There is scarcely anything more frustrating than an unsolved mystery that has claimed your interest. Worse is if said unsolved mystery is kept purposefully out of your reach like a cookie jar on the top shelf. There's the possibility that the jar is empty, or filled to the brim with undesirable flavors, but you'll never know if you never get the chance to look inside, and the fact you can't reach it to look inside is nearly unbearable.
This would be an accurate, albeit roundabout and unnecessarily tangential, way to describe Frost's current state of mind. The mention of the Solaceon Ruins, and A/C's comment about sensing vibes coming from it, had hooked the Glaceon's interest. He had grown up on Mt. Coronet, a mountain reknowned for being filled with ancient secrets and fascinating legends of the past. His parents had been more fixated on human culture and society, but some of the books they had touched upon the legends humans shared over the ages.
Those tales had fascinated him moreso when he was younger, but something within him had yearned to be a part of such stories and legends. A name or event passed down from generation to generation, briefly lost and reinvented by the span of time, only to resurface and become relevant again.
Unfortunately, Shadow had been in dire need of a nap, which called a halt to any sort of real discussion or suggestions of exploring the Ruins. He hadn't the foggiest clue what could have triggered the Espeon's panic attack or whatever it had been, but if it was connected somehow to the Ruins, he was more than willing to figure out what it was.
For all the Glaceon knew, the vibes were immaterial, and if that was the case, the Ruins could still be a fascinating piece of history to examine and immerse himself in. And if the vibes and panic were well founded and there was something potentially dangerous within, well...he could use a challenge. Ever since he had left home so many months ago, he had sought out numerous opponents and sparring partners, but each had left him wanting more. He was not so reckless to approach Pokemon trainers or territories that had ridiculously low odds of emerging victorious, so it wasn't as if he was truly unbeatable, but he wanted a battle that could thrill him to his core.
Raze had been an acceptably powerful opponent, one that Frost felt could definitely offer him a different sort of challenge. Raze was resourceful, if a touch predictable at times, and his tactics were very different from how Pokemon closer to the mountain fought. The Glaceon and Buizel found it mutually beneficial to use one another to drive themselves to greater heights, and Frost extended the same service to Shadow and his brother. They had significant potential, however untapped, and Frost could easily see them becoming exceptionally strong once they found their niche.
Perhaps even strong enough to rival him, and in turn, motivate him to keep improving and adapting.
One step at a time, though. Loathe as Frost was to admit it, A/C was making significantly more progress with Shadow than he had any hope of doing, but at least Raze was currently absent, so he didn't have to endure the Buizel's smug, knowing grin.
A/C had excused herself from the den, stating something along the lines of completing part of her shift, but had promised to return before long. With her and Shadow currently absent or unconscious, this left Frost unable to leave to check out the Ruins alone, because he certainly wasn't going to drag Leaf along with him without approval, nor did he feel it would be wise to leave the Leafeon unsupervised, even though the little guy was being used as a reluctant pillow for his brother.
Frost restlessly paged through another one of A/C's books, but his heart wasn't really into the contents of the pages. Several times, he caught himself re-reading the same paragraph three or four times, but digesting absolutely none of it. Eventually, he just gave up on getting any reading done. He debated doing a few training exercises to pass time, but the den seemed ill-suited for such things, and ran the risk of reducing the temperature to the point of discomfort. Especially since Leaf was in here, and Shadow was asleep. Neither would appreciate ice or snow being flung around in close quarters to them.
The Glaceon paced back and forth a few times, but to keep from drawing Leaf's curiosity, he'd pause to flip through a few pages of the closest book, only to resume pacing. He hated being cooped up as much as anybody, but it felt infinitely worse when he actually had a specific desired place to be, rather than simply wanting to have freedom and flexibility. Speaking of that unpleasant, but unquestionably familiar feeling...
Frost paused, and made a mental note to later request A/C for a Teleport near Mt. Coronet, and then retrieve him a few hours later, if possible. He hadn't initially intended to go this far away from the mountain for a while, but meeting Leaf and Shadow had complicated that, and it simply wasn't practical to go back on foot, visit for a few hours, and then come back for Leaf and Shadow afterwards. He wasn't even sure what Shadow's travel plans in the future might entail, so he needed to at least make one quick visit to explain his circumstances and make a schedule for future drop-in visits, before dedicating his time to the present task.
That was not going to be a fun conversation.
As Frost turned to do yet another round of pacing, he stepped on the cover of one of the books on the den floor and lost his footing, nearly falling over in his haste to regain his balance. Scowling, and hoping that Leaf had dozed off, he picked up the offending book and flipped through it idly. He cared so minimally about reading anything at this point, that it was at least a minute before he realized the words were hand-written, rather than typed.
The book, on closer inspection, seemed to be a journal or diary of some sort. Each page had the date of the entry, and the content ranged from a few sentences to several long-winded paragraphs. The tone of the entries seemed to fluctuate, some starting off rather enthusiastic-sounding, with an unnecessary number of punctuation marks at the end of each line, whereas others seemed much more somber and restrained, yet the handwriting remaining consistent throughout.
Until a point about two-thirds in, when the handwriting shifted. Whereas the first author had used hasty motions, resulting in sloppy, but legible words, as if they were eager to put all their thoughts on the page as they flowed, the second author seemed to take almost obsessive, unnatural care in each motion, as if every stroke of the pen had every ounce of their focus. Judging by the dates of those entries, the new author had continued the journal the day after the previous entry by the first author.
Frost closed the book quickly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. He didn't even need to read the entries themselves to get the impression he had stumbled upon something incredibly personal or at least of great sentimental value. He may not have been a psychic Pokemon, but he could still relate to the idea of invading someone's thoughts and memories without permission, even if it was unintentional.
Ironic, he had just been dwelling on thoughts he didn't want others to know the details of, and then literally stumbled over a book probably containing thoughts and memories the owners may not have wanted others to know about.
The Glaceon heaved a small sigh, setting the book down among the others, and walked over to where Shadow was sleeping. Leaf had loyally not budged from his spot beneath Shadow's head, and his tail flicked at Frost's approach, only to wince and squirm a little, which seemed to rapidly escalate his discomfort.
"I'm asleep!" he complained to the Glaceon.
"...what?"
"It's really prickly," the Leafeon explained with a whine.
"Oh. What part of you fell asleep?" Frost asked.
"All of them!"
Frost was doing his best not to laugh now. The Leafeon was being completely serious, but the absurdity of his sentences was taking its toll on Frost's ability to keep a straight face. It didn't help that Leaf was somehow insisting on being Shadow's pillow, which restricted him from moving away without possibly waking the Espeon.
"It's a shame you don't know how to use vines yet. Then you'd be able to get feeling back without needing to move," Frost mused.
"...I can use vines?" Leaf wondered, his light brown eyes widening in curious interest. Then he looked confused. "What are vines?"
Frost opened his mouth to reply, then realized he really didn't know how to explain vines without having one physically available to point to. It then occurred to him that he had never actually seen natural vines, only Grass-Types capable of using them.
"I...think we'll have to cover that another day," he said finally.
"Aww..." Leaf sighed, resting his head on his forepaws, then glanced at his still-sleeping brother. As if on cue, the Espeon stirred and his silver eyes blinked open. "Hi Shadow!" Leaf chirped promptly.
"Uhh...hi?" Shadow muttered, sitting upright and rubbing his eyes to dispel his lingering sleepiness.
"Sleep okay?" Frost wondered idly.
"I guess?" Shadow stated uncertainly. "How long was I asleep?"
"Hmm...probably an hour or two, just long enough to be a nap. Makes sense, if you only needed to mentally recharge," the Glaceon supplied. Leaf had scurried out from where he had been laying, and was desperately shaking the tingling sensation from his limbs, something that Frost noted with amusement.
"Oh, that's much better, then," Shadow said, massaging his forehead with one forepaw, but taking care not to touch the gemstone. "I can actually think now."
"Perfect. What do you think of visiting the Ruins that A/C mentioned?" Frost asked. The Espeon froze, looking up at Frost as if trying to discern if the Glaceon was serious or not.
"Why would I want to do that?" he asked slowly.
"Maybe you wouldn't," Frost said dismissively. "But I want to, and if you and A/C are sensing something there, it seems appropriate one or both of you would come along."
"Ooh, can I come?" Leaf asked, his ears perking up and his brown eyes widening hopefully. Shadow winced and gave Frost an annoyed look, to which the Glaceon replied with a raised eyebrow. There was something very strange about Shadow's reaction to the Ruins. He was becoming more evasive than normal, even for what Frost had seen from him already. Something was definitely unnerving the Espeon, but whether the fear had any true basis had yet to be seen.
"I don't want to go there," Shadow said finally.
"Very well, I'll wait for A/C to get back and I'll bring her along instead," Frost said. The unease and uncertainly Shadow displayed wasn't severe enough to be a truly crippling fear, so in all likelihood he just was reluctant, and didn't have a concrete reason to avoid the Ruins. In that case, Frost had a suspicion on how to persuade the Espeon to come along, but it had the risk of backfiring spectacularly.
"But can I come?" Leaf asked, adding a whine to his words.
"Go where?" A/C asked, walking into the den. Frost blinked. He had expected the Kadabra to Teleport inside as she had done each time previously, but it soon occurred to him that she didn't want her Teleportation light to wake Shadow if he was still napping, so she had probably Teleported outside the den first.
"Ah, I wanted to take a look at the Solaceon Ruins," Frost explained nonchalantly. "Not only could it be valuable as an object of study, but I'm curious about what the two of you have been detecting in there."
"And I want to go too!" Leaf said, his tail flicking. "I've had to stay in here all day."
Shadow winced again, but remained silent. The Kadabra considered, touching her spoon to her chin absently.
"I'd be willing to go," A/C answered at last, a faint smile gracing her face. "I used to visit a lot of interesting locations in the past."
"I don't like the feeling from there," Shadow said, but it was clear that his resolve was weakening. It was three Pokemon willing to go against one, and it was obvious from the conflicted look in his eyes that he didn't want to entrust Leaf to them and stay behind, and would likewise be in a poor position to insist Leaf stay with him, but let the other two go.
"I'm sure we'll manage fine with me there," Frost said, flashing a smug smile. "I suppose you could stay behind, if you stay out of sight of trainers and-"
Shadow growled quietly, but Frost had no intention of finishing his thought. He had found the right button to press. Underhanded, perhaps, but Shadow couldn't simply avoid danger forever. He was receiving mentoring specifically to be able to face danger, and if he had allies backing him up, then he was in a better position to enter battle than would be otherwise possible.
"Fine...let's just go, then," the ebony Espeon muttered.
"If you're sure," A/C said. She didn't seem entirely convinced of Shadow's willingness, but Leaf brightened immediately and went nearer to the Kadabra.
"Just do it," Shadow grunted. He took a deep, soothing breath, and then nodded more confidently. "Let's go."
"Very well," A/C answered. She waved her paw and her eyes glowed vibrantly. Frost closed his eyes quickly to protect them from the flash of light, and when the brightness faded from his eye lids, he felt grass beneath his feet, and the sun's rays on his back.
Despite preparing himself for this, Frost still felt disoriented when he opened his eyes. A short walk ahead of them was an enormous cave entrance, but the area was surrounded by trees and grass, almost like a forest. At the same time, he could hear the sounds of humans going about their daily routine, almost as if they were within the town itself.
"Whoa...where are we?" Leaf asked, looking around with incredible enthusiasm. A/C smiled down at him.
"We're just outside the Solaceon Ruins. They're located practically in Solaceon Town's backyard, so if you're picking up unfamiliar sounds and smells, that could be the reason for it."
"I smell fire," Shadow said dully. Leaf flinched. "But not in a bad way."
This just earned the Espeon a weird look from everyone present, and he averted his gaze awkwardly. If not for his black fur, Frost suspected he'd have been blushing, yet he couldn't resist rubbing salt in the wound a bit more, if only to make up for Raze's absence.
"And how, may I ask, can you smell fire in a good way?"
"Hey gorgeous!" a familiar, bubbly voice called. Frost and Shadow both turned in unison, although Frost realized he wasn't the one being addressed the moment he recognized the voice. Sitting a short distance away, her expression one of great surprise, was a familiar quadruped with tan and blue fur. Flames burned from the vents on her head and backside, the sight of which prompted Leaf to duck behind A/C's large tail, to the Kadabra's bemusement.
"Oh, answers that question nicely," Frost murmured from the corner of his mouth, causing Shadow to fidget and look around as if he wished he could sink into the ground and disappear.
"Uh...hey, Cece," he mumbled. Frost raised an eyebrow, but the Quilava simply giggled a little at the nickname. The Espeon cocked his head at her curiously. "You're not following me around again, are you?"
"No, actually," Cecilia giggled. She gestured towards the Ruins entrance. "I'm exploring here with some friends. I just needed to get some air. It's kind of stifling in there."
"Friends?" Frost repeated, growing a little bit impatient at the fact he was being ignored by the Quilava yet again. He was getting the feeling that if he wanted females to pay any attention to him, he needed to stop standing next to Shadow.
"Hi Frostbite," Cecilia said, as if aware that Frost was only interrupting to get some form of acknowledgement. The Glaceon blinked, unsure how to respond to the pseudo-nickname...which he actually kind of liked. "And hi little guy...you're still mad about the burn, huh? I'm still sorry!"
"It's okay!" Leaf said, peeking out from behind A/C's tail, but not moving any closer. "Um...hi!"
"And I...have no idea who you are," Cecilia said, stepping closer to A/C, but giving plenty of room so as not to agitate Leaf further. "I'm Cecilia," she stated, offering her paw to shake.
"Hello. I'm A/C, pleasure to meet you," A/C said politely, but declining the paw shake with a slight wave of her paw. "I take it you're familiar with each other?"
"We've met once before," Cecilia chirped, but then cocked her head at the others curiously. "So why are you guys here?"
"Exploring," Frost replied curtly. "So if you'll excuse us, we'd like to go inside."
With that, he led the way to the Ruins entrance, pausing only briefly to glance over his shoulder to be sure the others had followed his lead. Cecilia had taken his rudeness in stride, and was walking a pace ahead of Shadow, but otherwise bringing up the rear of the group.
The interior of the Ruins was more or less what Frost would have expected. The walls were covered with carvings and runes of uncertain origin. The ground was worn with age and sets of crumbling stone staircases branched off in different directions. Leaf's eyes went wide with interest as he stepped inside, and A/C had to intercept him from leaping down the first staircase he saw.
"Ugh..." Shadow shuddered, his tail twitching as he looked around warily. "What is this place...?"
"It's a stupidly big maze," Cecilia answered with a pout that conflicted with her oddly cheerful tone. She pointed towards the nearest staircase, followed by pointing at the left side staircase near the rear of the room. "Dead end room. Dead end room."
"Seriously?" Frost asked, giving the staircases a cursory look over. "Seems like a pointless feature to have."
"It's stupid," Cecilia repeated. "But we managed to work out some of this writing back here that tells you where to go or something."
The Quilava slipped past Frost and made her way to the back of the room, where the wall was devoted to a large plaque of some sort with various symbols upon them. The other Pokemon followed her.
"Ooh, Unown text," A/C said eagerly. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Unknown text?" Shadow repeated, but the Kadabra smiled and shook her head.
"Unown. Those symbols correspond to Unown. The...Pokemon species. Each member is shaped vaguely like a letter of the alphabet, and many ancient ruins are decorated with those symbols," A/C explained, a little surprised that no one else seemed to be aware of this.
"...where were you two hours ago?!" Cecilia griped. "You could have saved us a lot of time and pain. You know how long it took us to decipher that last line?!"
"The last line?" A/C repeated, peering at the plaque. "Um...Beware...our...guardians?"
"Excuse me, I'm going to go set something on fire again," Cecilia muttered, starting to head towards the entrance, but she paused guiltily when Leaf squealed in terror, the young Leafeon cowering behind Frost. She just stared at the Leafeon's reaction blankly. "Wow, that's...accidentally touching my fire was that traumatic?"
"How can you even read that?" Frost asked, squinting at the plaque. "I only can decipher bits of it because I know what it's supposed to say."
"Least it's not in Braille," A/C pointed out. Frost chuckled appreciatively at that one.
"Please tell me I'm not the only one completely lost here," Shadow sighed.
"I'm lost, too!" Leaf answered proudly, poking his head out from behind Frost.
"...very reassuring."
