"So... where am I taking Rio?" Kora asked, following behind the young trio closely.
Charmeleon stopped the group as they entered the large area laden with crystals. The reptile looked around for a moment before pointing at one of the higher tunnels. "That's where all the vacant rooms are, I think. It's either that one, or..."
Grovyle did his friend a favor by answering his question for him. "Yes, that's where they are. Let's hurry up and get this guy there," he said, leading the others to the wall below the entrance.
"Ain't there another way up there? Any other tunnels or whatever?" Kora asked, getting a no from the others.
"We usually just jump from crystal to crystal, it's actually kinda fun! The Guild prides itself on their members being skilled at maneuvering, among other things," Frogadier explained with a chuckle. It quickly dawned on her that it might be tough to jump while holding an unconscious Pokémon, and a steel type at that. "Oh, but if you want some help, we can- EEEEP!"
"What's the pro- OH GEEZ!" Charmeleon turned to see what was up, just to be knocked down by a powerful force. He also bumped into Grovyle on the way down.
Kora managed to jump all the way to the tunnel's entrance in one powerful jump. "Oh, that was easier than I thought," he said, looking back down at the others. "Y'all coming?"
"Hey, wait up!" Charmeleon yelled, scrambling to his feet and jumping to one of the crystals.
"What was that?" Grovyle exclaimed, following behind his reptilian friend.
Both boys were easily caught up to and passed by Frogadier. "How did you jump up so high?! I don't think even Miss Nari can get up here with just one jump!" Frogadier asked, amazed.
Kora shrugged and chuckled. "I dunno, I just kinda… did it?"
Grovyle leapt up to the edge, exhaling and dusting off his shoulders. Charmeleon, more noticeably out of breath, pulled himself up and laid on the ground beside Grovyle.
"And that's everybody," Grovyle smirked, pulling Charmeleon up from the floor. "The dorms are pretty much just up ahead, but this path is a bit twisty. I'll lead the way," he said, walking ahead of everyone else.
"Aye aye," Kora and Charmeleon nodded, then looked at each other with bright eyes. "Jynx!" they both shouted, and their eyes somehow lit up even more. "Double jynx!"
Frogadier loudly cleared her throat, nodding towards Grovyle who was already leaving them behind. "Did you forget what we're doing?"
"Sorry," Kora and Charmeleon said, looking at each other again. This time, Frogadier yanked Charmeleon by the arm before he and Kora could get any further.
The tunnel curved and turned erratically, and there were barely any forms of light since there were very few crystals. Not like having more would have been great, the tunnel was barely tall enough for Kora to walk comfortably. After wandering around for a little while, the group arrived in the wing full of empty rooms.
"Alright, you can choose a room to leave your friend in. We don't have that many teams that live on the island, so we don't really use these," Grovyle told Kora.
Kora walked down the hall and stopped in front of a quaint little room with just one straw bed. It felt cozy to Kora, but it really didn't have much else to it. He gently set his friend down on the bed. With Rio soundly asleep, and Minerva no longer afflicted with whatever form of paralysis she had, Kora fell hard on his backside and let out a loud, aggravated sigh.
"Gaaaaahhh! Why is everything so messed up all of a sudden?!" Kora groaned loudly, his frustration getting the better of him. "Almost every damn day, someone gets hurt in a fight, someone else goes berserk, and after all of that, someone randomly disappears!?"
The trio watched awkwardly from the doorway, neither of the three really wanted to ask questions but they felt they had to do something.
After letting Kora rant to himself for a bit, Frogadier decided to speak up. "Um... are you... okay?" she asked, slowly approaching the fox.
"I have no freaking idea! You're guess is as good as mine, whatever-your-name-is!" Kora said. He stopped his venting when he realized he really didn't know any of their names. "...Actually, what is your name?"
"Oh, did we forget to introduce ourselves? Guess with all the excitement going on, it totally slipped our minds, hehe. I'm Nina," Frogadier said with a smile. "Those two are Jay and Lucas," Nina pointed to Grovyle and Charmeleon respectively.
"I'm Kora. Nice to actually meet you guys." Kora took a deep breath and exhaled to calm himself down, then smiled. "Sorry to get you caught up in our mess."
"It's no problem, Kora. Honestly, we haven't done anything that interesting since we joined the guild a long while back," Jay said. "We've hardly even been on any expeditions."
"Yeah, all we've done is train! Besides, you're making it sound like this is a lot more trouble than it is," Lucas chimed in, approaching Kora and Nina. Jay stayed by the doorway; the room wasn't that large and the other three Pokémon were taking up what little space was already there.
"I guess I should explain a bit more, my ranting didn't help, did it?" Kora joked, chuckling for a moment before taking a deep breath. He looked at his slumbering friend before continuing. "Rio is... a lot more special than you guys might think."
"Oh right! Nari said he was an Outlander before we brought you inside the guild, right?" Nina asked. Both of her friends almost forgot about that, looking at each other then back at Kora for an answer.
"Yep, Rio's an Outlander, if you couldn't tell by that cool ability he did earlier," Kora said, nodding.
The trio's faces all lit up, even Jay decided to move in closer to hear more from the fox. "That's awesome! It's a shame he's out cold, 'cause I would love a few fights with him!" Lucas exclaimed.
"I wonder how he fights? Can't Outlanders learn any type of attack?" Nina wondered.
"Why did he show up?" Jay asked firmly, his seriousness putting a halt to his friends' excitement. "I'm pretty certain that Outlanders show up for a reason, so what's his?"
Kora flinched at Jay's question, his expression falling a bit before he answered. "He's supposed to save the world from a great and powerful evil. Minerva and I are his teammates, and we were thinking of joining the Guild after we trained up a bunch."
"Whoa there, back it up a bit-" Lucas held up his claws, looking somewhere between worried and curious, "-what do you mean, 'Save the World'?"
"I dunno, we don't know what we're fighting or what we gotta do, which is why we're gonna join the guild," Kora explained. The three stayed silent for a few moments, taking in what they've been told.
"...That hardly sounds feasible. How are you gonna stop some great evil without knowing what it actually is?" Jay asked.
"Well, first we thought we'd join the guild, then see where that takes us. Besides, I'm pretty sure we can take our time finding out. My mom said that if the world were in danger right now, she'd be on top of it before anyone else," Kora said. The trio blinked, looking between themselves for a moment.
"Your… mom?" Nina asked.
"What is she, some kinda hero?" Lucas asked.
Kora nodded. "Yep, saved the world like… a while before I was even born. I think like, uh… man I don't think I ever asked her." He shrugged.
Jay tapped his chin, humming. "Now, this is just a hunch and could be wrong, but is your mom… Diana?"
Kora nodded again, then furrowed his brow. "Yeah but… how do you know her?"
"Because she kinda, you know, saved the world!" Lucas said excitedly. "Everyone in the guild knows about her! She's a living legend!"
"R-Really? I mean, I guess, but-" Kora began, but was interrupted by Nina.
"Did she really stop two entire armies by herself?" Nina asked, getting a bit too close to Kora than he would have liked.
"Y-Yeah she-" Kora opened his mouth to speak, but he wasn't given a chance to respond.
"And she really did beat a Sharpedo in a swimming race?"
"Did she actually scale the world's tallest mountain in under a minute?"
"She totally beat a Conkeldurr in a fight with nothing but her bare paws, right?"
"Can she throw lightning stronger than the Icon of Thunder himself?"
"I bet she can wrestle, like, two Machamps at a time! No, three!"
"Did the God of the Skies even stand a chance against her?"
Kora kept backing away from the two, but Nina and Lucas kept getting closer and closer. He eventually fell backwards, almost right on top of Rio. He let out a relieved sigh and rolled off the bed.
"Prove it," Jay said suddenly, surprising the others. He was so quiet, they sort of forgot he was there.
"What do you mean, 'prove it'? I wasn't there, everything I know is from her own stories," Kora huffed.
"I'm asking you to prove you're actually related to her. It's easy to say you know an Outlander, or even that you're related to one. So, prove it," Jay said, just as blunt as before.
Nina sighed. "I don't think he's lying, Jay. What would he get from that?"
"Really? Didn't he just say he was trying to get into the guild?" Jay shook his head, turning back to Kora. "That'd be a pretty easy way to get in, wouldn't it?"
"I'm not lying," Kora frowned. "It's pretty obvious you won't believe me, but that's the truth. I'm Diana's kid."
"There's an easy way to prove it to me. Either bring us to Diana, or fight me yourself," Jay said, shrugging.
"Wha- hey! I wanna fight him too!" Lucas huffed, his tail flame flaring briefly.
"If all you wanted from him was a fight, why didn't you just ask?" Nina rolled her eyes. "He'd probably have said yes anyway, right?" she looked back at Kora.
"No," Kora said, shaking his head.
The room grew silent and still. Safe to say, no one really expected him to decline.
"Hm, fine. Then you really are some wannabe looking for guild perks. It's a shame you made your way all the way to the island just to get kicked right back off," Jay said, turning to leave.
Kora's ears twitched and he let out an annoyed sigh. He grabbed Jay by the shoulder to stop him, saying. "Look, Jay, some other Pokemon might be scummy enough to lie about this kinda thing for… whatever the hell they'd be after. But, and I hope I make this clear, I am not a liar, and I certainly don't need my mom to help me get into this place."
A black aura started rising from Kora's body, spreading across the ceiling. Jay and the other two stepped back, a mix of fear and awe overtook them as they watched Kora's aura cover the entire room.
"Believe it or not, I'm already plenty powerful. Me, and my friends. Would someone who wasn't be able to do something like this?" Kora lifted his paw up and snapped, turning all the darkness into small black and purple specks as they dissipated into the air.
"H-How did you do that?" Nina asked, amazed.
"That was incredible!" Lucas cheered. "Do it again!"
Kora winked at the two. "I can't go around flaunting my power all willy nilly, sorry!"
Jay remained quiet, he didn't need to say anything anyway. The look on his face was enough for Kora to know he did well.
"Tell ya what, how about I fight you guys anyway? I kinda wanna get my mind off of a few things, and what better way than fighting?" Kora said, grinning.
Jay blinked. "But… didn't you just-"
"WOOO-HOOO! I'm gonna fight an Outlander!" Lucas happily exclaimed as he ran out the room.
"We're going to fight the son of an Outlander," Nina shook her head, following behind Lucas. "And you have to at least wait for us dude!"
Jay and Kora looked at each other after Nina and Lucas left. The Grovyle squinted at Kora, then left after his friends.
"Yeesh… Tough crowd," Kora muttered. He glanced at Rio one last time before leaving to catch up with the young trio.
The walk towards the main area was calm and relaxing, enabling Kora to do something he had rarely done before, actually thinking. There were so many things to think about, too. The fight at the springs, the fight on the shoreline, the other fight on the shoreline, what literally just happened, that time Minerva almost broke his ribs with a box of rocks.
'Oh yeah, I still have no idea what I just did,' Kora thought, looking at his paws. It was a good thing he was behind everyone so they couldn't see him quietly freaking out. 'Since WHEN could I do that?!' Kora looked up at Nina and noticed the flower was still very intact, and had a faint purple glow around it. 'IT'S STILL THERE?!'
While Kora was hopelessly lost in thought about this strange power he somehow obtained, the others stopped at an intersection due to a couple of Pokémon. A large, four-armed humanoid and a tall, sharp-looking fellow with a blade on his head. Not noticing the Pokémon before him had stopped, Kora bumped into Jay, or bumped into Nina and then Lucas, who fell into the sharp fellow and yelped loudly.
"KYAHHH! S-So sharp!" Lucas yelped, startling everyone there.
"Watch where you're going ki-" the familiar Bisharp said as he looked back and saw a Kora looking back at him.
"Hey Zen, is everything alright?" the other guy, a Machamp, asked. He lent a hand to the hurt Lucas, but for some reason his eyes decided to look over his friends. A Grovyle, a Frogadier, Kora. Wait a second...
"K-Kora!" Jax pushed Zen out of his way and rushed over to the Halfbreed, totally forgetting about the smaller Pokémon on the ground. Fortunately they were all able to not get trampled. Kora didn't realize what exactly was going on until he was tackled and hugged by two pairs of incredibly muscular arms.
"H-Hey Jax! Surprised t-to see you h-here!" Kora managed to say, "Could y-you please let me down?" Luckily, Jax heard Kora's words and let go of the Zoroark, dropping him on his back.
"Oh, sorry bud. It's just, now that I found you..." Jax sniffled, holding his hands together.
"I was already found, like yesterday, actually."
"Yeah, but I lost you again this morning. But now that I found you again, I won't have to tell your mom I lost you in the first place! I get to punch another day!" Jax happily exclaimed, tears of joy and relief streaming down his face.
"Gee, glad to hear that you care for my well-being as your student," Kora said sarcastically, stretching his sore body. Zen picked himself up and dusted the dirt off of him, annoyed that he got so easily pushed over.
"Alright, you've had your fun Jax, let's go. We still have to find the sparring area," the Bisharp grumbled.
Lucas shot up, forgetting the cut on his cheek. "We were heading there ourselves, Zen! Why don't ya come with us?" he offered. Zen thought it over for a second, then nodded. This was certainly a surprise for Kora.
"You guys know Zen?" Kora asked.
Nina helped Jay up and nodded. "Yep, he holds the record for staying underwater the longest without being a Water Type!" she explained.
"That, and he was the student of one of the Guild's founders. He's a bit of a big deal around here. I've always wanted to spar against him, and now's my chance!" Jay's eyes lit up. "He's like a celebrity!"
Kora looked at Zen, blinking. He had no idea what a celebrity was, but it somehow suited Zen. Maybe. Chances are he'd never learn what the word meant anyway, so for all he knew it really was a good word for Zen.
Once the group reached the main area, Lucas led them all towards one of the lower tunnels with much more walking room. Jax didn't have to bend his neck down just to walk, and his body didn't take up the entire walkway. Zen and Jax both argued about how one knew the right way and blamed the other on getting lost. On the walk down, they all passed by a large stone door with odd markings on it. The markingss looked like fire, but a crazy kinda fire. A lot of crystals were around the entrance, almost like they were there to keep people away.
"What's behind that door? Looks important," Kora asked.
"No idea. No one's ever opened it. I don't think even the Guildmaster knows what's behind it," Nina shuddered.
"Some of the other guild members say that they hear strange noises coming from it at night," Lucas added, making Nina shudder more.
"I've heard that if you touch the door, you'll grow drowsy and fall asleep for an entire day," Jay said, sending chills up his friends' backs. "What's worse, you'll have terrible nightmares for an entire week!" Everybody stopped in their tracks after hearing that. Jax, Zen and Kora looked at each other before looking back at the kids.
"That sounds... completely ludicrous," Zen said, crossing his arms.
"Oh yeah, then why're you shivering?" Jay asked, a bold grin plastered on his face. Zen coughed and stopped shaking.
"I-it's kind of chilly down here, that's all."
"Yeah, that's what every Pokémon says..." Jay said, crossing his arms, "Right before the fall into eternal slumber."
Zen flinched, getting a grin from Jay. Not allowing anyone else to realize his brief show of weakness, Zen pushed everyone further down the hall.
The sparring area was quite possibly the largest area in the mountain. The ceiling and walls were covered with multi-colored crystals. A big ol' lake sat in the center of the area, with water so clear that you could see the vast array of crystals at its bottom. Jax and Kora needed a minute to take it all in, much like awestruck toddlers getting a mountain of gifts on their birthday.
"Are you two enjoying yourselves? Do you need more time to admire the scenery?" Zen asked sarcastically. The two stopped looking around and cleared their throats and nodded to show they were finished. "Good. Now, let's actually get to the sparring, I've had the itch to battle since that encounter with Nari," Zen said with a cocky grin. Kora grinned at the Bisharp's eagerness.
"And I've been waiting to fight you since I first heard of you," Jay said, standing across from Zen.
'I thought we came here so they could fight me...' Kora sighed to himself, looking dejected.
"Th-Then I guess I'll fight Kora," Nina said, almost sort of nervous.
"That just leaves me and Jax, huh?" Lucas looked over at the bulky Machamp and gladly took the challenge, "Alright, I'll take you on!" Jax grinned and pounded his fists together.
"What spirit! What pride! That fire burning within you, I like it, kid!" Jax exclaimed proudly, standing across from the fire type. The fighting spirit that the others had wore off on Kora and Nina, the two going towards the lake and getting ready to fight.
"If you go easy on me Kora, I'll make you regret it!" Nina boldly proclaimed, putting the black flower in her frubbles before hopping into the water.
Kora got on all fours and grinned excitedly. "Don't blame me if you get hurt, Nina!" The Zoroark replied, getting ready to move.
Nina dived underwater before jumping high above the lake, surrounded by water. "Water Pulse!" she yelled, as the water formed rings around her and shot out at Kora. The fox ran around the lake, evading the incoming pulses.
"Dark Pulse!" Kora fired a very held-back pulse at Nina, blasting her out of the water. The Frogadier landed on her feet, not too far from Kora surprisingly. Nina swiftly charged the fox and rammed into him with a Quick Attack to knock him off his feet.
"Aerial Ace!" Nina jumped over and slashed at Kora before he could recover, landing behind him. Her attack did more damage than Kora expected, but the pain was soon replaced with growing excitement
'She might make me regret going easy on her. But I don't wanna hurt her either,' Kora thought as he stood back up. 'But she is putting up one hell of a fight, so...'
"You're not tired already, are you?" Nina mocked, a proud smile upon her face.
"Not yet, I haven't even broke a sweat! Dark pulse!" Kora fired the pulse directly at his feet, creating a dust cover. Nina didn't approach, watching for whatever that fox could possibly be planning.
"Water Pulse." Nina's attack cleared away most of the dust, but Kora was nowhere to be seen. It was like he vanished! Nina faintly felt something rush behind her. The frog leapt out of the lake, but there wasn't anything there. Nina landed on the edge of the lake, mindful of her surroundings.
"Incinerate!" Kora reappeared behind Nina. He blasted the ground between them instead of hitting Nina directly. Nina was sent flying into the lake. Kora himself was launched backwards, skidding across the rigid stone floor. He did more damage than he planned for, even with it being an indirect hit to either of them.
Nina pulled herself out of the lake, and was met with Kora offering her his paw. "You got here fast," Nina chuckled, accepting his help. "I can totally see you being an Outlander's kid."
"And you ain't so bad yourself. A whole lot stronger than I thought you'd be," Kora said, choosing not to tell her how much he held back. He used a bit too much strength pulling her out of the water, almost slamming her against his chest. Luckily, Nina caught herself before that happened.
"How'd you disappear like that, by the way? You just, like, up and vanished," Nina asked, clearing her throat.
"Did I? I'm pretty sure there was just buncha dust everywhere. I had to stop myself from sneezing and giving myself away," Kora laughed.
"No way! I know I didn't see you!" Nina huffed, then let out a chuckle. "Whatever, fine, keep your secrets."
The two chatted on until they were eventually joined by Jax and Lucas, both looking beaten and bruised from their fight. They acted like they were perfectly fine, but it was pretty clear to Kora and Nina that Jax and Lucas roughed each other up good.
"You got yourself a powerful puncher for a friend, kid! I'm proud!" Jax laughed.
"Jax hits like a train!Or like, four trains! All stuck together by another, bigger train! I don't think anyone else in the guild is nearly as strong as he is!" Lucas exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes, getting a chuckle out of Jax. The two went to fist bump each other, sending a powerful shock up both their still-very-bruised arms.
Nina took a closer look at Lucas, further confirming that he, indeed, was beat up. "Geez, Lucas! How hard were you fighting? " Nina groaned, dragging the beaten Charmeleon behind her. "Both of you look like you were fighting to the death!"
"O-Ow, not so hard Nina!" Lucas whined. "I-I mean, I'm fine! Honest!"
Jax felt like he should probably follow along, seeing how he was beat up as well, but was hesitant about it. Kora pretty much had to push the hulking mass of muscle all the way back to the infirmary.
Thanks to Jax not even trying to walk, he and Kora arrived quite a bit behind Nina and Lucas. By the time the two reached the infirmary, Tia was already looking after Lucas and scolding him for his reckless behavior. Just before Kora shoved him into the room, Jax jutted out his arms to keep him and Kora in place.
"Jax, I swear, if I gotta take off your arms, I will," Kora said, still trying to push Jax.
"You know how scary your mom gets when she's angry, right?" Jax whispered, slowly trying to walk back outside. "This lady makes your mom's wraith look like a tantrum! So if you'll excuse m-"
"I should have KNOWN you were behind this, you MEATHEAD!" Tia yelled, grabbing Jax with blue psychic energy and bringing him inside. She aggressively slammed her paw down, thus slamming Jax into the ground. "Not only do you make stupid decisions, but you just HAVE to bring others along for the ride, huh!?"
"O-Ow! Tia! P-Please let me go!" Jax begged, his plea only strengthening the force Tia pushed down with. The ground started to crack below the Fighting-Type, and the other Pokémon in the room thought it would be smart to leave. "I-I'm sorry! We got really c-caught up in our sparring m-match!"
"Do you REALLY think that's ACCEPTABLE?" Tia's booming voice began to frighten the others, pulling out a sense of guilt none of them knew they had.
"M-Miss Tia! Don't blame him, the fight was my ide-!" Lucas tried to defend Jax, but was met with the fiery gaze of the Meowstic.
"Don't you try and cover for him, Lucas," the Meowstic snarled, quite literally draining Lucas of his color. Jax couldn't move a muscle, Kora and Nina were trying their hardest to escape with their lives, and Lucas remained in one spot almost devoid of life. Like every other trip to the doctor.
"T-Ti...a! I-I'm s-sor...ry..!" Jax strained to say, trying his best to not pass out. Tia finally decided to let the Machamp go, allowing him to take in as deep a breath as possible.
"If another Pokémon comes in hurt because of you, I won't be so nice," Tia hissed. Jax nodded weakly and uttered a noise that confirmed that he understood. Tia gathered her normal composure and went back to helping Lucas. She then realized how pale he looked.
"Oh, sorry. I think I might've went a tad overboard," Tia said, holding Lucas' hand in her paws. His only response was a few moans and groans, and him falling over when she let go. Tia looked at the doorway and noticed Kora laying on the ground face-down. "You too?"
"I couldn't... get away... in time..." Kora managed to say. His voice was weak. "Too... loud... ears... hurt..."
After a couple healing pulses and apologies, Kora and Lucas were back in tip top shape! Jax, on the other hand, was made to wait until Lucas and Kora recovered before Tia even thought about healing him. How unfortunate.
"What're you gonna do to him?" Lucas asked, poking Jax's side to make sure he was still awake.
"Having the both of you recover kind of wore me out, so Jax will have to wait until I can recover. He might spend a few hours here, maybe even the whole day." The Nurse replied with an innocent smile.
'She's totally leaving him like this all day.' Kora and Lucas thought. Before they left, Kora made sure to check in on Minerva. She had curled back up into a ball, pleased in her rest. A fuzzy warmness filled Kora's chest knowing she was alright, making him smile.
With a wave and a goodbye, Lucas and Kora left the Infirmary, excited to see who won between Jay and Zen. Right outside the doorway was Nina, who luckily got away unscathed from Tia's outrage.
"Look who it is! Feeling bad for leaving us both behind?" Lucas joked, poking Nina on the forehead.
"It's not my fault that you guys were slow! You should be happy I came back anyway!" Nina responded, sticking her tongue out at Lucas. "Oh yea, that reminds me! Kane was in the Main Area a little while ago, said he was looking for Eva."
Kora frowned, knowing that an encounter with Kane wasn't going to be entirely great. The three walked down to the Main Area and, sure enough, Kane was still there. Although... there was something off about him that Kora just couldn't place.
"Oh you're back, girly! With my least favorite dark type too! What fun," Kane put on a fake smile and waved halfheartedly.
"Why are you here?" Kora firmly asked, not feeding into his insult.
"Unlike some of us, I like to make sure my team isn't severely paralyzed, or hurt at all for that matter. And seeing how Zen is already here, I thought Eva got herself inside to escape the cold. Have ya seen her?" Kane asked, again trying to push the fox's buttons.
"No. We haven't seen her. How about you do us all a favor and get lost too." Kora told him, turning back around.
"Aww, c'mon Halfbreed! Don't take the 'least favorite' comment like that!" Kane said, a mocking grin on his face. "It's not your fault that you endanger almost everyone else around you! If you aren't busy getting your friends into comas, why not help me find mine?"
Lucas and Nina were getting the vibe that maybe, just maybe, these two didn't like each other. Trying his best to not engage a battle with Kane because of his natural talent for pissing people off, Kora didn't say a word.
"Whatever, see you whenever one of your friends gets hurt again. Or maybe I'll just see you running away, who knows?" Kane said as he turned and left.
The three walked in silence up until they reached the stone door surrounded by crystals. Kora, suddenly, stopped walking. As Lucas went to see what was wrong, Kora erupted in a furious rage, punched the wall as hard as he possibly could. Lucas let out yelp and jumped. The spot Kora hit was cracked, and Kora's fist wasn't doing much better.
"Screw him! Screw both of those bastards!" Kora barked as he slid down the wall.. Nina and Lucas sat on either side of Kora, patting his back or holding his paw until he calmed down. It took a few minutes, but he did finally relax, right as Zen and Jay showed up.
"We heard someone yelling, are you guys alright?" Jay asked, he and Zen kneeling down in front of the three.
"It was Kane, he said some scummy things to Kora," Nina explained.
"Kora didn't want to beat that guy I guess, so he punched the wall instead," Lucas added.
Zen and Kora locked eyes for a moment before Zen turned away. He rolled his shoulders and sighed. "That is none of our business then," Zen said.
"Wh-Why? Kane was a jerk, shouldn't we, like, do something?" Lucas asked.
"No," Zen said, bluntly. "Kora can handle himself, he doesn't need us doing his work for him."
"B-But…" Nina said, looking between Kora and Zen. Kora had his head low, and Zen had shut his eyes and started to walk away.
"If you feel Kora needs help, bring him to Tia and do nothing more," Zen said as he left. "Let him sort this out on his own."
After the echo of Zen's footsteps faded, silence filled the hall. Lucas and Jay offered to help Kora up, getting a quiet nod. They lifted Kora from the ground and walked him to the infirmary.
Tia was humming to herself, still paying Jax no mind, when Kora and the others entered. "What is it? You three look awfully down."
"We bumped into Kane and, well…" Nina sighed.
"We'll just say he and Kora aren't exactly on the best of terms," Jay said.
"He busted up his paw a bit earlier, so we were wondering if you could look at it?" Lucas asked, smiling nervously. "I-It's not because of a fight, I promise!"
Tia looked up at Kora, a flash of pink surrounding her, and nodded. "I'll take a look, yes. If anything he might just need some bandages and a few berries and he'll be good as new."
Kora remained silent, letting Tia see his busted up paw. It was bruised and a bit scraped, with faint traces of dark red blood on it, but other than that it was visibly fine. When Tia held it, however, Kora winced and let out a quiet whine.
"I see…" Tia nodded, a pink glow encompassing her as some bandage wrap and an assortment of berries floated around her. She wrapped Kora's paw snuggly with the bandage, then handed him the berries. "Here, it's not a lot, but it should help you heal quicker."
"...Thanks," Kora said, smiling weakly. He set the berries on a bed and sat besides them. "I think I just need a minute, really."
"Take all the time you like," Tia nodded.
Nina, Jay, and Lucas figured they might as well stay in the infirmary, it's not like they had anything better to do. They did wonder where Zen went off to, but he'd probably tell them it wasn't any of their business anyway.