Quick Note: Eiphos Aki gifted me another image capturing a moment from my fic. I soooo badly want to show it off here, but as we know, FF no likey links. The image shows my duo and Chet as they trek up the hill to the Drenched Bluff cave. I would have cropped it so I could make it the temporary display pic, but it would unfortunately cut out too much, so I would rather not ruin the picture by doing that. The best I can do is give you her DeviantArt screen name: jujube-lee
Now, back to your regularly scheduled update!
It was a short walk back to the guild. Despite the fact that we were a bit worn out from the dungeon, Sonchar couldn't wait to report to the Guildmaster. He was still worried about how Chet was faring, especially since he had to return to the guild alone while we stayed behind and walked back ourselves. But there was nothing we could do about that, so we decided to focus on the fact that our first mission was a success.
The sun was just starting to set when we arrived in front of the guild.
"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" a familiar muffled voice announced as my partner stepped onto the grate.
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Sonchar's! The footprint is Sonchar's!" It seemed that we had been through this process enough for them to recognize us by foot. I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.
"Hi guys!" Sonchar cheered as he shouted below.
"Hi Sonchar!" Dominic returned the greeting. "Kamon with you?"
"Yep, he's right here. We're back from our mission!"
"Oh, that's awesome! How did it go?"
"It went great! We're just now getting back-"
"No fraternizing while working, SENTRY!"
"Wah!" Sonchar stumbled from the all too familiar shouting, and I had to catch him before he tripped and stepped into one of the holes.
"I'm not surprised that THEY'RE goofing off, but I expect more professionalism from YOU, Sentry Diglett!"
"Sorry, Sentry Loudred!"
"The gate's open!" Louis announced. "And next time, wait until we're off duty before you stop to chat, rookie!"
"Sorry!" Sonchar squeaked as he hopped off the grate.
"Why can't we have one interaction where I don't want to punch him in his big mouth?" I asked rhetorically.
"Heh, yeah…" Sonchar chuckled nervously at the "joke" as we walked through the opened gate. We climbed our way down to the lobby and walked to the desk where Isabelle was speaking with Daisy.
"Oh!" the Chimecho said as she noticed our arrival. "Be with you guys in one minute! Just need to finish up with Daisy really quick."
We stood there waiting as the two finished their conversation. Though we stumbled late into it, from what I could gather, they weren't really talking much about guild business, but rather were gossiping about others, a certain loud-mouth getting mentioned every so often. Sonchar, antsy about wanting to report our success, was bouncing slightly in place. Daisy seemed to notice his impatience, as she decided to be the one to end their discussion.
"Omigosh, I'm sorry, guys!" she squeaked. "I think we should catch up later, Belle."
"Okay, I'll see you later, Daisy!" the Chimecho waved off the Sunflora with her nub of an arm. "I'm so sorry I kept you guys waiting. Did you come to turn in the pearl?"
"Yep!" Sonchar exclaimed as he dug the item out from the treasure bag and set it on the desk.
"Oh, and you made sure to protect it too!" Isabelle observed as Sonchar unwrapped the item from the scarf. "That was very thoughtful of you to do! I'll go and let Lt. Rowkin know of your success. Think you two can wait here and hold on to the pearl while I go talk to him?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Sonchar affirmed, taking back the item for safekeeping.
"Thanks! I'll be back in a bit!"
Sonchar and I stayed at the desk while the Chimecho went to fetch the Lieutenant. As dusk started to approach, it was almost eerie how quiet the usually lively guild was. Save for the two of us, the room was entirely empty and devoid of any activity. With all the excitement of the last couple days, I wasn't sure if things always started to settle around this time, or if today was just a quieter day. I supposed I would learn more about the routines the more time I spent at the guild.
Isabelle returned shortly after, informing us that Rowkin would be joining us soon, only to leave as she had to get started on preparing dinner. The Lieutenant apparently flew out from one of the guild windows to fetch the client Spoink personally.
"Ah, you two!" we eventually heard him greet as he hopped and fluttered down each step of the stairs. "I trust you have good news to report?" Following him was a small, grey Pokémon with stubby arms that moved by bouncing on a spring-like tail.
"We sure do!" Sonchar answered, proudly displaying the prize of our journey.
"Oh, thank you!" the client bounced in glee as she retrieved the gem and placed it on top of her head. "This pearl is life itself to me! I am so happy to have it back!"
"You're welcome!"
Having gotten her item back, she merrily bounced her way back up the steps as she left the guild.
"How is that thing not falling off her head?" I asked in disbelief, and Sonchar could only shrug in answer. Actually, what I should have been asking was what the point of this whole show was if that was all she was there to do.
"Well done, you two," Rowkin praised. "I am pleased to see that you two were successful."
"Thank you, sir!" Sonchar beamed. "It was pretty intense, but we got it done!"
"So I see. Would you mind giving me some details on how it went, though?"
"Oh, sure! Um, let's see here…" Sonchar took a moment to gather his thoughts and recount the events before explaining. "So, we got there after an hour or so of walking. When we arrived, Kamon led us up the hill to the bluff so that I wouldn't step in the streams so much."
"That was certainly thoughtful of you," Rowkin turned to me and complimented. I shrugged, as I didn't really think much of it at the time.
"Yeah!" Sonchar agreed enthusiastically despite my nonchalance. "And when we got into the dungeon, we were ambushed by some Shellos! They, uh, shot a bunch of Water Pulse attacks at us from far into the pond and we couldn't fight back… I was pretty worried there, but Kamon pulled us out of there pretty quickly! They weren't much of a big deal after that, since we knew not to get ourselves cornered like that again."
"That was some good quick thinking," Rowkin once again complimented. "Those Pokémon are pretty weak, but those water attacks certainly would have built up. And it was very wise to learn from that mistake so you would not be in that situation again."
While I appreciated the words of praise, it didn't really seem like a huge deal. Obviously, when we were in a position where we couldn't defend ourselves, the best course of action would be to retreat. But I wasn't going to argue with the Lieutenant, especially since this was one of the few moments where he seemed to be genuinely pleased with us. Instead, I nodded and let Sonchar continue.
"There wasn't a whole lot that happened after that. We went through a couple more floors and got into a couple more fights. I was nervous at first with all the water attacks, but they were pretty easy to beat up close. I got in a few good hits every now and then, but Kamon took care of most of them."
It was getting a little embarrassing how much Sonchar doted on my contributions. Wasn't it the sensible thing for me to do? Of the two of us, he was the one at a disadvantage in the dungeon. It only made sense that I would carry a little more of the burden. Regardless, I had to admit that it felt nice to be appreciated and noticed, and I did smile genuinely at his praise. But there was one thing-rather, a few things, but all of them related-that he didn't mention about our mission, and I didn't see Rowkin letting that go unnoticed.
"It's good to see that you two were able to adapt to your situation," Rowkin said. "I said it before, but I knew with what we saw of you that you would be just fine. However, I noticed you haven't mentioned anything about Chet."
That didn't take long.
"Oh, yeah…" Sonchar said uncomfortably.
"Was he of help to you two?" Rowkin asked, but somehow I figured he knew the answer.
"Y-yeah," Sonchar stuttered his answer. "He, uh, let us take care of things like you asked, and, uh, he…"
Sonchar looked to me for support, but what was I supposed to say? I wasn't the best at conjuring up stories on the spot, and it wasn't like I could chime in if I was.
"So, you weren't going to tell me about how you saved him from a Lileep?" Rowkin accused. "Or how he ended up eating an oren berry and got himself sick?"
"Oh, uh…" Sonchar hesitated. "D-did he, uh, tell you about that?"
"Yes, he did," Rowkin answered matter-of-factly. "He said he didn't think you two would want to give me bad news about him. And he didn't want you to be in a position to where you would try to cover for his mistakes."
He also probably didn't think that Rowkin would lead Sonchar into having to make that choice.
"Oh…" Sonchar looked down sadly, not wanting to look the Lieutenant in the eyes. "Sorry… I, uh, I guess I know how he feels, you know? I was like that a lot, and still am, really. I guess I didn't wanna be the one to ruin his second chance."
"I understand," Rowkin surprisingly assured. "If there's one thing I love about this guild, it's the comraderie each of our guildmates shows one another. Even those that can be standoffish and those that like to give the newcomers a hard time, they will all have your back when you need it most.
"However, while I understand that is what you were doing, I need you to understand why it is essential that you are honest with the Guildmaster and me. If we were to send Chet off to do something dangerous when he wasn't ready, not only would we be putting him in danger, we would potentially be putting clients in danger. When we send a guild member off to rescue a client, or when we give them an escort through a dungeon, they are entrusting us with their lives and well-being. If they were to become injured or worse, Arceus forbid, not only would we have that on our conscience, but the guild itself would be in danger."
"Th-the whole guild?" Sonchar asked, shivering.
"Correct. If we were to lose clients while on the job, we would lose the trust of anybody that would want to utilize our services. And rightfully so."
"I, uh… I didn't think about any of that…"
"I know. And I realize that I may seem harsh and over-dramatic." He was able to read my silence well. "But I want to ingrain this into you now while you are still new here. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"
"Y-yes, sir," Sonchar answered. "And I'm sorry for n-not being honest."
"That's good to hear. And you?" Rowkin said, looking toward me, and I nodded. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other. And don't worry about Chet. He understands that when it comes to adventuring, he still has much to learn before we can send him on his own. And I realize that sheltering him too much hasn't been doing him any favors. The Guildmaster and I will figure something out so we can nurture his hidden talents."
"How is he doing, though?" Sonchar asked, concerned. "With, uh, the sickness and stuff."
"He will be fine. He just needs a day or two of rest and to let it pass through him. And he… told me that most of it is probably already out of his system already." Rowkin made a face of disgust as he alluded to the poor Bidoof vomiting.
"Y-yeah, it probably is," Sonchar looked only equally disgusted despite having witnessed the event. "But, uh, glad he'll be okay."
"Anyway, now that we got that lesson out of the way, it's time you two get your reward for your mission."
"We get a reward?" Sonchar perked up, not anticipating the prize. "I thought it was just our guild work."
"Well, that is true. You are expected to perform jobs that our clients bring in for the guild. However, we like to make sure that you are compensated for your time and effort. As for your mission… It looks like Spoink paid two thousand Poké for our services."
"W-what?!" Sonchar asked incredulously. "T-two thousand?! Kamon, can you believe it?!"
"I take it that's a lot?" I asked, not grasping quite how much that was.
"Are you kidding? We're practically rich!"
"However," Rowkin jumped back in, "your portion of the earnings will be 200 Poké."
"Wait, what?" Sonchar asked, suddenly deflated. "That's all we get?"
"That is correct," Rowkin confirmed. "That is the standard protocol for Normal Rank explorers."
"B-but that's only 10%! We did the work, so shouldn't we get more of the earnings?"
"Bite your tongue!" Rowkin admonished, his tone much less understanding than during his previous lecture. "How much do you think it costs to maintain this guild? Or to make sure you are all well fed and have a warm place to sleep every night? Not to mention, how do you expect us to be able to compensate your guildmates that don't go on missions, but still work hard every single day to make sure you have the opportunities you do without any expectation of the recognition you ungrateful lot receive?"
Sonchar gulped as he was chewed out, not daring to talk back again. I had to fight my own urge to step in, as I felt Rowkin was being more harsh than necessary, even if his point had merit.
"Nothing to say, then?"
I once again had to stifle a huff.
"N-no, sir. I, uh, guess I didn't think before talking."
"Not a good habit to make, explorer. Now, dinner will be prepared within the hour. For the time being, Team Blazing Aura, you are dismissed."
"Y-yes sir."
Rowkin hopped toward the ladder, but turned around before stepping on it. "And one more thing, Kamon," he said, and I looked up to give my attention. "Please for the love Arceus, take a bath so we don't have to deal with that aroma while we eat. Thank you."
"Well, that was unnecessary," I said once he fluttered down to the second lower floor. I looked toward Sonchar, who was looking anywhere but at me. "... Is it really that bad?"
"Um…" Sonchar hesitated, and I was suddenly self-conscious at his reluctance to answer. "I, uh, didn't wanna say it, but…"
"But…"
"You, uh, kind of smell like a wet dog?"
I deadpanned in reaction to the comparison.
Sonchar chuckled nervously at my silence.
"We were just at a watery dungeon, and I can't really help that I sweat when I exert myself," I said snidely, but with a playful smirk. Thinking about it, did fire types even sweat? Or would that only end up killing them?
"Yeah, I know. I guess I don't really sweat much myself, being a fire type and all."
"Huh," I vocalized for the first time in a while. 'I guess that answers that.'
"But, uh, sorry if that was rude," Sonchar said with a hand on the back of his head. "I was just teasing, you know?"
"I know," I answered. Anything to lighten the mood after Rowkin sabotaged it, I supposed. "I wasn't really offended, and it probably was an apt description of me. But I'll go wash off. Can you take care of the bag for me?"
"Yeah, no problem," Sonchar answered, taking the treasure bag from me after I put my dog-smelling scarf in it. "See you when you're clean."
Splitting up from my partner, I made my way to the washroom to take a proper bath for the first time since my rebirth. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that the soap I had used was actually Daisy's, and that it would emit a flowery fragrance. If I wasn't self-conscious before, I certainly was at dinner when Louis kept on laughing and telling me how "pretty" I smelled.
"I don't know who it will be first, but I swear I'm going to punch him or Rowkin in the face at some point," I said in irritation of the Loudred's teasing.
"Kamon!" Sonchar whispered loudly in response, but had to stifle his own laughter at my frustration. The others turned to look at us, but looked away when they noticed my discomfort.
I huffed, trying to decide between the Loudred's big mouth and the Chatot's tiny beak, which of the two had the more punchable face at the moment. I instead settled on sulking while picking at my food. Maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but I really didn't like so much attention being drawn on me when I couldn't speak for myself. I certainly wasn't going to use Sonchar as my proxy for a petty squabble.
Other than Louis being more insufferable than usual, dinner wasn't particularly eventful. Rowkin took a moment to praise us for our performance in front of everyone, for which we received a slight applause, along with a "whoop de doo" from the Loudred that was securing his spot on top of the "punchablility ranking."
Once we were finished, before going to our own dormitory to turn in, we checked in on Chet to see how he was. As we looked into his room, we heard a loud snore, indicating that he was sleeping soundly. Deciding it would be best not to disturb him, we proceeded to our own room.
"What a day, huh?" Sonchar asked as he stretched out onto his bed.
"You could say that," I said as I plopped down onto my own pile of straw. "Was it everything you hoped it would be?"
"Yeah!" Sonchar answered excitedly. "It was so much fun! I mean, it was a little scary having to deal with all the water attacks, but they weren't really all that tough! Especially with you there taking care of most of them. I, uh, actually felt a little bad that you were doing most of the work."
"It wasn't a big deal," I shrugged, but I meant it. "It was pretty exciting, and it seemed like the right thing to do."
"I know, but I am still glad that I know I can count on you."
I smiled genuinely once again at his faith in me. "I'm sure you would do the same if the situation was reversed."
"Y-yeah, I would," Sonchar said, sounding a little uncertain. I looked at him curiously, and then he elaborated. "It's just, uh, that I hope I can have your back just as much as you did. You're obviously way better at fighting than me, you know? That's all."
"You sell yourself short sometimes," I tried to reassure. "For someone who was at a weakness, you stepped up pretty quickly. I don't even think they got a hit on you."
"Heh, I guess," Sonchar responded. "But anyway, I was pretty bummed out when we found out how little we got of the earnings. But it was worth it to see the joy on Spoink's face."
Yeah, the "joy." I wasn't sure if I should be the one to break it to Sonchar, but-
"I just hope it'll be the same reaction when it's not a staged mission."
Never mind. "So, you did realize that."
"Of course. I know I can be naïve and gullible sometimes, but I'm not THAT stupid, Kamon." He stuck his tongue out and laughed, showing he wasn't really offended.
"I know you're not. You just never called it out like I did."
"Yeah, but, uh… I don't know if Chet realized it was staged, you know? At first, I mean. They gave him the same mission, but he seemed, well, legitimately surprised when he realized it happened again. I think he eventually figured it out, but I really don't think we should be the ones to tell him if he didn't, you know?"
"You're probably right. But if you did know, then why did you want to look through the entire dungeon?"
"I guess I just wanted it to last longer. If we just went to the end of the dungeon, we wouldn't really get to experience much of it. But, uh, I probably shouldn't have insisted on that, since we probably could have gotten Chet out of there before he decided to eat that berry."
"Hey, there was no way you could have known that would happen," I tried to assure.
"Yeah, but that's just hindsight, you know? Oh, by the way, kind of a big subject change, but I was wondering if I could ask something."
"Yes?"
"Do you, uh… remember anything?"
"Anything from what?" I asked.
"You know, about your, uh, past. Before you became… Has anything surfaced yet?"
"No…" I answered despondently. "I mean, there are sometimes certain feelings and instincts I can recall. But almost everything feels so… unfamiliar, I guess."
"I see," Sonchar said, radiating sympathy in his expression. "Heh, I remember when you first woke up, before we knew that we could speak. You seemed surprised by what the sun was, and I guess about a lot of things. It seems like that wherever you came from… maybe it wasn't the best place?"
"I don't think so," I answered. "All I knew was that I was stoked when I saw the sun, after I nearly blinded myself by intelligently looking directly at it. When I try to think back to wherever I was, all I can picture is… just darkness."
That wasn't the entire truth. As I thought about it when he asked, I did vaguely recall that I was not alone. There was someone who I was with, someone that was important to me. Important enough that when I acknowledged my friendship with Sonchar, I felt as if I was replacing them. Whoever it was, was I just as protective over them as I was for Sonchar? Were they just as loyal and supportive to me as he was in the few days we had known each other? As much as I tried, nothing about this individual would surface in my mind, and I felt like a terrible person for forgetting and moving on so quickly.
"Don't think too hard on it," Sonchar said, noticing my discontent, even if he wasn't sure exactly what it was regarding. "I'm sure more will come in time. But it looks like it's really bothering you."
"Yeah…" I answered, but then nodded once I realized he didn't understand my single word.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to feel that way. I guess the last couple days, we were so focused on getting accepted into the guild, so I didn't want you to think I forgot about you."
I nodded again.
"Don't worry. Soon, I'm sure we'll be able to find out more about your situation. I mean… I don't really know how to, if I'm honest. I'm not really the most worldly Pokémon there is. But I do believe that we'll find some sort of clue the longer we're at the guild."
"Thank you," I said. As before, the gratitude of the sentiment was genuine. Yet, with him being no more knowledgeable about my situation than I was, I wasn't going to get my hopes up anytime soon. There was nobody who I could confide in that I knew would be able and willing to help me. And I wasn't going to risk my own safety and freedom, let alone Sonchar's if it became known that he was harboring me, on that gamble.
"We should get some sleep," Sonchar said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I don't know what they'll have in store for us tomorrow. But I know that I'm gonna be out of it after working out this much today. And hey, maybe if we beat Louis up, we won't have to get his wake up call in the morning."
"Okay," I chuckled slightly as I agreed. "Goodnight, Sonchar."
"Goodnight, Kamon."
As expected, Sonchar drifted off shortly after closing his eyes, and I was once again left to my thoughts in the familiar darkness of the night. I certainly was grateful for my friend's assurance, and believed that he would truly be there for me in whatever capacity he was able to be. But that only did so much in making me feel any less lost. Other than my own lost memories, there was so much that I was ignorant about in this world. There were little things, like what kinds of berries were safe to eat and what types of soap were more "masculine," which were pretty easy to pick up. Then, there were other things about the larger world I didn't know about. I wasn't even sure what the name of the region I was living in was called, what the laws of the land were, and how things like that were even decided. Everything I knew about the world was isolated to this guild and a few of the places surrounding it.
It certainly wouldn't hurt to talk with Sonchar about these things. At the very least, a little more knowledge about the world would at least help me understand it and fit in better while I learned about myself. And besides, if so much time passed and I was unable to learn about who I was and where I came from, I could always make a place for myself here. For as long as my partner was willing to stick by me, I would at least not be alone.
I sighed, looking at the aforementioned Chimchar as he slept. I supposed that while sulking and feeling sorry for myself, I should take some time to appreciate what I did have. I truly was lucky that he was the one that found me on that beach. Were it anyone else… I shuddered to think of what would have happened to me. I only hoped that he knew how truly grateful I was to have him with me as I found my place in this world.
Author's Notes
So, this was sort of a filler chapter as I closed out the rest of the day after the dungeon mission. As such, not a whole lot happened, so I'm hoping the huge amounts of dialogue weren't too boring. We at least got a little bit of characterization from Kamon, as well as him getting tormented by a few of the guild residents, so hopefully that made up for it? Oh... Well, maybe next chapter will make up for it, and those who've played the game should know what's coming next!
I was also a little lazy this last month when it came to maintaining the buffer, so I'm down to a couple chapters. Since not a whole lot happened here, I'll make sure to post the next chapter on schedule regardless. However, I'm hoping to at least have another one finished by the next update and that I won't have to start extending the time frame again. We'll see what happens.
