Despite being a ghost, Burnout wasn't keen on witnessing murder. Having Chiluly and Pharaoh within five feet of each other while the boiling tension from earlier fiasco was a recipe for disaster.
He had foolishly hoped that Chiluly would just be able to keep her mouth shut, but she'd chattered through their desert trek. Every time she opened her mouth, he watched Pharaoh's claws nervously.
The Cofagrigus had stayed outwardly indifferent thus far, but Burnout could feel the anger boiling underneath his gold-plated surface. He was far from over Nimbasa, but Chiluly had already moved on from the disaster she'd partook in. Immediately after the realization that Hawthorne and Chevali were not accompanying them, Pharaoh had set off in the direction of the ancient desert, leaving the other two to scramble after him.
Well, ancient wasn't the best word for the area, at least in the current moment- human machinery littered the area and other manmade structures ruined the effect a bit. Regardless, the other two seemed relieved to be back in the area. The desert-dwellers were obviously much more at home, but Burnout felt slightly out of place among the yellow backdrop.
"This is where we first met!" Chiluly said to him, shaking his arm gently. "Isn't that crazy?"
"Oh- yeah," Burnout replied, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't recognized their meeting place. How does anyone tell places in the desert apart? It all looks the same… "It feels like that was ages ago," he said out loud.
"I know, right? Has it really only been, like- what, a couple weeks? Less? Crazy!" She hopped up and down a few times, and a dry breeze blew some of the sand in his face.
Pharaoh looked at them out of the corner of his eye, and Burnout knew exactly what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. "A couple weeks we've wasted. Every second that goes by without finding Perry's murderer, they only get farther away."
Chiluly rolled her eyes and grumbled something under her breath. Burnout chose not to contribute.
Thankfully, it wasn't long before the outline of a decrepit tower rose up against the dusty sky. "D'you see any Sigilyph?" Chiluly asked as they neared the tower.
Oops. He'd momentarily forgotten why they'd come here in the first place. Everyone squinted up at the sky, but no flying shape revealed itself. "I don't. Though… I don't know if I've ever seen one. At least up close," Burnout commented. He'd heard from the Magistrate palace's Audino, Noot, that they were following Queen Perry because of the treasure she held, but now that Perry was gone, apparently they were nowhere to be seen.
"They look like creatures of myth," Pharaoh said. "Strangely-shaped bodies and spindly wings. One eye. Colorful."
"Hmm. They sound hard to miss." Chiluly turned in a slow circle, drawing a line in the sand with the tip of her sword.
At the mention of myth, an idea formed in Burnout's mind. "Maybe this is a bit far-fetched," he started, gathering his companion's attention, "but… maybe we'd find more information if we went into the ruins?" Chiluly immediately seemed wary of the idea, but Pharaoh showed no outward signs of disapproval, which was a start. "If the Sigilyph are all ancient and, uh, mythological, then maybe we can find answers in the ancient stuff in the crypts?"
"We have to go back in there?" Chiluly whimpered, clutching her sword.
Pharaoh rolled his eyes and shifted his grip on his staffs. "The sky seems to be empty for now, so it wouldn't hurt to continue investigating." Without waiting to hear their response, he slipped in the entrance of the tower.
Chiluly and Burnout exchanged a glance. "It'll be alright. Pharaoh knows the crypts like the back of his hands."
She muttered something uncooperative but shuffled after him, unwilling to be left out of possible action.
This tower didn't lead to the same tunnels where they had found Pharaoh originally, but the spirit still seemed to have some familiarity with the crumbling walls. "How do you walk through these without worrying about the whole thing falling on you?" Chiluly complained.
"Well- I guess we don't have much to worry about," Burnout mused, making her snort. It wasn't like falling rock could kill a ghost. He decided not to elaborate on his thoughts for her sake.
Pharaoh was a little ways ahead of them, his sharp eyes constantly scanning their surroundings and watching for anything of importance. They weren't very deep into the caves- the walls were mostly without altercation, and any relics were stashed away behind permanently locked doors.
After a couple more minutes of walking, Chiluly still seemed eager for a distraction. "Hey, Pharaoh," she started, making Burnout groan inwardly. The Cofagrigus didn't respond. "Did you find your staffs here? What are they, anyways?"
He thought briefly back to the brief time at the Stoutland's mountain lodge, and how the other spirit had given Hawthorne the figureheads to hold on to. He'd assumed it was just to avoid them being a target for robbery, but sometimes Pharaoh's intentions weren't always so black-and-white. It occurred to Burnout that he had never really asked about the staffs- Pharaoh had had them when they met, and they were so aesthetically similar to his appearance that he'd never really considered where they might actually be from.
For a few moments, there was silence. Burnout thought he was going to ignore her until he said- "I did not find them here." Find was an interesting word for a bounty hunter to use. Open-ended.
"Fair enough," Chiluly said, perhaps sensing not to press that particular matter. "But- they look like a Stouland and Liepard, right?"
"The ancient domestic monarchs," Pharaoh said noncommittally. That was interesting enough. Most Pokemon knew of the ancient legend of the Stoutland and Liepard leaders who rose to power after the fall of the greater gods, representing a civilization of mortals run by mortals, but it was debated if that legend was true, or merely exaggerated for effect.
Chiluly cocked her head. "So, are they magic, or something? Or, uh, just worth a lot of money?"
Pharaoh deliberated for a moment before saying, "They hold pieces of the souls." Chiluly made a noise of surprise, and Burnout couldn't keep his own eyes from widening. The souls of a king and queen? How had he not sensed them before? He and Pharaoh had been apart for a long time, but even then… Was Pharaoh's spirituality so strong that it masked that of the domestic monarchs'?
"Wait, what? What does that mean? What can they do?" the Maractus asked in awe.
"They have no spellcasting or hexing powers, but they… can…" Pharaoh trailed off and narrowed his eyes at a dark, unsuspecting hallway.
"Um- what's the matter?" Burnout asked when he had squinted at it for a solid minute.
"This was not here before." He turned down the hallway and the other two hurried after him. The tunnel looked the same as every other area of the crypt, which was strange. If it had been built recently, wouldn't it have varying architecture?
"Maybe it was here, and it was just closed up before," Chiluly suggested, probably realizing the same thing. "Hey- what's that?" Even though the hallway was almost pitch dark, a small spot of light in the distance betrayed a point of interest.
"Guess we're going to find out," Burnout replied, since Pharaoh showed no signs of slowing down.
Sure enough, when they traveled far enough down the tunnel, they found an interesting point indeed. Displayed along the wall, dimly lit by light filtering in from aboveground, was a massive mural of the ancient demigoddess Virizion.
"Holy stars!" Chiluly gasped. Holy stars was right. The carvings depicted Virizion standing proudly with her chin tilted towards the sky, scrutinizing them through one slitted eye. Her horns were surrounded by halos of light. The silhouettes of other Pokemon surrounded her, marveling at her beauty, and splashes of pink and blue and green gave the wall so much life that Burnout felt the urge to bow himself. There were some figures that looked like writing carved into the picture, but it wasn't in any dialect he recognized.
Pharaoh was staring at the mural impassively, as if he were trying to process it. He moved forward to stand in front of it, taking in every detail.
"Are those words? What does it say?" Chiluly breathed, pointing at the writing Burnout had noticed.
Pharaoh snapped from his trance and glanced back at them before observing the script through narrowed eyes. "I believe… Virizion's Grace."
A tremor of shock ran through Burnout. He had no idea what the legendary Pokemon's grace would be, but it sounded important. "What else?" he urged, his usual hesitation evaporating as it was overshadowed by curiosity and anticipation.
One of Pharaoh's shadowy claws reached out and traced the curving words as he read. "...It is very old and very faded. But it speaks of calling upon the blessing of the Demigoddess in order to… do something? It's not specified."
Burnout turned and marveled at the wall again. Virizion stared proudly down at them, surrounded by her glowing aura and mysterious, indecipherable scrawlings.
"Eh? It really just says 'Virizion can do stuff?' That's kinda lame," Chiluly said, crossing her arms with a frown.
"Of course not," Pharaoh snapped at her.
"Well, you said-"
"I wasn't done."
"Guys," Burnout sighed. Pharaoh grunted and returned to the wall. "It states that the Grace allows the bearer to… 'swiftly, dutifully and mercifully' overtake one's enemies."
"Wait." Chiluly hopped forward, dragging the tip of her sword along the ground. "'Overtake one's enemies?'" She gazed up at the mural in awe and then back to her companions, her eyes shining with ferocious excitement. "Overtake our enemies! This is how we catch the murderer!"
"Wait, wait," Burnout interrupted. "I like this idea as much as the next Pokemon, but… what is Virizion's Grace? For all we know, it couldn't even be real."
The two of them looked at Pharaoh expectantly. He looked up at the wall again, his eyes glowing in the dim corridor. "It's not specified. As I said before," he said finally. Chiluly deflated a little in disappointment.
"But… It also says it has assisted ancient heroes in their duties. Leading me to believe that perhaps it is an artifact of sorts. Holding her spirit, or blessing."
Burnout thought back to Pharaoh's staffs. The souls of the original Unova monarchs… What kind of item would Virizion manifest as? If her grace was an artifact, did that mean she wasn't still alive? Was she even real in the first place?
"Well, there's gotta be a way to find out where it is, right?" Chiluly asked. Pharaoh hissed in displeasure as she ran her claws along the mural. "Don't touch that."
Burnout followed her movements thoughtfully. "Well… if I've learned anything, it's that spirits are sneaky." An unpleasant memory of his extended family drifted through his thoughts.
"So if we want to find the Grace, we probably have to… solve a puzzle, maybe? I know it sounds rudimentary," he protested when Chiluly gave him a look. "But I don't mean a jigsaw! These tombs are ancient. They could have any number of traps or mechanisms that could reveal something new. I mean, how did we even get here in the first place?"
Chiluly hummed in thought, and Pharaoh seemed to begrudgingly agree with him.
"Fine. Just… don't touch anything," the Cofagrigus finally growled.
"Why not? Is it booby-trapped?" Chiluly asked.
"No. You're just ruining the quality of everything with your grubby little paws."
Unfortunately, uncovering the secret of an ancient demigoddess was a lot more difficult (and time consuming) than Burnout had originally assumed. He and Pharaoh had tried just about everything. Neither of them could sense any ghostly, spiritual presence or contraption that needed to be uncovered, and nothing stuck out like a wayward brick or a hollow-sounding part of the floor.
It felt like they'd had been down in the tomb for hours- days, even- but Burnout knew it couldn't have been more than just an hour or so at the most. The catacombs had an unsettling way of twisting your perception of time.
"Nothing," Chiluly snapped for the hundredth time. She had just walked all the way up and down the corridor, scrutinizing every grain of sand to no avail.
Pharaoh sighed. "Then let us leave."
"What?! Why?" she squawked. "We have to be close! I refuse to leave until we find the stupid thing!" Burnout was equally as stumped. Pharaoh was not the type to just walk away from something.
"For all we know, there might not be a stupid thing," he said coldly. "The wall could be referring to any number of things. The hero of the past could have been unusually strong on their own, or they were similar in physique. It-"
"Then why didn't you SAY THAT?" Chiluly yelled, throwing her hands in the air. "Why make us wander around in a stupid, dusty old hallways for hours for something that doesn't exist?!"
Pharaoh was silent for a few moments. "I had a foolish hope."
The Maractus growled and clenched her claws. For a moment, she looked as if she were about to say something particularly nasty, but then decided better of it and stomped a little ways down the corridor, muttering furiously to herself. Pharaoh stared at her for a few moments, then turned and looked back at the wall.
For once, Burnout was glad he was seemingly invisible. With both his companions simmering in silence, he found his head a little clearer. He let his own gaze wander up to the mural, observing it with fascination and mild resentment.
A solution to all of their problems was right here, right in front of them. But at the same time, it couldn't have been farther away. Virizion stood proudly, surrounded by awestruck, adoring Pokemon, the slight tilt of her head taunting him in the most arrogant way.
And then, she blinked. The entire eye of the carving seemed to snap closed for just barely a half-second. Burnout nearly jumped out of his body.
Frantically, he turned to look at Pharoah but the other spirit hadn't seemed to have noticed anything unusual. He quickly returned his gaze to the wall, waiting for it to happen again- but it was nothing more than a shape in the stone once again. Was he hallucinating? Was some poorly-humored crypt dweller playing a trick on him?
"Pharaoh," he whispered. Pharaoh gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you see that?"
"No," he said flatly, not even bothering to ask what that was.
Wonderful. He was going crazy and his teammates were refusing to help in their investigation. He decided the best thing he could do was take matters into his own hands.
Burnout steeled his courage and floated upwards, towards the towering face of Virizion. She stared calmly into the emptiness of the corridor.
"What are you doing?" Pharaoh rumbled from below.
"I- thought I saw something. Hold on." Chiluly had also walked back towards the mural, unable to temper her curiosity.
Burnout moved as close to the carving as he could, squinting at the eye. It was cut in a simple, recognizable shape, an oval with a slit for a pupil. The surface of the eye was flat and unremarkable, but inside the pupil…
"There's a button!" he gasped. Or, at least, an object that looked like a button. It was miniscule and made up of sharp sides, almost like a tiny gemstone.
Chiluly made a noise of shock. "Holy stars! Press it, Burnout!" Pharaoh did not object.
Burnout hesitated, then took a deep breath and carefully reached into the eye. He pushed against the button gently, but it didn't budge. "It's not working," he called down.
"Push harder," Pharaoh grunted.
Nervously, he pushed down harder on the button. He was a bit worried it would snap off under too much pressure. The button refused to budge. Burnout frowned and felt around the space behind the button. "It doesn't feel like there's anywhere for it to go," he commented.
He glanced back down at his companions, who were watching expectantly. Pharaoh's eyes met his, and they were full of a calm, curious thoughtfulness that Burnout hadn't seen in a long, long time.
The look threw Burnout back in time, to a different site of ancient artifacts with the same bounty hunter. They had been standing in front of a massive door, made of a deep dark material and lacking a keyhole. It was impassable, spell-locked by something that rejected the power of the ghosts. They'd tried just about everything- hexes, puzzles, brute force- but it didn't seem to be moveable at all.
"What are we supposed to do?" Burnout had asked dejectedly. The treasure beyond the wall was rumored to be the most valuable one they had pursued yet- to leave empty-handed would be shameful.
Pharaoh, who had been very different and incredibly similar in the past, looked at the door thoughtfully. "I think we can figure it out."
Burnout had given a disbelieving snort. That was rather unhelpful. How, exactly?
His gaze had wandered to the strange bowl set on the podium beside it. It was empty, and made of a material so black it gave the illusion of being bottomless. They'd already tried putting something of weight inside it, but it hadn't caused any change.
"It must have something to do with this," he'd murmured, glaring at it as if it would solve something if he intimidated it enough.
"What's carved on the side?" Pharaoh had asked, snaking one of his arms around and pointing to the back of the bowl. Burnout hadn't bothered to ask how he'd even seen it, instead looking where his claw was pointing.
It was a snakelike figure with a gaping maw, expectantly waiting for what appeared to be gold to be dropped into its mouth. For a second, the image had refused to register in his mind, until he finally gasped with realization.
"Um, Pharaoh, you're not going to like this, but… I think we're going to have to sacrifice some of our treasure to get inside." As he'd expected, Pharaoh's face had twisted with displeasure. There had been a few moments of deliberation, and finally they had opted to drop in a few feet worth of golden chain. Instantly, the bowl had swallowed the treasure into its lightless maw, and barely a moment later, the door had cracked open…
Burnout blinked to clear the memories of the long-forgotten past. A slight, bitter tremor went through him- he missed their explorations, their tentative friendship- but he needed to focus on the current mystery.
The little crystal was still winking back at him, as ordinary and unhelpful as ever. To take is to give. That's what they had learned that time, and yet there was nothing here to give- and nobody to give it to. What can I give, that will make your secret unlock?...
Burnout adjusted his position, and once again the gemstone caught the light and flickered mockingly. It was a rather bright reflection for a tiny little thing. The fickle light reminded him of fire.
Wait- that was it! "Fire!" he cried, leaning forward and reaching his arm into Virizion's eye again. Carefully, anxiously, he let some of his fire leap from his arm and illuminate the divot of the eye.
As soon as the tiny flame made contact with the crystal button, the mural of Virizion burst into flames. Chiluly screamed from the ground, and Burnout squawked and fell backwards towards them as the flames rushed outward. One of Pharaoh's claws caught him and lowered him to the ground, but the spirit himself was transfixed by the vision above them.
Virizion's veins were burning. Violet-blue flame leapt outward from her eye, racing down the lines that had been carved out of the wall like rushing water and framing the once peaceful mural with a visage of intensity. Of power. Finally, the flames traced their way down to Virizion's hooves. Her raging outline gave one last victorious pulse, and then the wall began to split.
"Holy. Stars," Chiluly whispered as the mural turned into an ancient doorway, Virizion's now-severed body still glowing proudly on either side.
For a long moment, the trio could only stare in shock at the now dimly lit passageway that had revealed itself to them.
Burnout surprised himself by being the first to speak. "Well… I guess we have to go in there?" Chiluly huddled behind him. "Um… you guys are the treasure-hunting experts. I'll follow you."
Burnout glanced over at Pharaoh, who was staring at him calmly. Your discovery. Go ahead, his gaze said. The Chandelure turned back to the entrance to the crypt and took a deep breath. "W-well, alright. Let's go."
Slowly, cautiously, they made their way into the little hallway. He kept waiting for Pharaoh to grab them and wrench them out of the way of some fatal trap, but the ground was steady and quiet, the walls firm and unmoving.
The tunnel was short- Burnout had been able to see the open exit from the other side of Virizion- but the walk felt like ages. The air was crackling in anticipation. For the thousandth time, his stomach twisted with apprehension. What would they find at the end of the tunnel? If the Grace was a real thing… which one of them would get to use it?
"Okay, this is killing me," Chiluly said suddenly, making him jump. Before they could respond, she hopped out from behind him and headed briskly for the doorway. In a matter of seconds, she had disappeared into the open area.
"Hey, wait-!" Burnout called out, hurrying after her. "Be careful, Chiluly! What if there's… traps…" His words trailed off as he stared at the scene before them. It was ancient, mysterious, and… kind of underwhelming.
Chiluly looked just as confused. "Eh?..." The room at the end of the tunnel was just about empty. The walls and floors were all the same sandstone-brown, and there were no more extravagant, storytelling murals anywhere.
The only thing that stood out was a pillar in the center of the circular room. Upon it was a stone that had been carved into the shape of an open book. "This is kinda…" Chiluly frowned and tapped on the hilt of her sword. "Weird."
Pharaoh moved past both of them without a second glance, heading for the pillar. The other two hurried after him, and soon they were all gathered around the same stone book. It was covered in markings, but none of them were familiar to Burnout.
Chiluly seemed to feel the same way. "Can you read this one, Pharaoh?"
Unfortunately, the Cofagrigus looked just as bemused. "...It's strange. The markings are completely random. They don't mean anything."
Disappointment made Burnout slouch. Chiluly, for once, tried to stay optimistic. "Well- that- they have to mean something! There wouldn't be some crazy Virizion puzzle if the only thing behind the door is some gibberish, right? That seems- unreasonable…"
Perhaps the desert spirits had a cruel sense of humor after all.
"Wait," Pharaoh said suddenly. He reached out with one claw and traced the lines on the book, then moved around the pillar to stare from a different angle. "Come here."
Burnout and Chiluly hustled to his sides, squeezing as close as they could without touching. Even in an anticipatory situation, Burnout didn't fancy getting clawed at.
"Woah!" Chiluly said, standing up as straight as she could to see. "It- is it a picture?" Now, Burnout could see that the carved lines of varying thickness and depth weren't writing at all. It was… an image? It looked a bit skewed, but if he leaned one way or another, a shape moved back and forth in the stone page.
"I think we need to move that way," he told the other two, and together they slowly shuffled around the pillar, keeping their eyes trained on the book. Slowly, slowly, the shape became more and more comprehensive, until-
"A mountain?" the three said in unison.
Chiluly groaned. "Stars. There are a lot of mountains in Unova. How are we supposed t-"
"Victor's Road," Pharaoh said, as if he was merely observing the weather. The other two stared at him in shock.
"How did you-"
"I've been there."
The mountain looked vaguely familiar to Burnout, too, though he would have come to that conclusion much slower. He had only been over to that side of Unova once or twice, on a bounty mission. Even if the image lacked a fair amount of detail, he was willing to take Pharaoh's word for it.
"This is gonna be awesome," Chiluly whispered under her breath. "We're going to VICTOR'S ROAD?!" She threw her hands in the air, narrowly avoiding the wrath of Pharaoh.
"Not so fast," he said, moving the sword away from him with one shadowy claw. "First, we need to reunite with Hawthorne and Chevali. And then we need to discuss whether or not this will be beneficial to our journey." His eyes lingered on the book. "And if they agree to travel to the Victor's Road, then we will go. But it is quite far, so we must all be on board."
"Well, then- I guess we should get going, right?" Burnout asked, feeling heartened by their discovery.
Chiluly whooped and hopped up and down. "Yes, let's get out of here! I can't wait to tell Chevali about this!"
He and Pharaoh exchanged a glance, but the old bounty hunter looked much more at ease than he had in a long time. Somewhere in him, Burnout felt a small spark of hope. Just like old times, huh?
"Let us go."
"I still can't get over how amazing that was!" Chiluly said for the thousandth time as they emerged back out into the arid desert. The stars were still twinkling in the sky, casting light upon the silent sands. Had they really spent all night in the crypt?
"I mean- who would've thought! Cover Virizion in fire? I totally see how you guys were bounty hunters. I never would've come up with that!" She mused thoughtfully for a few moments as they walked.
"So… if a Pokemon had found that place that couldn't make fire, does that mean they wouldn't have been able to unlock the chamber? That seems weird. Especially since Virizion is a forest guardian. Why fire?"
"I do not believe fire to be the sole answer," Pharaoh interjected. His voice had a deep, thoughtful ring to it that Burnout hadn't heard in so many years. The tension and displeasure had melted away, replaced with calmness."It makes sense, now that we've witnessed it. Virizion did not need to be presented with fire. She needed to be presented with grace."
Both Burnout and Chiluly stared at him, dumbfounded, for a moment, until he continued. "The term grace has shown itself to be synonymous to power. Burnout showed her his power- which manifests in flame. We could have done the same."
Burnout stopped to consider that for a moment, thoroughly fascinated. When he closed his eyes, he could imagine Virizion's lines traced with rampant greenery, vines and thorns and bright pink flowers, or oozing with ominous shadow, exuding danger but not evil. The vivid uniqueness of it was stunning.
"Wow," Chiluly murmured, and her distant gaze conveyed that she was imagining the same. Before the moment could linger, she jumped her fists and returned to her usual noisy self.
"Alright, here's the deal! Next time we find an ancient deity-guy's painting, I'm gonna be the one to figure out the puzzle and show them how strong I am!"
Burnout couldn't help but tease her. "Whatever you say… but who here is the treasure-hunting expert?"
"And who's the one here with a sword?!" she yelled back, waving it at him in a mildly threatening manner. He laughed and easily dodged the playful blow, prompting her to chase after him.
Pharaoh didn't waver from his stoic path, but as Burnout and Chiluly chased each other back and forth, he thought he heard the spirit mutter something about it being a long road to victory.
The orange leaves covered Hawthorne and Chevali in dappled shade as the morning sun rose. Hawthorne yawned and stretched his legs, blinking the exhausted tears out of his eyes and glancing around.
For a moment, he was confused. Where… am I? He shook himself once and the memories came back to him. Nimbasa, running, losing Chiluly, Pharaoh and Burnout…
He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Chevali was already awake, staring out at the skyline of the now more-distant city skyline. "Good morning, Chevali," he said, giving him a friendly smile. The knight nodded respectfully. "'Morning."
Hawthorne stretched out his legs and took a moment to clear his head of morning fog before he noticed Chevali still watching him. "Are you ready to move out for today?"
"Oh- yes!" Last night, they'd agreed that they would rest for the night on the edge of the forest they'd found themselves in, and then they would head back towards Nimbasa in hopes that they might easily reunite with Pharaoh and the others. He looked in the direction of Nimbasa, but when he turned to see if Chevali was following he found the knight was still standing on the other side of the clearing.
"Want to come this way, first? I can show you something I found earlier."
"Oh!" Hawthorne's ears pricked with curiosity. "Yes, please!" Pharaoh would be able to wait for them. Well, actually, knowing the other three, it would take them a fair while to reach their destination together.
A short stroll brought them to the shore of a pond being fed by a tiny, trickling stream. A couple of smooth, rounded stones had been rolled into place around it, creating a little zen garden.
"Aww! This is so cute!" Hawthorne chirped. He leaned down and nosed at the grass, enjoying the fresh, clean scent.
"Peaceful. I found it this morning, before you woke up" Chevali added, staring into the water with a somewhat distant expression. It was a relaxed, unguarded look he didn't see on the knight often, and it stirred Hawthorne's curiosity.
"Do you like- um, ponds?" he asked, before realizing it sounded a little silly. "Er- well, I mean, little things like this-"
Chevali gave him an amused look and cocked his head. "Back in my- hometown, I guess you could call it- we had a garden just like this." He gestured over the water, his reflection shimmering in the morning light.
Hawthorne's ears perked up. "Really? That's so cool!" After a moment of thought, he added, "'We?'"
Chevali nodded. "I live up on the Victor's Road. Those who wish to train their spiritual and physical strength spend lots of time up there. It's rather quiet and peaceful, despite common belief."
Hawthorne could feel his eyes widening in awe. "You live on the Victor's Road?!" The Victor's Road was as good as myth to most Pokemon on the west side of Unova. Located up on the peak of the northern mountains, adjacent and surrounding the human's similarly-named Victory Road, tales were told of only the strongest Pokemon gathering at its peak, battling against each other in order to temper their strength. It was a bit surprising to find that the Victor's community spent their spare time building zen gardens instead of fighting each other nonstop. Though, in retrospect, it wouldn't be very beneficial to your strength and energy to be constantly fighting.
Chevali seemed surprised by his shock. "Yes…?"
"That's amazing! You must be, like, so strong!" Hawthorne realized he'd never really seen Chevali fight. Perhaps it was a good thing- it might be a little scary.
The Escavalier seemed abashed. "Well, we're all strong, in one way or another. You just have to find your strength."
Hawthorne frowned and tilted his head. "I- guess so. I'm not a very good fighter."
"I don't believe that," Chevali said. "You just need to unlock your potential."
"Potential?..." Hawthorne stared down at his reflection in the water. He looked the same as he always had- a simple Sawsbuck, with a soft, round face and a familiar strap slung over his shoulder. "I don't see how I could ever be strong like you." It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He didn't think it would make him any greater to be able to win fights. He preferred not to fight at all.
Chevali stared into the water as well, thinking for a moment before responding, "You can be- because you're a weapon. We all are our own weapon. And harnessing that power can make you unstoppable." His reflection's gaze stayed level, his yellow eyes boring into Hawthorne's.
A chill ran down the Sawsbuck's spine, and he forced himself not to flinch. A pit was forming in his stomach, though he wasn't sure why. Chevali meant well, but his words were unsettling.
You're a weapon.
It made it sound like he was going to hurt somebody. But he didn't want to do that! Why would he do that?... The anxiety began to cloud his vision until Chevali spoke again.
"Are… you okay?"
"I'm alright! I'm alright," he said quickly, shaking himself. His leafy antlers fell over his face, tickling his nose.
The Escavalier's eyes still held a note of concern. "Perhaps we should sit down."
"Um- can we go back towards Nimbasa, maybe, instead?"
"I don't see why not." Chevali turned in the direction of the city, then gave him one last glance. "You're sure you're alright?"
"Yep!" Hawthorne chirped, trying to force cheerfulness into his voice. "I just need to walk it off."
Chevali seemed unsure of what else to say, so they headed back towards Nimbasa in silence, surrounded by the harmony of trickling water and leaves rustling in the wind.
Despite the peaceful backdrop, Hawthorne's thoughts were filled with weapons and fighters and murderers all the way to the city limits.