Updates:

Redefined guild ranks & graduation requirements (Graduate from Western/Research Guild at level 4, Southern/Power Guild at 8, Northern/Exploration Guild at 9, & Eastern/Medicinal Guild at 10.

Instead of Kai's inner thoughts just being italicized, they're just straight up not separated from actions anymore. The coming chapters should make this more seamless than this and the previous ones, but I just now remembered that the entire story is in Kai's perspective. That means when an action is described, he is mentally processing the fact that he is doing that action. There isn't really much separation between that and actual thought, when they are both in fact thought.

-Chapter VII: Recess-

Though I've only stayed at the guild for a day or two, I've come to expect a louder atmosphere upon waking up. Regardless of expectations though, I wake up to the sound of silence.

Near silence at least, as I hear the quiet talking of teams in other rooms, and the shuffling of feet above our room.

Speaking of our…

Looking to where my two teammates should be, I find there to only be one; a Mudkip staring directly at me, somewhat tense. Discomfort claws at me, so I rise and wander towards the entrance of our living space. His eyes don't follow – must be half asleep, anyway.

Walking back and over to him, I still don't manage to get his attention, even after waving a paw right in front of his face.

He must be really out of it then…

Walking over to his side, I place a paw on his back instead. That gets him; he jumps a good foot in the air and his head whips around, before his eyes land on me.

"You good, ma-… Riptide?" I catch myself. The Mudkip nods slowly, not seeming to catch (or likely care) about my mistake.

"Cool- uhm, where's Charity?"

His eyes lock onto what must be a particularly interesting patch of foliage on the wall. It takes him a moment to respond. "She… left earlier this morning. I didn't see or ask where."

"Okay… wanna go look for her, then?"

"Sure."

We quietly leave the room, stopping just beside the stairs. I slowly turn towards the Mudkip.

"…Sooooo… uh. Should we… uhm… nevermind. Let's just go upstairs."

The Mudkip nods, not at all aware of my discomfort. God… it feels like my already barely-stable acquaintanceship with him got thrown into a blender after whatever yesterday night could be called…

Walking up the stairs, I hear a calling shout to my left. I turn my head, identifying the creature as a furret by remembering the Pokédex.

It was one of the earlier entries, if I recall correctly.

"You two! She said your names were… Sai and Tidal? I don't know… Nonetheless! Your mentor told me to tell you that she is just outside the guild."

I flinch at the mispronunciations. "It's Kai and Riptide and, uh… Thanks…?"

"Aria of Team Spirit, and no problem! Hope we can work together in the future?"

"…Yeah…!"

She doesn't (seem to) catch onto my fake enthusiasm.

"Great! See you around, then!"

She skips away, humming to herself with absolutely no rhythm whatsoever.

Turning back to Riptide, I pass in front of him to (once again) catch his attention, and guide him out of the guild.

At the top of the guild stairs, I pretty much immediately spot the Leafeon.

Standing just in view off to the right, Charity is faced out towards the rising sun, and the little I can see of her face tells me that her eyes are closed. Her mouth is formed into that of a gentle smile.

Grass type… likes the Sun… plants gain energy from photosynthesis, a process most active during the day due to getting said energy from the sun… Should be obvious to me at this point, shouldn't it.

I hesitate for a moment before getting her attention. "…Hey, Charity?"

Her relaxed expression turns into one of surprise as she faces towards us. "Kai! Riptide! Good morning you two! Didja sleep well?" I note her chipper attitude.

"Yeah, I slept alright." I respond. Riptide nods as usual.

"Nice! Oh, and just to let you know Kai, Atari did tell me about your… incident… though I never got a chance to tell Riptide. Other than getting that whole dealydoo situated, today's pretty much a free day for the two of you. Yesterday was… a bit much… for a new guild team I'd say, so I'll give ya the day off to do whatever you want."

I nod. "Okay… do you want me to tell him what happened, or…?"

She gives a half nod, hesitating. "…Yeah… though I'll be listening in as well probably, 'cause I want to get the whole thing from your perspective as well, y'know?"

"Mhm. Do we want to do it back in our room, or…?"

"It's up to you two, really. I'm fine anywhere."

I turn my attention to the mudfish behind me. "Riptide…?"

"…Room's fine."

"Alright, cool."

I lead our group back down the stairs, and into our living space. We each settle down onto our individual beds of hay. I do my best to ignore the one stray strand poking into my skin through my fur.

There's still so much crap I need to get used to here… kinda starting to hate it.

I take a deep breath that serves far more purposes than it should.

"Gonna keep this at least somewhat brief, uh, probably around a week ago I was exploring somewhere, don't know exactly where, I hit my head and knocked myself out. The town Xatu – Medium – and I talked and concluded that I was attacked and forced to hit my head by a psychic-type. I probably stumbled into some unnecessarily high-level dungeon by accident, considering the possibly permanent memory loss and the recurring headaches. Next time I woke up was a few minutes before you-" My eyes lock with Riptide's "-ran past me on the beach."

Riptide nervously clears his throat. "W-was the p-psychic really that strong to s-strip you of all your memories besides your name?"

"Wait… what!?" Charity nearly yells, corresponding to flinches from both myself and Riptide.

"Sorry… but it was that strong!? I have a hard time believing that it was a normal Pokémon or dungeon dweller that attacked you, considering the fact that they might've even blocked off your fire-type abilities."

Riptide looks at her in confusion, and my eyes widen.

"The fire patches on my back… I-I mean… Y-you tell me if this look n-natural or not. I-uh… can't see it for myself, so… yeah."

I turn myself around and hear rustling behind me before, soon enough, a paw runs along my back. I give a brief shiver at how off it feels.

"It's like they were never there in the first place… could this just be a deformity from birth…? God I wish we knew more about your past to know who your parents were. That'd make this one problem easier to reason out, at least."

"Yeahhheheh… I wish I knew more about myself too…"

She takes a step back, placing her paw back down. "Okay! With that done, I'll let the two of you go. At least, for now, Kai, you're free to go. Riptide, can we talk for a bit?"

The Mudkip shrinks back in his nest of hay (as he was previously perked up slightly, looking at the anomaly that is my back apparently), eyes widened slightly. She seems to realize something else.

"No, I'm not punishing you for anything. You're perfectly fine, Riptide. I just want to talk; get to know ya better n' stuff. That alright?"

Cautiously, the Mudkip nods.

…Why do his mannerisms mimic that of an abused pet?

"I'll see you guys around, then."

Charity gives a wave of her tail and head leaf, while Riptide's too busy staring at Charity to utter a response. I shrug and leave to my own devices.

First stopping by the cafeteria, I get myself breakfast, which is… the same soup I've been eating every day since I've joined the guild, pretty much.

I really need to extend my palate…

I quickly finish, turning in my bowl to the counter (and doing my best to attract as little attention to myself as possible to a reasonable measure of success) and walking out of the guild, settling myself near the spot Charity stood earlier this morning. I note the guard watching me from a distance, before the sky dims for a moment – the sun getting covered by a rather dark cloud.

So… I'm to expect rain later today…?

I shrug, and look down the cliff side in front of me. The butterflies in my stomach prompt me to look back up and back away, however.

…Now what?

I look back at the guild for a brief moment.

I guess… I could just go to the library again… Hopefully it'll be (at least somewhat) active, maybe I could get a recommendation or two for interesting books to read.

Turning away, I shrug and start my little trek down to the library, the one place I can say I know the location of by heart.

…

…There is nobody here.

Nobody was there to read, at least. The clerk sits at their front desk as always, this time being a Pokémon I fail to recognize. They seem livelier and far less intimidating than the decidueye from before at least, being around my size and wearing a small smile on their face as they read a shorter-looking book.

"Uhm… Ms. Clerk…?-"

I see her eyes lift slowly to me, before she jerks back slightly.

"…Hi-…you're referring to me?"

"Mhm."

Damn… is clerk just straight-up not a word here?

"I don't think I've been called that before. Nonetheless, how can I help you?"

It is not. Noted.

"I was wondering if you had any recommendations for books I can read."

She puts her book down to the side, fitting a stick between the pages. "Oh? What genre were you interested in?"

"I don't really have any… genre in specific necessarily… I'd be fine with a random fiction novel, honestly."

She cocks her vulpine head, one of her tails flicking around erratically[BS1] , before giving me a small smile.

"Then sure, I've got some good ones. Would you care to follow me?"

"Sure."

The vixen leads me to the fantasy section, but stops when she notices someone.

Book in mouth trying to reach up to the higher shelves, the ampharos's eyes widen slightly as he sees us. Wasn't as hard as it should be for me to recognize it, as it was the first species (or, at least, the first evolution line) listed in the Pokédex.

Could he be…

"Um… sir? I don't believe I saw you enter the library. Were you planning on taking that book, or…?" the fox questions. The ampharos calms down a bit.

"Nah. I was just adding a new book in. Do I need to check in to do that?" The vixen's eyes narrow.

"I don't see any reason why you wouldn't come in without checking in. Unless you worked here, and even then you'd have to confirm with the previous shift worker. I don't know how you got past me, but-"

"Heyyy… Calm down, vulpix lass.-"

Ahh… so that's her species. Duly noted again.

"-Sorry to cause you trouble; I'll make sure to check in next time, kay?"

"Mhm."

"Great! Oh, and by the way, who's your friend?"

She side-eyes me. "He's just someone who came in to read a book, I guess." I nod. He directs his full attention to me.

"Well then, how about- wait, which genre are you looking to read?"

"Fic-"

I cut the vulpix off. "Any genre, really." She glares at me.

The ampharos's tail gem-ball thing sparks and fizzles slightly, and he grins. "How about my book, then?"

The vulpix glares daggers at the ampharos, but nonetheless turns her attention back to me. "If you don't need anything, I'll be going back to my desk. That alright?"

"Up to you, honestly. I might still ask you for a recommendation after this anyway though; I just wanted something nice to read."

That brightens her mood (at least slightly), and she gives a wave with two of her tails before walking out of the area. The ampharos looks on, almost smug.

After a few moments of him staring on, the gems on both his forehead and his tail spark lightly.

"Okay! Now that that's done with, What's your name, cyndaquil?"

"…Um… My name's Kai… can I ask-"

"Nice! My name's Vita, and- oh, what did you want to ask?"

My eyes scan the shelves, trying to find the book. "Are you the writer of the… is it in this shelf… the Pokédex book?"

His eyes widen, and a gleeful grin appears.

I don't manage to see it. "Yes, that would be me. How'd ya guess?"

"Seemed like you were filling in as information came to you, which explains why your 'evolution line' was the first three pokémon listed."

He nods. "Hmm… was it informative for you?"

"Mhm. It had-"

I don't want to tell a supposed stranger about random parts of myself, do I…? …I think I'll just keep it formal for now.

"-…a lot of interesting tidbits I really liked. It was a good general knowledge book, at least."

I can tell he notices my hesitation with a brow raise. He nonetheless continues on with pride.

"Great! I wrote that book probably around seven years ago or so? It's been a while, that's for sure. The book I was bringing in is actually an updated version of that one. The one in the library is a general knowledge book, but this one goes far more into specifics, has a lot more pokémon, and is likely far more helpful."

I then truly notice the size of the book he has. 'That could very likely be around half as thick as my own head…'

"How many pokémon have you documented in that book?"

He smirks. "Though this book is somewhat incomplete as well, it goes into specifics on about 300 pokémon. As for how many are actually in the book? At least double that."

DAMN…

"Uh… what…?"

"Impressive, ay? I could say so, at least. I've invested years of my life into this; wouldn't want it going to waste!"

"That's… wow. Do you get assistance from the guilds?"

His eye twitches. "N-no, not n-necessarily… can we avoid talking about the guilds for now…? I don't have the best relationship with them at the moment."

I tilt my head, probing. "I'd think they'd love working with you. At least, the research guild. They-"

"Different areas of study. Uh-" he gulps, "-a-are you part of the guild?"

"Yeah…?"

"Okay, just… the way I study doesn't really conform to the guild's safety standards…? Something like that."

…What does that even mean…?

"C-can we please move on, Kai?" His tail gem starts sparking wildly. I quickly nod. "Yeah, it's fine." The sparking calms down, and so does he.

"Cool. As I was saying, I've been working on this for years, primarily by myself. Sometimes a fellow or two would come in to help, though."

"That's nice…"

"Yeah… Oh! I wanted to ask you something. What's up with the vents on your back being gone?"

"Vents…? Ohhhh, the patches. Yeah, I dunno."

"Oh. Can I ask for something, then?"

"Sure."

"Can you come to my shop sometime soon? Actually-" he flips through the pages of the 'advanced' Pokédex, closing it, "-how about you just take the book? I've got a little map in there that directs you to my shop from Baycaster."

Though his methods could be questionable, he doesn't seem like too bad of a guy… just a bit crazy, and that seems almost commonplace at this point.

"Eh, sure. I'm honestly a bit lost at this point anyway, so I don't see any reason I couldn't come around."

"Great! I'll make sure to expect you in the near future. Though I would say be careful with the book, don't worry; I've got loads of copies. Nonetheless, I hope you're able to bring it back in good condition!"

"I'll try."

He does seem like he'd be able to better help me figure out how my body works, considering all the research he seems to have put in…

"Nice. I'll be seeing ya, then. Enjoy guild life, Kai!"

Though he said the final part with a bit of sarcasm, I give him a genuine smile back.

'Well… that was either really lucky, really unlucky, or both. At this point, probably doesn't matter too much.'

Letting myself flip through the book, I find a hand-drawn (very accurately) picture of a vulpix. I doubt that it's the same as the librarian vulpix, but I nonetheless read through:

"Vulpix have an innate amount of psychic-type energy stored inside of their bodies, though technically they're only defined as fire-type. (Define as psychic?)

"These fox-like creatures have been observed to freely control fire, manipulating it in the air. Inside of a vulpix's body resides a flame the will never go out until the vulpix's death. Even then, it was recorded to burn on for as long as 2 months before going out.

"Officially, vulpix are pure fire-types. Their signature move is Will-o-wisp, a move that greatly demonstrates their mastery over the element of fire."

Wait a minute…

I read over it again.

Something here doesn't seem right…

My eyes catch on the second paragraph, widening.

…I think I see why the guild didn't approve of his methods.

Closing the book with a steady sigh, I put the book between my arm and my body (or at least, I try to; I end up settling with just placing it on my back and walking on all fours instead) and walk back to the front, greeting the vulpix with a nod of greeting. She looks at the book curiously.

"Is that book that ampharos's?"

I nod. "Yup. He was the writer of that 'Pokédex' book apparently, and now he's made this one. Goes far more into detail than the Pokédex, though it mentions some… unsavory topics…"

"O-oh… like what?"

Hopefully he only killed a feral…

"I'd… rather not mention it. It's still informative, but I'll likely return it back to him sooner than later."

"Alright. I guess that's fair. …"

"…"

"…"

"…So… what books did you want to show me, again? I never got a chance to ask."

The vulpix smiles.

"Thanks for the book recommendations! They were… far better than I thought, m… uh, I never actually got your name."

The vulpix looks at me in confusion for a moment, before brightening. "Ah. I'm Casey. I'm actually a former member of the guilds, though I'm currently working to get the hours I've lost back through various shifts around town. Isn't too fun, but I'm nearly done."

"Nice. Do you have a team you're in?"

"Debatably. It's up to them whether or not I could join. If not, I'll just find a team eventually. Who knows, maybe I could try for a position in your team? If it doesn't fill up, of course."

"Hmhhhhh, yeah… thanks for offering. Guess I'll see you around?"

"Yup! Don't go getting yourself killed, 'kay?"

"Noted."

Shaking my head with a small smile, I walk out of the library, the ampharos's book still on my back. It takes me all the way until I make it to the crossroads to realize something that brings me to a halt.

…That was the first normal conversation I've had here.

I look back towards the library. Or, at least, where it probably is.

That's a bit sad.

Shaking my head, I continue my trek back toward the guild, noting the setting sun. Soon enough, I'm back in our room, watching a pacing Charity and a fidgeting Riptide. Both of their eyes lock onto me as I enter the room.

"Kai! Welcome back!"

"Thanks. I was, uh… I pretty much just stayed at the library for the day. Got a book to study from so I can better recognize various different pokémon species."

"That's… wasn't expecting it, but that's great! Didja rent the book out?" Charity questions.

"No, actually – the author himself gave it to me."

"Interesting… either way, I've got great news on my side as well! I've already told Riptide, but my mate's coming into town sometime tomorrow! I think it'll be later at night, but nonetheless… I think we may just have rivals. He hasn't revealed who they are, but it'll hopefully make this experience a lot more memorable for the two of you; three, if you find someone."

I tilt my head.

Things are picking up reeeeeal fast, aren't they.

"Excited to meet them."

"Same! Oh, and one final thing I wanted to say before I get dinner – we'll be doing our first official guild mission tomorrow. I'll probably pick the lowest-leveled one just to be certain, but it'll be a great opportunity for the two of you to rest out the scarves that were given to you by the guildmaster. He told me what they do, but I'll leave it a secret 'till we actually get to the dungeon, and they're actually put into use.

"Might read that book sometime myself; I would want to see what those researched ones are thinking, regardless of my own knowledge."

I cringe. She doesn't notice.

"Welp, I'm gonna go get our food now. See you two in a bit!"

She walks out, and I let myself stare at the ground.

There've been so many ups and downs since I've arrived here… Glad that the rocky start seems to have stabilized somewhat, though I can't help but wonder… should I trust Vita? …I'll need to look through the book for better judgement.