Furret Abigail couldn't be sure how long she had slept. She woke up on the cushion facing the TV. It still played a quiet comedy that had made her chuckle herself to sleep. Her eyes watered looking at the screen, so she looked down and held her eyes in her paws. They felt better when she opened them again.
She stretched her back and raised her paws in the air. Some part of her moving caused a small thump on the floor. Her phone screen faced up. It turned on from hitting the floor. She swept it closer with her tail and grabbed it.
Abigail looked through the messaging app as she sat back down. She found Helen's name, along with each of her friend's names already added on. She clicked on Helen's and started to type.
"I think I do want to sign up for that job." – Abigail
Given it was still early in the afternoon, Helen was probably busy doing other things.
As Abigail set the phone down, she felt it vibrate. She fumbled with it in her hands, then checked the screen again.
"Alright, I'll take care of the paperwork." - Helen
After Furret Abigail turned off the phone, she looked at her reflection on its surface. Furious, gold fur still replaced the usual dark brown. The four gold streaks on her face combined with the fur on her head and back made her feel strange to look at. People used dye all the time, but she never even considered it.
She didn't really know what to think. More than anything, she wondered what other people thought. Abigail didn't use the internet often, but she knew how, if she could get her fingers to register clicks better. Once she got the motion, she kept jabbing the screen with her finger to go to the application that said "Search".
Abigail typed in "Lodestar". A lot of things popped up in a list on a white screen, but she wanted to be more specific. She typed in "Lodestar fur", but the same results showed. There wasn't any mention of her fur specifically.
It got difficult. Texting the princes about it would be easier. They were all from the city, so they probably knew about this stuff. Leading off with a question might be a little too straightforward.
"I don't like being on the news." – Abigail
A few seconds later, typing started. It was a little surprising how fast it came.
"me neither" - Gawain
"Do they know my fur changed color?" – Abigail
The typing stopped, then continued.
"Your fur changed color? Did you dye it?" – Zen
"Oh." - Abigail
"shiny gang?" - Aaron
"It turned gold." - Abigail
"wha" - Aaron
"Genetic mutations that cause differences are super common. But, like, this is new, right?" - Zen
"pics or it didn't happen" - Aaron
"Stop." - Zen
"Are you guys doing anything right now?" - Abigail
"not when you call" - Aaron
"simp" - Gawain
"." – Zen
"no u" - Aaron
"Could we get lunch or something?" - Abigail
"dibs" - Aaron
"dibs?" - Gawain
"seriously?" - Gawain
"yes pls" - Aaron
"We're sort of adults. Why don't we just grab food together? We never even got properly introduced in person." – Zen
"becuz I called dibs?" - Aaron
"how about we swing by her room and take her upstairs in a few minutes? And just, like, hang out." - Gawain
"Okay." - Abigail
"Alright, let's do it." – Zen
"i get to introduce myself first" – Aaron
Abigail considered an idea that came in her head. She had a bit of a craving, but was going back and forth on the idea except in the seconds she decided to go with it.
"I'll marry whoever brings fruit gummies." – Abigail
A knock sounded on Furret Abigail's door. She stood up and rubbed her paws along the fur on her sides one last time. She pulled on the steel door handle and opened it.
Abigail thought they weren't there at first, then she looked down.
Buizel Zen, shiny Zorua Aaron, and Quilava Gawain were all standing in the hallway at about half of her height. It felt weird, but normal compared to the fact that the Zorua and Buizel were holding white plastic bags filled with packages of fruit gummies. Aaron's tail wagged while Zen glanced back and forth between her and Aaron. Gawain stood a little further back with his arms crossed.
All of their fur looked fluffy like pillows. The edges of the paws holding the white bags to Abigail looked like clouds. Each of them had a small, brown satchel wrapped around their shoulders that probably held their phones. Abigail usually used her cape's pockets to carry things, but she didn't know where it ended up after that night.
"Oh," Zen said. "That. I forgot we were told about that."
"Yup, me too," Aaron chimed in, dropping the bag on the floor. "But you look fine. Great."
"I didn't tell them you were joking about the gummis," Gawain said, leaning his head forward.
"We knew," Zen huffed and rolled his eyes.
Abigail put on a little smile. She took the bags from them in each of her paws. "Thank you."
"How about we visit Charlotte?" Aaron asked. "She's a good scientist here. I mean, I think you're great in any color, but if it's bothering you, maybe she could just give you some quick answers?"
"They're already looking into it," Gawain said.
"Yah, I know. But Charlotte could probably come up with, like, a dozen answers to make her feel better. And she has other stuff, too."
It sounded nice. It was a step up from not being sure if she was dying in some spectacular way or not. Abigail wasn't sure what this other stuff was, but it seemed to click across their faces in the form of a spreading nod.
"Sure," Abigail said. "Let me just set some things down."
Abigail set the bags down on her cushion. After staring at her phone for a second, she decided it would be fine to just leave it in the room. She came out in the hallway and closed the door behind her, and pushed it twice to make sure it locked. Helen already texted her the password to unlock it.
Buizel Zen led the way to the elevator, but the other two were close next to him. Abigail noticed they walked closer to Zen than her as they went down the hallway, but she didn't want to read too deep into anything. She already started questioning other small things, like why the Zorua Aaron smiled off into space.
Abigail followed them to the elevator's round, black doors at the end of a hallway. It stuck out from the rest of the silvery sheen from the walls and floor. She watched Zen enter in a number password and call it. From the response time, she guessed it overwrote anyone calling the elevator from below.
She froze stepping in; the Nightlight Association's symbol caught her eye. Lugia's wings were etched on the bottom of the elevator. She walked in before anyone noticed her staring at it.
The elevator went up, but stopped in seconds. Aaron, Zen, and Gawain didn't react, so they must've expected it.
The doors opened to a huge, open space. Right away, Abigail could see the sky out of the windows.
Walking out of the elevator, she realized she could see the city skyline, made up of steel towers and long streets, in all directions. The outside walls of the tower were all glass windows. The whole floor was a single space with a cold metal floor caked and covered in wires, metal, and other devices big and small.
As the elevator doors closed, Abigail noticed a Leafeon further in the room. On an island in a sea of metal with a short wood table, her unbroken focus stated on dozens of papers. Buizel Zen found a thin path through the scattered metal on the ground. Abigail was the last in their line going towards the table.
"Miss Charlotte?" Zen called gently.
Leafeon's head whipped around, then her body. Her wide eyes and tense mouth settled down on her face.
"Hello?" Leafeon Charlotte asked. "Your majesties, to what do I owe the visit?"
"We just wanted to ask you a few things," Zen said.
"Like what…?"
Abigail came into Charlotte's view.
"Oh," Charlotte said, nodding. "Yes, of course. May I see your arm?"
"Yah."
Abigail held out her arm. She stalked forward, observing her paw by scanning it with her eyes, then gripping under it. She poked it with one finger, then pulled on a few strands of gold fur.
"It's not unheard of," Charlotte said. "The body's energy is the same thing we use for moves, and lots of things… It's possible that once it gets stronger, it could burn on a new color like this."
"You're saying I caused this?" Abigail asked.
"No, no. It's like… a burn."
"A burn?"
"When a pokemon pushes their energy too far, or sometimes to another level, their body can sometimes get 'burned' or react to the intensity. This is something that has happened before. It can change eye color, fur color… It's unpredictable."
"So, will it… Wear off?"
"I'm afraid not."
Abigail didn't expect that answer at all. Her eyes skimmed around other areas of the floor. She was at a loss for words.
"Many pokemon dream of making their energy so powerful, that they gain a color that distinguishes them from others," Charlotte explained. "I don't know how you feel. But as a fighter, you should be proud. This isn't a milestone most pokemon will never reach. It shows power."
"What're the odds?" Aaron asked. "I mean, there are dozens of fighters in the arenas. I follow Valorian sports, but I've never seen anything like this."
"Well," Charlotte said, "let's say that you have a group of fighters or competitors that have reached physical peaks. The odds of any pokemon in that group having something like this happen would be… around five or ten percent."
Abigail's arm fell when Charlotte let go. The motion going up to her shoulder snapped her out of her daze. She looked right up at her eyes.
"It looks beautiful," she said, "but if you want, there are places to get dye downstairs."
"I'm good," Abigail muttered. "It's just fur color."
"Got that right."
A smile wormed onto her face. Shiny Zorua Aaron smiled up at her.
"I also have a few gifts," Charlotte said. "Or maybe you could call them gear. I already heard you decided to accept the job offer here?"
A jolt interrupted Abigail's breathing. She only told Helen.
"I have some gear for you. I was told to start making them in case you accepted right away."
Charlotte walked to the edge of the island and fumble around in a pile of cloth, rope, and metal. Abigail watched as she tried to untangle all of the ropes to get through to what was deeper inside. She shared a glance with the other princes.
"They were really pushy about it and all," Charlotte said, "but, great overtime pay. Ah." Charlotte pulled on a long, brown cloth a little longer than the length of her body. She held it as high as she could to avoid it snagging on anything walking away from the pile.
Abigail walked forward and accepted the cloth from her. She unfurled it, trying to figure out what kind of clothing it was.
"Your other cape sort of fell apart," Charlotte said. "This one, though, is made from special fibers. Suitable for combat. And just like every other worker in the Nightlight Association, it has an emblem. Specifically, yours."
A white Compass Rose The white symbol was on the back of the cape under the hood.
While Abigail stared at it, Charlotte brought something else over. She slung it around her back and tied the cloth in a tight knot around her neck.
Charlotte brought her two Grapplers. They were black, cone-shaped pieces of metal attached to bracelets. Abigail didn't have any personal experience with them, but she knew what they did. The flat side of the cone got sticky when a pokemon's energy passed through it to let a pokemon grapple to another flat surface. They weren't used often, but thrived in the inner city.
Abigail slid on the two Grapplers on each of her arms. They fit perfectly.
"Oh, and because you work here, you're getting a new room on the forty-ninth floor. The passcode will be sent to your phone along with other things."
"Uh, thank you. A lot," Abigail said.
"Don't mention it. I'm sure we'll run into each other."
"Yah, of course."
Buizel Zen led the way to the elevator again. He had to use another password to go up to the forty-ninth floor.
The hallways looked the same. There were still no pokemon in sight, granted, they would be busy elsewhere at this time. The only difference Furret Abigail could see were the doors being further apart from each other.
When they got to her new room, Abigail had been fumbling on her phone for a while. She found the long passcode just a few seconds before they stopped in front of a door. She typed it out slowly, but Zen, Aaron, and Gawain all waited without saying a word. When finished, she snagged the door handle and pushed.
The bed alone was six times her size and covered with white curtains that could be pulled over it. The same curtains hovered over a large window showing off with the city skyline.
A water pit occupied the center of the room. The white, dome-shaped stone shone like it had just been cleaned. Its steel faucet reflected every move Abigail made as she stepped forward.
More room opened up to her right. A round, dark blue carpet stood out from the brown on the rest of the floor. A long cushion faced a TV propped on the wall.
"We were wondering if you wanted to get some lunch?" Zen asked. "We can have someone bring your stuff up."
"Sure," Abigail said, still staring off in the room. "Just going to set some these down here…"
Abigail slid off the Grapplers and pushed aside the white curtains over her bed. She set them down on the soft, velvet blankets and then turned back around.
As she did, a huge red button covered in glass on the wall next to the window caught her eye. She wasn't exactly sure what it did; it seemed familiar, but forgot what it did. She glanced back at it walking to the doorway.
"Do you know that you started a trend with that?" Quilava Gawain asked. Abigail looked at him, asking him to continue with eye contact. "Capes got super popular cause of you. Prices and demand skyrocketed."
"Zen here wanted one," Zorua Aaron snickered.
"I wanted one before," Buizel Zen scoffed.
"Explorers used to wear them a lot," Abigail said. "Well, back when it was a little more common, I guess…" A short silence prompted her to continue. "So. Where are we getting lunch from?"
"I was just going to have us go downstairs," Zen said.
"It's still swarming down there," said Gawain. "All of us at once would set off something."
"Then we'll just have something brought up."
"Well, only if Abigail's fine with it."
Zen and Gawain turned up towards Abigail.
"Of course," she said. "Yah."
As Buizel Zen led them down the halls, they decided to order pizza. Abigail didn't have a problem with it (she loved it). The fact they ate something as normal as pizza checked a few worries off her list.
After one of the turns in the hallway, they came to one without doors on the sides. At the end, a short white ramp led up to wood double doors. On its surface, the familiar insignia of Lugia's wings, the Nightlight insignia, stared at her.
Zen bounded ahead to open the door. Abigail went up the ramp first, giving him a silent thanks with a slow nod.
The inside of the room had velvet carpet. Lights on the ceiling provided light in the stead of missing windows. The circular walls donned the same eggshell color as the hallway walls.
Comfortable cushions on white, fluffy couches faced a television hanging on the wall. The king Mightyena slept on one of them. The other king, Umbreon, laid back next to him with drooping ears and eyes. Samurott and Serperior conversed around a small, circular wood table until they came in.
"Welcome, Abigail," Serperior said. "You look better, that's a relief."
"Hi," she responded, her voice cracking. "Yes, I am."
"Excellent to see." Serperior glanced around. "This is the Nightlight Hub. High profile guests are housed here temporarily, and Master Rank Nightlight agents often meet in here for strategy meetings. It's open to you anytime, now."
"Oh, uh… Thanks."
"The Nightlights accepted you as soon as they got the go ahead," Serperior said, "and I personally agree with their decision to give you a unique kind of Master rank."
"Named Lodestar," Zen added. "Congrats."
"Oh, uhm, thank you," Abigail said, smiling. Her tail twirled behind her. "I really didn't think anything would happen this fast…"
Zorua Aaron bounded from behind her and hopped over the side of the couch. He landed on his face on top of the Mightyena's back. His red eyes opened while Aaron wiggled on his back.
"Dad, can we order pizza?" Aaron asked.
"Zen's parents already happened to order some ten minutes ago," Mightyena murmured.
"Lit."
"How does this floor work?" Abigail asked with her voice down. Buizel Zen leaned in, matching her volume as they walked in. "I mean, with permissions and all."
"This is a floor for members of the Council, for Master ranks to meet and talk business, special guests, us, and the Overlord's housing, which is one more ramp up. There's no Overlord right now, though, so there's a lot of tension. It's empty up there."
"What happened to the last Overlord?"
"Uh, well… The last one's name was Kite August. A Jirachi. Now I don't know much, but I heard he got burned by stress to the third degree. His girlfriend Anne takes a lot of responsibility here, but we don't know about where Kite is, at least."
After Zen went over to talk to his parents a bit, Abigail turned her attention to the couch. The Umbreon watched a lower level battle in the arena on the TV. She approached the couch with her arms behind her back, looking down at him.
"Hello there," Umbreon greeted. His tired eyes blinked. They stayed almost closed.
"Hi," Abigail said," are you, uhm..."
"I'm fine, sorry. Just tired," he said, "but you're welcome to sit here and change the channel."
"Oh, I'm alright..."
Abigail took his offer to sit on the opposite side of the couch from him and the Mightyena. It made her want to sleep too.
The double doors opened. Abigail turned her head and saw a Servine holding trays with dome coverings opened the double doors. He set them down on the wood table the Samurott and Serperior were sitting at and made his way back out without a word.
Abigail grabbed a slice of plain cheese pizza after Zen, his parents, and Aaron got some. They had a stack of paper plates on the table.
The loudest thing in the room was the TV for a few minutes while she ate until Quilava Gawain decided to stand near Abigail on the side of the couch. He looked at her until she looked back.
"So, Abigail," Gawain started, "do you want to try out some of the gear Charlotte made for you?"
"I'm good for now," Abigail said. "I'm, uhm, not sure what I want to do. Just really tired."
"Maybe take a selfie?" Aaron suggested. He shifted his body on Mightyena's back to look up at her from the couch. "Lots of people got a little worried when you were out of it after the ceremony. Maybe I could show you the whole social media thing. Get the whole 'woa, she's gold' thing out of the way?"
"I know social media things… Like, Chatotter. And, uhm, instant ramen."
"First one was right," Aaron said. "It's okay. No one ever has to know everything."
Aaron took out his phone from his bag. His fingers blurred across the screen.
"Alright you two, smile," Aaron said.
Before Abigail could piece together what he was doing, Aaron raised the back of the phone and snapped a picture. Gawain's face leaned down next to her as he smiled at the camera.
"Wait," Abigail said, "I wasn't ready."
"Yah, it's cute," Aaron snickered. "I'll set you up and show you how to change things. Let me just, uhm..."
The shiny Zorua sat up and brought the phone close to his face.. After a second of his eyes moving back and forth, he tugged on the fur of his dad's back.
"Hey dad?" Aaron said. "The internet's blowing up. And the news. I think something happened."
