Yellow P.O.V

Before we know it, it's our turn. When I look up, somehow, the whole school has wormed its way in. How?! Crystal and I walk onto the arena.

Uh-oh. It's battling time? OH WHYYYYYYY ME! Just then, there's a shaking in the ground.

"IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!" A girl yells, and soon, everyone is stampeding out the doors. A blessing from the gods! Hallelujah! Before long, I'm hidden in the tree with five markings on it.

Before long, I hear indistinct voices drawing nearer.

"…Well, if everyone's panicking thanks to the fact that you half-starved yourself—'' That's Blue! What is she talking about? What does whoever she's-talking-to being starved have to do with the earthquake?

"I had two exams today, and I had to train! I had no time for meals!" Is that Silver? Silver was starving so he caused the earthquake?

"You do, you always do. Just, next time, don't food-deprive yourself."

"Food deprivation is better than sleep-deprivation!" It's Silver again. What does sleep deprivation have to do with it?

"True, but I'm telling you to do neither!"

"Says the girl who pulled an all-nighter yesterday! I know you have Beethoven and Mozart playing in your head at the same time!" Wait. Is this the reason why Blue asked for flute recordings? What connection is there between her and music and sleep deprivation?

"True, but—but—" And then she breaks off abruptly. Seconds later, Blue and Silver storm into the clearing with their Pokémon trotting along behind them. They look like they're looking for someone—

"THERE YOU ARE!" Blue yells, looking up. Her face turns from grimness to surprise. "Huh? Oh, Silver, it's just Ama. She won't spill our secrets."

I wave. "Hi! What's going on?" I ask, jumping down.

"Nothing!" Blue says quite believably. Though I'm not fooled—I just heard them talking about…food deprivation and sleep deprivation and Silver causing earthquakes and music which makes no sense ack my head is hurting I'll stop thinking.

"I have secrets too, don't worry, you don't have to tell me," I say, waving my hand.

Blue sighs. "Fine. We'll tell." What? I just told her she didn't have to tell! "So, uh, how to explain this…"

"We have talents," Silver interrupts her. "I can manipulate metal. My hands are magnetic. Blue is a music genius. She can play music in her head, and it will help her do whatever she's trying to do."

Blue nods, picking up where Silver left off. "So, if I'm trying to do my science homework and I start playing music in my head, I can finish my science homework in record time."

"The problem is, if we don't have enough sleep or food, our talents can go haywire," Silver says. "So just now, my talent was acting up. The metals buried underneath the classroom were trying to reach for me, which made the earth shake."

"You're a lifesaver!" I tell Silver, who looks faintly surprised. "Now I don't have to fight!"

"Is there something so bad about fighting?" Blue asks.

I frown. "I don't like to fight unnecessary fights."

"That wasn't really an unnecessary fight, it was a training fight, but ok," Blue says, letting the matter slide. "Anyway, back to our talents. When we don't get enough food or sleep, they don't necessarily have to go haywire. They could also go dormant and not respond to us. It's a fifty-fifty chance, and Silver took the risk."

"So did you," Silver adds.

Blue frowns. "Yes, but I didn't cause a mini earthquake."

Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach suddenly blare in my mind, and I wince at the cacophony, putting my hands up to my ears. Beside me, Silver is unmoved. "Yes, but you just gave everyone a headache," he says.

Blue winces. "Ok, maybe I see your point. I'll go lie down," she mumbles, climbing into the marked tree and sprawling out onto its branches. A ten-part, slightly chaotic lullaby plays in my head for ten seconds before voices start dropping off and the lullaby becomes more orderly and melodious. Shortly after, the lullaby disappears from my head entirely and Blue sits up, yawning. "Ok, I'm good," she says.

I stare at her. A ten-second power-nap is enough to chase away the after-effects of an all-nighter?

"You're not. Go back to sleep," Silver growls.

"Meh! I still have to hack into Daisy's account to retrieve some baby photos of Green!" Blue perkily says. "Anyway, the only harm done now is that my powers are a little weaker than normal! I'll get some real sleep tonight, I promise!"

"Speaking of powers, I-" I pause. Is this a good idea?

"We don't have powers," Silver corrects me. "We have talents."

"Whatever, let Ama talk." Blue waves her hand, pulling out her phone and humming as she starts swiping at the screen.

I continue. "I- uh, also have a talent?" I fidget with some spinarak silk.

"Cool! What is it?" Blue asks, still fiddling with the phone.

"Uh, well, I'm able to listen to the thoughts of pokemon, though I usually don't need to since I know my forest so well."

"Wait—can you listen to the thoughts of humans?" Silver asks, staring intently at me.

I shrink back. "N-no, just pokemon. It takes up some mental energy when I do. But I usually don't need to do that."

"Wait—how were you able to jump down from the tree the first day?" Blue asks, finally looking up from her phone.

"I do that a lot." I smile. "My guardian always got worried when I did that."

"Really?" Blue asks. "But—"

Silver elbows Blue and starts making weird signs with his hands.

"Er- I already told Crystal about it, so it's fine," I fidget some more with the silk.

"Huh?" Both of them look at me.

"My, uh, parents are dead?" I look down.

"What does that have to do with jumping from trees?" Blue asks, confused. "I'm sorry about your parents, but that was a weird topic switch."

Now I'm confused. "What?"

"What what?" Blue asks.

"My guardian is my Uncle," I say, utterly confused. "I'm confused."

"So am I," Blue says. "First we were talking about trees. When did trees turn into dead relatives?"

"Because I thought you were going to ask about my guardian?" I tilt my head to the side.

"What." Both of them stare at me.

"I mean, of course we were, we were so curious!" Blue hastily says, putting her phone away.

"Very curious," Silver adds, not sounding curious at all.

Then the two of them start signing at each other.

"My guardian, you know, like your parents and stuff?" I say.

"Mm-hmm," Blue says absently.

"Parents. Ri—" Silver starts to say unconvincingly, but Blue elbows him.

"No, no, no! We're not doing this right! Put on your cheerful personality!"

"Cheerful personality?" I tilt my head, confused.

Silver glares. "I am not putting on the cheerful personality. Look, since she already knows so much, let's tell the full truth."

"Full truths are bad, excessive amounts of sickening cheerfulness are better," Blue insists.

"I'll tell you my full truth if you tell me yours," I offer.

"Ok," both of them reluctantly agree.