but... actually, hold on. Hold right on~ ¡°^That wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea, Zephyr. Are you thinking of... anyone in specific~?^¡± Autumn asked; her question as leading as her expression was smug. A small pang of guilt shot through her at putting the Stunky in such an obviously uncomfortable position. Though, if it meant that Anne would indeed end up with multiple pairs of eyes looking after her, then Autumn wasn¡¯t about to let the means get in the way of the ends. As she¡¯d expected, the Stunky¡¯s response was very hesitant, at least at the start. He stammered, ¡°I-I¡ªumm... I-I could p-probably do it¡­¡± Autumn giggled while internally counting down the time it¡¯d take for him to break through that uncertainty and rocket through straight into more of his confidence and desire to prove himself, no matter what. Eight seconds. ¡°...y-yeah, I could do it! I¡¯ll do it! C-can I do it?¡± Zephyr asked, determined. Autumn giggled, ¡°^Teehee, we¡¯ll see Zephyr, but it¡¯s very nice of you to offer. There are still many unknowns about her stay here, but once they¡¯re dealt with, once we¡¯re looking for people to look after Anne during her day-to-day life for those first few weeks or months... we¡¯ll know who to ask~.^¡± The Stunky sighed deeply at the best possible response. Acknowledgment helped his poor confidence, while the deferral made his eagerness non-binding, avoiding the potential regret of getting into way more than he¡¯d bargained for only to then heavily regret it and make himself look like a dummy for inevitably failing to rise to the challenge... ¡°O-okay. Thank you, Mrs. Autumn...¡± ¡°^You¡¯re welcome, sweetie~. Now, did you all¡ª^¡± ¡°See, I told you she isn¡¯t dangerous!¡± Blossom cut in, more confident than she ever got. Hawthorne responded to the contrary soon after, and by the time the other three rejoined the discussion, it was much too late for their teacher to even think about chiming in directly anymore. She giggled as she waved Geiger off, glad to have gotten some sense into the kids. Now, time to repeat that feat with the adults. The two daycare minders weren¡¯t too difficult to find amidst the crowd, standing way above almost all the little ones in their care. Just that realization wasn¡¯t extremely helpful on its own, not with both of them having their paws occupied by looking after the extra-sized class, even with the help of the other pair of teachers. Still, it¡¯d really help for her to talk with them directly without interruption, which left... getting the little ones out of the picture, somehow. Before Autumn could attempt just that, one particularly lively tyke caught her attention. After trying and failing to reach the two caretakers that oversaw the littlest ones, the blue and black kitten finally noticed her, trying to catch her attention by the means of tapping her leg. Considering his proximity to Lumi¡­ yeah, Autumn could spare the moment. ¡°^Hello there, Lyn! Can I help you~?^¡± she greeted, smiling. The Shinx mewled before trying to concentrate on words, many of which still came with noticeable difficulty. Still, he persisted, shifting from paw to paw before coming up with a simple question, ¡°What you talked about?¡± Guess Pearl¡¯s concerns about some of the younger kids missing the point even with translation were valid in the end. ¡°^Well, we talked about Anne, the human girl at the clinic. What your dad has been worrying so much about.^¡± The latter addition probably counted as underhanded, but the Indeedee didn¡¯t have it in her to care, especially not with it finally making everything click for Lyn. He reeled back a bit, eyes growing wide, but ultimately gave it however much thought a few-month-old Shinx was capable of. ¡°Oooooh. Not mean?¡± he asked, meowing. If there was one singular fact they¡¯ve been trying to drill for the past couple of hours, it was that. Autumn nodded eagerly at Lyn¡¯s question, ¡°^Yes, exactly! She¡¯s not mean, your dad is just worrying for no reason.^¡± ¡°He worries a lot!¡± the Shinx squeaked. If only it was just that Lyn, if only it was just that. ¡°^Yep, but now you know better! Are you gonna be taking a nap soon?^¡± ¡°Noooo, not yet!¡± Right. From what she remembered when checking up on Bell, naps came when Jovan and Pearl called for them. And since they were technically sharing caretaker duties, maybe they¡¯d all listen to her as well¡­ only one way to find out. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t be too annoyed at her afterwards. ¡°^Hey, everyone! We¡¯ve had a great discussion so far, but it¡¯s time for a nap now, especially for the younger of us! Get yourselves comfortable near Elder Ana, and sweet dreams!^¡± Autumn had no idea how having daggers stared into her by three separate pairs of eyes felt like before, and it proved to be an experience she¡¯d rather not have to repeat anytime soon. Unpleasant, sure¡ªbut anything for Anne. Anything. ¡°^It ain¡¯t nap time yet!^¡± the Grumpig shouted at her telepathically, making the Indeedee wince. ¡°^I know, but I need to chat with you two and had to get your hands free for a while!^¡± Pearl didn¡¯t expect that response, eyes going wide as she carefully herded the gathered children to get comfy beside the Torkoal Elder. The latter glared at Autumn for effectively getting immobilized, right as she was in the middle of talking with some young¡¯uns, no less. Highly annoying, but¡­ she found it hard to get too annoyed, not with this many kids around. Ana¡¯s weak spot, whether she was willing to admit to it or not. A couple minutes of herding cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, and plants over, the daycare group could finish settling into slumber. Many of them were so used to the Elder¡¯s warmth they were out the moment their little heads touched the warm grass surrounding the Fire-type. With that done, and their minders temporarily switching tracks to look at the now much smaller group of awake kids, Autumn could finally chat them both up, ¡°^I apologize for the sudden intrusion like that, but this is important, now that you¡¯ve both heard your share about Anne. If she ends up staying, I want you both to have a more or less defined idea of how her stay under the care of you two would go like, just so that I or Aria can bring it up to the Elders when arguing for her.^¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°^And what makes ya so sure we¡¯re for it?^¡± Pearl asked, still annoyed somewhat. Her words were uncertain, pretended to raise a contrary point to what the Indeedee was clearly assuming of them... but all it took was one disbelieving look from Autumn to melt through that excuse, the Grumpig faltering soon after. ¡°^I may be old, Pearl, but I¡¯m not stupid. You don¡¯t choose to spend your days helping the little ones out if you hate children, and if there¡¯s anyone that interacts with enough toddlers to help that fact completely overcome their prejudices, it¡¯s also you two.^¡± The two caretakers each had to hold in a wince at being seen through so cleanly, Pearl yielding first before Jovan followed, ¡°Yeah... With what you said, breaks my heart to imagine someone so weak ending up on her own again, with no family to take care of her. Maybe with one of us by their side, watching out for them~?¡± ¡°Liiiike a trainer mon, nooo~?¡± a hissing voice asked, catching the caretakers¡¯ attention. Autumn was glad to see the Serperior. She would have had to talk to him about this anyway, and now she could address all the teachers in their village at the same time¡ªCinder aside. However, she wasn¡¯t sure of the Grass-type¡¯s attitude towards Anne, even despite all the reassurances that she wasn¡¯t a threat. Hopefully, her and Geiger¡¯s effort wasn¡¯t for naught. ¡°^That¡¯s... one hell of a comparison, Oliver, but I¡¯d be lying if it¡¯s a wholly inaccurate one.^¡± Autumn admitted. ¡°^Part of me wonders whether Anne had ever considered an outcome like that, running away with Ember on their own, following in that whole harrowing ¡®trainer¡¯ footsteps just to get away from her family.^¡± ¡°Oh golly, I hope not,¡± Jovan shuddered. ¡°^Yup, for the girl¡¯s sake...^¡± Pearl followed. ¡°Can¡¯t imagine Ember would be too happy were that ever the cassssssse~.¡± Jovan and Pearl¡¯s responses were predictable enough, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Oliver¡¯s. Autumn tried to defend the girl, ¡°^She really didn¡¯t strike me as being so na?ve as to think that mons would ever join a trainer entirely voluntarily. Even if she did and she had considered a journey like that, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a sign of her being evil. Merely of her having been taught that such dynamic is right and just for everyone involved.^¡± ¡°^How dim d¡¯ya hafta be to buy into that?^¡± the Grumpig hollered. For a while, Autumn wrecked her head to come up with a retort to Pearl¡¯s words; part of her almost giving up on the bad faith question before a potential answer hit her. ¡°^Not stupid, just taught that humans and mons are somehow so different as to be utterly incomparable. That we think and live in completely different ways. That one of those groups is normal beings, and the other are monsters whose only goal is to fight... or enslave.^¡± Her allusion thankfully hit true, judging by the waves of unease that went through the teachers and the older kids nearby alike. The Indeedee continued, ¡°^I¡¯ve felt what she thinks of us when I tended to her yesterday at the clinic. She wasn¡¯t evil, she was just ignorant of the truth of us being more alike than either wants to think, and I¡¯m willing to bet that the same is true with many, many other humans.^¡± ¡°But that wouldn¡¯t have jussssstified her actionsssss had she taken Ember for a... ¡®trainer¡¯ journey,¡± the Serperior argued. ¡°^No, of course not, Oliver, but that¡¯s not what happened, was it? Now, if we could kindly move on from scary hypotheticals and back to the reality in front of us. Jovan, Pearl, what obstacles do you see between Anne and potentially joining your group once her living situation is sorted, and she¡¯s ready to learn the language?^¡± Autumn asked pointedly, stirring the group from its stupor. The two caretakers considered the risks of a whole human just joining in like that. And the more they thought... the less grave dangers they came up with¡ªat least, for anyone aside from the human herself. ¡°^Keepin¡¯ her safe from tha other young¡¯uns¡¯s the crux of it. You and Geiger drove in how flimsy humans are, and now I¡¯m worryin¡¯ about someone hurting the girl by accident¡ª¡¯specially the youngest kiddos...^¡± the Grumpig muttered. Autumn couldn¡¯t help but worry at Pearl¡¯s words. It was one thing to have the confidence that no sane adult would just randomly assault a child, no matter how much they disliked the shape of their body; but children were another case entirely. A much messier, more uncertain case, Autumn ¡®hmm¡¯ and ¡®haw¡¯-ing as she considered the possibilities. Or at least, until the answer came from beside her. ¡°Well, I imagine it¡¯ssss a ssssssliding ssssscale of rissssk, no? Keep the human with older, lesssss rissssky kidssss, and ssssstresssss being ssssafe,¡± Oliver proposed. The Indeedee didn¡¯t expect the Serperior of all people to be chiming in with advice to help Anne stay, but she wasn¡¯t gonna look the gifted snake in the mouth. ¡°^Exactly. Young Poison or Fire-types would likely be a bit too risky, especially early on, but Reya or Bell? Those wouldn¡¯t hurt a stray leaf, and I imagine Reya in particular to be more than eager to keep a potential friend safe.^¡± ¡°Asssssuming she doessssn¡¯t punch them...¡± ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair to say~; she hasn¡¯t done that in a few Moons now,¡± Jovan giggled. ¡°She¡¯s grown way past that... huh... uh... can any of you spot her?¡± The Wigglytuff¡¯s comment had the assembled teachers look around the entire clearing in search of the Riolu, unable to find her. Autumn asked, worried, ¡°^I thought Lariat came and picked her up?^¡± ¡°^Awfully early for him, love, but... I reckon could¡¯ve happened. Hardly the first time he¡¯d snuck away with her without tellin¡¯ us. Yeah, prolly that¡¯s it,^¡± Pearl reassured. Her delivery wasn¡¯t very confident, but at least there was the fact of the Lucario scout being particularly well suited for searching for his daughter, should it ever come to that. Of course, if that were to happen, then he¡¯d also be very, very annoyed at them for having lost her in all the commotion in the first place, and an annoyed Lariat is how one ended up having to run away from the punishment that accompanied such a situation. Namely, him looking at the guilty parties in a really sad, heartbreakingly disappointed way. With no survivors. ¡°^Right-o. Anywho¡ª¡¯course Reya wouldn¡¯t punch her! Sure not if she¡¯s already charmed Bell.^¡± ¡°^Than that sounds like her personal daycare posse taken care of, eh Pearl~?^¡± Autumn chuckled. The Grumpig might not have liked that framing of it; but even he couldn¡¯t deny that yeah, it was a solution, if not a bulletproof one. Then again, when it came to mon-proofing anything, nothing was ever fully ¡®bulletproof¡¯. Just ask all the huts that ever went down by accident. ¡°^I... I s¡¯pose,^¡± the Grumpig admitted. ^¡±¡¯Specially if she can wear anythin¡¯ that¡¯d block debris. Those pebbles can be awfully sharp, and Geiger went on how human hide ain¡¯t... durable.^¡± ¡°^Nope, it really didn¡¯t feel like that from what I¡¯ve interacted with her. She has some clothes with her, but I don¡¯t know if anything is large or durable enough for that purpose. Maybe I¡¯ll have to sit down with the knitting needles again after all, ha!^¡± ¡°What¡¯s thaaat I heeear about knittiiing~?¡± an old, slow, croaky voice asked. It fit the Lilligant it belonged to, age-weathered and wrapped in a thick, hand-knitted shawl. A large bulb, obscured by a long scarf, rested on top of the spot her flower bloomed from in the spring. One hell of an outfit to just sneak on all four of them with, but¡ªif her looking up at them from a group of chatting kids was any sign¡ªit was exactly what had just happened. ¡°^Oh, it¡¯s...^¡± Autumn tried to brush Lavender¡¯s concern aside¡ªbefore stopping and giving it some thought. There wasn¡¯t anyone around the place more suited for making something specifically for Anne as the Lilligant, not with her expertise; and crossing the line from just reassurance to actual gifts would help further cement Anne¡¯s place here, both for her and for the rest of the village. Of course, it remained to be seen whether Lavender herself would agree to such an arrangement, and there was only one way to find out. ¡°^Actually. Lavender, we were discussing some kinds of clothes that Anne could really use if she ends up staying, and a thick, outer shawl would help her a lot, I think. Of course, I understand if you¡¯d rather not do that¡ª^¡± ¡°Whyyyyy wooould I nooot?¡± the Lilligant asked, confused. Well, that was easy. ¡°^I more so meant that just in case, but... thank you, Lavender.^¡± ¡°Ahahaha, of coooourse I¡¯ll heeeelp a liiittle one ouuuut. And I¡¯ve eveeeeen heard of heeer being friends with Embeeeer! A matching paaaair of shawls would be soooooo sweeeeet. Sol, wake up, we have a new project to tackle!¡± The elderly Grass-type accompanied her last sentence by reaching up and forcefully prodding the hidden bulb on top of her head; the being underneath the knitted fabric squirming in response. They squeaked, grumbled, and finally dared to peek out, revealing their brown face flanked by a pair of green horns. ¡°Wassup, mom?¡± ¡°A neeeeeew project! A laaaarge one, too!¡± the Lilligant answered. ¡°Somethin¡¯ fancy?¡± ¡°Hmmmm... I suppose if we weeeeere to take Ember¡¯s outfit for fixeeees we could enhance it a bit to match this new one~.¡± ¡°Wait, matchin¡¯ it with Ember¡¯s thing? Who we makin¡¯ it for, Cadence?¡± the Whimsicott asked. ¡°The humaaan!¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± the Fairy-type shouted, his mom¡¯s calm yet utterly insane answer making him float a few feet in the air out of sheer shock. A colder gust immediately forced him back down into warmth, much to the Lilligant¡¯s amusement. ¡°I meaaaant what I said, Sol! It¡¯s sweeeet when friends have matching ouuuutfits!¡± ¡°Since when is i¡ªare they staying?¡± Sol corrected himself at seeing Autumn¡¯s features narrow at seeing yet another person depersonify the innocent human in their care. Despite that, though, his point hit the rest of the group true; their attention turning towards Autumn, one after another. ¡°Hmm... I suuuuppose you¡¯d be the first to know if that did haaaappen, Sol,¡± Lavender admitted. ¡°Autumn, dear, mind claaaarifying?¡± She didn¡¯t mind, but good gods, she hated having to admit to the cruel reality that still awaited the girl. ¡°^It¡¯s not definitively settled yet. The scout council will hold a vote to decide her outcome, but I¡¯m confident they¡¯ll agree that she should stay with us for good, and so I think it¡¯s a good idea to start working on making her welcome as warm as can be in advance.^¡± Much of Autumn¡¯s confidence was pretense, but thankfully nobody but her knew that. Pearl could vaguely guess based on the changes in her emotional state, but of the two, the Grumpig was the much worse Psychic when it came to sensing emotion, bringing a hidden sigh of relief to the Indeedee¡¯s body. Thankfully, her answer was enough for the Lilligant. ¡°Well, thaaaat¡¯s enough for me! Warm clothes for a cooooold child, and Ember¡¯s friend noooo less!¡± Her enthusiasm wasn¡¯t epidemic-level infectious, not with her quiet, creaky delivery, but the Indeedee still appreciated it. ¡°And what if she¡¯s gone in the end, mom?¡± the Whimsicott asked. ¡°Then we repuuurpose it, Soool! Hardly the fiiirst time.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s such a waste, doncha think?¡± ¡°What¡¯s waaaaste is not taking an opportuuuuunity to greet the new arrival, Sol.¡± The Whimsicott rolled his eyes and grumbled on top of his mom, but he couldn¡¯t deny she had a point. A gift like that would be quite sweet, the humanity of its recipient aside... though, what is it about them and Ember of all people? Some fresh gossip? ¡°Right, right, right... uh, whatsat about the human and Ember again, Autumn? Didn¡¯t catch that.¡± ¡°^They¡¯re old friends, Sol. I know it¡¯s not something you¡¯ve heard about a lot, and all I can say to that is... trauma changes people. It can meddle with emotions, it can mess with memories, it can change us as people to our very core. Ember¡¯s fear of humans was and is genuine, but Anne here has always been the one exception to that rule.^¡± In all likelihood, Autumn could¡¯ve probably afforded to spill the beans about Ember¡¯s memories by now, especially with the kids being distracted and her being able to make that knowledge stay within this small group. It would feel vindicating for sure, but at the same time... it would¡¯ve been yet another distraction from the actual point. Lavender¡¯s help was much more valuable than an opportunity to vent her frustrations, and she didn¡¯t want to distract the elderly Lilligant with drama that didn¡¯t really affect any of this, and which nobody ought to know about but the people directly involved. Knowing Sol, he¡¯d be willing to... okay, maybe not kill but at least maim for a piece of gossip this juicy, and maybe it¡¯d prove to be a decent bargaining chip in time? Something to consider for the future, and now it was the time to keep steering the discussion where she wanted it to go. ¡°^Does that make sense?^¡± she asked. ¡°Uh, nope. Though if that¡¯s the real deal, then that¡¯s the real deal, I guess,¡± Sol shrugged. Not like being nonsense has ever stopped fresh, juicy rumors. ¡°^Real deal everyone would want a piece of, eh Sol?^¡± The Whimsicott needed no further motivation; torn between the constant annoying reality of it being the middle of a cold, windy winter and his life¡¯s goal to outdo Holly and Vivian in spreading fresh news around the place. Granted, the Azumarill cook inevitably won each time by the virtue of having much more and much hungrier of an audience to share info with, but it¡¯s not like an unimportant fact like that had ever stopped him. ¡°Waaaait, I¡¯ll need a lot of cotton foooooor this project!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do a sweep, grab a drink at Viv¡¯s and be home before you get there, mom.¡± ¡°I knooow that! I don¡¯t want you withering because of that cold. Go wrap yourseeeeelf in something aaaand then you can play gossip,¡± Lavender insisted. ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, mom¡ª¡± ¡°Sol.¡± ¡°Okay, okay...¡± ¡°Thaaaank you.¡± ¡°See ya¡¯ll later, then~!¡± the Whimsicott squeaked, taking into the air. Right as he was about to take off and push his body through riding the cold gust in the name of the closest thing to journalism in the village, his mom¡¯s words interrupted him one more time, ¡°Staaaay warm, love you!¡± ¡°Love you too, mom, so so much.¡± And with a hug to the Lilligant¡¯s head, Sol was off to the races, his mom sending him off with elderly, creaky laughter; shaking her head at his antics. ¡°Incorrigiiiible. Wonderful. Anyhow¡ªI¡¯ll neeeeed a few measurements first!¡± Lavender sighed. ¡°^Well, I remember some things off the top of my head, but they¡¯re more so estimates.^¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a shaaaawl, then that¡¯s fiiiine.¡± ¡°^Alright. As for height... Oliver!^¡± The Serperior flinched at the sudden callout; almost having followed Jovan and Pearl¡¯s lead in redirecting his attention back to the rest of the group of the little ones following Autumn getting swept up in a discussion with Lavender. Alas, the topic of the scary and unnerving human in their midst wasn¡¯t quite done yet, it seemed. ¡°Y-yesssss, Autumn?¡± ¡°^Mind making yourself taller?^¡± the Indeedee asked. Though, seeing that Oliver¡¯s response was a few blinks and an expression as flat as possible for his serpentine snout to be, she explained, ¡°^I mean, raise more of your body so your head ends up further up in the air.^¡± The followup clarified Autumn¡¯s request, but not necessarily its intent¡ªstill, the fellow teacher did as asked. The elements immediately chimed in and reminded him why he kept more of himself closer to the ground than usual during the winter, but he could bear through a bit more cold. ¡°^A bit more?^¡± The things you do out of a shared profession. Once more, he followed through, body shaking noticeably by now. Thankfully, no more would be needed; his coworker wasting no time and explaining, ¡°^Lavender, Anne¡¯s about this tall, I think. Won¡¯t hurt to err on the taller side anyway, especially since she¡¯s still young and will grow. You can relax now, Oliver, thank you so much.^¡± The Lilligant duly noted everything in her head; well used to having to remember visual guesstimates without a well-defined system of measurements. Beside them, the Serperior eased out, shivering at the cold even more than usual, the Indeedee¡¯s gentle embrace helping undo the frost along at least some of his body. ¡°Nooooted! Oliver, maybe you¡¯d be interested in soooomething for this cold tooooo? Still have some spare Sol cotton, aaaaafter all,¡± Lavender suggested. Oliver wasn¡¯t sure which flustered him more, the hug or the offer, but as much as a part of him was keen on not letting him take either, deep down he wanted both, a lot. ¡°Y-you¡¯re welcome A-Autumn. And... w-won¡¯t sssssay no, Lavender, though don¡¯t worry about me if there are otherssssss that also need warmth¡ª¡± ¡°Moooost others have been wrapped up since at least threeeee winters ago. You should¡¯ve juuuuust asked,¡± the Lilligant chuckled. Oops. A couple of gentle pets helped the serpent work through most of the assorted embarrassment at that realization; his nervous chuckle only redoubling the affection coming his way. ¡°In eeeeither case, thaaaaank you for the help, Oliver! Won¡¯t huuuurt to get started preparing for all this. Staaaaay calm everyoooone and gooood wishes for the girl!¡± Lavender took her sweet time leaving, but that was about expected from her. As she waddled through snow, Autumn immediately switched gears to the next thing she could help Anne with. At least, before a gentle hiss took her out of it, her fellow teacher bringing up his own questions, ¡°Autumn, do you mind me asssssking more about the human?¡± ¡°^Sure, go right ahead, Oliver.^¡± ¡°How do you envisssssion Cinder playing nice? And what will happen once she outgrowsssss the daycare?¡± The first question was a can of Bugs of such colossal proportions that the Indeedee honestly didn¡¯t even want to give it any thought. It¡¯d end up depending on so many factors, almost all of them beyond the control of anyone but the Delphox herself; but the underlying outcome was set in stone, no matter what it would take for the vixen to play nice. The second question, though... was more intesting to think about. ¡°^Cinder can be mad all she wants; once Anne becomes a part of the village being mad is all she¡¯ll be able to do if she doesn¡¯t want to get exiled. Now, what will Anne do in our classes... knowledge is universal, though you¡¯re right, she can¡¯t practice any moves. I don¡¯t really consider that a problem; she can just sit on the sidelines. Not like some physical activity won¡¯t hurt even then¡ªmaybe she¡¯ll train dodging?^¡± ¡°Dodging?¡± ¡°^Not like she can do much more in case of any actual strife, and even outside of combat, it¡¯ll help her remain agile. You haven¡¯t seen her, but I have. Human body looks really arboreal, I can imagine her learning how to climb onto things and help with construction projects and such. Garret will sure be glad about not having to ask birds for help with mounting things on trees constantly, ha. And that¡¯s even without mentioning her art skills and all the fine muscle control.^¡± ¡°Huh. Nothing for ssssstrength, but plenty of agility?¡± ¡°^I... suppose, though of course I doubt she¡¯s anywhere near as fast as most grown mons, mostly just dextrous, especially with her hands.^¡± ¡°Handssss?¡± Oliver asked, growing more and more confused. ¡°^Hard to imagine if you haven¡¯t seen them. They¡¯re honestly a bit creepy, really stretched out, very boney and visibly multisegmented, and so many fingers! I¡¯ve seen her do miracles with their version of a charcoal stick though, so she¡¯s obviously putting them to good use.^¡± ¡°It feelsssss like with every word you or Geiger ssssay I have even lessssss of an idea of what humanssss look like...¡± It might have been a demoralizing comment in most contexts, but Autumn wasn¡¯t about to reject a bit of laughter in the tense situation¡ªeven if it was at her own expense. ¡°^You¡¯ll see in not too long! Until then, anything else you wanted to chat about?^¡±
The discussion about the mysterious, scary human thankfully didn¡¯t last much longer after that, be it amongst teachers or students. Some were left uncertain, but many more were left bored. Human spook factor aside, in the end it¡¯d be just another kid joining them eventually, and that was hardly a rare circumstance in itself. Many hoped she¡¯d end up being nice, but some ultimately didn¡¯t care either way¡ªthey were comfortable in their own friend circles and weren¡¯t looking for expanding them all that much. Not the best of mindsets, but it beat the profound discomfort many older villagers felt. Holly might not have been the unrivaled champion of breaking through any such hesitancy, but she was incredibly adept at shining as much light on it as a non-Electric type is capable of. And when their food source puts people on the spot, most inevitably fall on the side of basic decency, be it as pretense or not. Even if it is the former, performative agreement is better than no agreement; and if someone has to pretend to be a good person for long enough, then there are decent odds that at least some of that pretense will melt into their brains and permanently change that. Or at least, that¡¯s the method the Azumarill swore by, even if expressed in much simpler, joke-heavy terms. ¡°^Good afternoon, Holly!^¡± Autumn psychically hollered into the pantry. She saw a blue paw reach out from the depths of the kitchen in response, as if telling her to hold while the rest of the attached rabbit dug through the pile of kitchenware in search of... something. The Indeedee didn¡¯t mind waiting, chuckling to herself as she saw the items become increasingly strewn on the ground, some of them very obviously human and in a very rough state. Hopefully she wasn¡¯t using these rust-covered ones for any cooking... ¡°There, bloody finally!¡± the Azumarill grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve the perfect bleedin¡¯ saucepan for preserves and the thing just dove right in that pile and wouldn¡¯t come out, for cryin¡¯ out loud. Enough about dumb fruit though¡ªAutumn! Does our skeleton artist need another snack!?¡± The abrupt swerve in topic took the Psychic aback, as did the cook¡¯s wording, but she didn¡¯t let them get to her and continued, ¡°^Well, I... I suppose it won¡¯t hurt since she¡¯s still recovering¡ªbut that¡¯s not what I¡¯m here for don¡¯t go rushing in yet!^¡± she spoke as fast as mentally possible, only barely stopping the Azumarill from getting to cooking there and then. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll grab you somethin¡¯ too,¡± Holly teased. ¡°^Not that either! I... I had something else to talk with you about.^¡± ¡°Well, what is it? Don¡¯t have all day¡ª¡± ¡°^I want to use your tattletale powers for good!^¡± ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m not a... okay no, I can¡¯t say that with a straight face. Whattcha plannin¡¯?¡± Autumn tried her hardest not to laugh as she continued, ¡°^So, I need you to warm everyone¡¯s opinion of our ¡®skeleton artist¡¯¡ª^¡± ¡°What makes ya think I haven¡¯t already been doin¡¯ that~?¡± the Azumarill asked, brow raised. ... Good point. ¡°^Well... thank you a lot in that case, Holly,^¡± Autumn sighed in relief. The Azumarill smirked with a limp flick of her wrist, giving the worried grandma a big wink for her concerns. ¡°^I¡¯ve got it all under control babe, ever since day one~. Though... if you¡¯ve got anythin¡¯ more concrete I could use as ammo, I¡¯d definitely help mooooore~.^¡± Can¡¯t ever resist that next bit of gossip, eh? ¡°^Heh, sure. I take you¡¯ve heard of Anne and Ember being friends?^¡± ¡°Sol mentioned it in passing while flying past at mach three and I¡¯ve zero idea in what way did he mean it, yes tell me everything about it!¡± Autumn didn¡¯t have to be told twice. ¡°^They met around four to five years ago, when Ember was just a hatchling. Anne and her good human relatives spent the first couple of years raising Ember, and they were the closest friends one could imagine.^¡± ¡°Lemme guess¡ªand then a terrible tragedy changed everythin¡¯?¡± Holly joked. Though, even as someone as shameless as her couldn¡¯t help but wince as she watched Autumn¡¯s expression grow distraught in real time. It seemed she¡¯d hit a bullseye, even if an accidental one and very¡­ unsettling in its implications, especially with what she knew of Ember¡¯s past. ¡°Iiiiii think I can piece some of that togetha. Then they separated?¡± ¡°^M-mhm. It was Anne¡¯s choice to protect Ember...^¡± Autumn muttered. As eager as the Indeedee had been just moments ago, having to confront all the grim tragedy in the girl¡¯s past again significantly chilled her enthusiasm; her gaze drifting off into the middle distance as she tried to keep herself grounded. These weren¡¯t her memories; she had very little idea about most of the details of the events that had transpired in them, but she knew she would carry some of them with herself until the end of her li¡ª *squeeze* It was hard to keep falling down the spiral of a nervous breakdown while being held by an aqua rabbit and raised a foot into the air. ¡°Say no more, Autumn! I get tha picture. You doin¡¯ alright up there? Felt some bad juju creepin¡¯ in and thought I¡¯d intervene.¡± ¡°^I... yeah. Thank you, Holly.^¡± ¡°Anytime darlin¡¯~. Ember remembered Anne, then the separation messed her up so much she ended up forgettin¡¯? Fuckin¡¯... tragic,¡± the Azumarill sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can to help love, doncha worry. Until then, want a bite if I¡¯m already gonna be preparing something for Anne?¡± ¡°^Yes, I¡¯ll take the usual¡ª^¡± ¡°Ya got it~!¡± Just as suddenly as she was lifted into an emergency hug, the Indeedee was lowered again; the cook dashing back into the warm confines of her kitchen and beginning her culinary magic to the rattle of an uncountable number of dishes. Some of Autumn wanted to come in and help clean the whole mess up out of gratitude, but the rest knew all too well that if there was any moment when the cook was legitimately dangerous, it was when someone came between her and her cooking¡ª ¡°^Autumn?^¡± a low, telepathic voice interrupted her train of thought. Not one she was too familiar with in a vacuum, but circumstantial evidence helped her piece it together. Concerned, if trying its very hardest to cover it, not Psychic in origin, going through the effort of establishing private telepathy... ¡°^Hello Lariat, can I help?^¡± The rest of Lucario was much like the voice she¡¯d heard. Composed and calm on the surface, increasingly unnerved underneath; the pieces of the puzzle clicking together in the Indeedee¡¯s mind with an almost audible ¡®uh-oh¡¯ as he asked, ¡°^Where is Reya?^¡± ...damn it. Damn it damn it damn it damn it damn it. No point of lying to a Lucario, let¡¯s just get to the big mess, ¡°^I... don¡¯t know. I thought you came in earlier and picked her up.^¡± She could swear she saw his composure decay in real time; eyes going from relaxed to wide and shaking in a split second. Before he could start panicking, though, a hunch hit her, one she grumbled at herself for not having realized sooner. ¡°^Can you check for her aura at the clinic?^¡± The implication of an injury didn¡¯t help his calmness any, but the Lucario did as was asked of him. After a few moments of his bangles rising at the intensity of the aura flowing through them, Lariat had his answer. Autumn followed up, keeping the Lucario from running over and checking up on his offspring with maximum force possible, ¡°^Wait! She¡¯s alright, promise, she¡¯s not there because she got injured.^¡± ¡°^Then why else!?^¡± Lariat demanded to know. ¡°^Because Bell is there, and I mentioned that to her when she asked why isn¡¯t he with the rest of the group.^¡± Finally, the scout unwound; the situation coming together to paint the picture of his daughter being a silly pup unable to resist joining in her friend without even cluing anyone else in. Suppose he could take his time in that case. Hopefully, the Ralts himself wasn¡¯t in there because of a health scare¡ª ¡°^Glad that it is just that. Hope Bell gets better soon.^¡± ¡°^Oh he¡¯s not there because he¡¯s sick, he¡¯s visiting Anne¡ªwith Marco and Cypress watching!^¡± Had Autumn added that latter detail even a split second later, Lariat would¡¯ve already been gone in a flash of Extremespeed by the time she¡¯d finished. Even if she¡¯d kept the scout grounded, though, he was now firmly disgruntled, his eyes narrowing as they stared at her. She continued, ¡°^They¡¯re all being watched, there¡¯s nothing to worry about¡ª^¡± ¡°^She¡¯s still in the same room as a human!^¡± ¡°^A human that¡¯s about as threatening as a Metapod!^¡± Autumn argued. As calm and collected as she would¡¯ve preferred to be, she didn¡¯t take well to yet another person implying the danger of an injured orphan that she and her family were fighting for the safety of. Fortunately, her raised voice did help, its unexpected fierceness interrupting the Lucario¡¯s winding anxiety. It seemed that Reya was indeed safe, but so many questions remained. ¡°^Why is Bell visiting the human in the first place?^¡± ¡°^Because she¡¯s lonely, needs friends, and will probably stay with us for a while.^¡± The last point took the Lucario aback in particular, the steely canine taking a half step back as his eyes widened. ¡°^That is a very foolish decision.^¡± ¡°^Why?^¡± Autumn¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°^She¡¯s a defenseless child.^¡± ¡°^She¡¯s a human,^¡± Lariat insisted. ¡°^A defenseless child.^¡± ¡°^A human.^¡± The Indeedee was about to bash her head into the nearest brick wall at making exactly zero headway in digging through the Lucario¡¯s thick skull, some of her frustration bubbling up into the forefront of her mind. It definitely didn¡¯t help in endearing the scout to her ideas, the realization annoying the Psychic grandma further. Deep breaths, unwind, think through what is likely to click with him more. Something based on more than the surface level identity. How about, ¡°^Well, what do you think we are, Lariat?^¡± The Lucario blinked, not understanding where that question came through, half expecting to be tricked in some way. ¡°^Not humans.^¡± ¡°^Not quite, we¡¯re villagers.^¡± ¡°^Hiding away from humanity.^¡± ¡°^That¡¯s right! Humanity, not ¡®humans¡¯,^¡± the Indeedee explained. ¡°^These are the same thing. Every human is a part of humanity. We have to hide from them all.^¡± ¡°^Even one whose own society rejected her so much it turned a blind eye to her abuse and forced her to run for her life? Even one that has no remaining family links with the rest of humanity!? Even one that never wants to go back!?^¡± Autumn delivered her questions with more emotions than she¡¯d wanted, but goddammit, she couldn¡¯t help it. This was stressful, this was draining; she just wished she could get through everyone¡¯s skulls and see it through that Anne be treated as a person and not a threat. Alas, she wouldn¡¯t get to see whether she was successful with Lariat, the Lucario gone as soon as she¡¯d gathered her bearings. The frustration made her kick the brick wall of Holly¡¯s stall, much to the immediate pain in her paw. He didn¡¯t even deign her with a response, so unlike him. Did he just care this little about what she had to say? This was distressing. Being powerless in this serious of a situation was so distressing. Distressing, hopeless, and so many other things. It made her briefly doubt whether anything¡¯d done today had helped in the slightest. Whether her effort would even amount to anything. Whether Anne wasn¡¯t already doomed¡ª *slam!* Before her thoughts could creep towards despair again, a loud thud coming from the kitchen counter snagged her attention right back; the sights and scents of the sugary, buttery pastry helping in melting through the negative emotions. ¡°There ya go, darlin¡¯! Now, lemme get to Anne¡¯s portion; with how thin she is, she¡¯s gonna need three of these. Skin and bones, I tell ya!¡± ¡°^Th-thank you so much, Holly.^¡± ¡°Anytime~.¡± Each bite of the sugary dough helped stave the worst of her muck off; a distraction as welcome as Autumn knew it was fleeting. Something simple to cheer her up, even if the doubts persisted underneath, just to keep the feeling of not having done enough at bay¡ª ¡°M-Mrs. Autumn, we had a couple more questions about the human¡ª¡± ¡°THEY DID WHAT!?¡± Right as her gaze tried to focus on the small band of students that had tracked her through the village in search of more knowledge, a shrill shout from the pantry snagged everyone¡¯s attention towards it. Autumn didn¡¯t expect to see Cadence and Marco there, but whatever they had told the Azumarill, it had her leaning through the counter with the most aghast and then furious expression Autumn had ever seen her dish out. Unnerving as the implications of that were, the Indeedee was sure the Gallade could deal with them. She had a different role to play in all this, a different way of helping out the human in their midst. After all, she already was helping¡ªpossibly more than she¡¯d ever know. ¡°^What were your questions, sweeties?^¡± She just had to hope it¡¯d be enough in the end. Interlude III: Discharge ¡°~One, two, up!~¡± I lift the steel cabinet on the count of three. Built to withstand anything, awfully heavy; enough so to require three human men to carry safely, even when emptied. Three human men, or one me. ¡°~Aight, same spot as before, Geiger.~¡± All I can manage is a rough grunt as I slowly inch by towards the workshop¡¯s entrance, hoping I don¡¯t inadvertently bump into anything. With how empty this place is by now, though, that¡¯s hardly a concern anymore. The steps of thick boots on metal echo through the facility as I push on, the ambience eerily quiet. Without the reactor¡¯s hum, without the whirl of the turbines, it¡¯s reduced to little more than lost, confused stragglers stumbling blindly around a massive building of steel and concrete; once the largest power plant on this side of Unova. Once, my home. Technically, it still is. I just don¡¯t know for how long it¡¯ll remain so. We got the news about immediate decommissioning a couple weeks ago; most everyone left taken aback, often with curses. That group didn¡¯t include me only by the technicality of my mouth being really unsuited to vocalizing the chorus of ¡®fuck¡¯s, ¡®bastard¡¯s, ¡®motherfucker¡¯s, and a myriad of other, more intense swears. Electivire are good at many things, but that list doesn¡¯t extend to knowing how to enunciate our ¡®k¡¯s. It didn¡¯t take long after that for the guys to realize that decommissioning had much more severe implications for some of us than for others. I couldn¡¯t ask directly, but I thought about writing my questions out and presenting them to the boss. I didn¡¯t even need to do so; the guys asked for me plenty of times. Boss only answered with silence. I try not to think about it all. Trying and succeeding are two vastly different things, and I know that fact well. I wish I could say I¡¯m succeeding at not thinking about it. I¡¯m hardly unused to being left in the dark about everything, to things happening about me without my knowledge, but... guys here got better about this over the years. Substantially so. Much better than I thought some of them would ever be, growing up. Guess even the crankiest of bastards start seeing you as a person if you bring them coffee enough times, ha. Before I know it, I¡¯m behind the building; standing idly in place with the piece of furniture still in my arms. The truck driver stares at me uncertainly, his expression one I¡¯ve seen again and again. Confusion and intimidation in equal measure, the kind that leaves one¡¯s head blooming with questions without being able to vocalize any of them. I just sigh to myself and put the cabinet down. I¡¯ll deal with it later. Used to keep boss company most lunch breaks when he went out for a smoke, and returning to the building¡¯s comfort was always the best part of it. The air doesn¡¯t get any warmer as I step in, the familiar industrial warmth absent. Expected, really. Carcasses aren¡¯t known for being too warm. Shaking the thought aside, I lumber over back into the workshop, eying out the next cabinet to haul out. Before I get more than a couple of steps in, though, a voice catches my attention, ¡°~Geiger, boss wants to¡ªto speak with you.~¡± I¡¯ve known this man for twenty years and never have I heard his voice crack like this. My breath wavers as I turn towards him and nod, his gaze jumping back to me in concern a few times as he walks off to help with carrying furniture out. Guess my fate is decided. My steps are slow as I climb the stairs up to the boss¡¯s office, the rugged metal croaking underneath me with every step. There¡¯s some comfort in the promise of finality, that no matter what, this will finally be it. Some. The rest is even more fear, fear I¡¯ve grown increasingly unfamiliar with. A fire, a criticality incident, a wildling attack, even a terrorist operation¡ªthese are threats, these are scenarios, these are things one can prepare for and practice. And practice we did, again and again, the drills boring as grime but no less necessary as a result, and treated no less seriously. There are no drills for this. At last, I stand before the door to the boss¡¯s office, gaze level with the metal name plate. Boss has a name, everyone does, even me; but his doesn¡¯t matter. He¡¯s been ¡®boss¡¯ for as long as I remember him, and ¡®boss¡¯ he¡¯ll remain until the day either of us kicks the bucket. He speaks up before I can even get my second knock in, ¡°~Come in, Geiger.~¡± My body only barely fits through the door frame, tails wrapped around my upper arms to avoid incidentally scorching anything they brush by. Boss is busy doing the unthinkable¡ªsitting at his desk, the office chair looking pristine. In front of him, more papers out at once than I¡¯ve seen him handle in the span of a week. He doesn¡¯t look at me initially, eyes shuffling from one document to the next. Eventually, he sighs and stands up, the silver of his sizable beard the only hair remaining on his head. ¡°~I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry, Geiger.~¡± I raise my eyebrow with a quiet grumble, unsure what he means. The situation is a mess, but, to the best of my knowledge, it blindsided him as much as everyone else here. ¡°~I know you¡¯ve been curious about what¡¯s gonna happen to you now, and the answers haven¡¯t exactly been... forthcoming. And that¡¯s on me. I¡¯ve been... looking into things and gotten jack shit for it,~¡± he elaborates. It makes some sense but hardly tons, and he knows it. Guy taught me half the swears I know and there he is, lost at words, grumbling into his hand and stroking his beard. ¡°~Let me be straight with you, Geiger. According to the procedure the higher-ups sent, I¡¯m supposed to stuff you back into your ball, lock it tight, and ship you over to the new place you¡¯d be working at. A plant on the other end of Unova, near Undella. Entirely different staff, it¡¯d be all strangers. I... was absent last week because I flew over to talk to them in person.~¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. One hand grips the edge of his desk, sunken eyes barely avoid narrowing. ¡°~They¡¯re... fine men. Nothing wrong with them as workers from what I gathered. I brought up the subject of you, tried to... get a feel for how they are,~¡± he mutters. His gaze finally focuses on me, a tense expression conveying the truth before he even opens his mouth, ¡°~It ain¡¯t pretty. Could be just a bad first impression, but... reminds me of how we were when you were assigned to us way back when.~¡± His attention slides down onto the floor again, the web of wrinkles twisting in regret. I¡¯m of half a mind to come over and pat his shoulder, but hold myself back¡ªhe ain¡¯t done yet, and hates being interrupted. ¡°~I¡¯d rather spare you all that again. I... asked around. Everyone I could get my hands on. Whether there¡¯s anything else that could happen to you, some other... outcome. Tried bringing other assignments, not in the field, maybe some other place that I could try to scout out, hell I even brought up taking you in myself for retirement¡ªnothing. Course nothing... fucking, ¡®company property¡¯, say that to his fucking face you suited up cocksuckers...~¡± The frustrated grumbles are more so boss¡¯ style, as is the impotent bang on the metal desk that follows. As much as the option of him just out and adopting me took me aback, I don¡¯t have too long to linger on it before he turns around and walks over to one of the drawers. He finds what he¡¯s looking for instantly, but takes a while actually pulling it out, other hand clenching into a fist. Outer shell made of stainless steel instead of the usual plastic, painted with red and white stripes, standard innards. Last time I¡¯ve seen it was a few months ago for the annual health checkup; otherwise, he keeps it hidden behind piles of loathed paperwork. Alas, not anymore. ¡°~I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry, Geiger. I wish there was another way.~¡± I close my eyes and bow my head, bracing for the briefest instant of warm tingles before the device contains me. There¡¯s no point in fighting it, I¡¯m well aware. Either I get hurt, or the men in here get hurt; there just ain¡¯t any other forward. Not in this world¡ª *tap tap* My eyes snap open at feeling metal bump my forearm, then shoot wide at seeing just what it is. Boss¡¯s arm is outstretched towards me; the ball rests on top of his palm. Ready to be grasped. ¡°~These fucking bastards may think they own you, but hell no, they don¡¯t. Not if I have anything to say,~¡± he mutters. I stare, dumbstruck, gaze jumping back and forth between the ball and his expression, smirking and serious in equal measure. He nods at me as I eye the offering, all the implications surging through my head. ¡°~The least I can do to make up for how we used to treat you, Geiger.~¡± I can only weakly nod at that remark, the shock of it all still taking its time to finish spinning all the gears in my mind. The offer is too outlandish to respond to, especially once I consider all the consequences. Consequences which the boss has also thought about, some of his smile deflating as he speaks up again, ¡°~I... I know it¡¯s not exactly an easy decision. No matter how nasty the other guys would be towards you, it¡¯d still be three hots and a cot, as opposed to whatever the wilds throw at you if you were to leave on your own terms. It¡¯s up to you in the end, Geiger. In either case, I understand. Freedom¡¯s call is beautiful and all that jazz, but most choose stability for a dang good reason. And they¡¯re not the ones having to stare down at being out there in the wild by themselves.~¡± He slowly retracts his arm as he speaks, eyes sticking to the floor again. I try to give it some thought, though before I can get too deep in, he speaks up again, ¡°~I went to the library last night to look at one of those dexes¡ªyou fucking know it¡¯s important if it makes me go to the fucking library, ha!~¡± The moment of levity comes out of nowhere but is even more appreciated as a result; our combined laughter echoes through the increasingly decrepit building, relieving some of the pent up tension. I catch boss¡¯ eyes being wet by the end, though whether he¡¯s on the brink of tears of amusement or sadness I can¡¯t tell. ¡°~But, yeah. Looked up stuff about Electivire, and wild mons that live nearby. Couldn¡¯t find anything that would pose much of a threat to you¡ªyou¡¯re fucking strong and you know it, Geiger. You¡¯ll be fine out there, I¡¯m sure of it, though of course it¡¯s gonna pale comfort wise. Again, It¡¯s up to you in the end.~¡± As I consider it, an unnerving detail comes to mind, one finger straightening out to point straight at him. ¡°~Me? Oh, they¡¯ll absolutely come down on my ass for ¡®losing¡¯ you. And you know what? Fucking let them. Didn¡¯t spend twelve fucking years being a tool in the army and thirty more being a tool here to not at least try to do some actual fucking good for once in my life. I¡¯ll be fine, Geiger. I¡¯m the last fucking person you should be worrying about.~¡± I raise my eyebrow at that last remark, taking him aback a bit. Of course I¡¯m gonna worry about him; he¡¯s the closest thing I¡¯ve had to a parent in here, even if it took him most of the decade to really start filling those shoes in. ¡°~I mean it, Geiger. I¡¯ll get disciplined, get the book thrown at me, maybe sued for damages in the worst case¡ªI don¡¯t give a shit; I retire next year. I¡¯m willing to tolerate a bit of discomfort if it means you¡¯ll find some actual happiness in your one life, Geiger,~¡± he pauses and rolls his shoulders, before reaching out the ball towards me again. ¡°~You deserve it.~¡± The offer is nigh impossible to fully think through its implications. This place is all I¡¯ve ever known, a cage gilded with oil, cigs and an occasional bit of booze. Not freedom, nowhere near to it, even after thirty years of people growing to think of me as their equal. I¡¯m not, never could be, never will be. Not while remaining in this system. Who is to say that I¡¯ll find any joy on my own? Any safety? Strength is one thing, but it only accounts for so much, especially with my outdoorsman skills so lacking. Though... suppose the worst-case scenario, I can just ¡®turn myself in¡¯, and eventually end up back where I would¡¯ve already been. Or not. Maybe they¡¯d think me too dangerous to be let loose by then. There¡¯s just... no way to know, is there? There are no drills for life. And yet, once it comes knocking, we gotta act all the same. With a shaky hand, I grab the painted-over ball, the trinket near weightless in my grasp. Just metal, plastic, and some electronics. Tiny thing, nearly weightless, but still powerful beyond words, beyond anything moral. I look up at the boss. He¡¯s smiling at me, tension leaving his weathered face with each breath. ¡°~It¡¯s been a pleasure knowing you, Geiger. I hope that, no matter what, you¡¯ll find happiness somewhere in this cruel fucking world. Alright, let me sneak into storage, grab you some rations and whichever other gear, and lead you out¡ª~¡± he pauses as I shake my head, usually narrowed eyes widening in confusion. The look only intensifies as I walk forward a step and place the ball down at his desk, his mouth open and about ready to speak, before I point one finger at the clock mounted on the wall. He asks, ¡°~What? Yeah, the clock will go down too, but¡ª~¡± An idea strikes him and he breaks out into old, croaky laughter, growing in strength until he can¡¯t resist slapping his thigh and pointing at me in an accusatory way. His gesture buckles under his amusement soon after and he continues, ¡°~I see, I fucking see. Shift¡¯s not over yet, eh? Aight then!~¡± He turns around and grabs a printout on his desk; his pencil whizzing across the page as the items are checked off the list. ¡°~Done, done, done, secure the standard issue industrial Poke Ball with yadda yadda shut the fuck up. There, ¡®item lost¡¯. What next... right, gotta dismantle all the utilities in the canteen. Ready for that, Geiger?~¡± I nod and grin, rolling my shoulders as I turn around and head for the door. ¡°~That¡¯s what I wanna see. Let¡¯s get a move on¡ªthere¡¯s work to be done, after all.~¡± Chapter 16: Pretense *woof, woof woof?* ¡°^Sigh... yes, you can stay and play with Bell,^¡± Marco answered. Anne blinked a few times in confusion at the incomprehensible exchange as her brain played catchup. The Riolu suddenly showing up had startled everyone in the room, and she didn¡¯t know what the pup¡¯s words were, but the context let her infer enough to giggle along. Especially once the lil¡¯ Ralts got to excitedly scrambling towards the edge of the bed. ¡°Yay, play!¡± Bell squeaked. Yay indeed Bell, yay indeed. Anne shyly observed the antics that followed, the two kids wasting no time before pulling each other in a big hug. The Riolu seemed to be approximately the Ralts¡¯s age, and, of course, just as eager to play as he was. It only took them moments to go from hugging to roughhousing, Bell persevering valiantly despite his acute size disadvantage. ¡®Physical play with a Fighting-type¡¯ sounded more like a messed-up dare as opposed to an everyday fun activity for Anne. But, if everyone else¡¯s reactions were any sign, it was at best unremarkable here. Enough so to where nobody but the pair of adults cared much anymore after just a few moments. And, once she got over Reya¡¯s sudden appearance and the awkwardness of the group¡¯s previous topic, Anne could join them in not caring, too. Not being the immediate subject of a newcomer¡¯s interest for once was very appreciated. The loose leaves of paper being shuffled in front of her brought Anne¡¯s attention back to the here and now. Cadence¡¯s nudge would¡¯ve almost looked accidental to the human girl... if not for it ever so coincidentally revealing the hidden work-in-progress drawing of the Kirlia herself. The human girl giggled, making the Kirlia blush brightly. ¡°~Okay, okay, I-I can continue on your sketch, Cadence, teehee.~¡± Cadence was already flustered at her little gesture having been seen through; Anne¡¯s comment only added more fuel for the fire of her embarrassment. The fairy looked away in embarrassment after scuttling closer to her new large friend. Once Elric had connected the dots himself, he chittered out loud, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Cadenceeee~?¡± ¡°^Sh-shush, E-Elric...^¡± Both the Gligar and the human laughed quietly at the flustered response. The latter put a pencil down and instead wrapped her good arm around the Kirlia, holding her close. She was of half a mind to chime in, but... nah. Cadence didn¡¯t need any more embarrassment right now~. As amusing as the situation was for everyone in the room who could spare the attention towards it, eventually some hearts began to melt, and the ones Anne expected the least at that. Elric rolled his eyes and scrambled over to his friend, making sure not to disturb anything as his chitin body embraced his denmate, classmate, and, most importantly, good friend. No words were needed, only the gentle reassurance that despite all the amusement at her expense, nobody thought the Kirlia any less for the situation. And especially not the guest she looked up to. Much too easy for well spirited fun to end up in unpleasant territory by accident, and even the ability to read stray thoughts doesn¡¯t prevent outcomes like that. It¡¯s only a small leap from ¡°They¡¯re just saying it to be nice¡± to ¡°they¡¯re just thinking it around me to be nice¡±, after all. Once Cadence relaxed some, Anne let her go with one last hair ruffle; Elric taking it as a signal to get into position for observing the art about to happen. Marco and Cypress alike had to split their attention between the antics of older and younger bunches of kids. And, in the ghost¡¯s case, also between keeping an eye for any unpleasant presences that could be approaching, and his own sheer exhaustion. Even if the non-deathborn ghosts didn¡¯t have the same habit of sleep as the deathborn ones, they still needed their rest. That was for him to take care of later, though. Here and now, he had the second class view of one particular human girl¡¯s artistic efforts; the glide of colored sticks on a white, thin canvas producing very pleasant results. Even if he wouldn¡¯t have normally thought of the Kirlia as particularly... colorful in appearance, Anne still used plenty of green tones as she colored in the hair and legs of the sketch, occasionally exaggerating for artistic impact. Cypress might have been curious, but Cadence was enthralled. She kept leaning forward, only barely avoiding obscuring Anne¡¯s view of the underlying drawing. She couldn¡¯t help it, really; this was amazing to watch. The most she¡¯d ever seen herself depicted before was with a very simplistic outline on a couple communal structures, sometimes with a handprint, and once with a simple straw doll when she was still a Ralts. Those were neat, sure, but they paled when compared to being drawn by someone talented, and with so much detail. It made her feel special. She leaned her head on Anne¡¯s side as the human worked on the drawing. The backdrop of combined Ralts and Riolu laughter off to the side left the atmosphere equal parts serene and exciting. The little she overheard of Anne¡¯s thoughts was very technical¡ªthinking of which shade to use and where, how hard to press, whether she should sharpen the colored sticks. As vague as that latter tangent was, the actual execution of that idea was much more curious. Cadence had seen plenty of adults sharpen objects from time to time, be it with their fangs, claws, or a well applied Psycho Cut. But never with a small, brightly colored... trinket. Its exact method of work remained a mystery even as Anne used it, inserting the stick¡¯s tip into it and giving it a few spins. A couple of shavings later, Anne pulled the now very sharp stick out of it, catching Cypress¡¯ attention in particular. Wonder if something like that could be scaled up. Before anyone could either ask Anne what she¡¯d done or... about anything else, the human got back to work; older kids and adults keeping quiet for the time being. Nobody wanted to be the one to interrupt an artist, after all. Anne took her time with the detail as their half of the room was plunged into a quiet, focused mood. At least, initially¡ªonce she had moved on from coloring Cadence¡¯s hair to shading her horns, other, less technical thoughts began to creep into her mind. The Kirlia found them more amusing than anything else¡ªat least, initially. She often giggled inwardly at just how little some of her friends really understood what it meant to be a psychic, and much the same was true in Anne¡¯s case. The over exaggeration of how much she could manipulate people mixed in with underestimation of everything else she could do, even without being particularly naturally gifted in anything but sensing emotions. It was very hard not to feel Anne¡¯s emotions this close to her. Any other psychic in her position would¡¯ve been able to sense what the human felt almost as acutely, though. These kinds of thoughts had a nasty habit of veering into... less pleasant topics, sooner or later, and it was also the case here. Anne might not have been as outright scared of their family as she once was, but her thoughts about being attacked were still unnerving. Even Bell could likely hurt her plenty; Cadence would¡¯ve had no difficulty killing her there and then on a whim. It was deeply chilling to think about, for both girls. The latter felt a small pang of discomfort at being thought of like that, at being imagined as a potential murderer... and she wasn¡¯t the only one. Right after her mind had stumbled upon that unpleasant topic, Anne immediately shifted to feeling very self conscious about it. About having even theoretically accused the innocent, cuddly fairy beside her of ever doing something as abhorrent as that. The anxiety that followed was much more noticeable than even the unsavory thoughts; Anne¡¯s hand shook as she tried to keep on coloring, second guessing her every move and thought. The previous focused expression had soured into one of concealed distress; all the practice at keeping that emotion hidden made it almost unnoticeable to an outside observer. Unless one just noticed her eyes going wide. Or her racing heartbeat. Or the sludge rolling around inside her head. The human was at least somewhat aware of the latter, trying to force herself to stop feeling bad and focus on the drawing again. Predictably, it only barely worked. Maybe enough to keep it from being too noticeable to the two toddlers, but definitely not to the Kirlia. And she wanted to do something about it. What exactly, she didn¡¯t know, and wished she had any ideas she was confident in. Maybe a friendly chat wouldn¡¯t hurt? ¡°^Anne?^¡± Cadence¡¯s voice startled the human; the trail of the reddish pencil almost escaping the confines of the linework. Despite that reaction, Anne seemed to ignore her, attempting to cover up her anxiety by focusing even harder at the task at hand, almost to the point of obsession. Cadence was no stranger to that state of hyperfocus, but this wasn¡¯t it. It was only about as effective of a disguise as trying to paint over a missing brick in the wall. Still, startling Anne like that made Cadence feel rather bad, and she had no idea what to do now. Should she just try again? The constant guidance of her mom to never Calm Mind anyone without their consent rang loud and clear in the fairy¡¯s head. But¡­ at the same time, so did wanting to do just that, anyway. It really felt like Anne needed it, and with this instance revolving around what the Kirlia was and could do, she doubted her previous approach would work anywhere near as well the second time around. All that was left was to try again, ¡°^Anne? I-is everything okay?^¡± Once more, the human paused at hearing that, weakly hidden discomfort threatening to spill onto her face. Didn¡¯t help one bit with feeling self conscious, that¡¯s for sure. Hopefully Cadence could help keep it all under wraps, if not from her uncle, then from others. ¡°^Anne, nobody else can hear me right now. Just think about what you want to say, I-I¡¯ll pick it up. A-are you okay?^¡± As straightforward as her instructions felt like, Cadence knew from experience they were occasionally tricky for non-psychics to follow. For once, that wouldn¡¯t be the case here; Anne¡¯s coloring pace slowing to a crawl as she tried to gather her thoughts, ¡°^I-it¡¯s fine, Cadence...^¡± ¡°^But it¡¯s not! I can feel that! What¡¯s wrong, Anne?^¡± More self-consciousness, a slight grimace creeping onto Anne¡¯s expression. ¡°^N-nothing, p-promise, everything¡¯s alright...^¡± As much as Cadence didn¡¯t want to be blunt about it, it seemed like this was the only possible way forward. ¡°^You don¡¯t have to feel bad about thinking of me hurting you, I promise Anne...^¡± Just like earlier with the torn door, Anne froze in place, and Cadence responded immediately with a tight, warm hug. She didn¡¯t want to drag anyone else into a topic this unpleasant, but still wanted to help make the big friend feel better. ¡°^...I-I¡¯m sorry,^¡± Anne whimpered, making the Kirlia redouble her efforts as determination burned bright inside her. ¡°^But you don¡¯t have to be! You really did nothing wrong, Anne! I-I¡¯m not gonna hold that against you...^¡± As the fairy kept a close watch over Anne¡¯s emotions, something else became apparent, souring some of Cadence¡¯s enthusiasm. The fearful imagination that had ignited the runaway wildfire of anxiety was all but gone by now, but the realization of just how much her mind was being read in the moment had slithered in to replace it. It was... a weird thing to think about, scary even, not helping in this entire mess one bit. And the worst part was that Cadence didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. It¡¯s not like she was trying to snoop on Anne¡¯s thoughts... much. Of course she could sense things like that, especially from this close! But, yet again, what was normal to her, quite a few found disturbing. What she was, quite a few found disturbing. It was a hard lesson to learn, again and again; anxiety threatening to send her into the same mental pit as Anne had fallen into. But she couldn¡¯t. She had a friend to help, and she was gonna help her, gosh darnit! ¡°^Anne, I... I¡¯m sorry for¡ªfor reading your thoughts like that. It¡¯s really... unintentional most of the time, especially when we¡¯re this close.^¡± For once, her words wouldn¡¯t have the human lock up even more. The older girl snuck a glance down at her before relaxing at the apology; the pencil resuming its glide on the page as Anne thought up a response, ¡°^I-it¡¯s a b-bit uncomfortable to th-think about...^¡± ¡°^I... I know. It¡¯s uncomfortable for most; I¡¯m... I¡¯m well aware. I wish I knew what to say. It¡¯s like... like hearing a quiet voice nearby. It catches your attention, you can¡¯t not hear it unless you¡¯re deliberately trying to ignore it. I-I can try to do that, if you want...^¡± It was a rather depressing idea to consider. Cadence wanted people to like her, and she especially wanted Anne to like her. If it were to take having to pretend to not be psychic in her presence... then she was willing to try, as deeply uncomfortable as that idea felt. Anne may not have been a psychic, but it wasn¡¯t exactly difficult to pick up on how unpleasant that option was for the Kirlia and why. As weird as it was to think about, this... was normal for her. She trusted Cadence to not be acting with any malice here, that she wasn¡¯t trying to excuse anything more nefarious, but... still. Others hearing her thoughts felt eerie, her imagination providing her with a mental image of a transparent skullcap, everything inside visible. Every hope, every doubt, every displeasure, about herself or others. Every fear. In a place like this, the latter felt especially scary to consider, as both girls were finding out. As far as Anne went, people already had plenty of good reasons to despise her, and realizing that she was afraid of them for no reason was just a Cheri on top. Who in the world would accept, let alone like her, knowing what kinds of prejudiced thoughts could swirl around in her head¡ª ¡°^I would!^¡± Cadence interrupted, suddenly so much louder and eager than before. The human glanced at the Kirlia in surprise as the latter continued, ¡°^I mean it Anne, it¡¯s really alright! You¡¯re... you¡¯re not the only person who has these thoughts, f-far from it. They... they don¡¯t feel nice, but I really don¡¯t hold them against people, and especially not against you. I can only imagine how scary this must be, this... powerlessness. A-and that¡¯s after all the pain you¡¯ve been through, a-and mean parents, and...^¡± The Kirlia had no more words in the moment, expressing what she wanted to convey in a much more acute way. Her hug was as tight and as big as her tiny body could manage. Anne let go of the pencil to return it, finally dropping all pretense that things were alright. Thankfully for them both, Elric was too confused to speak up right away. Even once he¡¯d found the words, though, seeing a few tears threatening to roll down the girls¡¯ cheeks discouraged him further. The two held each other for a while, fears and insecurities yearning for and being soothed by each other¡¯s comfort. As different as they were, as their worries were... maybe they had more in common than either of them could¡¯ve guessed. And, for once, it was Anne that spoke up, one part of Cadence¡¯s words catching her attention in particular, ¡°^I-I¡¯m sorry p-people are afraid of you, Cadence. They shouldn¡¯t be, you¡¯re really nice, a-and cool.^¡± ¡°^So are you, Anne!^¡± the Kirlia insisted, ¡°^I-I wish I could draw anything like you do; it¡¯s so pretty and awesome and¡ª^¡± ¡°^B-but it¡¯s nothing special, plenty others c-can draw like this and even much, much better. You¡¯re special, and can do all these cool things, l-like¡ªI would¡¯ve fallen a-and gotten hurt if you hadn¡¯t saved me!^¡± ¡°^But that isn¡¯t special, either. Any Psychic c-could¡¯ve done that...^¡± ¡°^Anyone half decent at drawing could¡¯ve d-drawn this sketch.^¡± ¡°^I¡ªI don¡¯t care, you were the one who drew it!^¡± ¡°^A-and you were the one who helped me out earlier.^¡± For a few moments, the two remained at an impasse, equally flustered as they held each other tight, sniffling any budding tears away. After a few long moments, Anne whispered, ¡°^You¡¯re really cool, Cadence.^¡±. ¡°^And so are you, Anne.^¡± The tweens continued their mutual embrace, veiled discomfort giving way to much more noticeable reassurance and relief, together with a few stray tears. As weird and scary, or as pathetic and off-putting as they might have thought they were, the other¡¯s unconditional awe and interest overcame these feelings, bit by bit. And this time, everyone noticed, even those without any psychic gifts. ¡°...are they alright...?¡± Cypress whispered as quietly as he was capable of. Marco answered with a wordless nod, attention split between watching over the little ones as they called a temporary ceasefire, And being so, so proud of his niece. ¡°Cadence! Are you okay?¡± Bell squeaked. His sister squirmed while Anne broke into giggles, holding the little psychic closer as she answered, ¡°~W-we¡¯re okay now, I-I think. We both felt... rather bad earlier, but it¡¯s alright now.~¡± The Ralts accepted Anne¡¯s response, about ready to return to his antics... but Reya had a different reaction. Suddenly, this odd, tall person she¡¯d noticed in her peripheral vision was much more noticeable now, and apparently felt bad. The situation called for her intervention, and it was an intervention she was more than eager to provide every time. Hugs. Right as Anne began to let go of the Kirlia, she held her tight out of reflex at her entire body being suddenly lifted. The change in perspective made her freeze with a gasp, the briefest instant of cold anxiety going through her before the rest of her mind chimed in with what it was feeling. Namely, a pair of small paws wrapped around her midriff by which she was being currently held. And then, shortly after, also by telekinesis here and there, Marco¡¯s intervention helping make Reya¡¯s introduction more pleasant. ¡°Hiiiiiiii!¡± a very young, very girly voice greeted. It wasn¡¯t exactly difficult to connect it to the Riolu that had lifted her entire body a foot into the air, the sudden motion rolling a hefty bit of her t-shirt up. The voice couldn¡¯t have sounded older than five, putting it in the same approximate age and cuteness bracket as Bell. Thoughts about how strong the lil¡¯ pup was while Anne¡¯s soft, squishy body was being held by her didn¡¯t help, though. Thankfully, the elevated hug wouldn¡¯t last much longer. The area that Reya had held her by felt sore as the human released a breath she wasn¡¯t even aware she was holding. Cadence wasted no time before intervening to help with the soreness, following what her grandma had taught her while Anne finally responded, ¡°~H-hello! Y-you must be Reya, right?~¡± Excited nods and tail wagging so fast it was little more than a blur behind the Riolu¡ªyep, dead on. ¡°~I-I¡¯m Anne, it¡¯s nice to meet you!~¡± The human was of half a mind to reach out to the mighty pup with her good hand for a handshake, but eventually reconsidered. Instead, she opted for something that would hopefully be received just as well. And indeed, it turned out Reya did like her pets, her tail somehow wagging even faster in response. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Anne was so amused she didn¡¯t even notice Bell having made his way back onto the bed with his uncle¡¯s help. Predictably, the Ralts loved to see his friends becoming friends, expressing his satisfaction with a loud squeak¡ªat least, before something amusing caught his attention. Right as Anne was winding down her pets, she felt an unexpected touch on her front, doubling over out of reflex. Nope, no immediate danger to her vulnerable, soft stomach this time. Just a toddler that had stuck his hand into her belly button. ¡°Hehe, funny!¡± Who could¡¯ve known that the funny bone was in the navel. Anne giggled at Bell¡¯s amusement over her very unimpressive body. She was grateful that he didn¡¯t continue it for any longer, lest it became uncomfortable. Right as she was about to smooth out her ruffled shirt and cover her stomach once more, Elric spoke up, catching her attention, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°~What?~¡± Anne had no idea what the bat was referring to, looking over her arms just in case. Alas, they wouldn¡¯t be where the strangeness was located after all. A pink pincer soon tapped the soft skin near her belly button, the odd texture sending shivers down her body. She remained none the wiser, squinting at her stomach and trying to find what she expected to be a stain of some sort, but no such a thing was present. Nope, the answer was much more banal, and yet veered into much weirder territory. ¡°^This... hole? I-is that a wound?^¡± Cadence asked, concerned, her own pointing hand finally making Anne realize what all this was about. The ¡®wound¡¯ possibility caught everyone else¡¯s attention, Marco¡¯s gaze narrowing as he imagined just what brutal injury could¡¯ve left a scar like that. Good riddance to her worthless excuse of a human family. As correct as that thought and general hunch were, they didn¡¯t quite extend to this specific anatomical curiosity. The realization clicked together in Anne¡¯s mind almost audibly, followed by an explanation in a raised voice, ¡°~OH! No no, it¡¯s not a wound, it¡¯s j-just my belly button.~¡± The second part of her explanation clarified absolutely nothing, and the human knew that. Her mind searched for the right words before coming up with something hopefully reasonable. ¡°~I-it¡¯s normal for humans. It comes from¡ª~¡± It was at this exact moment when Anne realized just how much ground she¡¯d have to cover to make sense of her words, the reminder that mons didn¡¯t give live births batting that whole attempted lecture out of her mind with enough force to end up with a home run. If she wanted to explain something as silly as belly buttons, she¡¯d need to go through both the pregnancy, and the little of the queasy anatomy involved that she really understood. One icky sex-ed class convincing her to never have biological children of her own was enough, thanks. She¡¯d rather not inflict that kind of knowledge on anyone else. ¡°~U-Umm... it¡¯s normal,~¡± she repeated. Cadence and Marco didn¡¯t need to know about the relevant concepts to pick up on how uncomfortable explaining this would¡¯ve been for Anne; both of them were more than satisfied with this explanation if it meant avoiding discomfort. Elric, however, wasn¡¯t privy to that fact, ¡°But it looks so weird! Is it like a¡ª¡± ¡°^NO, EWWWWW!^¡± the Kirlia squealed, catching onto her friend¡¯s idea before he¡¯d even vocalized it, making him giggle at her squicked out reaction. ¡°~I-it¡¯s just an... indentation. It doesn¡¯t do anything,~¡± Anne explained, hoping it would prevent any more infantile wondering. ¡°Ya sure? It really looks like a¡ªshlmsdlfkjsdfSLSKDFJSDL!¡± Anne stared, stunned, as Cadence Psychic¡¯d Elric¡¯s mouth shut mid-sentence; the incoherent mumbling that followed sending the little ones into a laughing fit. Part of the human really wanted to know just what his idea was and just how bad must it have been for the Kirlia to react like that. But only a part, most of her content avoiding accursed knowledge. ¡°^Come on, you two,^¡± Marco chided. ¡°^Okay, uncle...^¡± / ¡°Okay, Mr. Marco...¡± The Gallade sighed at having to diffuse the childish situation. Deep down, he was grateful towards Cadence for intervening when she did, but he had to maintain pretend impartiality. A small, vestigial bump in the stomach wasn¡¯t all that there was to be seen, though, Anne¡¯s rolled-up shirt letting him notice something else, something more... concerning. ¡°^Are those... ribs?^¡± he asked, catching Anne¡¯s attention and making her glance down at her exposed torso. And indeed, a couple of lower ribs were visible, poking through the skin, but thankfully only them. ¡°~Umm... yeah,~¡± Anne confirmed, confused about the confusion in the Gallade¡¯s voice. From what she¡¯d remembered learning about, many mons shared the approximate human skeleton, ribs included, so they shouldn¡¯t have been surprising¡ª ¡°^Should they be poking out like that?^¡± Oh. Marco words had drawn the rest of the room¡¯s attention over to the area in question, though its significance was lost on the kids. At least, aside from Anne, the girl looking away as she got the implication, ¡°~P-probably not. I¡¯m just... really thin. Probably too thin...~¡± Marco¡¯s worry was confirmed. He looked at the human with concern as Elric spoke up again, ¡°Sounds like you need to visit Holly some more, hehe! Time for a second lunch?¡± ¡°~I-I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve had the first one. Or breakfast...~¡± The room immediately went quiet at that, Elric taken aback by that in particular. It was well after noon already! ¡°Whaaaat!? But it¡¯s already so late in the day! I would¡¯ve been screaming in hunger by then!¡± All the while, Cypress kicked himself at not noticing that in time; the very simple truism of ¡®living beings need food¡¯ somehow slipping by unnoticed in the mess of Anne¡¯s situation. Though, Elric¡¯s remark brought up a good, if odd point. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything, dear Anne...?¡± Anne squirmed at all the surrounding concern. The answer to Cypress¡¯ question was awkward and unpleasant, forcing her to package it in¡­ softer language. ¡°~I-I¡¯m just used to not eating much.~¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t just ¡®not eating much¡¯, my dear...¡± ¡°~...o-or going days without eating,~¡± she admitted. ¡°But why? Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Elric asked. ¡°~I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m used to hunger. I-I don¡¯t r-really notice it anymore...~¡± It didn¡¯t exactly take a mastermind to piece the details together. Marco felt the same vindictiveness towards her family as before, but now with a dash of wanting to comfort Anne some more, somehow. He might not have been in the right position to act on that, but Cadence was. She only needed to glimpse her uncle¡¯s feelings to realize what was up for herself too, her embrace redoubling in strength. Didn¡¯t take a mastermind, but some needed to have the truth spelled out to them. ¡°But how? Did your human family not feed you or something?¡± the bat continued. Before anyone could chide him for continuing further into what was clearly an unpleasant topic, Anne replied first, ¡°~P-pretty much, yeah...~¡± For once in his life, the Gligar was left speechless, not expecting such an absurdly cruel possibility to ring true. Even if he wasn¡¯t too familiar with the feeling of shame, he sure felt it now, it and affection; scrambling over to Anne¡¯s free side and contributing with his own hug. ¡°Sounds like a meal is in order...¡± Cypress murmured. ¡°^Indeed. Let me go and grab something¡ª^¡± ¡°^Oh, can I go too, uncle!?^¡± Cadence chimed in. Marco wasn¡¯t sure how to react to his niece¡¯s eagerness, even if he applauded her wanting to help her friend. He could more than likely haul the entirety of Holly¡¯s pantry in here with his bare arms, if needed. Help wasn¡¯t really necessary... but why not. Let¡¯s let her help and feel good about it. ¡°^Hmmmm, sure. Come Cadence, let¡¯s grab us all a nice, big meal, especially Anne.^¡± ¡°^YAY! We¡¯ll be back soon Anne, hopefully the hunger won¡¯t be too bad until then!^¡± The human herself was a bit taken aback at the sudden intervention, but... couldn¡¯t deny that it all felt nice. To be cared for like that and to get to fill her tummy a bit. She still didn¡¯t handle excess attention being placed on her well, but as long as it remained this caring, she wouldn¡¯t mind anywhere near as much as she usually did. With how much Cadence adored her little drawing, it was probably best to wait until she was back before continuing with it, heh. That wasn¡¯t an issue, plenty of other things to do, and kids to chat with, after all! Who knows, maybe Reya would enjoy a sketch too? ¡°~R-Reya, want me to draw you?~¡± *woof, woof?* Oh. That... was an issue. Being left without Cadence or Marco for a moment wasn¡¯t the end of the world, but being left without a translation... was a different matter. Anne had already been in this spot before; she knew nothing bad would happen. Still... there was something unnerving about being left with superpowered children and no way to communicate with them, or to convey asking them to stop if needed. Guess screams will work for that too, but it might be too late at that point. *woof?* Before that vicious train of thought could threaten to swallow Anne whole, Reya¡¯s bark caught her attention, the Riolu now on her lap. To the best of the human¡¯s ability to tell, she was concerned, which... aww. ¡°~I-I¡¯m okay Reya, just... feels a bit scary with nobody understanding me anymore.~¡± Even if that was the case, speaking like she normally did proved to be rather soothing in itself. It really helped, even if it was just playing pretend, and so did Reya¡¯s adorable head tilt in response. A smile broke through Anne¡¯s prior nervousness as she reached to pet the pup. And once she¡¯d done that, the Ralts wanted in on that too, scrambling in on her lap beside his friend, and even Elric wouldn¡¯t say no to some human affection. Hugpiles, an ever effective antidote to anxiety. The Gligar¡¯s chittered comment soon kicked off an entire conversation between himself and the pair of younger kids. It was amusing to hear Bell speak like this, his high-pitched boyish voice becoming little more than squeaks and an occasional baby gargle, the Ralts getting an extra portion of affection each time he spoke. Which only made him squeal each time, teeny body splatting on Anne¡¯s front and hugging her as much as it could. Wonderful, each and every time. Yeah, suppose she could just rest like this for a while. In time, Anne had even gathered enough courage to close her eyes for a moment. She almost took off her glasses too, if not for the Riolu¡¯s accidental burst of strength being liable to turn the entire trinket into a pile of shattered glass and metal shavings. Sorry Reya, you¡¯re a wonderful lil¡¯ pup, but the ability to see is more important. As Anne chuckled at her unspoken joke, having long since tuned out the incomprehensible conversation, a movement against her side caught her attention. Reya was shuffling weirdly, as if trying to peek around her. It was quite cute. A couple pets towards the puppy had her squirm, but her focus remained where it was previously aimed at. Was there something odd behind her? Might as well take a¡ª Ember was moving. A switch audibly toggled in Anne¡¯s head as that singular realization took over the entirety of her mind. Her good arm immediately started to gently, yet firmly, push the other kids off her lap and clear some more space on the bed. The Braixen was shaking softly in her shawl, and whether it was in fear, hunger, or pain, Anne could not tell. Couldn¡¯t tell, but wanted to help. Within moments, Anne had shifted over to her best friend, laying down beside her and sneaking her good arm underneath the Braixen¡¯s body to hold her close. She heard quiet whines and mumbles, together with an occasional strained breath, the sounds conveying both that her beloved vixen was probably awake, and that she was not feeling good in the slightest. ¡°~I-I¡¯m here Ember, I¡¯m here...~¡± she whispered. The shaking fox first froze, and then shuffled towards her at hearing that, turning around with slow, staggered motions. With every little slide, more of Ember¡¯s snout came into view. And, with it, so did the clearly visible pain, winces and grumbles constantly streaking across her face. As much as the firefox hurt, it absolutely paled compared to finally seeing her human awake and beside her once more. She yelped, the sound one Anne remembered well despite all the time that had passed. Before the human girl knew it, she was being held tight with very warm, very shaky arms. Ember¡¯s intermittent winces had turned into quiet growls and woofs, some sort of speech she couldn¡¯t understand but which had reached deep inside her, regardless. Tears ran down their faces as Anne¡¯s brown eyes met Ember¡¯s singular red one, the resulting embrace as tight as both battered girls could manage. ¡°~I-I love you Ember, I¡¯m here...~¡± Some of the fox¡¯s vocalizations were clearly words, but the rest equally clearly conveyed pain. Anne knew just what to do, hand reaching up to stroke the fox between her ears; hoping that despite their suffering, she could help somehow. Just like she used to do, again and again. For a few moments, the two just held each other, words simultaneously incomprehensible and conveying everything in the world; the sheer outpouring of love and comfort especially clear to the toddlers. Anne wasn¡¯t considering letting go of Ember for the next, preferably forever, but her discomfort was obvious and very worrying. She wouldn¡¯t wake up for so long earlier, and now she was in pain, the thoughts of what it all could mean scaring Anne. She wouldn¡¯t have to wait long for help, thankfully. Cypress¡¯s whispered, drawn out voice caught both girls off guard. The inseparable pair looked up at the ghost through teary eyes; the Mismagius¡¯s yellow eyes focused firmly on the Braixen. From the little that Anne could make out, he¡¯d just asked her a question of some sort¡ªand if Ember¡¯s shaky nodding was any sign, she¡¯d just agreed. A familiar, ethereal chant followed as Cypress rested one of his tentacles on Ember¡¯s forehead and the other on his side. For a few moments, nothing happened, the piercing tune continuing until, at last, the Braixen¡¯s Pain was Split. Both she and the Mismagius jumped at the sensation, the latter immediately reaching towards his head as his entire body shriveled up, yellow eyes wide and mouth left slightly agape. Whether he even needed to breathe, Anne didn¡¯t know, but it looked like he was doing just that, and heavily while at it. He¡¯d only forced out a couple of short words before floating away towards the entrance to the room, outside of either girl¡¯s field of view, and then out of it. Before the two girls knew it, they were left on their own again, with only each other to look at. But now, with Ember in the condition to do more than whine quietly and cry in pain. Anne had no idea what just happened, but deep down she didn¡¯t care, redoubling her hugging efforts and bringing her head to the smaller vixen¡¯s shoulder, her comforting whispers continuing. ¡°~I-I¡¯m so glad to see you feeling better, Ember... I-I love you, I¡¯m sorry f-for leaving you at that shelter, I know it was scary but¡ª~¡± she apologized before the vixen¡¯s quiet growl cut her off. The Fire-type finally had the strength to hold her best friend closer; to return all the physical affection she¡¯d been provided over the years, at last. Anne kept sniffling all the while, relief, comfort, and apology all welling up within her. An uncountable number of words she wanted to say, what she¡¯d been wanting to say for as long as they¡¯d known each other. It was so much Anne almost didn¡¯t notice Ember¡¯s warm paw sneaking its way up the back of her head, the pleasant warmth combining with soft fur making her squirm. ¡°~H-hehe, t-tickles...~¡± Did she want to return the pets after all these years now that she finally could? That¡¯s so sweet of her, goodness¡ªow. Anne didn¡¯t expect the blissful touch to suddenly be cut off by a stinging sensation where Ember had touched her; a harsh wince interrupting her train of thought. It wasn¡¯t even a burn or anything; maybe she¡¯d caught something in here? Hopefully not. Ember¡¯s headache looked so terrible¡ª ¡°^Anne?^¡± ... The voice she¡¯d heard was a bit gruffer than her own, slightly huskier, but, at the same time, unmistakably girly and her age. Anne reeled back, staring wide eyed at the vixen¡¯s face, shock turning into joy at seeing the same happen on Ember¡¯s end. ¡°~E-Ember?~¡± A slow, firm nod from the vixen. ¡°~EMBER!~¡± Anne¡¯s eyes teared up as her heart sang in joy. Her embrace immediately redoubled in strength, getting absolutely everything the battered human still had in her. And, moments later, her effort was returned in kind; Ember¡¯s squeal turning into a quiet but excited ¡®awoooo¡¯ at her telepathy working out despite her utter exhaustion. ¡°~E-Ember, I-I¡¯m so happy to h-hear you, I¡ª~¡± Anne whispered. There weren¡¯t enough words in Unovan to describe even a fraction of the turmoil she had been through without her best friend by her side¡ªbut it didn¡¯t matter anymore, not now, not ever again. They had each other once more. Ember was back with her. She was back with Ember. Everything would be okay. ¡°~I-I love you, Ember...~¡± ¡°^I love you too, A-Anne! I-it¡¯s been so long, a-and you¡¯ve grown so much!^¡± ¡°~I think you grew up a lot m-more,~¡± Anne giggled. Ember was much too tired to even pretend to not have found the joke funny. Her barked laughter filled the clinic¡¯s room before Anne¡¯s joined it soon after, the duet as sudden for onlookers as it was deeply, profoundly relieving for the participants. Even after it had eventually calmed down, the girls kept giggling from time to time, the mix of emotional high and physical exhaustion clear to see for all. And nobody minded, mostly because they had found something else to occupy themselves with. The girls neither noticed nor cared about that, though. Their hug continued as Anne¡¯s thoughts ventured towards her earlier whispered apology; several tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. ¡°~I-I¡¯m so sorry for leaving you a-at that shelter...~¡± ¡°^It¡¯s okay Anne, I-I promise! Y-you wanted to save me, a-and... you did,^¡± Ember reassured. She could only faintly remember her own distress, the fresher, complete perspective replacing it all in her mind. It was such a weird sensation, to suddenly remember so much more than just what she did or thought. If anything, it only made it obvious just how much her human had loved her. The awareness that she used to not remember Anne was present somewhere in her head, but again, it paled in importance to everything else going on at the moment. It was probably just stress and despair, anyway. She couldn¡¯t wait to tell her mom; finally introduce Anne to her. ¡°~I-I¡¯m glad you found a home here, y-you really deserve to be happy¡ª~¡± ¡°^A-and so do you, Anne! Oh, maybe you could stay with me and my mom a-after you get better?^¡± Ember asked, eyes lighting up with excitement. After all, of course Anne would stay for good. The only real question as far as Ember was concerned was ¡®where¡¯. Anne was not opposed to that idea in the slightest; sharing a home with Ember again was one of her closest held dreams ever since they had to separate. Though... ¡®mom¡¯? ¡°~I-I¡¯d love to, Ember. D-did you find your mom here?~¡± ¡°^No no, she adopted me, she¡¯s n-not my biological mom. She¡¯s a Delphox, a-and has been helping me with learning my moves, a-and telepathy and letting me talk to you now, a-and so much more, and¡ª^¡± Ember paused, but she knew full well she could go on for much longer than that. Her mom meant so much to her; she loved her almost as much as she loved Anne. She might not have liked humans much, but there was no way she¡¯d say no to Anne, not after everything they¡¯ve been through, right? ¡°^I-I love her a lot, and I love you.^¡± Anne¡¯s smile grew as she listened in, a one-armed hug tightening at hearing all the good things that her friend had experienced in the meantime. Ember deserved them all, deserved everything in the world. ¡°~I-I love you too, Ember. I missed you so much...~¡± The Braixen¡¯s embrace tightened for a moment before loosening just enough to let the two lean back and look each other in the eyes. Tears, exhaustion, fluster and smiles all combined into a soggy, blissful mess. Two soggy messes meant for each other¡ª *Woof.* The bark was very similar to Reya¡¯s at a glance, but much, much lower in pitch, making Anne jump. No way it could¡¯ve been Reya making that kind of noise. Wonder who was¡ª A Lucario stood by the entrance to the room, Cypress hovering next to them. Their call might have chiefly caught Reya¡¯s attention, but their own focus was unmistakably on Anne; narrow red eyes staring at her. Through her, freezing her to the very core. Reya clearly noticed the sensation too, glancing over at her before another rough bark made her resume her descent from the bedding, followed by a dash over to what was presumably her parent. For once, Anne really wished she was a psychic, just so that she could figure out whether that Lucario only looked furious, or whether they were actually angry at her. And, if it was the latter, what she¡¯d done wrong this time to have caused it. She must¡¯ve botched something, right? Something small but offensive, no doubt. M-maybe she wasn¡¯t meant to pet Reya like that and it was really insulting in hindsight? Probably something to do with some sort of etiquette. She should¡¯ve sat up or stood up and bowed when she saw them, and not doing that was unknowingly a great offense. Something like that¡ªno matter what, though, she messed it up; she made them angry at her, she¡¯d caused it, she deserved it, she¡ª A sudden, tight hug from behind. Ember¡¯s warmth shook her out of her spiraling anxiety, letting her finally see that the Lucario and Reya had left at some point. ¡°^Shhhh, shhhh, i-it¡¯s okay Anne, it¡¯s okay, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, I-I promise.^¡± Ember¡¯s reassurance had the human curl up a bit, the fright still coursing through her veins. The Braixen kept trying to help with yet another hug, yet more pets, desperate attempts to comfort her best friend¡ªjust like she herself had been comforted so many times. ¡°~Wh-why did he look a-at me like that...~¡± Anne mumbled, terrified. ¡°^Th-that was Mr. Lariat; he¡¯s always gruff like that. Y-You did nothing wrong, I promise Anne...^¡± Even Ember¡¯s warmth and explanations took their time melting through the utterly freezing glare that still lingered in Anne¡¯s mind, but gradually, second by second, they slowly managed. Once Anne no longer felt like she¡¯d been immobilized with a Mean Look, she shakily turned back towards her best friend, letting the vixen administer all the warm affection she was capable of. A whole heaping lot of it; learned over the many, many years of being held and pet by the very same human she was now trying to comfort. ¡°^It¡¯s okay Anne, it¡¯s okay. N-nobody will hurt you here,^¡± Ember reassured. Anne nodded shakily, her breath finally beginning to even out as Ember dispensed her love, soft fluff feeling softer still by the moment. ¡°^I-I won¡¯t let anything happen to you, Anne, I promise...^¡± I promise... The words finally broke through the last of Anne¡¯s anxiety-induced paralysis; the one good arm holding the Braixen tight enough to knock the breath out of her for a moment. ¡°~Th-thank you, Ember¡ª~¡± *squeak!* Anne might have not understood what Bell just shouted about, but Ember sure did. The louder noise was followed by a back and forth between the Ralts and the Gligar. Each bit was just as incoherent to the human as the last one, while Braixen looked like she was only barely succeeding at holding in laughter¡ªand eventually, failed at that; her soft barks music to her friend¡¯s ears. She couldn¡¯t remember ever hearing Ember laugh like that, and now she wanted to never forget that sound. It took the vixen a moment or two to realize that her friend had no idea what was going on. The thought of how dumbfounding all of this must¡¯ve been to an onlooker sent another wave of amusement through her. Instead of trying to answer that confusion, though, she helped Anne see for herself, slowly sitting up together with her before pointing a shaky paw towards the nearby antics. Elric was busy exploring his more creative side, picking Bell to inspire his first ever creation. Unfortunately for the bespoke Ralts, said creation involved him having been drawn with a bowl cut large enough to cover almost his entire body, only his feet visible from underneath all the hair. Pfft. Moment by moment, Anne joined in on the group¡¯s giggles. Her hiccupy, kettle-like laughter was much more pleasant to the ear, and just different enough from the rest to catch Bell¡¯s attention. As loudly as he¡¯d squeaked in protest at the caricature of himself, he now realized that there was an actual artist in the room, someone who wouldn¡¯t draw him this wrong¡ªhis hair wasn¡¯t this big! Bell wasted no time scrambling over to the human and squeaking out his request to exactly zero comprehension; teeny arms lightly patting Anne¡¯s thighs for emphasis. The contrast between the apparent seriousness of his words and the adorableness of everything else about him added further fuel to the fire of the girl¡¯s laughs, especially once Ember provided the well needed translation, ¡°^He¡¯s asking you to draw him, but nice, not l-like Elric, hahaha.^¡± She had another drawing to finish first, but sure wasn¡¯t opposed to that idea. Right as she was about to ask the Braixen to translate her words back, she realized it wouldn¡¯t be needed. The room had smelled the pair¡¯s return before they saw them. The Gallade was carrying several large bowls of roasted, spiced berries and what looked like the most delicious mashed potatoes Anne had seen in her life. Cadence, on the other hand, was levitating a bag with a small mountain of pastries, sweet and savory alike from what the rest of the room could make out. Anne wasn¡¯t used to neither this quantity nor quality of food; her school lunches anemic and only technically edible. This smelled like something out of a restaurant, like something a small army of chiefs had spent hours on each. ¡°~I-is that all f-for us?~¡± ¡°^Indeed, Anne. Good afternoon Ember!^¡± Marco greeted. ¡°^Uncle Marco had to stop Holly from making even more! When he¡¯d told her that your family didn¡¯t feed you well, she started cooking so fast and so much she almost had a fire in her kitchen! Oh oh, hi Ember!^¡± ¡°^If only it was just one fire...^¡± the Gallade grumbled. Most of the room laughed at that clarification as Anne stared dumbstruck at all the food, latent hunger suddenly growing much, much harder to ignore. The firefox beside her huddled closer beside her as she waved at the pair of returning psychics, gathering the words to respond to the greetings up before the lil¡¯ Ralts went through with his request first, ¡°Anneeeee, can you draw me nice?¡± His repeated question snapped the human out of her daze. Anne was about to respond before the Gallade in the room cut her off, ¡°^Bell, how about we all eat something and then Anne can go back to drawing you all?^¡± The Ralts gave that option ten seconds of the most intense thought in his teeny life before expressing his agreement with a loud, happy squeak; his attention immediately redirected over towards the freshly brought foodstuffs. Yeah, that sounded nice. That sounded very nice. Chapter 17: Uncertainty It took Aria a good while to speak up again after her unintentional faux pas. Inviting wildlings to rest and maybe even stay in their safe haven was one thing, one that not a single sensible soul in the village would ever object to. Doing so with one of them hating and the other fearing humans, with Anne around, was another. She didn¡¯t want anything to happen to Anne, but the pair of ghosts clearly needed help, too. If she just kept the truth hidden and hoped things would work out, they¡¯d probably freak out upon realizing that there was indeed a human around, and perilously close at that. Best case, they¡¯d just leave there and then, and the worst case... Despite Safeguard¡¯s protection, a dreadful chill went through Aria¡¯s horns at the thought. She supposed there really was no way out of this conundrum but forward. ¡°^There is something I need to confess to, regarding the settlement we¡¯re heading towards.^¡± Aria kept staring straight on as the group made slow progress through the near-uniform snow-covered woods. Yaksha knew better than to pause just because of something being brought up and marched on. The same couldn¡¯t be said for Sage; the girl left scrambling to catch up after her brief stop. ¡°And that would be?¡± the Banette asked. Time for the big revelation, and hope that they wouldn¡¯t take off into nothingness there and then. ¡°^There is currently a human staying there. One.^¡± Out of her view, the Banette¡¯s gaze narrowed as the Phantump let out a small, terrified squeak, immediately leaning into her guardian. Aria might not have seen it, but she most definitely sensed it, a deep-seated part of her wanting to drop everything else and comfort the scared girl, just as it did with Anne. They felt so similar. And yet, were so crucially different. ¡°That¡¯s an important detail to hide from us.¡± Yaksha grumbled, his accusatory tone neither missed nor unearned. The Gardevoir slowly nodded before continuing, ¡°^I know. I was uncertain how to best bring her up.^¡± Aria felt Sage noticeably relax at that mention, but didn¡¯t have the time to delve deeper into that observation. The hauntling¡¯s guardian still expected answers, and yet again, the truth was the only answer the Gardevoir had. ¡°^She¡¯s a young girl, far from an adult. Ended up under our care after running away from an abusive home and getting grievously injured, and may stay there for good, should things work out.^¡± Putting it in the most direct way thankfully worked to break through Yaksha¡¯s immediate scepticism. Or, at least, some of it. Noticeably less suspicion in his mind, though still a fair amount of doubt and cold calculation. Unfortunately, even with that caveat, the Banette¡¯s response was what Aria hoped to avoid, ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake. Sage, let¡¯s head out of¡ª¡± ¡°B-but Mr. Yaksha!¡± Sage cried. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Y-you¡¯re still hurt!¡± ¡°Better me than you, kid.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll be okay, I promise!¡± she pleaded, finally making a dent in her guardian. Yaksha was of half a mind to keep up the argument, to try keeping Sage safe from her fear despite her best efforts. One human child without their wretched balls wouldn¡¯t be a threat to even her, let alone them both; he knew that well. Even beyond that, though, he still wanted to keep going. He had already been slowly falling apart before this accident. His state was the very last thing either of them should care about. She deserved better than humanity, and he was determined to deliver, even if it killed what remained of him. But... it felt different this time. There was a steadfastness to her words, her posture. She kept affirming her decision with firm, full body nods even after he¡¯d turned to look at her. Suppose he could stop by to get patched up, especially if he¡¯d be there beside her to protect her should that human dare show up... ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this, Sage,¡± he remided. ¡°But I¡¯ll be okay! I-I¡¯ll have you!¡± The Banette chuckled, the sound mixing with metallic clings of unraveling zipper teeth. He found her conviction adorable in the most condescending way, going through all the ways that decision could go so very wrong in his mind. All the ways she could get overwhelmed and panic like she¡¯d done so many times in the past. All the ways in which she¡¯d be left withdrawn in her stump, too afraid to move, reliving her death again. Suppose there was only so much he could do to dissuade her in the end. He was her guardian, no matter what. With the expected safety of a place like the settlement in question, even if the worst came to pass and she got terrified and required help, he¡¯d be there to help her once more. They¡¯d be fine, and she¡¯d know better going forward. ... He hated thinking of it that way. She¡¯s been through arguably even more than him. She didn¡¯t need to ¡®know better¡¯, she just needed to be safe. And if he couldn¡¯t do that, then what good was he even for? Why else would he keep shambling on with little more than spite in his mind and a gaping hole in his memories¡ª ¡°M-Mr. Yaksha?¡± the Phantump asked, worried. Despite the Banette¡¯s best efforts, the zipped grimace revealed more than he would¡¯ve ever wanted to. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Alright. Let¡¯s try a day or two. If anything happens, we leave there and then. How does that sound, Sage?¡± The Phantump shook a bit at being asked a direct question like that, her own small mind no less certain than her guardian¡¯s. In her case, though, her thoughts veered in the other direction, of not wanting her fear, however much or little of it there was in the moment, to keep them on the move. She wanted to speak up, to ask why only a day or two, to ask about as something as self-explanatory as staying there until the Banette was healthy again. But she didn¡¯t know what to say. And instead, just nodded and hovered over to him, stubby arms trying to pull his side into a hug. Aria¡¯s smile at the scene mirrored Yaksha¡¯s, the latter strained by exhaustion, injury, and slight annoyance at the ghost once more keeping something from him. Either way, at least they¡¯ve agreed on a plan they were both happy enough with. A rarer occasion than it should¡¯ve been. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s settled, then,¡± Yaksha sighed. ¡°A couple of days, whichever rest we can get, then we head out. Won¡¯t be staying any more than that.¡± It wasn¡¯t the Gardevoir¡¯s place to argue, and she knew that well. Who knows, maybe they¡¯d reconsider once they were there? Maybe they¡¯d stay for longer, anyway? Maybe Pearl or Autumn or someone else could help Sage process some of her fear? It remained to be seen. For now, though, the resolution was as good as either side could¡¯ve hoped for. As they got moving again, Aria¡¯s thoughts returned to the hauntling; the little Phantump was seemingly at more ease than before. To meet such a traumatic end at the hands of humanity, and so young at that. She¡¯d glimpsed a few more of those little ghosts many years ago, always in the corner of her vision, always disappearing shortly after. Cypress¡¯ words corroborated what the teachings she¡¯d first heard growing up spoke of once she¡¯d asked him about them. Almost all the Phantump were deathborn, and all of them lost children who had died alone. A hatchling Pidove who woke up to an empty nest and was eventually spotted by a predator. An overeager Rattata straying too far from their nest, dismembered at the hands of a human trap. A Venipede too malnourished to hibernate over the winter and evolve, left starving to death in their own burrow, so close to and yet so far from everyone they had ever known. Her heart broke when first listening to the Mismagius¡¯ recollection; she could hardly bear thinking of them even now. The pain, the loneliness, the fear; the all-encompassing fear they all must¡¯ve felt. That Sage must¡¯ve felt. Aria only barely held her tears in, but there was no way in hell she would hold herself back from giving the girl some well-deserved affection. A gentle application of telekinesis forwarded the sensations of her slowly petting hand over to the hauntling¡¯s wooden shell. The psychic touch gave Sage a pause as she stopped, wide-eyed. It didn¡¯t take long for the Phantump to connect the dots, taking her aback. She looked up at the nearby Gardevoir with an unspoken question, only to have it be cut through with a single, wordless nod. Sage responded in the most natural way in the world for her. The entire group had to briefly pause as the tiny ghost hugged Aria¡¯s leg. Their emotions were split between wanting to comfort, being comforted, and full-body confusion at what had just happened behind his back. The latter knew to stay quiet though, his grumpiness gradually fading as he watched the little one under his care visibly relax; her tiny body no longer shaking as much. ¡°Th-thank you, M-m-Mrs. Aria...¡± the Phantump smiled shyly at Aria¡¯s beaming expression. She didn¡¯t waste an opportunity to give the haunting another hug once she¡¯d crouched, either; the psychically transmitted sensations matched only by the real deal. ¡°^You¡¯re welcome sweetie. I hope you¡¯ll enjoy your stay at our village.^¡± Aria felt Sage¡¯s thoughts bounce around several topics at her words. Excitement at visiting a town, uncertainty at it being full of stranger mons, tinge of muted fear at the stray human, worry about whether Yaksha would be alright in the end. Eventually, that very first emotion came out on top, especially when bolstered by some more of the Gardevoir¡¯s affection. ¡°M-mhm!¡± Sage squeaked. ¡°You make it sound like you¡¯re leaving us.¡± With a couple last pats on Sage¡¯s back, Aria stood up and nodded again; Yaksha¡¯s pink eyes narrowing. ¡°^I have my scouting duty, alas. If you maintain this direction, you will eventually reach our village, worry not.^¡± The Gardevoir pointed to stress her words, leaving the Banette to focus on maintaining their heading. ¡°Fair enough,¡± he admitted. ¡°Th-thank you for letting us stay, Mrs. Aria!¡± ¡°Yes...¡± ¡°^You¡¯re both very welcome. Once you get there, be on a lookout for a large tent with a red symbol above the red entrance. That¡¯s our clinic.^¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Mhm! W-we¡¯ll ask someone for directions i-if we can¡¯t find it, r-right Mr. Yaksha?¡± Sage asked. ¡°We¡¯ll try, yes.¡± The language barrier inherent to that approach didn¡¯t cross either of the three¡¯s minds as the pair of ghosts separated from the tall psychic. Aria paused and ensured the other two were heading in the right direction before turning around and mentally resetting herself. A whole day of scouting ahead, and fingers crossed it won¡¯t feature any more surprises.
Much to the relief of Aria¡¯s increasingly fraying mental state, that hope indeed held true. The sky eventually shifted from its muted whites and blues into ever darkening oranges, making for an excellent sign to turn tail and sprint back home. It was weird to acknowledge how freeing a good run like that could feel. Aria didn¡¯t consider herself physically strong. Barring any psychic assistance, subconscious or overt, she doubted she¡¯d even be capable of lifting both of her children up into her arms¡ªor even walking, for that matter. If nothing else, it didn¡¯t feel like she had to help herself during the warmer months. When the winter came, though, levitation still reigned as her preferred mode of transportation. All the practice had brought it into not feeling much more draining than just walking would, so doing it all day wasn¡¯t even that much of a hassle anymore. Getting somewhere fast was a different matter entirely. Jovan probably had a nice, smart word for this exact purpose, but teleportation grew immensely draining as its length increased. Zipping from one end of the room to the other took surprisingly little effort, but even just doubling that tiny distance suddenly made the task way more than twice as difficult, and that relation only continued. Teleporting across the village was possible and enough to leave her gasping for breath; double that and she¡¯d be left borderline catatonic once she arrived. It made for a terrible method of long-distance locomotion, unless done in short bursts. And at that point, considering the downtime between each blink, the end result wasn¡¯t that much faster than just a brisk jog. And nowhere near as fast as Aria¡¯s current Agility-enhanced sprint. Using her legs this much felt weird, but... not at all bad. She¡¯d remembered Marco swearing by the virtues of purely physical exercise and exertion from time to time, and the more she used this way of getting back and forth to her scouting route, the more she agreed with him. Maybe she could show it off to Cadence sometime and have her give it a shot too? Wouldn¡¯t hurt to try. Bell would probably run around the nearest person or building really fast and just give himself vertigo, teehee. It was an amusing mental image, one Aria appreciated as she gradually slowed down. These sorts of idle thoughts were hardly the most productive, but they made for a pleasant and well-needed distraction, especially here. Especially now. As her Agility gradually wore out and the number of familiar auras tingling her brain grew, Aria¡¯s thoughts shifted back to the most important, and sadly most controversial, subject. She¡¯d need to check up on Anne for sure, but hardly just her. There was Autumn, too. She¡¯d need to see how her mother-in-law had progressed in winning the village¡¯s opinion. She¡¯d also need to catch up on the Cinder situation, whether anyone had seen her. And, if not, ask someone to watch over the girl for another night. Cypress had to have been to be exhausted by now, assuming he was even still awake. The only other real option was Sprout, and there the same worries returned. Suppose if there was anyone who could figure out how to scan for threats while remaining undetected, it was the Decidueye, she¡¯d figure it out somehow. Aria trusted her; she¡¯d been working with her for dozens upon dozens of seasons by now. But there was still that possibility that something would go wrong. That Cinder would outsmart them all. That she would hurt Anne even more than she¡¯d hurt Ember and Marco. Aria was no stranger to that kind of fear, for better or worse. Just like on all the past occasions, though, there was only one right answer to it. Keep going forward. Acknowledge it, measure it, do what you can to mitigate it. But when the time comes to it, keep moving forward, no matter what. The moment of mental clarity caught Aria right as the very last of her earlier speed boost had worn off, leaving her walking into the quickly building glow of the village as the sun set around her. So many things to do, but there was one good jumping off point for tackling them one at a time, and getting a drink of something pleasant to go with it. Vivian¡¯s tea shop always got crammed around this time of day, right as everyone was finishing their duties. And much the same was true today, with virtually every seat and a decent bit of the standing space occupied by someone enjoying themselves. Be it tea, the results of the Goodra¡¯s experiments with fermenting and distilling wine, or just socializing, the little space had something for everyone. In Aria¡¯s case, it was several people she needed to chat with, and tea. Let¡¯s get the latter dealt with first. ¡°Evening, Aria.¡± the sweater-clad Goodra greeted. She answered them with a firm nod; eyes focused on nothing as she approached the counter. ¡°^Good evening, Vivian.^¡± ¡°A lot on your mind, isn¡¯t there?¡± Once more, she nodded absentmindedly, sighing before finally looking up at the dragon. ¡°^More than I¡¯d like, but nothing I can¡¯t handle.^¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt that for a moment~. Now, just tea or something stronger?¡± ¡°^Just tea, I¡¯ll need all the clarity I can get my hands on.^¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± As the dragon glanced around their shoulder to double check whether the next kettleful of the sweet drink was brewing, Aria used the downtime to bring up some things right away. Plenty of people passed through their little shop, almost as many as Holly¡¯s¡ªthey knew a thing or two. ¡°^Have you heard anything about Cinder today?^¡± The direct question drew the dragon¡¯s focus directly to her, mind changing gears from just nicety to something more... gossipy. ¡°Plenty, but I imagine you¡¯d be most interested in her location?¡± In any other circumstances, Aria would¡¯ve followed that plainly presented bait, asked how come they knew about that. Not today, though. ¡°^Yes, yes exactly.^¡± ¡°Alas, nothing about that specific topic, I have to say. All I¡¯ve heard is about what she¡¯d done to Marco yesterday. Seems she¡¯s still missing.¡± The worst possible response short of her having stormed in earlier and burned the entire village to the ground. Not like Aria could argue with it either; eyes focusing on nothing as she accepted a cup of tea and started absentmindedly blowing on the freshly boiled drink. It was hardly inconspicuous, but that wasn¡¯t a problem by itself, as long as nobody had spilled any more beans. ¡°She¡¯ll be brought to justice for her assault as soon as she shows up here, no? I can¡¯t imagine her being willing to leave Ember alone instead of going through whatever punishment the Elders devise for her.¡± If only it was just that. ¡°^No, that¡¯s not all of it, it¡¯s... so much worse,^¡± Aria muttered. ¡°That bad?¡± ¡°^I¡¯d rather not elaborate any more.^¡± Finally, Aria got to slowly sipping on her cup. She continued to use her breath and the few applicable psychic tricks to cool the tea down. Her mind refocused on everything that could¡¯ve happened to, or including Cinder in the meantime¡ª ¡°I assume it¡¯s about what she¡¯d done to Ember, no?¡± In a split second, Gardevoir was focused entirely on the Goodra; the sudden motion combined with her eyes narrowing took the barkeeper aback. ¡°^Who told you that!?^¡± Her voice was somehow simultaneously weaker on account of the communication now being truly private and much harsher because of the gravity of that fact getting leaked to everyone. Once they¡¯d finished feeling back from Aria¡¯s sudden shift, Vivian continued with a soft chuckle, ¡°Nobody, but I appreciate the confirmation~.¡± Their clear amusement, combined with their words, had Aria¡¯s mind threatening to freeze. What the hell did they mean? How did they figure it out? ¡°^How did you¡ª^¡± ¡°Cinder mysteriously left yesterday after assaulting Marco. There were all the whispers about Marco collapsing in the human¡¯s room at the clinic next to Ember. Then, today I heard all about how Ember and the human used to be old friends but Ember just somehow forgot about all that until now... the pieces aren¡¯t exactly difficult to put together, if you get what I mean.¡± That much Aria could agree with. Simultaneously, she realized that the final contributing piece of information must¡¯ve been leaked by someone, anxiety only growing inside her at the possibility of everyone putting it all together on their own. ¡®Ember and Anne used to be friends but Ember forgot¡¯ sounded like a piece of fake rumors; nobody would¡¯ve believed it unless the Braixen herself had confirmed it in person. And if there¡¯s someone Aria wasn¡¯t expecting to go out to the entire village and admit to something this unexpected, it was definitely Ember. ¡°^I... alright. Who told you about Ember, then?^¡± ¡°I heard it from Sol,¡± Vivian admitted. ¡°^Sol... alright. Need to get over there and track down who told him that¡ª^¡± ¡°^That would be me~.^¡± a well familiar mental voice giggled. Aria¡¯s nervous expression jumped over, meeting Autumn¡¯s relaxed, slightly inebriated one, right as the Indeedee had put away her mug on the counter to be refilled. The Gardevoir briefly froze at that realization, the accumulated stresses of the day leaving her dumbfounded before she caught her breath and tried to tackle it again. One step at a time, as with everything. ¡°^Mom? But¡ªwhy?^¡± ¡°^Well, you had asked me to help make the place more amenable, and *hiccup* I figured that wouldn¡¯t be a bad way to do it,^¡± Autumn explained ¡°^But it sounds unbelievable!^¡± ¡°^But it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?^¡± ¡°^Yes, it is, but... nobody¡¯s gonna believe it!^¡± Aria pleaded. ¡°I sure believe it after seeing your reaction to me bringing it up~.¡± Vivian interjected, making Autumn chuckle under her breath as Aria churned through their words. Eventually, she felt forced to admit the defeat. She supposed this approach would work, even if she wasn¡¯t sold on it one bit, and even if it could cause problems later. ¡°Really, if Ember goes out to confirm the rumors herself, then I don¡¯t see why anyone would remain doubtful about it,¡± the dragon continued. ¡°^They¡¯d probably just think either me or Autumn had hypnotized the poor girl into saying it,^¡± Aria muttered. ¡°I imagine there are quite a few ways to dispel that kind of Hypnosis and really make sure then?¡± ¡°^Plenty.^¡± ¡°What¡¯s the issue, then?¡± ¡°^It still sounds unbelievable. I doubt some will buy into that even with supposed evidence.^¡± ¡°Would they ever?¡± Vivian asked, raising their eyebrow. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Aria looked up from her cup at the dragon, sighing as her exhausted eyes narrowed. ¡°^I¡¯m too tired to probe what you¡¯re implying here.^¡± ¡°Ha! All I meant is the fundamental fact that you won¡¯t sway everyone, even if the truth is entirely on your side. Even with all the proof, even with the most basic of claims, someone won¡¯t believe them. Spite, prejudice, confirmation bias, name your poison and there will be someone afflicted by it. Can¡¯t convince everyone.¡± The Goodra leaned towards the fairy, their mellow expression brightening into a modest, but confident smile. ¡°But you can convince most, and I¡¯d say you two are doing a decent job at that.¡± ¡°^That¡¯s reassuring to hear,^¡± Autumn smiled. Her older, croakier voice contrasted Aria¡¯s silence as the Gardevoir slowly chewed through Vivian¡¯s words. A decent job was indeed good to hear, but would it be enough? Would anything they did be enough? What if those to whom the decision would ultimately fall were a part of that incorrigible minority? The fear was strong, the possibility gripping her lithe body with a frigid grasp. At the same time... it wasn¡¯t all that likely either. She wasn¡¯t good with numbers, she¡¯d have to ask Jovan sometime, but the odds that everyone undecided in the upcoming vote would think the rumor to be fake couldn¡¯t have been too big. And in either case, they were already doing everything in their power to convince as many heads as they could. Would need to ask Ember to confirm it personally, be it today or tomorrow morning. Early enough so that everyone could hear it in time. That¡¯d help even more, and tremendously so. Acknowledge it, measure it, mitigate it. Keep moving forward. ¡°^Thanks, Vivian,^¡± Aria sighed. ¡°Anytime.¡± The dragon nodded at her words before getting pulled to the side by someone else, eager to get their evening brew. A glance to the side revealed Autumn to be gone, too. Thankfully, Aria only needed a quick glance around to find her; the Indeedee¡¯s company was as unusual as it was welcome. She sure didn¡¯t expect to go from getting taught by the Electivire to having him woo her mom, but if they were both making it work, then why not? The Magnemite affixed to Geiger¡¯s arm was another matter entirely, the sight familiar in the most unnerving way. She¡¯d have to ask about it sometime. In the present, though, her attention shifted over to someone else in the room, and someone she was much more eager to chat with. ¡°^Sprout!^¡± Aria¡¯s mental shout caught the Decidueye right as she was about to leave the building with a steaming cup in her feathered hand, prompting her to twist her neck to look directly behind herself before the rest of the body joined in. Aria had seen Blossom do that a couple times when playing with Cadence, and probably shouldn¡¯t have been as surprised at the sight as she ended up being. ¡°Good evening Aria! *yawn* How was your shift?¡± Sprout asked. Her voice clearly hadn¡¯t finished waking up quite yet; the obvious realization further underlined by the owl stretching her elongated body and wings shortly after. ¡°^Fine enough, had an odd encounter, but that¡¯s not the time for it either way.^¡± The phrasing caught the Decidueye¡¯s attention, head immediately thinking through its implications as she took a large sip of the hot drink. Sugary or not, a couple drops of Salac juice did wonders at waking her up, a fact that Sprout was eager to rediscover every single day. ¡°Are you in a rush, Aria?¡± ¡°^Not quite. I meant to ask you for something.^¡± ¡°Always interested in helping. Do tell, dear.¡± ¡°^Well... Cypress watched over Anne last night and possibly over the day too. I imagine he¡¯s exhausted. Would it be alright for you to keep watch for Cinder tonight?^¡± ¡°Would it be alright? Ha, Aria dear, I¡¯d love to! Any way I can help the girl and get an excuse to sink a quill or three into Cinder¡¯s back is appreciated!¡± Sprout beamed. Aria was torn between approving of her enthusiasm and being opposed to the jokes of that caliber on behalf of Ember. Ultimately, she kept herself to a small eye roll, ignoring the comment either way. ¡°^Thank you, Sprout. I hope the security concerns won¡¯t be too bad overnight...^¡± ¡°Oh, I highly doubt. Been weeks since I had to do more than sit, fly and stare. Frankly, by looking over Anne, I¡¯ll already be focusing on possibly preventing the most likely threat out there!¡± Ignoring might¡¯ve been what Aria settled on the first time, but this time she decided to intervene, hoping to establish a soft limit, ¡°^Sprout, please. I know you¡¯re mad at her, so am I. Regardless of what she¡¯d done, she¡¯s still a part of our village¡ª^¡± ¡°Frankly, I hope that won¡¯t remain the case for long.¡± ¡°^Please let me finish. She¡¯s a part of our village, and more importantly, she¡¯s Ember¡¯s mother. The poor girl had been through plenty as is. She doesn¡¯t need to go through the heartbreak at realizing that someone she loved is gone again.^¡± The follow-up was enough to shut Sprout up, at least for a moment. She took her time gathering her words afterwards; downing a large gulp of the sweet drink as her mind churned through a mental equivalent of grumbling under one¡¯s breath. ¡°That almost sounds like you want to hide what Cinder had done to her from her, Aria.¡± ¡°^I¡ªI absolutely don¡¯t. She deserves to know. It¡¯s...^¡± Aria paused, needing a moment and a half to compose herself as she refined some all too familiar emotions into something more measured. ¡°^Ember deserves to know, and she will be heartbroken. I¡¯m aware of that. But that won¡¯t erase everything else she feels about Cinder. She considers her a mother; she loves her. These emotions don¡¯t just go away when she learns of her having done something terrible. Love and hate can coexist and it takes a while for one¡¯s mind to resolve them. It¡¯s...^¡± the Gardevoir blinked a few times to banish the moisture in her eyes, to no avail. ¡°^Sometimes it takes years. Sometimes it never quite ends. No matter what, though, Ember deserves to be allowed to process it all on her own, in her own time, with someone she loves, or used to love around.^¡± Aria¡¯s personal experience wasn¡¯t overlooked; the psychic blinking at suddenly feeling herself pulled into a tight, feathery hug. She didn¡¯t fight it, body steadily relaxing into Sprout¡¯s warmth. ¡°You okay there, dear?¡± ¡°^I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry.^¡± ¡°Oh, I will worry about any friend of mine; don¡¯t you ever doubt that,¡± the Decidueye insisted. Aria failed to hold a tired, guttural chuckle at that, only leaning further on the owl. ¡°^Thanks, Sprout.^¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome~. And... yeah, I s¡¯pose I see your point. Still won¡¯t make the quills itch any less when she shows up, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°^Can¡¯t ask them not to, either. Just... keep Ember in mind, alright?^¡± ¡°I will. When do you want me to start my lookout?¡± The change of subject plucked Aria out of a more pensive mood and towards a more analytical, planning one. Suppose she¡¯d be heading out soon, then get into the clinic, spend a while or two checking up on everyone, making sure Anne has her needs met, then they¡¯d head out... ¡°^In an hour, hour and a half? I¡¯ll wait at the clinic for you to show up either way.^¡± ¡°Fine by me! That everything you wanted to go over, Aria dear?¡± That was everything Aria had initially meant to bring up, but... the more she thought, the more one particular subject begged for more attention. ¡°^Do you... have much experience with Phantump, by any chance?^¡± ¡°Wood orphans, huh? Heartbreaking each time... I assume you¡¯ve run into one, Aria?¡± ¡°^With a Banette looking after her, yes,^¡± the Gardevoir clarified. ¡°Huh,¡± Sprout muttered, clearly taken aback. She dwelt on it for a moment or two, before shaking it aside. ¡°^Something wrong with that?^¡± ¡°No, hardly, just... curious.¡± Aria almost pushed through to ask why there and then, before discarding that tangent. She didn¡¯t really care deep down about how Sage and Yaksha ran into each other, only about how she could help them, the former especially. ¡°^Anyway. They headed over here earlier today. The Banette, Yaksha, had a bad run in with a human¡¯s Murkrow and needed help. I suggested they stay for good, but... it seems the Phantump, Sage, had her life taken away by humans.^¡± The dots weren¡¯t hard to connect for Sprout either; a very familiar maternal pulse going through her mind at the elaboration. It was accompanied by the closest thing her beak could do to cringing, the messiness of the situation not missed on her. ¡°That¡¯s... awful. Does Sage know what she used to be?¡± The Gardevoir shook her head, sighing at the deeply unpleasant subject. ¡°^I was thinking some of our caretakers could help her with figuring it out and processing her fear of humans. But... no, she doesn¡¯t know. She could¡¯ve been anything.^¡± ¡°Even a human herself, ha.¡± Aria found the idea rather distasteful considering the girl¡¯s fate. ¡°^I doubt it, not with her being so scared of them. And humans murdered her, too, and I haven¡¯t heard of them ever doing something this heinous to a child.^¡± ¡°That¡¯s... yeah, fair. My bad.¡± ¡°^It¡¯s alright, just... it¡¯s been a long day,^¡± Aria sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve earned yourself an entire month of rest once all this is over, Aria dear. You¡¯ve been stretching yourself way too thin over the past couple of days.¡± ¡°^And it¡¯s nowhere near over yet. Even beside the actual vote, something tells me the worst is yet to come and... I¡¯m scared for her, Sprout.^¡± ¡°Anyone in your position would be too, Aria. I know you¡¯re doing your best to help her out. Give yourself grace from time to time.¡± ¡°^I am. It¡¯s a recurring fear. I¡¯ve been acknowledging it, measuring it, mitigating it, everything Geiger taught us all those years back. And... sometimes it just doesn¡¯t feel enough. There¡¯s never that certainty, and I know that especially in this case there won¡¯t be that kind of certainty, but it¡¯s just...^¡± Aria¡¯s train of thought stalled out, the words she was looking for stubbornly refusing to manifest. All the tangled stresses and anxieties, and no obvious way forward out of them. Sprout didn¡¯t have that kind of answer, either¡ªbut what she did have was reassurance and affection. And that by itself helped more than either scout could¡¯ve hoped for. ¡°I believe in ya, and so does Anne. You got this.¡± ¡°^I hope I do.^¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to hope, I know it~.¡± Aria rolled her eyes before letting go of Sprout, the Decidueye using the opportunity to empty her cup and leave it beside Vivian. The Gardevoir continued, ¡°^Alright, don¡¯t let me hold you back any longer. Take care out there, and I hope nothing happens overnight.^¡± ¡°Thanks, Aria. You take care of yourself too, alright? There¡¯s only one of you, you gotta take care of that one~.¡± With one last nod and one last pat on the shoulder in response, the owl finally headed out. Aria was left churning through it all for a while, gradual exhaustion not helping any. Suppose she could grab a treat for herself when heading back home. Just something small to help her through the mess of the past couple days, and the mess that awaited tomorrow¡ª *creak, creak* The quiet, squeaky noise was far from unfamiliar, and it was that familiarity that sent an icy chill through Aria¡¯s horns. She turned around to see Elder Celia slowly departing the scene; the squeaking of wheels of the makeshift cart that carried the aquatic part of her body was a sound that she could recognize anywhere. And she most definitely didn¡¯t want to recognize it here and now, of all places. She¡¯d clearly been eavesdropping on them, without Aria even noticing. An embarrassment in its own right, but the Gardevoir was much more concerned about what the Primarina was going to do with that information. She¡¯d already asked for Anne to be present at the vote that would spell her doom, an act so overtly cruel it contrasted incredibly heavily with everything else she knew of the marine Elder. This entire situation was bringing the worst out of everyone. Depressing as that realization might¡¯ve been, Aria didn¡¯t stop there; the earlier thought creeping back. Was Celia going to argue that Anne was a threat to their security, and that¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t let her stay? That in asking multiple scouts to look after the girl specifically, Aria was overstepping her bounds and should be demoted? None of those matched what the Gardevoir knew of the Primarina. It was all second-hand, but she¡¯d only heard her be described as compassionate, if very withdrawn. Her accusations didn¡¯t match that description, but neither did the Elder¡¯s actions. And it¡¯s not like she could ask either, not if she really wanted to get anything more than an evasive non-answer. Aria was ready to protect Anne from the rest of the village all at once in case of any overt hostility, but it was this unknown, this uncertainty that ground at her so much more than any act of outright aggression. Mentally probing was an option, but one that, with an Elder, was itself punishment-worthy should she ever get caught. She couldn¡¯t risk that. The Gardevoir tried playing back all the reassurances she¡¯d heard so far. From Autumn, from Sprout, from Marco, from Garret, hell even from Anne, even if the latter were mostly unspoken. They believed in her, she couldn¡¯t fail them. She wouldn¡¯t fail them, no matter what it took¡ª ¡°Ariaaaaa!¡± This was the one time that a distraction was most definitely appreciated, even if it carried a risk of something exploding nearby at any point. ¡°^Yes, Mikiri?^¡± Mawile¡¯s gaze back at her was rather unfocused; her red eyes shaking as she chugged her second cup of Vivian¡¯s cobbled-together brandy. Despite her being Steel-type, the Fairy deep in there was still vulnerable to booze, even if it took more than usual to really poison her. Much, much more, to Vivian¡¯s occasional despair. ¡°Got a question!¡± The ice bag affixed to Mikiri¡¯s front head might¡¯ve been gone, but that didn¡¯t extend to the bandage that held it there, the stained fabric hanging loosely across her forehead. ¡°^What is it? Are you feeling better?^¡± ¡°Ya ya ya I¡¯m fine, concussion got NOTHING on me. Anyhooooow. Heard you wanna house the human, keep her safe and content and keep her from escaping and fend off all the humans and all that other shit you taunted me with a couple of days ago,¡± Mikiri mumbled. ¡°^It¡¯s not¡ª^¡± ¡°Not done yet! Anyhow if you¡¯re stashing her here, mind asking her to explain some human junk to me? Can¡¯t crack the function of some parts of that bloody two-wheel and it¡¯s driving me mad.¡± Aria¡¯s expression went from unnerved to the absolute flattest it was possible for it to get in record time. ¡°^No, not now. We¡¯re still not sure if she¡¯ll be staying for good. Even if she will, she¡¯ll need time to acclimatize to the village and the other way around. I¡¯d rather not instantly overwhelm her by putting her beside you.^¡± The small, jumpy, presently drunk, and occasionally very hyperactive creature with a massive and very mobile jaw full of razor-sharp metal teeth attached to the back of her head rolled her eyes at being described as overwhelming. ¡°Fine, whatever, uuuugh.¡± The Gardevoir had no idea whether that final sound was a groan or a sign of nausea. In all honesty, she¡¯d rather not find that one out, ever. ¡°Almost cracked everything about it anyway, fixed up a replacement, testing it tomorroooooooow,¡± Mikiri droned, trying her hardest to maintain her balance. ¡°Got it working this time, I¡¯m bloody sure, jus wanted the last few kinks ironed out but can¡¯t cuz can¡¯t get the hands on the human and just have to test it out tomorrow and grumble grumble grumble.¡± Mikiri¡¯s gradual descent from a coherent sentence to a string of guttural noises was impressively smooth and somewhat worrying simultaneously. ¡°^Mikiri?^¡± Aria asked, concerned. ¡°Grumble grumble?¡± ¡°^Are you okay?^¡± ¡°Grumble, grumble grumble.¡± ¡°^Sounds like you should call it a night here.^¡± ¡°Grumble grumble...¡± This time, all Aria needed was a knowing, smug look to make the smaller fairy cave in. Mikiri rolled her eyes so hard she almost lost her balance completely, ¡°Fine fine whatever grumble grumble.¡± ¡°^See you tomorrow~.^¡± Thankfully, the Mawile took the clue. She shambled over to the countertop¡¯s lowest level and just barely reached on top of it with the half-emptied cup, almost falling over there and then. Without any further ado, she burped and shakily made her way out the nearest exit while occasionally having to consciously lift her maw off the snowy ground. Her cup had somehow been emptied in the half-minute or so between her leaving her there and Vivian giving it a wash to reuse it, and there just so happened to be a suitable suspect floating right beside where the Mawile had left it. One that, considering the recent circumstances, Aria figured she could at least keep in the loop about any further newcomers showing up. ¡°^Good evening, Liz.^¡± The hovering Vespiquen looked to her side at the Gardevoir; the white pinpricks of her eyes narrowing briefly before relaxing again as she downed another swig of her extra-punch tea. ¡°Evening,¡± the Vespiquen buzzed, her clicky voice even more grumbly than usual. Aria didn¡¯t want to presume the reason¡ªbut then again, she was about to add to her annoyance, so she¡¯d find out about the original issue sooner or later. ¡°^We have a couple temporary newcomers who are gonna be staying at the clinic for the next few days or so,^¡± Aria explained. Aria watched Liz¡®s expression, the little of it she had, shift in real time as she spoke. She sensed her almost palpable note taking and calculating at the mention of newcomers, a drawn out grunt at hearing the mention of the clinic, and finally, a modest sigh of relief at their stay being temporary. ¡°How hurt are they?¡± ¡°^There¡¯s a Banette with modest injuries and a few larger tears, and an unharmed Phantump.^¡± Liz sighed, relieved about them being ghosts. If nothing else, it removed food and freshwater consumption from the list of resources they¡¯d need, making at least that part easier to handle. She continued to hold her cup with one hand as the other dragged its sharp fingers along the front of her horns, using the thin lines carved into her own chitin for counting. ¡°Good. Running low on dressings.¡± ¡°^Suppose Anne took up a decent bit?^¡± The unfamiliar name had the insect quartermaster¡¯s eyes go wide, fully expecting to hear about yet another recent addition to the village she hadn¡¯t been made aware of and which she¡¯d also need to manage their supplies for. ¡°An-akh-agn¡ª¡± ¡°^Anne, the human at the clinic.^¡± Crisis averted, Liz¡®s sigh of relief sounding like a drawn out, droning buzz. ¡°Yes. Human, Marco, Mikiri, other accidents. Running low. Need to ask Lavender and Sol for more tomorrow.¡± Another deep swig of the spiked tea, another light shudder going through her weathered yellow and black body. ¡°^That¡¯s a good idea,^¡± Aria admitted. The Vespiquen grumbled and chugged again; one hand continuing to count as she responded, downbeat. ¡°Not enough. Need more backlog, but also more. Can¡¯t have them be the only sources. Need to ask others for help. Look out for local plants we can spin thread out of. Something will happen to Sol, eventually. We need to be ready.¡± The ominous nature of Liz¡®s comment about the Whimsicott was softened by Aria picking up that she was referring to it in a very long-term way. Something will happen to him one day, even if it¡¯s death of old age in several decades. Gotta be ready by then, and preferably by yesterday. The chaos following the Orion¡®s premature death firmly settled that need for backup plans in everyone¡¯s heads. ¡°^I hope you and the Elders will figure something out then.^¡± ¡°Same. All that while keeping track. Nothing I can¡¯t do,¡± Liz said, not hoping as much as she was just admitting. ¡°^I imagine it¡¯d be easier if you could write those problems down somewhere, wouldn¡¯t it?^¡± Aria teased. The Vespiquen gave her another side look, one unusually uncertain for her. ¡°Already keep tallies in clay at my nest.¡± ¡°^I mean more than that. I¡¯ve heard that humans can write down much more abstract things than just counts, and read them back later from their symbols.^¡± Liz¡¯s gaze remained fixed on the psychic as the quartermaster went through a swig of tea. And then another, and a third; both halves of her mind left busy imagining the uses for such a tool. ¡°Would help greatly.¡± It might¡¯ve still only been a low, buzzing grumble, but Aria could tell there was an unspoken question for follow-up in there. One she would not mind providing in the slightest. ¡°^If Anne ends up staying, I don¡¯t see why she couldn¡¯t teach their writing to you.^¡± The clarification that the human staying would indeed include them passing on their knowledge took the Vespiquen aback a bit. She considered herself too calculated to be swayed by something as basic as someone¡¯s kin, especially if they were useful, but... as she also was acutely aware of, reality loved to disagree with her tallies and calculations, always to her utmost annoyance. ¡°Count me interested.¡± And rather nervous, but Aria wasn¡¯t surprised by the latter one bit. ¡°^Sure thing, Liz. We¡ªwe should know for sure in two days.^¡± ¡°Good.¡± A cold shock went down Aria¡¯s body at the thought of the approaching decision. She might¡¯ve said two days, but it was closer to one full night and day cycle. A single full day separating the innocent child at the clinic from either salvation or damnation. Time never stops, and neither could she. ¡°^I¡¯ll let you know as soon as it¡¯s settled.^¡± The Vespiquen acknowledged the words while staring into the wall right ahead. With a large swig, she finished her cup and put it down, the second hand reaching up to do some head-carved arithmetic; any remaining attention placed on the Gardevoir evaporated within moments. High time for her to head out.
By the time Aria left Vivian¡¯s tea place, the sky had long since turned inky black. A handful of stars winked down at their little outpost in the woods from on high; their dim light largely occluded by the handful of Will-o¡¯-Wisps strewn around the place to provide a dim night-time lighting. She remembered being so mesmerized by them when she first showed up here all those years ago. There was something to be pondered on and said about experience dulling wonder, but Aria¡¯s mind had little spare room in it to focus on either concept. To little surprise, the inside of the clinic was almost completely dark, most of its temporary occupants either asleep or in the process of dozing off. Far from all, though, especially if the wisps of reddish light and muffled laughter peeking from underneath the door to what had become Anne¡¯s room were any sign, but most for sure. That group included only the older half of the ghostly newcomer duo. Yaksha was huddled up on a small bed in the main chamber¡¯s corner. A couple of bandages peeked from underneath the raggedy blanket he¡¯d covered himself with. Much the same was true for the uncertain expression on his face, one that constantly looked up at the Phantump beside him. Sage wasn¡¯t even trying to fall asleep, her focus affixed to the nearby canvas wall. The piece of fabric was all that separated her from the gruesome and terrible human, and yet... she wasn¡¯t anywhere near as scared as earlier. The implicit safety of such a place no doubt helped, as did Yaksha¡¯s presence beside her. ¡°C¡¯mere Sage,¡± the Banette asked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to deal with that, but we¡¯re not gonna be staying here long. Hop under the blanket, it¡¯ll muffle some of the sound.¡± Sage was about to speak up in response before catching a motion in the corner of her vision. Her red eyes turned to pinpricks as she focused on the figure in the dark, then went wide as she realized just who it was. A small, shaky smile crept onto her wooden face as she waved at the Gardevoir, ¡°G-good evening, M-Mrs. Aria!¡± ¡°Shhhhhhhh!¡± the Blissey hushed from the back of the chamber. ¡°...sorry,¡± Sage squeaked out. Aria chuckled at the exchange before her¡ªthe hush was all Esther, even if it took the Gardevoir a while to make her out in the dark. She spotted her just in time to catch her nodding in response to Sage¡¯s apology. At least Yaksha was more mindful of the attempt at silence. With the annoyance in his mind and his pink eyes narrowing at making Aria out in the dark, though, that wasn¡¯t much of a relief. ¡°Did you intentionally forget to tell us we¡¯d be sharing a wall with that damned human?¡± Yaksha asked, leering at her. The Gardevoir felt a pang of anger at having someone refer to Anne this way, but she reined it in shortly after. ¡°^No, it slipped my mind. She¡¯s out of sight and will not be interacting with either of you. I don¡¯t see what the issue is.^¡± ¡°The issue is we can hear it, that¡¯s what. Sage, c¡¯mere.¡± Despite what the Phantump herself might or might not have been feeling, she followed the Banette¡¯s request, huddling up to him and trying to fall asleep. ¡°Sorry for all this, kid. If I knew how close we¡¯d be to that human, I would¡¯ve reconsidered.¡± Sage shook under the covers, clinging closer to her guardian while Aria rolled her eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t even understand anyone here either, ugh,¡± the Banette complained. ¡°^That¡¯s just expected. We have our own language, and any newcomers have to learn it if they plan to stay.^¡± ¡°Fortunately, we won¡¯t.¡± ¡°^You still ended up receiving healing and a bed, didn¡¯t you?^¡± she quipped at him. Her comment hit true; Yaksha¡¯s eyes narrowing at her as she continued, ¡°^I hope you¡¯ll sleep well, both of you.^¡± ¡°Won¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°G-goodnight, Mrs. Aria...¡± Sage whispered, defusing some of Aria¡¯s tension as she turned around, heading for Anne¡¯s room. The few seconds offered little time to reset mentally, but Aria tried her hardest all the same, not wanting to bring the mood down. With how sky high it was, though, she doubted that even her coming in tearful would¡¯ve accomplished it. The room was being lit by a pair of small Will-o¡¯-Wisps hovering safely away from either walls or any of the room¡¯s occupants; their red and purple coloration combining into an unreal, magical atmosphere. Magical, and happy all around. The kids, including the now awake Ember, were huddled on the bed around something Aria had to focus to even make out. A checkered pattern of empty and filled in squares drawn on a large piece of paper, on top of which many tiny paper scraps were being moved around. Some of them were again empty, some of them were colored, and they always only moved diagonally, occasionally taking another piece with themselves. The game¡¯s rules might¡¯ve been beyond Aria¡¯s comprehension, but the giddiness that accompanied them wasn¡¯t. Especially once Cadence had noticed her. ¡°^Hi mom!^¡± The entire bedful of kids turned to excitedly wave and squee at her; the Gardevoir left thankful for the Safeguard muffling the little gathering. Bell, in particular, was incorrigible, scrambling over towards her for an eagerly granted hug. ¡°Mooooom!¡± ¡°^Yes, Bell?^¡± The lil¡¯ Ralts undertook a few seconds of the most intense thought in his entire brief life yet. His white hand tapped against his chin for a couple of moments before he finally settled on the right course of action¡ªand hugged his mom. ¡°I love you, mom!¡± Giggles, laughter, or soft awwws from all around the room. ¡°^Love you too, sweetie. How have you all been doing?^¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy!¡± Bell squeaked. ¡°It¡¯s been a lotta fun!¡± Elric cheered. ¡°^Eeeee, Anne drew me and Bell, then she showed us some of the human games and taught us how to draw a bit and Ember woke up!^¡± Cadence squeed. The last fact was the most noticeable change in the room, especially in how it¡¯d affected Anne. The shift from her nervous self earlier to her current tranquility was one Aria wasn¡¯t expecting to see for... ever. It made her smile even wider as the two exhausted girls held each other tight, Ember in particular only barely staying awake as she huddled up on her human friend¡¯s lap. Aria acknowledged the younger trio¡¯s responses with a smile before sitting down at the edge of the bed and giving Anne and Ember each a gentle pet. The human responded with a tired, quiet giggle that then broke into a yawn, and the Braixen by snuggling in further into said human¡¯s one-armed embrace. ¡°^How was your day?^¡± Aria asked, keeping her voice down. ¡°~I-it was fun. I-I was a bit nervous earlier, but w-we figured it out with Cadence¡¯s help,~¡± Anne answered, trying her hardest not to yawn. The glowing recommendation made the Gardevoir look at her daughter with a prideful smile, the lil¡¯ Kirlia blushing brightly in response. ¡°^I-it¡¯s no big deal¡ª^¡± ¡°^Sure feels like it is, to both you and Anne~,^¡± her mom teased. The rest of the room giggled at Cadence¡¯s expense. The psychic tween responded to her mom in the only way someone her age could¡ªnamely, by scrambling over to her mom for a big hug, with her younger brother joining her soon after. ¡°^How are you feeling, Ember?^¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m tired, but... happy,¡± the vixen woofed. No more needed to be said for those in the know. The vixen¡¯s ears twitched and laid to her sides as first her human, and then the Gardevoir administered more pets. Everyone was full, enjoying themselves, and tired to a lesser or greater extent. They also knew what Aria finally showing up meant, Elric intervening first, ¡°Mrs. Ariaaaaa, can we stay for a while longer?¡± ¡°^Yes mom, please!^¡± Cadence pleaded. The Gardevoir¡¯s laughter wasn¡¯t any less tired than everyone else¡¯s in the room. Her affirmation immediately rekindled the kids¡¯ energy, even if some were much more quiet about it than others. Silent or not, they all got a pet before Aria let them be and enjoy the rest of what their bodies could dish out before they finally collapsed for the day. And in the meantime, she checked in with the adults. ¡°^How are you holding up, Cypress?^¡± ¡°Barely...¡± the Mismagius croaked. Yep, that was not an aura of a ghost who was eager to stay awake for even a second longer. ¡°^I¡¯ve arranged for Sprout to look out for Cinder tonight and will wait here until she shows up. Rest easy, Cypress.^¡± ¡°Thank the gods...¡± ¡°^Apologies for not handling this sooner¡ª^¡± ¡°It is all alright, dear Aria. I greatly enjoyed my stay in either case...¡± ¡°^I¡¯m glad to hear. And again, thank you so much for all this, and especially on such a short notice.^¡± ¡°Anytime. Rest yourself as well, dear Aria. Pass my wishes of fruitful rest to your children, Elric, and Ember too...¡± The Mismagius didn¡¯t wait for even a moment after his words were acknowledged to phase through the nearest wall and out of sight. His exhaustion might¡¯ve been the most noticeable one around, but was far from the only one. ¡°^How¡¯s being a nanny working out?^¡± Marco rolled his eyes at his sister¡¯s tease. He found it amusing, though, looking up with a soft smile at all the kids on the bed before shifting his seat on the clinic¡¯s floor over closer to them. ¡°^I think I did fine. Anne was a bit intimidated at the start, but... I told her I wasn¡¯t too good at this, and a hug helped resolve the tension before it could build up any more. Afterwards it was all watching over just in case it¡¯d get any tense, which it didn¡¯t. Cadence did great.^¡± ¡°^I¡¯m so proud of her,^¡± Aria smiled. ¡°^Me too.^¡± Despite their best efforts in keeping it on the down low, the Kirlia in question noticed her mom¡¯s and uncle¡¯s thoughts being aimed at her, looking over her shoulder. The pair of beaming smiles made her look right back with her blush rekindled, leaving the adults to chuckle among themselves¡ª ... ... Marco blinked in surprise at seeing his sister¡¯s expression go from soft, tired chuckle to narrowed focus in an instant. It didn¡¯t take long for the dots to connect in his head either, eyes widening to check that Cadence hadn¡¯t noticed the shift. Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t. The Gallade looked up at his sister again before they both nodded at each other, trying to maintain calmness no matter what. Aria¡¯s expression was little more than a frozen mask as she walked through the healer tent, rolling her shoulders and stretching her joints. Her focus narrowed with every step. Her heartbeat first sped up before being forcibly slowed down. She felt her aura concentrate as she recalled her rusty combat training and counted every tool she had at her disposal. She knew full well that should it come down to blows; she stood little chance. With a final step, the Gardevoir emerged from behind the clinic¡¯s front entrance. Her eyes narrowed further as she stared straight ahead, breath growing even more shallow. Every single fiber of her body tensed up in anticipation, preparing for anything, but especially for the worst. ¡°^Cinder.^¡± Chapter 18: Cowardice ¡°^Cinder.^¡± The vixen stood on the opposite side of the dirt street, red eyes glowing dimly in the dark. Every single part of her body was tensed up, muscles twitching as if about to act. Her left paw gripped her wand, the flame on its tip roaring in intensity once Aria had joined the scene. It gradually melted the surrounding snow as it lit up the fox, and everything that marred her. Her fur was charred in a handful of places; the sheer inferno required for that took Aria aback as she tried to imagine it. Dried mud covered much of her skirt and arms, adding to her demented appearance. Especially when combined with her narrow, unflinching expression. The expression of someone preparing to fight, befitting her impenetrable mind. Aria was no stranger to focusing on one¡¯s psyche to make it unreachable for other psychics. What she felt here couldn¡¯t be further from simply wanting to stop Cadence from eavesdropping on her conversation, though. There was not a single thought she could spot, only sheer tense anxiety and immense focus. No thoughts, no fears. Just Cinder wielding her wand and being poised to unleash it at any point. And with the vixen preparing to fight, the fairy could only do the same. She couldn¡¯t sense Cinder even trying to probe her mind, but that didn¡¯t mean she could leave it exposed. Aria¡¯s body grew tenser by the moment, winding herself up. Her mind was torn between recalling defensive techniques to protect the wounded and children inside the healer tent, and getting ready to use the few offensive moves she knew to incapacitate the Fire-type. That first possibility made the Gardevoir almost lose her composure. Not even Cinder would hurt or kill so many innocents just to take her revenge on Anne; Aria was sure of that. As sure as she used to be that Cinder would never assault her brother out of sheer, misguided wrath. Nowhere near as sure as she wished she could be. Aria felt her hand clench subconsciously. The innermost part of her had to be forcibly dragged away from immediately springing to action with a Shadow Ball. Every passing moment of silence ratcheted the tension even further, heating the atmosphere from frozen to dangerously flammable, liable to go off with as little as a single spark. A spark that the Gardevoir had to increasingly focus on not letting loose there and then. Protecting them all came first, but what if, in order to do that, she¡¯d need to be the one to land the first blow? What if Cinder was just waiting for her to falter before going for a swift execution? Aria didn¡¯t know, couldn¡¯t know. A myriad of increasingly horrible possibilities wormed their way into her mind with each passing moment. Their cacophony only ever grew in intensity. The tension demanded an outlet. Demanded bloodshed. Instead, came a soft swoosh. The quiet sound forced Aria to finally look at what was physically happening in front of her. To see Cinder¡¯s wand laying in snow beside her. Extinguished, powerless. The Delphox¡¯s facade was shattered, stone-like expression cracked and revealing one of steadily building despair. Before Aria could even speak up, the vixen followed her wand; the thud of a pair of fur-clad knees collapsing onto the snowy dirt, taking the Gardevoir aback half a step. And with it came quiet, heartbroken words. ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry.¡± Aria didn¡¯t react, didn¡¯t dare do anything in response, mind much too wound up to even immediately recognize the shift in the situation. The somber silence following Cinder¡¯s muttered words gradually cooled them both down. As the Delphox¡¯s body language shrunk, expression focusing on the muddied snow before her, the Gardevoir¡¯s remained focused. Even if this all wouldn¡¯t result in bloodshed, the replacement would not be any less painful. Before long, Aria felt something else, something that finally unwound her, too. Inch by inch, the impenetrable barrier of Cinder¡¯s mind crumbled; each moment revealed more of the seething, murky mass inside of it. The painful, stabbing regret. The harrowing, freezing fear. The burning, maternal worry, especially for Ember. The Gardevoir still wasn¡¯t about to start trusting Cinder, not even slightly. She probed deeper and deeper, not finding even a single obstacle in the other psychic¡¯s mind as she tried to piece the situation. The shock of yesterday¡¯s revelation once she¡¯d caught wind of it. Her utter terror about what might happen to her afterwards now that her secret was out. Unending anguish, made even more intense with each step away from their village, eventually culminating in that most harrowing, most irreversible of actions. Fortunately, unsuccessful. Aria couldn¡¯t muffle her empathy. It was as much an unchangeable part of her as her flame was of Cinder. What she could do instead was to look past it, focus on the acts the adoptive mother before her had done, and press her about them¡ªand that was what she did. ¡°^I¡¯m not the one you should be apologizing to.^¡± Her telepathic voice was little more than a grim, seething whisper, forced through mental teeth. The Delphox reeled as if struck, her posture shrinking further as she nodded. She dared not move for a few moments afterwards, her eventual response meek. ¡°^I-I know. I-I do not want to interrupt th-them¡ª^¡± ¡°^What sort of pitiful excuse is that!?^¡± Cinder flinched again, shrinking as if she was a stupid child being scolded by her superior. Whether that was the case, Aria didn¡¯t care for one bit, not with the enormity of the vixen¡¯s actual crimes at hand. After her initial reaction, the Gardevoir sensed an actual response steadily building up inside of the Delphox. She opted to remain quiet after putting up a Barrier behind herself, just in case she was about to be caught off guard. Both Aria and Cinder knew that such protection wouldn¡¯t withstand more than a moment, but a moment was better than instant obliteration at the hands of a grudgeful fox. ¡°^I-I don¡¯t want to hurt her,^¡± Cinder finally muttered, ¡°^I don¡¯t want her to be in pain, I-I never did...^¡± The Gardevoir felt herself unwind just a notch at the vixen¡¯s words. Her mind or expression didn¡¯t show any of it, though, the former locked down and the latter stone-like. ¡°^And so, instead, you lied to her. Lied and utterly violated her memories, took away the only source of hope she¡¯d ever have, because you couldn¡¯t deal with her pain!?^¡± Aria felt her anger grow with each word, but that emotion soon became overshadowed by a very different one. Still anger, still disbelief, but one uncaring of the miserable vixen in front of her. One focused on herself, on her own choices. Before it could dig much into her mind, though, she heard Cinder respond, her voice much louder and pointed, ¡°^What else should I have done!? How could I have ever justified our choice to not rescue the human girl from her family!? How could I have painted our village as anything but utterly cruel for choosing to not save her!?^¡± Moments passed with no response from the Gardevoir. Aria hardly cared for quickly intensifying emotions on Cinder¡¯s side, on the confused despair burning into anger by the moment. She was no more prepared for these questions now than Cinder was all those months ago; the unexplainable cruelty hit her hard. Still, she had to come up with something, with a reason. Even if just to convince herself that she wouldn¡¯t have done the same, deep down. ¡°^M-many ways. You could¡¯ve brought up safety¡ª^¡± she began, before Cinder¡¯s mirthless chuckle cut her off mid-word. ¡°^We both know it¡¯s a lie, and so would Ember,^¡± the vixen began, ¡°^A stray, harmless human, a traumatized child. Devoid of risk on her own, and her family was loathsome enough to be freely hypnotize into moving somewhere far instead, leaving them as the only culprits once other humans realized the girl¡¯s absence. We easily could¡¯ve done that if we really wanted. And yet we didn¡¯t.^¡± The Gardevoir was ever grateful for her unemotional mask holding, despite how much her own thoughts and emotions raged underneath. A quick glance left her staring directly into the Delphox¡¯s gaze. The sheer tension between the two pairs of dimly glowing red eyes was almost enough to start a wildfire on its own. And with Cinder returning to their usual intensity, Aria worried about that possibility being all too literal. ¡°^We couldn¡¯t have just reached out and manipulated them¡ª^¡± ¡°^Of course we could! Don¡¯t play stupid, Aria. Would hardly be the first time manipulating someone like that, except into letting go of their abused child instead of into forgetting they saw too much. What¡¯s the separating line between these two actions? Why did we permit one but not the other?^¡± Cinder demanded an answer. ¡°^Again, safety. One protected our village, the other would¡¯ve brought even more risk upon it.^¡± ¡°^What is the limit then!? What amount of avoidable cruelty we know of are we willing to ignore, to enable, just to keep ourselves safe!?^¡± As harsh and snarled as Cinder¡¯s words gradually grew, Aria could tell that anger wasn¡¯t their only emotion. It was merely the most apparent, a mask of dimly burning righteous fury that concealed honest confusion and loss. Shouted as an argument or not, the vixen¡¯s question was ultimately not merely appropriate, but asked in the most genuine way possible. It was also one Aria had no response for. What response could have there been, even? The mere thought of drawing an arbitrary limit of permissible cruelty was one that stabbed the Gardevoir right in her heart. An utter mockery of everything she stood for, sending her blood boiling again. There wasn¡¯t an answer to that question that wasn¡¯t monstrous. Regardless of if Aria liked it, though, the village as a collective entity has answered it many, many times in the past through their actions. Instead, the Gardevoir chose a different response. It was weak enough for Aria to not see it as much more than an excuse, and she only hoped that the same wouldn¡¯t be the case with the Delphox. ¡°^Everyone in our village has to deal with these questions, sooner or later. As Ember¡¯s guardian, as her mother, it was your responsibility to help her navigate through them, and not violate her into pretending they don¡¯t exist.^¡± For once, Aria¡¯s words hit true, even if just for a moment. Cinder took her time gathering a response, ferocity quickly draining from her snout as more despair crept in to replace it. ¡°^No soul can deal with that kind of anguish, you know it Aria! If I hadn¡¯t done that, the knowledge of her human suffering day in and out would¡¯ve tortured Ember forever! What did you want me to do instead, to sentence her for that living hell while offering worthless emotional support!?^¡± The Gardevoir paused at the direct question, its pointed nature making her features narrow once more. Despite her initial thoughts, the truth from earlier held all the same, if veiled in futile, despairing anger. The question was as genuine as could be, and all the more difficult to answer because of it. Aria remained silent for a few long minutes as her subconscious tried to put itself in Cinder¡¯s position from all these months ago. To think through what the vixen could¡¯ve done, what the fairy would¡¯ve done. To consider the options that the Delphox had available to her. Words she could say, actions she could take, plans she could devise. Moment by moment, the Gardevoir¡¯s mind grew ever more turbulent as she thought through the hellish quagmire, her terrified mind gradually inching closer to the most terrifying realization of all. One it wanted to avoid at all costs. One as banal as it would¡¯ve been damning. That she was not as different from the vixen as she hoped she was. That, when pressed, she would¡¯ve done the same. The Gardevoir felt emotions swirl around inside the Delphox¡¯s mind as she thought through it all. Second by second, the fiery facade of a heated discussion cooled off and gradually cracked, revealing the various thoughts crawling underneath. Horrific and understandable alike. An unspoken plea for Aria to come up with an answer. To make her sentencing her daughter to something this horrible a clearly incorrect choice in hindsight. A selfish hope that she had indeed chosen the lesser evil in the end. Cruel mockery of the other psychic¡¯s efforts, that feeling dismissed the soonest. Reigned in at all costs despite whatever else Cinder would¡¯ve done in any other situation. Despite how little she thought of Aria. None of that mattered in the moment; none of it could. Every single part of the vixen was focused on the same underlying request, the same command, the same plea, each corner of her mind approaching it from a different angle. A sentence spoken in a dozen voices, by a dozen Cinders, each with a different tone, but the exact same words, ¡°Prove me wrong.¡± As the moments passed without a response, without a refutation, without an assurance, both women¡¯s spirits began to recede into despair. The vixen¡¯s mind was a tar pit of loathing, of mocking laughter, of deeply stabbing pain, and Aria was scarcely better. She had to prove Cinder wrong, for both herself and the vixen for the village¡¯s little ones. But how? Was there anything at all she could¡¯ve done in Cinder¡¯s position¡ª ... ... ... There was. ¡°^No,^¡± Aria responded, breathless, mind too taken aback by exploring this new pathway of thought to maintain its unflinching expression any further. The single word was enough to focus the entirety of Cinder¡¯s attention onto herself as relief, anger and confusion brewed inside the Delphox. She wanted Aria to go on, she needed Aria to go on. And the Gardevoir would deliver. ¡°^You should¡¯ve acted. You should¡¯ve pleaded with the elders to let Anne stay¡ª^¡± ¡°^But that wasn¡¯t an option,^¡± the vixen argued. ¡°^And we both know that is a lie too, Cinder. It was merely what Ana had told you, not the absolute truth.^¡± ¡°^Do you expect me to have gone against an Elder¡¯s words¡ª^¡± ¡°^YES!^¡± Aria shouted. ^¡±You weren¡¯t doing this for that senile tortoise, you were doing it for Ember. You should¡¯ve been her biggest supporter, kept battering at the Elder¡¯s excuses, went against their words, because your daughter needed you to. Because Anne needed you to.^¡± Cinder was staring at Aria in shock, taken wholly aback for the first time in the conversation as the Gardevoir¡¯s words rocked her body and soul alike. ¡°^They wouldn¡¯t have ever let me do something as outlandish as that¡ª^¡± ¡°^Then you should¡¯ve kept trying harder. Rounded up the scouts, reached out to even just me or Marco, explained what was going on. Do you think we wouldn¡¯t have helped with an innocent child on the line?^¡± ¡°^With a human? Doubtful.^¡± As much as Aria wished she could¡¯ve pointed that one out and prove to Cinder how wrong she was... she couldn¡¯t. Not in earnest. The Gardevoir hoped that, should a situation like that have happened, she would¡¯ve been easily swayed to support the Delphox¡¯s cause to rescue a harmless child from her living hell. But she didn¡¯t know for sure. She was no deity; she could not glimpse into different timelines, explore what else could¡¯ve been. It didn¡¯t matter either way. ¡°^You don¡¯t know that, Cinder. You didn¡¯t even try.^¡± The words struck true, and the Delphox wasted no time before her counter-attack, eyes steadily glowing damper with each passing line. ¡°^All that would¡¯ve accomplished would be giving Ember false hope. That wouldn¡¯t have ever worked, definitely not then!^¡± ¡°^That¡¯s not a prophesied truth, Cinder. Again, you don¡¯t know that, not now, not then. But...^¡± Cinder¡¯s eyes narrowed through her increasingly shaky emotions as Aria gave her follow-up time to settle in. She was about to stand up and shout, to demand an answer, before the Gardevoir continued, striking her with the truth, ¡°^You wanted that to be true.^¡± The truth the vixen had spent so long running away from, only to be struck by it like an arrow through her back. ¡°^You hoped it was true. Because that would¡¯ve meant you wouldn¡¯t have had to wrestle with taking in a human as your de facto child. That you wouldn¡¯t have had to face your own hatred of them, give it any more introspection beyond sticking with it and swaddling it in impotence.^¡± The Delphox was now firmly reeling; her eyes wide as they stared into Aria, though Aria. Her mind was already scrambling to come up with something, anything in response¡ªbut the Gardevoir wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°^You valued your comfort in not having to deal with a human over Ember¡¯s wellbeing, over Anne¡¯s safety.^¡± For a split second, Aria saw Cinder¡¯s snout twist into a furious expression of barred teeth. She saw the Delphox grasping her wand with telekinesis; she saw her lashing out against her and against everyone around her, burning the clinic¡¯s tent to the ground and half the village with it¡ª And then, a blink later, everything was as it had been. The night scene remained silent, the wand still laying where it had been. Cinder was staring straight down at the muddied, quickly melting snow, her whole body shaking like a ravaged leaf that had somehow survived the winter cold until now. The vixen was mentally laid out, and Aria was well aware of that. The miserable, weeping sight in front of her was an impossibly distant far cry from her usual, proud self. But there was still more to be said. ¡°^And you knew that, didn¡¯t you?^¡± Aria whispered. Cinder¡¯s eyes snapped open as the vixen stared in aghast disbelief at the fairy before her. Her mouth opened as if to argue the opposite, not lasting long before it closed as thoughts kept ravaging the Delphox¡¯s mind. Panicking thoughts, spiteful thoughts, disagreeing thoughts. All intense, all accusatory. All occluding the truth that, despite her subconscious¡¯ best efforts, Cinder was finally beginning to face. Aria was right. Conscious reminders of the evil of humanity, affirmations of just what the vixen would do to Ember¡¯s tormentors if she¡¯d ever faced them. There were so many of them in the days, weeks, months that followed her horrific act. And, one by one, Aria¡¯s revelation began painting them in an even uglier light, even more despicable. None of them ever showed her own devotion. They were meant for herself, and herself only. A constant affirmation that what she did was ultimately right despite the evil methods. The cacophony of self-affirmation, of hindsight justifications for her actions, all of them with a singular purpose. To not give herself even a moment to breathe or reconsider just what she¡¯d done. Because, if she¡¯d done that, then the harrowing possibility of having chosen wrong wouldn¡¯t have been far behind. And with so much on the line, with the baneful impact of her memory alteration, with the ever deepening fear of humanity that it all left Ember with, there were only two possibilities in the end. Either she¡¯d done the right thing, or she¡¯d profoundly hurt her daughter in a despicable way. Despicable, cruel, Unforgivable. It was that final thought in particular that made the last of Cinder¡¯s composure burst; her drawn out whine pathetic in all the meaning of the word. Hot, bitter tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped onto her dirtied body. Tears of regret, of guilt, of the all-consuming fear that she¡¯d irreversibly hurt Ember. That, once Ember had learned of the truth, she would never forgive her. And what¡¯s worse, she would¡¯ve been entirely right to never forgive her. Cinder knew that. She knew that all too well. The sight was miserable, but not at all unearned. Despite the seriousness of the situation, despite everything wicked she¡¯d done... Aria¡¯s heart gradually found itself hurting for Cinder. She might¡¯ve brought all this upon herself, but even that didn¡¯t make her pain any less heart wrenching to sense. The Gardevoir might¡¯ve been used to looking past her empathy when needed, but it would always remind her of its existence. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Including here and now. Aria¡¯s body and mind unwound at the pathetic display in front of her. Emotion crept onto her expression for the first time in what felt like ages, sadness replacing the earlier frozen glare. Anger was still somewhere in there, especially at what Cinder had done to Marco, but at the moment, Aria couldn¡¯t focus on it. Her conscious part didn¡¯t want to walk over, to give the loathsome Delphox any affection, but... her innermost part did. The Gardevoir in her did. Despite everything Cinder had done, Aria didn¡¯t have it in her to truly label it all as beyond redemption. Whether Ember would agree... it remained to be seen. The emotions took their time chilling; the bitter outside cold only helped little. In a few silent minutes, the seething despair inside of Cinder had burned out into ashen sorrow and freezing fear; neither of them anything she could do a thing about at the moment. Aria stood guard all the while, ever ready to protect the clinic, protect Anne, protect Ember should the need arise. She hoped she wouldn¡¯t have to. But she didn¡¯t know yet. Eventually, the pathetic Delphox had finally found it in her to look up from the mud in front of her, the glow of her eyes so much dimmer than before. It all tugged at Aria¡¯s heartstrings, but she wasn¡¯t done. There was another matter that affected the Gardevoir¡¯s soul much, much more. ¡°^Why did you attack Marco?^¡± Another flinch, but smaller this time, much less piercing. Still sorrow, still grief, a lot more confusion. Why did she do that, indeed? Did she even know anymore? ¡°^I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m n-not sure¡ª^¡± ¡°^That¡¯s not an answer, Cinder. Did you know it was Ember¡¯s friend when Marco brought up Anne¡¯s name!?^¡± ¡°^I wasn¡¯t sure, but... I-I realized it could¡¯ve been.^¡± ¡°^Then why did you do what you did? Why didn¡¯t you help Ember remember with the only reason for her to be kept in the dark gone!?^¡± Aria demanded The questions pierced right through Cinder¡¯s skin with each syllable. Her heart bled, her mind wept, but she had no answers. No good answers. No answers that were in any way justifiable to anyone but herself. No answers either Aria, Ember, Marco, or anyone else would¡¯ve found anything but utterly repugnant. But they were the truth, in the end. Ugly, loathsome, unjustifiable, and no less true because of it. Aria didn¡¯t even need to read Cinder¡¯s mind to know them, too, but wasn¡¯t about to let the vixen off the hook to any degree. ¡°^B-because that anger was real,^¡± the vixen argued. ¡°^Felt real. I-I really thought I wasprotecting her from something evil¡ª^¡± ¡°^Because you kept winding yourself up into hating humans just to avoid having to reconsider your actions.^¡± A harsh, full body wince. ¡°^Because you didn¡¯t want to think about what you¡¯ve done.^¡± An intense stagger, the vixen¡¯s expression grimacing in pain. ¡°^Because you were afraid that the entire pretense you set up would come crashing down.^¡± A vicious blow, Cinder¡¯s body doubling over as if punched. ¡°^Because you put yourself above your daughter, again.^¡± ¡°^P-please stop!^¡± Cinder begged. The selfishness of the request made Aria¡¯s hand clench. A part of her didn¡¯t want to; she wanted to double down and keep going, up to and including forcing every single bit of pain Ember and Anne had been through because of the Delphox¡¯s inaction right into the fox¡¯s mind. Wanted to make her suffer like she deserved to. But she didn¡¯t. The Delphox¡¯s mind was already taking care of torturing itself. ¡°^You¡¯re a coward, Cinder.^¡± The fox wept, for she knew the fairy was right. Tears, anger, sorrow, all of them flowed freely down that tiny dirt alley. Two hearts spilled open in misery, be it despair or wrath. An image of pity, one that deserved to either be held or be spit upon, and neither of the psychics knew which. But it wasn¡¯t the end. It couldn¡¯t have been the end, and they both knew that. ¡°^What are you going to¡ª^¡± *rustle, rustle* The sound of canvas being pulled aside snapped both women out of their immense emotion, the accompanying aura startling them both, if for very different reasons. Cinder was suffering, Cinder deserved to suffer, and she was certain of that. But it was only her that ought to suffer, and nobody else. Especially not the Braixen that stepped out of the healer tent soon after. ¡°M-mom, mom, Anne is here, Anne¡ªm-mom?¡± Ember¡¯s voice wavered in uncertainty as she watched Cinder¡¯s distraught state. She had no idea what was happening or even what her adoptive mother had done, but none of that mattered to her. Her mom was hurting, and she wanted to comfort her. The Braixen half jogged, half limped over to the kneeling Delphox. Her one visible eye went wide at spotting the wetness on her mom¡¯s cheeks in the faint light of the scattered Will-o¡¯-Wisps. She pulled as much of her mom into a feeble, shaky hug as she could, the older fox still reeling from everything her soul had been subjected to so recently. They were both weak, both emotional, something much more unexpected coming from the fox¡¯s mother as opposed to herself. Her mom was strong, but everyone had their difficult moments after all, and Ember wanted to help her mom through hers. ¡°Mom, wh-what happened? Why are you crying?¡± Cinder felt every single emotion that underlined her daughter¡¯s words, each its own blade stabbing her soul. The desire for her to feel good, love, worry that something bad had happened to her, even wanting to protect her should the need arise. All pure, all wonderful, all bright and comforting. All feeling undeserved, and turned agonizing because of that. ¡°I-I¡¯ve had a¡ªa long day, sweetie. B-but... I¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°A-are you sure, mom? Maybe we should speak to the h-healers¡ª¡± ¡°No, no. That won¡¯t be needed, Ember. It¡¯s, it¡¯s not that kind of pain,¡± Cinder explained. The Braixen was taken aback slightly, her one good eye looking over her mom¡¯s pathetic appearance with concern. ¡°You really feel and look hurt, mom...¡± ¡°I...¡± The thick silence put them all on edge as Ember and Aria alike awaited Cinder¡¯s follow up. Both of them wanted the same thing despite their wildly different grasp of what these words would imply¡ªthe truth, and only the truth. Ember couldn¡¯t have known how vile it was, but even if she did, she wouldn¡¯t have cared. It was her mom she was concerned about. She could wait. Aria and Cinder alike sensed that desire; the unalloyed wish to know what was going on, no matter how hard the truth would be to hear. No matter what her mom was going through, the Braixen could push through it. She knew that! She was wrong, and both adults knew. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, sweetie,¡± Cinder whispered. ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s a lot. But I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Aria¡¯s glare burned through the older vixen as Ember looked at her with uncertainty, left unsure how to interpret that assertion. ¡°A-are you sure, mom? You can tell me anything!¡± Cinder had only barely held the piercing pain at hearing her girl say that with such confidence. She meant it; she was certain of it. They both wanted it to be right. But it wasn¡¯t. ¡°I know, sweetie. Th-that¡¯s why I-I¡¯ll tell you, j-just some time later. I¡¯d rather not sour your fun with your friends.¡± Ember wasn¡¯t satisfied with that, not one bit, but supposed it made some sense. Seeing her mom be so sad and kneeling on the snow was fun-souring enough to where the younger firefox wanted to keep pushing on¡ªafter all, what could be worse than this? She ultimately relented, though, trusting her mom to tell her later. This felt important to her; of course she¡¯d tell her when a better time came. Of course her mom wouldn¡¯t have lied to her. ¡°A-alright. D-do you want to come say hi to Anne, mom? She¡¯s my best friend from before I ended up here! She¡¯s looked after me f-for so long, and protected me, and c-cared for me, and¡ª¡± the Braixen explained, words giving way to sniffling as she clung to her mom. Even this tiny, woefully incomplete recollection was enough to make her break into tears again as it brought all the emotions of their reunion back to the forefront of her mind. Cinder felt filthy, unworthy, felt like an abuser of the lowest sort. But no matter what she¡¯d done, she was still Ember¡¯s mother, and didn¡¯t want to waste an opportunity to comfort her, no matter how hypocritical it was. Ember needed a mom, and the Delphox could only hope, deep down, that she would ever be worthy of that title again. ¡°Shhh, shhh. I-I¡¯m so glad you found your friend again, sweetie. I think it¡¯s best I come say hi tomorrow instead. Wouldn¡¯t want her first impression of me to be in this state, don¡¯t you think?¡± The tiny bit of humor required Cinder¡¯s utmost focus to maintain, to make Ember think things were alright after all. As disappointed as the Braixen was about the two most important people in her life not meeting there and then, she saw the logic to her mom¡¯s words, nodding, ¡°Awwwwh. Okay, mom. B-but you¡¯ll come tomorrow, right?¡± ¡°Y-yes sweetie, I will. I... I promise.¡± It was a promise Cinder intended to keep, which only made it all the more painful to consider. ¡°O-okay. Would it be alright if I stayed with Anne for a bit longer today? I-I really missed her...¡± Ember pleaded. The Delphox closed her eyes to avoid showing off all the pain they held inside as she pet her daughter on the back. ¡°Of course, sweetie. I-I hope you¡¯re having fun with Anne.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I do, she¡¯s amazing! I-I know you don¡¯t like humans, mom, but I promise you¡¯ll really like her!¡± It took every single ounce of self-control Cinder could muster to not wail there and then. ¡°I hope I do, yeah. See you back at our den, sweetie.¡± ¡°I-I love you, mom!¡± Ember woofed, stressing her parting words with another tight hug. Before Cinder could break down, her daughter scurried back into the comfort of the healers¡¯ tent. Still worried, but no longer panicking. No matter what it was, her mom would tell her, and everything would be alright afterwards. Cinder¡¯s mind screamed at her that nothing would ever be alright again, that she wasted her one chance at making a lost child¡¯s life better through first inaction and then a horrific hurt. She wished she knew whether Ember would forgive her, to at least be able to prepare for the outpouring of pain and betrayal that was sure to follow. But there was no guarantee either way. She didn¡¯t deserve a guarantee like that, especially after how she¡¯d trashed her guarantee to Ember that she¡¯d always look after her. The back alley stayed at an impasse as the Delphox slowly picked herself up off the ground, her posture shaky and hunched. Her wand remained buried in the snow where she¡¯d dropped it, but as far as Aria was concerned, it was little consolation. ¡°^I¡¯ll approach the Elders for my punishment tomorrow,^¡± Cinder whispered. Aria¡¯s eyes narrowed immediately at the vixen¡¯s words, at their utter callousness. ¡°^How can I trust you to do that, after all that? How can I trust you to not run away with Ember overnight, or even hurt her outright!?^¡± Sullen as Cinder might¡¯ve been, these words were finally enough to make her mind burn with emotion, the brief glimpse of fury clear to sense. The Delphox wanted to lash out at the Gardevoir for even suggesting she¡¯d ever hurt her daughter like that, only for the frigid reality of her having already done so to cool her back down into hushed shame once more. ¡°^I won¡¯t dare do that.^¡± The sudden crunching noise nearby nearly made Aria jump there and then. A glance downward at its source revealed one peculiar stick to have gotten flung into the snow right beside the fairy; the underlying gesture was as clear as it was meaningless. ¡°^That¡¯s no guarantee,^¡± Aria leered. ¡°^I¡ªI know.^¡± ¡°^How am I supposed to trust you if you weren¡¯t even honest with your own daughter!?^¡± ¡°^I just wanted to keep her happy!^¡± Cinder pleaded. ¡°^By lying!?^¡± ¡°^She doesn¡¯t need to face the horror of it all here and now. She deserves to spend time with her friend without me immediately barging in and exposing the truth of how horrible her own mother is to her. She...^¡± Cinder paused, gathering her words. Her eventual response stabbed deeper into Aria than she could¡¯ve ever prepared herself for, ¡°^She deserves a day of happiness. Just one day without it being ruined by my crimes and guilt. I don¡¯t want to deny her that.^¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s eyes shot as wide as they got, despite her best attempts to rein in her immediate response. Cinder¡¯s excuse was flimsy, and they both knew it. All it¡¯d do would be to make the eventual revelation hurt even more, break Ember¡¯s trust even further because of her mom not telling her the truth when she had the opportunity to. It was a terrible, selfish idea, whose only real purpose was avoiding having to deal with the Braixen¡¯s justified and heart-wrenching pain in the moment. It wasn¡¯t justifiable, not really. But what it was, however, was familiar. Aria¡¯s mind was balancing on the edge of its own abyss, but knew it couldn¡¯t fall into it just yet. At the very least, not before the immediate threat before her was dealt with. ¡°^I do not trust you, Cinder. How am I to be sure that you¡¯ll tell Ember the truth?^¡± ¡°^I¡¯m an open book Aria, look in. Probe all you want; I have nothing more to hide.¡± The Gardevoir leered at the Delphox as she followed her taunt, reaching into the depths of her thoughts and subconscious like. And then; she stopped moments after she¡¯d began, realizing how pointless this search was, how she¡¯d already scoured everything she could reach in pursuit of any ulterior motives. Despite that, the fairy wasn¡¯t satisfied with that, not one bit. A small, scared part of her kept shouting to dig into Cinder¡¯s mind, shouting that there must¡¯ve been something evil in there. To keep drilling, to keep questioning. Anything if it meant avoiding looking in the mirror. The painful realization stung fiercely. Aria¡¯s expression cracked for the briefest of instants before she forcibly straightened it. As much as it all hurt, the Gardevoir had herself under control throughout, preventing her thoughts from going down that murky path. Yet. ¡°^We and the Elders will decide on Anne¡¯s fate tomorrow,^¡± she explained. ¡°^If you want to even slightly undo the pain you¡¯ve caused, talk to any scouts or Elders you can and give them your point of view. Help sway their opinion, help convince them to let her stay. Understood?^¡± Cinder slowly nodded her head, the rest of her body shaking. ¡°^U-understood.^¡± She then turned around with shaky steps, about to start her pitiful march back to her den before giving her parting words, ¡°^I¡¯m sorry.^¡± Aria watched the Fire-type shamble away, maintaining her utmost focus on the miserable sight until she¡¯d turned the nearest corner. Cinder was heading for her den just like she¡¯d promised, and the thought of running away hadn¡¯t as much as crossed her mind to whatever extent the Gardevoir could tell from a distance. A few unending minutes later, Cinder had finally stopped, letting Aria stop focusing on her. And switch tracks to the other person she ought to be angry at. Whatever had maintained of her facade fell apart by the moment as her emotions crept closer and closer to a boil. No matter how much she didn¡¯t want it to be the case, the similarities between her and Cinder were undeniable, up to and including the most loathsome sort. She might not have outright tempered with Anne¡¯s mind yet, but she¡¯d considered it, and would have her hand forced into it should the vote decree to not let her stay. Would she have had enough courage then to stand for what¡¯s right? To oppose the elders so actively, up to and including bringing exile upon herself, to put her family at risk just to protect a single child she didn¡¯t know that well in the end? She didn¡¯t know, of course she didn¡¯t know. These aren¡¯t the questions anyone can answer until life inevitably forces them to. She hoped that she¡¯d do the right thing, but had no idea what ¡®right¡¯ even was anymore. And that¡¯s not even going over the most blatant comparison, one that made the Gardevoir want to scream the more she thought about it¡ªthey really weren¡¯t all that different in the end. They were both perfectly willing to lie to those that depended on them, those they were watching over, just to ¡®keep them happy¡¯. Just to avoid having to guide them through that horrific pain, be it of the village refusing to help a human in need, of them all considering disposing of them just because keeping them safe was ¡®difficult¡¯, or of their parent having done a horrible deed in pursuit of ¡®keeping them happy¡¯. If it had been her with Ember all those months ago, would she have acted any different in the end? She didn¡¯t know, and the more she dwelt on it, the more despicable the answer became. After all, they had both lied through their teeth just this very day¡ª ¡°Honey?¡± The word was little more than a growl in the dead of night, the being that spoke it all but invisible in the darkness. All that Aria could see on him were the glints of light shining on his fangs and eyes, the combined appearance terrifying for most. For her, it was just what she needed. ¡°Hey, sweetie,¡± she answered, exhausted. The Gardevoir closed the distance between herself and her husband with a bit of shaky levitation. Garret wasted no time before holding her tight, applying a well-practiced level of strength. Just barely enough to not be actively painful, the immense closeness of every single strand of hair pulling his wife closer to him more than welcome to them both. ¡°I-is something wrong, honey? You looked aghast.¡± Aria breathed deeply as she mulled over her words. There was only one truthful answer, but it was an answer she really didn¡¯t have it in her to elaborate on at the very moment. ¡°If I¡¯m honest, yes, yes it is. Many things that are just wrong.¡± Garret knew she couldn¡¯t hold his love any closer without it being hurtful, but what he could do was carefully move her to have her head rest close to his heart, its steady beats ever-soothing. ¡°Do you want to talk about them?¡± The Gardevoir thought about the question for all of two seconds before arriving at an answer; her chalk-white face shook gently amidst the pitch black fur. ¡°Not at the moment. I have to sort through my own thoughts first, if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Of course it is, Aria. Take all the time you need. I¡¯m here for you.¡± They might¡¯ve been obvious reassurances, but that didn¡¯t make Garret¡¯s words any less soothing. The Gardevoir squirmed in his hairy embrace, shaking arms reaching around her husband to return the little of it she could. ¡°I know. I love you so much, Garret.¡± The demon in question reached to gently stroke along his wife¡¯s cheek and spikes. It felt squirmy, downright ticklish, and it made her feel like the most special Gardevoir in the whole darn world. ¡°Love you too, honey. You¡¯ve really been hard at work looking after... um... w-was it Angela?¡± Garret¡¯s forgetfulness made Aria laugh for the first time in way too long. The tired sound released more tension than the Gardevoir could¡¯ve ever hoped for, relaxing by the moment. She needed this; she needed it so badly, especially from the one person she trusted the most in the world. Still, forgetting such an important detail earned him the gentlest of flicks on his pointed nose; the gesture soon returned to her almost invisible one. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Ow. It¡¯s Anne,¡± she explained. ¡°And yes, a lot of today has been about her, directly or not, but... not all, either. Some of it I want to go through with you, but...¡± ¡°Not right now?¡± ¡°Yes. Maybe tonight, after the kids have gone to bed and it¡¯s just us two?¡± ¡°Ha, spending our alone time on something serious this time~?¡± Garret chuckled. Aria rolled her eyes at the phrasing, but not without a wide, silly smile accompanying it. The Grimmsnarl¡¯s laughter at her expression warmed her heart even more afterwards; the simple affection and silliness made so much more special by the grave seriousness of the past few days. ¡°Exactly~. I suppose if we have the time we can think of something more, but... I doubt we will.¡± ¡°That much to go through?¡± The Gardevoir nodded wordlessly, another portion of gentle pets dissolving even more of her tension. ¡°Many nights ahead of us, after all~. Before then, are we gonna be heading home?¡± Garret asked. ¡°Yes, yes, I was thinking we¡¯d do so soon... though¡­¡± Aria began, her husband not expecting a follow-up. His eyes widened as a small, cheeky smile sprouted on his wife¡¯s face, ¡°This could be a great opportunity to introduce you to Anne now that I think about it~.¡± The Grimmsnarl¡¯s loud gulp reverberated through his and Aria¡¯s entire body, the Gardevoir¡¯s embrace immediately tightening. ¡°A-are you sure, honey?¡± ¡°Remember what I told you yesterday¡ªbrush aside the top coat and you¡¯re as sweet as can be.¡± ¡°E-even if¡ª¡± ¡°I know she¡¯ll take time getting used to you if she ends up staying with us, sweetie. Little we can do about it except to introduce you early and work through that immediate reaction bit by bit,¡± Aria reassured. ¡°H-how can you b-be sure that she¡¯ll get over that?¡± ¡°Because...¡± Aria paused, shivering as she recalled the frightful scene. Even the memories of Anne¡¯s sheer panic were almost enough to make her lose her composure. ¡°She was terrified of me too, when she first realized I was a Gardevoir. I felt it, it hurt, but... eventually, she trusted me. I can tell she¡¯s still a little intimidated from time to time, by me, by Marco, even by Cadence, but exposure will help with that.¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t imagine anyone being scared of you, sweetie.¡± Aria rolled her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s so much different when you¡¯re as... powerless as she is, though. She didn¡¯t see me in that moment; she saw a wild Gardevoir, mighty enough to do unspeakable things to her while she couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... I suppose understandable,¡± Garret sighed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that also be how humans feel about all the other mons?¡± ¡°I¡ªI think it is, to one extent or another. Their local folklore paints Gardevoir in an awful light, but the underlying powerlessness is there everywhere else, too.¡± Aria chuckled at the thought that followed; the cold, mirthless sound enough to make her husband hold her that bit closer to the thin body beneath all the hair. ¡°Guess if it comes down to powerlessness versus control, it¡¯s little surprise that humans would choose the latter.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make it any more right,¡± Garret argued. ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t. It¡¯s not about being right, it¡¯s about me understanding them just that bit more, I think.¡± ¡°Sounds helpful if you wanna take Amelia into our burrow~.¡± The Gardevoir slowly shifted her attention back to her husband¡¯s expression, her own as flat as can be. She saw the corners of his mouth twitch in that well familiar way. Her reaction was swift and utterly merciless. *flick* *flick* ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Ow.¡± The couple erupted into laughter nearly instantly as Garret lowered his wife back onto solid ground. Even when she was standing upright unassisted, though, she didn¡¯t want to leave her husband¡¯s warmth even for a moment. ¡°So, feeling down for meeting Anne?¡± she asked. ¡°As down as I¡¯ll ever get, I think.¡± ¡°Let me introduce you, then~. It¡¯s gonna be alright sweetie, I promise.¡± ¡°I know, honey. You¡¯re the one doing it, after all~.¡± As cheesy as Garret¡¯s reassurance might¡¯ve been, it was no less effective as a result, or less successful at bringing a soft, tired smile to Aria¡¯s face. A few long moments later, she finally let go of his warm, black fluff, before taking a breath to reset mentally and heading back into the room currently occupied by almost the entire rest of her family. Predictably, little has changed since the last time she¡¯d been here, aside from everyone¡¯s exhaustion. There wasn¡¯t a single person around who wasn¡¯t at least tired by now, and for some, their sleepiness had already claimed them. Elric was sprawled on half the bed while Bell had been moved over to Anne¡¯s lap at some point. Bumpy as the Ralts¡¯s bedding might¡¯ve been, he was sleeping no less soundly because of that. Anne carefully stroking his cheek helped a lot with that, too. Cadence was using all the focus she had left in her to not join her denmates there and then. Ember¡¯s warmth sure didn¡¯t make that any easier, though. The human and her best friend were the only two outright awake souls left in the room, and even they were one cup of warm, sweet tea from snoozing there and then. Marco was in a similar boat as his niece, in that he only kept himself awake through the power of sheer effort, but at least he was trying harder at that. Anne¡¯s gentle wave took Aria out of inspecting her surroundings; the gesture returned shortly after. The Gardevoir asked, ¡°^How are you feeling, Anne?^¡± ¡°~I-I¡¯m feeling good, was just chatting with Ember. Wh-where did you go, Mrs. Aria?~¡± The question didn¡¯t hit the Gardevoir any less despite having been whispered out. Fortunately, for once, the Braixen was eager to give her an out, even if it was one that brought a lot of follow-up questions.¡°^Sh-she was talking with my mom, Anne.^¡± Thankfully, the human girl was much too tired to come up with any of the said questions, acknowledging the reply with an idle, sleepy nod. ¡°~Oh, I see. A-are they gonna sleep here tonight?~¡± she asked, looking at the kids sprawled around the bed. Cadence might¡¯ve had enough awareness left in her to realize she was included in ¡®they¡¯, but that didn¡¯t extend to being able to produce any response besides a quiet yawn into the human¡¯s side. ¡°^No, no,^¡± Aria reassured, ¡°^we¡¯re gonna be heading home soon, don¡¯t worry, Anne. Before then, though, I had something to ask you.^¡± ¡°~O-oh? About what, Mrs. Aria?~¡± ¡°^Well~, would you want to meet my husband, Anne?^¡± The human girl was too tired to even be much taken aback anymore, her firm nods conveying her enthusiasm clearly. ¡°~Y-yeah. What is he like?~¡± ¡°^Mr. Garret is really s-sweet, hehe,^¡± Ember chimed in, netting herself a gentle pet as Aria and Marco chuckled in response. The latter was busy attempting to shake just a bit more consciousness out of himself as the former continued, ¡°^He really is, yes. Though, there¡¯s something I have to tell you about him first, Anne.^¡± Anne was left a bit surprised, but not suspicious. She answered in a nod, trying to focus on what the Gardevoir was about to say. ¡°^He¡¯s a Grimmsnarl, which... many find frightening in appearance.^¡± ¡°^But he¡¯s not scary, dad is so nice and gentle and mumble mumble...^¡± Cadence muttered. Her attempt to contribute to the discussion was no less funny to the two adults than Ember¡¯s, though Anne was too preoccupied to notice. She faintly recalled that species name from one of her binges through the dexes at Mrs. Graham¡¯s library, and she usually remembered images well. Grimmsnarl, Grimmsnarl, large and with black fur and... big fangs, and... The more the recollection came into view, the more Anne reminded herself of the many warnings about the species¡¯ danger she remembered reading. Strength of a Fighting-type, ruthlessness of a Dark-type, cunning of a Fairy-type. Highly aggressive, prone to fits of rage. One of those species that, by the time you see one in person, it¡¯s already too late. For a moment, Aria considered helping Anne out, going over all the parts of her recollection that just weren¡¯t true and putting the others in a more amenable, gentler light. She didn¡¯t want the girl to be terrified of her husband, after all. Before she could come up with what to say, though, Anne got to working through it herself. She remembered how deathly terrified she was of the very Gardevoir she was now speaking with, and how little of that was justified in the end. Even if the books say he¡¯s scary, Anne knew she wouldn¡¯t have anything to fear here, be it from Aria or anyone else. If Aria said that things would be alright, then of course they would be. Anne trusted her, more than she had trusted almost anyone in her life. The Gardevoir wished that trust was fully justified. ¡°O-okay. I-I think I¡¯ll be alright, I still wanna meet him,¡± Anne mumbled. Whatever mistakes she might¡¯ve made and had yet to resolve, though, she wouldn¡¯t stop working towards ensuring Anne¡¯s safety, be it in large or small ways. ¡°^I¡¯m glad. I¡¯m gonna grab him, then~.^¡± She would need to come clear to her, eventually, but it didn¡¯t have to happen here and now. ... Maybe she, too, was a coward in the end. Interlude IV: Nameless *click, click, click* There we go. The old man took a deep breath through his freshly lit cigarette, the reeking smoke calming his nerves. Moments later, a drawn out exhale; the light gray plume immediately destroyed by the constant downpour. He shouldn¡¯t be doing this¡ªnot anymore, at least. He knew that well, but the habit always got the better of him when he had to visit the city. The people, the smells, the noises, the fucking noises. He was supposed to take some pills to keep him from going bonkers in here. They kept making him lethargic, unable to function. After nearly pancaking a pedestrian and ending up only totaling his car, he chose the easier option of moving out of Mistralton. Wasn¡¯t a problem all those years ago when he left the army, was even less so nowadays. Guess that whole ¡®internet¡¯ thing that cost him an arm and a leg to get installed was good for something, after all. Dealing with paperwork nonsense remotely was just his favorite kind of efficiency. Can¡¯t handle everything like that, though¡ªespecially not what he was in there for right now. It was more than worth it. He knew that well, too. But fucking hell if it wasn¡¯t nerve-wracking. Even more than the city, the man was deeply unused to having to stress about anything. Stress was something reserved for people who didn¡¯t plan enough. Something to be dealt with through drills, practice, lists, charts. Criticality incident, do this. Feral mon attack, do that. Hell, they even had a step-by-step plan in the event of a terrorist operation. None of these possibilities phased him in the slightest, but what he was here for today did. Because of just how badly he could hurt someone if he messed it up. Because there weren¡¯t drills for this. Because there couldn¡¯t have been drills for this. The last of the cig was gone with a shaky inhale; the butt joined the six others before it and was swiftly crushed under his work boot. He¡¯d stalled enough; he¡¯d have to get moving soon. And yet, he wavered, arms and breaths alike shaking like twigs. Maybe one more? ... Fuck¡¯s sake, that was the last one. The bus ride back home was going to be hellish, but that was then. And now, it was time to repay for all the hurt he¡¯d caused. To pass the little good he could forward. With the shakiest breath of his life, the man corrected the cap on his bald head and stepped out from underneath the grocery store¡¯s awning. The frigid rain immediately hit him with all its intensity, almost making him buckle there and then. But he had to keep going. One glance to the side, another; the steady beat of thick boots splashed in the water as they crossed the street. Straight to his destination, in all its colorful, friendly intimidation. HEART STAMP POK¨¦MON SHELTER The melodic chime took him off guard as he walked in, almost as much as the rain did. A couple moments later, the din of rain finally faded with a click of a door. At least, a moment to soothe his nerves and prepare for what was about to happen next. ...or just stand there like a dunce. All the pastels on the walls and floors contrasted greatly with the mon in the corner. Their mostly black body stood out like a sore thumb, and the white, bow-like... growths on their front didn¡¯t help with that impression either. Name was ¡®Goth-something, something¡¯, he didn¡¯t remember how it ended. Plans might¡¯ve been his thing, but he was never good with names, including his own. As spooked as most passersby would¡¯ve been by the psychic, the old man¡¯s attention was squarely on the young woman behind a nearby desk. Her expression wasn¡¯t any less confused at his sudden entrance than that of the Gothitelle beside her, but it was easier to recognize as such. Especially when accompanied by words, ¡°~...can I help you, mister?~¡± The words were enough to snap him back to a semblance of composure. A part of him wanted to chuckle at the question, absurd and justified at the same time. He sure as hell didn¡¯t look like someone who¡¯d decided to just visit a shelter focusing on psychics; he knew that well. More like a person who¡¯d be protesting the construction of a facility on the news, shouting slurs every other word. And yet, here he was. ¡°~Good¡ª*cough*¡ªgood afternoon. I¡¯m... I¡¯m looking to adopt.~¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The clerk and the psychic beside her looked at each other for a brief, confused moment before the latter nodded first. It was all the reassurance the human needed, immediately getting to clacking away at the keyboard as she replied, ¡°Sure! Your name, mister?¡± A faint noise was her only answer. She glanced away from the bulky monitor to see his ID on the countertop, nodding wordlessly as she typed the name in. He didn¡¯t care about names, especially not his government one. If anything, he cared about it the least out of all the other ones he¡¯s had. ¡®Hyde¡¯ in grade school after a character from a book they had to read. ¡®Razor¡¯ in his platoon after a particularly traumatizing incident. Then, for the past thirty-odd years, just ¡®boss¡¯. And now... nothing. There wasn¡¯t anyone left to grace him with a name that would be truly his own. ¡°~Alright, that¡¯s all done. Would you want me to give you a tour around the place, mister?~¡± The man nodded thoughtlessly as he swiped the plastic card back into his pocket, eyes continuing to glance around the shelter¡¯s lobby. He only paid enough attention to not make even more of a fool out of himself than he already was. Brief rundown of psychics in general, and of species they were housing here in specific. He knew all that already. Those were the parts that he could prepare for, make mental plans, and research further. So many things that sounded outright absurd when stated outright, but which he jotted down as true all the same. He¡¯d dealt with enough absurd yet true things in his life to know better. Freaky military tech, the stupid complexity of a nuclear power plant. Growing to think of what initially was a tool to use in case of emergency as a son. Realizing that Geiger¡¯s presence finally made his own life worth living. ¡°~If it¡¯s alright for me to ask, mister¡ªwhy psychics in particular?~¡± the woman asked. Her question was less disbelief than it was suspicion, and not an unearned sort, either. Those with ulterior motives gravitated to psychics for many reasons, but one stood tall above the rest. One that the old man coincidentally shared, too. ¡°~I heard something about them having the hardest time getting adopted.~¡± Very easy to wrap a vulnerable being around one¡¯s finger simply by being their only source of affirmation. The piece of trivia stung the woman in its truth; a weak nod was her only response. A couple more obvious instructions later, they finally took off into the nearby corridor. Clerk ahead of him, the Gothitelle behind. Flanked as if seeing prisoners. The truth was more gilded than that, but only just. His eyes examined every room they walked past as his attention remained withdrawn, the anxiety of having to make a choice getting to him again. He remembered checking the news a few times a day just to see a report of a wild Electivire getting caught by the League for weeks afterwards, but not even the worry of that came close to this. It was much easier to be confident in Geiger than in himself. The hubbub of the higher-ups¡¯ response to him reporting the Electivire as missing was little more than a murky memory by now. Pointed letters, shouts, threats. He didn¡¯t care, never could, not this close to retirement. Couldn¡¯t nail him with anything in particular. Eventually, the League got involved, sent a snotty kid, and found nothing. Guess a stray, untrained Electivire wasn¡¯t worth the effort beyond putting out a wanted letter just in case someone runs into them¡ª ¡°^That¡¯s a pretty beard,^¡± a boyish voice spoke, breaking through the surrounding murmurs. Hearing voices on their own didn¡¯t phase the man; he was already long used to them. Someone being interested in him, even if for the most banal of reasons, was a different matter, though. He hadn¡¯t run into this specific species in his research, but it didn¡¯t matter. They were a person first and foremost, and as far as the old man was concerned, anything beyond that was trivia. Their top half being almost an exact match for Geiger¡¯s shade of yellow was appreciated, though. ¡°~Thanks.~¡± ¡°^What¡¯s that hat?^¡± The man¡¯s damp, bald head shone faintly as he took the white cap off and crouched beside the short fence that blocked his access to the small room. The Drowzee on its other side scooted over, sleepy eyes going wide with curiosity as they followed the unremarkable headgear, the man explaining, ¡°~Just a cap from a place I used to work at.~¡± Before he could finish passing it over, the cap was surrounded in a faint, yellow glow and immediately lowered onto the psychic¡¯s head. Only for them to let out a sudden, nasal squeak and fling the item away, its wet cold catching them off guard. The old man had no idea if he should laugh at that, but opted for the safer option, limiting himself to a held-in chuckle. Even if he didn¡¯t express it with outward laughter, he still found it funny, and the Drowzee could tell. And so, the cold, wet hat was lightly flicked over back onto his face, splatting against it. The startle made him fall backwards onto his rear, old joints not appreciating it one bit. He couldn¡¯t care less about his body¡¯s complaints, though¡ªnot when he was laughing this hard. ¡°~Hah, you got spunk, kid!~¡± Soon enough, both of them were laughing, be it at the absurdity of the exchange or at the old man acting silly. ¡°~What¡¯s your name?~¡± the man asked. The change in the atmosphere was almost palpable. It even took the man aback, his brain trying to figure out what had just happened. He could tell the psychic in front of him was left uncomfortable by the question, their body language shrinking and eyes shifting to look down at the floor. Right as he was about to ask what was wrong, he felt a sensation as if someone was pushing his attention towards one specific spot, the small plaque beside the doorframe. The one that would¡¯ve normally had the names of all the occupants written on it. Blank. ¡°~No name, eh?~¡± the man chuckled, ¡°~I don¡¯t have one, either.~¡± The admission snapped the Drowzee out of their encroaching funk; sadness suddenly replaced with confusion. ¡°^Really?^¡± ¡°~Yep.~¡± ¡°^But I thought humans had names.^¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t, haven¡¯t had one for a while,~¡± the man explained. He watched the revelation unfold in the lil¡¯ psychic¡¯s mind, his own following shortly after. A terrifying one that almost sank his heart, the earlier anxieties creeping back in force. The way forward lacked the certainty he was so used to, the certainty he thought he required for the longest time. But, as he discovered with every passing day, life only really began with that certainty gone. ¡°~We could come up with names for each other, if you¡¯d like.~¡± So he best got used to dealing with its absence. ¡°^Y-yeah!^¡± He had a life to make worth living, after all. Chapter 19: Retreat Despite her own and Aria¡¯s reassurances, Anne couldn¡¯t say she was as confident about meeting the Gardevoir¡¯s husband as she wished she could. Both because meeting new people never came easy to her, and because of the presumed looks of this particular person, as bad as that reason felt to admit that to herself. As worried as the human girl was, though, the Braixen was there for her¡ªand that was enough to make even the hardest struggles feel manageable. ¡°^D-don¡¯t worry Anne, Mr. Garret is really nice!^¡± The taller girl nodded subconsciously at the reassurance; a weak shake went through her body as she leaned further into the fox. ¡°~I-I know. I¡¯m... I-I¡¯m worried about how I¡¯ll react, too...~¡± ¡°^I¡¯m sure Mr. Garret will u-understand i-if you¡¯re a bit taken aback,^¡± Ember reassured. ¡°~I-I guess...~¡± Anne muttered, wishing the exchange had made her feel more confident. What words had failed at, though, a gentle, warm hug was doing a wonderful job of making up for. The muffled sounds coming from behind the room¡¯s entrance made Anne grab her bearings and try to steady her breath. Her shaky hand held Ember¡¯s paw close as Aria slid the canvas flap off to the side. First the Gardevoir, and then... the guest of honor. With how terrible the lighting was in the room, it was hard to make out more than a handful of details. White fangs, bits of not-black skin on the face, ears, and angled eyes. Beyond them, a bipedal-shaped darkness that actively sucked the surrounding light in, sticking out from the dark brown canvas behind. And then the darkness spoke, its voice a harsh, demonic snarl¡ªwith a stutter. ¡°G-good evening, Anne.¡± The whiplash between the intimidation of Garret¡¯s voice and the utter meekness of the meaning it conveyed slapped Anne across the face. Parables of deceiving looks were a mainstay in the books she¡¯d read, be it for class or on her own, but this example was so much more stark than anything else she¡¯d ever seen. And really affable while at it. ¡°~G-good evening, Mr. Garret.~¡± ¡°Oh, no need for titles, sweetie. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve had a fun day with the kids!¡± the Dark-type growled from the dark, voice fierce enough to stop Leo in its track, and yet genuinely curious. The kind of curious that made Anne fluster a bit. ¡°~Y-yeah. I¡¯ve had a lot of fun, I-I¡¯m really glad they came over.~¡± By then, there was no more risk of Cadence perking up to interject with the Kirlia having finally called it quits for the night, leaning on the vixen¡¯s other side. The sight of both his biological kids and the Gligar under his care snoozing after a long day of playing around brought a wide smile to the Grimmsnarl¡¯s face. Unfortunately, what those closest to him saw as a ¡®wide smile¡¯ most others just thought of as ¡®baring fangs¡¯, and elaboration to convey his happiness was in order. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful~! I see quite a few drawings strewn around, too. Did you guys draw each other?¡± ¡°~M-mostly it was me drawing others...~¡± ¡°^And really really nicely too!^¡± Ember chimed in, her telepathic comment conveyed to Garret through his wife. It helped little with Anne¡¯s fluster¡ªbut what it was very effective at, though, was diffusing even more tension in the room through the form of amused chuckles by anyone but the embarrassed and the asleep. ¡°~I-I like to think so...~¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re great, Anne! Mind if I take a look?¡± Garret asked. A direct request spurred the girl to action; the ¡®nice¡¯ part of her responded before any of the fears clouding the rest of her could catch up. Within moments, she was sweeping assorted items away from a large patch of the bed immediately beside her to free up space. It was only once she had to say the accompanying line out loud that she realized what she was in for¡ªbut by then, her self-consciousness had declared it to be too late. ¡°~Sure, p-please take a seat...~¡± Garret was taken no less off guard by that than Anne, leaving him at an impasse about what to do next. He wasn¡¯t in the position to be asking, but his wife was, thankfully, speaking up directly to Anne with a telepathic whisper, ¡°^Are you sure, Anne? You don¡¯t have to if you feel uncomfortable, he¡¯ll understand.^¡± Was it a good idea to rush it, even with the demon turning out to be incomparably nicer than his looks showed? Probably not. Did Anne feel capable of it? By then... yeah. Ember was beside her; Mrs. Aria was here; Marco was here; Cadence, Bell, and even Elric were here too, if asleep. Not all of those factors were equally relevant in the moment, but they all helped the human girl with keeping her cool. A couple deeper breaths later, she nodded, squeezing Ember¡¯s paw. The Grimmsnarl only barely convinced himself to try, either. He wanted to avoid a bad first impression more than anything else in the world, and rushing was how one ran into those face-first. But... he, too, was willing to give it a shot. His wife was there, and Anne clearly trusted her. Things would be alright. ¡°Okay, Anne. Right here?¡± he asked. ¡°~Mmhm.~¡± Anne had no idea how all the other kids remained asleep after Garret sent ripples through the bed by sitting down, but she wasn¡¯t complaining. Neither was she complaining about the bulky, hairy demon respecting her space, even when sitting beside her. He was making a clear effort to avoid any unwanted touch despite all the hair, managing to swoop the nearest stack of paper with unexpected dexterity. All the while, the human girl took Garret¡¯s towering appearance in. His fur was matte black, looking more like a uniform void than individual strands. It was impossible to overstate how massive he was, too, sitting beside her with a broad build and a full head of height on her. Before Anne could focus on any more unnerving appearance details, though, he brought the first drawing in front of her, ¡°Oh goodness, that¡¯s lovely! Cadence must¡¯ve liked it a lot!¡± Despite the tension she was trying her hardest to work through, Anne couldn¡¯t help but chuckle out loud. Chuckle, and nod, and sneak a brief glimpse at the sleeping fairy, the action making the latter squirm in her sleep a bit. ¡°~You¡¯ve n-no idea, M... Garret.~¡± In any other situation, the Grimmsnarl wouldn¡¯t have wasted his time before patting the uncertain person on the back and reassuring them. Considering just who this particular person was, though, a more reserved approach was in order. ¡°It¡¯s all okay, sweetie. If you feel more comfortable with a title, use it. I don¡¯t mind either way.¡± Right. It was only by the power of utmost self-control that Anne stopped herself from saying ¡®sorry¡¯ there and then. ¡°^I can i-imagine how giddy she was to see it, hehe...^¡± Ember chuckled, scanning the page with her one eye, smiling no less than the Dark-type demon did at the sight. Anne couldn¡¯t disagree, chuckling with a faint nod, ¡°~Yeah, she r-really was.~¡± As nice as the ongoing discussion was, Anne knew that if it remained on this course, it would eventually steer towards her. A distraction was in order¡ªone that Garret didn¡¯t even need to be asked to provide. He reached over further into the bed to pull his kids onto his lap, holding them close with his arm and hair alike. The scene was more adorable than it had any right to be, especially once Bell mumbled in his sleep at having the spot between his horns scritched. It also raised some questions by proxy, though, ones that Anne hoped wouldn¡¯t be over the line or anything. ¡°~I-if it¡¯s okay for me to ask... how did you and M-Mrs. Aria meet?~¡± The question perked both halves of the couple up as Marco chuckled. Aria sighed, ¡°^Goodness, it¡¯s been a long time now, hasn¡¯t it?^¡± ¡°It really has, honey. And I enjoyed all of it~.¡± Garret¡¯s flattery had his wife roll her eyes as the two awake girls exchanged quiet giggles and awwws. ¡°As to how it began...¡± the demon continued, ¡°it must be well over ten years ago by now, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°^Let me think¡ª^¡± Before Aria could piece the number together, her brother cut her off, ¡°Thirteen.¡± As glad as she was about being saved from having to count individual years, the somber, low tone with which the Gallade had said it didn¡¯t go unnoticed. Neither was it a surprise, considering just what exactly had led them to join the fledgling village. ¡°Thirteen it is then~! I¡¯ve been living here with Autumn for many years by that point,¡± Garret chuckled. ¡°^Oh oh, wh-what did you do then, M-Mr. Garret?^¡± ¡°Same as today, Ember¡ªhelped with construction and repair. Gotta put all the strength to a good use after all~! But but but, we¡¯re getting off track. I remember watching Rose escort them both into the village, and I just couldn¡¯t get my eyes off them.¡± Anne was unaware of the name, but followed intently along all the same as the Dark-type continued, ¡°Course, wasn¡¯t about to jump over in the middle of putting up a wall, but I kept looking around. Then, one day, after gathering my courage for a while, I approached Marco and asked if he¡¯d like to have a drink at Viv¡¯s, after he figured out how to link to me.¡± ¡°Wait, you did?¡± Marco asked, surprised. The Gallade¡¯s genuine confusion dispelled some of his earlier gloom as Garret had to focus on keeping his roaring laughter in to not wake the rest of the clinic up. Or, at least, hold as much of it in as he could. ¡°Yes I did, Marco! Do you really not remember?¡± ¡°I...¡± Marco started, cut off by a pang of grief. He banished it soon after with a deep inhale, switching to telepathy to maintain composure. ¡°^I don¡¯t recall much from that time. What¡¯d I say?^¡± Garret chuckled, ¡°Well~ you were entirely oblivious and said you didn¡¯t have the time.¡± Another, more controlled wave of laugher, the Gallade left rolling his eyes as he sat on the floor. ¡°^Romance just slides off you, it seems,^¡± Aria joked. Marco couldn¡¯t disagree with his sister¡¯s comment. He didn¡¯t agree with it either; the words plunging him into much more thought than was intended. The resulting silence left the rest of the room uncertain as Aria walked over to him, just in case. Movement this close up finally stirred him out of his confusion, leaving him sighing as he slowly picked himself up onto his feet. ¡°^You¡¯re... not wrong. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt these sorts of emotions, towards anyone. I¡¯ve no idea how they even feel like, really.^¡± Before the Gallade could elaborate any further, he found himself pulled into a tight hug by his sister. As awkward as their spacing was by necessity, with their horns ending up pressed to the side of the other¡¯s torsos, it didn¡¯t make the result any less genuine¡ªor appreciated by the recipient. ¡°^Nothing wrong with that, bro.^¡± Marco reassured, ¡°^I know, I know, I know, it¡¯s... guess I just really never thought of it like that before.^¡± ¡°I hope putting it that way helps then, Marco,¡± Garret smiled. ¡°^It...^¡± As the Gallade quickly went through his memories for more fodder towards the building realization, one very recent event stuck out to him. One that sounded like a repeat of what Garret had described. It even involved a fairy, too. Something to ponder on later, in any case. ¡°^...it really does. Thanks, Aria.^¡± ¡°^Anytime, Marco.^¡± ¡°Anyway~! I can¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t discouraged after that, but I tried not to let it get to me. I remember walking through the streets, looking for the other recent arrival, worrying about how I¡¯d come off. And then, I finally spotted Aria. I believe you were talking with Holly when it happened, honey?¡± ¡°^Sounds about right.^¡± ¡°So~! I gathered my bearings, took a deep breath, put on a bit of Swagger¡ª¡± ¡°^So that¡¯s why you tripped on thin air!^¡± Aria giggled. ¡°Honey!¡± Laughter once more, Anne in particular had to keep her tired noises from growing too loud at the mental image. Something that Ember failed at, holding her friend tighter with each raspy, howly sound. Despite being put on the spot, Garret took it in stride, joining in on the amusement. ¡°Yes, yes, I tripped and fell in front of you two and made a scene, ha. You helped me up, Holly brought us some drinks, we got to chatting. And the rest is history.¡± The last sentence was quieter and warmer; accompanied by the demon dad holding his kids closer to him, tiny tendrils of hair stroking their cheeks. As sweet as the situation was, the accompanying peace making Anne slump in her spot more and more, there remained some unexplained parts. Ones that Ember in particular wanted a further glimpse of. ¡°^Awwww. Oh, Mrs. Aria, wh-where did you and Mr. M-Marco come from?^¡± Despite the innocence of the question, the psychic vixen felt the air in the room grow colder at her words. Not directly at her, not by a long shot. Instead, at the unspoken part of the story being brought to light, one that not even Garret knew more than an outline of. Ember was of half a mind to speak up again just to reassure the siblings that they didn¡¯t have to go into it, but by then, Aria answered, ¡°^We... we were raised in a tiny commune, rather far from here. It was our and a couple other psychic families sharing a burrow, and not much beyond that.^¡± The answer accounted for ¡®where¡¯, but not for the much more important ¡®why¡¯. Aria was well aware of that, holding the Gallade closer as she fought to figure out how much of the truth to convey. And, ever more importantly, how much of it her brother wanted to convey. Ultimately, the course of action was obvious¡ªjust let Marco explain as much as he¡¯s comfortable with. ¡°^As to why we left¡­^¡± he sighed. ¡°^Our¡ªour parents were... rather strict. They...^¡± Not a single sound filled the small room as the Gallade gathered his words. His eyelids were trying their hardest to get rid of any building moisture, succeeding only partially. ¡°^They loved us in their own way. They had a very... specific idea for what we should do and be in our lives. Regardless of what we actually wanted. And if we disagreed...^¡± he looked at his arm, at how differently it looked from that of his sister. ¡°^They would force their vision upon us anyway.^¡± ¡°^Most of it was tiny things,^¡± Aria explained. ¡°^Until, one night, they went too far, much too far. When Marco realized what they¡¯d done in the morning, I grabbed provisions and left with him on the spot. Our journey was long and very difficult at times, but eventually, we made our way here.^¡± The trek itself was little more than a traumatic blur in both siblings¡¯ minds. Struggle for survival, wrestling with a new body, having no idea if there even was safety at the end of their invisible path. A kind of hell neither of them would ever wish on anyone else. The vagueness of their description left a part of Ember curious to ask more. The rest of the vixen, though, knew better than to investigate into such a clearly loaded topic, leaning to hold Anne closer instead. And realizing that the human girl was already halfway asleep, and had been resting against the Grimmsnarl for an unspecified amount of time. As heavy as the siblings¡¯ recollection was, the unexpected sight of the skittish girl leaning on the massive Dark-type was no less appreciated as the result, triply so once the psychics had noticed it. Aria and Marco alike had to hold in chuckles at the sight as the former approached with a smile on her face. Garret didn¡¯t dare move throughout, simultaneously amused and taken aback, worrying about startling the human once she realized her position. Aria whispered, ¡°^Anne?^¡± ¡°~Mmmmmmhhhhhmmm...~¡± Anne mumbled, slowly prying her eyes open¡ªonly for them to snap all the way there once she¡¯d realized what she was resting again. She had no idea how to respond, stiffening as she leaned on the Grimmsnarl, hoping futilely that he hadn¡¯t noticed her. Nothing that Aria¡¯s gentle pet on the cheek couldn¡¯t fix, especially when accompanied by another psychic whisper, ¡°^Don¡¯t worry sweetie, Garret doesn¡¯t mind~. Are you okay?^¡± Anne whispered, ¡°~I... I¡¯m really tired, I think...~¡± as her body slowly unclenched. She truly hoped she hadn¡¯t made the Grimmsnarl uncomfortable. In part because goodness did this feel nice. She expected the demon¡¯s fur to be oily and unpleasant to the touch. Instead, it was dry, well kept, and not even that rough, though still a far cry from how soft Ember was. It felt right; it felt safe; it felt... like a dad should feel. As insightful and yet scary as that thought was, neither Aria nor Anne had the time to think about it more¡ªespecially with the night security showing up. ¡°Gooooood evening there, darlings. How¡¯s everyone holding up?¡± Sprout whistled, glancing around the room. Lovely sights all around, just as she¡¯d expected, especially with all the sleeping and only-barely-not-sleeping kids. ¡°^Very, very ready to get some rest,^¡± Aria mumbled. ¡°Ha, that much I can tell, hun. How¡¯s Anne doing?¡± ¡°~I¡¯m sleepy.~¡± The Decidueye didn¡¯t expect to hear the girl¡¯s voice¡ªit was the most enjoyable of surprises, though. Her beak twisted into the closest thing to a smile it was capable of as she scooted over towards the human girl, even giving her a small wave with it. ¡°Hello, Anne dear! I¡¯m Sprout, and I¡¯ll be watching over you tonight, just in case. It¡¯s lovely to meet you, sweetie!¡± Anne took a hot minute to figure out what she was supposed to do with Sprout¡¯s outstretched wing. Exhaustion didn¡¯t help, and neither did the apprehension accompanied by having a Decidueye watch over her. As lovely as Blossom had been earlier, the jump in both size and lethality from a Dartrix to a Decidueye was... immense. She knew she shouldn¡¯t have been thinking about things like these, not with how kind the mons all around were, but her tired mind had other ideas. Sprout was no psychic, but her hearing was good enough to make up for that fact¡ªat least, to an extent. In most contexts, someone¡¯s heart rate going up had too many possible reasons to ascribe a concrete one to it. Here, though... it wasn¡¯t exactly difficult to piece together the connection between Anne spotting her and exhibiting all the different aspects of a stress response. Especially with the owl¡¯s body being attuned to sensing them. Whether the owl herself wanted it to or not. Anne wasn¡¯t about to not try harder herself, though. Her breath shook as she sat up straight and gave Sprout a small wave. Pushing through the fog of tiredness took effort she could only barely muster, but someone being nice enough to look after her deserved it. ¡°~H-hello, Mrs. Sprout. Th-th-thank you for looking after me...~¡± As hard as she tried to hold her composure, she wasn¡¯t exactly doing a good job at it. She supposed it only made sense to apologize for that, ¡°~I-I¡¯m sorry¡ª~¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Shhhhhhhh,¡± the Decidueye shushed, accompanying the half-whistled sound with the world¡¯s swiftest hug. Anne hadn¡¯t even realized what had happened until she blinked, only to find her face pressing itself into the owl¡¯s leafy shoulder, with the rest of her body surrounded by the softest plumage she¡¯d ever felt. She was too tired to even get startled, auto-piloting to an exhausted nod. ¡°It¡¯s all good, sweetie,¡± Sprout comforted. ¡°Blossom had mentioned you gettin¡¯ a tad scared when she flew in, sorry for giving you another scare. I promise I¡¯m not as scary as I look, ha!¡± The owl¡¯s frankness helped melt through much of Anne¡¯s worries as her bed was being emptied around her. By the time the Decidueye had let go, the human girl had found herself alone on the bedding. All the assorted drawings and drawing tools had been moved to the nightstand; Elric had joined the rest of his denmates in Garret¡¯s arms; and the lil¡¯ fiery vixen was standing beside Aria, waving over at her best friend. Aria smiled, ¡°^It¡¯s high time for us to head home, Anne. I¡¯ll come to check up on you tomorrow.^¡± ¡°^M-me too! I¡¯ll come over a-as early as I can, I promise!^¡± Ember woofed. Despite the chaos of the past couple of days, despite all the unknowns that persisted... Anne felt safe. So much safer than she thought she ever would. ¡°~G-good night!~¡± The feeling persisted even once everyone but the Decidueye had left. Sprout extinguished the last of the Will-o¡¯-Wisps with an offhand wing gesture, the message very clear. A smile remained glued on Anne¡¯s face as she laid down and got comfortable under the rough covers. Preparing to rest in a village full of feral mons, so far away from what used to be her home. The two red pinpricks she saw in the room¡¯s corner didn¡¯t help at first. Once they¡¯d hopped over and carefully pet her forehead with a couple of very soft, mobile feathers, though, Anne suddenly found it much harder to be genuinely afraid of them. She was safe; she was cared for. Aria was looking after her. Nothing would ever go wrong again.
Ember quickly split up to head to her mom¡¯s den following the group¡¯s departure, leaving just the three awake adults to make their way through the village¡¯s mostly asleep streets. The occasional Dark and Ghost-types passed their greetings now and again. For the most part, though, their journey was uneventful and in almost complete silence, the adults no less immune to the ever creeping exhaustion than the human girl they¡¯d just left. It was only after a good few minutes that the first words were finally exchanged¡ªor rather, bodily sounds, specifically those of Aria¡¯s stomach rumbling. ¡°Really hope we have something to eat at home,¡± she commented. ¡°When I left, mom was preparing something for us to have once we get back,¡± Garret reassured. ¡°Oh good. Today was a lot, and the last thing I need is to go to bed hungry...¡± Before Aria¡¯s words could linger in the air for too long, the Gardevoir found herself getting swept off the ground and held close in her husband¡¯s arm, adding to his tally of all the other smaller creatures he was carrying. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing great, honey. I believe in you, and so does Anne~.¡± ¡°I know, I know. Just¡ª¡± ¡°Marcoooo~!¡± the squeaky, floaty voice stopped the tired band mid-step as they all turned to face its source. Neither of them were expecting to see the Wigglytuff so late into the evening, and especially not with clear signs of inebriation, but Jovan was hopping over towards them all the same. Aria greeted him, dumbstruck, ¡°Good evening, Jovan.¡± ¡°Hello, hello Aria, Garret~. Care for a chat, Marcooo~?¡± The Fairy-type¡¯s voice was somehow even flirtier than usual, the significance lost upon its intended recipient. Again. The Gallade might¡¯ve overlooked the tone, but following his internal realization earlier at the clinic, he was starting to suspect the purpose of Jovan¡¯s occasional chats. And as unpleasant as it all would inevitably be, he knew he should come clear about how he felt. ¡°I¡ªs-sure, Jovan. Did something happen?¡± ¡°Oh, hardly~. I was just thinking about whether you¡¯d want to swing by Viv¡¯s place tomorrow? Together~?¡± The Gallade had lost count of all the times the Wigglytuff had asked him a question in that vein. If what he was suspecting was true, if Jovan¡¯s questions weren¡¯t for the purpose of just looking for platonic company... then a clarification was long overdue. He spoke, ¡°J-Jovan, I... I have to come clear with something¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re straight~?¡± ¡°What¡ªno, no, of course not. It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s more like I¡¯m... neither. I didn¡¯t even realize you were trying to ask me out in that way...¡± Aria was about to roll her eyes at her brother, not noticing it for so long... but at the same time, it¡¯s not like Jovan¡¯s thoughts were straightforward, either. They kept shifting around in a confusing, hard to follow way, almost like the fairy was making it deliberately difficult to pick up on his motives. What went under his brain might¡¯ve been trickier to piece together than it should¡¯ve been, but how he felt about Marco¡¯s confession was very clear to sense. Utter, immense, Relief. ¡°Oh, thank goodness~! I was so worried you¡¯d been playing hard to get all along and that I was just messing everything up~!¡± Garret chuckled, ¡°And here I am, taking a clue after my first case of cold shoulder...¡± His wife giggling as his brother-in-law rolled his eyes. Jovan, however, immediately tried to explain himself. ¡°He wasn¡¯t saying ¡®no¡¯ or anything! Neither ¡®yes¡¯ nor ¡®no¡¯, hardly a sign either way with such an obvious approach. I thought I just had to try harder!¡± ¡°And then you just... kept going?¡± Marco asked, stopping the Wigglytuff in his tracks. The blush that sprouted on his lavender cheeks might not have been visible in the dark, but his embarrassment was clear to hear all the same. ¡°...you look good, you know~?¡± On a cue, the fluster ball was passed from the balloon to the knight, the latter left just as stunned as the former was moments prior. ¡°Um, I¡ª¡± ¡®Good¡¯ was the absolute last word Marco would¡¯ve ever used to describe his appearance. ¡®Misshapen¡¯ and ¡®incorrect¡¯, sure, but definitely not ¡®good¡¯. The sheer mismatch between that perception and how he felt about his looks inside was a bountiful pile of fuel for self-loathing, ready to be ignited to take its carrier down with it. Thankfully, Marco was too exhausted to be playing with mental matches, skipping straight to the most banal of answers, ¡°Thanks, Jovan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Marco~. Seems I¡¯ll have to look around some more. Well, suppose with that over, we¡¯d all rather get some snooze time than stand out in the cold for any longer. Sleep well, you all~. And especially you, Marco!¡± ¡°Worst case, you can always try tripping in front of someone to catch their attention!¡± Jovan didn¡¯t get the reference in Garret¡¯s joke, but laughed together with the rest of the group all the same. ¡°Sounds painful~. Guess it¡¯s just what one has to do to get a date nowadays, ha! In any case, goodnight~,¡± the Wigglytuff waved as he bounced off into the distance. ¡°Goodnight, Jovan,¡± Aria sighed. ¡°Good luck on your search!¡± ¡°T-take care, Jovan.¡± With the fairy hopping away, the amused mood could spread throughout the gathering, sending them into brief bursts of giggling from time to time. At imagining Jovan¡¯s past antics, at imagining Marco¡¯s stone faced responses, and in the Gallade¡¯s case, at not piecing it all together sooner, both about the Wigglytuff and himself. Guess having a hard time even conceptualizing oneself without all sorts of mental sludge creeping up would do that to him, but it was still amusing to think about. It¡¯d help going forward, that¡¯s for sure. By the time the last of the trio had finished chuckling to themselves, the group was already home, making their way down the burrow¡¯s stairs to a company of nourishing aromas and oh-so-welcome warmth. ¡°There you all are! I was of half a mind to march over there myself,¡± Autumn greeted, her voice only avoiding the exhaustion that had claimed everyone else by the virtue of having other things to be giddy about. Her dating life was a distant second thought in the moment, though, doubly so with her family cold and hungry. As Garret and Aria laid their kids and Elric to bed, Marco helped his mom-in-law with pouring hearty portions of stew for the entire family. It was too late and too cold outside to be worrying about setting up a table, especially since a large, shared blanket for them all to huddle under would work just as well, if not even better. Moments later, they were all seated and making their way through their portion. The warmth sure didn¡¯t help any with tiredness, but now that the family finally had a moment to get each other up to speed about what was happening to and around Anne, rest was the last thing on their mind. ¡°^How¡¯d explaining humans to the little ones go, mom?^¡± Aria asked. The Indeedee stretched in her seat as she went through the events of the day in her head. Some of them were much more pleasant than others, but those weren¡¯t the most important ones. Those came much earlier. Not perfectly good, but hardly bad, either. ¡°Overall? Quite well. I risked a bit with dragging Geiger in to help, but thankfully, he knew exactly what to say. Stressed about how humans aren¡¯t different from us individually and many are good people, even if their world at large remains dangerous.¡± Garret asked, surprised. ¡°And all the little ones went along with it?¡± His mom shook her head and elaborated, ¡°I wish. I¡¯d say most of them were ambivalent. After all, Anne would just be another kid joining them in the end. As good of an attitude as I can expect from most. There were quite a few kids eager to help and curious, thankfully.¡± ¡°^Like Blossom?^¡± ¡°She too, but also Zephyr, Grace, Mint, even Lyn, some others. There were one or two kids that were rather openly antagonistic too, sadly, Hawthorne the worst of them.¡± Considering the abuse the Espurr¡¯s parent had endured from humanity, it really was no surprise to see her opposing Anne this vocally. It wasn¡¯t like Hawthorne¡¯s hostility made no sense, but at the same time... her parent didn¡¯t act like this. He was the one who had actually suffered, and yet, Autumn couldn¡¯t ever remember the Meowstic remarking about humans at all, in a hostile way or not. Despite the cruelty they had inflicted upon him being very clear to see. ¡°^That makes sense. Aiming to convince everyone is no less foolish amongst the kids than it is among the adults. Though,^¡± the Gardevoir paused mid sentence, not liking the difficulty of the task she was thinking of in the slightest. ¡°^Someone talking with Max about all of this would be a good idea. Just so that once the vote comes, he won¡¯t be the immediate example for those opposing Anne staying here to point to¡ª^¡± ¡°Vote?¡± Garret asked, confused, sending an agonized wince through the rest of the family. It was inarguably the right choice to take a moment and make sure everyone¡¯s on the same page, but sadly, it also meant recounting the cruelty of those who should¡¯ve known better. Again. ¡°^That¡¯s... one of the topics I meant when I mentioned things being wrong. The Elders had decided to put Anne¡¯s ultimate fate to a vote amongst the scouts.^¡± A glance over at the Grimmsnarl revealed his aghast expression at the news. He almost dropped his bowl as he stared at his wife, her solemn nod acting as all the confirmation he could ever need. ¡°How could they!?¡± he asked. ¡°^I-I wish I knew, Garret...^¡± The sadness in Aria¡¯s voice petered out any anger in the Dark-type before it could build upon itself; the tension released with a weary sigh. Whether he liked it or not, and he most definitely hated it, this was what they had to deal with. And with that in mind, it only made sense to catch up on how the vote was looking in the present. ¡°I-I see. How do you think it¡¯s looking, honey?¡± ¡°^It¡¯s very up in the air. Thirteen votes in total, we need seven. Me, Marco, Rose, Sprout, and Cypress are certain to vote in Anne¡¯s favor. At the same time, Winnie is absolutely voting against, and so is Lumi. I haven¡¯t had a chance to talk about this with Lucere, but I¡¯m suspecting a similar attitude. Same with Ana. Bloody, senile Torkoal...^¡± Aria caught herself before she could wind herself up any further. She took a deep breath, another spoonful of stew, and continued, ¡°^It leaves Celia, Lariat, Ori, and Ruby. The last time I spoke with the latter two was before we talked to the Elders. I remember Ori feeling very hesitant about it all, but not hostile or anything. Ruby spoke up with myself and Sprout at our meeting, but that¡¯s hardly a confirmation of intent, either. Celia... I have no idea. She¡¯s the one who¡¯d delayed the vote, which makes me think she¡¯ll be against, too.^¡± ¡°^Terribly hypocritical of her if that¡¯s the case...^¡± Autumn grumbled, only barely keeping her anger contained. She was there when the Primarina had joined their village, in circumstances not too different from Anne¡¯s. To think she¡¯d turn around and spit in an innocent¡¯s face like that... As angry as the Indeedee was getting about it, though, the sheer nonsensicalness of it all cut her short. It would¡¯ve been so unlike Celia to act this way; this made no sense. Then again, no earlier situation had ever concerned a human. And if there was anyone in the village with a very good reason to loathe every single part of humanity with all her heart, it was also the Primarina. This mess was making demons of them all. ¡°^I know, but it¡¯s true.^¡± Aria sighed. ¡°^That just leaves Lariat. Haven¡¯t spoken with him either.^¡± ¡°^I have, and... it really, really wasn¡¯t pretty. It felt like I couldn¡¯t get to him at all about Anne¡¯s situation being so much more similar to ours than of any other human. He¡¯ll almost certainly vote against,^¡± Autumn explained. ¡°^That makes six.^¡± Aria summed up, her words grim in their implications. Her arms shook as she tried to continue calming herself down with a meal, to no avail. Why were people she knew and respected deciding to be this cruel to someone so defenseless? ¡°^I¡¯ll get up early and speak with Ruby in the morning. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to stay for long enough to discuss this with Ori.^¡± Autumn reassured, ¡°^Don¡¯t worry Aria, Geiger assured me he¡¯ll talk to Ori and Lumi tomorrow.^¡± As feasible as it felt for the Scizor to be swayed, the Luxray was a whole separate matter. At this point, probably not even whichever deities were watching high above them could get through to the lion¡¯s skull. Why would another Electric-type do any better? ¡°^Th-that¡¯s good, the Ori part. Talking to Lumi is a waste of time, but Geiger knows him better.^¡± ¡°And so do I. I can¡¯t do much, still, but I can at least try to chat with him,¡± Marco chimed in, catching the attention of the rest of the family, his portion long finished. Aria responded, ¡°^I¡¯d say trying to talk to Ana and Celia would be a better use of your time, but I¡¯m unsure how much you¡¯ve talked to them in the past.^¡± ¡°With Celia? Not at all, only a few words with Ana. I don¡¯t know, sis, I feel like I¡¯ll have more luck with Lumi.¡± ¡°^Y-yeah, I suppose. It¡¯s just¡ª^¡± Garret¡¯s hug cut Aria off before she could finish her sentence. The sudden, full body warmth was soothing beyond words, especially once further enhanced by the most intricate massage in the world. ¡°You¡¯re trying your best, honey. We can do this together. I¡¯m sure of it.¡± ¡°^I wish I was.^¡± ¡°Me too honey, me too.¡± The Gardevoir chuckled at the impromptu exchange. Her mind was a maelstrom of everything that could go wrong, everyone they had to talk to and try to convince not to murder an innocent by proxy. She wasn¡¯t alone, she knew it at a rational level, but... a part of her still felt hopelessness creeping in, moment by moment. ¡°On my end, I can visit Max and discuss it with him. I will have the time tomorrow,¡± Garret suggested. ¡°Aside from that, I¡¯ll be on the lookout for any passing Elders to go over it all with them.¡± ¡°^Garret, you¡¯re wonderful, but I doubt any force could ever sway Winnie, even your looks and charm.^¡± ¡°If not him, then Ana and Celia, ha!¡± The Breloom was out of consideration for being convinced, and everyone gathered knew that. The Primarina had her own master plan of some sort, and the Torkoal... wouldn¡¯t let her opinion show, not even when talking to a psychic. ¡°^Won¡¯t hurt to try. Thanks, honey.^¡± ¡°^No lessons tomorrow, and if I have the time, I¡¯ll bring it all to Celia and see what she thinks. If need be, I¡¯ll stay with Anne, though. It¡¯d help a lot if you could watch over Anne again, Marco,^¡± Autumn suggested. The Gallade sighed at the reasonable request. Out of the two of them, his mom-in-law was both much better at talking and knew much more about most faces around the village, especially the older ones. It only made sense for him to be delegated to the least difficult duty considering his current state, but¡­ sigh. This was not the time for him to be moping, not with Anne¡¯s wellbeing on the line. ¡°Will do, mom.¡± As the Indeedee patted her son-in-law on the back, Aria churned through everything she could do to help tomorrow. Ruby, Ori, maybe Lucere too. The Weavile was most likely to agree; it would just take catching her in the early morning and going through it all. She was many things, but honest and direct were chief among them. The Scizor was a tricky case, and Geiger was probably the one better suited to actually changing him. Still, she¡¯d be remiss not to at least probe what his current thoughts were. The Altaria... would take some getting used to. Most of what Aria knew of her revolved around what she¡¯d heard whispered about where she came from, about how her own flock had banished her over an innate difference of some sort. She¡¯d have to work out more of the specifics to see if she could use that to appeal to her judgment. Aside from that tidbit, the few times Aria had listened to what Lucere had said about humans, distrust was chief amongst what she felt. Whether it was the deeper, unyielding sort was something for her to figure out tomorrow. ¡°^All that aside, Aria, any news regarding what happened to Cinder¡ª^¡± *knock-knock-knockknockknock!* The chaotic, uneven banging at the front door cut the Indeedee off as it plunged the burrow into silence. The three psychics quickly realized just who it was standing outside in utter despair, but only one of them knew the probable reason. Without saying another word and to the tune of the constant barrage of bangs and knocks, Aria got up and turned towards the stairs. Her body shook with each step, but she pushed on; she had to push on. The implications her mind was all too happily feeding her were plunging her soul into despair, but that could wait until later. Right now, *croak!* Ember needed her help. ¡°H-h-how could she have d-done that to me!?¡± the vixen howled, weeping into Aria¡¯s front. The Gardevoir held her tight even as her entire body shook, ¡°I-I just wanted Anne to be safe and¡ª¡± Ember couldn¡¯t even finish her sentence before her piercing sobs filled the burrow. Autumn took care of the noise with a Safeguard, but it was up to Aria to help the despairing fox, green arms holding her close. She wished she knew what to do in response, how to soothe someone carrying so much justified pain. She had no answers, but what she had was comfort. ¡°Sh-she took my memories a-a-and she took Anne and¡ª*sob*¡± the Braixen continued, the gentle psychic embrace helping her, if only slightly. Without saying a word, Aria gently led her down the stairs, until she was sitting beside the rest of her family in front of the calm fireplace. ¡°I-I thought she loved me a-and she doesn¡¯t and she did that to me¡ª¡± ¡°^Shhhhhhhhhhh.^¡± Aria¡¯s quiet, gentle hush was paired with her physical hand stroking Ember¡¯s head, adding to the warmth even further. There wasn¡¯t a spell for this kind of pain, not one that wouldn¡¯t merely delay it until its discovery. There was only the slow way forward, one of comfort, reassurance, and, most importantly, listening. Ember¡¯s wails continued for a few minutes afterwards as Autumn scrambled over to her other side, joining in with her own affection. She was no less frightened at the fox¡¯s state than the rest of the family, but with Aria being ready to talk through it all with the fox, her trying to chime in would only make things worse. Eventually, the worst of her painful howls ended, leaving only sobs, sorrow, and betrayal. A few minutes later, the same words, but now meant as a question and not an outlet of pain, ¡°Wh-why did she do that to me...?¡± Aria thought back to her stern discussion with the Delphox. Despite how thorough it was, it was ultimately useless for the painful fox beside her. What was she to say, that the fox¡¯s mom was a coward? Even if true, it wouldn¡¯t help in the slightest, and was only part of the picture by itself. Aria loathed to excuse Cinder¡¯s behavior, but what she could do was contextualize it enough to let Ember come to her own conclusion. ¡°^Because you were hurting, and she didn¡¯t know what to do. She hurt you because she didn¡¯t want you to suffer. What she did was horrible and wrong, but it was not without a reason to it.^¡± Ember¡¯s body shook as she chewed through the Gardevoir¡¯s words. The storm inside her head kept shifting between pain, uncertainty, and anger; neither end strong enough to overpower the other two. ¡°B-but I love Anne, a-and I loved her then too. I-I just wanted her to be safe!¡± ¡°^Back then, Cinder thought it impossible to convince the Elders that it was possible for Anne to stay, and wanted to spare you from suffering at living without her. What she did was horrific and violating, but it was in the name of love, if misguided and harmful.^¡± The Braixen sniffed and sobbed as she chewed through Aria¡¯s words. She wanted them to be true; she didn¡¯t want her mom to have been hating her all along; she still loved her mom. But it all hurt, it all hurt so much, thinking about all the days she spent without the hope that Anne had represented in her life. All the fears, all the loneliness. All the pain that her best friend had gone through while she wasn¡¯t even aware of her existence. ¡°D-does she hate Anne?¡± Aria winced at Ember¡¯s words, at her own uncertainty about their answer. What she¡¯d sensed earlier today was one thing, but it wouldn¡¯t remain so for long. Ultimately, the Gardevoir didn¡¯t know¡ªand it was only right of her to admit to that. ¡°^I don¡¯t know, sweetie. Even if she did, even if she does... I think with how clear your love for Anne is, your mom can change. Despite what she¡¯d done, Cinder loves you, I¡¯m sure of that. That doesn¡¯t mean you have to go back to her, or even forgive her, but it¡¯s important to keep in mind.^¡± ¡°I-I-I love her too, b-but,¡± Ember began, before her words gave way to weeping once more. Aria and Autumn held her close, letting her get all the despair out of her system. It didn¡¯t take nearly as long this time, thankfully; sobbing wails soon returned to sniffing, tearful breaths. ¡°^I¡¯m sorry, Ember,^¡± Aria whispered. ¡°^I wish all this hadn¡¯t happened to you and Anne. Nobody but your mom and Elder Ana knew.^¡± Ember nodded weakly, trying and largely failing to steady her breathing. ¡°W-will she hate me?¡± ¡°^No, no, she won¡¯t, sweetie. She knows she had done something evil, and will turn herself in for the Elders to decide on her punishment tomorrow.^¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t want her t-to be hurt! I-I just want Anne to b-be safe, a-and mom to like Anne too...¡± ¡°^I doubt they¡¯ll hurt her. It¡¯s Cinder herself that wants to see consequences for what she¡¯d done.^¡± ¡°I-I... I just want her to, to¡ª¡± Ember whined, reeling at a desire words couldn¡¯t hope to express in full. ¡®Apologize¡¯ didn¡¯t go far enough; that word was for accidents and petty grudges, not for what her mom had done. Something larger than mere apology, something to soothe the wound left in both her own soul and indirectly in Anne¡¯s. Something that the vixen had no idea how to name, but needed all the same. Something that would let the three of them eventually move on. Swaddled in words or not, the desire was perfectly clear to the Gardevoir. Whether it was attainable was another question, one Aria again didn¡¯t have an answer to there and then. ¡°^I think it will happen with time, sweetie. Until then, feel free to stay here, at our burrow, for as long as you need.^¡± Ember muttered, exhausted, ¡°Th-thank you, Mrs. Aria...¡± Right as she had begun to get over the worst of her despair, though, a different concern struck her, ¡°Wh-what about Anne? I-is she really safe?¡± Deep breaths Aria, deep breaths. ¡°^Safe with certainty... sadly no. Us scouts and the Elders will hold a vote on what will happen to her tomorrow evening.^¡± The danger loomed over her best friend rekindled Ember¡¯s pain. Her frail, exhausted body clung to Aria¡¯s as hard as it could as hot tears wetted more and more of her fur. ¡°B-but she h-hadn¡¯t done anything wrong! I-I just want her to be safe! I-I don¡¯t want her to leave, I don¡¯t want to leave, I-I¡ª¡± Aria redoubled her embrace and psychic affection. She breathed as deeply as she could, holding the vixen close until their breaths synchronized. ¡°^Everyone here and plenty of others in the village are doing all we can to make sure that Anne will get to stay. I don¡¯t have certainty, but we¡¯re trying as hard as possible and have rather good hopes.^¡± The honest answer helped Ember avoid falling into further hopelessness as her trust refocused on Aria. Amidst all the chaos, amidst her own mom having hurt her in such an unspeakable way, the Gardevoir felt like someone she could still trust and find reassurance in. Moment by moment, the worst of her despair finally began to subside out as her tears eased out, immense exhaustion creeping in to replace them both. Ember hurt. Her mom had hurt her, the village had hurt her, both of them had hurt Anne, too. But... she still loved the former. She trusted the former to still love her. It¡¯d take a while for her to really forgive her mom, but it no longer felt impossible, now that she knew why. And with Anne¡¯s situation, she believed Aria¡¯s reassurance; her hope of being able to live with Anne together forever blooming again after being nearly extinguished entirely. ¡°Th-thank you, Mrs. A-Aria¡ª*yaaaaawn*¡± ¡°^You¡¯re welcome, sweetie.^¡± ¡°^Would you mind sleeping next to me, darling? Just to make sure Bell and Cadence won¡¯t wake up,^¡± Autumn suggested. The Braixen didn¡¯t have to be asked twice, nodding right away at her words. She took a long, shaky while standing back up afterwards, the Indeedee holding her close as she guided her to a small bedding. Soon enough, the last of Ember¡¯s energy soon gave out; the fox left utterly drained by all the triumph and despair of the day. The rest of the burrow soon followed. The dinner was finished in silence, the fireplace extinguished, and everyone nestled in for the night. The uncertainty of Anne¡¯s situation, combined with the gloom of what Ember had been through, hung heavy over them all. They needed sleep more than ever, and that alone made it all the harder to obtain. The Gardevoir took by far the longest to finally give into rest, mind in constant overdrive. The list of tasks for tomorrow had gained another horrifying bullet point. One she feared the most about being able to accomplish. Cinder had admitted to her lies. Now, it was Aria¡¯s turn. Chapter 20: Misery ¡°Ayyy, morning Aria! How¡¯d the night treat ya?¡± Sprout chirped. Her voice filled the dimly lit clinic room as its only other occupant perked up at the sound. ¡°^It went... splendid,^¡± the Gardevoir answered, staring straight at the Decidueye. ¡°~Good morning Mrs. Aria!~¡± Anne smiled as she discarded the notebook full of scribbles, one functional arm waving as well as it could. ¡°^Anne.^¡± The single word sent an icy dread down the girl¡¯s body, sounding completely unlike what she¡¯d known of the Gardevoir. Before she could speak up and ask about what was wrong, she saw Aria slowly turn her head towards her. Her empty eye sockets were enveloped in a fierce crimson glow. Anne¡¯s breath was choked out of her lungs as a psychic force she couldn¡¯t comprehend, let alone fight, pinned her to the bed. She wanted to scream as her joints were being forcefully pushed way outside of their range; each crack and excruciating jolt from inside her body forcefully silenced. ¡°^I¡¯ve humored you for far too long. Fortunately, I don¡¯t have to do so anymore. Soon enough, you¡¯ll be out of here, and everything will go back to how it was before.^¡± The words hurt even more intensely than her mangled body, every single dagger of a word stabbing deep inside her mind. ¡°^Did you seriously think you were safe here? That you could ever be safe here? You¡¯re a filthy nuisance, Anne, and us granting you as much mercy as we have is a mistake on our part.^¡± Sprout watched idly from the corner, a forced smile splitting her head wide open. ¡°^Nobody here ever cared for you. Not me, not Marco, not any of my children. Cadence hates you and would love to do every single thing you were afraid of her doing, and Elric...^¡± Aria continued, bloody expression twisting into a mockery of a smile. ¡°^If he sees you again, he won¡¯t hesitate using that stinger of his, again and again.^¡± Bones snapped with a squelching sound, Anne only conscious through the sheer force of Aria¡¯s will as her mind was being violated and cleaved apart, every single source of happiness surgically removed. ¡°^Ember never loved you. She will forget about you, and she¡¯ll be so much happier for it.^¡± Crimson light flooded the room, filling it up to the Gardevoir¡¯s ankles. ¡°^But no need to worry, you loathsome thing. After all...^¡± Aria¡¯s face cleaved open into thirteen maws of razor-sharp teeth, what remained of her flesh hanging limply underneath them. ¡°^YOU¡¯LL DIE FOR THE GREATER GOOD, AND YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR THAT.^¡±
A tight embrace snapped Aria out of her screams, the hellish vision dissolving immediately. Her throat was raw, her body wracked with tremors. She had no idea what had just happened or how, her consciousness full of images of nigh-incomprehensible suffering she just watched herself inflict without being able to stop it. With each passing moment, though, another sensation took up more and more of the space left behind by her nightmare, one so much more familiar. So much more comforting. ¡°Aria, honey, what happened!?¡± Garret asked, more alarmed than she¡¯d ever heard him be. She knew how he sounded when he shook in uncertainty or anxiety, but this wasn¡¯t like either of those. This was terror, the kind still clinging to the wrinkles of her mind despite her attempts to shake them off. ¡°G-Garret, I¡ª¡± Taking in a breath after what felt like ages let Aria realize her entire body was being surrounded in her husband¡¯s fur, the sensation even more needed than usual. She was the village¡¯s protector, but he was her protector. And here, beside him, the Gardevoir finally felt capable of processing what the hell she had just seen. And she could only weep. It wasn¡¯t a reassuring sight, not in the slightest. Still, Garret had a decent enough idea of what to do in this worst-case situation. As gently as he could, he sat up while holding his wife close to him the entire time; the individual hairs shifted her around until she was on his lap, leaning into him. Trembling like she never did. ¡°I¡¯m here, honey, I¡¯m here. Take your time.¡± And her time Aria most definitely took. The vicious gore she¡¯d seen would¡¯ve already cost her hours, if not days, of sleep on its own¡ªbeing forced to watch her own body inflict all of it made the nightmare incomparably more harrowing. Despite being firmly awake now, she wanted to scream; she wanted to vomit, run, thrash, anything but to not have to be stuck with it any longer. An attempt to reach in and cauterize the site of the vision in her own mind was doomed to fail, if not worse. Calm Mind was an option, the right option for being capable of getting up and being productive, but... not yet. Not now. She knew all too well that it wasn¡¯t just a cheap fright, the kinds of which the kids¡¯ minds would often set upon them. This came from somewhere deeper, much deeper, and was ever more potent because of that. Every single gory detail was infeasible, of course, but the rough strokes? Her being forced to incapacitate Anne in order to steal her memory of this place and sentence her to a hellish, uncertain life back in the human world with nobody to care for her? Having to separate her and Ember again, to the latter¡¯s indescribable anguish? All that was real. Could be real. And Aria felt powerless to stop it. ¡°Honey?¡± Garret growled quietly, nudging Aria out of her quickly panicking train of thought and back into his arms; a shake of her head acknowledged his voice. ¡°Do you need more time or to talk to me about something?¡± The former wouldn¡¯t help, the latter... could. The Gardevoir was still immensely unsure, both about sharing what she¡¯d seen and talking about the underlying concerns. Of the two, though, airing all the roiling uncertainty would do her much more good. ¡°I-I think I do, yes. It¡¯s... it¡¯s about Anne.¡± ¡°O-oh? Did something happen to her¡ª¡± ¡°No, no... not yet, at least,¡± she explained, breathless. The Grimmsnarl didn¡¯t respond, the obvious hole where words should¡¯ve been conveying his confusion. Aria continued, ¡°Remember when I mentioned the council voting on her fate?¡± ¡°Yes, yes I do. Dreadful matter all in all, but I believe in you¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even about the outcome, it¡¯s... about me having lied to Anne.¡± Aria felt herself shift in Garret¡¯s embrace, her head tilted upwards to look him in the eyes. Or at least, the very little that was visible of them. He asked, ¡°Lied about what? I don¡¯t remember anything like that while we were chatting with her yesterday.¡± ¡°It¡¯s from earlier, about her being safe here. Safe and sound, with a certainty that she¡¯d be staying here for good.¡± The dilemma took a few moments to click together in Garret¡¯s head. In an instant, his expression faltered into one of dread, eyes going as wide as it was anatomically possible for them to. ¡°While in reality that¡¯s nowhere near decided?¡± Aria flinched, huddling up tighter as she held her husband tight, as if she¡¯d been scolded. ¡°Y-yes. Anne thinks she¡¯s safe for good and forever, and I have no idea what to say. She doesn¡¯t deserve to have to deal with the dreadful possibility of her getting forced out because of something she can¡¯t control; to feel like her and Ember¡¯s safety is down to a bunch of coots and out of touch, paranoid fools...¡± ¡°But that¡¯s just the truth, deep down?¡± The Gardevoir let her head drop as she nodded weakly, having to put in her utmost focus not to break down again. ¡°It is.¡± Garret could only hold his wife in silence for a few long moments; their minds busy churning through the dilemma in near complete darkness. ¡°Do you plan to tell her?¡± Aria flinched again, the crux of the issue showing itself in its full ugliness. ¡°I... don¡¯t know. I feel like I should; she deserves to know the truth. But at the same time, I don¡¯t want to terrify her, or for her to lose trust in me...¡± ¡°Why would she lose trust in you? It¡¯s a rather white lie in the end, and only so that she remains happy¡ª¡± ¡°That is the exact excuse Cinder had used for what she¡¯d done to Ember,¡± Aria explained, shuddering. Regardless of how incomparably different these two incidents felt like to the Grimmsnarl, he knew that trying to argue about that difference was way beside the point. ¡°I doubt that¡¯s the same situation as here, but... you do have a point, honey, yes. Well, I...¡± The more Garret thought, the more he realized he had no idea, either. Both options felt awful for their own reasons, the kind of awful that he¡¯d be content staying away from for as long as he lived. Unfortunately, someone had to make these decisions in the end, and his wife had that burden of responsibility on her, on top of everything else. He had no answer, but he was still proud of Aria for tackling it all, even when she didn¡¯t truly need to. ¡°Honey, I wish I had an answer for you.¡± Aria¡¯s acknowledgment was delivered through a couple of thoughtless nods. She wasn¡¯t expecting a revelation, because why would there be one? There wasn¡¯t a hidden third option that would make everyone happy; she and Garret had already gone through everything. Still, just the fact that he¡¯d tried to help mattered a lot to the Gardevoir. He had no answer, but she was still immensely grateful to him for being here and letting her air it all out. ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s okay, Garret. I¡¯ll figure it out¡ª¡± ¡°Why not ask for help?¡± he suggested. The interjection left Aria stumped; her expression slowly shifting into confusion was noticed by her husband. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°From who?¡± ¡°Other scouts, the Elders. Someone who¡¯s caught up on it all and could offer an informed opinion.¡± Aria wasn¡¯t exactly eager at the idea. At least, not with most of her fellow scouts. She knew full well that all the Elders would offer her was either a silent treatment or a scoffed dismissal mixed with chiding because of her having revealed the truth about this place to Anne. Most of the other scouts weren¡¯t too much better, but... some were. Finding someone who she could rely on to not be primarily driven by hatred of Anne would be a lot of help, as tricky as it sounded. Still beat wallowing in silence, she supposed. ¡°I¡­ can try that.¡± ¡°Going out and getting some fresh air sure beats meditating on it in pitch black silence and getting nowhere, eh?¡± Aria rolled her eyes and flicked her husband¡¯s nose; the counterattack delivered mercilessly just moments later. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Ow.¡± Never failed to get at least a chuckle out of her. She sighed, ¡°Yeah, that sounds right. Okay, I just need to grab my bearings and I think I¡¯ll be ready to head out. The morning is just an hour or so away, anyway.¡± Garret giggled, ¡°Awwwh, and here I wanted to ask whether you¡¯d like to snooze a bit longer together¡ª¡± *knock, knock* The couple¡¯s combined gaze swooped upon the door to their room; any confusion answered by one tired, confused voice speaking up in the darkness shortly after. ¡°^Mom, are you okay?^¡± Cadence mumbled, worried. Her parents sure didn¡¯t expect her to show up, but couldn¡¯t say that the Kirlia¡¯s presence didn¡¯t help in relieving the tension further. Aria responded, ¡°^Yes, yes sweetie, I¡¯m alright now. C¡¯mere¡ª^¡± Before the lil¡¯ fairy knew it, she was suspended in Aria¡¯s gentle telepathy as the door was pushed open before her. Within a single, drawn-out yawn, she¡¯d gone from knocking at her parents¡¯ door to sitting drowsy on her mom¡¯s lap, not even blinking as she immediately leaned on her afterwards. ¡°^Are you sure, mom? You were so scared there for a moment¡ª*yawn*^¡± Aria couldn¡¯t hold her yawn in response, not this time. ¡°^*Yawn* Yes, yes I was, but... it was just a nightmare, like the ones you have sometimes.^¡± The creeping exhaustion didn¡¯t make it any easier for Cadence to follow along with every word. Once her mom had wrapped up her sentence, though, the Kirlia knew exactly what to do at hearing the news. With no hesitation, she repeated the magical move taught to her by the very Gardevoir sitting beside her¡ªand hugged her as tight as she could while almost asleep. ¡°^Oh... I hope you feel better soon, mom.^¡± Cadence¡¯s embrace might¡¯ve been modest, but that absolutely didn¡¯t extend to the ones her parents had showered upon her afterwards. ¡°^I think I¡¯m already a bit better with you here,^¡± Aria beamed. It took the entire reserve of the Kirlia¡¯s awareness to parse through what her mom had meant; the response manifesting as a small smile that plunged the lil¡¯ fairy firmly back into unconsciousness. A handful of quiet chuckles were exchanged, a bit more affection. In no time, Aria carefully laid Cadence down beside her brother and friend before turning around towards the burrow¡¯s exit, not forgetting to put on her Safeguard this time. Ready or not, she had a duty to do.
Unfortunately, despite the Gardevoir¡¯s determination, her body didn¡¯t exactly... agree in full. It certainly wanted to, as it always did, but this recent stretch was really beginning to show Aria her own bodily limits, exhaustion among them. The Gardevoir wouldn¡¯t have thought that just three days of waking up early in a row would be enough to send her into such a tiresome hole, but here she was¡ªreally wishing she was asleep. While also being perfectly aware of how packed and extensive the schedule was for her today. She wouldn¡¯t be getting any rest until well after Anne¡¯s sentencing at the hands of their council. Assuming it ended in a good way, it would probably be the best night of sleep in her entire life. In the other case¡ª No, no, there was no point in thinking about that. With a forceful shake of her head, Aria was back in the world around her, pushing straight ahead through the near darkness of such an early morning. Dark and Ghost-types aplenty ventured the street, their voices and footsteps quiet enough to not break above the background din. As much as the Gardevoir wanted to hit up Holly¡¯s stall, she was early enough for Holly to not have even fully opened her pantry, somehow. A remarkable feat, with the Azumarill¡¯s usual daily cycle having what felt like two hours of sleep¡ªand that was the high end estimate. Guess she was just this excited to cook stuff for people, which as much of an excuse as it would feel like for most... really fit Holly in particular. The same part of her personality that made the fairy cook a joy when it came to preparing food for others, though, also made her a rather terrible match for how rattled Aria¡¯s mind was in the moment. She needed someone less¡­ overbearing. Plus, as much as Holly¡¯s cooking appealed to Aria¡¯s sweet tooth, Vivian offered more than just sweets. What exactly the dragon¡¯s energy-infusing magic was, Aria didn¡¯t know, but she sure liked how its effects sounded. Especially on this dark, foggy morning. The silly tangent helped the Gardevoir in making her way across the less than pleasant early morning. Both in giving her something to distract herself with, and in being funny enough for her occasional chuckles to only bolster her meager wakefulness further. In not too long, she was already at her destination. Or rather, what would become her destination in just a few drawn out moments. ¡°...Aria?¡± Vivian asked, their soft voice shaking the Gardevoir from her semi-conscious stupor. The sudden snap to awareness had Aria standing in the middle of the street, blankly staring at the Goodra as they went through their usual routine of preparing their little corner for another busy, winter day. ¡°Is everything alright? Awfully early for you.¡± Focus, focus. ¡°^Yes, yes, that¡¯s... half the reason I¡¯m here, actually. I woke up and won¡¯t be falling asleep again. The rest tonight wasn¡¯t all that great, and I was thinking if you had something that could help with exhaustion on hand.^¡± Hardly the answer Vivian expected, but one they had just the thing for all the same. ¡°Aaahh~. Well... I should have a thing or two, if you don¡¯t mind more than a bit of Salac.¡± Cadence and half the other kids¡¯ favorite, heh. All the sweetness, all the energy, all the speed one could ever want, all in a single bite of its juicy, cloying flesh. And¡­ Aria might have liked it, too. ¡°^I¡¯ll be alright, don¡¯t worry Vivian. Thanks a lot, it¡¯s¡ª^¡± ¡°No need to go into it, Aria~. I take its some important scout stuff, and frankly that¡¯s all I need to hear. Just lemme know how I can help, and I¡¯ll try my best~.¡± the Goodra reassured, taking the Gardevoir aback as they finished opening their bar again. A small patch of modest fire underneath the teapot didn¡¯t do an amazing job at lighting up an entire room, but it far beat nothing¡ªtriply so with all the sweet scents that began filling the air afterwards. ¡°^Still... much appreciated,^¡± she answered. ¡°^Past couple days have been rough.^¡± ¡°I can only imagine~. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you up this early, especially not this many days in a row. The mess with the human not letting anyone rest?¡± A part of Aria wanted to just scoff at the question; scoff and mumble angrily under her mouth. She could only guess how well those who were trying their hardest to oppose Anne¡¯s stay were sleeping, and something told her that their rest was in nowhere near as much jeopardy as hers. It¡¯d help her vent, she was sure of that, but it would be a... doubtful way of gathering sympathy, be it for herself or Anne. ¡°^I know I can barely sleep, that¡¯s for sure.^¡± Her answer was acknowledged with a bouncy nod as the large, rugged tea pot filled the air with its ever familiar whistle. Within moments, Vivian was already pouring the hot water to several nearby cups, be they a part of Aria¡¯s request, for the dragon themself, or some generically sweet tea for anyone that stepped in and needed a pick-me-up. ¡°Alriiiight! Salac juice, dried Custap, a bit of sugar, a bit of spice, mix aaaand there we go.¡± The contents of the mug placed down before Aria were... syrupy. Something to do with Salac juice and how it acted as a thickener, something more with how sweet the overall concoction was. The details were both beyond the Gardevoir¡¯s knowledge, and beyond her care. All she needed was one good gulp to feel energy indiscriminately fill her body. Her nervously tapping feet grew more energetic, and fidgeting hands turned into little more than a blur. Her busy thoughts were pushed into an overdrive, one Aria had no idea whether it was even more helpful than her previous exhaustion. She sure wasn¡¯t gonna be falling asleep like this. Not in a million years. ¡°How is it~?¡± the dragon asked. Aria¡¯s attention jumped towards Vivian in response to their question. And then to the stove beside them, the kettle on top of it, each individual mug next to them, one at a time, and then onto the other tiny items she could barely make out. ¡°^That¡ªthat¡¯s one hell of a kick. Makes me feel jumpy.^¡± ¡°If I dare hazard a guess, you were already jumpy before and just too tired for that to show much~.¡± The Gardevoir tried rolling her eyes at the remark, but her gaze leaped to something else halfway through; unable to keep itself composed through the entirety of such an involved gesture. ¡°^I guess.^¡± Vivian giggled, ¡°Want me to take a stab at something to help soothe your nerves?¡± ¡°^Doubt whether that¡¯ll help much¡ª^¡± ¡°Aria?¡± a keening voice asked, the most surprised the Gardevoir had ever heard it. A glance over at the entrance to Viv¡¯s bar revealed the accompanying Weavile¡¯s expression be a perfect match for her voice; wide eyes blinking in utter confusion. ¡°^I¡ª^Uh, good morning, Ruby,¡± Aria answered, switching to her physical voice halfway through. ¡°Isn¡¯t it unholy early for you?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It... is.¡± The Weavile¡¯s eyes narrowed at the response. A part of her was keen to pry at the very confusing situation in front of her more, but she kept it contained for now. Instead, she just took her usual seat as the dragon served her usual request; the room-temperature tea struck the perfect temperature for warm drinks as far as the Ice-type was concerned. For a few moments, the two drank their respective teas in silence as several other late-night regulars started pouring in from around the village. Early-rising diurnals or by-now-tired nocturnals, everyone wanted in on some of that goodness. Ruby might¡¯ve been a fixture this early in the day, but Aria certainly wasn¡¯t. Most patrons just raised their eyebrows for a moment or two before moving on, thankfully. Plenty of reasons for the Gardevoir to have been there, and it sure wasn¡¯t their business to pry at which of them was the case in particular. That was the approach of most of those who came by¡ªbut not all. ¡°Aria, darlin¡¯!?¡± Rose asked, startled. Her eyes were as wide as they got in their sunken-ness, her fur was slightly frizzled. She didn¡¯t waste a moment leaning on a seat beside Aria¡¯s and trying to establish eye contact with her, every passing second bringing more and more concern to her features. ¡°Good morning, Rose,¡± the Gardevoir greeted. ¡°Mornin¡¯?¡± the Skuntank followed, rising her voice. ¡°Hon, this ain¡¯t anywhere close to morning! What¡¯s wrong?¡± Everything. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty hollow lie...¡± Ruby muttered. Aria blinked as her gaze shifted onto the Weavile, currently in the middle of another deep swig as her sharpened claws tapped the countertop. ¡°What makes you say that, Ruby?¡± It was Ruby¡¯s turn to roll her eyes as she set her cup down, her eventual admission delivered in a hesitant, almost annoyed tone. ¡°I can hear your heartbeat, you know. It¡¯s been hammering like mad, even beside your drink¡¯s effects. Don¡¯t have to talk about it if you don¡¯t want to, but... don¡¯t lie to us, Aria.¡± As white and inconsequential as the lie was, Aria reeled as if struck at being called out like that. It was enough to make the two dark types grow further concerned at just what was going on with her. Suppose ultimately, there was no right way forward but to spill her dilemma to them and ask for their thoughts at the same time. Exactly what Garret had suggested earlier, but... it still felt rough to think about, let alone do. No way through but forwards, though. ¡°It¡¯s... about Anne,¡± Aria admitted. As she prepared to lay out what had been eating her up to the other two scouts, she looked over her shoulder, spotting an empty spot in the back of the bar. Not that separating themselves from the others would make much difference with the hearing of almost everyone here being notably better than hers, but... she still wanted that bit of privacy, even if it was an obvious placebo. A tilt of her head was all that was needed to convey her intent. The trio soon half sat, half huddled together on the cold bench in the corner, either mulling over or bracing themselves for Aria¡¯s words. The resulting telepathy was tricky to establish despite the two Dark-types knowing to lower their guards around their coworker; nerves making the already tricky psychic maneuver even harder. ¡°^I... lied to her. Yesterday morning, before we had our first hearing, I told her that her staying here was a done deal, and that she¡¯s safe here. I did it to make her happy, to let have at least one day of peaceful happiness here after everything she¡¯s been through. B-but now, I¡¯m... doubting. I don¡¯t know whether I should tell her the truth.^¡± Aria was grateful beyond words for neither of the two interjecting immediately and giving her the time to air her struggle in full, silly as it might have come off to one of them. ¡°Not sure I see the point in that,¡± Ruby shrugged. ¡°Comes off as just exposing her to more needless fear.¡± ¡°^How so?^¡± Aria asked. She might not have been fully following Ruby¡¯s train of thought, but was very glad that she had someone to bounce the discussion about all this off. ¡°Think of it like this. If the vote goes against her and she has to leave, then there¡¯s no point in letting her know since she¡¯d have to forget it all, anyway. All it¡¯d do is make her panic and be terrified for no reason. If she stays, then it will all blow over with time without her knowing. You¡¯ll just tell her one day once she¡¯s more equipped to deal with it.¡± The Gardevoir liked exactly none of what she¡¯d heard. Even so, that was half of the point. Each idea she took as unsavory was one she¡¯d have to find some reasoning against, eventually. The friendly atmosphere helped a lot, as did further affection from Rose once she¡¯d been quiet for quite a while, mulling through it all. As Aria thought about it, though, there was one ¡®objective¡¯ fact that further went against Ruby¡¯s idea. And as anxiety inducing as it was in the abstract, Aria sure appreciated it here as a rhetorical argument. ¡°^I doubt that¡¯ll work even on a practical level. Celia asked for Anne to be physically present at the vote after all. Even if she won¡¯t know what¡¯s going on exactly, she¡¯ll still be terrified and unsure about why she¡¯s there in the first place.^¡± That... was quite a hitch for her idea, the Weavile had to admit that. Still, just a hitch, and if there was anyone well equipped to handle that exact hitch, it was the Gardevoir beside her. ¡°Point taken. Even then, I don¡¯t doubt that a psychic as skilled as yourself could come up with some way of fooling her about where she is and what¡¯s going on, if needed.¡± Ruby¡¯s remark had Aria think back to the previous time she¡¯d complimented her skill, all the way at the very beginning of Anne¡¯s stay here. It was made all the more disgusting in hindsight, just as the idea of deceiving Anne was sickening in the present. Justified or not, a web of lies was a web of lies¡ªone that would unravel sooner or later. ¡°Yeah, naaaah, I really doubt that¡¯s the right way on, Ruby. Aria, hun, how much does Annie already trust ya?¡± Rose asked, raising her eyebrow at her fellow Dark-type. Aria tried her best at making the resulting exhale be as inconspicuous as possible. Ruby still heard it perfectly fine, rolling her eyes out of sight as the Gardevoir responded. ¡°^She... I think she completely trusts me by now.^¡± The realization felt equal parts soothing and hurtful. To earn that amount of trust from someone so vulnerable, and to toss it aside afterwards in a spur-of-the-moment lie; an ever-growing debt to the truth that had accumulated immense interest over just one day. ¡°Ain¡¯t that sweet to hear,¡± Rose smiled. ¡°Why haven¡¯t ya told her already?¡± An innocent question, another flinch going through Aria¡¯s body. Why oh why, that¡¯s the question indeed. ¡°^I... I wanted her to be happy. Happy and safe. It felt like if I had told her, she¡¯d be terrified in her every waking moment with the possibility of her being tossed out looming over the horizon. She doesn¡¯t deserve that kind of hell, nobody does.^¡± Just like Ember didn¡¯t deserve the hell of knowing that her best friend was still suffering so close to her home, eh? Her friends¡¯ questions stung, but her self-conscious comparing her to Cinder felt like a lightning fast gut punch, making the Gardevoir physically double over. ¡°Aria, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ruby asked matter-of-factly. She scanned for threats immediately after, but alas, nothing even her senses could spot. Nothing outside the confines of the Gardevoir¡¯s skull. ¡°^Nothing, nothing, it¡¯s just... it¡¯s so hard. That¡¯s the exact same reasoning that Cinder used for doing what she did, I¡ª^¡± *pat pat* The sensation of the soft fur and blunted claws patting her shoulder snapped Aria out of any further loathing. Rose immediately followed up her display of affection with a nuzzle to the psychic¡¯s exposed side before speaking up; her voice understanding if low, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be lyin¡¯ if I said there ain¡¯t no similarities. But, but, but¡ªyour mistake is one day old, and not with a birthday under its belt. Hell, I¡¯d say it¡¯s more understandable in the end, even if just as wrong.¡± ¡°But what does coming clean with all this do except scare Anne further?¡± Ruby asked. The keenness her voice made it difficult to spot, but there was some genuine curiosity in there, too. ¡°Th¡¯ way I see it, two things. One, tells her yer honest, and two, lets her know ya can admit to mistakes. Everyone makes them, even ones we love and trust, but how ya handle them is the sticker,¡± the Skuntank explained. ¡°I¡¯m unsure how much honesty is good for if it only results in misery.¡± ¡°Plenty!¡± Rose hollered, ¡°¡®Cause things suck from time to time, no matter what ya do. Ya either let the ones you¡¯re protectin¡¯ know about that, letting them brace themselves for it, or ya don¡¯t, and end up prayin¡¯ the entire time they won¡¯t figure it out by themselves.¡± ¡°I doubt the latter is an option with the girl not knowing our language,¡± Ruby argued¡ªat least before Rose¡¯s undignified laughter cut her off. Chittered noises echoed through the small bar and spilled out onto the surrounding streets to the backdrop of the brightening sky, inadvertently waking at least a couple of people up. The Weavile was less offended at the response than she was dumbstruck, having genuinely no idea what about what she¡¯d said was so funny. Thankfully, she wouldn¡¯t have to wait too long for the Skuntank to explain, ¡°Ruby, Ruby hun, can I tell with utter certainty you don¡¯t have any kids, ha!¡± Jovial as the reply was, it unintentionally stung a bit, the other Dark-type¡¯s gaze sliding away. ¡°I know. Me and wife are open to take someone in if need arises, but... haven¡¯t had that happen yet. Not that it¡¯d be a good thing if it happened, don¡¯t want fate to come up with an orphan just so that I can feel like a mother.¡± Blunt as Rose was, even she noticed that one. Aria was blocking physical access to the Weavile, but it didn¡¯t take long for a quick coordinated intervention to correct that. In a single swift motion, Aria slid in her seat while pulling Ruby along with her, while Rose climbed up onto the spot the Weavile occupied moments earlier, pushing through the extra frosty seat to give her some complimentary nuzzles. ¡°Sorry, hun.¡± Ruby was of half a mind to dismiss all this out of hand, but... didn¡¯t. Being comforted felt nice even for a former apex predator, who could¡¯ve known. ¡°It¡¯s... thanks, you two. Don¡¯t worry Rose, I¡¯m not holding it against you or anything, it just... stung.¡± ¡°I get that, Ruby, doncha worry. Hope something works out for ya two. But, back to my point¡ªkids are bloody smart. All kids, even the tiny tykes, even the ones that can¡¯t talk or walk yet. They can piece stuff together way more than we give them credit for. Hell, I figured out quite a few things about the human world despite only ever being a nuisance for them and not knowing a lick about their language. Even if nobody tells Anne overtly, she¡¯ll figure it out one day.¡± Rose paused to catch her breath before turning to Aria directly, voice growing serious, ¡°T¡¯way I see it, Anne either learns it on your terms, or on hers.¡± It was hard to disagree with that framing, unnerving the Gardevoir even further. She had increasingly less doubt left in her that confessing right away was the best way to go, but... ¡°^What if it¡¯s already too late? What if me having made that lie in the first place is enough for her to never trust me again?^¡± There weren¡¯t any truly correct answers to that question, and that fact alone almost sent Aria spiraling there and then. ¡°Even if so, what would withholding the truth any longer do?¡± the Weavile asked. Her being the one to raise that point as opposed to the Skuntank raised the eyebrows of the other two. Ruby acknowledged the extra attention with an eye roll before elaborating, gesturing with a clawed paw as she spoke, ¡°Can¡¯t say I fully agree, but I see the reasoning. With it all granted, there¡¯s hardly a reason for you to delay any longer than needed, if it¡¯s going to result in the eventual revelation hurting her trust in you even more.¡± There weren¡¯t any holes Aria could see in Ruby¡¯s argument, which her mind appreciated. Her soul, though, didn¡¯t, not one bit. Even the best course of action of immediately confessing to Anne as soon as she was awake still bore the risk of her trust being betrayed forever, and not without a reason. No matter how remote the possibility was, the Gardevoir couldn¡¯t look away, not with how overwhelmingly terrible that outcome felt like. In the end, it was unavoidable. Merely yet another consequence of her actions, for better or worse. She could either face it there and then, like an adult, or she could be Cinder. Again. The comparison hurt once more, but this time, Aria had braced herself for it and pushed through, the invisible battle inside only barely noticed by her friends. ¡°^Right. I was just... worried that it¡¯s too late. That no matter what I do, her trust is lost forever.^¡± ¡°Naaaaah.¡± Rose denied, flicking her paw. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing so much for her, hun, and she definitely sees it. I¡¯ve no doubt in my mind she¡¯ll forgive ya sooner rather than later. I can¡¯t promise promise ya that, but what I can promise is that honesty will work out the best for ya.¡± It was all the confidence Aria was ever going to get. Not much in objective terms, but that¡¯s just what she had to work with, whether she liked it or not. ¡°^R-right. I can¡¯t thank you two enough for hearing me out about this. It¡¯s been a great help.^¡± ¡°Anytime, hun!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Aria.¡± Right as Aria was about to get up and out of the bar, though, one nagging uncertainty at the back of her mind caught her attention, shifting it back towards the Weavile. ¡°^Ruby?^¡± The Dark-type wordlessly snapped her gaze over at the fairy, raising her eyebrow as the Gardevoir continued, ¡°^What do you think about Anne on the whole? For the upcoming vote?^¡± Aria expected many answers to that question, myriads of comforting and distressing ones alike¡ªwhat she didn¡¯t expect was a shrug. On its own, the sight was firmly towards the negative side of the emotional spectrum, but the elaboration that followed helped right away. ¡°She¡¯s a kid, right?¡± A dumbfounded nod from the Gardevoir. ¡°We take stray kids in. Prey, predator, insect, quadruped. Mon, human. Kid¡¯s a kid, why wouldn¡¯t we take her in. Hate that this is even something we have to argue about.¡± This time, Aria didn¡¯t even try to hide her expression of relief as a shaky smile crept onto her face. It was exactly what she wanted to hear, thanking the two Dark-types one more time before heading out into the slowly dying night. That made six certain for, and six certain against. The only remaining wildcard was Ori, and between Geiger¡¯s and Marco¡¯s intervention, Aria had reasons to hope that things would turn out alright. Maybe, just maybe, she would make right on her promise to Anne, after all.
As helpful as Vivian¡¯s drink was with getting her back on her feet, Aria¡¯s stomach wasted no time complaining about the lack of any actual nutrients beyond the equivalent of seventeen teaspoons of sugar. Holly¡¯s was already long since open, and grabbing something larger to start an arduous day off with was a no brainer. For once, she even overcame her sweet tooth and went with an actually healthy meal. She was far from the only one eating in the vicinity, though. ¡°Aria? A word if you could.¡± Using the utmost willpower, Aria resisted cringing at hearing the Torkoal¡¯s low, slow voice break the surrounding quiet. She wouldn¡¯t enjoy this, but she would at least manage to push through. ¡°^Yes, Elder Ana?^¡± As if the situation couldn¡¯t get any worse, Winnie was there too, soon emerging from behind the nearest corner to join the fiery tortoise. A tiny part of Aria worried that the old coots had just cracked either her plan or how she¡¯d handled the human librarian. Thankfully, that concern too was for naught, with something much more benign following instead. ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the human?¡± Ana asked, not even attempting to maintain any facade of secrecy anymore, not with all the rumors about the girl in their midst having circumvented their village ten times over before she even got out of her den. ¡°^Anne is doing well. Autumn and my kids spent a lot of time with her yesterday, and they enjoyed each other¡¯s presence. Ember had woken up since, and the two are almost inseparable when together.^¡± The Torkoal chewed on all the information, her expression maintaining its usual focus. That is, until one addition in particular led her to narrow her gaze even further than usual, the question that followed accusatory. ¡°Why bring your children along?¡± Despite all the effort Aria could muster, namely none, she couldn¡¯t keep a smug smirk off her face. ¡°^If Anne is to stay at our village for good, in my den, then it¡¯s best she gets to know her denmates as soon as possible, no?^¡± ¡°¡®Stay at our village¡¯, preposterous,¡± Winnie whined, disgusted. Aria breathed deeply, trying to main composure. To her surprise, though, it wasn¡¯t just her who had a reaction to the Breloom¡¯s words; Ana sighed in disappointment as she muttered a response, ¡°If that¡¯s what today¡¯s vote settles on, then that¡¯s what will happen.¡± The Breloom rolled his eyes, ¡°I suppose then I¡¯ll finally have my proof that everyone¡¯s gone mad!¡± ¡°That is a grievous oversimplification and you should know it, Winnie.¡± ¡°Oversimplification!? Hmph. Orion wouldn¡¯t have allowed any of this madness¡ª¡± Right as the Gardevoir was bracing herself for another of Winnie¡¯s bigoted rants, a very unfamiliar sound reached her ears. Rhythmic and scraping, crackling of flame mixing with stone grinding on stone. Inanimate and lively alike, as if someone forced a fossil to laugh. Describing Ana as a ¡®fossil¡¯ wasn¡¯t particularly nice, but it was hardly inaccurate, either. Both Aria and Winnie had to take a moment to process seeing the Torkoal openly laughing. Especially when they realized she was doing so right in the Breloom¡¯s face. ¡°Orion was the exact person who would¡¯ve been going through with all this madness.¡± She muttered, voice doing the closest thing to mockery it was capable of. ¡°With every day, I¡¯m believing more and more that excess spores are eroding at your brain, Winnie.¡± As the Gardevoir was putting her utmost effort into not letting her amusement show, the Breloom continued with his offended schtick. ¡°Even he was so much more grounded than this¡ª¡± ¡°No he wasn¡¯t, you fool. We almost had to keep him tied to a tree at all times, else his head would drag the rest of him into the clouds. Did you already forget why he liked you in the first place?¡± Ana asked. Winnie was too taken aback by a fellow Elder acting out against him to respond, making the Torkoal follow soon after, ¡°You were his anchor. Night to his day. The polar opposite that kept him grounded and made sure there always was a dissenting perspective on hand.¡± Winnie grumbled, ¡°You have to be misremembering, Ana, for there is no way someone so fooling as what you¡¯re describing would ever create a place like this¡ª¡± ¡°And that¡¯s exactly what happened. He dreamed this place into existence. All we ever did was occasionally help him out and maintain it after...¡± Ana started, voice petering out into a long, painful pause. Even Winnie took the cue to shut up as everyone reminisced about what they remembered of the Zoroark. Much to her regret, Aria never got to interact much with him. She¡¯d arrived with Marco just months before he¡¯d passed away. Even back then, so close to his end, she remembered him being so... busy, engrossed in the village¡¯s everyday life, far from just an abstract founder and leader. Someone who had never met a person he didn¡¯t want to help if there was any way he could. The most vivid memory she had of him was only a few days after they wound up in this place. Back when she was only steadily growing used to interacting with Dark-types; actively pushed through all the lies about them that her family had instilled in her. She would end up getting lost in search of... somewhere, her memory didn¡¯t quite catch where it was that she couldn¡¯t find her way around to. Eventually, she ran into him, clearly lost. There wasn¡¯t even a shred of hesitation in Orion¡¯s gestures as he started doing charades with her; the wordless play made much more effective with illusions of the places she could be heading towards. It all must¡¯ve dragged on for way over half an hour, an unreasonable amount of time to waste on someone when one could just point them towards a nearby non-Dark type. And yet, he went through it all, neither his smile nor determination faltering at any point. His presence made the village so much brighter. ¡°If Orion was still around, we would¡¯ve all needed to drag him away from housing the human in his den there and then, concerns about security be damned,¡± the Torkoal grumbled, snapping the gathering back to awareness. All the Breloom could do was roll his eyes at the obviously accurate observation, but the Gardevoir... saw an opportunity to press further. ¡°^Well, how does Anne¡¯s presence raise any security concerns?^¡± Winnie¡¯s scoff was expected to an extent, but not the mocking laughter that followed. Despite Aria¡¯s best efforts, she felt her composure be strained at the sound. She didn¡¯t expect to ever think that out loud, but goodness was she glad that Ana spoke up with her usual scaremongering stuff shortly after, silencing her fellow Elder. ¡°In the obvious way. A missing human means that someone will look for her, bringing further attention upon us.¡± ¡°^If that was still the case, we would expect further human presence than just the two half-hearted incidents from a couple of days ago. I¡¯ve talked to one of the few humans Anne trusted about this. Almost nobody cared about her back in their town, and that won¡¯t change just because she¡¯s gone. If anything, that¡¯s a further reason for us to care about her, to undo all the neglect on the hands of humanity over the years.^¡± Neither of the two women were expecting the Breloom to say anything insightful. And, predictably, he didn¡¯t. ¡°Mere pity doesn¡¯t make this entire madness any less unspeakable.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s the minimum of attention, it still contributes towards us being more likely to be discovered,¡± Ana followed, her point much harder to dismiss than Winnie¡¯s rambles. It wasn¡¯t a good point, but at least she was making an actual argument. One, Aria soon realized, that didn¡¯t apply to just humans. ¡°^You could raise that exact concern about any of us, Elder Ana.^¡± The Torkoal¡¯s gaze leaped up all the way to the fairy¡¯s face; pursed eyelids parted for the first time in what had to be months. The immediate impact filled the Gardevoir with confidence, prompting her to double down on her point, ¡°^Whether we like it or not, we¡¯re very close to their settlements. Each new head here increases the risk that someone will be spotted by a human and thought of as suspicious, without our knowledge. Each new building we raise makes us more visible despite our attempts to hide. More likely to be found by someone or something, potentially a human contraption that we can¡¯t just intimidate or brainwash away. That¡¯s always a risk.^¡± As confident as Aria was in her point, she soon realized it was potentially too effective. As she finished her lecture, she sensed the Torkoal go from entirely composed to outright panicking; the outside appearance showing very little of it beyond nervous shaking and shallow breaths. Despite any animosity she might¡¯ve had towards the Elder, the Gardevoir was on the brink of calling for help, unsure what was going on and not wanting to dig into her thoughts. ¡°I strongly doubt mere humans have anything she can¡¯t easily hide from. They would¡¯ve already found us if that was the case!¡± Winnie boasted, words falling on deaf ears as Aria looked down at Ana in concern. Soon after, her gaze was returned, the sight of the Gardevoir finally forcing the Torkoal to regain some of her composure and try to at least vocalize what was wrong, ¡°Y-you don¡¯t know that, Winnie. Aria¡ªAria is right. The risk keeps growing and¡ªand we aren¡¯t doing enough about it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen for Aria¡¯s hysterical exaggeration, Ana¡ªOW!¡± Despite Aria managing to stop herself from doing something she would¡¯ve regretted, for once it was Ana who didn¡¯t have that restraint. The Breloom hopped in place as his extendable arms held his burned leg, bearing a fresh burn in the shape of Ana¡¯s paw print. Immensely gratifying as the sight was, the Gardevoir couldn¡¯t care much about it at the moment, her attention shifting to the Torkoal¡¯s admission instead. ¡°^Why not, then? Did you not consider that risk before¡ª^¡± ¡°Of course I have, we have. Orion has. I remember his plans. Underground shelters, even an idea to make as much of our village underground as possible, nigh invisible from the air. Plans about digging escape tunnels all the way over to the human ruin you¡¯re scouting towards, just in case. He had his ideas of managing risk, even brought up the possibility of relocating us all to a less risky area now that we know that this location isn¡¯t sustainable, but...¡± Ana trembled as her head sank towards the snowy floor; a drawn-out sigh forcing the most pitiful of smoke clouds out of her hump. ¡°Time spares none.¡± Through the supernatural power of having any restraint whatsoever and the scorch marks on his foot, Winnie stopped himself from adding another unwanted comment. ¡°Maybe... maybe if he had told us about the sickness eating his body earlier, we would¡¯ve been able to settle on a long-term plan before he left us,¡± Ana wondered. ¡°^But he didn¡¯t. And we have to live with that, unable to even come close to his insights.¡± ¡°That¡¯s far from true, Ana! You¡¯ve been the best leader any of us could ever hope for¡ª¡± ¡°Spare me the flattery, you moldy fusspot. I know my weaknesses well, and especially now, they feel crippling. Orion... had ideas. Dreams. Desires. The way our village was there and then was always only a work in progress for him, just a slice of the unending vision that gave birth to this place. I... don¡¯t have them. Don¡¯t know how to have them. I don¡¯t know what he saw. Even if I did, I doubt I¡¯d be able to push on where needed. He dared to risk in everything he did, made wild changes that left us all for the better, and I¡ª¡± the Torkoal paused, her body language shrinking. ¡°I can¡¯t put myself in that mindset. All I can do is maintain things as they are, managing risk in the most passive way. I¡¯m not suited to be the leader, never was.¡± ¡°Of course you are!¡± the Breloom argued. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Despite everything, you maintain objectivity! You don¡¯t just let anyone overly emotional rock the boat with us all in it, your neutrality is admirable¡ª¡± ¡°MY NEUTRALITY IS WORTHLESS,¡± the Torkoal snapped back; the loudest she had ever been. It¡¯s as if her voice had turned from one burning rock shuffling along the ground, to two burning rocks shuffling along the ground. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a virtue, just a way of avoiding any commitment. Something to help keep me from going insane from the weight being placed on my back. Dispassionateness breeds stagnation, and I¡¯m the proof of that.¡± As much as the Gardevoir appreciated the frankness, it helped little on its own. Much like she and Cinder alike were repeatedly learning, admitting to one¡¯s mistakes is just the very first step. By far the easiest and most meaningless. Still, so much more than she ever expected in this specific case, though. ¡°^It sounds like you¡¯ve acknowledged that we can¡¯t continue to exist exactly like this forever.^¡± Another deep inhale, another puff of off-white smoke filling the earliest of dawn. ¡°Rationally, yes. Emotionally... I¡¯m not the right person to oversee change, never was. Neither are Winnie nor Celia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°If things were up to you, time would flow backwards. And Celia... ideas are only any good if communicated with others. Not something I, or anyone else, can force her to do.¡± ¡°^Then it sounds like you need a new perspective,^¡± Aria suggested, trying her hardest to keep any smugness from leaking into her voice. Ana remained quiet at the allusion of their current leadership not being cut for the job. She very much agreed with the underlying claim, but... pride was still pride. It was difficult to elevate external critique to the same level as internal self-loathing. She at least tried, though. ¡°Are you threatening us with a coup!?¡± Winnie cried, earning himself adrawn out, unamused look from everyone gathered before the two women focused on each other again. Aria continued, ¡°^Someone with a vision. Someone who deeply knows humans, and can advise much better on how to avoid them going forward.^¡± It wasn¡¯t exactly difficult to piece the leads together, Ana¡¯s mind shifting gears from sadness to pensiveness. ¡°Geiger.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mock this position, Ana! What next, choosing that humanling as an Elder!?¡± ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, she would be a marked improvement over you, especially right now.¡± Despite being plenty used to being the butt of most comparisons, this one actually got to Winnie. Petty insults were one thing; to be negatively compared to a human was another, a much more acutely hitting slight. For a few moments, the Breloom could only shake in anger before storming off with a loud ¡°HMPH!¡±. Neither of the two dwelt on his departure for more than a moment before Aria continued once more, ¡°^If there¡¯s anything I¡¯ve learned about humanity over the past few days, it¡¯s that we have no chance if we don¡¯t know everything we can about them. What their technology can do, how they behave, how they live and so on. Geiger obviously knows a lot about that. And...^¡± Aria paused considering her words. If there was even a chance it would work out, though, she was eager to go all in. ¡°^...Anne¡¯s perspective could help a lot. About the sorts of everyday human things even Geiger would know little about.^¡± For once, the Torkoal remained completely silent; mind sunken into deep thought. A stray beam of sunshine broke Aria¡¯s focus as she waited for a response; a glance upward revealed most of the sky to have shifted from reds and pinks to ever brightening blues. The sun was here, and Anne would likely be awake before long, assuming she already wasn¡¯t. ¡°^I should be going now.^¡± The Torkoal nodded deeply without speaking up right away. It was only after the Gardevoir got moving towards the clinic and walked around the tortoise, did the weak, croaked words leave Ana¡¯s mouth, as somber as they were genuine¡ª ¡°Thank you. May the winds hasten you, Aria.¡± Interlude V: Hope ¡°Orion, where you go now.¡± The buzz of the surrounding drizzle muffled Ana¡¯s tired, heavy words. This weather was much too ugly for her to be left on her own again. Doubly so with her rest last night having been... strenuous. She rationally knew that one day she¡¯d stop getting woken up by single raindrops impacting her shell, but that day sure hadn¡¯t come yet. Ugly as the mountains from which she hailed from might¡¯ve been, at least they weren¡¯t as permanently soggy as this place has been lately. The Torkoal wasn¡¯t about to chase the Zoroark into the thick of the rain. Instead, she sighed out a plume of smoke as she inched herself further away from the nasty wetness, waiting for either him or Winnie to return. Speaking of. ¡°He go somewhere again!?¡± the Breloom whined, carrying the spoils in his arms. ¡°Yes.¡± At least the food had arrived. Ana looked up just in time to see the small berry be placed in front of her, immediately reaching to bite into it as Winnie sat beside her. ¡°Orion like, see pretty leaf, and chase chase chase, hmph,¡± he grumbled. ¡°At least he happy,¡± she sighed. As eccentric as Orion was, he had a charm to him, one the Breloom lacked so acutely that she wondered what did the Zoroark even see in him. On the other paw, she knew perfectly that her current crankiness wasn¡¯t helping either. Once life saw fit to finally give them all a break, they¡¯d probably warm up to each other a decent bit. Or, at least, so she hoped. ¡°He not happy ever!? He always smile, what world wrong he with!?¡± The Torkoal was somewhat confident about what the Breloom had just said, but nowhere near as much as she wished she was. It would take time, much more than just the couple of moons they had all known each other for. Orion¡¯s weird, artificial language may have been awkward, but Ana knew that the significance of what it made possible was so much more important than her personal gripes. Stilted as it was, it had still allowed her to find community and friendship outside the confines of her tribe¡¯s bigotry. Even if they all were to never amount to anything more than what they¡¯ve already been through, she still had the Zoroark to thank for saving her from being forcibly assigned a mate or another. And for that alone, she was more than willing to put up with any of his quirks. She droned, ¡°If choice always annoyance and always cheer, I know what I choose¡ª¡± *awwwwoooOOOOO!* The howl hit them both like a Brick Break to the face; the brief confusion soon turned into a worried resolve. Neither of them had known him for long enough to truly know whether it was unlike Orion, but what they knew was that it worried them. Then again, disguising and getting away was the easiest thing in the world for him, and that sure didn¡¯t sound like a distress call¡ª Before Ana could give it all any more thought, though, she found herself suddenly lifted and carried right into the rain. ¡°WINNIE, WHAT ARE¡ª¡± ¡°HE CALL FOR HELP!¡± ¡°NO, HE N¡ª¡± ¡°WE COME NOW, ORION!¡± The Torkoal¡¯s world had turned into a blur of browns and greens as hundreds of freezing stings barraged her body. Each of the Breloom¡¯s leaping steps had her wince, the sheer vertigo threatening to either make her erupt, throw up, or both. Right as she was about to lose the last of her composure, though, everything came to a stop, followed by her being clumsily placed on a soaked patch of grass. If Winnie had the decency to look down at her at that moment, Ana probably could¡¯ve seared him with her glare alone. ¡°Orion, Orion where you!?¡± the Breloom shouted. ¡°Hey, guys!¡± the giddy words cut the Torkoal off before she could speak up, mouth closing as she and Winnie looked up the nearby hill. It stood out greatly from the clearing before it, and much the same was true of the oak that sprouted from its very top. And even more so of the Zoroark taking the scenery in from one of its lower branches. Pretty as the sights were, his friends were more important. Without skipping a beat, he leaped from branch to branch, digging into the bark when needed, and reaching solid ground just moments later¡ªonly to immediately slip on the wet, leaf-covered ground, before sliding down the hill on his rear, to the tune of his own laughter. ¡°Ahahaha! Hey, guys, whattcha do here?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Orion didn¡¯t even bother getting up, taking a moment to get comfortable on the ground instead and checking up on his friends. ¡°You good, Ana?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Orion, what happen!?¡± Winnie yelled, confused. ¡°Someone attack you!?¡± ¡°What?¡± the Zoroark blurted, dumbfounded, uncertain where that idea even came from. ¡°I look at view!¡± ¡°¡­and howl?¡± ¡°Why no, Ana? Here beautiful! Right what I look for!¡± Both Ana and Winnie sighed at the remark, though for different reasons. The former was about to speak up about everything they¡¯d need to check before even considering settling down, but ultimately held back, knowing the latter would cut her off, anyway. ¡°Orion, human village dream again!?¡± ¡°Winnie, dear, here all good!¡± The Breloom argued back, ¡°Not talk place! Why talk humans, again again!? We make great by us, no humans!¡± ¡°Because¡ª¡± ¡°^Excuse me?^¡± Despite Orion not having heard the voice, spotting the surprise on the faces of his friends got him to stop too, stop and glance over at what had caught their attention. An Indeedee was eying them out, the uncertain expression on her face flip-flopping between concern and curiosity. Some other creature, tiny and pink, was trying to peek out from behind her, shying away the moment any of the three had looked their way. As hesitant as the other two got, the Zoroark was downright ecstatic. The opportunity to see for himself whether it was actually possible for a Psychic-type to link up with him didn¡¯t come often, and this one was perfect. Trying to keep himself as small as he could, he turned towards the stranger. The Indeedee¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as she took a couple steps back, only to then raise an eyebrow as the Dark-type... waved at her. And just sat there. ¡°He wants you to link with him,¡± Ana explained. As much as she appreciated the immense ease of communication that telepathy brought with itself, she wasn¡¯t sure how much her elaboration would help. Especially with the inherent absurdity of a psychic even trying to speak telepathically with a Dark-type. It was one of these obvious things that nobody questioned, for there was no reason to question it, and for Orion to insist that it was indeed possible was... entirely like him. As were his wild ideas turning out to be correct. Miraculously, the Indeedee didn¡¯t react with utter confusion at the explanation. A bit of focus and three pinches of effort later, Orion felt something jolt in his mind after he¡¯d deliberately lowered his mental guard, adding a heaping pile of fuel to the flame of excitement. ¡°^Hel¡ª^¡± ¡°Greetings, ma¡¯am! It¡¯s wonderful to meet you here; my name is Orion!¡± After getting over the sudden voice¡¯s impact, the short psychic finally found it in her to respond. ¡°^Hello there! Is everything alright? I¡¯m quite sure I heard you howl just now.^¡± ¡°More than alright, I¡¯d say!¡± Orion beamed. ¡°We¡¯ve just stumbled upon this beautiful clearing, perfect for a settlement!¡± ¡°^A settlement? How so?^¡± It was the exact question the Zoroark was waiting for. He got onto his feet with a wide smile, gesturing towards the clearing as Winnie grumbled into his hand. A reddish sheen covered his paws and eyes as mirages of dozens of wooden huts and human-like houses alike manifested out of thin air. The Indeedee gasped at the illusory sights, too stunned to do more than stand and gawk as the Dark-type explained, ¡°Just like humans do! There¡¯s almost nothing in their towns that we can¡¯t replicate in some way!¡± ¡°Or we could keep living as ourselves and not descend to the level of humanity!¡± the Breloom shouted. ¡°Oh Winnie, Winnie, don¡¯t be like thaaaat~. I¡¯ve lived with them for a good while; they¡¯re far from all terrible, you know thaaat~.¡± The Indeedee gasped, ¡°^You lived with humans?^¡± Orion¡¯s smile didn¡¯t even have the time to finish shifting into a smirk before a human manifested from the thin air where he once stood. Light brown skin, long gray hair, an all black outfit. Nobody gathered knew how good of a disguise it actually was, but it sure looked human to them. ¡°On and off for a few years! Even though they had no idea who I was and I couldn¡¯t talk, they would still help me out all the time! There were places where I could get food, no questions asked, kitchens for use by everyone, and so much empty housing for the taking! There¡¯s nothing there that we can¡¯t band together and recreate ourselves!¡± ¡°If it was so easy, some other mons would¡¯ve already tried it!¡± ¡°How do you know they haven¡¯t, dear Winnie~?¡± Despite the pointedness of the question, the Breloom had plenty of answers to it, all of them wrong. For once, though, it was the Torkoal that got the word in first, ¡°As we¡¯ve discussed, Orion, there are many considerations before we can even start planning such an undertaking.¡± ¡°Doncha worry, Ana! That¡¯s what we¡¯ve got our friend here for; she¡¯ll know best. Any reasons this wouldn¡¯t be a good place, Ma¡¯am...?¡± ¡°^Autumn. Hmm... none I can think of. There is a human town several hours away, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone from there come here. Haven¡¯t had any encounters with any large predators either, but¡­. that is a massive undertaking, if I¡¯m understanding it right.^¡± ¡°Something for us to spend our lives on, and for our children to relish in the safety of. A place free from either humanity¡¯s cruelty, or the bigotry of insular tribes, a place we can all call home,¡± Orion beamed. His rousing speech affected some listeners more than others; Autumn¡¯s expression softened into a sad smile as she looked over her shoulder, only for her eyes to go wide. ¡°If there¡¯s anything we should put our strength and will to, it¡¯s a place like that. And this serendipitous clearing is just about the most beautiful one yet! See, see, even the weather¡¯s clearing up, the Gods are clearly encouraging us to proceed¡ªOH GOODNESS LOOK AT THAT RAINBOW, IT¡¯S GORGEOUS!¡± As much as she begrudged Orion getting this emotional sometimes, Ana couldn¡¯t deny that this kind of hope was infectious. There were still so many details they¡¯d need to discuss and agree on, so many risks to be weighed. Those could all be dealt with down the line. But there and now, having something to strive towards was worth more than anything¡ª ¡°OW! WHAT¡¯S¡ªGET IT OFF ME!¡± Winnie screeched, snapping Ana out of her pensive mood. A glance upward revealed the Breloom to be thrashing in place with something pink clinging to the back of his head, the Zoroark to be laughing his lungs out about it, and the newly met Indeedee to be trying her best to do something about it. ¡°^Garret, please get down!^¡± ¡°I already like this place.¡± Chapter 21: Promise *yaaaaaaaaawwwwn* The quiet, high-pitched sound filled the clinic¡¯s main chamber as a tiny tree stump stretched beside the sleeping ghost. Sage reached out more and more of her spectral body from its wooden shell as she came to, looking around the dim space. Despite how dark it still was, she already felt more awake than not. And, as her cursory sweep of the room showed, she was probably the only one. Her and Yaksha¡¯s was the last of a row of beds spanning the entire clinic, with a second one mirroring it in front of the opposite wall. Thankfully, only a few of them were occupied, and said occupants all looked firmly asleep. The thought still scared her a bit, but... it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to take a closer look at them, right? With as deep of a breath as her lung-less body could manage and Yaksha¡¯s protective presence on her mind, the Phantump slowly hovered towards the nearest occupied bed. It was tricky to make out most of its occupant from underneath the large blanket, but the striped tail with a red bulb at the end was a giveaway on its own. A giveaway Sage didn¡¯t remember enough to identify, making her fly closer to the yellow-black extremity to see if she could¡ª *zz-zap!* The tiny discharge of static had the ghost dash behind the nearest bed for protection. It didn¡¯t hurt anywhere near as much as she thought it would; she couldn¡¯t even feel it after just a few moments. Even despite that, if she still had a heart, it would¡¯ve been absolutely hammering in fear at the jolt and the dangers it could¡¯ve implied. At least they didn¡¯t wake up. While Sage floated away from the Ampharos, she kept fighting with herself to turn around and go back to Yaksha¡¯s bed, to return to his dry, but earnest protection. She knew nothing bad would come to her there, not the sorts of things that could happen to her if she accidentally annoyed one of the sleeping patients, but... but... There was always the chance that she¡¯d find out what she once was. Or, at least, remind herself of something important. Anything but this anxiety-inducing unknown¡ªanything but this tattered recollection that inevitably ended in trauma. With that tear-inducing reassurance, the Phantump kept going. She steadied her breathing once more while she hovered over to the next bed, its occupant much more visible. Yellow beak, presently wrapped in bandages, a bunch of white feathers covering its front and face, and reddish down elsewhere. She remembered seeing so many of them, always in very happy situations. Yeah. Though her mom kept telling her not to get too close, Sage had no idea why, especially since they brought berries or gifts every time¡ª The Delibird¡¯s frigid exhale answered the ghost¡¯s dilemma before she could even think through it any further. It felt like her face was burning; the frost covering its bottom rim stung; it all hurt so much. She immediately dashed back to her guardian ghost with a squeak of pain, avoiding holding him as tight as possible through the sheer force of will. Instead, she tried lying down on the barebones mattress, hoping that whatever heat remained in it would help warm her face up. She froze as she heard shuffling from further in the room, flinching with every step coming her way. Eventually, a concerned-sounding question came her way, delivered in birdsong. It didn¡¯t sound angry¡ªthe opposite, if anything¡ªbut Sage remained too afraid to look up at them even as the worst of the pain finally subsided. It didn¡¯t hurt that bad in hindsight, but... it still hurt. And she didn¡¯t want to hurt. After the most tensely awkward half-minute or so of Sage¡¯s afterlife, the Delibird eventually took her lack of response as an answer. Unseen, they slowly backed off into their bed. Once she heard the thud of them lying back down, she kept checking if they were asleep every few moments, only daring to move again once they had been completely still for a while. This was all so scary¡ªso much more so than she would¡¯ve thought. Especially with how homely this little settlement was otherwise. Scary or not, Yaksha was there. With all the frost gone from her wooden face, Sage could finally try huddling up to him closer, to ask for sorely needed reassurance. Right as she was about to do that, though, she heard some sounds from the room on the nearby wall¡¯s other side. One of the voices she remembered hearing yesterday. It could even have been that scary human that Yaksha was so angry about. A part of her was still scared of that idea, but... far, far from all of her. With the Banette asleep and nobody else around being awake anymore to see her do it, the Phantump slowly floated up and closer to the thick sheet of canvas separating the rooms. Float all the way over, take a deep breath, one, two, three, lean in¡ª The slightly warmer air tingled Sage¡¯s face and helped melt through what remained of the frost. The pleasant sensations were nowhere near what the rest of the ghost was focused on, the sight of a human almost enough to make her withdraw back there and then¡ªbut only almost. She still didn¡¯t dare move further forward, content to snoop on the sleeping stranger from her near-ceiling vantage point. Everything she¡¯d heard about them from Yaksha and even many things she had experienced told her she should¡¯ve been terrified at that moment, but... she wasn¡¯t. Apprehensive, a bit intimidated, sure, but only that. In fact, with how that human kept shifting and tossing around, Sage felt rather sorry for them. Doubly so with the cast on their arm. Seeing what the Phantump assumed to be a part of the shadows in the room¡¯s corner suddenly move startled her out of any further compassionate thoughts. Nigh-imperceptible darkness coalesced into the shape of a tall owl, further chilling her thoughts. The ghost girl maintained any semblance of composure only at the realization that the Decidueye didn¡¯t see her. Instead, they walked over to the human and laid the tip of their wing on her head before gently stroking her hair. As comforting as the gesture was, it also had the unavoidable effect of waking said human up, with a light startle, no less. The sight made the owl coo something towards her, something the human clearly didn¡¯t understand any more than Sage herself did. Instead of answering right away, the human reached over to grab her glasses from the nightstand, blinking through her remaining sleepiness as she put them on. And immediately noticed Sage. The Phantump withdrew right back into the clinic¡¯s main chamber with a panicky squeak, mind racing and only capable of thinking about returning to Yaksha¡¯s protective presence. Which wasn¡¯t an option right away, either. She remembered seeing the Blissey tend to the Banette yesterday, and a part of her was very glad to see her guardian getting more aid. The rest of her ended up even more skittish instead, especially with them likely noticing the frost burn on her face if they were to look up¡ª They looked up. The Blissey¡¯s immediate response was a drawn-out exhale, followed up by the loudest whisper Sage had ever heard in her life, aimed further into the clinic. On cue, one of the other healers, the Leavanny, peeked out from another side chamber further into the tent; their expression split equally between relief and exasperation. ¡°S-sorry...¡± Sage muttered. She didn¡¯t expect the Normal-type to chuckle at her words, taking her aback as the mantis approached, holding a small bowl. To the Phantump, it looked like just some yellowish paste, its purpose entirely unknown. And then, moments later, blissful relief from the leftover stinging as said paste was smeared around her frost burn. It felt so tingly, so¡­ nice. She finally floated back onto the mattress right as the Blissey wrapped up her checkup on the still-asleep Yaksha. The combined kindness they were treated to made her feel even warmer. ¡°Th-thank you so much!¡± she squeaked. A smile and a deep nod from the Blissey, moderate confusion from Leavanny, first at Sage and then at their coworker. Before the Normal-type could explain something to their coworker, the shuffle of the front entrance caught everyone¡¯s attention instead. The Phantump squeaked at seeing the familiar Gardevoir step in, ¡°Hi!¡± Aria answered with a curt wave, a small smile briefly replacing her concern. She didn¡¯t stay long though, first stopping before the entrance of the human¡¯s room, then taking a deep breath, and finally walking in with as much confidence as she could muster. Sage hoped she wasn¡¯t afraid of the human, too.
Anne was much less scared of the Phantump than she was surprised by it. The sight still made her jump, no doubt about that, but it didn¡¯t leave any lingering dread behind itself. If anything, she found them and their skittishness funny in hindsight, especially with them sticking out right beneath the ceiling. The amusement didn¡¯t last, though, not once she remembered where Phantump were supposed to come from. Dead little baby mons. The realization made her feel guilty for laughing, instead hoping that whoever they were, they didn¡¯t get badly injured or anything. And that, of course, they felt just as safe here as Anne did. Despite the gregarious Decidueye in her room. ... In part, because of said Decidueye in her room, even. Anne knew little about Sprout beyond her name, but what she¡¯d seen of her only painted her in a positive light. More smiles than the girl thought possible with a beak, frequent physical affection, much of it feeling surprisingly nice, and a constant effort to not appear intimidating. She didn¡¯t know if the two were actually related, but if they were, it made sense where Blossom¡¯s niceness had come from. Hopefully, the Dartrix would visit her again soon. *rustle, rustle* The sound of someone stepping into the room had Anne¡¯s happy thoughts be replaced with even happier ones. A large smile crept to her face as she waved at the Gardevoir, ¡°~G-good morning, Mrs. Aria!~¡± ¡°^Good morning, Anne, Sprout. How are you doing?^¡± Aria¡¯s response wasn¡¯t as enthusiastic as Anne thought it¡¯d be, but entirely positive all the same. ¡°Mighty fine, Aria dear! Anne finally got some decent sleep in, didn¡¯t ya, Anne?¡± Sprout teased. The human nodded eagerly at the Decidueye¡¯s question, bringing a strained smile to the Gardevoir¡¯s face. ¡°^I¡¯m very glad to hear. Still feeling awake, Sprout?^¡± ¡°Yeah, I got an hour more or so in me. Thinking of leavin¡¯ us alone again?¡± ¡°^No, no... the opposite, if anything. I want to talk with Anne about something, and it¡¯s... best kept private,^¡± Aria explained. Anne blinked in surprise, entirely lost about what could the Gardevoir be referring to. ¡°Somethin¡¯ private, eh?¡± Sprout chuckled. ¡°No worries. Have a good day you two~! Gonna be a long one!¡± Oh, that it most certainly would be. Aria had to put in her utmost willpower to maintain the smile after Sprout¡¯s parting words. At last, it was just her and the innocent, powerless human she swore to protect, entirely ignorant of what would await her later today¡ª ¡°~I saw a Phantump peek through the wall earlier. Do they live here?~¡± Anne asked. The girl¡¯s question took Aria aback, providing a very needed, if equally fleeting, distraction. ¡°^No, no. Her name is Sage. I ran into her and her guardian when on my patrol yesterday. I don¡¯t know if they intend to stay here.^¡± The answer was sufficient, if not particularly deep. It wasn¡¯t the part Anne was concerned about the most, though. Aria sounded so unlike herself, her usual calm voice so clearly strained. The human had no idea what had caused it and if she even could help, but she would still try all the same. ¡°~Is something wrong, Mrs. Aria?~¡± This time, the smile didn¡¯t quite endure the strain the Gardevoir¡¯s mind put it under. She was worried that the sight alone would be enough to freak Anne out with its possible implications, but thankfully, it wasn¡¯t. Instead, the girl shuffled over to the bed¡¯s edge before sitting down on it and... patted a spot beside herself. It was undoubtedly a sweet gesture, one that would even come in handy with what she wanted to talk about. Assuming Anne wouldn¡¯t want to run as far away from her as possible once she learned of her lies and the village¡¯s cruelty. The possibility chilled her to the core; the mental image of Anne being as afraid of her as she was on the very first day here, but for much more justified reasons, was a deeply disconcerting one. At the same time, the girl grew more worried with every passing second of tense silence, pushing her guardian to finally act. And so; she sat down beside Anne, the human almost embracing her there and then. Aria wanted this; Aria didn¡¯t deserve this. It could backfire so badly, but if it also could bring her some comfort in what was to come... ¡°^G-go right ahead, Anne.^¡± Unsurprisingly, the reassurance only did so much to stem the quickly intensifying tension on both sides. Not unearned for either party, but entirely liable to make it all even worse than it already would be. Aria wasn¡¯t ready at all, but she had to tackle it there and then. ¡°^Anne... I have to tell you something.^¡± The girl¡¯s embrace was tight and shaky, her bony body warm to the touch. Aria saw the plain desire for her one-armed hug to be returned right in Anne¡¯s expression, but... couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. Not now, not then, not with something so deeply evil still unstated. The girl asked, distraught, ¡°~Wh-wh-what is it, Mrs. Aria?~¡± Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. It was time to come clean. Inhale, exhale. Inhale¡ª¡°^There... there will be a vote about letting you stay later today.^¡± The fact took its sweet time worming its way into Anne¡¯s mind; simple words and their consequences made it all the more difficult to process in the morning¡¯s mental fog. Once they did, though, they brought with them a building avalanche of fear, the harrowing implications sparking a dozen more in an instant. ¡°~D-do you mean that if they vote a-against me, I won¡¯t be able to stay h-here?~¡± All Aria could do was confirm Anne¡¯s suspicions with a somber nod, adding more fuel to the quickly growing fire of terror. ¡°~W-wait, but where¡ªwhere would I even go? Would I have to go b-back to my house a-and¡ªNo no no, please don¡¯t, please don¡¯t make me go back, anything but that, I-I¡ªwhy are they v-voting against me!?~¡± Anne was hyperventilating by now; Aria left paralyzed about what to do to help without inadvertently making it any worse. ¡°^Some¡ªsome have objections to you staying here,^¡± the Gardevoir explained. Anne¡¯s burning follow-up question was clear to sense, even as her throat was struggling too much with words to vocalize it. ¡°^Because... you are a human.^¡± Anne was panicking far too hard by that point to even speak, her entire body shaking as her mind tortured itself with the implications. Of course, nobody wanted her to stay here. She was just a monster to them, of the very species that made their life hell. Her presence here was clearly making so many uncomfortable and she¡¯s been completely overlooking that for her own selfish sake. Everyone here must¡¯ve gone through so much pain because of humanity, and here she was, pushing the envelope and begging for them to protect her from her own evil species. Of course she didn¡¯t deserve it. Why would she deserve it; why would she be any different deep down from all the trainers, all the poachers, all the breeders? She wasn¡¯t, she so obviously wasn¡¯t, she deserved to be thrown out. Anne didn¡¯t want it, but she deserved it. Aria¡¯s arm hovered just above the girl¡¯s other side, afraid to lower itself lest it would make her panic even harder. All this was the her fault, be it through her present words or past inaction, and she felt entirely powerless about how to stop it. Anything she did could¡¯ve, likely would¡¯ve, made it all even worse. Especially once Anne realized she¡¯d lied to her about that very vote earlier. It was all her fault¡ª Before the combined despair in the room could bring Aria to a panic attack of her own, Anne¡¯s tight embrace snapped her right out of that perilous mental thread. The girl was clinging to her for her life, clinging to her for any and all protection she could get in this nightmarish situation, clinging to her with all the trust in the world, none of it feeling deserved by its recipient. Deserved or not, it was there all the same, and the least Aria could do was use it for reassurance. ¡°^I... I don¡¯t want to lie to you and can¡¯t say it with certainty, but... me, Autumn, and others are doing all we can to make sure it won¡¯t happen. I will be a part of the vote, as will Marco. We¡¯ve been talking to others about it, asking those who would vote against to reconsider, and... I think it¡¯s unlikely that you¡¯ll be voted out.^¡± Aria¡¯s calculated words didn¡¯t have all the impact the Gardevoir hoped they would have, but that didn¡¯t mean they were pointless either. Anne was still justifiably terrified; her body still shook against the psychic¡¯s side, but... the worst of the fear began to wane. Aria gave the girl all the time she needed to process it all, finally returning her embrace in full. The faint tingling of her psychic skin was relaxing in its familiarity, even without a Calm Mind. Moment by moment, the terror waned into ¡®just¡¯ fear as Anne gathered words to speak again, trying her hardest to not break down once more. ¡°~Wh-what will h-happen to me if I have to go? Where will I go¡ªoh gods, what¡ªwhat will happen to Ember? I-I don¡¯t want her to suffer with me, but I don¡¯t want to be alone either, it¡ªit feels like I¡¯ll die and¡ª~¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Despite her best efforts, Anne¡¯s voice frayed once more, turning into a drawn out whine as she pressed her crying, suffering self into Aria¡¯s side. Her life depended on it; she would die if she ended up being kicked out. Between her father, homelessness, and just being alone, she would die, she would die, she would die... ¡°^I-I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry, Anne,^¡± Aria whimpered. ¡°^You don¡¯t deserve any of this. I wish I had an answer; I wish I could say anything with certainty, but... I can¡¯t. I already lied to you about this, and I apologize for that. I... understand if you won¡¯t trust me again because of that, no matter what happens afterwards.^¡± The Gardevoir slowly raised her embracing arm away from Anne, not wanting her to feel trapped if she tried to hide from her again. Her terror was just like when she first realized just what Aria was, that she was a feral Gardevoir and not a healer human. But now, it was made so much more powerful by the vice of it being utterly justified and caused, in part, by Aria¡¯s own inaction. Regardless of how pitiful Aria¡¯s words were, they still knocked Anne¡¯s despairing mind out of the worst of her panic. She was suffering, but so was Aria, and her words... The girl held her guardian even tighter in response, tears streaming down her face and Aria¡¯s side alike. The Gardevoir was too surprised to even register the sensation of the glasses digging into her skin. Slowly, she lowered her hand once more, still avoiding touching the girl, lest it¡¯d startle her. Moment by moment, the worst of her panic subsided again as she mumbled out, ¡°~Wh-why wouldn¡¯t I, M-Mrs. Aria?~¡± It was entirely unlike what the Gardevoir expected to hear, doubly so with her having just explained the very reason moments earlier. ¡°^Because I lied to you. I told you that you¡¯d be staying here for good, that everything would be alright, that,^¡± Aria flinched as she confronted the lie at the root of it all, the admission going so deeply against her innermost nature despite its piercing accuracy, ¡°^that you were safe here. I¡¯m sorry, Anne.^¡± The untruths hurt, but so did Aria¡¯s own pain. The latter in particular gave Anne a surge of motivation to gather her composure, to provide at least a bit of reassurance to her guardian, even if she needed it, too. Her panic gave way to sadness as her shaking waned just enough for her to speak, ¡°~*sniff* My-my grandma also lied to me like that. That I¡¯d be staying with her for good, that everything would be alright, that¡ªthat I was safe now, and that I wouldn¡¯t be hurt again. I-I get it. She just wanted me to be happy, j-just like you, and I still love her so much. It¡¯s okay, I-I promise...~¡± The words burst a dam deep inside Aria¡¯s mind, her pathetic self-pity overpowered by her innermost protective impulse. Anne was psychiced onto her lap in an instant as the Gardevoir embraced her tightly, as tightly as her weak physical body could muster, her own bitter tears running down her cheeks. ¡°^I-I¡¯m so sorry Anne. I¡¯m sorry you had to lose that certainty, and I wish so much I could provide it like you deserve, like everyone deserves. I wish I could promise you that the vote will go well, that nothing bad will happen again, that you¡¯re truly safe here, but¡ªI don¡¯t want to lie to you again...^¡± The two held each other in a tight, teary mess as they fought with their own and the others¡¯ despair, its sheer volume enough to make Aria feel weak. Despite it, though, despite her own guilt in this, despite her own weaknesses... Aria wanted to be there for Anne. To be someone she could have utter trust in, someone she could rely on to protect her, to shelter her, to¡ªto love her. ¡°~I-I don¡¯t blame you for l-lying, Mrs. Aria. I wanna believe that everything is g-going to be alright, but... I¡¯m so scared. I don¡¯t want to die...~¡± Anne whimpered. ¡°^I-I know sweetie, and I wish I could say with certainty that nothing will happen to you. I¡¯ll do absolutely everything in my power to make sure it won¡¯t come to that, that much I can promise.^¡± Words alone mattered for so very little, and Aria was well aware of that fact. Despite that, they seemed to be enough for now, enough to at least let the human shake her fear of death off in the immediate moment. Enough for her to gradually calm down, breath by breath, to focus on something else than that absolute worst-case scenario. She was still scared, so scared now that the safety was no longer the guarantee Aria had previously portrayed it was, but... she would manage. Or at least, so she hoped. Their mutual embrace gradually loosened up with the absolute worst of their fear being behind them, letting Aria grab her bearings and Anne distract herself with something else in the room. With how sparsely it was decorated, there wasn¡¯t all that much to focus on instead of her ever grim fears, the girl¡¯s attention inadvertently ending up with the bags¡ªbags with Mrs. Graham¡¯s coat and her items in it of unknown origin. Anne spoke up, ¡°~M-Mrs. Aria?~¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s soft, tingly hand moved from stroking the side of Anne¡¯s head to her cheek as she tried and failed to force the weakest of smiles onto her face. ¡°^Yes, sweetie?^¡± ¡°~I-I forgot to ask, wh-where did these bags come from? I think that¡¯s Mrs. Graham¡¯s c-coat...~¡± With a quick mental sweep of the nearby area to make sure there wasn¡¯t any other non-Dark type scout in the vicinity, Aria took a deep breath. That one would be a mess to explain, but now more than ever, Anne deserved the entire truth. ¡°^Do you remember when we first talked, and a Luxray ran into the room?^¡± ¡°~Mhm. Th-they were really scary...~¡± ¡°^Lumi¡¯s a bit of a prick, yeah. He alerted me, because a human looking for you was making their way in our direction and we needed to stop them. That human turned out to be Olive, or I suppose, ¡®Mrs. Graham¡¯ as you know her.^¡± Anne gasped in surprise at the revelation, not expecting the elderly librarian of all people to undertake such a journey. ¡°~W-was she alright!? She¡¯s so old and...~¡± ¡°^Yes, she was; Leo and Luxie made sure of it. We stopped her and ended up talking with her. She talked about you, about everything that had happened to you, and how she wanted to help. Lumi and I took her up on that offer, and she brought us to your house to take the items you had left behind.^¡± ¡°~Th-that¡¯s so kind of her...~¡± ¡°^It really is.^¡± Aria smiled weakly, thinking back to their encounter with the old woman. ¡°^She helped us tremendously with all the human things we didn¡¯t understand. It was going well, but... eventually someone showed up. Your father.^¡± ¡°~W-were you all alright¡ª~¡± ¡°^Yes we were, don¡¯t worry, sweetie. He was an evil person and I¡¯m so, so sorry that he had hurt you so much over the years.^¡± Anne nodded her way through the reassurance, breathing deeply into Aria¡¯s front before a detail caught her attention, one she was unsure how to interpret. ¡°~...was?~¡± Here we go. ¡°^Yes, was. He attacked us, and I incapacitated him. Then, at some point later, when Olive was helping us by grabbing books for you... your house caught on fire. I don¡¯t know how and if it had something to do with us, but... your father was still inside it when it happened. The entire building is gone now.^¡± Aria remained quiet afterwards, merely waiting for Anne¡¯s reaction. The immediate shock was obvious and expected, but the Gardevoir could only hope that it wouldn¡¯t become a seed for even further despair¡ª ¡°~Th-that¡¯s... good. E-even if I end up on the streets, it means that I won¡¯t have to go back there.~¡± The Gardevoir stared wide-eyed at Anne¡¯s cold calculation of the situation. It was unlike the emotional girl, to an almost unsettling degree. For someone so obviously sensitive to others¡¯ pain to act so detached when told someone burned to death, implied a lot about just how deeply evil said person was. Anne¡¯s mind was gripped with cold, calculating focus, but Aria couldn¡¯t say the same after the realization hit her. She didn¡¯t comment out loud on it, merely holding the girl that much more tenderly and applying a weak, full-body telekinetic embrace just to make her feel that much safer here. Neither of them said much for a while as the human kept processing it all, eventually returning to her previous headspace with a shudder. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t where the recollection of the excursion into the human village ended. Aria continued, ¡°^After Olive was done helping us, I... I did something I agreed on previously, when me and others were discussing what to do with Olive. They wanted me to wipe her memories of us, to maintain our secrecy. I pretended to do it, and asked her and her friends to promise us they wouldn¡¯t tell anyone of us, or of you being under our protection.^¡± As relieving as the last remark was, the topic the response had brought up immediately threw all the more fuel into the flames of Anne¡¯s fear. She hadn¡¯t even considered her memories might¡¯ve been manipulated, and now that the subject had been breached, it was all she could think about. How could she even know if it had happened to her¡ª ¡°^Nobody has tampered with your memories Anne, I promise.^¡± The Gardevoir wanted to say more, say so much more. To reassure the girl that as long as she stood, she wouldn¡¯t let anything like that ever come to her, that she wouldn¡¯t ever hurt her the way Cinder had hurt Ember, but... could she even make that promise? What if it would truly come down to the worst possibility, what if the vote failed and her nightmare came true, what if she really had to violate her mind and surgically remove the only happiness the girl had known in so long just for their own selfish protection? Aria didn¡¯t know, and it terrified her. She tried to explain, ¡°^After what had happened to Ember, I doubt anyone else would be eager¡ª^¡± The psychic¡¯s sudden pause had startled Anne almost as much as the implication of something terrible having happened to Ember. Despite all the fear still writhing in her head, she had to know what Aria meant there, opening her mouth to speak¡ªjust in time for the vixen in question to shamble into the room, glistening tears flowing down her cheeks. ¡°~E-Ember!~¡± Anne gasped. The Braixen dashed over to the pair before Anne could even slide off Aria¡¯s lap, holding them both tight as soon as she could. The human wasted no time in shuffling on Aria¡¯s lap so that her best friend could join her there and embrace her as tight as she could, which Ember immediately did. Aria kept watch of what was happening inside the fox¡¯s mind, trying to figure out whether more horrible acts had happened overnight. And instead, only found the betrayal of yesterday, still hurting so intensely. In no time, the two girls were holding each other as tight as possible with the Gardevoir embracing them both, deeply wanting to protect them from any further harm. She rationally knew she was, but... would it ever be enough? Anne asked, distraught, ¡°~E-Ember, wh-what happened?~¡± Aria might have already known the horrors the fox had experienced, but the human didn¡¯t. Ember didn¡¯t feel capable of answering either; telepathic and physical words alike failing to manifest, not with how tired and worn she was. As harrowing as it was, Anne deserved to know. And so, the Gardevoir asked, ¡°^Would you want me to explain, Ember?^¡± The fox whimpered at Aria¡¯s soft-spoken question, the realization of having been left out in something big until now unnerving Anne further. The Gardevoir couldn¡¯t blame her either, just hoping that her explanation would prove sufficient and not inspire further despair¡ªeven if she knew the latter was almost entirely wishful thinking by now. After a few more attempts at telepathy that broke down within seconds, Ember finally gave up and leaned on Anne even harder, acknowledging Aria¡¯s question with a single weak nod. Here goes nothing. ¡°^Let me go over what happened to Ember during your absence, Anne. In short, Cinder, Ember¡¯s adoptive mother, had erased her memories of you. It was only a couple of days ago that through Marco¡¯s and Autumn¡¯s intervention, did she restore them and remember you again. Yesterday evening, after you had gone to sleep, Cinder finally confessed to Ember about what she¡¯d done.^¡± As much as Anne¡¯s focus laid with comforting her friend to the fullest extent possible, the actions described still terrified her. Aria¡¯s description of what had almost happened to Mrs. Graham was already scary, to hear that her best friend, someone she¡¯d spent half her life with and loved more than anyone else on the planet, just didn¡¯t remember her was... It was too much to imagine. The last of Anne¡¯s restraints was broken, plunging her into full-blown weeping as she clung to Ember and Aria alike. She was so sorry for Ember; she wanted to comfort her so much, but deep down, she was terrified. Indescribably terrified of that possibility, of being made to forget her best friend, of having nobody to live for, of being left alone with no memory of this place, of Ember, maybe even of her grandma. She just wanted to live and be safe; why were people so mean, human and mon alike? She had done nothing to earn all that pain, and neither had her friend! Aria¡¯s arms shook as she inadvertently eavesdropped on Anne¡¯s pain and terror, feeling more powerless than ever. Regardless of how truthful she was, regardless of how hard she¡¯d tried to protect her and ensure that the horrors she was imagining wouldn¡¯t come to pass... there still was a chance they would, after all. That despite all her efforts, two innocent children would still be inflicted with unspeakable pain because of others¡¯ paranoia. By her hand, no less. Would she ever be able to live with herself if that came to pass? With the knowledge that she was the executioner of two lives that had already experienced so much suffering? Aria didn¡¯t know, and the more she thought about it, the more uncertain she was about that most harrowing of outcomes. Another nightmare, one without the blissful escape of waking up. If that worst-case scenario came to pass, if she refused to fight for their safety beyond the confines and rules of the council vote, if she yielded to hurt and injustice because to do otherwise would be to invite more trouble for herself¡­ Would she really be any better than Cinder? The thought snapped something deep inside Aria. Her innermost nature, the drive to protect others, the part of herself that made her a Gardevoir, it had enough. It reached out from the root of her brain and grasped her head, subsuming all other thoughts with a grip of freezing clarity. Incomparably more effective than any Calm Mind, especially as it arrived at the obvious solution to all their terror, and held the two scared girls tighter. ¡°^I will not let that happen again.^¡± Something she could promise, something she had to promise, something Anne and Ember alike deserved from her. A gambit that was likely to backfire in so many ways, but simultaneously her only real option. She continued, ¡°^When we first spoke, Anne, I promised you that this would be your home until you had somewhere to go. And I¡¯m intending to keep that promise for both of you, no matter what the council says.^¡± The sudden, unflinching conviction in the Gardevoir¡¯s words took Anne aback, startling her out the worst of her loathing, especially with what they implied. She was used to promises that would eventually falter. They were only normal, but Aria clearly meant hers in a very deep way, her telepathy having gained an imposing, downright commanding tone. Ember was similarly surprised; the girls¡¯ focus squarely on the Gardevoir as they chewed through what Aria¡¯s words really meant. They wanted them to be true, but... ¡°~W-wouldn¡¯t you get in trouble?~¡± Anne asked, worried. ¡°~I-if everyone w-wants me gone, then they won¡¯t like you keeping me anyway...~¡± ¡°^Then they¡¯ll have to take you over my dead body.^¡± ¡°~N-no! I-I don¡¯t want you to get hurt like that. E-especially not for me, you shouldn¡¯t, I-I¡¯ll toughen it out, I¡ª~¡± ¡°^Anne.^¡± Aria¡¯s calm, yet imposing voice stopped the human¡¯s panicking train of thought dead in its tracks, the entirety of her attention drawn up to the Gardevoir. ¡°^I can do it. You were terrified of my strength when we first properly met, and what¡¯s a better reason to use it than to protect someone?^¡± ¡°~I... I just don¡¯t want you getting hurt because of me. I don¡¯t want others having to h-help me again because of my fault¡ª~¡± ¡°^But this is not your fault. You have done nothing wrong, Anne.^¡± ¡°^Y-y-yeah!^¡± Ember woofed, her affirmation only redoubling Anne¡¯s shaking embrace as worries continued to bubble inside her head. ¡°^If the absolute worst comes to pass, if this village and its people would rather sentence you to death and Ember to further suffering, to where they¡¯d rather set out to harm me than let you live, then I¡¯ll know with certainty that this is no longer the village I settled in all those years ago. That it has been deeply rotten since then, that it has overgrown with the same injustice it seemed to escape from. I will be glad to leave it.^¡± ¡°~B-but what about y-your family?~¡± Anne whimpered. Now that was a harder question to answer. Harder, but not impossible. ¡°^They will understand. We¡¯ve all been trying to help you however we can, and none of us will sit by idly while the council tries to leave you out to die. If it takes uprooting ourselves to keep you two safe, then that¡¯ll simply be what it takes.^¡± The unflinching conviction in Aria¡¯s words and tone didn¡¯t leave Anne much room to argue. An ironclad shield of cold certainty, contrasting her usual warm shroud of comfort. Something the girls needed so much more in the moment, something still worrisome to consider despite that. Both of them wanted it to be true. Both of them wanted that utter conviction that things will be alright no matter what, something that life already took from Anne once and from Ember twice; their souls hungered for it, and yet... ¡°~A-are you sure, M-Mrs. Aria? I-I¡¯m just some stranger human, we haven¡¯t even talked that much...~¡± ¡°^Isn¡¯t that what anyone with a shred of heart would do? An injured child out in the cold, about to bleed and freeze to death. Why wouldn¡¯t I do what I can to save you?^¡± As opposed to the last time Anne heard these words, her mind didn¡¯t reach towards judging their truthfulness. Everything she¡¯d heard and felt from the Gardevoir made her unable to doubt the utmost certainty in her plan, scary as it was. No, instead, her worries reached inward. Was she even worthy of so many people having to do so much just to protect her miserable, unimportant self¡ª ¡°^Y-you¡¯re n-not unimportant!^¡± Ember¡¯s shaky telepathy cut in, melting through Anne¡¯s self-doubt as the vixen held her tighter. Held, and wept, ¡°^I-I want you to be happy Anne, a-and so does Mrs. Aria! I know it¡¯s a lot, b-but... could you do it f-for me?^¡± It took Anne¡¯s entire composure to not break down there and then again as she looked the vixen in the eye, her tearful, pleading expression hitting her even harder than the mental words. Aria wasn¡¯t any more willing to mess with the girl¡¯s mind now than she was in the past, but... she had an idea that could help. The Gardevoir let go of the Braixen as she reached an arm around them both, leaving her hand facing up beside them. Ready to be grasped. The intent was obvious, as was the patience in Aria¡¯s expression. Bit by bit, she felt the icy grip from earlier wane. The certainty it brought remained, but not without warmth this time. Anne kept struggling with her emotions, simultaneously wanting the utter safety Aria promised and finding herself unworthy of its price. She had no idea what to do, feeling paralyzed in a struggle with her own doubt and loathing. This time, however, she wasn¡¯t alone. Ember¡¯s warm paw grasping the side of her hand took Anne out of her mute conflict, glasses-clad eyes refocusing on the fox¡¯s expression. Still tearful, still pleading, but now with a much clearer intent and a weak smile, framed by tears. ¡°^D-do you trust me, Anne?^¡± Ember asked, her mental voice barely a whisper and utterly eclipsing everything in the human¡¯s mind simultaneously. Despite how much she struggled with what she should think about herself... what she thought about Ember, and her love for her, was very clear. ¡°~Y-yes, I do, Ember.~¡± The vixen nodded, her shaky smile growing larger. Her paw slowly dragged Anne¡¯s hand towards Aria¡¯s waiting hand. A part of Anne wanted to withdraw it, to reject this insanity, to accept what a part of her felt like she deserved¡ªbut the part of her that knew what she desired held the reins for just long enough for her hand to touch the Gardevoir¡¯s. Silken smooth, almost electric to the touch. Feeling like it could protect her against the entire world. Emanating an odd, emotional warmth. Safety. Refuge. Love. ¡°^It¡¯s okay Anne, you¡¯re safe. Take as much time as you need.^¡± Even without the Gardevoir¡¯s more explicit aid, Anne felt her body and mind alike gradually calm down with each passing moment. The fear, the panic, the utter despair of her life being on the line, all of those faded away, bit by bit. She didn¡¯t have to fear; she didn¡¯t have to panic, her life wasn¡¯t on the line. She felt safe again. By then, Aria had returned to normal, holding both girls¡¯ hands as she chewed through just what she¡¯d promised. The more she thought, the more she worried that the pressure of it all would make her buckle, that she¡¯d shatter under the possibility of it all... the more confident she felt. She searched her mind far and wide for any doubt, for any hesitancy, for any selfish desires that would overpower her wish for Anne¡¯s safety should the worst come to pass, and found none. Doubly so with how unrealistic that absolute worst-case scenario was. She¡¯d known the rest of the council for years, and none of them felt like the sort that would put their own life at risk and fight her just for needless bloodshed. Granted, if this entire mess had shown anything, it was that many of said group were willing to dispose of any morals when it came to dealing with humans, but¡­ she still hoped that seeing the living person they would sentence as opposed to an abstract human out there at the clinic would sway them. Her conviction made sure she wouldn¡¯t have to rely on hope, but having some of it on hand wouldn¡¯t hurt, either. ¡°^How are you feeling, Anne?^¡± she asked, her mental voice back to normal. The weary girl perked up at that welcome change, her answer as simple as it was truthful, ¡°~I¡¯m... I-I think I¡¯m okay. I... th-thank you, Aria.~¡± ¡°^You¡¯re very welcome, sweetie.^¡± Aria¡¯s steadily growing smile was soon matched by a weaker, but just as genuine one on Anne¡¯s face. Even despite all the reassurance and promise, though, the Gardevoir seemed it fit to put the whole situation in its proper context again. ¡°^And, again, all what I¡¯ve described is the very worst-case scenario. One that I¡¯m rather sure won¡¯t come to pass.^¡± The two girls nodded in unison at the affirmation, the calmness letting them absorb that reassurance much more effectively. ¡°~Wh-when will that vote happen?~¡± Anne asked. ¡°^In the evening, after sundown. I... forgot to mention something important about it earlier, I apologize.^¡± Anne blinked as she leaned closer on the Gardevoir, more curious than worried. ¡°~Oh?~¡± ¡°^One elder requested that you be present for it. You¡¯d be with me the entire time. I don¡¯t know why she asked for you to be there, and I don¡¯t like it either. Don¡¯t feel forced to agree, I can figure something out if you¡¯d rather¡ª^¡± ¡°~I-I can go.~¡± There was a bit of uncertainty in Anne¡¯s voice, one she was trying her hardest to fight through. Yes, she was uncertain; yes, she didn¡¯t like it; yes, she¡¯d rather not, but¡ªshe would be there with Aria. And nothing bad would happen with Aria watching over her. The Gardevoir only barely held her tears in at sensing that thought, deeply hoping it would be earned this time. ¡°^Th-thank you, Anne. No matter what she¡¯s planning, I imagine that your presence there will help in other ways. One would hope it¡¯ll be harder for them to vote for someone¡¯s exile if they have to see that someone.^¡± ¡°~Y-yeah, heh...~¡± Anne chuckled, cementing her truly feeling better in Aria¡¯s mind. The Gardevoir closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths; tried to process through all that just happened¡ª Only for the girl to let go of her hand and hug her as tight as she could once more, Ember following in tow. This time, with no more fear, no more doubt, only gratitude, confidence, and... Love. ¡°~Thank you for wanting to protect me, Aria,~¡± Anne whispered. Aria joined in on the group embrace, gently stroking both girls¡¯ backs as the trio gathered their bearings. ¡°^Thank you for giving me another chance, Anne.^¡± Despite everything, despite all the pain, despite all the fear, for once even Aria could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Should the worst come to pass, being forced to leave their village wouldn¡¯t be a happy outcome, but would be incomparably better than having to be the enforcer of its cruelty. Plenty terrifying in its own way, but... they would all figure it out, no matter what. Aria was sure of it. Chapter 22: Solace Autumn had no idea how her daughter-in-law was managing while having to carry so much weight on her shoulders. The Indeedee sighed under her breath, pondering in silence with only her shawl and a freshly grabbed breakfast to accompany her. Yesterday was intense despite her not having anywhere near as much of a role in all this as Aria, intense enough to lead her to take today off from her usual duties. The little ones would get taught in time; one session of practicing Protects under her watch wouldn¡¯t doom anyone. Which¡ª *bang!* The muffled, distant sound jolted Autumn upright, briefly snapping her out of her previous thoughts. She could¡¯ve sworn she heard a familiar grunt accompanying it shortly afterwards, worrying her a fair bit. If nothing else, it was a good idea to check up on just what had happened there before resuming her original plan. Now, where was she at? One day without her watch wouldn¡¯t doom the village¡¯s little ones, but the same couldn¡¯t really be said for Anne, especially if Aria really came clean with all her white lies. None of which Autumn could blame her for, none of which she hoped Anne would blame her for in the long run either, but still damaging once they were forcibly revealed. Or even before then, if what Garret had described of the Gardevoir¡¯s sudden awakening and the following discussion was any sign. No matter how Anne would react to Aria¡¯s honesty, she would need someone there with her afterwards more than ever, and Autumn was more than willing to provide all the comfort needed. And then some. Ember¡¯s whereabouts were much more of an enigma. By the time the elderly psychic woke up, the lil¡¯ fox was gone despite spending most of the preceding night huddling tight next to her. Hardly easy to sleep beside such an intense, emotional warmth, but Autumn made it work, mostly by tossing the entirety of her usual array of blankets into the far corner. The Indeedee just hoped the Braixen had run over to Anne once she woke up. Their bond, the little of it Autumn got to sense for herself directly, felt as unbreakable as the one between herself and Garret. Of course they would be each other¡¯s greatest comfort. It was by far the most logical place for the fox to have ended up at. But at the same time, with what had happened with Cinder still fresh in her memory... the entire topic sent shivers down her body. Shivers that she then used to shake the whole unpleasant strand of thought well off. Her fretting like this wouldn¡¯t do anyone any good; if Ember really was already with Anne at the clinic, then she¡¯d be seeing both of them in not too long, anyway. There, a much better subject to focus on instead. Autumn knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to find something to relax or at least distract Anne from the upcoming vote with all the stress and fears likely to be going through her body, but there were still options. She could tell stories, be it with young Garret or even from her own childhood; she could curiously ask about the parts of the human world that were unlikely to tie into the girl¡¯s traumatic past; she could just provide a ton of physical comfort. Anything to ease this terrible load¡ªthe kind that nobody ever ought to have to struggle with. And especially not a child. The Indeedee was in equal parts split between wanting and very much not wanting to run into either of the three elders on her way to the clinic. Calling them out on what they were doing was earned and justified, and she doubted she would¡¯ve been able to stop herself from giving Ana and especially Celia a piece of her mind if they crossed paths, but it sure wouldn¡¯t help with the upcoming vote. This wasn¡¯t like them, this shouldn¡¯t have been like them. They both used to be so caring of those who couldn¡¯t care for themselves back when Orion was still around, and now... The bitter realization stung even more than Autumn thought it would, forcing her to stop in her tracks and wrap herself tighter. So much has changed since that shocking news broke out of nowhere, and Autumn wished she could say it was mostly for the better. *sigh* No matter what, this was where they were at now. Regardless of how much the people she used to look up to had changed, for bad or worse, her and her family¡¯s goal remained the same. They could do it, Autumn was sure of it. Just as she was sure she could piece together what had happened on the scene she¡¯d just walked into. Mikiri¡¯s latest attempt at replicating the human two-wheel laid in front of the wall of Holly¡¯s kitchen, its front wheel somewhere between heavily bent and outright split in half. The ¡®T¡¯-shaped part above it also appeared damaged, but Autumn didn¡¯t know the original device well enough to diagnose what exactly had happened to it. There was an odd-looking, black smudge on the wall, at around the wheel¡¯s height. Above it, a rather sizable crack spanning several bricks. And in front of it, Ori was busy wrapping a second bandage around Mikiri¡¯s forehead, on top of the now blood soaked first one. ¡°I don¡¯t get this weird contraption!¡± the Mawile ranted, ¡°I tweaked the pedals, moved the handle within reach, reinforced all the parts I could weld more metal onto and it worked for a while!¡± ¡°What about braking?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the thing, Ori! I¡¯ve been fumbling with every part of this thing and there¡¯s just nothing that helps you stop!¡± The Mawile expressed her annoyance at the inanimate object with spirited gestures, while her co-tinkerer made sure she wouldn¡¯t bleed out in the middle of a rant. A slightly closer look let Autumn spot a pair of long wooden blocks attached to the parts where human feet would¡¯ve presumably rested at, as well as what largely appeared as assorted clumps of metal welded onto the frame at what looked like random. And right as she took one more step, she finally spotted someone else beside the Steel-type duo. ¡°Whiiiich is why I asked Ori to fetch ya, Geiger. Thanks for swinging along!¡± Mikiri greeted. Geiger tipped his head at the Fairy-type as he responded in kind, ¡°Howdy, Mikiri. This, uh... doesn¡¯t look pretty.¡± ¡°I grabbed bandages first,¡± Ori added, voice even flatter than normal. ¡°Dunno why; I was fine. Anywho anywho Geiger¡ªdo you have any idea how this dumb thing comes to a stop? You used to hang around a lotta humans, right?¡± The elderly Electivire stroked his cheek as both he and the Magnemite attached to his arm inspected what could be very generously described as a heavily modified bike. His memories were hardly the most helpful on the spot. ¡°Yes, I have, and I¡¯ve seen a few of these in my time. Never at the moment to see how they came to a stop, though. Or I suppose even if I had, I must¡¯ve forgotten about it since. Out of everyone working at the facility, only a few guys used these bikes, most stuck to cars¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s a car?¡± Mikiri perked up at the unfamiliar term. Her maw parted slightly in excitement at there being more human-made locomotion machines out there, and the Scizor beside her groaned at some of his freshly applied bandage slipping off the Mawile¡¯s head because of her sudden movements. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s its own kind of contraption! The size of a small hut, moves around on four or more wheels, all metal and with room inside for at least five humans or so. Though I¡¯ve seen many be even larger than that.¡± As if a switch had flicked, Mikiri¡¯s new tinkering wish was changed in an instant from ¡®another undamaged two-wheel that she could actually take apart bit by bit¡¯ to ¡®the mysterious car¡¯. ¡°Are they just out there? How many of these ¡®cars¡¯ are around? How do they move? Do you also pedal them like these two-wheels or is it the same glowy stuff you¡¯ve described in the past¡ª¡± ¡°Mikiri,¡± the Scizor interrupted. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Focus please, I ought to be going soon.¡± ¡°Oh right right, that ¡®scouting¡¯ thing you also do sometimes.¡± The Scizor rolled his eyes at that framing, lifting his pincers up to bury his face into them at the thought of all the mess that today would entail. Instead, though, he found his arm being yanked off to the side, sticking over to the magnet with a grating ¡®clunk¡¯, much to Geiger¡¯s immediate laughter. ¡°Seems you¡¯ve made a friend, eh, Ori?¡± Geiger¡¯s words made the Mawile finally look up from the freshly created mess and structural damage of her own creation, and up at the expert she¡¯d called over shortly prior. Mikiri wasn¡¯t ever the best at remembering specific details about people, but she could¡¯ve sworn that the Electivire didn¡¯t use to have someone else with him there. Which meant that they had to come from somewhere. ¡°Geiger! Where¡¯s the magnet from?¡± Mikiri¡¯s chipper question caught the Electric-type¡¯s attention right as he was finishing prying Ori and the lil¡¯ magnet apart the hard way, leaving Ori reeling backwards once his accidental bond finally came undone. ¡°This lil¡¯ fella? Nobody¡¯s all too sure, but we think it was likely that nearby human pit of a town¡ª¡± he paused, realizing why the Fairy-type was asking about that. Much to the little one¡¯s sanity, he shut her off before she could start badgering them with questions, ¡°¡ªbut they¡¯re too young to talk, anyway. I doubt they¡¯ve seen much of anything that could¡¯ve been of interest to you.¡± The Mawile went from opening her mouth to speak to folding her arms with a grumpy expression in a split second, left grumbling to herself afterwards. With no further leads, there really wasn¡¯t much she could do but to drag this pile of junk back to her burrow, fix whatever she could, and keep drilling holes in the recent human¡¯s two-wheel with her intense staring, hoping to crack its mysteries. Or... there was another thing she could do. The realization brought a crooked smile to Geiger¡¯s face as the impromptu gathering prepared to all start leaving, his remark catching the entirety of attention of both Steel-types, ¡°Well, this one doesn¡¯t know, but Anne likely has an idea about how you¡¯re supposed to stop these things.¡± Even from her distant vantage point, Autumn felt the resulting shift of emotion extremely clearly. Disappointment turned into excitement, and annoyed relief became a veritable wallop of uncomfortable stress, both at right around the same instant. ¡°Good call. Ya think I could go and get that dealt with right away? Heard about her being awake now or something,¡± Mikiri perked up. ¡°I¡¯d advise against that with the human¡¯s uncertain state.¡± ¡°Whaddya mean by ¡®uncertain¡¯? Gah fine, whatever, just let me know when she¡¯s done finally being settled so I can go and pick her brain all about this and everything else¡ªdo you have any idea how much junk I¡¯ve got piling around that I just have no idea what it does and have passed using it for some good scrap because of it!?¡± Ori blinked, bewildered. ¡°¡®Settled¡¯?¡± The two Steel-types stared at each other in total disconnect, their shared confusion intense enough for neither to notice a small drop of rusty blood that snuck out from underneath Mikiri¡¯s bandages and flowed down her nose. ¡°Yea, settled. Y¡¯know, didn¡¯t Aria say she was gonna be keeping her or something in that burrow of theirs? Figured they¡¯re all busy doing that right now. Maybe I could go and knock on their door to bother them about it. Can¡¯t be hoarding all that secret human knowledge to themselves, ha!¡± ¡°...yer bleeding, Mikiri,¡± Geiger chimed in. ¡°Still!? Oh gimme that!¡± Without waiting for Ori¡¯s response, the Mawile hopped in place just barely high enough to grab the rest of the bandages in his grasp. Her technique wasn¡¯t any more skilled or effective than the Scizor¡¯s patented ¡®looks fine enough¡¯ style, but at least it was faster. ¡°Ya tongue rusted, Ori?¡± she teased. ¡°The human isn¡¯t in the process of being settled,¡± the Scizor explained. ¡°Why not? Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re keeping her in that stuffy clinic room forever. Having to spend one night there was already much too long.¡± ¡°That hasn¡¯t been settled yet. Today¡¯s scout council meeting will seek to decide on the human¡¯s fate.¡± ¡°Oh, fuckin¡¯ come on,¡± Mikiri whined. The mild profanity was accompanied by a couple more grunts and the most undignified bandage bow to have ever existed, tied awkwardly on top of her front head. ¡°Whatdya mean, ¡®not decided¡¯!? Imagine how helpful with all the human tech she could be! We¡¯ve both heard all the rumors about the things their contraptions can do¡ªGeiger there was that thing with having fresh water and electricity everywhere, right?¡± ¡°In almost every single one of their buildings, correct.¡± ¡°And all the control over electricity they have, and how they make light from it and use it in their devices! OH and that way to weld metal without Fire Fanging! C¡¯mon, I know you¡¯d LOVE that Oriiii!¡± The Scizor was now firmly in the territory of ¡®very uncomfortable¡¯, anxiously looking all over the scene except at the very fairy presently grilling him. Some of these would indeed be very helpful, especially the more precise tools they¡¯ve heard rumors about humanity having access to. However, it¡¯s not like there weren¡¯t any concerns and counterarguments to be raised. ¡°I find it difficult to imagine a simple child knowing much about most of these.¡± ¡°Even just a little guidance helps! Just somewhere to point us to and get us started, and let us figure stuff out afterwards! C¡¯mon, you¡¯d love it!¡± she pleaded. ¡°Mikiri has a point, Ori~.¡± The Electivire didn¡¯t need to say much to have the discussion work out heavily in his favor all the same, merely teasing the Scizor as needed. The Mawile knew the metal bug better than anyone else, and the Electric-type thanked whoever was watching for the oftentimes chaotic tinkerer bringing help towards Anne¡¯s cause. Still, Ori insisted, ¡°That is a very nearsighted way of thinking, Mikiri. The security risks because of the human¡¯s presence here cannot be ignored.¡± ¡°Oh, give me a break¡ªif it was really this bad they all would¡¯ve already tossed her over to other humans to deal with and all of y¡¯all would be patrolling our perimeter every single walking minute. And you sure as hell wouldn¡¯t be able to just stand there being a wet rag.¡± ¡°I-I told you I should be going.¡± ¡°If it was that serious you¡¯d be running already and not waiting for this conversation to die down first either~.¡± Ori¡¯s drawn-out, metallic sigh was his only answer, the Scizor unable to come up with any convincing response to his co-tinkerer¡¯s words. ¡°Get real, Ori,¡± Mikiri chuckled. ¡°You want more help with figuring out all the human tech, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°...perhaps.¡± ¡°Now we¡¯re talkin¡¯.¡± ¡°Make sure your actions later today reflect that, Ori,¡± Geiger minded. Despite some points of the discussion slipping into one ear and out the other, Autumn found it remarkably uplifting overall. Especially when considering Aria¡¯s previous tension about the Steel-type scout. If Mikiri and Geiger really just managed to get Ori on board, that meant they had the seven votes needed to ensure Anne¡¯s safety. Of course, the Indeedee knew all too well that this was only the absolute minimum of reassurance. That they ought to and would keep on pushing harder, trying to sway people¡¯s opinion, anything to make her safety not just likely, but certain. Still, even this little helped so much, relieving a lot of painful pressure in her shoulders, making her immediately feel several years younger. Geiger wasn¡¯t done talking yet, however. ¡°Now that we¡¯re done with that... I actually had a question for you two.¡± The uncertain tone had Autumn stop mid step, curious enough to hear him out before continuing her march. ¡°Do... either of you have any thoughts about romantic relations?¡± he asked. The Indeedee went from interested to momentarily stunned, listening in as closely as she could with her psychics and ears alike as he elaborated, ¡°By which I mean, any ideas about how to discern genuine interest from simple infatuation? I used to think none of this sort of stuff was for me, nowhere near, and now I¡¯m... you could say I¡¯m reconsidering. Just wanting a second opinion on a subject I¡¯m unfamiliar with, is all.¡± Despite threatening to catch on fire from all the blush on her cheeks, Autumn kept listening on all her senses. The initial response, to the best of her ability to tell, was... a profoundly confused silence, from both Steel-types. Not the sort of confusion that came from not understanding the words being spoken, but a much deeper, more thorough kind. ¡°...What?¡± Mikiri squeaked. The words made sense, but didn¡¯t translate into anything either of the two were even remotely familiar with. ¡°Uh, nevermind. Hope your duties go well today.¡± Geiger¡¯s departure made the Indeedee leave for real, fluster mixing with barely held in giggling at the tinkerers¡¯ reaction. Hardly the best crowd to be asking for romantic advice, and she knew the Electivire knew that too, but she sure didn¡¯t expect them to just be completely unable to respond. Could be they¡¯ve never loved anyone romantically; could be they never would. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with that, but it still amused her greatly. She really needed a chuckle like that. The elderly psychic finished cooling off after all that, just in time for her to run into some more close faces, each bringing a smile to her face. Sure, Marco was too busy in his chatting to respond with anything beyond a simple wave, but it only made sense considering who he was talking to. He¡¯d mentioned last night that he¡¯d be trying to talk to Lumi the next day, and based on Aria¡¯s experiences, Autumn couldn¡¯t imagine that being a pleasant ordeal in the slightest. Or that it¡¯d leave both of them as nervous as they were. However much concern that sight might¡¯ve inspired in her, it was swiftly washed off in just a moment after she turned another corner. ¡°Good morning, Garret!¡± She neither had to ask, nor was she opposed in the slightest to her son lifting her up and sitting her on his shoulder for a while as they chatted, the silly antics always making them both laugh. ¡°Hi mom! The kids were still waking up the last I saw them, and figured that I could leave them safely after blowing the fire out.¡± ¡°Mhm~! Did you wait until the stew was done boiling?¡± ¡°Yes, yes I did, mom...¡± The exasperation had the Indeedee giggle as she leaned over closer to her son, around his pointy ear. ¡°Good! Any plans for today?¡± ¡°I brought up trying to talk to Max yesterday, and I¡¯m still planning to go through with that.¡± Undoubtedly a good idea, and Autumn was sure of that. But... a part of her doubted how much good could actually come from doing that. She couldn¡¯t recall seeing the Meowstic around ever since the news of Anne being in their village spread out on a second thought, the realization chilling her deeply. Of course she couldn¡¯t; why would he do that considering his history with humanity? That still didn¡¯t make throwing Anne away just to keep one person comfortable an ethical idea, of course. Talking to likely the most traumatized one by all this would need to happen, eventually. However, the Indeedee doubted whether Garret was the best candidate for that. He was gregarious and friendly, sure, but she worried that any such attempt to chat would only come off as trying to pressure him to support the human whose arrival sparked all this. Which... yeah, it kinda was. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. *sigh* The things they all had to do to ensure her safety. ¡°I hope it goes well, Garret, though I am a bit... worried.¡± ¡°I get it, mom, but I think I know how to approach it all!¡± Just had to trust her son, and that much she could do. ¡°I hope so, sweetie.¡± With one last embrace, followed by being lowered back onto the ground, Autumn was on her way once more. The clinic was just right ahead, forcing the Indeedee to pause and properly clear her head before proceeding further. Worries or not, Anne needed comfort most of all, and not someone who was as concerned as she herself likely was¡ª ¡°Auuuutumn!¡± Lavender¡¯s old, creaky voice caught her attention, signaling a perfect opportunity to cleanse her mind just like that. She knew much better than to wait for the Grass-type to slowly amble her way over, scooting up to her instead and speaking up right away. ¡°Good morning, Lavender! Got some good news?¡± ¡°Pleeeenty. The huuuuman¡¯s shawl is gooooing well! Ready eeeeeven tomorrow!¡± As incredibly fast as that was in a vacuum, a bit of Autumn¡¯s heart stung at the realization that even that pace could end up being too slow in the end. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful; thank you so much.¡± ¡°Aaaaanytime! Soool finally sloooowed down and left some fluff! Once I¡¯m done with the huuuman¡¯s, then I¡¯ll fix Embeeeeer¡¯s! I remember it being wooorn out in places, and I want to chaaaange it to match with huuuuman¡¯s better!¡± Autumn only listened to the news with one ear, the rest of her constantly trying to calm herself down ahead of seeing Anne again. ¡°Sounds like you got a good plan, then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve beeeeen wondering wheeere she is. I knooooocked on her den today, and sheeeee wasn¡¯t home!¡± The remark brought another unnerving thought to Autumn¡¯s mind, one arguably much more likely than her earlier fretting. ¡°D-did anyone answer?¡± ¡°Yeeeees! Ciiiinder looked awful and diiiidn¡¯t tell me much, but sheeeee answered! Since when do Fiiiiire-types cryyyy?¡± The Indeedee sighed in relief at the confirmation of the fox having not run away again, though what followed left a foul taste in her mouth. As much as the elderly Lilligant slowly chuckled to herself at her own joke, Autumn didn¡¯t really like it, especially at what she saw of Ember the day she and Anne reunited. ¡°I think they always could cry, really. I have to be going now, unfortunately.¡± ¡°Nooooo worries! Soon both girls will be all nicely warm and swaddled, I tell yaaaa!¡± With the attempted distraction tactic proving unsuccessful, it forced Autumn to go about it the most manual, hard way as she stepped into the clinic¡¯s main chamber. One deep breath, another, then a third still. Things would be alright eventually, and the most she could do for Anne right now was to be a source of comfort for her after all that she¡¯s been through. They¡¯d figure out everything else in time, she was sure of it¡ª *eeeeeeeeeee!* The elated squeak coming from her right barely caught Autumn¡¯s attention at first, though that changed the instant she realized it was aimed very specifically at her. Its source was obvious, hovering above the bed next to the far wall, their eyes gleaming with excitement at seeing her poor ol¡¯ self. She knew very little about Phantump in general, and that went triple for this little one in particular. It was their first time running into each other; she didn¡¯t even know their name, and yet... her presence made them oddly happy. They must¡¯ve just liked Indeedee, she supposed? Weird, but preferences like these were hardly unusual in the grand scheme of things¡ªfor better or worse. Odd as it was, she waved back, especially since they were clearly a child. Even more excited glee wasn¡¯t what she expected to see or feel in response, but hardly surprising considering their sheer adoration for her. Their waving was... clumsy; arms flailed as if unused to being this small. The Banette sharing a hospital bed with them was just as surprised at all this as Autumn. Their eventual grumble finally made the Phantump float down beside them and ease out into giddy squirming instead. Autumn sure didn¡¯t expect to see any of this, but couldn¡¯t deny that it made her feel much better. Just what she needed right now. With one last breath, she stepped into Anne¡¯s room, the sight considerably better than what she feared. Aria sat on the bed¡¯s edge, with both Anne and Ember on her lap in a warm, tight hug. The Indeedee didn¡¯t want to interrupt the moment by speaking, but her arrival alone was enough to make the cuddly bundle separate after several minutes of silence. Aria was the first to break up the silence, ¡°^Good morning, mom.^¡± ¡°^Hello there sweeties. Are you all alright?^¡± ¡®Alright¡¯ was a very tricky term, especially with all three having clearly cried just recently and Anne in particular looking like she was still on the edge of tearing up again. ¡°~H-hello Mrs. Autumn. I think I¡¯m okay,~¡± Anne answered, her voice quiet and tired, immediately prompting another embrace from the fox sitting beside her once Aria had finished moving them both off her lap. The warm hug, and the resulting chuckles, did wonders for everyone present, especially as the girl tried her hardest to return the affection afterwards. And in the meantime... the Gardevoir had a confession to make, in private. ¡°^Mom, I... I promised her she¡¯d be safe with us, no matter what the vote decides.^¡± ¡°^Yeah, of course.^¡± Autumn¡¯s nonchalant response had Aria raise her eyebrow way high. Her mother-in-law clearly wasn¡¯t getting the full implications of such a promise. ¡°^Even if it requires us to uproot ourselves and leave this village to keep her safe.^¡± ¡°^Well... I doubt it¡¯ll come to that even in the worst case, but if that¡¯s what it takes, then that¡¯s what it takes,^¡± the Indeedee responded, shrugging. Aria didn¡¯t respond for a few moments, busy sorting through thoughts in her mind and trying not to laugh out loud at such a ridiculous, and yet entirely correct, answer. ¡°^I didn¡¯t expect you to take it so lightly, mom.^¡± ¡°^Why wouldn¡¯t I? If that¡¯s the only way to ensure her safety, then that¡¯s that.^¡± ¡°^What about Cadence and Bell? What about Marco?^¡± ¡°^Me and Garret survived on our own long before this village¡¯s existence. We¡¯ll sure as hell make it in an entire group like that.^¡± ¡°^I-I meant¡ªwouldn¡¯t that be cruel to them?^¡± ¡°^Sure, but it¡¯s not us inflicting that cruelty on them. If your dumb council¡¯s vote forces us to decide between Anne¡¯s safety and your kids¡¯ friends and stability, then that¡¯s their fault. Besides, I sure doubt that Cadence in particular would take well the realization of her comfort having been prioritized above Anne¡¯s entire life...^¡± That last idea sent a freezing chill through Aria¡¯s horns, as well as really making her want to hold her biological daughter close. Alas, no time for that until way later in the day, if not until after all the nightmare had been decided. Nothing the Gardevoir couldn¡¯t deal with, of course, but... goodness could she use some of that right now. Would help with her arms shaking as much as they already did. ¡°^I really hope that after all this is over you¡¯ll take some time off for yourself, sweetie,^¡± Autumn sighed, concerned. ¡°^If I get a chance¡ª^¡± ¡°^Nah, just do it. Your scout bunch can manage on their own without your presence there, I¡¯m sure of it. If all this works out, if Anne ends up safe, promise me you¡¯ll give yourself the time you need to recover, Aria. Both for her, and much more importantly, for yourself. You can¡¯t keep going with so much stress in you forever, sweetie.^¡± Aria wasn¡¯t exactly confident about agreeing, but went ahead and limply nodded her head, anyway. ¡°^I¡¯ll try.^¡± ¡°^Good, good. Now, have a good day Aria, and please keep yourself grounded until the vote, alright?^¡± ¡°^I-I¡¯ll try mom, promise.^¡± ¡°^Love ya, Aria.^¡± ¡°^Love you too, mom.^¡± With one last telepathic hug, the Gardevoir was finally on her way, leaving Autumn alone in the room with the pair of weary, tired girls. One of which had already lost her fight against her exhaustion, resting on her friend in a gentle, one-armed embrace. ¡°^Holding up well, Anne?^¡± the Indeedee asked, upbeat mental voice piercing the gloomy atmosphere. She lifted herself onto the bed with her green psychics, sitting down beside Anne. The girl answered, ¡°~I think so, M¡ªAutumn.~¡± ¡°^Heheh, if you¡¯d really prefer using ¡®Mrs.¡¯ every time, then sure, go ahead. I just told you that you didn¡¯t have to.^¡± ¡°~I-I know, it¡¯s just... h-how I¡¯m used to when talking to adults. I¡¯ve always had to use either ¡®Mr.¡¯ or ¡®Mrs.¡¯ with everyone, and it just... comes naturally to me,~¡± Anne explained. ¡°^Nobody else you could talk with in a more natural way?^¡± ¡°~Not since my grandma, n-no...~¡± All the Indeedee could offer was comfort, and that¡¯s what she did shortly after. Her shorter stature made it hard to hold too much of the girl¡¯s body, especially with her holding from her left side, but nothing a bit of telekinesis couldn¡¯t help with. ¡°^I¡¯m so sorry to hear. Well, whether it¡¯s ¡®Mrs. Autumn¡¯ or just ¡®Autumn¡¯, I¡¯m here for you both, and will be watching over you today.^¡± Anne took the news with a soft smile, leaning in closer. ¡°~Thank you, Mrs. Autumn. I... don¡¯t really know what to do now. I doubt I¡¯m in the right mood for drawing after what we talked about with Aria, and I don¡¯t want to bore you by taking a nap¡ª~¡± ¡°^Don¡¯t you worry about me, sweetie~. If you¡¯re tired, then feel free to snooze, you¡¯ve got a lot on your plate tonight.^¡± ¡°~I d-don¡¯t think I am, that¡¯s the¡ª~¡± *rustle, rustle, rustle* Both the psychic and the human looked up at the entrance to their room, expecting to see either a healer wanting to check up on Anne, or Cadence & co. to keep her company. They turned out to be neither. So was the second person who ran in, then the third, and the fourth; Anne left reeling back in an equal mix of surprise and uncertainty. All the while, Autumn¡¯s expression grew ever flatter with each of the unexpected guests. And then; they all finally noticed her. ¡°M-Mrs. Autumn!?¡± Zephyr squeaked, breaking out of the group¡¯s stupor at having ran away from class to see the oh-so-mysterious human, only to run into their teacher sitting there with them. Lacking any words, the Stunky turned to the rest of the group, who didn¡¯t fare much better. Blossom wasn¡¯t as shocked as the others, but still doubted all this would reflect well on her in the slightest. The Dartrix shook in worry as she looked anywhere but at her teacher. Mint¡¯s startle was palpable to the senses in more than one way, prompting Autumn to quickly put up a Safeguard bubble around the Gloom, doing her best to make it let sound through without doing the same with scent. ¡°What are you doing here, Mrs. Autumn?¡± Grace asked, the only one to lack the clear worry that filled the rest of the group, replaced almost entirely with modest confusion. Whether it was caused by the Zangoose being blissfully unaware of the mistake they had made, or just not caring about it, Autumn wasn¡¯t sure. Still, it was a fair question, and deserved a fair answer. ¡°^I¡¯m looking after Anne here for today. Guessing you all finally got curious enough to want to visit her in person?^¡± As sudden as the kiddo¡¯s entrance was, ultimately it was both harmless, and potentially even helpful for acclimatizing the village to the human¡¯s presence further. Of course, that depended on what did said human have to say about it, still processing the group¡¯s appearance one member at a time. Blossom was a familiar and very welcomed sight, of course, but the rest... well... they probably would be all nice too, when it came down to it. Without a clear idea of what to do now, Anne simply greeted them all with as confident of a wave as she could force out of herself. Which meant ¡®barely at all¡¯, but it still beat doing nothing, especially when combined with equally shaky words. ¡°~H-hello.~¡± ¡°Hi, Anne!¡± Blossom chirped, wasting no time before flying right up and onto the nearest surface that she could stand on. Namely, Anne¡¯s knee. Despite all the scary, sharp looking talons, it proved to not be painful at all, leaving Anne¡¯s reactions at just a startle, which then thawed into an amused giggle moments later. With Ember still firmly asleep, Anne slid her arm from around the foxie and reached it out beside the Dartrix. Said owl interpreting the gesture as an excuse to nestle into her front wasn¡¯t expected, but it sure wasn¡¯t unwelcome. ¡°~Hey, B-Blossom!~¡± The rest of the newcomer group wasn¡¯t certain how to react to such a sudden display of affection. Most of them just took the sights in for now, everything about how one of the scary and strange humans looked like. Autumn¡¯s lesson proved accurate in the end¡ªsheer height aside, Anne really didn¡¯t look even slightly threatening, sure not with how lanky her build was. Mrs. Aria at least had an excuse of being a powerful psychic to make up for that. Some needed more time to really notice Anne¡¯s full appearance than others, though. ¡°...how are you so tall?¡± the Gloom asked, sounding as surprised as someone speaking this slowly was capable of. His question left others uncertain about how to respond, since... yeah, Anne was tall. Really tall if her telepathically translated voice, sounding just as young as the group that had just visited her, was anything to go by. However, this wasn¡¯t the sort of question there really existed an answer to, forcing Anne to come up with an equally silly response. ¡°~...how are you so short?~¡± At least the other kids found it funny, if their held-in chuckles were any sign. ¡°^Now now, let¡¯s not ask these kinds of questions to each other,^¡± Autumn chided. ¡°^Humans just are rather tall, and Gloom just are rather short, it¡¯s as simple as that.^¡± Both Anne and Mint mumbled out something that vaguely translated to ¡®sorry¡¯ as they looked away from each other, forcing someone else to pick up the topic¡ªand someone else did. ¡°Oh oh, Anne, can I show them that nice drawing you made of me?¡± Blossom asked, taking the human out of any funk she might¡¯ve started falling into before it could get too bad. An affirmative answer made the Dartrix fly over to the clearly human bag with glee in her voice as she tried spotting where Anne had left it. Even despite her eyesight being magnitudes better than everyone else¡¯s in the room combined, the ¡®notebook¡¯ was nowhere to be seen, leaving Anne to speak up eventually¡ª ¡°~Oh, it¡¯s not in the bags, it¡¯s...~¡± The human opted to show rather than try to describe. After carefully laying down Ember on her back, Anne scooted over to the other side of the bed and started digging underneath the fluffy, mattress-like bedding, reaching her hand all the way to her elbow before finally finding what she was looking for and pulling it out. For once, not even Autumn had any idea about why Anne had done that. Most gathered didn¡¯t dwell on that confusing display for too long, especially not the owl most giddy to show off Anne¡¯s artistry to others, but... most didn¡¯t mean ¡®all¡¯. ¡°Why did you keep it buried like that?¡± the Stunky asked. His voice was boyish, slightly younger than Anne¡¯s, and had a perplexing mix of confident delivery and a slight wobble to their voice all the same. That wasn¡¯t even what Anne really focused on, though, only now realizing how unusual what she¡¯d just shown was and putting her in a somewhat awkward situation. Not even something she did consciously, but... oh well. ¡°~I, uh, f-force of habit.~¡± ¡°But why?¡± Zephyr continued, realizing how little Anne¡¯s response really explained. ¡°~U-umm¡ª~¡± ¡°^Zephyr, it¡¯s not nice to be digging into people¡¯s behavior like that,^¡± Autumn reminded. Her words helped, but Anne wasn¡¯t satisfied with that diversion. The question was valid, even if the answer to it wasn¡¯t... pretty. ¡°~N-no, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m... I¡¯m used to my pa¡ªpeople breaking or taking my stuff if I leave it in the open like this...~¡± This answer too clarified little, but its implications were at least much clearer to sense this time. As were the obvious follow-up questions of ¡®who¡¯ and ¡®why¡¯. For all his prior brashness, Zephyr seemed to know better than to keep prying. Instead, he got up from his precious spot and... laid down beside Anne¡¯s legs once she¡¯d returned to her previous position, as if to look after her. Aww. Blossom wasn¡¯t far behind, either. Even before she was done flipping the pages over to the one with her likeness, she hopped over and roosted beside the weary human. Her nuzzled affection wasn¡¯t as soft or as warm as Ember¡¯s, but it was appreciated all the same. ¡°~I¡¯ll be alright, d-don¡¯t worry...~¡± Anne tried to reassure. ¡°I¡¯m sorry others messed with your things, Anne,¡± the Dartrix comforted. Her concern was well-intended, but somewhat misplaced. Oh, if only it had been as quaint as ¡®others¡¯ messing up with just her ¡®things¡¯. If only. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again under my watch!¡± Zephyr chimed in, leaving her unsure how to respond. As nice as it felt knowing that someone here downright wanted to look after her like that, it really wasn¡¯t her immediate concern. And that¡¯s beside the point that a skilled psychic was much better suited for that task than a Stunky whose perspective was around one foot off the ground. Still, the gesture was appreciated all the same, making Anne hold the owlet closer and smile down at the lil¡¯ Dark-type in absence of any way of returning his concern beyond... petting him with her foot. She had no idea how well that¡¯d be received here, but preferred not to risk it all the same. ¡°~Thanks, heh.~¡± ¡°Anytime!¡± Silly as it might¡¯ve been, Zephyr¡¯s conviction still made Anne feel quite nice. ¡°D-do you still want me to show off your drawings?¡± Blossom asked. Anne answered with a light chuckle and a firm nod of her glasses-clad face. Blossom wasted no time scrambling herself out of the affection and showing off the nicest depiction of herself anyone had ever made once she found the right page. She flew around the room, trying to hover in front of all her friends with the notebook in her talons, letting them all get a good look. The reactions ranged from being solidly impressed, to being uncertain of how much they should be impressed, to a lack of any response whatsoever because of their attention having been captured by something else. ¡°What¡¯s that on your face?¡± the Zangoose asked, the question delivered in a flat, creaky, and yet feminine voice. It took both Anne and Blossom out of left field somewhat. The human girl guessed some would find glasses to be much more interesting than some mediocre sketches made by a wannabe ¡®artist¡¯ with no actual knowledge or practice... Trying to shake back that source of self-loathing before it could germinate further, Anne slid her glasses off and showed them off, ¡°~Th-these are my glasses. They help me see, and I¡¯m almost blind without them.~¡± Anne looked around the room to emphasize her explanation. An all-consuming blob of various shades of brown, and several vaguely defined colorful smudges strewn across it. Just enough to see where everyone was, but if not for Anne already knowing their species, she would have little idea what she was looking at. The lack of focus soon made her eyes tear up and forced her to put her glasses back on. ¡°How bad is your sight?¡± Grace continued. Her question was blunt, sure, but that didn¡¯t bother Anne as much as her being unsure how to answer it. ¡®-7.5 diopters¡¯ was as helpful an answer in an optometrist¡¯s office, as it was utterly useless here. And that was assuming it was still accurate. It¡¯s been a couple years since she¡¯d gone to get her prescription with her grandma, who knew if her eyes hadn¡¯t gotten any worse since then. Even the very glasses she wore were long past their prime, and she had to occasionally ¡®tweak¡¯ them with pliers to keep them fitting on her head as she grew. Thankfully, neither the Zangoose nor anyone else here really cared about any precise measurement, letting Anne answer appropriately vaguely once she¡¯d realized that. ¡°~Really, really bad. Bad enough t-to make you look like a white and reddish blob without them on.~¡± The Zangoose tilted her head. ¡°Do all humans see this badly?¡± ¡°It would be much easier to keep ourselves h-hidden if they did!¡± Zephyr chuckled, helping Anne avoid responding to such a silly question herself, the resulting amusement releasing a fair bit of tension around the room. Guess as opposed as she was to it previously, she still could give petting him with a foot a try. Coordinating the body part in question was tricky, but surprisingly doable. She started just behind the Stunky¡¯s ears, petting across his entire back. Well-worn socks didn¡¯t make for the nicest material to be delivering affection through, but¡ªmuch to her relief¡ªthe Stunky really didn¡¯t care about such trivialities. What mattered is that it felt really nice. ¡°How do these help you see?¡± Blossom asked. Her question was nowhere near as rude as Grace¡¯s, but it wasn¡¯t any easier to answer, unfortunately. Anne thought through how she¡¯d even explain her specs¡¯ functionality to the assorted kids, especially with her previous attempt at doing so ending up accomplishing nothing more than bringing further confusion to Aria and Autumn. She supposed a different way of describing it could work, a more inaccurate but more evocative one? Hopefully. ¡°~They fix your sight if it¡¯s already bad, but if it¡¯s good, they make it worse.~¡± The rest of the group took the explanation in without many complaints¡ªthough not the Dartrix herself. ¡°But hoooooow?¡± ¡°~They... *sigh*, th-they curve light.~¡± ¡°Wow... how do they¡ª¡± ¡°Can I look through them?¡± Grace cut in. Anne was immensely unsure how to respond¡ªshe wasn¡¯t opposed to others looking through them in principle, but... probably not when it involved the only thing that let her see being handled by paws with claws the size of knives. If only there was a way¡ª ¡°^I¡¯ll help sweetie, don¡¯t worry,^¡± Autumn reassured. The human nodded as the Indeedee carefully hovered her specs around, taking a couple of attempts each time to orient them the right way before letting each of the kids take a peek through them. Most of them went as expected¡ªbrief headaches, expressions of disbelief, confusion about how something that they can¡¯t see through at all can help anyone regain their sight at all. Exactly the same step-by-step list that happened each time she showed them off to human audiences in the past. Guess humans and mons really weren¡¯t that different, heh¡ª ¡°...ooooh. I see more of you now, I think,¡± the Gloom mumbled. ... Everyone gathered looked stunned at Mint, though only Anne really knew what his admission meant. ¡°~O-oh. Seems you¡¯re n-nearsighted too?~¡± ¡°...near-what?¡± ¡°~You see f-far away things much worse than close things.~¡± ¡°...oh. Yeah.¡± The nonchalance with which the Gloom had acknowledged Anne¡¯s impromptu diagnosis took the girl aback a bit. Definitely not how she had reacted to her first glasses... probably. She was too young to remember when that had happened. ¡°~Looks like you c-could use a pair of glasses y-yourself, heheh...~¡± ¡°...why? I¡¯m doing okay,¡± Mint responded, puzzled. His words were even more confusing than his previous tone, leaving the two kids at somewhat of an awkward impasse. Anne eventually muttered, ¡°~But¡ªwouldn¡¯t you wanna see better?~¡± ¡°...maybe. Everyone helps me when I can¡¯t see something. It¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°~Y-yeah, that wouldn¡¯t work in h-human world... really hard t-to get around if you see as bad as I normally do.~¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t seeing close things better than far away things normal?¡± Zephyr¡¯s question was appreciated for the change in topic it brought with itself. Diagnosis of visual issues wasn¡¯t usually a fun subject, but it sure beat thinking about how the world from which she hailed from could only accommodate her if she ¡®fixed¡¯ herself to be in line with regular people. ¡°~Yes, b-but it¡¯s really bad for me. I-I had my sight tested¡ª~¡± ¡°How do you even test sight?¡± Grace asked, tilting her head. ¡°~Oh, many ways!~¡± Anne perked up. ¡°~There¡¯s the test where you have to read smaller and smaller symbols and at s-some point they¡¯re too small to make out. O-or in my case I had them tested with a laser!~¡± The Indeedee asked, ¡°^What is a ¡®laser¡¯, Anne?^¡± ¡°~It¡¯s, umm¡ªit¡¯s like a lot of light packed into a very narrow beam.~¡± ¡°...is it like Flash Cannon?¡± Mint asked. ¡°~Wh-what?~¡± The term rang some distant bell in Anne¡¯s mind, but not much beyond that. It sure sounded like a name someone would give to a move, and she probably overheard it from one of father¡¯s league binges once or twice, but she had absolutely no idea what it looked like or what it did. Considering it was a move, though, the answer to the question of ¡®what it did¡¯ almost always ended up being ¡®mayhem¡¯. ¡°~N-no, no, not a move. If I had my eyes t-tested with it, it probably would¡¯ve t-taken my entire head with it, h-heh...~¡± To Anne¡¯s immediate concern, either nobody got her joke, or nobody found it funny, since the expressions around the room were much more shocked than amused. Thankfully, Mint was there to help change the subject once more, ¡°...so it¡¯s Electric-type then?¡± Hardly a question the girl could answer, either. She supposed that thinking of everything in terms of types made much more sense for a mon than it does for a human, but it wasn¡¯t a mindset she knew how to get into, especially when already feeling put on the spot. She supposed it was only fair to admit that, then. ¡°~I don¡¯t know. M-most things in the human world don¡¯t really fit into neat ¡®types¡¯ l-like that.~¡± ¡°...doesn¡¯t everything have a type?¡± ¡°~I was t-taught that humans don¡¯t have any types and that we aren¡¯t even Normal-type. L-like, what type is something a-as simple as the sun, for example?~¡± ¡°Psychic.¡± / ¡°...Fire.¡± / ¡°Fairy?¡± / ¡°E-electric!¡± Four voices arriving at four entirely different conclusions immediately shifted the mood from mild shock at Anne¡¯s claim about humans being typeless, to all the kids looking at each other with surprise and confusion. The human couldn¡¯t even get a word in edge-wise before an argument broke out, the sort that she had absolutely no way, or desire, to contribute to. Grace argued, ¡°Can¡¯t be Electric, doesn¡¯t glow like a lightning bolt.¡± ¡°...no way it¡¯s Fairy, or it¡¯d hurt all the Dark-types!¡± Mint insisted. ¡°If it was Psychic, all the psychics would feel it every single day!¡± Zephyr pointed out. ¡°How c-could it be Fire?¡± Blossom asked. ¡°It¡¯s glowing and not burning!¡± The disagreement quickly devolved into an all-out, no holds barred shouting match between the four. Thankfully, Blossom at least hopped off the bed before joining the rest of her friends in their deep, philosophical discussion. Anne, meanwhile, was somewhere between stunned and wanting to collapse underground at accidentally sparking it all. Autumn was laughing her lungs out. All the combined chaos was loud enough to stir Ember out of her exhaustion nap and straight into Anne¡¯s good arm. The vixen was taken aback at seeing so many of her classmates here all of a sudden, but wasn¡¯t any more eager to get into such a pointless discussion than her human. What she did do, though, was join in on Autumn¡¯s continued giggling. Anne laughed along once she¡¯d gotten over her embarrassment, the two girls leaning on each other as any remaining tension quickly evaporated. The evening would be scary and who knew what would happen, but for now, they had each oth¡ª Right as Anne was about to finish calming down, though, everyone gathered heard yet another laughter join them. Whispering, rustling, very girlish and coming from right behind them. It made the laughing trio stop and look around in confusion, their combined gaze soon stumbling onto the Phantump from the next room over, floating a couple of feet above Autumn. They said something upbeat and amused when noticed, but almost nobody understood them. Instead, all the laughter suddenly ending made the rambling quartet call a ceasefire in their argument in case something bad had happened; their shared focus was soon also drawn to the stray ghost. Way too much of way too sudden attention for the little one. They let out a frightful squeak, and dove behind the Indeedee, using her to hide from the other kids. She chuckled, ¡°^Teehee, someone¡¯s got a few too many eyes on herself, hasn¡¯t she? Here, let me just link you up and¡ªAnne?^¡± Just beside Autumn, Anne stared at the Phantump so close to her, aghast. Before anyone could ask her what was wrong, She spoke. ¡°~How are you speaking Unovan?~¡± Chapter 23: Trauma The silence filling the clinic room lingered for a while as everyone either processed, or tried to process the implications of Anne¡¯s realization. Autumn¡¯s eyes went wide after just a moment as it all clicked for her, but others were much less successful¡ªand that included Sage. ¡°~Huh?~¡± the Phantump muttered. As astonished as this human was at something, she couldn¡¯t quite piece together what it was exactly. She recognized the last word the girl had said from somewhere, but not what it meant, leading her to tilt her head a bit. ¡°~Wh-what do you mean?~¡± Anne didn¡¯t expect that reaction in the slightest. It made her doubt her own observation for a moment before she shook it aside. Regardless of whether they understood her, they still clearly spoke Unovan, and almost certainly used to be a human¡ªused to. Maybe they just didn¡¯t remember what ¡®Unovan¡¯ meant? Not a word most used often in their daily lives, very few people spoke anything other than it after all, at least outside of large cities. Ultimately, though, none of that truly mattered. What mattered is that Anne felt both concerned and sorry for the ghost child in front of her, and wanted to help them somehow. And that required them to meet each other first. ¡°~Umm... nevermind. Hi, m-my name is Anne! What¡¯s yours?~¡± Thankfully, the human¡¯s meeting had the desired result. Her understandable voice, unknowingly made even more so with Autumn¡¯s help, was friendly and warm, something Sage couldn¡¯t get enough of. After shaking some of her previous shock, she hovered over closer and spoke up again, her words much more upbeat this time, ¡°~I¡¯m Sage! Nice to meet you, Anne!~¡± The ghost¡¯s greeting clarified two things in Anne¡¯s mind, one much more harrowing than the other. They were obviously a girl, and clearly a young one at that, younger than even her. The slight distortion when Sage spoke made it difficult to estimate exactly how old she sounded, but she couldn¡¯t have been older than seven or eight years old. ¡°Hello, Sage!¡± Ember woofed, taking the hauntling aback¡ªbut only for a moment. In no time, Sage had hovered over to the firefox and introduced herself to her too¡ªand then the rest of the room. Each of her greetings was warmer and more energetic than the last, all the pleasant interactions only making her more eager towards having more and more of them. She was rather skittish when talking to Grace in particular, though, which Anne... couldn¡¯t blame her for. A nice¡ªif slightly blunt¡ªZangoose was still a Zangoose after all, and even the older girl would need a lot more exposure before she could finish reclassifying the sight from ¡®run away NOW¡¯ to ¡®person¡¯. She knew full well that broad categorizations like that helped nobody, but they lingered in her mind, whether she liked that fact or not. She might as well take them head-on and work through them instead of pretending they aren¡¯t a thing. Autumn ended up being the last person to meet the ghostie, still rather stunned. Enough so to make Sage speak up and ask if there was something wrong, making the Indeedee lightly shake her head and offer the lil¡¯ one a hug. One gladly taken¡ªsurprisingly so, considering Sage¡¯s previous skittishness. The most welcome kind of ¡®surprisingly¡¯. As the situation in the room calmed down enough for the visiting kids to gradually drift back towards chattering among themselves and for Anne to come to terms with this Phantump some two feet away from her being a dead girl, the human heard a familiar voice in her head. It was clearly Autumn¡¯s, but... slightly muffled, its contents quickly clarifying why that was. ¡°^Anne, do you... have any ideas about how we could help Sage? Oh¡ªjust focus on words in your mind and I¡¯ll pick them up, no need to speak out loud.^¡± It was an excellent question, which Anne had barely any idea how to answer. She half-heartedly nodded as she tried to really think through the implications of her revelation, their combined tragedy soon boring a pit in her stomach. This was just a little girl, someone¡¯s child, and now she was dead and presumably very, very far from home. The underlying surprise of a Phantump being a former human was there, but it was hardly important enough to merit anything more than an off-handed acknowledgement. The past few days have made it very clear that mons weren¡¯t anywhere near as different from pe¡ªhumans as everything in Anne¡¯s life had tried to teach her. Why would they and humans be any different when it came to coming back as ghosts? Why would humanity be spared from that horror? As Anne kept thinking, further unpleasant realizations followed, with some of them aimed at nobody but herself. She was right, Sage was just a little girl, someone¡¯s child, and so far away from her family. And all that would¡¯ve been just as true even if she¡¯d been a Pidove, or a Patrat, or any other species in her past life, too. She had enough grip on herself in that moment to not let herself be dragged into the pit of self-loathing, not this time, but the self-awareness still stung. She eventually thought, ¡°^How could we help her? I¡¯m... I¡¯m not sure. I suppose knowing what had happened to her would be helpful, but I can¡¯t imagine that being comfortable for her to think about, and I don¡¯t know if our curiosity will do her any good.^¡± Autumn acknowledged Anne¡¯s words with a light nod as she blankly stared into the nearby wall, her paws thoughtlessly petting Sage¡¯s wooden shell. The Indeedee was too distracted by her own thoughts to notice the unpleasantness swirling around Anne¡¯s mind, but Ember didn¡¯t have that obstacle. No matter what exactly had soured her best friend¡¯s mind, she still wanted to swat it out. And there were few better antidotes to Anne¡¯s anguish than the firefox¡¯s soft warmth filling her lap and pressing itself into her front. As Ember dispensed affection, Autumn responded, ¡°^I think it could help a lot, though. Even if there¡¯s only so much we could do with that knowledge, we might find out how to comfort her more, or whether there¡¯s some dangerous predator nearby some of our scouts could deal with. Of course, all that only if Sage wants to talk about it. I¡¯d loathe to put her through even more pain than she¡¯d already been through.^¡± The Indeedee¡¯s response had Anne shudder slightly as she petted Ember¡¯s back with her one functional hand; the thought of the younger girl having been hunted down deeply terrifying. Unsurprising¡ªthis was the wilderness after all, and every single human kid has had it drilled into them that venturing into the woods was very dangerous¡ªbut still terrifying. Suppose this rationalization made sense, especially if it could lead to the village becoming safer overall. This was all miserable, and her eyes were rather damp even just from thinking about it, but they could figure something out for the lil¡¯ ghostie¡ªthey had to. A further downturn in the mood earned Anne even more warm affection from the Braixen, slowly melting through the worst of her worries. Ember wasn¡¯t entirely sure about the specifics of what Anne and Autumn were talking about, but she agreed with their drive wholeheartedly. ¡°M-mhm!¡± The Braixen¡¯s woofed affirmation had Sage look over at her confused, much to the fox¡¯s amusement. Unsure how to respond verbally, she recalled a cute human gesture Anne used to show to her, trying her hardest to curl her fingers into a rough shape of a heart. Scuffed as her attempt at conveying the symbol was, it was nonetheless understood by the recipient, lighting up the Phantump¡¯s expression and prompting her to try returning it. To no success, but fortunately, that didn¡¯t demotivate her too much¡ªespecially with someone else stepping up in curiosity. ¡°Th-that¡¯s a cool name, Sage!¡± Blossom chirped. Her greeting wasn¡¯t the most well thought out in the world, but it succeeded at catching the ghostly girl¡¯s attention all the same. And then, startling her at the realization that the Dartrix was standing some four inches away from her and had flown over entirely silently. Which then startled the owlet, not expecting such a drastic reaction; the two left unsure how to respond. Zephyr caught just enough of the exchange to break into chittering giggling, almost making Blossom speak up at him in a mix of slight fluster and equally mild annoyance¡ªonly to be cut off by someone else stepping into the room. ¡°Alright everyone, you¡¯ll have to get out for a moment to give the human some space. It¡¯s time to change their bandages,¡± the unfamiliar voice explained; simultaneously a brief burst of buzzing with several clicking noises interspersed in it and a middle-aged lady mustering out all the patience she had available. Anne perked up at the sight¡ªshe had seen the Leavanny that had just walked in a couple more times by now, but never heard her speak with a provided translation. And as important as having her bandages and cast changed was, the thought that everyone would have to get out of the room because of her was an unpleasant one. Then again, forcing them to sit through what almost certainly was a gory sight didn¡¯t sit right with her, either. Maybe the nurse could just lower the curtain around the bed again and shield them from having to see it that way. ¡°~U-um¡ªno no, you don¡¯t have to leave,~¡± Anne responded. Her words stunned the Leavanny, both because of being translated for the first time, and for defying her guidance in such a blatant way. Before the bushbug¡¯s surprise could turn to annoyance¡ªor worse, anger¡ªAnne continued, hoping to clarify, ¡°~W-would it be possible for the curtains to get lowered again s-so that those who want to stay can just hop on the bed?~¡± Now that was a much more understandable idea, if still rather silly. Though, if the patient was comfortable with it, then the Leavanny supposed she could let it slide. ¡°Sure. Alright everyone, you best get over there or get ready to see some blood. And you... u-um...¡± ¡°~¡¯Anne¡¯?~¡± ¡°Yes, Anne. Sorry. Lay down here. You¡¯ll have to move, Autumn.¡± The room erupted into a fair bit of chaos as the mantis nurse got ready and prepared everything needed to reapply a fresh cast. Anne¡¯s still-aching body appreciated getting to lie down again; most shifted further away from Anne¡¯s injured arm to avoid the gruesome sight¡ªbut surprisingly, not everyone. Of her guests, only Blossom did, leaving the other three behind to watch what was underneath all the thick bandages in a mix of morbid curiosity and... regular curiosity. ¡°First, I¡¯ll need to numb the arm again,¡± the Leavanny explained. ¡°Can you¡ª¡± Anne was familiar enough with the procedure to know what to do now, pulling back what remained of her sleeve to expose as much of her shoulder as she could, and stuck it out for better access. The eagerness of the gesture took the Leavanny aback, but not for long, especially as the surprise turned into appreciation for cooperating. ¡°Thank you, Anne. This will sting a bit. Hopefully, it hasn¡¯t been too painful for you in the past.¡± ¡°~No, not at all!~¡± Even despite her knowing exactly what would happen, the touch of the nurse¡¯s leafy limbs on her bare skin took Anne aback. She didn¡¯t have the time to react further before it was followed by a quick, barely noticeable sting, and then... blissful nothingness. The muted aching in her left arm wasn¡¯t bad enough to leave Anne agonized, but having it be suddenly removed still brought a wave of immense relief. ¡°~Ohhh... th-thank you, umm... nurse.~¡± ¡°Name¡¯s Maple. And... you¡¯re very welcome, dear. I¡¯m really glad you¡¯ve been cooperative.¡± Whatever hesitation there might¡¯ve been once Anne had first spoken up was now entirely gone. Maple¡¯s words were as confident as they got, and that extended to her actions. Bit by bit, she peeled the cast off, making the girl shudder despite the lack of any associated pain. Nothing but a slight cold chill, and the unpleasant, wet sounds every once in a while. She was so, so glad she didn¡¯t have to see all the gory details¡ªsomething the ones that elected to stay behind the curtain couldn¡¯t say. ¡°...ohh, ewww. Wh-why¡¯s there so much blood...¡± the Gloom mumbled. Anne didn¡¯t like the implications of these words one bit. ¡°Pfffft, most of us are full of blood, Mint,¡± Maple chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s really only us Grasses, Steel-types, and Ghosts that are the exception to that¡ªand some rocks, too, I suppose. In almost everyone else, there¡¯s a lot of this stuff when taken together.¡± The nurse¡¯s answer was helpful in explaining the Gloom¡¯s surface-level confusion, but did little to help with the underlying disgust. As Maple continued to take the cast apart, the Poison-type¡¯s obvious discomfort got louder and louder, culminating in a dry heave, soft steps toward the room¡¯s entrance, and the rustle of the canvas flap being violently pulled aside. ¡°Gnarly,¡± the Zangoose commented. She sounded more bored than the human would¡¯ve ever suspected anyone to react to the presumed sight. A few moments later, she continued, genuine surprise filling her voice for the first time today, ¡°Wait, where¡¯d he¡ªMint! Where¡¯d you go?¡± And then, the noises of her leaving the room. Over on the other side of the curtain, Anne was managing rather well. Ember had snuggled up to her almost immediately after she laid down. Fortunately for everyone involved, Sage didn¡¯t try looking through the flimsy barrier separating her from a sight nobody her age should ever witness. Instead, she slowly gathered the courage to join the very comfy Braixen before Zephyr spoke up, making her jump, ¡°Wow, I... I¡¯m really glad I don¡¯t have to see this in the wild.¡± Everyone in the room, aside from Anne and Sage, agreed strongly with that observation, even without seeing the bloody mess being referenced. The Phantump didn¡¯t quite figure out what they meant, but the human did, shuddering at the thought of anyone present here having to hunt other living beings for survival. Only the most natural thing in the world, only absolutely horrific. ¡°Indeed, Zephyr, indeed. So... Anne. I think I remember you using your arms a lot,¡± Maple chimed in, snapping Anne out of any growing warmth-induced drowsiness. The girl first nodded, and then clarified once she remembered that Maple couldn¡¯t see her, ¡°~Y-yes, I use them all the time.~¡± ¡°It¡¯s gonna be a long while until your arm is all well again, sadly,¡± the Leavanny sighed. ¡°We can Heal Pulse all we want, but grave injuries like this still take a while to mend. And then I¡¯m unsure how much you¡¯ll be able to use it even after it¡¯s done recovering. I think I remember seeing some nerves being damaged too...¡± The thought of her injury being potentially permanent sent a pang of fear through Anne¡¯s body. It stirred Autumn out of her thoughtful mood enough to scramble along to the human and try to join in on the comfort as the girl responded, ¡°~I-I see. Th-thankfully my other hand is the dominant one, I¡¯ll live...~¡± Maple asked, confused, ¡°¡®Dominant¡¯?¡± The question took Anne aback¡ªand behind the human¡¯s line of sight, Autumn, too. She supposed it was just a human thing, one she¡¯d be glad to explain in that case. ¡°~It¡¯s uh, it¡¯s when you¡¯re much b-better at using one hand than the other. L-like, I can draw and write with my right hand, but have no idea how I would do it with the other one.~¡± ¡°^Really?^¡± the Indeedee lifted her eyebrow. ¡°^I would¡¯ve thought these sorts of skills would work with both arms.^¡± ¡°~No, they don¡¯t, n-not for me at least.~¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine b-being better at using one wing than the other, heheh...¡± Blossom giggled. Her comment was amusing, but it also got Anne thinking. That made sense, with birds having one wing be stronger than the other would make it impossible for them to fly straight, and much the same was probably true for quadrupeds. Which left bipeds¡ªand even then, only some of them, judging by Autumn¡¯s confusion. ¡°Is that a human thing?¡± Maple asked. ¡°~I-I think so, Mrs. Maple.~¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± Ember woofed in, taking everyone else aback¡ªespecially with the topic in question sounding so human. ¡°I h-have that too! I only use my left hand for my wand.¡± ¡°~Are you left-handed?~¡± Sage asked. The Braixen first paused as she double checked whether that word meant what she thought it did, before eagerly agreeing, lighting the hauntling¡¯s spirits. ¡°~Ooooo, that¡¯s cool! I¡¯m right-handed.~¡± The Phantump waved both her arms for emphasis, without a visible difference in how well she could move them. Could be that ¡®dominant¡¯ hand thing didn¡¯t show up when waving, could be that she just wasn¡¯t ¡®right-handed¡¯ anymore. A neat, and somehow-not-entirely-human fact in either case. The Leavanny continued, ¡°Well, at least I¡¯m glad that this won¡¯t impact you as much as it would if it was the other arm. There¡¯s something else I¡¯ve been curious about, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°~S-sure.~¡± Anne felt her shoulder getting lightly pulled all around and exactly nothing below it, but the steadily decreasing coldness implied that Maple was applying the new cast. It wasn¡¯t anything uncomfortable, but the sooner she could move freely again, the better. ¡°When you first got here, I saw a few of these small, round burn scars on your arms and had no idea what to make of them. All I could figure out was that they must¡¯ve been here even before your accident. What had caused them?¡± Well-meaning as the question was, it immediately sent a shudder through the girl¡¯s body and the minds of the two nearby psychics. The answer was straightforward and horrible in equal measure, and exactly nobody wanted Anne to have to push herself through putting words to a disgusting, horrifying truth. Still, the girl tried, ¡°~I-it¡¯s f-from... f-from¡ª~¡± ¡°^Her human parents inflicted these onto her, and it won¡¯t happen again,^¡± Autumn asked for her, voice steadfast and not permitting even the slightest consideration of pursuing this topic any further. It was rather unlike her, taking the Leavanny aback, but she wasn¡¯t about to argue with something this clearly unpleasant. ¡°I see. I¡¯m... very sorry to hear, Anne. Alright, I think I¡¯m done here. I will pull up the curtain now.¡± The mix of Braixen warmth and a gentle psychic hug embracing much of her body helped Anne brace herself for the sight that awaited her¡ªa thankfully tame sight. Her arms were wrapped in layers upon layers of reinforced silk, some of it still fresh enough to glisten. No blood on either her shoulder or on the couple fingertips that stuck out of the cast, but... the scene wasn¡¯t without its gory parts, with Maple taking her time before carrying what remained on the previous cast out. So, so red on the inside... It was nauseating, and not just for Anne. ¡°S-sorry Anne I have to go-*umph*¡ª¡± Before the girl could even finish turning her head, Blossom was gone through the magically safeguarded window, leaving everyone still present hoping Dartrix hadn¡¯t gotten too sick. Ember fared better, and Sage was thankfully too distracted by staring at the stick in the fox¡¯s tail to notice, needing a long while to realize that both the owlet and the mantis were now gone. Wanting to drag herself away from all that unpleasantness, Anne wasted no time before sitting back up and turning towards Sage. Anything to get her own condition out of her mind, and there was no better way to do that than to contribute to something genuinely helpful. ¡°~Hey, Sage?~¡± The hauntling¡¯s ¡°~Hmm?~¡± had her looking all around the room, confusion creeping onto her wooden face at the surroundings yet again having shifted. So much more change here than in the uniform mix of white snow and black trees outside... Anne continued, ¡°~S-so... me and Autumn were curious about where you came from, a-and if you remember it.~¡± Contrary to the worst of her fears, Sage didn¡¯t immediately break into tears. In fact, she took the request very calmly; one spectral hand gently patted the bottom of her shell as she tried to think back. Which sadly didn¡¯t mean her introspective efforts would amount to much, however. ¡°~I... d-don¡¯t remember. I¡¯ve only been walking through the forest with Mr. Yaksha and sometimes sleeping.~¡± The unfamiliar name caught everyone¡¯s attention, Anne continuing shortly, ¡°~¡¯Mr. Yaksha¡¯? Who is he?~¡± ¡°~He¡¯s a friend! He found me when I was all alone and has been protecting me! He¡¯s a bit angry sometimes, but really nice!~¡± As glad as everyone gathered was to hear that the little one didn¡¯t have to brave the wilderness alone, the latter remark caught the attention of Anne and Autumn in particular, neither of them liking it. The human asked, ¡°~Did he ever... d-do anything to you?~¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°~Nooooo! I said he¡¯s nice, he¡¯s just... uh... often not happy and talks little and sometimes gets angry, but never at me!~¡± ¡°^Hmm... ¡®rough¡¯?^¡± Autumn chimed in. ¡°~Y-yeah! He¡¯s my friend, and I wish he was happy.~¡± ¡°~I-I hope he will be when he sees you having fun with us! What species is he?~¡± ¡°~Oh?~¡± Once more, a term Sage was unfamiliar with, forcing Anne to restate her question. ¡°~Wh-what does he look like?~¡± ¡°~He¡¯s this big, and gray all around, and has these silly teeth that open.~¡± The mental image of ¡®teeth that open¡¯ brought varying levels of discomfort to everyone gathered, but the human had a hunch about what it meant. ¡°~D-do they open from the side and are golden?~¡± ¡°~Golden?~¡± ¡°~Yellow.~¡± ¡°~Yeah!~¡± ¡°~So he¡¯s a Banette?~¡± While Autumn realized she¡¯d seen one of these earlier right beside Sage, the Phantump herself got... a bit confused. She didn¡¯t remember knowing that word, but the more she thought about it, the more something came back to her recollection, eventually culminating in a shaky nod. ¡°~Y-yeah, I think so.~¡± The confirmation left Anne uneasy, in turn. All she¡¯d ever heard associated with that species was immense cruelty and pure hatred, and to hear of one that had been apparently looking after this little ghost girl was... unexpected. Still, clearly yet another bigoted human myth, she was well aware¡ª ¡°^Wouldn¡¯t have thought one of them would ever make for a protector,^¡± Autumn commented. ...or not just human this time. Anne chuckled to herself, relieving some of the steadily building tension. As casual as their chat had been so far, Anne was almost certain it wouldn¡¯t remain so for much longer. One deep breath, another, time to continue. ¡°~I¡¯m glad to hear he¡¯s been looking a-after you. Do you remember what happened... before that?~¡± As predicted, Sage¡¯s body language grew more uncomfortable almost immediately. Anne didn¡¯t know what to do, but Ember¡¯s wordless affection was eagerly accepted and appreciated. It was the most pleasant thing the Phantump had ever experienced, making her only bury herself further into the fluff. It didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d be giving an answer to this particular question. Anne and Autumn alike mulled through where to take this chat next¡ª But then; Sage clumsily turned around, and responded, ¡°~I... I d-don¡¯t remember much. I know I-I used to be something else, b-but... I don¡¯t know what. All I remember is laughter and my head hurting so, so much and it always makes me scared and I want to know what happened and¡ª~¡± Anne¡¯s hug wasn¡¯t anywhere near as comforting as that of the Braixen, but it was just as well received, especially with the human pulling in both the ghostie and the fox she was snuggling into in one fell swoop. Autumn wasn¡¯t far behind either, focusing more on the situation around her now that they¡¯ve both figured out a lead, and made sure that the lil¡¯ ghost was interested in being helped. As the part Grass-type slowly calmed down, others listened in to the commotion happening beside them. Stunky weren¡¯t particularly well suited to climbing anything even close to vertical, but that didn¡¯t mean Zephyr wouldn¡¯t give it his best effort. Eventually, he¡¯d made enough holes in the bedding to pull himself up onto it, and approached the cuddle pile. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry it happened to you, but I¡¯ll protect you, Sage! I won¡¯t let it happen again!¡± he reassured. His posturing was silly at best, but that didn¡¯t make the gesture any less heartfelt, bringing smiles to the room¡ªaside from Sage. ¡°~B-but Mr. Yaksha is already protecting me.~¡± The clarification brought on a few moments of awkward silence during which nobody really knew what to say, the Stunky most of all. Thankfully, Autumn was familiar enough with kid-induced awkwardness to think of a way out, audibly clearing her throat before telepathically chiming in. ¡°^That¡¯s still a wonderful gesture Zephyr, thank you. Now, Sage... would you want me to help you remember what happened?^¡± Focus being brought back over onto the Indeedee made the Phantump¡¯s expression light up once more. She wasted no time before huddling closer to Autumn¡¯s front and firmly nodding; her sheer affection towards the psychic was no less confusing than it was earlier. ¡°^Alrighty, we can try to figure it out together! Now, Anne? Would you mind coming along with us to help me make sense of any human things I might see?^¡± The human had absolutely zero idea what ¡®coming along¡¯ could¡¯ve meant there, but it didn¡¯t matter. As long as she could help the undead girl out, she was down. ¡°~Yeah!~¡± ¡°^Are you sure? I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯ll be anything... pretty,^¡± Autumn warned. ¡°~I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m used to not pretty things. I¡¯ll be alright.~¡± To the Indeedee¡¯s utmost regret, Anne was very right about that. ¡°^Okay. Ember, could you give us space? Sage, could you sit on Anne¡¯s lap for this?^¡± The hauntling took her time letting go of the chubby psychic, but ultimately did as asked, and so did the Braixen. Anne¡¯s one-armed hug wasn¡¯t anything warm like Ember¡¯s or padded like Autumn¡¯s, but it felt... nice in a more familiar way, at least. ¡°^Thank you both! Now...^¡± the Indeedee started, taking the deepest breath of her life before sitting down beside the human and the once-human. She laid a paw on Anne¡¯s forearm and grabbed Sage¡¯s hand with the other one. She felt immense dread fill her as she prepared to descend in a much more controlled way than a couple of days ago. No matter how nervous it made her, Sage deserved to know what had happened. And both she and Anne wanted to help with all their hearts. ¡°^...let¡¯s do this.^¡± A wave of static rushed through Anne¡¯s brain as her body suddenly grew weak, slumping forward together with the other two. In just a few seconds, all three of them were completely out, somewhere between asleep and fainted, as Autumn reached into Sage¡¯s memories. To the very beginning. To her very end.
*crunch* *crunch* Slow, careful steps filled the small clearing. The point of view the three were forced into was almost entirely focused on the surrounding forest floor. The occasional glances up at the nearby trees showed off the beautiful fall colors filling the scene, be they still feebly holding onto the branches or laying dried on the ground. It was the latter that Sage was specifically interested in, though, their colorful sneakers constantly looking around in search of the biggest pile of leaves to crunch through. They liked that sound. Despite the focused point of view, most of Sage¡¯s outfit was visible. A bright yellow, puffy jacket, sneakers spanning half the rainbow, a loose pair of stretchy jeans. And, on top of the latter, a clearly oversized skirt, one dark-skinned hand constantly having to hold it in place around their waist. It felt nice to wear. How it looked and especially how it moved when they tried to twirl. It was so, so pretty, just like when their older sister wore it. Sage hoped she wouldn¡¯t notice it missing for a moment. They didn¡¯t remember her wearing this one in a while, and if they just put it back like it was before, it would be fine, right? Their sister would probably be so angry about them taking it without her knowledge, and looking weird in it, if she ever found out. A part of them knew they weren¡¯t supposed to be wearing it. After all, skirts were for girls, and not for¡ª ¡°~Guys, look! Sage¡¯s wearing a dress!~¡± Suddenly, the focus snapped over onto the small hill surrounding the clearing. On top of it, a trio of older boys. Faces distorted beyond comprehension. Sage could only stand there in panic as they watched them approach, one arm still clutching their sister¡¯s skirt to their side. The boys¡¯ cruel laughter grew with every step, especially as they continued to mock them in their low voices, ¡°~Guess he¡¯s really just a sissy, ahahaha!~¡± ¡°~No kidding! What, were you too fed up with just being a crybaby, Sage, and just had to grab a dress to go along with it~!?~¡± The point of view shifted slightly backwards as Sage tried to hold them back with a raised hand. Eventually, a boyish, shaky voice responded, right as the three walked up to them. Sage¡¯s voice. ¡°~L-l-leave me alone¡ª~¡± ¡°~Or what? You¡¯re gonna cry harder?~¡± The three¡¯s roaring laughter reduced Sage to shaking again as they were surrounded. Each of the boys had a solid foot on them, the sheer distortion around their heads only conveying a cruel smile. And then; the first shove came. The world turned into a blur as Sage tried to remain standing, forced to let go of the skirt to regain their balance. It was of little help though, especially as they then tripped on it, sending them down onto their knees, to the trio¡¯s monstrous amusement. They were too afraid to leave the skirt behind, grabbing it again before trying to run¡ª ¡°~Oh man, everyone¡¯s gonna love this!~¡± As scared as Sage already was, it was nothing compared to the sheer terror that the taunt stirred in them, bringing them to tears. ¡°~P-p-please don¡¯t tell¡ª~¡± ¡°~Or what, huh~? What are you gonna do, you fucking crybaby, piss your pants!?~¡± Yet more laughter, paralyzing Sage further. The world turned into a blur as they were shoved again and again, stumbling over their feet with every painful push. ¡°~Figures you dressed up like a girl with how whiny you are!~¡± ¡°~A fucking baby is what he is, a little baby girl that needs his bottle badly!~¡± Sage closed their eyes as they tried to endure it all. Their inner ear screamed at being constantly shoved around, their body cried at the shoves turning into punches, into kicks, into more and more painful bruises. ¡°~And don¡¯t you even fucking try telling anyone about this¡ª~¡± The whirlwind of pain abruptly stopped as they got grabbed by their shoulders with a grip strong enough to send them screaming if they had any voice left. ¡°~¡ª¡®cuz if you do, we¡¯ll tell everyone what a fucking FAGGOT you are!~¡± An instant later, the most forceful shove yet, sending Sage falling backwards. They pried their eyes open, looking up at the sky, at the beautiful fall around them, at the trio of popular, well-off bullies, at their smug, self-satisfied grins. Their laughter burned itself into their mind as they fell, fell, fell¡ª And then, darkness and unimaginable pain from the back of their head. They tried to move; they tried to do anything, but their body wouldn¡¯t listen. There was only burning, radiating suffering that intensified by the moment, and freezing numbness enveloping them from all around. Sage felt their warmth be drained through the back of their head, felt something wet there, and could do nothing but lay there. And listen. Laughter. Shouts. Screams. Steps racing away from her, crunching through the fallen leaves. And eventually, nothing more, for an eternity. Freezing cold, oppressive darkness, suffocating silence. Without reprieve, without end, without mercy. Untold infinities later, a blink back to the recollection. A silent, unmoving gaze staring down at a lifeless body. Dark-skinned, bloated, covered in dirt and debris, with a few parts already taken by wildlife. Around its head, a brown, dried-out blot. Surrounded by decomposing leaves and almost entirely barren trees. Alone. The scene continued in perfect stillness for an unknown amount of time. Not a single thought, not a single motion, only the oppressive, unending sight of a carcass that used to be a person. And then, a distant voice. Followed by another, and another still. One of them low, very low, just like she¡¯d heard before¡ª Before¡ª She had to run. At last, Sage turned and levitated away as fast as she could, the most distant voices suddenly eclipsed by her own panicking breathing. Everything shook; the world was once more a blur of white and brown and gray and black¡ª In the distance, a heartbroken shriek behind her. A wail of a family shattered, of a child lost, of an unspeakable tragedy. Further and further away. Soon enough, it was gone, as was everything else. There were only the trees around her, the frost and decomposing leaves underneath her, and the silver, clouded skies above her. A cruel world in all its vastness.
All the trio knew was that they¡¯d been crying for hours. They remained motionless even as they returned to awareness, only capable of shaking as tears continued to flow. Anne kept the little girl close and held her tight, so very tight. She was afraid to let go of her even for a moment, afraid of unthinkable horrors happening to her again, of her being hurt so cruelly again. Autumn¡¯s angle didn¡¯t let her do much physically, but she more than made up for that with her psychics, keeping Sage in as warm of an embrace as she could manage, as if to protect her from the deathly cold. Sage hurt more than words could describe. The Indeedee felt everything going on around her. Felt their grief, their loss, their pain, Sage¡¯s overwhelming fear. She wanted to do something, anything, to help in the moment, but there was nothing any of them could do. Nothing that could make up for what the Phantump had gone through. All they could do was be there for her, no matter what. As Autumn regained her bearings, she tried to push herself to at least check up on her surroundings. Ember held Anne as tight as she could, terrified at what was going on and feeling unable to stop it. Zephyr kept anxiously standing guard, constantly glancing over at them with uncertainty. The tiniest bit of relief filled his expression as he noticed his teacher beginning to come to again, but he didn¡¯t dare speak up about it. On the ground beside the bed, a wrapped bundle of a now-cold pastry, left behind by presumably Holly. Nobody else around them. Bit by bit, the Indeedee began calming down, pushing through the trauma of what she¡¯d just seen. No matter how much she needed comfort in the moment, the two girls beside her needed it more, and she had to be there for them both. Even as she tried to get rid of the last of them, tears kept coming in the most annoying way. Once Autumn felt confident about not immediately breaking down again should anything happen, she finally dared move. One paw stroking Anne¡¯s arm, the other Sage¡¯s hand. She couldn¡¯t do much, but she could do that¡ª And then, the Phantump recoiled slightly, withdrawing partially into her shell as she tried to press herself into Anne even further. ¡°~I-I-I wanna go home...~¡± The Indeedee wanted to weep, but persevered. ¡°^Shhhhh... shhhhhh....^¡± Quiet as they were, the shushes still helped. Just a gentle reminder of Autumn¡¯s soothing presence, gradually seeping into the two traumatized girls¡¯ minds and helping pull them out from the worst of it. Another attempt at physically comforting Sage went much better. The Phantump clutched her soft paw tight, clinging to it with all her strength, the little of it she had left after everything she just had to go through again. Autumn knew she couldn¡¯t say much beyond that, for there was nothing she could say. Nothing but the most banal response to a tragedy like that, the most obvious one. And yet, the Indeedee still said it, because it needed to be said. Because Sage needed to hear it. ¡°^I¡¯m so sorry, sweetie. We¡¯re here for you, no matter what.^¡± Pained as she still was, the words had reached the lil¡¯ Phantump, making her slightly loosen her grip on the psychic¡¯s paw. They helped, even if they couldn¡¯t fully mend it all, even if they couldn¡¯t answer the most harrowing of questions at the root of it all. ¡°~Wh-why did they do that to m-me...~¡± The Indeedee continued her affection as she wondered how to respond to a question like that. There wasn¡¯t much directly in the terrible vision that would explain why these specific humans had set their abusive sights on specifically Sage, but it didn¡¯t matter. Because ultimately, the answer was the same. ¡°^Some people are awful, and want to hurt others no matter what, Sage. We could debate for days about why that is, but... in the end, that¡¯s just how things are.^¡± The Indeedee¡¯s response was as satisfying as an answer to that entire moral conundrum would ever get¡ªwhich was to say, not in the slightest. Still, there was one more thing she realized she hadn¡¯t clarified, something easy to overlook, and yet, the most important sentence she could say. A philosophical answer wasn¡¯t the point, wasn¡¯t ever the point. ¡°^It¡¯s not your fault, Sage. I promise.^¡± What mattered was reassurance. However trite it was, it too helped, especially when accompanied by all the time in the world for Sage to calm down. Minutes upon minutes of silence, of gentle touch, physical and psychic alike, of the chubby psychic¡¯s warm, ever comforting presence. The most important message repeated over and over again when needed, anything to help it all hurt less. Anne took even longer to come to after everything she¡¯d witnessed. As harrowing as the recollection was for Autumn, it seemed to have hit Anne particularly hard, to where the Indeedee had to pry the Phantump out of the human¡¯s embrace just to let her move freely again. With time, she too regained her bearings, especially once everyone around had joined in to comfort her¡ªincluding Sage. Because as much as she hurt, Anne hurt too and was a friend. Why wouldn¡¯t she help her? ¡°~Th-thank you all...~¡± the human whispered. With her words signaling the return of the final member of the memory-diving trio, Ember immediately set upon vocalizing her concerns, ¡°A-Anne! What happened!? You all were crying s-so much, and even afterwards, and you were s-so sad, and...¡± The human didn¡¯t know how to answer. Ember deserved so much better than to have something as cruel as what they had all just seen be meticulously explained to her, insult by insult and strike by strike. Especially with Sage able to understand her as well. ¡°~J-just something really sad, Ember. I-I¡¯m okay now, I think.~¡± It was a lie, but one that couldn¡¯t be avoided unless they all wished to spend the rest of the day wallowing in the misery of it all. It wouldn¡¯t have even been a wholly unthinkable thing to do, not with how terrifying it all was, but they all had to move on. Sage didn¡¯t want to keep hurting by thinking about it, Autumn wanted to focus on actually helping the two girls out, and Anne... Had to make sure of something first. The human doubted whether Autumn had grasped all the implications of the scene now burned into her memories forever. Hell, she suspected she hadn¡¯t done so either, but there was one detail that stood out clear to her, something she knew existed but never really got to interact with before. Not consciously, at least. And she wanted to help, however little she could do. Help this lost child, this little girl feel safe, be her friend, and¡ªif what she¡¯d noticed was right... help her be a girl, too. ¡°~Sage?~¡± Everyone sat so close together that the matter of sliding over from Autumn¡¯s affection to Anne¡¯s was a matter of hovering just a couple of inches over. ¡°~Y-yes, Anne?~¡± ¡°~Could I ask you something... p-personal?~¡± Autumn looked at the human uncertainly. She wasn¡¯t sure where all this was going, but a part of her doubted it would do anything but bring more tears. Still, Anne clearly had a plan of sorts; she was doing this for a reason, and the psychic let her keep going for now. ¡°~L-like what?¡±~ Sage asked, confused. Anne took a deep breath as she tried to mull through the ¡®right¡¯ words for this. She wished so, so much she was more familiar with any sort of proper terminology for this, anything that would let her avoid potentially insulting this hurt child beside her, but... she didn¡¯t. All she could do was ask what she had on her mind as earnestly as possible, and hope it wouldn¡¯t be taken the wrong way. Eventually, she asked, ¡°~You¡¯re a girl, right?~¡± Everyone else was rather confused at hearing such an odd question, be it because of how from the left it was, or¡ªin Autumn¡¯s case¡ªby having no idea what did that matter for what they had all just seen. To Zephyr in particular, it came off almost like a setup for an exceptionally ill-timed joke, but no laughs came. Just an expecting human, and an uncertain hauntling, suddenly plunged into deep thought. It wasn¡¯t a topic Sage spent a lot of time reflecting on, especially after ending up like this. Being a girl felt natural to her, but after what she¡¯d just seen, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether she hadn¡¯t accidentally done something wrong. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have been thinking that. Maybe it was bad of her to do so. She didn¡¯t know, and the more she tried to mull it through, the more worried she became. It was only after Anne¡¯s fingers brushed against her wooden shell did Sage snap back to awareness, stuttering out the best answer she could think of, hoping it was the right one, ¡°~I-I think so... I¡¯m a girl, right?~¡± An instant later, as close of a hug as Anne¡¯s one arm could provide. ¡°~Yes, of course you are!~¡± Anne¡¯s audible determination, appearing to have come entirely out of nowhere, was perhaps even more surprising than the pointless question that came before it. Not unwelcome in the slightest, though, lifting everyone¡¯s spirits, especially when paired with her slightly teary, but resolute, smile. Sage didn¡¯t expect an answer like that, but what surprised her the most was¡­ her own reaction. Just how nice it felt to hear that. She didn¡¯t even know why, but it just did. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t the only question Anne had on her mind. She was well aware of just how much more unpleasant this second one could be, how many awful memories it could dredge up, but she had to know. They all had to know, so that they wouldn¡¯t inadvertently bring more pain upon her. Anne continued, ¡°~I also wanted to ask... would your parents have been angry if they knew?~¡± Despite how dumbfounding her question was for everyone else, Sage knew exactly what she meant by it. She might¡¯ve taken her time gathering her thoughts for this previous one, but this time it was she who answered with all the confidence her tiny body could muster out, ¡°~No! They w-wouldn¡¯t, they never did anything bad to me, they would never hurt me!~¡± Neither the tone nor the response Anne expected, but they were both reassuring in their own right. And resulted in an immediate follow-up, one that she feared would sting even more, ¡°~Did you tell them?~¡± Unfortunately, Anne¡¯s hunch was right. Sage¡¯s tiny body shook as she recalled her own thoughts about doing just that, from an eternity ago. All the doubts she had, all the times she took her big sister¡¯s clothing just for a moment to feel nice, all the times she felt like she didn¡¯t fit with the boys at all. Dozens of chances to speak up and talk to her parents about this, ask if she was doing something wrong¡ªall of them squandered. ¡°~N-no... I d-didn¡¯t know what was going on, a-and it was so scary and I didn¡¯t want to make them scared a-and¡ª~¡± Time time, everyone scrambled in. Even if only Anne truly knew what they all just discussed, Sage¡¯s distress was clear to see, and they all wanted to provide whichever attention they could. Touch, psychics, warmth, even just soft fur. All of them were noted, all of them helped. Anne felt guilty about pushing the conversation on like this, especially about something she neither had experience with nor didn¡¯t strictly need to know. After everything she¡¯d been through, she just wanted to be as sure as possible that this current hell wasn¡¯t indirectly caused by Sage¡¯s parents being similarly abusive or otherwise not accepting of her, but... it didn¡¯t seem to be. Which, if anything, only made it even more tragic. Because it all could¡¯ve been avoided, and wasn¡¯t. It stung and hurt, especially with the ghost¡¯s sadness soaking through her flimsy t-shirt. Anne wanted to help make up for all this. Make up, however ineffectually, for everything Sage had been through, but wasn¡¯t sure how. Was there even anything she could do? While the human churned through that question, Autumn was torn between concern for Sage because of the sudden emotional downturn, and alert at sensing something, someone, behind her. Pink, glowing eyes, golden zipper for a mouth, peeking in through the nearby wall. Staring at them all in anger. The Indeedee had no idea how to respond, focusing on putting up a Protect if needed while continuing to act as if she hadn¡¯t spotted them. If this really was the ¡®Yaksha¡¯ that Sage had mentioned, then they shouldn¡¯t have been a threat to them, but... their fury made Autumn think otherwise. Why would they be so angry if they really were the Phantump¡¯s guardian? Who were they really¡ª As if in response to Autumn¡¯s thoughts, she felt the ghost¡¯s emotions behind her shift. As intense as their anger was, it quickly gave way to first reassurance and relief, and then, even more worryingly, to distress and shame. It left the Indeedee stunned as she sensed Yaksha withdraw from their room¡ªand then seemingly from the entire clinic, too. Something was off about all this, and she needed to find out what. ¡°^Anne?^¡± she spoke up, her calm, no-nonsense tone perking the human right away. ¡°~Yes, M-Mrs. Autumn?~¡± ¡°^I... need to leave for a moment. Are you gonna be okay with just the others here until I¡¯m back?^¡± The thought made Anne shudder a bit, at least initially. She didn¡¯t feel in danger here even with her future being uncertain, and between Sage understanding her and Ember knowing enough telepathy to talk to her, Autumn¡¯s assistance wasn¡¯t strictly needed, but... she still made the girl feel safer. Cared for. Then again, Autumn definitely wouldn¡¯t have asked that without a good reason, so... ¡°~S-sure. A-are you gonna be back soon, Mrs. Autumn?~¡± ¡°^I hope so! Alright everyone, I need to take care of something and won¡¯t be gone for long. Please take care of each other in my absence, okay?^¡± Autumn¡¯s parting words prompted the predictable chorus of reassurances, bringing a weak smile to her face as she slid off the bed and headed out. She expected nothing else, but it still brought well-needed confidence. Once she¡¯d left, the Stunky wasted no time before jumping off the bed and... coming to a stop beside the door. Anne expected him to eventually move or at least vocalize something, but he just stood there, completely still. As if¡­ standing guard. ¡°~Thank you, Zephyr.~¡± He didn¡¯t even react, and not like Anne could blame him. Especially since her words were likely little more than gibberish to him¡ª ... ... She figured it out. Without wasting another moment, Anne immediately slid over to the edge of the bed that all the bags laid beside, and dug in. Several items she needed to get, a few more she hoped to find¡ªassuming that Mrs. Graham had taken what Anne thought she had¡ªand the last few would just make the entire process easier. Ember helped a bit, though mostly by pulling everything needed up onto the bed with her psychics. At some point during the process, an array of noises that came from the direction of the door snagged the Braixen¡¯s attention. Squeaks, woofs, mewls and oinks, some familiar but many not. A part of Anne¡¯s mind begged for her to look over her shoulder and see what in the world was going on, but it was just this one thing left; she could get it done first¡ªyes, there it was! Pulling a plain, all-black, and very well-worn t-shirt from underneath a dozen pounds of cargo turned out to be harder than expected, especially with Anne¡¯s ability to get leverage being... limited. Still, she managed it, tossing it onto the small pile beside herself before assessing her spoils. Freshly dragged out shirt, the knife she took from her house, a smaller pencil case with a few assorted items. Some glue, some needles, rusty scissors. Beside all these, a few markers and a mess of dark fabric that used to be a pair of trousers some three years and five sizes ago. She had everything she needed. With the supplies taken stock of, Anne finally turned around to find out who had joined them all in the meantime. Bell was an appreciated presence¡ªsomething Sage could attest to right away¡ªReya looked cute as she chatted with Ember; the Shinx roughhousing with Zephyr was charming, and the Grumpig watching over them all... was there, too. ¡°~Sage?~¡± Anne asked, catching the Phantump¡¯s attention once more. ¡°~Did you ever want to have long hair?~¡± Chapter 24: Scars Garret had a plan. Despite the seriousness of the task ahead, he marched on with a smile, confident in his ability to discuss it all in the right way. His plan wasn¡¯t the most detailed out there, and if there was anyone who knew that sometimes not even familiarity trumped the impact someone¡¯s looks might have, it was him¡ªbut he wouldn¡¯t let that get him down. His role in keeping Anne safe wasn¡¯t as crucial as that of his wife or mom¡ªat least, not yet¡ªbut he didn¡¯t take it any less seriously because of that. The human girl¡¯s future was uncertain, and if a closer chat with one of his coworkers would help her chances even a little, then that was all the motivation he needed to give it his all. ¡®Coworkers¡¯ as a term was... stretched, in this specific context. Both of their roles around the village were very fluid. They weren¡¯t expanding fast enough for someone to be constantly tasked with working on new construction, but his mix of raw strength and decent dexterity never had to look far for a problem he could help with. Putting new buildings up or expanding existing ones was his most common task, though, and the Meowstic he was heading towards was often busy carving decorations and furniture for said buildings. They knew each other just enough to be relatively friendly, but not to have ever spilled their hearts to each other, which... they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid this time. Garret tightened his fur¡¯s grasp on his thin limbs as he pushed on, some of the winter cold piercing through, regardless. No matter how hard he tried to keep his spirits up, this was going to be difficult, and doubts were never too far behind. Doubly so, with nobody having seen Max for the past couple of days. Thankfully, Hawthorne wasn¡¯t bringing any worries about her dad up, which meant that whatever reason he had for keeping himself in his burrow, it wasn¡¯t anything tragic. The Grimmsnarl hoped so, at least. Even without tragedy, his seclusion still had unnerving implications. The Meowstic was never the most courageous person out there, but he gave off the impression of being calm and composed, unlike what his present absence would¡¯ve implied. Then again, considering what humans had done to him, it could just be the case of a fear intense enough to erode any composure. It would make Garret¡¯s task here much more difficult if so¡ªand even more necessary. He could do this; he could help his wife and the little girl out¡ª ¡°Garret,¡± a buzzing voice spoke, making him look off to the side¡ªand stare the Vespiquen in the eye. Hardly the person he expected to just chat him up, leaving him with a blank, yet still intimidating expression as she continued, ¡°What is the human¡¯s status?¡± ¡°Plenty good, Liz!¡± he answered, cheerful. ¡°She was recovering mighty well last I saw her yesterday!¡± This time, it was he who was the receiver of a blank stare, growing blanker still as the exhausted Vespiquen slouched slightly. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean personal status. Are they staying or not?¡± A much drier, more matter-of-fact question that Garret had absolutely no answer for. He really, really wished he did, be it so that they could either start celebrating or figure out what to do to keep Anne safe, but ultimately it remained to be seen where the elders¡¯ whims would go. ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know, Liz. It¡¯s still undecided.¡± A low, droning buzz, not letting the bee settle many of her calculations. Barring any personal like or dislike, she had to know whether they would end up with another mouth to feed or not, and the sooner she had an exact number to work off of, the sooner she could start redirecting the village¡¯s efforts around. ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ was perhaps the worst non-answer imaginable. She needed numbers, even if just bullshit, made up numbers. ¡°That doesn¡¯t help,¡± she droned out. ¡°What is the probability of them staying?¡± The Grimmsnarl was much better with arithmetic than the bulk of the village on behalf of constantly having to calculate stuff for construction, but he only drew blanks here. It was an enigma that depended on way too many factors, many of which he wasn¡¯t even consciously aware of, to estimate. He couldn¡¯t come up with a concrete answer¡ªand so, an off-the-cuff throwaway value it was. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡ªseven in ten, maybe?¡± ¡°Naaaah, more than that,¡± Mikiri butted in, yanking Garret¡¯s attention away. She was passing by them, dragging what remained of the human two-wheel behind herself through the snow. Liz immediately got to crunching more numbers upon hearing his estimate; not noticing the Mawile¡¯s addendum. Whether her obliviousness was accidental or intentional, only she knew. ¡°Seven in ten.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ya, it¡¯s more!¡± the metal fairy hollered. The Vespiquen continued, unbothered, ¡°Seven in ten isn¡¯t enough for certainty. Very unideal probability. Please let me know once you¡¯re more confident.¡± ¡°Just round it up to a ten in ten, c¡¯mon.¡± To Mikiri¡¯s continued annoyance, the Bug-type kept not acknowledging her existence. She hovered away shortly after, without sparing the metal fairy as much as a glance. For her efforts, she earned herself two tongues being stuck out at her before the tinkerer resumed her own trek, leaving Garret to follow in her tracks. Seven in ten was a very unideal probability indeed. Even that felt like high balling it a substantial amount, too. It felt higher than even odds for sure, but exactly how much higher was anyone¡¯s guess, and Garret didn¡¯t feel confident about his in the slightest. Ultimately, though, it didn¡¯t matter.¡ªhe¡¯d still keep trying, even if it was zero. The thought gave him a well-needed burst of confidence as he marched on, something he really wished he could share with his wife. He really hoped Aria was okay. A different kind of concerned thought provided just enough distraction to let him return to his full pace. Worries swirled under his head with every step; his wife¡¯s terrified shriek still burned into his recent memory. So unlike her for her dreams to hit her, so unlike her to ever get so scared or tear up so inconsolably¡ªand yet, here they were. As difficult as this situation was for them all, Aria was taking on much more stress than everyone else, and it really, really showed. Once all was said and done later today, Garret was dead set on holding her tight for the entire night, no matter what the verdict would be. Be it comfort for her accomplishment of saving Anne, or reassurance should everything they¡¯ve been doing to amount to nothing, she would need him more than ever. And he would be glad to provide. The mental image of the former outcome warmed his soul up as he came to a stop in front of a small shack. Max¡¯s dwelling was rather barebones even by the standards of the village, but they made do¡ªat least enough so to never complain about any issues that needed to be fixed. Whether that actually meant they were doing perfectly fine... depended, and there have been a few instances of recent arrivals who didn¡¯t dare speak up about their problems because of worrying about coming off as either weak or demanding. He trusted Max not to fall into that trap, but ultimately, it remained to be seen. After a few more moments of hesitation than he would¡¯ve liked, Garret knocked on the door with as much gentleness as he could muster. Less than he wished for sometimes, but hopefully just enough for the task. For a few moments, the dwelling only answered with silence, providing plenty of kindling for the flames of worry. What if something bad did indeed happen to him and Hawthorne was too afraid to tell anyone? What if he was too terrified to respond to someone knocking on the door? What if¡ª *creeeeeeak* ¡°G-Garret?¡± the familiar voice asked, soothing the Grimmsnarl¡¯s mind as he tossed out his worries and replaced them with relief. Max¡¯s gamut of expressions was almost as stilted as Garret¡¯s, but even then the fairy could clearly pick up on him not doing too well, besides just looking plain ill. Puffy, half-lidded eyes, slightly matted fur, an occasional shiver rocking his entire small body. Still, he was here, and that¡¯s all that mattered. ¡°Good morning Max!¡± Garret greeted. ¡°Are you doing alright?¡± All the Grimmsnarl got in return was a squinting, confused expression, not helping any. Suppose he needed to just speak up louder and enunciate better¡ªeasier said than done. ¡°Are you doing alright, Max?¡± Even despite Garret doing his best to be understood, it still wasn¡¯t enough. Not a comfortable situation for either of them, but at least the Meowstic knew what to do next. ¡°*sigh*, come on¡ª*achoo!*¡ªcome on in Garret, need to put my ears on for this.¡± Without waiting for a response, Max turned around and ventured into his humble home, and Garret followed. It was as plain on the inside as it was on the outside¡ªa few pieces of furniture, a large group cot, a handful of assorted clay jars, and potted plants along the walls. Even despite the hearth burning brightly, the building remained oddly cold. There had to have been some insulation issue somewhere, and once he was done with the actual purpose of his visit, he wouldn¡¯t mind staying longer to fix his coworker¡¯s place. But before that, came a chat that the Meowstic needed to prepare himself for. With much more focus than such a simple act should require, he levitated two oblong objects into his physical grasp, and strapped them onto what remained of his ears. Garret didn¡¯t know how a Meowstic ought to look. Really, almost nobody in their village did. Their sample size for many of the more uncommon species inhabiting the village was 1, leaving them assuming that every person of the said species looked exactly like the person they knew. It was very hard to recognize someone looking different without a reference point. At least, most times. The two scars at the tips of his single-segment ¡®ears¡¯, combined with his daughter¡¯s appearance, clued most others about something being wrong. And while normally asking a question as blunt as ¡®who cut your ears in half¡¯ was never a good idea, it thankfully wasn¡¯t even needed here. Because the answer, as with many bad things, was ¡®humans¡¯. Once Max was done putting the unwieldy prosthetics on, he turned to Garret again and beckoned him over to his spot beside the hearth, ¡°There we go. Mind going over what you¡ª*achoo!*¡ªwhat you said there, Garret?¡± The rough imitations of what the top part of his ears would¡¯ve looked like¡ªfolded over and almost reaching his eyes¡ªdidn¡¯t help with psychics any, but it at least let him recover some hearing. ¡°Ah, I just wanted to check up on you, Max. You¡¯ve been gone for quite a while now; got everyone worrying!¡± Garret answered. His jovial tone was a bit forced, but thankfully no less received because of that. It brought some well-needed relief to the room, followed up by the Meowstic putting a kettle full of ice-cold water over the small, but roaring fire. ¡°Caught something nasty a couple of days ago, dunno from where. Makes me ache all over. I doubt I¡¯d be much help for anything in this state.¡± His words were self-evidently true, especially after a salvo of sneezes that followed. As glad as Garret was that his coworker¡¯s absence was just a result of an illness, a check-up was only a partial reason for his presence here. And to his surprise, Max was aware of that, too. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡ª*achoo!*¡ªit doesn¡¯t have... too much to do with the h-human...¡± Garret was simultaneously taken aback by Max¡¯s words and concerned about the tone change near the end. It was as if confidence evaporated from him with each word until all that remained was a pretense that neither of them believed in. In all this, though, one part stuck out to him the most. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring up Anne at all.¡± Despite his uncertainty, Max couldn¡¯t help but smirk at the Grimmsnarl, ¡°Hawthorne complained to us yesterday about Autumn having taught her and everyone else about humans¡ªI guessed that she, and likely you too, are quite involved in the entire human ordeal. And, given that you know her name, it seems¡ª*achoo!*¡ªit seems I was right.¡± Garret might¡¯ve wished to shrivel at being seen through so easily, but he tried not to let that get to him. Especially since, to the best of his ability to tell, Max didn¡¯t sound offended about that. ¡°Well... yes, you¡¯re right. I also wanted to talk about her, if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Oh, it is, it is. Though, I figured I wouldn¡¯t have to go over all this again.¡± ... ¡°A-again? What do you mean, Max?¡± ¡°Oh? Elder Celia visited us yesterday evening to discuss just this topic. I would¡¯ve thought that you knew.¡± Nope, and Garret most definitely didn¡¯t enjoy thinking about the implications of that. He¡¯s never had any negative interactions with the Primarina Elder, but with how concerned his wife and mom were about her, him being so as well felt warranted. ¡°Nope, first time hearing about it. Sorry for that, can¡¯t imagine it was one bit pleasant.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± the Meowstic reassured, ¡°I¡ª*achoo!*¡ªI figured that the discussion would eventually reach me considering... yeah.¡± Even though the thought of spying on an Elder¡¯s actions made the Grimmsnarl feel queasy, he couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Out of curiosity... was she angry or anything?¡± ¡°Hardly¡ªI don¡¯t even really know how she was. She just showed up, asked a few questions, hid her face behind that flipper the whole time and left before I could get her a drink. Nothing accusatory, just all flat and matter-of-fact about the human situation. Kinda like what I¡¯m imagining you wanted to ask me, too.¡± That description didn¡¯t feel the Fairy-type with even the slightest bit of confidence. ¡°Well, I suppose there¡¯s gonna be some overlap¡ª¡± ¡°You wanted to ask me what was my opinion about the human possibly staying here considering my past, r-right?¡± Max asked, matter-of-factly. Garret¡¯s taken-aback look told him everything, and so did the Meowstic¡¯s amused chuckle tell the Grimmsnarl in return as he continued, ¡°It¡¯s alright. To sum up what I told Celia... absent any context, I wouldn¡¯t want the human to stay, no.¡± Dense silence filled the room as the demon processed the response, eyes growing wider. Before he could ask for an elaboration, or even plead his case, the water in the kettle finally announced its readiness, distracting Max away from the tense discussion. Garret wouldn¡¯t have ever guessed that there¡¯d be a situation where a cup of warm tea couldn¡¯t help in calming down¡ªand yet, here he was. Fortunately for him and his task, though, Max wasn¡¯t done, ¡°However... I¡¯ve gathered from a few rumors and what Hawthorne had overheard that this isn¡¯t just a random human. Hell, I sincerely doubt anyone would be seriously arguing for them to stay unless there was a damn good reason for it, and that alone makes me reconsider it. It¡¯s...¡± Max had to pause and dig his mind for words, his confidence waning by the moment. ¡°It¡¯s not that I hate them specifically, even hate humans as a whole or anything, it¡¯s... it¡¯s just scary. The thought of seeing a human scares me. I¡ª*achoo!*¡ªI have a nightmare sometimes, of a human silhouette barging through my front door and hurting everyone I know. No matter how hard I try not to think about it, that¡ªthat association doesn¡¯t go away, and I don¡¯t know how many nigh-sleepless nights it¡¯ll take for it to leave me alone.¡± He took a deep breath, followed by as large of a sip of the hot tea as he could, having to lift the heavy wooden cup with both paws. ¡°And if what I¡¯ve gathered overall is true, that it¡¯s really a choice between that human staying here or possibly death... then their wellbeing trumps my silly, irrational discomfort.¡± As relieved as Garret was, there was a part of that response he wanted to home in on, ¡°It¡¯s not irrational, Max. You¡¯ve got good reasons to be spooked, I get it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall ever going over it all with you specifically, hah,¡± the Meowstic chuckled. ¡°Well... yes, you never have, but with a fear as intense as that, there has to be something that caused it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, don¡¯t worry.¡± With a moment of downtime, both men could enjoy a good sip of tea as they gathered their thoughts. Garret calmed down at the thrust of his visit turning out successful. It really was a life-or-death situation, and Max expressed clearly that, in that case, Anne¡¯s life was more important than his discomfort. It felt a bit... rushed, though, and didn¡¯t really match up with what he¡¯d heard about Hawthorne, piquing his curiosity further. ¡°Thank you for a thoughtful answer, Max. Makes ya wonder where¡¯d Hawthorne get her attitude from...¡± the Grimmsnarl muttered, wincing at the drawn out, regretful exhale that immediately followed. Regardless of if the Meowstic was hiding something from him, the point about his daughter struck true. Garret wasn¡¯t expecting to catch his coworker on a lie, and so didn¡¯t act suspicious¡ªmerely really, really curious about what Hawthorne¡¯s deal was. Soon, Max responded, ¡°It does, I¡¯m aware. Me and my wife should¡¯ve been more forceful in getting these attitudes out of her when we first heard them. By now they¡¯ve all festered and I worry it¡¯s too late to change anything.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that, Max. Kids are smart, especially ones as old as Hawthorne.¡± ¡°I know, I know, but¡ª*achoo!*¡ªit¡¯s still difficult to convey a more nuanced attitude. No matter if I¡¯m afraid of humans or not, they¡¯re no more universally evil than we¡¯re universally good, and I don¡¯t even think humanity as a whole is some malignant force. I¡¯ve no idea how to tell her that in a way that doesn¡¯t sound like me backtracking on what I said.¡± The Grimmsnarl pondered on that question for all of fifteen seconds before coming up with an answer, of which ten were spent downing a good sip of the tea. ¡°Why not backtrack on what you said? If you told her something that¡¯s just outright wrong, then correcting her isn¡¯t a bad idea. She¡¯s old enough to know that her parents aren¡¯t always right.¡± ¡°I meant it in the sense that anything I say will sound fake. As if I¡¯m being overly polite because that¡¯s what others want to hear, whereas a harsher, more intolerant attitude is my ¡®real¡¯ one. Not true in the slightest, but I have no idea how to prove it to her¡ªbelieve me, I¡¯ve tried, it just doesn¡¯t stick.¡± Now that was a much tougher question. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Correcting oneself was one thing, but doing so to someone who didn¡¯t interpret anything beyond your original words as genuine was... challenging, bordering on impossible. Garret didn¡¯t have any magical advice. He hoped under his breath that he wouldn¡¯t ever end up in a situation like this with any of his children, especially when it concerned something important. Garret discarded the simple suggestions such as saying it from the heart or being as genuine as can be. If he could think them up in a minute, then most definitely so could Max, and they just didn¡¯t end up working for one reason or another. Though... he had one more idea. ¡°It sounds like you need to show it to her, not just say it.¡± Just as with Garret¡¯s other ideas, Max had thought about this one a bunch of times in the past, before inevitably discarding it because of it just being impossible. No way to dissuade his daughter¡¯s hatred of humans without having a human to interact with. Even now that it was more possible, all the Meowstic could think of was just how much he didn¡¯t want to do that. No matter how nuanced his abstract opinion of them was, he was entirely content to never see another human ever again. But if it was the only way to get his daughter to stop being so virulently hateful, it looked like he¡¯d have to. ¡°I... I guess. It¡ª*achoo!*¡ªit¡¯s terrifying to think about, but you¡¯re right. Either way, not something I can do here and now, and likely not until the human ends up staying for good,¡± the Meowstic sighed. ¡°Just... wished I had more restraint so that things never got this bad to begin with.¡± Max¡¯s words snapped Garret¡¯s attention back over to him, their implication worryingly uncertain. Was he blaming himself for just Hawthorne, or for the entirety of his present state? ¡°What¡ªwhatcha mean, Max?¡± ¡°I¡ªI told her too much at too young of an age, I think. She was curious about what happened to my ears, so I told her. Asked me about humans, so I told her that too. I wasn¡¯t keeping any secrets from her, even though now I think I really should have, in hindsight. Well¡ªnot ¡®secrets¡¯ secrets, but things that she was just too young for, things that she shouldn¡¯t have had to hear when so little. It was too much detail for her, I could tell, but I just couldn¡¯t stop. I,¡± the Meowstic shuddered, his entire small self huddling closer to his mug, ¡°I worry I¡¯ve scarred her with what I¡¯ve told her. She just got scared and angry; so much of the nuance went over her head, but it was enough for the worst of it to just burn itself into her mind forever.¡± Garret took a larger sip as he chewed through Max¡¯s words. His situation was messed up and perfectly understandable simultaneously, and he¡¯d be lying if he said that it didn¡¯t leave him a bit conflicted about his coworker¡¯s character. Then again, he hadn¡¯t endured as much trauma as the Meowstic clearly has; he was in no place to judge. ... Judge too harshly, at least. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, Max... what did you tell her?¡± The Meowstic let out a dry chuckle, the accompanying smile painfully fake. This discussion obviously wasn¡¯t getting anywhere further without him going over just what he¡¯d told his daughter¡ªand by extension, telling the tale of his past once more. ¡°Figure going through what I¡¯ve been through will help to explain it, yes...¡± Garret lifted an eyebrow at his question being warped right in front of him. Before he could speak up in protest about it, Max explained himself, ¡°I¡ª*kachow!*¡ªI know that¡¯s not what you asked for, Garret, but the two are one and the same, pretty much. A recollection of the same awful events either way.¡± The Grimmsnarl wasn¡¯t entirely convinced, but went along with it. Max obviously knew better, and this didn¡¯t sound like any sort of malicious, intentionally construed lie. He nodded, ¡°Alrighty. I hope it¡¯s not too much to go over all that, then.¡± ¡°No, no, not anymore. For better or worse, I¡¯ve mostly grown numb to it by now,¡± the Meowstic sighed. Once he¡¯d gathered his thoughts, he began his recollection proper, ¡°I don¡¯t remember a lot from the earliest parts of my life. To the best of my knowledge, I was with my human from the moment I hatched. She lived in a small house with only me, and since she left for a human job early each day, I spent a lot of time alone.¡± That sounded... unpleasant. ¡°Huh. You were left alone for hours as a hatchling?¡± ¡°Not quite hatchling, but... yes. I didn¡¯t mind a whole lot, since it was warm and she left me plenty of food and water. Or, at least, I don¡¯t remember minding at that point. One day, though... I had a slip-up.¡± Garret nodded and took a big sip of the tea, still following along. ¡°I don¡¯t recall what caused it, really. I probably just got scared by a loud sound, but the next thing I remember was staring at a shattered table and half of a wardrobe, together with other damage around it.¡± ¡°Did... you do that?¡± Garret asked. ¡°Oh yes, yes. Espurr are¡­ surprisingly powerful. Disastrously so, occasionally, and without the right ways of managing stress, that kind of power can sometimes just... slip out. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t have happened if I had been raised by other Meowstic, maybe it still would and they would¡¯ve been able to handle that much better; I¡ª*achoo!*¡ªI don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°How did... ¡®your human¡¯ react?¡± ¡°She was terrified,¡± Max shuddered. ¡°Not that I can blame her, but it didn¡¯t help either of us. I felt her get scared, so then I got scared, and I remembered us both panicking for a good while after. I didn¡¯t want that to happen again, didn¡¯t want to accidentally hurt her, and we both feared that I would do that by accident. The next thing I really remember, probably a few weeks later, was waking up one morning, a-and¡ª¡± he cut himself off as his voice wavered. Instead, he pointed up at where the scars on his ears were, the implication obvious. ¡°Just... one day I woke up, and suddenly had almost none of my psychics remaining, and was partially deaf.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Max, that¡¯s terrible...¡± ¡°Really, I thought I¡¯d gotten over the worst of it by now, but seems not. Guess something like that never really just leaves us alone, no matter how much we think we may have it under control at the moment. I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll get over it, don¡¯t worry, it just hit me hard there.¡± The Meowstic took his time taking deep breaths as his coworker stared at him in concern before continuing, ¡°A-alright, I think I¡¯m okay now. So, one day I wake up, and the tops of my ears are gone. For Espurr and Meowstic, it¡¯s where a good chunk of our psychics are stored, so without them, it¡¯s so much harder to do anything. And it scared me. It felt like the entire world had suddenly gone so, so quiet, and I didn¡¯t understand why. What was left of my ears hurt a lot; I couldn¡¯t keep my balance; I kept bumping into things, and¡ªand it all just hurt. But... that wasn¡¯t even the worst part.¡± Garret lifted an eyebrow, a small shudder accompanying the gesture. ¡°You know, before then, I felt her caring for me. She wasn¡¯t home as often as I wished she would be, and tended to be very busy, but... I could feel her affection for me. Even when she was stressed and didn¡¯t have time to play with me or whatever, I could still just lay down near her and feel better. But after that, I... I couldn¡¯t sense that anymore, I just didn¡¯t have any way to. It¡¯s as if all that warmth had just disappeared. That was even scarier than losing all my psychics.¡± The Dark-type couldn¡¯t relate exactly, but his imagination provided him with plenty of fuel for his empathy, anyway. His kids couldn¡¯t sense his love for them directly, of course, but they still saw it clearly every day. His words, his affection, his pride, being there for them when they felt down, or like they didn¡¯t fit, or for any of a dozen other reasons. And to imagine them losing not just that, but also what amounted to both of their arms all at once, without even being able to ask for an explanation, was... It was Garret that needed a moment to recover this time, the awfulness of the mental image almost making him cry there and then. As soon as had the chance later today, he would go there and hug his kids tight and there wasn¡¯t an earthly force that could stop him. Just had to find out where ¡®there¡¯ was, but that was a footnote. ¡°Good gods, that¡¯s¡ªI don¡¯t have words, Max.¡± ¡°I... yeah. It was awful. Afterwards, I was even more scared, but didn¡¯t have a way of expressing it anymore. No telepathy, and without telekinesis, I could barely do anything by myself. And since my fear wasn¡¯t as noticeable now, she just couldn¡¯t spot it, either. She¡¯d spend even less time with me, got even busier, and all I could do was run in circles around a house that was barely twice or thrice the size of this one.¡± This time, instead of further sorrow, Garret saw his paw clench to his side, a flat expression turning into a scowl. ¡°And she stopped taking me places. Before then, I have faint memories of seeing the outside world, plenty of other humans, some grass and trees, fresh air¡ªbut that also was just gone after whatever happened to my ears. For a while, I thought that I really deserved it all. That I had done something terrible by breaking that table by accident, and that this was my punishment. After I evolved, even without my ears, I could just barely make out her thoughts sometimes, so I would just... sneak up on her. Try to sense all I could, figure out the why of it all, get an answer, any answer, and¡ª¡± the Meowstic paused, trying to keep his rage from pouring out even further. Instead, a couple of tears slipped out from underneath his eyelids as he continued, ¡°She thought she was doing me a favor.¡± Out of all the possible answers, this was the one the Dark-type expected the least of all; staring at his friend, aghast. ¡°H-how could she have thought that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe¡ªmaybe some twisted idea that if I couldn¡¯t do my psychics, then I wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about accidentally damaging anything else anymore, which...¡± Another pause to catch his breath, another opportunity for his anger to condense into sadness. ¡°I was already resentful of it all by that point. Being stuck in that tiny house, unable to do anything, unable to even figure out any human items. The couple of ¡®toys¡¯ she brought me for entertainment got either broken or I was too sick of them to even look at them anymore. I felt imprisoned; I felt angry, and I couldn¡¯t keep it in any longer. My claws were quite grown out by then, so I just started scratching things. Anything, everything, just to show her, show how furious I was¡ªall I got for it was a trimming session that I eventually gave up fighting against. She had won, and I had lost.¡± ¡°It beggars belief how that human could¡¯ve thought she was doing anything but being abusive towards you...¡± Garred muttered, taken aback. ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it? Though... I think she knew, but she just had no idea what to do with me.¡± ¡°Even putting just letting you go aside, couldn¡¯t she have handed you off to a safer human house?¡± ¡°You¡¯d think, but... I don¡¯t think she could have, actually. For all the awful things they do, I think my¡ªmy ears having been cut off was still against human rules. At least, I think that was the case because of what happened some time later.¡± Max had Garret¡¯s entire focus, expressed through an intense nod. ¡°One day, she accidentally left a window unlocked, and I took the opportunity to get out. I climbed out, escaped, and just... ran around the area for a while. I barely recognized some of these places, but each time I did it made me happy, and oh goodness, there was so much greenness out there. She only kept a single plant in a clay pot in her house, and I forgot just how much grass and trees there were outside!¡± The second-hand euphoria at breaking out was marred by how disturbing it was to hear something as omnipresent as trees be described that way. ¡°But then, I¡ªI kept running into humans. And they feared me. Whether it was because I was a Meowstic, or because of the missing ears, I don¡¯t know. But it just happened almost every time. I¡¯d keep walking away, but then some of them would start using their ¡®phone¡¯ things that my human used at home, and I got just the worst fear that something bad would happen to me if I stayed there. I couldn¡¯t have been out for more than a couple hours, but I was terrified by the end, at that overwhelming fear coming my way. I¡ªI managed to get back home, and hid in the darkest corner until my human came back.¡± By now, Max was shaking fearfully in place, barely maintaining his composure. ¡°These random humans were scared of me, then once my human came back home she was scared of me too, and I was scared of them all. B-but then, in the evening of that day, some more humans showed up, with scary blue uniforms. I saw them talking to my human; they spotted me and got alarmed while my human got scared, and I hid again. Squeezed myself into a tiny nook behind some furniture while they were still talking to my human, and didn¡¯t dare to move. Then they kept searching for me, and they just wouldn¡¯t stop for hours and I stood in place and it hurt and I was afraid I got myself stuck and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape on my own and¡ª¡± *pat-pat* The Meowstic flinched at the unexpected sensation, eyes shooting open to see a dark-haired hand patting his shoulders. More startling than comfortable, but he appreciated the gesture. Garret spoke up, ¡°Apologies if that was too much, felt you going down that dark path and wanted to help.¡± ¡°Suppose distraction helps with that, too. Th-thank you, Garret. Anyway¡ªthey kept searching for me for hours, almost found me a couple of times, but eventually left. I waited for a while longer afterwards, then managed to force my way out of that spot, all wet with tears. It was all dark, there was a thunderstorm outside, my human was gone, I had no idea what had happened, but I knew I needed to get out before they came back. The windows were closed, and I scratched and pounded at them for ages, trying to break through. I didn¡¯t know how to use any moves; I just kept bashing my body against it and prayed it would shatter.¡± ¡°What happened then?¡± ¡°I looked around the house for anything that could help, and found a small hammer. It finally started making cracks, so I kept hitting it, put all my strength and all the psychics I had into it, and eventually it just exploded into a rain of glass. I didn¡¯t wait any longer and just jumped through. I felt the pieces scratch me from all around and the cold rain drench me, but I knew I couldn¡¯t stop. Took off toward where I remembered all the trees being and ran. And ran, and ran, and ran, until I couldn¡¯t run anymore.¡± By the time Max had finished his tale, his breathing was little more than anxious gasps. He stared unfocused at the floor as the recollection finished washing over him. He had no idea how long it¡¯d take for him to truly calm down again after all that, but that was a problem for later. ¡°Then, the next thing I know, I was here. Sprout had spotted me when scouting, and brought me over. And then... just an even larger, much more relieved blur.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m really glad you found safety here in the end, Max. All that sounds like an utter nightmare.¡± The Meowstic took a while catching his breath and focusing back on the world around him. Then, once he¡¯d calmed himself down somewhat, he continued, ¡°Oh, it... it was, at times. Most of the time it was just¡ªjust a boring torture. I thought it wouldn¡¯t get to me as much this time, but I suppose I was wrong. I-it got me thinking too, because I liked some things from when I lived there, you know. I had no idea what a godsend running water was until I had to make do without it here. And indoor heating, gods I¡¯d spend so much time sleeping beside the radiators in the winter.¡± That was an entire tangent that Garret didn¡¯t expect in the slightest, leaving him really curious to see where it¡¯d go. ¡°I just wonder why they have to be the way they are. These things I mentioned are tiny compared to many others. The sheer standard of living there is so much higher than here, but that doesn¡¯t matter if they keep all that to themselves. And now I¡¯m thinking why. Why do they treat us the way they do; why do we have to hide from them; why do their ¡®trainers¡¯ enslave us, and...¡± The flimsiest deep breath the Grimmsnarl had ever seen, only barely interrupting Max¡¯s revelation. ¡°And I think it¡¯s all borne of fear. As much as I fear them, as much as we all fear them and what they can do to us if they band together¡ªI think they¡¯re just as afraid of us, if not more. In a one-on-one, almost any mon could kill almost any unarmed human and it wouldn¡¯t even be close. I think that¡¯s why they want to contain us so much. It¡¯s not hatred¡ªnot just hatred, and whatever hatred there is has to come from that fear. And you know what the worst thing is?¡± Garret was too busy processing Max¡¯s revelation to respond, but that didn¡¯t stop him. ¡°I have no idea how it could ever change. Even if all humans just gave up a-and said to the entire world that they wouldn¡¯t try catching us ever again... there¡¯d be many, many mons that would use that as an opportunity for revenge¡ªeven a good few in this very village. And the other way, if mons as a whole tried to lower their guard, we¡¯d all end up getting contained and exploited. Are we just stuck like this? Forced to hide from humanity forever? Will¡ªwill anything ever get better?¡± There weren¡¯t answers to these questions, and both men knew that fact very well. But while Garret might¡¯ve seen the obvious implication of that fact and looked away, Max didn¡¯t, and was being increasingly sucked into a vortex of despair¡ª *pat-pat!* Nothing a bit of percussive maintenance couldn¡¯t help with, though. If nothing else, it startled the Meowstic out of his train of thought, leaving him blinking at his coworker. Garret didn¡¯t consider himself a particularly intelligent person, not like Jovan, or Ana, or even his wife was. Still, he liked to think he got a couple of things figured out, and this area was one of them. ¡°Y¡¯know, thinking about this kinda stuff helps nobody. If we can improve the world, we should, but if we can¡¯t, fretting about it won¡¯t do us any good. It¡¯ll just make us all the more miserable¡ªat least that¡¯s how I see it. Whattcha think?¡± The swerve away from the previous topic came from the left field, but Max couldn¡¯t say he didn¡¯t appreciate it. It felt boorish to admit it, but Garret had a point. The last thing the Meowstic needed was to be sucked further into despair, especially with so much happening. ¡°I¡ªI think I agree. Thank you, Garret. For that¡ª*achoo!*¡ªand for giving me an opportunity to chew through all this. I may have gone through it all over a dozen times now, but... something clicked this time that didn¡¯t before. I promise not to get too depressed about it, but goodness, I¡¯ll need some time alone to finish processing it all.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re very welcome, Max! Thank you plenty for having me. Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be heading out in not too long¡ªjust noticed one thing when I stepped in.¡± The Meowstic raised a single eyebrow as the Grimmsnarl explained, ¡°It¡¯s weirdly cold in here. There¡¯s a hole in your wall somewhere.¡± Max groaned as if half his soul had left him, topped off with the weakest nod Garret had ever seen. ¡°I miss concrete...¡±
A few hundred meters away from her son, Autumn was taking the winter head on. Granted, that might¡¯ve been because she forgot to take her shawl with her in her haste and had to resort to focusing much harder than usual on her Safeguard, but she was doing it anyway. She had little spare brainpower to focus on her bodily sensations, though, not with the trouble she was likely getting herself into. That Banette felt suspicious the moment she saw him. And with his reaction to Sage¡¯s group hug, it felt like her concerns about him had been justified. She knew full well that him leaving could¡¯ve meant many things, some much more innocuous than others¡ªbut it had to mean something, and considering the graveness of Sage¡¯s past, Autumn didn¡¯t want to stop until she knew just what was the older ghost¡¯s deal. She would¡¯ve really preferred if she wasn¡¯t being led out of the village in pursuit of him. Even if she was safe against whichever Ghost-type moves he could use on her, the other types were still fair game. No matter how much of an expert at Protects and other defensive moves she was, she knew as well as anyone that with no offense of her own, all pure defense would accomplish was forcing the attacker to be more patient. Of course, all that presumed that it¡¯d come to blows. A possibility that Autumn was reasonably confident wouldn¡¯t happen, but her fears disagreed. And now, it was time to see whether they would be proven right. Out of everything she expected Yaksha to be doing once she¡¯d finally caught up to him, Shadow Clawing away at a random, snow-covered tree wasn¡¯t it. Each strike was accompanied by a grunt of equal parts rage and regret; each grew ever more potent. None of them physically damaged the tree, but they still eroded it, draining it of whichever passive, motionless life it held¡ªuntil it couldn¡¯t take any more. After one last strike, the brittle wood finally shattered under its own weight, sending the log falling toward them both. And while the Banette was either too paralyzed or too unwilling to move out of the way, the Indeedee didn¡¯t have that limitation. Autumn shrieked as her eyes were overcome with a green flare, her aura enveloping the entire tree. It only lasted a second or so, but even that was enough to redirect it away from them, if at the cost of a pounding headache and draining the elderly Normal-type of much of her remaining strength. Leaving her defenseless before the grief-stricken ghost. ¡°~What the hell are you doing here!?~¡± Yaksha asked; ethereal voice overflowing with fury as his pink eyes drilled into the Indeedee¡¯s very soul. A part of her wanted to turn and run, but the rest wanted¡ªno, demanded answers. ¡°I can ask¡ª*pant*¡ªI can ask you the same question. Why did you run, do you have something to do with what happened to Sage¡ª¡± ¡°~How DARE you claim that!?~¡± Their stare-down had turned into a powder keg in an instant. No matter how righteous in her indignation the Indeedee felt, a more restrained part of her knew nothing good would happen if she pushed the envelope further. She still didn¡¯t trust him one bit, but figured she could take a half step back, even if she didn¡¯t mean it. ¡°I-I¡¯m not, and I apologize for the insinuation. Still, I need to know for Sage¡¯s sake¡ªwhy did you run?¡± Hearing an apology was more effective than Autumn could¡¯ve ever imagined. Instead of calming the Banette down, it outright stunned him; much of his ever intensifying fury evaporated in an instant. It took a while before he found the composure to respond, tone having switched from aggression to... discomfort. ¡°~That¡¯s¡ªthat¡¯s none of your business.~¡± ¡°Maybe, but as her guardian, it¡¯s definitely Sage¡¯s business. We both want the best for her, don¡¯t we?¡± Yaksha had a hard time disagreeing with that logic, much to his unease. He despised having to be introspective like that, only pushing through that dislike because of the ghostly girl. Any other time he¡¯d tried descending that route, he only found a bottomless lake of hateful tears. ¡°~It¡¯s... I failed her. I¡¯ve been protecting her for weeks now, but couldn¡¯t make her anywhere near as happy as your entire bunch did in the time it took me to nap. I fucked up the only thing that gave this entire existence any purpose, the only thing I had left.~¡± The admission took Autumn aback, unexpected in its clarity. It didn¡¯t answer everything, it barely even answered anything, but it made for a great jumping off point. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®the only thing you had left¡¯?¡± The question made the Banette grow more distressed. For a moment, the Indeedee worried about that emotion reverting to anger, but thankfully, it turned towards despair instead. ¡°~I don¡¯t have anything else. It¡¯s been years, decades since I woke up in this body, and I remember nothing from before I met Sage, and nothing before I first died. Watching over her is the only thing I have, that I ever remember having. If I can¡¯t do that, if I can¡¯t even do this one fucking thing...~¡± To Autumn¡¯s fear, his fury made a swift return, aimed at the entire world. ¡°~THEN WHY AM I STILL HERE?~¡± She watched his body go limp as he turned his face to the sky and unzipped his mouth all the way, letting the pink tendrils of whichever spectral energy that controlled him lash out at the nearby air. It didn¡¯t last more than half a second, but it left the Indeedee slowly reeling backwards. And then; she stopped. He might not have felt like he had a purpose anymore, but she did. ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know. But what I do know is that no matter what mistakes you¡¯ve made previously, you can still fix them. Nothing stops you from being someone who makes Sage happy, nothing stops you from treating her and others more kindly. Or from staying here for good, if that makes her the happiest.¡± Emboldened, she approached closer; elderly body shaking in the cold as she continued, ¡°You can change, Yaksha. We all can. Do you want to change?¡± ¡°~Yes, of course I do! Why the hell wouldn¡¯t I!?~¡± ¡°Good. Then I¡¯ll try to help however I can, especially if you two will stay here for longer.¡± She sensed the tiniest seed of gratitude within him, before the addition at the end turned it right back into mockery. ¡°~Here? With a human?~¡± ¡°Why not? Sage is a human ghost¡ª¡± ¡°~YOU¡¯RE LYING¡ªGAH!~¡± His momentary outburst ended as soon as it had begun, stunning the Indeedee as the Banette gripped his head. It hurt, all of this hurt; it was as if an invisible knife was stabbing his mind. Agony beyond description, making him fear he was about to finally fade away. And then, it eased out, bit by bit, the wounds of unknown origin gradually mending. He was still certain this random mon must¡¯ve been lying, but it clearly wasn¡¯t worth getting this angry over either way. ¡°~I... nevermind. I think I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m better now.~¡± Especially since no matter what their pasts were... ¡°~Could you... guide me back?~¡± ...he wanted to be there for Sage until his very end. Chapter 25: Hell ¡°~C''mon, keep up!~¡± The schoolgirl stared over her shoulder with a flat expression, foot tapping on the underbrush as she waited for her classmate to catch up with her. Despite her determination, though, he wasn¡¯t anywhere near as eager for their entire plan, especially as it hit him just how bad this entire trip could go. ¡°~S-Susie, maybe we really should t-turn back¡ª~¡± ¡°~Joeeeeey, I told you nothing bad¡¯s gonna happen!~¡± ¡°~B-but it¡¯s still a wild Mismagius!~¡± ¡°~It¡¯s our Mismagius, it won¡¯t hurt us!~¡± The boy was well aware of the bespoke local attraction of a ghost not having hurt anyone in recorded history, but that fact filled him with much less confidence than he hoped it would. Nice or not, it was still a wild mon, a powerful wild mon, a powerful wild mon that really enjoyed scaring the nearby kids. Encountering it in person was all but a codified rite of passage at their shoddy little school¡ªenough so to make the headmaster put up larger and larger fences in the backyard to stop them from doing just that¡ªbut that didn¡¯t make it any less terrifying. He would never forget all the examples his personal safety classes gave of just how much wild mons could hurt them. ¡°~C-can¡¯t you do it on your own then? I¡¯ll be back¡ª~¡± Before he could even finish turning around, Joey found himself being dragged backwards by the collar of his shirt. ¡°~You promised it¡¯d be both of us!~¡± His friend reminded. ¡°~Nothing bad is gonna happen to us, come ooooon!~¡± ¡°~T-the headmaster is gonna be so upset...~¡± ¡°~She¡¯s upset at everyone; we¡¯ll be fine. *Sigh*...~¡± After having to waddle in reverse for the past few moments to keep his balance, the boy suddenly could stand up straight again. Susie pleaded, distraught, ¡°~Don¡¯t you wanna meet it, Joey? Not every hole in the ground has their own friendly ghost, you know.~¡± That particular line of persuasion was much more effective, giving the boy a pause. It was true, ¡¯their¡¯ Mismagius sure looked to be much friendlier than almost all other wild mons¡ªand definitely more so than other wild ghosts¡ªbut it still left doubts. What if one moment it would just... stop being friendly? What if they suddenly went from an undead prankster landmark to an active threat that the League would have to send someone in to deal with? He¡¯s had this kind of chat many times in the past, both with Susie and his other classmates. They were right in that nothing stopped a human with a gun from also turning on their friends on a whim and killing them in moments, but it never quite sat right with him. The distinction between man and mon was still there, right? Wild mons loved to fight, after all. That was supposed to be the one trait they all shared, the love of fighting that was then fulfilled in league battles. Obviously, ¡¯their¡¯ Mismagius would¡¯ve been battling plenty in its ¡®spare¡¯ time and getting their fill that way, but what if it just didn¡¯t? What if it had to make do with using them as targets for its practice? It was dumb; it didn¡¯t sound all too plausible even for him, but it was still possible, right? And if it happened, there would be absolutely nothing they could do to save themselves. ¡°~Joey?~¡± his friend asked. The body shuddered, ¡°~S-sorry, it¡¯s... it¡¯s scary.~¡± ¡°~A bit, but it¡¯s gonna be alright! Worst case happens you can use me as a meat shield, ha!~¡± Susie¡¯s joking tone sent a shiver down Joey¡¯s back as he begrudgingly continued. No matter how much he wanted to turn back, he knew he¡¯d be kicking himself down for not taking the chance, even without taking others¡¯ goading into account. Plus, there were a couple of trainers in Lillywood right now, right? They¡¯d keep them all safe. That¡¯s what they were here for, after all. ¡°~Okay, I think we¡¯re there!~¡± the girl squeed as her friend took the area in. All that distinguished this particular stretch of snowy woodland from any other one was its thick, suffocating silence. Already their companion before then; it had grown more intense in here, even getting to Susie. She asked, ¡°~Can you see it anywhere?~¡± The boy looked over his shoulder before completing a full spin, not making out any purple amidst the hibernating trees. ¡°~N-no¡ª~¡± *crack!* The sound of a snapping stick had both schoolkids dash over to the nearest tree, trying to peek from behind it. Their hearts hammered, their eyes dashed to the sides, their ears desperately tried to hear something, anything. Again and again, only them, only the wintry forest, only silence. ¡°~Do you think that was it?~¡± Susie whispered, making Joey shake harder as he grew close to hyperventilating. Knowing about the infamous ghost was one thing; feeling like he was now completely at its mercy was worse, much worse. His feet felt rooted to the dirt and his hands to the rough, dark bark; mind bounced between ¡®flight¡¯ and ¡®freeze¡¯ like a pinball machine. ¡°~I-I hope not, please t-turn back...~¡± ¡°~Come¡ªcome on, it has to be near¡ª~¡± ¡°What are you two looking for...?¡± The sequence of actions played out just like dozens of others Cypress had seen and caused in the past, letting her savor the scares around her as her prediction was fulfilled yet again. A pair of screams, some shrieked words, then two sets of steps racing away, nourishing and amusing her in equal measure¡ª ... Oh...? A louder thud ended one set of crunching steps, breaking the routine. The associated fearful emotions seemed to have stopped in place too¡ªand only kept growing stronger. Unusual, but hardly something she couldn¡¯t handle. Though she would likely need a more... gentle approach here. Cheap scares were one thing, but the kind of terror going through this kid¡¯s head was downright dangerous, if not resolved quickly. Taking a deep breath, Cypress opened her eyes and looked around, the sight confirming her other senses. One of the kids had indeed tripped, and now was attempting to play dead. Badly. A silly course of action when dealing with ghosts in its own right, though ultimately understandable. Especially when born of a genuine, itself-haunting fear of death. Something Cypress could help with, at least. After floating over to the curled up child¡ªwhistling a cheerful tune the entire time to let them know where she was¡ªthe Mismagius got to work with her chants. This one she hadn¡¯t had to use too often, the incident with Anne a couple of days ago notwithstanding. She was really glad it worked then, and was reasonably confident it would do so now, too. Ethereal sounds wove themselves into an eldritch chant, its impact perceptible right away. The child¡¯s hammering heart eased out by the moment, as did the powerful shaking that gripped them. Word by word, Cypress devoured their terror, sating herself while leaving only a cool calmness behind. Hardly the most nourishing of treats, especially when this intense, but between the undead equivalent to a heartburn and this innocent kid possibly developing a traumatic disorder, Cypress knew which one she preferred. By the time she was done, the lil¡¯ human had gone from being certain they were about to die, to observing her floating horizontally above them with curiosity. Not the most subtle of shifts, but that didn¡¯t make it any less appreciated. ¡°There we go. Now let¡¯s get you up...¡± the Mismagius whispered, reaching over to grasp the child¡¯s hand with her tendrils. Even after she began to pull, it took them a while to piece together what she was doing; muted calmness turning to slight embarrassment as they picked themselves up. By the time they were on their feet, their friend had finally emerged from behind the nearby tree and dared to get closer again. Not wanting to waste a good spooking opportunity, Cypress had hovered right in front of their friend¡¯s face in the time it took them to take a step. It sent them scrambling backwards with enough suddenness to make their hat fall off, unleashing more long hair than the ghost expected to see. The first kid found it funny, letting the Mismagius laugh at the second one¡¯s expense guilt-free. She was glad that she could help her friends and people in this silly way. Once the second child was up again, the two humans exchanged some words for a while, contents unknown beyond a general feeling of excitement. Hardly unearned, making her feel a bit proud for turning this nigh-accident around. Both the kids were fine now; they each got their thrills¡ªand now, it was time for them to leave. The Scary Face that followed was as gentle as the Mismagius could manage. Enough to send them scrambling with some fright, but not to elicit the same ¡®I¡¯m going to die¡¯ reaction as earlier. Hell, it was weak enough for the two kids to even break out into laughter in the distance; the ghost not hesitating to join them once she¡¯d heard the telltale sound. Cypress sometimes felt bad that her particular role as a scout was so amusing, whereas everyone else¡¯s... wasn¡¯t. They had all reassured her they didn¡¯t mind, and even the Elders had stressed that being a living distraction was immensely helpful, but the doubts kept creeping back up, anyway. Could be Anne¡¯s messy situation, could be her pushing this one kid way too hard earlier, could be her forgetting to bring Anne breakfast and leaving the poor kid starving for half of yesterday. Having to use her own advice wasn¡¯t ever pleasant, but sometimes she needed it. Her people trust her, and it¡¯s only right for her to extend that grace to herself. Still, that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t reflect and think about where she¡¯d gone wrong. Her usual whispered jumpscare tended to work just fine for kids the age of these two, slightly older than Anne. She hadn¡¯t had anyone react too intensely to one of those in a while, and wondered how much of that was her versus any preexisting fear. ... Yeah, it was likely the latter. Little she could do but try to rein it back next time. It was a bit worrisome considering Anne¡¯s situation, though, and Cypress hoped that their oversized reaction had nothing to do with the other human¡¯s disappearance. Sure didn¡¯t feel like it did, at least. And now; it was time to wait for the next group of thrill-seeking kids. Over the past few years, she¡¯d come up with a pretty simple mental flowchart on how to scare the different age groups coming her way. Younger kids needed forewarning, even something as underwhelming as her just slowly floating at them from a distance was plenty scary. Many of the oldest kids, though, needed more to really get them rattled, up to and including a weak Hex to confuse them combined with an Astonish. Some didn¡¯t care about any of that either way, and just... hung out in the vicinity sometimes. Cypress liked to think she remembered all the ¡®regulars¡¯ by now, enough to skip on any frights in the future¡ªexcept for the adrenaline junkies that came over specifically to get absolutely spooked. Definitely a couple of repeat offenders like that, the thought making the Mismagius chuckle, echoing through the cold woods. Hmm. Oh dear, she¡¯d spent so much time thinking that she hadn¡¯t even noticed more humans approach. Focusing on them, she clearly recognized the two kids from earlier, paired with a third, slightly older aura. One of the older kids came to escort them back here? She supposed that deserved another of her typical openings¡ª Suddenly, a movement in her peripheral vision, something flying at her, And darkness.
¡­ "What is¡­" you will be safe you are safe it will be okay it will be okay there is nothing to fear it will be okay "Is this a dream..." a better life awaits you you are loved you are loved i love you you will love it you are loved a better life awaits you i love you no more worries a better life awaits you i won''t hurt you "No, this isn¡¯t real, where am I..." you belong here i love you your past was hell give in this is your purpose you belong here i won''t hurt you i will save you this is your purpose give in you are lost on your own give in your past was hell no more pain your past was hell the wilderness hurts you will love it "No, it wasn¡¯t, I have friends, I have family..." it will be okay it will be okay give in you have no choice you have no choice you love this feeling you have no choice i love you give in i love you you will die on your own you have no choice you will die on your own you want this this is your purpose you need this you will die on your own you have no choice you want this i love you it will be okay this or death you need this you love this feeling "This is a lie, let go of me¡­" i love you struggling is pointless i love you don''t fight this you want this let it happen i love you let it happen you love this feeling i will save you i love you you are mine struggling is pointless i love you you love this feeling you are mine don''t fight this you need this you want this you are mine struggling is pointless don''t fight this you want this give in let it happen you are mine "LET GO OF ME!" you are mine you have no choice you are mine it will be okay I LOVE YOU you love this feeling I LOVE YOU you love this feeling i will save you you have no choice i will save you you have no choice I LOVE YOU it will be okay it will be okay i will save you I LOVE YOU submit struggling is pointless you love this feeling give in submit it will be okay it will be okay let it happen don''t fight this it will be okay submit it will be okay don''t fight this you have no choice you love this feeling submit let it happen YOU WANT THIS "I¡ª i will save you give in you can''t resist give up give in i will save you i will save you i will save you I LOVE YOU YOU NEED THIS submit YOU NEED THIS YOU NEED THIS give in you can''t resist give up give in you can''t resist submit I LOVE YOU give up i will save you give in submit i will save you i will save you i will save you I LOVE YOU YOU NEED THIS give in i will save you YOU NEED THIS YOU NEED THIS submit I LOVE YOU i will save you I LOVE YOU let it happen give up i will save you give in give up i will save you ¡ªALREADY¡ª GIVE IN YOU LOVE THIS you can''t resist submit LET IT HAPPEN give up submit YOU LOVE THIS submit you can''t resist GIVE IN YOU NEED THIS SURRENDER YOU NEED THIS SURRENDER submit YOU LOVE THIS SURRENDER SURRENDER submit SURRENDER SURRENDER YOU NEED THIS I LOVE YOU GIVE IN give up YOU LOVE THIS LET IT HAPPEN you can''t resist YOU NEED THIS I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU YOU NEED THIS SURRENDER give up GIVE IN give up YOU NEED THIS give up GIVE IN YOU NEED THIS YOU LOVE THIS I LOVE YOU YOU LOVE THIS I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU YOU NEED THIS submit give up SURRENDER submit give up I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU YOU NEED THIS YOU NEED THIS give up If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡ªHAVE¡ª GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN GIVE IN ¡ªA HOME!"
An instant later, the world had returned. And everything hurt. Her soul was crushed, her mind was torn. She had been shoved out of the warmest, most blissful sensation of her existence into the frigid nothing. It wasn¡¯t real, but it blinded her all the same; tormented her through its disappearance. A part of her begged for that warmth to return no matter how large a price¡ªshe needed it, it would keep her safe, it would keep her loved! She resisted the call, but knew that no earthly joy could replicate the lie that had almost crushed her mind in its grasp. Her eyes looked, but could barely see. On the snow beneath her, scraps of metal, of white, of black, of yellow. In the distance, the two children from before near the third human, older and wearier. The Snubbull beside the latter reeled back at her reappearance, catching the humans¡¯ attention. She saw the trainer turn to her in shock, backing a couple of paces. Her ears heard, but could barely listen. The kids¡¯ angry shouts at the trainer turned into gasps at their ghostly friend escaping the ball, and then into cheers. Ecstatic, relieved, all but unnoticed as the Mismagius¡¯ focus remained on the older human. Aghast whispers, soon accompanied by their mon¡¯s high-pitched growls. And then, the trainer reached for another of their cursed balls, and something snapped deep inside Cypress. The little ones returned to shouting, going as far as trying to tackle the older human and pry the ball out of their hands. The Mismagius couldn¡¯t see, couldn¡¯t notice any of that. There was no warmth left in her, no joy, none that could compare to the blinding lies she barely clawed herself away from. Nothing but the freezing coldness of regular existence, nobody but the monster of a human before her. It angered her, and with no love to counterbalance them, the flames of her fury consumed her. Cypress¡¯s body thrashed as a fierce flare took over her eyes and searing rage over her mind. She only felt the emotions of the trainer turn fearful and the children¡ªsurprised. She glared at them, through them, her gaze¡¯s intensity freezing the humans in place as her worst impulses soared, unopposed. They deserved to suffer. She lifted a tentacle, brought it to her neck¡ª ¡°CURSE UPON YOU.¡± ¡ªand slashed across it. The trainer shrieked as their hands reached for their neck. They needed to tear at it, their skin was too tight, they had to claw it open now now ¡ª The kids backed off in terror at seeing this stranger forcibly hurting themselves. They turned to the Mismagius, pleading for help in panic, but she only stared, her crooked grin turning even wider. This worthless trainer bled, and Cypress¡¯ burning anger roared in glee. Their pet watched in horror, growls turning to pitiful yelps. Terrified as they were, the Snubbull knew they had to do something. The Fairy-type leaped at her, snapping Cypress out of her immediate shock as her Curse continued. She saw the pitch-black energy gather around the other mon¡¯s maw an instant before it would¡¯ve clamped down on her, Shadow Sneaking away just in time. They were guilty; they were a part of this; they deserved to suffer too. Cypress¡¯ eyes glowed with a red flare as tentacles slashed the air. Each of their slices tore through reality, unleashing erratic, purple Hexes that honed in on the Snubbull. With a well-practiced motion, the Fairy-type dodged sideways at the last moment, following up with another attempted Bite. Leaving themselves open for another Ghost-type barrage. The Mismagius floated backwards, leaving more Hexes in her wake, striking true with their target airborne. They should¡¯ve been left reeling, barely alive¡ªif even that. Instead, they only flinched for a second after landing, before attacking yet again. Cypress stared wide-eyed before retreating into another Shadow Sneak, the sight not making any sense. They were just a pre-evolved juvenile, and yet they kept on fighting after taking the brunt of her move, something she doubted even many of her fellow scouts would¡¯ve managed. Didn¡¯t matter. The rage-consumed Mismagius focused her strength in one spot this time, coalescing her power into a Shadow Ball. She launched it with a shriek, honing it on the constantly moving Snubbull. They stood their ground this time, a flare of a Protect surrounding their body as they headbutted the spectral projectile, deflecting it downwards, the resulting explosion sending a cloud of snowy mist into the air. And dashed again, not letting Cypress rest even for a moment. She had to stop them. With a backwards dodge, she came to a stop, focusing on the twitchy Fairy-type and letting them approach. The instant they¡¯d dash in front of her, she¡¯d lock them down with a Mean Look and dispatch with another Shadow Ball¡ª Unfortunately for Cypress, her opponent had the bare minimum of combat experience and saw the most obvious bait in the world for what it was. The Snubbull¡¯s ear-wrenching shriek only threw further kindling onto the flames of Cypress¡¯ fury, shattering any strategic restraint she might¡¯ve forced upon herself. Taunted, she immediately tried striking back, focusing for another Shadow Ball. And then, burning pain shot through her entire side, knocking her out of her hateful fever. She got a glimpse of the Snubbull with the piece of her in their maw before retreating again as sudden clarity hit her. The past few minutes felt like she¡¯d been a prisoner in her own body, only able to watch as it spread its suffering and dispensed what it considered justice. To her relief, the trainer was still alive, constantly thrashing against their Curse as the two kids forcibly kept their blood-stained hands away from their throat. She¡¯d done this; she¡¯d scarred them for life, and there was nothing she could do to undo this. Her single whisper undid the human¡¯s compulsion, making them cry out in pain. Another dodge had the Mismagius hovering away from the horror of her own creation, mind torn between loathing at what she¡¯d just done and evading the Snubbull. Guilt could come later; now she had to get out of there. Her opponent wouldn¡¯t let her. Each time she tried to Shadow Sneak, or even just dodge, they¡¯d be waiting for her, pushing her back towards her sins with each attempted Bite. Even once she attacked them again, it amounted to nothing; the few Hexes that hit only barely slowed them down. Everyone, please help me! Even if her fellow scouts heard her cry, it¡¯d take time she didn¡¯t have until they¡¯d arrive. All the while, the gaping wound in her spectral flesh barraged her with pain, each dodge coming harder and harder. In desperation, she attempted another Shadow Ball from up close, hoping they wouldn¡¯t manage to Protect themselves in time¡ª And indeed, they didn¡¯t. The shadowy projectile went right through where the Snubbull was, dispelling the Double Team illusion before careening towards the small band of humans. The kids froze in the middle of dragging the trainer away from the battle, paralyzed in fear as it approached too fast to react to. With her utmost effort, Cypress steered the bolt away from them at the last moment, the nearby bang making them shriek in fear. And left herself exposed. Another Bite left her barely standing, leaving glowing teeth marks in its wake. They struck again before she could even finish reeling. She only made it halfway through her Shadow Sneak before having to stop, the last of her strength waning fast. In desperation, she tried hovering into the trunk of a nearby tree right after a dodge, hoping her opponent would lose track of her. Instead, a Crunch ripped the tree in half just an inch below where she hid, a grazing Bite finishing her before she got over her own shock. She went from hiding to splayed out on the snow in a matter of seconds, barely clinging to her afterlife. A pitiful way to go, but hardly undeserved. Cypress could only watch the trained mon approach as she laid incapacitated, pain gripping her body in a vise. Whether they were about to tear her spectral throat out or merely let their human have another go at her with their demonic balls, she was as good as dead. She¡¯d only barely resisted that hell the first time; she wouldn¡¯t last an instant now. Cypress closed her eyes and waited as the Snubbull approached, their growls terrifying despite their whininess. For a split second, she tried concentrating on a Pain Split, just needing them to come just that bit closer¡ª And only earned herself yet another Taunt, forcing the weakest of whines out of her, and nothing else. She couldn¡¯t move as she watched the trainer slowly pick themselves back up in the distance; couldn¡¯t act as they approached, pressing a scarf to their throat. The human kids weren¡¯t far behind, gasping at seeing ¡®their¡¯ ghost in her current state, shouting something at the older human. Right as she was about to give up entirely, the trainer¡¯s confused, aghast words echoing in her mind, the Mismagius felt a familiar aura approach fast. With a quiet wail, she reached out a tentacle, attempting to drag herself away as a distraction. The Fairy behind her growled louder, preparing for another strike to put her in her place. Only for a Bullet Punch to send them rocketing back towards their trainer. Before Cypress knew it, Lariat stood before her. His usual dispassionate focus had turned intense and ferocious, bangles raised as he predicted the Fairy-type¡¯s next move. Despite taking a Steel-type move, the Snubbull barely looked worse for the wear, effortlessly pushing through the painful bruise on their side. The trainer gasped at the Fighting-type¡¯s sudden appearance, shouting something at their mon. They reached for another ball attached to their belt, but by then, their Snubbull was already on the move, paw glowing as they prepared for a Brick Break¡ª Lariat¡¯s Iron Head knocked them out mid-swing. The Fairy¡¯s pink body smashed into a small pile of snow, twitching as they desperately tried to keep fighting. A glowing red beam stopped them in their tracks before they disappeared, leaving just the two scouts, the two onlooker children, and a trainer paralyzed in pain and fear. ¡°Cypress¡ª¡± the Lucario shouted. ¡°We need to get away, now...¡± As much as Lariat wanted to enact justice on the humans for daring to hurt his friend, he knew that avoiding further fighting was the correct choice, deep inside. Inching backwards, he picked Cypress¡¯ damaged body up. She clung onto him with whatever strength she had left, peeking over his shoulder as they backed off. The trainer collapsed whether they stood, shaking as they reached out for another of those balls. It made Lariat stop and brace himself, fists raised at the potential threat. The human didn¡¯t even notice, pressing a button on the device¡¯s side. An instant later, a Servine stood before them, dazedly taking their surroundings in, growing more terrified by the moment. Cypress looked at the two human kids she was friendly with just moments ago, and saw the same lethal fear as one of them had earlier. And this time, to her horror, it was justified.
The Mismagius barely paid any attention to where Lariat was taking her; barely capable of thinking about anything but her guilt. Even the pain of her body screaming at all the blows it took paled compared to the awareness of just what she had done in her burst of rage. Even if they were an actual trainer, the kind that wished only to contain them and use them for battling, she still almost murdered them with their own hands. If not for ¡®their¡¯ mon snapping her out of her fury, she would¡¯ve succeeded, the thought making her nauseous. Was it even truly her doing it? That Snubbull striking her felt like it had forced her out of her furious thoughts, like everything before then was her psyche¡¯s violent reaction to what the trainer¡¯s ball had inflicted upon her. Was that the case? Was her mind just making it up to absolve her conscience of guilt? Did any of it even matter in the light of her almost having taken a life? If she had enough strength left in her to cry, she would¡¯ve. A distant shuddering sensation made Cypress look up to see her coworker Teleport in and run over, aghast. Before the Gardevoir could even say anything, a bird cry coming from above marked the arrival of another scout; Lucere no less distraught at the scene than Aria was. ¡°^Cypress, Lariat, what happened?^¡± the Gardevoir gasped, stepping closer to tend to the ghost¡¯s injuries without waiting for a response. She wasn¡¯t a healer, but even an unskilled Heal Pulse beat no Heal Pulse, making her focus on applying whichever healing she could as the Lucario spoke up, ¡°After I heard their alarm, I ran over to Cypress¡¯ position. They were being attacked by a trainer¡¯s Snubbull, whom I then incapacitated. We then made our way out without further fighting.¡± ¡°Trainer attack ya, Cypress?¡± Lucere asked, her chirped out question making the Mismagius flinch. The answer was simultaneously dead simple¡ªyes, they have¡ªand made messier by their mon¡¯s actions being entirely reasonable considering what she then did. She wasn¡¯t looking forward to explaining it one bit, but knew she had to. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ *pant* more to it than that...¡± Aria appreciated the confirmation, but the unspoken implication left her even more worried than before. ¡°^What do you mean, Cypress?^¡± ¡°They¡ªthey hit me with one of their balls...¡± The frigid hilltop grew dead silent at the Mismagius¡¯ revelation. All of her coworkers were wrestling with a mix of ¡®I¡¯m so sorry¡¯, ¡®how did you survive that¡¯, and ¡®what was it like¡¯ in their minds, but it would be the Gardevoir that gave the voice to these questions first, ¡°^Was it that ball that hurt you this badly?^¡± ¡°Hardly... it doesn¡¯t hurt the body, merely the mind...¡± the Mismagius whispered. Her explanation didn¡¯t make a lick of sense, and she was well aware. ¡°^What did you see?^¡± Aria didn¡¯t want to rush her, giving her all the time she needed to process what she¡¯d seen and describe it, if possible. The sounds, the sights, they escaped description, refusing to even let themselves be remembered. All Cypress could do was go over how it felt, itself a nigh impossible task because of the sheer magnitudes involved. ¡°Heaven. Love so intense, I almost believed in it. Hell.¡± Neither Aria nor Lariat put words to their subsequent confusion. They didn¡¯t need to, the brief glimpses they saw of the Mismagius¡¯ recollection harrowing enough to answer for the ghost plenty. Lucere didn¡¯t have access to that, though, leaving her tilting her head in bewilderment. ¡°That doesn¡¯t say much.¡± ¡°Words fail to even come close to describing it¡­¡± The Gardevoir was unsure how to respond, torn between offering the ghost comfort and giving her time and space after having to recall something so overwhelming. Eventually, she settled on the latter; the choice appreciated by the Mismagius in question. After she¡¯d gotten a grip on herself again, the Mismagius continued, ¡°After I broke out, my mind felt broken. I felt an intense rage at the trainer, and couldn¡¯t stop, or even control it. It was as if it took over me, and I attacked them...¡± As harrowing as the previous admission was, this one was even more dire for their village as a whole. Cypress wasn¡¯t blind to that fact, clarifying soon after, ¡°My Curse didn¡¯t kill them, but it came close. Their Snubbull attacked to defend them, understandably so...¡± The elaboration provided relief, but only so much. The other scouts were still concerned about the ramifications of one of them having attacked a human, even if they were a ¡®trainer¡¯. For a moment, Aria wondered whether dashing in there and trying to erase that entire incident from their memories could¡¯ve been an option, but discarded it soon after. She¡¯d seen memory meddling cause enough pain already; there was no way to use it here without raising further alarm. ¡°^The trainer is still alive, right?^¡± ¡°They were when we left, yes,¡± Lariat confirmed. ¡°I don¡¯t think they lost enough blood to be at risk of death...¡± ¡®Think¡¯ was the load-bearing word of that sense, and everyone gathered was well aware. ¡°Sounds like ya need another role then, Cy!¡± Lucere chirped. ¡°If that one there got so infamous you got a trainer on ya tail, who knows if all this won¡¯t happen again.¡± The thought about abandoning her current post hurt Cypress even harder than the Bite that tore a part of her body off. She didn¡¯t disagree with the Altaria¡¯s observation¡ªshe couldn¡¯t go back there, not after subjecting these poor kids to all that. They wouldn¡¯t ever think of her as anything but a bloodthirsty, terrifying beast ever again¡ªand considering what had happened today, they were entirely justified in that. It didn¡¯t make any of it hurt any less. ¡°I concur... An ordinary sort of patrol route, or-or another location to haunt a-and draw attention to...¡± All three scouts could tell something was very wrong, be it by sensing the ghost¡¯s emotions or by focusing on her wavering voice. With Lariat and Lucere alike playing their expectant focus on Aria, the Gardevoir sighed and asked again, more softly this time, ¡°^Cypress, did something else happen?^¡± The Gardevoir offered the ghost a hand, eagerly accepted and held as firmly as the Mismagius could manage. This was almost entirely unlike the Cypress they knew, leaving the trio concerned for their coworker. The Lucario didn¡¯t know how to express that emotion at all, and all the Altaria did was perch beside the ghost and try to pat her back with her wing, but it was appreciated all the same. A part of the ghost didn¡¯t want to bring it up at all, not with her current company. And if she¡¯d been any less worn down, that part might¡¯ve even come out on top¡ªbut not this time. ¡°I have crossed a line. I had grown closer and closer to these little humans that would visit me, but now can never go back. I¡¯ll only ever be a monster to them now...¡± Lariat kept his eye roll under his eyelids while Aria held the ghost¡¯s tentacle tighter. She might not have had any particular platitudes or advice for a situation like this, but the Gardevoir still hoped she¡¯d be able to make all this at least slightly less terrible for her friend. Lucere, unfortunately, didn¡¯t keep her response in her throat. ¡°*Sigh*, as if that wasn¡¯t already the case. They¡¯d never think of us as people.¡± The audacity of these words snapped the Mismagius out of her loathing spiral in an instant; her red eyes narrowed on the Altaria. What followed might not have been a magical incantation, but was just as spirited. ¡°No, it was not. They never thought of me as someone that would bring them harm. Scare them for fun, indeed, but never beyond that. Never, ever hurt them...¡± No matter how forceful Cypress was in her delivery, her point kept flying over its recipient¡¯s blue head. A part of her wanted to snap at them for continuing their affection despite the terrible things they were saying, but couldn¡¯t find the strength for it. The Altaria continued, ¡°I¡¯ve no idea why ya keep insistin¡¯ that, Cy! That¡¯s what all humans see us as, lesser things to be scorned or hated that are gonna hurt them, and nothin¡¯ more!¡± Despite not feeling like she had the strength for anything but levitating anymore¡ªand even that was only thanks to Aria¡¯s help¡ªthe Mismagius felt a nigh-irresistible urge to Shadow Ball the bird. ¡°You know nothing about what these kids thought of me. I have seen human little ones run to me for protection from their older peers, one I granted them each time. I have seen children so profoundly sad they felt mere meters away from the brink. I couldn¡¯t talk with them about it, I couldn¡¯t chant away that kind of sadness¡ªbut I could be there for them. Keep them company as they wept, as they screamed, as they processed their pain...¡± Cypress¡¯s point of view didn¡¯t let her see the reaction on Lucere¡¯s face. She saw Aria¡¯s, though, one of equal parts surprise, gratitude, and awe¡ªand it was enough to keep her going. ¡°At no point did they think of me as a ¡®lesser thing to be scorned¡¯. As someone different, yes, but they treated me with kindness, regardless. Even if they couldn¡¯t understand me, even if I couldn¡¯t understand them, I was still someone they could turn to beyond just a cheap scare. I was just as much a person to them as they were to me¡­¡± Even if the Mismagius kept her anger in check much better here than she did with the human, she knew full well it wasn¡¯t any more productive. It was a deeply personal topic to her, and she hoped this pointed explanation was enough to get Lucere to respect her experiences, even if not necessarily agree¡ª ¡°Pleeease, even our kin can¡¯t get over the smallest of differences! Why would humans be any better?¡± Cypress had enough. ¡°What ¡®our kin¡¯, Lucere? Are you implying that our village is near as virulently hateful as how you are, or imagine all humans to be...?¡± At last, she¡¯d hit where it hurt. The Altaria wasted no time flying around to look the ghost in the eye, her anger quickly matching Cypress¡¯. ¡°I¡¯m not hateful! The frickin¡¯ humans are! I¡¯m just sayin¡¯¡ª¡± ¡°Just saying what, that you¡¯re more eager to paint all humans as equal monsters than to believe my own experiences with them? To project your own bigotry onto an entire kin!?¡± ¡°How¡ªhow call me bigoted!? Don¡¯t you know what I¡¯ve been¡ª¡± ¡°I can because I do know. Not everyone is as cruel as your flock was, Lucere. Certainly not everyone of a kin. And...¡± A part of Cypress wanted to stop there and then, to convey her point without going directly for the jugular. She said ¡®fuck it¡¯ to that concern, though¡ªLucere has had it coming for a while. ¡°And if you keep up your bigotry against untold myriads of people just because they look different to you, then you¡¯re no better than your flock exiling you because of what¡¯s between your bloody legs¡­¡± The staring contest that followed almost turned hot despite only lasting seconds. Cypress felt Lucere¡¯s visceral rage and pain at being compared to her own oppressors, felt the subconscious thrashes of darker emotions that had almost persuaded her to pay her back for such an insult. Underneath those¡ªsadness, grief, and guilt¡ªconstantly attempted to be covered up with anger. She had struck deep, and hoped it¡¯d be enough to get through to someone who used to look up to her as a mentor. The Altaria¡¯s knee-jerk fury wouldn¡¯t last for long, not with the emotional injury it disguised being so painful. The other two scouts were too stunned to butt in beyond focusing on being able to put up a Protect should the situation grow even worse. Eventually, Lucere¡¯s pain finally breached her eyes and flew down her cheeks, making her take off without a word. And then; there were three. With the Altaria gone, Cypress clung even tighter to Lariat, left drained after the spat. Next to her, Aria chewed through what to do now. Changing the Mismagius¡¯ patrolling route was an obvious next step, but the specifics were the kind of thing they¡¯d ideally consult the Elders about. Her previous spot was perfect, drawing a lot of attention from the surrounding humans¡ªincluding those that would otherwise go deeper into the woods and possibly stumble upon their village. The Gardevoir had no idea if there was any other location nearby that would be as effective at pulling the humans¡¯ attention towards itself as Cypress¡¯ spot was¡ª ... But there was someone who could know. The thought redirected her attention over to the Lucario beside her, the awkward situation from earlier leaving him standing idly, uncertain of what he was supposed to do now. Helping his coworker back to safety was the obvious next step, but it felt like the current discussion wasn¡¯t over, either. Lariat focused on Aria at sensing her thinking about him, making her finally speak up. ¡°^I¡¯m wondering where else could Cypress go to keep on drawing attention once they recover.^¡± A telepathic whisper sent the Mismagius¡¯ way let her know to remain quiet. Persuading Lucere to a less bigoted position went... about as well as it could realistically have, but Aria had higher hopes for the Lucario. Whether they¡¯d be justified, it remained to be seen. Fingers crossed. After a solid minute of agonizing silence, Lariat finally picked up the conversation, just so that someone would. ¡°What were you considering, Aria?¡± ¡°^Not a whole lot myself, sadly. I don¡¯t know what the nearby humans consider landmarks, and figure that Cypress focusing her efforts on one of them would work out the best for us. Though... there is someone who does know that, much more so than I do.^¡± The most obvious rhetorical trap has been laid, now to see whether it would end up catching¡ª ¡°The human in our village?¡± That was easy. ¡°^Indeed! Anne is a local. She surely knows of a better place for Cypress to haunt.^¡± To Aria¡¯s consternation, she couldn¡¯t see a single iota of reaction leave Lariat¡¯s ironclad head at that observation. It was understood perfectly well, and yet it somehow did not bring any thought to him. As if he just... sincerely didn¡¯t care one bit about that. Cypress might not have been able to pick up on his emotions with as much clarity as the Gardevoir, but a lack of spoken response let her figure that too. And, as opposed to Aria, she had a better idea about where to steer the discussion instead. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she just spat at my words...¡± The underlying emotions were as genuine as they got, helping in catching the Lucario¡¯s attention as the ghost continued, ¡°I meant all I said in my recollection. These kids really thought of me as a person, as one of them, even...¡± Aria and Lariat alike paid close focus, curious to see where the ghost would take that insight. ¡°We had no way of talking, no way of understanding. And yet, they all knew I wasn¡¯t all that different. Certainly scary, but not evil...¡± Cypress feared that the last point wouldn¡¯t remain true for long, but this wasn¡¯t the time to fret about it. ¡°If our dear Anne is any indication, these kids knew enough about my kin to ought to be terrified. But they weren¡¯t. They thought of me as one of them, even without communication, even if we couldn¡¯t do much together...¡± As the Mismagius thought on, she lost the battle against her own tears, clenching her eyes soon after. ¡°It makes me imagine what could¡¯ve been. If we spoke a shared language, if we understood each other as equals. If they could talk with me about what ails them, if I could be more than a spectral head to lean on. Infeasible now with my specific situation, yes, but...¡± She didn¡¯t have to finish the sentence to sense Lucario¡¯s thoughts having gone where she wanted them to. This topic elicited much more thought than the previous one¡ªin that it elicited any thought at all¡ªbringing quiet reassurance to Cypress and Aria alike. Whether it would end up amounting to anything, they would see in a few hours. Until then, though, one ghost in particular needed medical attention post haste. ¡°^Cypress, take it easy today,^¡± Aria reassured. ¡°^Don¡¯t worry about your scouting; we¡¯ll pick up the slack until you get better. There¡¯s a lil¡¯ deathborn ghost at the clinic. She might appreciate you showing her some ropes once you get there~.^¡± With the main reason behind the Mismagius being eager for her scouting gone, Aria¡¯s reassurances fell flat. She wasn¡¯t worrying about her duty, but instead about the dozens upon dozens of human kids that might end up traumatized by proxy at hearing what she¡¯d done. The remark about the ghost at the clinic, however, caught her attention right back. It wouldn¡¯t be the same, she knew that well, but she sure as hell wouldn¡¯t oppose helping a lil¡¯ kid feel better. ¡°Curious... Well, dear Aria, you have caught my interest...¡± ¡°^In which case, let¡¯s not waste any more time here~.^¡± Lariat didn¡¯t have to be implied at twice, making sure Cypress was holding onto him well before taking off into another Extreme Speed. In a blink, Aria was left alone once more. All that remained was to turn back around towards her patrol route, head out, And keep hoping that the nervous thoughts she kept having about Marco were just her overactive anxiety. Interlude VI: Opportunity
¡°Now stopping at: ROSEBURN CRESCENT.¡±
The ailing headphones¡¯ tinny tune left the announcer¡¯s call only barely audible. Their music was one of her few remaining comforts left¡ªthe very last, if her plan ended up not working out. Emma shook at the thought, but didn¡¯t let it take over her mind. She would need all the clarity and focus for what she was about to do she could get her hands on. Her gesture to stash the earbuds back into her jacket pocket caught the attention of her companion, making them hop off their seat and onto the floor of the bus. It netted them a profoundly exhausted chuckle. Which, in turn, drew their attention back over to their human. ¡°Not yet Spots, not yet.¡± With their overeager response diffused, the Snubbull hopped back onto the seat, turning to look at their human in concern. She hasn¡¯t been doing well for... a while now. Her mood only got worse each time the Fairy-type had lost on the battlefield. Affirmations weren¡¯t far behind when that happened, neither were reassurances that Spots wasn¡¯t the problem¡ªor Noodles, for that matter. Not... inherently so, at least. Without any distractions, Emma¡¯s thoughts inevitably steered back to money. So dumb, so anxiety-inducing, so necessary. So sorely lacking. She¡¯d done and re-done the math again and again, only ever arriving at the same result each time. Between the monthly League stipends, the pittance she got her parents to send her when she reminded them she was¡ªin fact¡ªstill underage, and the expenses of food, Pokecenter visits, having somewhere to sleep at, and other supplies, she needed to be winning around three battles a month for the League-issued prize money to keep her afloat. The last time her team had won was almost half a year ago. Week by week, her upbeat attitude about it all wavered. With each loss, her battle record turned from a streak of bad luck to a scathing indictment of her as a trainer. Reserved strategies, hyper-offense, even playing as defensive as possible while trying to abuse Noodles¡¯ Leech Seed. Nothing worked, nothing kept working. Each time, her optimism only lasted until the first barrage of blows was exchanged, until the loathed truth shoved itself into her face yet again¡ªSpots and Noodles just weren¡¯t strong enough. Emma had tried the same training regimen as everyone else, but just couldn¡¯t keep going. It hurt her friends so, so much, leaving them almost fainted every time. She refused to settle on that being the only way forward. There was no way that everyone who¡¯d climbed further had only managed to do so through misery. She remained resolute that her team could keep moving on and keep growing stronger without it, without subjecting them to that kind of hell. And then; they didn¡¯t. That¡¯s not what any of this should¡¯ve been about. Sure, rigorous training was a part of their journey, but it wasn¡¯t supposed to be the only one! The dreams of it being all about friendship and bonds were childish oversimplification¡ªshe knew that well¡ªbut a part of her kept hoping they weren¡¯t all bunk. That, deep inside, there really was a kernel of truth to them all, and that a no-name upstart like her could make it did if she just kept trying. Because the alternative... there wasn¡¯t one.
¡°Now stopping at: SATOSHI STREET.¡±
*whi-whine?* Spots¡¯ audible concern snapped her human out of her anxious thoughts, making her hold the Snubbull closer. None of this was her fault, none of this should¡¯ve been her fault. Neither she nor Noodles deserved to be forced to suffer just to keep their human afloat. Emma had promised herself that she¡¯d rather take her own life than stain those of her companions with constant, agonizing training. She wasn¡¯t dim enough as to not plan for this exact outcome, though. The mere presence of the sturdy, winter-proof tent inside her large camping backpack was a cruel joke she herself and the world alike had played on her. Snap-purchased in an anxious mental breakdown a few months ago, constantly laughed about for weeks afterwards. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Looming ever taller over her as losses piled up. If the push came to shove, Emma was confident that she¡¯d be able to endure for a good while out in the wilderness. She wasn¡¯t sure how exactly, but Noodles should¡¯ve had some way of coaxing wintering berry bushes into producing more fruit. If that failed too, petty theft. Going back wasn¡¯t an option, leaving only ¡®through¡¯, Or ¡®out¡¯. She hated even considering becoming a statistic, but couldn¡¯t deny having grown... distressingly comfortable thinking about it. Her friends would be alright with or without her. They¡¯d grown stronger than most wild mons by now, enough so where she couldn¡¯t even imagine them ever getting into legitimate danger. Her fate wasn¡¯t their responsibility. And, if survival at every cost was really what she was after, she could just lie through her teeth once she inevitably circled back to her family¡¯s doorstep. She could say that he¡¯d failed his journey, kowtow before his parents, and beg for forgiveness. Then, once they got their fill of expressing their anger¡ªverbally or not¡ªthey¡¯d magnanimously let him stay at their house while he rushed through catchup classes for failed trainers, together with hundreds of others. And many, many years later, if she just kept grinding, kept lying through her teeth, one day she¡¯d finally carve out a safe space for herself in this world. She sure wouldn¡¯t ever have one at ¡®home¡¯. Not with people that already barely tolerated her before her journey¡ªonly agreed to because it¡¯d get him out of the house¡ªand the... personal revelations she had over its course. ... Murder on her mind, again. It was a theoretical that was as intoxicating to fantasize about as it was harrowing to consider the implications of. Not for herself¡ªshe didn¡¯t fancy a life sentence, making a murder-suicide an obvious choice¡ªbut for her friends. If they were found to have had a part in it, they¡¯d be hunted to the ends of the earth and put down. If not... Emma doubted their prospects would be much better, anyway.
¡°Now stopping at: WHITE PLAZA.¡±
*yank-yank!* She¡¯d stopped petting Spots again, hasn¡¯t she? The trainer chuckled to herself as her friend tugged on her hand, before lifting the Snubbull into her arms. Spots was right. Thinking about this wasn¡¯t doing her any good¡ªespecially with her current plan. She might¡¯ve only come to this backwater town to look for inexperienced trainers to battle with, but the piece of local folklore she¡¯d overheard yesterday might¡¯ve very well been her ticket out of this pit. There was a Mismagius haunting the woods behind the local school. Been at it for a while, from what these two annoying punks told her before giving her the finger. Not a species she usually associated with battling, but that hardly mattered. If they could get another win, if they could gather some momentum, then it¡¯d all get so much easier. She would¡¯ve been able to splurge on something better than the barely edible kind of mon chow; she would¡¯ve been able to get Noodles properly looked at. He got hit bad in a fight a few months ago, and there¡¯s been something wrong with his leg ever since. Pokecenter did its thing and wouldn¡¯t take a second look at him afterwards, leaving only a private consultation, which... ha. She couldn¡¯t even afford hormones anymore. Even the Ultra Ball in her backpack¡¯s pocket was acquired through... less than legal means at the local Trainer¡¯s Mart. Their fault for having such shoddy security, as far as Emma was concerned. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t have tried something so ballsy. The last time she¡¯d been in anything resembling ¡®normal¡¯ circumstances, though, was over half a year ago. The awkwardness of capturing a piece of local folklore didn¡¯t go by unacknowledged¡ªin that she acknowledged it, and went on with her life. Yes, it sucked for this town; it was really rude to just stroll in and catch their ghost like that, but that was her only remaining idea. Besides, since apparently nobody had seen that ghost battle, it had to be so good at it that nothing dared challenge it anymore. Must¡¯ve been bored to hell in there. It¡¯d probably be thankful to her in the long run for giving it some actual battling challenge. If her lessons at the trainer school were anything to go by, battling was the one thing almost all mons desired deep down, and what they all did in the wild. Really, she¡¯d just be doing it a favor. Spots was thankful to her right after she¡¯d caught her, after all. ... Emma wasn¡¯t dim enough to buy that explanation wholesale. The more time she¡¯d spent beside Spots and Noodles on their own, outside of the context of battling or training... the less she believed in that all-present ¡®battling nature¡¯. It had to have been true at least somewhat; there¡¯s no way the League just made something so basic up whole cloth and kept peddling it straight-faced. They were scumbags that drew kids in with a promise of a heroic journey only to subject them and their mons to misery, but there was no way they¡¯d keep bullshitting about something this obvious. Someone would¡¯ve called them out on it sooner or later. Right? *woof-woof!* ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, Spots. Our stop¡¯s coming up.¡± *growl-woof?* ¡°Fine, fine, you can stay in my arms for a bit longer~.¡± The Snubbull huddled in while her trainer picked herself up, her oversized backpack following in tow. Just like with her mulling earlier, there was no point in pondering this topic too deeply¡ªthere lied madness and quackery. No matter what insight she¡¯d arrive at, it didn¡¯t change the fact that this was her last opportunity to turn things around. Her last opportunity to ensure her safety in a world that hated her¡ª
¡°Now stopping at: ALDER AVARETTI PUBLIC SCHOOL.¡±
¡ªand she was not going to waste it. Chapter 26: Traitor Marco¡¯s heart hammered in his chest as he jogged through the snowy woods. On any other day, he would¡¯ve considered his current pace to be sluggish¡ªto put it kindly¡ªbut at the moment, it felt like he was rushing headfirst into something someone would regret. Whether it would be him, his sister, the human girl with whom they had grown closer than either of them would admit to, or their entire village, he didn¡¯t know. And it agonized him. It¡¯d be many more days until he fully recovered from everything that had happened with Cinder. And likely even more until all warmth would stop carrying with itself the all too familiar aching. It was the time he wanted to take for himself, time he knew he should be taking for himself, time Aria had stressed he deserved, but... the obvious loomed above him, above them all. The task he¡¯d decided on last evening ended up being an abject failure by any metric. Worse than that¡ªhe didn¡¯t just make no progress; he made negative progress. Because now, he too doubted his sister¡¯s actions. Marco trusted Aria; he trusted her more than anyone else in the world, and yet... distrust lingered. He felt the blatant uncertainty in her voice and aura when she¡¯d relayed to them she¡¯d wiped the memories of that human¡ªthe telltale sting of a badly kept lie¡ªbut deliberately overlooked it until now. But now, with the light having been shone upon it in such a stark way, he couldn¡¯t look away. He couldn¡¯t think of a motive that wasn¡¯t malice, and didn¡¯t have it in him to imagine his sister as a traitor, but... why would she lie about this? If he¡¯d felt it right, if it was so blatant that even a non-psychic had noticed it, then the only question remaining was ¡®why?¡¯. He had no answer. As far as he was concerned, there was only one way to sort this harrowing enigma out¡ªchecking up on that human in person. It was far from his first time sneaking into the human backwater, though he hadn¡¯t ventured further than the end of their path in years. What was once an expression of frivolous curiosity had turned so much more dire the more he learned about humanity, so much riskier. He didn¡¯t need to do this; he doubted he even should be here. Even if his sister had kept that human¡¯s memories and lied to them about it, he couldn¡¯t accept that it was for any truly malicious reasons. Aria had to have had a plan for this; she was much too intelligent to knowingly expose their village to so much risk without gaining something from it. But what if she had misjudged? What if she had acted in the best of intentions and ended up bringing on their home¡¯s eventual demise? ... What if he had misjudged, too? The movement in the Gallade¡¯s peripheral vision made him jerk into a combat-ready stance before easing out. Just a white sheet, much like the ones he saw Anne draw on. It fluttered in the freezing wind, attached to the sign at the end of their path. On it, a depiction of the girl¡¯s face, and an incomprehensible soup of blacks and whites, of meaningless symbols humanity comprehended all the same. It might¡¯ve only been a day, he might¡¯ve only spent a few hours in Anne¡¯s company, but... he already felt close to her, closer than he probably should have. It was hard not to feel for her. The girl had bonded with Cadence further in a day than almost all the other children around in the six years she¡¯d been alive, and that bond was mutual. For crying out loud, he experienced so much more of their mutual memories than he¡¯d ever wished to¡ªenough to still see occasional flashes of them as he daydreamed or fell asleep. He didn¡¯t know the names of the two humans branded into his mind, knew nothing about them beyond them being Anne¡¯s biological parents and that Aria had apparently had a hand in the death of one of them. And yet, he hated them more than almost anyone else in the world. He wished only the best for the girl; his heart yearned for her wellbeing to a degree he would¡¯ve found embarrassing if he¡¯d given it closer thought. But what if her and their village¡¯s safety were truly incompatible? Or the much more harrowing possibility¡ª What if investigating this would doom Anne? Marco didn¡¯t know¡ªhe couldn¡¯t know. All he had any certainty about was that his sister lying about something this important had hurt him, and that he wanted to know why. Whether to help her or to stop her, he had to know. Too late to turn back now. The snowy shrubs and deciduous trees bordering the black stone path provided just enough cover for him to scout out of. He was unsure how Aria had managed to get through this place unnoticed, and if it was by actively keeping herself from being spotted, then he¡¯d have to come up with something else. His relative inexperience in psychic arts compared to her might¡¯ve only bugged him in the abstract most of the time, but here it was a very practical problem. One he¡¯d either have to push through, however feebly, or sidestep. And the latter... just might work. He remembered enough of their standoff against the human and her posse to tell her aura apart in a crowd, and if he just got further into the town, he¡¯d pick her up, eventually. What would happen afterwards was an unknown that refused to be shoved into the back of his head, but which could just barely be delayed until it became relevant. The main street was too busy, which left sneaking around the perimeter. From his exploration many years earlier, he knew that this place was shaped by the road at its center. Almost all the buildings stood next to it, with so few side paths he could count them on his fingers. Just had to stalk the town¡¯s edge, and something would come up, eventually. Hopefully. Not the most encouraging outlook, but a far better one than sprinting through it and sending this entire place into a panic. The opposite side of the black path held the bulk of the buildings, making it the obvious starting point. Right as he was about to focus on a Teleport, Marco spotted something large and blackened not too far, so unlike the gray, snow-covered blob of human¡ªoh. Aria had described that Anne¡¯s home had burned down, but seeing it for himself was something else altogether. Less of a pile of charred wood, and more of a scorched carcass of what was once a home, what was once a family, and which ultimately fell to its own cruelty. It made him feel so, so very cold. In a split second, he was crouched on the other side of the road, catching his breath. Even Cadence could¡¯ve likely managed this one without too much difficulty, and yet here he was, gasping for air. He was doing his best to keep down the self-conscious feelings. Aria¡¯s words were still recent, but this time, he didn¡¯t have the reassurance of doing a good thing. He might¡¯ve very well been in the middle of something that would turn his family against him, something that would turn him into a traitor of Anne¡¯s safety. No way to know but to keep going, no luxury of being able to choose until he was on the same page with his sister. The building he first passed by was by far the largest in their entire town. On its own, it could¡¯ve easily housed all of their village, but its intended usage was... uncertain. Inside it, many, many children of various ages, with several older humans sprinkled among them. If it was a school, then was a rather space-inefficient one. Before the Anne affair, he would¡¯ve added some jab at humanity being wasteful as a whole at the end there, but couldn¡¯t force that out of himself anymore. It was hard to do that after interacting with the girl, after gaining an awareness¡ªmuch of it through literally unforgettable memories¡ªthat humans were just like them. In all their good, in all their evil. In all their lost, confused selves. For a while, he thought that one of the little humans had spotted him through the large, clear windows. He could sense shock, but didn¡¯t have the time to investigate further, or to even make sure if that shock was caused by him. No endurance for the slow deliberation. He had to get this over with before he¡¯d grow even sloppier. The massive courtyard, delimited by a fence woven from metal wire, was more of a challenge. Or at least would¡¯ve been, if there was anyone present there. He had no idea why was nobody using such a vast space for anything, even just meditation, but wasn¡¯t about to look the blessing in the¡ª *rr-ring-ri-RING-RING!* A panicked Teleport at the sudden, shrieking ringing wasn¡¯t the best idea in hindsight, but at least it got him out of there. For the next few buildings, he just had to be mindful of the windows with almost all humans being inside, slowly crouch along, and occasionally climb onto the roof. All that was augmented by much the same tricks his sister had used, just on a far smaller scale. Much easier to deceive one human as opposed to a baker¡¯s dozen. Even if it was slow, and required a lot of climbing and acrobatics, this combined approach was getting him further and further into¡ªthere she is. Three auras, just like the ones he¡¯d remembered. One of them was muffled too, as if asleep, only helping him further. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t alone¡ªtwo... no, three? Three others with them, likely human. No... the third aura felt so weak; maybe he was just miscounting, and it was really two? Didn¡¯t matter, he just had to find a safe spot to blink to. The cold, snow-covered roof froze his body as he leaned in and focused all he could muster out; the tendrils of his aura scoped out the inside wall by wall. One large room with way more internal walls than was reasonable, but which formed a natural cranny that¡ªto the best of his ability to tell¡ªnobody was looking at. Now all he needed was a distraction, accomplished by flipping over a pair of freestanding metal cylinders filled with trash on the opposite site on the street, aaand¡ª Oh goodness, this place was warm. The unexpected sensation almost robbed Marco of his entire focus before he scanned his surroundings. A cranny indeed, with nobody in a direct line of sight. To his right, a wall composed of hundreds upon hundreds of colorful rectangles of varying sizes, difficult enough to make any sense of that he didn¡¯t even try. On its other side, the five... six... five souls in here, three of which were chatting in human. ¡°~W-what just happened? Wait, did these just fall over?~¡± the human with what felt like another soul inside them asked. ¡°~Sure seems so. Must be the wind,~¡± the one Marco was after answered. ¡°~Woooo, what if it¡¯s that ghost everyone is talking about!?~¡± the third squealed. ¡°~Liam, please don¡¯t joke about that, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s not even a real ghost. It¡¯s... goodness, I still have no idea what any of it could mean. Are you really sure it has nothing to do with the Anne situation, Mrs. Graham?~¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t see why it would, Julie. Sure, there are fairy tales of ¡®Ghost Brides¡¯ kidnapping children, but no actual evidence of that having ever taken place, to my knowledge.~¡± Wait a minute... Marco had to keep himself from jumping in there and then at hearing the very human he was looking after mention a Gardevoir. Once he took a moment to parse through what was being said, both this worry and confusion only grew. He had to know more as soon as possible. Blocking four awake minds from perceiving him wasn¡¯t easy, but with their attention not being aimed anywhere near him, it was just about manageable. With that done, a peek around the colorful wall clarified the scene. The human he was after¡ª¡®Olive¡¯, if his memory served¡ªand two others, all of them sitting at a table. One grown up, one obviously a child. The child was looking at pictures on that white ¡®paper¡¯ stuff; how they got there exactly was not something Marco had the time to think about. Beside him, the Ribombee, sitting on his shoulder and enjoying the pictures along with him. Quaint, even if it explained little. ¡°~Well, I can imagine there b-being few reported cases, of course the League would want th-that stuff covered up. Otherwise it¡¯d have to do something and be more proactive with their interventions...~¡± ¡°~I really don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case, Julie. I get it, it¡¯s scary, but we should avoid jumping to conclusions.~¡± ¡°~Then what else should I do? What if that Ghost Bride had hurt someone? What if it really was the one that set fire to Martins¡¯ house¡ª~¡± ¡°~Julie, that was a gas leak,~¡± the older human reassured. ¡°~But what if it had caused that gas leak!?~¡± ¡°~With that logic, you could blame every single event that happens on them. Bad weather; must be the wild mons. Rotted crops; must be the wild mons. My child is disabled; must be the wild mons. At that point, you¡¯re no better than the first-century peasants I remember you snickering about in class.~¡± The snarky, ribbing response interrupted the other adult human enough to get her to think for a moment. Mrs. Graham was right, but she wished it helped with her and so many others¡¯ anxiety as much as it ought to have. As the concerning discussion took place around him, Marco reached into Olive¡¯s memories to get a direct confirmation of his sister¡¯s actions¡ªand Aria, along with Lumi and him, were still there, starker than anything else in the last few years. A cold dread shot through him and Olive simultaneously at that find. Her sensation of being watched was almost nothing compared to his heart dropping, but it sure didn¡¯t help any. Aria had really done it; she had lied to him; she had lied to them all. All the Elders would immediately brand her as a traitor if they ever found out, the thought deeply terrifying. As was the adjacent thought of him being a traitor to Anne¡¯s cause if his presence here would blow Aria¡¯s plan for keeping Anne safe wide open. Hell, even without that, even if he just went back and reported this to everyone else come voting time, they would all turn on not just Aria, but the girl as well. He wished his fellow scouts were better than conflating Anne¡¯s safety with Aria¡¯s potential mistakes, but he didn¡¯t trust them all to be. If he did that, he¡¯d be just as much of a traitor, but to Anne instead¡ª ¡°~I FOUND IT!~¡± the human boy cried, startling everyone in the building¡ªMarco included. Peeking around the wall again, the Gallade watched the little human carry a large picture over to his mom, showing it off to her with beaming joy. All the while, Olive grew concerned, and not-Olive... almost fainted there and then. ¡°~Breathe Julie, breathe. It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s¡ª~¡± ¡°~That¡¯s the one I saw, mom! The big white and green! I saw it here, oooo lemme read it! ¡®Ga-ra-da-vora¡¯!~¡± ¡°~Wh-what do you mean you saw it here, Liam...~¡± not-Olive muttered. ¡°~Behind the bookshelves there! It was there, mom, I told you, but you didn¡¯t believe me! Do you believe me now?~¡± The boy¡¯s mother did believe him, but not for any reasons he or Olive would¡¯ve wanted. Attention being brought towards Marco¡¯s hiding spot had him backing off, ducking behind the not-wall. ¡°~M-Mrs. Graham, a-are you sure that the Ghost Bride d-didn¡¯t make its way in here that day...~¡± ¡°~Of course not, Julie. There was nothing to suggest it got here in the end.~¡± ¡°~B-but the footage got corrupted, a-and¡ª~¡± ¡°~Happens all the time,~¡± the older human explained, ¡°~these cameras are old, cheap garbage. Besides, I doubt a wild mon could manipulate technology to that level¡ªit got caught on camera after all.~¡± The application of logic to the stressful situation was only barely more effective than it sounded. It kept the not-Olive from freaking out immediately, but she still teetered on the edge of a mental breakdown. ¡°~But I saw it here, mom!~¡± the boy reminded. ¡°~Are you really sure, Liam? I don¡¯t see why it would end up here, of all places. I think all the mania might¡¯ve gotten to you, too~.~¡± ¡°~Nooooo! Mrs. Graham, I saw it, believe me, I¡¯m not lying!~¡± ¡°~I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re lying, sweetie. All the buzz around something stressful can get to us all, even if we try our best to avoid it. And between the entire Mylock losing their marbles about this, and the news of that scary Gardevoir in Hoenn or whatever, it¡¯s not impossible for our brains to get confused, you know.~¡± ¡°~But I didn¡¯t! I saw ittttt, Mrs. Graham!~¡± ¡°~L-Liam, please...~¡± not-Olive pleaded. Even if she wasn¡¯t about to collapse anymore, her state still wasn¡¯t the best. Olive was very aware, leaning in over towards her and putting on the most motherly voice she could manage, ¡°~Julie, sweetie, I think you should lie down right now. Past few days have really been a lot for us all, and you especially. Just rest your head and cool off, no need to keep panicking about this.~¡± In her unstable anxiety, the other human nodded her head along with Olive¡¯s recommendation. Shaking, she slowly got up, giving Marco a better view of the massive, bulging stomach. The sight took Marco aback, but he didn¡¯t have the time to focus on it much longer¡ªshe was probably gonna lay her egg soon, is all. Worthy of congratulations, but he wouldn¡¯t be the one giving them to her. ¡°~L-Liam, please c-clean up¡ª~¡± ¡°~Don¡¯t worry Julie, I¡¯ll take care of it,~¡± Olive reassured. ¡°~B-but, Mrs.¡ª~¡± ¡°~I mean it, Julie. Get yourself home and rest. I can sort around a few books on my own, no problem.~¡± ¡°~Moooommm, can I take out¡ª~¡± ¡°~Not today Liam, I¡¯m sorry,~¡± the librarian gently asserted. ¡°~Your mom is feeling terrible right now, and should get back home soon. How about this¡ªI¡¯ll let you take out twice as many books out on Monday instead, how¡¯s that sound?~¡± ¡°~Awwwhhhh... okay...~¡± It took a couple minutes for the not-Olive to get herself together and head out, Olive helping along as much as she could. The little human wanted to keep on talking afterwards, but they got the clue it wasn¡¯t the best time for that. Quite a rarity for them, if the adults¡¯ unspoken reactions were any sign. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. With a few parting words and double checking if the not-Olive could make it back home on her own, they left; the door chiming quietly as it opened and much louder as it closed. It left just Olive and her two mons, one of them slowly waking up. Now that the situation had calmed down, it was the perfect time to come up with an escape plan. Blinking back up onto the roof and retracing his steps sounded like the best course of action, though he¡¯d also need to put in effort towards masking his footprints in¡ª *woof-woof-arf-BARK-BARK!* In Marco¡¯s focus, he didn¡¯t pay attention to the Arcanine in the other room waking up from their nap¡ªbut they most definitely noticed him. With a couple of tentative sniffs and a shocked realization, the Fire-type sprang into action and turned the corner, barking out loud at smelling someone very familiar around before switching to low growls. ¡°~Leo, what¡¯s going on?~¡± Olive asked, startled. She and the Ribombee followed the Arcanine right after, looking around the bookshelf only to see nothing. For a moment, Marco thought about teleporting away anyway and hoping that all this would just get overlooked, but... he couldn¡¯t; of course he couldn¡¯t. Not with her knowing so much, not with him knowing so little. He needed answers, and she better had them. In a split second, a Gallade materialized where once there were only bookshelves. The sight startled everyone present, Olive especially, shock immediately giving way to terror. Luxie fared better, more curious than anything else, and the Leosimilarly calmed down a bit. An intruder, sure, but one he¡¯d already seen before and which didn¡¯t hurt his human in the end. Marco¡¯s attention, however, rested entirely on the human, and vice versa. ¡°~Guess I should¡¯ve expected your people coming over to finish the job...~¡± Olive muttered, furrowing her brows. The words took Marco aback¡ªhe couldn¡¯t disagree with the thrust, but needed to know more about the specifics. ¡°^What do you mean by ¡®your people¡¯?^¡± ¡°~Aria told me she was supposed to remove all memories of us having met, but she didn¡¯t. Seems I can¡¯t run away from my mind getting violated in the end, can I.~¡± The phrasing took Marco aback as he paid closer attention to everything going on in Olive¡¯s mind. Fear, indignity, outrage, acceptance. All of them just about expected, and he¡¯d have to respond sooner or later. He had no idea just how he should respond, earlier doubts returning in force. This was madness, but he trusted Aria to have a reason for any madness, this included. But first, he needed to know more. ¡°^I... I need to know what happened. With Aria, with... everything that you and these other humans were talking about. I didn¡¯t come here to wipe your memories, I came here to figure out what my sister had done.^¡± His admission was as honest as it got, but it wasn¡¯t enough for it to be perceived as such. The thread of suspicion was still there in Olive¡¯s thoughts, and it was hardly unearned. Before the human would speak up, Marco felt the Ribombee¡¯s desire to speak, linking the entire group together right before she said, ¡°Ooohh, you¡¯re her brother! Uh¡ªplease don¡¯t take our memories away! We just want to help Anne. We promise!¡± Good gods, did Marco want to believe that as wholeheartedly as the little fairy did. He was too preoccupied by all the mess in his mind to notice the happy, barely held in gasp Olive let out at hearing the Ribombee¡¯s voice again. He continued, ¡°^I-I can gather, I-I just... what¡¯s going on? Aria lied to us about what had happened, and I¡¯m unsure how to react to all this. I want to help Anne out too.^¡± The Gallade¡¯s uncertainties were brought to light and scoured under a microscope. Going against someone who was clearly on Anne¡¯s side hurt; the worries that he might turn Olive against their village through his actions hurt. The human¡¯s fear hurt¡ªthat perception of him as an executioner against whom she could only beg for mercy. He couldn¡¯t even claim it to be incorrect, either. Olive shuddered, ¡°~I... I suppose I can see it. Alright... what do you want to know, ...?~¡± ¡°^Marco. And... everything, really. You mentioned a Gardevoir earlier while talking with that other human, and it sounded like you were referring to Aria but trying to hide it.^¡± ¡°~Ah, right. Well... the gist is that Aria was spotted while I guided her through Mylock, on my way here.~¡± Marco¡¯s eyes went wide, his breathing sped up. That was bad, that was very bad¡ªbut if anyone had really seen her then, they would¡¯ve reacted, right? Humans were afraid of them as the one that just left showed; his sister would¡¯ve sensed that if it had really happened! ¡°^How come the person who spotted her didn¡¯t react? She¡ªshe would¡¯ve noticed that!^¡± ¡°Not a person, a camera! Oh oh and I¡¯m Luxie!¡± The Ribombee¡¯s clarification explained precious nothing, and Olive could tell. Sighing in relief, she thought about how to explain that to the Gallade as she glanced towards the front door. Still marked as open, had to fix that. ¡°~Think of a ¡®camera¡¯ as a... mechanical eye,~¡± she began. ¡°~It sees things, and everything it sees can then be seen by others later if they want. Whatever magic your sister had used to remain unseen, it doesn¡¯t work on cameras, and she got spotted when passing in front of the grocery store. Not very clearly¡ªit¡¯s only for half a second and the image quality is so bad there¡¯s a lot of plausible deniability, but she¡¯s there all the same. And that... *sigh*, got people panicking.~¡± ¡°^Wait¡ªwhat do you mean it didn¡¯t work with that ¡®camera¡¯?^¡± ¡°~Well, you¡¯re the one with psychic abilities between us two, you would probably know much more about it than I. Though... if I had to guess, whatever trick Aria employed only works to confuse people, and not mindless, soulless machinery.~¡± Marco¡¯s shock only grew at Olive¡¯s explanation, the contraption she¡¯d just described terrifying in its implications. If it was just some metal with those unthinkable properties and not a person, it meant there was no way for them to detect it, no way to fool it. Destroy it, most likely, but not work around it unnoticed. ¡°^Is-is that object only in¡ª^¡± The librarian shot his hopes down, ¡°~Hardly.~¡± ¡°They¡¯re everywhere! Look look, we even have one in the corner up there!¡± Luxie¡¯s call redirected Marco¡¯s attention to the middle of the opposing wall, up where it met the ceiling. Indeed, he could spot something in there, angular and shiny. Way, way too small to notice normally. ¡°~This one was a headache for me. I went over the footage when the panic started, and sure enough Aria was there, plainly visible, even when I couldn¡¯t see her at all. Goodness, your psychic tricks are scary to think about sometimes. I went and tinkered with the recordings, breaking them so that they couldn¡¯t be seen, and blamed it on the camera being damaged. Didn¡¯t help with everyone losing their marbles one bit, lemme tell you that much.~¡± Before the existential horror of a contraption not even the size of his hand countering psychic-based stealth could hit Marco in full, the implication in Olive¡¯s words caught his attention right back. ¡°^You lied to them about this, then.^¡± ¡°~Yes, of course I did!~¡± Olive yelled. ¡°~Even with Aria¡¯s... e-even with her threat, awful as it was, I still want to keep Anne safe; I almost went behind bars because of what Aria had done!~¡± ¡°^W-what?^¡± The anger in Olive¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t unearned either, but what it conveyed was... confusing. With a couple of deeper breaths, Olive closed the front door and rolled the window blinds back down, granting them privacy as she continued, ¡°~You can come out of that corner now. And yes. I got interrogated yesterday. Cops took me in and asked me questions about what had happened with Anne¡¯s house. I didn¡¯t mention Aria at all, framed it as myself looking for Anne in her disappearance, or any clues about her whereabouts when her father attacked me. Of course, without Aria in the picture, it just looks like I walked into her house with a Fire-type by my side, there was a bang, and then the whole place went up in flames.~¡± ¡°Not that it didn¡¯t deserve that...¡± Leo commented, his gravely voice taking Olive aback with a quiet chuckle. ¡°^Wh-what happened then?^¡± ¡°~I argued my case. I said I went in to have a look around, and then got attacked by Anne¡¯s father. Both are true. I brought up that the building only caught fire a good while afterwards, and since it was a gas fire, if Leo really lit it up, it would¡¯ve been visible right away. I doubt that¡¯ll be the end of it all, sadly, but I know how to argue that all I did was trespassing at worst, and that Tom tried shooting at me, but had his bullet ricochet to hit him back, giving me time to escape. They won¡¯t have anything except a bit of circumstantial evidence.~¡± Even as Olive went through everything in her mind and that she wasn¡¯t too likely to be deemed guilty of setting fire to Anne¡¯s house, uncertainty remained. ¡°~And... if Aria did what she was meant to do, if I didn¡¯t remember how it all went, then... I don¡¯t know what might¡¯ve happened. To me, to you all, once the authorities figured out my memories had been meddled with. I...~¡± Soon enough, though, an emotion Marco wasn¡¯t expecting joined her uncertainty¡ªanger. ¡°~I helped her all I could, gave her everything that would help Anne even slightly; I¡¯m putting my freedom on the line for her, lying left and right to cover for her, and this is how I¡¯m repaid? By being doubted enough for someone to come over and either wipe me again or threaten me into submission!?~¡± she shouted, incensed. ¡°^I¡ªI apologize, I really do, but this is a life-or-death situation for us all! If the rest of the humans learn of us, we¡¯ll be doomed!^¡± ¡°~But I knew nothing of the rest of you. All I¡¯ve seen of ¡®you all¡¯ was you, Aria, and that Luxray. I had no idea where you came from, how to track you, or what your motives even are! All I knew¡ªhell, all I know even right now¡ªwas that Anne is with you, and that I wanted to help you out because of that reason alone. And for you to claim secrecy as the reason, while I could find your hiding place in two minutes on the map anyway, is¡ª~¡± ¡°^WHAT!?^¡± Marco shouted, the telepathic sound startling everyone. He was only barely keeping himself from intervening in Olive¡¯s memories there and then. ¡°^What do you mean!? How did you find us!?^¡± The force and barely veiled fear behind the questions intimidated and shocked Olive in equal measure. She knew she had to answer, but it was something she didn¡¯t expect to have to explain. Her previous interactions with Aria and Lumi painted a picture of mons who had stumbled out of the stone age, sure, but at least one of them had to have picked up on humans having flying vehicles, right? They had to know they were visible from above, right? Each moment of silence only made the psychic¡¯s panic grow, and Olive could tell. In desperation, she made the ¡®hold on¡¯ gesture as she gathered her thoughts. ¡°~What I mean is that it¡¯s possible to tell where your hidden... village is with information humans already have. We take pictures of the land from way above, and you can see a few unmarked buildings in the middle of the woods on those pictures if you know where to look. They¡¯re not too suspicious by themselves, but with you three running into us near there, it becomes obvious.~¡± The elaboration did little more than amplify the shock in his mind. Was¡ªwas everything the scouts were doing for naught? Had humans already won and were now just waiting to deal the finishing blow? Have their days been counted since long before Anne ran away from her house? ¡°^I-I... that¡¯s...^¡± ¡°~You really didn¡¯t know, did you?~¡± Olive whispered, stunned. The clarification didn¡¯t justify how she¡¯d been treated; but at least it made it make sense. She figured if these wild mons were unaware of the power of aerial photography, they would fixate on anyone who knew of or saw them personally. A very limited perspective, but an understandable one. It didn¡¯t make Olive forgive everything there and then, but... it helped shift her gears from anger to a desire to help them out further. No matter how Aria and Marco had treated her, as long as they were treating Anne better than humanity ever would¡ªa trivial task¡ªthey had her support. After all, even the Gardevoir had stressed how invaluable her knowledge had been for the wildlings, and this was just more of that. And with everything she¡¯d heard about League¡¯s efforts to ¡®disperse¡¯ overly large ¡®groups¡¯ of wild mons in the past, she could only feel bad for them, really. ¡°~I can show you how it looks like, if you want.~¡± Marco could barely force the words out, his sheer terror nigh-paralyzing. The very worst-case scenario had already come to pass many, many years ago, and they didn¡¯t even know. ¡°^I... y-yes, please.^¡± ¡°~Come over to the desk. I¡¯ll get some tea going in the meantime.~¡± The Gallade did as instructed, walking over to the smaller table in the library¡¯s corner, housing several pieces of difficult to describe human machinery. Yellowish, rectangular... block, on top of which sat a much larger, much bulkier, much more angular object. It was opaque from all sides but the one facing the chair behind the desk, glowing from just that direction. ¡°^Wh-what is this, anyway.^¡± ¡°Computer!¡± the Ribombee innocently explained. ¡°Olive does all kinds of stuff on it, mostly checks books in and out!¡± ¡°~Oh that¡¯s just a fraction of what computers can do, Luxie. But yes, this one¡¯s a pile of junk that only barely works; I use it for the library. Here, let me show you what I saw.~¡± Olive pulled another flat, rectangular object over to their impromptu group. The many bumps on its surface turned out to all be buttons one could press¡ªand which she was pressing tons of, without even looking at them. As she did, the glow on the upper contraption changed. It remained mostly white with many smaller symbols for a while, but eventually turned almost entirely green. ¡°~This is the map. Think of it... think of it as seeing the terrain from a bird¡¯s-eye view, looking straight down. This long strip is all Mylock, this black line is the road, and all the greens are the woods. Following so far?~¡± The answer, to Marco¡¯s annoyance, was ¡®barely¡¯. Even a concept as simple as ¡®terrain as seen from straight above¡¯ was difficult to grasp, especially with anxiety¡¯s bind over his mind as firm as it was. After a few more tries, he just nodded along¡ªthey didn¡¯t have the time to be doing an in-depth lesson about this. Olive was unconvinced, but went along anyway. ¡°~Now, let me zoom in so you can see more detail. This is the entrance to the path between Mylock and Lillywood, the one Anne took before she crashed. And now, let me move the view over along it and a fair bit off to the side, and you might spot it...~¡± The spatial transformations involved went so far above the Gallade¡¯s head they threatened to crash into an overhead satellite. If nothing else, though, he could still play the game of ¡®one of these pieces of green is not like the others¡¯. One of the easier ones he¡¯d ever played; concluded with him reaching to uncertainly point at a scattering of several brown and gray spots, as well as smaller, colorful ones. ¡°^Is this what you mean?^¡± ¡°~Indeed! Let me zoom in, it¡¯ll get a bit blurry but hopefully you¡¯ll pick up on it¡ª~¡± ¡°^That¡ªthat¡¯s it, I-I see it now. Holly¡¯s pantry, our tree, I think I-I can even make out the clinic. I-I¡ªis it really just visible to every human like this?^¡± ¡°~That¡¯s what I meant earlier, yes,~¡± Olive sighed. ¡°^D-does anyone else know!?^¡± ¡°~Well, I don¡¯t know for sure, but from my attempts to find out, it seems not. I¡¯ve only found any discussion about it on a single website from several years ago. They didn¡¯t know what it was, but guessed it was either some sort of ongoing construction effort, or a black site for training army mons. Nobody mentioned the possibility of it being a village of wild mons, no.~¡± ¡°^But that won¡¯t remain the case forever...^¡± Marco whispered. ¡°~Quite likely, yes. Especially now that there¡¯s more attention on this area because of what had happened to Anne. All it takes is one popular person looking at the map of these backwoods, pointing this weird spot out, and suddenly you¡¯ll have many, many people knocking on your door.~¡± The exact thing they all tried to avoid happening with their scouting efforts. Everything Geiger had drilled in them about information spreading through humanity like a wildfire; all of it to prevent this exact scenario from happening. And yet, it could just¡­ happen no matter what they did. Just like in person, all it took was a single human spotting it, and they¡¯d be doomed. But with these ¡®maps¡¯, they were entirely defenseless. At least, that¡¯s how Olive made it sound. ¡°^Is-is there anything we can do about it? There has to be something we can do to make sure nobody sees it, r-right!?^¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t know, Marco. I¡¯ll try to see if there are any options, but I doubt it. It¡¯s all done automatically at this point; there¡¯s only minimum human oversight. Besides, erasing just that little spot will draw more attention to it than if it just remains as it is.~¡± The revelation of ¡®cameras¡¯ had put a dampener on his spirits, but this... almost broke Marco entirely. How was he to respond to this? If there was nothing Olive could do, if there was nothing they could do but pray that they wouldn¡¯t be noticed either... what now!? They were at the mercy of fate, the very thing they had their procedures to avoid¡ªthey were doomed! Humanity had won without even being consciously aware of their existence. They would know eventually, but didn¡¯t yet. ... Aside from Olive. As the librarian went to a side room to finish making tea, Marco¡¯s mind threatened to tear itself in half. He was afraid; he was fucking terrified, and at that moment, there was a large part of him fueled entirely by that emotion. All it wanted to do was finish the task that Aria couldn¡¯t, to wipe the memories of the only human that could rat them out whenever she so desired. Hell, nothing stopped her from using that knowledge as a bargaining chip, demanding gods-know-what from them in exchange for dooming them¡ª Nothing but basic decency and having a soul, of course. Which was what kept him from going forward with this kneejerk of an idea as well. Fear screamed for him to act, to ensure that bit more safety, but that pesky brain kept reminding him how wiping Olive¡¯s memories wouldn¡¯t just be abhorrent¡ªit¡¯d be unhelpful. If not for her input, they would have remained entirely unaware of the sheer extent of humanity¡¯s knowledge of their every move, of being in their sights, of many of their psychic tricks amounting to nothing. These wouldn¡¯t stop being true just because he didn¡¯t want to think about them. He could either run away from all this, or face just how enormous the implications were. The latter, of course, implied action. What action; he had no idea beyond it being massive in scope and likely to splinter their village. That¡¯s what the Elders¡¯ guidance ought to have been for, and yet... The screeches of primal fear and careful consideration fought a savage battle in Gallade¡¯s mind, only interrupted by the soft thud of a teacup being placed in front of him. Different aroma from what he remembered, much fruitier¡ªbut not at all bad. ¡°^Th-thank you, Olive.^¡± ¡°~Bitte sch?n, Marco. I suspect nobody else in your... village knows about this either?~¡± ¡°^N-no, not to my knowledge. I feel like anyone would¡¯ve spoken up if they knew. This¡ªthis could end us at any point...^¡± ¡°~The uncertainty of life, indeed. If nothing else, now you know how little you know. If this was this much of a shock, I can imagine your knowledge of humanity overall, even when combined, is... low,~¡± Olive summed up. It wasn¡¯t meant as an insult, and Marco was well-aware, but it still stung a bit. ¡°^Y-yeah. I can¡¯t disagree with that. Even those of us who used to live with humans or be trainer mons only know so much.^¡± ¡°~Hah... I¡¯m guessing that Anne breaks several m¡ªpeople¡¯s minds every day just be existing?~¡± ¡°^Not quite, she¡¯s¡ªshe¡¯s really not too different from us. That¡¯s the biggest thing I realized after watching over her for a while.^¡± ¡°~I can say the same after my run-in with Aria and... Lumi, was it?~¡± ¡°^Yes, Lumi.^¡± ¡°~Being a bitter, short-sighted grump truly transcends species.~¡± Marco had to use his entire willpower to not spit half a cup¡¯s worth of tea at hearing that said so casually. He couldn¡¯t disagree with that in the slightest, but he sure didn¡¯t expect Olive to be so... direct about it. ¡°~How has Anne been doing, by the way?~¡± she asked. A swerve towards a pleasant topic melted through much of the apprehension gripping Marco¡¯s mind. It was hard not to smile after thinking back to the previous day, and its affection between the small bundle of children. The knowledge of just how fleeing that happiness was, and that it was gone now that Aria had hopefully come clean about the upcoming vote to Anne, undid much of the comfort an instant later. Still, the Gallade tried not to let that get to him as he answered, ¡°^Really well! My niece and nephew¡ªAria¡¯s children¡ªhave really taken a liking to her. And now that Ember is with her again, she¡¯s been feeling even¡ª^¡± ¡°~Ember!?~¡± / ¡°EMBER!?¡± / ¡°...Ember?¡± The trio native to the town shouted in unison at hearing the Braixen¡¯s name, the implications immediately exploding within their minds. Luxie screamed, ¡°OH MY GOODNESS IS EMBER ALRIGHT DID ANNE FIND HER HOW DID SHE GET¡ª¡± ¡°^Yes, yes, Ember is doing well! She¡ªshe ended up in our village a year ago, and has lived there since. A-and once she¡¯d heard that Anne ended up there as well, they became inseparable.^¡± As much as the aftermath of Cinder¡¯s involvement still stung his skin and pride alike, Marco felt it was best not brought up here. ¡°YAY YAY EEEEEEEEE I¡¯M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT! I WAS AFRAID WE¡¯D NEVER HEAR FROM EMBER AGAIN AND NOW SHE¡¯S SAFE AND SHE¡¯S WITH ANNE AND THINGS ARE GONNA BE ALRIGHT, EEEEEEEEEE!¡± ¡°~That¡¯s... good heavens, I¡¯m so glad. They deserved to find each other again, oh my goodness...~¡± ¡°Good for her and Anne.¡± The group¡¯s overjoyed reactions only made Marco feel even warmer. With so much fear surging through his and Aria¡¯s minds alike lately, he really appreciated having pleasant feelings to bask in. ¡°~Goodness, guess it¡¯s time to retire that plushie I gave her,~¡± Olive chuckled, breathless. ¡°^P-plushie?^¡± ¡°~Oh. After¡ªafter she parted ways with Ember, I wanted to get her something to help with her sadness. I knew I could only do so much to help, but figured that even if a lil¡¯ Fennekin doll wouldn¡¯t be anywhere close to a replacement, it¡¯d still bring her some comfort. Heh... I still remember roughing and dirtying it up a bit, cutting off the tag and all, before dropping it to the side of the path Anne took back home. She must¡¯ve taken it with herself as well, didn¡¯t see it at her house.~¡± The parts of the story Marco understood were sweet as all get out, though there was one detail that didn¡¯t sit with him well. ¡°^Why did you ¡®drop¡¯ it like that?^¡± The librarian looked up at him from her drink, her wrinkled face sighing at the unpleasant question. ¡°~Well... I knew she wouldn¡¯t take a direct gift well. Hell, she felt self-conscious even over the cheap tea I gave her every time she visited. I hope that she¡¯ll slowly get over that now that she won¡¯t live with living pieces of shit...~¡± Marco concurred with a nod as he finished sipping on his cup. Of course, there was one detail that hadn¡¯t been mentioned yet, one he was deeply unsure how to even bring up. After everything he had seen from her so far, he had a hard time imagining Olive doing anything that might bring Anne harm, but... what if Anne had suddenly left the picture? What if they ended up voting for exile, got rid of Anne, and Olive caught wind of that? She¡¯d have no reason to play nice with them anymore, and all the motivation to destroy their village. He¡¯d been wrong earlier, the reality of the situation now clear to him. Olive wouldn¡¯t use that information for any personal benefit, no, but as blackmail to force them to keep Anne no matter what the vote settled on? That he could easily imagine. Speaking of, the sun was setting outside. It was time to go. ¡°^Thank you for talking with me, Olive. I-I should be going now.^¡± ¡°~Well, I¡¯m glad I could help, Marco. As-as long as you won¡¯t try backstabbing me now,~¡± she chuckled. Her words were said in jest, but there was an undercurrent of genuine fear to them, one Marco couldn¡¯t dispute. Even now, after all this, fear and consideration in his mind fought on, leaving him woefully unsure what to do. Should he let anyone but Aria know about this? And if so, how much? Knowledge of just how unprotected their village was; having someone that could guide them through the vastness of the now-known unknown of humanity¡¯s technological sophistication; awareness of their ability to see through their disguises. The revelation of Aria having gone against her orders; of her being a traitor to the village; of this human wielding leverage over them. Was the former worth the latter in how it would impact Anne¡¯s chances once the vote came? His sister made her choice that day, but he couldn¡¯t; its consequences were too vast for him to comprehend. Whichever doubts she had had, she¡¯d overpowered them, and yet he was left thrashing against fear, both his own and of how other scouts might react. At a rational level, he knew that none of the newfound knowledge about humanity should convince anyone to vote against the girl, but... he could still hear that dark, fearful voice inside him. The terrified one, the one that would ideally forget everything it had learned today, the one that didn¡¯t want to permit any risk, no matter how large an accompanying reward. He couldn¡¯t dismiss that voice either, especially in how it pertained to the librarian herself. What if others reacted with mindless fear? What if they were left wanting nothing more than to get rid of anything human around, toss out Anne, wipe Olive¡¯s mind, just to not have to think about just how deep of a shit they were in? Hell, he wasn¡¯t even sure if he¡¯d truly conquered that fear in himself. It was there; it tugged on his worst impulses; it begged for him to stand up now and do what was needed¡ª ¡°~M-M-Marco?~¡± ... Ultimately, however, Marco knew there was only one right course of action here. And all he could do was hope he would be forgiven for taking it. Interlude VII: Gifts ¡°Alright everyone, now pair up and practice your Protects!¡± c¡¯mere Grace hey where¡¯d he go The Serperior¡¯s instruction had the band of kids shuffle around the snowy clearing. Most of them immediately dashed to their best friends¡ªor at least the peers they perceived as such. Cadence tried to spot one of the few faces she usually did these exercises with. Ember wasn¡¯t around, hardly a surprise; neither were Blossom nor Zephyr, much more unusual; Elric... had just paired up with someone else. is she just gonna stand there like that can she not find anyone? In just a few moments, the task of finding a sparring partner had turned from searching for her favorites, to trying to spot the other unpaired person¡ªor shuffling over to their teacher should she not find any. Not this time, thankfully. The fairy got spared that embarrassment, eagerly waving towards the similarly confused Gloom, taking them out of idly looking around the scene. ...suppose I can do it with her The ambient thoughts surrounding her felt so much starker than usual. It was unpleasant, and Cadence could only speculate about why they were so noticeable today. Could it be nerves from yesterday? Both about meeting Anne and then from chatting with her about their insecurities? Could it be her cruddy sleep tonight¡ªor not just hers, judging by her mom having woken up so early it stirred her out of her sleep too? Could be the brief flashes of something morbid she saw in her dreams before waking¡ª ...is she gonna do anything or just stare at the snow Right. With a deep breath, Cadence looked up at her classmate before firmly nodding to signal her readiness. She had to focus. The fairy¡¯s eyes lit up dimly as the air shimmered around her horns. Singular Razor Leaves were hardly dangerous, but they would still hurt if she slipped up. This was easy; she could do this; bring it on! why does she always look so weird when doing this wonder if she¡¯s digging into someone¡¯s thoughts None of these phased her anymore; she was stronger than this. Mom had told her many times she would hear unwanted thoughts like that as her senses keened over the years, and that a part of growing up as a psychic was learning to filter them out. She was strong; she didn¡¯t need everyone to like her; others¡¯ uninformed opinions were their problem and not hers. ...hope she notices this one, haha None of these should¡¯ve been phasing her anymore, at least With a whip-like motion, Mint sent just a couple of bright green leaves flying, slower than they¡¯d ever be in any actual exchange of blows. Cadence didn¡¯t need that handicap, forming the shimmering barrier a good few seconds before the projectiles connected and shattered. And then a second time, a few moments later. And again, and again, the move so ingrained she barely had to think to use it anymore. she looks cool like this man this is boring ...I wanna do attacks Cadence didn¡¯t know the exact reason for Mrs. Cinder having been absent these past couple of days, beyond it having something to do with Ember and Anne. She didn¡¯t want to speculate¡ªthat would¡¯ve been rude¡ªsettling on just being glad that her other teacher was taking her break. There was nothing pleasant about practicing attacks, and even though mom had told her many times that defense was toothless without offense, the tidbit had a hard time really sticking in her mind. Anticipating opposing moves¡ªas quarter-hearted as they were¡ªwas one thing, but having to let loose with something that could hurt someone else if they neither Protected nor dodged? She just wanted people to like her, and attacking anyone just went against that, even if it was just for practice. ...geez when is my turn It took her a good couple of years to get over that mental barrier. With a light startle, she waved towards the Gloom to signal for him to stop, before pointing at herself. Sluggish nod, slightly straightened gesture, and more waiting. For her to get her bearings, for her to finally do her part of the exercise and attack. The unpleasant whispers made the necessary focus harder, but not infeasible. Another thing to get some practice in at the same time¡ªnot just ignoring the others¡¯ thoughts, but also her own. I swear she¡¯s just daydreaming over there How did mom manage that; she had no idea. ...come onnnnnn Cadence¡¯s eyes filled up with a multicolored light before unleashing the piddly Psybeam; the move so inaccurate the Gloom had to shuffle a couple of steps towards it or else it would¡¯ve missed entirely. He didn¡¯t comment on it, only moving a bit as needed as Cadence fired a beam after another. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ...oh come on can¡¯t you hit me Not audibly. ¡­I swear she¡¯s barely putting any effort wonder if that¡¯s why she has to practice with the same two people The many little mantras mom had given her were losing their effectiveness fast as every overheard comment eroded her grip on her composure. She knew she should¡¯ve focused on tuning them out the moment they started bothering her, but couldn¡¯t, not today. Why was it so hard for people to just not think nasty things like that!? Cadence¡¯s anger made her try to hit the Gloom much harder, but hampered her accuracy even further. After the third attempted attack in a row that resulted only in some fluffed up snow, the Kirlia had to force herself to stop lest her frustration only grew further. Deep breaths, withdraw all senses, imagine a small, floating leaf. Inhale, exhale¡ª where¡¯d I drop my scarf off... As hard as she tried to focus on calming down, overhearing someone¡¯s concerns unfortunately caught her attention. She could step in here, she could do something nice and be helpful and get people to like her, right? She had to at least try. Without even looking back in the Gloom¡¯s direction, she swept the clearing with her gaze, squinting at something small and red poking out from the whiteness in the middle distance. There it was, half-buried under a snow mound, tricky to spot. Just had to levitate it over into her hands, run up, aaaand¡ª¡°Here!¡± Startled by suddenly hearing her voice, confusion in their mind as they turned to her. Wide eyes of first surprise, then relief, then veiled disgust as they tried not to show it on the rest of their face. ¡°Thanks...¡± did she read my thoughts? weirdo... It shouldn¡¯t have hit her anywhere near as hard as it did. Cadence watched them scoot off to another end of the clearing as she desperately tried to hold her tears in. She just wanted to help them out; why were they so mean to her all of a sudden!? Yes, they didn¡¯t say they were looking for their scarf out loud, but they were still looking for it, right? Why was this such a problem¡ª sheesh, that human mess is hitting Cadence too, no idea why did that birdbrain ever try defending that thing... The Kirlia had to use all that remained of her composure to not shout at Hawthorne for that thought. A stifled growl had to suffice, followed by her turning to head away from the class. This wasn¡¯t good; she was getting so angry for no reason; she didn¡¯t want to feel this way; she had to get out of here... where is she going? is she alright? haha she¡¯s just skipping class in the open! ...oh come on what is it now why is she crying? oh dear what a crybaby Each thought about her made her run faster, the little body soon breaking out into the swiftest sprint it could manage¡ªonly to get cut off by the Serperior watching over their group. The briefest glimpse of a stern expression didn¡¯t help her panic any, despite it immediately turning into concern after seeing her rough state. ¡°Cadence? Cadence, issss everything alright?¡± The Kirlia definitely wasn¡¯t alright, the only question was just how bad her headspace had gotten. Random bouts of crying at their practice weren¡¯t too rare after all¡ªthough most of the time, they were caused by failing a Protect and getting hit head on, catching a stray projectile, or occasionally from general sadness at the state of the world after a particularly touching lecture. This was neither of these as far as he could tell, which was even more concerning. ¡°Talk to me ssssweetie, it¡¯sssss okay. Did sssomething happen?¡± Nothing did, nothing tangible to anyone but herself. She was as sure of hearing it all as everyone else was skeptical, and going into detail wasn¡¯t ever a good idea. Besides, what could anyone do about it? Tell the kids to not think bad things? It was a stupid idea that wouldn¡¯t have ever led anywhere good. Thoughts were supposed to be a private space, somewhere where anything went, and¡ª ¡°Cadence?¡± Hearing her teacher¡¯s voice from much close up snapped her to awareness, bringing her face to face with one particularly concerned Serperior. Tears kept flowing, no matter how much she¡¯d tried to keep them under control, and words were just so hard to cobble together right now, be they verbal or telepathic. She still wanted to run, she didn¡¯t want to explain herself, she¡ª ¡°Hey Cadeeeeence, where ya runnin¡¯¡ª¡± Elric giggled from a nearby tree, all the laughter in his voice evaporating the moment he¡¯d spotted the tears on his best friend¡¯s face. Even he knew this was no time for jokes¡ªthe fairy needed something else. And as much as he really didn¡¯t want to leave the comfortably dry tree he was clinging onto, this took priority. After letting out an audible wince once he¡¯d landed on the snow, the Gligar scuttled towards the Kirlia and wrapped his arms tight around her. ¡°Feelin¡¯ rough, Cadence?¡± ¡°^Y-y-yeah...^¡± ¡°About yourself, or...?¡± ¡°^Myself...^¡± ¡°But you¡¯re great and cool!¡± ¡°^I-I wish¡ª^¡± ¡°Ya wish came true then, dummy!¡± the Gligar chuckled. ¡°You are cool, and so¡¯s all the stuff you can do! Ya even mentioned Anne thought so, too!¡± His teases were much more effective at breaking through her apprehension than anything that came before, replacing many of the tears with an embarrassed blush as he continued, ¡°And ya know it, too! Anyone who thinks otherwise is dumb.¡± ¡°I¡¯d advisssse not to use that sssssort of language, Elric...¡± ¡°Sorry, Mr. Oliver!¡± ¡°...but it issss broadly true, indeed. We are all much richer for having you in our livessss, Cadence,¡± the Serperior smiled. The combined reassurance finally punched through the murk roiling in the Kirlia¡¯s mind, leaving her clinging to her denmate as she got her breathing under control again. Inhale, exhale, inhale. Mom was right, dad was right, grandma was right, uncle was right, Elric was right, Anne was right. She was great like she was, and the more she let that fact get to her, the better. Easier said than done, much easier, and something she was already consciously aware of beforehand, but sometimes it was hard to remember when her thoughts were at their most unpleasant. Sometimes she needed a reminder¡ªa reminder that everyone was more than glad to give. ¡°^Th-thank you...^¡± ¡°There ya go! Feelin¡¯ better, Cadence?¡± the Gligar asked. ¡°^A-a bit...^¡± ¡°Seeemsss taking today¡¯ssss practice off would sssstill be for the besssst. All I asssk is you remain ssssafe and look after yourssself, then~.¡± Cadence¡¯s eyes went wide at her being allowed to leave early, making her redirect her affection over to her teacher. The Serperior wasn¡¯t expecting it, flinching once the thin arms wrapped themselves around him, but ultimately didn¡¯t mind, returning the favor with his vines shortly after. ¡°^Thank you, M-Mr. Oliver...^¡± ¡°Of courssse! No point practicing in a misssserable ssstate.¡± With the hug wrapped up, and waves exchanged between herself and Elric, Cadence took her leave. It took many more deep breaths and much more skipping through the snow, but by the time she¡¯d arrived at her destination, she¡¯d shaken much of her funk off. Just in time¡ªAnne seemed to be really happy about something; she would¡¯ve hated to ruin the good mood with her sadness¡ª Wait, was that Mr. Lariat and Mr. Cypress in the distance? Chapter 27: Mending Sage wasn¡¯t sure what Anne meant by ¡®long hair¡¯, but with how busy the rest of the room had suddenly gotten, she was down to find out. It was filled with people she didn¡¯t recognize. The Braixen looking over the little ones¡ªthe Shinx, the Ralts, and the Riolu¡ªwas nice and very warm, which Sage couldn¡¯t guarantee about the latter three. The Stunky beside the door was also nice to her, but looked more drowsy than anything, and the Grumpig... was there, too, off in the corner. Neither she nor Anne knew who that was, and the limited background knowledge about that entire species they both had made it clear that they didn¡¯t necessarily want to know. Anne was old enough to recognize that thought as rather bigoted, especially in her current situation, but going against it could wait. Once the Phantump had hovered her way, she said, ¡°~So, my idea was that I-I could wrap the shirt¡¯s torso around the top of your head, a-and have it hang back behind it! Kinda like long hair!~¡± As enthusiastic as Anne¡¯s delivery was, her words did little to clear up the mental image in the other girl¡¯s head. No better way to demonstrate it than to just do what she had in mind and let Sage see the results for herself. ¡°~I can have long hair?~¡± Sage asked, confused. Her words took Anne aback a bit, but the older girl clarified right after, ¡°~Well, I hope so! Oh, I mean like a wig, not like actual hair if that¡¯s¡ª~¡± ¡°~Aaaahhhh!~¡± Wigs were cool, though Sage never thought she¡¯d be wearing one made from a shirt. Having a concrete idea of just what was happening made her pay much more attention to her older peer¡¯s actions, especially as she started cutting the shirt in half. It wasn¡¯t going well, not with her limited leverage and strength, but nothing they couldn¡¯t accomplish together. The Phantump asked, giddy, ¡°~Can I help, can I help?~¡± As self-conscious as Anne would¡¯ve been at that question coming from anyone else, having it be said by an excited child as opposed to a slightly condescending adult made all the difference in the world. ¡°~S-sure! Can you hold that other end and then pull on it?~¡± With the Phantump¡¯s help, Anne¡¯s little craftswoman project went from ¡®just about impossible¡¯ to only ¡®difficult¡¯. A bruised thigh pinned one end of the shirt to the mattress, Sage pulled on the other one, and her one good hand slowly cut through it just below where the sleeves joined the rest of the fabric. It wasn¡¯t easy¡ªnot with a knife so dull its only remaining use as a weapon was as a bludgeon¡ªbut it was going. The fabric kindly tearing apart the rest of the way through once they were around halfway done helped, too. Wrapping the cylinder of the world¡¯s most scuffed wig around the top of the Phantump¡¯s head wasn¡¯t hard, but that couldn¡¯t be said for letting her see the results of her labor. It took a few minutes and much more exhaustion than Anne expected for her to fish out the tiny, scratched pocket mirror out of the depths of her bag. Once she did, though, Sage could finally see her little gift¡ªand... have mixed opinions on it. ¡°~Ooooooo! I like it, it¡¯s so long! It looks kinda wrong, though.~¡± The mishmash of euphoria and complaints took Anne aback as Sage tried to see herself from every angle, but she couldn¡¯t hold it against the ghostie and how young she was. At the same time, it brought back memories of when she was that age, making her much more self-conscious about how she must¡¯ve behaved under her grandma¡¯s watch. She¡¯d never been shouted at by her or anything, but there were quite a few disappointed looks and words, especially when she and Ember started running around the place. Again. ¡°~Wrong in what way, Sage?~¡± Anne asked. ¡°~Too long, or¡ª~¡± ¡°~Smooth!~¡± The one-word answer had the human slowly look over at her own hair to see if she had forgotten about something obvious. Smooth, right, hair was smooth¡ªohhhhh. Not all hair, Sage¡¯s must¡¯ve been much curlier. That explained some of it, but clarified little about what specific kind of hairdo she was supposed to portray with her limited resources. ... She could try sketching it, though. ¡°~Ahh... could you help me draw what kinda hair you¡¯d like, then?~¡± After a couple of nods so eager they tossed the black fabric cylinder over from her head onto one of her horns, the younger girl floated over and started drawing before Anne even got everything ready. Wouldn¡¯t need any colors with her immediately beelining for the black pencil, at least. The sketching process took a fair bit of back and forth to arrive at anything. For how eager Sage was to show off what she meant, her visual clarity was... not there, at least at the start. The explanations that accompanied it didn¡¯t help, either. ¡°~The long... uhh, l-long and curvy! Oh, and there and there too, down to shoulders!~¡± With her sketch soon turning into a largely incoherent black blob, Anne was left trying to mimic her individual strokes as opposed to just looking at the end result. Multiple stripes coming from the top of the misshapen circle, in every direction. If she meant streaks, they wouldn¡¯t be possible unless she cut up plenty more shirts for materials¡ªsomething she only felt comfortable doing up to a point... Hang on. As the Phantump sketched in excitement, her friend got to filling the page beside hers, taking a stab in the dark about what Sage might¡¯ve meant. Hair was never her strong suit, and she hadn¡¯t ever woven actual braids, but it was as good an idea as she had in the moment. ¡°~Yes, like these!~¡± Sage squeed. ¡°~I just drew them for you, Anne!~¡± ¡°~I know, I know, I just wanted to make sure, hehe.~¡± The tiny bit of childish indignation was amusing more than anything else, with the confirmation that accompanied it helping a lot more. Actual braids weren¡¯t happening, but having a wig that sort of resembled them... maybe. They¡¯d have to be simplified a lot to get down to something they could feasibly assemble with their limited skills and even scarcer supplies. A handful of thin, black stripes hanging from what was essentially a cap was so scuffed it made Anne cringe to imagine, but it was also her best option at the moment. ¡°~I think I know how to do that. Can you hold this for me again?~¡± Cutting the fabric wasn¡¯t any easier the second time around, not with even less strength on Anne¡¯s end. What she was doing was more than worth it and she knew, but she could still really use some help¡ª ¡°^Are you two doing alright~?^¡± Anne thanked the stars that the unfamiliar voice had waited until she¡¯d put the knife down before jutting in. To little surprise, the telepathic words seemed to have come from the Grumpig, leaning on the bedding with their arms resting on top of it. Their eyes jumped back and forth between the two in a rhythm Anne could tell was there, but couldn¡¯t follow. As she gathered her words, Sage responded first, emboldened by her progress in communicating her idea to Anne, ¡°~Yeah! We¡¯re making a wig!~¡± It was a perfectly accurate explanation that was simultaneously almost as unhelpful as it was possible for it to get. ¡°^A wig, huh?^¡± the Grumpig asked. ¡°^For...?^¡± The Psychic looked up at Anne, trying to recall the name she was sure she¡¯d overheard at some point. As she did, she snapped her fingers to the same rhythm as earlier; the quiet sounds unusually distracting. Enough so for the source of the Grumpig¡¯s confusion to space out listening to them, before realizing it was her that the question was about. ¡°~Anne, I-I¡¯m Anne. And no, it¡¯s not for me, it¡¯s for¡ªfor Sage here.~¡± Not what the stranger expected to hear, but it made sense. ¡°^Ahh~! A neat decoration of sorts? Or something to help with the cold, orrrr...?^¡± ¡°~Um, neither, it¡¯s...~¡± Anne trailed off. Even if she knew of the right terminology to describe any of this, it would¡¯ve helped little. She had to explain it the hard way, and hoped she wouldn¡¯t get any crucial parts of it terribly wrong. ¡°~Kind of decoration? It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s something for her to look more girly.~¡± Sage hadn¡¯t thought of that framing before, either. It was accurate; she couldn¡¯t deny that, but it still made her just a bit uncomfortable to think about consciously, her posture slouching as she hovered closer to her friend. The Grumpig asked, ¡°^More girly? Curious, curious, never heard of there being differences like that in Phantump!^¡± ¡°~B-but I¡¯m not...~¡± Sage tried to correct the stranger, words petering out after just a few words, quietened by the deep-seated discomfort brought by thinking about how she looked as opposed to how she should look. Anne didn¡¯t know of that underlying reason, immediately holding the younger girl closer as the Grumpig leaned in, her expression softening a lot. ¡°^Hey, hey there sweetie,^¡± she smiled. ¡°^Everything¡¯s alright Sage, you¡¯ve not done a thing, love. My name¡¯s Pearl.^¡± The Psychic¡¯s outstretched paw wasn¡¯t taken; the lil¡¯ ghost too preoccupied by all the murk rolling around in her mind. Pearl didn¡¯t mind, thankfully, withdrawing it after a few moments without letting her smile falter even slightly. ¡°^Well, if you wanna go into more detail, that¡¯d be a lotta help, but even if not, all¡¯s well loves. Could I help anyhow? Ember¡¯s doing a great job looking after everyone as is.^¡± Anne didn¡¯t want to overstep her boundaries, but more help was always appreciated when it came to something as messy as this. Granted, she wouldn¡¯t be getting started any time soon anyway, with her one good hand wrapped around the Phantump, giving her some more time to explain it all. No way through but to give it her best shot, and hope that Sage wouldn¡¯t mind. ¡°~It¡¯s alright Sage, it¡¯s alright. A-as to more detail, um... okay. So, everyone used to think of Sage as a boy back when... when she was human, but now we know she¡¯s not, and I wanna help her look more like a girl¡ª~¡± ¡°^Ahhhhh, yeah I getcha! Oh, I sure know all about that struggle, used to deal with it too.^¡± Sage was too spaced out to notice Pearl¡¯s offhand remark, but Anne most definitely wasn¡¯t. ¡°~W-wait, really?~¡± ¡°^Yup! Ages ago, though I¡¯m guessin¡¯ much of what I had gone through wasn¡¯t nowhere near as bad as it must be for her, poor thing. Didn¡¯t have turning into something else altogether on my plate, I knew what was goin¡¯ on, and others gave me my space. Well, now I gotta help her even more, bah! Alright, what¡¯d you need help with for that wig of hers? You looked like ya was straining a fair bit with that knife.^¡± ¡°~Yeah, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s hard like this¡ª~¡± ¡°^Don¡¯t say another word Anne, just tell me what ta do!^¡± Anne wasn¡¯t expecting help this enthusiastic, but between the younger girl needing her support, and her creeping tiredness, she could only reply one way, ¡°~Th-thank you, Mrs. Pearl.~¡± ¡°^Anytime! Making kiddos happy¡¯s why I¡¯m here, anyway.^¡± The assembly that followed was no less scuffed than the girls¡¯ typical methods, but it was incomparably faster. Anne doubted she would¡¯ve been able to beat the speed at which Pearl¡¯s telekinesis was tearing stripes off what remained of the shirt even with both functional arms and a razor-sharp knife. With much of what once was her shirt torn into short strips, gluing the resulting mess together became the main bottleneck. If she had a needle and some thread, or a little more time, she might¡¯ve been able to make do without glue, but... that was a luxury she had no guarantee she¡¯d ever get again. Frigid thoughts about what awaited her stopped Anne in her tracks each time they crept up on her, and each time her attempts to distract herself away from them by refocusing on her current project became less and less effective. She had no idea what would happen or even how much time she had, and despite Aria¡¯s promise that things would be alright no matter what, the human was still terrified. She hadn¡¯t encountered anyone who felt like they really hated her, aside from that one mean-looking Lucario. Maybe they were the exception; maybe everyone else was the exception, and the rest of this place only kept themselves from jumping in here and tearing her throat out because she would be voted out soon, anyway. If not for wrestling with old, barely functional glue occupying a fair chunk of her headspace, she might¡¯ve ended up panicking there and then once more. With Ember¡¯s presence, wanting to be there for Sage, and Aria¡¯s promise, she didn¡¯t, not yet. She hoped she¡¯d at least be able to maintain her composure until the lil¡¯ ghost left the room. Sage was the one to be sorry about, not her. Thankfully, the ongoing efforts eventually snagged the hauntling¡¯s attention, pulling her mind out of the dark, unpleasant pit it had fallen into. Every glued-on strip of fabric brought the makeshift headgear closer to what they both had in mind, closer to a hairdo as opposed to the result of critically failing taking a shirt off. Enough so that Anne and Pearl had to remind Sage a few times they weren¡¯t quite done yet, and to be patient. Slightly annoying, sure, but much, much better than the lil¡¯ ghost clinging to her friend in a catatonic silence. All three of them focused intensely at the very last piece of fabric as it was glued on, letting out sighs of relief and squeals of excitement. ¡°~Can I can I can I can I?~¡± ¡°~Give the glue a few moments to stick, Sage. It¡¯s not going anywhere, hehe.~¡± ¡°~Pleeeeease?~¡± Anne needed this laughter. Not even the brief concern at the ghostie taking it the wrong way could take it away from her, not after Pearl had snagged the younger girl¡¯s attention away shortly after. This was silly, Sage was silly, and Anne needed it so, so much, even if it was technically amusement at someone¡¯s expense. That realization on its own didn¡¯t fully end it there and then, but it gradually cooled it down. And while the glue finished curing... the human got another idea. With the mon and now-mon chatting between themselves, she placed the wig down and reached into her pencil case once more. Glue has had its moment to shine; pencils were a mainstay, but there was one more thing she always brought with herself, but which she struggled to ever find a use for¡ªuntil now. The familiar chemical scent pulled Sage¡¯s attention over to Anne at hearing the faint pop of a marker cap coming off. Markers were fun, but her parents never let her touch theirs, which left her very, very curious about what would the older girl do with this one. Anne waved at her, ¡°~Sage? Could you... lay down on your back and be very still for a while? I-I have an idea.~¡± The lil¡¯ Phantump followed instructions right away, but their caretaker needed much more persuasion. ¡°^What... is that thing, Anne?^¡± the Grumpig asked. ¡°~J-just a marker, I... okay, lemme explain. Have¡ªhave you ever had makeup, Sage?~¡± It was the question with the most obvious answer in the world, but Anne still waited for the younger girl to explain so that she knew she¡¯d caught her attention. ¡°~No.~¡± ¡°~Me neither. But what I thought I-I could do was draw you eyelashes. I know Phantump don¡¯t have eyelashes, I-I don¡¯t even know if they have actual eyeballs, but¡ª~¡± ¡°~Eyelashes?~¡± Sage asked, tilting her head. Anne didn¡¯t have a good way to verbally explain what she meant¡ªwhich is why she didn¡¯t. Instead, she pulled her notebook over, grabbed a pen, and started sketching. A simplified depiction of a Phantump¡¯s head in the corner, much more elaborate than anything the younger girl could accomplish despite taking around fifteen seconds. ¡°~Yep, I was thinking of adding them like this¡ª~¡± The three lines radiating outwards above both eye holes looked... cartoony and a bit silly even when drawn like this, but it didn¡¯t matter. The only opinion that actually mattered for this idea was Sage¡¯s, and once the connection between this drawn face and herself finally clicked for her, she perked up with a ¡°~*gasp!* Can I have it?~¡± ¡°~That¡¯s what I was asking,~¡± Anne giggled. ¡°~I want it...~¡± ¡°~Then lay down and lemme draw them on!~¡± This time, Sage was resting on the bedding before Anne could even finish her sentence, trying her hardest to keep herself from shaking too much. As Anne brought the tip of the black marker closer to the rough bark, the Grumpig levitated the sketch over to her to figure out what was going on as well. ¡°^That¡¯s a curious marking. Do, uh... human females draw it on themselves?^¡± Pearl¡¯s phrasing almost completely derailed Anne¡¯s train of thought, the very idea of it silly beyond words. And yet, perfectly reasonable considering how little anyone here really knew about humanity. The human didn¡¯t know how to answer¡ªhardly a unique occurrence¡ªbut this time it was less so because of being unfamiliar or awkward about it, and more so because of not knowing how to simplify it enough. ¡®An overused element of visual design¡¯ was a succinct explanation that would¡¯ve taken a few very much not-succinct hours to explain the full intricacy of, especially in how it related to Sage¡¯s case. Hell, in any other circumstance, all Anne did when spotting it in the public was roll her eyes and bemoan the laziness¡ªhardly something appropriate here. Suppose she could try a... more vague way of phrasing it. ¡°~It¡¯s associated with femininity. Anything with big eyelashes looks feminine, i-is what I was thinking.~¡± Sage wasn¡¯t getting the discussion, but she very much liked the idea of looking more feminine. Before the Grumpig could probe deeper, Anne¡¯s bootleg tattoo session had started. Neither she nor Sage could gather all the focus needed for their body and hand, respectively, to keep still, but that was where their caretaker stepped in, unnoticed beyond a bit of tingling in the back of the girls¡¯ heads. Drawing on an uneven bark was annoyingly difficult, as was covering it enough to not leave any brown spots poking through, but eventually she got it done. She had no idea Sage¡¯s spectral body could lean away from the edge of her wooden face, but it sure came in handy here. ¡°~How does it look, how does it look?~¡± the lil¡¯ ghost asked. Instead of an answer, she instead got the now-finished wig, squealing out loud as she put it on with Pearl¡¯s help. ¡®Makeup¡¯ eyelashes¡ªcheck, braided wig¡ªcheck, now to see the results¡ª ... ... ¡°~Eeeeeeee!~¡± The spectral wail had blood drain from Anne¡¯s face, terrified that she¡¯d screwed it up and it only made Sage feel worse. Before that idea could get any more fuel, it was dispelled by the half-Tackle, half-hug coming from the ghostly girl, her tiny arms clinging to her side as much as they could. ¡°~Thank you thank you! Eeeeeee, I look like mom! I need to show it to Mr. Yaksha, eeeeeee!~¡± As she regained her bearings, a large smile crept onto Anne¡¯s face, together with a bit of dampness. Oh yes, it had definitely worked out. Sage¡¯s comparison to her mom made the older girl feel simultaneously elated and saddened. She still remembered some of the Phantump¡¯s memories, and the howling wail she¡¯d heard inside them wouldn¡¯t leave her mind for a very, very long time. And if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, Anne knew full well that even if a miracle had happened and the two ever ran into each other again, the younger girl¡¯s mom would just think of her as a terrifying omen of the woods¡ªassuming her daughter would even recognize her. Sad to think about, but it didn¡¯t matter for the time being, not with how energetic the lil¡¯ ghostie was. Everyone got a good look¡ªEmber, Zephyr, the littlest ones, many of whom were just about dozing off by then, even Mr. Yaksha¡ª*pomf* Oops. Not quite that last one, as it turned out. Not because of anything about him, but because the Phantump had left her wig behind when phasing through the wall¡¯s tent, leaving it falling straight onto the now-confused Shinx immediately below. ¡°Aaaa, what is? Can¡¯t see!¡± the electric kitten mewled. As he tried pawing at his face, Ember whisked the offending item of clothing before his confusion could give way to trying to tear the item apart. She got there just in time¡ªno damage to the wig, phew. ¡°D-don¡¯t worry Lyn, it was just something on your face, th-there you go!¡± The Shinx blinked at being able to see again, only to get distracted by the nondescript mass of black fabric, now in the Fire-type¡¯s grasp. It had some bits dangling from it, right in front of him, just had to pounce and¡ª ¡°No, Lyn!¡± the Braixen raised her voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t a toy.¡± The orange shimmer that had surrounded his body went unnoticed for a good few moments as the kitten kept trying¡ªand failing¡ªto make his leap, oblivious to anything going on around him. ¡°Why not jump!?¡± His mews were already difficult to interpret as words from inexperience, and this wasn¡¯t helping one bit. Pearl was in the middle of turning over to help the vixen with one of the trickiest kids they watched over, but Ember had just enough experience to know what to do on her own¡ªjust had to catch his attention. *pat pat* ¡°Lyyynnn~,¡± the Braixen whispered. The drawn-out sound, combined with her pleasant warmth, finally made the Shinx look up at her. ¡°This isn¡¯t a toy, sweetie. It¡¯s Sage¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°~Wh-where is Mr. Yaksha!?~¡± The Phantump cried out, scared, as she phased back into the room. Her emotions took another downturn at the realization that she¡¯d dropped her wig. Nobody gathered had any idea of what had just happened to the Phantump, but with Ember already in the right headspace and right beside her, she picked up the mantle. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s wrong, Sage? Did Mr. Yaksha say¡ª¡± ¡°~I-I can¡¯t find him! H-He was on our bed there, b-but now he¡¯s gone!~¡± As scared about her guardian as the hauntling was, the two caretakers had been in these situations enough times to calm her down. Ember reassured, ¡°He has probably just left for a moment, sweetie. He¡¯ll b-be right back any time now!¡± ¡°~B-b-but he n-never leaves me! He¡¯s always there, d-did something happen to him?~¡± The Grumpig softly shook her head, ¡°^I doubt love. Cmere, we can all wait together for him, how¡¯s that sound? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll show up any moment now.^¡± Sage went along with the Grumpig¡¯s idea, though mostly for lack of any alternatives. She might¡¯ve only known her guardian for a few weeks, but she could tell that this was really unlike him. Nothing should¡¯ve happened to him since he was there but, but... what if something did anyway? Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Anne wasn¡¯t privy to the fears in her younger friend¡¯s mind, but what she had access to was a distraction. A somewhat... awkward distraction, especially with the person it used to fill for sitting just a few meters away, but a distraction, nonetheless. It brought her out of the worst of her funk many times. Maybe it could help the younger girl, too? ¡°~Hey, Sage?~¡± The undead girl¡¯s shaky expression focused immediately once Anne revealed the figurative ace up her sleeve. A Fennekin plush, about the size of Sage¡¯s head, ready for the taking. It was cute and good-looking enough for the inner child inside Phantump to hover towards it without thinking and hug it tight. It didn¡¯t hurt that she wasn¡¯t that much larger than the doll, making her try hopping onto its back as if it were a mount. Her unpleasant realization that she didn¡¯t have legs anymore brought an end to that idea, but its soft, polyester fur shielded her from feeling even worse because of that. As Sage took in every detail of the little plush, the actual fiery vixen in the room stared at it curiously, before looking over at Anne. She didn¡¯t say anything out loud, or even telepathically, but her question was no less obvious because of it. The human chuckled nervously, ¡°~H-heh... I-I found it on the side of the road not long a-after I, I...~¡± Ember knew all too well how that recollection went, wasting no time before climbing on the bed beside her human and holding her as tight as her arms could manage. Both of them held their tears in, if only just, as Anne continued, ¡°~It¡¯s been a-a lot of comfort for me in your absence, y-you know. Reminded me of you, a-and of-of course it wasn¡¯t like you, n-nothing could¡ª~¡± ¡°Shhhhh, I-I get it Anne, I promise.¡± An even tighter hug from the vixen, many more pets from the human. A bunch more wetness from them both as they tried their hardest to hold themselves together. Emotional as she was, though, a realization soon hit her now that she had consciously acknowledged the¡­ convenient timing of when she¡¯d found the doll. Guess there was a reason Mrs. Graham didn¡¯t act all that surprised when she¡¯d shown it to her¡­ The thought drew more tears from the girl, but only the happiest ones. She really hoped she¡¯d be able to thank the librarian for everything she¡¯d done sometime. With the most tearful smile of her life, Anne then reached to unzip the hidden pocket on the plush¡¯s tummy. From it, she pulled out a single, slightly bent photo. One they¡¯ve both seen so many times, one they could both remember taking even. Anne¡¯s sixth birthday, only a few weeks after they met. Already inseparable by then. ¡°You¡¯re so cute in this one, Anne,¡± Ember smiled. ¡°~A-and you aren¡¯t? Y-you used to be so, so tiny, hehehe...~¡± With a small grumble, the firefox held her human even tighter. As Anne was about to slide the photo back into hiding, the lil¡¯ hauntling chimed in as well, curious about a different aspect of the photograph. ¡°~Oooo, where did you take it?~¡± If Pearl wasn¡¯t busy looking after the once-again-rowdy kids with Ember leaving her post, she would¡¯ve scrambled over there and taken a close look at just what in the world these three were talking about, there and then. ¡°~A-at my old home, Sage,~¡± Anne explained. ¡°~We used to live with my grandma, many years ago.~¡± Before any sadness could seep into either girl¡¯s minds at the necessity of the past tense in that explanation, the Phantump provided her own source of that emotion, ¡°~I wanna go back to my old home too¡ª~¡± *creak, step step, rattle rattle* The noise from immediately outside their room startled everyone before Sage¡¯s words could seep in, putting them on varying levels of confusion and edge. There was a lot more going on in the rest of the clinic all of a sudden, many more noises and words, too muffled to make out clearly. ¡°^Gah damn, something musta happened in there,^¡± Pearl muttered. Before anyone could ask about what was going on out there, the room¡¯s doors parted open, cutting everyone¡¯s train of thought in half immediately¡ªfor better and worse reasons. The better reason scrambled onto the bed the moment she saw Anne and Ember there, her eyes still a bit damp but mind deadset on making sure the Braixen was doing alright after the rough night she must¡¯ve had. The worse reason leaned in to pick his daughter up and looked towards Anne. She expected the Lucario¡¯s gaze to once more drill straight through her very soul, but... it didn¡¯t, not this time. It only lingered on her for a split-second before the Fighting-type turned around and left right after. ¡°Wha-uh¡ªwhat just happened? Did someone attack?¡± the Skunky asked, half-asleep. The yawn that followed released much of the room¡¯s tension, though the situation outside remained unexplained. Not for long if Cadence had anything to say, though. ¡°^Something bad happened to Mr. Cypress, they¡ªthey got attacked by a human trainer...^¡± she explained, her sad tone noticed by most gathered and acted on by the bed¡¯s affection being squarely redirected towards her, even as everyone processed the harrowing news. Everyone but Bell, the Ralts only able to sense his sister not doing good¡ªand with his best friend gone and another friend napping, he wanted to help her! He loved his sister. ¡°A-are they okay?¡± Ember asked. ¡°^I-I hope so! They could talk to me and told me not to worry, but were hurt all over and Mr. Lariat carried them. I really hope the healers help them out. They were hurting a lot even if they didn¡¯t say anything about it...^¡± A bunch of reassurance and explanation, much appreciated by everyone. Nobody was under any pretense that Cadence would know more about what had happened, with Ember redirecting the topic once she realized the Kirlia wasn¡¯t doing the best, either. ¡°Our healers are great, they¡¯ll feel better in no time! B-but what about you, C-Cadence?¡± ¡°^I-I¡ª^¡± the Kirlia tried to answer, her self-consciousness immediately smothered by Ember¡¯s hug. Then by Anne¡¯s, then by Bell¡¯s¡ªpaired with a short squeak that had tried and failed to be reassuring words¡ªand finally, by... by... ¡°~D-did something happen, Cadence?~¡± Anne asked. ¡°~You¡¯re really tense.~¡± Couldn¡¯t even hide it from non-psychics, could she. ¡°^I-I¡¯ll be okay Anne, I promise! I just felt bad earlier, a-about myself¡ª^¡± On cue, another salvo of affection, with the older girls sparing no pets as the human reassured, ¡°~B-but you¡¯re great, Cadence! I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m so glad I got to meet you, you¡¯re really cool.~¡± Ember cut herself off from following up on her best friend¡¯s words because there was nothing more that needed to be said. Anne had gotten it all right, and all Cadence could do was squirm and let the affection sink in as her cheeks threatened to catch on fire and psychics pulled everyone around her. ¡°^Eeeeee, th-thank you Anne, you¡¯re really cool too!^¡± ¡°~Yeah!~¡± the stranger squeaked, her unfamiliar voice catching the Kirlia¡¯s attention. She¡¯d heard of Phantump before, but not about any that looked like this. The lines above their eyes were a bit weird, but the hair was really pretty! It took her a few moments to realize it was some sort of wig, but that didn¡¯t detract from how cool it came out at all. A part of her wanted to touch it and see what it was made of, but something told her it¡¯d be a bad idea. ¡°^Oh! Hi, I¡¯m Cadence; what¡¯s your name? That¡¯s a really cool wig!^¡± Meeting someone new helped with much of her funk as well, especially someone both so interesting and younger than her. Their reeling reaction concerned her for a moment, but it faded as soon as she mentioned their hairdo, immediately replaced with excited elation. ¡°~Eeeeeee, really!? It¡¯s cool!?~¡± Without skipping a beat, Cadence nodded with her entire body¡ªand had one decorated Phantump tacklehug her moments later. ¡°~Thank you! I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m happy it looks cool, it¡¯s j-just like my mom!~¡± Each reassurance only brought more warmth to Sage¡¯s small body, warmth she had neither words nor an explanation for but which she acutely felt all the same. Cadence returned the gesture an instant later, even standing up and twirling on the spot to express the sudden burst of joy in the room. ¡°^That¡¯s so cool! Your mom must look cool too!^¡± More joy, at least for a moment. As happy as the younger girl was to hear her mom being described as cool, it also made her want to see her again even more, something she knew others would probably not receive too well. Her sudden drop in the mood was plain to sense for everyone else, with Bell waddling over just to see what was wrong. Nobody had the time to put words to their worry before the entrance to the room parted again, though. Two faces they were all glad to see this time. As happy as Sage was to see one of them, immediately responding to it with another elated squeak, the other one gathered much more attention¡ªand concern¡ªfrom everyone else. ¡°^Mr. Cypress, are you okay!?^¡± Cadence asked, scared. The plentiful bandages covering their purple body answered for the Mismagius. Their sides, their ¡®hat¡¯, even their throat, all wrapped in layers of off-white bandage, with some excess salves spilling out from underneath them. Healing Pulses could only do so much for their incorporeal body, but the healers spared no effort on that front, either. Cypress wouldn¡¯t have described their situation as ¡®okay¡¯ under any other circumstances, but saw it fit to get by with a white lie here. ¡°I cannot deny hurting, but... I will turn out okay, dear Cadence, I have no doubt...¡± ¡°^Our healers know what to do, sweetie~. Honestly, I was more surprised you wanted to join us the moment Esther wrapped the last bandage around you, Cy,^¡± Autumn chuckled, her tense, yet warm smile sweeping over the rest of the room. Anne was alright, Ember was alright, Sage was a bit sad but had clearly played a fair bit with Anne, Cadence was mostly alright, Bell was Bell. Zephyr and Lyn were asleep, hardly something she could¡¯ve blamed them for. The Mismagius responded, ¡°Well~, dear Aria had mentioned the arrival of someone special, and I was immensely curious...¡± Said special person let go of Cadence for her hug before focusing on the source of the much more ethereal voice, unsure who the discussion was about or what to say. Something told her she was supposed to be afraid of the purple ghost, but... she didn¡¯t know why, leaving her just tilting her wigged head at them and giving them a timid wave. One eagerly returned. ¡°Oh, how curious. I had intended to ask about whether anyone had helped her remember who she once was, but it appears that I¡¯m the one way behind for once...¡± Cypress laughed, the sound cut short by their side injury flaring up, making them flinch. The movement drew others¡¯ attention to that part of their body as well, leaving them staring in terrified concern as they internally mulled over what could¡¯ve just taken a bite out of such an experienced scout. Fear that the scout themselves was very aware of, and was keen to calm down as soon as they could. ¡°I am injured, yes, but my situation will only improve. Your attention is best spent not fearing for me~...¡± ¡°What happened, M-Mr. Cypress? Did you r-r-really get attacked b-by a ¡®trainer¡¯?¡± Ember asked. Her shaking answered what she thought about that possibility for her, quickly soothed by her friends¡¯ affection. The Ghost-type didn¡¯t even pretend they had a way out of this without going into detail, and felt it best to just dive into it so that they could switch topics to something more pleasant sooner. ¡°Indeed, dear Ember. They had snuck on me during my patrol, and attempted t-to cap¡ªcapture me...¡± Cypress might have covered the emotions surrounding the traumatic situation well enough to not make either of the gathered psychics panic, but that didn¡¯t extend to their speech. They wordlessly cursed themselves for their own words betraying them, but everyone else was too aghast at what they said to dig into how they said it. Besides, after an experience like that, ¡®traumatized¡¯ was the usual assumed outcome, anyway. That¡¯s where most others¡¯ pondering would¡¯ve stopped, but... Cadence was curious. Too curious for her own good, likely, but after hearing so many horror stories about these and other human inventions, she couldn¡¯t resist asking the most obvious question, ¡°^What was it like, Mr. Cypress?^¡± As well as the Mismagius had covered their previous emotional response to that thought, they didn¡¯t quite manage to repeat that feat. Fear, fury, agony¡ªthe Kirlia had never associated the ghost with any strong emotions, good or bad, but could blatantly sense this situation involving many of these most intense of feelings. She knew she¡¯d made a mistake asking long before the scout had responded; they didn¡¯t need to heap more onto her plate. Might as well answer to the best of their ability. ¡°The most blissful nightmare I can imagine...¡± Nobody knew how to interpret their response. In all likelihood, nobody who hadn¡¯t experienced what they did would ever really understand it. For the best, as far as Cypress was concerned. ¡°Following that, and my successful escape, a fight broke out between me, them, and their... combatant...¡± This time, no questions were needed¡ªthe aftermath of that was plain to see. ¡°Regrettably, I... attacked said trainer, as well. Cruelly, nigh unspeakably. I have no excuse for that act, naught but an indescribable fury that flowed through me at that instant...¡± ¡°~D-did they survive?~¡± Anne asked, afraid¡ªbut not of the Mismagius. Their actions were entirely understandable considering their situation¡ªand it was that situation that sounded like a nightmare come to life for everyone involved. ¡°Yes, I... I presume so.¡± Cypress answered. ¡°They were hurt, but standing by the time dear Lariat rescued me...¡± The human in the room aside, most others felt... differently about a trainer being attacked, and some needed a while to fully grasp all the implications of such an act. ¡°B-but they attacked you first, Mr. Cypress. Y-you were just defending yourself.¡± Cypress flinched at hearing apologia for their own actions, no matter how well-intentioned. ¡°I assure you, dear Ember, that the form and extent of my response to their act was disproportionate. Their actions were cruel, but so were mine. Equal revenge does not enact justice; it merely propagates suffering. I could have run, I should have run...¡± The calm explanation had left the Braixen much more uncomfortable about her earlier attitude than any chiding could have ever accomplished. Even beyond moral objections to the ghostly scout¡¯s actions, though, there were plenty others, the realization making Autumn mumble out loud, ¡°This will draw so much attention¡ª*gasp*!¡± The room¡¯s eyes went wide at that obvious-in-hindsight observation, chilling the air immensely. Pearl might¡¯ve left soon after Autumn had returned, passing over the translation burden to the other psychic, but everyone else awake had felt the immediate shift in the room, even if its two youngest members didn¡¯t really know why it happened. Before the resulting terror could grow any further, though, the one person who knew the most about what would happen spoke up, asking for details, ¡°~D-did you say that they tried to catch you, a-and then you attacked them after you broke out?~¡± Anne was unusually focused on the topic at hand, the fear in the room crystallizing into something actionable. She wasn¡¯t deluding herself to think a situation like that couldn¡¯t result in some nasty consequences, but knew enough of how things actually worked on the human side of the equation to know that it wasn¡¯t as simple as guaranteed doom, either. Cypress answered, ¡°Correct, dear Anne. I presume you¡¯re familiar with this topic, judging by your thoughtfulness...?¡± ¡°~I-I wouldn¡¯t say familiar, it¡¯s¡ªI had to study i-it for my self-defense class a couple months ago. I-I still remember a lot, and we had to memorize so many b-boring documents for the test...~¡± While what Anne was referencing was clearly similar to the classes every little one in their village was encouraged to attend, the differences were immense and very apparent. The only rote memorization most little ones of the village ever did was getting a good grasp on how other types affected them, and vice versa. The word ¡®test¡¯ was particularly difficult to translate into something anyone around understood in any sort of intuitive way, sending a mild headache Autumn¡¯s way before she settled on a rough approximation of ¡®knowledge check¡¯. ¡°~I think I g-got it now,~¡± the girl continued. ¡°~Section four hundred... something, article three, ratified in 526. An intervention on the hand of a federally approved League trainer in response to an offense by a wild pokemon against a human shall be authorized if and only if the pokemon in question had engaged in an unprovoked assault on a civilian without an active League trainer license within three miles of the legal border of a township, or had committed a murder.~¡± Anne took a while to rub her temples at having to dig so deep into her memories, with everyone else mostly just taken aback at the sudden wave of jargon and humanese. ¡°~Th-that hurt to recall. B-but in short, since that was a trainer a-and not a civilian, as long as they didn¡¯t die, nothing should come of it as far as the League is concerned. I-I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any specific regional law for this either, th-the teacher had mentioned nothing like that.~¡± The clarification helped explain the ¡®what¡¯, but not the ¡®why¡¯. Other kids swallowed it without questions, but the adults were rather perplexed why human law would treat their ¡®trainers¡¯ differently in what appeared to be an entirely negative way. ¡°I see...¡± Cypress whispered, ¡°that is a curious distinction, dear Anne. Why would these ¡®trainers¡¯ be given less protection? That makes little sense, personally...¡± ¡°~I-I don¡¯t know, but... I-I think it¡¯s like, they¡¯re expected to be strong, right? O-or their mons are expected to be strong. And if a civilian does get hurt, trainers are the ones that get called in to investigate. If they and their mons are so weak they can¡¯t even protect themselves from wild mons, then they won¡¯t be able to ¡®protect¡¯ anyone from them, and that¡¯s supposed to be their duty.~¡± Autumn had almost blurted out that one of those sure needed protecting from the other, but not that way around, but... held herself back, in the end. By now, they probably did, with how much wild mons must¡¯ve hated them on the whole. Before she could despair more on what felt like a conflict with no possible resolution, Cypress summed it up differently, ¡°I can imagine that approach breeding further hostility towards wildlings in these... ¡®trainers¡¯. Unfortunate all around...¡± ¡®Unfortunate¡¯ was an intentionally mild choice of words, but the gathered kids were mostly unfamiliar with enough swear words to really phrase it in a way that accurately represented reality. An unfortunate topic, though Ember soon latched onto another curious thing she¡¯d spotted in her friend¡¯s words, ¡°Anne? Wh-what did you mean by ¡®526¡¯ there? That¡¯s a... year?¡± Not something the human expected to arouse curiosity, but she was glad to explain all the same. ¡°~Oh yes, that¡¯s... I suppose that¡¯s the number of that year, yes. You could s-say that each year gets a number that shows h-how many years it¡¯s been since the Kanto Reunification, and right now it¡¯s year 549.~¡± Anne explained the mystery, only to immediately replace it with seven more. Or, in Sage¡¯s case, to start reminding her of something she could still remember. Before she could fully excavate those memories, though, Autumn chimed back in, ¡°^That ¡®Kanto Reunification¡¯ event sounds important... what¡¯s ¡®Kanto¡¯, anyway? Is it a place?^¡± While many companies would¡¯ve despaired at anyone, even a pokemon, remaining unaware of the most important place in the whole wide world, Anne had no such attachment to that distant land. If anything, she shared the same mild distaste for it most others had¡ªeven if much of their culture still clung to exports from that country. ¡°~I-it¡¯s a land very far away, yes. It used to be broken into many tiny peoples that constantly warred against each other, and when they conquered each other enough to unify again, that¡¯s when the years started being counted from.~¡± As straightforward as the explanation was at its core, it still relied on many terms that were just absent from the vocabulary of most denizens of the village. ¡®War¡¯ was a very difficult concept to translate for people without a standing army, whose only enemy was a force so unfathomably large they couldn¡¯t even conceive of it in full, let alone imagine fighting it. ¡®Conquest¡¯ was similarly tricky, though there at least allusions could be made to the expected treatment of them by the humans if they ever ended up being discovered. ¡°That¡¯s an... oddly peculiar choice of event to base such a count on...¡± Cypress commented, curious. Anne couldn¡¯t disagree one bit¡ªand neither could any other kid in her class. The explanation took a good few years to really stick, and only the eventual history class really provided enough context for the event¡¯s significance to sink. ¡°~It is, yeah. I-it¡¯s not our choice, Kanto is thousands of miles away. But around... two, three hundred years ago, they went on a conquest around the world, because they were the first ones that¡ªthat made pokeballs.~¡± While Cadence and Ember just mentally reclassified the aforementioned region from ¡®distant place¡¯ to ¡®evil distant place¡¯, Autumn had a very different reaction to Anne¡¯s remark. She might¡¯ve overlooked the significance of the ¡®year number¡¯ earlier, but couldn¡¯t this time, asking, ¡°^Two, three hundred years ago? That is some ancient, ancient history, how does anyone remember that?^¡± ¡°~It¡¯s not even ancient, that¡¯s early modernity, I-I think. Ancient is thousands of years ago, b-but I think we still have many recordings from then...~¡± Anne explained, only adding to Autumn¡¯s confusion. The small tribe from which the Indeedee had originated only held memories from two, maybe three, generations ago, before they were invariably lost by one major upheaval or another. She¡¯d heard of the power of codified oral traditions from others, notably Celia, but this had to have been something else entirely¡ª ¡°~Oh oh, I remember!~¡± Sage squeaked, excited, snatching the room¡¯s attention. Anne snapped out of the resulting mass stun first, ¡°~What¡ªwhat do you remember, Sage?~¡± ¡°~Five hundred and forty-one! October, and... uh... five? Or fifteen!~¡± The string of words would¡¯ve been utter gibberish even to most humans, but the logic behind it clicked for Anne the moment she tried visualizing it all. ¡°~Fifteenth October, 541¡ª~¡± ¡°~Yeah!~¡± ¡°~Is that your date of birth?~¡± ¡°~...yeah?~¡± Sage was much less confident in her answer than she wished she had been. She knew this date was important and recalled being taught it again and again by her parents and teachers alike, but was woefully uncertain of what it actually meant. The realization of just how little she remembered deflated her somewhat, making her older friend intervene. And then, all the other kids. It helped, but wasn¡¯t enough. Slowly remembering more and more of her past life, more of her family, all of that was so good and appreciated¡ªbut it also brought despair of knowing more about a treasure she could never have. Every unearthed facet of her mom was yet another happy memory that would never be replicated, no matter how much she wanted to. The crushing reality of her fate ground into her more and more with each thought, and Sage wanted it to stop. To escape all this, to escape to the place that had always been safe. It should¡¯ve been possible, right? To make those memories not just memories again? To return? ¡°~I wanna go home...~¡± Sage whimpered. Nobody could resist the profound sadness that statement brought with itself¡ªnobody but Sage herself, seemingly. It hurt so much, but she knew she¡¯d need to remember her home first to find it. She remembered more and more of her family with each passing moment, her older sister and younger brother, her mom and dad and grandpa, and soon the recollection extended to her once-home, too. Maybe it was possible. Cadence let out a startled squeal as the Phantump phased straight through her, leaving only freezing cold and her wig in her wake. It made them all look over to where she¡¯d hovered, only for everyone awake but Cypress to jump in their seats at realizing that one particular Banette had been sitting on the other corner of the bedding in silence for an unknown amount of time, away from the small gathering. The steadily creeping darkness didn¡¯t help, held at bay soon after by a couple of fresh Will-o¡¯-Wisps. ¡°~M-Mr. Yaksha?~¡± the Phantump asked. ¡°~C-can I go back home to my parents?~¡± Despite having known Sage for much longer, the Banette didn¡¯t know how to respond any more than anyone else around. He¡¯s had enough time to let the realization that she was a human once finish hitting him, as profoundly uncomfortable as it was. With that in mind, her going back to other humans sounded like a nice thing to have happen, putting aside the inherent human awfulness, but... how feasible was it, really? ¡°~Sage... do you even remember where¡ª~¡± ¡°~Yes! It was in Lillywood!~¡± ¡°~L-Lillywood is a large town, Sage. There are thousands and thousands of people in there, d-do you remember anything else?~¡± Anne asked. Her question, as necessary as it was, didn¡¯t do the younger girl¡¯s spirits much good. ¡°~Yeah, I-I do! It had a green roof, a-and was large, and... a-and...~¡± Yaksha wasn¡¯t any better suited to comforting others than he was to running a human fanclub, but this little child needed him, goddammit. His expression softened as he hovered closer to the ghostie, opening his arms wide. ¡°~Sage, come here. You¡¯re safe now.~¡± As much as she wanted to withdraw into her stump and hide from the world again, Sage persevered and disagreed with her guardian, tears streaking down her mask as she shook it from side to side. ¡°~I don¡¯t want to be safe, I-*sniff*-I wanna go home!~¡± Her composure didn¡¯t last much longer, but by the time it broke completely, the Banette was already holding her tight. He didn¡¯t have anyone to blame for this outburst. It wasn¡¯t like anyone here had planted such an impossible idea into her head¡ªhe hoped, at least. He couldn¡¯t empathize, any and all memories of what or who he once was long forgotten, but his sympathy was still there. He was still there. ¡°Putting aside the logistics of finding dear Sage¡¯s past home, I am uncertain how other scouts would react to her wish...¡± Cypress commented. Their words had Autumn turn to face them in unnerved shock, unsure what they were implying. ¡°^Do you think she shouldn¡¯t get to rejoin her family, Cypress?^¡± ¡°Of course not, dear Autumn. Our village is not, can not be, a cage for her. To keep such a clearly human soul away from the family she wishes to reunite with is pure cruelty. And yet... I fear not all will see it this way, particularly when the risk of our village being revealed is concerned...¡± ¡°^Well, what other bloody way is there then!? Can that council of yours just not get enough cruelty, and would trap a child away from her family because it¡¯s inconvenient for us!?^¡± ¡°Dear Autumn, I wish to remind you I am on your side. No, that would never be an adequate justification, no. I merely wonder what others will do once they learn of this. I can only imagine further paranoia, and I am not enjoying that image in the slightest...¡± ¡°~If any of yours even bloody thinks they¡¯ll force her to stay here, then they have another thing coming!~¡± Yaksha shouted. Before the children could grow even more uncomfortable at the ever-growing hostility in the air, the exchange abruptly stopped. Both Cypress and Autumn stared into the middle distance for a while, before focusing on each other, the realization clear on both their faces. Cadence asked, ¡°^Grandma?^¡± Before she would get a response, though, the two adults turned and left the room, coming to a stop right in front of the healer tent. The shift in mood was scary enough for nobody to be eager to investigate what was going on¡ªnot physically, at least. Cadence felt Anne hold her tighter as she probed the rest of the tent with her aura, trying to spot what had chilled the air so much¡ªonly for Ember¡¯s gasp to answer that question an instant before she found out by herself. The fairy had no idea why Mrs. Cinder¡¯s appearance would be so shocking to everyone, or why would it make Ember of all people so scared, but she wasn¡¯t liking it one bit. In no time, both she and Ember were clinging to the blissfully unaware human and the other, littler fairy, the sheer tension in the room the only thing still keeping the latter awake. Bell asked, confused, ¡°Why is everyone scared?¡± ¡°~I-I wish I knew, Bell¡ª~¡± On cue, the two psychic teens in the room sensed movement in the tent once more, this time heading back towards them. And to their chagrin and confusion alike, the two familiar auras were accompanied by the third they had walked out of the tent to meet, with all three of them clearly feeling some combination of anxiety, sorrow, and anger. Thankfully for everyone around, Cinder only showed the former two. Cadence had never seen her be this shaken, by anything. Always proud, ever imposing, unwavering in her instructions, in her demonstrations, in her personality. And yet, there she was, a shattered mess with matted fur all over, a slouched posture, ears pulled back, and regret dripping from every single strand of fur. Her expression, entirely unfocused. At least, until she finally dared moving her gaze from the carpeted floor to the little gathering on the bed, the sight sending fear through Ember and Anne alike. They knew what she had done, and there was nothing she could do to undo it. She couldn¡¯t change the past, but the future was within her grasp, even if only some of it. And even if it wouldn¡¯t amount to anything, even if she would rightfully never be forgiven, even if she¡¯d truly wasted her one chance at life, She had to try. The room flinched as the Delphox dropped onto her knees in the middle of it, shrinking even further as she bowed towards her daughter. Before she could speak up, at last, the Braixen cut her off, ¡°M-m-mom, Anne is my friend, she¡ªshe¡¯d never hurt me! She-she just wants me to be happy, p-PLEASE DON¡¯T HURT HER!¡± The fear and urgency in Ember¡¯s voice drove a claw through her mother¡¯s heart, making her bleed tears. She remained slouched over as she visibly shook, expression scrunching in the agony of her own making, before finally responding, ¡°^I-I won¡¯t hurt you two ever again, Ember. I-I apologize, to you, t-t-to Anne. I¡¯ve violated your memories, hurt her through inaction, I took away the hope the¡ªthe other provided, I... I¡¯m sorry.^¡± The Braixen had lost her fight against her tears at the same time as her mom. This hurt, even just being aware of what the Delphox before her had done hurt, how much pain she¡¯d caused her, how much fear, how many panic attacks at having to relive her darkest memories without the human-shaped flame of home holding her at that very moment. Some of her wanted to shout, to shriek at the older vixen to leave and never come back, to yell about how evil she was¡ªbut she couldn¡¯t. Because she loved her. She didn¡¯t want to shout at her, or shriek, or yell, or run, or cry. She just wanted her and Anne to be safe. Quiet sobbing gave way to a piercing wail as Ember scrambled out of her friend¡¯s embrace and staggered over to Cinder, thin arms clinging to her with all the strength they still had in them as their tears mixed. The Delphox could feel it all, she was too close not to feel that battle inside her daughter. And as much as she felt like she deserved the very worst, to be told to go through with what she¡¯d unsuccessfully attempted and reduce her body to her namesake, that wasn¡¯t for her to decide. It was for Ember, and Ember wanted her mom. ¡°I-I love you m-mom... b-but it hurts... it all hurts...¡± And her mom wanted Ember, too. ¡°^I love you too, Ember. I won¡¯t¡ªwon¡¯t hurt you again, I won¡¯t...^¡± With the single most strained action of her life, Cinder forced herself to look up at the bedding, forced herself to look the injured human sitting there in the eye. To take in the image of this harmless, spurned child and face just how much harm she¡¯d done, how much vitriol she¡¯d spewed in the name of hatred towards her. Not the people who had actually hurt her daughter, not the system that denied them safety, but another innocent victim. She wouldn¡¯t let herself forget until she died. And until then... ¡°^...I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you, Anne, ever again.^¡± ...she knew what she had to do to make up for what she¡¯d done. Chapter 28: Nightfall The rest of Aria¡¯s scouting shift was uneventful. As far as she was concerned, it was the only blessing she¡¯d be receiving today. Tension gripped her body like a vise as she approached the village she called home, much of its tranquility undone by the anxious murk roiling around in her mind. It was the one place she felt truly safe in the entire world¡ªit used to be that place, at least. Now, it felt just that bit more alien, just that bit more unwelcoming. None of that was aimed at her, but that didn¡¯t make it any better. As difficult as it was, as much as a part of her wanted to kidnap Anne from her bed and run away from it all in a doomed, erratic impulse to keep her safe, she knew she had to push on. Push on, talk with her, escort her over to the Elders¡¯ meeting, And do her best to argue that Anne¡¯s inherent worth as a living being outweighed any security risks, real or imagined. Her feet hovered half an inch above the snow as she glided through the increasingly vacant streets. In her mind, a constant refrain to keep breathing. Such a basic, downright trivial thing, and it still helped. Whether it would help enough remained to be seen. The village being almost completely dark made it all even worse. Too late for many day dwellers to still be around, too early for most of their nocturnal inhabitants to be awake. A limbo of dark silence and scattered lights peeking out of the closed burrows and huts. Would they extend their comfort to the little human that needed them the most? Only one way to find out. ¡°Evening, Aria,¡± a familiar voice greeted. The Gardevoir felt her body jolt as it turned to face it before she could even think; the faint glow around her eyes soon dispelled at realizing who it was as they chuckled, ¡°Good gods, you¡¯re stressed, eh?¡± ¡°I... yes, yes I am, Geiger.¡± His smile wasn¡¯t a sight many were privy to, but his students, be they current or former, always got that privilege. As tense as the situation was, he didn¡¯t hesitate waving her over to the tea corner¡¯s doorway, the alluring scents coming from the inside encouraging her further. The Magnemite she¡¯d seen yesterday was still attached to his arm, asleep. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know if I have the time,¡± Aria whispered. ¡°One of those old coots is gonna be late anyway; don¡¯t worry about it Aria. Besides¡ªyou look like you¡¯d use a heartwarming drink much more than any value anyone else might get out of getting it all wrapped up a few minutes sooner. Sounds like that whole vote is gonna go well into the night either way.¡± She didn¡¯t necessarily disagree with the Electivire, but it still felt... disrespectful. Then again, considering that several of the people she¡¯d once respected felt it appropriate to disrespect Anne¡¯s personhood, she could repay them in kind, at least a bit. ¡°...Alright.¡± ¡°There ya go!¡± With his once-student agreeing to a detour, Geiger thought it best to bring a drink to her instead of having her do it herself. Beyond his snark, she was right¡ªthe sooner she got there, the better. She wasn¡¯t gonna do any good in this anxious of a state, though, and a warm, sweet tea was one way he could help with that. After finding her hands too shaky to hold the cup upright, the Gardevoir switched to telekinesis instead. Even her all-too-familiar white glow wasn¡¯t as stable as she wished it was, but it was thankfully enough to keep any tea from spilling. ¡°So... how¡¯s it all looking?¡± the Electivire asked. With her mouth busy sipping at the hot drink, Aria switched back to telepathy, ¡°^I wish I could say ¡®well¡¯, but I¡¯m really unsure. None of the Elders look encouraging, I have no idea if anyone against her staying is even open to any arguments to the contrary... and to make it all worse, Cypress got attacked by a human trainer earlier.^¡± That last remark in particular caught the Electivire¡¯s attention, making him glance over at her mid-sip. ¡°Unfortunate. Just an attack of aggression, an attempt at catching her, or something else?¡± ¡°^I think they were trying to catch her, but Cypress¡¯ recollection of it all was limited.^¡± ¡°Does it make you worry she¡¯ll be so soured by that experience she¡¯ll argue against the girl getting to stay here?¡± Aria flinched at the pointed question, especially with her answer being so ugly. ¡°^I-I wish I could say that I don¡¯t, but... I can¡¯t. She¡¯s been wonderful and a great help looking after Anne, but the way she described that ¡®ball¡¯ she was in, and with the trainer¡¯s mon hurting her so badly... I don¡¯t know. I trust her, I want to trust her, b-but¡ª^¡± ¡°I get it, don¡¯t worry.¡± The reassurance only did so much to wash the worst of her fear out of Aria¡¯s mind, but it was better than nothing. ¡°^I know I shouldn¡¯t be¡ª^¡± ¡°No, I really get it, Aria. I don¡¯t blame you one bit. Fear makes monsters of us all, including in our imaginations. All I can hope for is that after all is said and done, you¡¯ll be able to look back at those fears and see them for the absurdities that they are.¡± She nodded flatly in response, feeling just that bit colder on the inside. ¡°Not like any threat I used to teach you about, eh?¡± The remark sparked the most pitiful of smiles on her face, fueled further by another sip of the sweet tea. Indeed, nothing like anything else the Electivire had taught her. Nothing like anything he could have ever taught her. ¡°^It¡¯s so much worse.^¡± ¡°Sounds like it.¡± ¡°^B-because it¡¯s not just some distant shapeless humanity or wild predators, it¡¯s... us. We¡¯re the ones doing it to someone; we¡¯re the ones hurting someone much weaker than ourselves because of misplaced fear and prejudice. How do you even fight that?^¡± Uncertain silence surrounded them for a few seconds as Geiger finished his swig, stretching slightly afterwards. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, same as always. That¡¯s something I drilled into you all a ton¡ª¡± ¡°^Yes, yes... acknowledge it, measure it, mitigate it.^¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been pedantic to hell about these for a reason¡ªbecause they work. Worked for me back in my old life, works here too.¡± ¡°^I know, I know. I¡¯ve been doing these as much as I can, trying to reach people that are likely to vote against her, but what if it¡¯s just not enough? What if I do everything I possibly could to keep her safe, to sway others, and they still decree that she should be left behind?^¡± Despite all the worst-case scenario plans she¡¯d been trying to set for herself, despite all the promises, that fateful question did not get any less harrowing to consider. And while Geiger wasn¡¯t aware of anything the Gardevoir had done to prepare herself for that scenario... he still suspected it. ¡°Something tells me you already have something in mind for it¡ªmitigated it at least somewhat.¡± No immediate response beyond further pensiveness. He wasn¡¯t ever the biggest one for physical affection, but if there was any opportunity to use it for good, it was here. Keeping himself as restrained as he could, Geiger patted Aria¡¯s shoulder a few times, startling her out of staring at the tea leaves at the bottom of her cup and almost toppling her over. ¡°Ahaha, my bad,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I meant it, though. I know you have a plan Aria, you¡¯re too smart not to.¡± The compliment worked a bit better, forcing a weak smile and a deep breath as the Gardevoir tried to mentally reset herself. He was right; she had a plan¡ªbut it was a woefully vague plan. ¡°^Right. I talked with Anne this morning, confessed to everything that¡¯s going on. I... I made a promise to her. A promise that no matter what happens, she¡¯ll be safe. Even if it takes my entire family having to leave to ensure so.^¡± A firm nod from the Electivire¡ªcontinue. ¡°^It¡¯s something, but... I haven¡¯t even told Garret or Marco. What if it really comes to pass? What if we have to risk running into the wilderness again just to keep her safe from the village? It¡¯s one thing to claim that, another thing to mean it¡ªand I do mean it¡ªbut what if brings danger to the rest of my family?^¡± It was a question without an answer, and both of them were well aware. There was a place for acknowledging, measuring, and mitigating, but when it came to running for someone¡¯s life, the time to carefully plan out one¡¯s next step was a luxury rarely afforded. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t as bad as the Gardevoir feared it would be, either. ¡°If it really comes to it, if you have to run to keep her safe... then I can guarantee you won¡¯t be the only one leaving,¡± Geiger reassured. The implications were clear and yet no less shocking; Aria¡¯s eyes went wide as she stared at the Electric-type, making him chuckle, ¡°Hah, what¡¯s so surprisin¡¯? I stayed here for a reason, after all. I know my strength, I know that if it came to it, I would be entirely alright on my own in these woods, if forced to resort to predation.¡± He wasn¡¯t done yet, still holding the psychic¡¯s attention despite the morbid tangent. ¡°Back all those years ago, when I first stumbled here, when I first spoke with Orion... I saw a spark in him. A vision to really make this place something so much larger than the sum of its parts, so much greater than what any of us could do alone. And if it turns out said vision has now entirely rotted into the same kind of cruelty-by-committee that humanity is so fond of, I don¡¯t want to be a part of it any longer.¡± The frank admission took a while to finish worming itself into Aria¡¯s mind. Once it did, though, it made her feel a bit lighter. There was still the inherent horror of so many people being indirectly forced to abandon their homes because of someone else¡¯s cruelty, one she loathed to inflict on anyone else, or even rhetorically nudge in that direction. When it came entirely from them, it was almost bearable. ¡°^That¡¯s... incredibly kind of you, Geiger,^¡± she whispered. ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± A lifted eyebrow above a worried expression conveyed the Gardevoir¡¯s concerns wordlessly, and the Electric-type didn¡¯t hesitate to elaborate, ¡°It¡¯s mighty kind of you, Aria. You¡¯re the one putting your family on the line, first and foremost. I¡¯ve been here for a while, but I have little in the way of earthly attachments. I could get up, run behind the horizon, and only a few people would ever really notice I left. Don¡¯t thank me, take pride in yourself for taking a stand.¡± She didn¡¯t know what to say in response. In a way, she supposed her actions were admirable¡ªbut they were also thoughtless, sticking with her most basic impulses come hell or high water. Just because they were basic, it didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t correct, though. ¡°^I suppose. It just feels incredibly rash¡ª^¡± ¡°Justice being rash doesn¡¯t make it any less just.¡± ¡°^Right. Well, thank...^¡± Aria trailed off. As she chewed through their exchange, a memory from yesterday evening crept back into her mind, providing some much-needed levity in the tense situation. She teased, ¡°^I think there is someone who would notice you¡¯re gone. And that same someone would just so happen to leave with me if needed to protect Anne.^¡± Guess Electivire can blush; who could¡¯ve thought. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what... *sigh*, yeah, you got me. But that doesn¡¯t take away from my thrust!¡± It took Aria her entire supply of willpower to keep herself from twisting the word ¡®thrust¡¯ into a different meaning in her mind. ¡°^Right, right~.^¡± ¡°Hah. Jokes aside, I do mean it. Yes, my reasons might be less than pure, but I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t be alone in taking a stand by following you out if need be. Hell, Holly¡¯s so eager about pushing the girl¡¯s safety into everyone¡¯s face you would¡¯ve thought she¡¯s her bodyguard. I can only imagine how she¡¯d react to being told that some old coots voted to toss her out¡ªand if she goes, you know full well she¡¯s dragging Jovan with herself. Won¡¯t let the little brother stay in such a rotten place, ha!¡± That... yeah. He had a point. ¡°^I see. Well, thank you for the chat, Geiger,^¡± Aria sighed, feeling that bit lighter. ¡°Anytime, Aria~. Lemme grab that cup from you. I can only imagine how bloody terrifying all this is for you, but... I believe in ya, girl. And I¡¯m sure so does Anne. And who knows¡ªmaybe once she ends up staying, I¡¯ll get to ask her what in the world does my name mean, ha! Now, off you go¡ªyou¡¯ve got a life to save, after all.¡± If only Aria believed in herself, too. With one last exchange of waves and thanks, the Gardevoir took her leave, mind spinning even faster at everything it had learned. On one hand, the reassurance that she wasn¡¯t alone helped immensely, but on the other, it only added an even larger weight onto her back. It wasn¡¯t just Anne she was fighting for¡ªit was her children; it was her husband; it was Geiger; it was Holly. It was the integrity of her entire village. She had a hard time thinking of a more worthy thing to fight for, but good gods, if it didn¡¯t help with all the pressure. Despite it all, she breathed just that bit easier afterwards. During her chat, the little commune had plunged even deeper into darkness¡ªnow counterbalanced by the wisps of light illuminating the streets. It¡¯d still be some time until the night life really began¡ªbut by then, she hoped to already be at the Elders¡¯ tent with Anne. A detour wouldn¡¯t help with that goal, but considering who it was she¡¯d just run into up ahead... she might as well try. To her surprise, she didn¡¯t even have to be the one initiating, the all-too-familiar rough voice grating her ears that bit more than it used to, ¡°Aria, did you hear about that Phantump?¡± It was acutely hard for her not to have heard about them. ¡°^Yes I have, Lumi. Did something happen to her?^¡± A non-human topic of discussion had the Luxray more chipper than he¡¯d been for the past few days, but it didn¡¯t take long for Aria¡¯s anxiety to rub itself off on him. Thankfully, the sleeping Shinx on his back was too desensitized to any shocks to notice anything afoul, squirming further into his dad¡¯s fur as the Luxray explained, ¡°Dunno if anything happened, but sure sounds like something ain¡¯t right with her. Cypress said she used to be a human or something¡ªload of nonsense as far as I¡¯m concerned. There¡¯s no way a human could even turn into one of us. It just doesn¡¯t work like that.¡± Aria was only paying half attention to Lumi¡¯s diatribe, too focused on making sure she was gathering the right words. The mention of Sage being a human was a very worrisome one, but she didn¡¯t have the spare brainpower to fully investigate the implications of it at the moment. ¡°^I think I¡¯d rather trust Cypress about that as opposed to your gut...^¡± ¡°You¡¯d think, but c¡¯mon. She¡¯s just a normal Phantump. Wearing something silly on her head, but still a Phantump¡ªno way a human soul would end up as one. It¡¯d have to be something bloody monstrous.¡± It was neither helpful nor time-efficient to chew Lumi out for what he was implying there, but Aria still only barely stopped herself from doing so¡ªshe had something very different in mind for the Luxray. ¡°^Lumi?^¡± she asked, sullen tone snagging his attention as his piercing, yellow-red eyes looked at her uncertainly. ¡°^Can I ask you, as a friend, to not hurt Ember with your vote?^¡± The phrasing made him flinch and open his maw as if about to speak¡ªbut no words came. No words could, she imagined. She felt his emotions shrink from proud bravado and yapping about things he didn¡¯t understand, to being almost... chided. Whether it would last¡ªor amount to anything, it remained to be seen. It was also enough to make him scurry away without saying another word. Once again, Aria was left alone, with only snow and dark to keep her company. And purpose burning in her soul.
The large tent of their clinic was filled only with occasional strained breaths and shuffling of bodies on linen. As yesterday, a faint light peeked out from underneath the entrance to what had become Anne¡¯s room, but it¡¯d be a moment until Aria investigated it. True, she could feel the one aura she certainly didn¡¯t expect or want to sense in there, but since both the Delphox and everyone around her were doing alright¡ªbeyond being stressed¡ªthey could wait a minute. The Phantump was already asleep by the time she got there, the Banette watching closely over her. His pink eyes narrowed at seeing someone approach, but relaxed not long after once they realized just who exactly it was in the darkness. Not someone he liked, but someone he could at least trust. ¡°~Good evening.~¡± ¡°^Greeting, Yaksha. I¡¯ve heard that Sage¡ª^¡± ¡°~Yes, she used to be a human,~¡± the Banette grumbled out. The words were strained, but genuine, and as conflicted as he clearly was over that fact, he was putting said conflict aside for the sake of tending to the hauntling under his watch, and that¡¯s all Aria could¡¯ve ever expected from him. And then some. As the Gardevoir squinted at the asleep ghost, she could just barely make out something large and dark covering her head. A misfolded blanket, maybe? Whatever it was, it would have to wait, wait until tomorrow. Until forever, potentially. ¡°^I see. Did that realization help her feel better?^¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Hardly a single, definite answer to a question like that. The Banette grumbled, slowly shaking his head in uncertainty, before settling on the world¡¯s weakest nod. ¡°~In a way. It let her remember who she was, and I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m glad she does. But it uncovered a lot of grief, too, and wanting to go back to her human family. I don¡¯t want to deny her that, or anything, but it feels like she¡¯s setting herself up for more pain.~¡± Aria shuddered at the image of a little sad ghost weeping at being torn away from her family once more¡ªthis time deliberately. ¡°^I can only imagine how painful it¡¯d be for her.^¡± The ¡®wants to leave village to return to humanity¡¯ part of Sage¡¯s wish had a hard time settling in Aria¡¯s mind, already so full of worrying for everything else. She didn¡¯t want to be the one trying to convince everyone that the Phantump deserved to be able to leave them¡ªshe agreed with that, of course she did, but she could only imagine that entire topic lowering Anne¡¯s chances even more. Something for another day, hopefully. ¡°~I¡¯m glad that Anne girl at least got her this,~¡± the Banette sighed. ¡°Makes her feel a lot better. Can¡¯t remember her sleeping this soundly in a while.~¡± Yaksha¡¯s spectral hand gently stroked over the unidentified black mass at the top of Sage¡¯s head, making the little one shift in her dreams. The mention of Anne took Aria aback, especially as it clicked in her head just what the injured and equally scared human girl had done. It made her feel so warm, on par with hearing about Cadence or Bell having helped someone. ¡°^I¡¯m glad to hear. Is it a... head covering?^¡± ¡°~Seems like a wig. Maybe it¡¯s how she kept her hair back in her human life, I¡¯m unsure.~¡± Curious, but not a topic to get into there and then. ¡°^I see. I hope the night passes calmly for you two.^¡± ¡°~So do I. Something¡¯s heavy in the air, I can feel it.~¡± You don¡¯t know the half of it. With the weakest nod of her life, Aria turned around and approached the entrance to Anne¡¯s room. The emotions she felt from inside were the opposite of reassuring¡ªanxiety from everyone, though very unequal in intensity. Arguably, the rational response to what would happen in just a couple of hours. The flaps parting caught the attention of all the awake occupants, providing relief to most of them. Cinder was the one exception, staring down at the floor as the sleeping Ember sat on her lap. Anne held the younger vixen¡¯s paw from a distance, not daring to touch the Delphox as others present congregated around her. Cadence held her side, Autumn patted her shoulder, Bell squirmed uncomfortably on her lap, too tense to sleep and only barely keeping himself from crying. Everyone else, already gone. ¡°^Mom, what¡ªwhat¡¯s going on? Anne is so scared, and she doesn¡¯t want to tell us and it makes us scared too and we just want to help, and¡ª^¡± Cadence asked, her telepathic whisper soon interrupted by the feeling of her mom¡¯s psychic embrace. The warmth undid some of the tension, at least temporarily. Aria didn¡¯t want to tell her¡ªnot now, not ever¡ªshe didn¡¯t want to ruin the image of their village as a safe place in the Kirlia¡¯s mind. She would have to anyway if things went awry, but that was then. And now; she just wanted her children to feel safe, ¡°^I will tell you later, sweetie. I know how stressful this is, and I really wish it wasn¡¯t like that. Me and¡ªand other scouts are doing what we can to help Anne, and we¡¯ll figure it out soon.^¡± The Kirlia wasn¡¯t convinced, holding the injured human even firmer. ¡°^B-but she¡¯s so scared, a-and I¡¯m so scared¡ªand you¡¯re scared too, I can feel it! Is someone gonna hurt us?^¡± If only it was as easy as someone out there wanting to hurt us. ¡°^I can¡¯t talk about it right now, Cadence. It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s scout stuff, I¡¯m sorry to say.^¡± She felt the sorrow seep deeper into her daughter¡¯s soul, but there was nothing she could do to help. Autumn was keen on helping however she could, though, holding the Kirlia tight from behind. Anne had no idea about the exchange that had just taken place, and her pose didn¡¯t let her contribute much, but one shaking, petting hand was better than nothing. It was time to address them all. Aria spoke with her physical voice, ¡°Hey. I need you all to leave me and Anne alone for now. Autumn, could you¡ª¡± ¡°^Sure thing, Aria,^¡± Indeedee answered. The resolve in her voice was a welcome departure from the surrounding stress, but even it was clearly strained. As tired as Ember clearly was, her mom getting up to carry her away stirred her out of her sleep, making her look around the room in groggy confusion. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s going on? Mom, why are we leaving?¡± Cinder almost only barely forced herself to look into Aria¡¯s eyes; it was almost too painful to imagine. And yet, she pushed through, wordlessly asking if her daughter already knew. Unfortunately, she did, making her mother explain, ¡°^Ember, the vote about what will happen to Anne is coming up, and I¡¯ll need to take her there.^¡± Aria expected the Braixen to get paralyzed with fear at hearing that, that she¡¯d become so inconsolable Cinder would have to carry her out. Instead, the lil¡¯ fox nodded as firmly as she could, shaking her eyepatch around, before dashing over to her best friend one more time, and pulling her into one last hug. ¡°N-no matter what happens, I¡¯ll always be with you, A-Anne. I-I promise.¡± The Gardevoir didn¡¯t know how she even managed to maintain her composure at these words, only that eventually it was just her and Anne in the room. Terrified, anxious, hopeful, that last emotion in particular trying to persevere as hard as it could despite the circumstances. Neither of them knew what to say, but they knew what they longed for in that dreadful moment. Without another word, Aria sat down beside Anne on the rough bedding and pulled her into the tightest side hug her feeble physical arms could manage¡ªimmediately returned. As hard as the little one tried to keep her emotions in check around other kids, it couldn¡¯t last forever. And if there was anywhere in the world she felt secure enough to let them out, it was in the Gardevoir¡¯s arms. ¡°~I-I d-don¡¯t wanna d-die...~¡± Aria wanted to scream at the injustices in the world, be they made by humanity or them, that had forced the child in her arms to say these words out loud. Maybe, in time, she would have the opportunity to shout at least three of them down¡ªbut that time wasn¡¯t now. ¡®Now¡¯ deserved something else. ¡°^I won¡¯t let that happen, no matter what.^¡± The psychic forced herself to give off the same tingling, emotional warmth she did when they first embraced; her inner light snuffed in all the anxiety. It was nowhere near as intense as then, but it still helped the girl relax, if slightly, making her lean into the touch even further as she asked, ¡°~Wh-what will happen to Ember?~¡± Another part of this cruel mystery, almost equally uncertain. Only almost, however, and if what Aria saw was any sign, things were better on that front than she thought. ¡°^I don¡¯t know for certain, but I doubt Cinder will let her be hurt again, be it directly or not.^¡± Anne nodded weakly into the psychic¡¯s side, mulling through what she¡¯d seen of her this evening. ¡°~I-I think she m-means well. Now, at least. She was still really, really scary, but it really f-felt like she wanted the best for Ember, a-and I hope she really does.~¡± ¡°^So do I. What¡¯s best for her is what¡¯s best for you as well¡ªremaining here, together, in a family you¡¯re loved in.^¡± Aria didn¡¯t realize all the implications of her telepathic words until after she had sent them, making her flinch. On the other hand... it¡¯s not like she disagreed with any of them. More than that, she felt that yearning in her grow stronger by the moment. This wasn¡¯t the time nor the place to dig too deeply into it, though. Whether she would ever get the time for that... remained to be seen. Because the little one in her arms was doing just that, only shaking harder as a result. She didn¡¯t put words to any of her thoughts, and neither did Aria. What could they even say that wouldn¡¯t make what they were about to go through even harder for them both? The Gardevoir didn¡¯t know, but there was something she could do that would make it just that bit easier. Deep breaths helped with the raging flames of panic, but were all but useless when dealing with the freezing grasp of a lingering fear. Nothing but true safety could get rid of the latter. But if they could at least rid themselves of as much of the former as they could, it would help a lot, too. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The subconscious impulse soon synchronized between them, ending up at a pace the Gardevoir found sluggish, and the human just slow enough to feel calm. Anne was here; hope wasn¡¯t yet lost. Aria was here; things would be alright. It was time. ¡°^We should be going,^¡± the Gardevoir whispered. ¡°^Can you can stand up on your own, Anne?^¡± A moment of thought, a resigned headshake, ¡°~I-I don¡¯t know...~¡± ¡°^I¡¯ll help you, don¡¯t worry. Will you need anything to leave?^¡± ¡°~Sh-shoes. M-Maybe socks too, but we d-don¡¯t have time for those.~¡± A part of Aria wanted to object, to reassure the girl that they had the time, but settled on following Anne¡¯s best judgment. The mental image of ¡®shoes¡¯ was simultaneously decently close to the foot wraps that a fair few in their village used, and much, much sturdier. And¡ªonce the psychic had pulled them out of the rough pile of Anne¡¯s clothes¡ªstained with caked mud and a few droplets of dried blood. Miserable, but they didn¡¯t have the time for anything better. As the girl slid her bare feet into them, wincing at how uncomfortable they felt without socks in the way, Aria psychiced the blanket into the air, and gently wrapped it around her. Safeguard did wonders for keeping the worst of the winter cold away, but she didn¡¯t want Anne to be spared of just the absolute worst¡ªshe wanted her to feel comfortable and warm and loved and to flourish and¡ª ... The sooner they departed, the better. Aria¡¯s constant assistance provided Anne¡¯s legs with enough strength to walk. Between aching, limping, and needing to get used to the motions again, that process remained slow¡ªbut it didn¡¯t matter. Step by step, aided by a blanket and Safeguard, until they reached the end. Once they left the girl¡¯s room and caught the attention of one of the injured that hadn¡¯t fallen asleep yet, the Gardevoir added one more layer, one much more draining for her but necessary for the human. Thankfully, the onlookers only reacted to the wrapped biped beside Aria suddenly being erased from their perception with momentary confusion, and didn¡¯t try digging deeper than that. Onward, into the oh-so-familiar darkness. After stepping out of the tent, Anne stopped to look around in awe, and Aria followed. She had no doubts that she really had spent the last few days in a village of mons by that point, but seeing it for herself was something entirely different. Much scarier than she thought it¡¯d be, too. Almost all buildings had turned dark by then, which, combined with their primitiveness and the unceasing snowfall, only made them look decrepit. Beloved huts turned into harrowing ruins, if not to Anne¡¯s conscious mind, then to her subconscious fear. In the distance, animalistic noises¡ªspeech to Aria, but only a source of more fear for the little one beside her. Unknown in meaning, unknown in source. Unknown in whether their owners would hurt her if they could. The thought made her shake much harder than the surrounding snow ever could. It wouldn¡¯t let go either, forcing quickly freezing tears and psychically obscured sobs as it rattled around in her mind. She just wanted to be safe; why was that so impossible? Why did so many hate her enough to where they would rather toss her out to die? She had done nothing to hurt them! Others like her have, the planet-spanning abomination of law and steel and bigotry and conquest had, but not her! She was just a child! Such an important distinction, but... would it matter? To anyone? Aria could only watch, at a loss for words. She heard the questions crying out from the girl¡¯s mind, but had no matter¡ªhow could she? It didn¡¯t help, not her, not Anne. Very little could¡ªbut not nothing. ¡°Honey?¡± the demonic voice grunted, making Anne yelp as Aria looked over her shoulder at her husband, barely making out the uncertain concern on his face. She beckoned him over with a nod of her head as she whispered over to the girl, wanting to take at least some of the choking fear away, ¡°^It¡¯s Garret, sweetie. You don¡¯t have to talk with him if you don¡¯t want to.^¡± The girl didn¡¯t immediately react to the telepathic words, focusing instead on the Grimmsnarl as he caught up to them and gave her a timid wave. Aria would need a different way of disguising things if she ever wanted to cover anything from him, something closer to Orion¡¯s innate gifts¡ªand so she didn¡¯t even try. ¡°Hey, sweetie. I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m heading over to the council hearing with Anne.¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s physical voice was so dry it was almost croaking. Nothing that could be helped at the moment, alas. Still, her husband noticed it clearly, leaning in to wrap his arms around her without disturbing the already unnerved human beside her. ¡°Best of luck to you, honey. I talked with Max earlier today, if you¡¯d wanna hear about that before you get there.¡± Aria was unsure how to respond without potentially exposing Anne to even more fear of never being accepted here. Considering how unbothered her husband was, it couldn¡¯t be too bad... right? ¡°How did it go?¡± she asked. ¡°Quite well, if I may! He did bring up the discomfort, but was clear that it didn¡¯t matter if it came down to the choice between personal feelings or Anne¡¯s safety.¡± At least they had that reprieve. She sighed, ¡°That¡¯s¡ªthat¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Something to keep your hopes up! He mentioned Celia had visited him earlier that day to talk about this as well, and with how uncertain you felt about her, I thought I¡¯d mention it.¡± If the Gardevoir had any idea how to feel about that knowledge, she would¡¯ve reacted in a more lively way than the flattest nod of her life. Just another onto the massive pile of vague concerns in her mind. She¡¯d find out what the Primarina Elder was planning soon enough, anyway. ¡°How about you, Anne? How are you feeling?¡± the Grimmsnarl asked. Aria cursed herself for not making it clear to her husband that the little one would need some space¡ªonly to then sigh in relief at the girl responding normally, ¡°~I-I¡¯m scared...~¡± ¡°I can only imagine. I know it¡¯s really scary, but Aria¡¯s got your back, and we¡¯re all hoping for the best. Things are gonna be alright,¡± Garret reassured. He wasn¡¯t the best at motivational speeches, but he made up for that in spades with physical affection. The likes of which were rather limited for Anne at the moment, but which she still wanted, even if silently. And after his wife covertly passed that detail over to him, he only saw it fit to do his best. Him crouching before Anne and opening his arms wide took her aback a bit, but not enough to not take him up on that offer moments later, walking into his front. Even at his gentlest, the affection was still rather firm¡ªfor the best, considering the situation. For a few moments, Anne leaned on Garret as he silently held her and pet her back. Words were difficult, especially at the moment, but he still deserved her gratitude. ¡°~Th-thank you, M-Mr. Garret.~¡± ¡°Of course, Anne.¡± The girl took her time backing up to her guardian once the Dark-type let go of her, wanting to feel that warmth for just a bit longer. Alas, it was the time they didn¡¯t have, and she knew that full well, too. After catching her balance, Anne looked up and nodded at Aria, the latter getting the message to continue. ¡°Take care, you two! I believe in you both!¡± the Grimmsnarl cheered. Before they got out of mindshot, though, the Gardevoir had one more thing to say to her husband. ¡°^Garret, I... made a promise to her. That, if the worst comes to pass, we¡¯ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means uprooting ourselves and leaving altogether.^¡± Aria couldn¡¯t feel the uncertainty in the Grimmsnarl¡¯s mind, but she saw it. A tiny flinch, a moment of fear on his expression, hesitation before he spoke again. Nothing she could blame him for, nothing she could¡¯ve blamed anyone for. ¡°I... I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, Aria.¡± And so did she. With Garret out of sight, the two could speed up again. As little as it was, and as lively as worry remained inside both of their minds, the briefest of chats with the demonic Fairy-type was still enough to get them going faster than before. The tiniest of embers of hope in their hearts, given a few flakes of kindling to keep it burning for just a few minutes, hours longer. The rest of their slow trek wasn¡¯t anywhere near as interesting, thankfully. As more nocturnal inhabitants woke up and left their dens to stretch their limbs, they tried greeting the oddly walking Gardevoir¡ªand only received silent nods in response. Even if they couldn¡¯t see the being obviously walking beside her, they could still spot the tracks in the snow they left behind, psychically sense or even smell their fear. It wasn¡¯t too difficult to put two and two together for most, and the rest were discouraged by her gloomy disposition. Something Aria desperately hoped would happen with Mikiri too after the tinkerer spotted them, only to be positively surprised. In all likelihood, the Mawile hadn¡¯t even consciously noticed the sun having set, not with so much of her focus still on the two-wheeled contraption. Each time the Gardevoir got a glimpse, it had more and more clearly unrelated parts welded onto it, which included something poking through the spokes of the wheel this time. Mikiri¡¯s mind was on the highest gear, but whether it was devoted to solving yet another mechanical obstacle or trying to come up with an idea of how to climb down from the raised seat without faceplanting in the snow, Aria didn¡¯t know or care. For a moment, it looked like she was about to be forcibly pulled into the former once the Steel-type noticed her, making her brace herself for the worst. Instead, the Mawile had spotted the tracks beside her too, and cracked that little puzzle immediately. A rare moment of genuine surprise, an even rarer show of consideration¡ªand at last, a replacement for bothering the psychic. Two thumbs up, support and affirmation. Copied straight from Orion. Thanks, Mikiri. As they neared the Elders¡¯ tent, Aria felt the attention being placed on her intensify, making it harder and harder to keep Anne hidden. More and more onlookers, most of them aware of what was about to take place. Many uncertain, some friendly, some less so. A few little ones way past their bedtimes, eager to see what would happen. The auras of Blossom and Ember, trying to keep as inconspicuous as possible, had the psychic sigh, but not acknowledge them any further than that. There was no point to that, or time to waste. One last turn, the massive conical tent finally came into view. The many woven and carved decorations that adorned it were little more than visual noise in the dark, proud symbols that stood for nothing without sunlight to set them straight. Anne shuddered into Aria¡¯s side at realizing that it was where they were headed, but didn¡¯t comment on it beyond that. The sights spoke for themselves. Once the two were face to face with the entrance, a single step from the hall of judgements and rulings, they stopped. Aria wanted to turn and run, to not subject the girl beside her to a hearing that felt more and more doomed by the moment, to spare her that painful middle step between fleeting comfort and having to escape along with the Gardevoir¡¯s family. Anne just wanted to be safe. After one more embrace, quick and wordless, they stepped in.
Reassuringly, they weren¡¯t the last to have made it there, either. The sunken firepit in the center provided some sorely needed light as it lit the gathered figures in the harshest way possible. Away from the entrance, the three Elders sat in a row, their gazes immediately leaping onto the Gardevoir. Blatant displeasure of the Breloom. Unchanging flatness of the Torkoal. Obscured attentiveness of the Primarina. Anne¡¯s attention was focused almost entirely on the latter, unfamiliar to her creature. Reminded her of some sketches she¡¯d seen in fantasy novels, but nothing even close to what she remembered seeing in a dex. Whether they were a village secret, or simply a mundane species from far away, the girl didn¡¯t know¡ªall she knew was that they were hurt. The scars on their face and arms, the lost fingers on their flipper. Torn pieces of the translucent fin at the top of their head, missing patches of beautiful, azure hair. It felt like some further things were missing, too, but Anne didn¡¯t know enough about how the stranger ¡®ought¡¯ to have looked like to tell. Expression hidden behind their left flipper. ¡°Finally!¡± Winnie shouted. ¡°Celia asked you to bring it with you; where is¡ª¡± Before Winnie could finish his complaint, Aria undid the spell that kept Anne hidden, startling everyone present to a various extent. The Breloom sneered at the girl; the Torkoal leaned her head in, and the Primarina... closed her eyes. ¡°Very well. Please seat her beside yourself, Aria,¡± Ana instructed. The Gardevoir did just that, finally letting go of her constant support of the girl¡¯s body. By the time Anne finished sitting down, she looked less like a human and more like a pile of cloth with a head sticking out of it¡ªan exhausted head, worn by the strains of the day, by the cold, by fear. By what still awaited them all. ¡°Aria? I have a request, if I may,¡± Celia asked. Hearing her silken voice was a rare enough occurrence that it caught the attention of everyone gathered, even the human for whom it was little more than a vaguely feminine, pretty noise. A shudder went through Aria¡¯s horns, but she had no choice but to respond, ¡°Yes, Elder Celia?¡± ¡°I wish for Anne to remove her eye coverings for the duration of the proceedings.¡± There was no ambiguity for the Gardevoir to wriggle in¡ªonly a serious order for the girl to be left blind throughout it all, beyond what she would be already subject to. It was blatant cruelty that had no practical use to it. And based on the words that followed soon after, something told Aria that Celia was well aware. ¡°It is¡ªit is for the purpose of keeping sensitive information away from her.¡± For a split second, the stone mask from behind which the Primarina observed the world cracked into doubt, before correcting itself once more. Aria wanted to scream, but it would¡¯ve been for naught. ¡°^Anne?^¡± she whispered. ¡°^An Elder is asking you to take your glasses off.^¡± The human girl was no less confused about the purpose of that, but could tell from her guardian¡¯s tone that there was nothing either of them could do about it. Her little body shook even harder after the world had returned to an indistinct blur, the unknown not even her eyes could reveal growing that much more terrifying. ¡°Thank you,¡± the Primarina said. Without any further words being exchanged, Anne could only try to make out the already present scouts, half-blind, and watch as the rest of them showed up, one by one. Magenta and violet of a ghost scarred by humanity. Metallic red of an unnerved tinkerer. White and blue of a once-exile. Blue and black of a scornful watcher. Brown and green of a cheerful mother. Metal blue and black of a protector of his ingroup. Purple and tan of a once-battler. Black and red of a kin-blind shadow of the woods. White and green of a devoted guardian. White and green of a... Aria stared at her brother as he stepped in, hoping to see confidence and reassurance. Instead, there was only quiet thoughtfulness, one that refused to show its hand, and guilt that only barely let him look his sister in the eyes. Once Marco sat down, the Gardevoir turned to the girl beside her one last time, passing her a simple, telepathic question, ¡°^Do you want me to translate what¡¯s being said?^¡± Anne chewed through the offer, already withdrawn and spaced out from all the dangerous-feeling strangers in the room. She knew she should¡¯ve been brave enough for this, to face what was going on around her, to at least have the courage to hear what understandable objections some present might have had to her being here, But she couldn¡¯t. It was just too terrifying a thought. ¡°~N-n-no...~¡± she whimpered. ¡°^Of course, sweetie. It¡¯s all good, I¡¯m here for you.^¡± The Gardevoir held the girl as close as she could, stroking her hair as she watched the Torkoal slowly pick herself up into a standing position and take a step forward. Then another, and third still, squinting eyes glancing around the room for the final count. And then; she spoke, voice heavy as a mountain, ¡°Let us begin.¡± Chapter 29: Thirteen ¡°Let us begin.¡± The three words echoed through the tent, forcing all that had heard them to let go of any external distractions for however long all this was going to take. No matter how derisive anyone here was of either the human or the need for this entire procedure, they knew how important this discussion would be. Because of the precedent. Because of the impact it would have on their future. Because of an innocent life being on the line. ¡°Let me restate the purpose we are gathered here for: to discuss what we should do with Anne, the human in our midst, and vote on a specific plan of action. Does everyone present agree with that purpose,¡± Ana spoke in her flat, grinding voice, delivering more words nobody could deny, but which most flinched at. One after the other, all thirteen participants nodded, silently or otherwise. No room or reason to delay. ¡°Perfect,¡± the Torkoal continued. ¡°In that case, I ask for the events that led us here to be restated, so that everyone may have access to the same information.¡± Aria lifted her hand before the Torkoal was even done¡ªthe only one to do so. Her eyes swept around the room as she gathered words, trying to get a feel of how others felt about it. Many of them avoided looking at her, or at the injured child beside her. Don¡¯t look away from the consequences, you cowards. ¡°Proceed, Aria.¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s arm shook as it caressed Anne¡¯s side, the sudden silence only making her huddle closer to her guardian. Unfortunately, she had to stop that affection for just a moment as she slid forward to speak up, reaching to hold the girl¡¯s hand instead, poking out of the blanket. With a deep breath, she recounted, ¡°^Three days ago, Anne attempted to escape from her human family, after having been abused by them for years. It resulted in her suffering an accident in the nearby woods, and afterwards she was found, grievously injured, in the ravine east of our village. Afterwards, Sprout had rescued her, and moved her over to our clinic.^¡± A motion in the corner of Aria¡¯s eye caught her attention. Celia looking not at her, not at Anne, but away and at the floor, still obscuring her mouth. ¡°Sprout, can you vouch for Aria¡¯s words?¡± the Torkoal asked. ¡°Yep I can, Elder Ana.¡± ¡°Proceed as you were.¡± ¡°^After she woke up, I and others talked to her for the next few days. She is approximately the same mental age as Cadence, withdrawn, and enjoys drawing. Most crucially for our proceedings, however, she has no human family to come back to¡ªnone she would be safe with. In addition, she used to be long-time friends with Ember, but thanks to Cinder¡¯s involvement, Ember didn¡¯t remember that until Marco and Autumn helped her uncover her memories.^¡± Aria¡¯s free hand shook, clenched into a fist, as she tried her hardest to maintain flat neutrality during her recollection. ¡°Marco, can you vouch for Aria¡¯s words?¡± An uncomfortably long moment of silence before the Gallade caught onto the words being said, eyes darting as if snapped out of deep thought. Then; he finally answered, ¡°Yes, I can, Elder Ana.¡± ¡°Proceed as you were.¡± ¡°^I believe that was everything that needed to be said about Anne¡¯s past for the time being, Elder Ana.^¡± A brief look from the Torkoal, discarded right away as she continued, ¡°Very well. Let us proceed into the discussion of what should be done¡ª¡± Immediately, several limbs raised up to offer their perspectives. Sprout, Lucere, Winnie, Ruby¡ªAria¡¯s too, snapped upwards so quickly she didn¡¯t even consciously realize it until afterwards. One sweep around the gathered scouts, another, Ana made her choice. ¡°Proceed, Ruby.¡± The Weavile took a deep breath as she stepped forward, speaking up in a tense, but confident tone, ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, the answer is simple. We do the same thing we¡¯d do with any other creature in that situation, and give her shelter.¡± It took only seconds for someone to speak out-of-order afterwards. ¡°But we can¡¯t!¡± Lucere cried. ¡°Humans sure as hell aren¡¯t like us; we wouldn¡¯t be hiding from them if they were! Come on, why are we even arguing about any of this!? Humans have never ever accepted us as equals, and never will!¡± The Altaria underlined her thrust by pointing her cloudy wing in Anne¡¯s general direction, the girl thankfully too blind to notice. Unfortunately, she still heard the spirited chirping that others perceived as speech, and could tell it was being said at her. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no choice but to shrink and look down at the floor like a scolded pet. It took Aria a lot of self control to not snap back at that, especially with how much of Lucere¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t even focused on anything going on here. Images of long past trauma, her own exile, the faces of the ones she once called family shifting into monstrous caricatures of Anne¡¯s face. Unfortunate, but no less loathsome in the current situation. ¡°Lucere, wait in li¡ª¡± ¡°And on what bloody authority do you claim that, Lucere?¡± Rose asked, cutting Ana¡¯s scolding off with her own as her eyes glared at and through the Altaria. The Dragon-type recognized a challenge when she heard one, not even thinking about backing down. ¡°Just look at what they did to Cypress! Both that awful ball thing and how much their brainwashed pets had hurt them! They¡¯re shaking even now for frickin¡¯ crying out loud; how could you think they¡¯re anything but this monstrous¡ª¡± ¡°Enough...¡± ¡°¡ªthing that will hurt us the first chance they get!? That¡¯s just the most na?ve thing I¡¯ve ever heard! What Rose, are you gonna claim that this pet human here would ever have more empathy for¡ª¡± ¡°Enough...¡± ¡°¡ªone of ours, something they all only try to control, than one of their own that our Cypress had messed up in self-defense¡ª¡± ¡°ENOUGH.¡± The ghastly outburst echoed through the tent as the Altaria suddenly stared the Mismagius in the eye. Their Astonish was effective, but the ghost was well aware they had to speak or else she¡¯d just continue rambling forever. ¡°Cypress¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, my experience was mortifying,¡± the ghost continued, cutting Ana off. ¡°Earlier today, a human trainer had attempted to capture me with one of their spherical contraptions. Afterwards, once I broke out, I attacked them, and their trained mon fought back in their name...¡± Everyone else being caught up to speed made them gasp at what they assumed to have been a far more innocuous accident on their scouting duty. Shock, concern, worry, all justified¡ªnone of those useful in the moment as long as they remained aimed at the Mismagius. ¡°It left scars in my mind and my physical presence that I am unsure will ever fully heal. It made me fear the power the human contraptions possess at their worst¡­¡± Cypress kept going, floating back to their spot as the emotions in their voice waned by the word, revealing only more pain. ¡°But the evil humanity is capable of, on the whole, is far from any singular human¡¯s actions. None of us are defined by our kin. And for anyone here to imply that dear Anne should be judged under the criteria that they would find loathsome when aimed at them, is a peak of hypocrisy...¡± After getting their rebuke out, the Mismagius shrunk a bit in their seat. They tried to avoid wincing as their recent injury acted up¡ªwincing too loudly, at least. Aria felt no less sorry for them than everyone else, but another emotion took up much of her mind instead¡ªgratitude. She looked at the ghost as they finished recoiling from their pain, offering them a weak smile and an even weaker nod. Hopefully, she would feel similarly stupid for ever doubting others here. ¡°In addition,¡± Cypress continued, ¡°I would prefer ¡®Mr.¡¯ Cypress for the rest of this¡ª¡± ¡°This is insanity! These human spheres are tools of subjugation and mind control! How can we be sure Cypress¡¯s and Rose¡¯s memories are even believable? Why, this foul human¡¯s presence is no doubt bringing back their influence over them! How are we to know that this thing being here isn¡¯t making them both give in to their conditioning!?¡± Winnie ranted, his words mostly received with eye rolls and held-in groans, but... there was a kernel of truth to them. Indeed, they didn¡¯t really know about how these human things worked, and whether they didn¡¯t have a lingering component to them that was affecting the Mismagius in particular. It was immensely foolish to outright accuse them of that, but... what if? Regardless of how much their experiences had conditioned them, the two scouts that had been called into question sure weren¡¯t happy about it. Cypress shook in place in a way that Anne would¡¯ve recognized as a seizure if she could make it out. Rose, however, was one snap impulse from making everyone present¡ªand the Breloom in particular¡ªregret having a sense of smell. Before she could get wound up further, though, the Decidueye beside her stepped in, ¡°At that point, why not doubt everyone, eh!? For fuck¡¯s sake, why not doubt YOU, you old bastard!? How do YOU know you aren¡¯t under some ancient psychic influence that will turn you against us all the moment something happens you disagree with!?¡± As opposed to Rose¡¯s theoretical loss of temper, Sprout¡¯s would at least only result in one person¡¯s suffering. Regardless of whether he was unaware of how much he was tempting fate or considered himself above any consequences, Winnie cared little for the Grass-type¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s preposterous!!! Why, if Orion heard all this, of his most trusted aide being accused of acting on ulterior motives, he would be outraged, just as outraged as he would be at the sight of this human in our midst! My thoughts are only for the best of our village and our people, ONLY!!!¡± As much as she preferred being a passive listener to the increasingly spirited exchange, Aria couldn¡¯t let that one slide. Her head snapped towards the Breloom; the motion combined with her fierce expression taking Anne aback as the Gardevoir spoke, ¡°^And theirs aren¡¯t!? Need I remind you, Elder Winnie, that this is a home to us all, and all of us are trying to act in its best interest?^¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s mental whisper only barely avoided escalating into full-on shouting, something that couldn¡¯t be said for the Elder¡¯s reply. ¡°Bah! Obviously not, if you are willing to keep this affront to our safety here!?¡± That¡¯s it, Aria¡¯s heard enough; this deserved a rant of her own. The Torkoal obviously thought so as well, her head craned towards her fellow Elder as she was about to chide him¡ª ¡°Ahem.¡± In an instant, Celia¡¯s Disarming Voice had tempered everyone¡¯s not-unearned desire to throw hands into mere disappointment, while drawing their attention back to her. The sudden wave of mental coolness it had brought with itself also shook Cypress out of the flashback his mind was siccing on him, letting him focus on the matter at hand. It only lasted a moment, but Aria still noticed the flash of emotion on the Primarina¡¯s face. For just a split-second, her azure eyes drilled into Winnie¡¯s side, the tiniest amount of mute fury leaking from behind her mask-like flipper¡ªand then, an instant later, she was back to how she was before, waiting for Ana to continue. Before the Torkoal could do so, though, Aria heard another voice from much closer up, one much more scared at the sudden shift she had just felt, ¡°~W-what just happened?~¡± As quiet as she had tried to be, many of the keen-eared scouts still heard the human girl clearly, making them look at her in unison. She couldn¡¯t see many details, but she definitely saw that. It made her withdraw further; stare anywhere but at the many eyes judging her, silently hoping they would spare her in time. Whether they would do so; remained to be seen. ¡°^One of the Elders calmed everyone down with Disarming Voice, sweetie,^¡± Aria explained with a telepathic whisper. It was appreciated, but Anne had no time to process it before more untranslated noises had reached her, slow and grinding, ¡°I would advise everyone here to not make accusations of anyone else having been compromised.¡± Ana¡¯s tone might¡¯ve been only slightly more forced than normal, but that still represented a significant shift the ones present were well aware of. The Torkoal had nothing even resembling a ¡®casual¡¯ voice, but she sure had a ¡®super serious¡¯ voice, and it was what she had just used. ¡°That aside, let me put a new point forward. The two extremes of flatly letting or not letting her stay are insufficient, considering the delicacy of this situation.¡± The Gardevoir might¡¯ve rolled her eyes at the attempted watering down of Anne¡¯s right to safety, but it still grabbed the interest of many others¡ªmuch to her dismay. ¡°Aria, you have mentioned she does not have a family to return to,¡± Ana continued. ¡°That is highly unfortunate, but does not, by itself, preclude her being reintroduced to human society. Many of our little ones have been adopted over the years, and I assume that humanity has a social construct analogous to that. With that in mind, I find it hard to imagine there not being a way to return her to the human world through that alternative, adoption based method.¡± Ana had to pause for breath afterwards, deeply unused to speaking this much all at once. As she did, everyone else thought through her words, many with interest. Regrettably, Aria didn¡¯t remember enough of her chat with Olive to say it with certainty. She was rather sure, though, that the old woman had raised¡ªand dismissed¡ªthat exact point. Thankfully, she wouldn¡¯t have to be the one to poke holes into Ana¡¯s fence-sitting idea. ¡°And what would that method be?¡± the Skuntank asked, cutting through to the root of the problem with just a few words. She stared deep into the Fire-type¡¯s squinting eyes as she spoke, slicing through the veneer of neutrality and objectivity. It made Ana shiver, about to speak up before faltering. Because, indeed, the Torkoal had no answer¡ªnobody did. It required the knowledge about human society that no mon present had, and which Anne likely didn¡¯t have either. And even if she did, Ana wasn¡¯t deluding herself about her giving them all the information which would replace her safety here with anything less. Aria flinched at seeing Lumi¡¯s maw open. He was ready to butt right in with something she doubted anyone else wanted to hear¡ªbut then; he stopped himself. Instead, he looked over at the Gardevoir, at the human beside her, and laid down on the floor, eyes narrowed. Before the Torkoal could find her grounding again, Rose continued, ¡°Are you gonna keep theorizin¡¯ and fumblin¡¯ your way through the human society, all that effort, just to come up with a way of tossing her?¡± The accusation in her words was clear, and if not for the rest of the discussion having already loosened Ana¡¯s grip on the situation, she would¡¯ve spoken up with a warning at least. For now, she had to let it slide. That didn¡¯t mean that nobody else would end up picking up her rhetorical mantle, though. ¡°What else are we to do, then?¡± Lariat asked. ¡°Even if they¡¯re not all evil, humans are still unlike us. She will never be one of us.¡± The Lucario¡¯s words were delivered without Lucere¡¯s or Winnie¡¯s venom, earning everyone¡¯s benefit of the doubt. And, without the bigotry of the aforementioned two, a point did remain. A dreadful point, a point that Aria dismissed entirely... but which deserved to be dismissed out loud. It wasn¡¯t easy to keep her emotions in check after hearing that the innocent child beside her would never be thought of on equal terms with others. Still, she managed it¡ªit was obviously true. It was time to use her hard-earned calmness for good. The Gardevoir spoke, ¡°^I have spent much time with her, Lariat. For how vicious humanity is, and while us hiding from them is justified, humans as people aren¡¯t as unlike us as they might appear.^¡± She underlined her point by applying some gentle psychic affection on top of Anne¡¯s head. The magical touch could only do so much, but it still helped the little one remain calm at the growls echoing through the room as the psychic continued, ¡°^They look different, they act different in their society, but to me it¡¯s clear that these are differences of nurture, not nature, many of them skin-deep. Humans desire everything we do¡ªsecurity, love, comfort, kinship. There is nothing inherent to the human psyche that would make them incompatible with us as people.^¡± The Lucario wasn¡¯t quite convinced. And with every vote mattering here, she kept going; kept comforting the girl beside her. ¡°^I will not deny that she is unfamiliar with a lot of what we are and are capable of. She did express surprise when me and Autumn first spoke to her. I felt her shock at realizing we were people just like her, and that the same was true of others. She was wrong about these, but it wasn¡¯t caused by hate, merely ignorance.^¡± Aria paused, briefly doubting whether it was a good idea to bring up the tangent she was about to¡ªbefore going for it, anyway. It wouldn¡¯t make her look good, but it was an unmistakable fact, and she knew it applied to others here besides just her. ¡°^I know I can only speak for myself, but the experience of realizing other living beings beyond just my kin are people too isn¡¯t alien to me. I imagine it¡¯s not alien to anyone who grew up in an insular environment. For as large as it is, humanity is insular in a very similar way, especially in how it treats mons. But it¡¯s not something we can¡¯t act against.^¡± After letting go of Anne¡¯s hand, Aria wrapped her entire arm around the girl, holding her tight. ¡°^Tolerance isn¡¯t an inherent goodness. We already have to teach it to many newcomers, be it bluntly or in more covert ways. If anything, Anne is ahead of the curve in that regard. She acknowledges her ignorance, and wants to learn more about us, about how to coexist here.^¡± The Gardevoir had no delusions that her explanation would only reach those that were already open to being persuaded. All she hoped for was that the said group was large enough to guarantee Anne¡¯s safety once the vote came¡ªboth now, and for the rest of her life afterwards. As her words settled into gathered minds, a red pincer shot upright beside her. Aria was quite sure Ori hadn¡¯t spoken up at all yet, making her nod towards him that much more hesitant. Worst-case scenario, she¡¯d at least gauge the room some more, but that wasn¡¯t much of a reprieve. ¡°There is one difference between us and humans that goes much deeper than tolerance or its absence. We have access to moves, whereas they do not,¡± the Scizor brought up. ¡°And that matters for what exactly?¡± Ruby snapped back, staring the Bug-type down. He wasn¡¯t intimidated, already gathering words¡ªonly for the Weavile to continue. ¡°If not having moves was a deal-breaker, we would¡¯ve thrown our newly hatched out to die, and we¡¯re obviously not doing that.¡± Ori rolled his eyes. ¡°That is clearly a fallacious idea, Ruby.¡± ¡°Sure doesn¡¯t feel like it with how you¡¯ve phrased it, Ori. But alright then¡ªwhat about Max? What about others that, for whatever reason, can¡¯t use their moves anymore, be it because of disability or age? Nobody cares about something trivial like that¡ªnobody should, at least.¡± While the Weavile¡¯s first point wasn¡¯t taken seriously, the second one did get its hooks in people. Aria was glad that she wasn¡¯t the one that would have to bring the Meowstic up, sliding her hand down for Anne to hold. ¡°~Is that Weavile angry at me?~¡± Anne whispered, drawing more unwelcome attention to herself. This time at least, the onlookers caught onto Aria¡¯s terse glare that awaited their overly curious eyes, pushing their gazes away. ¡°^No, no she¡¯s not, sweetie,^¡± the Gardevoir explained. ¡°^She¡¯s arguing in your favor right now.^¡± Anne¡¯s relief at someone here standing up for her was palpable¡ªas was the inward jab that shook her mind soon after. At having cast doubt on a mon because of their species, again. The Gardevoir¡¯s affection pushed the girl away from that self-inflicted stress. In the meantime, Sprout picked up the discussion. ¡°All that aside¡ªshe¡¯s a defenseless child! Even if she was different from us, why¡¯d it matter, eh!? Because, guess what, all of us are different, both from each other and from what many think of as ¡®fine¡¯.¡± The looks of uncertainty from around the room weren¡¯t difficult to pick up on, including from Aria. Sprout¡¯s wording wasn¡¯t very clear¡ªthe elaboration that followed, though, was. ¡°Lemme be as blunt as I have to be then, ha! Some of us, both in the village and in this very tent, are profoundly fucked up from our pasts. We aren¡¯t all ¡®fine¡¯, we aren¡¯t all ¡®normal¡¯; a difference like that makes a much larger impact than how someone looks. And yet, we don¡¯t turn people away. Even if they have so much trauma in them it bleeds from their mouths.¡± Almost everyone present felt targeted, to some extent, by her words. It was a direct, arguably underhanded jab, enough to earn her more than a single glare from others. And yet, befitting her kin, it hit true, making them all think. Even if some still disagreed with it. ¡°This is different, though,¡± the Luxray argued. ¡°Our pasts or not, our kin or not, these differences don¡¯t add up to larger than being a human. Come on, Sprout. Keeping a human here would be unlike anyone¡ªanything earlier!¡± The Decidueye wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Yes Lumi, it would be different. Just how, before I got here, keeping a Decidueye here would¡¯ve been unlike anyone that came before. New people join all tha time, some of them of kin so wild none of us here have heard of them!¡± Sprout might not have been pointing at the Primarina, but she very much thought about her. ¡°These are obviously not the same!¡± the Luxray argued. ¡°How, Lumi, pray tell?¡± ¡°WE ARE GOING IN CIRCLES.¡± Ana¡¯s raised voice cut the Luxray off before he could come up with another non-answer. Neither Lumi nor Sprout agreed with that claim, but knew better than to keep pushing a tangent like that¡ªespecially with more important topics looming on the horizon. ¡°If anyone has a more salient point to raise, please do so,¡± Ana continued. An array of arms shot up at her call¡ªMarco¡¯s first of all. The Gallade had remained almost entirely quiet until now, uncharacteristic of him enough to draw the Fire-type¡¯s attention. Not even his sister had noticed that, making her check up on how he felt. And gasping under her breath. ¡°Go ahead, Marco.¡± After being prompted, the Fighting-type stood up and rolled his shoulders. His exhaustion was clear to see despite his best attempts to obscure it¡ªcould only do so much with most of his front still burned. It slowed him down, but only for a moment. Soon after, he began, ¡°^As some of you may know, two days ago, a human from their nearby town ventured over in search of Anne.^¡± An uneven response. The Elders were well aware, as were a few of his fellow scouts, but far from all. The latter group leaned in further, eyes narrowed as the Gallade continued, ¡°^Myself, Aria, and Lumi apprehended her before she, or her mon companions, could get too close to our village.^¡± ¡°Do you vouch for that, Aria? Lumi?¡± The Gardevoir was unsure where her brother was taking that entire tangent, but didn¡¯t like his pensive state one bit. Still, that much having happened was inarguable. ¡°^Yes.^¡± / ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°Proceed as you were.¡± ¡°^After interrogating her for a while, the human''s group accompanied Lumi and Aria to the human town. There, they, with her help, acquired many items that either once belonged to Anne, or which would prove invaluable to her in case she stayed here. Once they were done, Aria erased the human¡¯s and their companions¡¯ memories of the incident.^¡± Lucere only barely kept herself from raising her voice at the insanity she just heard described, and Lariat was no better. It was only that final clarification that calmed them¡ªand Winnie¡ªback down, preventing any more outbursts. Aria remained silent, but increasingly tense as the fear of the worst-case scenario surged in her mind. ¡°~I-is that Marco?~¡± Anne whispered. Her guardian was too focused to even respond to her words, only holding her hand even firmer. Same was true of most others. As absurd as the actions described already were, the Gallade clearly wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°P-proceed, Marco,¡± Ana urged, not immune to the anxiety gripping the room. ¡°^It appears that, because of the emotional intensity of their encounter, the memory removal wasn¡¯t entirely effective. I investigated the situation just in case, and found the human, Olive, still remembering the events.^¡± Aria¡¯s heart skipped a beat after another as she stared at her brother. Thankfully, her shock came off as being horrified at having failed in her duties, and not of her little secret having been revealed to an audience that would tear her to shreds for it. Aside from her, there was only one being in the room who realized the Gallade was lying. Before the Luxray would speak up, though, the Torkoal cut him off, her voice an inch away from fainting, ¡°Did you erase their memories, then?¡± ¡°^No, I did not.^¡± The gasps that went through the tent were well audible even outside of it. Eleven pairs of eyes stared at the upright psychic in shock, one in relief, and one in scared confusion. Marco knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before that first group demanded answers, and so he continued before anyone could shout him down, ¡°^I¡­ considered it, for a moment. But, after having interacted with her, I am confident it is in our best interest she remains aware of us.^¡± He angled his body towards Rose, vaguely gesturing in her direction, ¡°^I have no doubt of her dedication to keep the knowledge of us secret from humanity at large. She cares about Anne more than anything else, and if it takes helping a village of mons to give the girl a loving home, then that¡¯s what she¡¯ll do.^¡± Snarls from the Elders and scouts alike, disregarded for now. ¡°^The human world had already cast a doubt on Olive because of what happened when Aria and Lumi accompanied her. She¡¯s already had an opportunity to betray us all to save herself from consequences¡ªand she hasn¡¯t. I¡¯ve talked to her. She¡¯s hurt about us having tried to wipe her memory¡ªand deservedly so. Even despite that, she remained dedicated to helping Anne, and us, out. I strongly believe her help will be vital. Even those of us who have extensively interacted with humanity remain very ignorant about many of its aspects. The talk I¡¯ve had with her was very illuminating in that regard¡ªand terrifying.^¡± Not even the Skuntank knew what he meant¡ªonce he continued, though, it became obvious. ¡°^Let me elaborate. We¡¯re all aware of the human contraptions, but they go far further than any of us, even Rose or Geiger, knew about. During Aria¡¯s and Lumi¡¯s excursion, the former was spotted despite her psychic disguise. Not by a human, but by one of their machines, a metal eye that can see through disguises and which our psychics can¡¯t see.^¡± Not even his sister could resist gasping in shock at her disguise failing, especially in such a fashion. Her immediate thoughts mirrored those of her brother when this shocking reality was first revealed to him¡ªhow come nobody acted shocked? How did she not sense it? How many of her past interventions have been compromised by one of these ¡®cameras¡¯ seeing her even though the human using them didn¡¯t? Just a few meters away, two of the Elders thought back, way back, to Orion¡¯s many tales. He¡¯d used very different words to describe it, but they were nigh-certain he was talking about the same contraption as Marco. It unnerved him enough to birth ideas of moving their village underground, just to avoid its stray gaze. ¡°That is an immense breach of security, Marco. How do¡ª¡± ¡°^I¡¯m not finished yet, Elder Ana.^¡± It was about to get so much worse. ¡°Proceed, then,¡± the Torkoal muttered, aghast. ¡°^You are correct, that is a breach of security, and if one of their cameras were to unknowingly see our village, it might end up spelling doom for us all,^¡± the Gallade reiterated. And then, he took the deepest breath of his life, and dropped the hammer, ¡°^And it has already happened. Their flying contraptions we sometimes see overhead, they¡¯ve been scanning the world with their ¡®cameras¡¯. They have spotted us among the trees from high in the clouds. We are visible there, on their maps, Olive showed it to me. And we have been for years.^¡± Panic. ¡°This¡ªTHIS IS TREASON!¡± Winnie screeched, by far the loudest and the easiest to ignore in the room. ¡°How come neither Geiger nor Rose have told us about this?¡± Lariat question, calm tone cracking into immense suspicion as his crimson eyes stared into the Skuntank¡ªand she stared back, not appreciating it any. ¡°We need to evacuate as soon as we can, to a location where we can avoid that threat,¡± Ana began, before being cut off¡ª ¡°Where!?¡± Rose shouted, cutting the Torkoal off once more as her reasonable-sounding point was challenged. Once more, Ana couldn¡¯t answer, soon yielding under the Poison-type¡¯s glare as the latter spoke up, no less unnerved by this development, ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of none of that, Lariat. I s¡¯pose it only makes sense with how fast their technology keeps growing. Did any of ya think humans remained as they are while we grew in ¡®ere? We ain¡¯t static, neither are they.¡± It was a sobering reminder for those that needed to hear it. A reminder of their existential threat not being some narrow force dedicated to bringing them down, but a massive, living thing in its own right. Ever-growing because of a combined ingenuity of billions. The realization made the Primarina¡¯s eyes shoot wide open as they stared at the central firepit, unusually unfocused. ¡°But if we panic and run without having a proper plan, how¡¯ll we know that somethin¡¯ like this won¡¯t happen all over again!?¡± Rose argued. ¡°They¡¯ll keep changing, they¡¯ll keep growin¡¯, and even if Annie here stays with us, it won¡¯t be for no good with her being separated from the rest of humanity. We can¡¯t fight against something we don¡¯t know nothing about, we can¡¯t even hide. We need to know what¡¯s goin¡¯ on in the human world¡ªand an informant we can trust, like that Olive, might just save our hides.¡± The Skuntank¡¯s rant had reached a few of the gathered minds, though many more were still too choked by fear to think about anything but their immediate future. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even matter! If our village is compromised, we have to get out of here fast! We have to leave the girl behind, maybe with Ember so that they can stay together, leave that wanna-be human with them too¡ªand get going, we don¡¯t have any time to waste!¡± Lumi screeched, his panicking parody of a plan drawing uncertainty and anger alike from around the room¡ªthe latter from both of the psychic siblings. The mention of a ¡®wanna-be human¡¯ raised a few eyebrows, but it was lost in the noise. Anne whimpered at the Luxray gesturing in her general direction, catching half the room¡¯s attention. She had no idea just how much of it was out of either sympathy or feeling sorry for her. ¡°Lumi, if you sincerely think that plan to be sound, I would love to observe you trying to convince Cinder of its validity...¡± Cypress snickered. The Electric-type dismissed that point soon after, sweeping the Delphox into his panicking plan. ¡°She can stay then if that¡¯s what she wants so much!¡± ¡°^I¡¯m not leaving Anne alone, either,^¡± Aria muttered, stressing her grim words by holding the girl close to her side, the sudden motion startling Anne a bit. The Gardevoir tried making up for it with some psychic affection, but it could only do so much with how heavy the fear hung over her. Over them all. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°^And neither am I.^¡± Marco followed, earning himself a sideways glance from his sister, unsure if he really meant what she thought he did. And then, a flashed smile and a nod later, it all became clear. ¡°^Nor the rest of our family,^¡± Aria continued. ¡°^I¡¯ve talked with Geiger about this earlier¡ªif we¡¯re all spineless enough to leave Anne to die, then he¡¯s leaving with us. And he definitely won¡¯t be the only one to do so.^¡± ¡°Damn right he won¡¯t.¡± Sprout muttered, her affirmation lighting a fire in the Gardevoir¡¯s soul. It made hope feel so much easier, even if fleetingly. Winnie tried screeching once more, ¡°That¡¯s blatant INTIMIDAT¡ª¡± ¡°At that point, everyone left behind will be a larger security hazard than a stray human aware of us...¡± Ruby muttered. Her point flew over a few heads¡ªas shown, soon after, by the Altaria. ¡°What do you mean, of course they won¡¯t be! They wouldn¡¯t betray us!¡± ¡°No, Ruby is right,¡± Ana shuddered. ¡°It is not about overt betrayal, it is about those left being either spotted by accident, or captured and interrogated by human forces.¡± Her voice was shallow, accompanied by what passed for her as hyperventilation. Before she even knew it, this entire session had turned from deciding a fate of a child, to steering the direction of their village as a whole. Something neither she, nor the other Elders, had ever felt equipped to handle. ¡°What do you mean about it not being about betrayal, Elder Ana?¡± The Lucario asked, the grasp on the discussion having slipped from him. The Torkoal didn¡¯t care for having to spell something so obvious to her out loud, but thought it appropriate if it would get everyone present on the same page¡ªeven those who usually only thought in terms of loyalty and close-knit kinship groups, and just extrapolated that thinking to their entire village. ¡°None of this was ever about betrayal. I doubt even Anne would¡¯ve ever betrayed us. The risk of letting her stay, in letting her go, isn¡¯t about betrayal. It¡¯s about us being compromised by accident, or out of hastiness.¡± And for those so concerned with loyalty, seeing three of their coworkers stand firmly in the human¡¯s defense made an impact, too. As if Lumi¡¯s idea hadn¡¯t been discredited enough, Aria soon had another realization that only doomed it even further. ¡°^Besides, removing Anne¡¯s memories wouldn¡¯t give us any more safety in that case than letting her keep them. Even if we all up and left tomorrow, we¡¯d still leave many signs of our habitation here unless we tore it all into dust.^¡± The sheer paranoia gripping many of the gathered didn¡¯t let them see a problem in that approach. Even they saw the obvious issue pointed right after, though, grimacing at the thought as the Gardevoir continued, ¡°^Hundreds of living beings all heading in the same direction all at once would leave an obvious trail, too. But even if we made a clear getaway¡ªcan you imagine how disturbed the humans would be to find a ¡®lost¡¯ child after several days, with no idea what had happened despite having received medical help? Even a pitiful psychic would realize there was memory manipulation involved. And that''s without even mentioning Ember suddenly resurfacing with her.^¡± Fine details of altering memories weren¡¯t something anyone but Aria could argue about, leaving even those that really, really wanted her to shut up without verbal fuel. ¡°^All that is the point I¡¯ve been trying to get across,^¡± Marco spoke up again. ¡°^If we panic and thoughtlessly run away from those dangers, we¡¯ll only crash into new ones, sooner or later. Keeping Olive as our informant is a risk, yes, but it¡¯s a risk that could save us from many, many more down the line if we take a measured approach.^¡± The Gallade summary once more left the room quiet; thought clear on the faces of many gathered. There wasn¡¯t much difference between Ana¡¯s eyes being closed and open, but those that knew her could tell they were the former. Ori turned similarly thoughtful, chewing through the uncomfortable dilemma. ¡°If those... ¡®cameras¡¯ are really such a problem, can we not hide behind something?¡± Lariat proposed. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ll just have to learn to hide better! I remember someone saying we could move underground; wouldn¡¯t that help?¡± Lucere followed. Marco tried to maintain as much composure as could at their responses, only keeping himself from burying his face into his palm by the sheer force of will. Meanwhile, the Luxray continued, ¡°That ¡®small risk¡¯ isn¡¯t worth it. It¡¯s still allying with humans; it¡¯s a start of a slippery slope that is gonna end us all.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say to ally with all the humans, Lumi,¡± the Weavile sneered. ¡°Just one human, whom we have good reason to already trust. Though... yes, it¡¯s still a difficult thing to consider.¡± ¡°It certainly does sound difficult, dear Ruby. There is the important distinction of it being a risk we can control, as opposed to a passive one we are on the whims of...¡± Winnie screeched, ¡°ANY human interaction is an unacceptable risk, for Orion¡¯s sake! By the gods, would he weep if he saw what all of you were doing with his legacy!¡± ¡°Sure doubt that, you moldy thing. That aside¡ªyeah, we need to know more about humans, all of us. Need I remind some of you that four of y¡¯all couldn¡¯t even open a single darn human bag on your own?¡± Sprout reminded, her callout downright quaint compared to the tension suffocating the air, forcing the weakest chuckle out of the Gardevoir. And then, soon after, a point of her own. ¡°^We couldn¡¯t even keep deceiving Anne for more than a few hours, despite her being as blind as she is right now. We know precariously little, it¡¯s a miracle we¡¯ve survived for as long as we have.^¡± With blood having returned to her still-pale face, Aria dared to offer Anne her hand again. She knew full well her confidence wouldn¡¯t last, but appreciated its sudden burst all the same. ¡°Damn right it is, hun. If anythin¡¯, it¡¯s also a testament to even that new camera risk not being as dire as we¡¯re all frettin¡¯¡ªif they been knowing about us for years and still haven¡¯t done anything, then it sure don¡¯t sound like we have to act here and now. Get a plan, sure, but keep sane about it, too,¡± Rose reminded. Once she was done, the tent fell into tense silence once more. A low, grinding hum came from inside the Torkoal, letting everyone know she was about to speak again, and to not interrupt her. Or, at least, it let those aware of what it meant know that. ¡°~What was everyone talking about...?~¡± Anne asked, her whispers more confused than they were scared for once, especially at Marco¡¯s substantial presence in the discussion that had just happened. Aria shuddered as she tried to come up with words, ultimately settling on just being blunt, ¡°^We talked about Olive, and how she could help us out.^¡± The almost-blind girl nodded weakly at the telepathic words; hard to process because of exhaustion and tension. It took a while for her to do so, but she eventually did¡ªand gasped; everyone¡¯s hearts skipping a beat at the sound, ¡°~M-Mrs. Graham!?~¡± Anne didn¡¯t have to see to know everyone was staring at her at the sudden noise. She shifted her gaze to the ground before her, avoiding even coming close to looking anyone in the eye. Once both she and the onlookers had calmed down, the Torkoal spoke once more, voice sunken, ¡°Even if we were to thoroughly plan it out, having to relocate would cause an immense upheaval that could spell our doom.¡± Her words were true¡ªas were the ones that followed. ¡°^Upheaval, yes. One that could very well save our lives in the long term.^¡± With his closing statement provided, Marco finally sat down, failing to keep his winces in. The day had already been profoundly exhausting, physically and mentally. He wasn¡¯t sure how much discussion he had left in himself. Feeling his sister¡¯s radiant pride helped a lot in keeping him going, though. With the silence filling the room, the Torkoal called out again, ¡°If anyone has another topic to raise, please do so.¡± This time, her call had no immediate results, the entire tent shrouded in uncertain fear over Marco¡¯s revelation. As good as Aria felt moments earlier, her good spirits didn¡¯t last when confronted with so much doubt, aimed every which way. At Marco, at her, at the friendly human that had alerted them to their ongoing demise. At the innocent child beside her. Thinking grew difficult, and she hoped the end was in sight. And so did Celia, quietly shuffling her cart-bound body forward as she prepared to speak up¡ªonly for Cypress¡¯ raised tentacle to cut her off. ¡°Yes, Cypress?¡± The ghost¡¯s body hurt as he gathered words, not enjoying the tension in the room any more than anyone else. It was nourishment, yes, but it was a putrid sort of fear, enough of it to make him grow nauseous. He didn¡¯t even need to be putting himself out here like this. It wasn¡¯t directly related to Anne¡¯s case, but... it still had implications for her, for them all. And who knew¡ªmaybe it would help convince someone, too. ¡°My point does not concern dear Anne directly. I wish to draw our attention over to the dear Phantump presently staying at our clinic, Sage. Dear Anne here, along with others, were instrumental in letting dear Sage remember her past¡ªand that she was once a human. Once she had rediscovered that fact, she expressed an interest in returning to her human home...¡± ¡°Oh poor, poor dear! Does she know where to go?¡± Sprout asked, worried. As warm as her words were towards the lost Phantump, most others were much more concerned with the idea¡¯s obvious risk. ¡°I doubt that her being allowed to rejoin humanity, after having stayed here, is desirable,¡± the Scizor spelled out. ¡°It poses a substantial security risk¡ª¡± ¡°Everythin¡¯ we do does, Ori! Each soul that joins us here makes us a bigger, clearer target if you ain¡¯t aware of that! We live in a world that doesn¡¯t want us to; the worst of humanity would have our pelts for amusement if it ever got their hands on us! Are ya gonna use ¡®risk¡¯ as an excuse to keep a child here against her will for our benefit!?¡± The Decidueye¡¯s outburst stirred a mix of emotions in the listeners. Obviously, nobody wanted to do such harm to someone they all saw as a child, and not as a threat. ¡°That¡¯s all nonsense¡ªthere¡¯s no way a human would ever come back as a mon! I¡¯m sure someone, maybe even this Anne girl, filled her mind with some confused fantasies!¡± Lumi roared. His point was blatantly incorrect, infuriatingly so. The Decidueye¡¯s eye twitched as the Mismagius shook in place, his usually crooked smile almost entirely straightened into a scowl. The Luxray wasn¡¯t just wrong; he was offensively wrong. And yet, his words paled compared to what the Breloom said soon after, ¡°If that is truly the case, and a human infiltrated our village that way, that makes that ghost a spy!¡± Without skipping a beat, Sprout screeched, ¡°SHE¡¯S A DEAD CHILD FOR FUCK¡¯S SAKE!¡± Anne slunk to hide behind Aria, as everyone else stared, stunned. They didn¡¯t need to be psychic to know acutely that if Winnie were to say a word more, the owl would do something they would both regret. And then she¡¯d do it as many more times as she had quills in her wings. For once, that group included the Breloom too, making him stay quiet despite how much he wanted to shriek about intimidation. Knowing Sprout though, all she¡¯d have responded to that claim with would¡¯ve been ¡®Good.¡¯. As the room reeled after that unexpected and yet not-unearned burst, the Skuntank stepped forward once more. ¡°Somethin¡¯ I wanna stress¡ªboth the Sage girl and Anne here are humans, ain¡¯t they? I know Sage no longer looks like one, sorry to hear, but now that she remembers her past she¡¯s pretty much a human in a dif¡¯rent body, right Cypress?¡± The Mismagius chewed on that idea for a moment or two, expression shifting in uncertainty. ¡°Not exactly, but... the more human memories she regains, the closer she¡¯ll be in personality to how she acted as a human, yes...¡± ¡°Right. She don¡¯t look like a human, but deep down she¡¯s still a human, and keenly wants to go back to humanity, right? Can¡¯t blame her, she¡¯s a child with a family. Whereas Annie here doesn¡¯t want that, even if she could come back to humans, her soul is here, right Aria?¡± Aria nodded weakly, too occupied by worry to go any further into it. ¡°Right! T¡¯me, where one¡¯s mind and soul are matters hella more than how they look. Sage¡¯s ain¡¯t here, Anne¡¯s is, ain¡¯t that all that oughta matter?¡± It was a rather abstract point that many gathered either didn¡¯t get, or didn¡¯t want to get. Despite that, the Gardevoir still felt a few minds thinking through it once Rose scooted back in line, especially Ori and Lariat. She doubted it¡¯d really settle in, but... she could still hope. All that she had left, really. ¡°That is a point of consideration, Rose, but one which still leaves unanswered security concerns,¡± Ana argued. ¡°Nobody else who leaves us does so with such a direct intent of joining humanity. Even absent any malice, I imagine her family to want to know what happened while she was away. We ought to act to ensure she does not compromise our safety.¡± The Torkoal had to catch her breath after barreling out so many words in a row, all of them sounding like a variation on a theme of rocks scraping against one another. Her even considering allowing something like that came as a surprise to some¡ªbut not all, especially not the scouts with children. The Fire-type being fond of little ones was such a badly kept secret many present would¡¯ve been surprised to know she still vehemently denied it. ¡°Malice is certainly absent from her... from what I sensed, she hasn¡¯t felt comfortable in our midst unless interacting with our dear Anne. I doubt she¡¯ll cling to our village in her memories...¡± Cypress reassured. ¡°But the risk remains,¡± Torkoal summed up. ¡°That it does...¡± ¡°Excising the memories of her stay here sounds like a preferred option, then.¡± Aria hated the sound of that. Even beyond memory manipulation at this scale having grown disgusting for her over the past few days, doing so with someone so young brought its own risks. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t alone in disagreeing, Cypress soon continuing, ¡°Alas, not. It was here where she remembered her past. To wipe her mind of what she had seen here would wrest those memories out of her grasp once more, would it not...?¡± The Gardevoir had no idea, and that by itself was enough to make it too risky to consider. ¡°^I don¡¯t know, and I¡¯d rather not find out the hard way.^¡± Aria wasn¡¯t as worried about the Phantump accidentally spilling something, especially with whoever she¡¯d tell being unlikely to believe her, but... she couldn¡¯t dismiss it entirely. Thankfully, there were more options beyond nothing and the unthinkable. ¡°^If I may, I have an idea that might be well suited for Sage¡¯s specific circumstances. Instead of removing the memories from her mind entirely, we could put a minor compulsion on her to discourage her from bringing them up. She would still remember them, but would find them boring, and she wouldn¡¯t think about them often.^¡± Aria hoped her brother wouldn¡¯t call her out on her bluff. What she¡¯d just described was possible, but it wasn¡¯t something she had any practice doing. It was more so her old clan¡¯s forte, often deployed against any humans living nearby. Fortunately, the Gallade just nodded along, not thinking much of his sister¡¯s doubts. ¡°But she would still remember, there would still be a risk¡ª¡± Ori argued. Before he could finish rehashing his earlier point, though, a flash of Sprout¡¯s glare stopped him in his tracks as Marco reminded, ¡°^We can¡¯t avoid all risk short of burying ourselves in a pit and rotting away.^¡± Marco¡¯s point drew glares, accurate as it was. Not the thing anyone here enjoyed thinking about, but it was their fate. They didn¡¯t have the blessing of safety and certainty many humans did, and yet they had to keep going. Step by step, into the agonizing unknown of tomorrow. As Aria dwelled on her earlier thoughts, more non-emotional arguments against dabbling in memory manipulation kept coming to her, making her follow up on her brother¡¯s words, ¡°^Not even cutting those memories whole would¡¯ve granted us that kind of safety, either. Just think about what had happened with Ember. Cinder had tried her absolute hardest to erase only very specific parts of her memories, it appeared like it worked... but after an entire year, we still managed to uncover them.^¡± The Scizor shuddered at the many flaws of a tool they had staked so much of their safety on being pointed out. It was easy to thoughtlessly point to the psychics when it came time to handle something dangerous or clean up after an incident. What was much harder, though, was coming up with an alternative. ¡°^Taking away Sage¡¯s or Anne¡¯s memories wouldn¡¯t just be cruel, it would almost certainly backfire,^¡± Aria explained. ¡°^They¡¯d know something had happened, they¡¯d quickly figure out there¡¯s a hole in their recollection they can¡¯t retrieve anything out of. There wouldn¡¯t even be any distraction, or deterrent of the tampered memories being traumatic, as in Ember¡¯s case.^¡± Marco picked up from where his sister had left off, ¡°^It¡¯s hard to overstate just how stressful a realization like that is, too. Ember had only clued into something being wrong with her memory, and it immediately reduced her to a nervous wreck that could barely speak. I can only imagine how much worse it¡¯d be in case of Sage or Anne, when it¡¯s everything from a few, very important days.^¡± ¡°^And even on a purely pragmatic level, their reactions would only draw attention to their memories having been tampered with. And as I¡¯ve said earlier, any Psychic will able to figure that one out,^¡± Aria shuddered. Anne felt a sensation of a warm blanket being wrapped around her body, pulling her closer to the Gardevoir as she continued, ¡°^The reason we¡¯ve been using memory manipulation in the past is that it¡¯s very effective with short, recent events. It¡¯s very easy to make someone un-see something they glimpsed but weren¡¯t meant to, and send them on their way. The more you have to remove, the more difficult and messier it gets. Past a certain point, all you¡¯re doing is inflicting needless harm.^¡± The gentle, petting touch along the girl¡¯s head made her body relax even as her mind remained on high alert and as Aria continued, ¡°^We¡¯re far past that point with both Anne and Sage, and I refuse to enact that kind of suffering.^¡± ¡°^And so do I.^¡± There wasn¡¯t a shred of doubt in the telepathic voices of either sibling. Aria still doubted whether it¡¯d be enough, though. After all, not having access to a ¡®merciful¡¯ solution might¡¯ve only encouraged the particularly paranoid to instead consider maintaining it with the blood of the innocents. Winnie wanted to shout at this blatant insubordination¡ªhe was the authority; how dare the scouts just disobey them like that? His eyes drilled into Aria¡¯s, into Marco¡¯s, but he kept himself from screeching for now¡ªafter all, he was still confident the rest of his council would back him up should it come down to it. And Aria worried about much the same. Before either their temper or their fear would bloom into something more drastic, though, one last voice interrupted the quiet, ¡°I have one more point, regarding dear Anne...¡± The Torkoal blinked, snapping herself out of her daze before letting the ghost continue. ¡°I worry about staying here posing a risk. Not to us, but to her. With how many of us think humans on the whole to be evil without redemption, great harm may come to her should anyone act on those thoughts...¡± Aria¡¯s psychic embrace grew even tighter, making it downright hard to move for the girl. Cypress wasn¡¯t wrong; it was a terrifying possibility which they¡¯d never be able to eliminate, short of talking with every single villager one-on-one. She wasn¡¯t the only one that felt a chill at the Mismagius¡¯ words, only adding to her fear. Yes, there was a risk, but it paled compared to the certainty of further suffering should Anne return to the human world. A risk they¡¯ve been fighting against for a while now, and which they wouldn¡¯t stop trying to manage¡ªbut would it be enough to sway those that saw the alternative as guaranteed safety? Her breaths grew shallow as she tried to keep a grasp on herself, the tent falling into deep silence around her. For the first time in hours, nobody had anything left to add, finally passing the discussion back to the Elders. And there was one Elder in particular that wanted to put her plan into action. ¡°If nobody wishes to broach a new subject, I would want to lead, and translate, a conversation between Anne and the Elders directly, on our own,¡± Celia explained, bringing confusion to those not present at the previous hearing, and uncertainty to the rest. Nobody, not even the other Elders, had any idea what she was planning. Aria was this close to refusing entirely, to snapping back against the cruel order and not letting the human girl leave her side. It was a doomed idea, and she was well aware, but... she could at least ask. ¡°^What will the purpose of that discussion be?^¡± ¡°That is for us Elders to know, not you¡ª¡± Winnie began, before the Primarina cut him off. ¡°Its purpose is for us three to ask Anne some personal questions. Nothing more, nothing less,¡± Celia explained, unflinching even as she stared straight into the Gardevoir. Her eyes were thoughtful, but Aria couldn¡¯t sense any lies within them. No lies, no malice. Either the Primarina was even better at hiding her true intentions than they all thought, or she was speaking the truth. Something told Aria it was the former, but a hunch was all she had. ¡°If there are no further questions, I want to ask you all to leave,¡± the Water-type continued. ¡°It will not take long.¡± Anne flinched at seeing the blurs corresponding to the mons stand up and heading for the tent¡¯s entrance, one after another. Was this it, was it all done? It couldn¡¯t have been, right? ¡°~Wh-what¡¯s happening?~¡± she asked, nervous. ¡°^The¡ªthe Elders want to talk to you directly, Anne, with nobody else present. I¡¯ll be right outside, but I won¡¯t let them hurt you.^¡± The possibility of being hurt didn¡¯t calm the human down any. She remembered the Gardevoir telling her about this earlier, but that didn¡¯t help with how scary it sounded. ¡°~O-okay... What do they want from me?~¡± Aria shuddered as she stood up to leave, the last one to do so. Without her fellow scouts, the tent looked hungry, terrifying even for her. ¡°^I don¡¯t know,^¡± she whispered, exiting the tent soon after. As the Gardevoir made her leave, a gust of icy wind snuck its way in from the outside. It made Anne shudder, but it wasn¡¯t all that big¨Ccertainly not big enough to have blown out the central firepit. She saw the white-blue blur¡ªthe one corresponding to the unknown ¡®Elder¡¯¡ªdo something right before the fire went out, but they probably just moved to get comfortable. Because what reasons would they have to just blow the fire out like that? Regardless of what exactly had happened, the tent was now shrouded in almost complete darkness. Anne kept anxiously touching her glasses just in case as she tried to discern anything around her. Nothing but smoldering cinders, nothing but the dim glow emanating from the holes in the Torkoal¡¯s shell. Just barely enough to make out the silhouettes of the three mons in here with her. Three mons, each more than capable of killing her before she could react, and one her, blind and defenseless. Anne wanted to hide, she wanted to get out of here, to do all the pathetic things she did when Aria first revealed herself to her¡ªanything but face the threats before her. But she knew she couldn¡¯t. There wouldn¡¯t be anyone that swooped in and suddenly brought her refuge, not this time. She only barely had the courage to keep looking in the Elders¡¯ direction as the tent grew colder, so much colder. Without the mons, without the fire, without Aria¡¯s intervention, whatever meager heat that had built up was draining through the walls fast, and the blanket she was wrapped up in could only do so much. Before she knew it, she was shaking in her seat as nothing kept happening. No words; no actions; no motion. Only her, the strangers, and the silent, freezing dark. And then, at last, a low, grinding sound. It came from the direction of the mons, but sounded so inanimate Anne didn¡¯t believe it could be speech. Moments later, the Torkoal picked themselves up, and slowly approached her, glowing spots moving along with them. Anne remained frozen in fear as the mon drew near, bringing warmth with themselves. Not leaning into it was hard, but doing so was even scarier. Was she about to be scorched alive¡ª ¡°~She say, ¡®come warm yourself¡¯, Anne,~¡± a smooth, feminine voice spoke. It was awkward, accented so heavily she had a hard time making some words out¡ªbut it was clearly speaking in Unovan. Even with it, Anne didn¡¯t dare move, the words making barely any sense. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t have to. The Torkoal set themselves down beside her as the stranger continued, ¡°~Can now put glass on, Anne.~¡± As pleasant as the voice was to the ear, it remained entirely flat as it spoke. Its instructions took a while to click. Anne¡¯s hand shook as it lifted the damaged, slightly dirty specs to her eyes, transforming a featureless blur into physical space. One with a Torkoal laying down right beside her, exhaling tiny puffs of smoke with each breath, and two other mons in the distance¡ªa cross Breloom, and the unknown, injured one. As the words kept coming, Anne realized that the latter mon was their source. ¡°~My name, Celia. One next you, Ana. One next me, Winnie. We want question ask you.~¡± The names came in one ear and out the other; the girl¡¯s mind focused entirely on what came afterwards. It matched what Aria had told her earlier, but... it couldn¡¯t have been really it, right? Even if it wasn¡¯t, though, the girl doubted she would¡¯ve gained anything out of not cooperating. ¡°~O-okay. Wh-what kind of question?~¡± Once Celia acknowledged her words, she spoke again, this time in what sounded like animal voices mixed with gibberish. Smooth, pleasant gibberish, but still entirely unknown in content¡ª Any thoughts about what she¡¯d just heard were cut off by another voice speaking up. She had no more of an idea what it meant, but it terrified her, especially with the Breloom it came from breaking out into a rant. Their stretchy arms moved every which way as they stared at her, fierce anger dripping from every gesture. One almost certainly aimed at her too, making it even harder to do anything but sit and stare in frozen horror. The Torkoal shifting themselves to put their body between the Grass-type and her helped a bit, though. Eventually, the deluge of angry sounds was finally cut off by the Fire-type muttering a short sentence in their grinding voice. What happened; Anne had no idea, and hoped that Celia would explain to her. ¡°~No worth speak. ...Almost no. Question, one.~¡± Anne¡¯s fate was in her own hands, and she could barely feel them. ¡°~How we know you no run away, no tell other human, if stay?~¡± ... The girl squinted as she made sense of the words, unsure what the point of being asked that was. She had a decent grip on what the question was, but not why that one as opposed to any other. Still, her role here was to answer them, not to wonder on whether they made any sense¡ªand the answer here was simple. ¡°~Wh-why would I run away? I-if I stayed here, I wouldn¡¯t have a-any other home. And if I told anyone, bad things would happen to this place, and I don¡¯t want that, I don¡¯t want to hurt Aria and Ember and everyone else...~¡± Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t asked for an elaboration. The aquatic-looking mon simply nodded, and passed her words on, staring straight at the Torkoal as she spoke. The Breloom¡ªWinnie?¡ªgrumbled something at hearing them, not helping Anne¡¯s courage any, but nobody else reacted to it. ¡°~Thank, Anne. Now, my question,~¡± Celia continued. Anne gave her a timid nod, taking as deep a breath as her young lungs were capable of. ¡°~Know you how human world hurt here many?~¡± Far from everything about it, but... she did. The thought brought both sadness and further worry with it; the latter about being held accountable for how other humans have hurt the villagers. It wasn¡¯t her fault, but... it was her kin¡¯s sin. ¡°~I-I do. I¡¯ve heard of the League getting rid o-of places like these where¡ªwhere many mons lived. I don¡¯t want that to happen here, b-but I know it has in other places. M-my father used to watch League. I saw how badly the mons got hurt in it, I heard how awful he talked about mons, I-I know how many other people talked about mons, the bad things they said. I-I¡ª~¡± Anne¡¯s voice trailed off as she desperately tried to maintain a grip on her own emotions. She hesitated to keep going, to reveal that blemish on herself, but hoped, deep inside, that her honesty wouldn¡¯t be punished. ¡°~I used to believe in some of them, t-too. I don¡¯t, I can¡¯t anymore, n-not after knowing everyone here, but I did. A-and I¡¯m really sorry for that.~¡± The girl was afraid to look at the rest of the tent as her answer was passed on. Predictably, more rambling from the Breloom, but nothing from the Torkoal. She expected to hear some emotion in Celia¡¯s voice, anything, but... it remained entirely flat. No relief, no admonishment. Just choking, obscuring neutrality. ¡°~Thank, Anne.~¡± A few moments of silence followed as the marine mon stared intently at the Fire-type, with Anne joining her soon after. Guess it was time for the question from her impromptu personal heater. Their sluggish, scraping words took a while to come together, and even once they did, they seemed to have taken their translator aback, if only for a second. ¡°~Now, Ana question.~¡± Once more, an overlong moment of silence, Anne¡¯s anxiety growing by the second¡ª ¡°~What Aria is to you?~¡± ... Anne blinked as she chewed through the simple, and yet so complex question. There were so many ways it could¡¯ve been interpreted in, and there was no indication at all which of them she was supposed to take. Maybe she was just supposed to say them all? ¡°~She...~¡± Even then, it was... difficult. So incredibly difficult, especially with the crushing weight of knowing that she had no idea how much more time she had left with the Gardevoir. The details would¡¯ve been beyond the ability of something as simple as words to convey even on a good day, but... The gist of it was clear even now. ¡°~She¡¯s someone that cares for me. Someone that¡ªthat makes me feel safe. L-like nobody has ever since my g-grandma passed away. S-someone...~¡± Even if it remained so, so painful for her to admit to herself. ¡°~...that I-I wish could be my mom.~¡± There was no stopping the tears that followed. All Anne could do was delay them until she¡¯d finished speaking, but they took their toll all the same. She could tell Celia took her time to translate her response, and that her flat voice hitched a few times as she did so, but that aside, there was no reaction from the trio of mons. Fortunately, in the case of the Breloom, but for the other two... she didn¡¯t know. And then, the marine Elder spoke in Unovan one last time, ¡°~Thank, Anne. That is all.~¡± The girl flinched at the sudden light in her peripheral vision as she got a grip on herself. It was just the firepit getting lit once more. The Torkoal took one more moment admiring their handiwork, before heading back to the other two. Guess these really were just questions. ¡°Thank you all for your cooperation. You may now return.¡± Before Celia could even finish her sentence, Aria was already back inside the tent, kneeling beside Anne. She didn¡¯t even try to maintain her composure, eyes clenched shut as she held the girl tight just to the side of her chest horn. She heard it all; it was impossible not to have heard it all. She didn¡¯t know what to say, and so she said nothing, comforting the girl as her tears returned as well. One by one, the other scouts made their way back into the tent, all of them having no choice but to pass by the tearful Gardevoir holding the human tight. Some wanted to offer their own comfort. Some could only look away. ¡°Does anyone wish to say anything before we proceed to the vote?¡± Ana asked, voice even more somber than before. One ¡®no¡¯ after another called back in response to her words¡ªuntil only one remained. The Torkoal waited for the Gardevoir to get the cue; wanted to let her process her emotions without being rushed along, but it soon became apparent that some prodding would be necessary. These weren¡¯t the thoughts that could just be processed and squared away, and yet it was precisely what the procedure demanded. ¡°Aria?¡± the Torkoal prodded. The Gardevoir couldn¡¯t toss them, she didn¡¯t want to toss them, but she had to at least delay them for just that bit longer. In the best-case scenario, for just a few more minutes. In the worst... ¡°^N-n-no,^¡± she muttered, ¡°^p-please, proceed.^¡± Letting go of Anne was the most excruciating thing Aria had done in her life, and yet she had to. Her psychic embrace held the girl tight, but she knew it might have faltered soon. ¡°^I-it¡¯s time for the vote, Anne.^¡± As the crying child nodded in affirmation, the Torkoal continued with the procedure, ¡°Following our discussion, I believe it prudent for there to be three separate, independent votes.^¡± Twelve pairs of eyes drilled into the Torkoal, some in fear, some through tears. ¡°The first vote would concern letting Anne remain with us indefinitely. The second vote would concern her ultimate fate should she be allowed to remain here, between fully joining the village and being expected to return to humanity one day. The third... would concern what is to be done with the ¡®Olive¡¯ human whom Marco allowed to keep her memories. If anyone has objections or different ideas, please raise them now.¡± Aria¡¯s fist clenched at the thought of Anne¡¯s safety being handled in such a piecemeal way, only barely keeping her words in her head before a different way to look at it hit her. If the tides of her fellow scouts would decree she be allowed to stay here indefinitely, they¡¯d be able to argue against any future cruelty another day, and she¡¯ll be safe for now at least¡ª If. Aria swept the room with her mind and eyes alike, and saw, felt, only uncertainty and fear. Even those she had trusted to do the right thing were suddenly much less sure than they once were. She was terrified. ¡°No objections, then. Winnie, proceed.¡± The Gardevoir stared straight ahead with unfocused eyes as the Breloom reached into a small basket behind himself and pulled out a fistful of shriveled pieces of something pink. She already hated this part of the voting process, and the present circumstances made it even worse. Orion¡¯s own idea, one of the few she never agreed with. ¡°^A-Anne, close your eyes and hold them closed, o-okay? Th-this smoke stings bad,^¡± she instructed. Before the girl could ask what her guardian meant, Winnie dropped the dried Payapa into the hole at the top of the Torkoal¡¯s shell. In moments, the fruit had turned into a cloud of bright, biting smoke, forcing almost everyone¡¯s eyes closed as it cut off the siblings¡¯ psychic auras. There were few sensations more uncomfortable than the suffocating claustrophobia of having one¡¯s psychics be forced entirely back into their head, but that was the point. The Zoroark had stressed the point of anonymity with votes like these, and cutting off everyone¡¯s sight and psychics was one way of easily enforcing it with him gone. Or rather, almost everyone¡¯s. Someone had to count the votes, be that impartial observer, after all. A weak, high-pitched cough interrupted the misty silence, making Aria blindly feel around before holding the girl closer. ¡°~I-it-*cough*-it hurts to breathe...~¡± Even telepathy felt almost impossible, forced to be channeled entirely through the Gardevoir¡¯s limbs. Anne¡¯s words hurt, for there was nothing her guardian could do to help¡ªthey all just had to endure it. ¡°^Breathe through the blanket sweetie, it won¡¯t be long, I promise.^¡± The makeshift filter helped a little, but it was just barely enough to let Anne stabilize her breathing¡ªthe end was in sight. ¡°May we proceed.¡± ¡°Y-yes-*cough*, Elder Ana.¡± The Gardevoir wasn¡¯t any better at dealing with the biting smoke than the human, but she was more used to it. Her arms shook with stress and body in exhaustion as the Fire-type stepped forward, speaking up as loudly as she could, ¡°The first vote, then. Should Anne, the human in our midst, be permitted to remain in our village indefinitely, until, at the very least, returning her to the human world in a safe way becomes possible.¡± Tears streaked Aria¡¯s hand as it shot up, signaling a ¡®for¡¯ vote. Another of Orion¡¯s ideas, taken in some unclear extent from humanity. Up meant ¡®for¡¯, touching the ground meant ¡®against¡¯, keeping the limb pulled back meant abstaining from answering. The tent remained in perfect silence as Ana gathered the votes, one after another. No words were permitted, no words were spoken. Muttered gasps, shaking, barely veiled anger¡ªbut no words. Until, at last, the vote was done. ¡°Thank you.¡± Aria dragged her hand back, the limb aching at being held for so long. No answers, no reprieve until all votes were done to not skew the results. Another of oh-so-many elements of forced procedure the Zoroark had tried to put together in the latter years of his life, to put form and structure into what was obviously just a personally appointed clique. ¡°The second vote. Should Anne, the human in our midst, be permitted to join our village as a regular citizen, with all rights and privileges that entails. If not, she will be expected to return to the human world once that becomes a safe possibility.¡± Once more, Aria¡¯s arm shot up, and once more, barely any sound came from the rest of the tent. Many tiny rustles of fur shuffling against itself, of creaking joints, all familiar but not enough to match them to any gesture in particular. Turned so utterly terrifying. ¡°Thank you.¡± Aria forgot how awful this cursed smoke made her feel every time, her balance growing weak. No voting sessions were ever this long in this tense and worn down a state. It didn¡¯t feel like justice; it felt like an experiment in cruelty established without enough foresight, one of the many snap ideas that didn¡¯t work out. ¡°The third vote. Should Olive, the human living at the nearby human settlement, be allowed to keep her memories and awareness of Aria¡¯s and Lumi¡¯s intervention, and of our village, with an understanding that she would then help us by providing human-specific knowledge.¡± As perilous as the first two votes already felt, Aria had a hard time gathering even a shred of hope for the last one. It made logical sense¡ªMarco had shown that clearly¡ªbut none of this was about rational argumentation. Of course it wasn¡¯t, it could never be¡ªit didn¡¯t just concern Olive; it concerned them all. To ally with a human, to take their knowledge in, was both something much of the village considered unthinkable, but which would also force them all to act. Whether or not they wanted to, everyone present was now acutely aware of how much danger their home was in, the kind they could neither fight against nor hide from. To answer ¡®yes¡¯; was to admit that they couldn¡¯t persist in spite of humanity through their sheer ingenuity forever. To answer ¡®yes¡¯; was to admit they had to leave this little space they had managed to carve out¡ªnot today, not tomorrow, but eventually. To answer ¡®yes¡¯; was to permit a human to indirectly steer their fate by helping them maneuver what to do next. To answer ¡®yes¡¯; was to admit defeat. To answer ¡®no¡¯; was to look away, to close one¡¯s eyes, to pretend nothing was wrong. To blindly hope the threat would never manifest. Aria kept her hand up, and she was nigh-certain there weren¡¯t more than a couple of others doing so with her. Of course this vote wouldn¡¯t pass; the little hope she had wouldn¡¯t let her believe that, and yet, she remained defiant, until the very end. For that was the only right thing to do. ¡°Thank you.¡± Her hand fell down to her lap as she tried not to weep. She was doing the right thing; she knew that. She would fight for Anne, for Ember, for Sage, for Olive forever. If need be, she would wake her family, take everything they had with themselves, and leave this very night. If she had to, she would protect Olive personally, but¡ª It hurt; it was so much, too much. She didn¡¯t want to do any of that, to put herself in harm¡¯s way. She just wanted to be safe. She just wanted them all to be safe. Her posture shriveled as she held the girl close; tense silence and the return of warmth having only sped up her exhaustion. Seconds passed as her mind wound itself up tighter. Her heart threatened to burst through her ribs and spill its contents onto everyone present, screech and strike at them for ever daring to consider taking Anne¡¯s safety away¡ª And then; at last, came the sentencing. ¡°The results of the first vote. Nine votes ¡®for¡¯, one vote ¡®against¡¯, three votes abstaining. Vote passes.¡± ... Wait... ¡°The results of the second vote. Six votes ¡®for¡¯, two votes ¡®against¡¯, five votes abstaining. Vote passes.¡± ... ... Is it... ¡°The results of the third vote... S-seven votes ¡®for¡¯, six votes ¡®against¡¯. Vote passes. I hope you all know what you¡¯re doing.¡± And then; it was over. A cold gust went through the tent as the Torkoal pulled aside the smaller flap at the back. Within moments, the white smoke began to thin, making it easier and easier to breathe and see as the results hit everyone gathered, one after another. They were defeated, but that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t forge a new fate. Anne was safe. Anne was safe. Anne was safe. ANNE WAS SAFE. A howling cry left Aria as she pulled the child beside her into her arms. Unconscious, asleep, the vote had drained the girl of any ounce of strength she had left after everything she¡¯d been subjected to today. But she didn¡¯t have to be strong anymore. Aria didn¡¯t have to be strong anymore. Anne was safe. The Gardevoir didn¡¯t react as she felt her brother¡¯s hand on her back, and then her friend¡¯s wing. Tears and cries of release kept coming; her utterly exhausted mind kept letting out all the fear that had accumulated in it over the past few days. Anne was safe. No more fear, no more uncertainty, only a drained, brilliant love¡ª ¡°This is an OUTRAGE!¡± Winnie screeched, drawing glares of fury and shock alike. The Breloom was too drunk on his own anger to notice as he continued, ¡°Ana, this has to be a mistake! Are you certain of the¡ª¡± ¡°ARE YOU CALLING MY OBJECTIVITY INTO QUESTION,¡± the Torkoal did the closest thing she could to shouting. ¡°Yours and everyone else¡¯s! This THING may have driven you all mad, but I won¡¯t fall for its foul curse! Orion be my witness, I shall do what is right to keep us all safe, I SHALL¡ª¡± *BWOOOOOM!* In an instant, Winnie was launched through the tent¡¯s wall, tearing it in half. He tumbled once he¡¯d landed on the snowy ground, sliding until hitting the brick wall of Holly¡¯s pantry. Untold eyes drilled into him as he twitched; tried to spit out more words through his bruised, bleeding grimace, Before finally fainting; alive if broken. Once the dust cleared, everyone¡¯s gaze bounced back the other way, silent and aghast¡ªand only found the Primarina, still glaring at the spot her fellow Elder had just been Moonblasted out of. A moment passed in silence, another. Celia shuddered and blinked, before returning to her previous spot, not sparing the hole in the tent she¡¯d just tore open even a fleeting glance. Instead, her gaze swept over everyone else, attentive as always, while her lips mouthed words for nobody to hear. Nobody knew how to react, but it was safe enough to say that the council proceedings were over. One by one, onlookers approached the aftermath, shock giving way to murmurs about what the hell just happened, both with Winnie, and for the Primarina to have done that. Among all the built-up curiosity outside, though, there was one fox in particular that wanted to know something else. Ember¡¯s white shawl stood out among the crowd as she pushed through it, stumbling into the damaged tent with Anne¡¯s name in her maw. Scouts moved aside for her, letting her stumble towards her friend before dropping onto her knees in exhaustion and joining Aria¡¯s embrace. ¡°I-i-is Anne s-safe?¡± she woofed, afraid and exhausted. The Gardevoir had no strength left for words, physical or mental alike, nodding in silence as she wept. It was all the Braixen needed for tearful joy to grip her too, make her huddle even closer to her human, hold her even tighter. Anne was safe, and they could all rest. As Ember dozed off beside her friend, on the very edge of unconsciousness, she felt them both be picked up and moved somewhere. Time lost all meaning as they were gently carried, and only when she was finally laid down on something soft did she pry her eyes open one more time. She saw her mom tucking her in, Anne beside her, and Mrs. Aria in a bed next to theirs, And fell asleep, safe at last. Interlude VIII: Echoes again A brackish puddle, barely shallow enough to breathe in, rests in golden sand. In all directions, only desert and scouring sun, forever. Echoes reverberate through the infinity, becoming just noise, sound¡ªnothing. Too much of nothing. In the pond, filling it up, a captured soul. Torn from her people, her gods, her element. Above, a dark thing that is and isn¡¯t her, a presence no younger than her and yet rediscovered every single day. they will hurt you
¡°~C¡¯mon, work at it you thing!~¡± *snap-crack!* Another mistake, another fell strike of the ringleader¡¯s whip. The Brionne let out a shrill cry as the cut joined the untold others on her arm. Simple fucking instruction, just had to make a spectacle with these bubbles for a while and everything would go smoothly, and yet the dumb thing just didn¡¯t. A deep breath, a moment of focus, another go. She didn¡¯t pay attention to the trickle of blood on her shoulder, devoting her entire self to her only remaining purpose. She shouldn¡¯t have had as much control over them as she already had. It was a gift meant to only be granted by the Lady of Waves after her final evolution¡ªand yet; she managed to replicate it from the few memories of her family singing in choir. Was this an offense? Was that why she was here, sentenced to a hell of someone else¡¯s creation for stepping out of order¡ª ¡°~No slacking, again!~¡± *snap-crack!* What encouragement the biped couldn¡¯t provide, the blue-yellow Electric-type beside them would make up for in abundance if she didn¡¯t step up. Another attempt, even better. And again, and again, until the masters of these lands were satisfied with her efforts. She tried staring into their eyes many times. The almost-hairless bipeds offered her confusion, pity, disgust, scorn. She expected other beings to show something else, be something else, but they didn¡¯t. Not like the tall ones, but not like her, either. They had someones, they were granted the bare minimum of protection from the system, they weren¡¯t just a ¡®thing¡¯. At least it wasn¡¯t them.
won¡¯t you learn The puddle grows deeper, making it even harder to breathe. Louder, louder still, distant voices double up on themselves until they become deafening. Carried by an absence of air, an absence of wind, an absence of any relief. For there is only her, the suffocating mass above her, and the inescapable sun roasting her insides. nobody will ever understand you
¡°Sheesh, if I knew it was gonna be this bad, I woulda added a suspension to ease the bumps, or smaller wheels or something. Why¡¯d she not say anything?¡± the Mawile asked, around the corner, as well-intentioned as ever despite the frustration clear in her words. It¡¯d be one thing if she¡¯d just botched her attempt at a cart or it broke, risking the safety of someone older than herself, but to have its recipient silently suffer while using it until she just dropped in the middle of the camp without saying a peep? How was anyone supposed to figure out what was wrong? ¡°I do not know, Mikiri,¡± Ana answered. ¡°I will ask once she comes to again.¡± The Mawile didn¡¯t have a whole ton of scrap to tinker with quite yet, but she wasn¡¯t keen on waiting until the Torkoal could force an explanation out of the beached Water-type. There were a few things she could try in the meantime, though¡ªlowering the bedding and shrinking the wheels was her immediate idea. Just a few feet away from them, unseen, the Primarina tried not to scream from the latent pain in her back. The Blissey could easily take another look at her, she was well aware, but making a sound, any sound, felt impossible. It hurt. But she knew, deep inside, that for her to ever show it, to let anyone know, would only bring them more pain.
you won¡¯t ever be one of them The black thing looms over her, binding her with its presence. The lost child shakes in the puddle under its glaring eye, splashes the precious water around, but there¡¯s nothing she can do. All this will happen again and again, and they both know it. It is for the best. just stop
Faster, faster! The Popplio ran through the tall grass as swiftly as her flippers could carry her, but it would never be fast enough. She heard rustling and steps right behind her, too slow and too heavy to be anyone but these big things. Each motion made her little body scream in soreness, begging for her to stop. She hadn¡¯t pushed herself like that in years; wasn¡¯t allowed to push herself like that since that fateful day; didn¡¯t have the space to. And yet, she had no other choice. It didn¡¯t end up mattering¡ªof course it didn¡¯t. A few more steps, another bellowing shout, a whizzing sound¡ªand the world around her disappeared in an instant. The next thing she remembered was being pushed even harder for days on end without any breaks, without food. Tall ones were even louder, even angrier, even more indiscriminate in their lashes. She didn¡¯t understand. They had all broken out together by striking the flimsy metal thing that kept their shared cage shut at the same time. The big ones were away, asleep. They should¡¯ve been able to get away into the night and never get found again¡ª Unless... The Water-type looked over the other two beings that had taken part in her escape, now separated into their own, even tinier cages. In the one right beside hers, a bipedal mass of blue vines shook in place, their gaze fixed on something neither of them could see. She thought about reaching out to them, trying to catch their attention, but knew there was no point to that. They weren¡¯t listening; they couldn¡¯t understand her; all she¡¯d achieve was annoying the tall ones further. Further away, a green Electric-type was devouring their portion without a care in the world. They took their time, licked their snout after they were done, and caught her staring in the distance. She begged for a wordless answer about whether they had done anything¡ªand if so, what. They gave in moments later, and laid down where they stood, facing away from her. She knew.
you are alone Another blink, back to the debilitating echoes, the deafening silence. The black thing is there with her, beside her, outside of her, filling up all the space in between her contorted body. The voices come together into sounds, words, some even familiar. She knows them, but she doesn¡¯t understand. With every strained breath, the dry ocean above her grows louder, busier, closer, even more violently incoherent. As she deserves. you are nothing
One moment, she raced through the currents, along with dozens of the blue-white fish that filled the seas surrounding their islands. The next, metal wire dug into her skin as it dragged them all through the chaotic waters. She flailed as hard as her body could manage; tried to cut through the reinforced net with the few techniques her elders had already passed to her. The wire didn¡¯t move at her Pounds, ignored her Aqua Jets, and before any of the mightier denizens of the ocean could try striking against it, they saw brilliant sparks jump from loop to loop, leaving only painful numbing where they touched. A moment later, they coalesced into a Thunder Wave, paralyzing their bodies and snuffing their consciousness. The Popplio could barely breathe as the world shifted underneath her, so familiar and so wrong. Her gaze was stuck, staring through a wire net, through rusted bars, through miles of sea air¡ªat the place she called home, fading further away by the moment. Around her, wet splashes, thudding of hard rubber on brine-corroded metal. Grunts of exertion, cries of pain, the latter thinning out with each crackling, zapping sound that signaled another soul being captured. Until only she remained. ¡°~Cap¡¯n! Ta hell¡¯s that one¡ªthese mermaids you mention¡¯d?~¡± ¡°~Sure is! Bring out one of the black balls for it, and have Dolly give it another good shock before you toss it.~¡± ¡°~What about the islands?~¡± ¡°~What bloody about them? If they lived, they would¡¯ve acted long bloody ago. Nobody¡¯s watching, fecking insanity that ours haven¡¯t gone in and taken it yet.~¡± Nothing but uneasy mumbling for a few moments after that, mumbling and whining of metal underneath the cowards¡¯ footsteps. ¡°~Bloody morons, you lot. It¡¯s a fecking payday for us all, and if none of you can get it in your thick, hollow skulls, then I will. Dolly, let loose on this thing!~¡± The Thunder Shock made her writhe on the boat¡¯s deck, body gripped by a paralyzing, red-hot pain it only barely remained awake in the face of. By the time the blissful release of her prison came, she could only beg for it to never end.
this is your fate She breathes, and the darkness reaches for her throat. Its touch is slimy, wet, ever familiar. It¡¯s her own flippers, scars and all, caressing her shoulders and cradling her neck. They paralyze where they touch, making it impossible to resist, impossible to fight back. The thing that is and isn¡¯t her screeches and holds as tight as it can. She thrashes in the silted, murky brine as her breath is strangled out of her, to the tune of her own voice. I TOLD YOU IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO END LIKE THIS YOU SHOULD¡¯VE LISTENED I¡¯M NEVER WRONG EVERY DAY WILL BE THIS HELL NO MERCY NO REPRIEVE NOBODY WILL SAVE YOU YOU¡¯RE NEVER RIGHT YOU ARE NOTHING And yet, she has to fight. Her arms are so numb, so weak, but they strike back where they can. She shrieks at the tar-like smoke; it shrieks back. Each blind swing hurts herself even more, hurts it. Their struggle turns into one of endless attrition. THIS HELL WILL NEVER CHANGE ¡°Y-you¡¯re wrong.¡±
Why her? The Primarina thought idly to herself as she watched the bustle of their village through the entrance to the Elders¡¯ tent. It was a position she doubted the utility of in general, but never in a thousand Moons would she have ever imagined that Orion would select her for that role. She¡¯d arrived more recently than many others, her contributions were limited with so few words, and yet... the Zoroark chose her. From an outsider not just to their village but to this land as a whole, to this. Orion¡¯s trust wasn¡¯t isolated, but no matter how many compliments for her smarts she¡¯d gotten, they never quite clicked right. Ultimately, she knew what she thought about her own inability didn¡¯t matter. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. They trusted her, and she wouldn¡¯t betray their trust. In a way, her destiny mirrored that of this entire camp. A ragtag, aimless band of three people who barely knew each other, stumbling upon a native and her son. Only a few years later, dozens of people living and thriving together, pooling their strengths and knowledge to accomplish what no soul could ever hope on its own. From barren dirt and wild grass, to burrows, tents and huts, to fields and bushes of nourishing bounty, to the vulnerable ones being cared for and the sick tended to. The oh-so-familiar, woofing voice interrupted her pondering, ¡°Oh dear, is something wrong?¡± The Fairy-type shook her head and lifted herself up a bit. Her cart was just out of reach, but it could wait for a while longer. ¡°There is not. Worry not, Orion.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m gonna keep worrying about a friend, ha!¡± the Zoroark chuckled. ¡°Is the title too much all of a sudden? Maybe I should scale back¡ª¡± ¡°No need to. I... appreciate your trust in me, Orion.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I trust in one of my closest friends?¡± Tried as she could, the smile that followed refused to bulge even slightly. Still, she asked soon after, ¡°I do wonder about one aspect of it, though.¡± ¡°Go righty ahead! I mean it, I really hope we can work all the kinks out; it¡¯ll be awesome!¡± Orion squealed. ¡°Why Winnie?¡± The Zoroark blinked at her, stunned. His confusion lasted only for a moment before breaking into chipper, woofed laughter, not even trying to conceal his mawful of sharp teeth with a paw. It diffused the tension greatly, which was appreciated, but she couldn¡¯t deny it feeling a bit... dismissive, too. ¡°Oh, I know, I know, won¡¯t deny he¡¯s... a little rough around the edges right now, but I really mean it when I say that I can change him. He caught my eyes for... hehe, reasons after all! I really believe in him; he¡¯s already improved a fair bit!¡± It took the Primarina her entire willpower to limit her reaction to only a modest roll of her eyes. If the Breloom really had changed, she hadn¡¯t noticed it, despite knowing him for several years now. Out of everyone living in the village with them, she had a hard time coming up with someone less appropriate for such an important position. Who knew; maybe Orion really did see something in him that nobody else has. She wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°It sounds risky to stake him being fit for this role on him changing.¡± ¡°Mayyyyybe, but isn¡¯t that what we¡¯re all already doing, anyway?¡± the Zoroark smiled. ¡°None of this would be here, none of us, if not for change and the willingness to embrace it. The only reason we¡¯re here is because of the hope we¡¯ll be able to grow it even further, to ensure the safety of even more, to be this beautiful gemstone of this land. And who knows, maybe if the world changes one day, if we won¡¯t have to hide anymore... then maybe we could even have humans join in to help make it even bigger!¡± ¡°That sounds... unlikely.¡± ¡°Well, considering I¡¯d turned from a runt that was more likely to starve than to ever bear offspring to this, I¡¯ll stick with believing in change,¡± he teased. The Fairy-type kept her unamused look, only making him laugh even harder, ¡°Oh come onnnnn~, you¡¯re acting just like Ana! Yes, it¡¯ll be harder, but I believe in it. In a way, we¡¯re all striving to turn this cruel world into beauty, right? Well, you could say that¡¯s just my way of doing it!¡± There was no arguing with him about that; she was well aware. Especially since she wasn¡¯t sure how she¡¯d even feasibly argue¡ªhe was entirely right; that was what they were fighting for. What they¡¯ve already been succeeding at for years. Change was never easy, But it was always possible.
ALL THAT MEANS NOTHING A hateful shriek strikes her head like a rock, drawing blood and cracking bone. She grasps the nothingness shaped just like her and pushes herself off of the puddle¡¯s bottom, toppling them both over. Underneath her is only more of herself, dark and loathing and hurting and afraid. It bites what remains of her right flipper, but she presses down on it. THE FOUR HATE YOU ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±
There. After swiping the loose leaves that had covered the sacred spot, the Primarina placed the tiny, makeshift candle on the patch of dirt and backed off a couple of paces. Nowhere near the splendor of the pearl-sanded beaches she remembered, but that didn¡¯t matter. All she needed was a little light under the moonlight, a bit of the diligent ceremony, and faith. For a long while after she¡¯d broken out of that place, she feared that her Lords and Ladies would never forgive her for abandoning her prayers. She never stopped trying to perform them, stilted and imperfect, but was doubtful they ever reached their destination. And that was just one of many fears, one of dozens of little harrowing thoughts that drilled into her how much of a mistake her entire existence was¡ª With each passing year, with every new soul in this tiny commune, more and more of these fears gave up, one after the other. She had more support, more community, more love than they had durability, and that thought brought her solace. Moonlight mixed with the fading, orange glow as she drew small signs in the sand. The holy names of The Four, only meant to be seen by those who knew of their significance. She¡¯d swipe them away as soon as she was done praying, but until then, they would be the tiny, constant reminders that her Lords and Ladies were there with her, no matter how far away from home she was. Words came soon after, little more than barely audible whispers. Nothing remained of her memories of the language she once spoke, forcing her to use Orion¡¯s artificial one. That discrepancy, too, used to bring her grief¡ªbut just like others, it couldn¡¯t withstand closer scrutiny. Prayer was prayer, after all, no matter how it was performed. The Four Themselves didn¡¯t use the islands¡¯ tongue either, it was but a mortal tool for communication. And in this different land, she just had to make do with a different tool. ¡°Lord of Storms, let your courage inspire ours.¡± ¡°Lady of Flowers, may we bask in your ever-shining joy.¡± ¡°Lord of Trees, bless this village and its people to keep growing.¡± ¡°Lady of Waves, be thine wisdom ours.¡± These weren¡¯t Their lands, but she still felt Their love, and hoped her actions would only spread Their glory further.
WORTHLESS WORTHLESS WORTHLESS WORTHLESS The brackish water covers the darkness¡¯ head as it stares at the Primarina with star-like eyes. They drill into her, singe her skin; it hurts like hell¡ªa hell she is familiar with. All this has come many times, and all this will come again, and she knows exactly how the rest of this spar will go. With all the effort it can muster, the thing tries to topple her over, only knocking them both into the muddy pool. It follows up with another attack, teeth bared and trying to rend her into pieces. YOU CANNOT TRUST ANYONE ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±
Another show went by without a hitch, granting the Brionne the mercy of rest. A short, painful rest¡ªbut rest all the same. A bowl sat in the corner of her cage, licked clean after she¡¯d gone through her usual portion¡ªjust enough to not starve. Above, the pale white eye of the Lords and Ladies, watching over their errant daughter. She remembered, years back, how she¡¯d just go from one day to the next in the time it took her to blink. Not always, but... it used to happen, whereas it didn¡¯t anymore. Maybe she¡¯d just misremembered a few days as much longer than that. Her memories weren¡¯t the best from that time, too muddled when it came to everything that wasn¡¯t her rehearsed routine. Just one performance after another, practiced well enough for everyone to act their parts perfectly. With no time in between, no rest, no meals. She remembered knowing someone who didn¡¯t exist anymore. Shaking that thought aside, the Water-type glanced over at the being approaching from the distant corner of their camp. Just a human like all the others, but... this one felt different. Spoke without harm, looked at her without hatred. They were together with all the other ones; they should¡¯ve been hurting her, but¡­ they weren¡¯t. In the folds of their clothes, a few more pieces of fruit; left inconspicuously just inside the cage. They backed off right after, before squatting a few feet away. Every night for the past two Moons, without fail. ¡°~Gonna eat it?~¡± they asked. Prompted by the voice, she picked up the treat into her scarred flippers, one missing most of its fingers. Manners and diligence were only the faintest memories by now; the meal devoured faster than she could swallow. She knew the Lord of Trees was staring at her with disappointment, maybe even anger at disrespecting nourishment to such an extent. Deep inside, the Primarina wanted to excuse herself, to bring up the obvious justifications for her miserable state, but... yhey didn¡¯t matter. She was of the chosen people, even this far away from home. She should¡¯ve represented their Lords and Ladies with pride, and not acted as entertainment for those savage, monstrous¡ªno. Not all. ¡°~Phoned the cops at Mistralton to give them a heads up. Maybe this time someone will come and investigate you, heh...~¡± the human chuckled painfully to themselves before sighing in defeat, ¡°~I know nothing¡¯ll come of it, but gotta keep trying, huh. Couldn¡¯t find you in a dex, no way in hell these people just found you somewhere. Though... should that matter?~¡± They stared at their hands, illuminated only by the distant campfire and the brilliant moonlight above. Looked clean, didn¡¯t feel so. Just a cleaning job for a circus; none of this should¡¯ve been this hard, and yet¡­ ¡°~Lemme see if I can get you a blanket or something once we settle in a larger town. Doubt the fat fuck will appreciate it, but... have to try anyway, eh?~¡± Nothing was ever as clear as she once believed.
IT WILL NEVER GET BETTER The nobody that is also her wails on her, pulling her further down into the mud, into the soil, into the earth. Into death. She cries out in a song of her Lords and Ladies, in the words of the tongue of her new people, amidst the land of the alien people, in their love and hate. Each memory turns into its own bubble, brilliant and mighty, dissolving the black mist where they strike. NO ONE WILL EVER HELP YOU ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡±
Another round of shows over¡ªonto the road once more. The blizzard drained whatever life remained in the nondescript woodland surrounding the convoy. It also made it a serious pain in the ass to keep driving, especially with the truck¡¯s tires being little more than shreds of rubber draped on rusted metal frames by now. This place was lacking in signage¡ªthough even if it hadn¡¯t been, they sure as hell wouldn¡¯t be finding any good places to stop in the middle of these backwoods. Just had to keep going until they made it to the interstate, then find the exit for Lillywood. Boss¡¯ had scoped that place out a while back, should be just barely enough people to eke out a profit. Everyone else remained unconvinced, but whatever. Their circus of a circus, they got to decide. The moment this entire thing went tits-up, nobody had any delusions about getting the hell out as soon as possible¡ª *whine-squeeaaAALLL¡ª* The brakes shrieked, but the vehicle didn¡¯t obey. One instant, a tighter turn on a slippery surface sent the truck balancing on just one side of its wheels, startling the driver into full awareness. The next, it was too late. *CRASH!* Trees dismembered the metal chassis and spilled the gasoline onto the frozen dirt. The impact sent the box flying and the cages inside bashing against one another, before the latch holding them contained was sheared off. Seconds later, fire exploded around the wreckage as a second truck crashed into it, only adding to the mayhem. Whoever was still awake and alive knew they had to run. The Primarina could barely feel her back after the impact, but her voice hasn¡¯t left her. It pierced the dark, overpowering the rusted padlock. She heard human shouts in the distance, calling after her¡ªbut they were much too late now. Everyone for themselves, were they to run for their own lives, Or finally use the opportunity to take another¡¯s. She didn¡¯t care, she couldn¡¯t care. Reduced to a crawl, she crept with all the strength her body still had, pushed towards freedom through more pain than she thought possible. Through the cold, through the snow, through the thorny, dead shrubbery. Through the distant shouts, through the close howls, she didn¡¯t stop, couldn¡¯t stop, even with the certainty that only death awaited ahead. A gracious gift from the Lady of Waves. Soon enough, the cold drained the last of her sensations, leaving her body pushing on in pitch blackness through muscle memory alone. It would only get her a few miles more, at most, but her mind had no room left for that consideration. Her finest hour, the ultimate defiance of her captors, the ultimate sacrifice to the Lord of Storms. She expected a godless beast to do her in¡ªbut not the terrain. Before she knew it, the incline had her crashing, rolling forward with not even the Moon to show her what was happening. The darkness kept striking with sharpened stones and mighty boulders, opening cuts and dotting her with bruises. She had no control left of her body anymore; only begged for her demise to come soon. The ravine ahead answered. A drop, a grazing hit against rugged roots, and a crash. It cracked something inside her, forced her to shriek despite her weakness, left her alive and ripe for the wilderness to feast on. Immobile, defenseless, half-dead. The darkness didn¡¯t move as she wept, as she shook, as the freezing silence slowly put her to her eternal slumber. Until, finally, came a low growl. Two teal pinpricks stared at her from the dark, sealing her fate. They grew louder as they approached, making her want to beg for mercy one last time, Instead, came only darkness.
An eternity later, warmth. Comfort. Movement. Pain, muffled to all the extent possible. Voices. She barely had the strength to open her eyes, to take in the afterlife decreed for her. Too hazy to make out beyond swatches of color¡ªblack-red, gray-white. More growls, more squeaks, more words. They alternated, back and forth, before the higher-pitched one stopped, and the smaller, lighter blur moved towards her. ¡°^Thank goodness, you¡¯re awake!^¡± The weakest flinch of her life; noticed all the same. The black and red mass approached instead, their voice rougher and softer simultaneously, ¡°Hey, hey, doncha worry. We got you, friend.¡± A furred, clawed hand cupped her cheek, stroking it gently as the voice continued, ¡°Name¡¯s Orion¡ªfeel free to wait with yours until you¡¯ve recovered some, haha! Really glad I found you, you looked like a goner.¡± Her eyes demanded to be closed as she laid still in an overwhelmed, exhausted stillness. She had no idea what was going on, and yet... ¡°Yes, yes, rest now. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here. You¡¯re finally safe, friend.¡± She did not doubt these words. Not then. Not ever.
JUST DIE Distant echoes turn into words of so many people¡ªoh so familiar. Too much, much too much, both her and not-her-yet-still-her want to writhe and hide, want it to stop, but she knows she can¡¯t. Each excess sound hurts her, but it hurts the black thing even more; love and respect melt through it. It tries to blot them all out, blot out the voices as it keeps drowning her in mud. With one last, fevered shriek, it wails at her from every direction, bruising her with its sheer malice¡ª THERE IS ONLY ME HE¡¯S GONE YOU WILL NEVER GET PEACE YOU WILL NEVER BE LOVED YOU WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED THIS IS FOREVER YOU CAN¡¯T ESCAPE ME, CELIA The Primarina thrashes before suddenly stopping; and staring straight up into the blackness. They stare at each other, and the latter soon flails at the realization of what is coming. What has come every time, what will come every time. It fights it with the very core of its being. And each time, it loses. She leaps forward, pulling it into as tight an embrace as she is capable of. It shrieks, dissolving from outside in. Black smoke fades until white skin, azure scales, and teal hair reappear once more. Bruised, bleeding, hurting so much it can barely think. She can barely think. Beside her, a dark-furred, red-clawed paw cuts in through where the black fog once was, ready to be grasped. The other her thrashes at the sight, tries to squirm away, escape this help, but she doesn¡¯t let go. She reaches out for the outstretched limb, You¡¯re wrong, but I love you.¡± And grasps it.
*bang-bang-bang* Celia gasped as she came to, blinking the last of her dream away. It should¡¯ve been more familiar to her by now, and yet it never quite became so. Maybe it never would, maybe the same battle in her subconscious would return every single night for her to conquer yet again. Even if so, she didn¡¯t fear¡ªthe Lord of Storms was on her side. Each time she got stronger and it weaker, each time she knew what to say to herself, shout at it, just that bit better. But that was a concern for the next night. After maneuvering half her body onto the cart, the Water-type crawled over to the entrance of her personal section of the Elders¡¯ shared dwelling. She pushed the flap of the door aside, gave the Torkoal a bow, and started making her way past her and the piece of wavy scrap metal that served as her alarm bell. The Fire-type didn¡¯t move, still staring into her room. Celia didn¡¯t notice; today would be far too busy and important for any distractions. Even before the vote, she had to see how Max felt about all this, and get a feel for several other people¡ª ¡°What are you planning, Celia,¡± Ana spoke, not even looking over her shoulder, right as her fellow Elder was about to leave their shared tent. It froze the Primarina in place, facing the parted exit and all the light that spilled in through it, and away from the Torkoal. One moment passed, another. The impasse continued and threatened to never end, with the two Elders not even daring to glance at each other over their shoulders. And then, at last, Celia answered¡ª ¡°To do the right thing.¡± ¡ªand left, into the ever beloved, ever changing, ever vast world outside. Chapter 30: Sunrise The first thing Anne heard was steps. Distant, muffled through layers upon layers of linen, Safeguard, and fluff. On dirt, on snow, on carpet which increasingly became more of the former two by mass with each passing day. Eventually, other sounds began to join in as well. Shuffling, clanks, thuds of wood against wood and flesh against flesh. Squeaks, growls, rattling of rock against itself in a way that most only perceived as intimidating noise but which was only meant as the warmest, most sincere greetings. Voices. She had no idea for how long she laid there, or even if she¡¯d truly heard any of it. It was too vague to make much out of; could¡¯ve been her mind playing tricks on her in hindsight. Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter either way¡ªshe was here, on something soft, surrounded by blissful warmth, and so, incredibly, exhausted. The more her consciousness returned, the more she wanted to recede further under the thin blanket, to stem the unwelcome tide of awareness that refused to let her rest in peace. It only worked for a few moments, and even that was an overly generous description. Eventually, her tired self had no choice but to finally give in, to face the new day and its¡ª ... ... Wait. Anne came to with a gasp, eyes snapping open before immediately clenching shut at all the light that assaulted them for daring to do that. Removed from the numbing fog of unconsciousness, her mind soon snapped back to action, resuming from the last thing it remembered. The thirteen voices, loving and cruel and everything in between, debating on her fate. Was it over? Had she just dreamt up the vote, and it was still yet to happen? Was everyone preparing to toss her out of this sanctuary to fend for herself? Was she¡ªwas she safe? Even as Anne¡¯s heart jumped to full intensity in response to these thoughts, her mind found itself unable to dive deeper into them right away. Not with the sight that awaited her once she¡¯d finally paid attention to what she was looking at. A second bed, awkwardly placed a few feet from hers, at an angle. On it, Aria, asleep and disheveled. Anne didn¡¯t think the Gardevoir hairdo would always remain as well composed as it was in the textbooks, but this was something else, something messier. Unkempt, shinier than before, shaking. Her expression was tense and narrowed, her breaths as rapid and anxious as Anne¡¯s were just moments earlier. She was still asleep, and yet looked like she was panicking¡ª ¡°^She is exhausted, and struggling with a bad dream right now,^¡± a dry voice spoke, taking Anne aback; her gasp only barely kept in her throat. Before adrenaline could even finish grasping her body, she was already scanning around the room for the source of the sound. She could¡¯ve sworn she¡¯d heard it before, but who... oh. Despite having her glasses on, Anne couldn¡¯t make out all the details of the Delphox sitting in the shaded corner. They looked... calm, as far as she could tell, but that in itself clarified woefully little. The more she stared at them, the more her recollection tingled, taking its sweet time pushing through the quickly solidifying concrete slab of traumatizing memories of the vote and the discussion that preceded it. Guess Ember¡¯s mom sitting here and looking after her made some sense with what she¡¯d said yesterday. Both because of her promise to look after her, and¡ªas her senses soon pointed out to the girl¡ªbecause of Ember being here, too. Anne could feel her shuffling behind her, slowly following her towards awareness. The Delphox being here made sense, but wasn¡¯t any less unnerving because of that. And Cinder was well aware, leaning back against the wall to give the human as much space as she could. ¡°~Y-you meant that about Mrs. Aria, r-right?~¡± Anne asked, prompting a slow nod in return, followed by a drawn-out sigh. The tension lingered in the air for a while longer; neither of the conscious minds were sure what to ask or tell the other. Thankfully, time was the one resource they both had in abundance, especially with the sun taking its time crawling from behind the horizon. Anne remained quiet, administering Ember some more affection to calm her¡ªand herself¡ªdown. As serious and composed as the older vixen tried to remain throughout her duty, not even she could resist cracking the tiniest, most diligently hidden smile at seeing her daughter be treated with all the love she deserved. It would be a long while until she¡¯d have anywhere near as much fondness for the little human as Ember had. All the good will in the world could only do so much to undo years of self-inflicted conditioning to hate Anne¡¯s entire species, for reasons equally understandable and yet incorrect. Cinder wasn¡¯t deluding herself about that, but knew she didn¡¯t have to. Right now, all she had to do was keep the human safe, and liking her would, hopefully, come with time. And until then, some explanation wouldn¡¯t hurt, ¡°^I am here to look after you while you, and everyone else, settle in. Just in case someone... unhappy with the decision thinks about expressing that violently.^¡± That made sense, yes, as much as the very idea of a villager lashing out at her terrified her. With that bit of self-inflicted nightmare fuel, though, came a realization, one that made Anne¡¯s eyes go wide. She asked, ¡°~W-wait, does that mean that¡ªthat I¡¯m safe here?~¡± A very firm, very exaggerated nod. ¡°^The vote concerning your permanent stay here has indeed passed, yes. Winnie was none too happy with that decision, but now he¡¯s left licking his wounds in a house arrest. It remains to be seen what will happen to him...^¡± Cinder explained. As she droned on, recounting the events that would remain burned into her memory forever, she noticed Anne grow increasingly unsure of what she was even talking about. Must¡¯ve either dozed off before that entire embarrassment, or her memories had spared her from it all. ¡°^Either way, not something for you to worry about, Anne,^¡± the vixen continued. ^¡±You¡¯re safe, you¡¯re set to remain here for good, and many here will do their best to ensure your safety, myself included.^¡± As shameful as needing to ¡®ensure safety¡¯ of an innocent child was, thinking about that wouldn¡¯t do anyone any good. A fact that Anne¡¯s mind was, unfortunately, unaware of. Worries refused to let go of her as she acknowledged the vixen¡¯s words before looking at her guardian. As she took in the miserable sight once more, the one functional hand scritching Ember between her ears, she felt the fox stir behind her. She asked, unnerved, ¡°~Wh-why is Mrs. Aria here?~¡± Cinder just sighed, her head slumping. ¡°^We asked her to go home and get some proper rest once the vote was over, but... she refused. She clung to you, didn¡¯t want to let go even after all the dust settled and the ceremony was over. We brought a bed here so that she could stay the night, thought it might just be some residual stress... but she kept waking up and checking on you, heart racing each time. Exhaustion finally knocked her out good just a couple hours ago, and she¡¯s been like this since.^¡± Anne¡¯s eyes grew wider with every word, the image being painted only providing further fuel for the flames of worry. ¡°~I-i-is she gonna be alright?~¡± ¡°Of course she¡ª*yaaaaawn*¡ªshe will, Anne, mumble mumble...¡± the translated woofs muttered into Anne¡¯s side. The sound finally snagged her attention away from her guardian and back to her friend, right arm immediately pulling her into the tightest hug the girl could manage as the fox continued, ¡°Everything will be alright now, mumble mumble...¡± As much as Anne wanted to believe that assertion, she couldn¡¯t. Despite Ember¡¯s warm, loving comfort, despite Cinder¡¯s cold, rational reassurance... she just couldn¡¯t. Nothing was ever as simple as that, no problem as all-encompassing and anxiety inducing as what she and Aria and so many others had just been through ever got solved so easily or so definitively. If they even could get solved at all, that is. Something more still would happen, right? It had to; her mind refused to even consider an alternative option. No way this was over, no way she was actually safe, there was still more pain ahead of her, there must¡¯ve been, there was no way there couldn¡¯t be! Ember was too drowsy to make out anything concrete from the muck in her friend¡¯s mind, and Cinder had woefully little idea of how to address it. Of course sating Anne¡¯s worries would require more than this, but it wasn¡¯t something she knew how to help with beyond what she¡¯d already done¡ª Before she could even try anything, though, the room¡¯s entrance sliding open cut her off mid-thought. Anne had glimpsed the Blissey that had just walked into the room a few times, and already had much to thank her for. Such as for her current shirt being... modified to allow her cast arm to slip through the sleeve. In a destructive way, sure, but it was much better than nothing. Now that she thought about it, they¡ªor someone else¡ªwould most likely have to do something similar with at least a couple of other shirts. This one was growing due for a wash, as was the human that wore it on the whole. Something to tackle later. Hopefully Ember and her better sense of smell doesn¡¯t mind... ¡°Your arm, please,¡± the Blissey requested. Anne complied right away, the healer glancing at Cinder with a brief, appreciative nod. As the human and the Braixen beside her looked away from the unsightly mess underneath the cast, the Normal-type thought to herself, arms working on autopilot. Rather hesitantly at that, a fact not missed by the girl, even as she tried her hardest not to pay attention. She was being healed, and that¡¯s all that mattered. Couldn¡¯t expect everyone to like her, after all. Both because of course not everyone would, and because of course some people would dislike her in particular... Unaware of the self-consciousness lashing out against its host beside her, the Blissey kept working¡ªand paused with a sigh. No matter what her past experiences have been, the human would be staying here for the foreseeable future. Might as well take a moment to sort herself out while she had the opportunity. ¡°So... you¡¯re staying for good, is what I¡¯ve heard being whispered around?¡± she asked. The elderly voice made Anne blink her mental murk away as she replayed the words in her head, nodding as firmly as she could without disturbing her injured limb. ¡°Good, good,¡± the healer responded. ¡°Hopefully, your arm will make a full recovery in not too long, but of course you never know with injuries this severe.¡± Not very reassuring, but neither was life. Still, Anne wanted to thank the... healer for her efforts, ¡°~Y-yeah. Th-thank you for helping me out, M-Mrs... B-Blissey.~¡± She was nigh-certain she¡¯d heard their name at some point during her stay so far, but couldn¡¯t recall it for the life of her. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Esther¡¯, and... you¡¯re very welcome, Anne. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re staying; you¡¯ve been nothing but sweet so far,¡± Esther corrected, the tiniest hint of a smile creeping onto her slightly wrinkled face as she redoubled her efforts. ¡°Have to admit, wasn¡¯t too... eager at the start when Sprout first brought you here. More than a bit of sorry history with humans on my end, used to work in one of their hospitals not too far from here.¡± Anne blinked at the Blissey¡¯s words, unsure how to respond as the Normal-type continued, ¡°Left me quite soured about you all over the years, was so glad to escape once I figured out a way to sneak out of that place. Though, in hindsight... *sigh*, the more I think about it, the more I realize it was just a couple doctors and nurses that made it all a pain. Two interactions a day with pieces of shit get dwarfed by dozens upon hundreds of pleasant ones with everyone else. Or I suppose, as pleasant as can be while being considered a mindless animal. Either way, it¡¯s the former that really linger in the mind, and the latter you never reminisce about.¡± The Blissey chuckled to herself, giving the entire injury one last look before wrapping it in dressings and bandages again. ¡°Suppose, if nothing else, a reminder to keep proportions like these in mind. For every awful day, there are plenty more fine ones, and the more we remember that, the more sane we¡¯ll remain, eh?¡± While Cinder slumped in her seat with each passing word, Anne remained just as stunned as she¡¯d been one moral lesson earlier. She was simultaneously glad that the Blissey got better, and very... confused about why it was her that the healer came clean to about all this. Guess her not hating humans anymore was good news, just the sort that probably would¡¯ve been best kept inside her head... ¡°~U-uh... yeah. That¡ªthat sounds... wise,~¡± Anne stammered, staring at the floor. Esther didn¡¯t have to receive another intense dose of mild discomfort to realize her faux pas, pausing as she hurriedly tried to figure out what to do next. Apologizing was an option, but one that would¡¯ve probably just made it all even more awkward¡ªguess a change of topic would work? Yeah, let¡¯s try that. ¡°Yeah. Uhh... something I¡¯ve been curious about for a while actually, if you could help me out with it... d-dear.¡± Esther changed the topic, her swerve neither subtle nor missed by Anne. Still, the human appreciated it, as did the Delphox in the corner. ¡°~O-oh? How can I help, Mrs. Esther?~¡± After taking a while to mull through the best way of asking it, the Blissey went with the most direct question, speeding up her motions, ¡°Would you know what day it is today?¡± Now that was something Anne didn¡¯t expect to be asked; the wrench the question threw into her thoughts was very appreciated. It required a bit of thinking to figure out¡ªshe¡¯d ran away and crashed on the night of twenty-ninth, before waking up an unknown amount of time later. She¡¯d gone through traumatic events A, B, and C, with X days of coma in between A and B. How long did it all last? Just had to solve for X. ¡°~How long did I sleep for b-before I first woke up here¡ªi-if you¡¯d know, Mrs. Esther...~¡± she whimpered. The Blissey tapped her foot on the carpeted floor as she thought back; the variable in Anne¡¯s equation soon clarified. ¡°Well, Sprout found you before sunrise a few days ago, then you slept that entire day, and woke up screaming the next morning if memory serves.¡± One day then, alright. Anne nodded at the clarification, crunching numbers in her mind before Ember chimed in, disheartened at what she¡¯d just heard, ¡°A-Anne woke up screaming? Oh no, w-was she scared?¡± ¡°No sweetie, it wasn¡¯t that. Her arm got roughed up something proper, and it needed more numbing than we expected, so it hurt like mad and woke her up,¡± the Blissey explained as she wrapped up her handiwork. The injured limb in question was now a bit less achy, a bit less dirty, and¡ªhopefully¡ªa bit closer to regaining full function. ¡°O-oh, oh no... Anne, does it hurt a lot?¡± Ember asked as she slid up to her human; ears flat against her head. She finally dared to take another look at Anne¡¯s left side, now that the healer was done with her unsightly task. ¡°D-do you want me to not touch it?¡± ¡°~Thirty, one, first¡ªoh? Oh, d-don¡¯t worry Ember, it actually doesn¡¯t hurt l-like this. I don¡¯t know how bad it¡¯ll be if someone touches it, but it should be alright,~¡± Anne reassured. She wasn¡¯t anywhere near as certain about her claim as she wished she was, but tried to not let that show. At least it wasn¡¯t her dominant arm, thankfully. As she provided her friend with some more affection, she went back to finish her thought from earlier, finally arriving at a concrete date, ¡°I-if I got it right, it should be February 2nd, 549 today, Mrs. Esther.¡± In truth, the girl didn¡¯t know if the Blissey would even understand the date¡ªbut considering she explicitly asked about it, Anne hoped she would. As the healer stared wide-eyed at nothing in particular, finally realizing just how long it¡¯d been since she first arrived here, the human had her own revelation. The date lit up a small lightbulb inside her mind¡ªcloudy, weak, but still present despite the world¡¯s best efforts to the contrary. Her birthday was just eight days away. The day meant little to her anymore, never did. Even back at her grandma¡¯s place, they weren¡¯t exactly swimming in money, so her birthdays were far from extravagant. Still, they always included at least one gift¡ªmost often a toy she¡¯d spotted on one of the three channels their old TV could tune to and wouldn¡¯t stop talking about¡ªa small cake with her name on it, delivered all the way over from Mistralton, and a hearty snack for Ember. Nobody knew when the Fennekin¡¯s birthday was, so her grandma figured she might as well make it one day of celebration for them both. Not much, but lovely enough to sting her eyes a bit as she thought back to it. And then once... once grandma Lisa was gone, and she was back with her parents, the day almost stopped having any meaning whatsoever. Not even Anne herself really acknowledged it anymore. It was only Mrs. Graham that ever made an effort to celebrate the day, gifting her some fancier art supplies than spare notebook pages and store-brand pencils. Would she let anyone know about this? A part of her wanted to, the inward impulse of wanting that happiness, that celebration, these¡ªthese gifts too, as selfish as that was to admit. But¡­ the people here had already done so much for her. Patched her up, looked after her, and argued for her safety despite her not belonging here. Another glance at Aria. Still squirming in her sleep, still anxious. They had saved her life! The last thing she wanted to do was to keep asking for more, to be even more of a burden to everyone here. To force everyone here to do even more for her¡ª*squeeze!* The tight, blissfully warm embrace made it difficult to focus¡ªas intended. ¡°^B-but we¡¯d all love to help you out Anne, a-and get you something for your birthday!^¡± Ember squealed, her excited, telepathic words only making Anne wince. It was a sweet gesture, but utterly mismatched compared to the human¡¯s sour, dour mental state, eager to use the fox¡¯s goodwill to bash itself for all kinds of perceived slights. The fact wasn¡¯t lost on the vixen, making her hold her friend even tighter, even firmer. As the two girls fought the sludge sloshing inside Anne¡¯s skull, Esther continued, blissfully oblivious to everything going beside her, ¡°Hmmm. How old are you again, Anne?¡± A lifeboat away from the mental storm, a merciful distraction. ¡°~U-uh... I-I¡¯m ten, almost eleven.~¡± ¡°Huh! Well, considering your history, I suppose it makes sense for you to be smaller than I expected. Thought you were about nine or so. Malnourishment doesn¡¯t help either. Eat well, and hopefully you¡¯ll regain the missing height as you grow¡ª¡± The loud steps approaching from the room beside theirs caught Cinder¡¯s attention. They almost made her get up to apprehend whoever was about to walk in on them¡ªbefore she sighed and leaned against the wall once more. Even if she wanted to stop the approaching force of nature, she sincerely doubted she¡¯d been able to. *rust-RUSTLE* ¡°GOOD MORNING, SUNSHINES!¡± Holly shouted, waking all the souls still trying to get some rest in the healers¡¯ tent. ¡°Gotta celebrate the news in some proper way! There ya go, girls, enjoy your meals!¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. It took both Anne and Ember a while to act, even after the bundle of delicious-smelling food was offered to them. The buttery, sweet scent that the Azumarill had brought with herself helped in melting through the deadlock their minds were stuck in, though. Taking care not to tilt it too much, Anne grabbed her portion, setting it on the bedding beside herself. ¡°~Thank you, M-Mrs. Holly¡ª~¡± ¡°Doncha fret it, Annie! Now that I know I got you here in walking range for good, doncha doubt I¡¯ll do all I can to get something more than skin on those bones of yours! Can¡¯t have ya starving under my watch, haha!¡± Holly giggled. As Anne smiled to herself at the gesture, she spotted Aria anxiously looking around the room, startled into a sitting position by Holly¡¯s arrival. The Azumarill didn¡¯t notice, though, continuing, ¡°Aaaaaand, if ya got any of your fancy-schmancy human recipes in that noggin of yours, I hope ya gonna share! I¡¯ve already improved a bunch of them, been itching to get my paws on more!¡± A lack of response, or even any attention, finally clued Holly to what was going on, the scene that awaited behind her making her chuckle, ¡°Good grief Aria, you look like you could use a pick-me-up too! Maybe I need to grab some of that juice I made for Annie here a couple days back and pour you a portion or seven, eh?¡± Despite Holly¡¯s best efforts, the Gardevoir didn¡¯t respond, the dazed exhaustion clear on her features. The Azumarill wasn¡¯t the one to give up on cheering someone up, but was well aware that her efforts would be better spent elsewhere¡ªsuch as on making due on her offer while Aria came to. ¡°Don¡¯t have to not tell me twice!¡± Holly chuckled. ¡°Hopefully won¡¯t take too long to get everythin¡¯ ready. Take care, y¡¯all!¡± ¡°Th-thank you, Mrs. Holly!¡± Anne added, wanting to give the Azumarill her courtesy, no matter how worried she was. Her timid wave returned right away as the cook took her leave. With the cook gone, Anne¡¯s gaze swept around the room once more, finding the Blissey healer absent as well, to her surprise. Must¡¯ve left when everyone was distracted by Holly. She thought little of it, though, not with the entirety of her focus now placed on the Gardevoir. ¡°~M-Mrs. Aria?~¡± The Gardevoir¡¯s small gasp startled the two girls, their surprise at such a reaction soon turning into further concern. Thankfully, it was enough to snap the psychic back to reality with a few confused blinks, dazzled shock soon giving way to relief at seeing Anne here with her. Safe, at last. ¡°^G-good morning, Anne. How¡ªhow are you feeling, sweetie?^¡± Aria asked, giving the human girl the most confident smile she could muster¡ªpitiful enough to worry Anne and Ember even further¡ªbefore slowly sitting down beside Anne, shaking arms weakly wrapping around her. The gesture was as magical and pleasant as she¡¯d grown to expect from the Gardevoir, but... there was something missing. It¡¯s as if much of her warmth was gone, replaced with a pretense of one, a fake comfort that couldn¡¯t even sustain itself, let alone the fearful girl beside her. Anne responded, concerned, ¡°~I-I¡¯m doing okay, Mrs. Aria. A-are you okay, though? You look tired.~¡± ¡°^No no, I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m doing fine. B-but are you sure you are, Anne? R-really alright?^¡± Aria¡¯s voice wavered in a way Anne¡ªor Ember for that matter¡ªhadn¡¯t ever heard from her before, the sound putting them on edge. The human girl was especially unsure of what to do. She¡¯d just answered her; both of them knew on a logical level that she was safe now with the vote being over. ¡°~Yeah! Still need to calm down a-a bit, but I¡¯m really alright. The vote passed, right?~¡± ¡°^Yes, it did,^¡± Cinder confirmed, her words firm and immediate. They provided some well-needed reassurance to Anne while startling Aria even further. The human girl almost gasped at how tight she was held in response to the Delphox¡¯s voice. How shakily. The Gardevoir insisted, ¡°^B-but is it really over? N-no way it is, we¡ªwe have to still be on the lookout...^¡± Her words didn¡¯t even feel like they were aimed at anyone but herself, muttered and disjointed. It was all as confusing as it was disheartening for Anne¡ªit felt like Aria couldn¡¯t hear her, like something just wasn¡¯t clicking, so unlike her. Before her worries could grow further, two voices spoke up¡ªone concerned, ¡°M-Mrs. Aria, are you really alright?¡± and one much more to the point. ¡°^Aria. Please, you¡¯re not doing well right now. You need to take some time off from all this¡ª^¡± The moment the Delphox stood up, there was an immediate shift in the room¡¯s atmosphere. Anne might¡¯ve only wished she was psychic, but even she noticed the air turning from uneasy to being an inch from violently exploding from all the tension¡ªand much of it was coming from the Gardevoir she was so worried about. She had no idea what to say; she wasn¡¯t sure she even wanted Aria to be here with her, not like this. With a deep breath, Cinder realized what was going on and backed off, sitting back down. Not something she knew how to handle, especially not in a situation like this, with children in the room. Before the pressure could grow even further, though, everyone¡¯s eyes snapped over to the entrance at the sound of linen being slid aside. ¡°Honey?¡± Garret asked, his words welcomed by everyone¡ªespecially their intended recipient. Anne felt the Gardevoir¡¯s embrace loosen just a bit as the Grimmsnarl approached, eyes going wider and expression slacking a bit more. ¡°Honey, what¡¯s going on? Are you okay?¡± As he came to a stop beside the two beds, the calm taps of much shorter steps soon followed, before speeding up at sensing the emotional mess everyone was stewing in. Autumn walked in moments after and levitated herself onto the bed Aria had slept on minutes earlier and taking a seat along its edge. ¡°Aria, are you here with me?¡± she asked, her voice raised. Being surrounded by faces she knew she could trust helped a lot, but, to Aria¡¯s dismay, solved nothing by itself. Her heart still pounded, her mind still raced with thoughts it was barely cognizant of. She usually held a much better grip on herself than this, but right now, it all felt... uncontrollable. ¡°^It¡ªit feels like something¡¯s gonna happen again. Like¡ªlike it¡¯s still not over, like I¡¯m still back in that tent. I-it just won¡¯t go away. I don¡¯t know h-how to make it stop.^¡± The realization of just how much of a mess her mind was didn¡¯t help the Gardevoir much in remaining calm, but at least it let her loved ones know what to do to help her. Autumn wasted no time before catching her attention with a bit of applied psychics and speaking up, ¡°I get it, sweetie. You put so much of yourself into this entire ordeal, into dealing with the Elders, into keeping us all, and especially Anne, safe. I can only imagine how hard it is to leave that headspace afterwards. It¡¯s really over though, I promise. You deserve the biggest break in the world from having to worry about it all, about Anne.¡± As the human in question kept looking at Aria in concern, the Indeedee¡¯s words only brought the Gardevoir more fear. Her hold re-tightened immediately, as she mumbled, ¡°^Wh-what if s-someone steps out of line? What if¡ªwhat if the Elders come up with something else, and¡ª^¡± Before the Gardevoir could wind herself up any further, her words and embrace alike were swiftly cut off by her husband leaning in to pull her into the firmest hug his furry body could manage, individual hairs deftly prying his wife away from the little human. ¡°Shhhhhh... It¡¯s really over honey, please, listen to us...¡± Cinder waited until Aria stopped shaking in her husband¡¯s embrace before chiming in once more, ¡°^I¡¯ll be Anne¡¯s ward for the next while. It will be both in your and in her best interest if you take the time to clear your head after everything you¡¯ve been through, Aria. She will be alright.^¡± Anne was still overwhelmed at everything going on around her, but realized this was her time to speak up and help her guardian out, to make up for all the care she¡¯d been given. ¡°~Yeah! I-I¡¯ll be alright, Mrs. Aria, promise!~¡± she reassured, voice as confident as she could manage. Even all the words combined couldn¡¯t do miracles, but combined with the affection from her husband, they were just about sufficient to break through much of the Gardevoir¡¯s present wound-up anxiety. With each passing moment, her shaking waned before culminating in a weak nod. Less at any single claim in specific, and more so at the overall intent of everyone gathered. ¡°Let¡¯s get you some more rest, honey. I love you,¡± the Grimmsnarl whispered, as somber as it was possible for sounds being snarled and growled out to be. And his wife noticed. As he made his way around the second bed and towards the room¡¯s entrance, Aria¡¯s arms finally reached around him, returning his affection with her own utterly exhausted embrace. ¡°^L-love you too...^¡± The room took a collective sigh of relief as Aria and Garret made their way out, shared concern mellowing out as the Gardevoir received the support she so clearly needed. It had all been a nightmare they were only now waking up from; the kind of trauma that left scars despite ending without any casualties. ¡°Unfortunate. Nobody should have to deal with what you two have gone through¡ªbut it¡¯s over now. How are you doing, Anne?¡± Autumn asked, trying to keep her voice as chipper as she could despite the dourness they had all just witnessed, smiling at the human girl as she sat down beside her. As much as both her words and presence were appreciated by the little human, though, the elderly psychic soon realized that her job here wasn¡¯t yet done. Anne shook as thoughts she had no control over filled her mind again, her anxiety not unlike Aria¡¯s if so much more vicious in the mental images it slipped to her. As much as she wanted it to be over, it felt like it wasn¡¯t, like it couldn¡¯t be, the precise fear too muddled to really hone in on, but no less potent as a result. It stewed under the girl¡¯s skullcap, each passing moment distilling it further until all Anne could do was shake and try to stave the creeping hyperventilation off. ¡°A-Anne!? Anne, c-can you hear me? Wh-what¡¯s going on?¡± Ember asked, panicked, close to freaking out at her friend¡¯s state. She wanted to help, she needed to help, but again and again found herself woefully unable to do anything but watch as her friend got worse. Even with Aria gone, the atmosphere in the room kept growing tenser by the moment¡ªbut the two women present wanted to do everything in their power to ensure it wouldn¡¯t get any worse. Cinder quickly made her way over and sat down on the edge of the bed, away from Anne, holding her daughter close. She wished Ember would be as comfortable in her embrace, in her presence, as she once was. The slight, but perceptible unease in her daughter¡¯s body language was the Delphox¡¯s fault, and she knew she had nobody to blame for herself. She didn¡¯t know how to help the human out, but she didn¡¯t have to¡ªAutumn was here. *clap-clap~* It was the quietest, most gentle clapping sound imaginable, catching Anne¡¯s attention for just long enough to look down at the smaller psychic beside her. As she did, Autumn leaned in and grasped Anne¡¯s hands¡ªor at least her index fingers¡ªin her paws, the sensation as warmly tingly as she¡¯d come to expect with psychics. Cadence might¡¯ve been taught that manipulating other people¡¯s emotions to forcibly calm them down and make them not afraid was mean, but Autumn knew the actual truth of the matter. It wasn¡¯t mean; it was foolish. It was the most temporary of band-aids¡ªone that not only lasted for much less than many attempting it hoped for; but also one which then immediately decayed, infecting the emotional wound it was meant to shield and making it incomparably worse. Which was why Autumn didn¡¯t do it. Directly interfering in emotions was a fool¡¯s errand, but using one¡¯s mind¡¯s eye to find their source and try addressing that most certainly wasn¡¯t. Having the girl¡¯s attention helped, physical contact helped even more. As she dug into Anne¡¯s panicking mind, the Indeedee slowly rocked her body from side to side, and the girl subconsciously followed. The simplest way there was to carve out some more calmness for oneself, and yet no less effective because of that. In no time, Anne was just that bit more grounded, and Autumn had a decent idea of what she was dealing with. Ultimately, the girl¡¯s case wasn¡¯t too different from the Gardevoir¡¯s, if more focused on the individual stimuli from the discussion preceding the vote. The growls, hisses, and cries, intimidating in themselves and turned incomparably monstrous by knowing there was malice behind them, malice that wished to take her life for having been born the wrong way. It might¡¯ve only been behind some of them, but it didn¡¯t even matter¡ªit¡¯d just take one dissatisfied person to take Anne¡¯s life, and the girl was acutely aware of that. Which was exactly why they were so focused on keeping her safe. ¡°^Anne?^¡± Autumn whispered, the telepathic sound worming itself straight into the girl¡¯s mind. ¡°^I know you¡¯re scared, sweetie. I don¡¯t blame you, I can only imagine how terrifying all this undue horror must¡¯ve been for you. But, I want to say, from the very bottom of my life, that you¡¯re safe. Both in your stay here, and from anyone trying to attack you.^¡± The girl was so incredibly glad Autumn wasn¡¯t saying these words out loud for everyone to hear. Sure, she doubted that either Ember or Cinder would mind her being afraid of the other denizens of this village, especially after she¡¯d been through, but... a part of her still felt awful for doing so. After all, Autumn was right, she was safe, and here she was, suspecting random innocent mons of wanting to hurt her just because they were mons. Of course, reality was more nuanced than that, something that the Indeedee didn¡¯t hesitate to clarify, ¡°^Oh Anne, Anne. We both know that fear ain¡¯t all bigotry¡ªand with what you¡¯ve been through, I doubt there¡¯s that much of it in there to begin with. Because, yes, some in our village do harbor ill will towards you. But it¡¯s a much smaller group than you fear,^¡± she continued. Her words were true, but insufficient¡ªwhich was why she wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°^You¡¯re right, even a single person could hurt you badly, but at that point they¡¯d be signing their own death wish. Cinder will be with you, watching over you, I¡¯ll be here with you, and if anyone lifts even a finger your way, we¡¯ll make sure they¡¯ll never feel it right ever again.^¡± The description stirred the weakest of giggles in Anne¡¯s mind, the sound as mumbly as it was sorely needed. ¡°^I know my words can only do so much,^¡± the Indeedee continued, ¡°^there¡¯s no magical solution for what you¡¯re going through¡ªbut I¡¯ve learned from experience that these kinds of reassurances add up.^¡± There isn¡¯t a cure to a traumatized mind, there never will be. There isn¡¯t a cure to a broken arm, there never will be. Manage their symptoms, take care of any occasional flare-ups, and keep them secure from further harm, though, and they¡¯ll slowly heal over time. They will probably never feel exactly the same as they were before, but they¡¯ll be enough to live with. It was all a lesson Autumn had to learn the hard way over the years, but which she was more than glad to use to help anyone she could. Patience and being willing to manage individual spikes, be they of pain or panic, again and again, was everything, and the Indeedee was immensely relieved to see that she¡¯d assisted Anne in processing this first one after yesterday¡¯s anxious torment. Bit by bit, the girl¡¯s body unwound; helped greatly by Autumn¡¯s deep breathing, which Anne then involuntarily mirrored. And in; and out. And in; and out. You¡¯re safe. I¡¯m safe. The gradual shift was palpable to more than just the Indeedee. Once the human girl had cooled off enough, Cinder let her daughter rejoin in by letting go of her, the Braixen picking up on the gesture immediately. And, for once, Anne returned her hug right away, savoring her warmth as she whispered, ¡°~T-thank you, M-Mrs. Autumn...~¡± ¡°Anytime, sweetie. Now, better get to all the goodies Holly brought over before they go cold!¡± the Indeedee giggled, motivated equally by a genuine desire for such wonderfully smelling treats to be enjoyed as much as they could be, and by wanting Anne to further distract herself from all the terrifying thoughts with a tasty meal. Mostly the former. The contents of the little bags Holly had left behind looked just as good as they smelled. Two halves of a small, creamy cake, toppled with a few Pecha pieces and more sugar than either girl ate, even back when they still lived with their grandma. For a while, the only sounds filling the room of the healer tent were vigorous chewing and occasional gulps, Anne especially too hungry to even think about stopping her unexpected feast. Autumn and Cinder never quite saw eye to eye, even before Anne¡¯s arrival and the latter¡¯s cruelty that it had uncovered, but they could at least unite in being happy over both girls doing well. A part of the Indeedee considered the responsibility of looking after Anne for the first few months to be much, much too light a ¡®punishment¡¯ for the Delphox considering all that she¡¯d done¡­ but her opinion didn¡¯t matter as long as Ember was happy with the outcome. And few things made Ember happier than the thought of her best friend being looked after. The cake each girl was eating a half of might¡¯ve been on the smaller side, but the same was true for the girls themselves¡ªrelative to their species, that is. Tried as she might, Ember couldn¡¯t even finish her portion, and Anne only barely managed to finish stuffing herself with hers, before cleaning up everything left after the Braixen. She was so used to the sensation of hunger she barely even consciously recognized it anymore, but maybe this would be enough to stave it off until sunset, hehe¡ª *eeeeee!* As the best friends snuggled into one another in their shared food coma, the shrill, ethereal sound coming from behind them made them scramble to verify if it came from who they thought it did. Indeed, it had. Sage was shyly observing Autumn from behind her spectral hands, trying to contain her excitement with a timid wave. The Indeedee still had no idea just why did her presence make the little ghost so happy, but it didn¡¯t matter¡ªshe was glad to see her, anyway. Without saying a word, she opened her arms for a hug facing Sage; the gesture immediately understood. One uncertain look later¡ªanswered with a reassuring nod and a telepathic comment¡ªthe Phantump hovered right over, the rough bark of her head pressing itself into the chubby psychic¡¯s fur. ¡°~G-good morning, Sage!~¡± Anne joined in with a wave of her own, followed up on by Ember soon after. It took the younger girl a while to notice, but when she did, she floated over to Anne, waving with both arms as she squealed, ¡°~Hiiiii Anne! You look happy!~¡± Inconceivable considering the last twenty-four hours, the thought making Anne giggle a bit, but true all the same. ¡°~Y-yeah! I¡¯ll be staying here for good!~¡± Sage took the words in eagerly¡ªbefore tilting her head, clearly confused. ¡°~I thought you were already gonna stay.~¡± Cinder might¡¯ve limited herself to exhaling some hot air through her nose, but others expressed their amusement much more loudly. Anne¡¯s arm outstretched for a hug let Sage know everyone wasn¡¯t laughing at her, but with her. ¡°~No, no, we¡ªwe didn¡¯t know that until yesterday,~¡± Anne clarified. Her words were much appreciated, letting the ghostly girl sort her confusion out before presenting something she was happy about, ¡°~Oooooo! Me and Mr. Yaksha will be going today!~¡± Sage wasn¡¯t expecting all the amusement to suddenly falter at her saying these words, with nobody present sure what she meant, and all of them worried to various extents. Clearly, she must¡¯ve said something wrong; the thought bringing a fair bit of worry. Before it could grow too much, though, Autumn tried to clear the air, ¡°Oh? Where will you be going, sweetie?¡± ¡°~Home! That¡¯s what Mr. Yaksha told me. Mr. Yaksha!~¡± the Phantump called. Without waiting for a response, she hovered through the nearby wall once more before dragging the Banette with herself, taken aback by it all. She then realized she¡¯d left her wig behind, gasping at the oversight and phasing once more to retrieve it before, at the last moment, remembering re-enter the room through the physical entrance. ¡°~Mr. Yaksha, are we going home today?~¡± The follow-up brought some well-needed clarification, letting the Banette go from uncomfortable confusion to slightly-less-uncomfortable ¡®having to correct another of many misunderstandings with Sage¡¯. Still far from something he enjoyed, making him stifle a groan before he spoke up, ¡°~I didn¡¯t say we¡¯re going home today, Sage. I just said we¡¯d need to talk more about it today.~¡± While Sage groaned at her hopes being delayed, Anne realized something else. Sure, either Autumn or Cinder must¡¯ve been providing translation right now, but... her ears were picking up the Banette¡¯s words too. They weren¡¯t just whispers and ghostly wails, and while he was much harder to understand than Sage, both because of the distortion over his voice and the older vocabulary, he was clearly speaking Unovan. She probably should¡¯ve expected that considering these two had arrived together and could communicate before they got here, but it still took her aback a bit. ¡°Well... I¡¯m not any more opposed to you two trying to return Sage to her home today than I was yesterday, but the logistic woes remain, don¡¯t they?¡± Autumn asked. As the lil¡¯ haunting floated back over to her, she continued, ¡°Only a vague direction, no way of asking for directions...¡± Off to the side, Cinder was trying her absolute hardest to piece the context of the discussion together from the little she¡¯d just overheard. Obviously something was going on that she wasn¡¯t privy about, the mentions of a nearby ¡®home¡¯ that the Phantump wanted to go back to. Was she a human-owned mon that got lost in the woods and was looking for a way back¡ª ... Oh, gods. As unfortunate as Sage¡¯s fate was, Cinder wasn¡¯t any better at sympathizing with dead humans than she was with living ones. Thankfully, she could provide help in other ways, immediately thinking through the situation she was quickly piecing together¡ªand arriving at one immediate conclusion. ¡°^No matter what you settle on, it would likely be best if you put your plan into action today. With Anne¡¯s situation already judged, I imagine you¡¯d want to get out of here before Elders get you in their sights...^¡± The Delphox kept her gaze pinned on the entrance to the room, away from the group¡ªonly for everyone present to turn towards her in unison at her words. Not something anyone was expecting her to say for multiple reasons, and she wasn¡¯t feeling like justifying herself in depth, settling on a barebones excuse, ¡°^I assume you already know about the risks something like that will pose. Me restating them would bring no help.^¡± She only barely managed to force these words through the sheer discomfort that the thought of someone with the knowledge of their village permanently living amongst humans brought her, but the self-inflicted Calm Mind did a good job of keeping it under wraps. ¡°That is a good point, yes,¡± the Indeedee acknowledged. ¡°We ought to figure it out as soon as we can... someone that could help figure out the way would be ideal, either by being able to see their whole town from above or by asking humans for help, either a flier or a psychic¡ªI¡¯ve got an idea!¡± she gasped, turning to Sage as a light switch flipped in her head, ¡°I¡¯ll need to ask Marco about this, I hope he¡¯ll be willing to help.¡± Ember nodded as eagerly as she could, leaning around her friend to chime in. ¡°Y-yes! I-I know Mr. Marco will wanna help us! He helped me remember Anne; he¡¯s great!¡± As Anne used the opportunity to pull the vixen into a one-armed hug¡ªthe gesture immediately returned¡ªCinder raised a question, ¡°^To... to the best of my knowledge, he¡¯s still recovering after I¡­ attacked him a few days ago. If Sage here needs a psychic to help her out, why not you, Autumn, or myself if someone can look after Anne in the meantime?^¡± The Delphox tried to keep herself from reeling under the Anne¡¯s shocked look at hearing that, and managed¡ªif barely. She focused on what Autumn¡¯s response would be; the Indeedee chewing through both other options. Unfortunately, both of them suffered from the same issue. ¡°I imagine it¡¯d be much easier for Marco to look like another human for when he has to talk to them for directions. I¡¯m too small, and you¡¯re too... fluffy.¡± ¡°^Considering we¡¯ll need to either obscure or fully disguise ourselves for this task, I don¡¯t see size making much difference,^¡± Cinder argued, raising a single eyebrow at the Indeedee. Only for it to fall back down as the smaller psychic clarified, ¡°That¡¯s the thing, maybe we won¡¯t have to!¡± Autumn grinned, walking around the bed towards the Delphox. ¡°I know Marco hasn¡¯t fully recovered, but with his human shape, I¡¯m thinking that we could use some of the human clothes Aria and Lumi brought over so that we can cover most of him, and then he¡¯d only have to disguise his face and hands, and maybe feet. Much easier than keeping himself fully obscured, ain¡¯t it?¡± Not something Cinder could deny, nodding slowly as she brought up another point, ¡°^Though that would leave him visible, and able to be spotted if his disguise slips.^¡± ¡°Truuuue, but I imagine that the cover of dark will make it harder for humans to spot any slip-ups. Besides, with Sage and Yaksha beside him, it¡¯ll probably be best if he is visible, just so that other humans think they are ¡®his¡¯ mons and not wild ones.¡± Yaksha grumbled under his breath at being referred to as someone¡¯s mon, even if for the sake of illustration. That aside, Autumn was making sense, and now the ball was back in the tall Fire-type¡¯s court to refute¡ªwhich she couldn¡¯t. ¡°^Hmm. That sounds like a good idea, yes. It will be a perilous undertaking even then, I reckon,^¡± Cinder sighed, shuddering at the thought of everything that could go wrong. ¡°Not gonna disagree,¡± Autumn admitted, ¡°but, after all, certainty is a luxury rarely granted. He¡¯s gonna be alright.¡± Before she could get into any more pondering, one obvious hitch presented itself¡ªone they could all take care of there and then. ¡°But but but, I¡¯m going off here talking about him like he¡¯s gonna follow along without questions. Have to bring this up to him, and hope he won¡¯t rebuff us at the idea. Which meansssss~¡± Autumn turned away from Cinder and back towards the human of the group, skipping before her and asking with all the eagerness and excitement she could muster out of her elderly voice, ¡°Do you feel like going for a walk with us, Anne?¡± Chapter 31: Curiosity The idea of heading outside was as exciting as it was worrisome. Even putting the purely logistical issues aside¡ªAnne felt a bit better than yesterday evening, but doubted she was strong enough to walk unassisted¡ªshe was still unsure about some things. Her brief walk alongside Aria was more terrifying than either of them could¡¯ve predicted, for many reasons. Some of them obvious, some¡­ much less so. Would she still be so terrified of the passersby in the daylight? Would the self-consciousness about being seen to be afraid of them without a good reason immediately start pummeling her? Would she make an embarrassing spectacle of herself because of difficulties walking? Neither Anne nor anyone else had any answers to these questions. Either way, she lived here now, and would have to go outside, eventually. Her current company was the best she could¡¯ve asked for in these uncertain conditions. It was just a matter of gathering the courage, pushing through these worries, and daring to venture into the vast unknown beyond these four-ish walls she¡¯d spent the past few days in. Said action took about fifteen seconds of consideration, but they were some of the more intense fifteen seconds in Anne¡¯s life. With that settled, Anne began her slow routine of preparing to brave the outside, a more awkward one than she¡¯d expected it to be. Sure, Autumn had her shawl, but that was a matter of moments as opposed to the minutes it took the human girl to slide into everything needed. Especially without help, which would¡¯ve made it all ten times more uncomfortable. Thin, but still-holeless socks, muddied shoes, reasonably thick jeans, an old sweater she got from grandma Lisa and stretched so much over the years she still fit it. A jacket would¡¯ve been a good idea too, but her current one had the double issue of being stashed somewhere else in the village, and being soaked in blood. They¡¯d all have to learn how to clean Anne¡¯s array of clothes eventually, ha. But that was then, and now the sweater was perfectly sufficient¡ªespecially when combined with Ember refusing to let go of her and Autumn¡¯s Safeguard. Finally, after some of the most self-conscious few minutes of her life, Anne was ready to head out. And the village hidden in the Unovan woods greeted her with snow and interesting architecture. She wasn¡¯t ever the one to pay a lot of attention to buildings, but it was hard not to notice the sheer diversity of shapes and materials on display here. Canvas, logs, thick planks reinforced with tar, stones, fired bricks¡ªeven dirt and mud; the snow capping the diligently kept mounds left them hard to spot at a glance. Almost all of them were quite a bit smaller than any houses in Mylock, but she supposed it made sense¡ªthey had to hide from humanity, after all. ... And they probably didn¡¯t have that much stuff that needed to be stored... The thought stung, snapping Anne back to her surroundings as Ember held her good arm that bit tighter. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn¡¯t run from the reality of the villagers¡¯ opinion of her forever. Grabbing the Braixen¡¯s paw, the human took a deep breath as their group turned around the corner, ready to face the leers and snarls ahead¡ª And finding... curiosity. Granted, she wasn¡¯t a body language expert even for humans, let alone for the over dozen species in eyeshot, but she couldn¡¯t spot anything that felt threatening. There were some wary looks, sure. A few passersby looked away from her; a couple glared at her for a split second before noticing her company¡ªbut nothing more than that. Which didn¡¯t help as much as Anne hoped it would. The awareness of not knowing what a threat display would even look like refused to be shaken off, undermining any relief trying to form in her mind. A part of her clung to it with all its strength, not wanting to let go of it, of the familiar fear tied to it. Not now, not ever. Alas, she didn¡¯t have the privilege of being able to spend her life without ever facing her fears. The realization sparked just enough courage for her to up her pace a bit, and the rest of the group followed suit. Whether this confidence was a pretense that would fizzle the moment it was needed, not even she knew. Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t Anne that had to be reassured the most. The quiet whimpers coming from her left clued her to Sage¡¯s uncertainty¡ªas did the ghostie retreating into the well-worn fabric of her sweater. With her broken arm kept underneath that topmost layer, she couldn¡¯t physically comfort the younger girl¡ªaside from talking to her, that is. ¡°~Are you okay, Sage?~¡± she asked. The Phantump jumped at the sound before redoubling her cuddling efforts, her voice wavering, ¡°~Y-yeah...~¡± ¡°~You sound quite scared.~¡± While Sage didn¡¯t react to Anne acknowledging the obvious, Yaksha did. Without waiting for elaboration, the Banette caught up with the two girls and checked up on the lil¡¯ ghost, before sighing in relief at her being unharmed. As he gathered words, Anne glanced over her shoulder¡ªand spotted nobody following them. Hadn¡¯t Cinder left together with them all? ¡°~Sage, did something happen?~¡± the Banette asked intently, trying and failing to pry his ward away from the human¡¯s comforting presence. The ghostie tried to shake her head with as much confidence as she was capable of, only for each motion to grow more and more hesitant, anyway. ¡°~It¡¯s scary here,~¡± she whimpered. ¡°~When can we go home, Mr. Yaksha?~¡± The pleading in her squeaky, ethereal voice was both hard to miss and even harder to respond to in a way that wouldn¡¯t upset her more. ¡°~I told you, Sage, we¡¯re planning to do that later today. As... Autumn said, we will need help, and we¡¯re walking to ask a local for said help,~¡± Yaksha explained. Despite his best effort to keep his exasperation under control, some of it still spilled out to his chagrin. ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t worry Sage, Mr. Marco will help you both out very soon!¡± Ember cheered, excited. While her words wouldn¡¯t have helped much by itself, the vixen accompanied them with pulling Sage into a small hug, her warmth calming the young girl down. Once she felt a bit better, Sage squeaked out, ¡°~O-okay. Thank you...~¡± As the Phantump warmed up and the Banette stifled his bitter murmurs at being unable to help the girl yet again, Anne brought up an obvious-in-hindsight question. Sure, she didn¡¯t know what the villagers thought of her, but someone else did¡ªsomeone walking just a few feet ahead of them, even. ¡°~Mrs. Autumn?~¡± The girl swore she saw the Psychic-type¡¯s horns perk up a bit as she caught her attention. She didn¡¯t have the time to consider the implications of that observation as the Indeedee turned around and responded with a smile, ¡°^Yes, Anne? Doing alright, sweetie?^¡± Either binary answer would¡¯ve been at least a partial lie. And so; Anne dodged the question, instead asking, ¡°~I-I wanted to ask. How did everyone... r-react to me staying? I know it was quite late last evening when that whole discussion happened...~¡± Every word drained the girl of more and more confidence she kept trying to stuff herself with. Before the earlier worries could strike back, though, Autumn reassured her, ¡°^Rather well from what I picked up on this morning. Sure, there were some disgruntled voices, but we could find a wellspring of honey and wine and there would still be complainers. Nothing that hasn¡¯t happened before, don¡¯t you worry Anne.^¡± It was right about the response Anne¡¯s rational part expected, and having it be spoken by someone else helped keep her nerves from getting the better of her again. Much to her surprise, though, Autumn wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°^Though in all truth, most people¡¯s thoughts seemed and still seem more focused on what Marco brought up at the vote, about us having to relocate eventually.^¡± The sudden swerve in the discussion took Anne and Ember aback, especially with such a heavy and worrisome topic. The Braixen didn¡¯t remember hearing about it yesterday. Then again, the only thing her tired mind could focus on last evening was keeping tabs on her human¡¯s wellbeing. She asked, confused, ¡°Wh-why would we have to move, Autumn? A-aren¡¯t we safe here? A-and there¡¯s a lot of food...¡± The Indeedee gave the Braixen a small smile as she tried to reason with the very uncomfortable reality. For once, it was her turn to cling to her human instead of the other way around as the Indeedee responded, her words shocking both girls, ¡°^It¡¯s not because of that sweetie, it¡¯s because the humans are making maps from the sky, and those maps have already seen us.^¡± Autumn wasn¡¯t entirely sure about her explanation, most of it lifted straight from Marco who himself only had a partial understanding of it at best. As Ember struggled to make any sense of it, the Indeedee looked to Anne, hoping that her knowledge of human stuff would help translate that abstract description into something more concrete for them all. Which... it didn¡¯t, not initially. Anne struggled with parsing the explanation more than either she or the Indeedee expected. They both knew that if anyone of their group could understand what Marco was referring to, it was her. And yet it just wasn¡¯t¡ª ... ... Maps from the sky. Photos from the sky. Oh shit. The human girl¡¯s timidness only made the inward expletive hit harder for the psychic. It confirmed at least one part of this worrisome enigma¡ªMarco wasn¡¯t exaggerating; this was serious. ¡°~I-I think I know what that means, and if it is what¡ªwhat I think it is, then that is scary, yes.~¡± Anne couldn¡¯t identify with the village enough to grow as subconsciously mortified at that knowledge as others¡ªnot yet. That didn¡¯t make it any less scary at a purely intellectual level, though. Her confirmation made the Braixen beside her shake even harder and cling to her human. ¡°^Don¡¯t you worry, Ember,^¡± Autumn chimed. ¡°^We¡¯re already slowly planning our move; we¡¯ll do everything we can to remain safe. I won¡¯t deny, it¡¯ll be a difficult time for us all, but better to migrate voluntarily while we still can than be forced to run when we least expect it.^¡± The Indeedee¡¯s smile did wonders in melting the vixen¡¯s worries, her shaking easing as her one-eyed gaze alternated between the fellow psychic and her best friend. Once she felt a bit calmer, she responded, ¡°O-okay, thank you, Autumn... wh-when will we have to leave?¡± Even with the immediate terror gone, nerves remained, the kind only time could ever help with. And for better or worse, time was something they still had plenty of. Autumn explained, ¡°^Oh, nowhere soon sweetie. Last I heard, even just planning it all will be a multi-Moon undertaking. The last thing we wanna do is to leave only to run face-first into more danger, after all. Either way, not something for you two to fret about. We can handle it, alright?^¡± It was much easier for Ember to settle her worries about that topic than for Anne, and even the vixen couldn¡¯t help but fret. Ultimately, Autumn was right¡ªthe Braixen trusted her fellow villagers, especially the adults, to keep them all safe. Something Anne had immense difficulties with. Little she could do about it at the moment though, trying to distract herself away from the unpleasant topic. Once more, she dared to look around, this time deliberately skipping faces or anything else that might inspire further doubt. They were looking for Marco, might as well try to play the game of ¡°Spot the Gallade¡±. The next few minutes were spent in silence as everyone¡¯s nerves cooled off at varying speeds. Whereas the melodic, almost singing-like noises they heard in the distance made Ember relax¡ªthe Braixen even trying to hum along with them for a moment¡ªthey only brought further discomfort to Sage by being so loud and so very inhuman, and provided more fuel for thought for Anne. She hadn¡¯t made any serious attempts to listen to the village¡¯s language yet, immediately discarding that entire idea as infeasible. And yet, she¡¯d have to learn it eventually anyway¡ªit or another way of communicating with the villagers. How she would do that, she had no idea¡ªbut again, maybe Autumn did? ¡°^Yes I do, sweetie~,^¡± the Indeedee giggled. ¡°^Well, as far as just our, or I guess more accurately Orion¡¯s language goes, it¡¯s focused much more on tones and cadence than it is on the actual sounds being made. Not everyone knows how to trill, but almost everyone can make something similar to it, for example. Add the changes in pitch, space it out the right way, and voil¨¤¡ªcompletely different species can suddenly talk! After a few months of learning and many years of practice, of course, but it¡¯s so much better than not having that, believe me.^¡± Anne wasn¡¯t sure which took her aback more¡ªAutumn chiming in so abruptly, or her brief linguistic explanation. It didn¡¯t make anywhere near as much sense as the girl wished it had, but the gist was straightforward. They were all using the same language, and there was a way for her to learn it. And if it was generous enough with pronunciation to allow both Torkoal and Decidueye to speak it, then her getting the hang of it was only a matter of time. She hoped. She really, really hoped. ¡°Doncha worry, sweetie. Once you settle in, you¡¯ll probably be attending the nursery together with Bell for a while¡ªJovan and Pearl will get you talking in no time!¡± Autumn reassured. Her switch away from telepathy and to ¡®just¡¯ telepathically translated speech took Anne aback for a moment, but she appreciated it all the same. Even if she was much too overstimulated to try breaking the squeaked, hummed, and growled utterances down into their individual components. The Indeedee wasn¡¯t done yet, giggling, ¡°Oh goodness, just the mental image... all the little ones listening in and then you beside them, taller than even their teachers, teehee...¡± Any attempts at keeping her composure soon faded as one burst of giggles gave way to another, until the chubby psychic had to cover her mouth with her paw. Ember wasn¡¯t far behind in that regard¡ªand for once, neither was Anne. There was some anxiety about sticking out from a group like that and earning undue attention as a result, but hopefully, the height difference would shrink a lot once she sat down. And besides, her chat with Pearl the previous evening was nothing if not pleasant. It would be alright¡ª *CRASH!* The harsh sound echoed from around the corner, hitting the entire party differently. Autumn and Ember barely acknowledged it, only coming to a stop once they noticed Anne had frozen mid-step. Sage fared a little better than the living girl, dashing to hide behind her older friend. A moment later, Yaksha stood in front of the group, shadowy hands clenching in anticipation of having to put himself on the line for the Phantump. Before Autumn could have a chuckle at his expense for overreacting, the hauntling aired the question that was on half the group¡¯s mind, ¡°~What was that?~¡± ¡°I have a good guess¡ªyep, it¡¯s these two.¡± Autumn¡¯s mid-sentence shift made everyone look toward where the sound came from¡ªthough the sight of a Scizor walking from around the corner and dragging a massive, half-broken metal contraption would¡¯ve done the same even without her nudge. Another Steel-type followed him moments later; the Mawile making up for their much smaller stature through constant, audible grumbling. Their frustration was obvious despite the language barrier¡ªbut that didn¡¯t extend to the sounds they made once they glanced at Anne. Before anyone could react, the bleeding knee-high fairy made a beeline for the human; Anne¡¯s mind only avoided jumping to the ¡®flight¡¯ option because of being was stuck on ¡®freeze¡¯. A few moments later, more of Mawile¡¯s noises¡ªgrowls, clicks, even whistles, but with no meaning to back any of it up. Thankfully, the Indeedee soon noticed she¡¯d forgotten to link the tinkerer menace to their group¡ªand understanding soon followed. Or at least, as much understanding as anyone could¡¯ve ever extracted out of Mikiri. ¡°Human! How is that thing supposed to stop?¡± Anne¡¯s terrified brain took a moment to realize she¡¯d actually heard coherent words this time, and even longer to parse them. Not a threat, just a question. A question about ¡®that thing¡¯, whatever it was¡ªwait, the bike? ¡°~U-uh... d-do you mean the bike?~¡± Anne asked, daring to relax her body a bit as she eyed over the... peculiar-looking bicycle a few meters away, the Scizor carrying it wordlessly observing the entire exchange from a distance. The Mawile answered, ¡°Yes, the two-wheel! How is it supposed to stop?¡± The steady trickle of rust-colored blood down her face wasn¡¯t as terrifying with their intentions not having anything to do with her, but the sight remained unnerving. Not a question Anne ever expected to be asked, especially not in a place like this¡ªbut one she, for once, knew an answer to. ¡°~O-oh, there¡¯s supposed to be¡ª~¡± she began, only for her attempted explanation to becut off by the bloodied Mawile turning around and dragging the damaged contraption in question over, making valiant progress despite her underwhelming stature. And letting the human girl notice all the parts that had been attached to it through more or less scuffed means. Certain parts were wrapped with wire, a few rust-covered pieces of metal were welded to the steering column, and an assortment of junk was tangled in the spokes of the front wheel in ways that felt at best too intelligent for her feeble mind to understand, and at worst, like the machinations of a meth head. Anne had a very hard time deciding which of these two groups the Mawile before her reminded her more of. ¡°Where? Where¡¯s the thing that¡¯s supposed to stop it!?¡± The Fairy-type asked, her gaze jumping all over before she spotted Anne¡¯s good hand. It was pointing towards the front of the vehicle while trying its absolute hardest to not come closer to the Mawile than it absolutely had to. ¡°This?¡± The entire once-bicycle creaking like it was about to fall apart after the little two-faced creature shook it by the steering handle sure didn¡¯t inspire much confidence in Anne. ¡°~No, there¡¯s the small lever to the side¡ª~¡± Before she could even finish, the tinkerer before her had spotted the mechanical part in question and pressed on it. After that accomplished nothing, they then repeated that with one hand while trying to spin the front wheel with the other one¡ªwhich it did freely. Anne gulped at the realization, once more having to fight an impulse to back off. Shoot, shoot, shoot, why did that not work? The brakes must¡¯ve been broken, but that¡¯s not what the girl was worried about. She¡¯d just given them advice, and it didn¡¯t work at all. Didn¡¯t matter that she wasn¡¯t knowingly lying; the Mawile wouldn¡¯t appreciate her words turning out false¡ª This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Okay, so this is the broken part, then. There¡¯s this cable that goes down down down and some of it is dangling from this bit beside the wheel, but they¡¯re not connected and should be. Gotta untie all that and take a better look at what goes on in there...¡± the Mawile muttered. For a few long moments, the entire world, aside from the roughly bike-shaped pile of assorted junk, ceased to exist for her. It was only Autumn¡¯s mental nudge that brought her back to awareness of her immediate surroundings¡ªa scared human, an unamused Indeedee, an even more unamused Scizor, a curious Phantump, a disgruntled Banette, and a confused Braixen. Oh right, that first one was still there¡ªand would be staying here; that¡¯s what the entire hubbub yesterday was about. Mikiri figured it¡¯d be appropriate to say something, then, ¡°Iiiiii will take a closer look at that in my workshop. And you...¡± she turned to face the human beside her, their eyes growing that bit wider, ¡°...thanks. Glad that you¡¯re staying, knew the Elders were just making a show of nothing. Anywho, there¡¯s a bunch of your stuff still at my burrow if you want it back¡ªOH!¡± After the Mawile had changed the subject three separate times in thirty seconds, Anne was left too stunned to do anything but stand and stare, hoping she hadn¡¯t unknowingly made a gaffe. Thankfully for her, the words that followed weren¡¯t about anything like that. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t about anything she was comfortable answering, either. ¡°That two-wheel of yours is also at my burrow, fixed the wheel if you¡¯ll be needing it¡ªwillyoubeneedingit?¡± the Mawile asked with a glint in her eye, the final few words smeared together to the point of nigh-incomprehension despite Autumn¡¯s help. Just what kind of glint it was, though, Anne had no idea nor any desire to find out. There also remained... another issue. ¡°~Th-thank you! B-but, that¡¯s not my bike, I... took it when running away¡ª~¡± Anne stammered, worrying about being judged for what was technically grand theft¡ªonly for the metal fairy to neither notice nor care about that. ¡°But will you be needing it?¡± Off to the side, Autumn and Ori facepalmed in perfect sync, the clunk of the latter echoing throughout the small intersection. ¡°~I-I don¡¯t think so¡ª~¡± ¡°Perfect! Thanks again! Time to get a move on Ori, got the brakes to fix! There¡¯s this small metal wire inside this black stretchy casing on both ends; I¡¯m wondering if just welding it the normal way will work or will we¡ª*thump*¡± Before the Mawile could get further than about four steps toward her burrow, she fell face-first into the snow without as much as another word. For a few moments, everyone waited for her to pull off yet more wild antics, most onlookers backing off just in case. And yet, Mikiri remained immobile for once in her life. Once Autumn checked what was going on with her other senses... yeah, it wasn¡¯t hard to see why. ¡°She fainted.¡± The Indeedee had to use utmost willpower to not chuckle as she said these words. Even then, she didn¡¯t manage to maintain her seriousness for much longer, especially once Ori dashed over to pick up his partner in crime and rush her to the healers¡¯ tent, leaving the mockery of a bicycle where it lay and letting it gather even more rust. Hers was hardly a unique reaction, laughter of all sorts filling the scene soon after. That didn¡¯t extend to Sage and especially not Anne, the latter much more worried than amused. ¡°~Wh-what happened to her?~¡± ¡°If I had to guess, blood loss. Doubt there¡¯s a ton of it in her to begin with, and this is hardly the only time in the past few days she got herself messed up without resting nearly as much as she should¡¯ve. Won¡¯t say that she deserved it or anything of that sort, but... she kinda brought it on herself,¡± the Indeedee chuckled, tilting her head for the group to resume its trek. ¡°~She looked like she needed a doctor.~¡± Neither Autumn nor Anne could resist smiling at the Phantump¡¯s wording. The former explained, ¡°Oh, she does, Sage, for so many reasons. But when the bits of genius within her crawl out of... everything else inside her, it¡¯s something else alright.¡± The older girl was especially glad that Sage still had that innocence to her, despite having gone through so much pain. And with them getting going and the ghostie on her mind, her thoughts veered back to the undertaking discussed back at the healers¡¯ tent. ¡°~E-excited about going back to your home, Sage?~¡± Anne asked, maintaining the upbeat tone for exactly long enough to finish saying that sentence out loud, and not an instant longer¡ªnot at what her mind had to say to the idea of a reunion like that. She wasn¡¯t the only one with concerns about it all, but the ones Sage had in mind weren¡¯t... the same as Anne¡¯s. ¡°~Yeah! I really wanna see my mom again, and say sorry for scaring her like this...~¡± Without taking another step, Autumn dropped everything she was thinking about and turned to comfort the undead girl, with Anne and Ember following soon after. Sage wasn¡¯t feeling bad enough to warrant that, leaving her a bit confused. But hugs were hugs, and she liked hugs! So all was well. ¡°None of what happened was your fault, Sage, I promise,¡± Autumn sad, looking the Phantump straight in the eyes. This was a worry nobody ought to ever have to deal with, especially not a child this young and innocent. Anne wanted to chime in, too. Sage deserved all the reassurance in the world, to be comforted about the worry she¡¯d raised. No, her mom wouldn¡¯t be mad at her for scaring her, obviously not. Anne wanted to go further, to reassure the girl that her mom wouldn¡¯t mind her daughter for looking like this now either, but... she couldn¡¯t. The thought felt like her mind had been bitten by a poisonous mon, worry and doubt spreading through her brain with each heartbeat. She wished that Sage¡¯s parents would accept their daughter with all their hearts, but she didn¡¯t have that confidence. If anything, she had its exact opposite¡ªshe had a hard time imagining a human in the situation of Sage¡¯s parents not growing furious or horrified at some random ghost claiming to be their dead child. Anne hadn¡¯t ever heard anything about humans coming back as ghosts. Other mons sure¡ªbut all her biology classes always excluded humans specifically. She now knew that it wasn¡¯t true, and that humans weren¡¯t special in that regard, but most people didn¡¯t. Hell, even if the Phantump¡¯s parents did know that, trying to imagine their reaction to a ghost approaching them with what sounded like the world¡¯s most cruel taunt made Anne shudder. It was too terrifying to think about, and she had no idea what to say. She couldn¡¯t have been the only one struggling with these doubts, right? And yet, nobody else had mentioned anything about them¡ªnot Autumn, not Yaksha, not Cinder. She wanted to bring them up, but didn¡¯t know when. Ideally when Sage wasn¡¯t paying attention¡ªbut, then again, wasn¡¯t that the worst possible time for a truth bomb like that? Didn¡¯t Sage deserve to know what she was getting into? The uncomfortable, harrowing thoughts churned inside Anne¡¯s mind as the group marched on, trying their hardest to find a way out and yet being unable to. She was sure that if she thought about Autumn intensely enough, she¡¯d have picked up on it, but she didn¡¯t want the Phantump to notice¡ªat least not now. What an awful mess. The muck inside her head made it hard to pay attention to anything outside her head, leaving Anne to just walk on autopilot. Her eyes took in the imposing brick building of Holly¡¯s pantry, the large open tent that quite a few children were sleeping under, but the imagery didn¡¯t sink into her mind; too busy spinning in place. She wasn¡¯t sure when they had all changed their course to another of the closed tents, but the sweet herbal scents emanating from it were pleasant enough to snag at least some of Anne¡¯s attention¡ªespecially when combined with what sounded like Marco¡¯s voice coming from the inside. Once they all stepped in, Autumn and Ember exchanged a few waves with the assorted mons sitting on the benches as the Gallade turned to face them all, surprised at the impromptu visit. Beside Marco sat an oddly purplish Wigglytuff¡ªand it was he who spoke first, ¡°Good morning everyone! It is a joy to see you all doing well, especially you, An... Anna¡ª¡± ¡°^Anne,^¡± the Gallade added telepathically, his physical mouth sipping on hot tea. ¡°Yes, Anne, my apologies! I hope you¡¯ll attend my and Pearl¡¯s classes sooner rather than later. We already put in some thought about how to make sure you¡¯d be able to learn with the others without any incidents.¡± The green-eyed Normal-type stressed his words with a polite bow, missed on behalf of Anne¡¯s mind having gotten stuck on imagining the implications of the word ¡®incident¡¯. With the human girl preoccupied, Autumn responded for her, ¡°Yep, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be speaking our language in no time! That¡¯s not why I hunted you both down, though~.¡± The appreciation in Autumn¡¯s voice gave way to focus as she shifted her gaze from her coworker to her son-in-law. Marco¡¯s eyebrow lifted at the sudden change as he asked, ¡°^What¡¯s the matter?^¡± With one deep breath to gather her words, and another one to keep the harrowing emotions associated with Sage¡¯s flashback at bay, the Indeedee explained, ¡°Marco, meet Sage. Sage, meet Marco.¡± She lifted a paw toward the lil¡¯ hauntling, catching her attention and prompting her to wave at the tall psychic. ¡°~Hello Mr. Marco!~¡± the Phantump squeaked, glad to meet another non-scary person. Even more so if said person would help her get back home. The Gallade wasn¡¯t as eager, not with how oblique his mother-in-law was being, but he figured that saying hi to a little girl wouldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°^Good morning, Sage. It¡¯s nice to meet you.^¡± Neither of the two expected the lil¡¯ ghost to reel back at hearing his voice, especially when accompanied by the very clear sensation of fear. It wasn¡¯t that intense and only lasted for as long as Marco spoke, but it was still there, and it was still enough to discourage both of them from directly talking to each other any further. As much as Autumn wanted to interrupt her own discussion plan and delve into figuring out what was wrong, she knew this was more important. ¡°Anyway¡ªSage here is... was a human. I¡¯ll spare her the exact recollection, but she is the ghost of a human.¡± Even when trying to be as clinical as possible, she was well aware that this direct description was more than harrowing enough to upset the little ghost again, making the Indeedee glance over at her to see if she needed that extra support. The answer was yes¡ªbut Anne and Ember were already on top of it, smothering the wooden ghost in as much comfort and warmth as they were capable of. Jovan gasped, ¡°I am so terribly sorry to hear.¡± He covered his mouth with a paw, trying his best to hold back tears. Some of them still leaked at the thought of the little undead girl having friends to look after her as she processed her unfortunate fate. Best the Indeedee could do was get it all over with sooner. ¡°Yes, it is a sad situation. I mentioned all this because Sage wishes to eventually return to humanity, and with Aria not doing well today, I wanted to ask if you¡¯d be willing to help her out, Marco.¡± Autumn stared at the Gallade with all the seriousness and composure she was capable of, the attitude so unlike her it left the other psychic somewhat unnerved. Thankfully, it was one of those inquiries with a very simple answer¡ª ¡°That is quite a curious difference between you two,¡± Jovan commented, derailing the trains of thought of everyone gathered and drawing enough attention to him to melt Anne instantly were it aimed at her. Attention that the Wigglytuff cherished, smiling at having raised what he hoped to be an interesting tangent as he continued, ¡°Little Sage here¡ªPhantump in body, yet human in spirit, and yearns for others like her. And Anne, an inversion¡ªhuman to the eye, yet desired to stay with us, almost as opposite from living with humans as can be.¡± The impromptu tangent left the onlookers more stunned than impressed, eroding Jovan¡¯s confidence in his point by the moment. Alas, it was the inevitable outcome of many a philosophizing, and he wasn¡¯t a stranger to making a joke of himself either. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s just a single, surface-level observation. I can only extrapolate so much out of your circumstances. Either way, it is best I go back to the nursery. The little ones will be waking up from their naps anytime now, and I don¡¯t want to leave Pearl taking care of them all!¡± With an undeservedly jovial chuckle, the Wigglytuff hopped off his seat and started floating his way toward the exit of the tea shop. Right before he left, though, he turned around one more time to say his goodbyes, ¡°Hope to see you all soon! Especially you, Anne. I¡¯m very curious to hear how our language will sound being spoken by a human.¡± Probably like gibberish, but as long as others could understand it, Anne didn¡¯t mind. ¡°~Th-thank you, Mr. Jovan,~¡± she said¡ªonly for the Fairy-type to stop in his tracks at her boilerplate response. She leaned away a bit as Jovan processed what he¡¯d heard¡ªbefore eventually responding with the most elated voice many gathered have ever heard him use, ¡°Oh, you will make for a beautiful singing voice! If you desire that, of course! Now, now, off I go before I get distracted again, ha!¡± As most of the group blinked the unexpected tangent away and Autumn rubbed her temples at the Wigglytuff¡¯s... insensitive remark, Anne felt dread shoot through her at the mere mention of singing. Hell, even speaking didn¡¯t come easy to her. The thought of making an entire spectacle out of herself and deliberately catching everyone¡¯s attention with her voice was nothing short of nightmare fuel¡ªnightmare fuel that Ember¡¯s warmth burned through in an instant. ¡°So~, how does that sound, Marco?¡± Autumn asked, snapping the group¡¯s focus back to the discussion at hand. The Gallade¡¯s answer hadn¡¯t gotten any more complex in the few minutes after he was cut off¡ªif anything, the delay had only made him even more confident. ¡°^Yes, of course I will. What would you have in mind, Autumn?^¡± He asked, pushing his unfinished cup to the side as he leaned in, keen on discussing the details. A part of him knew he shouldn¡¯t have been so eager to jump into Autumn¡¯s plan right away, especially not while recovering from injury and an entire strenuous day yesterday. All that could wait, though. He could help. He wanted to help, help in more ways than just accidentally stumbling on some important information while being distrustful of his sister. Autumn beckoned Yaksha closer from the back of the group as she walked up to Marco¡¯s bench, leaving the trio of kids standing off to the side. The specifics of her plan were... messy and uncertain, and best kept for telepathy. ¡°^What we had in mind was you escorting Sage and Yaksha into the human town on the other side of the forest, where Sage¡¯s family lives. They¡¯ll need someone who can ask for directions from the humans, and you look much closer to a human than either myself or Cinder.^¡± That... was more involved than what Marco thought it¡¯d be. He didn¡¯t respond immediately, instead chewing through the situation and how it was likely to play out. Concern after concern arose, none of them too difficult to notice, even from a cursory thought. Fortunately, they were just the worries that Autumn had already gone through earlier, and she was keen to get Marco up to speed. She spoke up again before he could put audible thoughts to the inaudible ones, ¡°^Yes, having ghosts walking in their town will draw attention and unrest¡ªthat¡¯s why we want you to disguise yourself as a human so that other humans think they¡¯re ¡®your¡¯ mons. Among the clothes Aria brought from that friend of Anne a few days back is a large outer garment that should obscure most of you, which ought to be enough if you go out at night and stick to less-used paths. There are risks of you becoming spotted, but since it¡¯s not the town where Anne escaped from, it shouldn¡¯t cause any issues even in that worst case.^¡± Autumn felt a bit guilty as she watched Marco¡¯s expression flatten with her every word, uncertain what was causing it. For a while, he worried the Indeedee had already come up with every single concern he had in mind¡ªbut there just so happened to be one still unaccounted for, reassuring him about not being as dim as he feared he was. He asked, ¡°^How do you envision I ¡®ask for directions¡¯? Wouldn¡¯t that be suspicious by itself?^¡± ¡°~Hardly. Just pose as a tourist and nobody will be any wiser,~¡± Yaksha commented offhandedly, most of his attention still focused on watching over Sage. While Autumn and Marco decoded what ¡®tourist¡¯ meant from the Banette¡¯s thoughts, Anne took it upon herself to try broaching the unpleasant topic she had thought about earlier. The adults were already talking quietly amongst themselves; she¡¯d just have to pull Sage away so that she wouldn¡¯t overhear. Which... ¡°~Ember?~¡± Anne shook her friend¡¯s shoulder as she spoke, her uncertain yet focused expression eliciting much the same one from the Braixen. ¡°~Could you distract Sage for a while? I-I wanna talk to the rest about something... serious.~¡± The firefox listened intently before nodding as firmly as she could manage. Opportunities to help her best friend had always been few and far between, and she wouldn¡¯t waste this one, no matter how minor it was. ¡°Of course!¡± she woofed. ¡°J-just out of earshot?¡± Before the human girl could even respond, the Braixen was already ushering the Phantump over to the tea corner¡¯s counter, telepathically talking to her about something Anne couldn¡¯t pick up on. With a muttered ¡®thank you¡¯, she turned back to the rest of the group and approached, her expression interrupting their mostly silent exchange before she even spoke up. ¡°^What¡¯s wrong, Anne?^¡± Autumn asked, trying to give the girl the largest and warmest smile she could muster¡ªonly for it to immediately falter upon hearing what she had to say. ¡°~A-are you sure Sage¡¯s parents will take her back in?~¡± The trio¡¯s expressions were all shocked, to wildly varying extents. Autumn was taken aback somewhat, chewing through what she thought on and hoped about all this, the mental efforts culminating with a sigh. Marco stared at Anne wide-eyed, cursing himself for not bringing up this straightforward yet crucial question earlier. Yaksha... lowered his head and closed his eyes. ¡°^Well, obviously we can¡¯t be certain, Anne, but... I was quite hopeful with how convinced Sage and Yaksha were about it, though now the more I think about it...^¡± the Indeedee whispered, shuddering as she imagined first the worst possible outcome, and then the most likely one¡ªand feared at how similar they were. Beside her, Marco remained silent, not having anything to add for himself but unspoken self-loathing, overlooked in the tense discussion. After a few tense moments, Yaksha let out a quiet groan and stared up at Anne¡ªbefore wincing and directing his increasingly furious glare downwards, as if trying to sear through the dirt beneath them. ¡°~She deserves closure. Humans are,~¡± he cut himself off, angling his body even further away from Anne as he continued, ¡°~most humans are wretches. Of course, they won¡¯t take their child back in after a change like that, I¡¯m not pretending they will.~¡± Anne raised her voice as she asked, expression narrowing, ¡°~Then why lead Sage on?~¡± ¡°~So that she¡¯ll stop thinking about it. Once she sees it for herself, sees that there¡¯s no coming back, she¡¯ll finally let go of that idea. And then... we might stay here if she wants. Or somewhere else...~¡± Yaksha muttered. As snarled as his words were, there was a hesitation in them that Anne wasn¡¯t sure how to interpret. Was this something he genuinely thought, or something he came up with on the spot to mask him not having considered that before? Ultimately, it didn¡¯t matter¡ªit was reprehensible either way. Against her better judgment, Anne took half a step closer to the ghost, anger flashing on her face as she spoke, ¡°~Why don¡¯t you just tell her that!?~¡± ¡°~She won¡¯t listen, she never has!~¡± The Banette raised his voice at the overt disapproval of his actions, the gaze of his pink eyes piercing straight through the human. As wound up as the girl had gotten on this topic, she didn¡¯t have nearly the mental fortitude to endure that, looking away in fear moments later. Marco knew he couldn¡¯t help much, but he at least could chime in with a distraction. ¡°^It is best we all take a breath. This is a tense subject, yes, but I see Yaksha¡¯s point. Sage will need to see the truth, as scary and disappointing as it might be. I... I get the allure of wanting to run from something as terrifying as that. I really do. I was in a similar situation yesterday, and so much of me wanted to not face the harrowing truth and instead do horrible actions I would¡¯ve regretted just to be spared that fear. I only pushed through and overcame that barrier at the last moment.^¡± The Gallade looked down at the makeshift table before him, his entire body shaking as he thought back to his confrontation with Olive and continued, ¡°^The awareness that any other day I might¡¯ve done a horrible thing is... haunting. I did the right thing in the end, I¡¯m sure of that, and I hope that we¡¯ll get the most out of the knowledge I brought with me when it comes to finding a safer location to live.^¡± As good as it felt to get baggage this heavy out of his chest, Anne¡¯s expression remained confused, making him paraphrase it. ¡°^We all have to face the truth and not run from it Anne, even when it hurts.^¡± Now that was something Anne could acknowledge¡ªand then turn around, right back at the trio of adults. ¡°~B-But isn¡¯t goading Sage on and not being upfront with her about her family not taking her back exactly this kind of running from the truth?~¡± she asked, leaning in, heart hammering at the tense discussion. She didn¡¯t want to be arguing about any of this; she wanted to live in a fairytale world where those insane dreams could come true and where the unfortunate ghost girl could rejoin her family as if nothing had happened¡ªbut she didn¡¯t. None of them did. ¡°^But is that the truth?^¡± Autumn chimed in after a few moments of pondering, deflating Anne. The girl didn¡¯t have the strength to argue, not with her words repeatedly falling on what felt like deaf ears. There was no point in continuing this conversation, not with the other side so oblivious¡ªwillingly or not¡ªto her main point. Whether it was them being obstinate or her just not getting something, she didn¡¯t know. It sure felt like the former, though. With a weak nod, she turned around and headed over to Ember and Sage. Autumn¡¯s and Marco¡¯s worried gazes lingered on her for a while before the trio returned to their mostly silent conversation, getting another dejected sigh out of the human. It felt like the adults were lying to them ¡®for their happiness¡¯ again. Trying to shake off that ugly thought, Anne tried to pay attention to what was going on at the counter. Ember was drinking tea, and... watching something their friend couldn¡¯t quite make out from behind the Braixen¡¯s fluffy, hairy ears. Before she could take another step, though, she felt something dragging her by the sleeve straight ahead, looking up to see Sage at the most energetic she had seen her be yet. ¡°~Anne Anne look, they¡¯re knitting!~¡± the ghost squeaked. ¡°~And they gave us this tea and it¡¯s so sweet and tasty come!~¡± Anne stumbled on as she was half guided, half dragged over to the front of the tea corner, a freshly made cup already waiting for her¡ª ... Was this Goodra always there? Regardless of the answer, seeing Anne be so taken aback at noticing them made the Dragon-type let out a soft, deep laughter that faded into a wide, warm smile. Once they were done laughing, they spoke toward Ember, their sounds a mix of croaks, squeaks, and... very, very wet growls. ¡°Vivian says hi, Anne!¡± Ember giggled, the hiccupy sound quickly melting through Anne¡¯s insecurities. Suppose the least the human could do was return the greeting, smiling as she gave the dragon the biggest wave her good arm could dish out before reaching for her cup of tea. To her surprise, Vivian responded to her gesture, Ember paying close attention before translating them to her friend, ¡°They¡¯re saying they¡¯d normally be the one showing you around, but seems it¡¯s not needed with having us all to keep you company, hehe.¡± Not something Anne was sure how to respond to, settling on a warm, only partially forced smile. To her relief, the Goodra got the message and didn¡¯t continue the conversation further, instead picking the knitting needles back up and resuming their current project, a sleeve of sorts. Guess that made sense; the ones on their sweater were quite mismatched¡ªand looked burned in places. As interested as Sage was in watching them continue, the older human could only sigh and keep wrestling with the unpleasant topic roiling in her head. A part of her really wanted to tell the truth to the younger girl, to rip the bandaid off while she still was safe and among friends, as opposed to being at her most emotionally vulnerable. She didn¡¯t have the strength to do it, and doubted whether either of the three adults did either. Maybe that was the real reason behind them going through this entire pretense. ¡°~I-I hope your mom will be nice to you, Sage...~¡± she mumbled, distraught. The ghostly girl perked up at Anne¡¯s words, hovering right before her with as wide a smile as she could give. ¡°~Of course she will; she¡¯s my mom! She loves me!~¡± Anne envied that confidence. That ability to have this much utter, genuine trust in a family member. Having a mom kind enough for her daughter to be so certain of her acceptance. Anne¡¯s own mother barely accepted her existence¡ªalready more than she could say for her father, and even that was only when sober. ... ... Would Aria even want to be called that? Anne didn¡¯t know, but she could hope. A wild, unlikely hope, something that wouldn¡¯t do her any good to ponder on¡ªall it¡¯d bring was eventual disappointment. It hurt to think about. Maybe she¡¯d gather the courage to ask those stupid words one day, maybe not. In either case, until then... This was some really good tea. Chapter 32: Anticipation Who knew there was so much to discuss with such a vague plan? Anne¡¯s thirst might¡¯ve only lasted two cups of Vivian¡¯s tea, but the adults¡¯ desire to discuss everything they could in advance lasted way longer. Despite being kept in the loop about what they were talking about, Anne paid less and less attention over time, except for the few occasions where one of the three sent a concrete question her way. She barely knew anything more than them about Lillywood specifically, but the much more ineffable experience of just being human sure came in handy, too. Mostly through the simple, vague advice¡ªas long as you look like you know where you¡¯re going, most people won¡¯t bother you too much. Wear Mrs. Graham¡¯s coat to cover yourself with, and maybe a hat to either obscure the crest or disguise it as an accessory. The few articles of clothing or accessories she¡¯d seen that were based on the Ralts line were mostly fake Gardevoir masks or wigs, but wearing a fake Gallade crest wasn¡¯t inconceivable, either. Stick to the sides of the sidewalks, and only use sidewalks. The easiest way to get singled out as a weirdo or someone who doesn¡¯t belong is to walk on the asphalt¡ªthat was just for cars. The associated question of ¡®could a Gallade survive a car collision with their strength¡¯ remained unspoken, and¡ªhopefully¡ªundetected. Further tips: street crossings, red and green lights, keeping Sage and Yaksha close to Marco to sell the idea of them being ¡®his¡¯ mons. The combined advice ought to be enough to get Marco through this without causing a scene. Sure, people would stare at him and the ghosts beside him, but ultimately he¡¯d just come off as a weirdo trainer¡ªa cross-section of the two groups that accounted for at least a third of the latter¡ªbut nothing more sinister than that. And if need be, Sage could probably advise something on the fly, too. With the trio further into the tea corner getting all the advice Anne could think of, the girl withdrew further into her thoughts as her friend chatted with the gooey dragon. As much as she appreciated the idea of the mission to try reuniting the ghost girl with her family, the refusal to consider the most likely outcome of a worst-case scenario kept digging into her conscience. She tried hinting at the topic a few times as the adults chatted amongst themselves, her whispers towards the lil¡¯ Phantump accomplishing exactly jack. Sure, she never stated it overtly, but she hoped that her questions about whether her mom would be happy to see her would¡¯ve made something click in Sage¡¯s head. Alas, nothing. Nothing but an unerring faith in her parents, the kind that life just cannot resist shattering with all the violence imaginable. Anne wished she didn¡¯t have to be the one trying to pick at the younger girl¡¯s hopes, that one of the adults around her acted the part and confronted her about this, but... nobody did. Suppose if the worst comes to pass she¡¯ll hurt a lot, yes, but then she¡¯ll have them all back at the village to recover after that. It was a hope that was equal parts comforting and infuriating; the latter forcing the human to forcibly switch tracks of her train of thought lest it¡¯d explode into the world¡¯s most impotent desk slam. She had to go through that; Ember had to go through that¡ªwhy Sage? She didn¡¯t deserve this; Ember didn¡¯t deserve this. Anne had only managed to extend that thought to herself very few times, but with the anger providing her all the distraction she¡¯d need, today was exactly one such occasion. None of them deserved this! It was much too late for her and Ember, but it wasn¡¯t for Sage; the girl still had time to be spared from it, but nobody would help her! Maybe nobody could. Maybe nobody was strong enough to plunge that scarring blade deep into the girl¡¯s psyche with the knowledge of how much pain they¡¯d be inflicting. Less than Sage finding out the hard way¡ªmuch less¡ªbut still an immense amount. Maybe Yaksha was right. Maybe it couldn¡¯t be helped. Anne didn¡¯t want to think about this. Especially not now, with the several cups of tea only leaving her sleepier than she¡¯d been before. She stretched with her one good arm as she tried to shake off the murky, freezing topic and replace it with something nicer and warmer¡ªsuch as the firefox beside her. Was that selfish, too? Shut the hell up, brain. Fortunately for her, the fleshy sponge between her ears was keen to try doing exactly that¡ªif at the price of her dozing off into a full-blown nap. It¡¯s been so many years since she¡¯d had one of those. Way back at her grandma¡¯s place at least, and she grew out of them rather quickly even then. It¡¯d be quite childish, yeah, but she doubted anyone else would mind¡ª The heavy, gruff voice came from much closer than she¡¯d expected, flipping over the table all her tired thoughts were being laid out on. After Anne¡¯s heart was done calming down from its palpitations, the girl turned to see the source of the intimidating sound for herself, together with her friends. Or, at least, with Ember, Sage having dipped to hide behind her the moment she heard the stranger. They had no business walking in as stealthily as they had with their sheer size. The Electrivire towered above everything and everyone inside, except for the Goodra behind the counter. And even then, it was a much closer matchup than Anne had expected. ¡°Hello, M-Mr. Geiger!¡± Ember greeted the newcomer, pushing past any residual startle. It calmed her friend by proxy even if it did little to explain who the massive Electric-type was. Before the firefox could answer, though, someone else had decided to greet them first. With a blink, Anne found herself staring four eyes to one with a Magnemite from just a few inches away. If not for Sage behind her, she would¡¯ve reeled so hard she fell off the chair, instead limiting herself to ¡®just¡¯ gawking at the floating magnet. Had they flown any closer to her, they would¡¯ve likely snagged her glasses off her face with their passive magnetism alone. As Anne grabbed her bearings, she saw the Electivire go from curiously watching to laughing with his entire body, the sound so much more imposing than she¡¯d have ever expected. Not threatening, not this time, just... loud and clear, the interspersed old man coughs in it included. As he recovered, he tried to speak up again; the almost-human-but-not-quite sounds tingling her brain. She¡¯d heard of¡ªand had fallen face-first into a few times¡ªthe uncanny valley effect with drawings, but wouldn¡¯t have expected it to also happen with sounds. Thankfully, her confusion wouldn¡¯t last for much longer. ¡°^There ya go, Anne! My bad Geiger, didn¡¯t spot you stepping in,^¡± Autumn beamed at the Electivire, Despite the tension in the air, it was hard to not notice the relaxation in her mental voice compared to just a couple hours ago, though Anne had no idea what might¡¯ve caused it. ¡°^How has your morning been~?^¡± The Electric-type nodded deeply at the Indeedee¡¯s words, letting Anne spot the... cap on his head. There was no way it wasn¡¯t human-made, only sparking further questions. Before she could put words to them, though, the freshly introduced Geiger spoke first, ¡°No worries, Autumn~. But¡ªI¡¯ve heard the rumors around the place about Anne being out on a walk and thought I¡¯d check in after yesterday¡¯s... let¡¯s be generous and call it ¡®proceedings¡¯.¡± If there had been any more contempt in his voice, it would¡¯ve been oozing down his body. ¡°^Hard to deny them being a waste of time, but what¡¯s done is done,^¡± Autumn concurred, her posture deflating before she straightened herself back up. Sure, it had been a traumatizing nightmare for most involved, but it was over now. Dwelling on the past wouldn¡¯t help anyone right now. ¡°At least there¡¯s that. Anyway, hello there, Anne. I¡¯ve heard a fair bit about you, and have been wanting to chat with you for a while now¡ªyou alright?¡± Geiger added the last part after seeing the human¡¯s wide-eyed stare at him and the Magnemite beside him. He didn¡¯t want to presume it was anything more than shock, and thankfully, it turned out to be just that¡ªat least if the girl then slowly calming down was any indication. ¡°~G-good morning, Mr.¡ªMr. Geiger.~¡± Some of the shock in Anne¡¯s voice was still there, despite her best effort to calm down. Must¡¯ve been quite a nervous kid, not that the Electivire could blame her. ¡°No need to worry, Anne, I don¡¯t bite. Much.¡± Geiger let out the tiniest sigh of relief as his joke had the desired effect, sending waves of giggles through the two girls and most other patrons. It was enough for the Phantump he¡¯d spotted hiding behind Anne to poke their head out a bit, though he still had no idea who that was or why they were hiding there. Even the Magnemite appreciated it with Autumn¡¯s translation, though ¡®laughter¡¯ in their case manifested as high-frequency beeping. Not the most noticeable sound in the world, but unique enough to snag the attention of most gathered, sending the little Steel-type hovering back to their safe spot¡ªattached to Geiger¡¯s arm. ¡°^Oh, that¡¯s just a little one Aria ran into a while back, Geiger is looking after them. I don¡¯t think they have a name yet, but¡ª^¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to say that they do now!¡± Geiger''s smile inched that bit wider as he cut Autumn off and brought them the good news, the Indeedee especially curious about the little magnet. Seeing her interest, the Electivire followed up immediately, ¡°Say hello to Sievert, everyone.¡± The name was almost as nonsensical for Anne as it was for everyone else, barring the one time she maybe overheard that word in class. As she tilted her head and tried to figure out what it meant, though, others just shrugged and nodded along. Geiger¡¯s name already made no sense to anyone, they figured he¡¯d only want to give the little one something just as... unique. ¡°H-hello Si-Sye-Seevert?¡± Despite Ember not quite getting the name right, she refused to let that get to her, waving eagerly at the shy magnet. Geiger chuckled at the mispronunciation but didn¡¯t comment on it¡ªshould¡¯ve seen it coming. Anne and him aside, it¡¯s not like anyone else here knew the human pronunciation of that, anyway. As her friend tried to wrangle her maw to get the human sounds just right, Anne was taken aback more and more as she squinted at Geiger¡¯s headgear. Her eyes hadn¡¯t deceived her; it was a human cap, one with writing on it no less. The exact shade of white fabric and blue text made it tricky to read from a distance, but it only took one moment of Geiger standing still for her to be confident that she¡¯d read the text right. And a lot longer than that for her to gather the courage to speak up afterward. ¡°~I-is that a cap from the Amity Cove Power Plant?~¡± It was as if a switch had flipped inside Geiger the very instant she said these words. The Electric-type giant went quiet and stared at her with a mix of surprise, admiration, and excitement as he reached up to grab the headgear. It¡¯s been decades since he¡¯d last heard that name, and someone other than his aging mind evoking it sprung a veritable wellspring of memories. Phone calls, briefings, the unending schematics and memos on the wall¡ªbut nothing in the past twenty-something years. Until now. ¡°Indeed, Anne. Do you... do you recognize that place?¡± Geiger shuddered as he held out the hat for the girl to inspect, a foul idea chilling his mind. The facility had been closed for years now, and both this village and the nearby human towns were miles upon miles away from it... Could it have been that she was a child of one of his former coworkers? A grandchild, perhaps¡ª ¡°~Yeah! There¡¯s¡ªthere¡¯s an urban legend I¡¯ve h-heard about an Electivire having escaped f-from there after breaking in and absorbing all the radiation to g-grow stronger, and I had no idea that it was actually true...~¡± Anne found it difficult to keep on talking once Geiger was laughing loud enough for her to have a hard time hearing anyone else in the tea corner. She leaned back at the explosion of sound and amusement, startling her with how sudden it was. With each passing moment, though, more and more of the confusion filling the tent turned into laughter to accompany Geiger¡¯s, though mostly one caused by how unexpected it was to hear him laughing this much. First Autumn, then Vivian, then even Marco and other patrons¡ªand then, finally, Anne too. Now that she¡¯d said these rumors out loud, they did sound quite dumb, yeah... For a split second, the murky self-consciousness threatened to deceive her into thinking that the Electric-type wasn¡¯t laughing at what she said but at her directly¡ªbut it was too slow. ¡°Ahahaha, oh the deities, I wasn¡¯t expecting any of that! Thought I¡¯d just get forgotten, hahaha!¡± Geiger said, resuming his laughter the moment he¡¯d forced the last word out. ¡°^Why so? I¡¯d say you¡¯re quite unforgettable, Geiger,^¡± Autumn smirked. Her tone wasn''t missed on Geiger, forcing the absolute slightest blush possible on his yellow-furred cheeks. It wasn¡¯t missed on anyone else around with working ears or mind either, leaving Anne second-guessing herself on if she¡¯d really just heard the elderly Indeedee flirt in the open like that or not. ¡°Well, I¡¯m awfully glad you think so, Autumn. But, let me¡ªahaha¡ªlet me explain myself a bit for Anne,¡± Geiger chuckled and took a deep breath, trying his hardest to keep himself professional before the girl. For better or worse, she wasn¡¯t even paying much attention until he¡¯d said her name, making her gaze instantly snap from the label stitched in blue thread to the mountain of an Electric-type just a few feet away from her. He had her attention; now for a brief rundown. ¡°I never broke into there, nor did I ever¡ªpfft¡ªnor did I ever try basking in the reactor¡¯s glow, but I did work there for many years. When they closed the facility down, I was meant to be sent to another power plant on the other side of Unova,¡± Geiger explained, his voice growing calmer and calmer despite the lingering joviality as the bittersweet memories sedated him. ¡°But, thanks to my boss¡¯ intervention, I wasn¡¯t. He helped me get away and reported my ball as missing.¡± Anne gasped quietly at the explanation as she nodded, entranced. Hardly as bombastic as the playground myths and scary stories would have her believe, but even more awe-inspiring because of their truthfulness. ¡°~That¡¯s... I-I didn¡¯t know that was possible.~¡± ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t¡ªnot according to their rules, at least. I¡¯m sure he got into a bunch of trouble because of that, but... he¡¯s smart. Was smart, I suppose; he¡¯s almost certainly dead by now. Either way, he very much knew what he was getting into. I wish he didn¡¯t have to, but I¡¯ll be thankful to him for the rest of my life.¡± Geiger grew calmer still, up until the realization of the passage of time. It took him more focus than he thought he still had left in him to just clench his eyes shut and push through the harrowing conclusion without letting the sadness show, but he managed. Barely. ¡°~That¡¯s¡ªthat¡¯s really nice of him.~¡± Anne¡¯s innocence distracted the Electivire from any further sogginess about this topic. That¡¯s right, it really was nice of him, and it was for the best for Geiger to focus on that instead of moping about never getting to see his boss again. In the public, at least. As hard as he tried to hide his downturn in mood, it was still noticeable for the psychics in the room, and that included even Ember. It wasn¡¯t strong enough for her to diagnose what sparked it, but the fox still felt it, pulling her friend into a tight hug. She also felt the constant unease coming from behind Anne, with the Phantump still too skittish to even try anything but peeking out from time to time. Was Sage afraid of Geiger? Regardless of if that was the case, Autumn already seemed to be helping her out¡ªat least if the dim greenish glow holding one of the ghostly girl¡¯s hands was any sign. Perfect opportunity for him to bring up a new, lighter topic. ¡°Anyhow! I¡¯ve been curious about a couple of things going on back in the human world for a while, and was wondering if you could help me answer them, Anne.¡± The human girl blinked at the swerve, finding herself listening intently. She didn¡¯t know much, but ¡®goings on with humanity at large¡¯ should be something she could at least give a partial answer. ¡°~O-of course! What d-do you want to know, Mr. Geiger?~¡± ¡°First things first¡ªhas the Internet become this massive, important invention in the meantime?¡± The entire tea corner was plunged into dumbfounded silence in response, the utterly unknown word sounding like gibberish to all the natives. Even translating it proved tricky for Autumn. It at least seemed to refer to a concept that was present in Anne¡¯s head, even if the Indeedee had no idea where to even begin with understanding it. Anne was almost as surprised as everyone else, but for an entirely opposite reason. It took her a moment to remember that the Internet wasn¡¯t just a force of nature and that it had been created by humans. She might¡¯ve never had the opportunity to use it personally outside of computer classes, but its spread and influence were impossible to downplay. ¡°~Yes, yes it has!~¡± She considered asking how he knew about it, but she didn¡¯t even have to. ¡°A-HA! Knew it; wonder if Jones ever ended up cashing that bet. Oh, suppose an explanation wouldn¡¯t hurt¡ªwe had Internet long before civilians ever got their hands on it, and there were always a couple of dopes who swore that it would never amount to anything beyond yet another piece of military tech to be classified and forgotten about.¡± Thinking back to that time and to the many arguments between his coworkers had Geiger grinning, glad that some of their hunches turned out to be correct. ¡°^What¡¯s that ¡®Internet¡¯ thing you¡¯re talking about, Geiger?^¡± Autumn spoke for everyone gathered, their shared confusion downright palpable. Geiger turned towards Anne with the most dumbfounded tone most had ever heard him use, the sound unlike him it gave them whiplash. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s... hmm. Good gods, that¡¯s a pickle to explain in simple terms. You got any ideas on how to word it, Anne?¡± ¡°~Uhh... no, I-I don¡¯t think so. I-I guess it¡¯s like a¡ªlike a web for exchanging information?~¡± Anne was only slightly less at a loss for words, and the follow-up question didn¡¯t help any, either. ¡°Ohh, is it like telepathy? Or like an actual big spider web?¡± Ember leaned into her friend as she sought clarification, receiving nothing but meandering ¡®uhhh¡¯s in return. Not a concept he could ever begin to explain in any comprehensive way at such short notice, but... that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t do it given enough time. The Electric-type smirked as he glanced over at Autumn, ¡°I mentioned something similar to it with human long-distance communication a couple of days back, but it¡¯s not exactly that. Would need to gather my words first, but... I suppose I¡¯d be willing to go in-depth over something warm together some other day~.¡± It was Autumn¡¯s turn to blush this time, the redness on her cheeks clear to see despite her best efforts. As much as she appreciated that answer¡ªand she appreciated it a lot¡ªthere was still one part about it she wanted to change, ¡°^O-oh, I¡¯d love to! Why not today, though? We¡¯ll be heading towards our burrow now; we¡¯d love for you both to come along!^¡± The excitement in her voice had Geiger chuckle as the Magnemite beside him tried withdrawing further away from the crowd. ¡°Thank you for the offer dear, but I think it¡¯s best we keep it until some other day. Last thing I want Anne to deal with after yesterday¡¯s torture session is me looming over her all day long. And Sievert here has had enough crowds for today too, I think.¡± Autumn¡¯s hype palpably faded by the word, but it didn¡¯t take long for Geiger to reignite it all back. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind trying something tomorrow if you¡¯d be up for it, though~.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Immediately, the fastest nodding the Indeedee had ever done in her life, accompanied by a wide smile, shining bright despite how weathered by age her face was. ¡°^Yes, I¡¯d love to!^¡± ¡°That¡¯s settled then! Alright, now just the other question I had on my mind before I let you all go¡ªthe sky¡¯s getting ugly outside and I¡¯d hate to keep you all waiting. Anne, would you happen to know what my name means?¡± Ember might have spent the last couple of minutes rolling her eye at how sappy Geiger and Autumn were, but her friend found it nothing but charming. Charming, and surprising¡ªwouldn¡¯t have expected old people to still be interested in... well, that probably counted as dating. She¡¯d only ever associated them with books, cookies, and dead spouses. Anne didn¡¯t need Geiger to repeat himself, but wasn¡¯t sure how to answer right away. It was a word she recognized well, but trying to fetch the exact definition out of the half-forgotten depths of her mind proved more challenging than she had thought. She knew he wasn¡¯t expecting the dictionary definition from her, but felt bad about responding with anything less than that. Seemed she¡¯d have to, though. ¡°~I-I think it has to do with measuring radioactivity. Like there are these Geiger counters that measure it and make cracking noises when they detect it¡ª~¡± ¡°Aaaah, so a dosimeter?¡± Geiger leaned in as Anne answered his lifelong mystery, his obvious excitement not helping much with keeping her cool. Especially since that wasn¡¯t a word she¡¯d recognized at all, and could only hope was the correct answer. ¡°~I-I think so, yes,~¡± Anne answered. To her immediate relief, the Electivire took that response at face value, gaze scanning across the ceiling as he chewed through the revelation. Then, he stopped, slowly looked over at the freshly named Sievert attached to his arm, And laughed once more, continuing to do so even after he¡¯d given everyone their ¡®goodbye¡¯s¡¯ and ¡®take care¡¯s¡¯ and left.
With Geiger taking his leave, Anne¡¯s impromptu group didn¡¯t stick around for much longer, either. Everything the adults had to chat about they already long since had, and the rest would have to be found out on the fly. It wasn¡¯t enough to calm anyone down, especially not Marco¡ªAnne wasn¡¯t familiar enough with Gallade anatomy to know that with absolute certainty, but she could¡¯ve sworn he was much less tense than this when they had arrived¡ªbut it was the best they could all hope for. And whether it would prove enough, it remained to be seen. Much the same was true of the ever-uncertain skies above their heads, to the group¡¯s chagrin. The typical wintry off-whites above them were replaced with darker and darker grays, creeping in from all around. It wasn¡¯t raining, not yet, but all the clouds above looked like they were a single whim away from unleashing an absolute downpour over them all. Of liquid water at that, if the warmth in the air was any sign. Just about the only time in Anne¡¯s life where she actively wished for the weather to be even colder than it already was. Nothing they could do about it¡ªat least without being noticed by nearby human towns¡ªwhich left them redoubling their pace towards the ¡®burrow¡¯ Autumn had mentioned earlier. The choice of words left Anne a bit... uncertain. She doubted she was an all-out claustrophobe or anything, but the idea of sleeping in a narrow cave was profoundly uncomfortable all the same. And no, of course, it had nothing to do with her staying up way too late at her grandma¡¯s house one time and watching a documentary about cavers getting trapped underground, of course not! In an attempt to distract herself from memories that had stolen somewhere in the mid two-digit number of nights of sleep, Anne diverted her attention to the ghostly girl floating beside her. Sage hadn¡¯t said anything since they left the tea corner, and felt much tenser than before¡ªalready a worrisome sight, but her earlier fear didn¡¯t help either. Hell, if she could tell the younger girl was afraid of Geiger, then any semblance of subtlety was long since out the window. ¡°~Sage?~¡± Ahead of them, Yaksha spared only a briefest glance over his shoulder, but only that. Her half-whisper perked the ghostly girl out of her idle hovering, wooden body shaking as she hovered into the human, holding her hand tight. ¡°~M-mhm? What¡¯s up, Anne?~¡± A fair bit of exhaustion in her voice, but also some anxiety. Suppose she was still young enough to need naps¡ªwhen she died, at least. Anne had no idea whether needs like that persisted into the afterlife, but Sage offered one argument for that hypothesis. ¡°~J-just wanted to ask¡ªdid you get scared earlier when Mr. Geiger started talking?~¡± Anne kept her voice down, anticipating Sage freaking out about her fears having been noticed. Instead, the younger girl just nodded idly and explained herself, ¡°~His voice is scary.~¡± It was an answer that explained precious little¡ªbut at the same time, just enough for Anne¡¯s mind to get to thinking. Scary voice? Sure, Geiger was imposing like that, but that should¡¯ve faded soon after, it¡¯s not like he was outright shouting at them all the time or something. Something about his voice, then? That would explain ¡®what¡¯, but not ¡®why¡¯, and there Anne was still uncertain¡ªat least until she thought back to Sage¡¯s scared reaction when she heard Marco speak. Not as prominent, but still present before Ember distracted her away. Another piece of the puzzle, but an awkward one. Marco¡¯s and Geiger¡¯s voices were almost nothing alike except for sounding masculine when translated, a mild baritone and a deep bass, respectively. Could it have been that? No way; Yaksha was with them all the time and he was... hmm. His voice was... not like these two¡ªdryer, more ghostly and distorted, higher pitched, almost like a falsetto. Not enough to trigger that fear, it seemed. Anne hadn¡¯t seen Sage have that fearful reaction to any other voice except for these two, and aside from them being masculine, she couldn¡¯t think of anything they had in common. If her hunch was true, then Sage would turn out afraid of Garret, too... It was a sad thought, especially with how kind the Grimmsnarl had been towards her. Anne hoped she¡¯d get to see him again in not too long¡ªand Aria too once she felt better, of course. Any thoughts about the Dark-type aside, though, her revelation also made the choice of Marco as the two ghosts¡¯ guide into Lillywood... less than advisable. Then again, he was never the first choice and was rather the best option they had on hand, so couldn¡¯t really afford to be picky. Hopefully, Yaksha being there would help her out, too. Either way, Sage was getting a big hug here and now, as big as Anne could manage with one arm. ¡°~Hehe, that tickles!~¡± The Phantump giggled, breaking through the group¡¯s silence, adorning it with smiles at her happy, squirmy reaction. With the quiet already gone, Autumn took the initiative and walked up to the girls, eying them out with a wide, tired smile. ¡°^How are you doing, girls?^¡± ¡°~I¡¯m okay, Mrs. Autumn!~¡± Despite her earlier gloom, Sage had no difficulties getting back to her usual excited self. Sure, the Electrivire had scared her a bit, but she¡¯d still be going home in just a few hours! The Indeedee¡¯s smile strained, but just barely held at feeling that thought. ¡°^Yup! Really hope the weather won¡¯t get any worse until then, already looking quite dreadful. Ugh, snow¡¯s gonna start melting overnight, won¡¯t it...?^¡± As Autumn shuddered at the idea of having to wade in freezing slush for the next few days, Marco¡¯s thoughts about skies turning dark went the other way. Sure, it¡¯d be ugly, but maybe it¡¯d be for the best? The Gallade took a large breath as he tried to relax his posture, looking down at the older girl and speaking up, ¡°^Anne. Do you think it would help us avoid attention if it snowed or rained today?^¡± Anne blinked at a question this... obvious, but didn¡¯t mind answering it. She supposed it made some sense, after all. ¡°~Well, it¡¯d be cold and nasty for you all, b-but yeah. Nobody¡¯s gonna be leaving their houses if it¡¯s this cold and raining, even with an umbrella. And...~¡± she paused and counted the past few days with the information the Blissey at the clinic gave her, the best possible conclusion perking her up a bit. ¡°~And it¡¯s Sunday today too, so even fewer people are gonna be out after dark!~¡± ¡°~It¡¯s Sunday today?~¡± Sage tilted her head at her friend¡¯s words, staring in unexpectedly genuine confusion. Anne double-checked her count just to be sure¡ªand sure enough, she got it right the first time. ¡°~Yeah, it¡¯s Sunday, Sage.~¡± ¡°~I thought it was Friday.~¡± Sage¡¯s perfectly deadpan delivery left Anne waiting for a follow-up, either the punchline of a joke or reasoning for it not being Sunday. Instead, the two just stared at each other for a while, the silence growing oppressively awkward in a matter of seconds. Soon enough, the older girl couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, speaking up just to clear the air, ¡°~Why?~¡± ¡°~I don¡¯t know.~¡± ... Oh. ¡°^What¡¯s a ¡®Sunday¡¯?^¡± Autumn butted in, trying to help with the uneasy tension in the air. Satisfying her curiosity about some more human terms was a welcome bonus. ¡°~It¡¯s a day of the week, M-Mrs. Autumn!¡± Sage chimed in to explain, entirely undeterred by the previous awkwardness. She clarified exactly nothing. Anne was about to try giving her own, much more comprehensive answer before something caught her attention from the nearby rooftop. Or rather, someone, the familiar cooing making her gaze jump up to meet Blossom¡¯s, smiles filling both their faces. Before the human could greet the lil¡¯ owl, the latter took off from her post and flew down. To her immediate regret, there didn¡¯t seem to be anywhere to perch on that was anywhere close to Anne¡¯s eye level; the awful freezing snow aside. Which left option B. ¡°Hi, Anne! Oh my gosh, are you gonna be staying here for good!?¡± Blossom delivered her chirps with all the excitement she could produce, amplified further by perching on Marco¡¯s silvery crest to his unamused stare. Marco persevered¡ªanything to keep the little ones happy, especially with him sensing the Dartrix¡¯s internal conflict about where to land¡ªbut only barely. Anne was unsure how to respond without breaking into a rude laughter at his expense. Thankfully, Autumn had her covered, ¡°^Yes sweetie, Anne is staying with us! Elders decided on that yesterday.^¡± Blossom nodded with all the excitement of a child finally being in on the big events going on in the world around her for the first time in her life. ¡°Yes, I saw! I even tried to listen in, but couldn¡¯t hear anything!¡± Marco kept himself from speaking up, but that didn¡¯t extend to not facepalming out of Blossom¡¯s field of view. ¡°^Sweetie, you¡¯re not supposed to eavesdrop, these are meant to be confidential,^¡± Autumn explained, biting her tongue to not laugh out at her son-in-law¡¯s reaction. To some extent, she felt much the same, but was much more keen on helping the girl''s confusion¡ªeven if it was about matters she thought self-explanatory. And then, Anne looked over her shoulder to check the loud buzzing coming from nearby and gasped, drawing the others¡¯ attention immediately. As scary as it was for Anne to suddenly see a Vespiquen behind her from less than a foot away, the rest of the group felt a gradient of emotions spanning from uncertainty to unamusement. Autumn took it upon herself to present the latter, glaring at the Bug-type. ¡°^Hello, Liz.^¡± The words were enough to interrupt the Vespiquen¡¯s current routine¡ªnamely, measuring Anne from all around using a string with a bunch of knots on it, calculating values unknown and unknowable. With her focus broken, it was Liz¡¯s turn to stare with disapproval at Autumn, only adding to the latter¡¯s annoyance. The Indeedee didn¡¯t want to be the one to renege first, but she knew that if not for that, this staring contest would last forever. ¡°^Liz, maybe you could introduce yourself to Anne instead of sneaking up on her,^¡± Autumn forced out. The deadpan flatness in her voice wasn¡¯t any more difficult to make out for Anne than for its intended recipient, eliciting the most monotone buzz the human girl had ever heard. It didn¡¯t help any with her confusion, but the introduction that followed did, at least. ¡°Liz. Quartermaster. I keep track of our resource utilization and production. Need to take count of your size and how much food you¡¯re going to eat. May I continue now?¡± The Vespiquen strained her words, aiming them squarely at Autumn. It almost made the Indeedee snap back with something, but she kept her snark contained. This time. ¡°^Yes you may, Liz. Just please explain with words if you need Anne to do something for you¡ª^¡± ¡°Stand still. Back straight. Limbs straight along your body,¡± Liz ordered, wasting no time for courtesy as she continued with her measuring string and grooves on her horns. At least; before she noticed Autumn¡¯s brown eyes drilling into her once more. ¡°...Please.¡± About the most Autumn¡ªor anyone else¡ªcould expect from the Vespiquen, she supposed. The Indeedee sighed as she reached a paw to rub along the bridge of her short snout. If nothing else, Liz was good with doing all the number crunching she had to do once and not bothering people about that afterward until strictly needed. Anne seemed to be taking it well, too¡ªpast the initial shock, at least. It was amusing to keep track of her thoughts at being scanned so closely, bringing forth mental images of various measuring devices, many of them transparent, somehow, and... other humans with the same eye coverings as she had, but much larger, combined with buck teeth. Taken together, human weirdness probably outdid Liz¡¯s quirks¡ª *RUMBLE...* The distant thunder startled everyone but the diligent quartermaster, sending shivers down Anne¡¯s body. Autumn just sighed. Sure enough, the weather looked like it would be unpleasant later today. Hopefully, the human clothes Anne had in mind for Marco would help with that a bit. Oh, speaking of. ¡°^Oh, Marco, before we forget and the rain comes down on us! Could you take the rest of Anne¡¯s items from the clinic and move them to our burrow?^¡± Autumn turned on a heel towards her son-in-law, finding him comfortably Blossom-less and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. ¡°^All of them, or specific¡ª^¡± Before he could even finish, Autumn cut him off by shaking her head. She explained soon after, aiming her words at him and Anne in equal measure, ¡°^Everything. She¡¯s gonna be staying with us there, after all.^¡± Marco nodded, Sage tilted her head, Ember gasped in joy, Yaksha didn¡¯t react, Liz jotted the piece of data down deep inside her insect brain, and Anne... looked at Autumn with uncertainty. The bespoke ¡®burrow¡¯ was more than just today¡¯s destination then, leaving her unnerved. With how neat the rest of the village was, she really hoped the family dwelling would follow suit. Both because of how uncomfortable narrow spaces made her, and because she¡¯d hate to be an even bigger burden than she already had been from the get-go in forcing them to change the burrow to accommodate her... The Fighting-type caught himself right before he was about to head out, an important thought sparking under his skullcap. ¡°^What if she¡¯ll need the healers to take another look at her later today?^¡± ¡°^Ah, good call! Ask about that too while you¡¯re there, fingers crossed you¡¯ll be good for the day Anne¡ªlast thing we want is for you to have to trudge through the slush that¡¯s coming just to get another bandage check,^¡± Autumn chuckled at the mental image as the human girl shuddered. Ember wasted no time helping her friend with any shaking, be it fear or cold-induced, while Marco finally headed out, leaving the group one member lighter for the time being. A part of Anne wondered what in the world was the Vespiquen still doing with her. Surely she would¡¯ve already gotten everything¡ª ¡°Is this your final shape, human?¡± Liz buzzed the question out, not pausing her measuring even for a second. ¡°^Anne,^¡± Autumn corrected. ¡°Akhne.¡± The human cared about her name being butchered much less than she did about the confusing question she had been asked moments prior. ¡°~Umm... w-what do you mean by that?~¡± ¡°Will you change in shape or size, be it by evolution or some other process, over the next five years?¡± The Vespiquen enunciated; the gesture both noticed and appreciated by Anne. Guess this ¡®quartermaster¡¯ could explain herself if she really wanted to. ¡°~I-I will grow by a few inches¡ª~¡± ¡°Show,¡± Liz instructed, paying close attention to what the girl did afterwards. It felt weird to have so much focus be on her shaking hand of all things, but Anne pushed on regardless, raising it until it lay flat at what she hoped was 5''1". As close an estimate as she could make with her only reference point being her mother¡¯s and grandma¡¯s heights¡ªhopefully the exact value wouldn¡¯t matter since she was just predicting the future, anyway. And with her growth spurt coming any day now, Liz would be able to see it for herself. ¡°^Oh? With how tall you already are, I didn¡¯t think you got any more height left in you, Anne,^¡± Autumn said with mild, but genuine surprise. It made her wonder how big would the tallest humans be if even the girl beside her towered over almost all of them. Even if much of their size was not as impressive as it would¡¯ve otherwise been with them being so thin, it still left quite an impact¡ª ... The Indeedee shuddered with her entire body at sensing the nearby aura move so suddenly and intensely, mind and eyes alike turning to look at what had happened. Ember followed soon after, gasping once she¡¯d connected all the pieces together in her head and clinging closer to her friend. Anne wasn¡¯t far behind either¡ªbut she was much more confused than the other two. Cinder showing herself again was appreciated just for the sake of Anne knowing where the vixen she still had a hard time trusting was, but the rest of the scene raised more questions than it answered. In front of the Fire-type stood an Espurr, barely visible from the other end of the street in the for-them-waist-high snow. They were facing her, surrounded by Cinder¡¯s psychic glow. Nothing was happening, but with how tense Autumn and Ember had gotten at the sight, Anne wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to think about what ¡®should¡¯ have happened instead... Her head was confused, but her legs screamed for her to run. Before the situation could grow any more anxious, someone else showed up, diffusing much of the built-up tension. Anne couldn¡¯t quite recognize them right away¡ªthe body was quite like the blue Meowstic, which gender that corresponded to lost in the recesses of her mind, but ears weren¡¯t. They looked brown, as if they were¡ª ... Oh shit, they were wooden. Were these prosthetics? Had they lost their ears at some point because of some scrap with wild mons? Did¡ªoh gods, did a human do that to them? Anne remembered hearing in one newspaper or another about dumb people still occasionally doing that nowadays despite it being pretty blatant cruelty. Regardless of what had happened for them to end up this way, they were scolding the absolute ears off of what was presumably their child. The latter was no slouch though, the two of them first talking, and then shouting at each other in what felt like a downpour of ever more emotional meows. And then; the Meowstic stopped and turned to face her. As unnerving as seeing the Espurr facing her was earlier, their parent came off very differently. Ears down, much more relaxed posture, willingness to take a couple of steps closer in a way that felt hesitant, but not angry or hateful. Anne still had no idea what was going on, but figured she could at least greet them. Her eyes jumped back and forth between the Meowstic and the Espurr as she waved at the former. They shuddered at her gesture, taking her briefly aback, before¡­ returning it themselves with a shaky paw. Hopefully, a good sign. Either way, once they were satisfied greeting her, they turned around to Cinder and their child and meowed a couple more words. Anne had no idea what she expected to happen next, but the psychic kitten being lifted into the air, still fully enveloped with the firefox¡¯s reddish aura, and hovered around the corner before the other two followed wasn¡¯t it. Unnerving, but ultimately just¡ªAutumn? Even once the cats and the fox were done, the Indeedee kept staring daggers into the spot they had just departed from. Her expression was angrier than Anne had ever seen it, much angrier. On her other side, Ember looked unnerved, her embrace having grown so tight in the meantime Anne wondered how in the world did she not feel it earlier. The Vespiquen had left at some point, presumably to get away from the growing tension and to drown her annoyances in Vivian¡¯s brandy. ¡°~What happened?~¡± Anne asked nervously, her mind suggesting more and more harrowing possibilities. Was it just a family argument, or¡ªor did that Espurr despise her, and she was almost attacked in broad daylight with company around her? The latter sounded both too scary and too silly to be true; there¡¯s no way that someone would¡¯ve tried that, but if not that then¡ª ¡°Oh deeeear. Baaaaad moooment?¡± Anne had no idea it was possible for a voice this soft and old to startle so many people all at once. Once she and the two psychics beside her had finished getting over their startles, they turned around to face the Grass-type. Anne¡¯s eyes went wide at seeing a Lilligant just hanging out here, head full of memories of watching beauty pageants on TV with her grandma featuring their kin¡ªamong others. And her flower was in full bloom too, something even professionals fumbled from time to time. ... Guess actually being free and among friends helped a lot in minimizing stress, huh? And the cloak over her body helped with the cold as well, held tightly shut with one leafy hand. ¡°^Oh Lavender, hello there. No, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s not a bad moment, don¡¯t worry. Did something happen?^¡± Autumn asked, tension and active attempts to get rid of it oozing through her mental voice. ¡°I wrapped up the shaaaawl you asked fooor, aaaand wanted to deliver it to the giiiirl herself!¡± The Grass-type turned to face Anne, her almost-invisible smile growing wide. Her free hand unwrapped what the human thought to be a part of her cape. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same, not with being so leafy and dry, but... her voice was quite similar to grandma Lisa¡¯s. Anne didn¡¯t know why that realization struck her; it wasn¡¯t relevant, but... it still made her feel just that bit warmer. And if the sheer amount of knitted cloth being unwrapped from around Lavender was any sign, she¡¯d end up much more than just a bit warmer, soon. By the time the Grass-type was done grabbing it all, it looked the size of a blanket; the all-natural fabric stained with a gradient from bright greens to dark oranges. For a few moments, Anne could only stare at it, uncertain what all this was about¡ª Only for Ember¡¯s giggle to clarify it all, ¡°Hehehe, she made it for you, Anne!¡± ¡°Indeeeeed!¡± Lavender stressed her follow-up, holding the bundled fabric up even higher and giving it a little wave. Anne stared wide-eyed at the gift as her mind spun in a circle, left dumbfounded about how to respond. It was one thing to be told that this presumed article of clothing, this product of so much labor, was for her¡ªand another still for that fact to really sink in. She¡¯d only been here for a few days; there was no way anyone would just decide to gift her stuff on a whim, not something this special! ¡°^But that¡¯s exactly what she did, Anne!^¡± The Braixen whispered, holding her friend even closer. Ember¡¯s mental whisper only added further fuel for the fire of emotions thrashing in Anne¡¯s mind. It also emboldened her enough to finally reach out and grab the knitted bundle, Autumn¡¯s psychic intervention helping her spread it wide and get a better look at what it was. A large, colorful shawl, sized for her. Made for her. The first article of clothing made with any amount of care for her in almost three years. With her left arm immobile and folded under her sweater, Anne had to be helped with putting it on, something both psychics were more than glad to assist with as much as they could. Soft, and comfortably weighed, and pleasant to the touch, and warm, and... A-and... Anne¡¯s sniffles took the rest of the group aback as they all awaited a reaction, Lavender most of all. The Grass-type was about to speak up, immediately fretting that she¡¯d unknowingly made a mistake with the sizing¡ª Only to be pulled into a one-armed hug before she could respond. Her legs might¡¯ve screamed at her for crouching and half her body still ached. But none of that mattered, none of it could. Anne had to thank this villager, this¡ªthis total stranger for her generosity, and this was the only way she could do it beyond just idle words. ¡°~Th-th¡ª*sniff*¡ªthank you...~¡± Thankfully, Lavender took it well. ¡°Awwwwwww, sweeeeeetie! You¡¯re veeeery welcome! Do you liiiike it?¡± Lavender beamed as she returned the hug with all the strength her aged body could provide, appreciating Anne¡¯s body warmth immensely. ¡°~I-it¡¯s p-perfect, I can¡¯t thank you enough¡ª~¡± Immediately, the Lilligant shook her head, the petals of her flower flapping against Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Allll is goooood! I¡¯m glaaaaaad you liiiike it, and that youuuuuu¡¯re here!¡± To Anne¡¯s surprise, she believed Lavender¡¯s words. As the human girl let go of the seamstress before being helped back to her feet by her friend, the Indeedee chimed in, realizing one part that didn¡¯t quite add up. ¡°^How¡¯d you find us here, Lavender?^¡± The Lilligant perked up at her before softly laughing, orange eyes scanning the roofs of the nearby buildings. ¡°Ohhhh, Sol had tipped meeee off! Heeeee¡¯s beeeeeen watching oveeeeeer youuuu for a whiiiile nooow! Sooooool! Where aaaaare youuuu!?¡± As Autumn narrowed her eyes and looked around, she caught a white and brown blur in her peripheral vision, psychics focusing in an instant. The Whimsicott was much too fast for her to grab directly, but nothing an artificial gust of wind couldn¡¯t help with. With an instantaneous green flare, the wind-veiled Fairy-type was tossed against the wall he was flying next to, before harmlessly bouncing off it and falling into the snow. That¡¯s what you get for following us. ¡°Sol? Soooooool, quit foooooling around, silly!¡± Lavender chided with a disapproving shake. As she headed off to check up on the snow-diving Whimsicott in the distance, the group got going again. Much to the gratitude of Anne¡¯s strained legs, they were already on the final stretch, their destination only a couple turns away. And once they¡¯d made the last one, a clearing in front of a hill awaited them. Its sheer size alone was enough to make it stick out of its barren surroundings. The towering oak growing from its tip towered over all other nearby trees, downright radiant in the orange light of the looming sunset, even without any leaves to grace it. For a while, Anne thought it was just a local landmark, denoting the edge of the village. And then; she spotted the doorway embedded into the side of the hill; and realized Autumn was leading them there. ¡°~I-is that the burrow you had mentioned?~¡± Anne whispered, excitement seeping into her voice despite her earlier worries. The fantasy she¡¯d been imagining on and off for the last few days suddenly became terrifyingly real. It was one thing to be abstractly told that she would stay in this magical wonderland village while she lay waking up in her bed, ¡°^Yes Anne, yes it is!^¡± It was another to be at Aria¡¯s doorstep. Her pace slowed with every step as she approached the front door in a mix of exhaustion and emotion. Ember was doing her best to support her through both, snuggling by her side throughout the ordeal. As barren and downright miserly as the burrow¡¯s entrance was, the warm, orange light pouring in through the gaps between the door and the frame it sat in betrayed its homeliness, growing clearer and clearer to see as the sun set around them. And then, before she knew it, Anne stood right before it. Sage and Yaksha watched, confused, as the human girl just stood there for a while, quivering in place. The Phantump wanted to ask what was wrong, and the Banette was of half a mind to push past the dumb child and just walk in there himself, but neither of them acted. *knock knock, knock* They didn¡¯t need to. *crooaaaaaaaak* Anne was home. Interlude IX: Hatred How could they have done this!? Hawthorne breathed through gritted teeth as she made her way through the village, the anger gripping her body not letting her internalize anything from the Serperior¡¯s lesson she had just received. Yet another repetition of protective moves didn¡¯t matter, couldn¡¯t matter. Not when the Elders had put everyone here at such a risk. The Espurr¡¯s thrashing aura left gashes in the loose snow around her as she tried not to scream. It was one thing for them all to allow THAT THING to live, but¡ªTHIS!? They let IT stay here and keep hurting them all; how¡ªhow¡ª HOW COULD THEY!? Her paws gripped the sides of her forehead. The extended claws drew the tiniest bit of blood as she stared into the muddy snow in front of her, straining all that was left of her composure. She¡¯d never even come close to losing it in her life, but. But THAT THING was here now, putting them all at risk, able and willing to hurt them all, especially her dad! Her dad was lying to her, too. The thought thawed her from her almost-outburst, getting her going again through tears. She hadn¡¯t been up for that long; the sun wasn¡¯t even close to setting yet, but she still felt exhausted. By the BETRAYAL, by her concerns being dismissed, by being so angry about it all and yet unable to do anything about it. The one person she expected to stand up for her, or even for himself, didn¡¯t. It baffled her more than anything else, baffled and infuriated. He¡¯d told her what THESE THINGS had put him through, how much THEY had hurt him, but he kept trying to downplay it now. She remembered his tears, his pain, every single night when she¡¯d wake up only to see him wide awake, shaking beside the hearth. But apparently, none of that mattered now! All it took was the Elders saying a word, and he bent to their whims and pretended nothing had happened! That one of THESE THINGS hadn¡¯t scarred him in mind and body, that IT hadn¡¯t trapped him and kept him as a pet for years, That THEY weren¡¯t all MONSTERS. She wasn¡¯t sure which hurt her more, the lies or the betrayal. All the Espurr knew was that she hurt, and she didn¡¯t want to be hurting. She just wanted to be safe. And for them all to be safe too, especially her dad. Maybe it wasn¡¯t too late? Freezing tears stung through her fur as Hawthorne perked up and upped her pace. It couldn¡¯t have been too late; the Elders had only made their mistake last night. And ARIA must¡¯ve influenced them, too! Yes, of course, it all made sense now! She just had to shake sense into her dad, had to use her meager psychics to break him from that EVIL GARDEVOIR¡¯S control, and make them all safe again! It would be difficult, but she could do it; everyone depended on her! She would be the hero; they¡¯d all thank her, praise her and be sorry for all the times they dismissed her concerns, especially Autumn¡ª kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill THAT THING was here. kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill Hawthorne stared down the street, pink eyes only able to focus on HER TARGET. She knew she had no chance against everyone standing beside IT, not all taken together, but it didn¡¯t matter. Just had to strike when Autumn and Marco were distracted; before that wimp¡ªno, that TRAITOR Ember could react. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Nobody else mattered, nobody else could stop her. kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill It was time. kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill Her eyes lit up with a flare as she raised her ears. Aura thrashed in her mental grasp, pushed so far beyond its usual intensity she could only barely control it. Didn¡¯t matter. THESE THINGS were pathetic, all she had to do was get one good hit while IT was distracted, break IT in half. She could do it, she¡¯d be a hero, she¡¯d rid them all of this MONSTER, make them all safe¡ª die die die DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE !!! Her aura tried to jolt forward, to maim THAT THING where IT stood, but it couldn¡¯t, forcibly held still. It hurt, so intense a gasp of pain caught in her throat as she strained against whatever force was keeping her bound¡ª ¡°^Don¡¯t.^¡± Cinder¡¯s voice filled her mind, a simple command amplified to deafening volume by the intensity of their combined psychics. Had Hawthorne any more control of herself, she would¡¯ve screamed in fear and ran off¡ªbut couldn¡¯t, the Delphox¡¯s mental grasp holding her like a vice. The Espurr shrieked, pushing through her turbulent aura, ¡°^LET ME GO!^¡± The firefox didn¡¯t answer. Instead, the kitten felt her built-up energy slowly dissolve, defusing her almost-attack. It hurt less, but it also meant she wouldn¡¯t be able to attack IT anymore, making Hawthorne thrash even harder in her teacher¡¯s unassailable aura. As she was about to cry out to be let go once more, though, she heard another voice, one that made her freeze in something worse than fear. ¡°Hawthorne!¡± Max cried out, aghast at what he¡¯d just ran into. ¡°What¡ªwhat are you doing...¡± His daughter kept thrashing in Cinder¡¯s grasp to no use, soon crying out, ¡°^Protecting you!^¡± The scene was overwhelming for the Meowstic, both in the intensity of the psychic auras being wielded against one another, in there being a human just a few dozen feet away, and in how much malice dripped from his daughter. She didn¡¯t even make any sense! ¡°What¡ªwhat do you mean, we are safe!¡± ¡°^But there¡¯s a HUMAN in the village and it will hurt you and everyone else is too afraid to do anything about it!^¡± Hawthorne shrieked through more and more tears, her fear as genuine as can be. ¡°^ARIA poisoned your mind, I know it, the elders¡¯ too, we need to kill IT before IT hurts us all¡ª^¡± ¡°HAWTHORNE!¡± her dad cried, trying the only thing he could to cut his daughter¡¯s terrible words off. ¡°^DAD PLEASE, I KNOW YOU¡¯RE IN THERE SOMEWHERE!^¡± ¡°HAWTHORNE! I BEG YOU, STOP!¡± Max pleaded, stopping the Espurr¡¯s rambling for but a moment. ¡°WHY DON¡¯T YOU BELIEVE ME!?¡± ¡°^B-because THESE THINGS hurt you! THEY will hurt you again if we let them¡ª^¡± ¡°And is your way of keeping us safe hurting them back!?¡± Hawthorne stared at him, terrified and confused, ¡°^What else!?^¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t they have an excuse to hurt us too then!? And so on and so on; bloodshed solves nothing! HATRED SOLVES NOTHING!¡± He cried out, wounds in his mind clawed open once more. His daughter tried to speak up once more, but he continued first, ¡°No, Hawthorne! I am hurt, it hurts so much, but it is MY pain to bear! I¡¯m so sorry I¡¯ve exposed you to so much more of it than I should have. I¡ªI¡¯ll never be able to forgive myself for that.¡± Max¡¯s paws gripped his temples as his tears peppered the snow and dirt below him. He didn¡¯t want to do any of this; he didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near a human any more than his daughter did, but he had to. All this was his fault; he had to make up for what he had done in whatever way he could. ¡°Please, understand, this human is a child! She¡¯s just like you, she¡¯s done nothing wrong!¡± He begged, heart racing as he turned toward the girl his daughter hated so much. He took a step closer, then another, using all his courage to not run away, and continued, ¡°She¡ªshe just wants to be safe, just like us. Keep your wrath for those that actually hurt us, be they humans or our fellow mons, I beg you...¡± As Max was about to turn back towards the Espurr, he noticed the human move. He didn¡¯t want to be here, to see them, but if it meant they¡¯d be safe, if it meant his daughter might ever heal from all the ways he¡¯d unintentionally hurt her, then he¡¯d bear through this. He lifted his paw and returned Anne¡¯s waves, only barely keeping the fight-or-flight response at bay. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Hawthorne.¡± After catching his breath, he looked up at the stone-faced Delphox, keeping his gaze away from his weeping, rage-filled daughter. He asked, ¡°Cinder, could you carry her to our dwelling?¡± The firefox answered wordlessly, levitating the thrashing Espurr around the corner before following in tow. As he watched them leave and eventually followed in their steps, the Meowstic feared. Feared that just like his physical wounds, his daughter¡¯s mental scars would never heal. Interlude X: Drifter ¡°*shhhh*¡ªou know what it is, just an afternoon with my wife!¡± The roar of canned laughter floods the living room before giving way to harsh hissing once more. Above it, the black-and-white image of a talk show grows blurry as static devours it, erasing whatever meaning it still had. A few moments later, the broadcast fights back, pushing through the noise and distortion, yearning to be seen for just one more moment. But nobody is watching. The television¡¯s pale glow pierces the muffled darkness of the living room, brought on by the thick blinds obscuring every window in sight. All one needs to bring the space back to life is to stand up and walk these few feet, to grasp the grimy cords. But it is too late. In front of the TV set rests a well-worn armchair, its once blue fabric covered with stains the color of dirt, blood and pus. On it, a mound of cloth and sludge, a pile of regret and decay, what was once a person wrapped tight in what was once a blanket. Around it, empty plastic wrappers and glass bottles, their contents long forgotten and devoured¡ªfirst by their owner, then by microorganisms decomposing them. What remains of the human¡¯s head keeps staring at the device before it, the receiver¡¯s light illuminating the many shades of decay covering the skin. Sometimes, it twitches just a bit as another patch of sinew holding it together turns into mush. Aside from that, there is no motion in the room, no change. Not in days. Not in years. *knock knock knock* The muffled sound eclipses the TV static despite being so much quieter, stirring flakes of dust from the garbage strewn across every flat surface. For the first time in weeks, there is a shift in the putrid air, beyond the miasma of death and waste growing ever more intense. Tension rises in the motionless space, begging for the external influence to leave it be, to let it decay into nothingness evermore. But it won¡¯t. *knock knock knock* Another three strikes against the front door, its mechanism long since half-devoured by corrosion. Soon after, a pair of muffled voices outside, chatting with each other, and a low, animalistic growl, their intricacies falling on the abandoned house¡¯s deaf ears. The world demands presence, the pile of decomposing flesh demands closure. At last, motion. A grayish hand phases through the stained, crusty blanket enveloping the corpse, and another one follows moments later. After it comes one leg, then the other, with only the inanimate TV set to witness their appearance. The half-formed, immaterial entity shudders and stops; it wants to go no further. No thoughts grace it, no memories¡ªonly the emotions that used to comprise them. Hatred. Guilt. Regret. *knock knock knock* And yet, What Is must continue its crawl, to depart the cocoon of What Was and What Will Never Be. The quietest of metallic jingles fill the air as its head pushes through, freeing the rest of itself from the once-body that once held it. It falls from the armchair onto the trash-covered floor; the digging of shards of plastic and glass into its woven skin overlooked in the horror of steadily building consciousness. And then; it opens its eyes. Their dim, pink glow sweeps the room, taking in hundreds of objects it used to know but doesn¡¯t. It stares but does not see, the decomposing environment around it reduced to naught but visual noise and an incomprehensible blur of shapes, all bathed in shadows. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. At last, it turns to look up at the seat it had just crawled out of, at what remained of what it once was, of what he once was. He feels nothing. Not yet. *knock knock knock,* ¡°~Mr. Armstrong?~¡± The muffled sounds come together into words, understood and yet incoherent. Name he recognizes or not, someone¡¯s still knocking on the door. The ghost¡¯s body turns towards the house¡¯s front door and takes the first step of many, driven by subconscious impulses long erased. Each little movement disturbs the mounds of trash and grime, sending clouds of dust floating into the air. He¡¯s too focused to notice, too stunned by his own sudden existence. One step, another, finally out of arm¡¯s reach of the padded seat. To his left, a book sprawled open on top of the mound of junk, its contents all but forgotten to his conscious mind despite the title on the cover remaining legible. Something about an encyclopedia, something about spirits. The sight to his right takes too much of his attention for him to even try thinking about it. A chair lying on the floor bent and discarded. Beside it, a small desk, its surface covered with envelopes. A few still sealed, many opened and disemboweled. Some of their contents lie in a heap behind the desk, crumpled and torn. Some in a pile off to the side, sodden with tears and blood. And in the center, the letters never sent, the words forever unsaid. *knock knock knock,* ¡°~Mr. Armstrong, this is the Mistralton Police Department. Are you there?~¡± At last, the sound distracts the ghost away from the piles of letters. He resumes his journey through the dead building, taking in the sights one after another. On the wall to his right, political paraphernalia for the last few elections, their bold slogans ringing hollow amidst the decay. An unending chant with a different refrain each time, a different group to blame for the woes of the world and the economy. Unionists, immigrants, queers, pagans, women, racial minorities. Who it was, it mattered not¡ªas long as there was someone to hate, to channel one¡¯s anger towards. Beneath each slogan, a photo of the associated candidate, drilling into him with their hollow smiles. Into his eyes, into his mind, uncovering the half-digested flashes of him walking along with them, of offering them his unconditional faith and support, the power of all the resentment his weary body could fit. And then; came consequences. His spectral legs keep wading through trash, each step easier and easier once he finally turns the corner into the atrium. Fewer wrappers and discarded food here, more boxes and heaps of unopened letters. In the distance, his destination. He can¡¯t make out much from behind the frosted glass, just a couple of dark blobs against the light gray background. They shift from side to side, turn to each other, sometimes even walk away for a moment or two, before inevitably approaching the front again. *knock knock knock,* ¡°~Mr. Armstrong, your daughter called us to perform a wellness check. Are you there, Mr. Armstrong?~¡± The words freeze him in place, one of them in particular. His eyes unfocus as he stares at the mound of envelopes in front of the door, the awareness of what some of them are desperately trying to claw at his mind. He keeps it at bay, just barely, and pushes on. His body needs no air, and yet his breaths deepen with every step. The reality of where and what he is starts creeping up on him, made terrifying by the little he knows, and especially by everything he doesn¡¯t, not anymore. With utmost focus, he resists looking just to the right, to the wall covered with rectangular patches of discoloration, and to the one photo that still hangs there. A picture of a woman rests askew in its frame. Hastily put together after being torn, enveloped in a web of creases, in damage from being first crumpled and tossed and then dug up in panic from a trash bin. Behind it, obscured, is a photo of a boy, once displayed as a matter of fact, then out of hateful spite. Nobody else is left. Nobody. Nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody He stands before the door, up to his waist in letters. Too short to reach the peephole, but he does so anyway. Before he knows it, his pink eye is level with it, trying desperately to focus on the bright image. Two men in police uniforms looking around bored and checking the time, and an Absol behind them. Suddenly, the latter turns to stare straight at him, and catches the humans¡¯ attention. They sigh in relief and turn to face him, offering weary, uncertain smiles and as professional a voice as they still can. ¡°~Mr. Armstrong, there you are! This is the Mistralton Police Department. Your daughter called us to perform a wellness check¡ªcould you open the door, Mr. Armstrong?~¡± His arm reaches down without even thinking as his head pounds to the rhythm of a long-dead heart. He hurts, it hurts; what is he; where is he; why is he here¡ª The rusted metal attached to the handle creaks, and the door skews open, carrying with it the reek trapped within. One breath later, it hits the two men outside, sending them dry heaving as they back off; eyes bulge as they look up into the house. Inside, a feral Banette. The Absol knows what they have to do, pushing past their humans and their disgust alike as their horn flickers with pitch-black energy. The ghost¡¯s terrified wail fills the decrepit building as they turn to run away¡ªthrough the trash, through the walls, through the miles of suburbia. And then, many hours later, he stops. Around him, darkness. Of the woods, of the night. Of a world that is no longer his home. Chapter 33: Home Each croak of the steps under Anne¡¯s feet sent another jolt through her. Excitement, anticipation, concern about the structural stability of this dwelling, all mixed in wildly varying rates. Just a few steps later, though, all gave into relief at what this burrow turned out to actually be. Planks lined the room¡¯s walls and floors alike, except for stone and gravel around the hearth at its far side. Not all the same kind, the mismatch in shades of wood looking a bit awkward¡ªand yet, just right at the same time. Figures they couldn¡¯t afford to be picky with building materials. The simple doors along the central room¡¯s sides were curious, but Anne¡¯s attention was snagged by something else before she could investigate them further. Or rather, someone else. Garret and Aria stood beside the cauldron, bathed in the bright orange light of the homely flames. As the Dark-type split his focus between working on the meal and holding his wife close, the Gardevoir took her time waking up with a few slow blinks, followed by a yawn. And then, once she¡¯d sensed what it was that had stirred her up, a wide, tired smile aimed towards the incoming group, Anne especially. ¡°Good evening, Anne,¡± Aria spoke with her physical voice, putting her utmost effort into not breaking out into yet another yawn. The mention of the girl finally snapped Garret out of his cooking duties, his toothy expression widening as he watched everyone pile in. He couldn¡¯t spare an arm to wave at them right now, but doing so with individual loose strands of fur all around his body ought to have sufficed. ¡°Hello everyone! Thank goodness I¡¯ve made enough for the next couple days if we¡¯re gonna be having guests!¡± A faint blush went through Anne¡¯s expression at the remark¡ªand then another one at the realization that she probably wasn¡¯t thought of as a guest. The two ghosts tailing the others were unexpected, but someone ought to know them, and that was enough for Garret. His wife was more confused, though, raising an eyebrow first at the Banette, and then at the Indeedee once she¡¯d realized her involvement in this. ¡°^I¡¯ll explain over dinner, doncha worry,^¡± Autumn explained telepathically, leaving her daughter-in-law with no choice but to sigh and nod along. An elaboration was in order, but Aria wasn¡¯t rushing for it. ¡°~A-are you okay, Mrs. Aria?~¡± Anne worried as she took a couple steps closer; the Gardevoir¡¯s antics earlier in the day were still fresh in her mind. Even ignoring that, though, she wasn¡¯t looking particularly encouraging¡ªnot while this exhausted. The Gardevoir couldn¡¯t deny not quite being back to her usual self. And so; she didn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m a bit disheveled, but... I¡¯m better now. A lot better, which I suppose only speaks to how rough this morning was,¡± Aria admitted with a chuckle, shuddering at the tattered memories of her standoff with Cinder at the clinic as her husband held her closer. ¡°I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll be back to how I was before, unfortunately. Slept almost all day long and I¡¯m still exhausted...¡± ¡°The answer¡¯s ¡®as long as it takes¡¯, then! And we¡¯ll be here for as long as you need us, honey,¡± Garret chimed in, his individual hairs caressing Aria from all around. Didn¡¯t make it any easier for her to keep her eyes open with how pleasant it felt, but something told her nobody minded. There was one more thing she needed to bring up before she could let herself recede into full-on relaxation, though. ¡°Anne, I...¡± Aria paused, shuddering as she took a deep breath. It hurt to realize earlier, just like it hurt to even think about now, but Anne deserved it more than ever. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened at the clinic. I freaked out when I shouldn¡¯t have and scared you all, and I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡± ¡°~No no, it¡¯s all good Mrs. Aria!~¡± The girl¡¯s enthusiastic response made the Gardevoir shudder, worries about it being said just to soothe her conscience filling her body for a moment. It took only a brief scan of her innermost sense to make it clear that the girl meant it¡ªwith every fiber of her being at that. It was such an immense sensation it shook whatever drowsiness had clung onto Aria. She opened her eyes wider and turned to look at the girl directly. Exhaustion, shivers, surprise, comfort. Certainty. Wide, genuine eyes and a smile that only grew the moment Aria made it clear she¡¯d noticed. Ember beside her was much the same, even sneaking in some more nods once the Gardevoir had looked at her. She closed her eyes once more, holding back tears. ¡°T-thank you, Anne, Ember.¡± As the relief washed over Aria¡¯s body, her husband didn¡¯t waste the opportunity to chime in, chuckling, ¡°Have a hard time imagining her holding it against you, honey, not after everything that¡¯s happened~.¡± Sad as the hypothetical was, it was silly in how unrealistic it was, sending a wave of chuckles through the burrow, the ghosts aside. Yaksha didn¡¯t care, attention laser-focused on Sage as he leaned on the back wall, while Sage... shuddered in fear at hearing Garret¡¯s voice. The one hypothesis Anne really wished she hadn¡¯t been correct about. Fortunately, the ghost girl wasn¡¯t doomed to go through it all alone, not with Autumn quietly walking up to her and holding her hand at sensing her discomfort. Aria perked up towards the hauntling as well, but soon switched tracks back to what her husband had said earlier¡ªand rolled her eyes. ¡°We both know that¡¯s not how it works, Garret.¡± ¡°Maybe with others, sure. Who knows, maybe my imagination is just too lacking for any reasons to dislike you, honey,¡± Garret chuckled with the world¡¯s toothiest smirk. As Anne and Ember tried their hardest not to giggle out loud at the scene, Aria slowly turned in her husband¡¯s embrace and reached up; her green hand spotted only an instant before it struck. *flick* ¡°Ouch!¡± And then, before she could even smirk at having dished out the foul strike, a riposte¡ª *flick!* ¡°Ow.¡± By then, the girls weren¡¯t even trying to keep their laughter contained, to the benefit of everyone. Aria took a moment to savor the sight, smile widening as she took in every detail of this oddly large child, this little human, that just so happened to end up at their doorstep and change their world. How heartwarming it was for her to go from doing little more than shaking in fear to this, how amazing her growth outside of her cocoon had been in just a few days, And then; Aria realized she was the one responsible. It got even harder to hold in the tears, but she held strong¡ªno reason to make the scene gloomy with them, even if they were of the happiest kind imaginable. Thankfully, a distraction from beyond came soon after. ¡°Alright, seems it¡¯s high time to prepare for dinner, everyone¡¯s on the way. Autumn, mind helping us out?¡± Aria asked, prompting Anne to back off at the mention of them doing stuff around the room. As much as she wanted to help people, and especially the Gardevoir, the girl¡¯s rational side kept a hold on her for long enough to underline the fact that she had a single functional limb, and not a strong one at that, compared to the psychics¡¯... many. Anne wasn¡¯t even certain that analogy made sense, but that wasn¡¯t the point. The point was for her to get out of the way, and maybe help in the other way she was capable of doing right now. She slunk over to the little Phantump as Autumn started psychicing the furniture around. Sage wasted no time before snuggling into Anne¡¯s front, less out of fear and more at her being a replacement for Autumn¡¯s pleasant warmth. Only to then immediately switch to huddling Ember once she realized that was an option too. ¡°~How are you feeling, Sage? Excited?~¡± Anne asked, unsure of how to chat the younger girl up. ¡°~Yeah! He¡¯s a bit scary, though. How does his hair do that?~¡± Sage switched tracks without skipping a beat, making the older girls turn to what she was looking at before piecing the admittedly simple mystery together. Ember had no answer, and doubted anyone in the entire world knew either¡ªGarret included. Anne hazarded a guess that an explanation might be somewhere deep within a graduate-level dissertation in some university in Galar, but had not a shred of idea about what it was. Not that it mattered either way. ¡°~I don¡¯t know, Sage, but I agree it¡¯s quite weird. A-and cool! Oh, and his name is Mr. Garret!~¡± The Phantump listened intently for all of two seconds before resuming using the Braixen as a portable heater; her simple, drowsy affection leaving Anne rolling her eyes and Ember chuckling. Not that the former could maintain her grumpiness for long once her friend clung to her the same way Sage was clinging to her, the soft warmth melting through any snark that might¡¯ve been there. For a moment or so. ¡°^Girls, could you move a bit?^¡± Autumn jutted in, snagging their attention to herself. And then, an instant later, to the table suspended in her green glow floating in the middle of the room, the sight making Anne gasp as they backed off. Granted, she might¡¯ve seen a lot of various applications of psychics in her stay here already, but none were as... straightforwardly flashy as just magically moving a large glowing object around. Which didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the vixen beside her. As the Indeedee finished adjusting the table and turned to grab the dishes, an orange glow grabbed them first, slow and shaky despite the light load. Neither girl noticed Autumn giggling under her breath as they either performed or watched the bowls and spoons being laid around. It took Anne a moment to acknowledge the change in color, but once she did, the culprit was obvious. Without skipping a beat, Anne kneeled and pulled her friend into a tight hug, the startle snuffing the magical light in the vixen¡¯s eyes. Ember¡¯s blush might¡¯ve gone unnoticed, but that didn¡¯t extend to the wave of warmth that went through her, made even sweeter after she had returned Anne¡¯s embrace. It felt nice, so nice. The kind of nice that they didn¡¯t have any hopes of ever savoring again just a few days ago. Not just pleasant, but... safe, safe in a way they were now only beginning to discover with other people. The kind of safe that kept the flames of hope burning no matter what, as long as they still had each other. It might¡¯ve been deliberately erased, it might¡¯ve been nigh-forgotten with time¡ªbut that didn¡¯t matter anymore. They had each other again, now and forever. ¡°^Hehe... I-I think I should try practicing more Fire-type stuff...^¡± Ember giggled telepathically, happy embarrassment dripping through her voice. Sweet enough to earn her another hug as Anne grew confused about what she meant. ¡°~What for?~¡± ¡°^Ooh, just... if anything bad ever happens, I wanna know how to protect you more! I don¡¯t¡ªdon¡¯t want anyone to ever hurt you again like¡ªlike your parents did...^¡± The Braixen admitted, voice growing quieter with each word. Both at how harrowing that possibility was to imagine and at having to think back on the cruelty they had both experienced. The tightest hug Anne could dish out, just moments later. ¡°~They won¡¯t, I promise, Ember. We¡¯re safe now!~¡± Anne whispered, torn between wanting to just hype them both up about what she hoped was the case, and genuinely believing it herself. The Braixen was firmly in the latter camp by now, but it wasn¡¯t her only motivation. ¡°^I know, I know, b-but... um...^¡± And her human soon noticed. ¡°~Oh? What is it, Ember? I-is something wrong, or...~¡± Anne didn¡¯t finish the sentence, unsure about what kind of hidden motive her best friend would be keeping away from her. She doubted it was anything nefarious, but the uncertainty wasn¡¯t pleasant. Ember shuddered at sensing that; gathering courage before she admitted, ¡°^No no, you did nothing wrong, Anne! I-I just... want to make you feel e-even nicer. With the warmth and all. J-just like you always made me feel...^¡± Neither of them could hold in the stray tears that followed, needing a moment to come to once the last of the dinner preparation happened around them. ¡°~W-well in that case, I¡¯ll keep practicing drawing, so that I can keep drawing you nicer and nicer!~¡± Anne responded, turning her emotions into more confidence than she was used to. She doubted herself for a second before she spotted Ember¡¯s tail wagging behind her at the idea, sending her giggling as the Braixen tried to keep her embarrassment down. ¡°^C-could I watch? it¡¯s fun hanging out with you...^¡± Anne nodded harder than ever. ¡°Of course! I¡¯d love to show it to you and maybe teach it to you! I hope it¡¯ll be alright for me to watch your practice, too. I-I¡¯m sorry for never doing any of that with you, but I wanna see how much you¡¯ve grown since¡ªeek!~¡± Anne¡¯s smuggled-in apology was rewarded with all it deserved¡ªan even tighter hug from her friend. Almost warm enough to make her sweat in the sweater, almost too tight for comfort¡ªblissful all the same. ¡°^B-but you¡¯ve done nothing wrong, Anne! And my mom has taught me since, I don¡¯t think you would¡¯ve known how to do it, anyway. And, of course, you¡¯d be able to watch, I-I¡¯d love to show it to you, eeee...^¡± Ember squealed, the sheer fluster leaking out of her body through excited tail wags. Their little spectacle was equal parts silly and adorable to watch from the sidelines; Aria holding tight in a fight against her own desire to giggle at the sight as her mother-in-law lost, if barely. Thankfully, the girls didn¡¯t notice. Which couldn¡¯t be said for what came right after, though¡ª ¡°~I-I love you, Ember.~¡± ¡°^I love you too, A-Anne!^¡± ¡°^You two are adorable,^¡± Autumn chuckled, making them both jolt in their overlong hug. The Indeedee didn¡¯t know which was funnier¡ªtheir embarrassment, or how they still took their time unwrapping themselves from each other¡¯s arms despite it. Aria spared them any further egging, turning their attention over to the now fully laid out table. ¡°Take your seats, girls. The others are right outside¡ª¡± *creeak!* The sound from up the staircase made them shudder as they were settling in for the meal. To their concern, Marco was already quite wet; a glimpse through the front door revealed the outside to be dark and rainy before it was psychically closed. The two bags he¡¯d carried with him had been protected with thin psychic sheens, but he seemingly hadn¡¯t extended that to himself. ¡°You alright, Marco?¡± Aria asked, concern creeping onto her face as her brother placed the bags down and scooted over to the hearth. The Gallade took his time answering, closing his eyes as he gathered words. ¡°^Yes, yes, I¡¯m good. The rain is nasty, and there¡¯s some snow mixed in that too, *shudder*. Elric sure won¡¯t enjoy flying through that, hope they¡¯re already close.^¡± ¡°^They¡¯re getting closer, I can feel them, thank gods. Thank you for bringing the bags over, Marco. What did Esther say about Anne¡¯s checkup?^¡± Autumn asked, perking up from constantly resisting the call of the warm stew before her. ¡°^Everything can wait until at least tomorrow. She mentioned that keeping her arm numbed overnight might be an issue, but said that you or Aria should be able to keep the pain in check if it flares up,^¡± Marco forwarded, looking up at Anne. The girl didn¡¯t seem too concerned about the possibility of hurting. That, or she just trusted the psychics around her to help with that should they need to. Both options made Marco smile just a bit. ¡°^Oh, Sage, are you gonna eat?^¡± Ember broke the silence with a quiet question towards the Phantump, catching her staring idly at an unclaimed bowl. The little one wasn¡¯t expecting being talked to, blinking as she came back to and turned to the Braixen. ¡°~I don¡¯t know. Can I eat this?~¡± She asked, clearly uncertain¡ªthough much more so on whether she was permitted to, rather on whether her biology even allowed her to eat fluids like this. Then again, not like eating solids as a ghost made any more sense. ¡°Sure, sweetie. Have as much as you want, there¡¯s plenty for all of us,¡± Aria chimed, giving the ghostly girl the warmest smile she could manage. It deflated a bit once she realized Sage didn¡¯t notice, but the Gardevoir didn¡¯t let it get to her. ¡°How about you, Yaksha?¡± Just like the hauntling he was watching over, the Banette shuddered at being addressed, though there clearly was more to it than just surprise. Half the room felt bitter regret spike in him as his pink eyes shifted to look at Aria; the wordless shake of his head speaking for itself. His loss, she supposed. Neither of them had the time to elaborate anymore as the squeals from outside picked up in volume, followed moments later by the front door getting slammed open. Without wasting even a moment for words, Elric swooped in and didn¡¯t stop until he was right beside the hearth, freezing water dripping off his carapace. Cadence ran in a few seconds later, looking behind herself at the last moment before leaping down the stairs. Sure didn¡¯t expect either of their current guests there, but was too cold to express her confusion right away. Bell came in last, shivers racking his tiny body as he finally cleared the doorframe. By tripping on it that is, squealing in fright as he was flung forward head first, the entire family¡¯s psychics focusing all at once to catch him¡ª Only for a red aura that didn¡¯t belong to any of them to do it first. As everyone¡¯s racing hearts calmed down and the Ralts was hovered down to the bottom of the staircase, those further into the room could spot a familiar, if unexpected, sight peeking in through the front entrance. Red light filled Cinder¡¯s eyes as she maneuvered the little one down to safety, stopping afterward to look Aria straight in the eye once her aura had dissolved. And with a single, firm nod, she resumed her watch in the cold, dark outside, closing the door behind Bell. The Gardevoir considered inviting her in for a moment, but... figured it was best to not do that. Not yet, not with the tension and stress around everything she¡¯d done so fresh in their minds. Cinder was more than strong enough to keep herself dry, anyway. Bell had noticed the mental grip not quite being like that of his mom, sister, grandma or uncle¡ªbut by the time he looked up the staircase, the older vixen was already out of sight. He could still feel her, if barely, squeaking out a quiet ¡°Thank you!¡± and joining his sibling and de facto-sibling in huddling beside the flames. Ember giggled under her breath at the shaking kids, their excitement and cold giving way to comfort by the moment¡ªespecially once Autumn had tossed a large blanket over the three of them. With their small bodies blocking a lot of the flame¡¯s light, the rest of the room was plunged into a soft shade, one that only empowered the exhaustion already pulling at Anne¡¯s mind. Not yet, definitely not yet¡ªbut gosh, was she tired. Not enough to doze off on the spot, but a yawn still left her once her focus had slipped¡ªand everyone heard this time. Especially the kids. ¡°Anne!? Wh-when did ya get here?¡± Elric asked with a crack in his voice, a surprised gaze sweeping over the rest of the assorted guests right after. He didn¡¯t mind the human girl and especially not Ember, but it still felt weird for them to just... be here. Wasn¡¯t Anne seriously injured? Hardly the state to be visiting people. The Gligar¡¯s call may not have earned him any immediate answers, not with the subject of his sudden question too uncertain to respond, but it pulled the other kids¡¯ attention to their guests. The Kirlia greeted them with a ¡°Hey Anne, hey Ember¡ªand Sage too,¡± too tired and cold to speak louder than a regular indoor voice for the first time in her life. Her younger brother let out a joyful squeak that then dovetailed into a sneeze. ¡°Bless you,¡± said everyone. ¡°^As to your question, Elric, we got here earlier! And no, Anne isn¡¯t just visiting, she¡¯s gonna be staying with us!^¡± Autumn informed, her confident smile growing wider still as she took the kids¡¯ reactions in. Surprise from Elric, first the neutral sort before warming into more positive territory; an excited gasp from Cadence; and another happy squeal from Bell. The Ralts might not have gotten the full importance of what his grandma had just said, but it didn¡¯t matter. He liked Anne and was happy to see her, no matter the circumstances behind it. The Indeedee¡¯s bright joy was briefly interrupted by sensing the mischief sprouting in the pink bat¡¯s mind, brown eyes narrowing on him ever so slightly. Fortunately for everyone, for once even he had it in him to realize it¡¯d be for the best if he kept from any pranks for now¡ªeven if because of just how tired he was. Guess a poor reason beats no reason. As he shook off the remaining moisture on his chitin, the clacking of his tail filling the room, Cadence picked up on something else, eyes going wide. ¡°Will Anne sleep together with us?¡± She asked in a mix of confusion, concern, and excitement. Autumn looked first at Anne, then at Aria, and finally back at Cadence, arriving at as confident an answer as she could manage, ¡°^Yes she will, sweetie.^¡± ¡°But she won¡¯t fit. She¡¯s too big, right?¡± The Kirlia responded, worried about her friend having to sleep with her legs sticking out of their bedding. An obvious issue, but one with an equally obvious solution. ¡°^Oh, we¡¯ll just fix together something for her to lay her legs on, don¡¯t worry, sweetie. Anyhow¡ªwarmed enough for dinner, you three?^¡± Autumn asked with a smirk, providing the jolt the little ones needed to finally scramble out from under the blanket and join everyone else at the table. It was time to eat.
As wonderful as it smelled, it took Anne a while to get used to the stew¡¯s texture. Her grandma only made soups sometimes, and they tended to be much thinner than this. Her biological parents¡¯ cooking was... haphazard at best, and more often than not consisted of grabbing a bag of frozen food from the clearance aisle and proceeding to either burn or undercook it every time they shoved it into the oven, without fail. Little room for fluid meals in that, except by accident. After her tongue and throat made peace with eating a meal with so much solid stuff floating around a thick liquid, though, she could focus entirely on the flavor¡ªand it tasted wonderful. Thick, savory, almost meaty in a way her mind associated with special occasions. She figured it wasn¡¯t actually meat, and that meat was... unwelcome in the village altogether, but the resemblance was there all the same. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The slices of grilled vegetables and berries only made it better, many of them preserving their crunch despite being waterlogged in sauce. Once Anne had settled into her eating groove, the next thing she knew, her bowl was empty, leaving her scraping her spoon against its almost-dry bottom. She was unsure whether she¡¯d gotten caught in her thoughts again but had genuinely dozed off for a moment there, but the result was the same either way. And now she was even more drowsy than before. A look around the room let her know she was alone in that, Ember aside. The Braixen leaned on her from the next seat over, almost having slid off the pillow she sat on. Everyone else was no less content, if more alert, the bliss of a warm, filling meal in a cold, dark evening refusing to quite hold them tight with what still awaited some of them. Anne felt bad about not sharing their alertness once she¡¯d realized it was likely about Sage, but couldn¡¯t deny her tiredness either. Speaking of the Phantump in the room. The small stain on the bottom of her wooden face made it clear Sage had at least tried the meal¡ªthough the nearly full bowl before her implied that she either didn¡¯t enjoy it or was already full. Anne could¡¯ve sworn she never saw her eat yesterday, but had no idea how it worked with ghosts, anyway. Yaksha kept sulking in the darkest part of the room, pink eyes glowing dimly as they stared inward. Before Anne could continue her people-watching, though, someone had noticed she was done with her meal¡ªand not anyone she expected to, either. ¡°Anneeeeee, can you draw me again?¡± Bell asked, leaning towards her from his mom¡¯s lap. Autumn and Aria giggled as the human girl sat there in flustered silence, unsure how to respond. She was way too tired for this, that¡¯s for sure, but... But. No, that worked as an explanation by itself. ¡°~I¡¯m sorry Bell, but I¡¯m exhausted. Maybe I could draw you some other time?~¡± Anne replied, giving the tyke the widest smile she could manage. Contrary to her worries, Bell took it in stride. ¡°Okie! OH,¡± he gasped, pulling half a dozen gazes onto himself, ¡°I know, I know!¡± What did he know, nobody knew; the room left confused as they watched him scramble off Aria¡¯s lap and dash into one of the side rooms. From what Anne could make out, it was entirely dark¡ªat least until a lit candle suspended in Autumn¡¯s green glow followed the tyke in, prompting a squeaked-out ¡°Thank you!¡± Cadence had no idea what her brother was up to, but she wanted to find out, following in tow soon after. Elric considered it for a while, too, before settling for getting some more warmth instead. Playing around could wait. Laying on the wooden floor three feet away from a warm, roaring fire? Now that was the stuff. Not that anyone could blame him¡ª *RUMBLE...* ¡°Gods, that¡¯s some nasty weather outside. Now I¡¯m even more glad we went ahead and replaced all the waterproofing last year, ugh.¡± Garret shuddered at the distant thunder and less-distant memory alike. He looked around the outer walls with pride, spotting only a couple of spots where moisture was building up on the wood. Far from ideal, but it far beat what came before. ¡°If I never get woken up by a drop of cold water splashing against my horns again, it¡¯ll be too soon,¡± Aria commented, glad beyond words for that unpleasant era to be over. If nothing else, it had encouraged her to cuddle closer to her husband so that his fur might take the hit instead of her, so... silver linings, she supposed. As the spouses reminisced, Autumn spoke up with concern, ¡°^Marco, Yaksha, are you sure you want to head out in a weather like this?^¡± The Gallade¡¯s hesitant expression spoke volumes, but he knew that his opinion on this mattered less than that of the two ghosts. He wasn¡¯t blind to the original reasoning for wanting to rush this entire ordeal, either. ¡°^Might as well. I don¡¯t want us to be stuck waiting for the circumstances to be perfect only to have the Elders accidentally realize they haven¡¯t ¡®weighed in¡¯ on this yet,^¡± he commented bitterly. As Yaksha nodded along and Sage idly floated over to snuggle into Ember¡¯s warm fluff some more, Aria realized what the discussion was about, switching to telepathy. ¡°^Are you thinking about returning Sage to her human home today?^¡± Once her brother and her mother-in-law answered with firm nods, she continued, ¡°^I remember the Elders mentioning the possibility of her babbling us out to her family in case she ends up staying there. Which...^¡± Aria started, voice trailing off as she felt the emotions in the room shift. Yeah, neither Autumn, Marco, nor even Anne were oblivious to just how tenuous the odds were for Sage. She¡¯d just be preaching to the choir. ¡°^What are you planning on, then?^¡± Autumn asked, unnerved by the topic of keeping people from giving them away, especially with Ember¡¯s situation so fresh in memory. In all truth, Aria wasn¡¯t sure. She¡¯d bluffed her way through that discussion back during the hearing itself, but now that she had to act, she didn¡¯t know what to do. Her mind wracked through that dilemma; not wanting to inflict cruelty on this innocent child while genuinely afraid of the risks associated with Sage rejoining humanity. A situation about as likely as Winnie building a shrine to the human trainerkind, but not strictly impossible. After a few tense moments, she scrambled herself out of her husband¡¯s fluffy embrace and stood up, stretching her limbs and popping joints. Thoughts churned through her mind as she approached the Phantump. Uncertainty kept her flip-flopping between a couple of options even as she kneeled and beckoned Sage over; the hauntling squeaking in joy at seeing her again and floating over to hug her. The way she saw it, there was only one right way to handle this. ¡°^Sage?^¡± Aria whispered telepathically, catching the girl¡¯s full attention. ¡°^Could you promise me something?^¡± Firm, almost full body nods, the red lights of her eyes narrow and focused. ¡°^Can you promise me you won¡¯t talk about us to anyone? As in, all the mons living here or about Anne?^¡± As far as Sage was concerned, it was a rather weird request, one she had difficulty grasping in full. ¡°~Why?~¡± She asked, the wail of her voice dripping with confusion. To Aria¡¯s chagrin, she didn¡¯t know how to answer it in a way someone this young would understand¡ªor without making her freak out at how much rested on her spectral shoulders. At least, until she came up with an excuse, ¡°^Because it¡¯d be very rude. You can talk about Yaksha, though.^¡± Aria winced ever so slightly at the blip of worry emanating from Sage, but thankfully, it was gone as soon as it had appeared. ¡°~Okay!~¡± Her loud response caught the Banette¡¯s attention before it snapped over onto Aria with an unspoken question. The Gardevoir looked over at her brother, and then at her mom-in-law, before answering with a nod. It was time. Marco shuddered at the thought of having to brave the elements as he picked himself up from the table, mind racing. He wasn¡¯t exactly looking forward to any of this, but if there was any part of this doomed plan that caught his interest, it was disguising himself as a human. ¡°^So, Anne, what kinds of¡­ clothes would let me stay undetected by humans?^¡± Anne blinked rapidly before her brain caught up, leaving her perking up from her seat and staggering over as she looked at the bags. ¡°~Mrs. Graham¡¯s coat was the main thing, it should be large enough to disguise most of you, I think. Afterwards, it¡¯s just finding clothes that cover anything that¡¯s still visible.~¡± She explained, eying out the Gallade. He wasn¡¯t as tall as she remembered him being while bedridden, easing a lot of her doubts about the entire plan. Of course, there still were issues; one of them ran into the moment Marco tried to slide his second arm into the felt sleeve. Anything touching his horns was already bad enough, but the coarseness of the material somehow made it even worse than he feared. Not painful, not without additional force being applied to it, but... profoundly uncomfortable. He doubted adding more clothes would magically fix the issue, though, and kept quiet, deflecting his sister¡¯s concerns with a firm shake. He¡¯d bear through it. It was the only thing he was good at, anyway. Aria wanted to argue but didn¡¯t have the time to speak up before Anne cut her off, ¡°~Okay, now the buttons on the front. Does it fit, Mr. Marco? Doesn¡¯t look very comfortable...~¡± It took the Gallade all the willpower he could gather to not respond with anything more than ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± His voice was strained despite his best efforts, but Anne figured she¡¯d just misheard him. Unsurprisingly, doing the front buttons, with Anne¡¯s help, made the chafing even worse¡ªstill bearable, though. ... He¡¯d still wait before doing the button directly over his horn until they got to the human territory, if possible. ¡°^A-alright. What¡¯s next?^¡± Marco asked, the directness overruling Anne¡¯s budding concerns. The remaining spots to cover up weren¡¯t hard to spot. Head, crest included, as well as hands and feet. The latter looked like they¡¯d be especially tricky, their shape ill-suited for any shoes. She figured it was best they start with the top, though. ¡°~For the crest, I¡¯m thinking...~¡± she trailed off, free hand digging through a bagful of variously damaged clothes until she spotted her target. ¡°~Th-there it is. Uh, it¡¯ll look a bit silly, but it should cover it up.~¡± The garment was off-black and shaped like half a sphere. Marco had no idea what was it intended for in humans with a shape like that, but if nothing else it proved just the right shape to mostly cover his crest¡ªand only crest. They¡¯d need a lot more for the rest of the head, which¡ª¡°~There! This scarf has seen better days, but I th-think it¡¯s large enough to wrap your entire head.~¡± Marco had no idea how the humans handled garments this unwieldy without telepathy, that¡¯s for sure. Even with his hands free, it took a good few tries just orienting the black and white strip of rough fabric to cover every bit of white skin, green hair, and teal crest, leaving only a thin horizontal slit to look out through. Thank the gods for psychics. ¡°^Are you sure this is necessary, Anne?^¡± He asked, trying his absolute hardest to hide any exasperation from leaking¡ªto mixed results. The girl was uncertain, but eventually responded with the world¡¯s shakiest nod. ¡°~Well, it¡¯ll help, I-I think...~¡± Should¡¯ve kept his mouth shut. ¡°^No no, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m sorry. What¡¯s next?^¡± He reassured her through deep breaths and gritted teeth, the warmth making the layers he was already wearing feel increasingly uncomfortable. Anne wasn¡¯t convinced but figured she ought to get through the rest of it all as fast as she could. ¡°~O-okay, gloves go on your hands. If they don¡¯t fit, you can have them just sticking out the sleeves or something. And for legs... umm... maybe they just won¡¯t look¡ªno wait, I know,~¡± Anne exclaimed. Alertness tried its hardest to push through her growing exhaustion as she dug in for the one piece of clothing she swore she glimpsed the other day¡ªand here it was! It took her a few seconds of Anne triumphantly holding her find in the air to remember she ought to explain it to the Gallade in the room, fluster spreading onto her cheeks as she turned to address him. ¡°~Th-this is a skirt, I was thinking it could go under the coat, and you could hold it in place so that its bottom just barely touches the ground.~¡± The girl¡¯s explanation made all the sense in the world¡ªbut only for her, leaving Marco staring at her with the flattest look of his life. Unsure how else to word it, she demonstrated what she meant, sliding Mrs. Graham¡¯s skirt over onto a single leg and lifting it until it was flush with the floor. Marco understood the instructions, thankfully, repeating Anne¡¯s demonstration with one leg, and then the other, psychically adjusting the stretchy band until he got it just right. Unfortunately, while the sweet spot for the girl was right around her navel, for Marco, it was in the middle of his hips. If he tried to hold it underneath them, it would drag on the ground, and the other option... yeah no, that way it covered nothing with how much of the material got snagged up there. Suppose the first option was the less bad one of the two. He¡¯d manage¡ªwhat mattered was that this ordeal was finally done. ¡°^This is an obscene number of layers...^¡± Marco muttered, having to dedicate a non-insignificant amount of attention to just keeping the costume in one place, on top of the chafing. ¡°~And it¡¯s just the outer ones, heh... b-but yes, it¡¯s done! I hope it¡¯s not too hot...~¡± ¡°^It... is. Yaksha, Sage, can we head out now?^¡± Despite his earlier courtesy, Marco didn¡¯t have enough willpower to pretend he wasn¡¯t overheating in real-time. The older ghost hovered over and turned to look at the younger one as she got the cue to say her goodbyes. ¡°~Oh oh lemme say goodbyes, please! Bye-bye, Anne! Bye bye, E-Ember! Oh oh oh, bye bye Mrs. Autumn! Bye-bye, Mrs. Aria!~¡± Sage floated from one friend to another, growing giddier as they all responded in kind, the realization she would be finally going home blooming in her mind. The psychics remained too weak to confront her with the truth. ¡°Bye-bye, Sage!¡± Garret added by himself, his demonic voice once more startling the Phantump. It wasn¡¯t lost on him this time, leaving him leaning back in worry as Autumn gathered words to comfort the ghostly girl¡ª Only for that to not be needed. ¡°~B-bye bye!~¡± Her voice was shaky, but she managed all the same. Something long dead inside Yaksha smiled a bit at the sight, but he didn¡¯t react otherwise. Sage might have avoided freaking out, but it was still a jolt to her system, one that encouraged her to get going and not waste any more time here. Without saying a word, she floated to the top of the staircase and opened the door¡ªonly for the wind to blow her back with a frosty, rain-filled breeze, chilling her and wetting her wig. ¡°~Eeeeeee, I need an umbrella!~¡± She cried out as her small body shuddered. Anne wasted no time in fulfilling the younger girl¡¯s request, grateful to the librarian for including one of those in her makeshift care package. Sage, somewhat expectedly, opened it right away and startled half the room¡ªthough the older girl was there to help her out. ¡°~Sorry...~¡± The Phantump muttered, earning herself one last one-armed hug. ¡°~It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Ready to get going, Sage?~¡± Anne reassured, locking the umbrella in the closed position with the little ghost¡¯s help. Sage nodded eagerly, looking at her guardian and the friend escorting them to let them know, before breaking into giggles once she¡¯d finally noticed Marco¡¯s appearance. Not something he appreciated, but little he could do about it right now. ¡°~Hehehe, you look like a spy!~¡± Sage laughed, forcing a weary smile out of her older friend and exactly nobody else. ¡°~Closer to a homeless person, I¡¯d say. P-probably for the best, now that I think about it...~¡± Anne followed up, hoping that Marco''s outfit would keep humans from interacting with him without noticing the... rather awkward bumps at the front and back of his chest. Neither he nor anyone else knew what ¡®homeless¡¯ meant here, and Autumn¡¯s brief attempt to figure out the definition in that word from Anne¡¯s words left her further shocked at humanity¡¯s casual cruelty, but the Gallade was glad to hear that his disguise would be effective. ¡°~Let¡¯s not waste any more time. Sage, c¡¯mere,~¡± Yaksha grunted, levitating up the staircase with the Phantump close behind, forcing Marco to hurry¡ªsomething much easier said than done with all the immobilizing clothes. As he was about to ascend the stairs, though, his eyes locked with his sister''s. It was one thing to keep a facade of confidence in front of a pair of ghosts who didn''t pay attention and a girl that didn''t know him all that well, but Aria was another matter entirely. She saw right through him, all his doubts and worries on display even without having to resort to reading his thoughts. About Sage''s doomed wish, about the rest of this journey, about maintaining his disguise, About doing half as good a job as she would in this situation. They didn''t have the time to go into a discussion about this¡ªbut it wasn''t needed. A smile, a nod, a reassuring look of a proud older sister. Each so small, so easily missed, but dearly appreciated all the same. He could do it, even if he didn''t quite believe it himself. As the group got going, Anne braved the cold behind them all, wanting to wave the poor lil¡¯ girl away one last time. Before she could get there, though, Marco stopped in front of her, and Sage before him, the blockade confusing everyone in the living room¡ª At least, until Aria figured it out and gasped out loud. As she did, Yaksha finally got going again, walking around the mon that had lay down before the burrow¡¯s entrance. Sage followed with a bit of concern for the stranger, though she was focusing much more on not letting the wind and rain blow her away once she¡¯d opened the umbrella again. Marco said nothing, refusing to acknowledge their ¡®guest¡¯ for the sake of not disrupting their plan¡ªnot that his disguise was fooling anyone. And behind all of them, Anne could only stare at the scarred marine Elder; their appearance forever burned into the girl¡¯s memory. She knew she ought to still remember their name; she knew they told it to her just yesterday, but she just didn¡¯t. All they could do for a few long seconds was stare into each other¡¯s eyes, Anne¡¯s glasses-clad brown ones against the Elder¡¯s azure ones. Even without the scarred paw they had covered their face with for most of yesterday¡¯s ceremony, she still couldn¡¯t piece their expression together beyond it being thoughtful. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t have to. Before Anne knew it, Aria was standing beside her, similarly confused about the Elder¡¯s presence. Anger at her partial responsibility in this entire ordeal mixed in with what she just faintly remembered happening last night: Celia¡¯s attack on Winnie, seemingly to protect Anne. The Gardevoir was more than a bit uncertain of that being the Primarina¡¯s true motivation¡ªthough that was true for everything about her. One thing she¡¯d never seen or even heard her do, though, was show up at someone¡¯s doorstep in the dark night, through the frigid, melting snow. The impasse lasted for a while, one side holding her cards close as usual as the other remained baffled at everything going on. The latter was quite honestly fed up with it by now, about ready to chew the former out¡ª But then, at last, Celia spoke. ¡°Hello, Anne.¡± Anne shuddered at being addressed directly, clinging closer to Aria as she took a step forward. ¡°^Why are you here, E¡ªCelia?^¡± Aria snarled, red eyes glowing dimly in the dark as they drilled into the Primarina. ¡°I want to come clear about my actions over the past few days, and make it clear I¡¯m glad about her staying here,¡± Celia responded in the same unemotional monotone as always. The words took Anne aback, but Aria wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°^If you¡¯re supposedly glad that she¡¯ll stay with us, why not express support for her sooner? Why didn¡¯t you say anything before the vote¡ªwhy did you drag her in, terrified, just to ask some questions!?^¡± Aria shouted telepathically, the other two flinching at the intensity of the voice in their heads. The Gardevoir¡¯s anger might¡¯ve been aimed as away from her as possible, but it didn¡¯t help any with Anne¡¯s spooks. Celia gathered her words, shaking as she spoke. ¡°No. I wanted Anne there to elicit sympathy. To make it that much harder for others to vote against her safety, for their empathy to work against their bad intentions. Harder to vote to banish a terrified child when you have no choice but to look at them, after all.¡± The Primarina¡¯s voice remained as matter-of-fact as she got, only grating Aria further as she chewed through the Elder¡¯s excuse. It still made no sense. ¡°^Why did you ask her to remain blind throughout, then? Why not just ask her to look terrified!?^¡± Aria demanded an explanation; her anger only made worse by Celia¡¯s apparent nonchalance. ¡°Her fear needed to be authentic to convince anyone. I-I apologize for making you go through that, Anne. It was cruel of me, but it was the best course of action I could think of to ensure your long-term safety here,¡± Celia admitted, her voice growing meeker by the word. The human girl was taken aback, but... could see the logic behind the Elder¡¯s actions. A cruel, almost sociopathic logic, but it was in the best intentions, after all. And she was saying the truth, too¡ªAria would¡¯ve said something otherwise if she was lying. Before Anne could thank the Water-type, though, Aria went off. ¡°^I¡¯m not biting this, Celia. You traumatized Anne because you¡¯d rather she bear the brunt of having to fight for her safety; you''d rather she was terrified half to death just so that you didn¡¯t have to speak up in her defense. Just so that you wouldn¡¯t have to take a stand for the first time in your fucking life. If you were clear from the get-go, then maybe none of this would¡¯ve had to happen, maybe you would¡¯ve swayed enough people to let us AVOID SUBJECTING HER TO THIS HELL IN THE FIRST PLACE!^¡± Aria shook as she stewed in her own fury, scalding enough for Anne to take a step back out of shock. On the other side of the doorway, the Primarina stared back, confidence evaporating by the moment until she half-nodded, half-collapsed on the snow and mud underneath. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry, Anne. I hope you¡¯ll find peace here. You deserve it. Good¡ªgoodnight.¡± Each word came harder and harder until Celia was reduced to little more than a quaking heap. It hurt, but there was little she could do about it. Was she justified? Maybe. Was she a coward? Definitely. Would Orion look kindly on her if he was still here? Would her Lords and Ladies? ... The thought stabbed Celia through the heart, her expression crunching in pain. Her tears were lost in the rain, curses aimed at her inability to act were obscured by the unending din of wind. It was pathetic; she was pathetic, the echoing reality of that fact grinding her mind into dust¡ª But she wasn¡¯t alone. The Primarina flinched as the freezing rain stopped, together with the wind. She shook on the ground for a few moments that lasted an eternity before daring to look up, up at the reddish shimmer that kept the elements at bay. Cinder¡¯s eyes glowed as she stared her down, standing beside the burrow¡¯s entrance. There was no reassurance in her gaze, but no admonition either. She was there, willing to help keep the rain at bay, But Celia¡¯s demons were her own to deal with. Once the Water-type calmed down, the Delphox stepped in front of the door and looked past Aria and Anne standing on the stairs. She spoke, voice dry as ash, ¡°Ember? It¡¯s time for us to head home.¡± Anne¡¯s heart sank as she looked around, down the stairs, and watched as the younger vixen ran over to look up at her mom. She didn¡¯t want her friend to leave¡ªand thankfully, Ember was on the same page. ¡°U-umm... m-mom, can I stay with Anne tonight? I-it¡¯s her first night a-at her new home, after all...¡± the Braixen stammered, not expecting her plea to accomplish much. Cinder tried as hard as she could to keep her flinch hidden, to mixed results. A deep, pained breath later, she spoke, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be here in the morning, then. Love you, sweetie.¡± Without another word, she turned around to Celia and nodded, the red glow of her psychics helping the Primarina turn around together with the cart her lower body rested on. It¡¯d be a long, cold march¡ª *squeeze* The Delphox froze at feeling something grab her torso, too distracted by her own moping to react. ¡°T-thank you, mom!¡± It took Cinder all the restraint she still had to not break down there and then, clenching her eyes shut as she silently turned around and hugged her daughter tight. And then, at last, she left, with Celia beside her. ¡°I-is Elder Celia alright?¡± Ember asked, taken aback at spotting the Water-type beside her mom. ¡°^I think she¡¯s coming to terms with things. She¡¯ll figure it out, I¡¯ve no doubt. Either way, not something for us to worry about¡ªlet¡¯s get inside,^¡± Aria guided, exhaustion staining her words as she psychiced the door shut. Anne was still quite rattled after what she¡¯d just witnessed, prompting Ember to hold her tight the entire way down the stairs. It helped more than either of them would¡¯ve imagined¡ªand left them even more tired than before. Anne blinked in surprise at seeing the living room completely cleaned up, aside from the small pile of dirty dishes due to be taken out to get washed in the rain. The table stood upright in the corner; the pillows they used as seats were gone¡ªnothing but a hearth, tended to by Garret. Nothing more to stave the exhaustion off with. ¡°^Let¡¯s prepare for bed, eh? Ember, Elric, wanna help me lay the bedding right for Anne?^¡± Autumn asked with all the pep she could still muster in her voice, gently yanking on the blanket the bat had swaddled himself with. He groaned and whined for a moment, the sound of the latter lost deep within the ultrasound range, but eventually relented. ¡°Okaaaaaay. Last one¡¯s there is a rotten egg!¡± He exclaimed, bolting up from his grounded position in less time than it took Ember to even process what she¡¯s just heard. And the worst thing was, she couldn¡¯t even stick her tongue out at him because he was already in the other room. She didn¡¯t let that fact dissuade her though, dashing in as fast as she could manage after him, the slightly faster pace betraying a slight limp. And then, once the Indeedee finished rolling her eyes and psychiced Anne¡¯s bags over, closing the door after herself, all that was left were Anne and Aria¡ªthe Grimmsnarl at the other end of the room aside. As tired as Anne was, the shock of having just witnessed... that still kept her a bit rattled. She flinched as Aria walked beside her, giving her the warmest smile she could muster out after a day like that. It might¡¯ve been scary, but... Anne trusted Aria, more than anyone else. Her arm shook as she wrapped it around the Gardevoir, the psychic¡¯s tingly, almost ticklish touch on her head making her squirm. Despite everything, she felt safe. The worries remained, though. ¡°~W-why did you shout at her?~¡± Anne mumbled, her voice almost entirely drained of the earlier unease. She kept her head pressed into the Gardevoir as she leaned on her, more and more leftover strength leaving her by the moment. She felt Aria¡¯s deep breath fill her chest, then another¡ªuntil finally, came words. ¡°^Her intentions were good, but they¡¯re not everything. She still caused you needless pain. And she¡¯s more than smart enough to know that, to know better. Maybe... maybe I was too harsh on her. I¡¯ll try talking to her tomorrow. I¡¯m sorry you had to see all that, Anne.^¡± Aria spilled her heart, the facade of certainty and scorn from earlier coming undone in the tired comfort of her burrow. Maybe she too had made a mistake in all this. Anne nodded idly, her embrace growing ever tighter. If Aria had indeed gone overboard, then it wasn¡¯t nice, but... Anne understood. In a way, it felt nice to have someone so strongly standing for her. Really nice, even. She might¡¯ve known more than yesterday, more aware that even Aria had her limits and that she wouldn¡¯t always remain the nicest person around, and that what they¡¯d been through left them both rattled, but... But... She still felt it. That warm, incandescent sense of protection from yesterday, no longer tainted by fear for her own life. The trust so casually certain it ought to be impossible, and yet it felt downright natural by now. The... the desire she¡¯d told the¡ªthe Elders near the end, the... Aria¡¯s eyes went wide as Anne¡¯s mind grew more turbulent, the central thread inside it making her gasp silently. She kept herself from physically reacting as much as she could, and willed the tears into non-existence through utmost effort as the girl chewed through thoughts only she could process in full. Thoughts that would turn tainted and sinister if ever manipulated, only made joyful in their purity. Aria couldn¡¯t assist Anne in processing them, But she didn¡¯t have to. ¡°~M-M-Mrs. A-Aria?~¡± Anne stammered, tension gripping her body until she was left at the very edge of tears. The Gardevoir took deep breaths, staving off joining the girl there for just a few more moments, keeping her voice as calm as possible as she replied, ¡°^Yes, Anne?^¡± ¡°~W-would... w-w-would...~¡± the girl struggled with words, clenching her guardian tighter as she forced out, ¡°~Would it be okay if I¡ªif I called you my m-m-mom?~¡± Anne¡¯s breath was stuck in her throat, each racing heartbeat lasting an eternity. One, another, third still¡ªand finally, response. ¡°^As long as it¡¯s okay for me to call you my¡ªmy daughter.^¡± The distant crackling of flame was the only sound in the room as Anne¡¯s tired mind parsed Aria¡¯s answer, her heart skipping a bit. She gasped, looked up at the Gardevoir, And cried the happiest tears of her life. Her body shook; she could barely keep standing, but it didn¡¯t matter, none of it did. Aria was there, she was safe, she¡¯d be safe, and she¡ªshe¡ª ¡°~Th-thank you...~¡± Aria sobbed with her daughter, each tear cleansing her soul. She, too, only barely remained upright, her psychics growing weaker and weaker at the exhaustion, physical and emotional alike. All that kept her going anymore was love, Anne¡¯s for her and hers for Anne and everyone else¡¯s, brilliant and warm and¡ª *squeeze!* ¡°You looked like you were about to topple over there, honey, ha!¡± Garret shouted, glad at having saved them two from the perils of gravity. His amusement didn¡¯t last long though, not once he¡¯d spotted the tears flowing from them both, sprouting concern on his fanged face. And then, joy no less radiant than his wife¡¯s once she¡¯d told him what had happened. It took him all the willpower he could muster to keep himself from squeezing his wife and¡ªand daughter too hard, eyes clenched shut as they leaned more and more of their weight on him. There was so much celebration to be had about this, about all this¡ªbut not today. Today, everyone still awake was long overdue for some shut-eye, and not even the euphoric news could overrule that fact. ¡°^I think it¡¯s time for us both to get some rest, sweetie,^¡± Aria mumbled with a smile, snapping the increasingly dozing Anne back to some semblance of awareness. Yeah, Mrs.¡ªher mom was right, they were both so tired. With how tight G¡ªdad was holding them, it¡¯s not like she could do much in response to m-mom¡¯s words. The Grimmsnarl could, though¡ªand he did. A stray strand of hair pushed the door open before him as he ducked through the doorframe. Anne took the children¡¯s bedroom in as she was carried, tears returning in force bit by bit. At her items beside the small pile of others¡¯ accessories and wooden toys, at an extra-sized space being left on their mat-like bedding, at a folded blanket being placed on the bedding¡¯s edge to accommodate her, At the charcoal scribbles of her and Ember among the rest of the family. Cadence, Elric, and Bell looked asleep, and Ember only barely clung to awareness herself. She¡¯d taken her shawl off, leaving her in just the eyepatch as she turned to look at the noise¡ªand smiled at Anne finally being here with them. The exhaustion made it hard for Anne to follow what happened after. Aria helped her with the sweater, took her glasses off and carefully placed them on a shelf, and took care of her shoes¡ªthe next thing the girl knew, she was lying in between Bell and Ember; the latter clinging to her right side as the former squirmed against her to her left. Warm. Safe. Cozy. Home. Beside the bedding, Aria leaned over them all, stroking her hair ever so gently. Soon after, the Gardevoir snuffed the candle on the far shelf was snuffed out, plunging them all into darkness, ¡°~G-goodnight, mom...~¡± And long deserved rest. ¡°^Goodnight, Anne.^¡± By the wonderful @Sweet_Mintality! Chapter 34: Judgment Slush and fallen branches crunched under Marco¡¯s feet as he walked along the human path, following Yaksha. Sage hovered beside him, struggling with the oddly shaped rain-shield every once in a while. He expected every step to fill him with more and more dread. Which was the case for the first few minutes, but eventually the worst of that faded away. Not because of their mission somehow not being doomed anymore, but because it¡¯d be a while until they got there. His psychics could lead him in the dark reasonably well, but even they had their limit¡ªsuch as the debris in his way, or anything smaller than trees for that matter. He took a sigh of relief once they¡¯d finally climbed their way onto the path, its guidance much appreciated. It freed him from having to constantly probe his surroundings with his aura¡ªhe had to conserve his strength for what awaited them, after all. But what awaited them, he wasn¡¯t even sure of. Anne mentioned several things to look out for once they arrived at the human settlement, but they were far from a comprehensive overview. He hoped her instructions for remaining disguised would prove sufficient, but even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t help with actually finding what they were looking for. Worries kept swirling around his mind as the group pushed through darkness, the thick clouds above them not letting any moonlight through. It was just them, the freezing rain, and the dirt path stretching into the distance, forever. A freezing purgatory; what laid on its other end was unknown. Wishful redemption? An almost certain damnation? Marco didn¡¯t know, and it terrified him. His clothed body shuddered, the motion sudden enough for the Phantump beside him to notice, even despite the constant wind. His dimly glowing eyes turned to look at her once her twin pink pinpricks glanced at him in concern. He worried about spooking her for just a moment, the unpleasant thought only making him feel even colder than he already was. Oh well, he was never good with kids, just had to push on¡ª And then, he felt something small, warm, and spectral grab his gloved hand. ¡°~Mr. Marco?~¡± Sage asked, worry leaking into her voice. The Gallade held her inky tendril of a hand with a couple of fingers, making her hover even closer to him as he gathered words. ¡°^I¡¯m here Sage, I¡¯m here. Is something wrong?^¡± ¡°~I¡¯m a bit cold, but I think I¡¯m okay. Are you okay, Mr. Marco?~¡± He hoped beyond hope Sage would remain okay throughout their entire ordeal, but if it ended like he had predicted, he doubted it¡¯d be the case. His features narrowed, unseen, as he held her hand just that bit tighter, wishing he¡¯d be able to protect her from the despair ahead. It was a feeble, downright childish wish, and he knew it well. And yet, he still wished. ¡°^I¡¯m just cold too, Sage. Don¡¯t worry about me, sweetie,^¡± he mumbled out, focusing on maintaining his composure. Just because he wasn¡¯t taking what awaited them the best, didn¡¯t mean he had to make the Phantump concerned already¡ªshe didn¡¯t deserve to have her innocence torn away. Not yet. Trying to yank his thoughts away from that dark path, Marco instead focused on planning out what they¡¯d do once they arrived at the human town. To his concern, Anne hadn¡¯t given them many hints for navigating the massive settlement¡ªshe didn¡¯t know how to either. He remembered staring at her, stunned for a good few minutes back at Vivian¡¯s tea shop once she¡¯d told him that Sage¡¯s town was easily twenty times the size of hers. As much as the sheer scale of their undertaking chilled his spirits, he knew that the spirit beside him ought to be familiar with the place. It¡¯d still be a while until they got there, but Marco figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to ask Sage for leads in advance. ¡°^So, Sage,^¡± he whispered, perking the spaced-out Phantump up, ¡°^what does your home look like?^¡± As Sage combed through her frayed memories, Marco focused on assisting her in holding the umbrella, not wanting it to distract her. Even with that telepathic assist, though, she remained silent for a while afterward, only prompting a disappointed sigh from the Banette ahead, lost to the din of rain. To Marco¡¯s concern, the more Sage thought about it, the more worried she grew. After a moment of internal conflict, the Gallade intervened once more, wanting to spare her that anxiety. ¡°^Sage?^¡± ¡°~M-My house has a green roof, and... I-I don¡¯t remember much else...^¡± Sage clung ever tighter to her umbrella, the strands of her damp wig shaking with her. Not an outcome either of the two wanted, but it was all they¡¯d be getting for now. Yaksha was of half a mind to just call this whole doomed ordeal off, only stopping himself by remembering that they had to, else she¡¯d just ask about it again. Marco just gritted his teeth and nodded. It was very little to go off, but it was something. Besides, even if Sage couldn¡¯t describe it in any richer detail than just the color of her roof, she still had to remember it, at least partially. If they had any luck, even the partial memory would be enough to let her recognize it once they passed by it. Sure, he wasn¡¯t deluding himself that scouting an entire massive human town would be a quick task, but it was still possible, given enough time. ... Assuming Sage¡¯s house was still standing. The worry about that no longer being the case stabbed Marco¡¯s heart, almost making him trip. He hated even considering it, but he couldn¡¯t dismiss it entirely¡ªwhat if Sage¡¯s house wasn¡¯t around anymore? Or even worse, what if it still was, but her family had left in grief following her disappearance? Both outcomes were all too easy to imagine, providing all the fuel in the world for his imagination to torment him with. He tried to remain strong despite that; he tried to distract himself; but the rainy night offered little in terms of distraction¡ª *growwWWWWLLL...* Marco¡¯s gaze snapped to the source of the sound in the dark without thinking, his body already taking steps toward the threat before he could even pay attention to what he¡¯d just heard. Once his brain caught up, though, he stopped¡ªand finally looked at what his psychics were trying to point out to him. ¡°Lumi?¡± A pair of golden-red eyes emerged from the dark, taken aback by the words. Without skipping a moment, the Luxray they were attached to leaped from the brush beside his coworker¡ªand looked at the group, confused. ¡°Marco? Good grief, why¡¯d you dress yourself like a human?¡± Lumi grumbled at the Gallade¡¯s antics, before following one tricky question with another. ¡°And what are these two doing here? Isn¡¯t this Phantump the wannabe human? Where¡¯re ya taking them all?¡± The growls comprising the Luxray¡¯s words put the pair of ghosts on edge, incomprehensible and all the more intimidating for it. Sage scooted behind Marco as he gathered thoughts, trying to keep himself from leering at Lumi too hard. He succeeded at that, but only because of exhaustion, responding through gritted teeth. ¡°^Yes, this is Sage; she used to be a human. She wants to return to her human family.^¡± The Phantump whimpered at the ¡®used to¡¯ part of Marco¡¯s answer. Lumi didn¡¯t notice, looking up at the Gallade in stupefied disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re joking, right?¡± Yaksha had no idea what the Luxray had said exactly, but his dismissive tone, combined with Marco¡¯s words moments prior, implied nothing good. The Banette glared at the Electric-type, his pink eyes glowing intensely enough to take Lumi aback once he glanced over. Before either of them could go beyond just angry glares, Marco cut in, ¡°^No Lumi, we¡¯re not. She still wishes to go back to her family, and so we want to help her try.^¡± As much as the Gallade wanted to phrase it in a more concrete way, he couldn¡¯t. There was no denying this was a pipe dream, more of a courtesy than a well-founded plan. And the Luxray noticed. ¡°¡®Try¡¯, eh? You¡¯re wasting your time, Marco, but I sure can¡¯t stop you¡ªguess you¡¯ve got that in common with your sister. Well, good luck, I guess.¡± Marco deflated as he watched the Luxray turn around and return to his usual scouting path; the resulting silence soon interrupted by Yaksha¡¯s seething whisper. ¡°~What did it say?~¡± Sage looked up at the Gallade as she hovered out of her impromptu hiding spot, curious and afraid. Marco grasped her hand as he focused on passing the words just to Yaksha this time¡ªno reason to worry Sage with them. ¡°^Told us we¡¯re wasting our time.^¡± Yaksha¡¯s anger soared at hearing that, anger at the Electric-type and himself alike. Of course they were doing this for a reason! There was no other way out of this but to have Sage find out the hard way that the human world would never accept her. Nothing would come of it; it only led to heartbreak, but it was necessary, goddammit! Nobody could avoid this pain, not even Sage! It had to have been true! Because otherwise, it meant he wasn¡¯t strong enough to save her from it. To save himself¡ª ¡­ Too late to stop now. ¡°~Let¡¯s keep going. Sage, c¡¯mon.~¡±
The next couple of hours passed in silence¡ªnature spoke for them. With rain, with wind, with darkness so intense that even Sage bumped into some passing shrubbery a few times. Each time, Marco felt her spirits deflate just a bit, each anxious thought or unpleasant gust chipping away at her confidence. She was still hopeful, so much more so than the two adults combined¡ªbut her hope wasn¡¯t impervious. A part of Marco hoped that it¡¯d chip away before they would make it to her past home, letting him avoid subjecting her to the heartbreak. The rest of him wanted to scream at not having anything to shut down that hopeless part of him with. Any further internal struggle was interrupted by lights in the distance, at last. Flickering and unnaturally orange, the color he¡¯d seen a fair bit of back in Anne¡¯s village once the sun had set. Hideous if he had anything to say, but there must¡¯ve been something to it with how keen humans were on using it¡ªand with how much it soothed Sage to see, making her ask¡ª ¡°~Are we getting there?~¡± ¡°~Looks like it,~¡± Yaksha replied, voice much more keen than usual. Marco didn¡¯t pry, assuming the Banette was struggling with his thoughts just as much as he had¡ªbut that turned out to not be the case. ¡°~Someone¡¯s ahead, looking our way.~¡± Marco nodded, wincing as he repeated Anne¡¯s instructions from a few hours back and re-did the button over his front horn. Regrettably, the cold hasn¡¯t dulled the associated discomfort at all¡ªif anything; it got even worse, filling him with a coldness that didn¡¯t care one iota about his Safeguard. Onward, ever onward, towards the human in the distance. ¡°~Halt. Your ID, now,~¡± the stranger barked, eying them down as he stepped on the path before them. Marco cared about neither the contempt in his voice nor what had caused it, focusing entirely on his impossible demand. ¡°^Don¡¯t have one.^¡± The human¡¯s eyes narrowed as he approached, letting Marco take a better look at the outfit. Dark, puffy top half with long sleeves, covered by a sleeveless garment in a bizarre shade of yellow with a few silver stripes. A belt of pouches and unidentified objects rested askew above his waist. His thoughts focused on one L-shaped object in particular, on his hip. And on the Growlithe, just a few feet away, the leash tied to their collar in his offhand. ¡°~Well well well, loitering at night and keeping mons without a license, I see?~¡± the human snarled out, staring Marco down like a piece of meat. As he kept trying¡ªand failing¡ªto intimidate the Gallade, though, the Fire-type yanked on their leash, struggling to get back under the relative cover of a nearby conifer. And that would not do. ¡°~Get over here, you dumb fucking dog!~¡± The human yanked at the leash, filling the dirt path with the Growlithe¡¯s pained yelp. Marco already wasn¡¯t planning on entertaining him any more than he had to, but this... warranted something more. ¡°~Now you, you fucking bum¡ª*crack!*~¡± Before he could finish his sentence, his empty fist was forced to smash into his jaw with all the strength he was capable of, toppling him over. To Marco¡¯s surprise, said strength turned out to be remarkably little¡ªnot even enough to knock him out, merely punching a couple teeth out and bloodying his face. Either way, not his concern anymore. Without another word, the Gallade resumed his march, unceremoniously walking away as the human writhed in pain and slurred obscenities. The two ghosts soon caught up, shock and grim satisfaction on their minds, respectively. And then, just a few hundred meters later, only awe and focus at all the lights. The street they had stepped into was rather quaint by human standards, enough so for Sage to still be at peace, but it was still busier than Anne¡¯s village. The rows of buildings on either side of the black, central road had many shapes and sizes, though most of them didn¡¯t go further than two stories tall¡ªthe incredibly... pointy building in the distance aside, its details hard to make out in the uniform orange light. As much as the sights overwhelmed him, Marco tried his best not to let them get to him, instead focusing on the minds he could sense. The¡ªto his immense relief¡ªvery few minds sharing the streets with them, none of them having noticed him yet. Almost everyone was indoors by now, a good chunk of them asleep. Perfect. And now, to figure out where to go next. ¡°^Sage, do you recognize this place?^¡± Marco asked, resuming his look around the street as the Phantump thought on. Some of the blocky buildings had their bottom halves turned into what seemed to be rooms full of... stuff, all bathed in a much brighter white light. They almost looked like pantries or storage buildings of sorts, though he suspected that wasn¡¯t their actual use. ¡°~Ummm... n-no, I don¡¯t remember this street.~¡± Sage mumbled out, made that bit uneasier by the realization. Bugger. ¡°^It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry Sage. Let¡¯s keep going then.^¡± Marco grabbed Sage¡¯s hand once more, smiling at her once she¡¯d looked up at him. The gesture was made... somewhat ineffective by the scarf obscuring his expression, but the Phantump seemed to have gotten the gist, anyway. Without another word, they stepped out of the side path and let the pavement guide them towards the lights in the distance. Sage kept looking around, trying her best to recall anything as Marco kept watch for any humans braving the freezing rain. To his relief, the few of them that approached head on would inevitably walk across the black road once they had spotted him and his company, giving them a wide berth. Not out of the fear of him being a mon, thank goodness, but because of... something else he had a much harder time identifying. There was some fear in there, chiefly focused on the ghosts accompanying them, but it wasn¡¯t everything¡ªor even the dominant emotion. Disgust dominated, as perplexing for Gallade as it was convenient. It freed enough of his attention to let him keep analyzing his surroundings even as they walked into a more densely inhabited part of the town. All around them, the metal contraptions with wheels, resting motionlessly on either the edges of the stone path, or on dirt lots that split off from the black road. More and more brightly lit, transparent rooms came and went, some of them with dozens upon dozens of colorful bottles on display. Above them, light shone out of the windows they were passing by, fewer and fewer by the minute. All of it dazzling, even overwhelming, especially once they had made it to part of the town with three or even four-story buildings all around them, but it wasn¡¯t what caught Marco¡¯s attention the most. Most of the sleeping humans were indoors, but not all, the few of them that appeared to be sleeping outside gave him a pause in particular. He kept his curiosity in check for a while¡ªat least until he sensed another of them right beside their route. After making sure nobody was watching, he peeked into the small alleyway beside them, the already-present reek suddenly intensifying tenfold. As loud as his nose screamed at being subjected to this, what his eyes saw overruled it. Indeed, there was a human sleeping behind one of the massive metal containers full of junk and decaying food, covered in little more than some sodden brown plates. Cold, ill, alone. Marco had no idea what to make of it, couldn¡¯t imagine what could¡¯ve caused someone to end up in a situation like this. How could this happen? How could this be allowed? He remembered, way back when he and Aria first showed up at their little village, long before they had a roof of their own, how they spent their first night there. Holly barely knew them; she hadn¡¯t spoken more than a few sentences with them the entire day before but was still more than eager to lend them a roof. And so was Vivian, and so was Esther. Hell, even Mikiri, though hers was an offer they only ended up taking once. It didn¡¯t take more than a couple of weeks for them to have a small hut of their own. They helped build it, sure, but weren¡¯t alone; almost half the village had contributed in whichever way they could. They didn¡¯t end up needing that hut for long, not with Garret helping them out so much and Aria catching his eye, but they still had shelter, even if it ended up going to someone else once they had moved out. And yet, this human was forced to sleep in the rain, surrounded by houses, surrounded by his fellow kin. Why? ¡°~Mr. Marco?~¡± Sage whispered, hovering over to him before yelping at spotting the sleeping human just a few feet away. However bad the sight¡¯s implications were, the Gallade knew that it wasn¡¯t what they were here for¡ªit was time to keep going. ¡°^I¡¯m here Sage, I¡¯m here. I just¡ªjust got distracted. Let¡¯s keep going.^¡± He knew it wouldn¡¯t last long once he left, but Marco hoped the Safeguard would make the stranger¡¯s night at least a bit easier. As much as he wanted to refocus squarely on the task ahead, he couldn¡¯t, remaining unnerved at the sight as they stepped into the densest, brightest part of the town. Many more people walked the streets here, enough so for some of them to brave passing by their group¡ªthough chiefly because of distraction and not courage. They felt cold, this place felt cold, the unnatural orange light washing over them felt cold. And yet, they had to keep going. ¡°^Sage, do you recognize this place?^¡± Marco asked once more, sparing a glance at Yaksha as he did so. The Banette kept close to them, focusing on some of the brightly shining, cluttered rooms as if trying to make out their contents from a distance. ¡°~Mmmm... a-a bit. I-I remember it, but only a little...~¡± Sage admitted as she huddled to the Gallade, catching the attention of a passerby. It made them stop and stare at the Phantump as it, and the weird bum it trailed, walked away. That alone was¡­ odd, but hearing it speak what they could swear was Unovan was even worse. It was almost too much to bear¡ªand so they didn¡¯t bear it, convincing themselves they had simply misheard. No other answer made sense, after all. As the group walked away from the stray human, Marco nodded weakly at Sage''s words. They were getting a bit warmer at least, and he knew he had to focus on that, and not on the growing pit of worry inside him. ¡°^Alright. Let¡¯s keep going then.^¡± Yaksha grumbled to himself as the group got going again, following the corner on the crossroad they had just arrived at. Some of what he was seeing tingled his memory, but it wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough to go off. Has he been here before? To Marco¡¯s relief, the street eventually thinned out, leaving them with fewer and fewer prying eyes to worry about. It was a rather fleeting reassurance, though, especially once he¡¯d noticed Sage growing less and less certain of where they were as they kept going. One of the moving metal boxes honking at him when he¡¯d accidentally veered onto the black road while lost in thought didn¡¯t help his anxiety any, either. Despite the bit of progress they had made earlier with the busy area, it felt like they were back to absolutely nothing, not a single shred of idea of where to even go. As hard as Marco tried to remain calm about this, it got harder and harder with each passing minute, with each passing street that only brought on further confusion inside the Phantump¡¯s little mind. He had to do something, and he had to do it soon. ¡°^Are you sure you don¡¯t remember anything except for the green roof, Sage?^¡± Some of his exasperated stress leaked through to his mental voice despite his best efforts. It took him all the willpower he could muster to not immediately start kicking himself once Sage noticed his fouling mood, his tone only sparking further anxiety. ¡°~N-no, I-I really don¡¯t, I promise!~¡± she pleaded, the worry in her voice sparking yet another bit of anger in Yaksha¡¯s mind. The last thing Marco needed was dealing with the Banette on top of everything else, ignoring him as he tried to comfort the ghostly girl. ¡°^It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m sorry Sage, I shouldn¡¯t have raised my voice.^¡± It hurt to admit, but he hoped it¡¯d be enough to soothe some of her worries. Attentive nod, a moment of thought¡ªone Phantump floating over to hug his hand, trying her best to hold on to the umbrella throughout. ¡°~Okay...~¡± He knew full well he was unlikely to get anything more confident out of Sage, and it still felt not enough. He felt not enough. Dammit, not again... This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He needed a lead, Sage needed reassurance; they couldn¡¯t keep going like this forever. The street grew less and less busy even as the surrounding buildings grew larger, two-floor rectangular structures from earlier now replaced by a mix of large, multi-room houses with angled roofs and spacious lawns, and something else, something his eyes had a hard time making sense of. The same lit-up windows he¡¯d seen earlier, but this time some of them were many, many floors up in the sky, the sight utterly dumbfounding until they walked closer. To his shock, they weren¡¯t some sort of flying houses, something unlikely but which he could at least imagine, but a building so tall and wide it faded into the murky darkness above them, shrouded by night and rain. It made Marco feel puny, and drove into him just how lost he was. Not just in the moment, but about the sheer scale of the settlement he was in, the sheer amount of buildings and people and lights and smells finally hitting him. All of that wasn¡¯t even one town, it was but a tiny slice of said town, its exact size too large for him to even imagine. There was no way to avoid admitting the obvious¡ªthey were lost. Which left but one way forward. ¡°^We need to ask someone for directions, we can¡¯t continue like this.^¡± The admission brought more comfort than Marco expected, finally giving him an idea of what to do next, even if it wasn¡¯t directly walking ahead yet. The two ghosts nodded in acknowledgement, looking around in search of anyone who looked ask-able. And finding themselves alone on the street, most of the surrounding windows already dark. The realization threatened to undermine whatever reassurance the Gallade had carved for himself, and he knew he couldn¡¯t stop there. Without another word, he resumed the group¡¯s march, the ghosts soon catching up¡ªthough Sage with noticeable difficulty. She hadn¡¯t said anything yet, but Marco could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her. ¡°~I see someone. A couple of people there, under that flat¡¯s awning,~¡± Yaksha directed, some of his words sliding off Marco when he¡¯d tried to parse them. Trying to figure out what the Banette had meant by ¡®flat¡¯ was too difficult for the Gallade¡¯s frazzled mind, but he didn¡¯t have to¡ªhe too spotted the humans moments later. Both were shorter than him, with almost full-body outfits, hats, and weird, bulky masks on their faces. They seemed to be painting something on the walls inside the awning, each new line marked with a loud, drawn-out hiss. Marco had no idea what exactly they were doing there, but he didn¡¯t care. He had questions, and he hoped beyond hope they had answers. Or else... Or else he¡¯d have to go find another human, and that¡¯d just be inconvenient. With his aim set on the two humans, Marco marched on with a spring in his step, determined to find a way forward. The din of rain and hisses of spray cans made it difficult for them to hear him approach, making them jump once he spoke up¨C ¡°^Hey, you two!^¡± ¡°~Oh shit, book it Lee!~¡± the shorter of the humans shouted, bits of pink hair flowing out underneath their hat as she and her partner in crime tried to run in the opposite directions. Neither of them made it even a single step before their bottom halves were surrounded in the pale glow of Marco¡¯s Psychic, immobilizing them in an instant. He felt the emotions surging through their minds in perfect clarity¡ªstartle at their illegal fun being interrupted, adrenaline and excitement once it came time to outrun yet another cop, Deep fear at the realization they weren¡¯t dealing with just some obese donut-muncher, or even just a human for that matter. Thoughts about ¡®ghost brides¡¯, about having been tracked down for revenge¡ªnone of them mattered at the moment, especially not to Marco. What the taller, dark-skinned human did right after, though, did. ¡°~Chucky, help!~¡± he shouted, waking up someone neither Yaksha nor Marco had spotted earlier, nestled inside the bag in the corner, and catching their attention. *c-caw! CAW CAW!* Yaksha leaped back as the Murkrow stirred awake from their nap inside the humans¡¯ backpack, their anger aimed squarely at the Gallade. Fighting was the absolute last thing he wanted to do right now¡ªor dealing with over-eager human pets. He might¡¯ve not been able to immobilize the Dark-type directly, but he didn¡¯t have to. Before the Murkrow could react, Marco¡¯s glow enveloped the entire backpack they were standing inside of, and held it shut, leaving them thrashing against their sudden containment. ¡°^I just have a question for you two. Answer it and I¡¯ll let you go.^¡± Marco put as much effort as he was capable of in concealing his annoyance. Thankfully, the humans¡¯ fear, only intensified by their guardian ending up incapacitated, gave way to confusion. Mostly. They stared wide-eyed first at the not-human bum-looking stranger, and then at each other, getting enough of a grip on themselves to answer with the world¡¯s shakiest nods. ¡°^Where can I find buildings with green roofs here?^¡± Marco worried as he watched the two stare at him, dumbfounded by his question. Not an encouraging response in the slightest, but the last thing he wanted to do was to speed them on and make them even more afraid. If for nothing else, then for the practical reason of fear making it harder to think rationally. ¡°~A-as in, green-roofed buildings here? In Lillywood?~¡± the shorter human questioned, going through her mental map of the town the moment the stranger answered with a nod. ¡°~What kinda fuckin¡¯ place has a green roof...~¡± the taller one muttered, annoyed at not remembering anything that fit the criteria. ¡°~No, Lee, I think I got somethin¡¯! Hold on, uh, like you mean normal tile roofs on family houses? That kinda building?~¡± the pink-haired one asked, focusing on having potentially found their ticket out of this mess. Marco didn¡¯t know how to answer that, But Sage did. ¡°~Yeah! With a lawn and a garage!~¡± The two humans were almost focused enough to not freak out at hearing that ghost just speak Unovan at them¡ªbut only almost, the realization of what the hell they had just heard shutting them up for a moment. Sage didn¡¯t know why they suddenly went quiet, but could feel their glares on her all the same, making her retreat behind the friendly Gallade. Chucky continued to thrash inside the bag. ¡°^You heard her.^¡± Marco¡¯s grunt was enough to snap the humans out of their stupor, though they still needed a moment for their thoughts to go from ¡®did that fucking ghost just talk¡¯ to ¡®who the fuck has a green roof on their place¡¯, and then ¡®hold on, I think I can recall something like that¡¯. And then, at last, the taller human spoke, ¡°~Shit, you¡¯re right. Uh, fuck, I remember¡ªSunnyside Heights, I think! They had a fancy-ass street like that over here; I think I passed by it once or twice.~¡± ¡°~Yeah, that¡¯s the one!~¡± the other human followed up. Marco¡¯s attention was focused entirely on the Phantump beside him, her thoughts swirling as she tried to recall that name. And then, she finally did, gasping, ¡°~Yes, that! I-I remember now, from a sign!~¡± The Gallade mouthed thanks to all the deities he could think of. ¡°^That¡¯s good. Now, how do we get to that... ¡®Sunnyside Heights¡¯?^¡± He had no idea what that name referenced, hoping that once they got to whatever it was, Sage would recognize that area enough to guide them. ¡°~By bus? Uhhh, I think two-oh-five goes from the stop down the road to there¡ª~¡± ¡°^On foot,^¡± Marco clarified, cutting the taller human off. He didn¡¯t expect that clarification of all things to confuse them as much as it did. The shorter one fared no better, thinking hard for a moment before reaching into the pocket of their leg coverings and pulling out a black rectangular object. ¡°~Hold on, need to double-check the map,~¡± she spoke as the rectangle lit up, illuminating her bulky mask with a pale light. ¡°~Aight, it¡¯s down the road from here, then turn left onto 26th¡ª~¡± ¡°^Where is that exactly?^¡± Marco asked, not having the patience for more human terms. ¡°~The fuck you¡ªugh, fifth street to the left. Then fourth to the right, you go straight for a few miles and end up at a plaza. From there you turn left and it should be it. Sound good?~¡± Thankfully for her, it did sound good. ¡°^Yes. Thank you.^¡± Marco said, before letting both humans and the backpack go. They wasted not a second running away as fast as their legs could carry them, the taller one forcibly dragging the Murkrow with himself before they could let loose upon the stranger that had just interrogated them. At last, progress. The Gallade took a deep breath as he turned around, finding Sage a bit worried about the humans, and Yaksha staring at him... impressed. ¡°^Let¡¯s get going, it¡¯s not getting any less dark,^¡± he muttered, walking around the group while repeating the human¡¯s instructions on a loop¡ª And then; he spotted someone watching them from a distance. They were far enough away to where he couldn¡¯t make out anything except for a human-like appearance and a small bag in one hand, but could tell their focus was squarely on their makeshift group. Worries shot through his mind at the realization, concerns about whether he needed to intervene and wipe that from their mind while the memory was still fresh and malleable. Before Marco could settle on what to do next, though, the onlooker... turned around and walked away. ... Fine by him.
As reassuring as being told where to go was, it didn¡¯t last forever. Rain poured on as the group followed the human¡¯s directions, their spirits faltering with each step. Sage wasn¡¯t getting any less exhausted, finding it harder and harder to keep holding her rain shield, though kept herself from complaining out loud. ¡°~Are we getting close, M-Mr. Marco?~¡± Most of the time. ¡°^I don¡¯t know, Sage. We¡¯re following the directions they gave us, and I just hope they¡¯re accurate. Do you recognize this place?^¡± he asked as calmly as he could, even if his worries were growing just as fast as the Phantump¡¯s. They had gone from there being almost nobody sharing the streets with them, to just flat-out being alone, going many minutes without seeing another soul outside. Fewer humans walking around, fewer lit windows, fewer awake minds he could sense with each steady step. They were alone, with only the sickly orange light and their worries to accompany them. ¡°~N-nooo, not really...~¡± And the worries only kept growing. Marco could swear he¡¯d followed the humans¡¯ directions to the letter, and yet here they were, no less lost despite that. Imposing buildings gave way to shorter, more sprawled-out houses, but it didn¡¯t matter when there were so many of them, street after street. Each of them was large enough to fit several families, and yet he could only feel a handful of souls in them at a time, sometimes even just a single human. All that space, much larger than their burrow, even excluding the empty grass lots, for a single person. Unthinkable. To Marco¡¯s chagrin, his mind was keen to badger him with more doubts than just that. Even if they had found their way and made it over to the street Sage¡¯s family lived on, would she be able to recognize the right building in the dark? Would anyone in her family still be awake? Could they wake them up if not? Even if anything went well, how in the world would they react to a tall, disguised figure showing up with a pair of ghosts in the dead of night? Marco¡¯s imagination provided him with exactly no uplifting answers, and it wasn¡¯t even done yet. Them freaking out would be bad enough¡ªbut what if they weren¡¯t just humans? What if they were those so-called ¡®¡®¡®trainers¡¯¡¯¡¯, and either attacked them in perceived self-defense or tried to capture Sage? What if they succeeded? Every hypothetical left Marco feeling even colder, his gloved hand shaking as it held Sage¡¯s. This time, the Phantump didn¡¯t even notice, too spaced out in her own little world as she marched on. He spared her tired mind a quick look¡ªand found hope, despite everything. Not as bright as it was just a few hours ago, no doubt tainted by the increasing realization of everything he and Yaksha were also worried about, but still there. Hope that deserved him trying his hardest to keep searching. They hadn¡¯t seen anyone in a good while now, but once they would, Marco figured he¡¯d ask them the same question he asked those two humans earlier. Maybe he could even ask about the name of the unspecified area they gave him, other humans would likely know more about it¡ª ¡°~Ice cream!!!~¡± Sage gasped in joy, flying straight on before either of the other two could react. She wasn¡¯t that fast even while doing the hovering equivalent of sprinting, though, and Marco only needed to jog to keep up with her. ¡°^Sage, where are you¡ª^¡± ¡°~There¡¯s the ice cream place, Mr. Marco!~¡± The Phantump accompanied her non-explanation by pointing her hand towards where she was running, letting the Gallade finally spot... that. How in the world had he not mentioned the large light in the distance earlier, he had no idea. Brooding most definitely didn¡¯t help, though. The building was on the smaller side as far as the rectangular two-floor ones went, one of several around the plaza lined with red tiles and flower beds. What it lacked in size, it more than made up for in how bright it¡ªor rather the decoration on it¡ªshone. It took Marco until he was just a few dozen meters away to make out what the light, and the negative space surrounding it, was meant to be, the distance making it fade into a blur. A female Indeedee wearing a small white hat, an apron, and holding a conical object topped with a sphere in each paw. ¡°~Awwwhhhh, it¡¯s closed...~¡± Sage mumbled, distraught. ¡°^Do you remember this place, Sage?^¡± ¡°~Yeah, mom always took us here on weekends and we all had ice cream!~¡± The girl might¡¯ve dodged the realization in her exhaustion, but it sure hit the Gallade, making him follow with another question right after. ¡°^Do you remember how to get home from here?^¡± Sage opened her mouth, about to say that she didn¡¯t¡ªbut then; she realized she did. Her eyes went wide as she nodded with all her strength, turning to the left and taking off without Marco needing to ask her. If she had a heart, it would¡¯ve been racing. Marco¡¯s was more than fit to pick up the slack, hammering faster than the Gallade remembered in years. At least; until the earlier worries started crawling out once more. They were getting there, which solved one worry, and still left all the other ones. He¡¯d done it, he¡¯d guided Sage over, made it through this massive, sprawling human town¡ªbut for what? For fate to subject her to heartbreak after all? Marco¡¯s heart ached at the thought, at the reality of them being so close and yet infinitely far. For a moment, he wanted to pull his hand back and try to discourage the girl, to turn around. It was much too late now, and he was well aware. No way forward now but to face fate. Each turn along the increasingly narrow streets built up more and more dread in them all¡ªSage not excluded. Marco felt her radiant excitement dull as the reality caught up with her, aided further by her catching a distorted glimpse of herself in the puddle she was flying overhead. She knew what she used to be, who she used to be¡ªbut only used to be. What she no longer was. The realization was inescapable, gnawing at her spirits even as she tried to outrace it. Left on their playground, right at the tall stop sign; images flooded her mind as she found herself following her route back home from school. Just like she remembered, but dark and distorted, warm sunlight replaced by the glare of street lamps, illuminating little more than the spots immediately underneath themselves. Her bright, happy world replaced with a sea of dark doubt and a single, shaky path along the lights still scattered through it, still pushing back against the night. She was so scared, But she had made it. Before them, a street she could fill in from memory, the single-family houses lining it so similar in appearance, and yet so colorful and different with all their inhabitants. Her neighbors, her friends, her family. So hard to make out like this. For a while, Sage could only shake in place and watch, only snapping back to awareness once a particularly strong gust had almost ripped the umbrella out of her grasp. She breathed rapidly as she came to, knowing only vaguely where to go now and yet afraid to take a step. She jumped as something grabbed her, warm and leathery¡ªMr. Marco¡¯s hand once more. ¡°^Are you okay, Sage?^¡± he asked with all the warmth he could still muster, kneeling beside the hauntling. ¡°~I-I¡¯m scared, M-Mr. Marco...~¡± Tears mixed with rain as the Phantump was overwhelmed by her thoughts, clinging to the Gallade¡¯s arm. He pulled her in close, hoping that, even if not particularly warm or dry, his embrace would still comfort her at least a bit. She accepted it wholeheartedly, but it only did so much, could only ever hope to do so much. They didn¡¯t know what to do. But, if nothing else, Yaksha knew what to ask. ¡°~Are you sure you wanna keep going, Sage?~¡± Sage deserved happiness in this cruel world, and there was no happiness to be found down this dark, human street, in this dark, human world. It pained him to see how much it hurt Sage to realize that, but better late than never¡ª ¡°~Y-yes...~¡± she muttered out, trying to steady her breathing. She got scared; she was still scared, but she didn¡¯t want to stop. She knew she looked different now, was different in more than just appearance in a way she couldn¡¯t explain with words even if she¡¯d tried¡ªbut her family was here. And they were always there for her when she got scared, her mom especially. She loved her mom, and her mom said she¡¯d always love her too... The Banette stared distraught as the Phantump shook the Gallade¡¯s embrace off, going back to just holding his hand instead. Without saying another word, she hovered down the street, looking from side to side as she kept trying to make out the details of the surrounding front porches. Yaksha eventually followed. ¡°^Your family lives on this street, right Sage?^¡± Marco asked to be sure, the hauntling confirming soon after. All of these buildings looked almost identical, but Sage still had some idea where to go next. He didn¡¯t follow up with any more questions, instead holding her hand as firmly as he could while he scanned the nearby humans. All asleep, all tired. All but one. A faint light shone from inside one of the houses, as if from the next room over, accompanied by a quiet, somber insomnia. Marco let go of Sage as she hovered closer, investigating¡ªand gasping soon after. ¡°~I-I remember we had this f-for Halloween! I-I think this is my house¡ªyes, that¡¯s our doormat too!~¡± Sage squeaked in the dark, letting Marco spot what she was referring to regarding the so-called ¡®Halloween¡¯ once she¡¯d floated away from the window. It was torn in a few places and rather faded, but still recognizable as a depiction of a Phantump attached to the transparent material. With a heavy heart, Marco took one step after another as he followed Sage to the front door, looking behind him to see Yaksha staring at the dirt away from them, bracing himself for the inevitable. The Gallade was only doing any better through the sheer force of will. A few seconds and an eternity later, he stood beside the Phantump as she stared down at the fabric rectangle in front of the door, intently reading the human writing patterned into the material. He gave her a moment, then another, eventually leaning in and grasping her hand once more. This time, she didn¡¯t jump, slowly floating up to him as she read out loud, ¡°~Welcome Home.~¡± Marco held her as firmly as he could, and it was only barely enough to keep them both from breaking down. ¡°^Are you ready, Sage?^¡± He asked quietly, steadying his breath as the Phantump floated up to the front door. Without responding, she reached out with an inky arm towards something attached to the wall beside the door¡¯s handle¡ª And pressed it. *ding-ding-dooong* A jolt went through the group at the sound, startling them in how familiar it was for Sage, how unfamiliar for Marco, and how damning for Yaksha. Not much happened for a while¡ªnot much they could see from the outside. Marco felt it all, though. Felt the racing heart of the awake human inside; felt their fear; felt the myriad of possibilities racing through their mind as they stood up, turned on the lights, and approached the front door. He took two steps back as the stranger drew close, Sage following in tow. A moment later, a light lit up above them, and they saw something dark on the opposite side of the frosted glass. The door¡¯s handle shook, stopped, and began to twist. The human that peeked out looked unlike either Anne or Olive with her dark skin and black, braided hair, but her appearance was the last thing on Marco¡¯s mind. She was tired, startled, confused¡ªand the moment she spotted the Phantump floating just a couple feet away, afraid. ¡°~What¡ªwhat is this!?~¡± Her expression twisted into terror as she reeled back, about to shut the door there and then¡ª ¡°~M-Mom, it¡¯s me, Sage!~¡± the Phantump wailed, terrified of her mom¡¯s reaction. She tried to float just a bit closer, only startling the human further before she froze at her words. Froze and shook, steady breaths giving way to hyperventilating. ¡°~No, no this can¡¯t be, no, NO!~¡± The woman gasped as blood drained away from her face, the sheer horror before her making her want to run and hide. Hide from the ghost that spoke Unovan, that claimed to be her dead son, that wanted to trick her into letting it in, to fool her with the voice so¡ªso similar to his... Marco wanted to intervene, but could only stare, sinking his head as he let the inevitable play out. The ghost shrieked at the woman almost closing the door before her, ¡°~MOM IT¡¯S ME, SAGE! I¡¯M SORRY FOR SCARING YOU, I-I¡¯M SORRY FOR TAKING AZALEA¡¯S SKIRT, I-I-I DIDN¡¯T MEAN TO, I-I WAS SCARED A-AND¡ª~¡± The words couldn¡¯t endure as despair flooded her mind, despair at having scared her mom so much and her mom not believing it was her and not knowing what to do. She broke into pained sobs, tears flowing down her mask as she tried to hide in her hands, do anything to make her mom less afraid¡ªonly to be unable to. She didn¡¯t mean to scare her... A few feet away, the woman stared out the slit of the opened door, grasping the door¡¯s handle with all her strength. Stared at this mon, at this ghost with something black on its head, and watched it wail, paralyzed in thought. Every single fiber of her being wanted to run, to run until she couldn¡¯t, to begrudgingly call the cops and the League to save her, to grab her husband¡¯s handgun to protect herself from this¡ªthis thing¡ª But she couldn¡¯t. This couldn¡¯t have been it but, but nobody knew of Sage wearing his sister¡¯s skirt when they found him¡ªhis body. She¡¯d asked the cops to not write it in the report, none of the newspapers had mentioned it, she thought it¡¯d been some fucked up taunt the kids had pulled on him and didn¡¯t want him to be remembered like that, a-and¡ª And this thing, this ghost, knew. It sounded ghostly, distorted, almost girlish, but¡ªbut it was his voice, almost like his voice. That weird thing on its head, almost like a wig, almost like the hairstyle he had when they¡ªbut HOW!? It was impossible; people couldn¡¯t come back as ghosts; no, no, this had to have been a trick! She was being deceived, drawn into a trap, especially with that tall man standing next to the stairs to the porch, but couldn¡¯t look away. Away from this crying, distraught ghost, its sobs just like when he got scared after watching a movie he was much too young for. This was all a dream, must¡¯ve been a dream, there¡¯s no way this could be real, this thing sounded too female to be Sage, there was no way, but¡ªbut what if¡ªno it was impossible, NO¡ª Bitter reality fought fevered dreams in the woman¡¯s mind as she grasped the handle so hard her hand grew numb, locked in a stalemate with herself. It couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence; too many things lined up, but it couldn¡¯t have not been a coincidence; none of this was possible¡ªSage was GONE, and she was finally beginning to make peace with that fact! Was her mind playing a trick on her, trying to pull her away from acceptance and into another grief-fueled delusion!? It hurt too much to be anything but reality. After what felt like an eternity, the woman took another breath, her shaking eyes staring at the ghost¡ªand finding it, them, staring back at her. She knew it wasn¡¯t possible, but... ¡°~I-I¡¯m sorry, m-mom...~¡± ...she wanted it to be. She wanted to see her baby again, to apologize to him for all the times she wasn¡¯t there for him, to make him feel as loved as he always deserved to be and not just on weekends, to tell him how much she loved him, To hug him again. ¡°~S-Sage, i-i-is that you?~¡± the woman whispered, words so quiet they were only barely audible above the din of rain. Hope mixed with disbelief, fear with anguish, fantasy with reality as she watched the ghost perk up at her words, shaking even harder than before. ¡°~Th-that¡¯s me mom, I-I¡¯m Sage, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯M SORRY!~¡± the ghost wailed, wet tears streaking down their wooden mask as it twisted into terror. And then; it stopped, pink pinpricks of its eyes focusing as the woman opened the door just enough to reach out with her other hand. Cold, shaking, curled as if ready to be withdrawn at a moment¡¯s notice¡ªbut still there. Her mom¡¯s hand. Sage flew over to it without thinking, scared beyond words and just wanting her mom to hold her again, to tell her how much she loved her, to feel safe and to be told that everything would be okay again, to eat ice cream with her again, to have her braids done again, to apologize. She clung to her hand as close as she could, not wanting it to let go, not wanting her mom to abandon her, Clung to it, just like Sage did. ¡°~S-Sage? SAGE!~¡± Mom shouted, pulling the door open and stumbling outside, falling to her knees as she pulled the wooden ghost into her arms. Rain covered for her wailing sobs as she let her grief out in bitter tears, ¡°~M-mommy is here, Sage, mommy is here...~¡± ¡°~MOM! I-I¡ª~¡± Sage wept as despair gave way to grief, fearful emotions leaving her body one warm tear at a time¡ªinto her mom¡¯s shirt, just like always. She tried to speak, but couldn¡¯t; she could only cry and listen and keep crying¡ªbut now, in release. ¡°~I-I thought I¡¯d never see you again...~¡± Mom whimpered, arms shaking even as the rough bark dug into her skin, not wanting to let go even slightly. Sage whined, ¡°~I-I¡¯m sorry,~¡± before her mom cut her off¡ª ¡°~Shhhhh, shhhhh, it¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s okay baby, d-don¡¯t be sorry, baby. I¡¯m here, m-mommy¡¯s here, m-mommy loves you...~¡± Marco stared slack-jawed, heart fluttering at the sheer intensity of emotions going on around him. Intense enough to give him a headache, and yet blissful enough to only draw him closer as his mind caught up to the racing hearts before him. Beside him, Yaksha was reacting much the same, pink eyes unfocused as they took the scene in. Sage¡¯s mom flinched as she spotted the homeless man step into the light, pushing him half a step back. As terrifying as the stranger was, though, she knew they had to have been related to her¡ªher child finding their way back home, and so had the Banette beside them. They scared her; they scared her so much, but they meant well, she knew it. She mouthed ¡®thank you¡¯ their way before holding the ghost even tighter. She was weak; she was cold and wet from the rain side swiping, her head kept spinning; none of this should¡¯ve even been possible¡ªbut it was Sage; it couldn¡¯t not be Sage. She wanted to believe it was Sage, wanted that wound on her soul to be mended. The two sobbed in silence for a while longer as the maelstrom of emotions burned out into exhaustion, deep and all-encompassing. At having grieved her child, at having to survive in the woods for months, at finding her child¡¯s body, at being so worried about her family not accepting her again. It was over; it was finally over, and eventually, tears slowed down to just a trickle. It¡¯d take many, many days for the last of them to be shed, but they had time. They finally had time. ¡°~I-I love you mommy...~¡± Sage mumbled, barely awake anymore. Her mom only barely kept herself from breaking into more sobs as she slowly stood up once more, cold and drenched and happy and beyond words and so, so exhausted. She kept gently shushing her child as she began to turn around, wanting to carry them home just like she did when they first showed up to this world. And then stopped at hearing the Phantump gasp in her arms, ¡°~M-mommy, can I s-say goodbye to Mr. Yaksha a-and Mr. Marco?~¡± Mom looked up at the stranger and the ghost once more, holding the wooden ghost even tighter. She didn¡¯t want to let go, to risk something happening to her child again, even if she¡¯d be just mere feet away¡ªbut she agreed, regardless. Her arms shook as she nodded, trying her hardest to relax them and yet finding herself unable to. Sage knew what to do, though, phasing through her mom¡¯s arms and leaving her wig behind as she hovered over to her guardians. ¡°~Th-thank you, Mr. Yaksha! D-do you want to come too?~¡± Sage squealed as she hugged the dumbstruck Banette, her spectral touch finally snapping him back to reality. The older ghost didn¡¯t even need to look at the terrified expression on the woman''s face to know it was a bad idea, weakly shaking his head as he gave her a couple of pats on the back. ¡°~Best not, kid.~¡± ¡°~Awhhhh. But w-will you visit us sometime?~¡± Yaksha almost didn¡¯t hear the question at all, staring into the middle distance as the hauntling let go of him. ¡°~I¡¯ll think about it. Stay¡ªstay safe, kid.~¡± ¡°~I-I will! Bye-bye, Mr. Yaksha! B-bye-bye, Mr. Marco!~¡± She squealed as she hovered back to her mom, returning the disguised Gallade¡¯s waving in kind. Marco and Yaksha watched the woman give them one last nod in gratitude before she closed the door and turned off the porch light. Moments later, light shone from the building¡¯s ground-floor windows and Marco sensed someone making their way down from the top floor and being taken aback. He could¡¯ve stood and snooped like this for hours, but he knew he didn¡¯t have to. They were done here. ¡°We did it,¡± Marco whispered as the reality of the situation finally hit him, warm relief filling his soul. He was tired, and yet he felt fine, unable to stop laughing as his body and mind alike unwound from the tension. They¡¯d done it, he¡¯d done it. Sage was safe. Things would be okay now. He kept laughing to himself as his body turned around on autopilot and started making its way back to the sidewalk. Before he could let himself get lost in that bliss, though, he sensed something else brewing inside the Banette. ¡°^Y-you okay, Yaksha?^¡± he asked, sparing the ghost a concerned glance. He hadn¡¯t moved an inch since Sage let go of him, gaze drilling into nothing. ¡°~I feel... hollow.~¡± Yaksha whispered, continuing to stare straight ahead. Marco chuckled, ¡°^I get it, you two were close. I could tell you¡¯ve been looking after her for a while now, and now she¡¯s gone. Hard to get over it, I imagine.^¡± A smile crept to his obscured lips as he turned back to the road once more, his tired mind trying its best to come up with some guidance on the spot. ¡°^Well, if you don¡¯t know what to do now, our village would always be glad to take you in¡ª^¡± ¡°~The stars look so beautiful today.~¡± ... ¡°^What?^¡± Marco blinked at Yaksha¡¯s awestruck observation, looking up at the sky just in case. Nope, the sky was still entirely covered with clouds, pitch black and only occasionally illuminated by stray lightning in the distance. He turned to the ghost, ¡°^What do you¡ª^¡± But the Banette was gone. Marco looked from side to side as he tried to spot the ghost before focusing on his psychics to figure out where he¡¯d gone. They were of no use, not spotting a single trace of the Banette despite having sensed him just moments prior¡ª ... The Gallade stopped as the realization struck him. He didn¡¯t know what had happened with certainty, but... he had a guess. Without wasting another moment, he nodded toward the now-empty spot, And began his journey home. Interlude XI: Happenstance What the hell had he just run into? Muffled electronic music filled Dan¡¯s ears as he made his way home, combining with an ill-fitted coat to shield him from the depressing surroundings. It was still cold, and his nose was still an obnoxiously large target for any stray raindrops, but he¡¯d bear through the former and had his methods to ease the latter. For once, though, his mind was focused on something entirely unrelated to what either of his usual senses were feeding him, replaying the scene he had just witnessed on a loop. It stumped him in a way not much did anymore. Was that a drug drop gone awry? Some sort of gang intimidation? He¡¯d seen these two kids around quite a bit, and while their records were far from spotless, they were nowhere near bad enough for him to suspect them of dealing with organized crime. Then again, they didn''t end up actually getting hurt. Frightened and held in place, yes, but not hurt. Didn¡¯t notice any manipulation either, though that might¡¯ve just been because of the distance. Further confounding it was the fact that, as far as he could tell, the psychics were coming from the tall one and not either of the mons. The thought made him chuckle under his breath; the mental image of some stray wildling putting on their best hobo impression was too far-fetched to be real, amusing as it was. Not his business either way, especially since nobody got hurt. Clearing his mind, Dan upped the volume a couple of notches just in time for the drop, head banging all the while. A lotta noise¡ªmost of which his dad couldn¡¯t stand, but it was exactly what he needed. Took quite a bit of talking and thinking to square the circle of his preferences without subjecting his old man to what he¡¯d so candidly described as ¡®the sounds of blenders being tortured to death¡¯, but eventually, they arrived at their current solution. Custom molded earbuds were the priciest investment of his life so far, but also the ones by far the most worth it. Completing his most favorite kind of overstimulation was the small trinket in his off-hand, sliding up and down along its string roughly in tune with the beat. It¡¯d still be a while until he could time it right, but the progress he had so far was already motivating enough. It also inspired the mental image of him walking up to a wildling cousin and just giving them a yo-yo of their own. Also a trinket on a string, but one they could do so much more with instead of just obsessively polishing it! Win-win as far as he was concerned! Oh well¡ª ... ... Oh shit. His heart skipped a beat as he focused on the sensations he could just barely make out a few streets down, bright and noticeable in the most distressing way possible. A part of him wanted to ignore it and run, to just hope it¡¯d solve itself; it¡¯s not like this stuff didn¡¯t happen all the time whether he was there or not¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t. Of course he couldn¡¯t, he¡¯d know he could¡¯ve done something but didn¡¯t. He already had enough things to judge himself for as is. A deep breath never hurt to get his head straight in situations like these, but he had no idea how much time he had¡ªmight as well head over as he chewed through what he¡¯d even do. Just like dad said¡ªacknowledge it, measure it, mitigate it. He¡¯d acknowledged it alright, and from the little he could measure it, it looked dire but not critical yet. Now to mitigate it. Dan struggled to think of what he¡¯d say to the stranger as he speed-walked down the wet pavement; the din of rain and even his music completely tuned out by now. He needed to have a plan or else he¡¯d just make it all worse¡ªespecially if he started panicking or was too serious. It¡¯d have to be something casual, yet attention-grabbing. Let¡¯s see... Whoever it was, they seemed to be young, and the little he could make out of their thoughts was snarky and bitter. Maybe meeting them at their level could work? A bit of edgy snark instead of just platitudes? It made sense in the moment and left him hoping to whatever gods were watching that he wasn¡¯t about to make the worst mistake of his life. It was time to straighten himself out a bit, stuff the yo-yo into his pocket, take another breath, And turn the corner. Sensing it a few minutes earlier didn¡¯t make the sight that awaited him any less unnerving. A human was balancing along the railing of the bridge in front of him, one step after another on wet, slippery metal. Next to said railing rested a roughened backpack and a couple balls; a detail that would¡¯ve left Dan unnerved in any other situation. Their soaked outfit was nowhere near enough for the weather, a thick scarf wrapped around their neck aside. Dan kept a grip on himself as he approached, focusing on being able to grab them in case they did what he feared they would. It was time to catch their attention, and he hoped beyond hope his awful opener wouldn¡¯t make anything worse. ¡°~Wouldn¡¯t recommend using this bridge. Much shorter than it looks at night, you¡¯ll just break your leg and drown in agony. That flat over there might work though, should be tall enough.~¡± He cursed his dry, under-used voice as the figure ahead turned around to face him, jolting a bit. Thankfully, their reactions stopped at that, and while their thoughts briefly veered toward doing the unthinkable, their feet stayed firmly glued to the railing. ¡°~What kinda fucking advice is that?~¡± the stranger said with a mix of surprise and amusement, the latter undoing at least some of their¡ªno, her¡ªgloom. ¡°~Ehh, the best one I could think of on the spot. Tried my best, y¡¯know.~¡± Dan¡¯s heart hammered as he approached, each step making his grip on the girl that much stronger should the worst come to pass. He had to keep talking but didn¡¯t have many ideas for what to say¡ªaside from the most banal response possible to something like this. ¡°~Somethin¡¯ happen lately? Dad always told me to never make any life decisions after dark, and this sure looks like a big one.~¡± The stranger giggled at his shoddy joke, even if it was mixed with a barely visible eye roll. The moment of levity brought some relief, but it didn¡¯t last. ¡°~I fucked up one too many times,~¡± the girl admitted, letting Dan finally notice how hoarse her voice was. And how much her gaze lingered on the other side of the railing. ¡°~Fucked up what? Everyone fucks stuff up from time to time. Shit happens y¡¯know.~¡± ¡°~The whole¡ªthe whole fuckin¡¯ trainer bullshit. Took it up to get away from my fuckin¡¯ parents and now I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ done for. Been trying to do something, fuckin¡¯ anything, but I just fuckin¡¯ can¡¯t.~¡± Her hand clenched at the admission, tears adding to the downpour. Not the most... sympathetic story as far as Dan was concerned, but at least it was one the stranger was at the end of. ¡°~Sounds rough. Can¡¯t you just quit being a trainer then?~¡± ¡°~And go back to fuckin¡¯ groveling at my parents¡¯ feet while they treat me like shit!? Fuck no, I¡¯d rather take the leap,~¡± she snarled, seething anger pointed in equal parts at herself and at the two aforementioned humans. ¡°~They always fuckin¡¯ hated me, couldn¡¯t fuckin¡¯ stand me even when I was their poster good boy they could fuckin¡¯ parade around in front of their fuckin¡¯ ghoul friends. Fuck them, I¡¯m gonna have the last fuckin¡¯ hurrah, gonna spite them one last time.~¡± Dan didn¡¯t have the time to respond before she turned her head skyward and shouted, ¡°~SEE THIS, MOM? LOOK AT YOUR FAILURE OF A SON, HOPE YOU CAN SHIP THAT SHITTY SUIT YOU CRIED OVER STRAIGHT TO FUCKING HELL!~¡± Their hearts raced as fast as they ever got as Dan tried to think of what to say. The idea that soon hit his head wasn¡¯t the best, but it was something to keep her attention on him, at least. ¡°~Don¡¯t spite them by dying if they hate you this much, spite them by living. Spite them by being happy even if they don¡¯t want you to be.~¡± The stranger laughed again, this time at him and not with him. ¡°~Oh it¡¯s that easy, of course! Have any other bedtime stories to tell me?~¡± she snarked, the wound the sarcasm was meant to cover getting more and more aggravated by the moment. ¡°~Well, I never said it was easy, but it is possible, even if it looks like it isn¡¯t. Tomorrow comes another day; you¡¯ve got tons of chances to turn your life around, especially at this age. Just because being a trainer didn¡¯t work out doesn¡¯t mean that nothing else will. I know it doesn¡¯t feel like it, but you deserve happiness too.~¡± He jolted as he sensed the girl¡¯s reaction to his last remark, her clever facade coming undone by the moment. ¡°~Do I now? Sure as fuck doesn¡¯t fuckin¡¯ feel like it, I¡ªI fuckin¡¯ failed them. I failed them over and over and kept putting them in harm¡¯s way over and over and they just kept hurting, I don¡¯t deserve them a-and I went for a dumb fuckin¡¯ desperate idea and only hurt them even more for fuckin¡¯ NOTHING, and they fuckin¡¯ hate me now!~¡± It took little effort to realize who the girl¡¯s rambling was aimed at, the balls beside her backpack catching Dan¡¯s attention again. She cared more about her mons than most trainers he¡¯s had the displeasure of interacting with, motivating him to keep trying that bit more. He didn¡¯t have to try hard to point out her subconscious lies, though. ¡°~Not even you believe that. It wouldn¡¯t hurt this much if they really didn¡¯t care about you.~¡± It was a bluff Dan had no way of justifying at the moment, but to his unending relief, it struck true all the same. The girl shook as she glared at him, shaking hands bundled into fists. Maybe that fucking weirdo was right; maybe they really cared about her as much as she did about them, but none of it mattered, none of it fucking mattered. ¡°~S-so fuckin¡¯ what!? I¡¯ve still got no future; I¡¯m fuckin¡¯ broke and have nowhere to go and would just be doing them a fuckin¡¯ service if they ended up with someone who c-can actually take care of them!~¡± Time slowed to a crawl as Dan watched the stranger turn away from him, her mind trying to push through the thick layer of fear and do what it thought it had to. He shouted, ¡°~WAIT! If you¡¯ve nowhere to go, then you could crash at our place for a while!~¡± Dan was well aware the offer was sleazy as fuck, but couldn¡¯t think of¡ªor actually help with¡ªanything else. A heartbeat passed, then another, and the girl¡¯s body began to unwind, shaking harder the more she thought about it. He felt the earlier snark creep in, sighing under his breath in relief. ¡°~Oh, making advances on an underage girl now?~¡± He could tell she was joking, but it still left a foul taste in his mouth, making him recoil. ¡°~No, of course not! If I could, I¡¯d pay for a stay at a motel or something for a night or two, but... I¡¯m kinda broke. And living with my dad,~¡± he admitted, calming down as he felt his words take root in her mind, bit by bit. Trying to cheer her up with her caliber of humor, he added, ¡°~Besides, your mons can probably defend you from any creep you¡¯d run into.~¡± The slow, dry chuckles that left her mouth were some of the most strained sounds Dan had ever heard. The girl felt bad about the inappropriate joke for just a moment before another thought crept in to overrule it. She looked over her shoulder, staring at him as her adrenaline burned out, leaving her feeling cold and so, so fucking tired. The offer was good, almost too good to be true, and this guy wasn¡¯t wrong either¡ªanyone tried to touch her and Spots would lay them out. She wasn¡¯t sure if the lil¡¯ Snubbull could even legally do that, but she knew damn well she¡¯d do it, anyway. Before she knew it, the stranger outstretched his gloved hand towards her, catching hundreds upon hundreds of raindrops as it waited to be grasped. ¡°~It hurts, it hurts so fucking much, I know. But you don¡¯t have to go through it alone,~¡± he added, sticking his hand out that bit further, into her reach. Even that sounded like some sappy cookie-cutter bullshit reassurance she¡¯d seen so many times online, but... this time she felt the other side had actually meant it. It was almost too wild to consider, especially with how little of an idea she had about what could she even do instead with her trainer ¡®career¡¯ ending before it had even started. She was terrified in a way she almost never got; she almost turned right around to stop beating around the fuckin¡¯ bush and just fucking do it¡ª Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. But Spots and Noodles would be sad. She might¡¯ve tried to gaslight herself into thinking that her friends ending up in someone else¡¯s hand would truly be the best for them in the long term many times, but them ending up heartbroken over her doing what needed to be done was inarguable. And she didn¡¯t want to make them sad. Her expression flinched as if struck as her tears mixed with rain, sobs too quiet to be audible over the downpour. She didn¡¯t want to make them sad. In a moment of clarity, fleeting as it was, she looked at the stranger once more, And grasped his hand. Dan didn¡¯t act as the girl hopped off the railing towards him, stumbling after she¡¯d landed. If she wanted to do or say something, she would¡ªand she did, moments later. Quiet sniffles gave way to heavier and heavier sobs as she leaned into him, almost too tired to even keep standing. He kept himself to patting her on the back a few times, letting the emotions flow as the plastic bag in his other hand threatened to slice his fingers off after being held for so long. He wasn¡¯t rushing, buuuut there was something he could do to drive the point he¡¯d made earlier in. As the girl slowly regained her composure, he covertly pressed the buttons on both balls, ejecting their occupants. She swore under her breath and tried to straighten herself out as her friends jumped at suddenly being surrounded by freezing rain¡ªbut her diversion was for naught. ¡°~Hey hey, I¡¯m alright you two, I-I promise!~¡± she pleaded as the two mons scooted up to her, their concern just as clear as her distress. They didn¡¯t buy her excuses, clinging to her legs with quiet cries as she kept trying to put on a composed facade¡ªto no use. And soon, she realized it too. She kneeled as her tears came back in vengeance, scooping the Snubbull and the Servine into her arms. Vines and short pink paws wrapped around her as she wept, wept and was consoled by her friends, constantly reassured about how much they cared for her. Off to the side, Dan¡¯s heart calmed down as he took the cutesy scene in, every little gesture of the three exchanging affection in the limited ways they could. Pets, fur ruffles, as large hugs as each of them could manage. All bathed in tears of release, tears of pain, in stress and fear that have been building up for months and wouldn¡¯t be going away for at least just as long. Despite everything, they still had each other. Dan stayed quiet as the trio took their time, only briefly pulling his phone up to let his dad know he¡¯d be late. As tired as they all were, none of them cared to stay out in rain this cold for long, speeding up the group¡¯s affection and the girl¡¯s efforts to get a grip on herself again. Once she was sure she was strong enough to stand up and walk, she reached out for her friends¡¯ balls¡ªonly for the Servine to swat them away with a stray vine. ¡°~W-what? Noodles, what are¡ªoh come on. I-it¡¯s so cold, you two are gonna freeze out here!~¡± she pleaded. Unsuccessfully, if the two mons¡¯ resolute head shakes were anything to go by. ¡°~Fine, fine, you can stay out, hah. Alright, l-let¡¯s get going I guess, can barely feel my legs anymore...~¡± With the balls attached to her belt and the backpack on her shoulders again, the girl was ready to resume her journey from where it was supposed to end. Where to, she didn¡¯t know. Both in the long-term sense of ¡®what in the world am I gonna do with myself now¡¯, and in the more relevant meaning of ¡®where is this guy taking me¡¯. The latter at least got solved quickly. Dan tilted his head for her to follow as he headed off, guiding her through a labyrinth of gloomy, nondescript streets with a haphazard mix of single-family houses and flats. ¡°~I live a couple blocks down, won¡¯t take long to get there. Oh, and name¡¯s Dan,~¡± he added with a chuckle, hoping for the stranger to respond in kind. ¡°~Emma. Th-thanks Dan, I¡ªI don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done if you didn¡¯t show up...~¡± ¡°~Ehhh, I have a guess.~¡± The girl blinked a few times as she processed his words before breaking into the most undignified chuckle of her life, muttering out ¡°~Oh god~¡± in between fits of tired laughter. Dan gave her a brief smile as he looked over his shoulder, glad she was feeling at least that bit better. ¡°~So, you from around here, Emma?~¡± ¡°~Nah, heh. I¡¯m from Opelucid, I... this is gonna sound awful, but I came over here to try and find some easier opponents after I couldn¡¯t take wins off anyone else anymore.~¡± Dan rolled his eyes at the framing of ¡®¡®¡®her¡¯¡¯¡¯ not being able to win anymore, but didn¡¯t comment on it beyond that¡ªthis wasn¡¯t the time nor the place. Stripped of that unpleasant element, though, Emma¡¯s justification was kinda amusing, at least. She might¡¯ve been a trainer, but her mons really did care for her, taking that load off his conscience as he guided them to his block.
The apartment building had seen better days, and that was the absolute kindest phrasing Emma could think of once she saw it. Dark gray, flaking, stone-like facade revealed raw concrete and brick in many spots, and she could make out a couple of broken windows even despite the shoddy lighting. The sight made her recall Dan¡¯s joke about her having her mons to protect her from creeps, as well as worry about it potentially being much more applicable than she would¡¯ve ever imagined. ¡°~Hardly the prettiest place, I know¡ªand no, it¡¯s not any better on the inside. Hope you don¡¯t mind climbing up a couple floors,~¡± Dan commented as he led her in. The staircase was similarly rundown as the outer facade, each of the spiraling stairs cracked somewhere along its length. At least there wasn¡¯t anyone else around. A part of Emma hoped that the actual entrance to Dan¡¯s home would be at least a bit more decorated, just to then end up disappointed at it being just as butt-ugly as every other square inch of this place. She could¡¯ve sworn she had him chuckle right as she thought that, but was too tired to connect the two events together. None of that mattered, anyway¡ªthey had finally made it. ¡°~Daaaaad, we¡¯re home!~¡± Dan shouted as he led Emma in, immediately getting to taking his coat off¡ªbefore stopping awkwardly. For a moment, Emma wanted to ask what had happened, but before she could, he¡¯d resumed the mundane action, if much more slowly. The room they stepped into seemed to have been doing triple duty as both the lobby, the living room, and the kitchen. A few potted plants aside, it was almost entirely undecorated¡ªjust a couch, a worn down table that Dan soon set the plastic bag he was holding on, a flat screen TV with bezels the size of her hand, and exactly nothing else in the ¡®living room¡¯ part. Dan wasn¡¯t joking with being broke, huh. Emma shook off the thought as she slid out of the soaked clothes, trying to hang them as close to the cast iron radiator as she could. Her friends were already huddled up to it, basking in whatever warmth it could pour out, the sight bringing a smile to her face. Which a very unpleasant realization soon dashed right off. The girl shook uncomfortably as she kept sneaking glances at Dan, trying to catch him when he wasn¡¯t looking at her. Once she did, she quickly took her scarf off and tried to pull up the collar of her t-shirt to cover her neck, hoping he wouldn¡¯t notice. Dan noticed. ¡°~Emma? What... are you doing?~¡± Emma flinched at the question, hands clenching as her heartbeat spiked. Dan took half a step back at such a sudden reaction, worried that he¡¯d inadvertently done something wrong. The girl knew there was no way to hide it, but... fuck. She looked away in shame as she let go of her shirt, before flinching at how much her host was taken aback. Dozens upon dozens of slowly scarring claw marks on her neck, none of them lethal¡ªbut all of them painful, in all meanings of the word. ¡°~Good gods, what happened?~¡± Dan asked, and regretted it immediately. As bad as she felt about her neck, being asked about that brought forth even more traumatized fear than when she was one stray step away from death. Her eyes unfocused as she stared at the floor, breaking into tears once more. Something was wrong, so very wrong here, but Dan knew it wasn¡¯t the time to pry into this. ¡°~Hey hey, it¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to tell me. Could I at least clean it a bit?~¡± he asked, keeping his voice as neutral as can be. To his relief, she reacted to his words, nodding shakily as the storm of panicking thoughts in her head began to calm down. At least she wouldn¡¯t be judged for this. Without saying a word, Dan guided her over to the bathroom and reached for the small bottle of peroxide. The room was just as barren as the rest of the building, but at least it was better maintained, and, most importantly, clean. As Dan washed his hands and fiddled with the plastic container, Emma could¡¯ve sworn she glimpsed something yellow in the reflection instead of him. By the time she blinked and did a double take, though, it was just what she expected to see. Any further thoughts about that were summarily derailed by all the burning coming from her neck soon after. ¡°~There, there, I know it hurts, but hopefully nothing will infect it. Have you seen anyone about this?~¡± Dan asked, and Emma had to use all the willpower she still had left to not laugh in his face. ¡°~¡¯C-course not.~¡± ¡°~Would be a good idea to do that tomorrow, or whenever you feel comfortable. Anyhow¡ªthis is the shower, this is the shampoo and body wash, you can take the red towel if you want, sound good?~¡± ¡°~Y-yeah, thanks. L-lemme take something to change into...~¡± ¡°~Take your time, we¡¯re not rushing.~¡± Emma didn¡¯t have to be told twice, but rushed regardless. The few kinda-fresh-enough clothes she still had in her backpack probably deserved a thorough wash themselves, but this wasn¡¯t the time to worry about that. It could happen tomorrow; today was just one of these days she had to endure. Dan waited for the telltale sound of the door¡¯s lock engaging before taking a deep sigh and half-sitting, half-falling onto the couch, no less exhausted than the teen. He leaned his head back and looked at the TV, grumbling as he saw the game he just bought snacks for wrap up its first half. Irrelevant when compared to what he had accomplished while on that grocery run, but annoying all the same. Anywho, it was time to give a rundown about just that. ¡°^Hey dad,^¡± Dan mumbled telepathically as the old man rolled into the room. The same white cap with blue markings as when he¡¯d first met him, the same beard. One fewer leg after a lifetime of smoking caught up to him, one more wheelchair, plenty more wrinkles and liver spots. Underneath all that, the same analytic spirit, wanting to take in all the information surrounding their unexpected guest before making any decisions. ¡°~Who is she?~¡± he asked, voice as dry as an ashtray. ¡°^I ran into her on my way back. She was about to jump from the bridge between Third and Circle Drive. Talked to her, seems she has nowhere to go,^¡± Dan explained as he reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a can of beer. The old man took the explanation in before summing it up with one word, ¡°~Rough. A trainer?~¡± he asked, looking over at the Servine and Snubbull huddling up to the radiator. His son nodded in affirmation as he downed a couple gulps of cheap booze. ¡°^Yeah, but not a willing one. From what I gathered, she couldn¡¯t cut it and ended up flunking out. She¡¯s underage too, unfortunately.^¡± ¡°~Gonna be an issue.~¡± ¡°^Yep,^¡± Dan commented as he laid out the rest of his grocery spoils, plastic wrappers of store-brand savory snacks gleaming in the TV¡¯s bright light. Both of them knew there was a lot more to be said about what they would do going forward, but also that this wasn¡¯t the time for it¡ªespecially with the background noise of the shower having stopped in the meantime. A small cloud of vapor rolled out the door as Emma opened it soon after, stretching her aching body as much as she could. ¡°~What¡¯s up with that weird mon shampoo you got? It¡¯s so weird and slimy, you guys even have any mons in here?~¡± Dan disguised his surprise before answering, ¡°~Uh, we used to but not anymore. Guess we forgot to toss it out.~¡± Emma blinked, feeling a bit bad about her words as she walked over to the couch. ¡°~Sorry, my condolences¡ªoh. Uh, hello there, sir,~¡± she greeted the old man in a wheelchair, receiving a curt nod in return. He didn¡¯t seem very talkative, perfect by her. She would¡¯ve guessed him to be Dan¡¯s grandfather, if anything, but there were few things she cared about less than the exact family tree of her hosts at the moment. After all, there was a TV to gawk at instead. Once the last of the advertisements slithered away, she was greeted by a sight of what was clearly a stadium, though decidedly not one for battles. Layers of seats surrounded the all-green pitch from all directions, and instead of a single line splitting it in half, there were many white lines delineating god-knows-what. Not to mention all the humans walking onto it. That was important, too. ¡°~Some kinda human sport?~¡± she asked as she reached for the unclaimed can of beer. ¡°~Yeah, soccer. Comes from Galar,~¡± Dan answered, not skipping a beat as he pulled the booze out of the girl¡¯s grasp and replaced it with a pack of peanuts. Emma was almost too tired to notice the Switcheroo, limiting herself to an unamused look at Dan and getting a wink in response. The room was plunged into silence once the game¡¯s second half started¡ªbit-crushed commentary and crinkling of wrappers aside. It wasn¡¯t something the girl cared for much at all, but it provided a pleasant distraction, especially when accompanied by a steady stream of crunchy treats into her mouth hole. And, of course, her friends once they had dried off. One hand gently stroked Spots¡¯s tummy as the other arm held Noodles close, their vines wrapping her as tightly as could be without crossing into discomfort. It was harder and harder to keep paying attention to what was happening on the screen as the game drew to a close and the plastic bags were emptied, warmth and something meal-adjacent combining into ever-creeping drowsiness. And then, once the final whistle was blown, sleep. As much as Dan had been looking forward to this match, it ended up being a wash. 3-0, what in the world was that goalkeeper doing¡ªoh. He chuckled as his attention shifted away from the glowing screen, letting him notice the asleep teen next to him. Yeah, it was high time for some rest, for all of them. Once the trash was cleaned up and the TV turned off, Dan focused on finally undoing his disguise, maintained almost effortlessly after many years of practice. The two mons didn¡¯t catch onto that right away, too busy either trying to fall asleep or cuddling with their friend. What they did notice, though, was a pillow being psychiced in place beside them, then a blanket on their other side, and finally, their human being carefully levitated into the air. Before their surprise could give way to hostility, they heard a voice in their heads, ¡°^Just moving her so that she can sleep comfortably.^¡± Dan putting his disguise on and off a few times afterwards helped them complete the mental picture of the scene. They weren¡¯t happy for that ¡®human¡¯ to have turned out to be a mon, but they and their human were much too tired to do anything about it beyond just going along with it. Which, considering that said action comprised them huddling to their friend under a soft blanket as the pretend human flicked the lights off and left to an adjacent room, wasn¡¯t bad at all. Not at all.
¡°~Still gnawing at you, isn¡¯t it?~¡± the old man asked as he prepared his side of the spacious bed, before stopping to take his evening pills. The Hypno he called son stared at the floor beside him, expression twisting as he couldn¡¯t stop thinking. ¡°^I mean, it¡¯s hard not to think about it. Since I can¡¯t just disappear once¡ªonce you die, dad, m-maybe if she hits eighteen in the meantime... no, no, what am I even saying. I¡¯ve just fucking met her, it¡¯d be such a dumb idea, b-but I can¡¯t stop worrying about it, it¡¯s just¡ª^¡± Dan flinched at feeling a hand grasp his forearm, looking down to see his dad give the closest thing to a reassuring smile he was capable of. ¡°~Tomorrow. Another day, a clearer mind, we¡¯re not hurrying anywhere.~¡± Dan nodded, trying and only somewhat succeeding to release his tension with a deep breath. ¡°^Yeah, that¡¯d be for the best, sorry.^¡± ¡°~You¡¯ve done a great deed today. I¡¯m proud of you, Dan,~¡± his dad said, permitting himself a manly tear or two now that nobody else was looking. His son wasted no time before kneeling beside him and holding him close, trying to keep his own emotions under control as his dad¡¯s weathered, sinewy hands stroked the spot between his ears. ¡°^I love you, dad.^¡± ¡°~I-I love you too, son.~¡± Epilogue I: Changes Nesrin (+ Sage!) Mahini | @nesrinmahini12 | 13 Jun 549, 6:43pm WUT (CKT-6)
Hey, @glide2_mistralton, why did you take the episode of ¡°Humane Stories¡± you filmed with us off your upcoming schedule? https://glidenetwork.ua/schedule...
13 ?? | 14 ?? | 134 ? Nesrin (+ Sage!) Mahini | @nesrinmahini12 | 13 Jun 549, 6:47pm WUT (CKT-6)
Welp, @glide2_mistralton blocked us. Guess that¡¯s our answer :upside_down:
25 ?? | 19 ?? | 191 ? puta 2.1.5-rc7 (re¨¢l) | @c4ssIOpeia | 14 Jun 549, 4:11am CPT (CKT+3)
shit huh. hold on, I gotchu
2 ?? | 2 ?? | 22 ? puta 2.1.5-rc7 (re¨¢l) | @c4ssIOpeia | 14 Jun 549, 4:49am CPT (CKT+3)
Hey @glide2_mistralton ur supposed to change the password on your router from the default one xdd jajajajajajaja https://libreupload.kl/u/YW1vbmd1cw0K...
79 ?? | 110 ?? | 782 ?
// transcript_s6e22_wip_280449.txt [B-ROLL FOOTAGE OF LILLYWOOD] NARRATOR: Sunnyside Heights is a small, quaint neighborhood on the northwest of Lillywood, a quiet town located forty minutes away from Mistralton. It¡¯s the perfect place to raise a family, with its many playgrounds, one of the largest public schools in the region, and a pediatric hospital located smack dab in its center. As beautiful as it is, though, it is not free from the woes of human life. Last November, Sunnyside Heights experienced a tragedy when Sage Mahini, a seven-year-old boy, was found dead in confusing circumstances. It was an indescribable loss for everyone, but the mother of the family, thirty-seven-year-old Nesrin Mahini working as a microbiologist for a company based in Mistralton, had taken it particularly hard. [B-ROLL FOOTAGE ZOOMS IN ON THE FAMILY HOUSE] NARRATOR: But then, an unexpected development at the beginning of February changed everything, when a Phantump unexpectedly showed up on the family¡¯s doorstep one night¡ªand Nesrin believes them to be their lost child. Join our host, Pamela Hutchins, for this exclusive interview with the Mahini family. [INTRO SEQUENCE] [EPISODE NAME: "LIFE AFTER DEATH? "] [TRANSITION TO THE INTERVIEW FOOTAGE, SWEEP FROM PAMELA TO THE GUEST. ZOOM IN ON THE SLEEPING PHANTUMP ON THE GUEST¡¯S LAP] PAMELA HUTCHINS NARRATION: Hello, and welcome back to Humane Stories. Today, I¡¯ll be interviewing someone with quite an unbelievable story to tell, one she¡¯s been keen to tell for months now. [FADE TO PAMELA, START INTERVIEW AUDIO] PAMELA HUTCHINS: Good afternoon. NESRIN MAHINI: Good afternoon, it is a pleasure to finally have a chance to tell the world my side of our story for once. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Before we talk about what happened in February, could you talk about the aftermath of Sage¡¯s death? NESRIN MAHINI: Ahhh, goodness, it¡¯s hard to think back to that. What can I say? It broke all our hearts. I¡¯ve always tried to be there for our kids, more than I¡¯ve seen other folks in my position be, but it always came into that conflict with what it felt like I should be doing, you know that idealized image of a hardworking migrant. It¡¯s an awful, perverse one of course, but even if I knew better, I ended up kinda letting it push me into focusing more and more time on work because I was afraid I¡¯d come off as the ¡®bad¡¯ kind of migrant, a horribly racist stereotype but I guess even if I knew better it still kinda got its hooks into me¡ªand even my husband, too. [GUEST PETS THE SLEEPING PHANTUMP ON HER LAP] NESRIN MAHINI: I was busy with work most of the time; his job has him on constant work trips, you know. We had all we wanted in a way, could afford a preschool for our youngest, Aspen, but only had a couple hours a week to really spend time with our kids. I tried to take them for ice cream every weekend but of course, that¡¯s nowhere near enough, I was afraid of growing distant long before... this happened, and sometimes I feel that if I had tried to carve out more time for our kids all this could¡¯ve been avoided. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Success isn¡¯t without its costs, indeed. So, what really happened that February night? [GUEST SIGHS AND LAUGHS WEAKLY] NESRIN MAHINI: Oh goodness, so much of it is a blur despite all the adrenaline. I stayed up watching something but don¡¯t remember what; it was like past midnight and suddenly I heard knocking on the front door. I come over and outside there¡¯s this tall, homeless-looking man, a Banette, and a Phantump. And then, the Phantump started talking to me in Sage¡¯s voice, and I realized it was her. PAMELA HUTCHINS: That sounds terrifying. NESRIN MAHINI: It absolutely was. I almost ran off in terror and called the c¡ªthe police when it happened. But yes, I realized it was Sage, just too many things lined up for me to deny that, and I took her in, and afterward, the rest of that night was just kinda a blur. PAMELA HUTCHINS: That man and the Banette you mentioned¡ªdo you know who they were? NESRIN MAHINI: Oh, I have no idea. Whoever that man was, he said nothing the entire time he stood there, and I don¡¯t think the Banette did either. We haven¡¯t seen them since. Though no matter who they are, they escorted my daughter back to me, and I sincerely hope they¡¯re doing alright, whoever and wherever they are. PAMELA HUTCHINS: One spooky pair of bodyguards, if that¡¯s the case. Could you tell us what happened afterward? NESRIN MAHINI: I remember the next morning well, it was... gods, I remember waking up and thinking I had the saddest and strangest dream, I was about to cry and then I spotted Sage sleeping beside me, and only then it all clicked in place, that kind of ¡®oh [EXPLETIVE], all this really happened¡¯, you know. And then since I was less tired I just felt all this loss and sadness all at once, everything I felt when she first went missing, and I ugly cried and held her for a while and was just so happy that she was back. [GUEST WIPES HER EYES] PAMELA HUTCHINS: How did your family react? NESRIN MAHINI: My other kids were understandably shocked, though both differently. Aspen, my youngest, just gasped out loud and ran over to Sage and said how he was jealous that she became a Pokemon and I had no idea whether to cry or to laugh. That aside, he got used to it quite quickly, though kept asking for a while for her to show him some moves and she always got flustered and I had to explain to him that Sage didn¡¯t know any moves. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Does she... know any, now? NESRIN MAHINI: I¡¯m uncertain, actually. I spotted her playing in the backyard a few weeks ago, seemingly trying something out, so maybe she¡¯s trying to learn some? I don¡¯t know how this works in all honesty, we¡¯ve never owned a pokemon. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Uh huh. NESRIN MAHINI: As for my oldest, Azalea, she didn¡¯t believe it for a while. I remember us having this one strained chat a few days in. She told me I was going insane, and it hurt, but I couldn¡¯t blame her much. Though she apologized a few days later, overheard Sage chatting with Aspen, and finally tried talking to her herself, and then I guess it finally clicked for her, you know. I don¡¯t hold it against her, I¡¯m just glad she eventually got around to accepting Sage again, and now she¡¯s trying to be the best big sister for her she can¡ªeven got her into trying out some makeup recently. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Mhm. What about your husband? NESRIN MAHINI: Yes, that was a long and difficult talk between us once he got back from his work trip. He had a very hard time accepting it, kept worrying about my mental health, and couldn¡¯t believe it even after talking to Sage a few times. It took him a couple weeks to start turning around after he started running out of reasons and arguments for why this couldn¡¯t have been Sage, and he eventually got there and got over himself, but good gods these were some of the most difficult weeks of my life. We got closer to a divorce than we had ever been before. It was rough, but I¡¯m just glad he came around on Sage. PAMELA HUTCHINS: I can only imagine how shocking it must be to hear that your child has come back from the dead. Now, about that controversial part. [GUEST ROLLS HER EYES IN A VERY EXAGGERATED WAY] PAMELA HUTCHINS: You¡¯ve said many times over the past few months that you¡¯ve been on the receiving end of a lot of harassment and intimidation from the Unovan Government and the Pokemon League, correct? NESRIN MAHINI: Yes, I have said that, and that¡¯s because it has been and continues to be true. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Could you elaborate on that? NESRIN MAHINI: Well, it started when Aspen told some of his friends in kindergarten a few days after Sage came back, and then it spread fast. I received several calls, first from the kindergarten and then from other parents. At the start, they were just concerned, all ¡®Oh Nesrin, I know it¡¯s been rough on you but you should see a therapist sweetie¡¯. Then when I kept reasserting myself that yes, Sage had come back, the mask dropped real fast. I sure didn¡¯t expect to be learning new slurs at almost forty, but life is full of surprises, I guess. PAMELA HUTCHINS: What did these calls result in? NESRIN MAHINI: Not much at the start, but then it got ugly fast. Aspen would come home crying because other kids told him his mom was crazy, and I ended up pulling him from that place soon after. Then, a week or so later, I got my first visit from the child protective services people. Which was terrifying. The guy they sent kept trying to nail me with something, but the only thing he could point out was that I had a ¡®¡®¡®pokemon¡¯¡¯¡¯ at my house without owning it. The first thing I did once he left was go to the nearest trainers¡¯ supply store, buy a ball for Sage, and go through the paperwork for ¡®¡®¡®registering¡¯¡¯¡¯ later that day. PAMELA HUTCHINS: You sound rather frustrated at that. NESRIN MAHINI: Why wouldn¡¯t I be? This isn¡¯t some stray mon, this is my daughter. The way everyone keeps referring to her as if she¡¯s some object I happen to own makes me sick. I don¡¯t even want to say she¡¯s a pokemon, she¡¯s a person who¡¯s stuck in a mon¡¯s body. I could go into an entire tangent on how I¡¯ve had everyone constantly dehumanize her. It¡¯s been abhorrent. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Well, person or not, she still has the outward appearance of a pokemon. I can only imagine how much our laws would be thrown into disarray if we were to decide that ¡®some¡¯ mons are actually people, not to mention the legal mess involved with a legally dead person coming back from the dead. NESRIN MAHINI: Then it sure sounds like they should be thrown into that disarray. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Quite a bold opinion. Either way¡ªdid the harassment stop at that one CPS check? NESRIN MAHINI: Oh no, that was just the start. I constantly get mail from the state government accusing me of subjecting my children to psychological harm by claiming their sister had returned; I¡¯ve had several CPS visits since then, but they couldn¡¯t find any dirt on me. I contacted several child psychologists around the country to get their opinion in writing about whether my children were in any sort of distress or experiencing abuse, and none of them found anything. Of course, nobody actually sending CPS checks on me cares one [EXPLETIVE] about my kids; it¡¯s long since become clear to me it¡¯s just an attempt to intimidate me into silence. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Because of your claims that Sage had come back as a pokemon? NESRIN MAHINI: Yes, exactly. I¡¯ve been in touch with a lawyer about this, and while I can¡¯t publicly say anything more than that yet, rest assured that I won¡¯t let them silence us. Sage is a person no matter the body she¡¯s in, and I won¡¯t rest until this country recognizes her as such. PAMELA HUTCHINS: What about the League¡¯s response? NESRIN MAHINI: Oh, gods. They¡¯ve been just as rabid about trying to nail me with something, most often possession of a ¡®dangerous¡¯ mon without an appropriate license. But I went and checked and no, Phantump just aren¡¯t on that list! I know the list they¡¯re scaremongering about; I¡¯ve had to learn about much more trainer nonsense than I ever wanted to for this, and Phantump just aren¡¯t there! And, even if they try to add them to that list now, it¡¯ll end up affecting a whole ton of people that own actual Phantump, we¡¯re talking thousands, and that¡¯s on top of the fact that those mon restrictions, as written in law, exempt people who already owned restricted species before they were added to the list. They¡¯re grasping at the flimsiest of straws and it would¡¯ve been funny if it wasn¡¯t so frustrating and draining to deal with. PAMELA HUTCHINS: You have mentioned an increase in what you called ¡®propaganda¡¯ coming from the Pokemon League in response to the controversy surrounding Sage. NESRIN MAHINI: There¡¯s just no better way of putting it, really, as much as it sounds like I¡¯m just stuffing my brain full of tin foil. I watched the messaging on all their public service announcements shift over these past few months from what it was before the sticking point of ¡®training is only abuse if done incorrectly, make sure to do it right¡¯, to just hammering on the message of ¡®mons aren¡¯t people and are fundamentally different and you shouldn¡¯t assume they experience anything like human emotions¡¯, which is just [EXPLETIVE] [EXPLETIVE], anyway. Even ignoring Sage for a moment, look at literally any mon playing around and tell me they don¡¯t experience happiness. PAMELA HUTCHINS: What do you think drives that so-called ¡®propaganda¡¯? NESRIN MAHINI: That¡¯s the worst thing, I¡¯m not even sure! I¡¯ve been trying to be as specific in my messaging as possible once I went public with this. Some people end up reincarnating as Ghost-type mons, there¡¯s no shot Sage is the first-ever example of that happening, and we should expand our laws to accommodate those unusual, but still possible cases. From the messaging the League has been putting out in response, you¡¯d think I was shrieking about mons and people being allowed to get married or something. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Well, wouldn¡¯t that actually happen if Sage were to marry a human down the line? NESRIN MAHINI: No, because she¡¯s not an actual mon, she¡¯s a person stuck in a mon¡¯s body, that¡¯s the thing! I¡¯m not gonna sit there and claim that every single mon out there is a person, that is absurd, but there definitely are other people, like Sage, that are in mon bodies. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Wouldn¡¯t there be a risk of a slippery slope from allowing this specific group of pokemon to be considered people in the laws of the land to some of those horrible outcomes like human-pokemon marriage? NESRIN MAHINI: I don¡¯t see why there would be, assuming they care to limit it specifically to reincarnated humans. Though, hah... [GUEST PAUSES FOR ~40S] PAMELA HUTCHINS: ...Mrs. Nahini? NESRIN MAHINI: Oh, apologies, it¡¯s just... you know, the conspiratorial side of me is really starting to think that they are trying to hide something big with how disproportionate their response has been. PAMELA HUTCHINS: That is a very bold claim. NESRIN MAHINI: I¡¯m aware, and I¡¯m not trying to justify it here and now. It¡¯s just that, you know, the severity of their response almost screams guilt to me, like they¡¯re covering something that I ended up stumbling onto. But I¡¯m not gonna go into further detail on that right now, please continue. PAMELA HUTCHINS: I see. Mhm. Well, has Sage... said anything about what happened in the three months she¡¯s been gone for? NESRIN MAHINI: I have asked her a few times, but she doesn¡¯t remember much, aside from having spent a lot of time with someone she calls ¡®Yaksha¡¯. I tried researching that name, and all I found was an entry or two in some old religious studies textbooks and a couple of forum profiles that have sat dead for fifteen years. But in general, I try not to pry Sage about it. It all makes her very anxious to think about and the least she deserves is not to have to experience that fear ever again. PAMELA HUTCHINS: I suppose that¡¯s understandable. Another point that many have pointed out is that Sage¡¯s documents from when they were alive identify them as a boy, yet you¡¯ve been referring to them as a girl. NESRIN MAHINI: Yes, that¡¯s true. I¡¯ve also talked to her about this, and it¡¯s another tricky, tense subject, but she¡¯s told me she¡¯s actually always thought she was a girl, even before her¡ªher accident. PAMELA HUTCHINS: Uh huh. Has she mentioned that beforehand? NESRIN MAHINI: No, but again, I haven¡¯t been as present in her life as I wish I had been in hindsight. I can¡¯t really say to understand what drove this change, but I don¡¯t really think me understanding it or not matters one bit. It makes her happy to be referred to as a girl, and the few times she¡¯s heard someone refer to her as a boy it always upset her, so for me the choice is obvious¡ªI wanna make her happy. Boy or girl, she¡¯s my child and I love her, and that¡¯s the only thing that really matters. PAMELA HUTCHINS: But wouldn¡¯t you agree that allowing one¡¯s sex to be changed so easily would lead to¡ª [THE PHANTUMP LETS OUT A LOUD YAWN AND STARTS WAKING UP] NESRIN MAHINI: Awwww, good afternoon, Sage! [THE PHANTUMP FLOATS UP FROM THE GUEST¡¯S LAP AND LOOKS AROUND. IT GASPS AT THE SIGHT OF THE CAMERA AND FLOATS CLOSER, TAKING UP HALF THE FRAME] [THE GUEST LAUGHS] NESRIN MAHINI: C¡¯mon Sage, come back so we can finish this interview. ??????: Hello! Okay mom! [THE SOUND APPEARS TO BE COMING FROM THE PHANTUMP] [THE PHANTUMP FLOATS BACK TO THE GUEST¡¯S LAP] [PAMELA STARES IN SHOCK AND DROPS HER MIC, JUMPS AT THE SOUND] CAMERAMAN: What the [EXPLETIVE]¡ª [TODO: REACH OUT TO EXECS / TIM AND ASK HOW TO EDIT THIS PART] // end of document Prologue: Sins *clink!* The metallic sound filled the small lobby, followed moments later by the light tap of the letter hitting the wooden floor. Both noises were only barely audible over the background of scribbling crayons, canine snoozes, and the TV¡¯s ambiance, but... she heard it all the same. There¡¯s no way she could¡¯ve not heard it. Her eyes went wide as she put away the knitting needles and stood up from the couch; each step towards the door reverberated in her mind. But she had to. A shaking hand reached over to pick the letter up as she tried to fill her soul with hope. It didn¡¯t have to be what she thought it was; it could¡¯ve been something else¡ªmaybe just bills, maybe just junk mail. She begged the gods above, but they didn¡¯t listen. Her heart sank as she read the label on the envelope. Sender¡¯s address¡ªSt. Trinity Hospital in Mistralton. Still, she kept hoping. Yes, she knew she¡¯d get her diagnosis eventually, but that didn¡¯t mean it would be what she feared it was. Her odds weren¡¯t great, but they weren¡¯t terrible either. It didn¡¯t have to end with tragedy¡ª *shuffle* But it would, all the same. Her heart sank as she read the prognosis, sank and hammered so hard she could barely keep reading. The text had turned into an incomprehensible blur, obscured by first her shaking, then her tears, and last, her will. It was too terrible to face, this suffering the letter foretold. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The best they could do was treat the worst of the symptoms once they began, but by then it would already be too late. When would it happen? This year, the next, in five years? She didn¡¯t know, she couldn¡¯t know. Maybe she¡¯d just end up being lucky, the exception to the rule, maybe she¡¯d last the eleven years needed. She just had to hope things would be alright. She just had to hope she¡¯d outrun her sins in the end. The woman slid the letter back into its envelope before turning to look at the young girl scribbling on the floor in the living room. Her lips moved without making a sound, weaving silent apologies for everything her little one was too young to remember, and for everything that would still await her. Then, they turned on herself, berating herself about how she should¡¯ve tried harder when she had the chance; when she first realized there was something terribly wrong going on in her family. When she first realized what her husband had been doing to Tommy when she was too busy with work to notice. Maybe if she had noticed it at the time, called the police; hadn¡¯t dismissed her son¡¯s behavior as him just being a moody, hormonal teenager, maybe all this would¡¯ve been avoided. Maybe if she¡¯d just done that, she would be able to look at her granddaughter without guilt tearing her soul apart. But she hadn¡¯t. And others would suffer for her failures the most, once more. ¡°~G-grandma Lisa?~¡± the girl asked in her small, weary voice, having run over when the old woman wasn¡¯t looking. On her cheek, a splash of jam from the pancake she¡¯d just had. In her arms, the Fennekin they had taken home a few months ago. Lisa shuddered, trying to think of what to say, if there was anything she even could say. It was all too painful to think about, too painful to admit, even to herself, let alone to someone who shouldn¡¯t have to deal with any of this. She couldn¡¯t bear it, couldn¡¯t bear thinking about what would have to happen were she to finally face the reality before herself¡ª And so; she didn¡¯t. ¡°~I¡¯m okay Annie, it¡¯s just some bad news,~¡± the old woman reassured, wiping her tears with a sleeve of her grandmotherly cardigan. After all, maybe it would all turn out alright. ¡°~But everything will be okay.~¡± Epilogue II: Goodbye *yaaaaawn* I lay still as the last of my half-remembered dream fades away. The bed is so soft; I don¡¯t wanna move, but today is too important to sleep through¡ªnot to mention I¡¯ve likely already slept for much longer than usual... though, maybe not, considering how late I stayed up last night. I blink my eyes open, groaning at the light flooding the room through the opened sunroof, before reaching for the glasses in the corner. Used to worry a lot that Cadence or Elric would accidentally step on them when waking up, but they¡¯ve gotten better and better at being mindful of them over time. Specs on the nose, feet on the ground¡ªtime to get up. I roll my shoulders and stretch as I walk to the small, wrapped bundle stuffed in the corner, behind all my stuff. Yep, still there, still should have everything I need. Now to clean my glasses, change into something fresher, and fill my stomach. I almost never wake up first, but with how quiet the burrow is right now, I may have just woken up last, hah. ¡­and considering neither mom nor Cadence woke me up at the normal hour, they probably realized I¡¯ve stayed up for way too long. And here I thought I managed to be all covert and stuff, slowly polishing and painting under the candlelight. Oh well. I wave to the Gliscor sitting at the table as I step into the living room, and he waves back. Hah, wouldn¡¯t have ever thought his sight would become so mundane with how memorable our first meeting was. I might¡¯ve listened to Elric hype himself about his dad waking up from his hibernation any day now, but when suddenly it was just me, barely able to string together a sentence in the village¡¯s language and a freshly awoken bat my size, I can¡¯t deny that my fears kinda got the better of me. Ehh... We apologized to each other afterward, even if it took for him a while to come to terms with everything that had happened, and for me to unlearn that knee-jerk fear response ingrained in me so many years ago. And so, a fearsome, flying apex predator turned to ¡®Riddick¡¯, just like his son had turned to ¡®Elric¡¯ a few months ago. Just like everything here, in this wild corner of the woods, it had turned from shocking and intimidating to just... normal. Him living with us is normal¡ªit¡¯s his house, after all. As is none of my living family being human anymore¡ªyeah, that¡¯s just how things are. Of course, I still think back to it all sometimes, snap myself out of that daze of normalcy every once in a while to realize how... lucky I am to even be here and give everyone their appropriate share of affection. It¡¯s such a wonderful feeling, every time. I dump a few leftover pieces of fried berry dough and take a seat at the table, opposite of Riddick. I¡¯m about to start mindlessly snacking on them while letting my thoughts wander away before I remember the physical therapy, groaning under my breath. My left arm has gotten better, a lot better even, requiring just a long sleeve as opposed to a stiff cast, but... it still hurts a bit. Hurts to use, hurts to work through that pain and get it back to something approaching full strength again. Sucks, but... such is life. As my left hand grabs the second piece of the dough, the makeshift door opposite to the kids¡¯ room opens, and out walks Geiger. Nope, I wasn¡¯t last, guess at least I have that silver lining. ¡°Morning, Anne!¡± he greets me. I¡¯ve gotten better at understanding his gruff, low voice, but it¡¯s still a struggle to determine the exact tone he¡¯s using sometimes. I¡¯ll get there, I¡¯m sure of it. ¡°Hello, Mr. Geiger!¡± I reply, stringing sounds that once sounded like utter gibberish but are increasingly creeping into the corner of my brain that houses Unovan. ¡°Retain awake long you, eh?¡± he asks while sitting down. I roll my eyes as I piece the meaning together. Guess Autumn has sensed it too and told him, heh. ¡°True. Retain awake because important I. Much important.¡± I try defending myself, getting a roaring laugh out of him. ¡°Tell that me Autumn. Work about important long you, eh?¡± Indeed, I¡¯ve been working on this... project of mine for a while now. I didn¡¯t think it would be half as difficult as it turned out to be when I started, but in my defense; I knew exactly nothing about woodworking when that idea first struck me. And now, almost a month later, I know just a touch above exactly nothing, but have somehow finished that project! Well, almost. Today¡¯s the day. ¡°Yes, Moon now. Want do all I. Did almost all I. Help planks with dad.¡± He grins at me as he grabs his portion of fried dough, responding, ¡°Great work! Today more?¡± My left hand brushes the bottom of the bowl as it reaches to grab another treat on autopilot, alerting my eyes. Yep, breakfast is done, no time to waste. ¡°Today last, hope I.¡± ¡°Great great! Day which now?¡± Geiger asks for the date. I¡¯ve been trying to keep track as much as I can, but considering the village has no concept of a ¡®week¡¯, or even a non-Lunar month, the human dates are neither important nor very helpful. Heck, most birthdays get rounded to the nearest full or new moon, and that''s if the person in question even observes them. Bell''s is coming soon, mine was a few months ago. I wasn''t even planning on telling anybody, but Ember spilled the beans for me. We ended up taking rounds drawing each other and seeing who could do it the funniest. No gifts, but none were needed¡ªI already got the best gift I could''ve ever asked for. It may not be useful here, but I still keep track of the human date, even if just for myself. I answer, ¡°Day sixteen, Moon five.¡± Day of the week, unfortunately unknown; I¡¯ll have to check the calendar Mrs. Graham gave me. ¡°Thanks, Anne,¡± he replies. One of the few pieces of grammar I¡¯ve gotten a full grasp on already, and which is reasonably easy to make out, no matter who¡¯s speaking it. I dash back into the kids¡¯ room to put my shoes on before turning for the entrance to the burrow. As I walk up the steps, he sends me off. ¡°Great luck, Anne!¡± I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need it, but it¡¯s appreciated all the same.
Dad works at the other side of the village¡ªstill just a fifteen-minute walk tops, but a quick jog never hurts. My left arm aches a bit with each step as I make it through the busy streets, responding in kind to whoever greets me. Not everyone, but it¡¯s fine. Even if it took me a good while after I started settling in here to really make peace with that. Not everyone is or will be friendly, but it¡¯s fine. That would also be the case if I lived in an all-human village instead. Some people are just cold to most others, some aren¡¯t very emotional, some even dislike me for more or less justified reasons. But it¡¯s fine¡ªthere are many people here that are fond of me, and even some that are outright gregarious whenever I run past¡ª ¡°Beautiful morning, Anne!¡± Holly squeaks at me, making me jump a bit. There were at least five words in that sentence I didn¡¯t make out at all, and if there¡¯s anyone in the entire village that I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever understand in full, it¡¯s probably the Azumarill. Thankfully, with her, all I need to know is the gist, anyway. ¡°Morning Holly!¡± I reply as I jog on, wordlessly turning down her offer for a freshly baked treat. A rare enough occurrence for her to realize its importance, sending me off with a nod as I turn the corner. Anyhow¡ªyes, not everyone will be friendly with me, and I try to keep that in mind. Sometimes I really succeed at that, and sometimes... and sometimes I can indeed only try. A brief chill runs through me as I look around, slowing down to get a better grasp of my thoughts. I don¡¯t have that positive attitude down pat, not yet, and a part of me doubts I ever will, especially to a level where maintaining it won¡¯t involve a lot of active effort. Mom described it once as tending to my thoughts as a garden, being aware of what¡¯s growing in there, and plucking the stuff I don¡¯t want. It¡¯s still not easy, but it has gotten easier, especially with Ember and Autumn taking me on walks around the village all the time. The former were always r-really nice, heh... a-anyway. I doubt I¡¯ll ever be a social butterfly, but each weed with the words ¡°they will hurt me¡± written on it I pull out makes the impulse to retreat to my room and hide forever that bit weaker. Still doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll stop turning the other way whenever I see Hawthorne anytime soon, though. Even with Autumn¡¯s reassurances that she has been slowly mellowing out. I¡¯ll believe it when I see it. And... yes, ¡®Autumn¡¯. I switch to deeper breaths as I stumble upon the thought, determination filling my every step. Yes, still ¡®Autumn¡¯ and not ¡®grandma¡¯. Aria clicked, Garret clicked, even Marco clicked, but... but not Autumn, not yet. It¡¯s hard to reuse that label for someone else after all this time. I¡¯ve been hoping my current project will help with that, and hopefully, I¡¯ll find out soon. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I hear familiar squeaks as I run past the nursery, first from Jovan and Pearl, followed by all the tykes under their watch, Bell included. I¡¯m glad they don¡¯t mind me being late, but alas¡ªI¡¯m not heading there, not today. I call back, ¡°Today not, sorry!¡± as I turn the corner, chuckling under my breath at the disjointed choir of disappointed groans I receive in response. As mixed as my reception has been in the village as a whole, most kids really seem to like me¡ªand so do their caretakers. Suppose being a kid more than old enough to look after myself makes watching over the toddlers that much easier for them, even if I¡¯m no better with the village¡¯s language than the little ones. Not yet, at least. Who knows, maybe once I get more fluent, I might start helping them out in a more formal way? I already have to double as a third caretaker sometimes; I sure wouldn¡¯t mind making that more than just a running joke between myself, Pearl, and Jovan. Ow, left arm is reminding me why I don¡¯t jog often. I finally relent, dropping my pace to a calm stroll as I try to massage the aching limb a bit. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll ever feel normal again, just like I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever feel normal again. It¡¯s better on some days than others. Sometimes it feels almost like it did before my accident, other times I have to put it in a sling and bear through until mom or Autumn can help numb it. Just like sometimes I can be out and running about, and sometimes my mind decides to make me relive being stuck in that tent, blind, cold, and defenseless, with strangers arguing about whether I should be allowed to live. Sometimes no matter how much tending to my thoughts I do, it¡¯s not enough, and I spend the day drawing or reading in my room, often with Ember keeping me company. But each month, these days get rarer and rarer. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll ever leave me, but it¡¯s okay¡ªI¡¯m still getting better. What awaits at the other end of a rough patch is always worth it. As I approach dad¡¯s work site, the usual chatter gives way to the bangs of felled trees and whines of blades, be they natural or crafted, turning the timber into construction material. We¡¯ll need a lot of it, especially with the start of our big move creeping closer and closer. It¡¯ll probably take months, if not years, to complete, but the tension in the air is already palpable. I¡¯m so glad Mrs. Graham has been helping us out with it. She¡¯s helped us scope out where to move to¡ªa nondescript stretch of woodland a few dozen miles away from here, and well distanced from even the most rural of roads. Not a national park, and not being used for any hidden military compounds, either. And yes, we had to send someone and check that last one to be sure. She even suggested a way to repel any humans that had ventured over there for some reason. Mon intimidation works, but so does legal intimidation! Nothing a wire fence perimeter and a few ¡®Private Property¡¯ and ¡®No Trespassing¡¯ signs can¡¯t accomplish. Mom has been trying to keep me at an arm¡¯s length from any discussion about the specifics of the move, which I suppose I can understand. It¡¯s a lot of responsibility, and Mrs. Graham is already helping our village out with it; I don¡¯t need to be burdened with the weight of it all. Doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t get curious, though. Heh. I remember how glad Mrs. Graham was when mom helped me visit her for the first time after I ended up here. Hard not to smile as I think about this, think back to how relieved she was to see me again, more than I¡¯ve ever seen her be¡ªand how happy Leo and Luxie were, too. Mrs. Graham even came up with a rumor to make my future visitations much safer! No, I didn¡¯t disappear, of course not! CPS just rescued me and gave me a new identity! I now live far away, and only come back and visit sometime, keeping myself from being recognized. It¡¯s not a very believable rumor on its own, and I remember I couldn¡¯t stop laughing when she told me it had worked, but her explanation made sense. It didn¡¯t have to be believable, it just had to be something Mylock already wanted to believe to soothe its conscience. I''ve been helping mom learn Unovan, too. A few other people have expressed interest as well, but only she has really meant it seriously so far. She sounds really funny when she tries to speak, and she''s still getting the hang of connecting sounds to letters, but she''s trying her best, and it just makes me so happy every time. I''m proud of her. ¡°Anne!¡± dad greets me with a loud growl, all words but my name lost in the noise. I look over, catching him pulling out a stubborn tree stump with nothing but raw strength, a sight that has gone from terrifying to awe-inspiring the longer I¡¯ve known him. I wait until he¡¯s placed the mass of soil and roots off to the side, ready to be processed for whatever usable wood we can get out of it, before walking up to him. I say, ¡°Hey dad! Wood where?¡± He blinks at me in brief confusion as his individual hairs shake off loose dirt before the realization clicks together for him. He points over to a pile of logs and planks at the edge of the clearing and explains, ¡°There, behind tree they. Is home nails, hammer?¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you!¡± I answer, glad I remembered to grab everything else I¡¯ll need for this yesterday. ¡°Great! Love you Anne, I!¡± he growls in response as I lift the small bundle of planks up. Another piece of grammar I¡¯m glad I already know well. It¡¯s just words, but... ¡°Love you dad too, I!¡± His smile each time I get it right is worth all the learning effort in the world.
After I finish moving the materials over behind our burrow, I finally have everything needed to put this project together. Three carefully measured planks, a few nails, a stone hammer, and a wooden plaque I¡¯ve been painting, burning, and chiseling for almost a month now. It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s hard to look at the latter without getting a bit emotional, but I persevere. I¡¯m so close to finishing this; of course I persevere! I bolster myself again and again, but each time the wetness in my eyes creeps over faster and faster. It¡¯s hard, but I push on. My left hand hurts from holding the planks while I hammer the nails in, but I push on. I¡¯m so close. At last, the final piece of scrap metal, arguably diligently forged by Mikiri, is in. I give the entire assembly a brief shake, and it holds fast. Now, the hole. Nothing quite like a human spade in the village, but I make do with a broken piece of pottery. I marked out the right spot for this a couple of weeks ago; now all that¡¯s left is digging up a hole. Even my good arm aches by the time I make it half a foot in, but I know I have to keep going for a bit longer than that¡ªdon¡¯t want something I¡¯ve spent so much time working on to be destroyed by the first stiff breeze that rolls around. Alright, this should be enough. I pant as I stand back up, arms shaking in exhaustion. They want rest, especially the left one, and they¡¯ll get it soon, so very soon. I lift my project with all the strength I can muster, carrying it upright until it¡¯s hovering above the hole. I take a moment to line it right and lower it¡ªfits almost perfectly, only scraping a bit of dirt off from the sides. I grunt as I hold it still with my left hand, the right one busy filling the hole with soil. I need to use less and less force to hold it steady until, at last, it stands on its own. A relieved sigh leaves me as I try to fill in as much dirt as I can, stamping it down to make sure it holds my project as firmly as possible. And then; I¡¯m finally done. I lay the pottery shard and the hammer off to the side as I catch my breath. A part of me wants to scuttle away, to take my time until I¡¯m no longer winded, maybe even delay doing what needs to be done until tomorrow¡ªbut I stop it in its tracks. It¡¯s okay if I¡¯m winded, it¡¯s okay if I¡¯m not at my best, things will be alright. I hope Grandma won''t mind. I wipe my hands as I walk back over to the grave marker, shaped just like the little icon my grandma placed above most doorways. What it represents, I¡¯m unsure¡ªshe¡¯s always kept her religion to herself, only ever taking me to the local church once a year. It was always so boring and I could never wait until it ended, but now I wish I had listened even a little, even if just to know what to say now. I''m not sure how to do this next part; if I can do it the right way. I hope I can; I hope that if she really is somewhere out there, she¡¯ll be able to hear me. I close my eyes, clasp my hands just like I watched her do countless times, And pray. Hello, grandma. My expression twists as tears finally force themselves out of my eyes, tingling as they flow down my cheeks. I know it¡¯s been a while, I¡¯m sorry. A lot has happened since I last talked to you. I¡ªI never knew how to, and if I even should try talking to you like this. Tears ease out a bit as my breathing calms down, thoughts turning ever clearer. I manage to pry my eyes open again. It¡¯s been bad since you left, but a few months ago, this¡ªthis family of mons took me in. I¡¯ve been living with them since. Each breath is deeper than the last as I hear the leaves rustle around me. I could¡¯ve never imagined it. They¡ªthey took me in. Ember was already living here, safe, and now I¡¯m safe, too. I have a new mom. Her name is Aria, and she¡¯s a Gardevoir. My dad¡¯s name is Garret, and he¡¯s a Grimmsnarl. I even have siblings now, Bell and Cadence! And... a-and¡ª The harsh sobs undo any tranquility I might¡¯ve carved for myself. I flinch as if struck, my expression twisting into a grimace. I miss you. I wish you could¡¯ve met them all. They¡¯re wonderful. I don¡¯t even try to fight the tears this time, letting them flow for as long as they need to. My hands ache a bit, but I hold through it, hold through the discomfort and the tears, both of them easing out bit by bit. Each drop of wetness splashing against my shirt hurts, but all that means is that it took a bit of pain that already was inside my head with itself. It¡¯s bad now, But once it¡¯s over, I¡¯ll hurt less. I¡¯m not sure how long I stood there for, grief flowing down my face. It was probably just a few minutes, but it feels like it lasted more than that. I¡¯ve been waiting for this for so long. As the tears ease out, though, I hear a familiar, telepathic voice call out from the other side of the hill, ¡°^Hey, Anne!^¡± I pry my eyes open and look over as Cadence comes into view, her cheer fading at seeing and sensing me in my current state. She runs over with concern on her face, one that I try to dispel with a teary smile and a light shake of my head. It puts her at ease somewhat, but she still asks, ¡°^Are you alright, Anne?^¡± I¡¯m too tired for translation, falling back on Unovan as an answer, ¡°~Yeah, I-I am. I¡¯m crying, b-but they¡¯re good tears, promise.~¡± Thankfully, she doesn¡¯t doubt me, instead pulling as much of me as her arms can wrap around into a hug. ¡°^Is this that thing you¡¯ve been working on?^¡± A few more tears run down my cheeks as I answer with a slow nod. ¡°^What does it say?^ I don¡¯t mind answering, but... probably not now. ¡°~I¡¯ll tell you some other time, okay?~¡± She reassures me it¡¯s alright with firm nods and another hug. ¡°^Sure! It looks nice.^¡± ¡°~Thank you.~¡± We stand there in silence for a few minutes longer while my heart calms down and my face dries out. These aren¡¯t the last tears I¡¯ll shed before this marker, I¡¯m sure of that¡ªbut it¡¯s okay. Each deep breath and each rustle of the passing wind leaves me calmer, until I feel even better than before I started all this. That bit calmer, my soul that bit lighter. It¡¯s time to go. ¡°~So, w-wanted to drag me somewhere earlier, Cadence?~¡± I ask as I wipe the last of the stubborn moisture from my face. ¡°^Oh, yeah! Ember wants to show you a move she¡¯s been practicing!^¡± Goodbye, grandma. I hope you¡¯re happy, wherever you are. ¡°~Let¡¯s get going, then!~¡± Because I finally am.