It was approaching mid-day by the time Adrian announced that they were getting closer to their destination. Avis had to wonder whether he habitually did this, even when traveling alone, or if it genuinely was for the benefit of his Pokemon. Still being a relative newcomer to the team made it difficult to distinguish their trainer's quirks from circumstantial behaviors.
The only reason she had to wonder about this was because neither she nor Ember had been troubled by the traveling up to that point. The sky was clear enough that Avis was free to bask in the sunshine, and the air temperature comfortable enough for Ember to be similarly content. The only Pokemon in the group that would have been displeased with the travel was Aureia, but Adrian had foreseen that issue and kept the Vaporeon in her ball.
It was almost a shame, but all of Avis' experience with Aureia had taught her that the Vaporeon could be needlessly stubborn when something wasn't going her way, and clearly Adrian wanted to avoid any hassle in that area. The weather was too nice for the Vaporeon to enjoy walking without pause, and unlike Ember who needed to vent excessive energy and aggression regularly, Aureia was far more slothful.
Not that Avis could really talk. She was the one riding on Adrian's shoulders like a lazy tree-snake pretending to be a scarf. She had initially tried to do this with Ember, but seeing as the two Pokemon were roughly the same height and weight, this proved to be ridiculously burdensome for the Charmander after a short interval of time, although Avis was amused that Ember had even gone along with it at all.
From her vantage point, Avis could observe the sky, the trees, other Pokemon and humans, but especially Ember herself. Since she did not require much of her energy or focus to be spent on walking, it gave her a lot of mental flexibility, and Ember had always been a subject of fascination to the Snivy.
Adrian was a remarkable human youth in his own right. From what Avis had gathered from the others, he specialized in adopting and working with difficult Pokemon, and worked a number of part-time employment positions over the years, often moving on to something else every few months. As such, the youth did not have a permanent home, but rented a place in whatever small city he settled in for the purposes of his work.
He was a kind young man, incredibly patient and with a good sense of humor. He would need such things, Avis reasoned, if he was to endure the potentially unstable behaviors of the Pokemon under his care. He prioritized them over himself more often than not, and did his best to offer comfort when any of them were upset or agitated. Yet he never seemed to push or needle too much, something Aureia even admitted she appreciated.
After learning that the youth kept observation notes on his Pokemon, Avis' curiosity had gotten the better of her. That night, she waited until the others had gone to sleep, and then she had peeked at one of the notepads. Seeing as he had kept Ember and Aureia for years, it would have been strange if a single notebook was sufficient to compile all his information, but the most recent entries were enough.
Some pages contained little more than the trainer's idle thought processes or reminders to himself, but the important entries were all dated and underneath a header of that Pokemon's name. Avis' first discovery, however immaterial, was that Aureia's name was spelled with an 'I', rather than a 'Y'. She had almost immediately wondered how Adrian had discovered this detail, or whether the Vaporeon had been named by Adrian. She had quickly refocused, but made a mental note to look into that history in the future.
Sadly, her snooping hadn't netted her very much. Most days had been pretty unremarkable, and Adrian's notes often stated the obvious, or were simple acknowledgements of the behaviors and attitudes of his Pokemon. Aureia's entries revealed nothing that Avis couldn't have figured out on her own, and an odd amount of emphasis was placed on the Vaporeon's interactions with Avis. This had easily attracted the Snivy's attention. Who hasn't wondered what another person thinks about them? Unfortunately, the observations ultimately boiled down to the simple observation that although Aureia's displeasure had yet to manifest as violent rejection, her tolerance of Avis was minimal, and she was quick to become hostile or exasperated, regardless of whether this reaction was reasonable in context.
Adrian had marked that entry with an asterisk, and it wasn't until later that Avis had discovered the corresponding footnote several pages later, under observations classified to her own name.
Avis had been a little disappointed by her own entries. Adrian's observations were often very dry and bland, simple statements that illuminated little of his thought process. Perhaps it was just easier for him to write his observations in such a manner. At any rate, he was still very far, in his own words, from having a thorough understanding of the Snivy's quirks and potential issues.
But then she had read the footnote pertaining to her interactions with Aureia:
"Avis shows a peculiar degree of inconsistency in her mannerisms and demeanor. While this could be considered evidence of poor social skills, other observations have suggested that Avis is highly intelligent and socially competent, but still very eccentric.
Taking Aureia's trust issues into account with the above, it is likely that Aureia subconsciously views Avis as untrustworthy, but is unable to recognize why she has this distaste for her."
Although tempted to continue reading what Adrian had written about them all, Avis chose that point to call it a night. She had taken care to return the notebook in the exact place she had taken it from, and went to bed, her mind buzzing with curiosity and intrigue about her trainer and the other Pokemon under his care.
Adrian abruptly stopped walking, jolting Avis back into alertness. She blinked in confusion, refocusing on her present surroundings. The flip side of lazily riding on Adrian's shoulders was that the warm sunlight also made her a little drowsy and made it a little too easy to zone out. Staying up too late to read Adrian's notes may also have been a factor in that matter.
"Why'd you stop?" the Snivy asked, surveying the area with a tiny frown. They definitely were not within sight of a city yet, so they hadn't reached their destination, and a quick glance at Ember confirmed that the Charmander was also slightly puzzled.
"Phone," Adrian explained, attempting to carefully extract the device from his pocket without sending Avis crashing to the ground. "Could you get off for a minute, Avis?" he asked politely. Avis regarded the request with a salute and clambered down from her perch, using his travel bag as a shorter drop off point. Without the Snivy on his shoulder, Adrian swiftly removed the small object and flicked it open. "Hello?"
"How's it going?" Avis asked, turning her attention to Ember, who had chosen to lean against a nearby tree trunk, her blue eyes watching Adrian dully. Judging by their trainer's slight look of exasperation and the way he had already started pacing back and forth while talking, this call was not going to be brief.
"Well enough," Ember replied with a vague shrug. Avis smiled and gazed around the area. From the looks of it, the path branched off a little ways ahead, one path heading north, and the other continuing on a little ways. Curiosity being what it was, Avis began walking ahead, as if drawn by some bizarre magnet. Ember hesitated, but started to follow after the Snivy, shooting glances back at Adrian to make sure he at least was aware that they weren't still standing next to him.
"Do you know which way Adrian's going to take?" Avis wondered curiously, using one paw to shield her eyes from the sun and peering down each path option with interest.
"That one, I'm pretty sure," Ember said, nodding towards the northward path. "But we really shouldn't wander too far," she added quickly. Avis giggled a little, but nodded in acknowledgement. It was true that wandering away from Adrian was something she seemed to have an odd habit of doing, and the constant need for Aureia and Ember to all but drag her back was a blatant irritation for the Vaporeon. Ember was a little more tolerant, but she still seemed unwilling to leave Avis unsupervised when she wandered away.
"I won't go too far," the Snivy reassured her, ignoring the northward path and walking further straight. That way, it would be a straight shot back towards Adrian, and they would still be in sight for the maximum amount of time. It might have been her imagination, but Avis could have sworn that Ember heaved a small sigh, but didn't object. Then again, Ember rarely objected outright to Avis' little habits.
"That's far enough," Ember said abruptly, and Avis obediently froze in place, then turned on her heel to face the Charmander again. Ember had followed behind for a few paces, but then had stopped, leaving a reasonably-sized gap between the two Pokemon. Looking beyond Ember confirmed that Adrian was still in sight, and still on his phone, but he was definitely watching them from a distance.
"It's so quiet and peaceful around here," Avis giggled, spreading her arms to bask in the sunlight overhead. As she scanned the surrounding trees and bushes, she cocked her head. "Almost eerily quiet, now that I think on it. Is that weird around here?"
Ember made a non-committal sound and shrugged, walking closer to the Snivy, her own eyes starting to scan the area with a thoughtful frown. It was true; there were next to no sounds of other Pokemon around them, not even bird Pokemon in the trees. Avis didn't have that much exposure to the wild areas outside of cities, but it did seem a little bit odd for the area to be so empty in the middle of the day.
"If Aureia was out here, she'd probably be able to pick up scents," Ember said finally, offering another shrug. Avis giggled. Neither of them were really good at tracking Pokemon or similar, and even claiming that Aureia would do better wasn't saying much, as the Vaporeon's sense of smell, while better refined than theirs, was hardly on par with a hunting Pokemon's.
"Maybe it's a territory," Avis suggested. For once, one of her suggestions wasn't immediately shot down by Aureia, although this was still credited to the fact that Aureia wasn't physically present. Ember made another shrug and associated sound, causing the Snivy to frown. "At least pretend you care."
"We're not even going this way, so it's not important," Ember pointed out, but Avis wasn't really listening. In lieu of searching for scents or footprints, she had started wandering further down the path, keeping an eye out for some sort of territory marking. It wasn't until she was practically within a forested section of the path that Ember called for her to stop. "Seriously, don't go further than that," the Charmander ordered, walking over to the Snivy. "We should probably..."
Avis blinked, seeing that Ember had suddenly froze a couple paces away from her. Her eyes were fixed upon one of the nearby trees, but most concerning was the way the fire lizard had set her jaw. It was an expression that Avis had seen Ember wear far too often, the first warning sign of many that indicated her volatile temper. What worried Avis was the abruptness of the shift, and she nervously glanced around before managing to follow the Charmander's gaze.
It was so obvious that Avis could scarcely believe she hadn't noticed it before, because the markings in the bark of the tree were almost literally at her eye level. The markings formed a triangular shape, but the lines had jagged edges and the bark itself was slightly burnt where the markings had been carved, giving it a somewhat stylized, fiery look.
"What is it?" Avis asked, her red eyes widening curiously and she stepped forward, touching a paw to the bark and absently stroking the markings.
"Move," Ember growled, pushing past Avis with unusual rudeness, forcing the Snivy's paw away from the tree and standing in her place. The Snivy was a little taken aback. She expected that sort of curtness from Aureia, but Ember always treated her far nicer than that, even when in a poor mood. It wasn't as though the Charmander had shoved her or anything, but it was still a bit ill-mannered.
"Oww..." Avis whined, earning a genuinely confused look from Ember. She widened her red eyes innocently. "I just want to know what it is," she complained.
Ember scowled, but then hovered a claw in front of the marking, tracing the lines as it drawing the letter 'A' in mid-air. "See how it's that shape?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. Avis nodded. Ember flicked her right paw to the side, purple flames erupting around her claws. With a careful swipe, Ember carved a diagonal slash far below the other marking, and when she moved away to show Avis, the Snivy could see that Ember's cut had taken on the same style of the other mark. The bark was slightly singed, and the flames around her claws had given it a vaguely jagged edge. "See how that was done?" she asked.
"Uh...yes," Avis confirmed, a little bewildered.
"Turn your head sideways slightly. Does the jagged edges look like the line is on fire?" Ember asked.
"Kind of?" Avis shrugged.
Ember rolled her eyes and jabbed her paw at the first marking on the tree. "It's an 'A' on fire, so it's an inferno with an 'A'. That's what the mark means. Get it?"
"Not in the slightest," Avis admitted, trying not to giggle from the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Sure, she could follow Ember's explanation, but even if she could somehow decode the marking to mean 'inferno with an A' without being told how to reach that conclusion, the answer was completely nonsensical.
"Never mind," Ember growled. She continued to glare at the marking with such intensity that her tail flame seemed to double in size. Avis slowly began to back away from the Charmander, more than a little unnerved. This feeling escalated into an intense anxiety when Ember slashed her claws across the bark so viciously that whole chunks of the bark seemed to splinter outwards, scattering across the grass and obliterating a good portion of the drawing.
"...are you okay?" Avis asked quietly. Adrian often relied on the Snivy to soothe Ember's temper when it flared up like this, but neither he nor Aureia seemed to have the slightest idea how Avis achieved this. However, Avis doubted that she would be able to pull such a miracle now. It was far easier to soothe Ember before she reached the point of lashing out.
"Super," Ember replied, turning her back to the damaged tree and walking away from it, heading into the forested section of the path, and the opposite direction of Adrian.
"W-wait, where are you going?" Avis asked, her concern and bewilderment now transforming into alarm and borderline panic. Ember had made such a big deal about Avis not wandering too far away, and now the Charmander was the one setting off on her own. Normally, Avis would assume that Ember needed a moment alone to cool off after a loss of composure, but this wasn't something she was willing to risk. Something about the marking had set Ember off somehow, and if it was a territory marking as she originally thought, then going deeper into that territory would probably bring them face to face with the source behind Ember's sudden shift in aggression.
The Snivy hurried after Ember, her calls going completely unacknowledged by the fire lizard, who seemed to be looking for something as she walked, her head swiveling to keep an eye on every possible angle, yet the woods seemed silent and empty.
Avis abruptly tripped and sprawled onto the grass, prompting Ember to turn around quickly. "You okay?" Ember asked, walking over to the fallen grass lizard and helping to pull her back to her feet. "You're not hurt, right?"
"Just my pride," Avis giggled weakly. "What's going on? What are you even doing here?"
Ember looked away guiltily, and clenched her right paw into a fist, but even that wasn't enough for her to hide the way her body shook. Yet as Avis studied the Charmander's face, she realized that it wasn't anger that darkened her expression.
It was fear.
"Ember..." Avis whispered, touching the Charmander's back lightly. "What-?"
"Wow, that was FAST," a female voice mused, and Ember's entire body tensed, her tail flame flaring up momentarily. Avis jerked her head around and saw another Pokemon standing a short distance away. Even at an inexperienced glance, there were a stunning number of similarities between this Pokemon and Ember.
Both were bipedal reptilian Pokemon with tails that ended with a burning flame, but whereas Ember's scales were bright orange, the new Pokemon had crimson scales and stood taller than the Charmander. It also possessed a sharper snout and a horn at the top of its head, to say nothing of the significantly more developed claws on its paws and feet. Despite being a Fire-type, her eyes had none of the warmth. They were an icy blue that seemed to send chills through anyone who made eye contact, and Avis noted a scar marking the Pokemon's left eye.
"I'm astounded how quickly you showed," the crimson fire lizard sneered, approaching them with an air of absolute confidence and cold amusement. "I suppose Sorin really does know not to disappoint me."
"Sorin?" Avis repeated, surprised. The Charmeleon glanced at the Snivy with an expression as if she had stepped in something extremely unpleasant.
"Wasn't talking to you," she snorted, before turning those cold eyes back to Ember, who had worked up the nerve to fix the other fire lizard with a look that was every bit as cold as the one she was receiving. The evolved lizard smirked. "Ember."
The Charmander crossed her arms across her chest defiantly. "That's my name. You gave it to me."
Avis gave a little squeak of surprise, earning a look of annoyance from both fire lizards. In the Snivy's defense, this was literally the most personal information she had ever learned about Ember since meeting her.
"Really? So then how do you two know Sorin?"
Both Ember and the Charmeleon just stared at Avis with identical dumbfounded expressions, as if neither of them could believe that she was still trying to be a part of the conversation. If Avis had had any doubt as to whether they were really related, that doubt was eliminated just by seeing the similarity in their expressions.
"We weren't talking to you," the Charmeleon said again, but she sounded far too amused for the comment to have any real impact on the Snivy.
"Now you are!" Avis countered. "I'm Avis! What's your name?"
Ember had pressed her muzzle against her left paw in disbelief, and the Snivy could clearly hear her muttering about how the current events had to be a part of a really weird dream.
"Inferna," the Charmeleon said finally, looking even more amused by Ember's reaction. Avis cocked her head curiously, prompting the evolved lizard to hastily add, "It's inferno with an 'A', before you ask the spell-"
"Oh wow, I get it now!" the Snivy squealed triumphantly. Ember was either sobbing into her paws or laughing at this point. Inferna smirked, but then fixed Avis with a glare so intense that Avis was surprised she didn't turn to stone where she stood. As exciting and fascinating as this situation was, the Snivy couldn't forget that she was actually very prone to catching on fire.
"I trust we'll have no further interruptions from you," Inferna said coldly, and she flexed her claws threateningly, as if her tone and glare weren't enough to get the message across. "Once again, I'm surprised Sorin was so prompt. I was sure he'd wait until he had to pass through again before considering my-"
"What are you even going on about?" Ember growled, lifting her head and glaring at the Charmeleon. "I haven't even seen Sorin since last week."
"Oh?" Inferna drawled. "So Sorin didn't tell you I was in the area? He passed through yesterday and I told him to let you know."
Ember snorted, causing Avis to note how disturbingly similar the fire lizards' mannerisms were. "Then I'll get the message next December. Sorin visits for my birthday and avoids me like the plague otherwise. Last week was a fluke."
"Eh?" Avis asked, confused, and briefly forgetting the threat about not interrupting. Ember whirled on the Snivy with an exasperated growl, a wisp of flame escaping the corner of her mouth.
"My birthday's in December. The seventeenth. Why do you THINK Sorin knows when that is, and why would he visit then? Think REALLY hard about it, but for the love of Mew, just SHUT UP!"
Avis winced as Ember turned back to the Charmeleon, panting harder and flexing her claws in obvious agitation. In truth, she wasn't even upset that Ember was snapping at her right now. The Charmander had much more patience for her than Aureia did, and that was enough for her to be able to shrug off the unpleasantness when Ember was emotionally riled up.
"Temper, temper," Inferna mocked, waving one her claws in a scolding manner. "Or should I consider you beaten before we've even started?"
"Bite me," Ember spat.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, you haven't won yet, either," Inferna sneered. She smirked and flexed her claws, yet did not assume a battle stance. However, her eyes stared into Ember's own, silently offering the challenge. Ember just glared back, and flexed her own claws.
"Hey, what's going on?" Adrian's voice broke through the trees, and the human itself soon appeared in sight. He looked around in confusion, spotting Avis, and then Ember, and his expression froze upon seeing Inferna. There was a look of stunned disbelief on his face, and Avis could see that he was focusing specifically on the Charmeleon's scar.
"Ah yes, we cannot forget the human who broke our battle up two years ago, can we now?" Inferna taunted softly. "Two years of being forced to know you had been bested, but never officially beaten. I wonder how that has tormented you and driven you to prepare for our rematch...I guess we'll see, because he won't be interfering this time."
"Hm?" Ember blinked at the Charmeleon in confusion, and she simply smirked.
"Avis, get back," Adrian ordered seriously, and the Snivy immediately backpedaled, getting out of range of the two fire lizards. "Ember, you come back, too. I'll use Aureia to-"
But as Adrian reached for his Pokeball, thin steel chains materialized out of nowhere, wrapping themselves around Adrian's body and locking his arms to his sides. The human cried out in surprise, struggling vainly against the deceptively sturdy metal links.
"Now, now, you think I'd let you interrupt this performance?" a familiar male voice spoke from the shadows. Avis spun to face the voice, just in time to see a bipedal fox Pokemon with black fur and a red mane tied into a ponytail emerge from the darkness as if it were an extension of his body. Bright blue eyes glittered, but there was something unnatural about them, as if they could see something on a different plane of reality.
"You again?" Ember growled, giving the Zoroark a cold glare.
"Such a pretty expression," Kuro cooed. "Beautiful, you truly are your mother's daughter."
The Zoroark's shadow seemed to expand and extend until it reached the space between both fire lizards, and then the ebony fox slid forward with alarming speed, so quickly that it was as if he hadn't moved at all, but instead appeared instantaneously beside Inferna.
"I trust you two will put on the ultimate spectacle," he purred, stroking a strange golden necklace fastened around Inferna's neck. The Zoroark's eyes flicked to Ember. "Forgive me for shorting you on your prize, but I felt my firespitter here would be a more suitable challenge for you." He leaned close and pecked Inferna on the cheek. "Sorry, love, but if she beats you, that trinket goes to her."
"Touch me again and I'll steal your heart more literally than your stupid performances imply," Inferna growled.
"Alas, I am wounded by your harsh words," Kuro murmured, touching a paw to an imaginary wound on his chest, all while backing out of range of the larger fire lizard. "And we could not ask for a finer climax to this show! A captive audience! A deeply bitter, emotional confrontation involving kin, and a climactic battle to bury a long-held grudge."
"Yay?" Avis offered. This hadn't been quite the type of show she had been expecting when she had seen Kuro last time.
"It exceeds your expectations, no?" Kuro cooed, gesturing to the area dramatically. "More tricks, a double act, a conflict you're invested in...ah, the joy of the spectacle and thrill of the stage! Maybe I've even got another surprise for you all, but no spoilers!"
"Are we going to sit through this type of nonsense for another ten minutes or something?" Ember asked irritably.
"I have to hype up the crowd," Kuro protested. Inferna made a simple gesture that unambiguously and graphically got her message across, because the Zoroark smiled awkwardly and quickly gestured for them to begin.
"That's better," Inferna purred, making eye contact with Ember, her tail flame flaring up with visible excitement. "Be sure to keep me entertained, little flame."
