Authors Notes and other tidbits can be found in my profile.

The sky was nearly cloudless, illuminated by the bright sun far above and somewhat hidden by the forest's canopy. I paused in that moment, leaning back against a tree slightly off the path. It was almost assured that I would reach my destination in the next hour or so, but I still wanted to keep ahead of the others following this road.

I inhaled deeply. The air here tasted different, somehow, and the wildlife was different entirely. The small faces of buneary, bidoof, and pichu peeked out from behind the trees and slakoth perched further up in the trees. The calls of taillow and starly and the soft rustling of the trees and tall grass added sound to the scene.

I sighed peacefully and pushed myself off the tree. There was plenty more time to admire the scenery, but it was best to be on my way. The dirt path was packed hard under my boots and it was easy, steady going.

Sometime later the trees began to thin and the pokémon's calls began to fade. The sound of rushing water was faint at first, but it started to swell the less trees there were. I reached a stretch of water spanned by a wooden bridge. I started across, a smile spreading over my face. My destination was just ahead.

Several pichu scurried off the path as I continued and quickly came to a great gate. It was open to let the new students in, and I stood outside it for a second to appreciate what it had taken to get to this moment in time.

I carefully put a boot over the threshold, smiling even wider before moving on with more speed. I practically bounded up the steps to see the great building before me.

The prestigious Ranger School in Almia stood in front of me. The grounds stretched rather far before dropping off into short cliffs, and the three-story school overshadowed a smaller building to my left most likely used for storage or outdoors type lessons. To my right was a small set of cliffs and a couple small fences and crates. Some of the students that had already arrived and a few small pokémon were playing or sitting on the grass, but my sights were set on the school. Only a couple people glanced at me as I crossed the grass.

I headed toward the large double doors, framed by a set of columns, and went inside. Right by the doors was a small registration table, behind which was a woman. I headed over to her, and she smiled and said, "You're sure ahead of the crowd. What's your name?"

I handed her a slip of paper I had been keeping in my pocket, and her eyes flashed with realization. "Oh, you're – " she started to say, but she stopped herself. "Well, head on up to the third floor, then," she said after a somewhat awkward pause.

I nodded and left. Up on the third floor I got my dormitory assignment and my class schedule. The caretaker, Ms. Janice, told me that there would be a tour near sunset for that day's new arrivals. The school year was due to start in a few days, and about two-thirds of the students that were going to arrive were already here. Most of them were likely outside, but I went and dropped off my things before joining them.

There were exactly two kids in my dorm – one was reading and the other was putting up posters. I found my bunk, which happened to be the top one, and kicked off my shoes before climbing up to survey it. There was a set of folded sheets at the foot of the bed, and I had to pretty much climb around on the frame to put the sheets on. While standing on the ladder, I dumped the contents of my pockets on it. I had only taken three storage cubes, but that was all I needed to fit all of my clothes, some books, and the necessary school supplies.

Frowning a bit, I tucked the storage cubes under the pillow before deciding that was good enough unpacking for now.

Going back down three flights of stairs, I headed out to the grounds. The lady at the registration table smiled at me, and I returned it. I took a bit of ground near the stairs that nobody had claimed and sat down, just feeling the breeze on my face and the heat of the sun.

A while later, a pack of maybe five kids came up the stairs, chattering excitedly. I lazily opened my eyes at the commotion, and the others already on the grounds drew up to the new arrivals.

One broke off from the group and approached me. I cocked my head slightly; I didn't remember this kid, but he evidentially remembered me. He looked rather distinctive, with short tawny hair and intense gold eyes.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, not giving me any time to react before barreling on, "You're that kid that came in late at the first camp, aren't you?"

I winced slightly, but nodded anyway. There was a two-week 'festival' every year spanning from Almia's largest city, Pueltown, to the Ranger School, as the new students came in at the harbor and walked from the city to the boarding school. Typically, one would come in on a boat around midday, explore the city for a little and spend the night at Pueltown's Ranger Base, then head into Vien Forest the next morning and walk until reaching the first camp, which was manned by a couple rangers. There was a second camp in Vien Forest, and another night would be spent at Vientown's Ranger Base, then it was about a half-day walk to the school, which meant it was roughly a four-day journey. Students could arrive directly at the school by a flying pokémon, a swimming pokémon, or a family owned boat, but it was kind of frowned upon.

I had thought I could make it to the first camp rather than stop at the ranger base, and had arrived at the first camp several hours after dark. Dangerous pokémon like ariados and shiftry came out at that time, and the ranger on guard had chewed me out before letting me in, which half the camp had seen – which was luckily only about three students.

The boy had a huge grin as he asked, "What, did you not stop at Pueltown?" At my reluctant nod, he said, "You must've made pretty good time, then! I started out pretty early morning from Pueltown's base, and I made it in right before dark – of course I was distracted by the pokémon kind of easily. Come to think of it, I only ever saw you at night – I guess you stayed ahead of the group pretty well. Say, my name's Rudy, what's yours?"

Already somewhat dreading his reaction, I pulled out my ever-present pen and pad of paper and wrote my name along with the message, 'I'm mute.'

Rather than the poorly disguised pity and awkwardness I was used to, Rudy asked, "Does that mean you know sign language, then?"

I nodded, and he said, "Cool! I've always wanted to learn, but I was kind of busy with Almian – ought to know the native language, right? Maybe you could show me some, since we're going to be classmates all year. Oops, the rest of the group left – I should go get registered. Bye!"

He left with a hasty wave, which I nearly forgot to return in my shock.

Well then. Maybe I wouldn't be as lonely as I thought I would be in this school.

I stayed outside for a good while longer, and in fact the sun was setting when I headed in. Most of the other students had already gone inside, and it was a good deal colder than it had been, but the sun setting over the forest was almost too pretty to tear myself away from. I almost missed the tour, but Ms. Janice was just starting when I slipped behind the rest of the group. I could see Rudy's spiky hair at the front of the group.

The first floor was the most interesting, with a large library, a gym that connected to a pool, and the staff room. We were introduced to our principal, Lamont Splendidocious, a rather old man who preferred to go by his first name, and a couple of the teachers, one of which was the woman from the registration table. The second floor only had classrooms, which were empty at the moment, and the third floor contained a cafeteria, the dormitories, and a large common room, with several tables, chairs, couches, and a TV.

Ms. Janice concluded the tour with some cheerful words and bustled off, leaving today's arriving group to disperse. Lights out was in an hour or two, so I abandoned the common room and went to my bunk. There were a couple shallow drawers underneath each bunk, so I pulled both of them open, stored my boots at the end of the bed, and climbed up to start unpacking.

I shoved two of the storage cubes in my pocket and left the third on the bed, carefully pressing the button and letting it expand. Fully extended, the box took up nearly the entire bed. I opened the lid gingerly so as not to bang it against the wall, and started laying clothes in the drawer. My two school uniforms went in the one closest to the ladder, as it was easier to reach, and the rest of them went into the other drawer. After hitting the button again, the empty, shrunken storage cube went in the back. I took a book out of the second cube before storing the last two alongside the first.

I read on my bunk until lights out. I had to stop at a good part in my novel, but I put it away with a light frown before changing out of my day clothes. About half an hour later, when I had almost drifted off to sleep, a hand reached up and shook my shoulder. I almost rolled over and ignored it, but instead I peered over the railing at a kid with a small flashlight.

There were a couple other kids moving quietly, so I sighed and got up, thankfully not slipping on the ladder. About five kids exited the dorm, others waiting out in the quiet common room. Moonlight filtered in through the windows and the group was about evenly divided between students with excited, mischievous grins and those who had been woken up.

"All right, new kids, welcome to the Test of Courage!" a boy with dark hair whispered excitedly. "We're continuing this proud Ranger School tradition by sneaking out eight student stylers from the staff room and hiding them around the school. We've got a couple extra stylers in case you run into any pokémon – I'm sure you all remember the entrance exam – and the challenges might even involve capturing. We'll be sending you out two at a time; one of you will get the first floor and the other will get the second floor. You'll get a partner that's already done the challenge and might even be kind enough to give you hints, but other than that, you're on your own!

"Here is your test: gather the four stylers on your floor and place them in front of the door to the basement room!" he finished with a flourish.

I almost turned around and went back to bed right then and there, but these kids looked serious about it. If they went through it, I guess they weren't letting anyone else get out of it. Six of us had arrived that day, and the first two kids and their partners were sent off quickly. The group settled down after that, and the couches filled up as the flashlights were turned off.

It took about forty minutes for the girl that had been sent to the first floor to return, triumphantly setting her loaned styler on the table. The dark haired boy congratulated her, and the student that had gone with her disappeared back downstairs, presumably to reset the challenge.

The girl that had been distributing stylers to the new students approached me, another girl beside her. "You're next. When Roma gets back, you set out with Soleil," she said, gesturing to the light haired girl beside her and smirking. I wondered what would happen if I just refused to do it, but it would probably be less tiring to go along with it. How hard could it be, if the all the students that had arrived earlier had already done it?

It was another few minutes before Roma returned, and by then the boy that had gone to the second floor had returned. His partner was going down to reset the second floor when she came up and talked to the dark haired boy.

Without prompting, I stood up and stretched. I went over to the table and picked up the styler that the girl had left. I didn't have anywhere to put it – there was usually a holster on the uniform, but I was in a t-shirt and sweatpants to sleep along with my hastily shoved on boots. Barely pausing, I simply held it in my hand and started down the stairs, Soleil hurriedly shadowing me.

I paused again at the first floor, surveying the space and waiting for Soleil to catch up. While I had time, I flipped open the display and extended the glowing blue control rod on my loaned styler. I sent the capture disc forward a few feet before activating the capture line and drawing a small circle, which vanished when the loop completed.

Everything seemed in order. The styler was the ranger's tool to capturing pokémon, and the control rod allowed the ranger to move the disc around. Pressing a button activated the capture line, or the blue loops of light that communicated feelings of friendship to pokémon. The styler was missing some energy, presumably lost by the girl who had used it earlier. There was a recharging station on each floor, but Soleil caught up with me and gave me a narrow eyed stare. I smiled at her, teeth glinting in the dark, and set off at a more sedate pace for the library, sure I could manage even with the lost energy.

There were four stylers to find before I could go back to bed. There were four 'main' rooms on the first floor – the library, the gym, the pool, and the staff room. It was logical to assume that one styler would be in each room, but if that didn't turn out true then I could check the changing rooms, bathrooms, closets, etc.

I took in the library as I quietly pushed open the door. The place was dark and deserted, of course, but I could still see by the moonlight coming in through the windows. Two bidoof were sleeping in the corner, and a couple of crates blocked the way between the shelves. I went up and started shoving one crate forward to give me enough space to slip between them.

"You're supposed to use a target clear, you know," Soleil mumbled, quirking an eyebrow at me. I paused and looked at the sleeping bidoof, then shrugged. They were sleeping soundly, and I was nearly done, anyhow. I slipped between the crates, using my momentum to shove one crate a little more and give Soleil further room to walk through. I went ahead of her only to find another set of crates blocking the path.

Frowning, I tested the crate by shoving my hands against the top. It was sturdy, and rather tall, coming to my waist. I pulled myself up and stood on top of it, trying to spot the styler.

"Get down from there! If that breaks, you'll hurt yourself!" Soleil half shrieked, barely keeping her volume at what could be called quiet, her eyes wide. I waved her off, then saw metal glint ahead. It was hidden high on the shelf, but someone had left a ladder a few feet to the left of it.

I signaled for Soleil to wait, and jumped off the other side of the crate, landing quietly. I shoved my loaned styler in my waistband, moved the ladder over, then climbed up and snagged the first hidden styler, returning to the ground and climbing back on the crate before triumphantly waving both stylers at her.

"Give me that," she muttered as I jumped back down on her side. "I have pockets."

I handed over the challenge styler, keeping the loaned one in hand. I lead us out of the library and chose our next destination, the gym. Unfortunately, I didn't take proper caution in entering, and several small things dive-bombed me as I walked in.

I let out a silent yelp and flicked out the control rod, sending the capture disc hurtling forward before veering back to circle around the creatures above my head. I dropped to the floor, keeping the styler steady and continuing to draw loops with quick flicks of my wrist. The group of zubat was caught in record time, but the styler informed me that it couldn't hold all four at once, as student stylers could only keep track of three pokémon. I released a zubat at random, watching it carefully, but it only fluttered back up to the ceiling to resume the nap I had apparently interrupted. The other three hovered placidly beside me.

Soleil came in through the door after me, one of her eyebrows raised. "That was an impressive capture. You got all four at once? And fast enough that you didn't take any damage," she said, a faint smirk on her face. I simply glared at her, my heart thundering in my ears from the fright.

"Hey, it's not like you've been asking for help," Soleil added, and I simply put more venom in my glare before turning on my heel and heading across the room. The styler was on the exercise machine furthest from the main hall entrance. If a student didn't want to capture the zubat, they'd have to sprint across the room and grab the styler before running back out, though the distance was lesser from the pool entrance.

I shoved the new styler at Soleil, who added it to the other one in her pocket, and headed for the door to the attached pool. There was another door to get to the pool from the main room, but since we were already in the gym I figured I should get it over with. I poked my head in extra cautiously, noting the lone squirtle next to the pool and the perfectly smooth water.

I released the remaining zubat before fully moving onto the tile covering the area around the pool. Soleil followed me in, and I looked around, searching for a glint of metal to hint at the location of the styler.

"Look in the pool," Soleil advised.

I went forward, peering downward, but keeping a wary eye out in case she was trying to shove me in. The water was glasslike and showed my reflection, but underneath that I could see a black box in the center of the pool.

Looking up, I found the squirtle again and flicked out the control rod, this time looking over the display. The usual home screen was gone, as the styler's sensor had locked onto the squirtle as soon as the blue rod had extended and changed to the capture screen. It showed the pokémon's species, type, sex, and approximate strength, along with a blank bar that filled according to the progress of the capture.

Turning my attention back to the squirtle, I sent the capture disc out. The squirtle eyed me but only started firing off water when the capture line began to loop around him. Whenever the water came close to the line I would either shut the line off or jerk the disc away just in time to avoid damage. I completed the capture without losing any energy. I crouched down next to the squirtle and looked at the pool. Gently patting his head, I pointed at the box at the bottom of the pool with my other hand.

Slightly confused by the lack of verbal commands, the squirtle glanced the pool then back at me before diving in and swimming to the bottom with powerful strokes. He grabbed the black box with both hands, and though his arms didn't go all the way around, he was able to hold onto it as he kicked his way back to the surface and presented the box to me.

I took it from him and flicked the latch open. No water had leaked into the box, and a student styler rested inside. I took it out and smirked. Putting everything but my loaned styler down, I patted the squirtle again and released him. I left the box by the pool and handed the new styler to Soleil before heading back out to the main hall.

The last room was the staff room. It was divided loosely, with a long table presumably for meetings to the right and a lounge type place to the left, complete with chairs, couches, small tables, a coffee maker, and a fridge.

A pichu stood right in front of me, a smirk on its face and a styler held in its paws. Nobody moved for a second, but as Soleil came up behind me, we simultaneously burst into action.

The pichu scrambled away even as I flicked out the control rod and sent out the disc in a single smooth motion. It was easy enough to catch her in a loop before she managed to go around the table's edge, and as the blue light encircled her, she fell back and attempted to shock the line. I dropped the disc, completely avoiding the lightning, and it only took a few more loops to capture her.

The pichu trotted over, offering me the styler with a grin. I took it and passed it to Soleil, carefully petting the pichu and not minding the small shock I got in return before releasing her.

"That's all four," Soleil said with a relieved grin. "You know where to go next, right?"

I nodded. Ms. Janice hadn't showed us the basement on our tour, but I had seen the staircase leading down, right next to the one to the second floor. The air grew slightly colder as Soleil and I descended the steps. A small, weak-looking fence that barely came up to my hips blocked the hallway. I gave Soleil a flat look. She returned it and gestured up to a sleeping zubat on the ceiling. My eyes narrowed before I turned back to the fence. It looked too flimsy to vault over, too tall to step over…

Wait. Was it even attached to the floor? I gripped two of the slats and lifted, pulling the entire fence up and turning it sideways, flat against the wall. It wasn't even that heavy – of course they wouldn't have the time or the means to make it a real obstacle. How did they even get all those boxes in the library?

Soleil let out a silent huff of laughter and we continued down the hallway to a nondescript door. Soleil handed me the stylers one at a time and I put them in a pile at the base of the door. I stared at the four stacked up stylers, expecting to feel some sense of accomplishment.

Nothing. I was too tired for this.

I turned around and went back to the fence, resetting the challenge for whoever came next, and went back to the third floor with my loaned styler in hand and Soleil in tow. I plopped the styler on the table, ignoring the muttering and the surprised look on the dark haired boy's face as he got up and came over.

"Um, that was fast. Really fast. You're done?" he asked, looking at Soleil for confirmation. She nodded, raising her eyebrows at the other.

"Well. Good job," he said, looking a little nonplussed.

I nodded at him before going for my dorm, ignoring anything else. I kicked off my boots at the base of my bunk before scaling the ladder and finally curling up in the sheets.

Sleep came quickly.