I sat still, lazily gazing out of the window for Arceus knows how long, then the carriage shook as it passed over a large bump, causing me to sway in my seat. Fabian grunted and swung his muscular arm onto the seat beside him, barely stopping himself from falling over. He looked at where his claws had landed and let out an "Oho."

The feraligatr reached over and grabbed onto whatever had caught his attention and pulled up my father's adventurer's bag he had taken from the storage earlier. He turned it around in his paws, inspecting every inch of the bag before he pulled it up to his nose and took in a big whiff. Fabian let out a satisfied sigh as a massive smile pulled onto his face. "I've got so many good memories with this thing," he said while hoisting the bag into the air like a trophy.

I glanced lazily out of the corner of my eye to try and gauge the time, my eyes widening when I saw it was almost dusk. I must have been gazing out of the window for longer than I had thought.

"Ninetales"

Fabian's voice pulled me away from my thoughts, and I turned to look at him. He held the adventurer's bag in front of him and shook it around. "What do you know about adventurer's bags?" he asked.

I scoffed. "Absolutely nothing," I said with a shake of my head, my mane bouncing with my movements.

The feraligatr beamed at my response. "Well I guess we're in for a lesson then," he said and plopped the bag onto his scaly knees.

Fabian cleared his throat and sat up straight in his seat as if he was preparing a lecture. "The adventurer's bag is one of the most important items in any guild or expedition society member's kit. Adventurer's use many different types of tools to make themselves more efficient in their work, such as orbs, projectiles, and berries. Yet all of these things would be useless without a means of carrying them, that is where the bag comes in," said the feraligatr, and he gave me a cheeky smile.

One of my brows raised itself as I gave Fabian a suspicious look. "You did not just come up with that speech right now," I said matter-of-factly.

The water type laughed. "You're right, that was a little lecture my trainer told me when I first joined the expedition society, but it works, so I still use it today," he said, then waved his paw in the air. "But anyways, the bag is very important, it allows us to carry around all the items we use without having to deal with all the mess."

"For example," Fabian said, popping open the clasp on the bag before reaching inside. His claws came out holding onto a set of small silver spikes. "Projectiles like silver thorns are wicked sharp, and you don't want these things poking you in the side while you're traveling." He returned the silver needles and then pulled out a few glass balls which shimmered in the sunlight. "While orbs have a lot of different uses, but they're very fragile, so they need to be put somewhere safe."

My mouth pulled into a frown. "I would not consider a clumsy bag full of metal spikes to be a safe space for fragile glass balls." I said.

Fabian's grin widened, and he returned the orbs to the bag. "That's where you're wrong. An adventurer's bag is probably the safest place for fragile stuff, because adventurer's bags are different from regular bags, " he said before a mischievous glint entered into his eyes. "You know, for an example," he said, before taking the bag in his paws and turning it upside down.

I cringed and closed my eyes, expecting a shower of random objects to come crashing to the floor. I waited for the sound of breaking glass and clattering metal, yet nothing came. I peeked through cracked eyelids to see the bag hanging limply in the feraligatr's paws, and a quick glance to the floor told me nothing had fallen out. My brows furrowed as I turned my gaze back to the water type.

Fabian laughed. "Look," he said and turned the bag around, so the opening faced me. My mouth fell open. The bag was completely empty. All I could see was a barren leather interior.

"What in distortion," I said as I instinctively backed away, pushing myself against the seat.

The feraligatr let out a laugh. "Pretty cool, ain't it. Like I said, adventurer's bags are different. They're made by powerful psychic types, and filled with so much energy that they practically become their own little dimensions," said the feraligatr as he leaned forward to place the bag in front of me. "Try it out."

I leaned away from the bag, my fur scratching against the back of the bench. "No," I said curtly, as I eyed the bag with a suspicious glare.

"Oh come on, it doesn't bite. Just put your paw in the opening and tell me what's inside." Fabian said, leaning back in his seat.

With a roll of my eyes, I grabbed the bag and pulled it closer before I jammed my paw into the opening and looked inside. It was still completely empty, my mouth opened, and I was about to tell Fabian how ridiculous his request was until a realization struck me.

I knew exactly what was in the bag.

There were twelve silver needles, two escape orbs, one luminous orb, five oran berries, and one of each of the other berries.

It didn't make any sense, I couldn't see anything, but I knew exactly what was in the bag. It was as if I had always known and I was just now remembering.

I yanked my paw out of the bag and pushed it away, the bag flopping to the ground. Fabian's laugh brought my attention to him. I shot him a withering glare, and he held up his paws in front of him.

"Hey, I get it, my first time using the bag was really weird too. You'll get used to it," the feraligatr said with a smile. He leaned over and picked the bag off of the ground, dusting it off before placing it back in front of me.

I glared suspiciously at the bag. "How did I know what was inside?" I asked the water type.

"You know, I don't know the details, but I'm pretty sure with all the psychic type energy, it just kinda tells you telepathically what's inside," said Fabian with a shrug as he leaned back into his seat. "Here, now try it again, and maybe this time, try to take something out."

I gave the bag one more glare before sliding my paw inside. I shuffled around the interior of the bag, trying to find something to pull out, but my paw only slid around the smooth leather interior.

A huff jetted through my nostrils. "There is nothing there. How am I supposed to take something out if there is nothing for me to grab?" I said before turning to glower at the water type.

"You have to will it out," Fabian said, but another sharp look from me forced him to elaborate. "You know, when you stick your paw or muzzle into the bag, you have to tell the bag to give you whatever it is you want."

"For example, when I pulled the silver needles out of the bag, I stuck my paw into there and imagined the needles sliding into my claws, then I just pulled them out. It's really simple," said the feraligatr.

I pursed my lips and turned back to the bag, running the water type's words over in my head. Sticking my paw into the bag, I imagined one of the only things I was familiar with to be placed into my paw. I waited for a second, then pulled out my leg, and sitting on my paw was a single, bright blue oran berry.

"Hey, there you go," said Fabian with a big smile. "Now putting it back is way easier, you just put it inside and the bag does the rest of the work for you."

I slid my paw back into the bag and let the berry fall off. When I lifted the flap to look inside, I saw the berry had disappeared without a trace, but I knew it was in there. "You said adventurer's bags were made by psychic types?" I asked the feraligatr.

Fabian nodded. "Yep, most adventurer items that have special effects are made by psychic types. Like those orbs I showed you earlier," he said before he leaned forward to grab hold of the bag, pulling it to him. He pulled out the small glass balls and held them out. "I'm guessing the bag told you their names, but you don't know what they do, do you?"

A shake of my head affirmed Fabian's suspicion, and he returned two of the orbs to the bag while he held the third one into the air. "So this here is a luminous orb," he said, and after a short pause, the glass ball suddenly lit up in a blinding white light. I cringed and immediately closed my eyes, the bright light having sent sharp pains into my eyes. The light was so bright it still gave a soft red glow through my eyelids, but after a few seconds, it disappeared.

I slowly opened my eyes, and Fabian's solemn smile greeted me. "Sorry about that Ninetales, I didn't expect it to be that bright. This is a real high quality orb," he said while hefting the ball in his paw. "So I think you get the idea of what a luminous orb does, its light is pretty useful for dark mystery dungeons like caves or dense forests."

He returned the luminous orb to the bag and pulled out a different glass ball I could only assume to be an escape orb. "And, this here is an escape orb, unfortunately I can't show you what it does because it only works in mystery dungeons, but it's probably the most important orb there is," he said and with a little toss, put the orb back in the bag. "If you ever find yourself in a tight spot while in a dungeon, you just smash the orb onto the ground and grab onto all your friends, it'll teleport you and everyone you're touching out of the dungeon."

The feraligatr scratched underneath his chin. "There are like, fifty other types of orbs, but I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't remember them all, and it'll be hard to teach you without any examples," he said before his eyes widened. "You know, orbs aren't the only things made by psychic types. There are also a whole bunch of clothing items that give you special effects."

Fabian bent over, reaching below his seat to grab onto one of the bags stowed beneath. With a grunt, he sat back up on his bench while he pulled another leather bag out from below. This bag had an ornate letter 'F' etched into the leather, and I could only assume it was Fabian's personal bag. He popped open the clasp and reached inside before he pulled out a long red bandana.

The water type held the cloth into the air, it looked like any regular bandana, but based on Fabian's previous words, I knew this bandana was special. Fabian cleared his throat. "This is a defense ribbon, I used to wear it all the time when I was with your father. When I put it on it gives me tougher skin and makes the damage I take sting a little less," he said and let out a soft chuckle. "It's pretty useful when you're twice the size of your companion so everyone wants to hit you cause you're the easier target."

I stared at the ribbon. "How is it such a small piece of fabric could do something like that?" I thought before a slight smirk appeared on my face. Small was a relative word in this situation. While in the feraligatr's paws, the bandana looked like it was just long enough to go around his thick, scaly neck, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized the bandana could cover me like a blanket.

Fabian returned the defense ribbon to his bag and fixed the clasp closed before turning back towards me. "You'll probably be given a defense ribbon or a zinc bandana by the guild when you join. It's the basic item that helps to identify you as a guild member," said the feraligatr.

I replied with a soft "Hmm" as I turned to look out of the window towards the sunset. The sky was shifting to a soft orange glow with the setting sun.

My attention turned away from the sky when a small stone tower passed across my vision. The carriage rattled as it left the packed dirt road and began rolling across wooden planks. I pushed myself against the window to get a better view of what was outside.

The carriage was now wheeling across the planks of a large bridge. The bridge's size with the width and current of the river below helped me identify exactly where I was. This was the Stann River's western branch, which acted as the natural border between Kalia and Darun. This was it. I was officially leaving Kalia.

The carriage slowly came to a stop. I leaned against the glass to see a few guards now standing in front of the carriage. One of the guards, A persian, stepped forward and began speaking with the dewott, and after a few words, he turned towards me. The persian walked over to the carriage side and stood at attention in front of the door. He looked up at me with an expectant gaze while I glared back at him.

Fabian shifted around behind me. "Excuse me Ninetales, I'm gonna have to talk to him," he said, leaning forwards in his seat. I shot the persian one more glare before sitting back on my cushion. Fabian grabbed the handle and opened the door. "Good evening captain," he said to the persian. "How can I help you?"

The persian's calculative gaze traveled around the interior of the carriage, taking in every little detail. A green and yellow mantle hung across his shoulders, waving in the soft breeze. "You're aware that you're crossing the border into Darun, correct?" he asked in a professional tone and received a single nod from Fabian in reply.

"May I ask what your business in Darun is?" he said, briefly glancing at me before returning his gaze to the feraligatr.

Fabian cleared his throat. "I'm a member of the Kalian expedition society, we're going to the guild here in Darun to help with the training of new guild members," Fabian said and pointed a claw towards me. "She'll also be joining the guild."

The persian's eyebrows raised. "How long will you be staying?" he asked, shooting me another odd look.

"No more than two years," Fabian said, and my ears flattened against my head at the feraligatr's statement.

"All right you may pass, but I'll be checking in with the guild master to validate your statement," said the persian with a nod. He then turned to look me in the eyes, giving me a wink and a cocky smile before he left.

My brows lowered, and I glared at the departing pokémon as I thought about the weird way he was acting. He had looked at me so strangely, and he kept glancing at me when he was talking with Fabian. I shook my head. Pokémon from Darun must be weirder than I thought.

Fabian closed the door, and the carriage jerked into motion. I leaned forward and looked out the window at the passing border guards. The persian had rejoined with his group, and after a quick gesture towards the carriage, they all turned and stared at me as I passed, dumb smiles appearing on all their faces. I frowned in return, giving them all hard looks as Fabian and I rolled past.

The rattling of the carriage stopped when we pulled off the bridge and continued on hard-packed dirt. I stared at the passing countryside, expecting some kind of dramatic change now we had crossed the border, so I watched and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

My forehead creased, and I pushed myself against the glass. Nothing greeted my view but a flat plain of endless greenery. I let out a huff. I didn't know what I expected, maybe slums and ruins, or long, endless deserts, but not this.

Darun looked just the same as Kalia. If I had fallen asleep and missed the border crossing, I would have no idea we were in a whole different country. I pursed my lips and looked around the countryside, searching for anything other than what I saw in Kalia, but I found nothing.

"It's weird, ain't it," said Fabian, and I spun my head to look at him. He sat relaxed in his seat, gazing lazily out of the window with me. "Going out of the country for the first time, it's kind of a strange feeling, don't you think?"

I sighed and turned away. It was a strange feeling, and I didn't know what to think.

The feraligatr spoke up again. "I remember my first time. I expected some whole different world than the one I knew in Kalia, I thought crossing the border would be like going through a portal that took me to a different dimension," he said, then let out a soft laugh. "When I finally did cross that line, I waited, expecting some massive change, as if the sky would turn a different color, but nothing happened."

Fabian sighed. "It took me a little while to realize that borders are just made up lines we make as pokémon. The continent itself does not care where we draw these lines, the grass grows green and the trees grow tall where the continent decides, not us." he said and shifted around in his seat. "It's the same thing with pokémon, we are all made how Arceus chooses, it doesn't matter if we call ourselves Kalians, Darunans, or Malguns, we're all the same. Feraligatrs in Kalia are water types and feraligatrs in Darun are still water types."

The words Fabian had just said ran circles through my head. It's easy for him to say. He wasn't royalty. The entire purpose of a royal was to uphold these borders separating us. He spoke of the boundary as if it held no value, but he didn't understand its importance.

I stewed over my thoughts as I watched the sun lower to the horizon, the red and orange hues of the sunset slowly fading away, being replaced by the cold dark night sky. Stars appeared one by one in the darkness, lighting up the evening with dazzling constellations. My eyes closed, and my mouth opened wide as I yawned. It was getting late.

The carriage suddenly turned to the right, taking us off the main road, and a soft yellow glow began to shine into the interior of the cabin. I turned to the other window, and greeting me was a large wooden building set to the side of the carriage. Lanterns hung all along the outside the building, and firelight shone through the windows to illuminate the surrounding area.

The dewott coachman let out a sharp whistle, and the carriage slowed to a stop in front of the building. A large sign hung off the side of the structure, which read "High Country Inn." As soon as the carriage stopped moving, Fabian opened the door and stepped out. He let out a loud groan as he stretched his arms to the sky, a few loud cracks and pops sounding from his back. He turned back towards me and motioned to me with his claws.

"Come on out Ninetales, this is where we're staying for tonight," he said. I lowered myself out of the carriage and got a closer look at the inn. Cracked wooden planks lined all along the walls, held together by rusty brackets and nails. Weeds and vines climbed along the sides of the posts and along the window sills.

I turned back to the feraligatr as he reached back into the carriage and grabbed a few items of luggage. "We're staying here?" I asked as I tossed another sideways glance towards the inn.

Fabian grunted as he pulled a large bag out from the carriage. "Would you rather sleep under a tree?" he asked as he hefted the bag onto his shoulder, making me sigh and turn away.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and I jerked my head to look at it. The dewott coach driver was trying to squeeze behind me and reach into the carriage, but he jumped when my gaze snapped to him. I pivoted around and pushed my face into his, making him stumble backward. He fell onto his rump with a soft grunt, and I leered down at him. "Do not get so close to me again," I said with a threatening stare. He nodded furiously and pulled himself to his feet, taking a few nervous steps away from me.

I scoffed and turned away, moving to the front door. I studied the door with a distasteful sneer. Bland wooden boards with random chips and splinters stared back at me. There wasn't even a latch, leaving the door open for anyone to enter. From the door, I could hear the mindless chatter of the pokémon inside, along with the clanking sounds of dishes and pans. With a rough shove, the door swung open, screeching loudly on its hinges.

I stepped into the inn, and the noise instantly died down as it seemed that every eye turned to look at me. Scanning the room, I saw pokémon of every type sitting around wooden tables with bowls and mugs scattered about on top. The pokémon around the room began whispering one to another while pointing towards me and shooting random glances.

"Hello, welcome to the High Country Inn, " called out a mudsdale from behind a counter leading to the kitchens, her voice was cutting through the hushed whispers of the other pokémon in the room. I walked straight to her, ignoring the blatant stares and turning heads of the pokémon I passed. The mudsdale scrubbed at a spot on the counter as I approached, and after it was sufficiently clean, she tilted her head to look me in the eyes. "How can I help you?" she asked in a cheerful voice.

"I want the cleanest and the most isolated room you have," I said with a disdainful scowl towards the dirty rag under her hoof.

"Hmm," said the mudsdale as she inclined her head in thought. "I could do that for you, but it'll cost you extra. Do you have the coin?"

"The price does not matter," I said before a loud shriek cut through the air as another pokémon entered through the door. The big, pounding footsteps of the new arrival exactly let me know who it was before I even saw him.

"Good evening Miss Mudsdale," said the gravelly voice of Fabian behind me. "I hope my friend here isn't causing you any problems."

The mudsdale's face lit up. "Ah, well hello there Mister Feraligatr, it's been a long time. And no, your friend wasn't causing any issues whatsoever, we were just about to settle on a price for a room," she said with a happy smile.

"Good, make sure it's a big one though, it's gonna be five of us in one room," said the feraligatr as he pulled a coin purse out from his adventurer's bag.

The mudsdale let out a laugh. "With you Feraligatr, the room is always going to have to be a big one," she said, making Fabian chuckle.

While the two pokémon were exchanging pleasantries, my thoughts were spinning around in my head. Fabian had said there would be five of us in one room. Who were the five pokémon? There was him, the dewott, and the pair of rapidash, but that only counted up to four. My ears flattened against my head as the realization struck me, Fabian planned to have me sleep in the same room with the whole carriage group.

A sharp jab to the side brought Fabian's attention to me, and he rubbed at the point where I had poked him while he fixed me with a questioning eye. "I will not be sleeping with the commoners," I hissed, only for a smug smile to crawl its way onto the feraligatr's face.

"Why would a commoner have issues with sleeping in the same room as other commoners?" he asked with a jaunty grin. My lips curled up into a snarl, and I glared daggers at the smug water type.

My head tilted upwards as I raised my chin. "They do not even have the right to speak to me, much less sleep in the same room as me," I said, a sneer plastered against my face.

The constant smile on the feraligatr's face faded, replaced by a grimace. "This is something you're gonna have to learn eventually, Ninetales. The second you signed that paper, you became just the same as everyone else on the continent. There is absolutely nothing that makes you better than the dewott and the rapidash that worked all day to bring you here. "

He pointed towards the door. "They are exhausted and tired, and yet they're still out there unpacking your personal belongings. They deserve a good night's sleep just as much as you do," he said, finishing his statement by pointing to my chest.

"They are paid to do that, while I am being dragged out here against my will," I said back, pushing his claw away from my chest.

Fabian's eyebrows raised. "Against your will? I don't see any chains on you. You're free to go back to Kalia at any time, but you know exactly what will happen if you do go back," he said, placing his paws on his scaly hips. "You chose to come out here, and whether you like it or not, it's gonna take some sacrifices to stay."

A jet of frosty air huffed from my nostrils. "I am still a female, you cannot possibly expect me to sleep comfortably in a room filled with males." I said

Fabian let out a long, tired sigh. "Fine, fine, just for tonight I'll get you your own room," he said and turned back to the mudsdale, who stood staring at us with raised brows. "Could we get two rooms for tonight?"

The mudsdale nodded, her long dark dreadlocks bouncing on her shoulders. "Sure thing, do you still want the big room? And dinner tonight?" she asked while she put away her rag.

"Yes please, to both," Fabian said, nodding and smiling graciously.

The mudsdale smiled in return before turning back to the kitchens behind her. "Seraph, come out here, I need you to enter in some customers," she called and turned around towards Fabian, a wider grin appearing on her muzzle.

Fabian's eyes lit up, and an ecstatic smile spread across his face. "Is it?" he asked in an excited whisper and received a single nod from the mudsdale in reply. His thick tail began slapping onto the floor, wiggling like the tail of an excited lillipup. I stared, bewildered at the odd change in the feraligatr's behavior. He was shaking like an excited child before their first evolution.

"Coming," said a voice from behind, and I watched as a bright red feather sprung up from the kitchens and bounced over to a stool near the counter. The seat and the feather slid over to the other side of the counter. Then a large book popped up from below and landed on the countertop with a dull smack. With small grunts, the feather's owner pulled themselves onto the stool, revealing a small sneasel who couldn't have been more than six years old. The sneasel sat on the seat and pulled out a quill and inkwell from below before finally turning to us. Her mouth opened as she prepared to say something, but she froze as soon as she saw the feraligatr. She sat rock still, her mouth open wide, until an excited smile to match Fabian's pulled onto her face.

"FABIAN," screamed the sneasel as she launched herself into the feraligatr's arms, attempting to wrap her short black arms around his thick neck. Fabian laughed and grabbed onto her, holding her tightly in his arms to keep her from falling.

"Hah hah, Seraph," said Fabian as he gave her a big squeeze before he pulled her out in front of him, holding her in his paws like a child would hold a precious doll. "Oh Arceus, look how big you've gotten, you keep growing at this rate and you'll be as big as me one day."

The sneasel blushed and smiled sheepishly. "No, sneasels can't grow that big, you're ginormous," she said and gestured at the feraligatr's towering frame.

Fabian let out a chuckle and gave the sneasel another tight hug before setting her down on the stool. "Well you're big enough to be working at the counter now," he said while pointing to the book and quill.

The sneasel beamed and pointed back towards the kitchen, "Yeah, and I get to help out in the kitchen too," she said before grabbing the quill and wiggling it around in her claws while smiling cheekily. "But mom has me work at the counter a lot cause she can't hold the quill and I can."

Another laugh left the feraligatr's mouth. "Yep, I can see why you would be better at the counter," he said and leaned forward, resting his claws on the edge of the counter. "Now, let's see how good of a job you do."

"Yeah," said the sneasel, and she grabbed onto the book, pulling it towards her before flipping it open. She ruffled through a few pages until she found an empty one, and then she wet the end of her quill in the inkwell. "OK… F," she said and wrote down a scraggly F onto the paper. "A-B-I-A-N," she said as she wrote down every letter until finally, a shaky but legible "Fabian" was written on the page.

"That's great," said Fabian, and he clapped the sneasel lightly on the shoulder. "You're really good at this." The sneasel blushed at the praise, muttering something about practice. "All right Seraph, I want you to meet my friend, Ninetales," the water type said as he pointed towards me.

The sneasel smiled brightly at me. "Hi Ninetales," she said before turning to the feraligatr. "Did you rescue her too?"

Fabian tilted his head to the side, and he gave a soft shrug. "In a way you could say I rescued her," he said and let out a soft chuckle.

"Wow," the sneasel said as she turned towards me. "You're just like me."

One of my eyebrows raised, and I gave the sneasel a dubious look. "We are nothing alike," I said with a stern frown.

Fabian turned to me with a disapproving frown. "Ninetales, be nice," he said in an admonishing tone.

'No, it's all right," said the sneasel. "When I got rescued, I was sad for a little while, but then I got better. We just gotta wait a little while, and Ninetales will be happy."

Fabian rustled the sneasel's head feather, making her giggle. "That's very smart of you," he said and gestured to the book again. "Do you think you could write Ninetales down on the paper?"

The sneasel frowned. "I don't know, Ninetales is really long and I haven't written it before," she said.

"It's all right, I'll help you out," Fabian said, and he proceeded to spell out the word "Ninetales" as well as "Dewott" and "Rapidash" to the young pokémon. While the feraligatr talked with the child, I scanned my eyes around the room, taking in as much information as possible. I caught many pokémon staring and Fabian and I, only for them to flit their eyes away, pretending to be uninterested.

The door shrieked on its hinges as the dewott, and the pair of rapidash entered the room, all of them carrying bags. The dewott looked towards me and snapped his gaze away as soon as our eyes met. A smug smile crept onto my face. Good, at least someone knows their place. The rapidash had their eyes glued to the ground, and their heads hung low, the living fire on their backs sputtering weakly as they dragged their hooves along the floor. They both shuffled over to the nearest empty table, and in perfect unison, plopped onto their hindquarters and dropped their heads onto the table, looking absolutely exhausted.

My ears perked up when I heard the sneasel's voice behind me. "Ummm, it says here a room costs twenty five, and dinner costs five, and you got two rooms and five dinners so that makes it…" her voice trailed off, and I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see her counting on her claws as she tried to add up the total price of our stay. "Seventy five," she suddenly said, looking towards Fabian for approval.

The Feraligatr beamed and nodded. "There you go, you got it faster than me," he said as he pulled a handful of coins out of his coin purse and placed them on the counter. I squinted as the coins clinked onto the counter, and I shifted closer to get a better look at them. Fabian must have noticed my curiosity as he chuckled and slid a coin over to me.

I inspected the coin, it looked to be made of brass, and it was no wider than my eye. Etched into the surface of the metal was a single fang. Fabian spoke up, "That's a brand, it's the currency here in Darun," he said and slid another coin towards me. "That right there is a one-piece, and this here is a ten-piece."

The ten-piece looked to be the same size and shape as the one-piece, but instead of a single fang, two fangs were set in a cross. I flipped over the coins and was greeted by another symbol etched into the metal, a single fireball. I nodded. The symbols on the coins were most likely symbols for King Incineroar, the current king of Darun.

Fabian took away the coins and proceeded to pay for tonight's stay. A door behind the counter opened, and the mudsdale came through, pushing a cart covered in bowls of soup. She weaved through the small aisles between tables, moving with a dexterity I did not expect from a pokémon so large. She stopped by each occupied table, taking away empty bowls and replacing them with full ones until she reached the table taken by the dewott and the rapidash. There, she placed five full bowls before heading back to the kitchen.

Fabian leaned in close to the sneasel. "Would you like to eat with me tonight?" he asked, speaking just loud enough for the mudsdale to hear before she went back into the kitchen. The sneasel's face brightened, and she gasped as she turned to look towards her mother.

"Can I? pretty pleeeeeease. " she begged her mother.

The mudsdale smiled. "Of course you can sweetheart, but remember you still have to finish your chores tonight," she said before laughing as the sneasel hopped off the stool and ran over to the feraligatr's side, pulling at his paw.

I followed the two as they walked through the room, but I hesitated when they moved to the table with the dewott and the rapidash. Fabian sat at the table and put the sneasel down onto his knee before turning to look at me, smirking when he saw me apprehensively standing a few steps away. "I got you a room for tonight, but do not expect me to get you your own table," he said and turned back to the child he had on his lap.

My lip curled as I watched the dewott and the rapidash eat their soup. I would not be sitting at the same table as the commoners. My paws padded silently on the floorboards as I walked towards the table, and the dewott's eyes shifted back and forth between my approaching form and the bowl in his paws. As soon as I reached the table, I grabbed the only untouched bowl with my mouth and pulled it away. I turned towards the nearest table and sat down at it, placing my bowl in front of me.

My face pulled into a frown as I glared at the soup. Small chunks of vegetables and meat floated in a brown, oily broth. It didn't look appetizing, but the smell coming off of it made my stomach rumble. I leaned forward and took a tentative lick of the broth. It wasn't anything special, neither was it anywhere near as good as the food made in the castle, but I was hungry, so it would have to do.

I ate slowly and methodically, just as I had been taught by my mother, taking great care to make sure not a single speck of food landed on my fur. Fabian's voice kept up a constant pace behind me as he told the sneasel story after story, making me wonder how he could even find time to eat. When I finished my bowl, I leaned back and stared at the empty dish, with my stomach still rumbling.

The mudsdale suddenly appeared next to me with the cart full of bowls. She smiled at me, switched my empty dish out for a full one, and left. Frowning, I watched the mudsdale leave. Where had she come from? I swear I had my eyes open the whole time, yet it was almost as if she had teleported to me the second my bowl was empty. I returned to eating with a shake of my head, finishing my second bowl before my stomach felt content and full.

Just as before, the mudsdale showed up with her cart and took my empty bowl, but this time she didn't give me another serving of soup. As the mudsdale left with her coach, my brows furrowed. How did she know I was full? She hadn't said a word to me, yet she gave me just enough food to fill me up. Was she some kind of secret psychic type?

Fabian was still talking about some great adventure he had in a mystery dungeon, so I stayed in my seat and let my mind wander. I pondered over all the things I was missing from home as I stared blankly forward. My attention was so embedded in my thoughts, I didn't notice Fabian had finished until his paw landed on my shoulder.

I jumped and forced a wave of ice energy into the paw on my shoulder, encasing his claws in a layer of ice. I shot Fabian a nasty look, only for him to chuckle and hold up his paw, admiring the new casing of ice in his claws. With barely any effort, he clenched his claws into a fist, shattering the ice. Shards of ice twinkled to the ground, and the feraligatr stretched his claws. "We're gonna head to the rooms, but if you'd like to stay here I understand," he said and turned towards a doorway on the other side of the room.

Pushing my chair away, I left the table and followed Fabian to the doorway, but before the feraligatr left the room, he turned to the kitchen and waved. I looked to see what he was waving to, and I saw the sneasel waving energetically back as she carried a tray full of dirty dishes. I rolled my eyes and followed the feraligatr down the hall. We passed by door after door until we reached the three other pokémon in our group. The dewott fiddled with a key in a lock and eventually managed to unlock the door. He and the pair of rapidash entered and immediately shed off all of the bags they held.

Fabian continued on to the next door down the hall, pulling a small key out of his bag and unlocking the door. I followed him inside and looked around. Small candles sat on the windowsills and on a small table, doing their best to illuminate the small room. The room was set in a square, just five steps across on either side. Bland wooden planks made up the floor, only covered by a small rectangular rug set in the corner. A window was situated on the opposite wall, letting in bands of silver moonlight.

My head swiveled as I looked around the room. "Where is the bed?" I asked, flicking a strand of hair away from my face.

"It's right there," Fabian said with a yawn, pointing to the rug sitting in the corner.

I fixed the supposed "bed" with a dubious glare. "That is a rug," I said, turning back to the feraligatr.

Fabian chuckled softly. "That's a sleeping mat," he said, putting his adventurer's bag on the floor. "It's basically a bed but smaller."

I walked over to the mat and placed a tentative paw on its surface. It had a spongy texture, but enough pressure would make my paw press against the hard ground. A loud snap made me jerk my head. Fabian had pulled out a new sleeping mat and had flicked it open. I scowled as I watched the mat slap to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm setting up my bed," he answered casually as he pulled a small pillow from his bag, fluffing it aggressively between his paws.

I marched up to him, staring straight into his amber eyes. "I said I wanted a room to myself," I snapped, my paws stomping onto the floorboards with hollow thunks.

Fabian gave me a dry grin. "No, you said you wanted a room that wasn't full of males, so it'll just be me," he said before returning his attention to the pillow in his paws, slapping it between his claws to soften the stuffing.

I smacked the pillow out from between his claws, making it flop to the ground with a dull thud. He glared at it for a second before his gaze softened and the corners of his mouth twisted upwards. "Well that's one way to fluff a pillow," he muttered before placing his paws on his hips and meeting my burning gaze.

"Listen here Ninetales," he said, his tone admonishing yet kind. "Your parents asked me to protect you and I plan to do so to the best of my ability. But if I want to keep you safe, I'll have to keep a constant eye on you, and I can't do that if we're sleeping in different rooms."

My mouth opened, and I prepared to voice my complaints until Fabian's paw literally wrapped itself around my muzzle and clamped my mouth shut. My eyes widened as I glared at the blue paw and silvery claws wrapped around my snout. He held up his other paw in an unmistakable gesture of 'stop.' "I know that you don't like it, but this is non-negotiable. Either get used to it, or this is going to be a long night for the both of us," he said and let go of my snout.

I jerked my head away from his paw as fast as I could, rubbing at the place where he had grabbed me with my own paws. A cold fury burned inside my chest as I looked back to the arrogant water type." How dare you," I said, my voice coming out in an icy whisper, a few locks of hair had fallen over my face, but I didn't bother to move them as I glared daggers at the feraligatr.

Fabian was absolutely unmoved by my angry glare. "It's time for bed, it's been a long day, and we have another long day tomorrow. Good night Ninetales," said the feraligatr before he lowered himself onto his sleeping mat and closed his eyes.

Quick, shallow breaths echoed off of the walls as my heavy breathing became the only sound in the room. My gaze bore holes into the feraligatr's skull, and I glared at his prone form. "No, we are not done, you cannot touch me like that, you do not have the…" I said, my voice trailing off as a new sound entered the room.

Snoring

My mouth fell open, and my brow furrowed. "Do you expect me to fall for that, get up, right now." I said and poked him roughly in the shoulder. The feraligatr didn't even flinch as he continued to snore softly. The anger bubbled inside of me like boiling water. It rose and rose until I let out a scream and turned to the nearest object I could let my anger out on. The small table by the empty sleeping mat crashed to the floor, small wooden splinters flying across the room. My paw throbbed, and I held it gingerly against my chest. Hitting a rigid object as hard as I could was not my smartest move.

I limped over to the unoccupied mat and laid myself down on it, stewing over my thoughts as my anger faded, leaving exhaustion in its wake. My eyelids drooped, and my head fell against the mat, the warm clutches of the night pulling me into a deep sleep.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this chapter. If you like the story, please follow so you'll be notified whenever I update, and please leave a review if there is something I need to change, or you just want to send some encouragement.