Outbound

by mysticdragon01

Two children run from a town in increasing political unrest and set out on a journey that will change their lives.

The little Noibat known as Vauruk lay still on his bed, staring into the darkness beneath the thatched roof above him. It would be untrue however to say that he could not sleep. Had he closed his eyes and ignored the creaking of the house in the wind and the intermittent noise from beyond his bedroom window, he would have slept, as he slept every other night.

This night was different. His gaze was set, and his limbs quivered; the hay of his bed rustled along with the pounding of his heart. Tonight he chose not to sleep, for tonight was the night of his escape.

His stomach hurt in disagreement with the thought, and Vauruk winced. Many minutes he'd waited to make sure that his parents were asleep, but paranoia kept him waiting further, and every moment that passed he thought, "Now I shall go," yet there he lay. The cool night air leered at him from all around, taunting him to leave the sacred warmth of his bed.

"Now I shall go," he thought, but he made no move, and he despaired at his impotence. To gather his will, he thought once more of why he had to leave. Every day his graduation grew closer, and Vauruk knew very well what would be required of him then. Everybody knew. He would be sent off with most of his male classmates to Fort Redding, the northern most settlement of Emyria (and all of Zemmon), where he'd be subject to grueling training; then he'd be assigned to a class based on his skills and he'd be sent off to fight somewhere, never to be heard from again. That was what had happened to one of his classmate's friends. But Vauruk could scarcely take the physical education at his school, and the thought of fighting for his life made him feel ill.

He'd told his parents that he didn't want to go, of course. He'd begged, even – he'd offered to do all the chores, to clean the house and tend the garden, but his parents were firm. "It's not as bad as it sounds," his father often said. "You'll make great friends, and you'll be honoring your country." His father would also go on lectures about king Emyr the Twentieth, and how he strived to rid Emyria of the vile Pokémon – no, less than Pokémon: the Mewites. Always said with a distasteful frown. "The Mewites are attacking our land with their debased beliefs," the king said. Vauruk had seen no attack nor understood how one could attack with beliefs rather than with claw or ability, but his father had little patience for his protests. Soon Vauruk's whining was met with punishment, and he learned to keep his misgivings to himself, but they festered and grew. They had grown so much that he knew he could not stay.

"I can't stay," he thought. "I must go." He repeated to himself these phrases, hoping that like a snowball rolled in the snow, his words would gain substance through repetition. An unease gripped his limbs and his breaths shortened. He sat up. He stepped off his bed and into the cool night air. Having made this move, he felt carried forward by momentum and crept towards the window. The squeak of its hinges as he opened it was a screech in the silence of night, and Vauruk gulped. The house did not stir, and Vauruk climbed onto the windowsill and hopped out onto the grass. It cooled his feet, and his wings quivered in the crisp air. Under the moonlight the crystals of his breath were a white smoke. He looked back at the house and mouthed goodbye.

Vauruk skittered down the street, keeping low and by one side of the unlit houses. He dared not fly, since guards kept close watch over the skies. There were guards on the street too, wearing armbands of bright green, but none patrolled this little street. Aware of this, Vauruk let his thoughts wander, and for a while he felt not as though he was running away, but as though he were taking a harmless stroll under the stars. He watched the trees as he passed them and idled by the playground, where the swings shifted invitingly in the breeze. He passed then the house of one of his teachers and stalled by the mouth-watering smell of Oran Berries from the garden until at last he made it to the main road.

Without the bustle of Pokémon and the open markets, the main road seemed unnaturally wide, and Vauruk felt horribly conspicuous. He hid beneath the tarp cover of a market stall and poked his head out. Not a mon was around.

Fortunately for Vauruk, his neighborhood occupied the outer limits of the city. Had he lived in the center, where buildings were tall and packed together like trees in a forest and supposedly there was a guard for every street corner, an undetected escape would have been nigh impossible. Soon the prevalence of building and dust was behind him and he found himself amongst the fields and trails of the suburbs. Here, though his step had gained a bit of a skip with giddiness at his progress, the sheer scale of the pastures dwarfed him and it was difficult sometimes to tell whether he was moving at all.

At last he neared a wall of angled rock akin to piles of coal. The soreness in his feet made itself known, and Vauruk padded towards the wall like a fatigued runner at the end of a race.

A shrill cry thwarted his opportunity to celebrate, and Vauruk stumbled into the wall, nearly crashing into it snout-first.

"No, please!" begged a voice, young and female. "I want to see my family!"

"Quiet," said a male, gruffly. Vauruk took a peek around the corner. The bright green armband of an Ursaring caught his eye immediately, and Vauruk followed the arm to the Electrike it held down at the nape. "Where do you live?"

The Electrike squirmed and her fur bristled with static. "Let me go!"

"You know very well it is forbidden to walk outside at night, little girl," the Ursaring said smoothly. "What were you doing out at this hour?"

The Electrike stamped her feet, but the great paw that held her did not budge.

"Tell me where you live. You're not in too much trouble, but I'll need to have a talk with your parents."

All this Vauruk watched, frozen in place. Had he not heard the shout… The vainly struggling mon under that massive paw could have been him! Briefly he envisioned the scene. The Ursaring would have persisted until Vauruk had no choice but to lead him home, and his parents would gasp in horror and hover about him to check that he was all right, and then perhaps once they saw the guard and asked what happened, he would be scolded and grounded for months. Imagining all this, Vauruk trembled and watched the Electrike with pity. Yet as he did, he understood what they had in common, and the pity bloomed into compassion, and then a resolve that made his blood pound.

Without further thought, Vauruk charged forth. He fluttered up to the Ursaring who had his back to him and raked him near the eyes with the claws on his feet. It wouldn't have been painful or damaging, but instinctively the Ursaring raised his arms to shield his face, and it was then that Vauruk dropped down to the Electrike's side. "Run!"

The Electrike was on her feet in an instant and zipped off, and in a panic of being left alone with the guard, Vauruk chased after her. No more than a few seconds later he heard heavy thuds and the Ursaring's growl behind him. Fear driving him, Vauruk kept running, but the path ahead was straight and plain, leading nowhere. To the right, past the trough that lined the road, he saw trees.

"To the forest!" he gasped. His lungs burned and in the rush he could not hear himself, and only hoped that the Electrike could. He jumped over the trough and scampered up the grassy slope. With one backwards glance he saw the brown blur of the Ursaring, but then Vauruk was amongst the trees and single-mindedly focused on the path before him. The periphery of his vision darkened and each breath was a stab of pain in his chest, but he saw the Electrike by him and ran.

Then his foot snagged against a root and he tumbled, coming to a stop at the bottom of a small pit. In a heap of mangled wings and limbs, for a moment he lost feeling over which part of his body was which, but then the pain came, sharp and burning. His face warmed with tears and he let out a strangled cry.

"Oh!" The Electrike was next to him immediately and helped him straighten his wings. "Are you okay?"

Vauruk got to his feet laboriously. The Electrike looked him down and winced, and Vauruk gulped. The pain was numbing – what did she see? Was he bleeding? In spite of himself he looked down, and instantly wished he hadn't. His legs, chest, and parts of his wings were colored with blood and dirt, and the pain flared anew. He whined and shut his eyes.

Through the pain he felt a paw on his shoulder and thought it was to comfort him, instead he was pressed forcefully into the dirt. Face full of grass, he shouted muffled words into the earth, but the Electrike silenced him. "Shh!" she hissed. "The guard!"

At this Vauruk froze, and his ears perked at the stomping nearby. The vibrations rattled his teeth. Vauruk couldn't raise his head, but he felt the footfalls stop. A sniff followed. Vauruk's heart hammered so that he was sure the Ursaring could hear it, but when finally the footsteps resumed, they receded.

Vauruk deflated as the breath he'd been holding left him in a great sigh. Terror had completely muted his pain and he stood up. Everything around him was dark – the yellows and oranges of the city torches were absent, leaving only a seemingly sourceless pale glow. Vauruk looked up, but only when the breeze brushed aside the foliage did the twinkle of starlight shine through. As he calmed, the silence around them gained presence, and his nose twitched at the scent of rain and old books.

"Thanks for helping me back there," the Electrike whispered.

Vauruk turned to her. "We... we should keep going."

His injuries made it difficult to bend his limbs, so it was with an awkward shuffle that he walked. The Electrike stayed by his side. "Are you leaving the city, too?"

Vauruk nodded.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure. Far away. Out of Emyria."

"I'm going far away, too. Only… my uncle was supposed to take me. But the guards, they found out, and I had to run." Her voice wavered and was almost carried off with the breeze. "I hope he's okay."

Vauruk heard, but presently he was distracted by a tingling sensation, akin to the times when he fell asleep with his wing under him, leaving it numb. Very soon he could scarcely feel himself at all and felt strangely like an incorporeal consciousness drifting in the night. It was only somewhat frightening, as he knew what it was. In fact he had expected it, wished it to happen – in keeping with his plan to conceal his identity once he left town, he'd wanted to evolve. For the past few weeks he'd felt it as in itch in his muscles after physical training in school but he'd suppressed it, now here it was again, stronger than ever. He stayed still and closed his eyes, letting the sensation wash over him. Through his eyelids he saw a faint light, and then he could feel himself again.

That he could feel himself was not quite the correct way of putting it. If anything, he felt more than himself. For one, the ground was farther away than it ever used to be, and his limbs felt longer, almost as though he'd attached stilts to them – his balance was further threatened by the altogether new appendage behind him. Containing his breath in excitement, Vauruk examined himself, his vision much less hindered by the dark. First he noticed his wings, massive and unfurled at his side like two great sails. He followed them back to his shoulders and chest, surprisingly defined for one of his physical condition, and admired his sleek black and purple skin (now healed of his wounds) all the way down to the tapered spikes of his tail.

He'd seen Noivern before, of course, and had always thought they looked like dragons, majestic and powerful. Now he felt just so, no longer the small ruffled bird of a Noibat he had been before.

One look at the Electrike, whom he'd almost forgotten, told him that she was not as impressed. "Congratulations, but did you have to evolve now?" she said, looking about anxiously. "What if the guard saw the light?"

Vauruk grinned and puffed out his chest. "Let him come! I could take on three of them!"

"Don't be stupid! You've learned about evolution, haven't you? You feel a rush of strength now, but you're not actually that strong."

Her words did recall the memory of a school lecture about how recently evolved Pokémon were at risk of hurting themselves and others due to the misguided perception of their strength, and Vauruk hesitated.

The Electrike closed the distance that she had left between them during his evolution. "Come on, we should keep going, as you said. At least until we get farther away."

She walked ahead of him, leaving Vauruk feeling rather embarrassed and dissatisfied. His body itched for a fight, a chase, anything, but he knew she was right and followed meekly.

"Um, I never asked," the Electrike said once he'd caught up. "What's your name?"

This simple question had never given Vauruk more trouble to answer. He'd already chosen the alias he would assume upon leaving Dekasa, but to answer the question with it seemed wrong, not only because he would be lying to a mon who seemed nice, but also because she already knew he was a runaway. What was there to gain by deceiving her?

"My name is Vauruk," he said, scratching his collar with the spurs of his wings. "I'm going to go by a different name now, though, in case mons come looking for me."

"Oh, that's a nice idea, with the evolution and all. What name?"

"Morrow," he said.

The Electrike nodded as if in greeting. "I'm Flossie. I'm sorry if I yelled at you before. It's just, I… I'm a little scared. I don't know what to do."

Vauruk watched her. Though she kept her fear from her voice well, her expression betrayed her. Perhaps she didn't think that, in the spotted moonlight under the trees, he could see her. "Where is it that you were supposed to go?"

"Zeln."

Vauruk though back to geography class but had trouble remembering, and Flossie must have noticed.

"It's in Kalvad."

"That's on the other side of Zemmon!"

"Yes. I know."

Once more embarrassed, Vauruk adjusted his wings and tried to think of something helpful to say. It was doubtful she could return to Dekasa for her uncle and avoid being caught, so her remaining option was to find direction elsewhere. But even if she found it, what, would she undertake the journey alone? It became obvious what had to be done then, and Vauruk stopped and stood tall. "I'll go with you."

The Electrike stopped as well. "Excuse me?"

"I'll go with you and help you reach Zeln."

"I… No, I couldn't ask that of you; you have your own places to go, and–"

"I mean it. I have nowhere else to go, anyway."

She frowned and looked him over like she had when he'd fallen. "I think this is still the evolution talking; all muscle and no brain. Look, thanks for the offer, but–"

"Hey, I have plenty of brain," Vauruk argued.

Flossie gave a frustrated sigh. "This is serious!"

"I am serious! I want to help you."

"Why?"

"There's no reason, I mean… As I said, I don't have anywhere else to go, so I might as well go with you."

The lines of doubt on Flossie's face softened slightly. "Fine, I guess. I don't know what to say. Thank you."

Vauruk smiled broadly and resumed his pace. "Don't mention it."

As the forest grew thicker they had to pay further attention to where they tread, especially Vauruk, who in his larger form often had to maneuver through clusters of trees and duck under hanging branches. Before long it became impossible for him to progress, and they were forced to take a turn until they reached a sparser area.

"Um," Flossie said, as if their prior conversation had been ongoing, "if you do go with me, I don't think you can do your new identity thing. Word will spread that an Electrike and Noibat left Dekasa, and if we stay together, I'm pretty sure mons will know it's you even if you evolved and changed your name."

Vauruk thought for a moment and realized she was right. His tail drooped a little – Morrow was a name that had taken him a great deal of deliberation to decide upon. But such deliberation was only a memory now and did not now have the significance it had to him then. "That's okay," he said with a shrug. "Maybe I'll still get to use it sometime."

"And another thing." Flossie jerked her head forwards. "Do you know where we're going?"

Vauruk halted as though the question had caught him by surprise. Hastily he looked around, but there was nothing distinguishable about the trees before them. It could be miles to go before the end of the forest or a mere few yards; he could not tell. "Ah," he said, tapping the spurs of his wings together. Flossie groaned. "I could try flying up to see which way to go!"

"Good idea." The Electrike glanced at his wings and then squinted into the foliage above. "Hey, I don't suppose… Do you think you could carry me?"

Thus the following few minutes were dedicated to awkward attempts of Vauruk trying to figure out a way to carry her. At first she tried to climb onto his back and hold on there, but her feet impeded the movement of his wing membranes and he found that he could not properly flap his wings. Next Vauruk had the idea of holding her with the claws of his feet, but it was difficult to take off this way and several times he accidentally tightened his grip too much, eliciting pained yelps from the Electrike. Finally they agreed that their efforts were fruitless, and Flossie waited on the forest floor while Vauruk climbed to the canopies.

The moment he emerged from the leaves, it was as though he'd taken a breath of fresh air for the first time in his life. The entirety of the sky was open to him, speckled and brilliant, and the entire world was silent in awe. His wings itched to breathe as well, and so he spread them and ascended into the clear night. Like water the cool wind gushed by him, and so transported was he as he dove and twirled that the world became a vortex of color. What bliss it was, to soar through the air with such command! He felt as though he could match the speed and grace of the birds of legend. Certainly any previous flight of his had been naught but the flittering of a Zubat compared to this.

It was then that the memory of what he was supposed to be doing nearly struck him out of the sky. Swiftly, but not too swiftly as he was a little reluctant to face Flossie's inevitable rage, he swooped down towards the opening in the foliage from which he'd taken off. Sure enough, the moment he'd descended enough to be visible from the ground, he was met with an explosive hiss like that of an Arbok – it was incoherent yet he understood: "Vauruk!"

Shivering, he stalled on the branch he clung to and looked down at the Electrike, whose fur bristled and sparked. How could such a small mon even make such a noise? Vauruk dropped down to the grass and kept his back against the tree as Flossie was instantly in his face.

"What on earth took you so long?!" she seethed.

Vauruk feared she would jump up and bite him, and withdrew behind his wings. "I was… ah…" Distracted was the word, but embarrassment held his tongue.

"I was scared to death down here! I thought you left! Any longer and I might've given up waiting, and then!"

In the ensuing minutes Vauruk was kept against that tree, and Flossie made sure he was aware of every way in which he'd done wrong. Vauruk could have ignored her and tried to move on, but as he stood there with his sensitive ears angled away from the verbal lashing, he felt discouraged from movement by an emptiness in his stomach. It was a fleeting sensation at first, but once he'd noticed it he could not stop noticing it, and soon it felt as though his stomach was gnawing at him from within. In fact his stomach growled so loudly that it interrupted Flossie's rant.

"Right," she said, her voice suddenly tame. "Mons get really hungry after evolution. Well, did you at least see where to go after all that time?"

He had seen where to go indeed, and he led them northeast. His companion said no more, though if she had he may not have heard – his thoughts turned to home. In the past, whenever his mouth watered for the taste of food or his wings shivered with cold, he would scamper home and snack on berries and pastries by the warmth of a kindled fire. His desire now was to do the same, and the realization that he could not left a gaping hole within him. How did one even come by food and shelter? He thought hard. His parents bought food at the market with money. They got their money at their jobs. How did they get their jobs?

Glumly, Vauruk looked to see whether Flossie had reached a similar dead end, but her pace and expression were steadfast, unreadable. Judging by the lack of any sort of bag on her, she too possessed no money.

Vauruk tried to find comfort in the gradual illumination of the forest, but then he noticed that it was not the glow of dawn that was responsible, but a flickering hazy orange like that of the torches and lanterns on his street. "Do you see that light?" he whispered.

Flossie narrowed her eyes and shook her head, but every step they took, the lines of shadows behind the trees in front of them boldened, converging rays pointing to a single origin. The two Pokémon exchanged glances, and neither of them moved.

"Do you think we should…" The Electrike trailed off, as though enthralled by the light.

Vauruk positioned his head in various places, trying to gain a line of sight through the trees. "Let's see what it is."

Adding measure to their tread, they crept forward. The wall of trees before them thinned until it pulled apart like a curtain, and they found themselves in a clearing just wide enough to snugly fit a small house. The house itself was plain yet charming, and it reminded Vauruk of pictures from books he'd read as a child – a neat thatched roof, pastel painted walls, and an alluring warmth and smell of bakery that radiated from within. Vauruk's tail swished and his stomach grumbled. How had he not seen such a quaint house from above?

Without willing it his legs took him forth.

"Wait!" Flossie hissed, and Vauruk was yanked back by his tail. He whirled round disconcertedly. "Are you sure it's safe? What if the mon who lives there turns us in or something?"

Vauruk looked at the house again. It seemed perfectly innocuous. "Or maybe they can help us," he said.

At that moment the door swung open with an inviting creak. The interior was only briefly visible before the white and emerald shape of a Gardevoir moved into the doorway, her gown flowing about her and her eyes shining from behind her hair. "Hello," she said. Her voice sounded like the soft notes of a musical instrument and Vauruk inched forward as though to hear better.

"Hello," he said. He felt almost afloat, but he checked and his wings were at rest by his sides. "Ah, sorry to bother you, ma'am, but… could you help us?"

"Of course!" The Gardevoir smiled a smile that warmed Vauruk to the core. "It's terribly late, and you two look quite tired – come in, come in."

Vauruk hadn't thought he was particularly tired, yet upon hearing her words he realized the weight of his limbs and it was all he could do to keep from dragging them over the grass as he stepped forth eagerly. The Gardevoir beckoned and retreated into the house, leaving a cold void in the doorframe that Vauruk strived to fill. But a paw stopped him.

"I don't like this," Flossie whispered. "Something doesn't feel right."

The claws of Vauruk's feet were already on the floorboards of the house, a welcome change from the rough uneven terrain of the forest. "We won't be long. We'll just rest a bit and then be on our way."

The Electrike sighed and joined him, and he closed the door. The nearby crackle of a fire and a warm scent drew him through the corridor left of a narrow staircase and into a cozy parlor, carpeted and furnished with padded chairs and a table facing a glowing fireplace. In the far corner the Gardevoir was arranging items by a counter topped with bowls of food.

"Make yourselves comfortable. But please don't touch anything; I've only just reorganized."

Vauruk treaded slowly through the room, taking care that his wings and tail didn't accidentally disturb the flowers on the windowsill or the little trinkets and items displayed on the cupboards and shelves by the wall. Presently he approached one of the chairs but upon reaching it he found, to his surprise, that it was quite small, and he could not fathom how to sit on it. So he moved onto a bit of carpet by the fire and dropped to his haunches. Flossie hopped onto to a chair beside him. Then the Gardevoir returned to them with a plate of berries. She set it down and sat across from them. Nothing was said for a while, and though Vauruk's stomach grumbled and his mouth watered, he thought it would be indecorous to simply begin eating. That was until the Gardevoir urged them to dig in – then Vauruk grabbed a handful of berries and munched happily.

"My apologies, I have yet to introduce myself!" the Gardevoir said, and Vauruk looked up from his food. "My name is Shaye. Who might you two be?"

Flossie did not answer, and so Vauruk had to quickly swallow the Oran Berry he'd been savoring. "I'm Vauruk, and this is Flossie."

"Nice to meet you. I can't help but wonder – what brings you out here at this time of night?" Vauruk hesitated and caught a meaningful glare from his companion. The Gardevoir tilted her head. "Are you travelers perhaps? Hmm… you seem a bit young for that. Have you lost your way?"

"We are kind of lost, yes," Vauruk offered. He tossed another berry into his mouth. "What cities are close by?"

The Gardevoir tapped her chin. "The two closest cities are Dekasa and Isra. I imagine you must have come from one of them."

"Which way is Isra?"

"Ah…" Shaye rotated herself like a compass needle. "Once you leave the door, straight right, out the forest and past the fields."

Vauruk tried to draw a map of the region in his head and imagined a cross labelled Isra where he though the city would be, but he realized his mental map was woefully incomplete and frowned. It wasn't that he didn't have geographical knowledge – he knew the names of Emyria's major cities and neighboring countries like any good student at his school would, and the name Isra did seem familiar to him. Traveling to these locations, though, was a different matter entirely. Fortunately the Gardevoir's instructions seemed simple enough, and Vauruk nodded his head in thanks.

The scent of the berries before him caught his attention anew and Vauruk set to work on devouring them. From the corner of his eye he could see Flossie glaring at him, but he couldn't tear himself away from the plate on the table, which Shaye replenished every time it grew empty. It seemed to Vauruk that the more he ate the hungrier he got, until at last the plate was empty and Shaye looked at him, flustered. "I'm sorry, that's all the food I have," she said, and he couldn't help but let his ears droop. Her eyes widened and she moved suddenly to the doorway. "Maybe there's still some in the back."

She disappeared into the corridor, and Vauruk sighed and patted his belly. With no food in front of him, it was only now that he began to appreciate how much he'd eaten, and feeling rather bloated he let his head loll forward.

"Vauruk!"

Vauruk jumped and his wings spread reflexively. He felt one strike something and lifted it to see Flossie.

"If you're done stuffing yourself, can we get out of here?" she hissed, rubbing her nose. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Huh, what are you talking about? I like the house, and Shaye seems really nice."

"A little too nice, don't you think?" The Electrike leaned in, as though the Gardevoir were eavesdropping. "Why is she awake and so willing to talk at this time of night? And why is there such a draft in here when the windows aren't open?"

Vauruk paused and stretched the membranes of his wings. "I don't feel a draft."

"You're right by the fire, you're warm. Come here."

He stepped closer to her, near the center of the room, and true to her word a breeze made itself known by ruffling the fur on his collar. Vauruk checked to see that the windows were closed, and indeed they were. "Maybe they're not closed right," he said, more so as a placeholder as he examined the windows. "Or maybe there's cracks, or…" His voice trailed off. He'd reached out to test the window latch, but his wing spurs continued to move past the glass as though it weren't there. Letting out a muffled shriek, he yanked his wing away from the wall and staggered back.

"What just happened?" Flossie gasped, glancing at his wing before dashing to the window.

"S-Stay back!" Vauruk cried. His wing felt numb and he pressed it to himself as if to make sure it was real. "It's an illusion – a ghost house! Let's get out of here!" Knocking over a chair with his tail, he scrambled towards the door but almost ran straight into the Gardevoir.

His instinct was to flee, but upon seeing Shaye's slight figure and the fear evident on her face, he stood tall, matching her height. "What's going on here?" he demanded, giving the Gardevoir as stern a look as he could muster. It seemed effective, as she put her hands to her face and her eyes glinted with tears. Feeling in control now, Vauruk advanced. "Who are you really? What is this place?"

The Gardevoir sniffled and buried her face into her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean any harm, I swear!"

Here Vauruk was unable to maintain his intimidation act, and he turned uncertainly to Flossie, who offered only a shrug. He lowered himself to Shaye's level. "Ah. Please don't cry. Just tell us the truth."

The Gardevoir let her hands drop and gazed at them morosely. As she did, her face began to change – her skin faded to the dull gray of ashes after a fire, and her body bent to a slouch, as though weighed down by the blood red mane that sprouted from her head. Like the onset of winter her dark transformation spread to the floorboards, draining them of their color and etching into them the lines of age. The walls too suffered this fate, disintegrating or disappearing entirely until but the corpse of a house was left. All that remained in the room was the chairs, the tables, and the fire, its dim light evading the shadowy corners and bleeding instead through the broken roof and out into the night.

Vauruk's head swam as his eyes adjusted.

"Please don't be scared," the Pokémon said. She held out her palms in what must have been meant to be a placating gesture, but it brought to Vauruk's attention her claws, which were, like her mane, blood red.

"Who are you?" Flossie demanded. Vauruk, utterly mystified by the foreign creature before him, was grateful that she had decided to speak.

Slowly, the strange Pokémon straightened somewhat, though her back remained curved and her eyes downcast. "My name is Shade. I'm a Zoroark. I know it must be shocking to see everything change, but please believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you or deceive you, I just…"

She seemed unable to continue, and Flossie prompted, "Just what?"

The Zoroark sighed a sigh of utter hopelessness. "Scarcely anybody ever comes around here. And those that do… they fear me, and they run. I just wanted to make you like me, that's all."

"Of course you're going to be lonely in the middle of the forest," Flossie said, critically. "Go to a city or something."

"You don't understand, this is my home. I've lived here for my whole life, and I promised my father that I'd take care of it."

Presently a bit of dust fell from the battered beams above, and Vauruk bit his lip. It would have been rude to point out that the place was in shambles.

"This place is in shambles," Flossie said. "I'm sorry but if you've been caring for it, it doesn't look like it. Maybe it's time for you to move on and find somewhere else to go, take care of yourself for a change."

Vauruk tensed; he thought for sure that the Zoroark would be upset, if not enraged. Shade did nothing but close her eyes and nod her head sadly. "I can't. I can't leave this place."

"Well, you're doing this to yourself." Flossie turned to him. "Come on, Vauruk. We should go."

The Electrike stepped towards the exit – though they could have probably left through some of the gaps in the walls – but Vauruk's stomach knotted at the thought of leaving the Zoroark alone. Yes, she looked foreign and ghostly and the illusions still made him uncomfortable, but she also looked like she would fall apart at any moment, just like the house. "Maybe you should come with us," he said, approaching her. She opened her eyes, teal and shimmering. "I know you promised to care for the house, but it doesn't seem like there's anything you can do. You did your best."

Vauruk could feel Flossie glaring at him, but he ignored it and watched instead the Zoroark as she wrung her wrists. "I don't know," she said. "What if everyone's afraid of me, or hates me?"

"Hey, you're not that scary. You didn't even give us a chance to see the real you when we first met! And where we're going, no one will know you. You can start again, without hiding behind illusion."

For an instant Vauruk thought he saw her face brighten with hope, but as soon as it came Shade shook her head and drew back. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't." There was a flash of light so glaring that Vauruk had to shield his eyes, and then she was gone. The house fell into utter silence, save for the morose crackle of the flames. Vauruk stayed still for a while, facing the spot where Shade had been, and then let his wings sag.

"You tried," Flossie said. "As sad as it is, she might be beyond help. Living alone for however long she did would be enough to break anybody."

Vauruk sighed and turned around. "I guess you're right."

"Come on, we should be going."

And so they went. Departing from the house was like waking from a dream, and indeed the sky outside was tinged with hints of morning. The whole experience left Vauruk quite sullen, and thus it was only at a modest pace that the two of them walked in the direction the Zoroark had given them. At first they had to continue weaving through clusters of trees, but very soon they set foot upon a trodden path. It crossed perpendicular to where they were headed but it gave Vauruk hope that they were near the edge of the forest, and he wondered whether that path didn't somehow lead from the house to the forest's exit. They stayed true to their original direction however and lumbered on.

The cracks of twigs and grass roused Vauruk from the trance of his mindless stride. His ears twitched, and his immediate thought was that somehow the sounds were coming from the steps of his own feet, or Flossie's – he looked to her, but she seemed asleep on her feet. Then he felt the cracks punctuated by a thudding of the earth. The sensation was eerily familiar to him, but in his drowsiness he could not place it. He shook Flossie.

"Wha… What is it?" she mumbled.

At that moment a massive blur leapt in front of them, nearly knocking him over. Vauruk stumbled back. It was the Ursaring. His breaths were loud and rugged and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Stop," the Ursaring said. He seemed to catch his breath quickly, and stood before them, tall and unmoving. Vauruk froze. "For your own sake, stop. This is not a game. It is forbidden to leave town without permission. Come back with me, I'll have a talk with your parents, and we can put all this behind us."

Vauruk was afraid to look away from the Ursaring, but the more he looked at him the more he noticed: the guard didn't seem that tall anymore. Vauruk's muscles thawed and he shifted his stance.

The Ursaring's gaze fell directly upon him. "Don't be foolish, boy. Come quietly."

Vauruk's tail wound around his leg, and Flossie's words from earlier resounded within him. What was he thinking, trying to stand up to an adult guard? And yet, the sight of the Ursaring fueled him with defiance. Could they really outrun him this time? What else was there to do but fight?

"We're not going back," Vauruk said.

The Ursaring shook his head. "You would leave your family? Your country? For what?"

Vauruk knew what his reasons were, yet suddenly they didn't seem worth saying aloud.

"You're only children, and you've got nothing on you. You won't survive out there. Come home."

Finally, Vauruk and Flossie shared a glance. Fear and doubt were evident on her face. Vauruk swallowed and turned back to the guard. "No."

The Ursaring sighed. It almost sounded like a growl. "I can't let you leave." He took a step forward.

"Run!" Vauruk shouted, but instead of running, he planted his feet and angled his wing spurs forward offensively. That was all he had time to do before the Ursaring slammed into him with great force. The wind was knocked out of him, as well as any notion of retaliation, and just like that it was over. Vauruk felt himself flipped onto the ground and his wing was pulled violently upward.

A tremendous pain flared in his shoulder, and frantically Vauruk thrashed his feet and tail. "Ow, ow, stop!" he cried. "I give up! Stop!"

"Relax; don't fight me," the voice above him growled. "Keep still."

The pressure on Vauruk's wing eased slightly, enough for it to stop feeling like it'd be torn off. Vauruk ceased his thrashing and let himself go limp. A limb pressed against his back, and seconds later he felt something wrap around his neck. It constricted suddenly and Vauruk choked.

"That's to keep you from running away," the voice said. In a panic Vauruk tried to claw at the thing around his neck, but his wings were still held back. He coughed and sputtered until finally he could breathe. "I'm going to let go of you now. Get up. No sudden movements."

The lasting pain in his wing made Vauruk scared to move, but a tug against his neck urged him otherwise. Slowly he rose to his feet, never daring to make eye contact with the guard.

"Now then. Where could your friend have run off to?"

Only fleetingly did Vauruk raise his gaze from the ground, but it was clear that Flossie was gone. She was probably well on her way out the forest now. He wished to feel relieved that at least she got away, but fear and resentment were heavy on his heart. The rope around his neck made him feel like a criminal. Was he a criminal? Would he be jailed? He felt sick. The horrible things he'd heard of jail – confined to one grimy room with the floor for a bed, all alone, until his skin hung off his bones and his mind was dashed with madness.

A tug on his leash almost made him fall forward. "Answer me," the Ursaring said. "Any idea where she might have run off to?"

"No," Vauruk answered quickly. Maybe if he cooperated now, he would be forgiven.

"Are you sure?" The guard moved in front of him, and Vauruk brought his wings to himself. He had little choice but to look at the Ursaring then. "You know, you're in huge trouble, but if you help me, it'll make things easier for you."

Vauruk's heart thumped and words leapt eagerly to his tongue, but at the last moment he gnashed his teeth together to avoid blurting out the very city where Flossie would be going. He shut his eyes as if to block out the temptation to answer. As much as he feared jail, he couldn't do that to her.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Vauruk shook his head fervently.

"Very well," the guard said disapprovingly, and once again Vauruk had visions of a dirty jail cell. The guard gave the leash another tug. "Come on, then."

The last thing Vauruk wanted was to further upset the guard, but he found himself rooted to the spot. The thought of returning to Dekasa like this was unbearable, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Ursaring, who had begun walking but stopped when the leash was taut, turned his head back. "Move."

Vauruk tried, and looked to the guard in a panic. The guard pulled harder and harder, until Vauruk toppled over and caught himself by stepping forward. The motion brought him right before the Ursaring and Vauruk flinched, expecting to be scolded, but when he raised his head, the guard was staring past him.

"What on Zemmon is that?" the Ursaring gasped. His fur was on end and his voice cracked with fear, and Vauruk wheeled round. There was nothing. Suddenly the Ursaring leapt back, dropping the leash. Vauruk watched him with utter bewilderment but the guard seemed to have completely forgotten about him.

"By Arceus, run!" the guard shouted. He dropped to all fours and vanished into the forest, leaving leaves spiraling through the air in his wake.

Now Vauruk was afraid to move for entirely different reasons. He peered through the darkness. Was something out there? Something he couldn't see?

"Psst!"

Vauruk jumped. His beating heart was almost too loud for him to search for the source of the voice, but then he saw it – the green and yellow fur he'd almost mistaken for autumn-colored leaves. "Flossie!" he gasped, his voice barely audible. His eyes stung with tears and he rushed towards her blindly. "You came back!"

"Quick, this way," she said, and without a thought he joined her. They ran for a while – Vauruk was still in a daze from all that had happened so he couldn't tell how long – and it was only when they stopped past the lip of a small hill that he noticed a third figure with them.

"Shade," he breathed.

"Shh," she said, and then she drew her arms around him. Vauruk shivered and stared blankly forward, until he felt the leash around his neck loosen. It fell to the ground and Shade tossed it aside. Vauruk watched it until the Zoroark gently cupped his face in her paws and redirected his gaze to her. "Are you all right?"

Her touch was reassuring, but he could not relax. "What was that?" he asked, his wings twitching anxiously. "There was a… a thing! The guard was terrified!"

"That was an illusion I made to scare him off," Shade said. "Don't worry, you're safe."

"But… how?" Vauruk blinked and looked to Flossie.

The Electrike averted her gaze and pawed at the ground. "After I started running and saw that you stayed, I ran back to Shade for help." She shook her head. "You shouldn't have tried fighting. I told you. You could have really gotten hurt."

"I wanted to buy you time," he said, though there was no conviction behind his words. Ultimately he'd accomplished nothing, but the pleasant tingle of a scratch behind his ears lifted his spirits a little.

"Now, now, don't blame yourself," the Zoroark said, stepping back. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Vauruk tentatively raised his wings and clasped his wing spurs together. It seemed surreal that only a few minutes ago he'd been apprehended by a city guard and led back to Dekasa, and now he was on the run again. He'd only just managed to tame his panting, and it was as though his emotions had failed to keep up and now he felt nothing.

"You don't look well," she remarked. "Perhaps both of you would like to get some rest?"

The idea of rest sounded nice, and Flossie nodded. "I'd love to," she said, "but where? Isn't it risky for us to stay around here?"

Shade raised her paw as though answering a question at school. "I can hide my house to unwanted outsiders."

The mere memory of the fireplace and the carpet and the food had Vauruk eager to return to her home, but Flossie stood still. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you helping us? You don't know who we are or why we're out here."

"That's true, and I do hope you can tell me a little about what is going on, but how could I not help a couple of children wandering through the forest in the middle of the night? And…" She fiddled with the fur of her mane. "It's been a while since someone's shown me kindness. It's only right for me to return it."

Flossie maintained an impartial stare for a while before letting her shoulders slump. "Okay, let's go back."

Vauruk shared her relief; the more they talked it about it the more he longed to lie down and sleep. And sleep was all he could think about as the three reached an agreement and began their slow and wary walk. Shade said she would hide them with her illusions, but it was best if they treaded softly lest the Ursaring was nearby. Vauruk felt that he should be afraid of the guard still, but he wasn't. So groggy was he that he could hardly focus on anything at all.

When finally they returned to the house, it was as inviting as a luxurious mansion. The gaping holes in the walls were irrelevant to his half-shut eyes, and Vauruk stumbled into the doorway. The darkness provided by the sparse shade guided him into the awaiting embrace of the carpet by the fireplace.

"Are you sure you're comfortable there?" said a voice as he flopped onto the carpet. Whose voice it was took too much effort to ascertain. "You can use my bed if you want."

Vauruk grumbled in a way that would answer the question satisfactorily.

"I guess not," the voice concluded. "And you, Flossie?"

Somewhere beside him, Vauruk felt the thud of another Pokémon hitting the floor.

"You must be very tired. I understand," the voice whispered. "Good night."

At those words, Vauruk let himself recline against the carpet. Good night. It didn't matter that it was almost morning. With his eyes closed and his mind dragged into the lull of slumber, he could pretend he was home. His mother had just wished him a good night, and he'd told her the same. Tomorrow would be another day at school. He'd see his friend Lam, and – well, history class would be no fun, but it would be all right. It would also be the last day of the week so they'd have his favorite berries for lunch. In fact the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to fall asleep so that the next school day would come. With a smile, he bunched together some of the hay of his bed under his head, and when he couldn't, he rested his chin on the spurs of his wings. Then he slept.