Chapter 3: Only Because I Wanted To Go With You
April 10
"Sandshrew! I choose you!" Seb giggled as the pokemon appeared in front of him as if by magic. He abruptly stopped when he saw the look on her face. Apparently five was the limit. "Okay, sorry. I'll stop now."
Standing in the little kitchenette, he prepared her breakfast. It was a combination of dry food and some berry seasonings and supplements that he had been told would be good for her development. After double-checking that he had included everything, he laid it on the table. He then lifted her up onto the table beside it, careful to use proper technique so as to not hurt himself. She began eating quite contentedly while Seb poured himself a bowl of cereal and set his own bowl down next to the Sandshrew's.
Seb took a seat beside her and ate a couple of spoonfuls before speaking. "So I've been thinking about giving you a nickname. Simply referring to you as 'Sandshrew' sounds way too impersonal." She looked at him attentively while lifting food from the bowl into her mouth. "Since it will be your name, I figure you should be involved in the process."
She nodded and waved for him to continue. He snorted in amusement. She communicated with him better than any other pokemon did even without speaking. "My first take is on the 'shrew' basis. As a kid, I used to read a series of books called Redwall about brave woodland creatures who defended their home from evil vermin. Some of them were shrews and I figure I might try a couple names from them. What about 'Logalog' or 'Goussom?"
The Sandshrew shook her head in clear distaste. "Yeah, I wasn't much of a fan either, but I figured I'd offer. Besides, the shrews in that series were all obnoxious. Kind enough and loyal, but really loud and often rude." He ate a few more bites. "We could go classic lit. Go to William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew. But… honestly, the use of 'shrew' there was an insult to the woman and I don't think I want to name you after that. Oh! But her sister was loved by everybody… What was her name? Uh… Bianca! What about Bianca?"
He received the same response as before. She kept eating and now her glances were tinged with concern. "Oof. That bad, huh? Alright, the 'shrew' basis isn't panning out. We'll come back to this discussion later." Sebastian continued to get ready and the Sandshrew followed him around, simply watching him as he went about his morning.
He made sure to get in a quick workout, nothing other than basic bodyweight exercises and some shadow boxing for cardio. He was careful not to overdo it. It had been a regular part of his routine back home, but his younger body wasn't as accustomed to it and he was still recovering. After washing up and getting dressed, he made his way outside and held the door open for Sandshrew.
He let her exit the door and closed it behind her, locking it with the key given to him the night before. Oak had enough of a facility that his staff warranted their own small apartment complex. Seb had been granted use of one of the free rooms for the time being. It was little more than a glorified hotel room, but it was kind of them to give him free use of it for a while.
The two of them made their way down the quaint, calm roads of Pallet Town until they made it to Oak's lab five minutes later. They entered the front library and looked around to see who was there already.
"Good morning, Sebastian. You're up early." He was greeted by Professor Oak himself. "Most of my assistants aren't even out of bed yet, I imagine. Work hasn't really started for the day."
"Oh, oops. I hadn't thought about that." Seb realized awkwardly.
Oak laughed at his discomfort. "Don't worry about it, I'm up. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was thinking I could take a look around, maybe figure out what sort of research you are working on." Seb answered, again rubbernecking around the room to take it all in.
"C'mon back to my office. I'll make us some tea and we can talk." Oak responded easily.
In ten minutes' time, they were happily sipping tea in a pair of cozy chairs Oak kept in his office. Seb kept an eye on Sandshrew as she calmly wandered around the office looking at everything.
"Why be uncomfortable in your own office, I say." Oak said as he settled back into his favorite chair with a sigh. "So you wanted to ask about my research?"
Put on the spot, Seb waffled a bit. "Sure, I guess. I am curious what you are working on, but there are so many interesting things we could talk about concerning pokemon."
Oak sighed. "Honestly, I'm not working on anything specific right now. Not personally, anyway."
Seb's brow furrowed. "Not personally? What do you mean?"
"I'm helping Professor Rowan from Sinnoh with something for the time being. Actually, the expedition that picked you up was on an assignment related to that." Oak explained offhandedly. "Rowan is an expert on Pokemon evolution and he has been requesting a lot of unevolved pokemon lately."
"He wants to observe their evolutions?" Seb guessed.
"No, actually. He wants to observe them not evolving. Which isn't to say he wants to observe them before they evolve." Oak shook his head before trying again. "He has a theory that sometimes a pokemon can gain the strength of an evolution without the physical change typically associated with it."
Seb's eyes widened as he immediately thought of Ash' Pikachu. Or Ash' Bulbasaur. Or… actually, a lot of Ash' pokemon. That would explain so much about how he was able to achieve as much as he did with pokemon that never evolved. "Alright, any basis for the theory?"
"Oh yes. There are often reports of trainers with pokemon that seem able to punch well above their weight class, so to speak. But the issue is that it's difficult to prove that the pokemon is not just inherently strong and would not therefore be stronger if it evolved. There is no way to undo evolution after all. It is proving to be a difficult problem." Oak explained, occasionally interrupting himself to take a sip of tea.
"So… why not get a baseline for what the evolved form is typically able to output by a variety of metrics and then compare the unique unevolved cases to that?" Seb asked during one of Oak's tea interruptions.
"Mm…." Oak lowered his cup again. "That is what we are working on now. The problem is getting access to relevant unevolved cases and then compiling data from a large enough sample size of their evolved brethren. Also, even then, it is hard to compare individual pokemon against others in their species. Who is to say one simply isn't an outlier? Rowan had been hoping it would be as simple as getting readings of sudden growth in a pokemon customary with evolution. We send out trainers every year and have fairly detailed records of their pokemon's biometrics, but he couldn't find anything of that sort."
Seb took in the monologue about research difficulties with interest. It reminded him of late nights in college. Well some of the late nights in college anyway. Others had been very different. "That was when he came to me." Oak went on. "He found that these 'Invisible Evolutions' always coincided with Pokemon that had a deep, close relationship with a trainer and thought I might have some insight on the matter. I thought it was an interesting enough concept that I agreed to add my resources to the endeavor."
Seb suddenly laughed. Oak gave him a startled look. "Sorry, professor. I just had the image of a Magikarp up against the Elite 4 somewhere, defeating them with the strength of a Gyarados while they stand by helplessly with stunned looks on their faces." Oak chuckled at the thought himself.
"For now, we're just keeping an eye out for any potential candidates and interviewing the trainers and pokemon. Interestingly, in nearly every case, the Pokemon has expressed a desire to remain in its current form. They have personal reasons not to want to evolve." Oak finished. "It has been an interesting project, but again, it's not really mine."
April 10
Seb spent the day at Oak's lab. He met Daisy Oak who had finished three years of journeying and decided to come home. She had completed Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, never finishing particularly far in the tournament, but enjoying the experience enough that she encouraged Seb to try it.
He met Delia Ketchum which was interesting. Upon learning about her, Seb had come right out and asked Professor Oak who the trainers he had helped start this year were. Oak had given him four names.
First was his grandson, Gary Oak, who chose Squirtle. "So Gary is ten?" Seb asked him.
Professor Oak looked confused when Seb asked. "What, no. We don't let ten year olds wander around without an adult. He is thirteen." Oh, yes. So much better. Oak had mentioned as much yesterday, but Seb had forgotten. I need to be more careful about that. Oak stared northward wistfully. "I wonder how far Gary has gotten by now. He has a Squirtle and a Rattata already. And a Growlithe obviously. Every Oak leaves home with a Growlithe."
The second trainer was "a local boy named Red. He opted for the Charmander. He grew up in town and has been rivals with Gary for a long time. He has a nickname for Gary. What was it?" Professor Oak focused with a pained look on his face.
Seb held back a laugh. "Is it 'Blue' by any chance?"
Oak snapped his fingers in excitement. "That's it. Always calls him 'Blue.' Suppose it makes sense. Red and Blue. Anyway, Red is a rather quiet boy, doesn't say much. Very serious."
Third was a girl from another town. Her name was Leaf and she had been happy to accept Bulbasaur. "She had another pokemon already too. A Ditto, which is rather rare. They are... newly discovered." Strangely, Oak seemed mildly disturbed by this, but Seb couldn't imagine why.
Finally was Delia's son, Ash Ketchum, who ended up with the unconventional choice of Pikachu due to a late start to his day. "That Pikachu is a firecracker. Real tough to handle, but he gave me a call from Viridian City last week. It seems like their relationship is on the right track." Seb looked at Sandshrew. Like his own relationship with his starter, Ash and Pikachu's friendship was forged through a life or death encounter.
Seb reflected on the information about the four Pallet trainers that night in his room. He was in a strange mish-mash of all of the stories. The games, the anime, and he thought the manga. Seb had never read the manga, but he was pretty sure Leaf only appeared in it. Or a girl with a Ditto, anyway. He was pretty sure her name was Green in the manga. But the presence of all of these characters meant he had no idea what storyline the world would be following. Or maybe it was stupid to think it would follow any events he could reasonably predict. He would just have to wait and see.
"Okay Sandshrew. I've got some new thoughts. This time the basis is your Steel typing. It made me think of Fullmetal Alchemist and I thought 'Winry' might be a name you'd like. She was more a support character, a mechanic, but the connection is there. Thoughts?" Fortunately, she actually gave it some thought and didn't immediately dismiss it, but she did eventually shake her head. "No, huh. That's fine. We'll keep working on it."
April 11
The next day Seb had an appointment with a therapist to talk about recent trauma. After more than a week at sea without any word, the worst was being assumed about Seb's family. A Doctor Joy met with him via video conference in the privacy and stable video phone connection of Oak's office. Seb took note that she did look remarkably similar to the Nurse Joy he had met before. They weren't quite the carbon copies the anime presented, but they did look like close sisters, though Doctor Joy was about ten years older.
He asked Oak about this as well. "Long term Pok-Effected." Oak explained. "Their family has been working closely with the Chancy line and Audinos for so many generations that the entire family has become deeply affected on a genetic level."
Seb blinked in shock. "Genetically?"
"Of course. It happened to you too. You experienced a genetic shift as a result of your close ordeal with Sandshrew at sea. I've done quite a bit of work on this, since it relates to the relationship between humans and pokemon, but it is all really technical. I can't really recommend it for light consumption."
The therapy itself was helpful. It was mildly disingenuous in that Seb's parents hadn't actually died at sea, but the grief counseling was relevant. Seb left the session with red eyes, good advice, and a number he could contact whenever he needed. Doctor Joy let him know that she hoped he would make use of the offer. She also handed him a standard school notebook. "It is a simple practice, but writing out your thoughts, concerns, feelings, or anything really can help you process some things. And helps you remember elements that may be important in any future sessions."
It seemed that like with Pokemon care, mental health care was provided free of charge. There was technology and Pokemon moves to help with healing Pokemon so Seb found himself more impressed at this extension of the Pokemon World's healthcare coverage. Especially when it was immediately followed up by a session for Sandshrew. Admittedly, it seemed Doctor Joy was taking a special interest due to the Sandshrew's trauma induced mutism, but she still took time to talk with Sandshrew privately and give her advice and coaching.
On the way back to their temporary apartment, Seb decided to try again. "Alright, what about your Ice typing?" He checked to make sure she was paying attention before continuing. "Shiva is an… well an ally that can be summoned from one of my favorite game series. She is an ice goddess who devastates enemies with crushing ice attacks." Sandshrew thought on this for a while before slowly shaking her head.
"You took your time thinking about it. Were you intrigued by the fact she is a goddess?" Seb asked, fishing for more detail he could use to brainstorm a name.
The Sandshrew empathically shook her head. Then she pointed at Seb and shook her head again. He spent a moment translating that. "That was the part you didn't like?" And she confirmed with a sharp nod.
"The ice part?" She shrugged.
"Okay, did you like the part about being a fighter on the battlefield?" She waved a claw back and forth noncommittally. "Okay, just about the only thing left is being an ally who was summoned." To which she pointed and nodded. "Oh… yeah, that does kind of fit the whole pokemon team idea, doesn't it? I'll keep it in mind going forward."
The next day, Seb stood on the northern outskirts of town, staring at the path leading northward with Sandshrew. A nearly idyllic vista lay before them. Calm grasslands and occasional trees lay across gently rolling hills. "I'm considering doing it. I mean… I'm here. I'm actually here. Well, I think I'm actually here. I haven't really fully landed on whether I think this is real or not. Point is, literally here or just here in delusion, I'm here. I should make the most of it. I mean, this is the sort of thing I dreamed of being able to do since I was a kid. My own Pokemon journey. Why wouldn't I do it?"
But he knew the answer to that question. He knew what was giving him second thoughts and it was dumb. It was a dumb reason. "I mean, why would setting out on this incredible journey ruin the delusion?" Sandshrew gave him a confused look. "Oh, sorry. I forget you're not in my head. Or… maybe you are. You know what I mean. Anyway, that's what I'm afraid of. What if I start and it all fades away? What if I go into the light, that is the metaphorical light of the Pokemon journey, and then I pass away from my weakened and wounded state back in reality?"
Sandshrew patted his leg consolingly. Then she pointed northward and clenched her fist. "You're saying you want to go?" She nodded and then flexed her arm. "You want to get stronger." He thought about that for a moment before she interrupted him.
She pointed at his chest, then pointed north, and flexed again. "I need to do it to get stronger?" She shook her head, then waved her claws back and forth. "Kind of? Uh… Oh. I need to face my fears in order to grow stronger." She nodded with a smile.
Seb let out a sigh, before changing topics. "Okay, so I have another name suggestion. What about 'Weiss?" Sandshrew rolled her hand, indicating to him to continue. "Well, she was from a web series. She wasn't a summoned ally, but she was part of a team that worked together to complete quests, protect people… and have epic food fights. Anyway, they were all in training together for a while too. She wielded a rapier so that has the steel connection. And she used magic, including ice attacks. What do you think?"
Sandshrew thought about it for the longest time yet, bobbing her head back and forth in consideration before ultimately shaking her head slowly. "Just don't like the sound of it?" She nodded apologetically. "Hey, that is fine. Besides, between you and me, she was never my favorite anyway."
"You really should do it." Seb jumped in surprise when Cole walked up to stand beside them. "It'll be good for you. And there is a whole lot of safety net built into the system these days." It took Seb time to switch gears back to the Pokemon journey. It was pretty obvious he was thinking about that, standing on this hilltop and gazing northward contemplatively.
"You really think so?" Seb asked plaintively.
"I really do." Cole responded simply.
"It's just the sort of thing where… I always expected to have my parents to fall back on. I might be moving away, but I wouldn't truly be out of reach. Just a call or short trip away." Seb sighed. "And now I don't have that. I don't have that no matter what I do."
"It isn't the same, of course, but you have Oak's support and you will always be able to fall back on him. Coral was smitten with you and would take you in in a heartbeat, so she is there for you too." Cole told him readily before taking some time to think his next comment over. "But you need to find your place Sebastian. And as much as we'd love to make use of you here, nobody thinks this is where you are meant to be."
They stared at the view before them for a bit longer before Seb had a sudden thought. "So this is Route 1?" He asked, pointing at the path leading out from Pallet Town.
Cole smiled. "Yep. If you choose to do it, this is where you'll start out from."
"So it leads to Viridian City?"
Cole gave him a long, measuring look before answering. "... Yes. That path leads to Viridian City."
Seb hissed in a quick intake of breath. "Hss… enh, 'path?' How about 'road?"
"What?" Cole asked in clear confusion.
"Can we call it a road?"
"I… gueeesss?"
Seb nodded thoughtfully. "Cool, cool. So this is the road to Viridian City?"
Cole's eyes narrowed on him, trying to figure out what game Seb was playing. "I mean, it is a road to Viridian City."
"Right, of course." Seb readily agreed. "But essentially, if I were to set out down this path, it could be said that I was on the road to Viridian City?"
Another long look while Cole studied him. "... Yes. That sounds accurate."
Seb took a deep breath, a smile growing on his face. "Excellent. Alright, Cole. I'll do it. But Sandshrew and I are going to finish out our week of health monitoring before we leave."
"That's great," Cole responded hesitantly, "but am I ever going to know what that was about just now?"
Seb thought it over for a moment before answering. "Probably not." He said with a smile.
April 13
"And there it is, Seb. You are officially registered for the Kanto League this year." Oak smiled at Seb and offered a small collection of items for him: a freshly printed Trainer's License, his fully registered pokedex, and five pokeballs.
Seb stared at the items in his hand with a sense of hesitant wonder, tinged with disbelief. He barely registered Oak's continued speech. "It is a bit of a late start, nearly two weeks, but in the grand scheme of things it isn't insurmountable. Are you excited?" Seb looked up into a comforting smile.
"Excited? Yeah. Kind of nervous. I keep expecting to wake up, honestly." Seb answered, half in a daze.
Oak's smile broadened. "That's good. That is the way it is supposed to feel. You are wandering out into a brand new world. Who knows what you may find?"
From the other room, Cole called out with friendly teasing. "You are a cheesy old man, Professor!"
Oak chuckled, but Seb smiled fondly. "No. It's exactly right. My very own Pokemon legend is about to unfold. A world of dreams and adventures with pokemon awaits." Seb looked down at Sandshrew who gave him an encouraging nod, took a deep breath to steel himself, and smiled to the professor. "Thank you, sir. For everything. We plan on leaving on the morning of the 16th."
Oak gave him a nod of approval and spoke up again. "Will you do me a favor?"
Seb blinked in confusion, but readily agreed. "Of course, professor. Just about anything."
"Keep an eye out for the other four from Pallet. You're the oldest and from what I've seen, you seem pretty responsible. Make sure they are doing alright for me, will you?"
"Yeah, I'd be glad to. I wouldn't mind travelling with them from time to time myself, anyway." Seb reassured the man, clearly concerned about his grandson and the other kids who had played in and around his lab their whole life.
After that, Seb quickly made his departure. He wanted to start planning and preparing with Sandshrew. "Alright Sandshrew, I have a new tactic. I've been trying to name you based around what you are. Shrew, Steel type or Ice type, but that is the wrong approach. I should be more focused on who you are. That matters far more." The Sandshrew gave an agreeing nod.
"So, I thought about who you are. You are loyal, you are kind and encouraging, and you are brave, a fighter who took everything the wild seas could throw at you and survived." She scratched the back of her head self-consciously which made Seb smile. "Thinking in these terms, I actually found myself back with Redwall. In one of the books, the main character was a brave mouse maid who survived a very similar ordeal at sea. Her name was Mariel." Sandshrew was watching attentively now, soaking in every word. "She worked hard, she gained allies, she fought fiercely and eventually saved her father from a cruel tyrant. She was a hero to all good creatures."
But Sandshrew held up her arms in a cross, negating the idea. "No? I thought I had you there for a second." but the Sandshrew just shook her head.
"Alright, then. We'll keep going. Did you like the who approach better though?" The Sandshrew nodded in response. "Alright, but we'll get it. It's a process." Apparently.
April 15
Seb and Sandshrew lay low in the grass on a hilltop watching a group of Rattata playing. Seb wasn't positive, but it mostly looked like a game of tag, though there was some nuance he wasn't able to work out. He and Sandshrew had been coming up to this hilltop to observe the local Rattata for the last two days.
He watched as one of the Rattata jumped clean over another one that was rushing him, before darting away with impressive speed. Seb leaned over to Sandshrew and quietly spoke. "I think that is the one we want. A tryhard that is always pushing itself, quick on its feet and agile to boot. What do you say, you ready to go make it an offer it can't refuse?"
The Sandshrew looked at Sebastian with determination and nodded. Seb grinned back. "Alright, let's do this."
Standing up, Seb called down to the playing Rattata. "Hello down there! Mind if we come down?" The Rattata stopped their game and watched cautiously as Seb approached. When he got to about thirty feet away, he stopped. "We've been watching your game." He pointed to the Rattata he had observed earlier. "And we want to know if you want to go with us on a Pokemon journey. Sandshrew and I are going to travel, train, and get stronger. Is that something you're interested in?"
The Rattata stared him down for a few seconds while the others watched. It dashed forward a few feet and took a ready stance. "Ratta! Ratta-TA!" It cried eagerly.
"You want to make us battle for it, huh? If we can beat you, you want to come with?" Seb asked for clarification.
"Rattata…" It nodded confidently.
Seb looked down to Sandshrew. "Are you ready?"
She nodded and then pointed at him. "Am I ready?" Seb blinked as he thought about that. Then he grinned fiercely. "Let's do this."
The Sandshrew stepped forward to stand in front of Sebastian and took a battle stance. Seb went over what he knew about both pokemon and what might help them in this match. Sandshrew was only slightly larger than the Rattata and it definitely had the speed advantage on her, but thanks to her steel typing she should be able to take a number of hits from it.
He flipped open his pokedex to go over her known moves one last time. Scratch, Defense Curl, Mist, and Powder Snow. "Okay, girl. Start us off with Mist before it can remove your defense advantage!" The Sandshrew took a deep breath and began to exhale a cloud of mist onto the battlefield, but was caught off guard by the Rattata shoulder tackling her, a thin white glow trailing behind it.
That had to be Quick Attack. It covered that twenty feet as if it were nothing. Sandshrew finished the Mist and braced herself once more, facing her opponent. "That's fine. Now Defense Curl!"
Once more the Rattata ran forward and hit her, but it seemed slower. Probably a normal Tackle. Sandshrew shrugged it off and then hunched in on herself, tightening her muscles. "How are you holding up?" She gave him a single claw, thumbs up without turning to look at him and Seb grinned.
The Rattata was darting back and forth with a smile on its face. It was getting more confident. "Okay Sandshrew, next time it charges in, hit it with Scratch."
"Ratta Ratta." Came out sounding like a chuckle and it darted in with Quick Attack once more. The Rattata slammed into Sandshrew and darted away before she could land a hit.
"That's okay. You just need to get a feel for the timing." But the process repeated twice more without any damage to show for her efforts.
"New plan, blast it with Powder Snow as it charges and then just lay the snow on thick all around you." Seb saw her nod once.
The Rattata was really strutting now, convinced of its impending victory. How could it lose when it couldn't get hit? But it had grown up outside sleepy little Pallet town and hadn't seen some of the more interesting moves a Pokemon could learn. It darted forward and was suddenly blasted in the face with an unexpected winter. It still made it through and got in a good shot on the Sandshrew, but now it had been hit.
The next couple passes from the Rattata were bluffs. It darted in, tried to bait an attack, and then go around, but Sandshrew was laying the snow out all around her. Finally, the Rattata committed to another attack. It got in another shot, and Sandshrew was feeling the hurt, but Seb noticed the snow slowed it down.
"Okay Sandshrew, prepare to dodge and Scratch on my mark." She breathed heavily, but gave another nod.
Again, the Rattata charged in trailing a white glow, lost some of its speed in the heavy snow, and made to tackle the Sandshrew. But this time Sandshrew was able to shift out of the way and lay a long Scratch along the Rattata's side. Rattata stumbled a bit as it left the snowy patch and Sandshrew hit it with another Powder Snow unbidden by Seb.
The Rattata was rolled onto its side, gradually got back to its feet and stared down Sandshrew. "Don't forget about me!" Seb called as he threw the pokeball.
The moment proceeded as if in slow motion, the ball gently arcing through the air, the ball bouncing against the Rattata, and the Pokemon being absorbed in a flash of red light. The ball fell to the ground and began rocking back and forth. Seb could feel his heart racing, the tension of the moment almost too much to bear, he clenched his fists and stared without blinking.
The ball dinged. It stood still, waiting in the dirt.
Seb blinked. "We… we did it. We did it!" He ran, slid through the snow, and hugged Sandshrew. "We did it! You were amazing! We really did it! We caught Rattata!" She hugged him back happily.
After a minute of celebrating in the unnatural snow with Sandshrew, Seb walked over and picked up the pokeball. "Welcome to the team. I look forward to seeing how far we can go."
He turned back to Sandshrew. "As for you, I think I've cracked it. A name that works. It honors my sister, because it is the name of a character from some of our favorite video games. A character who was beautiful and kind and considerate, but she also didn't really accept crap from others. She is a character who survived a storm at sea and found herself with a new family. She set out on a grand adventure with friends when her own family was mistreating her. She is a character who suffered tragedy so great it left her speechless, but who never stopped moving forward and always looked after her people and the friends around her."
Sandshrew watched with impassioned interest as Seb explained. "And lastly, she went by two names. So you have multiple options. Her given name was Garnet, which is a type of gemstone, but she also went by the nickname of Dagger as an alias, which I imagine you know is a weapon. So what do you think? Does either of those appeal to you?"
She looked down at the ground as she thought about it. Then, with determination, she looked up at Seb and nodded and held up two claws. "The second one? Dagger. You're a fighter… not an accessory." She nodded emphatically.
"Well, Dagger. It's a pleasure to meet you." Seb reached out and shook her claw. "Kanto won't know what hit it."
He looked down at the ball in his hand with a smile before a thought struck him. "Oh, now I have to come up with another name."
A/N: Over the two months of preparing notes and some scene ideas and my outline and all that jazz, each of the names Seb suggests in this chapter were her operating name at one point. With the exception of the first two shrew names from Redwall, anyway. I did start there as it was meant to be a personal homage to the first fanfic I ever tried to write (I was 12, I tried to write Redwall fanfic and I dearly hope those notebooks have not survived), but I rummaged through Shrew names and didn't find anything I particularly liked and so I moved on. In fact, Mariel was the longest running because of the reasons listed and also personally for me because it still referenced my personal history in trying to write. But when I was just about done actually writing the first chapter, I had an epiphany and realized Dagger was better. For Seb's mind anyway. He only read Redwall as a kid, he didn't try to write fanfic of it. But the connection to his sister? That is important.