Though the Snivy was nearly awake, the rest of his body still felt like it weighed a million pounds. He allowed the final vague fragments of a dream to dissolve for just a while longer before the prying sunlight beamed through his eyelids and warmed the side of his face. Turning over didn't seem to help, the sun just bounced off the other side of the room. After a few more wishful moments, Vallion finally gave up and opened his eyes to the unrelenting golden glow. A yawn escaped his throat as he obliged muscles yearning to be stretched.
Vallion scanned the room while waiting for his eyes to fully adjust. The space was taken up by a homely clutter, the kind that neither of them really bothered cleaning up since everything was technically organized. The most static objects of the whole room were a simple low-laying desk and a closed wooden chest which had been shoved into a corner. They were even starting to bury the walls with pinned illustrations and maps. It was difficult to make out what location each chart represented at first glance, though there was definitely some noticeable improvement as his eyes traveled across them all. Each place still managed to pull out a seemingly distant memory from his cloudy thoughts.
A soft murmur pulled his attention away from the wall and towards the other bed in the room. The Fennekin inside shifted about for a moment before deliberately tumbling onto the floor with a soft thud. With her back to the ground, she let loose a mighty yawn and stared up towards the Snivy with an tiny inverted smile.
"Mornin', Val," Panne's voice was grainy enough that she almost sounded like a different person. While she cleared her throat, Vallion mirrored the way she rolled out of bed and tumbled down in a similar fashion. Their gazes met in an upside-down world. Another yawn erupted from within him and popped his jaw, but it was her fault this time.
"The briefing's probably soon. Look at how far up the sun is on the wall," The Snivy grumbled, motioning towards the door with his nose.
Panne gave another big stretch before finally rolling upright. "Whatever. We've got time." He half-expected the bell to ring right then and there, but a sleepy peace still seemed to fill the halls.
"Hey, aren't we supposed to start our cartography assignment on the Sand Continent today?" Vallion said as he rose to his feet.
She replied with a sigh before anything else. "Aw man, Sand Continent? I thought it was supposed to be Air." Panne skipped over to the wooden chest in the corner and propped open its lid. "I don't wanna go all the way there just to get sand in my fur for a week. I hope a field assignment pops up before then. I'm really in the mood to track down an outlaw or something."
"Do you know how many other Fennekin would laugh at you for not liking sand in your fur?" Vallion teased her as she climbed head-first into the trunk and disappeared. "Besides, making a map of the world means you gotta get everywhere eventually. Might as well get the bad parts out of the way, right?"
"I know, I know! That doesn't make it much any easier to go out and actually do those bad parts!" Panne's voice was nearly buried beneath the dull jingling sounds of her vigorous rummaging. A cloth bag and several miscellaneous items and orbs were tossed out onto the floor. It seemed more like she was throwing random junk than picking the right tools for the mission ahead. After all, they didn't even know which part of Sand Continent they were going to yet. She must be getting nervous.
Before Vallion could start making sense of the growing mess, the angry chime of morning bell erupted through the compound and vibrated in the walls. After it ended, Buizel gave such an extraordinary groan of exasperation down the hall that it rivaled the bell itself.
"I guess we didn't have much time after all," Panne said as she jumped over the side of the chest, narrowly avoiding the pile of equipment she had created. On the bright side, everything they were going to take with them was probably already in that mound.
The two stuck close together as they left the warmth of their room. Bunnelby and Archen staggered out of their rooms soon after, and following up the rear was Buizel, who had some nasty bags under his eyes. They all filed into the main hall with pursed lips and heavy steps while Ampharos took his usual proud stance in the front. Mawile and Jirachi made their way down the stairs while Dedenne and Swirlix emerged from the opposite hall. One by one, they formed their rows until the whole Expedition Society was present. Ampharos held his pose for a few moments longer before realizing that everyone had been in their places for some time.
"Oh! Uh," the electric type took on a more natural posture and proceeded as usual. "Good morning and welcome everyone to the daily assembly of October 4th! Let's get right into it! I'm sure we're all already aware of the time of year and how it's going to affect our exploration schedules. During the coming winter months the northernmost reaches of the Mist Continent will be completely frozen over and too treacherous to traverse, but this also allows us to more thoroughly chart out the southern lands where the ice would normally be too thin. However, since we're not quite at that point yet, our duty is still to record and chart those areas which will soon be out of reach until glaciers recede next spring, therefore those operations must be enacted immediately..."
Vallion allowed his eyes to wander about the central chamber while individual orders were given out. He didn't get far into spacing off before he was caught on Panne, who continued to stare forward at Ampharos with a disciplined intensity, her giant ears pointed forward and fully attuned to what the chief was saying. The longer he stared, the more he started to notice a fluttering feeling deep inside his chest. Just when did she get so cute? She wasn't really acting any differently than how she usually did, so what changed in just a week that made her seem so damn adorable?
"Panne, Vallion." The Snivy twisted his head around as soon as his name had been called. "I understand that your current assignment has you two mapping out some of the western portions of the Sand Continent. However, I was thinking that we should probably just take that on a little later in the year. The weather's still not quite cold enough to make that particular region as bearable as it could be." Panne let off a tiny cheer that seemed like it was meant to be silent. Vallion's heart did a flip as she realized her own outburst and shrunk back down.
"Furthermore-" Ampharos continued, "-a mission's popped up nearby and I'd like you two to be the ones to tackle it. A report came in last night which spoke of a Larvesta who went missing somewhere in the Poliwrath River area. It seems like a pretty routine rescue, so you should know the drill by now. The physical letter's up in the office if you need more details. This will be your new directive until further notice." Ampharos took a deep breath as he prepared to move onto the next big topic. Meanwhile, Panne could barely contain herself and was nearly bouncing up and down in place.
The morning assembly carried on as usual after that. A few more unsurprising announcements later, the closing creeds rang out through the building, and everyone dispersed to prepare for their days just a little more lively than when they arrived-with the exception of Buizel, who seemed to drift off into the hall like a ghost. Vallion nearly had to run just to keep up with Panne as she skipped back to their room.
As soon as the Fennekin passed under the door frame back into the rich golden light, she erupted into a fit of giggles. "Hah, I guessed it! I can't believe it actually worked! I mean it's not exactly what I said I wanted but it's close enough!" Panne immediately got to reorganizing the pile of tools she had originally created, only this time with much more thought and finesse.
"I mean, you do evolve into a psychic type. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to have some innate future-predicting ability somewhere in your brain," Vallion mused while using his vines to store away all of unnecessary supplies they were going to use to make maps. A chuckle fell out of his mouth. "Hey, maybe your ears are like antenna that pick up on weird future waves. You think that's how-" the Snivy fell silent as a bag slapped against his face and plunged him into darkness.
"Don e'en staht!" Panne managed to say with a looplet between her teeth.
It didn't take too long to fill up their bags, especially in preparation for a mission that was more delicate than it was dangerous. The last space in their packs was reserved for rations, which was something they had to actually go out and buy. After a particularly intense two-out-of-three game of Rock, Fighting, Flying (mostly made so by the distinct lack of rules), it was ultimately decided that Vallion would be stuck with the chore this time around. He begrudgingly snatched up a pouch of coins and started towards the exit.
"See ya later, Val! Get something good this time!" Panne called out after him. The Snivy stuck his tongue out in response, but a big grin worked its way onto his face that betrayed his distaste for the task. It really didn't seem all that bad as long as she was the one he was shopping for. Alright, enough goofing around. Time to get down to business.
Vallion walked out of the compound and straight into a wall of chilly autumn air. The last of the drowsiness in his eyes was immediately vaporized as a sharp shiver ran down his spine. The sigh that fell from his mouth blew into the wind like a puff of smoke. Maybe the Sand Continent would've been a little warmer, he thought. The Snivy pressed on into town, the bag of coins jingling into his ear as he held it up on his shoulder. He could nearly hear the sounds of the town waking up-shifting crates and creaking doors and distant voices, all the while the ocean softly crashed.
The farther Vallion got into Lively Town, the more those noises were given form. Miltank rushed past to make her morning deliveries while Krookodile lagged several stops behind, seemingly unable to keep up. Doduo must have grown restless watching the sheer difference in speed and started doing laps around town themselves. Mienfoo staggered past in Doduo's tracks a few moments later, an anguished look on their face like they've made the terrible decision of challenging the flying type to a race. Even with the weather getting colder, nothing seemed to change around here.
Most shops were still closed, and the ones that did open early were still in the process of doing just that. It'd still be another hour or so before he'd see any tourists or travelers out in these streets. Nevertheless, Kecleon had always opened his stand earlier than anyone else dared to, typically before the sun even came up. Vallion expected a familiar greeting as he approached the shop, but only heard a soft snoring come from behind the counter. One of the many difficulties of trying to appeal to the shopping habits of adventurers, no doubt. He unraveled a vine and tapped on the hard wood of the counter.
"H-huh?! Oh!" Kecleon snorted as his head shot up. He wiped away the drool from his mouth and waved to greet his first customer of the day in one swift motion. "Ah! Good morning, Vallion! What can I do for you at this early hour?"
"Morning, Kecleon. Panne and I just got assigned a rescue mission and I was wondering what kind of rations you have today. Or just like, food in general. We're not going far," Vallion delivered accordingly.
"Hmm. You get food duty again?" Kecleon asked. Vallion nodded in response. "She played Arceus during your game of Rock, Fighting, Flying did she?" The Snivy nodded once more, this time with more vigor. Kecleon gave a hearty chuckle and stepped back to search through his wares. "No offense, but it's real cute how you actually humor her every time she does that. Now, what kind of meals are you looking for today?"
"We're not going too far-it's maybe just like one night of camp on the east side of the mountains and that's it. Any fruit we get would definitely survive the trip, and Panne said to get something good so... what kind of berries do you have? Sitrus?" Vallion stood as tall as he could and lifted the bag of coins up onto the counter.
Kecleon smiled, but his brow had furrowed a bit. The shopkeeper seemed to take an unnecessarily long time to search through his goods, thoroughly checking far more places than berries should be. With a dismissive huff, he finally stood back up to face Vallion, his hands empty and his frown full.
"I must apologize, but it seems we're stark out of, well, basically food altogether. Our next shipment was supposed to be one from a farm just past the mountains, but that was supposed to be in two days ago. I wonder what's keeping it..." Kecleon pushed the money back to Vallion's side of the counter.
"Huh?" Vallion hesitated to retrieve the coins. "That's never happened before, has it? I've never heard of one of your shipments being that late."
Kecleon nodded sadly. "They rarely ever are, which makes me especially nervous. You're going to that general area on your mission, correct?"
"Yeah, Poliwrath River," the Snivy replied.
"Promise to be careful out there, will you? If even my most reliable supplies aren't coming in, something could be going horribly wrong on that side of the mountains. I won't be having my favorite customers getting into trouble! Anyway, you're going to have to find someone else to provide for your trip."
Vallion finally wrapped a vine around his coins, a nervous feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "Alright, I'll keep it in mind. We'll try to find out what happened with your shipment while we're over there. Thanks anyways."
The Snivy exchanged goodbyes and walked off. but there wasn't really a destination he had in mind. He just wandered off down the street with the coins on his shoulder while he contemplated all his options. Kangaskhan Cafe provided food, sure, but it wasn't somewhere he could just buy raw ingredients. Especially if Kecleon was out of stock-no doubt Kangeskhan was hording all she could for the coming business that would bring. The Society's larder was always overstocked to a degree, so it's possible he'd be able to borrow something from there, but that meant dealing with Swirlix. Worse yet, someone was going to have to explain to her that there wasn't going to be anything fresh in the market today. It was possible that they could just search for naturally-growing food while they were camping, but he already knew not to rely on dicey tactics like that. Nobody should leave for an expedition empty-handed and expect a pile of apples to be waiting them at their destination. Granted, there was no way they wouldn't find at least something decent growing in the woods around here, but it was just the principle of it.
Vallion turned his head towards the vastness of the ocean and sniffed at the briny air. Down at the docks, the silhouettes of burly workers rotated huge crates with ease and loaded them onto a single lonely ship. He was going to make Panne happy, no matter what. That meant there was no choice other than going through Swirlix. Resigned to his fate, the Snivy started towards the compound once more.
A huge wave of warmth washed over Vallion as he stepped back into the building, causing his scales to sting and his eyes to water. He took a deep breath of the stuffy air, continued through the eastern wing in silence, and stuck his head through the doors of the mess hall. It seemed completely empty at first, but the munching sound that faintly echoed through the room gave Swirlix away. The fairy sat beside the open larder, surrounded by a clipboard and an open jar of salted nuts. It must have been inventory day again, meaning there was going to be a lot less inventory by the time Swirlix was done counting.
"Um.. Swirlix?" Vallion spoke up.
Several moments passed before the fairy finally noticed she was no longer alone."Hm?" Swirlix swallowed what was in her mouth and turned her head. "Oh, hey Vallion! What're you doing in here this early? Hopefully you're not in for a snack."
"Ah, yeah...About that-" the Snivy took a deep breath. "-I went out to get some rations for that rescue mission, but as it turns out, Kecleon's shipment hasn't come in and he's basically out of everything. I was wondering if it would maybe sorta be possible to put some money down for later and take something from the larder." Vallion gulped and awaited an explosive response.
Swirlix instead just made a shrugging motion and crammed another mouthful of nuts into her maw. After a few seconds, she suddenly stopped chewing. "Wait a minute," she gravely swallowed, eyes wide with what could almost be described as terror. "If Kecleon is out of food, and the next place you checked was here...that means you're not going to be the last one!" She gasped. "My larder! You're all coming to raid my larder!" With a speed so great it could barely be caught with the naked eye, Swirlix dove head-first past the larder door. Metal clattered, thick glass clacked together, and what followed sounded like it was out of a nightmare.
"Ah-Swirlix! Save some for us!" Vallion emptied his bag of coins onto the floor to make room for anything he could grab and plunged into the war-zone. He could scarcely tell what was going on while inside on account of the rampaging fairy. so rather than pick and choose, he simply reached out with his vines and scooped up whatever seemed edible to the touch. He had only filled the bag halfway before a fluffy wall of force collided square into his chest and sent him spiraling into the mess hall.
The larder door slammed shut while Vallion laid stunned against the hard floor. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Ow... What the heck was that for?"
When the Snivy looked up, Swirlix was busy activating the sixteen number combination lock she had installed onto the larder door, despite the fact that it was common knowledge that every single number in the combination was just 5. "Hah! Now they'll have to get through me!" she shouted and puffed her chest out triumphantly, crumbs still lining the sides of her smirk.
Vallion struggled to a stand, snatching up the bag he'd filled with whatever his hands could find. "Thanks, I guess. This'll probably work for now." he muttered and twisted towards the exit before anything else could go wrong. It was necessarily pretty way of doing it, but he'd at least managed to find something to bring back to Panne. Depending on what he had actually grabbed, there-
"Wait!" Swirlix called out from behind him. The Snivy froze in place, bag held tightly against his chest. He was expecting to have to fight for the scraps he'd taken, but instead the fairy started to pester him about a different issue entirely. "I've been meaning to ask what's been bothering you, but I keep forgetting to ask!"
Vallion tilted his head, but kept the food behind his back just in case. "Huh? What do you mean? Nothing's been bothering me."
"Ooh, no no no. Don't think you can play that game with me. I know everything that goes on around here. Maybe you think that Ampharos only keeps me around because I'm a good cook, but there's nobody here better than me at reading moods and knowing things I'm not supposed to know!" Swirlix closed the distance between them to an uncomfortable measure.
"I-uh... How do you figure?" the Snivy stammered and took a step backwards. His insides started to churn. Was this about Panne? Had he really been that obvious this whole time? If so, how many other people figured this out before even he did? What if Panne already knew?
"Oh please. I've learned how to read the soul of the dinner table. There are specific ways people eat, how fast they eat-even choose to put on their plate. It's all a language that can only be read by the most powerful of chefs. By eating my food, you've already lost the choice to hide anything from me." The fairy smiled proudly from cheek to cheek. Vallion felt his face start getting hot. There's no way she could know, right? This all has to be a bluff. You could probably get the truth out of anyone if you bluffed your way into getting them to admit.
Swirlix huffed impatiently in his silence. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me what's the matter?"
"Huh? Oh, no thanks. It's not important." As Vallion turned to walk away, Swirlix swung around and stood in his path with the same supernatural quickness she used to rocket into the larder.
"Hey, you're not getting out of this that easy! Gimme the news or I'll be forced to take legal action!" her shouts echoed into halls, but it didn't seem like there was anyone out there to hear them. Not that anyone would be particularly quick to respond to Swirlix yelling in the mess hall. Especially on inventory day.
"Wait, but why would I be legally obligated to tell you anything? Look, alright? We really need to be on our way to Poliwrath River soon. It's a rescue mission, I shouldn't be wasting any time." Vallion tried to step around Swirlix, but she matched his movements exactly, never budging even an inch.
"I make you dinner, now shush with the questions and start with the answers! It's my other duty to ensure all society members not only have a full stomach, but a full conscience! Er-an empty conscience? I don't remember how it's supposed to go but you're still not allowed to leave!" Swirlix did not move. There was no getting around with brute force, nobody in the whole Society had a stronger posture than her. She could balance six plates on her head while eating an apple and singing. Stopping him from getting past? That was nothing.
Vallion glanced around the room, the fluttering in his stomach getting stronger. What would sound believable? Maybe he still felt down after someone insulted his sense of fashion last night?.. No, absolutely not. Swirlix wasn't going to fall for something stupid like that. Maybe he could take some of the food out of his bag and use it as a distraction? Ah, but how much usable stuff did he actually grab when in the dark? What if he just grabbed like six salt shakers and they were all sitting on the bottom?
"Come on!" the fairy exclaimed impatiently. "What's the hold-up? Do you honestly think I would tell anyone? If I was actually forced to tell I'd probably just fill my mouth first and then say it. My mouth's usually full, honestly. Doesn't really make much of a difference."
"...Fine," after several silent moments, Vallion finally threw his arms down and surrendered. Another silence fell as the Snivy was forced to search for the right words to express himself. The heat on his face was already starting to become unbearable and he hadn't even said anything yet. "Hmm. It's just- Well...It's just Panne, I guess."
"Oooh, are you two fighting?" Swirlix chimed.
"What? No! It's nothing like that!" he tried to say, but was cut off almost immediately.
"Listen, Vallion. When a girl's mad at you for whatever reason, it's not that hard to turn around! You just need to do something meaningful for her, like prepare a nice dinner! Candlelight, rose petals, smooth music, everything lathered in honey mago sauce and sprinkled with-"
"Swirlix, we're getting along just fine!" Vallion had to shout just to snap her out of the trance.
The fairy stammered and wiped the drool from her face. "Huh? Then what the heck could possibly be wrong? Did you steal her lunch or something?"
"I- agh! No! I think I just...like her, alright?! Like, the other kind of like! The big kind! None of your weird theories that involve food!" Vallion twisted away, an unbearable heat spreading all throughout the scales of his face. His panicked eyes searched the room for anything at all to distract him from the strange knot in his chest. If he hadn't been holding the bag, his hands would surely be fidgeting.
Swirlix gave him a blank stare for what seemed like an eternity. After watching Vallion squirm in embarrassment, she finally grinned and prepared to offer her most professional response. "What?"
"What?! What do you mean what?! I told you exactly what's wrong with me!" the Snivy couldn't bear to look anywhere but the floor at his feet. "I mean, it's not like she's all that different than before, but something just...kinda clicked at some point. It's getting harder and harder to concentrate and I don't know what to do."
The fairy blinked slowly before beginning again. "Oh this is not at all what I expected. Vallion, sweetie, I really don't know how else to tell you this, but everyone already thought you two were together."
Vallion's eyes shot up. "I-Huh? What do you mean?"
"Yep. It's been that way for a while, actually. Ampharos was the first one to come up with calling your team 'The Lovebirds' when you guys aren't around. Buizel gets super jealous that you two are so close and pouts about it. I've even heard people in town talk about it. I'm more surprised you didn't actually notice." Swirlix was smiling, but Vallion wanted to curl up in a corner for the rest of his life.
The fairy finally noticed his discomfort. "...Oh! Don't worry, don't worry! You've come to exactly the right place to ask for romantic advice, let me tell you! If anyone knows the quickest way to a girl's heart, it's me!" Swirlex puffed out her chest once more.
Vallion hesitated before figuring he was meant to guess. "Um...Is it...through her sto-"
"Through her stomach!" the fairy shouted with glee. "When you get back from that mission of yours, I'm going to have you whip up a huge dinner just for the two of you! I just need you to think about the specifics-stuff like the candlelight, rose petals, smooth music, the entire larder..." while Swirlix fantasized about the costly romantic dinner nobody would serve her, Vallion was suddenly reminded that he had a mission to get back to. That, and he would very much like to exit this conversation as soon as possible.
"Yeah, I'm heading off now," the Snivy said as he deftly skirted around the drooling roadblock. It wasn't until he was partway out the door that she noticed anything.
"Wuh- but I haven't even told you about Mawile's fanfiction yet!" she called out after him, but he was already gone.
"No way!" Vallion hastily replied before taking off down the corridor as quick as his tiny legs could carry him. Geez, what a stressful morning! His heart was already fluttering enough these days as it was, he didn't need that kind of knowledge added onto it. To just imagine that everyone thinks...Agh! None of that! He had the rations they needed, and that was that.
Panne has probably been waiting for quite a while with how long that all took. As Vallion passed into the main chamber he noticed that someone had collapsed in the middle of the floor and was snoring loudly. Buizel just couldn't make it any farther into the morning, it seemed. With a chuckle the Snivy continued on his way, imagining how Dedenne would react to the sight once she came down from the office. After a few seconds of arguing with an unconscious body, she'd probably jump-start Buizel with way more electricity than was necessary. Vallion almost wished he'd be around to see it all unfold.
As expected, Panne had already packed their supplies and now sat patiently gazing out the window, seemingly deep in thought about something. Shortly after the Snivy had entered the room, she finally noticed his presence and turned right around with bright, smiling eyes. So much for slowing his heartbeat.
"Oh my gosh, where have you been?! Not even I get distracted for so long when I get food duty!" The Fennekin stood up and nudged one of the two packs open. "And that counts the one time when a Talonflame crashed into the middle of the town and caused like six house fires."
"I still only barely believe that actually happened. There's no way anyone could clean up that many scorch marks in the time it takes for me to get ready." Vallion held up the pouch he'd used to grab what he assumed would be their rations, and suddenly realized that it was far more empty than it seemed. "Okay so Kecleon's next shipment of any food at all hasn't come in yet, so I was forced to raid our own kitchen while Swirlix was still inside. Frankly I'm surprised I made it out alive."
Panne stifled a giggle. "That makes me so glad I won our game this morning. I don't understand why more people don't play Arceus, it's such a good move." Panne stepped aside so that he could stow away whatever it was he had actually taken from the larder. It was something he'd just have to worry about later by this point. They should have already left by now.
"So what's the deal with our route? Still a little over a full day like usual?" Vallion spoke as he fiddled with straps of his bag.
"Yep. If we left now we should get there at about midday tomorrow," Panne was able to fasten a pack to her side in just the time it took him to undo and readjust one of his buckles, caught on a pang of perfectionism. "Why was Kecleon's shipment late, anyways? I've never even heard of that happening before."
"That's cuz it doesn't happen," the Snivy said as he finally fastened the straps to an comfortable, symmetrical degree and slipped the bag onto his back. "I dunno. He said we should probably be extra careful around the area, just in case something went down."
"Ooh, that sounds neat actually!" Panne beamed as she restlessly started towards the door. "A rescue mission's great and all, but this one sounds maybe a little too boring. Could you imagine how much more interesting this could be? What if there were some territorial dragons that accidentally took their fight into the valley or something? Could you imagine how crazy that would be?"
Vallion simply shrugged and followed her out. As much as he'd rather not have to fight angry dragons, it was excruciatingly adorable how worked up she was getting. At that thought, he concluded that this was going to be a very, very long mission.
...
A Serperior diligently slithered through the canopy, weaving in between branches so effortlessly that the sound of his movements could easily have been mistaken for the wind as it rustled leaves. Occasionally stopping to listen, he tracked his way towards a commotion that had broken out somewhere nearby. The shouts grew louder as he approached unnoticed. The Serperior glared at the confrontation from above, his fiery eyes taking in all they could.
"A fool! A fool is all that it makes you!" was the first clear thing he heard upon stopping. The three Poliwrath from earlier stood across from each other, two to one. At the feet of the more populated side was a young Poliwag who looked like they were about to cry. Both sides were still bleeding from their encounter with the Serperior from earlier, and it seemed nobody had made a single attempt at dressing their wounds. The pokemon seemed to think that their heated debate was more important than caring for themselves and healing.
"How DARE you call me a fool when you're standing there as broken as I am?!" shouted the Poliwrath who stood alone. "How can you possibly understand true strength when all you do in defeat is kick and scream like a spoiled child? Have you no dignity at all?!"
"We are not the ones who have thrown away our dignity, brother. You've already bargained with a devil just because they have words and strength. You would sooner sell your family and pride than grow a spine." the leftmost Poliwrath shot back with a cold, calm tone.
The lone side was shaking with anger. "Sold?! You sell yourselves to death and defeat! There's far more at stake than pride for someone who doesn't know when to bow their head with grace! And you're all far too stubborn to even make an attempt to understand their words! That's stupidity, not pride! That's the kind of mindset that kings and fools die with!"
"Listen to yourself," the rightmost sneered with crossed arms. "You're already lost. They may carry promises of a certain future, but they are not us. They do not think like us, they do not act like us, and they seek to change the very fundamentals of our lives for their own gain. Would you still side with such a pretender even if it meant our home would be lost to their rabid ideals?"
"You both fear change more than you fear death. Perhaps I am the only one of us who isn't a coward," the lone Poliwrath growled. Their rage reignited, the leftmost shouted a series of curses and prepared to charge at their brother, only to be held back by the other Poliwrath that stood at their side.
"Save your energy, idiots! Any more fighting and we'll tear each other apart, and there is no winners if we all are dead!" the only sensible Poliwrath cried out. The leftmost seemed to understand their dire situation enough to yield, if only for the moment.
"Fine," they said and turned away. "But we will return, and there will be a victor. We will not be alone. What is rightfully ours will be taken back, and we will fill the river with the blood of this narcissist and his fellow traitors. If you won't stand with us, then you will join them."
"This is exactly what they were talking about! Don't you see? You would turn so quickly on a brother, and for what? What do you hope to gain from spreading bloodshed like this?! What was so magical about our life before that you would tear my throat out over something that barely affects us?!" the lone Poliwrath tried desperately to reason with his comrades, but all he earned was a scoff.
"Now you go and preach their choir? Enough of this," the rightmost muttered as he turned heel and began to painfully limp away. The Poliwag seemed to anxiously look both ways before ultimately deciding to chase after the two Poliwrath. Soon they all would disappear into the thickness of the forest.
Everything went silent again. The Serperior finally sighed through his nose a breath, it felt like he had been holding his breath for hours. "I should have expected this. Nothing about this was going to be easy," he whispered to himself once certain he was alone. He started to traverse the canopy once more, moving in one fluid motion through branches and towards where his allies would be waiting.